Islam Midterm

Abrahamic Religions

Judaism, Christianity, and Islam

Jewish and Arab lineages to Abraham

Through his sons Isaac (Judaism) and Ishmael (Islam).

Hebrew Bible/ Old Testament

Origin Story, History, and Law

New Testament

Life and death of Jesus Christ

Messiah and Messianic expectation

Believe the messiah will allow them to rule over Israel again in accordance with God’s Covenant.

Fitrah

“Am I not your Lord?” “Do you accept moral responsibility” 

Barzakh

The time in between the second death and the DOJ

Day of Judgement

the final day when all humanity will be resurrected, judged by Allah (God) for their deeds and beliefs, and then assigned to their eternal home of heaven or hell

The Prophet

The religious and political leader of Islam, known as “the last prophet.”

Byzantine Empire

The successor to the Roman empire in the eastern Mediterranean.

The Byzantines were Greek Orthodox Christians.

Sasanian Empire

A pre-Islamic Persian dynasty that ruled a vast empire from 224 to 651 CE comprising Iraq, Iran, and parts of Central Asia. Their state religion was Zoroastrianism.

Paganism

Polythiests, frequently clashed with Muslims

Quraysh

Muhammad's tribe in Arabia. Sunni caliphs originated from this tribe.

Late Antiquity

used to designate the period from the Christianization of Rome to the rise of Islam and the Arab conquests.

Rabbis

a Jewish scholar or teacher, especially one who studies or teaches Jewish law

Church Fathers

influential theologians, writers, and teachers in the early Church, particularly from the second to the eighth century CE

Revelation

What God told Muhammad

Tafsir

Commentaries of Qur’an

Sirah

Biographies on Muhammad

Hadith

Oral reports of the prophet

570 CE, 610 CE, 622 CE, 632 CE

Muhammad’s birth, Beginning of revelation, Hijrah to Medina, and his death in Medina.

661 CE

Mu’awigah takes over as Caliph after Hasan gives up right to rule

680 CE

Yazrd, drunkend and womanizer, kills Hasan

750 CE

Abbasid takes over as the Caliph

Hypocrites / munafiqun

a group in early Islamic history who outwardly appeared to be Muslims but inwardly rejected Islam, often to gain worldly advantages

Hijrah

The emigration of Muhammad and the first Muslims from Mecca to Medina in 622 CE.

Canonization of the Qur’an

a multi-stage process that culminated in the standardized Uthmanic codex under the third caliph, Uthman, around 650 CE

Islam/Muslim

Surrender to God in accordance with the message of the Qur'an

Iman/ Mu’min

Prayer leader at the Friday prayers in the mosque/believer

Kufr/Kafir

Disbelief/Disbeliever

Shirk/ Mushrik

Polytheism/polythiest

Sunnah

Normative practice of the prophet. Spirit of the practices. Determined by Communal Transmission and Hadith.

Bid’ah

refers to an "innovation," specifically an invented way of worshipping or drawing closer to Allah that has no basis in the Quran or Sunnah

Communal transmission

Observing the practices of Muslims in Medina and trying it back to the prophet

Hadith

Oral reports of the prophet’s words and actions.

Companions

the Muslim followers who lived during the time of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and had personal contact with him, even if brief, by seeing or hearing him

Followers

The next generation of muslims after the companions, knew the companions but not the prophet.

Common Link

the earliest identified transmitter common to multiple chains of transmission (isnāds) of a hadith

Isnad

the chain of authorities, or narrators, who have transmitted a hadith

Matn

the text or wording within a hadith

Corroboration in Hadith

Making sure a hadith has come from multiple sources leading back to the common link

Ahl al-hadith and ahl al-ra’y

People of the hadith (exact practice), People of reason (spirit of the practice).

Sound / sahih hadith

an authentic, reliable prophetic narration in Islam

Good / hasan hadith

Not as reliable as Sahih but still seen as authetic

Weak / da’if hadith

Is not seen as authentic

‘Ismah / Ma’sum

Is proven to be a fabricated Hadith

Caliph

"Successor" of Muhammad; later, the religious and legal leader of the Sunni community of believers.

Abu Bakr

Muhammad's father-in-law; the first caliph of the Islamic community from 632-34. Was chosen over Ali.

Umar

Followed Abu Bakr, established tax non-muslims had to pay, assassinated by Zoroastrian prisoner.

Uthman

Appointed relatives from Meccan elite during his reign, canonized the Qur’an, was killed by Muslim mob.

Ali

Muhammad’s son in law, didn’t prosecute Uthman’s murderers, lead during first Fitna (civil war). 

Righly Guided Caliphs

the first four leaders of the Islamic caliphate following the death of the Prophet Muhammad: Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, and Ali

Fatimah

Muhammad’s daughter, wife of Ali.

Muhajirun

The first Muslims who emigrated from Mecca to Medina with Prophet Muhammad during the Hijra

Ansar

“majority” muslims from Medina who converted to Islam at the prophet arrived.

Jizyah

A tax placed upon non-muslims for protection under their dynasty.

Hashimites

The royal and historical House of Hashim, direct descendants of the Prophet Muhammad's great-grandfather Hashim ibn Abd Manaf, through his paternal line

Umayyads

Rulers of the Muslim empire (661-750 CE). After 750, a Umayyad dynasty was also founded in Spain; it lasted until 1031.

Battle of the camel

a major confrontation in early Islamic history between the forces of the fourth caliph, Ali ibn Abi Talib, and a rebel army led by Aisha, the prophet Muhammad's widow. 

Mu’awiyah

Umayyad leader, governor of Damascus, became caliph after Hasan gave up his right to rule.

Siffin

Major confrontation between Ali and Mu’awiyah. Mu’awiyah’s troops held up pages of Qur’an in surrender. Led to Ali giving up his power despite winning the battle.

Kharijites

An early group within Islam that believed that the most virtuous person in the community

should lead it, and that person would not necessarily be from the Prophet's family or someone elected by the whole community. Anyone who did not agree with this was, in the Kharijites' view, not a Muslim at all and should be killed.

Hasan

The grandson of Muhammad, the elder son of Fatima and 'Ali, and the second Imam

of the Shi'ites.

Husayn

The grandson of Muhammad, the younger son of Fatima and 'Ali, and the third Imam of the Shi'ites, was martyred at Karbala' in Iraq by a Umayyad army sent by the caliph Yazid.

Karbala

The place in Iraq where Husayn was martyred; one of the sacred shrines in Iraq visited

by Shi'ites today.

Five Pillars of Islam

Shahada (profession of faith), Salah (five daily prayers), Zakat (almsgiving), Sawm (fasting during the month of Ramadan), and Hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca for those who are able).

Modernity

Law, theology, mysticism, philosophy, state craft mixed with the enlightenment lead to Modernity in Islam. 

Adhan

the Islamic call to prayer, a broadcast heard five times daily from mosques to summon worshippers for their obligatory prayers

Shari’ah

Islamic religious law

Fiqh

Classical Sunni Muslim jurisprudence.

Madhhabs

A school of law. The Sunnis have four madhhabs, all recognized as equally valid. The Shi'ites also have their own madhhabs.

Qiyas

Analogical reasoning: a principle in Islamic law whereby an established law is applied to a new situation.

Ijma’

In Sunni Islam, a unanimous agreement by religious scholars at a particular

time on a point of law; one of the four core elements upon which religious scholars relied for systematizing the Shari'a

Maslahah

Making a legal decision in the public interest.

Mazalim Court

Grievance courts held by rnlers.

Five Legal Statuses

Obligatory, recommend, allowed, reprehensible, and forbidden.

Four main sources of Islamic law

Qur’an, Sunna, consensus, and analogical reasoning.

Ijtihad

The exercise of a religious lawyer's independent reasoning in coming to a decision.

Taqlid

the "uncritical acceptance" or "following" of a religious scholar or jurist's opinion, especially for those who are not experts in Islamic jurisprudence

Fuqaha’

Legal scholars, specialists in Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh).

Fatwa

A legal opinion or pronouncement made by a mufti (a Muslim scholar) on whether an action is permitted or forbidden by the Shari' a