Constitution of Medina and Islamic Origins – Vocabulary Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards covering key people, groups, terms, and sources related to the Pact of Medina, its context, and early Islamic origins.

Constitution of Medina (Pact of Medina)

The 7th–century charter that defined the rights and duties of Muhājirūn, Anṣār, and some Jewish tribes in Yathrib, creating an umma and regulating mutual defense, social obligations, and group conduct.

Muhājirūn

Muslim emigrants from Mecca who moved to Medina with Muhammad; formed the core of the early Muslim community.

Anṣār

Medinan Muslims who welcomed and supported Muhammad after his arrival; the 'Helpers,' divided into Aws and Khazraj.

Quraysh

The dominant Arab tribe of Mecca; many Muhājirūn descended from or belonged to Quraysh.

Banū Aws (Aws)

One of the two main Ansār tribes in Medina; part of the pact’s social structure.

Banū Khazraj

The other main Ansār tribe in Medina; allied with Muhājirūn and Jews within the Pact.

Banī Qaynuqā’

One of the three Jewish tribes in Medina; a stakeholder group in the Pact.

Banū Qurayẓa

A Jewish tribe in Medina; another key group within the Pact’s Jewish participants.

Banū Naḍīr

A Jewish tribe in Medina; the third major Jewish tribe referenced in discussions of the Pact.

Yahūd (Jews)

The Jews in Medina; term used in the Qur’an, referring to the three tribes Qaynuqā’, Qurayẓa, Naḍīr.

Mawālī

Non‑Arab clients/allies bound to Arab tribes; given rights within the Pact and integrated into the community.

Mu'minūn

Believers; Muslims who are party to the Pact and part of the Islamic community.

Muslimīn

Muslims or members of the Muslim community; sometimes used to denote those allied with the Mu'minūn.

Blood money (diya)

Financial compensation paid for injury or death under tribal law, coordinated among pact communities.

Ransom

Payment arrangements for releasing captives; part of the pact’s social and legal framework.

Harām

A sacred or inviolate area; in the Pact, the interior of Yathrib is haram, protecting believers and non‑combatants.

Mushrikūn

Polytheists; those who associate partners with God; often treated differently in legal and protective terms.

Hanifs (ḥanīfāʾ)

Pre‑Islamic monotheists (God‑fearers) who worshiped one God before Islam.

Ṣābi'ūn (Sabians)

Little‑known monotheistic groups in the region; often described as close to Christians.

Salat

Ritual prayer; a monotheistic vocabulary term found in pre‑Islamic inscriptions and in Islamic practice.

Zakat

Almsgiving; an Islamic pillar, referenced in the broader monotheistic vocabulary of the period.

Masjid

Mosque; place of worship; term attested in pre‑Islamic inscriptions and later in Islamic practice.

al‑Sham (Levant)

Geographic region of Greater Syria; important in late antiquity and the context of Muhammad’s milieu.

Ghassanids

Arab Christian client kingdom in the Levant under Byzantine influence; part of the late antique political context.

Lakhmids

Arab Christian Arab‑tribal kingdom in southern Iraq; allied with the Sassanids in the late antique world.

Sassanids

The Sassanian Persian Empire; major regional power shaping the late antique milieu of the Arabian Peninsula.

Doctrina Iacobus/Yacobus

Anti‑Jewish Christian treatise written in Greek; cited in the lecture as part of the Christian polemical tradition.

Kitāb al‑amwāl

A textual form associated with the Pact’s transmission; refers to one of the versions (Ibn Isḥāq via Ibn Hishām or al‑Zuhrī via Abū Ubayd) used to study the Pact.

Ibn Isḥāq / Ibn Hishām

Early biographers/reciters who transmitted Muhammad’s life and the Pact material; Ibn Isḥāq (d. 767) and his editor Ibn Hishām (d. 833).

al‑Zuhrī / Abū Ubayd

Alternative chain of transmission for the Pact’s text; al‑Zuhrī (d. 742) via Abū Ubayd (d. 838).