38 terms

Terms	Definitions
Allah	the islamic god, concept of belief in one god
Muhammad	Prophet, born into a wealthy Meccan family - but then orphaned, manager for Khadigah - who later became his wife, Angel Gabriel told Muhammad that he was a messenger of Allah
Islam	submission to the will of Allah, religion created by Muhammad
Muslims	one who has submitted(to the will of Allah)
Hijrah	After Muhammad's followers had been attacked. The migration of Muhammad and a small band of followers from Mecca to Yathrib/Medina; marked a turning point for Muhammad
Mosque	an Islamic house of worship
Hajj	A pilgrimage to Mecca a Muslim must take if they are physically and financially able to. Pilgrims wear identical clothes so they stand as equals before Allah
Qur'an	the holy book of the Muslims. A book of Muhammad's teachings made by a group of his followers after he died
Sunna	Muhammad's example; best model for proper living
Shari'a	body of law; the system of law that regulates the family life, moral conduct, and buiness and community life of Muslims
Arabian Peninsula	a peninsula containing African, Europe, and Asia; only a tiny strip of fertile land, the rest was desert; where the Bedouins lived
Bedouins	the Arab nomads; lived on the Arabian Peninsula; organized in tribes and clans that provided security and support for the hard life they lived; their ideas of courage and loyalty to family, along w/ their warrior skills would become part of the Islam life
Mecca	attracted people to the city b/c it housed the Ka'aba; where Muhammad was born
Ka'aba	a holy shrine in the city of Mecca; contained over 360 idols; Later when Muhammad returned to Mecca he destroyed all the idols
Khadijah	Muhammad's wife; a business woman; about twice Muhammad's age; good marriage and good business partnership; one of Muhammad's first followers of Islam
Gabriel	the angel that spoke to Muhammad; Gabriel
Umma	Muslim religious community; when Muhammad conquered Mecca most people joined
Constitution of Medina	When Muhammad united all the Bedouin tribes; created the first islamic state; ends the fights between tribes
Caliph	a title that means "successor" or "deputy" to Muhammad.
4 rightly guided Caliphs	the caliphs that all knew Muhammad; their rule is also called a caliphate; all spread Islam 1. Abu-Baker - invoked jihad 2. Umar - conquered Syria and lower Egypt 3. Uthman 4. Ali
"People of the Book"	What Muslims considered Christians and Jews b/c they had the same first half of the bible; they allowed them to stay their religion when they conquered them, they just had to pay a tax every year for exemption from military services
Jihad	"striving" can refer to the inner struggle against evil; used in the Qur'an to mean an armed struggle against non believers; invoked by Abu-Baker
Umayyads	came to power after the last of the rightly guided caliphs; moved the capital to Damascus. It made controlling territories better, but it was too far from Mecca; they abandoned the simple life of previous caliphs causing a spilt Muslim community
Shi'a	"party of Ali" believed the caliph had to be a descendant of Muhammad; believed that Ali Muhammad's son-in-law should have been the first caliph; the minority
Sunni	"followers of Muhammad's example"; did not outwardly resist the Umayyads; believed the first 4 caliphs were rightly guided
Sufi	another group that rejected the luxurious life of the Umayyads; pursued a life of poverty
Abbasids	the most powerful of the groups that overthrew the Umayyads; they took control of the empire;ruthlessly murdered the rest of the Umayyad family
Al-Andalus	An extraordinary Muslim state that one of the Umayyad princes that escaped the Abbasids set up after he was defeated at the battle of Tours
Fatimid	a caliphate formed by the Shi'a Muslims who claimed descent from Muhammad's daughter Fatima; began in north Africa; still connected to the Abbasid caliphate
Berber Armies	the muslims from North Africa that conquered Spain and were defeated at the battle of Tours
Battle of Tours	A battle at the city of Tours where Charles Martel and his army stopped the invasion of the Berber Muslims. If they had not have stopped them there the Muslims would have conquered all France and England and Christianity might not exist today
Baghdad	A newly created city where the Abbasids moved the capital; was on key trade routes; had a distinctive circular design; on the west bank of the Tigris river; its population reached one million at its peak
Damascus	where the Umayyads moved the capital; away from Mecca; was the leading city before baghdad; it was a cultural center of Islamic learning
House of Wisdom	A nation library , academy, and translation center located in Baghdad; scholars of different cultures and beliefs worked side by side translating texts from Greece, India, Persia into Arabic
Calligraphy	the art of beautiful hand writing; artist turned to this b/c only Allah could create life so images of living things were discouraged
Córdoba	A scholar that was criticized for trying to blend Aristotle's and Plato's views with those of Islam
Armillary sphere	used by Muslim astronomers to calculate the time of day or year; helped set their religious calender
Astrolabe	early Muslim scientific instrument; a map of the sky; used to calculate the time of day or year

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