| Term | Definition |
|---|
| Allah | god; all powerful; absolute; personal |
| Five Pillars | Shahadah, Salat, Zakat, Sawm, and Hajj |
| Shahadah | "there is no God but Allah, and Muhammed is his prophet" |
| Salat | worship 5 times a day facing Mecca, said in Arabic, public recognition of absolute soveirnty of Allah |
| Zakat | legal almsgiving; tax to help those in need (charity); voluntary, collected by mosque |
| Sawm | fasting during Ramadan (9th month of Islamic calender); no food or drink during the day; recite entire Qur'an over the course of the month |
| Hajj | pilgrimage to Mecca; go at least once in lifetime; reinacting Abraham's pilgrimage; most people are dressed in white |
| Hadith | narratives reporting actions and sayings of Muhammed written by his followers |
| Hijra | when Muhammed escaped the city of Mecca and went to Medina; immigration |
| Jihad | "holy war;' general effort to advance the cause of Islam; ambiguous scriptures |
| Qur'an | the word of God; sacred scriptures; records revelations of Muhammed; 114 surahs |
| Muhammed | founder of Islam; born in 570 CE |
| Shari'ah | the right path |
| Shiite | recognize the authority of Ali and the descendents of Ali are the true leaders (Imams); obey pronouncements without question |
| Sunni | recognize authority of caliphs; had interpretive guides (hadith); the ultimate authority was the community; largest and most orthodox |
| Sufism | mystical belief of Allah over the law; want to achieve a direct spiritual union with Allah |
Combine with other sets
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