Ch. 8 The Rise of Islam

Malay	English
Mecca	a late-blooming caravan city, settled by the Quraysh, that would later become a center for Islam
Muhammad	born in Mecca in 570, he founded Islam, 610 meditated in mountains then had a vision which led him to creating Islam
Muslim	someone who believes in Islam, musllim means "submission"
Islam	means the will of god, Islam is a middle-eastern religion which influenced the culture of many countries
Quran	the sacred writings of Islam revealed by God to the prophet Muhammad during his life at Mecca and Medina
Umayyad Caliphate	First hereditary dynasty of Muslim caliphs (661 to 750). From their capital at Damascus, the Umayyads ruled an empire that extended from Spain to India. Overthrown by the Abbasid Caliphate.
Abbasid Caliphate	Descendants of the Prophet Muhammad's uncle, al-Abbas, the Abbasids overthrew the Umayyad Caliphate and ruled an Islamic empire from their capital in Baghdad (founded 762) from 750 to 1258.
Mamluks	Under the Islamic system of military slavery, Turkic military slaves who formed an important part of the armed forces of the Abbasid Caliphate of the ninth and tenth centuries. Mamluks eventually founded their own state, ruling Egypt and Syria (1250-1517)
Ulama	the body of mullahs (Muslim scholars trained in Islam and Islamic law) who are the interpreters of Islam's sciences and doctrines and laws and the chief guarantors of continuity in the spiritual and intellectual history of the Islamic community
Hadith	the collection of the precise words of Muhammad to form laws