Islam

Question 1

caliph

Answer 1

from the Arabic khalifah (“one who represents or acts on behalf od another”). The caliph was the prophet’s successor as the head of the muslim community; the position became institutionalized in the form of the caliohate, which lasted from 632 to 1924

Question 2

dhikr

Answer 2

“Remembering” God’s name; chanted in Sufi devotional exercises, sometimes while devotees dance in a circle

Question 3

dhimmis, Ahl Al-Kutab

Answer 3

“Protected people”: non Muslim religiious minorities (specifically the Jews and Christians, as “People of the Book”) accorded tolerated status in Islamic society

Question 4

Fathah

Answer 4

the short opening surah of the Qur’an, recited at least 17 times every day

Question 5

fatwa

Answer 5

a ruling issued by a traditional religio-legal authority

Question 6

fiqh

Answer 6

Jurisprudence, or the theoretical principles underpinning the specific regulations contained in the shari’ah

Question 7

hadith

Answer 7

the body of texts reporting muhammad’s words and example, taken by muslims as a foundation for conduct and doctrine; a hadith is an individual unit of literature

Question 8

hajj

Answer 8

the annual pilgrimage to mecca

Question 9

halal

Answer 9

ritually acceptable; most often used in the context of the slaughter of animals for meat, but also refers generally to Muslim dietary regulations

Question 10

haram

Answer 10

“Forbidden” used especially in reference to actions; similar in its connotations to “tabboo”

Question 11

hijab

Answer 11

a women’s veil or head covering

Question 12

hijrah

Answer 12

the prophet’s migration from mecca to establish a community in medina in 622 CE. In dates, the abbreviation AH stands for “year of the hijrah” (the starting point of the islamic dating system)

Question 13

‘Id al-Fitr

Answer 13

the holiday celebrating the end of the Ramadan fast; the festival traditionally begins following the sighting of the new moon

Question 14

ijma’

Answer 14

the consensus of religio-legal scholars; one of the two secondary principles used in jurisprudence; some legal schools give it more weight than others

Question 15

ijtihad

Answer 15

personal reasoning applied to the development of legal opinions

Question 16

imamis “twelvers”

Answer 16

shi’is who recognize 12 imams as legitimate heirs to the prophet’s authority; the last, in occulation since 874, is expected to return some day as the Mahdi

Question 17

Isma’ilis “Seveners”

Answer 17

shi’is who recognize only seven imams; named after the last of them, isma’il whose lineage continues to the present in the agha khan

Question 18

jihad

Answer 18

struggle in defence of faith; some jihads are military, waged in response to threats to the community’s security or welfare; others are spiritual, waged to improve moral conduct in society

Question 19

kufr

Answer 19

rejecting belief; implies lack of gratitude for God’s grace

Question 20

Mahdi

Answer 20

The shi’i twelf imam, understood in his role as the “rightly guided one” who will emerge from hiding at some unspecified future date to restore righteousness and order to the world

Question 21

mi’raj

Answer 21

the prophet’s miraculous journey to heaven

Question 22

mu’adhdhin

Answer 22

the person who calls people to prayer

Question 23

qiblah

Answer 23

the direction of prayer, marked in mosques by a niche inside the wall nearest mecca

Question 24

Ramadan

Answer 24

the month throughout which muslims fast during daylight hours

Question 25

sadaqah

Answer 25

alms given voluntarily, in addition to the required zakat

Question 26

salat

Answer 26

the prescirbed daily prayers, said five times during the day

Question 27

shahadah

Answer 27

the muslim profession of faith in God as the only god, and in Muhammad as God's prophet

Question 28

shari'ah

Answer 28

the specific regulations of Islamic law (jurisprudence, or theoretical discussion of the law, is fiqh) shari'ah meant to regulate human behavior--not just law range of human behaviors from required to forbidden

Question 29

shaykh

Answer 29

the arabic term for a senior master, especially in sufism

Question 30

shi'a

Answer 30

from the Arabic meaning "party": Muslims who trace succession to the Prophet's authority through the line of Imams descended from 'Ali: the smaller of the two main divisions of Islam, accounting for about 1/6 of all muslims today: "Shi'i" is the adjective form

Question 31

sunnah

Answer 31

the "life-example" of Muhammad's words and deeds, based mainly on the hadith literature; the primary source of guidance for Muslims

Question 32

Sunni

Answer 32

muslims who trace succession to the prophet's authority through the caliphate, which lasted until the twentieth century; the larger of the two main divisions of Islam, accounting for about 5/6 of all muslims today

Question 33

surah

Answer 33

a chapter of the Qur'an: there are 11+ in all, arranged mainly in decreasing order of the length, except the first (Fatihah)

Question 34

tafsir

Answer 34

commentary on the Qur'an Based on one of three authoritative sources: The Qur'an itself, Hadith, and opinions of prophet's companions and their successors

Question 35

taqlid

Answer 35

following the ijtihad or legal opinion of a particular jurist

Question 36

ummah

Answer 36

the muslim community

Question 37

zakat

Answer 37

the prescribed welfare tax; 2.5 percent of each Muslim's accumulated wealth, collected by central treasuries in earlier times ut now donated to charities independently of state governments

Question 38

jahiliyyah

Answer 38

the ignorance time before islam, polytheistic, time of revenge of politics, the kaba had many idols and images of many religions

Question 39

Qur'an

Answer 39

nearly as long as the new testament | Muslims believe it contains the eternal word fo god, always recited in arabic,

Question 40

Five pillars of islam

Answer 40

``` Shahadah: profession of faith Salat: prayer Zakat: alms (charity) Ramadan Hajj ```

Question 41

ayat

Answer 41

verses of the qu'ran

Question 42

sunni schools of law

Answer 42

hanafi, maliki, shafr'i, hanbali

Question 43

shia schools of law

Answer 43

jafari

Question 44

ibn sina

Answer 44

980-1037 from buhara in central asia--refered to as second teacher after Aristotle Physician philosopher astronomer extremley influential

Question 45

al ghazali

Answer 45

1058-1111 from Iran Mystical understanding of God "incoherence of philosophers" denies idea of using causality to prove existence of god

Question 46

Averroes

Answer 46

12th century port of Spain wrote response to "incoherence of incoherence" argues that al gazhali misintreprets aristotle says philosophy to understand god for elite religion is to understand god for uneducated masses

Question 47

sufism

Answer 47

mystical religion 3rd largest sect of islam strong emphasis on repetitive ritual know god ecstatic state to communicate w god

Question 48

Abu Bakr

Answer 48

who Sunnis believed should succeed muhamad