so.... anyways Flashcards
(25 cards)
Islam
Derived from a root word meaning “surrender” or “submission”
Qur’an
Islam’s primary sacred text, regarded by Muslims as the direct words of Allah, revealed to Muhammad through the archangel Gabriel
Arabic: “reading” or “recitation”
Hijra
The emigration of Muhammad and his followers from Mecca to Yathrib (thereafter called Medina) in AD 622; the founding event of the Muslim community
Arabic: “emigration”
AH
Muslims base their system for assigning dates on the event of the Hijra, using the abbreviation AH, meaning anno Hegirae (“in the year of the Hijra”)
Ex. AD 622 = AH 1
Sunna
The teachings and actions of Muhammad recorded in writings known as hadith, which provide the model for being Muslim; Islam’s second most important authority (after the Qur’an)
Arabic: “custom” or “tradition”
sura
“chapter” in the Qur’an
Umma
The community of all Muslims
Arabic: “community”
Shari’a
The divine law, derived from the Qur’an and the Sunna, encompassing all and setting forth in detail how Muslims are to live
Five Pillars
- Specific religious and ethical requirements for Muslims: the confession of faith (Shahada), prayer or worship, fasting during Ramadan, wealth sharing, and the pilgrimage to Mecca (hajj)
Shahada
The confession of faith, the first of the Five Pillars and central creedal statement of Islam: “There is no god except God. Muhammad is the messenger of God.”
Arabic: “witnessing”
mosque
The Muslim place or building of worship, traditionally including a prayer hall and courtyard, with towers called minarets at the corners
imam
The leader of the Friday worship service who directs the prayers and delivers a sermon
Arabic: “leader”
Ramadan
The ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar, a period during which Muslims fast, in accordance with the third of the Five Pillars
hajj / haj
The fifth of the Five Pillars; the journey to Mecca that all Muslims are to make at least once in their lifetime, if they can afford it and are physically able
Ka’ba
The stone cubical structure in the courtyard of the Great Mosque of Mecca, believed to have been built by Abraham and regarded by Muslims as the sacred center of the earth
jihad
Sometimes counted as the sixth pillar of Islam, the general spiritual struggle to be a devout Muslim. In a more narrow context, jihad sometimes is used to refer to armed struggle (holy war) for the sake of Islam
Arabic: “exertion” or “struggle”
caliphs
The military and political leaders of the Muslim community who succeeded Muhammad after his death
Arabic: “successors”
al-jabar
Mathematical system invented by Persian mathematician Al-Khwarizmi around 820 CE (during the time when Muslims, Jews, and Christians lived next to each other in Muslim Spain)
Sunni
The division of Islam practiced by most Muslims, named after the Sunna
Shi’i
The division of Islam dominant in Iraq and Iran, originating as a result of an early dispute over leadership; distinguishable from Sunni Islam mainly by its figure of the Imam and strong messianic expectations
shi’at ‘Ali, meaning “partisans of Ali”
Imam Shi Islam
For Shi’i Islam, an early successor to Muhammad and leader of Islam (most Shi’is acknowledge twelve Imams), believed to have special spiritual insight
Sufi
An adherent of Sufism, the form of Islam characterized by a mystical approach to Allah, who is experienced inwardly
Sufism was derived from the word suf, referring to the coarse wool garment traditionally worn by Sufis
shaykh
A teacher and master in Islam, such as the leader of an order in Sufism
al-fana
The extinction of one’s sense of separate existence before achieving union with Allah; the aim of Sufi mystics
Arabic: “extinction”
