Islamic History

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ijma

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referring to the consensus of the populus of the ummah. in reality, instead of the community, the consensus is just of the traditional islamic scholars. as muhammad states that his community will never agree upon an error validates the ummah.

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hadith

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traditions relating to the words of muhammad. these began with the first fitna of the 7th century. because they are prone to interpretation, they are also very prone to mistranslation.

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mu'tazilah

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a school of thought in islam. originated in the 8th century when Wasil ibn Ata left the teachings of al-Hasan Basri over a theological dispute. sought to ground their islamic truths with reason.

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sunna

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the way of the prophet. the religious actions instituted by muhammad during his ministry. these have been recorded as hadiths.

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isnad

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the isnad is the chain of narrators of a hadith.

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Ignaz Goldsiher

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considered by many to be one of the founders of modern islamic study. first jewish professor to be a professor at Budapest University. held islam in very high regard, though he himself was jewish.

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hassan al-basri

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well known islamic scholar. born in medina, became a teacher at Basra, and two of his students went on to form the mutazillah. a great supporter of orthodoxy.

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mamluk

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a slave soldier who was converted to islam and served the muslim caliphs. they seized power for themselves on more than one occaision.

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usul al-fiqh

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the study of the history, practices and sources of islamic law. there are four major sources, the quran, the sunnah, the ijma and qiyas.

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joseph schacht

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professor at colombia university. considered by many to be the leading western scholar on islamic law during his time.

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wali

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translated to friend of god. usually referred to those who had a special mystic relationship with god.

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sahih bukhari

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one of the six sunni major hadith collections. Sunni view this as their most trusted collection.

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al-hallah

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a persian mystic, writer, and teacher of Sufism. seen as controversial by some because of his claim of "i am god" while in a trance.

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jiza

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a town in Egypt on the west bank of the nile river.

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allah ibn tulun

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founder of the brief Tulunic dynasty in egypt. originally sent by the abassid caliph to act as governor, Tulun rejected this and declared himself an independent king.

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batin-zahir

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one of those who distinguished an inner meaning to the quran in addition to the outer, exoteric meaning (zahir)

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zunnar

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the distinguishing belt that dhimmis were required to wear as identification.

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zanj revolt

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a revolt led by Ali ibn Muhammad that took place near Basra in Iraq. fought for a purer form of islam while some slaves fought for better treatment. was a rebellion against the central government of samarra.

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mashad

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one of the largest cities in current iran and one of the holiest cities in islam. once considered a place of martyrdom.

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bat ye-or

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a british writer who specializes in the history of non muslims in teh middle east. known for employing the term dhimmitude regarding the treatment of the dhimmi. concerned with the idea of conversion.

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samanids

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persian dynasty in iran who revived persian culture and propogated Islam.

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mawlid

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the celebration of the birthday of muhammad. celebrated with decorated homes and food as well as processions.

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yohanon friedman

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isreali scholar on islamic studies. studies focus on islamic religious thought and tolerance in the law among islam. believed islam held itself in superiority to other religions and peoples.

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buyid

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persian shi'a dynasty. known as formidable soldiers. also previously served as mercenaries for sassanian kings previous to their rule.

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umayyad caliphate

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the first great dynasty of the muslim caliphate. initially of great opposition to the hashim clan, they eventually embraced islam. Muawiyha and Uthman were among first rulers.

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al-askari shrine

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one of most important Shi'ite mosques in the world. the remains of the 10th and 11th imams rest at the site, and it is adjacent to the shrine of the 12th imam.

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Imam al-Shafi

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became the basis for islamic law. known for developing a systematic procedure for islamic legal reasoning.

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subaltern

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someone of lower status such as the dhimmi.

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minah

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created by al Ma'mun, it was a questioning of the scholars and elites where they had to publicly state their belief in an eternal and unending quran as well as their allegiance to mamun.