History Chapter 8: The Islamic World

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pre-islamic mecca

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city that was an important trading outpost before the introduction of islam; contained a ka'ba with many religious relics and was very earthly

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ka'ba

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a temple containing a black stone thought to be a god's dwelling place

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muhammad

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young merchant who married the widow khadija and had a profound religious vision that commanded him to preach the revelation of God to the wicked city of mecca. his work led to the foundation of islam

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qur'an

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the definitive authoritative published version of the revelations of God given to Muhammad throughout his lifetime

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hadiths

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collections of the sayings of or anecdotes about muhammad

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islam

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literally meaning "submission to God", the religion founded by Muhammad

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muslim

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literally meaning "a person who submits", a follower of islam

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five pillars of islam

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the fundamental obligations of islam that distinguish it from from christianity and judaism

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islamic expansion

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the spread of islam from the iberian heartlands to northern india and elsewhere in the world

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jihad

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holy war

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rashidun caliphs

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the "rightly guided" succession of caliphs

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abu bakr

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first caliph that governed on the basis of his personal prestige within the umma; father-in-law of muhammad; sent out military expeditions, collected taxes, dealt with tribes, and led the community in prayer

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umar

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2nd caliph that exerted his authority over the bedouin tribes involved in ongoing conquests; under his rule the rest of arabia converted to islam

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uthman

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3rd caliph who asserted the right of the caliph to protect the economic interests of the entire umma; published a definitive text of the qur'an and was concerned with unity; under his rule, islam spread to egypt and mesopotamia

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ali

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4th caliph who had been passed over three times for the title; cousin and son-in-law of muhammad; one of the first converts and had been named imam of the religion; assassinated in a civil war

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shi'ites

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division with the muslim faith led to this group that supported ali; emphasized blood descent from ali and claimed to possess divine knowledge that muhammad had given them as his heirs; interpretation of qur'an and sunna by imam, or descendant of the prophet

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sunnis

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this group of muslims adhered to the practice and beliefs of the umma, based on the precedents of the prophet. situations were solved based on the qur'an and the sunna; interpretation of qur'an and sunna by ulama, or group of scholars

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abbasid caliphate

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caliphate after the umayyad caliphate; centered in baghdad; established a basis for rule and citizenship more cosmopolitan and islamic than umayyad rule; patronized ulama, built mosques, and supported scholarship; borrowed heavily from persian culture; flourishing intellectual culture

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fatimids

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a shi'ite dynasty who claimed descent from muhammad's daughter fatima and conquered the abbasid province of egypt, fouding the city of cairo as their capital

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turks, mongols, and islam

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the islamic world fell to the invading turks and the caliph became a puppet to the sultan; later the mongols swept through the muslim world and extended their conquests; both groups accepted islamic culture and injected new vigor into the spirit of islam

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dhimmis

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literally meaning "protected peoples", the jews, christians, and zoroastrians that formed the third class in islamic society

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cordoba

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city in southern spain that competed with baghdad for teh cultural leadership in the islamic world; well paved and lighted streets, abundant supplies of fresh water; cultural center of spain

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madrasas

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schools for the study of muslim law and religious science

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muslim medicine

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this knowledge far surpassed that of the west; encyclopedic treatise published, translated, and circulated widely; first time a distinction had been made between measles and smallpox; important work on cauterization of wounds and crushing of stones in the bladder; al'qanun published, which codified all medical thought

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sufism

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mystical tradition of islam in which followers wanted a personal union with God-divine love and knowledge through intuition rather than through rational deduction and study of the shari'a; followers were ascetics

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dar-al-islam

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literally meaning "house of islam", territories where the majority of the people were muslims

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dar-al-harb

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literally meaning "house of war", regions where most were christians or other non-muslims