How did revelation begin?
It began with true dreams for six months, then with the angel's coming to the cave of Hira in Ramadan, bringing the opening verses of Surat al-Alaq when the Prophet was forty years old; then a short pause, then the descent of the opening verses of al-Muddaththir, with the command to arise and warn, as presented in al-Raheeq al-Makhtum.How did the Prophet live before prophethood?
An orphan, he grew up in the desert of the Banu Sa'd and then in the care of his grandfather and then of his uncle. He herded sheep, travelled for trade, and married Khadija at the age of twenty-five. He was known among his people as al-Amin (the trustworthy) and kept away from idol worship, as presented in al-Raheeq al-Makhtum.How were the Arabs ruled before Islam?
The Arabs did not have one king. There were crowned kings subject to the Persians or the Romans in Yemen, al-Hira and Syria, independent tribal chiefs in the deserts, and in Mecca a religious government whose offices were distributed among the clans of Quraysh.What are angels?
The angels are servants of God made of light who carry out His commands. They include Jibril, charged with revelation; Mika'il, charged with provision; Israfil, charged with the trumpet; the Angel of Death; and the guardians of the Fire and of Paradise.What are the five pillars of Islam?
The five pillars of Islam, as the authentic hadith lists them, are: the testimony that there is no god but God and that Muhammad is the Messenger of God; establishing the prayer; giving zakat; fasting in Ramadan; and pilgrimage to the House for those able to make it.What are the jinn?
The jinn are a hidden world of God's rational creatures who bear religious obligation. They mingle with humans, and some believe while others disbelieve. Surat al-Jinn reports their acceptance of Islam.What are the karamat of the saints?
A karama is an extraordinary event that God brings about through a righteous friend of God (wali). Ahl al-Sunna affirmed it, in disagreement with the Mu'tazila, and jurists distinguished it from the miracle (mu'jiza) and from sorcery (sihr).What are the two Eids in Islam?
There are two Eids in the year: Eid al-Fitr, after Ramadan, and Eid al-Adha, in Dhu al-Hijja on the day of sacrifice. Each has a congregational prayer on the morning of the Eid.What did the Arabs believe before Islam?
Most Arabs practised polytheism and idol worship, though remnants of the religion of Ibrahim survived, such as the hajj and the circumambulation of the House. Jews lived in Yathrib, Khaybar, Tayma and Yemen; Christians in Najran, Syria and al-Hira; Magians in the Arab lands of Iraq and in Bahrain; and there were remnants of the Sabians.What did the Farewell Sermon say about intercalation and the calendar?
An answer on the calendar passage of the Farewell Sermon as Ibn Ishaq transmits it: intercalation as an increase in unbelief, time having come round, and the twelve months with four sacred.What is adab in Islam?
Adab is good character, good conduct, humility and rejection of folly. It includes the adab of the seeker of knowledge, the adab of the teacher and the adab of the road. In the view of the early scholars (al-salaf), it is the pivot of Islam.What is the adhan?
The adhan is a public call to prayer in a fixed form: Allahu akbar, the two testimonies of faith, hayya 'ala al-salah, and hayya 'ala al-falah.What is the aqiqa?
The aqiqa is the sacrifice of two sheep for a boy and one for a girl on the seventh day after birth, together with shaving the head and naming the child. According to the majority of scholars, it is a sunna.What is Ashura?
Ashura is the tenth of Muharram. The Prophet fasted it in thanks for the deliverance of Musa and prescribed it as a sunna. Al-Husayn ibn Ali was martyred on that day, which made it a day of particular importance for the Shia.What is the barzakh?
The barzakh is the barrier between this world and the Hereafter: life in the grave after death, in which the dead person is questioned about his Lord, his Prophet and his religion, according to Ahl al-Sunna.What is birr al-walidayn?
Birr is obedience to one's parents and kindness toward them. The Quran links it with the oneness of God, and in hadith it is counted among the greatest deeds after the prayer.What is Bukhara?
Bukhara is a capital of learning in Transoxiana: the city of al-Bukhari and the birthplace of Ibn Sina. It has the Ark of the Samanids, the Kalyan Minaret, and madrasas spanning five centuries.What is Cairo?
Al-Qahira al-Mu'izziyya is the city of al-Mu'izz li-Din Allah al-Fatimi. Jawhar founded it in 969. It has al-Azhar, the greatest surviving university of Islam, the Citadel of Salah al-Din, and a museum of Mamluk architecture.What is Damascus?
Damascus, al-Sham, is the oldest continuous capital in history. It was the capital of the Umayyads for ninety-six years, and it has the Umayyad Mosque, the shrines of the Ahl al-Bayt, and the school of Ibn Taymiyya and Ibn 'Asakir.What is dhikr in Islam?
Dhikr is the remembrance of God in the heart and on the tongue. It is one of the forms of worship a Muslim practises often, and scholars have compiled many books on it.What is the difference between the Quran and hadith?
The Quran is the revealed speech of God, recited as an act of worship. Hadith is what was transmitted from the Prophet in saying, action and tacit approval, and it is accepted according to the rules governing its chain of transmission (isnad) and its text (matn).What is the difference between Sunnis and Shia?
The basic difference between Sunnis and Shia concerns the imamate after the Prophet: whether it is known by explicit text or by choice and consultation, and who is to be put forward. Differences in jurisprudence, history and creed branch out from it.What is dua?
Dua is the servant's humble turning to God in request. The Quran commands it and promises a response, and scholars have called it the essence of worship.What is a fatwa?
A fatwa is a statement of the sharia ruling on a particular case, issued by a qualified mufti. Unlike a judicial ruling, it does not bind by itself; it binds those who choose to follow it.What is Fez?
Fez is the capital of the Idrisids and of learning in Morocco. It has al-Qarawiyyin, the oldest continuously operating university in the world, and its old city is the largest living medieval city without cars.What is fiqh?
Fiqh is the science of deriving practical rulings from their evidence. It took shape in major schools of law, among them the Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i, Hanbali and Ja'fari schools.What is ghiba?
Backbiting (ghiba) is speaking of your brother in his absence in a way he would dislike. Scholars count it among the major sins, and the Qur'an likened it to eating the flesh of the dead.What is ghusl?
Ghusl is the major ritual purification of the whole body with water after janaba (major ritual impurity), menstruation and postpartum bleeding. It is a condition for the validity of prayer for one who is in a major state of impurity.What is Granada?
Granada was the last kingdom of al-Andalus: the emirate of the Banu al-Ahmar (Nasrids), 1238–1492, home of the Alhambra, the jewel of Islamic architecture. Its fall closed eight Islamic centuries in Iberia.What is the Prophetic hadith?
The Prophetic hadith is what was transmitted from the Prophet in word, deed or tacit approval. For Muslims it is the second source of legislation after the Qur'an.What is the Hajj?
Hajj is the intention to visit the Sacred House in Mecca to perform its specific rites, and it is an obligation on whoever is able to make the journey. This is a short answer about its meaning and origin.What is halal?
Halal is what the Sacred Law permits of actions, foods and earnings. Its opposite is haram. In matters of food it applies especially to meat slaughtered in the lawful manner.What is haya?
Haya (modesty) is a virtue of Islam: restraining oneself from what is shameful out of fear of blame. The Prophet said, 'Modesty is a branch of faith, and modesty brings only good.'What is the hijab?
Hijab is a Muslim woman's covering of her adornment from those who are not her mahram (unmarriageable kin). According to the majority of scholars it is one of the obligations of dress, and its forms vary across cultures.What is the Hijra, and why does the Islamic calendar begin with it?
The Hijra was the migration of the Prophet Muhammad and his Companions from Mecca to Medina in 622 CE. The Hijri calendar is counted from it.What is ihram?
Ihram is the intention to enter the rites of Hajj or Umrah, with their uniform garb and abstention from what is forbidden in them. It begins at the fixed places of entry (mawaqit).What is ihsan in Islam?
Ihsan is one of the three levels of religion: to worship God as though you see Him, and if you do not see Him, then He sees you.What is ijma?
Ijma is the agreement of the community's qualified scholars on a legal ruling. It is the third source of jurisprudence according to the majority of jurists, and its proof is prophetic reports about the community being preserved from error.What is ijtihad?
Ijtihad is the exertion of effort to derive a ruling from the sources. The restricted form belongs to the jurist-mufti who issues fatwas; the unrestricted form belongs to one who reaches the rank of competence for legal derivation.What is ikhlas?
Ikhlas is purifying one's intention for God alone, without showing off. It is a condition for the acceptance of deeds and their foundation. Surat al-Ikhlas is said to equal a third of the Qur'an in merit.What is knowledge in Islam?
Knowledge in Islam is a broad gate of virtue. Seeking it is an obligation according to a well-known report, and the Qur'an honoured its people when it spoke of God raising those who have knowledge in rank.What is iman in Islam?
Iman is affirmation of the articles of belief: belief in God, His angels, His books, His messengers, the Last Day and divine decree, as the Prophet explained them in the Hadith of Gabriel.What is Islam?
Islam is the name of the religion brought by the Prophet Muhammad. In the well-known hadith its meaning is that a person worships God alone, performs the prayer, pays zakat, fasts in Ramadan and makes the pilgrimage to the House for whoever is able.What are the Isra and Miraj?
The Isra and Miraj are a night journey of the Prophet Muhammad from the Sacred Mosque to the Al-Aqsa Mosque, then his ascent through the heavens. The tradition narrates it, and in it the five daily prayers were enjoined.What are Istanbul and Constantinople?
Istanbul is Constantinople before its conquest. Mehmed II conquered it in 1453, and it served as the Ottoman capital for five centuries. It is home to Hagia Sophia, the Süleymaniye and Topkapı.What is istikhara?
Istikhara is two units of prayer followed by a supplication in which a Muslim asks God for what is better in a matter he is undecided about. The Prophet taught it to his Companions just as he taught them a surah.What is itikaf?
I'tikaf is staying in the mosque for worship and withdrawal from preoccupations. It is best known in the last ten nights of Ramadan.What is Jahannam?
Jahannam is the fire of the Hereafter and God's punishment for disbelievers and wrongdoers. The Qur'an describes it with its levels, chains and boiling water, and with punishment that is eternal, or limited for the people of grave sins.What is the funeral prayer?
The funeral prayer is supplication for the deceased, performed standing without bowing or prostration. It consists of four takbirs, with the Fatiha, blessings upon the Prophet and supplication, and it is a collective obligation (fard kifaya).What is Jannah?
Jannah is the everlasting abode of bliss for believers. The Qur'an describes its rivers, its palaces and a bliss no eye has seen, and its highest level is al-Firdaws.What are Jerusalem and Bayt al-Maqdis?
Jerusalem is the city of the prophets, home of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock. It is the first of the two qiblas, the third of the sacred sanctuaries, and the site of the Prophet's night journey. Umar conquered it in 638, and Saladin liberated it in 1187.What is jihad?
Jihad is the exertion of effort in seeking God's pleasure. The books of jurisprudence give it graded meanings, from the struggle against the self to the struggle by hand and fighting in the way of God.What is the Friday prayer?
Friday prayer is the weekly congregational noon prayer held on Friday, preceded by two sermons. According to most jurists it is obligatory for men.What is the Kaaba?
The Kaaba is a structure in the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca. Muslims face it in their prayers, pilgrims circle it, and it is the site of the Sacred House.What is Karbala?
Karbala is an Iraqi city where al-Husayn ibn Ali and his household were killed on 10 Muharram 61 AH/680 CE. His tomb is among the greatest shrines of the Shia.What is the caliphate?
The caliphate is the leadership of the community after the Prophet. It was held by the Rightly Guided caliphs, then by the Umayyad, Abbasid and Ottoman states, until its abolition in 1924.What is khitan?
Circumcision is the removal of the male foreskin. Jurists count it among the practices of the natural disposition (fitra), and it is an established custom in both religious law and local custom, whose forms vary between countries.What is the khutba?
The khutba is an address given before the Friday prayer and on the two Eid prayers. It includes praise of God, admonition of the Muslims, and supplication for them.What is Konya?
Konya is a Turkish city. It was the capital of the Seljuks of Rum, then the home and burial place of Jalal al-Din Rumi, and the centre of the Mevlevi order and its whirling ritual (devran).What is Laylat al-Qadr?
The Night of Power is the night in Ramadan when the Quran was revealed, and it is better than a thousand months. It is sought in the last ten nights, and according to most scholars its most hoped-for nights are the odd ones.What is the Islamic madrasa?
The madrasa is the historical Islamic institution of learning, from the Nizamiyya of Baghdad to al-Azhar, al-Qarawiyyin and al-Zaytuna, and up to today.What is al-Masjid al-Haram?
The Masjid al-Haram is the mosque of Mecca in which the Kaaba stands. It is the qibla of the Muslims and the place where the rites of Hajj and Umrah are performed.What is the Mawlid?
The Mawlid is the celebration of the Prophet's birth in Rabi al-Awwal. It spread from the Fatimid period, and scholars have disagreed about it, between those who permit it and those who reject it.What is Mecca?
Mecca is Umm al-Qura. It is the birthplace of the Prophet, the home of the Kaaba and the Haram, the qibla of the Muslims, and the destination of pilgrimage to the Ancient House. It lies in a valley without cultivation, at the spring of Zamzam.What is Medina?
Medina, formerly called Yathrib, is the city of the Hijra and the first state of Islam, and it holds the Mosque of the Prophet and his grave. It was the capital of the caliphs up to Ali, and the knowledge of the Companions and the Successors remained there.What is the mihrab?
The mihrab is the recess in the qibla wall by which Muslims know the direction of prayer. It is among the oldest elements of mosque architecture and the most artistically inventive.What is the minaret?
The minaret is the tower of the mosque from which the call to prayer is given. The first Islamic minaret dates from the Umayyad period, and its forms then varied, from the minaret of Marrakesh to the minarets of Istanbul.What is the minbar?
The minbar is the platform from which the preacher ascends to deliver the Friday sermon. It began as three steps in the Prophet's mosque and became one of the greatest arts of Islamic woodwork.What is the miswak?
The miswak is cleaning the mouth with a twig from the arak tree. It is a Sunnah practised by the Prophet, and it remained a daily cleaning practice in many households up to today.What is the mosque?
The mosque is the congregational house of worship of the Muslims. The first was the Quba Mosque, then the Mosque of the Prophet. Throughout history, prayer, teaching, assembly and judgement have all been held in it.What is nikah?
Nikah is the valid legal contract of marriage in Islam. According to the majority of schools, its pillars are offer, acceptance, the guardian (wali) and the witnesses.What is niyya in worship?
Niyya is the intention that an action is directed by. As the well-known hadith says, actions are by intentions. Scholars distinguish an intention that tells acts of worship apart from one another, and an intention by which an act is recognised as sought for nearness to God.What is qadar in Islam?
In Islamic belief, qadar means that God created creation with His knowledge, decreed for them their measures and their terms, and that everything proceeds by His will. This is one of the articles of faith concerning qadar.What is the qibla?
The qibla is the direction of the Noble Kaaba that Muslims face in prayer. It was changed from Bayt al-Maqdis (Jerusalem) to the Kaaba while the community was in Medina.What is the month of Ramadan?
Ramadan is the ninth month of the Hijri year. Muslims fast in it from dawn to sunset, and the Quran was revealed in it, as the Quran itself mentions.What is riya?
Riya is seeking reputation and standing through worship. Scholars regard it as a hidden form of shirk, a blight that nullifies good deeds.What is sabr?
Sabr is restraining the self from distress and the tongue from complaint; according to the majority it is half of faith, and its fruit is reward without reckoning.What is sadaqa in Islam?
In Islam, sadaqa is broader than giving money: it includes every act of goodness. It is distinct from the obligatory zakat, which has its own conditions and recipients.What is the sai?
Sai is walking between al-Safa and al-Marwa seven times during hajj and umrah, in commemoration of Hajar searching for water for her son Ismail.What is salah?
Salah is the second pillar of Islam: five obligatory prayers each day, in which the Muslim stands before God through standing, bowing and prostration.What is Samarra?
Samarra was the Abbasid capital for half a century, 836–892. Al-Mu'tasim built it, and it contains the Great Mosque of al-Mutawakkil, the spiral minaret of al-Malwiya, and the wall of the two Askari imams.What are sanad and isnad?
A sanad is the chain of narrators of a hadith back to the Prophet. With it Muslims built the science of verifying transmitted reports, which is unique in the history of human transmission.What is the shahada in Islam?
The shahada is the testimony that there is no god but God and that Muhammad is the Messenger of God. It is the first of the pillars, and by it a person enters Islam.What is the sharia?
Sharia is the Islamic normative framework encompassing worship, dealings and ethics. Its sources are the Quran and the Sunna, and the schools of jurisprudence apply it.What is the Prophetic sira?
The Prophetic sira is the science of reports on the life of the Prophet from his birth to his death. One of its oldest books is the Sira of Ibn Hisham, transmitted on the authority of Ibn Ishaq.What is Sufism?
Sufism is the Islamic spiritual heritage of purifying the soul and sincerity. It was organized by Sufi paths (turuq) such as the Qadiriyya, Naqshbandiyya, Shadhiliyya and Mawlawiyya.What is tafsir?
Tafsir is the disclosure of the meanings of the Quran, its occasions of revelation and its rulings. Its written heritage runs from al-Tabari, al-Zamakhshari, al-Razi and Ibn Kathir to the modern age.What is talaq?
Talaq is the dissolution of the marriage contract by a specific formula. In a hadith it is the most disliked of lawful things to God, and according to the jurists it carries rules on the waiting period, return and khul'.What is taqwa?
Taqwa is the servant placing between himself and what he fears and guards against a protection that shields him from it. The Quran repeats this meaning when it commands worship.What is taraweeh?
Taraweeh is the congregational night prayer of Ramadan, performed after isha. According to Ahl al-Sunna it is a confirmed sunna, and it intensifies in the last ten nights.What is tasbih?
Tasbih is saying 'Subhan Allah'. It is the best-known formula of remembrance after prayer and at all times, and according to many, the thirty-three glorifications after prayer are a sunna.What is tawaf?
Tawaf is circling the Kaaba seven times, beginning and ending at the Black Stone. It is a pillar of hajj and umrah, and it is recommended on entering the Sacred Mosque.What is tawakkul?
Tawakkul is the heart's reliance on God together with taking the means. Its way is 'tie it and then rely', so it is worship and not the abandonment of effort.What is tawhid?
Tawhid is affirming God's sole divinity and denying Him any partner or equal. It is the root of Islamic belief.What is the afterlife in Islam?
The afterlife is the belief in life after death, which includes resurrection, reckoning, Paradise and Hell. It is one of the articles of belief treated in works of theology and hadith.What is the Quran?
The Noble Quran is the speech of God revealed to the Prophet Muhammad. Muslims recite it in prayer and outside it, and it is the primary reference for belief and rulings.What is the ummah?
The ummah is the one community of believers, crossing races and lands. It is a community of creed, not of ethnicity, from the time of the Charter of Medina to the present day.What is the ummah in Islam?
The ummah is the community of Muslims throughout the world. In the Quran it is one nation that transcends race, tribe and state, and its bond is creed and faith-based brotherhood.What is umrah?
Umrah is visiting the Sacred House with ihram, tawaf, sai and taqsir, at any time of the year, and it is called the lesser hajj.What is the walima?
The walima is the wedding feast. The Prophet commanded it, saying 'Hold a walima, even if only with a sheep', and its customs vary between lands, from a household's table to a people's festive season.What is the waqf?
Waqf is the holding of a principal asset and the devotion of its yield to works of charity. Mosques, schools, hospitals and public fountains in Islamic civilization were established and sustained by it.What is wudu?
Wudu is the minor water purification that the Qur'an made obligatory before prayer: washing the face and the hands up to the elbows, wiping the head, and washing the feet.What is zakat?
Zakat is an obligatory charity due from a Muslim who has the means, under specific conditions; it is one of the pillars of Islam, and the Qur'an mentions it alongside prayer.What is zakat al-fitr?
Zakat al-fitr is an obligatory charity at the end of Ramadan: a sa' of food for each person, paid to the poor before the Eid prayer as a purification for the fasting person.What is visiting graves?
Visiting graves is for prayer for the dead and remembrance of death; the Prophet permitted it after an earlier prohibition, its customs differ between countries, and scholars reject the excesses that occur within it.What is zuhd?
Zuhd is abstaining from what does not benefit one in the afterlife and turning away from the adornments of this world; it is a quality of the Prophet and the righteous, and in the view of scholars one of the paths of self-purification.What was al-Andalus?
Al-Andalus is the Iberian Peninsula under Islamic rule, 711-1492; centuries of civilization in Cordoba, Granada and Toledo that ended with the fall of Granada.What was Arab society like before Islam?
A tribal society founded on group solidarity (asabiyya): women were honoured among the nobles and humiliated in other circles; there were several forms of marriage, the burying of daughters alive, and the spread of zina; livelihood came from trade in the sacred months and from herding; and it had noble qualities such as generosity, loyalty and self-respect, as presented in al-Raheeq al-Makhtum.What was the Battle of Ayn Jalut?
Ayn Jalut, 658 AH / 1260 CE; the first major defeat of the Mongols, led by the Mamluks under Qutuz and Baybars, which halted the Mongol advance on Syria and Egypt.What was the greater Battle of Badr?
The Greater Badr, 17 Ramadan 2 AH / 624 CE; the first decisive battle of Islam, in which 313 Muslims were granted victory over a thousand of Quraysh, and in which the chieftains of polytheism were killed.What was the Bayt al-Hikma?
The House of Wisdom, the library of Baghdad and the observatory of al-Ma'mun; the largest scholarly institution of its time, which brought together translation, composition and observation in the third and fourth centuries AH.What was Cordoba?
Cordoba, capital of the Umayyad al-Andalus; the largest city in Europe in the tenth century, with its Great Mosque, its great library, and its golden age in government and learning.What was the conquest of Constantinople in 1453?
The conquest of Constantinople by Mehmed II in 1453, after a siege of 53 days; it ended the Byzantine Empire, fulfilled the Prophet's glad tidings, and began the Ottoman era.What was the conquest of Mecca?
The conquest of Mecca, Ramadan 8 AH / 630 CE; the Prophet entered it with ten thousand men without any notable fighting, proclaimed a general amnesty, and cleansed the Ka'ba of idols.What was the Battle of Hattin?
Hattin, 583 AH / 1187 CE; Saladin crushed the armies of the Crusaders there, captured the King of Jerusalem, and recovered Jerusalem (Bayt al-Maqdis) after 88 years.What was the Treaty of Hudaybiyya?
Hudaybiyya, Dhu al-Qa'da 6 AH / 628 CE; a treaty between the Prophet and Quraysh whose outward appearance was hardship and whose inner reality was victory; the Qur'an called it a clear victory.What was the Battle of Hunayn?
Hunayn, 8 AH / 630 CE, after the conquest of Mecca; it was fought against Hawazin and Thaqif, and the Muslims at first wavered because of their large numbers, then God granted them victory, and they seized the property and captives of the enemy, as far as al-Ta'if.What were the Battles of the Trench and the Confederates?
The Trench, Shawwal 5 AH / 627 CE; the Confederates besieged Medina, Salman dug a trench around it, and the Muslims held out for a month until God turned back the Confederates with a wind and cold.What was the Battle of Mutah?
Mu'ta, Jumada al-Ula 8 AH / 629 CE; the first encounter between Muslims and the Byzantines; the three commanders Zayd, Ja'far and Abdullah ibn Rawaha were martyred there, and Khalid brought the army to safety.What was the Battle of al-Qadisiyya?
Qadisiyya, 15 AH / 636 CE; Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas defeated Rustam of Persia there and conquered al-Mada'in, and the Sasanian state came to an end with it.What was the expedition of Tabuk?
Tabuk, Rajab 9 AH / 630 CE, the last of the Prophet's expeditions; thirty thousand set out in hardship and heat to meet the Byzantines, but met no one there, and it exposed the hypocrites.What was the Abbasid caliphate?
The Abbasid caliphate (750-1258), the caliphate of the Banu al-Abbas from Baghdad; its golden age was in learning, translation and trade, and then came its successive kingdoms, down to Mongol Baghdad.What was the Delhi Sultanate?
The Delhi Sultanate (1206-1526), a succession of Muslim kingdoms in northern India; it brought Islam into India as a state power and built sultanate architecture, including the Qutb Minar.What was the Fatimid caliphate?
The Fatimid caliphate (909-1171), an Isma'ili caliphate first in North Africa and then in Egypt; it founded Cairo and al-Azhar, and ruled for about two and a half centuries.What was the Islamic Golden Age?
The Golden Age: centuries of scientific flourishing, from Abbasid Baghdad to al-Andalus and Fatimid Egypt; in it the heritage was translated and scholars produced work in medicine, astronomy and mathematics.What was the Mongol invasion?
The Mongol invasion: the campaigns of Genghis Khan and his descendants against the Muslim world, 1219-1260; Baghdad was destroyed in 1258, and the Muslims halted the invasion at Ayn Jalut in 1260.What was the Ottoman Empire?
The Ottoman Empire was a Turkish Islamic sultanate that lasted six centuries, 1299–1922; it peaked with the conquest of Constantinople in 1453 and the reign of Suleiman the Lawgiver.What was the Safavid Empire?
The Safavid Empire (1501–1736) was an Iranian sultanate that made Twelver Shi'ism the religion of the state; its capital was Isfahan, during the most splendid age of Iranian architecture.What was the Seljuk Empire?
The Seljuk Empire (1037–1194) was a Sunni Turkish sultanate that protected the Abbasid caliphate. Its era saw Nizam al-Mulk and the Nizamiyya madrasas, and the Battle of Manzikert (Malazgirt) in 1071.What was the Umayyad caliphate?
The Umayyad Caliphate (661–750) was the first hereditary dynasty in Islam. Its capital was Damascus, and its reach extended from al-Andalus to Sind. The Abbasids overthrew it at the Zab.What was Timbuktu?
Timbuktu was a center of learning on the African Sahel. Its height came under the Mali and then the Songhai sultanates. Its universities, manuscripts and schools were among the best-known centers of African Islam.What was the Battle of Uhud?
Uhud, 7 Shawwal 3 AH / 625 CE, was a battle near Medina that Quraysh won after the archers left the mountain. Hamza and seventy Companions were martyred in it.What was the Battle of Yarmuk?
Yarmuk, Rajab 15 AH / August 636 CE, was a battle in which Khalid ibn al-Walid inflicted a great defeat on the Byzantines. It opened Syria to the conquest and brought Heraclius's rule there to an end.What were the Crusades?
The Crusades were Latin military campaigns against Syria and Jerusalem. They began with the fall of Antioch in 1097–1098 and of Jerusalem in 1099, and ended with the expulsion of the Crusaders from the East (Hasan Ibrahim Hasan, pp. 238, 243).Who are the Ahl al-Bayt?
The Ahl al-Bayt are the Prophet's kin, for whom charity is forbidden and from whom God removed impurity. In the Sunni view they are Ali, Fatima, al-Hasan and al-Husayn, and their uncle and their sons.Who are the Ansar and the Muhajirun?
The Muhajirun were the Muslims of Mecca who migrated to Medina, and the Ansar were the Muslims of Yathrib who sheltered and supported them. Both groups are mentioned in the Qur'an and in the sira literature.Who are the extinct, pure, and Arabized Arabs?
Historians divided the Arabs by lineage into three groups: the extinct Arabs, whose accounts are lost, such as 'Ad and Thamud; the pure Arabs, descended from Qahtan, whose homeland was Yemen; and the Arabized Arabs, descended from Ishmael and called the Adnanites, among whom were the Quraysh.Who led the Muslims after the Prophet's death?
After the Prophet's death, the Muslims chose Abu Bakr at the Saqifa, then Umar, then Uthman, then Ali. This is the order recognized in the Sunni tradition. The Shia believe that the Prophet designated Ali, and historians read these events in several ways.Who was Abd al-Qadir al-Jazairi?
Abd al-Qadir ibn Muhyi al-Din al-Jaza'iri (1808–1883) was the Emir of the Algerian resistance. He led it for fifteen years against the French occupation, then lived in Damascus as a protector of the Christians.Who was Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf?
Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf was one of the Ten promised Paradise, the richest of the merchants and the most pious of them. In the shura, Uthman was chosen caliph through him. He spent and spent until he entered Paradise, by God's leave.Who was Abu Bakr al-Siddiq?
Abu Bakr al-Siddiq was the first caliph. He was one of the first men to embrace Islam and the companion on the Hijra. He ruled for two years, united the Muslims against the apostates, and extended the conquests to Iraq and Syria.Who was Abu Dharr al-Ghifari?
Abu Dharr Jundab ibn Junada was one of the fourth or fifth Muslims, and the most truthful of them and the most steadfast in upholding the truth. The Prophet commended him, and he was exiled to al-Rabadha, where he died.Who was Abu Hanifa?
Al-Nu'man ibn Thabit, Abu Hanifa (699–767), was the imam of reasoned jurisprudence (ra'y) in Kufa. He was the first of the imams of the four schools of law and the one with the most followers in the Muslim world.Who was Abu Hurayra?
Abu Hurayra al-Dawsi was among the Companions who narrated the most hadith, despite having embraced Islam late. He accompanied the Prophet for four years and narrated thousands of hadiths from him.Who was Abu Ubayda ibn al-Jarrah?
Abu Ubayda was the trustee of this community. He was one of the Ten promised Paradise and the commander of the conquest of Syria, and he succeeded Khalid as commander of the army. He died in the plague of Amwas in 639.Who was Adam?
Adam was the father of humankind and the first prophet. God created him with His own hand, had the angels prostrate before him, settled him in the Garden, and then sent him down to earth as a vicegerent (khalifa).Who was Ahmad ibn Hanbal?
Ahmad ibn Hanbal (780–855) was the imam of the Sunna. He compiled his Musnad from about forty thousand hadiths. During the mihna he held firm to the view that the Qur'an is eternal, and he was flogged.Who was Aisha?
Aisha bint Abi Bakr, Mother of the Believers, was among the most prolific narrators of hadith and one of the Companions most learned in jurisprudence. She lived with the Prophet for nine years and narrated many hadiths from him.Who was Jalal al-Din Akbar?
Akbar (1542–1605) was the third Mughal emperor in India. He expanded the empire and married Rajput women, and he established the policy of sulh-i kull and the controversial Din-i Ilahi.Who was al-Khansa?
Tumadir bint Amr, known as al-Khansa (c. 575–645), was a poet of Mecca/al-Yamama and the foremost master of elegy in Arabic poetry. She embraced Islam along with her sons, and they were martyred at al-Qadisiyya.Who was Ali ibn Abi Talib?
Ali ibn Abi Talib was the fourth caliph, cousin of the Prophet and husband of Fatima. He was the first of the children to embrace Islam. His rule was consumed by civil strife until he was assassinated in 661.Who was Bilal ibn Rabah?
Bilal ibn Rabah was an Abyssinian Muslim whom Abu Bakr freed from torment; the first muezzin in Islam and one of the Companions most beloved to the Prophet.Who was al-Biruni?
Abu al-Rayhan al-Biruni (973–1048) was a Khwarazmian polymath and one of the greatest scholars of his age in astronomy, geography and the comparative study of religions and cultures.Who was Imam al-Bukhari?
Muhammad ibn Isma'il al-Bukhari (810–870) was an imam of hadith; he compiled his Sahih over sixteen years from six hundred thousand hadiths, so that it became the most authentic book after the Qur'an.Who was Dawud?
Dawud was a prophet of God and king of the Children of Israel; he killed Goliath with his sling, the Psalms (al-Zabur) were revealed to him, God softened iron for him, and the mountains glorified God along with him.Who was Fakhr al-Din al-Razi?
Fakhr al-Din al-Razi (1149–1209) was an imam of kalam and tafsir; he was the author of Mafatih al-Ghayb, the most complete exegesis of his age in dialectic and philosophy.Who was Fatima?
Fatima al-Zahra, daughter of the Prophet and wife of Ali ibn Abi Talib, mother of al-Hasan and al-Husayn; she died young, about six months after her father according to most accounts.Who was Fatima al-Fihri?
Fatima al-Fihri was a woman from Qayrawan who migrated to Fez and devoted her wealth to building the al-Qarawiyyin mosque around 859; it is described as the oldest continuously operating university in the world.Who was al-Ghazali?
Abu Hamid al-Ghazali (1058–1111), Hujjat al-Islam, was one of the great jurists of the Shafi'is, of kalam and of Sufism; he revived the religious sciences and refuted the philosophers and the Batiniyya.Who was Hamza ibn Abd al-Muttalib?
Hamza ibn Abd al-Muttalib, uncle of the Prophet and Master of the Martyrs, was among the bravest horsemen at Badr and Uhud; he was martyred at Uhud in 625, and the polytheists mutilated his body.Who was Harun al-Rashid?
Harun al-Rashid (763–809) was the fifth Abbasid caliph; the state reached the height of its power in his time, and its renown is linked to the stories of One Thousand and One Nights.Who was Ibn Abbas?
Abd Allah ibn Abbas, cousin of the Prophet, was the learned man of the community and interpreter of the Qur'an, the most knowledgeable of the Companions in tafsir despite his young age.Who was Ibn al-Athir?
Izz al-Din Ibn al-Athir (1160–1233), a historian of Mosul, wrote al-Kamil fi al-Tarikh, the most comprehensive annalistic Islamic history from the creation to his time.Who was Ibn Battuta?
Ibn Battuta (1304–1369) was the greatest traveller of the Middle Ages; he covered some 120,000 km across the Islamic world in three decades and wrote the Tuhfat al-Nuzzar.Who was Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani?
Ahmad ibn Hajar al-Asqalani (1372–1449), the hafiz of Egypt, was chief judge and the author of Fath al-Bari, the greatest commentary on al-Bukhari, as well as Lisan al-Mizan and Taqrib al-Tahdhib.Who was Ibn Khaldun?
Ibn Khaldun (1332–1406), a Tunisian historian and social thinker, is the author of the Muqaddima, regarded as the first science of society in history.Who was Ibn Sina?
Ibn Sina (980–1037), a philosopher and physician, is the author of The Canon of Medicine, a Western reference for centuries, and of al-Shifa' in philosophy; one of the greatest minds in history.Who was Ibn Taymiyya?
Taqi al-Din Ibn Taymiyya (1263–1328), a polemical Hanbali jurist, is among the most profound theorists of the Sunni heritage and an inspiration to modern reform; he was imprisoned repeatedly and died in the citadel.Who is Abraham in Islam?
Ibrahim is the father of the prophets according to Muslims; in the sira tradition he settled Hajar and his son Ismail in the valley of Mecca, and he is known, according to the familiar account, to have built the Ka'ba with his son.Who was Abraham, the Friend of God?
Ibrahim, the Friend of God and father of the prophets; he broke his people's idols, was saved from the fire of Nimrod, built the Ka'ba with Ismail, and all of prophethood came from his descendants.Who was Muhammad Iqbal?
Muhammad Iqbal (1877–1938), an Indian poet and philosopher writing in Urdu and Persian, called for the revival of the Islamic self and is considered the spiritual father of the idea of Pakistan.Who was Isa ibn Maryam?
Isa ibn Maryam, the Word of God and a spirit from Him; he was born without a father, the Gospel was revealed to him, he brought the dead to life by God's leave, and God raised him up to Himself.Who was Ismail?
Ismail ibn Ibrahim, known as al-Dhabih; his father left him as an infant in Mecca, God caused Zamzam to gush forth, he helped build the Ka'ba with his father, and from his line came the Arabized Arabs and Muhammad.Who was Jabir ibn Hayyan?
Jabir ibn Hayyan (c. 721–815) of Kufa, known as the father of chemistry; a vast body of work in chemistry, medicine and philosophy is attributed to him, along with the first description of laboratory instruments.Who was Jabir ibn Abdullah?
Jabir ibn Abd Allah al-Ansari (d. 697 CE) was the last of the Companions to die in Medina; he witnessed the Pledge of al-Aqaba and seventeen campaigns and narrated 1540 hadiths.Who was Khadija?
Khadija bint Khuwaylid, the first of the Prophet's wives and the first to believe in him, was Mecca's great merchant; she stood by him for fifteen years until her death before the Hijra.Who was Khalid ibn al-Walid?
Khalid ibn al-Walid, the Drawn Sword of God and one of the greatest military commanders of Islam. He was victorious at Mu'ta, and after embracing Islam he took part in the conquest of Syria, the conquest of Iraq and the battle of Yarmuk. He was never defeated.Who was al-Khwarizmi?
Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi (c. 780–850), a scholar of the House of Wisdom, who established algebra as an independent discipline; the term 'algorithm' in modern science comes from his name.Who was Malcolm X?
Malcolm X (1925–1965), an African American preacher in the Nation of Islam who turned to Sunni Islam after his pilgrimage, was assassinated in 1965 and became a global symbol of civil rights.Who was Malik ibn Anas?
Malik ibn Anas (711–795), Imam of the Abode of Migration; he compiled the Muwatta, making him the first to compile jurisprudence and hadith in Medina, and his approach was the practice of its people.Who was Mansa Musa?
Who was al-Masudi?
Abu al-Hasan al-Masudi (c. 896–956), a historian and geographer from Baghdad, author of Muruj al-Dhahab (The Meadows of Gold), and one of the pioneers of comparative cultural history.Who was Muadh ibn Jabal?
Muadh ibn Jabal, the most learned of the community in what is lawful and unlawful; the Prophet sent him as a judge and teacher to Yemen. He died young in the plague of Amwas in 639, and the scholars of his time agreed on his jurisprudence.Who was Muawiya ibn Abi Sufyan?
Muawiya ibn Abi Sufyan, founder of the Umayyad state; a scribe of revelation, governor of Syria and then caliph for twenty years. He is regarded with consensus by Sunnis and viewed differently by Shia.Who is the Prophet Muhammad?
The Prophet Muhammad is the prophet to whom Muslims believe the Qur'an was revealed, and he founded the first Muslim community in Medina.Who was Musa?
Musa son of Imran, Kalim Allah; the greatest of the prophets of the Children of Israel, bearer of the Torah and the nine miracles, and the one through whom the Children of Israel were delivered from Pharaoh.Who was Musab ibn Umayr?
Musab ibn Umayr, the first envoy in Islam; the Prophet sent him to Medina to teach its people the Qur'an before the Hijra, and he was martyred carrying the banner at the Battle of Uhud.Who was Imam Muslim?
Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj al-Nisaburi (815–875), author of Sahih Muslim; the second most authentic book according to Sunnis, and many regard his method of compilation as the more precise.Who was al-Nawawi?
Who was Nuh?
Nuh, the first of the Messengers of Steadfast Resolve; he called his people for a thousand years less fifty, and only a few believed. He built the ark by God's command, and the believers were saved from the Flood.Who was Nusayba bint Kab?
Nusayba bint Kab al-Ansariyya, known as Umm Umara; one of the first women to pledge allegiance at al-Aqaba. She fought at Uhud in defence of the Prophet, and her wounds bore twelve marks.Who was al-Razi?
Abu Bakr al-Razi (865–925), a Persian physician; head of the hospital of Baghdad and author of al-Hawi. His description of smallpox and measles was the first precise clinical description.Who was Jalal al-Din al-Rumi?
al-Rumi (1207–1273), a jurist and poet from Balkh who settled in Konya; he wrote the Masnavi and the Divan-i Kabir, becoming the best-known poet of Sufism and the founder of the Mawlawi tradition.Who was Saad ibn Abi Waqqas?
Saad ibn Abi Waqqas, the first to shoot an arrow in the cause of God and one whose supplications are answered; commander at al-Qadisiyya, conqueror of Persia and founder of Kufa.Who was Salah al-Din al-Ayyubi?
Salah al-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub (1137–1193), founder of the Ayyubid dynasty; he unified Egypt and Syria and liberated Jerusalem, with the victory at Hattin in 1187.Who was al-Shafii?
Muhammad ibn Idris al-Shafii (767–820), imam of legal theory; he wrote al-Risala on the foundations of jurisprudence and spread his school from Mecca to Baghdad and then to Egypt.Who was Shajar al-Durr?
Who was Suleiman the Magnificent?
Suleiman I, known as al-Qanuni or the Magnificent (1494–1566), the tenth Ottoman sultan; his state reached its height from Belgrade to Basra in his forty-six-year reign.Who was Sulayman?
Sulayman son of Dawud, a prophet and king; God subjected the wind and the jinn to him, taught him the speech of birds, gave him a great kingdom to rule, and he built Bayt al-Maqdis.Who was al-Tabari?
Ibn Jarir al-Tabari (838–923), imam of historians and exegetes; author of the History of the Prophets and Kings and of Jami al-Bayan on the interpretation of the Qur'an.Who was Talha ibn Ubayd Allah?
Talha ibn Ubayd Allah al-Fayyad, one of the Ten Given Glad Tidings of Paradise, and the man of the Day of Uhud who shielded the Prophet with his own body; killed at the Battle of the Camel in 656.Who was Umar ibn al-Khattab?
Umar ibn al-Khattab was the second caliph. He embraced Islam, and God strengthened Islam through him. In his time the garrison cities and Jerusalem were conquered, the administrative registers (diwans) were established, and the Hijri calendar was set up.Who was Uthman ibn Affan?
Uthman ibn Affan was the third caliph. He was among the people of Badr and married two of the Prophet's daughters. He compiled the Qur'an into a single codex (mushaf). He was assassinated in a strife at the end of his reign, in 656.Who was Yunus, the one of the whale?
Yunus ibn Matta, Dhu al-Nun. He was angry with his people and boarded a ship. A fish swallowed him, and he called out in the darknesses, and God saved him. All of Nineveh then believed in him.Who was Yusuf the truthful?
Yusuf ibn Yaqub, a prophet of God. His brothers threw him into the well and sold him as a slave. The al-Aziz of Egypt bought him, and he endured the trial and prison until he was given charge of the treasuries of Egypt.Who was Zheng He?
Zheng He (1371–1433) was a Chinese Muslim admiral who led seven great maritime expeditions to Southeast Asia, India, the Arabian Peninsula and East Africa.Who was al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam?
al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam, a close companion (hawari) of the Prophet and son of his aunt Safiyya. He was the first to draw a sword in the cause of God, and he was one of the ten given glad tidings of Paradise. He was killed in Wadi al-Siba after the Battle of the Camel.Who were the Quraysh?
Quraysh was the tribe of Mecca and the keepers of the Kaaba. The Prophet, the four caliphs and most of the leading figures of Islam were from it. It is said, according to most jurists, that the caliphs will be from Quraysh until the Day of Resurrection.Who were the Khawarij?
The Khawarij were the first sect to split from the community after Siffin. They declared those who committed grave sins to be unbelievers and fought the caliphs. Of them, the Ibadis remain, in Oman and the Maghrib.Who were the Mutazila?
The Mutazila were an early school of theology. They held to divine justice, the unity of God, the intermediate position between two positions, and the createdness of the Qur'an. Their power peaked under al-Ma'mun, and then Ahl al-Sunna defeated them.Who are the Rightly Guided Caliphs?
The four Rightly Guided Caliphs: Abu Bakr al-Siddiq, Umar ibn al-Khattab, Uthman ibn Affan and Ali ibn Abi Talib. They ruled from Medina, 632–661.Who are the Sahaba?
The Sahaba are those who met the Prophet while believing in him and died in Islam. They led the conquests and the compilation, and transmitted the religion to the generations after them.Why do Muslims face Mecca in prayer?
Muslims face the Kaaba in Mecca in their prayers. The first qibla for prayer was in Jerusalem, before it was changed to the Kaaba.Why do Muslims fast in Ramadan?
Fasting in the month of Ramadan is an obligation and one of the pillars of Islam, and the Qur'an links it to taqwa (God-consciousness). This is a brief answer to why fasting is kept in this particular month.Why do Muslims pray five times a day?
The obligatory prayer is performed five times in the day and night, and the Qur'an makes it an obligation at set times for believers. This is a brief answer about the reason for this number and its origin.Why is 9 AH called the Year of Delegations?
A short answer on why 9 AH is called the Year of Delegations, with Ibn Ishaq's explanation of the Arabs' entry into Islam after the conquest of Mecca and pointers to the delegations of Banu Tamim, Banu Amir, Banu Sa'd ibn Bakr, Abd al-Qays and Banu Hanifa.Why does Islam forbid gambling?
The Qur'an mentions wine and gambling together with stone idols (ansab) and divining arrows (azlam), describing them as an abomination from the work of Satan and commanding that they be avoided. This is the basis of the prohibition of gambling in Islam.Why does Islam forbid riba?
The Qur'an permits sale and forbids riba, as in al-Baqara 275, and riba is forbidden in the Sharia. Its detailed rulings and types are a matter for the books of jurisprudence.Why does Jerusalem matter to Muslims?
Jerusalem is a holy city for Jews, Christians and Muslims. For Muslims it is the first of the two qiblas, and according to tradition the Isra' (Night Journey) began from it.Why do Muslims not drink alcohol?
Wine (khamr) is forbidden in Islam. This ruling is one of the best-known rulings people know of the Sharia, and its evidence and detailed rulings are set out in the entry on khamr.