- Muhammad ibn Abdullah (c. 570-632) — founder and Prophet
- Allah — the one god’s name in Arabic. literally “The God” (al-Lah)
- Islam — Submission, from salama, submission to achieve peace
- Qur’an — “reading”, “reciting” collected about 650-651, 20 years after Muhammad’s death from secretarial jottings of scribes. Life of Muhammad not recorded in detail for about a century.
- hadith — “sayings”, oral traditions compiled in 9c and 11c, including chains of transmission.
Five Pillars:
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confession of full faith that “There is no god but Allah and his prophet is Muhammad”
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prayer five times per day (facing Mecca)
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daylight fast (food and water; sex) during holy month of Ramadan, the month of Muhammad’s revelation (begins 15 May 2018)
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almsgiving (Zakat, “justice,” rather than charity; often 1/40th of net worth)
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pilgrimage (hajj) to the Ka’ba in Mecca.
Other Terms
- hijra (escape) in 622 from Mecca to Medina, beginning of Islamic year count; purely lunar calendar 11 days shorter than solar year, so it is now 1439 AH; the new year falls on September 10 2018.
- jihad — “struggle.” Self-sacrifice in the service of Islam or community. Quran contains strict rules on practice of warfare, including avoiding harm to non-combatants and limiting legitimate warfare to state-v-state combat.
- Ka’ba, in Mecca, considered holy and a place of peace by pre-Islamic Arabic culture. Purified of pagan (and Christian) images; believed to be therock given to Adam on departure from paradise. Also contains two rock pillars associated with Satan, at which the faithful throw stones during their pilgrimage.
- Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem (Temple Mount) established in 8th century: believed to be the site of the Binding of Ishmail.
- dhimmis, protected “people of the book” (Christians and Jews, mostly) who paid the jizya tax.
- madrasas — religious schools, a relatively late development in the Islamic empires.
Sunni (90% of Muslims)
- Sunna — stories (including hadith) of the life of Mohammed (e.g. beard growing).
- ‘ulamâ — religious scholars who interpret Qur’an into systematic theology and moral law
- qâdî — judges, who apply the interpretations and edicts (fatwa) of the ‘ulamâ.
- Shariah — The Way or The Path. The legal code developed by the scholars and judges.
- imam — prayer group leaders, slowly evolving into something like clergy.
Shi’a (almost 10% of Muslims)
- Shi’a — “partisans,” “supporters” of the leadership of the descendants of Muhammad
- caliphs, imam — political leaders who also share in continued direct revelation of divine truth
- Ali — Cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet, but passed over for leadership on Muhammad’s death.
- Hussein — Ali’s second son, and founder of the Shi’a after Ali’s assassination. Defeated and killed by the Umayyads in 680
- Mahdi — “The awaited one,” The twelfth and last true Imam, hidden for last millenium awaiting appropriate moment to return and lead.
- Ismailism — (a.k.a. “Seveners”) offshoot of Shia, following a different Seventh Imam; philosophically influential; group which spawned the hashishiyun [assassins]
- ayatollahs and mullahs — religious leaders without the direct divine inspiration of the true Imam.
Sufi (very few, but very influential)
- ascetic mystics responsible for much of the spread of Islam beyond Arabic world. Tradition begins roughly 750c.e.
- Greater Jihad, defined by Sufi, is the struggle for self-mastery and true submission. Jihad in warfare called “Lesser Jihad” and limited to defensive circumstances.
Familiar names in Arabic:
- Abraham [Ibrahim]
- Ishmael – Arab tradition places the Arabs as descendants of Ishmael (who was the chosen sacrifice, not Isaac).
- Joseph [Yusef]
- Moses [Musa]
- Aaron [Harun]
- Jesus [Isa]
Islamic Empires
- Umayyad (661-750) — Arabic aristocracy
- Abbasid (750-1258) Persian control and ethnic diversity in leadership
Turkish Islamic Empires:
- Ottoman (1289-1919) — Western Mediterranean, North Africa, Southwestern Europe
- Safavid (1501-1722) — Central Asia
- Mughal (1526-18c) — India/Pakistan
A Few Famous Muslims (pre-1500)
Theologians
- al-Ghazali — Sufi mystic who argued that Allah is beyond rational understanding
- Ibn Khaldun — dismissed secular learning in favor of divine revelation. Author of The Muqaddimah, a global history.
- al-Kindi — neo-Platonic theologian
- Ibn Rushd (Averroës) — Aristotelean influenced theologian who thought that pure rationality could encompass world including Allah
Mathematicians
- Fazari — translated Indian mathematical treatise Siddhanta into Arabic, bringing Zero from India
- al-Khwarizimi — mathematician who created algebra and from whose name algorithm is derived
Doctors
- Razi (Rhazes) — first physician to distinguish smallpox from measles. Encyclopedic Hawi (a.k.a. Continens) a standard medical text in the West until Scientific Revolution
- Ibn Sina (Avicenna) — one of the greatest Islamic physicians, whose Canon was used as medical teaching texts for centuries.
- Ibn al-Haitham– physician whose book on Optics was influential into 18c, including development of telescopes in the West.
Literary Figures
- Omar Khayyám — mathematician and mystical poet (Rubiyat).
- Rumi — Sufi poet
- Harun al-Rashid — Abbasid Caliph (r. 789-809) One Thousand and One Arabian Nights set in capital city Baghdad during his reign.
© 2003, 2004, 2013 – Jonathan Dresner