Geography of the Islamic World
The town in which Muhammad succeeded for the first time to create a community of believers
What is Medina
This favorite wife of the prophet who was also the daughter of Abu Bakr
What is 'Aiysha
the two fundamental written sources of Islamic law and theology
What is the Qur'an and Sunna
The Prophet Muhammad died in this year
What is 632
The name of the tribe Muhammed was a part of
What is Quraysh
The famous early garrison-town in Mesopotamia to which 'Ali moved his capital from Medina
What is Kufa
This caliph who was accused of nepotism and was eventually murdered by a group of Arab soldiers in an outright mutiny which inspired a five-year civil war within the ummah.
Who is 'Uthman
The Islamic term meaning unity of God and monotheism.
What is Tawhid
This event marked the start of the Islamic calendar
What is Hijra
Christians and Jews were considered protected and thus not forced to convert because they fell under this category, which literally means to have received a book from God
What is ahl al-Kitab (People of the book)
The Abbasid rulers built this city on the banks of Tigris River as the capital of their new empire
What is Baghdad
The third caliph of the Umayyad Dynasty who built Dome of the Rock. He is also credited with reuniting the umma after the second civil war and solidified Islam as distinct religion from Christianity and Judaism
Who is 'Abd al-Malik
The five Shari’a valuations that categorize all human actions in terms of their compatibility with God's will
What are obligatory, recommended, permissible, reprehensible, and forbidden
The first major battle of the First Civil War, between 'Aiysha and 'Ali
What is the Battle of Camel
The first Muslim dynasty, the first leader of whom was Mu’awiya
What is the Umayyads
It is said that when Muhammad’s mother was pregnant with him, she saw a light proceeding from her which showed her the castles of this country
What is Syria
The person responsible for creating the earliest preserved full biography of the Prophet Muhammad.
Who is Ibn Ishaq
The process of reasoning used in Islamic law to issue legal opinion on new cases based on their underlying similarities with cases that are clearly addressed in the Sunna or the Qur'an
What is Qiyas or analogical reasoning
The Prophet’s travel from Mecca to Jerusalem and from there to the heavens, during which he communed and prayed with former prophets such as Moses and Abraham
What is the Night Journey or Mi'raj/Isra
One of the four Sunni madhhabs (schools of law) founded by Malik ibn Anas
What is the Maliki school
The name of the plain, by the banks of Euphrates River, on which Husayn and his family were massacred by Yazid's forces
What is Karbala
The compendia of Hadith regarded as most authoritative in Sunni Islam
What is the Six Canonical Books
A provision in Shi’i law that allows the adherents to lie about their sectarian identity if their safety depended on it
What is Dissimulation or Taqiyyah
The name of the peace treaty negotiated between Muhammad and Meccan pagan leaders before the final conquest of Mecca by Muhammad.
What is the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah
A Turkic empire that recentralized the Middle East after the collapse of the Abbasids and ruled through soldiers called amirs who governed individually. Under them, the ulama and madrasahs experienced a great period of standardization.
What is the Seljuks