This is the most basic confession of faith that unites virtually all Muslims
What is "There is no God but God, and Muhammad is the messenger of God"?
100
In its non-religious sense, this is what the word "Islam" means.
What is "submission"?
100
This is a tradition about the words or actions of Muhammad, passed down orally.
What is a hadith?
100
These "People of the Book" were spread across both Roman and Persian empires and, like Muslims, traced their descent from Abraham.
Who are the Jews?
200
Who should be Muhammad's successor was the question that started the rift between these two groups--the 2 most populous Islamic sects.
What are Sunni and Shi'ite?
200
To what extent this city was a major trading hub in Muhammad's time is disputed; in any case, it was his hometown.
What is Mecca?
200
If you were to write a commentary or "explanation" of the Qur'an, it would be called this in Arabic
What is a tafsir?
200
In this official religion of Persia, good and evil are always in competition.
What is Zoroastrianism?
300
In terms of Islamic practice, you can witness the unity of Muslims around the world five times a day when they perform this pillar.
What is prayer/salat?
300
The oasis of Yathrib took this new name when Muhammad and his followers settled there after being persecuted farther south.
What is Medina?
300
According to this principle, later revelation takes precedence over earlier revelation. (English or Arabic)
What is abrogation/naskh?
300
The dominant group of Christians in the Persian empire has often been labeled this, after the heretic condemned at the Council of Ephesus.
What is Nestorian?
400
You might think the nation with the most Muslims would be a Middle Eastern country that has Arabic as its dominant language; in reality, it is this country far to the southeast of Islam's center of origin.
What is Indonesia?
400
This event marks year 0 in the Islamic calendar; it occurred in 622 C.E.
What is the hijra?
400
This type of hadith records the words of God revealed by Gabriel, in addition to those in the Qur'an.
What is a hadith qudsi?
400
The Christians who accepted the Council of Chalcedon got this label for being "the king's men."
What is Melkite?
500
When we visited the Freer-Sackler Gallery, the calligraphy called "Nasta'liq" was in this language.
What is Persian?
500
The "sira" or prophetic biography of Muhammad written by this author is one of our earliest sources for Muhammad's life.
Who is Ibn Ishaq?
500
This is one of the factors you might want to take into account in interpreting the Qur'an--a type of story or situation behind the revelation of a specific Qur'anic passage. (English or Arabic)
What are "occasions of revelation"/asbab al-nuzul.
500
These followers of a prophet who called himself the Paraclete blended Gnostic, Christian, and Zoroastrian ideas.