Foundations of Islam
According to Islamic tradition, this archangel delivered Allah's revelations to Muhammad on Mount Hira.
Who is the Angel Gabriel?
Known as the Shahada, this first pillar is the basic statement of faith declaring there is no God but Allah and Muhammad is His prophet.
What is the Declaration of Faith?
This 732 CE battle in present-day France saw Christian forces led by Charles Martel halt the expansion of Muslim armies into Western Europe.
What is the Battle of Tours?
As Muhammad's close friend and father-in-law, he was chosen as the first caliph (deputy) to succeed Muhammad in leading the Muslim community.
Who is Abu Bakr?
Derived from the Arabic phrase "al-jabr", this mathematical branch using letters like x, y, and z to solve equations was developed in Baghdad.
What is Algebra?
Born in Mecca around 570 CE, this man is considered by Muslims to be the last and greatest in a line of prophets starting with Abraham.
Who is Muhammad?
Performing Salat (daily prayer) requires Muslims to face in the direction of this holy structure in Mecca five times a day.
What is the Kaaba?
Non-Muslims living under Islamic rule were generally allowed to practice their religions if they paid this and refrained from military service.
What is a poll tax?
This son-in-law of Muhammad became the fourth caliph, but his assassination in 661 CE intensified the schism in Islam.
Who is Ali?
Group that founded Mecca
Who are the Bedouins
In 622 CE, Muhammad and his followers made this historic flight or journey from Mecca to Yathrib (Medina).
What is the Hijrah (or Hijra)?
During the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, known as Ramadan, Muslims fulfill this pillar from dawn until sunset.
What is Fasting (or Sawm)?
The disagreement over whether Islam's leader should be a close relative like Ali or an experienced leader like Abu Bakr led to the split between these two major sects.
What are the Sunni and Shi'a (or Shiite) sects?
He was the second caliph who expanded the Islamic territory into Egypt, Syria, and Iraq, and was the first to expand the area surrounding the Kaaba for pilgrims.
Who is Umar?
Three advances in technology in the Umayyad or Abbasid Empires
-mathematic advances -accurate measuring devices -better astronomical charts -medical advances -improved paper making techniques -ceramics -silk weaving
Collected after Muhammad’s death, this holy book of Islam is written in Arabic and considered the direct word of Allah.
What is the Quran (Koran)
This pillar requires financially able Muslims to share their wealth by giving alms to the poor and less fortunate in their community.
What is Charity (or Zakat / Alms)?
Under the Abbasid Caliphate, the capital of the Islamic Empire was moved from Mecca to this newly built circular city on the Tigris River.
What is Baghdad?
This famous 11th-century Islamic physician described how diseases spread through air and water and theorized that stress causes stomach problems.
Who is Avicenna?
Muslim astronomers improved this ancient Greek instrument to determine latitude, calculate time, and navigate trade routes by measuring the stars.
What is the Astrolabe?
Originally built by Ibrahim and Ismail to worship one God, this cube-shaped shrine in Mecca housed pagan idols before Muhammad cleansed it in 630 CE.
What is the Kaaba?
All Muslims who are physically and financially able are expected to undertake this annual pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in their lifetime.
What is the Hajj?
Following Muhammad's death, the military conflict used by Abu Bakr to maintain unity among Bedouin tribes and encourage expansion was known by this term meaning "striving."
What is Jihad?
This 8th-century scholar at the House of Wisdom in Baghdad wrote seminal books on geometry and is celebrated as the founder of algebra.
Who is Al-Khwarizmi?
Because Islamic religious art avoided depicting human figures, artists developed intricate handwriting art and stylized floral/geometric designs called by these two terms.
What are Calligraphy and Arabesque?