THE PROPHET'S ERA ﷺ
In which year did the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ receive his first revelation in the Cave of Hira?
610 CE
Which companion of the Prophet ﷺ became the first caliph of Islam after his passing in 632 CE?
Abu Bakr (R.A)
Which city did the Umayyads choose as the capital of the Islamic world, replacing Medina?
Damascus
Which city did the Abbasids build as their new capital in 762 CE on the banks of the Tigris River?
Baghdad
Does the Islamic Hijri calendar start from the birth of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ — and if not, what event does it start from?
No — it starts from the Hijra, the migration from Mecca to Medina in 622 CE
Which angel delivered the first revelation to the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ?
Angel Jibreel (Gabriel)
During whose caliphate was the Islamic lunar calendar officially introduced?
Umar ibn al-Khattab (R.A)
Which famous Islamic monument did the Umayyads build in Jerusalem in 691 CE?
The Dome of the Rock
What was the House of Wisdom (Bayt al-Hikmah) and where was it located?
The greatest center of science and learning in the medieval world, located in Baghdad
How many idols were housed inside the Kaaba before the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ cleansed it?
360 idols
Why did the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ migrate from Mecca to Medina in 622 CE?
The Quraysh leaders were plotting his assassination
What was officially compiled and standardized into one written copy during the caliphate of Uthman ibn Affan (R.A)?
The Quran (Uthmanic Mushaf)
How far west did the Umayyad Empire expand at its greatest extent?
Al-Andalus (modern-day Spain and Portugal)
Did scholars of different faiths work together in the House of Wisdom — and which faiths were represented?
Yes — Muslims, Christians, and Jews all worked together
Which two groups in Meccan society were most receptive to the message of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ?
The poor and the enslaved
Where did the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ deliver his Farewell Sermon to over 100,000 Muslims before his passing?
Mount Arafat
How was Ali ibn Abi Talib (R.A) related to the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ?
He was both his cousin and his son-in-law
Did the Umayyads treat non-Arab Muslims equally — and what were these non-Arab Muslims called?
No — they were treated as second-class citizens and called Mawali
Which Mongol general destroyed Baghdad in 1258 CE and burned the House of Wisdom?
Hulagu Khan
Did the split between Sunni and Shia Muslims begin as a religious disagreement — or something else?
It began as a political disagreement over who was the rightful successor after the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ
What did the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ establish in Medina that defined the rights of Muslims, Jews, and other communities living together?
The Constitution of Medina (Sahifa al-Madinah)
Which event triggered the first major civil war — known as the First Fitna — in Islamic history?
The assassination of Uthman ibn Affan (R.A) in 656 CE
Which dynasty overthrew the Umayyads in 750 CE and moved the capital to Baghdad?
The Abbasid dynasty
Why did the Abbasid Caliphate begin to decline by 940 CE despite its earlier greatness?
Regional sultans and emirs were becoming increasingly powerful and independent
Which two great empires did the early Islamic civilization absorb and build upon after the conquests?
The Byzantine Empire and the Sassanian (Persian) Empire