Glossary of Terms - Islam 101
From The WMD Library
Contents
- 1 The Basics
- 2 Jihad and Dhimmitude
- 3 Frequently Asked Questions
- 4 Glossary of Terms
- 4.1 Allah
- 4.2 Allahu Akhbar
- 4.3 AH
- 4.4 Ansar
- 4.5 Badr
- 4.6 Caliph
- 4.7 dar al-Islam
- 4.8 dar al-harb
- 4.9 dar al-sulh
- 4.10 Dhimma
- 4.11 dhimmi
- 4.12 dhimmitude
- 4.13 hadith
- 4.14 Hijra
- 4.15 Islam
- 4.16 jizya
- 4.17 Kaba
- 4.18 Mecca
- 4.19 Medina
- 4.20 Muhammad
- 4.21 Muslim
- 4.22 Quran (Kuran, Quran, etc.)
- 4.23 razzia
- 4.24 Sira
- 4.25 Sunnah
- 4.26 Sura
- 4.27 Uhud
- 4.28 Umar
- 4.29 Umma (ummah)
- 4.30 Uthman
- 4.31 Yathrib
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Islam 101 was written by Gregory M. Davis, author of Religion of Peace?: Islam's War Against the World and the producer/director of Islam: What the West Needs to Know .
Islam 101 also appears on JihadWatch: Islam 101 on JW and on Citizen Warrior: Islam 101 on Citizen Warrior
You can view the complete movie online.
The Basics
Jihad and Dhimmitude
Frequently Asked Questions
Glossary of Terms
Allah
- "God"; Arabic Christians also worship "Allah," but an Allah of a very different sort.
Allahu Akhbar
- "God is Greatest"; term of praise; war cry of Muslims.
AH
- "after Hijra"; the Islamic calendar?s system of dating; employs lunar rather than solar years; as of January 2007, we are in AH 1428.
Ansar
- "aiders" or "helpers"; Arabian tribesmen allied with Muhammad and the early Muslims.
Badr
first significant battle fought by Muhammad and the Muslims against the Quraish tribe of Mecca.
Caliph
- title of the ruler or leader of the Umma (global Muslim community); the head of the former Islamic Empire; the title was abolished by Kemal Attaturk in 1924 following the breakup of the Ottoman Empire and the founding of modern Turkey.
dar al-Islam
- "House (Realm) of Islam"; Islamic territory ruled by Sharia law
dar al-harb
- "House (Realm) of War": territory ruled by infidels
dar al-sulh
- "House (Realm) of Truce": territory ruled by infidels but allied with Islam; territory ruled by Muslims but not under Sharia law
Dhimma
- the pact of protection extended to non-slave "People of the Book", usually Jews, Christians, and Zoroastrians, which permitted them to remain nominally free under Muslim rule.
dhimmi
- "protected"; people under the protection of the dhimma.
dhimmitude
- word coined by historian Bat Ye'or to describe the status of dhimmi peoples
hadith
- "report"; any of thousands of episodes from the life of Muhammad transmitted orally until written down in the eighth century AD; sahih (reliable or sound) hadiths are second only to the Quran in authority.
Hijra
- "emigration"; Muhammad's flight from Mecca to Medina (Yathrib) in AD 622.
Islam
- "submission" or "surrender."
jizya
- the poll or head tax prescribed by Sura 9:29 of the Quran to be paid by Christians and Jews in Muslim-held territory.
Kaba
- "cube"; the Meccan temple in which numerous pagan idols were housed before Muhammad's conquest of Mecca in AD 632, which is still the most venerated object in Islam; the Kaba's cornerstone, which is believed to have fallen from heaven, is the stone on which Abraham was to sacrifice his son, Ishmael (not Isaac).
Mecca
- holiest city of Islam; place of Muhammad's birth in AD 570; its Great Mosque contains the Kaba stone; early period in Muhammad's life where more peaceful verses of the Quran were revealed; site of Muhammad's victory over the Quraish in AD 630.
Medina
- "city," short for "city of the Prophet"; second holiest city of Islam; destination of Muhammad's Hijra (emigration) in AD 622; later period in Muhammad's life where more violent verses of the Quran were revealed; site of third major battle fought by Muhammad against the Quraish tribe from Mecca; formerly called Yathrib.
Muhammad
- "the praised one."
Muslim
- one who submits.
Quran (Kuran, Quran, etc.)
- "recitation"; according to Islam, the compiled verbatim words of Allah as dictated by Muhammad.
razzia
- "raid"; acts of piracy on land or sea by Muslims against infidels
Sira
- "life"; abbreviation of Sirat Rasul Allah, or "Life of the Prophet of God"; the canonical biography of the Prophet Muhammad written in the eighth century by Ibn Ishaq and later edited by Ibn Hisham; modern translation by Alfred Guillaume.
Sunnah
- the "Way" of the Prophet Muhammad; includes his teachings, traditions, and example.
Sura
- a chapter of the Quran; Quranic passages are cited as Sura number:verse number, e.g., 9:5.
Uhud
- second major battle fought by Muhammad against the Quraish tribe of Mecca.
Umar
- second "rightly-guided" Caliph; ruled AD 634--44, succeeded Abu Bakr; conquered the Holy Land.
Umma (ummah)
- the global Muslim community; the body of Muslim faithful.
Uthman
- third "rightly-guided" Caliph; ruled AD 644--56, succeeded Umar; compiled the Quran in book form.
Yathrib
- city to which Muhammad made the Hijra (emigration) in AD 622/AH 1; renamed Medina.