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Chapter 8 Quiz
Questions 1 & 2 refer to the excerpt below.
“Afterwords he found it almost impossible to describe the experience that sent him running in anguish down
the rocky hillside to his wife. It seemed to him that a devastating presence had burst into the cave where he
was sleeping and gripped him in an overpowering embrace, squeezing all the breath from his body. In his
terror, Muhammad could only think that he was being attacked by a jinni, one of the fiery spirits who
haunted the Arabian steppes and frequently lured travelers from the right path. The jinn also inspired the
bards and soothsayers of Arabia. One poet described his poetic vocation as a violent assault: his personal
jinni had appeared to him without any warning, thrown him to the ground and forced the verses from his
mouth. So, when Muhammad heard the curt command "Recite!" he immediately assumed that he too had
become possessed. "I am no poet," he pleaded. But his assailant simply crushed him again, until—just when
he thought he could bear it no more—he heard the first words of a new Arabic scripture pouring, as if
unbidden, from his lips.
He had this vision during the month of Ramadan, 610 CE. Later Muhammad would call it layla al-qadr (the
"Night of Destiny") because it had made him the messenger of Allah, the high god of Arabia. But at the time,
he did not understand what was happening. He was forty years old, a family man, and a respected merchant
in Mecca, a thriving commercial city in the Hijaz. Like most Arabs of the time, he was familiar with the
stories of Noah, Lot, Abraham, Moses, and Jesus and knew that some people expected the imminent arrival of
an Arab prophet, but it never occurred to him that he would be entrusted with this mission. Indeed, when he
escaped from the cave and ran headlong down the slopes of Mount Hira', he was filled with despair. How
could Allah have allowed him to become possessed? The jinn were capricious; they were notoriously
unreliable because they delighted in leading people astray. The situation in Mecca was serious. His tribe did
not need the dangerous guidance of a jinni. They needed the direct intervention of Allah, who had always
been a distant figure in the past, and who, many believed, was identical with the God worshiped by Jews and
Christians.”
From Karen Armstrong's Muhammad, 2006
1. This document best supports which of the following conclusions?
A. Mohammad was Jewish.
B. Islam is a religion that is related only to Christianity.
C. Islam is a religion that is related only to Judaism.
D. Islam is a religion that is related to both Christianity and Judaism.
2. Which of the following best describes the significance of this document?
A. It demonstrates that the Arabian lore of the jinni is essential to the origins of Islam.
B. It describes the origins of the differences between Sunni and Shiite Muslims.
C. It shows the similarities between Hinduism and Islam.
D. It describes how Muslims believe that Muhammad became a prophet.
Questions 3-6 Refer to the excerpt below
In the name of God the Merciful and the Compassionate: This is the safe conduct accorded by the servant of
God ‘Umar, the Commander of the Faithful, to the people of Jerusalem.
He accords them safe-conduct for their persons, their property, their churches, their crosses, their sound and
their sick, and the rest of their worship.
Their churches shall neither be used as dwellings nor destroyed. They shall not suffer any impairment, nor
shall their dependencies, their crosses, nor any of their property.
No constraint shall be exercised against them in religion nor shall any harm be done to any of them…
The people of Jerusalme must pay the jizya [required tax on non-Muslims] in the same way as the people of
other cities. They must expel the Romans [Byzantine soldiers and officials] and the brigands from the city.
Those who leave shall have safe-conduct for their persons and property until they reach safety. Those who
stay shall have safe-conduct but they must pay the jizya.
Those of the people of Jerusalem who wish to remove their persons and effects and depart with the Romasnd
and abandon their churches and their crosses shall have safe passage.
- Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari, “Peace Terms with Jerusalem” 636 CE
3. This passage about religion in the seventh century provides evidence of
a. The persecution of other religions by Islamic leaders
b. The toleration of other religions by Muslims in conquered territory
c. The conflict between Romans and Byzantines over territory
d. The cooperation between Jewish and Muslim leaders in government Jerusalem
4. Which statement best describes the reason behind the leader’s action?
a. He did not actively seek converts to his faith
b. He believed Christians and Jews were not a threat to his faith
c. He was more concerned with political rather than religious issues
d. He considered Christians and Jews to be “people of the book”
5. Jerusalem is a shared holy site between which religions
a. Islam, Buddhism, and Judaism
b. Judaism, Christianity, and Zoroastrianism
c. Christianity, Islam, and Judaism
d. Judaism, Buddhism and Christianity
6. Why would capturing Jerusalem be a key accomplishment for this leader?
a. The city had important religious significance to Islam as well as Christianity and Judaism
b. Jerusalem was the most important trading city in the Middle East and by capturing it the
Umayyad caliphate would control key trade routes
c. Jerusalem was the capital of the Byzantine Empire and capturing it would greatly weaken
the empire
d. The Crusaders had been defeated and therefore could be taxed with the jizya
Questions 7-9 refer to the excerpt below
The cities of Arabian Spain became the resort of Christian artisans, to instruct themselves in the useful arts.
The Universities of Toledo, Cordova, Seville, and Granada, were sought by the pale student from other lands,
to acquaint himself with the sciences of the Arabs, and the treasure lore of antiquity; the lovers of the
sciences resorted to Cordova and Granada, to imbibe poetry and music of the East, and the steel-clan
warriors of the North hastened thither to accomplish themselves in the graceful exercises and courteous uses
of chivalry
Washington Irving- the Alhambra, 1865
7. Which aspect of al-Andalus does this passage most clearly describe?
a. The conquest of Spain by Christian forces
b. The sharing of ideas between artisans and scientists
c. The spread of Arab learning amongst Europeans
d. The art and practice of chivalry
8. The primary reason the Muslim population fo Spain grew between the time of Muhammad and the
time mentioned in this passage (~900s) was that
a. Arab armies had conquered Spain militarily
b. Christian and Jews living in Spain had converted to Islam
c. Arab Muslims had migrated to Spain to escape the Crusades
d. Spanish monarchs had invited Arabs to settle in Spain
9. Which statement provides the best reason for Europeans to travel to Spain, to learn at
universityies established by the Arabs?
a. Europe had no universities other than the ones in Spain
b. Europeans wanted to increase trade with Arabs
c. Europeans were curious about the new sciences, arts, and architecture developed by Arab
Muslim civilizations
d. Europeans wanted to learn about the classical Greek science and culture and Asian
developments in astronomy and math.
Questions 10-13 refer to the images below
Left- Egyptian Mosque; Right- Spanish mosque
10. The similarity in the mosques located in different areas of the Islamic world mainly results from
a. the spiritual and cultural unification of diverse people and cultures under Islam, or Dar alIslam
b. an edict by the Abbasid caliph that all mosques should be built according to the same
guidelines
c. the blending of traditional Christian architectural style with the more modern Persian
technology
d. the desire of many Muslims to worship outdoors as their Bedouin forbearers did in the 4th
century
11. Large and ornate mosques were built in areas conquered by the Islamic caliphs as a way to
a. Provide worship spaces for the great number of converts who were forced to become
Muslim
b. Demonstrate the pweor and prosperity of the merchants who built the mosques
c. Symbolize the spiritual power and majesty of Islam
d. Cover up the ruins of destroyed Christian and Jewish places of worship destroyed by the
Arabs
12. Under the Umayyad and Abbasid caliphates, Islam spread to all of the following EXCEPT
a. Western Africa
b. Persia
c. Russia
d. Spain