Download Islam Study Guide

Name______________________
Islam Study Guide
1. Roughly how many adherents does Islam have?
2. What religious connections does Islam have and what who do they believe to be the most recent prophet?
3. How does Islam view life and what is determined by how you live it?
4. What does Muslim mean?
5. What two factors weakened Christianity’s influence on Arab peoples?
6. How is it likely that there came to be Jewish desert tribal groups?
7. What third religion likely influenced the formulation of Islam?
8. What was the high God of Arab tribal religion called and what does the word mean?
9. What celestial body was an object of high adoration?
10. What is the most obvious characteristic of pre-Islamic religion?
11. What was the root of Mecca’s religious and economic significance?
12. What did the Ka’ba contain and who is said to have built it?
13. When was Muhammad born and what happened to both his parents by the time he was six?
14. Life for an orphan in those times was very ______________.
15. Why does the revelation of the Qur’an by Muhammad seem especially miraculous to Muslims?
16. What did Muhammad’s involvement in trading caravans likely bring him in contact with?
17. List three general characteristics of religions he would have been aware of.
18. What was Muhammad’s wife’s name and what was special about her?
19. What concerned Muhammad about his people and what did the angel tell him to do?
20. What was said to happen to Muhammad during his visions and what was the name of his book?
21. From the beginning, what did Islam view itself as being?
22. What was Muhammad’s mission and how did he view himself?
23. Who was Muhammad’s first convert?
24. From where did many of Muhammad’s converts come?
25. What two important people in Muhammad’s life died, making things more difficult for him?
26. Why was Muhammad invited to come to Yathrib (later called Medina)?
27. What is the journey from Mecca to Yathrib called and what is significant about its date?
28. What did the Medina Charter deliver to Muhammad and his people?
29. List the three holiest cities of Islam in order.
30. How were caravan raids seen by the Arab peoples and what were they supposed to accomplish?
31. What did early battle victories accomplish for Islam?
32. What two events happened in 629 and 630?
33. What did Muhammad do in the Ka’ba which made him the sole ruler of the Arabian people?
34. How did Muhammad spread the new religion and strengthen political ties?
35. Who became the caliph upon Muhammad’s death and what did he urge Muslims to do?
36. What does Qur’an mean?
37. What is different about the Scripture of the Qur’an from other scriptures according to Muslims?
38. What is a supreme act of piety in Islam and what do they call those who achieve it?
39. Define each of the following:
a. Surahs
b. Ayas
40. Why are non-Muslims often confused about the arrangement of the Qur’an?
41. What is the nature of God according to Muslims?
42. How many names does God have and how are they recited?
43. What surrounds and aids Allah?
44. Define jinn:
45. Is Islam a fatalistic religion? Explain.
46. What is said to happen upon resurrection day for Muslims?
47. What is heaven and hell like according to Islamic tradition?
48. What is the holy day of the week for Muslims?
49. Define imam:
50. List the five pillars of Islam and briefly explain each.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
51. List two areas in which Islam elevated the position of women.
52. Is the status of women in Islamic cultures the same everywhere? Explain.
53. Define halal:
54. Define haram:
55. Name two foods forbidden to Muslims.
56. Name two other Islamic taboos.
57. What is the real meaning of jihad?
58. What kind of war is taught by Muslim scholars to be truly jihad?
59. Explain why Islam arrived at exactly the right time for expansion?
60. Provide three major reasons for Islam’s rapid spread.
1.
2.
3.
61. Where did Islam spread to during the following centuries:
a. 600s
b. 700s
c. 1000s (11th century)
d. 1400s (15th century)
e. Today
62. Why is Islam not highly structured like Roman Catholic Christianity?
63. Who was the first caliph and what does the word mean?
64. What are the first four caliphs often called?
65. When and where did each of the following rule and what were their contributions?
a. Orthodox caliphs:
b. Umayyads:
c. Abbasids:
d. Mamelukan Turks:
e. Ottoman Turks:
66. What percentage of Muslims are Sunnis?
67. Define hadith:
68. List the four schools of thought of Sunni Muslims and the geographic regions they cover.
1.
2.
3.
4.
69. Who do the Shi’ites believe was the legitimate and chosen successor of Muhammad?
70. What do Husayn and his family represent for Shi’ites?
71. What does the word imam mean to Shi’ites?
72. What do the Shi’ites believe Zain and other imams will do later?
73. Explain Shi’ite belief in a Mahdi.
74. Why do Shi’ites question traditional Qur’an interpretation and reading?
75. What impact does their view of history and religion have on how Shi’ites see the world?
76. What percent of Muslims are Shi’ites?
77. What does Islam emphasize (like Judaism)?
78. What do the Sufis express concern for, which differentiates them from traditional followers?
79. What do the Sufis emphasize in Islamic teaching, unlike traditional Muslim scholars?
80. What do the words fakir and dervish refer to?
81. How do Sufis believe knowledge of God is possible?
82. Who is one of the most outstanding Muslim leaders of all time?
83. What are three major reasons why Muslim scholars may have concluded that new learning and knowledge was
unnecessary during the rise of European civilization?
1.
2.
3.
84. At what time did the isolation of the Muslim world from the modern world come to an end?
85. What resource found in some Islamic countries gave political and economic power?
86. Discuss two internal reform movements relating to Islamic scholarship.
1.
2.
87. What two major factors caused a resurgence of Islam in Africa during the 19th and 20th centuries?
88. What are Muslims commanded to do each day?
89. What are Muslims commanded to do during the holy month of Ramadan?
90. What do Muslims do during the Feast of the Fast-Breaking (‘Id al-Fitr)?
91. What do Muslims do during the Feast of Sacrifice (‘Id al-Adha)?
92. What does the Islamic New Year supposed to correspond to?
93. What is done on the celebration of the birthday of the prophet Muhammad?
94. Why is the Muslim population of Western Europe growing?
95. What is indicative of the growth of Islam in the United States?
96. What did many conservative Muslims blame for a perceived loose morality of Western nations?
97. How have nations like Iran and Saudi Arabia responded to this perceived threat?
98. Today, where do one-third of the world’s Muslims live and what challenge do they face?