BCS Islamic History & Culture flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Jahiliyya

The term for the pre-Islamic era of ignorance, denoting Arabian society before the Prophet's mission, characterized by tribal values and idol worship.

Hanif

A pre-Islamic Arabian monotheist who rejected idolatry without joining Judaism or Christianity, regarded as following the religion of Ibrahim.

Year of the Elephant

The year c. 570 CE when Abraha's expedition against Mecca failed; tradition holds the Prophet Muhammad was born in that year.

Hijra

The Prophet's migration from Mecca to Medina in 622 CE, which marks year one of the Islamic lunar calendar.

Constitution of Medina

An agreement organizing relations among the Muhajirun, the Ansar, and Medina's Jewish tribes, often described as an early written political compact.

Ridda Wars

Campaigns under Caliph Abu Bakr against tribes that renounced allegiance or withheld zakat after the Prophet's death in 632 CE.

Diwan

An administrative register instituted under Caliph Umar recording soldiers and stipend recipients, and later a general term for government departments.

Battle of Siffin

The 657 CE confrontation between Ali and Mu'awiya in Syria, whose arbitration dispute deepened the First Fitna and political divisions.

Dome of the Rock

An octagonal domed shrine completed in Jerusalem around 691-692 CE under Abd al-Malik, among the earliest surviving Islamic monuments.

House of Wisdom

The Bayt al-Hikma in Abbasid Baghdad, associated with translation and scholarship, especially under Caliph al-Ma'mun in the early ninth century.

Battle of Tours

The 732 CE battle in which Frankish forces halted the Umayyad advance into France, also called the Battle of Poitiers.

Amir al-Mu'minin

The title 'Commander of the Faithful,' first applied to Caliph Umar and later used by caliphs and independent Muslim rulers.

Waqf

A perpetual charitable endowment, typically of land or property, whose revenue funds mosques, madrasas, hospitals, and other public institutions.

Muhtasib

A market and morals official in Islamic cities who supervised weights, prices, public conduct, and compliance with communal norms.

Madrasa

An institution of higher religious learning that became widespread from the eleventh century, teaching law, theology, and related sciences.

Jizya

A poll tax levied on non-Muslim protected subjects (dhimmis) in return for protection and exemption from military service.

Muhammad ibn Qasim

The Umayyad commander who conquered Sindh in 711-712 CE, establishing an early Muslim presence in the Indian subcontinent.

Second Battle of Tarain

The 1192 CE victory of Muhammad of Ghor over Prithviraj Chauhan, which opened the way for the Delhi Sultanate.

Sulh-i kul

Akbar's policy of universal tolerance and conciliation toward all religious communities within the Mughal Empire.

Chishti Order

A Sufi order influential in the subcontinent, associated with Mu'in al-Din Chishti of Ajmer and Nizam al-Din Auliya of Delhi.

Four-iwan plan

An architectural layout with four vaulted halls facing a central courtyard, standard for madrasas and congregational mosques from the eleventh century.

Muqarnas

A three-dimensional geometric vaulting or corbelling technique used to decorate domes, portals, and cornices in Islamic architecture.

Arabesque

A decorative mode of interlaced vegetal and geometric motifs, widely used in Islamic art to avoid figural imagery in religious settings.

Char-bagh

A formal four-part garden divided by water channels, symbolizing paradise and used in Mughal and Persian architectural complexes.

Tariqa

A Sufi order or path, denoting both the spiritual method of a master and the organized community that formed around it.

Wahdat al-wujud

The doctrine of the unity of being, associated with Ibn Arabi, holding that existence is ultimately one in the divine reality.

Al-Ghazali

An eleventh-century theologian whose Ihya' 'Ulum al-Din integrated Sufi practice with Sunni law and Ash'ari theology.

Faraizi Movement

A nineteenth-century Bengali reform movement led by Haji Shariatullah and Dudu Miyan, stressing obligatory religious duties and social reform.

Battle of Plassey

The 1757 battle in which the East India Company defeated the Nawab of Bengal, paving the way for British political control.

Alaol

A seventeenth-century Bengali court poet of Arakan, known for works such as Padmavati, blending Bengali, Persian, and Indic literary traditions.

Al-Khwarizmi

A ninth-century Baghdad scholar whose work on algebra and Indian numerals transmitted the decimal place-value system toward Europe.

Ibn al-Haytham

An eleventh-century scientist whose Kitab al-Manazir advanced optics through experiment and a theory of vision based on light rays.