SPM Turath Dirasat Islamiah cheat sheet

The Quran comprises 114 surahs; 86 are Makki and 28 are Madani by the standard classification of revelation period, not by content alone.

A hadith has two components: the isnad (chain of narrators) and the matn (text of the report); criticism applies to both.

Hadith qudsi conveys a meaning from Allah in the Prophet's wording, so it is not recited in salah and is not part of the Quran.

Mutawatir hadith is reported by so many at every level that collusion on a lie is impossible; ahad is anything below that threshold.

Sahih requires five conditions: trustworthy narrators, precise retention, uninterrupted chain, no shudhudh (deviation), and no hidden defect ('illah).

Hasan is like sahih but with slightly weaker retention; da'if fails at least one sahih condition and is not used for legal rulings.

Quranic muhkam verses are clear and decisive; mutashabih verses admit more than one reading, and tafsir refers the latter to the former.

The seven ahruf (modes) and the qira'at are distinct: ahruf are the revelatory modes, while qira'at are the transmitted recitational systems.

Tawhid has three categories: rububiyyah (lordship), uluhiyyah (worship), and asma wa sifat (names and attributes).

Iman in Sunni theology is tasdiq bil-qalb, iqrar bil-lisan, and 'amal bil-arkan: belief, verbal affirmation, and action.

The six pillars of iman are belief in Allah, His angels, His books, His messengers, the Last Day, and divine decree (qadar).

Qadar covers Allah's eternal knowledge, His writing of all things, His will, and His creation of acts; human acquisition (kasb) is real but created.

Angels are created from light, have no gender or desire, and do not disobey; Iblis is a jinn, not a fallen angel, in the dominant view.

The major sins (kaba'ir) do not remove a Muslim from iman in Ahl al-Sunnah; the fasiq remains a believer under threat of punishment.

Tawassul is seeking a means to Allah; invoking the dead directly for need is shirk, while supplicating Allah through one's deeds is agreed upon.

The names and attributes are affirmed without tahrif, ta'til, takyif, or tamthil: no distortion, denial, asking how, or likening to creation.

Salah is obligatory for every sane adult Muslim; it is invalidated by deliberate eating, speech, or loss of purity during the prayer.

The five daily prayers total 17 rak'ahs: Fajr 2, Dhuhr 4, 'Asr 4, Maghrib 3, 'Isha 4.

Zakat is due on wealth held for one lunar year (hawl) at 2.5 percent; the nisab is 85 g of gold or 595 g of silver.

Zakat al-fitr is due before the Eid prayer, roughly one sa' of staple food per person, and is obligatory on anyone with surplus food for the day.

Sawm is broken by eating, drinking, or intentional vomiting; it is not broken by forgetting, and the fast continues once one remembers.

Hajj is obligatory once in a lifetime for the adult Muslim who can afford it and is physically able; the ihram, tawaf, and standing at 'Arafah are its pillars.

Wudu' is nullified by anything exiting the two passages, deep sleep, and loss of consciousness; touching the opposite sex nullifies it in the Shafi'i school only.

Ghusl is required after janabah, menstruation, and nifas; its pillars are intention, covering the whole body with water, and removing impurity.

The Prophet was born in Makkah in 570 CE (Year of the Elephant) and received the first revelation at age 40 in the cave of Hira.

The first revelation was Surah al-'Alaq 96:1-5; the last complete revelation is disputed, with 2:281 and 5:3 among the candidates.

The migration (hijrah) to Madinah occurred in 622 CE, the starting point of the Hijri calendar established by 'Umar ibn al-Khattab.

The Battle of Badr (2 AH) pitted about 313 Muslims against roughly 1,000 Quraysh; Uhud (3 AH) followed with heavy Muslim losses.

The Treaty of Hudaybiyyah (6 AH) was a ten-year truce that led to the conquest of Makkah (8 AH) after Quraysh violated its terms.

The Farewell Pilgrimage (10 AH) delivered the Khutbat al-Wada', affirming the sanctity of life, property, and the equality of believers.

The Prophet died in 11 AH (632 CE) in Madinah and is buried in the chamber of 'A'ishah beside the Prophet's Mosque.

The Prophet's character is described as the Quran itself; his sirah is the practical tafsir of the Quranic message.

Tafsir bil-ma'thur relies on the Quran, Sunnah, and sayings of the Companions; tafsir bil-ra'y uses reasoned interpretation, valid only when grounded in Arabic and the transmitted sources.

Asbab al-nuzul records the occasions of revelation; knowing them clarifies the meaning and prevents misapplication of a verse.

Al-nasikh wal-mansukh concerns abrogation: later rulings replace earlier ones, and the abrogated verse may remain in recitation while its ruling is lifted.

Makki surahs generally address creed and the Hereafter in short, rhythmic verses; Madani surahs address law and community in longer verses.

The seven ahruf are the revelatory modes; the qira'at, such as Hafs 'an 'Asim, are the transmitted recitational readings.

The muqatta'at are the disjointed letters opening some surahs, such as Alif Lam Mim, whose meanings are ultimately with Allah.

The Quran's inimitability (i'jaz) is linguistic, legislative, and informational; the challenge to produce a surah like it remains unmet.

Tafsir al-Tabari, al-Qurtubi, and Ibn Kathir are major works of tafsir bil-ma'thur; al-Zamakhshari's al-Kashshaf represents tafsir bil-ra'y.

A sahih hadith has five conditions: trustworthy narrators, precise retention, connected isnad, no shudhudh, and no hidden defect ('illah).

A hadith mursal is one where a Tabi'i reports directly from the Prophet, omitting the Companion; its authority is disputed among scholars.

A hadith munqati' has a break in the chain; a hadith mudallas conceals a defect, such as omitting a weak narrator.

A hadith mawdu' is fabricated; a hadith da'if is weak but not necessarily fabricated, and its use is restricted to non-legal matters.

Al-Jarh wa al-Ta'dil is the science of assessing narrators, ranking them as trustworthy or weak, and it governs the authenticity of the isnad.

The Six Books (al-Kutub al-Sittah) are Sahih al-Bukhari, Sahih Muslim, Sunan Abi Dawud, Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Sunan al-Nasa'i, and Sunan Ibn Majah.

Sahih al-Bukhari contains roughly 7,000 hadiths including repetitions; al-Bukhari selected from about 600,000 reports he examined.

A hadith qudsi is attributed to Allah in wording but is not Quran; its recitation is not worship, unlike the Quran.

The Rightly Guided Caliphs (al-Khulafa' al-Rashidun) are Abu Bakr, 'Umar, 'Uthman, and 'Ali, spanning 632-661 CE.

The Umayyad Caliphate (661-750 CE) moved the capital to Damascus; the Abbasid Caliphate (750-1258 CE) built Baghdad as its capital.

The Battle of Tours (732 CE) halted Muslim expansion into Western Europe; the Battle of Manzikert (1071 CE) opened Anatolia to the Seljuks.

Al-Khwarizmi pioneered algebra and the algorithm; Ibn Sina's al-Qanun fi al-Tibb remained a medical reference in Europe for centuries.

Al-Andalus (711-1492 CE) produced Ibn Rushd, Ibn Hazm, and al-Zahrawi, whose surgical works influenced European medicine.

The Ottoman Empire (1299-1924 CE) captured Constantinople in 1453 CE under Sultan Mehmed II and abolished the caliphate in 1924.

The House of Wisdom (Bayt al-Hikmah) in Baghdad translated Greek, Persian, and Indian works into Arabic under the Abbasids.

The mihrab, minaret, and dome are defining architectural features of the mosque as a civilisational form.

The Prophet said: 'I was sent only to perfect noble character' (Bukhari); akhlak is therefore a core objective of the message.

Sidq (truthfulness), amanah (trustworthiness), and 'adl (justice) are foundational virtues in the Quran and Sunnah.

Husn al-khuluq is a balance between extremes: courage between recklessness and cowardice, generosity between extravagance and stinginess.

Ghibah is speaking about a person in their absence in a way they would dislike; buhtan is false accusation, a graver sin.

Riya' is showing off in worship to gain praise; it nullifies the reward and is called the lesser shirk (shirk asghar).

Birr al-walidayn (kindness to parents) is commanded alongside tawhid in the Quran; even a word of contempt is forbidden (17:23).

Salam, visiting the sick, and following funerals are rights of one Muslim over another, as stated in the hadith of the five rights.

Tawadu' (humility) and hilm (forbearance) are praised in the Quran; arrogance (kibr) is condemned as a barrier to Paradise.