Lecture 5 Handout

Islamic Societies of the Middle East & North Africa            MELC20040

Glossary of Terms:

Five Pillars of the Faith: 1) shahada; 2) salat; 3) zakat; 4) sawm; 5) hajj

Shi‘at ‘Ali: Shi‘a for short

Ahl al-sunna: Sunni for short

Fatima: daughter of the Prophet

Ali: cousin of the Prophet and Fatima’s husband

umma: transnational Muslim community

Imam: spiritual leader for the Shi‘a; prayer leader for the Sunnis

khalifa: “successor,” anglicized as caliph

shura: “consultation,” “electoral council”

Ghadir Khumm

mawla

Shari‘a

Imamiyya: Twelvers

Zaydis: Fivers (named after Zayd b. ‘Ali)

Isma‘ilis: Seveners (named after Isma‘il)

Fatimids: 969-1171

Al-Azhar university in Cairo

Salah al-Din (Saladin): defeats the Fatimids in 1171

Druzes, Alawis, Shabak: secretive sects

Ayatollah



Citation: administrator. (2006, September 05). Lecture 5 Handout. Retrieved January 09, 2009, from Notre Dame OpenCourseWare Web site: http://ocw.nd.edu/arabic-and-middle-east-studies/islamic-societies-of-the-middle-east-and-north/Lecture%205%20Handout.html.
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