From The Columbia Encyclopedia Husband of Fatima (daughter of Muhammad) and 4th caliph (656-61). The debate over his right to the caliphate caused a major split in Islam into Sunni and Shiite branches.
Medina is the second holiest city in the Islamic world after Mecca, and contains the tomb of Muhammad, a focus for Muslim pilgrims during the hajj (annual pilgrimage).
From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide Islamic shrine in Jerusalem dating from the 7th century AD that surrounds a great rock altar (an outcrop of rock) that was part of Solomon's Temple of Jerusalem. The place from which, in Muslim tradition, Muhammad ascended to heaven on his Night Journey.
Sharia is the religious law of Islam. As Islam makes no distinction between religion and life, Islamic law covers not only ritual but many aspects of life.
Muslim code of practice; a body of traditional law based on the sayings, actions, and guidance of the prophet Muhammad, as detailed in the Hadith and the Sirah (a biography of the prophet's life).
From The Columbia Encyclopedia A tradition or the collection of the traditions of Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam, including his sayings and deeds, and his tacit approval of what was said or done in his presence.
From Holidays, Festivals, and Celebrations of the World Dictionary On the 10th of Muharram in the year 680, Muhammad’s grandson Hussein was killed in a skirmish between Sunnis and the small group of Shi’ite supporters with whom he was travelling to Iraq.
From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia In the Muslim calendar, the ninth month of the year. Ramadan follows a lunar year and occurs 11 days earlier each solar year. Throughout Ramadan a strict fast (sawm) is observed during the hours of daylight.
Also known as the Feast of Fast-Breaking, or the Lesser Feast, Id al-Fitr marks the end of the month-long fast of Ramadan and the beginning of a three-day feast.
From Holidays, Festivals, and Celebrations of the World Dictionary This most important feast of the Muslim calendar is the concluding rite of those performing the Hajj or Pilgrimage to Mecca. It is also known as Id al-Kabir, the Great Feast.
From The Columbia Encyclopedia The largest division of Islam. Sunni Islam is the heir to the early central Islamic state, in its ackowledgement of the legitimacy of the order of succession of the first four caliphs.
From Palgrave Macmillan Dictionary of Political Thought A form of radical Islamism known after its founder, Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhab (1703–1792), from the Najd area of Arabia, ruled by local sheikhs of the house of Saud.
A system of doctrines proclaimed in Persia in 1844 by Ali Muhammad of Shiraz, who proclaimed himself the Bab, the living door to the twelth Imam and the knowledge of God, and sent missionaries throughout Persia.
From The Columbia Encyclopedia The Baha'i faith holds that God can be made known to humankind through manifestations that have come at various stages of human progress; prophets include Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Muhammad, the Bab, and Baha Ullah.
