| A | B |
|---|
| Arabia | a region in Southwest Asia with hot and dry air and limited water |
| oasis | a wet, fertile area in a desert |
| nomad | traveler; in Arabia, they lived in tents and raised animals |
| sedentary | settled; in Arabia, some people settled in oases which became towns along trade routes |
| Muhammad | a man from Mecca who founded Islam |
| Mecca | the birthplace of Muhammad |
| Muslims | people who follow Islam |
| Qur’an | the holy book of Islam that contains the collected messages that Muhammad received from God |
| Allah | “the God” in Arabic |
| Medina | a city Muhammad and his followers moved to; “the prophet’s city” |
| hegira | journey; Muhammad’s departure from Mecca, which marks the first year of the Islamic calendar |
| mosque | building for Muslim prayer |
| explicit | fully revealed without vagueness; for example, the Qur’an specifically tells Muslims how to prepare for worship and that they are not allowed to eat pork or drink alcohol |
| implicit | understood though not clearly put into words; for example, the Qur’an implies that slavery should be abolished |
| jihad | the inner struggle people go through in their effort to obey God and behave according to Islamic ways; it has also been translated to “holy war” |
| Sunnah | refers to the way Muhammad lived, which provides a model for the duties and the way of life expected of Muslims |
| Five Pillars of Islam | five acts of worship required of all Muslims |
| statement of faith | one of the Five Pillars of Islam in which Muslims state that there is only one God and Muhammad is his prophet |
| Ramadan | holy month; Muslims fast during this time |
| hajj | a pilgrimage to Mecca that Muslims should complete at least once in their lives |
| Kaaba | in Mecca, Islam’s most sacred place; it is a structure with a black stone inside it; according to Islamic tradition |
| Shariah | Islamic law based on the Qur’an and the Sunnah as well as human reason |
| Sunni | a branch of Islam that forms the majority of the world’s Muslims |
| Shia | a branch of Islam; although the smaller branch, countries with large populations of this branch include Iran, Iraq, and Yemen; adherents are called Shi'ites |
