by Reza Aslan
Glossary
ahadiyyah Meaning “oneness,” the Sufi ideal of Divine Unity
ahl/qawm A people or tribe
ahl al-bayt The family of the Prophet Muhammad
ahl al-Kitab The “People of the Book”; usually referring to Jews and Christians (see dhimmi)
al-Qaeda Wahhabist organization headed by Osama bin Laden
amir A governor of a Muslim province
Ansar The Helpers; members of Medina’s clans who converted to Islam
asbab al-nuzul The occasions for or causes of a particular verse being revealed to Muhammad
Ash‘ari Traditionalist school of Islamic theology
Ashura The tenth day of the Islamic month of Muharram and the climax of the Shi‘ite mourning ceremonies
Aws Along with the Khazraj, one of the two main pagan Arab clans in Medina
ayah A verse of the Quran
ayatollah Meaning “sign of God”; other than Allamah, the highest level a Shi‘ite cleric can achieve
baraka Spiritual power
Basmallah Invocation that opens most chapters (Surahs) of the Quran: “In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful”
batin The implicit, hidden message of the Quran
bay’ah The oath of allegiance commonly given by the tribe to its Shaykh
bayt/banu “House/sons,” meaning clan
bid’a Religious innovation
Caliph The successor to Muhammad and the temporal leader of
the Muslim community
Companions The first generation of Muslims, those who accompanied Muhammad on the Hijra from Mecca to Yathrib (Medina); also called the Muhajirun
darvish Meaning “beggar,” a common term for Sufis
dhikr Meaning “remembrance,” the primary ritual in Sufism
dhimmi Jews, Christians, and other non-Muslims considered “People of the Book” and protected by Islamic law
du’a Informal prayer
erfan Mystical knowledge
fana The annihilation of the self that occurs when a Sufi has reached a state of spiritual enlightenment
Faqih A Muslim jurist; the Supreme Leader of Iran
faqir See darvish
fatwa A legal declaration made by a qualified Muslim jurist
fikr Mystical contemplation employed by certain Sufi Orders
fiqh The study of Islamic jurisprudence
fitnah Muslim civil war
hadith Stories and anecdotes of the Prophet and his earliest companions
Hajj The pilgrimage to Mecca
Hakam An arbiter who settled disputes within and between tribes in pre-Islamic Arabia
Hanif Pre-Islamic Arab monotheist
Hashim The name of Muhammad’s clan
henotheism The belief in a single “High God,” without the explicit rejection of other, lower gods
hijab Muslim practice of veiling and seclusion of women
Hijaz The region of western Arabia
Hijra The emigration from Mecca to Yathrib (Medina) in 622 C.E.; year 1 A.H. (after Hijra) in the Islamic calendar
Iblis The Devil (corruption of Latin diabolus); Satan
ijma Traditionally, the consensus of the Ulama on a specific legal issue not covered by the Quran and hadith
ijtihad The independent legal judgment of a qualified legal scholar, or mujtahid
Ikhwan The Wahhabist holy warriors who helped the Saudis capture Arabia. Also a term for the Muslim Brothers.
Imam In Shi‘ism, the divinely inspired leader of the community
Islamism An Islamic movement whose primary goal is the establishment of an Islamic polity
isnad A chain of transmission meant to validate individual hadith
Jahiliyyah The “Time of Ignorance” before the advent of Islam
jihad A struggle or striving
Jinn imperceptible, salvable spirits, known as “genies” in the West
jizyah Protection tax paid by the dhimmi
Ka‘ba The ancient sanctuary at Mecca that housed the tribal deities of the Hijaz before being cleansed by Muhammad and rededicated to Allah
kafir An unbeliever
Kahin A soothsayer or ecstatic poet in pre-Islamic Arabia who received inspirations from the Jinn
kalam Islamic theology
Kharijites Radical sect that broke off from Shi‘ism during Ali’s Caliphate
Khazraj Along with the Aws, one of the two main pagan Arab
clans in Medina, and the first clan to accept Muhammad’s message
khedive Egyptian monarchs under the suzerainty of the British Empire
madrassa Islamic religious school
Mahdi The “Hidden Imam,” who is in occultation until the Last Days, when he will return to usher in a time of justice
matam Self-flagellation rituals mourning the martyrdom of Husayn
Mujahadin Muslim militants; literally, “those who wage jihad”
mujtahid A Muslim jurist worthy of emulation and qualified to make authoritative legal declarations
muruwah Pre-Islamic code of tribal conduct
Muslim Islamic socialist organization founded by Hasan
Brothers al-Banna in Egypt in 1928
Mu’tazilah Rationalist school of Islamic theology
nabi A prophet
nafs Meaning “breath,” the self or ego according to Sufism
Najd The desert regions of eastern Arabia
naskh The abrogation of one verse in the Quran by another
Pan-Arabism Principle of racial unity among the world’s Arab population
Pan-Islamism Principle of religious unity among the world’s Muslim population
Pir A Sufi master (also known as Shaykh or Friend of Allah)
Qa‘id Pre-Islamic tribal war leader
qalb The “heart,” corresponding to the soul in Sufism
qiblah The direction of prayer toward Mecca
qiyas Analogical reasoning used as a source in the development of Islamic law
Quraysh The rulers of Mecca in pre-Islamic Arabia
Qurra The Quran readers who were the first to memorize, record, and disseminate the Revelation
qutb The “cosmic pole” around which the universe rotates
Rashidun The first four “Rightly Guided” Caliphs: Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, and Ali
rasul A messenger
ruh The Universal Spirit; the breath of God
Salafiyyah Muslim reform movement begun in Egypt by Muhammad Abdu and Jamal ad-Din al-Afghani
salat Ritual prayer performed five times a day at sunrise, noon, afternoon, sunset, and evening
sawm Fasting
shahadah The Muslim profession of faith: “There is no god but God, and Muhammad is God’s Messenger.”
Shariah Islamic law whose primary sources are the Quran and hadith
Shaykh The leader of the tribe or clan; also called Sayyid
Shi‘ism The largest sect in Islam, founded by the followers of Ali
shirk To obscure the Oneness and Unity of God in any way
shura A consultative assembly of tribal elders who chose the Shaykh in pre-Islamic Arabia
Sufism The name given to the mystical traditions in Islam
Sunna The traditions of the Prophet composed of the hadith
Sunni The main or “orthodox” branch of Islam
Surah A chapter of the Quran
Tabiun The second generation of Muslims after the Companions
tafsir Traditional Quranic exegesis
tahannuth Pre-Islamic religious retreat
tajwid The science of Quranic recitation
tanzil Direct revelation handed down from God to Muhammad
taqiyyah Cautionary dissimulation practiced by the Shi‘ah
taqlid Blind acceptance of juridical precedent
tariqah The spiritual path or Way of the Sufi
tasawwuf The state of being a Sufi
tawaf The seven ritual circumambulations of the Ka‘ba
tawhid Meaning
“making one,” refers to God’s Oneness and Unity
ta’wil Textual exegesis of the Quran that focuses on the hidden, esoteric meaning of the text
ta’ziyeh A public performance reenacting the martyrdom of Husayn at Karbala
topos A conventional literary theme
Ulama Islam’s clerical establishment
Ummah The name given to the Muslim community at Medina
Umm al-Kitab “The Mother of Books,” the heavenly source of all revealed scriptures
umra The lesser pilgrimage at Mecca
Valayat-e “The rule of the jurist”; the religio-political
Faqih ideology founded by the Ayatollah Khomeini
Wahhabism Puritanical sect of Islam founded by Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab in Arabia
wali The executor of God’s divine message
zahir The explicit message of the Quran
zakat Mandatory alms given to the Muslim community and distributed to the poor
zakir Shi‘ite religious specialists who recite stories of the martyrs during the Muharram ceremonies
Zamzam The well situated near the Ka‘ba
Notes
Whenever possible, references to English translations of Arabic texts are provided for the convenience of Western readers.
Prologue: The Clash of Monotheisms
The Reverend Franklin Graham made his comments regarding Islam on November 16, 2002, while appearing on the NBC Nightly News. “We’re not attacking Islam, but Islam has attacked us,” he said. “The God of Islam is not the same God. He’s not the son of God of the Christian or Judeo-Christian faith. It’s a different God, and I believe it [Islam] is a very evil and wicked religion.”
Ann Coulter’s article “This Is War: We Should Invade Their Countries” was posted on National Review Online on September 13, 2001. Jerry Vines’s speech was given at the annual Southern Baptist Convention, June 10, 2001. A text of James Inhofe’s disturbing Senate address delivered on March 4, 2002, is available at the Middle East Information Center; see http://middleeastinfo.org/article316.html.
Barry Yeoman has written a wonderful article about undercover missionaries in the Muslim world, titled “The Stealth Crusade,” in Mother Jones (May/June 2002).
1. The Sanctuary in the Desert
My description of the pagan Ka‘ba relies on the writings of Ibn Hisham and al-Tabari, as well as The Travels of Ali Bey al-Abbasi as recounted in Michael Wolfe’s excellent collection of pilgrimage accounts, One Thousand Roads to Mecca (1997). I also suggest F. E. Peters, Mecca: A Literary History of the Muslim Holy Land (1994). For the English translation of Ibn Hisham, see Alfred Guillaume’s The Life of Muhammad (1955). For an English translation of al-Tabari, see the multivolume set edited by Ihsan Abbas et al., The History of Al-Tabari (1988).
The three hundred sixty gods in the sanctuary must be understood as a sacred, not a factual, number. Considering the small size of the Ka‘ba, it is likely that most, if not all, the idols in Mecca were originally placed outside the sanctuary, near a semicircular region called the Hijr. For more on the role and function of the Hijr see Uri Rubin’s article “The Ka’ba: Aspects of Its Ritual Function and Position in Pre-Islamic and Early Times,” in Jerusalem Studies in Arabic and Islam (1986). In my opinion, the best text on the subject of sacred places is still Mircea Eliade’s The Sacred and the Profane (1959); see also his The Myth of the Eternal Return (1954). The story of the “navel of the world” is treated in G. R. Hawting’s brief article “We Were Not Ordered with Entering It but Only with Circumambulating It: Hadith and Fiqh on Entering the Kaaba,” in Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies (1984). What little we know about the Amir tribe’s worship of dhu-Samawi is outlined in a brief article by Sheikh Ibrahim al-Qattan and Mahmud A. Ghul, “The Arabian Background of Monotheism in Islam,” in The Concept of Monotheism in Islam and Christianity, edited by Hans Kochler (1982).
An excellent discussion of paganism in the Near East before the rise of Islam can be found in Jonathan P. Berkey, The Formation of Islam (2003). See also Robert G. Hoyland, Arabia and the Arabs (2001). For a more in-depth analysis of the various religious traditions that existed in the Arabian Peninsula before the rise of Islam, I suggest Joseph Henninger’s brief article “Pre-Islamic Bedouin Religion” in Studies on Islam, edited by Martin Schwartz (1981). Despite his strict monotheism, Muhammad wholeheartedly accepted the Jinn and even gave them their own chapter in the Quran (Chapter 18). Muhammad may have equated the Jinn with some vague concept of angelology. Thus good Jinn are angels and bad Jinn, especially Iblis (Satan), who is often called a Jinn, are demons (see Quran 18:50).
An insightful discussion of the Ka‘ba’s Jewish influences can be found in G. R. Hawting’s “The Origins of the Muslim Sanctuary at Mecca,” in Studies on the First Century of Islamic Studies, edited by G.H.A. Juynboll (1982). That the traditions regarding the origins of the Ka‘ba predate Islam is, I believe, definitively demonstrated by Uri Rubin’s article “Hanafiyya and Ka’ba: An Enquiry into the Arabian Pre-Islamic Background of din Ibrahim,” Jerusalem Studies in Arabic and Islam (1990). A closer inspection of the traditions surrounding the Black Stone makes it clear that this was a meteor that had fallen to earth. The Arab historian Ibn Sa‘d states that when it was first discovered, “the black stone shone like the moon for the people of Mecca until the pollution of impure people caused it to go black.” Jacob’s dream can be found in Genesis 28:10–17. For more on the Jews in Arabia see Gordon Darnell Newby, A History of the Jews of Arabia (1988), especially pp. 49–55. For more on the relationship between the Kahin and Kohen, see applicable entries in The Encyclopedia of Islam.
Some examples of the Quran’s use of explicit Christian imagery include its mention of the “trumpets” that will herald the Last Judgment (6:73; 18:99; 23:101; etc.), the fiery damnation awaiting sinners in hell (104:6–9), and the vision of paradise as a garden (2:25), though the latter may have its origins in Iranian religious traditions. A deeper study of this connection can be found in John Wansbrough, Quranic Studies: Source and Methods of Scriptural Interpretation (1977) and H.A.R. Gibb’s regrettably titled but extremely informative book Mohammedanism (1970). For more general comments on the influence of Christianity in the Arabian Peninsula see Richard Bell, The Origins of Islam in Its Christian Environment (1968). The story of Baqura can be found in al-Tabari, p. 1135, and also in the chronicles of al-Azraqi as quoted in Peters, Mecca. Note that the Quranic claim that it was not Jesus, but another in his semblance, who was crucified echoes similar Monophysite, as well as Gnostic, beliefs regarding Jesus’ divine nature. Some other tribes known to have converted to Christianity are the Taghlib, the Bakr ibn Wa’il, and the Banu Hanifa.
It is unclear exactly when Zarathustra preached his faith. Dates of the Prophet range from the purely mythical (8000 B.C.) to the eve of the Iranian Kingdom (seventh century B.C.). I believe the most logical date for the birth of Zoroastrianism is c. 1100–1000 B.C. See my article “Thus Sprang Zarathustra: A Brief Historiography on the Date of the Prophet of Zoroastrianism,” in Jusur (1998–99). The influence of Zoroastrian eschatology can be seen quite clearly in Jewish apocalyptic movements such as that of the Essenes (or whoever is responsible for the Dead Sea Scrolls), who developed a complicated eschatology in which the sons of light battle the sons of darkness (both Zoroastrian terms) at the end times, ultimately ushering in the reign of the Teacher of Righteousness. For more on Zoroastrianism, I suggest Mary Boyce’s comprehensive three-volume set History of Zoroastrianism (1996). Those with less time on their hands can try her abridgment, Zoroastrians: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices (2001), or alternatively, Farhang Mehr, The Zoroastrian Tradition (1991). Briefly, Mazdakism was a socioreligious movement founded by a Zoroastrian heretic named Mazdak, who emphasized equality and solidarity, primarily through the communal sharing of all goods and properties (including women). Manichaeism, the doctrine founded by the Prophet Mani, was a Gnostic religious movement heavily influenced by Zoroas
trianism, Christianity, and Judaism which preached a complex, radical dualism between the forces of darkness/evil and the forces of light/good.
The story of Zayd and the Hanif can be found in Ibn Hisham, pp. 143–49. See also Jonathan Fueck, “The Originality of the Arabian Prophet,” in Studies on Islam, ed. Schwartz (1981). The epitaphs of Khalid ibn Sinan and Qass ibn Sa’idah are quoted in Mohammed Bamyeh’s truly indispensable book, The Social Origins of Islam (1999). For more on Abu Amir ar-Rahib and Abu Qais ibn al-Aslat, both of whom vigorously opposed Muhammad’s Muslim community in Medina, see Rubin’s “Hanafiyya and Ka‘ba.” Once again, Rubin definitively demonstrates that Hanifism existed before the rise of Islam, though other scholars, including Montgomery Watt, Patricia Crone, and John Wansbrough, disagree. Although it is obvious that Zayd’s verses were put into his mouth by later Arab chroniclers, the content of his poetry nonetheless reveals what these Arabs thought Hanifism represented.
An analysis of the Zayd and Muhammad traditions can be found in M. J. Kister, “A Bag of Meat: A Study of an Early Hadith,” Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies (1968). The story I narrate here is an amalgamation of two of these traditions: one from folios 37b–38a in the Qarawiyun manuscript 727 and translated by Alfred Guillaume in “New Light on the Life of Muhammad,” Journal of Semitic Studies (1960); the other recorded by al-Khargushi and translated by Kister. While the exact definition of tahannuth is still debated by scholars, Ibn Hisham and al-Tabari both indicate that this was a pagan religious practice connected in some way to the cult of the Ka‘ba, which took place in the “edens,” “valleys,” and “mountains” of Mecca. For more on the subject see M. J. Kister, “al-Tahannuth: An Inquiry into the Meaning of a Term,” Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies (1968). F. E. Peters notes in The Hajj (1994) that the Arabic term for “erring” in verse 7 (dalla, meaning “misguided” or “astray”) “leaves little doubt that the ‘error’ was not simply that Muhammad was confused but that he was immersed in the same reprehensible practices in which the Quraysh persisted even after God had sent the ‘guidance’ to them as well.”