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Christianity and World Religions: Islam

A guide that serves as a brief introduction to several world religions. It is intended to whet your appetite for further study and to help you understand the religious beliefs of others in today's global society.

Keywords and Sample Questions

Terms and names:

adl
Ahmed, Giasuddin
Al-Ghazali, Abu Hamid Muhammad
Al-Rumi, Jalal al-Din
Allah
Allah (hu) akbar
amal
Anno Hegirae
Armenian Genocide
Caliph
Crusades
dervish,
Dome of the Rock
Eid al-Adha
Eid al-Fitr
faqir (fakir)
five pillars
Hadith                        
hajj
haq
Hasbuna Allah
hijra
ihsan
iman
Injil
Islam
Jibril
jihad, greater                
jihad, lesser                
Kaabah                        
Karbala
Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan
Khudai Kitmatgars
Mecca        
Medina
Mernissi, Fatima
minaret
muezzin
Muhaiyaddeen, M. R. Bawa
Muhammad
mujahid
mumin
Muslim
Muslim Brotherhood
Muzaffar, Chandra
Night Journey
Quran
Qutb, Sayyid
Rabia of Basra
Ramadan
rasul
sadaqa
salaam
salat
saum
shahada
Sharia
Shia
shirk
Sufiam
Sunna
Sunni
sura
umma
Wahhabi
zakat

What is the meaning of the common phrase
Allah (hu) akbar? Of the phrase Hasbuna Allah?

Was Muhammad an orphan? Explain.

How did Muhammad get to know his first wife Khadijah?

How did Muhammad come to know Islam?

How did Meccan leaders respond at first to Muhammad's preaching based on his visions?

Why did Muhammad go to Medina?  What did he do there?

What is the principal disagreement between Sunni and Shi’ite Muslims?

Why do Muslims insist on reading the Qur'an in Arabic rather than in a translation?

Be prepared to recognize and identify key Muslim beliefs, and to discern when they are being incorrectly described.

Learn the Five pillars of Islam.  For each pillar, What do Muslims do?  When?  How?