Intro to Islam Quiz
When and where was Muhammad born?
570 in Mecca
When did Muhammad and Khadija get married?
595 AD
What are the main characteristics a confessional religion?
Confessional religions believe in something permanent and higher up, which leads to the idea of being vs. beings, where there is something higher up which is unlimited so humans must be limited. A confessional religion requires the complete submission to the transcendent and universal mandates and morals of that religion. A confessional religion requires its believers to submit to a transcendent standard of God's Law or God's Truths. Confessional religions also include the concept of being able to redeem oneself in the afterlife because if humans are limited, by living according to the truths of the unlimited you will then be redeemed in the afterlife.
What is the meaning of the term 'theophany'?
God presenting itself to a human
What is the importance of critique rooted in transcendent ideas? How does it empower individuals and groups against parties in power.
If you believe in a universal truth then anybody who doesn't submit to the same truths are wrong and cannot be redeemed. There is only one truth and everything else is wrong.
Who was Khadija (including economic status)? What was her role in Muhammad's life during the Meccan period?
Khadija was Muhammed's first wife and the first believer of muhammed. She was a widow of a successful business man and inherited his business and great wealth.
Was Mecca isolated from the broader oikoumene or connected? Explain.
Mecca was connected to the broader oikoumene because it was a busy mercantile city along the oikoumene trading routes.
To what tribe and clan did Muhammad belong?
Muhammed was in the Quraysh tribe and Banu Hashim tribe.
What event occurred in the year 610?
Muhammed's first revelation was in 610 during the month of ramadan. He had his first revelation in a cave on Mount Hira.
When and where did Muhammad first experience the revelation of God?
Muhammed's first revelation was in 610 during the month of ramadan. He had his first revelation in a cave on Mount Hira.
What did Khadija do to reassure immediately after Muhammd's first revelation?
She covered him with a blanket and told him she believed him, then took him to a spiritual hanif who said that he really did have a revelation with god.
What were the three main confessional religious empires surrounding the Arabian Peninsula prior to the emergence of Islam?
The Axum Empire in Ethiopia, the Byzantine Empire, and the Persian Empire.
How does the emergence of the intellectual structure of transcendence in the broader oikoumene make critique possible?
The intellectual structure of transcendence in the oikoumene allowed for the critique of the human world using the standard of God's law or God's truth. The idea of universal truths allows the critique of yourself as well as the critique of others, and the blending within the oikoumene makes the ability to critique others even stronger.
What was the importance of the tribe and clan in the period leading up to muhammad's life in the hijaz
The tribe and clan were the strongest political system on the peninsula. Tribal revenge was the only over-arching structure of inter-tribe justice. Muhammed was born into the Quraysh tribe
What is a kahin?
a spiritual medium
What is an hanif?
an unaligned monotheist
