Muslim Traditions Chapter 6 Exam Prep Amore

Chapter 6

Muslim Traditions

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What does the term “Islam” mean?
   1. God’s people
   2. Love
   3. Loyalty
   4. Submission
   5. Strength
2. Which of the following can be considered muslims?
   1. Plants
   2. Angels
   3. Humans
   4. Inanimate Objects
   5. All of the above
3. Whom do Muslims believe built the Ka’ba?
   1. Abraham and Ishmael
   2. Moses
   3. Muhammad
   4. Noah and his sons
   5. Abraham and Isaac
4. Prior to the emergence of Islam, the Arabic term hanifs referred to which of the following?
   1. The name referred to “non-Arab” Meccans
   2. “Pious ones” in Mecca who shared the ethical monotheism of Christianity and Judaism prior to the emergence of Islam
   3. Poets who held to a polytheistic worldview
   4. Priests of the neighbouring Persian Empire
   5. Ruling elders within the foremost tribe of Mecca
5. What was the name of the tribe into which the prophet Muhammad was born?
   1. Al-Amin
   2. Sassanid
   3. Umayyad
   4. Quraysh
   5. Hanifs
6. What does the term Qur’an literally mean in English?
   1. Revelation
   2. Submission
   3. Recitation
   4. Holy Book
   5. Unveiling
7. In the Sunni tradition, who became the khalifa (representative) or successor immediately after Muhammad’s death?
   1. Abu Bakr
   2. Uthman
   3. Umar ibn al-Khattab
   4. Ali
   5. Husayn
8. In what year was the hijrah (migration) of Muhammad and his followers to Yathrib, marking the first year of the Islamic calendar?
   1. 762
   2. 500
   3. 570
   4. 632
   5. 622
9. In Islam, the qiblah (direction of prayer) was originally to which city?
   1. Bethlehem
   2. Mecca
   3. Jerusalem
   4. Medina
   5. Cairo
10. What are the two major branches of Islam?
    1. Sufi and Shi’a
    2. Sunni and Shi’a
    3. Umayyad and ‘Abbasid
    4. Sunni and Sufi
    5. Imami and Ismaili
11. What does the term sunnah, from which Sunni Muslims derive their name, refer to?
    1. Shari’ah or religious law
    2. “Devotees” of God
    3. The “traditions” of the Prophet
    4. The “true” followers of the Prophet
    5. “Partisans” or followers of ‘Ali
12. Whom do Shi’a Muslims believe Muhammad appointed as his successor?
    1. No one specific; he did not designate a successor
    2. His son-in-law ‘Ali
    3. His wife Khadijah
    4. His companion Abu Bakr
    5. His freed slave Zayd
13. What is the name of Muhammad’s heavenly ascent where he met some other prophets?
    1. mi’raj
    2. hijrah
    3. ijtihad
    4. ascension
    5. assumption
14. Which hereditary dynasty followed the caliphs as rulers of the Islamic empire?
    1. Umayyad
    2. Ming
    3. ‘Abbasid
    4. Khan
    5. Ottoman
15. Which five messenger-prophets are singled out as of special significance in the Qur’an?
    1. Abraham, Moses, David, Jesus, Muhammad
    2. Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Muhammad
    3. Abraham, Shu’ayb, Hud, Salih, Muhammad
    4. Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Muhammad
    5. Moses, Daniel, Isaiah, Elijah, Muhammad
16. What is the Islamic term for the community which Muhammad established?
    1. hijrah
    2. sunnah
    3. iman
    4. caliphate
    5. ummah
17. What is the name of the three day festival that marks the end of Ramadan?
    1. ‘Id al-Fitr
    2. ‘Id al-Adha
    3. ‘Id al-Ramadan
    4. ‘Id al-Mubarak
    5. ‘Id al-Surah
18. Roughly in what order are the chapters (surahs) of the Qur’an organized?
    1. Increasing order of length
    2. Grouped according to topics
    3. Decreasing order of importance
    4. Decreasing order of length
    5. The exact order in which they were revealed
19. What is the name of the fixed prayer repeated within every cycle or unit (rak’ah)?
    1. Fatihah
    2. Rak’ah
    3. Salat
    4. Shema
    5. Dhikr
20. Which Arabic term refers to commentary on the Qur’an?
    1. Midrash
    2. Hadith
    3. Shari’ah
    4. Tafsir
    5. Surah
21. What does the term Arabic word iman mean?
    1. Faith, trust and personal sense of well being
    2. Almsgiving and caring for the poor
    3. Disbelief in the existence of God
    4. Ethical living as an act of obedience
    5. Voluntarily praying beyond five times a day
22. In Islam, what does the term kufr, the opposite of iman, refer to?
    1. Unlawful or forbidden
    2. Prayer
    3. Knowing the truth but wilfully denying or obscuring it
    4. Faith or inner conviction
    5. Religious law
23. In the context of Iran, the Arabic term ulama refers to what?
    1. Muslim priesthood who cooperated with the secular government
    2. Religious leaders who have opposed the secular government
    3. Muslim mystics who opposed the secular government
    4. Legal scholars who supported the secular government
    5. Secular leaders prior to the Islamic revolution
24. In Islam, what are the hadith texts?
    1. Declarations from the community of legal scholars
    2. Collections of Sufi poetry
    3. Collections of sayings traced to Muhammad through oral transmission
    4. Commentaries on the Qur’an
    5. Important philosophical commentaries
25. Which of the following terms is sacred law (law of God)?
    1. shari’ah
    2. sunnah
    3. ijma
    4. haram
    5. fiqh
26. In Islam, what does the term halal, in reference to law, mean?
    1. Neutral
    2. Reprehensible
    3. Lawful
    4. Forbidden
    5. Commendable
27. In Islam, what does the term haram, in reference to law, mean?
    1. Forbidden
    2. Unlawful
    3. Neutral
    4. Lawful
    5. Commendable
28. What does the term fiqh refer to in Islamic tradition?
    1. Spiritual leader
    2. The law of God
    3. Jurisprudence
    4. Mysticism
    5. Prayer
29. In Islam, what does the Arabic word ijtihad refer to?
    1. Sayings traced to Muhammad through oral transmission
    2. Declarations from the community of legal scholars
    3. Holy war
    4. Personal reasoning of scholars in matters of law
    5. General consensus of the community in matters of law
30. Legal opinions issued by the experts in religious law (muftis) are known as what?
    1. ijmas
    2. taqlids
    3. harams
    4. surahs
    5. fatwas
31. In Islam, what is another name for the Shi’i legal and religious system?
    1. Iranian Law
    2. Hanafi Law
    3. Twelver Law
    4. Maliki Law
    5. Ja’fari Law
32. Why are “Twelver” Shi’a Muslims so named?
    1. Twelve is believed to be the most powerful number.
    2. They pray twelve times a day.
    3. They believe there were twelve official Imams descending from ‘Ali.
    4. They are led by an official council of twelve.
    5. They believe the twelve apostles of Jesus were also prophets.
33. Early Islamic philosophy was strongly influenced by which of the following?
    1. Mongolian Philosophers
    2. Greek Thinkers
    3. Byzantine Christians
    4. Indic Thinkers
    5. Chinese Philosophers
34. Which famous Muslim intellectual advanced the double truth theory, which asserts religion and science are both valid ways of arriving at truth?
    1. Ibn Khaldun
    2. Ibn Rushd (Averroës)
    3. Al-Farabi (Avennasar)
    4. Ibn Sina (Avicenna)
    5. Al-Razi (Rhazes)
35. The Iranian scholar and mystic al-Ghazali is famous for writing which book?
    1. The Revivification of the Religious Sciences
    2. The Canon of Medicine
    3. Timaeus
    4. The Book of Healing
    5. The Incoherence of Incoherence
36. What is the title of the Muslim who chants the call to prayer?
    1. shaykhs
    2. dhimmis
    3. mu’adhdhin
    4. mahdis
    5. imamis
37. Ashura commemorates the death of Muhammad’s grandson Husayn, which occurred during?
    1. First Crusade
    2. Battle of Karbala
    3. Battle of Badr
    4. Battle of the Trench
    5. Hijrah
38. According to Imami or “Twelver” Shi’ism, what happened to the twelfth and final Imam?
    1. He was killed by Sunni Muslims.
    2. He died and deliberately named no successor.
    3. He ascended to Heaven and now sits with Muhammad and Jesus.
    4. He named his successor in secret before his death, which has passed in succession to a secret Imam ever since.
    5. He went into hiding or “occultation” and will return at the end of the world.
39. The term “Sufism” comes from the Arabic word meaning what?
    1. Fire
    2. Piety
    3. Wool
    4. Silk
    5. Poetry
40. Rabi’a al-’Adawiyah was a famous female what?
    1. Mystic
    2. Imam
    3. Philosopher
    4. Jurist (legal expert)
    5. Queen
41. What controversial suggestion by the Sufi al-Hallaj resulted in him being executed?
    1. That God is simply a metaphor for love.
    2. That there was no distinction between God and himself.
    3. That he was the next prophet that has received a new message from God.
    4. That women should be allowed to be part of the ulama.
    5. That the ulama (community of legal scholars) were agents of Satan.
42. In Islam, which Sufi wrote the masterpiece Mathnawi (Couplets)?
    1. Al-Ghazali
    2. Al-Hasan al-Basri
    3. Rabi’a
    4. Ibn ‘Arabi
    5. Rumi
43. Sufi orders are usually founded by Sufi masters called what?
    1. Caliphs
    2. Imams
    3. Mahdis
    4. Shaykhs
    5. Ulama
44. For the Mevlevi (or Mawlawi) order, which practice is central to their mysticism?
    1. Singing
    2. Silent Prayer
    3. Fasting
    4. Dancing
    5. Prophesying
45. Protected “People of the Book” (i.e., Jews and Christians) came to be known as what?
    1. Mahdis
    2. Dhimmis
    3. Caliphs
    4. Imamis
    5. Predecessors
46. Who is the Muslim activist-scholar, professor, of religious studies at DePaul University?
    1. Aminah Al-Deen
    2. Rabi’a al-’Adawiyah
    3. Ilhan Omar
    4. Rashida Tlaib
    5. Tawakkul Karman
47. The first written references to Islam in China appear in what century?
    1. Sixteenth Century
    2. Seventeenth Century
    3. Eighteenth Century
    4. Fifteenth Century
    5. Fourteenth Century
48. What ancient Byzantine symbol became the imperial emblem of the Ottomans and then became a symbol for Islam?
    1. Minaret
    2. Qiblah
    3. Buraq
    4. Crescent
    5. Calligraphy
49. Which country has the largest Muslim population today?
    1. India
    2. Iran
    3. Saudi Arabia
    4. Pakistan
    5. Indonesia
50. In Islam, what does the Arabic word shahadah refer to?
    1. Bearing Witness
    2. Almsgiving
    3. Daily Prayer
    4. Ramadan Fast
    5. Pilgrimage to Mecca
51. In Islam, how many times a day must salat prayers be performed?
    1. Three
    2. Two
    3. One
    4. Ten
    5. Five
52. What day is designated in Islam for congregational assembly and prayer?
    1. Monday
    2. Sunday
    3. Friday
    4. Saturday
    5. Thursday
53. In Islam, what does the Arabic word zakat refer to?
    1. The pilgrimage undertaken once in a lifetime
    2. Daily prayer
    3. An obligatory tax collected for the needy
    4. The declaration of faith
    5. The month of fasting
54. During the month of Ramadan, what are Muslims required to do?
    1. Fast from dawn until dusk
    2. Abstain from smoking and sex
    3. Stay at home
    4. Both A and B
    5. All of the above
55. In Islam, most of the ritual elements of the hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca) are understood as re-enacting the experiences of which prophet?
    1. Abraham
    2. Moses
    3. Jesus
    4. Noah
    5. Muhammad
56. Which Muslim won Emmy Awards for Master of None?
    1. Aziz Ansari
    2. Mahershala Ali
    3. Kumail Nanjiani
    4. Amina Wadud
    5. Muhammad Alexander Webb
57. Who is the most celebrated calligrapher in the United States?
    1. Ibn Taymiyyah
    2. Muhammad ‘Al Sa’ud
    3. Ahmad Sirhindi
    4. Mohamed Zakariya
    5. Sayyid Ahmad Khan
58. The contemporary kingdom of Saudi Arabia is the result of what Islamic revivalist movement?
    1. Ahmadi
    2. Muslim Brothers
    3. Wahhabi
    4. Taymiyyah
    5. Sanusi
59. In Islam, what does the Arabic term jihad mean?
    1. Submission
    2. Reason
    3. Holy war
    4. Struggle
    5. Peace
60. What is the name of the prophet revered by the Ahmadis as the Mahdi, the tenth incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu, and the returning Messiah of Christianity?
    1. Abu Nasr al-Farabi
    2. Jalal al-Din Rumi
    3. Mirza Ghulam Ahmad
    4. Ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhab
    5. Abd al-Muttalib
61. Which modern reformer, author of Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam, argued that Western science and philosophy were rightfully part of the Islamic heritage?
    1. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
    2. Ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhab
    3. Muhammad Iqbal
    4. Mirza Ghulam Ahmad
    5. Ahmad Barelwi
62. Who transformed the Turkish state from an Islamic domain into a modern secular republic?
    1. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
    2. Ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhab
    3. Hosni Mubarak
    4. Hasan al-Banna
    5. Imam Ruhollah Khomeini
63. What Muslim country experienced secular rule from 1501–1979?
    1. Iraq
    2. Pakistan
    3. Iran
    4. Afghanistan
    5. Turkey
64. What group, founded in the United States, saw Islam as a religion of Black people only?
    1. The Nation of Islam
    2. Ahmadiyah
    3. The Islamic Society
    4. The Society of Muslim Brothers
    5. The Muslim World
65. Who wrote the hit comedy movie titled The Big Sick?
    1. Kumail Nanjiani
    2. Aziz Ansari
    3. Dave Chapelle
    4. Mahershala Ali
    5. Ibn Taymiyya

True or False Questions

Islam means “submission” in Arabic.

The shahadah is the forbidden act of denying the existence of God.

The Qur’an refers to the period before Islam as the age of “polytheism” and “disbelief.”

Inanimate things, plants, animals, and angels can all be considered muslims.

The Ka’ba is an ancient structure believed to have been built by Muhammad.

Muhammad was raised by his uncle Abu Talib.

According to tradition, Muhammad was illiterate.

The first person to adopt the new faith spread by Muhammad was his friend Abu Bakr.

Muhammad first received his call to the prophethood and the first revelation of the Qur’an when on a pilgrimage.

The archangel Michael revealed to Muhammad that he was called to be a messenger of God.

The word qiblah refers to Muhammad’s migration to Yathrib.

Muhammad and the Muslims won the Battle of Badr because of their far superior army.

The prophet Muhammad immediately expelled Jews from Medina upon its conversion into a Muslim commonwealth.

The prophet Muhammad was a military leader in addition to being a spiritual one.

The Umayyads established their capital in Baghdad in 661.

Moses and Jesus are considered “prophets of power” in Islam.

In Islam, Jesus is considered to be divine in his nature.

The honorific phrase added by Muslims whenever the name of Muhammad is spoken or written, abbreviated PBUH, is “prayers be upon him.”

The term Qur’an literally means “the Revelation.”

The Qur’an was compiled during Muhammad’s lifetime.

For Muslims, the Qur’an is the Word of God made into a book.

There are six canonical hadith collections.

The term halal means unlawful and therefore forbidden.

Tafsir means “unveiling” in reference to commentary on the Qur’an.

Islam has priesthood similar in structure to that of the Catholic Church.

The personal reasoning (ijtihad) of scholars is considered a secondary source of religious law.

The gate of ijtihad (scholarly reasoning) is generally thought in Muslim tradition to have closed by the tenth century.

Fatwas can only be issued by the community (ummah) who arrives at a consensus.

Taqlid means following the traditional reasoning of the community (ummah).

Mainstream Shi’as believe that the final Imam went into hiding or “occultation,” to return with Jesus at the end of the world.

Abu Nasr al-Farabi was a great philosopher and important musician and musical theorist.

Ibn Rushd (Averroës) was a great mystic who criticized philosophy as “incoherent”

In Shi’ism, the Imam is the one individual believed to be the rightful, divinely mandated leader of the Muslim community, descended from ‘Ali.

The most characteristic Sufi practice is a ritual called the dhikr (“remembrance”) of God.

There are approximately 50 million Muslims in China today.

Almsgiving (zakat) was traditionally encouraged but not obligatory for Muslims.

The hajj (pilgrimage) to Mecca involves sitting in quiet contemplation and prayer at the Ka’ba for one week.

Islamic art is more abstract than pictorial.

Wahhabi reformists in the eighteenth century destroyed Muhammad’s tomb in Medina, and called for the destruction of the Ka’ba.

Ashura is an important day of commemoration within the Sunni tradition.

The early Muslim mystics were said to wear a garment of coarse wool to emulate Jesus.

Sufi orders refused to get involved in reform movements out of fear of compromising their purity.

The most characteristic devotional practice amongst the Sufis is known as dhikr (“remembrance”).

Dhimmis are non-Mulism “protected people” who are considered “people of the Book” living amongst Muslims.

The Qur’an makes allowances for adultery within particular situations.

The Qur’an forbids women from owning any property.

The Qur’an stipulates that women must wear the hijab (veil) outside the home.

The Qur’an demands modesty of both females and males.

Suicide bombings violate mainstream Islamic teachings.

No Muslim has ever won an Academy Award.

Short Answer Questions

In what way did Muhammad’s message challenge the tribal norms in seventh-century Arabia?

How did Muhammad and the early Muslim community understand their relationship to Jews and Christians?

What are the differences between Sunni and Shi’ia Muslims?

What is the distinction between a prophet and a messenger in the Islamic tradition?

How is Jesus understood in the Islamic tradition?

What are the hadith? Why are hadith important for Muslims?

What are the sources of Islamic law (shari’ah)? Briefly explain each.

What are the five different classifications of actions within the framework of shari’ah?

What is the difference between Imami (“Twelver”) and Isma’ili (“Sevener”) Shi’ism?

Who is Rabi’a al-’Adawiyah and why is she a significant Muslim in the Sufi tradition?

What was the significance of al-Andalus in terms of culture, philosophy, and interreligious dialogue?

What are the Five Pillars of Islam? Briefly describe each.

What are the main/distinctive elements of Islamic art?

Who is Aminah Al-Deen and why is she a significant contemporary Muslim?

Why is the Iranian Revolution of 1979 an important political issue in the United States up to the present day?

Essay Questions

Explain how the early life of Muhammad suggests he would have been an unlikely candidate to be a Prophet.

Discuss the relationship of Islam to Judaism and Christianity, according to Muslim tradition. How are the other two faiths understood?

Could Islam be described as a religion that emphasizes orthopraxy (emphasis on right practice)? Why, or why not? Support your answer with specific examples

What sources are used to support and advance shari’ah? Explain how these sources are used for Islamic jurisprudence and how they have developed over time.

Explain the main characteristics of Sufism, with specific examples. How has Sufism challenged traditional, “mainstream” Islamic practice?

What is the significance and influence of the Wahhabi movement in Islam?

Discuss the issue of women wearing the hijab, in the context of Islamic tradition as well as contemporary interpretations. Why might this be both a symbol of oppression and of liberation?

In what ways have Muslims contributed (and will continue) to the broader cultural landscape in the United States in the 21^st century? Provide examples.