Battle of the TrenchThe Battle of the Trench (Ghazwat al-Khandaq), also known as the Battle of Khandaq (Ma’rakah al-Khandaq) and the Battle of the Confederates (Ghazwat al-Ahzab), was part of the conflict between the Muslims and the Quraysh, where this time the Quraysh took the offensive and advanced on the Muslims, who defended themselves in Medina by digging a trench around their settlement at the suggestion of Salman the Persian. The battle, which took place in 627 and lasted around two weeks, was lightly fought, with the Muslims reported to have suffered five to six casualties and the Quraysh three.
TaqwaTaqwa (تقوى / ) is an Islamic term for being conscious and cognizant of God, of truth, "piety, fear of God."Nanji, Azim. "Islamic Ethics," in A Companion to Ethics, Peter Singer. Oxford: Blackwells,n(1991), pp. 106–118. It is often found in the Quran. Those who practice taqwa — in the words of Ibn Abbas, "believers who avoid Shirk with Allah and who work in His obedience" — are called 'muttaqin' (لْ المُتَّقِين ). The word “Taqwã” is derived from the verb waqã (وقى), which literally means to preserve, protect, safeguard, shield, etc.
Al-Ma'idahAl-Ma'idah (ٱلمائدة, ; "The Table" or "The Table Spread with Food") is the fifth chapter (sūrah) of the Quran, with 120 verses (āyāt). Regarding the timing and contextual background of the revelation (asbāb al-nuzūl), it is a "Medinan surah", which means it is believed to have been revealed in Medina, instead of Mecca. The chapter's topics include animals which are forbidden, and Jesus' and Moses' missions. Verse 90 prohibits "The intoxicant" (alcohol). Verse 8 contains the passage: "Do not let the hatred of a people lead you to injustice".
QarmatiansThe Qarmatians (Qarāmiṭa; قرمطیان) were a militant Isma'ili Shia movement centred in al-Hasa in Eastern Arabia, where they established a religious- and as some scholars claimed proto-socialist or utopian socialist state in 899 CE. Its members were part of a movement that adhered to a syncretic branch of Sevener Ismaili Shia Islam, and were ruled by a dynasty founded by Abu Sa'id al-Jannabi, a Persian from Jannaba in coastal Fars.
HajjiHajji (الحجّي; sometimes spelled Hadji, Haji, Alhaji, Al-Hadj, Al-Haj or El-Hajj) is an honorific title which is given to a Muslim person who has successfully completed the Hajj to Mecca. Stemming from the same origin is the term Hadži, used by Orthodox Christians in some Balkan countries. It denotes people who have gone on pilgrimage to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. Hajji is derived from the Arabic , which is the active participle of the verb ("to make the pilgrimage").
Islam in Saudi ArabiaSalafi Islam is the state religion of Saudi Arabia. The connection between Islam and modern-day Saudi Arabia is uniquely strong. The kingdom is called the "home of Islam"; the kingdom is also the birthplace of the Prophet Muhammad, with all territories of Saudi Arabia and the Arabian Peninsula being united and ruled by him. It is the location of the cities of Mecca and Medina, where Muhammad, the messenger of the Islamic faith, lived and died.
Barelvi movementThe Barelvi movement (بَریلوِی, Barēlwī, bəreːlʋi), also known as Ahl al-Sunnah wa'l-Jamaah (People of the Prophet's Way and the Community) is a Sunni revivalist movement following the Hanafi and Shafi'i schools of jurisprudence, and Maturidi and Ashʿari schools of theology with strong Sufi influences and with over hundreds of millions of followers in South Asia and also in parts of Europe, America and Africa. It is a broad Sufi-oriented movement that encompasses a variety of Sufi orders, including the Chistis, Qadiris, Soharwardis and Naqshbandis as well as many other orders and sub-orders of Sufism.
Principles of Islamic jurisprudenceʾUṣūl al-fiqh (أصول الفقه, lit. roots of fiqh) or Principles of Islamic jurisprudence are traditional methodological principles used in Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh) for deriving the rulings of Islamic law (sharia). Traditional theory of Islamic jurisprudence elaborates how the scriptures (Quran and hadith) should be interpreted from the standpoint of linguistics and rhetoric. It also comprises methods for establishing authenticity of hadith and for determining when the legal force of a scriptural passage is abrogated by a passage revealed at a later date.
DhikrDhikr (, ðɪkr, also spelled Zikr, Thikr, Zekr, or Zikar, 'remembrance, reminder' or 'mention') is a form of Islamic prayer in which phrases or prayers are repeatedly chanted in order to remember God. It plays a central role in Sufi Islam, and each Sufi order has usually adopted a specific dhikr, typically accompanied by specific posture, breathing, and movement. In Sufi Islam, dhikr refers to both the act of this remembrance as well as the prayers used in these acts of remembrance.
RibaRiba (ربا ,الربا، الربٰوة ALA, ˈrɪbæː) is an Arabic word that can be roughly translated as "usury", or unjust, exploitative gains made in trade or business under Islamic law. Riba is mentioned and condemned in several different verses in the Qur'an (3:130, 4:161, 30:39 and perhaps most commonly in 2:275-2:280). It is also mentioned in many hadith (reports describing the words, actions, or habits of the Islamic prophet Muhammad). While Muslims agree that riba is prohibited, not all agree on what precisely it is.
