Historical figures

Abu al-Alaa al-Maari	Renowned, blind ancient Arab poet.
Abu Bakr	The first of the First Four Caliphs of Islam, who ruled after the Prophet’s death.
Abu Hayan al-Tawhidi	Renowned tenth-century Arab intellectual and philosopher.
Abu Nawas	Famous ancient Arab poet, known for his verses on the love of boys among others.
Ahmad ibn Tulun	Founder of the Tulunid dynasty in Egypt, best remembered for his great mosque.
Amr ibn al-Aas	Arab commander who led the Muslim conquest of Egypt and Egypt’s first Islamic ruler.
Caliph Abd al-Malik	Fifth Umayyad caliph. Revived Umayyad authority, quelling Kharijite rebellion.
Caliph Adud al-Dawla al-Bouhi	“Pillar of the Dynasty,” a Buyid caliph whose empire stretched from Yemen to the Mediterranean.
Caliph al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah	Sixth Fatimid caliph of Egypt, best known for his arbitrary and bizarre laws, such as prohibiting the sale of women’s footwear and the eating of mulukhiya.
Caliph Mamoun	Seventh Abbasid caliph, Baghdad. Known for supporting Mutazilism and imprisoning the strict Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal.
Caliph Muawiya	Founder and first caliph of the Umayyad Caliphate. Ascended to the caliphate after conflict with Ali ibn Abu Taleb, ending with Ali’s assassination by a Kharijite.
Caliph al-Muizz (li-Din Allah)	Fourth Fatimid caliph of Egypt, best known for constructing the walled city of what is now Old Cairo as the new capital of the Fatimid Caliphate.
Caliph al-Muqtadir bi-Allah	Eighteenth Abbasid caliph, Baghdad.
Caliph al-Mustansir	First caliph of Cairo for the Mamluk Sultanate.
Caliph al-Mutasim	Eighth Abbasid caliph, Baghdad.
Caliph al-Qadir	Abbasid caliph in Baghdad best known for supporting the Sunnis against the Shiites.
al-Farabi	Famous Persian philosopher of early Islamic times. Said to have preserved the ancient Greek texts in the Middle Ages.
Harut and Marut	Two angels mentioned in the Qur’an (2:102), said to have tested the people with sorcery.
Hisham ibn al-Hakam of the Umayyads, also known as al-Muayyad	Shiite scholar of the second century ah, a defender of the doctrine of imams being selected on the basis of wisdom and logic.
Ibn Hanbal	One of the four Great Sunni Imams, known for his strictness.
Ibn al-Haytham	Famous Arab polymath, astronomer, and physicist, known as “the father of modern optics.”
Ibn Hisham	Editor of the ancient biography of Prophet Muhammad written by Ibn Ishaq.
Ibn al-Muqaffa	Renowned ancient Arab poet.
Imam Ali ibn Abu Talib	The fourth of the Four Caliphs of Islam, who ruled after the Prophet’s death. Shiite Muslims believe that Ali should have been First Caliph rather than Abu Bakr and Umar after him, which caused a schism between them and Sunni Muslims. He was assassinated by a member of the Khawarij sect in 661.
Imam al-Husayn	Son of Ali ibn Abu Taleb and grandson of Prophet Muhammad, third Shiite Imam. Rejected the claim to the Caliphate of Yazid, son of Muawiya, and consequently was killed in the famous battle of Karbala. Hussein’s death became the catalyst for the Umayyad Caliphate’s eventual Abbasid overthrow.
Imam al-Shafei	One of the four Great Sunni Imams, known for his leniency.
Imru al-Qays	Renowned ancient Arab poet.
al-Jahiz	Renowned ancient Arab prose author and Mutazilite.
al-Kindi	Famous Iraqi Muslim philosopher, mathematician, physician, and musician, known as “the father of Arab philosophy.”
al-Mutanabbi	Renowned ancient Arab poet.
Umar (ibn al-Khattab)	The second of the First Four Caliphs of Islam, who ruled after the Prophet’s death.
Uthman ibn Affan	The third of the First Four Caliphs of Islam, who ruled after the Prophet’s death.
Yazid ibn Muawiya	Second Umayyad Caliph; attained power after the beheading of al-Husayn in the Battle of Karbala. Understandably, bad blood between the supporters of Ali and those of Yazid and Muawiya ensued.

Dynasties

Abbasids	Arab clan descended from Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib, 750–1517 with the exception of the years 1259–60.
Buyids	Ancient Shiite Iranian dynasty of Daylamite origin, ruled Iraq and southern Iran 934–1062.
Byzantines	The Byzantine Empire was the continuation of the Roman Empire in the Middle Ages. Its capital city was Constantinople; it fell to the Ottoman Empire in 1453, and until then was the most powerful empire in Europe.
Umayyads	Ruling family of the Muslim Caliphate 661–750; overthrown in 750 by the Abbasids.

Peoples

Ayyarin	Criminal gangs.
Berbers	Old name for people of the Maghreb.
Daylamites	An Iranian people of the Daylam, which refers to the mountainous regions of northern Iran on the southwest coast of the Caspian Sea.
Hanbalites	Followers of the principles of Imam Ibn Hanbal.
Hanafites	Followers of the principles of Imam Abu Hanifa.
Hashimite	Member of the clan of Hashim.
Ishmaelites	Muslim Arabs descended from Ishmael, the elder son of Abraham.
Jahmis	Followers of the thinking of Jahm ibn Safwan, who denied all the names and attributes of Allah considered sacred by orthodox Muslims. The word came to be a pejorative term among early Hanbalites, with a connotation of heresy.
Khawarij, aka Kharijites	Sect in the first century of Islam who revolted against Caliph Ali after he agreed to arbitration with his rival Muawiya I for succession to the caliphate, and later assassinated him.
Mushabbiha	Those who compare God to human form—considered blasphemous by some Muslims.
Mutazilites	Rationalist school of Islamic theology based on justice and monotheism. Considered blasphemous by some.
Nasibi (pl. Nawasib)	A Shiite slur for Salafi (Sunni) Muslims, literally meaning “hater.”
Qarmatians	Branch of Shiite Islam, notorious for sacking Mecca in ad 930.
Rafida	Derogatory Sunni term for Shiite Muslims, meaning “those who reject” since Shiites view Ali as the Prophet’s first successor.
Rajilat al-Hanabila	Civilian militia intent on establishing the strictest principles of Imam Ibn Hanbal by force.
saqaliba (sing. saqlabi)	Muslim Slavs from Central and Eastern Europe, originally brought to the Arab world as slaves.
Shiites and Sunnis	Shiite Muslims do not recognize the first three caliphs—Abu Bakr, Umar, and Uthman—as the legitimate successors of Muhammad. Shiites believe Ali to be the first successor. This is why Shiite worship is centered around Ali as a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad, and drives some Sunni Muslims to brand them as heretics.

Terms

bimaristan	Hospital.
fitna	Fitna is a catchall term literally meaning “sedition,” but can also mean “temptation” or “civil war” depending on the context.
The Fitna of Cordoba / of the Umayyads	The Fitna of Cordoba, aka the Fitna of al-Andalus, resulted in the collapse of Umayyad and Amari rule, the fragmentation of Muslim Andalusia into taifas, or factions, and the end of the Islamic Caliphate in that region. The Umayyad Fitna is a period of unrest in the Islamic community following the death of Muawiya I, whose throne was claimed by Husayn ibn Ali and then by Abdallah ibn al-Zubayr. Umayyad rule was ultimately restored, but the rift between Shiite and Sunni widened.
House of Wisdom	Another name for the (ancient) Great Library of Baghdad.
jizya	An ancient tax levied on non-Muslims living in an Islamic state.
the Mahdi (the Fatimid Mahdi)	The Mahdi is the prophesied redeemer of Islam. Mostly Shiites (and relatively few Sunnis) believe that the long-awaited Mahdi will appear at the end of the world to bring about a perfect and just Islamic society.
Quraysh	The ancient Arabian tribe from which the Prophet first hailed.
zakat	Islam-mandated annual charitable sum. It was enforced by law under caliphs of early Islamic dynasties and paid into the state treasury.