Questions tagged [islam]
Islam is one of the monotheistic Abrahamic religions along with Christianity, and Judaism. Islam first gained prominence during the 7th century C.E. and is the second largest religious group in the world behind Christianity. A follower of Islam is known as a Muslim.
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Was "Hadji" part of Hadji Murad's name?
Very simple question about the historical figure Hadji Murad (also spelled Murat): was "Hadji" an honorific, indicating that he had made the pilgrimage to Mecca, or was it actually given to ...
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What are the dates of the Mandaean manuscripts?
This is what wikipedia says about Mandaeism
The Ginza Rabba is divided into two halves—the Genzā Smālā or Left Ginza, and the Genzā Yeminā or Right Ginza. By consulting the colophons in the Left ...
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In Islam, was it possible for some religous/ethnic group/country/region to make change from Sunni to Shia or Shia to Sunni?
In Islam, was it possible for some religious/ethnic group/country/region to make change from Sunni to Shia or Shia to Sunni?
Were there cases that of such change? If yes, what did cause them?
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What were the main components in the Rise of Sunni Islam in the Middle East during the 20th century? [closed]
I am struggling to find articles regarding the rise of Sunni Islam in the Middle East during the 20th century. Frankly, it is most likely because that is a very broad subject. That is why I would like ...
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Was Shahrabanoo, the daughter of Yazdgerd III, really the wife of Hossein Ibn Ali? [closed]
I am planning to write a historical story about ancient Iran and I have encountered a problem whether Shahrbanoo the daughter of Yazdgerd III, the last king of Iran, was the wife of Hossein Ibn Ali ...
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What are the opinions of modern historians on the methodology of ḥadīth transmission and ‘Ilm al-Rijāl used by medieval Islamic scholars?
In the Islamic tradition of ḥadīth sciences (a.k.a. ‘Ilm al-Ḥadīth), a typical ḥadīth consists of the maṭn (the content of the ḥadīth) and the sanad (chain of transmitters). Ḥadīth transmitters in the ...
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Was Wahshi Wahshi ibn Harb's real name?
I was reading the Wikipedia article for Wahshi ibn Harb.
Wahshi ibn Harb ("The Savage, Son of War"), also known as Abu Dusmah was a former slave of Jubayr ibn Mut'im before becoming a ...
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Did Newton comment on Islam?
On wikipedia's entry on Isaac Newton it says:
In Newton's eyes, worshipping Christ as God was idolatry, to him the fundamental sin.
which is very similar to the Islamic attitude towards Jesus, ...
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How much exposure did the Islamic figure Mohammed have to the Abrahamic religions in Mecca at the time?
Modern Islam incorporates figures, ideas, and content from Judaism and Christianity.
If Islam appears to be heavily spawned from these Abrahamic religions, it raises the question of how these ...
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How did the Crusades change medieval Islamic culture?
Background: It's well known that the crusades initiated an east-west contact that led to an exchange between Europe and the Islamic world. Foreign goods, philosophy, sciences, flowed east to west, and ...
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When did the Hindu-Muslim split start in India? [closed]
I know that Emperor Akbar did a lot of hard work to make Hindus and Muslims closer e.g. marrying Hindu women, manufacturing a new religion named "Din-e-ilahi", etc. He also had Hindu ...
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What is the historical explanation behind the name of the French village Ramatuelle?
A village in France is called Ramatuelle.
Is that true that the name of the town comes from the Arabic word Rahmatu-Allah رحمة الله which means "the Mercy of God"?
How does a village in ...
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What was the status of Shia Muslims in the Ottoman empire?
It's my understanding that the Ottoman Empire was mostly tolerant of other religions throughout most of its history*.
For example, they welcomed Jews who had been exiled from Spain during the ...
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What is going on in this depiction of a mosque scene?
This is a painting of mostly bearded men in a mosque. (Source: https://www.amazon.fr/Gulistan-Contes-persans-Reza-Dalvand/dp/2352901766) If the shape of their mouths is to be relied on, they appear to ...
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Is it correct that many historical resources about Islam are written by Muslims? [closed]
Are a vast majority of first layer resources (I don't know what is jargon of this word, I mean resources which are not based on another resource) about history of Islam written by Muslims? If yes, is ...
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Are there any references of Muhammad's letter to Khosrow II, outside of Islamic historiography?
In Islamic tradition and history it is said that Muhammad sent a letter to Khosrow II, a Sasanid king who was titled king of the kings, inviting him to Islam.
As history is an interactional phenomenon,...
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Were Medieval Islamic peoples in Northern Eurasia given religious dispensations due to the long diurnal cycles?
Christian troops in Northern Europe were given Papal dispensation to allow them to follow religious practices properly during the long(er) diurnal cycle at those latitudes. Were Medieval Islamic ...
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What was the population of the Umayyad Caliphate in 750 CE?
What was the population of the Umayyad Caliphate at its greatest extent (750 CE)?
According to Wikipedia it was 22 million.
According to other various sources / websites it was 62 million (wikipedia ...
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Why did the first Safavid Shia become Shia?
I'm currently reading the history of Safavid Iran (by Roger Savory) which was a Shia ruling. The eponym of Safavid is Safi-ad-din Ardabili that was a Sunni. We can be sure that his grandson Khvajeh ...
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Did Ali say that only Muhammad's descendants can rule?
Islam stackexchange wasn't able to answer this question. It quotes Wikipedia:Ali.
This is a politically charged question I think.
Sunnis and Shias see Ali positively. So if there are Sunni records ...
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Are there thirteenth century sources linking the Fifth Crusade to the Book Of Daniel?
Are there any thirteenth century sources (Christian, Islamic, or Jewish) linking (the timing of) the fifth crusade to a possibly self-fulfilling prophecy1 from (the eighth chapter2 of) the Book of ...
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How were wars financed under Islamic empires?
A related question is this thread, where the subject in question were banks, and how they operated and profited under Islamic rule.
In Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh), charging interest on loans is ...
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How did Islamic finance under the early Caliphates profit or take loans if charging interest wasn't legal?
Under Islamic Law, any type of interest is considered usury and therefore illegal (in the religious context). How did lenders make money under this restriction? I am asking in the time frame from ...
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Why are the borders of the Islamic world where they are? [closed]
I think I can answer a lot of this question myself.
Geography, of course, played a major role:
In the south, the Sahara put a powerful brake on the religion's expansion further into Africa. (...
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What do we know about the location of Islamic schools in pre-colonial Africa?
There is much research in history and social science on how Christian missionary schools changed the formation of human capital in Africa, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. However, I find very little ...
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Were Jews cut off from the Babylonian Geonim?
This is the view that I'm familiar with about the decline of the Geonim:
The Mesopotamian Gaon reached the height of its prestige in the 10th
century- with Saadia Gaon (d. 945), but the ...
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Did the Buyids emerge as allies of the Abbasid Caliphate?
The Buyid dynasty were Shia sympathizers. However, I might have read somewhere that the Buyids came to power as allies of the Abbasids. This would have been as an anti Tabaristan or anti Ziyarid ...
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Is there any known pre-twentieth century history of the tomb of Sidi Rezegh?
Is there any known pre-twentieth century history of the tomb of Sidi Rezegh?
A variant spelling is Sidi Rizq from سيدي رزق at 31.8287°N, 24.1345°E in Al Butnan province, Libya near Tobruk and Al Adm.
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Why didn't Delhi became part of Pakistan?
I have read about Pakistan Movement (PM), about the Partition of India between the two and I want to know why Delhi didn't became part of Pakistan (in contrast to Edirne of the Ottoman Empire which ...
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Did the Ottoman empire suppress the printing press?
I overheard this conversation a while back that the Ottoman Empire which flourished in all fields during the Golden Age of Islam were left behind after the introduction of the printing press in Europe ...
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Were early mosques originally oriented on Petra instead of Mecca according to archaeological record?
I have come across a claim that in early Islam, the focal point of orientation for prayers was not Mecca but was originally supposed to be Petra, and that originally Qiblas used to point in that ...
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What was the world's largest religion in 1500?
Prior to the colonization of the Americas and Africa by the West, it appears somewhat unlikely that Christianity was the largest religion in the world. If I am not mistaken, the majority of the world'...
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Are there records of US slaves who practiced Islam following their import from Africa?
Islam has historically been prevalent in many regions of Africa, such as in the Songhai Empire, which was based around Sharia law. It seems plausible to me that some Africans were practitioners of ...
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What conditions have led to Abrahmism splitting into different religions sometimes, but not always? [closed]
What conditions cause the teachings and claimed revelations of certain religious figures in the Abrahamic tradition—e.g. Jesus, Muhammad—to lead to the formation of entire new religions, whilst others—...
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Why does some Califate money feature crosses?
Why does some Muslim money feature crosses?
Like the following ones:
Was the cross an early Muslim symbol?
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Was there a rule against non-Muslims wearing the colour green in the Ottoman empire?
On the wikipedia page titled Green in Islam, it is stated that:
In the Ottoman Empire, the wearing of a green turban was a privilege afforded to the descendants of Muhammad
Also, in the book ...
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Before 1800, were there major schools of Islamic thought that relaxed behavior rules for women on the Hajj?
It is my understanding that most comprehensive works of Islamic thought (past and present) do the following:
(a) Give rules or guidelines for behavior, some of them specific to women;
(b) Give rules ...
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Did Western "New Imperialism" actually free slaves in Muslim lands?
Slavery is fair game in mainstream/traditional Islam. I have heard various commentaries that abolishing of slavery in various Muslim-dominated countries actually coincided with the 2nd wave of Western ...
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Who built the shrine of Hilal ibn Ali in Kashan, Iran?
The shrine of Hilal ibn Ali is an incredible piece of architecture but yet I cannot find any info online about who built it and when!
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What significant regions and countries became Muslim without being first conquered by a Muslim power?
Most if not all of the present Muslim countries & regions close to Europe (or in Europe, e.g. parts of Spain and of the Balkans) in North Africa and the Middle East became Muslim as a result or in ...
user8690
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Mudéjar revolt of 1264–66: how were the Mudéjars armed?
In the Mudéjar revolt of 1264–66, the recently conquered Muslim subjects (also called Mudéjars) in Castile rebelled against the crown, and were helped by the Muslim Kingdom of Granada. In the ...
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Are there any contemporary references to the Battle of Badr outside of the Qur'an?
As the question reads, I'm trying to find sources for the Battle of Badr outside of the Qur'an from the same time period.
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Did contemporary sources mention the Muslim victory over the Roman Empire?
During the reign of Umar (second Caliph of Islam), the Eastern Roman Empire was taken over by Muslims. Since, at that time, the Roman empire was vast, the news should have surely reached other parts ...
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Did Muslim states hire Western European knights as mercenaries before the Crusades?
In the book Hattin by John France the following claim is made:
The fighting qualities of western knights were widely recognized in
the Mediterranean lands, and they were often employed even by ...
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What were the religious effects of the initial Arab conquests in the Byzantine Empire?
I've been reading some articles and books about the early Islamic conquests that started at about 634 CE, mainly in areas that belonged to the Byzantine Empire. Problem is, the majority of works I've ...
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How kind were the Muslim occupations of North Africa?
I grew up in Egypt and although I was raised in Muslim-majority country, I am atheist now. In history classes we were told a doubtful story:
The Muslims would have been kind and merciful invaders ...
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Earliest use of Renaissance Era innovations in Islamic countries & culture?
Though the title may be vaguely broad, I have two specific things in mind I wanted to ask about.
While I was recently considering the cultural and technological advancements of Europeans in the ...
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Have truces for the duration of Ramadan ever been customary/mandatory?
I know that you are exempt from fasting during Ramadan if a war is on (and also for other various reasons). But - has it ever been customary (or even - required) for Muslim fighting forces to offer ...
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Is the enforcement of Hijab wearing for Muslim women a recent occurrence?
Is the practice of mandating that a Muslim women wear some form of a Hijab or Burka a recent occurrence? In that, has the practice always been alive and well, or have countries like Saudi Arabia and ...
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Did Aurangzeb issue a farman promising 4 Rs for all males that convert and 2 Rs for females?
I found a reference to this farman at IranicaOnline (first link)
But I can't find the source of the author (or if its authentic). Is it from an akhbar or from a biography of Aurangzeb? Its mentioned ...
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