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| 1675071755 | Bedouin | Nomadic pastoralists of the Arabian peninsula; culture based on camel and goat nomadism; early converts to Islam | 0 | |
| 1675071756 | shaykhs | Leaders of tribes and clans within bedouin society; usually men with large herds, several wives and many children | 1 | |
| 1675071757 | Mecca | City located in mountainous region along Red Sea in Arabian peninsula; founded by Umayyad clan of Quraysh; site of Ka'ba; original home of Muhammed; location of chief religious pilgrimage point in Islam | 2 | |
| 1675071758 | Umayyad | Clan of Quraysh that dominated politics and commercial economy of Mecca; clan established dynasty as rulers of Islam, 661 to 750 | 3 | |
| 1675071759 | Quraysh | Tribe of bedouins that controlled Mecca in 7th Century CE | 4 | |
| 1675071760 | Ka'ba | Most revered religious shrine in pre-Islamic Arabia; located in Mecca; focus of obligatory annual truce among bedouin tribes; later incorporated as important shrine in Islam | 5 | |
| 1675071761 | Medina | Also known as Yathrib; town located northeast of Mecca; grew date palms whose fruit was sold to beduins; beca refuge for Muhammed following flight from Mecca | 6 | |
| 1675071762 | Muhammad | Prophet of Islam; born c. 570 to Banu Hashim clan of Quraysh tribe in Mecca; raised by father's family; received revelations from Allah in 610 ce and thereafter, died in 632 | 7 | |
| 1675071763 | Khadijah | First wife of the prophet Muhammad, who had worked for her as a trader | 8 | |
| 1675071764 | Qur'an | Recitations of revelations received by Muhammed; holy book of Islam | 9 | |
| 1675071765 | Ali | Cousin and son in law of Muhammad; one of orthodox caliphs; focus for Shi'a | 10 | |
| 1675071766 | umma | Community of the faithful within Islam; transcended old tribal boundaries to create degree of political unity. | 11 | |
| 1675071767 | zakat | Tax for charity; obligatory for all Muslims | 12 | |
| 1675071768 | five pillars | The obligatory religious duties of all Muslims; confession of faith, prayer, fasting during Ramadan, zakat, and hajj. | 13 | |
| 1675071769 | Ramadan | Islamic month of religious observance requiring fasting from dawn to sunset | 14 | |
| 1675071770 | hajj | A Muslims pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca, to worship Allah at the Ka'ba. | 15 | |
| 1675071771 | caliph | The political and religious successor to Muhammed | 16 | |
| 1675071772 | Abu Bakr | One of Muhammed's earliest converts; succeeded Muhammad as first caliph of Islamic community | 17 | |
| 1675071773 | Ridda Wars | Wars that followed Muhammad's death in 632; resulted in defeat of rival prophets and some of larger clans; restored unity of Islam | 18 | |
| 1675071774 | jihad | Struggle, often used for wars in defense of faith | 19 | |
| 1675071775 | Copts | Christian sect of Egypt; tended to support Islamic invasions of this area in preference to Byzantine rule | 20 | |
| 1675071776 | Nestorians | A Christian sect found in Asia; tended to support Islamic invasions of this area in preference to Byzantine rule; cut off from Europe by Muslim invasions | 21 | |
| 1675071777 | Uthman | Third caliph and member of Umayyad clan; murdered by mutinous warriors returning from Egypt; death set off civil war in Islam between followers of Ali and Umayyad clan. | 22 | |
| 1675071778 | Battle of Siffin | Fought in 657 between forces of Ali and Umayyads; settled by negotiation that led to fragmentation of Ali's party | 23 | |
| 1675071779 | Mu'awiya | Leader of Umayyad clan; first Umayyad caliph following civil war with Ali | 24 | |
| 1675071780 | Sunis | Political and theological devision within Islam; supported the Umayyads | 25 | |
| 1675071781 | Shi'a | Also known as Shi'ites; political and theological division within Islam; followers of Ali | 26 | |
| 1675071782 | Karbala | Site of defeat and death of Husayn, son of Ali; marked beginning of Shi'a resistance to Umayyad caliphate. | 27 | |
| 1675071783 | Damascus | Syrian city that was capital of Umayyad caliphate | 28 | |
| 1675071784 | mawali | Non-Arab converts to Islam | 29 | |
| 1675071785 | jizya | Head tax paid by all non-believers in Islamic territories | 30 | |
| 1675071786 | dhimmi | Literally "people of the book"; applied as inclusive term to Jews and Christians in Islamic territories; later extended to Zoroastrians and even Hindus | 31 | |
| 1675071787 | hadiths | Traditions of the prophet | 32 | |
| 1675071788 | Abbasid | Dynasty that succeeded the Umayyads as caliphs within Islam; came to power in 750 CE. | 33 | |
| 1675071789 | Battle of the River Zab | Victory of Abbasids over Umayyads; resulted in conquest of Syria and capture of Umayyad capital. | 34 | |
| 1675071790 | Baghdad | Capital of Abbasid dynasty located in Iraq near ancient Persian capital of Ctesiphon | 35 | |
| 1675071791 | wazir | Chief administrative official under the Abbasid caliphate; initially recruited from Persian provinces of empire | 36 | |
| 1675071792 | dhows | Arab sailing vessels with triangular or lateen sails; strongly influenced European ship design | 37 | |
| 1675071793 | ayan | The wealthy landed elite that emerged in the early decades of Abbasid rule | 38 |
