Quran (Koran)
The Quran (Koran) is the sacred text of Islam. It contains 114 suras, or chapters. Muslims believe that the Quran is the word of God as revealed to Muhammad. The margins on each page are extra wide to ensure that the reader’s fingers never touch the sacred text.
Kaaba
This is the Kaaba, in Mecca. Originally the temple that Abraham had built to worship the first monotheistic God. Over time, the building began to house statues and idols of other gods. In 630 AD, Muhammad, the founder of Islam, smashed all the idols and rededicated the site to the God of Abraham. Now, it’s the most important temple in Islam, and all Muslims must make at least one pilgrimage to the temple in their lifetime.
Five Pillars of Islam
All observant Muslims perform five individual duties, a.k.a the Five Pillars of Islam. These are based on Muhammad’s example. The 1st is the Declaration of Faith, the 2nd is Praying Five Times a Day, the 3rd is Donating to the Poor, the 4th is Fasting During the Holy Month of Ramadan, and the 5th is a Pilgrimage to Mecca.
Hindu-Arabic Numerals
Hindu-Arabic numerals are a set of 10 symbols - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 0 - that represent numbers in the decimal number system. They originated in India in the 6th or 7th century and were introduced to Europe through the writings of Middle Eastern mathematicians, especially al-Khwarizmi, the inventor of algebra. They represented a profound break with previous methods of counting, such as the abacus.
Algebra
A Persian mathematician, Mohammed ibn-Musa al-Khawarizmi, suggested that a little circle should be used in calculations if no number appeared in the tens place. The Arabs called this circle "sifr," meaning empty. Zero was crucial to al-Khawarizmi, who used it to invent algebra in 820 AD. He also developed quick methods for multiplying and dividing numbers, which are known as algorithms — a corruption of his name.
Arabic Calligraphy
Arabic is the language of the Quran, the holy book of Islam. Arabic calligraphy was originally a communication tool, but with time, it began to be used in architecture, coin design, and as a primary art form. That’s because of the early Muslims’ need to avoid, as their beliefs required, figures and pictorials that were used as idols before Islam was established in the Arabian Peninsula.
Minarets
A minaret (Arabic for “beacon”) is the tower from which the faithful are called to prayer five times each day by a muezzin, or crier. Such a tower is always connected with a mosque. At the time of the Prophet Muhammad, the call to prayer was made from the highest roof in the vicinity of the mosque. The earliest minarets were former Greek watchtowers and the towers of Christian churches.
Bedouins
Bedouins were nomads that lived in the deserts of the Middle East. They made their way across the dry land using traditional routes from water source to water source. Because of their knowledge, they worked as guides for traders in groups called caravans.
The Quran (Koran) is the sacred text of Islam. It contains 114 suras, or chapters. Muslims believe that the Quran is the word of God as revealed to Muhammad. The margins on each page are extra wide to ensure that the reader’s fingers never touch the sacred text.
This is the Kaaba, in Mecca. Originally the temple that Abraham had built to worship the first monotheistic God. Over time, the building began to house statues and idols of other gods. In 630, Muhammad, the founder of Islam, smashed all the idols and rededicated the site to the God of Abraham. Now, it’s the most important temple in Islam, and all Muslims must make at least one pilgrimage to the temple in their lifetime.
Arabic is the language of the Quran, the holy book of Islam. Arabic calligraphy was originally a communication tool, but with time, it began to be used in architecture, coin design, and as a primary art form. That’s because of the early Muslims’ need to avoid, as their beliefs required, figures and pictorials that were used as idols before Islam was established in the Arabian Peninsula.
All observant Muslims perform five individual duties, a.k.a the Five Pillars of Islam. These are based on Muhammad’s example. The 1st is the Declaration of Faith, the 2nd is Praying Five Times a Day, the 3rd is Donating to the Poor, the 4th is Fasting During the Holy Month of Ramadan, and the 5th is a Pilgrimage to Mecca.
A Persian mathematician, Mohammed ibn-Musa al-Khawarizmi, suggested that a little circle should be used in calculations if no number appeared in the tens place. The Arabs called this circle "sifr," meaning empty. Zero was crucial to al-Khawarizmi, who used it to invent algebra in 820 AD. He also developed quick methods for multiplying and dividing numbers, which are known as algorithms — a corruption of his name.
Hindu-Arabic numerals are a set of 10 symbols - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 0 - that represent numbers in the decimal number system. They originated in India in the 6th or 7th century and were introduced to Europe through the writings of Middle Eastern mathematicians, especially al-Khwarizmi, the inventor of algebra. They represented a profound break with previous methods of counting, such as the abacus.
A minaret (Arabic for “beacon”) is the tower from which the faithful are called to prayer five times each day by a muezzin, or crier. Such a tower is always connected with a mosque. At the time of the Prophet Muhammad, the call to prayer was made from the highest roof in the vicinity of the mosque. The earliest minarets were former Greek watchtowers and the towers of Christian churches.
Bedouins were nomads that lived in the deserts of the Middle East. They made their way across the dry land using traditional routes from water source to water source. Because of their knowledge, they worked as guides for traders in groups called caravans.