Note: Who built Samara? CSS 2000

Quote:

Caliph Al Mutasim built Samara, a town hundred miles north of Baghdad.

7. Musa ibn Nusair was the governor of?

A. Makkah

Quote:

Musa bin Nusayr was the governor of North Africa during the time of Caliph al-Walid I. Tariq ibn Ziyad was a General in his Army. Musa bin Nusayr sent Tariq to conquer Spain. Musa completed the conquest of North Africa. He was the first Muslim general to take Tangiers. Uqba bin Nafi who is credited with being the first conqueror of Africa, had only failed to conquer Tangier. Musa occupied Tangier and with that completed the conquest of North Africa. According to the famous Moroccan geographer and explorer Ibn Batutta, Jabel e Musa in Morocco is named after him. Jabel e Musa is opposite the rock of Gibraltar named for Tariq bin Ziyad.

8. Muhammad bin Qasim conquered?

A. Spain
B. Iran

Quote:

Muhammad bin Qasim is known for conquering Sindh and Punjab. His conquest enabled further expansion of Islam into India. He was the son-in-law of the famous governor al-Hajja ibn Yusuf who was also his paternal uncle. After the death of Hajjaj bin Yusuf, He was executed by the new Caliph Suleiman ibn Abdul Malik.

9. “Al-ahkam al-Sultania” was written by?

A. Ibn Khaldun

Quote:

Al-Mawardi was a Muslim jurist of the Shafi School. He is most remembered for his work on religion, government, the caliphate, and public and constitutional law. He was chief judge in the times of the Abbasid Caliph al-Qaim and al-Qadir. Al Ahkam al Sultania, The Ordinance of Government, provides a detailed definition of the functions of the caliphate government.

10. The Cantonment of Basra was founded by?

A. Hazrat Ali

Quote:

The city of Basra, founded by Hazrat Umar, initially served as a military base for the armies of Caliph Umar. Basra was an important base against the Sassanid Empire. The battle of Jamal/Camel, the first Fitna, was fought in Basra.

11. Imam al Ghazali was the author of?

A. Tahāfut al-Tahāfut 

Quote:

Tahafut al-Falasifa, The Incoherence of the Philosophers was written by Imam al-Ghazali. In this book al-Ghazali denounces Ibn Sina and al-Farabi. The book was very successful and marks a milestone in the Islamic Philosophy.  Tahāfut al-Tahāfut, the Incoherence of the Incoherence was written by Ibn Rushud. The book was written as a refutation of Imam al-Ghazali’s work (Tahafut al-Falsasifa, the Incoherence of the Philosophers). In the book he defends the doctrines of the philosophers and criticizes al-Ghazali’s own argument. It is written as a dialogue. The book although was not well received.  Hayy ibn Yaqdhan was a novel written by Abu Ali Ibn Sina. Hayy Ibn Yaqdhan a philosophy novel of the same name but different story was written by Ibn Tufail.

12. Alp Arsalan belonged to?

A. The Ottomans

Quote:

Alp Arslan was the second Sultan of the Seljuq Empire. The Seljuq Empire was founded by Tughril. Alp Arlslan was the nephew of Tughril.

13. The battle of Qadisiyaah was won by?
A. Tariq bin Ziyad
B. Salahuddin Ayyubi
C. Saad ibn abi Waqas
D. None
Answer: Saad ibn abi Waqas
Note: Who was the commander of the Mulsim army in Qadisiyaah? CSS 2001

Quote:

The Battle of al-Qadisiyyah in Iraq was fought in 636 which resulted in Muslim victory. It was between the Muslim army and the Sassanid Persian army. The battle was fought under Caliph Umar, who had appointed Abu Ubaidah ibn Jarrah commander of the army. Three months before Qadisiyyah the battle of Yarmouk took place which was also a victory for the Muslims. The battle of Yarmouk was agasint the Byzantines. Byzantine and Sassanid Empire had an alleged alliance. Saad bin Abi Waqas as the commander at the battle of Qadisiyyah against the Sassanids. (Battle of Yarmouk CSS 2000)

14. Baghdad was the capital of?

A. Banu Umayya

Quote:

Baghdad was the capital of the Abbasid (Banu Abbas) Caliphate. It was commissioned by Caliph Al-Mansur. Imam Abu Hanifa was the counter of the bricks used to build Baghdad. The four surrounding walls of Baghdad were named: Kufa, Basra, Khurasan, and Damascus, because they pointed in he direction of these destinations. In 1258 AD, Baghdad was conquered and sacked by the Mongol forces led by Halaku Khan. After conquering the city, The Grand Library of Baghdad was destroyed. Those who attempted to flee were intercepted by the Mongols and killed. They destroyed Mosques, palaces, hospitals, libraries, and any grand building. The Caliph Al Mustasim Billah was killed. This marked the end of the Abbasid Caliphate in Baghdad. The Mamluk rulers of Egypt would later re-establish the Abbasid caliphate in Cairo in 1261. In 1517 the last Abbasid Caliph of Egypt would be captured by the Ottoman Sultan Selim I. Sultan Selim I took the title from him, made Egypt part of the Ottoman Empire, and became the first Ottoman Sultan to use the title of Caliph. The capital of Banu Umayya was Damascus. The capital of Banu Fatimah was Cairo.

15. The battle of Karbala occurred during the reign of?

A. Amir Muawiyah

16. Al-Idrisi was a?

A. Philosopher
B. Muhaddith
C. Geographer
D. None
Answer: Geographer

Quote:

Al-Idrisi wrote “Nuzhat la Mushtaq fi khtiraq al-afaq”, the book of pleasant journeys into faraway lands. The book is popularly known as Tabula Rogeriana, The Book of Roger.

17. Arrange the chronological order of the following rulers.

A. Amin al-Rashid

Quote:

1. Walid ibn Abdul Malik, Umayyad Caliph [705-715] 2. Al-Mansur, Abbasid Caliph [754-775] 3. Amin al-Rashid, Abbasid Caliph [809-813]

18. The battle of Jamal was fought between?

Quote:

The battle of Jamal, Battle of the Camel in English, is the First Fitna, or the First Islamic Civil War. Hazrat Ali won the battle. It was fought in Basra, Iraq.

19. Imam Bukhari was a?

A. Caliph

Quote:

Imam Muhammad al-Bukhari was a Muhaddith. He authored the hadith collection known as Sahih al-Bukhari, which is regarded by Sunnis as the most authentic of all hadith compiled. Al-Adad al-Mufrad is also a book written by Imam Bukhari it is a collection of hadith on ethics and manners. His student Muslim ibn al Hajjaj compiled the Sahih Muslim book of hadith, which is considered second only to Sahih Bukhari. Imam Bukhari was born in Bukhara, Uzbekistan. In his later years he moved to a village near Samarkand where he died.

20. Aswad Ansi was?

A. Poet
B. False Prophet

Quote:

The four false prophets from early Islamic History were, Aswad al-Ansi, Tulayhah al-Azdi, Sajjah bint al-Harith, and Musaylimah al-Kazzab. Although he initially accepted Islam, later he claimed that he was a prophet. The Battle of Zhu Qissa was between the Muslim forces led by Ali ibn Abi Talib, Talha ibn Ubaidullah, and Zubair ibn al-Awam against those led by Tulayha, the false prophet.  The Muslims won the battle, Tulayha escaped to Syria. Later when Syria was conquered by Muslims, Tulayha accepted Islam again. He was forbidden by Caliph Abu Bakar to fight in any of the battles. Later in the time of Caliph Umar, he was allowed to fight and he died in the battler of Qasidiyya, between the Muslims and the Sassanid Empire.

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1. The battle of tours was fought in?

Quote:

Battle of the Tours was fought in France, Europe in 732 between the Christian Franks and the Umayyad army under Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi. The Franks won the battle. The battle of the Tours stopped the wave of Islam from further penetrating into Europe.

2. Which fiqah spread in Muslim Spain?
Answer: Maliki

Note: The dominant Fiqh in Muslim Spain throughout history was? CSS 2000

Quote:

The Maliki School spread to Spain and was the only official School sanctioned by the Umayyad dynasty in Cordoba.

3. Which Muslim Spanish ruler was known as “the bibliophile”?
Answer: al-Hakam II

Quote:

Bibliophile means, lover or collector of books. Al-Hakam is called the bibliophile because he was a great patron of knowledge and learning. He purchased books from Damascus, Baghdad, Constantinople, Cairo, Makkah, Medinah, Kufa,and Basra. His status as a patron of Knowledge brought him fame across the Muslim world to the point where even books written in Iraq under Abbasid control were dedicated to him. He created a royal library and stimulated scholarship. For his love of books and a great patron of learning and knowledge, he was known was The Bibliophile.

4. Al-Ihatah fi Tarikh Gharnata, was written by?
Answer: Ibn al-Khatib.

5. Who introduced the doctorine of etiology of decline, Assabiah?

Quote:

Ibn Khaldun was an Arab historian and historiographer. His best known book is The Muqaddimah, a book on universal history i.e philosophy of history, sociology, demography, historiography, cultural history, economics, Islamic theology, political theory, biology and chemistery. The book was written in 1377. In the Muqaddimah he describes the Assabiyah.

6. Mountain range in South West Europe between France and Spain is called?

Quote:

The Pyrenees is probably important in Islamic History because of the Battle of Roncesvalles (Question 14 CSS 2002).

7. The Spanish Muslim scholars were expert in philology. Philology means?
Answer:

Quote:

Philology is the study of literary texts and of written records, the establishment of their authenticity and their original form, and the determination of their meaning, which the Muslims were expert of. During the reign of al-Hakam II (The Bibliophile), a massive translation effort was undertaken, and many books were translated from Latin and Greek into Arabic.

8. A History of Mediaeval Islam, was written by?
Answer: John Joseph Saunders
Note: This is asked in CSS 2003

9. Spanish Islam was written by?

10. Who built the city of Al-Hamra?

Quote:

It’s called al-Hamra (The Red) in Arabic, in Spanish and now it’s known as The Al Hambra. The Al-Hambra is a palace and a fortress complex in Granada, Spain. It is a wonder of Muslim architecture. Ibn al-Ahmar was the founder of the last Muslim dynasty in Spain, the Nasirids. It was during their time that the Al-Hambra was built. The Al-Hambra is the most visible evidence of the Nasrids Kingdom.

11. Surrender of Granada took place in?
Answer: 1492
Note: Nasrid Kingdom ruled Granada during? CSS 2000
The Moors vacated Spain in? CSS 2001

Quote:

Nasrid was the last Muslim dynasty of Spain founded by Muhammad Ibn Nasir also known as Ibn Al-Ahmar, in 1238. In 1492 they surrendered to the Christian Spanish army. The Moors invaded Spain in 711 under the General Tariq ibn Ziyad. They ruled Spain for 780 years until the fall of Garnada in 1492 which brought an end to the Muslim control of Spain.  The Nasrid Kingdom of Garnada was the last Muslim dynasty in Spain. The re-conquest of al-Andalus from the Muslims by Christians is referred to as The Reconquista by the Spanish. The last Nasrid ruler was Abu Abdullah Muhammad XIII. The Spanish call him Boabdil (Spanish for Abu Abdullah).

12. Ibn al Ahmar assumed the title of?

Quote:

Ibn al-Ahmar is Mohammad I ibn Nasr. He assumed the title of the founder of the last Muslim dynasty of Spain, The Nasrids, in 1238.

13. Futuh ul Buldan was written by?
Answer: al-Baladhuri

Quote:

Ahmad ibn yahya al-Baladhuri was a Persian historian. Kitab Futuh al-Buldan means The Book of the Conquests of Lands. The book is about the early conquests of the Prophet SAW and the early Caliphs.

14. Batttle of Roncesvalles was fought between Charlemagne and?
Answer: Basques

Note: Mountain range in South West Europe between France and Spain is called? CSS 2002

Quote:

The Battle of was fought in 778 between Charlemagne’s forces and the Basques. Sulayman ibn Yaqzan became the governor of Barcelona in 777. He was pro-Abbasid and was threatened by Abdul Rahman I, the Umayyad emir of Cordoba. Sulayman sent a delegation to Charlemagne, offering his submission together with Husayn of Zaragoza in return for military aid against Abdul Rahman I. Charlemagne sent his forces which marched across the Pyrenees towards Zaragoza. Husayn however, refused to surrender the city, afraid that Charlemagne would usurp power from him. Charlemagne laid siege to the city for a month but decided to return to his kingdom, taking some of the hostages from his Muslim allies including Sulayman.  On his retreat, his forces headed to France via a narrow pass in the Pyrenees, where his rearguard was wiped out by the Basques. The children of Sulayman collaborated with the Basques in the Assault which resulted in the release of Sulayman. He was killed by Husayn later. The Song of Roland is based on the battle of Roncesvalles. This is also called the Battle of Roncevaux pass. Roncevaus is French, Roncesvalles is Spanish.

15. About which city the Arab scholar remarked: “It stood like a watch-tower in the Meadow”?
Answer: The scholar was probably referring to the Al-Hamra. 

Quote:

This is not a confirmed answer because I couldn’t find the exact quotes. The al-Hamra is the only one that matches the description of the quote. If anyone finds the answer, please share the source

16. In Muslim Spain the naval commander was called?
Answer: Qa’id 

17. Which Muslim ruler is called ad-Dakhil or The Enterer in Spanish history?

Quote:

Abdul Rahman I, the first Emir of Cordova was known as al-Dakhil which means The Imigrant. He was also known as Saqr Quraish meaning Hawk of Quraish. Abdul Rahman was from the family of Umayyad Caliphate of Damascus. During his time, the Abbasid revolution overthrew the Umayyad Caliphate. He escaped from Damascus and settled in Cordoba where he continued the Umayyad dynasty. 200 years later one of his descendants, Abdul Rahman III would claim the title of Caliph for himself and find the Umayyad Caliphate of Cordova.

18. Abdul Rahman I was succeeded by his son?
Answer: Hisham I also known as Hisham al-Reda.

19. Islam Resurgent: The Islamic World Today was written by?

20. Who is the author of the book entitled “History of the Islamic People”?

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