(Encyclopedia) HuseinHuseinh&oomacr;sīnˈ [key] or HusaynHusein–sānˈ [key], c.626–680, Muslim leader, second son of Ali and Fatima (daughter of Muhammad). With the assassination of his father in…
(Encyclopedia) MuawiyaMuawiyam&oomacr;äˈwēä [key], d. 680, 1st Umayyad caliph (661–80), one of the greatest Muslim statesmen; son of Abu Sufyan, a Koreish tribesman of Mecca. He submitted to…
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(Encyclopedia) Banu MusaBanu Musabän&oomacr;ˈ m&oomacr;säˈ [key], family of Arab mathematicians and astronomers of the 9th cent. a.d. The name means “sons of Musa” and refers to the three…
(Encyclopedia) FatimaFatimafătˈĭmə, fäˈtĭmə, fətēˈmə [key], 616?–633?, daughter of Muhammad by his first wife, Khadija. Fatima was the wife of Ali, the mother of Hasan and Husein, and reputedly the…
(Encyclopedia) AliAliälēˈ [key] (Ali ibn Abu Talib), 598?–661, 4th caliph (656–61). The debate over his right to the caliphate caused a major split in Islam into Sunni and Shiite branches, and he is…
(Encyclopedia) AssassinAssassinəsăsˈĭn [key], European name for the member of a secret order of the Ismaili sect of Islam. They are known as Nizaris after Nizar ibn al-Mustansir, whom they supported…