SUNNI ISLAM. Historical Overview Practiced by the majority of Muslims, Sunni Islam refers primarily to the customary practice of the prophet Muhammad. The term Sunni (sometimes […]
Category: Encyclopedia
SUNNAH
SUNNAH. The Arabic term sunnah since pre-Islamic times has signified established custom, precedent, the conduct of life, and cumulative tradition. In a general sense, such […]
SULTAN
SULTAN. The Arabic word sultan is used to denote power, might, and authority, or the possessor of such power, a ruler. In the Qur’an it […]
SUICIDE
SUICIDE. Qatl al-nafs, literally “self-murder,” is the term used to denote suicide in classical Islamic texts. Intihar, originally meaning “cutting of the throat,” is the […]
SUFISM AND POLITICS
SUFISM AND POLITICS. Traditional Sufism is an interiorization of Sunni quietism, articulating the pre-Islamic Pahlavi vision of monarchic government by religious principles, as echoed by […]
SUDAN
SUDAN. Islam entered the region of the Sudan, as it is known today, decisively in the sixteenth century CE. Today approximately 70 percent of Sudan’s […]
SOUTH AFRICA
SOUTH AFRICA. The 1993 South African apartheid census figures divided the population into four categories: Africans, 32 million; Coloureds, 5 million; Indians, I million; and […]
SOKOTO CALIPHATE
SOKOTO CALIPHATE. Founded in the early nineteenth century by Usuman Dan Fodio, the Sokoto Caliphate continues to exert strong cultural influence in Nigeria. Three historical […]
SOCIAL SCIENCES
SOCIAL SCIENCES. A strong interest in the social order was manifested from the earliest period of Islamic history. Society was to be patterned according to […]
SOCIALISM AND ISLAM
SOCIALISM AND ISLAM. Two important currents of social and religious philosophy that have flowed through centuries of Middle Eastern and North African development are socialism […]