Students from the Imperial University organized a widespread student protest against the eunuchs of Emperor Huan's court. Huan further alienated the bureaucracy when he initiated grandiose construction projects and hosted thousands of concubines in his harem at a time of economic crisis. Palace eunuchs imprisoned the official Li Ying (李膺) and his associates from the Imperial University on a dubious charge of treason. In 167 AD, the Grand Commandant Dou Wu (d. 168 AD) convinced his son-in-law, Emperor Huan, to release them. However the emperor permanently barred Li Ying and his associates from serving in office, marking the beginning of the Partisan Prohibitions.

On what charge was Li Ying jailed for?

treason

Who was responsible for imprisoning Li Ying?

Palace eunuchs

During what type of crisis did Emperor Huan alienate the bureaucracy?

economic

Students from what university led a protest against members of Huan's court?

Imperial

When did Dou Wu die?

168 AD


Following Huan's death, Dou Wu and the Grand Tutor Chen Fan (陳蕃) (d. 168 AD) attempted a coup d'état against the eunuchs Hou Lan (d. 172 AD), Cao Jie (d. 181 AD), and Wang Fu (王甫). When the plot was uncovered, the eunuchs arrested Empress Dowager Dou (d. 172 AD) and Chen Fan. General Zhang Huan (張奐) favored the eunuchs. He and his troops confronted Dou Wu and his retainers at the palace gate where each side shouted accusations of treason against the other. When the retainers gradually deserted Dou Wu, he was forced to commit suicide.

Who arrested Chen Fan in a failed plot?

the eunuchs

Who made accusations of treason against Dou Wu?

General Zhang Huan

How did Dou Wu pass away?

he was forced to commit suicide

Which group was favorable to Zhang Huan?

the eunuchs

What type of action was attempted on the eunuchs?

coup d'état


The Partisan Prohibitions were repealed during the Yellow Turban Rebellion and Five Pecks of Rice Rebellion in 184 AD, largely because the court did not want to continue to alienate a significant portion of the gentry class who might otherwise join the rebellions. The Yellow Turbans and Five-Pecks-of-Rice adherents belonged to two different hierarchical Daoist religious societies led by faith healers Zhang Jue (d. 184 AD) and Zhang Lu (d. 216 AD), respectively. Zhang Lu's rebellion, in modern northern Sichuan and southern Shaanxi, was not quelled until 215 AD. Zhang Jue's massive rebellion across eight provinces was annihilated by Han forces within a year, however the following decades saw much smaller recurrent uprisings. Although the Yellow Turbans were defeated, many generals appointed during the crisis never disbanded their assembled militia forces and used these troops to amass power outside of the collapsing imperial authority.

In what year did the Partisan Prohibitions end?

184 AD

In what year did Zhang Lu's rebellion end?

215 AD

How many provinces did Zhang Jue's rebellion take place in?

eight

What type of healer was Zhang Jue?

faith

What religion did Zhang Jue practice?

Daoist


General-in-Chief He Jin (d. 189 AD), half-brother to Empress He (d. 189 AD), plotted with Yuan Shao (d. 202 AD) to overthrow the eunuchs by having several generals march to the outskirts of the capital. There, in a written petition to Empress He, they demanded the eunuchs' execution. After a period of hesitation, Empress He consented. When the eunuchs discovered this, however, they had her brother He Miao (何苗) rescind the order. The eunuchs assassinated He Jin on September 22, 189 AD. Yuan Shao then besieged Luoyang's Northern Palace while his brother Yuan Shu (d. 199 AD) besieged the Southern Palace. On September 25 both palaces were breached and approximately two thousand eunuchs were killed. Zhang Rang had previously fled with Emperor Shao (r. 189 AD) and his brother Liu Xie—the future Emperor Xian of Han (r. 189–220 AD). While being pursued by the Yuan brothers, Zhang committed suicide by jumping into the Yellow River.

Who was assassinated on September 22, 189 AD?

He Jin

Who agreed to the execuation of the eunuchs?

Empress He

Who negated the execution order on the eunuchs?

He Miao

Who was the family member that Emperor Shao escaped with?

Liu Xie

What did General-in-Chief He petition Empress He for?

the eunuchs' execution


General Dong Zhuo (d. 192 AD) found the young emperor and his brother wandering in the countryside. He escorted them safely back to the capital and was made Minister of Works, taking control of Luoyang and forcing Yuan Shao to flee. After Dong Zhuo demoted Emperor Shao and promoted his brother Liu Xie as Emperor Xian, Yuan Shao led a coalition of former officials and officers against Dong, who burned Luoyang to the ground and resettled the court at Chang'an in May 191 AD. Dong Zhuo later poisoned Emperor Shao.

How was Luoyang destroyed?

burned

Who demoted Emperor Shao?

Dong Zhuo

What position would the young Liu Xie eventually be promoted to?

Emperor Xian

Who had taken control of Luoyang?

General Dong Zhuo

When did Dong Zhuo die?

192 AD


After Cao's defeat at the naval Battle of Red Cliffs in 208 AD, China was divided into three spheres of influence, with Cao Cao dominating the north, Sun Quan (182–252 AD) dominating the south, and Liu Bei (161–223 AD) dominating the west. Cao Cao died in March 220 AD. By December his son Cao Pi (187–226 AD) had Emperor Xian relinquish the throne to him and is known posthumously as Emperor Wen of Wei. This formally ended the Han dynasty and initiated an age of conflict between three states: Cao Wei, Eastern Wu, and Shu Han.

Who was defeated at the Battle of Red Cliffs in 208 AD?

Cao

Who did Emperor Xian give his throne to?

Cao Pi

What state was in a conflict with Eastern Wu, and Shu Han?

Cao Wei

Who was in control of the south of China?

Sun Quan

In what month did Cao Cao die?

March


Each successive rank gave its holder greater pensions and legal privileges. The highest rank, of full marquess, came with a state pension and a territorial fiefdom. Holders of the rank immediately below, that of ordinary marquess, received a pension, but had no territorial rule. Officials who served in government belonged to the wider commoner social class and were ranked just below nobles in social prestige. The highest government officials could be enfeoffed as marquesses. By the Eastern Han period, local elites of unattached scholars, teachers, students, and government officials began to identify themselves as members of a larger, nationwide gentry class with shared values and a commitment to mainstream scholarship. When the government became noticeably corrupt in mid-to-late Eastern Han, many gentrymen even considered the cultivation of morally grounded personal relationships more important than serving in public office.

During what period was it obvious that corruption was widespread in the government?

mid-to-late Eastern Han

What rank provided its holder territorial rule?

full marquess

What class did individuals who served as officials in the government belong to?

commoner social

What was considered to be more important to some than serving the local government?

cultivation of morally grounded personal relationships

What rank is below that of full marquess?

ordinary marquess


The farmer, or specifically the small landowner-cultivator, was ranked just below scholars and officials in the social hierarchy. Other agricultural cultivators were of a lower status, such as tenants, wage laborers, and in rare cases slaves. Artisans and craftsmen had a legal and socioeconomic status between that of owner-cultivator farmers and common merchants. State-registered merchants, who were forced by law to wear white-colored clothes and pay high commercial taxes, were considered by the gentry as social parasites with a contemptible status. These were often petty shopkeepers of urban marketplaces; merchants such as industrialists and itinerant traders working between a network of cities could avoid registering as merchants and were often wealthier and more powerful than the vast majority of government officials. Wealthy landowners, such as nobles and officials, often provided lodging for retainers who provided valuable work or duties, sometimes including fighting bandits or riding into battle. Unlike slaves, retainers could come and go from their master's home as they pleased. Medical physicians, pig breeders, and butchers had a fairly high social status, while occultist diviners, runners, and messengers had low status.

Who were considered to be below the social rank that scholars held?

The farmer

What color of clothing were merchants that had registered with the state forced to wear?

white-colored

Who would retainers in the employ of nobles occasionally have to fight?

bandits

Who was commonly considered by some to be social parasites?

State-registered merchants

How could a merchant prevent having to register as one?

working between a network of cities


The Han-era family was patrilineal and typically had four to five nuclear family members living in one household. Multiple generations of extended family members did not occupy the same house, unlike families of later dynasties. According to Confucian family norms, various family members were treated with different levels of respect and intimacy. For example, there were different accepted time frames for mourning the death of a father versus a paternal uncle. Arranged marriages were normal, with the father's input on his offspring's spouse being considered more important than the mother's. Monogamous marriages were also normal, although nobles and high officials were wealthy enough to afford and support concubines as additional lovers. Under certain conditions dictated by custom, not law, both men and women were able to divorce their spouses and remarry.

How many family members would commonly live in a single household during the Han era?

four to five

Whose opinion on the spouse of an arranged marriage was considered to be more important?

the father's

Who were rich enough to afford multiple lovers?

nobles and high officials

What type of family was your typical Han era family considered to be?

patrilineal

What type of marriage was thought of as a normal occurrence in this era?

Arranged marriages


Apart from the passing of noble titles or ranks, inheritance practices did not involve primogeniture; each son received an equal share of the family property. Unlike the practice in later dynasties, the father usually sent his adult married sons away with their portions of the family fortune. Daughters received a portion of the family fortune through their marriage dowries, though this was usually much less than the shares of sons. A different distribution of the remainder could be specified in a will, but it is unclear how common this was.

Which family member commonly sent an adult married offspring away with their portion of the families fortune?

the father

What type of document could be produced to distribute some of an inheritance?

a will

How did daughters get their portion of the family fortune?

marriage dowries

Was is guaranteed that a first born son would receive all of the family's fortune?

inheritance practices did not involve primogeniture

What type of title could be passed down?

noble


Women were expected to obey the will of their father, then their husband, and then their adult son in old age. However, it is known from contemporary sources that there were many deviations to this rule, especially in regard to mothers over their sons, and empresses who ordered around and openly humiliated their fathers and brothers. Women were exempt from the annual corvée labor duties, but often engaged in a range of income-earning occupations aside from their domestic chores of cooking and cleaning.

Which gender was exempt from performing the yearly corvee labor duties?

Women

What emotional state would empresses commonly place their immediate family members in?

openly humiliated

What type of occupation did women commonly take part in?

income-earning

Who were women obligated to obey in their old age?

their adult son

Which parental figures often avoided the common familial rules?

mothers


The early Western Han court simultaneously accepted the philosophical teachings of Legalism, Huang-Lao Daoism, and Confucianism in making state decisions and shaping government policy. However, the Han court under Emperor Wu gave Confucianism exclusive patronage. He abolished all academic chairs or erudites (bóshì 博士) not dealing with the Confucian Five Classics in 136 BC and encouraged nominees for office to receive a Confucian-based education at the Imperial University that he established in 124 BC. Unlike the original ideology espoused by Confucius, or Kongzi (551–479 BC), Han Confucianism in Emperor Wu's reign was the creation of Dong Zhongshu (179–104 BC). Dong was a scholar and minor official who aggregated the ethical Confucian ideas of ritual, filial piety, and harmonious relationships with five phases and yin-yang cosmologies. Much to the interest of the ruler, Dong's synthesis justified the imperial system of government within the natural order of the universe. The Imperial University grew in importance as the student body grew to over 30,000 by the 2nd century AD. A Confucian-based education was also made available at commandery-level schools and private schools opened in small towns, where teachers earned respectable incomes from tuition payments.

What philosophy was given exclusivity in the court during the rule of Emperor Wu?

Confucianism

Who put an end to all erudites?

Emperor Wu

How many students were in the Imperial University by the second century?

over 30,000

What type of philosophy was available for individuals at the commanderies?

Confucian

Where did teachers make their money from at private schools?

tuition payments


Some important texts were created and studied by scholars. Philosophical works written by Yang Xiong (53 BC – 18 AD), Huan Tan (43 BC – 28 AD), Wang Chong (27–100 AD), and Wang Fu (78–163 AD) questioned whether human nature was innately good or evil and posed challenges to Dong's universal order. The Records of the Grand Historian by Sima Tan (d. 110 BC) and his son Sima Qian (145–86 BC) established the standard model for all of imperial China's Standard Histories, such as the Book of Han written by Ban Biao (3–54 AD), his son Ban Gu (32–92 AD), and his daughter Ban Zhao (45–116 AD). There were dictionaries such as the Shuowen Jiezi by Xu Shen (c. 58 – c. 147 AD) and the Fangyan by Yang Xiong. Biographies on important figures were written by various gentrymen. Han dynasty poetry was dominated by the fu genre, which achieved its greatest prominence during the reign of Emperor Wu.

Who had produced biographies of individuals of significant importance?

various gentrymen

What type of poetry had much influence in the Han dynasty?

fu

Who had written the dictionary Fangyan?

Yang Xiong

Which person had authored the Book of Han?

Ban Biao

What was the name of Ban Biao's female offspring?

Ban Zhao


Various cases for rape, physical abuse and murder were prosecuted in court. Women, although usually having fewer rights by custom, were allowed to level civil and criminal charges against men. While suspects were jailed, convicted criminals were never imprisoned. Instead, punishments were commonly monetary fines, periods of forced hard labor for convicts, and the penalty of death by beheading. Early Han punishments of torturous mutilation were borrowed from Qin law. A series of reforms abolished mutilation punishments with progressively less-severe beatings by the bastinado.

What type of torture was acquired from Qin law?

mutilation

What eventually replaced torturous mutilation as a type of punishment?

progressively less-severe beatings

What type of extreme punishment was likely to be laid upon those who committed the harshest of crimes?

death by beheading

What could a criminal in this era expect not to happen if he was convicted of a crime?

criminals were never imprisoned

What did women commonly have less of?

rights


The most common staple crops consumed during Han were wheat, barley, foxtail millet, proso millet, rice, and beans. Commonly eaten fruits and vegetables included chestnuts, pears, plums, peaches, melons, apricots, strawberries, red bayberries, jujubes, calabash, bamboo shoots, mustard plant and taro. Domesticated animals that were also eaten included chickens, Mandarin ducks, geese, cows, sheep, pigs, camels and dogs (various types were bred specifically for food, while most were used as pets). Turtles and fish were taken from streams and lakes. Commonly hunted game, such as owl, pheasant, magpie, sika deer, and Chinese bamboo partridge were consumed. Seasonings included sugar, honey, salt and soy sauce. Beer and wine were regularly consumed.

What type of crop was rice considered to be during this period?

staple crops

What were dogs in this era most likely to be considered?

pets

What type of partridge was commonly consumed?

Chinese bamboo

Where were turtles acquired from?

streams and lakes

What was the color of the bayberries?

red


Families throughout Han China made ritual sacrifices of animals and food to deities, spirits, and ancestors at temples and shrines, in the belief that these items could be utilized by those in the spiritual realm. It was thought that each person had a two-part soul: the spirit-soul (hun 魂) which journeyed to the afterlife paradise of immortals (xian), and the body-soul (po 魄) which remained in its grave or tomb on earth and was only reunited with the spirit-soul through a ritual ceremony. These tombs were commonly adorned with uniquely decorated hollow clay tiles that function also as a doorjamb to the tomb. Otherwise known as tomb tiles, these artifacts feature holes in the top and bottom of the tile allowing it to pivot. Similar tiles have been found in the Chengdu area of Sichuan province in south-central China.

What type of decoration was often seen in tombs?

hollow clay tiles

What could be used to prevent a door from closing in a place of burial?

hollow clay tiles

What was the afterlife of the immortals called during this period?

xian

What is the commonly held notion regarding the dual nature of the soul called?

two-part soul

What function did the holes in the top and bottom of the tomb tiles enable them to do?

allowing it to pivot


In addition to his many other roles, the emperor acted as the highest priest in the land who made sacrifices to Heaven, the main deities known as the Five Powers, and the spirits (shen 神) of mountains and rivers. It was believed that the three realms of Heaven, Earth, and Mankind were linked by natural cycles of yin and yang and the five phases. If the emperor did not behave according to proper ritual, ethics, and morals, he could disrupt the fine balance of these cosmological cycles and cause calamities such as earthquakes, floods, droughts, epidemics, and swarms of locusts.

Who made sacrifices to the main deities in this period?

the emperor

What type of geological event was feared could be caused by the morals of the emperor?

earthquakes

What is another term that could be used to label the main deities?

the Five Powers

How many realms were commonly thought of as being linked by a natural cycle?

three realms

What type of swarm was a concern because of the emperor's ethics?

locusts


It was believed that immortality could be achieved if one reached the lands of the Queen Mother of the West or Mount Penglai. Han-era Daoists assembled into small groups of hermits who attempted to achieve immortality through breathing exercises, sexual techniques and use of medical elixirs. By the 2nd century AD, Daoists formed large hierarchical religious societies such as the Way of the Five Pecks of Rice. Its followers believed that the sage-philosopher Laozi (fl. 6th century BC) was a holy prophet who would offer salvation and good health if his devout followers would confess their sins, ban the worship of unclean gods who accepted meat sacrifices and chant sections of the Daodejing.

What was the purpose of breathing exercises to a Daoist?

achieve immortality

What type of religion did the society of the Way of the Five Pecks of Rice practice?

Daoists

What could the prophet Laozi offer in return for the confession of sins?

salvation and good health

What literal work were followers of Laozi expected to chant?

Daodejing

What could be earned if an individual had reached the lands of the Queen Mother of the West?

immortality


Buddhism first entered China during the Eastern Han and was first mentioned in 65 AD. Liu Ying (d. 71 AD), a half-brother to Emperor Ming of Han (r. 57–75 AD), was one of its earliest Chinese adherents, although Chinese Buddhism at this point was heavily associated with Huang-Lao Daoism. China's first known Buddhist temple, the White Horse Temple, was erected during Ming's reign. Important Buddhist canons were translated into Chinese during the 2nd century AD, including the Sutra of Forty-two Chapters, Perfection of Wisdom, Shurangama Sutra, and Pratyutpanna Sutra.

During was era did Buddhism first appear in the region?

Eastern Han

When did Emperor Ming of Han's reign end?

75 AD

What philosophical practice did Liu Ying believe in?

Buddhism

What is believed to be the first Buddhist temple in this area?

the White Horse Temple

During which century were important Buddhist notions translated to Chinese?

2nd century AD


In Han government, the emperor was the supreme judge and lawgiver, the commander-in-chief of the armed forces and sole designator of official nominees appointed to the top posts in central and local administrations; those who earned a 600-dan salary-rank or higher. Theoretically, there were no limits to his power. However, state organs with competing interests and institutions such as the court conference (tingyi 廷議)—where ministers were convened to reach majority consensus on an issue—pressured the emperor to accept the advice of his ministers on policy decisions. If the emperor rejected a court conference decision, he risked alienating his high ministers. Nevertheless, emperors sometimes did reject the majority opinion reached at court conferences.

Who was responsible for nominations of local administrators in the government?

the emperor

Was the emperor able to reject an opinion that was made by the court conference?

sometimes did reject the majority opinion

Who often placed pressure on the emperor in regards to local policies?

court conference

What did the emperor risk if he did not accept the decisions of the court conference?

alienating his high ministers

Who was considered to be the supreme judge in Han government?

the emperor


Ranked below the Three Councillors of State were the Nine Ministers, who each headed a specialized ministry. The Minister of Ceremonies was the chief official in charge of religious rites, rituals, prayers and the maintenance of ancestral temples and altars. The Minister of the Household was in charge of the emperor's security within the palace grounds, external imperial parks and wherever the emperor made an outing by chariot. The Minister of the Guards was responsible for securing and patrolling the walls, towers, and gates of the imperial palaces. The Minister Coachman was responsible for the maintenance of imperial stables, horses, carriages and coach-houses for the emperor and his palace attendants, as well as the supply of horses for the armed forces. The Minister of Justice was the chief official in charge of upholding, administering, and interpreting the law. The Minister Herald was the chief official in charge of receiving honored guests at the imperial court, such as nobles and foreign ambassadors. The Minister of the Imperial Clan oversaw the imperial court's interactions with the empire's nobility and extended imperial family, such as granting fiefs and titles. The Minister of Finance was the treasurer for the official bureaucracy and the armed forces who handled tax revenues and set standards for units of measurement. The Minister Steward served the emperor exclusively, providing him with entertainment and amusements, proper food and clothing, medicine and physical care, valuables and equipment.

Which individual had a duty to maintain the imperial stables?

The Minister Coachman

Which Minister had the responsibility to interpret laws in this period?

The Minister of Justice

Which Minister could an honored guest of the court be expected to see?

The Minister Herald

Who provided  the emperor with sustenance and medical aid?

The Minister Steward

Which individual held the responsibility to oversee the interactions of the empire's nobles with the court?

The Minister of the Imperial Clan


A commandery consisted of a group of counties, and was headed by an Administrator. He was the top civil and military leader of the commandery and handled defense, lawsuits, seasonal instructions to farmers and recommendations of nominees for office sent annually to the capital in a quota system first established by Emperor Wu. The head of a large county of about 10,000 households was called a Prefect, while the heads of smaller counties were called Chiefs, and both could be referred to as Magistrates. A Magistrate maintained law and order in his county, registered the populace for taxation, mobilized commoners for annual corvée duties, repaired schools and supervised public works.

What individual was typically in charge of a commandery?

an Administrator

Around how many households was a Prefect responsible for?

What individual was responsible for law and maintaining order in the county?

A Magistrate

What Emperor initially created the quota system?

Emperor Wu

Who was in charge of counties that had fewer than 10,000 people in them?

Chiefs


At the beginning of the Han dynasty, every male commoner aged twenty-three was liable for conscription into the military. The minimum age for the military draft was reduced to twenty after Emperor Zhao's (r. 87–74 BC) reign. Conscripted soldiers underwent one year of training and one year of service as non-professional soldiers. The year of training was served in one of three branches of the armed forces: infantry, cavalry or navy. The year of active service was served either on the frontier, in a king's court or under the Minister of the Guards in the capital. A small professional (paid) standing army was stationed near the capital.

What gender was expected to be conscripted into the military?

male

At what age could a male common expect to be conscripted into the military?

twenty-three

How long could a conscripted soldier expect to be in training for?

one year

What was the lowest age a soldier could be conscripted after the end of Emperor Zhao's tenure?

twenty

Which Minister could a conscripted soldier expect to serve under during his year of service?

Minister of the Guards


During the Eastern Han, conscription could be avoided if one paid a commutable tax. The Eastern Han court favored the recruitment of a volunteer army. The volunteer army comprised the Southern Army (Nanjun 南軍), while the standing army stationed in and near the capital was the Northern Army (Beijun 北軍). Led by Colonels (Xiaowei 校尉), the Northern Army consisted of five regiments, each composed of several thousand soldiers. When central authority collapsed after 189 AD, wealthy landowners, members of the aristocracy/nobility, and regional military-governors relied upon their retainers to act as their own personal troops (buqu 部曲).

How could conscription into military service be avoided?

one paid a commutable tax

What army was based near the capital?

Northern Army

What army was considered to be the volunteer army?

Southern Army

How many regiments were in the Northern Army?

five

Around how many soldiers were in each regiment of the Northern Army?

several thousand soldiers


The Han dynasty inherited the ban liang coin type from the Qin. In the beginning of the Han, Emperor Gaozu closed the government mint in favor of private minting of coins. This decision was reversed in 186 BC by his widow Grand Empress Dowager Lü Zhi (d. 180 BC), who abolished private minting. In 182 BC, Lü Zhi issued a bronze coin that was much lighter in weight than previous coins. This caused widespread inflation that was not reduced until 175 BC when Emperor Wen allowed private minters to manufacture coins that were precisely 2.6 g (0.09 oz) in weight.

Where did the Han dynasty receive their coin type from?

the Qin

Who closed the government mint?

Emperor Gaozu

In what year was the decision reversing the closure of the government mint implemented?

186 BC

Who released new lighter coinage that caused significant amounts of inflation because of it's weight?

Lü Zhi

In what year were private manufactures allowed to create coins that were exactly 2.6g in mass?

175 BC


In 144 BC Emperor Jing abolished private minting in favor of central-government and commandery-level minting; he also introduced a new coin. Emperor Wu introduced another in 120 BC, but a year later he abandoned the ban liangs entirely in favor of the wuzhu (五銖) coin, weighing 3.2 g (0.11 oz). The wuzhu became China's standard coin until the Tang dynasty (618–907 AD). Its use was interrupted briefly by several new currencies introduced during Wang Mang's regime until it was reinstated in 40 AD by Emperor Guangwu.

Who introduced new coinage in the year of 120 BC?

Emperor Wu

What coin replaced the ban liangs after only a year of distribution?

wuzhu

During what dynasty did the wuzhu stop being the standard coin?

Tang dynasty

What was the mass of the wuzhu coin?

3.2 g

What interrupted the use of the wuzhu coin during the reign of Wang Mang?

several new currencies


The small landowner-cultivators formed the majority of the Han tax base; this revenue was threatened during the latter half of Eastern Han when many peasants fell into debt and were forced to work as farming tenants for wealthy landlords. The Han government enacted reforms in order to keep small landowner-cultivators out of debt and on their own farms. These reforms included reducing taxes, temporary remissions of taxes, granting loans and providing landless peasants temporary lodging and work in agricultural colonies until they could recover from their debts.

Which group made up the bulk of the Han tax base?

landowner-cultivators

Who made reductions in the taxes that landowner-cultivators were forced to pay?

The Han government

During what period did a large number of peasants incur debt?

Eastern Han

What type of housing did the Han government provide to landless indebted peasants?

temporary

What did the Han government do to help out smaller landowners?

enacted reforms


In the early Western Han, a wealthy salt or iron industrialist, whether a semi-autonomous king or wealthy merchant, could boast funds that rivaled the imperial treasury and amass a peasant workforce of over a thousand. This kept many peasants away from their farms and denied the government a significant portion of its land tax revenue. To eliminate the influence of such private entrepreneurs, Emperor Wu nationalized the salt and iron industries in 117 BC and allowed many of the former industrialists to become officials administering the monopolies. By Eastern Han times, the central government monopolies were repealed in favor of production by commandery and county administrations, as well as private businessmen.

In which year did Emperor Wu monopolize several industries?

117 BC

Who allowed industrialists to become officials in the newly state sanctioned industries?

Emperor Wu

During what period did the governmental monopolies become privatized once again?

Eastern Han

What did Emperor Wu do to negate the influence of private entrepreneurs?

nationalized the salt and iron industries

During what era could a wealthy iron industrialist be able to rival the treasury in funds?

Western Han


Liquor was another profitable private industry nationalized by the central government in 98 BC. However, this was repealed in 81 BC and a property tax rate of two coins for every 0.2 L (0.05 gallons) was levied for those who traded it privately. By 110 BC Emperor Wu also interfered with the profitable trade in grain when he eliminated speculation by selling government-stored grain at a lower price than demanded by merchants. Apart from Emperor Ming's creation of a short-lived Office for Price Adjustment and Stabilization, which was abolished in 68 AD, central-government price control regulations were largely absent during the Eastern Han.

What industry was monopolized by the government in 98 BC?

Liquor

In what year did the liquor industry once again become privatized?

81 BC

What was mostly missing during the Eastern Han?

price control regulations

What did Emperor Wu sell that offended the merchants?

grain

What office did Emperor Ming create?

Office for Price Adjustment and Stabilization


Evidence suggests that blast furnaces, that convert raw iron ore into pig iron, which can be remelted in a cupola furnace to produce cast iron by means of a cold blast and hot blast, were operational in China by the late Spring and Autumn period (722–481 BC). The bloomery was nonexistent in ancient China; however, the Han-era Chinese produced wrought iron by injecting excess oxygen into a furnace and causing decarburization. Cast iron and pig iron could be converted into wrought iron and steel using a fining process.

What type of furnace was functional in China in 722 BC?

blast

What element was used in the production of wrought iron?

oxygen

What type of iron could pig iron be converted into?

wrought

What type of process was used to convert various metals into steel?

fining

What can iron ore be converted into in a blast furnace?

pig iron


The Han-era Chinese used bronze and iron to make a range of weapons, culinary tools, carpenters' tools and domestic wares. A significant product of these improved iron-smelting techniques was the manufacture of new agricultural tools. The three-legged iron seed drill, invented by the 2nd century BC, enabled farmers to carefully plant crops in rows instead of casting seeds out by hand. The heavy moldboard iron plow, also invented during the Han dynasty, required only one man to control it, two oxen to pull it. It had three plowshares, a seed box for the drills, a tool which turned down the soil and could sow roughly 45,730 m2 (11.3 acres) of land in a single day.

What was an invention that allowed farmers to place their crops into rows?

The three-legged iron seed drill

How many animals were neccessary to pull an iron plow?

two oxen

How many acres of land could succesfully be sowed with a seed box in a day?

11.3 acres

What methodology allowed the production of new agricultural tools?

improved iron-smelting techniques

How many persons were necessary to operate an iron plow?

one man


To protect crops from wind and drought, the Grain Intendant Zhao Guo (趙過) created the alternating fields system (daitianfa 代田法) during Emperor Wu's reign. This system switched the positions of furrows and ridges between growing seasons. Once experiments with this system yielded successful results, the government officially sponsored it and encouraged peasants to use it. Han farmers also used the pit field system (aotian 凹田) for growing crops, which involved heavily fertilized pits that did not require plows or oxen and could be placed on sloping terrain. In southern and small parts of central Han-era China, paddy fields were chiefly used to grow rice, while farmers along the Huai River used transplantation methods of rice production.

What helped insure the safety of crops from wind?

the alternating fields system

What was the name of the system that for growing crops that did not require plows?

pit field system

What were paddy fields used for primarily to grow in smaller areas?

rice

What system did the government recommend the usage of?

alternating fields system

What was the name of the Grain Intendant?

Zhao Guo


Timber was the chief building material during the Han dynasty; it was used to build palace halls, multi-story residential towers and halls and single-story houses. Because wood decays rapidly, the only remaining evidence of Han wooden architecture is a collection of scattered ceramic roof tiles. The oldest surviving wooden halls in China date to the Tang dynasty (618–907 AD). Architectural historian Robert L. Thorp points out the scarcity of Han-era archaeological remains, and claims that often unreliable Han-era literary and artistic sources are used by historians for clues about lost Han architecture.

What building material was used primarily during the Han dynasty?

Timber

What dynasty can the oldest wooden buildings in China be dated to?

Tang

What is considered to be the last year of the Tang dynasty?

907 AD

What type of object is the only evidence of Han's wooden constructions?

ceramic roof tiles

What was the primary component of a palace hall during the Han dynasty?

Timber


Though Han wooden structures decayed, some Han-dynasty ruins made of brick, stone, and rammed earth remain intact. This includes stone pillar-gates, brick tomb chambers, rammed-earth city walls, rammed-earth and brick beacon towers, rammed-earth sections of the Great Wall, rammed-earth platforms where elevated halls once stood, and two rammed-earth castles in Gansu. The ruins of rammed-earth walls that once surrounded the capitals Chang'an and Luoyang still stand, along with their drainage systems of brick arches, ditches, and ceramic water pipes. Monumental stone pillar-gates, twenty-nine of which survive from the Han period, formed entrances of walled enclosures at shrine and tomb sites. These pillars feature artistic imitations of wooden and ceramic building components such as roof tiles, eaves, and balustrades.

How many stone pillar-gates survive from the Han era?

twenty-nine

What architectural feature contained an imitation of a balustrade?

stone pillar-gates

What building material were tomb chambers constructed with?

brick

What were the walls that encompassed the city of Luoyang comprised of?

rammed-earth

What type of system used ceramic water pipes?

drainage systems


Evidence of Han-era mechanical engineering comes largely from the choice observational writings of sometimes disinterested Confucian scholars. Professional artisan-engineers (jiang 匠) did not leave behind detailed records of their work. Han scholars, who often had little or no expertise in mechanical engineering, sometimes provided insufficient information on the various technologies they described. Nevertheless, some Han literary sources provide crucial information. For example, in 15 BC the philosopher Yang Xiong described the invention of the belt drive for a quilling machine, which was of great importance to early textile manufacturing. The inventions of the artisan-engineer Ding Huan (丁緩) are mentioned in the Miscellaneous Notes on the Western Capital. Around 180 AD, Ding created a manually operated rotary fan used for air conditioning within palace buildings. Ding also used gimbals as pivotal supports for one of his incense burners and invented the world's first known zoetrope lamp.

What type of scholars have provided proof that mechanical engineering was prominent during the Han period?

Confucian

Which philosopher described the invention of a belt drive?

Yang Xiong

Which engineer was responsible for first inventing the zoetrope lamp?

Ding Huan

What can be used as a support structure in incense burners?

gimbals

What type of invention was used to provide air conditioning for the palace buildings?

rotary fan


Modern archaeology has led to the discovery of Han artwork portraying inventions which were otherwise absent in Han literary sources. As observed in Han miniature tomb models, but not in literary sources, the crank handle was used to operate the fans of winnowing machines that separated grain from chaff. The odometer cart, invented during Han, measured journey lengths, using mechanical figures banging drums and gongs to indicate each distance traveled. This invention is depicted in Han artwork by the 2nd century AD, yet detailed written descriptions were not offered until the 3rd century AD. Modern archaeologists have also unearthed specimens of devices used during the Han dynasty, for example a pair of sliding metal calipers used by craftsmen for making minute measurements. These calipers contain inscriptions of the exact day and year they were manufactured. These tools are not mentioned in any Han literary sources.

During which period was the odometer cart first created?

Han

What item was used to make very small measurements during this era?

sliding metal calipers

What has allowed us to discover long lost inventions of the Han era?

artwork

What was used to separate parts of grain?

winnowing machines

What use did the odometer cart provide?

measured journey lengths


The waterwheel appeared in Chinese records during the Han. As mentioned by Huan Tan in about 20 AD, they were used to turn gears that lifted iron trip hammers, and were used in pounding, threshing and polishing grain. However, there is no sufficient evidence for the watermill in China until about the 5th century. The Nanyang Commandery Administrator Du Shi (d. 38 AD) created a waterwheel-powered reciprocator that worked the bellows for the smelting of iron. Waterwheels were also used to power chain pumps that lifted water to raised irrigation ditches. The chain pump was first mentioned in China by the philosopher Wang Chong in his 1st-century-AD Balanced Discourse.

What was used to power chain pumps to raise water to irrigation ditches?

Waterwheels

What commandery was the creator of the waterwheel-powered reciprocator from?

Nanyang

Who was the author of the essay entitled Balance Discourse?

Wang Chong

During what century is it likely that the watermill made an appearance in China?

about the 5th century

During what era did the waterwheel first appear in recordings?

Han


The armillary sphere, a three-dimensional representation of the movements in the celestial sphere, was invented in Han China by the 1st century BC. Using a water clock, waterwheel and a series of gears, the Court Astronomer Zhang Heng (78–139 AD) was able to mechanically rotate his metal-ringed armillary sphere. To address the problem of slowed timekeeping in the pressure head of the inflow water clock, Zhang was the first in China to install an additional tank between the reservoir and inflow vessel. Zhang also invented a seismometer (Houfeng didong yi 候风地动仪) in 132 AD to detect the exact cardinal or ordinal direction of earthquakes from hundreds of kilometers away. This employed an inverted pendulum that, when disturbed by ground tremors, would trigger a set of gears that dropped a metal ball from one of eight dragon mouths (representing all eight directions) into a metal toad's mouth.

Who was responsible for the invention of the seismometer?

Zhang Heng

In what year was the seismometer first invented?

132 AD

What invention included an inverted pendulum?

seismometer

How many dragons were represented in Zhang Heng's invention of the seismometer?

eight

What was exchanged from mouth to mouth in the usage of the seismometer?

metal ball


Three Han mathematical treatises still exist. These are the Book on Numbers and Computation, the Arithmetical Classic of the Gnomon and the Circular Paths of Heaven and the Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art. Han-era mathematical achievements include solving problems with right-angle triangles, square roots, cube roots, and matrix methods, finding more accurate approximations for pi, providing mathematical proof of the Pythagorean theorem, use of the decimal fraction, Gaussian elimination to solve linear equations, and continued fractions to find the roots of equations.

What type of treatise is the Book on Numbers and Computation considered to be?

mathematical

How many mathematical treatises have still managed to survive to this day?

Three

What achievement of the Han era can be used to help solve linear equations?

Gaussian elimination

During what era was the Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art from?

Han

What can be used to help find the roots of equations?

continued fractions


One of the Han's greatest mathematical advancements was the world's first use of negative numbers. Negative numbers first appeared in the Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art as black counting rods, where positive numbers were represented by red counting rods. Negative numbers are used in the Bakhshali manuscript of ancient India, but its exact date of compilation is unknown. Negative numbers were also used by the Greek mathematician Diophantus in about 275 AD, but were not widely accepted in Europe until the 16th century AD.

In what treatise did negative numbers first appear?

the Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art

How were negative numbers first described during the Han period?

as black counting rods

In what century were negative numbers more commonly accepted in Europe?

16th century AD

What Indian manuscript also contains the useage of negative numbers?

Bakhshali

What were positive numbers portayed as in the treatise of the Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art?

red counting rods


Han-era astronomers adopted a geocentric model of the universe, theorizing that it was shaped like a sphere surrounding the earth in the center. They assumed that the Sun, Moon, and planets were spherical and not disc-shaped. They also thought that the illumination of the Moon and planets was caused by sunlight, that lunar eclipses occurred when the Earth obstructed sunlight falling onto the Moon, and that a solar eclipse occurred when the Moon obstructed sunlight from reaching the Earth. Although others disagreed with his model, Wang Chong accurately described the water cycle of the evaporation of water into clouds.

In what era was a geocentric view of the universe adopted?

Han

Who was able to describe the process of evaporation?

Wang Chong

What object was assumed to block sunlight during a lunar eclipse?

the Earth

What did astronomers believe the shape of the Sun to be during this era?

spherical

What did astronomers during this area believe to be the center of the universe?

the earth


Evidence found in Chinese literature, and archaeological evidence, show that cartography existed in China before the Han. Some of the earliest Han maps discovered were ink-penned silk maps found amongst the Mawangdui Silk Texts in a 2nd-century-BC tomb. The general Ma Yuan created the world's first known raised-relief map from rice in the 1st century AD. This date could be revised if the tomb of Qin Shi Huang is excavated and the account in the Records of the Grand Historian concerning a model map of the empire is proven to be true.

What textile were some of the early Han maps made from?

silk

In what type of building were silken maps found?

tomb

Which individual created the very first raised relief map?

Ma Yuan

What food stable was the first raised relief map created from?

rice


The Han-era Chinese sailed in a variety of ships differing from those of previous eras, such as the tower ship. The junk design was developed and realized during Han. Junks featured a square-ended bow and stern, a flat-bottomed hull or carvel-shaped hull with no keel or sternpost, and solid transverse bulkheads in the place of structural ribs found in Western vessels. Moreover, Han ships were the first in the world to be steered using a rudder at the stern, in contrast to the simpler steering oar used for riverine transport, allowing them to sail on the high seas.

What type of boat design was first invented during the Han era?

The junk design

In what areas were Han ships able to be sailed in part due to the stern rudder?

high seas

What ship design contained a flat-bottomed hull?

Junks

What type of transport was the steering oar most likely to be used during?

riverine transport


Han-era medical physicians believed that the human body was subject to the same forces of nature that governed the greater universe, namely the cosmological cycles of yin and yang and the five phases. Each organ of the body was associated with a particular phase. Illness was viewed as a sign that qi or "vital energy" channels leading to a certain organ had been disrupted. Thus, Han-era physicians prescribed medicine that was believed to counteract this imbalance. For example, since the wood phase was believed to promote the fire phase, medicinal ingredients associated with the wood phase could be used to heal an organ associated with the fire phase. To this end, the physician Zhang Zhongjing (c. 150–c. 219 AD) prescribed regulated diets rich in certain foods that were thought to cure specific illnesses. These are now known to be nutrition disorders caused by the lack of certain vitamins consumed in one's diet. Besides dieting, Han physicians also prescribed moxibustion, acupuncture, and calisthenics as methods of maintaining one's health. When surgery was performed by the physician Hua Tuo (d. 208 AD), he used anesthesia to numb his patients' pain and prescribed a rubbing ointment that allegedly sped the process of healing surgical wounds.

Who believed that the same forces that controlled the universe also controlled the human body?

Han-era medical physicians

What was used during surgery to relieve patients of their pain?

anesthesia

What profession was the individual Zhang Zhongjing involved in?

physician

How did Zhang Zhongjing attempt to cure various illnesses?

prescribed regulated diets

When did Hua Tuo die?

208 AD


Muslims believe the Quran was verbally revealed by God to Muhammad through the angel Gabriel (Jibril), gradually over a period of approximately 23 years, beginning on 22 December 609 CE, when Muhammad was 40, and concluding in 632, the year of his death. Muslims regard the Quran as the most important miracle of Muhammad, a proof of his prophethood, and the culmination of a series of divine messages that started with the messages revealed to Adam and ended with Muhammad. The word "Quran" occurs some 70 times in the text of the Quran, although different names and words are also said to be references to the Quran.

Which angel is believed to have communicated the Quran to Muhammad?

Gabriel

On which date did Muhammad begin receiving the Quran?

22 December 609 CE

In which year CE did Muhammad die?

What is the Arabic variant of Gabriel?

Jibril

How many times is the word "Quran" used in the Quran?

Which devil is believed to have communicated the Quran to Muhammad?

I'm not sure.

On which date did Muhammad stop receiving the Quran?

I'm not sure.

In which year CE did Muhammad get sick?

I'm not sure.

What is the Jewish variant of Gabriel?

I'm not sure.

How many times isn't the word "Quran" used in the Quran?

I'm not sure.


According to the traditional narrative, several companions of Muhammad served as scribes and were responsible for writing down the revelations. Shortly after Muhammad's death, the Quran was compiled by his companions who wrote down and memorized parts of it. These codices had differences that motivated the Caliph Uthman to establish a standard version now known as Uthman's codex, which is generally considered the archetype of the Quran known today. There are, however, variant readings, with mostly minor differences in meaning.

Who first recorded Muhammad revelations?

companions of Muhammad

Who first standardized the earliest versions of the Quran?

Caliph Uthman

By what name is the first standardized version of the Quran known?

Uthman's codex

Who last recorded Muhammad revelations?

I'm not sure.

Who last standardized the earliest versions of the Quran?

I'm not sure.

Who first standardized the latest versions of the Quran?

I'm not sure.

By what name is the last standardized version of the Quran known?

I'm not sure.

By what name is the first standardized version of the Quran unknown?

I'm not sure.


The Quran assumes familiarity with major narratives recounted in the Biblical scriptures. It summarizes some, dwells at length on others and, in some cases, presents alternative accounts and interpretations of events. The Quran describes itself as a book of guidance. It sometimes offers detailed accounts of specific historical events, and it often emphasizes the moral significance of an event over its narrative sequence. The Quran is used along with the hadith to interpret sharia law. During prayers, the Quran is recited only in Arabic.

In which language is the Quran spoken during prayer?

Arabic

The Quran is used in the interpretation of which form of law?

sharia

What accounts are form the basis of much of the accounts in the Quran?

Biblical scriptures

Which religious text calls itself a book of guidance?

Quran

In which language is the Quran unspoken during prayer?

I'm not sure.

The Quran isn't used in the interpretation of which form of law?

I'm not sure.

The Quran is unused in the interpretation of which form of law?

I'm not sure.

What accounts are form the basis of none of the accounts in the Quran?

I'm not sure.

Which scientific text calls itself a book of guidance?

I'm not sure.


The word qurʼān appears about 70 times in the Quran itself, assuming various meanings. It is a verbal noun (maṣdar) of the Arabic verb qaraʼa (قرأ), meaning "he read" or "he recited". The Syriac equivalent is (ܩܪܝܢܐ) qeryānā, which refers to "scripture reading" or "lesson". While some Western scholars consider the word to be derived from the Syriac, the majority of Muslim authorities hold the origin of the word is qaraʼa itself. Regardless, it had become an Arabic term by Muhammad's lifetime. An important meaning of the word is the "act of reciting", as reflected in an early Quranic passage: "It is for Us to collect it and to recite it (qurʼānahu)."

From which Arabic verb might "Quran" be derived?

qaraʼa

What Syriac word might be related to "Quran"?

qeryānā

The words from which the name "Quran" might be described are related to which act?

reciting

Which word do most Muslim scholars point to as the origin of the Quran's name?

qaraʼa

From which Arabic noun might "Quran" be derived?

I'm not sure.

From which Arabic verb might not "Quran" be derived?

I'm not sure.

What Syriac word might be unrelated to "Quran"?

I'm not sure.

The words from which the name "Quran" might be described are unrelated to which act?

I'm not sure.

Which word don't any Muslim scholars point to as the origin of the Quran's name?

I'm not sure.


The term also has closely related synonyms that are employed throughout the Quran. Each synonym possesses its own distinct meaning, but its use may converge with that of qurʼān in certain contexts. Such terms include kitāb (book); āyah (sign); and sūrah (scripture). The latter two terms also denote units of revelation. In the large majority of contexts, usually with a definite article (al-), the word is referred to as the "revelation" (waḥy), that which has been "sent down" (tanzīl) at intervals. Other related words are: dhikr (remembrance), used to refer to the Quran in the sense of a reminder and warning, and ḥikmah (wisdom), sometimes referring to the revelation or part of it.

Which term used in the Quran to indicate itself means "book"?

kitāb

Which term does the Quran use to refer to itself as "scripture"?

sūrah

What meaning does the Quran take when it calls itself hikmah?

wisdom

What name does the Quran use for itself that means "revelation"?

waḥy

Which term isn't used in the Quran to indicate itself means "book"?

I'm not sure.

Which term doesn't the Quran use to refer to itself as "scripture"?

I'm not sure.

Which term does the Quran use to refer to itself as "puncture"?

I'm not sure.

What meaning doesn't the Quran take when it calls itself hikmah?

I'm not sure.

What name doesn't the Quran use for itself that means "revelation"?

I'm not sure.


The Quran describes itself as "the discernment" (al-furqān), "the mother book" (umm al-kitāb), "the guide" (huda), "the wisdom" (hikmah), "the remembrance" (dhikr) and "the revelation" (tanzīl; something sent down, signifying the descent of an object from a higher place to lower place). Another term is al-kitāb (The Book), though it is also used in the Arabic language for other scriptures, such as the Torah and the Gospels. The adjective of "Quran" has multiple transliterations including "quranic", "koranic", and "qur'anic", or capitalised as "Qur'anic", "Koranic", and "Quranic". The term mus'haf ('written work') is often used to refer to particular Quranic manuscripts but is also used in the Quran to identify earlier revealed books. Other transliterations of "Quran" include "al-Coran", "Coran", "Kuran", and "al-Qurʼan".

Which term meaning "the mother book" does the Quran apply to itself?

umm al-kitāb

What term is used in the Quran to indicate previous revelations?

mus'haf

What is the Arabic term commonly used to refer to works like the Torah or the Gospels?

al-kitāb

What is an English translation of huda?

the guide

Which term meaning "the mother book" doesn't the Quran apply to itself?

I'm not sure.

What term is unused in the Quran to indicate previous revelations?

I'm not sure.

What term is used in the Quran to indicate future revelations?

I'm not sure.

What isn't an English translation of huda?

I'm not sure.


Islamic tradition relates that Muhammad received his first revelation in the Cave of Hira during one of his isolated retreats to the mountains. Thereafter, he received revelations over a period of 23 years. According to hadith and Muslim history, after Muhammad immigrated to Medina and formed an independent Muslim community, he ordered many of his companions to recite the Quran and to learn and teach the laws, which were revealed daily. It is related that some of the Quraysh who were taken prisoners at the battle of Badr regained their freedom after they had taught some of the Muslims the simple writing of the time. Thus a group of Muslims gradually became literate. As it was initially spoken, the Quran was recorded on tablets, bones, and the wide, flat ends of date palm fronds. Most suras were in use amongst early Muslims since they are mentioned in numerous sayings by both Sunni and Shia sources, relating Muhammad's use of the Quran as a call to Islam, the making of prayer and the manner of recitation. However, the Quran did not exist in book form at the time of Muhammad's death in 632. There is agreement among scholars that Muhammad himself did not write down the revelation.

In which mountain cave did Mohammad experience his first revelation?

Cave of Hira

Where did Mohammad move to found a separate Muslim community?

Medina

Prisoners from which battle are thought to have helped Muslims learn to write?

Badr

Vegetation from which tree served as an early recording medium for the Quran?

date palm

When Muhammad dies, what had not yet been compiled as a book?

Quran

In which mountain cave did Mohammad experience his last revelation?

I'm not sure.

Where didn't Mohammad move to find a separate Muslim community?

I'm not sure.

Prisoners from which battle are thought to have helped Muslims learn to sing?

I'm not sure.

Vegetation from which tree served as an later recording medium for the Quran?

I'm not sure.

When Muhammad dies, what had been compiled as a book?

I'm not sure.


The Quran describes Muhammad as "ummi", which is traditionally interpreted as "illiterate," but the meaning is rather more complex. Medieval commentators such as Al-Tabari maintained that the term induced two meanings: first, the inability to read or write in general; second, the inexperience or ignorance of the previous books or scriptures (but they gave priority to the first meaning). Muhammad's illiteracy was taken as a sign of the genuineness of his prophethood. For example, according to Fakhr al-Din al-Razi, if Muhammad had mastered writing and reading he possibly would have been suspected of having studied the books of the ancestors. Some scholars such as Watt prefer the second meaning of "ummi" - they take it to indicate unfamiliarity with earlier sacred texts.

What is the most common interpretation of the word "ummi" that the Quran applies to Muhammad?

illiterate

Because Mohammed was "ummi," what would he not have known about that lent credence to his prophethood?

earlier sacred texts

What term does the Quran use to describe Mohammad's lack of exposure to scripture?

ummi

What skills would have made others more suspicious that Mohammad was not getting his revelations in the way he said?

writing and reading

What is the most uncommon interpretation of the word "ummi" that the Quran applies to Muhammad?

I'm not sure.

What is the most common misinterpretation of the word "ummi" that the Quran applies to Muhammad?

I'm not sure.

Because Mohammed was "ummi," what would he have known about that lent credence to his prophethood?

I'm not sure.

What term doesn't the Quran use to describe Mohammad's lack of exposure to scripture?

I'm not sure.

What skills would have made others more suspicious that Mohammad was getting his revelations in the way he said?

I'm not sure.


Based on earlier transmitted reports, in the year 632, after the demise of Muhammad a number of his companions who knew the Quran by heart were killed in a battle by Musaylimah, the first caliph Abu Bakr (d. 634) decided to collect the book in one volume so that it could be preserved. Zayd ibn Thabit (d. 655) was the person to collect the Quran since "he used to write the Divine Inspiration for Allah's Apostle". Thus, a group of scribes, most importantly Zayd, collected the verses and produced a hand-written manuscript of the complete book. The manuscript according to Zayd remained with Abu Bakr until he died. Zayd's reaction to the task and the difficulties in collecting the Quranic material from parchments, palm-leaf stalks, thin stones and from men who knew it by heart is recorded in earlier narratives. After Abu Bakr, Hafsa bint Umar, Muhammad's widow, was entrusted with the manuscript. In about 650, the third Caliph Uthman ibn Affan (d. 656) began noticing slight differences in pronunciation of the Quran as Islam expanded beyond the Arabian Peninsula into Persia, the Levant, and North Africa. In order to preserve the sanctity of the text, he ordered a committee headed by Zayd to use Abu Bakr's copy and prepare a standard copy of the Quran. Thus, within 20 years of Muhammad's death, the Quran was committed to written form. That text became the model from which copies were made and promulgated throughout the urban centers of the Muslim world, and other versions are believed to have been destroyed. The present form of the Quran text is accepted by Muslim scholars to be the original version compiled by Abu Bakr.

Which caliph decided to preserve the Quran as a single book after some of Muhammad's companions were killed in battle?

Abu Bakr

Which scribe led the production of the first written Quran?

Zayd ibn Thabit

In which year did Abu Bakr die?

Who took possession of the first Quran manuscript after Abu Bakr?

Hafsa bint Umar

Which caliph ordered the Quran manuscript copied and standardized?

Uthman ibn Affan

Which caliph decided to preserve the Quran as a single book after some of Muhammad's companions were saved in battle?

I'm not sure.

Which scribe led the production of the last written Quran?

I'm not sure.

In which year did Abu Bakr survive?

I'm not sure.

Who took possession of the last Quran manuscript after Abu Bakr?

I'm not sure.

Which caliph ordered the Quran manuscript copied and destroyed?

I'm not sure.


In 1972, in a mosque in the city of Sana'a, Yemen, manuscripts were discovered that were later proved to be the most ancient Quranic text known to exist at the time. The Sana'a manuscripts contain palimpsests, a manuscript page from which the text has been washed off to make the parchment reusable again—a practice which was common in ancient times due to scarcity of writing material. However, the faint washed-off underlying text (scriptio inferior) is still barely visible and believed to be "pre-Uthmanic" Quranic content, while the text written on top (scriptio superior) is believed to belong to Uthmanic time. Studies using radiocarbon dating indicate that the parchments are dated to the period before 671 AD with a 99 percent probability.

What is the term for recycled parchments used in ancient manuscripts?

palimpsests

Before which year were the Sana'a manuscripts produced?

671 AD

In which city was evidence of pre-Uthmanic Quranic writing discovered in 1972?

Sana'a, Yemen

What version of the Quran was the scriptio superior of the Sana'a manuscripts?

Uthmanic

What is the term for recycled parchments unused in ancient manuscripts?

I'm not sure.

What is the term for recycled parchments used in modern manuscripts?

I'm not sure.

After which year were the Sana'a manuscripts produced?

I'm not sure.

In which city was evidence of pre-Uthmanic Quranic writing discovered in 1927?

I'm not sure.

What version of the Quran was the scriptio inferior of the Sana'a manuscripts?

I'm not sure.


In 2015, fragments of a very early Quran, dating back to 1370 years ago, were discovered in the library of the University of Birmingham, England. According to the tests carried out by Oxford University Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit, "with a probability of more than 95%, the parchment was from between 568 and 645". The manuscript is written in Hijazi script, an early form of written Arabic. This is possibly the earliest extant exemplar of the Quran, but as the tests allow a range of possible dates, it cannot be said with certainty which of the existing versions is the oldest. Saudi scholar Saud al-Sarhan has expressed doubt over the age of the fragments as they contain dots and chapter separators that are believed to have originated later.

How many years old were the Quran fragments discovered in Birmingham in 2015?

What script were the Birmingham Quran fragments written in?

Hijazi

Which modern script descends from the script on the Birmingham Quran fragments?

Arabic

What feature of the Birmingham Quran fragments' text make some doubt that it is older than other known versions of the Quran?

dots and chapter separators

How many years old were the Quran fragments discovered in Birmingham in 1915?

I'm not sure.

How many years old were the Quran fragments lost in Birmingham in 2015?

I'm not sure.

What script weren't the Birmingham Quran fragments written in?

I'm not sure.

Which unmodern script descends from the script on the Birmingham Quran fragments?

I'm not sure.

What feature of the Birmingham Quran fragments' text make some doubt that it is newer than other known versions of the Quran?

I'm not sure.


Respect for the written text of the Quran is an important element of religious faith by many Muslims, and the Quran is treated with reverence. Based on tradition and a literal interpretation of Quran 56:79 ("none shall touch but those who are clean"), some Muslims believe that they must perform a ritual cleansing with water before touching a copy of the Quran, although this view is not universal. Worn-out copies of the Quran are wrapped in a cloth and stored indefinitely in a safe place, buried in a mosque or a Muslim cemetery, or burned and the ashes buried or scattered over water.

Which section of the Quran inspires some Muslims to ritually wash themselves before touching their copy?

What is done with the ashes of burned copies of the Quran?

buried or scattered over water

In what state are copies of the Quran sometime wrapped in cloth and buried?

Worn-out

Which are the safest places to inter an older copy of the Quran?

a mosque or a Muslim cemetery

Which section of the Quran inspires all Muslims to ritually wash themselves before touching their copy?

I'm not sure.

Which section of the Quran inspires some Jews to ritually wash themselves before touching their copy?

I'm not sure.

What isn't done with the ashes of burned copies of the Quran?

I'm not sure.

In what state are copies of the Quran never wrapped in cloth and buried?

I'm not sure.

Which are the safest places to inter an newer copy of the Quran?

I'm not sure.


Inimitability of the Quran (or "I'jaz") is the belief that no human speech can match the Quran in its content and form. The Quran is considered an inimitable miracle by Muslims, effective until the Day of Resurrection—and, thereby, the central proof granted to Muhammad in authentication of his prophetic status. The concept of inimitability originates in the Quran where in five different verses opponents are challenged to produce something like the Quran: "If men and sprites banded together to produce the like of this Quran they would never produce its like not though they backed one another." So the suggestion is that if there are doubts concerning the divine authorship of the Quran, come forward and create something like it. From the ninth century, numerous works appeared which studied the Quran and examined its style and content. Medieval Muslim scholars including al-Jurjani (d. 1078) and al-Baqillani (d. 1013) have written treatises on the subject, discussed its various aspects, and used linguistic approaches to study the Quran. Others argue that the Quran contains noble ideas, has inner meanings, maintained its freshness through the ages and has caused great transformations in individual level and in the history. Some scholars state that the Quran contains scientific information that agrees with modern science. The doctrine of miraculousness of the Quran is further emphasized by Muhammad's illiteracy since the unlettered prophet could not have been suspected of composing the Quran.

What term indicates that the contents of the Quran cannot be reproduced in speech?

I'jaz

Until what day is the Quran believed to be in effect?

Day of Resurrection

In which year did the Medieval Muslim scholar al-Baqillani die?

Which Muslim scholar studied the Quran's inimitability until his death in 1078?

al-Jurjani

What term indicates that the contents of the Quran should be reproduced in speech?

I'm not sure.

Until what day is the Quran believed to not be in effect?

I'm not sure.

In which year did the Medieval Muslim scholar al-Baqillani survive illness?

I'm not sure.

Which Muslim scholar studied the Quran's inimitability until his death in 1087?

I'm not sure.

Which Jewish scholar studied the Quran's inimitability until his death in 1078?

I'm not sure.


The Quran consists of 114 chapters of varying lengths, each known as a sura. Suras are classified as Meccan or Medinan, depending on whether the verses were revealed before or after the migration of Muhammad to the city of Medina. However, a sura classified as Medinan may contain Meccan verses in it and vice versa. Sura titles are derived from a name or quality discussed in the text, or from the first letters or words of the sura. Suras are arranged roughly in order of decreasing size. The sura arrangement is thus not connected to the sequence of revelation. Each sura except the ninth starts with the Bismillah (بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم), an Arabic phrase meaning "In the name of God". There are, however, still 114 occurrences of the Bismillah in the Quran, due to its presence in Quran 27:30 as the opening of Solomon's letter to the Queen of Sheba.

What is a chapter of the Quran called?

sura

How many suras are in the Quran?

What two city-related categories divide the Quran's suras?

Meccan or Medinan

What determines the order in which suras are placed in the Quran?

size

Which Arabic phrase opens almost all suras?

Bismillah

What is a chapter of the Quran not called?

I'm not sure.

How many suras aren't in the Quran?

I'm not sure.

What three city-related categories divide the Quran's suras?

I'm not sure.

What two city-related categories multiply the Quran's suras?

I'm not sure.

What determines the order in which suras aren't placed in the Quran?

I'm not sure.


In addition to and independent of the division into suras, there are various ways of dividing the Quran into parts of approximately equal length for convenience in reading. The 30 juz' (plural ajzāʼ) can be used to read through the entire Quran in a month. Some of these parts are known by names—which are the first few words by which the juzʼ starts. A juz' is sometimes further divided into two ḥizb (plural aḥzāb), and each hizb subdivided into four rubʻ al-ahzab. The Quran is also divided into seven approximately equal parts, manzil (plural manāzil), for it to be recited in a week.

What division of the Quran is used for a month-long reading?

juz'

How many ajzā cover the entire Quran?

How many ahzab are in a juz'?

two

What is the term for a subdivision of a hizb?

rubʻ al-ahzab

What division is used for a week-long recital of the Quran?

manzil

What division of the Quran is unused for a month-long reading?

I'm not sure.

How many ajzā cover the partial Quran?

I'm not sure.

How many ahzab aren't in a juz'?

I'm not sure.

What isn't the term for a subdivision of a hizb?

I'm not sure.

What division is unused for a week-long recital of the Quran?

I'm not sure.


The Quranic content is concerned with basic Islamic beliefs including the existence of God and the resurrection. Narratives of the early prophets, ethical and legal subjects, historical events of Muhammad's time, charity and prayer also appear in the Quran. The Quranic verses contain general exhortations regarding right and wrong and historical events are related to outline general moral lessons. Verses pertaining to natural phenomena have been interpreted by Muslims as an indication of the authenticity of the Quranic message.

Quranic verses concerning which phenomena are thought by Muslims to authenticate its contents?

natural

What types of events are related in the Quran in support of its moral teachings?

historical

Historical narratives from whose time period are unique to the Quran among holy books?

Muhammad's

Quranic verses concerning which phenomena are thought by Muslims to unauthenticate its contents?

I'm not sure.

Quranic verses concerning which phenomena are thought by Jews to authenticate its contents?

I'm not sure.

What types of events aren't related in the Quran in support of its moral teachings?

I'm not sure.

What types of events are unrelated in the Quran in support of its moral teachings?

I'm not sure.

Historical narratives from whose time period aren't unique to the Quran among holy books?

I'm not sure.


The doctrine of the last day and eschatology (the final fate of the universe) may be reckoned as the second great doctrine of the Quran. It is estimated that approximately one-third of the Quran is eschatological, dealing with the afterlife in the next world and with the day of judgment at the end of time. There is a reference to the afterlife on most pages of the Quran and belief in the afterlife is often referred to in conjunction with belief in God as in the common expression: "Believe in God and the last day". A number of suras such as 44, 56, 75, 78, 81 and 101 are directly related to the afterlife and its preparations. Some suras indicate the closeness of the event and warn people to be prepared for the imminent day. For instance, the first verses of Sura 22, which deal with the mighty earthquake and the situations of people on that day, represent this style of divine address: "O People! Be respectful to your Lord. The earthquake of the Hour is a mighty thing."

What fraction of the Quran deals with eschatology?

one-third

What general topic is eschatology about?

the final fate of the universe

Which natural disaster features in Sura 22?

earthquake

What topic do suras 44, 56, 75, and 101 have in common?

afterlife

What fraction of the Quran deals with emmatology?

I'm not sure.

What general topic isn't eschatology about?

I'm not sure.

Which unnatural disaster features in Sura 22?

I'm not sure.

Which natural disaster features in Sura 32?

I'm not sure.

What topic do suras 44, 65, 75, and 101 have in common?

I'm not sure.


According to the Quran, God communicated with man and made his will known through signs and revelations. Prophets, or 'Messengers of God', received revelations and delivered them to humanity. The message has been identical and for all humankind. "Nothing is said to you that was not said to the messengers before you, that your lord has at his Command forgiveness as well as a most Grievous Penalty." The revelation does not come directly from God to the prophets. Angels acting as God's messengers deliver the divine revelation to them. This comes out in Quran 42:51, in which it is stated: "It is not for any mortal that God should speak to them, except by revelation, or from behind a veil, or by sending a messenger to reveal by his permission whatsoever He will."

In what form does the Quran say God sends his messages to people?

signs and revelations

Who intermediates between God and prophets?

Angels

Which part of the Quran describes God's use of intermediaries between himself and his prophets?

How does the Quran describe the similarity of messages God has delivered throughout human history?

identical

Which humans are the messengers of God?

Prophets

In what form doesn't the Quran say God sends his messages to people?

I'm not sure.

Who intermediates between Jesus and prophets?

I'm not sure.

Which part of the Quran describes Mohammed's use of intermediaries between himself and his prophets?

I'm not sure.

How does the Quran describe the differences of messages God has delivered throughout human history?

I'm not sure.

Which nonhumans are the messengers of God?

I'm not sure.


Belief is a fundamental aspect of morality in the Quran, and scholars have tried to determine the semantic contents of "belief" and "believer" in the Quran. The ethico-legal concepts and exhortations dealing with righteous conduct are linked to a profound awareness of God, thereby emphasizing the importance of faith, accountability, and the belief in each human's ultimate encounter with God. People are invited to perform acts of charity, especially for the needy. Believers who "spend of their wealth by night and by day, in secret and in public" are promised that they "shall have their reward with their Lord; on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve". It also affirms family life by legislating on matters of marriage, divorce, and inheritance. A number of practices, such as usury and gambling, are prohibited. The Quran is one of the fundamental sources of Islamic law (sharia). Some formal religious practices receive significant attention in the Quran including the formal prayers (salat) and fasting in the month of Ramadan. As for the manner in which the prayer is to be conducted, the Quran refers to prostration. The term for charity, zakat, literally means purification. Charity, according to the Quran, is a means of self-purification.

What mental state is the foundation of morality as described by the Quran?

Belief

What finance-related acts are forbidden by the Quran?

usury and gambling

What is the name of the formal prayer proscribed by the Quran?

salat

Which month is designated for fasting in the Quran?

Ramadan

The Quran uses a term that also means purification for what social act?

charity

What physical state is the foundation of morality as described by the Quran?

I'm not sure.

What finance-unrelated acts are forbidden by the Quran?

I'm not sure.

What is the name of the informal prayer proscribed by the Quran?

I'm not sure.

Which month is no longer designated for fasting in the Quran?

I'm not sure.

The Quran uses a term that also means impurification for what social act?

I'm not sure.


The astrophysicist Nidhal Guessoum while being highly critical of pseudo-scientific claims made about the Quran, has highlighted the encouragement for sciences that the Quran provides by developing "the concept of knowledge.". He writes: "The Qur'an draws attention to the danger of conjecturing without evidence (And follow not that of which you have not the (certain) knowledge of... 17:36) and in several different verses asks Muslims to require proofs (Say: Bring your proof if you are truthful 2:111), both in matters of theological belief and in natural science." Guessoum cites Ghaleb Hasan on the definition of "proof" according the Quran being "clear and strong... convincing evidence or argument." Also, such a proof cannot rely on an argument from authority, citing verse 5:104. Lastly, both assertions and rejections require a proof, according to verse 4:174. Ismail al-Faruqi and Taha Jabir Alalwani are of the view that any reawakening of the Muslim civilization must start with the Quran; however, the biggest obstacle on this route is the "centuries old heritage of tafseer (exegesis) and other classical disciplines" which inhibit a "universal, epidemiological and systematic conception" of the Quran's message. The philosopher Muhammad Iqbal, considered the Quran's methodology and epistemology to be empirical and rational.

Which astrophysicist has written about the ways the Quran encourages scientific thinking?

Nidhal Guessoum

Verse 2:111 of the Quran supports which aspect of scientific thought and practice?

proof

Whose scholarship on the concept of proof in the Quran does Guessoum cite?

Ghaleb Hasan

Which philosopher believed the Quran had a rational and empirical basis like science?

Muhammad Iqbal

Which astrobiologist has written about the ways the Quran encourages scientific thinking?

I'm not sure.

Which astrophysicist has written about the ways the Quran discourages scientific thinking?

I'm not sure.

Verse 2:111 of the Quran supports which aspect of nonscientific thought and practice?

I'm not sure.

Whose scholarship on the concept of proof in the Quran doesn't Guessoum cite?

I'm not sure.

Which philosopher believed the Quran had a irrational and empirical basis like science?

I'm not sure.


It's generally accepted that there are around 750 verses in the Quran dealing with natural phenomenon. In many of these verses the study of nature is "encouraged and highly recommended," and historical Islamic scientists like Al-Biruni and Al-Battani derived their inspiration from verses of the Quran. Mohammad Hashim Kamali has the stated that "scientific observation, experimental knowledge and rationality" are the primary tools with which humanity can achieve the goals laid out for it in the Quran. Ziauddin Sardar built a case for Muslims having developed the foundations of modern science, by highlighting the repeated calls of the Quran to observe and reflect upon natural phenomenon. "The 'scientific method,' as it is understood today, was first developed by Muslim scientists" like Ibn al-Haytham and Al-Biruni, along with numerous other Muslim scientists.

Nature and its phenomena are mentioned in approximately how many of the Quran's verses?

Al-Battani is an example of a Muslim scientist who drew inspiration from which text?

Quran

Who recommended science as a way to achieve the goals of the Quran?

Mohammad Hashim Kamali

Who argued that the Quran inspired the first practitioners of the scientific method we use today?

Ziauddin Sardar

Al-Biruni is a example of a scientists of which religion?

Muslim

Nature and its phenomena aren't mentioned in approximately how many of the Quran's verses?

I'm not sure.

Al-Battani is an example of a Muslim scientist who rejected inspiration from which text?

I'm not sure.

Who rejected science as a way to achieve the goals of the Quran?

I'm not sure.

Who argued that the Quran inspired the last practitioners of the scientific method we use today?

I'm not sure.

Al-Biruni is a example of a artist of which religion?

I'm not sure.


The physicist Abdus Salam, in his Nobel Prize banquet address, quoted a well known verse from the Quran (67:3-4) and then stated: "This in effect is the faith of all physicists: the deeper we seek, the more is our wonder excited, the more is the dazzlement of our gaze". One of Salam's core beliefs was that there is no contradiction between Islam and the discoveries that science allows humanity to make about nature and the universe. Salam also held the opinion that the Quran and the Islamic spirit of study and rational reflection was the source of extraordinary civilizational development. Salam highlights, in particular, the work of Ibn al-Haytham and Al-Biruni as the pioneers of empiricism who introduced the experimental approach, breaking way from Aristotle's influence, and thus giving birth to modern science. Salam was also careful to differentiate between metaphysics and physics, and advised against empirically probing certain matters on which "physics is silent and will remain so," such as the doctrine of "creation from nothing" which in Salam's view is outside the limits of science and thus "gives way" to religious considerations.

Which physicist quoted the Quran in his address after receiving the Nobel Prize?

Abdus Salam

Which verse from the Quran did Abdus Salam quote at his Nobel banquet?

Which two Muslim scientists did Salam celebrate as inventors of empirical methods?

Ibn al-Haytham and Al-Biruni

Salam suggests physics and science be kept separate from which topics which are more suited to religion?

metaphysics

Which biologist quoted the Quran in his address after receiving the Nobel Prize?

I'm not sure.

Which verse from the Quran didn't Abdus Salam quote at his Nobel banquet?

I'm not sure.

Which two Muslim scientists did Salam celebrate as inventors of unempirical methods?

I'm not sure.

Salam suggests physics and science be kept together from which topics which are more suited to religion?

I'm not sure.

Salam suggests physics and science be kept separate from which topics which are less suited to religion?

I'm not sure.


The language of the Quran has been described as "rhymed prose" as it partakes of both poetry and prose; however, this description runs the risk of failing to convey the rhythmic quality of Quranic language, which is more poetic in some parts and more prose-like in others. Rhyme, while found throughout the Quran, is conspicuous in many of the earlier Meccan suras, in which relatively short verses throw the rhyming words into prominence. The effectiveness of such a form is evident for instance in Sura 81, and there can be no doubt that these passages impressed the conscience of the hearers. Frequently a change of rhyme from one set of verses to another signals a change in the subject of discussion. Later sections also preserve this form but the style is more expository.

What description of the writing in the Quran highlights its poetic aspect?

rhymed prose

Which suras in the Quran are particularly rhythmic?

earlier Meccan suras

What often changes along with the rhyming of Quranic verses?

subject of discussion

Which parts of the Quran are the least poetic?

Later

What description of the reading in the Quran highlights its poetic aspect?

I'm not sure.

What description of the writing in the Quran highlights its unpoetic aspect?

I'm not sure.

Which suras in the Quran are particularly non-rhythmic?

I'm not sure.

What often stays the same  along with the rhyming of Quranic verses?

I'm not sure.

Which parts of the Quran are the most poetic?

I'm not sure.


The Quranic text seems to have no beginning, middle, or end, its nonlinear structure being akin to a web or net. The textual arrangement is sometimes considered to exhibit lack of continuity, absence of any chronological or thematic order and repetitiousness. Michael Sells, citing the work of the critic Norman O. Brown, acknowledges Brown's observation that the seeming disorganization of Quranic literary expression – its scattered or fragmented mode of composition in Sells's phrase – is in fact a literary device capable of delivering profound effects as if the intensity of the prophetic message were shattering the vehicle of human language in which it was being communicated. Sells also addresses the much-discussed repetitiveness of the Quran, seeing this, too, as a literary device.

What is lacking in the arrangement of the Quranic text?

continuity

To which critic does Michael Sells refer on the subject of the Quran's disorganization?

Norman O. Brown

How does Sells describe the Quran's repetitiveness?

a literary device

Which scholar believes the Quran's fragmentary writing style is an effective literary device for a prophetic message?

Michael Sells

What is prominent in the arrangement of the Quranic text?

I'm not sure.

To which critic does Michael Sells not refer on the subject of the Quran's disorganization?

I'm not sure.

To which critic does Michael Sells refer on the subject of the Quran's organization?

I'm not sure.

How does Sells describe the Quran's non-repetitiveness?

I'm not sure.

Which scholar believes the Quran's fragmentary writing style isn't an effective literary device for a prophetic message?

I'm not sure.


A text is self-referential when it speaks about itself and makes reference to itself. According to Stefan Wild, the Quran demonstrates this metatextuality by explaining, classifying, interpreting and justifying the words to be transmitted. Self-referentiality is evident in those passages where the Quran refers to itself as revelation (tanzil), remembrance (dhikr), news (naba'), criterion (furqan) in a self-designating manner (explicitly asserting its Divinity, "And this is a blessed Remembrance that We have sent down; so are you now denying it?"), or in the frequent appearance of the "Say" tags, when Muhammad is commanded to speak (e.g., "Say: 'God's guidance is the true guidance' ", "Say: 'Would you then dispute with us concerning God?' "). According to Wild the Quran is highly self-referential. The feature is more evident in early Meccan suras.

What metatextual character does Stefan Wild focus on in his discussion of the Quran?

Self-referentiality

What quality does the Quran claim in the different ways in which it refers to itself?

Divinity

Which term that the Quran uses for itself means "news"?

naba'

The Quran is more self-referential in which of its suras?

early Meccan suras

What metatextual character doesn't Stefan Wild focus on in his discussion of the Quran?

I'm not sure.

What quality doesn't the Quran claim in the different ways in which it refers to itself?

I'm not sure.

What quality does the Quran claim in the same ways in which it refers to itself?

I'm not sure.

Which term that the Quran uses for itself doesn't mean "news"?

I'm not sure.

The Quran is less self-referential in which of its suras?

I'm not sure.


Tafsir is one of the earliest academic activities of Muslims. According to the Quran, Muhammad was the first person who described the meanings of verses for early Muslims. Other early exegetes included a few Companions of Muhammad, like ʻAli ibn Abi Talib, ʻAbdullah ibn Abbas, ʻAbdullah ibn Umar and Ubayy ibn Kaʻb. Exegesis in those days was confined to the explanation of literary aspects of the verse, the background of its revelation and, occasionally, interpretation of one verse with the help of the other. If the verse was about a historical event, then sometimes a few traditions (hadith) of Muhammad were narrated to make its meaning clear.

What is the name of the activity of explaining what Quranic verses mean?

Tafsir

Who was the first practitioner of Tafsir?

Muhammad

What is the Arabic term for Quranic exegesis?

Tafsir

Who were 'Ali ibn Abi Talib and 'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas?

Companions of Muhammad

What is the name of the activity of not explaining what Quranic verses mean?

I'm not sure.

Who was the last practitioner of Tafsir?

I'm not sure.

Who was the first rejecter of Tafsir?

I'm not sure.

What isn't the Arabic term for Quranic exegesis?

I'm not sure.

Who weren't 'Ali ibn Abi Talib and 'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas?

I'm not sure.


Because the Quran is spoken in classical Arabic, many of the later converts to Islam (mostly non-Arabs) did not always understand the Quranic Arabic, they did not catch allusions that were clear to early Muslims fluent in Arabic and they were concerned with reconciling apparent conflict of themes in the Quran. Commentators erudite in Arabic explained the allusions, and perhaps most importantly, explained which Quranic verses had been revealed early in Muhammad's prophetic career, as being appropriate to the very earliest Muslim community, and which had been revealed later, canceling out or "abrogating" (nāsikh) the earlier text (mansūkh). Other scholars, however, maintain that no abrogation has taken place in the Quran. The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community has published a ten-volume Urdu commentary on the Quran, with the name Tafseer e Kabir.

In which language is the Quran recited?

classical Arabic

What is the Arabic term for the cancellation of one part of the Quran by another?

nāsikh

What is the name of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community's published Quran commentary?

Tafseer e Kabir

In which language is the Tafseer e Kabir written?

Urdu

What is the term for earlier portions of the Quran that may have been superseded by later parts?

mansūkh

In which language is the Quran unrecited?

I'm not sure.

In which language isn't the Quran recited?

I'm not sure.

What is the Arabic term for the continuation of one part of the Quran by another?

I'm not sure.

What is the name of the Ahmadiyya Jewish Community's published Quran commentary?

I'm not sure.

What is the term for later portions of the Quran that may have been superseded by earlier parts?

I'm not sure.


Esoteric or Sufi interpretation attempts to unveil the inner meanings of the Quran. Sufism moves beyond the apparent (zahir) point of the verses and instead relates Quranic verses to the inner or esoteric (batin) and metaphysical dimensions of consciousness and existence. According to Sands, esoteric interpretations are more suggestive than declarative, they are allusions (isharat) rather than explanations (tafsir). They indicate possibilities as much as they demonstrate the insights of each writer.

What is another term for Sufi Quranic interpretation?

Esoteric

What Arabic word describes the aspects of Quranic verses that Sufism tries to push beyond?

zahir

Sands says Sufi interpretations tend to use which literary device rather than direct explanation?

allusions

What is an Arabic term for allusions?

isharat

What is another term for Sufi Quranic misinterpretation?

I'm not sure.

What isn't another term for Sufi Quranic interpretation?

I'm not sure.

What Arabic word describes the aspects of Biblical verses that Sufism tries to push beyond?

I'm not sure.

Sands says Sufi interpretations tend to use which literary device rather than indirect explanation?

I'm not sure.

What isn't an Arabic term for allusions?

I'm not sure.


Moses, in 7:143, comes the way of those who are in love, he asks for a vision but his desire is denied, he is made to suffer by being commanded to look at other than the Beloved while the mountain is able to see God. The mountain crumbles and Moses faints at the sight of God's manifestation upon the mountain. In Qushayri's words, Moses came like thousands of men who traveled great distances, and there was nothing left to Moses of Moses. In that state of annihilation from himself, Moses was granted the unveiling of the realities. From the Sufi point of view, God is the always the beloved and the wayfarer's longing and suffering lead to realization of the truths.

Beloved is a term for God used by which style of Quranic interpretation?

Sufi

Which Quranic verse describes Moses' encounter with God at the mountain?

In Sufi thought, what experiences bring one closer to truth?

longing and suffering

Who wrote that Moses had lost the Moses in himself along the way to his encounter with God?

Qushayri

Beloved is a term for God used by which style of Quranic misinterpretation?

I'm not sure.

Beloved is a term for God used by which style of Biblical interpretation?

I'm not sure.

Which Biblical verse describes Moses' encounter with God at the mountain?

I'm not sure.

In Sufi thought, what experiences bring one farther from the truth?

I'm not sure.

Who wrote that Moses had found the Moses in himself along the way to his encounter with God?

I'm not sure.


One of the notable authors of esoteric interpretation prior to the 12th century is Sulami (d. 1021) without whose work the majority of very early Sufi commentaries would not have been preserved. Sulami's major commentary is a book named haqaiq al-tafsir ("Truths of Exegesis") which is a compilation of commentaries of earlier Sufis. From the 11th century onwards several other works appear, including commentaries by Qushayri (d. 1074), Daylami (d. 1193), Shirazi (d. 1209) and Suhrawardi (d. 1234). These works include material from Sulami's books plus the author's contributions. Many works are written in Persian such as the works of Maybudi (d. 1135) kash al-asrar ("the unveiling of the secrets"). Rumi (d. 1273) wrote a vast amount of mystical poetry in his book Mathnawi. Rumi makes heavy use of the Quran in his poetry, a feature that is sometimes omitted in translations of Rumi's work. A large number of Quranic passages can be found in Mathnawi, which some consider a kind of Sufi interpretation of the Quran. Rumi's book is not exceptional for containing citations from and elaboration on the Quran, however, Rumi does mention Quran more frequently. Simnani (d. 1336) wrote two influential works of esoteric exegesis on the Quran. He reconciled notions of God's manifestation through and in the physical world with the sentiments of Sunni Islam. Comprehensive Sufi commentaries appear in the 18th century such as the work of Ismail Hakki Bursevi (d. 1725). His work ruh al-Bayan (the Spirit of Elucidation) is a voluminous exegesis. Written in Arabic, it combines the author's own ideas with those of his predecessors (notably Ibn Arabi and Ghazali), all woven together in Hafiz, a Persian poetry form.

Who was an important esoteric interpreter of the Quran in the 11th century?

Sulami

What is the English name of Sulami's major work?

Truths of Exegesis

In which language did Maybudi write?

Persian

In which year did the poet Rumi die?

Which Sufi commentator wrote the Spirit of Elucidation?

Ismail Hakki Bursevi

Who was an important esoteric interpreter of the Quran in the 10th century?

I'm not sure.

What is the English name of Sulami's minor work?

I'm not sure.

In which language did Maybudi not write?

I'm not sure.

In which year didn't the poet Rumi die?

I'm not sure.

Which Sufi commentator read the Spirit of Elucidation?

I'm not sure.