Q 01/05

Which companion, freed from slavery by Abu Bakr, did Muhammad choose as the first caller to prayer?

A) Bilal ibn Rabah

B) Ammar ibn Yasir

C) Suhayb al-Rumi

D) Khabbab ibn al-Aratt

Answer · why

A) Bilal ibn Rabah

Bilal ibn Rabah was picked for his deep, carrying voice, and after Mecca fell in 630 he climbed onto the Kaaba itself to give the call.

Q 02/05

What does Islamic tradition call 619, when Muhammad lost both his wife Khadijah and his protector Abu Talib?

A) Year of the Elephant

B) Year of Sorrow

C) Year of Delegations

D) Year of Ashes

Answer · why

B) Year of Sorrow

The Year of Sorrow took away Muhammad's closest supporter and his clan's protection at once, and the Quraysh treated him far more harshly once Abu Tal...

Q 03/05

Which tactic did Salman the Persian propose to defend Medina against 10,000 confederates in 627?

A) Building a stone wall

B) Flooding the valley

C) Digging a trench

D) Burning the date groves

Answer · why

C) Digging a trench

Digging a trench was a Persian idea new to Arabian warfare; the ditch took six days to dig, and after some twenty nights the besiegers broke up in win...

Q 04/05

Caliph Umar was stabbed with a double-bladed dagger in 644 while doing what in the mosque of Medina?

A) Delivering the weekly Friday sermon

B) Hearing a property lawsuit

C) Distributing treasury stipends

D) Leading the congregational prayer

Answer · why

D) Leading the congregational prayer

Leading the congregational prayer left Umar exposed to Abu Lu'lu'a, a Persian captive; before he died the caliph appointed a six-man council to choose...

Q 05/05

How did Ali ibn Abi Talib help Muhammad slip out of Mecca in 622 past the assassins posted at his door?

A) Rode ahead to Yathrib

B) Slept in the Prophet's bed

C) Swapped cloaks and riding camels

D) Bribed the clan guards

Answer · why

B) Slept in the Prophet's bed

Ali slept in the Prophet's bed so the watchers saw a sleeping figure all night; the plotters had picked one warrior from every Meccan clan so that no ...