husayn ibn ali (shi'ite muslim hero
1Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī, al- — ▪ Muslim leader and martyr born January 626, Medina, Arabia [now in Saudi Arabia] died Oct. 10, 680, Karbalāʾ, Iraq Shīʿite Muslim hero, grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, and son of Alīʿ (the fourth Islamic caliph) and Fāṭima, daughter of… …
2Shīʿite — ▪ Islam Introduction Arabic Shīʿī, collective Shīʿah member of the smaller of the two major branches of Islam, distinguished from the majority Sunnis (Sunnite). Early development Early in the history of Islam, the Shīʿites were a… …
3Ali — See also: Nahj al Balagha For other persons named Ali, see Ali (name). For other uses, see Ali (disambiguation). Ali ibn Abu Talib …
4Islamic arts — Visual, literary, and performing arts of the populations that adopted Islam from the 7th century. Islamic visual arts are decorative, colourful, and, in religious art, nonrepresentational; the characteristic Islamic decoration is the arabesque.… …
5Iran — /i ran , i rahn , uy ran /, n. a republic in SW Asia. 67,540,002; ab. 635,000 sq. mi. (1,644,650 sq. km). Cap.: Teheran. Formerly (until 1935), Persia. * * * Iran Introduction Iran Background: Known as Persia until 1935, Iran became an Islamic… …
6Islāmic world — Introduction prehistory and history of the Islamic community. Adherence to Islām is a global phenomenon: Muslims predominate in some 30 to 40 countries, from the Atlantic to the Pacific and along a belt that stretches across northern… …
7Islam — Islamic /is lam ik, lah mik, iz /, Islamitic /is leuh mit ik, iz /, adj. /is lahm , iz , is leuhm, iz /, n. 1. the religious faith of Muslims, based on the words and religious system founded by the prophet Muhammad and taught by the Koran, the… …
8Arabic literature — Introduction the body of written works produced in the Arabic language. The tradition of Arabic literature stretches back some 16 centuries to unrecorded beginnings in the Arabian Peninsula. At certain points in the development of… …
9Saudi Arabia — a kingdom in N and central Arabia, including Hejaz, Nejd, and dependencies. 20,087,965; ab. 600,000 sq. mi. (1,554,000 sq. km). Cap.: Riyadh. Cf. Mecca. * * * Saudi Arabia Introduction Saudi Arabia Background: In 1902 Abd al Aziz Ibn SAUD… …
10Syria — /sear ee euh/, n. 1. Official name, Syrian Arab Republic. a republic in SW Asia at the E end of the Mediterranean. 16,137,899; 71,227 sq. mi. (184,478 sq. km). Cap.: Damascus. 2. a territory mandated to France in 1922, including the present… …