1. Muslims and their Empire Chapter 10

2. Muslim Culture Chapter 10 Section 3

3. Muslims believe Muhammad a prophet of God (Allah). A prophet is a person who believes that he or she is spoken to by God. A prophet tells others what God has said.

4. Muhammad said that the name of God is Allah. He said that people must obey Allah by being kind and fair to each other.

5. He also said that all Muslims must perform five duties. These duties are called the Five Pillars of Islam.

6. The first duty is to make a statement about one’s belief in Islam. This statement should be “There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is his prophet.”

7. The second duty is to pray five times a day while facing Mecca.

8. The third duty is to give money to help the poor.

9. The fourth duty is to not eat or drink anything during the daylight hours of one month. This month is the Islamic month called Ramadan.

10. The fifth duty is to make at least one pilgrimage, or journey, if you can afford to do so,called the hajj, to Mecca.

11. The teachings of Muhammad are in a book called the Koran (Qur’an).

12. Muslims in all parts of the world read and study the Koran. The Koran tells a person how to be a good Muslim.

13. The traditional law for the Muslims is the Sharia.

14. The Muslim Empire also became a center of learning. The Abassid dynasty started many schools in cities such as Baghdad.

15. Muslims learned much about science, math, and art from the people in the conquered lands. Muslims also spread new ideas across the empire.

16. The Muslim scholar, Al-Khwarizmi, used Hindu numbers to create new a type of math called Algebra. The word Algebra derives from the Arabic word AlJabar.

17. The word AlJabar means "bringing together separate parts".

18. The Muslim Empire became a center of culture during the Middle Ages. Many Muslims wrote poems and stories. They made beautiful works of art. The Muslims built great cities and beautiful buildings.

19. Some of these great buildings were mosques. A mosque is a place where Muslims worship Allah.

20. One of the most famous mosques is the Dome of the Rock in the city of Jerusalem.