Ilm

Ilm

Religious Knowledge

The most accurate translation of Ilm would be “religious knowledge”. Different forms of Islamic power during the Middle Period put different emphasis on how Ilm should be transferred to new generations, and even to other cultures/religions for hopes of conversion. On one hand, the Ulama hoped for an active transmission of religious knowledge within the communities because of how diverse it was. On the other, ruling military elites established institutions in cities attempting to show their legitemacy through the transmission of religious knowledge. A fairly basic example of Ilm in Islam would be the Koran itself. It is the passing of religious knowledge from Muhammad and therefore god, onto Muslims. Though this is a fairly basic example, it can be interpreted to be one of the best examples that could be given, especially since during the Middle Period the interpretations of the Koran were what caused so many arguments and discussions on what religious knowledge should be transmitted and is correct.

Unknown

The Koran

Arabic

Glossary Term