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147 free Islam trivia questions with answers — history quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
50 free Islam trivia questions with answers. From the Five Pillars of faith to the scientific breakthroughs of the Islamic Golden Age, Islam has shaped world history, culture, and knowledge for over 1,400 years. This quiz explores the religion's core beliefs, sacred texts, magnificent architecture, and the scholars who advanced mathematics, medicine, and philosophy. The set is arranged from easy to hard: the opening questions suit newcomers and classroom use, while the later hard Islamic trivia questions on individual surahs, early caliphs, hadith collections and Golden Age scholars will challenge students of Islamic history and anyone preparing a mosque or community quiz night. Every answer was checked against encyclopaedia entries before publishing.
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Q 01What is the holy book of Islam?
The Quran
The Quran is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be the word of God revealed to Muhammad over about 23 years, beginning in 610 CE.
Q 02Ramadan, the month of fasting, is which month of the Islamic calendar?
Ninth
Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar; its fast runs from dawn to sunset on each of its 29 or 30 days, and the month begins with the sighting of the new crescent.
Q 03Mecca, home of the Kaaba, lies in which region of western Saudi Arabia?
Hejaz
Mecca lies in the Hejaz, the mountainous western strip along the Red Sea that also holds Medina and Jeddah; Najd is the central plateau around Riyadh.
Q 04How many times a day are Muslims required to pray?
Five
Muslims perform salat five times daily, at dawn, midday, afternoon, sunset and night; the daily prayers are one of the Five Pillars of Islam.
Q 05Eid al-Adha falls on the tenth day of which Islamic month?
Dhu al-Hijjah
Dhu al-Hijjah is the twelfth and final month of the Islamic calendar; the Hajj rites run from its 8th to 12th or 13th day, and Eid al-Adha falls on the 10th.
Q 06What is the Islamic declaration of faith called?
Shahada
The Shahada is the Islamic declaration of faith: 'There is no god but God, and Muhammad is the messenger of God.' It is the first and most fundamental of the Five Pillars of Islam.
Q 07Which prophet is considered the final prophet in Islam?
Muhammad
Prophet Muhammad is regarded in Islam as the last in a line of prophets that includes figures like Abraham, Moses, and Jesus. Muslims refer to him as the 'Seal of the Prophets.'
Q 08What does the Arabic word 'Islam' mean?
Submission
The word 'Islam' comes from the Arabic root 's-l-m' and means 'submission' or 'surrender to God.' A related word, 'salam,' means peace, and both derive from the same root.
Q 09What is the name of the celebration that marks the end of Ramadan?
Eid al-Fitr
Eid al-Fitr, meaning 'Festival of Breaking the Fast,' is celebrated at the end of Ramadan. It typically lasts one to three days and involves special prayers, feasting, and giving to charity.
Q 10What is the Islamic term for charitable giving, one of the Five Pillars?
Zakat
Zakat is obligatory almsgiving on wealth held for a full year, one of the Five Pillars, and is distinct from voluntary charity, sadaqah.
Q 11The qibla, the direction Muslims face in prayer, points toward what?
The Kaaba in Mecca
The qibla points to the Kaaba in Mecca. Early Muslims first prayed toward Jerusalem; the direction was changed about 16 months after Muhammad's migration to Medina.
Q 12What is the name of the angel who revealed the Quran to Prophet Muhammad?
Gabriel
The angel Gabriel, Jibril in Arabic, is believed to have conveyed the Quran to Muhammad over about 23 years, beginning in 610 CE.
Q 13How many chapters (surahs) are in the Quran?
114
The Quran contains 114 surahs (chapters) of widely varying length, from 286 verses down to 3, arranged roughly from longest to shortest after the short opening chapter.
Q 21Which Islamic scholar is known as the 'father of algebra'?
Al-Khwarizmi
Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi (c. 780-850 CE) wrote 'The Compendious Book on Calculation by Completion and Balancing,' which introduced algebra as a distinct mathematical discipline. The word 'algebra' derives from 'al-jabr' in the title.
Q 22What is the Islamic mystical tradition called?
Sufism
Sufism (Tasawwuf) is the mystical dimension of Islam, emphasizing inner purification and closeness to God; its followers gather in orders (tariqas) such as the Mevlevi and the Naqshbandi.
Q 23What famous palace complex in Granada, Spain, is a masterpiece of Islamic architecture?
The Alhambra
Q 14What event does Eid al-Adha commemorate?
Abraham offering to sacrifice his son
Eid al-Adha, the 'Festival of Sacrifice,' commemorates the willingness of Ibrahim (Abraham) to sacrifice his son as an act of obedience to God. It is celebrated during the Hajj pilgrimage season.
Q 15What is the name of Muhammad's migration from Mecca to Medina in 622 CE?
Hijra
The Hijra (migration) of Prophet Muhammad and his followers from Mecca to Medina in 622 CE marks the beginning of the Islamic calendar. It was a pivotal event in the establishment of the first Muslim community.
Q 16What is the first surah (chapter) of the Quran?
Al-Fatiha
Al-Fatiha ('The Opening') is the first chapter of the Quran. It consists of seven verses and is recited in every unit of the Muslim prayer. It is often described as the essence of the Quran.
Q 17What are the two main denominations of Islam?
Sunni and Shia
Sunni and Shia are the two main branches of Islam; the split arose from a dispute over who should lead the community after Muhammad's death in 632 CE.
Q 18What is the term for Islamic religious law based on the Quran and the traditions of the Prophet?
Sharia
Sharia refers to Islamic law derived from the Quran, the Hadith (sayings and actions of Prophet Muhammad), and scholarly consensus. It covers a wide range of topics including personal conduct, family matters, and financial dealings.
Q 19What is the raised pulpit from which the imam delivers the sermon in a mosque called?
Minbar
The minbar is the stepped pulpit beside the mihrab from which the imam delivers the Friday sermon (khutba); Muhammad is said to have preached from a three-step wooden minbar in his own mosque.
Q 20During Ramadan, Muslims fast from dawn until what time?
Sunset
During Ramadan, Muslims abstain from food and drink from dawn until sunset, breaking the fast each evening, often with dates and water.
The Alhambra in Granada, built mainly under the Nasrid dynasty in the 13th-14th centuries, features intricate geometric tilework, muqarnas ceilings and the famous Court of the Lions.
Q 24Which Islamic scholar wrote 'The Canon of Medicine,' a medical encyclopedia used in Europe for centuries?
Ibn Sina (Avicenna)
Ibn Sina (Avicenna, 980-1037 CE) wrote 'The Canon of Medicine,' which systematized Greek, Roman, and Islamic medical knowledge. It remained a standard medical textbook in European universities until the 17th century.
Q 25What is the name of the pre-dawn meal eaten before fasting during Ramadan?
Suhoor
Suhoor (also spelled Sehri or Sahur) is the pre-dawn meal eaten before the day's fast begins in Ramadan; it must end at first light, when the fast starts.
Q 26What is the term for food that is permissible under Islamic dietary laws?
Halal
Halal means 'permissible' in Arabic and refers to food and drink that conforms to Islamic dietary laws. The opposite is 'haram' (forbidden), which includes pork, alcohol, and improperly slaughtered animals.
Q 27What is the tall tower on a mosque from which the call to prayer is made?
Minaret
A minaret is the tall, slender tower attached to a mosque from which the muezzin calls Muslims to prayer (the adhan). Minarets vary in style across Islamic architectural traditions, from the square towers of Morocco to the pencil-thin spires of Ottoman mosques.
Q 28What is the recorded collection of Prophet Muhammad's sayings and actions called?
Hadith
The Hadith are recorded narrations of Muhammad's words, actions and approvals; the Sunnah is his practice as a whole, while each hadith is a textual record of it, graded by scholars for reliability.
Q 29Kairouan, whose Great Mosque is the oldest in the Maghreb, is in which country?
Tunisia
Tunisia is home to Kairouan, founded around 670 by the Umayyad general Uqba ibn Nafi; its Great Mosque, rebuilt in the 9th century, is the oldest in the Maghreb.
Q 30What geometric art form, featuring interlocking patterns, is characteristic of Islamic decoration?
Arabesque
Arabesque refers to the elaborate geometric and floral patterns used extensively in Islamic art and architecture. Because Islamic tradition discourages the depiction of living figures in religious contexts, artists developed highly sophisticated geometric and botanical designs.