Islamic Teachings in Brief
Glossary of Non-english Terms
Adhan the specified wordings called out at salat times, the call for salat
'adil just
'ahd promise
Ahl al-Bayt (AS) Prophet Muhammad (SA), Hadrat Fatimah (AS) and the Twelve infallible Imams (AS) Ahl al-Kitab the followers of the Divine Books (the Jews, the Christians and the Magians) Akhirah the world Hereafter
'alim (pl. 'ulama') Islamic scholar Amin may Allah it be so
Amir al-Mu'minin Commander of the Believers, al-'Imam 'Ali (AS) al-amr bil-ma'ruf enjoining the lawful acts
anbiya' (pl. of Nabi) prophets anfal spoils
ansar helpers, friends
'aqd (pl. 'uqud) contract 'asr afternoon
Ayah (pl. Ayat) Qur'anic verse Banu Hashim family of Hashim
Al-Bi'that al-Nabawiyyah appointment of prophethood batil invalid, incorrect
bay' selling
dhanb kabir mortal sin dhanb saghir venial sin
dhikr words for remembering Allah.
farsakh a measure of distance of about 5.6 km faskh al- 'aqd cancellation of contract fiqh Islamic jurisprudence
Fir'awn Pharaoh
Furu' al-Din the duties to be performed according to Islamic Shari'ah. ghadir pond
ghasb usurpation
Al-Ghaybat al-Kubra the Great Occultation of al-'Imam Muhammad al-Mahdi (AS) Al-Ghaybat al-sughra the Short Occultation of al-'Imam Muhammad al-Mahdi (AS) ghusl (pl. ghusul) taking bath according to the Islamic Shari'ah
ghusl irtimasi performing ghusl by the immersion of the whole body in water ghusl mass al-mayyit performing ghusl due to touching of the dead body ghusl al-mayyit bathing the dead body
ghusl tartibi performing ghusl by washing the body part by part as specified in Islamic Shari'ah hadath condition requiring ghusl or wudu' al-hadath al-akbar condition requiring ghusl
al-hadath al-asghar condition requiring wudu' hadith ( pl. ahadith) Tradition
Al-Hajar al-'Aswad the Black Stone hajj pilgrimage to Makkah, obligatory once in lifetime for Muslims who can afford hajj (pl. hujjaj) pilgrims who perform hajj halal Islamically permissible
haram sacred premises haram Islamically prohibited Harun Aaron
hawari (pl. hawariyyun) disciple hayd menstruation
Hijjatul-Wada' the last hajj performed by Prophet Muhammad (SA) Hijrah migration of Prophet Muhammad (SA) from Makkah to Madinah Hud (AS) Prophet Heber (AS)
Ibrahim (AS) Prophet Abraham (AS) idtirar compulsion, emergency, driven by necessity ijarah receipt of money for reciting salawat and performing siyam.
ijtihad endeavouring for the deduction of commandments based on Islamic fundamentals Imam (AS) (pl. A'immah) infallible successor of Prophet Muhammad (SA) Imamah succession of Prophet Muhammad (SA) by Twelve Infallible. Imams (AS) Imam al-'Asr (AS) the 12th Infallible Imam of the present time, Muhammad al-Mahdi (AS) Imam al-Huda (AS) (pl. A'mmat al-Huda [AS]) the Infallible Imam of Guidance imam al-jama'ah the imam of congregational salat Injl The Bible
Iqamah the specified wordings, almost similar to the Adhan and recited after it, before commencing the salat iqtida' following
'Isa (AS) Jesus Christ 'isha' night
Ishaq (AS) Prophet Isaac (AS) 'ismah infallibility Isma'il (AS) Prophet Ishmael (AS)
Isra'il (AS) Prophet Israel (AS) istihadah menstrual bleeding
istihalah transformation or a chemical change of the state of an object ja'iz permissible janabah major ritual impurity or al-hadath al-akbar caused by the sexual intercourse, or the like Jibril Gabriel
jihad Islamic war jizyah head tax charged from Ahl al-Kitab in lieu of their non-acceptance of Islam
kafir (pl. kafirin) unbeliever kafir harbi unbeliever to be fought against khalifah (pl. khulafa') caliph khilafah caliphate
khiyar (pl. khiyarat) option, right khiyar al-'aqd option for the contract khiyar al-'ayb option in the case of defect khiyar al-ghabn option in the case of cheating
khiyar al-hayawan option in the case of animals khiyar al-majlis option during the meeting khiyar al-shart option of condition kubra the great
kurr water weighing about 384 kg which does not become najis if najasah reaches it luqtah picked up article Ma'ad Resurrection
Madinat al-Rasul The city of the Prophet (SA), Madinah maghrib evening makruh undesirable - though not unlawful but refraining from it is preferable ma'mum the follower who follows the imam in salat al-jama'ah manasik rituals
mann a measure of weight of about 3 kg Maryam Mary mash anointing
Al-Masjid al-Haram Ka'bah ma'sum ( pl. ma'sumin ) infallible mithqal a measure of weight of about 4.6 g mubah permissible, allowable Al-Mubahalah cursing
mubtil (pl. mubtilat) things or acts through which the salat, the sawm, the wudu', etc become invalid mudaf mixed
muftir (pl. muftirat) certain act which breaks or invalidates the sawm muhajir (pl. muhajirin) immigrant
mujtahid one who is capable of deduction of command that is based on Islamic Shari'ah mukallaf the one who reached the age of maturity and thus became responsible for performing the Islamic duties munafiq (pl. munafiqin) hypocrites muqallid (pl. muqallidin) one who follows a mujtahid's instructions for performing his deeds Musa (AS) Prophet Moses (AS)
musha' joint ownership, held in common mushrik (pl. mushrikin) polytheists mustahabb recommended, desirable mutahhir (pl. mutahhirat) purifier which purifies a najis
mutlaq pure muwalat performing the parts of an Islamic act in succession without undue delay nadhr vow
al-nahy'an al-munkar forbidding the sinful acts najasah impurity as per the Islamic laws Al-Najashi King Negus of Ethiopia najis inherently impure
nifas puerperal period niyyah intention, decision Nubuwwah prophethood Nuh (AS) Prophet Noah (AS) Al-Nuwwab al-Arba'ah the Four Deputies of Imam al-'Asr (AS)
qada' settling the salawat or the siyam which had not been performed in time, not performed but due qalil little in quantity less than kurr qasam oath
qasr reciting two raka'at instead of 4-rak'ah salawat Qiyamah The Last Day Qaysar Caesar
Qiblah facing towards Ka'bah while reciting salat qira'ah the recitation in the salat qisas Islamic reprisal
qiyam the standing erect while reciting the salat qunut supplication during salat in a specific manner qurbah seeking Allah's pleasure
rak'ah (pl. raka'at) a section of salat al-Risalah al-'A maliyyah Islamic treatise written by a mujtahid for use by his muqallidin for performing Islamic duties ruh soul, self, personality
Ruhulqudus Gabriel, Jibril rukn (pl. arkan) a basic part of the salat ruku' a part of the salat in which one bows down, genuflexion sadaqah charity
salam greetings, peace, saying "as-salamu 'alaykum" sajdah (pl. sajdahs) the act of prostration in the salat or worship to Allah salat (pl. salawat) prayer
Salat al-Ayat the salat of Allah's creation or signs.
salat al-jama'ah the congregational prayer salat al-mayyit the prayer for the dead person
salat al-tawaf al-wajib the prayer of circumambulation around Ka'bah al-salat al-yawmiyyah the daily prayers Salih (AS) Prophet Salih sent to the tribe of Thamud sawm statutory Islamic obligation of fasting sawm al-wisal continuous fasting
Sayyidat Nisa' al-'Alamin the epithet of Fatimah (AS), the daughter of Prophet Muhammad (SA) meaning the head of all the women of the worlds Shari'ah Divine Islamic Law shaytan satan Shi'i Shi'ite shirk polytheism
Shu'ayb (AS) Prophet Jethro (AS) shuf'ah preemption
Al-Siddiqah al-Kubra the epithet of Fatimah (AS), the daughter of Prophet Muhammad (SA) meaning the most strictly veracious sirah Life-style, conduct, character subh morning
surah (pl. suwar) Qur'anic chapter tabligh (pl. tablighat) communication, propagation, dissemination tadhkiyah slaughtering animal according to Islamic Shari'ah taharah purity, specified Islamic way of purification tahir pure as per Islamic Shari'ah
takbir saying "Allahu Akbar, i.e., Allah is Great" takbirat al-ihram the first takbir (saying Allahu Akbar) said at the beginning of the salat just after the niyyah taqiyyah concealing one's true beliefs when life is in danger taqlid following a mujtahid in practising Islamic laws taqwa piety, guarding against evil
tarakhkhus the limit of the tarakhkhus (seeing off) is a distance at which neither the walls of the town are visible nor Adhan is heard tartib the order or sequence as prescribed by Islamic Shari'ah tasbih to say "subhanallah, i.e., Glory be to Allah" as a dhikr
tashahhud testifying for Tawhid of Allah and prophethood of Prophet Muhammad (SA) tawbah repentance
Tawhid Oneness of Allah, monotheism Tawrat The Old Testament tayammum statutory Islamic ablution with soil, sand, etc thawab Allah's reward, spiritual reward
Ulul 'Azm Anbiya' arch-prophets Ummah Islamic people, Islamic nation Ummi unschooled (by human beings), untaught Usul al-Din the fundamental principles of Islam wahy divine revelation
wajib (pl. wajibat) obligatory, incumbent
wajib kifa'i an obligatory duty of all Muslims but it suffices when performed by someone wilayah Islamic jurisprudential guardianship wudu' statutory ablution according to the Islamic Shari'ah zuhr noon