Karbala and Beyond

ر, R

Rabb رب: Owner, master, head, owner; Ar-Rabb الرب refers to the Almighty, Lord, Creator, Master of all, the Adored One. In Arabic, He is referred to as "Allah" which literally means "the One and Only God": It has no gender, and you cannot derive from it a plural form. As for rabb, one can be the rabb, head, of his family, or owner of home, business, etc.

Rabeeb ربيب: foster-child, step-child, someone brought up by another parent or parents. Islam does not permit adoption but strongly encourages custody, and the guardian is not supposed to give his lastname to anyone other than children of his own loins.

Radhi Allahu 'Anhu or Razhi Allahu 'Anhu رضي الله عنه: This is an expression used by Muslims whenever a name of a good and respectful companion of the Prophet Muhammad (ص) is mentioned. Not all the companions of the Prophet are worthy of praise and veneration; contrarily, some of them are condemned by the Almighty in Chapter 63 of the Qur'an titled "Al-Munafiqoon المنافقون", the hypocrites.

These hypocrites were some companions of the Prophet (ص). The Messenger of Allah (ص) was too nice and too polite to tell some leeches, loafers and seekers of interests to get off his back, go somewhere else and get lost. Believe it or not, some "companions" went as far as plotting to kill the Prophet by throwing rocks at him from mountains.

They even signed a pledge, covenant, to commit their conspiracy and buried their covenant at one of the walls of the Ka`ba in order to swear to it solemnly. Keeping these hypocrites aside, not all believers will escape the fire of hell: Read verses in which the Almighty addresses the believers, those who believe, المؤمنون, or الذين آمنوا where there are stern warnings of the Almighty's wrath on them or where they are warned not to take their conviction إيمان for granted.

One such verse is this: "O you who believe

Save yourselves and your families from a fire whose fuel is men and stones, over which stern (and) strong angels are appointed, (angels) who do not flinch (from executing) the commands they receive from Allah but do (precisely) what they are commanded" (Qur'an, 66:6).

So, let the believers watch their conduct, fear their Lord and not look down at others as being inferior to them or harm them or others (unbelievers) in any way at all. The road to Paradise is not strewn with rose petals but with thorns.

Rafida or Rafidha or Rafidhis رافضة أو رافضي: Literally, it means “rejectors” or “rejectionists”; a misnomer used to insult Shiites by reminding them (as if they forgot!) that they rejected the governments established by the first three “righteous caliphs”. These days, Saudi Arabia’s Wahhabis in general and Takfiri extremists in particular, are circulating this misnomer in order to stir hostility against Shiite Muslims and thus justify beheading them, raping their women, killing their children, destroying their mosques…, etc. The best answer we provide for these ignorant Wahhabis and Takfiris are these poetic verse by none other than one of the four main imams of the Sunnis, namely Imam ash-Shafi’i (150 – 206 A.H./767 – 206 A.D.; notice how he founded this sect one century and a half after the hijra, migration, whereas Ali (ع), cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet (ص), was there a long time before then):

O rider! Stop at the Muhassab in Mina and shout
At one who sits at its Kheef (Mosque) and who stands
At the time of sahar, when pilgrims flood Mina
A flood like the Euphrates when it floods
That if loving Muhammad’s Progeny is Rafdh,
Let both Thaqalan bear witness that I am Rafidhi.

The “Muhassab” is an area in Mina, one of the stations where pilgrims perform the rituals of the pilgrimage. The “Thaqalan” is a collective word that refers to jinns and mankind. Imam ash-Shafi’i, may Allah be pleased with him, used to recite these verses with tears in his eyes whenever he was on top of any hill or mountain while performing the pilgrimage.

Rak`at or Rakat or Rek'a ركعة: an individual unit of salat

Ramadan or Ramadhan or Ramazan رمضان: the holy month of prescribed fasting for the Muslims. It was during this month that the Qur'anic revelations began. For details about this month, refer to my book titled Fast of the Month of Ramadan: Philosophy and Ahkam.

Rashid راشد: adult, adolescent, the age of distinguishing between right and wrong through commonsense and instinct, the age of responsibility, of accountability, of questioning on the Day of Questioning; it also means wise, sage.

Rasul or Rasool رسول: The meaning of the word Rasul is: a messenger. Allah sent many prophets and messengers to mankind. Amongst them, the names of twenty-five are mentioned in the Qur'an. From within the list, the Qur'an states the names of five rasuls, messengers, who are the mighty ones and who are known as "ulul-azm", prophets of determination and resolution: Nuh (Noah), Ibrahim (Abraham), Musa (Moses), Isa (Jesus), and Muhammad (ص). What is the difference between a Rasool and a Nabi, prophet? A messenger carries a message for people, some people or all people, while the prophet does so and more: He foretells them of things to happen to them or to others, i.e. he prophecizes according to divine inspiration which he receives from the Almighty. The word "prophet" in Islam carries much more weight than it does in other religions.

Riba ربا: usury, lending for an exorbitant interest, which is prohibited in Islam for both giver and taker

Rijs رجس: defilement, uncleanness, evil or Islamically prohibitive thought or act; Satan is believed to be the source of inspiring such thoughts to people; so, beware of his insinuations!

Risala رسالة: Literally, it means an oral “message” or a written letter; also: published collection of religious rulings by a marji`; dissertation containing what is permissible or prohibitive in Islam

Rooh or Ruh روح: spirit, soul, essence, an animating or life-giving principle or material. Some say that the origin of this word is ريح which means "wind" or "air": It cannot be seen but felt through motion. A human body is created of two main ingredients: the body and the soul. Most people look after their bodies while ignoring their souls, their need for spiritual nourishment, thus creating an imbalance between these two components which will eventually cause them either serious psychological or physical problems or both.

In Islam, the soul never dies; only the material body does. Scientists tell us that bodily cells are constantly born and die. Death is the separation of the soul from the body. The soul has much more faculties than the body: Souls of the dead can see, hear, feel and react to causes and causations, but it they have no means to show all these faculties to us since the means, the body, has expired. What will happen to all the dead when the time comes for them to stand on the Day of Judgment to answer to what they had done in this life?
Another question: How will life return to the dead when the resurrection process starts? Scientists tell us that the DNA (DeoxyriboNucleic Acid) never dies, is never extinct, indestructible. There are numerous verses in the Holy Qur'an which paint a picture of how all the dead buried in our planet will be brought back to life as the resurrection process starts in preparation for the big Day, the Judgment Day. On that Day, all outstanding accounts are settled and those who call others bad names or harm them in any way get what they deserve.

One of these verses is 35:9 which reads:

"It is Allah Who sends forth the winds so that they raise up the clouds, and We drive them [clouds] to a land that is dead, and revive the earth with them after its death: Even so (will be) the Resurrection!"

Do you get the picture?! It seems that when that time comes, the Almighty will send a cloud the "rain water" of which will fall on the earth and will rearrange the DNA of each and every human being, and perhaps non-human beings, too, such as those of animals as we are told in 81:5 which reads: "And when the beasts (animals) are herded together (for Judgment)", in preparation for an enternal life. Just as a seed receives rain and it sprouts and brings about a new life, the dead will receive this "rain water", which most likely be different than water as we know it in this life, and life will start sprouting in them again. This water will infuse a new life in each DNA. At that time, the souls will be clothed with new bodies, forms, shapes, of some sort. How will these forms or shapes or bodies be, only the Creator knows. Will they be similar to ours? We do not know for sure, but we know that just as the soul during the barzakh برزخ period needs spiritual nourishment, these bodies will need food, fuel, something to keep them going. And we know that there will be eating and drinking in both Paradise and hell; so, will our stomachs be similar to the way they are now, we simply do not know; most likely they will not.

Ruku' or Ruku or Rukoo` ركوع: The root of this word is raka'a ركع which means: to bow down. During prayers (salat), a Muslim make ruku' before Allah to express veneration to him, he bows forward at the waist, stands with the hands on knees and the back parallel to the ground. While in the position of Ruku', a Muslim glorifies Allah three times.

Rushd رشد: adolescence, mental maturity, the ability to distinguish right from wrong

Rutab رطب: ripe dates, opposite: busr