Madrasahs in Pakistan [untill: 2005]

Glossary

alīyah: عالیه two-year program of Islamic studies that follows thethānvīyah-i-ḫāsā تهنویه خاصه

‘alīm   * عالم * (pl. ‘ulemā’* * علماء*   * ): scholars of Islamic religion and law.

‘alīmīyah : علمیه two-year program of religious studies that follows the*‘alīyah* عالیه.

ahl-i-ḥadīt :  اهلِ حدیثSunni interpretative tradition not strictly following any of the four recognized Imams (in Pakistan sometimes calledSalafi ).

Barelvī:  بریلوی usually refers to the followers of Imam Ahmad Raza Khan, an important Muslim scholar of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.Barelvīs بریلوس observe practices that are Sufi in orientation, such as worship at the graves of religious leaders and the acceptance of rituals associated with this religious tradition.

Dars-i-Nizāmīدرسِ نظامی the madrasah curriculum of Sunni madrasahs in the Indian subcontinent was authored by Mullah Niẓām ud-Dīn Sehlāvī of the Firangi Mahalmadrasah* of Lucknow (d. 1748). With the exception of minor changes it has remained in use up to the present day.*

dars-i-Qur’ān:درسِ قرآن literally, study of theQur’ān* . Informal study sessions that convene at a home or a mosque.*

dār-al-ḥarb:   دارالحرب abode of war.

dār-ul-ulūm :   دارالعلوم madrasah , university.

daurā : داورا  literally, a tour. Here, a tour of religious proselytizing, often in the service of groups such as theTablīghī Jamā’at تبلیغی جماعت.

da’wa : literally, “summons” or “invitation”. Implies proselytizing to non-Muslims to embrace Islam and to Muslims to become better Muslims, variously defined.

Deobandī : دیوبندی School of Islam that emerged from a Muslim religious revival movement in the Indian subcontinent during British rule begun in the town of Deoband دیوبند in Uttar Pradesh in modern-day India. A puritanical movement to uplift Muslims by purifying Islamic practices through, among other things, discouraging mystical beliefs, such as intercession by saints and propitiation at graves and shrines.

dunyavī : دُنیاوی Related to the world (secular affairs).

fatwa * فتویٰ   (* pl.*  fatawa* ): A legal opinion (in Islamic jurisprudence).

fauqanī:فقانی  madrasahمدرسه education of eight years in four two-year stages, beginning with thānvīyah-i-ammahتهنویه عامه  and ending with the alīmīyah .

fiqh:فقه   Islamic jurisprudence.

* ḥadīt* : حدیثThe sayings, actions and thoughts of the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon Him!) with the HolyQur’ān it comprises the Sunna (Islamic law). Scholars of various interpretative traditions disagree about the legitimacy ofḥadīt texts in the interpretative traditions of Islam.

ḥafez : حافظ  One who has memorized the HolyQur’ān .

Ḥanafi : حنفی Dominant school of Islamic jurisprudence in Pakistan and South Asia generally. Considered to be the most liberal of the four school of*fiqh    * (jurisprudence) because it accepts both analogical reasoning and unanimity in decision making.

ḥifz-e-Qur’ān :  حافظِ قُرآن   Memorizing the HolyQur’ān .

ibtidai : ابتدائی literally “primary”. The first level (five years) of religious education roughly equivalent to the period of primary education in worldly sector.

ijtihad : اجتهاد derivation of rules for the new situation from the principal sources of Islamic jurisprudence.

Islamiat : اسلامیات Islamic studies. An official component of Pakistan’s state curriculum.

Jamāʽat-i-Islāmī : جماعتِ اسلامی sectarian Islamist political party in Pakistan.

jāmiʽah :   جامعه    college

madrasah : مدرسه(pl.madaris مدارس) school that imparts secondary and post secondary religious education using a specialized curriculum,Dars-i-Nizāmī درسِ نظامی.

maktab : مکتب   (pl.Makatib  مکاتب) religious primary school that generally teaches young children to read theQur’ān and sometimes to recite it.

markaz: literally, “center.” Headquarters or central offices of an organization. In the context of this study, the central location of the five boards that govern Pakistan’s madaris.

maslakمسلک * * (pl.masalik مسالک ): Way or practice, usually in reference to a particular interpretative tradition.

Matriculation (Matric): certificate on completion of ten years of education and passage of an examination. Matric qualification is a pre-requisite for many jobs as well as admission to colleges and universities in Pakistan.

maulvi :   مولوی  religious scholar.

mutawassitah:متوسطه First level of formal religious education that follows ibtedai.      Three years long; it is the equivalent of middle school.  (vastani)

nazra Qur’ān:     نا ظره قُرآن     Learning to recite the HolyQur’ān* .*

nisāb : نصاب   The curriculum.

qārī : قاری   a master of the recitation of the HolyQur’ān in one of the major seven styles of recitation,  tağwīd تجوید.

radd: Refutation of the doctrines of rivalmazhabs مذاهب .

tafsīr تفسیر (plstafāsīr ): Exegesis of the HolyQur’ān .

takmīl : تکمیل Typically a one-year, post-M.A. course of religious study.

* thānvīyah-i-ammah* : تهنویه عامه  Two-year level of religious studies that followsmutawassitah متوسطه.

* thānvīyah-i-ḫāsā* : تهنویه خاصهTwo-year level of religious studies that followsthānvīyah-i-ammah .

taqlīd : تقلید    Imitation (of past jurisprudential precedent).

‘ulemā’   علماء   See ‘alīm

* ul-ulūm-al-aqlia* : علوم العقليه Rational sciences, such as philosophy, geometry, medicine, chemistry and geography. Often contrasted toul-ulūm-al-naqlia علوم النقليه (religiously “transmitted” sciences).

* ul-ulūm-al-naqlia:علوم النقليه “Transmitted sciences” such as reading and interpreting the Holy Qur’ān and ḥadītحدیث   (traditions and sayings of the Prophet Muhammad). Sometimes called traditional or religious sciences. Often understood in contrast to ulūm-al-aqlia.*

umma:اُمّه   The global Muslim community, the community of the Islamic faith.

vustani: وسطنی  First level of formal religious education that followsibtedai . Three years long, the equivalent of middle school. (See Mutawassitah . )

wafaq : وفاق   School of thought (Maslak ). Usually translated as “board” as in school board. There are five such boards**(four Sunni and one Shia)** . And most of Pakistani*madaris * are affiliated with one of them.

zakat : زکوة  Almsgiving. Muslims donate a percentage of their annual earnings as alms or charity. The mount differs according to Sunni and Shia traditions.