Muhammad

Useful Glossary

• ‘Adil: fair, just

• ‘Adl: the concept of the justice of God

• Aadath: singular of adath, a statement (usually attributed either to the Prophet [pbuh] or to one of the members of his Progeny or companions)

• Ahilla: plural of hilal, crescent

• ‘Alim: scholar, theologian, a highly knowledgeable person

• A’mal: highly recommended acts of adoration

• ‘Arsh: literally: throne, symbol of the Almighty's Authority

• Asar: plural of saar, the time immediately preceding daybreak

• 'Athan: the call for prayers; mu'aththin is one who performs 'athan.

• Ayat: verse (from a sacred scripture); plura: ayat

• Barzakh: the place and time wherein the souls of the dead live till the Day of Judgment; see the Holy Qur'an, 23:100.

• Basmala: the uttering of: “Bismillahir-Ramanir-Raam’ (In the Name of Allah, the most Gracious, the most Merciful)

• Beed: plural of abyad, white

• Dahr: time, age, eternity

• Dinar: an Islamic (now Arab) gold currency varying in weight

• Dirham: an Islamic silver currency weighing approx. 3.12 grams

• Diyya: blood money, monetary compensation for manslaughter or intentional murder

• Du ‘a': supplication, invocation

• ‘Iid: an Islamic feast, a joyous celebration, a merry occasion

• Fa'izeen: (or Fa'izoon) winners

• Fajr: daybreak

• Faqah: jurist, one who is knowledgeable in Islamic jurisprudence

• Farasikh: plural of farsakh, parasang (a loan Persian word), a measure of length (distance). According to Lisan al-’Arab, it may be three to six miles. “It is called so,’ the author of Lisan al-’Arab goes on, “because one who walks one farsakh will have to sit to rest,’ suggesting that the original meaning of the word is: to halt, to come to a stand still, to rest.

• Fatawa: plural of fatwa, a religious edict or decision

• Fiqh: the science of Islamic jurisprudence

• Firdaws: Paradise

• Fira: the amount (in cash or kind) paid to the needy at the end of the month of Ramadan; see text for more details

• Ghazwa: a military campaign, an invasion

• Ghusul: ceremonial bath

• adith: (singular:) tradition, a statement made by Prophet Muhammad; plural: ahadith

• Hadi: sacrificial animals offered at Mecca's holy precincts

• Hafi: one who has learned the entire text of the Holy Qur'an by heart; plural: huffaz

• Hajj: Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca during the prescribed period

• Halal: Islamically permissible, admissible, allowed

• Haram: Islamically prohibitive, inadmissible, forbidden

• Hijab: veil, curtain

• Hilal: crescent, singular of ahilla

• hizb: literally, it means: party (plural: azab); another meaning: the 60th part of the Holy Qur'an

• ujja: proof, argument, authority

• Huri: heavenly wife with large lovely eyes married to the male residents of Paradise

• Ihram: pilgrimage garb, white unwoven cotten shroud worn by pilgrims

• Ijtihad: the degree one reaches in order to be qualified as a mujtahid, one who is capable of deriving religious decisions on his own

• ‘Illiyeen: the highest pinnacle of Paradise; see Holy Qur'an, 83:18.

• Imam: leader of an ummah, a group of people (small or big); he may be the one who leads others in congregational prayers, or a supreme relgious authority, or one of the Twelve Infallible Imams (as)

• Iman: faith, conviction

• Iqama: the prouncement of certain statements in preparation for the performing of the prayers, usually following the athan

• ‘Isha': nighttime, evening

• Isnad: the method whereby one adath is traced and in the end attributed to a muhaddith, traditionist, one who transmitted it the first time

• I’tikaf: the act of remaining most of the time at a mosque for prayers and supplications

• Ifar: the time or the meal to break the fast

• Iqama: the statements recited immediately before starting the ritual prayer

• Isra': night journey; usually a reference to the Prophet's night journey from Mecca to Jerusalem

• Jahiliyya: pre-Islamic period of ignorance

• Jami ‘a: inclusive, universal, university; it also means: handcuffs

• Janaba: uncleanness caused by seminal discharge

• Jannat: heaven, Paradise, garden, singular of jannat

• Jihad: a struggle, an effort exerted, or a war waged in defense of Islam

• Jizya: protection tax paid to Muslims by non-Muslims residing in areas under Islamic control whereby the Muslims protect their lives and property and extempt them from the military service

• Kaffara: atonement from sin

• Kafir: infidel, apostate, atheist, one who does not believe in the existence of the Creator; noun: kufr

• Kalima: synonymous to ‘shahada,’ it is a Muslim's declaration of faith (that is, to testify that there is no god except Allah, and that Muammad is the Messenger of Allah), and it is always pronounced in Arabic

• Kantar: in Arabic: qintar, avarying weight of 100 rals (rotls); a ral in Syria is roughly 3.202 kg., whereas in England it is 449.28 grams, and in Lebanon it is 2.566 kg.

• Khandaq: moat

• Khums: one-fifth of one's savings (usually paid by Sha’a Muslims) set aside from annual income

• Kunya: the use of “Abu ‘ (father of) or “Umm ‘ (mother of) often as a prefix for one's name

• Kursi: literally: chair, symbol of the Almighty's Seat of Judgment and Authority; see Holy Qur'an, 2:255

• Khuba: lecture, sermon; a speech delivered on a specific occasion

• Kufr: apostacy, infidelity, disbelief

• Labbayk: an exclamation conveying the meaning of “At your service!’ or “Here I am!’

• Ma’ad: the Return: a reference to the returning of the souls to their new bodies after the period of barzakh (see above), and their ultimate returning to their Maker for judgment; generally, it is used to refer to death and the life hereafter.

• Mahr: dowry paid by the groom to the bride (or vice versa as is the case in some cultures)

• Majalis: meetings or gatherings held to commemmorate certain religious occasion, mostly applied to those held during the month of Muarram or to recite the Faiha for a deceased person; singular of majlis, a place where people sit

• Marji’ taqlid: the highest theological authority-referee followed

• Ma’soom: infallible, divinely protected against sinning

• Mash ‘ar: a place where certain rites are to be conducted, a sacred area or place or precinct

• Mawla: depending on its usage, it may mean either “master’ or “slave,’ or it may mean one who is most fit for a specific position of honor and prestige. Derived from the adjective awla (one who is best qualified), it means: the person who is best suited to be the religious and temporal leader of all Muslims.

• Mi ‘raj: the Prophet's ascension from Jerusalem to the heavens

• Mithqal: a weight equivalent to 24 karats or 4.68 grams

• Mufassir: a theologian who is well-versed in the exegesis of the Holy Qur'an

• Muaddith: traditionist, one who quotes statements of Prophet Muhammad

• Mujahid: one who practices jihad (se jihad above)

• Mujtahid: one who acquires the degree of ijtihad and thus becomes capable of deriving religious decisions on his own

• Mu'min: believer, one who has iman, conviction, true belief

• Munafiqeen: hypocrites

• Musnad: a compilation of traditions (aadath) which are consecutively and chronologically traced to their transmitters

• Mutawatir: consecutively reported, traced by a perfect chronological chain of ascertained narrators of hadith

• Mu'aththin: caller to prayers (usually at a mosque)

• Mu'min: (Muslim) believer, a man of conviction

• Nafl: optional, non-compulsory, supererogatory, highly recommended act of worship; plural: nawafil

• Najasa: uncleanness, impurity; adjective: najis

• Nathr: One's pledge to do something very good to show appreciation for the Almighty's favorable response to his supplication and the attainment of his worldly wish

• Noor: divine or celestial light

• Nubuwwah: prophethood, the belief in prophets and their messages

• Qanieen: those who are constantly supplicating

• Qaa: compensatory, making up for a missed rite

• Qibla: direction towards the Ka’ba, Mecca

• Qiyam: standing

• Qudsi: divine, related to the Almighty

• Qunoo: supplication during prayers

• Rek’at: prostration (during prayer or a ritual)

• Rukoo’: kneeling

• Sabeel: path, way, avenue

• Sadaqa: (singular:) charity offered voluntarily; its plural is: sadaqat

• Sadeed: pus collected from bleeding wounds to be served to the sinners in hell when they ask for water to quench their thirst

• Sahaba: companions of the Holy Prophet Muhammad; its plural is: sahabi

• Saha fa: tablet, scroll, parchment, a written document

• Sihah: literally: authentic, correct, accurate; it is generally used to refer to the collection, group of collections, or book, of verified and authenticated aadath of Prophet Muhammad

• Sajda: prostration

• alat: Islamic prayers, optional or mandatory; plural: salawat

• Salatul-’Id: late morning prayers comprised of two rek’at (prostarations) performed in the day that follows ‘Id al-Fitr (the feat of fast-breaking) signaling the end of the fast of the month of Ramadan

• Sara ya: (plural) military campagins personally ordered by Prophet Muhammad; singular: sariya

• Shahada: martyrdom; it also means: testimony

• Shahr: month

• Shaikh: also syakh, an honoring title with many meanings; literally, it means an old man; in Islamic theology and philosophy, however, it is used to denote a mentor, professor, or scholar of a high calibre

• Shara’a: Islam's legislative system

• Shirk: polytheism, the belief in the existence of partners with God

• Shubha: (singular) doubt, suspicion; its plural is: shubuhat

• Shu'ra: the principle of mutual consultation, Islam's form of democracy

• Siddeeq: one who testifies to the truthfulness of a prophet

• Sirat: path, highway; same as Sabeel

• Siyam: Islam's norm of fast

• Suoor: time or meal taken before daybreak in preparation to fast during the day

• Sulan: ruler who rules in the name of Islam, a Muslim monarch

• Sunan: plural of sunnah: a highly commended act of worship or way whereby a Muslim seeks nearness to Allah

• Sura: (also Surah) a chapter of the Holy Qur'an

• Tabi’een: plural of tabi’, one who accompanied for a good period of time, learned from and afollowed a aabi, a companion of the Holy Prophet Muhammad; its plural is: tabi’een

• Tafsir: (singular:) exegesis or explanation of Qur'anic verses; its plural is: tafasir

• Tahajjud: night devotions; a mutahajjid is one who keeps religious vigilance, spending the night in prayer

• ahara: purification, the act of removing najasa, uncleanness or impurity

• Takbeer: the act of glorifying Allah by declaring in an audible voice: “Allaho Akbar!’ Allah is Great!

• Taqiyya: one's way of exerting precaution in order to save his creed or life when either is in jeopardy, Sha’as' way of trying to survive in the presence of sure perils

• Taqleed: the concept of following a mujtahid or an authority recognized as the a’lam, the most knowledgeable in Islamics

• Tarwiyah: The Day of Tarwiyah is the 8th of Thul-ijjah when the pilgrims fill their water bags and prepare to go to Mina.

• Tashahhud: the testimony regarding Allah being the Lord and Muammad being His Servant and Messenger; it is the uttering of ‘Ashhadu an la ilaha illa-Allah, wa anna Muhammad abdoho wa rasooloh’

• Tashreeq: the cutting and sun-drying of sacrificed meat

• awaf: circling around a certain sacred site

• Tawatur: consecutive reporting, the tracing of one particular hadith to its respective chronological chain of narrators

• Tawhad: the concept of the absolute Unity of God, the belief that God is One and indivisible, One__and Only One__God

• Tawwabeen: the penitent ones, those who repented their reluctance to go to the rescue of Imam usain when he was confronted with Yazid's armies and who enlisted under the military command of al-Mukhtar and pursued those who massacred Imam Hussain ibn Ali ibn Abu Talib and killed them

• Thakireen: those who often mention the Name of the Almighty and Glorify Him

• Thayyib: a deflowered woman, a widow or divorcee

• Thireed: pieces of bread cut and dipped in stew

• ‘Ulema': plural of ‘alim, scholar-theologian

• Umma: nation, group of people

• ‘Umra: pilgrimage to Mecca during any time other than the prescribed (first ten) days of the month of Thul-ijjah

• Uool: the basics of jurisprudence

• Wajib: compulsory, obligatory, binding

• Wali: person to whom wilayat is obligatory; a wali, however, is a governor appointed by a Muslim ruler of a higher authority (such as a caliph, a ultan, etc.)

• Waqf: a trust, property dedicated to serve any specific good cause, an endowment

• Wai: successor to a prophet

• Wilayat: a binding supreme authority that combines both temporal and religious powers

• Wial: fasting the last day of every lunar calendar month

• Wuu: ablution

• Zakat: Literally, it means “purification;’ it is a compulsory 2.5% tax on one of three categories of wealth: 1) metal coins (gold, silver, etc.), 2) grain crops (barley, wheat, grain, rice, etc.), and 3) animals raised for food consumption. Zakat is somehow a complicated issue, and for details, readers are advised to consult books dealing with fiqh. Among its types are: zakat al-mal (taxable wealth accumulated during one full year), and zakat al-fitr (a tax to be paid by the head of a household at the end of the fast of the month of Ramaan).

• ihar: the making of a similitude between the back of one's wife with that of his mother; i.e. saying that his wife's back looks similar to his mother's back

Surely Allah knows the truth.