Seeking the Straight Path: Reflections of a New Muslim

A Brief Glossary

 
I have tried to include all terms used in this text plus other common ones and have included the most common variant spellings.
 
A
 
Abadat or Ibadat -Worshiping, praising Allah
 
Adel or Adil -just
 
Ahl-House, family
 
Asr- The afternoon, and the prayer of the afternoon.
 
Adan or Adhan - the call for prayer
 
Ayah or Ayat -sign, verse of quran
 
Ayaat-plural of ayah
 
 
B
 
Batel or Batil –void, not accepted
 
D
 
Deen- religion
 
Dua- supplication
 
E
 
Eed or Eid -holiday
 
Eid-ul Fitr-A holy day following the month of Ramadan
 
Eeman or Iman - deep belief, faith
 
Ehtiyat or Ihtiyat - precaution
 
Ehram or Ihram -State of worship, by the entering of which the worshipper makes certain things haram for himself. Associated with hajj. Also, the type of dress worn during hajj.
 
Eqamah or Iqamah -second call for prayer
 
 Esha or Isha -the commencement of darkness, and the prayer of that time
 
 Estebra or Istibra-purification, especially of animals and of the male organ
 
F
 
Fajr-dawn
 
Fatwa-verdict, especially of a mujtahed
 
Fiqh-science of religious jurisprudence
 
G
 
Ghadeer-name of a place near Mecca, and the great holiday named after the event there of announcing Imam Ali’s (as) successorship.
 
Ghusl-ritual bath
 
H
 
Hajj-form of worship performed in Mecca, required once in a lifetime for all Muslims able to perform it.
 
Halal-legal
 
Haram-illegal
 
Hejab or Hijab -the screening between non-related men and women, the Islamic modest dress
 
I
 
Iddah - A woman’s waiting period after the end of a marriage.
 
Iftar-the breaking of the Fast
 
Ijtehad or Ijtihad - struggle to fathom divine law
 
Imam-Divine vicegerent
 
Imam-jamaat -leader of congregational prayer
 
J
 
Jafari, Ja’afari – Shia school of thought believing in the 12 Imams (as)
 
Jamaat -group, congregation, and prayer of,
 
Jehad or Jihad –struggle against self or against oppression
 
jinn-a type of creature having like man, free-will
 
Jomah or Jumu’ah -Friday, or the Friday congregational prayer
 
K
 
Kaba or Ka’aba -the Holy House in Mecca, the qibla of Muslims
 
Kafan-shroud a corpse must be wrapped in
 
Khoms or Khums -a fifth, obligatory tax-like charity
 
M
 
Maghreb or Maghrib –sunset, also the prayer shortly after sunset
 
Mahram-haram to marry, usually due to close blood relation
 
Mamoom-person praying in group-prayer
 
Masjid- Islamic Center or building for prayer and other gatherings
 
Mecca-holy city in Arabia where the Ka’aba is located
 
Mehrab-place in the mosque where the Imam jamaat stands to pray
 
Moadden or Muazzin -caller of the adhan
 
Muta, Mut’a, Mutah-temporary marriage
 
Mujtahed or Mujtahid -person capable of acting according to his own religious knowledge and not needing to refer to the verdict of another scholar
 
Makrooh-abominable act, one is rewarded for not performing it
 
Mustahab-thing done in desire of (divine) love, one is rewarded for performing it
 
N
 
Nafelah or Nafilah -defined desirable prayers in addition to the required daily prayers
 
Najes or Najis -dirty and impure
 
Najasat -impurity
 
Niyyat –intention, as in the intention to perform an act
 
O
 
Olama or Ulama- the learned scholars of Islam
 
Omrah or Umrah - a worship performed in Mecca like hajj not but mandatory
 
Q
 
Qada, Qaza, Qadha -performance of a duty that was not performed in its proper time, as in prayers performed late
 
Qasr-four-rakat prayers, which become two-rakat prayer for those ruled as travelers
 
Qibla-direction faced in prayer
 
Qiyam-standing, rise, as in the standing prayer position
 
Qonoot or Qunoot -part of the prayer with hands palms up
 
Qorbat or Qurbat -the niyyat of nearness to Allah
 
R
 
Rakaat or Rakat - a unit or cycle of prayer
 
Ramadan, Ramadhan, Ramazan -the month of fasting
 
Roku, Ruku, Rukoo -a bow; part of the prayer
 
S
 
Sajda-prostration; part of the prayer
 
Salaam, Salam -invocation and greeting, part of the prayer
 
Salawat-invocation of blessings, particularly on Muhammad (saw) and his family
 
Shahada – declaration, particularly the declaration of belief in Islam
 
Sharia, Shareea, Sharia’ah - the Divine Law
 
Shaytan, Shaitan -the enemy of man, Satan
 
Shia-follower of the twelve Imams, commonly the Ja’fari school of thought
 
Sojood, Sujood –prostrating (Plural of Sajdah)
 
Sunni- “orthodox” or majority type of Muslim
 
Sayyed, Sayyid, Sayed - descendent of the Holy Prophet
 
T
 
Taher or Tahir -clean, not impure
 
Takbeer or Takbir- the saying of Allaahoo Akbar, (God is great)
 
Taqleed or Taqlid- the following of a mujtahed for Islamic jurisprudence
 
Tashahhod or Tashahud- declaration recited in the second and last rakat of all prayers
 
Tayammom or Tayammum- Ritual cleansing (with sand/mud etc.) which is a substitute for wudhu and/or ghusl
 
Tawheed- Divine Unity (Oneness of God)
 
W
 
Wajeb or Wajib - obligatory
 
Wudoo, Wudoo, Wudhu, Wuzu - ritual wash performed for prayer, etc.
 
Z
 
Zakat- an obligatory charity
 
Ziyarat- pilgrimage to the holy shrines
 
Zohr, Dhuhr- noon, the name of the first afternoon prayer