The Life of Muhammad The Prophet
Glossary
Adhan the call for prayers; muadhdhin is one who performs adhan
Dirham an Islamic silver currency weighing approximately 3.12
grams
Hafiz one who knows the entire text of the Holy Qur'an by heart;
plurall "huffaz." In hadith, one is called haftz if he memorizes
one hundred thousand traditions with their chains of narrators
Hajj Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca during the month of Dhul-Hijjah
Hijabah the trusteeship of the Ka'bah
Ihram pilgrimage garb, two white unwoven cotton robes worn by
pilgrims
Kafir infidel, apostate, atheist, one who does not believe in the
existence of the Creator, one who deliberately covers the truth.
Khandaq moat, ditch
Khums one-fifth of one's savings (usually paid by Shi'a Muslims
only) set aside from annual income
Muhaddith one who narrates hadith, traditions of the Holy
Prophet
Najis unclean, impure
Nadhr sing. of "nudhur," one's pledge to do something good, an act
of charity, to show appreciation for the Almighty's fulfillment of
his/her earnest worldly wish
Rifadah the act of feeding the pilgrims during the pilgrimage
season
Sahih literally: authentic, correct, accurate; it is generally
used to refer to a collection, group of collections, or book of verified
and authenticated ahadith (plural of hadith, tradition; see
muhaddith above) of the Holy Prophet
Sajdah prostration
Saraya plural of sariya, a military expedition in which the
Prophet himself did not participate
Shari'ah Islamic legislative system
Siqayah the act- of providing water to the thirsty (especially the
pilgrims) free of charge
Tafsir (sing.) exegesis or explanation of Qur'anic verses and
chapters; plural: tafasir
Tarikh chronicle, a book of history
Tawaf circling around Ka'bah
Umrah the lesser pilgrimage done outside the month of Hajj
Waqf a piece of property dedicated for the promotion of any
particular good cause, a charitable trust, endowment
And surely Allah knows best.