‘Abaya/Chador - full-body cloaks sometimes with a smaller headscarf beneath them.

‘Adil - righteous.

Ahadith - see hadith.

Ahl al-Bayt - household of the Prophet Muhammad (S).

Al-Haqq - The Ultimate Truth (One of Allah's Most Beautiful Names)

Allahu Akbar - Allah is the Most Great.

Amin - trustworthy

Al-salamu alaykum - May Allah grant you peace.

Al-Yasa’ (a.s.)- Elisha.

Ahmad - commendable or laudable.

Ahwal - level of attainment of a spiritual journey.

‘Ash’arite school of Islamic theology that supports tradition over reason.

Asr, Salat al-·Asr- afternoon prayer.

Adhan - call to prayer.

Ayah (pl. ayat) - lit. a sign.In Qur’anic terminology, a verse.

Ayub (a.s.) - Job.

Bayt al-Mal- treasury.

Chador - see ‘Abaya

Chingiz-Khan - Genghis Khan.

Dawud (a.s.)- David.

Dhikr - remembrance.

Dhikr Allah - remembrance of Allah

Du’a - prayer or supplication.

Fadilat al-Waqt - the preferred time for offeringeach prayer.

Fajr al-Kathib - false dawn.

Fajr al-Sadiq - true dawn.

Fajr, Salat al-Fajr - dawn, the prayer offered at dawn.

Fard- obligatory.

Fatwa (pl. fatawa) - independent legal opinion/s.

Fiqh - jurisprudence.

fitrah - innate. Pure nature of human beings.

Gharar - risk,lack of information.

Ghufailah - two voluntary raka·at offered between Maghrib and ‘Isha'.

Ghusl - to bathe the whole body, also known as the greater ablution.

Hadith (pl. ahadith) report or saying of the Prophet Muhammad (S) and the error-free Imams (a.s.).

Hajj - pilgrimage.

Halal - lawful.

Haqiqah - complete truth.

Haram - unlawful.

Harun (a.s.) - Aaron.

Hasanah - good deed.

Haya' - modest behaviour.

Hayd’ - menstruation and its period.

Hijab (lit. complete protection) - women's modest dress and head covering.

Husn - beauty or goodness.

Ibrahim (a.s.) - Abraham.

‘Id - celebration

Ih’san - doing good.

Ijtihad - to deduce rulings from their sources, that is the Qur’an and ahadith.

Ilyas (a.s.) - Elijah.

Imamiyah Shiah. Those who defer to the Imams (a.s.) from the Prophet's (S) progeny.

Injil - the Bible.

Insh'a-Allah - God willing.

Iqamah - call to stand up for prayer.

Ismah – being free from error or sin.

Isa (a.s.)- Jesus.

Isha', Saatal-Isha' - evening prayer, which may be offered until midnight.

Ishaq (a.s.) - Isaac.

Ismail (a.s.) - Ishmael.

Isnad - 'chain' of those who are known to have narrated a hadith.

Isra'il - Israel.

Istihadah - non-menstrual bleeding.

Istihsan - preference of one kind of analogy over another.

Istikharah - to petition Allah to guide one to all that is good.

Jami - central mosque of a city.

Janabah - religious impurity that is the result of sexual intercourse.

Jibra'il - Gabriel.

Juhd - strive.

Ka·bah - 'house of God' in Makkah.

Kalam - Islamic theology, speech.

Khair - good

Khidr - a renowned person who is traditionally acknowledged to have received the Divine gift of great wisdom.

Khimar - a long capelike veil - from the head to just above the waist - that completely covers the hair, neck and shoulders leaving the face clear.

Lut (a.s.) - Lot.

Madinah - City, lslamically used for the city where the Prophet lived and died.

Maghrib, Salat al-Maghrib - The prayer offered after sunset when dusk falls and the sky darkens.

Mahabbah - Love.

Mahram - A person with whom marriage is not lawful,e.g.brother, sister, mother, father, aunt, uncle etc.

Makkah - the holiest city in Islam where the Prophets Ibrahim (a.s.) and Isma'il (a.s.) built the Kaabah. The birthplace of the Prophet Muhammad and place of pilgrimage for Muslims.

Makkan - relating to Makkah.

Malakut - Celestial realm.

Maqamat - spiritual position.

Maryam (a.s.) -Mary.

Mathhab - School of law.

Mawla - guardian, being in charge, and master, as in Ali (a.s.) is mawla.

Mawt - death.

Mihrab - niche in the wall of a mosque to indicate the qiblah.

Mi"raj - the Prophet Muhammad's journey to 'the heavens' and back.

Mizan - beam-balance scale.

Mujtahid - jurist.

Mu’min (pl. mu’minin) - true believers.

Musa (a.s.) - Moses.

Murtazilite in Islamic theology - supporter of reason.

Nafilah (pl. Nawafil) - voluntary prayers.

Najis al-'Ayn - impure initself.

Nifas - childbirth.

Niqab - a veil to cover a woman's face leaving only the area around the eyes

Niyyah - intention.

Nuh (a.s.) - Noah.

Qada - to make up for missed duties.

Qarabah - kinship.

Qiblah - the direction (of the Kab’ah in Makkah) that Muslims face when they pray.

Qiraah - recitation

Qiyam - standing upright.

Qiyas - analogy.

Qunut - humble invocation.

Quraish - a famous Arabian clan.

Raka’ah (pl. raka’at) - cycles for standing,bowing and prostrating during prayer.

Ruku - to bow before the Lord. A position during prayer.

Sahabah - companion.

Sajdah (pl. sujud) - to prostrate. A position during prayer.

Sajdah al-Sahw - a prostration made for any mistake during prayer.

Salah (pl. Salat) - the canonical form of Islamic prayer.

Salam - greetings of peace.

Salit al-Ihtyat - precautionary prayer.

Sayyi'ah - bad deed.

Shari - legal.

Shariah - Islamic law.

Shaytan - Satan.

Shiah - those who followed the Islamic teaching of Ali (a.s.) after the Prophet (S)

Sidr - Leaves of the 'Lote Tree'.

Silsilah - lit. chain, chronological list of teachers or guides.

Subhana Allah - Allah is glorified.

Sujud see Sajdah.

Sulayman (a.s.) - Solomon.

Sulh - amicable treaty or agreement.

Sunnah (lit. practice) - in Hadith terminology, the Prophet's (a.s.) tradition, sayings and way of life.

Sunni - those who follow the caliphs after the Prophet (S)

Surah - a division of the Qur’an.

Surat al-Fatiha - the opening surah of the Qur’an.

Tabiun - the generation that succeeded the companions.

Takbir - to state that 'Allah is Most Great' - Allahu Akbar.

Tariqah (pl. turuq) - way, path.

Tasbih - glorification.

Tashahud - declaration of faith.

Tawhid - belief in the Divine Unity of Allah,Oneness.

Tayammum - to perform ablution without water.

Tazahum - table of priorities.

Tazkyah - purification.

Thaqalain - the Qur’an and the progeny of the Prophet (S)

Ummah - the Muslim nation.

Umrah - minor pilgrimage.

Ut properly oud, - a musical instrument used by Arabs.

Waliy- guardian.

Waqf - charity or endowment.

Wila (see Wilayah)

Wilayah - authority, assistance, love, guardianship.

Wudu - 'ablution in preparation for prayer.

Yabya (a.s.) - John.

Yakub (a.s.)- Jacob.

Yunus (a.s.) - Jonah.

Yusuf (a.s.) - Joseph.

Zakah (pl. zakat) an Islamic religious annual welfare tax due on specific commodities.

Zakaria (a.s.) - Zacharias.

Zina - adultery.