Glossary of non-English Terms

Adhan the specified wordings called out at salat times, the call for salat

'adil just

'ahd promise

Ahl al-Bayt (as) Prophet Muhammad (S), Hadrat Fatimah (as) and the Twelve infallible Imams (as)

Ahl al-Kitab the followers of the Divine Books (the Jews, the Christians and the Magians)

Akhirah the world Hereafter

'alim (pl. 'ulama') Islamic scholar

Amin may Allah it be so

Amir al-Mu'minin Commander of the Believers, al-'Imam 'Ali (as)

al-amr bil-ma'ruf enjoining the lawful acts

anbiya' (pl. of Nabi) prophets

anfal spoils

ansar helpers, friends

'aqd (pl. 'uqud) contract

'asr afternoon

Ayah (pl. Ayat) Qur'anic verse

Banu Hashim family of Hashim

Al-Bi'that al-Nabawiyyah appointment of prophethood

batil invalid, incorrect

bay' selling

dhanb kabir mortal sin

dhanb saghir venial sin

dhikr words for remembering Allah.

farsakh a measure of distance of about 5.6 km

faskh al- 'aqd cancellation of contract

fiqh Islamic jurisprudence

Fir'awn Pharaoh

Furu' al-Din the duties to be performed according to Islamic Shari'ah.

ghadir pond

ghasb usurpation

Al-Ghaybat al-Kubra the Great Occultation of al-'Imam Muhammad al-Mahdi (as)

Al-Ghaybat al-sughra the Short Occultation of al-'Imam Muhammad al-Mahdi (as)

ghusl (pl. ghusul) taking bath according to the Islamic Shari'ah

ghusl irtimasi performing ghusl by the immersion of the whole body in water

ghusl mass al-mayyit performing ghusl due to touching of the dead body

ghusl al-mayyit bathing the dead body

ghusl tartibi performing ghusl by washing the body part by part as specified in Islamic Shari'ah

hadath condition requiring ghusl or wudhu’

al-hadath al-akbar condition requiring ghusl

al-hadath al-asghar condition requiring wudhu’

hadith ( pl. ahadith) Tradition

Al-Hajar al-'Aswad the Black Stone

hajj pilgrimage to Makkah, obligatory once in lifetime for Muslims who can afford

hajj (pl. hujjaj) pilgrims who perform hajj

halal Islamically permissible

haram sacred premises

haram Islamically prohibited

Harun Aaron

hawari (pl. hawariyyun) disciple

hayd menstruation

Hijjatul-Wada' the last hajj performed by Prophet Muhammad (S)

Hijrah migration of Prophet Muhammad (S) from Makkah to Madinah

Hud (as) Prophet Heber (as)

Ibrahim (as) Prophet Abraham (as)

idtirar compulsion, emergency, driven by necessity

ijarah receipt of money for reciting salawat and performing siyam.

ijtihad endeavouring for the deduction of commandments based on Islamic fundamentals

Imam (as) (pl. A'immah) infallible successor of Prophet Muhammad (S)

Imamah succession of Prophet Muhammad (S) by Twelve Infallible. Imams (as)

Imam al-'Asr (as) the 12th Infallible Imam of the present time, Muhammad al-Mahdi (as)

Imam al-Huda (as) (pl. A'mmat al-Huda [as]) the Infallible Imam of Guidance

imam al-jama'ah the imam of congregational salat

Injl The Bible

Iqamah the specified wordings, almost similar to the Adhan and recited after it, before commencing the salat

iqtida' following

'Isa (as) Jesus Christ

'isha' night

Ishaq (as) Prophet Isaac (as)

'ismah infallibility

Isma'il (as) Prophet Ishmael (as)

Isra'il (as) Prophet Israel (as)

istihadah menstrual bleeding

istihalah transformation or a chemical change of the state of an object

ja'iz permissible

janabah major ritual impurity or al-hadath al-akbar caused by the sexual intercourse, or the like

Jibril Gabriel

jihad Islamic war

jizyah head tax charged from Ahl al-Kitab in lieu of their non-acceptance of Islam

kafir (pl. kafirun) unbeliever

kafir harbi unbeliever to be fought against

khalifah (pl. khulafa') caliph

khilafah caliphate

khiyar (pl. khiyarat) option, right

khiyar al-'aqd option for the contract

khiyar al-'ayb option in the case of defect

khiyar al-ghabn option in the case of cheating

khiyar al-hayawan option in the case of animals

khiyar al-majlis option during the meeting

khiyar al-shart option of condition

kubra the great

kurr water weighing about 384 kg which does not become najis if najasahreaches it

luqtah picked up article

Ma'ad Resurrection

Madinat al-Rasul The city of the Prophet (S), Madinah

maghrib evening

makruh undesirable - though not unlawful but refraining from it is preferable

ma'mum the follower who follows the imam in salat al-jama'ah

manasik rituals

mann a measure of weight of about 3 kg

Maryam Mary

mash anointing

Al-Masjid al-Haram the Ka'bah

ma'sum ( pl. ma'sumin ) infallible

mithqal a measure of weight of about 4.6 g

mubah permissible, allowable

Al-Mubahalah cursing

mubtil (pl. mubtilat) things or acts through which the salat, the sawm, thewudhu’, etc become invalid

mudaf mixed

muftir (pl. muftirat) certain act which breaks or invalidates the sawm

muhajir (pl. muhajirin) immigrant

mujtahid one who is capable of deduction of command that is based on Islamic Shari'ah

mukallaf the one who reached the age of maturity and thus became responsible for performing the Islamic duties

munafiq (pl. munafiqin) hypocrites

muqallid (pl. muqallidin) one who follows a mujtahid's instructions for performing his deeds

Musa (as) Prophet Moses (as)

musha' joint ownership, held in common

mushrik (pl. mushrikin) polytheists

mustahabb recommended, desirable

mutahhir (pl. mutahhirat) purifier which purifies a najis

mutlaq pure

muwalat performing the parts of an Islamic act in succession without undue delay

nadhr vow

al-nahy'an al-munkar forbidding the sinful acts

najasah impurity as per the Islamic laws

Al-Najashi King Negus of Ethiopia

najis inherently impure

nifas puerperal period

niyyah intention, decision

Nubuwwah prophethood

Nuh (as) Prophet Noah (as)

Al-Nuwwab al-Arba'ah the Four Deputies of Imam al-'Asr (as)

qada' settling the salawat or the siyam which had not been performed in time, not performed but due

qalil little in quantity less than kurr

qasam oath

qasr reciting two raka'at instead of 4-rak'ah salawat

Qiyamah The Last Day

Qaysar Caesar

Qiblah facing towards Ka'bah while reciting salat

qira'ah the recitation in the salat

qisas Islamic reprisal

qiyam the standing erect while reciting the salat

qunut supplication during salat in a specific manner

qurbah seeking Allah's pleasure

rak'ah (pl. raka'at) a section of salat

al-Risalah al-'Amaliyyah Islamic treatise written by a mujtahid for use by his muqallidin for performing Islamic duties

ruh soul, self, personality

Ruhulqudus Gabriel, Jibril

rukn (pl. arkan) a basic part of the salat

ruku' a part of the salat in which one bows down, genuflexion

sadaqah charity

salam greetings, peace, saying "as-salamu 'alaykum"

sajdah (pl. sajdahs) the act of prostration in the salat or worship to Allah

salat (pl. salawat) prayer

Salat al-Ayat the salat of Allah's creation or signs.

salat al-jama'ah the congregational prayer

salat al-mayyit the prayer for the dead person

salat al-tawaf al-wajib the prayer of circumambulation around Ka'bah

al-salat al-yawmiyyah the daily prayers

Salih (as) Prophet Salih sent to the tribe of Thamud

sawm statutory Islamic obligation of fasting

sawm al-wisal continuous fasting

Sayyidat Nisa' al-'Alamin the epithet of Fatimah (as), the daughter of Prophet Muhammad (S) meaning the head of all the women of the worlds

Shari'ah Divine Islamic Law

shaytan satan

Shi'i Shi'ite

shirk polytheism

Shu'ayb (as) Prophet Jethro (as)

shuf'ah preemption

Al-Siddiqah al-Kubra the epithet of Fatimah (as), the daughter of Prophet Muhammad (S) meaning the most strictly veracious

sirah Life-style, conduct, character

subh morning

surah (pl. suwar) Qur'anic chapter

tabligh (pl. tablighat) communication, propagation, dissemination

tadhkiyah slaughtering animal according to Islamic Shari'ah

taharah purity, specified Islamic way of purification

tahir pure as per Islamic Shari'ah

takbir saying "Allahu Akbar, i.e., Allah is Great"

takbirat al-ihram the first takbir (saying Allahu Akbar) said at the beginning of the salat just after the niyyah

taqiyyah concealing one's true beliefs when life is in danger

taqlid following a mujtahid in practising Islamic laws

taqwa piety, guarding against evil

tarakhkhus the limit of the tarakhkhus (seeing off) is a distance at which neither the walls of the town are visible nor Adhan is heard

tartib the order or sequence as prescribed by Islamic Shari'ah

tasbih to say "subhanallah, i.e., Glory be to Allah" as a dhikr

tashahhud testifying for Tawhid of Allah and prophethood of Prophet Muhammad (S)

tawbah repentance

Tawhid Oneness of Allah, monotheism

Tawrat The Old Testament

tayammum statutory Islamic ablution with soil, sand, etc

thawab Allah's reward, spiritual reward

Ulul 'Azm Anbiya' arch-prophets

Ummah Islamic people, Islamic Nation

Ummi unschooled (by human beings), untaught

Usul al-Din the fundamental principles of Islam

wahy divine revelation

wajib (pl. wajibat) obligatory, incumbent

wajib kifa'i an obligatory duty of all Muslims but it suffices when performed by someone

wilayah Islamic jurisprudential guardianship

wudhu’ statutory ablution according to the Islamic Shari'ah

zuhr noon