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
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