Glossary

Ahl al-Kitaab: Literally, the People of the Book, the People of the Scripture. It refers to the followers of Divine revelation prior to the Qur’an. It refers in particular to the Banî Israel (The Children of Israel) to whom God sent Prophets with Scriptures to guide them —Moses with the Tawrah and Jesus with the Injil. By extension, it could also refer to any people to whom a prophet was sent with a scripture.

Al-Amiin: The Trustworty. Description by which Muhammad was known in Mecca before his call to Prophethood.

Al-Âkhirah: The Hereafter; life after death; the ‘end’ of life. Refers to another existence after the life of this life. A person’s hereafter is shaped by the way he conducts his life in this world. The Hereafter begins with the Day of Resurrection. This will be followed by the Day of Judgement or the Day of Recompense in which everyone will be treated with the mercy and absolute justice of the Creator.

Amr bi’l Ma’ruf: Commanding what is good - an individual and collective duty of the Muslim community.

As-salamu aleykum: Peace be on you. The Islamic greeting which enhances the feelings of love and brotherhood among people. In the Qur’an it is mentioned as the greeting used by the keepers of Paradise to welcome those who have done well in this life.

Astağfirullah: I seek God’s forgiveness. One of the phrases used by a Muslim to repent for wrongs committed knowingly or unknowingly and which brings a person back to his naturally good and pure state.

Banî Israel: Literally, the Children of Israel or the jews. Israel was another name for the prophet Ya’kub (Jakob), the son of Prophet Ishaq (Isaac) and grondson of Prophet Abraham. Another word used in the Qur’an is Yahuud.

Da’wah: Invitation. Call. Refers to the duty on Muslims to invite or call others to return to the straight and natural path of Islam or submission to God. This, according to the Qur’an, has to be done with wisdom and beautiful advice.

Dhikr: Remembrance, in particular, of God. Every action or utterance made for the sake of God can be considered dhikr.

Du’a: Supplication, calling upon God, prayer. A means of showing gratitude to and dependance on the Creator for guidance and the good things of life.

al-Faatihah: The opening. The name of the first chapter of the Qur’an which is regarded as the Essence of the Holy Book.

Fard: Compulsory duty. Fard ‘ayn: A duty which is imposed on every adult and sane individual which can not be discharged by anyone else, e.g. fasting in the month of Ramadaan. Fard kifaayah: A duty which is imposed on the Muslim community as a whole which is considered discharged if carried out by some in the community.

Fasaad: Corrruption, chaos.

Ghurur: Deception, fallacy, illusion. Refers in particular to the fallacy of treating life in this world as the only existence and being unmindful of the Hereafter.

Ghusl: Washing, Bathing. A complete bath performed in the manner taught by the noble Prophet which is necessary under certain conditions and recommended in others.

Hadith: Saying of the noble Prophet.

Hajj: Literally, effort. Pilgrimage to the House of God in Mecca which is compulsory once in a lifetime for Muslims who have the means to perform it. It is the fifth ‘pillar’ of Islam.

Halaal: Lawful, Permissible. Only that which is good and beneficial for man and creation is regarded as halaal in Islam. The basic assumption in Islam is that everything is halaal unless it has been declared haram or forbidden.

Haraam: Unlawful, Prohibited. Only that which is bad or harmful for man and creation is regarded as haraam in Islam.

Hijrah: Migration. The act of leaving a place to seek freedom of worship in another place. Also the act of leaving a bad practice to adopt a righteous way of life. Specifically, the Hijjrah refers to the Prophet’s journey from Mecca to Madinah in the twelfth year of his mission corresponding to June 622 CE. The Islamic calendar begins from this event.

Ibadah: Worship. True worship is only for God. All actions of a person which are in accordance with the will of God is regarded as worship.

Iman: Faith based on knowledge; firm belief and trust in God which is the natural and reasonable attitude for man to adopt.

Islam: 1. Submission to God. 2. The religion (diin) of God. All creation at one level exist in a state of Islam to their inbult laws.

Israaf: Extravagance. Waste (of talents and resources); regarded as sinful and leading towards a refusal to acknowledge the bounties of God.

Jamaa’ah: 1. Group, 2. Congregation, 3. Organised community of believers. The minimum number for a jamaa’ah is three.

Jihaad: Literally, striving. Any earnest striving in the way of God, involving either personal effort, material resources or arms, for righteousness and against evil, wrong-doing and oppression. Where it involves armed struggle, it must be for the defence of the Muslim community or a just war to protect even non-Muslims from evil, oppression and tyranny.

Ka’bah: A cube-shaped structure in Mecca which is described in the Qur’an as the first house of worship built for mankind.

Khalifah: 1) Steward, Vicegerent. 2) Successor. Man is referred to in the Qur’an as the khalifah of God on earth. As a khalifah, he has been given an amaanah or trust to discharge. In concequence, he has been given free will and responsibility and has an important status above other creation.

Kufr: Ingratitude to God and disbelief in Him and His religion. It has the primary meaning of concealing, that is concealing one’s natural inclination to acknowledge God and be grateful for His innumerable bounties.

Makruuh: Disliked but still permissible, an example of which is divorce.

Masjid: A place of prostration, a mosque. According to a saying of the Prophet, the whole earth is a masjid which makes it easy and natural to perform Prayer at any time.

Minbar: Raised platform in a mosque from which the Khutbah is delivered.

Miizaan: Balance. Measure. Scale of justice and equity. Denotes the measure or the inbuilt laws or balance with which God created everything.

Mubah: That which is allowed in Islamic law. Failure to do what is mubaah doesn’t bring any blame. Doing what is mubaah doesn’t merit any special reward.

Muhaajir: A person who undertakes hijrah.

Mukallaf: Obligated, responsible. One who has reached the age of responsibility. It begins with the onset of maturity (buluugh). From this age on, a person whether male or female is under obligation to carry out all the duties of Islam.

Mustahabb: That which is recommended but not compulsory in Islamic Law. Failure to perform it is not regarded as sinful.

Rabb: Lord and Sustainer. One who owns something and looks after it well.

Rikat: A unit of Salaat (prayer). Begins from the standing position with the utterance of Allahu Akbar and includes the recitation of Al-Fatiha and another portion of the Qur’an, bowing (rukuu’) and prostrations (sajdah) in the manner shown by the noble Prophet.

Ramadan: The ninth month of the Islamic calendar. The month of fasting, in which the Qur’an was revealed.

Sabr: Constancy, Patience, Perseverance. One important quality of a believer in dealing with the “tests” of life.

Sadaka: 1) Charity, 2) Dowry or mahr. *Sadakah jaariya-continious charity, charitable endowment. *Sadakat al-Fitr (also called Zakat al-Fitr): compulsory amount paid by the head of a household at the end of the fast of Ramadaan for the benefit ot the poor.

Shahaadah: 1) Testimony, witness, 2) Declaration of faith, 3) Martydom.

Shari’ah: The moral and legal code of Islam. The two main sources of the Shariah are the Qur’an and the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad.

Shirk: Associating others in worship with God. Regarded in the Qur’an as a “great injustice” and the only sin which will not be forgiven.

Suffah: Raised platform or bench. Part of the prophet’s mosque in Madinah used as a soft of reception point for newcomers to the city and destitute persons.

Sunnah: Literally, path or example. Refers in articular to the Example of the Prophet Muhammad and includes what he agreed to.

Taqwa: Consciousness of God; being careful not to transgres the limits of God in order to stay as close as possible to one’s originally good state.

Tawbah: Literally, returning. Repenting and seeking forgiveness for one’s sins in order to return as close as possible to one’s originally good state.

Tawhîd: Belief in or affirmation of the Oneness of God. Tawhîd is the correct human attitude to Reality.

Ummah: Community, nation. Specifically, the community of believers or the universal Muslim community. Other species or groups in creation are referred to in the Qur’an as “umam”, nations.

Zakah: The compulsory “purifying” tax on wealth which is one of the five pillars of Islam.