A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

A 

Abu Dā’ud: One of the authentic collections of hadīth

Abd: Slave or Servant, as in AbdAllāh (Slave of Allāh)

Ādam: The Prophet Adam, peace be upon him

Ahadīth: Sayings of the Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم . (plural of hadīth).

‘Ahlu’l-kitāb: The people of the Book, the Jews and Christians

‘Ahl As Sunnah wa al Jammah: Those righteous people upon the way of the Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم and staying with the congregation of believers

Ālim: Scholar. Plural is ulema. All derived from root word, ilm which means knowledge

alayhis salām, alayha salām, alayhum salām: Appears in Arabic as عليه السلام ,عليها السلام ,عليهم السلام and reads as ‘peace be upon him/her/them’. This is an honourific used for the Angels and Prophets of Islām.

Allāh hu ‘Ālim: Allah Knows Best

Alhamdulillāh: All Praise is due to Allāh

Anbiya: Prophets (plural of nabi)

Ansār: The people of Medinah who aided the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم (Ansāri is one such person)

Arkān: Pillars

Arkãn al ēmān: The Pillars of Faith

Asbāb-an-nuzūl: Reasons for revelation. Describing the phenomenon, of verses of the Qur’an being revealed specifically in response to events during the life of the Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم

Ashrātas sa’ah: Signs of the Hour. The signs that the Day of Judgement is near.

‘Asr: The mid-afternoon prayer

Aslama: To submit one’s self

Āyah: A verse of the Qur’an. (plural: āyāt) Literally translates as ‘a sign’ because each verse of the Qur’an is itself a Sign towards belief in Allāh, tawhīd, the unseen and the truth that is Islām.

 B

Bani Isra’īl: The Children of Israel

Bai’ya: Pledge

Bil ghaib: Within the realms of the Unseen

Bir: Righteous actions

Bukhari: One of the authentic collections of hadīth

C

 D

Da’if: Weak, here referring to weakness of a hadith

Da’wah: Inviting others to Islāmā

Dāwūd: The prophet David, peace be upon him

Du’a: Supplicating to Allāh

E

Ēmān: Faith or Belief. 1

Ēsa: The Prophet Jesus, peace be upon him. He is also known as Ēsa Ibn Maryam, Jesus, the son of Mary

 F

Fājr: The dawn prayer

Al Firdaws: Highest level of Paradise

Al Furqan: The Criterion. One of the names of the Qur’an as it provides the criterion to help us decide between right and wrong.

Fus-hah: Classical Arabic

G

Al Ghaib: The Unseen

H

Hadīth: A saying of the Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم

Hajj: Compulsory Pilgrimage to Makkah if one is physically and financially able to do so

Hārūth and Mārūth: Two angels mentioned in Sūrah Baqarah

Hidayah: Allāh’s guidance

al Huwairiūn: The disciples who supported Ēsa, peace be upon him 

I

Ibādah: Worship

Iblīs: Satan

Ibrahīm: The prophet Abraham, peace be upon him

I’jāz: The concept of inimitability of the Qur’ān. Study of the aspects that confirm the miraculous nature of the Qur’an.

Insh’Allāh: If Allāh Wills

Injil: The Gospel

Imām: Leader of prayer, or leader

Al Irāda’ Ash-Shar-īyyah: The Specific Will of Allāh

Al Irāda’ Al-Qowniyyah: The General Will of Allāh

Ishāq: The Prophet Isaac, peace be upon him

Islām: To surrender to the Will of Allāh

Israfīl: The Angel, Israfīl

Istawa: Where Allah rose above or established Himself above His Throne

Al Ihsa: Understanding, memorising and remembering the Names and Attributes of Allãh

Ilm: Knowledge. Root word for ālim (scholar) and ulema (scholars)

J

Jibrīl: The Angel Gabriel (Peace be upon him)

Jinn: Another creation of Allah, made from smokeless fire

Jahannam: Hellfire

Jannah: Paradise

Juz: A section of the Qur’an. As well as being divided into sūrahs, the Qur’an is also divided into 30 juz of equal length

K

Kāfir: Disbeliever

Khutba: Sermon

Kirāman Khātibīn: Two angels on either side of us, being the Noble Recorders, recording our deeds.

Kufr: State of disbelief

Kuffār: Disbelievers

KutubAllāh: The Books revealed by Allāh

L

Al Lauh Al Mahfūz: The Safe Tablet, upon which the destiny of Allāh’s creation was written down beforehand

Lūt: The Prophet Lot, peace be upon him

M

Madani sūrah: Describing a sūrah of the Qur’ān as being revealed in Madinah (Medina)

Makki sūrah: Describing a sūrah of the Qur’ān as being revealed in Makkah (Mecca)

Mālik: The Chief Guard of Hellfire

Al Malā’ika: The Angels

Malik Al Mawt: The Angel of Death, leading those angels responsible for carrying away our souls

Maryam: Mary, the mother of Jesus (Maryam, um Ēsa)

Masjid: Mosque (literally the place for sujūd [prostration])

Mika’īl: The Angel, Micheal

Mu’jiza: Miracle

Munkar and Nakīr: The angels who question us in our graves

Mūsa: The prophet Moses, peace be upon him

Mushrik: A person who commits shirk.

Mushrikeen: A community of people who commit shirk.

Muslim: A person who has surrendered themselves to the Will of Allāh. A person who follows Islām.

Muslim: One of the authentic collections of hadīth 

N

an-Nār: The Fire. Another name for Hellfire

Nabi: Prophet (plural: anbiya)

Nūr: Light

Nisa’ī: One of the authentic collections of hadīth

O

P

Q

Qadr: Divine Preordainment. Everything that occurs in Allāh’s universe was already decreed to occur by Him.

’Qara’a: To read. The root verb of the word Qur’an

Qasās al Anbiya: Stories of the Prophets

Qur’aish: The very tribe in Makkah of our Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم

R

Rabb: Lord

RadhiAllāhu anho/anha/anhuma/anhum: Appears in Arabic as رضي الله عنه/ ها/ هما / هم and reads as may Allāh be pleased with him/her/them both/them: This is an honourific used for the Companions of the Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم

Rasūl: Messenger (plural: rusul)

Rizq: Livelihood, bounty, means of sustenance, provision

Ruku: Bowing

Rukn: A pillar, or support for a building, a corner

Rukn al ēmān: A pillar of faith

Rusul: Messengers (plural of Rasūl). Rusulihi means ‘His Messengers’

S

as Sa’ah: The Hour. Another name for the Last Day

Sabr: Patience

Sadaqāh: Voluntary charity (not mandatory like Zakah)

Sahābah: Companions of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم

Sakhīna: Tranquility

Salāh: Prayer performed in a prescribed manner

Salaf as Sāleh: Our Pious Predecessors, or Early Generation of Muslims

Ṣallallāhu ′alayhe wassallam: Appears in Arabic as صلى الله عليه وسلم and reads as ‘may Allāh send blessings and peace upon him’. This is an honourific used exclusively for the Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم

Sīrah or Sīrat-un-Nabi: The biography of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم

Shari’ah: Islāmic laws and codes

Shaytān: Satan. Also known as Iblīs

Shahādah: One of the five Pillars of Islām. To testify that none has the right to be worshipped but Allāh and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allāh ( صلى الله عليه وسلم)

Shirk: To associate partners with Allãh 

Sirāt al mustaqīm: The straight path

SubhānAllāh: Glory be to Allāh; Alhamdulillāh - All Praise is due to Allāh; Insha’Allāh – If Allāh Wills.

Subhān wa ta’āla: The Glorious and Most High, reads in Arabic as سبحانه وتعالىٰ

Suhuf: The Scriptureā (revealed to Ibrāhīm and Mūsa, peace be upon them)

Sūrah: A chapter of the Qur’an. The Qur’an has 114 sūrahs

Sujūd or sajda: Prostration

Sujjāda: Prayer mat

Sūrah: Chapter (as in chapter of the Qur’an)

T

Taghūt: False objects of worship e.g. idols, heavenly bodies, human beings, spirits.

Tanjīm: The gradual revelation of the Qur’ān.

Ta’tīl: To deny any or all of the valid Names and Attributes of Allāh

Tawhīd: Belief in absolute unity of Allāh. Belief in the Oneness of Allāh

Tawhīd ar rubūbiyah: Belief in Unity in the Lordship of Allãh i.e. He is the sole Creator of all that is in the heavens and the earth. He is the sole Cherisher and Sustainer of all creation.

Tawhīd al ulūhiyah: Belief in Unity in the worship of Allãh i.e. there is no god but Him, the One, the Unique, without partners or associates, alone worthy of all true worship. 

Tawhīd al asma wa as-sifāt: Unity in the Names and Attributes of Allãh i.e. He is understood and described by His Names and Attributes, as mentioned by Himself in the Qur’ãn and by the Prophet, صلى الله عليه وسلم.

Taykīf:  Trying to explain, investigate, speculate or imagine the reality, or the how, of a particular name or attribute of Allāh. Such delving should not be done. We must stay with the obvious meaning.

Tirmidhi: One of the authentic collections of hadīth

Tawrāh: The Torah or Old Testament

U

Ulema: Scholars. The plural of Ãlim. All derived from root word, ilm which means knowledge

Ulū al-’Adham: Messengers of Strong Will, namely Nūh, Ibrāhīm, Mūsa, ‘Ēsa, peace be upon them, and Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم

Ummah: The international community of Muslims

V

W

Wahī: Inspiration received from Allāh by His Messengers and selected others.

Wahi Bātin: Internal inspiration The general words of Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم were based upon wahī bātin (internal inspiration). He would express those concepts to his sahābah (companions) رضي الله عنهم. They today form the, so-called, ahadīth, sayings and traditions of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم.

Wahi Dhāhir: Manifest inspiration. The Qur’ān was revealed by this way. Here the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم would receive not ‘general concepts,’ but rather ‘precise words’, words that would go to form the Qur’ān. 

X

Y

Yahya: The Prophet John, peace be upon him

Yawm al Ākhir: The Last Day

Yawm al Qiyāmah: The Day of Judgement

Yūsuf: The prophet Jospeh, peace be upon him

Z

Zabūr: The Psalms

Zakāh: Obligatory charity

Zakarīya: The prophet Zechariah, peace be upon him

Zina: Illegal sexual relations