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)

Adkhār: Words spoken in the rememberance of Allāh

Adhān: Call to prayer

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

Ahkām: Rules

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

Ākhira: The Hereafter

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

Al Āmilen ‘alay-ha: The collectors of zakāh. One of the categories permissible to receive zakāh.

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

Arkān: Pillars

Arkãn al ēmān: The Pillars of Faith

Arkãn al Islām: The Pillars of Islām

‘Asr: The mid-afternoon prayer

Aslama: To submit one’s self

Aurah: certain areas of the body that must be covered, for men and women

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

Bid’ah: An innovation into the religion and a sin

Bil ghaib: Within the realms of the Unseen

Bukhari: One of the authentic collections of hadīth

C

 D

Da’wah: Inviting others to Islāmā

Dāwūd: The prophet David, peace be upon him

Dhab: Sacrifice of an animal during Hajj

Dhul Hijjah: The 12th month of the Islāmic lunar calendar

Dhuhr: The midday prayer

Du’a: Supplicating to Allāh

Dunya: The life of this world

E

Ēmān: Faith or Belief.

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

 F

Fard: a compulsory action in Islām

Fājr: The dawn prayer

Fajr as-sādiq: The true dawn, when the whiteness of dawn can be distinguished from the darkness of the night.

Fajr al-khādib: False dawn

Fidya: Paying an amount to the poor as compensation for missing Ramadhān fasts

Fi sabīl’Allāh: For the cause of Allāh. One of the categories permissible to receive zakāh.Fiqh: Islamic jurisprudence

Fuqarā: Desperately poor people. One of the categories permissible to receive zakāh.

G

Al Ghaib: The Unseen

Al Ghārmīn: Those burdened by debt (They can meet their basic needs but not their debt). One of the categories permissible to receive zakāh.

Ghusl: A bath 

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

Halāl: Permissable

Halaq: Full shaving of the head during Hajj or Umrah

Haram: The Holy Mosque in Makkah

Harām: Forbidden

Hawl: One full lunar calendar year

Hayd: A woman’s monthly period

Hidayah: Allāh’s guidance

I

Ibādah: Worship

Ibn as-sabīl: wayfarer stranded away from his hometown. One of the categories permissible to receive zakāh.

Ihrām: is a state of being that pilgrims must enter before they start their Hajj.

Iftār: Breaking of the fast

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

Imsak: The incorrect practice of stopping our eating early before dawn when intending to fast, as opposed to right up to dawn.

Insh’Allāh: If Allāh Wills

Injil: The Gospel

Inqiyād: Submission

Ikhlās: Sincerity

Imām: Leader of prayer, or leader

Isha: The night prayer

Iqāmāh: Words immediately before prayer in Jamā’ah

J

Jamā’ah: Congregation

Jamarāt: Structures which, during Hajj, are ritually stoned.

Jibrīl: The Angel Gabriel (Peace be upon him)

Jinn: Another creation of Allah, made from smokeless fire

Jahannam: Hellfire

Jannah: Paradise

K

Ka’bah: The cube structure in Makkah acting as a direction marker of prayer for Muslims all over the world and built by the Prophet Ibrahīm, peace be upon him.

Kabā’ir: Major sins

Kaffārah: A severe penalty that must be undertaken where a person in Ramadhān nullifies the fast by having sexual relations whilst fasting.

Kāfir: Disbeliever

Kufr: State of disbelief

L

M

Mahabbah: Love (for the shahādah)

Makruh: Strongly disliked

Magrib: The sunset prayer

Mahram: A permitted male companion for a lady when travelling

Masha’Allāh: What Allāh has Willed

Masah: A dispensation that allows for wiping over socks during wudhu, instead of full washing of feet.

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

Masjid al Haram: The Holy Mosque in Makkah

Mithqāl: unit of measurement equal to approximately 4.5 grams.

Misākīn: The needy. One of the categories permissible to receive zakāh.

Al mu'allafatu qulūbahum: Those whose hearts need to be strengthened and reconciled towards Islām. One of the categories permissible to receive zakāh.

Miqāt: boundary points outside Makkah that pilgrims must go to, to don their ihrām and start their Hajj

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

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

Najas: impure

Nafl: Voluntary deed (singular)

Nawāfil: voluntary deeds

Nifās: A woman’s bleeding after childbrith

Nisāb: a certain minimum amount of wealth that a person must have before they are required to pay zakāh.

Nisa’ī: One of the authentic collections of hadīth

Niyyah: Intention

O

P

Q

Qabūl: Acceptance

Qada: Compensating one day of fasting later, for a day that was missed during Ramadhān

Qasr: shortening of salāh

Qibla: The direction of prayer, facing Makkah

Qiyām: Standing position in salāh

R

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

Rak’āh: A unit or cycle of prayer

Ramy: Ritual during Hajj of the stoning of the the devil, represented by the the structures known as the Jamarāt

Ar Riqāb: For freeing of slaves. One of the categories permissible to receive zakāh.

Ruku: Bowing

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

Rukn as-salāh: This is a pillar or cornerstone of salāh. These actions or words must be done or read respectively. If they are missed in any rak’ah then that rak’ah must be repeated. It would not be acceptable simply to perform sajdah sahw

S

Sadaqāh: Voluntary charity (not mandatory like Zakah)

Sahābah: Companions of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم

Sajdah: Prostration

Sajdah Sahw: This is an additional prostration, performed at the end of the salāh, if certain parts of the salāh are missed or forgotten. However, there are areas that it does not cover;

Sakhīna: Tranquility

Sawm Ramadhān: Obligatory fasting in the month of Ramadhan

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

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 Allāh 

Sidq: Truthfulness

SubhānAllāh: Glory be to Allāh or He is free from imperfection

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

Suhūr: The morning breakfast before fasting

Sunnah: The practices of the Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم

Sunnah as salāh: an action within the salāh that was performed by our Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم and therefore highly recommended.

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

Sujūd or sajda: Prostration

Sujjãda: Prayer mat

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

T

Takbīr: The phrase Allāhu Akbar (Allāh is the Greatest)

Takbīra-tal-Ihrām: The opening takbī of prayer.

Talbiya: pilgrims are required to keep speaking aloud certain words during Hajj and umrah

Tarāwih: Evening prayers in Ramadhān

Tāhir: Clean and pure

Taslīm: The phrase and greeting Assalāmu alaikum (Peace be unto you)

Taqsīr: cutting of the hair only during Hajj or Umrah

Tawāf: moving in a circle seven times around the structure, anti-clockwise as an act of worship

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.

Tirmidhi: One of the authentic collections of hadīth

U

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

Umrah: Minor pilgrimage to Makkah

V

W

Wājib: An obligatory act. According to the majority of the scholars of the jurisprudence, wājib is entirely synonymous with fard.

Wida: Final farewell

Wudhu: Ablutions before prayer

X

Y

Al Yaqīn: Certainty

Yawm al Qiyāmah: The Day of Judgement

Z

Zakāh: Obligatory charity

Zakahu-al-Fitr: An obligatory charity given at the end of Ramadhān, distinct from annual Zakāh

Zina: Illegal sexual relations