Islam

Chapter 968 Glossary of Arabic Words
Frequently Encountered in the Study of Islam

A major difference between Christianity and Islam is related to the language in which the revelation was made and received. The Qur’ân was dictated in Arabic to Arabic speaking people.

Anyone who embarks on a study of Islam will encounter a number of Arabic words which are often used as "technical terms" in Islam. This glossary has been prepared to help a student of Islam read and study the literature and to help the student to gradually acquire this vocabulary. As with learning any language, vocabulary is absorbed by hearing, use, and reading; this hearing and using must often be supplemented by direct study and memorization.

Color Key

Arabic words essential to the study of Islam
Arabic words important for the study of Islam
Arabic words helpful in the study of Islam

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Bibliography

For a good glossary of Islamic terms see the following web site:

http://www.unn.ac.uk/societies/islamic/quran/noble/glossary.htm

See also the glossary proved by Charles Kurzman, in Liberal Islam: A Sourcebook, pp 329-330.

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Glossary

A

ahl at-kitab people of the Book (that is, Jews, Christians, and Muslims)

akbar   greater

Allah  God.  From a contraction of Al-Llah the-God, that is, the one and only God.

Allah-u-akbar God is great

 Al-Fâtiha  The first Sûrah (book/chapter) in the Qur'ân

In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
Praise be to God, who loves and sustains the world.
God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful,
Master of the Day of Judgment.
We worship you, O God, and seek your aid.
Show us the straight path,
The way of those on whom
You have bestowed your grace;
The way of those whose portion
is not wrath, and who go not astray.  Amen.

ayâ   Arabic for sign. Used for a unit (verse) of a Sûrah (book/chapter) in the Qur'ân  (Plural: ayat)

adhan the call to prayer

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B

bedouin  Arabic for nomad; someone who lives in the desert

D

dar al-harb land of war, non -Islamic lands

dar al-Islam  land of Islam, Islamic lands

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F

faqih (plural: fuqaha’) religious scholar

fiqh Islamic jurisprudence

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H

hadith    utterances.  The sayings of the Prophet

hajj (5 of 5) pilgrimage to Mecca at least once during the lifetime of each Muslim for those who can afford it. The fifth of the Five Pillars [or five essential duties] of Islam.

halal divinely sanctioned

haqiqa truth

haram prohibited, protected, sacred

hijai veil

hijra   migration – Mohammad’s emigration (The Hegira) from Mecca to Medina on July 16, 622.  This is the first day of the new Islamic calendar.

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I

ijtihad  exercise of independent judgment as opposed to the imitative of medieval authorities.  [contrast with: taqlid = imitation.]

imam leader

‘iman faith

insha'Allah   If God wills.   (Not a "wish" but the acknowledgement that all future events and dependent on the will of God.  Whenever we speak of doing something in the future,  the phrase "insha'Allah" reminds us that we only want to do the act if it is the will of God.   (origin of the Spanish word ojalá) [¡olé! comes from wa-Allah, by Allah]

Islam A participle meaning grateful surrender, submission. [Muslim = one who practices Islam; one who submits to the will of God. [Christians: "Behold I come to do your will ..." "Our Father, ... Thy will be done..."]

Islam : Christianity :: Muslim : Christian

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J

jihad  "striving" or "exertion in the way of God" either personally, by struggle against lack of faith and devotion, or publicly, by preaching, teaching, and, if necessary, armed struggle. The inner striving is the Great Jihad.  Sometimes jihad is included as the sixth of the Five Pillars [or essential duties] of Islam.  On November 13, 2006 Pope Benedict XVI received in audience Musapha Cherif, an expert on Islam at the University of Algiers.  "Jihad" was one topic of their conversation.  Cherif explained that the great jihad is "the effort for self-control, toward spiritual elevation, toward beautiful works."  In regard to violence, Cherif explained that Islam asks each one of its believers to forgive in the face of adversity, to be patient and merciful.  "In regard to collective responsibility in the face of aggressions, in order to avoid entering the logic of the wolf and the lamb [and] to protect the right of peoples' existence, Islam codifies in a strict manner recourse to the 'just war' -- which the Prophet described as  the little jihad, legitimate defense."  Cherif said that the principle of the "just war" [not "holy war"] implies "never being the aggressor, protecting civilians -- and in particular Christian monks, the weak -- the environment and always being equitable.  Saint Augustine did not propose something different!"  (At which the Pope assented with a smile.)  [Adapted from Zenit] 

jumuah Friday.  [There is a contemporary Muslim magazine entitled Al Jumuah. "The Friday."]

juz’ A pious division of the Qur’an into 30 sections for reading during a month.

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K

Kaaba  (from the Arabic “cube” )  the granite cube shaped structure in Mecca.  It is 15 m high (49') with sides measuring 10.5 m (34') by 12 m (39').  Muslims throughout the world face the Kaaba during prayers.

Khadijah the first wife of Muhammed

Khutba  The sermon given before Friday Salah

kitab book

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M

Madina  town in Saudi Arabia; the hijra was to Medina; first mosque was in Medina

masjid   s-j-d = to bow, to kneel   (The English word "mosque" comes from "masjid" via the Spanish "meszuita")

Masjid al-Haram   The Sacred Mosque in Mecca which surrounds the Kaaba

maslaha   public interest

Mecca  Muhammad was born in Mecca.  The Masjid al-Haram and the Kaaba are in Mecca. 

minaret a tower built for the call to prayer (adhan).

muezzin the one who performs the call to prayer

muslimin  Muslims; literally, those who submit

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Q

qibla   An Arabic word that refers to the direction Muslims should face when praying.  Most masjid (mosques) have a niche in one wall that indicates the qibla.  The qibla wall is perpendicular to a line facing Mecca.   Muslims are buried with their faces in the direction of the qibla.

Quaswa   Muhammad's favorite camel

Qur'ân   recitation

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S

salat (2 of 5) the ritual prayers, or worship services, performed daily during five specified intervals, facing Mecca, at dawn, at noon, in mid-afternoon, at dusk, and after dark. The second of the Five Pillars [or five essential duties] of Islam.

sari’a Islamic law

shahada (1 of 5) witness. The shahada (the Witness) is "I bear witness that there is no god but God and that Muhammad is the Messenger of God." The first of the Five Pillars [or five essential duties] of Islam.

sheikh  old man

shiat  partisans 

Shiah Ali     Shiites  Muhammad's mother and father died and he was raised by his grandfather.  When his grandfather died, Muhammad was entrusted to his (deceased) father's brother, Abu Talib.  Abu Talib had a son Ali (much younger than Muhammad).   After Muhammad is grown and married and Abu Talib dies, Muhammad and Khadijah take in Ali (out of gratitude for his father having done the same for Muhammad when he was young).   Ali grows up and marries Muhammad and Khadijah's daughter Fatimah.   Ali becomes the fourth caliph.  While Ali is caliph there is a split among the Muslims as to who is the true successor of Muhammad.  Some said that Ali was the true successor.  The partisans of Ali [shiat Ali] are who we now call the Shiites -- followers of Shiism.  Shiites comprise about 14% of all Muslims. 

sunnah    the exemplary conduct of Muhammad.  

Sunni    The main body of Islam is known as Ahl al-Sunnah ma-l-Hadith -- or the Sunni.)

sãrah   a "degree" or "step." The word is use to designate each "chapter" or "book" or portion of the Qur’an – a "degree" or "step" by which we mount up.  The ayat is the unit of the Surah.

sawm (4 of 5)  fasting during the daylight hours during the month of Ramadan (the 9^th month of the Muslim [lunar] calendar).  The fourth of the Five Pillars [or five essential duties] of Islam.

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T

tajwid The rules of recitation are called tajwid and involve strict standards about when and how to make elision between words, when and how to draw out certain vowel sounds or make certain sound effects with consonants.  These rules are not like a musical overlay.  Indeed for Muslims, the Qur'an is not "sung" and is not considered music.  Instead, the literary and rhythmic qualities of the text are extensions of the inherent quality of the text itself rather than superimposed musical ornamentations. (Sells pg. 146)

taqlid   imitation. [contrast with: ijtihad – the exercise of independent judgment as opposed to the imitation of medieval authorities.]

taqwa   fear of god, piety

tariga  Path. A formally constituted religious order.

tihamah  plain

U

umm  mother

umma  community

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W

wahy - The Arabic verb "wahy" means "to put in the mind."  (Revelations:  Catholic and Muslim Perspectives, pg 26)

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Y

yemen south, the south

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Z

zakôt (3 of 5)  ritual almsgiving based upon the value of stipulated property. The third of the Five Pillars [or five essential duties] of Islam.

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