Glossary

Adab – etiquette, manners, proper/most correct way of doing things

Ayat – verse/line from the Quran, also can mean stars

Allah -  God

Amal – work

Arif pl ‘Arifeen’ – a “knower’ (of God)

‘Arsh – the Throne of God in the heavens

‘Asr – the late afternoon prayer

Awliya – plural of Wali; saint

Baseera – sight, in Islamic spiritual nomenclature means inner insight

Beanie - Girl/Woman

Bid’a – innovation, also used for bad/invalid religious innovation (bid’a sareeha)

Biryani – fried rice Indian cuisine

Bismillah -  in/with the name of Allah

Dalail Khayrat – famous collection of prayer on the Prophet by Imam Jazuli

Da’wa -  invitation, invitation toIslam

Dajjal – imposter, Maseeh al-Dajjal: the Anti-Christ, lit. Imposter Messiah

Deen – religion, way, path (Islam)

Dunya - the world, material world, lowly world

Dhikr - remembrance, form of worship; remembering God

Du’a – supplication/invocation/prayer

Dum Dums – bullet proof vest piercing bullets

Fitra – natural disposition, sacred nature, original state humans are created

Fiqh – Islamic science of jurisprudence

al-Ghafur - name/attribute of Allah, the All Forgiving

Ghee – type of Indian clarified butter (high in fat)

Grillz – mouth, teeth, usually refers to gold/platinum/diamond plated artificial teeth

Haqiqa – Truth, Essence, Reality.  In Sufi teaching is the concept of esoteric essential truth.

Hadra – form of group dhikr, literally means ‘presence’

Hal – state, health, usually used for spiritual state

Haram – Forbidden/unlawful: Islamic (fiqhi) ruling.

Huwa – ‘Him’, in Sufi terminoology used for God

Iblees – name of Satan

Ihsan - lietrally ‘to do things beautifully’, the spiritual science of Islam. 

‘ilm -  knowledge

Inshallah – by the will of God

Istinja – ritual purification after going to the toilet

Jahannam – hell

Jahilya – from ‘jahil’ (ignorant), a time of ignorance, referring to pre-Islamic Arabia

Jama’ – group or majority

Jannah – paradise/heaven

Jihad al-Akbar – the great struggle/war (struggling against the self, false ego)

Jinn – (genie) invisible creatures made from a smokeless fire, can take physical forms sometimes

Jummu’ah (or Jumma) – the Muslim Friday congregational prayer

al-Kawthar – “river in paradise”, also a name of a chapter in the Quran (108th)

Khalwa – Sufi retreat, being alone (with God)

Khawarij – literally “those who go out”, group of Muslims who rejected teh Caliphate of Imam ‘Ali.

Khayr - good

Khutba – the Friday prayer sermon

Kismet – fate, destiny

Kufi – traditional hat

Kunya – honorific/title, type of epitaph referring to bearers first born child or could be to parents

Mawlid – Islamic celebration of the birth of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)

Maghrib – sunset, denotes time for the sunset prayer

Majnun – madman, madness from love

Mi’raj – the Prophet Muhammad’s (pbuh) night journey, ascension to the highest heavens and meeting with God.

Misbaha – Muslim prayer rosary

Miswak – a natural toothbrush made from the twigs of Salvadora persica or arak tree. A practice recommended by the Prophet (peace be upon him)

Munshid pl Munshid-un/in – poetry reciters/singers

al-Muntaqim – name/attribute of Allah, the Avenger

Nafs pl Nufus - the self, or part of self that calls to lowly desires.

Niyyah – intention

Nur – light, spiritual light, heavenly light

PBUH – acronym for “peace be upon him”

Puttar – Urdu for son/child

Qalb – heart: physical organ and spiritual (soul)

Qasida pl Qasaid – poetry/mystic poetry

Qiyamah – Day of Standing i.e. Judgment Day

al-Rahim – name/attribute of Allah, the Most Merciful

Rahma - compassion/mercy

Rakat – a unit of the Muslim prayer

Ruh – spirit/soul

Sahaba – the companions of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)

Salafi – literally – “predecessors” or “early generations”. Referring to the first 3 generations after the Prophet (peace be upon him). A contemporary movement apply this label to themselves claiming to be followers of the blessed Salaf.

Salah – Muslim prayer/worship, original literal meaning is supplication

Sanad pl Isnad – a chain of narration, how knowledge was passed from one person to next

Shahada – to give the testimony of faith, act of converting to Islam

Shahid – Arabic name and noun – martyr and witness

Shari’ah – Islamic sacred law

Shukr – gratitude/thanks

Silsila pl Salasil - chain of narration

Skrills – money

Sunnah – the tradition or practice of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)

Tahajjud – optional prayer usually performed in the last third of the night

Takfir – to judge someone as a non-believer

Taqwa – God consciousness/fearing

Tasawwuf – (Sufism) Islamic science of spirituality, spiritual purification

Tawakkul – trust/reliance in God

Tawba – repentance

Tawfiq – divine success

Tawhid – Oneness of God, unification, Islamic conception of monotheism

Troposphere – the lowest portion of Earths atmosphere

Ummah – the Muslim community, followers of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)

Usul – Islamic science of ‘Principles of Jurisprudence’ (how laws are derived from the sources

Waw – letter from Arabic alphabet, also means “and”

Wilaya – In Tasawwuf nomenclature; means of achieving sainthood (Wali)

Wudu – ablution, washing parts of body with water in preparation for prayer

Zanadoo - noun, verb, and adjective to mean anything and everything. The zanadoo revolution began in March 2007

Zhulm – wrongdoing, evil, treat someone unfairly