The words · 523
The Encyclopedia of the Path
Every word this library uses, defined plainly. Any spelling, in any transliteration, finds the meaning, with its evidence beside it. 523 words, and it grows whenever a reader says one was missing.
523 words
Nothing under that spelling yet. Fewer letters, or the plain English word, may find it: this book indexes every transliteration it knows, and it is still growing. Tell us what was missing and it will be added.
Belief · 77 العَقِيدَة
- Adhab al-QabrThe punishment or ease a person meets in the grave, before the Day of Judgement arrives.عَذَابُ القَبْر
- Ahl al-FatrahPeople who lived without a prophet's message reaching them, and the question of how they are judged.أَهْلُ الفَتْرَة
- Ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jama'ahThe main body of Muslims who follow the Prophet's way and the practice of his companions.أَهْلُ السُّنَّةِ وَالجَمَاعَة
- AjalThe appointed term of a life or a nation, which does not arrive early or run late.الأَجَل
- AkhirahThe hereafter: everything after death, from the grave to the final settling in Paradise or the Fire.الآخِرَة
- Al-GhaybEverything real that lies beyond the reach of the senses, known only because Allah reported it.الغَيْب
- AqidahThe set of things a Muslim holds to be true, as opposed to the things a Muslim does.العَقِيدَة
- Arkan al-ImanThe six articles of faith: Allah, His angels, His books, His messengers, the Last Day, and the decree.أَرْكَانُ الإِيمَان
- ArshThe Throne of Allah, the greatest created thing, above the heavens and carried by angels.العَرْش
- Ash'ariA Sunni school of creed founded by Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari, defending orthodox belief with reasoned argument.الأَشْعَرِيَّة
- Ashrat al-Sa'ahThe signs that come before the Day of Judgement, sorted by scholars into minor and major.أَشْرَاطُ السَّاعَة
- Asma wa SifatAllah's names and attributes, affirmed as He described them, without denial and without resemblance to creation.الأَسْمَاءُ وَالصِّفَات
- AthariThe Sunni creed school that keeps to the wording of the texts and avoids theological speculation.الأَثَرِيَّة
- Ba'thThe resurrection: bodies raised and souls returned, so that everyone stands for judgement.البَعْث
- BarzakhThe state between death and the resurrection, where the soul waits after the body is buried.البَرْزَخ
- Bid'ahInnovation in religion: introducing an act of worship that has no basis in what was revealed.البِدْعَة
- DajjalThe false messiah who appears near the end of time, claiming godhood and testing people with power.الدَّجَّال
- FitrahThe natural disposition every person is born with, leaning toward recognising one Creator.الفِطْرَة
- HawdThe Prophet's pool, where his community drinks before entering Paradise and never thirsts again.الحَوْض
- HisabThe reckoning: each person shown their record and questioned about the life they were given.الحِسَاب
- IblisThe jinn who refused to prostrate to Adam out of pride, and was expelled and granted respite.إِبْلِيس
- IhsanTo worship Allah as though you see Him, and if you do not see Him, knowing that He sees you.الإِحْسَان
- IkhtiyarHuman choice: real enough to be answerable for, and never outside Allah's knowledge and creation.الاِخْتِيَار
- IlhamInspiration placed in a heart, which may be true but is not revelation and is not proof for anyone else.الإِلْهَام
- ImanFaith: belief in Allah, His angels, His books, His messengers, the Last Day, and the decree.الإِيمَان
- IslamSubmission to Allah: outwardly the five pillars, inwardly the handing over of the whole self.الإِسْلَام
- IstidrajBeing drawn in slowly by blessings while sinning, so that ease becomes a punishment rather than approval.الاِسْتِدْرَاج
- IstighathahCalling for help, and the disputed question of whom a Muslim may call on when it is not Allah.الاِسْتِغَاثَة
- IstiwaThe Qur'anic statement that Allah rose over the Throne, and the classic test case for reading divine attributes.الاِسْتِوَاء
- JahannamThe Fire: the punishment prepared for those who refused, described in the Qur'an in plain and heavy terms.جَهَنَّم
- JannahParadise: the garden of lasting delight prepared for the believers, where nothing is lost or spoiled.الجَنَّة
- JinnA created race made from fire, unseen to us, who like people believe or disbelieve and are accountable.الجِنّ
- Kalam AllahThe speech of Allah, and the classical controversy over whether the Qur'an is created or uncreated.كَلَامُ اللَّه
- KaramahAn extraordinary event granted to a righteous believer, with no claim to prophethood attached.الكَرَامَة
- Kiraman KatibinThe two honourable scribes who record what every person says and does.الكِرَامُ الكَاتِبُون
- KufrDisbelief: rejecting or refusing what a person knows Allah has revealed.الكُفْر
- KursiSomething vast that extends over the heavens and the earth, which most scholars hold is distinct from the Throne.الكُرْسِيّ
- KutubThe scriptures Allah revealed, belief in them being one of the six articles of faith.الكُتُب
- Lawh MahfuzThe Preserved Tablet, in which everything decreed was written down before it happened.اللَّوْحُ المَحْفُوظ
- MahdiA rightly guided leader expected near the end of time, understood very differently by Sunni and Shia Islam.المَهْدِيّ
- MalaikahAngels: beings created from light who never disobey Allah and carry out exactly what they are commanded.المَلَائِكَة
- Malak al-MawtThe angel of death, who takes each soul at its appointed time by Allah's command.مَلَكُ المَوْت
- MaturidiA Sunni school of creed founded by Abu Mansur al-Maturidi, closely tied to the Hanafi tradition.المَاتُرِيدِيَّة
- MizanThe scale on which deeds are weighed on the Day of Judgement, with exact justice.المِيزَان
- Mu'jizahA miracle given to a prophet as proof of prophethood, which his opponents are unable to match.المُعْجِزَة
- Munkar and NakirThe two angels who question a person in the grave about their Lord, their religion, and their prophet.مُنْكَرٌ وَنَكِير
- NafsThe self: the inner person that can command wrong, blame itself, or come to rest.النَّفْس
- NifaqHypocrisy: showing belief outwardly while concealing disbelief, or acting against the faith one claims.النِّفَاق
- NubuwwahProphethood: Allah choosing certain men to receive revelation and deliver it, ending with Muhammad, peace be upon him.النُّبُوَّة
- Nuzul IsaThe descent of Isa near the end of time, to break the cross, kill the Dajjal, and rule with justice.نُزُولُ عِيسَى
- QadaAllah's decree carried out: the partner word to qadr, though scholars differ over which term means which.القَضَاء
- QadrAllah's decree: that He knows, wrote, willed and created all that happens, without forcing anyone to sin.القَدَر
- QalamThe Pen, commanded to write the decree of everything that would happen until the Day of Judgement.القَلَم
- QarinThe jinn companion assigned to each person, whose work is whispering toward wrong.القَرِين
- QiyamahThe Day of Resurrection, when this creation ends, the dead are raised, and everyone is judged.القِيَامَة
- Ru'yat AllahThe belief that the people of Paradise will see their Lord with their eyes, after death.رُؤْيَةُ اللَّه
- RuhThe spirit that gives a body life, whose reality Allah kept to Himself.الرُّوح
- SahifahThe record of a person's deeds, handed to them on the Day of Judgement.الصَّحِيفَة
- Shafa'ahIntercession: one person asking Allah on behalf of another, and only by Allah's permission.الشَّفَاعَة
- ShahadahThe testimony that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is His Messenger.الشَّهَادَة
- ShaytanA devil: any rebellious jinn, and with the definite article, Iblis himself.الشَّيْطَان
- ShirkGiving to something other than Allah what belongs to Allah alone, above all worship.الشِّرْك
- Shirk AsgharMinor shirk: acts like showing off in worship, which damage sincerity without putting a person outside Islam.الشِّرْكُ الأَصْغَر
- Sidrat al-MuntahaThe Lote Tree at the furthest limit, reached by the Prophet on the Night Journey.سِدْرَةُ المُنْتَهَى
- SiratThe bridge laid over Hell that everyone must cross, at speeds matching their deeds.الصِّرَاط
- SunnahThe Prophet's way in belief, worship and conduct, and the measure against which innovation is judged.السُّنَّة
- SurThe horn that is blown to end this world, and blown again to raise the dead.الصُّور
- TafwidLeaving the meaning of a difficult divine attribute to Allah, as opposed to interpreting it figuratively.التَّفْوِيض
- TakfirDeclaring a specific Muslim to be a disbeliever, a ruling classical scholars fenced with heavy conditions.التَّكْفِير
- TashbihLikening Allah to His creation, which the Qur'an rules out with the words: there is nothing like Him.التَّشْبِيه
- TawassulApproaching Allah through a means, such as His names, your own good deeds, or a living person's du'a.التَّوَسُّل
- TawhidThe belief that Allah is one, without partner, without equal, and alone deserving of worship.التَّوْحِيد
- Tawhid al-RububiyyahOneness of lordship: that Allah alone creates, owns, sustains and controls everything that exists.تَوْحِيدُ الرُّبُوبِيَّة
- Tawhid al-UluhiyyahOneness of worship: that prayer, vows, sacrifice, hope and fear are directed to Allah alone.تَوْحِيدُ الأُلُوهِيَّة
- WahyRevelation: Allah's speech conveyed to a prophet, directly, from behind a veil, or through an angel.الوَحْي
- WasilahA means of nearness to Allah, and also the name of a specific high station in Paradise.الوَسِيلَة
- Ya'juj wa Ma'jujTwo peoples held back behind a barrier built by Dhu al-Qarnayn, released as a major sign of the Hour.يَأْجُوجُ وَمَأْجُوج
Worship · 77 العِبَادَة
- AdhanThe call announcing that a prayer time has entered, given aloud before each obligatory prayer.أَذان
- AqiqahThe sacrifice offered for a newborn, customarily on the seventh day, with the naming and the shaving of the head.العَقِيقَة
- ArafahThe open plain east of Makkah where pilgrims gather on the ninth of Dhul Hijjah.عَرَفَة
- AsnafThe eight groups the Qur'an names as the only lawful recipients of zakat.الأَصْنافُ الثَّمانِيَة
- DamA compensating sacrifice owed for omitting a required rite of hajj or breaking a rule of ihram.دَم
- DuhaA voluntary prayer of two to eight rak'ahs in the mid-morning, after sunrise and before noon.صَلاةُ الضُّحى
- Fajr, Dhuhr, Asr, Maghrib, IshaThe five obligatory prayers: dawn, past midday, afternoon, just after sunset, and night.الصَّلَواتُ الخَمْس
- FidyahFeeding a poor person for each fast that a person is permanently unable to keep or make up.فِدْيَة
- GhuslThe full washing of the whole body that lifts the major state of ritual impurity.غُسْل
- HadathThe ritual state that blocks prayer until it is lifted by wudu or by ghusl.حَدَث
- HadyThe animal offered in Makkah by pilgrims performing tamattu' or qiran, and its meat given away.هَدْي
- HajjThe pilgrimage to Makkah in Dhul Hijjah, obligatory once in a lifetime on those who are able.حَجّ
- HalqShaving the head after the rites, which releases the pilgrim from the state of ihram.حَلْق
- HawlThe full lunar year that wealth must be held above the nisab before zakat falls due on it.حَوْل
- HaydMenstruation, during which prayer and fasting are lifted and intimacy is paused.حَيْض
- I'tikafStaying in a mosque for a set period, devoted to worship and cut off from ordinary business.اعْتِكاف
- IftarBreaking the fast at sunset, traditionally with dates and water before the Maghrib prayer.إِفْطار
- IhramThe sanctified state a pilgrim enters with intention and talbiyah, marked by simple unsewn dress.إِحْرام
- ImamThe person who leads the prayer, standing in front while the rows follow his movements.إِمام
- IqamahThe second, shorter call given immediately before the congregation starts the prayer.إِقامَة
- Jama'ahPraying together behind one imam, which multiplies the reward of the prayer many times over.صَلاةُ الجَماعَة
- JamaratThe three pillars at Mina that pilgrims pelt with small pebbles, called ramy.الجَمَرات
- JanabahThe state following intercourse or sexual discharge, lifted only by a full ghusl.جَنابَة
- Jumu'ahThe Friday congregational prayer: a sermon followed by two rak'ahs, replacing Dhuhr.صَلاةُ الجُمُعَة
- KaffarahA fixed expiation owed for certain deliberate breaches, heavier than simply making the act up.كَفّارَة
- KhumsA fifth of certain wealth; in Sunni law on spoils and treasure, in Shia practice a yearly payment.خُمْس
- Khushu'Stillness of the body and attention of the heart during prayer.خُشوع
- KhutbahThe sermon given before the Friday prayer and after the two Eid prayers.خُطْبَة
- Laylat al-QadrThe night in Ramadan that the Qur'an calls better than a thousand months.لَيْلَةُ القَدْر
- Mahzurat al-IhramThe things forbidden while in ihram, such as perfume, cutting hair or nails, hunting and intimacy.مَحْظوراتُ الإِحْرام
- Masah al-KhuffaynWiping over footwear in wudu instead of washing the feet, once they were put on in purity.المَسْحُ عَلى الخُفَّيْن
- MinaThe valley near Makkah where pilgrims camp before Arafah and for the days after Eid.مِنى
- MiqatThe fixed boundary points where a pilgrim must enter ihram before continuing towards Makkah.مِيقات
- MuzdalifahThe open ground between Arafah and Mina where pilgrims spend the night of the tenth.مُزْدَلِفَة
- NajasahA substance counted as ritually impure, which must be removed from body, clothes and prayer place.نَجاسَة
- NisabThe minimum amount of wealth a person must hold before zakat becomes due on it.نِصاب
- NiyyahThe intention in the heart that turns an ordinary act into an act of worship.نِيَّة
- Qada (making up worship)Performing an obligatory act of worship after its proper time has passed, to make it up.قَضاء
- QasrShortening the four-rak'ah prayers to two while travelling, and combining two prayers in one time.قَصْرُ الصَّلاة
- QiblahThe direction of the Kaaba in Makkah, which Muslims face when they pray.قِبْلَة
- QiyamThe standing part of the prayer, where al-Fatihah and other verses are recited.قِيام
- QunutA supplication said standing in prayer, most often in witr or in times of crisis.قُنوت
- Rak'ahOne complete unit of prayer: a standing, a bowing, and two prostrations.رَكْعَة
- Ruku'The bowing in prayer, hands on the knees, back level, praising Allah's greatness.رُكوع
- Sa'iWalking seven times between the hills of Safa and Marwah, beginning at Safa and ending at Marwah.سَعْي
- SadaqahVoluntary giving, of any amount and at any time, to anyone in need.صَدَقَة
- Sadaqah JariyahA charity that keeps benefiting people, so its reward continues after the giver dies.صَدَقَة جارِيَة
- SalahThe formal Muslim prayer, performed five times a day at set times, facing Makkah.الصَّلاة
- Salat al-EidThe two rak'ah prayer on the morning of the two Eids, with extra takbirs and a sermon after.صَلاةُ العيد
- Salat al-IstikharahTwo voluntary rak'ahs followed by a supplication asking Allah to choose the better of two paths.صَلاةُ الاسْتِخارَة
- Salat al-JanazahThe funeral prayer, said standing over the deceased, with no bowing and no prostration.صَلاةُ الجَنازَة
- SawmFasting: abstaining from food, drink and intimacy from true dawn until sunset, with intention.صَوْم
- SiwakA twig used to clean the teeth, recommended before prayer, wudu, and on waking.سِواك
- SuhurThe meal eaten before dawn to begin a day of fasting.سُحور
- SujudThe prostration, forehead and nose on the ground, done twice in every rak'ah.سُجود
- Sujud al-SahwTwo extra prostrations that repair a mistake made by forgetting during the prayer.سُجودُ السَّهْو
- Sujud al-TilawahA single prostration made when reciting or hearing one of the Qur'an's verses of prostration.سُجودُ التِّلاوَة
- Sunnah RawatibThe regular voluntary prayers attached before or after the five obligatory ones.السُّنَنُ الرَّواتِب
- TahajjudVoluntary prayer in the night, traditionally after sleeping and before dawn.تَهَجُّد
- TahallulComing out of ihram, so that what was forbidden during it becomes permitted again.تَحَلُّل
- TaharahRitual purity, the state a person must be in before praying and, for most scholars, before touching the Qur'an.طَهارَة
- Takbirat al-IhramThe opening "Allahu akbar" that begins the prayer and closes off everything outside it.تَكْبيرَةُ الإِحْرام
- TalbiyahThe pilgrim's answering call, beginning labbayk Allahumma labbayk, here I am, my Lord, here I am.تَلْبِيَة
- Tamattu'One of the three ways to perform hajj: umrah first, then leaving ihram, then hajj from Makkah.تَمَتُّع
- TaqsirTrimming the hair rather than shaving it, the alternative way to leave ihram.تَقْصير
- TarawihThe night prayer of Ramadan, prayed in congregation after Isha through the month.تَراويح
- TashahhudThe words said while sitting in prayer, testifying to faith and greeting the Prophet.التَّشَهُّد
- TaslimThe closing greeting of peace, turned to the right then the left, that ends the prayer.تَسْليم
- TawafCircling the Kaaba seven times, keeping it on your left, starting and ending at the Black Stone.طَواف
- TayammumPurification with clean earth instead of water, when water is unavailable or would cause harm.تَيَمُّم
- UdhiyahThe animal sacrificed on Eid al-Adha and the days after it, in remembrance of Ibrahim.الأُضْحِيَة
- UmrahThe lesser pilgrimage: ihram, tawaf, sa'i and cutting the hair, and it may be done any time of year.عُمْرَة
- WitrAn odd-numbered night prayer, usually one or three rak'ahs, that closes the night.وِتْر
- WuduThe washing done before prayer: face, arms to the elbows, wiping the head, and feet to the ankles.وُضوء
- WuqufStanding at Arafah on the ninth of Dhul Hijjah, the one rite without which there is no hajj.الوُقوفُ بِعَرَفَة
- ZakatThe yearly obligatory share of qualifying wealth, normally 2.5 percent, given to those entitled to it.زَكاة
- Zakat al-FitrA small measure of staple food given for every household member before the Eid al-Fitr prayer.زَكاةُ الفِطْر
The Qur’an · 71 القُرْآن
- Al-Ahruf as-Sab'ahThe seven modes in which the Qur'an was revealed, an ease for the community; what a mode is stays disputed.الأَحْرُفُ السَّبْعَة
- Al-FatihahThe seven verse opening surah, recited in the prayer; most schools require it in every unit.الفاتِحَة
- Amthal al-Qur'anThe parables of the Qur'an: everyday images used to make an unseen truth visible.أَمْثالُ القُرْآن
- Aqsam al-Qur'anThe oaths of the Qur'an, where Allah swears by the dawn, the pen, the fig, the soul.أَقْسامُ القُرْآن
- Asbab an-NuzulThe event or question a particular verse was revealed in answer to.أَسْبابُ النُّزول
- AyahA verse of the Qur'an, and in ordinary Arabic a sign.آيَة
- BasmalahThe opening line In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful, found before nearly every surah.بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحيم
- Gharib al-Qur'anThe study of the Qur'an's rare or difficult words, and what they meant to their first hearers.غَريبُ القُرْآن
- GhunnahThe nasal hum carried by nun and meem, held about two counts wherever the rules require it.الغُنَّة
- HadrFast recitation that still keeps every rule intact, used mainly when revising memorisation.الحَدْر
- Hafiz (of the Qur'an)Someone who has memorised the whole Qur'an and can recite it from memory.الحافِظ
- Hafs an AsimThe reading found in most printed mushafs today, transmitted by Hafs from his teacher Asim of Kufa.حَفْصٌ عَنْ عاصِم
- HifzMemorising the Qur'an by heart, traditionally with a teacher who hears you every day.الحِفْظ
- HizbHalf a juz; the Qur'an is divided into sixty hizbs for steady daily reading.حِزْب
- Huruf Muqatta'atThe single letters that open twenty nine surahs, such as Alif Lam Mim, recited letter by letter.الحُروفُ المُقَطَّعَة
- I'jaz al-Qur'anThe Qur'an's inimitability: that no one can produce its like, and the standing challenge to try.إِعْجازُ القُرْآن
- IdghamMerging a nun sakinah or tanwin into the letter that follows, so the two are said as one.الإِدْغام
- Ijazah (in recitation)A licence to teach a reading, granted after reciting the entire Qur'an to a qualified teacher.إِجازَة
- IkhfaHiding a nun sakinah or tanwin: not clear, not merged, held with a nasal hum for two counts.الإِخْفاء
- ImalahTilting a fatha towards a kasra, so the vowel lands somewhere between an a and an e.الإِمالَة
- IqlabTurning a nun sakinah or tanwin into a meem when the next letter is ba, held with a hum.الإِقْلاب
- IsrailiyyatStories from earlier scriptures that entered tafsir to supply details the Qur'an deliberately leaves out.الإِسْرائيليّات
- Isti'adhahSaying I seek refuge with Allah from the accursed Shaytan before beginning to recite.الاسْتِعاذَة
- IzharPronouncing a nun sakinah or tanwin clearly, with no nasal hum, before one of six throat letters.الإِظْهار
- Jam' al-Qur'anThe gathering of the Qur'an into one written volume, carried out under Abu Bakr and then Uthman.جَمْعُ القُرْآن
- JuzOne of the thirty roughly equal parts the Qur'an is divided into, for reading it over a month.جُزْء
- Juz AmmaThe thirtieth and last part of the Qur'an, running from Surah an-Naba to the end.جُزْءُ عَمَّ
- Khatm al-Qur'anCompleting a full reading of the Qur'an from beginning to end.خَتْمُ القُرْآن
- LahnA mistake in recitation: the clear kind changes letters or vowels, the hidden kind breaks finer rules.اللَّحْن
- MadaniA verse or surah revealed after the migration to Madinah, whatever place it came down in.مَدَنِيّ
- MaddLengthening a vowel with alif, waw or ya, held for a set number of counts.المَدّ
- Makharij al-HurufThe points in the mouth, throat and nose where each Arabic letter is produced.مَخارِجُ الحُروف
- MakkiA verse or surah revealed before the migration to Madinah, whatever place it came down in.مَكِّيّ
- ManzilOne of seven divisions of the Qur'an, used by those who complete a full reading each week.مَنْزِل
- MufassalThe last stretch of the Qur'an, from about Surah Qaf to the end, made up of shorter surahs.المُفَصَّل
- MufassirA scholar who writes or teaches tafsir, trained in Arabic, the readings, the Sunnah and the occasions.المُفَسِّر
- Muhkam and MutashabihThe clear verses whose meaning is decisive, and the verses that can carry more than one meaning.المُحْكَمُ وَالمُتَشابِه
- Mujawwad and MurattalTwo recorded styles: mujawwad is slow and ornamented for listening, murattal is even and plain.المُجَوَّد وَالمُرَتَّل
- MunasabahThe study of how verses and surahs connect, and why they sit in the order they do.المُناسَبَة
- Muraja'ahRevision of what you have memorised, the daily work that keeps the Qur'an from slipping away.المُراجَعَة
- MushafA physical copy of the Qur'an: the pages, ink and binding, as distinct from the revelation itself.المُصْحَف
- Nasikh and MansukhAbrogation: a later ruling replacing an earlier one, the abrogating verse and the abrogated verse.النّاسِخُ وَالمَنْسوخ
- Nun Sakinah and TanwinA nun carrying no vowel, or a tanwin ending, which triggers four tajwid rules depending on what follows.النّونُ السّاكِنَةُ وَالتَّنْوين
- Nuzul al-Qur'anThe sending down of the Qur'an: gradually, over roughly twenty three years, alongside real events.نُزولُ القُرْآن
- QalqalahThe slight bounce on five letters when they carry no vowel: qaf, taa, ba, jim and dal.القَلْقَلَة
- QariA reciter of the Qur'an; in the classical sense, one trained and certified in a particular reading.القارِئ
- Qira'atThe canonical ways of reciting the Qur'an, each carried by chain from the Prophet through a named reader.القِراءات
- Qur'anThe speech of Allah revealed to Muhammad in Arabic over about twenty three years, preserved word for word.القُرْآن
- Rasm UthmaniThe spelling of the Uthmanic copies, kept in mushafs even where it differs from modern Arabic spelling.الرَّسْمُ العُثْمانِيّ
- Rub' al-HizbA quarter of a hizb, shown by the small ornamental star in the margin of the mushaf.رُبْعُ الحِزْب
- Ruku' (Qur'an division)A short thematic passage marked with a small ain in the margin, mostly in South Asian mushafs.رُكوع
- Sadaqallahu al-AzimThe phrase Allah the Magnificent has spoken the truth, often said on finishing a recitation.صَدَقَ اللهُ العَظيم
- Sajdah TilawahThe prostration made on reaching one of the Qur'an's marked verses of prostration, in prayer or outside it.سَجْدَةُ التِّلاوَة
- SaktahA brief silence held without taking a breath, then the recitation carries straight on.السَّكْتَة
- Sifat al-HurufThe qualities of each letter: whispered or voiced, heavy or light, tense or flowing.صِفاتُ الحُروف
- SurahA chapter of the Qur'an; there are 114, arranged in the mushaf rather than by date of revelation.سورَة
- Ta'wilInterpretation, and in a second sense the reality a statement finally turns out to refer to.التَّأْويل
- TadabburSlow reflection on the Qur'an, letting a verse work on you instead of passing over it.التَّدَبُّر
- TadwirThe middle speed of recitation, sitting between the slow tartil and the quick hadr.التَّدْوير
- Tafkhim and TarqiqHeavy and light pronunciation: some letters fill the mouth, others stay thin.التَّفْخيمُ وَالتَّرْقيق
- TafsirExplanation of the Qur'an: what a verse means, why it came, and what it asks of you.التَّفْسير
- Tafsir bi'l-Ma'thurTafsir built on transmitted reports, as against tafsir bi'r-ra'y, which reasons from language and principle.التَّفْسيرُ بِالمَأْثور
- TajwidThe rules for pronouncing the Qur'an correctly: each letter from its place, with its proper qualities.التَّجْويد
- TarjamahA translation of the Qur'an, properly called a translation of the meanings rather than the Qur'an itself.تَرْجَمَةُ القُرْآن
- TartilReciting slowly and distinctly, giving every letter its right, as the Qur'an itself instructs.التَّرْتيل
- TilawahReciting the Qur'an aloud, following its words closely rather than merely reading over them.التِّلاوَة
- Touching the MushafWhether wudu is needed to hold a copy of the Qur'an; the four schools say yes, a minority disagrees.مَسُّ المُصْحَف
- Tuhfat al-AtfalThe beginner's tajwid poem students memorise, alongside al-Jazariyyah and, for the readings, ash-Shatibiyyah.تُحْفَةُ الأَطْفال
- Ulum al-Qur'anThe family of disciplines that study how the Qur'an was revealed, collected, recited, read and interpreted.عُلومُ القُرْآن
- Waqf (in recitation)Where you stop while reciting, and where you may not, shown by small letters above the line.الوَقْف
- Warsh an NafiThe reading common in North and West Africa, transmitted by Warsh from Nafi of Madinah.وَرْشٌ عَنْ نافِع
Hadith · 74 الحَدِيث
- AdalahThe uprightness of a narrator: sane, adult, Muslim, not openly sinful, not known for shameful habits.العَدَالَة
- AhadAny hadith that does not reach the level of mutawatir, however strong its single chain may be.الآحَاد
- Al-Arba'in al-NawawiyyahAl-Nawawi's short collection of foundational hadiths, the first hadith text most students memorise.الأَرْبَعُونَ النَّوَوِيَّة
- Al-Kutub al-Arba'ahThe four main hadith collections of Twelver Shia Islam, a separate corpus from the Sunni six books.الكُتُبُ الأَرْبَعَة
- Amal Ahl al-MadinahThe living practice of Madinah, treated by Malik as evidence that can outweigh a single chain report.عَمَلُ أَهْلِ المَدِينَة
- An'anahA chain that says only from so and so, without stating that the narrator actually heard the report.العَنْعَنَة
- AtharA report from a Companion or a follower rather than from the Prophet himself.الأَثَر
- AzizA hadith which at no stage of its chain has fewer than two narrators.العَزِيز
- Da'ifA hadith that fails one of the conditions of soundness, through a broken chain or a faulty narrator.الضَّعِيف
- DabtThe accuracy of a narrator: how well he held the report, in memory or in a guarded book.الضَّبْط
- Fada'il al-A'malThe old question of whether a weak hadith may be used to encourage deeds already known to be good.فَضَائِلُ الأَعْمَال
- GharibA hadith narrated by only one person at some point in its chain.الغَرِيب
- HadithA report of what the Prophet Muhammad said, did, or quietly approved, passed down through named narrators.الحَدِيث
- Hadith QudsiA hadith in which the Prophet reports words from Allah that are not part of the Qur'an.الحَدِيثُ القُدْسِيّ
- HafizIn hadith, a master who has memorised a very large number of reports together with their chains.الحَافِظ
- HasanA hadith meeting every condition of sahih except that one narrator's accuracy falls slightly short.الحَسَن
- Hasan li-ghayrihiA weak hadith raised to the level of hasan because other chains carry the same meaning.الحَسَنُ لِغَيْرِهِ
- Hasan SahihAl-Tirmidhi's double grading, which later scholars have explained in several different ways.حَسَنٌ صَحِيح
- HukmThe verdict placed on a hadith, such as sahih, hasan, weak or fabricated.الحُكْم
- I'tibarThe search through the books for other chains of a hadith, to see whether anything supports it.الاعْتِبَار
- IjazahA teacher's licence permitting a student to transmit a text or a collection onward.الإِجَازَة
- IllahA hidden flaw in a hadith that looks sound on the surface, found only by expert comparison.العِلَّة
- Ilm al-RijalThe biographical science of the narrators: who they were, whom they met, and how reliable each was.عِلْمُ الرِّجَال
- IsnadThe chain of narrators who carried a hadith, listed name by name back to its source.الإِسْنَاد
- Jami'A hadith book that covers every subject, not only law: belief, manners, tafsir, history and more.الجَامِع
- Jarh wa Ta'dilThe discipline of criticising or vouching for narrators, so that a chain can be judged fairly.الجَرْحُ وَالتَّعْدِيل
- KhabarA report; scholars use the word either as a synonym for hadith or for reports not reaching the Prophet.الخَبَر
- Kutub SittahThe six hadith collections that became the standard reference set in Sunni Islam.الكُتُبُ السِّتَّة
- La asla lahuA verdict meaning the saying has no chain at all, so it cannot even be graded.لَا أَصْلَ لَهُ
- MajhulAn unknown narrator, whose identity or whose reliability the scholars could not establish.المَجْهُول
- MaqlubA hadith in which something has been switched, such as two narrators' names or two halves of a sentence.المَقْلُوب
- Maqtu'A statement belonging to a Tabi'i, one of the generation after the Companions, traced no further back.المَقْطُوع
- Marfu'A report attributed to the Prophet himself, whether or not the chain reaching him is complete.المَرْفُوع
- MashhurA hadith carried by three or more narrators at each stage, well known but short of mutawatir.المَشْهُور
- MatnThe actual wording of a hadith, the part that comes after the chain of narrators.المَتْن
- MatrukA report from a narrator the scholars abandoned, usually one accused of lying or of gross error.المَتْرُوك
- Mawdu'A fabricated report, invented and then attached to the Prophet; not really a hadith at all.المَوْضُوع
- MawqufA report that stops at a Companion: his own statement or action, not attributed to the Prophet.المَوْقُوف
- Mu'allaqA chain with its beginning cut off, where the author omits the narrators nearest to himself.المُعَلَّق
- Mu'dalA chain missing two or more narrators in a row, a wider break than munqati'.المُعْضَل
- MudrajA hadith with words inserted into it, usually a narrator's explanation that later sounded like the Prophet's speech.المُدْرَج
- MudtaribA hadith narrated in versions that clash, with no way to prefer one over the other.المُضْطَرِب
- MuhaddithA scholar of hadith who has studied the chains, the narrators and the defects, not merely read collections.المُحَدِّث
- Mukhtalif al-HadithThe science of handling two sound hadiths that appear to contradict one another.مُخْتَلِفُ الحَدِيث
- MunkarA weak narrator contradicts a reliable one, or reports alone something nobody else reports.المُنْكَر
- Munqati'A chain with a break in it: a narrator missing somewhere in the middle.المُنْقَطِع
- MursalA Tabi'i quotes the Prophet directly, leaving out the Companion who actually heard it.المُرْسَل
- MusannafA collection arranged by legal topic that includes Companion and follower statements alongside hadith.المُصَنَّف
- MusnadEither a hadith with a connected chain reaching the Prophet, or a book arranged by narrating Companion.المُسْنَد
- MustadrakAl-Hakim's supplement, gathering hadiths he judged to meet the standards of al-Bukhari and Muslim.المُسْتَدْرَك
- Mutaba'ahA second chain supporting the first through the same Companion, showing a narrator was not alone.المُتَابَعَة
- MutawatirA report carried at every stage by so many people that they could not all have agreed on a lie.المُتَوَاتِر
- Muttafaq alayhReported by both al-Bukhari and Muslim, which is the highest ordinary grade of authenticity.مُتَّفَقٌ عَلَيْه
- MuttasilA chain in which every narrator genuinely took the report from the one named before him.المُتَّصِل
- MuwattaMalik ibn Anas's early collection, mixing hadith with Companion practice and the settled custom of Madinah.المُوَطَّأ
- RawiA narrator: one of the people in the chain who heard a report and passed it on.الرَّاوِي
- RiwayahThe act of transmitting a report, and the version transmitted; its partner science is dirayah, understanding it.الرِّوَايَة
- Riwayah bi al-Ma'naNarrating a hadith in one's own words while keeping its meaning, rather than the exact wording.الرِّوَايَةُ بِالمَعْنَى
- Riyad al-SalihinAl-Nawawi's topical collection on character and worship, the hadith book most widely read by ordinary Muslims.رِيَاضُ الصَّالِحِين
- SahihA hadith that meets all five conditions of authenticity, with nothing missing and no hidden flaw.الصَّحِيح
- Sahih al-BukhariThe collection of Muhammad ibn Isma'il al-Bukhari, held to be the soundest book after the Qur'an.صَحِيحُ البُخَارِيّ
- Sahih li-ghayrihiA hasan hadith lifted to sahih because it is reported through more than one chain.الصَّحِيحُ لِغَيْرِهِ
- Sahih MuslimThe collection of Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj, second of the two Sahihs and the better organised of them.صَحِيحُ مُسْلِم
- SahihaynThe two Sahihs, of al-Bukhari and Muslim, the most rigorously screened collections in Sunni Islam.الصَّحِيحَان
- Sama'Receiving a hadith by hearing it directly from a teacher, the strongest of the ways to take a report.السَّمَاع
- SanadThe chain itself, the line of narrators supporting a text, used almost interchangeably with isnad.السَّنَد
- ShadhdhAn acceptable narrator contradicts someone stronger, so his version is set aside as odd.الشَّاذّ
- ShahidA supporting report of the same meaning narrated through a different Companion.الشَّاهِد
- SunanA hadith book arranged by the chapters of fiqh, gathering the reports a jurist needs.السُّنَن
- Tabi'iA Muslim of the generation after the Companions, who met a Companion but not the Prophet.التَّابِعِيّ
- TadlisWording a chain so that a gap or a weak teacher is hidden, without stating an outright lie.التَّدْلِيس
- TakhrijTracing a hadith to the books that recorded it, gathering its chains, and then grading it.التَّخْرِيج
- ThiqahA trustworthy narrator: upright in character and accurate in memory, the two conditions held together.ثِقَة
- Ulum al-HadithThe science of testing reports about the Prophet, deciding which are sound and which are not.عُلُومُ الحَدِيث
Law & life · 75 الفِقْه
- 'AqdA contract: a binding agreement formed by an offer and its acceptance.عَقْد
- 'AwrahThe part of the body that must be covered, which varies by person and by setting.عَوْرة
- 'AzimahThe original ruling, before any concession applies: the default rather than the exception.عَزيمة
- 'IddahThe waiting period a woman observes after divorce or a husband's death before remarrying.عِدَّة
- 'UrfLocal custom, which fiqh accepts as a decider where revelation has left a matter open.عُرْف
- AmanahA trust: anything placed in your care that you must return, or use exactly as agreed.أَمانة
- Bay'Sale: the exchange of property for property by mutual consent.بَيْع
- Bay'ahA pledge of allegiance, given to a ruler, or in Sufi orders to a spiritual guide.بَيْعة
- DarurahNecessity: the state in which something forbidden becomes permitted in order to preserve life.ضَرورة
- DhabihahMeat from an animal slaughtered in the Islamic way, with the name of Allah pronounced over it.ذَبيحة
- DhimmahThe historic covenant under which non Muslims in a Muslim state kept their religion and protection.ذِمَّة
- DiyahBlood money: compensation paid to a victim's family for a killing or an injury.دِيَة
- FardObligatory: required by decisive evidence, and sinful to abandon without an excuse.فَرْض
- Fard 'AynAn individual obligation: every responsible Muslim must perform it personally.فَرْضُ عَيْن
- Fard KifayahA communal obligation: if enough people carry it out, it is lifted from everyone else.فَرْضُ كِفاية
- FaskhAnnulment: a judge dissolving a marriage for a defect or a failure of duty.فَسْخ
- FatwaA scholar's answer to a specific question: advice, not a court judgement.فَتْوى
- FiqhThe human effort to work out Islamic law from its sources, and the rulings that result.الفِقْه
- GhararExcessive uncertainty in a contract, which makes the deal invalid.غَرَر
- HalalPermitted. Anything revelation has not forbidden, which is the great majority of things.حَلال
- HanafiThe school of Abu Hanifah, the most widely followed, known for careful reasoning and analogy.المَذْهَبُ الحَنَفِيّ
- HanbaliThe school of Ahmad ibn Hanbal, the most text bound of the four, strongest in Arabia.المَذْهَبُ الحَنْبَلِيّ
- HaramForbidden. Leaving it is rewarded, and doing it deliberately is a sin.حَرام
- HijabThe covering a Muslim woman wears in public, most often a headscarf with modest clothing.حِجاب
- HududThe small set of fixed penalties named in revelation, hedged about with very strict proof.حُدود
- IjarahHire or lease: paying for the use of something, or for another person's labour.إِجارة
- Ijma'The agreement of the qualified scholars of one generation on a single ruling.إِجْماع
- IjtihadThe disciplined effort of a qualified scholar to derive a ruling from the sources.اِجْتِهاد
- IkhtilafScholarly disagreement, which classical Islam treated as normal rather than as a crisis.اِخْتِلاف
- IstihsanJuristic preference: setting aside a strict analogy for a stronger reason of fairness or need.اِسْتِحْسان
- IstishabPresumption of continuity: what was established stays in force until there is proof it changed.اِسْتِصْحاب
- JizyahA tax historically paid by non Muslim men under Muslim rule, in place of military service.جِزْية
- KhamrIntoxicants. Wine and anything else that clouds the mind, forbidden in the Qur'an.خَمْر
- Khul'Divorce sought by the wife, usually by returning the mahr in exchange for her release.خُلْع
- MadhhabA school of law: a settled method of deriving rulings, carried by generations of scholars.مَذْهَب
- MahrThe gift of money or property the groom owes the bride, which belongs to her alone.مَهْر
- MahramA relative you may never marry, and before whom the rules of covering are relaxed.مَحْرَم
- MakruhDisliked but not forbidden: leaving it is rewarded, doing it brings no sin.مَكْروه
- MalikiThe school of Malik ibn Anas of Madinah, weighted towards the practice of that city.المَذْهَبُ المالِكِيّ
- MandubThe technical term in legal theory for a recommended act: the same idea as mustahabb.مَنْدوب
- Maqasid al-Shari'ahThe higher aims of Islamic law: what its rulings exist in order to protect.مَقاصِدُ الشَّريعة
- MaslahahPublic benefit, weighed as a legal consideration where no specific text settles the matter.مَصْلَحة
- MirathIslamic inheritance: fixed shares of an estate distributed among relatives named in the Qur'an.الميراث
- MubahNeutral: neither rewarded nor blamed, permitted and left entirely to your choice.مُباح
- MudarabahA partnership where one side provides capital and the other the work, sharing agreed profits.مُضارَبة
- MukallafA person legally responsible: sane, and past the age of puberty.مُكَلَّف
- MurabahahA sale at a disclosed cost plus markup, widely used in Islamic banking in place of lending.مُرابَحة
- MustahabbRecommended: rewarded if done, with no blame for leaving it.مُسْتَحَبّ
- Mut'ahTemporary marriage for a fixed term, permitted in Twelver Shia law and prohibited in Sunni law.زَواجُ المُتْعة
- NafaqahMaintenance: the husband's duty to provide housing, food and clothing for wife and children.نَفَقة
- NikahThe Islamic marriage contract, formed by offer, acceptance, witnesses and a mahr.نِكاح
- Niyyah (in law)Intention, which decides what an act legally is, not merely whether it is rewarded.النِّيَّة
- QadiA judge in an Islamic court, whose ruling binds, unlike a mufti's opinion.قاضٍ
- Qawa'id FiqhiyyahLegal maxims: short principles that gather the pattern behind thousands of separate rulings.القَواعِدُ الفِقْهِيَّة
- QisasEqual retaliation for murder or injury, which the victim's family may always waive for compensation.قِصاص
- QiyasAnalogy: extending a known ruling to a new case that shares the same underlying reason.قِياس
- Rada'ahMilk kinship: breastfeeding in infancy creates the same marriage bars that birth creates.رَضاعة
- RibaInterest or unjust increase on a loan or exchange, forbidden in the Qur'an in severe terms.رِبا
- RiddahApostasy: abandoning Islam after having accepted it.رِدَّة
- RukhsahA concession: permission to do the easier thing when a recognised excuse applies.رُخْصة
- Sadd al-Dhara'iBlocking the means: forbidding something lawful because it reliably leads to something forbidden.سَدُّ الذَّرائِع
- Shafi'iThe school of al-Shafi'i, known for tight textual method and a systematic theory of sources.المَذْهَبُ الشّافِعِيّ
- Ta'zirDiscretionary punishment, set by a judge for offences that carry no fixed penalty.تَعْزير
- TakafulCooperative insurance, built on mutual donation, offered as an alternative to conventional policies.تَكافُل
- TalaqDivorce pronounced by the husband, which Islamic law permits but treats as a last resort.طَلاق
- TaqlidFollowing a qualified scholar's ruling without knowing the underlying evidence yourself.تَقْليد
- Usul al-FiqhThe science of how rulings are derived: which sources count, and how they are read.أُصولُ الفِقْه
- WajibObligatory. In the Hanafi school, a step below fard, resting on slightly weaker evidence.واجِب
- Wali (marriage guardian)The male relative who contracts a woman's marriage on her behalf, usually her father.وَلِيّ
- WalimahThe wedding feast held after the marriage, and a strongly confirmed sunnah on the groom.وَليمة
- Waqf (endowment)A permanent charitable endowment: property held forever so that its income keeps serving a purpose.وَقْف
- WasiyyahA bequest: instructions for up to a third of your estate, taking effect after death.وَصِيَّة
- Zakat al-MalZakat on wealth: normally one fortieth of qualifying savings held for a full lunar year.زَكاةُ المال
- ZinaSexual intercourse outside marriage: a major sin, and one of the fixed penalty offences.الزِّنا
The heart · 74 التَّزْكِيَة
- 'AfwPardon: dropping a wrong you are owed, without the other person having to earn it.العَفْو
- 'AynThe evil eye: real harm that can follow an admiring or an envious look.العَيْن
- 'UjbSelf-admiration: being impressed by your own good deed as though you produced it alone.العُجْب
- AdabGood manner in a specific situation: the right way to sit, speak, eat, enter, and ask.الأَدَب
- AdhkarThe set remembrances of the day: morning, evening, sleeping, waking, eating, travel and distress.الأَذْكَار
- AkhlaqCharacter: the settled dispositions a person acts from before they have time to think.الأَخْلَاق
- BarakahBlessing: a quality Allah puts in a thing so that a small amount goes further than it should.البَرَكَة
- DhikrRemembrance of Allah, in set phrases and in the wider habit of not forgetting Him.الذِّكْر
- Du'aAsking Allah directly, in any language, at any time, for anything permitted.الدُّعَاء
- DunyaThe nearer life: this world, which is not condemned in itself, only when it becomes the whole aim.الدُّنْيَا
- GhadabAnger, which is not a sin in itself, and is judged by what a person does while holding it.الغَضَب
- Ghadd al-BasarLowering the gaze: turning your eyes away from what you are not permitted to look at.غَضُّ البَصَر
- GhaflahHeedlessness: not the denial of the truth, but the habit of never getting round to it.الغَفْلَة
- GhibahMentioning something about a person, behind their back, that they would dislike hearing.الغِيبَة
- HasadEnvy: wishing a blessing would leave someone, rather than wishing you had one too.الحَسَد
- HawaWhim: personal desire raised high enough that a person follows it instead of the evidence.الهَوَى
- Haya'A modesty that makes a person shrink from what is ugly, before Allah and before people.الحَيَاء
- HijamaCupping: suction on the skin with small incisions to draw blood out, practised and praised by the Prophet.الحِجَامَة
- HilmForbearance: the strength to stay calm and unhurried when you have every right to react.الحِلْم
- Husn al-ZannThinking well of people: reading an ambiguous act in the best way it can honestly be read.حُسْنُ الظَّنّ
- IkhlasDoing an act for Allah alone, with no eye on who else is watching.الإِخْلَاص
- InabahTurning to Allah as a settled direction of life, not only as a return after one sin.الإِنَابَة
- IstighfarAsking Allah for forgiveness, usually in the words astaghfirullah.الاسْتِغْفَار
- IstiqamahStaying straight: keeping to the path steadily, over years, without dramatic swings.الاسْتِقَامَة
- Kaba'irMajor sins: the ones the texts single out with a punishment, a curse, or a warning of the Fire.الكَبَائِر
- KadhibLying: saying what you know is not so, in speech, in a hint, or in a misleading silence.الكَذِب
- KhawfFear of Allah: the awareness of His justice that keeps a person from walking off the edge.الخَوْف
- Khushu' al-QalbThe heart's stillness and lowering before Allah, of which focus in prayer is one part.خُشُوعُ القَلْب
- KibrArrogance: rejecting the truth when you hear it, and looking down on people.الكِبْر
- MahabbahLove of Allah, measured less by what it feels like and more by what it follows.المَحَبَّة
- MaqamA station on the spiritual path, in the vocabulary used mainly by Sufi writers.المَقَام
- Mass al-JinnJinn touch: the claim that a jinn can affect, or enter, a human being.مَسُّ الجِنّ
- Mu'awwidhataynThe last two surahs of the Qur'an, al-Falaq and al-Nas, recited for protection.المُعَوِّذَتَان
- MuhasabahTaking account of yourself: a regular, honest review of what you did and why.المُحَاسَبَة
- MujahadahThe struggle against your own self: making yourself do the right thing when you do not want to.المُجَاهَدَة
- MuraqabahLiving with the awareness that Allah sees you, at the moment you are acting.المُرَاقَبَة
- NamimahCarrying words between people in a way that sets them against each other.النَّمِيمَة
- NasihahSincere advice: wanting good for someone and telling them, privately and without an audience.النَّصِيحَة
- NushrahUndoing magic with magic, which the Sunnah rejects, unlike undoing it with the Qur'an.النُّشْرَة
- QalbThe heart: in the Qur'an the seat of understanding and intention, not the organ alone.القَلْب
- Qana'ahBeing satisfied with enough, so that what you do not have stops taking up room.القَنَاعَة
- Qaswat al-QalbHardness of heart: the state in which reminders arrive and nothing moves.قَسْوَةُ القَلْب
- RahmahMercy: the disposition to spare, relieve and be gentle, in Allah first and in people after.الرَّحْمَة
- Raja'Hope in Allah's mercy, held by someone who is still working, not by someone who has stopped.الرَّجَاء
- RidaContentment with what Allah decrees, so the heart stops arguing with what already happened.الرِّضَا
- Riya'Performing worship so that people will see it, which empties the act of its reward.الرِّيَاء
- RuqyaReciting Qur'an and prophetic supplications over a sick or afflicted person as treatment.الرُّقْيَة
- SabrHolding yourself steady under what is hard, without complaint to creation and without giving up.الصَّبْر
- Sakha'Generosity: giving easily, before being asked, without making the receiver pay in dignity.السَّخَاء
- SakinahA stillness Allah sends down into the heart, usually at the moment it is least expected.السَّكِينَة
- Salamat al-SadrSoundness of the chest: carrying no grudge against anyone, whether or not they deserved one.سَلَامَةُ الصَّدْر
- SalawatAsking Allah to honour the Prophet, usually in the words sall Allahu alayhi wa sallam.الصَّلَاةُ عَلَى النَّبِيّ
- ShubuhatDoubtful matters: the grey band between what is clearly lawful and what is clearly forbidden.الشُّبُهَات
- ShukrGratitude that shows: knowing the gift, saying so, and using it as its Giver would like.الشُّكْر
- SidqTruthfulness: that your words, your intentions and your actions all report the same thing.الصِّدْق
- SihrSorcery: real in its effect, but powerless to harm anyone except by Allah's permission.السِّحْر
- SuhbahCompanionship: the people you sit with, treated in the sources as a cause of what you become.الصُّحْبَة
- TabarrukSeeking blessing through a person, place or object, which scholars permit narrowly and dispute widely.التَّبَرُّك
- TafakkurDeliberate reflection on creation and on your own life, treated as an act of worship.التَّفَكُّر
- TamimahAn amulet worn for protection, whose ruling depends on what has been put inside it.التَّمِيمَة
- TaqwaAn alert, careful awareness of Allah that keeps a person away from what harms them.التَّقْوَى
- TariqahA Sufi order: a lineage with a shaykh, a set litany, and a method for training students.الطَّرِيقَة
- TasawwufThe Islamic tradition of inner purification, called Sufism in English, and read very differently by different scholars.التَّصَوُّف
- TasbihDeclaring Allah free of every imperfection, most often in the words subhan Allah.التَّسْبِيح
- Tawadu'Humility: knowing your size, without pretending to be smaller than you are.التَّوَاضُع
- TawakkulRelying on Allah for the outcome while still doing the work that leads to it.التَّوَكُّل
- TawbahTurning back to Allah from a sin: stopping it, regretting it, and resolving not to return.التَّوْبَة
- TazkiyahThe purification of the self: the work of clearing the heart of what spoils it.التَّزْكِيَة
- Wara'Caution that leaves what is unclear, in order to stay safe from what is forbidden.الوَرَع
- WaswasahWhispering: unwanted thoughts thrown at the heart, whether by Shaytan or by the mind itself.الوَسْوَسَة
- WirdA personal daily portion of remembrance or recitation that a person keeps to.الوِرْد
- YaqinCertainty: knowledge that has settled to the point where doubt no longer disturbs it.اليَقِين
- ZuhdHolding the world loosely: having a thing in your hand without letting it into your heart.الزُّهْد
History · 75 التَّارِيخ
- Abu BakrThe Prophet's closest friend, his companion in the cave, and the first caliph.أَبُو بَكْرٍ الصِّدِّيق
- Abu HurayrahThe Companion who narrated more hadith than any other, from about four years in the Prophet's company.أَبُو هُرَيْرَة
- Ahl al-BaytThe Prophet's household, honoured by all Muslims, though the schools draw its boundary differently.أَهْلُ البَيْت
- AishahThe Prophet's wife, daughter of Abu Bakr, and one of the greatest scholars among the Companions.عَائِشَة بِنْت أَبِي بَكْر
- Al-Fitnah al-UlaThe first civil war among Muslims, from the killing of Uthman to the death of Ali.الفِتْنَةُ الأُولَى
- Ali ibn Abi TalibThe Prophet's cousin and son in law, raised by him, and the fourth caliph.عَلِيُّ بْنُ أَبِي طَالِب
- Am al-FilThe year an army with an elephant marched on the Ka'bah and was destroyed, around 570.عَامُ الفِيل
- AnsarThe Muslims of Madinah who took in the emigrants from Makkah and shared everything with them.الأَنْصَار
- Asharah MubashsharahTen Companions named together in one narration as promised Paradise while still alive.العَشَرَةُ المُبَشَّرُون بِالجَنَّة
- AshuraThe tenth of Muharram, a day the Prophet fasted for the deliverance of Musa from Pharaoh.عَاشُورَاء
- BadrThe first major battle, in year two, where about three hundred Muslims defeated a much larger force.بَدْر
- Banu UmayyahThe first dynasty of caliphs, ruling from Damascus for about ninety years after the Rashidun.بَنُو أُمَيَّة
- Battle of Mu'tahThe first clash with Byzantine forces, in year eight, where three appointed commanders fell in turn.مُؤْتَة
- Bay'at al-AqabahTwo secret pledges by men of Madinah that opened the way for the Hijrah.بَيْعَةُ العَقَبَة
- Bilal ibn RabahAn enslaved Abyssinian tortured for his faith, freed by Abu Bakr, and the first to call the adhan.بِلَالُ بْنُ رَبَاح
- Fath MakkahThe Prophet's return to Makkah in year eight, taken almost without a fight.فَتْحُ مَكَّة
- FatimahThe Prophet's youngest daughter, wife of Ali and mother of Hasan and Husayn.فَاطِمَة الزَّهْرَاء
- Ghar HiraThe small cave above Makkah where the Prophet was praying when revelation first came.غَارُ حِرَاء
- Ghar ThawrThe cave south of Makkah where the Prophet and Abu Bakr hid three nights during the Hijrah.غَارُ ثَوْر
- GhazwahA military expedition the Prophet led in person, as opposed to one he sent out under another.الغَزْوَة
- Hajjat al-WadaThe only hajj the Prophet performed after it was made obligatory, in year ten.حَجَّةُ الوَدَاع
- HamzahThe Prophet's uncle, called the Lion of Allah, killed at Uhud.حَمْزَةُ بْنُ عَبْدِ المُطَّلِب
- Hasan ibn AliThe Prophet's elder grandson, who gave up the caliphate to stop a war between Muslims.الحَسَنُ بْنُ عَلِيّ
- Hijr Isma'ilThe low semicircular wall beside the Ka'bah, enclosing ground that is part of the original house.حِجْرُ إِسْمَاعِيل
- HijrahThe Prophet's migration from Makkah to Madinah in 622, the start of the Muslim calendar.الهِجْرَة
- Hijrah to AbyssiniaThe first migration, when persecuted Muslims fled Makkah to a Christian king in Abyssinia.الهِجْرَةُ إِلَى الحَبَشَة
- Hijri CalendarThe Muslim lunar calendar, counting years from the Hijrah and running about eleven days shorter than the solar year.التَّقْوِيمُ الهِجْرِيّ
- HudaybiyahThe treaty of year six that looked like a defeat and opened the way to the conquest of Makkah.الحُدَيْبِيَة
- HunaynThe ambush weeks after the conquest of Makkah, where confidence in numbers nearly cost the battle.حُنَيْن
- Hurub ar-RiddahAbu Bakr's campaigns against tribes that broke away after the Prophet died.حُرُوبُ الرِّدَّة
- Husayn ibn AliThe Prophet's younger grandson, killed at Karbala in the sixty first year of the Hijrah.الحُسَيْنُ بْنُ عَلِيّ
- Imam Abu HanifahThe earliest of the four imams, a Kufan merchant whose school is the most widely followed today.أَبُو حَنِيفَة النُّعْمَان
- Imam Ahmad ibn HanbalThe imam of hadith who was flogged rather than say the Qur'an was created.أَحْمَدُ بْنُ حَنْبَل
- Imam al-BukhariThe scholar from Bukhara who compiled the Sahih, the most rigorously sifted book of hadith.مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ إِسْمَاعِيلَ البُخَارِيّ
- Imam ash-Shafi'iThe imam who wrote the first book on how law is derived, bridging Madinah and Iraq.مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ إِدْرِيسَ الشَّافِعِيّ
- Imam MalikThe imam of Madinah, who taught in the Prophet's mosque and wrote the Muwatta.مَالِكُ بْنُ أَنَس
- Imam MuslimThe compiler of the second Sahih, a student and close friend of al-Bukhari.مُسْلِمُ بْنُ الحَجَّاج
- Isra and Mi'rajThe night the Prophet was taken to Jerusalem and then raised through the heavens.الإِسْرَاءُ وَالمِعْرَاج
- JahiliyyahThe age of ignorance in Arabia before Islam, and any conduct that still belongs to it.الجَاهِلِيَّة
- Jannat al-BaqiThe main cemetery of Madinah, where much of the Prophet's family and many Companions are buried.جَنَّةُ البَقِيع
- Ka'bahThe stone cube at the centre of Makkah that Muslims face in every prayer.الكَعْبَة
- KarbalaThe plain in Iraq where Husayn and his household were killed on the tenth of Muharram, year 61.كَرْبَلَاء
- KhadijahThe Prophet's first wife and the first person of all to believe in him.خَدِيجَة بِنْت خُوَيْلِد
- Khalid ibn al-WalidThe commander called the Sword of Allah, who fought against the Muslims before joining them.خَالِدُ بْنُ الوَلِيد
- KhandaqThe siege of Madinah in year five, met by digging a trench across the city's open side.الخَنْدَق
- KhaybarThe fortified oasis north of Madinah taken in year seven, shortly after Hudaybiyah.خَيْبَر
- KhilafahSuccession to the Prophet in governing the community, not in prophethood, which ended with him.الخِلَافَة
- Khulafa RashidunThe four caliphs after the Prophet: Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman and Ali.الخُلَفَاءُ الرَّاشِدُون
- Khutbat al-WadaThe sermon given at Arafah during the Farewell Pilgrimage, months before the Prophet died.خُطْبَةُ الوَدَاع
- MadinahThe oasis city that took the Prophet in, where he governed, died and is buried.المَدِينَة
- MakkahThe valley city holding the Ka'bah, where the Prophet was born and revelation began.مَكَّة
- Maqam IbrahimThe stone Ibrahim stood on while building the Ka'bah, now under glass beside it.مَقَامُ إِبْرَاهِيم
- Masjid al-AqsaThe mosque enclosure in Jerusalem, third of the three mosques worth travelling to visit.المَسْجِدُ الأَقْصَى
- Masjid al-HaramThe Sacred Mosque in Makkah, the enclosure built around the Ka'bah.المَسْجِدُ الحَرَام
- Masjid an-NabawiThe Prophet's Mosque in Madinah, which he built himself and where he is buried.المَسْجِدُ النَّبَوِيّ
- MuhajirunThe Muslims who left Makkah for Madinah, leaving homes and property behind.المُهَاجِرُون
- Mus'ab ibn UmayrThe best dressed youth in Makkah who gave it up, taught Madinah Islam, and died at Uhud.مُصْعَبُ بْنُ عُمَيْر
- RawdahThe space in the Prophet's Mosque between his house and his pulpit, called a garden of Paradise.الرَّوْضَة
- Safa and MarwahTwo small hills in Makkah, now enclosed in a corridor, walked between during hajj and umrah.الصَّفَا وَالمَرْوَة
- SahabahThe Companions: anyone who met the Prophet as a believer and died still believing.الصَّحَابَة
- Sahifat al-MadinahThe written charter the Prophet drew up on reaching Madinah, binding its tribes into one body.صَحِيفَةُ المَدِينَة
- SalafThe first three generations of Muslims: the Companions, the Followers, and those after them.السَّلَف
- Salman al-FarisiA Persian who searched through two religions for the truth and was enslaved before finding it.سَلْمَانُ الفَارِسِيّ
- Shi'b Abi TalibThe Makkan valley where the Prophet's clan was penned by a boycott for about three years.شِعْبُ أَبِي طَالِب
- SirahThe life story of the Prophet Muhammad, told in order, from birth to death.السِّيرَة
- Tabi' at-Tabi'inThe third generation: those who met the Followers, the last age the Prophet praised by name.تَابِعُو التَّابِعِين
- Tabi'unThe second generation: Muslims who met Companions but never met the Prophet himself.التَّابِعُون
- TabukThe last expedition the Prophet led, a long march north in year nine that ended without battle.تَبُوك
- UhudThe battle at the mountain outside Madinah where an early Muslim advantage collapsed into losses.أُحُد
- Umar ibn Abd al-AzizThe Umayyad caliph whose short reign is remembered as a return to the way of the Rashidun.عُمَرُ بْنُ عَبْدِ العَزِيز
- Umar ibn al-KhattabThe second caliph, called al-Faruq, under whom the Muslim state expanded enormously.عُمَرُ بْنُ الخَطَّاب
- UmmahThe whole body of Muslims, across every land and century, treated as one community.الأُمَّة
- Ummahat al-Mu'mininThe Prophet's wives, whom the Qur'an names as mothers to every believer.أُمَّهَاتُ المُؤْمِنِين
- Uthman ibn AffanThe third caliph, called Dhun-Nurayn, who fixed the Qur'an in one agreed written text.عُثْمَانُ بْنُ عَفَّان
- ZamzamThe well beside the Ka'bah that opened for Hajar and her infant son Isma'il.زَمْزَم
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