Islamic Glossary

Call to prayer

The call to prayer announcing that the time of an obligatory prayer has begun.

The hereafter

The life after death, including the resurrection, the reckoning, and the final home in Paradise or Hellfire.

Occasions of revelation

The events or questions that were the occasion for particular verses to be revealed.

Verse of the Quran

A verse of the Quran; the word literally means a sign.

Blessing

A blessing from God that brings growth and goodness in a thing, a time, a place or one's efforts.

Weak hadith

A hadith that does not meet the conditions of a sahih or hasan report, usually because of a break in the chain or a weak narrator.

Remembrance of God

Remembering God with the tongue and the heart, through phrases of praise, glorification and supplication.

Supplication

Calling upon God and asking Him for what one needs, in any language and at any time.

Islamic festival

One of the two festivals of Islam: Eid al-Fitr, at the end of Ramadan, and Eid al-Adha, after the day of Arafah.

Obligatory

An act that Islam requires of a Muslim, where doing it is rewarded and leaving it without excuse is a sin.

Scholarly legal opinion

A reasoned answer to a religious question given by a qualified scholar called a mufti.

Compensation for missed fasts

The compensation of feeding a poor person for each fasting day that a person cannot make up.

Islamic jurisprudence

The branch of knowledge that explains the practical rulings of Islam, drawn from the sources by qualified scholars.

Report of the Prophet's words and deeds

A report of what the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, said, did or approved, passed on by a chain of narrators.

Pilgrimage to Makkah

The yearly pilgrimage to Makkah in the month of Dhu al-Hijjah, required once in a lifetime from those who are able.

Permissible

What is permitted by Islamic law, in food, drink, earnings, actions and relationships.

Forbidden

What God has forbidden; leaving it is rewarded, and doing it without excuse is a sin.

Good hadith

A hadith whose narrators are reliable but with slightly less precision than those of a sahih hadith.

Memorising the Quran

Memorising the Quran by heart; a person who has done so is called a hafiz.

The Prophet's migration

The migration of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, and his companions from Makkah to Madinah.

The Islamic lunar calendar

The Islamic lunar calendar, counted from the year of the Prophet's migration to Madinah and used to set religious dates.

Half of a juz

A division of the Quran equal to half a juz, giving sixty hizbs in all.

State of pilgrim consecration

The state of consecration a pilgrim enters for hajj or umrah, marked by an intention and special restrictions.

Excellence in worship and conduct

Doing good with excellence, and worshipping God as though you see Him, knowing that He sees you.

Scholarly consensus

The agreement of qualified scholars of the community on a ruling in a particular era.

Sincerity

Doing an act purely for the sake of God, without seeking praise or worldly gain.

Prayer leader and scholar

The person who leads the congregational prayer; the word is also used as an honorific for leading scholars.

Faith

Faith in God that is held in the heart, declared with the tongue and shown in action.

Second call to prayer

The call made immediately before a congregational prayer, announcing that it is about to start.

Submission to God

Submission to the will of God alone, and the name of the religion brought by all the prophets and completed with Muhammad, peace be upon him.

Chain of narrators

The chain of narrators through whom a hadith reached the one who recorded it, going back to the Prophet.

Funeral prayer

The funeral prayer offered for a deceased Muslim, along with the washing, shrouding and burial.

Friday congregational prayer

The congregational prayer held at midday on Friday, with a sermon, in place of the Dhuhr prayer.

One of 30 parts of the Quran

One of the thirty roughly equal parts into which the Quran is divided for reading.

The Night of Decree

The Night of Decree, in which the Quran began to be revealed and which the Quran says is better than a thousand months.

School of Islamic law

A school of jurisprudence that follows a consistent method of deriving rulings, named after its early imam.

Meccan and Medinan revelation

The two periods of revelation: Makki verses came before the Prophet's migration to Madinah, and Madani verses after it.

Disliked

An act that is disliked in Islam: leaving it is rewarded, but doing it is not a sin in itself.

Text of a hadith

The text of a hadith, meaning the wording of what the Prophet said or did, as distinct from its chain.

Neutral, permitted

An act that is neither commanded nor forbidden, so doing it or leaving it carries no reward or sin by itself.

Scholar qualified to derive rulings

A scholar who has the knowledge and skills to derive rulings directly from the sources through ijtihad.

Recommended

An act that is recommended and rewarded when done, but not sinful to leave.

Voluntary prayer

Any voluntary act of worship beyond what is obligatory, most often an extra prayer.

Abrogation

A term used by scholars for a later ruling replacing an earlier one in the revealed texts.

Making up a missed obligation

Making up a missed obligatory act, such as a prayer or a fast, after its proper time has passed.

Shortening prayers when travelling

Shortening the four-rak'ah prayers (Dhuhr, Asr and Isha) to two rak'ahs while travelling.

Direction of prayer

The direction of the Kaaba in Makkah, which Muslims face when they pray.

Recognised modes of recitation

The authentic, transmitted ways of reciting the Quran, each traced back to the Prophet.

Analogical reasoning

Extending a ruling from a case in the texts to a new case that shares the same underlying reason.

Month of fasting

The ninth month of the Islamic calendar, in which Muslims fast from dawn to sunset.

Patience and steadfastness

Steadfastness and patience: holding oneself to obedience, away from sin, and firm during hardship.

Voluntary charity

Voluntary giving for the sake of God, in money or in any form of help and kindness.

Companion of the Prophet

A Muslim who met the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, believed in him and died as a Muslim.

Authentic hadith

The highest grade of hadith: authentic, with a connected chain of reliable narrators and no hidden defect.

Walking between Safa and Marwa

Walking seven times between the hills of Safa and Marwa in Makkah, as part of hajj and umrah.

Ritual prayer

The five daily ritual prayers of Islam, performed facing the Kaaba at set times of the day.

Fasting

Fasting from dawn to sunset, which means abstaining from food, drink and marital relations with the intention of worship.

The divine path and law

The way set out by God for people in the Quran and the sunnah, covering belief, worship, ethics and law.

Elder or scholar

A title of respect for an elder, a teacher of religious knowledge or a person of standing.

Associating partners with God

Associating partners with God in His divinity or in worship, which is the opposite of tawhid.

Gratitude

Gratitude to God, shown by the tongue, the heart and by using His blessings in ways that please Him.

Way of the Prophet

The way of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him: his sayings, actions and approvals.

Chapter of the Quran

One of the 114 chapters of the Quran, each with its own name.

Explanation of the Quran

The science of explaining the meanings of the Quran and the context of its verses.

Rules of Quran recitation

The set of rules for pronouncing each letter correctly and reciting the Quran as it was taught.

Saying Allahu Akbar

Saying Allahu Akbar, meaning God is greater, which opens the prayer and is repeated in it.

God-consciousness

Awareness of God that leads a person to do what He commands and avoid what He forbids.

Ramadan night prayers

The extra prayers offered at night in Ramadan after the Isha prayer, usually in congregation.

Glorifying God (SubhanAllah)

Glorifying God by saying Subhan Allah, and also the name of the prayer beads used for counting.

Circling the Kaaba

Walking around the Kaaba seven times, as an act of worship.

Trust in God

Relying on God fully in the heart while taking the practical means that He has made available.

Repentance

Turning back to God from sin with regret, giving it up and resolving not to return to it.

Oneness of God

The belief that God is one, without partner, in His lordship, in His right to be worshipped, and in His names and attributes.

Dry ablution

A substitute for wudu or the full bath, done with clean earth when water is not available or cannot be used.

Recitation of the Quran

Reciting the Quran, with attention to correct pronunciation and to its meaning.

The lesser pilgrimage

The lesser pilgrimage to Makkah, which can be performed at any time of the year.

Required

An act that is required of a Muslim; in the Hanafi school it is a level just below fard.

The odd-numbered night prayer

A prayer with an odd number of rak'ahs that closes the night prayers after Isha.

Ritual ablution

The ritual washing of parts of the body that is required before prayer and some other acts of worship.

Obligatory almsgiving

The annual obligatory charity paid by eligible Muslims from their wealth, and the third pillar of Islam.