A

Aisha: The daughter of Abu Bakr. She was Muhammads third and favorite wife whom he married after the death of Khadjah, his first wife. Aisha was only six years old at the time of her marriage to Muhammad.

Allah:  God in Islam

Allah Akbar: God is great

As-salamu alaykum: Muslim greeting meaning peace be upon you

B

Batil:  Falsehood

Bismillah al rahman al Rahim: In the name of God, most Gracious, most Compassionate”.

 

Burqa: An example of full hijab, it is an enveloping outer garment worn by Muslim women for the purpose of hiding her body when out in public. (some Islamic governments make it a requirement).

C

 Caliphs: The head of state in a Caliphate, and the title for the leader of the Islamic Ummah (body of Muslim believers). According to Islamic theology, the first four successors of Muhammad were the Rightly-Guided Caliphs

Caliphate: Refers to the first system of governance established in Islam, headed by Muhammads companions, the Rightly-guided Caliphs

D

Dawa:    Preaching; the missionary call to Islam; request to join Islam, and also the last ultimatum before legitimate conquest by force. Proselytizing. Dawa is a religious obligation.

Dawah Ilallah – Calling the people to the fold of Allah

Daee Ilallah – One who calls to the fold of Allah

D.I. – DATE ILALLAH

Deen:  Religion

Dar-al-harb   House of War

Dar-al-Islam   House of Islam

Dhimmi: Non-Muslim communities living under Islamic law (Sharia), who enjoy legal status but are subject to many restrictions and taxes. Also described as humans of second class, referring to the People of the Book, i.e. Jews and Christians.

E 

Eid    Holiday or festivity

F

Five Pillars: Compulsory for all Muslims. The pillars are, the shahada, salah, zakat, saum and hajj.

Fatwa   Islamic legal ruling

Fiqh    understanding, comprehension, knowledge, and jurisprudence in Islam.

G

Good: To be good for a Muslim is to submit to Allahs will and then follow the right path established by the examples set by the Prophet, and as such can differ to the popular understanding of the word.

H

Hadith: The Hadith are traditions of Muhammad, giving us important information about his life. They are usually narrations about a certain incident in which he said or did something. This is how Muslims determine the Sunnah (Muhammads way of life.) It is key to Islam since Muslims are commanded to obey Muhammad and emulate him. In fact, four out of five of Islams Pillars would not exist without the Hadith, therefore making Islam impossible to practice.

Haq:  truth in Islam

Hajj: Annual (and often dangerous) pilgrimage to the Kaaba in Mecca

Halal: What is permitted if not mandatory. It defines all that is good or acceptable for a Muslim.

Haram: (opposite of halal); sinful; unlawful; forbidden

Hijab: a traditional scarf worn by Muslim women to cover the hair and neck and sometimes the face

 

Hijra: Due to growing animosity between the pagan and Muslim Meccans in 622 AD, Muhammad and his followers fled to Medina, marking the beginning of the Hijra (Migration) era of the Islamic lunar calendar and Muhammads metamorphosis from a preacher to a political and military leader.

I

Ikhwan:  Another word for Muslim Brotherhood

Infidel: a person who does not accept the Islamic faith; kaffir.

Insha allah:  God willing

Iqamatuddeen: – A Quranic terminology for introducing, spreading and establishing the Deen of Allah

I M 0 A: Islamic movement of America

I M:  Islamic movement

Imam   leader of mosque, and community affairs

J

Jihad:  referring to the waging of wars of aggression and conquest against non-Muslims in order to bring them and their territories under Islamic rule.

Jinn   Spirtual beings

Jizya: tax levied on non-Muslims by an Islamic state

Jummah:  Friday prayer

K

Kaffir: a non-Muslim or infidel

Kitman: to hide or to conceal

Kufi: round beany type hate worn by Muslim men

L

 

M

Madhi   “guided one”

Mecca: a city in Saudi Arabia that was the birthplace of Muhammad and is the holiest city of Islam

Medina: a city in western Saudi Arabia; site of the tomb of Muhammad; the second most holy city of Islam

Mosque   House of prayer, however in the days of Muhammed mosques were places of military operation.

Mujahideen: one engaged in jihad, fighters

N

 

P

PBUH: Peace Be Upon Him

 

Q

Qibla  Direction toward Mecca that is designated in a place of prayer

 

R

Ramadan   Month of fasting which is observed in the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. Muslims believe that it was during this month that the Quranic revelations began.

 

 S

Sharia: Archaic religious judicial system, which regulates the entire social life of Muslims and non-Muslims under Islamic dominance. Believed by Muslims to be God-given, it is immutable.

Shahada:  Islamic profession of faith, There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is the Messenger of the Allah.  The first pillar

Shirk    sin

Sufi   mystical beliefs

Sunnah: verbally transmitted record of the teachings, deeds and sayings, silent permissions (or disapprovals) of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, as well as various reports about Muhammad’s companions.

Sura: A chapter or portion of the Quran.

 

S.W.T. – SUBHANAHU WA TAA’LA

T

 

Tarbiyah – Training of a Daee in the art of Dawah

Tawhid:  Oneness, unity

 

Tayiqqa: The art of deception, a form of religious dissimulation whereby a Muslim can deny his faith or commit otherwise illegal or blasphemous acts while they are at risk of significant persecution. It is explicitly supported by Quranic verses that instruct Muslims not to take for friends or helpers Unbelievers rather than believers except by way of precaution, and to not utter unbelief except [while] under compulsion. Critics of Islam often conflate the doctrine of taqiyyah with that of lying in general, mislabeling all forms of lying as an example of taqiyya.

Tazkiyah – Purification of life- thoughts and actions

U

Ummah: The collective worldwide body of Muslim believers.

V

 

W

X

 

Y

 

Z

Zakat: A charity tax, and one of the five pillars of Islam. The majority of Islamic scholars agree that non-Muslims should not benefit from this alms giving.  One of the five pillars.