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| adhan |
the call to prayer |
| Allah |
God |
| Ansar |
the "Helpers" in Medina right after the Muslims' emigration to Medina in 622 CE |
| ayat |
a verse of the Quran (also a "sign" of God) |
|
the spiritual power of a Sufi saint |
| bismillah |
the words "in the name of God, the merciful, the beneficent" with which most chapters of the Quran begin |
| baya |
oath that binds two people (e.g., ruler and subject, or Sufi master and his disciple) |
|
the remembrance of God; this term also refers to a Sufi spiritual practice in which God's name is repeated over and over |
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| fana |
a state of spiritual extinction in God (term used by Sufis) |
| faqih |
a jurist, a person who specializes in fiqh |
| Fatiha |
first chapter of the Quran; the equivalent of the Lord's prayer |
| fatwa |
a non-binding legal opinion written by a faqih |
| fiqh |
jurisprudence based on Islamic law |
|
report of something relating to the Prophet Muhammad |
| hajj |
pilgrimage to Mecca during the pilgrimage month |
| hanif |
a monotheist during the Prophet's time, but one who was neither Christian nor Jewish |
| hijab |
the veil worn by women; may take many forms or styles |
|
the Muslims' emigration to Medina in 622 CE; 1st year of Islamic calendar |
| Id |
holiday, festival; there are two major ones every year, the Feast of the Sacrifice, which marks the end of the hajj, and the Feast of Breaking [the Fast], which marks the end of the month of Ramadan |
| ijma |
the consensus of the community of scholars, one of the four sources of Islamic law |
| ijtihad |
independent legal reasoning, which requires mental effort (same root as jihad, which also means effort or struggle) |
| imam |
leader of daily prayers; among Shii Muslims, the 12 infallible guides of the community |
| islam |
surrender to God; also means "peace" |
| isnad |
the chain of transmission of a hadith |
| Jahiliya |
the "period of ignorance" preceding Islam |
| jihad |
struggle; the "greater jihad" is the mental and moral struggle for self-improvement, the "lesser jihad" is physical struggle against an enemy (.e., "holy war") |
| Kaba |
the black, cube-shaped building in Mecca which is at the heart of the pilgrimage and toward which all Muslims turn during daily prayers |
| kafir |
an infidel, a non-Muslim |
| kahin |
a soothsayer in pre-Islamic Arabia |
| khalifa |
a Caliph, political leader of the (Sunni) Muslim community after the death of the Prophet Muhammad |
| khanqah |
a Sufi hospice, a place where Sufis live and pray (Persian term) |
| khutba |
sermon given during noontime Friday prayers by the imam |
| kitab |
book, esp. religious scripture ("people of the Book" refers to Christians, Jews, and Muslims, but also to people of other religions) |
| Mahdi |
guide, messianic figure who will appear at the end of time and usher in a new order |
| masjid |
mosque |
| matn |
the text of a hadith |
| miraj |
the Prophet's ascension to heaven (part of his Night Journey to Jerusalem) |
| mufti |
a person who writes a fatwa |
| murid |
Sufi disciple |
| muslim |
one who submits to God |
| "Pillars of Islam" |
the five principal categories of worship |
| pir |
Persian term for a Sufi master or shaykh |
| qadi |
judge in an Islamic court |
| qibla |
direction of prayer (i.e., the Kaba in Mecca) |
| qiyas |
analogical reasoning, one of the four sources of Islamic law |
| Quran |
the "recitation" revealed to Muhammad by God |
| Ramadan |
the fasting month |
| rasul |
a messenger of God |
| ridda |
apostasy; the Ridda Wars were fought by Abu Bakr to bring the Arab tribes back into the Islamic fold |
| sahih |
a "sound" or reliable hadith |
| salat |
ritual prayer |
| sama |
devotional singing used by Sufis to promote concentration on God |
| shahada |
the attestation of faith and the first "pillar" |
| sharia |
Islamic law |
| shaykh |
a Sufi master or mystic |
| Shia |
followers of Ali and the other imams |
| silsila |
spiritual chain between masters and their disciples, going all the way back to the Prophet (like the isnad of a hadith) |
| Sufi |
a Muslim mystic |
| sunna |
the "way" of the Prophet; one who follows this way is called a Sunni |
| sura |
a chapter of the Quran (there are 114 in all) |
| tawhid |
the unity of God, a central tenet of Islam |
| ulama |
religious and legal scholars, literally "those who know" (the singular is alim) |
| umma |
the community of Muslims |
| urs |
celebration of a Sufi shaykh's "marriage" with God (i.e., his death anniversary celebrations) |
| zakat |
almsgiving, one of the five "pillars" of Islam |
| zamzam |
the well near the Kaba where water miraculously began to flow during Hagar and Ismail's frantic search for water |
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