Term
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Definition
| ‘Servant’ or ‘slave’;commonly used as a name when coupled with one of the names of Allah. See also “ibada. |
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Term
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| ‘Commander’; originally military commander but subsequently applied to rulers and members of their families. Amir al-Muimin (‘Commander of the Faithful’): a title held by caliphs and some sultans |
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Definition
| 'Sanctity' or 'blessing' vested in and available from holy people, places or objects |
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| (Pers.) Traditional Iranian garment covering women from head to foot. See also Hijab. |
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Term
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| the 'realm of war' or those lands not under Muslim rule, where, under certain circumstances, a war or jihad can be sanctioned against unbelievers. |
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| 'Realm of Islam'; originally those lands under Muslim rule, later applying to lands where Muslim institutions were established. |
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Term
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| 'Mentioning' or 'remembering'; specifically used for Sufi rituals designed to increase consciousness of God which include the repetition of his name(s). |
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| Non-Muslim peoples afforded secuirty of life and property (dhimma) under the shari'a on payment of a poll tax (jizya). |
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| Legal decision of a mufti. |
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Term
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| 'Understanding' (of Shari'a); the system of jurisprudence based on the usul al-fiqh. |
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Term
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Definition
| 'Boundaries'; divine statutes and punishments contained within the body of the Shari'a |
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Term
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| 'Tradition' or report of a saying or action of the Prophet. One of Four roots of Islamic law. see also Shari'a, Usul al-fiqh. |
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Term
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| The annual pilgrimage to Makka. One of the five duties (rukns) of Islam, required of every believer once in his life if possible |
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| That which is 'permissible', particularly foods which comply with Islamic dietary rules |
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Definition
| Referring to the Sunni legal madhhab ascribed to Abu Hanifi. |
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Definition
| referring to the Sunni legal madhhab ascribed to Ahmad ibn Hanbal. |
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| A sanctuary; 'that which is forbidden' by the Shari'a. |
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Definition
| 'Screen'; veil traditionally worn by Muslim women in public; always covers the head, but not necessarily the face and hands. |
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Definition
| 'Emigration' of Muhammad from Makka to Madina in 622 CE, the base year of the Muslim calendar. |
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| 'The festival of the sacrifice' on the last day of the Hajj. |
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Term
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Definition
| 'The festival of breaking the fast' at the end of Ramadan. |
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Term
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Definition
| 'State of ritual consecration' during Hajj, when pilgrims wear white garments. see also Haram. |
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Term
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Definition
| an elliptical quality of beduin speech |
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Term
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| Consensus of the Muslim community or scholars as a basis for a legal decision. Shi'ites interpret it as a consensus of Imams. |
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Term
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Definition
| Individual judgement to establish a legal ruling by creative interpretation of the existing body of law. See also Mujtahid. |
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Definition
| The 'Brothers', soldiers of 'Abd al-Aziz, founder of the Saudi dynasty, and adherents of the Hanbali reformer 'Abd al-Wahhab. |
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Term
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Definition
| 'Knowledge'; in particular religious knowledge of the 'ulama. |
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Term
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| 'One who stands in front' to lead the salat, hence the leader of the Muslim community. in Shi'ite tradition, 'Ali and those of his descendants considered to be the spiritual successors of Muhammad. |
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Term
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| 'Faith' or religious conviction. |
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Term
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| 'Support'; chain of authorities transmitting a hadith, thus guaranteeing its validity. |
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Term
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Definition
| War against unbelievers in accordance with Shari'a. Also applied to an individual's struggle against baser impulses. |
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Term
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Definition
| Poll tax levied on dhimmis in a Muslim-ruled society. |
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Term
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Definition
| Cubic building in Makka containing the Black Stone, believed by Muslims to be a fragment of the original temple of Abraham. Focus of prayer (salat) and the Hajj. See also Qibla. |
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Term
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Definition
| 'Disbeliever', or infidel who has rejected the message of the Quran. |
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Term
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| 'Debate' on matters of Muslim theology and cosmology. See also Ahl al-kalam. |
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Term
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Definition
| Caliph, the 'deputy' of God on earth. In the Quran applied to Adam, and hence to all humanity in relation to the rest of creation; specifically applied to the early successors of the Prophet as leaders of the Islamic state or khilafa, and to the successors of founders of Islamic states or Sufi tariqas |
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Term
| Khajiris (Arabic pl. 'Khawarij') |
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Definition
| 'Those who go out'; members of a group of puritanical Muslim sects during Umayyad and early 'Abbasid times. |
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Term
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| 'The book', or religious scriptures. Umm al-kitab ('Mother of Scripture'): divine ur-text of which the Quran is part. |
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Term
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| 'Disbelief', an ungrateful rejection of Islam. See also Kafir. |
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Term
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Definition
| 'College', especially for religious studies. (NOT TRUE) |
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Term
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Definition
| 'Sunset', hence the prayer or salat at sunset; also Muslim 'occident', i.e., NW Africa, Moroccos, for which the French transliteration 'Maghreb' is commonly used. |
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Term
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Definition
| That which is 'beneficial'; term used for the principle of public interest in the Maliki madhhab, adopted by modern legal reformers. |
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Term
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Definition
| 'Associates' or 'clients'; status at first given to non-Arab converts to Islam. |
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Term
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Definition
| Non-Muslim religious community within the dar al-Islam. |
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Term
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Definition
| Expert on the Shari'a qualified to give rulings (fatwas) upon questions of law. |
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Term
| Mujahadin (pl. Mujahidun) |
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Definition
| Soldier fighting a holy war or jihad. |
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Term
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Definition
| Religious scholars sanctioned to make individual interpretations to determine points of law, especially among Shi'a. |
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Term
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| 'Those who stand aloof'; theologians belonging to the rationalist school which introduced speculative dogmatism into Islam. |
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Definition
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Term
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| Judge administering Shari'a |
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Term
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| Direction of the Ka'ba to which Muslims turn while praying, hence the recess in a mosque which shows it. |
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Term
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Definition
| 'Analogy'; the principle in jurisprudence used to deal with new situations not mentioned int he Quran or Sunna. |
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Term
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Definition
| 'Satisfaction'; stage through which a Sufi progresses in his search for God. |
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Term
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| Voluntary contribution of alms. |
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Term
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| 'Predecessors'; appellation of the first generation of Muslims. Salafi: term describing the twentieth-century reform movement inspired by them. |
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Term
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Definition
| Ritual worship performed five times daily, one of the 'five pillars' (rukns) of Islam. |
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Definition
| Annual fast and daylight abstinence during the month of Ramadan, one of the rukns of Islam. |
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Term
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Definition
| Descendant of 'Ali's son Husain. Sidi (local usage in the Maghreb) is applied to members of saintly lineages. |
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Term
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Definition
| Profession of faith whereby a Muslim declares his acceptance of God and his Prophet; one of the rkns of Islam. |
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Term
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Definition
| 'The path to a water-hole'; a name given to the sacred law of Islam which governs all aspects of a Muslim's life. It is elaborated through the discipline of fiqh. |
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Term
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Definition
| 'Party' of 'Ali, comprising those groups of Muslims who uphold the rights of 'Ali and his descendants to leadership of the Umma. |
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Term
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Definition
| 'Association' of partners to the divinity; idolatry. |
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Term
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Definition
| Follower of Sufism (Arabic tasawwuf), the Islamic mystic path, from suf ('wool') garments worn by early adepts. |
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Term
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Definition
| Custom sanctioned by tradition, particularly that of the Prophet enshrined in hadith. |
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Term
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Term
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| 'Authority' or 'power'; actual holder of power, as distinct from the khalifa; later common term for sovereign. |
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Term
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Definition
| 'Commentary' on the Quran. |
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Term
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Definition
| Administrative decress; reforms instituted by the nineteenth-century Ottoman sultans. |
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Term
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Definition
| 'Imitation', or the basing of legal decisions on the existing judgements of the four Sunni madhhabs. |
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Term
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Definition
| 'Path' of mystical and spiritual guidance; a term which also came to be applied to the organization through which a tariqa extends itself in Muslim society. |
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Term
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Definition
| Ritual circumambulation of the Ka'ba by a pilgrim during the Hajj or 'Umra. |
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Term
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Definition
| 'Unity' of God. Central theological concept of Islam. |
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Term
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Definition
| 'Learned men', in particular the guardians of legal and religious traditions. |
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Term
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Definition
| Community of believers, in particular the community of all Muslims. |
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Term
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Definition
| Lesser pilgrimage to Makka which can be performed at any time of the year. |
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Term
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Definition
| 'Inspiration' or 'revelation' of the Quran. |
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Term
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Definition
| Pious endowment of income originally for a charitable purpose; sometimes used as a means of circumventing the Shari'a's inheritance laws. |
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Term
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Definition
| 'Purity'; term used for a tax of fixed proportion of income and capital (normally 2.5%) payable annually for charitable purposes; one of the rukns of Islam. |
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Term
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Definition
| Sexual relations outside marriage, including both adultery and fornication, prohibited in the Quran. |
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