Islam Glossary

Question	Answer
Islam	The religion that preaches Allah is the one true god. In Arabic, the word ‘islam’ means ‘to surrender’. Islam asks that followers submit or surrender to the will of Allah
Muslim	One who surrenders to Allah
Allah	Muslim word used to refer to the one true god
Qur’an	Islam’s most sacred text containing the actual words of Allah, conveyed via Muhammad. Believed to be Islam’s only miracle
Sunnah (sunnah) Plural sunan	The verbally transmitted record of the teachings, deeds and sayings, silent permissions (or disapprovals) of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Made up of many hadith.
Hadith	An individual narrated report is called a hadith.
Sura	The Qur’an is arranged into 114 Suras, or chapters. Suras generally arranged from the longest to the shortest.
Tawhid	Meaning the ‘oneness of God’ The Islamic concept of monotheism in Islam, the religion's most fundamental concept.
The shahada	The basic, and most important Islamic profession of faith, “There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is his messenger”(or similiar). One of the 5 Pillars of Islam.
Rusul	Prophet (which means ‘messenger’)
Clan	Collection of families. First loyalty is to the family.
Tribe	Collection of clans. For example, both Muhammad and Khadijah belonged to the Quraysh tribe, but different clans (families) within that tribe.
Mecca	The most sacred Islamic city. Location of the Ka’ba.
Ka’ba (Kaaba, Kaabah)	(In Arabic means ‘cube’).The holiest place in Islam. A large cube-shaped building inside the al-Masjid al-Haram mosque in Mecca.
Umma	An Arabic word meaning community;. Is used in the Qur’an to refer to the community of Muslims all over the word
hajj	(literally means ‘to set out for a place’). An annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, the most holy city of the Muslims, and a mandatory religious duty for Muslims that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by all adult Muslims who are physically and financially capable of undertaking the journey
Ihram / Ihraam	A sacred state which a Muslim must enter in order to perform the major pilgrimage (Hajj) or the minor pilgrimage (Umrah). Involves changing into white robes. Every male, regardless of race, gender, wealth, is dressed similarly (Two simple white garments). It is a reminder to be humble, and to be satisfied with a life free from distraction of possessions and earthly worries.
Miqat (Meeqat; Meequat)	Miqats are the points at which pilgrims on the Hajj put on ihrām, the pilgrim's garment made up of white cloth
salat	Daily prayer. Muslims must pray 5 times a day (dawn to sunrise; from noon to mid- afternoon; from mid-afternoon to sunset; from sunset to an hour or so after. To pray, a Muslim must face towards Mecca (especially the Ka’ba). Purpose: to demonstrate submission to the will of Allah & maintain a connection to God
sawm	For 1 month per year (Ramadan) , all Muslims (excluding women who are menstruating, breastfeeding, or pregnant, as well as very young, old, sick and travellers on long journeys) must not eat, drink or have sex between dawn & sunset. Holiest month of year.
Salam	An Arabic word that literally means "peace”. Also used as a general greeting
tawaf	A circuit of the Ka’ba
Wudu	Ritual washing to be performed in preparation for prayer and worship.
sa’y	Pilgrims perform the sa’y (mimicking Hagar’s frantic search for water for her son Ishmael after both were left to live in the desert on their own) and move quickly between the hills of Safa and Marwah. Pilgrims collect water from the well of Zamzam.
wuquf	Pilgrims stand, wuquf, before God, facing the Mount of Mercy, on the Plain of Arafat and pray from noon till sunset. Here the deepest prayers are said. It is the central point of the Hajj, and if missed, invalidates the Hajj.
Jamras	Large stone pillars on the Plains of Mina representing the devil.
nahr	This is a ritual sacrifice of an animal.
ulama (ulema)	A body of Muslim scholars who are recognized as having specialist knowledge of Islamic sacred law and theology.
Shar’iah	The law of complete and total submission to the will and authority of Allah. This submission leads to eternal salvation.
Ulama	(Islamic lawyers) recognised as being the most knowledgeable in matters of religious law.
Halal	Refers to those things that are permitted or allowed.
Haraam	Unlawful or forbidden things, eg, eating pork, drinking alcohol, adultery, murder.
Qiyas	Analogical Reasoning - extending established legal precedence to new matters by identifying an operative cause applicable to both situations.
Ijma	consensus of the community of scholars over a solution to legal and practical issue. When a certain ruling lasts the test of time, more and more jurists as well as people accept the ruling achieving a consensus over time.

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	Created by Royce Jan Earl Manalili about 7 years ago