Islam Terms

Occultation

"Hidden" state of the twelfth Shii imam. Shiis believe that during the Lesser Occultation, the imam continued to communicate with the community through four successive appointed agents, the last of whom died in 944. During the Greater Occultation, which continues to the present, there is no special agent.

Qadi

A judge.

Mamluk

A regime controlled by slave soldiers (mamluk means "owned" or "slave") that governed Egypt, Syria, southeastern Asia Minor, and western Arabia from 1250 to 1517. It flourished as the undisputed military power of the central Muslim world.

Baqa'

Abiding or remaining in God. Used by Sufis to describe the state of perfected soul following annihilation of self (fana), which is the ultimate goal of a person performing dhikr (spiritual exercise of remembrance).

Gabriel

According to the Quran, he is an archangel sent by God to reveal the Quran to Muhammad.

'Ali

Ali was also the cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and ruled over the Islamic Caliphate, and was the first male convert to Islam. Sunnis consider Ali the fourth and final of the Rashidun (rightly guided Caliphs), while Shias regard Ali as the first Imam and consider him and his descendants the rightful successors to Muhammad. The split Islam into Shia and Sunni.

Islamic Liberation

Also known as Society of Muhammad's Youth and Islamic Liberation Organization. Founded in Egypt in the 1970s by Salih Sirriyyah. Seized the Military Engineering College in Cairo in 1974 as part of an unsuccessful plan to assassinate President Sadat; its leaders were executed and adherents imprisoned, and as a result many members went underground and/or joined other militant movements. An earlier group carrying the same name was founded in 1939 in Egypt by Mustafa al-Sibai as an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood.

Ijma

Arabic term referring to the consensus of the Muslim community. Various schools of thought within Islamic jurisprudence may define this consensus as that of the first generation of Muslims only; the consensus of the first three generations of Muslims; the consensus of the jurists and scholars of the Muslim world, or scholarly consensus; or the consensus of all the Muslim world, both scholars and laymen.

Ibn Ishaq

Author of a major biography of Muhammad that was later condensed by Ibn Hisham. The biography was an apology for the Abbasid revolution and a model for subsequent universal histories, most notably that of al-Tabari.

Badr

Battle fought in 624 by Muhammad and followers against the larger Meccan army led by Abu Sufyan. Seen as a symbol of the victory of Islam over polytheism and unbelief and as a demonstration of divine guidance and intervention on behalf of Muslims.

Shafi'i

Characterized by strong emphasis on hadith; many doctrines are attributed to early Muslims such as Muhammad's wives, relatives, and Companions. A distinguishing feature of the Maliki school is its reliance on the practice of the Companions.

Hafiz

Considered the greatest Persian poet, a master of the lyric form called ghazal, stressing the Sufi theme of an unrequited lover desperately seeking a divine beloved.

Matn

Content or text of a hadith report. Along with its chain of transmitters (isnad), one of the two main parts of a hadith report.

Jinn

Creatures known in popular belief in pre-Islamic Arabia and mentioned numerous times in the Quran, parallel to human beings but made out of fire rather than clay. Believed to be both less virtuous and less physical than humans, but like humans, endowed with the ability to choose between good and evil.

Ka'ba

Cube-shaped "House of God" located in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Focal point of the hajj pilgrimage and a world spiritual center that all Muslims face during prayer. Muslims believe that it was built by Abraham (Ibrahim) and Ishmael (Ismail); some believe Adam built it and Abraham and Ishmael only rebuilt it.

Mahdi

Divinely guided one. An eschatological figure who Muslims believe will usher in an era of justice and true belief just prior to the end of time; an honorific applied to Muhammad and the first four caliphs by the earliest Muslims. The concept was developed by the Shiis and some Sunnis into that of a messianic deliverer who would return to champion their cause.

Ihsan

Doing what is beautiful. In Sufism, it refers to a deepened understanding and experience that allow one to worship God as if one sees Him, a very personal, inner, experience. This leads Sufis to be aware of God's presence both in the world and in themselves, guiding them to act according to His will.

Hasan al-Banna

Egyptian founder of the Muslim Brotherhood (Jamiat al-Ikhwan al-Muslimun) in 1928. Held absolute personal authority over the movement and required personal loyalty and obedience from all adherents. Transformed it into a political movement in 1933. Declared that Muslims had an obligation to engage in individual, rather than collective, jihad. Advocated major principles of Islamic social justice, such as use of zakah exclusively for social expenses. Declared that the establishment of a just society would not occur through righteous thinking and good works alone, but required institutions, state intervention, and progressive taxes on income and wealth.

Sayyid Qutb

Egyptian literary critic, novelist, and poet who became an important Islamist thinker and activist. Brother of Muhammad Qutb. Believed that Islam is a timeless body of ideas and practices forming a comprehensive way of life, rendering nonadherence to Islamic law inexcusable. Interpreted Islam as a call to social commitment and activism. Initially believed that violence against the government was justified only in cases where the government used violence, but later taught that Muslims who are actively engaged in a dynamic community of faith are mandated to apply God's laws as revealed, as well as to replace any leaders who fail to do so.

Sunnah

Established custom, normative precedent, conduct, and cumulative tradition, typically based on Muhammad's example. The actions and sayings of Muhammad are believed to complement the divinely revealed message of the Quran, constituting a source for establishing norms for Muslim conduct and making it a primary source of Islamic law.

Sawm

Fasting - equired during Ramadan, the ninth month of the Muslim lunar calendar, during which all Muslims are required to abstain during daylight hours from eating, drinking, or engaging in sexual activity. Through heightened awareness of their bodily needs, Muslims come to greater awareness of the presence of God and acknowledge gratitude for God's provisions in their lives.

Eid al-Fitr

Feast of the Breaking of the Fast. Celebrated at the end of Ramadan, the month of fasting. Begins upon sighting of the crescent moon and lasts for three days

Eid al-Adha

Feast of the Sacrifice. Celebrated at the end of the annual pilgrimage to Mecca, on the tenth day of Dhu al-Hijjah, the month of pilgrimage. Unblemished animals are sacrificed in commemoration of the ram substituted by God when Abraham was commanded to sacrifice his son, Ishmael, as a test of faith.

Khadijah

First wife of Muhammad, and his only wife until her death. Mother of Fatimah and other sons and daughters of Muhammad. First person to believe in Muhammad's prophethood.

Wahhabism

For more than two centuries, Wahhabism has been Saudi Arabia's dominant faith. It is an austere form of Islam that insists on a literal interpretation of the Koran. Strict Wahhabis believe that all those who don't practice their form of Islam are heathens and enemies. Critics say that Wahhabism's rigidity has led it to misinterpret and distort Islam, pointing to extremists such as Osama bin Laden and the Taliban.

Silsila

Formal chain of spiritual descent in Islamic mysticism (Sufism); the process of transmission of ritual from original teacher to students. The origin is usually traced from Muhammad through the founder of the order to the present student.

Jihad

From the Arabic root meaning "to strive", "to exert", "to fight". Its meaning depends on the context, but usually one refers to a struggle against one's evil inclinations, an exertion to convert unbelievers, and the struggle for moral betterment of the Islamic community.

Mecca

Holiest city of Islam, birthplace of Muhammad, site of the Kaaba and the annual pilgrimage, and the city Muslims face during prayer. Holiest city of Islam, birthplace of Muhammad, site of the Kaaba and the annual pilgrimage, and the city Muslims face during prayer.

Qiyas

In Islamic law, the deduction of legal prescriptions from the Quran or Sunnah by analogic reasoning. Qiyas provided classical Muslim jurists with a method of deducing laws on matters not explicitly covered by the Quran or Sunnah without relying on unsystematic opinion (ray or hawa). According to this method, the ruling of the Quran or Sunnah may be extended to a new problem provided that the precedent (asl) and the new problem (far) share the same operative or effective cause (illa).

I'jaz

Inimitability; something wondrous or miraculous. Muslims regard the beauty of the Quran's language and the coherence of its message as a miracle, establishing the Quran's divine origin and inimitability and confirming Muhammad's prophethood.

Hanafi

Islamic school of legal thought (madhhab) whose origins are attributed to Abu Hanifah in Kufa, Iraq, in the eighth century. Most widespread school in Islamic law, followed by roughly one-third of the world's Muslims

Hanbalite

Islamic school of legal thought (madhhab) whose origins are attributed to Ahmad ibn Hanbal in ninth-century Baghdad. The official school in Saudi Arabia and Qatar, with many adherents in Palestine, Syria, and Iraq. Recognizes as sources of law: the Quran, hadith, fatwas of Muhammad's Companions, sayings of a single Companion, traditions with weaker chains of transmission or lacking the name of a transmitter in the chain, and reasoning by analogy (qiyas) when absolutely necessary. Most conservative.

Mutazilites

Islamic school of speculative theology that flourished in the cities of Basra and Baghdad, both in present-day Iraq, during the 8th-10th centuries. The adherents of the Mu'tazili school are best known for their having asserted that, because of the perfect unity and eternal nature of Allah, the Qur'an must therefore have been created, as it could not be co-eternal with God.

Hudaybiyya

It was an important event that took place during the formation of Islam. It was a pivotal treaty between Muhammad, representing the state of Medina, and the Quraish tribe of Mecca in March 628CE (corresponding to Dhu al-Qi'dah, 6 AH). It helped to decrease tension between the two cities, affirmed a 10-year peace, and authorized Muhammad's followers to return the following year in a peaceful pilgrimage, The First Pilgrimage

Murji'a

Murji'ah emerged as a theological school that was opposed to the Kharijites on questions related to early controversies regarding sin and definitions of what is a true Muslim. As opposed to the Kharijites, Murjites advocated the idea of deferred judgement of peoples' belief. Murjite doctrine held that only God has the authority to judge who is a true Muslim and who is not, and that Muslims should consider all other Muslims as part of the community. This theology promoted tolerance of Ummayads and converts to Islam who appeared half-hearted in their obedience.

Rumi

Muslim poet, jurist, Theologian, and Sufi Mystic. Initially followed existing Sufi paths, but became a visionary ecstatic in 1244 after being inspired on a new path of aesthetic and emotional mysticism, which developed into the Mawlawi (Mevlevi) order after his death. Created an aristocratic organizational structure, with hereditary succession and wealthy corporate status.

Salafi

Name (derived from salaf, "pious ancestors") given to a reform movement led by Jamal al-Din al-Afghani and Muhammad Abduh at the turn of the twentieth century. Emphasized restoration of Islamic doctrines to pure form, adherence to the Quran and Sunnah, rejection of the authority of later interpretations, and maintenance of the unity of ummah. Prime objectives were to rid the Muslim ummah of the centuries-long mentality of taqlid (unquestioning imitation of precedent) and stagnation and to reform the moral, cultural, and political conditions of Muslims.

Isma'ili Shi'ites

Named after Ismail, the eldest son of Imam Jafar al-Sadiq (d. 765), in whose progeny they have recognized a continuous line of Alid imams, they have had a complex history dating to the middle of the eighth century. A major Shii Muslim community.

Ablution

Obligatory cleansing rituals performed in order to render the believer ritually pure. Required prior to prayer for both men and women. Consists of washing the hands, mouth, face, arms up to the elbows, and feet.

Al-Bukhari

One of six canonical collections of hadith. With Sahih Muslim, considered the most authoritative among Sunni Muslims. Compiled and codified in the ninth century by Muhammad ibn Ismail al-Bukhari. He was a major collector and transmitter of Sahih al-Bukhari, one of six works of hadith widely recognized as authentic and canonical and considered the most authoritative source of hadith along with Sahih Muslim. Noted for careful testing of genuineness of hadith reports.

Karbala

One of the holiest cities of Shii Islam, often visited on pilgrimage in Iraq. Derives its fame from the martyrdom of Husayn and his followers there in 680. Spiritual center for of Shi'ites.

Imam

One who stands in front; a role model for the Muslim community in all its spiritual and secular undertakings. The title is used interchangeably with the word khalifah for the political head of the Sunni Muslim state. In legal writings the term is applied to the leader of the congregational prayers in the mosque.

Fana'

Passing away. In Sufi Islam, refers to the desired state of mystical annihilation of self, which is the state just prior to experiencing union with God.

Tariqah

Path or way; Sufi order or spiritual regimen of specific teacher or master, including devotional practices, recitations, and literature of piety. Also refers to the Sufi order as a social organization that can extend across several regions.

Ahl al-Sunnah

People of the Prophet's Way and the Community. Also known as Barelvis and Barelwis. Founded in northern India in 1880s, based on the writings of Mawlana Ahmad Reza Khan Barelwi.

Ahl al-Bayt

People of the house, or Muhammad's family and descendants. Shiis are particularly devoted to the Prophet's family, believing that they embody special holiness, spiritual power, and knowledge due to their blood relationship to Muhammad.

Quraysh

Powerful Meccan tribe at the time of the Prophet Muhammad; descendants of Qusayy, who united them. Muhammad was born into the Hashemite clan of the Quraysh tribe.

Salat

Prayer, worship . The second pillar of Islam is the prayers required of Muslims five times daily: daybreak (salat al-fajr), noon (salat al-duhr), midafternoon (salat al-asr), sunset (salat al-maghreb), and evening (salat al-isha).

Jahiliyya

Pre-Islamic period, or "ignorance" of monotheism and divine law. In current use, refers to secular modernity, for example in the work of Abu al-Ala Mawdudi, who viewed modernity as the "new jahiliyyah." The term denotes any government system, ideology, or institution based on values other than those referring to God. To correct this situation, such thinkers propose the implementation of Islamic law, values, and principles.

Taqiyya

Precautionary denial of religious belief in the face of potential persecution. Stressed by Shii Muslims, who have been subject to periodic persecution by the Sunni majority.

Halal

Quranic term used to indicate what is lawful or permitted. Most legal opinions assert the presumption that everything is halal (permissible) unless specifically prohibited by a text. Often used in conjunction with established dietary restrictions, halal can refer to the meat of permitted animals that have been ritually slaughtered.

Night journey

Refers to the journey made by Muhammad from the Great Mosque in Mecca to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem on a winged horselike creature known as Buraq, followed by Muhammad's ascension into heaven.

Isnad

Refers to the line of transmitters of a particular saying or doctrine, particularly with respect to hadith. Developed as a science in hadith study, since the chain of transmitters indicates the authority of given hadith. Sunnis and Shiis have different isnad.

Imamate

Religio-political leadership. Known as imamate in English. A major practical issue since Muhammad's death in 632.

Hadith

Report of the words and deeds of Muhammad and other early Muslims; considered an authoritative source of revelation, second only to the Quran (sometimes referred to as sayings of the Prophet). Hadith were collected, transmitted, and taught orally for two centuries after Muhammad's death and then began to be collected in written form and codified.

Zakat

Required almsgiving that is one of the five pillars of Islam. Muslims with financial means are required to give 2.5 percent of their net worth annually as zakah.

Maliki

School of law attributed to Malik ibn Anas al-Asbahi in the eighth century in the Arabian Peninsula. Originally referred to as the School of Hejaz or the School of Medina.

Kharijites

Seceders. Early sectarian group in Islam, neither Sunni nor Shii, although they originally supported Ali's leadership on the basis of his widsom and piety. They turned against Ali when he agreed to submit his quarrel with Muawiyah to arbitration; a group of his followers accused him of rejecting the Quran.

Medina

Second holiest city of Islam, to which Muhammad and early followers emigrated (hijrah) in 622 when persecuted by Meccans, and Muhammad's burial site. Originally known as Yathrib, it changed its name to "City of the Prophet" (madinat al-nabi). Place where Muhammad began to set the course for Islam to develop into a religious and political society; first he regulated the political problems of Medina by gaining assent to the Constitution of Medina, making all inhabitants into a single community.

Qiblah

Shows direction Muslims face during prayer (toward the Kaaba in Mecca) - prayer wall in the mosque into which the mihrab (niche) is set, indicating the direction of prayer.

Jafar al-Sadiq

Sixth Shii imam. The dispute over which son was to succeed him led to the split between the Twelver (Ithna Ashari) Shiis and the Sevener (Ismaili) Shiis. He founded the Jafari school of Islamic law, the most important in Shiism.

Tawhid

Tawhid is the defining doctrine of Islam. It declares absolute monotheism—the unity and uniqueness of God as creator and sustainer of the universe. Used by Islamic reformers and activists as an organizing principle for human society and the basis of religious knowledge, history, metaphysics, aesthetics, and ethics, as well as social, economic, and world order.

Ashura

Tenth day of the Muslim month of Muharram. Commemoration of the martyrdom in 680 of Husayn, Muhammad's grandson and the third imam of Shii Islam. Shii communities annually reenact the tragedy in a passion play.

Caliphate

Term adopted by the dynastic rulers of the Muslim World, referring the successors of Muhammad as the political-military rulers of the Muslim community. The first four leaders were chosen, and the rest ascended on a hereditary basis. The caliphate was abolished in 1924.

Orientalism

Term designating those who study classical texts in Asian languages (Akkadian, Arabic, Aramaic, Greek, Hebrew, Persian, Sanskrit, etc.), requiring rigorous specialized training. Flourished in Western scholarship from the eighteenth to the twentieth century. Sought to uncover allegedly essential features of Asian civilizations through the critical philological study of cultural texts. Became associated with the romantic, exoticizing impulse of nineteenth-century European culture, influenced by ethnocentrism and imperialism.

Sira

The Arabic term used for the various traditional Muslim biographies of Muhammad from which, in addition to the Qur'an and Hadith, most historical information about his life and the early period of Islam is derived.

Hajj

The annual pilgrimage to Mecca during the month of Dhu al-Hijjah. Approximately two million Muslims worldwide participate annually. Performance of the hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam, and all adult Muslims are required to perform it at least once in their lives if they are physically and financially able.

Qur'an

The book of Islamic revelation; scripture. The term means "recitation." The Quran is believed to be the word of God transmitted through the Prophet Muhammad. The Quran proclaims God's existence and will and is the ultimate source of religious knowledge for Muslims. The Quran serves as both record and guide for the Muslim community, transcending time and space.

Shia

The followers or party of Ali. They believe that Muhammad's religious leadership, spiritual authority, and divine guidance were passed on to his descendants, beginning with his son-in-law and cousin, Ali ibn Abi Talib, his daughter, Fatimah, and their sons, Hasan and Husayn. The defining element is the martyrdom of Husayn at Karbala.

Sunni

The largest branch of the Muslim community. They derive their name from Sunnah, the exemplary behavior of the Prophet Muhammad. The Sunnah guides all Muslims, but the Sunnis stress it. Around the world they commonly believe in the legitimacy of the first four successors and the belief that Islamic sects have introduced deviations.

Hijrah

The migration or journey of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and his followers from Mecca to Medina in 622 CE.

Yathrib

The original name for the city of Medina. When the Prophet went on the hijrah from Mecca to Yathrib, it was renamed Medina, the light-filled city, in his honor.

Zahir/Batin

The paradox that is stressed by Sufis between the apparent, external and the manifest; and the inner, interior, and secret. The Quran is held to contain two aspects: an outer or apparent meaning and an inner or secret meaning, often allegorical or symbolic accessed through the esoteric hermeneutical process known as tawil.

Islam

The second most widespread religion. Islam stands in a long line of Middle Eastern prophetic religious traditions that share uncompromising monotheism, belief in God's revelation, prophets, ethical responsibility, accountability, and the notion of a Day of Judgment. The term Islam is derived from the Arabic root s-l-m, which means "submission" or "peace." Muslims are those who surrender to God's will or law, rendering them at peace with themselves and with God. All believers have a religious identity that is both individual and corporate as well as a responsibility or duty to obey and implement God's will in their personal and social lives.

Abbasid

The third of the Islamic caliphates. It was rules by the Abbasid dyanasty of caliphs who built their capital in Baghdad after overthrowing the Umayyad caliphate. It was founded by Mohammad's youngest uncle.

Muslim Brotherhood

The world's most influential and one of the largest Islamist movements, and is the largest political opposition organization in many Arab states. The Brotherhood's stated goal is to instill the Qur'an and Sunnah as the "sole reference point for ...ordering the life of the Muslim family, individual, community ... and state". The movement officially opposes violent means to achieve its goals, although it at one time encompassed a paramilitary wing and its members were involved in massacres, bombings and assassinations of political opponents.

Qadariyya

Theological movement in early Islam which held that man was endowed by God with free will.

Abrogation

Theoretical tool used to resolve contradictions in Quranic verses, hadith literature, tafsir (Quranic exegesis) whereby later verses (or reports or decisions) abrogate earlier ones. Based on Quranic verse according to which God occasionally replaces older verses with better ones.

Minaret

Tower on a mosque from which the call to prayer is issued five times daily. Usually shaped like a cylindrical shaft with a spiral staircase on the inside or outside over a high, square base.

Hijab

Traditional Muslim women's head, face, or body covering, of numerous varieties across time and space, often referred to as the "veil." Hijab is a symbol of modesty, privacy, and morality. The practice was borrowed from elite women of the Byzantine, Greek, and Persian empires, where it was a sign of respectability and high status, during the Arab conquests of these empires. It gradually spread among urban populations, becoming more pervasive under Turkish rule as a mark of rank and exclusive lifestyle. Hijab became a central topic of feminist/nationalist discourse during the nineteenth-century British colonial occupation of Egypt. In the 1980s hijab became an assertion of Islamic nationalism and resistance to Western culture.

Surah

Usually translated as "chapter." The Quran is divided into 114 surahs, arranged by descending length rather than chronological order. These were divided by early commentators into the Meccan and Medinan periods of Muhammad's ministry.

Ayah

Usually translated as "verse" or "sign." Refers to divisions within surahs (chapters) of the Quran. Also used within Quranic texts to refer to evidence of God in nature, miracles confirming truth of prophetic message, revealed messages in general, or a fundamental point within a surah.

Ottoman

Vast state created by Central Asian Oghuz Turks (or Osmanlis, after the dynastic founder Osman I) from ca. 1300 to 1923; its territories ultimately encompassed southeastern Europe, Anatolia, the Middle East to Iran, and North Africa. Ottoman Islam was a syncretistic system combining the practices and beliefs of Sunnism, Sufism, and indigenous Christianity. Muslims, Christians, and Jews were organized into millets, which were responsible for both religious and secular duties in their communities. The empire eventually weakened due to large-scale corruption and nepotism, overtaxation, and misrule.

Din

Way of life for which humans will be held accountable and recompensed accordingly on the Day of Judgment. It can refer generally to any path that humans follow for their lives or more specifically to Islam as the comprehensive way of life chosen by God for humanity's temporal and eternal benefit.

Shahada

Witness. Recitation of the Islamic witness of faith, "There is no god but God and Muhammad is the messenger of God"; the first of the five pillars of Islam. Shahadah is accepted as a declaration of acceptance of Islam by a convert.

Caliph

is the head of the state in a Caliphate, an Islamic state rules by the Shari'ah law. They were the successors to Muhammad after his death.

Iman

means faith or belief. It suggests that there is security for believers against untruth and misguidance in this world and punishment in the afterlife. Faith is free choice, but it is considered a gift from God. It also assumes belief in the oneness of God.

Zahir

the exterior or apparent meaning of the Quran

Batin

the interior or hidden meaning of the Quran.

Imami Shi'ites

the largest branch of Shī'ī (Shi'a) Islam. Adherents of Twelver Shī'ism are commonly referred to as Twelvers, which is derived from their belief in twelve divinely ordained leaders, known as the Twelve Imāms and their belief that the Mahdi will be none other than the returned Twelfth Imam that disappeared and is believed by Twelvers to be in occultation.