Dictionary – Islamic Terms

Allah = God of the Quran has 99 names, and Allah is one of them

Allahu akbar = God is greatest

Abu = father of (but ibn means son of)

Ablution = washing certain part of your body as a cleaning ritual before praying

Apostate = someone who left the religion Islam. This is punishable by death

Aya = means verse. Chapter is called sura

Banu / bani = children of (referring to a tribe that claims a common ancestor)

Bay’ah = an oath of allegiance to a leader

Caliph = a chief Muslim ruler for an islamic state, governed by sharia law (islamic regulations)

Caliphate = an islamic state, governed by sharia law (islamic regulations)

Daif = weak (grading the authenticity of the hadith/sunnah.
More grades: Sahih = authentic, Hasan = good)

Dawah = ministering Islam to non-believers by preaching and putting forth arguments.

Dunya = materialistic world. Love for worldly things are seen as contrary as competition with following Islam

Eeman or Iman = strengths of faith. Belief of all six pillars of the creed of islam

Fatwa = a religious ruling that issued by scholars derived from the practices from the books: Quran, hadith, sira

Fitrah = something that is natural within humans (ex. a woman’s period or pubic hair)

Fitnah = corruption, strife fights betweens muslims that could lead to disbelief

Hadith/Sunnah = practice & sayings of the prophet, together with the quran it forms the basis of Islamic law

Halal = allowed

Haram = forbidden

Hasan = good (grading the authenticity of the hadith/sunnah. More grades: Sahih = authentic, Daif = weak)

Hajj = a mandatory religious duty for Muslims to Mecca that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime

Haqq = truth

Hikmah = Wisdom

Hijra = leave your land to live in muslim land

Ibn = son of (but abu means father of)

Iman or Eeman = strengths of faith. Belief of all six pillars of the creed of islam

Imam = someone that leads prayer in the mosque, and might have a religion’s position like priest

Infidel / kafir / kuffar / disbelievers = someone that don’t believe in islam (often associated as a dirty nickname)

Inshallah = God willingly

Islam = submission (to Allah)

Jannah = heaven

Jihad = struggle or stringing / holy fighting in Allah’s cause

Jizyah = special tax imposed on non-muslims + life “conditions that ensured their continued humiliation“

Jahiliyyah = time period before Islam, often referred to as the “time of ignorance”

Ka’bah = the famous, holy black stone in Makkah in Saudi Arabia. Muslims go around it 7 times

Kafir / kuffar / infidel = derogatory term for disbeliever

Kufr = disbelief

Madrassa = A religious school where children & adults learn islamic doctrines, both religious and political (sharia)

Masjid = Mosque

Minaret = top of a mosque

Monotheism = belief in only one god

Mushrikun (polytheists) = those who worships several gods (the worst sin, punishable by death)

Murtad = apostate, someone that left the religion of Islam, punishable by death

Munafiqeen = someone that pretends to be a muslim, but has his allegiance somewhere else in secret

Pilgrimage = religious duty to visit mecca in Saudi Arabia (once in your lifetime, which forgives all sins)

Polytheism (mushrikun) = worshiping several gods (the worst sin, punishable by death)

Pillar of islam (5): declaration of faith, prayer, charity, fasting, pilgrimage to Mecca

Quran = God’s direct words

Quranist = someone that reject every other book as source for Islam accept The Quran (they are often persecuted)

Revert = a convert

Rafida = those that denies and reject the truth

Right hands possess = female captives taken as slaves. Even if the captives had husbands, they have sex with them

Sahaba = Prophet Muhammad’s companions (most famous: Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, Ali)

Sahih hadith = authentic (grading the authenticity of the hadith/sunnah. More grades: Hasan = good, Daif = weak)

Salat = prayer

Shahada = a declaration for conversion to Islam (There is no god but God, Muhammad is the messenger of God)

Sharia = Islamic law derived from the Quran & the Sunnah

Sheikh = scholar or well educated teacher in Islamic studies

Shirk = the action, worshiping to other than Allah (the worst sin and punishable by death)

Sunni muslims = around 90% of muslim world (i.e. Saudi Arabia etc.) They consider Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman as the right successors of Muhammad.

Shia muslims = around 10% of muslim world (i.e. Iran etc.). They see Ali as correct right successor of Muhammad. They curse Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman and Aisha (Muhammad’s wife).

Sunnah/hadith = practice & sayings of the prophet, together with the quran it forms the basis of Islamic law

Sura = chapter of the Quran (while ayah means verse)

Tafsir = explanation/context of each Quranic verse by the highest scholars that lived near Muhammad’s lifetime

Tawheed = foundation of islam: God is one, and God alone deserves to be worshipped and has no partners.

Taqiyya = lies allowed by Allah to (1) save yourself from death (2) to non-muslims (3) to wife (4) to enemies

Takbir = Allah is great

Tawba = repentance from sins

Taqwa = awareness about God

Ummah = muslim community

Ulema = islamic scholars

Zakat = tax for muslims

Zalimun = wrong-doers