adhan

Muslim call to prayer.

ahl al-bayt

literally, “people of the house,” referring to members of the household of the prophet Muḥammad.

ahl al-kitāb

literally, “people of the book,” referring to Christians, Jews, and Muslims.

ahl al-sunnah

literally,“people of the sunnah,” meaning the people in the early Islamic centuries who emphasized the importance of following the practice and custom (sunnah) of the prophet Muḥammad and established the foundation for Sunnī Islam.

ʿAlī

prophet Muḥammad’s cousin and son-in-law by marriage to Muḥammad’s daughter Fāṭimah. Shīʿīi Muslims believe that ʿAlī was the first caliph to succeed Muḥammad, Sunnīs place him fourth. Shīʿīi s trace the ruling descendants of Muḥammad (imams) through him.

Allāh

God.

Allahu Akbar

literally, “God is most great,” a phrase used in the Muslim call to prayer and other occasions for glorifying God.

ayah

literally, “sign,” meaning a verse in the Qurʾān, and more generally a sign or wonder.

Bismillah

literally, “In the name of God,” referring to the phrase “Bismillah al-Rahman al-Rahim” meaning “In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate.” This phrase opens each surah of the Qurʾān as well as letters, books, speeches, ceremonies, and official documents throughout the Muslim world.

caliph

title for successor to prophet Muḥammad as political leader of Muslim community.

Constitution of Medina

constitution promulgated by Muḥammad, which established the principle of religious pluralism within a single political entity.

Dhū al-Ḥijjah

last month of the Islamic calendar and month of pilgrimage to Mecca.

dīn, deen

literally, “religion.”

Fāṭimah

daughter of prophet Muḥammad, wife of ʿAlī, and mother of Ḥassan and Ḥusayn. Considered to be an example of perfect womanhood in Islam, especially honored in Shīʿīi tradition.

Five Pillars of Islam

the five acts required of all Muslims: profession of faith (shahādah), prayer five times daily (ṣalāt), almsgiving (zakāt), fasting during Ramaḍān (sawm), and pilgrimage to Mecca once in a lifetime (ḥajj).

ḥajj

pilgrimage to Mecca, which Muslims are required to make at least once in a lifetime if they are physically and financially able. One of the Five Pillars of Islam.

hijrah

literally, “emigration,” referring to the departure of Muḥammad and early Muslims from Mecca to Medina in 622 C.E., which marks first year of Muslim lunar calendar.

īmām

prayer leader and person who delivers Friday sermon for Sunnī Muslims. Shīʿīi Muslims use Imam as title for Muḥammad’s male descendants through ʿAlī and Fāṭimah who are the rightful leaders of the Muslim community. Shīʿīi believe that Imams, although human, are divinely inspired and infallible. The term is also used as an honorific for religious scholars believed to be especially learned, pious, and just.

islām

literally, “submission (to God).”

isnād

literally, “chain,” referring to a chain of transmission among sources

Kaʿbah

cube-shaped structure in the courtyard of the Grand Mosque in Mecca, the focal point of the ḥajj (pilgrimage), and the location that all Muslims face during prayer.

masjid

mosque, place for Muslim prayer.

Mecca (Makkah)

holiest city in Islam, located in Saudi Arabia. Birthplace of Muḥammad and location of the Kaʿbah. City where Muslims go on the ḥajj (pilgrimage).

Medina

second holiest city in Islam; located in Saudi Arabia; city to which Muḥammad and the early Muslims emigrated (hijrah) when they were forced to leave Mecca; city where Muḥammad is buried.

mosque

Muslim place of prayer.

Muḥammad

prophet of Islam who received revelation of the Qurʾān. Muslims believe that he was the perfect human being (al-Insān al-Kamīl) and seek to emulate his example (sunnah), as recorded in the ḥadīth.

Muslim

(plural: muslimīn) literally, “one who submits.” Adherent of faith of Islam

nabī

literally,“one who announces”; Arabic term for prophet.

People of the Book (ahl al-kitāb)

religious group with a revealed scripture or divine revelation. Used by Muslims to refer to Christians and Jews.

pre-Islamic (Jāhilīyah)

refers to the Arabian Peninsula or to the Arabic language before the founding of Islam in the early 600s C.E.

qibla

direction of prayer for Muslims, located in Mecca..

Qurʾān

literally, “recitation”; the record of revelations received ad seriatum by Muḥammad between 610–632 C.E., forming the Holy Book of Muslims.

Quraysh

The major Arab tribe in Mecca at the time of the Prophet. Muḥammad and many early Muslim leaders came from clans of this tribe.

revelation

message from God to humans transmitted through a prophet.

salaf, salafīyah

pious ancestors, the early Muslims.

As-ṣalam alaykum

literally, “Peace be upon you”; the Muslim greeting whose response is “And peace be upon you also” or “Wa-alaykum as-ṣalam.”

ṣalāt

prayer required of all Muslims five times daily. One of the Five Pillars of Islam.

ṣawm

fasting during the month of Ramaḍan. One of the Five Pillars of Islam.

shahādah

bearing witness to or making the profession of faith: “There is no God but God (Allāh), and Muḥammad is the messenger of God.” One of the Five Pillars of Islam.

sunnah

customary practice or way of life. “al-Sunnah” refers to the approved standard of practice established by Muḥammad and early Muslims.

Sunnī

Muslims who emphasize the importance of the actions and customs of Muḥammad and the first generations of Muslims, viewing as legitimate the establishment of the caliphate, in contrast to Shīʿī beliefs (See Shīʿī). About 85 percent of all Muslims are Sunnīs.

surah

chapter of the Qurʾān.

tawāf

the circumambulation of the Kaʿbah in Mecca during the ḥajj (pilgrimage).

tawhīd

oneness of God, monotheism.

ummah

the worldwide Muslim community, community of believers.

zakāt

literally, “purification”; annual almsgiving or charity consisting of 2.5 percent of a Muslim’s entire wealth (not just income). One of the Five Pillars of Islam.

Zamzam

literally, “bubbling”; well in Mecca that Muslims believe was revealed to Hagar by God in order to preserve her and Ismāʿīl from dying of thirst. Drinking water from this well is one of the ḥajj (pilgrimage) rituals.