List of Islamic terms in Arabic

It is sometimes difficult to separate concepts in Islam from concepts specific to Arab culture, from the language itself. The Qur'an is expressed in Arabic and traditionally Muslims deemed it untranslatable, though this view has changed somewhat in recent decades. Concepts that derive from both Islam and Arab tradition, which are expressed as words in the Arabic language, and are sufficiently specific to these to require their own articles here, are:

A

adab - describes one's behaviour. For example, following the hadith rules is good adab.
adhan - (call to salah (prayer))
adl - justice especially distributive justice: social, economic, political, environmental. Shias regard 'Adl (Justice of God) as the second Pillar of Islam.
Ahlul Bayt - members of Prophet Muhammad's Household. Also known as the Masumin (infallibles; spiritually pure)
Alhamdulillah - "Praise to God!" Qur'anic exclamation.
Allah - literally "The God" (Allah is thus God in Arabic)
al-isra - "night journey" of the prophet.
akhirah - the afterlife, and accountability for present deeds
alim - "(he) who knows"; a scientist (who knows science) or a theologian (who knows religion); similar to Japanese sensei "teacher"
aqidah
arba'in - a Shi'ite religious festival that marks the end of the period of mourning for Imam Husayn
assalamu alaikum - "peace be upon you", the Islamic greeting
awra - the part of a person's body that must be covered before everybody but a spouse. It may also be used to refer to what must be concealed of a woman before non-related men
ayah (plural ayat) - a sign. More specifically a verse in the Qur'an
'azl - coitus interruptus, intercourse characterized by withdrawal of the penis before ejaculation
azhan - See adhan

B

barakah - a blessing. Also, spiritual wisdom and blessing transmitted from master to pupil

C

caliph - literally successor; refers to the successor of the prophet Muhammad, the ruler of the Islamic world

D

dajjal - the Islamic counterpart to the Antichrist; means "liar"
da'wa - the call to Islam
dervish - a Sufi ascetic
dhimmi - Jews and Christians (and sometimes others,), whose right to practice their religion is tolerated within an Islamic society, but with lower legal status. Dhimis are freed from conscription and have pay less tax than muslim. If they choose to join the army, they are totaly freed from the obligation of paying taxes for the rest of their life.

E

Eid ul-Fitr - a religious festival that marks the end of the fast of Ramadan

F

fana - sufi term meaning extinction - to die to this life while alive. Having no existence outside of God. A unity with Allah.
fard - obligatory, you have to do it. praying 5 times a day is fard
fatwa (فتاوى) - legal opinion of an (alim) binding on him and on those who follow his taqlid.
fiqh - jurisprudence built around the shariah by custom (al-urf).
fitna - trial or tribulation; originally applied to the initial schism between Sunnis and Shiites, now may refer to a period of disorder before the end of the world or any civil strife.

H

hadith - recorded saying or tradition of the prophet Muhammad validated by isnah; with sira these comprise the sunnah and reveal shariah
halal - lawful, permitted, good, beneficial, praiseworthy, honourable
hafiz - someone who knows the Quran by heart. Literal translation = memorizer or Protector.
haj or hajj - pilgrimage to Mecca. Sunnis regard this as the fifth Pillar of Islam
hanif - the 5 monotheist prophets, namely Prophet Adam, Prophet Abraham/Ibrahim, Prophet Moses/Musa, Prophet Jesus/Isa and Prophet Muhammad.
haram - (with a long a) forbidden. Antonym halal. (with a short a) sanctuary.
hijab - describes the self-covering of a woman's body for the purposes of modesty and dignity. A woman must conceal her hair and body from the sight of all men except her husband and immediate relatives. However, hijab is more than the thickness of the cloth that covers the body; hijab should be a system of behaviour of modesty and dignity.
hijra - literally migration, Muhammad's and his followers' emigration from Mecca to Medina
hima - wilderness reserve, protected forest, grazing commons, important to khalifa
hizb - one half of a juz'
hudna - cease fire (often temporary)
hudud - Literally, limits or boundaries. Usually refers to limits placed by God on man; penalties of the Islamic law which are described in the Qur'an

I

ibadah - worship, but not limited to ritual: all expressions of servitude to Allah from pursuit of knowledge living a pious life, helping, charity, humility
ihram - state of consecration for haj. Includes dress and or prayer.
ijma - the consensus of either the ummah (or just the ulema) - one of four bases of Islamic Law. More generally, political consensus itself.
ijtihad - during the early times of Islam the possibility to find a new solution to a juridical problem. Has not been allowed in conservative Islam since the Middle Ages.
ilm - all varieties of knowledge, usually a synonym for science
imam - literally leader, e.g. a man who leads a community or leads the prayer; the Shia sect use the term only as a title for one of the twelve God-appointed successors of Prophet Muhammad.
imamah/imamate - Successorship of Prophet Muhammad and the leadership of mankind. Shias regard this as the fourth Pillar of Islam.
iman - personal faith
insha'Allah - God Willing.
Islam - "submission to God".
isnad - chain of transmitters of any given hadith
isnah - process of validating the hadith; citation methodology
isra - the night journey during which Muhammad is said to have visited Heaven. See miraj.
istislah - public interest - a source of Islamic Law.
istish-haad - heroic martyrdom.

J

jahiliya - the time of ignorance before Islam was realized. Describes polytheistic religions.
jamia - "gathering", at university, at a mosque for jumuah prayer, etc.
jilbab - long outergarment
jihad - struggle. Any earnest striving in the way of Allah, involving personal, physical, intellectual or military effort, for righteousness and against wrong-doing;
*"Lesser Jihad": fighting to protect Islam from attack or oppression. In such fighting, no woman, child or innocent civilian is to be harmed, and no tree is to be cut down. Shias believe that only Prophet Muhammad and the twelve Imams had authority to declare positive jihad of the lesser kind.
*"Greater Jihad": internal struggle for the soul (nafs) against evil, e.g. to overcome the temptation to sleep when it is time to pray the morning prayer is a greater jihad.
jinn - An invisible being of fire
jumuah - Friday prayer
juz' - one of thirty parts of the Qur'an

K

kafir - "one who refuses to submit to the one true God". Kafirs include polytheists and atheists.
kalam - Islamic theology
khalifa - Man's trusteeship and stewardship of Earth; Most basic theory of the Caliphate; Flora and fauna as sacred trust; Accountability to God for harms to nature, failure to actively care and maintain. Three specific ways in which khalifa is manifested in Muslim practice are the creation of haram to protect water, hima to protect other species (including those useful to man), and by resisting infidel domination over Muslim lands, in jihad.
kufr - the manifestion of not believing in God, aspects of God's law, names and attributes.

L

la'nat - curse

M

madhab - school of religious jurisprudence, school of thought
madrasa - school, university
mahdi - "a guide". More specifically al-Mahdi (the guide) is a figure who will appear with Prophet Jesus before the end of time, when God allows it, to bring world peace, order and justice, after it has been overcome with injustice and aggression. The Shias regard the twelth Imam as the Mahdi. The Sunnis regard someone else as the Mahdi.
manzil - one of seven parts of the Qur'an
masha Allah - God has willed it.
masum - A person who does not commit sins, does not make mistakes, does not forget, etc. although he/she does have the choice to commit sins. The Shia regard Prophet Muhammad, his daughter (Fatimah) and the twelve Imams to be the fourteen Masumin.
me'ad - the Resurrection; God will resurrect all of humankind to be judged. Shias regard this as the fifth Pillar of Islam.
miraj - see isra
muhajabah - woman who wears hijab
mujahid - a fighter for Islam
munaqabah - woman who wears niqab
murshid - a Sufi teacher

N

nafs - soul, one self
nahw - Arabic grammar
niqab - veil covering the face
nass - a known, clear legal injunction
nubuwwah - prophethood. Shias regard this as the third Pillar of Islam.

P

purda - not an Arabic term; means "curtain" in Persian. Metaphorically refers to the practice of secluding women.

Q

qadi - judge of Islamic Law
qiyas - analogy - foundation of legal reasoning and thus fiqh

S

salah/salat - any one of the 5 daily obligatory prayers. Sunnis regard this as the second Pillar of Islam
salaam - Peace
sawm - fasting during the month of Ramadhan. Sunnis regard this as the third Pillar of Islam.
Sayyid - a descendent of any one of the Masumin (the fourteen infallibles)
sema
shahadah - The expression of faith: La ilaha illa Allah ("There is no god but God"). Sunnis regard this as the first Pillar of Islam
shaheed - "witness". More specifically refers to a person killed whilst striving in Islam, a martyr. Often used in modern times for deaths in a political cause (including victims of soldiers, deaths in battle, suicide bombers, etc.)
shaikh - a spiritual master
sharia/shariah - "the path to a watering hole"; the eternal ethical code and moral code based on Quran and sunnah; basis of fiqh
Sharif
shia - a follower of Prophet Muhammad and his successors (the twelve Imams), the first being Ali. Shias constitute the second largest sect in Islam.
shirk - idolatry, the sin of believing in any divinity except Allah
shura - consultation. majlis ash-shura - advisory council
sira - life or biography of the Prophet Muhammad; his moral example - with hadith this comprises the sunnah
sufi - a Muslim mystic; Sufism (tasawwuf) is a fairly recent sect in Islam.
sunnah - "path" or "example"; sunnah annabi is what the Prophet has done or said or agreed to; He is considered as the best human moral example by Muslims, the best man to follow;
sunni - the largest sect in Islam, having no single central authority
sura - chapter; the Quran is comprised of 114 suras

T

tafsir - exegesis, particularly such commentary on the Qur'an
tajwid - special manner of reading the Quran. When you do it, you get more rewards for your reading.
taqlid - blind imitation of precedent, normally of a classical jurist of fiqh, contrast to ijtihad and ijma which imply status for the community and lay public.
taqiyya - the mostly Shia principle that one is allowed to hide one's true belief in certain circumstances.
tasawwuf or sufism
tarkib
tariqa - a Muslim religious order, particularly a Sufi order
tartil - slow and measured (meditative) recitation of the Koran
tawheed - monotheism; affirmation of the Oneness of God. Shias regard this as the first Pillar of Islam. The opposite of Tawheed is shirk

U

ulema or ulama - the leaders of Islamic society, including teachers, Imams and judges
ummah or umma - the global community of all Muslim believers; international personhood of Islam
urf - custom of a given society, leading to change in the fiqh

W

wahdat al-wujud - "unity of being". Philosophical term used by some Sufis. Related to fana
warraq - traditional scribe, publisher, printer, notary and book copier

Z

zakat - tax, alms as a Muslim duty; Sunnis regard this as the fourth Pillar of Islam. Neither charity nor derived from Islamic economics, but a religious duty and social obligation.
zina - sexual activity outside marriage (covering the English words adultery and fornication)

NOTE: Wikipedia is not a general Arabic-to-English dictionary. The list above includes only those concepts sufficiently specific to Islam or Muslim culture to merit their own full articles. The prime purposes of this list are to disambiguate multiple spellings, make note of spellings no longer in use for these concepts, define the concept in one line to make it easy to pin down the one you're looking for, and provide a guide to unique concepts of Islam all in one place. There is an English/Arabic dictionary on wiktionary.

Other notes

The English word algorithm is derived from the name of the inventor of algebra - an Arabic word like alchemy, alcohol, azimuth, nadir, zenith and oasis, which mean the same as in English. Arabic numerals are what we use in English ("0", "1", "2",...). The modern Arabs in Arabia generally use the Hindi numerals. Some English words or phrases would translate very poorly into Arabic for cultural reasons, for instance the English word "crusade" would most likely be interpreted as meaning "genocide", and "infinite justice" would most likely be interpreted as meaning "divine judgement" - adl in Arabic implying Allah's justice. Probably it is best to avoid such terms for anything one intends to translate into Arabic, or knows will be translated. Some Islamic concepts are usually referred to in Persian or Turkic. Those are typically of later origin that the concepts listed here - for completeness it may be best to list Persian terms and those unique to Shia on their own page, likewise Turkic terms and those unique to the Ottoman period on their own page, as these are culturally very distinct.

References

Suzanne Haneef, What Everyone Should Know about Islam and Muslims, (Kazi Publications, Chicago), popular introduction
Ziauddin Sardar, Muhammad for Beginners, Icon Books, 1994, some sloppiness, from very modern Sufi point of view.

Category:Arab Islamic terms da:Islamiske begreber de:Liste islamischer Begriffe auf Arabisch fr:Vocabulaire de l'islam ja:イスラーム用語一覧 pt:Lista de termos islâmicos em árabe tt:Íslam süznämäse

Search box

More info

List of Islamic terms in Arabic

A

B

C

D

E

F

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

P

Q

S

T

U

W

Z

Other notes

References

Related articles

list-of-islamic-terms-in-arabic.search.ipupdater.com