Islam

Qur'an

- Islam's primary sacred text, regarded by Muslims as the direct words of Allah, revealed to Mohammed through the archangel Gabriel

Hijra

(emigration) - emigration of Muhammed and his followers from Mecca to Yathrib (Medina) in AD 622; the founding event of Islam

Sunna

(custom/tradition) - teachings/actions of Muhammed recorded in writings (Hadith) which provides the model for being Muslim; Islam's second most important authority after the Qur'an

Umma

- the community of Muslims

Shari'a

- divine law derived from the Qur'an and the Sunna; how Muslims should live

FIVE Pillars

- specific religious requirements for Muslims: (1) the confession of faith (Shahada), (2) prayer or worship, (3) fasting during Ramadan, (4) wreath sharing, (5) pilgrimage to Mecca (hajj)

Shahada

(witnessing) - confession of faith, first of the 5 pillars, central creedal statement of Islam: "There is no god except God. Mohammed is the messenger of God."

Salat

pray 5 times a day

Zakat

give to those who need

Sawm

fast one month per year in Ramadan

Hajj / haj

- 5th of the 5 Pillars, the journey to Mecca that all Muslims are to make at least once in their lifetime if they can afford it and are physically able

Mosque

- Muslim place of worship, traditionally including a prayer hall and courtyard with towers, called minarets, at the corners

Imam

(leader) - leader of the Friday worship service who directs prayers and delivers a sermon

Ramadan

- 9th month of the Islamic lunar calendar, a period during which Muslims fast, in accordance with the 5 Pillars

Ka'ba

- the stone cubical structure in the courtyard of the great mosque of Mecca, believed to have been built by Abraham and regarded by Muslims as the sacred center of the earth

Islam

surrender

AH

Muslims base their system for assigning dates on the event of the Hijra, using the abbreviation AH, meaning anno Hegirae (“in the year of the Hijra”)
Ex. AD 622 = AH 1

sura

“chapter” in the Qur’an

jihad

Sometimes counted as the sixth pillar of Islam, the general spiritual struggle to be a devout Muslim. In a more narrow context, jihad sometimes is used to refer to armed struggle (holy war) for the sake of Islam
Arabic: “exertion” or “struggle”

caliphs

The military and political leaders of the Muslim community who succeeded Muhammad after his death
Arabic: “successors”

al-jabar

Mathematical system invented by Persian mathematician Al-Khwarizmi around 820 CE (during the time when Muslims, Jews, and Christians lived next to each other in Muslim Spain)

Sunni

The division of Islam practiced by most Muslims, named after the Sunna

Shi’i

The division of Islam dominant in Iraq and Iran, originating as a result of an early dispute over leadership; distinguishable from Sunni Islam mainly by its figure of the Imam and strong messianic expectations

shi’at ‘Ali, meaning “partisans of Ali”

Sufi

“We exist in oneness with allah”

An adherent of Sufism, the form of Islam characterized by a mystical approach to Allah, who is experienced inwardly
Sufism was derived from the word suf, referring to the coarse wool garment traditionally worn by Sufis

shaykh

A teacher and master in Islam, such as the leader of an order in Sufism

al-fana

The extinction of one’s sense of separate existence before achieving union with Allah; the aim of Sufi mystics
Arabic: “extinction”

religion

(in Arabic) Implies the need to repay one’s debt to God