Key Terms

key terms

Quran

word of God and most important book in Islam

Sunnah

record of all that Muhammad did

Hadith

record of all that Muhammad said

Shariah

the law that sets out the moral and religious rules that Muslims must follow

Tawrat

Torah

Musa

Moses

Zabur

Psalms

Dawud

David

Injils

Gospels

Isa

Jesus

Sahifah

scrolls of Abraham

Ibrahim

Abraham

Rasal

prophet

risalah

prophethood

hanif

one who has inner knowledge that there really is one true God; those in pre-Islamic Arabia

khalifah

God’s representative on Earth; leader

Maryam

Mary, Jesus’ mother

Khadijah

Muhammad’s wife

Mount Hira

where Muhammad goes to pray alone

Ka’ba

building central to Islam, built by Adam

Laylat-ul-Qadr

Night of Power, first Quranic revelation given to Muhammad by Jibril

Yathrib

old name for Madinah, place that accepts Muhammad

Hijrah

Muhammad’s journey from Makkah to Madinah

Ali

cousin and son in law of Muhammad; Shia’s believe him to be the rightful successor after Muhammad

Abu-Bakr

Muhammad’s best friend, who Sunni’s believe should take over from Muhammad as leader

Umar

leader after Abu-Bakr in Sunni

Uthman

leader after Umar in Sunni

Madhi

the guided one (messiah) who will reappear on the DoJ; one of the imamate in Shia

imam

sunni- leader of the mosque, shia- successors to Muhammad as leaders of Islam

shahadah

call to prayer and one of five pillars

Al-Qadr

predestination

Israfil

Raphael

Kutub

holy books

Nuh

Noah

Usul ad-Din

the five roots in Shia Islam

Adl/Adalah

justice of God in Shia

Nubuwwah

prophethood in Shia

imamate

Shia leadership of Islam; group of 12 imams

qayamat

resurrection on day of Judgement in Shia

Janna

heaven

Jahannam

hell

al-Fatihah

the first surah (chapter) of the Quran

tawhid

belief in the oneness of God

transcendent

God is beyond all things, not limited by the rules of nature

immanent

God is always close by

beneficent

God is always kind

shirk

similar to idolatry; not loving God with all your heart and mind; hidden, minor and major

niyyah

intention behind action

insha’Allah

God has a plan for everyones life and to be discontent is therefore to go against Allah

taqwa

the awareness of God and the desire for a personal connection with Him

fitrah

an instinctive, built in need for Allah

malaikah

angels

nur

light, what angels are made of

mikael

Mikail, guardian of heaven

Jibril

Gabriel, archangel of revelation, most important to Allah

Azrail

archangel of death

Munkar and Nakir

two angels who will question each person after their death, testing their faith

Ahl al-Bayt

Muhammad’s household

Fatima

Muhammad’s daughter, who married Ali, mother to Hasan and Husayn

Raqid and Atid

‘noble recorders’; sit one on each shoulder, noting down our good and bad deeds to be read from the book on the last day

Akhirah

afterlife

Barzakh

barrier, the stage of waiting of dead souls before Judgement Day

Dajjal

the false messiah

As-Sirat

the final test to get to heaven; the narrow bridge that people have to walk over to reach heaven, or not and fall to hell