Muhammad
Founder of Islam, and final prophet
Allah
God
Muslim
One who has surrendered to the will of God
Bedouin
An arab nomad
Shaykh
Leader of the tribe, governed as first among equals
The Angel Gabriel
Told Muhammad to take down the words of Allah
Sunna
Well trodden path, and Muhammads own teachings and actions
Mosque
Muslim place of worship
Qur’an
Holy book for muslims
Sura
Chapters of the Quran
Umma
Community of believers of Muslim
Hadith
Scriptural source of secondary importance
Khadija
Muhammad’s first wife
Fatima
Muhammad’s daughter
Adhan
To call and come together to pray
Quraysh
Local tribe in Mecca that became the keepers of the Ka’ba
Ka’ba
Black cube stone building in Mecca that is the most sacred Muslim shrine
Hajj
Pilgrimage to Mecca that happens in the last month of the year
Eid al-Adha
The end of Ramadan
Hijra
Muhammad’s migration from Mecca to Medina
Caliph
Representative or delegate
Abu Bakr
Supreme leader of Islam and successor to Muhammad
Ali
Muhammad’s cousin/son-in-law
Sunni
Majority seet in Islam
Shi’ite
Minority seet of Islam that descend from Muhammad’s son-in-law Ali
Umayyads
Responsible for the foundation of Mecca
3 Main Branches of Shi’ism
Twelver Shi’is, Islam’ilis, Zaydis
Imam
The leader of the friday worship service who also delivers a sermon
Ja’far al-Sadiq
Sixth imam, considered a very great scholar
Ja’fari
Major shi’i school of religious law
Ijithad
Independent reasoning
Zahir & Batin
Zahir- apparent, real, literal
Batin- hidden, interior
Kalam
Speech or dialectic
Shari’a
The Islamic law
Faqih
An expert in Islamic jursidicture
Mufti
Somone specifically chosen to answer questions concerning the Islamic law
Fatwa
A legal opinion or decree
Qadi
Islamic judges
Sufism/Tasawwuf
Islamic mysticism, seeks direct contact with God
Fana
Extinction, the sense of loss of self in mystical experience
Dhikr
A devotional remembrance of Allah through his recitation of his 99 names
Tariqas
The way, path or method
The Three Sufi Orders
Qadiri, Christi, Soharwardi
Dervish
A sufi ascetic
Sema
Physically active meditation
Baraka
Spiritual wisdom and blessing transmitted from master to pupil
Jinn
An invisible being of fire
Nabi and rasul
Nabi-prophet
Rasul-Messanger prophet
5 Pillars
- Recitation of the creed
- Daily Prayer
- Almsgiving
- Fasting during Ramadan
- Pilgramage
Wudu
Washing
Ramadan
9th month when people fast from sunrise to sunset
Eid al-Fitr
The end of Ramadan
Salat/salah/namaz
Islamic ritual prayer
Sajda
Prostration performed in mosque
Masjid
The mosque to non-muslims
Qibla Wall
The wall of the mosque that faces Mecca
Mihrab
Semi circle niche set into the qibla wall
Minbar
A puplit in the mosque where the Imam stands to deliver sermons
Muezzin
One that calls Muslim worshipers to prayer
Madrasas
Formal colleges for the higher teaching of Islam
Jihad
Striving in the path of God
Islamist
Type of Islam that wants to go back to Sharia completely
Muslim Brotherhood
One of the first Islamist groups to emerge in the 20th century
Ayatollahs
High ranking shia claric who are experts in the law
The Ayatollah Khomeini
Member of the iranian religious establishment
Zakat
Charity
Minnaret
Slender towers that shoot up from the mosque