GLOSSARY
Ādāb (singular: adab): etiquette; accepted manner of doing something
Arwāh: spiritual presence (plural of rūh)
Awliyah: plural of wali, meaning friend of Allah
Awrah: Parts of the body that must be covered in a
certain situation; private parts
Azrāil: Angel of Death
Barakah: blessing, abundance, goodness
Basmalah: Bismillahir-rahmanir-rahim
Zikr (also dhikr): remembrance of Allah
Fayz: effusion or increase of blessings, spiritual benefit
Ghusl: major or full ablution
Hadith: the sayings or actions of the Prophet Muhammad
(SAW) reported by his companions
Himmah: attention, assistance
Ibādah: act of worship. This includes all prescribed
acts of worship (e.g. salah and fasting) as well as every
act of obedience and love for Allah, inner and outer.
Imān (also iman): faith
Isti’āza: a phrase for seeking refuge in Allah (Auzu
billahi min ash-shaytan ir-rajeem Bismillahi ‘r-Rahmani
‘r-Raheem)
Istighfar: asking for forgiveness from Allah
Janabah: state of major uncleanliness, necessitating
ghusl, such as after marital intercourse or menstruation
Hatm (also khatm): reading the Quran from start
to finish
Mazhab (also madhhab): one of the four schools of
fiqh (Islamic law)
Murīd/Mureed: student of the Murshid (spiritual
guide)
Murshid: spiritual guide, living tariqa master
Nafl/Nafila: voluntary or superogatory (act of worship)
Namahram: being of the opposite gender and not
close family; somebody that one could (theoretically)
marry
Nūr: divine light
Nūrānī: pertaining to nūr, dazzling
Qadā: a “make-up” salah for any fardh salah that
was not performed at its correct time.
Rak’ah: unit of salah
Sādāt: master, leader (e.g. past master from tariqa)
Salah (also namaz, salat): the “formal” or “contact”
prayer, ritualized prayer, obligatory to be performed 5
times a day by Muslims
Salawāt: blessings upon the Prophet (SAW)
Shahādah: “witnessing”, the words of accepting Islam
(ashadu ‘an laa ilāha illa (A)llāh, wa ‘ashadu ‘anna
Muḥammada⒩ rasulullāh
Shaytān: Satan, devil
Silsilah: spiritual lineage, chain
Sitting according to Adab: a respectful manner of
sitting, as preferred during salah.
Sahūr: Pre-dawn meal partaken before fasting (especially
during Ramadhan)
Sunnah: tradition of the Prophet Muhammed
(SAW).
Sūrah: Quranic chapter
Tahajjud: salah performed in the middle of the
night (not a fardh salah)
Tariqa: way, path (refers to a specific tradition or
school of tasawwuf ), order
Tasbīh (plural: tasbīhat): a form of dhikr involving
repetition
Tawbah: repentance
Wakil: representative of murshid, proxy
Waswasa: whisperings of doubt from the Shaytān
(Satan)
Wudhū (also wud’oo): ablution performed before
prayer