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