Glossary of Islamic Terms
This glossary collects terms that occur in the English full texts. The explanations are arranged alphabetically within their subject areas and serve as an initial orientation. It currently contains 92 terms. Click the magnifying glass beside a term to search the website for it.
Contents of this glossary
Creed ('Aqidah)
- Al-asma' wa-s-Sifat (الأَسْمَاءُ وَالصِّفَاتُ)
- Allah's oneness in His names and attributes — the third category of Tawhid.
- 'Aqidah (العَقِيدَةُ)
- Islamic creed.
- Alihah (آلِهَةٌ)
- Plural of Ilah; beings claimed to be worthy of worship or worshipped alleged deities.
- Andad (أَنْدَادٌ)
- Plural of Nidd; alleged equals or peers besides Allah.
- Bid'ah / Mubtadi' (بِدْعَةٌ / مُبْتَدِعٌ)
- A religious innovation that has no basis in Islam; a person who adheres to it is called a Mubtadi'.
- Dajjal (الدَّجَّالُ)
- The false prophet who, according to Islamic sources, will claim to be the returning Messiah.
- Din (الدِّينُ)
- Religion.
- Hanifiyyah / Millatu Ibrahim (الحَنِيفِيَّةُ / مِلَّةُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ)
- The pure, original monotheism of Abraham (Ibrahim); “the religion of Abraham”. Those who followed the remaining monotheism of Ibrahim in pre-Islamic times are called Hunafa'.
- 'Ibadah (العِبَادَةُ)
- Worship, devotion; linguistically related to 'Abd (servant).
- Ikhlas (الإِخْلَاصُ)
- The purification of worship exclusively for Allah — the core meaning of “Islam”. It describes the purification of religion, rites and worship from every form of Shirk.
- Ilah (إِلَٰهٌ)
- “One worthy of worship” — the core term of the declaration of faith, not synonymous with “Creator”. Its plural is Alihah. The declaration of faith negates every falsely claimed worthiness of worship apart from Allah.
- Iman (الإِيمَانُ)
- The inward faith hidden in the heart together with all related inward and outward deeds and statements; it increases through good deeds and decreases through bad deeds.
- Islam (الإِسْلَامُ)
- Here, in the narrower sense: the outwardly visible part of religion through the declaration, in contrast to inward Iman. Linguistically, Islam is connected with the verb aslama and denotes complete submission to Allah.
- Jahl / Jahil (الجَهْلُ / جَاهِلٌ)
- Jahl means ignorance, Jahil an ignorant person. It can denote mere lack of knowledge, but in some contexts also behaviour of recklessness or pre-Islamic ignorance.
- Kafir (plural: Kuffar) (كَافِرٌ / كُفَّارٌ)
- An unbeliever or non-Muslim; a person to whom Kufr is ascribed. This does not mean mere belief or non-belief in a general sense, but the entirety of inward faith, statements and deeds explained under Iman. Whether it applies to a particular person depends on prerequisites and circumstances and must not be decided rashly.
- Khawarij (الخَوَارِجُ)
- An early Islamic sect that excluded Muslims from Islam through Takfir for major sins — a historical example of excess (Ghuluww) in Takfir.
- Kufr (الكُفْرُ)
- Usually translated as “unbelief”, but it cannot be reduced to mere ignorance or non-belief. Linguistically, to commit Kufr against something means to deny it completely and dissociate oneself from it.
- Mawani'u t-Takfir (مَوَانِعُ التَّكْفِيرِ)
- Hindrances that may prevent applying Takfir to a particular person. Therefore, the general evaluation of a statement or deed must be distinguished from the ruling on a specific person.
- Munafiq (plural: Munafiqun) (مُنَافِقٌ / مُنَافِقُونَ)
- A hypocrite; outwardly a Muslim without corresponding inward Iman.
- Mushrik (plural: Mushrikun) (مُشْرِكٌ / مُشْرِكُونَ)
- A polytheist, literally “one who associates”. The word is the active participle of ashraka; it consequently denotes a person who commits Shirk.
- Muwahhid (مُوَحِّدٌ)
- A person who realises Tawhid; literally “one who makes one”, that is, the monotheist who associates nothing with Allah in worship and other matters.
- Nidd (نِدٌّ)
- An alleged equal or peer ascribed to Allah; plural: Andad.
- Rabb (رَبٌّ)
- Lord, Creator, Sustainer and Provider.
- Rububiyyah (الرُّبُوبِيَّةُ)
- Allah's oneness as Creator, Sustainer and Provider — the first of the three categories of Tawhid.
- Shafa'ah (الشَّفَاعَةُ)
- Intercession; the central justificatory theory behind pre-Islamic Arab Shirk.
- Shahadah (الشَّهَادَةُ)
- The declaration of faith — la ilaha illa-llah (“There is none worthy of worship except Allah”) — from the verb shahida (“to testify”). It is the utterance of the two parts of the declaration through which Islam is accepted.
- Shirk (الشِّرْكُ)
- Polytheism, associating partners; attributing worship or divine attributes to a being besides Allah. The opposite of Tawhid. The Arabic Qur'anic passages use verb forms such as ashraka and yushraka for this.
- Taghut (الطَّاغُوتُ)
- Anything besides Allah that is served or obeyed unconditionally (idols, tyrants).
- Takfir (التَّكْفِيرُ)
- The verdict that a person is Kafir (not a Muslim).
- Tawhid (التَّوْحِيدُ)
- Islamic monotheism; the doctrine of Allah's oneness — affirming Him as one in His creative power, His names and attributes, and in worship.
- Uluhiyyah (الأُلُوهِيَّةُ)
- Allah's oneness in worship (also called Tawhidu l-'ibadah) — the second category of Tawhid.
Qur'an and Tafsir
- At-Tafsiru l-Ma'thur (التَّفْسِيرُ المَأْثُورُ)
- Tafsir passed down through reports from the Salaf; the foundation of all Qur'anic exegesis.
- Ayah (آيَةٌ)
- A verse of the Qur'an; literally also “sign”. Plural: Ayat.
- Ayat (آيَاتٌ)
- Plural of Ayah.
- Ismu l-Fa'il (اسْمُ الفَاعِلِ)
- The active participle in Arabic grammar: a word form that denotes the person or thing performing the action of a verb; for example, Mushrik from ashraka.
- Qira'at (القِرَاءَاتُ)
- Transmitted readings of the Qur'an. They are not different editions of the Qur'an, but predominantly concern vocalisation and can in part encompass several mutually compatible meanings.
- Qur'an (القُرْآنُ)
- Allah's revelation to the Prophet Muhammad.
- Sura (سُورَةٌ)
- A chapter of the Qur'an consisting of individual Ayat.
- Tafsir (التَّفْسِيرُ)
- The science of Qur'anic exegesis, or the interpretation of a Qur'anic verse itself.
- Ta'wil (التَّأْوِيلُ)
- An interpretation of a religious text that departs from its apparent, literal meaning. This is the meaning of Ta'wil among the later generations of Islamic history. Early scholars also used the word in its original linguistic sense and often for Qur'anic exegesis (Tafsir).
Hadith, transmission studies and scholarly textual work
- Al-Jarhu wa-t-Ta'dil / 'Ilmu r-Rijal (الجَرْحُ وَالتَّعْدِيلُ / عِلْمُ الرِّجَالِ)
- The science of assessing Hadith transmitters with regard to their trustworthiness and reliability.
- Athar (الأَثَرُ)
- A report, especially from the early generations. In early usage, the word could largely overlap with Hadith; later it was often used for reports not directly from the Prophet.
- Da'if (ضَعِيفٌ)
- “Weak”; a designation for a report whose requirements for being classified as Hasan or Sahih are not met.
- Hadith / Isnad (الحَدِيثُ / الإِسْنَادُ)
- A transmitted report from the Prophet, or its chain of transmission — the central tool of verification in Islamic Hadith science. In early times, Hadith was sometimes used more broadly and could also denote reports from subsequent generations.
- Hasan (حَسَنٌ)
- “Good”; a designation for an acceptable report whose transmitters and chain do not attain the highest level of Sahih.
- Makhtutah (plural: Makhtutat) (مَخْطُوطَةٌ / مَخْطُوطَاتٌ)
- A manuscript or handwritten text. Comparing several Makhtutat can help identify omissions or differences in transmitted texts.
- Mufassir (plural: Mufassirun) (مُفَسِّرٌ / مُفَسِّرُونَ)
- A scholar who interprets the Qur'an, that is, a scholar of Tafsir.
- Musannaf (مُصَنَّفٌ)
- A Hadith work arranged by subject that collects reports from the Prophet and often also from the early generations.
- Musnad (مُسْنَدٌ)
- A Hadith work whose reports are generally arranged according to the respective Companion of the Prophet.
- Sahih (صَحِيحٌ)
- “Authentic” or “sound”; the highest common classification of a report whose chain and transmitters fulfil the recognised requirements.
- Sunan (السُّنَنُ)
- Plural of Sunnah; as a work title, usually a Hadith collection arranged by legal chapters.
- Sunnah (السُّنَّةُ)
- The way and method of the Prophet. In the narrower sense, it encompasses his transmitted statements, deeds and tacit approvals and is, alongside the Qur'an, a primary source of Islamic jurisprudence.
- Tawatur ma'nawi (التَّوَاتُرُ المَعْنَوِيُّ)
- The transmission of a shared meaning through so many different routes that its invention is reasonably excluded; not every individual report needs to have the same wording.
Fiqh, legal methodology and religious practice
- Fatwa (الفَتْوَى)
- A religious-legal ruling applied to a specific case; it may only be issued by those sufficiently qualified.
- Ghulul (الغُلُولُ)
- Embezzlement or unlawful enrichment from war spoils.
- Haram (الحَرَامُ)
- Religiously prohibited or impermissible.
- Hukm / Tahakum (الحُكْمُ / التَّحَاكُمُ)
- Hukm denotes a religious-legal ruling or jurisdiction, and Tahakum the recourse to a law or an authority for the settlement of a dispute. Linguistically, Hukm also includes governing, decreeing, judging and deciding.
- Ijma' (الإِجْمَاعُ)
- Consensus on a religious question.
- Ijtihad (الاجْتِهَادُ)
- The independent derivation of a religious-legal ruling to the best of one's knowledge and conscience by a scholar qualified to do so.
- 'Illah (العِلَّةُ)
- The underlying reasoning or legal cause of a religious-legal ruling.
- Istighfar (الاسْتِغْفَارُ)
- A request to Allah for forgiveness of one's own sins.
- Jihad (الجِهَادُ)
- Striving or effort in the way of Allah; in the military sense, fighting conducted according to the rules of Islamic law.
- Madhhab (المَذْهَبُ)
- A school of law or methodological teaching tradition in Islamic jurisprudence.
- Masdar (مَصْدَرٌ)
- A verbal noun in Arabic grammar: a noun derived from a verb that expresses its meaning without indicating a particular time; for example, Tawhid from “to make one”.
- Naskh (النَّسْخُ)
- The abrogation or restriction of an earlier revealed ruling by a later one.
- Nass (النَّصُّ)
- The unequivocal wording of a religious text, especially a Qur'anic verse or Hadith.
- Qiyas (القِيَاسُ)
- Analogical reasoning: the ruling of an existing text is applied to another case because the decisive underlying reason is the same.
- Ramadan (رَمَضَانُ)
- The ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar and the month of obligatory fasting.
- Shari'ah (الشَّرِيعَةُ)
- Islamic law.
- Sujud (السُّجُودُ)
- Prostration; in prayer, the posture in which the forehead, nose, hands, knees and toes touch the ground.
- Taqarrub (التَّقَرُّبُ)
- Conscious and intentional drawing near to Allah through worship and good deeds.
- Zakah (الزَّكَاةُ)
- An obligatory levy from specified assets for the recipients designated for it; one of the fundamental religious duties.
Groups, movements and worldviews
- Ahlu s-Sunnati wa-l-Jama'ah (أَهْلُ السُّنَّةِ وَالجَمَاعَةِ)
- “The people of the Sunnah and the community”: a designation for those who orient themselves to the transmitted Sunnah of the Prophet and preserve the foundational creed as the shared inheritance of the early generations.
- Ash'ariyyah (الأَشْعَرِيَّةُ)
- A theological movement attributed to Abu l-Hasan al-Ash'ari. Regarding Allah's attributes, it combines accepting some texts with rational interpretation or leaving their meaning open; this approach differs from the transmitted teaching of the Salaf.
- Jahmiyyah (الجَهْمِيَّةُ)
- An early deviating theological movement or sect named after Jahm ibn Safwan. It denied Allah's attributes, such as speech, mercy, love, knowledge and wisdom, and therefore also held that the Qur'an was created.
- Maturidiyyah (المَاتُرِيدِيَّةُ)
- A theological movement attributed to Abu Mansur al-Maturidi. It gives rational argumentation a far-reaching place in matters of creed and thereby differs from the transmitted teaching of the Salaf on central questions.
- Mu'tazilah (المُعْتَزِلَةُ)
- An early deviating theological movement or sect that elevated its own reason to the highest standard. It rejected texts that contradicted its philosophical teachings or interpreted them impermissibly; one of its central teachings was the claim that the Qur'an was created.
- Salafiyyah (السَّلَفِيَّةُ)
- A designation for a movement that explicitly refers to the Salaf. The mere claim to this reference says nothing by itself about its concrete teaching or method. Numerous different orientations exist, which not infrequently contradict the early Islamic teaching of those Salaf on central points, knowingly or unknowingly.
History and generations
- Atba'u t-Tabi'in (أَتْبَاعُ التَّابِعِينَ)
- The third generation after the Sahabah, following the Tabi'un.
- Fatrah (الفَتْرَةُ)
- A period between prophets in which their message was scarcely still spread. The expression is relative: individual people could nevertheless know the foundation of Tawhid.
- Hijrah (الهِجْرَةُ)
- Emigration for the sake of faith; in the narrower historical sense, the Prophet's emigration from Makkah to Madinah.
- Hunafa' (الحُنَفَاءُ)
- Plural of Hanif; people who rejected idol worship in pre-Islamic times and followed the uncorrupted remnants of the religion of Ibrahim.
- Jahiliyyah (الجَاهِلِيَّةُ)
- The time of ignorance before the sending of the Prophet Muhammad; also used more broadly for conduct corresponding to that time.
- Mihnah (المِحْنَةُ)
- A historical test of creed under some Abbasid rulers, during which scholars were to be forced to affirm that the Qur'an was created. Several scholars were persecuted or imprisoned because of it.
- Muta'akhirun (المُتَأَخِّرُونَ)
- The later scholars of Islamic history, in contrast to the early generations of the Salaf.
- Sahabah / Tabi'un (الصَّحَابَةُ / التَّابِعُونَ)
- The Companions of the Prophet (Sahabah) and the following generation (Tabi'un), who were contemporaries of the Sahabah. The Atba'u t-Tabi'in follow the Tabi'un; these three early generations hold a special position in theology and transmission.
- Salaf (السَّلَفُ)
- The early, righteous generations — and in particular their scholars.
Religious practice, character, community and general terms
- Adab / Akhlaq (الأَدَبُ / الأَخْلَاقُ)
- Adab denotes Islamic manners and appropriate conduct; Akhlaq the character traits of a person.
- Da'wah (الدَّعْوَةُ)
- The proclamation of Islam.
- Ummah (الأُمَّةُ)
- The community of all Muslims.
- Waliyy (وَلِيٌّ)
- A close person, ally or protector; depending on the context, it can also refer to idols invoked as protecting powers. Plural: Auliya'.
- Zuhd (الزُّهْدُ)
- Abstaining from worldly things and consciously restraining one's own desires.