Islamic Glossary

A
ʿAbbāsids	descendants of ʿAbbās, the prophet Muḥammad’s uncle, who ruled as caliphs from 750 to 1258 C.E.
ablution	ritual washing that Muslims must perform before prayer.
adhan	Muslim call to prayer.
Aga Khan	leader of the Nizarī Ismāʿīlī sect of Shīʿīi Muslims who oversees cultural and spiritual lives of followers.
ahl al-bayt	literally, “people of the house,” referring to members of the household of the prophet Muḥammad.
ahl al-kitāb	literally, “people of the book,” referring to Christians, Jews, and Muslims.
ahl al-sunnah	literally,“people of the sunnah,” meaning the people in the early Islamic centuries who emphasized the importance of following the practice and custom (sunnah) of the prophet Muḥammad and established the foundation for Sunnī Islam.
ʿĀʾishah	Muḥammad’s influential and favorite wife, daughter of the first Sunnī caliph, Abu Bakr, and acknowledged authority on history, medicine, poetry, and rhetoric, and one of the most important transmitters of ḥadīth.
ʿajām	non-Arab, often identified with “Persian.”
akbar	literally, “greater.”
al-	the definite article in Arabic.
ʿAlawī	followers of a Shīʿīi tradition, also called Nuṣayrīs after Muḥammad ibn Nuṣayr, a ninth century follower of the eleventh imam, who established his own group. Also the name of the royal dynasty ruling Morocco since the seventeenth century.
ʿAlī	prophet Muḥammad’s cousin and son-in-law by marriage to Muḥammad’s daughter Fāṭimah. Shīʿīi Muslims believe that ʿAlī was the first caliph to succeed Muḥammad, Sunnīs place him fourth. Shīʿīi s trace the ruling descendants of Muḥammad (imams) through him.
ʿAlid	associated with the tradition of support for ʿAlī.
ʿalim	a scholar, a possessor of ʿilm (knowledge).
Allāh	God.
Allahu Akbar	literally, “God is most great,” a phrase used in the Muslim call to prayer and other occasions for glorifying God.
amīr	military commander, governor, or prince.
amīrate	office or realm of authority of an amīir. Anṣar literally “helpers,” meaning the Muslims of Medina who supported the Prophet.
ʿaqīdah	Islamic creed from the sunnah of prophet Muḥammad, which consists of the five articles of faith: belief in God, his angels, his prophets, his scriptures, and the Last Day, or Day of Judgment.
arabesque	artistic style that uses outlines of foliage, fruit, or figures to produce an intricate pattern of interlaced lines.
ʿaṣabīyah	group solidarity, a term important in the analysis of Ibn Khaldūn’s (d. 1406) theory of social cohesion as a factor in the strength of movements and states.
ʿĀshūrāʾ	the tenth day of the month of Muḥārram; the Shīʿīi day of observance commemorating the martyrdom of the prophet Muḥammad’s grandson Ḥusayn.
Assassins	eponym given to the Nizarī Ismāīʾlī sect of Shīʿīi Muslims due to campaign of terror and violence, including assassinations, they carried out against the Sunnī Seljuq Dynasty in the name of the Hidden Imam. The last grand master of this sect was executed in 1256 C.E.
asatīr	myths.
asmaʾ Allāh al-husna	the ninety-nine beautiful names of God.
ayah	literally, “sign,” meaning a verse in the Qurʾān, and more generally a sign or wonder.
Ayatollah	literally, “sign of God,” referring to the highest rank of Shīʿīi Muslim clerics, who are respected for knowledge and piety.
B
baraka	literally, “blessing.”
bashar	human.
basṭ	sanctuary from oppression, especially in Iranian tradition.
bāṭin	inner meaning, opposite of ẓahīr.
bay (or bey)	nobleman or rich man.
bayʿah	oath of allegiance.
bidʿah	innovative or unacceptable departure from the example of Muḥammad (sunnah).
Bismillah	literally, “In the name of God,” referring to the phrase “Bismillah al-Rahman al-Rahim” meaning “In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate.” This phrase opens each surah of the Qurʾān as well as letters, books, speeches, ceremonies, and official documents throughout the Muslim world.
Black Muslim	adherent of African-American type of Islam, member of African-American sect Nation of Islam, established in America by Wallace D. Fard around 1930 and more recently led by Louis Farrakhan.
burqa	full veil worn by women in Afghanistan under Taliban regime that leaves only the eyes visible.
C
caliph	title for successor to prophet Muḥammad as political leader of Muslim community.
chador	Iranian term for a woman’s veil that covers hair and body, leaving only face, hands, and feet exposed.
Constitution of Medina	constitution promulgated by Muḥammad, which established principle of religious pluralism within single political entity.
Crusades	during the Middle Ages lasting from 1095–1291 C.E., the holy wars declared by the pope against non-Christians, mostly Muslims.
D
daʾī	one who invites people to accept Islam; a missionary.
dār al-ḥarb	literally, “land of war,” meaning a place where inhabitants do not practice Islam.
dār al-Islām	literally, “abode of peace,” referring to territories ruled by Islamic law (sharʾīah).
daraja	literally, “degree,” meaning rank.
daʿwah	literally, “call,” referring to missionary work.
dawlah	literally, “state” or “dynasty.”
dervish	an ascetic religious person, often identified as Ṣufi.
dhikr	literally, “remembrance,” referring to Ṣufi chants for the remembrance of God.
dhimmī	person enjoying protected status due to a treaty relationship with Muslims. Typically used to refer to “people of the book,” (ahl al-kitāab) particularly Jews and Christians.
Dhū al-Ḥijjah	last month of the Islamic calendar and month of pilgrimage to Mecca.
dīn, deen	literally, “religion.”
dūʾa	private prayer of petition.
F
faḍala	literally, “to prefer.”
falsafa	literally, “philosophy.”
falasifa	literally, “philosophers.”
fan̄aʾ	mystical state of annihilation of self.
faqīh	(plural: fūqahaʾ) jurisprudent, religious scholar.
faqīr	literally, “poor,” meaning a poor person, usually a religious ascetic.
farḍ	(plural: faraʾid) literally, “duty,”
Fāṭimah	daughter of prophet Muḥammad, wife of ʿAlī, and mother of Ḥassan and Ḥusayn. Considered to be an example of perfect womanhood in Islam, especially honored in Shīʿīi tradition.
fatwā	legal opinion issued by a private religious scholar (as opposed to a judge in a court of law). May be used by a judge in rendering a legal ruling.
fez	red cap traditionally worn by Turkish men prior to the twentieth century.
fidāʾī	(plural: fidaʾyūn) one who sacrifices himself (often with the presumption of a religious motive).
fiqh	human efforts to understand and codify divine law.
fitnah	civil war; strife.
fiṭra	natural disposition toward good.
Five Pillars of Islam	the five acts required of all Muslims: profession of faith (shahādah), prayer five times daily (ṣalāt), almsgiving (zakāt), fasting during Ramaḍān (sawm), and pilgrimage to Mecca once in a lifetime (ḥajj).
G
ghāʾib	absent or concealed
H
ḥadd	limit or prohibition. Punishments fixed in the Qurʾān for certain specific offenses. See ḥudūd. ḥadīth traditions, reports of prophet Muḥammad’s deeds and sayings, an authoritative source of guidance for Muslims.
ḥajj	pilgrimage to Mecca, which Muslims are required to make at least once in a lifetime if they are physically and financially able. One of the Five Pillars of Islam.
ḥalāl	Qurʾānic term for what is lawful or permitted.
Ḥanafī	major Sunnī Islamic school of law which emphasizes analogous reasoning of jurists over literal interpretation of ḥadīth. Predominates in the Arab world and South Asia.
Ḥanbalī	major Sunnī Islamic school which more closely follows tradition or precedent over analogical reasoning. Predominates in Saudi Arabia.
ḥanīf	upright and pure.
ḥaqiqa	truth.
ḥarām	illegal; prohibited by Islamic law.
harem	the space in a Muslim household where the women and children live; also, female members of a Muslim household.
haẓrat	literally, “excellency,” a title of great respect.
Hidden Imam	Shīʿīi belief that the Twelfth Imam did not die but went into hiding or “occultation,” from which he is expected to return at the end of time as a messianic figure to bring in an era of peace and justice.
ḥijāb	literally, “veil,” meaning a covering for the hair and head of a Muslim woman which may include long-sleeved, long, flowing dress as well.
hijrah	literally, “emigration,” referring to the departure of Muḥammad and early Muslims from Mecca to Medina in 622 C.E., which marks first year of Muslim lunar calendar.
hudān	literally, “guidance.”
ḥuḍūd	literally, “limits,” referring to crimes of theft, extramarital sexual activity, false accusations of unchastity, and consumption of alcohol specified by the Qurʾān and carrying harsh capital penalties.
ḥukm	(plural: ahkām) judgment, rule, government.
Ḥusayn [or Ḥussein]	grandson of Muḥammad and son of ʿAlī and Fāṭimah who was killed in Karbala, Iraq, along with followers when he contested the ʿUmayyad claim to sovereignty over Muslim community in 680 C.E. For Shīʿīi Muslims, his martyrdom set paradigm of suffering, oppression, and need to fight injustice.
I
ibādāh	(plural: ibādāt) act of worship, devotion, or service.
ʿId al-Aḍḥā	feast of the Sacrifice, a major Muslim holiday falling at the end of the pilgrimage to Mecca. See ḥajj.
ʿId al-Fiṭr	feast of the Breaking of the Fast, a major Muslim holiday that concludes the month of Ramaḍān.
iḥṣan	literally, “beneficence.”
iftāʾ	ruling, writing, or delivering a fatwā.
ijmāʿ	literally, “consensus.”
ijtihād	independent reasoning used in determining a legal rule.
ikhwān	literally, “brothers” or “brotherhood.”
Ikhwān al-Muslimīn	the Society of Muslim Brothers, founded in Egypt as an Islamist-reformist movement in 1928, with branches and similar groups in many countries, especially in the Arab world.
ʿilm	literally, “knowledge,” also science.
īmām	prayer leader and person who delivers Friday sermon for Sunnī Muslims. Shīʿīi Muslims use Imam as title for Muḥammad’s male descendants through ʿAlī and Fāṭimah who are the rightful leaders of the Muslim community. Shīʿīi believe that Imams, although human, are divinely inspired and infallible. The term is also used as an honorific for religious scholars believed to be especially learned, pious, and just.
īmān	literally, “faith.”
insān	literally, “human being.”
insānīyat	literally, “humanity.”
inshaʾa Allāh	literally, “if God wills.”
intifada	Palestinian uprising that began in 1987. An alleged second intifada began in 2000.
islām	literally, “submission (to God).”
Ismāʿīlī	the branch of Shīʿīi Islam which recognizes Ismāīl, the eldest son of the sixth Imam, Jaʿfar al-Ṣadiq, as the legitimate seventh Imam in the Shīʿī tradition in a disputed succession. Founders of Faṭimid Empire in Egypt, ruled 909–1171 C.E.
isnād	literally, “chain,” referring to a chain of transmission among sources,
istiḥsān	equity; using personal judgment to mitigate the literal application of law.
ithār	self-sacrificing generosity.
Ithnā ʿAsharī	literally, “Twelver,” referring to the largest branch of Shīʿī Islam, which recognizes twelve Imams, the last of whom is believed to be in hiding. (See Hidden Imam)
itlaq	infinity.
ittibāʾ	critical acceptance of precedent or authority.
J
jadīd	literally, “new,” or modern.
Jaʿfarī	major Shīʿī school of Islamic law, tracing authority back to the sixth imam, Jaʿfar al-Ṣadiq (d. 765).
jahl	literally, “ignorance.”
Jāhilīyah	the pre-Islamic era.
jamʾī	congregational mosque used specifically for Friday prayers.
jihād	literally, “struggle” or “exertion.” “Greater” jihād is the struggle within oneself to live a righteous life and submit oneself to God’s will. “Lesser” jihād is the defense of Islam and the Muslim community.
jinn	spirit beings.
jizyah	poll or head tax paid by dhimmīs in order to enter into protective treaty relationship with Muslims.
jumʿah	literally, “gathering,” refers to Friday congregational prayer.
K
Kaʿbah	cube-shaped structure in the courtyard of the Grand Mosque in Mecca, the focal point of the ḥajj (pilgrimage), and the location that all Muslims face during prayer.
kāfir	unbeliever.
kaffīyah	traditional male head covering typically associated with Palestine and Jordan.
kalām	literally, “speech,” referring to the field of theology.
kalām Allah	literally, “God’s speech,” referring to the Qurʾān.
Khadījah	Muḥammad’s first and only wife for twenty-four years, the first convert to and one of the strongest supporters of Islam.
khan	honorific title of Turkish origin used for leaders in certain Islamic societies.
khānqah	meeting house, mainly for Ṣufis. See tekke and zāwiyah.
Khārijites	extremist minority tradition in Islam beginning in the conflict over succession to the caliphate in 660–661 C.E. They initiated a tradition of declaring other Muslims to be unbelievers (kāfir)and engaging in jihād against them. Always a very small sectarian tradition.
khilāfat	caliphate.
khums	literally, “one fifth.” A Shīʿī tax on profits of various sorts.
khuṭba	sermon preached during Friday congregational prayer (jumʿah).
kiswa	the black drape covering the Kaʿbah.
kitāb	literally, “book.”
kohl	black powder applied to the edge of the eyelids.
Kufic	angular style of Arabic calligraphy.
kufr	unbelief.
kuttāb	Islamic elementary school.
L
loya jirga	tribal council in Afghanistan.
M
madhhab	literally “school” or “orientation,” usually meaning one of the schools of Islamic law.
madrasah	religious college or university; also religious school for young students.
Maghrib	literally, the “place of the sunset,” referring to Northwest Africa particularly Morocco.
Mahdī	Muslim messianic figure expected to return at the end of time to usher in an era of peace and justice.
maktab	elementary school.
mal	property.
Mālikī	major Sunnī Islamic law school. Predominant in North, Central, and West Africa.
mamlūk	literally “owned,” referring to “slave” soldiers, like the medieval military elite that ruled Egypt.
marabout	French term for Ṣūfī leaders in North Africa.
maʿrūf	that which is generally recognized as sound, good, worthy.
mashhad	gravesite of a martyr.
mashriq	literally, the “place of the sunrise” or the east, used to describe the Muslim world of the eastern Mediterranean region.
masjid	mosque, place for Muslim prayer.
maṣlaḥah	concept of public interest or public welfare that allows for consideration of the general good in interpreting Islamic law.
mawlā	(plural: mawālī) in early Islamic society, a non-Arab Muslim; non-member client of a tribe to whom protection is extended.
Mawlid al-Nabī	Muḥammad's birthday.
Mecca (Makkah)	holiest city in Islam, located in Saudi Arabia. Birthplace of Muḥammad and location of the Kaʿbah. City where Muslims go on the ḥajj (pilgrimage).
Medina	second holiest city in Islam; located in Saudi Arabia; city to which Muḥammad and the early Muslims emigrated (hijrah) when they were forced to leave Mecca; city where Muḥammad is buried.
Mevlevī (Mawlawīyah)	Ṣūfī brotherhood in the devotional tradition of Jalal al-Din Rumi.
miḥrāb	niche in mosque wall indicating direction of Mecca (qibla), toward which all Muslims must pray.
millet	religious or faith community officially recognized by the Ottoman Empire.
minaret	high tower in a mosque from which the call to prayer (adhan) is made.
minbar	pulpit in a mosque from which the Friday sermon (khuṭbah) is delivered.
monotheism	belief that there is only one God.
mosque	Muslim place of prayer.
muʿāmalat	Islamic civil law, code of behavior ruling social relations (as opposed to ʿibadat, or devotional acts).
muʿāwada	reciprocity.
mudārabah	Islamic financial principle of profit-sharing, which abides by Islamic prohibition of usury.
muezzin	person who issues the call to prayer (adhan).
muftī	specialist in Islamic law who is authorized to deliver a legal opinion (fatwā).
muhajīr	person who undertakes an emigration (hijrah).
Muḥammad	prophet of Islam who received revelation of the Qurʾān. Muslims believe that he was the perfect human being (al-Insān al-Kamīl) and seek to emulate his example (sunnah), as recorded in the ḥadīth.
Muḥarram	first month of the Islamic calendar.
mujāhid	(plural: mujāhidīn) person engaging in jihād.
mujtāhid	person qualified to exercise independent reasoning in the interpretation of Islamic law. See ijtihād.
mukhabarat	secret service, intelligence service.
mullah	Muslim cleric or learned man.
muʾmin	(plural: muʾminīn) believer.
munkār	reprehensible, not allowed.
muqallid	follower, one who engages in taqlīd.
murīd	a disciple or follower, usually a follower of a spiritual guide in a Ṣūfī order.
murshid	a guide, usually a spiritual guide in a Ṣūfī order.
musallah	informal areas and open air spaces for prayer.
mushārakah	Islamic financial principle of equity-sharing, which abides by Islamic prohibition of usury.
mushrik	one who associates an idol or other divinity with God, a polytheist.
Muslim	(plural: muslimīn) literally, “one who submits.” Adherent of faith of Islam
mutʿah	a type of marriage contract allowing temporary marriage; prohibited in Sunnī Islam.
**mutashabih	uncertain.
Muʿtazilah	a Muslim school of thought beginning in the eighth century, emphasizing God’s oneness and in methodology utilizing rationalist philosophical approaches.
Muwaḥḥidūn	literally, “Unitarians,” or upholders of absolute monotheism. The self-identification of Muslims in the tradition of Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhāb (d. 1792) and also movement of strict puritanical reform in North Africa in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Also used by the Druze in referring to themselves.
mystic	one who seeks to experience spiritual enlightenment and truth through various physical and spiritual disciplines.
N
nabī	literally,“one who announces”; Arabic term for prophet.
nafs	literally, “soul” or “self.”
Nation of Islam	An African-American Muslim movement that preached a message of black supremacy and separatism. The majority moved to mainstream Sunnī Islamic positions beginning in the 1970s, although a remnant led by Louis Farrakhan continues the older tradition.
niqāb	a veil for the face of Muslim women; an aspect of hijāb. Currently the full covering of a woman except for an opening for the eyes.
niṣāb	in Islamic law, the basic minimum property for payment of zakāt.
Nizārī Ismāʿīlīyah	sect of “Sevener” Shīʿīs historically known as “Assassins”; contemporary movement is nonviolent. See Aga Khan.
P
Pan-Islamic	refers to the movement to unify all Islamic peoples.
pasha	Turkish term for a title of high rank in Muslim government and military.
People of the Book (ahl al-kitāb)	religious group with a revealed scripture or divine revelation. Used by Muslims to refer to Christians and Jews.
pir	Ṣūfī master.
polygyny	practice of having more than one wife at the same time.
polytheism	belief in more than one god.
pre-Islamic (Jāhilīyah)	refers to the Arabian Peninsula or to the Arabic language before the founding of Islam in the early 600s C.E.
prophet	one who announces divinely inspired revelations.
Q
qāḍī	Muslim judge.
qānūn	secular law.
qawwām	literally, “in charge of,” referring to responsible party or leader.
qibla	direction of prayer for Muslims, located in Mecca..
qiwāma	responsibility.
qiyās	Islamic legal principle of analogical reasoning.
Qurʾān	literally, “recitation”; the record of revelations received ad seriatum by Muḥammad between 610–632 C.E., forming the Holy Book of Muslims.
Quraysh	The major Arab tribe in Mecca at the time of the Prophet. Muḥammad and many early Muslim leaders came from clans of this tribe.
R
rakʿah	(plural: rakʿat) literally, “bowing,” a Muslim cycle of prayer.
Ramaḍan	Muslim month of fasting, which ends with celebration of ʿId al-Fiṭr. Fasting during Ramaḍan is one of the Five Pillars of Islam.
revelation	message from God to humans transmitted through a prophet.
ribā	usury or interest. Outlawed by Islamic law.
ribāt	fortress or stronghold, often serving as a Ṣūfī center for devotional activities and study.
risāla	divine inspiration; dissertation or treatise.
rukn	support, pillar, basic principle.
S
sadaqah	voluntary charitable offering of an amount beyond what is required, which may enable a Muslim to atone for sins or other offenses.
salaf, salafīyah	pious ancestors, the early Muslims.
ṣalam	peace.
As-ṣalam alaykum	literally, “Peace be upon you”; the Muslim greeting whose response is “And peace be upon you also” or “Wa-alaykum as-ṣalam.”
ṣalāt	prayer required of all Muslims five times daily. One of the Five Pillars of Islam.
ṣawm	fasting during the month fo Ramaḍan. One of the Five Pillars of Islam.
sayyid	descendant of Muḥammad. See sharīf.
scripture	sacred writings believed to contain revelations from God.
Shāfiʿī	Major Sunnī Islamic law school, predominant in East Africa and Southeast Asia.
shah	Persian term for “king”; ruler of Iran.
shahādah	bearing witness to or making the profession of faith: “There is no God but God (Allāh), and Muḥammad is the messenger of God.” One of the Five Pillars of Islam.
shahīd	martyr.
shaʾn al-nuzūl	(plural: shuʾun) circumstance or occasion of revelation.
al-Shārʾ	divine revelation.
sharīʿah	that which is considered to be God’s will for humanity, especially as presented in the Qurʾāan and the Sunnah of the Prophet, providing the basis for Islamic law as defined by Muslim scholars over the centuries.
sharīf	nobleman; descendant of prophet Muḥammad.
shaykh	tribal elder; also, title of honor given to those who are considered especially learned and pious.
Shīʿī	Muslims who believe that succession to the political and religious leadership of the Muslim community should be hereditary through Muḥammad’s daughter Fāṭimah and her husband, Muḥammad’s cousin ʿAlī. Although Shīʿīs do not believe that these successors (imams) are prophets, they do believe that they are divinely inspired and infallible. Approximately 15 percent of all Muslims are Shīʿīs.
Shī ʿīsm	branch of Islam that believes that Muḥammad chose ʿAlī ibn ʿAbī Ṭālib (d. 661 C.E.) and his descendants as the spiritual-political leaders of the Muslim community
shirk	the association of someone or something as equal to or part of God.
shūrā	consultation.
silsila	the chain of transmission from teacher to disciple over generations, the passing on of devotional exercises and teachings within a Ṣūfī order.
softa	seminary student.
Ṣūfī	Muslim mystic.
Sufism	Islamic mysticism, which seeks to develop spirituality through discipline of the mind and body.
sultan	political and military ruler of a Muslim dynasty or state.
sunnah	customary practice or way of life. “al-Sunnah” refers to the approved standard of practice established by Muḥammad and early Muslims.
Sunnī	Muslims who emphasize the importance of the actions and customs of Muḥammad and the first generations of Muslims, viewing as legitimate the establishment of the caliphate, in contrast to Shīʿī beliefs (See Shīʿī). About 85 percent of all Muslims are Sunnīs.
surah	chapter of the Qurʾān.
T
tadabbur	reverent reflection.
tafsīr	(plural: tafāsir) interpretation, exegetical analysis of the Qurʾān.
tahlīl	procedures required in Islamic law for remarriage after a divorce.
takbīr	stating the phrase “Allahu Akbar,” or the word itself stands for the phrase.
takfir	declaring someone to be an unbeliever (kafir).
ṭalāq	type of divorce in which a husband repeats the words “I divorce you” three times.
tanattuʾ	transgressing, meticulous religiosity.
tanzīmāt	literally “reorganization” involving reforms intended to make government administration more orderly, usually identified with the major nineteenth century Ottoman reform program.
taqiyah	act of concealing one's true religious beliefs in order to prevent death or injury to oneself or other Muslims.
taqlīd	(plural: taqālīd) unquestioned imitation or following of tradition, past legal or doctrinal precedents; the opposite of ijtihād.
taqwā	piety, virtue, and awareness or reverence of God.
ṭarīqah	path followed by Ṣufis to attain oneness with God; Ṣufi brotherhood.
tasāmuh	tolerance.
taṣawwuf	the intellectual and devotional framework of Islamic mysticism (Ṣufism).
tawāf	the circumambulation of the Kaʿbah in Mecca during the ḥajj (pilgrimage).
tawhīd	oneness of God, monotheism.
taʾwīl	interpretation.
taʿzīr	crimes punished at the discretion of a Muslim judge (qāḍī).
taʿziyah	Shīʿī religious drama about the martyrdom of Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī, Muḥammad’s grandson.
tekke	Turkish term for a Ṣūfī center. See zāwiyah and khānqah.
turban	head covering worn by Muslim males consisting of a long cloth wound around the head, usually with a cap in the center.
U
ʿulamāʾ	Muslim religious scholars.
Umayyads	prominent Meccan Arab family who ruled from Damascus as caliphs from 661–750 C.E.
umm	literally, “mother.”
ummah	the worldwide Muslim community, community of believers.
umrah	lesser pilgrimage in which Muslims make the pilgrimage to Mecca outside the period during which the ḥajj occurs; considered commendable though not a substitute for the ḥajj itself.
ustadh	literally, “teacher.”
uṣūl	principles.
V
vizier	Muslim minister of state.
W
Wahhābī	the name popularly given to the puritanical reformist movement established in the Arabian Peninsula by Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhāb in the eighteenth century.
walī	literally, “friend,” a helper, or patron; a Muslim saint.
waqf	Muslim religious endowment whose profits are used for charitable purposes.
waṭan	homeland or birthplace.
wazīr	administrator, minister, secretary.
Z
ẓahīr	outward appearance; opposite of bāṭin.
zakāt	literally, “purification”; annual almsgiving or charity consisting of 2.5 percent of a Muslim’s entire wealth (not just income). One of the Five Pillars of Islam.
Zamzam	literally, “bubbling”; well in Mecca that Muslims believe was revealed to Hagar by God in order to preserve her and Ismāʿīl from dying of thirst. Drinking water from this well is one of the ḥajj (pilgrimage) rituals.
zāwiyah	Ṣufi center that serves as a place of worship and a welfare institution. See khānqah and tekke.
Zaydīyah	sect of Shīʿī Islam also known as “Fivers” because they recognized Zayd ibn ʿAlī as the legitimate fifth imam in a disputed succession. Zaydī imams ruled in Yemen for a millennium, with the last being overthrown in 1962.
ziyādah	in a mosque, an additional wall that holds the facilities for ablution, or ritual cleansing.

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