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| The active participle of the same verb of which Islām is the infinitive; literally, "one who submits" or "one who commits himself to Islam"; a member of the community of "submission," an adherent of Islam |
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| Spirits; though essentially made of 'smokeless flame', they are capable of assuming human and animal shapes to aid or frustrate human efforts |
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| Muhammed's first wife (she proposed to him); first convert to Islam; supreme moral support to M during the fatrat al-waḥy, a period (between M's first and second revelations) in which M received no revelation at all |
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| Muhammed's birthplace; holiest meeting site in Islam; location of the Ka'ba; destination for the hajj |
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| City to which Muhammed and his earliest followers emigrated to in the year 622, an event, called the Hijra, which marks the beginning of the Islamic calendar (also known as the Hijri Calendar) |
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| "Withdrawal," migration of Muhammed and his earliest followers from Mecca to Medina, marking the constitution of a new Islamic community, the Muslim state |
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| First military encounter between Muslims and opponents among the Quraysh in Mecca; fought in 624 in the Hejaz region of western Arabia; a decisive victory for Muhammed and his followers; one of the few battles specifically mentioned in the Qur'an |
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| First military encounter between Muslims and Meccan opponents; fought in 625 at the valley located in front of Mount Uhud, in what is now North-Western Arabia; tatical victory for Meccans, through strategiwere killed, and, for the Muslims, thecally indecisive; many Muslims battle was a significant setback |
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| Fortnight-long siege in 627 of Medina by Arab and Jewish tribal confederacy; failure of seige, decisive victory for Muslims; Muslims opted to dig and fight from a trench rather than face the tribes in the open; the trench together with Medina's natural fortifications rendered the confederate cavalry (consisting of horses and camels) useless, locking the two sides in a stalemate; Muhammed's diplomacy broke up the confederacy against him; well-organized defenders, the sinking of confederate morale, and poor weather conditions caused the siege to end |
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| Cube-shaped building in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, and is the most sacred site in Islam; the building predates Islam, and, according to Islamic tradition, the first building at the site was built by Abraham; all Muslims around the world face the Kaaba during prayers, no matter where they are; multiple parts of the Hajj require pilgrims to circumambulate seven times around the Ka'ba in a counter-clockwise direction (tawaf) |
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| The first system of governance established in Islam (successor to Muhammed), and represented the political authority and unity of the Muslim; Sunni Islam dictates that the head of state, the caliph, should be elected by Muslims or their representatives; followers of Shia Islam believe the caliph should be an imam descended in a line from the family of Muhammed |
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| The first of the Rashidun ("rightly-guided" Caliphs) or successors to Muhammed, according to Sunni beliefs, under whose leadership the rest of Arabia converts to Islam (r. 632–634) |
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| Third 'rightly-guided' Caliph (r. 644-656), according to Sunni beliefs, under whose leadership the Qur'an was collected together and a definitive version written down; it is this definitive version which became the central text of Islam and the bedrock on which all Islamic history would be built |
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| Codified authoritative text of the Qur'an according to the collection under leadership of Uthman |
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| Cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad; Sunni Muslims consider him the fourth and final of the "rightly-guided" Caliphs (r. 656-661), while Shi'a Muslims regard Ali as the first Imam and consider him and his descendants the rightful successors to Muhammad, all of which are members of the family of Muhammed; assassinated by disillusioned follower |
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| Assumed the caliphate (r. 661-680) after Ali's assassination, forcing the abdication of Hassan (Ali's son and Muhammed's grandson); establishes the Umayyad Caliphate; Caliphate becomes dynastic from thence on |
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| Second of the four Islamic caliphates (661-750) established after the death of Muhammed; ruled by the Umayyad dynasty, establishing the largest Arab-Muslim state in history; Damascus was the capital |
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| Grandson of Muhammad and the third Shia Imam, who lived under severe conditions of suppression and persecution by Mu'awiyah; in 680, killed in the 'Battle' of Karbala against Mu’awiya, along with members of his family and close friends, a horrific act that ossifies the rift between the two sects that could never be rectified or repaired; the anniversary of his death is called the Day of Ashura and it is a day of mourning and religious observance for Shi'a Muslims |
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| Third of the four Islamic caliphates (750-1258), ruled by the Abbasid dynasty who built their capital in Baghdad after overthrowing the Umayyad caliphs; overthrown by Mongols |
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| Ruled the greatest Iranian empire (1501-1736) since the Islamic conquest of Persia and established the Twelver school of Shi'a Islam as the official religion of their empire, marking one of the most important turning points in the history of Islam |
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Unity of God (tawhid)
Messengers or prophets
Revelations
Angels
Judgement |
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| Belief that there is no God, but Allah; no other divinity, no other sharing of divinity; exclusivity |
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| "Association" of anything that is not God, with God; the worse sin ever, a sense of overbearing confidence and claiming for oneself, powers that one does not have |
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| School of early Muslim speculative theology founded by the theologian al-Ash'ari (d. 936 CE), which eventually becomes the dominant or orthodox theological position; holds that complete comprehension of the unique nature and attributes of God is beyond the capacity of human reasoning and sense experience, and, although humans possess free will (or freedom of intention), they have no power to create anything in the material world as this is entirely the province of God--that is, God wills both good and evil, nothing escapes the will of God and nothing can infringe upon and limit God' power. |
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| Popular school of early Muslim speculative theology that flourished in the cities of Basra and Baghdad during the 8th–10th centuries and which held sway with the Abbasids until about the 800s; holds that God can only will the good and cannot will evil; implication is that God has to submit to a higher absolute (Justice) |
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| Central religious verbal text of Islam; for Muslims, it was revealed, or 'sent down' (munzal) in the seventh century, and is the timeless word of God (a copy of the divine archetype of revelation, also called the preserved tablet, in heaven) revealed word for word in the Arabic language through God's final messenger, Muhammad |
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| Chapter of the Qur'an, traditionally arranged roughly in order of decreasing length; each is named for a word or name mentioned in one of its verses |
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| Tend to be shorter (and therefore found near the end of the Qur'an); more poetic in form, more passionate in tone; characterized by general references to monotheism: the glory, power, mercy and justice of God, who is depicted as sole creator and sustainer; and the need for submission (Islam) to the will of God by in order to achieve the great rewards promised in the afterlife and avoid divine retribution. Also tends to address social justice issues including the treatment of the poor and needy |
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| Tend to be longer (and therefore found at the beginning of the Qur'an); more prosaic in form; deal with more pratical issues such as marriage and inheritance; much more emphasis is given to providing guidance to the prophet on managing a community in its legal, economic, and political spheres |
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| Day of Judgment or Reckoning |
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| Primary subject of the early Meccan suras; term used to describe the final judgment of humanity, emphasizing the inevitability of resurrection, judgment, and the eternal division of the righteous and the wicked |
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| shahadah, salat, zakat, sawm, hajj |
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Declaration of faith
Prayer
Almsgiving
Fasting
Pilgrimage |
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| Place of worship for Muslims |
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| Distinctive architectural features of Islamic mosques; generally tall spires with onion-shaped or conical crowns, usually either free standing or taller than any associated support structure; provide a visual focal point and are used for the call to prayer (adhan) by the Muezzin |
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| A chosen person at the mosque who leads the call (adhan) to Friday service and the five daily prayers (salat) from one of the mosque's minarets |
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| An Arabic word for the direction that should be faced when a Muslim prays; most mosques contain a niche in a wall that indicates the qiblah |
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| The ninth month of the Islamic calendar; a month of fasting, in which participating Muslims refrain from eating, drinking, having sex, smoking (and indulging in anything that is in excess or ill-natured) from dawn until sunset |
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| Important father and son pair; an early prophet of Islam and his son, whom, according to Islamic thinkers, the father was called on to sacrifice (as opposed to Isaac) |
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| One of a series of ritual acts that must be performed in the annual Islamic Hajj, pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca; pilgrims fling pebbles at three walls called jamarat in the city of Mina |
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| An Islamic leadership position, often the leader of a mosque and the community and one who frequently leads prayer during Islamic gatherings; an article of faith in Shia Islam, the Imam is chosen by God to be perfect examples for the faithful and to lead all humanity in all aspects of life, free from committing any sin (infallibility), and must be followed since they are appointed by God |
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| Second largest denomination of Islam; succession of Ali and the Imamate, emphasis on ta'wil (esoteric interpretation of the Qur'an) |
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| Second largest sect of Shia Islam, after the mainstream Twelvers; accept Ismāʿīl ibn Jaʿfar as the divinely appointed spiritual successor (Imām) to Jaʿfar aṣ-Ṣādiq, while the Twelvers accept Mūsà al-Kāżim, younger brother of Ismāʿīl, as the true Imām; the metaphorical Ismāʿīlī group focuses on the mystical path and nature of God, concentrating on the deeper, esoteric meaning (batin) of the Islamic religion and its scripture |
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| Largest branch of Shi'a Islam; name is derived from their belief in twelve divinely ordained leaders, known as the Twelve Imāms and their belief that the Mahdi will be none other than the returned Twelfth Imam that disappeared and is believed by Twelvers to have ascended to Heaven |
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| Hereditary title of the Imam of the largest branch of the Ismā'īlī Shia Islam |
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| The individual believed by Twelver Shī‘a Muslims to be the Māhdī, the ultimate savior of humankind and the final Imām of the Twelve Imams; Twelver Shī‘a believe that al-Māhdī was born in 869 and did not die but rather was hidden by God (this is referred to as the Occultation) and will later emerge with Jesus in order to fulfill their mission of bringing peace and justice to the world |
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| Divine Islamic law; refers to the "way" Muslims should live or the "path" they must follow; derived from the Qur'an and Traditions (Hadith) gathered from the life of M |
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| Expansion of the Sharia Islamic law—based directly on the Quran and Sunnah—that complements Shariah with evolving rulings/interpretations of Islamic jurists; deals with the observance of rituals, morals and social legislation; four prominent Sunni schools (Madh'hab) and two schools for the Shi'a |
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| Narrations originating from the words and deeds of M; regarded by traditional schools of jurisprudence as important tools for understanding the Qur'an and in matters of jurisprudence; two parts, isnad (chain of transmission) and matn (content of the tradition) |
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| Sayings and living habits of Muhammed, his 'example' or 'precedent' by which a Muslim measures their own life |
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| A term referring ideally to the consensus of the ummah (the community of Muslims, or followers of Islam); Sunni Muslims regard this as the third fundamental source of Sharia law, after the Qur'an and the prophetic practice or Sunna. |
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| An Arabic word meaning "community" or "nation"; commonly used to mean either the collective nation of states, or (in the context of pan-Arabism) the whole Arab world; in the context of Islam, the word ummah is used to mean the diaspora or "Community of the Believers" (ummat al-mu'minin), and thus the whole Muslim world |
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| Analogical reasoning (qiyas) |
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| A term referring to the process by which the teachings of the Hadith are compared and contrasted with those of the Quran, in order to make an analogy with a known injunction (nass) to a new injunction; described as the fourth source in Sunni Islam, whereas Shi'a Islam uses 'aql (intellect) |
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| A religious opinion concerning Islamic law issued by an Islamic scholar (Mufti); in Sunni Islam any fatwa is non-binding, whereas in Shia Islam it could be considered by an individual as binding, depending on his or her relation to the scholar |
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| Educated class of Muslim legal scholars engaged in the several fields of Islamic studies; arbiters of shari‘a law |
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| A general term embracing various Muslims who, while initially supporting the caliphate of the fourth and final "Rightly Guided" caliph Ali, later rejected him; first emerged in the late 7th century CE, concentrated in today's southern Iraq, and are distinct from the Sunnis and Shiites |
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| A term used by Muslim scholars to refer to those countries where Muslims can practice their religion freely; usually Islamic cultures wherein Muslims represent the majority of the population, and so the government promises them protection |
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| A term designating any object or an action which is permissible to use or engage in, according to Islamic law; the opposite of haraam; commonly used to designate food seen as permissible according to Islamic law |
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| The inner, mystical dimension of Islam, particularly Sunni although with some Shia orders |
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| An Islamic shrine and major landmark located on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem; completed in 691-692 CE, it the oldest existing Islamic building in the world |
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| Noun formed from the infinitive of a verb meaning "to accept," "to submit," "to commit oneself," and means "surrender" or "submission; characterizes the ideal orientation of a believer in relation to God and God's will |
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| Founder of the religion of Islam; regarded by Muslims as a messenger and prophet of God, the greatest law-bearer in a series of Islamic prophets; and by most Muslims the last prophet, the "seal of the prophets" (Q 33.41) |
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