List of Arabic names for Islamic terms

Many of the terms listed here come from the traditional Islamic worldview and often also refer to legal aspects. Although they are still largely used with traditional meanings, efforts have been and still are to redefine some terms. The best example is “ jihad ”, which only wants to be understood defensively and peacefully by a camp, but is understood extremely aggressively by the fundamentalist camp, which is why these people are also referred to as “jihadists”.

The Latin transcription is explained in naming conventions / Arabic .

A.

āḫira / ākhira: (الآخرة al-āḫira ), 'the hereafter'.
adab: (أدب adab ) 'good behavior, fine morals', then also the beautiful literature and the classic educational canon .
adhān / aḏān: (أذان aḏān) Call to prayer (public or private) for the five compulsory prayers ( salāt ) of the day.
'adl: (عدل) Justice, i. R. Integrity
ahl al-bait: (أهل البيت) "The members of the house", d. H. the Muḥammads family and his descendants.
Ahl al-Kisa: (أهل الكساء, ahl al-kisāʾ ) The five “people of the coat”, one of the many Shiite names for Mohammed and his closest relatives Fatima , ' Ali , Hasan and Husain . Mohammed is said to have taken them under his coat. Also ashab al-kisa (أصحاب الكساء, aṣḥāb al-kisāʾ ) called "owner of the coat".
ahl al-kitāb: (أهل الكتاب) Koranic term and term used in jurisprudence: "the writers", d. H. the Jews and Christians who received the legal status of dhimmi (protected) under Islamic rule.
Allah: (الله allāh) , "God", d. H. the one god [as opposed to 'one god' (اله ilāh 'god', 'deity')].
ansar: (الأنصار) Term for the Medinan “helpers” / “supporters” of Mohammed.
ʿAqīda: (عقيدة) Belief foundation, beliefs; Belief
aqiqah: (عقيقة) Designation of a festival on the seventh day after the birth with sacrificial animal and shaving the head of the child
ʿAschura: (عاشوراء, ʿĀschūrāʾ ) "the tenth (day)", Imamitic and Alevi funeral festival on the 10th of Muharram in memory of Husain's martyrdom at Karbala . According to the teaching of the Nusairians , Husain was not martyred. He ascended to heaven that day and let his doppelganger Hanzala ibn As'ad asch-Shibami (حنظلة بن أسعد الشبامي) who sacrificed himself for him.
aya: (آية) Sign, Koran verse, verse of a sura

B.

bai'a baiʿa, bai'a (t): (بيعة) Loyalty oath, oath of obedience, homage
basmala: (بسملة) The religious formula bi-smi llāhi r-raḥmāni r-raḥīm , "In the name of the merciful and gracious God"; the term basmala refers to the spoken (recited) as well as the written form of the same.
bidʿa: (بدعة) Innovation, heresy

C.

al-Khavarij: (الخوارج) «The renegades» who left the «Party of Ali». A splinter group of the Shi'ites in the first Muslim century (7th century AD).
chatīb: (خطيب) Islamic preacher who gives the Friday sermon ( chutba ) (see below).
chutba: (خطبة) (Fridays) sermon on topics relevant to religion. Another meaning of the word is: engagement.

D.

dajal: (الدجال) literally the liar , an end-time seducer figure ("the Antichrist").
dar al-sulh: (دار الصلح) Areas outside the "House of Islam" with which there are intergovernmental treaties.
dar al-harb: (دار الحرب) “House of War”, all areas in the process of Islamic conquest.
dar al-islam: (دار الإسلام) "House of Islam", all areas under Islamic rule.
daʿwa: (دعوة) Call, call to Islam (in the converting sense)
dhikr: (ذكر) Mention (praise) of God, invocation of God
dhimmi: (ذمي) Monotheists , who are tolerated under Islamic rule with restricted legal status
dīn: (دين) “Religion” or “Faith” and the related obligations to God.
jinn ( jinn ): (جني / جن / جان) Mythical creatures of Arabic mythology, in the Koran demons or ghosts or people doubles that cause harm and terror
jihad (jihad): (جهاد): Islamically motivated struggle. Defense duty of every single Muslim (fard ain); collective duty of all Muslims to conquer new territories (fard kifaya). In Sufism also the fight against the instinctual soul.
jahiliyya (ǧāhiliyya): (جاهلية) Islamic term for the pre-Islamic epoch of "ignorance"
dschami ' ( ǧāmiʿ ): (جامع) “Congregation”, (large) mosque, Friday mosque / main mosque in which preaching takes place; central meeting place
jizya ǧizya: (جزية) Tribute that dhimmis have to pay
duʿā ' duʿāʾ: (دعاء): Intercession; Supplication (with the prep. Left); Curse (with the prep. ʿAlā)

F.

fana: (فناء) Central concept of Sufism, the "becoming"
fard: (فرض) Religious duty (a prayer, fasting, etc.); Compulsory portion in Islamic inheritance law
fatwa: (فتوى) Legal opinion according to Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh) .
fiqh: (فقه) Islamic Law
fitna: (فتنة) Temptation, severe test; Apostasy
fitra: (فطرة) Nature, creation; innate natural disposition (and thus devotion to god) of every human being

G

ghusl: (غسل) Ritual full body washing
ǧanāba: (جنابة) State of ritual impurity
ǧand: (جند) Term derived from the Koran for army or troops

H

hadd: (حد) Pl. Hudud (حدود) “Limit”, the capital crimes mentioned in the Koran and their punishments
hadith ḥadīṯ: (حدِيث) Pl. Aḥādīṯ (حاديث) Traditions about deeds and statements of the Prophet Muḥammad .
hadīth qudsī: (حديث قدسي, hadīth qudsī ) "holy hadith", d. H. a tradition in which a (non-Quranic) word of God is communicated.
hajj: (حج) The religious duty of pilgrimage to Mecca , one of the five pillars of Islam
hadrat / ḥaḍra (t) / ḥażrat / hazret: (حضرة) "Present"; especially used in the Persian connection ḥażrat-i (Hazreti) as a title and form of address that expresses great respect
hafiz: (حافظ) Someone who knows the Koran by heart; female: Hafiza (ḥāfiẓa) .
halāl: (حلال) In the Koran and in jurisprudence stipulated “what is permitted” for the believer
Harbi: (حربي) Non-Muslim resident of Dar al-harb who has no rights
haqiqa: (حقيقة) Truth
haram: (حرام) "Forbidden" for the believer as stipulated in the Koran
hijab: (حجاب) Lit. Translation: "curtain", something that veils, hides, covers; is used as a term for covering clothing for Muslim women.
hijra: (هجرة) Exodus of Muhammad and his companions from Mecca to Medina
hudna: (هدنة) Temporary armistice, also possible with non-Muslims
hukm: (حكم) Religious legal decision, command and prohibition recognizable directly from the Koran and Sunna , the entirety of which constitutes the Sharia
Huri: (حور) Virgin humanoid mythical creatures awaiting you in paradise

I.

'ibada: (عبادة, ʿIbāda ) act of worship
'id al-adha: (عيد الأضحى, ʿĪd al-adhā ) «Festival of Sacrifice» on the 10th Dhū l-Hiddscha during the pilgrimage week .
'id al-fitr: (عيد الفطر, ʿĪd al-fitr ) «Feast of the breaking of the fast» on the 1st Shawwal after the end of Ramadan .
idschmāʿ: (إجماع) Legal scholar consensus
idschtihād: (اجتهاد) Decision-making based on independent interpretation of the legal sources (see Fiqh ); also in general for "independent thinking"
Ihrām: (إحرام) Consecration of the Mecca pilgrim
'ilm: (علم) Science in general; Knowledge of the hadith
imam: (إمام) Prayer leader; each other
imama: (إمامة) The imamate
iman: (إيمان) Faith
Inshallah: (إن شاء الله,) God willing
iqāma: (إقامة) The invitation to prayer in the mosque
Islam: (إسلام) From the arab. Word root "slm"; derived: devotion (to God). Islam thus means “submission” and / or “turning” to the (only) God.
isnād: (إسناد) Chain of narrators of a hadith , in which the narrators of the sayings and deeds of Mohammed are listed.
israf: (إسراف) Waste, doing more than Islam demands

K

kalam: (كلام) Scholastic theology
caliph: (خليفة) Islamic ruler (successor of Muhammad), see also caliphate; caliphate : Islamic rule by a caliph.
Koran: (قرآن) “Reading / recitation”, the Koran, the holy scriptures of the Muslims - primarily as a recited text, then also as a written book (muṣḥaf) .
kufr: (كفر) “Denial”, from the root word kafara , which means to cover, to hide; who knows the truth but "covers" it, d. that is, she denies, commits kufr, is therefore kāfir (“denier”).
kafir kāfir: (كافر) Someone who denies the truth, an "unbeliever"; also “non-Muslim” in the legal sense.; takfir : (تكفير) Declare someone to be an unbeliever (kafir) ; mostly means the hereticization of Muslims with a dissenting opinion.
al-kutub al-arba'a: (الكتب الأربعة) The «Four Books»; the four imamite (twelve-Shiite) "canonical" hadith collections:

al- Kāfī (الكافي) "The sufficient" or "the comprehensive" by Abu Dscha'far Muhammad ibn Ya'qub al-Kulini / al-Kulaini ar-Razi (أبو جعفر محمد بن يعقوب الكليني الرازي) died 328/939 .
[Kitāb] Man lā yahduruhu 'l-faqīh (من لا يحضره الفقيه) "The book of the one who has no legal scholar with him" by Abu Ja'far Muhammad ibn 'Ali (أبو جعفر محمد بن علي) known as Ibn Babawaih / Ibn Babuyah al-Qummi (ابن بابويه القمي), died 381/991.
Tahdhīb al-aḥkām (تهذيب الأحكام) "The revision of the legal provisions" by Abu Ja'far Muhammad ibn al-Hasan at-Tusi (أبو جعفر محمد بن الحسن الطوسي) died 459/1067 or 460/1068.
al- Istibṣār fī-mā 'chtulifa fīhi min al-achbār (الاستبصار فيما اختلف فيه من الأخبار) “The consideration of the controversial traditions” also by at-Tusi .

al-kutub as-sitta: (الكتب الستة) The "Six Books", the six (sometimes referred to as "canonical") Sunni hadith collections:

Ṣaḥīḥ al-Buchārī = al-Jāmi 'as- saheeh (الجامع الصحيح) "The correct collection" by Abu 'Abdallah Muhammad ibn Isma'il al-Buchari al-Ju'fi (أبو عبد الله محمد بن إسماعيل البخاري الجعفي) died 256/870 .
Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim = al-Jāmi 'as- saheeh (الجامع الصحيح) "The Correct Collection" by Abu l-Husain Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj al-Qushairi an-Naisaburi (أبو الحسين مسلم بن الحجاج القشيري النيسابوري), died 261/875 .
Sunan at-Tirmidhī = as-Sunan or al-Jāmi 'as- saheeh fī s-sunan (الجامع الصحيح في السنن) "The Correct Collection of Traditions" by Abu 'Isa Muhammad ibn' Isa at-Tirmidhi (أبو عيسى محمد بن عيسى الترمذي) died 279/892 .
Kitāb as- Sunan (كتاب السنن) «The Book of Traditions» by Abū Dāwūd Sulaimān ibn al-Aschʿath as-Sidschistānī (Abū Dāwūd Sulaimān ibn al-Ašʿaṯ as-Siǧistānī) (أبو داود سليمان بن الأشعث السجستاني) died 275/889 .
Kitāb as- Sunan (كتاب السنن) «The Book of Traditions» by Abu 'Abd ar-Rahman Ahmad ibn' Ali an-Nasaʾi (أبو عبد الرحمن أحمد بن علي النسائي) died 303/915 .
Kitāb as- Sunan (كتاب السنن) "The Book of Traditions" by Abu 'Abdallah Muhammad ibn Yazid ar Raba'i al-Qazwini (أبو عبد الله محمد بن يزيد الربعي القزويني) known as Ibn Madschah / Ibn Māǧah (ابن ماجه), died 273/887 .

L.

lahut: (لاهوت, lāhūt ) “deity, divinity”, also “God's world”, “God in his true reality”; (ʿIlm al-lāhūt also means “theology”).
Lailatu 'l-Qadr: (لَيْلَة الْقَدْرِ) Night of omnipotence, night of fate, night of determination (27th Ramadan of each year).

M.

madhhab: (مذهب) Law or other scientific school
madrasa: (مدرسة) Koran school or theological college
mahdi: (مهدى) the expected renewer of the world and faith
mahram: male relative, from whom a woman does not have to cover herself up
makrūh: (مكروه) frowned upon act
malak: (ملك) Angel
ma'rifa: (معرفة) Knowledge, Gnosis
masjid: (مسجد) Place of «prostration», usually a rather small mosque (mosque comes from masjid), for prayer five times a day, often in contrast to jami .
mihrāb: (محراب) Prayer niche, indicates the direction to Mecca
minbar: (منبر) «Pulpit», elevated space for the presentation of the Friday chutba
mu'allim: (معلم) general teacher
mu'ahid: (معاهد) tolerated non-Islamic people of other faith
mujahed: (مجاهد) Fighters for faith
mufti: (مفتى) Legal scholar (state-approved), someone who can create fatwas.
muhajir: (مهاجر) mostly in the plural: al-muhadschirun, the Meccan companions of Muhammad who emigrated from Mecca to Medina . "Emigrants" (for example from India to Pakistan)
munadschat: (مناجاة) «Familiar dialogue»
munāfiq: (منافق) religious hypocrite
murtadd

N

nabiy: (نبى) Prophet
nafas: (نفس) actually «breath». The Alevi term for a «prayer hymn».
nafs: (نفس) In the religious context it means "soul", in other contexts it means "psyche". As a center of emotional strivings, sensations are absorbed and processed in this, and drives for action are generated. The "soul", on the other hand, is considered to be an accumulator of moral qualities in human actions and a measure of evaluation of the latter and, in contrast to the psyche, is of a metaphysical nature. Nafs often has the meaning of instinctual soul, ego, selfish desires.
nahw: (نحو) Syntax (sentence structure), in Arabic grammar (in contrast to the theory of forms, ṣarf) .

Q

qibla: (قبلة) Direction of prayer
qiyās: (قياس) “Conclusion by analogy” in Islamic jurisprudence Fiqh

R.

ramadān: (رمضان) Month of fasting
rasūl: (رسول) Messenger of God (only Adam, Noah, Abraham / Ibrahim, Moses / Musa, Jesus / Isa, Muhammad)
ridda

S.

sadaqa: (صدقة) voluntary donation to the needy
salam: (سلام) Peace - informal greeting, the formal counterpart is as-salāmu ʿalaikum : (السلام عليكم) Peace be with you (greeting among Muslims)
salāt , ṣalāh: (صلاة) Prayer; ritual prayer (both compulsory and voluntary prayer); Pl. Ṣalawāt , name for the five daily prayers (one of the five pillars of Islam).
sakīna: (سكينة) Inner peace mentioned in the Koran
hem: (صوم) Fasting, one of the five pillars
shahada: (شهادة) the Creed, one of the five pillars
shahīd: (شهيد) Islamic martyr
sharia: (شريعة) Islamic law; responsible for all areas of life
schiat ali: (شيعة علي) «Party of Ali», one of the two major denominations in Islam
schirk: (شرك) " Polytheism ", "polytheism", " idolatry ", sometimes every other form of deviating
shura: (شورى) Consultation, council assembly (which can be convened or elected), often translated as “parliament”
silsila: (سلسلة) Chain, mostly spiritual chain of transmission in Sufism (Islamic mysticism)
aṣ-Ṣirāṭ: (الصراط); Path, especially the “straight path” in the religious sense; also the Sirat Bridge, a hair-thin and razor-sharp bridge that the soul has to cross on the day of judgment in order to get to paradise .
siyar: (سير) In Islamic law ( Fiqh ) regulates the law of war and aliens.
sunna: (سنة) «Custom», the sum of the actions and instructions of the Prophet. The second source of Islamic law after the Koran.

T

tadschwid: (تجويد) correct recitation; Quran recitation according to the rules of art.
tafsir: (تفسير) Explanation, interpretation of the Koran, exegesis; Quran commentary.
tāghūt: (طاغوت) (Pl. Tawaghit): idol, idol; Oppressor; Mistake. Is understood as false gods and things that are worshiped next to the one god.
tahara: (طهارة) ritual purity
takbīr: (تكبير) Pronouncing the formula Allāhu akbar
takfīr: (تكفير) Practice of a Muslim to declare another co-believer to be an “unbeliever” ( kuffar )
taqiyya: (تقية), Protection, protect yourself; in danger: possible denial of his Islamic creed towards enemies.
taqlid: (تقليد) Imitation, the opposite of idschtihad
taqwā: (تقوى) God consciousness, piety, fear of God
tarīqa: (طريقة) «Path», Sufi path or Sufi community of a certain direction
tasawwuf: (تصوف) Sufism, Islamic mysticism
tawheed: (توحيد) "Confessing the oneness of God", the one-oneness confession, namely that there is only one God, monotheism ; one of the beliefs.
tawāf: (طواف) Circumnavigating the Kaaba seven times in Mecca during the Hajj (pilgrimage)

U

'ulama: (علماء sing. عالم `alim " knower ") Islamic scholars," scientists "
umma: (أمة) People, community; the Muslim community comprising all Muslims.
umra: small pilgrimage, also part of the Hajj
'urf: (عرف) Custom, common law

W.

wahdat al-vujud: (وحدة الوجود) Sufi monism of being
waqf: (وقف) charitable foundation
wasiy: (وصي, wasīy ) (plural: ausiyā ' ), (أوصياء) «Authorized representative», actually «executor, administrator, administrator». The term wasīy is a central concept of the Shi'ite imamate teaching; originally it referred to the person authorized to represent him after the death of a prophet; in the Shi'ite sects it stands for the representative of the temporarily disappeared or rapt imam .
wudu ': (وضوء, wuḍūʾ ) The little ritual cleansing; washing hands, face, forearms and feet before performing prayer and before touching the Koran.

Z

zakāt , zakāh: (زكاة) literally purity; Compulsory tax, poor tax, one of the 5 pillars of Islam.

List of Arabic names for Islamic terms

A.

B.

C.

D.

F.

G

H

I.

K

L.

M.

N

Q

R.

S.

T

U

W.

Z

See also