BI, SP, AM, AEI and EB (I-V) refer to our books Belief and Islam, The Sunnî Path, Advice for the Muslim, Answer to an Enemy of Islam and Endless Bliss respectively for further information about the entry. The tasawwuf terms can be learned best from Hadrat Ahmad al-Fârûqî as-Sirhindî’s Maktûbât, which is translated partly and literally in our books.
ahl: people; Ahl al-Bait (an-Nabawî), immediate relatives of the Prophet (’alaihi ’s-salâm) AM; ahl-al-bid’a, Ahl as-Sunna (t wa’l-Jamâ’a).
’âlim: scholar trained in Islamic knowledge and his contemporary science.
Allâhu ta’âlâ: Allâhu ta’âlâ to whom all superiority belongs.
’amal: (p. a’mâl) deed; practice of, living up to, ’ilm; ’ibâda.
Âmantu: the six fundamentals of îmân.
âmîn: “accept my prayer, my Allâhu ta’âlâ the Greatest”.
-amru bi ’l-ma’rûf wa ’n-nahyu ’ani ’l-munkar: duty to teach Allah’s commands and to prevent or to disapprove other’s committing His prohibitions.
-’Arsh: the end of matter bordering the seven skies and the Kursî, which is outside them and inside the ’Arsh.
’azîma: difficult way of doing a religious act or matter: taqwâ.
Basmala: the phrase “Bismi’illâhi ’r-rahmâni ’r-rahîm” (In the Name of Allâhu ta’âlâ the Compassionate, the Merciful).
bâtinî: (’ilm) of heart and soul; Bâtinî, a heretic of Bâtiniyya (EBII).
bid’a: (pl. bida’) false, disliked belief (see ahl) or practice that did not exist in the four sources of Islam but has been introduced later as an Islamic belief or ’ibâda in expectation of thawâb;
heresy. SP.
da’îf: (considered to be) reported not as genuinely as sahîh; a kind of hadîths.
faid: outpouring that flow from the guide’s heart to a heart, which thus gains motion, cleanliness and exaltation; ma’rifa.
faqîr: i) form of introduction of oneself, meaning poor, humble slave in need of Mercy; ii) poor Muslim who has more than his subsistence but less than nisâb.
fard: (an act) that is commanded by Allâhu ta’âlâ in the Qur’ân al-kerîm; fard ’ain, fard for every Muslim; fard kifâyâ, fard that must be done at least by one Muslim.
fâsiq: sinful believer, sinner.
ghazâ: battle against non-Muslims; ghâzî, one engaged in ghazâ.
hadîth: a saying of the Prophet; the Hadîth, all the hadîths collectively; science, books, of hadîths, SP. (For kinds of hadîths, see EBII).
haid, nifâs: menstrual, puerperal period.
-Hajaral-aswad: a stone in the wall of the Ka’ba, touched and kissed by the Prophet, so very estimable.
hajj: fard pilgrimage to Mecca BI.
halâl: (an act, thing) permitted.
hamd: glory, glorification.
harâm: (an act, thing) forbidden.
hodja: master (esp, in a religious school).
’ibâda: (pl -ât) worship, rite:
’îd al ad’hâ: festival of sacrifices and hajj.
ikhlâs: (quality, intention or state of) doing everything only for Allâhu ta’âlâ’s sake; sincerity
’ilm: knowledge, science, ’ilm al-’aqâ’id or -kalâm = ’ilm al-fiqh = fiqh; ’ilm al-hadîth, science of hadîths; ’ilm al-hâl, (books of Islamic teachings of one madhhab) ordered to be learned by every Muslim; ’ilm al-qirâ’a, science of the Qur’ân; ’ilm as-sulûk = tasawwuf.
imâm: i) profound ’âlim; founder of a madhhab; ii) leader in congregational salât; iii) caliph.
inshâ-Allah: ’if Allâhu ta’âlâ wills’.
i’tikâf: retreat, religious seclusion during Ramadân.
i’tiqâd: faith, îmân.
junub: state of a Muslim needing ablution of his whole body; EBIV.
-Ka’ba: the big room in al-Masjîd al-Harâm.
kâfir: non-Muslim; one guilty of kufr.
kalâm: (the knowledge of) îmân in Islam.
kalimat at-tawhîd: SP.
karâma: (p. -ât) miracle worked by Allah through a Wâlî; AM.
kashf: revelation; AM.
khalîfa: (p. khulafâ’) caliph; Khulafâ’ ar-Râshidîn, the Prophet’s immediate four caliphs.
Khawârij: (Khârijîs) those heretical Muslims hostile to Ahl al-Bait.
khutba: the preaching delivered at mosque; SP.
kufr: (intention, statement or action causing) infidelity, unbelief.
-kutub as-sitta: the six great, authentic books of the Hadîth; EBII.
ma’ârif: pl. of ma’rifa.
madrasa: Islamic school or university.
mahram: within the forbidden (harâm) degrees of relationship for marriage (nikâh).
makrûh: (act, thing) improper, disliked and abstained by the Prophet: makrûh-tahrîma, prohibited with much stress; AM.
ma’rifa: knowledge about Allâhu ta’âlâ’s Dhât (Essence, Person) and Sifât (Attributes), inspired to the hearts of Awliyâ’. See Walî.
ma’rûf: good acts approved by Islam.
mashhûr: ‘well-known’ among ’ulamâ’; a kind of hadîths.
masjid: mosque: al-Masjid al-Harâm, the great mosque in Mecca.
mawdû’: a kind of hadîths.
mihrâb: niche of a mosque indicating the direction of Mecca.
mubâh: (act) that is neither ordered nor prohibited; permitted.
mudarris: professor at madrasa.
mufassir: expert scholar of tafsîr.
muftî: ’âlim authorized to issue fatwâ.
mujâhid: a Muslim who tries to spread Islam by means of publication, speech or struggle.
mu’jîza: (pl. -ât) miracle worked by Allâhu ta’âlâ through a prophet; AM.
munâfiq: hypocrite in the disguise of a Muslim though he believes in another religion.
nafs: a force in man which wants him to harm himself religiously; an-nafs al-ammâra, AM.
nass: (general term for an âyat or a hadîth.)
nikâh: Islamic contract for marriage.
nisâb: minimum quantity of specified wealth which makes one liable to do some certain duties; EBV.
-Qabr as-Sa’âda: the Prophet’s shrine.
qadâ: the instance of happening or creation of what is predestined; qadar, predestination of everything as Allâhu ta’âlâ has decreed from eternity; BI.
qibla: direction towards the Ka’ba.
qiyâs: (of a mujtahid) to resemble, to compare, an affair not clearly stated in the Qur’ân, Hadîth or ijmâ’ to a similar one stated clearly; conclusion drawn from such comparison; ijtihâd; SP.
qutb: a Walî of highest degree; AM.
Rabb: Allâhu ta’âlâ as the Creator and ‘Trainer’.
rak’a: unit of salât; AM.
Rasûlullah: Muhammad, the Prophet of Allâhu ta’âlâ: BI.
ribâ: charging or paying interest.
ru’ûs: final exam at the university level madrasa.
Sahâbî: (pl. as-Sahâba) Muslim who saw the Prophet at least once; a companion of the Prophet.
sahîh: i) valid, lawful; ii) (hadîth) authentic, soundly transmitted.
Salaf as-sâlihîn: as-Sahâba and the distinguished ones among the Tâbi’ûn and their companions; AM.
sâlih: one who is pious and abstains from sins.
sâlik: one who is on a certain way in tasawwuf; AM.
shafâ’a: intercession; SP.
shirk: (statement, action causing) polytheism; ascribing a partner to Allâhu ta’âlâ.
suhba (sohba): companionship; company of a prophet or Walî.
sulahâ: pl. of sâlih.
sultân al-Haramain: ruler of Mecca and Medina; Khâdim al-Haramain, one who serves Mecca and Medina.
sunna: an act (done and liked by the Prophet as an ’ibâda) for which there is thawâb if done, but sinful if continually omitted and kufr if disliked; the Sunna, i) (with fard) all sunnas collectively; ii) (with the Book) the Hadîth; iii) (alone) the Sharî’a.
sûra (t): a chapter of the Qur’ân.
tâ’a: those acts that are liked by Allâhu ta’âlâ; AM.
ta’addud az-zawjât: (permission for) a Muslim man’s marrying up to four women.
-Tâbi’ûn: successors of as-Sahâba, AM.
tafsîr: (a book of, the science of) explanation of the Qur’ân.
taqwâ: fearing Allâhu ta’âlâ; abstention from harâms, practising ’azîmas.
tarîqa: paths or schools of tasawwuf, defined by Islamic scholars; AM.
tashaffu’: asking shafâ’a.
tawakkul: trust in expectation of everything from Allâhu ta’âlâ.
tawâtur: state of being widespread, which is a document for authenticity and against denial.
tawhîd: (belief in) the Oneness, unicity, of Allâhu ta’âlâ.
thawâb: (unit of) reward in Paradise.
’ulamâ’: pl. of ’âlim; ’ulamâ’ ar-râsihîn, those learned in both zâhirî and bâtinî sciences.
umma: the community, body of believers, of a prophet.
’umra: minor (not fard but sunna) pilgrimage to Mecca; AM.
usûl: i) methodology or fundamentals of a religious science; ii) methodologies of basic Islamic sciences; SP.
wahî, wahy: the knowledge revealed to the Prophet from Allâhu ta’âlâ, AM.
Walî: one loved and protected (by Allâhu ta’âlâ). pl. Awliyâ.
waqf: a pious foundation.
wara’: abstention from mushtabihât (doubtful things); AM.
wilâya: state of being a Walî; AM.
zâhid: a man of zuhd; ascetic.
zâhirî: antonym of bâtinî; AM.
zindîq: an antheist who pretends to be a Muslim.
zuhd: not setting one’s heart on worldly things, even mubâhs; AM.
A’ûdhu billah-imin-esh-shaytân-ir-rajîm
Bismi'llâhi'r-Rahmâni'r-Rahîm
Resûlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ stated: “When fasâd (mischief, instigation, disunion, tumult) runs rife among my Ummat (Muslims), a person who abides by my Sunnat will acquire blessings equal to the amount deserved by a hundred martyrs.” Scholars affiliated with any one of the four Madhhabs, (which are, namely, Hanafî, Mâlikî, Shâfi’î and Hanbalî,) are called Scholars of Ahl as-Sunna. The leader of the scholars of Ahl as-Sunna is al-Imâm al-a’zam Abû Hanîfa. These scholars recorded what they had heard from the Sahâba-i-kirâm, who, in their turn, had told them what they had heard from the Messenger of Allah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’.
The earth is populated by three groups of people today:
1– Disbelievers. These people say that they are not Muslims. Jews and Christians are in this group.
2– The Sunnî Muslims. These people exist with an ever-increasing population in every country.
3– (Hypocrites called) Munâfiqs. They say that they are Muslims. With respect to îmân and some acts of worship, they are not comparable to the Ahl as-Sunnat. They are not true Muslims.
Our Prophet ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ stated, “A person whom Allâhu ta’âlâ loves very much is one who learns his religion and teaches it to others. Learn your religion from the mouths of Islamic scholars!”
A person who cannot find a true scholar must learn by reading books written by the scholars of Ahl as-sunna, and try hard to spread these books. A Muslim who has ’ilm (knowledge), ’amal (practising what one knows; obeying Islam’s commandments and prohibitions), and ikhlâs (doing everything only to please Allâhu ta’âlâ) is called an Islamic scholar. A person who represents himself as an Islamic scholar though he lacks any one of these qualifications is called an ‘evil religious scholar’, or an ‘impostor’. An Islamic scholar is a guard who protects Islam. An impostor is Satan’s accomplice.[1]
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[1] Knowledge that is acquired not for the purpose of practising it with ikhlâs, will not be beneficial. Please see the 366 th and 367 th pages of the first volume of Hadîqa, and also the 36th and the 40 th and the 59 th letters in the first volume of Maktûbât. (The English versions of these letters exist in the 16th and the 25 th and the 28 th chapters, respectively, of the second fascicle of Endless Bliss).