Glossary
The technical terms used in the translation and its notes, as defined in the printed edition.
- ‘Arafāt
- A vast field located about ten kilometres from Minā.
- ‘Iddat
- A statutory period after divorce or death of the husband that the wife must observe without marrying again.
- ‘Umrah
- A ceremonial visitation to the House of God.
- Baḥīrah
- In the Arab jāhiliyyah period, the name given to a she-camel which had five offspring, the last of which is a male. The ears of such a camel were slit and it was left free.
- Dīnār
- Name of a currency.
- Dirham
- Name of a currency.
- Diyat
- A fine imposed on a murderer.
- Ḥām
- In the Arab jāhiliyyah period, the name given to a bull which had given birth to many offspring. It would be left free.
- Hadī
- Animals dedicated for sacrifice in the House of God.
- Ḥajj
- Pilgrimage to the House of God.
- Hijrah and Barā’ah
- Migration and Acquittal.
- I‘tikāf
- A ritual of worship observed in Ramaḍān in which a believer secludes himself or herself in a mosque for a certain period to devote time to God’s remembrance.
- Iḥrām
- Two pieces of unstitched cloth worn by a male pilgrim during the worship ritual of ḥajj.
- Indhār
- Warning
- Indhār-i ‘ām
- Open warning.
- Infāq
- Spending for the cause of God.
- Istabraq
- A silk dress.
- Itmām al-ḥujjah
- Conclusive communication of the truth.
- Jāhiliyyah
- The period of time in Arabia before the advent of Muḥammad (sws). It signifies tribal interest as the real basis of right or wrong.
- Jihād
- Armed conflict.
- Mann
- A substance akin to dew which would descend on the earth and then freeze like hail. During their wanderings in the desert of Sinai, the Israelites would place it in the heat of the sun to melt it for eating.
- Marwah
- A hillock near the House of God.
- Muḥkām
- Verses which are the basis of guidance and are not allegorical.
- Mukātabat
- A term which means that a slave make a contract with his master according to which he would be required to pay a certain sum of money in a specific time period or would carry out a specific service for his master.
- Mutashābih
- Allegorical verses of the Qur’ān which mention certain blessings and torments a person may encounter in the Hereafter.
- Muzdalifah
- A field where the pilgrims spend the night on their way back from ‘Arafāt.
- Qiblah
- The House of God reconstructed by Abraham (sws) in the land of Makkah.
- Qiṣāṣ
- The punishment in which the criminal is treated in the same way as he himself had treated the victim while committing the crime.
- Rā‘inā
- An Arabic phrase meaning: “pardon us.”
- Raqīm
- Name of the building which was constructed on the cave as a memorial for its dwellers (kahf).
- Rūḥ
- Divine revelation; spirit.
- Sā’ibah
- In the Arab jāhiliyyah period, the name given to a camel which was left free once some vow had been fulfilled.
- Ṣafā
- A hillock near the House of God.
- Ṣalāḥ
- The worship ritual of the prayer.
- Salām
- A greeting meaning “Peace.”
- Salwā
- Birds which the Almighty sent upon the Israelites in the desert of Sinai.
- Sha‘ā’ir
- Plural of sha‘īrah. A symbol that signifies a certain religious reality.
- Sharī‘ah
- Divine law.
- Shuhadā’
- Witnesses.
- Ṣiddīq
- Truthful.
- Sundus
- A silk dress.
- Tahajjud
- The late night prayer.
- Ṭawāf
- Circumambulation of the House of God.
- Tawḥīd
- Monotheism.
- Tazkiyah and Taṭhīr
- Both words are synonymously used by author to refer to purification of beliefs and practices of the believers; the word taṭhīr has an additional meaning of separating and organizing the believers from the hypocrites and the disbelievers. Whenever this additional meaning is implied, the author has specified it in the explanation of a sūrah.
- Ummah
- Community.
- Unẓurnā
- An Arabic phrase meaning: “give us respite.”
- Waṣīlah
- In the Arab jāhiliyyah period, some people would vow that if a goat gave birth to a male offspring, they would present it before their idols, and if it gave birth to a female offspring, they would keep it to themselves; if she gave birth to male and female offspring simultaneously, they would call it waṣīlah and would not present such male offspring to their idols.
- Wuḍū
- Ablution.
- Zakāh
- The worship ritual of charity.
- Zaqqūm
- A tree in Hell.
- Ẓihār
- An irrevocable form of divorce found in the jāhiliyyah period.