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While many Islamic terms originate in Arabic, many have also acquired local variations. In the following we try to cover the most common variations, and the user will occasionally have to use a bit of imagination to adjust spellings.
adhan/azan/ezan |
call to prayer. |
ahl al-bayt/al al-bayt/ehl-i beyt |
the family/descendants of the Prophet. |
Ahmadi/Ahmadiyya |
reform movement founded in India in the 19th century and widely regarded by other Muslims as heretical. |
Alevi |
movement with roots dating back to the twelfth century, often esoteric in nature and with links to Shiʾism; today especially strong among Turks and Kurds of Eastern Anatolian origin and active minorities in Western Europe, mainly in Austria, Germany, and France. |
Arbaʾeen |
Shiʾi religious observance, 40 days after the day of ‘Ashura’, to commemorate the death of Husayn ibn Ali (third Shiʾi imam). |
‘Ashura’ |
festival on the tenth of Muharram (first month of the Islamic calendar) marking the death of Husayn ibn Ali (third Shiʾi imam) at the battle of Karbala in 680; a central Shiʾi religious observance. |
Barelvi/Barelwi |
revivalist movement that emerged in South Asia during British colonial rule and fuses traditional Sunni Islam with Sufi devotional practices. |
bayram |
festival (esp. Turkish for ʾId, q.v.). |
Bektashi |
a Sufi order with strong Ottoman roots; marginalised during the mid-19th century Ottoman reforms and banned with other Sufi orders by the Turkish Republic in the 1920s. |
burka/burqa |
specifically the Afghan-style female full body covering, including the face; in common usage in Europe now taken to mean any form of female full body and face covering. |
cem |
central Alevi communal dance ritual similar to the sema ritual of the Mevlevi Sufi order. |
cemevi |
place in which Alevi cem ritual is performed. |
daʾwa |
Islamic term for missionary or proselytising activities. |
Deobandi |
Sunni revivalist movement that emerged in South Asia in the 19th century with strong emphasis on the scholarly tradition of Sunni Islam. |
dershane |
“cram school”, a type of specialised school. |
dervish |
a common term for Sufi. |
dhikr/zikr |
ritual practised by devotees of a Sufi tradition. |
fatwa/fetwa |
statement of opinion on a point of theology or law issued by an authority in response to an application. |
hafiz |
person who knows the Qurʾan by heart. |
hajj |
the annual pilgrimage at Mecca at the beginning of the twelfth month of the Islamic calendar; the highpoint is ʾId al-Adha. |
halal |
permitted. |
haram |
prohibited. |
hijab |
head scarf worn by women. |
hijra |
migration of the Prophet and his followers from Mecca to Medina (Yathrib) in 622 ce. |
husayniyya |
popular centre of learning and devotion in Shiʾi Islam. |
ʾid |
festival. |
ʾId al-Adha |
Feast of the Sacrifice during the pilgrimage at Mecca. |
ʾId al-Fitr |
festival ending the fast of Ramadan. |
iftar |
breaking of the fast at the end of the day during Ramadan, increasingly celebrated in invited company by mosques, churches, and other organisations. |
imam |
religious leader, most commonly the one who leads the congregation at the regular prayers; also used about prominent scholars and spiritual leaders. Among Shiʾi Muslims, a legitimate leader of the community. |
jumʿa |
Friday noon prayer. |
khutba |
sermon. |
qurban/kurban |
sacrifice, as in Turkish kurban bayramı (ʾId al-Adha). |
Lailat al-qadr |
the “night of power”, 27th Ramadan, the celebration of the revelation of the Qurʾan. |
madhhab |
school of law or theology. |
madrasa/medrese |
school at any level, usually elementary and high Islamic. |
majlis |
council or body governing Muslim community organisations, in South-eastern Europe in particular (see also meshihat). |
masjid |
mosque. |
mawlid/mevlud |
birthday of the Prophet Muhammad. |
meshihat |
council or body governing Muslim community organisations, in South-eastern Europe in particular (see also majlis). |
mizar/miziar |
cemetery. |
muʾadhdhin/muezzin |
the person who calls to prayer. |
mufti |
person who issues fatwa; in some modern states the title of the leading Islamic official. |
muftiate |
office or institution of mufti. |
nafaqa |
maintenance and/or alimony payment after divorce. |
Nawruz/Nevruz |
New Year in the Persian//Kurdish/Turkish tradition. |
nikah |
marriage formalised in the Islamic tradition. |
niqab |
female face covering. |
qurban/kurban |
literally meaning “sacrifice” and often used as a reference to meat of animals during ʾId al-Adha at the end of the annual hajj to Mecca. |
raʾis al-ʿulamaʾ or |
“dean of the scholars”, applied in some countries (Eastern |
just raʾis or reis |
European in particular) to the official head of the Muslim community. |
Ramadan |
the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, the month of fasting. |
riba |
(unlawful) interest on capital. |
rijaset/riyaset |
governing council within centralised Muslim community organisations in South-eastern Europe, usually headed by the chief mufti or raʾis al-ʿulamaʾ. |
sabantuj |
Tatar and Bashkir cultural festival. |
sadaqa |
alms given at various occasions, often in connection with a religious festival. |
salah/salat |
prescribed prayers five times a day. |
shariʾa |
Islamic law and ethics, the principles of good Islamic behaviour. |
shaykh/sheikh |
leader of a congregation, especially of a Sufi character; honorific for someone learned. |
sheikh al-islam |
title of leading Muslim scholar or head of official Muslim community organisation in a country; originally an Ottoman title, and therefore used in Muslim communities in regions that were part of the Ottoman Empire. |
Shiʾi/Shiʾism |
the branches within Islam which trace their authority through the descendants of ʿAli, the Prophet’s nephew and son-in-law. They make up 12–15% of the total number of Muslims worldwide. |
Sufi/Sufism |
the mystical tradition. |
sukuk |
commonly used for shariʾa compliant financial bonds. |
Sunni/Sunnism |
the majority tradition within Islam, sometimes (mistakenly) called “orthodox”. |
talaq |
divorce by repudiation. |
tariqa/tarikat |
Sufi order. |
tekke/teke |
a Sufi meeting place (Turkish). |
turba/turbe |
tomb of a venerated person (“saint”), often the object of popular devotion. |
umma |
the global community of believers. |
ʿumra |
the lesser pilgrimage at Mecca taking place at times other than hajj. |
waqf/vakf |
religious foundation (of property) providing income for religious, charitable, or educational purposes. |
zakah/zakat |
obligatory almsgiving. |
zawiya |
a Sufi meeting place (Arabic). |
zikr |
see dhikr. |
ziyara |
visiting family graves or tombs of Muslim saints at set times of year. |
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