A
adāʾ – accomplishment of a religious duty within its prescribed time, as opposed to qaḍā
adhān – call to prayer
ʿādil – a dutiful person, i.e., someone who does the things that are obligatory on him and refrains from doing the things that are unlawful for him; just; possessing moral probity
ʿahd – covenant
aḥkām – (pl. of ḥukm) laws; rules
ahl al-khibrah – expert(s)
ahl al-kitāb – People of the Book, i.e. Jews, Christians, and Zoroastrians
al-aḥwaṭ al-awlā – more precautious and more preferred (for practical purposes, a ‘more precautious and more preferred’ juristic opinion is equivalent to recommended precaution)
al‐ḥujjah al‐ijmāliyyah – non-specific authority
aʿlam – the most learned mujtahid, i.e. the mujtahid who is most capable of understanding the law of Allah from among all the mujtahids of his time
ʿalaqah – clot of blood
ajīr – a person who is hired to do something
aʿmāl – rituals; acts of worship
aʿmāl Umm Dāwūd – a recommended set of ritual acts of worship that are usually performed in the middle of the month of Rajab
amānah – trust
ʿamdan – intentionally
ʿāmil – worker
amīn – (1) a trustworthy person (2) non-liable
al-amr bil-maʿrūf – enjoining good
anfāl – property belonging to the Imam (ʿA)
al-ʿaqd al-dāʾim – permanent marriage contract
al-ʿaqd al-lāzim – irrevocable contract
ʿaqd al-muʿāwaḍah – contract of exchange; a contract in which something is given in exchange for something else
al-ʿaqd al-munqaṭiʿ – temporary marriage contract
ʿāqil – sane
aqwā – stronger opinion (for practical purposes, where an opinion is stated to be ‘stronger’, a fatwa is being given)
ʿāriyah – gratuitous loan; commodate
arkān – (pl. of rukn) elemental components of an act of worship
ʿaṣr – afternoon
awliyāʾ – Friends (of Allah)
awwal al-waqt – start of the prescribed time for prayers
al-ʿayn al-mawqūfah – charitable endowed property
ʿayn al-najāsah – intrinsic impurity; actual source of impurity
aẓhar – more apparent ruling (for practical purposes in jurisprudential rulings, an opinion that is termed ‘more apparent’ equates to a fatwa)
B
baʿīd – farfetched; unlikely (for practical purposes, a legal opinion that is termed ‘not farfetched’ equates to a fatwa)
bāligh – someone who is of the age of legal responsibility; a major
bāṭil – (1) invalid (2) void
bulūgh – age of legal responsibility
D
dafn – burial
dāʾimah – permanent wife
ḍamān – suretyship
ḍāmin – (1) responsible (2) guarantor; surety
ḍarīḥ – lattice encloser of a tomb
dayn – debt
dhabḥ – slaughtering of an animal according to Islamic law
dhikr – (1) remembering Allah (2) declaring in rukūʿ and sujūd that Allah is free from imperfections
dhimmī – People of the Book (ahl al-kitāb) – i.e. Jews, Christians, and Zoroastrians – who have entered into a dhimmah treaty, i.e. an agreement that gives them rights as protected subjects in an Islamic state
diyah – blood money
duʿāʾ – supplication
F
al-fajr al-kādhib – the false dawn, also known as ‘the first dawn’
al-fajr al-ṣādiq – the true dawn, also known as ‘the second dawn’
faqīh – (sing. of fuqahā) jurist
faqīr – (sing. of fuqarā) a poor person, i.e., someone who does not possess the means to meet his and his family’s expenses for one year
faskh – annulment
fatwa – edict issued by a mujtahid
fidyah – compensative payment of one mudd (approximately 750 grams) of staple food to a poor person for a fast of the month of Ramadan that is missed under certain circumstances
fiqh – Islamic jurisprudence
fuqahā – (pl. of faqīh) jurists
fuqarā – (pl. of faqīr) poor people, i.e. those who do not possess the means to meet their and their family’s expenses for one year
fuqqā – beer
furādā – performing an act of worship on one’s own, as opposed to in jamāʿah
G
ghanāʾim – (pl. of ghanīmah) spoils of war
ghanīmah – (sing. of ghanāʾim) spoil of war
ghaṣbī – usurped
ghasl – washing
ghaybah – occultation
ghinā – singing
ghurūb – sunset
ghusālah – waste water, i.e. qalīl water that separates from an impure object when that object is washed or after it has been washed
ghusl – ritual bathing
al-ghusl al-irtimāsī – immersive ritual bathing
al-ghusl al-irtimāsī al-dafʿī – instantaneous immersive ritual bathing
al-ghusl al-irtimāsī al-tadrījī – gradual immersive ritual bathing
ghusl mass al-mayyit – the ghusl for touching a corpse
al-ghusl al-tartībī – sequential ritual bathing
H
ḥadath – occurrence, i.e. something that invalidates wuḍūʾ
al-ḥadath al-akbar – major occurrence, i.e. something that requires one to perform ghusl in order to perform an act of worship that requires wuḍūʾ
al-ḥadath al-aṣghar – minor occurrence, i.e. something that requires one to perform wuḍūʾ in order to perform an act of worship that requires wuḍūʾ
ḥadd al-tarakhkhuṣ – permitted limit
ḥāʾiḍ – a woman in menstruation
ḥāʾir – an area of approximately 11.5 metres around the sacred grave of Imam al-Ḥusayn (ʿA) in Karbala
hajj – visiting the House of Allah i.e. the Kaʿbah in Mecca, and performing the prescribed rituals there
ḥajj al-ifrād – pilgrimage to Mecca performed by Muslims who reside within 88 kilometres of Mecca (see also ḥajj al-qirān)
ḥajjat al-islām – the hajj that is obligatory for a Muslim to perform once in his lifetime, as opposed to a hajj that is obligatory for a Muslim by means of a vow and suchlike
ḥajj al-qirān – pilgrimage to Mecca performed by Muslims who reside within 88 kilometres of Mecca. Unlike ḥajj al‑ifrād, ḥajj al‑qirān requires one to have his sacrificial animal with him when he enters the state of iḥrām.
hajj al-tamattuʿ – pilgrimage to Mecca performed by Muslims who reside further than 88 kilometres from Mecca
al-ḥākim al-jāʾir – unjust ruler
al-ḥākim al-sharʿī – fully qualified jurist
ḥalāl – lawful
ḥalq – shaving of the head performed by men as part of the hajj rituals
ḥaraj – hardship
ḥaram – (1) shrine (2) sacred precinct
ḥarām – unlawful; prohibited
ḥawālah – transfer of debt
ḥawzah – Islamic seminary
ḥayḍ – menstruation; period
hibah – gift
ḥubs – bequest
al‑ḥujjah al‑ijmāliyyah – non-specific authority
al-ḥujjah al-sharʿiyyah – legally authoritative; legal proof
ḥukm – (sing. of aḥkām) law; rule
al-ḥukm al-sharʿī – religious law
ḥulūl – immanence
ḥusayniyyah – congregation hall used by Shia Muslims for religious ceremonies
I
ʿibādah – (sing. of ʿibādāt) ritual act of worship
ʿibādāt – (pl. of ʿibādah) ritual acts of worship
ibn al-sabīl – a stranded traveller
ʿiddah – prescribed waiting period for a woman before she can remarry
ʿiddat al-wafāt – the ʿiddah of a widow, i.e. the prescribed waiting period for a woman whose husband has died
ifṭār – breaking a fast
iḥrām – state of ritual consecration of pilgrims during hajj and ʿumrah
iḥtiyāṭ – precaution
al‐iḥtiyāṭ al‐lāzim – necessary precaution (this is the same as al-iḥtiyāṭ al-wājib)
al-iḥtiyāṭ al-mustaḥabb – recommended precaution
al-iḥtiyāṭ al-wājib – obligatory precaution
ijārah – hiring; renting; leasing
ijtihād – (1) the process of deriving Islamic laws from authentic sources (2) the level of someone who is a jurist
ikhfāt – whispering the recitation (qirāʾah) of prayers, as opposed to pronouncing it aloud (jahr)
ikhtiyār – volition; authority
al-ʿilm al-ijmālī – non-specific knowledge
imāmah – religious leadership
inqilāb – change
intiqāl – transfer
īqāʿ – unilateral instigation
iqāmah – call to stand up for prayer
iqrār – (1) avowal (2) admitting to a right to one’s own detriment or denying a right for oneself over someone else
irth – inheritance
ʿishāʾ – evening
istibrāʾ – (1) the process of clearing the male urethra of urine after urinating (2) preventing an excrement-eating animal from eating impurity for some time and feeding it pure food so that after that period, it is no longer considered to be an excrement-eating animal (3) the method of checking whether or not menstruation has stopped
istiḥāḍah – irregular blood discharge
al-istiḥāḍah al-kathīrah – excessive irregular blood discharge
al-istiḥāḍah al-mutawassiṭah – medium irregular blood discharge
al-istiḥāḍah al-qalīlah – slight irregular blood discharge
istiḥālah – transformation
istījārī – a ritual act of worship that a person is hired to perform on behalf of someone else
istikhārah – the practice of seeking from Allah the best choice between two or more options
istinjāʾ – purification of the anus and the urinary outlet
istisqāʾ – invocation for rain
Ithnā ʿAsharī – Twelver
iʿtikāf – spiritual retreat; the act of staying in a mosque under particular conditions with the intention of worshipping Allah
iṭmiʾnān – confidence
ʿiwaḍ – payment in exchange
J
jabīrah – something with which a wound or a break in a bone is bandaged, or the medication that is applied to a wound
al-jāhil al-muqaṣṣir – culpably ignorant person
al-jāhil al-qāṣir – inculpably ignorant person
al-jahl al-quṣūrī – inculpable ignorance
al-jahl al-taqṣīrī – culpable ignorance
jahr – pronouncing the recitation (qirāʾah) of prayers aloud, as opposed to whispering it (ikhfāt)
jāʿil – offeror
jāʾiz – permitted; lawful
jamāʿah – congregation
janābah – ritual impurity
juʿālah – reward
junub – someone in the state of janābah
K
kafālah – surety for the appearance of a debtor
kafan – shroud
kaffārah – recompense
kafīl – surety, i.e. a person who undertakes to present a debtor whenever the creditor seeks him
kāfir – (sing. of kuffār) disbeliever
al-kāfir al-ḥarbī – a disbeliever who is not a dhimmī and has not entered into a peace or security treaty with Muslims
kāfūr – camphor
kathīr al-safar – frequent traveller
kathīr al-shakk – excessive doubter
khiyār – option; the right to annul a transaction
khiyār al-ʿayb – option due to a defect
khiyār al-ghabn – option due to cheating
khiyār al-ḥayawān – option pertaining to animals
khiyār al-majlis – option while meeting
khiyār al-ruʾyah – option pertaining to seeing
khiyār al-sharṭ – option due to a stipulated condition
khiyār al-shirkah – option due to a partnership
khiyār taʿadhdhur al-taslīm – option due to an inability to hand over
khiyār al-tadlīs – option due to deceit
khiyār takhalluf al-sharṭ – option due to a breach of condition
khiyār al-taʾkhīr – option due to delay
khulʿ – the divorce of a wife who has an aversion to her husband and gives him her dowry or some of her other property so that he divorces her
khums – the one-fifth tax
kitābī – one who is among the People of the Book, i.e. Jews, Christians, and Zoroastrians
kuffār – (pl. of kāfir) disbelievers
kufr – disbelief
al-kullī fī al-dhimmah – non-specified undertaking
kunyah – an appellation given to someone as the father or mother of someone
kurr – a quantity of water greater or equal to approximately 384 litres
L
laqab – epithet; title
M
madhhab – religious denomination
madhī – fluid that sometimes comes out of the penis as a result of sexual arousal
maʿdhūr – someone who is legally excused
mā fī al-dhimmah – intention to fulfil whatever one’s obligation happens to be with regard to a particular act
maghrib – the time shortly after sunset (ghurūb) when the redness of the sky in the east has passed overhead
maḥall al–ishkāl – problematic (for practical purposes, if a matter is said to be ‘problematic’ it amounts to saying the ruling is based on obligatory precaution)
maḥall al-taʾammul – a matter of deliberation (for practical purposes, if a matter is said to be one of ‘deliberation’, it amounts to saying the ruling is based on obligatory precaution)
al-maḥjūr ʿalayh – someone who is prohibited from having disposal over his property
mahr – dowry
mahr al-mithl – the standard amount for a dowry
maḥram – a person one is never permitted to marry on account of being related to them in a particular way, such as, being their parent or sibling
majhūl al-mālik – unknown owner
makrūh – (sing. of makrūhāt) disapproved
makrūhāt – (pl. of makrūh) disapproved acts
mālik – owner
maʾmūm – someone who follows an imam in congregational prayers
al-manūb ʿanhu – someone who is represented
marājiʿ – (pl. of marjaʿ) jurists who have the necessary qualifications to be followed in matters of Islamic jurisprudence; sources of emulation in these matters
marjaʿ – (sing. of marājiʿ) a jurist who has the necessary qualifications to be followed in matters of Islamic jurisprudence; a source of emulation in these matters
masāʾil – (pl. of masʾalah) rulings
masʾalah – (sing. of masāʾil) ruling
masḥ – wiping
mashaqqah – excessive difficulty
mashhūr – opinion held by most jurists
mashrūʿ – sanctioned in Islamic law
mashrūʿiyyah – legality
al-masjid al-jāmiʿ – a mosque that is not particular to a specific group of people but is frequented by people from different areas of the city
maʿṣūm – (sing. of maʿṣūmīn) Infallible
maʿṣūmīn – (pl. of maʿṣūm) Infallibles
al-mawqūf ʿalayh – beneficiary of an endowment
maẓālim – property that has been unrightfully or unknowingly taken
miḥrāb – niche, chamber, or slab in a mosque facing the direction of Mecca and where the imam usually stands for congregational prayers
miskīn – a needy person; someone whose living conditions are worse than that of a poor person (faqīr)
muʿāhad – a cosignatory with Muslims to a peace or security treaty
muʿāmalah – (sing. of muʿāmalāt) transaction
muʿāmalāt – (pl. of muʿāmalah) transactions
muʿāriḍ – countervailing argument
muʿāwaḍah – exchange
mubāḥ – (1) permissible (2) not usurped
mubāhalah – mutual imprecation
al-mubāḥāt al-aṣliyyah property that does not belong to anyone in particular and can be used by people in general
mubārāh – a divorce that takes place when a husband and wife have an aversion to each other and the wife gives some property to her husband so that he divorces her
mubtadhilah – a woman who does not observe hijab in front of non-maḥram men and does not take heed when she is forbidden from continuing with this behaviour
mubtadiʾah – a menarcheal woman, i.e. a woman who has her period for the first time
mubṭilāt – things that invalidate
muḍāf – mixed water
muḍārabah – sleeping partnership; silent partnership
al-muḍārabah al-idhniyyah – sleeping partnership that is based on the owner giving the worker permission to trade with his property
muḍghah – embryo
muḍṭaribah – a woman with a disordered menstruation habit
mufallas – someone who has been proclaimed bankrupt
mughārasah – tree planting contract
muḥtaḍar – a dying person; moribund
muḥtalim – someone who has had a ‘wet dream’, i.e. semen has been ejaculated in his sleep
muḥtaram al-māl someone whose property is inviolable, i.e. a Muslim, or a dhimmī disbeliever, or a cosignatory with Muslims to a peace or security treaty (muʿāhad)
mujādalah – disputing with others
muʾjir – a person who gives something on rent; lessor
mujtahid – jurist; someone who has attained the level of ijtihād, qualifying him to be an authority in Islamic law
mukallaf – a duty-bound person; someone who is legally obliged to fulfil religious duties
mumārah – altercating with others
mumayyiz – someone who is able to discern between right and wrong; a discerning minor
munqaṭiʿah – temporary wife
muqallid – a follower of a jurist in matters of Islamic law
murḍiʿah – nursing mother
murtadd – apostate
al-murtadd al-fiṭrī – someone who was born to one or both Muslim parents and later became a disbeliever
al-murtadd al-millī – someone who was born to one or both disbelieving parents and later became a disbeliever
muṣālaḥah – arriving at a settlement with someone
musāqāh – tree tending contract
mushāʿ – joint ownership
mūṣī – testator
mustaḥabb – (sing. of mustaḥabbāt) recommended
mustaḥabbāt – (pl. of mustaḥabb) recommended acts
mustaḥāḍah – a woman who is experiencing istiḥāḍah
mustaḥiqq – (sing. of mustaḥiqqūn) a person who is entitled (mostly used with regard to someone who is entitled to receive khums or zakat)
mustaḥiqqūn – (pl. of mustaḥiqq) those who are entitled (mostly used with regard to persons who are entitled to receive khums or zakat)
mustaʾjir – a person who takes something on rent; tenant; hirer; lessee
mustaṭīʿ – someone who is able to go for hajj
mutʿah – temporary marriage; fixed-term marriage; a temporary wife
muṭahhirāt – things that purify an impure object
muʿtakif – someone who is in the act of performing iʿtikāf
al-muṭallaqah al-rijʿiyyah – a woman who has been given a revocable divorce
al-mutamattaʿ bihā – temporary wife
mutanajjis – something that has become impure by secondary means, as opposed to being an intrinsic impurity (ʿayn al-najāsah)
mutawallī – trustee
muṭlaq – unmixed water
muwakkil – principal (used with regard to agency)
muwālāh – close succession
muwaswis – an obsessively doubtful person
muzāraʿah – sharecropping
N
nadhr – vow
nafaqah – maintenance; alimony
nāfilah – the supererogatory prayer
naḥr – slaughtering of a camel according to Islamic law
al-nahy ʿan al-munkar – forbidding evil
nāʾib – representative
najāsah – (sing. of najāsāt) an impurity
najāsāt – (pl. of najāsah) impurities
najis – impure
naqd – immediate exchange transaction; a transaction in which there is no lapse of time between a buyer paying for an item and receiving it
nāshizah – a recalcitrant wife, i.e. a wife who does not perform her obligatory marital duties
nasīʾah – credit
nāṣibī – (sing. of nawāṣib) someone who shows enmity towards the Imams (ʿA)
nāsiyah – a woman who has forgotten the habit of her period
nawāṣib – (pl. of nāṣibī) those who show enmity towards the Imams (ʿA)
al-nāẓir al-muḥtaram – ‘a respected onlooker’, i.e. someone who is sane (ʿāqil), able to discern between right and wrong (mumayyiz), of the age of legal responsibility (bāligh), and not married to the person being seen
nifās – lochia, i.e. blood discharge after childbirth
niṣāb – taxable limit
niyābah – doing something on behalf of someone else; by proxy
niyyah – intention
nufasāʾ – a woman who is experiencing nifās
Q
qaḍā – (1) making up a religious duty that was not performed in its prescribed time, as opposed to adā (2) a lapsed ritual act of worship
qāʾidat al-tasāmuḥ fī adillat al-sunan – principle of leniency in evidence for recommended acts
qalīl – water that does not gush from the earth and is less than kurr
qasam – oath
qaṣd – intention
qaṣd al-inshāʾ – intention to establish
qaṣd al-qurbah – intention to attain proximity to Allah, i.e. to humbly obey Allah
qaṣd al-qurbah al-muṭlaqah – a general intention to attain proximity to Allah / humbly obey Allah, i.e. an intention to perform a ritual act of worship in order to attain proximity to Allah / humbly obey Allah without specifying any particulars about that act
qaṣr – shortened prayers of a traveller
qibla – direction towards the Kaʿbah in Mecca
qirāʾah – recitation
qiṣāṣ – retributory punishment
qiyām – standing position in prayers
qunūt – the act of supplicating in prayers with the hands placed in front of the face
qur ah – lot (as in to draw lots)
R
radd al-maẓālim – giving back property – which has been unrightfully or unknowingly taken – to its rightful owner, or if that is not possible, to the poor as ṣadaqah on behalf of the rightful owner
rahn – security; deposit; collateral
rakʿah – a unit of the prayer
rajāʾ – (shorter form of rajāʾ al-maṭlūbiyyah) intention to perform / avoid something in the hope that it is desired by Allah
rashīdah – a mature female who has reached bulūgh and is able to determine what is in her interest
ribā – usury; interest
risālah – manual of Islamic rulings
rūḥ – spirit
rujūʿ – (1) acting on the fatwa of the next most learned mujtahid when one’s marjaʿ has stated that a ruling is based on obligatory precaution (2) returning (used to refer to a condition made in iʿtikāf to leave in the middle of it if a problem arises)
rukn – (sing. of arkān) elemental component of an act of worship
rukūʿ – bowing position in the prayer
rushd – ability to take care of one’s wealth and use it in a correct way
S
ṣadaqah – alms given to the poor; charity
sādāt – (pl. of sayyid) descendants of Hāshim, the great grandfather of Prophet Muḥammad (Ṣ)
safīh – someone who is foolish with finances, i.e. someone who spends his wealth in futile ways
ṣaghīr – a minor; a child who is not of the age of legal responsibility (bāligh)
ṣāḥib al-laban – nursing father
ṣaḥīḥ – (1) valid (2) correct
sahm al-imām – the portion of khums for the Imam (ʿA)
sahm al-sādāt – the portion of khums for sayyids
sahwan – inadvertently
sahwiyyāt – acts that are inadvertently left out in prayers
sajdah – prostration
sajdatā al-sahw – the two prostrations for inadvertence
sajdat al-shukr – the prostration for offering thanks
salaf – prepayment transaction
ṣalāh – (1) prayer; ritual prayer (2) sing. of ṣalawāt
ṣalāh – prayer; ritual prayer
salām – salutation
ṣalāt al-āyāt – the prayer of signs
ṣalāt al-ghufaylah – a recommended prayer that is performed between maghrib and ʿishāʾ prayers
ṣalāt al-iḥtiyāṭ – the precautionary prayer
ṣalāt al-istisqāʾ – the prayer for invoking rain
ṣalāt Jaʿfar al-Ṭayyār – the Prayer of Jaʿfar al-Ṭayyār; a four rakʿah recommended prayer taught by the Holy Prophet (Ṣ) to his cousin, Jaʿfar al-Ṭayyār
ṣalāt al-jamāʿah – congregational prayers
ṣalāt al-jumuʿah – the Friday prayer
ṣalāt al-layl – the night prayer; also known as ‘ṣalāt al-tahajjud’ (the night vigil prayer)
ṣalāt al-mayyit – the funeral prayer
ṣalāt al-waḥshah – the prayer of loneliness (in the grave)
ṣalawāt – (1) invocation of blessings upon Prophet Muḥammad (Ṣ) and his progeny (2) pl. of ṣalāh
ṣarūrah – someone going for hajj for the first time
ṣawm – fasting
saʿy – hajj and ʿumrah ritual of traversing to and from the mountains of Ṣafā and Marwah
sayyid – (sing. of sādāt) a male descendant of Hāshim, the great grandfather of Prophet Muḥammad (Ṣ)
sayyidah – a female descendant of Hāshim, the great grandfather of Prophet Muḥammad (Ṣ)
shahādatayn – the two testimonies, i.e. the testimony to the oneness of Allah and to the prophethood of Prophet Muḥammad (Ṣ)
shākhiṣ – an indicator, such as an upright rod, used to determine the timing of certain prayers by examining the length of its shadow
shakhṣī – specified (used with regard to purchases)
shakk – doubt
shakkiyyāt – doubts that arise in prayers
sharʿan – legally
sharīk – partner
al-sharṭ al-wāqiʿī – absolute condition, i.e. a condition that must be fulfilled for an action to be valid irrespective of the performer’s state of knowledge with regard to that condition
shirkah – partnership
al-shirkah al-idhniyyah – permission based partnership
al-shirkah al-muʿāwaḍiyyah – exchange based partnership
shurakāʾ – partners
sidr – lote tree leaves
ṣīghah – formula
ṣilat al-arḥām – maintaining good family ties
ṣubḥ – morning
sujūd – prostrating
ṣulḥ – settlement
surah – chapter of the Qur’an
T
tabaʿiyyah – subsequence
ṭahārah – (1) purification (2) being in a state of ritual purity, i.e. having wuḍūʾ, ghusl, or tayammum
ṭāhir – pure
taḥnīṭ – camphorating
tajwīd – the discipline of reciting the Qur’an correctly
takbīr – proclamation of Allah’s greatness by saying ‘allāhu akbar’
takbīrat al-iḥrām – saying ‘allāhu akbar’ at the beginning of the prayer
takfīn – shrouding
taklīf – responsibility
al-ṭalāq al-bāʾin – irrevocable divorce
al-ṭalāq al-rijʿī – revocable divorce
talqīn – inculcation of principle beliefs to a dying person or a corpse
tamām – complete form of the prayer
taʿqībāt – supplications after prayers
taqiyyah – dissimulation or concealment of one’s beliefs in the face of danger
taqlīd – following a jurist
taqwā – God-wariness
tamyīz – ability to discern between right and wrong
taqṣīr – snipping one’s hair or trimming one’s beard or moustache as part of the hajj and ʿumrah rituals
tartīb – sequence
al-tasbīḥāt al-arbaʿah – the four glorifications, i.e. ‘subḥānal lāhi wal ḥamdu lillāhi wa lā ilāha illal lāhu wal lāhu akbar’
tashahhud – testifying
tashyīʿ al-janāzah – funeral procession
taʿṣīb – a matter of inheritance that is common among Sunni Muslims but invalid from a Shi‘i perspective
ṭawāf – circumambulation of the Kaʿbah
ṭawāf al-nisāʾ – an obligatory circumambulation of the Kaʿbah that is performed as part of the hajj rituals
tawriyah – equivocation
tayammum – dry ablution
turbah – a piece of earth or clay on which one places his forehead when prostrating
U
ʿudhr – legitimate excuse
ujrat al-mithl – standard rate paid for the hired property or work
al‑ujrah al‑musammāh – agreed rate paid for the hired property or work
ʿumrah – pilgrimage to Mecca that has fewer rituals than the hajj pilgrimage; the minor pilgrimage
al-ʿumrah al-mufradah – recommended pilgrimage to Mecca that is performed independently of hajj at any time of the year
uṣūl al-dīn – fundamentals of religion
uṣūl al-fiqh – principles of jurisprudence; legal theory
W
wadhī – fluid that sometimes comes out of the penis after the ejaculation of semen
wadī – fluid that sometimes comes out of the penis after urinating
wadīʿah – deposit
wājib – obligatory
al-wājib al-ʿaynī – individual obligation, i.e. an obligation that every duty-bound person must perform irrespective of whether or not others have also performed it
al-wājib al-fawrī – immediate obligation, i.e. an obligation that must be performed as soon as it is possible to do so, and delaying its performance is not permitted
al-wājib al-kifāʾī – collective obligation, i.e. an act of worship that is obligatory for all duty-bound persons in the first instance but is lifted from them all if it is discharged by someone or some people
al-wājib al-muʿayyan – assigned obligation; time-specific obligation, i.e. an act of worship that must be performed at one distinct time
al-wājib al-takhyīrī – optional obligation, i.e. an act of worship for which a mukallaf has the choice to either perform that act itself or some other particular act
al-wājib al-taʿyīnī – fixed obligation, i.e. an act of worship for which there is no alternative act that a mukallaf can perform instead
wakīl – agent; representative
walī – guardian
waqf – charitable endowment
al-waqf al-ʿāmm – public charitable endowment
al-waqf al-khāṣṣ – private charitable endowment
wāqif – endower
waqt al-faḍīlah – prime time for performing prayers, i.e. the early period of the prescribed time for a prayer in which there is more reward for performing it
waṣī – executor of the bequest of a deceased person
waṣiyyah – will
waswās – obsessive doubting
waṭʾ al-shubhah – sexual intercourse ensuing from a mistake
waṭan – home town
wikālah – agency
wilāyah – (1) guardianship (2) vicegerency
wuḍūʾ – ablution
al-wuḍūʾ al-irtimāsī – immersive ablution
Y
yāʾisah – a postmenopausal woman; in rulings pertaining to marriage and divorce, a woman who has reached the age of fifty (in rulings pertaining to menstruation, the age is sixty), and due to her advanced age she does not experience menstruation and has no expectation of experiencing it again
yaqīn – certainty
yawm al-shakk – day of doubt, i.e. the day regarding which someone doubts whether it is the last day of Shaʿbān or the first day of the month of Ramadan
Z
ẓāhir – apparent ruling (for practical purposes in jurisprudential rulings, expressing an ‘apparent’ ruling equates to giving a fatwa)
zakat – alms tax
zakāt al-fiṭrah – fiṭrah alms tax
ẓann – supposition; conjecture
zawāl – the time after midday when the sun begins to decline
ziyārah – visitation to the place of burial of a holy personality or a holy place
ẓuhr – midday
al-ẓuhr al-sharʿī – legal midday, i.e. after the midway point of the day
This ruling changed in March 2022. The previous version of the ruling was as follows:
“The Friday prayer consists of two rakʿahs like the ṣubḥ prayer, with the difference that in the Friday prayer, two sermons must be delivered before it. The Friday prayer is an optional obligation (al‑wājib al‑takhyīrī), meaning that on Fridays, someone who is legally obliged to fulfil religious duties (mukallaf ) has the option to either perform the Friday prayer – if all its conditions are fulfilled – or to perform the ẓuhr prayer; and if he performs the Friday prayer, it will suffice in place of the ẓuhr prayer.
Some conditions must be met in order for the Friday prayer to be obligatory:
1. the time for the prayer must have set in. This refers to the time of zawāl, or in other words, the time of ẓuhr. Furthermore, the time for the Friday prayer is that which is commonly regarded to be the beginning of zawāl; therefore, if the Friday prayer is delayed beyond this time, its time is deemed to be over and the ẓuhr prayer must be performed instead;
2. the number of people must be at least five, including the imam. If five Muslims do not gather, the Friday prayer does not become obligatory;
3. there must be an imam who meets all the conditions, such as being just (ʿādil) and all the other qualities that are required of an imam, which will be mentioned in the section on congregational (jamāʿah) prayers. In the absence of an imam, the Friday prayer does not become obligatory.
Some conditions must be met for the Friday prayer to be valid:
1. it must be performed in congregation; therefore, it is not correct (ṣaḥīḥ) to perform it on one’s own ( furādā). If the follower (maʾmūm) of an imam in congregational prayers joins the prayer before the rukūʿ of the second rakʿah of the Friday prayer and performs one more rakʿah on his own, his Friday prayer is valid. However, if one joins in the rukūʿ of the second rakʿah, then based on obligatory precaution he cannot suffice with this Friday prayer and he must perform ẓuhr prayers;
2. the imam must deliver two sermons before the prayer. In the first sermon, he must praise Allah, exhort the people to God-wariness (taqwā), and recite a short chapter (surah) from the Qur’an. In the second sermon, again he must praise Allah, and he must pray for blessings to be showered upon the most noble Messenger (Ṣ) and the infallible Imams (ʿA); and the recommended precaution is that he should also seek forgiveness for the believers. Furthermore, it is necessary that the sermons be delivered before the prayer; therefore, if the imam starts the prayer before the two sermons, it is incorrect. Delivering the sermons before ẓuhr time is problematic (maḥall al‑ishkāl) [i.e. based on obligatory precaution, it is not correct]. In addition, it is necessary that the person delivering the sermons be in a standing position; therefore, if he delivers the sermons in a sitting position, it is incorrect. It is also necessary that he sits down a little between the two sermons and that his sitting be short and light. Furthermore, based on obligatory precaution, it is necessary that the imam of the congregation delivers the sermons himself, and that he praises Allah and prays for blessings to be showered upon the most noble Messenger (Ṣ) and the infallible Imams (ʿA) in the Arabic language; however, saying other things of the sermons in Arabic is not a requirement. Indeed, if most of the congregation do not understand Arabic, then the obligatory precaution is that exhorting the people to God-wariness must be said in the language of the congregation;
3. the distance between two Friday prayers must not be less than one farsakh; therefore, if another Friday prayer takes place at a distance of less than 3.4 miles, then, in the event that both prayers commenced together, both are invalid. And if one of them commences before the other – even to the extent of the takbīrat al‑iḥrām – it is valid and the second one is invalid. However, if after a Friday prayer has taken place it becomes known that another Friday prayer took place at the same time or before it at a distance of less than 3.4 miles, it is not obligatory to perform the ẓuhr prayer. Furthermore, a Friday prayer can only have a prohibitive effect on another one taking place within the stipulated distance if it is a valid Friday prayer and fulfils all the conditions; otherwise, it does not have any prohibitive effect.”