Translation of Arabic Islamic/Sufi terms

[Alsunna Teacher]

'Abû  lQâsim: one of the names of the Prophet (salla-llâhu ^alayhi wasallam) of the type called 'kunyah'. Its meaning is 'father of Qâsim'.

Ahl-e-hadith: from the Arabic ' 'ahlu lhadîth ' (the people of hadîths, i.e. those who claim to follow strictly the sayings of the Prophet (salla-llâhu ^alayhi wasallam), name some Wahhabis chose for themselves in the Indian subcontinent.

^Âlim: scholar, plural: ^ulamâ'.

'Anfus: see 'nafs'.

^Aqîdah: Belief. Perfect Islamic belief is one of the pillars of  Sufism.

Attribute: see 'sifah'.

'Awliyâ': plural of 'waliyy', see this word.

'Awrâd: plural of 'wird', see this word.

Bâtiniyy: esoteric, i.e. meant to be understood or used by the initiated only. Refers mostly to spiritual matters.

Bay^ah (spelt 'bayat' in some of their texts): oath of allegiance done to the head of all Muslims, the Khalîfah, or at a lesser degree to one's spiritual guide.

Bid^ah: innovation or invention, described in hadîth as being either good or bad, but often bad.
Dîwân: a list, among other meanings.

Dhât: the reality of something, what a thing is. We speak for instance of 'dhâtu-llâh': the reality of Allâh, not the 'essence' and never a so-called 'nature' of God.

Dhikr: remembrance of Allâh, consisting generally in repeated religious phrases or His names, for meditation.

Du^â': Prayer which is not necessarily ritualised and consists simply in addressing Allâh ta^âlà.

Dunyâ: name given to the universe below the heavens, in which we live.

Esoteric: see 'bâtiniyy'.

Essence: the permanent, as contrasted with the accidental elements of a being. This is how many fake Sufis and philosophers understand the 'dhât' of Allâh.

Exoteric: what can be shown or taught to the general public according to some, as opposed to 'esoteric'.
Faqîh: a scholar whose expertise is in fiqh, Islamic Law (plural: fuqahâ').

Fiqh: knowledge and understanding of the Islamic Law. Our master 'Abû  Hanîfah (radiya-llâhu ^anh) said: "Fiqh is the knowledge of oneself, one's rights and one's duties".

Fuqahâ': plural of 'faqîh', see this word.

Ghayb (al-): the unknown, among other things: events of the future which Allâh has not unveiled to anyone, such as the time of the Day of Judgement and the events preceding it like the coming of the Mahdiyy.

Gnosis: it is alleged to be the esoteric knowledge of spiritual truths. This word, along with its adjective 'gnostic', is very important in Rosicrucian or Masonic spiritual teaching.

Gnostic: which belongs to gnosis or is related to it.

AlHaqq: One of the perfect names of God, meaning: 'the One who truly exists, whose existence is confirmed'.

Hasan: term used in hadîth science, meaning 'good' or 'reliable', of a lesser degree than 'sahîh'.

Hellenistic: what relates to Greek history, culture and ideas after Alexander the Great. A great number of philosophical ideas were developed at the time, in urban centres such as Alexandria. They were syncretism's of Greek, Hindu or Egyptian ideas.

Heresy: a bad religious innovation or bad bid^ah.

Heretic: someone who accepts a heresy as his own.

Hulûl: incarnation. For instance: the soul incarnates in the body, i.e. it goes into it, in order to be born as a full human being. Many religions believe in the incarnation of God or so-called 'gods' into creatures.

'ilhâm: spiritual inspiration, whose value is to be judged by its conformity with the revealed texts.

'îmân: faith. Whoever has 'îmân is called a ' mu'min '.

'Inbi^âth: emanation, that is to say: coming out from a source. A number of sects or religions believe the world to have been originated from God, to have come out of His very reality.

^Irfân: often used in the meaning of 'spiritual knowledge', not acquired through the normal channels of experience and learning. Fake Sufis use it in the meaning of 'gnosis' (see that word).

Ismailis: from Arabic ' 'Ismâ^îliyy ', related to an extreme Shiite sect, famous for its esoterism.

Kâfir: non-Muslim (plural: kuffâr, etc.).

Kâfirûn or kâfirîn: plurals of 'kâfir', see this word.

Kalâm: word or speech. When referring to Allâh's attribute, we translate it by 'speech', trying to avoid people thinking Allâh speaks a language. Not to be mistaken  with 'qalam', see this word.

Karma: The Webster's dictionary gave this definition: "the force generated by a person's actions held in Hinduism and Buddhism to perpetuate transmigration and in its ethical consequences to determine his destiny in the next existence". This is directly related to their belief in reincarnation or metempsychosis.

Karmic: belonging to the idea of karma, or related to it.

Kashf: unveiling of hidden truths, like future events. This is also to be judged by its conformity to the revealed texts.

Kawthar (al-): name of one of the rivers of Paradise and title of a sura.

Khalwat: from the Arabic 'khalwah', used in these texts to mean 'a spiritual retreat, or isolation from the world'.

Khulafâ': plural or khalîfah. Here used as a title for those appointed as representatives of the head of a Sufi order.

Kuffâr: another plural form of 'kâfir', see this word.

Kufr: the state of being a kâfir, or doing an action which takes out of Islam a person committing it. A person who has fallen into kufr can still do more kufr.

Lawhu lMahfûz (al-): the Preserved Tablet, that is to say the book in which everything that is or happens is written down by the qalam, or 'pen'.

Makrûh: advised not to do. If you do something makrûh, there is no sin on you, but if you do not for Allâh's sake, you are entitled to reward.

Maqâmât: spiritual stations, that is the different stages of the spiritual progression of an individual.

Mason or Freemason: somebody belonging to a secret fraternal society dispensing  gradually an esoteric teaching. There are many types and orders of Freemasons, under various titles. Some organisations we call Masonic because they share with them essential beliefs and practices and spring from the same historical source, even though their styles might seem quite different.

Masonic: related to Masons.

Maulana or Mowlana: from Arabic 'Mawlana', which means 'our master': a title often used for spiritual guides, among others.

Mubtadi^: innovator, or in its most common meaning: heretic.

Mu'min: believer, a title that is only used for Muslims in its true meaning.

Mureed: see 'murid'.

Murid: from Arabic 'murid', member of a Sufi order, aspiring to reach the high levels of spirituality granted to Allâh's beloved.

Muslim: submitted to God. Basically that means a person who professes that God is the only god and that Muhammad (^alayhi ssalâtu wassalâm) is His Messenger, with all the implications.

Mutashâbihah: obscure. Adjective used to describe Qur'ânic verses or hadîths whose difficult text can lead the ignorant and the careless to dangerous interpretations.

Nafs: (plural: 'anfus or nufûs) ego, personality.

Naqshbandi: related to or member of the Sufi order founded by Shah Naqshband (rahimahu-llâh). The deserved prestige of this name has lead many impostors to adorn themselves with it in order to obtain respectability.

Nawâfil: plural of 'nâfilah', i.e. a recommended action.

Nubuwwah: prophethood.

Orientalists: western scholars whose field of expertise is in Eastern civilisations, history, literature and religions. Orientalism is too often turned against Islam. It was initiated after the failure of the crusades in order to obtain as precise knowledge as possible about Islam and Muslims. It was also conceived as an ideological weapon meant to sap the ideological strength and unity of this Community, with a claim to scientific objectivity.
Pantheism: see 'wahdatu lwujûd'.

Philosophical: related to philosophy.

Philosophy: from the Greek 'love of wisdom'. In Islamic context it refers mainly to heretical movements born out of the influence of Greek Hellenistic thinking on intellectuals of Islamic background.

Preserved Tablet (the -): see 'alLawhu lMahfûz'.

Qalam: the 'pen', that by which Allâh had all written on alLawhu lMahfûz.

Ribâ: usury, or loan granted on the condition that an interest of some kind will be paid. There are other meanings to this word.

Risâlah: state and mission of a 'rasûl' (Messenger) of Allâh.

Rosicrucian: related to or member of an organisation devoted to esoteric teaching, claiming to aim at psychic and spiritual enlightenment. The name appeared in the 17th century. They are related to Freemasons, although most of them do not show great interest in political involvement.

Rûh: soul or spirit. There is very little we know about that.

Sahâbah: Companions of the Prophet Muhammad (salla-llâhu ^alayhi wasallam) that is to say Muslims who met the Messenger of Allâh (^alayhi ssalâtu wassalâm) and died with their Islamic faith.

Sahîh: true or reliable. Adjective used to describe a reliable report of what the Prophet (salla-llâhu ^alayhi wasallam) said or did, or collections of such reports.

Salafi: from Arabic 'salafiyy' i.e. related to the first generations after the Messenger of God (^alayhi ssalâtu wassalâm), called 'salaf'. Name chosen for themselves by some Wahhabis to illustrate their claim to follow those generations.

Salâh: ritualised prayer performed a set number of time every day.

Sarîh: clear, not ambiguous. Adjective used to describe words or expressions which have only one accepted meaning, as opposed to the zâhir ones.

Shâdhiliyy: related  to or member  of the Sufi order founded by 'Abû  l-Hasan ashShâdhiliyy (qaddasa-llâhu sirrah). There are some excommunicated branches of this Tarîqah in the Middle East, the Maghreb and France, among others.

Shahâdah: testimony (of faith), in this meaning the word refers to the utterance of: "I profess that there is no god but Allâh and I profess that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allâh". It is often called 'ashShahâdatân' (the two testimonies of faith).

Sharî^ah: the Islamic Law.

Shayâtîn: plural of shaytân, see this word.

Shaykh, sheykh or sheikh: old man. From that basic meaning many others sprang. It is used for religious teachers and spiritual leaders as a mark of respect.

Shaytân: term used to mention the kuffâr among men and jinns, but mainly used against unbelievers from the jinns.

Sheikh or sheykh: see 'shaykh'.

Sifah: attribute, or characteristic. That is what a being is characterised by or characterises itself by (plural: sifât).
Sifât: see 'sifah'.

Silsilah: chain. Word used to describe the chain of spiritual masters in a Sufi tarîqah, starting from the Prophet (salla-llâhu ^alayhi wasallam), all the way down to the present head of an order. Sometimes called 'golden chain' in Britain.

Stranger ('ajnabiyy): Any person of the other sex who you can legally be married with is called 'stranger'. He or she must not be touched directly, indirectly with lust or stayed alone with, without a third party able to see, whose presence would make two people of opposite sex ashamed to commit indecent acts.

Subhâna-llâhi ^ammâ yasifûn: "Allâh is too glorious to be as they describe Him". Qur'ânic expression.

Sufi: from Arabic 'sûfiyy'. Related to or member of an order (tarîqah) or movement dedicated to help people reach sainthood (wilâyah) through strict adherence to perfect belief (^Aqîdah), Islamic Law (Sharî^ah) and renouncement of worldly desires (zuhd). 'Sufi' is also used to speak of a master of Sufism, as compared with a murid who aspires to that state.

Sufism: methods or practices used by Sufis, based on Qur'ân and Sunnah.

Sunnah: originally means 'a rule, a custom', used now for all that is reported about the Prophet (^alayhi ssalâtu wassalâm) and his blessed Companions (radiya-llâhu ^anhum). The word is also  often used as a name for a recommended action, as opposed to an obligatory one.

Tâbi^iyyûn or Tâbi^ûn: generation of Muslims which came after the Sahâbah.

Taqlîd: following the opinions of those who are competent to give religious opinion, to perform 'ijtihâd, that is to say the mujtahids. The opposite of taqlîd is for one to assume  one is able to make one's own deductions from the revealed texts, before reaching the appropriate level of knowledge. Opposition to taqlîd generally comes from groups or sects opposed to orthodoxy, or from westernised circles.

Tarîqah: (plural: turuq) originally means 'way, path', is now often used to speak of Sufi organisations or orders.

Tashbîh: comparison. The word is used in theology to speak of a particular case of kufr which consists in making a comparison between Allâh and His creatures, which violates the explanations given in revelation.

Trinity: 'thâlûth' in Arabic, a theory concerning the reality of God,  conceptualised by some Hellenistic philosophers such as Philo of Alexandria and later by Christianity in the fourth century of their era. There is hardly any branch of Christianity which does not accept this tenet. Basically it says that God, although one, is also three: the father, the son (Jesus according to them) and the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost.

^Ulamâ': plural of  '^âlim', see this word.

'Ummah: nation or community. Every prophet had a nation or community who followed him, so the followers of a prophet are his 'Ummah.

Wahdatu lWujûd: 'unity of existence/oneness of being'. Religious theory also called 'pantheism',  represented in Hinduism, which sees all existence as part of God. Some go more subtlely about it, denying any existence that is not Allâh.

Wahhabi: from Arabic 'wahhâbiyy', related to or member of the heretical movement revived by Muhammad ibn ^AbdilWahhâb.

Wahi: revelation of Allâh to the Prophet (salla-llâhu ^alayhi wasallam).

Waliyy (plural: 'awliyâ'): from the original meaning of somebody close, it developed other meanings such as 'saint'.

Wilâyah: sainthood, among other meanings. Its basic conditions are: being a Muslim, carrying all one's duties, avoiding all sins and performing recommended actions.

Wird: 'habit', used for dhikr and du^â' read daily.

Zâhir: used in a technical sense to speak of words or expressions which can bear several meanings, as opposed to sarîh ones. The word itself has other meanings.

Zandaqah: a state of complete heresy where a person is seen as clearly out of Islam.

Zuhd: renouncing worldly desires, i.e. to control one's desires or lust very strictly, not to indulge in many pleasures such as sleeping long, eating or drinking much, having many sexual intercourses, etc.