Merit-bound Alley

Ablutions - cleansing of the face, arms, and feet before prayer
Adhan - the calling of the faithful to prayer
Al-Fitra - the state of pure submission to Islam in which a child is born
Allah - the one true God
‘Ashura - Muslim holiday honoring the martyrdom of Imam Husain and 70 other Muslims by the kaliphah
‘Asr - Afternoon Prayer, held between late afternoon and sunset
Ayat - verse within a Suwar (chapter) of the Qur’an
Fajr - Morning prayer, held between the break of dawn and before sunrise
First Revelation - the first time Jibril came to Muhammed (pbuh) to give him the word of God
Five Pillars of Islam - the five basic religious practises of Islam
Hadith - the collected sayings of the the Prophet Muhammed (pbuh)
Hajj (Haj) - Journey to Mecca. All able Muslims are expected to make this journey at least once.
Hegira (Hejira) - Journey of Muhammed (pbuh) from Mecca to Medina in 622CE
Hira - the cave outside of Mecca where Muhammed (pbuh) heard the First Revelation from Jibril
Ibada - service to God through service to Mankind
‘Id Al-Fitr - Muslim holiday, first day after Ramadan
‘Id Al-Adha - Muslim Holiday held during the 12th month, is the Day of Sacrifice and traditional time for Hajj
Imam - teacher, and the leader of the prayer
Isha - Night Prayer, held just before sleep
Islam - the religion of the Muslims, means “peaceful submission to God”
Jibril - Arabic name of the Angel Gabriel
Ka’ba - 48′ high roughly cubical structure built by Abraham and Ishmael as a place to worship God, and the endpoint of the Hajj
Khalifa - and elected successor to the Prophet Muhammed (pbuh)
Maghrib - Sunset Prayer, held between sunset and darkness
Mawlid Al-Nabi - Muslim Holiday, the birthday of Muhammed (pbuh)
Mecca - the birth town of Muhammed
Muadhin - chants or intones the Adhan
Muhammad (pbuh) - (570CE - 632CE) according to Islam, the last and most important of a long line of Prophets
Muslim - one who submits themselves to the will of God
pbuh - “peace be unto him”, phrased used to show repsect for the prophets
Qibia - the shorter of the two great circular routes to the Ka’ba in Mecca, Muslims face in this direction when they pray
Qu’ran - the word of God as revealed to Muhammed (pbuh) by the angel Jibril, means “recitation”
Rais Al-Sannah - also Al-Hijral Muharram, the Muslim new year
Ramadan - the 9th lunar month and holiest of Muslim holidays, honoring when Muhammed (pbuh) received the First Revelation from Jibril
Salat - prayer
Shahadah - the Muslim creed, “There is no God but God and Muhammed is his Prophet”
Shariah - Islamic Law
Shia - one of the schools od Islam, split from the Sunni over a matter of succession
Siyam - the fast of Ramadan
Sufi - a school of Islam developed in the late 10th century, focuses on personal union with the divine
Sunnah - the book of accounts of Muhammed’s (pbuh) deeds
Sunni - the largest of the schools of Islam, composing 90% of all Muslims
Suwar - a chapter of the Qur’an
Zakat - a 2.5% charity tax on the income and property of middle and upper class Muslims
Zuhr - Noon Prayer, held between midday and the afternoon

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