ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib patriarch of the Hāshim clan of Quraysh and the prophet Muḥammad’s paternal grandfather.
Abraham (Ar. Ibrāhīm) a prophet in Islam, referred to frequently in the Qurʾan, where he is said to have built the Kaaba, the “House of God” (Ar. Bayt Allāh), in Mecca. He is believed to be the forebear—through his son Ishmael (Ar. Ismāʿīl)—of the prophet Muḥammad.
Abū Hirr (d. 58/678) a companion of the prophet, more commonly known as Abū Hurayrah, who is reported to have narrated over five thousand hadiths.
ʿĀd an ancient Arabian tribe mentioned in the Qurʾan. Its people rejected God’s prophet Hūd and were consequently destroyed by a fierce, hot week-long wind.
Adam (Ar. Ādam) a prophet in Islam, the first human created by God. In the Qurʾan, humankind is often referred to as “sons of Adam.”
Age of Ignorance (Ar. jāhiliyyah) a term denoting the pre-Islamic period in which the inhabitants of the Arabian Peninsula were idol worshippers. The word “ignorance” in this term is usually interpreted as ignorance of the one true God.
Allies (Ar. anṣār) the people of Medina from the tribes of Aws and Khazraj who supported Muḥammad when he migrated there from Mecca. They are counted among the early companions.
alms-levy (Ar. zakāh or ṣadaqah) one of the “pillars” of Islamic practice, a mandatory duty for all Muslims. The annual levy on gold and silver is 2.5 percent.
Bilāl ibn Rabāḥ al-Ḥabashī (d. ca. 19/640) a companion of the prophet Muḥammad and one of the earliest converts to Islam. He was of Ethiopian origin, born into slavery in Mecca, and manumitted by Abū Bakr. He had a beautiful voice and served as Muḥammad’s muezzin.
buried girl (Ar. mawʾūdah) a reference to the pre-Islamic practice of female infanticide condemned in the Qurʾan (Q Takwīr 81:8–9).
children of Israel (Ar. banū Isrāʾīl) the Jews, followers of the prophet Moses, referred to frequently in the Qurʾan. Stories of the biblical prophets told by the Jews, the Isrāʾīliyyāt, are usually frowned upon by medieval Muslim scholars as a source of Qurʾanic exegesis.
collyrium or kohl (Ar. kuḥl) a powder used to darken the eyelids, both as cosmetic and salve, usually consisting of finely powdered antimony.
companions (Ar. aṣḥāb and ṣaḥābah) the men, women, and children who had direct personal contact with the prophet Muḥammad. As key figures in the early history of Islam, they are the first transmitters of the statements and deeds of the prophet.
confederates (Ar. aḥzāb) the name given to the Meccans and their combined Jewish and polytheist allies who came together to fight Muḥammad in Medina in 5/627 in the Battle of the Confederates. It was also called the Battle of the Trench (Ar. khandaq), after the trench dug around the city to prevent the Meccan forces from entering. After a fortnight, the siege was abandoned, and the failure of the Meccan expedition greatly strengthened Muḥammad’s position in the Arabian Peninsula.
Dabūr the name of the west wind, said to blow away from—or have its back (Ar. dubur) to—the Kaaba. According to the Qurʾan, it is the wind that destroyed the ancient Arabian tribe of ʿĀd.
dhimmī or ahl al-dhimmah (lit. “protected people”) non-Muslims living in an Islamic state who pay dues and offer loyalty to the state in exchange for its protection and services. In the classical period the term refers primarily to Jews and Christians.
divine hadith (Ar. ḥadīth qudsī) hadiths which are believed to be God’s direct speech. They are to be distinguished from regular prophetic hadith (Ar. ḥadīth nabawī), which are Muḥammad’s own words, and also from the Qurʾan. Unlike the Qurʾan, divine hadith may not be recited as part of the ritual-prayer.
Emigrants (Ar. muhājirūn) those who migrated with Muḥammad to Mecca. Along with the Allies, they are revered by later Muslims for their service to Islam in its most difficult early years.
fasting (Ar. ṣawm) abstention from food, drink, and sex, from pre-dawn to sunset. Fasting during the month of Ramadan, the ninth month in the lunar Islamic calendar, is mandatory, but other optional fasts are also encouraged.
Friday prayer (Ar. ṣalāt al-jumʿah) the enjoined weekly congregational prayer, performed by Muslims at midday every Friday, usually in the main mosques of the city. It consists of listening to a two-part sermon and participating in a congregational ritual-prayer.
hadith (Ar. ḥadīth) or prophetic hadith (Ar. ḥadīth nabawī) often translated “traditions” of the prophet, these are reports of Muḥammad’s words, deeds, and gestures. For Muslims, the corpus of hadiths holds a special position of authority and guidance, complementing the Qurʾan.
hajj (Ar. ḥajj) the pilgrimage to Mecca mandated for every Muslim at least once in a lifetime. The hajj is performed in the month named for it, Dhu l-Hijjah, the twelfth in the Islamic lunar calendar. The hajj combines rituals performed by the prophet Abraham and the prophet Muḥammad.
Hallowed Spirit (Ar. rūḥ al-qudus) Qurʾanic reference describing the archangel Gabriel (Ar. Jibrīl or Jibraʾīl), who is also called the Spirit (al-rūḥ) and the Trustworthy Spirit (al-rūḥ al-amīn). He is said to have brought God’s revelation to the prophets.
ḥanīf (pl. ḥunafāʾ) a person who inclines to righteousness by following the monotheistic religion of the prophet Abraham. The relative adjective ḥanīfiyyah is used to refer to the religion of Abraham, and is often described as a precursor to Islam.
Hijrah Muḥammad’s migration from Mecca to Medina in ad 622, which is considered the first Hijri year. The Islamic calendar begins from this date.
ḥudūd (sing. ḥadd) corporal penalties prescribed by Islamic law for certain major transgressions, notably murder, theft, adultery, drinking alcohol, and bearing false witness.
imam (lit. “leader”) title of either the supreme leader of the Muslim community or an exemplary scholar or prayer-leader. In Shiʿi doctrine, the term denotes a man descended from the prophet Muḥammad through his daughter Fāṭimah and his son-in-law ʿAlī; for the Shiʿa, the imam is divinely guided and inherits Muḥammad’s role of spiritual and temporal leadership.
Jesus (Ar. ʿĪsā) a prophet in Islam, referred to in fifteen different surahs and ninety-three verses in the Qurʾan as the son of Mary, the Messiah (al-Masīḥ), the Word (al-kalimah) and the Spirit (al-rūḥ). In several hadiths, Jesus is also named as the true “Mahdī” who will come at the end of time and bring peace and justice to the world.
jihad (Ar. jihād) a righteous struggle against the forces of evil, the term can refer equally to battle with outside enemies or to combat one’s own base nature.
Kaaba (Ar. Kaʿbah) a cubical structure in Mecca, the most famous sanctuary of Islam, and according to tradition built by the prophet Abraham. Muslims call it the house of God (Bayt Allāh): worshippers throughout the world face it in their daily prayer, and hundreds of thousands of pilgrims circumambulate it every year during the hajj and ʿumrah pilgrimages.
Khadījāh bint Khuwaylid (d. ad 619) a wealthy widow from the Asad clan of Quraysh, and the first wife of the prophet Muḥammad. Prior to their marriage, Khadījāh had employed Muḥammad as her trading agent. When Muḥammad received the call from God, she became the first Muslim, supporting him in the most difficult early years of his mission. She bore him two sons, who died in infancy, and four daughters, who lived to adulthood.
al-Mahdī (lit. “rightly guided one”) the title of the restorer of religion and justice, who, according to a widely held Muslim belief, will rule before the end of the world.
Mary (Ar. Maryam) the mother of Jesus and the daughter of ʿImrān from the line of the prophet Abraham. She is accorded the highest status among women. A chapter of the Qurʾan—Sūrat Maryam—is devoted to her.
Moses (Ar. Mūsā) a prophet in Islam, mentioned by name 136 times in the Qurʾan, more than any other prophet. The Qurʾan refers to his private conversations (munājāt) with God.
muezzin (Ar. muʾadhdhin) the person who recites the ritual call to prayer (adhān).
Noah (Ar. Nūḥ) a prophet in Islam. A chapter of the Qurʾan—Sūrat Nūḥ—is devoted to him. In this surah as well as others, the Qurʾan narrates the story of Noah’s Ark.
qāḍī a judge.
quṣṣāṣ (sing. qāṣṣ) (lit. “tellers of tales”) popular preachers who narrated stories of the prophets from the Qurʾan, embellished with materials from other sources, including the so-called Isrāʾīliyyāt from the Bible.
Qurʾan (Ar. Qurʾān) the holy book of the Muslims, revealed by God to the prophet Muḥammad.
Quraysh the prophet’s tribe. They lived in Mecca and were initially his bitter enemies, fighting him in the Battles of Badr, Uḥud, and Khandaq, where many were killed. When Muḥammad conquered Mecca in 8/630, they accepted Islam
ritual-prayer (Ar. ṣalāh) the mandatory worship rite performed individually or in congregation five times a day by Muslims. It consists of prescribed sequences of bowings and prostrations to God, recitations of Qurʾanic surahs, and supplications.
Ṣabā the name of the rain-bearing east wind that blows toward the Kaaba, apparently so called because it “yearns” (taṣbū) for the Kaaba.
salām (lit. “peace” and “well-being”) term used by Muslims as a greeting.
Shiʿa (lit. “followers,” the shortened form of Shīʿat ʿAlī, or “followers of ʿAlī”) Muslims who believe that the prophet through divine revelation appointed ʿAlī to lead the Muslim community after him as imam and, as such, that ʿAlī was the rightful successor to Muḥammad in both his temporal and spiritual roles. Three major branches evolved: Twelver, Ismāʿīlī, and Zaydī.
sunnah (lit. “well-trodden path to a watering hole”) refers to the accepted practice of pious forbears, and when used without qualifiers, usually to Muḥammad’s practice.
Sunni (lit. “emulator of the prophet’s practice.”) Muslims who believe that Muḥammad died without appointing an heir, and who revere the first four leaders of the community as “Rightly Guided Caliphs.” The term “Sunni” emerged from the earlier, mainly political, appellation “people adhering to the sunnah and the majority group.”
surah (Ar. sūrah) chapter divisions in the Qurʾan. There are 114 surahs in the Qurʾan, varying between 3 and 286 verses.
weighing scales (Ar. mīzān) symbolic rendering of divine justice on the day of judgment as an instrument that measures the good and bad deeds of humankind.
Yā-Sīn the name of the thirty-sixth surah of the Qurʾan, and its opening word and verse. Some exegetes say it means “O human,” while others say it is another proper name for the prophet Muḥammad.