‘Ibaadat: Worship; “ ‘ibaadat-e-‘amaliyya” means worship of Allah performed by bodily actions or good deeds; “'ibaadat-e-zaahira-‘amaliyya” means physical exoteric worship as contrasted to “ ‘ibaadat-e-baatina ‘ilmiyya” means spiritual esoteric worship. Namaaz is one of the part of ‘Ibaadat.
Iblees: Devil; In Quran it refers to the Shaitaan (devil, demon), mostly when he is said to have refused to bow down before Adam. He was a jinn and his name was Haris bin Murrah. “a'uzo billahe minash shaitaa nir rajeem” is uttered before the recitation of Quran which means ‘I take refuge with Allah from Shaitaan, the cursed.'
Ibn; bin: Son, offspring; “ibn-e-Aadam” means man, human being.
Ibraaheem; Abraham: A prophet of Allah; he and his son Ismaa'eel (A.S.) built Ka'bah more than 3000 years ago in Makkah, towards which all Muslims face for their namaaz .
Ibtedaa: Beginning, start.
‘Iddat: The waiting period of 4 months and 10 days; Legally prescribed period of waiting during which a woman may not remarry after being widowed or divorced.
Idraak: Perception, awareness, consciousness.
‘Id ul-azhaa; Bakra Eid: Festival of Sacrifice; The ritual slaughter of a permissible animal is performed in the commemoration of Hazrat Ibraaheem (AS) and Hazrat Ismaa'eel (AS).
‘Id ul-Fitr; Ramzaan Eid: Festival of breaking the Ramzaan fast; After fasting for 30 days of Ramzaan, the first day of the month of Shawwaal is celebrated as a Grand Festival.
Iftaar: Fast breaking or the first meal after sunset during Ramzaan.
Iftetaah: Opening, inauguration, beginning.
Ihraam: The state of ritual consecration of the Makkah pilgrim during which the pilgrim, wearing two seamless linen sheets, usually white, neither combs nor shaves nor hunt and observes sexual continence.
Ihtemaam: Concern, care, attention.
Ihyaa: Enlivening, revival.
Ijaazat: Permission, approval, license.
Ijtehaad: Effort, exertion.
Ilhaad: Apostasy, heresy in religion; deviation from the straight path, abandoning one's faith, becoming an unbeliever. A person accused of ilhaad is called mulhid .
Ilhaam: Inspiration, instinct.
'Ilm: Knowledge, cognition, learning, science; it refers more specifically to the special religious knowledge imparted by the Imaam or Da'i to the mumineen; “'ilman wa ‘amalan” means theoretically and practically; “taalib-e-‘ilm” means student; “'ilm-e-ladunni” means the knowledge imparted by Allah to His prophet through spiritual intuition.
Iltejaa: Recourse, seeking refuge.
Iltemaas: Request, application.
Imaam: A leader of prayers or religious leader. The term is used for the spiritual leaders descended from Ameer ul-Mumineen ‘Ali (AS) and Maulatana Faatema (AS), the Prophet's daughter, who are believed to be the legitimate successors to the Prophet. The Imaams are held to be ma'soom, completely immune from sin and error; they are generally held to be also divinely appointed and divinely guided in the discharge of their special spiritual functions. The office of Imaam is known as Imaamat.
Imaan: Faith, belief.
Imtehaan: Test, examination.
Injeel: Gospel, the divine message revealed on Prophet ‘Isaa (AS).
Ins: Man, mankind, human race, earthly spirits.
Insaaf; ‘adl: Justice, fairness, just treatment. It is one of the pillars of imaan .
Inshallaah: If Allah wishes; Allah willing; it is to be hoped so; this expression is said by every Muslim for the event or thing which is expected.
Irshaad: Guidance, showing the way, instruction, advice.
Irteqaa: Ascension, progress, rise.
‘Isaa; Jesus: A Prophet of Allah and the son of Maulatana Maryam (AS), who was bestowed the miracle of healing the sick and making the dead alive.
Ishaa'at: Publication, circulation of news.
‘Ishaa il-Aakherat: Prayer of the nightfall.
Ishaaq; Isaac: The wasi and the youngest son of Prophet Ibraaheem (AS) and the father of Israa'eeli prophets till Prophet ‘Isaa (AS). He was the father of Prophet Ya'qoob. His mother was Maulatana Sarrah (AS).
Islaah: Restoration, correction; Betterment, establishment of peace.
Islaam: Submission to the will and cause of Allah.
Ismaa'eel; Ishmael: The wasi and the eldest son of Prophet Ibraaheem (AS) and the father of the Arabian race. Prophet Muhammad (SAWS) is the direct descendant from his holy lineage. His mother was Maulatana Haajrah (AS).
Isma‘ilis: Adherents of a branch of Shi'a Islam that believes Maulana Isma‘il, the eldest son of the Shi'a Imaam Maulana Ja‘far us-Saadiq (d. 148 AH), as his legitimate successor.
Isna ‘asharis: Twelvers, the branch of Shi'a Muslims who acknowledge twelve Imaams in lineal succession from Hazrat ‘Ali bin Abi Taalib (AS), after the Prophet Muhammad (SAWS). Following Imaam Ja‘far us-Saadiq (AS) the Isna ‘asharis considered his younger son Musa al-Kaazim as their Imaam while the Isma‘ilis recognized Isma‘il, the eldest son of Imaam Ja‘far us-Saadiq, as their Imaam.
Istekhaara: Entrusting Allah with the choice between two or more options on account of not knowing which choice would be better.
Istighfaar: Asking of someone's pardon for an offence; “astahgferullaah” means I ask Allah's forgiveness.
Istimbaat: Discover the meaning under the given state of events or circumstances.
Istinjaa: Cleaning of the private parts in ritual purification (Wuzu).
I'tekaaf: Pious retreat in a mosque for a certain number of days especially in the month of Ramzaan with the observance of certain conditions and occupying oneself in namaaz and recitation of the Qur'an.
I'tesaam: Adherence, preservation, safeguarding.
Ittefaaq: Coincidence, chance, understanding.
Izn: Invitation or permission.
J
Jaahil: Ignorant, illiterate, uneducated.
Jaa'iz: Permissible, lawful.
Jaanasheen: Successor, legal guardian.
Jaanib: Side, part, section.
Jabal: Mountain.
Jabr: Compulsion, predestination; Power, might; “jabran” means forcibly or by force. “'Ilm ul-jabr” means algebra.
Jahannam: Hell.
Jahd: Effort, endeavor, attempt.
Jalaalat: Loftiness, sublimity, majesty.
Jali: Clear, plain, evident.
Jama': Gathering, addition, holding together.
Jama‘at: Assembly or religious congregation, community.
Janaabat: Major ritual impurity.
Jannat: Garden, paradise; “saakin ul-jannat” means inhabitants of paradise or deceased person.
Jashan: Celebration.
Jazaa'ir ul-ard: Islands of the earth, this phrase was used by the Faatimi Da'wat for the twelve geographical regions in which its mission was active.
Jazeerah: Island, peninsula or a territory situated between large rivers. Applied to each of the 12 territories or geographical regions in which the pre-Faatimid Ismaili organization is reported to have divided the world for its operations, and which were defined by ethnic and linguistic parameters. In the Faatimid period, Saiyedna Qaadi Nu‘maan (QR) lists the lands of the Arabs, Byzantines, Slavs, Turks, Khazars, Hindis, Sindhis, East Africans, Abyssinians, Chinese, Persians and Berbers.
Jibra'il; Gabriel: The name of the angel that appears in the Qur'an as bringing the divine message down to Muhammad Rasulullah (SAWS). The angel appears as the constant counsellor and helper of the Prophet and was sent to every Prophet from Hazrat Aadam (AS) to the last Prophet of Islam Muhammad (SAWS).
Jihaad: Holy war. However, this term was interpreted in its root sense of ‘exertion' and came to mean an inner struggle for purification. It is one of the pillars of imaan .
Jinn: Invisible beings either harmful or helpful, that interfere with the lives of mortals.
Juloos: Sitting posture in prayer.
Jurm: Offense, crime, sin.
K
Kaa'enaat: Universe, world, the created things.
Kaafir: Disbeliever, ungrateful, infidel.
Ka‘bah: In pre-Islamic times, a temple for worship of traditional gods. After the conquest of Mecca and re-entry into it by Prophet Muhammad (SAWS), he re-dedicated the place to the ‘ibaadat (worship) of Allah and established it as a focal point for the pilgrimage ( hajj ). It also represents the direction to which Muslims turn for ritual prayer. At one of its corner there is hajr ul-aswad or the Black Stone whose kissing ( istilaam ) is necessary for the completion of tawaaf.
Kabeerah: Major sin, such as, polytheism, fornication.
Kafaalat: Guaranty, surety or under someone's custody.
Kalaam: Speech, conversation, discussion.
Kalimah: Word. Used in the Qur'an with several meanings, chief among which is the ‘Divine Word'. It also refers to the formula for the declaration of faith also called “kalimat ush-shahaada” .
Kashf: Manifestation, unveiling; it is used specifically in reference to a period, called “dawr ul-kashf”, when the Imaams were manifest, or when the haqaa'iq (facts) would be no longer concealed in the baatin , in distinction from satr.
Kausar: Abundant, plentiful; a river in Paradise .
Khadeejat ul-Kubra; Maulatana: She is the daughter of Khuwaylad and the first wife of Prophet Muhammad (SAWS) and mother of Maulatana Faatema (AS).
Khair: Best, excellent, outstanding; blessing, wealth, advantage, charity; “khair un-naas” the best of all people; “khair ul-bashar” the best of mankind, an epithet of Prophet Muhammad (SAWS) and Maulana ‘Ali (AS).
Khutbah: An address or sermon delivered by a khateeb at the Friday midday prayers in the mosque; since it includes a prayer for the ruler, mention in the Khutba is a mark of sovereignty in Islaam.
Kifaayat: Sufficient amount; that which suffices for performing a duty; capacity, suitability.
L
Ladunni: Spiritual, divine; “'Ilm ul-ladunni” means the knowledge imparted directly by Allah through spiritual intuition, especially to Prophets and Imaams.
