The following list consists of notable concepts that are derived from Islamic and associated cultural traditions, which are expressed as words in Arabic or Persian language. The main purpose of this list is to disambiguate multiple spellings, to make note of spellings no longer in use for these concepts, to define the concept in one or two lines, to make it easy for one to find and pin down specific concepts, and to provide a guide to unique concepts of Islam all in one place.
As-salamu alaykum is a greeting in Arabic that means "Peace be upon you". The salam is a religious salutation among Muslims when greeting, though it is also used by Arabic speakers of other religions, such as Arab Christians, as well as by Muslims generally. In colloquial speech, often only the first part of the phrase is used to greet a person. The typical response to the greeting is wa ʿalaykumu s-salām, "And peace be upon you, too." The complete phrase is as-salāmu ʿalaykum wa-raḥmatu -llāhi wa-barakātuhū, "Peace be upon you, as well as the mercy of God and his blessings."
Proselytism is the act or fact of religious conversion, and it also includes actions which invite such conversion. It has come to be seen as a form of involuntary forced conversion through bribery, coercion, or violence, as such, proselytism is illegal in some countries.
Jizya or jizyah is a per capita yearly taxation historically levied in the form of financial charge on permanent non-Muslim subjects (dhimmi) of a state governed by Islamic law. Muslim jurists required adult, free, sane males among the dhimma community to pay the jizya, while exempting women, children, elders, handicapped, the ill, the insane, monks, hermits, slaves, and musta'mins—non-Muslim foreigners who only temporarily reside in Muslim lands. Dhimmis who chose to join military service were also exempted from payment, as were those who could not afford to pay. According to Islamic law, elders, handicapped etc. must be given pensions, and they must not go into begging.
Freedom of religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance in the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) is marked by Iranian culture, major religion and politics. The Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran mandates that the official religion of Iran is Shia Islam and the Twelver Ja'fari school, and also mandates that other Islamic schools are to be accorded full respect, and their followers are free to act in accordance with their own jurisprudence in performing their religious rites. The Constitution of Iran stipulates that Zoroastrians, Jews, and Christians are the only recognized religious minorities. The continuous presence of the country's pre-Islamic, non-Muslim communities, such as Zoroastrians, Jews, and Christians, had accustomed the population to the participation of non-Muslims in society.
In Islam, Jannah, lit. "paradise, garden", is the final abode of the righteous and the Islamic believers, The Garden of Eden, where Adam and Hawa dwelt is also called Jannah. Firdaus is the literal term meaning paradise which was borrowed from the Persian word Pardis, being also the source of the English word "paradise", but the Qur'an generally uses the term Jannah symbolically referring to paradise. However, "Firdaus" also designates the highest level of heaven.
Ajam is an Arabic word meaning mute, which today refers to someone whose mother tongue is not Arabic. During the Arab conquest of Persia, the term became a racial pejorative. In many languages — including Persian, Turkish, Urdu, Azerbaijani, Bengali, Hindi, Kurdish, Gujarati, Malay, Punjabi, and Swahili — Ajam and Ajami refer to Iran and Iranians respectively.
Over the centuries of Islamic history, Muslim rulers, Islamic scholars, and ordinary Muslims have held many different attitudes towards other religions. Attitudes have varied according to time, place and circumstance.
Iman in Islamic theology denotes a believer's faith in the metaphysical aspects of Islam. Its most simple definition is the belief in the six articles of faith, known as arkān al-īmān.
Ahl al-Bayt primarily refers to the family of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and, to a lesser extent, his ancestor and the Islamic prophet Ibrahim (Abraham).
Islamic religious leaders have traditionally been people who, as part of the clerisy, mosque, or government, performed a prominent role within their community or nation. However, in the modern contexts of Muslims minorities in non-Muslim countries as well as secularised Muslim states like Turkey, Indonesia and Bangladesh, religious leadership may take a variety of non-formal shapes.
Theology of Twelver Shias contains five principles of the Shia Islam religion known as Uṣūl ad-Dīn. Usul al-dín is an Arabic Islamic term which literally translates as 'principles of the faith', roughly interpretable as 'theology'.
Nafs (نَفْس) is an Arabic word occurring in the Quran, literally meaning "self", and has been translated as "psyche", "ego" or "soul". The term is cognate with the Hebrew word nephesh, נֶפֶשׁ. In the Quran, the word nafs is used in both the individualistic and collective sense, indicating that although humanity is united in possessing the positive qualities of a nafs, they are individually responsible for exercising the agencies of the "free will" that it provides them.
Ahl al-Ḥadith was an Islamic school of Sunni Islam that emerged during the 2nd/3rd Islamic centuries of the Islamic era as a movement of hadith scholars who considered the Quran and authentic hadith to be the only authority in matters of law and creed. Its adherents have also been referred to as traditionalists and sometimes traditionists.
Muhammad's letters to the heads of state are epistles sent by Muhammad to the political heads of Medina's neighboring regions, both of Arabia and of the non-Arab lands of the Near East, inviting them to Islam.
Ordinance XX is a legal ordinance of the Government of Pakistan that was promulgated under the regime of General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq on 26 April 1984 and is meant to prohibit the practice of Islam and the usage of Islamic terms and titles for the Ahmadiyya Community. The ordinance bars Ahmadi, who are deemed Non-Muslims under the Pakistani constitution, from publicly practising the Islamic faith and also disallows them from using any Islamic texts for praying purposes. It is in addition to – but separate from – the 1974 Second Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan. While the Second Amendment declared that Ahmadis are non-Muslims, the Ordinance prohibits Ahmadis from identifying themselves as Muslims.
Prophets in Islam are individuals in Islam who are believed to spread Allah's (God's) message on Earth and to serve as models of ideal human behaviour. Some prophets are categorized as messengers, those who transmit divine revelation, most of them through the interaction of an angel. Muslims believe that many prophets existed, including many not mentioned in the Quran. The Quran states: "There is a Messenger for every community". Belief in the Islamic prophets is one of the six articles of the Islamic faith.
Salah, also known as namāz and also spelled salat, are prayers performed by Muslims. Facing the qibla, the direction of the Kaaba with respect to those praying, Muslims pray first standing and later kneeling or sitting on the ground, reciting from the Quran and glorifying and praising Allah as they bow and prostrate themselves in between. Salah is composed of prescribed repetitive cycles of bows and prostrations, called rakat. The number of rak'ahs, also known as units of prayer, varies from prayer to prayer. Ritual purity and wudu are prerequisites for performing the prayers.
Non-denominational Muslims are Muslims who do not belong to, does not self-identify with, or cannot be readily classified under one of the identifiable Islamic schools and branches.
This is a bibliography of the works of Morteza Motahhari.
