124 Essential Islamic Vocabulary Words Every Muslim Should Know
Discover 124 words that are common used in Islamic vocabulary.
1. [Abd] عَبْد
Servant, Slave, worshiper, or creature.
2. [ibada] عِبَادَة
Worship: the spiritual aspect of Islam.
3. [wudhu] وُضُوءْ
Small ablutions before prayer.
4. [ghusl] غُسْلْ
The great ablution.
5. [adhan] آذَانْ
Call to prayer.
6. [ahlu l’bay’t] أَهْلُ الْبَيْتْ
The people of the house, members of the Prophet Muhammad’s family, May the Salvation and Peace of Allah be upon Him.
7. [ah’lu l’Kitab] أَهْلُ الْكِتَابْ
The People of the Book, that is, the pre-Islamic monotheistic religions, namely Judaism and Christianity.
8. [ah’lu ttaqu’wa] أَهْلُ التَّقْوَى
People of piety.
9. [akhira] آخِرَة
The last destination, the hereafter in opposition to the life here below اَلْحَيَاةُ الدُّنْيَا [al’hayatu ddunya].
10. [‘aqueeda] ﻋَﻘِﻴدَة
Dogma, article of faith, doctrine, belief.
Plural: عَقَائِدْ [‘aquâ’id]
11. [astagh’firu Lah] أَسْتَغْفِرُ الله
“May Allah forgive me”.
12. [a’udhu billah] أَعُوذُ بِالله
“I seek the protection of Allah! “
13. [atta’a] اَلطَّاعَة
Obedience to bring well-being.
14. [aya] آية
Sign, miracle, then by extension verse of the Quran.
Plural: آيَاتْ [ayat]
15. [baraka] بَرَكَة
Divine blessing.
16. [barzakh] بَرْزَخْ
Interval ; separation; (geogr.) isthmus. Passage of the deceased from the mortal world to the beyond.
17. [baseera] بَصِيرَة
Discernment; insight.
18. [bid’a] بِدْعَة
Heresy: innovation; new idea considered a heresy.
19. [sha’ban] شَعْبَانْ
Name of the eighth month of the Muslim calendar.
20. [shaf’] شَفْعْ
Even: supererogatory prayer with an even number of prostrations celebrated after the canonical prayer of اَلْعِشَاءْ [al-icha] and this prayer is followed by the prayer of اَلْوِتْرْ [al-witr].
21. [shahada] شَهَادَة
The profession of Faith: Testimony: One of the Five Pillars of Islam.
22. [shawwal] شَوَّالْ
Name of the tenth month of the Muslim calendar marked by Eid al-Fitr on that month’s first day.
23. [shirqu’] شِرْكْ
Association, polytheism. Shirk is granting to someone other than Allah what is due to Allah. For example: believing in a seer is considered to be shirk. Shirk is the greatest sin in Islam.
24. [shourâ] شُورَى
Consultation, joint decision-making.
25. [qur’an] قُرْآنْ
Reading; recitation.
26. [da’iya] دَاعِيَة
Preacher of Islam.
27. [dajjal] دَجَّالْ
Antichrist, liar; one who sows discord.
28. [dhabîha] ذَبِيحَة
Sacrifice, offering: the animal intended to be slaughtered, by metonymy, ritual slaughter.
29. [dalal] ضَلَالْ
Misguidance.
30. [da’wa] دَعْوة
Invitation to faith: vocation; the profession of faith; invitation to faith led by دَاعِيَة [da’iya].
31. [dhikr] ذِكْرْ
Invocation; repetition of ALLAH’s name
32. [du’a’] دُعَاءْ
Prayer: personal prayer, supplication, call. Personal prayer in opposition to صَلَاةْ [salat] the canonical prayer.
33. [fardh] فَرْضْ
Mandatory, depending on religion
Plural: فُرُوضْ [furudh]
34. [fatwa] فَتْوَى
A legal opinion which supplements the fiqh, which is the jurisprudence.
35. [fiq’h] فِقْهْ
Jurisprudence.
36. [fitna] فِتْنَة
Seduction (female), riot, dissension. In religious matters, it also means rupture, schism.
37. [furquan] فُرْقَانْ
Discernment, proof, the separation between good and evil.
38. [ghafara] غَفَرَ
Forgive.
39. [hadîth] حَدِيثْ
Word or act of the Prophet Mohammad considered as an example to be followed by practitioners.
Plural: أَحَادِيثْ [ahâdîth]
40. [haj] حَجْ
Pilgrimage to Mecca, one of the five pillars of Islam.
41. [halal] حَلَالْ
Permit; not sacred; profane, lawful as opposed to prohibited (haram).
42. [haneef] حَنِيفْ
Pure Islamic monotheism, orthodoxy.
43. [haram] حَرَامْ
What is sacred; what is forbidden by religion, taboo in opposition obverse allowed حَلَالْ [halal].
44. [hidaya] هِدَايَة
Conduct, moral direction.
45. [ihram] إِحْرَامْ
State of ritual consecration; the white garment of one who performs the great or the small pilgrimage in this state.
46. [ihsan] إِحْسَانْ
Charity: the perfect worship of Allah.
47. [i’jaz] إِعْجَازْ
The inimitable character of the Quran.
48. [ijma’] إِجْمَاعْ
Consensus des oulémas ou de l’ Oumma entière sur des questions morales, religieuses ou juridiques, suppléant la Sunna.
49. [ijtihad] إِجْتِهَادْ
Exegesis: an effort to interpret the Qur’an and hadiths.
50. [imam] إِمَامْ
Imam: a person who leads prayer, the spiritual guide of the community.
Literally: “the one who is in front”. To be compared with the Arabic word أَمَامَ [amama], which means: in front of or in front of.
51. [‘isma] عِصْمَة
Infallibility; invulnerability; immunity; impeccability.
52. [isnad] إِسْنَادْ
Chain of Guarantors: the chain of people reporting a hadith.
53. [isra’] إِسْرَاءْ
The night journey of Prophet Muhammad.
54. [jahiliyya] جَاهِلِيَّة
The pre-Islamic period: ignorance, paganism refers to the pre-Islamic period.
55. [khatib] خَطِيبْ
Preacher: the one who gives the Friday sermon خُطْبَة [khutba]
56. [khitan’] خِتَانْ
Circumcision.
57. [lagh’w] لَغْوْ
Futility: pointless, futile conversation.
58. [laylatu l’quadr] لَيْلَةُ الْقَدْرْ
“The night of destiny”: a night towards the end of the month of Ramadan during which the Prophet Muhammad PBUH received the first revelation.
59. [ma’ad] مَعَادْ
Destination: the beyond as the final destination.
60. [madh’hab] مَذْهَبْ
School of Legal Thought. It also designates the system of thought which resulted from it, even religion and faith.
61. [mahram] مَحْرَمْ
A person from the same family who cannot be married.
NB: we can compare this Arabic word of مَحْرَمْ [mahram] with the Arabic word مُحَرَّمْ [muharram], which means: forbidden or prohibited.
62. [makruh] مَكْرُوهْ
Despicable: describes acts condemned but not repressed.
63. [mandub] مَنْدُوبْ
Recommended, recommendable.
64. [rasul] رَسُولْ
Messenger, prophet, sent: The Prophet اَلنَّبِيْ [annabiy] launches warnings to a given population, the Messenger اَلرَّسُولْ [arrasul], him, brings a major revelation.
65. [mihrab] مِحْرَابْ
Niche facing Mecca in a mosque.
66. [mi’dhana] مِئْذَنَة
Minaret: the Arabic word designates the place from where the مُؤَذِّنْ [mu’adh-dhin] calls to prayer آذَانْ [adhan]. The English word derives from the Turkish minare coming from the Arabic word مَنَارَة [manara], meaning “tower”.
67. [mi’raj] مِعْرَاجْ
Ascension (littéralement : « échelle ») du Prophète Mohammed aux cieux lors du « voyage nocturne » إِسْرَاءْ [isrâ’].
68. [minbar] مِنْبَرْ
The pulpit of the preacher.
69. [minhaj] مِنْهَجْ
Method, methodology; course of action.
70. [masjid] مَسْجِدْ
Mosque, place of assembly; great mosque.
The English word mosque derives from مَسْجِدْ [masjid]: the place where one prostrates himself.
71. [mubah] مُبَاحْ
Allowed qualifies what is neither prohibited nor recommended.
72. [muadhdhin] مُؤَذِّنْ
This word designates the person in the mosque responsible for the call to prayer آذَانْ [adhan].
73. [ma’udhatan] مَعُوذَتَانْ
The two protective suras: This is the name given to the last two suras of the Quranاَلْفَجْرْ [al-fajr] (“Dawn”) and اَلنَّاسْ [annâs] (“Men”), say the suras of the refuge supposed to protect from suffering and the evil eye.
74. [mufti] مُفْتِي
He is a Sunni Muslim cleric who is an interpreter of Muslim law. It has the authority to issue legal opinions, called fatwas.
75. [mu’min] مُؤْمِنْ
Believer,
Plural: مُؤْمِنِينَ [mu’minina]
مُؤْﻣِﻨُونَ [mu’minuna]
76. [munafiq] مُنَافِقْ
Hypocrite.
Pluriel : مُنَافِقُونَ [munafiquna]
مُنَافِقِينَ [munafiqeena]
77. [mustahab] مُسْتَحَبْ
Preferable: qualifies an action recommendable but not binding.
78. [mutawatir] مُتَوَاتِرْ
Recurrent, notorious: Said of a hadith found several times with different chains of guarantors.
79. [nafil] نَافِلْ
Supererogatory, superfluous.
80. [noor] نُورْ
Light.
81. [nubuyya] نُبُوَّة
Prophecy.
82. [Umma] أُمَّة
Umma: the community of believers.
83. [‘omra] عُمْرَة
Small non-compulsory pilgrimage, not part of the five pillars of Islam.
84. [nabiy’] نَبِيْ
Prophet.
Plural: أَنْبِيَاءْ [anbiya]
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85. [al-qadhâ’ wa l’qadar] اَلْقَضَاءْ وَ الْقَدَرْ
Fatality: the will of Allah.
86. [Quddus] قُدُّوسْ
The Most Holy: [Quddus] is one of the 99 attributes of Allah.
87. [qalam] قَلَمْ
Qalam pencil; pen.
88. [qiyama] قِيَامَة
Resurrection, day of judgment.
89. [qudusse] قُدُسِي
Sacred: The sacred hadiths (Qudsi) are considered to relate to the divine word and not that of the prophet.
90. [rasheed] رَشِيدْ
Reasonable, orthodox, well-directed.
Plural: رَاشِدُونْ [rashidoon]
رَاشِدِينَ [rashideena]
91. [risâla] رِسَالَة
Message; mission; apostolate.
This is the message brought by the Messenger رَسُولْ [rasul]
92. [ruh] رُوحْ
Spirit, breath, essence; soul. It was the divine breath that brought Adam to life.
93. [rukn] رُكْنْ
Pillar, support, column; basic principle; elementary principle. For example, the pillars of Islam.
Plural: أَرْكَانْ [arkan]
94. [ruku’] رُكُوعْ
Prostration.
95. [rak’a] رَكْعَة
Prostration: the basic unit of canonical prayer صَلَاة [salat]; each of the daily prayers consists of a fixed number of prostrations.
Plural: رَﻛَﻌَﺎتْ [rakat]
96. [sabr] ﺻَﺒْﺮْ
Patience: self-control; endurance.
97. [sadaqa] صَدَقَة
Alms; voluntary alms in opposition to legal alms زَكَاة [zakat].
Plural: صَدَقَاتْ
98. [sadâq] صَدَاقْ
Dot, dower. The future husband gives Dot to his wife. In principle, this dowry should remain the exclusive property of the wife.
99. [suhoor] سَحُورْ
Breakfast: meal taken before sunrise during the fast of the month of Ramadan.
100. [salat] صَلَاة
Prayer (canonical), one of the five pillars of Islam.
Plural: صَلَوَاتْ [salawat]
101. [salsabeel] سَلْسَبِيلْ
Name of a source in paradise.
102. [sawm] صَوْمْ
Fasting: this can be the fast of the month of Ramadan, one of the five pillars of Islam, or the supererogatory youth that occurs on other occasions (fasting every Monday and Thursday, for example).
103. [seera] سِيرَة
Name of the biographies of Prophet Muhammad May Salvation and Peace be upon Him.
104. [assirata l’mustaqueem] اَلصِّرَاطَ الْمُسْتَقِيمْ
The path of the elect, straight path.
105. [sura] سُورَة
Surah: what is put away; chapter of the Quran.
Plural: سُوَرْ [suwar]
106. [sunna] سُنَّة
All the facts, gestures and prophetic words in Islam reported by his companions.
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107. [ta’awwudh] تَعَوُّذْ
An invocation that asks for Allah’s protection against Satan.
108. [tafseer] تَفْسِيرْ
Exegesis, especially of the Quran.
109. [tahajjood] تَهَجُّدْ
Extraordinary night prayer. It is recommended that you spend up to two-thirds of the night in prayer.
110. [tahara] طَهَارَة
Purification: In the secular sense: hygiene, purification. In the religious sense: perform ritual ablutions.
111. [tajweed] تَجْوِيدْ
Embellishment, a particularly applied way of reading the Quran for the most benefit.
112. [tanzeel] تَنْزِيلْ
Revelation: Divine Revelation descended on Prophet Muhammad May the Salvation and Peace of Allah Be upon Him.
113. [taraweeh] تَرَاوِيحْ
Prayers of Rest: Qualifies the additional prayers that can be said during the nights of the month of Ramadan.
114. [tarteel] تَرْتِيلْ
Slow declamation: the slow form of تَجْوِيدْ [tajweedd], which is the applied recitation of the Quran.
115. [tasbeeh] تَسْبِيحْ
A form of reminder ذِكْرْ [dhikr] which involves the repeated invocation of short sentences that glorify Allah.
116. [tawaf] طَوَافْ
Circuit: circumambulation around the Kaaba.
117. [tawassul] تَوَسُّلْ
Imploration: notion of intercession of Allah.
118. [tawheed] تَوْحِيدْ
Monotheism call for the oneness of the existence of Allah.
119. [tayammum] تَيَمُّمْ
Dry ablution: ablution made with sand, or stone, in the absence of water.
120. [wah’y’] وَحْيْ
Inspiration, revelation, like that made to Moses, differs from that made exclusively to the Prophet Muhammad may the Salvation and the Pay of Allah Be upon Him.
121. [wajib] وَاجِبْ
Mandatory.
122. [witr] وِتْرْ
Odd: supererogatory prayer with an odd number of prostrations celebrated after the canonical prayer of عِشَاءْ [isha] and before the prayer of شَفْعْ [shaf].
123. [yaqeen] يَقِينْ
Certainty, deep faith.
124. [zakat] زَكَاة
Legal alms, one of the five pillars of Islam.
This lesson is now finished. We have now studied 124 Islamic vocabulary words that Muslims commonly use.
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