Ajnabiyyah: a non-Mahram woman; a woman whom a man is allowed to marry

Aquiquah: sheep and the like sacrificed in a special manner and offered to Allah for the well-being of a child after it is born

Ayat prayer: prayer of divine signs which becomes obligatory when things such as solar or lunar eclipse or earthquake happen.

Diyyah: 1- compensation for injury; 2- blood money

Ghusl: ritual bathing or washing of one’s body for the purpose of religious purification

Hadath-ul-Akbar: any of the things such as wet dream or sexual intercourse which necessitate performing Ghusl

Hadath-ul-Asghar: any of the things which invalidate Wudhu and necessitate performing it again; e.g. urinating or sleeping.

Hajj: pilgrimage to the Holy Mecca to visit the Holy Kaaba for religious purposes

Halal: lawful; permissible; legal

Haraam: an illegal and forbidden act which must be avoided, otherwise it leads to punishment; e.g., telling a lie or oppressing; illegal and unlawful.

Haydh: Menstruation

Hunut: embalmment

Husseiniyyeh: a sacred place built for mourning ceremonies held for His Holiness Imam Hussein (PBUH).

Iddah: waiting period or term before a divorced or widowed woman is legally allowed to remarry

Ihtiyat-ul-Mustahab: a recommended precaution which is not a religious jurist’s decree but recommended by them

Ihtiyat-ul-Wajib: an obligatory precaution issued and deduced by a religious jurist which an imitator can either act upon or refer to another religious jurist who is the most learned among others

Ijtihad: the exertion of deducing the religious laws from the relevant sources and evidence.

Intention of Qurbah: the intention of growing closer to Allah and seeking His blessings

Irtimasi: washing through immersion in water

Istibra’: a man’s act of emptying his urinary outlet completely to confirm its emptiness which is done in a special manner as a recommended act

Istihalah: transformation; a complete change in the nature of something

Istihadha: women’s irregular discharges

Ithna’ Ashari Shiite: a Shiite Muslim who follows and believes in the Twelve Imams

Jabeerah: all sorts of bandages or splints that help to protect or support wounds, injured and broken parts of the body and also to the medications applied to a wound etc.

Janabah: state of having had sexual intercourse and/or orgasmic discharges and ejaculation.

Junub: a person who has already had sexual intercourse and/or ejaculation.

Kaffarah: atonement; ransom; religious expiation

Kaffarat-ul-jam’: feeding sixty poor people to their fill, keeping sixty fasts and setting a slave free altogether as to make atonement for a sin

Kafir: one who denies God (an atheist), or one who ascribes partners to God and denies the uniqueness of Allah (a poly theist), or does not believe in the Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), being God's messenger, or doubts any of these.

Kafir-ul-Mu’anid: one who denies Islam despite knowing that Islam is the true religion, or doubts its rightfulness, and intentionally and antagonistically refuses to investigate it and denies it obstinately.

Katheer-ul-shak: a person who doubts too often

Khums: the one fifth levy payable on certain items and under certain conditoins

Kula’ divorce: divorce granted at a woman’s request in return for giving up her marriage portion and any other sort of agreed compensation

Kurr water: the amount of water which fills a container with length, breadth and depth of three and a half spans each, i.e., 42.5 cubic spans in dimension, and weighs nearly 377.419 kilos.

Mahram: one’s close relatives such as sister, mother etc., whom they are not allowed to marry

Makruh: a legally disapproved act which is better to avoid doing and the avoidance brings a reward, but it will not lead to punishment if done; e.g., blowing on the food, eating hot food.

Mass-ul-Mayyit: touching a dead body

Mayyit: a dead person; a dead body.

Mubaah: an act which deserves neither a reward nor a punishment, and it is equal to do it or avoid it; e.g., sitting and walking.

Mudhaf water: the juice or extract of something like melon juice or rose-water, or water which contains some substance mixed in it like muddy water.

Mudharabah: commandite; a limited partnership where one party makes the investment and the other party handles the business and then the profit and loss will be shared as agreed

Mujtahid: a religious jurist who is capable of deducing the religious rules out of the relevant resources and references

Mukallaf: a legally mature person who is obliged and liable for what they do, and has to observe religious obligations and avoid illegalities.

Murtad: apostate

Muskir: intoxicating

Mustahab: a recommended act which brings a reward, but avoiding it does not bring a punishment; e.g., greeting and alms-giving.

Mutahirat: purifiers such as water with the help of which one can purify themselves

Mutlaq water: pure water which has no other substance mixed in it.

Muwalaat: succession

Najis-ul-Ayn: original impurity; source of impurity

Nifas: women’s afterbirth bleeding

Niyyat: intention

Non-Mahram: anyone other than one’s close relatives; those whom a person can marry

Quadha: due prayers or fasts performed outside of their prescribed times

Quiblah: the direction of the Holy Kaaba to which Muslims offer their prayers

Quisas: retaliation; blood vengeance

Rajm: stoning to death

Riba: usury

Rukn: any of the basic elements of prayer

Shahadatayn: “Ash hadu anla ilaha illallah wa ash hadu anna Muhammadan Rasulullah”, which means, “I testify the uniqueness of Allah and the Prophethood of Muhammad the Prophet (PBUH)”.

Taharat: state of becoming pure as a result of any ritual washing such as ablutions (Wudhu or Ghusl)

Takbeer: saying Allahu Akbar which means Allah is the most glorious and greater than any description.

Taquleed: to follow and imitate a Mujtahid, that is, to practice the religion based on the religious edicts (Fatwas) issued by a Mujtahid.

Tasbeehaat-ul-arba’ah: the four remembrances pronounced in the third or fourth Rak’at of an obligatory daily prayer, that is, “subhanallahi wal-hamdu lillahi wa la ilaha illallahu wallahu Akbar”

Tasmiyyah: saying “Bismillah” before killing an animal for the consumption of its meat etc.

Tawaaf: the circumambulation of the Holy Kaaba

Tazkiyah: the act of killing an animal according to Islamic rules

Wajib: an obligation which must be done and whose avoidance leads to punishment; e.g., praying and fasting.

Waquf: endowment

Wasee: testamentary exector

Wudhu: ablutions performed in a special manner for the purpose of offering prayers

Zabeehah: an animal killed for consumption

Zakat: alms payable when one’s value of certain properties reaches a prescribed limit

Zakat-ul-Fitrah: alms payable on the occasion of Fitr festival (Festival of Fast)