Islamic Terminology

Alhamd-u-Lillah	Thanks and Praise are due to Allah.
Allah	The One God. The Lord of the Universe. (Arabic Speaking Christians and Jews refer to God as Allah).
Allah-u-Akbar	Allah is Greater.
Al-Madinah	The City of Medina in Arabia, where Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) immigrated to and established the first Islamic community.
Ameer	The leader of a group. Also, Arabic word for prince.
Assalam-u-Alaykum	Peace be upon you.
Assalam-u-Alaykum Warahmatullah Wa-Barakatuh	Peace be upon you, and Allah's Mercy and Blessings to you.
Bism-i-Llah Arrahman Arraheem	In the Name of Allah The Compassionate The Merciful. An opening statement used by Muslims at the beginning of functions.
E'sa (Pbuh)	Arabic Name of Prophet Jesus (pbuh) as Stated in the Qur'an.
Hadith (Hadeeth)	The sayings, teachings, and traditions of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).
Hajj	Pilgrimage to Mecca. One of the Pillars of Islam for those who are able financially as well as physically.
Hijrah	Immigration (The flight of the Prophet from Mecca to Medina).
Hijri Calendar	The Islamic (Lunar) calendar, started in 623 A.D.
Ibadat	Arabic word for worships.
Ibraheem (Pbuh)	Arabic name for Prophet Abraham (pbuh) as stated in the Qur'an.
Imam	The leader of the community. Also, the leader of a congregational prayer.
E'man	Arabic word for faith or belief.
In-Sha-Allah	Allah Willing (God Willing).
Islam (Iss-lam)	Total Submission to the Will of Allah with peace between one and the Creator and between one and Allah's creations.
Fundamentalism	A Christian term for new born Christians. Does not apply to Muslims.
Jami'i	Place of gathering (Friday Mosque).
Jihad	Struggle or strive in the cause of Allah and in his way, physical or inner. Often mistranslated as "holy war".
Kalimah	The testimony that there is only One God (this term is often used by non Arabic speaking Muslims).
Kaa'bah	The House of Allah, rebuilt by Ibraheem (Abraham), pbuh, in Makkah (Mecca).
Kafir	Arabic term for a non-Muslim. Often mistranslated as “infidel” (used by crusaders to refer to the Muslims).
Khalipha (Caliph)	Arabic word for Successor (of the Prophet). The leader of the Islamic Nation.
Makkah	Mecca, Arabia.
Masjid	Place of Prayers (Mosque).
Moosa (Pbuh)	Arabic Name of Prophet Moses (pbuh) as stated in the Qur'an.
Muhammad (Pbuh)	The final Prophet and Messenger of Allah.
Muhammadan	An improper title or description for Muslims since Muslims worship Allah and not Muhammad (pbuh).
Mujahid	Often translated as freedom fighter. Proper translation is a person in the state of Jihad. See Jihad above.
Mujahideen	Plural of Mujahid.
Muslim	A person who subscribes to Islam.
pbuh	Peace be upon him, always used to salute Allah's Prophets and Messengers.
Pillars of Islam	The corners of the Religion: Testimony (Shahadah/Kalimah), Prayer, Alms Giving, Fasting, and Pilgrimage.
Qur'an	The Book of Allah, Revealed to Muhammad (pbuh) in Arabic. Translations of the meanings available in other languages.
Ramadan	The fasting month for Muslims, the 9th month of the Hijrah (Lunar) Calendar.
Rasool	Arabic for Messenger (of Allah).
Salah (Salat)	Arabic for Prayer. An act of physical and spiritual communication of submission to Allah. To be distinguished from Invocation (Du-a'a in Arabic). One of the Pillars of Islam.
Shahadah/Shahadatein	Testimony (that there is only One God and Muhammad (pbuh) is his Messenger). The first Pillar of Islam. See also Kalimah.
Shari'ah (or Shar'i)	Islamic Law as legislated by Allah.
Sheikh	Arabic for an elderly man or an Islamic scholar. Often used to describe a knowledgeable and wise people, e.g. a scholar.
She'ah	Arabic for Shi'ite.
Shi'ite	Arabic is She'ah. A division started by those who championed Ali (the Cousin and Son-In-Law of Prophet Muhammad, pbuh) as Caliph.
Si'yam	Fasting. One of the Pillars of Islam is to fast the month of Ramadan. Fasting involves abstention from eating, drinking, smoking, and sexual activities from Dawn to Sunset.
Sunnah	The traditions of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).
Sunni	A person who commits to the traditions and teachings of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). Also refers to the followers of the main-stream Islam.
Wa-Alaykum-Assalam	Response greeting to Assalamu-Alaykum. Means: And peace be upon you as well.
Zakah (Zakat)	Alms giving. One of the Pillars of Islam. Giving money to the needy. One form is to pay 2.5% of wealth saved for over 12 months.