Reference

Glossary

247 terms you meet in the lessons. In every lesson you can hover or tap an underlined term for this explanation.

Faith (ʿaqīdah)

ākhiraآخِرَة: The Hereafter: life after death, with the Resurrection, the Reckoning, Paradise and the Fire.
fiṭraفِطْرَة: Humanity's innate nature, which naturally recognises God.
ghaybغَيْب: The unseen: what we cannot perceive with our senses but know from revelation, such as angels and the Hereafter.
iḥsānإِحْسَان: The highest level of faith: worshipping Allah as if you see Him, for though you do not see Him, He sees you (ḥadīth of Jibrīl).
ikhlāṣإِخْلَاص: Sincerity: doing something purely for Allah. Also the name of surah 112.
īmānإِيمَان: Faith: conviction in the heart, spoken by the tongue and shown in deeds. It has six pillars.
islāmإِسْلَام: Submission to Allah. Also the name of the religion; it has five pillars.
Jannaجَنَّة: Paradise, literally 'the garden'.
qadarقَدَر: Divine decree: Allah knows everything, has recorded it, wills what happens and creates it. The sixth pillar of īmān.
riyāʾرِيَاء: Showing off in worship: doing good deeds to be seen by people rather than for Allah.
shahādaشَهَادَة: The testimony of faith: 'There is no god but Allah, and Muḥammad is the Messenger of Allah.' The first pillar of Islam.
shirkشِرْك: Associating anything or anyone with Allah in worship or in His attributes. The opposite of tawḥīd and the gravest sin.
tawḥīdتَوْحِيد: The oneness of Allah: believing Allah is the only Creator, the only one worthy of worship, with unique names and attributes.
ʿaqīdahعَقِيدَة: Creed: what a Muslim firmly believes about Allah, the prophets, the unseen and the Hereafter.

Prayer & purity

adhānأَذَان: The call to prayer.
al-fajr aṣ-ṣādiqالْفَجْرُ الصَّادِق: The 'true dawn': light spreading across the horizon that begins Fajr time; the 'false dawn' (al-fajr al-kādhib) is an earlier vertical streak of light.
al-masḥ ʿalā l-khuffaynالْمَسْح عَلَى الْخُفَّيْن: Wiping over leather socks (khuffayn) in wuḍūʾ instead of washing the feet, if they were put on in purity.
aṣ-ṣalāt al-wusṭāالصَّلَاةُ الْوُسْطَى: 'The middle prayer' (Quran 2:238); according to the strongest view the ʿAṣr prayer.
bāṭilبَاطِل: Invalid: a prayer or act that does not count and must be redone.
dalkدَلْك: Rubbing the limbs while washing; obligatory in the Mālikī school.
duʿāʾ al-istiftāḥدُعَاء الِاسْتِفْتَاح: The opening supplication after the first takbīr, before Al-Fātiḥa, such as 'subḥānaka llāhumma…'.
ghuslغُسْل: The major ritual bath of the whole body, for example after menstruation or janāba.
ḥayḍحَيْض: Menstruation; during it a woman does not pray or fast, and afterwards she performs ghusl.
iftirāshافْتِرَاش: Sitting position on the left foot with the right foot upright.
imāmإِمَام: The one who leads the congregational prayer; also a title for a great scholar.
iqāmaإِقَامَة: The second, shorter call right before the congregational prayer begins.
istijmārاسْتِجْمَار: Cleaning after using the toilet with stones, paper or the like (instead of water).
iʿtidālاعْتِدَال: Standing upright after rukūʿ and pausing briefly.
jahrجَهْر: Reciting aloud in prayer, as in Fajr, Maghrib and ʿIshāʾ. In tajwīd also: voiced.
jalsat al-istirāḥaجَلْسَة الِاسْتِرَاحَة: The brief resting sit after the second sujūd, before standing for the next rakʿa.
janābaجَنَابَة: The state of major impurity after ejaculation or intercourse; requires ghusl.
jawrabجَوْرَب: A cloth sock; according to many scholars you may wipe over it like the khuff.
jumuʿaجُمُعَة: The Friday prayer at the mosque, with a sermon (khuṭba), replacing Dhuhr.
khushūʿخُشُوع: Humility and concentration in prayer, with your heart present.
khuṭbaخُطْبَة: Sermon, for example at the Friday prayer and the ʿĪd prayers.
madhīمَذْي: Clear pre-seminal fluid at arousal; it breaks wuḍūʾ but does not require ghusl.
masjidمَسْجِد: Mosque, literally 'place of prostration'.
mawāqītمَوَاقِيت: The prayer times: the fixed periods in which each obligatory prayer must be prayed.
maʾmūmمَأْمُوم: One who prays behind the imām and follows him.
muqīmمُقِيم: A resident, not travelling.
musāfirمُسَافِر: A traveller; may shorten the four-rakʿa prayers (qaṣr) and combine prayers.
muwālātمُوَالَاة: Continuity without a long break, for example in wuḍūʾ.
muʾadhdhinمُؤَذِّن: The caller who gives the adhān.
naflنَفْل: A voluntary (extra) prayer or deed, on top of the obligatory.
najāsaنَجَاسَة: An impure substance, such as urine or faeces, that you remove from body, clothes and place.
nifāsنِفَاس: Postnatal bleeding after childbirth; the same rules as for ḥayḍ.
qaḍāʾقَضَاء: Making up: performing a missed prayer (or fast) after its time.
qaṣrقَصْر: Shortening four-rakʿa prayers to two while travelling.
qiblaقِبْلَة: The prayer direction: towards the Kaʿba in Mecca. From western Europe roughly south-east.
qiyāmقِيَام: The standing in prayer, in which you recite Al-Fātiḥa.
rakʿaرَكْعَة: One 'round' of the prayer: standing, bowing, rising, prostrating twice. Plural: rakʿāt.
ruknرُكْن: Pillar: an essential part, like the pillars of Islam. In prayer: if a rukn is omitted it must be made up, otherwise the prayer is invalid. Plural: arkān.
rukūʿرُكُوع: The bowing in prayer, back straight, hands on the knees.
sadlسَدْل: Letting the arms hang by the sides while standing; the Mālikī practice.
ṣalāhصَلَاة: The ritual prayer, five times a day. The second pillar of Islam.
ṣalāt al-jamāʿaصَلَاة الْجَمَاعَة: The congregational prayer behind an imām; according to the Prophet ﷺ 27 times the reward.
sharṭشَرْط: Condition: must be met before and during the prayer (such as purity and the qibla) but is not part of it. Plural: shurūṭ.
sirrسِرّ: Reciting quietly in prayer, as in Dhuhr and ʿAṣr.
ṣufūfصُفُوف: The rows in congregational prayer, straight and closed. Singular: ṣaff.
sujūdسُجُود: The prostration with the forehead on the ground: the moment you are closest to Allah.
sujūd as-sahwسُجُود السَّهْو: Two extra prostrations to make up for a mistake in the prayer.
ṭahāraطَهَارَة: Purity: of body, clothes and place, and the ritual state of purity for prayer.
takbīrتَكْبِير: Saying 'Allāhu akbar' (Allah is the Greatest).
takbīrat al-iḥrāmتَكْبِيرَة الْإِحْرَام: The opening takbīr that starts the prayer; after it everything outside the prayer is forbidden.
tasbīḥتَسْبِيح: Glorifying Allah with 'subḥāna…', such as 'subḥāna rabbiya l-ʿadhīm' in rukūʿ.
tashahhudتَشَهُّد: The testimony said while sitting in prayer, beginning with 'at-taḥiyyātu lillāh'.
taslīmتَسْلِيم: The closing greeting of the prayer: 'as-salāmu ʿalaykum wa raḥmatu llāh', to the right and left.
tawarrukتَوَرُّك: Sitting position in the final tashahhud: sitting on the ground with the left foot under the right leg.
tayammumتَيَمُّم: Dry purification with clean earth or stone when there is no water or water would harm you.
ṭumaʾnīnaطُمَأْنِينَة: Coming to rest in each position of the prayer before moving on; a pillar of the prayer.
witrوِتْر: The odd number of rakʿāt after ʿIshāʾ that closes the night.
wuḍūʾوُضُوء: The minor ritual ablution before prayer: face, arms, head and feet.
ʿawraعَوْرَة: The part of the body that must be covered, including in prayer.

Quran

al-aḥruf as-sabʿaالْأَحْرُف السَّبْعَة: The 'seven modes' in which, according to the ḥadīth, the Quran was sent down, to make reading easy for everyone.
al-ḥurūf al-ḥalqiyyaالْحُرُوف الْحَلْقِيَّة: The six throat letters: ء ه ع ح غ خ. Before these letters idhhār applies.
al-ḥurūf al-muqaṭṭaʿaالْحُرُوف الْمُقَطَّعَة: The separate letters at the start of 29 surahs, such as Alif-Lām-Mīm; Allah knows their meaning.
al-khaṭṭ al-ḥijāzīالْخَطّ الْحِجَازِيّ: The early, slanted Arabic script from the Ḥijāz in which the oldest Quran manuscripts are written.
al-mīm as-sākinaالْمِيمُ السَّاكِنَة: A mīm without a vowel. Three rules apply to it: ikhfāʾ shafawī, idghām shafawī and idhhār shafawī.
an-nūn as-sākinaالنُّونُ السَّاكِنَة: A nūn without a vowel (with sukūn). Four rules apply to it: idhhār, idghām, iqlāb and ikhfāʾ.
ar-rasm al-ʿUthmānīالرَّسْم الْعُثْمَانِيّ: The spelling of the Quran as in the muṣḥafs of ʿUthmān; rasm is the letter skeleton without dots or vowels.
asbāb an-nuzūlأَسْبَاب النُّزُول: The occasions on which verses were revealed.
at-tanjīmالتَّنْجِيم: The gradual sending down of the Quran in portions, over about 23 years.
āyaآيَة: A verse of the Quran; literally 'sign'. Plural: āyāt.
balāghaبَلَاغَة: Eloquence and rhetoric in Arabic.
basmalaبَسْمَلَة: Saying 'Bismillāhi r-raḥmāni r-raḥīm' (In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful).
ghunnaغُنَّة: Nasalisation: the nasal sound of nūn and mīm, usually two counts long.
ḥāfidhحَافِظ: Someone who has memorised the entire Quran.
Ḥafṣ ʿan ʿĀṣimحَفْص عَنْ عَاصِم: The most widely read transmission of the Quran: Ḥafṣ passing on the reading of his teacher ʿĀṣim.
ḥarf līnحَرْف لِين: Soft letter: wāw or yāʾ with sukūn after a fatḥa, as in خَوْف (khawf) and بَيْت (bayt).
ḥifdhحِفْظ: Memorising the Quran.
ḥurūf al-istiʿlāʾحُرُوف الِاسْتِعْلَاء: The 'elevated' letters خ ص ض غ ط ق ظ, where the back of the tongue rises; they are always heavy.
ḥurūf al-iṭbāqحُرُوف الْإِطْبَاق: The 'covering' letters ص ض ط ظ, where the tongue lies against the palate.
ḥurūf al-maddحُرُوف الْمَدّ: The three lengthening letters: alif, wāw and yāʾ as long vowels (ā, ū, ī).
ibtidāʾاِبْتِدَاء: Starting again after a stop, at a point where the meaning stays correct.
idghāmإِدْغَام: Merging: a vowelless letter is absorbed into the next letter, with or without nasalisation (ghunna).
idghām shafawīإِدْغَام شَفَوِيّ: Labial merging: a vowelless mīm before another mīm merges into it, with nasalisation.
idhhārإِظْهَار: Clear pronunciation: the nūn or tanwīn is pronounced clearly, without extra nasalisation, especially before the throat letters.
idhhār shafawīإِظْهَار شَفَوِيّ: Clear labial mīm: a vowelless mīm is pronounced clearly before all letters except bāʾ and mīm.
ījāzإِيجَاز: Concision: a lot of meaning in few words.
ijāzaإِجَازَة: A teacher's licence to recite or teach, with a chain back to the Prophet ﷺ.
ikhfāʾإِخْفَاء: Concealment: the nūn or tanwīn is half pronounced, as a nasal sound between idhhār and idghām.
ikhfāʾ shafawīإِخْفَاء شَفَوِيّ: Concealed labial mīm: a vowelless mīm before bāʾ (ب) is formed lightly with the lips, with nasalisation.
iqlābإِقْلَاب: Conversion: before the letter bāʾ (ب) a vowelless nūn or tanwīn becomes a hidden mīm, with nasalisation.
iʿjāzإِعْجَاز: The inimitability of the Quran: no one can produce anything equal to it.
jamʿ al-Qurʾānجَمْع الْقُرْآن: The compilation of the Quran: gathered under Abū Bakr and in one standard muṣḥaf under ʿUthmān.
juzʾجُزْء: One thirtieth of the Quran, handy for finishing it in a month.
kuttāb al-waḥyكُتَّاب الْوَحْي: The scribes of revelation: Companions who wrote down the verses at the Prophet's ﷺ dictation, such as Zayd ibn Thābit.
laḥnلَحْن: A mistake in recitation: jalī is a clear mistake (letter or vowel), khafī a hidden mistake against the tajwīd rules.
maddمَدّ: Lengthening of a vowel in recitation.
madd farʿīمَدّ فَرْعِيّ: Derived lengthening: longer than two counts because a hamza or sukūn follows the long vowel.
madd lāzimمَدّ لَازِم: Necessary lengthening of six counts, when a fixed sukūn or shadda follows the long vowel.
madd munfaṣilمَدّ مُنْفَصِل: Separated lengthening: long vowel at the end of a word and hamza at the start of the next, 4 to 5 counts (Ḥafṣ).
madd muttaṣilمَدّ مُتَّصِل: Connected lengthening: long vowel and hamza in the same word, 4 to 5 counts (Ḥafṣ).
madd ṣilaمَدّ الصِّلَة: Lengthening of the hāʾ meaning 'him' (ـهُ / ـهِ) between two vowels, as if a small wāw or yāʾ follows it.
madd ṭabīʿīمَدّ طَبِيعِيّ: The natural lengthening of two counts on a long vowel (ā, ī, ū) with no hamza or sukūn after it.
madd ʿāriḍ li-s-sukūnالْمَدّ الْعَارِض لِلسُّكُون: Lengthening because you stop: the last letter gets a sukūn at waqf, so 2, 4 or 6 counts.
makhārijمَخَارِج: The points of articulation: where in the mouth and throat an Arabic letter is formed.
maqāṣidمَقَاصِد: The higher objectives of the Quran (or of the sharīʿa): what the texts ultimately aim at.
Medinischمَدَنِي: Revealed after the hijra (622).
Mekkaansمَكِّي: Revealed before the hijra (622).
mufassirمُفَسِّر: Quran commentator: a scholar who gives tafsīr. Plural: mufassirūn.
muṣḥafمُصْحَف: A written copy of the Quran as a book.
nadhmنَظْم: The precise arrangement of words; according to al-Jurjānī the heart of the Quran's linguistic miracle.
naskhنَسْخ: Abrogation: a later ruling in revelation that replaces an earlier one.
qalqalaقَلْقَلَة: Echo: a short 'bounce' on the letters ق ط ب ج د when they have no vowel.
qasamقَسَم: An oath in the Quran, such as 'By the sun…' (91:1), to stress the importance of what follows.
qirāʾātقِرَاءَات: The transmitted readings of the Quran, such as Ḥafṣ ʿan ʿĀṣim and Warsh ʿan Nāfiʿ.
qurrāʾقُرَّاء: Quran reciters, especially the famous imāms of the readings. Singular: qāriʾ.
riwāyaرِوَايَة: Transmission: the version of a reading as passed on by a particular student, for example Ḥafṣ from ʿĀṣim.
saktسَكْت: A very short pause without taking a breath, at a few fixed places in the reading of Ḥafṣ.
ṣifāt al-ḥurūfصِفَات الْحُرُوف: The characteristics of the letters, such as heavy or light, voiced or whispered.
soeraسُورَة: A chapter of the Quran; there are 114.
tafkhīmتَفْخِيم: Heavy pronunciation: full, with a round, hollow mouth, as with ص ض ط ظ ق.
tafsīrتَفْسِير: Explanation and commentary on the meaning of the Quran.
tafsīr bi-l-maʾthūrالتَّفْسِير بِالْمَأْثُور: Commentary based mainly on transmission: the Quran itself, the sunna and the words of the Companions.
tafsīr bi-r-raʾyالتَّفْسِير بِالرَّأْي: Commentary based mainly on language and reasoning; praised when grounded in knowledge, condemned when based on mere opinion.
taḥaddīتَحَدِّي: The Quran's challenge to produce anything like it, even a single surah.
tajwīdتَجْوِيد: The rules of correct Quran recitation: pronunciation, lengthening, nasalisation and so on.
talaqqīتَلَقِّي: Learning mouth to ear: taking the Quran directly from a teacher, as it has been transmitted.
tarqīqتَرْقِيق: Light pronunciation: thin and clear, the opposite of tafkhīm.
tartīb al-muṣḥafتَرْتِيب الْمُصْحَف: The order of the surahs in the muṣḥaf, which differs from the order of revelation.
tartīb an-nuzūlتَرْتِيب النُّزُول: The order in which the verses and surahs were revealed.
tartīlتَرْتِيل: Reciting calmly and clearly with attention to tajwīd (Quran 73:4).
tawāturتَوَاتُر: Mass transmission: passed on by so many people that collusion or error is impossible.
tawqīfīتَوْقِيفِيّ: Fixed by divine instruction, through the Prophet ﷺ, such as the order of the verses.
waḥyوَحْي: Revelation: Allah conveying His word to a prophet.
waqfوَقْف: Stopping during recitation at the end of a word, taking a breath.
Warsh ʿan Nāfiʿوَرْش عَنْ نَافِع: Transmission of the reading of Nāfiʿ (Medina), widely read in North and West Africa.
waṣlوَصْل: Continuing: joining words together without stopping.
ʿadd al-āyعَدّ الْآي: The science of counting verses; this is why verse numbers sometimes differ between traditions.
ʿalāmāt al-waqfعَلَامَات الْوَقْف: Stop signs in the muṣḥaf, such as م (must stop), لا (do not stop) and ج (may stop).
ʿulūm al-Qurʾānعُلُوم الْقُرْآن: Quranic sciences: knowledge about the revelation, compilation, readings and interpretation of the Quran.

Arabic: script & grammar

al at-taʿrīfأَلْ التَّعْرِيف: The definite article al- ('the') before a noun.
al-fiʿl al-māḍīالْفِعْل الْمَاضِي: The past tense of the verb, such as كَتَبَ (kataba), 'he wrote'.
al-fiʿl al-muḍāriʿالْفِعْل الْمُضَارِع: The present/future tense of the verb, such as يَكْتُبُ (yaktubu), 'he writes'.
al-ḥurūf al-hijāʾiyyaالْحُرُوف الْهِجَائِيَّة: The Arabic alphabet: 28 letters, from alif to yāʾ.
al-ḥurūf al-qamariyyaالْحُرُوف الْقَمَرِيَّة: Moon letters: after al- the lām stays audible, as in الْقَمَر (al-qamar).
al-ḥurūf ash-shamsiyyaالْحُرُوف الشَّمْسِيَّة: Sun letters: after al- the lām is silent and the letter is doubled, as in الشَّمْس (ash-shams).
alif khanjariyyaالْأَلِف الْخَنْجَرِيَّة: The 'dagger alif': a small upright alif (ـٰ) for a long ā that is not written as a full alif.
aṣ-ṣifr al-mustadīrالصِّفْر الْمُسْتَدِير: The round zero in the muṣḥaf above a letter that is never pronounced.
ḍamīrضَمِير: Pronoun, separate (هُوَ huwa, 'he') or attached to a word (ـهُ -hu, 'him/his').
ḍammaضَمَّة: The small curl above a letter (ـُ) for the short sound u.
fatḥaفَتْحَة: The stroke above a letter (ـَ) for the short sound a.
fiʿl al-amrفِعْل الْأَمْر: The imperative, such as قُلْ (qul), 'say!'.
hamzat al-qaṭʿهَمْزَة الْقَطْع: Separating hamza (أ / إ): always pronounced, even in the middle of a sentence.
hamzat al-waṣlهَمْزَة الْوَصْل: Connecting hamza (ٱ): pronounced only when you start reading and dropped when you read on.
ḥarakaحَرَكَة: Vowel mark, literally 'movement': fatḥa (a), kasra (i) or ḍamma (u). Plural: ḥarakāt.
ḥarfحَرْف: Letter; in grammar also a particle, a small word like 'in', 'and' or 'not'. Plural: ḥurūf.
ḥarf jarrحَرْف جَرّ: Preposition, such as فِي (fī, in) and مِنْ (min, from); the noun after it is majrūr.
ḥarf ʿaṭfحَرْف عَطْف: Conjunction joining words or sentences, such as وَ (wa, and) and فَ (fa, so/and then).
iḍāfaإِضَافَة: Possessive construction of two nouns, such as كِتَابُ اللَّهِ (kitābu llāh): muḍāf ('book') + muḍāf ilayh ('of Allah').
iltiqāʾ as-sākinaynاِلْتِقَاء السَّاكِنَيْن: Two vowelless letters meeting; the first is dropped or gets a helping vowel.
ismاِسْم: Noun: nouns and adjectives, also pronouns. One of the three parts of speech.
ism al-ishāraاِسْم الْإِشَارَة: Demonstrative pronoun, such as هٰذَا (hādhā, 'this') and ذٰلِكَ (dhālika, 'that').
ism mawṣūlاِسْم مَوْصُول: Relative pronoun, such as الَّذِي (alladhī, 'who/which').
iʿrābإِعْرَاب: Case inflection: the vowel at the end of a word changes with its role in the sentence.
jidhrجِذْر: Root: usually three consonants carrying the core meaning, such as k-t-b (writing). Plural: judhūr.
kasraكَسْرَة: The stroke below a letter (ـِ) for the short sound i.
khabarخَبَر: The predicate of a nominal sentence: what is said about the mubtadaʾ, such as أَحَدٌ in اللَّهُ أَحَدٌ. Literally 'report' (cf. khabar al-wāḥid).
kursī al-hamzaكُرْسِيّ الْهَمْزَة: The 'seat' of the hamza: the alif, wāw or yāʾ on which the hamza is written.
lām al-jalālaلَام الْجَلَالَة: The lām in the name Allāh: heavy after a or u, light after i (as in bismillāh).
maddaمَدَّة: The wavy sign above the alif (آ) or above a long vowel: hold it long.
mafʿūl bihiمَفْعُول بِهِ: Direct object: the one or thing the action is done to; it is manṣūb.
majrūrمَجْرُور: In the genitive (ending usually i), after a preposition or as muḍāf ilayh.
majzūmمَجْزُوم: A verb in the jussive (usually ending in sukūn), for example after لَمْ (lam).
manṣūbمَنْصُوب: In the accusative (ending usually a), for example the direct object.
maqṭaʿمَقْطَع: Syllable: open (ending in a vowel) or closed (ending in a letter with sukūn).
marfūʿمَرْفُوع: In the nominative (ending usually u), for example the subject.
maʿrifaمَعْرِفَة: Definite noun ('the book'), for example with al- or a proper name.
mubtadaʾمُبْتَدَأ: The subject that opens a nominal sentence, such as اللَّهُ in اللَّهُ أَحَدٌ.
mudhakkarمُذَكَّر: Masculine (grammatical gender).
muthannāمُثَنًّى: Dual: the form for exactly two, with the ending -āni or -ayni.
muʾannathمُؤَنَّث: Feminine (grammatical gender), often recognisable by tāʾ marbūṭa (ـة).
naḥwنَحْو: Grammar: the study of sentence structure and case endings.
nakiraنَكِرَة: Indefinite noun ('a book'), usually recognisable by tanwīn.
nūn at-tawkīdنُون التَّوْكِيد: Emphatic nūn: a (often doubled) nūn after a verb adding 'surely, certainly', as in لَتُسْأَلُنَّ.
nuqṭaنُقْطَة: Dot; the dots distinguish letters with the same shape, such as ب ت ث. Plural: nuqaṭ.
sākinسَاكِن: Vowelless: a letter with sukūn.
ṣarfصَرْف: Morphology: the study of word forms, such as verb conjugation and patterns on a root.
shaddaشَدَّة: The doubling sign (ـّ): the letter is pronounced double.
sukūnسُكُون: The small circle above a letter (ـْ): the letter has no vowel.
tanwīnتَنْوِين: Nunation: a doubled vowel mark at the end of a word (ـً ـٍ ـٌ), pronounced -an, -in, -un.
tashkīlتَشْكِيل: The full set of vowel and reading marks (fatḥa, sukūn, shadda…) on the letters.
wāw al-jamāʿaوَاو الْجَمَاعَة: The plural wāw at the end of a verb ('they/you all'), often followed by a silent alif.

Seerah

AHهـ: 'After the Hijra': years counted from 622 CE.
Anṣārأَنْصَار: 'The helpers': the Muslims of Medina who took in the Muhājirūn.
daʿwaدَعْوَة: Inviting to Islam.
ḥanīfحَنِيف: Someone who followed the pure monotheism of Ibrāhīm.
hijraهِجْرَة: The emigration from Mecca to Medina in 622; the start of the Islamic calendar.
Isrāʾ en Miʿrājالإِسْرَاء وَالْمِعْرَاج: The Prophet's ﷺ night journey from Mecca to Jerusalem and the ascension, in which the prayer was prescribed.
jāhiliyyaجَاهِلِيَّة: 'The age of ignorance': Arabia before Islam.
Kaʿbaالْكَعْبَة: The cube-shaped house of Allah in Mecca, built by Ibrāhīm and Ismāʿīl; the qibla.
Muhājirūnمُهَاجِرُون: The Muslims who emigrated from Mecca to Medina.
Qurayshقُرَيْش: The leading tribe of Mecca, to which the Prophet ﷺ belonged.
ṣaḥābaصَحَابَة: The Companions: those who met the Prophet ﷺ as believers and died as Muslims.
sīraسِيرَة: The biography of the Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ.
tābiʿūnالتَّابِعُون: The 'Successors': the generation after the Companions, who learned from them. Singular: tābiʿī.

General

adabأَدَب: Etiquette and manners, for example when eating, greeting or reading the Quran.
akhlāqأَخْلَاق: Character and good conduct.
dhikrذِكْر: Remembrance of Allah, for example with subḥānallāh, al-ḥamdu lillāh and Allāhu akbar.
duʿāʾدُعَاء: Supplication: asking Allah for something, in any language and at any time.
farḍفَرْض: Obligatory: rewarded if done, sinful if left without excuse.
farḍ kifāyaفَرْض كِفَايَة: Communal obligation: if enough people do it the rest are free of sin, such as the funeral prayer.
fiqhفِقْه: Islamic jurisprudence: the practical rulings on how to pray, fast, trade and so on.
ḥadīthحَدِيث: A report of what the Prophet ﷺ said, did or approved, with a chain of narrators.
ḥajjحَجّ: The pilgrimage to Mecca, obligatory once in a lifetime if able. The fifth pillar.
ḥalālحَلَال: Permitted.
ḥarāmحَرَام: Forbidden.
ḥukmحُكْم: A ruling in fiqh, such as obligatory, recommended or forbidden. Plural: aḥkām.
ijtihādاجْتِهَاد: The independent derivation of a ruling from the sources by a qualified scholar.
isnādإِسْنَاد: The chain of narrators through which a ḥadīth or a Quran reading was passed on.
madhhabمَذْهَب: School of law. The four well-known Sunni schools are Ḥanafī, Mālikī, Shāfiʿī and Ḥanbalī.
makrūhمَكْرُوه: Disliked: better avoided, but not a sin.
niyyaنِيَّة: Intention in the heart. 'Deeds are judged by intentions' (Bukhārī 1).
ṣabrصَبْر: Patience and steadfastness.
ṣadaqaصَدَقَة: Voluntary charity, even a smile or a helping hand.
ṣawmصَوْم: Fasting: no eating, drinking and more from dawn to sunset. Obligatory in Ramadan.
shukrشُكْر: Gratitude towards Allah.
sunnaسُنَّة: The way of the Prophet ﷺ: what he said, did and approved. In fiqh also: recommended (not obligatory).
sunna muʾakkadaسُنَّة مُؤَكَّدَة: Emphasised sunna: what the Prophet ﷺ (almost) always did, such as the two rakʿāt before Fajr.
taqwāتَقْوَى: God-consciousness: being mindful of Allah and therefore doing good and avoiding evil.
ummaأُمَّة: The worldwide community of Muslims.
wājibوَاجِب: Obligatory; in prayer: a duty which, if forgotten, is made up with sujūd as-sahw (Ḥanbalī/Ḥanafī classification).
waswasaوَسْوَسَة: Whisperings and obsessive doubt, for example about wuḍūʾ or prayer; you do not follow them.
zakātزَكَاة: Obligatory alms: yearly 2.5% of savings above a minimum. The third pillar of Islam.
ʿiddaعِدَّة: A woman's waiting period after divorce or her husband's death, before she may remarry.
ʿumraعُمْرَة: The 'lesser pilgrimage' to Mecca, possible all year round.