Glossary

Abul-Qasim — Literally means ‘father of Qasim’. It is an attributive title of the Holy Prophet Muhammad(sa); Qasim was the name of one of his sons; see also Holy Prophet.

Afdalur-Rusul — The Most Exalted of the Messengers, a title of honour used for the Holy Prophet Muhammad(sa).

Alhamdulillah — The literal meaning is, ‘all praise belongs to Allah’; an expression from the Holy Quran for showing one’s gratitude to Allah.

Amin — A term which literally means, ‘so let it be’ and is used at the end of a supplication to pray that God may accept it. It is similar in meaning to ‘amen’.

Amr — Something that proceeds from Allah directly without the use of any intermediary.

Aryah Samaj — A Hindu sect founded by Pundit Dayanand in 1875. Their first and foremost belief is that Parmeshwar [God] is not the Creator of matter and souls. Rather, that all of these things are eternal and self-subsisting like Parmeshwar.

Auliya’ — A shorter version of auliya’-ullah, literally means ‘friends’; plural of wali.

Auliya’ullah — Literally means ‘friends of Allah’. Plural of waliyyullah.

Ayatullah — A Sign of Allah, a term used to honour the men of God.

Barahin — Convincing arguments or proofs; the singular is burhan.

Brahmu Samaj — A Hindu revival movement that believes in the One God, but believes that reason alone is enough to guide mankind towards Him. They do not believe in divine revelation.

Dajjal — An Arabic word literally meaning the ‘great deceiver’. In Islamic terminology Dajjal refers to those satanic forces which would be unleashed in the Latter Days to oppose the Promised Messiah and Imam Mahdi(as).

Dammah — In Arabic script, the vowel mark for the ‘u’ sound, appearing as a small curl placed above a letter () and designating a short ‘u’. If the Arabic letter (waw) immediately follows, it indicates a long ‘u’.

Fakhrur-Rusul — The Pride of the Messengers, a title of honour used for the Holy Prophet Muhammad(sa).

Fathah — In Arabic script, the vowel mark for ‘a’ sound, appearing as a diagonal line placed above a letter and designating a short ‘a’: (). If the Arabic letter (alif) immediately follows, it indicates a long ‘a’.

Furqan — Another name for the Holy Quran, meaning the discrimination between right and wrong.

Hadith — A saying of the Holy Prophet Muhammad(sa). The plural is ahadith.

Hazrat — A term of respect used to show honour and reverence for a person of established righteousness and piety. The literal meaning is: his/her Holiness, Worship, Eminence, etc. It is also used for God in the superlative sense.

Holy Prophet(sa) — A title used exclusively for the Founder of Islam, Hazrat Muhammad(sa).

Holy Quran — The final and perfect Scripture revealed by Allah for the guidance of mankind for all times to come. It was revealed word by word to the Holy Prophet Muhammad(sa) over a period of twenty-three years.

Hujjatullah — The Proof of Allah, a term used to honour the men of God.

Ilham — Divine revelation from God, used interchangeably with wahi in Islamic terminology.

‘Ilm — Knowledge or science.

‘Ilm-e-ladunni — The knowledge that is divinely bestowed.

Imam Mahdi — A title meaning ‘Guided Leader’, given to the Reformer of the Latter Days prophesied by the Holy Prophet Muhammad(sa); see also About the Author.

Istighfar — To seek God’s forgiveness.

Jahiliyyah — The term literally meaning ‘ignorance’ and refers to Arabia’s pre-Islamic period.

Juzw’ — A term meaning ‘part’; it refers to a part consisting of sixteen pages of a publication. The word is also used to denote one of the thirty parts in which the Holy Quran is divided for convenience in recitation.

Kalimah — The declaration of the Islamic faith: La ilaha illallah Muhammadur-Rasulullah, ‘There is no one worthy of worship except Allah, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah’.

Khairur-Rusul — The Best of the Messengers, a title of honour used for the Holy Prophet Muhammad(sa).

Khalifah — Caliph is derived from the Arabic word khalifah, which means ‘successor’. In Islamic terminology, the word righteous khalifah is applied to one of the four khulafa’ who continued the mission of Hazrat Muhammad(sa), the Holy Prophet of Islam. Ahmadi Muslims refer to a successor of the Promised Messiah(as) as Khalifatul Masih. Khulafa’ is the plural of khalifah.

Khalifatul Masih — see Khalifah.

Khatamul-Anbiya’ — The Seal of the Prophets, a title accorded to the Holy Prophet(sa) in the Holy Quran.

Khatamur-Rusul — Literally means ‘Seal of the Messengers’. An alternate way of expressing the title, ‘the Seal of the Prophets,’ of the Holy Prophet Muhammad(sa).

Maghrib — Time of sunset. The term is also used for the prayer (salat) offered after sunset.

Mahdi — Literally means ‘Guided’. See Imam Mahdi.

Mahram — A man or woman with whom marriage is not permissible.

Mathnawi — The six-volume magnum opus of Jalal-ud-Din Muhammad Rumi (1207–1273 CE) written in poetic form.

Maulavi — A Muslim religious cleric.

Muhaddath — A recipient of divine revelation who is not a Prophet. Plural is muhaddathin.

Muhammad(sa) — Founder of Islam. See Holy Prophet(sa).

Muharram — The first month of the Islamic calendar.

Muqallidin — Plural of muqallid, literally means ‘followers’ or ‘disciples’. The term was originally applied to the followers of one of the four Imams: Abu Hanifa, Malik, Shafi and Hanbal. All four of these Imams were true muwahhidin, believers in the Unity of God, who spent their entire lives interpreting the true teachings of Islam.

Mustafa — The Chosen One, a title of honour used for the Holy Prophet Muhammad(sa).

Muwahhidin — Plural of muwahhid, literally meaning a believer in the Unity of God. All Muslims, by virtue of subscribing to the Kalima-e-Tauhid are muwahhidin. However, the term muwahhidin, has been adopted by some Muslims who consider the Quran and hadith to be sufficient sources of guidance and do not follow any Imam.

Nur — Literally means light. It is one of the attributive names of Allah the Almighty in the Holy Quran. The term often refers to divinely bestowed light.

Nur-e-Qalb — The light of the heart.

Nur-e-‘Aql — The light of intellect.

Nur-e-Wahi — The light of revelation.

Parmeshwar — A term in Hinduism for God. Sometimes also written as Parmeshar.

Part — One of thirty parts of the Holy Quran. Also referred to as juzw’.

Promised Messiah(as) — A title given to the Reformer prophesied to appear during the Latter Days, by the Holy Prophet Muhammad(sa); see also About the Author.

Puranas — Eighteen well-known works of theology by poet Vyāsa giving his version of Hindu mythology and theology.

Pustak — The Sanskrit word for book. In Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya, this term has been used generally to denote religious books of Hinduism.

Rishi — A Hindu saint or a spiritual scholar.

Rupee — Indian currency, abbreviated Re. Plural form, Rupees (Rs.)

Sahib — A title of respect similar to diverse English terms like Mister, Honourable, and Revered.

Sarwar-e-Kā’ināt — The Chosen One of all Creation; refers to the Holy Prophet Muhammad(sa).

Sayyidut-Tayyibin — The noblest of all who are pure; refers to the Holy Prophet Muhammad(sa).

Surah — A chapter of the Holy Quran.

Tauhid — The fundamental Islamic belief that there is none worthy of worship except Allah.

Upanishads — Also known as Vedanat Shaster. Although they are presented as the last part of Vedic literature, the Hindu scholars (e.g., Pundit Dayanand) do not regard the Upanishads as part of the Vedas.

Ummat-e-Muhammadiyyah — The community or followers of the Holy Prophet Muhammad(sa).

Wahi — Divine revelation from God, used interchangeably with ilham in Islamic terminology.

Wahy-e-i‘lam — Revelations received by believers other than the Prophets. Used interchangeably with wahy-e-ittela‘ in Islamic terminology.

Wahy-e-ittela‘ — Revelations received by believers other than the Prophets. Used interchangeably with wahy-e-i‘lam in Islamic terminology.

Wahy-e-risalat — Literally means prophetic revelation. However, the Promised Messiah(as) has used this phrase in Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya to refer to the Divine Scriptures as an Islamic terminology.

Wali — Literally means ‘friend’. In the terminology of Islamic mysticism, it refers to a very pious person or a friend of Allah. The singular form is wali [friend] or waliyyllah [friend of Allah], the plural form is auliya’ullah which is sometimes abbreviated as auliya’.

Waliyyullah — Friends of Allah, see wali.