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.
Avatar — A term in Hinduism referring to the appearance of a deity upon earth.
Bahadur — Literally, ‘brave’. An honour conferred by the British Indian Empire on important Muslims and Parsis.
Barahin — Convincing arguments or proofs; the singular is burhan.
Baqa — Islam recognizes three stages in man’s spiritual journey towards God: The first stage is 
(fana—passing away), which is the total annihilation of one’s ego for the sake of God; the second stage is 
(baqa—subsistence), which denotes a new spiritual life; and the third stage is 
(liqa—meeting), which is the state of achieving union with God.
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.
Darul-Ibtila’ — The material world that is the abode of trials and tribulations.
Darul-Jaza — The world of the Hereafter that is the abode of reward or punishment.
Eid — Literally, ‘Happiness that is often renewed’. Eid ul-Fitr marks the end of the month of Ramadan. Eid ul-Adha is celebrated to commemorate Ibrahim’s willingness to sacrifice his son for God.
Fana — See Baqa.
Fana Fillah — A state of being lost in the love of Allah.
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’.
Ka‘bah — The first house built for the worship of God. Located in Mecca. Muslims face Ka‘bah while performing their daily prayers and make circuits of it as an act of devotion.
Fiqh — Jurisprudence; refers to the study of Islamic law and its interpretation. There are many schools of jurisprudence in Islam.
Furqan — Another name for the Holy Quran, meaning the discrimination between right and wrong.
Ghadab-e-ilahi — The wrath of Allah.
Hadith — A saying of the Holy Prophet Muhammad sas. 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 sas — A title used exclusively for the Founder of Islam, Hazrat Muhammad sas.
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 sas over a period of twenty-three years.
Idlal-e-ilahi — God’s judgment that some people are misguided as they do not seek the ways of guidance through effort and hard work and, therefore, God, in accordance with His eternal law, does not grant them guidance and deprives them of His support.
Kashf-e-qubur — Opening of a grave in a vision and disclosing of the matters of the unseen.
Khairul-Umam — Literally, ‘the Best People’, referring to the Muslim nation.
Khatamul-Anbiya’ — The Seal of the Prophets, a title accorded to the Holy Prophet sas.
Lailatul-Qadr — Literally, ‘Night of Destiny’.
Liqa — See Baqa.
Mahabharata — One of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India, the other being the Ramayana.
Maulavi — A Muslim religious cleric.
Muhaddath — A recipient of divine revelation. Plural is muhaddathin or muhaddathun.
Muhammad sas — Founder of Islam. See Holy Prophet sas.
Muni — A Hindu sage or saint.
Nafs-e-ammarah — The self that incites to evil.
Nawwab — An honorific title ratified and bestowed by Mughal emperors to semi-autonomous Muslim rulers of princely states in South Asia. The female equivalent is ‘Begum’ or ‘Nawwab Begum’.
Parmeshwar — A term in Hinduism for God. Sometimes also written as Parmeshar.
Pir(s) — Literally, ‘old’ (in Persian). Generally refers to a spiritual leader at whose hands students have taken an oath of allegiance. Title is commonly used for leaders of Sufi orders.
Quran — See Holy Quran.
Ra’is-e-a‘zam — A great chieftain.
Rabb — Lord, Master, Creator; One who sustains and develops; One who brings to perfection by degrees.
Rabbul-‘alamin — An attribute of God as mentioned in Surah al-Fatihah. Meaning: ‘Lord of all the worlds.’
Rahim — Merciful—an attribute of God as mentioned in Surah al-Fatihah and throughout the Holy Quran. The verbal noun of this attribute is rahimiyyat.
Rahman — Gracious—an attribute of God as mentioned in Surah al-Fatihah and throughout the Holy Quran. The verbal noun of this attribute is rahmaniyyat.
Rishi — A Hindu saint or a spiritual scholar.
Rububiyyat — The Divine quality of sustaining or nurturing.
Sair fillah — The sojourn in Allah.
Sanyas — Relinquishment, resignation, abandonment; abandonment of the world, profession of asceticism.
Shariah — Religious law of Islam. The term is also used in the general sense of any revealed law.
Surah — A chapter of the Holy Quran.
Tauhid — The Oneness of God—the fundamental Islamic belief that there is none worthy of worship except Allah.
Ummat-e-Muhammadiyyah — The community or followers of the Holy Prophet Muhammad sas.
Vedas — The most ancient Hindu scriptures, written in Sanskrit and containing hymns, philosophy, and guidance on ritual for the priests of the Vedic religion. There are four Vedas—Rigveda, Samaveda, Yajurveda, and Atharvaveda.
Walayat — The state of being a friend of God.
Wali — Literally, ‘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 waliyyullah [friend of Allah], the plural form is auliya’ullah which is sometimes abbreviated as auliya’.
Yasu‘ Masih — Jesus the Messiah.