Ahmadi – A Muslim who believes in Hadrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad(as) as that Promised Messiah and Mahdi who was prophecied by the Prophet Muhammad(sa).
‘Azim – Great, big, or large, esteemed great by others.
‘Azmat – Greatness
Dhikr – Dhikr is an Arabic word meaning remembrance. Dhikr-i-Ilahi means the remembrance of Allah.
Durud – Invocation of blessings upon the Holy Prophet Muhammad(sa).
Ghafur – Forgiving. An attribute of God referring to God’s covering and forgiving of His servants.
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.
Hamid – Praised, praiseworthy.
I‘tikaf – to isolate oneself or remain attached to something. In Islamic terminology, I‘tikaf primarily means to seclude oneself in the mosque in the last ten days of Ramadhan and is devoted to silent meditation, recitation of the Holy Quran and study of religious books, prayers and supplication.
Ihsan – a favour, but in the context of worship, the Holy Prophet(sa) has expounded that ihsan means to worship God as though one can see Him, and if this is not possible, then at least to stand before Him in worship knowing that He can see you.
Jalsah – A sitting, a gathering.
Jamā‘at – Community. Although the word Jama‘at may refer to any community, in this book Jama‘at generally refers to the Worldwide Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama‘at.
Jilsah – The Sitting position which occurs in between two prostrations during Prayer.
Kabir – Great in body, or in age, or in knowledge, or in rank or dignity.
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.’
Khalifatul Masih – Caliph is derived from the Arabic word khalifah, which herein means ‘successor’. Khulafa’ is the plural of Khalifah. In many divine revelations someone commissioned by God Almighty is referred to as His Khalifah. In Islamic terminology, the title ‘Khalifa-e-Rashid’ [righteous Khalifah] is applied to each of the first four Khulafa’ who continued the mission of the Holy Prophet Muhammad(sa). Ahmadi Muslims refer to each successor of the Promised Messiah(as) as Khalifatul Masih.
Khilafat – The institution of successorship in Islam.
Lailatul Qadr – Literally, ‘Night of Destiny’. Generally understood to mean a blessed night during the last ten days of the Islamic month of Ramadan. It also denotes another time period, when the spread of darkness demands that a light should descend from heaven. Then God Almighty sends down to earth His angels of light and Rūhul-Qudus [the Holy Spirit] in a manner that befits the dignity of angels.
Masjid – A mosque, A place where Muslims assembles to perform congregational prayers.
Nafs – A term in Arabic that literally means ‘self ’.
Nawafil – Optional or supererogatory as applied to types or categories of Prayer.
Niyyah – The formal intention which one makes in one’s mind before starting a Prayer.
Qa‘dah – Sitting position adopted towards the end of the second Rak‘at in Prayer.
Qaumah – The posture of standing after Ruku‘.
Qiyam – The standing position in Prayer.
Rabb – Lord, Master, Creator; One who sustains and develops; One who brings to perfection by degrees.
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.
Rak‘at – a single unit in the formal Islamic Prayer, consisting of the standing and bowing positions, as well as two prostrations. Pl. Raka‘āt.
Ruku’ – The bowing down position in Prayer.
Sadaqah – Alms given to the poor for the sake of God.
Sadiq – Truthful
Saghir – Small in body, or in age, or in rank or dignity.
Sajdah – The posture of prostration in Prayer.
Salat/Salah – Prayer. A blessing or an invocation of God’s blessing upon anyone. Prayer in the prescribed form; also known as the second pillar of Islam.
Shahādah – The testimony of the Islamic faith: Ash-hadu al-La ilaha illallah wa ash-hadu anna Muhammadan ‘Abduhu wa Ra-sulullah, ‘I bear witness that there is no one worthy of worship except Allah; and I bear witness that Muhammad is the Servant and Messenger of Allah.’
Sharī‘ah – Religious law of Islam. The term is also used in the general sense of any revealed law.
Surah – A chapter of the Holy Quran.
Takbīr-i-Tahrīmah - The Arabic expression Allahu Akbar (God is the Greatest), proclaimed loudly by the Imam while he raises his two hands to his earlobes at the very beginning of a congregational Prayer service.
Tasbih – Glorification of Allah by reciting SubhanAllah (Holy is Allah), or other phrases.
Tashahhud – A set prayer recited silently at the beginning of the Qa‘dah, or second Sitting position, in Prayer.
Tasmi‘ – The statement of “Allah hears him who praises Him” when rising from Ruku’.
Tauhid – The Oneness of God— the fundamental Islamic belief that there is none worthy of worship except Allah.
Tawakkul – Relying upon and trusting in God alone to the entire exclusion of worldly means.
Thana’ – The glorification and praise of God Almighty that is recited the beginning of formal Prayer.
Ummat – 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.