adat

local variations or interpretations of standard Islamic law.

ahadeeth

ideas inspired by Koran see Hadith

al-Furqan

Aramaic for Qur'an often used for general Islamic legal criteria

al-Hac

Islamic fairness or justice

al-Muwatta

the Levelled Path - Medinan codex of Malik ibn Anas c. 750

Apostasy

Crime of disbelieving official religious doctrine

Assalamu 'Alaikum

Islamic traditional 'peace upon you' greeting

bida

Heretical innovation against Islamic Law

dar al-islam

Islamic jurisdictions

dar al-sulh

Non-Islamic jurisdictions

dawah

Islamic diasporas

deen

Islamic faith or belief

fahish

Islamic term for one obscene in speech

fatwas

Islamic Legal opinion issued by eminent jurists

fiqh

Islamic understanding (concensus)

firdaus

Pleasures of Islamic paradise

hadd

lawful limit of individual Islamic freedom - punishable if exceeded

Hadith

Collection of writings inspired by Koran ahadeeth

Halal

Fit to eat in Islamic law

Hanbali

Islamic legal school esp. Iraq and Syria until the Ottoman conquest.

Hanifa

Islamic legal school developed from prophetic sunna tradition

haram

Not permissible within Islam

Hawiyah

Islamic Hell - eternal damnation

Hijrah

Islamic reference date (transfer from Mecca to Medina in 622 CE)

hikma

the Islamic wisdom

ijima

Traditional theory of Islamic legal infallibility

ijma

Islamic legal consensus

Ijtihad

Gate of Islamic legal innovation closed in the third century

ijtihad

individual interpretation of Islamic law

ilm

definitive Islamic legal knowledge

Iman

Faith (Islamic pillar of wisdom)

Imman

Shiite religious interpreter or Islamic judge

Insha'Allah

Islamic expression:God willing

irtidad

Defective understanding of Islamic law or apostasy

Jannah

Heaven

jihad

Islamic legal campaign now any Islamic rebellion

Kabah

cube at centre of the mosque in Mecca

Khilafah

Islamic state or world order

khitan

Islamic circumcision

kitab

Islamic wisdom or reliable texts

Kitab al-Asnam

The Book of Idols Hisham Ibn Al-Kalbi c. 750

Koran

Islamic source - Arabic word sometimes Coran or Qur'an

kuffar

Heretic or enemy of Islam

Kufr

Unislamic or heretical offence - apostasy

madhahib

Islamic legal traditions or texts (singular madhhab)

Mahdi

Ultimate Islamic scholar or judge

mazalim

Islamic court for the redress of wrongs (approx: civil law)

Mufti

Islamic legal scholar

mufti

qualified Islamic jurist or legal consultant

mujahideen

Islamic warriors for the faith

mu'min

Islamic follower

munafikeen

Secularists

murtad

An apostate punishable under Islamic law

musalman

Convert from other faith to Islam (exempt punishment for apostasy)

Mushaf

sheets or leaves of Islamic legal writings

Mutafahish

Islamic term for one who ridicules

opinion

personal legal reasoning

Pentateuch

five books or the Jewish Torah (law books)

purqaana

Islamic salvation (justification for harsh penalties)

qadis

Islamic law judges or magistrates

qanun

administrative Islamic rule (from Greek ‘canon’ but opposite to western meaning)

qara

recitation pregnant with or full of Islamic legal meaning

qeryaanaa

Islamic scriptural reading

qiyas

Islamic deduction by analogy

qiyas

Islamic legal analogy

Qur'an

Transliteration of Arabic holy book also Koran, al Furqan

ray

personal Islamic legal reasoning

riddah

Crime of Islamic apostasy

sadaqa

Islamic obligation - charity

salaam

Islamic greeting (formal low bow in India)

Salah

Daily worship (Islamic pillar of wisdom)

SAW

Messenger of Allah

Sawmn

Fasts & Feasts - pillar of Islam

shahadah

Confession of Islamic faith

Shari'ah

Shar ‘The Highway’ imposition of strict Islamic law and guidance

shi'ite

Islamic sectarian school of law

sunna

Early prophetic legal school (Iraq) lit: 'customs'

Sura

numbered verse of Islamic Qur'an

Surahs

guides or prophets skilled in Islamic law

tafsîr

Islamic legal commentary

tradition

Integration of the Koran with Islamic consensus.

ulama

Islamic jurist or doctor of Law

ummah

Islamic leader or scholar (sometimes "Accepted Islamic Understanding)

Wahhabi

Islamic school now prevalent in Central and Northern Arabia

wudu

Islamic ritual cleansing or purity

Zahiri

Islamic law school of Ahmad ibn Hanbal and Daud al-Zahiri c. 850.

zakat

Islamic purification of wealth