Anglicized term

Meaning

adat

local variations or interpretations of standard Islamic law.

agunah

Deserted Jewish woman (can't remarry)

ahadeeth

ideas inspired by Koran see Hadith

aleichem

Traditional Jewish greeting 'peace upon you'

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

Ashkenazic

Jews of north Europe (lit: German)

Assalamu 'Alaikum

Islamic traditional 'peace upon you' greeting

Atarah

Jewish divine diadem

ayin

Jewish void or intangible universe

bida

Heretical innovation against Islamic Law

Binah

Jewish intuition, understanding or divine intellegence

brit milah

Jewish Covenant of Circumcision

chazzan

Lead singer in Jewish synagogue

Chesed

Jewish Mercy

Chokhmah

Jewish Wisdom

dar al-islam

Islamic jurisdictions

dar al-sulh

Non-Islamic jurisdictions

dawah

Islamic diasporas

deen

Islamic faith or belief

devekut

Jewish bond to God

Din

Jewish divine judgment

Ein Sof

Jewish concept of eternal

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

Gedullar

Jewish divine greatness

Gevurah

Jewish divine power or strength

gezeirah

Rabbinical direction with force of law

hadd

lawful limit of individual Islamic freedom - punishable if exceeded

Hadith

Collection of writings inspired by Koran ahadeeth

haftarah

conclusion of Jewish readings

Haggadah

Jewish narratives

Halacha

Jewish legal ruling

Halakhah

Jewish law - practice & rules (pathway)

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

Hasidism

Jewish sect for whom behaviour transcends learning

Haskalah

Jewish Enlightenment. Cecularisation which led to Zionism based on ideas of Moses Mendelssohn (1729-86)

Hawiyah

Islamic Hell - eternal damnation

Hesed

Jewish divine love

Hijrah

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

hikma

the Islamic wisdom

Hod

Jewish Majesty

Hokhmah

Jewish divine 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

Kabbalah

Accepted Jewish secret (mysticism: cabal)

Kashrut

Jewish dietary law

kavvanah

Jewish names of god or divine

Keter Elyon

Jewish divine or supreme crown

Khilafah

Islamic state or world order

khitan

Islamic circumcision

kiddushin

Jewish betrothal

kitab

Islamic wisdom or reliable texts

Kitab al-Asnam

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

Kodaahim

Jewish Sacred law

kohein

Jewish priest

Koran

Islamic source - Arabic word sometimes Coran or Qur'an

Kosher

Fit Jewish food compliant to Kashrut

kuffar

Heretic or enemy of Islam

Kufr

Unislamic or heretical offence - apostasy

Levite

Assistant Jewish priest : Deacon

madhahib

Islamic legal traditions or texts (singular madhhab)

Magen David

Star of David Jewish symbol

Mahdi

Ultimate Islamic scholar or judge

Malkhut

Jewish divine kingdom or emination of God

Malkut

Jewish Sovereignty

mamzerim

illegitimate Jewish children - bastards

masekhtot

divisions of Jewish texts into topics: tractates

mazalim

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

menorah

seven-branched Jewish candle holder

mezuzah

doorpost receptacle for Jewish religious text

midrash

Study or analogy leading to Jewish law

minhag

Worthy Jewish custom - not law but enforced

Minyan

Quorum of 10 Jewish men for religious ceremonies

Mishnah

Record of Gemara written about 2nd - 5th Cent CE

mitsvot

Jewish God's commandments

mitzvah

Jewish commandment

Mo'ed

Jewish Festival & cultural law

mohel

Jewish circumcission practitioner

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

Nashim

Women (Jewish Marriage & divorce law)

Netzach

Jewish Victory

Nezah

Jewish divine lasting endurance

Nezikin

Damages (Jewish Civil law)

nisuin

Jewish marriage

opinion

personal legal reasoning

Pentateuch

five books or the Jewish Torah (law books)

phylacteries

Amulets, personal charms or jewellery

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

rabbi

Jewish legal expert

Rahamin

Jewish divine compassion

ray

personal Islamic legal reasoning

Rebbe

Jewish master & guide sometimes 'grand rabbi)

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

sedarim

Orders within Mishnah

sefer k'ritut

Jewish divorce notification (also: get)

Sefirah

component of Jewish Sefirot.

Sefirot

Systematic Jewish explanation of the attributes of God

Sephardic

Mediterranean Jews (lit: Spanish)

Shabatt

Seventh (rest) day

shahadah

Confession of Islamic faith

shalom

Traditional Jewish greeting 'peace upon you'

Shari'ah

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

Shekhinah:

Jewish for God's presence.

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

takkanah

Rabbinical (developed) Jewish law

tallit

Jewish religious shirt or shawl

Talmud

Traditional oral interpretations of Torah (Gemara)

tefillin

Jewish personal pouch for religious text

Tiferet

Jewish divine beauty

Toharot

Jewish Purity Law

Torah

Pentateuch: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy

tradition

Integration of the Koran with Islamic consensus.

tzitzit

Jewish tribal tassels worn on clothes

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

Yahweh

Jewish name for God also Jehovah (‘to be’ ‘I am’ or ‘he is’):

yarmulke

Jewish skullcap

Yesod

Jewish Foundation

Yesod Olam

Jewish divine foundation of the world

Zaddick

divine Jewish righteous

Zahiri

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

zakat

Islamic purification of wealth

Zera'im

Seeds - Jewish Agricultural law

Zion

Jewish Temple of Jerusalem or desire for Israel (Jewish homeland)

Moreh Nevukhim

Mamimonides - Guide to the Perplexed (Alexandrian judo-islamic treatise c.1190)