American Muslim Women: Negotiating Race, Class, and Gender within the Ummah

Glossary

281 Glossary adab: etiquette adhan: the call to prayer ‘adl: justice alhamdulillah: “Praise belongs to God.” allahu akbar: “God is greatest.” ‘aqidah: Islamic creed as-salamu ‘alaykum: “Peace be upon you.” bid‘ah: innovation in religious practice da‘wah: the act of inviting to Islam, proselytizing, presenting a positive image of Islam desi: person of South Asian descent, literally, one from our land dhikr: remembrance of God, invocation for blessings on the Prophet Muhammad din: religion DIP: Deen Intensive Program ‘eid: Islamic holiday fiqh: Islamic jurisprudence fuqaha’: jurists hadith: report of the traditions of the Prophet Muhammad halal: lawful Hanafi: one of the four traditional Sunni legal schools, especially prominent in South Asia hijab: hair covering hijabi: coined word for a woman wearing hijab iftar: Ramadan meal taken at sunset ihsan: kindness, beauty ijtihad: independent reasoning to derive Islamic legal rulings imam: prayer leader, minister IMAN: Inner-City Muslim Action Network ISNA: Islamic Society of North America isnad: chain of transmission of sacred knowledge that originated with the Prophet Muhammad 282 Glossary jallabiyah: Arab overgarment jihad: struggle jilbab: Arab overgarment jum‘ah: Friday congregational worship khimar (plural khumur): head scarf khutbah: speech, especially for Friday congregational prayer madhhab: legal school in Islamic jurisprudence madrasah: school of traditional Islamic sciences maghrib: the sunset prayer ma sha’ Allah: a statement made to recognize God’s blessings, literally, “God willed it” masjid (plural masajid): mosque mawlid: gathering to remember and express love for the Prophet Muhammad, often but not always held on his birthday MSA: Muslim Students Association musalla: prayer area qawwamun: supporters, maintainers qiwamah: support Ramadan: the month of fasting rihla: summer trip sponsored by the Deen Intensive Program to seek sacred knowledge sadaqah: almsgiving beyond the obligatory zakat Salafi: fundamentalist reform school salams: Islamic greetings of peace salat: ritual prayer sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam: “May God bless him and grant him peace,” salutations to the Prophet Muhammad Shafi‘i: one of the four traditional Sunni legal schools shahadah: testament of faith declared in order to become Muslim shalwar kamiz: traditional South Asian pants and top suit shari‘ah: Islamic law sheikh: venerated religious leader subhanahu wa ta‘ala: glorified and exalted Sufism: a dimension of Islamic tradition that can refer to a spectrum of ideologies and practices including mysticism, pilgrimage to the tombs of saints, focus on inward worship, purification of the heart, spiritual brotherhoods, and allegiance to a spiritual teacher Sunnah: the precedent and practice of the Prophet Muhammad Sunni: referring to the dominant group of global Muslims in regard to practice and theology, particularly used to distinguish mainstream African American Muslims from Muslims in the Nation of Islam ta‘aruf: coming to know one another Glossary 283 tafsir: interpretation of the Qur’an tajwid: the science of Qur’anic recitation taqlid: adopting an Islamic legal school taqwa: God-consciousness tasawwuf: Sufism tazkiyyah: purification of the soul ummah: the Muslim community ‘urf: cultural custom WDM: Warith Deen Mohammed, used to refer to the communities following the leadership of Imam Warith Deen Mohammed zakat: almsgiving, 2.5 percent of wealth that remains after paying expenses ...