Iran: From Religious Dispute to Revolution

Glossary

Glossary abrii: reputation, honor akhund: cleric; fr. rawr;la-khwlindan ("to read rawrJa"); once a term of respect, now the common word for those in religious garb, slightly depreciatory 'aIim: one who is learned (pI. 'ulamli, but whereas 'alimmay be used of someone learned in secular subjects, 'ulama refers only to the learned in religious subjects ) 'allama: title of respect for one who knows all the Islamic sciences; e.g., today the dean of philosophy in Qum, S. Mol:tammad-l:Ioseyn Tabataba'T, is accorded the title 'alUima aqa: title of respect, both for an ordinary male and for a person of true authority (pI. liqliydn, usually refers to religious leaders) 'aqa'id: beliefs, especially religious beliefs or doctrines as defined by kalam (dialectical theology) aqayan: plural of aqa; the leading members of the religious community, the mardji'-i taq/id or ayatulliihs aqazada: son of an aqa, often implies laziness 'aql: reason, intellect, intelligence 'atabat: the holy shrine towns of southern Iraq: Karbala, Najaf, Kufa, Samarra aya: verse of the Qur'an ayatullah: "sign of God"; a leading mujtahid ayatullah al-' u~ma: "greatest sign of God"; supreme mujtahid, title of respect for the leading mujtahid of the day 'azldarI: mourning; includes ta'ziya, rawf/a, shabTh, dasta-zani batH: void, invalid chadur: "tent"; Iranian veil for women dars: lesson, class dars-i kharij: "external class"; the third level of the madrasa system dasta: group; groups of young men, usually in black shirts, who beat their chests with their hands, or their backs with chains, during religious processions (the activity is sina-zani, "beating the breast with the hands") 289 290 Glossary du'a: prayer; the general term for expository prayer, as opposed to the stylized liturgical prayer, namliz faQil: "industrious"; an upper level talib or religious student faqlh: expert in the law; from fiqh fatwa: opinion, decision on religious matters fiqh: religious law, jurisprudence, elucidation of the sharf' at ghaybat: concealment; the occultation of the twelfth Imam; slander, talking behind someone's back ghayrat: the sense of shame or honor that prevents one from spoiling the honor of another man ghusl: full ritual ablution gurlz: "turning"; in a raweJa the final turning to the story of Karbala badIth: a report of the saying or action of the Prophet, his companions, or the Imams; the standard gloss is "tradition" of the Prophet, companions, or Imams I)aram: religiously forbidden l)awza-i 'ilml: "reservoir of learning"; center of religious learning, composed usually of a group of madrasas hay'at: group, gathering, meeting; approximately synonymous with majlis Qujjat aI-islam: "proof of Islam"; originally a title of high respect, equivalent in e.g. Ghazali's time to the contemporary ayatullah, now devalued and used for anyakhund 'ibadat: worship ijaza: permission; document of permission to perform specified religious acts ijma': consensus of the Islamic community in regard to a legal decision ijtihad: exercise of reason to interpret the intent of the law imam: prayer leader, synonymous with the Persian term plshnamaz Imam: for Ja' farT Shi'ites one of the legitimate leaders of the Islamic community: one of the twelve successors to the Prophet descended from 'All; in Arabic usage a marja '-i taqlld or learned man in Islamic sciences imamat: that form of leadership that the Imams provide the Shi'ite community imamzada: "son of an Imam"; shrine dedicated to a descendant of an Imam Iman: faith 'irfan: speculative mysticism; gnosis jihad: holy war, defense of the faith kalam: dialectical theology; from the Arabic for "speech" because of the rhetorical and dialectical formulations used in defending Islamic belief, independent of philosophy khanaqah: Sufi lodge; Ismaili mosque khums: "one fifth"; religious tax to support the poor descendants of the Prophet khutba: sermon, usually delivered after the Friday noon prayer majlis: meeting makrUh: religiously discouraged but not forbidden maktab: religious elementary school marja' -i taqlld: supreme authority on the law (pI. maraji'-i taqlfd) mawqufa: items that have been made waqf; endowed for specific purposes Glossary 291 minbar: lecturn or podium; physically a set of stairs on top of which the preacher or teacher sits minbarI: preacher, collective term for wii'il. and akhund mudarris: teacher mujtahid: one who exercises ijtihiid, or interpretive reason, to inquire into and clarify the intent of the law; one who has completed the course of jurisprudence and has written a taqrrrlit mulla: obsolete term for akhund; in the past it was a term...