adab A word of many meanings usually connoting courtesy, etiquette, rules and manners, civilisation, culture and literature....
Aga Khan A title granted by the Shah of Persia to the then Ismaili Imam in 1818 and inherited by each of his successors to the Imamate....
Aga Khan Development Network The Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) is a contemporary endeavour of the Ismaili Imamat to realise the ethics and social conscience of Islam through institutional…...
ahl al-bayt Lit. ‘the people of the house’, meaning the Prophet Muhammad and members of his household including especially his cousin and son–in–law ‘Ali b. Abi Talib,…...
ahl al-daʿwa Lit. ‘the people of the daʿwa, or summons’; a term used by the Ismailis to describe themselves....
ahl al-kitāb From Arabic, lit. ‘People of the Book’ also referred to as ahl al-dhimma (people under protection) a Qur’anic term used to designate Jews and Christians…...
al-Azhar A major mosque and institution of learning founded in Cairo by the Fatimid Imam-caliph al-Muʿizz (d. 975)....
al-balad al-amīn A term used in the Qur’an for Mecca, translated as the city of security, serenity or salvation....
al-dāʿī al-maḥdūd Also al-dāʿī al–maḥṣūr. A rank in the Fatimid Ismaili daʿwa for the chief assistant to al-dāʿī al–muṭlaq....
al-daʿwa al-hādiya ‘The rightly guiding mission,’ an expression used by the early Shi‘a and earliest Ismailis, who felt that the caliphate had been wrongfully taken from the…...
al-Fārābī, Abū Naṣr A preeminent Muslim philosopher born in the region known as Turkestan. In Medieval Latin texts, al-Fārābī was referred to as Alfarabius or Avennasar. Being an…...
al-furqān Lit. ‘The Proof’ or ‘The Distinguisher between Good and Evil’, a name applied to the Qur’an and also the title of its 25th chapter....
al-Ghazālī, Abū Ḥāmid Muḥammad (d. 1111 CE) A noted theologian, jurist and mystic, (1058-1111 CE), whose thoughts and writings had a major influence on the development of Sunni Islam. He was born…...
al-Ḥallāj, Ḥusayn b. Manṣūr A Sufi poet and mystic born in Fars (in present-day southern Iran). He is mainly remembered for his proclamation anā al-ḥaqq (I am the truth),…...
al-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī The elder of ʿAlī’s two sons (d. c. 669) by Fatima, and grandson of the Prophet Muhammad....
al-Ḥīra A mountain near Mecca where the Prophet Muhammad used to withdraw for prayer and where the first verses of the Qur’an were said to have…...
al-maʾdhūn Lit. ‘licentiate,’; a rank in the Fatimid Ismaili daʿwa structure; an assistant to the regional dāʿī; originally divided into two ranks: al-maʾdhūn al-muṭlaq and al-maʾdhūn…...
al-Maʾmūn, Abū al-ʿAbbās ʿAbd-Allāh (d. 833 CE) The seventh Abbasid caliph (786–833 CE), who succeeded his father Hārūn al-Rashīd and ruled from 813 to 833 CE. He is known for his support…...
al-mukāsir Lit. ‘breaker’ a junior rank in the Fatimid Ismaili daʿwa mainly responsible for attracting prospective converts and ‘breaking’ their attachments to other religions....
al-qiyāma Arabic term for the Last Day, the Day of Resurrection. A concept which features prominently in the Qur’an. Belief in the Last Day features as…...
al-shahāda From the Arabic root sh-h-d, lit. the act of bearing witness or the public declaration of belief. It is among the key principles of Islam.…...
al-ṣirāt al-mustaqīm From Arabic; lit. ‘the straight path’; a Qur’anic phrase meaning ‘the straight path’. It appears 33 times in the Holy Qur’an. Conventionally, the phrase has…...
al-ʿibadat al-ʿamaliyya A term in classical Islamic jurisprudence denoting religious practice or acts of worship, i.e., worship performed by bodily actions or good deeds. In most classical…...
Alamut Fortress of the Nizari Ismailis in northern Iran, which fell to the Mongols in 654 AH/1256 CE....
Amazigh A member of the indigenous inhabitants of North Africa. The term ‘Berber’ today is often seen as derogatory and the term by which the group…...
Amīr (pl. umarāʾ) Arabic lit. a prince, a commander, or a leader. In early Muslim history, the word amīr referred to an army commander. During the…...
amīr al-muʾminīn ‘Commander of the Faithful’. A title used for ‘Ali b. Abi Talib and adopted more widely by Sunni caliphs....
anṣār Lit. ‘helpers,’ it refers to the Medinans who supported the Prophet Muhammad and his followers after the hijra (migration) from Mecca to Medina in 622…...
asās Lit. ‘foundation’. Early Ismaili authors, like Ibn Ḥawshab (d. 914) and his son Jaʿfar (d. 2nd half of 10th century) divided history into seven eras,…...
Ashʿarism A theological school founded in the 10th century CE by the Sunni theologian and heresiographer ʿAlī b. Ismāʿīl al-Ashʿarī (d. 935-936 CE)....
Ashʿariyya A theological school founded in the 10th century CE by the Sunni theologian and heresiographer ʿAlī b. Ismāʿīl al-Ashʿarī (d. 935-936 CE)....
Āya A verse of the Qur’an, (pl. āyāt). It is the smallest semantically independent Qur’anic speech. Cognates of the word āya occur also in Hebrew and…...
Ayatollah From Arabic (āyat Ullāh), lit. Sign of God; a title used by the Imami Twelver Shi‘is. The rank of Ayatollah is believed to have been…...
ʿadl (Arabic; derived from the root ʿa-d-l; ʿadl and ʿadāla meaning justice, fairness). The word is current in the vocabulary of religion, theology, philosophy, and law.…...
ʿAjarida A branch of the Kharijites (Kharijiyya) founded by Ibn Ajarrad in the 8th century CE, whose adherents lived mainly in eastern Iran....
ʿalam A ‘flag’ or ‘sign post’. ʿAlams are ornate religious standards seen in Shi‘i spaces of worship and during Muḥarram processions. They are often made of…...
ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib Cousin of the Prophet Muhammad and his son-in-law by marriage to his daughter Fatima; the first Shi‘i Imam and fourth caliph (d. 661)....
ʿaql Reason, intellect, mind. This noun does not appear as such in the Qur’an, although the verb ʿaqala is used (as in Q. 2:44, ‘Do you…...
ʿaql-i kull (Ar. al-ʿaql al-kullī) Universal Intellect or Reason. It is the corresponding term to the concept of nous as used in the Greek Neoplatonism of Plotinus (d. 270). It…...
ʿaqlī As a noun, it refers to a proponent of ʿaql, a rationalist, an intellectual. As an adjective it means related to ʿaql, i.e. mental, intellective,…...
ʿārif Lit. ‘one who knows’. Used by Sufi authors like Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al–Sulamī (d. 1021), ʿārif is one of several technical terms meaning gnostic, mystic,…...
ʿarsh ‘Throne’. The Qur’an describes God as the ‘Lord of the Throne’ (Q. 17:42, etc.), on which ‘He sat himself’ (Q. 10:3, etc.) and which is…...
ʿĀshūrāʾ An event which is commemorated by many Shi‘a Muslims as a day of mourning for the martyrdom of Imam al-Ḥusayn b. ʿAlī, the grandson of…...
ʿAṭṭār, Farīd al-Dīn Muḥammad b. Ibrāhīm (d. 1220 CE) A Persian Sufi poet and author born in Nishapur (d. 1220 CE). He is well known for many of his works, including Manṭiq al-ṭayr (The…...
ʿawamm A term used in classical philosophical literature for the ‘common folk’ or ‘masses,’ who in this usage were contrasted with the ‘elect’ or ‘elite’ (khawwāṣ)....
ʿayyār Lit. ‘rascal, tramp, vagabond’. A term used for the members of an organisation grouped under the concept of futuwwa (chivalry), especially the highway warriors active…...
bāb Lit. ‘gate’ or ‘door’. In the vocabulary of Fatimid Ismailism, the term was used for the administrative head of the daʿwa figures in Islamic history....
baqāʾ Lit. ‘subsistence, survival’. Together with the concept of fana, the idea of baqa’ was developed by Sufis such as al-Sarraj (d. 988) and Abu’l Hasan…...
Basmala The standard Islamic invocation, Bismi’llāhī al-Raḥmān al-Raḥīm derived from the Qur’an, meaning ‘In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful.’...
bāṭin The inner or esoteric meaning of a sacred text, ritual or religious prescription, often contrasted with ẓāhir. See also bāṭinī taʾwīl and Bāṭiniyya....
bāṭinī taʾwīl Symbolic exegesis of the Qur’an based on the claim that there is an inner (bāṭinī) meaning behind the external (ẓāhirī) text. By extension, it can…...
Bāṭiniyya Lit. ‘supporters of the bāṭin’. A perjorative term used by Sunni authors such as al-Ghazālī (d. 1111) to refer to those, especially the Ismailis, who…...
Bayt al-Ḥikma From Arabic; lit. ‘house of wisdom’; best characterised as a research and teaching centre with a library and translation facilities. Located in Baghdad, it was…...
bayʿa (Arabic; derived from b-y-ʿ, meaning ‘to sell’ or ‘clasp hands’). A practice rooted in Arab tradition and the practice of the Prophet Muhammad. It is…...
Berber A member of the indigenous inhabitants of North Africa. The term ‘Berber’ today is often seen as derogatory and the term the group refers to…...
Bibi A word of East Turkish origin which means old mother or a grandmother. It is also used in Persian and Urdu in the sense of…...
Bohra Indian community of Mustaʿli Ismailis, now found primarily in the Indo-Pakistan subcontinent, Yemen, Egypt and other parts of the world....
Bukhara A city in modern-day Uzbekistan, Central Asia, known for its Islamic artistic and architectural heritage....
Buwayhids Muslim dynasty of Shi’i persuasion that ruled in Baghdad (945-1062), and was succeeded by the Saljuqs....
Byzantine The late medieval Roman Empire which ruled large parts of Southern Europe and the Middle East from its capital Constantinople (present-day Istanbul), conquered by the…...
caliphate The Muslim political institution or state centred around the caliph, which came to an end, historically, in 1924 with the disappearance of the Ottoman Empire....
Crusaders A term applied to Christian invaders who carried out numerous campaigns to capture Jerusalem and Palestine from the Muslims in the 11th and 14th centuries…...
Da‘udis Adherents of a sub-branch of the Tayyibi Ismailis. The Tayyibis are one of the two branches of the Mustaʿli Ismailis, the other branch being the…...
Dār al-Ḥikma Lit. ‘House of wisdom’. A scholarly institution founded in Cairo by the Fatimid Caliph-Imam al–Hakim in 1005 CE. Its building housed a large library containing…...
Dār al-Islām The ‘realm of Islam,’ a term used in classical Islamic jurisprudence to denote regions or countries subject to Islamic law. Often contrasted with the dār…...
Dār al-ʿIlm Lit. ‘House of Knowledge,’ an institution of learning established in Cairo by the Fatimid Imam-Caliph al-Ḥākim (d. 1021). See also Dar al-Ḥikma....
dawr (pl. adwār) Cycle, revolution, period. Together with kawr — a great age or aeon. It is a division of the cyclical religious history developed by some early…...
dawr al-satr Lit. ‘period of concealment’. Al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān (d. 974) uses the term dawr al-satr to refer to the period of around 150 years in which the…...
dāʿī Lit. ‘summoner,’ a term for missionary amongst various Muslim communities, especially used among the Ismailis before and during the Fatimid period as well as in…...
daʿwa Lit. ‘summons’, ‘mission’ or invitation to Islam. Amongst Shi’i Muslims, it was the invitation to adopt the cause of the Imamat. It also refers more…...
daʿwat al-ḥaqq The true mission’ or ‘the true summons.’ A term used by the Ismailis of the pre-Fatimid and Fatimid periods to refer to their daʿwa activities....
dhikr Lit. ‘the act of reminding’; ‘remembrance’. The Qur’an exhorts individuals to remember God: ‘Oh ye who believe! Remember (udhkurū) God with much remembrance (dhikran kathīran)’…...
din In the Qur’an it means a) retribution, judgment (as in yawm al-dīn, the day of judgement); b) religion in a broad sense. The pair dīn-dunyā…...
Druze A religious community that arose as an offshoot of the Fatimid Ismailis around 408 AH/1017 CE....
falāsifa (sing. faylasūf) Practitioners of falsafa (Arabic word derived from the Greek philosophia). Falsafa was sometimes identified with the Arabic ḥikma (wisdom), a term found in the Qur’an.…...
faqīh (pl. fuqahāʾ, from Arabic root f-q-h meaning to have a correct understanding of matters). A faqīh is an expert in Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh). Early in…...
Farman From Persian lit. command, authority, will, permission. At the time of the Ottomans, the word ‘farmān’ was used in Ottoman Turkish to denote any order…...
Fatima Daughter of the Prophet Muhammad and his first wife, Khadīja bint Khuwaylid. Also wife of ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib and mother of al-Ḥasan and al-Ḥusayn....
Fatimids Major Muslim dynasty of Ismaili caliphs in North Africa (from 909) and later in Egypt (973–1171), who claimed descent from the Prophet Muhammad through ‘Ali…...
fidāʾī Also fidāwī. Young devotee who volunteers to sacrifice his life for a cause. Between the 11th and the 13th centuries, fidāʾīs are known to have…...
Gabriel/Jibrāʿil The name of the angel that appears in the Bible as sent by God to Daniel and in the Qur’an as bringing the message down…...
Ghadīr Khumm (Arabic; lit.: ‘the pond of Khumm’): Name of a pool (or marsh) located in an area called Khumm between Mecca and Medina, in present-day Saudi…...
Ghaznavids/Ghaznawids Muslim dynasty which ruled lands from Khurasan in Persia to Northern India (977-1186)....
ghulāt Exaggerators’ or ‘extremists.’ A term of disapproval in classical Muslim sources against what they regarded as ‘heretical’ exaggeration in matters of doctrine....
ginān A Sanskrit word meaning knowledge. In particular, a poetic composition in an Indian language (Sindhi, Punjabi, Gujarati, Hindi or Multani), ascribed to one of the…...
Gospels The Gospel (Ar. al-Injīl) is the message transmitted by Jesus. The word literally means ‘good news’ of Christ’s appearance in history. In the plural, it…...
ḥadd Lit. ‘edge,’ ‘boundary,’ ‘limit,’; a technical term in Islamic law denoting God’s ‘limits’ or punishments for various crimes mentioned in the Qur’an. Also a technical…...
ḥadīth Lit. ‘report’ or ‘narrative,’ used for the traditions of the Prophet Muhammad and in Shi‘i Islam also for those of the Imams....
Hafizis A branch of Mustaʿli Ismailis. Upon the death of the 20th Imam of the Mustaʿli Ismailis, the Fatimid Caliph al-Āmir bi-Aḥkām Allāh, the official Mustaʿli…...
Hafiziyya A branch of Musta‘li Ismailis. Upon the death of the twentieth Imam of the Musta‘li Ismailis, Fatimid Caliph al-‘Amir bi-Ahkam Allah, the official Musta‘li da‘wa…...
Hajj (Arabic; derived from the root ḥ-j-j), meaning ‘to betake oneself to’, also, occurs in other Semitic languages. The word Hajj usually refers to the annual…...
ḥaqāʾiq Pl. of ḥaqīqa. A system originating in 9th-century Ismaili texts, and later modified and developed in a Neoplatonic framework by al-Nasafī (d. 943), Abū Ḥātim…...
ḥaqīqa (Persian: ḥaqīqat) The reality. In the writing of philosophers such as Ibn Sina (d. 1037), it means the true nature of something, its essential reality; for Sufis…...
Hashimiyya A Shi’i revolutionary group which emerged in the 8th century CE; also used generally to designate the Abbasids and others who claimed descent from Hāshim,…...
haykal nūrānī Lit. ‘temple of light.’ According to the Tayyibi author Ibrahim al-Ḥāmidī (d. 1162), it is the spiritual body formed by the gathering of the individual…...
hayūlā A technical term in philosophy derived from the Greek hyle (matter), opposed to ṣūra (form). Usually used in the sense of prime matter, being the…...
Hijaz (Arabic; lit. ‘the barrier’). A region in the west of present-day Saudi Arabia along the Red Sea which includes some of the holiest sites and…...
Hijra (Arabic; derived from the root h-j-r, meaning to emigrate ). Technically, the term hijra designates the migration of Prophet Muhammad and his early Muslim community…...
ḥikma A term which in the Qur’an means ‘wisdom’, and later acquired various technical meanings referring to religious, gnostic or esoteric philosophy....
His Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan IV The present, 49th imam of the Nizari Ismailis, Shah Karim al-Husayni, who succeeded his grandfather, Sir Sultan Muhammad Shah Aga Khan III, in 1957....
ḥujja (Persian: ḥujjat) A Qur’anic term meaning both ‘proof’ and ‘presentation of proof.’ In Shi‘i Islam it designates Prophets and Imams as ‘proofs’ of God’s presence on earth.…...
ḥuqūq al-ādamiyyīn (sing. ḥaqq ādam or ḥaqq ādamī) Rights of humans, i.e. private, essentially civil, legal rights or claims. A translation of the modern concept of ‘human rights’....
Hurufis/Hurufiyya A religious order founded by Faḍl Allāh Astarabādī in the second half of the 14th century CE in Persia and Anatolia....
Ḥusayn b. ʿAlī The younger of the two sons of ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib (d. 680) by Fatima, and grandson of the Prophet Muhammad....
Ibadis/Ibadiyya Adherents of a branch of the Kharijis , named after their leader ‘Abd Allah b. Ibad in the 7th century CE....
ibdāʿ Lit. ‘origination’. Since the Qur’an describes God as ‘Originator’ (badīʿ, see Q. 2:117), Ismaili Neoplatonists such as al-Nasafī (d. 661/1262-1263), al-Sijistānī (d. after 971) and…...
Iblīs The name given in the Qur’an to the Devil, mostly when he is said to have refused to bow down before Adam (Q. 2:34, etc,).…...
Ifriqiya Mediaeval Muslim name for modern-day Tunisia; also the area where the Fatimids founded their state in the early tenth century....
ijtihād (derived from the Arabic root j-h-d, meaning ‘to make an effort’, ‘exertion’, or ‘endeavour’.) In Muslim law, the term ijtihād refers to an independent mode…...
Ikhwān al-Ṣafāʾ From Arabic, lit. ‘Brethren of Purity’, a group of learned scholars who were based in Basra and Baghdad around the last quarter of the t10th…...
ilḥād Arabic word found in polemical Muslim sources, meaning ‘deviation from the straight path,’ but may connote ‘apostasy’ or ‘heresy’. (See mulḥid.)...
imam In general usage, a leader of prayers or religious leader. The Shi’i restrict the term to their spiritual leaders descended from ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib…...
Imama/Imamat/Imamate An noun derived from the term Imam, referring to the institution of hereditary spiritual leadership in Shi’i Islam....
Imamis/Imamiyya Adherents of a branch of early Shi’ism which followed the Husaynid line of Imams, which later divided into the Ismailis and Ithna’asharis ....
Ismailis Adherents of a branch of Shi’i Islam that considers Ismail, the eldest son of the Shi’i Imam Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq (d. 765), as his successor....
Ispahbadiyya Refers to the Bawanids (1074-1210 CE), a local dynasty in Tabaristan and Gilan, who used the title of Ispahbadhī, meaning ‘army chief.’...
Ithna’asharis Lit. ‘Twelvers,’ the majority branch of the Shi‘i Muslims who acknowledge twelve Imams in lineal succession from ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib, after the Prophet Muhammad.…...
ʿilm Knowledge, science, learning; also, more specifically religious knowledge. In Shi‘ism this term also refers to the special knowledge of the Imams....
ʿirfān Cognition, knowledge, gnosis. In one strand of modern Islamic discourse, the term is used for an amalgamated category which includes the mystical experience, sufism, esoteric…...
Jabal Bahrāʾ A mountainous region in central Syria between Hama and the mediterranean coastline southwest of Jabal al-Summāq....
Jabriya Name applied to those alleged to hold the doctrine of jabr (compulsion), according to which it is not man who actually acts, but only God.…...
Jalayrids A Muslim dynasty which ruled Iraq, Kurdistan and Azerbaijan (1336-1432 CE), and were succeeded by the Qara Qoyunlu....
Jama‘at Assembly or religious congregation; also a term used by the Nizari Ismailis for their individual communities....
Jama‘at Khana Jamāʿa is from Arabic which means group or community, and khāna is from Persian meaning house, lit., ‘the house of the community’. It means a…...
Jamat Assembly or religious congregation; also a term used by the Nizari Ismailis for their individual communities....
Janahiyya Adherents of an early Shi‘i group which recognised Ibn Muʿāwiya, a descendant of Jaʿfar b. Abī Ṭālib, the brother of ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib ,…...
jazāʾir al-arḍ Lit. ‘islands of the earth,’ this phrase was used by the Fatimid Ismaili daʿwa for the twelve geographical regions in which its mission was active....
jazīra Lit. ‘island,’ peninsula or a territory situated between large rivers. Applied to each of the 12 territories in which the pre-Fatimid Ismaili organisation is reported…...
jihād Mostly used in Muslim writing to denote ‘holy war.’ However, in mystical literature, this term was interpreted in its root sense of ‘exertion’ and came…...
Justanid A local Muslim dynasty of Daylam in northern Persia which ruled over Rudbar, Daylam and other surrounding regions at the turn of the 8th/9th century…...
Kairouan A Tunisian city, often transliterated in English as Kairouan, which became the capital city of the Aghlabids and later of the Fatimids ....
kalām From Arabic, lit. ‘Speech, discussion, argument’, translated as philosophical theology, refers to theological reflection using rational philosophical argumentation to study and express the content of…...
kalima Lit. ‘word.’ Used in the Qur’an with several meanings, chief among which is the ‘Divine Word’. It also refers to the formula for the declaration…...
Karbalā’ A city southeast of Baghdad, it is the site of the martyrdom of Imam al-Ḥusayn b. ʿAlī, grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, in 61 AH/…...
KaysanisKaysaniyya Adherents of an early Shi‘i group originally led by al-Mukhtār (d. 687) who recognised Muḥammad b. al-Ḥanafiyya (d. 322/934) as their Imam and mahdī....
Kaʿba In pre-Islamic times, a temple for the worship of traditional gods. After the conquest of and re-entry into Mecca by the Prophet Muhammad, he re-dedicated…...
Khalafiyya A sub-sect of the Ibadiyya branch of the Kharijis, founded at the beginning of 9th century CE....
Khaniqa/khaniqah (pl. Khaniqahhā) from Persian, lit. ‘residence’. Khaniqa is a term for a Sufi meetinghouse which serves as a residential teaching centre for Sufi disciples. It…...
kharāj Land tax established by Caliph ʿmar II to be paid by the dhimmīs on the earliest conquered lands by the Muslims. As more and more…...
Kharijis/Khawarij An early Muslim community, meaning ‘seceders’, who withdrew their allegiance from ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib....
khawass The intellectual ‘elite’ or ‘elect,’ often contrasted in classical philosophical literature with the ‘masses’ (awamm)....
khilāfa/khilāfat The Muslim political institution or state centred around the caliph, which came to an end, historically, in 1924 with the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire....
Khojas A term probably derived from the Persian khwāja (lord, master). The Khojas are one of the Ismaili communities originating from the Indian subcontinent and now…...
Khojki A script historically developed among the Khojas of the Indian subcontinent to record their literature....
Khorasan The northeastern region of early Islamic Persia, immediately south of Transoxania and west of Badakhshan....
khudāvand-i qiyāmat Lord of the resurrection. Epithet of the Nizari Imam Ḥasan (d. 1166), after whose name his followers added the formula ʿalā dhikrihi’l-salām (on his mention…...
Khurasan The northeastern region of early Islamic Persia, immediately south of Transoxania and west of Badakhshan....
Khurramiyya A collective term for several early Shi‘i groups in Persia and Transoxania, also known as the Khurramdiniyya....
Khuzistan A province in southwestern mediaeval Persia and Iraq bordering the Persian Gulf in the south....
kun In the Qur’an, the divine imperative (amr), meaning ‘Be,’ (as in Q. 2:117: ‘when He decrees a thing, He but says to it: ‘be’ and…...
kuni-qadar Key terms in early Ismaili cosmology derived from the Qur’anic creative imperative ‘ kun ‘ meaning ‘Be’, and ‘qadar’, which means ‘determinations’....
Kutama A Berber tribe in North Africa who became key supporters of the Fatimids in the 10th century....
madhhab Arabic word with a range of meanings including ‘doctrine’, ‘movement’ and ‘creed’; a system or school of religious law in Islam....
Maghreb/Maghrib Lit. ‘the place of sunset.’ In mediaeval Muslim geography it referred to the western part of North Africa (present-day Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia)....
Magian Adjective from Magi (sing. magus) referring to a member of the Zoroastrian priestly caste in Ancient Persia....
mahdī Lit., the ‘rightly guided one,’ a name applied in Muslim eschatology to the restorer of true religion and justice expected at the end of time.…...
majālis Pl. of majlis; a term which literally means ‘a place to sit’ and refers to any formal gathering or assembly of peoples....
Mamluks (1250-1517 CE), the word Mamluk is derived from Arabic, and literally means ‘owned’ or ‘possessed’. The Mamluks were slave soldiers, mostly of Turkish origin, who…...
marjaʿ/marjaʿ-i taqlīd (Arabic and Persian; lit. ‘source to follow’ or ‘religious reference’). It is a term usually used for a Shi‘i Ithna’ashari religious scholar, also called Āyatullāh…...
masjid (mosque; pl. masajid) Arabic derived from the root s-j-d, meaning ‘to prostrate’. In the early Islamic era, the word masjid meant a place of prayer…...
mathnawī Persian term for poems differing greatly in genre and length, normally composed in rhyming couplets....
mawlā Lord’ or ‘master,’; often used as an honorary epithet, though in early Islam it also meant ‘client’....
Mawlana Hazar Imam (Ar. Mawlānā al-Imām al-Ḥāḍir) Lit. ‘our lord/master the present Imam.’ Designation used by Nizari Ismailis for their contemporary Imam, who is His Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan....
maʿṣūm Arabic word meaning ‘infallible’ and ‘immaculate’; these qualities are attributed to the Prophet Muhammad by many Muslims and by the Shi’a to their Imams....
Mina A small town three miles from Mecca, which is the site of special ceremonies performed by Muslim pilgrims to the Kaʿba ....
mīthāq A covenant, promise or oath. The notion of such a pledge is rooted in the Qur’an and was first given to the Prophet Muhammad. In…...
miʿrāj (Arabic; derived from the root ‘a-ra-ja, meaning ‘to ascend’ or ‘to mount’). The term Mi‘raj has been associated with the Isra’. In some sources, they…...
moʿallem-e ṣādeq (Ar. al-muʿallim al-ṣādiq) The truthful teacher. A concept based on the Shi‘i idea that the Imams are the only authoritative teachers after the Prophet. In the reformulation of…...
Mubarakiyya Adherents of an early Shi‘i group who upheld the Imamate of Muḥammad b. Ismāʿīl after the death of Ismāʿīl b. Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq, representing the nascent…...
muftī (pl. muftīn) An Arabic word derived from the root f-t-y; a jurisconsult who is authorized to give a fatwa. The mufti should have a sound…...
Mughals An Indo-Muslim dynasty (1526–1858 CE), founded by the Timurid Prince Bābur, a descendent of Genghis Khan and Timur Lang. At their peak, the Mughals ruled…...
Muḥarram First month of the Islamic lunar calendar, often referred to as the ‘month of mourning’ because of the death of Imam Husayn b. ‘Ali at…...
mujtahid From Arabic; derived from the root j-h-d, ‘to make an effort’. Mujtahid literally means one who strives for a higher position, usually in scholarship and…...
mulḥid In Muslim heresiographical literature, a term of abuse for individuals regarded as religious deviants or heretics (pl. malāḥida)....
Multan A major city in the province of Sind (today in Pakistan) where the seat of a Fatimid principality was founded in around 958....
munāfiqūn (derived from the Arabic root n-f-q, meaning ‘to dissent, disagree or oppose’). The term is used in the Holy Qur’an for those professing Islam outwardly…...
murīd Lit. ‘one who seeks’. Sufi ṭarīqas developed around the relationship between the murīds and a spiritual master (called murshid, pir, shaykh or quṭb). The first…...
murshid Lit. ‘guide.’ Spiritual master (see murīd). It is the word used for Imam in the Pandiyāt-i Jawānmardī, authored by Imam Mustanṣir bi’llāh II (d. 1480)....
Musafirids A Muslim dynasty which ruled Daylam, Azerbaijan, Arran and Armenia in the 10th and 11th centuries CE, succeeded in Daylam by the Ismailis....
Mushaʿahaʾ A local Shi’i Arab dynasty which ruled the town of Hawiza or Huwayza in Khuzistan, Persia, in the 15th century CE....
mustajīb Lit. ‘respondent’; a term denoting an initiate to the lowest rank in the Fatimid religious hierarchy....
Mustaʿlis/Mustaʿliyya Adherents of a branch of the Ismailis who supported al-Mustaʿlī, the younger son of the Fatimid Imam-Caliph al-Mustanṣir (d. 1094) as his successor....
Muʿtazila A term referring to diverse scholars in early Islam who belonged to a rationally orientated school of thought that emphasized precepts such as Divine Unity…...
Muʿtazila/Mu‘taziliyya A term referring to diverse scholars in early Islam who belonged to a rationally orientated school of thought that emphasized precepts such as Divine Unity…...
nafs Used in the Quran more than 300 times, where its primary meaning is the human self or person. In post-Qur’anic religious literature it came to…...
nafs-i kull A term used in medieval Ismaili and other cosmological doctrines for the Universal Soul. See ʿaql-i kull....
Nahj al-Balāgha Lit. ‘the way of eloquence’. A well-known collection of letters, sermons and sayings attributed to Imam ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib (d. 661 CE), compiled in…...
najwa A Qur’anic term referring to a voluntary contribution to the Prophet Muhammad. Among Ismailis, it was a due offered by converts to Ismailism to the…...
naqīb (pl. nuqabāʾ) Lit. chief, leader. In the Fatimid Ismaili daʿwa, the person in charge of each jazra. Also called ḥujja, lāḥiq or yad....
naṣṣ Lit. ‘text.’ In Shi‘ism , it refers to Muhammad’s declaration of ‘Ali as his successor, and by extension, to the requirement that each imam should…...
nisba Arabic word for ‘adjective,’ which can also mean link, relationship, ancestry, lineage or origin....
Nizam al-Mulk (d. 1092 CE) Persian vizier (r. 1064-1092 CE) of the Seljuk Empire who served under sultans Alp Arsalan and Malik Shah I. After the assassination of Alp Arsalan…...
Nizaris Adherents of a branch of the Ismailis who gave allegiance to Nizar, the eldest son of the Fatimid Imam-caliph al-Mustansir (d. 1094) as his successor....
Nizariyya Adherents of a branch of the Ismailis who gave allegiance to Nizar, the eldest son of the Fatimid Imam-caliph al-Mustanṣir (d. 1094) as his successor....
Niʿmatu’llāhiyya A Sufi order named after its founder Shāh Niʿmatullāh Walī (d. 1431 CE), which gained popularity in Iran and India....
nubuwwa (Arabic, derived from the root n-b-ʾ meaning ‘to utter’ or ‘to inform’), also in the fifth form as tanabbaʾa, to claim for oneself the gift…...
nūr/noor Lit. ‘light,’ a term used for God, defined as light in the Qur’an in the so-called ‘verse of light’ (āyat al-nūr) Q. 24:35: ‘God is…...
occultation/ghayba (Arabic; means absence); this term is associated with the Ithna‘ashari Shi‘i Muslim tradition in reference to the ‘hidden state’ of their twelfth Imam, Muḥammad al-Mahdī.…...
Ottomans/Osmanlis The name of a Turkish dynasty (from late 13th century until 1924 CE). At the height of its power in the 16th century, the empire…...
pir Lit. ‘elder.’ (like the Arabic shaykh). Spiritual director (=murshid), who may be the founder of a Sufi ṭarīqa. The earliest Qasim Shahi Imams were referred…...
qadar Derived from Q. 33:38, etc and often translated as ‘destiny,’ ‘fate,’ or predestination. See qaḍāʾ....
Qadarites/Qadariyya Followers of a theological school in early Islam who advocated the doctrine of free will; also the name of a Sufi order founded by ʿAbd…...
qaḍāʾ Divine decree. In the Qur’an, it does not appear as a noun, but as a verb meaning ‘to decree, determine.’ Together with qadar this concept…...
qalam Reed-pen. The first verse of Q. 68 says: ‘By the pen and what they write’ and Q. 96:4 states that God taught man ‘by the…...
Qarmatis/Qarmatiyya A number of revolutionary movements in early Islam which, while adhering with the Ismailis to the Imamate of Ismāʿīl b. Jaʿfar, were generally opposed to…...
qaṣīda A polythematic poem originating in pre-Islamic Arabia. It has come to refer to any poem of a certain length in Arabic, Persian and Turkish literatures,…...
Qasim Shahis Adherents of one of the main branches of Nizari Ismailis who followed Qāsim Shāh as the successor to the Imam Shams al-Dīn Muḥammad (d. 1310…...
qāʾim Lit. ‘riser’ or ‘resurrector.’ Used in early Shi‘i thought for a member of the family of the Prophet Muhammad who was expected to restore justice…...
qibla The direction of Muslim prayer towards the Kaʿba, indicated in a mosque by a niche called a miḥrāb....
qilaʿ al-daʿwa The collective name for several Nizari fortresses in Syria’s Jabal Bahrāʾ after their capture around 535/1140–1, including al-Khwabi, Rusafa, Maniqa and Qulayʿa....
Qizilbash Lit. ‘Red-heads,’ name of Turkish tribesmen and followers of the Safawiyya Sufi order who founded the the Safawid dynasty in Persia in 1501 CE....
Qum A historic city in Iran to the south of Tehran. It is considered by many Shi‘i Muslims as Iran’s second holiest city after Mashhad. Qum…...
Qur’an (also Koran. Arabic term meaning, ‘recitation’ or ‘scripture’): Muslims believe that the Holy Qur’an contains divine revelations to the Prophet Muhammed received in Mecca and…...
quṭb Lit. ‘pole’ or ‘pivot’. In mystical literature, such as the writings of al-Tirmidhī, ʿAbd al-Razzāq and Ibn ʿArabī (d. 1240), it refers to the most…...
rasūl Lit. ‘messenger.’ A term used in the Qur’an for the apostles of God, including the Prophet Muhammad who is called Rasūl Allāh, the Messenger of…...
ribāṭ (pl. rubuṭ) An Arabic word derived from the root r-b-ṭ meaning ‘to attach’ or ‘to link’; and for in certain Sufi traditions it means strengthening…...
rūḥānī/rūḥāniyya As an adjective (rūḥānī), it means spiritual. As a noun (rūḥāniyya, pl. rūḥāniyyāt or rūḥāniyyūn), it means spiritual beings. In texts such as the Epistles…...
rukūʿ A posture in the Muslim ritual prayer, involving an inclination of the head with the hands resting upon the knees....
Rūmī, Jalāl al-Dīn One of the greatest mystical poets of all time, known by the sobriquet Mawlānā (1207-1273 CE). He was born in Balkh, Afghanistan, and died in…...
sabab (pl. asbāb) Lit. ‘rope.’ It can also denote anything that binds or connects, ‘anything by means of which one gains an end or an object sought.’...
Sabʿiyya A term used in modern scholarship to designate proto-Ismaili groups, especially the so-called Qarmatis, who restricted the number of imams to seven (ending with Muḥammad…...
Safavids A major Shi’i dynasty which ruled Persia (1501-1732 CE), and was succeeded by the Afsharids. (See also Qizilbash, Safawiyya.)...
Safaviyya A Sufi order founded by Shaykh Sayf al-Dn in 1252-53 CE, which later became the Safawid dynasty. (See Safawid, Qizilbash.)...
salām A term derived from the same root as that in ‘Islam,’ which conveys several meanings such as peace, safety and salvation. It is a standard…...
Salamiyya A city in central Syria, which was the residence of several early Ismaili imams in the pre-Fatimid period....
ṣalāt (pl. ṣalawāt) A Qur’anic term referring to prayer in general, which later came to be used more specifically for the daily ritual prayer....
Saljuq Major Muslim dynasty of Turkish origin in Persia and Iraq (1040–1194) and Syria (1078–1178)....
Sanhaja A confederation of Berber tribes in North Africa who supported the Fatimids in the tenth century....
Sasanians/Sasanids A Persian dynasty (224–651 CE) which ruled over territories that included, at various times, present-day Iran, Iraq, Armenia, Afghanistan, eastern parts of Turkey and parts…...
Sayyid (pl. sāda/asyād) Arabic term for ‘lord’ or ‘master’. It is a pre-Islamic term and refers to a person who possesses dignity or enjoys an exalted…...
Shāfiʿī Followers of one of the legal schools of Islam founded by Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad al-Shāfiʿī (d. 974 CE)....
shāhanshāh Lit. ‘king of kings,’ one of the royal titles in Persia and Mughal India. Also the name of a fortress near Nih, a town in…...
Shamiran A castle in Tarum in Persia ruled by the Musafirids during the 10th and 11th centuries CE....
sharīf (pl. ashrāf, shurafāʾ) Arabic term meaning ‘noble’ or ‘honourable’. Sharīf is a pre-Islamic title that was used to denote a free man who would maintain…...
sharīʿa Lit. ‘the path to be followed’; the standard term used for Muslim law; the totality of the Islamic way of life....
shaykh/sheikh Arabic term for old man, elder or tribal chief; also used as an honorific title for any religious dignitary; in particular a Sufi master or…...
Shi‘a/Shi’ite Adherents of Shi‘ism, the second largest denomination of Islam, after Sunnism; those who, in addition to following the sunna of Prophet Muhammad, believe in the…...
silsila Lit. ‘chain.’ A line of spiritual descent linking masters of a Sufi group, going back to the founder of the order and eventually to Prophet…...
Sind/Sindh A province in present–day Pakistan. In mediaeval times, part of the Indus Valley where, in 958, a Fatimid Ismaili principality was established with its seat…...
Sira From Arabic, lit. way of life, way of acting, conduct; as a literary genre, sira means a biography and times of an individual. In the…...
sitr Lit. ‘veil’ or ‘curtain.’ The ceremonial curtain behind which the Fatimid imam-caliphs were seated at the opening of an audience and which was then unveiled....
sitr/satr (Arabic; derived from the root s-t-r, meaning ‘to veil’, ‘conceal’ or ‘hide’). In Shi‘i, particularly Ismaili history, the word is used in the phrase dawr…...
sufism From ‘sufi,’; an exponent of sufism (in Arabic taṣawwuf); the most common term used for the mystical approach to Islam....
sultanate (salṭana, pl. salṭanāt) An Arabic word derived from the root s-l-ṭ; it is a political office created by the Seljuk dynasty (1038–1194 CE), somewhat parallel…...
Sumras An Ismaili dynasty in Sind based in the city of Thatta that ruled from 1051 for about three centuries....
sunna Custom or practice; particularly that associated with the exemplary life of the Prophet Muhammad, comprising his deeds and utterances as recorded in the ḥadīth....
Sunnis Adherents of the majority branch of Islam, Sunnism; from the term sunnī which means a follower of the sunna of the Prophet Muhammad....
Sura (Ar. sūra) A chapter of the Qur’an, (pl. suwar). Etymologically it is difficult to trace the term sūra, but is probably derived from the Arabic root s-w-r,…...
tadhkira A memoir; a genre of Arabic and Persian literature pertaining to the lives of poets, saints and learned people....
Tahirids A Muslim dynasty which ruled Yemen (145401501517); the same name is also applied to unrelated minor dynasties of rulers in Spain, Khurasan and Iraq....
takbīr Praise or glorification of God (as in Q. 74:3, etc.). The declaration of the formula Allāhu Akbar (God is Most Great)....
tanzīl Lit. ‘sending down.’ A Qur’anic term (Q. 3:22, etc.). It refers to the revelation of ‘the Book’ as transmitted by the Prophets....
taqiyya Precautionary dissimulation of one’s religious beliefs, especially in time of persecution or danger, a practice especially adopted by the Shi’i Muslims....
ṭarīqa/ṭarīqat/ṭariqah Way or path; the path followed by mystical schools of interpretation in Islam....
Tarum A region of Persia along the middle course of the river Safidrud before its confluence with the river Shahrud....
tashahhud Lit. ‘testimony.’ The recitation of the shahāda, a formal declaration of the Muslim faith, normally recited during the ritual prayers....
tashbīh Lit. ‘comparison,’ hence, anthropomorphism. A term used by classical theologians to accuse those who described God by analogy with man’s physical existence, and who understood…...
taʾwīl The elucidation of the inner or esoteric meaning, bāṭin , from the literal wording or apparent meaning of a text, ritual or religious prescription....
taʾwīl-i bāṭin The esoteric interpretation of a religious text, ritual or prescription. See bāṭinī taʾwīl....
taʿṭīl Lit. ‘stripping’ or ‘denudation.’ A term used mainly by Ashʿari theologians from the 9th century onwards in criticism, especially, of the Mu’tazila and also the…...
The Ismaili Tariqah and Religious Education Boards (ITREBs) More precisely the Shia Imami Ismaili Tariqah and Religious Education Boards. A contemporary term for local and international boards within the Ismaili community, ultimately accountable…...
Timurids A Muslim dynasty founded by Timur Lang (Tamerlane) which ruled Persia and Transoxiana (1370–1507 CE)....
Transoxania The region between the Oxus and the Jaxartes Rivers situated in the present-day Republic of Uzbekistan....
ummah Community; people who are followers of a particular religion or prophet. It refers in particular to the Muslims as a religious community....
walāya Friendship or assistance. In Sufism the term is used for qualities that can be translated roughly as ‘sainthood’; in Islam, it is used specifically for…...
walī Saint, friend of God, or patron. In a political context the terms can also mean administrator or ruler (pl. awliyāʾ)....
wilāya Authority. In Shi‘i Islam, this refers to the authority that the Imam has over his believers....
wujūd A metaphysical term meaning ‘existence’, employed by philosophically-inclined thinkers such as al-Fārābī (d. ca. 950), Ibn Rushd (d. 1198), al-Suhrawardī and Mullā Ṣadrā (d. 1050/1640).…...
ẓāhir The outward, apparent or exoteric meaning of a sacred text, ritual or religious prescriptions, from which the bāṭin is educed....
Zanata A confederation of Berber tribes in North Africa who were, in general, opposed to the Fatimids....
Zands A local Iranian dynasty (1751–1794 CE), founded by Karīm Khān Zand who ruled over Isfahan in 1751 CE, and briefly had Shiraz (in present-day Iran)…...
Zanj African slaves who carried out a series of revolts against the Abbasids in Iraq in the second half of the 9th century CE....
zāwiya/zāwiyah (pl. zawāyā) from Arabic, lit. ‘a corner’. It is a Sufi place of worship which might also coincide with a mausoleum of a saint or…...
Zaydis/Zaydiyya Third major branch of Shi’i Islam, after the Ithna’ashari and the Ismailis. The Zaydis are named after Zayd, a grandson of Imam usayn b. ʿAlī…...
ẓuhūr Manifestation. In Shi‘i Islam, the term can refer to the manifestation of the Imam after a period of concealment....
