| (a.s.) | Alaihi Salaam, said for an Imam, (Peace be with him) |
| (r) | Radhiya Allaahu Unhu, (Allah be pleased with him) |
| A'isha | The wife of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) |
| Aali Muhammad | Ahlul Bayt |
| Abu Dhar | Highly respected Companion of the Prophet (pbuh) |
| Abu Rafi | Servant of the Prophet (pbuh), highly respected Companion |
| Abu Sufyan | Arch enemy of Islam and leader of disbelievers against Muhammad (pbuh), became Muslim only when Mecca was conquered by the Muslims |
| Abu Talib | The father of Ali, uncle of the Prophet (pbuh) and his guardian until he died after the siege of Benu Hashim |
| Al‑Abbas | Brother of Imam Husain killed in Karbala |
| Al‑Ash'ath | General in Ali's camp at Siffin, but secret agent for Mu'awiya. Chief underminer of Ali's camp |
| Al‑Baaqir | Son of Zainul Abideen, was in Karbala at age 3 years |
| Al-Hamza | Uncle of the Prophet (pbuh) and ardent supporter, killed by a javelin in Ohod by someone hired for the task by the wife of Abu Sufyan |
| Al-Hur | The leader of the 1,000 cavalry who intercepted Imam Husain, then defected to Husain's camp and was martyred in Karbala. |
| Al‑Husain | The Supreme Leader of the Martyrs, the Hero of Karbala, the one who saved Islam with his own life and those with him |
| Al-Masjid Al-Nabawi | Masjid of the Prophet (pbuh)and the seat of government. |
| Al-Nass | The designation, means that Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) had designated Ali to be the Imam of the Ummah and he was to follow the Prophet (pbuh) after his death. Al-Nass also means that each Imam Designates the one to follow him until the twelfth Imam, Al-Mahdi (a.s.). |
| Al‑Qayin | One of the martyrs in Karbala |
| Al-Tulaqaa | A belittling term Muhammad (pbuh) used for those who accepted Islam in Mecca when Mecca was conquered; examples are Abu Sufyan, Mu'awiya and others. Mu'awiya used to often remind himself of this term |
| Al‑Zahraa | An endearing name for Fatima (a.s.) |
| Ali | The second man after the Prophet, the first Ma'soom Imam |
| Allah | The creator, the Lord of creation (swt) |
| Ammar | Highly respected Companion, lost his life in Siffin as predicted by the Prophet (pbuh) |
| Amr ibn Abd Wid | The Hero of the disbelievers who crossed the Ditch, was slain by Imam Ali |
| Asdi | One of the Martyrs in Karbala |
| Ayah | Verse of the Holy Quran |
| Ayah of Tat'heer | Ayah on behalf of Ahlul Bayt (Ali, Fatima, Al-Hasan, and Al-Husain). It specified their Ismah |
| Badr | The first defensive battle by the Muslims against the disbelievers |
| Benu Abbas | Dynasty that took power from Benu Umayya in the name of revenging for Ahlul Bayt |
| Benu Umayya | Dynasty that got hold of the power early in Islam and caused a great damage to the Islamic Ummah. They lasted for 90 years |
| Basrah | The town near which the Jamal Confrontation took place |
| Bilal | The close Companion who used to call the Athan |
| Cave of Hiraa | A small clean cave near the top of Mountain of Noor in which Prophet (pbuh) used to go for contemplation |
| Companions | The contemporaries of the Prophet (pbuh) |
| Dammatul Jandal | The location of the arbitration that was imposed on Imam Ali, to be done versus Mu'awiya |
| Deviators | The group used to be in Ali's camp, decided to stop the fight in Siffin, then blamed Ali for it, and rose against Ali |
| Dhul Hijjah | Month of Haj |
| Effecting brotherhood | Process of making one Medanese take one from Mecca as his brother, to support, befriend, and exchange experience |
| Encounter of the Ditch |
The third major attempt of the disbelievers to destroy Islam in which they were prevented by the digging of a ditch. |
| Fadak | A large piece of property given to Fatima by Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), was a means of her livelihood, and denied to her by Abu Bakr |
| Farazdaq | A highly respected poet who told Al-Husain not to proceed to Kufa |
| Fatima | Daughter of the Prophet (pbuh) and the Supreme Leader of women of the world |
| Fiqh | Interpretation of Shari'ah (Islamic Law) |
| Gabriel | Jubra'eel, the Arch angel who reveals Messages to the Prophets |
| Hadith | Sayings and recommendations of the Prophet (pbuh) |
| Hudaibiya | The great treaty between Muhammad (pbuh) and the disbelievers which greatly benefited Islam |
| Ibn Aas | Ibn Aas, a General in Mu'awiya's camp, deceptive person |
| Ibn Abbas | Ibn Abbas, Highly scholarly person, tutored by Ali (a.s.) |
| Ibn Aqaba | Family member of Uthman appointed as governor of Iraq by Khalifa Uthman |
| Ibn Mas’ud | A highly respected Companion of the Prophet (pbuh) |
| Ibn Muljim | The person (Khariji) who killed Imam Ali with a poisoned sword |
| Ibn Sar'h | Governor in Egypt during Uthman's times (his relative) who led the campaign against the Romans in Tunisia |
| Ibn Ziyad | The governor of Kufa appointed by Yazid to suppress the people and force them to fight Imam Husain |
| Idols | Material products, usually made of stones, which people worshipped to be a means to Allah |
| Ij'tihaad | Process by which Islamic Shari'ah is interpreted by high religious scholars to solve present day problems |
| Imamah | The personage designated by the Almighty to lead the Ummah after the Prophet (pbuh). |
| Ismah | Means that Allah has safeguarded all the Prophets and the Specified Imams after Prophet Muhammad from, a) religious error, b) sin, and c) forgetfulness |
| Ja'far | Brother of Ali who led the group of Muslims to Abyssinia |
| Jamal battle | Major battle against Ali the Khalifa by insurgents led by A'isha, Talha, and Zubair |
| Jubra'eel | Angel Gabriel |
| Juh'fa | Mid-way point between Mecca and Medina, 3 miles north of which Ghadeer Khum took place |
| Karbala | The fateful tragic confrontation between Jahiliya and Islam in which Islam triumphed but at the expense of the life of Imam Husain and his camp |
| Khariji | The group that was in Ali's camp, decided to stop the fight in Siffin, then defected and blamed Ali for Siffin consequences. They rose against Ali and caused a great deal of turmoil |
| Khaybar | The fortified headquarters of the Jewish tribes in Arabia which was conquered under the leadership of Imam Ali |
| Khilaafah Rashida | Khilaafah of the first four Khalifas that followed the Prophet (pbuh) |
| Kufa | New capital of the Islamic Ummah during the times of Ali |
| Marhab | The hero and Jewish leader that Imam Ali killed at Khaybar |
| Marji' | Religious reference of the highest caliber |
| Marwan | The person who undermined the Islamic Ummah during the Khilaafah of Uthman, killer of Talha in Jamal Confrontation |
| Ma'soom | See Ismah, a person whom Allah safeguards from religious error, sin, and forgetfulness, (Prophets and the 12 Imams) |
| Medina | The major town in which Islam grew and from which it spread under the leadership of the Prophet (pbuh) |
| Minbar | Pulpit |
| Mountain of Noor | Mountain near Mecca which the Prophet (pbuh) used to go for contemplation |
| Mu'awiya | The man from the Umayya clan who produced many unwholesome changes to Islam, such as Caesar-like inheritance of Khilaafah |
| Mu'mins | Faithful |
| Mubaahala | The Quranic challenge to the Christians who came from Najran to question the Prophet (pbuh) |
| Muhammad ibn Al‑Hanafia | Son of Imam Ali, a highly regarded person |
| Muharram | The month in which Karbala happenings took place |
| Mukhtar | The person who led an uprising after Karbala and chased, arrested, and executed every participant in Karbala against Imam Husain |
| Mus'haf of Fatima | Tafseer of the Holy Quran as written by Imam Ali |
| Muslim Ibn Aqeel | Cousin of Al-Husain, sent to Kufa to evaluate the situation of the people; was arrested and beheaded |
| Nahjul Balaaghah | Collection of some of the treatise of sermons, sayings, and some recommendations of Imam Ali |
| Nahrawan | Battle imposed on Ali by the Kharijis (the renouncers) |
| Ohod | The second battle in which the Muslims had to defend themselves against the disbelievers |
| Omar Ibn Sa'ad | The leader of the forces in Karbala that killed Imam Husain and his camp in the worst manner imaginable |
| Quraish | Renowned family in Mecca, noble, first opposed Islam then converted to it. Muhammad (pbuh) was of this family |
| Quran | Book of the Creator, Allah (swt), permanent, eternal in its guidance |
| Rejecters | The People who rejected Islam during Abu Bakr's Khilaafah and precipitated a battle in which about 600 Muslims who knew the Quran by heart were killed |
| Renouncers | The people who rose against Ali after they gave him their allegiance; they precipitated the Jamal Confrontation |
| Revealed | Ayah of the Quran when revealed by Jubra'eel to Muhammad (pbuh) |
| Shahaada | Declaration of Islam that Allah is One and Muhammad (pbuh) is His Messenger |
| Shari'ah | Islamic Constitution in the Quran |
| Shimr | The despicable person who slay Imam Husain |
| Siffin | The battle imposed on Imam Ali by the defiant Mu'awiya |
| Suhoor | Eating before fasting for the next day |
| Sumieya | One of the first martyrs of Islam |
| Sunnah | Sayings and acts of the Prophet (pbuh) which Muslims try to follow |
| Surah | Chapter of the Holy Quran |
| Tabuk | Location to which Muslims went to confront the Byzantines but no battles took place |
| Tafseer | Interpretation of the Holy Quran |
| Talha | A Companion who was a renouncer against Imam Ali, was killed by Marwan at the Jamal Confrontation |
| Tayammum | Preparation for Salat when water is not available or cannot be used |
| Umayya | The family that vehemently opposed Islam, then when they became Muslim, soon grabbed power and did much damage to the Islamic Ummah (see Benu Umayya) |
| Umm al Baneen | Wife of Imam Ali, mother of Al-Abbas |
| Umm Kulthoom | Sister of Imam Husain, who focused the people's minds on Karbala and its importance for Islam. |
| Umm Salama | A favorite wife of the Prophet (pbuh) |
| Ummah | Islamic society |
| Wilaayah | The undertakings (by the Quran and the Prophet (pbuh)) leading to naming Ali, then the rest of the Imams as the persons with high authority over us |
| Yathrib | The name of Medina before the Hijrah |
| Yasir | The first martyr for Islam, father of the Companion Ammar |
| Yazid | The despicable ruler imposed by his father Mu'awiya on the Islamic Ummah, cause of tremendous suffering |
| Zainab | The heroine of Karbala, sister of Imam Husain, who focused the people's minds on Karbala and its importance for Islam. |
| Zainul Abideen | Son of Imam Husain, and the 4th Imam. |
| Zakat | Equivalent to Poor-due |
| Zubair | A Companion of the Prophet (pbuh) and a renouncer, leader in Jamal Confrontation against Ali. Declined to fight |
  Back to Book List
 |
|