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General Resources
Glossaries
Class handout; prepared by Professor
Vogel
Glossary of Islamic
Terms and Concepts
From the Muslim Students Association at USC
From the Council on Islamic Education
General Background on Islam
A short background history by Professor John Voll
from the Encyclopedia of Politics and Religion
On-Line Islamic Studies
Resources
From Rutgers University
From Godlas at the University of Georgia Islamic
Law
Harvard Law School Centre of Islamic
and Middle Eastern Law (CIMEL)
School of Oriental and African Studies, University of
London – good source of links and resources on Islamic Law
Advanced Legal Studies Institute
Islamabad, Pakistan. From the site: “The students of Islamic
law may treat this infobase and the one that follows as a flexible
syllabus for studying Islamic law and Islamic banking. In fact,
the main idea behind this site is to develop the material on this
site keeping the needs of the viewers in sight, especially the needs
of the students of Islamic law.”
Universal Islamic Declaration
of Human Rights
By Joseph Schacht from the Cambridge Encyclopedia of Islam. Qur’an
Search, browse, and compare 6 different English translations
The Qur'an in both English and Arabic script, with Arabic
recitation by verse or chapter. Also includes translations
in many languages, from Albanian to Urdu. The Qur'an in both English
and Arabic script, with Arabic recitation by verse or chapter.
Also includes translations in many languages, from Albanian to Urdu.
General Qur’an links from About.com Hadith
From Muslim Students Association at USC
From Muslim Students Association at USC Contemporary Thought
Theory and Practice of
Democracy in Islam RealAudio proceedings
of the Center for Islam and Democracy's First Annual Conference Islam,
Democracy, and the Secularist State Proceedings of the
Center for Islam and Democracy's 2nd annual Conference, inluding
papers by various scholars on the connection between Islam and Democracy. Liberal
Islam: Prospects & Challenges By
Charles Kurzman. Also see his Liberal Islam page
for links to other works on Liberal Islam and his anthology of contemporary
thought. On-line
book surveying major Islamic thinkers of the 20th Century,
including Iqbal, Maududi, Qutb, Khomeini, Shariati, and Rahman,
among others Islamic Fundamentalism
Reconsidered:A Critical Outline of Problems, Ideas and Approaches From the Legal Research
and Resource Centre for Human Rights in Cairo Specific Thinkers ·
The Message of Fazlur
Rahman
Abdullahi
Ahmed An-Na'im links:
Mohammad Sharoor
links: ·
Reading the Religious
Text – A New Approach
Muhammad
Sa’id al-‘Ashmawi links:
GLOSSARY OF ISLAMIC LEGAL TERMS (IN ARABIC TRANSLITERATION)(1) Revised:
October 3, 2000 Prof.
Vogel `adl (pl. `udul) of good character,
a witness ahadith pl. of hadith ahkam khamsa five ahkam, or
five legal qualifications of acts: haram, wajib, makruh, mandub,
mubah ahkam sultaniyya constitutional and
administrative law, subject of special works ahl al-kitab lit., "People of
the Book"; non-Muslims who possess a scripture `alim one possessing `ilm, knowledge;
scholar; scholar of the religious sciences; sing. of `ulama' `amal practice; labor; doctrine of judicial custom
developed in the Maliki school `amal of Medina judicial practice of Medina
amana fiduciary relationship; deposit on trust;
trust amir lit., "commander," prince, ruler amir al-mu'minin "Commander of the Faithful,"
a title of the Caliph amin trustworthy; one under fiduciary responsibility
(amana) amr bil-ma`ruf ordering the good,
the "known" or "approved" `aqila kinship or other group responsible for
payment of blood compensation `ariyya a loan for use only, not consumption (cf.
qard) `ayb defect `ayn an individual; a specific thing batil invalid, null and void batin inward state, inner truth bay`a oath of allegiance bayyina evidence bughah rebels da`if weak, used of a faulty hadith dar al-Islam territory of the Islamic state dar al-harb territory of the enemy darura necessity dhimma covenant; responsibility; obligation;
legal capacity of the individual to undertake obligations; situs
of obligations and rights in the individual dhimmi(s) non-Muslim(s) protected by
a treaty of surrender dinar the standard gold coin dirham the standard silver coin diwan army list, office or ministry of royal
court diya blood-money dukhul consummation (of marriage) faqih (pl. fuqaha') specialist
in fiqh fara'id the portions allotted to the heirs, succession
in general; sing. fard, fixed share of
an heir fard duty, obligation imposed by the shari`a;
see also fara'id fard `ayn individual obligation, falling
on the specific individual fard kifaya collective obligation,
falling on all capable of it fasad al-zaman the (ever-increasing)
corruption of the times fasid defective, voidable fasiq sinner (opp.`adl) faskh cancellation; rescission of a contract fatawi (or fatawa) pl. of fatwa
fatwa (pl. fatawi) an opinion by a
qualified scholar on a point of law fiqh the science of the divine law, the sum
of man's knowledge of God's law fuqaha' (pl . of faqih) specialists in
fiqh furu` the "branches", derived legal
rules, opposed to usul gharar risk, hazard, uncertainty ghasb usurpation hadana care of the child by the mother hadd (pl. hudud) a fixed punishment
for certain crimes held stipulated in the Qur'an hadith (pl. ahadith) a report of a saying,
action or acquiescence of the Prophet haja need hakam arbitrator halal not forbidden haqq truth, right, claim haqq adami right of man (as opposed
to a right or claim of Allah) haqq Allah right or claim of Allah
(as opposed to a right of man) haram forbidden hawala transfer of a claim or of a debt hila, pl. hiyal legal artifice, device
hiraba or muharaba crime of "war
against God and His Prophet,.. spread[ing] corruption on earth"
[Q 5:33], usually understood as highway robbery hisba the office of the muhtasib hiyal (pl.of hila) legal artifices,
devices hudud (pl. of hadd), fixed punishments
for certain crimes hukm (pl. ahkam) rule, judgment,
status, qualification, value `ibadat acts of worship, opposed to mu`amalat,
or transactions among men `idda waiting-period of a woman after termination
of marriage iflas bankruptcy ijara hire and lease ijma` consensus ijma` ahl al-Madina consensus of the
scholars of Medina ijma` sukuti tacit ijma`,
one where each scholar's agreement is not explicit ijtihad effort, use of individual reasoning in
matters of fiqh ikhtilaf disagreement ikhtiyar choice by a scholar among competing views
ikrah duress ila' oath of abstinence from intercourse by
the husband `illa efficient cause, term used for the basis
of analogy in qiyas `ilm (pl. `ulum) knowledge,
a science imam lit., leader, thus, leader of prayer, caliph,
founder of a madhhab `ina double sale, a device for evading the prohibition
of interest iqrar acknowledgement, confession isnad the chain of transmitters of a hadith
or other historical narration istihsan "approval", a discretionary opinion
in breach of strict qiyas istishab method of legal reasoning, relates to certain
probative presumptions istislah taking the public interest, maslaha,
into account istisna` contract of manufacture `itq manumission of a slave `iwad consideration, countervalue Jahiliyya age before Islam in Arabia jahala ignorance, indeterminacy ja'iz allowed, unobjectionable jihad striving in God's cause, holy war jinaya (pl. jinayat) tort, delict jins genus jizya poll-tax kafa'a equality by birth kafala suretyship kaffara religious expiation kafir unbeliever katib secretary of the qadi; "clerk
of the court" khalifa caliph. Generally, successor, vicegerent
khalwa privacy (between husband and wife) khamr wine, grape-wine, intoxicant kharaj land-tax khul` a form of divorce kufr infidelity, disbelief lazim binding li`an divorce by exchanged oaths after spouse's
accusation of adultery madhhab (pl. madhahib) "school"
of religious law maharim (pl. of mahram) mahdar minutes, the written record of proceedings
before the qadi mahr nuptial gift mahram (pl. maharim) person related to
another within the forbidden degrees majalla the Ottoman Code of Obligations based
on Shari`a, enacted in 1876 mal property; res in commercio mal mutaqawwam a property possessed of a value in sight
of the law mal ribawi property susceptible to riba manfa`a benefit; right of use marsum "decree", term for legislation
by ruler masalih mursala "unrestricted"
utility, utility not enjoined or excluded by revelation maslaha interest, utility; public interest mashru` lawful; legitimate maysir a game of hazard mayta animals not ritually slaughtered mazalim see nazar fil-mazalim mithl just mean, average, fair mu`amalat transactions among men, opposed to `ibadat,
or acts of worship; sing. mu`amala; euphemism for `ina mubah indifferent (not obligatory, recommended,
reprehensible, or forbidden) mubara'a a form of divorce mudaraba sleeping partnership mudarib active partner in mudaraba mufti a specialist in religious law issuing legal
opinions muharaba or hiraba, crime of "war
against God and His Prophet,... spread[ing] corruption on earth"
[Q 5:33], usually understood as highway robbery muharram forbidden muhsan never married, chaste muhtasib the Islamic official charged with amr
bil-ma`ruf, including inspection of the market mujahid one who carries out jihad mujtahid one qualified to practice legal ijtihad
mukallaf legally responsible under the religious
law mumayyiz "intelligent", "discriminating"
minor munkar rejected; improper; evil muqallid one practicing taqlid murabaha sale for cost plus a percentage murtadd apostate musharaka partnership mustahabb recommended mut`a temporary marriage, indemnity payable in
certain cases of divorce by the husband mutawatir category of hadith report; narrated
from generation to generation, at each stage by such a large number
of narrators as to preclude their collusion nabidh something thrown or cast; a drink made
from steeping fruits in water nafaqa maintenance and support among family members
nafy banishment nahy `an al-munkar forbidding the
evil, lit., the "rejected" nass lit., "text," technically, can
mean either a text of the Qur'an or Sunna, or a legal rule explicitly
given by a text or ijma` naskh abrogation or repeal (naskh, repealing
passage, mansukh, the one repealed) nazar fil-mazalim "investigation
of complaints"; ruler's jurisdiction to right wrongs naw` species nikah marriage niyya intent nizam, nizam-name "ordinance",
used of modern, secular regulations nukul refusal (to take the oath, &c.) qabd possession qada' the art of adjudication, delayed satisfaction
of religious obligation qadhf false accusation of unlawful intercourse
qadi Islamic judge qadi al-qudah the chief qadi
qanun "law", used of secular acts and
administrative law qanun-name a text containing one or several qanuns
qard loan of fungible objects for consumption
qasama a kind of compurgation qat` al-tariq highway robbery qat`i beyond doubt, apodictic, certain, opp.
zanni qatl homicide qawad retaliation qawa`id rules, technical principles of fiqh,
subject of special works qisas retaliation qiyas analogy rabb al-mal capital investor or sleeping partner in
mudaraba rahn pledge, pawn, security rasul messenger, prophet ra'y "opinion", individual reasoning
riba interest; usury; unjust enrichment ribawi susceptible of riba riba al-fadl riba by way of increase or excess
in exchange riba al-Jahiliyya riba of period before Islam riba al-nasi'a riba by way of delay in payment
rida` foster or milk relationship ridda apostasy sadaq nuptial gift sadaqa charity sahih valid, legally effective sakk (pl. sukuk) written document salam contract for delivery with prepayment sanad same as isnad sarf currency exchange sariqa theft shahada testimony, evidence of witnesses shahid (pl. shuhud) witness shar`, shari`a divine law shari`a divine law sharika, shirka society, partnership shurut stipulations in contracts; legal formularies;
prerequisites; formal requirements shaykh al-Islam the chief mufti
of the Ottoman Empire shuf`a pre-emption shuhud (pl. of shahid) witness shura consultation shurb al-khamr wine-drinking sijill written judgment of the qadi siyasa "policy", administration siyasa shar`iyya siyasa within
the limits assigned to it by the shari`a suftaja bill of exchange sukuk (pl. of sakk) sulh amicable settlement sultan authority, dominion, ruling power, ruler
sunna precedent, normative legal custom; recommended
sura chapter of the Qur'an ta`addin violation of trust (amana) tafriq a judicial dissolution of marriage taghrir misrepresentation tahlil device to remove an impediment to marriage
takaful mutual responsibility; mutual guarantee talaq divorce by the husband's declaration talfiq combining the doctrines of more than one
school ta`liq al-talaq declaration of conditional
talaq taqiyya dissimulation taqlid relying upon the opinion of another, not
practicing ijtihad tarika estate tasarruf legal right to act as to, of disposal
over, property tawatur narration of a report from generation
to generation, at each stage by such a large number of narrators
as to preclude their collusion, adj. is mutawatir tawba repentance ta`zir punishment discretionary with the qadi
tazkiya accreditation of witness as `adl,
lit., purification `udul (pl. of `adl) professional witnesses,
notaries `ulama' the religious scholars of Islam `ulum (pl.of `ilm) sciences `umara' (pl. of amir) commanders, rulers `urf custom usul (sing.asl) lit., roots (opp. to
furu`), the sources of fiqh (as usul al-fiqh) usul al-fiqh roots or sources of fiqh,
science of legal reasoning and derivation wajib obligatory, definite, binding, due wakala agency wali legal guardian wali al-amr "one in charge of affairs",
general term for de facto ruler of state wali al-dam the next of kin who has the right to demand
retaliation waqf pious foundation, mortmain warith heir wasaya (pl. of wasiyya) wasi executor and/or guardian appointed by testament
wasiyya (pl. wasaya) legacy watha'iq (pl. of wathiqa) wathiqa (pl. watha'iq) written document
wilaya competence, jurisdiction yamin oath zahir the literal meaning (of Qur'an and Traditions),
apparent, "outward" state Zahiri "Literalist," follower of the
Zahiri school of law zakat alms-tax zann surmise, guess, probable truth zanni see qat`i zina adultery, unlawful intercourse 1. In preparing this glossary, use was made
of the glossary included in J. Schacht, Introduction to Islamic
Law (1964). |
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