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 In
the Name of Allah, Most
Gracious, Most Merciful
Glossary
of Islamic Terms for the Month of Ramadan
"O who believe, fasting is decreed for
you as it was decreed for those before you; perchance you will
guard yourselves...
The month of Ramadan is the month in which the Qur'an was sent
down, a guidance for the people, and clear verses of guidance
and criterion."
[Quran: Chapter 2, 183]
Bab Al-Raiyan
The name of one of the gates of Heavens (Jannah)
through which the people who often observe fasting will enter
on the Day of Judgement.
Eid Al-Fitr
Three-day festival marking the end of Ramadan. It begins on the
1st of Shawal, the 10th month of the Islamic calendar.
Fidya
Compensation for missing or wrongly practicing necessary acts
of worship. Fidya usually takes the form of donating money,
foodstuffs, or sacrificing an animal. Contrast with Kaffara
(making amends).
Iftar or
Futoor
Breaking of the fast immediately after sunset. Iftar
takes place at Maghrib as soon as the Call to Prayer (Adhaan)
is given.
Imsak/Suhur/Sehri
Start of the fasting time. Imsak begins when the first light of
dawn becomes visible, and ends at Fajr when the Adhaan is
called. Literally means "holding back."
I'tikaf
I'tikaf refers to the religious practice of spending the last
ten days of Ramadan (either wholly or partly) in a mosque so as
to devote oneself exclusively to worship. In this state one may
go out of the mosque only for the absolutely necessary
requirements of life, but one must stay away from gratifying
one's sexual desire. The minimum period for i'tikaf is
twenty-four hours. I'tikaf is not valid if one is not keeping
the fast or if it is done outside the month of Ramadan.
Kaffarah
Kaffarah means atonement, expiation. In Ramadhan this would
refer to the expiation for breaking the fast.
Lailatul-Qadr
'The Night of Power,' concealed in one of the odd nights in the
last ten days of Ramadan; the night on which the Qur'an was
first revealed by Jibraeel to the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), and
which the Qur'an itself describes as "better than a thousand
months." [Al-Qadr (97:3)]
Ramadhan or Ramzaan
The ninth month of the Islamic (lunar) calendar. The month in
which Muslims fast.
Sawm or Siyam
The Arabic word for fast. Plural: Siyam. Literally in the
Arabic language it means "to abstain."
REFERENCES:
"A CONCISE DICTIONARY OF ISLAMIC TERMS" by M.A. Qazi, Kazi
Publications, 121 Zulqarnain Chambers, Ganpat Road, Lahore,
Pakistan.
"A GLOSSARY OF ISLAMIC TERMINOLOGY" by Bassam Sulaiman Abughosh
& Waffa Zaki Shaqra, Ta-Ha Publshers Ltd. 1, Wynne Road, London
SW9 0BB, England.
"THE QURAN-BASIC TEACHINGS" by Khurshid Ahmad.
"TOWARDS UNDERSTANDING THE QURAN", Vol. I-III, edited by Zafar
Ishaq Ansari, an English rendering of Tafhimul Quran (Urdu) by
A.A. Maududi.
Al-Hamdulillah, praise and peace be upon His Prophet Muhammad
and on his Family, Companions and his Followers, inwardly and
outwardly.
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