Your Daily Muslim

Here are the Islamic terms and other miscellany frequently seen on YDM that you may not be familiar with yet. Information and knowledge about Islam is important – read up!

Adhan – Call to prayer

Aisha – Child bride of Muhammad, pigs be upon him. Muhammad married her when she was 6 and penetrated her at age 9

Akhira – Afterlife

al Qaeda – Large terror group that claimed responsibility for the 9/11 attacks, the 1998 Embassy attack, and more

al-Shabaab – Somalia-based terror group linked to al Qaeda

Allahu Akbar – “Allah is the greatest”

Astaghfirullah – Expression asking forgiveness from Allah

Awrah – Private area; any skin on the body not meant to be shown to someone aside from one’s spouse

Bismillah – “In the name of Allah”

“Blow” – Song by Ke$ha known for its chorus, “This place about to blow,” repeated ad infinitum. This song has become the theme song of Islam

Boko Haram – Nigeria-based terror group that has pledged loyalty to the Islamic State (ISIL/ISIS) terror group. Often abducts children and massacres civilians

Burqa – Giant bedsheet/garment with a screen so the wearer has some semblance of vision

Da’ee – Islamic evangelist, one who gives dawah

Dajjal – Islam’s version of the Antichrist

Dawah – Islamic evangelism

Deen – Religious faith, expressed devotion through adherence to religious teachings

Dhimmi – A non-Muslim who submits to Islamic rule

Dua – Prayer, worship

Dunya – This world

Fajr – The early morning prayer, the first of the five daily prayers

Fard – Obligatory, religious duty

Fatwa – Islamic religious edict

Fiqh – Study of Islamic law/jurisprudence

Hadith – Collection of the teachings, deeds, and sayings of Muhammad, pigs be upon him

Hafiz – Someone who has memorized the Qur’an

Hajj – Pilgrimage to Mecca every Muslim is expected to make in his or her lifetime

Halal – Permissible in Islam

Hamas – Terror group based in Palestine that routinely shoots rockets at Israelis

Haram – Forbidden in Islam

Haya – Modesty

Hezbollah (Hizb’Allah) – Terror group based in Lebanon that has repeatedly attacked Israel

Hijab – Islamic headbag

Hizb-ut-Tahrir – International Islamist organization seeking to unite all Muslim countries into one nation under Islamic law

Hudud – Punishments under Islamic law including stoning, hanging, amputation, and beheading

Imaan – Faith

Inshallah – Allah willing

Islamic State (ISIL/ISIS) – Terror group based in Syria attempting to usher in a new age governed by Islamic law

Jahannam – Islamic hell

Jahiliyya – Pre-Islamic ignorance, state of disbelief due to ignorance

Jannat al-Firdaus – The highest level of Islamic heaven

Jihad – Concept of struggle in Islam, often used to justify acts of aggression

Jinn – An invisible spirit known for eating excrement that can allegedly possess people. Whoever made these up must have been high out of their mind

Jizya – Safety tax paid by non-Muslims living in Islamic nations

Kafir (pl. kuffar) – Infidel

Khilafah – Islamic state

Kunya – Assumed name, often taken by jihadists

Magic Muslim Peace Sprayer™ – AK-47

Mahram – A relative. Women are not permitted to walk in public unaccompanied by a mahram

Masjid – Mosque

Mujahid (f. Mujahidah, pl. Mujahideen) – Someone who is waging jihad

Munafiq – A hypocrite, one who professes Islam but is secretly an infidel

Muslim Jackpot – Bogus lawsuits filed by Muslims regarding alleged religious discrimination due to their inability to follow basic company policy

Nejis – Ritually unclean, e.g. dogs, pigs

Nikah mut’ah – Temporary marriage practiced by Shia Muslims to have extramarital sex without it violating their religious beliefs

Niqab – Islamic ninja costume only acceptable for public wear on Halloween

Qiyamah – Day of judgment

Qur’an – Core Islamic holy text

Ramadan – Islamic holy month during which violence always seems to escalate

Sahaba – Companions of Muhammad, pigs be upon him

Salat – Prayers

Sayyid – A blood descendant of Muhammad, pigs be upon him

Shahada – Islamic declaration of faith

Shahid – Martyr. Often used to refer to those who have blown themselves up

Sharia – Islamic legal system, best known for cruel & unusual punishment

Shirk – Unforgivable sin of treating a created object as divine

Subhanallah – “Glory be to Allah”

Taqwa – God-consciousness, basing your actions as though Allah were watching

Tawheed – Concept of monotheism in Islam

Ummah – Islamic spiritual body

Wudu – Islamic ritual washing

Zina – Fornication, punishable under sharia by death for the married and lashing for the unmarried