islamic practices

• ablution 


  ritual washing before prayer
• adalat 


  part of nature of God in Shi'a islam, belief that God is fair
• Adam 


  one of the prophets of Allah, the father of mankind, built the Ka'aba
• akhirah 


  life after death
• angels 


  spiritual beings made from light, pass messages from God to prophets and watch over humans
• Arafat 


  part of the Hajj pilgrimage, place where Muhammad preached his last sermon (religious talk)
• ashura


  important festival in Shi'a islam - to commemorate the martyrdom of Hussein (Muhammad's grandson)

  Sunni muslims observe this day as a repentance of sin
• beneficence 


  literally "doing good" - one of the 99 names of Allah
• fasting 


  not eating or drinking - one of the Five Pillars of islam is sawm during Ramadan
• the 5 Pillars 


  important duties of Sunni muslims which support the main principles of Islam

  • shahadah
  • salah
  • zakah
  • sawm
  • hajj
• the 5 Roots of Usul ad-Din


  the key beliefs of Shi'a islam

  • tawhid (oneness of God)
  • adalat (justice)
  • prophethood
  • Imamate
  • resurrection
• jummah 


  Friday prayers in the mosque
• giving aims 


  giving to those in need, one of the 5 Pillars and 10 obligatory acts (zakah)
• greater jihad 


  the personal struggle of every muslim to live by the teachings of their faith
• human accountability 


  the belief that everyone must take responsibility for their own actions because we have free will and will be questioned about this on the Day of Judgement
• human freedom 


  humans have control over their thoughts, feelings and actions
• human responsibility 


  humans are responsible for most of that they do because we have free will
• ibrahim 


  one of the prophets of Allah, he rebuilt the Ka'aba
• id-ul-adha 


  celebration of the Prophet Ibrahim's willingness to sacrifice his son for Allah
• id-ul-fitr 


  celebration that comes at the end of Ramadan and marks the end of fasting
• the Imamate 


  one of the 5 roots of Usul ad-Din, Shi'a belief in the 12 imams
• immanence 


  the belief that God is close to humanity and involved in the world
• Jibril 


  Angel who dictated the Qur'an to Muhammad, on Judgement Day he will assist the weighing of a person's deeds
• jihad 


  to struggle against evil
• the Ka'aba 


  part of the Hajj pilgrimage, cube-shaped building at the centre of the Grand Mosque in Mecca, all muslims face towards it when they pray
• Khums 


  one of the 10 obligatory acts in Shi'a islam - practice of almsgiving (giving to the poor)
• lesser jihad 


  military struggle to defend islam
• Mecca 


  (or Makkah) place of pilgrimage during hajj, the spiritual centre of islam
• Mina 


  site of pilgrimage during hajj, where pilgrims take part in stoning the devil
• Muhammad 


  the last and greatest of the prophets, he received the Qur'an
• Muzdalifah 


  site of pilgrimage during hajj, where pilgrims hold a night prayer and rest after the Stand on Mount Arafat
• the night of power 


  the night where Muhammad received the first revelations of the Qur'an
• pilgrimage 


  a religious journey to a sacred place, an act of worship and devotion
• recitations 


  part of the practice of salah, reciting the verses of the Qur'an
• revelation 


  when God is revealed to humans, the belief that Allah will show his nature through the words of the Qur'an
• salah 


  prayer, one of the 5 pillars + 10 obligatory acts
• sawm 


  fasting from dawn to dusk during Ramadan, one of the 5 pillars + 10 obligatory acts
• the shahadah 


  muslim declaration of faith, one of the 5 pillars + 10 obligatory acts
• 6 articles of faith 


  the foundations of the faith in sunni islam

  • tawhid
  • angels
  • holy books
  • prophethood
  • akhirah
  • predestination
• shi'a islam 


  muslims who believe in the imamate, the successorship of Ali