Vocabulary

• day of ashura

  a Shi'a festival who remember the battle of Karbala and the death of Husayn on this day
• greater jihad


  the personal inward struggle of all Muslims to live in line with the teachings of their faith
• hajj

  the annual pilgrimage to Mecca that every Muslim should try to make at least once in their life time
• id-ul-adha

  a Muslim festival that celebrates the prophet Ibrahim's willingness to sacrifice his son for God
• id-ul-fitr

  A Muslim festival that celebrates the end of Ramadan
• Jihad


  a struggle against evil
• jummah prayer

  a weekly communal prayer performed after midday on Friday which includes a sermon
• khums

  a 20% tax paid by Shi'a Muslims on their excess income
• lesser jihad

  the outward struggle to defend one's faith, family and country from threat
• mihrab


  a niche in the wall that shows the direction of Mecca
• rak'ah

  a sequence of movements in ritual prayer
• ramadan

  the ninth month of the Muslim year during which Muslims have to fast from dusk to sunset
• sadaqah

  good actions or voluntary payments that are undertaken for charitable reasons
• Salah

  prayer performed under conditions set by prophet Muhammad
• shahadah

  the Muslim declaration of faith
• the five pillars

  the five most important duties for all Muslims
• the night of power

  the night when the first revelation of the Qur'an was made to Muhammad
• the ten obligatory acts

  ten important duties for Shi'a Muslims which include the Five Pillars
• wudu

  ritual washing before prayer
• zakah

  when Muslims give 2.5% of savings each year to the poor