Vocabulary Builder
Learn essential Arabic words and phrases, organized by age and level.
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Ages 11–13
Scholarly and theological terms.
تَفْسِير
Tafsīr
Quranic commentary
Scholarly explanation of the Quran's meaning and context.
حَدِيث
Ḥadīth
Prophetic tradition
Recorded sayings and actions of Prophet Muhammad.
سُنَّة
Sunnah
Prophetic practice
The way of life prescribed as normative by the Prophet.
فِقْه
Fiqh
Islamic jurisprudence
The study of Islamic law derived from the Quran and Sunnah.
شَرِيعَة
Sharīʿah
Islamic law
The moral and legal framework derived from the Quran and Hadith.
إِجْتِهَاد
Ijtihād
Independent reasoning
A scholar's effort to derive a ruling when the Quran and Hadith are not explicit.
إِجْمَاع
Ijmāʿ
Scholarly consensus
Agreement among Islamic scholars on a legal or theological point.
قِيَاس
Qiyās
Analogical reasoning
Applying a known ruling to a new situation by analogy.
تَوْحِيد
Tawḥīd
Oneness of God
The most fundamental concept in Islam — God is one and unique.
شِرْك
Shirk
Associating partners with God
The opposite of tawhid — considered the gravest sin in Islam.
بِدْعَة
Bidʿah
Innovation in religion
Introducing new practices into worship that have no basis in the Quran or Sunnah.
جِهَاد
Jihād
Striving / Struggle
Primarily means the inner struggle to be a good person. Also refers to defending justice.
خِلَافَة
Khilāfah
Stewardship / Caliphate
Humans as stewards of the Earth; also the political system after the Prophet.
إِسْنَاد
Isnād
Chain of transmission
The chain of narrators who transmitted a hadith from the Prophet to the compiler.
مَتْن
Matn
Hadith text
The actual content of a hadith, as opposed to the isnad.
صَحِيح
Ṣaḥīḥ
Authentic
The highest grade of hadith reliability.
حَسَن
Ḥasan
Good
A hadith with a reliable but slightly less strong chain of narrators.
ضَعِيف
Ḍaʿīf
Weak
A hadith with issues in its chain of transmission.
مُجْتَهِد
Mujtahid
Independent jurist
A scholar qualified to exercise ijtihad.
مُفَسِّر
Mufassir
Quran commentator
A scholar who writes tafsir (Quranic commentary).
عَقِيدَة
ʿAqīdah
Creed / Belief system
The core theological beliefs that define a Muslim's faith.
نَاسِخ
Nāsikh
Abrogating verse
A later Quranic verse that supersedes an earlier ruling.
مَنْسُوخ
Mansūkh
Abrogated verse
An earlier ruling replaced by a later revelation.
مَكِّيّ
Makkī
Meccan
Surahs revealed in Makkah — usually about faith and the afterlife.
مَدَنِيّ
Madanī
Medinan
Surahs revealed in Madinah — usually about law and community.
أَسْبَاب ٱلنُّزُول
Asbāb al-nuzūl
Reasons for revelation
The historical circumstances that led to specific Quranic verses.
مُتَوَاتِر
Mutawātir
Mass-transmitted
A hadith reported by so many narrators that it is impossible to be fabricated.
آحَاد
Āḥād
Single-chain narration
A hadith reported by only one or a few narrators at some point in the chain.
فَتْوَى
Fatwā
Legal opinion
A ruling on Islamic law issued by a qualified scholar.
مَذْهَب
Madhhab
School of thought
One of the major schools of Islamic jurisprudence (Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i, Hanbali).
مَقَاصِد
Maqāṣid
Objectives / Purposes
The higher objectives of Islamic law (preserving life, intellect, faith, lineage, wealth).
وَحْي
Waḥy
Divine revelation
The way God communicated His message to the prophets.
سِيرَة
Sīrah
Prophetic biography
The life story of Prophet Muhammad.
خُطْبَة
Khuṭbah
Sermon
The sermon delivered before Friday prayer.
إِعْجَاز
Iʿjāz
Inimitability
The miraculous nature of the Quran — its style cannot be replicated.
بَلَاغَة
Balāghah
Eloquence / Rhetoric
The art of beautiful and effective expression in Arabic.
تَزْكِيَة
Tazkiyah
Purification of the soul
The process of spiritual growth and self-improvement.
زُهْد
Zuhd
Asceticism / Detachment
Not being attached to worldly possessions and pleasures.
تَصَوُّف
Taṣawwuf
Sufism / Islamic mysticism
The inner, spiritual dimension of Islam focused on the heart.
وَلِيّ
Walī
Friend of God / Saint
A person close to God through faith and devotion.