Malfuzat - Volume VII — Page 538
Malfuzat - English translation of Urdu Volume 7 538 Ramadan The ninth month of the lu- nar calendar, in which fasting is pre- scribed for all adult, able-bodied Muslims, except those traveling, ill, pregnant, or nursing. Rub u biyyat Lit. Providence. Allah’s at- tribute of sustaining or nurturing. Sahib A title of respect similar to di- verse English terms like Mister, Hon- ourable, and Revered. S al a t Five daily Prayers that are obliga- tory for Muslims. Shariah Religious law of Islam. The term is also used in the general sense of any revealed law. Shirk Associating partners with God. Sufi A Muslim focusing on mystical and ascetic aspects of religious worship. Sunnah In the context of the for- mal Prayer, refers to those rak‘ a t that the Holy Prophet s as offered but are not prescribed as obligatory and are dropped while travelling. Sunnah rak‘ a t are offered regularly by practic- ing Muslims. S u rah A chapter of the Holy Quran. Tabi‘ i n The generation of pious Mus- lims after the generations of the Com- panions. Ta h ajjud Early morning supereroga- tory prayers. Taqw a Righteousness. Fear of God. Tasb ih Expressing glory of God by re- citing Sub ha nAll a h [Holy is Allah] Tau hi d The Oneness of God—the fun- damental Islamic belief that there is no one worthy of worship except Al- lah. Tirmidh i A book which contains collections of a ha d i th. Ulema A class of Muslim scholars. Ummat-e-Mu h amadiyyah The com- munity or followers of the Holy Prophet Muhammad s as. Ummat i A follower of Holy Prophet s as. Vedas The most ancient Hindu scrip- tures, written in Sanskrit and contain- ing hymns, philosophy, and guidance on ritual for the priests of the Vedic religion. Wa hi Divine revelation from God, used interchangeably with ilh a m in Islamic terminology. Wal i Literally, ‘friend’. In the terminol- ogy of Islamic mysticism, it refers to a very pious person or a friend of Allah. The singular form is wal i [friend] or wal i yyull a h [friend of Allah], the plu- ral form is auliya’ull a h which is some- times abbreviated as auliy a’. Zak a t The fourth pillar in Islam known as obligatory almsgiving, which con- stitutes the social support system in Islam for the distribution of wealth. The poor and needy are provided for by the contributions of the rich and affluent. Literally means, ‘increase’ or ‘purification. ’ Z uhr Lit. midday, noon. Refers to the early afternoon Prayer (one of the five daily Prayers in Islam).