Understanding Salat — Page 234
Understanding S al A t 234 Prophet sas has expounded that ihsan means to worship God as though one can see Him, and if this is not possible, then at least to stand before Him in worship knowing that He can see you. Jalsah– A sitting, a gathering. Jamā‘at –Community. Although the word Jam a ‘at may refer to any community, in this book Jam a ‘at generally refers to the Worldwide Ahmadiyya Mus- lim Jam a ‘at. Jilsah –The Sitting position which occurs in between two prostra- tions during Prayer. Kab i r– Great in body, or in age, or in knowledge, or in rank or dig- nity. Kalimah –The declaration of the Islamic faith: L a il a ha illallah Mu h ammadur-Ras u lullah, ‘There is no one worthy of wor- ship except Allah; Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. ’ Khal i fatul Mas i h –Caliph is de- rived from the Arabic word khal i fah, which herein means ‘successor’. Khulaf a ’ is the plu- ral of Khalifah. In many di- vine revelations someone com- missioned by God Almighty is referred to as His Khalifah. In Islamic terminology, the title ‘Khal i fa-e-R a shid’ [righteous Khalifah] is applied to each of the first four Khulaf a ’ who continued the mission of the Holy Prophet Muhammad sas. Ahmadi Muslims refer to each successor of the Promised Mes- siah as as Khal i fatul Mas i h. Khilafat –The institution of suc- cessorship in Islam. Lailatul Qadr –Literally, ‘Night of Destiny’. Generally understood to mean a blessed night during the last ten days of the Islamic month of Ramadan. It also de- notes another time period, when the spread of darkness de- mands that a light should de- scend from heaven. Then God Almighty sends down to earth His angels of light and Rūhul- Qudus [the Holy Spirit] in a manner that befits the dignity of angels. Masjid– A mosque, A place where Muslims assembles to perform congregational prayers. Nafs –A term in Arabic that liter- ally means ‘self ’. Naw a fil –Optional or