Ummah(ˈʊmə; أمة ˈʊmːæ) is an Arabic word meaning "community". It is distinguished from (شعب ʃæʕb), which means a nation with common ancestry or geography. Thus, it can be said to be a supra-national community with a common history. It is a synonym for (أمة الإسلام, 'the Islamic community'); it is commonly used to mean the collective community of Islamic people. In the Quran the ummah typically refers to a single group that shares common religious beliefs, specifically those that are the objects of a divine plan of salvation.
Hadith terminologyHadith terminology (muṣṭalaḥu l-ḥadīth) is the body of terminology in Islam which specifies the acceptability of the sayings (hadith) attributed to the Islamic prophet Muhammad by other early Islamic figures of significance such as the companions and followers/successors. Individual terms distinguish between those hadith considered rightfully attributed to their source or detail the faults of those of dubious provenance. Formally, it has been defined by Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani as: "knowledge of the principles by which the condition of the narrator and the narrated are determined.
SurahA surah (ˈsʊərə; sūrah, سور, ), is the equivalent of "chapter" in the Qur'an. There are 114 surahs in the Quran, each divided into ayats (verses). The chapters or surahs are of unequal length; the shortest surah (Al-Kawthar) has only three verses while the longest (Al-Baqara) contains 286 verses. Of the 114 chapters in the Quran, 86 are classified as Meccan, as they were revealed before the Hijrah, while 28 are Medinan, as they were revealed after.
Tabi'unThe tābiʿūn (اَلتَّابِعُونَ, also accusative or genitive tābiʿīn اَلتَّابِعِينَ, singular tābiʿ تَابِعٌ), "followers" or "successors", are the generation of Muslims who followed the companions (ṣaḥāba) of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and thus received their teachings secondhand. A tābiʿ knew at least one ṣaḥābī. As such, they played an important part in the development of Islamic thought and knowledge, and in the political development of the early caliphate.
WuduWuḍūʾ (الوضوء ALA-LC wʊˈdʕuːʔ) is the Islamic procedure for cleansing parts of the body, a type of ritual purification, or ablution. The 4 Fardh (Mandatory) acts of Wudu are: washing the face, then the arms, then wiping the head, then washing or wiping the feet, and doing these in order, without any big breaks between them. Wudu is an important part of ritual purity in Islam. It is governed by fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence), which specifies rules concerning hygiene and defines the rituals that constitute it.
TaqlidTaqlid (Arabic تَقْليد taqlīd) is an Islamic term denoting the conformity of one person to the teaching of another. The person who performs taqlid is termed muqallid. The definite meaning of the term varies depending on context and age. Classical usage of the term differs between Sunni Islam and Shia Islam. Sunni Islamic usage designates the unjustified conformity of one person to the teaching of another, rather than the justified conformity of a layperson to the teaching of mujtahid (a person who is qualified for independent reasoning).
GhuslALA (غسل DIN, ˈɣʊsl) is an Arabic term to the full-body ritual purification mandatory before the performance of various rituals and prayers, for any adult Muslim after sexual intercourse (i.e. it is mustahabb) before Friday prayer and prayers for Islamic holidays, before entering the ihram in preparation for Hajj, after having lost consciousness, and after formally converting. Sunni Muslims also perform the ablution before Salat al-Tawba "Prayer of Repentance".
Kutub al-SittahThe Kutub al-Sitta (Al-Kutub as-Sitta) are six (originally five) books containing collections of hadith (sayings or acts of the Islamic prophet Muhammad) compiled by six Sunni Muslim scholars in the ninth century CE, approximately two centuries after the death of Prophet Muhammad. They are sometimes referred to as al-Sihah al-Sittah, which translates as "The Authentic Six". Since then, they have enjoyed near-universal acceptance as part of the official canon of Sunni Islam. The sixth book is disputed in Sunni Muslim jurisprudence.
