Terms

An alphabetical guide to the technical language used throughout Tafsīr Scholar, covering Qurʾānic studies, Arabic language, hadith, law, worship, and the generations of Muslim scholarship.

How to read an entry. The Arabic comes first, followed by transliteration, a plain English label, the discipline, and a concise definition. Terms with the same spelling but different technical meanings are kept separate.

156 terms.

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الْعَهْد وَالْجِنْسʿahd and jins · particular and generic reference Arabic language. Two uses of the definite article أَلْ (al-). With ʿahd, it identifies something already known to the speaker and listener, whether previously mentioned or understood from the situation. With jins, it refers to a kind or class. Depending on the context, this may encompass its members or describe the kind itself. The context determines which meaning is intended.

أَهْلُ الْقَرَابَةahl al-qarāba · the proximity school Fiqh. One of the two schools on how a remote blood relative, ذُو رَحِم (dhū raḥim), inherits when eligible. It ranks these relatives by their closeness to the deceased, using an order comparable to that applied to ʿaṣabah, heirs who take the estate or what remains after fixed shares. Each relative is ranked directly rather than assigned the share of the ordinary heir through whom the relationship runs. Al-Nawawī compares the two methods in Rawḍat al-ṭālibīn.

أَهْلُ التَّنْزِيلahl al-tanzīl · the substitution school Fiqh. One of the two schools on how a remote blood relative, ذُو رَحِم (dhū raḥim), inherits when eligible. Each claimant is placed in the position of the ordinary heir through whom the relationship to the deceased runs and receives the share that heir would have received. Ibn Qudāma reports this as the Ḥanbalī position; al-Sarakhsī uses the name for the same method.

الْعَهْد الْعِلْمِيّ الذِّهْنِيّal-ʿahd al-ʿilmī al-dhihnī · reference to something already known Arabic language. Using a definite expression for something the speaker and listener already know, even if it has not just been mentioned.

الِاخْتِصَاصal-ikhtiṣāṣ · specifying who is meant Arabic language. A construction that adds a noun after a pronoun to specify the people or group intended. The noun takes the accusative case, as though the speaker had said “I mean” or “I specify.”

الِاسْتِغْرَاقal-istighrāq · exhaustive inclusion Arabic language. Including every member or instance of a class. The Arabic definite article can convey this meaning when “all” can take its place without changing the intended sense.

الْجَارُّ وَالْمَجْرُورُal-jārr wa-l-majrūr · prepositional phrase Arabic language. A preposition together with the noun or pronoun that follows it. Together they express a relationship such as location, source or purpose and attach to another part of the sentence.

عَلَامَةٌ ظَاهِرَةʿalāmah ẓāhirah · expressed grammatical ending Arabic language. A grammatical ending that is pronounced, such as كَسْرَة (kasrah, an i-vowel), ضَمَّة (ḍammah, a u-vowel), or فَتْحَة (fatḥah, an a-vowel).

أَلِف لَام التَّعْرِيفalif-lām al-taʿrīf · definite article Arabic language. The prefix أَلْ (al-) attached to a noun to make it definite, often corresponding to “the” in English.

عَامِلʿāmil · grammatical governor Arabic language. A word or an understood grammatical relationship that determines another word’s grammatical ending.

أَمْرamr · command Arabic language. An expression directing the person addressed to do something. Depending on who is speaking and the context, a command form can also convey a request or supplication.

أَسْبَاب النُّزُولasbāb al-nuzūl · occasions of revelation Qurʾānic studies. Events or questions in connection with which particular verses were revealed. Reports about these occasions help explain the setting and the people or circumstances being addressed.

أَثَرathar · transmitted report Hadith. A report from an earlier authority. In hadith scholarship, the term often refers to a saying or action of a Companion or Successor, though some scholars also use it for Prophetic reports.

آيَةāyah · verse Qurʾānic studies. A verse of the Qurʾān within a sūrah, or chapter. Its beginning and ending belong to the transmitted division of the Qurʾān.

بَاء الِاسْتِعَانَةbāʾ al-istiʿāna · bāʾ of assistance Arabic language. The Arabic preposition bāʾ used to express seeking help or to identify the means used for an action, as in writing “with a pen.”

بَاء الْمُصَاحَبَةbāʾ al-muṣāḥaba · bāʾ of accompaniment Arabic language. The Arabic preposition bāʾ used to show that something accompanies an action or is present with it.

بَاب الِاسْتِفْعَالbāb al-istifʿāl · Form X verb pattern Arabic language. The verb pattern whose regular model is istafʿala and whose action noun is istifʿāl. Istaqāma, “to be upright,” belongs to this pattern, with a change caused by its weak root letter.

بَدَلbadal · substitute expression Arabic language. A word or phrase that follows another and is itself the intended subject of the statement about it, without an intervening conjunction. In “Your brother Zayd arrived,” “Zayd” identifies the person whose arrival is being reported.

بَلَاغَةbalāgha · eloquence and rhetoric Arabic language. Expressing a meaning clearly and appropriately for its audience and situation. The study of balāgha examines word order, figurative expression, emphasis and other features that shape how a meaning is conveyed.

الْبَيَانbayān · figurative expression Rhetoric. The branch of Arabic rhetoric that studies ways of expressing a meaning through comparison, figurative language and indirect expression, with different degrees of explicitness.

ضَعِيفḍaʿīf · weak Hadith. A hadith that lacks one or more conditions required for acceptance as ṣaḥīḥ, sound, or ḥasan, good. Weakness may concern its chain, its transmitters or the report itself.

ضَمِيرٌ مُسْتَتِرḍamīr mustatir · concealed pronoun Arabic language. A pronoun that is understood from the verb without being separately spoken or written.

ضَمِيرٌ مُتَّصِلḍamīr muttaṣil · attached pronoun Arabic language. A pronoun joined to another word and written as part of it.

دُعَاءduʿāʾ · supplication Arabic language. Calling upon Allah and asking Him for help, forgiveness or another need. In the study of expression, a request made by an inferior to a superior is also called duʿāʾ.

فَاعِلfāʿil · verbal subject Arabic language. The grammatical subject of an active verb: the person or thing to which its action or state is attributed.

فَرْضfarḍ · obligatory act Fiqh. An act that Islamic law requires a person to perform when its conditions apply. Deliberately leaving it without a valid excuse is sinful.

فِعْلfiʿl · verb Arabic language. A word expressing an action or state together with a time reference. Arabic verbs have past, imperfect and imperative forms; context helps determine their precise time and force.

فِعْلٌ مَاضٍfiʿl māḍin · past-tense verb Arabic language. A verb form that presents an action as completed.

فِعْل مَحْذُوفfiʿl maḥdhūf · omitted verb Arabic language. A verb left unspoken because the wording or situation makes it understood. A grammatical explanation may supply it to show how the sentence is constructed.

فِقْهfiqh · Islamic jurisprudence Fiqh. Understanding the practical rulings of Islamic law from their supporting evidence.

غَرِيبgharīb · singly transmitted Hadith. A hadith transmitted by only one narrator at some point in its chain. The term describes its transmission; a gharīb hadith may be authentic or weak.

الْحَذْفḥadhf · omission Arabic language. Leaving a word or expression unstated when its meaning can be understood. One reason is that the omitted meaning is already known, making its repetition unnecessary. This is called الْحَذْفُ لِلْعِلْمِ بِالْمَحْذُوف (al-ḥadhf li-l-ʿilm bi-l-maḥdhūf), omission because what has been left out is known. Al-Maydānī includes this among the reasons for omission.

حَدِيثḥadīth · Prophetic report Hadith. A report of the Prophet’s ﷺ words, actions, approvals or characteristics. Approval includes something done in his presence or brought to his knowledge that he accepted.

حَالḥāl · circumstance Arabic language. A word or clause describing the state of a person or thing when an action takes place. A single-word ḥāl normally takes the accusative form, called naṣb.

حَالٌ مُؤَكِّدَةٌḥāl muʾakkidah · confirming circumstance Arabic language. A ḥāl, a grammatical expression of circumstance, that confirms a meaning already conveyed by the sentence rather than adding a new circumstance.

حَمْدَلَḥamdala · to say “al-ḥamdu lillāh” Arabic language. A verb meaning to say al-ḥamdu lillāh, “All praise belongs to Allah.” The verb is formed from words in that phrase.

هَمْزَة وَصْلhamzat waṣl · connecting hamza Arabic language. A hamza pronounced when beginning with a word, but not pronounced when that word is joined to what precedes it.

حَرْفُ عَطْفٍḥarf ʿaṭf · coordinating conjunction Arabic language. A particle that joins words, phrases or clauses. The particular conjunction indicates the relationship between them, such as addition, sequence or choice.

حَرْفُ جَرٍّḥarf jarr · preposition Arabic language. A particle that connects a noun or pronoun to another part of the sentence. The noun after it takes the genitive case, called jarr; a pronoun occupies the same grammatical position.

حَسَنḥasan · good Hadith. An accepted hadith whose transmitters are trustworthy but whose accuracy falls below the level required for ṣaḥīḥ, sound. Its chain is connected, and it has no contradiction of stronger transmission or hidden defect that undermines it.

إِضَافَةiḍāfah · noun construction expressing a relationship Arabic language. A construction joining a noun to another noun or pronoun, as in “the servant of Allah.” The first noun is the muḍāf; the second part is the muḍāf ilayh. The relationship can express possession, association or another connection.

إِيجَاز الْقِصَرījāz al-qiṣar · brevity without omission Rhetoric. Expressing much meaning in few words without relying on omitted wording. The richness comes from the words themselves and how they are combined.

إِجْمَاعijmāʿ · scholarly consensus Legal theory. The agreement of all qualified Muslim jurists of a particular period after the Prophet’s ﷺ death on an Islamic legal ruling.

الْإِلْصَاقilṣāq · attachment Arabic language. The connection expressed by the Arabic preposition bāʾ, whether physical contact or a connection understood from the meaning.

الِالْتِفَاتiltifāt · shift in grammatical person Rhetoric. A shift between speaking about someone, addressing them directly and speaking in the first person. The change gives the expression an effect suited to its context.

الْتِمَاسiltimās · request between equals Arabic language. A request addressed by one person to another of equal standing, rather than an order from a superior.

إِعْرَابiʿrāb · grammatical analysis Arabic language. Identifying the grammatical role of each word and explaining its ending. This includes endings that change with the word’s role and the grammatical position of words whose endings remain fixed.

إِشَارَةishāra · spiritual allusion Qurʾānic studies. A spiritual meaning drawn from Qurʾānic wording alongside its direct meaning. An acceptable allusion does not cancel or contradict that direct meaning.

اشْتِقَاقishtiqāq · derivation Arabic language. The relationship between words that share root letters and a connected meaning, or the formation of one such word from another.

اسْمism · name; noun Arabic language. The Arabic word for a name. In grammar, it is the word class that includes nouns, pronouns and adjectives, as distinct from verbs and particles.

اِسْمُ فَاعِلٍism fāʿil · active participle Arabic language. A word derived from a verb that describes the person or thing performing its action, such as “writer” from “write.”

اسْم جِنْسism jins · generic noun Arabic language. A noun that names a kind of thing rather than one particular individual, such as “human” or “horse.”

اِسْمُ مَفْعُولٍism mafʿūl · passive participle Arabic language. A word derived from a verb that describes the person or thing to which the action is done, such as “written” from “write.”

اِسْمٌ مَوْصُولٌism mawṣūl · relative pronoun Arabic language. A word such as “who,” “which” or “that,” followed by a clause identifying the person or thing meant.

اِسْمُ تَفْضِيلٍism tafḍīl · comparative or superlative form Arabic language. A form used to express “more” or “most” of a quality, such as “closer” or “closest.” Its precise meaning depends on the construction and context.

إِسْنَادisnād · chain of transmission Hadith. The sequence of transmitters through whom a report reaches the person recording it. Each link identifies who received the report from whom.

الاسْتِعَارَةistiʿāra · metaphor Arabic language. Using a word for something other than its usual referent because the two share a quality. The comparison is implied rather than stated with “like” or “as.”

الاسْتِئْنَاف الابْتِدَائِيّistiʾnāf ibtidāʾī · starting a new statement Arabic language. Beginning a grammatically independent sentence that opens a subject, rather than continuing the preceding sentence or answering a question it raises. Its connection with what precedes it is understood from the meaning.

الإِطْنَابiṭnāb · purposeful elaboration Arabic language. Expressing a meaning at greater length for a reason, such as clarifying a point, removing ambiguity or emphasizing it. The additional wording serves the meaning; unnecessary repetition does not qualify.

الْجَبْرِيَّةJabriyyah · those who deny human choice Theology. A name used for heretics who held that people are compelled in their actions and have no real choice. Their view denies that people act through a will and ability of their own.

جَمْعُ مُذَكَّرٍ سَالِمٌjamʿ mudhakkar sālim · sound masculine plural Arabic language. A plural formed by adding -ūna or -īna to the singular form without breaking up its basic structure. The ending changes with its grammatical position: -ūna in the nominative, and -īna in the accusative and genitive.

الجِنَاس المُغَايِرjinās mughāyir · wordplay with differing forms Arabic language. Bringing together words that resemble one another in sound but differ in form and meaning. Their resemblance draws attention to the connection or contrast between their meanings.

جُمْلَة اسْمِيَّةjumlah ismiyyah · nominal sentence Arabic language. A sentence built around a subject and what is said about it. In “Allah is merciful,” “Allah” is the subject and “merciful” is the predicate.

خَبَرkhabar · predicate; statement Arabic language. In grammar, the part that completes what is said about the subject: “merciful” in “Allah is merciful.” In the study of expression, khabar also means a statement, as distinct from a command or question.

خَبَر بِمَعْنَى الْأَمْرkhabar bi-maʿnā al-amr · statement conveying a command Arabic language. Wording presented as a statement that conveys an instruction. Its grammatical form states something, while its intended force directs the listener to act.

خَبَرٌ مُقَدَّمٌkhabar muqaddam · fronted predicate Arabic language. The part of a nominal sentence that tells us something about its subject, placed before that subject. This reverses the usual subject–predicate order.

الكِنَايَةkināya · indirect expression Arabic language. Naming something in order to suggest a meaning associated with it, without stating that intended meaning directly. The literal meaning remains possible.

لَا بَأْسَ بِهِlā baʾsa bihi · acceptable Hadith. An assessment indicating acceptance. When applied to an isnād, the chain of transmitters, it describes that chain as acceptable.

لَفْظlafẓ · wording Hadith. The particular words in which a hadith is transmitted. Different transmissions may preserve different wordings.

لَازِمlāzim · intransitive verb Arabic language. A verb used without a direct object. It may still be followed by a prepositional phrase or another expression that completes the meaning.

مَبْنِيّmabnī · fixed grammatical ending Arabic language. A word whose ending stays fixed rather than changing with its grammatical position. Its position in the sentence can still be identified even though the ending does not change.

مَبْنِيٌّ عَلَى الْفَتْحِmabnī ʿalā al-fatḥ · fixed on fatḥah Arabic language. A word with a fixed final fatḥah, the short “a” vowel, rather than a changing grammatical ending. This description is not limited to past-tense verbs.

مَبْنِيٌّ لِلْمَعْلُومِmabnī li-l-maʿlūm · active voice Arabic language. A verb form in which the subject performs the action. The subject may be named, expressed by an attached pronoun or understood from the verb.

مَذْهَبmadhhab · school of Islamic law Fiqh. A tradition of Islamic legal scholarship associated with an imam and developed by later jurists. It includes methods for understanding evidence and rulings on particular questions.

مَفْعُولٌ بِهِmafʿūl bihi · direct object Arabic language. The person or thing to which the action of a transitive verb is directed. A noun serving as a direct object normally takes the accusative case, called naṣb.

مَفْعُولٌ مُطْلَقٌmafʿūl muṭlaq · verbal noun used for emphasis or specification Arabic language. A verbal noun, or an expression taking its place, used to emphasize an action or specify its kind or number. It normally takes the accusative case, called naṣb.

مَجْرُورmajrūr · genitive case Arabic language. Describes a noun in the grammatical state called jarr. This occurs after a preposition or when the noun is the second part of an iḍāfa, a construction joining two nouns, such as “the owner of the house.”

مَنْصُوبmanṣūb · accusative grammatical state Arabic language. Describes a word in the grammatical state called naṣb. For nouns, this includes uses such as a direct object or an expression of circumstance. For present-tense verbs, naṣb is the subjunctive state, governed by particular particles or constructions.

مَرْفُوعmarfūʿ · nominative grammatical state Arabic language. Describes a word in the grammatical state called rafʿ. For nouns, this includes the subject of a verb and the subject and predicate of a simple nominal sentence. For present-tense verbs, rafʿ is the indicative state.

مَرْفُوعmarfūʿ · attributed to the Prophet Hadith. A report attributed to the Prophet ﷺ: a statement, action, approval or characteristic. The label identifies whom the report concerns; its reliability is assessed separately.

مَعْرِفَةmaʿrifah · definite expression Arabic language. A noun or expression that identifies who or what is meant. Personal names, pronouns and nouns made definite by the article al- are among its forms.

مَصْدَرmaṣdar · action noun Arabic language. A noun naming an action or state without itself specifying when it occurs, such as “writing” or “knowledge.”

مَصْدَرٌ مُؤَكِّدٌmaṣdar muʾakkid · emphasizing verbal noun Arabic language. A verbal noun used to reinforce an action or meaning already expressed or understood from the sentence. It emphasizes that meaning without specifying a new kind or number of the action.

مَصْدَر سَمَاعِيّmaṣdar samāʿī · action noun learned from usage Arabic language. An action noun whose form is established by recorded Arabic usage, rather than determined solely by a regular formation rule.

مَتْنmatn · text of a report Hadith. The words of a hadith or other report, as distinct from the chain naming the people who transmitted it.

مَوْقُوفmawqūf · attributed to a Companion Hadith. A report of a Companion’s saying or action that is not expressly attributed to the Prophet ﷺ.

مُبْتَدَأmubtadaʾ · subject of a nominal sentence Arabic language. The noun or pronoun about which something is stated in a nominal sentence. In “Allah is merciful,” “Allah” is the subject.

مُبْتَدَأٌ مُؤَخَّرٌmubtadaʾ muʾakhkhar · subject placed after its predicate Arabic language. The subject of a nominal sentence when it comes after the predicate, the part that tells us something about it. The description concerns word order; the subject keeps its grammatical role.

مُضَافmuḍāf · first noun in an iḍāfah Arabic language. The first noun in a construction linking it to another noun or pronoun. In “the servant of Allah,” “servant” is the muḍāf.

مُضَاف إِلَيْهmuḍāf ilayh · completing term in an iḍāfah Arabic language. The noun or pronoun that completes a construction such as “the servant of Allah.” It occupies the genitive position, called jarr in Arabic grammar.

الْمُلَابَسَةmulābasa · association Arabic language. A connection in which one thing accompanies or is bound up with another. Grammarians use the term when explaining the relationship conveyed by expressions such as the preposition bāʾ.

مُنَادَى مُضَافmunādā muḍāf · noun of address joined to a completing term Arabic language. A noun used to address someone and linked to another noun or pronoun, as in “O servant of Allah.” In Arabic, this noun of address takes the accusative case.

مُنَاسَبَةmunāsabah · connection between passages Qurʾānic studies. The relationship between verses, passages or sūrahs. Studying this relationship explains how one passage follows another and how their subjects and meanings connect.

المُقَابَلَةmuqābala · paired contrasts Arabic language. Placing two or more meanings together, then following them with corresponding contrasts in the same order. Each element in the second group answers an element in the first.

مُرْسَلmursal · Successor’s report with an omitted link Hadith. A report in which a Tābiʿī—a Muslim who met a Companion but not the Prophet ﷺ—attributes something directly to the Prophet ﷺ without naming the intervening transmitter or transmitters.

مُتَوَاتِرmutawātir · transmitted by a multitude Transmission. A report conveyed by so many transmitters at every stage that their agreement upon a lie is not reasonably conceivable. It rests on something heard or witnessed.

مُثَنًّىmuthannā · dual form Arabic language. A form referring to two people or things. In nouns, its usual endings are -āni in the nominative and -ayni in the accusative and genitive.

النَّحْتnaḥt · forming a word from a phrase Arabic language. Creating one word by combining parts of two or more words. Basmala, formed from bism Allāh, is an example.

نَحْوnaḥw · sentence grammar Arabic language. The study of how words combine into Arabic sentences. It identifies their grammatical roles and explains how their relationships affect endings and meaning.

نَكِرَةnakirah · indefinite noun Arabic language. A noun that names a person or thing without identifying a particular one, such as “a man” or “a book.” Its precise reference is supplied by the context.

نَصْبnaṣb · accusative case; subjunctive mood Arabic language. A grammatical state of Arabic nouns and imperfect verbs. For nouns, it includes the accusative case used for a direct object. For imperfect verbs, it follows certain governing particles. Its visible marker varies with the word’s form.

نَصْب عَلَى الْقَطْعnaṣb ʿalā al-qaṭʿ · accusative through detachment Arabic language. Giving a description the accusative case instead of making it follow the preceding noun’s case. An omitted verb such as “I mean” or “I praise” is understood, according to the context.

نَسْخnaskh · abrogation Qurʾānic and legal theory. The ending of an earlier Islamic legal ruling by later revelation. Establishing naskh requires evidence that the later ruling replaces the earlier one; an apparent difference between two texts is not sufficient.

نَعْتnaʿt · adjectival description Arabic language. A word or phrase that describes a noun. A single-word adjective normally follows the noun it describes and agrees with it in grammatical case and definiteness, with gender and number governed by the type of description.

نَظْمnaẓm · wording and arrangement Qurʾānic studies. The arrangement of words, clauses and passages and the relationships between them. Studying naẓm considers how that arrangement contributes to the meaning of the whole passage.

قَصْرqaṣr · restriction or exclusivity Rhetoric. Restricting a quality, action or relationship to something specified, while excluding alternatives. Its precise scope depends on the wording and context.

قَطْعqaṭʿ · grammatical detachment Arabic language. Treating a description as a separate grammatical expression instead of making it follow the preceding noun. An understood subject or verb accounts for its new grammatical position.

قِرَاءَةqirāʾah · Qurʾānic reading Qurʾānic readings. A transmitted manner of reciting the Qurʾān associated with a recognized imam of recitation. It includes the wording and pronunciation transmitted through that reading’s narrators.

قِرَاءَاتqirāʾāt · Qurʾānic readings Qurʾānic readings. The plural of qirāʾah: transmitted manners of reciting the Qurʾān. The differences include pronunciation, vowels and, in some places, the form of a word.

قِيَاسqiyās · legal analogy Legal theory. Applying an established ruling to another case because both share the reason on which the ruling depends. That reason is called the ʿillah, the effective cause.

رَكْعَةrakʿah · unit of prayer Worship. One unit of the prescribed prayer, normally consisting of standing with recitation, bowing, rising from bowing and two prostrations with sitting between them.

رِوَايَةriwāya · transmitted account Transmission. An account passed down from an authority. In discussions of a scholar’s legal views, it means a reported version of that scholar’s position.

الرُّقْيَةruqyah · healing recitation or supplication Worship. Recitation or supplication through which a person seeks healing and protection from Allah.

رُوَاةruwāh · recitation transmitters Qurʾānic readings. Those who preserve and transmit Qurʾānic readings from their teachers. The singular is rāwī, “transmitter.”

صَحَابِيṢaḥābī · Companion Generations. A person who met the Prophet ﷺ while believing in him and died as a Muslim.

صَحِيحṣaḥīḥ · sound Hadith. A hadith with a connected chain of trustworthy, accurate transmitters, free from contradiction of stronger transmission and from a hidden defect that undermines its reliability.

سَكْتsakt · brief pause without a breath Qurʾānic readings. A brief pause in Qurʾānic recitation without taking a breath, followed by continuation of the recitation.

سَنَدsanad · chain of transmission Hadith. The sequence of transmitters linking a report to its source. In hadith scholarship, sanad commonly means the same as isnād.

صَرْفṣarf · word formation Arabic language. The study of Arabic word forms: their root letters, patterns and changes, and the meanings those forms express. It includes the formation of verbs and derived nouns.

شَاذّshādhdh · irregular report or noncanonical reading Qurʾānic readings and Hadith. In hadith, a report from an otherwise acceptable narrator that conflicts with stronger transmission. In Qurʾānic readings, a reading outside the accepted canonical readings.

صِفَة مُشَبَّهَةṣifah mushabbahah · adjective of an established quality Arabic language. A descriptive form that presents a quality as established in its bearer, rather than focusing on a particular occurrence of an action.

صِلَةُ الْمَوْصُولِṣilat al-mawṣūl · relative clause Arabic language. The clause that follows a relative pronoun, such as “who” or “which,” and completes its meaning by identifying the person or thing intended.

صِيَغ الْمُبَالَغَةṣiyagh al-mubālaghah · intensive forms Arabic language. Word patterns that express an action or quality with particular force, frequency or abundance. The intended emphasis depends on the word and its context.

سُنَّةSunnah · the Prophet’s way Islamic studies. The Prophet’s ﷺ teaching and practice, known through his words, actions and approvals. When jurists classify acts, sunnah can also mean an act that is recommended rather than obligatory.

سُورَةsūrah · chapter of the Qurʾān Qurʾānic studies. One of the 114 chapters of the Qurʾān. Each sūrah consists of a transmitted sequence of verses.

تَعَلُّقtaʿalluq · grammatical attachment Arabic language. The connection of a prepositional or adverbial phrase to the verb or other expression whose meaning it completes. Identifying this connection explains what the phrase modifies.

تَابِعِيTābiʿī · Successor Generations. A Muslim who met a Companion of the Prophet ﷺ and died as a Muslim, without having met the Prophet ﷺ as a believer.

التَّذْيِيلtadhyīl · concluding reinforcement Arabic language. Following a statement with another statement that confirms its meaning, often by expressing a broader principle. The closing statement reinforces the point just made.

تَفْسِيرtafsīr · explanation of the Qurʾān Qurʾānic studies. Explaining the meanings of the Qurʾān through its language and context, other Qurʾānic passages, hadith and the explanations of the early Muslims.

تَغْلِيبtaghlīb · giving one form precedence Arabic language. Referring to a mixed group by the name or grammatical form of one part of it. That form includes the other members of the group as well.

تَخْرِيجtakhrīj · tracing a hadith to its sources Hadith. Locating a hadith in the works that record it and identifying its chains of transmission. A takhrīj may also give scholars’ assessments of the report’s reliability.

تَمْجِيدtamjīd · glorifying Arabic language. Praising greatness and majesty. When directed to Allah, it expresses His perfect glory and greatness.

التَّمْثِيلtamthīl · illustrative comparison Arabic language. Presenting a meaning through a pictured situation or comparing one whole situation with another. The illustration helps the reader grasp the relationship between the parts, rather than a resemblance between isolated words.

التَّمْيِيزtamyīz · specifying expression Arabic language. An indefinite noun, normally in the accusative, that removes ambiguity about a quantity or the respect in which a statement applies. It clarifies what is being counted, measured or described.

تَنْكِير النَّوْعِيَّةtankīr al-nawʿiyya · indefiniteness indicating a kind Arabic language. Using an indefinite noun to indicate a kind or type of something. The context shows the intended kind.

تَنْوِينtanwīn · nunation Arabic language. A final n-sound added to a noun in pronunciation and represented in writing by a doubled vowel sign. The three forms are -un, -an and -in; they are not written with the letter nūn.

التَّقْدِيمtaqdīm · placing a word earlier Arabic language. Placing a word or phrase before its usual position in a sentence. Depending on the context, this can draw attention to it, give it priority or restrict the meaning to it.

تَقْدِيرtaqdīr · identifying understood wording Arabic language. Explaining a grammatical construction by identifying wording that is understood but not spoken.

تَقْوَىtaqwā · mindfulness of Allah Spiritual ethics. Being mindful of Allah. Taqwā is the measure of honour before Him, rather than ancestry or inherited status.

تَرْغِيبtarghīb · encouragement through hope Rhetoric. Encouraging a person to do good by making its benefits and promised reward desirable.

تَرْهِيبtarhīb · warning through fear Rhetoric. Warning a person against wrongdoing by drawing attention to its harm or threatened punishment.

تَعْرِيف الْجِنْسtaʿrīf al-jins · identifying a kind Arabic language. Using the Arabic definite article to speak about a kind of thing as such, rather than one particular member of that kind.

طَرِيقṭarīq · transmission route Qurʾānic readings. An established route through which a Qurʾānic reading is transmitted from its narrator through later teachers. The plural is ṭuruq.

تَوْفِيقtawfīq · Allah’s help in doing what is right Theology. Allah’s help that enables a person to recognize the truth and act upon it.

تَوْحِيدtawḥīd · affirming Allah’s exclusive right to be worshipped Theology. Affirming that Allah alone deserves worship and directing all worship to Him alone.

تَوْحِيدُ الْأَسْمَاءِ وَالصِّفَاتtawḥīd al-asmāʾ wa-l-ṣifāt · oneness in the names and attributes Theology. Affirming Allah’s oneness in His names and attributes.

تَوْحِيدُ الرُّبُوبِيَّةtawḥīd al-rubūbiyyah · oneness in lordship Theology. Affirming that Allah alone is Lord.

تَوْحِيدُ الْأُلُوهِيَّةtawḥīd al-ulūhiyyah · oneness in the right to worship Theology. Affirming that Allah alone has the right to be worshipped.

التَّوْكِيدtawkīd · emphasis Arabic language. Reinforcing what is said through repetition, an emphatic word or a grammatical construction. Its purpose may be to confirm a statement, remove doubt or answer a denial.

ثَنَاءthanāʾ · extolling Arabic language. Praise that is repeated or expanded by mentioning further qualities worthy of praise, especially Allah’s beautiful names and exalted attributes.

ثُلَاثِيٌّ مُجَرَّدٌthulāthī mujarrad · basic three-letter verb Arabic language. A verb whose basic form contains three root letters and no added derivational letters. In the common numbered system of Arabic verb forms, this is Form I.

الطِّبَاقṭibāq · bringing opposites together Arabic language. Bringing two opposite meanings together in an expression, such as life and death or giving and withholding. Their contrast makes the distinction between them more apparent.

عُمُوم وَخُصُوصʿumūm wa-khuṣūṣ · generality and particularity Arabic language. The relationship between meanings according to what they include. One meaning may include everything covered by another and more; alternatively, the two may overlap, with each including something the other does not.

أُصُول الفِقْهuṣūl al-fiqh · principles of Islamic legal reasoning Legal theory. The study of the evidence used to establish Islamic legal rulings and the rules for interpreting that evidence. It also examines the qualifications needed to derive rulings.

وَاجِبwājib · required act Fiqh. An act that Islamic law requires. Jurists commonly use wājib and farḍ for an obligation; those who distinguish them use the terms to indicate different degrees of certainty in the evidence establishing it.

وَقْفwaqf · pause in recitation Qurʾānic recitation. Stopping the voice during Qurʾānic recitation to take a breath, with the intention of continuing. The place chosen for the pause must be considered in relation to the wording and meaning.