Note: This is original study material in plain English. Definitions are concise and meant for everyday understanding; for precise religious rulings, consult your local hudud and FAIZ resources.
A quick-reference list of terms a mumin meets often. Where a word has a deeper meaning, the entry gives the everyday sense first.
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Miqaat — A marked occasion in the community calendar (an Eid, Urs, Milad, or day of remembrance) gathered around in jamaat. (Also, in the Hajj context, a boundary point where pilgrims enter the state of ehram.)
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Qiyam — The standing posture in namaz, in which Surat al-Fatiha and a surah are recited.
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Raza — Permission or sanction from the Dai of the time. Important acts — nikah, certain ziyarat, and other religious undertakings — are done with raza.
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Najwa — A confidential offering or contribution given before approaching the Dai, an act of nearness and sincerity.
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Sadaqah — Voluntary charity given to seek Allah’s pleasure and to ward off difficulty; distinct from obligatory dues.
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Tasbeeh — The glorification of Allah through repeated phrases (such as Subhanallah); also the bead-string used to keep count.
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Hafti — A weekly gathering or weekly observance held in jamaat.
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Mansak — The set rites or prescribed acts of a devotion, especially the rites of Hajj and Umrah performed in their proper order.
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Ehram (Ihram) — The sacred state a pilgrim enters for Hajj or Umrah, marked by special dress (two unsewn white cloths for men) and by abstaining from certain ordinary acts.
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Talbiyah — The call recited on entering ehram and through the pilgrimage, declaring one’s response and presence before Allah (the “Labbayk” proclamation).
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Sehri / Sihori — The pre-dawn meal eaten before the day’s fast begins in Ramadan.
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Iftar — The breaking of the fast at sunset (Maghrib).
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Washek — A devotional offering, often a vow or pledge fulfilled with prayer and giving.
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Misaq — The covenant (oath of allegiance) a Dawoodi Bohra takes, pledging faith and loyalty to Allah, the Imam, and the Dai; usually taken on reaching maturity.
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Niyyat — The intention silently fixed in the heart before an act of worship, which gives the act its validity.
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Wudhu — The ritual washing of specific limbs that establishes purity before namaz and other acts.
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Ghusl — The full ritual bath required in certain states and recommended before Eid and Friday prayers.
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Taharat — Ritual purity of body, clothing, and place, required for worship.
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Qibla — The direction of Baitullah in Makkah, which a mumin faces in namaz.
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Jamaat — The community gathered together; also the local congregation and its masjid.
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Hudud — The ranks of religious authority and the appointed dignitaries of the dawat who serve and guide the community.
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Dai — The Dai al-Mutlaq, the head of the Dawoodi Bohra community, who leads the faithful on behalf of the Imam in seclusion.
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Waaz — The sermon delivered during majlis, especially in Ashara, combining teaching, history, and narration.
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Majlis — An assembly of mourning or remembrance, central to Ashara Mubaraka.
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Matam — The rhythmic striking of the chest expressing grief and love for Imam Husain (AS).
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Marsiya / Nauha — Elegies recited or sung in mourning of the Ahl al-Bayt, especially during Ashara.
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Niyaz — Blessed food offered and shared in jamaat as an act of devotion.
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Salawat — The invocation of blessings upon Rasulullah (SAW) and his progeny.
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Ziyarat — A visit to a sacred site or shrine (mazar) made with reverence and dua.
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Aqeeqah — The sacrifice performed on the seventh day after a child’s birth, an act of gratitude and a sunnah of the Prophet (SAW). Accompanied by naming the child and shaving the head.
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Khitan / Khatna — Circumcision, obligatory (fard) for male children in the Shafi’i school followed by Bohras. Customarily performed within the first days or weeks of life.
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Tahnik — The act of placing a softened date or honey in a newborn’s mouth, done by the Amil Saheb or a pious elder as a blessing for the child.
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Khums — The one-fifth obligation on annual net savings, paid through the Dai al-Mutlaq’s office. Established in the Quran (Al-Anfal 8:41) as a share of gains for Allah, the Prophet, and his family.
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Zakat — The annual 2.5% wealth tax on gold, silver, cash, and business inventory exceeding the nisab threshold, paid to the needy. One of the five pillars of Islam.
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Fidya — Compensation for obligatory acts that cannot be performed — for example, money given for each missed fast in Ramadan when a person is permanently unable to fast.
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Kaffarah — Expiation for deliberately breaking certain sacred obligations (e.g., breaking a fast intentionally). May involve fasting additional days, feeding the poor, or freeing a slave (the last being now effectively replaced by the first two).
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Nifas — Post-natal bleeding after childbirth, lasting up to 40 days. During this period a woman does not pray or fast but maintains dhikr.
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Qunoot — A supplications recited standing (qiyam) in the third rak’ah of Shafa’ namaz (Bohra tradition) or in Witr; also the longer Qunoot read silently in congregational Fajr.
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Sajdah — The act of prostration in namaz, the closest posture of the servant to Allah. Seven parts of the body must touch the ground: forehead, nose, both palms, both knees, and the toes of both feet.
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Talqeen — A recitation of the core tenets of faith addressed to the dying person or the deceased at the graveside, reminding the soul of Tawhid, the Prophet, the Imams, and the Dais.
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Waseelah — A text attesting to the faith of the deceased, placed with the kafan (shroud) at burial; also, the concept of seeking nearness to Allah through the medium of the Imam and Dai.
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Urs — The death anniversary of a Dai or saint, celebrated as a spiritual “wedding” (urs = wedding in Arabic) — the soul’s reunion with the divine. Urs gatherings include waaz, marsiya, dua, and niyaz.
Many of these terms have their own fuller articles and duas elsewhere in the app.