F

Faa'idah

Utility, benefit, gain, profit.

Faa'iq

Superior , excellent, remarkable, extraordinary.

Faarigh

Unoccupied, idle, leisurely.

Faasid

Bad, foul; corrupt, vicious, immoral.

Faateha

It is the opening chapter of the Holy Qur'an also known as “umm ul-Qur'an” the mother of the Qur'an; it is held with great veneration and is recited over sick person as a divine means of healing and also as an intercession for the departed souls, and must be recited in each rak'at of daily prayer.

Faatema; Maulatana

The Chief of the women of the worlds, who is the daughter of Prophet Muhammad (SAWS) and his first wife, Khadija bint Khuwaylad (AS). Also wife of Maulana ‘Ali (AS) and mother of Imaam Hasan and Imaam Husain.

Fahm

Understanding, intelligence, perceptive faculty

Fajr

Dawn, daybreak; morning prayer.

Fakhr

Glory, pride, honor.

Fa'l

Good omen, favorable auspice, optimistic outlook.

Falak

Circuit or orbit of celestial bodies; “'Ilm ul-falak” means astronomy or astrology

Falsafah

Philosophy. Practitioners of falsafa (Arabic word derived from the Greek philosophia ) is known as faylasuf . It was sometimes identified with the Arabic hikmat (wisdom), a term found in the Qur'an. The most common usage refers to the Muslim authors who were the inheritors and successors of Greek thinkers.

Fanaa

Passing away, death; destruction, annihilation, extinction.

Faqeer

Poor, poverty-stricken.

Farhat

Joy, gladness, merriment.

Farmaan

Royal decree; written edict; it refers to any pronouncement, order or ruling made by the Da'wat.

Farz

Religious duty, order, injunction.

Fasaahat

Purity of the language, eloquence;

Fatah

Opening, commencement; conquest, triumph.

Fatimids

Major Muslim dynasty of Isma'ili Caliphs and Imaams in North Africa (from 909 AD) and later in Egypt (973-1171 AD), who were the descendants from Muhammad Rasulullah (SAWS) through his vicegerent and cousin Maulana ‘Ali (AS) and derived their name from the Prophet's daughter, Faatema (AS).

Fatrat

Listlessness, weakness; period, spell, interval of time; “inteqaal ul-fatrat” means transition period.

Fawz

Success, victory; attainment, achievement.

Fayz

Superabundance, plenty, copiousness.

Fazeelat

Moral excellence, excellent quality, virtue; “Saaheb ul-fazeelat” the title given to Islamic Scholars.

Fazl

Grace, favor, kindness, benefit, merit.

Fikr

Thinking, cogitation, contemplation; idea, notion, concept.

Fi'l

Activity, work, deed, action, performance.

Fiqh

The science of Islamic jurisprudence; “faqeeh” means a specialist in fiqh.

Fitnat

Temptation, fascination, infatuation; discord, dissension.

Fitrat

Natural disposition, temperament, innate character, instinct; “fitratan” means by nature.

Furqan

Proof, evidence or ‘The Distinguisher between Good and Evil', a name applied to the Qur'an and also the name of its 25th chapter.

G

Ghaa'ib

Absent, hidden, concealed.

Ghaar

Cave, cavern.

Ghadeer-e-Khumm

A watering place between Makkah and Madinah where Prophet Muhammad (SAWS) appointed Maulana ‘Ali (AS) his wasi and successor and here he declared incumbency of the most important pillar of Islam, walaayat through the last verse of Qur'an on 18th Zil Hajj 10 AH during the farewell pilgrimage. This day is also celebrated as the day of walaayat .

Ghafoor

Readily inclined to pardon, much-forgiving; One of the beautiful attributes of Allah.

Ghalat

Error, mistake, wrong, incorrect.

Ghamm

Grief, affliction, distress, worry, anxiety.

Ghani

Wealthy, prosperous, well-to-do.

Gharaq

Drowned, immersed, sunk.

Gharaz

Aim, objective; intention, purpose, object of desire.

Ghaws

Call for help, aid, succor.

Ghaybat

Absence; it has been used for the condition of Imaam who has been withdrawn by Allah from the eyes of believers and whose progeny and their life during that period of occultation (called his ghaybat) may be miraculously safe guarded. As now from the descendants of 21st Fatimi Imaam Taiyeb (AS), the Imaam is expected to reveal himself and return at a foreordained time before the Day of Resurrection.

Ghazab

Wrath, rage, anger.

Gheebat

Slander, calumniation.

Ghilaaf

Cover, wrap, envelope.

Ghizaa

Nourishment, food, nutrition.

Ghuroob

Setting of the sun.

Ghusl

Ritual bath, which removes major impurity i.e. sexual intercourse, menstruation, seminal discharge, child birth, accepting the Islam and other conditions.

H

Haadi; hidaayat

Guide, leader.

Haafiz

Keeper, guardian, caretaker; one who knows the Qur'an by heart.

Haaroon; Aaron

The brother of Moosa (AS) and Prophet of Allah mentioned in the Qur'an.

Hablullah il-mateen

Strong cord of Allah which means one who adheres to the headship of His Imaam or Da'i can easily achieve the spiritual benediction from Allah.

Hadas

Impurity, which makes ablution obligatory especially for offering the namaaz .

Hadd

Edge, boundary, limit; a term in Islamic law denoting Allah's punishments for various crimes mentioned in the Qur'an. Also a technical term for any rank in the Fatimid Isma'ili Da'wat hierarchy also called “hudood ud-deen”.

Hadees

Report or narrative, used for the traditions relating to the actions and sayings of the Prophet Muhammad (SAWS). And the corpus of such traditions collectively constituting one of the major sources of Islamic law. Only those etraditions which had been directly handed down or sanctioned by the Imaams are recognized to be sound and correct.

Hadees-e-qudsi

Divine saying, a tradition, which denotes words said by Allah but expressed in the Prophet's words.

Hajj

The annual pilgrimage to Makkah and some other localities in the Hijaaz in the last month of Islamic calendar Zil Hajj. Every Muslim is required to perform this obligation at least once in his lifetime, if possible.

Hakeem

Wise man, philosopher, doctor.

Halaak

Total loss, ruin, destruction.

Halaal

Lawful, permitted by Islamic law.

Hamd; sanaa, ta'reef

Praise, laudation; “al-hamdo lillaah” means praise be to Allah.

Hamzaa bin ‘Abd ul-Muttalib; Maulana

An uncle of the Prophet who became a Muslim and was martyred at the battle of Uhud.

Haneef

True believer in Allah and upright by nature.

Haqaa'iq

Truths or facts. Behind every external aspect ( zaahir ) of religious prescriptions, which can change with every law-announcing Prophet, the haqaa'iq are the immutable, unchangeable and eternal truths of the realm of the baatin (the hidden), which are known to the Imaam and accessible only to the initiated or the elite.

Haqq

Legal rights, claims, and the corresponding obligations; A name of Allah meaning ‘The Truth' or ‘The Reality'.

Haraam

Prohibited, forbidden by the Islamic law and punishable; sacred and therefore also forbidden in the sense of taboo.

Haram

Sanctuary, especially the Ka'bah and the Prophet's mosque in Madinah.

Harb

War, fight, combat, battle; “harb-e-ahliyah” means civil war and “harb-e-‘aammah” means World war.

Harkat

Movement, physical exercise, action, undertaking; movement as a social phenomenon.

Hars

Cultivation of the soil, plowing, plantation.

Hasad

Envy, jealousy, desire.

Hasanat

Good deeds, benefaction, merits.

Hasan; Imaam

The elder of Maulana ‘Ali's two sons by Maulatana Faatema and grandson of the Prophet Muhammad (SAWS) also the first Fatimi Imaam.

Hayaa

Shame, timidity, shyness, bashfulness.

Hayaat

Life, liveliness.

Hijaab

Cover, wrap, curtain, veil.

Hijrat

The emigration of the Prophet Muhammad (SAWS) from Makkah to Madinah in 622 AD; the lunar Islamic calendar begins from this date.

Hikaayat

Story, narrative, tale.

Hikmat

A term which in the Qur'an means ‘wisdom', and later acquired various technical meanings referring to religious or esoteric philosophy.

Hilm

Forbearance, insight, intelligence, gentleness.

Himmat

Ambition, determination, zeal, high-mindedness.

Hiraa

A mountain near Makkah where the Prophet Muhammad (SAWS) used to withdraw for prayer and where the first verses of the Qur'an were said to have been revealed through the arch angel Jibra'il.

Hirs

Greed, covetousness, aspiration.

Hubb

Love, affection, attachment; “hubb ul-watan” means patriotism.

Hujjat

A Qur'anic term meaning both ‘proof' and ‘presentation of proof'. It designates Prophets and Imaams as ‘proofs' of Allah's presence or will on earth. In the Isma'ili Da'wat of the pre-Fatimid and Fatimid periods, it was also applied to senior D a‘is . It refers to a dignitary in their religious hierarchy, notably one through whom the inaccessible Imaam Mehdi could become accessible to his followers. During the Fatimid Isma'ilis there were twelve such hujjats , each one in charge of a separate Da'wat region called jazeera .

Hukm

Judgment, rule, decree, command, principle.

Hunoot

Odoriferous substances with which a maiyat (corpse) is embalmed and perfumed.

Hurmat

Holiness, sacredness, reverence, esteem, respect.

Hurriyat

Freedom, liberty, independence; “hurriyat ul-‘ibaadat” means the freedom of worship; “hurriyat ul-fikr” means freedom of thought; “hurriyat ul-kalaam” means the freedom of speech.

Husain; Imaam

The younger of Maulana ‘Ali's two sons by Maulatana Faatema and grandson of the Prophet Muhammad (SAWS) and the second Fatimi Imaam.

Husool

Obtainment, attainment, acquisition.

Huzoor; haazir

Presence, attendance, participation; “huzoor-e-‘aali” is often used as the honorific title of the present Da'i-e-Mutlaq.