Thank you for everything Mr. Burak Sansal

• Allah

• Ayah - Ayet

• Bismillah

• Emir

• Fatiha

• Fatima (fâtimatu z-zahrâ')

• Gazi

• Judaism

• Madina - Medine

• Mecca

• New Testament

• Old Testament

• Qibla (Kible)

• Seyh

• Sura - Sure

• Tarikat (pl., tarikatlar)

• Tekke

• Ulama - Ulema

• Umra - Umre

• Zakat - Zekat

Allah

The Arabic word for "God", used in Islam and Christianity. The term "Allah" comes from the Arabic "al-Lah", that can be translated with "the god". In pre-Islamic times, in the polytheistic religion of Mecca, there was a god that was called by this name. Al-Lah was probably considered as the highest god, but not an acting power, and therefore rarely focused on in rituals. While Islam rejects the other deities, al-Lah is described as the one eternal, omnipotent god. "Allah" is therefore not a proper name, and also Arabic Christians use "Allah" in their Arabic Bible.

In Islam there are 99 different names of God, but these are also not to be considered as proper names, the idea of actually naming God for Muslims, will be regarded as a way of reducing God into a human framework. The high number of names must be understood as an expression of the incapacity of man to grasp the total nature of God. Most common of the 99 names are ar-Rahman, the Merciful, and ar-Rahim, the Compassionate.

Ayah - Ayet

The Arabic meaning of Ayah is a miracle and a sign. The Qur'an is considered to be a miracle itself. Each verse or sentence is called an Ayah or a miracle. The plural of Ayah is called Ayat, which means miracles.

Bismillah

Opening phrase of all suras in the Koran, meaning 'In the name of God; the Merciful; the Compassionate', except for sura 9 (the reason for this omission is that the beginning of this sura makes the bismillah superfluous).

The function of the bismillah is to state that the sura is issued in the name of God, and is not made by man. Learned Muslims will in most cases say that it is Muhammad who have added the bismillah to the revealed texts, with this purpose in mind.

As Allah, Rahman, and Rahim all can be name of gods, there were some few local speculations in early Islam whether the bismillah was referring to one, or to three gods. Some Meccans in the first years of Islam did see in this a polyteism. There have been very few attempts to interpret the bismillah into a trinity equal to the one of Christianity.

The short form bismillah is used as a part of daily language, normally as a way of underlining sincerity and honesty.

 The long form is Bismillahirrahmanirrahim.

Emir

Honorary title, Arabic, for military or political leaders in Islam. Emir is often used as the Arabic equivalent to "prince". Emir is one of a handful of designations on descendants of Muhammad. Emir is also used for tribal chiefs. Emirate was a tribe ruled by Emirs.

Fatiha

Opening sura of the Holy Koran, that doubles as creed of Islam and as a salutation that expresses strong feelings and important happenings in life, such as love, fidelity, births, marriages and burials. While the Koran is arranged so that long suras come early, and short suras late, the Fatiha is relatively short with its 7 ayas. Nor is the Fatiha ever suggested as being early among the suras revealed, it is in the Koran dated to the Meccan period, a minimum of 12 years after the prophet Muhammad received his first revelation. It is its broad aspect and message of the Fatiha, that sums up the entire content of Islam, which has made this sura stand out not only in the Koran, but in the believer's mind as well.

Fatima (fâtimatu z-zahrâ')

(Mecca c.605- Madina 633). Daughter of the messenger of Islam, Muhammad, and Khadija, and married to Ali, and mother of Hasan and Husayin (according to Shi'i traditions, a third son, Muhassin, died as a child), and two daughters.

Fatima is therefore the ancestral mother of the Imams of the Shi'i Muslims, as well the ancestral mother of all claiming to be descending from Muhammad, as no other of Muhammad's children brought the seed on. Little is reported from Fatima's life, but she appears to have had bad health all through her life. Her relationship with Muhammad's wife 'A'isha (Ayse), carried a lot of hostilities. When Abu Bakr became the first Caliph, her relations with him, was also difficult, probably because she had expected her husband to take over after Muhammad, and because Abu Bakr denied her the inheritance of the oasis of Fadak from her father. Most of the other Shi'i stories are strongly religious.

All Muslims have great respect for her, but it is in Shi'i Islam that she plays the most important part, and here she is ascribed with superhuman qualities, and is the "noblest ideal of human conception". She is called "the virgin" and "the mother of the two Jesuses", reflecting an important influence from Christianity. In Shi'i Islam, her birthday and her marriage are two dates that are celebrated.

Gazi

Warrior of the Islamic faith, often awarded as a title in recognition for valor in battle. Many gazis were mercenaries, fighting for booty or a chance to establish a chieftaincy on conquered territory. Sometimes spelled ghazi in English. Many Ottoman sultans called themselves as Gazi.

Judaism

Third largest religion in Middle East and North Africa. Has about 5 million adherents here, where about 90% live in Israel. The largest communities outside Israel is in Palestine, but almost all countries in this region has a small Jewish group. Also Turkey has many Jewish citizens, mostly in Istanbul and Izmir.

Madina - Medine

City in Saudi Arabia with 500,000 inhabitants. Situated in Hijaz, in western Saudi Arabia. This city was originally called Yathrib. When Muhammad and the Muslim community fled Mecca in 622, Yathrib was chosen as the new headquarter, 330 km north of Mecca. From this place Muhammad's community grew in strength, size and importance. After 8 years they had grown strong enough to make Mecca give in.

Muhammad did visit Mecca after this, but he died in 632 in Yathrib, or the city of the Prophet as it came to be called, Madinatu n-Nabiyy. Muhammad was buried here, and a mosque was built round his grave. His daughter Fatima and the Caliph Omar, the second Caliph, was also buried here. Medina was the capital of the Muslim community until 661. Soon after the death of Muhammad, people started coming to Medina, to see his grave. Despite the objections of the Ulama, this tradition has grown in importance, and today all those who has the means, try to visit Medina after doing the hajj in Mecca.

Mecca

City in Saudi Arabia with 618,000 inhabitants. Mecca is located about 80 km from the Red Sea Coast, around a natural well.

Mecca is the most holy city in Islam. The city is revered from being the first place created on earth, as well as the place where Ibrahim together with his son Isma'il, built the Ka'ba. The Ka'ba, the centre of Islam, is a rectangular building made of bricks. Around the Ka'ba is the great mosque, al-Haram, and around the mosque, in between the mountains, are the houses making up Mecca.

Mecca was a central point on the caravan routes running over the Arabian peninsula at the time of Muhammad. Mecca was revered as a holy city even before the first revelations came to Muhammad. Today's pilgrimage in Mecca has many common traits with the pagan activities in the city. Mecca's importance as a centre of religious teaching must not be exaggerated. Very soon in the beginning of the Muslim expansion, religious teaching moved to other places in the Muslim world. Mecca is important in two points: Centre of the compulsory pilgrimage, as a part of five pillars, and a focal point for all Muslims.

Today, many of the people living in Mecca are pilgrims wanting to study Islam in the very centre of the world. But this learning is primarily aimed at normal people, and even today Muslim theology is exercised other places. But for Saudi Arabia, Mecca is the centre of religious teaching.

Apart from the services for pilgrimage there are only modest economical activities going on. Every year some 2 million pilgrims attend the hajj, and this number is now regulated, where each country has their number. The numbers of Muslims coming to Mecca for the umra, the lesser pilgrimage are far less, and not regulated.

New Testament

Collection of religious texts, that are central to Christianity. There are 27 texts, or books as they are called. The texts of the New Testament were written in Greek. Their content starts with the life and resurrection of Jesus, and continues into the period of transition from secterianism inside Judaism, into the moulding of a new religion. The New Testament ends with a prophecy on the coming end of the world.

The central themes of the New Testament is underlining Jesus as Messiah; that redemption from sin only could be obtained through the belief in Jesus; transmission of the message to all peoples, not only Jews as was the situation with temporary Judaism; Christian conduct; governing of the Church.

The process of collecting the books which were to make up the New Testament, started in the 2nd century, when 10 letters of Saint Paul were held up as an authority for the young Church. Towards the end of 2nd century Saint Irenaeus argued for the authority of the gospels. The final decision on the canon can not be dated exactly, but the 27 books of today's New Testament were put together in the second half of the 4th century by Saint Jerome, when he was appointed by Pope Damasus to render the Bible into Latin in the early 380s.

BOOKS:

Gospels:
1.Matthew
2.Mark
3.Luke
4.John
Historical work:
5.The Acts
Letters:
6.Romans
7.1. Corinthians
8.2. Corinthians
9.Galatians
10.Ephesians
11.Philippians
12.Colossians
13.1. Thessalonians
14.2. Thessalonians
15.1. Timothy
16.2. Timothy
17.Titus
18.Philemon
19.Hebrews
20.James
21.1. Peter
22.2. Peter
23.1. John
24.2. John
25.3. John
26.Jude
Prophetic work:
27.Revelation

Old Testament

Collection of religious texts, called books, in Judaism (here only referred to as "Bible") and Christianity, but the expression "Old Testament" is is only used for the Christian versions of the collection. These texts, of which there are 39, were mostly written down in Hebrew, Ezra and Daniel had elements in Aramaic. The oldest texts have oral traditions running back in time as far as 1000 BC. the youngest book, Daniel, was written down 165 BC.

The selection of texts was decided upon at the synod in Jamnia in 90 AD, but this was more the final stage of a process that had been going on for a couple of centuries among Jewish scholars. There are many ideas and theories imbedded in the Old Testament. It is central to the texts of the Old Testament / Hebrew Bible, that narratives are widely used, both to sustain arguments and to explain the origins of regulations and traditions.

Themes of the Old Testament are uniqueness and glory of God, the Law, God's influence on world history and nature, corporate and individual sin and the remedy, and how to worship God. The Old Testament also tells that the Jews were God's chosen people, the main reason for the special protection, and the special punishment, the Jews experienced. It has been, with some success, argued that the Old Testament is not Christianity, since Christianity involves a new relationship between man and God. The Old Testament is however, understood as the foundations on which the New Testament rests.

The God of the Old Testament is a god of justice, but no sin is accepted. He is the god of warfare, as seen in Book of Joshua. The Canonical Old Testament or Hebrew Bible, is made up of 24 books, but a number of prophetical books are added to the collection. The organizing of the books are slightly different from the Hebrew Bible to the Christian Old Testament.

BOOKS :

Pentateuch (In Judaism this is often referred to as the Torah)
1.Genesis
2.Exodus
3.Leviticus
4.Numbers
5.Deuteronomy
Historical Books
6.Joshua
7.Judges
8.Ruth
9.1. Samuel
10.2. Samuel
11.1. Kings
12.2. Kings
13.1. Chronicles
14.2. Chronicles
15.Ezra
16.Nehemiah
* Tobit
* Judith
17.Esther
* 1. Maccabees
* 2. Maccabees
Poetical/ Wisdom Books
18.Jobs
19.Psalms
20.Proverbs
21.Eccliastes
22.Song of Solomon
* Wisdom
* Sirach
Prophetical Books
23.Isaiah
24.Jeremiah
25.Lamentations
* Baruch
26.Ezekiel
27.Daniel
28.Hosea
29.Joel
30.Amos
31.Obadiah
32.Jonah
33.Micah
34.Nahum
35.Habakkuk
36.Zephaniah
37.Haggai
38.Zachariah
39.Malachi

* Books that sometimes are included, in Roman Catholic Bible as deuterocanonical, in the Protestant Bible in appendixes.

Qibla (Kible)

The direction in which the believer orients himself or herself for salat, the prayer of Islam. The qibla is always directed towards the Ka'ba of Mecca, but for 3 years in the early Islam, the qibla was Jerusalem (from 622 to 624). Other religions had their qiblas at the time of early Islam, and even before Muhammad.

The change of qibla is recorded in the Koran, as a reprimand to people complaining:

2,136...Unwise people will say: What made them change the qibla they had? Answer them: God is of the east and of the west, he guides the ones he pleases on the right path...

What qibla did Muhammad and the first Muslims have before they started to turn towards Jerusalem? On this point, three versions exist in the Sunna: Jerusalem was the qibla; Ka'ba was the qibla; and the qibla was on a line, the one running from Jerusalem to Ka'ba.

Qibla is in a mosque indicated by a mihrab, a niche in the wall. Salat performed outdoors, use a sutra, which can be almost any object, to indicate the qibla. For some older mosques, the indication of the qibla, is with errors, due to limited knowledge on how to find the correct direction.

The qibla has importance to more than just the salat, and plays an important part in everyday ceremonies. The head of an animal that is slaughtered, is aligned with qibla. People are buried in cemetaries with their face in direction of the qibla. Lovemaking is best done with the heads facing qibla. The qibla is important, and it is believed that directing things towards the qibla, will decide whether the act done is good or useless.

Seyh

Shaykh or chief. Often used as an honorific for the master of a tarikat.

Sura - Sure

Chapter of the Holy Koran. The suras' content, and organisation, as well as their order in the Koran, are firmly set down. However, scientists are haunted by how little we know of the actual process of structuring the elements. The suras are not collected in chronological entities, based on the moment of revelation. From the Koran itself we learn that ayas from time periods far in between are organised side by side in the same sura. In the Koran, suras have indications of the dominating time period of the content; revealed during the time in Madina, or during the time in Mecca.

Suras have very much the same chronological structure:

1. The name of the sura (with the number in paragraphs)
2. The date of the sura
3. Indication of the number of ayas
4. The Bismillah
5. The mystical letters (most suras do not have these)
6. The text itself

Tarikat (pl., tarikatlar)

Sufi dervish order or lodge, usually headed by a teacher or master known as mürsit (q.v.) or seyh. Some orders possessed considerable wealth in the form of lands and buildings.

Tekke

Residential monastery attached to a tarikat.

Ulama - Ulema

Term in Islam; meaning the community of learned men, direct translation 'the ones possessing knowledge'. Ulama is a plural term, and the singular can be both calîm and câlim, where both can be translated with 'learned, knowing man'. câlim is the most frequently used of the two.

Ulama is a term which content can be interpreted in somewhat differing ways. Normally ulama is used for the group of men with religious education and religiously related professions. Ulama is the group of men expressing the true content of Islam towards both the people and the rulers. Men belonging to ulama have education in the Koran, the Sunna and Sharia. Ulama has considerable power in many Muslim countries (not in Turkey), but their influence on the society depends primarily on the structures of the government.

In most cases the ulama co-operates with the rulers, and plays often the role of defending, or silently accepting, the governments politics. The ulama has great influence on most Muslims, but this influence is easily destroyed when the ulama loses its credibility. The credibility of the ulama depends very much on their level of independence; if there is too much co-operation with the rulers, people will turn away from the ulama to find their religious guidance somewhere else, resulting in an ulama without power. An ulama which do not co-operate at all with the governments will face suppression and economical difficulties. There are cases where the ulama has overthrown the governments, as it happened in
the year of revolution , 1979, in Iran. That is why Atatürk made his reforms way before that and made Turkey a secular country.

The growth of modern state structures in the Muslim world, have resulted in a weakened ulama. While the ulama under weak rulers practised many activities normally connected to a state, for example the judicial ones, the modern state have limited the range of activities of the ulama. Because of this, the modern ulama are more spiritual leaders, while they earlier had considerable political power.

Umra - Umre

Secondary pilgrimage to Mecca. Holds less rituals than the hajj, is not compulsory as a part of the five pillars of Islam, only recommended, and can be performed any time of the year.

Zakat - Zekat

Obligatory alms given by Muslim to the needing inside their own society. Practices vary enormously throughout the Muslim world. In most cases zakat should be 1/40 of the income, and distributed privately towards the end of sawm.