GLOSSARY OF TERMS AND CONCEPTS
TERM TRANSENGLISH TRANSLATIONINLITERATIONARABIC
al-kitdbThe Book
This contains the total content of Allah's revelationto Muhammad (s).
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Ji>UI
al-tanzil The authoritative revelational-hakim
This comprises all revealed topics which
the Book
contains from the first to its last page; it is
verbatim
revealed in form and content—it is not just divinelyinspired knowledge (see similarly
al-kitdb).kitab al-nubuwaThe book of prophethood
(contained in
the Book
and,hence, in the
tanzil al-hakim)
This approves and confirms the 'book ofmessengerhood'.
al-nubuwaThe prophethood
This contains all the subjects that fall into thecategory of historical and cosmological knowledge.
kitdb al-risalaThe book of messengerhood
(contained in
the Book
and,hence, in the
tanzil al-hakim)
It is approved and confirmed by the 'book ofprophethood'.
al-risalaThe messengerhood
The totality of instructions which human beings areobliged to follow and which fall into the categoriesof religious worship, social etiquette, morals, andlegal rules.
al-kitdbal-muhkamThe book that contains definite verses
These are rules of human behaviour; it separatesthings that are allowed from things that areabsolute taboos.
umm al-kitdb Mother of the book
This is one part of
the Book;
it contains the definiteverses which prescribe the duties and principles ofhuman behaviour in terms of what is absolutelypermitted or absolutely taboo and what is contingently allowed and contingently prohibited, i.e.,ethical and legal rules; it belongs to Muhammad's(s) messengerhood;(it falls into the same category as
al-kitab al-muhkam
and
al-risala).
TERMINARABICTRANSLITERATIONENGLISH TRANSLATION
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al-qur'dn The prophetical revelation
This is one part of
the Book;
it belongs toMuhammad's (s) prophethood.
al-kitdbal-mutashabihThe book that contains ambiguous verses
This is one part of
the Book;
it contains the ambiguous verses and deals with the realities of truthwhich Allah gave Muhammad's (s) prophethood; itseparates truth from falsehood; it is divided into twocategories:
sab' al-mathani
and
al-qur'an al-azim.al-ayatal-mutashdbihdtAmbiguous verses
These belong to the
prophetical revelation
(which iscontained in
al-qur'an
and
sab' al-mathani).±Jr\
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al-qur'an The glorious qur'dnal-majid
This is the fixed part of
al-qur'an;
it originated in the
Tablet Preserved;
it contains the general and universallaws of all existence, e.g., of the creation (firstexplosion), the laws of development, change,alteration, and destruction, including the eschato-logical teachings of life after death, Hell andParadise, etc.; these laws are universal andunchangeable.
al-imamal-mubinThe clear record
This is the changeable part of
al-qur'an;
it containstwo sides: the
Clear Book
and the stories of prophetsand messengers such as Moses and Jesus.
al-qasas—al-kitabal-mubinThe stories and the clear book
These are things that can change within humanhistory and which are told in the
qur'an
as stories;such historical narratives are stored in the
Clear
Record,
not in the
Tablet Preserved;
their recordingtakes place after their historical occurrence.
al-sab'al-mathdniThe seven oft-recited
that introduce chapters of
the Book
These are part of
the Book,
and part of the prophet-hood; they are in quantity and quality on the samelevel as the
qur'an
and as equally abstract ininformation but not expressed in clear Arabic,rather in the form of incomprehensible utterances,e.g., in the form of the seven openings of some
suras,
(such as
alif-ldm-mim,
etc.).
Jijii-l^lil
al-lawh The tablet preservedal-mahfuz
This contains laws that control the universe andobjective existence; it has programmed the
GloriousQur'an
from within.
TERM TRANS- ENGLISH TRANSLATIONIN LITERATIONARABIC
al-kitdb la
This is
the book
that contains neither definite nor
muhkam wa-la
ambiguous verses and neither legal rules
(ahkdm)
nor
mutashdbih
historical information
(anba
7
).
JCSJI
J
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tafsil al-kitab Explanation of the Book
This is one part of
the Book;
it contains those versesthat are neither definite nor ambiguous; they aredirectly revealed from God; they belong toMuhammad's (s) prophethood; (the same as
al-kitabla muhkam wa-la mutashdbih).al-dhikr The remembrance
This is the textual, i.e., linguistic and acoustic,format of
the Book
in the Arabic language; Allah hasordered us to venerate and preserve this remembrance forever.
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j^s_jLl
al-mawdu'i
^IJJlj
wa'l-dhdtl
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al-islam I
j^L-Al
al-muslimunObjective and subjectiveObjective
refers to the existence of the laws ofexistence that exist outside human consciousness(e.g., the existence of the sun);
subjective
refers to theexistence of things that do not exist independentlyfrom human consciousness; their acceptancedepends on human behaviour; hence, the
propheticalrevelation {al-qur'dn,
i.e., the prophethood) is theobjective part of
the Book,
and the
Mother of the Book(umm al-kitdb,
i.e., the messengerhood) is thesubjective part of
the Book.^al-kursi The chair
The total of all knowledge of the Lord of Heavens;it has no spatial meaning and no connotation of'seat'; the 'throne'
(al-'arsh)
is superior to
the Chair
insofar as the latter's commands and prohibitionsare only applicable to things that the 'One whocommands and prohibits' has previously madeknown.
Islam / Muslim-Assenters
These are those who believe in the existence ofGod and in the Last Day (and the Resurrection),those who do good deeds and adhere to the
Straight
Path;
they witness that: 'there is no god but God'.This cannot be reasoned nor scientifically proven.
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Shahrours Glossary of Quran
Glossary of Terms and Concept in the Quran by Dr. Muhammad Shahrur
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