Part 15

long as you hold to them, you will not go the wrong way. They are the Book of

Allah and the Sunnah of His Prophet.ʹ (Al‐Muwatta of Imam Malik, 46.1.3)

tafsir: commentary on the Qurʹan.

taqwa: being careful, knowing your place in the cosmos. Its proof is the

experience of awe of Allah, which inspires a person to be on guard against

wrong action and eager for actions which are pleasing to Him.

tawaf: circling the Kaʹaba; tawaf is done in sets of seven circuits followed

by two rakʹat of prayer

tawba: returning to correct action after error, turning away from wrong

action to Allah and asking His Forgiveness, turning to face the Real whereas

before one turned oneʹs back

tawhid: the Divine Unity, Unity in its most profound sense. Allah is

One in His Essence and His Attributes and His Acts. The whole of the creation

and what it contains is one unified event which in itself has no lasting reality.

Allah is the Real: Surely we come from Allah and surely to Him we return. (2.156

ʹulama: the plural of ʹalim.

Ummah: the body of the Muslims as one distinct and integrated

walaʹ: loyalty, holding fast to all that is pleasing to Allah and His

Messenger, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. Whoever possesses al‐

walaʹ waʹl‐baraʹ loves with the love of Allah and hates with the hate of All

zakah: the wealth tax obligatory on Muslims each year, usually payable in

the form of one fortieth of surplus wealth which is more than a certain fixed

minimum amount, which is called the nisab. zakah is payable on accumulated

wealth, especially gold and silver, merchandise, certain crops, certain livestock,

and on subterranean and mineral wealth. As soon as it is collected it is

redistributed to those in need, as defined in the Qurʹan and the hadith. zakah is

one of the indispensable pillars of Islam.

zakah al‐fitr: a small obligatory head‐tax imposed on every responsible

Muslim who has the means for himself and his dependants. It is paid once yearly

at the end of Ramadan just before the ʹId al‐Fitr, the festival that marks the end of