Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms

Get access Subject: Middle East And Islamic Studies
Edited by: P.J. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel and W.P. Heinrichs
Assisted by C. Ott, under the patronage of the International Union of Acadamies

Help us improve our service

Glossary and Index of Terms treats the technical terms in Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Urdu and other languages or dialects of the Islamic world. As an index, it is of immeasurable importance, in particular for the many terms which are not given an entry but are discussed in the course of an article; and as glossary it is an invaluable source of information for both non-specialist, who is given an insight into the varied and rich vocabulary of Islam, and the specialist, who may discover surprising new contexts in which a term is used.

Subscriptions: see Brill.com

ṣāʿ

(50 words)

ṣāʿ (A) : a measure of capacity which was used in the Ḥid̲j̲āz in the days of Muḥammad, equal to 4 m…
Source: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms

sāʿa

(125 words)

sāʿa (A) : lit. hour, hence ‘clock’. For the ancient Arabs, ~ meant nothing more than ‘a moment, a b…
Source: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms

saʿāda

(32 words)

saʿāda (A) : happiness, bliss; in Islamic philosophy, a central concept to describe the highest aim …
Source: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms

sabʿ

(88 words)

sabʿ (A), or sabʿa : the number seven. Saʿadyā Ben Yōsēf al-sabʿ al-ṭiwāl (A) : lit. …
Source: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms

sabab

(254 words)

sabab (A, pl. asbāb) : lit. rope, coming to designate anything which binds or connects; hence also ‘bon…
Source: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms

sabad

(13 words)

sabad (A) : smooth, as e.g. in describing goats’ hair. G̲h̲anam
Source: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms

sabal

(14 words)

sabal (A) : in medicine, the pathological eye condition of pannus. 456a
Source: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms

sabʿānī

(33 words)

sabʿānī (A), or misabbaʿ, nuʿmānī, bag̲h̲dādī : in folk-verse, a composition with the rhyme scheme a a a z z z a, which i…
Source: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms

sābāṭ

(69 words)

sābāṭ (A) : in Indian siegecraft, a word used to express two walls, the foundations of which were la…
Source: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms

sabʿatu rid̲j̲āl

(6 words)

sabʿatu rid̲j̲āl Sabʿ
Source: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms

sabb

(4 words)

sabb S̲h̲atm
Source: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms

ṣabbāg̲h̲

(17 words)

ṣabbāg̲h̲ (A) : a dyer, a skilled artisan in the mediaeval Near East. K̲h̲ays̲h̲; Sabasṭiyya
Source: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms

sabbāk

(26 words)

sabbāk (A) : a melter, one of the craftsmen employed as staff in the mint who carried out the actual…
Source: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms

sabbāla

(4 words)

Sabbāla sabīl
Source: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms

sābiʿ al-arūs

(81 words)

sābiʿ al-arūs (A) : the first seven days of marriage, which play a special part in the marriage cere…
Source: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms

ṣabīb

(33 words)

ṣabīb (A) : a term used in addition to the general term Lawn ‘colour’ for a notion of liquid colour …
Source: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms

sābiḳ

(233 words)

sābiḳ (A) : the name for the first horse in a horse-race, according to the order of finishing. Furūsiyya In Druze hiera…
Source: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms

sabīl

(124 words)

sabīl (A, pl. subul; T sebīl) : lit. way, road, path; in the Qurʾān, ~ is also used figuratively in e.g. the expressions sa…
Source: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms

ṣabir

(13 words)

ṣabir (A) : aloes or some other bitter vegetable substance. Ḥināṭa
Source: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms

ṣabiyy

(87 words)

ṣabiyy (A) : a youth, boy, or male child; one that has not yet been weaned, so called from the time …
Source: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms

sabʿiyya

(4 words)

sabʿiyya Sabʿ
Source: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms

sābīzak

(4 words)

sābīzak Yabrūḥ
Source: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms

sabḳ

(12 words)

sabḳ (A), or sibāḳ : the sport of horse-racing. Furūsiyya
Source: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms

sabk̲h̲a

(33 words)

sabk̲h̲a (A, pl. sibāk̲h̲; N.Afr. sebk̲h̲a) : in geography, salt marshes or lagoons and the salt flats le…
Source: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms

sabk-i hindī

(59 words)

sabk-i hindī (P) : ‘the Indian style’; the third term of a classification of Persian literature into …
Source: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms

sabla

(17 words)

sabla (A) : a loose gown worn by women in Egypt, synonymous with T̲h̲awb. Libās
Source: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms

ṣabr

(52 words)

ṣabr (A) : patience, endurance; resignation; the cardinal virtue in mysticism. Sabk̲h̲a; endurance o…
Source: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms

sabr

(17 words)

sabr (A, pl. subūr) : an advance party of a raiding group of Bedouin. G̲h̲azw
Source: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms

sabt

(48 words)

sabt (A) : the sabbath, and thus Saturday ( yawm al-~, technically, Friday evening to Saturday evening); it is…
Source: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms

sabuʿ al-baḥr

(19 words)

sabuʿ al-baḥr (A) : ‘beast of the sea’, in zoology, the sea wolf ( Anarhichas lupus). Samak
Source: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms

ṣābūn

(50 words)

ṣābūn (A, < Gk) : soap, a mixture of fat or tallow and vegetable ashes, used to dye the hair red, an…
Source: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms

sābūrḳān

(4 words)

sābūrḳān Ḥadīd
Source: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms

sabziči-bās̲h̲ī

(19 words)

sabziči-bās̲h̲ī (P) : in Ṣafawid times, an official in the royal kitchen responsible for green salads. Maṭbak̲h̲
Source: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms

ṣād

(32 words)

ṣād (A) : the fourteenth letter of the Arabic alphabet, transcribed ṣ, with the numerical value 90. It is defin…
Source: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms

sadā

(16 words)

sadā (A) : the warp of a fabric; the weft is called luḥma. Ḥāʾik
Source: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms

ṣadā

(59 words)

ṣadā (A) : a term with many meanings, including those of thirst, voice, echo, and screech-owl, in the sense of hāma (or hā…
Source: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms

sāda

(4 words)

sāda Maḍbūṭ
Source: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms

ṣadaf

(67 words)

ṣadaf (A, s. ṣadafa) : in zoology, two classes of molluscs: mussels ( Lamellibranchiata) and snails ( Gastropoda), bo…
Source: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms

ṣadāḳ

(8 words)

ṣadāḳ (A) : dowry (syn. Mahr).
Source: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms

ṣadaḳa

(105 words)

ṣadaḳa (A) : voluntary alms, a charitable donation which does not require offer and acceptance and w…
Source: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms

ṣadāret ḳāʾim-maḳāmi̊

(6 words)

ṣadāret ḳāʾim-maḳāmi̊ Ḳāʾim-maḳām
Source: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms

sadd al-d̲h̲arāʾiʿ

(46 words)

sadd al-d̲h̲arāʾiʿ (A) : lit. closing off the means that can lead to evil; in law, a mechanism devise…
Source: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms

sad̲h̲āb

(11 words)

sad̲h̲āb (A) : in botany, the rue plant. G̲h̲id̲h̲āʾ
Source: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms

ṣadḥat al-maṭar

(31 words)

ṣadḥat al-maṭar (A) : ‘rain bead’, utilised by Arab tribes accounted of South Arabian or Yemeni gene…
Source: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms

ṣadīg̲h̲

(32 words)

ṣadīg̲h̲ (A) : ‘an epithet applied to a child, in the stage extending to his completion of seven day…
Source: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms

ṣādiḥa

(4 words)

ṣādiḥa ḳayna
Source: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms

ṣadīḳī

(34 words)

ṣadīḳī (IndP), correctly ṣiddīḳī : in numismatics, a gold coin of the value of two pagodas, weighing 10…
Source: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms

sādin

(15 words)

sādin (A) : in early Arabia, the guardian of a shrine. al-Ṣādiḳiyya; ʿUd̲h̲ra
Source: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms

ṣādirāt

(82 words)

ṣādirāt (P, < A, s. ṣādir), or ṣādiriyyāt : one of the unfixed taxes in Persia, comprising levies made to m…
Source: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms

sadīs

(4 words)

sadīs ʿAtūd
Source: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms

sād̲j̲

(29 words)

sād̲j̲ (A) : in botany, the teak tree, Tectona grandis L., of the family of the Verbenaceae. Saʿdiyya In Arab dress, a…
Source: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms

ṣād̲j̲

(11 words)

ṣād̲j̲ (A) : a concave metal plate. K̲h̲ubz; Ṭabk̲h̲
Source: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms

sad̲j̲ʿ

(90 words)

sad̲j̲ʿ (A) : in pre-Islamic times, the rhythmic, rhymed utterance of the soothsayer, which does not…
Source: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms

sad̲j̲da

(43 words)

sad̲j̲da (A) : ‘bowing down’, the name of two Qurʾānic Sūras. al-Sad̲j̲āwandī sad̲j̲dat al-tilāwa …
Source: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms

sad̲j̲d̲j̲āda

(41 words)

sad̲j̲d̲j̲āda (A) : a prayer carpet. Sad̲j̲da; Binn In mysticism, ~ may refer to the mystical path initiated…
Source: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms

sad̲j̲d̲j̲a, or sād̲j̲d̲j̲a

(8 words)

sad̲j̲d̲j̲a, or sād̲j̲d̲j̲a Ṣand̲j̲
Source: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms

sād̲j̲isī

(26 words)

sād̲j̲isī (A) : a strain of sheep in the time of al-Ḏj̲āḥiẓ, which was very large and had wool of a pure white. G̲h̲anam
Source: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms

sadl

(4 words)

sadl Ḳabḍ
Source: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms

ṣadr

(376 words)

ṣadr (A, pl. ṣudūr) : lit. chest, breast, bosom, of all animals or of humans only. When used for only t…
Source: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms

sadra

(4 words)

sadra S̲h̲utik
Source: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms

ṣadūḥ

(4 words)

ṣadūḥ ḳayna
Source: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms

ṣadūḳ

(29 words)

ṣadūḳ (A) : ‘truthful’; in the science of Tradition, a quality of a reliable transmitter of Traditio…
Source: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms

sadūs

(4 words)

sadūs Sudūs
Source: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms

saʿd wa-naḥs

(84 words)

saʿd wa-naḥs (A) : lit. the fortunate and the unfortunate; in astrology, terms used to describe the s…
Source: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms

ṣafā

(18 words)

ṣafā (A) : lit. hard, smooth stone, whence also ‘tract of stony ground’. Ṣadr al-Dīn Mūsā
Source: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms

safah, safāha

(6 words)

safah, safāha Ḥilm
Source: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms

safan

(32 words)

safan (A) : in zoology, the sephen skate, whose Arabic term is found again in the Latinised nomencla…
Source: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms

ṣafan

(11 words)

ṣafan (A) : in anatomy, the scrotal sheath. K̲h̲āṣī
Source: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms

ṣafar

(30 words)

ṣafar (A) : name of the second month of the Islamic year, also called ~ al-k̲h̲ayr or ~ al-muẓaffar because of its bei…
Source: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms

safar

(20 words)

safar (A) : journey, travel. Safāḳus; ‘journeying’ often to visit the graves of the dead, syn. Ziyāra. Ziyāra
Source: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms

safarna, safarnāya

(6 words)

safarna, safarnāya Isfirnī
Source: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms

ṣaff

(222 words)

ṣaff (A, pl. ṣufūf, B ṣoff) : lit. rank, row or line, company of men standing in a rank, row or line; in …
Source: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms

saffāḥ

(17 words)

saffāḥ (A) : bloodthirsty; generous. Al-Saffāḥ was the surname of the first ʿAbbāsid caliph. Abraha
Source: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms

ṣaffāḳatān

(4 words)

ṣaffāḳatān Ṣand̲j̲
Source: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms

saffūd

(13 words)

saffūd (A) : in the mediaeval kitchen, a roasting skewer. Maṭbak̲h̲
Source: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms

ṣafī

(124 words)

ṣafī (A, pl. ṣafāyā) : in early Islam, special items consisting of immoveable property selected from bo…
Source: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms

safih

(8 words)

safih (A) : a spendthrift. Yatīm
Source: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms

ṣafīḥa

(95 words)

ṣafīḥa (A) : plate. S̲h̲akk ṣafīḥa s̲h̲akkāziyya s̲h̲akkāziyya ṣafīḥa zarḳālliyya …
Source: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms

safila

(7 words)

safila (A) : scum. K̲h̲aṭṭābiyya
Source: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms

safīna

(96 words)

safīna (A, pl. sufun, safāʾin, safīn) : ship, used from pre-Islamic times. Safīd Rūd; and Ramat̲h̲ In codicology, a …
Source: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms

safīr

(114 words)

safīr (A, pl. sufarāʾ, T sefīr) : ambassador, messenger; in Twelver s̲h̲īʿism, ~ refers to the four deput…
Source: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms

ṣafiyya

(5 words)

ṣafiyya ʿanz; ṣafī
Source: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms

ṣafḳa

(38 words)

ṣafḳa (A) : lit. striking hands together; in law, the ratification of a commercial contract; ~, unlike bayʿ, contains…
Source: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms

ṣafr

(40 words)

ṣafr (A), or isfīdrūy, isfādrūḥ (< P sapīd rūy) : in metallurgy, bronze, much used in early Islam for plain …
Source: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms

ṣafrāʾ

(26 words)

ṣafrāʾ (A) : yellow; in mediaeval texts, yellow bile, one of the four cardinal humours, the others b…
Source: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms

safsāri

(17 words)

safsāri (N.Afr) : a large outer wrap for women, worn in Tunisia and Libya. Libās
Source: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms

safūf

(11 words)

safūf (A) : in medicine, a medicinal powder. Sukkar
Source: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms

ṣag̲h̲āʾir

(4 words)

ṣag̲h̲āʾir Kabāʾir
Source: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms

ṣag̲h̲āna

(4 words)

ṣag̲h̲āna D̲j̲ag̲h̲āna
Source: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms

ṣag̲h̲īr

(47 words)

ṣag̲h̲īr (A) : infant, child; one who has not attained to puberty (opp. kabīr). al-Ṣag̲h̲ānī In law, a minor, as op…
Source: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms

ṣāg̲h̲i̊r nūn

(6 words)

ṣāg̲h̲i̊r nūn Nūn
Source: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms

ṣaḥāb

(4 words)

ṣaḥāb Ṣuḥba
Source: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms

ṣaḥāba

(122 words)

ṣaḥāba (A, s. ṣaḥābī, or Ṣāḥib), or Aṣḥāb : the Companions of the Prophet, dating from the first conver…
Source: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms

ṣaḥābī

(4 words)

ṣaḥābī Ṣaḥāba
Source: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms

ṣaḥāfī

(4 words)

ṣaḥāfī Ṣiḥāfa
Source: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms

saḥara

(10 words)

saḥara (A) : agents of fallen angels. Siḥr
Source: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms

saḥarī

(22 words)

saḥarī (A) : in the mediaeval Near East, a beggar who begins to ply his ‘trade’ before the dawn. Mukaddī
Source: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms

saḥāt

(4 words)

saḥāt Waṭwāṭ
Source: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms

ṣaḥḥ

(4 words)

ṣaḥḥ Ibrīz
Source: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms

ṣāḥib

(779 words)

ṣāḥib (A, pl. Aṣḥāb, Ṣaḥāba) : ‘companion’; the counsellor of a ruler; in compounds, partner, match …
Source: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms
▲   Back to top   ▲