SIkander, page 55
Maktab
Arabic
A place where written work takes place and by implication, an office, a primary school, or even a library. The word is very generally applied by context and may even include simply meaning “desk.”
MashAllah
Arabic
Whatever Allah wills. It acknowledges that any good outcome is the will of Allah and is used to prevent the interpretation of an inflated sense of personal or human responsibility for a positive outcome.
Masjid
Arabic
Literally a place of sajdah (see below), or place of worship. A mosque.
Maulwi
Urdu
A title honorific given to an Islamic scholar or ‘alim.
Maulana
Urdu
Literally our master or lord but referring to a human master or lord, never a divine one. It applies to a person of significant religious authority often seen as such by several generations.
Meerata (Pashtunwali)
Pashto
A crime of systematic assassination of the male members of a family for the specific objective of eliminating lineage and rights of inheritance. It is met with strong retribution unless a payment of compensation is made. This can be money in the form of what is called Saz or Swara. The Jirga is used to mediate such moves and if the victims’ family accepts the Saz or Swara, then the perpetrators are free of all claims.
Mehr
Arabic
The Islamic concept of a financial right accruing to the bride in a marriage, which becomes obligatory for the groom to pay the bride in the event of a divorce or otherwise upon demand. This stands in contrast to the common practice of jahez, which often results in the groom and/or his family seeking financial benefit from the bride and/or her family. When excessive, this is often termed a “bride price.” In most mainstream Pakistani Muslim practice, both the mehr and a modest jahez of usually clothing and jewelry are commonplace.
Mehram
Arabic
A relationship between sexes where marriage would be impermissible such as between father and daughter. Non-mehram relationships are those where a marriage would, on the grounds of the relationship per se, be permissible. A woman should be veiled before a non-mehram man. A man should avoid prolonged eye contact with a non-mehram woman. The degree to which this is practiced varies throughout the Islamic world.
Melmasthia (Pashtunwali)
Pashto
The required behavior toward anyone who is a guest or who is seeking protection of another. It is a serious dishonor to allow a protected guest to be harmed. Such guests can often include personal enemies but who have nonetheless requested protection.
Mere bhai!
Urdu
My brother! A term of warmth and endearment used between good friends. The word bhai has a broader reach than the blood-relation “brother” in English. It is also more informal than use of “brother” in English when referring to a fraternity as in an association or society.
Miswaak
Arabic
A twig of the arak, peelu or Salvadora persica tree whose peeled bark reveals a stiff bristly core that is used as a toothbrush. It has been used since ancient times. Among Muslims it is significant since it was used and recommended by the Prophet (pbuh).
Mla Tarr (Pashtunwali)
Pashto
Taking up the cause of an injured party usually against an outsider.
Mubarak
Arabic
To be blessed or graced. Typically offered to others to say, "May your good news be blessed" as in ‘Eid-Mubarak (A blessed ‘Eid) or Shaadi-Mubarak (May your marriage be blessed). It comes from the same root as barakah (grace).
Mujahid, Mujahideen
Arabic
One who is striving in any of the four kinds of jihad. Plural form is mujahideen but in a western cultural context as with Taliban, the plural is often used adjectivally to describe a singular individual.
N'zhowr
Pashto
Daughter-in-law.
Naan
Urdu
Flat bread baked in a brick oven by placing the dough against the walls of the oven.
Nanewatai (Pashtunwali)
Pashto
Forgiveness of repentant enemies. Reconciliation.
NIFA
Abbr.
National Islamic Front for Afghanistan. One of several prominent mujahideen groups organized to fight communist rule and later Soviet occupation of Afghanistan.
Nihari
Urdu
A meat dish usually served at breakfast time and made from beef shanks and spices.
Nikkah; nikah
Arabic
Literally a joining or coming together to make whole. In common usage it refers to a Muslim marriage ceremony. The legal form of a Muslim marriage.
Niyyah
Arabic
An intention. In Islam, all innocence and guilt stem from intent. Niyyah refers to one’s intention. Most sins that occur as inadvertent infractions are not considered sins unless the ignorance was unreasonably present. Even so, repentance is a necessary and appropriate response.
NWFP
Abbr.
North West Frontier Province. One of four provinces of Pakistan, with capital Peshawar. Recently, amid controversy, it has been renamed to “Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.”
Paan
Urdu
A betel leaf folded up and containing stuffing to be chewed. The stuffing may be of fennel or other forms of flavor, including tobacco according to tastes.
Paan shop
Urdu
A shop serving up paans in a variety of formulations. Very common throughout Pakistan and often a focal point for gossip and socializing in a manner analogous to a western bar but usually on a much smaller scale.
Pakhtun
Pashto
Same as Pashtun. A large ethnic group covering mostly eastern Afghanistan and the North West Frontier Province of Pakistan. The “kh” form is applicable to northern tribal pronunciations while the “sh” form is normally used in southern parts. For simplicity, the narrative sticks with the easier to pronounce “sh” form.
Pakol
Pashto
A woolen cap. Made in the form of a long cylinder with a single open end, whose walls are rolled up to create a brim that grips the side of the head.
Paratthha
Urdu
Thin bread made by folding butter into the flour dough before rolling it flat for cooking. The second “h” is aspirated and distinct from the “tth” consonant.
Partition
English
The event that created Pakistan on August 14th 1947, at the end of British rule over India. The following day, after Pakistan was formed, the modern country of India was given its own independence.
Pashto
Pashto
The language of the Pashtuns.
Pashtun
Pashto
Same as Pakhtun.
Pashtunwali
Pashto
An elaborate system of tribal law and societal custom. It is codified into several aspects, dealing with property, dispute resolution, treatment of strangers, protection of victims, and many other areas of law and order. It is generally agreed that this system has been in place for over 2,000 years and predates Islam in Afghanistan.
Pathan
Urdu
Pashtun in Urdu/Hindi. The south Asian name for Pashtun.
Patthra
Urdu
A low wooden platform stool. Typically it is about ten centimeters off the floor held up by two short vertical planks as legs and a top plank as a seating surface.
Pbuh or (pbuh)
Abbr.
Peace Be Upon Him. A salutation and prayer asking for the peace and blessings of Allah to be visited upon Muhammad (pbuh), the Holy Prophet of Islam. It is considered rude or ill-mannered to fail to offer such a prayer upon the mention of his name or personage. In the written form, it is usually abbreviated thus.
Pooree
Urdu
A thin fried bread often eaten together with halwa.
Qamees
Arabic
An upper garment like a shirt or blouse at the top but extending typically up to or over the knees.
Qasr
Arabic
The offering of one of the normal prayers in a shortened fashion as permitted when traveling. Customarily the midday prayer and the afternoon prayer can also be combined when they are thus shortened. Likewise, the sunset and nighttime prayers may be combined under the same circumstances.
Qiyaamah
Arabic
The end of days. The end of the world. The day of Resurrection. The day of Judgment.
Qazi; Qadhi
Arabic
A judge or one who administers matters of justice such as a justice of the peace might do. This role is the one called upon to conduct marriage ceremonies.
Qiblah
Arabic
At any point on earth, the direction that would face the Ka'aba in Makkah, Saudi Arabia.
Qur'an, Holy Qur’an
Arabic
Literally, the Recitation. It refers to the directly revealed divine word of God through the medium of the Prophet Muhammad’s (pbuh) utterances while in a state of receiving revelation. It was more than a simple intellectual process of explanation. It was rather a process of independently placing utterances directly into the lips, tongue and vocal chords of the Prophet (pbuh), while infusing his mind and spirit with the total recall and understanding of what had been uttered. The focus on recitation refers to the medium being most essentially verbal even though the content has been captured in written form. It is also why Muslims attach great significance to reciting the Holy Qur’an and not simply reading it silently.
Ramadhan; Ramadan; Ramzan
Arabic
The Muslim holy month during which fasting is prescribed for all non-traveling, non-infirm, non-menstruating Muslims above a certain age. Fasting is from before dawn to sunset. It is the month during which the Holy Qur'an was first revealed and the revelation requiring fasting is to be found in Surah 2, verse 183: “O ye who believe! Fasting is prescribed to you as it was prescribed to those before you, that you may (learn) God consciousness.” Fasts that have been excused for the above reasons are to be made up as soon as conveniently possible as and when the reasons no longer apply. Abstinence during fasting is from all ingestible substances, smoking, drinking, food, and sexual activity.
Ramadhan Mubarak
Arabic
Wishes of blessings upon another Muslim on the start of and during Ramadhan.
RFID
Abbr.
Radio Frequency Identification Device. A very small microchip that can be incorporated into most products or product packaging to enable ready signaling of product identity, location, and other information when the tag is irradiated with usually nearby radio waves.
Riba
Arabic
Literally, an increase. Used exclusively to refer to interest or usury in the financial sense. Receipt or payment of riba is considered haraam in Islam, and this position is the basis for all appropriately scholar-qualified Islamic finance offerings.
Rickshaw; Ricksha
Urdu
A powered three-wheeled conveyance with a single seat for the driver and a small bench for two or three passengers at the rear with minimal baggage space. Originally, a two-wheeled cart enabling a human runner to transport up to three passengers short distances by holding two long pole-like arms at a point neutrally balanced over the large main wheels of the cart. Subsequently, designs switched to tricycles driven by sprocket-and-chain drives and pedals, but still man-powered. Finally, powered vehicles emerged during the 1960s.
RPG, RPG-7
Abbr.
Rocket Propelled Grenade. (Version 7 with the added designation). A high explosive device, often involving a shaped charge to generate a high energy focused jet of gas and liquid metal that pierces armor. It is typically launched from a shoulder-mounted tube, and is effective against armored vehicles such as main battle tanks or armored personnel carriers.
Sabaz, Sabz
Urdu
Green, as in the greenery of vegetation.
Sabaz chai
Urdu
Green tea.
Sahib
Urdu
Sir, Mister. Used as an honorific. A mark of respect.
Sajdah
Arabic
Prostration with the forehead, nose, palms, knees and toes touching the ground in worship. Forbidden for all Muslims except toward Allah.
Salaam
Arabic
Peace. The peace greeting. From the proto-Semitic tri-consonantal form of “s-l-m,” which means safe or whole without breakage or damage. The infinitive form in Arabic is “Islam,” which describes a state more than the effects of the state—in this case, a state of peaceable acceptance of God’s will and command.
Salaat
Arabic
Ritual prayer that must be performed according to guidelines governing ritual purity, posture, state of mind, and recitation.
Salaat-ul-fajr, zuhr, asr, maghrib, isha
Arabic
Each of the prayers of the day are fully described by adding the prefix "salaat-ul-…" in front of the specific prayer as in salaat-ul-maghrib. However, normal usage often drops the prefix.
Salafism, Salafi
English
A Sunni sub-sect of Islam. Adherents seek to practice Islam in strict accord with the manner of its practice by the first three generations of Muslims—the “salaf.” It looks for literal acceptance of scripture and avoids an interpretive approach. Salafi is one who practices Salafism. It is often associated with a shunning of modernity insofar as it leads to deviation but such a position in not inherent to Salafism.
Salafist
English
A term describing any of several movements seeking political change who are alleged to base their motivations on Salafi principles. Such groups are said to include al-Qaeda. Virtually no scholars within the Salafi branch of Islam endorse the unauthoritative declaration of jihad and the seemingly callous killing involved in terrorism. Neither do they pronounce takfir on their fellow Muslims as various Salafist organizations are alleged to do.
Saz (Pashtunwali)
Pashto
Compensation for causing wrongful death. Offered by those acting on behalf of perpetrator(s) to the surviving relatives of victim(s) via a jirga and only if acceptable, will it absolve the perpetrator. Saz may be in the form of money or other things of value. It may also be in the form of swara (see below).
Shahadah
Arabic
The act of testifying. Describes both the taking of the oath to accept Islam, and an act of martyrdom. The latter is itself an act of testimony to the true articles of faith. The essential quality of the martyr is neither the death itself nor the simple commitment to a cause, but the belief driving such commitment being complete and without doubt. A majority of Sunni scholars generally hold that suicidal combat—where the suicide itself is the instrumentality of the combat—is not ordinarily permissible. On the other hand, a certain death but inflicted by the action of opponents, while potentially describable as “suicide,” is permissible. Suicidal (or non-suicidal) actions that target non-combatants are also not permissible and there is no theory of collective responsibility applicable to an entire population (e.g. including babies) for the wrongdoing of its leaders. There are no documented cases of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) leading or condoning suicide missions, nor sanctioning the slaying of non-combatants, but there are several cases to the contrary.
Shaheed
Arabic
A martyr. One who has died in shahadah fighting an unjust opponent or resisting one. Most generally the death occurs in the fulfillment of any religious commandment in which the effort is driven by strength of faith in Islam. The first shaheed in all Islam was a woman called Sumayyah bint Khayyat.
Shalwar
