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hijabi[currently under construction as i copy the definitions and explanations and such from the original vent. i'd like to edit it further to be a bit more comprehensive in the future.]
hello everyone! thanks for checking this post out.
islam (noun)
the religion that muslims practice. it's a religion of peace and submission to Allah.
Allah (proper noun)
literally just the arabic word for God. arabic speakig jews and christians also say Allah. (for some christians this is God "the father," though muslims believe that Allah never had, has, or will have children or spouses.)
muslim (noun)
someone who practices islam. note that we are a religious group, not a race or ethnicity.
islamic (adjective)
an adjective that describes something related to islam. note that terrorism is evil and has no place in islam, so "radical islam" is not really islam at all and "islamic terrorists" are actually going against the teachings of islam by killing people.
not so fun fact: many of these terrorist organizations target and kill muslims sooo yeah definitely not islamic behavior.
alhamdulillah (phrase)
all praise and thanks belong to Allah (God).
Allahuakbar (phrase)
Allah (God) is the greatest.
subhanallah (phrase)
perfect/exalted is Allah (God).
as salamu alaikum (phrase)
"peace be upon you." it's the way muslims greet each other! what a wonderful greeting, especially said with a smile. the reply is...
wa alaikum as salam (phrase)
"and peace be upon you." this is how you reply! whe you reply you're also encouraged to say the following, which is longer...
wa alaikum as salam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh (phrase)
"and peace upon you, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings." it's considered rude not to respond back when someone gives you salams because it's a religious duty AND why wouldn't you say hello back anyway?
masjid (noun)
the building in which muslims gather to pray together. usually prayers are being lead five times a day. the masjids are usually most full during the friday prayer and during ramadan. many masjids also serve as sunday schools. outside you'll usually find a parking lot, and probably a playground or field for kids to play in during recess.
the word for masjid in english is mosque but most muslims will say masjid amongst each other. when talking to non muslims we usually say mosque to avoid confusion.
wallahi (phrase)
it literally means "by Allah." you're basically swearing by Allah that what you just said or are about to say is true.
in islam we believe that the only thing worth swearing by is God. however some people use this phrase every sentence. we should try to be careful how much we use this phrase, lest we slip up and say something inappropriate or that we didn't mean to while using the name of God.
in sha Allah (phrase)
if Allah wills. it's similar to the english phrase "God willing."
we say this often when discussing plans for the future. we know that at any moment we could return to Allah (aka dying), so this particular phrase can keep from feeling arrogant/invincible because no one can tell you when you're going to die. we remember death not to be morbid, but to motivate us to do better.
because arabic has letters with no english equivalent you'll sometimes see the same word(s) written various ways. i like to write these words "inshaAllah."
links to the parts of the "what is this islam thing?" series below!
part 0 | part 1 | part 2 | part 3
hello everyone! thanks for checking this post out.
islam (noun)
the religion that muslims practice. it's a religion of peace and submission to Allah.
Allah (proper noun)
literally just the arabic word for God. arabic speakig jews and christians also say Allah. (for some christians this is God "the father," though muslims believe that Allah never had, has, or will have children or spouses.)
muslim (noun)
someone who practices islam. note that we are a religious group, not a race or ethnicity.
islamic (adjective)
an adjective that describes something related to islam. note that terrorism is evil and has no place in islam, so "radical islam" is not really islam at all and "islamic terrorists" are actually going against the teachings of islam by killing people.
not so fun fact: many of these terrorist organizations target and kill muslims sooo yeah definitely not islamic behavior.
alhamdulillah (phrase)
all praise and thanks belong to Allah (God).
Allahuakbar (phrase)
Allah (God) is the greatest.
subhanallah (phrase)
perfect/exalted is Allah (God).
as salamu alaikum (phrase)
"peace be upon you." it's the way muslims greet each other! what a wonderful greeting, especially said with a smile. the reply is...
wa alaikum as salam (phrase)
"and peace be upon you." this is how you reply! whe you reply you're also encouraged to say the following, which is longer...
wa alaikum as salam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh (phrase)
"and peace upon you, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings." it's considered rude not to respond back when someone gives you salams because it's a religious duty AND why wouldn't you say hello back anyway?
masjid (noun)
the building in which muslims gather to pray together. usually prayers are being lead five times a day. the masjids are usually most full during the friday prayer and during ramadan. many masjids also serve as sunday schools. outside you'll usually find a parking lot, and probably a playground or field for kids to play in during recess.
the word for masjid in english is mosque but most muslims will say masjid amongst each other. when talking to non muslims we usually say mosque to avoid confusion.
wallahi (phrase)
it literally means "by Allah." you're basically swearing by Allah that what you just said or are about to say is true.
in islam we believe that the only thing worth swearing by is God. however some people use this phrase every sentence. we should try to be careful how much we use this phrase, lest we slip up and say something inappropriate or that we didn't mean to while using the name of God.
in sha Allah (phrase)
if Allah wills. it's similar to the english phrase "God willing."
we say this often when discussing plans for the future. we know that at any moment we could return to Allah (aka dying), so this particular phrase can keep from feeling arrogant/invincible because no one can tell you when you're going to die. we remember death not to be morbid, but to motivate us to do better.
because arabic has letters with no english equivalent you'll sometimes see the same word(s) written various ways. i like to write these words "inshaAllah."
links to the parts of the "what is this islam thing?" series below!
part 0 | part 1 | part 2 | part 3
