lit. tradition. The sayings...

lit. tradition. The sayings, practice and approved traditions of the *(Peace Be Upon Him and His Household)* . hāfiz: lit. a guardian or protector. (1) one of the names of God, al-Hāfiz. (2) a governor, guardian of the Makkan temple. (3) one who has memorized the whole of the Qur’ān. (4) one who has memorized one hundred thousand traditions.

hasan: a hadīth, narrated by a reliable chain of narrators though not reaching the grade of sahīh (sound) hadīth, but records a complete chain of narrators up to the Prophet*(Peace Be Upon Him and His Household)* . Imām: (1) one who leads people in prayers; (2) an eminent Islamic scholar; (3) spiritual leader of the Muslims. There will be total of twelve such Imāms, the first being Imām ‘Alī*(Peace Be Upon Him)* and the last Imām Mahdī*(Peace Be Upon Him)* .

iqāmah: a call similar to the adhān (the call to prayer), said immediately before a congregational prayer. ‘Īsā (Peace Be Upon Him) : name of Allah’s penultimate messenger, Jesus. He will come down from the heavens during the time of Imām Mahdī*(Peace Be Upon Him)* . ka‘bah: a cube-shaped building at the centre of al-Masjid-ul-Harām (the great mosque at Makkah) towards which all Muslims face in prayer. It is also known as the House of Allah.

maqām Ibrāhīm: the stone at Makkah within the boundary of al-Masjid-ul-Harām, which has the impression of the footprints of the Prophet Ibrāhīm*(Peace Be Upon Him)* . This is the stone on which Ibrāhīm*(Peace Be Upon Him)* stood while he and his son, the Prophet Ismā‘īl*(Peace Be Upon Him)* , were building the ka‘bah. Maryam: the mother of prophet ‘Īsā; Mary. sahīh: sound.

A hadīth with an unbroken chain of narrators ranging from the *(Peace Be Upon Him and His Household)* and approaching an era through reliable narrators without being shādh (odd) or mu‘allal (faulty) in between the two cross relaters. sharī‘ah: lit. road. It is a legal system of a nation based on the revelation of their prophet/messenger. The last sharī‘ah is that of Islam that replaces all previous sharī‘ahs. spiritual leadership: imāmah.

This status will be held by twelve Imāms, the first of which was ‘Alī al-Murtadā*(Peace Be Upon Him)* , and the last Imām Mahdī*(Peace Be Upon Him)* . spiritual sovereignty: wilāyah; sainthood. A special spiritual status which raises the person above that of normal people. There are various levels and grades of wilāyah such as ghawth, qutb, etc. sunnah: pl. sunan. lit.