"Apprehensive of Muawiya's designs against him, Ali considered Kufa suitably situated to check any encroachment in Iraq, therefore he made it his capital in 36/657, as topographically it was in the centre of his dominions. In Syria, disorder and incitement to commotion continued unabated. Uthman's shirt, besmeared with his blood and the chopped-off fingers of his wife, Naila, were exhibited from the pulpit. In this manner, Muawiya raised the entire country of Syria against Ali.

The word sirat means path, occurring 45 times in the Koran. The word sirat is said to be a loan word from Latin, strata. The word mustaqim means straight, is more frequent in the Koran, being used either with sirat for 21 times or with tariq means path. The way of God is also termed as sirat sawiyy (19:43, 20:135) or in the genitive phrase, sawa al-sirat (38:22) or sawa al-sabil (28:22, 60:1).

"It is also called Sirat al-Jahim. It is a bridge of hell. In the world to come, the sirat is the bridge stretched over hell, which all human beings are said to traverse in order to reach paradise. The Koranic word aqabatun (pl. aqabat) is translated as a mountain-road difficult of access. It means the difficulties or obstacles, which men will have to encounter stage by stage before the actual entry into paradise or hell.

The true meaning of the word sufi has been much discussed and many books has been composed on the subject. The word sufi is derived from safa means purity, because the foremost need in Sufism is to purify the heart. Another view suggests that the Sufis are in the first rank (saff'i awwal); others say that the Sufis claim to belong to the ashab'i suffa (the Companions of the Prophet). Some assert its derivation from suf (wool) because of wearing woolen garment (jama'i suf).

What was at first a fairly private movement of like-minded people in the early Islamic centuries eventually grew into a major social force that permeated most Muslim societies. In the theorical manuals of the 10th century was followed by the growth of many circles of teaching, initially in the central areas in Iraq and Persia, but soon reaching to the frontiers of Spain, East Africa, Central Asia and India. List of eminent Sufi Orders is given below: -

The Koranic word suht means illicit gain: "And do not eat up your property among yourselves for vanities, nor use it as bait for the judges, with intent that you may eat up wrongfully and knowingly a little of (other) people's property" (2:188) and "(They are) listeners to lie, devourers of the illicit gain" (5:45).

The Sanskrit word kar means hand, and krit means deeds of hand. Thus, the word sukrat or sukrit means the good deeds conducted by hand. Sukrit is however physically a soft-dish, and its little bit is served during the rites of Ab-i Shafa to the adherents in the Jamatkhana, but it contains rich symbolic meaning for the believers.

"His name was Muhammad Sultan, also known as Sir Sultan Muhammad Shah, the Aga Khan III, born at Honeymoon Lodge in Karachi on Friday, the 25th Shawal, 1294/November 2, 1877 at 5:30 pm. When the news of his birth was routed to Imam Hasan Ali Shah in Bombay, he said: "Name him Muhammad Sultan. He will be a Sultan (emperor) in the world. His period will witness wonderful events, and will earn distinguished position in the world."

Sunnah literally means a way or rule or manner of acting or mode of life. Sunnah was a word in vogue in pre-Islamic Arabia. The Arabs used it for the past customs and exemplary conduct left by their ancestors. The Koranic verses indicate that the term sunnah denotes practice or behaviour (35:43, 48:23).

The word sunni literally means one who is a traditionist. They are called the "people of custom and community" (ahl al-sunnah wa'l-jama'a). The Sunnis number majority of the total Muslim population of the world, in which the Hanafis being the largest. They recognized the first four caliphs and accept the legitimacy of the Umayyad and the Abbasid caliphates.

The Koran is divided into 114 chapters, each of which is called sura. The word sura (pl. suwar) is derived from sur, meaning a boundary wall of a city, thus sura means a part or chapter of the Koran separated by other. The word sura occurs 9 times in the Koran in singular and once in the plural form. Sura Baqara is the longest sura and Sura Kawthar is the shortest. Each sura contains a specific name.

The Koranic Sura Bara'at (or Sura Tauba) was revealed towards the end of the year 9 A.H., Abu Bakr was consigned its first forty verses to be read before the people in Mecca. After a few moments, the Prophet provided Ali bin Abu Talib a speedy camel, called Ghuzha and instructed to go ahead and overtake Abu Bakr and take away those verses from him and proceed to Mecca.

The word sadaqa is derived from sidq meaning truth, and comes to signify a charitable deed, occurring 14 times in the Koran. Sometimes the terms zakat and sadaqa are wrongly used in the same sense. Sadaqa denotes a voluntary alms. According to Koran (9:14): "Take from their property alms (sadaqa) in order thus to purify them (tuzakki'him)." Sadaqa is a mere generic term applying to the alms.

"Pir Sadruddin, one of the best known and revered hujjats in India was born in Sebzewar probably in 700/1300. His name was Muhammad, the son of Pir Sahib'din bin Pir Nasiruddin bin Pir Shams Sebzewari. His early education followed customary lines at home. He was a man steeped in a thorough understanding of the mystical teaching and the Islamic science of tawil. He also visited Mecca several times on pilgrimage, and seems to have acquired a good command in Arabic.

"Prince Sadruddin, the son of Imam Sultan Muhammad Shah and the late Princess Andree Aga Khan was born in the American Hospital at Neuilly, outside Paris on January 17, 1933. He received his early education in Switzerland before graduating in 1954 from Harvard University.

The term sa'f safa'i means neat and cleanliness, and the Sa'f Safa'i Committee (matahir or taharat khana) is a traditional institution in each Jamatkhana. It looks after the sweeping, washing and cleaning the premise. Islam emphasizes great deal of cleanliness and purification in every affair of life. The Prophet also said, "Purification is the key to prayer" (Tirmizi, 1:3), "Religion is built on cleanliness" (Ibid.) and "Purification is one half of faith" (Ibn Majah, 1:5).

The sahaba (pl. ashab) means the Companions of the Prophet. The plural "Companions of the Prophet" (ashab al-nabi), otherwise known simply as the Companions (sahaba) is derived from the root s-h-b. The phrase ashab al-nabi does not appear in the Koran. Nor does the plural form sahab occur there. Of the 94 times that the noun sahib and its plural ashab do appear in the Koran.

The word asr means time or time to come. It is a spiritual or eternal hour, which is hidden in material age. The material age is zaman. In other words, asr is batin and zaman is zahir. The Imam is the Lord of the spiritual as well as the material hours.

The word sajda (pl. sujud) is derived from sajd means bowing down. It occurs 64 times in the Koran. The prostration or bowing down the head is an obligatory part of the prayers. The Koran says: "O you who believe! Bow down and prostrate yourselves and serve your Lord, and do good that you may succeed" (22:77) and "So make prostration to God and serve" (53:62).

"Salamia was a small town in Syria in the district of east of the Orontes, and is located at a distance of 32 kilometers to the south-east of Hammah, or 44 kilometers to the north-east of Hims. It lies in a fertile plain, about 1500 feet above the sea level, south of the Jabal al-A'la and on the margin of the Syrian steppe, standing on the main entrance of the Syrian desert.

The word salat (pl. salawat) is an Aramaic verbal noun s'lota (bowing or bending) had passed into several dialects with the meaning of prayer. This word was used by Armaic speaking Jews for the obligatory recital of the 18 benedictions. In Hebrew, the synagogue of the Jews was also termed as a salat, vide Koran, 22:40. It also means to walk behind anything constantly. In horse-race, the second horse runs just behind the first horse, is also called salla.

(continued from SALAAT)
Fixation of five times Salat

Also called salat al-subh. When any person could perceive his neighbour at near distance in darkness at dawn. (Bukhari, muwakit, p. 21). Its time begins with "the true dawn" (al-fajr al-sadik) when the faces can still not yet be recognized, and extends until the daybreak as such before the sun appears.

It was offered and ended when an arrow was shot from a bow and could be seen at sunset ((Ibid., p. 27). Its time begins when the sun disappears beneath the horizon, and normally continues until disappearance of the twilight radiance.

Also called salat al-atama (salat of black night), and salat al-layl (night prayer). When the people felt need of burning lamp in early night. (Ibid. p. 24). Its time begins soon after the disappearance of the twilight and extends until the end of the first third of the night.

The Arabic word salat is for the prayer provided the action comes from the man. The phrase salla ala means to pray for is found for example in the Koran (9:103), where the Prophet is told to pray for misdoers, who have at length entered the fold of Islam. It also means the blessing or effusion of grace (or salawat), if the action comes from God, such as, "Verily, God and His angels call down blessing on (yusalluna ala) the Prophet. O ye who believe!

The Persian word sal means anniversary and girah means knot, thus salgirah refers to an anniversary added on to a string kept for the purpose. Imam Sultan Muhammad Shah said, "Life is a great and noble calling, not a mean and a grovelling thing to be shuffled through as best as we can but a lofty and exalted destiny." Hence, the day of birth, for every soul, is of supreme importance.

It means peace be upon him. When the name of the Prophet or Imams are mentioned, the listeners demonstrate their respect and devotion by bowing their heads slightly and touching with their forefinger the lips and/or the bridge of the nose and the forehead in a bipartite or triparite gesture with the chanting of salla'llah alaihi wa sallam.

SALVATION [ see NAJAT ]

SATAN [ see SHAITAN ]

The word satara is a corrupt form of satada, which is a formation of two words, i.e. sat (seven) and dahada (days). Its synonmous are satado, satado or satrata. The satara or satada denotes a spiritual exercise (riyazat) of the faithful at midnight or day, such as the practice of i'tikaf. For removing hindrances in spiritual progress, or to remove interruption in the practice of worship, the Ismaili hold the majalis of Satara as the seven nights of supplication.

"The mission in Gujrat goes back to the period of Jaylam bin Shayban, who had established a Fatimid rule in Multan and extended his influence as far as Gujrat, whose informations are scant. Later, in 461/1068, Ahmad bin Mukarram, the second ruler of the Sulayhid dynasty in Yamen, had written a letter to Imam al-Mustansir in Cairo, when there was certain missionary activities in Gujrat.

The primary significance of saum is abstaining in an absolute sense (al-imsaku ani-l fi'l), and includes abstaining from eating or speaking or moving about; thus a horse that abstains from moving about, or from fodder, is said to be sa'im, and wind is said to be saum when it abates, and the day when it reaches the mid point. On two occasions in the Koran (9:112 and 66:5), those who fast are called sa'ih (from saha meaning he travelled) or spiritual wayfarers.

"Imam Syed Ali was born most probably in Shahr-i Babak, where he passed his early life with his mother. He also came in Kahek after his father's arrival from Khorasan. He was also known as Shah Ataullah II among the Nimatullahi Sufi order. He was a popular figure as an amir in Shahr-i Babak and Kirman in the elites. He is also known as Rais al-Kirman (Lord of Kirman), an honour, which promoted him to the governorship of Kirman.

SECTS [ see FIRQA ]

SELF REALIZATION [ see KHUD SHANASI ]

Shab-i Barat or Lail at-Bara'a (night of quittancy) is a non-Koranic but a very popular feast of the Muslims. It is celebrated on the night of the full moon of 14th Sha'ban, and the people devote it to the commemoration of the dead. It is considered to be the night when the "writing conferring immunity is written in heaven" or, more generally, the night during which "the fates for the coming year are destined in heaven."

It was the morning of Saturday, 7th Shawal, 3/March 23, 625

The word shafa'a is derived from shaf meaning the making a thing to be one of a pair, or the adjoining a thing to its like, and thus shafa'a signifies the joining of a man to another assisting him. In Islamic terminology, it means intercession. It is the intercession of a mediator with the right to intercede of the greater or more worthy on behalf of the lesser or less worthy. The word shafa'a occurs 29 times in the Koran.

The word shah didar or shah'jo didar means may (you bless with) Lord's glimpse. It is a taslim in the Ismaili tariqah, the believers greet each other at the end of the prayer, beholding face to face, both pronounce shah didar by shaking hand. This is an act of humble wish to refresh their spiritual relation. The Koran says, "Whosoever surrenders his face to God, being a doer of good, has verily grasped the firm hand-hold" (31:22)

"Momin Shah, the son of Imam Shamsuddin Muhammad was the hujjat in Syria. He died in 738/1337. His son Muhammad Shah (d. 807/1404) also operated the Ismaili mission in the village of Khwand in Qazwin. His son was Raziuddin I (d. 833/1429), who in turn was succeeded by his son Muhammad Tahir Shah (d. 867/1462). His son Raziuddin II had gone to Badakhshan in 913/1508, where he established his rule in the period of a certain Taymurid amir Mirza Khan (d. 926/1520).

The word shahid (pl. shuhada) is derived from the Arabic verbal root shahada, meaning to see, witness, testify or become a model and paradigm. In different grammatrical forms the words used in the Koran are ish'had, shahid, shahadah, shuhadam shahud, mashud, mashad, etc. A shahid is a martyr, who witnesses as if a martyr witnesses and see the truth physically and thus stands by it firmly. The English word martyr comes from the Greek martyrs, meaning witness.

The word shaitan (pl. shayatin) is derived from the verb shaana, meaning to detain someone in order to divert him from his intention. Another view suggests that the word is rooted from the Hebrew, satan, meaning a cord. The word shaitan is used 70 times in the Koran in the singular form, including six times in the indefinite (4:117, 15:17, 22:3, 37:7, 43:36, 81:25), plus 18 times in the plural, shayatin, which is always definite.

"Pir Shams was born most probably at Sebzewar, a town in Khorasan, lying 64 miles west of Nishapur. His father Syed Salauddin had been deputed in Baltistan by Imam Kassim Shah, who most probably came into the contact of Taj Mughal in Badakhshan. Kamaluddin Mujahri of Sebzewar writes in Malfuz-i Kamalia that Pir Syed Muinuddin Hasan of Sebzewar of Ajmer had a meeting with Syed Salauddin in Sebzewar in 560/1165.

"Imam Shams al-Din Muhammad is said to have born in 646/1230 in the fortress of Maimundiz. He was known as Agha Shams in Syria and Shah Shams in India. He is also known as Shamsu'l Haq in few Iranian poems. Poet Nizari Kohistani (d.

Shariah is an Arabic term used to designate Islamic law. It originally referred to a path trodden by camels to a water source, a course to the watering place or resort of drinkers. Hence, it means the clear path or the highway to be followed.

"The word shi'a (pl. shi'ya, ash'ya) is derived from musha'ayah, which is synonymous with following a person and obeying him. Its second letter in the root is sha'a, shia'an meaning a person who follows his peer group. According to Lisan al-Arab, al-Shi'ah means a group which is formed on the basis of a certain agreement, and every group thus formed is called Shi'ah. According to al-Qamus, the word shi'a means follower, friend or member of a group.

He was born most probably in 1268/1851 in Baghdad. He is also called Khalilullah and Shah Badin Shah. Imam Aga Ali Shah had married to Marium Sultan in Iraq, who bore two sons, Pir Shihabuddin Shah and Aga Nur Shah. These two sons were brought up in Hasanabad, Bombay. Aga Nur Shah was a good sportsman and fell down from his horse while riding and sustained serious injuries, which proved fatal and died at the age of 30 years.

The Shoes Company is an institution in the Jamatkhana, where the shoes of the visitors are deposited. The word company means an assemblage, collection or multitude of things. The Arabic word na'al (pl. ni'al) means sandal, khuff means boot and ahdhiya means shoe. The primitive shoe or sandal was a flat sole of leather, wood or matted grass with loops attached, through which the shoe-latchet, a leather thong, passed and strapped in the foot.

"The word shukr (pl. shukur) means thankfulness or gratitude. The verb to thank, to be grateful (shakara) and its various cognates, such as shukr occur 74 times in the Koran. A dominant feature of the concept of gratitude in the Koran is its use to describe the spiritual bond binding the believer to God.

27. Suleman bin Hasan (d. 1005/1597)

28. Jafar bin Suleman (d. 1050/1640)

29. Ali bin Suleman (d. 1088/1677)

30. Ibrahim bin Mohammad (d. 1094/1683)

31. Mohammad bin Ismail (d. 1109/1697)

32. Hibatullah bin Ibrahim (d. 1160/1747)

33. Ismail bin Hibatullah (d. 1184/1770)

34. Hasan bin Hibatullah (d. 1189/1775)

35. Abdul Ali bin Hasan (d. 1195/1781)

36. Abdullah bin Ali (d. 1225/1810)

37. Yusuf bin Ali (d. 1234/1819)