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Ablution

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SIBAK AL-KHAYL

Horse is an important and valuable member of the mammalia. Among the earliest evidence of the importance of the horse to human culture are the unearthed wall paintings in the caves of Lascaux, in southern France, dating around 30,000 B.C. The horse first became useful in welfare sometimes before 1500 B.C. when Mesopotamian people began to use horses to pull their chariots. There is however a question rose by Canon Taylor in his Origin of the Aryans (p.161), whether the horse was at first used for drawing chariots or for riding.

ZAMZAM

The word zamzan or zamazim means abundant of water. Some suggests that it means to drink with little gulps. Abdullah bin Abbas narrates that they called the zamzan as subha meaning one which fills stomach. The Prophet also called it khayur ma'in (excellent water). The sacred well is located at the perimeter of the sacred complex of Mecca.

ZAYN AL-ABIDIN (61-94/680-713), 3RD IMAM

"Abu Muhammad Ali bin Hussain, known as Zayn al-Abidin (ornament of the pious) and by the titles of as-Sajjad (the prostrator) and az-Zaki (the pure), was born in Medina on 38/658. He would feed the hungry persons at night, from one to three hundred families; and in daytime, he would have a hundred sheep a day killed for meat, which would be distributed to the needy people. Much of his time he spent sitting on an old piece of matting, fasting all day, or eating a little barely bread. D.M. Donaldson writes in The Shi'ite Religion (London, 1933, p.

ZIKR

The word zikr (pl. azkar), zikra or tazikra is derived from z-k-r appear in 274 Koranic verses, means remembrance or recollection. The most important significance of the first form of the verb is "thinking about" or "calling to mind" with the remembrance of God being the primary focus. The Koran says, "and remember God often" (33:40) and "the remembrance of God makes the heart calm" (13:28).

ZULFIKAR

It means possessor of notches or the Lord of the vertebrae of the back. It was the name borne by a famous sword owned in turn by a pagan called al-As bin Munabbih, who was killed in the battle of Badr. The Prophet acquired it in a booty and presented to Ali bin Abu Talib. The expression of zulfikar (dhu'l fiqar or dhu'l faqar) is explained by the presence of this sword of notches (fukra) or grooves. It was double-edged (shafratani) and its blade was strengthened in the middle by a pole (amud).

ZULFIKAR ALI (920-922/1514-1516), 37TH IMAM

Zulfikar Ali, known as Khalil or Khalilullah, was born most probably in 900/1394, and resided in Anjudan. Syed Imam Shah (d. 926/1520) described the name Shah Khalil most possibly for Imam Zulfikar Ali.

USHR

The tax on land produce was collected at 10% if the land was watered by a stream or rain. This tax was known as ushr.

YAUM AL-IMAMA

It means the

TALAQ

"The root idea of the verb talaqa means to be freed from a tether (of a camel). Thus, talaq means a camel untethered or a woman repudiated by a man. It also means freeing or the ending of a knot. In the terminology of the jurists, the talaq or divorce is called khul, meaning the putting off or taking off of a thing, when it is claimed by the wife. In the Koran there is one derivation of the root, ikhla, which means take off.

USUL'I DIN & FURU'I DIN

The word usul is the plural of asl, which means a root or a principle, and furu is the plural of far which means a branch. The former is also called aqaid (pl. of aqida, lit. what one is bound to) or belief, and the latter ahkam (pl. of hukm, lit. an order) or the ordinances and regulations of Islam.

YAUM AL-MITHAQ

"The word mithaq is derived from wathiqa meaning to place confidence in someone Thus, mithaq means the covenant, occurring 25 times in the Koran. The Yaum al-mithaq means the day of the covenant or the day of primordial, also called yaum ad-darr, meaning, the day of specks.

TALIKA MUBARAK

The term talik means suspension or hanging together. Talik is said to have got this name from its letters being connected to each other, and is in fact a compound of tawki, rika and naskh scripts. The shikasta talik (broken talik) is the result of writing talik rapidly. The letters are written in a more intricate style, which makes shikasta talik difficult to read. It started to appear in 8th/14th century and was developed by Khwaja Taj Salmaniyi Ispahani (d. 897/1491).

UTHMAN

"Uthman, the son of Affan was born in Mecca in the 6th year of the Elephants. He belonged to the Umayyad tribe. His father was a richest merchant. He was first among the Ummayad to become a Muslim. He also participated in the migration of Abyssinia. He took leading part in serving the cause of Islam and earned the title of Ghani for spending his wealth.

YAUM-I ALI

"The Shi'ite Muslims celebrate every 13h of Rajab as Yaum-i Ali, the birth anniversary of Ali bin Abu Talib. The birth of Ali in the sanctuary of Kaba denotes a herald of the divine guidance to be continued after the Prophet, who had said, "I am the Lord of revelation (tanzil) and Ali is the Lord of tawil (interpretation)." It implies that the inner (batin) aspects of the Koran will be imparted by Ali and his descendants in every age till the day of judgment.

TALIM, DOCTRINE OF

"The early Nizari Ismailis showed a particular interest in the doctrine of the Imamate and concentrated their doctrinal investigations. Thus, Hasan bin Sabbah broached the doctrine of talim (authoritative teaching) to the Ismailis. The word talim is derived from the second form of the root verb alima mean to know. Thus, the talim means instruction or teaching, and the derivative talim has come to be used to denote, in particular, the followers of authoritative, i.e., the Ismailis.

VAKIL

The term vakil was a short form of vakil'i shah (vicegerent of the Lord) or vakil'i mawla (vicegerent of the Imam), and the term vakil'i nafs'i nafis'i humayun (vicegerent of the Imam in both his spiritual and temporal capacities) was used in Iran for the hujjat, or Pir. The word vakil means representative. Ordinarily, the office of the vakil was coined for a responsible person to represent the hujjat or Pir. The Imams appointed the vakils, but some times, the hujjat also appointed with the consent of the Imam.

YERAVADA PALACE

"In 1897, a terrible famine broke out in Bombay and Poona. Imam Sultan Muhammad Shah made not a little distinction of caste or creed while distributing grain, money and clothes during famine. He built a palace in Poona with a view to provide job opportunities and a means of livelihood to the famine stricken people. The site covered an area of 65 acres in the location of Yeravada in Poona. It construction had been made under the care of Lady Aly Shah. It cost over twelve lac rupees. It became known as the Yeravada Palace or the Aga Khan Palace.

TAQI MUHAMMAD (212-225/828-840), 9TH IMAM

"Ahmad bin Abdullah, Muhammad al-Habib, or Abul Hussain, surnamed at-Taqi (God-fearing), also called Imam Taqi Muhammad, was born in 174/790 and ascended in 212/828. He lived secretly with his followers as a merchant at Salamia. He is also called Sahib al-Rasail (Lord of the epistles). He however retained the services of Abdullah bin Maymun (d. 260/874) as his hujjat.

VOLUNTARY SERVICES

"The English word voluntar is borrowed from Latin, voluntary-ius or French, voluntaire means freely undertaken. It is a feeling arising or developing in the mind without external constraint having a purely spontaneous origin or character. Voluntary service refers to a work done with an intention of assisting others without expectation of its reward. Voluntary service is a universal concept and not confined to a specific culture, group or region. It is probably as old as mankind.


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