Glossary of Arabic Words

Abstract

ʿAuyūn (sing. ‘ayn): water sources or springs1 Aqḍīya (sing. qaḍāʾ): administrative divisions of the provinces ruled by the Ottoman Empire2 Bey: Ottoman title given to some governors in the Ottoman Empire3 Eyālet: largest administrative divisions in the Ottoman Empire4 Fatwa: legal opinion or learned interpretation by a qualified jurist or mufti given on issues pertaining to Islamic law5 Ḥāra: neighborhood. al-Ḥalfa (sparto or Cortaderia selloana): species of palms, grows in poor and very dry soil and very high temperatures in North Africa, among other places, leaves are thin (one-millimeter width) and can be one meter long, used in handicrafts like producing mats6 Ḥaṣīr (mats): made of the sparto (ḥalfa), made manually or with looms and used domestically to sit on7 Ḥenna: plant,which leaves are dried and used to dye hair, skin or fingernails as body art8 al-Ḥizb: political party. Eid al-Aḍḥa: Islamic festival two months after the fasting month of Ramaḍān, celebrated after Ḥaj9 Eid al-Fiṭr: Islamic festival, celebrated immediately after the fasting month of Ramaḍān, there are special prayers at this festival that gathers all Muslims together10 Jihad: armed struggle to defend Islam, whether in a territorial or ideological sense11 al-Jihādiyya: tax imposed by the Ottoman Empire used to cover the expenses of jihad, at the beginning temporary, later continued to be permanently taken from local people in all Ottoman provinces and territories12 al-Jinn: supernatural creatures Kalīm (mats): thicker than ḥaṣīr because they are made of wool and used to cover the walls or the ground to be protected from humidity13