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TASBIH

"The word tasbih is derived from sbh means to glide or swim. In Aramaic it had long meant to praise. The Arabic writers describe this type of praise as swimming in a shoreless sea: "He praises (yusabbih) in a shoreless sea" (Majmu'atu'l Ahzab, p. 563). The saying of the great phrase subhana

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

TABUK, BATTLE OF

With the conquest of Mecca, Islam marched with galloping speed throughout the length and breath of Arabia. The neighbouring Christian states, especially the Roman empire, were watching this unprecedented, triumphant march with a great concern and anxiety.

SUFI, SUFISM

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).

Sufi Orders

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: -

Order Founder Region

Mushariyya Sufyan al-Thawri (d. 778) theoretical

Malamatiyya Abu Yazid al-Bistami (d. 874) theoretical

Kharraziyya Abu Sa'id al-Kharraz (d. 890) theoretical

Junaydiyya Junayd al-Baghdadi (d. 910) theoretical

Hallajiyya Mansur al-Hallaj (d. 972) theoretical

SUHT

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).

SUKRIT

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.

SULTAN MUHAMMAD SHAH, AGA KHAN III (1302-1376/1885-1957), 48TH IMAM

"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

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).

SUNNIS

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 Sunni emphasized the teaching of the Koran and the Sunnah of the Prophet along with the collective judgment of the Companions as authoritative source of Islamic legislation.

SURA

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.

SURA BARA'AT

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.

SIBHA

It is also pronounced as sebha, means rosary. The English word rosary is derived from the Latin, rosarium, meaning rose garden. In Persia and India, the rosary is known among the Muslims as tasbih, in Egypt, subha, meaning to praise or exalt. Among the Indians, it is called japa-mala, meaning muttering chaplet, or samarani, meaning remembrance. It is a string of beads or knotted cord, designed as an aid to the memory, providing convenient method for counting the recitation of the attributes of God.

SIFFIN, BATTLE OF

"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.

SIRAT AL-MUSTAQIM

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).

SIRAT BRIDGE

"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.


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