Glossary of Quran & Islamic Terms – Surah, Ayah, Juz

This glossary explains the Arabic and Islamic words used on Muslim Chat — in the Quran, its recitation, and the app itself — in simple English.

Terms

Adhan أذان: The call to prayer, made before each of the five daily prayers. Muslim Chat's prayer times show when each adhan is due, for your own city.
Ayah آية: A verse of the Quran (plural ayat); the word also means “sign”. The Quran has 6,236 ayahs in the count followed by the recitation of Hafs. In Muslim Chat you can tap an ayah's number to hear it, bookmark it or send it into a chat.
Al-Azhar الأزهر: The mosque and university in Cairo, founded in the tenth century and one of the oldest centres of Islamic learning in the world. Mahmoud Khalil Al-Husary studied there.
Bismillah بسم الله: “In the name of Allah” — the words that open 113 of the 114 Surahs. See the article on the Bismillah.
Du'a دعاء: Supplication: asking Allah for something in one's own words, at any time.
Hadiya هدية: A gift. Muslim Chat is offered as a hadiya for all Muslim Ummah — the word it uses instead of “free” — with Premium features for those who want more.
Hafiz حافظ: A person who has memorised the whole Quran (plural huffaz). Many huffaz in South Asia learn from the 15-line Indo-Pak Mushaf.
Hafs 'an 'Asim حفص عن عاصم: The transmission of the Quran's recitation from the master reader 'Asim of Kufa through his student Hafs. It is the most widely used today; the text, the Mushaf pages and all recitations in Muslim Chat follow it.
Hajj حج: The pilgrimage to Makkah, made in the month of Dhul-Hijjah; a duty once in a lifetime for every Muslim who is able.
Halal حلال: Permitted in Islam. Muslim Chat is a halal-minded messenger: no adverts, no video calling and nothing designed to waste time.
Haram حرام: Forbidden in Islam. Muslim Chat deliberately leaves out video calling.
Hifz حفظ: Memorising the Quran. In Muslim Chat an ayah or a page can be repeated three times, five times or without end, which helps with hifz.
Hijrah هجرة: The migration of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and the early Muslims from Makkah to Madinah in 622 CE, from which the Islamic (Hijri) calendar is counted.
Imam إمام: The person who leads a congregational prayer; also a title of respect for a leading scholar.
Juz (Para) جزء: One of the 30 equal parts of the Quran; called Para in South Asia. See the article on the Juz.
Ka'bah الكعبة: The House of Allah at the centre of Masjid al-Haram in Makkah, towards which Muslims face in prayer.
King Fahd Complex مجمع الملك فهد: The King Fahd Glorious Quran Printing Complex in Madinah, opened in 1984. It prints the Madani Mushaf in many millions of copies, and its digital Uthmanic text and fonts are used in Muslim Chat.
Makki and Madani مكي ومدني: Surahs revealed in Makkah before the Hijrah are Makki; those revealed after it, in and around Madinah, are Madani. See the article on Makki and Madani Surahs.
Al-Masjid an-Nabawi المسجد النبوي: The Prophet's Mosque in Madinah, first built by the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ after the Hijrah. Saad Al-Ghamdi led Tarawih there as a guest imam in 2009.
Masjid al-Haram المسجد الحرام: The Sacred Mosque in Makkah, around the Ka'bah, towards which Muslims pray. Abdur-Rahman As-Sudais has been one of its imams since 1984.
Mujawwad مجود: A slow, melodic style of recitation, with long, ornate phrases, usually performed for listeners at gatherings and on radio. Abdul Basit and Al-Minshawi are famous for it.
Murattal مرتل: A measured, unhurried recitation with tajweed, suited to daily listening, learning and following along in the Mushaf. All six recitations in Muslim Chat are murattal.
Mushaf مصحف: A written copy of the Quran. Muslim Chat has two: the Indo-Pak Mushaf and the Madani Mushaf. See the article on the Mushaf.
Nasheed نشيد: An Islamic song or chant, usually sung without musical instruments.
Qari قارئ: A reciter of the Quran (plural qurra), especially one trained in tajweed and the canonical readings. See the list of reciters in Muslim Chat.
Qira'at قراءات: The canonical ways of reciting the Quran, handed down from the early master readers through their students. Al-Husary was a master of the ten readings and recorded several of them.
Ramadan رمضان: The ninth month of the Islamic calendar, the month of fasting, in which the revelation of the Quran began. Many Muslims read one Juz a day during Ramadan.
Salah صلاة: The five daily prayers — Fajr, Dhuhr, Asr, Maghrib and Isha — also called namaz. Muslim Chat shows their times for your city.
Surah سورة: A chapter of the Quran. There are 114, from Al-Fatihah to An-Nas; every Surah except At-Tawbah begins with the Bismillah. Each has its own page here.
Tafsir تفسير: The explanation and commentary of the Quran.
Tajweed تجويد: The rules of correct recitation: how each letter is pronounced, where sounds are lengthened or nasalised, and where to pause.
Tarawih تراويح: The night prayers of Ramadan, in which long portions of the Quran are recited — often one Juz each night, so that the whole Quran is completed during the month.
Tilawat تلاوة: Recitation of the Quran. In Muslim Chat, tilawat plays ayah by ayah while the Mushaf page follows along.
Ummah أمة: The worldwide community of Muslims.
Uthmanic script الرسم العثماني: The spelling of the Quran as written in the copies sent out by the Caliph 'Uthman ibn 'Affan. The Madani Mushaf follows it closely.

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