Fazil Degree Examination key terms

The set of rules governing correct pronunciation and articulation of Quranic letters, including points of articulation, letter qualities, and rules for elongating and merging sounds during recitation.

The specific point in the mouth or throat where a Quranic letter is articulated, such as the lips, tongue, or nasal passage, used to distinguish letters that sound similar.

A recognized method of reciting the Quran transmitted from the Prophet through a chain of narrators, differing in pronunciation, vowel length, or word form while preserving the text.

A report transmitted by so many independent narrators at every stage that agreement on a lie is considered impossible, producing certain knowledge rather than probability.

The chain of narrators listing who heard a report from whom, traced back to the Prophet or a companion; scholars judged its reliability to authenticate or reject a hadith.

The actual wording or content of a hadith, as distinct from the chain of narrators that carries it; both parts are examined when grading a report's authenticity.

A report of a saying, action, or tacit approval attributed to the Prophet Muhammad, forming the second major source of Islamic guidance after the Quran.

The Prophet's established practice and model conduct, whether recorded in hadith collections or transmitted through community practice, serving as a guide for worship and daily life.

Scholarly explanation and interpretation of Quranic verses, addressing language, context of revelation, legal rulings, and theological meaning.

The historical occasions, questions, or events that prompted the revelation of particular Quranic verses, used to clarify their intended meaning and scope.

A Quranic verse whose meaning is clear and decisive, allowing no significant interpretive dispute; such verses anchor interpretation of less clear passages.

A Quranic verse whose wording admits more than one plausible meaning or whose full significance is known only to God, requiring cautious interpretation.

The inimitability of the Quran, understood as its unmatched eloquence and content, which challenged contemporaries to produce something comparable and confirmed its divine origin.

The Arabic science of eloquence, studying how wording suits the situation through precise meaning, figurative expression, and ornamental style.

Arabic grammar, the discipline explaining sentence structure, case endings, and the grammatical roles words play according to governing particles and verbs.

Arabic morphology, the study of word roots, patterns, and derived forms, showing how verbs, nouns, and participles are built and transformed.

The system of case and mood endings in Arabic that marks a word's grammatical function, such as subject, object, or genitive after a preposition.

A formal Arabic ode, usually monorhymed and following a single meter, often opening with a nostalgic or romantic prelude before the main theme.

The Arabic science of prosody, classifying poetic meters and the patterns of short and long syllables that govern acceptable verse composition.

A group of celebrated pre-Islamic Arabic odes regarded as masterpieces of the genre, prized for vivid imagery and strong tribal and heroic themes.

The pre-Islamic period in Arabia, used in literary history for the era of tribal poetry before the Quran's revelation, and in theology for ignorance of divine guidance.

The human discipline of deriving detailed legal rulings from the Quran, Sunnah, and other sources, covering worship, transactions, family, and penal matters.

The revealed guidance and law understood to come from God through the Quran and Prophet's practice, of which fiqh is the scholarly interpretation.

The methodology of Islamic legal reasoning, studying the sources of law, the rules for interpreting texts, and the principles for deriving rulings.

The trained jurist's effort to derive a legal ruling on a new or unsettled matter by applying the sources and principles of Islamic law.

Following an established legal opinion or school without independently deriving it, commonly adopted by those without the training required for ijtihad.

A recognized school of Islamic legal thought with its own developed method and body of rulings, such as the Hanafi or Shafi'i schools.

Analogical reasoning that extends a known ruling to a new case sharing the same effective cause, used where no clear scriptural text applies.

The consensus of qualified Muslim scholars of a given era on a legal or theological matter, treated by many as a binding source of authority.

The body of core Islamic beliefs, especially about God's unity, prophecy, revelation, angels, and the afterlife, held with firm conviction.

The doctrine of God's absolute oneness, affirming that God alone is the creator and worthy of worship, without partner, equal, or likeness.

Associating a partner with God in divinity, worship, or divine attributes; classical theology treats it as the gravest violation of tawhid.

Rejection or denial of a fundamental tenet of Islamic belief, such as God's oneness or the truth of prophecy, after the message has reached the person.

Prophethood, the belief that God selects human messengers to convey guidance, ending with the Prophet Muhammad as the final prophet.

Divine revelation communicated to a prophet, whether through an angel, direct speech, or inspiration, forming the basis of scripture.

Scholastic Islamic theology, which defends and clarifies beliefs through reasoned argument and precise terminology, often engaging rival philosophical positions.

The institution of leadership over the Muslim community after the Prophet, held by a caliph who safeguards religion and administers public affairs.

The principle and practice of consultation in Islamic governance, invoked from Quranic command and the Prophet's and early caliphs' conduct.

The Prophet Muhammad's migration from Mecca to Medina, marking the start of the Islamic calendar and a turning point in community formation.