GLOSSARY
WE have already indicated in the Introduction that most of the
terms and phrases used in the Qur’an in relation to its teachings and
the system that it stands for cannot be properly translated into
English or any other language. In the present work, therefore, we
have not tried this almost impossible task; instead we have used the
original Arabic terms and phrases wherever we apprehended that
their meaning might be distorted in the process of translation. In
this glossary, we shall try to explain the real meaning and true import
of all such terms and phrases. These interpretations, it might be
emphasised, are not subjective and ex cathedra; but are based upon
authoritative and universally recognised lexicons of the Arabic
language, for instance:
- Lane, Arabic-English Lexicon
- Lisaaan-ul-Arab
- Taaj-ul-Aroos
- Muheet-ul-Muheet
- Raaghib, Mufridaat-ul-Qur’an
These interpretations are also supported by the context in which
they have been used in the respective Qur’anic verses. All the
relevant terms and phrases have been discussed at great length in my
other work Lughaat-ul-Qur’an (The Lexicon of the Qur’an) which
has been published in four volumes (in Urdu). In the following
explanations, the respective roots of the relevant terms and phrases
have been given within brackets.
- ‘Adl means justice, but not merely the justice dispensed
by the courts; it covers justice in all spheres of life. Justice signifies
the condition where every individual gets what is due to him. And
“due” means not only what is due to him economically but all the
fundamental rights that belong to him by virtue of his being a
human being. The Qur’an has laid great stress on ‘adl, and the
establishment of ‘adl is the ultimate end of the Qur’anic Social
Order.
But the Qur’an enjoins not only adl but also ihsaan, which means