MAWLID. Derived from the triliteral Arabic root w-l-d, mawlid means “birth.” Al-Mawlid al-Nabawi alSharif, for example, refers to the twelfth day of Rabi’ al-Awwal of […]
SHAYKH. The Arabic term shaykh is an honorific title given since pre-Islamic times to men of distinction. Its meaning embraces several concepts expressed by the […]
QADIRIYAH. Among the better-known names in Islamic mysticism is that of `Abd al-Qadir al-Gilani (or Jilani or Jili), who is associated with the beginnings of […]