Glossary: J
A B D F G H I J K L M N Q R S T U W Y Z
jaḥd
Al-Rāghib: jaḥd is to deny something that one knows in his heart to be true, or to affirm something that one knows in his heart to be false. → Read at 27:14
janb allāh
Al-Rāghib: janb is the flank, then used for the adjacent side. Hence the vicinage of God (janb allāh) means His side, referring to all the obligations the servant owes Him, such as worshiping Him alone; neglecting it means falling short in one's duties to Him. → Read at 39:56
jazāʾ
Jazāʾ means “reciprocating an act by something equivalent to it,” good for good and evil for evil, while shukr and shukūr mean “remembering and revealing a favor with one’s heart, speech, or action.” → Read at 76:9
jibillah
Majmaʿ al-bayān: jibillah is the formation according to which one is created; so "the former jibillah" means those possessing such a created nature, the forefathers in whose natures God planted aversion to corruption and acknowledgment of its evil. → Read at 26:184
jibt
Al-jibt (and al-jibs) means a thing in which there is no good; it has also been interpreted as anything worshipped other than God. → Read at 4:51
jihād
- () To strive against a people: doing one's utmost to resist and repel them, in word, in deed or by fighting. The Qur'an often uses it for warfare, but sometimes in other senses, as in . → Read
- () Jihād means exerting one's maximum effort (juhd) and ability to ward off the enemy, most commonly through fighting; but the enemy may be anything that poses danger, such as Satan or the evil-commanding soul, so it also applies to opposing one's base desires. → Read
- () Exerting effort to reform a matter and defend against harm; with the unbelievers, proclaiming the truth and then fighting if they refuse; with the hypocrites, trying to appease them until their hearts settle on faith, for the Prophet never warred against hypocrites. → Read
jinn
The root means to hide or cover, a meaning found in all its derivatives: majannah (shield), jannah (paradise), janīn (fetus), janān (heart). → Read at 15:27
jiwār
Yujīru is derived from jiwār, which originally means neighborhood; since neighbors support and protect each other, verbs from this root convey protection, so ajārahu means he gave him shelter. → Read at 23:88
jizya
Al-Rāghib: the payment taken from the Protected Peoples (ahl al-dhimma), so called because it is given in repayment for their safety and legal protection. The ʿAllāmah says this appears more reliable than al-Ṭabrisī's explanation of it as a penalty for their remaining disbelievers, since it agrees with its being a tax paid in return for their protection. → Read at 9:29
jund
A host is a heavy mass of people united in working toward a common purpose; the hosts of the heavens and the earth are the causes in the world, of both visible and invisible creation, the intermediaries between God and the object of His will, which always obey Him and never disobey. → Read at 48:4
junnah
A cover by which harm is avoided, such as a shield; the hypocrites take their oaths (aymān) as such a cover. → Read at 58:16
juzʾ
The word used for offspring, juzʾ, literally means part, as a child is a part of its parents that has separated and taken their form; it shows the impossibility of their claim, since a part can only be taken from what is composite, while God is absolutely and indivisibly one. → Read at 43:15