Word origins

• hegiraA journey taken to escape from danger; an exodus.
• hendibehThe common chicory (Cichorium intybus).
• hijamawet cupping
• hikmahWisdom and understanding about the divine.
• HimyarAn ancient kingdom based in modern Yemen.
• hisbahAn Islamic doctrine that requires upholding community morals and law and order.
• HocineA male given name from Arabic.
• HouthiA member of the Ansar Allah armed revolutionary group in Yemen.
• howadjiA traveller or merchant from the Middle East
• HoweitatA large Judhami tribe inhabiting parts of present-day southern Jordan, the Sinai Peninsula and Sharqia governate in Egypt, the Negev, and northwestern Saudi Arabia.
• HubalA god worshipped in pre-Islamic Arabia.
• hududThe statutory punishments prescribed by the Quran for certain crimes, including theft, fornication, adultery, false accusation of adultery, drunkenness, and apostasy.
• hulbahA condiment made from ground fenugreek seeds, traditional in Yemen and nearby countries.
• husayniyyaA building where Shia Muslims gather to mourn the death of Husayn ibn Ali in the month of Muharram.
• -iUsed to form adjectives, nouns, demonyms (describing people of a particular city, region or country) or genonyms (describing people of a particular tribe, clan or family) and the language spoken by these people.
• ibadaservice to Allah; sometimes included in the five pillars
• IbadiOf or relating to Ibadism.
• iddahThe period for which a woman must wait after the death of her spouse, or after a divorce, before she can remarry.
• IdlibA city in Syria.
• i'jamDots used in modern Arabic script to distinguish between consonants with identical backbone (rasm) shapes.
• ijarahA non-binding exchange contract concerning ownership of a benefit related to the services of a human being or sale of a movable object, but not concerning land, houses, ships, or animals.
• ijazahA license authorizing its holder to transmit a certain text or subject, especially Islamic religious knowledge.
• ijma'A universal consensus among fuqaha (Sunni legal scholars) on a point of law; one of the sources of Sunni jurisprudence.
• imalaa sound change in Arabic by which the vowels /a/, /aː/ are fronted in certain phonetic environments (possibly creating new phonemes, notably in Maltese and to a lesser degree in some dialects)
• imamahAn Islamic turban.
• ImaneA unisex given name from Arabic.
• ImtenanA unisex given name from Arabic.
• infitahEgypt's policy, after the 1973 war, of encouraging the private sector and stimulating foreign investment.
• IntissarA unisex given name of Arabic usage.
• iqamaThe second call to prayer, made immediately before Muslims pray.
• iqtaThe Islamic practice of farming out tax revenues yielded by land granted temporarily to army officials in place of a regular wage.
• Iraq al-AjamSynonym of Persian Iraq.
• IshbiliyaSeville
• IsmaeliA member of branch of Shiite Islam which emphasises secrecy and certain gnostic ideas.
• 'ismahThe concept of incorruptible innocence, immunity from sin, or moral infallibility, ascribed to prophets, imams, and angels.
• isnada Muslim tradition, specifying the chain of human reporters from the time of Muhammad that authenticates the legitimacy of a hadith (a report of sayings and acts of the prophet)
• istighfarAct of asking God for forgiveness
• istikharaA prayer seeking guidance in making a decision.
• istinjaRitual cleansing of the urethra or anus after using the toilet.
• ItbayA region of southeastern Egypt and northeastern Sudan, characterized by a chain of mountains, the Red Sea Hills, running north–south and parallel with the Red Sea.
• ithmSin in Islam.
• i'tikafThe retreat into a mosque for worship, especially during the last 10 days of Ramadan or the Night of Power.
• izaarA wrap garment that typically covers the waist and legs and is worn by men under a thobe.
• JaalinAn Arabized Nubian tribe of Sudan.
• Jabal al AkhdarA district of Libya. Capital: Bayda.
• JabalyaA metropolitan region in North Gaza governorate, Northern Gaza, Gaza Strip, Palestine, Israel, Levant.
• JabeurA Tunisian surname from Arabic.
• JablehA city in Latakia governorate, Syria.
• JahannamIslamic concept of hell, where evildoers will be punished, but will eventually be forgiven.
• jahiliyyahThe supposed condition of ignorance, barbarism and unbelief, that, according to Islamic tradition, was prevalent in Arabia before the coming of Islam.
• jahilliyaA pre-Islamic period of ignorance and darkness.
• jambiyaAn Arabian (especially Yemeni) dagger with a short curved blade that is worn on a belt.
• jameedDried yogurt used in dishes such as mansaf.
• janazahA Muslim funeral prayer, part of the Islamic funeral ritual.
• JannatParadise.
• jariyaA slave-girl; a concubine.
• JavaddA male given name from Arabic in Arabic-speaking cultures
• JayhounThe Amu Darya river.
• jazakallahthank you
• JeddawiA native or inhabitant of Jeddah.
• jeribA unit of land used in the Middle East; its precise size depends on region and on time-period, and can range from a thousand square meters to a hectare.
• jinniaA female jinn.
• jirdAny of various agricultural pest rodents of genus Meriones or rodents of certain species in the genera Sekeetamys, Brachiones, and sometimes Pachyuromys.
• jizyaA per capita tax levied on a section of an Islamic state's non-Muslim citizens who meet certain criteria.
• johaA suspension of salvarsan in iodipin and anhydrous lanolin.
• JolaniAn Arab surname
• JoumanaA female given name from Arabic.
• JubaylSynonym of Byblos.
• jubbahA long outer garment worn by Muslims.
• Jumu'ahThe main congregational prayers, held at noon on a Friday.
• jundAn Arab military colony in the conquered lands of early caliphates.
• kaakAny of a variety of Middle Eastern biscuits and baked goods, usually sweet.
• kabsaAn Arabian mixed rice dish that originates from Yemen.
• kafalaA form of Islamic adoption in which the child is not regarded as a true child of the adoptive parents.
• KaffaljidhmaGamma Ceti, a triple star system in the equatorial constellation of Cetus.
• kaffaraA religious donation of money or food made to help those in need, as a forfeit by somebody who has missed a fast unnecessarily.
• kahweolA diterpene found in the beans of Coffea arabica, structurally related to cafestol.
• kaidA surname from Arabic.
• kameesA long, loose shirt or blouse worn in some South Asian and Islamic countries.
• kanafehA Middle Eastern dessert composed of a cheese pastry soaked in syrup.
• kanduraA thobe.
• kasraIn Arabic script, the vowel point for "i", appearing as a small diagonal line placed below a letter ( ـِ ) and designating a short i /i/. If the Arabic letter ي (y) immediately follows, it indicates a long ī /iː/.
• KatterA surname from Arabic
• keffiyehAn Iraqi headdress from the city of Kufa that is traditionally worn by some Arabs, also used as a scarf.
• kelb-el-bahrSynonym of elongate tigerfish.
• KerkourA surname from Arabic.
• kersennehbitter vetch (Vicia ervilia)
• khafdfemale genital mutilation
• khanaqahA hostel for Sufis, often in the form of cells around a courtyard.
• khanithA person in Oman who was assigned male at birth and who has a feminine gender identity or gender expression, such as a trans woman or an effeminate gay man.
• khanjarA kind of dagger used in certain Arabian countries.
• Khan YounusA governorate of Southern Gaza, Gaza Strip, Palestine; in full, Khan Younus Governorate. Capital: Khan Younus.
• kharajA kind of individual Islamic tax on agricultural land and its produce.
• KharbouchA male given name from Arabic.
• kharjaThe final refrain of a muwashshah.
• KhaterA surname from Arabic.
• khellaToothpickweed (Visnaga daucoides, syn. Ammi visnaga).
• KhiderA male given name from Arabic.
• khimarA long veil worn by Muslim women as part of hijab.
• khirbatA ruin, in the Arab world.