AQA GCSE RELIGIOUS STUDIES A – GLOSSARY: CHRISTIANITY AND ISLAM

Ablution

In Islam, ablution (or wudu in Arabic) involves ritually washing the hands, mouth, nostrils, arms, face, ears, hair, and feet before prayer.

Abortion

Abortion removes a foetus from the womb to end a pregnancy before the child is born.

Adalat

In Shi’a Islam, Adalat is divine justice; the idea that God is just and fair and judges human actions, rewarding the good and punishing the bad.

Adam and Eve

Adam and Eve were the first humans according to the Qur’an and Genesis 3 in the Bible.

Afterlife

The afterlife is the belief in life in some form after the physical body dies.

Agape

The Bible uses the word agape to describe selfless, sacrificial, unconditional love.

Akhirah

In Islamic faith, Akhirah signifies everlasting life after death, involving barzakh, the Day of Judgement, and Jannah (Heaven) or Jahannam (Hell).

Allah

In Arabic, Allah means God.

Almsgiving

Almsgiving is the term used to refer to giving money to the poor. In Islam, Zakah is a form of almsgiving.

Al-Qadr

In Arabic, Al-Qadr means predestination, the belief that God knows or determines everything that will happen in the universe.

Animal experimentation

Animal experimentation tests new products or medicines on animals to ensure they are safe for human use.

Ascension

40 days after the resurrection, Jesus ascended to God, the Father, in heaven.

Ashura

Shi’a Muslims commemorate Ashura by remembering the battle of Karbala and the death of Husayn.

Sunni Muslims celebrate Ashura to mark when Moses saved the Israelites from slavery and when Noah first left the ark after the flood.

Atheist

Atheists reject belief in God or gods.

Atonement

Atonement restores the relationship between people and God through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.

Awe

Awe combines feelings of respect, fear, and wonder.

Baptism

Baptism initiates people into the Christian Church through a water ceremony.

Barzakh

In Arabic, barzakh means ‘obstacle’, ‘hindrance’, ‘separation’, or ‘barrier’. In Islam, barzakh represents the barrier between life and afterlife, where souls wait until the Day of Judgement.

Believer’s baptism

Believer’s baptism initiates adults into the Christian Church through immersion in water, provided they understand the ceremony and are willing to live a Christian life.

Beneficence

Beneficence refers to the kind and loving qualities of God.

Big Bang

The Big Bang massively expanded space, initiating the creation of the universe.

Biological weapon

Biological weapons contain living organisms or infective material, like viruses, which can cause disease or death.

CAFOD

CAFOD stands for the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development, the official aid agency of the Catholic Church in England and Wales.

Chaste

Being chaste means abstaining from sex.

Chemical weapon

Chemical weapons use chemicals to poison, burn, or paralyse humans, or to destroy the natural environment.

Christian Aid

Christian Aid aims to eradicate poverty worldwide as a Christian charity.

Christmas

Christmas celebrates the incarnation, or the birth of Jesus, on 25 December in most churches.

Church

Christians worship in a church building. The term Church also refers to the body or organisation of religious believers, including all Christians, and the clergy, such as priests or vicars.

Civil marriage

Civil marriage legally binds a couple without religious ceremonies.

Cohabitation

Cohabitation involves a couple living together and having a sexual relationship without marriage.

Community service

Community service punishes offenders by requiring them to do unpaid work in the community.

Conception

Conception happens when a male sperm fertilises (fuses with) a female ovum (egg).

Confirmation

Confirmation renews (confirms) the vows made at baptism in a Christian sacrament.

Contraception

Contraception uses methods to prevent pregnancy.

Corporal punishment

Corporal punishment causes physical pain to punish offenders.

Creation

Creation describes God’s act of bringing the universe into being.

Crucifixion

Crucifixion describes the Roman method of execution where criminals were nailed or bound to a cross, including Jesus’s execution and death on Good Friday.

Day of Judgement

In Islamic faith, the Day of Judgement marks the end of the world when God judges every soul, rewarding some with Jannah (Heaven) and punishing others with Jahannam (Hell).

Death penalty

The death penalty executes offenders as a form of capital punishment for their crimes.

Denomination

A denomination within the Christian faith governs itself and has its own organisation and traditions. The Church of England is a denomination of Christianity.

Design argument

The Design Argument is the belief that God designed the universe because everything is so intricately made in its detail that creation could not have happened by chance.

Deterrence

Deterrence discourages actions or events by instilling fear or doubt about the consequences. As an aim of punishment, deterrence puts people off committing crimes. Nuclear deterrence operates on the doctrine that possessing nuclear weapons deters enemies from attacking.

Disciple

A disciple follows Jesus, especially during his lifetime.

Discrimination

Discrimination involves treating someone differently and negatively based on factors like their race, religion, gender, disability, or sexual orientation.

Divorce

Divorce legally ends a marriage.

Dominion

Dominion means having dominance or power over something.

Duty

Duty represents a responsibility that someone must fulfill.

Easter

Easter celebrates the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. On Easter Sunday, Christians commemorate Jesus’s resurrection following his crucifixion on Good Friday.

Enlightenment

Enlightenment involves gaining true knowledge about God or self, usually through meditation and self-discipline. In Buddhist and Hindu traditions, enlightenment means achieving freedom from the cycle of rebirth.

Ensoulment

Muslims believe ensoulment occurs 120 days after conception when the foetus is given a soul.

Equality

Equality means being equal, especially in terms of status, rights, and opportunities.

Eternity

Eternity represents a state of timelessness that never ends, including endless life (immortality) after death.

Eucharist

The Eucharist celebrates Jesus’s sacrificial death and resurrection in a Christian sacrament involving a thanksgiving service with bread and wine.

Euthanasia

Euthanasia painlessly kills a patient in an irreversible coma or suffering from an incurable and painful disease.

Evangelism

Evangelism spreads the Christian gospel through public preaching or personal witness.

Evil

Evil represents the opposite of good, embodying an immoral or wicked power seen as sinful and against God in many traditions.

Evil and suffering

As mentioned above, evil represents the opposite of good, while suffering occurs when people experience unpleasant events or conditions. Examples include painful illnesses or people fighting and killing each other. Some use the existence of evil and suffering to argue that God does not exist.

Evolution

Evolution describes how living organisms naturally develop and diversify from earlier forms throughout Earth’s history.

Extended family

An extended family includes grandparents and other relatives beyond just parents and their children.

Fair pay

Fair pay is the term that refers to giving someone the appropriate amount of money they deserve for the value of their work.

First Cause argument

Also called the Cosmological argument, the First Cause argument refers to the belief that there must be an uncaused cause that made everything else happen.

Five roots of Usul ad-Din

The five roots of Usul ad-Din are core beliefs for Shi’a Muslims. These roots are the foundations for a Muslim to be a Muslim, without which their faith could be weakened.

Foetus

Foetus is a developing baby inside the womb before it is born.

Food bank

Food bank is a place where people can get free food, usually due to poverty.

Free will

Free will is the belief that God gives people the opportunity to make decisions for themselves.

Gender prejudice

Gender prejudice refers to the thought that men and women should only do certain things and have certain jobs.

General (or indirect) revelation

A general (or indirect) revelation refers to God making himself known through ordinary, common human experiences.

Genesis

Genesis (meaning beginning) is the first book of the Bible. The book of Genesis in the Old Testament of the Bible describes seven days of creation.

Good

Good describes something that is morally right or positively approved of; the opposite of evil.

Gospels (Injil)

The Gospels are the first four books (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) of the New Testament, which tell the story of Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection. Muslims believe that the Gospels (Injil) in the Christian Bible are not the exact revelations made to Jesus because they have been changed over time.

Greater Jihad

Greater Jihad is the personal inward struggle of all Muslims to live in line with the teachings of their faith, to be a good Muslim on a daily basis.

Hadith

Hadith is a collection of the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad. Along with the Qur’an and the Sunna, the Hadith is an important source of guidance for Muslims.

Hajj

Every Muslim should try to make the annual pilgrimage to Makkah (Mecca) at least once in their life, known as Hajj.

Halal

In Islam, halal means ‘allowed’ and often refers to food from animals killed correctly according to Muslim beliefs.

Haram

Islamic teachings use the word haram to refer to any act forbidden by God.

Hate crime

A hate crime is an offence. It involves targeting a person, often with violence, because of their race, religion, sexuality, disability, or gender.

Heaven (Jannah)

In Christianity, heaven represents a state of eternal happiness in God’s presence and a place of eternal peace ruled by God. In Islam, heaven is Jannah. The Qur’an describes Jannah as a paradise and an eternal beautiful garden of physical and spiritual pleasures and delights.

Hell (Jahannam)

For Christians, hell is the place of eternal suffering or the state of being without God; eternal separation from God. In Islam, hell is Jahannam. The Qur’an describes Jahannam as a blazing fire where there will be pain and suffering.

Heterosexual

Heterosexual people are sexually attracted to members of the opposite sex.

Holy Communion

Holy Communion is a sacrament where Christians celebrate the sacrificial death and resurrection of Jesus with a service of thanksgiving using bread and wine.

Holy war

People fight a holy war ‘for God’ in the name of a religion. In Islam, a holy war often links to the concept of Lesser Jihad.

Homosexual

Homosexual people are sexually attracted to members of the same sex.

Human rights

Human rights represent the basic rights and freedoms that all human beings should have.

Ibrahim

Ibrahim (Abraham) is a prophet in Islam. Christians see Abraham in the Old Testament as the ‘father of the faith’ and honor him for his obedience to God.

Id-ul-Adha

Muslims celebrate Id-ul-Adha (festival of sacrifice) to honor the prophet Ibrahim’s willingness to sacrifice his son for God.

Id-ul-Fitr

Muslims celebrate Id-ul-Fitr (festival of the breaking of the fast) to mark the end of Ramadan.

Imam

An Imam leads communal prayers in the Islamic faith. In Shi’a Islam, the title Imam is given to Ali and his successors.

Imamate

In Shi’a Islam, the Imamate divinely appoints the Imams, who lead Shi’a communities and are seen as descendants of the prophet Muhammad.

Immanence

In Islam, Immanence means that God is present in and involved with life on Earth and in the universe; it is a quality of God.

Impersonal

In religious contexts, impersonal means that God has no ‘human’ characteristics, is unknowable and mysterious, and is more like an idea or force than a person.

Infant baptism

In Christianity, infant baptism is the sacrament that makes babies and young children members of the Church. Adults take promises on their behalf, freeing the infant from sin and introducing them to the saving love of God and the support of the Christian community.

Informal prayer

Individuals create informal prayers using their own words.

Informal worship

Informal worship involves non-liturgical practices that are sometimes ‘spontaneous’ or ‘charismatic’ in nature.

Intention (niyyah)

Intention means planning before acting.

Iona

Christians visit Iona, an island in Scotland, as a place of pilgrimage.

Jahannam

In Islam, Jahannam is hell. The Qur’an describes Jahannam as a blazing fire filled with pain and suffering.

Jannah

In Islam, Jannah is heaven. The Qur’an describes Jannah as a paradise and an eternal beautiful garden of physical and spiritual pleasures and delights.

Jibril

Jibril, the Arabic name for Gabriel, is the archangel who brought God’s message to the prophets, especially Muhammad. Jibril, the angel of revelation, revealed the words of the Qur’an to Muhammad.

Jihad

Jihad means struggling against evil. This can be an inward, personal struggle to be a better Muslim on a daily basis (the Greater Jihad) or an outward, collective struggle to defend Islam, family, or country (the Lesser Jihad).

Jummah

A Jummah is a weekly communal prayer performed after midday on Friday, promoting the idea of Muslim community (Ummah), and includes a sermon.

Just

Being just means that God is fair and treats humans with justice.

Just war

A just war meets internationally accepted criteria for fairness; follows traditional Christian rules for a just war, and is accepted by all other religions. In Islam, the criteria for a just war are very similar to those for Lesser Jihad.

Ka’aba

In Islam, the Ka’aba is the black, cube-shaped building in the centre of the Grand Mosque in Makkah; the holiest place in Islam. Muhammad performed the Lesser Jihad by fighting in Makkah to restore the Ka’aba to the worship of God. Muslims pray facing the Ka’aba.

Khalifah

In Islam, khalifah (Arabic for ‘steward’) is a person that God has appointed to look after his creation.

Khums

Shi’a Muslims pay Khums, a 20 per cent tax on their excess income, to help those in need. They usually pay Khums to a Shi’a religious authority or a charitable cause.

Last Supper

Jesus ate the Last Supper with his disciples before his crucifixion. He told them to remember his body with bread and his blood with wine.

Lesser Jihad

In Islam, the Lesser Jihad involves an outward struggle, including physical defense if needed, to protect one’s faith, family, and country from threats.

Literal creation

Literal creation means believing that God created the universe exactly as described in Genesis 1 of the Bible.

Liturgical

Liturgical describes a church service that follows a consistent set of formal practices or rituals.

Lord’s prayer

Jesus taught the Lord’s prayer, also known as the ‘Our Father,’ to his disciples.

Lourdes

Lourdes, a town in France, is a Christian place of pilgrimage.

Makkah

Muhammad lived in Makkah, a city in Saudi Arabia, which Muslims visit today on pilgrimage, or Hajj.

Marriage

Marriage legally unites a man and a woman (or in some countries, including the UK, two people of the same sex) as partners in a relationship.

Mika’il

Mika’il, the Arabic name for Michael, is the archangel of mercy who rewards good deeds and provides nourishment to people.

Miracle

A miracle is a seemingly impossible event, usually good, that cannot be explained by natural or scientific laws, and is believed to be the action of God. In Islam, the supreme miracle is the revelation of the Qur’an to Muhammad.

Mission

In Christianity, a mission calls a religious organisation or individual to go out into the world and spread the faith.

Natural law

Natural law encompasses the moral principles inherent in human nature.

Natural resource

Natural resources, like oil and trees, are materials found in nature that people can use.

Nature of God

The nature of God describes what God is like. Some Muslims use the 99 names of God, many from the Qur’an or Hadith, to understand God’s nature.

Night of Power

The Night of Power (Laylat al-Qadr) marks when Jibril made the first revelation of the Qur’an to Muhammad. It is also the festival that celebrates the start of God’s revelation to Muhammad.

Non-liturgical

Non-liturgical worship is informal and does not follow a set text or ritual; it is sometimes ‘spontaneous’ or ‘charismatic’ in nature.

Nuclear deterrent

Nuclear deterrent means a country has nuclear weapons to prevent enemy attacks.

Nuclear family

A nuclear family consists of parents and their dependent children, forming a basic social unit.

Nuclear weapon

Nuclear weapons use nuclear reactions to devastate huge areas and kill large numbers of people.

Occultation

Occultation means hidden from human sight. Shi’a Muslims believe Imam Mahdi didn’t die but is hidden from human sight (he is in occultation).

Omnibenevolent

Omnibenevolent describes God as all-loving, with perfect or unlimited goodness.

Omnipotent

Omnipotent means almighty, having unlimited power; it is a quality of God.

Omnipresent

Omnipresent means present everywhere at the same time; it is a quality of God.

Omniscient

Omniscient means knowing everything; it is a quality of God.

Origins of life

The term origins of life refers to how human life began on Earth.

Origins of the universe

Origins of the universe explains how the universe began.

Pacifism

Pacifism refers to the belief of people who refuse to take part in war and any other form of violence.

Parable

A parable is a story with a meaning or teaching, often about how to be a better person; Jesus told parables in the Bible.

Peace-making

Peace-making describes the action of trying to establish peace.

People trafficking

People trafficking refers to the illegal smuggling of people from country to country, typically for the purposes of forced labour or commercial sexual exploitation, and using force or trickery on the victims.

Persecution

Persecution is hostility and ill treatment of someone or a group especially because of race, or political or religious beliefs.

Personal

In a religious sense, personal describes the idea that God is an individual or person with whom people are able to feel close to or have a relationship with.

Pilgrimage

A pilgrimage is a journey by a believer to a holy site for religious reasons; an act of worship and devotion.

Pollution

Pollution refers to making something dirty and contaminated, especially the environment.

Polygamy

Polygamy is the practice or custom of having more than one wife or husband at the same time.

Positive discrimination

The term positive discrimination refers to treating people more favourably because they have been discriminated against in the past or have disabilities.

Poverty

Poverty refers to being without money, food, or other basic needs of life (being poor).

Prayer

Prayer is a way of communicating with God, either silently or through words of praise, thanksgiving, or confession, or requests for God’s help or guidance.

Predestination (al-Qadr)

Predestination refers to the idea that God knows or determines everything that will happen in the universe.

Prejudice

Prejudice is unfairly judging someone before the facts are known, or holding biased opinions about an individual or group of people.

Principle of utility

The principle of utility is a philosophical principle that an action is right if it promotes maximum happiness for the maximum number of people affected by the action.

Pro-choice

In terms of abortion, the term pro-choice refers to the belief that every woman has the right to decide whether she wants to have a baby.

Procreation

Procreation is the bringing of babies into the world; is reproduction, or the production of offspring.

Pro-life

In terms of abortion, the term pro-life refers to the belief that the life of the unborn baby (foetus) takes priority over other concerns, including those of the mother.

Prophet

A prophet is a person chosen by God to proclaim his message.

Psalms (Zabur)

In Islam, the Psalms (Zabur) are the revelations given to Dawud (David) by God.

Quality of life

Quality of life refers to the general well-being of a person, in relation to their health and happiness; also, the theory that the value of life depends upon how good or how satisfying life is.

Qur’an

The Qur’an is the holy book that contains the revelations given to Prophet Muhammad by archangel Jibril, within the Islam faith. 

Racial prejudice

Racial prejudice refers to showing prejudice against someone because of their ethnic group, race, or nationality.

Rak’ah

Rak’ah is a sequence of movements in ritual prayer, in the Islam faith.

Recitation

A recitation is a repeat of a passage of text from memory.

Reconciliation

A reconciliation is a sacrament in the Catholic Church; also, the restoring of harmony after relationships have broken down.

Reformation

Reformation is an aim of punishment; to reform or improve someone’s behaviour.

Repentance

Repentance is admitting you’ve done something wrong and being sorry about it (repenting).

Remarriage

Remarriage happens when someone marries again, after a previous marriage or marriages have come to an end.

Responsibility

A responsibility is a duty to care for, or have control over, something or someone.

Resurrection

Resurrection is rising from the dead; Jesus arose from the dead (was resurrected) on Easter Sunday; an event recorded in all four gospels and the central belief of Christianity.

Retribution

Retribution is an aim of punishment, to make the criminal pay for what they have done wrong; to get your own back, as in ‘an eye for an eye’.

Revelation

A revelation is God showing himself to believers; that is the only way anybody can really know anything about God.

Risalah

Risalah is the belief that prophets are an important channel of communication between God and humans.

Sacrament

A sacrament is a rite or ritual through which a believer receives a special gift of grace; for Catholics, Anglicans, and many Protestants, sacraments are ‘outward signs’ of ‘inward grace’.

Sadaqah

Sadaqah are good actions or voluntary payments that are undertaken for charitable reasons.

Salah

Salah is prayer with and in worship of God, performed under conditions set by the prophet Muhammad, within the Islam faith.

Salvation

Salvation is the saving of the soul, deliverance from sin, and admission to heaven brought about by Jesus.

Same-sex parent family

A same-sex parent family is people of the same sex who are raising children together.

Sanctity of life

Sanctity of life is the belief that all life is holy because it is created and loved by God; since life is holy and given by God, therefore only God can take it away. Christians believe human life should not be misused or abused.

Sanctity of marriage vows

The sanctity of marriage vows is the belief that the promises said during a wedding ceremony are special and holy, and should not be broken.

Sawm

Sawm is fasting in the month of Ramadan in the Islam faith. Sawm is one of the five pillars of Sunni Islam and the ten obligatory acts of Shi’a Islam.

Scripture

Scripture is the sacred writings of a religion.

Scrolls of Abraham (Sahifah/Suhuf)

The Scrolls of Abraham (Sahifah/Suhuf) are the revelations given to Ibrahim (Abraham), the first holy book in Islam.

Set prayer

A set prayer has been written down and said more than once by more than one person, for example the Lord’s Prayer.

Shahadah

The Shahadah is the Muslim declaration of faith. It means ‘to witness’ and is used at certain times in life to show core Muslim beliefs.

Shari’ah law

Shari’ah law is Islamic law based on the Qur’an, Hadith, and Sunnah.

Shi’a

Shi’a are Muslims who believe that Ali ibn Abi Talib was the divinely appointed leader of Islam after Muhammad died.

Sin

Sin is any action or thought that separates humans from God; a behaviour that is against God’s laws and wishes and against principles of morality.

Situation ethics

Situation ethics refers to taking into account the specific situation when deciding if something is right or wrong.

Six articles of faith

The six articles of faith are the core beliefs of Sunni Islam.

Social justice

Social justice refers to ensuring that society treats people fairly whether they are poor or wealthy and protects people’s human rights.

Son of God

The Son of God is a title used for Jesus, the second person of the Trinity; denotes the special relationship between Jesus and God the Father.

Special revelation

Special revelation refers to God making himself known through direct personal experience or an unusual specific event.

Step-family

A step-family is created when a divorced or widowed person, who has a child/children, remarries.

Street pastors

Street pastors are Christian volunteers who patrol the streets in towns/cities looking to help those in need.

Suffering

Suffering is when people experience unpleasant events or conditions and undergo pain, distress, or hardship.

Sunnah

Sunnah are the teachings and deeds of Muhammad, in the Islam faith. 

Sunni

Sunni are Muslims who believe that Abu Bakr, who was elected by the people, was the rightful leader of Islam after Muhammad died.

Supernatural

Supernatural describes something outside of nature or science.

Symbolic

Symbolic describes something representing something important, having a meaning beyond the immediate idea/image/words.

Tawhid

Tawhid is the Oneness and unity of God, in the Islam faith.

Tearfund

Tearfund (The Evangelical Alliance Relief Fund) is a Christian charity that helps people in poverty through promoting sustainable development.

Terrorism

Terrorism is the unlawful use of violence, usually against innocent civilians, to achieve a political goal.

Theist

Theist refers to a person who believes in God.

Theistic evolution

Theistic evolution is the belief that God is responsible for evolution (following the Big Bang).

Tithe

A tithe is one tenth of annual produce or earnings.

Transcendent

Transcendent describes something that is beyond and outside life on Earth and the universe; a quality of God.

Trinity

The Trinity is the belief that there are three persons in One God; the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are separate, but are also one being.

Torah (Tawrat)

In Islam, the Torah (Tawrat) contains the revelations given to Musa (Moses).

Violence

Violence is using actions that threaten or harm others.

Vision

Vision is seeing something, especially in a dream or trance, that shows something about the nature of God or the afterlife.

Vow

A vow is a formal promise (made during a wedding ceremony, for example).

Wealth

Wealth is the money/possessions that someone has.

Weapon of mass destruction

A weapon of mass destruction (WMD) can kill large numbers of people and/or cause great damage.

Wonder

Wonder is marvelling at the complexity and beauty of something.

The Word

The Word is the term used at the beginning of John’s gospel to refer to God the Son (Jesus).

Zakah

Zakah (charity) is the purification of wealth by giving 2.5 per cent of savings each year to the poor.

Zinah

Zinah is an Islamic law concerning unlawful sexual relations between Muslims who are not married to one another.