by Ali al-Muqri
harem: historically a group of women all belonging to the same household and living segregated from the men.
Hurma: literally ‘sanctity.’ An entity to be protected from violation or dishonour, usually by a male guardian. The term implies ownership of the woman, and a lack of agency.
Jameela, Fatina, Ghaniya: three common women’s names meaning Beautiful, Charming and Prosperous respectively.
jinn: a supernatural spirit appearing in pre-Islamic Arabian mythology as well as the Quran; of a lower rank than the angels, they are able to appear in human and animal forms and to possess humans.
khat: the leaves of the flowering shrub Catha edulis, native to the Arabian Peninsula and the Horn of Africa, the chewing of which is a long-established social custom in (mainly male) communities all around the Red Sea. It contains cathinone, an amphetamine-like stimulant, which is said to cause excitement, loss of appetite and euphoria.
Laylat al-Qadr: the night during the holy month of Ramadan when the first verses of the Quran were revealed to the Prophet Muhammad. As Layla, meaning night, is a common women’s name, Hurma is imagining a seductive female personification of the holy event.
mujahid, mujahida, mujahideen: Islamic guerrilla fighter or Holy Warrior engaged in jihad (male, female and plural form of the noun).
Om Kalthoum: the most famous Arab singer of all time, known in Arabic as the Star of the East, loved for her long and intensely emotional live performances from the 1920s until her death in 1975.
Riyad al-Sunbati: Egyptian composer and lyricist, 1906-1981.
salam: literally ‘peace,’ used as a greeting or a farewell.
sheikh, sheikha: term of respect for an elder or a religious authority (male and female form of the noun).
thobe: a robe-like ankle-length man’s cotton shirt worn by men across the Arabian Peninsula.