W is for Wudū’

wa ‘alaykum u’s salām
and peace be upon you. This is the response to the greeting of As-Salāmu ‘alaykum (peace be upon you).
The full response is:
wa ‘alaykum u’s salām wa Rahmatullāhi wa Barakātuh.
And on you be the peace and mercy of Allāh and His blessing

wa‘aza
to admonish, exhort (to greater good deeds)

wabāl
harm, evil consequences of a bad action

wa‘d
promise. A Muslim has to be true to his promise

al-Wa‘d
the promise by Allāh Subhānahū wa Ta‘ālā of Paradise for pious Muslims

al-wadā‘
farewell, goodbye

wādī
valley

al-Wādī al-Muqaddas
the sacred valley, the valley of Tuwā where Allāh Subhānahū wa Ta‘ālā spoke to Nabī Mūsā ‘Alayhissalām

wafā’
faithfulness, loyalty

wafāt
death. We have to do good deeds as pious Muslims, serving humanity in general and Muslims in particular before death overtakes us

waffaqa Allāh
may Allāh make you successful, Āmīn. This is a du‘ā’ for a fellow Muslim

Waffaqanallāh
may Allāh make us successful, Āmīn

wafīq
successful (f: wafīqa)

wāfir
abundant, plentiful

al-wāfir
name of a poetical meter.
The various poetical meters in the Arabic language are: al-wāfir, at-tawīl, al-madīd, al-basīt, al-kāmil, al-hazaj, ar-rajaz, ar-ramal, as-sarī‘, al-munsarih, al-khafīf, al-mudāri‘, al-muqtadab, al-mujtath, al-mutaqārib, and al-mutadārik

wafīy
faithful, trustworthy

Wahdāniyyah
Unity or Oneness of Allāh, Subhānahū wa Ta‘ālā

Wahhāj
Glowing

Wahīd
Unique, Exclusive (f: Wahīda)

wahm
imagination, wrong impression, delusion

Wahy
revelation of one or more verses containing a message of Allāh Subhānahū wa Ta‘ālā to the Holy Prophet Muhammad, Sallallāhu ‘alayhi wa Sallam. The Prophetic Messengers ‘Alayhimussalām who came before him also received Wahy

al-Wa‘īd
the threat by Allāh Subhānahū wa Ta‘ālā of punishment in the Hereafter for sins

wajd
spiritual ecstasy

wajh
face (pl: wujūh). The foreheads of those who love Prophet Muhammad Sallallāhu ‘alayhi wa Sallam glow and shine with his love

wājib
necessary, a thing of necessary occurrence, requisite, essential; an essential religious duty which is next in importance to fard (obligatory duty). Example: witr salāh is wājib according to the Hanafī madhhab (school of sacred Muslim law). The fulfillment of a wājib duty merits reward on the Day of Judgment while its omission leads to punishment (pl: wājibāt)

Wajīh
Noble, Esteemed (f: Wajīha)

wakīl
representative, trustee (pl: wukalā’)

walad
a child, a son, a beginner on the spiritual path (pl: awlād).
waladun sālih: a virtuous child

walī
patron, guardian (pl: awliyā’, f: walīya)

Walīyallāh
Friend of Allāh, one whom Allāh Subhānahū wa Ta‘ālā and His angels love, one enveloped in divine solicitude, saint, sūfī master (pl: awliyā’ Allāh, f: walīya).
We learn about the awliyā’ Allāh (Friends of Allāh) from the Holy Qur’ān:
Surely, on the Friends of Allāh, there is no fear, nor shall they grieve. Those who believed and keep their duty (to Allāh). They have good news in the life of this world and in the Hereafter; there is no changing the words of Allāh; that is the supreme triumph. (10:62-64)

wālid
father (pl: wālidīn)

wālida
mother (pl: wālidāt)

wālidayn
both parents

walīma
wedding feast, which is a Prophetic tradition

Walīy u’d dīn
The patron of religion, a title bestowed on a shaykh (spiritual master)

waqār
dignity (without arrogance or show-off)

waqf
a trust, a religious endowment; a pious, voluntary and permanent endowment of property for religious or charitable purposes to please Allāh Subhānahū wa Ta‘ālā. Since waqf is a permanent endowment, its heavenly rewards for the donor are continuous, and continue even after his or her death (pl: awqāf).
Waqf also means a stop or a pause. In reciting the Holy Qur’ān, it is a requirement to pause in some places and not to pause in other places. A compulsory pause is usually denoted by the letter mīm in small type and in the margin we see written waqf lāzim (compulsory pause) (pl: wuqūf)

al-Wāqi‘ah
The Event, refers to the Day of Judgment, the name of Sūrah 56 of the Holy Qur’ān.
Imām ‘Abdallāh bin ‘Alawī al-Haddād Rady Allāhu ‘Anhu has recommended that we should recite this Sūrah every night (preferably between the Sunnah and Fard of ‘Ishā’ salāh: Night Prayer) as it has many barakāt (blessings)

waqt
time, moment of time (pl: awqāt).
sāhib al-waqt: man of the moment, refers to someone who is a sūfī master

warā‘
pious restraint, scrupulousness in following the lawful and shunning legally prohibited things (syn: wara‘)

warā‘ shāfin
healthy restraint

waram
swelling. The feet of our Beloved Holy Prophet Muhammad Sallallāhu ‘alayhi wa Sallam used to get swollen from standing up for prayers for long hours at night

waraqa
a leaf, a sheet of paper (pl: awrāq)

warda
flower, rose (pl: wurūd).
When we smell a flower, we recite salawāt on our Beloved Holy Prophet Muhammad Sallallāh ‘alayhi wa Sallam.
Allāhumma salli wa sallim ‘alayh
May Allāh’s peace and blessings be upon him

warīd
vein.
Habl al-warīd: jugular vein. Allāh Subhānahū wa Ta‘ālā says in the Holy Qur’ān that He is closer to us than our jugular vein

wārid
incoming thought, spiritual perception, the descent of spiritual meanings upon the heart (pl: wāridāt)

wārith
heir, inheritor (pl: wurrāth, f: wāritha)

wāsil
one who maintains good relations with kith and kin; one who has arrived; one who has completed his spiritual journey

wasīla
mediation; means of access, way of approach to Allāh Subhānahū wa Ta‘ālā

wasīlat u’l ‘uzmā
The greatest means of approach to Allāh Subhānahū wa Ta‘ālā. Refers to Prophet Muhammad Sallallāhu ‘alayhi wa Sallam

Wāsitat u’l fayd
the mediator of the grace (of Allāh)

Wāsitat u’l madad
the mediator of the assistance (of Allāh)

wasīya
advice, counsel, will, bequest (pl: wasāyā)

wasq
a measure of weight equal to 60 sā‘ (one sā‘ equals about 3 kg)

waswās
temptation, doubt, whispering of someone who incites to evil and keeps one away from doing good deeds

wa‘z
sermon, spiritual exhortation

wazīfa
duty, assignment; certain invocations and supplications recommended by the Holy Prophet Muhammad Sallallāhu ‘alayhi wa Sallam. Then, following him, a shaykh (spiritual master) might especially recommend some or more of these to his murīdīn (spiritual disciples). An example of a wazīfa is the recitation of Asmā’ Allāh al-Husnā everyday, the recitation of Sūrah Yāsīn everyday after Fajr salāh, or the recitation of Rātib al-Haddād or Rātib al-‘Attās every night after ‘Ishā’ salāh (Night Prayer)

wazīr
minister.
Like the leader, his minister must be:
1. taqī, that is, have reverential awe of Allāh Subhānahū wa Ta‘ālā.
2. muhibb, that is, have in his heart the love of Allāh Subhānahū wa Ta‘ālā, the love for Prophet Muhammad Sallallāhu ‘alayhi wa Sallam, and love for all the Muslims.
3. ‘ādil, that is, just and fair.
4. shujā‘, that is, brave and courageous to stand up for Islām and Muslims (pl: wuzarā’)

wazn
weight. It is very important to weigh correctly and give the proper weight. It is an ancient tradition among Muslims to give to the customer more than the correct weight. These are the types of actions that have traditionally drawn non-Muslims to Islām

wilāda
birth

wilāya
sainthood

wird
a regular, voluntary, spiritual devotion, usually of Dhikr (remembrance of Allāh), for example, the recitation of one juz (part) of the Holy Qur’ān every day, or the daily recitation of Wird al-Latīf, selected Prophetic invocations compiled by al-Imām ‘Abdallah bin ‘Alawī al-Haddād, Rady Allāhu ‘Anhu (pl: awrād)

wisāl
fasting continuously without iftār (breaking the fast at sunset) or sahūr (pre-dawn meal). Fasting continuously is prohibited in Islām as we learn from the following Hadīth:
Mother of Muslim believers, Sayyidatinā ‘Āisha as-Siddīqah Rady Allāhu ‘Anhā relates that the Holy Prophet Muhammad Sallallāhu ‘alayhi wa Sallam prohibited his Companions from fasting continuously. They said: But you fast continuously? He replied: I am not like you. At night, my Sustainer (Allāh) provides me with food and drink. (Al-Bukhārī and Muslim)

witr
the last Prayer for the night with an odd number of raka‘āt. Salāt al-Witr is next in importance to Salāt al-Fard (obligatory Prayer)

wudū’
the ablution required before acts of worship; ritual washing. The way to purify oneself is by washing specific parts of the body to be able to pray.
First we make the niyya (intention) to do wudū’ and recite:
Bismillāh i’r Rahmān i’r Rahīm
In the Name of Allāh, the Beneficent, the Merciful.
Wudū’ consists of washing one’s hands, mouth, nostrils, face, forearms, head, ears and feet. The limbs of those who do wudū’ will be shining on the Day of Judgment.
While doing wudū’, we are glorifying Allāh all the time. All that is in the heavens and the earth glorifies Allāh, the Glorified and the Exalted.
The Kalimah (Declaration of Muslim belief) and du‘ā’ (supplication) after wudū’ is:
Ash-hadu an lā ilāha Illallāhu
wa ash-hadu anna Muhammadan ‘abduhū wa Rasūluh
Allāhumma’j‘alnī min at-tawwābīn
wa’j‘alnī min al-mutatahhirīn
I bear withness that none is to be worshipped but Allāh,
and I bear witness that indeed Sayyidinā Muhammad is His Special Devotee and Prophetic Messenger.
O Allāh! Make me among those who turn to you in repentance,
and among those who keep themselves pure (in body, heart and soul).
When we wash ourselves in wudū’, all our minor sins are washed away. Now we are ready to stand for Prayer in reverential awe before Allāh Subhānahū wa Ta‘ālā, the Lord of the worlds, Whom the whole creation worships and everything that is in the heavens and the earth hymns His Praise.
Allāhu Akbar: Allāh is Supremely Great! The Prayer has begun and thousands of angels are lined up together with us in the worship of Allāh.
In the whole wide world, the supreme and spiritually rich good deed of wudū’ belongs to Muslims and Muslims alone.
Wudū’ is broken as a result of passing wind, or going to the washroom or falling asleep, or losing one’s senses, or vomiting or flow of blood or pus from any part of the body. If wudū’ is broken, we should renew it at once. If we are continuously in a state of wudū’, Allāh will surely protect us from sin and will keep shaytān (the devil) far away from us.
We should go to sleep in a state of wudū’ with the hope of seeing our Beloved Holy Prophet Muhammad Sallallāhu ‘alayhi wa Sallam in our dream.
The narrative about the wudū’ of Imām al-Hasan Rady Allāhu ‘Anhu and Imām al-Husayn Rady Allāhu ‘Anhu while yet in their childhood is very heart-warming. They saw a man who was not performing wudū’ properly. So they thought of a way of correcting him. They told him that both of them would perform wudū’ and he should judge who did it better. When they had finished, he told them that both of them did it perfectly, and he realized that he himself did not do it correctly. We should learn from this incident that if we wish to convey a message, we should choose a wise and effective approach.
This is a true story of a pious Muslima in Mombasa, one of our own elders. She used to say that if you go to sleep in a state of wudū’ and if you die in your sleep, you die a shahīd (martyr). Every night she would go to bed with wudū’. One night she went to bed with wudū’ and she passed away in her sleep. May Allāh Subhānahū wa Ta‘ālā raise her spiritual station and the spiritual station of all our parents even higher, Āmīn

al-Wujūd
The Existence (of Allāh Subhānahū wa Ta‘ālā)

wujūd
existence

wuqūf
stopping or halting at various places. It specifically refers to stopping at various places such as ‘Arafa and Muzdalifa while on Hajj (the Muslim Pilgrimage).
To stay in 'Arafa, a plain twelve miles from Makka, any time from mid-day to sunset on the 9^th of Dhu’l Hijja, constitutes one of the major pillars of Hajj. Muslims halt at ‘Arafa, worshipping and glorifying Allāh, Majestic is His Majesty. This is the greatest annual congregation of more than a million Muslims who come from all over the world, at one time and in one place to hymn the Praise of Allāh Subhānahū wa Ta‘ālā. They are all in the dress of ihrām, one dress for all, signifying Muslim unity, as well as humility before Allāh Subhānahū wa Ta‘ālā. None of the other religious communities have anything remotely resembling such a Pilgrimage

wustā
middle.
As-Salāt al-wustā: the middle Prayer. It refers either to the ‘Asr Salāh (afternoon Prayer) or the Fajr Salāh (morning Prayer)

Al-Fātiha!