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- HIJABA traditional headscarf worn by Muslim women, covering the hair and neck.
- HOURIA beautiful virgin girl supposed to dwell in Paradise for the enjoyment of the faithful.
- HOWDAHA seat, usually with a canopy, carried on the back of an elephant or camel.
- HUZOORA potentate; often used as a term of respect.
- IBRIKA long-spouted pitcher, typically made of brass.
- IFTARThe evening meal that breaks each day's fast during Ramadan, traditionally beginning with dates and water.
- IHRAMThe state of ritual purity and dedication of a Muslim hajj pilgrim to Mecca.
- IJTIHADThe process of Muslim jurists or scholars making a legal or scientific judgment by independent reasoning from the Qur'an and the Sunna; discretion.
- IMAMOne who leads the salat prayers in a mosque.
- IMARETAn Ottoman soup kitchen built between the fourteenth and nineteenth centuries, often part of a larger complex or waqf.
- INTIFADAAn insurrection; a usually violent attempt to take control of a government.
- JAMBIYAAn Arabian (especially Yemeni) dagger with a short curved blade that is worn on a belt.
- JARGOONA variety of zircon.
- JASMINEAny of several plants, of the genus Jasminum, mostly native to Asia, having fragrant white or yellow flowers.
- JAVELINAA peccary (Tayassuidae spp.), especially a collared peccary (Dicotyles tajacu).
- JAZERANTA coat of defense of Arab origin, made of small plates of metal sewn upon linen or similar, like a brigandine.
- JEBELA hill, a mountain .
- JEMADARA former rank in the British Indian Army, the lowest rank for a viceroy's commissioned officer.
- JERBOAAny of a number of species comprising the family Dipodidae, native to the deserts of Asia and northern Africa, being a small, jumping rodent with a long tufted tail, very small for
- JIHADA holy war undertaken by Muslims.
- JIRDAny of various agricultural pest rodents of genus Meriones or rodents of certain species in the genera Sekeetamys, Brachiones, and sometimes Pachyuromys.
- JISMSpirit or energy.
- KADIAlternative spelling of qadi, Islamic judge, particularly in Ottoman contexts where they initially oversaw local administration as well as Islamic law.
- KAFFIRIn Islamic contexts, a non-Muslim.
- KAFIRA disbeliever, a denier: someone who rejects or disbelieves in Allah or the tenets of Islam; or more broadly any non-Muslim.
- KALAMSpeculative theology.
- KALAMSSpeculative theology.
- KALIThe prickly glasswort (Kali turgidum, syn. of Salsola kali).
- KANTARA unit of weight used in Eastern Mediterranean countries, varying from place to place (44.93 kg in Egypt).
- KANZUA white or cream-coloured robe worn by men in the African Great Lakes region.
- KEBABA dish usually made of cut meat roasted on a skewer or spit, especially one based on Middle Eastern or South Asian cuisine. A hand-held dish consisting of slices of meat or fish ro
- KEFFIYEHAn Iraqi headdress from the city of Kufa that is traditionally worn by some Arabs, also used as a scarf.
- KHAMSINA hot, dry wind, common in Egypt, Sudan and the Levant towards the end of March and April, which blows (for about 50 days each year) from the desert, bringing with it hot weather a
- KHANJARA kind of dagger used in certain Arabian countries.
- KHARIFOf crops: cultivated and harvested during the monsoon season.
- KHARIFSOf crops: cultivated and harvested during the monsoon season.
- KHATA shrub, Catha edulis, whose leaves are used as a mild stimulant when chewed or brewed as tea; also a drug produced from this plant.
- KHIMARA long veil worn by Muslim women as part of hijab.
- KHORA swampy depression in Middle Eastern countries.
- KHOUMSA subdivision of the Mauritanian ouguiya. 5 khoums equal one ouguiya.
- KIBBEHA form of dumpling, from the Levant, made of spiced lamb and bulgur wheat.
- KIRBEHAn animal-skin bag used to carry water in the Middle East.
- KISMETFate; a predetermined or unavoidable destiny.
- KOHLA dark powder, usually powdered stibnite (an antimony ore), used as eye makeup, especially in Eastern countries.
- KUFIA type of brimless, rounded cap associated with various African nations or ethnicities.
- KULAA tower, turret or steeple in Southeastern Europe erected during the period of Ottoman domination on the area.
- KULFIA flavoured frozen dessert of South Asia, made from milk and resembling ice cream.
- KURBASHA whip or strap about a yard in length.
- LACKEYA footman, a liveried male servant.
- LOOFAHAny of several tropical vines of the genus Luffa, having almost cylindrical fruit with a spongy, fibrous interior; the dishcloth gourd.
- LUTEA fretted stringed instrument, similar to the guitar, having a bowl-shaped body or soundbox; any of a wide variety of chordophones with a pear-shaped body and a neck whose upper su
- MAGAZINEA nonacademic, periodical publication which consists of articles by multiple writers on some broad topic or theme. A radio or television show where each episode comprises a variety
- MALIKA tribal chieftain in certain areas of Afghanistan and Pakistan, especially among the Pashtuns.
- MARABOUTA Muslim holy man or mystic, especially in parts of North Africa.
- MARAVEDIA former Spanish coin and unit of currency, originally issued in gold but later in silver and copper, discontinued in 1848.
- MARZIPANA confection made from a paste of almonds, sugar and egg white as a binder.
- MASJIDA mosque.
- MATTRESSA pad on which a person can recline and sleep, usually having an inner section of coiled springs covered with foam or other cushioning material then enclosed with cloth fabric.
- MAULVIAn imam; a Muslim doctor of law.
- MEDINAThe traditional, older or non-European area of a North African town.
- METICALThe currency of Mozambique, divided into 100 centavos.
- MIHRABA niche in a mosque that indicates the qibla (direction of Mecca), and into which the imam prays.
- MINARETThe tall slender tower of an Islamic mosque, from which the muezzin recites the adhan (call to prayer).
- MINBARA pulpit in a mosque, usually shaped like a small tower, where the imam stands to deliver sermons.
- MOCHAA coffee drink with chocolate syrup added, or a serving thereof.
- MOCKERYThe action of mocking; ridicule, derision.
- MOGULA rich or powerful person; a magnate, nabob.
- MOHAIRYarn or fabric made from the hair of the angora goat, often as mixed with cotton or other materials.
- MORTISEA hole that is made to receive a tenon so as to form a joint.
- MOSQUEA place of worship for Muslims, often having at least one minaret; a masjid.
- MUDIRA local official of the Ottoman Empire who oversaw a nahiye.
- MUFTIA Muslim scholar and interpreter of sharia law, who can deliver a fatwa.
- MUJAHIDEENplural of mujahid
- MULLAHAn honorific title for a scholar of theology and sharia law.
- NABKEither of two thorny shrublike trees, of the genus Ziziphus, from North Africa and the Middle East; Ziziphus spina-christi is supposed to be the plant from which Christ's crown of
- NABOBAn Indian ruler within the Mogul empire.
- NAMUSA concept of virtue and honor within a family, typically relating to chastity of female family members.
- NAWABA Muslim official in South Asia acting as a provincial deputy ruler under the Mughal empire; a local governor.
- NIQABA veil which covers the face (except for the eyes), worn by some Muslim women as a part of sartorial hijab.
- NORIAA treadwheel with attached buckets, used to raise and deposit water.
- OMLAHA staff of native clerks or officials in colonial Bengal.
- OXEYESeveral daisy-like flowers in various genera, Heliopsis spp. Heteranthemis viscidehirta Telekia speciosa
- PUSSA cat.
- QADIA judge who is trained in and practices Islamic law.
- QANATAn underground conduit, between vertical shafts, that leads water from the interior of a hill to villages in the valley
- QASIDAAn Arabic or Persian elegiac monorhyme poem, usually having a tripartite structure.
- QIBLAThe direction in which Muslims face while praying, currently determined as the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca.
- QURSHA monetary unit in Saudi Arabia equivalent to a twentieth of a rial.
- RABISpring.
- RACAHOUTA Middle Eastern dish made from acorns.
- RACKETAn implement with a handle connected to a round frame strung with wire, sinew, or plastic cords, and used to hit a ball, such as in tennis or a shuttlecock in badminton.
- RAKIA Turkish liqueur flavored with anise.
- RAYAHA member of the tax-paying lower class of Ottoman society.
- REBECAn early three-stringed instrument, somewhat like a simple violin only pear shaped, played with a bow and used in Medieval and the early Renaissance eras.
- REISThe holder of an Ottoman military rank akin to that of naval captain.
- RIADA traditional Moroccan house or palace with an interior garden.
- RIALThe official currencies of Iran, Oman, and Yemen.
- RIBAinterest or usury, which is haram (sinful) according to sharia law.
- RIYALThe official currency of Qatar, divided into 100 dirhams.
- RUBAIA quatrain in classical Arabic, Persian, Turkic or Urdu poetry.