Ibn Daud - A Handbook of Spiritual Medicine

TRANSLITERATION KEY
Vowels
A Short Vowel as in “Ago” I Short Vowel as in “Sit”
Ā Long Vowel as in “Heart” Ī Long Vowel as in “See”
AY Diphthong as in “Page”
AW Diphthong as in “Home”
‘ Abrupt start or pause U Short vowel as in “Put”
Ū
Long Vowel as in “Food”
Consonants
ب
B “B” no “H” attached ص % “S” with full mouth ت
T Soft “T”, no “H” attached ض < “D” with full mouth, using
sides of tongue
ث
TH “TH” as in “Thin” ط ^ “T” with full mouth ح
* “H” Guttural sound ظ > خ
KH “KH” Very guttural, no
usage of tongue
ع
‘ “DH” as in “Dhuhr” with full
mouth
Guttural sound -
accompanies vowel
د
D Soft “D”, no “H” attached غ GH “GH” Very guttural, no usage
ذ
DH “DH” as in “Adhān” ق Q of tongue
“K” with back of the tongue
raised
س
S “S” only, not “Z” و W “W” read, not silent ش
SH “SH” as in “Shin” ي Y “Y” only, not “I” SELF-PURIFICATION
NOTE: Double consonants must be pronounced with emphasis on both letters
without pause, e.g. Allāhumma should be read al-lāhum-ma.
Allāh is the Arabic word for God, the One True God shared by all classical
monotheistic faiths, such as Judaism, Christianity and Islām. Throughout this
book the Arabic word for God, Allāh, will be used.
Subhānahū wa ta’āla - May He be glorified
Sallalāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam - Allāh’s peace and mercy be upon him
‘Alayhis salām - Peace be upon him
Radiyallāhu ‘anhu - May Allāh be pleased with him
Rahimahullāh - May Allāh have mercy on him
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