pagan Although to Muslims and Christians, the word is most commonly taken to mean a non-believer in their God and their beliefs, it can also be used to refer to the worshippers of polytheistic entities in the Classical period (for example, ancient Greeks or Romans). pancasila The Indonesian concept of five basic, national principles, the official foundation of the state. They are: (i) belief in the Oneness of God; (ii) just and civilised humanity; (iii) the unity of Indonesia; (iv) democracy; and (v) social justice.
Pan-Islamism An Islamic political movement which aims to unify all Muslims under one Islamic state with Shariah at its heart, rather like a caliphate. Unlike similar movements such as Pan-Arabism, the Pan-Islamic movement does not have racial boundaries, and accepts that Muslims of all racial groupings would form parts of its unified ’empire’. pasha A Turkish term for one of high rank militarily or in government. payee One being paid, for example with a cheque; the opposite party would be called a drawer. P. B. U.
H., PBUH Shortened form of ‘ Peace Be Upon Him’, said and written by Muslims straight after any mention of the Prophet Muhammad in English. In written or spoken text about the Prophet Muhammad, the constant repetition of ‘ Peace Be Upon Him’ would take up many lines or much time when added together, so it is acceptable to abbreviate it. The Arabic rendering is also often written and abbreviated: SAW (Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam).
pension A financial product whereby a person pays an amount of money into a pension fund throughout his or her working life, then on maturation (at retirement), the flow of cash is reversed and the agreed amount is paid back to the policyholder until he or she dies. Since some people will die earlier than the average life expectancy and others will live longer, there is a certain amount of risk for the pension providers, especially when life expectancy is rising. Since pension companies often invest their funds (that is, they do not rely solely on ongoing contributions from the working-age policyholders), Muslims must be careful that they only use Shariah-compliant pension providers. People of the Book A collective term for Jews, Christians, Sabaeans and occasionally Zoroastrians, specifically the groups to whom books had been revealed by God prior to the Qur’anic revelation (see ahl al-kitab).
