| Qur’an | Sacred text revealed to the Prophet Muhammad | القرآن (al-Qurʾān) | 7th century CE | Direct revelation from DIO, central text of Islam |
| Surah | Chapters of the Qur’an | سورة (Sūrah) | – | 114 chapters of varying length |
| Āyah | Verses of the Qur’an | آية (Āyah) | – | Basic unit of the revealed text |
| Sunnah | Tradition of the Prophet Muhammad | السنة (as-Sunnah) | 7th–9th century CE | Model of life and conduct |
| Hadith | Reports and sayings attributed to the Prophet | حديث (Ḥadīth) | 8th–9th century CE | Oral transmission later compiled in written collections |
| Isnad | Chain of transmission of a Hadith | إسناد (Isnād) | – | Basis for evaluating authenticity |
| Matn | Textual content of a Hadith | متن (Matn) | – | Narrative or normative content |
| Canonical Collections (Sunni) | Major recognized Hadith collections | – | 9th century CE | Ṣaḥīḥ and other authoritative compilations |
| Sahih al-Bukhari | Collection of highly authentic Hadith | صحيح البخاري | 9th century CE | Considered the most authoritative |
| Sahih Muslim | Second most authoritative collection | صحيح مسلم | 9th century CE | High reliability of transmission |
| Other Collections (Sunan) | Complementary Hadith collections | – | 9th century CE | Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi, Nasa’i, Ibn Majah |
| Interpretation | Science of Qur’anic exegesis | تفسير (Tafsīr) | from 8th century CE | Explanation and commentary of the Qur’an |
| Islamic Law | Legal system derived from the sources | شريعة (Sharīʿa) | – | Based on Qur’an and Sunnah |
| Language | Language of the sacred text | العربية (al-ʿArabiyya) | – | Classical Arabic |
