asabiyya: Arabic term which means communal spirit, that is to say allegiance to a communal group

ʿadat: custom, customary rights, habits

akhundzade: descendant of an important religious figure, very often of a pir

ʿalim (plural: ʿulama): Doctor of the Law. The term usually refers to someone who has successfully completed a higher degree in a madrasa

amir: leader. In the Resistance, someone who has civil and military power

arbab: in the centre and the north, equivalent of malik

ashʿari: someone who follows Ash'ari, theologian born in 874, who tried to reconcile traditional faith and rational theology

Aymaq: Persian-speaking Sunni groups, often semi-nomadic, living in the centre of Afghanistan (Ghor province)

ʿayyar: swashbuckling brigands in the Persian tradition. The word originally meant “knights”, the “Paladins”. Here it has the same connotation as Robin Hood

badal: vengeance in the pashtumvali

Baluchi: ethnic group living on the frontier between Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan. They speak an Iranian dialect of the north-west, but include brahui groups (Dravidians)

barakat: a sanctity which brings blessing to others and which emanates from certain people or certain objects.