Ismaili.NET - Heritage F.I.E.L.D.

Mubarak or mabruk is derived from baraka (to bless). It means be blessed or good luck. It is a customary wish extended on special occasions.

The Arabic word munajat is derived from najiy, meaning confidential talk The Koran says: "And We called to him from the right side of the Mount (Sinai) and let him come near in order to have a personal talk (najiy) with Him" (19:52)

(vide Diwan, Beirut, 1309 A.H., p. 972).

Ibn Tiqtaqa also quoted the above poem in his al-Fakhri (comp. 699/1302). Abul Fida (2:309) writes, "Sharif ar-Radi had composed a poem in praise of the Fatimids in which he admitted the legitimate descent of the Fatimids from Ali bin Abu Talib."

The word muhajir (pl. muhajirin) means the emigrant, one who flies or forsake his home, is the name often applied in the Koran to those followers of the Prophet, who had migrated from Mecca to Medina with him. The word is derived from hijra. The term muhajir is not applied to the Prophet himself, but only to those who migrated with, before or after him and later made up a large portion of the population of Medina.

"Ali Shah, surnamed Shah Murad or Murad Mirza lived in Anjudan. He had also retained his close relations with Shah Ismail cemented by his father. His mode of living, his dress and food were characterized by a rare simplicity.

The terms used in the Koran and hadith for what is meant by the word "salvation" are najat (redemption), fawz (success), falah (prosperity), and sa'ada (happiness). The first term, together with its different derivatives, is frequently used for both kinds of salvation (28:25, 17:67, 11:58, 21:76, 19:72, 61:10, 40:41). Fawz and its derivatives, however, often refer to salvation in the hereafter only (3:185, 4:73, 23:111, 59:20, 78:31, 3:188).

"Abu Jafar Muhammad bin Ali, known as al-Bakir was born on 1st Rajab, 57/October 15, 677. He assumed Imamate at the age of 37 years. He possessed extensive knowledge in religion matters, and because of that, according to Yaqubi, he was nicknamed al-Bakir (split open, or revealer of secret science), as it is said, tabaqqara al-rajulu fi'l aw fi'l mal means the man became abundant in knowledge or he enhanced himself in knowledge. But according to Ibn Khallikan, he was so called because he collected an ample treasure or fund (tabaqqar) of knowledge.

The term mushrik is derived from shirk, i.e., associating in the sense of ascribing partners to God, which is described in the Koran as the only sin for which no forgiveness is possible (4:48). Another common Koranic expression for this is "those who associate" (alladhina ashraku).

Names in Arabic generally consist of five elements: First, the personal name (ism), such as Muhammad, Ali or Hussain, or two names, like Muhammad Ali or Hussain Ali. Second is the formal name, kunya, which denotes a personal relationship of the bearer of name to another person, for example, Abu Muhammad (the father of Muhammad) or Umm Ahmad (the mother of Ahmad). It is a surname in addition to the ism.

"Imam Muhammad al-Mahdi was born on Monday, the 12th Shawal, 260/July 31, 873 in the town, called Askar-i Mukram (or Askar wa Makrum), situated between the rivers of Masrukan and Shushtar. His name was Abdullah al-Mahdi and assumed the Imamate at the age of 8 years. His father, Imam Radi Abdullah had assigned the control of organization to his uncle, Sa'id al-Khayr. By the time Imam al-Mahdi became young, and married a daughter of his uncle, who died after some time.

One of the most perplexing points in Islam is its attitude towards music, and for centuries the legists have argued the question whether listening to music (al-sama) is lawful or not. It is not easy to comprehend how the question arose, seeing that there is not a word of direct censure against music in the Koran, and above all, in face of the fact that music was almost an indispensable article in the social life of the Arabs. According to A History of Arabian Music (London, 1929, p.

A'FAQ Horizon

A'MIR Civilized

A'QIB Following

A'ZAM Greatest

ABBAS Gloomy

ABDULLAH Servant of God

ABID Devoted

ABUZAR Father of Particle

ADIB Scholar

ADIL Just

ADNAN N.Arabian

AFROZ Dazzling

AFTAB Sun

AFZAL Best

AHMAD Praiseworthy

AKBAR Great

Imam Muhammad bin Islam Shah, also known as Muhammad or Mehmud Shah, was probably born in Daylam. He was ten years old when his father arrived in Kahek in 798/1396. If this is a genuine tradition, it implies that he was born possibly in 788/1386, and was about 17 years old while assuming the Imamate. He mostly resided in Shahr-i Babak in Kirman. Imam Muhammad bin Islam Shah seems to have started communications from his headquarters to different Ismaili communities, and also accepted the gifts of the pilgrims.

"Badr al-Jamali, the Fatimid vizir expected the succession of Musta'li but he died in 487/1095, a month before the death of Imam al-Mustansir. The Imam appointed Lawun Amin ad-Dawla as a new vizir, but after few days, al-Afdal, the son of Badr al-Jamali managed to obtain office of vizirate when the Imam was on death-bed. After the death of Imam al-Mustansir, the year 487/1095 marks the triumph of vizirial prerogative over caliphal authority in the structure of the Fatimid empire. Al-Afdal however, was fearing of being deposed by Imam al-Nizar, so he conspired to remove him.

ABIDA Adoress

AFROZA Enlightening

AFSAN Fascinating

AFSHEEN Spreading Widely

AINI Generous

ALMAS Diamond

AMINA Trustworthy

ANAR Pomegranate

AMBAR Ambergris

AMBREEN Ambergris

ANISA Affectionate

ARZOO Desire

ASMA Beautiful

ATIYA Gift

AZIZA Respected

"Abu Abdullah Muhammad, surnamed ash-Shakir was born in 122/740 in Medina. He passed his early life with his grandfather for 24 years and 10 years with his family in Medina. He however kept himself silent so long as he lived in Medina. He most probably left Medina soon after the death of his grandfather in 148/765.

27. Suleman bin Hasan (d. 1005/1597)

28. Jafar bin Suleman (d. 1050/1640)

29. Ali bin Suleman (d. 1088/1677)

30. Ibrahim bin Mohammad (d. 1094/1683)

31. Mohammad bin Ismail (d. 1109/1697)

32. Hibatullah bin Ibrahim (d. 1160/1747)

33. Ismail bin Hibatullah (d. 1184/1770)

34. Hasan bin Hibatullah (d. 1189/1775)

35. Abdul Ali bin Hasan (d. 1195/1781)

36. Abdullah bin Ali (d. 1225/1810)

37. Yusuf bin Ali (d. 1234/1819)

38. Hussain bin Hussain (d. 1241/1826)

39. Ismail bin Mohammad (d. 1256/1840)

40. Hasan bin Mohammad (d. 1262/1846)

41. Hasan bin Ismail (d. 1289/1872)

"The giving of the name to the newly born child by the Imam is an Islamic practice in Ismailism. While going back to the early history of Islam, it appears that the tradition was common in the period of the Prophet. The ancient Arabs excelled in inventing nasty names for their enemies, but the Koran (49:11) forbade them not to use pejorative sobriquets: "Do not scoff at each other or give each other derisory nicknames" (wala talmizu anfusakum wala tanabazu bi