Ismaili Dictionary & Encyclopedia
Browse our comprehensive collection of words and terms. Use the alphabetical navigation or search to find specific entries.
Tear asunder
Various Sources Ukhdi gayaEncyclopedia TopicUprooted, torn asunder
Various Sources UlatEncyclopedia TopicHappiness, cheerfulness
Various Sources Ulat ulatEncyclopedia TopicIn the passion of love
Various Sources UlatsheEncyclopedia TopicWill turn away, will turn up, will overflow
Various Sources UltaEncyclopedia TopicUpside down
Various Sources UMAREncyclopedia TopicUmar, the son of Khattab was born about twelve years after the birth of the Prophet in Mecca. His father was an educated merchant, who taught his son reading and writing. He was a poet, orator and fond of archery, horse-riding and wrestling. He embraced Islam in the 6th year of the Prophethood.
He became the caliph at the age of 52 years after the death of Abu Bakr in accordance with his will. He also launched several expeditions and expanded the Islamic state, such as the battle with the Persians, battle of Namarraq, Jasr, Buwaib, Qadisiya, Jalula, Nihawand, Yarmuk, etc. He also captured Madain and Jerusalem. He conquered Egypt in 18/639. He not only conquered a vast empire, but also consolidated it by an effective system of administration. He maintained a well-disciplined army, which was divided into cavalry and infantry. It was he who introduced the Islamic era. He took severe steps to check hoarding and appointed officers to check weights and measures.
After the battle of Nihawand, many Persians were taken as captives. One of these slaves was Abu Lulu, known as Firoz. In 23/644, Firoz attached on Umar with a dagger and inflicted several wounds, who survived for some days. His period of caliphate lasted for 10 years, 6 months and 4 days.
Encyclopaedia of Ismailism by Mumtaz Ali Tajddingeneral UmargeEncyclopedia TopicOn the wrong path
Various Sources UmavnaEncyclopedia TopicDesire, seek
Various Sources UmavoEncyclopedia TopicHope, wish, happiness
Various Sources UmavoEncyclopedia TopicClouded, overcast; entreaty, humble request
Various Sources UmayaEncyclopedia TopicMade a humble entreaty, Tore Your. beseeched, became happy
Various Sources Umaya / UmayoEncyclopedia TopicDesired, entreated, wished, happiness, pleasure
Various Sources UMAYADSEncyclopedia Topic"Muawiya followed Ali and his son, Hasan as caliph of the Muslims, having adopted the cry of "Vengeance for Uthman." Muawiya and Uthman were kinsmen, both of them belonging to the Meccan clan of Umayyad or Abd Shams. Later, after the death of Ali, Hasan bin Ali abdicated the power after ruling for 6 months and 3 days in 41/661 in favour of Muawiya, who became an absolute ruler of the Muslim states. There are however numerous instances, where Muawiya is recorded as saying, "I am the first king of Islam." (Bidaya wa'n Nihaya by Ibn Kathir, Cairo, 1939, 8:135). Thus, Muawiya grabbed the power and founded the Umayyad rule in Syria. He lived on a scale of royal splendour comparable only to the pomp and pageantry of the Byzantine emperors. Muawiya's ambitious plans to perpetuate the caliphate in his own house, i.e., the Umayyads and nominate his son Yazid as his heir-apparent were not so possible, because of the terms on which Hasan had abdicated to Muawiya. To carry out his plan, Muawiya had to remove Hasan from the scene. The sources admit that the cause of Hasan's death was poison administered by his wives, Juda bint al-Ash'ath. Thus, the death of Hasan took place in 49/669 at the early age of 46 years. It gave opportunity to Muawiya to establish the Umayyad rule. There were 14 caliphs in the Umayyad dynasty from Muawiya to Marwan (41-132/661-750) in Syria as follows:-
1. Muawiya I (41-60/661-680)
2. Yazid I (60-64/680-683)
3. Muawiya II (64-64/683-684)
4. Abdul Malik Marwan (64-65/684-685)
5. Abdul Malik (65-86/685-705)
6. Walid bin Abdul Malik (86-96/705-715)
7. Suleman (96-99/715-717)
8. Umar bin Abdul Aziz (99-101/717-720)
9. Yazid II (101-105/720-724)
10. Hisham (105-125/724-743)
11. Walid II (125-126/743-744)
12. Yazid III (126-126/744-744)
13. Ibrahim bin Walid I (126-127/744-744)
14. Marwan II (127-132/744-750)
The Abbasids overthrown them and took power in 132/750 and founded the Abbasid caliphate. The total duration of the Umayyad rule was 90 years, 11 months and 13 days.
The Abbasids had also adopted a cruel policy towards the Umayyads, and many members of the family were executed. Some Umayyads, however, escaped and sought refuge among the nomadic tribes, one of them being Abdur Rehman (138-173/756-788), the grandson of Hisham. He escaped to Rah, near Euphrates, where he began to prepare for the long journey to Africa, where few other Umayyad princes had already taken refuge. On 1st Shawal, 138/March 8, 756, he entered Archidona, the capital of Regio, where he was declared an amir. Hence, he became the king of the Umayyads in the southern districts of Spain. There were 23 rulers in Umayyad Spain (138-422/756-1031) from Abdur Rehman (d. 173/788) to Hisham III (d. 422/1031).
Encyclopaedia of Ismailism by Mumtaz Ali Tajddingeneral UmayoEncyclopedia TopicCrave, desire, remember
Various Sources UmayoEncyclopedia TopicEntreated, requested, beseeched
Various Sources UMMAH Encyclopedia Topic"The word ummah (pl. umam) is derived from amma yaumma, meaning to intend. According to others, the word ummah is rooted from the Aramaic, umma'tha, meaning tribe, nation or community. It occurs 62 times in the Koran including 15 times plural in the following senses:-
1. In the sense of a nation: "This was a nation (ummah) who have passed away" (2:134, 5:48), "And every nation (ummah) hath its terms" (7:34) and "And verily We raised in every nation (ummah) a messenger" (16:37).
2. In the sense of a party or a group of people: "And there may spring from you a party (ummah) who invites to goodness and enjoin right conduct and forbid indecency" (3:109) and "And of Moses folk there is a group of people (ummah) who led with truth and establish justice" (7:5).
3. In the sense of a religion: "Nay, for they say only: Lo, we found our fathers following a religion (ummah) (42:22).
"Lo, we found our fathers following in their foot-steps (ummah)" (42:23).
4. In the sense of a period or time: "And if We delay for them the doom until a reckoned time (ummah), they will
surely say....." (11:8).
But, when the Koran uses the word ummah for the followers of the Prophet, it refers to the believers. Thus, the concept of the Muslim Ummah is based on the unity of faith which consists in the recognition of homogenous belief, i.e., belief in One God, in the Prophet of God and in a score of common doctrines.
But its very nature, the ummah is international, and not an territorial consideration. The ummah is therefore not a political concept, it is the confessional term, uniting all the believers of Islam in one world community.
Thus, the concept of community (ummah), or to be exact, ummah muslimah which originally meant a "community (of people who have) surrendered (themselves to God), ended by acquiring the meaning of the "Muslim Community," to which the Prophet constantly refers by calling it ummati (my community).
Encyclopaedia of Ismailism by Mumtaz Ali Tajddingeneral UMMIEncyclopedia Topic"The word ummi (pl. ummiyun) means unlettered, occurring twice in the Koran as an epithet of the Prophet: "Those who follow the messenger, the ummi Prophet, whom they find written down with the Torah and the Gospels" (7:157); and "Believe then in God, and in His messenger, the ummi Prophet" (7:158).
Since the term has been applied to the Prophet, who is characterized as al-nabi al-ummi, the meaning and significance of this term for both Muslim and Western scholars have been a matter of controversy. According to the Koran: "He it is Who has sent among the ummiyyun a messenger (rasul) from among them, so that he might recite His revelations to them, purifying them, and teach them the Book and the Wisdom, while heretofore they were clearly in error" (3:163).
The word ummi is derived from umm, meaning mother, because the mother's attachment to the child prevents her from sending him to the traditional school. Tabarsi (1:322) offers a derivation based on linguistic usage: "The word ummah means khilqah (that is, the original state in which a person was created), and therefore (a person) is said to be ummi because he has remained in his original state, that is, without learning".
Tabarsi further states that Abu Ubaidah said, "The ummiyun are the nation (umam) to whom no book was sent down...but an ummi prophet is one who does not write" (1:322). Qurtubi (2:5) cites a hadith in which the Prophet says: "We are an unlettered community (ummah). We neither write nor are able to do arithmetic". Qurtubi then presents several views on ummiyun and its reference. The first is that they were the Jews who did not accept the Mother (umm) of the Book. The second is that they were so called because the Mother of the Book was sent down to them. Third, according to Ikrma and Dahhak, the people here intended "were the Christians of the Arabs who did not know the scriptures." Most commentators have understood the word ummiyun to mean those who neither read nor write. Tabari (2:257) quotes Ibn Zaid as narrating that, "They are those among the Jews who do not read the scriptures". The Arabs were "unlearned" in terms of the use of script; they were an umma ummiya, a nation which was still in the original state of birth (ala asl wiladatiha), who were unlettered, and the ummi prophet is either the prophet of the Ummi Arabs, because he was like them, or he was so called because he himself did not know reading and writing. But according to some, the Prophet is called ummi because he came from the umm al-qura (6:92, 4:7), "the mother of cities," an epithet for Mecca, and thus indicates the "one originating from Mecca," i.e., the Prophet. Similarly, the parent of any nation is called the umm (source, mother, origin) of that nation. Cairo could be called the umm of the Egyptian nation. Dr. Kamal Omar writes in Deep into Quran (Karachi, 1980, p. 315) that, "As Mecca and umm al-qura are proper titles of one and the same city, its residence were known as Meccans or Ummis. The Last Prophet was one of these very people." Ali bin Asbati once asked Imam Muhammad al-Bakir, "The people claim that the Prophet could neither read nor write?" The Imam denied it and said, how it is possible? God said "He it is Who has sent among the illiterates a messenger from among them, so that he might recite His revelations to them, purifying them, and teach them, the Book and the Wisdom, while heretofore they were clearly in error." Ali bin Asbati asked, "Why was he called al-nabi al-ummi?" The Imam said, "Because he was ascribed to Mecca. That is according to the words of God that
Encyclopaedia of Ismailism by Mumtaz Ali Tajddingeneral UMRAEncyclopedia TopicThe word umra is derived from amara meaning he inhabited a place or paid a visit to it, and in the terminology of Islam, umra means a visit to the Kaba. The word umra occurs twice in one verse (2:196) in the Koran. It differs from hajj in two respects. In the first place, hajj cannot be performed except at the fixed time, while umra may be performed at any time; Shawal, Zilkada and ten days of Zilhijja are particularly spoken of as months of hajj (Koran, 2:197, Bukhari, 25:34), so that a man can enter into the state of ihram for hajj only in these months, while the actual devotions of hajj are limited from the 8th to the 13th Zilhijja. Secondly, the going to Arafat and the assembling there is dispensed with in the case of umra, while it is an essential part of hajj. Another difference is that the sacrifice of an animal as the concluding act is essential to hajj but not so in the case of umra. The umra may be performed separately, or along with hajj, when it is like a parallel devotion to the latter. Though hajj is spoken often in the Koran, yet there is an express injunction to accomplish both: "And accomplish the hajj and the umra for God" (2:196). The umra is not obligatory (Tirmizi, 7:38), but any one who performs hajj can easily perform the umra.
Encyclopaedia of Ismailism by Mumtaz Ali Tajddingeneral UmruEncyclopedia TopicLife
Various Sources UnaEncyclopedia TopicImperfect, incomplete
Various Sources UnapuraEncyclopedia TopicIncomplete, imperfect
Various Sources UnchEncyclopedia TopicHigh
Various Sources Unch / UnchaEncyclopedia TopicHigh
Various Sources UnchiEncyclopedia TopicHigh, exalted place
Various Sources UnchiEncyclopedia TopicHigh, best, expensive
Various Sources UnchoEncyclopedia TopicLofty, elevated, exalted
Various Sources UndaEncyclopedia TopicDeep
Various Sources UndaEncyclopedia TopicDeep
Various Sources UndheEncyclopedia TopicUpside down
Various Sources UndhiyunEncyclopedia TopicBad, evil, other way round, upside down
Various Sources UniachariEncyclopedia TopicOf imperfect deeds
Various Sources UniadEncyclopedia TopicPreexistent, prior to the beginning
Various Sources Uniade adEncyclopedia TopicPreexistent, prior to the beginning
Various Sources UniariEncyclopedia TopicWeak, incomplete
Various Sources UniyaEncyclopedia TopicImperfect, incomplete
Various Sources UniyachariEncyclopedia TopicImperfect in deeds
Various Sources Unt (Aut)Encyclopedia TopicThree and a half span land i.e. grave; camel
Various Sources UnvatEncyclopedia TopicOn the wrong path
Various Sources UpadiEncyclopedia TopicHaving picked up
Various Sources UpaeaEncyclopedia TopicCreated
Various Sources UpajEncyclopedia TopicHarvest, earning, creation, birth
Various Sources UpajsheEncyclopedia TopicWill be created, will be obtained
Various Sources UpavanEncyclopedia TopicCreation, birth
Various Sources UpaviyaEncyclopedia TopicCreated
Various Sources UpavsheEncyclopedia TopicWill create
Various Sources UpayaEncyclopedia TopicCreated,produced
Various Sources UpayaEncyclopedia TopicCreated
Various Sources Updes / UpdeshEncyclopedia TopicAdvice
Various Sources UpgariEncyclopedia TopicOne who does good to others, one who helps others
Various Sources