Ismaili Dictionary & Encyclopedia

MRaTIYOULOKNoun

Terre. V. TRILOK.

Heritage Dictionary of Ismailism, entry #660general MuEncyclopedia Topic

Mine

Various Sources MU'MINEncyclopedia Topic

The Arabic word mu’min (pl. mu’minun) is the active participle of form 4th of the root –m-n means to believe. The word mu’min thus means believer or faithful. In order to qualify as a mu’min, one must believe in the Unity of God, the finality of the Prophet, belief in God’s earliest prophets, His revealed books, His angels and the hereafter. In Koran, the attitude of true believers towards God is characterized by gratitude, awe, repentance and submission. In their attitude to their fellow humans, they are distinguished by their chastity, modesty, humility, forgiveness and truthfulness. According to the Koran, the believers are brothers (49:10), and one should assist and protect each other (8:72, 74; 9:71), peace must be established between them in case they should fight (49:9-10) and they should show each other mercy (48:29). For their belief and their righteous deeds, believers will be the recipients of God’s favour and enjoy preferential treatment, although they will be subjected to trials in this world (2:214, 3:186, 47:31). They also prosper and God makes their works succeed (2:5, 3:104, 23:1, 33:71). He strengthens the believers and defends, saves and protects them (58:22, 22:38, 39:61, 40:9). Ultimately, they will be admitted to paradise (2:25, 3:15, 9:72, 13:23, 18:31, 22:23, 23:19, 35:33, 55:54). The Koranic formula “O you who believe” (ya ayyuha lladhi amanu), which appears frequently in the chapters from the Medinan period introducing a precept or an admonition, invariably address this class of believers.

Various passages in the Koran speak of the attitude to be followed by the believers towards the unbelievers, warning them against close contacts with others who are not of their own rank. Whoever associates with them is one of them (3:28, 118; 4:144, 5:51, 9:23-4, 13:1, 60:1). The unbelievers are each other’s allies (8:73). Sitting with the unbelievers who mock the Koran is forbidden (4:140), the contributions from unbelievers may not be accepted (9:54) and praying at their graves is prohibited (9:84). Some passages explicitly forbid relations with pagan Arabs even if these are one’s own relatives. The unbeliever will only mock the believers (83:29-32) and try to corrupt them (3:99-100). One should, therefore, avoid and ignore them and pay no attention to their idle talk. Only in cases of fear for one’s life may one associate with unbelievers (3:28, 16:106). Under certain circumstances, however, it is possible to make peace with them (4:90-1, 8:61).

In short, the true believer means the composition of good qualities, sympathy and refinement. He is full of sweet odour of virtue – a living idol of piety and love. He has no filth in his mind, no flame of anger, no fire of pride, no smoke of lust and an inspirer of good deeds. Imam al-Muizz said, “The true believer is a true believer only when he has raised up a true believer like unto himself” (Cyclical Time and Ismaili Gnosis, London, 1983, p. 138 by Henry Corbin)

Encyclopaedia of Ismailism by Mumtaz Ali Tajddingeneral MuanEncyclopedia Topic

Die

Various Sources MUAYYAD FID-DIN ASH-SHIRAZIEncyclopedia Topic

"Al-Muayyad fid-din ash-Shirazi was born in 390/1000 in Shiraz. He was an outstanding da'i, orator, prolific writer, poet and politician. His father, tracing his link from a Daylami Ismaili family was also a da'i with some influence in the Buwahid orbits of Fars. In one of poems he narrates in his Diwan al-Muayyad (poem no. 4) that, "I wish I should get a chance to offer my life as a sacrifice for you, O my Lord. My forefathers and myself have been living in comforts under your patronage and we have never swerved an inch from our devotion to you." In 429/1037, when al-Muayyad was 39 years old, he received quick promotions in his service as a chief da'i of Shiraz and then the hujjat for the whole Iran. He joined the service of the Buwahid Abu Kalijar al-Marzuban (d. 440/1048) at Shiraz. He soon converted Abu Kalijar and many of his Daylami troops. It resulted in court intrigues and a harsh Sunni reaction against him. The Abbasids also insisted on his exile from Iran. Al-Muayyad was therefore obliged to migrate from Shiraz in 438/1046 and reached Cairo next year. He came into the contact of the chief da'i, al-Kassim bin Abdul Aziz bin Muhammad bin Noman, the great-grandson of Qadi Noman. He had his first audience with Imam al-Mustansir in Cairo a few months later in Shaban, 439/February, 1048. He also procured his close ties with vizir Yazuri, who entrusted him with a section of the Fatimid chancery (diwan al-insha) in 440/1048. He gives the following description of his visit to the Imam in as-Sirat al-Muayyadiyah that, "I was taken near the place wherefrom I saw the bright light of the Prophethood. The light dazzled my eyes. I shed tears of joy and felt as if I was looking at the face of the Prophet of God and of the Commander of the Faithful, Ali. I prostrated myself before the one who is the fittest person to bow to. I wanted to say something but I was awe-struck."

Imam al-Mustansir deputed him in 447/1055 on a mission to the Syrian amirs, and notably to Abu Harith al-Basasari with an army of 3000 Arab troops. He wrote an impassioned qasida on the occasion of the Fatimid occupation of Baghdad. He returned to Cairo in 449/1058, shortly before al-Basasari finally captured Baghdad and had the Fatimid khutba recited.

Al-Muayyad's status before Imam al-Mustansir was as high as that of Salman al-Fars before the Prophet. In one of his poems he says: "Had I lived in the days of the Prophet, my position before him would have been, in no way less important than that of Salman. He would have said to me in unequivocal terms, you are a member of my family" (Ibid. poem no. 38).

He was elevated as the head of the mission, Bab al-Abwab in 450/1058, and later the supervisor of Dar al-Hikmah in 454/1062. He lodged in the chamber of Dar al-Hikmah and directed the affairs of the Fatimid mission, and was in close contact with the da'is as far as in Yamen and India. The learned divines of his time who had left behind the treasures of their masterly works on Ismailism were his pupils. Even the great genius of the type of Nasir Khusaro and Hasan bin Sabbah were his pupils. Nasir Khusaro speaks of al-Muayyad in the following words:- "O Nasir, God has opened a new world of wisdom for you through the teaching of Khwaja al-Muayyad. When he stood on the pulpit to deliver his sermon to the people, intellect was ashamed of its insignificance. He turned my dark nights into bright days by his illuminating arguments. I picked up a particle from his vast wealth of knowledge and I found the revolving heaven under my feet. He showed me in myself both the worlds visible and invisible. I saw the guardian of paradise who said to me, Lo, I am the pupil of al-Muayyad." (vide Diwan, ed. Nasrullah Taqavi, Tehran, 1928, p. 313)

He also regularly gave lectures at Dar al-Hikmah. The Majalis of al-Muayyad, comprised of 8 volumes of one hundred lectures, deal with various theological and philosophical questions, reflecting high watermark of the Ismaili thoughts. He died in 470/1078 at Cairo and was interred inside Dar al-Hikmah, where he resided. Imam al-Mustansir himself led the funeral rites.

Encyclopaedia of Ismailism by Mumtaz Ali Tajddingeneral MUBARAKEncyclopedia Topic

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.

Encyclopaedia of Ismailism by Mumtaz Ali Tajddingeneral MuchhEncyclopedia Topic

Moustache

Various Sources MuchhadaEncyclopedia Topic

Mustached, one who has long mustaches

Various Sources MudEncyclopedia Topic

Reality, purpose, capital

Various Sources MudraEncyclopedia Topic

Earrings

Various Sources MugatEncyclopedia Topic

Salvation

Various Sources MugatEncyclopedia Topic

Crown

Various Sources MugatEncyclopedia Topic

Salvation, deliverance

Various Sources MugatEncyclopedia Topic

Crown

Various Sources MugtaEncyclopedia Topic

Salvation

Various Sources MugtaiEncyclopedia Topic

Liberation, final emancipation

Various Sources MugtiEncyclopedia Topic

Salvation

Various Sources MugtiEncyclopedia Topic

Salvation

Various Sources Mugti / MuktiEncyclopedia Topic

Salvation

Various Sources MUHAJIR Encyclopedia Topic

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. The Prophet described them as favourites of God who would receive a splendid reward as the Koran says: “When those who have adopted the faith, who have migrated and fought for God’s cause may hope for His grace” (2:218), “The sins of the emigrants – are forgiven” (3:195), and “Those who believed migrated and expended blood and treasure in fighting for the cause of God, occupy a high position” (9:20). Reference to those who had emigrated for the sake of God appears nineteen times in the Koran, seventeen of which the exegetical tradition has related, directly or indirectly to the Meccan emigrants.

It is difficult to know precisely the number of those who immigrated in the first wave to Medina. Based on the lists of names in early Arabic sources it can safely be estimated that the total number of adult male emigrants was not more than eighty. The number of the muhajirin gradually grew with the increasing influence of the Prophet. From time to time it induced the people of Mecca to leave their heathen city and go to Medina. It is to them that the Koranic verse (8:75) refers, where those who adopted Islam later than the first emigrants, who migrated and afterwards fought alongside with the muhajirs, are acknowledged as belonging to the community: “they are of you.”

Encyclopaedia of Ismailism by Mumtaz Ali Tajddingeneral MUHALLABI, al-Name

(10th Century) Author of geographic literature of Imam al-Aziz.

(10e S). Auteur d'un ouvrage géographique pour l'Imam al-Aziz.

Heritage Dictionary of ismailism, entry #322general MUHAMMAD AL-BAKIR (94-114/713-733), 4th IMAMEncyclopedia Topic

"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. Thus, he was also called Baqir al-ulum (opener of the knowledge). Many jurists attracted by the fame of his learning, such as Muhammad bin Minkadir, Abu Hanifah an-Noman, Qatada bin Diama, Abdullah bin Muammar al-Laythi, Nafi bin Azraq etc.

The period of Imam Muhammad al-Bakir is noted for the rule of the Umayyad caliph Suleman (96-99/ 715-717), Umar bin Abdul Aziz (99-101/717-720), Yazid II (101-105/720-724) and Hisham (105-125/724-743). Like his father, Imam Muhammad al-Bakir was politically quiescent and refrained from openly putting forward any claim.

Zaid, the half-brother of Imam Muhammad al-Bakir had asserted a claim to the Imamate on the basis that the Imam must come forward publicly for his claims for Imamate and Caliphate. He believed that if an Imam wanted to be recognized, he had to claim his right with a sword in hand. Thus, the first Alid of the Hussainid line who rose against the Umayyads was Zaid. The popularity of Zaid's movement overshadowed Imam's efforts to attacking only the friends and followers of Zaid. Nevertheless, he did not hesitate to contest Zaid's claim. However, the Imam and Zaid quarrelled over this point, for when the latter asserted that an Imam must rise against the oppressors, the former remarked: "So you deny that your own father was an Imam, for he never contested the issue." Zaid's revolt against the Umayyads took place in Safar, 122/December, 740 when he came forward and summoned the people to espouse his cause. Zaid was warned by his brother, Muhammad bin Ali bin Hussain, not to put any reliance on the people of Kufa, but Zaid did not heed on his brother's warning and led the Kufans in a vain rebellion. Yousuf bin Umar Thaqafi, the governor of the two Iraks, dispatched Abbas al-Murri with an army against Zaid. He was struck by an arrow, and died of his wound. Zaid's son Yahya fled to Khorasan and led an uprising after three years. He was killed in 125/743 and met the same fate as his father. Later on, the Zaidiyya recognized no designation for the Imamate, or any strict hereditary principle. Thus the movement of Zaid however ended in failure.

Imam Muhammad al-Bakir was the first to establish the legal school of Ahl al-Bayt. Kashi records an important tradition in his Rijal (p. 289) that, "Before the Imamate of Muhammad al-Bakir, the Shi'as did not know what was lawful and what was unlawful, except what they learned from the people; until Abu Jafar (al-Bakir) became the Imam, and he taught and explained to them the knowledge (of law), and they began to teach other people from whom they were previously learning." It indicates that until the time of Imam Muhammad al-Bakir, there were hardly any differences in legal practices among the Shi'ites of Medina, Kufa and elsewhere. This was an earliest move in the formation of the Shi'ite jurisprudence.

Caliph Abdul Malik is credited to have regulated monetary system in Islamic states. The Roman gold dinar and the Iranian silver dhiram had been in circulation in the Arabian regions. One dinar weighed 4.25 grams, inscribed with the Christian symbol of cross, while a dhiram weighed 1.40 grams. Abdul Malik was perplexed by the situation and called for a meeting of the grand consultative assembly, in which the Imam was also invited. The proposal for minting Islamic coins had been accepted, but when the question of its inscription arose, Imam Muhammad al-Bakir recommended for the Islamic legends on both sides of the coin, which was also approved. Thus, the first Islamic coin was struck in 76/695 in the mint installed at Damascus. The gold coin was dinar, the silver coin called dhiram, and the copper coin was named fals. These bore Islamic inscriptions, and were standardized both in weight and metal.

Imam Muhammd al-Bakir articulated an implication of the doctrine the Imamate in Shi'ism. He also imparted the doctrine of taqiya, but it was left to his son to give it a final form and make it an absolute condition of the faith.

Many leading jurists used to visit Imam Muhammad al-Bakir to discuss the legal problems. Among them were Muhammad bin Minkadir, Abu Hanifah an-Noman, Qatada bin Diama, Abdullah bin Mu'ammar and al-Laythi etc. He greatly emphasized also on the importance of knowledge and its promotion.

Imam Muhammad al-Bakir died in 114/733, and was buried in the Baqi cemetery near his father's grave. He had four wives, the first being Umm Farwa bint Kassim bin Muhammad bin Abu Bakr, who gave birth of Jafar Sadik and Abdullah al-Fatah. The second wife, Umm Hakeem bint Asad bin Mughira Thaqafi had two sons, Ibrahim and Abdullah. The third wife was Layla, who gave birth of Ali and Zainab. While Umm Salama was the daughter being born by the fourth wife.

Encyclopaedia of Ismailism by Mumtaz Ali Tajddingeneral MUHAMMAD AL-MAHDI (268-322/881-934), 11TH IMAMEncyclopedia Topic

"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.

The Ismaili mission had its roots in the era of Imam Jafar Sadik. As early as the year 145/762, the two da'is, called Halwani and Abu Sufiani had been dispatched to the Maghrib. They settled among the Berbers in the land of Katama and summoned the local populace to the cause of Ahl al-Bayt, and converted a bulk of people. Abu Sufiani died a few years later, but Halwani lived for a long time. Knowing the death of Halwani and Abu Sufiani, Ibn Athir (d. 630/1234) writes in Kamil fi't Tarikh (Beirut, 1975, 8:31) that Ibn Hawshab told to Abu Abdullah: "Our missionaries have thoroughly ploughed the land of Maghrib, making it arable. None is capable except you after them. You prepare yourself now for Maghrib." Abu Abdullah set out from Yamen in 279/892, and arrived in Mecca during pilgrimage, where he contacted the Katama pilgrims of Maghrib at Mina, and impressed them with his vast knowledge about the merits of Ahl al-Bayt. The pilgrims were gladdened to know that Abu Abdullah was heading towards Egypt, which was on their route to the Maghrib. While travelling with them, Abu Abdullah inquired at great length about their country in order to judge the suitability of his mission. He, thus gained the admiration of his fellow-travellers. After a short stay in Egypt, he reached Maghrib in the Katama homeland on 14th Rabi I, 280/June 3, 893.

On the other hand, Imam al-Mahdi left Salamia in 286/899. He relinquished his house at the time of the evening prayer, unnoticed by any one and travelled the whole night escorted by an Arab and thirty other horsemen. He made his junction in Egypt, where he met da'i Abu Ali al-Hussain bin Ahmad bin Daud bin Muhammad (d. 321/932). In Egypt, Imam al-Mahdi abandoned the likely choice to go to Yamen as expected by his entourage. This turned out to be a very wise decision, since in Yamen he would have risked the Abbasid confrontation and the menace of the rebellious Qarmatians. On the eve of his departure from Egypt, Imam al-Mahdi revealed his intention of going to Maghrib, and few persons who accompanied him had registered disappointment, notably da'i Firuz.

While the caravan of the Imam was stirring between Egypt and Tahuna, they were attacked by the Berbers, who looted the caravan and took away some baggages of Imam's books belonging to the Koran, interpretations, history etc. It grieved Imam al-Mahdi much more than other things. The caravan of the Imam went to Tripoli, whose governor made an unsuccessful attempt to arrest him. The Imam thus divided his caravan into two groups. He sent forward Abul Abbas towards the Katama tribe to gauge the situation as well as to make an advance tidings of his arrival. Abul Abbas reached Kairwan when the Aghlabid ruler, Ibrahim bin Ahmad had died in 291/903 and was succeeded by Zaidatullah. Abul Abbas was not able to escape suspicion, and was arrested.

Imam al-Mahdi went to Kastilla province after knowing the arrest of Abul Abbas and made a junction for few days at Tuzar. When he made sure that there was no possibility of Abul Abbas getting free, he changed his route and went as a merchant to Sijilmasa, the capital of the Midrarite Berber, and stayed in a house hired from a certain Abul Habsha. In Sijilmasa, Imam al-Mahdi procured his friendship with the governor, al-Yasa bin Midrar (883-910). When the governor received a letter of Ziadatullah, he put the Imam under house arrest in his sister's residence.

Abu Abdullah, on the other hand, conquered almost whole Maghrib within 16 years in 296/909 and routed the Aghlabid rule of 112 years. He decisively subdued the Aghlabids near Laribus, and established supremacy over the Aghlabid empire and got an end of the Abbasid suzerainty over it in Maghrib. Six days later he entered the Aghlabid capital, Raqada which was about six miles south of Kairwan on 1st Rajab, 296/March 26, 909 and relieved Abul Abbas in Tripoli. After setting a new fabric of administration, Abu Abdullah marched to Sijilmasa with a large army. The situation at Sijilmasa was rather tricky, since Imam al-Mahdi had been imprisoned there and his any wrong move might endanger the life of Imam. Thus, he sent a peace mission to the governor, asking to release the Imam. The governor killed the messenger, therefore, Abu Abdullah had no choice but to engage in warfare. However, after a brief battle, the governor fled and his army dispersed. Abu Abdullah then triumphantly entered Sijilmasa and liberated Imam al-Mahdi, his son, entourages and pages. Abu Abdullah saw his Imam for the first time. As soon as Imam al-Mahdi made his appearance, Ibn al-Muttalibi said to Abu Abdullah that, "Lo, this is my master and yours and the master of all the people." There was immense rejoicing amongst the troops while beholding Imam al-Mahdi. The faithful followers crowded around the horses of the Imam and his son, al-Qaim and Abu Abdullah walked in front. Abu Abdullah dismounted, and so did Ibn al-Muttalibi and the troops. According to Iftitahu'd-Dawa (p. 245), Abu Abdullah was overjoyed and said to the people: "This is the Lord, mine and thine, and your Wali al-Amr, your Imam-i Zaman and your Mahdi, on whose behalf I preached you. God has fulfilled His promise about him, and assisted his supporters and troops. He is your Ulul Amr." Imam al-Mahdi remained for 40 days in Sijilmasa to restore peace and finally, he embarked for Raqada via Ikjan with his son and their whole entourage, along with Abu Abdullah and his companions.

Imam al-Mahdi rode into Raqada in triumph wearing dark silk clothes with a matching turban. Riding behind him, his son wore a similar ensemble in orange silk. Abu Abdullah wore mulberry-coloured clothes, a linen tunic, a turban and a scarf. The caravan arrived in Raqada on 20th Rabi II, 297/January 6, 910 and laid the foundation of the Fatimid Caliphate. All the notables, both Arabs and non-Arabs without exception and many other people came out to receive him. He took oath of allegiance from them. He assumed power and ordered his name mentioned in the khutba and inscribed on coins. He began to develop the barren land of Maghrib. He imposed the Islamic laws, enforcing strictly in the prohibition of forbidden food and drink, and punishing severely those who tried to practice freedom in it.

During the first few months of his rule, Imam al-Mahdi began to consolidate all powers to himself and made drastic changes, especially the financial cells. Previously, Abu Abdullah reserved the gains for the Katama soldiers, but the Imam stripped the fortunes they had gained in the battles. Abul Abbas, the brother of Abu Abdullah, however did not acquiesce but began to criticize Imam al-Mahdi's actions and even did not like the whole power in the hands of the Imam. Qadi Noman states that when Abul Abbas had been made a deputy leader at Raqada,- he had acquired a taste for power and was therefore resentful of being compelled to surrender his authority to Imam al-Mahdi and to be merely his subordinate. He exploited the discontent of the Katama chiefs who were losing power under the new administration of the Imam. He also began to instigate his brother, Abu Abdullah and eventually convinced him to some extent.

It is related that once Abu Abdullah dared to suggest Imam al-Mahdi to sit aside with all honours, while he would run the affairs of his state, for he had known the people, how they should be treated. This gesture warned the Imam of the change that had taken place in Abu Abdullah's character. When Abu Abdullah wavered in his absolute loyalty, the Imam did not waste much time in eliminating him. Imam al-Mahdi had his spies planted where both brothers met, and ultimately, both of them were killed on 15th Jamada II, 298/February 18, 911. The Imam offered the funeral service of Abu Abdullah to glorify his outstanding services and said: "Abu Abdullah was caught in delusion. The real traitor was Abul Abbas."

The executions of Abu Abdullah and Abul Abbas were soon followed by a riot of the Katama tribe, which took place the funeral. Imam al-Mahdi was not at all frightened and mounted his horse, boldly rode out among the excited crowds and with that personal courage and valour characterized him, told to the rioters, "O'people, you know the status of Abu Abdullah and Abul Abbas in Islam, but satan misguided them, resulting them being deserved for killing. I give you all the security of lives." After hearing this, the people dispersed (Iftitahu'd-Dawa, p. 267).

Imam al-Mahdi had to deal with the Berber tribes who were enraged by the death of Abu Abdullah. He also invaded Morocco in 309/921 and got an end of the Idrisid dynasty. He also captured Sicly and extended his rule throughout North Africa. The Byzantines however continued to retain the occupation of Calabria in southern Italy. Sicily was thickly populated by Lombards, Greeks, Arabs and Berbers. The first reported Fatimid governor of Sicily was Ibn Abil Fawaris. Soon afterwards in 297/910, he was replaced by Hasan bin Ahmad, also known as Ibn Abi Khinzir. He raided the southern Italian coasts in 298/911 and also in the following year against the pirates and brought rich booty. In 299/912, the Arabs and the Berbers rebelled against him in Palermo and Girgenti due to his severity. It was Imam al-Mahdi to have suppressed the uprisings diplomatically and appointed Ali bin Umar al-Balawi. The Sicilians opposed the new appointment and chose Ibn Qurhub as their own governor. Ibn Qurhub was against the Fatimids and declared his support to the Abbasid caliph al-Muqtadir (295-320/908-932). Later, the Berbers of Girgenti, joined by the inhabitants of other parts of Sicily, revolted against Ibn Qurhub, who was taken prisoner and sent to Imam al-Mahdi, who had him executed. After this short interval of political cataclysm, Sicily again reverted to the Fatimid domain, though the political troubles continued to erupt on the island. The early Fatimid used Sicily as a base for launching raids against the coastal towns of Italy and France, including the islands of the western Mediterranean; and also continued to be engaged in war and diplomacy with the Byzantines.

The first reported raid against the south of Italian peninsula took place in 306/918. The Fatimid troops captured Reggio. The second incursion was launched from Mahdiya in the summer of 310/922. With a fleet of 20 galleys, the Fatimid officer Masud bin Ghalib al-Wusuli took possession of the fortress of St. Agatha. Two years later, Jafar bin Ubaid, known as Suluk, led the third expedition, with Palermo as his starting point. He captured Bruzzano and Oria and returned to Mahdiya with vast riches. The resounding success of this campaign had the effect of inducing the Byzantines to conclude a treaty with the Fatimids. But the annual tribute agreed for Calabria was slow to reach Mahdiya and hostilities resumed in 315/927. Continuing until 318/930 under the command of Sabir, the Fatimid incursions proceeded victoriously against Tarento, Salerno, Naples and Termoli. Eventually the tribute was paid and the treaty resumed in force until the death of Imam al-Mahdi. According to The Encyclopaedia of Islam (Leiden, 1986, 5:1244), "Byzantium allowed the Fatimid sovereign to subjugate Apulia and Calabria and to reinforce the supremacy of Islam in Sicily."

The period under our review is noted for the Ismaili da'is to have launched a brisk and pervasive mission in Egypt, where most of the officials and nobles had espoused Ismailism and entered into correspondence with Imam al-Mahdi in Maghrib. Hence, Egypt offered an easier prey and to invade it was indubitably a less perilous enterprise. In 301/913, a powerful force commanded by his son, al-Qaim had been dispatched by land, and a fleet of 200 ships under Hubasa bin Yousuf against Alexandria. The Egyptian governor could not resist and acquired reinforcement from the Abbasids. Initially, the course of the expedition proceeded in al-Qaim's favour, but after capturing Alexandria, he failed before Fustat, and not being capable confronting the Egyptian army reinforced from Baghdad under the command of Munis, he retracted his steps towards Maghrib.

In 307/919, Imam al-Mahdi returned to the attack with a second expedition commanded again by his son. This project at first progressed favourably as the preceding with the capture of Alexandria and the occupation of Fayyum. But when the Fatimid fleet encountered disaster at Rosetta due to the shortage of supplies, and the battles before Fustat turned to the advantage of the troops of Munis, al-Qaim was forced for the second time to retreat and returned to Maghrib. This time the Abbasid ships were manned by experienced Greek mariners. In sum, both invasions procured no result, but Barqa remained however in Fatimid's occupation. Imam al-Mahdi seems to have organized, shortly before his death, a third expedition against Egypt. In fact, this third attempt took place in 323/935 at the beginning of the reign of his successor, al-Qaim.

In 301/914, Imam al-Mahdi founded a new city on the coast near Kairwan and gave to it the name of al-Mahdiya that served as the Fatimid capital for some generations. The site selected on the Gulf of Gabes, between Susa and Sfax on a small peninsula with a narrow neck just into the sea for nearly a mile in length and less than 500 yards in breath, which terminates the cape of Africa. The landscape of the new city was like a hand stretching out onto the waters of the Mediterranean Sea. There were only two entrances of castles, mosques, fortresses and warehouses and the fortification along the shore consisted of a thick wall barrier. The reflection of light and the imagery of waves on the rocks are unimaginable. There were 16 towers of which 8 belonged to the original foundation and another 8 were added in a later period. The official inauguration of the new capital was pushed forward to 8th Shawal, 308/February 20, 921.

Imam al-Mahdi also built an impressive shipyard, which soon enabled the Fatimids to create a powerful fleet. The Fatimid set up ship-building factory, and yards were opened in Tunis. In 303/915, a big dock was constructed by digging out a hill on the coast of the Mediterranean, making a surface area of about 8250 square meters, so that 200 battle ships might be kept in reserve there. These ships were called shini and were so big that one of them required 143 oars to move it. It had a gate and a lock that could be closed.

To maintain the stability of the empire, connecting with different parts by sea-routes, the Fatimid gave due attention in the nautical progress. Yaqut (d. 626/1229) writes in Mu'ajam al-Buldan (comp. 625/1228) that, "The most renowned port of Maghrib was Mahdiya. Its dock was cut out of solid rock. It was a capacious dock, and could harbour thirty ships at once. On both sides of the port there lay big chains, which were opened when a ship came in." Makrizi (1363-1442) writes in his al-Khitat (3:320) that the Fatimids were the first to start mock fights at sea in the world. The Fatimid admirals also developed the techniques of attacking ships with fire-throwers, which the English employed five centuries later when they routed the Spanish Armada.

The Ismaili mission was carried on in Khorasan around the last decade of the 3rd century/903-913 by Abu Abdullah al-Khadim, who stayed in Nishapur as the first chief da'i of Khorasan. He was executed during the governorship of Abu Bakr bin Muhtaj (321-327/933-939), and was succeeded around 307/919 by Abu Sa'id al-Sha'rani, who was sent by Imam al-Mahdi from Maghrib. He was followed by Hussain bin Ali al-Marwazi, who transferred his seat from Nishapur to Marw al-Rudh. Al-Marwazi is reputed in the annals of the Samanid dynasty, and during the rule of Ahmad bin Ismail (295-301/907-914), he commanded the Samanid forces in Sijistan in 298/910. In 300/913, al-Marwazi led the Samanid forces in Sijistan for the second time, and returned to Bukhara in the same year. Abu Zaid Balkhi (235-322/850-934) compiled his Suwar al-Aqalim in 308/920, and makes mention of Hussain bin Ali al-Marwazi and his brother Muhammed Suluk, when the author visited his birthplace, Balkh in 301/914. Abu Zaid Balkhi also writes his close relation with al-Marwazi and the regular material assistance he acquired from him.

It is said that al-Marwazi hoped to be appointed governor of Sijistan due to his valuable services, but was disappointed. After the death of Ahmad bin Ismail and the accession of Nasr bin Ahmad in 301/914, al-Marwazi paid his allegiance to Mansur bin Ishaq, the cousin of Ahmad bin Ismail in Herat. Al-Marwazi extended his influence in Nishapur, but soon he had to return to Herat, and subsequently he again went to Nishapur and captured it. The Samanid commander, Ahmad bin Sahl (306-307/918-919) was sent against him, who took Herat and gave battle to al-Marwazi before Marw al-Rudh in 306/918. This time al-Marwazi was defeated due to shortage of supplies, and was taken prisoner to Bukhara, where he was imprisoned. He was released with the intervention of vizir al-Jayhani. After being pardoned and spending some time at Samanid court, he returned to Khorasan to organize the mission works, where he spent rest of his life.

Yamen was a vital zone of the Fatimid mission under the able headship of Ibn Hawshab. In 291/904, however, his close associate, Ali bin Fazal al-Jadani had shown signs of disloyalty, and in 299/911, he publicly renounced his allegiance to Imam al-Mahdi. It must be noted that in Egypt, when Imam al-Mahdi decided to go to Maghrib instead of Yamen, da'i Firuz also gave up Ismaili faith and fled to Yamen, and instigated a revolt. He won the support of Ali bin Fazal. Subsequently, Firuz was killed and Ali bin Fazal endeavoured unsuccessfully to coerce the collaboration of Ibn Hawshab. The death of Ibn Hawshab took place in 303/914, and had made a will to his son Abul Hasan Mansur and his pupil Abdullah bin Abbas al-Shawiri to administer the mission in Yamen till an official appointment of a new chief da'i by Imam al-Mahdi. Upon his death, al-Shawiri had sent a letter to Imam al-Mahdi, reporting the death of Ibn Hawshab, and requesting for any chief da'i instead. In a reply, the Imam confirmed the post of al-Shawiri as a chief da'i. Jafar, the son of Ibn Hawshab was alone among his brothers to demonstrate his loyalty to the Fatimids, but his elder brother, Abul Hasan Mansur, who was expecting to succeed his father, had defected from the mission, and returned to his castles in Miswar, where he was joined by his brothers. Jafar, noticing the inimical intentions of his brothers towards al-Shawiri, tried to persuade that a quarrel would only lead to impair the Ismaili influence in Yamen. In spite of this warning, Abul Hasan Mansur waited for his opportunity, and killed al-Shawiri and took the dominions. Jafar immediately went to Maghrib, where he reached when Imam al-Mahdi had expired in 322/934. Imam al-Qaim charged him the mission work in Maghrib, where he also served Imam al-Mansur and Imam al-Muizz, and was commonly known as Jafar bin Mansur al-Yamen.

Having laid a firm foundation for Fatimid rule in Maghrib, extending from Morocco to the borders of Egypt, Imam al-Mahdi died on 15th Rabi I, 322/February 22, 934 at the age of 61 years, 5 months and 3 days. F. Dachraoui writes in his article in Encyclopaedia of Islam (1985, 5:1244) that, "Mahdi had the skill and energy to conduct moderate but firm policies within his provinces, and to wage tireless warfare beyond his frontiers to affirm the right of the descendants of Fatima to lead the Muslim world. Thus, under his rule, the Fatimid empire embarked successfully on the first phase of its long history."

Encyclopaedia of Ismailism by Mumtaz Ali Tajddingeneral MUHAMMAD BIN ISLAM SHAH (827-868/1423-1463), 31ST IMAMEncyclopedia Topic

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. It is said that the Indian Ismaili pilgrims were invested the title of darwish (daras).

The Iranian Ismailis began to revert to their former settlements in different villages. Most of them engaged in agriculture in Kohistan, Qain, Birjand, Nishapur, Khorasan, Sirjan, Jabal-i Bariz, Mahallat and Yazd.

Taymur designated his grandson Pir Muhammad as his heir, who was about 22 years old in 807/1405. But his cousin Khalil Sultan occupied Samarkand and was proclaimed as sultan. He was overthrown in 811/1409. Meanwhile, Shah Rukh (1409-1447), the fourth son of Taymur, the then governor of Herat, ascended as the next Taymurid ruler of Iran and Central Asia. He died in 851/1447 and was succeeded by his son Olugh Beg (1447-1449), who was in turn followed by Abu Sa'id (1451-1469).

One important point should not be omitted here that the office of the hujjat or pir in India from Pir Shams (d. 757/1356) to Pir Hasan Kabiruddin (d. 853/1449) was almost hereditary, and the office began to be revered like the hereditary office of the Imams, and therefore, an effect was necessary to enforce in the line of the pirs before the time it might become an ingrained tradition. Thus, after the death of Pir Hasan Kabiruddin, Imam Muhammad bin Islam Shah designated his brother Pir Tajuddin, as a next Pir for Hind and Sind instead of any son.

It appears that there are certain indications of the meeting between Imam Muhammad bin Islam Shah and Shah Nimatullah (d. 834/1431), the chief of the Nimatullahis in Kirman. We have however no trace to confirm or contradict their meeting.

Imam Muhammad bin Islam Shah died in Kahek in 868/1463, and was succeeded by his elder son, Mustansir billah II.

Encyclopaedia of Ismailism by Mumtaz Ali Tajddingeneral MUHAMMAD BIN ISMAIL (158-197/775-813), 7TH IMAMEncyclopedia Topic

"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.

The Abbasid caliph Mansur also died in 158/775 and was succeeded by his son Mahdi. He also died in 169/785 and was succeeded by his son, Hadi. He died in 170/786, and then his brother, Harun ar-Rashid became the next ruler till 193/809. He was also succeeded by his son, Amin.

The earliest description of Imam Muhammad bin Ismail occurred in the work of Tabari (3:2218). It is learnt in the 4th volume of Uyun'l-Akhbar (comp. 842/1438) that Imam Muhammad bin Ismail resided in Medina from where he sent his da'is not only to spread Ismailism, but to search for a land of refuge where he could live unscathed. When Harun ar-Rashid learnt news of it, he sent his officials to arrest and bring the Imam to his court. When the caliph's men came to the house to carry out the orders, the Imam entered an underground passage he had constructed inside his house and remained concealed until they had left. When the search had abated, he started on his journey, leaving behind his two sons. His whereabouts had been kept a closely guarded secret only the few specially privileged being acquainted with it and even they being pledged to the strictest secrecy.

The Abbasids had instituted an intensive search for Imam Ismail, because they were well aware that Musa Kazim was not the true successor, otherwise he would have been executed very soon. They failed to trace out Imam Ismail and his son. On the other side, the Abbasids noticed its counter effect in Medina, where Musa Kazim was being truly adhered as an Imam. Thus, Musa Kazim was arrested, who died in prison in 183/799. He should have been arrested and executed in 148/765, had he been truly succeeded his father.

Imam Muhammad bin Ismail made his footing in Iran and Syria accompanied by Maymun al-Qaddah. The Abbasids' enmity was daily growing in intensity. Apprehending lest the enemies should resort to some violent measures against him, the Imam assumed the name of Maymun al-Qaddah to elude discovery. Thus, the name Maymun al-Qaddah came to be used by two characters at one time. It was also resolved, if the real identity of the Imam be traced, Maymun al-Qaddah was to come forward as Imam Muhammad bin Ismail to sacrifice his own life in order to protect the line of Imamate from extinction.

Henceforward, Imam Muhammad bin Ismail had also a sobriquet of Maymun al-Qaddah to conceal his identity. Maymun al-Qaddah had a son, named Abdullah (d. 260/874), while Imam Muhammad bin Ismail had also a son at the same time, called Abdullah (d. 212/828), surnamed al-Wafi Ahmad. With the passage of time, Imam Muhammad became known as Maymun al-Qaddah in the places he resided, while Maymun al-Qaddah was treated as Imam Muhammad bin Ismail in the regions he propagated Ismailism. Abdullah, the son of Maymun al-Qaddah was consequently considered as the son of Imam Muhammad bin Ismail in the regions where the Imam had assumed the title of al-Qaddah. It therefore gave rise to the contrivance of a story that Abdullah (al-Wafi Ahmad) was the son of Maymun al-Qaddah on one hand, and Abdullah (bin Maymun al-Qaddah) was the son of Imam Muhammad bin Ismail on other. Later, it became a vehicle for the anti-Fatimid propagandists, notably Ibn Razzam to join the lineage of the Fatimid Imams with that of Abdullah bin Maymun al-Qaddah instead of Abdullah (al-Wafi Ahmad) bin Muhammad bin Ismail. This is known as Qaddahid theory and became a tool of the later Abbasids to discredit the Fatimid origin in 401/1010.

In the face of these facts, the Ismaili Imams had assumed the titles of the da'is in one or more time during the veiled period, which is also sounded expressly in the letter of the Fatimid Imam al-Muizz (d. 365/975), written in 354/965, addressing to his da'i Jaylam bin Shayban in Sind. This important letter is preserved by Idris Imaduddin (d. 872/1468) in the 5th volume of Uyun'l-Akhbar. Hatim bin Imran bin Zuhra (d. 498/1104) writes in his al-Usul wa'l-Ahkam that, "The da'is used their own names as nick-names for the Imams in order to protect them from persecution; some people were misled by this to such a degree that they said that the Imam, descendant of Muhammad bin Ismail was Abdullah bin Maymun al-Qaddah." According to Arif Tamir in al-Qaramita (p. 87), "When Muhammad bin Ismail fled from the east and established in Palmyra in Syria, the centers of his activities; he called himself Maymun al-Qaddah." Syed Abid Ali Abid writes in Political Theory of the Shiites (cf. A History of Muslim Philosophy, ed. by M.M. Sharif, Germany, 1963, 1:740) that, "As a matter of fact, as the latest research has established beyond any doubt, Maimun was the name adopted by Imam Muhammad when he went into concealment. In other words, during the period of concealment those who were in his confidence knew Imam Muhammad to be a Maimun." Husayn F. al-Hamdani (1901-1962) writes in his On the Genealogy of Fatimid Caliphs (Cairo, 1958, p. 18) that, "It is likely that Muhammad b. Ismail, who did not, and could not, according to accounts, live a settled life at one place, went underground during his wanderings by assuming the name of Maymun."

Before leaving Medina, Imam Muhammad had secretly convened an assembly of his da'is, inviting them from all the regions. When caliph Harun ar-Rashid came to know the secret assembly, he resolved to arrest the Imam in Medina. In the meantime, Zubeda, the wife of Harun ar-Rashid and a secret follower of the Imam, managed to send her trusted servant towards the Imam in Medina, informing him the plan of the caliph. Thus, the Imam had to make his footing out of Medina at once.

Tradition however has it that Imam Muhammad bin Ismail first went to southern Iraq, where he acquired the epithet of al-maktum (veiled one), and then at Nishapur in disguise, where he lodged for some times. Nishapur was one of the most important of the four great cities of Khorasan. Afterwards, he proceeded towards Ray.

Ishaq bin al-Abbas al-Farsi, the Abbasid governor of Ray secretly professed Ismailism. The Imam betrothed to Fatima, the daughter of Sarah, sister of Ishaq bin al-Abbas; who gave birth to a son, who was named Abdullah, also known as Wafi Ahmad. When the news of the Imam's stay at Ray reached the ears of Harun ar-Rashid, he wrote to Ishaq bin al-Abbas, ordering to arrest him and send him to Baghdad. Upon receipt of caliph's letter, he showed it to the Imam and replied to the caliph that he found no trace of Imam Muhammad bin Ismail, and would send as soon as he was arrested, and thus he tried to put the caliph off the scent. But the spies reported the caliph that Imam Muhammad bin Ismail not only was living at governor's house, but that he was operating his mission from there. Upon this, the caliph wrote another letter to Ishaq bin al-Abbas, impugning him to come in person with his forces if his orders were not obeyed forthwith. The governor however made his usual reply. Meanwhile, the complaints about Ali bin Musa bin Mahan, the governor of Khorasan reached the point where Harun ar-Rashid could no longer ignore them. With the intention of deposing his governor and to make a search of the Ismaili Imam, Harun ar-Rashid adopted a militant stance. In 189/805, he marched towards Ray with a detachment of his army, and after searching for the Imam through a tracking party, ordered the arrest and torture of Ishaq bin al-Abbas, who did not indicate any clue of the whereabouts of the Imam. Ishaq died as a result of severe torture that was inflicted upon him, and was rigorously flogged till death. He did not waver and stood firm in spite of excruciating tortures.

Imam Muhammad bin Ismail selected Hurmuz as a chief da'i of the mission, and then made his footing at the fortified city of Nihawand, where he stayed with the governor, Mansur bin Jowshan, who had close ties with Ishaq bin al-Abbas. He allotted the Imam a piece of land in the district of Sarha, where he led a peaceful living. It is related that the Imam was traced out on one day in Sarha by the Abbasid agent, named Muhammad bin Ali al-Khorasani, who surprised the Imam in a mosque. He was greatly impressed to behold the Imam, and lost courage to arrest him, and permitted the Imam to escape. Thence, the Imam went to Azar in Khuzistan. He also proceeded to Shapur. Disguised as a merchant, he stayed in Shapur with a certain Qamas bin Nuh, whose daughter Rabta, he married.

When the Abbasids intensified their search, the Imam had to travel out of Iran. The tradition has it that Imam Muhammad bin Ismail had taken refuge at Farghana valley, situated mainly in the eastern Uzbekistan and partly in Tajikistan and Kyrgstan. The Ismailis in upper Oxus were reportedly deep-rooted in their faith, but unfortunately we do not have details of the Ismaili mission during the veiled era in Central Asia. These Ismailis however retained a specific literary tradition by preserving and transmitting from generation to generation an anonymous treatise, entitled Ummu'l-Kitab that had certainly exercised a sole source of their religious inspiration for about three hundred years till the arrival of Nasir Khusaro in this region.

After some times, the Imam returned to Salamia, where he died in 197/813. He left behind six sons, viz. Jafar, Ismail, Ahmad, Ali, Hussain and Abdullah. He had also a son named Yahya.

Encyclopaedia of Ismailism by Mumtaz Ali Tajddingeneral MUHAMMAD BIN KIYA BUZRUG UMMIDEncyclopedia Topic

"Muhammad bin Kiya Buzrug was born in 490/1097 probably in the fortress of Lamasar. He was given training by his father, and proved an able and competent administrator. He was assisted by his one young brother Kiya Ali, who led many expeditions and died in 538/1144. In the early part of Muhammad bin Kiya's reign, the area in control of Alamut was extended in Daylam and Gilan, where several new castles were taken or constructed, such as Sa'adatkuh, Mubarakkuh and Firuzkuh. These castles were acquired chiefly through the efforts of an Ismaili commander, called Kiya Muhammad bin Ali Khusaro Firuz. The Ismailis are also reported to have extended their mission to Georgia, and penetrated their influence in an entirely new region, Ghor, to the east of Kohistan, between Ghazna and Herat in central Afghanistan, around 550/1155 during the period of the Ghorid ruler Alauddin (544-556/1149-1161). His son and successor Saifuddin Muhammad (d. 558/1163) was a deadly enemy of the Ismailis, and conducted a massacre of the Ismaili da'is and the new converts in 557/1162 at Ghor. Henceforward, it became a tradition of the Ghorids to hunt and kill the Ismailis in Afghanistan and India. Ghiasuddin (d. 599/1203), the nephew of Alauddin ascended the throne, who appointed his brother, Muhammad to the government of Ghazna with a title of Shihabuddin. After the death of Ghiasuddin, his brother Shihabuddin Muhammad rose to the power, assuming the title of Muizzuddin instead of Shihabuddin, who made several military operations in India.

Meanwhile, the northern Iranian Ismailis were confronted with Shah Ghazi Rustam bin Ala ad-Dawla Ali (534-558/1140-1163), the Bawandid ruler of Mazandaran and Gilan. It is recounted that Shah Girdbazu, the son of Shah Ghazi, was sent to Khorasan to serve at the court of Sanjar, but he had been killed by the Ismailis in 537/1142, and in another attempt, Shah Ghazi himself was rescued. The sources at our disposal admit that the Bawandid ruler Shah Ghazi shook his hand with the Seljuqs and fought the Ismailis on numerous occasions, and also invaded Alamut, which remained foiled all the times. He however seized the castles of Mihrin and Mansurakuh from the Ismailis in Qummis. On one occasion, Shah Ghazi attacked on the Ismaili inhabitants of Rudhbar and devastated their properties. He had reportedly killed a large number of the Ismailis and erected towers of their heads.

In 535/1141, the Ismailis are said to have killed their deadly enemy Jawhar, the Seljuqid commander in Sanjar's camp in Khorasan. Abbas, the Seljuq amir of Ray, had slaughtered a large number of the Ismailis in reprisal. He also raided the Ismaili localities near Alamut. His terrible operations remained continued, therefore, the Ismailis sent an emissary to sultan Sanjar in 541/1146, asking his intervention in this context. It appears that Abbas did not refrain from his hostilities despite several attempts of Sanjar. He was however killed on his way to Baghdad, and the Seljuqs sent his head to Alamut.

The Seljuqid sultan Sanjar once arrived in Ray, where he had been misinformed the doctrines of the Ismailis. He sent his messenger to Alamut to know the creeds of the Ismailis. The Ismailis gave a reply to the messenger that, "It is our principle to believe in the grandeur and greatness of God, to obey His ordinances, to act on the Shariah as shown by God in Koran and by His Prophet, and to have a faith in dooms-day, reward and punishments of deeds. No one is authorized to alter these ordinances at his will." The messenger was further told, "Tell to your king that these are our beliefs. It is well if he is satisfied, otherwise send his scholar, so that we may discuss with him." It appears that Sultan Sanjar refrained from his inimical attitude towards the Ismailis after getting above reply. Juvaini (p. 682) writes that, "I saw several of Sanjar's farmans which had been preserved in their (Ismailis) library (of Alamut) and in which he conciliated and flattered them; and from these, I was able to deduce the extent to which the sultan connived at their actions and sought to be on peaceful terms with them. In short, during his reign they (the Ismailis) enjoyed ease and tranquility."

The promising time for Ismaili Imam's appearance from dawr-i satr (concealment period) was very near, therefore, Imam al-Kahir bin al-Mohtadi bin al-Hadi bin al-Nizar took over the power of Nizari state from Muhammad bin Kiya Buzrug in 554/1159 and designated him as his vizir.

Muhammad bin Kiya Buzrug died on 3rd Rabi I, 557/February 20, 1162 and was buried next to the tombs of Hasan bin Sabbah and Kiya Buzrug Ummid. He governed as a ruler for 22 years, and 2 years as a vizir of Imam al-Kahir.

Encyclopaedia of Ismailism by Mumtaz Ali Tajddingeneral MUHAMMAD SHAH DULLAHEncyclopedia Topic

In India, Syed Ghulam Ali Shah was collecting the religious dues in Kutchh, and after his death in 1797, the Imam Shah Khalilullah Ali, who ascended on May 23, 1792 had appointed him as a vakil in Gujrat. He mostly preached in north Gujrat among the Momina Ismailis. He led a pious life in the dress of a rich person. When he passed through any village, he had lot of horses and camels in his caravan. He also visited Sind, Kutchh and Kathiawar and composed few ginans. The accumulated funds he collected in these regions were remitted to the Imam lastly in 1807.

After serving for 16 years, he died on March 3, 1813. He was buried in the Ismaili graveyard in Bombay, where his mausoleum had been erected in 1822.

The oldest graveyard of the Ismailis existed in Bombay, which is famous for the mausoleum of Syed Muhammad Shah. It was built in 1768, and according to another report, in 1790, covering an area of 1270 square yards. Mukhi Alarakhia Sumar and Kamadia Khaki Padamsi had purchased a piece of plot, measuring 6978 square yards in September, 1856 from Nilaji Lukshmanji in Rs. 11500/- and it was added with the plot of existing grave-yard. The other surrounding sites were also purchased, making it for 22506 square yards.

Encyclopaedia of Ismailism by Mumtaz Ali Tajddingeneral MUHAMMAD SHAH, SEYYEDName

(15/16e S) son of Sayyed Imam Shah. Married the daughter of Prince Muhammed Beggro.

(15/16e S). fils de Seyyed Imam Shah. Epousa la fille du Prince Muhammad Bagro.

Heritage Dictionary of ismailism, entry #323general MUHAMMAD, HOLY PROPHET (571-632 A.D.)Encyclopedia Topic

"Ismael, the son of Abraham had a son, Kaidar whose progeny spread over the Arabian province of Hijaz. Adnan, to whom the Prophet traced his descent, was also a scion of Ismael in about the fortieth generations. Further down, in the ninth descent from Adnan, there followed Nadar bin Kinana. Another descent in the genealogical scale and then comes in the ninth place, one, Qassi by name. The supreme charge of the Kaba fell into the hands of Qassi (d. 480 A.D.). He collected the scattered tribe, which gave him the title of Qoraish, and from him the charge of the Kaba descended to his eldest son, Abdul Dar, from whom the chief offices were transferred to his brother, Abd Munaf, and after his death, his son Hashim was consigned the charge of Sicaya and Rifada (the exclusive privilege of supply water and food to the pilgrims). Hashim married a girl from his own family and she gave birth to his son, Asad, who in due course became the maternal grandfather of Ali bin Abu Talib, as Asad's daughter, Fatima bint Asad was Ali's mother. Hashim's second marriage actualized with a girl of Banu Najjar, and she gave birth to a son, called Abdul Muttalib. Hashim died in 510 A.D., who left his dignities to his elder brother, Almutallib, after whom his nephew, Abdul Muttalib, the son of Hashim, succeeded to his paternal offices.

It was also in the time of Abdul Muttalib that the Yamenite king, Abraha invaded Mecca, but was discomfited in his attempt and made a disgraceful retreat. Abdul Muttalib died in the height of his glory and left indelible marks of greatness. Abdullah, the son of Abdul Muttalib, married to Amina bint Wahab. To this noble couple was born Muhammad (peace be upon him), but before he was born his father, leaving the young pregnant wife. On the morning of Monday, April 22, 571 A.D., a grandson was born to Abdul Muttalib, who named him Muhammad (the extolled one).

Mecca, about forty miles from the Red Sea embosomed with torrid rocks, where the air was heavy and the children there grew up pale, weak and sickly. All about and around Mecca was desert, whose air was limpid. For this reason, it was a custom of the Arab nobility that the mother did not nurse their children. They would give their infants into the charge of Bedouin women to suckle and nourish them. Abdul Muttalib assigned his grandson into the care of Halima al-Sadiyyah, near Mount Taif. Having nurtured for five years, the wet nurse Halima gave him back to his mother, Amina, who also died after one year. Henceforward, Abdul Muttalib was both mother and father to the orphaned child. But this was not to be for long either. The old man died when the Prophet was eight. The dying Abdul Muttalib consigned the guardianship of the Prophet to his son, Abu Talib, whose fondness for his charge equalled that of Abdul Muttalib. At this early age, the Prophet's integrity had already won household fame in the town. He was commonly known as al-Amin (the trustworthy). The epithet does not imply honesty alone, but is all-comprehensive, denoting righteousness in every form.

A high-placed widow, Khadija, who had acquired by her virtue the titles of Tahira (the virtuous) and Saiyyadah-i Qoraish (the princess of the Qoraish), hearing of the righteousness of the Prophet, entrusted to him the charge of her business. He accepted an office in the service of Khadija and was placed at the head of a caravan and sent to Syria. Before long much profit accrued to her through his honest dealings. The personal attributes and moral grace in Prophet attracted the attention and won the admiration of Khadija. So honestly the Prophet did transact the widow's trade that she caused a proposal of marriage, which met the approval of Abu Talib. Thus was he married, at the age of twenty-five, to a widow, fifteen years older than himself.

Four years after his marriage, the Prophet would frequently take a provision and retire for days into a cave at the top of a cone-shaped mountain, called Hira, some three miles from Mecca. He used to spend night after night in that solitary cave far away from all the worldly turmoil. Here he eagerly pondered and contemplated in long and lonely vigils to search after One and Only God. He prayed ardently, opening his whole heart to his Creator Whom his soul longed to meet. He became so fully absorbed in the ecstasy of his devotions that he would remain for days in the mountain cavern. This went on for a considerable length of time, till at last, in his fortieth year, a great unseen was revealed to him. The light of God was fully reflected in the Prophet. He had reached the stage of self-elevation when duality becomes non-existent and only One remains.

Khadija was sorely worried at first, but soon regained her composure and comforted him. "Fear not, my noble one", she said, "but rejoice. God will not forsake you in this affair nor expose you to shame. For you are good and kind and truthful. You are hospitable to the passing stranger, you aid and comfort the poor and the lowly, and support the virtuous in righteous deeds." Waraqa bin Naufal was Khadija's cousin, and she took him to her cousin. No sooner did Waraqa hear what inspiration the Prophet had received and how, than he spontaneously exclaimed: "This is the very angel Jibrail that God sent down to Moses." Hence, the foremost to profess faith in the truth of the Prophet's mission was his wife Khadija.

For the first three years, the Prophet kept his missionary activities underground. Neither the rancor of Arab chiefs nor the antagonism of other opponents in Qoraish prevented the secret mission of Islam. To those who did harm him, the Prophet prayed for guidance, for liberation from the yoke of vile paganism. The more they persecuted, the more patience and resolve the Prophet showed in his mission.

The Prophet received a divine command in the fourth year to operate his mission in the public. In compliance, he invited his kinsmen to a feast exclusively arranged for them. Tabari (d. 310/922) in Tarikh al-Rusul wa'l Muluk (Leiden, 1879-1901, 2:63) and Ibn Sa'd (d. 230/845) in Kitab at-Tabaqat (Leiden, 1905, 1:171) write that after the feast was over, the Prophet addressed the participants, "Friends and Kinsmen! I hereby declare that I have brought unto you a blessing in this world and in the world to come. I do not think there could be anyone else throughout the whole of Arabia, to come out with a better and more precious offer towards this nation than that of mine. I am commanded by my Lord to invite you all towards Him. Tell me! who amongst you will come forward to help me and to be my vicegerent? The spell of hush prevailing over the audience, was broken by impatient courage of Ali, the son of Abu Talib, who responded with enthusiasm and said, "O Prophet of God! I am the youngest of all here, yet I beg to offer myself to stand by you and to share all your burdens and earn the great privilege of being your vicegerent." The Prophet caused Ali to sit down. Again he put the question to the assemblage. All remained silent but Ali rose for a second time to repeat his fidelity, and was again ordered to sit down. When the Prophet repeated the same question to the congregation third time, he got no response. Ali again stood up and repeated his fidelity on which the Prophet remarked, "You are my brother, my collateral and vicegerent." This evoked the hostility of the Qoraish tribe towards the Prophet and his followers. They leapt angrily to their feet and walked out, and their murmurings and protests echoed back into the house as they passed through the courtyard into the street. On the following day, when the Prophet went to the Kaba, he was greeted with scornful gestures. "This is the man who claims to bring us messages from the heaven," they shouted and began to joke at him.

When the sufferings of the Muslims at the hands of the Meccans reached to its extreme in 615 A.D., the Prophet directed that those of them who could afford it should migrate to Abyssinia across the Red Sea, whose kings were known as the Negus (Najashi). As-Hama, the then Negus was a Christian. Under the direction of the Prophet, eleven men and four women from among the Muslims migrated to Abyssinia. The Abyssinian emigration gave the Meccans a conclusive proof that the Muslims were ready to run all risks, and undergo every form of hardship in the cause of Islam. The Meccans did their utmost to check the tide of emigration, but all in vain. It was not until seven years after the Prophet's flight from Mecca that they rejoined their Muslim brethren at Medina.

Having failed in all their attempts to impede the progress of Islamic mission, the Qoraish of Mecca called a summit conference and pledged themselves to a policy of social boycott of the Hashimites on a large scale. This implied the severance of all social, matrimonial and commercial ties of Meccans with Hashimites. The decree was written by Mansur bin Akrama and the scroll hung up on the wall of Kaba. On hearing of this, Abu Talib was thereby obliged to shift along with the entire family of Hashimites to a secluded valley fastness, known as Shib (quarter) of Abu Talib, on the eastern skirts of Mecca, cut off by rocks from the city except for one narrow gateway. The provisions, which they had carried with them, were soon exhausted. For days they went without food; water was scare; infants and children almost died of hunger. The sick and the infirm breathed their last painful breath without succour or sustenance. There was much weeping and wailing in the Muslim camp but there were no betrayers.

The pitiable condition of the Hashimites continued for a period of three years, till the Qoraish were awakened to a sense of remorse on their dealings with the Hashimites. All at once it was discovered that the parchment in the Kaba, on which the decree was written, was eaten up by termites and only the words, "In the name of the Lord" (with which the Qoraish commenced their writings) had survived. The decree was, therefore, declared to be annulled, and was torn off, and approaching Abu Talib, the Meccan leaders requested him to come back to his original abode. Abu Talib accepted to resume his civic life along with all members of Hashimites. During the period the Prophet was shut up in the Shib of Abu Talib, Islam virtually made no progress outside.

In the year 619 A.D., not long after annulment of the social boycott, the Prophet suffered a great loss of Abu Talib and Khadija, who followed each other to meet their deaths within a short interval, which was a severe blow. One protected him with the influence that derived from his noble rank, while the other guarded him with her material and wealth. It was during this period that the miraj (ascension) had taken place.

Weighed down by the loss of his venerable protector and of his cherished wife, the Prophet turned to some other field for the exercise of his ministry, because the Meccans had rejected the words of God. Taif was about 75 miles south-east of Mecca, and a famous home of Banu Thaqif. Accompanied by Zaid, he arrived in Taif, and invited at first the three brothers of Umayr family to adore One God. His words caused a storm of indignation and his voice was drowned by clamours. He was wounded by stones, and Zaid endeavoured in vain to ward off. They incited to ruffians of the town to ridicule him. The ruffians drove him from the town, and the rabble and the slaves too followed, hooting, reviling and pelting him with stones for a distance of three miles, until they quitted the Prophet to pursue his way alone. Blood flowed from his both legs. He, wearied and mortified, took refuge in one of the numerous orchards, and rested under a vine.

On his return to Mecca during the night, the Prophet arrived at Nakhlah, and thence he moved to Hira. According to Ibn Sa'd (1:212), the Prophet sent words to Mutim bin Adi that he desired to return to Mecca, if he was assured protection. Mutim, although a non-believer, was a gentleman. He not only assured the Prophet of his protection according to Arabian custom, but called all of his sons who went to Kaba and remained on guard till he finished his religious obligations. Mutim also declared in Mecca that the Prophet was under his protection. He was sorely stricken in heart and lived in Mecca for some time, retired from his people, preaching occasionally, but confining his mission mainly to the strangers who congregated in Mecca and its vicinity during the season of the annual pilgrimage.

A ray of hope beamed in the interim in the north. At a distance of about 250 miles from Mecca was a town then known as Yathirab, and later as Medina. Its population was divided into two groups, the Jews and pagans. The pagans had two clans, Aws and Khazraj, who were generally at loggerheads with each other. Every year in the month of Rajab, the Arabs swarmed like locusts into Mecca. One day in Mecca, whilst sadly but yet hopefully working among the half-traders and half-pilgrims, the Prophet came upon a group of six men who were of Khazraj. Meeting them perchance, the Prophet led them to a declivity and recited to them the verses from Koran, enumerated the blessings of a good and pious life and beckoned them to the fold. Struck by his earnestness and the truth of his words, they embraced Islam. When they returned to their native Yathirab, they spread the news, with lightning rapidity that a Prophet had arisen among the Arabs in Mecca. The town was soon agog with stories of the new faith and its wonderful leader. So in the ensuing year another twelve pilgrims came to Mecca and made their vows at the same spot, which had witnessed the conversion of the former six. This is called the first pledge of Aqaba, from the name of the hill on which the conference was held. The following year, 622 A.D., the Yathirabites who had adopted the new religion repaired to Mecca. In the stillness of night, when all inimical elements appeared slumbering, these seventy-two pioneers of the new faith met under the same hill. The Prophet appeared among them, and vividly described to them the risk they incurred by adopting Islam. They replied with one voice that they adopted the religion fully conscious of the dangers that surrounding them. Thus was concluded the second pledge of Aqaba.

It was the 13th year of the Prophet's mission when the clouds had gathered fast. The Meccan chiefs centered in their Council Hall (darun-nadwa), a chamber inside Kaba, to deliberate over what might be done with the Prophet. Stormy was the meeting, for fear had entered their hearts. Imprisonment for life, expulsion from the city, each was debated in turn for the Prophet. They decided then on a final and desperate remedy, namely to murder the Prophet. Murder by one man would have exposed him and his family to the vengeance of blood. The difficulty was at last solved by Abu Jahl, who suggested that a number of courageous men, chosen from different families, should sheathe their swords simultaneously in the Prophet's bosom, in order that the responsibility of the deed might rest upon all, and the relations of the Prophet might consequently be unable to avenge it. The proposal was accepted, and forty youths were selected for the sanguinary deed. As the night advanced, and it was against the Arab sense of chivalry to kill any one within the four walls of his house at night hour. Hence, the assassins posted themselves round the Prophet's dwelling, and watched all night long, peeping now and then through a hole in the door to make sure that the Prophet still lay on his bed. In order to keep the attention of the assassins fixed upon the bed, the Prophet put his own green coverlet upon Ali, and bade him to lie on his bed; so as to fail the scheme of his enemies, and himself escaped.

The Prophet had guessed exactly what would be the reactions of the Meccans when they found he had gone. He had, therefore, not started for Yathirab with camel. He had gone on foot with Abu Bakr to Mount Thaur, about one hour's walk from Mecca. They reached Mount Thaur while it was still dark and concealed themselves in the innermost recess of a cave in the rocky hillside. A tracking party, following the footprints of the fugitives, reached the mouth of the cave. Abu Bakr, hearing the sound of their footsteps, grieved within himself. It was a critical moment when the sword of the blood-thirsty enemy was hanging on their heads. The Prophet quieted the fears of Abu Bakr with the words: "Do no be grieved, for surely God is with us." For full three days, the Prophet remained in the cave.

On the third night, they came out with two camels. Quickly the Prophet mounted and followed by Abu Bakr, rode into the desert night. They took a certain Abdullah bin Uraiqi, a non-Muslim as their guide. In order to avoid the main caravan tracks, they struck a diagonal course northwest toward the Red Sea. For nearly a week the journey continued over the parched, barren, mournful wasteland. On the seventh morning after the start of the flight, the oasis of Kuba, a few miles from Yathirab, was sighted. This flight from Mecca to Yathirab (Medina) is called the Hijra and when the Prophet entered Kuba, with it commenced the Islamic era on 1st Muharram (lunar month) of the Hijra, or on the date corresponding to July 16, 622 C.E. in the Julian calendar.

On the other side in Mecca, Ali slept fearlessly whole night on the Prophet's bed. R.V.C. Bodely writes in The Messenger (London, 1946, p. 113) that, "The morning breeze whispered over the desert. The dawn came mauvely from the east and showed the assassins braced to strike. As the first white rays of the rising sun hit the flat roofs of Mecca, the door of Muhammad's house opened. The men stood ready to spring. They then held back as their astonished eyes rested on the burly figure of Ali standing on the threshold carrying Muhammad's cloak over his arms." The assassins at first thought of killing him, but when they found him ready to defend himself, they gave up the idea and dispersed in search of the Prophet. Discomfited and unhappy, they immediately dispatched their best riders in pursuit of the fugitive. Up and down they hunted over all the tracks and passes leading out of Mecca, but found no trace of the Prophet.

Ali stayed three days at Mecca and handed back all the articles, which were entrusted, to the Prophet for safe custody, mostly by his enemies. He was also assigned for safe transport of the Prophet's daughter Fatima, the daughter of Hamza, another Fatima, his own mother, Fatima bint Asad, and his aunt, that was the daughter of Abdul Mutalib, a fourth Fatima. On account of scarcity of mounts, Ali had to travel on foot, and reached Kuba with bleeding feet. The Prophet embraced him, and dressed his feet. The Prophet stayed with the clan of Umar bin Auf at Kuba for 14 days, and during which time he laid foundation of the first mosque of Islam.

The news of the Prophet's arrival at Kuba soon reached Yathirab and the city had been in eager expectation of his arrival. Each morning some people would go out on the outskirts to watch the appearance of their revered master. The tedious hours of impatient expectancy were at last over, and the illustrious visitor appeared on the horizon of Yathirab. News was brought to Yathirab that the Prophet was on his way. He entered the city on September 22, 622. Yathirab was wearing to look of jubilation all round. People came out to greet the Prophet, clad in their gayest attire. Women climbed to the tops of their houses and sang in chorus to welcome their noble guest. Young girls played on their tambourines and sang songs of welcome. There was an unprecedented merry-making, and when the Prophet came to the group of Umar bin Awf Najjari, the well-dressed girls came out of seclusion, danced and sang to the tune of music a ballad

Each tribe, which the Prophet passed through in the city, very eagerly desired the honour of his presence and requested him to take up his abode with them. He, refusing all these offers, said that the camel, which he rode on, was inspired and would take him to the proper quarter. The camel proceeded on to the eastern quarter, and knelt down in the open courtyard of the Banu Najjar, near the house of Abu Ayub Ansari. He took up his temporary residence in his house for about seven months, until a mosque with proper quarters for him was built.

After the Prophet's arrival in Yathirab, now known as Medina, the first thing to be done was to build a cathedral mosque. It was constructed on a plot with unbaked bricks and mud, and was roofed with palm-wood rafters. This mosque became known as the Prophet's Mosque (masjid-i-nabwi) was free from all kinds of artificialities and was a monument of simplicity.

Five months after his arrival in Medina, it was the Prophet's next task to find shelter and livelihood for the men who had accompanied him from Mecca. In their own home-town many of them were prosperous, but now they were all equally destitute. As a preliminary step, the Prophet enjoined the Muslims of Medina, now known as Ansar (the helpers) to adopt as brothers their co-religionists from Mecca, now known as Muhajir (the refugees), to share with them like their own kith and kin whatever they possessed, in prosperity and in want. He thus created in Anas's house a bond of brotherhood, known as "Fraternization" (muwakhah), comprising forty-five (or according to another authority, seventy-five) pairs between the Ansars and Muhajirs.

Another important task before the Prophet was to determine and clarify the relations between the various tribes and the Muslims in Medina. The Jews were a considerable power in Medina. It appears that they were Arabs by descent, but formed a distinct unit by reason of their adoption of Judaism. They were subdivided into three clans, the Banu Qainuqa, Banu Nazir and Banu Quraiza. The other inhabitants of the town were the Aws and Khazraj, always at war with each other. Of the two chief clans of the Jews, the Quraiza were the allies of the Aws, while Banu Nazir joined the Khazraj. Now it so happened that the major portion of the Khazraj and Aws embraced Islam. So the Prophet concluded a pact with the Jews, known as the Covenant of Medina (mithaq-i-Medina).

The Prophet had hardly breathed a sigh of relief in Medina when he was confronted with the series of military expeditions against the fronts of the heathen Meccans, known as the battle of Badr, Uhud and Ditch, which are described elsewhere.

In 6/628, the Prophet marched from Medina with 1400 Muslims for the purpose of performing pilgrimage in Mecca. They went unarmed, clad in the ritual dresses. When this caravan approached its destination, tidings came that the Meccans were bent on mischief, and might stop their entry into the town by force. So, the Prophet halted his followers at a place, called Hudaibia, and his men encamped round a well. From here he sent a message to the Qoraish of Mecca, saying that, "We have come on a peaceful and religious mission. We have come only to perform the sacred pilgrimage. We desire neither bloodshed nor war, and we shall be glad if the Meccans agree to a truce for a limited period." When the Muslim messenger was sent to Qoraish, he failed to return, so another was dispatched. The enemies killed his mount and he did not return either. Finally, the Prophet sent one of his companions, Uthman to negotiate with the Qoraish. He too was detained and to provoke the Muslims, the Qoraish engineered a rumour that he had been slain. So, the Prophet collected all his followers and asked them to swear that if God demanded of them the supreme sacrifice they would lay down their lives without demur. One by one they came and touched his hand and swore to die willingly, if such was the will of God. This oath or pledge became famous in the annals of Islam as the Baiyt al-Ridwan (the pledge of God's pleasure). The Meccans heard of this and were afraid. Instead of directly attacking the pilgrim party as they originally intended, they now sent a messenger, named Suhail, to negotiate with the Prophet.

The time had now arrived for the Islamic mission to travel beyond the confines of the Arabian peninsula. So the Prophet dispatched his messengers to all the kingdoms known to his people, to the Roman Caesar, and the emperor of Iran, the governor of Egypt and the Negus of Abyssinia, the king of Ghassan, and the chief of Yamama. The message was identical to them all and neither political nor diplomatic expedients dictated either the choice or the status of the powers addressed.

With the violation of the term of the Treaty of Hudaibia on the side of the Meccans, it paved way to the Muslims to conquer Mecca. The Prophet was impelled to march with a force of ten thousand Muslims. The move of the army started from Medina on 10th Ramzan, 8/January 1, 630. Having no courage to resist, the Meccans laid down their arms. The Prophet triumphantly entered Mecca at the head of a formidable force after a banishment lasting for years, on 20th Ramzan, 8/January 11, 630. Many had lost their nearest and dearest at the hands of the people now completely at their mercy. All of them carried in their hearts bitter memories of cruelty, persecution and pain inflicted by their now humble enemies. Yet none thought of vengeance or retribution, and none raised his arm against a defenseless foe.

The Prophet entered Kaba with Ali and saw the idols and deities arranged along its walls. In and around the Kaba, there were 360 idols which had long polluted its sanctity; being carved of wood or hewn out of stone, including a statue of Abraham holding divining arrows. The Kaba was cleansed of the false gods; now only the true God would be worshipped in the House of God.

After the conquest of Mecca, the Muslims stayed in the city for two weeks when a news soon broke out that a big army had been mobilized in the valley of Hunain to attack Mecca and to undo the victory of the Muslims. This time the Prophet assembled a force of twelve thousand warriors, which included two thousand non-Muslim Meccans, which is mentioned elsewhere.

The fate of the Muslims in the battle of Mauta also emboldened the Arabs and Romans of the frontier regions to enhance their mischief-mongering towards the Muslims. Thus, to restore the loss of prestige and to teach lesson, the Prophet marched with an army of thirty thousand from Medina to Tabuk, a well known place about midway between Medina and Damascus. He on that very occasion, appointed Ali as his caliph in Medina, and as a result, Ali did not take part in the battle of Tabuk. In the mid-Rajab, 9/late October, 630, the Muslims set out for Tabuk. This was the largest army that had ever mustered under the command of the Prophet. The army drawn up for the battle of Tabuk, known as the Jaish al-Usrah (the army of difficulty). So called because in the first place the journey had to be undertaken in the scorching heat of the summer and secondly, it was the time of reaping the harvest and ripening of fruit which made it very difficult to proceed.

Reaching the field of Tabuk, the Prophet encamped his army, where he came to know that the Romans in Jordan had withdrawn to Damascus, and dared not to come to arms with the Muslims, and therefore, the Prophet returned to Medina after a couple of days. This was the last campaign commanded by the Prophet.

When peace and order had been restored throughout the Muslim realm and the period of warfare was over and the people joined Islam in multitude, till in the course of some two years, there was one and but one religion - Islam - throughout the vast Arabian peninsula with a few Jewish and Christian exceptions here and there. The cry of Allah-u-Akbar resounded on all sides. Now it took the Prophet but two brief years, not only to bring the whole of Arabia under the banner of Islam, but at the same time to work a mighty transformation, sweeping away all corruptions and uplifting the nation to the lifties height of spirituality.

In 10/632, the Prophet set forth with a large concourse of Muslims, ranging in strength between ninety to one lac and twenty thousand bound on a farewell pilgrimage to Mecca. On his arrival at Mecca, and before completing all the rites, he addressed the assembled multitude from the top of the Jabal-ul-Arafat in words, which yet live in the hearts of all Muslims. This is called hajjatul wida (the farewell pilgrimage) and at times it is also named hajjatul balagha (the pilgrimage of the delivery of message). On 18th Zilhaja, 10/March 16, 632, the Prophet after performing farewell pilgrimage, halted at the plain of Ghadir Khum, where he declared Ali bin Abu Talib as his successor.

At about the middle of the month of Safar, in the 11th A.H., on Monday, the Prophet ordered his followers to make speedy preparations for an expedition against the people of Mauta in the Byzantine territory, and the sources go to say, to avenge the massacre of the soldiers, who had fallen in recent skirmishes.

The Prophet was seriously taken ill for several days. At noon on Monday (12th Rabi I, 11/June 8, 632), whilst praying earnestly in whisper, the spirit of the great Prophet took flight to the "blessed companionship on high." So ended a life consecrated from first to last to the service of God and humanity. His apostleship lasted for 23 years, 2 months and 21 days (13 years, 5 months and 13 days in Mecca and 9 years, 9 months and 8 days in Medina).

The Prophet was an embodiment or rather an institution by himself of many ethical code. No doubt, when a fair-minded person studies various aspects of the life of the Prophet as a man, head of family, a member of the society, a judge, an administrator, a teacher, a military commander and a guide, he comes to the conclusion that his all round perfection is a definite proof of his being a Divine Messenger. The Prophet made wonderful contributions for the welfare of humanity at large. First, he himself acted upon the divine message and then he asked to follow him. He established the rights of the people when rights were being usurped; he administered justice when tyranny was rampant everywhere; he introduced equality when undue discrimination was so common; and he gave freedom to the people when they were groaning under oppression, cruelty and injustice. He brought a message which taught man to obey and fear God only, and seek help from Him alone. His universal message covers all the aspects of human life, including rights, justice, equality and freedom. Edward Gibbon writes in The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire (London, 1848, 5:487) that, "More pure than the system of Zoroaster, more liberal than the law of Moses, the religion of Mahomet might seem less inconsistent with reason than the creed of mystery and superstition which, in the seventh century, disgraced the simplicity of the gospels."

Encyclopaedia of Ismailism by Mumtaz Ali Tajddingeneral MUHAMMAD, THE NAME Encyclopedia Topic

The name Muhammad (may peace be upon him) is the passive participle of the second form of the verb hamada (to praise or laud), and means "(he who is) worthy of praise" or "(one who is) often praised." Muhammad is the passive participle of the first form of the same verbal root, "(he who is) praised, to whom praised is due."

In addition, the mystics discovered by applying the method of ishtiqaq kabir (the derivation of a certain meaning from each letter of a word) that his name consists of the m of majd (glory), the h of rahma (mercy), the m of mulk (kingdom) and d of dawam (everlastingness).

The Prophet himself is credited with the saying: “Do you not wonder how God averts from me the abuse and the curse of the Qoraish? They insult me as blameworthy (mudhammam) and curse me as the blameworthy one, but I am a praiseworthy one (muhammad),” vide Dala’il an-Nubuwwat (Medina, 1969, p. 121) by Baihaqi. In another hadith, the Prophet mentions as his names, besides Muhammad, Ahmad (derived from the same root, hamd), al-mahi or he through whom God effaces (mahw) infidelity, al-hashir or he at whose feet mankind will gather at judgment day, and finally al-aqib or the last (because there will be no prophet after him).

Among these names, Ahmad has gained a very special importance in Islamic theology. The Koran (61:5) states that God “will send a Prophet by the name of Ahmad” or “of highly praiseworthy name.”

The Prophet was called during his early youth al-Amin (the faithful) for his people were impressed by his noble qualities and reliability.

Besides Muhammad and Ahmad, we also find Abdallah (God’s servant) or Abduhu (His servant), vide Koranic verses 17:1 and 53:10 – both verses referring to his exalted rank during his heavenly journey. The mysterious letters at the beginning of Sura 20 and Sura 36, Taha and Yasin were likewise understood as names of the Prophet. Sura 20 begins: “Taha – did We not send down the Koran upon you?” The letters Yasin at the beginning of Sura 36 are interpreted as Ya insan, “Oh man!” – which is again an address to the Prophet. Hence, Taha and Yasin became proper names among the Muslims and many writers have pondered their secret meanings, reading Taha, for instance, as an abbreviation of tahir (pure) and hadi (guide).

In Koran (33:45), the epithets bashir (bringer of good tidings) and nadhir (warner) are used for the Prophet. Another Koranic verse contains a description of the Prophet as sirajun munir (a shining lamp).

The Prophet is also called al-mustafa (the chosen one) and al-mujtaba (the elected one). The prominent Divine addresses to the Prophet are in the introductory words of Sura 74, Ya ayyuha’l mudaththir (O you covered one) and Sura 73, Ya ayyuha’l muzammil (O you enwrapped one).

Among the non-Arab Muslims, the Prophet was frequently referred to with appellations pertaining to his native country and his family: Qoraishi, Muttalibi, Hashimi, Makki, Medini, or simply Arab.

It would be a big project to collect all the loving and admiring epithets with which the poets and prose writers and mystics have surrounded the Prophet, who is often simply called rasul-i akram (the most noble Prophet) or risalat-sarwar-i kai’nat (the leader of the universe).

Encyclopaedia of Ismailism by Mumtaz Ali Tajddingeneral MUHKAM AND MUTASHABIHEncyclopedia Topic

The verses of the Koran are stated to be partly muhkam (decisive) and partly mutabshabih (allegorical). The Koran (11:1) explains the first designation by declaring that it is "a book whose verses are precisely, clearly or unambiguously set forth" (uhkimat). Here the purpose of muhkam is to provide clear guidance. With regard to the second designation, the Koran (39:23) says: "God has sent down the best speech, a mutashabih book (kitaban mutashabihan)". The word mutashabih here means resembling one another in verbal expression.

The third and most controversial statement asserting that the Koran (3:6) is both muhkam and mutashabih "He it is Who has revealed the Book to you: some of its verses are decisive (muhkam), they are the basis of the Book, and others are allegorical (mutashabih)." The muhkam here refers to verses whose meaning is apparent and are in need of no interpretation. The mutashabih on the other hand cannot be readily understood and must therefore be needed its tawil.

The word muhkam is derived from hakama, meaning he prevented, whence ahkama, i.e. he made a thing firm or stable), is that of which the meaning is secured from change and alteration, and mutashabih (from shib-h, meaning likeness or resemblance) is that which is cosimilar or conformable in its various parts, and mutahabihat are therefore things like or resembling one another, hence susceptible of different interpretations. Therefore when it is stated that the whole of the Book is muhkam, the meaning is that all its verses are decisive, and when the Koran is called mutashabih (39:23), the meaning is that the whole of it is conformable in its various parts; while in the verse under discussion is laid down the important principle how verses susceptible of different interpretations may be interpreted so that a decisive significance may be attached to them. The Koran establishes certain principles in clear words, which are to be taken as the basis, while there are statements made in allegorical words, or susceptible of different meanings, the interpretation of which must be in consonance with the other parts and the spirit of the Book.

The example of the Koran's involvement in human history, which also illustrates its timeless and transcendent dimension, is that of zahir and batin (outer and inner dimensions). Suffice it to say that the outer dimension is that apparent or public meaning suggested by the literal sense of a verse. Its inner dimension is the level or levels of meaning known partially to the elect few but ultimately to God alone. These two dimensions have also been identified with the muhkam and mutashabih of the Koran.

The Koran further (3:7) says: "But none knows its interpretation, save only God and those firmly rooted in knowledge (rasikhun fi'l ilm)." Imam Jafar Sadik said, "We are the people obedience to whom God has made obligatory, and we are the rasikhun fi'l ilm" Kitab al-Burhan fi Tafsir al-Koran (1:21). According to al-Safi fi Tafsir kalam Allah al-wafi (1:21), once Imam Jafar Sadi said, "We are the rasikhun fi'l ilm, and we know the tawil of the Koran."

Encyclopaedia of Ismailism by Mumtaz Ali Tajddingeneral MUIZZ (341-365/952-975), 14TH IMAMEncyclopedia Topic

"His name was Ma'd, and kunya was Abu Tamim, surnamed al-Muizz li-din'allah (Fortifier of the religion of God). He was born in Mahdiya in 319/931, and ascended in 341/952. His period is noted for the extension of the Fatimid domination from Maghrib to Egypt and Syria. His Caliphate is also acclaimed for the progress of learning and arts. He himself was a learned philosopher, scientist and astronomist.

In 345/956, the Fatimid naval fleet inflicted a major defeat on the Byzantines in Italy, following several minor entanglements and forcing the emperor Constantine VII (913-959) to pay tribute and send a peace-negotiating embassy to Imam al-Muizz in 346/957. In 351/962, Ahmad bin Hasan, the second Kalbid governor of Sicily captured Taormina, whose name was changed to al-Muizzia in honour of Imam al-Muizz. In 354/964, following the accession of the emperor Nicephorus II Phocas (963-969), who had intentionally stopped the customary tribute to the Fatimids, the Byzantines were severely defeated on land and sea by the joint Fatimid and Kalbid forces, and occupied Rametta, the last ashes of the Byzantium; and the simultaneous victory at sea known as the wak'at al-majaz (battle of the straits). In 356/967, a peace treaty was concluded between the Fatimids and the Byzantines. This defeat of the Byzantines was indeed celebrated with pomp through out the Islamic world.

Imam al-Muizz sent Jawhar as-Siqilli to conquer Egypt. Jawhar's march started from Kairwan with a huge army on 14th Rabi I, 357/February 4, 969. He landed at the ruins of the Tulunid dynasty (254-292/868-905) on 15th Shaban, 358/July 4, 969 where he was received with honour. In the same year, Jawhar dispatched a messenger towards Maghrib in presence of Imam al-Muizz with the glad tidings that Egypt had fallen to the Fatimids.

Jawhar also conquered Syria, and then he invited Imam al-Muizz in Egypt. After making necessary appointments in Maghrib, Imam al-Muizz departed from Mansuria on 21st Shawal, 361/August 15, 972 with his family and notable persons. His caravan reached Alexandria on 23rd Shaban, 362/May 29, 973. Abu Tahir Muhammad bin Ahmad, the qadi of Egypt, accompanied by the chief men, offered Imam al-Muizz their salutations. Towards the end of the month of Shaban, Imam al-Muizz left Alexandria and, on Saturday, the 2nd Ramzan, 363/June 6, 973, he stopped at Mina, the wharf of Egypt. Jawhar in Jazira warmly greeted him. Imam al-Muizz entered Cairo, henceforward; it became the capital of the Fatimids. Ibn Khallikan (3:380) writes that, "On arriving at Cairo, he went to the castle and entered a hall of audience where he fell prostrate in adoration of Almighty God. He then said a prayer of two rakats (i.e., the genuflections of prayer)."

The reign of Imam al-Muizz was one of the most glorious ever recorded in Egyptian history. He displayed judgment and justice in the management of his mixed subjects. He did not allow his troops to interfere with the people. He was well disposed towards the Copts. His land revenue reforms were highly admired, which he was ably assisted by his vizir Yaqub bin Killis. The Imam divided the provinces into districts and were placed under capable officers. The army was organized with a standing force and a militia to be summoned in times of war. A naval fleet was also organized to protect the coastal trade and commerce from pirates. Makrizi writes in al-Khitat (1:444) that, "The Franks were employed as craftsmen, making weapons for the navy and other services in Cairo." The Fatimids built a big dockyard (dar al-sina'a) at Alexandria and Damietta, inside the country on the Nile at Maks near Cairo and Aydhab near Sanga on the Red Sea opposite to Jeddah. The Arabic word dar al-sina'a for a dockyard is still current in the European languages as arzenale or arsenale in Italian and arsenal in Spanish, French and English. In the dockyard, more than 600 ships were built - the largest fleet that Egypt had ever seen since the Arab conquests. The commander of the naval force was called Amir al-Bahr (the chief of the sea), which came to be used in the European languages, such as Amiralh (Portuguese), Amiral (French) and Admiral (English).

Hussain Ibrahim Hasan and Taha Ahmad Sharf write in al-Muizz li-din'allah Maktaba al-Mahda al-Miriyya (Cairo, 1947, p. 139) that, "The personality of al-Muizz was clothed in the clean robes of holiness and majesty. The Fatimid Caliph was not, like his Umayyad and Abbasid rivals, a tyrant in running the affairs of the state. Neither was al-Muizz over-indulgent about pleasures. His subjects and helpers held him in high esteem as he belonged to the progeny of the Prophet." According to Theodore Noldeke in Sketches from Eastern History (Beirut, 1963, p. 90), "After their conquest of Egypt, the Fatimids were the most powerful princes of Islam, and it seemed at times as if even the form of power had passed from the Abbasids. The Fatimids, moreover, governed excellently as a rule, and brought Egypt to a high peak of prosperity." Writing on the then Islamic empires, Robert Payne observes in The Holy Sword (London, 1959, pp. 182-3) that, "There were now three Muhammadan empires: the Umayyad caliphs ruled over Spain, Iraq and Persia remained in the hands of the Abbasids and North Africa, Egypt, Syria and Arabia were in the hands of the Fatimids."

Having consolidated the power of the Fatimid Caliphate, Imam al-Muizz died in 14th Rabi II, 365/December 21, 975 at the age of 44 years, after the Caliphate and Imamate of 23 years and 6 months. He ruled 20 years in Maghrib and 3 years also in Egypt. Philip K. Hitti writes in Capital Cities of Arab Islam (London, 1973, p. 119) that, "Under the reign of the first caliph to commence his rule in Egypt, Cairo had become not only a formidable rival of Baghdad, but its superior. It had become the leading Moslem state in the eastern Mediterranean." Stanley Lane Poole writes in History of Egypt (p. 98-99) that, "With the fourth caliph, however, al-Moizz, the conqueror of Egypt, the Fatimid entered upon a new phase. He was a man of politic temper, a born statesman, able to grasp the conditions of success, and to take advantage of every point in his favour. He was also highly educated, and not only wrote Arabic poetry and delighted in its literature, but studied Greek, mastered Berber and Sudani dialects, and even said to have taught himself Slavonic, in order to converse with his slaves from eastern Europe. His eloquence was such as to move his audience to tears. To prudent statesmanship he added a large generosity, and his love of justice was among his noblest qualities."

Encyclopaedia of Ismailism by Mumtaz Ali Tajddingeneral MUJIZAHEncyclopedia Topic

The word mujizah is derived from ijaz meaning inability, referring to the miracle. The Koran exhorts miracles in a threefold sense: the sacred history, in connection with the Prophet, and in relation to revelation. The threefold sense of the miracle corresponds to the three meanings of the word aya (pl. ayat), which indicates the verse of the Koran as well as the miracle of it and the sign, particularly those of creation. The term aya is often followed or replaced by its nominalized qualifier, bayyina (pl. bayyinat) i.e. a clear sign, a designation which underlines the relation between miracles and the Koran, which is itself qualified as bayan (clear, evident or speech). The sense of astonishment and wonder, which the concept of miracle evokes, may be rediscovered in the term ajab, a word used with regard to the attitude of humans, positive or negative when faced with the supernatural. The prophetic miracles are called mujizah, while the miracles ascribed to the saints are termed karamat or karishma.

Thus, mujizah or the miracle is such an occurrence which ordinary reason is unable to comprehend or accept it. Maqdisi writes in al-Bad wal Tarikh (Paris, 1899, 4:175) that, "A thing may be a miracle at one time while at another time it is not a miracle. It may be miracle for one nation but not for another. A thing may in the totality of its parts be a miracle but each individual part by itself might not be a miracle." The miracle thus relative to time and circumstance. In general, miracle cannot take place except at the hands of Prophets or Imams or in their time. Thus, an allegorical interpretation is necessary to translate the miracle attached to the Koran.

The modern mind finds it well nigh impossible to give credence to miraculous happenings. For the scientists, nature is a closed system and any incursions of the supernatural into it are unthinkable. The history however testifies to the close association of religion with belief in miracles. The prophets in the olden times were generally credited with the power of working miracles, so much so that a prophet was judged not by the value of his teaching, but by his miracles.

Whatever may be the case with religion, Islam, at least, lends no support to such superstitions. The Koran appeals to reason. Its professed aim is to make men rational and clear sighted, not to make them superstitious. The Koran directs man's attention to the phenomena of nature and the facts of history, as they reveal the power of God and His wisdom. Man is invited to look at and reflect upon the grandeur of the heavens, the beauty of the earth, the freshness of dawn, the glory of sunset and the terrifying force of the wind as it sweeps over the open spaces of the desert. Pointedly, it asks: "Are not these marvelous? What more do you want?' The phenomena of nature, at once beautiful and mysterious, can fully gratify man's sense of wonder. However, the people with whom the Prophet of Islam had to deal were steeped in superstition. They were obsessed with the craving for the miraculous. They not only believed that the law of nature could be violated but regarded such a violation as the only proof that could be offered for the truth of a statement. Instead of scrutinizing the rational grounds of the statement and accepting it if adequate evidence was adduced in its favour, they asked whether the man who made it could work wonders or not. It was not easy to deal with and win over people whose attitude to truth was so irrational. The Prophet did the best that he could in these difficult circumstances. With gentle persuasion he strove to turn their attention from figments of imagination to the concrete facts of life and history. He exhorted them to reflect upon nature and history make a serious attempt to understand them both. With fervent earnestness he assured them that he did not claim the power to work miracles but that he rested his case on rational arguments and on the beneficial effects of his teaching. His opponents could not be expected to be satisfied with this simple explanation. They retorted that if he were a true Prophet, he would surely have worked miracles; his inability to do so was proof that he had no valid claim to Prophethood. The accusation was without foundation. If the Prophet had been an imposter, he could easily work on their superstitious minds. A single instance will suffice to prove his integrity of character. Soon after the death of his beloved son, there was a solar eclipse. People were frightened by the unusual darkness and they humbly suggested to the Prophet that nature seemed to be convulsed by the shock of his son's death. Without the least hesitation, he assured them that this was a natural phenomenon and had no bearing on his personal affairs. Nature goes on its course unconcerned with the calamities that may befall man. Only a man of his stature could have refused to seize an opportunity of convincing people absolutely that he was a miracle worker, and therefore, a true Prophet.

The Prophet was consumed with the passion to reform the people and to induce them to accept the truth, which he had placed with them. Their insistent demand that he should work miracles to convince them. On such occasion, the Koran counsels him to remain and not to give way to despair. Sometimes, he might have thought that if only he possessed the power to work miracles, he could quickly have persuaded the people to accept his teaching and follow the right path. The Koran did not leave even such a remote thought unanswered: "If their aversion (to the truth) is grievous to thee, then, if you can seek a way down into the earth or a ladder into the sky that you may bring to them a portent (to convince them all). If God willed, He could have brought them all together to the guidance; so you be not of the ignorant" (6:35). God wants men to see and accept the truth through understanding and not dogmatically and irrationally: "Those who do not use their intellect, the matter remains confused to them" (10:100).

The Koran calls upon men to apply their minds to its teaching, to strive to grasp its meaning and rationale. If they remain unresponsive to the call, the Koran refuses to stoop to irrational methods of influencing their minds. It would rather leave them to follow the wrong path, if they have chosen it freely than consent to any kind of compulsion, however well-intentioned, to lead them to the right path. Greatness may be thrust on some but goodness can be thrust on none. All that the Koran does is, it sounds the warning, time and again, that if the thought-provoking faculties were suppressed for long, they would ultimately lose their power to kindle the pulse of thought. It says: "Those who just go on rejecting the truth (without trying to understand it), it is all one for them whether you warn them (against the consequences of their actions) or not. They will not accept the truth. (As a result of their obstinacy, the law of God) has sealed their hearing and heart and on their eyes is a covering. Theirs will be an awful doom" (2:6-7).

Those who possessed reason and did not use it to acquire true knowledge and to gain an understanding of the revelation are denounced as the vilest of men, and contempt is poured on them: "And We have struck out for men in this Koran all kinds of similitudes (to make the matter clear) but, notwithstanding all this, if you place before them a verse of the Koran, those who disbelieve will surely say: You are but given to vanity. Thus does God seal the hearts of those who do not try to understand" (30:58-9). Again, "And We send not Our messengers but as bearers of glad tidings and as warners (to those who tread the wrong path) : but those who reject the truth dispute with vain words that they may refute the truth thereby, and they take My revelation and what they are warned of as a jest. And who does a greater wrong than one who being reminded of the laws of God, turns aside from them and forgets what his hands have sent on before. (This is how Our law of retribution) places veils upon their hearts, so they understand not, and heaviness is in their ears. (The result of their obstinacy is that) though you call them to the right path, they will never adopt it" (18:56-57).

Again and again, in support of itself, the Koran directs a man's attention to natural phenomena and historical events. It justifies its teachings on verifiable grounds and on historical evidence. The Koran assures man that his highest aspirations and ideals are attainable as he lives in a friendly and sympathetic universe, which is controlled by a wise and compassionate power. Miracles are repugnant to the consistently rational spirit of the Koran. Those who demand miracles are occasionally humoured but are more often reproved in plain terms.

The view advocated here may, however, be challenged on the ground that the Koran recounts many miracles which were wrought by the prophets in olden time. There are several possible interpretations of these miracles. Some scholars have had recourse to allegorical interpretation. Others have held that the figurative language and vivid imagery served to drive home a general truth. Another plausible theory is that the Koran in describing people of an earlier age had to mention the unusual events, which had psychological reality for them. However it is a question, which concerns the scholars who is interested in the mental development of man. It has no bearing on din as such. We subscribe to the view that they have been narrated metaphorically and can be interpreted rationally.

Events, which have been reported in ancient scriptures as miracles need not at all be dismissed as the unconscious fabrications of credulous people. The mind of man may possess powers which are unsuspected by science. Some present day scientists are not so skeptical as their predecessors were. A new science, parapsychology, has sprung up and for the moment seems to be vigorously active. A few eminent psychologists are working in this field and have already collected evidence and discovered facts in the face of which dogmatic scepticism appears to be as absurd as the credulity of the ancients. Telepathy, clairvoyance, clairaudience and psychokinetic phenomena are being experimentally studied. All we can say at present is that the mind may well possesses supernormal powers. We are learning the lesson that intellectual arrogance is an obstacle in the search for truth. Whatever may be the outcome of the investigations into the occult, the truly Koranic response to the universe will remain unchanged. The question of miracles may enlist the interest of the scientist but it has no vital relation to a quest, which has any connection with the din. The Koran seeks to awaken in man the consciousness of his intimate relation to the universe. Its purpose is to help to build up a free, self-reliant and rational personality, vivified with the sense of God's working in the universe according to His unalterable laws.

Encyclopaedia of Ismailism by Mumtaz Ali Tajddingeneral MukanthEncyclopedia Topic

My Lord

Various Sources MukarEncyclopedia Topic

One who denies, one who refuses

Various Sources MukhEncyclopedia Topic

Face, mouth

Various Sources Mukh / MukhanEncyclopedia Topic

Face, Didar, mouth

Various Sources Mukh dhariyaEncyclopedia Topic

Touched to the lips, given, granted

Various Sources Mukh mandalEncyclopedia Topic

Face

Various Sources Mukh me seEncyclopedia Topic

According to the farman, from the mouth

Various Sources Mukh thiEncyclopedia Topic

From mouth

Various Sources MukhdaEncyclopedia Topic

Face, vision

Various Sources MukhdoEncyclopedia Topic

Face, mouth

Various Sources Mukhe lagayaEncyclopedia Topic

Drank

Various Sources MUKHI AND KAMADIAEncyclopedia Topic

Every mosque has a mutawalli (guardian), who is charged with its management and internal affairs. He has the right to appoint the man who leads the prayers. In the Ismaili tariqah, the guardian of each Jamatkhana is called mukhi, a word derived from mukhiya means foremost. Since the Imam physically is not present all the times in the Jamatkhana, the Mukhi acts tangible symbol of the Imam's authority. In the big jamat, the Mukhi was assisted by a caretaker called tha'nak. Later, the office of kamadia (from kamdar means accountant) was created. The Mukhi and Kamadia are the traditional titles going back to the pre-Aga Khan period when they enjoyed considerable local power. Their responsibilities include officiating over the daily rituals in the Jamatkhana, but they are primarily lay officials. Since the wholesale reorganizations undertaken by the Imams, the local committees are now tied into an elaborately hierarchical administrative structure of boards and councils.

Encyclopaedia of Ismailism by Mumtaz Ali Tajddingeneral MukhvasEncyclopedia Topic

An item used after meal as mouth-freshener; betel nut, cardamoms, aniseed

Various Sources MukiEncyclopedia Topic

Leaving, abandoning

Various Sources MukioEncyclopedia Topic

Left, abandoned

Various Sources MukiyoEncyclopedia Topic

Left, abandoned, shunned

Various Sources MukoEncyclopedia Topic

Shun, leave, drop

Various Sources