Sunday, July 21, 2013

Mujtahid - Musha'sha'


mujtahid
mujtahid (or mujahid). Arabic term used to describe a learned Muslim who interprets the shari‘a, especially in Shi‘a jurisprudence.  The mujtahid is a person who is qualified to exercise ijtihad and give authoritative opinions on Islamic law.

In Shi‘ism, a mujtahid is a scholar of religious law -- of shari‘a ‑-, who practices ijtihad, the issuance of independent rulings on legal or theological questions.  These rulings are based on the four sources of sharia: (1) the Qur’an; (2) the sunna; (3) consensus (ijma’); and (4) reason.  Any mujtahid can attract a following and can attain the title of ayatollah.

The Arabic term mujtahid denotes one who possesses the aptitude to form his own judgment on questions concerning Islamic law, using personal effort (in Arabic, ijtihad) in the interpretation of the fundamental principles (in Arabic, usul) of the law.

In Sunni circles, a consensus was gradually established towards the turn of the tenth century that ijtihad could no longer be practised.  Only the founders of the four schools of law Abu Hanifa, Malik ibn Anas, al-Shafi‘i, Ahmad ibn Hanbal, and certain of their contemporaries or immediate successors could be regarded as mujtahids in the strict sense.  Like other devout Muslims, jurists were obliged to adopt the utterances of the mujtahids as authoritative (in Arabic, taqlid).

In the Twelver Shi‘a, the Persian term marja‘-i taqlid is used.

In India, growing influence was exercised by the mujtahids of Lakhnaw during the period of the Nawwabs of Awadh (Oudh) (1714-1856).

In the modern Arab countries, mujtahids have played very varied roles, ranging from traditional quietism to political activism.


mujahid see mujtahid


Mukhtar al-Kunti, al-
Mukhtar al-Kunti, al- (Sidi al-Mukhtar ibn Ahmad ibn Abi Bakr al-Kunti) (1729-1811).  Uniter of the Berbers of the middle Niger region.  He was a Kunta Islamic scholar who through skillful diplomacy brought together the factionalized Kunta and allied them with their Berber neighbors.  He was able to do so because of his enormous prestige as a theologian and leader of the Qadiriyya brotherhood, which he also reunited.  Perhaps the most difficult part of the task was to check the aggression of the bellicose Tuareg, whom he brought under his religious authority.  His preaching and prolific writing renewed waning Islamic scholarship, and probably influenced the militant Islamic revolutionaries such as ‘Uthman dan Fodio, in the 19th century.
Sidi al-Mukhtar ibn Ahmad ibn Abi Bakr al-Kunti see Mukhtar al-Kunti, al-


Mukhtar ibn Abi ‘Ubayd al-Thaqafi, al-
Mukhtar ibn Abi ‘Ubayd al-Thaqafi, al- (Mukhtar bin Abu Ubaid) (622-687).  Leader of a pro-‘Alid movement which controlled Kufa (685-687).  He played a role in the development of Muslim sectarianism.

Al-Mukhtār ibn Abī ‘Ubayd al-Thaqafī was an early Islamic revolutionary who led an abortive rebellion against the Umayyad Caliphs who ruled the Muslim world after the murder of Husayn ibn Ali at the Battle of Karbala.

Al-Mukhtar was born in Ta’if, Makkah Province, Saudi Arabia in 622, 1 AH, the year the Islamic prophet Muhammad began the Migration to Medina. He went to Medina along with his father during Umar's Caliphate. He was the son of a martyr in the Battle of Yamul Hajr, and grew up in Medina while it was under the rule of Muhammad.

When Yazid I, the third Umayyad Caliph, took power in 683, an increasing number of Muslims were dissatisfied with their government, and the hereditary succession of men they saw as usurpers of rights and oppressive rulers.

The rebellion which broke out in 686 was supported by a faction of Muslims. Al-Mukhtar led the rebellion, which was launched from Kufa, in present-day Iraq. It is rumored that he was rebelling on behalf of Ali's son Husayn ibn Ali, after he was martyred in Karbala by the army of Yazid. Al-Mukhtar was in prison whilst the tragedy of Karbala was taking place. After he was out of prison, he found out about what happened in Karbala and set out to avenge the death of the grand son of Muhammad.

Al-Mukhtar caught many of the men that killed Husayn ibn Ali and his companions in the tragedy of Karbala but was later killed by the forces under the command of Mus'ab ibn al-Zubayr outside of Kufa in April 687. Many of his followers were killed in the subsequent repression as well.

According to the records, al-Mukhtar's struggle was not a revolution for power rather it was to avenge the oppression and killing of the Household of Muhammad. He found and killed the men that had killed or helped in the killing of the Household of Muhammad. At the moment he was about to be sentenced and killed by a governor of Yazid, he said that he had not finished the task which Ali had said he would be doing so no one can kill him. In an interesting sequence he was saved.

The grave of al-Mukhtar can be found within Masjid al-Kūfa in Kūfa, Iraq.

Some of al-Mukhtar's remaining followers constituted a distinct sect, known as the Kaysanites Shi'a, which continued to exist-awaiting al-Hanifiya's return-for the next two hundred years.

A large scale television series about al-Mukhtar is being produced in Iran. Filming began in 2003 and was finished in 2009.  The series was named Mokhtarnameh.

Mukhtar bin Abu Ubaid see Mukhtar ibn Abi ‘Ubayd al-Thaqafi, al-


Mukhtar Pasha
Mukhtar Pasha (1839-1919).  Ottoman Turkish general and statesman.  He became Grand Vizier in July 1912 but had to resign in the following October. 


Mukhtar, ‘Umar al-
Mukhtar, ‘Umar al- ('Umar al-Mukhtar) ('Umar al-Mukhtar ibn 'Umar al-Minifi) (Omar Mukhtar) (1858/1862 - September 16, 1931).  Libyan resistance leader.  ‘Umar al-Mukhtar ibn ‘Umar al-Minifi grew up in a religious family connected to the Sanusiyah Sufi order in Cyrenaica (eastern Libya).  He came from the ‘A’ilat Farhat branch of the Minifiyah, an independent client tribe.  ‘Umar studied at the lodge of Zanzur, moving on to the Sanusi capital and university of Jaghbub in 1887, then moving with the leadership to Kufra in the Libyan desert in 1895.

Two years later he was appointed shaykh of the al-Qasur lodge in western Cyrenaica, in the territory of the unruly ‘Abid tribe.  ‘Umar was successful in solidifying the authority of the order in the region.  His success noted, he was again called south in 1899, when the order was expanding into Borku (northern Chad).  He was appointed shaykh of the ‘Ayn Qalakkah lodge.  Here he had his military experiences fighting the French forces.  In 1903, he moved back to al-Qasur as shaykh of the lodge.

When the Italians invaded Libya in 1911, ‘Umar led the ‘Abid in the ensuing jihad.  By the time the first war ended in a truce in 1917, ‘Umar had gained great influence with the new leader of the Sanusiyah, Muhammad Idris.  In 1923, the Italians reopened hostilities.  Idris went into exile in Egypt and appointed ‘Umar as one of the leaders for the campaign in Cyrenaica.  Already more than sixty years old, as na’ib al-‘amm (general representative) he became a charismatic figure who inspired the tribes to join and maintain the struggle.

‘Umar displayed considerable tactical skill and was able to lead themostly tribal units in a campaign that for more than six years confounded the Italians in spite of their great numerical and material superiority.  Eventually the guerrilla forces started to be worn down, and in 1929, after a series of defeats, ‘Umar asked for truce negotiations.  They led nowhere, and after three months he resumed fighting.  But Italian superiority was now evident, in particular after they in 1930 began rounding up the bedouin population into concentration camps and cut off supply lines by closing the Egyptian border with barbed wire.  ‘Umar’s fighters became hunted groups, and on September 11, 1931, ‘Umar himself was captured in a chance encounter.

Mukhtar’s struggle of nearly twenty years came to an end on September 11, 1931, when he was wounded in battle, then captured by the Italian army. The Italians treated the native leader hero as a prize catch. His resilience had an impact on his jailers, who later remarked upon his steadfastness. His interrogators stated that Mukhtar recited verses of peace from the Qur'an.

In three days, Mukhtar was tried, convicted, and, on September 14, 1931, sentenced to be hanged publicly. When asked if he wished to say any last words, Mukhtar replied with a Qur'anic phrase: "We are Allah's -properties-, and to Allah we will return." On September 16, 1931, on the orders of the Italian court and with Italian hopes that Libyan resistance would die with him, Mukhtar was hanged before his followers in the concentration camp of Solluqon at the age of 70 years.

Mukhtar's final years were depicted in the movie The Lion of the Desert (1981), starring Anthony Quinn, Oliver Reed, and Irene Papas. On June 10, 2009, Libyan leader Muammar al-Gaddafi arrived in Rome, on his first visit to Italy, wearing the famous picture of Mukhtar's arrest on his lapel when meeting with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.

What made ‘Umar al-Mukhtar such a charismatic leader was a combination of religious authority and personal skill.  While the forces he led were largely tribal, he himself came from a relatively minor, client tribe. His first military power was based on the ‘Abid tribe, among whom he was the leader of the Sanusi Sufi lodge.  With this basis he could use his political and military skill, which combined with a personal reputation for uprightness to stand up to the Italian forces for almost a decade.


'Umar al-Mukhtar see Mukhtar, ‘Umar al-
'Umar al-Mukhtar ibn 'Umar al-Minifi see Mukhtar, ‘Umar al-
Omar Mukhtar see Mukhtar, ‘Umar al-


Muktafi bi-‘llah, al-
Muktafi bi-‘llah, al-.  ‘Abbasid caliph (r.902-908).  He fought the Carmathians in Syria, put an end to the rule of the Tulunids in Egypt and vigorously pursued the war with the Byzantines.


mulla
mulla (molla) (mollah) (mullah).  Persian title, derived from Arabic, indicating in the first instance any Muslim scholar who has acquired a certain degree of religious education and the aptitude to communicate it.  In current usage, the title is most often applied to the ‘ulama’, the religious scholars.  Having completed their elementary classes, the students, between the ages of eleven and fifteen years, are admitted to the madrasa, where they pursue a traditional education.  Few among them succeed in completing the full cursus of fifteen to eighteen years which will lead them to the superior rank (among the Shi‘is) of mujtahid.  They wear the turban (black for the Sayyids, white for others), a long and ample cloak, sandals, a relatively long beard and a trimmed mustache.  Exercising the basic prerogatives in matters of education, ritual functions (prayers, marriages, funerals, etc.) and judicial functions, the mullahs constitute the basis of what has been called, erroneously in the view of some, a veritable clergy.

The term mullah is often used on the Indian subcontinent.  The term mullah is the equivalent of the term ‘alim.

Among the Shi‘ites, a mullah is a scholar of the religious law -- sharia.  The mullah performs minor religious functions, such as leading prayer in the smaller mosques, teaching the Qur’an, preaching the faith, and recounting the ta’ziya (stories of the imams).  

The Persian construction of mullah probably comes from the Arabic mawla (“master,” “leader,” “lord”), mullah is the title used to identify a religious functionary, a cleric, a learned man, or someone with religious education.  The title is very much similar to akhund in the range of meanings it invokes.

From the Safavid period (1501-1722) onward, the term mullah began to be used for various clerical functionaries.  During the Qajar period (1342-1925), the term was institutionalized as a designation of lower-ranking clerics.  Beginning with the Constitutional Revolution in Iran (1906-1911), the term assumed an additional derogatory connotation, used by secular individuals to designate anti-modern and reactionary tendencies.

The term mullah invariably refers to a male cleric, but in such constructions as mullabaji (“sister-mullah”) it has been extended to female clerics, particularly to female teachers at girls’ schools.  The term mullakhanah, which has been used for traditional schools, indicates that at least since the Qajar period the word mullah has had an exclusive application to elementary teachers at traditional schools.  The term mullanuqati also refers to a person who is very particular about details (of punctualities).  Probably because some high-ranking mullahs owned land, there are quite a number of small villages in Iran with the term attached to a proper name, such as Mulla-Baqir in Arak, or Mulla-Budaq and Mulla-Piri in Zanjan.

In the Safavid administrative apparatus, the term mullabashi referred to a high-ranking religious official in charge of a number of functions, including the religious education of the court.  The office of mullabashi was subsequently developed into the most prestigious religious position at the Safavid court.

Among the clerics themselves, the term mullah is the highest expression of reverence for religious learning.  Perhaps the most distinguished philosopher of the Safavid period, Mulla Sadra Shirazi (d. 1640) received his name from the combination of mullah, here meaning “the most learned,” and Sadr al-Din, his honorific title.  Even in popular culture, the term mullah has strong connotations of learning and erudition.  The verb mullashudan (literally, “to become a mullah”) in Persian means “to become learned.”  

During the Qajar period the term mullah was applied as an honorific title to a number of teachers at the court.  Mullah ‘Ali Asghar Hazarjaribi, known as “Mullahbashi” (d. 1798), was a teacher of the celebrated Qajar prince ‘Abbas Mirza and a number of other princes.  The most distinguished philosopher of the Qajar period, Hajj Mullah Hadi Sabzawari (d. 1872) also carried the honorific title of mullah.

After the Constitutional Revolution in Iran the derogatory implications of the term in secular contexts increased.  To call someone a mullah is to accuse him of reactionary ideas.  Opposition to the establishment of new schools during the constitutional period in Iran, for example, is identified with “the mullahs.”  The expression mullakhur (“embezzled by the mullahs” or “edible by the mullahs”) refers either to financial embezzlement or to fruits and vegetables that have become rotten and can be purchased for a cheap price.  In Persian folklore, the term mullah appears most familiarly in the name of Mullah Nasr al-Din, a legendary figure at the center of innumerable tales of either naive simplicity, or sometimes wit and wisdom.

As a self-conscious social group, the mullahs have performed a major role in the social history of Iran at least since the Qajar period.  Their active participation during the Constitutional Revolution, both for and against it, continued well into the twentieth century.  The Islamic Revolution of Iran in 1979 was largely led by Iranian mullahs.  Beyond the crucial realm of politics, the mullahs are principally in charge of the religious functions and ceremonies in Iran.  They are particularly visible in public places during the months of Muharram, Safar, and Ramadan when their religious functions lead them into the mosques, markets, and other public places.  As a class, also known as the akhunds, the ruhaniyun, or the ‘ulama’, they are the principal interpreters of the Islamic law of the Shi‘as.  They preside over such crucial events in the life of a Muslim as circumcision, wedding, hajj pilgrimage, and burial.  Their religious and juridical training is institutionalized in madrasahs (seminaries).  The curriculum of a mullah’s training includes the study of the Qur’an, the prophetic traditions, and the lives and sayings of the Shi‘a imams.



molla see mulla
mollah see mulla
mullah see mulla


Mullabashi
Mullabashi. Institution designating a high religious functionary in Shi‘a Islam, which seems to have come into usage toward the very end of the Safavid period (1501-1722), and slowly disappeared in the nineteenth century, mullabashi was intended to replace the more established term Shaykh al-Islam, but it did not succeed in doing so.  A passing reference to it is encountered as late as 1906.  The term itself comes from a Perso-Arabic word, mulla (“mullah” -- a Muslim clergyman) and a Turkish word, bash (or bas – “head or chief”), thus having the general meaning of “head of the clergy.”  In point of fact, however, the mullabashi did not possess such an important function.  

One of the earliest references to the term occurs in Tadhkirat al-muluk, completed about 1726.  The anonymous author states that the mullabashi was the chief mullah, foremost religious scholar, and had a privileged seat next to the shah on formal occasions.  The duties of the mullabashi included soliciting pensions for students and men of merit, generally upholding virtuous conduct, and giving advice on legal matters.  Thus, the mullabashi was more an adviser rather than an executive.  The contemporary Zubdat al-tavarikh makes the mullabashi sound more like the shah’s boon companion, joining him in discussing literary problems and poetry and the preparation of dishes and medicines.  

Some scholars believe that the office of mullabashi was formally instituted for Mir Muhammad Baqir Khatun-abadi in 1712, disproving Minorsky’s conjecture that the first occupant of the office was Mullah Muhammad Baqir al-Majlisi (d. 1699 or 1700), the most powerful Shaykh al-Islam of Isfahan toward the end of the Safavid period.  Other scholars claim that (Madjlisi’s title was changed to Mullabashi on Sultan Husayn’s accession to the throne in 1694.

The mullabashi had his rivals in the “mujtahid of the age,” the Sadr, and the Shaykh al-Islam.  There is some indication, however, that the mullabashi was the most powerful of them all.  This is shown by the Dastur al-muluk, a work on the Safavid administration from the same period as Tadhkirat al-muluk, whose author refers to the mullabashi as the leader and most learned of the ‘ulama’ (community of religious scholars).

The position of mullabashi became more of a public relations office during the reign of Nadir Shah Afshar (d. 1747).  The shah, anxious to reach some kind of reconciliation between the Shi‘a Iranians and the Sunni Ottomans, sent his mullabashi, Mulla ‘Ali Akbar, as his chief representative to the conference at Najar in 1743 where he defended the Shi‘a views in lively conversations with Shaykh ‘Abd Allah al-Suwaydi, an Iraqi Sunni scholar, whowas accepted by both sides as an impartial mediator.  This reconciliation attempt ended in failure.  In any case, it was essentially a political ploy by Nadir Shah, who at the same time was actually at war with the Ottomans.

The office of mullabashi kept an attenuated existence throughout the Zand and Qajar periods.  The incumbent often became tutor of the royal princes.


Mulla Sadra
Mulla Sadra (Sadr al-Din Shirazi) (Ṣadr ad-Dīn Muḥammad Shīrāzī) (Molla Sadra) (Mollasadra) (Sadrol Mote'allehin) (1571-1640/1641).  Persian philosopher.  His Secrets is widely regarded in Iran as the most advanced text in the field of mystical philosophy.

Mulla Sadra was born into a noble Persian family.  His life coincided with the reign of Shah Abbas the First, during whose rule Shi‘ism and the propagation of Islamic law, philosophy, and theology reached its climax in Iran.  He devoted himself to the study of the intellectual sciences -- in particular, the philosophies of Ibn Sina (Avicenna), Suhrawardi, and the Neoplatonists, especially Ibn ‘Arabi.  His intense studies of philosophy intimidated some of the orthodox jurists who held much political power and who regarded philosophy as a heretical activity.  Due to the hostility of the orthodoxy to his serious pursuit of philosophy by the studying and teaching of it, Mulla Sadra was forced to leave Isfahan, where he had been studying, and move to a small village outside of the city of Qum.  In exile, Mulla Sadra spent twelve years in contemplation and ascetic practices, which led to the strengthening of his intellectual intuition (dhawq).  

Mulla Sadra is important in the history of Islamic philosophy for several reasons.  First, his work, in particular his magnum opus, the al-Afsar al-arba ‘ah (The Four Journeys of the Soul), is a compendium of the history of Islamic philosophy.  Having presented the ideas of his predecessors in great detail, Mulla Sadra goes on to offer a thorough examination and critique of their philosophical ideas.  Second, Mulla Sadra consolidated the School of Isfahan, which his teacher Mir Damad had established.  This philosophical school was a turning point in the history of Islamic philosophy in Iran and produced some of the greatest masters of Islamic philosophy.  The philosophical tradition of the School of Isfahan that was perfected by such masters as Mulla Sadra came to be known as “transcendental wisdom” (al-hikmat al-muti‘aliya), a rapprochement of discursive reasoning, intellectual intuition and practical wisdom.  

Mulla Sadra wrote three distinct types of works: commentaries on the Qur’an and hadith, polemical works, and philosophical treatises.  His commentaries on various verses of the Qur’an, such as the verses on light, is an indication of his esoteric reading of the scripture.  He also wrote a monumental commentary upon the sayings of the Shi‘ite Imams, bringing out their more esoteric aspects.  His polemics are directed towards the anti-nomian Sufis and their violations of the religious law.  Finally, there are the philosophical writings of Mulla Sadra, most of which were written for the intellectual elite and the learned scholars who had sufficient training in traditional Islamic philosophy.  

Mulla Sadra synthesized the theological (kalam) discussions, Ibn Sinan (Avicennian) metaphysics, and the mystical thoughts of Ibn ‘Arabi.  The result is a tradition of wisdom that relates to the traditional concerns of the theologians, the discursive reasoning of the philosophers, and the direct experience of the Sufis.  Mulla Sadra in particular was influenced by two figures, Ibn Sina, the philosopher of Being, and Suhrawardi, the philosopher of light and the founder of the School of Illumination (Ishraq) in Islamic philosophy.  Mulla Sadra interprets Ibn Sinan philosophy from a Suhrawardian point of view while making some fundamental revisions in Suhrawardi’s ontology.

Theology, which by the time of Mulla Sadra was well developed, relied on the same vocabulary as that of the philosophers.  Mulla Sadra takes note of the similarity in the use of technical terms by philosophers and theologians and of their methodologies.  The second point Mulla Sadra alludes to is that Islamic theology is developed, not as an independent branch of intellectual sciences, but as a discipline that is primarily concerned with Islamic law.

Mulla Sadra, in his treatment of kalam, adopts a two-pronged approach, arguing against the theological methodology on one hand while affirming the truth of the objectives of the theologians on the other.  Mulla Sadra demonstrates how and why it is that theological arguments fail to prove their purported conclusions while at the same time he is careful not to question the validity of the theological beliefs.  In his work on the problem of eternity versus creation in time and the problem of bodily resurrection, Mulla Sadra brings some of the controversial positions of philosophers closer to the views of the theologians.   

Mulla Sadra retains the general structure of the Ibn Sinan philosophy that asserts the existence of the Necessary Being and the gradations of Being that emanate from the Necessary Being.  However, he departs from Ibn Sina by putting more emphasis on the centrality of a personal insight leading to the discoveries of the immutable principles of philosophy.  It is precisely these experiences that serve as the foundation upon which Sadrian philosophy is established.  Whereas Ibn Sinan principles are derived from discursive philosophy and his logic is based on rationalization of philosophical categories, Mulla Sadra’s “logic of transcendence” is derived from his mots inward and noetic insight.  Mulla Sadra refers to these principles as the “Principles of Oriental Philosophy” (Qa‘ida Mashraqiyah) and “Transcendental Principles” (Qa‘ida Laduniya).

Mulla Sadra was profoundly influenced by the mystics of Islam, both by theoretical and practical dimensions of Sufism.  With regard to theoretical Sufism, Mulla Sadra was highly influenced by Ibn ‘Arabi, the great Andalusian mystic.  In fact, a great number of the technical terminologies that Mulla Sadra uses are borrowed from Ibn ‘Arabi and his massive commentary upon Islamic gnosticism.  In particular, Mulla Sadra finds Ibn ‘Arabi’s treatment of such issues as human understanding of the experience of the divine and various problems associated with that understanding to be quite illuminating.  

As to the practical aspects of the Sufi path, Mulla Sadra endorses asceticism as part of the path of knowledge whle he rejects the excesses and the antinomian practices of the Sufis.

Mulla Sadra divides knowledge into two types -- that which is learned by sense perception or instruction and that which is learned through intellectual intuition, a mode of knowledge marked by directness and the absence of mediation.  The knowledge that is learned through the senses or instruction itself is divided into the traditional divisions of knowledge most commonly held by the Peripatetics, namely, theoretical and practical.  The theoretical sciences consist of logic, mathematics, natural philosophy, and metaphysics; practical wisdom includes ethics, politics, and economics.

Mulla Sadra goes on to subdivide the sciences, leading to a unified theory of knowledge, which despite the multiplicity of different branches of knowledge leads the intellect to that knowledge of unity that lies at the heart of Sadrian philosophy.  This view of knowledge (hikmah) integrates various modes of knowing, including that of practical wisdom, since knowledge for Mulla Sadra is not only informative but also transformative.

Mulla Sadra, whose encyclopedic knowledge of Islamic philosophy provided him with the basis for illuminating analyses of the philosophical ideas of his predecessors, makes three major contributions to the field of Islamic philosophy.  They include (1) his commentary on Being, leading to the Doctrine of the Unity of Being, (2) his account of the occurrence of change in motion, known as “Substantial Motion,” and (3) his theory of the unity of the knower, the known, and knowledge itself.

Mulla Sadra takes issue with Suhrawardi, the founder of the School of Illumination, and his own teacher Mir Damad, reversing their scheme based on the principality of essence (mahiyyah) over existence (wujud).  He argues that existence is the primary and principal aspect of an existent being and that essences are accidents of Being.  Furthermore, Existence or Being (which for most of the Islamic philosophers, including Mulla Sadra, are the same) has an independent existence, whereas essences are contingent upon Being and therefore without a reality of their own.

Regarding the classical divisions of Being, Mulla Sadra accepts Ibn Sina’s division of Being into necessary, contingent, and impossible. Mulla Sadra also elaborates on copulative and non-copulative Being.  Copulative Being is that which connects the subject to the predicate such as in “Socrates is a philosopher.”  The term “is” here has a twofold function -- a copulative one, which connects the adjective of being a philosopher to Socrates, and a second one, namely, the existential function, which alludes to the existence of an existent being, in this case Socrates.  Mulla Sadra, who is interested in the latter use of “is,” argues that “is” in the corporeal world is always copulative except for the Being of God, who is pure and without essences.

Mulla Sadra accepts Plato’s concept of archetypes as the “master of species” (arbab al-anwa’).  According to Mulla Sadra, the corporeal world as a level of Being derives its characteristics from the archetypal world.  The separation of the corporeal world from its archetypal world leads to the principle of “the possibility of that which is superior” (Qa‘ida imkan al-ashraf), a principle for which Mulla Sadra is known.  This principle entails that for everything that journeys from the imperfect to perfect in the material world, there is its cosmic counterpart in the incorporeal world.

Mulla Sadra’s criticism of the Illuminationists goes beyond the priority and principality of existence over essence and includes the theory of hylomorphism.  Accordingly, matter manifests itself in various domains of existence according to the ontological status of each level.  Whereas the world of objects is immersed in the lowest level of matter, the soul belongs to a higher level of matter suitable for it.  This process continues until it culminates in the intelligible world, where realities are completely free from matter.

Mulla Sadra is unique in the history of Islamic philosophy in that he allows for motion to exist in substance (al-harakat al-jawhariyyah).  This is a deviation from Ibn Sina (Avicenna), who considered motion in substance to lead to a continuous change and the loss of that which constitutes the identity of a thing.

Mulla Sadra uses a number of arguments in support of his theory of the existence of motion in substance.  When an apple has become ripe, it is not only the accidents that have changed, but the substance of the apple must have changed as well.  In fact, when a potentiality becomes actualized, Mulla Sadra argues, it signifies a change both in accidents and in substance.  Mulla Sadra states that for every change that occurs in accident, there has to be a corresponding change in substance, for accidents depend on their substance for their properties.  Therefore, change in an apple is an example of the created order and signifies several points: first, that the world is like a river that is constantly in a state of flux; second, change occurs out of necessity and nothing remains the same except God; third, this change is not an accident in the universe, but is part of its very nature.  This change, according to Mulla Sadra, acts as a force that moves the universe towards becoming; becoming is fundamentally a spiritual journey that all beings yearn for and accounts for both the ripening of an apple as well as for the yearning of the human being for transcendence.

Mulla Sadra uses the notion of Substantial Motion to shed light on the concept of time.  For Mulla Sadra, as for Aristotle, time is the quantity of motion, except that for Mulla Sadra the change in quantity is the quantity of change in substance.  Time is not to be viewed only quantitatively but has an ontological aspect as well.  Motion in substance is also the measurement of the perfection and therefore has a purpose and direction, and carries a sense of necessity with it.

The fact that all things are in motion and that motion goes from less perfect to more perfect is an indication for Mulla Sadra that the entire universe is yearing for the ultimate perfection, God.  This view also entails tha in some sense the universe is conscious of its own state of being and yearns for an eventual unity with its origin.  Since Substantial Motion also entails that the identity of the object in question is always changing, Mulla Sadra concludes that this type of motion brings about a type of creation at every given moment.  In other words, God through Substantial Motion creates the universe instantaneously at every moment.  The Reality of God manifests itself through creation, which then goes through successive creations.

What Mulla Sadra was trying to achieve was to bring about a rapprochement between the Peripatetic who argued for the eternity of the world and the theologian view who insisted on creation ex nihilo.  According to Mulla Sadra, the world as an extension of God has always existed, but yet it was created in time that ceases to exist, and is then recreated.  

The unity of the knower, the known, and knowledge is deeply embedded in the Sadrian philosophy.  Since God’s essence and Being are the same and all things emanate from God, God is at once the knower, the known, and the knowledge.

From the above it follows that in order for any person to achieve a similar status, one has to achieve unity with God.  The reverse is also true: anyone who attains the knowledge of unity is in his or her very being the knower, the known, and the knowledge; in knowing unity, one has become unified.  It is for this reason that Mulla Sadra’s al-Asfar al-arba ‘ah (the Four Journeys of the Soul) alludes to the spiritual journey of the soul from the time that it departs from God until it achieves unity once again.

Mulla Sadra not only offers complex philosophical arguments but also uses gnostic imagery as a mirror representing Divine Essence within which God witnesses the essence of all things. Although Mulla Sadra never explicitly states that unity with God is the necessary condition of knowledge, the thrust of his philosophy is such that this notion is implied.

Mulla Sadra and his teachings were a turning point in the history of Islamic philosophy.  One of the greatest achievements of Mulla Sadra was the training of several students who themselves became masters of Islamic philosophy and propagators of Sadrian philosophy.  Among them we can name ‘Abd al-Razzaq Lahiji, Mulla Muhsin Fayd Kashani, and Qadi Sa‘id Qummi.

Sadrian philosophy, which had gone through a period of decline, was once again revived in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries in Iran by such notable figures as Sabziwari, Ali Nuri, Ahsa’i, and the Zunuzi family.  The teaching of Mulla Sadra and his students was well received by the Islamic philosophers of the subcontinent of India, and some of his books became the official texts of traditional schools.  Islamic philosophy today in Iran and the eastern parts of the Islamic world is still under the influence of Mulla Sadra and his teachings.





Sadra, Mulla see Mulla Sadra
Sadr al-Din Shirazi see Mulla Sadra
Shirazi, Sadr al-Din see Mulla Sadra
Sadr ad-Din Muhammad Shirazi see Mulla Sadra
Molla Sadra see Mulla Sadra
Sadrol Mote'allehin see Mulla Sadra


Multezim
Multezim.  Ottoman tax-collector allowed by the government to keep a share of what he collected.


Muluk al-Tawa’if
Muluk al-Tawa’if (in Spanish, Reyes de Taifas).  Name means “rulers of the factions”, or “Party Kings”, and is used for a number of local Muslim dynasties, which ruled in the various parts of al-Andalus between the final collapse of the Spanish Umayyads in the early part of the eleventh century and the coming of the Almoravid Yusuf ibn Tashfin in 1086.

Reyes de Taifas see Muluk al-Tawa’if
Rulers of the Factions see Muluk al-Tawa’if
Party Kings see Muluk al-Tawa’if


mu’minin, al-
mu’minin, al-.  Term means “true believers.”


Mumtaz Mahal
Mumtaz Mahal (Arjumand Banu Bob) (Arjumand Banu Begum) (April, 1593 - June 17, 1631).  Wife of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan.  It was for her that the Taj Mahal was built

Mumtāz Mahal; meaning "beloved ornament of the palace", is the common nickname of Arjumand Banu Bob, an Empress of India during the Mughal Dynasty. She was born in Agra, India. Her father was the Persian noble Abdul Hasan Asaf Khan, the brother of Empress Nur Jehan (who subsequently became the wife of the emperor Jahangir). She was religiously a Shi'a Muslim. She was married at the age of 19, on May 10, 1612, to Prince Khurram, who would later ascend the Peacock Throne as the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan I. She was his third wife, and became his favorite. She died in Burhanpur in the Deccan (now in Madhya Pradesh) during the birth of their fourteenth child, a daughter named Gauhara Begum. Her body remained at Burhanpur for 23 years until the Taj was completed. Only then was her coffin shifted to Agra. Her body was then buried in the Taj Mahal in Agra.

In 1607, Prince Khurram was betrothed to Arjumand Banu Begum, who was just 14 years old at the time. She would become the unquestioned love of his life. They would however, have to wait five years before they were married in 1612, on a date selected by the court astrologers as most conducive to ensuring a happy marriage. After their wedding celebrations, Khurram "finding her in appearance and character elect among all the women of the time", gave her the title 'Mumtaz Mahal' Begum (Chosen One of the Palace). The intervening years had seen Khurram take two other wives. By all accounts however, Khurram was so taken with Mumtaz, that he showed little interest in exercising his polygamous rights with the two earlier wives, other than dutifully siring a child with each. According to the official court chronicler, Qazwini, the relationship with his other wives "had nothing more than the status of marriage. The intimacy, deep affection, attention and favor which His Majesty had for the Cradle of Excellence (Mumtaz) exceeded by a thousand times what he felt for any other."

Mumtaz Mahal had a very deep and loving marriage with Shah Jahan. Even during her lifetime, poets would extol her beauty, gracefulness and compassion. Mumtaz Mahal was Shah Jahan's trusted companion, travelling with him all over the Mughal Empire. His trust in her was so great that he even gave her his imperial seal, the Muhr Uzah. Mumtaz was portrayed as the perfect wife with no aspirations to political power in contrast to Nur Jehan, the wife of Jahangir who had wielded considerable influence in the previous reign. Mumtaz Mahal was a great influence on Shah Jahan, apparently often intervening on behalf of the poor and destitute. However, she also enjoyed watching elephant and combat fights performed for the court. It was quite common for women of noble birth to commission architecture in the Mughal Empire. Mumtaz devoted some time to a riverside garden in Agra.

Despite her frequent pregnancies, Mumtaz traveled with Shah Jahan's entourage throughout his earlier military campaigns and the subsequent rebellion against his father. She was his constant companion and trusted confidant and their relationship was intense. Indeed, the court historians go to unheard lengths to document the intimate and erotic relationship the couple enjoyed. In their nineteen years of marriage, they had fourteen children together, seven of whom died at birth or at a very young age.

Mumtaz died in Burhanpur in 1631, while giving birth to their fourteenth child. She had been accompanying her husband whilst he was fighting a campaign in the Deccan Plateau. Her body was temporarily buried at Burhanpur in a walled pleasure garden known as Zainabad originally constructed by Shah Jahan's uncle Daniyal on the bank of the Tapti River. The contemporary court chroniclers paid an unusual amount of attention to Mumtaz Mahal's death and Shah Jahan's grief at her demise. In the immediate aftermath of his bereavement, the emperor was reportedly inconsolable. Apparently after her death, Shah Jahan went into secluded mourning for a year. When he appeared again, his hair had turned white, his back was bent, and his face worn. Jahan's eldest daughter, the devoted Jahanara Begum, gradually brought him out of grief and took the place of Mumtaz at court.

Mumtaz's personal fortune valued at 10,000,000 rupees was divided by Shah Jahan between Jahanara Begum, who received half and the rest of her surviving children. Burhanpur was never intended by her husband as his wife's final resting spot. As a result her body was disinterred in December 1631 and transported in a golden casket escorted by her son Shah Shuja and the head lady in waiting of the deceased Empress back to Agra. There it was interred in a small building on the banks of the Yamuna River. Shah Jahan stayed behind in Burhanpur to conclude the military campaign that had originally bought him to the region. While there he began planning the design and construction of a suitable mausoleum and funerary garden in Agra for his wife, a task that would take more than 22 years to complete, the Taj Mahal.

Today, the Taj Mahal stands as the ultimate monument to love, and a homage to Mumtaz's beauty and life.

The children of Mumtaz were:

1. Shahzadi (Imperial Princess) Huralnissa Begum (1613–1616)
2. Shahzadi (Imperial Princess) Jahanara Begum (1614–1681)
3. Shahzada (Imperial Prince) Dara Shikoh (1615–1659)
4. Shahzada Mohammed Sultan Shah Shuja Bahadur (1616–1660)
5. Shahzadi Roshanara Begum (1617–1671)
6. Badshah Mohinnudin Mohammed Aurangzeb (1618–1707)
7. Shahzada Sultan Ummid Baksh (1619–1622)
8. Shahzadi Surayya Banu Begum (1621–1628)
9. Shahzada Sultan Murad Baksh (1624–1661)
10. Shahzada Sultan Luftallah (1626–1628)
11. Shahzada Sultan Daulat Afza (1628 - ?)
12. Shahzadi Husnara Begum (1630 - ?)
13. Shahzadi Gauhara Begum (1631–1707)



Mahal, Mumtaz see Mumtaz Mahal
Beloved Ornament of the Palace see Mumtaz Mahal
Arjumand Banu Bob see Mumtaz Mahal
Bob, Arjumand Banu see Mumtaz Mahal
Arjumand Banu Begum see Mumtaz Mahal
Begum, Arjumand Banu see Mumtaz Mahal


Munafiqun, al-
Munafiqun, al-.  Term used in the Qur’an.  It is usually translated as “hypocrites,” “doubters,” or “waverers,” but the term is usually stronger and covers a wide semantic range, such as apostates, those who will never be forgiven and will be punished by eternal hellfire, against whom Holy War is to be waged and who are to be killed.  In Sura 63, which is named after them, they are berated in the strongest terms. “Dissenters” comes nearest to the totality of the use of the term in the Qur’an, whereas “hypocrites” most closely fits post-Qur’anic Muslim usage of the term.

Surat Al-Munāfiqūn (The Hypocrites) is the 63rd Sura of the Qur'an and contains 11 ayat.


The Hypocrites see Munafiqun, al-.
The Dissenters see Munafiqun, al-.


Munajjim, Banu’l
Munajjim, Banu’l (Banu l’Munajjim).  Name of an extensive family, whose members were active at the ‘Abbasid court as scholars, literati and courtiers for six or seven generations from around 750 to about 950.  Eleven members of the family are mentioned as being of importance.
Banu l'Munajjim see Munajjim, Banu’l


Munawi, ‘Abd al-Ra’uf al-
Munawi, ‘Abd al-Ra’uf al- (‘Abd al-Ra’uf al-Munawi) (`Abd al-Ra`uf Muhammad al-Munawi) (al-Manawi) (1545-1621).  Egyptian religious scholar and mystic.  His numerous works enjoyed a great success in his own time, and are still often cited today.

`Abd al-Ra`uf Muhammad al-Munawi was an Ottoman period Islamic scholar of Cairo, known for his works on the early history of Islam and the history of Sufism in Egypt. He was a disciple of al-Sha`rani.

The major work of 'Abd al-Ra'uf Muhammad al-Munawi is entitled Fayd al-Qadir Sharh al-Jami` al-Saghir. It is a commentary on the Jami` by Imam al-Suyuti

'Abd al-Ra'uf al-Munawi see Munawi, ‘Abd al-Ra’uf al-
`Abd al-Ra`uf Muhammad al-Munawi see Munawi, ‘Abd al-Ra’uf al-
Munawi, 'Abd al-Ra'uf Muhammad al- see Munawi, ‘Abd al-Ra’uf al-
Manawi, al- see Munawi, ‘Abd al-Ra’uf al-


Mundhir ibn Muhammad, al-
Mundhir ibn Muhammad, al- (842/844-888).  Umayyad amir of Cordoba.  His reign was mainly devoted to the war against the rebel ‘Umar ibn Hafsun.

Al-Mundhir was Emir of Córdoba from 886 to 888. He was a member of the Umayyad dynasty of Al-Andalus (Moorish Iberia), the son of Muhamad bin Abd al-Rahman.

Born in Córdoba, during the reign of his father, al-Mundhir commanded the military operations against the neighboring Christian kingdoms and the Muladi rebellions. In 865, he led the partially failed campaign against King Ordoño I of Asturias, in the Duero valley. On his way back to Córdoba, he defeated at Burgos Rodrigo, count of Castile, pushing the Cordoban frontier northwards in Iberia. He also tried to conquer León, but he was defeated in 878 at Valdemora, by king Alfonso III of Asturias.

Al-Mundhir launched an expedition against the Banu Qasi Muladi family, who had allied with Alfonso III, but was also defeated in 883. The following year he was, however, able to expel the rebel emir Ibn Marwan from Badajoz.

In 886, at his father's death, al-Mundhir inherited the throne of Córdoba. During the two years of reign al-Mundhir continued the fight against the rebel Umar ibn Hafsun. He died in 888 at Bobastro, likely murdered by his brother Abdullah ibn Muhammad al-Umawi, who succeeded him.


Mundhir ibn Sawa, al-
Mundhir ibn Sawa, al- (Sawi) (Munzir ibn Sawa Al Tamimi).  Chief of the tribal division of Darim of Tamim, who were in close relations with the Persians during the seventh century.  The Prophet is said to have sent a letter to al-Mundhir summoning him to embrace Islam.  He played an important role in the Islamization of Bahrain.  

Munzir ibn Sawa Al Tamimi was the ruler of Bahrain and Qatar during the age of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. In the 7th century, when Muhammad and his companions started preaching Islam throughout the world, the message of Islam was sent by Muhammad to Munzir ibn Sawa Al Tamimi.

Prior to Islam, the inhabitants of Qatar and Bahrain were idol worshippers. They worshipped idol gods such as Awal. Islam swept the entire Arabian region in the 7th century, overturning the idol worshippers. Muhammad sent his first envoy Al-Ala'a Al-Hadrami to Munzir ibn Sawa Al Tamimi, the ruler of Bahrain, which in those days, extended the coast from Kuwait to the south of Qatar including Al Hasa and Bahrain Islands, in the year 628, inviting him to Islam. Munzir, responding to Muhammad’s call announced his conversion to Islam and all the Arab inhabitants of Bahrain and Qatar including some Persians living in Qatar also became Muslim, heralding the beginning of the Islamic era in Bahrain and Qatar. Consequently, Al Ala Al-Hadrami was appointed by Muhammad as his representative in Bahrain to collect the Jizya (religious tax).

The letter from Muhammad is preserved and can be seen at Beit Al Qur'an museum in Hoora, Bahrain, with the seal of Muhammad still intact.

Sawi see Mundhir ibn Sawa, al-
Munzir ibn Sawa Al Tamimi see Mundhir ibn Sawa, al-


Munejjim Bashi, Derwish Ahmed Dede
Munejjim Bashi, Derwish Ahmed Dede (Derwish Ahmed Dede Munejjim Bashi) (d. 1702).  Turkish scholar, Sufi poet and, above all, historian.  He is the author of a celebrated and important general history in Arabic.
Derwish Ahmed Dede Munejjim Bashi see Munejjim Bashi, Derwish Ahmed Dede
Bashi, Derwish Ahmed Dede Munejjim see Munejjim Bashi, Derwish Ahmed Dede


Munif Pasha
Munif Pasha (1828-1910).  Ottoman statesman and educational reformer.  Already in 1862, he pleaded for the reform of the Arabic script.


Mu’nis
Mu’nis (Shir Muhammad Mirab) (1778-1829).  Historian, poet and translator from Khiva.  He was one of the first writers who belonged to the period of the flourishing Chagatay literature in Khiva.
Shir Muhammad Mirab see Mu’nis


Mu’nis al-Muzaffar
Mu’nis al-Muzaffar (Mu’nis al-Khadim) (d. 933).  ‘Abbasid general (908-933), and latterly virtual dictator.  His example of depriving the caliph of real power was to be followed all too soon by the series of amirs, who were to dominate the successors of the Caliph al-Qahir bi-‘llah.
Mu’nis al-Khadim see Mu’nis al-Muzaffar
Khadim, Mu’nis al- see Mu’nis al-Muzaffar


Munqidh, Banu
Munqidh, Banu (Banu Munqidh).  Clan prominent in Syrian (and Egyptian) affairs (c.1050-c.1300).  Many of them perished when in 1157 a massive earthquake destroyed the citadel of Shayzar, northwest of Hamat.  A prominent member of the clan was Usama ibn Murshid ‘Ali, known as Usama ibn Munqidh.  
Banu Munqidh see Munqidh, Banu


Muntafiq, al-
Muntafiq, al-.  Section of the Arab tribe of the Banu ‘Uqayl, which in turn is a subdivision of the great group of the ‘Amir ibn Sa‘sa‘a.  Mentioned in the history of pre-Islamic Arabia, they appear as ambassadors of the Banu ‘Uqayl to the Prophet.  In recent times, they dominated the area from Baghdad to Basra between the seventeenth to nineteenth centuries.  Their might declined through increasingly centralizing Ottoman policy.

Al-Muntafiq is a large Arab tribal confederation of southern and central Iraq. The tribe is divided into three main branches: Bani Malik, al-Ajwad, and Bani Sa'id. Most of the tribe traces its genealogy to the tribe of Banu 'Uqayl of the large and ancient Banu 'Amir confederation of Nejd. However, the tribe's traditional leaders are the Al Saadun ("the house of Saadun"), who are said to be Sharifs originating from Mecca, while the al-Ajwad branch is said to originate from the ancient Arab tribe of Tayy.

The tribe begins to appear in the Iraqi deserts in the late Abbasid era, and was once one of the most powerful Bedouin tribes of Iraq. In Ottoman times, the tribe held control over the region of Basrah under Ottoman suzerainty. In 1521, they successfully occupied al-Ahsa and al-Qatif (eastern Saudi Arabia today) on the Ottomans' behalf, before being expelled by Banu Khalid.

During the Ottoman era, most of the tribe settled into sedentary life and took up agriculture in southern and western Iraq. During the Ottoman era from the late 18th century and onwards, al-Muntafiq converted to Shia Islam.  The city of Nasiriya in southern Iraq was named after one of the tribe's sheikhs, and the surrounding province was known as "Al-Muntafiq Province" until 1976. Those who remained Bedouin were herders of small animals such as sheep and goat, rather than camels, and this made them less mobile and less competent as a fighting force compared to the camel-herding tribes of inner Arabia.

Although the tribe's nominal leaders, the Al Saadun, are Sunnis, most of the tribe's members follow the Shi'ite sect of Islam. After many decades of sedentarization, the tribal bond has weakened and the leadership of the Al Saadun is largely nominal.


Muqaddasi, Shams al-Din al-
Muqaddasi, Shams al-Din al- (Shams al-Din al-Muqaddasi) (Muhammad ibn Ahmad Shams al-Din al-Muqaddasi) (al-Maqdisi) (al-Mukaddasi) (al-Bashshari) (c. 945/946-1000).  Author of the most original and one of the most valuable geographical treatises in Arabic literature during the tenth century.  The work is called The Best Divisions for Knowledge of the Regions.  Its object is to treat only the Islamic world, made up of the Arab world and non-Arab world, and that afte a division into regions (in Arabic, aqalim; in singular form, iqlim), individualized through their physical characteristics.  

Muhammad ibn Ahmad Shams al-Din Al-Muqaddasi was a notable medieval Arab geographer, author of Ahsan at-Taqasim fi Ma`rifat il-Aqalim (The Best Divisions for Knowledge of the Regions).

Al-Muqaddasi, "the Hierosolomite" was born in Jerusalem. He had the advantage of an excellent education and after having made the Pilgrimage to Mecca (Mekka) in his twentieth year, determined to devote himself to the study of geography. For the purpose of acquiring the necessary information he undertook a series of journeys which lasted over a score of years, and carried him in turn through all the countries of Islam. It was only in 985 that he set himself to write his book, which gives us a systematic account of all the places and regions he had visited.
Shams al-Din al-Muqaddasi see Muqaddasi, Shams al-Din al-
Muhammad ibn Ahmad Shams al-Din al-Muqaddasi see Muqaddasi, Shams al-Din al-
Maqdisi, al- see Muqaddasi, Shams al-Din al-
Mukaddasi, al- see Muqaddasi, Shams al-Din al-
Bashshari, al- see Muqaddasi, Shams al-Din al-
The Hierosolomite see Muqaddasi, Shams al-Din al-


Muqanna, al-
Muqanna, al- (al-Muqanna') (Hashim ibn Hakim) (d. 779).  Epithet (meaning “the veiled one”) of the leader of a religious-political revolt against Abbasid rule in Transoxiana in the eighth century of the Christian calendar.  Al-Muqanna’s insurrection received support from villagers in the Zeravshan and Kashkadarya valleys, the surrounding Turkish tribes, and even the Bukhar-Khuda Bunyat.  It probably reflected resentment about Arab colonization, taxation, and efforts to bring this remote area under the control of the central administration.  Al-Muqanna allegedly taught heterodox doctrines (such as metempsychosis), permitted antinomian practices (including the common possession of women), and used deceptions, such as causing a false moon to rise from a well, to persuade people of his own divinity.  The revolt was crushed, and al-Muqanna killed, in 779-780.  A sect known as the White Raiments survived and awaited the messianic return of al-Muqanna to rule.

Al-Muqanna‘, the "veiled one", was a Persian man who claimed to be a prophet and is viewed as a heretic by mainstream Muslims.

Al-Muqanna‘ was an ethnic Persian from Merv named Hashim ibn Hakim, originally a clothes pleater. He became a commander for Abū Muslim of Khorasan. After Abū Muslim's murder, al-Muqanna‘ claimed to be an incarnation of God, a role, he insisted, passed to him from Abū Muslim, who received it via ‘Alī from the Prophet Muhammad.

Al-Muqanna‘ was reputed to wear a veil in order to cover up his beauty; however, the Abbasids claimed that he wore it to hide his ugliness, being one-eyed and bald. His followers wore white clothes in opposition to the Abbasids' black. He is reputed to have engaged in magic and quackery to impress his followers as a maker of miracles.

Al-Muqanna‘ was instrumental to the formation of the Khurramiyya, a sect that claimed Abū Muslim to be the Mahdi and denied his death.

When Al-Muqanna‘'s followers started raiding towns and mosques of other Muslims and looting their possessions, the Abbasids sent several commanders to crush the rebellion. Al-Muqanna‘ poisoned himself rather than surrender to the Abbasids, who set fire to his house when he was on the verge of being captured.

After his death, the sect continued to exist until the 12th century, waiting for al-Muqanna‘ to return again.

The first poem in Lalla Rookh (1817) by Thomas Moore is titled The Veiled Prophet of Khorassan, and the character Mokanna is modeled loosely on al-Muqanna‘.

St. Louis, Missouri, businessmen referenced Moore's poem in 1878 when they created the Veiled Prophet Organization and concocted a legend of Mokanna as its founder. For many years the organization put on an annual fair and parade called the "Veiled Prophet Fair," which was renamed Fair Saint Louis in 1992. The organization also gives a debutante ball each December called the Veiled Prophet Ball.

The Mystic Order of the Veiled Prophet of the Enchanted Realm (founded 1889), a social group with membership restricted to Master Masons, and its related organization, The Daughters of Mokanna (founded 1919), also take their names from Thomas Moore's poem.

Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges used a fictionalized al-Muqanna‘ as the central character of The Masked Dyer, Hakim of Merv, a 1934 short story, and in another story fifteen years later, The Zahir, as a past avatar of the titular object.



Hashim ibn Hakim see Muqanna, al-
The Veiled One see Muqanna, al-


Muqatila
Muqatila.  Term refers to a tribal army.


Muqawqis, al-
Muqawqis, al-. Individual who in Arab tradition played the leading part on the side of the Copts and Greeks during the Muslim conquest of Egypt in 640.

Al-Muqawqis is mentioned in Islamic history as a ruler of Egypt, who corresponded with the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He is often identified with Cyrus, Patriarch of Alexandria, who administered Egypt on behalf of the Byzantine Empire. However, this identification is challenged as being based on untenable assumptions. An alternative view identifies al-Muqaqis with the Sassanid governor of Egypt.

Ibn Ishaq and other Muslim historians record that some time between February 628 and 632, Muhammad sent out letters to Arabian and non-Arabian leaders, including to al-Muqawqis.

The letter that Muhammad sent to al-Muqawqis was written sometime in between February 628 and July 629.

Muhammad's letter to Muqawqis, was eventually preserved in the Christian monastery of Akhmim in Egypt. There a recluse pasted it on his Bible. The letter was written on a parchment. From there a French orientalist obtained it and sold it to Sultan Abdülmecid of Turkey, for a consideration of 300 pounds. The Sultan had the letter fixed in a golden frame and had it preserved in the treasury of the royal palace, along with other sacred relics. Some Muslim scholars have affirmed that the letter was written by Abu Bakr.


Muqtadir bi-‘llah, al-
Muqtadir bi-‘llah, al- (895-932). ‘Abbasid caliph.  His reign was marked by a gradual decline, and it inaugurated a period of unparalleled impotence and disaster for the central power of the caliphate.  

Al-Muqtadir was the Abbasid Caliph in Baghdad from 908 to 932.  After the previous Caliph, al-Muktafi, was confined for several months to his sick-bed, intrigue was made for some time as to his successor. The choice was between al-Muktafi's minor brother whom the Caliph himself favored, and a descendant of al-Mu'tazz who was only thirteen at the time. The Vazir, hoping for more power, chose the minor. The boy assumed the title of al-Muqtadir, Mighty by the help of the Lord, a sad misnomer; for even in manhood he was but a weak hedonist in the hands of women of the Court, and of their favorites. His twenty-five year reign is the constant record of his thirteen Vazirs, one rising on the fall, or on the assassination, of another.

The stand made during the last three Abbasid reigns to stay downward progress at last came to an end. From al-Muqtadir onward, the Abbasid caliphate continued its decline. At the same time many names famous in the world of literature and science fell under this and the following reigns. Among the best known are: Ishaq ibn Hunain (d. 911) (son of Hunain ibn Ishaq), the physician and translator of Greek philosophical works into Arabic; Ibn Fadlan, the explorer; al Battani (d. 923), astronomer; Tabari (d. 923), historian and theologian; al-Razi (d. 930), philosopher who made fundamental and lasting contributions to the fields of medicine and chemistry; al-Farabi (d. 950), chemist and philosopher; Abu Nasr Mansur (d. 1036), mathematician; Alhazen (d. 1040), mathematician; al-Biruni (d. 1048), mathematician, astronomer, physicist; Omar Khayyám (d. 1123), poet, mathematician, and astronomer; and Mansur Al-Hallaj a mystic, writer and teacher of Sufism most famous for his apparent, but disputed, self-proclaimed divinity, his poetry and for his execution for heresy by Caliph Al-Muqtadir.

There had been war for some years between the Muslims and the Greeks in Asia, with heavy loss for the most part on the side of the Muslims, of whom great numbers were taken prisoners. The Byzantine frontier, however, began to be threatened by Bulgarian hordes; and so the Empress Zoe Karbonopsina sent two ambassadors to Baghdad with the view of securing an armistice, and arranging for the ransom of the Muslim prisoners. The embassy was graciously received and peace restored. A sum of 120,000 golden pieces was paid for the freedom of the captives. All this only added to the disorder of the city. The people, angry at the success of the "Infidels" in Asia Minor and at similar losses in Persia, cast it in the Caliph's teeth that he cared for none of these things, but, instead of seeking to restore the prestige of Islam, passed his days and nights with slave-girls and musicians. Uttering such reproaches, they threw stones at the Imam, as in the Friday service he named the Caliph in the public prayers.

Some twelve years later, al-Muqtadir was a second time subjected to the indignity of deposition. The leading courtiers having conspired against him, he was forced to abdicate in favor of his brother al-Qahir, but, after a scene of rioting and plunder, and loss of thousands of lives, the conspirators found that they were not supported by the troops; and so al-Muqtadir, who had been kept in safety, was again placed upon the throne. The finances fell after this outbreak into so wretched a state that nothing was left with which to pay the city guards. Al-Muqtadir was eventually slain outside the city gate in 932.

The long reign of al-Muqtadir brought the Empire to the lowest ebb. External losses were of secondary moment. Even so, Africa was lost, and Egypt nearly. Mosul had thrown off its dependence, and the Greeks could make raids at pleasure on the helpless border. Yet in the East there still was kept up a formal recognition of the Caliphate, even by those who virtually claimed their independence; and nearer home, the terrible Carmathians had been for the time put down. In Baghdad, al-Muqtadir, the mere tool of a venal court, was at the mercy of foreign guards, which, commanded for the most part by Turkish and other officers of foreign descent, were frequently breaking out into rebellion. Thus, abject and reduced, twice dethroned, and at last slain in opposing a loyal officer whom he had called to his support, the prestige which his immediate predecessors had regained was lost, and that the throne became again the object of contempt at home, and a tempting prize for attack from abroad.

Mighty by the Help of the Lord see Muqtadir bi-‘llah, al-


Murad I
Murad I (Hüdavendigâr) (Khodāvandgār - "the God-like One") (Murat I) (March or June 29, 1326, Sogut or Bursa – June 15/20/28 or August 28, 1389, Kosovo).  Ottoman bey (r.1362-1389).  He was the first great Ottoman conqueror in the Balkan Peninsula, following the footsteps of his brother Suleyman Pasha and of other Turkish emirs.  Under him, the state founded by ‘Uthman rose to be more than merely one of the existing Turkmen principalities in Asia Minor.

Murad is often referred to as sultan, and even if he called himself “sultan,” it was not until 1394 that the title was officially introduced.

Murad’s reign witnessed rapid Ottoman expansion in Anatolia and the Balkans and the emergence of new forms of government and administration to consolidate Ottoman rule in these areas.

Murad ascended the throne in succession to his father, Orhan. Shortly after Murad’s accession, his forces penetrated western Thrace and took Adrianople and Philippopolis and forced the Byzantine emperor John V Palaeologus to become a vassal. Adrianople was renamed Edirne, and it became Murad’s capital. In 1366 a crusade commanded by Amadeus VI of Savoy rescued the Byzantines and occupied Gallipoli on the Dardanelles, but the Turks recaptured the town the next year. In 1371 Murad crushed a coalition of southern Serbian princes at Chernomen in the Battle of the Maritsa River, took the Macedonian towns of Dráma, Kavála, and Seres (Sérrai), and won a significant victory over a Bulgarian-Serbian coalition at Samakow (now Samokovo). These victories brought large territories under direct Ottoman rule and made the princes of northern Serbia and Bulgaria, as well as the Byzantine emperor, Murad’s vassal.

In the 1380s Murad resumed his offensive in the west. Sofia was taken in 1385 and Niš in 1386. Meanwhile, in Anatolia, Murad had extended his power as far as Tokat and consolidated his authority in Ankara. Through marriage, purchase, and conquest he also acquired territories from the principalities of Germiyan, Tekke, and Hamid. A coalition of Turkmen principalities led by the Karaman was formed to stem Ottoman expansion, but it was defeated at Konya (1386).

In 1387 or 1388 a coalition of northern Serbian princes and Bosnians stopped the Ottomans at Pločnik, but in 1389 Murad and his son Bayezid (later Bayezid I) defeated them at the first Battle of Kosovo, although Murad was killed by a Serbian noble who pretended to defect to the Ottoman camp.

Under Murad I the seeds of some of the basic Ottoman imperial institutions were sown. The administrative military offices of kaziasker (military judge), beylerbeyi (commander in chief), and grand vizier (chief minister) crystallized and were granted to persons outside the family of Osman I, founder of the dynasty. The origins of the Janissary corps (elite forces) and the devşirme (child-levy) system through which the Janissaries were recruited are also traced to Murad’s reign.


Hudavendigar see Murad I
Khodavandgar see Murad I
Murat I see Murad I


Murad II
Murad II (Murat II) (b. June 1404, Amasya, Ottoman Empire [now in Turkey] — d. February 3, 1451, Edirne).  Ottoman Sultan (r. 1421-1444 and 1446-1451).  In 1422, he began a siege of Constantinople, but the siege had to be raised.  Most of his campaigns were directed to the west.  In 1444, he abdicated in favor of his son Muhammad but had to come back when the Hungarians were preparing a new crusade.  He is described as a truthful, mild and humane ruler and was the first Ottoman prince whose court became a brilliant center of poets, literary men and Muslim scholars.

Murad II was an Ottoman sultan (1421–44 and 1446–51) who expanded and consolidated Ottoman rule in the Balkans, pursued a policy of restraint in Anatolia, and helped lead the empire to recovery after its near demise at the hands of Timur following the Battle of Ankara (1402).

Early in his reign, Murad had to overcome several claimants to the Ottoman throne who were supported by the Byzantine emperor Manuel II Palaeologus and by many of the Turkmen principalities in Anatolia. By 1425 Murad had eliminated his rivals, had re-established Ottoman rule over the Turkmen principalities of western Anatolia, and had once again forced Byzantium to pay tribute. He then turned his attention to the Balkans. In 1430, after a five-year struggle, he captured Salonika (modern Thessaloníki), in northern Greece, which had been under Venetian control. At first the Ottoman armies were successful against a Hungarian-Serbian-Karaman alliance; but after 1441, when the alliance expanded to include German, Polish, and Albanian forces, the Ottomans lost Niš and Sofia (1443) and were soundly defeated at Jalowaz (1444). After signing a peace treaty at Edirne (June 12, 1444), Murad abdicated in favor of his 12-year-old son, Mehmed II.

European powers, under the auspices of Pope Eugenius IV, soon broke the truce; and Murad, leading the Ottoman army, inflicted a severe defeat on the Christian forces at the Battle of Varna in November 1444. Under pressure from court notables and faced with external threats, Murad reassumed control of the state in 1446. In 1448, he defeated the Hungarians at the second Battle of Kosovo (October 17).

In Anatolia, Murad pursued a policy of caution because of the westward advance of the Timurid Shah Rokh, who posed as protector of the Turkmen principalities. The Ottomans gained suzerainty over the Turkmen rulers in the Çorum-Amasya region and in western Anatolia, but the principality of Karaman, which through its alliances with the Balkan Christian rulers was a major threat to the Ottomans, was left autonomous.

During Murad’s reign the office of grand vizier (chief minister) came to be dominated by the Çandarlı family. The Janissary corps (elite forces) gained in prominence, and the hereditary Turkish frontier rulers in the Balkans often acted independently of the sultan.




Murat II see Murad II


Murad III
Murad III (Murād-i sālis) (Murat III) (b. July 4, 1546, Bozdagan or Manisa, Ottoman Empire [now in Turkey]–  d. January 15/16, 1595, Topkapi Palace, Istanbul).  Ottoman sultan (r.1574-1595).  

The reign of Murad III saw lengthy wars against Iran and Austria and social and economic deterioration within the Ottoman state.

Externally Murad continued the military offensive of his predecessors. He took Fez (now Fès, Morocco) from the Portuguese in 1578. He fought an exhausting war against Iran (1578–90), which extended his rule over Azerbaijan, Tiflis (now Tbilisi, Georgia), Nahāvand, and Hamadān (now in Iran). In Europe he began a long war against Austria (1593–1606), which saw an alliance in 1594 of the Ottoman vassal rulers of Moldavia, Transylvania, and Walachia with Austria in defiance of Ottoman authority.

Murad came under the influence of the women in his harem and of his courtiers, and he ignored the advice of the brilliant grand vizier (chief minister) Mehmed Sokollu, who was assassinated in 1579. Under Murad, nepotism, heavy taxes necessitated by the long wars, and inflation, aggravated by the influx of cheap South American silver from Spain, all contributed to the decline of the major Ottoman administrative institutions. The tımar (fief) system suffered dislocation when the peasants, because of high taxes, were forced to leave their lands. The highly effective Janissary corps (elite forces), because of a policy of indiscriminate recruitment, degenerated into a body of ruffians that threatened the urban and rural populations.

Murad III was the eldest son of sultan Selim II (1566–74) and Valide Sultan Nurbanu Sultan (a Sephardic Jew and Venetian noblewoman, originally named Cecilia Venier-Baffo).  Murad succeeded his father in 1574. Murad began his reign by having his five younger brothers strangled. His authority was undermined by the harem influences, more specifically, those of his mother and later of his favorite wife Safiye Sultan. The power had only been maintained under Selim II by the genius of the all-powerful Grand Vizier Mehmed Sokollu who remained in office until his assassination in October 1579. The reign of Murad III was marked by wars with Iran and Austria and Ottoman economic decline and institutional decay.


Murad-i salis see Murad III
Murat III see Murad III


Murad IV
Murad IV (Murat IV) (Murad Oglu Ahmed I) (b. July 27, 1612, Constantinople, Ottoman Empire [now Istanbul, Turkey]—d. February 8, 1640, Constantinople).  Ottoman Sultan (r.1623- 1640).  In 1632, he had to suppress an army mutiny.  In 1635, the Safavid fortress of Eriwan was taken, and in 1638, Baghdad itself surrendered, followed by a peace treaty with the Safavids in 1639.  He possessed some literary talent and was interested in literary debate, Ewliya’ Celebi being his most famous favorite.

Murad IV was the Ottoman sultan from 1623 to 1640 whose heavy-handed rule put an end to prevailing lawlessness and rebelliousness. Murad IV is renowned as the conqueror of Baghdad.

Murad, who came to the throne at age 11, ruled for several years through the regency of his mother, Kösem, and a series of grand viziers. Effective rule, however, remained in the hands of the turbulent spahis (from Turkish sipahiyan, quasi-feudal cavalries) and the Janissaries, who more than once forced the execution of high officials. Corruption of government officials and rebellion in the Asiatic provinces, coupled with an empty treasury, perpetuated the discontent against the central government.

Embittered by the excesses of the troops, Murad was determined to restore order both in Constantinople and in the provinces. In 1632, the spahis invaded the palace and demanded (and got) the heads of the grand vizier and 16 other high officials. Soon thereafter Murad gained full control and acted swiftly and ruthlessly. He suppressed the mutineers with a bloody ferocity. He banned the use of tobacco and closed the coffeehouses and the wineshops (no doubt as nests of sedition); violators or mere suspects were executed.

In his foreign policy, Murad took personal command in the continuing war against Iran and set out to win back territories lost to Iran earlier in his reign. Baghdad was reconquered in 1638 after a siege that ended in a massacre of garrison and citizens alike. In the following year peace was concluded.

A man of courage, determination, and violent temperament, Murad did not follow closely the precepts of the Sharīʿah (Islamic law) and was the first Ottoman sultan to execute a shaykh al-islām (the highest Muslim dignitary in the empire). He was able to restore order, however, and to straighten out state finances. Murad’s death was caused by his addiction to alcohol.

Murad IV was born in Istanbul, the son of Sultan Ahmed I (1603–17) and the ethnic Greek Valide Sultan Kadinefendi Kösem Sultan (also known as Mahpeyker), originally named Anastasia. Brought to power by a palace conspiracy in 1623, he succeeded his mad uncle Mustafa I (1617–18, 1622–23). He was only eleven when he took the throne. He married Aisha, without issue.


Murad Oglu Ahmed I see Murad IV


Murad V
Murad V (Murat V) (Mehmed Murad V) (b. September 21/22 1840, Constantinople, Ottoman Empire [now Istanbul, Turkey] - d. August 29, 1904, Constantinople).  Ottoman Sultan who ruled from May to September in 1876.  In 1876, the new Grand Council decided to proclaim a constitution, but this could not be carried through because of Murad’s mental state.  He was deposed in 1876 and replaced by his brother Abdulhamid II.

Murad V was the Ottoman sultan from May to September 1876, whose liberal disposition brought him to the throne after the deposition of his autocratic uncle Abdülaziz.

A man of high intelligence, Murad received a good education and was widely read in both Turkish and European literature. In 1867 he accompanied Abdülaziz on his European tour and made a favorable impression. During the tour, he secretly contacted exiled nationalist-liberal Young Turks, for which Abdülaziz placed him under close surveillance.

Upon Abdülaziz’ deposition by a group of ministers led by Midhat Paşa, the great advocate of constitutional government, Murad was brought to the throne. The new sultan was determined to introduce constitutional reforms, but, under the impact of Abdülaziz’ suicide and the murder of some of his key ministers, Murad suffered mental collapse. After declaration by Turkish and foreign doctors that his illness was incurable, Murad was deposed by the same men who had brought him to the throne. During the reign (1876–1909) of his brother Abdülhamid II, several attempts to restore him to the throne failed, and he spent the remaining years of his life confined in the Çiragan Palace.

Murad V was born in the Topkapi Palace in Constantinople. His father was Abdülmecid I. His mother, whom his father married in Constantinople on August 1, 1839, was Valide Sultan Shevkefza, (b. December 12, 1820, Poti - d. September 17, 1889, Ciragan Palace, Ortakoy, Constantinople), originally named Vilma, a Circassian.


Murat V see Murad V
Mehmed Murad V see Murad V


Murad, Banu
Murad, Banu (Banu Murad).  Arab tribe belonging to the great southern group of the Madhhij.  One of their chiefs went to Medina in 631 and concluded a treaty with the Prophet.  
Banu Murad see Murad, Banu


Muradi, al-
Muradi, al-. Name of a family of Sayyids and scholars established at Damascus in the seventeenth through eighteenth centuries.


Muridiyya
Muridiyya (The Mouride Brotherhood) (Muride Brotherhood) (Aṭ-Ṭarīqat al-Murīdiyya).  The word murid is Arabic for the candidate in a Sufi initiation.  The word murid (Mouride) took on a particular meaning in Senegal to describe the adepts of a movement founded by Ahmadu Bamba, a Senegalese mystic and man of letters (circa 1850-1927), which was repressed for a long time by French authorities.  Basing its economic strength on the cultivation of peanuts, Muridism offers an original example of a religious fraternity engaged in agricultural production.

After the death of its founder, the Muridiyya became the mediator for all powers currently in place.  Buoyed by the extreme fervor of its adherents, the movement seeks, even though it does not represent a majority in the country, to become the national fraternity of Senegal.

The best known of the Sufi brotherhoods in Senegal, both within and outside of the country, is the Muridiyah.  Its name comes from murid, the postulant who seeks the path to spiritual knowledge.  The word was already in use when the French and the followers of the founder of the order, Amadu Bamba M’Backe, came into conflict in the 1890s in western Senegal.

Amadu Bamba (c.1850-1927) was born into a family of itinerant scholars who moved through the Wolof kingdoms of Baol, Cayor, and Jolof, states taht disintegrated rather rapidly in the late nineteenth century under the impact of internecine wars, French penetration, and opportunities provided by the cultivation of peanuts in the sandy soil fo the Sahel.  His father Momar Antassali had close attachments to the royal dynasty of Cayor and particularly to the ruler or damel, Lat Dior, and it was in a combination of court settings and rural retreats that Amadu Bamba acquired his apprenticeship in Islam and Senegalese politics.

By the 1880s, he had achieved a significant reputation as a poet, scholar, and spiritual advisor in his own right.  Bamba was able to maintain a growing following, particularly among the ceddos or slave warriors of the courts and other people who were increasingly marginalized with the decline of the kingdoms and growing violence.  He affiliated with Qadiriyah shaykhs in Mauritania, although later his particular approaches to islam often caused the Muridiyah to be categorized as an autonomous if not separate order.
In the dramatically changing situation of late nineteenth century Senegal, Bamba was careful to keep his distance from both the traditional courts, which were failing in their efforts to resist.

European conquest, and the Europeans themselves, who were working from coastal bases such as St. Louis and Dakar.  In Senegalese lore he is closely identified with the defeat and death of Lat Dior in 1886, but in fact he did not advise the king to resist.  Bamba was able to maintain his following on the fringes of areas of French control for several more years.  The regime in St. Louis finally captured him in 1895, conducted a summary trial, and sent him into exile in Gabon for a period of seven years.  Bamba spent a great deal of time during his exile in meditation and the writing of poetry, and the period has become enshrined in the memories of his followers as a series of constantly retold miracles of escape from French entrapments.

Some of Bamba’s family and friends, particularly his brother Shaykh Anta and his lieutenant Ibra Fall, were quite active on his behalf during his exile.  The actively encouraged the pattern of peanut cultivation and the acquisition of property in both rural and urban settings.  The Senegalese deputy to the French Assembly, Francois Carpot, played a role in gaining the return of Bamba from exile in 1902, but the anxiety of the French and their Senegalese chiefs alike provoked a second exile (1903-1907), this time to Butilimit and the home of a close Mauritanian friend of the colonial regime, Sidiya Baba.  From 1907 to 1912, the French kept Bamba in a remote area of Jolof in northern Senegal before finally allowing him to move to Diourbe, near the headquarters of the Muridiyah but still under close surveillance.

During all this time of exile, Bamba’s family and friends continued to develop their interests in peanut farming and in closer ties with the French administration.  By World War I, in the midst of French needs for troops and endorsement of their cause, Bamba himself was ready to give his blessing to this tissue of cooperation.  When he died in 1927, the French played a significant role in ensuring the succession of his son Muhammad Mustapha against the claims of Bamba’s brother Shaykh Anta.  They continued the close relationship with another son, Falilu, who served as successor or khalifa general from 1945 until his death in 1968, and the Senegalese government has enjoyed generally good relationships with the M’backe successors since.

Bamba was a man of great scholarly acumen and spirituality, and many of his descendants and associates have had the same orientation.  Many Murid followers, however, had little or no education in matters Islamic, and they were encouraged by the leaders to work hard, particularly in the cultivation of peanuts, and to allow the marabouts, the Islamic authorities, to carry out intercession on their behalf.  This has been particularly true of the group called the Baye Fall, followers of Ibra Fall who were always ready to carry out any physical task for their leaders.  Recently, however, Murid cells throughout Senegal and in major French urban centers modified this image of the “unlettered Murid” by their zeal for learning the teachings of Islam and the heritage of the founder.




The Mouride Brotherhood see Muridiyya
Muride Brotherhood see Muridiyya
At-Tariqat al-Muridiyya see Muridiyya


Murji‘a
Murji‘a (Murjiah).  Name of a politico-religious movement in early Islam, derived from the Qur’anic usage of the verb which means “to defer judgment.”  The word murji‘a is derived from the Arabic word irja’ meaning “postponement” or “deferment.”  The Murji‘a is a quietist sect of early Islam.  In the opinion of the Murji‘a, sinners should not be condemned, because faith can offset sins.  The Murji‘a were politically uninvolved and believed that outward confession of faith was sufficient for a good Muslim.  The sect emerged mainly in reaction to the Kharijis, who saw sin in more absolute terms.

Murji’a were a sectarian group in Islam, that during the middle of the seventh century, claimed that wrong-doings could only be judged by man, and not God, in those cases where the common good was in jeopardy.  Moreover, they believed that questions on whether or not a man was a believer was a question that should be totally left to God on the Day of Judgment.  They also claimed that sin should not be punished with the expulsion from the believer’s community.  Many of their thoughts lived on with the Umayyad Caliphs.  From opponents in their own time, the Murji’is were accused of lack of piety.

In later times, the name Murji‘a refers to all those who identified faith with belief, or confession of belief, to the exclusiong of acts.  They generally admitted that God might either punish or forgive Muslim offenders, which punishment, according to some, would be eternal, others affirming that it would be temporal and that all would eventually enter Paradise through the intercession of the Prophet.  The latter view agrees with predominant Sunni traditionalist doctrine.

Murji'ah is an early Islamic school, whose followers are known in the English language as Murjites or Murji'ites.

During the early centuries of Islam, Muslim thought encountered a multitude of influences from various ethnic and philosophical groups that it absorbed. Murji'ah emerged as a theological school that was opposed to the Kharijites on questions related to early controversies regarding sin and definitions of what is a true Muslim.

As opposed to the Kharijites, Murjites advocated the idea of deferred judgment of peoples’ belief. Murjite doctrine held that only God has the authority to judge who is a true Muslim and who is not, and that Muslims should consider all other Muslims as part of the community. This theology promoted tolerance of Ummayyads and converts to Islam who appeared half-hearted in their obedience.

In another contrast to the Kharijites, who believed that committing a grave sin would render a person non-Muslim, Murjites considered genuine belief in and submission to God to be more important than acts of piety and good works. They believed Muslims committing grave sins would remain Muslim and be eligible for paradise if they remained faithful.

The Murjite opinion on the issue of whether one committing a grave sin remains a believer was adapted with modifications by later theological schools – Maturidi, Ash'ari, and Mu'tazili.

The Murjites exited the way of the Sunnis when they declared that no Muslim would enter the hellfire, no matter what his sins. This contradicts the traditional Sunni belief which states that some Muslims will enter the fire of hell temporarily. Therefore the Murjites are classified as "Ahlul Bid'ah" or "People of Innovation" by traditional Sunni Muslims.


Murjiah see Murji‘a


Murjibi, Hamid ibn Muhammad al-
Murjibi, Hamid ibn Muhammad al- (Hamid ibn Muhammad al-Murjibi) (Tippu Tip) (Tippu Tib) (Muhammed Bin Hamid) (b. 1837 - d. June 14, 1905, Zanzibar [now in Tanzania]).  Personality of Afro-Arab stock who played a role in the history of East Africa and the Congo.  Born in Zanzibar, he led caravan expeditions to the area around Lake Tanganyika and encountered David Livingstone.  He was appointed governor of the Stanley Falls District of the Congo Free State in 1887 by King Leopold of Belgium on the advice of Stanley.  He returned to Zanzibar in 1891 and remained a highly-respected person.

Tippu Tib was the most famous late 19th-century Arab trader in central and eastern Africa. His ambitious plans for state building inevitably clashed with those of the sultan of Zanzibar and the Belgian King Leopold II. The ivory trade, however, apparently remained his chief interest, with his state-building and political intrigues serving as means to that enterprise.

Tippu Tib’s first trading trip to the African interior was in the late 1850s or early 1860s, accompanied by only a few men. By the late 1860s he was leading expeditions of 4,000 men, and shortly thereafter he began to establish a rather loosely organized state in the eastern and central Congo River basin. Ruling over an increasingly large area in the 1870s, he either confirmed local chiefs or replaced them with loyal regents. His main interests, however, were commercial. He established a monopoly on elephant hunting, had roads built, and began to develop plantations around the main Arab settlements, including Kasongo on the upper Congo River, where he himself settled in 1875.

In 1876–77, he accompanied the British explorer Henry Morton Stanley partway down the Congo River, and later he sent expeditions as far as the Aruwimi confluence, 110 miles (180 km) downriver of Stanleyville (now Kisangani, Congo [Kinshasa]). In the early 1880s he threw in his lot with Sultan Barghash of Zanzibar, who hoped to use him to extend Arab influence in the Congo region against the threat of Leopold’s International Association of the Congo (the king’s private development enterprise). Tippu Tib returned to Stanley Falls in 1883 to try to take over as much of the Congo basin as possible on behalf of Barghash. He remained in the Congo until 1886, when he again went to Zanzibar with more ivory.

By that time Leopold’s claim to the Congo basin had been recognized by other European nations, and Tippu Tib had apparently decided that an accommodation with the International Association was inevitable. In February 1887 he signed an agreement making him governor of the district of the Falls in the Congo Free State (now Congo [Kinshasa]). It proved to be an impossible position. The Europeans expected him to keep all the Arab traders in the area under control but would not allow him the necessary weapons, and many Arabs resented his alliance with the Europeans against them. In April 1890 he left the Falls for the last time and returned to Zanzibar.
Hamid ibn Muhammad al-Murjibi see Murjibi, Hamid ibn Muhammad al-
Tippu Tip see Murjibi, Hamid ibn Muhammad al-
Tippu Tib see Murjibi, Hamid ibn Muhammad al-
Muhammed Bin Hamid see Murjibi, Hamid ibn Muhammad al-


Murshid
Murshid. Arabic term that means “guide” or “spiritual leader.”  The term murshid is used to refer to a Sufi master and teacher.

Murshid is Arabic for "guide" or "teacher". Particularly in Sufism it refers to a Sufi teacher. The path of Sufism starts when a student takes an oath of allegiance (Bai'ath) with a teacher. After this oath, the student is called a Murid.

The Murshid's role is to guide and instruct the disciple on the Sufi path, by general lessons (called Suhbas) and individual guidance.

A Murshid usually has authorizations to be a teacher for one (or more) Tariqas (paths). A tariqa may have more than one Murshid at a time. A Murshid is accorded that status by his murshid (Shaikh) by way of Khilafath: the process in which the Shaikh identifies one of his disciples as his successor, the Khalifa. A Murshid can have more than one khalifa.

Other words that refer to a murshid include, Pir and Sarkar.

Guide see Murshid.
Spiritual Leader see Murshid.
Teacher see Murshid.


Murshid Quli Khan
Murshid Quli Khan (Muhammad Hadi) (d. 1727).  Title of Muhammad Hadi, perhaps born a brahman, who was purchased and adopted by Haji Shafi Isfahani, a successful diwan (revenue administrator) in India from 1668 to 1690.  The son began service under the diwan of Berar.  The Mughal emperor Aurangzeb noticed his ability, leading to his appointment as diwan of Bengal in 1700.  Orissa and Bihar were added to his domain in 1703 and 1704.  Succession politics caused his transfer to the Deccan in 1708, but he returned home in 1710 and secured quasi-independent status in 1717.  When he died, he bequeathed Bengal to his son-in-law, Shuja ud-Din Muhammad Khan.  His exceptional administrative abilities made Bengal orderly and yielded high revenues, but English economic dominance beginning in his rule led to their political dominance as well.

Murshid Quli Khan was the first Nawab of Bengal. In fact circumstances resulted in his being the first independent ruler of Bengal after the death of Emperor Aurangzeb. Though he continued to recognize the nominal overlordship of the Mughal Emperor, for all practical purposes he was the de facto ruler of Bengal.

The decay and downfall of the Mughal Empire began in earnest after the reign of Aurangzeb. The Peacock Throne in Delhi became a "musical chair" for the successors of Aurangzeb and fueled by court intrigues of numerous nobles the tenure between 1707 and 1719 saw no less than eight Mughal Emperors (more than the sum of the last 180 years) namely Bahadur Shah I, Jahandar Shah, Farrukh Siyar, Rafi ud-Darajat, Rafi ud-Daulah, Neku Siyar, Muhammad Ibrahim and finally some stability came in the form of Muhammad Shah in 1719.

Such instability saw the rise of three notable nobles; Saadat Ali Khan the Subahdar of Oudh, Murshid Quli Khan the Subahdar of Orissa and Nazim of Bengal and Qamar ud-din Khan (also known as Asaf Jah I) the Subahdar of Deccan.

Muhammad Hadi see Murshid Quli Khan
Hadi, Muhammad see Murshid Quli Khan


Murtada, Abu’l-Qasim al-
Murtada, Abu’l-Qasim al- (Abu’l-Qasim al-Murtada) (967-1044). Imami theologian, grammarian, writer and poet from Baghdad.
Abu’l-Qasim al-Murtada see Murtada, Abu’l-Qasim al-


Murtada Ansari
Murtada Ansari (Shaykh Murtada Ansari) (Morteza Ansari) (Mortaza Ansari) (Murtada al-Ansari) (1781/1799-1864, Dezful).  Shi‘ite mujtahid of Iran.  His widely recognized religious leadership in the Shi‘ite world has not yet been surpassed.

Morteza Ansari was a Shi'a jurist who "was generally acknowledged as the most eminent jurist of the time." Ansari has also been called the "first effective" model or Marja of the Shi'a or "the first scholar universally recognized as supreme authority in matters of Shii law", and the first to develop the theory of Vilayat-e Faqih, later made famous by the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini as a political ideology.

Morteza Ansari was born in Dezful around 1781, the time the Qajar dynasty was establishing its power in Iran. He commenced his religious studies in Defzul, under the tutelage of his uncle, himself a notable scholar. At the age of twenty, he made Ziyarat with his father to Kerbala, Iraq, where he met Mohammad Mujtahid Karbala'i, the leader of the city's scholars. Ansari demonstrated considerable promise during a debate with the senior Mujtahid, who was so impressed that he induced his father to allow Ansari to continue his studies with them.. Ansari studied in Kerbala for four years, until the city was besieged by Dawud Pasha and his rebels, causing the scholars of Kerbala and their students to flee to Baghdad and the shrine of al-Kazim. From there, Ansari returned to his homeland, where he quickly became restless and resolving to find teachers to continue his religious instruction. After about a year of traveling, he spent two years in Najaf studying under Musa al-Ja'fari and Sharif Mazandarani and a year in Najaf studying with Kashf ul-Ghita. Returning from a pilgrimage to Mashhad, Khurasan, he encountered Ahmad al-Naraqi, an authority in fiqh, usul al-fiqh and irfan, and - although Ansari was already a mujtahid in his own right when he left Karbala - studied with him for a further four years. After again traveling for a number of years, he returned to Najaf where he completed his studies under Kashf ul-Ghita and Muhammad Hasan Najafi (author of Jawahir ul-Kalam) and began teaching.

When the last of the prominent scholars of the generation senior to Ansari died in 1849, Ansari was universally recognized as the 'most learned Mujtahid' (marja') in the Twelver Shi'ah community. His lessons in Fiqh and Usul al-fiqh became incredibly popular, attracting hundreds of students. Furthermore, it is estimated that 200,000 Tomans a year of Khums money was tithed to Ansari's base in Najaf "from all over the Islamic world". Despite this, Ansari lived humbly, generously provided stipends to his Talebeh (Islamic students) with these funds, and this resulted in a confirmation of Najaf's standing as center of Shiah learning. In spite of the tremendous prestige attached to his position, Ansari lived the life of an ascetic. When he died, his two daughters were unable to pay for his funeral expenses from his inheritance. He rarely used his authority in the Shia community, seldom judging cases or giving fatawa.

Ansari was celebrated for his piety and generosity and "more than that of any mullah leader of the past two centuries, his leadership celebrated his learning." Through the expansion of rational devices in Usul al-fiqh, Ansari implicitly admitted the uncertainty of much of the sacred law. For this reason, he emphasized that only a learned Mujtahid could interpret scripture (i.e. the Qur'an and Hadith) and employ reason to produce legal doctrines. The rest of the community was obliged to follow (Taqlid) the doctrines of these legal scholars.

The author of some thirty books and treatises, his work is noted for its clarity and readability. Most of his works center on Fiqh and Usul al-Fiqh. Of the former, his most important work is the Makasib, a detailed exposition of Islamic Commercial Law, which is still taught today in the Hawza. Of the latter, his Fara'id ul-Usul remains an extremely important work. In it, he is credited with expanding the scope of the usul 'amaliyyah (practical principles, as opposed to semantic principles) in Shi'i jurisprudence. For this reason, Ansari is said to have laid the foundations of modern Twelver jurisprudence and his style - more than any other classical scholar - is imitated by the modern jurists. He also developed the theory of Guardianship of the Islamic Jurists (Vilayat-e Faqih), by which jurists were to become legal guardians of orphans, the mentally incompetent, etc. However, he did not extend this so far as to give the jurists general political leadership, and was personally extremely reluctant to intervene in politics in any way.

Shaykh Murtada Ansari see Murtada Ansari
Morteza Ansari see Murtada Ansari
Mortaza Ansari see Murtada Ansari
Murtada al-Ansari see Murtada Ansari
Ansari, Murtada see Murtada Ansari
Ansari, Morteza see Murtada Ansari


Musa
Musa.  See Mansa Musa.


Musa al-Kazim
Musa al-Kazim (Mūsá ibn Ja‘far al-Kāżim) (al-Kādhim) (November 6, 745 - September 1, 799).  Seventh Imam of the Twelver Shi‘a.  He adhered to a quietist policy, devoting himself to prayer and contemplation.  Yet he was harassed by the ‘Abbasid Caliphs al-Mahdi and Harun al-Rashid.  His descendants are known as Musawis.

Musa’s imamate coincided with one of the greatest periods of the persecution of the Shi‘a community.  Son of Jafar as-Sadiq by a Berber slave named Hamida, he was twenty years of age at his father’s death.  Initially his imamate was very controversial with many Shi‘a.  Many recognized his brother Abdullah al-Aftali, or insisting that the imamate had stayed with Ismail, Sadiq’s oldest son, who had died while Sadiq was still living.

After this rocky start, Musa managed to gain the allegiance of most of the Shi‘a community but as time went on persecution increased until it climaxed under the bloody reign of the Caliph Harun al-Rashid.  Hundreds of Alids were killed and Musa was arrested and brought to Baghdad to be executed.  Surprisingly, Harun released Musa at the last minute, reportedly because of a dream.  This respite was short lived and rearrested, Musa spent six years in prison before being poisoned.

His body was publicly displayed by Harun to dispel any rumors that he had escaped and was living in secret.  He was buried with his grandson, Muhammad at Taqi, in Kazimayn near Baghdad, Iraq.  Their burial place was covered by a magnificent gold domed shrine.  Musa al-Kazim was succeeded by his son Ali ar-Rida.

Mūsá ibn Ja‘far al-Kāżim was the son of the sixth Imam, Ja‘far aṣ-Ṣādiq and his mother was Hamidah Khātūn, a student and former slave of African descent. His wife Najmah was also a former slave purchased and freed by Hamidah, his mother.

Mūsá al-Kāżim was born during the power struggles between the Umayyad and the Abbasid. Like his father, he was assassinated by the Abbasids. He bore three notable children: the eighth Imām, ‘Alī ar-Riżá, and two daughters, Fāṭimah al-Ma‘sūmah and Hājar Khātūn.

The Festival of Imam Musa al-Kadhim celebrates his life and death.



Musa ibn Ja'far al-Kazim see Musa al-Kazim
Kazim, Musa al- see Musa al-Kazim
Kazim, Musa ibn Ja'far al- see Musa al-Kazim
Kadhim, al- see Musa al-Kazim


Musa, Banu
Musa, Banu (Banu Musa).  Name of three brothers: Muhammad, Ahmad and al-Hasan, who were among the most important figures of Baghdad in the ninth century.  They were skilled in geometry, mechanics, music, mathematics and astronomy.  Muhammad (d. 873) played a part in the nomination of the Caliph al-Musta‘in (I) bi-‘llah.  The best known of their books, which largely the work of Ahmad, comprises descriptions of some 100 small machines.  

The Banū Mūsā brothers ("Sons of Mūsā") were three 9th century Persian scholars, of Baghdad, active in the House of Wisdom:

    * Abu Ja'far Muhammad ibn Mūsā ibn Shākir (before 803 – 873), who specialized in astronomy, engineering, geometry and physics.
    * Ahmad ibn Mūsā ibn Shākir (803 – 873), who specialized in engineering and mechanics.
    * Al-Hasan ibn Mūsā ibn Shākir (810 – 873), who specialized in engineering and geometry.

The Banu Musa were the sons of Mūsā ibn Shākir, who had been a highwayman and later an astrologer to the Caliph al-Ma'mūn. At his death, he left his young sons in the custody of the Caliph, who entrusted them to Ishaq bin Ibrahim al-Mus'abi, a former governor of Baghdad. The education of the three brothers was carried out by Yahya bin Abu Mansur who worked at the famous House of Wisdom library and translation center in Baghdad.

The Banu Musa brothers built a number of automata (automatic machines) and mechanical devices, and they described a hundred such devices in their Book of Ingenious Devices. Some of these inventions include:

    * Feedback controller
    * Automatic flute player
    * Self-trimming lamp (Ahmad ibn Mūsā ibn Shākir)
    * Self-feeding lamp
    * Gas mask
    * Grab
    * Clamshell grab
    * Fail-safe system
    * Differential pressure

The Banu Musa also invented "the earliest known mechanical musical instrument", in this case a hydro-powered organ which played interchangeable cylinders automatically. This cylinder with raised pins on the surface remained the basic device to produce and reproduce music mechanically until the second half of the nineteenth century.

In physics and astronomy, Muhammad ibn Musa was a pioneer of astrophysics and celestial mechanics. In the Book on the motion of the orbs, he was the first to discover that the heavenly bodies and celestial spheres were subject to the same laws of physics as Earth, unlike the ancients who believed that the celestial spheres followed their own set of physical laws different from that of Earth.

Ahmad (c. 805) specialized in mechanics and wrote a work on pneumatic devices called On mechanics.

The eldest brother, Ja'far Muḥammad, wrote a critical revision on Apollonius' Conics, called the Premises of the book of conics.

The Banu Musa's most famous mathematical treatise is The Book of the Measurement of Plane and Spherical Figures, which considered similar problems as Archimedes did in his On the Measurement of the Circle and On the Sphere and the Cylinder.

The youngest brother, al-Hasan (c. 810), specialised in geometry and wrote a work on the ellipse called The elongated circular figure.

Banu Musa see Musa, Banu


Musabbihi, al-
Musabbihi, al- (977-1030).  Fatimid historian.  He is known as a prolific and versatile writer.  The only one of his writings which has survived is a chapter of his history of Egypt, recording events of 1023-1024. 


Mus‘ab ibn ‘Abd Allah
Mus‘ab ibn ‘Abd Allah (773-851).  Genealogist from Medina.  His fame rests upon a work on the history of the Quraysh, which is of outstanding importance for the history of the beginnings of Islam, and in particular for that of the first four caliphs.


Mus‘ab ibn al-Zubayr
Mus‘ab ibn al-Zubayr (d. 691).  Son of the famous Companion of the Prophet al-Zubayr ibn al-‘Awwam and brother of the anti-caliph ‘Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr.  He defeated al-Mukhtar at Kufa in 687 but was killed near Basra.


Mus‘ab ibn ‘Umayr
Mus‘ab ibn ‘Umayr ( Mus'ab ibn 'Umair) (d. 625).  Companion of the Prophet of the Quraysh clan of ‘Abd al-Dar.  He died in the Battle of Uhud.

Mus‘ab ibn ‘Umair was a sahabi (companion) of Muhammad. He was from the Banū ‘Abd al-Dār branch of the tribe of Quraish. He died in the Battle of Uhud. He is said to have been the first envoy of Islam.

Mus‘ab bin ‘Umair was a very handsome young man. He was the son of ‘Umair who was a wealthy person. He brought up his son in quite a luxurious fashion. Mus‘ab enjoyed the best of food, finest dresses and the best perfumes. Whenever Mus‘ab passed through the streets, dressed in precious clothes and profusely perfumed, the sweet smell scented the atmosphere all around and the people gazed at him with amazement and appreciation. His beauty and charm was the talk of the town. Every person knew that Mus‘ab's parents were bringing up their son with great affection and care.

Whenever the Prophet Muhammad talked of him, he said "There is nobody more handsome in Makkah than Mus‘ab. There is no person in the city better clothed and fed than Mus‘ab. There is no child brought up with more affection and love than him." Due to his charming personality and being a lovely son of wealthy parents, everyone young or old had great regard for him.

When he embraced Islam he was given a respectable place in the Muslim society. But it was not due to his beauty, charm, good dress, good manners or wealth, but due to his piety and fear of God. When he embraced Islam, he faced severe hardships and torture. The beauty and charm of his person faded. He was also deprived of the affection and care of his parents. But his virtues and piety won the appreciation of Allah and the prophet Muhammed. In his pursuit for winning the favor of Allah and the prophet Muhammed, Mus‘ab cared neither for good food, nor good dress. He was no longer inclined towards expensive perfumes, instead he devoted himself whole heartedly to serve the cause of Islam.

Mus‘ab accepted Islam at a time when life had been made unbearable for Muslims. He was turned out of his home and was socially boycotted. He had to suffer countless miseries. This pampered young man embraced Islam at a time when those who believed in Islam were refused food and water and were thrown in dark prison cells. Many tyrants, not satisfied with the infliction of pain and injury, often murdered their Muslim victims. There were other hard-hearted fellows who had invented various forms of torments, to inflict on the Muslims.

Mus‘ab accepted Islam during that difficult period. One day a non-believer saw him offering prayers. He at once informed Mus‘ab's parents who turned hostile to their son. His mother's affection vanished. All the love and care of his father changed into anger and grief. They admonished him, but when they knew that he was firm, they tied him with ropes and threw him in a dark cell. He was kept in prison for a long time, but his belief in Islam was so deep that the torment of prison did not change his mind. He sacrificed everything and remained patient.

When the Muslims were ordered to migrate to Abyssinia, this young-man, brought up like a prince, also migrated along with the other devotees. When he returned from Abyssinia, people saw in him a different person- all the luster and gaity was gone. He who would have scoffed at the most precious raiment, was wearing a dress made of coarse, worn-out blanket. The spectacle inspired amazement, and awe among the onlookers. His mother, too, pitied her son’s condition and repented of the harsh treatment, she had shown to him.

During this period many people of Medina had accepted Islam. They requested that prophet Muhammed send them a preacher for teaching them the fundamentals of Islam. Prophet Muhammed selected Mus'ab. He went from door to door to convince the people of the message of Islam. Initially, he talked to each person in terms which that person could understand, and then presented to him the message of Islam at the right moment. He recited before the people selected verses of the Qur’an, which had a profound effect on their minds. He treated his visitors very politely. He had a natural gift for soft speech and people who approached him instantly became his friends.

It was in Medina that Mus‘ab bin ‘Umair did a remarkable work which shows his intelligence and tact in propagating the call of Islam. When the number of Muslims increased in Medina, he organized them in a body and requested permission of the prophet Muhammad to lay the foundation of Friday prayers.  When the permission of Friday prayers was granted Mus'ab's first talks were to deliver a very impressive address. Then he led the congregational Friday prayers with great reverence. In this way Mus‘ab bin ‘Umair had the honor of founding the Friday prayers. Mus‘ab's achievements at Medina were constantly reported to the prophet Muhammed.

When Mus‘ab’s mission had been fully accomplished, he led a group of Muslims to Mecca to bring the prophet Muhammed to Medina. On arrival at Mecca the first thing Mus‘ab did was to approach the prophet Muhammad to give him a full report of the success of his mission. Muhammad was very pleased with Mus‘ab’s account. A true Muslim (Momin) does not require anything else but the pleasure of Allah through following the commands of their prophet Muhammad.

Mus‘ab’s mother learned that her son had returned home at last; and that he was staying with someone else. She felt annoyed and sent him word : “My son! You have returned to a town, in which I reside. But woe to me! You have not come to see me!” The reply which Mus‘ab sent to his mother shows his sincere devotion to prophet Muhammad. He said, “I will not see anybody before I have paid homage to the Holy Prophet".

The account of Mus‘ab bin ‘Umair given above demonstrates an exemplary proof of the great love he had for Islam and the pains he took in presenting Islam to the non-believers. He sacrificed everything he possessed for the sake of Islam including his charm and beauty, his wealth and worldly belongings, his luxurious style of living and shed his attachment to his parents, his homeland, his people and his own country. In short, everything which was dear to him, was sacrificed by him for Islam.

Mus‘ab bin ‘Umair was not only very handsome, he also possessed the qualities of submission and sacrifice; he was a master of high intelligence and good eloquence, and he was also a gallant soldier, a fearless warrior and an able General. It was because of his gallantry that the prophet Muhammed entrusted him with the charge of the highest banner of war, in the battle of Badr. He was also given the rare honor of holding the Muslim banner during the battle of Uhud. The way in which the high office of holding the war banner was discharged in the two battles by this great devotee of Islam may be judged from the events of the Battle of Uhud.

In the battle of Uhud, the battle was lost for a while by a casual mistake of the Muslims. The people of Mecca attacked the Muslims from the rear via cavalry and thus disorganized the Muslim army.  At that critical time, Mus‘ab kept the Islamic banner flying high. When the Muslims were scattered, he stood fast until he met Ibn Quma'ah who was a knight. He struck him on his right hand and cut it off, but Mus'ab said, "And Muhammad is but a Messenger. Messengers have died before him" He carried the standard with his left hand and leaned on it. He struck his left hand and cut it off, and so he leaned on the standard and held it with his upper arms to his chest, all the while saying, "And Muhammad is but a Messenger. Messengers have died before him". Then a third one struck him with his spear, and the spear went through him. Mus'ab fell and the standard followed.

In another account: Mus'ab withstood the attack of his enemies with great valour. He bore the cuts of the enemy on his breast, but held the Islamic banner in his hands firmly. During this attack one of the enemies stepped forward and cut off his right hand with one stroke of the sword. The hand fell on the ground. The banner was about to fall when he transferred it to his left hand. The enemy now took another chance and struck a second blow of sword on his left hand. Still Mus‘ab did not lose courage; he did not allow the banner to fall down; he held it by his breast, within the circle of his arms. The enemy was irritated to see such intrepid devotion. In savage fury, he threw the sword on the ground and flung a spear at the breast of Mus‘ab. The pointed end of the blade pierced the chest, broke and remained embedded there.

The great hero, thus fell to the ground reciting the following Qur’anic verse: “Wa ma Muhammad-dun illa rasulun qad khalat min qablehil rusul). Meaning: “And Muhammad is only a prophet of Allah. Many other Prophets have died before him."

When the keeper of Islamic banner fell, the banner fluttered in the air. Seeing this Abul bin ‘Umair, brother of the martyr, moved forward and took over the banner. He protected its honor until the last.

When the battle came to an end the Prophet stood by the dead body of Mus‘ab ibn ‘Umair and recited the verse: (Minal momeneena rejalun sadqu ma ‘ahadullaha ‘ alaihe) Meaning: “There are some persons among the devoted Muslims (momeneen) who kept the promise made to Allah.”

  


Musa Celebi
Musa Celebi (d. 1413). Ottoman prince and ruler of Rumelia.  He laid an unsuccessful siege on Constantinople.
Celebi, Musa see Musa Celebi

Musafirids
Musafirids (Kangarids) (Sallarids) (Langarids).  Dynasty of Daylami origin, which came from Tarum and reigned in the tenth through eleventh centuries in Azerbaijan, Arran and Armenia.

The Sallarid dynasty was an Islamic Iranian dynasty principally known for its rule of Iranian Azerbaijan and part of Armenia from 942 until 979. They constitute the period in history that has been named the Iranian Intermezzo, a period that saw the rise of native Iranian dynasties during the 9th to the 11th centuries of the Christian calendar.

The Sallarids were Dailamites who, probably in the later 9th century, gained control of Shamiran, a mountain stronghold about twenty five miles north of Zanjan. From Shamiran they established their rule over the surrounding region of Tarum. The Sallarids also established marriage ties with the neighboring Justanid dynasty of Rudbar.

In the early 10th century the Sallarid in control of Shamiran was Muhammad bin Musafir. He married a Justanid and subsequently involved himself in their internal affairs. His harsh rule, however, eventually turned even his family against him, and in 941 he was imprisoned by his sons Wahsudan and Marzuban.

Wahsudan remained in Shamiran while Marzuban invaded Azerbaijan and took it from its ruler, Daisam. Marzuban took Dvin and successfully held off attacks from the Rus and Hamdanids of Mosul. However, he was captured in a war with the Buwayhid Rukn al-Daula and control of Azerbaijan was fought over between Muhammad bin Musafir, Wahsudan, the Buyids, and Daisam. Eventually Marzuban escaped, re-established control over Azerbaijan and made peace with Rukn al-Daula, marrying off his daughter to him. He ruled until his death in 957.

Marzuban designated his brother Wahsudan as his successor. When he came to Azerbaijan, however, the commanders of the fortresses refused to surrender to him, recognizing instead Maruban's son Justan as his successor. Unable to establish his rule in the province, Wahusdan returned to Tarum. Justin was recognized as ruler in Azerbaijan, with his brother Ibrahim made governor of Dvin. Justan seems to have been interested primarily in his harem, a fact which alienated some of his supporters, although he and Ibrahim successfully put down a revolt by a grandson of the caliph al-Muktafi in 960.

Shortly afterwards Justan and another brother, Nasir, came to Tarum, where they were treacherously imprisoned by Wahsudan, who sent his son Isma'il to take over Azerbaijan. Ibrahim raised an army in Armenia to oppose Isma'il, prompting Wahsudan to execute Justan, his mother and Nasir. Ibrahim was driven out of Azerbaijan by Isma'il, but retained his rule in Armenia.

Isma'il died in 962, however, allowing Ibrahim to occupy Azerbaijan. He then invaded Tarum and forced Wahsudan to flee to Dailaman. In 966 Ibrahim was defeated by an army of Wahsudan's and his soldiers subsequently deserted him. He fled to his brother-in-law, the Buyid Rukn al-Daula, while Wahsudan installed his son Nuh in Azerbaijan. Rukn al-Daula sent an army under his vizier to reinstate Ibrahim in Azerbaijan, and Wahsudan was ejected from Tarum for a time. In 967 however he again sent an army, which burned Ardabil before Ibrahim concluded a peace with his uncle, ceding part of Azerbaijan to him. In 968, he reaffirmed Sallarid authority over Shirvan, forcing the Shirvanshah to pay him tribute.

Ibrahim's authority began to decline in the latter part of his reign. In 971, the Shaddadids took Ganja, and Ibrahim was forced to recognize their rule in that city after a siege failed to dislodge them. In around 979 he was deposed and imprisoned; he died in 983. His deposition marked the end of the Sallarids as a major power in Azerbaijan, as the Rawadids of Tabriz overran much of the province. A grandson of Wahsudan named Marzuban b. Isma'il retained a small portion of Azerbaijan until 984 when he was captured by the Rawadids. His son Ibrahim fled to Tarum and would later restore Sallarid rule there after it was seized by the Buwayhids.

In Dvin, meanwhile, a son of Ibrahim b. Marzuban b. Muhammad, Abu'l-Hajja', held power; in 982 or 983 he was persuaded by the King of Kars to invade the domain of the Bagratid king Smbat II. Some time after this Abu'l-Hajja' led an expedition against Abu Dulaf al-Shaibani, the ruler of Golthn and Nakhchivan, but was defeated and lost Dvin to him. He then traveled throughout Georgia and Armenia and visited the Byzantine emperor Basil II. In 989 or 990 Smbat II gave him an army to retake Dvin, but afterwards revoked his support. Eventually Abu'l-Hajja' met his end at the hands of his servants, who strangled him.

After Wahsudan's death (some time after 967), his son Nuh succeeded him in Shamiran. Nuh died before 989. In that year the Buwayhid Fakhr al-Daula married his widow and then divorced her, taking Shamiran in the process. Nuh's young son Justan was brought to Ray.

In 997, after Fakhr al-Daula died, Ibrahim ibn Marzuban ibn Isma'il took advantage of the weakness of his successor to seize control of Shamiran, Zanjan, Abhar, and Suharavard. When the Ghaznavid Mahmud of Ghazni conquered Ray in 1029 he sent a force to conquer Ibrahim's territories, but it failed to do so. Ibrahim took Qazvin from the Ghaznavids and defeated Mahmud's son Mas'ud in battle. Mas'ud managed to bribe some of Ibrahim's soldiers to capture him. Ibrahim's son refused to give up the fortress of Sarjahan but was compelled to pay tribute. By 1036 the Sallarids were back in Shamiran.

In around 1043 the Seljuk sultan Toghril Beg received the submission of the salar of Tarum, who became his vassal and submitted tribute. This Sallarid may have been Justan ibn Ibrahim, who was named as the ruler of Tarum in 1046. In 1062 Toghril went to Shamiran and again received tribute from its ruler, Musafir. This is the last Sallarid who is known. It is likely that the dynasty was shortly afterwards wiped out by the Assassins of Alamut, who dismantled the fortress of Shamiran.


Kangarids see Musafirids
Sallarids see Musafirids
Langarids see Musafirids


Musa Hajji Isma‘il Galaal
Musa Hajji Isma‘il Galaal (Musa Galaal) (b. 1914).  Somali prose writer, poet and collector of oral literature.  He spent his youth as a camel-herder of the nomadic interior and became a teacher after World War II.  From 1951 to 1954, he worked at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London.  After the independence of the Somali Republic in 1960, he became the chairman of the Linguistic Committee concerned with the introduction of a national orthography for Somali, and afterwards the head of the Cultural Relations Division in the Ministry of Education in Mogadishu.  In 1956, he published a collection of traditional stories and poems in Somali under the title Hikmad Somali (1956).
Galaal, Musa Hajji Isma'il see Musa Hajji Isma‘il Galaal
Musa Galaal see Musa Hajji Isma‘il Galaal
Galaal, Musa see Musa Hajji Isma‘il Galaal


Musahib-zade Jelal
Musahib-zade Jelal (Musahip-zade Celal) (1868-1959).  Turkish classical playwright.  The themes of his plays were mainly taken from the daily lives of the Ottoman people in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
Jelal, Musahib-zade see Musahib-zade Jelal
Musahip-zade Celal see Musahib-zade Jelal
Celal, Musahip-zade see Musahib-zade Jelal


Musa ibn Abi’l-‘Afiya
Musa ibn Abi’l-‘Afiya (d. 938).  Chieftain of the Miknasa, a prominent Berber tribe of the Zanata confederation.  His claim to fame rests on his role in the troubled history of the Idrisids of Fez and the politics of the western Maghrib in the tenth century.


Musa ibn Nusayr
Musa ibn Nusayr (Musa bin Nusair) (Musa ben Nusair) (640-716).  Conqueror of the western Maghrib and of Spain.  In 698, he was given the governorship of Ifriqiya by the governor of Egypt ‘Abd al-‘Aziz ibn Marwan.  He crossed to Spain in 712 and left the following year with immense booty.

Musa ibn Nusayr was an Azdi of Assir (south west Saudi Arabia) who served as a governor and general under the Umayad caliph Al-Walid I. He ruled over the Muslim provinces of North Africa (Ifriqiya), and directed the Islamic opening of the Visigothic kingdom in Hispania.

Musa's father was an Arab of either Syria or Western Iraq (there are several different opinions) who was captured during the first Muslim expeditions and made a slave. Musa according to the most reliable reports state that he was the son of a Jewish convert to Islam. This convert had preferred relations with Muawiya (first Muslim Governor of Syria and first Umayyad Dynasty Caliph). He advised Muawiyah that the only way to capture Constantinople was from both sides. His son Musa was groomed to be the leader of the army to start the western invasion starting from Spain. However this plan was delayed because of the outbreak of civil war among Muslims.

Uqba bin Nafi was sent to continue the Islamic opening in North Africa all the way to Morocco. However, his policies were quite strict and he did not tolerate Berber traditions. This caused fierce resistance from the Berbers, leading to his demise in a battle against an alliance of Byzantines and Berbers. Musa bin Nusair was then sent to renew the attacks against the Berbers. But he did not impose Islam by force, rather, he respected Berber traditions and used diplomacy in subjugating them. This proved highly successful, as many Berbers converted to Islam and even entered his army as soldiers and officers, amongst whom would be Tariq bin Ziyad who would lead the later Islamic expedition in Iberia.

A few years earlier in 698, Musa had been made the governor of Ifriqiya and was responsible for completing the Umayyad conquest of North Africa and reopening of Cyprus, the Balearic Islands and Sardinia. He was the first governor of Ifriqiya not to be subordinate to the governor of Egypt. He was the first Muslim general to take Tangiers and occupy it. His troops also conquered the Sous, effectively taking control of all of modern Morocco. He also had to deal with constant harassment from the Byzantine navy.   He built a navy that would go on to conquer the islands of Ibiza, Majorca, and Minorca.

While Musa bin Nusair was eager to cross the strait to the land mass of the Iberian peninsula, he was only encouraged to do so when a Visigoth nobleman, Julian, had come to Musa encouraging him to invade Iberia, telling him of the people's sufferings and the injustice of their king, Roderick, while giving him additional cause by telling him of the riches that would be found, and the many palaces, gardens and beauties of Iberia.

After a successful minor raid on the coast of today's Portugal, and the raiding force returning with a booty they captured without any reported resistance, Musa decided to land a larger invasion force. Tariq bin Ziyad crossed the strait with approximately 7,000 Berbers and Arabs, and landed at Gibraltar (from Jebel Tariq, meaning Tariq's mountain in Arabic). The expedition's purpose must have been to conduct further raids and explore the territory. Tariq's army contained some guides supplied by Julian. Three weeks after his landing, the Muslims were faced with a superior Visigoth army of nearly 20,000 led by King Roderick. The Muslims won the Battle of Guadalete and the entire Visigoth nobility was all but exterminated at the battle. The Muslims then marched towards Córdoba, bypassing several strong fortifications. The ill defended city fell and Tariq established a garrison there comprised mainly of the city's Jews who welcomed the invaders, having been subjected to persecution from the Visigoths for centuries. Tariq then continued on his way to Toledo.

Musa, learning of Tariq's successes, landed in Iberia with an army of 18,000 Berbers and Arabs. He planned to rendezvous with Tariq at Toledo, but first proceeded to take Seville, which Tariq had bypassed, and where Musa met stiff resistance, and succeeded after three months of siege. He then campaigned in the area that is today Portugal, eliminating the remaining Gothic resistance there. His last destination before meeting Tariq was to subdue Mérida. After five months of siege and inconclusive fighting, a group of Ceutans pretended to be Christian reinforcements and managed to convince the guards into opening the gates. Once inside, the "reinforcements", nearly 700, overwhelmed the guards and managed to keep the gates open for the Muslims to enter the city and capture it.

After Mérida, Musa divided his forces, taking the majority with him to meet Tariq at Toledo where he would remain for winter. The remainder of his forces were led by his son 'Abd al-Aziz, who would return to Sevilla to deal with an uprising. 'Abd al-Aziz made short work of the rebellion. He then conducted several campaigns on the return journey in the territories comprising future Portugal. Coimbra and Santarém were captured in the spring of 714. 'Abd al-Aziz then campaigned in Murcia. The Duke of Murcia, Theodemir, or Tudmir as he was called by the Muslims, surrendered to 'Abd al-Aziz after several hard-fought engagements in April 713. The terms imposed on Theodemir declared that the duke would keep the citadel of Orihuela and several other settlements, including Alicante and Lorca on the Mediterranean; that his followers would not be killed, taken prisoner, forced into Islam; and that their churches would not be burned. It also demanded that Theodemir not encourage or support others to resist the Muslims, and that he pay an annual tax in money and other goods.

Musa finally met up with Tariq where there was an argument over the latter's booty, which reportedly included a table holding gems and other precious stones that belonged to King Solomon. Meanwhile, Musa's messenger, Mughith al-Rumi (the Roman) who had been sent to Caliph al-Walid I to inform him of the situation in Iberia, had returned. The Caliph requested Musa to withdraw and to report in person to Damascus. Musa chose to ignore this order temporarily, knowing that if he did not continue his advance, Visigoth resistance would increase and turn the tables against the Muslims. Having done so, he continued with Tariq to the north; Musa heading for Zaragoza, to which he lay siege, while Tariq continued to the provinces of León and Castile, capturing the towns of León and Astorga. Musa continued after taking Zaragoza to the north, taking Oviedo and reaching as far as the Bay of Biscay. The Islamic opening of Iberia now complete, Musa proceeded to place governors and prefects throughout the newly conquered Al-Andalus, before returning to Damascus with most of the booty captured from the Jihad.

Both North African leaders were thereafter summoned by the caliph to Damascus. Tariq arrived first. But then the caliph was taken ill. So the caliph's brother, Sulayman ibn Abd al-Malik became temporarily in charge, and asked Musa, who was arriving with a cavalcade of soldiers and spoils, to delay his grand entry into the city. He most certainly intended to claim the glories brought from the conquest for himself. But Musa dismissed this request, triumphantly entered Damascus anyway, and brought the booty before the ailing Al-Walid I, which brought Musa and Tariq unprecedented popularity amongst the people of Damascus. Al-Walid I then died a few days later and was succeeded by his brother Sulayman, who demanded that Musa deliver up all his spoils. When Musa complained, Sulayman stripped him of his rank and confiscated all the booty, including a table which had reputedly once belonged to Solomon. He ordered that Musa (a very old man by then) be paraded through the city's streets with a rope around his neck and Musa said "Oh, Caliph, I deserve a better rewarding than this". Reports claim he was seen begging at a mosque door in the last days of his life.

One of Musa's sons, Abd al-Aziz ibn Musa, married a Spanish woman, who was the daughter of Roderick. She asked 'Abd al-Aziz why his guests did not bow to him as they used to do in the presence of her father. It was reported that he began to force guests to bow to him. It was rumored that he had secretly become a Christian, and a group of Arabs assassinated him, cut off his head and sent it to the caliph. Sulayman had Musa in his audience when the head arrived, and seeing whose it was, callously asked Musa if he recognized it. Musa maintained his dignity, saying he recognized it as belonging to someone who had always practiced the faith fervently, and cursed the men who had killed him.

Musa died naturally while on the Hajj pilgrimage with Sulayman in about the year 715-716. Because of his disgrace, and the misfortunes of his sons, there was a tendency among medieval historians of the Maghreb to attribute his deeds (the Islamic opening of Tangiers and the Sous) to Uqba ibn Nafi.


Musa, Nabawiyah
Musa, Nabawiyah (1886-1951).  Feminist and pioneer in women’s education.  Born in Zagazig, Egypt, the daughter of Musa Muhammad, an army captain who died before her birth, Nabawiyah was raised in Cairo by her mother.  Beginning her education at home with the help of her older brother, Nabawiyah entered the girls’ section of the ‘Abbas Primary School, receiving her certificate in 1903.  She began teaching at ‘Abbas in 1906, after completing the Teachers’ Training Program at the Saniyah School.  Musa resolved to obtain a secondary school diploma when she discovered that male teachers with this degree received higher pay.  But, in the absence of government secondary school for girls, Musa prepared at home for the state baccalaureate examination.  Overcoming objections from colonial education officials, she successfully completed the exam in 1907.  She became the first woman to teach Arabic in the state school system, incurring the wrath of religiously trained shaykhs, who monopolized Arabic instruction.  In 1909, she was appointed principal of the Girls’ School in Fayyum, an oasis west of Cairo, the first Egyptian woman to hold such a post.  The following year, she became principal of the Women Teachers’ Training School in Mansurah.  In 1915, Musa was principal of the Wardiyan Women Teachers’ Training School in Alexandria.  Nine years later she was appointed chief inspector of female education in the Ministry of Education.  She incurred numerous adversaries as an efficient and strong-willed administrator who enforced a strict moral code among teachers and students, and was dismissed from the ministry in 1926.  She then founded and ran two private schools for girls, al-Tarqiyah al-Fatah primary school in Alexandria and Banat al-Ashraf secondary school in Cairo.

Musa’s feminism and nationalist aspirations were expressed in her everyday life.  Discreetly unveiling around 1909, in full awareness that concealing the face was not an Islamic prescription, Musa remained fastidious about covering her hair and wearing modest clothing.  When the Egyptian University opened in 1908 Musa was refused enrollment, but the following year was invited to lecture in the university’s special extracurricular program for women.  During the Egyptian national independence movement of 1919-1922, Musa maintained the operation of her school, rather than demonstrating and risking closure, considering this a political act in itself and insisting that education was the strongest weapon against colonial domination.  In 1920, she published Al-mar’ah wa-al-‘amal (The Woman and Work), promoting education ad work for women as a means of individual and national liberation within the framework of Islamic modernism.  In 1923, the year after Egyptian independence, Musa joined the Egyptian Feminist Union, attending the Rome Conference of the International Woman Suffrage Alliance as a member of the union’s delegation.  However, Musa soon rejected movement feminism, preferring the mode of everyday activism within the context of her profession as an educator.  She also sustained advocacy through her writings, including Al-ayah al-bayyinah fi tarbiyat al-banat (The Clear Model in the Education of Girls), Diwan al-fatah (The Young Woman Collection of Poems), and Riwayah Nabhutub (Nabhutub: A Novel).  In 1937, she founded Majallat al-fatah (The Magazine of the Young Woman), which published through 1943.

Musa’s educational career came to an end in 1942 when she was imprisoned for publicly protesting the Egyptian government’s conciliatory policy regarding national sovereignty in the face of British pressure.  She died in retirement in 1951.  Four decades later the Egyptian state honored her by issuing a commemorative stamp.  Musa is claimed as a foremother by feminists and Islamists alike.




Nabawiyah Musa see Musa, Nabawiyah


Musawis
Musawis.  Name for the descendants of Imam Musa al-Kazim, who are said to account for some seventy percent (70%) of all the Sayyids in present day Iran.


Musaylima ibn Habib
Musaylima ibn Habib (Maslamah ibn Habib) (Musaylimah) (d. 632).  Member of the Banu Hanifa who lived in al-Yamama.  He claimed to be a prophet, and led a large section of his tribe in revolt during the politico-religious uprisings, known as “apostasy” (in Arabic, ridda), in various parts of Arabia during the caliphate of Abu Bakr.  Khalid ibn al-Walid defeated him at the fierce battle of al-‘Aqraba’, in which many Helpers, invaluable for their knowledge of the as yet unwritten Qur’an, were killed.

Musaylimah was one of a series of men who claimed to be a prophet around the same time as Muhammad. He is often viewed as a false prophet by traditional accounts, and frequently referred to by the epithet "the Liar" (Arabic: al-Kaḏḏāb).

Musaylimah's name was Ibn Habib al-Hanifi, which indicates that he was the son of Habib, of the tribe Banu Hanifa, one of the largest tribes of Arabia that inhabited the region of Yamamah. The present House of Saud and the Al Saud dynasty traces their ancestry to the same Banu Hanifa tribe. The Banu Hanifa were a Christian branch of Banu Bakr and led an independent existence prior to Islam.

Musaylimah was the theocratic lord of a sacred haram or enclave which, according to one report, he had set up in Yamamah before the prophet's hijrah. He thus controlled an extensive area of eastern Arabia. He controlled more extensive territories and properties than Muhammad.

Among the first records of him is in late 9th Hijri, the Year of Delegations, when he accompanied a delegation of his tribe to Medina. The delegation included two other prominent Muslims. They would later help Musaylimah rise to power and save their tribe from destruction. These men were Nahar Ar-Rajjal bin Unfuwa (or Rahhal) and Muja'a bin Marara. In Medina, the deputation stayed with the daughter of al-Harith, a woman of the Ansar from the Banu Najjar.

When the delegation arrived at Medinah, the camels were tied in a traveler's camp, and Musaylimah remained there to look after them while the other delegates went in.

They had talks with Muhammad. The delegation before their departure embraced Islam and denounced Christianity without compunction. As was his custom, Muhammad presented gifts to the delegates, and when they had received their gifts one said, "We left one of our comrades in the camp to look after our mounts."

Muhammad gave them gifts for him also, and added, "He is not the least among you that he should stay behind to guard the property of his comrades." On their return they converted the tribe of Banu Hanifa to Islam. They built a mosque at Yamamah and started regular prayers.

Musaylimah, who is reported as having been a skilled magician, dazzled the crowd with miracles. He could put an egg in a bottle; he could cut off the feathers of a bird and then stick them on so the bird would fly again; and he used this skill to persuade the people that he was divinely gifted.

Musaylimah shared verses purporting them to have been revelations from God and told the crowd that Muhammad had shared power with him. Musaylimah even referred to himself as Rahman, which suggests that he may have attributed some divinity to himself. Thereafter, some of the people accepted him as a prophet alongside Muhammad. Gradually the influence and authority of Musaylimah increased with the people of his tribe. Musaylimah sought to abolish prayer and freely allow sex and alcohol consumption. He also took to addressing gatherings as an apostle of Allah just like Muhammad, and would compose verses and offer them, as Quranic revelations. Most of his verses extolled the superiority of his tribe, the Bani Hanifa, over the Quraish.

Musaylimah also proposed to share power over Arabia with Muhammad. Then one day, in late 10 Hijri, he wrote to Muhammad:

    "From Musaylimah, Messenger of Allah, to Muhammad, Messenger of God. Salutations to you. I have been given a share with you in this matter. Half the earth belongs to us and half to the Quraish. But the Quraish are a people who transgress."

Muhammad, however, replied back:
  "From Muhammad, the messenger of God, to Musaylimah, the arch-liar. Peace be upon him who follows (God's) guidance. Now then, surely the earth belongs to God, who bequeaths it to whom He will amongst his servants. The ultimate issue is to the God-fearing." ”

After Muhammad's death, Musaylimah rose up against the new Caliph Abu Bakr but his forces were defeated by Khalid ibn al-Walid as Musaylimah was killed by Wahshi ibn Harb in the Battle of Yamama.

Not all the followers of Musaylimah became "good" Muslims. Ten or twenty years later the man who carried his message to Muhammad and some others were denounced in Kufar as remaining followers of Musaylima.  The messenger was executed


    * Al-Aswad Al-Ansi
    * Tulayha
    * Prestidigitators
    * Non-Muslim interactants with Muslims during Muhammad's era

[edit] References
Maslamah ibn Habib see Musaylima ibn Habib
The Liar see Musaylima ibn Habib
Kaddab, al- see Musaylima ibn Habib
Musaylimah see Musaylima ibn Habib


Mushaqa, Mikha’il ibn Jirjis
Mushaqa, Mikha’il ibn Jirjis (Mikha'il ibn Jirjis Mushaqa) (1800-1888).  Lebanese historian and polemicist, and the most important of modern Arabic writers on the theory of music.  
Mikha'il ibn Jirjis Mushaqa see Mushaqa, Mikha’il ibn Jirjis


Musharraf, Pervez
Musharraf, Pervez (Pervez Musharraf) (b. August 11, 1943, New Delhi, India).  Military leader of Pakistan.  He was born on August 11, 1943, in New Delhi, India.  His father, a civil servant in British-ruled India, later served as a Pakistani ambassador to Turkey.  The family fled to Pakistan ambassador to Turkey.  The family fled to Pakistan in 1947 when British India was partitioned into predominantly Hindu India and Muslim Pakistan.  Young Musharraf joined the army in 1964.  In 1965, he received a medal for gallantry for his efforts during the 16 day war with India.  In 1998, Musharraf became chief of the army and, in October 1999, he seized power in a coup d’etat and declared himself the nation’s “chief executive.” He served as president of Pakistan from 2001 to 2008.

Musharraf moved with his family from New Delhi to Karachi in 1947, when Pakistan was separated from India. The son of a career diplomat, he lived in Turkey during 1949–56. He joined the army in 1964, graduated from the Army Command and Staff College in Quetta, and attended the Royal College of Defence Studies in London. He held a number of appointments in the artillery, the infantry, and commando units and also taught at the Staff College in Quetta and in the War Wing of the National Defence College. He fought in Pakistan’s 1965 and 1971 wars with India. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif appointed him head of the armed forces in October 1998. Musharraf is believed to have played a key role in the invasion of the Indian-administered portion of the disputed Kashmir region in the summer of 1999. Under international pressure, Sharif later ordered the troops to pull back to Pakistani-controlled territory, a move that angered the military.

On October 12, 1999, while Musharraf was out of the country, Sharif dismissed him and tried to prevent the plane carrying Musharraf home from landing at the Karachi airport. The armed forces, however, took control of the airport and other government installations and deposed Sharif, paving the way for Musharraf to become head of a military government. Although he was generally considered to hold moderate views and promised an eventual return to civilian rule, Musharraf suspended the constitution and dissolved parliament. He formed the National Security Council, made up of civilian and military appointees, to run Pakistan in the interim. In early 2001 he assumed the presidency and later attempted to negotiate an agreement with India over the Kashmir region. Following the September 11 attacks in 2001 in the United States and the subsequent United States invasion of Afghanistan later that year, the United States government cultivated close ties with Musharraf in an attempt to root out Islamic extremists in the Afghan-Pakistan border region.

Over the next several years, Musharraf survived a number of assassination attempts. He reinstated the constitution in 2002, though it was heavily amended with the Legal Framework Order (LFO)—a provision of which extended his term as president for another five years. Parliamentary elections were held in October 2002, and in late 2003 the legislature ratified most provisions of the LFO.

In 2007 Musharraf sought re-election to the presidency, but he faced opposition from Pakistan’s Supreme Court, primarily over the issue of his continuing to serve simultaneously as both president and head of the military. The court thwarted his attempt to suspend the chief justice, and in October it delayed the results of Musharraf’s re-election (by the parliament). In November, Musharraf responded by declaring a state of emergency. Citing growing terrorist threats, he suspended the constitution for a second time, dismissed the chief justice and replaced other justices on the Supreme Court, arrested opposition political leaders, and imposed restrictions on the independent press and media. Later that month, the reconstituted Supreme Court dismissed the last legal challenges to his re-election, and he resigned his military post to become a civilian president. Musharraf ended the state of emergency in mid-December, though, before restoring the constitution, he instituted several amendments to it that protected the measures enacted during emergency rule.

The poor performance of Musharraf’s party in the February 2008 parliamentary elections was widely seen as a rejection of the president and his rule. The elections yielded an opposition coalition headed by Sharif and Asif Ali Zardari, the widower of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, who had been assassinated in December 2007. Citing grave constitutional violations, the governing coalition moved in early August 2008 to begin impeachment proceedings against Musharraf, and, faced with the impending charges, Musharraf announced his resignation on August 18.

In October 2010, after a period of self-imposed exile, Musharraf announced the formation of a new political party, the All Pakistan Muslim League, and vowed to return to Pakistan in time for the 2013 national elections.



Pervez Musharraf see Musharraf, Pervez


Musha‘sha’
Musha‘sha’ (Musha'sha'iyyah).  Shi‘a Arab dynasty of the town of Hawiza (Huwayza) in Khuzistan which ruled from the fifteenth through the nineteenth centuries.

The Musha‘sha’iyyah were a Shī‘ah sect founded and led by Muhammad ibn Falah, an Iraqi-born theologian who believed himself to be the earthly representative of ‘Alī and the Mahdi. From the middle of the 15th century to the 19th century, they came to dominate much of western Khūzestān Province in southwestern Iran.

Beginning in 1436, Ibn Falah spread his messianic beliefs amongst the less powerful Arab tribes along the area of the present-day border of Iraq and Iran, gaining converts in an attempt to forge a strong tribal alliance. In 1441, they succeeded in capturing the city of Hoveizeh in Khuzestan, and during the following ten years the Musha‘sha’iyyah increased their strength and consolidated their power in the area around the city and the Tigris river. These early military ambitions were fueled by Muhammad ibn Falah's zealous millenarian theology, which continued to significantly influence the later military campaigns of the Musha‘sha’iyyah decades after his death.

Successors of ibn Falah were in continual conflict with the Safavid rulers as well as with Iranian Arab tribes until overcome by the Safavids in 1508. The conflict with the Safavids was driven not only by politics and territorial domination, but also by theological differences and competition between two rival Shi'a schools of thought. According to Moojan Momen, both sects adhered to heterodox (ghuluww) Shi'a beliefs.

According to Shī‘ah eschatology, the Mahdi will appear at the end times to lead the forces of good, who will be based in Yemen, to struggle against the forces of evil, who will be based in Syria and Khorasan. The Musha‘sha’iyyah believed that the end times were imminent and that they would need to defeat the Safavids and gain control of Iran in order to fulfill the prophecy heralded by Ibn Falah.

The Musha‘sha’iyyah gradually abandoned their eschatological beliefs and more closely adhered to mainstream Shī‘a orthodoxy. Like other mystical Shī‘a sects, they placed a great deal of importance upon poetry and art.

Musha'sha'iyyah see Musha‘sha’



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