Mu‘awiya I ibn Abi Sufyan
Mu‘awiya I ibn Abi Sufyan (Mu'awiyah I) (Moawiyah) (b. 602, Mecca, Arabia - d. April/May 680, Damascus). Founder of the Umayyad dynasty of caliphs based in Syria (r.661-680). He had been a crypto-Muslim since 628, and made his Islam manifest in 630. His sister Umm Habiba was married to the Prophet. He functioned as a commander against the Byzantines, and in 646 Syria and al-Jazira were under his control. Against the Byzantines, he established strong garrisons along the coast and instituted Arab maritime warfare in the Mediterranean. The Caliph ‘Uthman ibn ‘Affan, while being besieged in his Medinan residence in 656, sent word to Mu‘awiya asking for help, but the relief force turned back on learning that ‘Uthman had been killed. Thereafter Mu‘awiya bided his time while the Prophet’s son-in-law ‘Ali sought to establish himself as leader. After the Battle of the Camel, ‘Ali elicited Mu‘awiya’s oath of allegiance, but, with the support of ‘Amr ibn al-‘As, Mu‘awiya decided to fight ‘Ali, alleging vengeance for ‘Uthman. After the Battle of Siffin in 656, Mu‘awiya was recognized as caliph by the Syrians and by ‘Amr ibn al-‘As, who then went to conquer Egypt. While ‘Ali’s position grew weaker in Iraq fighting the Kharijites, Mu‘awiya again bided his time. ‘Ali was murdered by a Kharijite in 661, and Mu ‘awiya became caliph. To posterity, his image is ambivalent. He was seen not just as the man who perverted the caliphate into kingship, but also as a clever and successful ruler. He is either cursed or venerated, the legitimacy of his caliphate being a far more important issue than its historical nature.
Muʿāwiyah I was an early Islamic leader and founder of the great Umayyad dynasty of caliphs. He fought against the fourth caliph, ʿAlī (Muhammad’s son-in-law), seized Egypt, and assumed the caliphate after ʿAlī’s assassination in 661. He restored unity to the Muslim empire and made Damascus its capital. He reigned from 661 to 680.
It is ironic that a man who was to become the political-religious head of Islam was born into a clan (ʿAbd Shams) that rejected the Prophet Muhammad in his home city, Mecca, and continued to oppose him on the battlefield after he had emigrated to Medina. Muʿāwiyah did not become a Muslim until Muhammad had conquered Mecca and had reconciled his former enemies by gifts. Possibly as a part of Muhammad’s policy of conciliation, Muʿāwiyah was made a scribe in his service. But Muʿāwiyah’s contributions to Islamic history are wholly associated with his career in Syria, which began shortly after the death of the Prophet, when he, along with his brother Yazīd, served in the tribal armies sent from Arabia against the Byzantine forces in Syria.
Upon the death of Yazīd in 640, Muʿāwiyah was appointed governor of Damascus by the caliph ʿUmar and gradually gained mastery over other areas of Syria. By 647 Muʿāwiyah had built a Syrian tribal army strong enough to repel a Byzantine attack and in subsequent years to take the offensive against the Byzantines in campaigns that resulted in the capture of Cyprus (649) and Rhodes (654) and a devastating defeat of the Byzantine navy off the coast of Lycia in Anatolia (655). At the same time, Muʿāwiyah periodically dispatched land expeditions into Anatolia. All these campaigns, however, came to a halt with the accession of ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib to the caliphate, when a new and decisive phase of Muʿāwiyah’s career began.
As a kinsman of the slain caliph ʿUthmān, Muʿāwiyah bore the duty of revenge. Because ʿAlī neglected to apprehend and punish ʿUthmān’s murderers, Muʿāwiyah regarded him as an accomplice to the murder and refused to acknowledge his caliphate. Thereupon ʿAlī marched to the Euphrates border of Syria and engaged Muʿāwiyah’s troops at the famous Battle of Ṣiffīn (657). Muʿāwiyah’s guile turned near defeat into a truce. Resorting to a trick that played upon the religious sensibilities of ʿAlī’s forces, he persuaded the enemy to enter into negotiations that ultimately cast doubt on the legitimacy of ʿAlī’s caliphate and alienated a sizable number of his supporters. When these former supporters—the Khārijites—rose in rebellion against ʿAlī, Muʿāwiyah took advantage of ʿAlī’s difficulties in Iraq to send a force to seize control of Egypt. Thus, when ʿAlī was assassinated in 661, Muʿāwiyah held both Syria and Egypt and, as commander of the largest force in the Muslim empire, had the strongest claim to the caliphate. ʿAlī’s son Ḥasan was persuaded to remove himself from public life in exchange for a subsidy, which Muʿāwiyah provided.
During his 20-year governorship of Syria and during the war against ʿAlī, Muʿāwiyah had succeeded in recruiting and training a large Arab tribal army that was remarkably loyal to him. It was therefore natural that he should base his caliphate in Syria, with Damascus as the new capital of Islam. But, if Muʿāwiyah’s chief support came from the tribes of Syria, the tribes of other areas posed the chief threat to his reign. It is not surprising then that early Umayyad government followed certain tribal principles as a means of retaining and winning the loyalty of the Arabs. The clearest examples of such a policy are provided by Muʿāwiyah’s adoption of two tribal institutions: the council of notables—the shūrā—which was convoked by the caliph for consultation and the delegations—wufūd—which were sent by tribes to keep the caliph informed of their interest. Within this context, Muʿāwiyah ruled as a traditional Arab chieftain. Although he may not have consciously encouraged renewed warfare against non-Muslim territory as a means of directing Bedouin aggressive tendencies into channels that would aggrandize Islam and stabilize his own power, there is no doubt that warfare served these purposes during his reign, and in this respect it is significant that Muʿāwiyah used the Syrian army only for domestic defense and for campaigns against the Byzantines, who threatened the borders of Syria.
During the civil war, Muʿāwiyah had purchased a truce with the Byzantines in order to free his army for the struggle against ʿAlī. Soon after his accession to the caliphate, however, he curtailed the payment of tribute and sent expeditions against the Byzantines almost yearly. These campaigns served both to fulfill Muʿāwiyah’s obligation to conduct holy war (jihad) against unbelievers and to keep his Syrian troops in fighting trim. Otherwise, the war against Byzantium was inconclusive. Even though two expeditions reached the vicinity of Constantinople, the Arabs never succeeded in permanently occupying territory in Asia Minor beyond the Taurus Mountains. Troops stationed in other parts of Muʿāwiyah’s empire were sent on campaigns into remote areas. In North Africa, raids were conducted as far west as Tlemcen in present-day Algeria. More permanent, however, was the conquest of Tripolitania and Ifrīqīyah, which was consolidated by the foundation in 670 of the garrison city of Kairouan, soon to become the base for further expansion later in the Umayyad period. At the same time, a vigorous campaign was being conducted in the east by means of which Muslim borders were extended to the Oxus River and Khorāsān was established as an Umayyad province.
It had become apparent during the reigns of the first caliphs that tribal tradition and the practices of Muhammad in Medina were inadequate resources for administering a vast empire. To solve this problem, Muʿāwiyah resorted to a solution that lay at hand in Syria—that is, the imitation of administrative procedures that had evolved during centuries of Roman and Byzantine rule there. Although the process by which the borrowing took place is not fully known, it is clear that Muʿāwiyah initiated certain practices that were apparently inspired by the previous tradition. Basically, he aimed at increased organization and centralization of the caliphal government in order to exert control over steadily expanding territories. This he achieved by the establishment of bureaus—dīwāns—in Damascus to conduct the affairs of government efficiently. Early Arabic sources credit two dīwāns in particular to Muʿāwiyah: the dīwān al-khatam, or chancellery, and the barīd, or postal service, both of which were obviously intended to improve communications within the empire. Prominent positions within the nascent bureaucracy were held by Christians, some of whom belonged to families that had served in Byzantine governments. The employment of Christians was part of a broader policy of religious tolerance that was necessitated by the presence of large Christian populations in the conquered provinces, especially in Syria itself.
Such administrative innovations coupled with the observance of tribal traditions caused historians of a later period to deny Muʿāwiyah the religious title of caliph and to characterize him as a king (malik) instead. As a symbol of the increasingly secular nature of the caliphate, derived in part from a non-Islamic tradition, the title is apt for Muʿāwiyah and for most of the Umayyads. It is particularly appropriate for the most startling of all of Muʿāwiyah’s innovations, the one by which he secured the allegiance of the tribes for the caliphate of his son Yazīd and thereby established the practice of hereditary rule in Islam. As an alternative to the various unreliable precedents for selecting a caliph, this measure was certainly consonant with Muʿāwiyah’s policy and achievement as caliph, which, in summary, consisted of invigorating the theocratic origins of Islamic governance with borrowings from other traditions better adapted to the demands of tribesmen and the needs of an empire.
Muʿāwiyah stands out as one of the few caliphs who is depicted both in Muslim historiography and in modern scholarship as a decisive force in Islamic history. Undoubtedly one reason for the prominence that is assigned to him is that he was a controversial figure. Pious scholars of the dominant Sunni sect of Islam, together with writers of the minority, dissenting Shīʿites, have always heaped opprobrium on Muʿāwiyah: the Sunni because of his deviations from the pattern of leadership set by the Prophet Muhammad and the “rightly guided” caliphs, the Shīʿites because he had usurped the caliphate from ʿAlī.
Although Muʿāwiyah has been and still is condemned for his sins from these two quarters, he has also been the subject of lavish praise in Arabic literature as the ideal ruler. Unlike most of the other caliphs, Muʿāwiyah looms large in Islamic history because he has consistently aroused partisanship at different extremes. But, beneath the biased portraits given in traditional Muslim historiography, there is a person whose actual accomplishments were of great magnitude quite apart from partisan value judgments and interpretations. These accomplishments lay primarily in political and military administration, through which Muʿāwiyah was able to rebuild a Muslim state that had fallen into anarchy and to renew the Arab Muslim military offensive against unbelievers.
Mu'awiyah I see Mu‘awiya I ibn Abi Sufyan
Moawiyah see Mu‘awiya I ibn Abi Sufyan
Mu‘awiya I ibn Abi Sufyan (Mu'awiyah I) (Moawiyah) (b. 602, Mecca, Arabia - d. April/May 680, Damascus). Founder of the Umayyad dynasty of caliphs based in Syria (r.661-680). He had been a crypto-Muslim since 628, and made his Islam manifest in 630. His sister Umm Habiba was married to the Prophet. He functioned as a commander against the Byzantines, and in 646 Syria and al-Jazira were under his control. Against the Byzantines, he established strong garrisons along the coast and instituted Arab maritime warfare in the Mediterranean. The Caliph ‘Uthman ibn ‘Affan, while being besieged in his Medinan residence in 656, sent word to Mu‘awiya asking for help, but the relief force turned back on learning that ‘Uthman had been killed. Thereafter Mu‘awiya bided his time while the Prophet’s son-in-law ‘Ali sought to establish himself as leader. After the Battle of the Camel, ‘Ali elicited Mu‘awiya’s oath of allegiance, but, with the support of ‘Amr ibn al-‘As, Mu‘awiya decided to fight ‘Ali, alleging vengeance for ‘Uthman. After the Battle of Siffin in 656, Mu‘awiya was recognized as caliph by the Syrians and by ‘Amr ibn al-‘As, who then went to conquer Egypt. While ‘Ali’s position grew weaker in Iraq fighting the Kharijites, Mu‘awiya again bided his time. ‘Ali was murdered by a Kharijite in 661, and Mu ‘awiya became caliph. To posterity, his image is ambivalent. He was seen not just as the man who perverted the caliphate into kingship, but also as a clever and successful ruler. He is either cursed or venerated, the legitimacy of his caliphate being a far more important issue than its historical nature.
Muʿāwiyah I was an early Islamic leader and founder of the great Umayyad dynasty of caliphs. He fought against the fourth caliph, ʿAlī (Muhammad’s son-in-law), seized Egypt, and assumed the caliphate after ʿAlī’s assassination in 661. He restored unity to the Muslim empire and made Damascus its capital. He reigned from 661 to 680.
It is ironic that a man who was to become the political-religious head of Islam was born into a clan (ʿAbd Shams) that rejected the Prophet Muhammad in his home city, Mecca, and continued to oppose him on the battlefield after he had emigrated to Medina. Muʿāwiyah did not become a Muslim until Muhammad had conquered Mecca and had reconciled his former enemies by gifts. Possibly as a part of Muhammad’s policy of conciliation, Muʿāwiyah was made a scribe in his service. But Muʿāwiyah’s contributions to Islamic history are wholly associated with his career in Syria, which began shortly after the death of the Prophet, when he, along with his brother Yazīd, served in the tribal armies sent from Arabia against the Byzantine forces in Syria.
Upon the death of Yazīd in 640, Muʿāwiyah was appointed governor of Damascus by the caliph ʿUmar and gradually gained mastery over other areas of Syria. By 647 Muʿāwiyah had built a Syrian tribal army strong enough to repel a Byzantine attack and in subsequent years to take the offensive against the Byzantines in campaigns that resulted in the capture of Cyprus (649) and Rhodes (654) and a devastating defeat of the Byzantine navy off the coast of Lycia in Anatolia (655). At the same time, Muʿāwiyah periodically dispatched land expeditions into Anatolia. All these campaigns, however, came to a halt with the accession of ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib to the caliphate, when a new and decisive phase of Muʿāwiyah’s career began.
As a kinsman of the slain caliph ʿUthmān, Muʿāwiyah bore the duty of revenge. Because ʿAlī neglected to apprehend and punish ʿUthmān’s murderers, Muʿāwiyah regarded him as an accomplice to the murder and refused to acknowledge his caliphate. Thereupon ʿAlī marched to the Euphrates border of Syria and engaged Muʿāwiyah’s troops at the famous Battle of Ṣiffīn (657). Muʿāwiyah’s guile turned near defeat into a truce. Resorting to a trick that played upon the religious sensibilities of ʿAlī’s forces, he persuaded the enemy to enter into negotiations that ultimately cast doubt on the legitimacy of ʿAlī’s caliphate and alienated a sizable number of his supporters. When these former supporters—the Khārijites—rose in rebellion against ʿAlī, Muʿāwiyah took advantage of ʿAlī’s difficulties in Iraq to send a force to seize control of Egypt. Thus, when ʿAlī was assassinated in 661, Muʿāwiyah held both Syria and Egypt and, as commander of the largest force in the Muslim empire, had the strongest claim to the caliphate. ʿAlī’s son Ḥasan was persuaded to remove himself from public life in exchange for a subsidy, which Muʿāwiyah provided.
During his 20-year governorship of Syria and during the war against ʿAlī, Muʿāwiyah had succeeded in recruiting and training a large Arab tribal army that was remarkably loyal to him. It was therefore natural that he should base his caliphate in Syria, with Damascus as the new capital of Islam. But, if Muʿāwiyah’s chief support came from the tribes of Syria, the tribes of other areas posed the chief threat to his reign. It is not surprising then that early Umayyad government followed certain tribal principles as a means of retaining and winning the loyalty of the Arabs. The clearest examples of such a policy are provided by Muʿāwiyah’s adoption of two tribal institutions: the council of notables—the shūrā—which was convoked by the caliph for consultation and the delegations—wufūd—which were sent by tribes to keep the caliph informed of their interest. Within this context, Muʿāwiyah ruled as a traditional Arab chieftain. Although he may not have consciously encouraged renewed warfare against non-Muslim territory as a means of directing Bedouin aggressive tendencies into channels that would aggrandize Islam and stabilize his own power, there is no doubt that warfare served these purposes during his reign, and in this respect it is significant that Muʿāwiyah used the Syrian army only for domestic defense and for campaigns against the Byzantines, who threatened the borders of Syria.
During the civil war, Muʿāwiyah had purchased a truce with the Byzantines in order to free his army for the struggle against ʿAlī. Soon after his accession to the caliphate, however, he curtailed the payment of tribute and sent expeditions against the Byzantines almost yearly. These campaigns served both to fulfill Muʿāwiyah’s obligation to conduct holy war (jihad) against unbelievers and to keep his Syrian troops in fighting trim. Otherwise, the war against Byzantium was inconclusive. Even though two expeditions reached the vicinity of Constantinople, the Arabs never succeeded in permanently occupying territory in Asia Minor beyond the Taurus Mountains. Troops stationed in other parts of Muʿāwiyah’s empire were sent on campaigns into remote areas. In North Africa, raids were conducted as far west as Tlemcen in present-day Algeria. More permanent, however, was the conquest of Tripolitania and Ifrīqīyah, which was consolidated by the foundation in 670 of the garrison city of Kairouan, soon to become the base for further expansion later in the Umayyad period. At the same time, a vigorous campaign was being conducted in the east by means of which Muslim borders were extended to the Oxus River and Khorāsān was established as an Umayyad province.
It had become apparent during the reigns of the first caliphs that tribal tradition and the practices of Muhammad in Medina were inadequate resources for administering a vast empire. To solve this problem, Muʿāwiyah resorted to a solution that lay at hand in Syria—that is, the imitation of administrative procedures that had evolved during centuries of Roman and Byzantine rule there. Although the process by which the borrowing took place is not fully known, it is clear that Muʿāwiyah initiated certain practices that were apparently inspired by the previous tradition. Basically, he aimed at increased organization and centralization of the caliphal government in order to exert control over steadily expanding territories. This he achieved by the establishment of bureaus—dīwāns—in Damascus to conduct the affairs of government efficiently. Early Arabic sources credit two dīwāns in particular to Muʿāwiyah: the dīwān al-khatam, or chancellery, and the barīd, or postal service, both of which were obviously intended to improve communications within the empire. Prominent positions within the nascent bureaucracy were held by Christians, some of whom belonged to families that had served in Byzantine governments. The employment of Christians was part of a broader policy of religious tolerance that was necessitated by the presence of large Christian populations in the conquered provinces, especially in Syria itself.
Such administrative innovations coupled with the observance of tribal traditions caused historians of a later period to deny Muʿāwiyah the religious title of caliph and to characterize him as a king (malik) instead. As a symbol of the increasingly secular nature of the caliphate, derived in part from a non-Islamic tradition, the title is apt for Muʿāwiyah and for most of the Umayyads. It is particularly appropriate for the most startling of all of Muʿāwiyah’s innovations, the one by which he secured the allegiance of the tribes for the caliphate of his son Yazīd and thereby established the practice of hereditary rule in Islam. As an alternative to the various unreliable precedents for selecting a caliph, this measure was certainly consonant with Muʿāwiyah’s policy and achievement as caliph, which, in summary, consisted of invigorating the theocratic origins of Islamic governance with borrowings from other traditions better adapted to the demands of tribesmen and the needs of an empire.
Muʿāwiyah stands out as one of the few caliphs who is depicted both in Muslim historiography and in modern scholarship as a decisive force in Islamic history. Undoubtedly one reason for the prominence that is assigned to him is that he was a controversial figure. Pious scholars of the dominant Sunni sect of Islam, together with writers of the minority, dissenting Shīʿites, have always heaped opprobrium on Muʿāwiyah: the Sunni because of his deviations from the pattern of leadership set by the Prophet Muhammad and the “rightly guided” caliphs, the Shīʿites because he had usurped the caliphate from ʿAlī.
Although Muʿāwiyah has been and still is condemned for his sins from these two quarters, he has also been the subject of lavish praise in Arabic literature as the ideal ruler. Unlike most of the other caliphs, Muʿāwiyah looms large in Islamic history because he has consistently aroused partisanship at different extremes. But, beneath the biased portraits given in traditional Muslim historiography, there is a person whose actual accomplishments were of great magnitude quite apart from partisan value judgments and interpretations. These accomplishments lay primarily in political and military administration, through which Muʿāwiyah was able to rebuild a Muslim state that had fallen into anarchy and to renew the Arab Muslim military offensive against unbelievers.
Mu'awiyah I see Mu‘awiya I ibn Abi Sufyan
Moawiyah see Mu‘awiya I ibn Abi Sufyan
Mu’ayyad bi-‘llah Muhammad, al-
Mu’ayyad bi-‘llah Muhammad, al-. Name of two Qasimi Zaydi Imams of Yemen, the best known being al-Mansur bi’llah al-Qasim (b. 1582; r. 1620-1644). During his reign the Ottoman Turks were expelled from Yemen in 1635 after a continuous presence of a century.
Mu’ayyad bi-‘llah Muhammad, al-. Name of two Qasimi Zaydi Imams of Yemen, the best known being al-Mansur bi’llah al-Qasim (b. 1582; r. 1620-1644). During his reign the Ottoman Turks were expelled from Yemen in 1635 after a continuous presence of a century.
Mu’ayyad fi’l-Din Abu Nasr, al-
Mu’ayyad fi’l-Din Abu Nasr, al- (c.990-1077) was an eminent Isma‘ili missionary. He played a leading role as an intermediary between the Fatimids and al-Basasiri, the military commander of the Buyids, in the campaign of 1057 against the Saljuqs. He left an autobiography which is considered to be the apogee of Isma‘ili learning.
Mu’ayyad fi’l-Din Abu Nasr, al- (c.990-1077) was an eminent Isma‘ili missionary. He played a leading role as an intermediary between the Fatimids and al-Basasiri, the military commander of the Buyids, in the campaign of 1057 against the Saljuqs. He left an autobiography which is considered to be the apogee of Isma‘ili learning.
Mubarak, Hosni
Mubarak, Hosni (Muhammad Hosni Sayyid Mubarak) (Muḥammad Ḥasnī Sayyid Mubārak) (Husnī Mubārak) (b. May 4, 1928). President of Egypt (1981-2011). Mubarak became president in 1981. Mubarak was born in Kafr-al Meselha, the son of an inspector of the Ministry of Justice. Mubarak was educated at Egypt’s national Military Academy and Air Force Academy and at the Frunze General Staff Academy in Moscow in the Soviet Union.
Mubarak joined the air force in 1950, and became air force chief of staff in 1969, and commander in chief in 1972. He had several military positions under President Sadat, such as deputy minister of war, and was one of Sadat’s closest advisors.
In 1975, Mubarak was appointed vice president. Mubarak was elected president on October 13, 1981, one week after Sadat had been assassinated. Mubarak declared on his inauguration that he would continue the political line of Sadat, which had been one of reconciliation with the West, and peace with Israel inside internationally recognized borders.
Mubarak instituted a vigorous economic recovery program; remained committed to the peace treaty with Israel (signed by Sadat in 1979); mended relations with other Arab states; and initiated a policy he called “positive neutrality” toward the great powers. He was re-elected when his National Democratic Party won the October 1987 elections and was thus able to nominate him as the sole candidate for president. With serious economic problems and rising Islamic fundamentalist opposition at home, Mubarak continued to seek an end to the stalemate that had developed between Israel and Arab nations.
Mubarak supported the 1990 United Nations sanctions against Iraq when that country invaded Kuwait, orchestrated Arab League opposition to the invasion, committed about 38,500 troops to the anti-Iraq coalition in the Persian Gulf War (1991), and supported postwar efforts to achieve peace in the Middle East. Re-elected in 1993, Mubarak cracked down on Muslim fundamentalists.
Mubarak survived an assassination attempt unharmed in June 1995 in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Adaba. Five of the assailants were killed during or after the ambush and three escaped to Sudan, which is widely believed to have sponsored the attack.
In November 1995, just before parliamentary elections, Mubarak’s government accused the Muslim Brotherhood of helping violent Islamic groups. Many of the Muslim Brotherhood’s members were arrested, and several who planned to run in the elections or monitor them were tried and sentenced to prison. Critics accused the government of trying to eliminate even peaceful opponents. In the elections that followed, Mubarak’s National Democratic Party won an overwhelming victory. Mubarak was elected to a fourth six year term in 1999.
During his tenure as President, Mubarak survived six assassination attempts. In June 1995 there was an alleged assassination attempt involving noxious gases and Egyptian Islamic Jihad while he was in Ethiopia for a conference of the Organization of African Unity. Upon return Mubarak is said to have authorized bombings on Al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya which by 1999 saw 20,000 persons placed in detention related to the revolutionary Islamic organizations. Another assassination attempt occurred in 1999 when he "was slightly wounded after being attacked by a knife-wielding assailant".
President Mubarak spoke out against the 2003 war on Iraq, arguing that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict should be resolved first. He also claimed that the war would cause "100 Bin Ladens." President Mubarak did not support an immediate United States pull out from Iraq as he believed it would lead to probable chaos.
In July 2004, Mubarak accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Atef Ebeid and most of the cabinet. He then appointed Ahmed Nazif as the new Prime Minister. The new cabinet was generally viewed with optimism. The new cabinet headed by Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif was somewhat successful in overcoming the grim economic situation. The Egyptian stock market came in first place out of all emerging markets in terms of percentage increase for the fiscal year 2004/2005. However, unemployment still persisted and Mubarak came under criticism for favoring big business and privatization as opposed to workers' rights. All this was a consequence of the wide use of privatization policy, by selling shares in most public sector companies, but it is widely believed that this reserve of previously nationalized capitals would end, leaving Nazif's government broke.
President Mubarak was re-elected by majority votes in a referendum for successive terms on four occasions: in 1987, 1993, 1999, and 2005. The results of the referendums are of questionable validity. No one could run against the President due to a restriction in the Egyptian constitution in which the People's Assembly played the main role in electing the President of the Republic.
After increased domestic and international pressure for democratic reform in Egypt, Mubarak asked the largely rubber stamp parliament on February 26, 2005 to amend the constitution to allow multi-candidate presidential elections by September 2005. Previously, Mubarak secured his position by having himself nominated by parliament, then confirmed without opposition in a referendum.
The September 2005 ballot was therefore a multiple candidate election rather than a referendum, but the electoral institutions, and security apparatus remained under the control of the President. The official state media, including the three government newspapers and state television also expressed views identical to the official line taken by Mubarak. After 2005, however, there developed a steady growth in independent news outlets, especially independent newspapers which occasionally criticized the President and his family severely. Satellite channels beaming from Egypt such as the Orbit Satellite Television and Radio Network for example, also exhibited relative openness as exhibited in their flagship program Al Qahira Al Yawm.
On July 28, 2005, Mubarak announced his candidacy, as he had been widely expected to do. The election which was scheduled for September 7, 2005 involved mass rigging activities, according to civil organizations that observed the elections. Reports have shown that Mubarak's party used government vehicles to take public employees to vote for him. Votes were bought for Mubarak in poor suburbs and rural areas. It was also reported that thousands of illegal votes were allowed for Mubarak from citizens who were not registered to vote. On September 8, 2005, Dr. Ayman Nour, a dissident and candidate for the Al-Ghad party - the Tomorrow party-- contested the election results, and demanded a repeat of the election.
In a move widely seen as political persecution, Nour was convicted of forgery and sentenced to five years at hard labor on December 24, 2005.
A dramatic drop in support for Mubarak occurred with the news that his son Alaa was favored in government tenders and privatization. With both of his sons directly and indirectly owning shares in a large number of companies and minor projects, Mubarak's corruption was leading a series of corruption cases among his cabinet of minor governmental employees.
While in office, political corruption in the Mubarak administration's Ministry of Interior rose dramatically, due to the increased power over the institutional system that was necessary to secure the prolonged presidency. Such corruption led to the frequent imprisonment of political figures and young activists without trials, illegal undocumented hidden detention facilities, and rejecting universities, mosques, newspapers staff members based on political inclination. On a personnel level, each individual officer could and would violate citizens' privacy in his area, using unconditioned arrests, common torture and abuse of power, depending on simply brute force, rather than law, to enforce order in the officer's designated area.
The rise to power of powerful business men in the NDP in the federal government and People's Assembly led to massive waves of anger during the years of Ahmed Nazif's government. As a result, frequent laws and bills were passed, with undergiant monopolists (such as Ahmed Ezz's) influence serving personal and corporational financial interests rather than the public's.
In January 2011 thousands of protesters—angered by repression, corruption, and poverty in Egypt—took to the streets, calling for Mubārak to step down as president. Those demonstrations took place shortly after a popular uprising in Tunisia, known as the Jasmine Revolution, forced Tunisian President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali from power. Mubārak made no public appearances until January 28—the fourth day of clashes between protesters and police—when he gave a speech on Egyptian state television indicating that he intended to remain in office. In the speech he acknowledged the protesters’ demand for political change by announcing that he would dissolve his cabinet and implement new social and economic reforms. Those concessions, however, were dismissed by protesters as a ploy to remain in power and did little to calm the unrest. The following day Mubārak appointed a vice president for the first time in his presidency, choosing Omar Suleiman, the director of the Egyptian General Intelligence Service. On February 1, under pressure from continued protests, Mubārak appeared on Egyptian state television and announced that he would not stand in the presidential election scheduled for September 2011.
Under continued pressure to step down immediately, Mubārak made another televised speech on February 10. Although it was widely expected that he would use the address to announce his immediate resignation, he reiterated that he would stay in office until the end of his term, delegating some of his powers to Suleiman. Mubārak promised to institute electoral reforms and vowed to lift Egypt’s emergency law, in place since 1981, when the security situation in Egypt became sufficiently stable.
On February 11, Mubārak left Cairo for Sharm el-Sheikh, a resort town on the Sinai Peninsula where he maintained a residence. Hours later Suleiman appeared on Egyptian television to announce that Mubārak had stepped down as president, leaving the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, a group of senior military officers, to govern the country. Upon learning of Mubārak’s resignation, crowds at Tahrir Square and other protest sites erupted in celebration.
Following Mubārak’s departure, the Egyptian government began to investigate allegations of corruption and abuse of power within the Mubārak regime, questioning and arresting several former officials and business leaders with close ties to Mubārak. Calls for the investigation to focus on Mubārak himself intensified, fueled by reports that the Mubārak family had amassed a fortune worth billions of dollars in overseas accounts. On April 10, the public prosecutor announced that Mubārak and his sons, Alaa and Gamal, would be questioned by investigators. Following the announcement, Mubārak made his first public statements since stepping down as president, denying the accusations of corruption. On April 12, while waiting to be questioned, Mubārak was hospitalized after reportedly suffering a heart attack. Mubārak was held in a hospital in Sharm el-Sheikh after an official medical evaluation concluded that his health was too fragile for him to be transferred to prison in Cairo. In May, the Egyptian state media reported that his condition had stabilized, although he needed to be treated for depression.
On May 24, the public prosecutor announced that Mubārak, Alaa, and Gamal would stand trial for ordering the killing of protesters as well as for corruption and abuse of power. On August 3, Mubārak appeared in public for the first time since stepping down, as his trial commenced in Cairo amid heavy security. Although Mubārak, reportedly suffering from poor health, was wheeled into court in a hospital bed, he appeared alert during the hearing, denying all charges against him.
Muhammad Hosni Sayyid Mubarak see Mubarak, Hosni
Muhammad Hasni Sayyid Mubarak see Mubarak, Hosni
Hosni Mubarak see Mubarak, Hosni
Husni Mubarak see Mubarak, Hosni
Mubarak, Muhammad Hasni Sayyid see Mubarak, Hosni
Mubarak, Muhammad Hosni Sayyid see Mubarak, Hosni
Mubarak, Hosni (Muhammad Hosni Sayyid Mubarak) (Muḥammad Ḥasnī Sayyid Mubārak) (Husnī Mubārak) (b. May 4, 1928). President of Egypt (1981-2011). Mubarak became president in 1981. Mubarak was born in Kafr-al Meselha, the son of an inspector of the Ministry of Justice. Mubarak was educated at Egypt’s national Military Academy and Air Force Academy and at the Frunze General Staff Academy in Moscow in the Soviet Union.
Mubarak joined the air force in 1950, and became air force chief of staff in 1969, and commander in chief in 1972. He had several military positions under President Sadat, such as deputy minister of war, and was one of Sadat’s closest advisors.
In 1975, Mubarak was appointed vice president. Mubarak was elected president on October 13, 1981, one week after Sadat had been assassinated. Mubarak declared on his inauguration that he would continue the political line of Sadat, which had been one of reconciliation with the West, and peace with Israel inside internationally recognized borders.
Mubarak instituted a vigorous economic recovery program; remained committed to the peace treaty with Israel (signed by Sadat in 1979); mended relations with other Arab states; and initiated a policy he called “positive neutrality” toward the great powers. He was re-elected when his National Democratic Party won the October 1987 elections and was thus able to nominate him as the sole candidate for president. With serious economic problems and rising Islamic fundamentalist opposition at home, Mubarak continued to seek an end to the stalemate that had developed between Israel and Arab nations.
Mubarak supported the 1990 United Nations sanctions against Iraq when that country invaded Kuwait, orchestrated Arab League opposition to the invasion, committed about 38,500 troops to the anti-Iraq coalition in the Persian Gulf War (1991), and supported postwar efforts to achieve peace in the Middle East. Re-elected in 1993, Mubarak cracked down on Muslim fundamentalists.
Mubarak survived an assassination attempt unharmed in June 1995 in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Adaba. Five of the assailants were killed during or after the ambush and three escaped to Sudan, which is widely believed to have sponsored the attack.
In November 1995, just before parliamentary elections, Mubarak’s government accused the Muslim Brotherhood of helping violent Islamic groups. Many of the Muslim Brotherhood’s members were arrested, and several who planned to run in the elections or monitor them were tried and sentenced to prison. Critics accused the government of trying to eliminate even peaceful opponents. In the elections that followed, Mubarak’s National Democratic Party won an overwhelming victory. Mubarak was elected to a fourth six year term in 1999.
During his tenure as President, Mubarak survived six assassination attempts. In June 1995 there was an alleged assassination attempt involving noxious gases and Egyptian Islamic Jihad while he was in Ethiopia for a conference of the Organization of African Unity. Upon return Mubarak is said to have authorized bombings on Al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya which by 1999 saw 20,000 persons placed in detention related to the revolutionary Islamic organizations. Another assassination attempt occurred in 1999 when he "was slightly wounded after being attacked by a knife-wielding assailant".
President Mubarak spoke out against the 2003 war on Iraq, arguing that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict should be resolved first. He also claimed that the war would cause "100 Bin Ladens." President Mubarak did not support an immediate United States pull out from Iraq as he believed it would lead to probable chaos.
In July 2004, Mubarak accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Atef Ebeid and most of the cabinet. He then appointed Ahmed Nazif as the new Prime Minister. The new cabinet was generally viewed with optimism. The new cabinet headed by Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif was somewhat successful in overcoming the grim economic situation. The Egyptian stock market came in first place out of all emerging markets in terms of percentage increase for the fiscal year 2004/2005. However, unemployment still persisted and Mubarak came under criticism for favoring big business and privatization as opposed to workers' rights. All this was a consequence of the wide use of privatization policy, by selling shares in most public sector companies, but it is widely believed that this reserve of previously nationalized capitals would end, leaving Nazif's government broke.
President Mubarak was re-elected by majority votes in a referendum for successive terms on four occasions: in 1987, 1993, 1999, and 2005. The results of the referendums are of questionable validity. No one could run against the President due to a restriction in the Egyptian constitution in which the People's Assembly played the main role in electing the President of the Republic.
After increased domestic and international pressure for democratic reform in Egypt, Mubarak asked the largely rubber stamp parliament on February 26, 2005 to amend the constitution to allow multi-candidate presidential elections by September 2005. Previously, Mubarak secured his position by having himself nominated by parliament, then confirmed without opposition in a referendum.
The September 2005 ballot was therefore a multiple candidate election rather than a referendum, but the electoral institutions, and security apparatus remained under the control of the President. The official state media, including the three government newspapers and state television also expressed views identical to the official line taken by Mubarak. After 2005, however, there developed a steady growth in independent news outlets, especially independent newspapers which occasionally criticized the President and his family severely. Satellite channels beaming from Egypt such as the Orbit Satellite Television and Radio Network for example, also exhibited relative openness as exhibited in their flagship program Al Qahira Al Yawm.
On July 28, 2005, Mubarak announced his candidacy, as he had been widely expected to do. The election which was scheduled for September 7, 2005 involved mass rigging activities, according to civil organizations that observed the elections. Reports have shown that Mubarak's party used government vehicles to take public employees to vote for him. Votes were bought for Mubarak in poor suburbs and rural areas. It was also reported that thousands of illegal votes were allowed for Mubarak from citizens who were not registered to vote. On September 8, 2005, Dr. Ayman Nour, a dissident and candidate for the Al-Ghad party - the Tomorrow party-- contested the election results, and demanded a repeat of the election.
In a move widely seen as political persecution, Nour was convicted of forgery and sentenced to five years at hard labor on December 24, 2005.
A dramatic drop in support for Mubarak occurred with the news that his son Alaa was favored in government tenders and privatization. With both of his sons directly and indirectly owning shares in a large number of companies and minor projects, Mubarak's corruption was leading a series of corruption cases among his cabinet of minor governmental employees.
While in office, political corruption in the Mubarak administration's Ministry of Interior rose dramatically, due to the increased power over the institutional system that was necessary to secure the prolonged presidency. Such corruption led to the frequent imprisonment of political figures and young activists without trials, illegal undocumented hidden detention facilities, and rejecting universities, mosques, newspapers staff members based on political inclination. On a personnel level, each individual officer could and would violate citizens' privacy in his area, using unconditioned arrests, common torture and abuse of power, depending on simply brute force, rather than law, to enforce order in the officer's designated area.
The rise to power of powerful business men in the NDP in the federal government and People's Assembly led to massive waves of anger during the years of Ahmed Nazif's government. As a result, frequent laws and bills were passed, with undergiant monopolists (such as Ahmed Ezz's) influence serving personal and corporational financial interests rather than the public's.
In January 2011 thousands of protesters—angered by repression, corruption, and poverty in Egypt—took to the streets, calling for Mubārak to step down as president. Those demonstrations took place shortly after a popular uprising in Tunisia, known as the Jasmine Revolution, forced Tunisian President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali from power. Mubārak made no public appearances until January 28—the fourth day of clashes between protesters and police—when he gave a speech on Egyptian state television indicating that he intended to remain in office. In the speech he acknowledged the protesters’ demand for political change by announcing that he would dissolve his cabinet and implement new social and economic reforms. Those concessions, however, were dismissed by protesters as a ploy to remain in power and did little to calm the unrest. The following day Mubārak appointed a vice president for the first time in his presidency, choosing Omar Suleiman, the director of the Egyptian General Intelligence Service. On February 1, under pressure from continued protests, Mubārak appeared on Egyptian state television and announced that he would not stand in the presidential election scheduled for September 2011.
Under continued pressure to step down immediately, Mubārak made another televised speech on February 10. Although it was widely expected that he would use the address to announce his immediate resignation, he reiterated that he would stay in office until the end of his term, delegating some of his powers to Suleiman. Mubārak promised to institute electoral reforms and vowed to lift Egypt’s emergency law, in place since 1981, when the security situation in Egypt became sufficiently stable.
On February 11, Mubārak left Cairo for Sharm el-Sheikh, a resort town on the Sinai Peninsula where he maintained a residence. Hours later Suleiman appeared on Egyptian television to announce that Mubārak had stepped down as president, leaving the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, a group of senior military officers, to govern the country. Upon learning of Mubārak’s resignation, crowds at Tahrir Square and other protest sites erupted in celebration.
Following Mubārak’s departure, the Egyptian government began to investigate allegations of corruption and abuse of power within the Mubārak regime, questioning and arresting several former officials and business leaders with close ties to Mubārak. Calls for the investigation to focus on Mubārak himself intensified, fueled by reports that the Mubārak family had amassed a fortune worth billions of dollars in overseas accounts. On April 10, the public prosecutor announced that Mubārak and his sons, Alaa and Gamal, would be questioned by investigators. Following the announcement, Mubārak made his first public statements since stepping down as president, denying the accusations of corruption. On April 12, while waiting to be questioned, Mubārak was hospitalized after reportedly suffering a heart attack. Mubārak was held in a hospital in Sharm el-Sheikh after an official medical evaluation concluded that his health was too fragile for him to be transferred to prison in Cairo. In May, the Egyptian state media reported that his condition had stabilized, although he needed to be treated for depression.
On May 24, the public prosecutor announced that Mubārak, Alaa, and Gamal would stand trial for ordering the killing of protesters as well as for corruption and abuse of power. On August 3, Mubārak appeared in public for the first time since stepping down, as his trial commenced in Cairo amid heavy security. Although Mubārak, reportedly suffering from poor health, was wheeled into court in a hospital bed, he appeared alert during the hearing, denying all charges against him.
Muhammad Hosni Sayyid Mubarak see Mubarak, Hosni
Muhammad Hasni Sayyid Mubarak see Mubarak, Hosni
Hosni Mubarak see Mubarak, Hosni
Husni Mubarak see Mubarak, Hosni
Mubarak, Muhammad Hasni Sayyid see Mubarak, Hosni
Mubarak, Muhammad Hosni Sayyid see Mubarak, Hosni
Mubarrad, Abu’l-‘Abbas al-
Mubarrad, Abu’l-‘Abbas al- (Abu’l-‘Abbas al-Mubarrad) (Abu Al-'Abbas Muhammad ibn Yazid) (Mobarrad) (Abu Al-'Abbas Muhammad Ibn Yazid) (March 25, 826, Basra - October, 898, Baghdad). Philologist from Basra. The rivalries between him and Tha‘lab led to the formation of the two famous schools of philologists at Kufa and Basra. His most famous work deals with an extensive range of themes concerning belles-lettres.
Mubarrad was an Arabian grammarian. After studying grammar in that city, he was called to the court of the Abbasid caliph al-Mutawakkil at Samarra in 860. When the caliph was killed in 861, he went to Baghdad, remaining there most of his life as a teacher.
Al-Mubarrad became the leader of the Basran grammarians against the Kufan school. His judgment, however, was independent, as is shown by his attack on some points in the grammar of Sibawayh, the greatest writer of his own school. He died at Baghdad in 898.
His main work is the grammatical one known as the Al-Kamil ("The Perfect One"). Al-Mubarrad's writings are considered to be the first source recounting the story that Shahrbanu or Shahr Banu — eldest daughter of Yazdegerd III, the last Emperor of the Sassanid dynasty of Persia/Iran — had married Hussain ibn Ali, the Prophet Muhammad's grandson and the third Shia Imam and that she gave birth to Ali Zayn al Abidin (the fourth Shia Imam). This makes all later Shia Imams descendants of the Sassanid dynasty as well as of Islam's founder, a significant point considering that Iran has by far the largest number of Shias.
Abu’l-‘Abbas al-Mubarrad see Mubarrad, Abu’l-‘Abbas al-
Abu Al-'Abbas Muhammad ibn Yazid
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Mobarrad see Mubarrad, Abu’l-‘Abbas al-
Abu Al-'Abbas Muhammad Ibn Yazid see Mubarrad, Abu’l-‘Abbas al-
Mubarrad, Abu’l-‘Abbas al- (Abu’l-‘Abbas al-Mubarrad) (Abu Al-'Abbas Muhammad ibn Yazid) (Mobarrad) (Abu Al-'Abbas Muhammad Ibn Yazid) (March 25, 826, Basra - October, 898, Baghdad). Philologist from Basra. The rivalries between him and Tha‘lab led to the formation of the two famous schools of philologists at Kufa and Basra. His most famous work deals with an extensive range of themes concerning belles-lettres.
Mubarrad was an Arabian grammarian. After studying grammar in that city, he was called to the court of the Abbasid caliph al-Mutawakkil at Samarra in 860. When the caliph was killed in 861, he went to Baghdad, remaining there most of his life as a teacher.
Al-Mubarrad became the leader of the Basran grammarians against the Kufan school. His judgment, however, was independent, as is shown by his attack on some points in the grammar of Sibawayh, the greatest writer of his own school. He died at Baghdad in 898.
His main work is the grammatical one known as the Al-Kamil ("The Perfect One"). Al-Mubarrad's writings are considered to be the first source recounting the story that Shahrbanu or Shahr Banu — eldest daughter of Yazdegerd III, the last Emperor of the Sassanid dynasty of Persia/Iran — had married Hussain ibn Ali, the Prophet Muhammad's grandson and the third Shia Imam and that she gave birth to Ali Zayn al Abidin (the fourth Shia Imam). This makes all later Shia Imams descendants of the Sassanid dynasty as well as of Islam's founder, a significant point considering that Iran has by far the largest number of Shias.
Abu’l-‘Abbas al-Mubarrad see Mubarrad, Abu’l-‘Abbas al-
Abu Al-'Abbas Muhammad ibn Yazid
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Mobarrad see Mubarrad, Abu’l-‘Abbas al-
Abu Al-'Abbas Muhammad Ibn Yazid see Mubarrad, Abu’l-‘Abbas al-
Mubashshir ibn Fatik, al-
Mubashshir ibn Fatik, al-. Egyptian historian and savant of the eleventh century. His surviving work, called Choice wise sayings and fine statements, deals with ancient, almost exclusively Greek, sages. It enjoyed great popularity in the Muslim world. About 1250, it was translated into Spanish.
Mubashshir ibn Fatik, al-. Egyptian historian and savant of the eleventh century. His surviving work, called Choice wise sayings and fine statements, deals with ancient, almost exclusively Greek, sages. It enjoyed great popularity in the Muslim world. About 1250, it was translated into Spanish.
Mudejar
Mudejar. Term to designate the Muslim who, in return for the payment of tribute, continued to live in territories conquered by the Christians.
Mudéjar is the name given to individual Moors or Muslims of Al-Andalus who remained in Christian territory after the Reconquista but were not converted to Christianity. It also denotes a style of Iberian architecture and decoration, particularly of Aragon and Castile, of the 12th to 16th centuries, strongly influenced by Moorish taste and workmanship.
The word Mudéjar is a Medieval Spanish corruption of the Arabic word Mudajjan, meaning "domesticated", in a reference to the Muslims who submitted to the rule of the Christian kings.
The Treaty of Granada (1491) protected religious and cultural freedoms for Muslims and Jews in the imminent transition from the Emirate of Granada to a Province of Castile. After the fall in the Battle of Granada in January of 1492, Mudéjars, unlike the Jews' Alhambra Decree (1492) expulsion, kept the protected religious status along with Catholic converso efforts. However, in the mid-16th century, they were forced to convert to Christianity. From that time, because of suspicions that they were not truly converted, or crypto-Muslims, they were known as Moriscos. In 1610 those who refused to convert to Christianity were expelled. The distinctive Mudéjar style is still evident in regional architecture, as well as in the music, art, and crafts.
Mudejar. Term to designate the Muslim who, in return for the payment of tribute, continued to live in territories conquered by the Christians.
Mudéjar is the name given to individual Moors or Muslims of Al-Andalus who remained in Christian territory after the Reconquista but were not converted to Christianity. It also denotes a style of Iberian architecture and decoration, particularly of Aragon and Castile, of the 12th to 16th centuries, strongly influenced by Moorish taste and workmanship.
The word Mudéjar is a Medieval Spanish corruption of the Arabic word Mudajjan, meaning "domesticated", in a reference to the Muslims who submitted to the rule of the Christian kings.
The Treaty of Granada (1491) protected religious and cultural freedoms for Muslims and Jews in the imminent transition from the Emirate of Granada to a Province of Castile. After the fall in the Battle of Granada in January of 1492, Mudéjars, unlike the Jews' Alhambra Decree (1492) expulsion, kept the protected religious status along with Catholic converso efforts. However, in the mid-16th century, they were forced to convert to Christianity. From that time, because of suspicions that they were not truly converted, or crypto-Muslims, they were known as Moriscos. In 1610 those who refused to convert to Christianity were expelled. The distinctive Mudéjar style is still evident in regional architecture, as well as in the music, art, and crafts.
Mueyyed-zade
Mueyyed-zade (1456-1516). Ottoman theologian and legist. He encouraged rising young poets, historians and jurists and owned a private library of over 7,000 volumes.
Mueyyed-zade (1456-1516). Ottoman theologian and legist. He encouraged rising young poets, historians and jurists and owned a private library of over 7,000 volumes.
muezzin
muezzin (mu’adhdhin) (muzim). Person who calls other Muslims to communal worship, usually from an elevated part of a mosque (e.g., the balcony of a minaret). The muezzin issues his call -- his adhan -- to public worship on Friday and to the five daily prayers. He belongs to the personnel of the mosque.
Muezzin is the person calling out for people to come to the mosque to perform salat, the five daily prayer of Islam. Traditionally, the muezzin calls out the adhan from the minaret, but in more and more mosques there have been put up loudspeakers.
The institution of muezzin belongs to the customs of the prophet Muhammad’s own time. The first muezzin was Bilal, who walked the streets to call the believers to come to prayer.
Large parts of the custom was undecided by the death of Muhammad. Which way one should choose for the calling, where it should be performed. Trumpets, flags and lamps were all elements doing the adhan in the place of the muezzin. Had the development wanted things to go differently, these could all succeed in replacing him if the debates had ended differently.
The activities of the muezzin eventually developed into rituals by themselves. The uttering of the adhan could be heard all over the cities at certain times through the day.
The first muezzins were using the roof of the mosque, or the adjacent streets, to call for people’s attention. It is believed that the institution of the muezzin -- the public crier -- existed in pre-Islamic Arab culture.
The acts of the muezzin is also an art form, reflected in melodious chanting of the adhan.
mu'adhdhin see muezzin
muzim see muezzin
muezzin (mu’adhdhin) (muzim). Person who calls other Muslims to communal worship, usually from an elevated part of a mosque (e.g., the balcony of a minaret). The muezzin issues his call -- his adhan -- to public worship on Friday and to the five daily prayers. He belongs to the personnel of the mosque.
Muezzin is the person calling out for people to come to the mosque to perform salat, the five daily prayer of Islam. Traditionally, the muezzin calls out the adhan from the minaret, but in more and more mosques there have been put up loudspeakers.
The institution of muezzin belongs to the customs of the prophet Muhammad’s own time. The first muezzin was Bilal, who walked the streets to call the believers to come to prayer.
Large parts of the custom was undecided by the death of Muhammad. Which way one should choose for the calling, where it should be performed. Trumpets, flags and lamps were all elements doing the adhan in the place of the muezzin. Had the development wanted things to go differently, these could all succeed in replacing him if the debates had ended differently.
The activities of the muezzin eventually developed into rituals by themselves. The uttering of the adhan could be heard all over the cities at certain times through the day.
The first muezzins were using the roof of the mosque, or the adjacent streets, to call for people’s attention. It is believed that the institution of the muezzin -- the public crier -- existed in pre-Islamic Arab culture.
The acts of the muezzin is also an art form, reflected in melodious chanting of the adhan.
mu'adhdhin see muezzin
muzim see muezzin
Mufaddal al-Dabbi, al-
Mufaddal al-Dabbi, al- (d. c. 781). Arabic philologist of the Kufan school. His principal work is an anthology of early Arabic poems, mainly pre-Islamic, known as the Mufaddaliyyat. Al-Mufaddal compiled them for his pupil, the future Caliph al-Mahdi.
Mufaddal al-Dabbi, al- (d. c. 781). Arabic philologist of the Kufan school. His principal work is an anthology of early Arabic poems, mainly pre-Islamic, known as the Mufaddaliyyat. Al-Mufaddal compiled them for his pupil, the future Caliph al-Mahdi.
Mufaddal ibn Abi’l-Fada’il, al-
Mufaddal ibn Abi’l-Fada’il, al- (Moufazzal ibn Abi l-Fazil). Coptic historian of the fourteenth century. His only known work is an account of the Mameluke period from 1260 to 1348.
Al-Mufaddal was a 14th century Egyptian historian. He was a Coptic Christian. Al-Mufaddal wrote a book about the history of the Bahriyya Mamelukes, entitled al-Nahdj al-sadîd wa-l-durr al-farîd fimâ ba'd Ta'rîkh Ibn al'Amîd, covering the period from 1260 to 1340. He finished his work in 1358. Al-Mufaddal gives precise descriptions of the history of Egypt and Syria, especially the Mongol occupation of Syria. He noted down the Damascus declaration made by the Mongols, as well as the content of the letters exchanged between Ghazan and al-Nâsir.
Moufazzal ibn Abi l-Fazil see Mufaddal ibn Abi’l-Fada’il, al-
Mufaddal ibn Abi’l-Fada’il, al- (Moufazzal ibn Abi l-Fazil). Coptic historian of the fourteenth century. His only known work is an account of the Mameluke period from 1260 to 1348.
Al-Mufaddal was a 14th century Egyptian historian. He was a Coptic Christian. Al-Mufaddal wrote a book about the history of the Bahriyya Mamelukes, entitled al-Nahdj al-sadîd wa-l-durr al-farîd fimâ ba'd Ta'rîkh Ibn al'Amîd, covering the period from 1260 to 1340. He finished his work in 1358. Al-Mufaddal gives precise descriptions of the history of Egypt and Syria, especially the Mongol occupation of Syria. He noted down the Damascus declaration made by the Mongols, as well as the content of the letters exchanged between Ghazan and al-Nâsir.
Moufazzal ibn Abi l-Fazil see Mufaddal ibn Abi’l-Fada’il, al-
Mufid, Shaykh Abu ‘Abd Allah al-
Mufid, Shaykh Abu ‘Abd Allah al- (Shaykh Abu ‘Abd Allah al-Mufid) (Abu 'Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn al-Nu'man al-'Ukbari al-Baghdadi) (al-Shaykh al-Mufid) (Ibn al-Mu'allim) (948-1032). Imami Shi‘a theologian and jurist. He was the spokesman of the Twelver Shi‘a, and wrote refutations of treatises and views of the Mu‘tazili and Sunni traditionalist theologians.
Al-Shaykh Al-Mufid was born in 'Ukbara, a small town to the north of Baghdad and later migrated together with his father to Baghdad, where the Shiite Buwayhids were ruling. In Shi'ite tradition, he studied with the famed traditionist al-Shaykh al-Saduq Ibn Babawayh al-Qummi. Prominent students of his included Sharif al-Murtaza, al-Shaykh al-Tusi, commonly known as the leader of the Shi'a and al-Karajaki. His career coincided with that of the famous Mu'tazili theologian and leader of the Bahshamiyya school, 'Abd al-Jabbar al-Asadabadi al-Hamadhani and with the disputations and intra-sectarian conflicts in Baghdad. He was thus often attacked and his library and school was destroyed. But he remained a faithful and significant intellectual defender of Twelver Shi'ism and was respected by friends and opponents.
Al-Mufid is quite often accused of incorporating the modes of theological reasoning common in the Baghdad school of the Mu'tazila as exemplified by his teacher Abu'l-Qasim al-Ka'bi al-Balkhi into Twelver Shi'ite theology. This is however on the basis of studies relying on a Sunni interpretation of Shi'ite theological history. The Shi'ite interpretation is that the Mu'tazila borrowed from the Shi'ah long before al-Mufid and the Shi'ah doctrine was already in place at the time al-Mufid.
Al-Mufid died on the eve of Friday, 3rd of Ramadan, 1032. His student Sayyid al-Murtada led his funeral prayer (Salat-e-Mayyit), in the presence of nearly eighty thousand people, a crowd never seen before in any funeral in Baghdad..
Al-Mufid remained buried in his own house for two years, and then his body was transferred to Al Kadhimiya Mosque where it was interred near his mentor, Ja'far ibn Qawlayh's grave facing the feet of Imam Muhammad at-Taqi. His grave is still visited by those who visit the holy shrines in Kadhimayn.
The books of al-Mufid include:
* Al-Amali
* Al-Irshad
* Awa'il al-Maqalat
* Ahkam al-Nisa'
* Khulasat al-Iyjaz
* Jawabat Ahl al-Mawsul
* Risalat al-Mut`ah
* Aqsam al-Mawla
* Risalah fi al-Mahr
* Iman Abi Talib
* Al-Ikhtisas
* Al-Ifsah fi al-Imamah Amir al-Mu'minin
* Al-Ishraf
* Tashih I`tiqadat al-Imamiyah
* Tafdhil Amir al-Mu'minin
* Risalah fi Ma`na al-Mawla
* Al-Jamal
* Al-Masa'il al-Sarawiyah
* Al-Masa'il al-Saghaniyah
* Al-Masa'il al-Tusiyah
* Al-Masa'il al-Jarudiyah
* Al-Masa'il al-`Ukbariyah
* Al-Nukat al-I`tiqadiyah
* Al-Masa'il al-`Ashr fi al-Ghaybah
* Dhaba'ih Ahl al-Kitab
* Al-Mas'hu ala al-Rijlayn
* Al-Muqni`yah
* Al-I`lam bima ittafaqat alayhi al-Imamiyah min al-Ahkam
* Al-Tadhkirah bil Usul al-Fiqh
* Masar al-Shi`ah
* Al-Nukat fi al-Muqadimat al-Usul
Shaykh Abu ‘Abd Allah al-Mufid see Mufid, Shaykh Abu ‘Abd Allah al-
Abu 'Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn al-Nu'man al-'Ukbari al-Baghdadi see Mufid, Shaykh Abu ‘Abd Allah al-
al-Shaykh al-Mufid see Mufid, Shaykh Abu ‘Abd Allah al-
Ibn al-Mu'allim see Mufid, Shaykh Abu ‘Abd Allah al-
Mufid, Shaykh Abu ‘Abd Allah al- (Shaykh Abu ‘Abd Allah al-Mufid) (Abu 'Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn al-Nu'man al-'Ukbari al-Baghdadi) (al-Shaykh al-Mufid) (Ibn al-Mu'allim) (948-1032). Imami Shi‘a theologian and jurist. He was the spokesman of the Twelver Shi‘a, and wrote refutations of treatises and views of the Mu‘tazili and Sunni traditionalist theologians.
Al-Shaykh Al-Mufid was born in 'Ukbara, a small town to the north of Baghdad and later migrated together with his father to Baghdad, where the Shiite Buwayhids were ruling. In Shi'ite tradition, he studied with the famed traditionist al-Shaykh al-Saduq Ibn Babawayh al-Qummi. Prominent students of his included Sharif al-Murtaza, al-Shaykh al-Tusi, commonly known as the leader of the Shi'a and al-Karajaki. His career coincided with that of the famous Mu'tazili theologian and leader of the Bahshamiyya school, 'Abd al-Jabbar al-Asadabadi al-Hamadhani and with the disputations and intra-sectarian conflicts in Baghdad. He was thus often attacked and his library and school was destroyed. But he remained a faithful and significant intellectual defender of Twelver Shi'ism and was respected by friends and opponents.
Al-Mufid is quite often accused of incorporating the modes of theological reasoning common in the Baghdad school of the Mu'tazila as exemplified by his teacher Abu'l-Qasim al-Ka'bi al-Balkhi into Twelver Shi'ite theology. This is however on the basis of studies relying on a Sunni interpretation of Shi'ite theological history. The Shi'ite interpretation is that the Mu'tazila borrowed from the Shi'ah long before al-Mufid and the Shi'ah doctrine was already in place at the time al-Mufid.
Al-Mufid died on the eve of Friday, 3rd of Ramadan, 1032. His student Sayyid al-Murtada led his funeral prayer (Salat-e-Mayyit), in the presence of nearly eighty thousand people, a crowd never seen before in any funeral in Baghdad..
Al-Mufid remained buried in his own house for two years, and then his body was transferred to Al Kadhimiya Mosque where it was interred near his mentor, Ja'far ibn Qawlayh's grave facing the feet of Imam Muhammad at-Taqi. His grave is still visited by those who visit the holy shrines in Kadhimayn.
The books of al-Mufid include:
* Al-Amali
* Al-Irshad
* Awa'il al-Maqalat
* Ahkam al-Nisa'
* Khulasat al-Iyjaz
* Jawabat Ahl al-Mawsul
* Risalat al-Mut`ah
* Aqsam al-Mawla
* Risalah fi al-Mahr
* Iman Abi Talib
* Al-Ikhtisas
* Al-Ifsah fi al-Imamah Amir al-Mu'minin
* Al-Ishraf
* Tashih I`tiqadat al-Imamiyah
* Tafdhil Amir al-Mu'minin
* Risalah fi Ma`na al-Mawla
* Al-Jamal
* Al-Masa'il al-Sarawiyah
* Al-Masa'il al-Saghaniyah
* Al-Masa'il al-Tusiyah
* Al-Masa'il al-Jarudiyah
* Al-Masa'il al-`Ukbariyah
* Al-Nukat al-I`tiqadiyah
* Al-Masa'il al-`Ashr fi al-Ghaybah
* Dhaba'ih Ahl al-Kitab
* Al-Mas'hu ala al-Rijlayn
* Al-Muqni`yah
* Al-I`lam bima ittafaqat alayhi al-Imamiyah min al-Ahkam
* Al-Tadhkirah bil Usul al-Fiqh
* Masar al-Shi`ah
* Al-Nukat fi al-Muqadimat al-Usul
Shaykh Abu ‘Abd Allah al-Mufid see Mufid, Shaykh Abu ‘Abd Allah al-
Abu 'Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn al-Nu'man al-'Ukbari al-Baghdadi see Mufid, Shaykh Abu ‘Abd Allah al-
al-Shaykh al-Mufid see Mufid, Shaykh Abu ‘Abd Allah al-
Ibn al-Mu'allim see Mufid, Shaykh Abu ‘Abd Allah al-
Mufti
Mufti (Muftu). Arabic term which refers to an expert in shari‘a -- to a Sunni Muslim legal consultant. The mufti supplies the fatwa -- the authorized legal decisions. Nowadays, a mufti is the leader of the ulama in a Sunni Muslim state.
In Sunni Islam, a mufti is a specialist in religious law -- shari‘a -- whose opinion is sought on interpretations of that law. The mufti issues formal legal opinions on the basis of which a judge may decide a case or an individual may regulate his everyday affairs. The position of the grand mufti among the Sunnis is similar to that of the supreme ayatollah among the Shi‘ites.
Mufti is a religious leader who primarily deals with juridicial questions. The mufti is the only one who can issue a fatwa, which gives him the power of handling cases where there is a doubt among other Muslim learned. The root for fatwa and mufti is the same: “ftw.”
A Muslim jurist capable of giving, when requested, a non-binding opinion known as a fatwa, on a point of Islamic law is termed a mufti. During the formative period of Islam, learned Muslims whose counsel was sought on legal and ethical issues that arose in the community attempted to provide opinions and answers in the litght of their understanding of the Qur’an and in relation to the emerging body of hadith (prophetic traditions). This activity subsequently crystallized to constitute the major Muslim legal schools. In its formal aspect, the position of mufti arose and became institutionalized as a response to the need for legal opinion and advice from scholars knowledgeable in early Islamic history among the various schools of law. In time, however, the mufti came to occupy a mediating position between the qadi, the judge who administered the law, and the faqih or jurisprudent -- that is, between actual courtroom situations where justice was adminstered and places of learning where the theoretical study of legal texts took place. The mufti’s opinions were built on precedent and were incorporated in legal reference manuals such as the well-known Fatwa ‘Alamgiriyah. The mufti also played an important role in the islamization of newly converted regions through education.
Traditionally, a mufti was to be a person of integrity who possessed a thorough knowledge of established texts, traditions, and legal precedents. Although most were private scholars, some were appointed to official positions, notably in Mamluk Egypt and in the Ottoman Empire. In the Twelver Shi‘a tradition an analogous role came to be played by the mujtahid, who maintained continuity within the tradition after the ghaybah (occultation) of the twelfth imam in the ninth century. Under Safavid rule the mujtahid held the office of shaykh al-Islam. The role of such jurist/theologians eventually led to the development of the concept of wilayat al-faqih, the “governance of the jurist.”
In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, as legal codes of European origin were introduced to the Muslim world, the mufti’s role became limited primarily but not exclusively to the sphere of personal law. But since a mufti often acted as a religious teacher in the local community, people continued to seek his opinions on a wide range of matters dealing with practice of the faith as well as on everyday life. This role has persisted in the many new nation states that emerged after colonial rule. As many of these Muslim countries seek to integrate and institutionalize aspects of Islamic law in national life, new patterns are emerging for the mufti’s role in society. Some have been appointed as muftis of the state; other provide consensus as part of advisory councils of religious scholars or constitutional assemblies of scholars. It is the private role of the mufti, however, that continues to be influential, offering posibilities for further evolution in their creative task as counselors and mediators for tradition in times of change.
Muftu see Mufti
Mufti (Muftu). Arabic term which refers to an expert in shari‘a -- to a Sunni Muslim legal consultant. The mufti supplies the fatwa -- the authorized legal decisions. Nowadays, a mufti is the leader of the ulama in a Sunni Muslim state.
In Sunni Islam, a mufti is a specialist in religious law -- shari‘a -- whose opinion is sought on interpretations of that law. The mufti issues formal legal opinions on the basis of which a judge may decide a case or an individual may regulate his everyday affairs. The position of the grand mufti among the Sunnis is similar to that of the supreme ayatollah among the Shi‘ites.
Mufti is a religious leader who primarily deals with juridicial questions. The mufti is the only one who can issue a fatwa, which gives him the power of handling cases where there is a doubt among other Muslim learned. The root for fatwa and mufti is the same: “ftw.”
A Muslim jurist capable of giving, when requested, a non-binding opinion known as a fatwa, on a point of Islamic law is termed a mufti. During the formative period of Islam, learned Muslims whose counsel was sought on legal and ethical issues that arose in the community attempted to provide opinions and answers in the litght of their understanding of the Qur’an and in relation to the emerging body of hadith (prophetic traditions). This activity subsequently crystallized to constitute the major Muslim legal schools. In its formal aspect, the position of mufti arose and became institutionalized as a response to the need for legal opinion and advice from scholars knowledgeable in early Islamic history among the various schools of law. In time, however, the mufti came to occupy a mediating position between the qadi, the judge who administered the law, and the faqih or jurisprudent -- that is, between actual courtroom situations where justice was adminstered and places of learning where the theoretical study of legal texts took place. The mufti’s opinions were built on precedent and were incorporated in legal reference manuals such as the well-known Fatwa ‘Alamgiriyah. The mufti also played an important role in the islamization of newly converted regions through education.
Traditionally, a mufti was to be a person of integrity who possessed a thorough knowledge of established texts, traditions, and legal precedents. Although most were private scholars, some were appointed to official positions, notably in Mamluk Egypt and in the Ottoman Empire. In the Twelver Shi‘a tradition an analogous role came to be played by the mujtahid, who maintained continuity within the tradition after the ghaybah (occultation) of the twelfth imam in the ninth century. Under Safavid rule the mujtahid held the office of shaykh al-Islam. The role of such jurist/theologians eventually led to the development of the concept of wilayat al-faqih, the “governance of the jurist.”
In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, as legal codes of European origin were introduced to the Muslim world, the mufti’s role became limited primarily but not exclusively to the sphere of personal law. But since a mufti often acted as a religious teacher in the local community, people continued to seek his opinions on a wide range of matters dealing with practice of the faith as well as on everyday life. This role has persisted in the many new nation states that emerged after colonial rule. As many of these Muslim countries seek to integrate and institutionalize aspects of Islamic law in national life, new patterns are emerging for the mufti’s role in society. Some have been appointed as muftis of the state; other provide consensus as part of advisory councils of religious scholars or constitutional assemblies of scholars. It is the private role of the mufti, however, that continues to be influential, offering posibilities for further evolution in their creative task as counselors and mediators for tradition in times of change.
Muftu see Mufti
Mufti
Mufti. Among Muslim Hausa slaves in Brazil, a judicial assessor in charge of settling community disputes regarding material possessions.
Mufti. Among Muslim Hausa slaves in Brazil, a judicial assessor in charge of settling community disputes regarding material possessions.
Mughals
Mughals (Great Mughals) (Timurids). Mongolian dynasty of Turkish origin which ruled in India (r. 1526-1857). Their main capital was Agra. The first Mughal, Babur, was a descendant of Timur on his father’s side, and of Jenghiz Khan on his mother’s side. As ruler of Samarkand in 1497, he conquered Kabul in 1504 and advanced from Afghanistan to India. Following a victory over the Lodi, he became shah of India (northern and central India from 1526 to 1530). His son, Humayun (r. 1530-1556), was driven to Persia by Shir Shah Suri in 1540 and was able to win back his father’s territory only in 1555. The political high point came with the reign of Akbar the Great (r. 1556-1605), who consolidated rule over Hindustan and expanded as far as Bengal in the east, exercising sovereignty over all the Muslim states in India. Akbar operated a policy of tolerance and religious reconciliation between Muslims and Hindus and reorganized the state administration. Under Jahangir (r. 1605-1627) and Shah Jahan (r. 1628-1658) the Mughal territories grew, trade relations with Europe intensified, and immense splendor and sumptiousness was enjoyed. Aurangzib (r. 1658-1707), the last Great Mughal of significance, conquered Bijapur (in 1686) and Golconda (in 1687), but gave up the policy of religious reconciliation in favor of a strictly Sunnite Islam. From the seventeenth century, there was political and, above all, economic pressure from the trading companies of Portugal and England. After 1707, the Mughals became increasingly insignificant. In 1739, Delhi was occupied by Nadir Shah of Persia and in 1803 by the British. The last Mughal was deposed by the British in 1857.
During their reign, the Mughals entertained relations with the Safavids of Persia, had a centralized administration, a thriving economy, and an active commerce both internal and external. As for religious life, Emperor Akbar’s attempt at reconciliation of the major religious trends inside his vast country was only one in the plethora of religious movements during Mughal times. Mughal architecture created a supremely confident style by synthesizing the most heterogenous elements. Central Asian, Timurid, Indian, Persian and European. The manufacture of carpets and textiles flourished, as did painting and the applied arts. Finally, the Mughal period marks the highest point in the development of Persian literature in India.
The following is a list of the Mughal Emperors:
1526 Babur, Zahir al-Din
1530 Humayun, Nasir al-Din (first reign)
1540-1555 Suri sultans of Delhi
1555 Humayun, Nasir al-Din (second reign)
1556 Akbar I, Jalal al-Din
1605 Jahangir, Nur al-Din
1627 Dawar Bakhsh
1628 Shah Jahan I, Shihab al-Din
1657 Murad Bakhsh
1657 Shah Shuja’ (in Bengal until 1660)
1658 Aurangzib ‘Alamgir I, Muhyi al-Din
1707 A‘zam Shah
1707 Kam Bakhsh (in the Deccan)
1707 Shah ‘Alam I Bahadur Shah I
1712 ‘Azim al-Sha’n
1712 Jahandar, Mu‘izz al-Din
1713 Farrukh-siyar
1719 Rafi’ al-Darajat, Shams al-Din
1719 Shah Jahan II, Rafi’ al-Dawla
1719 Niku-siyar
1719 Nasir al-Din Muhammad
1748 Bahadur, Ahmad Shah
1754 ‘Alamgir II, ‘Aziz al-Din
1760 Shah Jahan III
1760
Shah ‘Alam II, Jalal al-Din ‘Ali Jawhar (first reign)
1788 Bidar-bakht
1788 Shah ‘Alam II, Jalal al-Din (second reign)
1806 Akbar II, Mu‘in al-Din
1837-1858 Bahadur Shah II, Siraj al-Din
After 1858 Direct British rule
Mughals comprised an Indian empire founded by Babur (in 1526), which, with a short interregnum under the Surs (1540-1555), continued until the invasion of Nadir Shah (1739). The dynasty formally survived until 1857, when the last emperor, Bahadur Shah, was deposed by the British. Agra was the capital of the empire during most of its earlier period, but during the later years of Shah Jahan (r. 1628-1658), Delhi acquired this status. (Earlier on Fateh-pur Sikri and Lahore served as capitals for short periods.)
Under Babur and Humayun (r. 1530-1556), the empire essentially functioned as a successor to the Lodi kingdom (1451-1526) and ruled an area largely confined within modern Afghanistan, the British North-West Frontier Province and Punjab, and the present Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Extensive conquests by Akbar (r. 1556-1605) brought under subjugation the remaining parts of North India and a significant portion of the Deccan. The process of expansion in the Deccan continued under Jahangir (r. 1605-1627) and Shah Jahan, but it was under Aurangzeb (r. 1659-1707) that the maximum limits in the south were reached, the entire peninsula being annexed except for Kerala.
Nonetheless during the same reign, the rise of Maratha power under Shivaji (1627-1680) and his successors began to undermine Mughal authority. Nadir Shah’s invasion (1739) exposed the empire’s full weakness, and thereafter the Mughal emperor ceased to exercise actual control over much of the larger part of the empire. Many potentates in India (including the Marathas and the British East India Company) still thought it politic to bolster their authority by grants of offices from the emperor, but Shah Alam II (r. 1761-1806) became a mere pensioner of the English (1765-1771), of the Marathas (1771-1803), and finally, of the English again, holding sway merely over the Red Fort. The 1857 rebellion gave the empire its last flicker. With the massacre of the princes by the English and exile to Burma of Bahadur Shah Zafar, the last emperor, its nominal existence too came to an end.
A centralized, heavily systematized administration was a notable feature of the Mughal Empire. Its basic structure was established by Akbar. At the center, the emperor appointed ministers such as Wakilus Saltanat (after Bairam Khan, a largely titular office, usually unoccupied), the Diwan-i A’la (in charge of grants of mansahs, upkeep of the army, and intelligence service), the Sadrus Sudur (in charge of appointments of the judicial officers and charity grants), and others. These ministers controlled fairly well-organized departments; their subordinates were posted in the provinces (subas). Akbar, too, had been responsible for dividing the whole empire into subas, appointing for each a governor (Sipahsalar, Nazim). The governor’s powers were greatly restricted by his colleagues the Diwan, the Bakhshi, and the Sadr, who were responsible only to the corresponding ministers at the center. Each suba was divided into sarkars, commandants called faujdars were appointed to maintain law and order in the sarkars, through their actual jurisdictions did not always coincide with sarkar boundaries. Each district (pargana) had a Muslim judge (qazi) and two semi-hereditary officials (qanungo and chaudhuri) who were concerned with tax collection.
All higher offices (which until the eighteenth century never became hereditary and had, in actual practice, only short incumbencies) were filled by persons who belonged to the mansab cadre. Each of them held a “rank” (mansab) marked by double numbers, for example, 5,000 zat, 3,000 sawar (now conventionally represented as 5,000/3,000). The lowest mansab was 10/10. The first rank broadly indicated status and personal pay; the second determined the size of military contingent and the pay for it. Thus, every mansab holder was supposed to be a military officer as well: the higher mansab holders were called umara, or commanders. Apart from maintaining his contingent, the mansab holder could be appointed to any office or post, for which he did not receive any additional salary. The mansab was granted by the emperor alone, and a man rose as he received mansab enhancements. Imperial disapproval was usually shown by a reduction in mansabs.
The pay claims of mansab holders were met either in cash or by assignment of transferable jagirs, or revenue assignments. Each area with set limits was assigned a jama (or expected net revenue collection), and the jama of jagirs always had to equal the pay due to the mansab holder. The jagirdar arranged for tax collection through his own establishment of officials (sarkar); the principal revenue collector was called amil. Areas whose revenues were reserved for the Imperial Treasury were called khalisa-i sharifa and administered by imperial officials according to detailed rules. The jagirs were always transferable, and down to Aurangzeb’s death (1707) the transfer system was maintained rigorously.
Land revenue was the empire’s main source of income. The sovereign did not formally claim to be proprietor of the soil, as was alleged by contemporary European travelers (e.g., Bernier), but the land tax was heavy enough -- often half the produce -- to be practically equal to rent. Various methods of revenue assessment and collection were employed, such as simple crop sharing, crop sharing based on land measurement, cash-revenue rates imposed on different crops, lump sum demand on village, and so on. Cash nexus -- an agglomerate of impersonal monetary factors specifically considered as the basis for human relations -- prevailed over large areas. A share was always left for zamindars, or hereditary landed elements, and local officials such as village headmen.
The Mughal court was the nucleus of a splendid flowering of art and culture, based on a blending of Indian and Perso-Islamic traditions. The most visible evidence of this high culture survives in the great buildings the Mughals have left behind. These buildings include such edifices as the palace-city of Fatehpur Sikri (built by Akbar), the forts at Agra and Delhi (built by Akbar and Shah Jahan), and, above all, the mausoleum of Shah Jahan’s queen, Mumtaz Mahal, the celebrated Taj Mahal at Agra.
Under the emperors’ patronage, a distinct school of painting took shape. Descended from the Persian school, it liberally accepted both Indian and European influences. It produced such masters of miniature painting as Abu’l Hasan (who flourished under Akbar), Mansur (Jahangir), and Bichitr (Shah Jahan). Persian was the language of the Mughal court and administration, and Akbar’s court brought together a notable assemblage of Persian writers. The poets Urfi and Faizi have permanent niches in the history of Persian literature. Abu’l Fazl was not only a master of Persian prose (of the very ornate kind) but also a reflective writer, who compiled two distinctive works in Persian, a detailed history of Akbar’s reign (Akbarnama) and a description, largely statistical, of Akbar’s empire and administration (A’in-i Akbari). The Mughals did much to spread the use of Persian. Ultimately, a literary language based on a blending of Hindi and Persian appeared in the eighteenth century in the form of Urdu, whose very name proclaimed its association with the court (urdu means “imperial camp”). Under Akbar, the Mughals patronized a liberal and scientific revival.
Called upon to govern a multi-religious country, Akbar invoked pantheistic principles to justify a semi-divine monarchy, not attached to any particular religion, but designed to secure “peace among all” (sulh-i kul). He had translations made of Hindu religious texts and held discussions with theologians of all faiths, including Jesuits. The tradition was continued by Prince Dara Shikoh (executed in 1659), who not only translated the Upanishads into Persian but also argued that Hinduism and Islam ultimately represented a single truth. Aurangzeb’s orthodox religious policy partly thwarted this movement, but it was revived in the eighteenth century. Akbar displayed some interest in technology, and his minister Fathullah Shirazi invented mechanical devices, but this interest had no sequel. The patronage of astronomy proved more fruitful, leading to the establishment of the great observatories by Raja Jai Singh Sawai (d. 1743), which laid the basis for his great astronomical work, the Zij-i Muhammad shahi.
It is estimated by some that the population of India in 1600 was about 100 million. Other estimates place it at about 150 million. Either way, by 1800, the population was over 200 million. The larger portion of the population lived in villages, the urban component being estimated at about 15 percent of the total population. Agriculture was mainly peasant based, but there was considerable production for the market. This combination has led to revisions of the nineteenth century theories of the pre-colonial village community. It is true, however, that the sale of produce was largely induced by the imposition of the heavy land-revenue demand, which was mainly realized in money. Another feature of the agrarian scene was the presence of a class of hereditary intermediaries called zamindars, whose own fiscal and other rights are now much discussed by scholars. The main claimants to the land revenue were the jagirdars, who constituted the Mughal nobility. Since their jagirs were frequently transferred, the jagirdars tended to extort as much as possible from their temporary assignments, although the Mughal administration tried to impose a number of controls over them. Some have argued that the system tended to destroy the resources of the country and was a cause of the empire’s decline. This, however, is debatable. On the basis of the large income of the jagirdars (as well as the emperor) there arose a flourishing urban economy, with a large craft sector. When direct trade began with Europe, through the Portuguese and then the Dutch (company established, 1602) and the English (1600), India exported large quantities of cotton cloth, silk, spices, indigo, and saltpeter, and it imported mainly silver and much smaller quantities of gold. The bullion imports were intended to raise prices in India and caused a moderate price revolution in the seventeenth century. Mughal India had a uniform currency system based on the silver rupee and a fairly developed indigenous system of commercial credit, bills of exchange, deposit banking, and transport and marine insurance.
Great Mughals see Mughals
Timurids see Mughals
1788 Bidar-bakht
1788 Shah ‘Alam II, Jalal al-Din (second reign)
1806 Akbar II, Mu‘in al-Din
1837-1858 Bahadur Shah II, Siraj al-Din
After 1858 Direct British rule
Mughals comprised an Indian empire founded by Babur (in 1526), which, with a short interregnum under the Surs (1540-1555), continued until the invasion of Nadir Shah (1739). The dynasty formally survived until 1857, when the last emperor, Bahadur Shah, was deposed by the British. Agra was the capital of the empire during most of its earlier period, but during the later years of Shah Jahan (r. 1628-1658), Delhi acquired this status. (Earlier on Fateh-pur Sikri and Lahore served as capitals for short periods.)
Under Babur and Humayun (r. 1530-1556), the empire essentially functioned as a successor to the Lodi kingdom (1451-1526) and ruled an area largely confined within modern Afghanistan, the British North-West Frontier Province and Punjab, and the present Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Extensive conquests by Akbar (r. 1556-1605) brought under subjugation the remaining parts of North India and a significant portion of the Deccan. The process of expansion in the Deccan continued under Jahangir (r. 1605-1627) and Shah Jahan, but it was under Aurangzeb (r. 1659-1707) that the maximum limits in the south were reached, the entire peninsula being annexed except for Kerala.
Nonetheless during the same reign, the rise of Maratha power under Shivaji (1627-1680) and his successors began to undermine Mughal authority. Nadir Shah’s invasion (1739) exposed the empire’s full weakness, and thereafter the Mughal emperor ceased to exercise actual control over much of the larger part of the empire. Many potentates in India (including the Marathas and the British East India Company) still thought it politic to bolster their authority by grants of offices from the emperor, but Shah Alam II (r. 1761-1806) became a mere pensioner of the English (1765-1771), of the Marathas (1771-1803), and finally, of the English again, holding sway merely over the Red Fort. The 1857 rebellion gave the empire its last flicker. With the massacre of the princes by the English and exile to Burma of Bahadur Shah Zafar, the last emperor, its nominal existence too came to an end.
A centralized, heavily systematized administration was a notable feature of the Mughal Empire. Its basic structure was established by Akbar. At the center, the emperor appointed ministers such as Wakilus Saltanat (after Bairam Khan, a largely titular office, usually unoccupied), the Diwan-i A’la (in charge of grants of mansahs, upkeep of the army, and intelligence service), the Sadrus Sudur (in charge of appointments of the judicial officers and charity grants), and others. These ministers controlled fairly well-organized departments; their subordinates were posted in the provinces (subas). Akbar, too, had been responsible for dividing the whole empire into subas, appointing for each a governor (Sipahsalar, Nazim). The governor’s powers were greatly restricted by his colleagues the Diwan, the Bakhshi, and the Sadr, who were responsible only to the corresponding ministers at the center. Each suba was divided into sarkars, commandants called faujdars were appointed to maintain law and order in the sarkars, through their actual jurisdictions did not always coincide with sarkar boundaries. Each district (pargana) had a Muslim judge (qazi) and two semi-hereditary officials (qanungo and chaudhuri) who were concerned with tax collection.
All higher offices (which until the eighteenth century never became hereditary and had, in actual practice, only short incumbencies) were filled by persons who belonged to the mansab cadre. Each of them held a “rank” (mansab) marked by double numbers, for example, 5,000 zat, 3,000 sawar (now conventionally represented as 5,000/3,000). The lowest mansab was 10/10. The first rank broadly indicated status and personal pay; the second determined the size of military contingent and the pay for it. Thus, every mansab holder was supposed to be a military officer as well: the higher mansab holders were called umara, or commanders. Apart from maintaining his contingent, the mansab holder could be appointed to any office or post, for which he did not receive any additional salary. The mansab was granted by the emperor alone, and a man rose as he received mansab enhancements. Imperial disapproval was usually shown by a reduction in mansabs.
The pay claims of mansab holders were met either in cash or by assignment of transferable jagirs, or revenue assignments. Each area with set limits was assigned a jama (or expected net revenue collection), and the jama of jagirs always had to equal the pay due to the mansab holder. The jagirdar arranged for tax collection through his own establishment of officials (sarkar); the principal revenue collector was called amil. Areas whose revenues were reserved for the Imperial Treasury were called khalisa-i sharifa and administered by imperial officials according to detailed rules. The jagirs were always transferable, and down to Aurangzeb’s death (1707) the transfer system was maintained rigorously.
Land revenue was the empire’s main source of income. The sovereign did not formally claim to be proprietor of the soil, as was alleged by contemporary European travelers (e.g., Bernier), but the land tax was heavy enough -- often half the produce -- to be practically equal to rent. Various methods of revenue assessment and collection were employed, such as simple crop sharing, crop sharing based on land measurement, cash-revenue rates imposed on different crops, lump sum demand on village, and so on. Cash nexus -- an agglomerate of impersonal monetary factors specifically considered as the basis for human relations -- prevailed over large areas. A share was always left for zamindars, or hereditary landed elements, and local officials such as village headmen.
The Mughal court was the nucleus of a splendid flowering of art and culture, based on a blending of Indian and Perso-Islamic traditions. The most visible evidence of this high culture survives in the great buildings the Mughals have left behind. These buildings include such edifices as the palace-city of Fatehpur Sikri (built by Akbar), the forts at Agra and Delhi (built by Akbar and Shah Jahan), and, above all, the mausoleum of Shah Jahan’s queen, Mumtaz Mahal, the celebrated Taj Mahal at Agra.
Under the emperors’ patronage, a distinct school of painting took shape. Descended from the Persian school, it liberally accepted both Indian and European influences. It produced such masters of miniature painting as Abu’l Hasan (who flourished under Akbar), Mansur (Jahangir), and Bichitr (Shah Jahan). Persian was the language of the Mughal court and administration, and Akbar’s court brought together a notable assemblage of Persian writers. The poets Urfi and Faizi have permanent niches in the history of Persian literature. Abu’l Fazl was not only a master of Persian prose (of the very ornate kind) but also a reflective writer, who compiled two distinctive works in Persian, a detailed history of Akbar’s reign (Akbarnama) and a description, largely statistical, of Akbar’s empire and administration (A’in-i Akbari). The Mughals did much to spread the use of Persian. Ultimately, a literary language based on a blending of Hindi and Persian appeared in the eighteenth century in the form of Urdu, whose very name proclaimed its association with the court (urdu means “imperial camp”). Under Akbar, the Mughals patronized a liberal and scientific revival.
Called upon to govern a multi-religious country, Akbar invoked pantheistic principles to justify a semi-divine monarchy, not attached to any particular religion, but designed to secure “peace among all” (sulh-i kul). He had translations made of Hindu religious texts and held discussions with theologians of all faiths, including Jesuits. The tradition was continued by Prince Dara Shikoh (executed in 1659), who not only translated the Upanishads into Persian but also argued that Hinduism and Islam ultimately represented a single truth. Aurangzeb’s orthodox religious policy partly thwarted this movement, but it was revived in the eighteenth century. Akbar displayed some interest in technology, and his minister Fathullah Shirazi invented mechanical devices, but this interest had no sequel. The patronage of astronomy proved more fruitful, leading to the establishment of the great observatories by Raja Jai Singh Sawai (d. 1743), which laid the basis for his great astronomical work, the Zij-i Muhammad shahi.
It is estimated by some that the population of India in 1600 was about 100 million. Other estimates place it at about 150 million. Either way, by 1800, the population was over 200 million. The larger portion of the population lived in villages, the urban component being estimated at about 15 percent of the total population. Agriculture was mainly peasant based, but there was considerable production for the market. This combination has led to revisions of the nineteenth century theories of the pre-colonial village community. It is true, however, that the sale of produce was largely induced by the imposition of the heavy land-revenue demand, which was mainly realized in money. Another feature of the agrarian scene was the presence of a class of hereditary intermediaries called zamindars, whose own fiscal and other rights are now much discussed by scholars. The main claimants to the land revenue were the jagirdars, who constituted the Mughal nobility. Since their jagirs were frequently transferred, the jagirdars tended to extort as much as possible from their temporary assignments, although the Mughal administration tried to impose a number of controls over them. Some have argued that the system tended to destroy the resources of the country and was a cause of the empire’s decline. This, however, is debatable. On the basis of the large income of the jagirdars (as well as the emperor) there arose a flourishing urban economy, with a large craft sector. When direct trade began with Europe, through the Portuguese and then the Dutch (company established, 1602) and the English (1600), India exported large quantities of cotton cloth, silk, spices, indigo, and saltpeter, and it imported mainly silver and much smaller quantities of gold. The bullion imports were intended to raise prices in India and caused a moderate price revolution in the seventeenth century. Mughal India had a uniform currency system based on the silver rupee and a fairly developed indigenous system of commercial credit, bills of exchange, deposit banking, and transport and marine insurance.
Great Mughals see Mughals
Timurids see Mughals
Mughira ibn Sa‘id al-Bajali, al-
Mughira ibn Sa‘id al-Bajali, al-. Shi‘a rebel from Kufa from the eighth century. About the time of his revolt in Kufa in 737, he is described as an old man. He was a follower of Muhammad ibn ‘Ali Zayn al-‘Abidin and, after the latter’s death, of Muhammad ibn ‘Abd Allah al-Nafs al-Zakiyya. He taught that he himself was the imam until Muhammad ibn ‘Abd Allah’s appearance as the Mahdi. He elevated the rank of the ‘Alid imam to divinity. He was put to death by Khalid ibn ‘Abd Allah al-Qasri. The extremist Shi‘a sect of the al-Mughiriyya is named after him.
Mughira ibn Sa‘id al-Bajali, al-. Shi‘a rebel from Kufa from the eighth century. About the time of his revolt in Kufa in 737, he is described as an old man. He was a follower of Muhammad ibn ‘Ali Zayn al-‘Abidin and, after the latter’s death, of Muhammad ibn ‘Abd Allah al-Nafs al-Zakiyya. He taught that he himself was the imam until Muhammad ibn ‘Abd Allah’s appearance as the Mahdi. He elevated the rank of the ‘Alid imam to divinity. He was put to death by Khalid ibn ‘Abd Allah al-Qasri. The extremist Shi‘a sect of the al-Mughiriyya is named after him.
Mughira ibn Shu‘ba, al-
Mughira ibn Shu‘ba, al- (al-Mughīrah ibn Shuʿbah ibn Abī ʿĀmir ibn Masʿūd ath-Thaqafī) (d. 670). Companion of the Prophet. The Prophet sent him to a Ta’if to destroy the sanctuary of al-Lat. The Caliph ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab appointed him governor of Basra.
al-Mughīrah ibn Shuʿbah ibn Abī ʿĀmir ibn Masʿūd ath-Thaqafī was one of the more prominent companions of Muhammad. He belonged to the tribe of Thaqif of Ta'if.
He became a convert to Islam after the battle of Taif in 628. On conversion to Islam he took part in all the battles. He was a brave fighter. He lost an eye in the battle of Yamama. During the caliphate of Umar, ʿUtbah ibn Ghazwān was the Governor of Basra while Mughira was the Deputy Governor. ʿUtbah ibn Ghazwān died in 639, and Mughira became the Governor of Basra.
During a Military Expedition two Generals namely Mughira and Nufay ibn al-Harith developed some dispute.
There was already some animosity between Mughira and Ziad ibn Abiya (relative of Abu Bakara Thaqeefi), and the latest dispute added fuel to the fire. During a prayer, Mughira was stopped by Abu Bakar from leading a prayer on the context that Mughira was seen in an Objectionable Position by both Abu Bakara and Ziad so Mughira could not lead a prayer. Both of them also wrote a complaint against Mughira and sent it to Umar in Medina.
Umar called both the parties in Medina and started proceeding in the case. During the proceedings, the witnesses disputed their statement and Ziad ibn Abiya could not prove the statement against Mughira which resulted in 30 Whips on Ziyad. The lashing was itself done by Umar. During the lashing Mughira tried to intervene but he was severely reprimanded by Umar who said to Mughira, be silent, had this testimony been proper you would have also been punished.
Abu Bakrah insisted that Mughira was guilty of fornication with Umm Jamil. Umm Jamil belonged to the same tribe as that of Mughira and was a widow.
The house of Abu Bakra Thaqeefi across the street faced the house of Mughira. One day a strong wind blew and the windows of the houses of Abu Bakra and Mughira got opened through the force of the wind. He saw through the window that in this house Mughira was locked in an uncompromising state with a woman. He thought that the woman was Umm Jamil. He had some friends with him, and they also saw Mughira involved with a woman.
Abu Bakra refused to pray behind Mughira and wrote to Caliph Umar accusing Mughira of adultery. The report was endorsed by four witnesses who had seen Mughira in an uncompromising state with a woman. Umar took prompt action. Umar appointed Abu Musa as the Governor of Basra and removed Mughira from the office. Mughira was summoned to Madinah to face trial. Abu Bakra and the other witnesses who had made the complaint were also summoned to Madinah.
At the trial, Mughira pleaded not guilty. His defense was that the woman in question was his wife and not Umm Jamil. With great indignation he averred that Abu Bakra and the men with him had no right to interfere in his privacy. Abu Bakra on the other hand maintained that the woman was Umm Jamil. Three other witnesses corroborated the statement of Abu Bakra. The fourth witness Ziyad stated that he had seen the event, but he had not seen the face of the woman and did not know who she was. The other witnesses were cross examined, and it was found that there were some weak points in their evidence. They were asked whether the woman had her back or her face toward them. They said that she had their back to them. They tried to make out that even from her back she could be identified as Umm Jamil. They argued that the scandal of Mughira and Umm Jamil was very common in Basra, and that lady was none else but Umm Jamil.
Under the Quranic law in order to press the charge of adultery definite evidence of four witnesses was necessary. As in this case the fourth witness was not sure of the identification of the woman, Mughira was given the benefit of doubt and acquitted. Abu Bakra and his companions who had levelled the charge were punished with lashes for making a charge which could not be established.
After the whipping, Abu Bakrah still said, "I spoke the truth and the man did do what I said."
Umar motioned to whip him again but Ali said, "If you do, then have the other one stoned!" i.e. the testimonials would now amount to four.
In spite of his acquittal, Mughira was not restored to the office of the Governor, and was detained in Madinah. He made some show of indignation at having been treated shabbily in a case which was false. Umar called him to his presence and issued the warning: "O Mughira offer thanks to God that full evidence was not forthcoming against you, and you have been saved from disgrace by a technical flaw. Grounds of suspicion against you were very much there, and I have given you the benefit of doubt. Remember that if the evidence was complete, you would have been stoned to death."
In 643 Umar appointed Mughira as the Governor of Kufa. When Uthman became the Caliph, Mughira continued in his office for one year, and was thereafter deposed to make room for the appointment of Sa'ad ibn Abi Waqas according to the testament of Umar.
Mughira participated in the migration to Medina and later during Umar's caliphate, he became the governor of Kufa. He was the owner of Abu-Lu'lu'ah, the man who killed Umar.
al-Mughīrah ibn Shuʿbah ibn Abī ʿĀmir ibn Masʿūd ath-Thaqafī see Mughira ibn Shu‘ba, al-
Mughira ibn Shu‘ba, al- (al-Mughīrah ibn Shuʿbah ibn Abī ʿĀmir ibn Masʿūd ath-Thaqafī) (d. 670). Companion of the Prophet. The Prophet sent him to a Ta’if to destroy the sanctuary of al-Lat. The Caliph ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab appointed him governor of Basra.
al-Mughīrah ibn Shuʿbah ibn Abī ʿĀmir ibn Masʿūd ath-Thaqafī was one of the more prominent companions of Muhammad. He belonged to the tribe of Thaqif of Ta'if.
He became a convert to Islam after the battle of Taif in 628. On conversion to Islam he took part in all the battles. He was a brave fighter. He lost an eye in the battle of Yamama. During the caliphate of Umar, ʿUtbah ibn Ghazwān was the Governor of Basra while Mughira was the Deputy Governor. ʿUtbah ibn Ghazwān died in 639, and Mughira became the Governor of Basra.
During a Military Expedition two Generals namely Mughira and Nufay ibn al-Harith developed some dispute.
There was already some animosity between Mughira and Ziad ibn Abiya (relative of Abu Bakara Thaqeefi), and the latest dispute added fuel to the fire. During a prayer, Mughira was stopped by Abu Bakar from leading a prayer on the context that Mughira was seen in an Objectionable Position by both Abu Bakara and Ziad so Mughira could not lead a prayer. Both of them also wrote a complaint against Mughira and sent it to Umar in Medina.
Umar called both the parties in Medina and started proceeding in the case. During the proceedings, the witnesses disputed their statement and Ziad ibn Abiya could not prove the statement against Mughira which resulted in 30 Whips on Ziyad. The lashing was itself done by Umar. During the lashing Mughira tried to intervene but he was severely reprimanded by Umar who said to Mughira, be silent, had this testimony been proper you would have also been punished.
Abu Bakrah insisted that Mughira was guilty of fornication with Umm Jamil. Umm Jamil belonged to the same tribe as that of Mughira and was a widow.
The house of Abu Bakra Thaqeefi across the street faced the house of Mughira. One day a strong wind blew and the windows of the houses of Abu Bakra and Mughira got opened through the force of the wind. He saw through the window that in this house Mughira was locked in an uncompromising state with a woman. He thought that the woman was Umm Jamil. He had some friends with him, and they also saw Mughira involved with a woman.
Abu Bakra refused to pray behind Mughira and wrote to Caliph Umar accusing Mughira of adultery. The report was endorsed by four witnesses who had seen Mughira in an uncompromising state with a woman. Umar took prompt action. Umar appointed Abu Musa as the Governor of Basra and removed Mughira from the office. Mughira was summoned to Madinah to face trial. Abu Bakra and the other witnesses who had made the complaint were also summoned to Madinah.
At the trial, Mughira pleaded not guilty. His defense was that the woman in question was his wife and not Umm Jamil. With great indignation he averred that Abu Bakra and the men with him had no right to interfere in his privacy. Abu Bakra on the other hand maintained that the woman was Umm Jamil. Three other witnesses corroborated the statement of Abu Bakra. The fourth witness Ziyad stated that he had seen the event, but he had not seen the face of the woman and did not know who she was. The other witnesses were cross examined, and it was found that there were some weak points in their evidence. They were asked whether the woman had her back or her face toward them. They said that she had their back to them. They tried to make out that even from her back she could be identified as Umm Jamil. They argued that the scandal of Mughira and Umm Jamil was very common in Basra, and that lady was none else but Umm Jamil.
Under the Quranic law in order to press the charge of adultery definite evidence of four witnesses was necessary. As in this case the fourth witness was not sure of the identification of the woman, Mughira was given the benefit of doubt and acquitted. Abu Bakra and his companions who had levelled the charge were punished with lashes for making a charge which could not be established.
After the whipping, Abu Bakrah still said, "I spoke the truth and the man did do what I said."
Umar motioned to whip him again but Ali said, "If you do, then have the other one stoned!" i.e. the testimonials would now amount to four.
In spite of his acquittal, Mughira was not restored to the office of the Governor, and was detained in Madinah. He made some show of indignation at having been treated shabbily in a case which was false. Umar called him to his presence and issued the warning: "O Mughira offer thanks to God that full evidence was not forthcoming against you, and you have been saved from disgrace by a technical flaw. Grounds of suspicion against you were very much there, and I have given you the benefit of doubt. Remember that if the evidence was complete, you would have been stoned to death."
In 643 Umar appointed Mughira as the Governor of Kufa. When Uthman became the Caliph, Mughira continued in his office for one year, and was thereafter deposed to make room for the appointment of Sa'ad ibn Abi Waqas according to the testament of Umar.
Mughira participated in the migration to Medina and later during Umar's caliphate, he became the governor of Kufa. He was the owner of Abu-Lu'lu'ah, the man who killed Umar.
al-Mughīrah ibn Shuʿbah ibn Abī ʿĀmir ibn Masʿūd ath-Thaqafī see Mughira ibn Shu‘ba, al-
Muhajirun
Muhajirun. Arabic term which refers to the “émigrés” from Mecca who followed Muhammad to Medina. The word muhajirun is from the same root as the word hijra.
Muhajirun. Arabic term which refers to the “émigrés” from Mecca who followed Muhammad to Medina. The word muhajirun is from the same root as the word hijra.
Muhallabi, Abu Muhammad al-Hasan al-
Muhallabi, Abu Muhammad al-Hasan al- (Abu Muhammad al-Hasan al-Muhallabi) (903-963). Chief minister and vizier to the Buyid amir of Iraq Mu‘izz al-Dawla. His literary circle in Baghdad was frequented by poets and men of letters.
Abu Muhammad al-Hasan al-Muhallabi see Muhallabi, Abu Muhammad al-Hasan al-
Muhallabi, Abu Muhammad al-Hasan al- (Abu Muhammad al-Hasan al-Muhallabi) (903-963). Chief minister and vizier to the Buyid amir of Iraq Mu‘izz al-Dawla. His literary circle in Baghdad was frequented by poets and men of letters.
Abu Muhammad al-Hasan al-Muhallabi see Muhallabi, Abu Muhammad al-Hasan al-
Muhallab ibn Abi Sufra, al-
Muhallab ibn Abi Sufra, al- (632-702). Arab general and the founder of the influential family of the Muhallabids.
Muhallab ibn Abi Sufra, al- (632-702). Arab general and the founder of the influential family of the Muhallabids.
Muhallabids
Muhallabids (in Arabic, al-Mahaliba). Kinsmen and clients of Muhallab ibn Abi Sufra. They rose to power in the service of the Umayyads, were crashed in 720, but staged a spectacular come back under the ‘Abbasids and remained politically prominent until the reign of the Caliph al-Ma’mun. They also produced a large number of men of culture, a rebel leader of the Zanj, and the Buyid vizier Abu Muhammad al-Muhallabi.
The Muhallabids were a dynasty of governors in Ifriqiya under the Abbasid Caliphate (771-793)
Although subject to the Abbasids, they enjoyed a great deal of autonomy and were able to maintain Arab rule in the face of revolts by the Berbers. They were unable however to prevent the formation of the kingdoms of the Idrisids in Morocco and the Rustamids in central Algeria.
Ifriqiya experienced a significant economic and cultural upturn under the Muhallabids. Above all, agriculture was reinvigorated by the expansion of irrigation systems. The dynasty was overthrown in 793 by a military rebellion, and in the ensuing anarchy the Aghlabids established themselves as rulers of a separate Emirate (800-909).
Mahaliba, al- see Muhallabids
Muhallabids (in Arabic, al-Mahaliba). Kinsmen and clients of Muhallab ibn Abi Sufra. They rose to power in the service of the Umayyads, were crashed in 720, but staged a spectacular come back under the ‘Abbasids and remained politically prominent until the reign of the Caliph al-Ma’mun. They also produced a large number of men of culture, a rebel leader of the Zanj, and the Buyid vizier Abu Muhammad al-Muhallabi.
The Muhallabids were a dynasty of governors in Ifriqiya under the Abbasid Caliphate (771-793)
Although subject to the Abbasids, they enjoyed a great deal of autonomy and were able to maintain Arab rule in the face of revolts by the Berbers. They were unable however to prevent the formation of the kingdoms of the Idrisids in Morocco and the Rustamids in central Algeria.
Ifriqiya experienced a significant economic and cultural upturn under the Muhallabids. Above all, agriculture was reinvigorated by the expansion of irrigation systems. The dynasty was overthrown in 793 by a military rebellion, and in the ensuing anarchy the Aghlabids established themselves as rulers of a separate Emirate (800-909).
Mahaliba, al- see Muhallabids
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