M

Ma'aad

Return, place to which one returns; the hereafter, the life to come.

Ma'aash

Means of subsistence, livelihood, style of living.

Ma'aaz

Taking refuge, place of refuge; “ma'aaz allaah” means Allah save or protect me from that.

Maa'edah

A round thaal adorned by different heavenly dishes descended upon Maulatana Mariyam and Maulatana Faatema (AS).

Maariqoon

Those who strayed from the true path ( siraat ul-mustaqeem ), the Khawaarij ( khaarji ) who seceded from Maulana ‘Ali (AS) side at the battle of Siffeen.

Maazi

Past, past tense, bygone.

Madah

Praise, laudation, glorification.

Madinah; al-Munawwarah

A name of the city of Yasrab in Saudi Arabia also called as Madinat un-Nabi (The city of the Prophet), the name was taken by the people of Yasrab, the town to which the Prophet and his companions migrated from Makkah marking the beginning of the Islamic era.

Madrasah

A college or seminary of higher Muslim learning, generally attached to the mosque.

Mafhoom

Sense, meaning, signification, understandable.

Maghrib

The place of sunset; the prayer at sunset. During the time of the 11th Fatimi Imaam Mahdi (AS) i.e. in mediaeval Muslim geography preferably at the end of the third century of hijrat (AH) it referred to the western part of North Africa (present-day Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia).

Mahram

Close female relatives of a man with whom marriage becomes unlawful in shari'at .

Majaalis; mahfil

Pl. of majlis ; a term which literally means ‘a place to sit' and refers to any formal gathering or assembly of peoples.

Majeed

Glorious, celebrated, praiseworthy, splendid, noble. “kitaab-e-majeed” means the Qur'an.

Majoos

Adherents of Mazdaism; Zoroastrians.

Makkah; al-Mukarramah

A holy city in Saudi Arabia known as Umm ul-Quraa (the mother of all places on this earth) and believed as the centre point of the earth surface. The holy Ka'bah and Masjid ul-Haraam is situated in it.

Malak

Angel; pl. is malaa'ik. “malaa'ikat-e-muqarrabeen” means the four most revered angel Jibra'eel, Mikaa'eel, Israafeel and ‘Izraa'eel.

Mal'oon; la'een

Cursed, damned, outcast, abominable.

Mamnoon; mashkoor

Indebted, grateful, obligated, thankful.

Manaab

Deputyship, substitute, a place taken as a deputy.

Manqool

Carried, conveyed, transferred, transmitted, transcribed, handed down.

Mansab; maqaam

Dignity, position; a rank to which one is designated.

Mansookh

Abrogated Qur'anic verses. The one which abrogates another verse is called naasikh .

Manzoor

Seen, visible, under supervision and consideration.

Maqbarah; mazaar

Tomb, burying place, cemetery, graveyard.

Ma'refat

Cognition, perception, versed ness, acquaintance.

Marhoom

One who is in the rehmat (mercy) of Allah, deceased, dead.

Ma'roof

Good, beneficial, accepted, well known.

Masah

Wiping of the head and feet during the ablution.

Maseeh

Anointed, clean, smooth; “al-maseeh” means Hazrat ‘Isaa (AS) who was competent in curing illness.

Ma'siyat

Disobedience, revolt, rebellion.

Masjid ul-Haraam

Sacred mosque of Makkah.

Ma‘soom

Infallible and immaculate; these qualities are attributed to Prophets, their vicegerents (wasi) and their holy progeny (Imaam). Da'i uz-zamaan is attributed the title “kal ma'soom” means like the infallible.

Maw'ezat

Religious exhortation, spiritual counsel, lecture.

Mawla

Lord or master; often used as an honorary epithet; friend, companion.

Maymoon; mubaarak

Fortunate, lucky, blessed.

Mazhab

Doctrine, movement, ideology and religious creed; a system or school of religious law in Islam.

Ma'zoon; Saiyedi Haatim Zakiyuddin Saheb (DM)

Licentiate, authorized; a rank in the Fatimid Ismaili Da‘wat structure; an assistant to the Da'i ul-mutlaq; originally divided into two ranks: al-ma'zoon ul-mutlaq and al-ma'zoon ul-mahdud , or which the latter became known as al-mukaasir . Often, the al-ma'zoon ul-mutlaq became a Da‘i himself and was authorized as the chief licentiate to administer the oath of initiation, religious ceremonies, rules and policies of the Da‘wat .

Mehraab

A recess in a masjid indicating a direction of prayer.

Me'raaj

The midnight spiritual journey of Prophet Muhammad (SAWS) to the seven heavens on the night of 27th Rajab, 8th year of ba'sat. The journey started from Makkah to Jerusalem and then ascended towards heavens.

Millat

Religious community; religion, creed, faith.

Mina

A small town three miles from Makkah, which is the site of special ceremonies performed by the Hajj pilgrims.

Moosa; Moses

A Prophet of Allah mentioned in the Qur'an and the Old Testament. He was bestowed with the miracle of ‘asaa (rod) and yad-e-baizaa (the beneficent hand).

Mu'allim

Teacher specifically religious teacher.

Mubaah

Those deeds which are allowed in the Shari'at , but neither rewardable nor punishable for doing or neglecting them.

Muhaajir

Emigrants; a name given collectively to those Makkan followers of the Prophet who accompanied him in his emigration ( hijrat ) from Makkah to Madinah, in distinction from the ansaar .

Muhammad; Rasulullah (SAWS)

Highly praised; the last Prophet of Islam on which the Book of Allah, Qur'an was revealed.

Muharram

First month of the Islamic lunar calendar, often referred to as the ‘month of mourning' because of the martyrdom of Imaam Husain bin Maulana ‘Ali (AS) at the Battle of Karbala in 61 AH/680 AD.

Muhsin

Beneficent, performing good deeds.

Mukaasir; Saiyedi Husain Mo'eenuddin Saheb (DM)

Breaker; a rank after the Ma'zoon in the Fatimid Isma'ili Da‘wat mainly responsible for attracting prospective converts and ‘breaking' their attachments to other religions.

Mukhlis; muhibb

Devoted, sincere, loyal, faithful, pure hearted, righteous.

Mulla Saheb; sheikh saheb; miya saheb

An honorific epithet given to a person by Da'i-e-mutlaq who is officiated to perform certain religious affairs and ceremonies under the direct guidance of Ra's ul-Hudood.

Mu'min

A believer whose faith has been tested by Allah.

Munaafiq

Hypocrite, dissembler.

Munawwar

Lighted, illuminated; shining, brilliant; “al-munawwarah”, the epithet of Madinah.

Munkar

Denied, unacknowledged, disagreeable, forbidden or reprehensible actions; “munkar-nakeer” means the two angels who will examine the dead in their grave as to their faith.

Muqaddas

Holy, sacred, dedicated, sanctified; “bayt ul-muqaddas” Jerusalem , “kitab ul-muqaddas” the Holy Scriptures.

Murshid

Guide, spiritual master.

Murtazaa

Most pleasant, agreeable, satisfied; the epithet of Maulana ‘Ali (AS).

Mushrik

Polytheist.

Muslim

One who submits at the will of Allah, the Muslim.

Mustafaa

Chosen , selected; the epithet of Muhammad Rasulullah (SAWS).

Mustajaab

Hearing and answering of the prayer; fulfillment of a request.

Musta‘alavis

Adherents of a branch of the Isma'ilis who supported Imaam Musta‘li (AS), the younger son of the Fatimid Imaam-caliph al-Mustansir billaah (AS) as his legitimate successor.

Mustajeeb

Respondent; a term used for denoting an initiate to the lowest rank in the Fatimid religious hierarchy.

Muttaqi

God-fearing, devout, pious.

N

Naafelat

Supererogatory prayer, a voluntary act of piety.

Naakisoon

Those who violated their covenant and fought against Maulana ‘Ali (AS) in the battle of Jamal (camel).

Naaqis

Faulty, defective, imperfect, incomplete, lacking.

Naasibi

One who bears enmity and grudge towards the holy progeny of Maulana ‘Ali (AS) i.e. the Imaams.

Naatiq

Speaker, one gifted with speech; a speaking or law-announcing Prophet who brings a new religious law ( shari'at ), abrogating the previous law and hence initiating a new dawr in the hier-o-history of mankind which was comprised of eras of various duration, each one inaugurated by the naatiq . Each one of the first six naatiqs viz. Maulana Aadam, Nooh, Ibraaheem, Moosa, ‘Isaa and Muhammad (SAWS) was succeeded by a spiritual legatee or wasi , also called foundation ( asaas ), who interpreted the inner esoteric ( baatin ) meaning of the revealed message ( zaahir ) of that era to the elite. This cyclical Prophetic view of religious history was essentially maintained and followed by majority of Isma'ilis.

Nabi

Prophet; pl. is ambiyaa ; the office of nabi is called nubuwat .

Nafs

Used in the Qur'an more than 300 times, where its primary meaning is the human self or person. In post-Qur'anic religious literature it came to mean the human ‘soul' or ‘spirit' in a metaphysical sense also used as a synonym of rooh . “nafees” means precious, priceless, valuable.

Nahaar

Day time, from dawn to dusk as opposed to yawm which means the time of 24 hours.

Nahj

Way, method, manner, procedure.

Najaasat

Impurity, uncleanliness, dirt, filth.

Naqeeb (pl. naqaba )

Chief, leader; pl. is nuqabaa. In the Fatimid Isma'ili Da‘wat , the person in charge of each jazeera . Also called hujjat or laahiq .

Naseehat

Sincere advice, friendly admonition, friendly reminder.

Nasl

Progeny, offspring, descendants.

Nass

Explicit designation of a successor by his predecessor, particularly relating to the succession to the Imaamat , whereby each Imaam under the divine guidance, designates his successor. Da'is are also designated by the rule of the nass either explicitly ( jali ) or implicitly ( khafi ). One who has received the nass is called mansoos .

Nazeef

Clean, neat, tidy.

Nazeer

Warner or a person giving admonition or notice; the title of Muhammad Rasulullah (SAWS).

Ne'mat

Benefaction, grace, favor, boon; “be-ne'matillaah” means by the grace of Allah. “na'eem” means happiness, peaceful, comfort.

Nidaa

Shout, call, public announcement.

Nisbat

Link, relationship, ancestry, lineage or origin.

Niyyat

Intent, declaration of intent before any ritual act.

Nizaam

Proper arrangement, organization, system of regulations; manner, method.

Nizaaris

Adherents of a branch of the Isma'ilis who gave allegiance to Nizaar, the eldest son of the Fatimid Imaam- caliph al-Mustansir as his successor.

Nooh; Noah

A prophet of Allah mentioned in the Qur'an and the Old Testament. By the divine assistance he built an ark and with his believers and other creatures he was saved by the devastating floods which anchored at mount joodi .

Noor

Light, a term used for one of the attributes of Allah, defined as light in the Qur'an in the verse of light (aayat un-noor 24:35 ) In Shi‘ism, the term is taken to mean the light that is believed to have emanated through Hazrat Adam (AS), via Prophet Muhammad (SAWS) into the family of Maulana ‘Ali (AS) and his successors, the Imaams .

Nusrat

Help, aid, assistance, support, backing.

P

Paa-bandi

Restrained, control, obedience.

Paak

Pure, clean, holy.

Paamaal

Trodden, ruined, trampled.

Panaah

Protection, asylum, refuge, shelter.

Panjatan-e-Paak; al-khamsat ul-athaar

The five most respected persons of the household of the Prophet, also known as “khair ul-bashar” and “khair ul-‘etar” means the best of mankind and progenies. They Prophet Muhammad (SAWS), Hazrat ‘Ali (AS), Maulatana Faatema (AS), Imaam Hasan (AS) and Imaam Husain (AS).

Parcham

Banner, flag, standard.

Parwardigaar; Allah

The sustainer, the nourisher.

Parwarish

Fostering, sustenance.

Pasandeeda

Chosen, favorite, desirable.

Payghaam; payaam

Message, mission; “payghambar” means a messenger or an envoy.

Peeri

Old age, status of a saint.

Posheeda

Concealed, hidden.