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.
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.
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.
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).
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 .
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.
Our community application 'Ahl uz Zikr' launched for Mumineen worldwide
