The 100 Greatest Muslims: March 2022

Sunday, March 20, 2022

The 100 Greatest Muslim (2022): 100 - Fatemeh Masumeh: "The Pure and Innocent" 9th Century Shi'a Saint Whose Shrine in Qom Draws Millions Every Year

100

Fatemeh Masumeh

Fatemeh Masumeh (b. 1 Dhu al-Qi'dah 173 AH [March 22, 790 CC], Medina, Abbasid Caliphate [now in Saudi Arabia] – d. 10 or 12 Rabi' al-Thani 201 AH [November 7 or 9, 816 CC], Qom, Abbasid Caliphate [now in Iran]), commonly known as Fatima bint Musa, Fatimah bint Musa, Fatimah al-Masumah, Fatima al-Masuma, or Fatemeh Masoumeh, was the daughter of the seventh Twelver Shi'a Imam, Musa al-Kadim (Musa Kazem), and sister of the eighth Twelver Shi'a Imam, 'Ali al-Rida (Ali Reza). Every year, millions of Shi'a Muslims travel to Qom to honor Fatemeh Masumeh at her shrine.

Fatemeh Masumeh was the eldest daughter of Musa al-Kadim, and the Shi'a consider her to be the holiest child of Musa al-Kadim after her brother 'Ali al-Rida.

Fatemeh Masumeh was highly praised in the narrations and speeches of three Shi'a Imams: Jafar Sadiq, the sixth Shi'a Imam, in two narrations; 'Ali al-Rida, the eighth Shi'a Imam, in five narrations; and Muhammad al-Taqi, the ninth Shi'a Imam, who pronounced that whoever visits Masumeh in Qom will go to heaven.

A prominent aspect of Fatemeh Masumeh is her ability to provide intercession. According to the narrations of Jafar Sadiq and 'Ali al-Rida, Fatemeh Masumeh will intercede for the Shi'a on the Day of Judgment so that all of them will enter Paradise.

Another prominent aspect of Fatemeh Masumeh, as Jafar Sadiq pointed out, is that the shrine of Fatemeh Masumeh in Qom is deemed to be the shrine of all Shi'a Imams. This means that all twelve Shi'a Imams are present in the shrine of Fatemeh Masumeh and whoever visits Fatemeh Masumeh in Qom is deemed to have visited all twelve Shi'a Imams.

A notable feature of Fatemeh Masumeh is the title "Masumeh" given to her by 'Ali al-Rida. "Masumeh" in Arabic means "pure and innocent". 'Ali al-Rida's purpose in giving this name to his sister was to indicate that Fatemeh Masumeh was a pure and innocent human being. This feature is very important for Shiites, and indicates that Fatemeh Masumeh has a degree of infallibility.

Hamidah, Fatemeh's grandmother and the mother of Fatemeh’s father (Musa al-Kadim) was also the owner of Fatemeh's mother, Najmah Khatun, a slave of African descent. Hamidah had a dream that the Prophet Muhammad told her that Najmah needed to become the wife of her son, Musa, so that Najmah could birth “the best people in the world”. While Najmah was more focused on the son, Imam al-Rida, she would also give birth to Fatemeh as a product of the marriage.

It is written that even before she was born, Shi'a Imams foretold of Fatemeh Masumeh's holiness and piety. Fatemeh was born into Shi'a royalty, being raised under the care of two Imams - her father and her brother - and she is said to have absorbed their knowledge and holiness.

Fatemeh Masumeh was born in Medina in 173 AH (790 CC) and spent the first six years of her life learning alongside her father, Imam Musa al-Kadim. She had a special gift of knowledge and spiritual awareness, even in childhood. When she was ten years old, Harun al-Rashid, the 5th caliph of the Abbasid Caliphate sent her father (Musa) to prison. This separation was very difficult for Fatemeh, but her brother 'Ali (who was 25 years her senior) took care of her.

'Ali and Fatemeh were among Imam Musa al-Kadim's 37 children, but they were the only two children from the Imam's marriage to Najmah Khatun. Their mother was a former slave from North Africa who became very learned in Islamic teachings under the guidance of Imam Musa al-Kadim's mother, Hamidah. 'Ali would later become the 8th Imam and gain the title Imam 'Ali al-Rida. The historian al-Tabari states that 'Al-Rida' means "The One Well-pleasing [to God]." 'Ali was appointed successor to the Abbasid Caliph al-Mamun, but he was hesitant in accepting this role. As 'Ali al-Rida received the title of "Crown Prince" , some people refused to accept his role amidst civil war. 'Ali al-Rida revealed the extent of this revolt to al-Mamun, stating that people considered him (al-Mamun) "bewitched and mentally deranged"; were hiding reports from him; and had given their allegiance to his paternal uncle Ibrahim ibn al-Madhi instead of him.

In 200 AH (815 CC), al-Mamun called for 'Ali al-Rida to leave for Khorasan. Fatemeh Masumeh was forced to live apart from her brother. After one year of separation from her brother, Fatemeh Masumeh decided to join him. She did not leave solely because of her wish to live near her brother; but also because Fatemeh Masumeh's knowledge and religiosity could help her brother in his political office, especially in decisions regarding women. In 201 AH (816 CC), she set off in a caravan with 23 family members and friends of Imam 'Ali al-Rida, alongside another caravan of 12,000 people traveling to Khorasan.

The caravans never made it to Khorasan, and Fatemeh Masumeh never reached her brother. The caravans were attacked by agents of the caliph while at Saveh. Some fled, but many were wounded, taken prisoner, or killed. Fatima Masumeh survived, but was forced to watch the murders of the 23 close family members and friends. It is written that Fatemeh Masumeh was then poisoned by a woman. Fatemeh became ill and asked to be taken to Qom.

Fatemeh Masumeh died in Qom at the age of 26. She was buried in her host's land in Qom.

The Shrine of Fatemeh Masumeh is located in Qom, which is considered by Shi'a Muslims to be the second most sacred city in Iran after Mashhad.

In Shi'a Islam, women are often revered as saints if they are close relatives to one of the Twelver Imams. Fatemeh Masumeh is therefore honored as a saint, and her shrine in Qom is considered one of the most significant Shi'a shrines in Iran. Every year, thousands of Shi'a Muslims travel to Qom to honor Fatemeh Masumeh and ask her for blessings.

Also buried within the shrine are three daughters of the ninth Twelver Shī‘a Imām Muhammad al-Taqi.

The mosque consists of a burial chamber, three courtyards and three large prayer halls, totaling an area of 38,000 square meters (410,000 square feet). The three prayer halls are named: Tabataba'i, Bala Sar, and A'dham.

Although Shi'a theology formally states that the relatives of the Imams, the imamzadehs, hold a lower status than the Imams, popular Shi'ism still strongly venerates imamzadehs. In Iran, there are many more burial places of the Imams' relatives than there are for the Imams themselves. Imamzadehs are considered to be close to God and religiously pious because of their close relation to Imams. The Shi'a commonly travel on pilgrimages to shrines of imamzadehs, such as the Shrine of Fatemeh Masumeh, the sister of the 8th Imam 'Ali al-Rida, in Qom, Iran. Men and women seek cures to ailments, solutions to problems, and forgiveness of sins at these sites. Many hadiths, or teachings, are recorded from Shi'a Imams praising the veneration of Fatemeh Masumeh, and proclaiming that those who make a pilgrimage to her Shrine will "certainly be admitted to heaven."

Fatemeh Masumeh's Shrine in Qom is crowded every day of the year with Shi'a men, women, and children from all around the world. Some stay for hours or days praying at the mosque and circumambulating around her tomb. The economy of Qom has become reliant on this pilgrimage for the tourism it brings. In turn, Qom has remained conservative and traditional to maintain a pious environment for pilgrims. Many miracles have been recorded as taking place at this shrine, and they are documented in a special office within the shrine complex. Some are published in the shrines monthly newspaper, the Payam-e Astan.

Pilgrims at the Shrine of Fatemeh Masumeh follow rituals that have been passed down for centuries. Imam 'Ali al-Rida, Fatemeh Masumeh's brother, outlined these ritual acts as he described the way he visited her Shrine. The prayer Imam al-Rida dictated to his sister continues to be part of the pilgrimage. Since the Safavid period, additional rituals have been added that are now typical for many Shi'a pilgrimages including ritual washing beforehand, dressing in perfumed clothing, and entering the site with one's right foot.

Since the beginning of Qom's history in the 7th century of the Christian calendar, the city has been associated with Shi'ism and set apart from the Sunni caliphate. Many Shi'a hadiths referred to Qom as a "place of refuge for believers," calling it a deeply religious place. After Fatemeh Masumeh's death in Qom and the construction of her Shrine, scholars began to gather in Qom and the city gained its reputation for religious learning. Today, Qom is still noted for its religious seminaries and organizations.

The style of Fatemeh Masumeh's Shrine has developed over many centuries. At first, her tomb was covered with a bamboo canopy. Fifty years later, this was replaced by a more durable domed building, at the request of the daughter of Imam Muhammad al-Taqi, Sayyida Zaynab. The family of Sayyida Zaynab later added a further two domes to the Shrine. These architectural projects marked the beginning of female patronage of the tomb of Fatemeh Masumeh.

From 1795–1796, Fath Ali Shah Qajar converted two Safavid sahn or courtyards into one large courtyard and, in 1803, fixed the golden dome. In 1883, Amin al-Sultan added the new sahn e-jadid or "New Court" to the Shrine complex.

During the Ayatollah Khomeini's 1979 Iranian Revolution, Qom was named "the birthplace" of this movement. Khomeini studied in Qom and lived there at the beginning and end of the Revolution. Aspects of the culture of Qom, including the Shrine of Fatemeh Masumeh, were used to unite the Iranian people over significant historical and mythical events. Khomeini used images of the Shrine of Fatemeh Masumeh in posters, money, and stamps created during the Revolution. Khomeini also constructed an addition to the Shrine of Fatemeh Masumeh and added more space for pilgrims. In addition, the tomb of Ayatollah Khomeini utilizes architectural elements that are similar to Fatemeh Masumeh's Shrine, such as the golden dome.

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A Partial Bibliography:

Allan, James W. (2012). The Art and Architecture of Twelver Shi'ism: Iraq, Iran, and the Indian Sub-Continent. Oxford, England: Azimuth Editions.

Betteridge, Anne H. (2002). "Muslim Women and Shrines in Shiraz". In Donna Lee Bowen and Evelyn A. Early (ed.). Everyday Life in the Muslim Middle East (Second Edition). Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press.

Canby, Sheila R. (2009) Shah 'Abbas: The Remaking of Iran. London, England: The British Museum Press.

Hattstein, Markus and Delius, Peter (ed.) (2001). Islam: Art and Architecture. Cologne, Germany: Konemann Verlagsgellschaft.

Jaffer, Masuma (2003). Lady Fatima Masuma (a) of Qom. Qom, Iran: Jami'at al-Zahra: Islamic Seminary for Women.

Lewis, B. "Ali al-Rida". Encyclopedia of Islam, Second Edition. BrillOnline Reference Works.

Tabari (1987). Translated by C. E. Bosworth (ed.). The History of al-Tabari: The Reunification of the 'Abassid Caliphate: Volume 32. New York, New York: State University of New York.

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A Partial Listing of Wikipedia Links:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ali_al-Ridha

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fatimah_bint_Musa

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fatima_Masumeh_Shrine

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelve_Imams

Appendices

Table of Contents

Appendix 1 - Caliph

Appendix 2 - Imam

Appendix 3 - Shi'a Imams and Their Derivative Sects

Appendix 4 - Ta'ifa

Appendix 5 - Taqali

Appendix 6 - Tariqa

Appendix 7 - Padshah Begum

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Appendix 1

Caliph

In Arabic, khalifah means "successor". In Islamic history the caliph was the ruler of the Muslim community.

Although khalifah and its plural khulafa' occur several times in the Qur'an, referring to humans as God's stewards or vice-regents on earth, the term did not denote a distinct political or religious institution during the lifetime of the Prophet Muhammad. It began to acquire its later meaning and to take shape as an institution after Muhammad's death (on June 8, 632 CC), when Abu Bakr, a companion of the Prophet, and an early convert to Islam, was elected by a majority of Muslims as the leader of the Muslim community -- the umma -- and assumed the title khalifat rasul Allah -- "successor of the messenger of God". Abu Bakr's successor, 'Umar ibn al-Khattab, is said to have first assumed the title khalifa Abi Bakr ("successor to Abu Bakr"), because the title khalifat khalifat rasul Allah ("the successor to the successor of the messenger of God") would have been cumbersome. 'Umar also designated himself amir al-mu'minin -- "the commander of the faithful" -- a title that became an additional customary title for succeeding rulers.

Abu Bakr and his three immediate successors are known as the "perfect" caliphs or the "rightly guided caliphs" -- khulafa al-rashidun. The rashidun caliphs combined rule is idealized by a majority of Muslims for having been based on the concepts of shura (consultation), ijma' (consensus) of Muslims, and bay'ah (allegiance). In contrast, subsequent rulers of the Muslim polity instituted dynastic rule, which violated the concept of shura -- of consultation -- and, therefore, the dynastic rule was largely regarded as illegitimate, although it often was grudgingly accepted from a pragmatic perspective.

The title of caliph was borne by the 14 Umayyad rulers of Damascus, and subsequently by the 38 'Abbasid caliphs of Baghdad, whose dynasty fell before the Mongols in 1258. There were titular caliphs of 'Abbasid descent in Cairo under the Mamluks from 1258 until 1517, when the last caliph was captured by the Ottoman sultan Selim I. The Ottoman sultans then claimed the title and used the title caliph until the caliphate was abolished by the Turkish Republic on March 3, 1924.

After the fall of the Umayyad dynasty at Damascus in 750, the title of caliph was also assumed the Andalusian branch of the family who ruled in Spain at Cordoba (755-1031 CC). The title "caliph" was also assumed by the Fatimid rulers of Egypt (909-1171 CC), who claimed to descend from Fatimah (a daughter of Muhammad) and Fatimah's husband, 'Ali ibn Abi Talib.

According to the Shi'a, who call the supreme Islamic office the "imamate" or leadership, no one can claim to be legimate unless he is a lineal descendant of the Prophet Muhammad. Later, Sunni scholars insisted that the office belonged to the tribe of Quraysh, to which Muhammad himself belonged, but this condition would have vitiated the claim of the Ottoman sultans, who held the office after the last 'Abbasid caliph of Cairo transferred the title to Selim I.

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Related Wikipedia Listing:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_caliphs

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Appendix 2

Imam

Imam (plural - a'immah) is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a worship leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Islamic worship services, lead prayers, serve as community leaders, and provide religious guidance. Thus, for Sunnis, anyone can study the basic Islamic sciences and become an Imam.

For most Shi'a Muslims, the Imams are absolute infallible leaders of the Islamic community after the Prophet. Shias consider the term to be only applicable to the members and descendents of the Ahl al-Bayt - the family of the Prophet Muhammad. In Twelver Shi'ism, there are 14 infalliables, 12 of which are Imams, the final being Imam Mahdi, the four year old Imam who will return at the end of times.

The title Imam was also used by the Zaidi Shi'a Imams of Yemen, who eventually founded the Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen (1918–1970).

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imam

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Appendix 3

Shi'a Imams and Their Derivative Sects

The following is an outline of the Shi‘a imams and their derivative sects:

‘Ali (d. 661)

*  Saba ‘iyya (who claim that ‘Ali is God, and that he went into occultation)

Hassan (d. 669)

*  Kaysaniyya
*  Karibiyya
*  Hashimiyya
*  Abbasiyya
*  Rizaniyya/Muslimiyya
*  Mukhtariyya
*  Bayaniyya

Husayn (d. 680)

Ali Zayn al-Abidin (d. 712 or 713)

*  Zaydiyya  (Zayd claimed to be the fifth imam)
*  Jarudiyya
*  Sulaymaniyya/Jaririyya
*  Butriyya/Salihiyya

Muhammad al-Baqir (d. 743)

*  Janahiyya (God incarnated in the prophets/imams)
*  Mughiriyya (anthropomorph God)
*  Munsiriyya (symbolic understanding of the Qur’an.  First, God created Jesus, then ‘Ali)
*  Khattabiyya (Abdul Khattab claimed to be the imam, and hence the Prophet)
*  Bazighiyya
*  Mu’ammariyya
*  Umayriyya
*  Mufaddaliyya
*  Ghurabiyya (‘Ali is above the Prophet)
*  Baqiriyya

Jafar as-Sadiq (d. 765)

*  Jafariyya (“Jafar is not dead!”)
*  Aftahiyya
*  Shumaytiyya
*  Isma‘iliyya
*  Mubarakiyya
*  Fatimid Isma‘iliyya
*  Mustalia
*  Nizari
*  Druze

Musa al-Kazim (d. 799)

*  Musawiyya (“Imam Musa is not dead!”)
*  Bajaliyya
*  Bashariyya (Only perform sawm and salat)

Ali ar-Rida (d. 818)

*  Ahmadiyya
*  Mualifa
*  Muhadditha

Muhammad at-Taqi (d. 835)

Ali al-Hadi (d. 868)

*  Alawiyya
*  Muhammadiyya
*  Jafariyya

Hassan al-Askari (d. 873)

Muhammad al-Mahdi (occultation 941)

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Appendix 4

Ta'ifa

Ta’ifa
Ta’ifa. Arabic word which means “group” or“faction.” The plural of the word ta’ifa is tawa’if. Following the fall of the Umayyad caliphate in Cordoba, Muslim Spain split into rival factions (tawa’if). The tawa’if founded independent principalities. The princes of the tawa’if are called the kings of the ta’ifa -- the muluk al-tawa’if.

The Ta'ifa is a faction or party, as applied to the followers of any of the petty kings who appeared in Muslim Spain in a period of great political fragmentation early in the 11th century after the dissolution of the central authority of the Umayyad caliphate of Córdoba. After the dictatorship of al-Muẓaffar (r. 1002–08), civil war reduced the caliphate to a puppet institution and allowed the various taifas to establish themselves in independent and short-lived kingdoms throughout the Iberian peninsula. There were at least 23 such states between 1009 and their final conquest by the Almoravids of North Africa in 1091. Thus, the Berbers counted in their party the Afṭasids of Badajoz, the Dhū al-Nūnids of Toledo, and the Ḥammūdids of Málaga, who briefly helped the Córdoban caliphate. The Andalusians, or Hispano-Arabs, were represented by the ʿAbbādids of Sevilla (Seville), the Jahwarids of Córdoba, and the Hūdids of Zaragoza. The Ṣaqālibah (Slav mercenaries) did not form dynasties but created such kingdoms as Tortosa, Denia, and Valencia.

Wars between the various states never ceased. The states had few scruples in asking for Christian support against rival Muslim kings or in turning to the North African kingdoms for aid against Christian princes. Such lack of unity and consistency made the kingdoms of the taifas fair targets for the growing forces of Christian reconquest. Soon Badajoz, Toledo, Zaragoza, and even Sevilla were paying tribute to the Christian Alfonso VI of Leon and Castile.

Despite their political incompetence, however, the taifa kings fostered a period of brilliant Islamic cultural revival. In the manner of the caliphal courts, they entertained poets; promoted the study of philosophy, natural science, and mathematics; and produced such noted figures as the poet-king al-Muʿtamid of Sevilla and his vizier Ibn ʿAmmār, the poets Ibn Zaydūn and Wallādah of Córdoba, and Ibn Ḥazm, the poet-philosopher-scholar.

In 1085 Alfonso took Toledo. At the invitation of several party kings, the Almoravid Yūsuf ibn Tāshufīn entered Spain and defeated Alfonso at the Battle of Zallāqah, near Badajoz, in 1086. When Muslim fortunes in Spain did not improve, Yūsuf returned in 1088. He dissolved the party kingdoms (1090–91) and extended the Almoravid empire into Spain.

Group see Ta’ifa.
Faction see Ta’ifa.

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Appendix 5

Taqali

Taqali
Taqali (Tegali). The people of Taqali live in the northeastern Nuba hills of Kordofan Province, Republic of the Sudan. Taqali denotes a place rather than a group of people. In the local language, a person from Taqali would be an Aqali or Ugali. However, many people have forgotten that language, and they refer to themselves in Arabic as nas or ahl (“people,” “folk,” “family”) Taqali or Taqalawin. They have a strong sense of common identity while yet recognizing that their ancestors came from many different ethnic groups.

Although Muslims, the Taqali do not consider themselves Arabs. That ethnic label, in fact, bears the negative connotation of the nineteenth century Arab raiders who kidnapped highlanders and sold them into slavery. Men, however, and most women speak Arabic as well as the local tongue, one of the Taqali-Taqoi cluster of dialects. The model of people using Arabic in the market and their own language at home holds true only to a limited extent. The actual mix of language and social contextis much less clear cut and sometimes seems coincidental or arbitrary.

The Taqali kingdom’s historic center and the ruins of royal compounds all lie in the hills. In 1929, however, the Taqali king, his family and his entourage descended from the hills for better access to roads and markets. They built the town of Abbasiya and the small villages which surround it. Plains villagers and Abbasiya townsmen constantly exchange visits and form a single community.

Members of Taqali’s royal family assumed local political offices under Anglo-Egyptian administration (1898-1956) and had considerable independence until the revolution of 1969. Even after they were removed from formal office, however, local people and guests came to them for advice, mediation and hospitality. The king’s descendants continue to wield considerable local power and influence, forming Abbasiya’s political elite.

Taqali (also spelled Tegali) was a state in the Nuba Hills, in modern day central Sudan. Unlike the surrounding Kordofan the uplands of the hills were quite moist and suitable to agriculture and a dense population. The state was centered upon the Taqali Massif the highest part of the hills in the northeast of the region. Its early history is unclear. Oral traditions state it was founded many centuries ago at the same time that the Kingdom of Sennar came into being. Some scholars doubt these tales and believe that the state did not come into being until the late eighteenth century (between 1750 and 1780), and that the early rulers on the king list are semi-mythological.

It has been argued that the first true ruler of Taqali was Muhammad wad Jayli and that he and his son Ismail forged the state. Some believe it formed during the period of disorder in the Kordofan when the Kingdom of Sennar was declining and Darfur was growing in power. Muhammad began the process of uniting the region. He was succeeded as Makk (also Makuk) by his brother Umar. Umar was overthrown, however, by Ajaid, the queen mother, and Ismail around 1783. Ismail took over and further expanded the state, taking control of the "99 hills" of the region. His son Abakr peacefully succeeded him, but after this the state was beset by conflicts over the succession through much of the period from 1840 to 1880.

Despite its small size the Taqali state remained independent of its more powerful neighbors. While the Nuba Hills were well suited to agriculture they were surrounded by the arid Kordofan. This region was far too dry to support a large army and only small expeditions could be launched. The rocky terrain of the Taqali Massif served as natural fortifications. The Kingdom of Sennar exerted enough pressure that Taqali sent annual tribute, but never conquered the area. When Sennar was destroyed by the Egyptian invasion of 1821 the situation continued. The Egyptians launched three separate attacks against Taqali, but all of them failed. Eventually an agreement was reached whereby Taqali would remain de facto independent but would pay a nominal tribute and be officially included within the Egyptian Sudan.

The state was finally conquered by the forces of the Mahdi Muhammad Ahmad. Makk Adam prevaricated between the British and the forces of the Mahdi, professing his support for both but aiding neither. In 1883 the Mahdi decided that Taqali had to be conquered. His armies did more than previous ones. In July 1884 Makk (also said Makuk) Adam was captured, and he eventually died in captivity. Insurrections continued in Taqali and Hamdan Abu Anja was dispatched to defeat the resistance. This was done though with much pillaging and destruction of the region.

With the defeat of the Mahdists the Mukuk of Taqali were restored to power, but they were now closely controlled by the British. Taqali proved a useful ally and the British gradually gave it more territory to control and administer. This continued with the independence of Sudan in 1956. The administrative power of the state was finally done away with after the 1969 coup. The Makk (or Makuk) of Taqali, though having no political power, remains a ceremonial leader to the people of the region to this day.

The Mukuk of Taqali include:

* Muhammad al-Rubatabi
* Jayli Abu Jarida
* Sabo
* Jayli Umara
* Jayli Awan Allah
* Jayli Abu Qurun
* Muhammad wad Jayli c. 1750
* Umar I to 1783
* Ismail 1783 to 1800
* Abakr I 1800 to 1820
* Umar II 1800 to 1835
* Ahmad 1835 to 1840
* Maryud 1840 to 1843
* Nasir 1843 to c. 1860
* Adam I c. 1860 to 1884
* Interregnum 1884 to 1898
* Jayli 1898 to 1916
* Abakr II 1916 to 1920
* Adam II 1920 to ?

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Appendix 6

Tariqa

tariqa
tariqa (tariqah). Arabic term which means “the path” or “the way.” The term tariqa refers to a religious brotherhood of Sufis. The term also applies to the system of beliefs and training transmitted by particular schools of Sufism. The term turuq is the plural of tariqa.

The term tariqa is a widely used technical term referring to true Islam, to the Sufi tradition, and to individual Sufi brotherhoods. In the first sense, tariqa is equivalent to the phrase “the straight path” in the opening chapter -- the Surat al-Fatiha --of the Qur’an. Just as unbelief (kufr) and polytheism (shirk) characterize infidels, i.e., deviants from the straight path, so faith in God and total reliance on his will characterize the traveler on the straight path, i.e., the true Muslim. In handbooks of Sufi theorists, increasingly popular from the eleventh century of the Christian calendar onward, tariqa acquired a second, more specific denotation of an intermediate stage leading from observance of the law (sharia) to realization of the truth. Much of the controversy surrounding Sufism concerns the relationship of the path to the law. Itinerant, antinomian Muslims, such as the qalandar, dispersed with the law while the strict ‘ulama’ (the learned functionaries of Islam) denied the validity of the way. Moderate Sufis try to adhere to the requirements of both.

Many medieval theorists stressed the complementarity of the outer (the law) and the inner (the truth), assuming the path as an implicit link between them. The fourteenth century master Sharaf-al-Maneri wrote, “The Law is like the body, Truth like the soul. Just as a man cannot live without either body or soul, so he cannot believe unless he adheres to both the Law and the Truth.” Others have grafted truth to law by extending the mystic path inot a multidirectional quest. The journey to God is followed by a journey into God, which, however, then leads to a journey from God back to the phenomenal world. The paradigm for this spiritual ascent and descent is to the mi’raj or ascension of the Prophet Muhammad, whom Sufis extol not only as the founder of Islam but also as the model Sufi.

By the twelfth and thirteenth centuries the way became channeled into organized brotherhoods, each with hierarchical lines of authority emanating from a single, all-powerful shaikh. These brotherhoods or tariqas (also silsilas) exhibited enormous variety. Some were pan-Islamic in scope and activity; others were solely regional. Some were politically influential; others were distrustful of any governmental connection. Collectively, the brotherhoods helped to extend the perimeters of the Muslim world. Without them Sufism would have been limited to literary artifacts and ecstatic personalities of the early medieval period.

Tariqa (“road,” “path,” or “way”) refers to the Muslim spiritual path toward direct knowledge (maʿrifah) of God or Reality (ḥaqq). In the 9th and 10th centuries tariqa meant the spiritual path of individual Sufis (mystics). After the 12th century, as communities of followers gathered around sheikhs (or pīrs,“teachers”), tariqa came to designate the sheikh’s entire ritual system, which was followed by the community or mystic order. Eventually tariqa came to mean the order itself.

Each mystic order claimed a chain of spiritual descent (silsilah) from the Prophet Muhammad, established procedures for initiation of members (murid, ikhwan, darwīsh, fakir), and prescribed disciplines. By following the path of a known“friend of God,” or Sufi saint, under the guidance of his sheikh, the Sufi might himself achieve the mystical state (hāl) of the friends of God. Though sober teachers inveighed against excesses, the search for spiritual ecstasy sometimes led to such practices as drug taking and wild acrobatics, activities that earned for some of the orders the names whirling, howling, and dancing dervishes. Dervish orders frequently established monasteries (ribat, khankah, zāwiyah, tekke) in which laity as well as members were invited to stay.

First established in the 12th century, the orders numbered in the hundreds by the mid-20th century, with a membership in the millions. The greatest expansion of Sufi tariqas has been in the central Islamic countries, where they played a vital role in the religious life of the Muslim community. Orders also exist in West Africa, eastern Europe, India, and in Central and Far Eastern Asia.

The traditional orders are:

* Abbasiyya
* Ahmadiya - Sheikh Muhammad Borhanuddin Uyesi
* Arusiyyah-Qadiriyyah
* Ashrafi
* Azeemia
* Ba'Alawi
* Badawiyyah
* Bektashi
* Chishti
* Darqawa
* Dar ul Ehsan
* Fazli Qadri
* Galibi
* Habibi Silsila
* Halveti
* Hurufi
* Idrisiyya
* Ismaili
* Jerrahi
* Mohammadiyaa
* Mevlevi
* Kibruyeh
* Naqshbandi
* Nasiriyya
* Nematollahi
* Noorbakshi
* Oveyssi
* Qadiri
* Qadiri 'Arusi
* Qadiri Al-Muntahi
* Qadiri Boutchichi
* Qalandari
* Qarnaiyniyah
* Qadri-Qadeeri Silsila
* Rifa'i
* Safaviyeh
* Sanusiyya
* Sarwari Qadiri
* Sarwariyya
* Shadhili
* Shattari
* Sirajiyah Haqqaniya
* Suhrawardiyya
* Tijani
* Zahediyeh

tariqah see tariqa

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Appendix 7

Padshah Begum

List of Padshah Begum

Maham Begum (r.1526-1530) Wife of Babur

Bega Begum (r.1530-1540) Wife of Humayun

(r.1555-1556)

Hamida Banu Begum (r.1556-1604) Wife of Akbar

Saliha Banu Begum (r.1608-1620) Wife of Jahangir

Nur Jahan (r.1620-1627) Wife of Jahangir

Mumtaz Mahal (r.1628-1631) Wife of Shah Jahan
Jahanara Begum (r.1631-1658) Daughter of Shah Jahan

(r.1669-1681) Sister of Aurangzeb

Roshanara Begum (r.1658-1669) Daughter of Shah Jahan

Sister of Aurangzeb

Zinat-un-Nissa Begum (r.1681-1721) Daughter of Aurangzeb

Badshah Begum (r.1721-1789) Daughter of Farruksiyar

Wife of Muhammad Shah

Zeenat Mahal (r.1840-1857) Wife of Bahadur Shah Zafar

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Padshah_Begum

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Glossary

Ahl al-Bayt - "family of the Prophet Muhammad"

Al-Haq - "Reality" -- One of the Names of God

al-harakat al-jawhariyyah - "substantial motion" or "motion existing in substance"

al-hikmah al-muta’aliyah - "Transcendent Theosophy"

al-hikmat al-muti‘aliya - "transcendental wisdom"

al-Ikhwan - "the Brethren"

'alim - "a scholar of Islamic law"

al-khulafa al-rashidun - "rightly guided caliphs"

Al-Rida - "The Soothe" or "The One Who Is Pleasing to God"

amir al-mu'minin - "the commander of the faithful"

aql - "reason"

arbab al-anwa’ - "master of species"

asfar - "journey"

Aswad - "dark skinned or black complexion"

Ayatollah - "honorary title for high-ranking Twelver Shi'a clergy in Iran and Iraq that came into widespread usage in the 20th century"

'ayn - "place"

bay'ah - "allegiance"

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caliph - In Arabic, khalifah means "successor". In Islamic history the caliph was the ruler of the Muslim community. Although khalifah and its plural khulafa' occur several times in the Qur'an, referring to humans as God's stewards or vice-regents on earth, the term did not denote a distinct political or religious institution during the lifetime of the Prophet Muhammad. It began to acquire its later meaning and to take shape as an institution after Muhammad's death (on June 8, 632 CC), when Abu Bakr, a companion of the Prophet, and an early convert to Islam, was elected by a majority of Muslims as the leader of the Muslim community -- the umma -- and assumed the title khalifat rasul Allah -- "successor of the messenger of God". Abu Bakr's successor, 'Umar ibn al-Khattab, is said to have first assumed the title khalifa Abi Bakr ("successor to Abu Bakr"), because the title khalifat khalifat rasul Allah ("the successor to the successor of the messenger of God") would have been cumbersome. 'Umar also designated himself amir al-mu'minin -- "the commander of the faithful" -- a title that became an additional customary title for succeeding rulers.

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cosmology - A branch of metaphysics dealing with the nature of the universe.

dhawq - "intellectual intuition"

emirs - "governors"

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essentialism - Philosophical essentialism is the idea that the nature of things is invariable and constant. Essentialism posits that one must be able to describe an entity according to that which is required, or essential, to its nature and existence.

The main issue regarding essentialism in philosophy surrounds the essence of humans. What are we? What makes us different from other creatures? Is there anything that is essential to being human?

In ontology, the view that some properties of objects are essential to them. The "essence" of a thing is conceived as the totality of its essential properties. Theories of essentialism differ with respect to their conception of what it means to say that a property is essential to an object. The concept of an essential property is closely related to the concept of necessity, since one way of saying that a property P is essential to an object O is to say that the proposition "O has P" is necessarily true. A general but not very informative way of characterizing essential properties is to say that a property is essential to an object if the object cannot lack the property and still be the object that it is. Properties of an object that are not essential in this sense are said to be accidental.

Ontology is the branch of philosophy that studies concepts such as existence, being, becoming, and reality.It includes the questions of how entities are grouped into basic categories and which of these entities exist on the most fundamental level.

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existentialism - In Western philosophy, existentialism is a philosophy concerned with finding self and the meaning of life through free will, choice, and personal responsibility. However, in Islamic philosophy (especially in the Islamic philosophy of the philosopher Mulla Sadra), Islamic existentialism should not be too readily compared to Western existentialism. Islamic existentialism is a question of existentialist cosmology as it pertains to God, and thus differs considerably from the individual, moral, and/or social, questions at the heart of Russian, French, German, or American existentialism.

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falasifah - "Muslim philosophers"

falsafah - "Islamic philosophy"

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Fars Province - Also known as Pars, as well as Persis or Persia, is one of the thirty-one provinces of Iran. It is located in Iran's southwest and its administrative center is Shiraz. Fars is the historical homeland of the Persian people. Fars is the historical homeland of the Persian people. It was the homeland of the Achaemenid and Sasanian Persian dynasties of Iran, who reigned on the throne by the time of the ancient Persian Empires. The ruins of the Achaemenid capitals Pasargadae and Persepolis, among others, demonstrate the ancient history of the region. Due to the historical importance of this region, the entire country has historically been also referred to as Persia in the West. Prior to Arab rule, this region was known as Pars.

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fatawa - "legal rulings"

fatwa - "legal ruling"

fayd - "self-flow"

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fiqh - "Islamic jurisprudence"

Fiqh is often described as the human understanding and practices of the sharia, that is the human understanding of the divine Islamic law as revealed in the Qur'an and the Sunnah (the teachings and practices of the Prophet Muhammad and his companions). Fiqh expands and develops sharia through interpretation (ijtihad) of the Qur'an and Sunnah by Islamic jurists ('ulama) and is implemented by the rulings (fatwa) of jurists on questions presented to them. Thus, whereas sharia is considered immutable and infallible by Muslims, fiqh is considered fallible and changeable. Fiqh deals with the observance of rituals, morals, and social legislation in Islam as well as with the political system. In the modern era, there are four prominent schools (madh'hab) of fiqh within Sunni practice, plus two (or three) within Shi'a practice. A person trained in fiqh is known as a faqih (plural fuqaha).

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gnosis (irfan) - "spiritual knowledge or insight into humanity's real nature as divine"

hadith - "record of the words, actions, and the silent approval of the Prophet Muhammad as transmitted through chains of narrators"

hajj - "pilgrimage"

hermeneutics - the theory and philosophy of Qur'anic understanding and interpretation

hikmah - "theosophy" or "knowledge"

hylomorphism - "doctrine that physical objects result from the combination of matter and form"

ijma' - "consensus"

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The title Imam was also used by the Zaidi Shi'a Imams of Yemen, who eventually founded the Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen (1918–1970).

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irfan - "gnosis"

ithna 'ashari - "Twelver"

jama'a - "Islamic community"

jawhar - "substance"

jizya - "fees levied on individual subjects"

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Kalam - Kalam is the foreshortened version of 'Ilm al-Kalam which means "science of discourse". Kalam is sometimes called "Islamic scholastic theology" or "speculative theology". Kalam is the study of Islamic doctrine. Kalam was born out of the need to establish and defend the tenets of the Islamic faith against the philosophical doubters. The Arabic term Kalam means "speech, word, utterance" among other things. There are many possible interpretations as to why this discipline was originally so named. One such interpretation is derived from one of the most divisive controversies from the second and third centuries after the Hijra concerning whether the "Word of God" (Kalam Allah), as revealed in the Qur'an, is an eternal attribute of God and, therefore, not created as opposed to the argument that the words were "created" in the sense of ink and sounds and, therefore, are not eternal. A scholar of Kalam is referred to as a mutakallim (plural: mutakallimun), and it is a role distinguished from those of Islamic philosophers, jurists, and scientists.

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kamm - "quantity"

kayf - "quality"

khalifa see caliph

khalifat khalifat rasul Allah - "the successor to the successor of the messenger of God"

khalifat rasul Allah - "successor of the messenger of God"

kharaj - "revenues on the land"

khatm al-anbiya - "Seal of the Prophets"

khulafa' see caliph

khulafa' al-rashidun - "rightly guided caliphs"

kunya - "name of an adult derived from their oldest child"

mahdi - "the final Shi'a Imam" or "the Divinely Guided One"

mahiyyah - "principality of essence"

mallam - "a Quranic scholar"

mashsha'iyah - "Peripatetic"

masjid - "mosque" or "place of prayer

Masumeh - "Pure and Innocent"

mujaddid - "renewer of the faith"

Mulla - "religious teacher"

mushahada - "mystical visions"

nur - "light"

nur muhammadiyyah - "Muhammadan Light"

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ontology - Ontology is the branch of philosophy that studies concepts such as existence, being, becoming, and reality.It includes the questions of how entities are grouped into basic categories and which of these entities exist on the most fundamental level.

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Padshah Begum was a superlative imperial title conferred upon the empress consort or 'First Lady' of the Mughal Empire and was considered to be the most important title in the Mughal harem or zenana.^[1] This title can be equivalent with "empress" in English, but in only approximate terms in the Mughal context.

Padeshah, Padshah, Padishah, or Badishah is a superlative royal title, composed of the Persian pād (master) and shāh (king), which was adopted by several monarchs claiming the highest rank, roughly equivalent to the ancient Persian notion of "The Great" or "Great King", and later adopted by post-Achaemenid and Christian Emperors. Its Arabized pronunciation as Badshah was used by Mughal emperors, and Bashah or Pasha was used by Ottoman Sultans.

Begum, begam, baigum or beygum is a female royal and aristocratic title from Central and South Asia. It is the feminine equivalent of the title baig or bey, which in Turkic languages means chief or commander. It usually refers to the wife or daughter of a beg.

The title of 'Padshah Begum' could only be bestowed upon the chief or principal wife, a sister, mother, or a favored daughter of the Mughal emperor^[2] and could not be held by more than one lady simultaneously.^[3] This was evidenced by the fact that Emperor Jahangir's wife, Nur Jahan, could only be given the title after his chief wife, Saliha Banu Begum (the Padshah Begum for most of his reign), had died in 1620.^[1]

Where the consorts of the Mughal emperors were concerned, the title could only be bestowed upon the chief wife of the emperor. The title was first bestowed upon Maham Begum, who was the chief wife of Emperor Babur. It was held by Bega Begum during the reign of Humayun. Then this title was bestowed upon Hamida Banu Begum by Akbar who bore it until her death in 1604.^[4] Emperor Jahangir bestowed this title upon his chief wife, Saliha Banu Begum, and then to her successor (after her death), Nur Jahan. Emperor Shah Jahan bestowed this title upon his chief wife, Mumtaz Mahal but after she died, he bestowed it upon his daughter Jahanara Begum. Emperor Muhammad Shah bestowed this title upon his chief wife, Badshah Begum.

The title was also bestowed upon the daughter of the emperor, such as Emperor Shah Jahan's daughter, Princess Jahanara Begum, and Emperor Aurangzeb's daughter, Princess Zinat-un-Nissa, both of whom bore the title throughout their lives.^[5]

In some cases, the title was also bestowed upon the sister of the emperor. Aurangzeb bestowed the title on his sisters Roshanara Begum and Jahanara Begum. When a Timurid Shahzadi held the title it meant "Empress amongst princesses".^[6]

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Peripatetic philosophy (mashsha'iyah) - The Peripatetic school was a school of philosophy in Ancient Greece. Its teachings derived from its founder, Aristotle (384-322 BCT), and peripatetic is an adjective ascribed to Aristotle's followers. The Peripatetic school dates from around 335 BCT when Aristotle began teaching in the Lyceum. It was an informal institution whose members conducted philosophical and scientific inquiries. After the middle of the third century BCT, the school fell into a decline, and it was not until the Roman era that there was a revival. Later members of the school concentrated on preserving and commenting on Aristotle's works rather than extending them. The Peripatetic school died out in the third century CC.

The study of Aristotle's works by scholars who were called Peripatetics continued through the Late Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and the Renaissance. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the works of the Peripatetic school were lost to the Latin West, but they were preserved in Byzantium and also incorporated into early Islamic philosophy. Western Europe recovered Aristotelianism from Byzantium and from Islamic sources in the Middle Ages.

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Qa‘ida imkan al-ashraf - "possibility of that which is superior"

Qa‘ida Laduniya - "Transcendental Principles"

Qa‘ida Mashraqiyah - "Principles of Oriental Philosophy"

quiddity - "essence"

sahn - "courtyard"

sahn e-jadid - "new court"

sarayan al-wujud - "penetration of being"

Seal of the Prophets - khatm al-anbiya

shadid ummah - "dark skinned or black complexion"

shaykh al-Islam - "supreme religious authority"

shura - "consultation"

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Sultan
Sultan. Originally, the term "sultan" was an Arabic language abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", or "rulership", derived from the masdar sulṭah, meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be used as the title of certain Muslim rulers who claimed almost full sovereignty in practical terms (i.e. the lack of dependence on any higher ruler), without claiming the overall caliphate, or it was used to refer to a powerful governor of a province within the caliphate. The term then developed some further meanings in certain contexts.

The title sultan was first given by the caliph to the Seljuk Amir al-Umara’, at first without political significance. The first to hold the title was Togril-Beg. Following the fall of the caliphate of Baghdad, the title sultan came to indicate the political independence of the prince. Eventually, the title sultan came to be the title held by the ruler of various Muslim states including the Seljuk and Ottoman empires.

The term sultan occurs frequently in the Qur’an with the meaning of a moral or magical authority. In hadith literature, it has exclusively the sense of power, usually governmental. As a personal title, the word was used for the first time by the great usurpers of power of the caliph such as the Buyids, the Ghaznavids and the Saljuqs. In 1051, the Great Saljuq Tughril I received from the caliph the title al-Sultan Rukn al-Dawla. It was with the Saljuqs that sultan became a regular sovereign title, to which such titles as malik and shah were subordinate. It was later adopted by the Mamelukes and the Ottomans. Jurists and historians then set themselves to construct theories to find a justification for the existence of potentates for whom the old conception of the Muslim caliphate had no place. Sultan is also the title given to Sufi shaykhs from the thirteenth century onwards, especially in Anatolia and countries influenced by Ottoman civilization.

Sultan is a title used by monarchs in Muslim countries. The title was one of indirect religious meaning, as the sultan was supposed to have both moral and spiritual authority as defined by the Qur’an. However, the sultan was not a religious leader. He was more a secular leader who ruled in accordance with Islam.

The first to carry the title was the Turkmen chief Mahmud of Ghasna (r.998-1030). Later both the Seljuks, Mamluks and Ottomans called their leaders sultans.

The religious element of the title was well illustrated by the fact that it was the shadow caliph in Cairo that bestowed the title “sultan” on the fourth leader of the Ottomans (the earlier leaders had been beys.).

At later stages, even smaller rulers took the title “sultan,” as was the case for the earlier leaders of today’s royal family of Morocco.

Today, the use of the title sultan is limited to such rulers as those in Oman and Brunei.

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tariqa
tariqa (tariqah). Arabic term which means “the path” or “the way.” The term tariqa refers to a religious brotherhood of Sufis. The term also applies to the system of beliefs and training transmitted by particular schools of Sufism. The term turuq is the plural of tariqa.

The term tariqa is a widely used technical term referring to true Islam, to the Sufi tradition, and to individual Sufi brotherhoods. In the first sense, tariqa is equivalent to the phrase “the straight path” in the opening chapter -- the Surat al-Fatiha --of the Qur’an. Just as unbelief (kufr) and polytheism (shirk) characterize infidels, i.e., deviants from the straight path, so faith in God and total reliance on his will characterize the traveler on the straight path, i.e., the true Muslim. In handbooks of Sufi theorists, increasingly popular from the eleventh century of the Christian calendar onward, tariqa acquired a second, more specific denotation of an intermediate stage leading from observance of the law (sharia) to realization of the truth. Much of the controversy surrounding Sufism concerns the relationship of the path to the law. Itinerant, antinomian Muslims, such as the qalandar, dispersed with the law while the strict ‘ulama’ (the learned functionaries of Islam) denied the validity of the way. Moderate Sufis try to adhere to the requirements of both.

Many medieval theorists stressed the complementarity of the outer (the law) and the inner (the truth), assuming the path as an implicit link between them. The fourteenth century master Sharaf-al-Maneri wrote, “The Law is like the body, Truth like the soul. Just as a man cannot live without either body or soul, so he cannot believe unless he adheres to both the Law and the Truth.” Others have grafted truth to law by extending the mystic path inot a multidirectional quest. The journey to God is followed by a journey into God, which, however, then leads to a journey from God back to the phenomenal world. The paradigm for this spiritual ascent and descent is to the mi’raj or ascension of the Prophet Muhammad, whom Sufis extol not only as the founder of Islam but also as the model Sufi.

By the twelfth and thirteenth centuries the way became channeled into organized brotherhoods, each with hierarchical lines of authority emanating from a single, all-powerful shaikh. These brotherhoods or tariqas (also silsilas) exhibited enormous variety. Some were pan-Islamic in scope and activity; others were solely regional. Some were politically influential; others were distrustful of any governmental connection. Collectively, the brotherhoods helped to extend the perimeters of the Muslim world. Without them Sufism would have been limited to literary artifacts and ecstatic personalities of the early medieval period.

Tariqa (“road,” “path,” or “way”) refers to the Muslim spiritual path toward direct knowledge (maʿrifah) of God or Reality (ḥaqq). In the 9th and 10th centuries tariqa meant the spiritual path of individual Sufis (mystics). After the 12th century, as communities of followers gathered around sheikhs (or pīrs,“teachers”), tariqa came to designate the sheikh’s entire ritual system, which was followed by the community or mystic order. Eventually tariqa came to mean the order itself.

Each mystic order claimed a chain of spiritual descent (silsilah) from the Prophet Muhammad, established procedures for initiation of members (murid, ikhwan, darwīsh, fakir), and prescribed disciplines. By following the path of a known“friend of God,” or Sufi saint, under the guidance of his sheikh, the Sufi might himself achieve the mystical state (hāl) of the friends of God. Though sober teachers inveighed against excesses, the search for spiritual ecstasy sometimes led to such practices as drug taking and wild acrobatics, activities that earned for some of the orders the names whirling, howling, and dancing dervishes. Dervish orders frequently established monasteries (ribat, khankah, zāwiyah, tekke) in which laity as well as members were invited to stay.

First established in the 12th century, the orders numbered in the hundreds by the mid-20th century, with a membership in the millions. The greatest expansion of Sufi tariqas has been in the central Islamic countries, where they played a vital role in the religious life of the Muslim community. Orders also exist in West Africa, eastern Europe, India, and in Central and Far Eastern Asia.

The traditional orders are:

* Abbasiyya
* Ahmadiya - Sheikh Muhammad Borhanuddin Uyesi
* Arusiyyah-Qadiriyyah
* Ashrafi
* Azeemia
* Ba'Alawi
* Badawiyyah
* Bektashi
* Chishti
* Darqawa
* Dar ul Ehsan
* Fazli Qadri
* Galibi
* Habibi Silsila
* Halveti
* Hurufi
* Idrisiyya
* Ismaili
* Jerrahi
* Mohammadiyaa
* Mevlevi
* Kibruyeh
* Naqshbandi
* Nasiriyya
* Nematollahi
* Noorbakshi
* Oveyssi
* Qadiri
* Qadiri 'Arusi
* Qadiri Al-Muntahi
* Qadiri Boutchichi
* Qalandari
* Qarnaiyniyah
* Qadri-Qadeeri Silsila
* Rifa'i
* Safaviyeh
* Sanusiyya
* Sarwari Qadiri
* Sarwariyya
* Shadhili
* Shattari
* Sirajiyah Haqqaniya
* Suhrawardiyya
* Tijani
* Zahediyeh

tariqah see tariqa

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'ulama' - (singular 'alim) also spelled ulema - "religious scholars" -- the learned of Islam. Those who possess the quality of 'ilm, "learning", in its widest sense. From the 'ulama', who were versed theoretically and practically in the Muslim sciences, come the religious teachers of the Islamic community -- theologians, canon lawyers (muftis), judges (qadis), professors -- and high state religious officials like the shaykh al-Islam. In a narrower sense, 'ulama' may refer to a council of learned men holding government appointments in a Muslim state.

Historically, the 'ulama' have been a powerful class, and in early Islam it was their consensus (ijma') on theological and juridical problems that determined the communal practices of future generations. Their authority over the community was so pervasive that Muslim governments always attempted to secure their support; in the Ottoman and Mughal empires they sometimes decisively influenced important policies. Although there is no priesthood in Islam, and every believer may perform priestly functions such as leading the liturgical prayer, the 'ulama' have played a clerical role in Islamic society.

In modern times, the 'ulama' have gradually lost ground to the new Western-educated classes. Although they have been abolished in Turkey, their hold on the conservative masses in the rest of the Muslim world remains firm.

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ulum al-aqliyyah - "philosophical sciences"

ulum al-din - "religious sciences"

umma - "the Muslim community"

vizier - "a high ranking political advisor or minister". The Abbasid caliphs gave the title vizier to a minister who was the official scribe or secretary for the caliph.

wad' - "position"

wahy - "revelation"

wird - "litany"

wujud - "existence" or "being"

Zindiq - "unbeliever"