itself, for a brief year, this success was shortlived and muta'] Temporary marriage. This is permitted (See Nikāh.) the 83rd sūra of the Qur'ān; it sūra belongs to the sūra is taken from the 1st the joys of Paradise to the pious. Mention is also made

Mutawwif (Ar.) Pilgrim guide in Mecca (q.v.) whose function is to guide the visiting pilgrim through the complex rituals of the Hajj (q.v.). (See Tawāf.)

Mu'tazila (Ar.) Literally, 'Seceders'. The word derives from the Arabic verb 'to withdraw, to secede' (i'tazala) but the origins of the group which took this name are a matter of scholarly dispute and it is clear that the Mu'tazila underwent a number of different stages of development. A popular story portrays a meeting held by al-Hasan al-Basrī (q.v.) from which one of those present withdraws. Al-Hasan comments: 'He has withdrawn' (I'tazala). The meeting, if it actually took place, is of some relevance since it was a discussion about the position of the grave sinner in the Islamic community: the man who withdrew maintained that such a sinner was in an 'intermediate position', and an 'intermediate' stance came to be a characteristic of the Mu'tazila. Mu'tazila, in effect, was an umbrella term covering diverse scholars who were divided on a number of points but united on others. Among those on which many agreed were the doctrine of a created Qur'ān, God's absolute Oneness (which