ABSTRACT
Muhammad al-Baqir (57/676-died between 114/732 and 126/ 743) Fifth Shī'ite Imām. He was the grandson of the Second Shī'ite Imām, al-Hasan b. 'Alī (q.v.). Muhammad al-Bāqir was not politically active but his imāmate saw the development of certain Shī'ite rituals and legal attitudes. Tradition has it that Muhammad al-Bāqir debated with the Umayyad caliph Hishām (q.v.). Shī'ite tradition also holds that al-Bāqir was martyred. He is buried in Medina (q.v.). (See Imām; Shī'ism; Umayyads.)
Muhammad 'Alī (c. 1193/1769-1265/1849) Albanian soldier and commander who came to power in Egypt (after the incursion of Napoleon) in 1226/1811. His rule represents a transition from the declining and often corrupt rule of the Mamlūk beys or overlords of preceding centuries to a dynasty which, though often no less despotic, marked the entry of Egypt into the modern world. In 1233/1818 his son defeated the Wahhābīs (q.v.) in Arabia. Muhammad 'Alī himself fought at various times both for the Ottomans (q.v.) and against them. (See Mamlūks; al-Tahtāwī.)
Muhammad al-Qā'im, al-Mahdī, al-Muntazar (c. 255/868ghayba 260/874) Twelfth Shī'ite Imām of the Ithnā 'Asharīs (q.v.); his return is expected and for this reason he is called 'The Mahdi' (al-Mahdī (q.v.)) and 'The Awaited (or Expected) One' (al-Muntazar). He was the son of the Eleventh Shī'ite Imām Hasan al-'Askarī (q.v.). At his father's funeral, as a young boy, he made a single appearance and then, according to Shī'ite belief, entered a state of ghayba (q.v.). The returning figure of the Twelfth Imam is identified by the Shī'ites with the eschatological figure of the Mahdī whose return will signal the approaching Day of Judgement. (See Imam; Ishārāt al-Sā'a; Shī'ism; Yawm al-Qiyāma.)
Muhammad al-Taqī (195/810-220/835) Ninth Shī'ite Imām of the Ithnā 'Asharīs (q.v.). He was the son of 'Alī al-Ridā (q.v.). Born in Medina (q.v.) he assumed the title of Imam on the death 176
Muhammad b. Ismā'īl
of his father: the new young Imam was only seven years old but he is said to have been endowed with unusual and precocious knowledge. He lived for a time in Baghdād (q.v.) marrying while there a daughter of the 'Abbāsid calph al-Ma'mūn (q.v.). After a further period in Medina, Muhammad al-Taqī returned to Baghdad in the last year of his life. Shī'ite tradition has it that he was poisoned by his wife. Muhammad al-Taqī lies buried in Baghdad. (See Imam; Kāzimayn.)
Muhammad b. Ismā'īl (2nd/8th century) Seventh Imam for the Ismā'īlīs (q.v.). Before Ja'far al-Sādiq (q.v.) died, many of his followers championed the claims to the imāmate of Ja'far's son Ismā'īl. However, Ismā'īl had died before Ja'far and so these followed Ismā'īl's son Muhammad as Imam. These were the group later to be called Ismā'īlīs. Others, however, supported the claims of Ismā'īl's brother Mūsā al-Kāzim (q.v.) to be Ja'far's successor. These are the group later to be known as Twelvers or Ithnā 'Asharīs (q.v.). (See Imām; Ismā'īl (2).)
al-Muharram (Ar.) First month of the Islamic lunar calendar. Al-Muharram is often called the Muslim 'Month of Mourning' because of the commemoration of the martyrdom of al-Husayn b. 'Alī (q.v.) at the Battle of Karbalā', on the tenth day of the month. (See 'Āshūrā'; Karbalā', Battle of; Ta'ziya.)
Muhkamāt (Ar.) [sing. muhkam] Literally 'strengthened', 'precise'. The word has the technical sense, in the exegesis of the Qur'ān, as an epithet applied to those words or passages in the Qur'ān which are 'clear' and 'intelligible', as opposed to the mutashābihāt (q.v.). The Qur'ān itself divides its verses into the dual categories of muhkamāt and mutashābihāt in v.7 of Sūrat Āl 'Imrān (q.v.). The former are described as 'The Essence of the Book' (Umm al-Kitāb). (See Tafsīr.)
Muhtasib (Ar.) This term has been loosely translated as 'Market Inspector'. The muhtasib was charged with the exercise
al-Mujādila
of hisba, that is, making sure that the religious and moral injunctions of the Sharī'a (q.v.) were carried out, especially in the markets of Islamic cities and towns. The muhtasib checked weights and measures and exercised a kind of quality control over cloth, brass etc. The concept and term do not appear in the Qur'ān.)
al-Mujādila (Ar.) The title of the 58th sura of the Qur'ān; it means 'The Woman who Disputes'. The sura belongs to the Medinan period and contains 22 verses. Its title is drawn from the 1st verse which states that God has heard the speech of the woman who disputes with you in the matter of her husband. The reference here, and in the following verses, is to a pre-Islamic prelude to divorce, and concerns an actual case brought to the attention of the Prophet Muhammad. The remainder of the sura threatens dire punishments to those who are unbelievers and hypocrites. (See Hizb Allāh; Talāq )
Mujtahid (Ar./Pers.) One entitled to give an independent judgement on a point of theology or law. In Iran the title of Āyatullāh (q.v.) has been applied to mujtahids in recent times. In the absence of the Imām (q.v.), the Iranian mujtahid has a particular power and religious authority and significance. (See Ijtihād; Muhammad al Qā'im.)
al-Mulk (Ar.) The title of the 67th sūra of the Qur'ān; it means 'The Sovereignty'. The sūra belongs to the Meccan period and has 30 verses. Its title is drawn from the 1st verse in which blessing is called down upon God in whose hand is 'the sovereignty'. He is the Creator of the Seven Heavens. Unbelievers will be tormented in Jahannam (q.v.) but those who fear God will be well rewarded. Those who are cast into Hell will be asked whether or not a warner came to them. They will respond in the affirmative but admit that they rejected such warners. (See al-Nār.) 178
Mulla, Mullah
Mulla, Mullah Word deriving from the Arabic mawlā (q.v.), a word meaning 'master'. It was borne as a title of respect by religious figures and jurists in Iran and other parts of Asia. (See Faqīh; 'Ulamā'.) Mulla Sadra (979/1571-1050/1640) Persian philosopher, theologian and mystic whose actual name was Muhammad b. Ibrāhīm Sadr al-Dīn al-Shīrazī. His thought was much influenced by that of Aristotle as well as that of his predecessors like Ibn Sīnā (q.v.) and Shihāb al-Dīn Abū '1-Futūh Yahyā al-Suhrawardī (q.v.). Mulla Sadra famously held a doctrine of different levels of Being. One of his best-known works is The Four Journeys.
