ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Karbala and Beyond م, M Ma`ad معاد: the return: a reference to the re­turning of the souls to new bodies/forms after the period of barzakh برزخ (see above), their ultimate return to their Maker for judgment; generally, it is used to refer to death and the life hereafter.

Mahlaj محلج: cotton gin, gin Maqam مقام: standing or staying place, a place where one usually stands to preach or address the public; “Maqam Ibrahim” is a small area in the precincts of the Ka’ba Mosque which shows footprints of Abraham (prophet Ibrahim [ع] where he used to stand to rebuild the Ka’ba. Medina or Madeenah مدينه: city, the first city-state that came under the banner of Islam.

It is a city in Hijaz, northern part of presently Saudi Arabia, where the Prophet's masjid and grave are located.

Maghazi مغازي: Prophet's military campaigns Maghrib مغرب: sunset**,** time for the obligatory sunset prayer ritual, salat Mahdi مهدي : Rightly guided in order to guide others; preceded by the definite article " ال ", it means المهدي (عج) the Awaited Imam, al-Qa'im, al-Hujja, Savior of Mankind, the 12th in the series of the Infallible Imams followed by Twelver Shiites, may the Almighty hasten his re-appearance.

We owe it to the reader to introduce him to this great personality, perhaps he will wake up from his slumber and realize that he has a lot of work to do in preparation for the re-appearance of the Savior of Mankind. Needless to say, Sunni and Shiite sects believe in al-Mahdi but differ among themselves about his family lineage, birth and other issues which are not regarded as being major. More details about Imam al-Mahdi (عج) are already stated above.

Mahr مهر: dowry paid by the groom to the bride (or vice versa in some cultures). It is part of the Muslim marriage contract. It can never be demanded back except when the bride refuses to cohabit with her groom in the absence of any legitimate excuse. In this case, she may be entitled to receive half the dower or none of it once the divorce takes place. By the way, do you know what dowry our father Adam paid our mother, Eve?! If you do not, read my book titled Allah: The Concept of God in Islam .

Mahram or Mahrim محرم: "mahram" refers to people who are unlawful for a woman to marry due to blood relationships. These people include: Her permanant mahrams on account of blood relationship: her father, son, brother, paternal uncle, maternal uncle, step-son and nephew.