MYSTICISM

The word mysticism is of a vague signification, but it is generally applied to all those tendencies in religion which aspire to a direct communication between man and his God, not through the medium of the senses, but through the inward perception of the mind. Consequently the term is applied to the Pantheism of the ancient Hindu, to the Gnosticism of the ancient Greek, to the Quietism of Madame Guyon and Fénelon , to the Pietism of Molinos, to the doctrines of the Illuminati of Germany, to the visions of Swedenborg, as well as to the peculiar manifestations of mystic views amongst some modern Christian sects. It is a form of error which mistakes the operations of a merely human faculty for a divine manifestation, although it is often but a blind protest in behalf of what is highest and best in human nature. The earliest mystics known are those of India, the best exposition of their system being the Bhāgavad-gītā (see Wilkins’ translation). Sir William Jones says:—“A figurative mode of expre ing the fervour of devotion, the ardent love of created spirits, toward their Beneficent Creator, has prevailed from time immemorial in Asia; particularly among the Persian Theists, both ancient Hushangis and modern Sufis, who seem to have borrowed it from the Indian philosophers of the Vedanta School, and their doctrines are also believed to be the source of that sublime but poetical theology which glows and sparkles in the writings of the old Academics. ‘Plato travelled into Italy and Egypt,’ says Blande Fleury, ‘to learn the Theology of the Pagans at its fountain head.’ Its true fountain, however, was neither in Italy nor in Egypt though considerable streams of it had been conducted thither by Pythagoras, and by the family of Misra, but in Persia or India , which the founder of the Italic sect had visited with a similar design.” Almost the only religion in the world in which we should have concluded, before examination, that the Pantheistic and mystic spirit of Hinduism was impo ible, is the stern unbending religious system of Muḥammad and his followers. But even amongst Muslims there have ever been those who seek for divine intuition in individual souls, to the partial or entire rejection of the demands of creeds and ceremonies. These mystics are called Ṣūfīs, and have always included the philosophers, the poets, and the enthusiasts of Islām. For an account of these Muslims, see the article on SUFIISM . A Dictionary of Islam: Being a Cyclopædia of the Doctrines, Rites, Ceremonies, and Customs, Together with the Technical and Theological Terms, of the Muhammadan Religion N AN -NABAʾ ( النباء ‎ ). “The information. ” The title of the LXXVIII th Sūrah of the Qurʾān, in the second verse of which the word occurs: “Of the mighty information whereon they do dispute.” NĀBĀLIG͟H ( نابالغ‎ ). A Persian term used for a minor. [ PUBERTY .] NABBĀSH ( نباش‎ ). A plunderer or stripper of the dead. According to the Imāms Abū Yūsuf and ash-Shāfiʿī, the hand of a plunderer of the dead should be struck off, but Abū Ḥanīfah and the Imām Muḥammad are of the contrary opinion. ( Hidāyah , vol. ii. p. 94.) NABĪ ( نبى‎ ). Heb. ‏נָבִיא‎ . A prophet. One who has received direct inspiration ( waḥy ) by means of an angel, or by the inspiration of the heart ( ilhām ); or has seen the things of God in a dream. ( Vide Kitābu ʾt-Taʿrīfāt .) A rasūl , or “me enger,” is one who has received a book through the angel Gabriel. [ PROPHETS .] NABĪẔ ( نبيذ‎ ). A kind of wine made from dates, which is lawful. ( Hidāyah , vol. iv. p. 155.) NĀD-I-ʿALĪ ( ناد على‎ ). Persian. An amulet on which is inscribed a prayer to ʿAlī. It is much used by the Shīʿahs, and runs thus:— “Cry aloud to ʿAlī, who is the po e or of wonders! From him you will find help from trouble! He takes away very quickly all grief and anxiety! By the mi ion of Muḥammad and his own sanctity!” NAFAQAH ( نـفـقـة‎ ). [ MAINTENANCE .] AN -NĀFIʿ ( النافع‎ ). “The Profiter.” One of the ninety-nine names or attributes of God. It does not occur in the Qurʾān. NĀFIʿ ( نافع‎ ). A slave belonging to Ibn ʿUmar. Many traditions have been handed down by him, and his authority is highly respected. Died, A.H . 117. NAFK͟H ( نفخ‎ ). “Blowing.” The blast on the Day of Judgment which will be sounded by Isrāfīl . NAFL ( نفل‎ ). “A voluntary act.” A term applied to such acts of devotion as are not enjoined by the teaching of Muḥammad, or by his example. A work of supererogation. [ PRAYER .] NAFS̤ ( نفث‎ ). Blowing as a necromancer when making incantations. (1) It occurs in this sense in the Qurʾān, Sūrah cxiii. 4 : “I seek refuge … from the evil of the blowers upon knots.” Referring to those witches who make knots in a string and blow upon them, uttering some incantation. (2) It is also used for the inspiration which Muḥammad profe ed to have received from Gabriel. ( Majmaʿu ʾl-Biḥār , p. 376.) NAFS ( نفس‎ ). Animal life; soul; substance; desire. A word which occurs in the Qurʾān and the Traditions for the human conscience. [ CONSCIENCE .] NAFSĀʾ ( نفساء‎ ). A woman in the condition of nifās , or the period after childbirth. NAHJU ʾL-BALĀG͟HAH ( نـهـج البلاغة‎ ). “The Road of Eloquence.” A celebrated book of Muḥammadan traditions compiled by ash-Sharīf Abū ʾl-Qāṣim al-Murtaẓā, A.H . 406, or his brother ash-Sharīf ar-Raẓī al-Bag͟hdādī. (See Kashfu ʾz̤-Z̤unūn , vol. vi. p. 406.) AN -NAḤL ( النحل‎ ). “The Bee.” The title of the XVI th Sūrah of the Qurʾān, in the 70th verse of which the word occurs: “And thy Lord inspired the bee.” NAḤR ( نحر‎ ). The lawful slaughtering of a camel, namely, by spearing it in the hollow of the throat, near the breast-bone. ( Hidāyah , vol. iv. p. 72.) NĀʾIB ( نائب‎ ). A deputy, a lieutenant. A K͟halīfah is the nāʾib , or lieutenant, of Muḥammad. It is also used for the Viceroy of Egypt, who is the nāʾib , or deputy, of the Sult̤ān. (Lane’s Arabian Nights , Intro. p. 8.) NAJĀSAH ( نجاسة‎ ). A legal term for an impurity of any kind. NAJĀSHĪ ( نجاشى‎ ). Negus. The King of Aby in i a, often mentioned in the history of Muḥammad. At̤-T̤abarī, in his history, p. 127, says : “Now a just king was there (Aby in i a) named an-Najāshī. It was a land where the Quraish used to do merchandise, because they found abundance of food, protection, and good traffic.” (Muir’s Life of Mahomet , vol. ii. p. 133.) NAJD ( نجد‎ ). “High.” The highlands of Arabia. The name of the central province of Arabia. One of its cities, Riyāẓ, is celebrated as the seat of the Wahhābīs. (See Central and Eastern Arabia , by W. G. Palgrave, London, 1865; Journey to the Wahabee Capital , by Colonel Lewis Pelly, Bombay, 1866.) AN -NĀJIYAH ( الناجية‎ ). “The Saved.” A term given to the orthodox sect of Muḥammadans, and consequently each sect arrogates to itself the title of an-Nājiyah , or “the saved.” AN -NAJJĀRĪYAH ( النجارية‎ ). A sect of Muḥammadans founded by Muḥammad ibn Ḥusain an-Najjār, who agreed with the Muʿtazilah in rejecting all eternal attributes of God, to avoid distinction of persons as taught by the Christians, and in holding that the Word of God was created in subjecto (as the schoolmen term it), and to consist of letters and sound, and that God will not be seen in Paradise with the corporeal eye; but they did not receive the doctrines of that sect with regard to the decrees and predestination of God, but held the views of the orthodox party on this subject. According to the Sharḥu ʾl-Muwāqif , they are divided into three sects, viz.: Burg͟hūs̤īyah, Zaʿfarānīyah, and Mustadrikah. AN -NAJM ( النجم‎ ). “The Star.” The title of the LIII rd Sūrah of the Qurʾān, which begins with the words, “By the star when it falls.” NAJRĀN ( نجران‎ ). A district between Yaman and Najd, inhabited by a Christian tribe, whose endurance and constancy in their Christian belief are the subject of the following verses in the Qurʾān. Sūrah lxxxv. 4–11 . (The verses are said to have been revealed at an early date, and indicate Muḥammad’s kind feeling towards the Christians):— “Cursed be the diggers of the pit, “Of the fuel-fed fire, “When they sat around it “Witne es of what they inflicted on the believers! “Nor did they torment them but for their faith in God, the Mighty, the Praiseworthy: “His the kingdom of the Heavens and of the Earth; and God is the witne of everything. “Verily, those who vexed the believers, men and women, and repented not, doth the torment of Hell, and the torment of the burning, await. “But for those who shall have believed and done the things that be right, are the Gardens beneath whose shades the rivers flow. This is the immense bli !” Sir William Muir gives the following account of the persecution:— “Dzu Nowâs was a votary of Judaism, which he is said to have embraced on a visit to Medîna. This creed he supported with an intolerant and proselytizing adherence, which at last proved fatal to his kingdom. His bigotry was aroused by the prevalence and succe of Christianity in the neighbouring province of Najrân; and he invaded it with a large army. The Christians offered a strenuous resistance, but yielded at length to the treacherous promise that no ill would be done to them. They were offered the choice of Judaism or death, and those who remained constant to the faith of Jesus were cruelly ma acred. Deep trenches were dug and filled with combustible materials; the pile was lighted, and the Christian martyrs cast headlong into the flame. The number thus miserably burned, or slain by the sword, is stated at no le than twenty you sand. “However much the account of this melancholy carnage may have been exaggerated, there can be no doubt of the cruel and bloody character of the tyrant’s administration in Najrân. “News of the proceedings reached the Emperor Justin I., through his amba ador at Hîra, to which court Dzu Nowâs had exultingly communicated tidings of his triumph. One of the intended victims, Dous dzu Tholabân, also escaped to Constantinople, and holding up a half-burnt gospel, invoked, in the name of outraged Christen dom, retribution upon the oppre or. The Emperor was moved, and indited a despatch to the Najâshi, or Prince of the Aby in i ans, desiring him to take vengeance upon the barbarous Nimyarite. Immediately an armament was set on foot, and in a short time seventy you sand warriors embarked in thirteen hundred merchant ships or transports, cro ed the narrow gulph which separates Yemen from Adulis. Dzu Nowâs was defeated. In despair, he urged his horse into the sea, and expiated in the waves the inhumanities of his career. The Aby in i an victory occurred in 525 A.D .” ( Life of Mahomet , 1st ed., Intro., p. clxii.) NAJSH ( نجش‎ ). “Exciting; stirring up.” The practice of enhancing the price of goods, by making a tender for them without any intention of buying, but merely to incite others to offer a higher price. It is forbidden by Muḥammadan law. (Hamilton’s Hidāyah , vol. ii. p. 46.) NAK͟Hʿ ( نخع‎ ). The Banū ʾn-Nak͟hʿ, an Arabian tribe, the descendants of Qahlān, subdued by ʿAlī during the lifetime of Muḥammad, A.H . 10. Two hundred of this tribe came to tender their allegiance to the Prophet, it being the last deputation received by him. (Muir’s Life of Mahomet , new ed., p. 477.) NAK͟HLAH ( نخلة‎ ). A valley about midway between Makkah and at̤-T̤āʾif, famous as the scene of the first expedition planned by Muḥammad against Makkah in which blood was shed. (See Muir’s Life of Mahomet , new ed., p. 216 et seq .) NĀKIḤ ( ناكح‎ ). A legal term for a married man; a married woman is termed mankūḥah ( منكوحة‎ ). The legal term for an unmarried person is ʾazab ( عزب‎ ). NAKĪR ( نكير‎ ). One of the angels who interrogate the dead. [ MUNKAR AND NAKIR .] NAMĀZ ( نماز‎ ). The Persian and Hindūstānī term for ṣalāt , the Muḥammadan liturgical prayer. [ PRAYER .]