In the Traditions, Muḥammad is related to have said: “When God created the world He wrote a book, which is with Him on the exalted throne, and therein is written, ‘Verily my mercy overcomes my anger.’ ” And, again, “Verily, God has one hundred mercies; one mercy hath he sent down to men and genii, but He hath reserved ninety-nine mercies, by which He will be gracious to His people.” (Mishkāt, book x. ch. 4.)
The LVth Sūrah of the Qurʾān is entitled the Sūratu ʾr-Raḥmān, or the “Chapter of the Merciful,” in which are set forth the “bounties of the Lord.” It is a chapter which is sadly marred by its concluding description of the sensual enjoyments of Muḥammad’s paradise.
The Christians are spoken of in the Qurʾān, [Sūrah lvii. 27], as those in whose hearts God “placed mercy (raḥmah) and compassion (raʾfah).”
MICHAEL. In Muḥammadan works generally, the Archangel Michael is called Mīkāʾīl (ميكائيل), Heb. מִיכָאֵל; but in the Qurʾān, in which his name once occurs, he is called Mīkāl (ميكال). Al-Baiẓāwī says that a Jew named ʿAbdu ʾllāh ibn Ṣūrīyāʾ, objected to Muḥammad’s assertion that the Archangel Gabriel revealed the Qurʾān to him, because he was an avenging angel, and said that if it had been sent by Michael, their own guardian angel ([Daniel xii. 1]), they might have believed. This assertion called forth the following verses from Muḥammad in [Sūrah ii. 92]:—
“Whoso is the enemy of Gabriel—For he it is who by God’s leave hath caused the Qurʾān to descend on thy heart, the confirmation of previous revelations, and guidance, and good tidings to the faithful—Whoso is an enemy to God or his angels, or to Gabriel, or to Michael, shall have God as his enemy: for verily God is an enemy to the infidels. Moreover, clear signs have we sent down to thee, and none will disbelieve them but the perverse.”
MIDIAN. [[MADYAN].]
MIFTĀḤU ʾL-JANNAH (مـفـتاح الجنة). “The Key of Paradise.” A term used by Muḥammad for prayer. (Mishkāt, book iii. ch. i.)
MIḤJAN (محجن). A hook-headed stick about four feet long, which, it is said, the Prophet always carried; now carried by men of religious pretensions.
MIḤRĀB (محراب). A niche in the centre of a wall of a mosque, which marks the direction of Makkah, and before which the Imām takes his position when he leads the congregation in prayer. In the Masjidu ʾn-Nabī, or Prophet’s mosque, at al-Madīnah, a large black stone, placed against the northern wall, facing Jerusalem, directed the congregation, but it was removed to the southern side when the Qiblah was changed to Makkah.
The Miḥrāb, as it now exists, dates from the days of al-Walīd (A.H. 90), and it seems probable that the K͟halīfah borrowed the idea from the Hindus, such a niche being a peculiarly Hindu feature in sacred buildings.