“The commentators say that the mother of Moses made an ark of the papyrus, and pitched it, and put in some cotton; and having laid the child therein, committed it to the river, a branch of which went into Pharaoh’s garden: that the stream carried the ark thither into a fishpond, at the head of which Pharaoh was then sitting with his wife A′siyeh, the daughter of Muzáḥem; and that the king, having commanded it to be taken up and opened, and finding in it a beautiful child, took a fancy to it, and ordered it to be brought up. Some writers mention a miraculous preservation of Moses before he was put into the ark; and tell us, that his mother having hid him from Pharaoh’s officers in an oven, his sister, in her mother’s absence, kindled a large fire in the oven to heat it, not knowing the child was there; but that he was afterwards taken out unhurt.”
MOSQUE. The Muḥammadan place of worship, which is called in Arabic masjid (مسجد). The term “mosque” is found in all European languages, and must have been derived from the Arabic form of the word, e.g. Spanish, mesquita; Italian, moschea; German, Moschee; French, mosquée; English, mosque or mosk.
For an account of these buildings, see [MASJID].
MOTHER. (1) Kindness towards a mother is enjoined in the Qurʾān. [Sūrah xlvi. 14]: “We have prescribed for man kindness towards his parents. His mother bore him with trouble, and brought him forth with trouble.”
(2) Mothers cannot be compelled to nurse their children.
(3) They are not, without their husband’s permission, allowed to move them to a strange place. (Hidāyah, vol. i. pp. 386, 390.)
MOURNING. The period of mourning for the dead is restricted to three days, during which time the friends and relatives are expected to visit the bereaved family, and offer up prayers for the departed (fātiḥah), and speak words of consolation (taʿziyah). But a widow must observe the custom of mourning for a period of four months and ten days, which period is called iḥdād. During these periods of mourning, it is the duty of all concerned to abstain from the use of perfumes and ornaments, and to wear soiled garments. Lamentation, bukāʾ (Heb. bokhoh), for the dead is strictly forbidden by the Prophet (Mishkāt, book v. ch. vii.), but it is nevertheless a common custom in the East, amongst all sects of Muḥammadans. (See Arabian Nights; Lane’s Modern Egyptians; Shaw’s Travels in Barbary.)
MUʿĀHID (معاهد). One who enters into covenant (ʿahd) with another. An infidel who is permitted by a Muslim Government to enter its towns and carry on traffic, i.e. a ẕimmī. [[ZIMMI].]
AL-MUʾAK͟HK͟HIR (الموخر). “The Deferrer.” One of the ninety-nine names or attributes of God. It does not occur in the Qurʾān, but is given in the Ḥadīs̤.
MUʿALLIM (معلم). A teacher in a school or mosque. Al-Muʿallimu ʾl-Awwal, “The first teacher,” is a term used by philosophers for Aristotle. Amongst the Ṣūfīs it is used for Adam, who is said to be the first prophet. Muʿallimu ʾl-Malāʾikah, “The teacher of angels,” is also used by the Ṣūfīs for Adam, because it is said in the Qurʾān, [Sūrah ii. 31]: “O Adam, declare unto them (the angels) their names.”