Yā Muhammad ( ar, يَا مُحَمَّد "O Muhammad") or "Yā Rasūl Allāh" ( ar, يَا رَسُولُ الله "O Messenger of God") are
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...
expressions referring to the
Islamic prophet Muhammad
Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the mo ...
.
Definition
The phrase means "O Muhammad". The word ''yā'' indicates the
vocative case
In grammar, the vocative case ( abbreviated ) is a grammatical case which is used for a noun that identifies a person (animal, object, etc.) being addressed, or occasionally for the noun modifiers (determiners, adjectives, participles, and nume ...
, signifying direct address to a person. It is a common prefix used by Arabic speakers before personal names.
Use
It is used to seek intercession through the Prophet or his family, companions and venerated figures. The majority of its practitioners are
Shia
Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, mo ...
and
Sufi. The vocative ''yā'' when used with ''Allāh'' is used to call upon
God
In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...
for help.
Mourning of Muharram
During the
mourning of Muharram
The Mourning of Muharram (also known as Azadari, Remembrance of Muharram or Muharram Observances) is a set of commemoration rituals observed primarily by Shia people. The commemoration falls in Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar. ...
, spontaneous slogans of ''
Ya Hussain
Yā Hussain ( ar, يا حسين, Yā Ḥusayn) is an Arabic phrase used by Shia Muslims to invoke the memory or intervention of Hussain ibn Ali. It is especially used in the context of the Mourning of Muharram.
The British in colonial India hear ...
'', ''Ya Ali'' and ''Ya Rasulullah'' "Messenger of God!" are common. On such occasions, the slogans demonstrate support.
See also
*
References
Muhammad
Arabic words and phrases
Islamic terminology
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