Maqam Mahmud: Difference between revisions

'''Maqām Maḥmūd''', (Arabic: {{ia|مقام مَحمود}}) or '''the Praiseworthy Station''', is a position given by [[God]] to the [[Prophet (s)]] because of his [[vigilance]]. In their interpretations of [[verse]] 79 of [[Qur'an 17]], Quranic [[exegete]]s have construed the position as that of the Prophet's (s) ability to [[Shafa'a|intercede]] for people.

Muslim scholars and exegetes believe that the Praiseworthy Station is an exalted position given by God to the Prophet (s)<ref>Ṭūsī, ''al-Tibyān'', vol. 6, p. 510-511; Ṭabrisī, ''Majmaʿ al-bayān'', vol. 6, p. 671; Fayḍ al-Kāshānī, ''Tafsīr al-Ṣāfī'', vo. 3, p. 210; Baḥrānī, ''al-Burhān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān'', vol. 3, p. 569; ʿAyyāshī, ''Tafsīr al-ʿAyyāshī'', vol. 2, p. 314; Ṭabāṭabāʾī, ''al-Mīzān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān'', vol. 1, p. 178; Makārim Shīrāzī, ''Tafsīr-i nimūna'', vol. 12, p. 232; Jawādī Āmulī, ''Tafsīr-i tasnīm'', vol. 4, p. 285; Shubbar, ''Tafsīr al-Qur'ān al-karīm'', p. 286; Fakhr al-Rāzī, ''Mafātīḥ al-ghayb'', vol. 21, p. 386-387; Qurṭubī, ''Yawm al-fazaʿ al-akbar'', p. 185.</ref> because of his vigilance and his performance of Night Prayers.<ref>Ṭabrisī, ''Majmaʿ al-bayān'', vol. 6, p. 670; Ṭabrisī, ''Tafsīr-i jawāmiʾ al-jāmiʾ'', vol. 2, p. 341.</ref>

* '''The position of intercession:''' many Shi'a<ref>Ṭūsī, ''al-Tibyān'', vol. 6, p. 512; Ṭabrisī, ''Majmaʿ al-bayān'', vol. 6, p. 671; Fayḍ al-Kāshānī, ''Tafsīr al-Ṣāfī'', vo. 3, p. 211-212; Baḥrānī, ''al-Burhān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān'', vol. 3, p. 570-574; ʿAyyāshī, ''Tafsīr al-ʿAyyāshī'', vol. 2, p. 314; Ṭabāṭabāʾī, ''al-Mīzān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān'', vol. 1, p. 178; Makārim Shīrāzī, ''Tafsīr-i nimūna'', vol. 12, p. 232; Jawādī Āmulī, ''Tafsīr-i tasnīm'', vol. 4, p. 285; Shubbar, ''Tafsīr al-Qur'ān al-karīm'', p. 286.</ref> and Sunni<ref>Fakhr al-Rāzī, ''Mafātīḥ al-ghayb'', vol. 21, p. 387; Qurṭubī, ''Yawm al-fazaʿ al-akbar'', p. 185.</ref> exegetes of the [[Quran]] draw on hadiths to show that the Praiseworthy Station is the position of intercession.<ref>Ibn Ḥanbal, ''al-Musnad'', vol. 2, p. 441.</ref> For example, there is a hadith to the effect that “maqam Mahmud” in verse 79 of Qur'an 17 is that in which he intercedes for his people, or a hadith from [[Imam al-Baqir (a)]] or [[Imam al-Sadiq (a)]] in the interpretation of the same verse, according to which the Praiseworthy Station is the position of intercession.<ref>ʿAyyāshī, ''Tafsīr al-ʿAyyāshī'', vol. 2, p. 314.</ref> A number of Quranic exegetes have referred to the position as the “major intercession.”<ref>Ṭabāṭabāʾī, ''al-Mīzān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān'', vol. 1, p. 178; Makārim Shīrāzī, ''Tafsīr-i nimūna'', vol. 12, p. 232; Jawādī Āmulī, ''Tafsīr-i tasnīm'', vol. 4, p. 285.</ref> [[Sayyid Muhammad Husayn Tihrani]] (d. 1416/1995) suggests that the position of intercession given by God to the Prophet (s) is because of his Praiseworthy Station.<ref>Ḥusaynī Tehrānī ''Imāmshināsī, vol. 9, p. 164.</ref> In his view, all divine beauty and perfection are in the Praiseworthy Station, which is given to the Prophet (s) in an absolute unqualified manner; that is, any praise from any person to any person belongs to the Prophet (s).<ref>Ḥusaynī Tehrānī ''Imāmshināsī, vol. 9, p. 164.</ref>

* '''Monitoring the creatures:''' A number of Quranic exegetes believe that the Praiseworthy Station is one in which the prophet (s) monitors all the creatures, and in which God gives him whatever he wants, including intercession for his people.<ref>Ṭabrisī, ''Majmaʿ al-bayān'', vol. 6, p. 671; Muḥyi al-Dīn al-ʿArabī, ''al-Futūḥāt al-makkiyya'', vol. 4, p. 57; Ḥuwayzī, ''Tafsīr nūr al-thaqalayn'', vol. 3, p. 206.</ref>

* '''Utmost proximity to God:''' In ''[[Tafsir-i nimuna]]'', the possibility is proposed that the Praiseworthy Station is the utmost proximity to God, which implies major intercession as well.<ref>Makārim Shīrāzī, ''Tafsīr-i nimūna'', vol. 12, p. 231-232.</ref>

In some [[Ziyarat]]s (salutatory supplications), [[Imam 'Ali (a)]],<ref>Ṭūsī, ''Tahdhīb al-aḥkām'', vol. 6, p. 30.</ref> [[Imam al-Husayn (a)]],<ref>Majlisī, ''Biḥār al-anwār'', vol. 101, p. 292.</ref> and [[Imam al-Rida (a)]]<ref>Ṣadūq, ''Man lā yaḥḍuruh al-faqīh'', vol. 2, p. 605; Ṭūsī, ''Tahdhīb al-aḥkām'', vol. 6, p. 88.</ref> are also described as having the Praiseworthy Station. One part of [[Ziyara Ashura]] reads: “I beseech Allah … to include me with you in this world and in the Hereafter … I also beseech Him to make me attain the praiseworthy status that you enjoy with Allah.”<ref>Majlisī, ''Biḥār al-anwār'', vol. 101, p. 292.</ref>

According to [[Nasir Makarim Shirazi]], a Shi'a exegete of the Quran, although verse 79 of [[Qur'an 17]] is about the Prophet (s), it can probably include others as well, in the sense that a believer who keeps vigilant at nights and performs [[Night Prayer]]s can enjoy part of the Praiseworthy Station and intercede for others, to the extent to his or her [[closeness to God]].<ref>Makārim Shīrāzī, ''Tafsīr-i nimūna'', vol. 12, p. 231-232.</ref>