Encyclopedia of Islam

Further reading: David Ayalon, Gunpowder and Fire-

arms in the Mamluk Kingdom: A Challenge to a Mediaeval 

Society (London: F. Cass, 1978); ———, Islam and the 

Abode of War: Military Slaves and Islamic Adversaries

(London: Variorum, 1994); Matthew S. Gordon, The 

Breaking of a Thousand Swords: A History of the Turk-

ish Military of Samarra (

a

.

h

. 200–275/815–889 

c

.

e

.)

(Albany: State University of New York Press, 2001); P. 

M. Holt, “The Structure of Government in the Mamluk 

Sultanate.” In The Eastern Mediterranean Lands in the 

Period of the Crusades, edited by P. M. Holt, 44–61 (Wer-

minister, England: Aris and Phillips, 1977).

K  456  

mamluk

---

Manat

  See 

goddess

.

Mappila

  See i

ndia

.

maqam

 

(Arabic: place, station)

Maqam has several meanings in Islamic religious 

contexts. In the most widespread sense it denotes 

a sacred place that commemorates a 

saint

. Found 

in North Africa and the Middle East, such shrines 

consist of a domed building, inside of which is the 

saint’s tomb. This tomb is enclosed by a screen, and 

often covered by layers of cloth brought as gifts by 

visitors and pilgrims seeking the saint’s blessing 

(

baraka

). Disciples and members of the saint’s fam-

ily are often buried in the same chamber or nearby 

in the courtyard or adjacent buildings. Descendants 

of the saint, or his or her devotees, often serve as 

caretakers for the shrine. A maqam may be located 

in a crowded urban neighborhood, in a village, or 

in uninhabited areas. People visit it on the occasion 

of the saint’s birthday (

mawlid

), religious 

holidays

,

or in connection with life-cycle rituals.

Muslims regard the Station (maqam Ibrahim) 

of  a

braham

 as one of the most important places 

inside the Grand Mosque of m

ecca

. In the q

Uran

 

it is called a 

prayer

 place (Q 2:125) and is located 

the northwest wall of God’s house, the k

aaba

. 

Pilgrims perform prayers there after circumam-

bulating the Kaaba. Commentaries and narratives 

about Mecca’s mythic history affirm that it was 

originally a stone from 

paradise

 that Abraham 

stood upon to make his universal call to perform 

the 

haJJ

. It was believed that he left his footprint 

in it. Some commentators maintained that the 

Station of Abraham originally referred either to 

the larger sanctuary or to another location in the 

sacred territory surrounding Mecca.

The third meaning of maqam in Islam is a “sta-

tion” on the mystical path to God. It was used as 

a technical term in the vocabulary of the Sufis. A 

station was attained by the intentional efforts of 

the mystic, in contrast to the 

hal

, which was a 

spontaneous gift from God. The spiritual seeker 

had to perfect each maqam before progressing to 

the next. The number, names, and sequence of sta-

tions varied greatly among Sufi authors and orders. 

They prescribed 4, 7, 50, 100, and even 1,000 sta-

tions. In the 11th century Al-Qushayri listed 50 

stations starting with “repentance” and ending with 

“yearning,” whereas al-Ansari’s list of 100 began 

with “wakefulness” and ended with “unity.” In a 

different vein, The Conference of the Birds, a Persian 

epic poem by Farid al-Din Attar (d. ca. 1220), 

depicted a mystical journey through seven valleys, 

each representing a maqam on the Sufi path: “seek-

ing,” “love,” “knowledge,” “detachment,” “unity,” 

“bewilderment,” and “annihilation.”

In Arab, Persian, and Turkish 

mUsic

,  maqam

refers to one of several different modes, or musi-

cal scales.

See also s

UFism

; 

wali

.