The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (1615 page)

see
MUSALM
N
.

 
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(Jap., from
musu
, ‘to produce’, +
bi
, ‘spiritual power’). The mysterious power and source of creativity producing all things in the universe. The word appears originally in the ‘Age of Gods’ section of the
Nihongi
(720). But it is also found in other early works, such as the
Kojiki
and
Kogosh
i
, as part of the names of the creative gods (
kami
); for example, Takamimusubi no kami and Kamimusubi no kami. In the Shinto revival of the 18th cent.,
Motoori Norinaga
and other scholars of national learning (
kokugaku
) emphasized the uniquely Japanese character of the idea.

 
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(Arab.,
matta‘a
, (of God) ‘let one enjoy something’). Temporary marriage in Islam, a contracted marriage for a limited period. Based on Qur’
n 4. 24, this became a divisive issue between
Sunni
and
Sh
‘a
Muslims. Sunnis take this to refer to marriage in the ordinary sense, Shi‘ites that it authorizes mut‘a. The latter hold that the original text (suppressed by Sunnis) added,
il
ajalin musamman
, ‘for a definite period’. Both parties agree that the Prophet
Mu
ammad
allowed mut‘a in the early days, when Muslim men were engaged in campaigns which took them far from home for long periods. Sunnis then refer to
ad
th
in which Mu
ammad makes it
har
m
, appealing to the principle of ‘gradualism’ through which the true
sunna
became established (cf.,
bad
’); and
‘Umar
was explicit in forbidding it. However, the Shi‘ites do not accept that ‘Umar had authority to prohibit what Mu
ammad allowed.