Definition
The phrase means "O ". Literally, the word Yā means O (a vocative, signifying a direct address to a person). It is a common prefix used by Arabs to call each other. Someone named Zaid will be addressed in Arabic as Yā Zaid.
The word "Ya" with Muhammad, Ali, Hussain etc., is used by the Shia and Sunni Muslims who seek intercession. The only Muslim group who do not use it are the Salafi Group who are sometimes also referred as Khawarij group.
Read more about this topic: Ya Muhammad
Famous quotes containing the word definition:
“The man who knows governments most completely is he who troubles himself least about a definition which shall give their essence. Enjoying an intimate acquaintance with all their particularities in turn, he would naturally regard an abstract conception in which these were unified as a thing more misleading than enlightening.”
—William James (1842–1910)
“One definition of man is “an intelligence served by organs.””
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“Perhaps the best definition of progress would be the continuing efforts of men and women to narrow the gap between the convenience of the powers that be and the unwritten charter.”
—Nadine Gordimer (b. 1923)