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:
“It is very hard to give a just definition of love. The most we can say of it is this: that in the soul, it is a desire to rule; in the spirit, it is a sympathy; and in the body, it is but a hidden and subtle desire to possess—after many mysteries—what one loves.”
—François, Duc De La Rochefoucauld (1613–1680)
“Scientific method is the way to truth, but it affords, even in
principle, no unique definition of truth. Any so-called pragmatic
definition of truth is doomed to failure equally.”
—Willard Van Orman Quine (b. 1908)
“Mothers often are too easily intimidated by their children’s negative reactions...When the child cries or is unhappy, the mother reads this as meaning that she is a failure. This is why it is so important for a mother to know...that the process of growing up involves by definition things that her child is not going to like. Her job is not to create a bed of roses, but to help him learn how to pick his way through the thorns.”
—Elaine Heffner (20th century)