Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition

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Muʿammā
(756 words)

(a.), literally, “something made obscure, hidden”.

1. In the sense of word puzzle, riddle [see lug̲h̲z ].

2. In the sense of secret writing, code. Codes were regularly used in classical Antiquity. Thus the skytalē of the Spartans, mentioned by Plutarch, in which a message was written on a parchment or leather ribbon which was wrapped round a tapered wooden baton for purposes of writing and then could only be read by a recipient possessing a baton of the same shape and size, is an early example of a typical transposition cipher. …

Cite this page
Bosworth, C.E., “Muʿammā”, in: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Edited by: P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel, W.P. Heinrichs. Consulted online on 19 March 2024 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1573-3912_islam_SIM_5272>
First published online: 2012
First print edition: ISBN: 9789004161214, 1960-2007



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