Masih (Arabic: مسيح, romanizedMasīḥ), also spelled Mesih or Maseeh, is a name of Arabic origin which means 'Messiah' or 'Christ'. The word Masīḥ is the Arabic form of the Hebrew title Māshīaḥ (מָשִׁיחַ) or the Greek title Khristós (Χριστός), meaning "anointed one". It is used as a name and title for Jesus in the Quran, and is also the common word used by Arab Christians for Christ.[1]

Masih is also a common Christian surname in India and Pakistan (Hindi: मसीह, Urdu: مسیح).[2] Some people in India and Pakistan have adopted the surname Masih after their conversion to Christianity.[3]

In Mughal India (1526–1857), Christians such as the Bourbons of India were honoured with the title Masih.[4]

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References edit

  1. ^ Robinson, Neal (2005). "Jesus". In McAuliffe, Jane Dammen (ed.). Encyclopaedia of the Qurʾān. Brill. doi:10.1163/1875-3922_q3_EQCOM_00099.
  2. ^ Kuklin, Susan (2013). Iqbal Masih and the Crusaders Against Child Slavery. Henry Holt and Company. ISBN 9781466860681. Many Christians in Pakistan have the surname Masih.
  3. ^ Sahoo, Sarbeswar (2018). Pentecostalism and Politics of Conversion in India. Cambridge University Press. pp. 45–46. ISBN 9781108553551.
  4. ^ The Illustrated Weekly of India. Vol. 93, Part 1. Times of India Press. 1972. p. 51. The members of the royal family used to give the new-born Bourbons their own names after which "Masih" was added — a Mughal tradition of honouring Christians as well as a common North Indian Christian surname.