figurative. And again for this very reason it has been used in the sense of friendship, love, patronage, guardianship, control etc., because all these conceptions involve some sort of contact and proximity.

A number of meanings have been given for this root word and its derivatives. For example, some 27 meanings of the word Mawla have been given. It is obvious that originally it was not coined for all of them and could not have more than one original meaning. Other meanings are to be obtained from contextual indications.

This word has been used in the case of material and corporeal matters as well as in the case of spiritual and abstract matters, but in the beginning it has admittedly been used in connection with material matters and has also been used in spiritual matters by way of likening contemplative with perceptible or by way of abstraction of the meaning of perceptible from its material and palpable characteristic.

This is so because whether it be from the point of view of an individual during his lifetime or from the point of view of human society during its history the attention of man has always been directed towards perceptible things before he has reflected rationally. After perceiving palpable meanings and concepts man has gradually moved towards spiritual meanings and concepts. And naturally he has used and employed the same words which he first utilized in connection with material matters.

It is just as the scientists do not coin new terminology for

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