manazil

Manazil is the plural form of the Arabic word manzil, which broadly means station, dwelling, post, or destination. In everyday Arabic, manzil refers to a place where someone stays or a place of arrival in travel, and the term has been borrowed into other languages with related senses. The root of the word is n-z-l, indicating descent or settlement, which underpins its geographic and logistical meanings.

In Islamic astronomy, the term manazil al-qamar, or lunar mansions, denotes 28 divisions along the ecliptic used to track the Moon’s position relative to the fixed stars. Medieval Muslim astronomers adopted and refined this concept, employing it for calendrical reckoning, navigation, and astrology. Each mansion covers a segment of the Moon’s motion and is often named after bright stars or constellations within that sector. While the system played a significant historical role in astronomy and related practices, it is not used as a scientific framework in modern astronomy; it remains of interest as part of the history of Islamic science and medieval celestial lore.

In Sufism and broader Islamic mysticism, manazil (or manzil) refers to spiritual stations or stages on the path of religious discipline and divine realization. Different orders and scholars enumerate varying sets of manazil, emphasizing progression, transformation, and inner states rather than a single universal sequence. The term appears in theological treatises, hagiographies, and poetic works as a framework for describing the seeker’s journey. In secular use, manazil can simply mean “destinations” or “homes” in contemporary Arabic.