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Encyclopedia of Religion entry for

Abdul Muttalib

.
Muhammad ‘s grandfather and his guardianfor two years. He died, aged 82, A.D. 578.His sons were ‘Abdu ‘llah (Muhammad ‘sfather), al-Haris az-Zuhair, Abu Talib, AbuLabab, al- ‘Abbas, and Hamza.

‘ABDU ‘L-QADIR AL-JILANI.
The celebratedfounder of the Qadiriyah order of darweshes,surnamed Pir-Dastagir. He died and wasburied at Baghdad, AH. 561.

‘ABDU ‘R-RAHMAN IBN ‘AUF.
One of the Companions who embraced Islam at a very earlyperiod, and was one of those who fled toEthiopia. He also accompanied Muhammadin all his battles, and received twenty woundsat Uhud. He died A.H. 32, aged 72 or 75,and was buried at Baqi ‘u ‘l-Gharqad thegraveyard of al-Madinah.

ABEL. Arabic Habil .
Heb. In the Qur’an "the twosons of Adam" are called Habil wa Qabil,and the following is the account given ofthem in that book (Surah V.30-35), togetherwith the remarks of the commentators initalics (as rendered in Mr. Lane ‘s Selections,2nd ed., p. 53), "Recite unto them the historyof the two sons of Adam, namely, Abeland Cain, with truth. When they offered[their] offering to God (Abel ‘s being a ram, andCain ‘s being produce of the earth), and it wasaccepted from one of them (that is, from Abel;for fire descended from heaven, and devouredhis offering), and it was not accepted from theother, Cain was enraged; but he concealed hisenvy until Adam performed a pilgrimage, whenhe said unto his brother, I will assuredly slaythee. Abel said, Wherefore? Cain answered,Because of the acceptance of thine offering tothe exclusion of mine. Abel replied, God onlyaccepteth from the pious. If thou stretchforth to me thy hand to slay me, I will notstretch forth to thee my hand to slay thee;for I fear God, the Lord of the worlds. Idesire that thou shouldst bear the sin [whichthou intendest to commit] against me, byslaying me, and thy sin which thou hast committedbefore, and thou wilt be of the companions of the fire. - And that is the recompenseof the offenders.- But his soul suffered him toslay his brother go he slew him; and hebecame of [the number of] those who sufferloss. And he knew not what to do with him;for he was the first dead person upon the face ofthe earth of the sons of Adam. So he carriedhim upon his back. And God sent a raven,which scratched up the earth with its billand its talons and raised it over a dead raventhat was with it until it hid it, to show himhow he should hide the corpse of his brotherHe said, O my disgrace! Am I unable to belike this raven, and to hide the corpse of mybrother?-And he became of [the numberof] the repentant. And he digged [a grave]for him and hid him.- 0n account of thiswhich Cain did We commanded the childrenof Israel that he who should slay a soul (notfor the latter ‘s having slain a soul or committedwickedness in the earth, such as infidelity oradultery, or intercepting the way, and the like.)[should be regarded] as though he had slainall mankind; and he who saveth it alive, byabstaining from slaying it, as though he hadsaved alive all mankind."

"The occasion of their making this offering is thus related, according to the commontradition in the East. Each of them beingborn with a twin-sister, when they weregrown up, Adam, by God ‘s direction, orderedCain to marry Abel ‘s twin-sister, and Abel tomarry Cain ‘s; (for it being the commonopinion that marriages ought not to be hadin the nearest degrees of consanguinity, sincethey must necessarily marry their sisters, itseemed reasonable to suppose they ought totake those of the remoter degree;) but thisCain refusing to agree to, because his ownsister was the handsomest, Adam orderedthem to make their offerings to God, therebyreferring the dispute to His determination.The commentators say Cain ‘s offering was asheaf of the very worst of his corn, butAbel ‘s a fat lamb of the best of his flock."-Sale ‘s Koran, 1., p. 122.

‘ABID .
"A worshipper [of God]." A term generally used for a devout person. The word frequently occurs in the Qur’an: e.g. Surah ii. 132: "The baptism (sibghah) of God! And who is better than God at baptizing? We are the worshippers( ‘abidun) of God" The word sibghah is translated by Professor Palmer "dye" and "dyeing",but Sale, following the Muslim commentators,al-Baizawi, Jalalu ‘d-din, aud Husaini, whosay it refers to tho Christian rite, translates it"baptism." Others say that it means fitrahor din, the religion of God, with an adaptation to which mankind are created. See Lane ‘s Lexicon. [BAPTISM.]

ABIQ .
A runaway slave.[ABSCONDING OF SLAVES.]

ABJAD .
The name of anarithmetical arrangement of the alphabet, theletters of which have different powers fromone to one thousand. It is in the order ofthe alphabet as used by the Jews as far as400, the six remaining letters being addedby the Arabians. The letters spell thewords-

The author of the Arabic Lexicon, al-Qamus,says that the first six words are the namesof celebrated kings of Madyan (Midian), andthat the last two words were added by theArabians. Some say they are the names ofthe eight sons of the inventor of the Arabiccharacter, Muramir ibn Murra.

The following is a list of the letters withtheir English equivalents, and the power ofeach in numbers:-

[EXORCISM.]

ABLUTION. Arabic, wazu, wuzu,
Persian, .
Ablution is described by Muhammad as "the half offaith and the key of prayer" (Mishcat, iii. 3c),and is founded on the authority of tho Qur’an,surah v. 8, "O Believers! when ye prepareyourselves for prayer, wash your faces andhands up to the elbows, and wipe your headsand your feet to the ankles."

These ablutions are absolutely necessary asa preparation for the recital of the liturgicalform of prayer, and are performed as follows:The worshipper, having tucked up his sleevesa little higher than his elbows, washes hishands three times; then he rinses his mouththree times, throwing the water into it withhis right hand. After this, he, with his righthand, throws water up his nostrils, snuffingit up at the same time, and then blows it out,compressing his nostrils with the thumb andfinger of the left hand--this being also performedthree times. He then washes hisface three times, throwing up the water withboth hands. He next washes his right handand arm, as high as the elbow, as many times,causing the water to run along his arm fromthe palm of the hand to the elbow, and inthe same manner he washes the left. Thenhe draws his wetted right hand over theupper part of his head, raising his turbanor cap with his left. If he has a beard, hethen combs it with the wetted fingers of hisright hand, holding his hand with the palmforwards, and passing the fingers through hisbeard from the throat upwards. He thenputs the tips of his fore-fingers into his earsand twists them round, passing his thumbs atthe same time round the back of the earsfrom the bottom upwards. Next, he wipeshis neck with the back of the fingers of bothhands, making the ends of his fingers meetbehind his neck, and then drawing them forward. Lastly, he washes his feet, an high asthe ankles, and passes his fingers between thetoes. During this ceremony, which is generally performed in less than three minutes,the intending worshipper usually recites somepious ejaculations or prayers. For example :-

Before commencing the wazu ‘ :- "I amgoing to purify myself from all bodily uncleanness, preparatory to commencing prayer,that holy act of duty, which will draw mysoul near to the throne of the Most High.In the name of God, the Great and Mighty.Praise be to God who has given us grace tobe Muslims. Islam is a truth and infidelitya falsehood."

When washing the nostrils :- "O my God, ifI am pleasing in Thy sight, perfume me withthe odours of Paradise."

When washing the right hand :- "O myGod, on the day of judgment, place the bookof my actions in my right hand, and examinemy account with favour."

When washing the left hand :- "O my God,place not at the resurrection the book of myactions in my left hand."

The Shiya ‘ is, acting more in accordancewith the text of the Qur’an quoted above,only wipe, or rub (masah) the feet, instead ofwashing them, as do the Sunnis.

The ablution need not be performed beforeeach of the five stated periods of prayer,when the person is conscious of havingavoided every kind of impurity since the lastperformance of the ablution. The privateparts of the body must also be purified whennecessary. When water cannot be procured,or would be injurious to health, the ablutionmay be performed with dust or sand. Thisceremony is called Tayammum (q.v.). Thewashing of the whole body is necessary aftercertain periods of impurity. [GHUSL.] Thebrushing of the teeth is also a religious duty.[MLSWAK.] The benefits of ablution arehighly extolled in the sayings of Muhammad.e.g., "He who performs the wazu ‘ thoroughly will extract all sin from his body, even though it may be lurking under his finger nails." "In the day of resurrection people shall comewith bright faces, hands and feet and therewill be jewels in every place where the watersof the wazu ‘ have reached. (Mishkat, iii. 1)

In all the principal mosques there aretanks, or wells, which supply water for thepurpose of legal purification. [PURIFICATION.]

ABORTION. Arabic Isqat Thereis no mention of the subject in the Qur’an,but according to the Fatawi ‘Alamgiri, (vol. iv. P. 238), it is forbidden after the child is formed in the womb. Muhammad is relatedto have ordered prayers to be said over anabortion, when supplication should be madefor the father and mother, for forgiveness and mercy (Mishkat, v. c. 2.)

ABRAHAM. Arabic Ibrahim
One of the six great prophets to whom God delivered special laws.The "Friend of God; ‘ Khalilu ‘illah, to whomwere revealed twenty portions (sahifah) ofScripture.

Abraham is very frequently mentioned inthe Qur’an, together with Ishmael and Isaac.The following are - Mr. Lane ‘s selections (givingin italics the remarks of Muslim commentators) -

"Remember when Abraham said to hisfather Azar (This was the surname of Terah),Dost thouu take images as deities? Verily Isee thee and thy people to be in a manifesterror. - (And thus, as We showed him the errorof his father and his people, did We shewAbraham the kingdom of the heaven and theearth, and [We did so] that he might be of [thenumber of] those who firmly believe.) Andwhen the night overshadowed him, he saw astar (it is said that it was Venus), [and] he saidunto his people who were astrologers, This ismy Lord, according to your assertion. - Butwhen it set, he said, I like not those that set.to take them as Lords, since it is not meet for aLord to experience alteration and change ofplace, as they are of the nature of accidents.Yet this had no effect upon them. And whenhe saw the moon rising, he said unto them,This is my Lord.---But when it set, he saidVerily it my Lord direct me not (if he confirm me not in the right way), I shallbe of the string people --- This was a hint tohis people that they were in error; but it had noeffect upon them". And when he saw the sunrising, he said. This is my Lord. This isgreater than the star and Moon -- But whenit set, and the proof, had been rendered morestrong to them, yet they desisted not, he said Omy people, verily I am clear of the (things)which ye associate with God; namely theimages and the heavenly bodies. So they saidunto him, What dost thou worship? Heanswered, Verily I direct my face unto Himwho hath created the heavens and the earthfollowing the right religion, and I am not ofthe polytheists. - And his people argued withhim [but] he said, Do ye argue with merespecting God, when He hath directed me,and I fear not what ye associate with Himunless my Lord will that aught displeasingshould befall me? My Lord comprehendetheverything by His knowledge. Will ye nottherefore consider? And wherefore shouldI fear what ye bare associated with Godwhen ye fear not for your having associatedwith God that of which He hath not sentdown unto you a proof? Then which of thetwo parties is the more worthy of safety;Are we, or you? If ye know who is moreworthy of it, follow him. - God saith, Theywho have believed, and not mixed their beliefwith injustice (that is, polytheism), for theseshall be safety from punishment; and they arerightly directed." (Surah vi. 74-82.)

"Relate unto them, in the book (that is, theQur’an). the history of Abraham. Verily, hewas a person of great veracity, a prophet.When he said unto his father Azar, who worshippedidols, O my father, wherfore dostthou worship that which heareth not, norseeth, nor averteth from thee aught,whetherof advantage or of injury? O my father;verily [a degree] of knowledge hath comeunto me, that hath not came unto theetherefore follow me: [I will direct theeinto a right way. O my father, serve not the devil,by obeying him in serving idols; for the devilis very rebellious unto the Compassionate. Omy father, verily I fear that a punishment willbetide thee from the Compassionate, if thourepent not, and that thou wilt be unto thedevil an aider, and a companion in hell-fire.-He replied, Art thou a rejector of my Gods,O Abraham, and dost thou revile them? Ifthou abstain not, I will assuredly assail theewith stones or with ill words; therefore beware of me, and leave me for a long time. - Abraham said, Peace from me be on thee! I willask pardon for thee of my Lord; for Heis gracious unto me: and I will separatemyself from you and from what ye invoke,instead of God; and I will call upon myLord: perhaps I shall not be unsuccessful incalling upon my Lord , as ye are in callingupon idols, and when he had separated himselffrom them, and from what they worshippedinstead of God, by going to the HolyLand, We gave him two icons, that be mightcheer himself thereby, namely, Isaac and Jacob;and each [of them] We made a prophet; andWe bestowed upon them (namely, the three).of our mercy, wealth and children; and Wecaused them to receive high commendation."(Surah xix. 42-51.)

"We gave unto Abraham his direction formerly,before he had attained to manhood; andWe know him to be worthy of it. When hesaid unto his father and his people, What arethese images; to - the worship of which ye are devoted? - they answered, We found ourfathers worshipping them and we have followedtheir example. He said unto them.Verily ye and your fathers have been in amanifest error. They said, Hast, thou comeunto us with truth in saying this, or art thouof those who jest? He answered, Nay, yourLord (the being who deserved to be worshipped)is the Lord of the heavens and the earth,who created them, not after the similitude ofanything pre-existing; and I am of those whobear witness thereof. And, by God, I willassuredly devise a plot against your idolsafter ye shall have retired, turning yourbacks. - So, after they had gone to their placeof assembly, on a day when they held a festival,he break them in pieces with an axe exceptthe chief of them , upon whose neck he hung theaxe; that they might return unto it (namelythe thief) and see what ‘he had done with theothers. They said, after they had returnedand what he had done, Who hath donethis unto our gods? Verily he is of theunjust - And some of them said, We heard ayoung man mention them reproachfully: heis called Abraham. They said, Then bringhim before the eyes of the people, that theymay bear witness against him of his havingdone it. They said unto him, when he hadbeen brought, Hast thou done this unto ourgods, O Abraham? He answered, Nay, thistheir chief did it and ask ye theme if they[can) speak find they returned unto themselves,upon reflection, and said unto themselves,Verily, ye are the unjust, in worshippingthat which speaketh not. Then they revertedto their obstinacy and said, Verilythou knowest that these speak not: thenwherefore dost thou order us to ask them? Hesaid, Do ye then worship, instead of God,that which doth not profit you at all, norinjure you if ye worship it not? Fire on you,and on that which ye worship instead of God!Do ye not then understand? - They said,Burn ye him, and avenge your gods, if yewill do so. So they collected abundance of firewoodfor him, and set fire to it; and they boundAbraham, and put him into an engine, and casthim into the fire. But, saith God, We said, Ofire, be thou cold, and a security unto Abraham!So nought of him was burned save hisbonds: the heat of the fire ceased, but its light remained and by God ‘s saying, Security, -Abraham was saved from dying by reason ofits cold. And they intended against him aplot; but he caused them to be the sufferers.And we delivered him and Lot, the son of hisbrother Haran, from El- ‘Eraq, [bringingthem] unto the land which We blessed for thepeoples, by the abundance of its river: andtrees, namely, Syria. Abraham took up his abodein Palestine, and Lot in Et-Mutefikeh, betweenwhich is a day ‘s journey. And whenAbraham had asked a son, We gave unto himIsaac, and Jacob as an additional gift, beyondwhat he had asked, being a son ‘s son; andall of them We made righteous persons andprophets. And We made them models of religiouswho directed men by Our command untoOur religion and We commanded them byinspiration to do good works and to performprayer and to give the appointed alms; andthey served Us. And unto Lot We gavejudgment and knowledge; and We deliveredhim from the city which committed filthyactions; for they were a people of evil,shameful doers; and We admitted him intoour mercy; for he wan [one] of the righteous."(Surah xxi. 52-75.)

"Hast thou not considered him who disputedwith Abraham concerning his Lord, becauseGod had, given him the kingdom? And hewas Nimrod. When Abraham said, (upon hissaying unto him, Who is thy Lord, unto whomthou invitest us?), My Lord is He who givethlife and causeth to die, - he replied, I givelife and cause to die - And he summoned twomen, ,and slew one of them, and left the other.So when he saw that he understood not, Abraham said, And verily God bringeth the sunfrom the east: now do thou bring it from thewest. -- And he who disbelieved was confounded; and God directeth not the offending people." (Surah ii. 260).

"And Our messengers came formerly untoAbraham with good tidings of Isaac andJacob, who should be after him. They saidPeace. He replied, Peace be unto you. And hetarried not, but brought a roasted calf. Andwhen he saw that their hands touched it not,he disliked them and conceived a fear ofthem. They said, Fear not: for we are sentunto the people of Lot, that we may destroythem. And his wife Sarah was standingserving them, and she laughed, rejoicing at thetidings of their destruction. And we gave hergood tidings of Isaac; and after, Isaac , JacobShe said, Alas! shall I bear a child when Iam an old woman of nine and ninety years,and when this my husband is an old man ofa hundred or a hundred and twenty years?Verity this [would be] a wonderful thing.-They said Dost thou wonder at the command of God? The mercy of God and Hisblessings be on you, O people of the house (ofAbraham)! for He is praiseworthy, glorious.

-And when the terror bad departed fromAbraham, and the good tidings had comeunto him, he disputed with Us (that is, withOur messengers) respecting the people ofLot; for Abraham was gentle, compassionate,repentant. And he said unto them, Will yedestroy a city wherein are three hundred believers?They answered, No. He said, Andtill ye destroy a city wherein are twohundred believers? They answered. No. Hesaid, And will ye destroy a city wherein areforty believers? They answered, No. He said,And will ye destroy a city wherein are fourteenbelievers? They answered, No. He said, Andtell me, if there be in it one believer? Theyanswered, No. He said, Verily in it is Lot.They replied, We know best who is in it. Andwhen their dispute had become tedious, theysaid, O Abraham, abstain from this disputation; for the command of thy Lord hath comefor their destruction, and a punishment not [tobe] averted is coming upon them." (Surah xi.72-78.)

"And when Our decree for the destruction ofthe people of Lot came [to be executed], Weturned their (that is, their cities) upside-down; for Gabriel raised them to heaven, andlet them fall upside-down to the earth; andWe rained upon them stones of baked clay,sent one after another, marked with thy Lord.each with the name of him upon whom it shouldbe cast: and they [are] not far distant fromthe offenders; that is, the stones are nor, or thecities of the people of Lot were not, far distantfrom the people of Mekkeh." (Surah xi. 84.)

"And [Abraham] said [after his escapefrom Nimrod], Verily I am going unto myLord, who will direct me unto the placewhither He hath commanded me to go, namely,Syria. And when he had arrived at the HolyLand, he said, O my Lord, give me a son[who shall be one] of the righteous. Where-upon We gave him the glad tidings of a mildyouth. And when be bad attained to theago when he could work with him (as somesay, seven years; and some, thirteen), he said,O my child, verily I have seen in a dream thatI should sacrifice thee (and the dreams of prophets are true; and their actions, by the command of God); therefore consider what thouseest advisable for me to do. He replied, Omy father, do what thou art commanded:thou shalt find me, if God please, [of thenumber] of the patient. And when they hadresigned themselves, and he had laid himdown on his temple, in [the valley of] Mina,and had drawn the knife across his throat (butit produced no effect, by reason of an obstacleinterposed by the divine power), We called untohim, O Abraham, thou hast verified thevision. Verily thus do We reward the well-doers.Verily this was the manifest trial.And We ransomed him whom he had been commanded to sacrifice (and he was Ishmael orIsaac; for there are two opinions) with anexcellent victim, a ram from Paradise, thesame that Abel had offered: Gabriel (on whombe peace!) brought it, and the lord Abrahamsacrificed it, saying, God is most great! And We left this salutation [to be bestowed] onhim by the latter generations, Peace [be] OAbraham! Thus do We reward the welldoers: for be was of Our believing servants(Surah xxxvii. 97-111.)

"Remember when Abraham said, O my Lordshow me how Thou will raise to life thedead. He said, Hast thou not believed? Heanswered, Yea: but I have asked Thee thatmy heart may be at ease. He replied, Thentake four birds and draw them towards theeand cut them in pieces and mingle together theirflesh and their feathers; then place upon eachmountain of thy land a portion of them, then call them unto them: they shall come untothee quickly; and know thou that God is mighty [and] wise. - And he took a peacock and a vulture and a raven and a rock, and did with them as hath been described, and kept theirheads with him, and called them ; whereuponthe portions flew about, one to another untilthey became complete: then they came to theirheads." (Surah ii. 262.)

"Remember, when his Lord had tried Abrahamby [certain] words, commands and prohibitions, and he fulfilled them, God said unto him, I constitute thee a model of religion untomen. He replied, And of my offspring constitute models of religion. [God] said, Mycovenant doth not apply to the offenders, the unbelievers among them. - And when We appointed the house (that is, the Ka ‘bah) to bea place for the resort of men, and a place asecurity (a man who would meet the slayer of his father there and he would not provoke him [torevenge]) and [said], Take, O men, the station of Abraham (the stone upon which he stoodat the time of building the House) as aplace of prayer. that ye may perform behind it the prayers of the two rak ‘ahs [which are ordained to be performed after the ceremony]of the circuiting [of the Ka ‘bah]. -- And Wecommanded Abraham and Ishmael, [saying],Purify my House (rid it of the idols) for those who shall compass [it], and those whoshall abide there, and those who shall bow downand prostrate themselves. - And when Abrahamsaid, O my Lord, make this place asecure territory (and God hath answered hisprayer, and made it a sacred place, wherein theblood of man is not shed, nor is anyone oppressed in it, nor is its game hunted [or shot],nor are its plants cut or pulled up), and supplyits inhabitants with fruits (which hath beendone by the transporting of at-Taif from Syriathither, when it [that is, the territory ofMakkah] was desert, without sown land orwater such of them as shall believe in Godand the last day. --- He mentioned them peculiarly in the prayer agreeably with the saying of God, My covenant doth not apply to the offenders. - God replied, And I will supply him who disbelieveth: I will make him toenjoy a supply of-food in this world, a littlewhile: then I will force him, in the world tocome to the punishment of the fire; and evilshall be the transit." (Surah ii, 118-120.)

"And remember when Abraham was raisingthe foundations of the House (that is, buildingit), together with Ishmael, and they saidO our Lord, accept of us our building; forThou art the Hearer of what is said, theKnower of what is done. O our Lord, alsomake us resigned unto Thee, and make fromamong our offspring a people resigned untoThee, and show us our rites (the ordinancesof our worship, or our pilgrimage), and be propitious towards us; for Thou art the VeryPropitious, the Merciful. (They begged Himto be propitious to them, notwithstanding theirhonesty, from a motive of humility, and by wayof instruction to their offspring.) O our Lordalso send unto them (that is, the people of theHouse) an apostle from among them (and Godhath answered their prayer by sending Muhammad)who shall recite unto thorn Thy signs(the Qur’an), and shall teach them the book(the Qur’an), and the knowledge that it containeth, and shall purify them from polytheism;for Thou art the Mighty, the Wise. -- Andwho will be averse from the religion ofAbraham, but he who maketh his soul foolish,who is ignorant that it is God ‘s creation, andthat the worship of Him is incumbent On it; orwho lightly esteemeth it and applieth it to vilepurposes; when We have chosen him in thisworld as an apostle and a friend, and be shall bein the world to come one of the righteous forwhom are high ranks ? -- And remember whenhis Lord said unto him, Resign thyself : - hereplied, I resign myself unto the Lord of theworlds.--And Abraham commanded his children to follow it (namely, the religion); andJacob, his children; saying, 0 my children,verily God hath chosen for you the religionof al-Islam: therefore die not without yourbeing Muslims. - It was a prohibition fromabandoning Islam and a command to perseveretherein unto death." (Surah ii. 121-126.)

When the Jews said, Abraham was a Jew,and we are of his religion , and the Christianssaid the like, [the following] was revealed : --O people of the Scripture, wherefore do yeargue respecting Abraham, asserting that hewas of your religion, when the Pentateuch - andthe Gospel were not sent down but after hima long time? Do ye not then understand thefalsity of your saying? So ye, 0 people, haveargued respecting that of which ye haveknowledge, concerning Moses and Jesus, andhave asserted that ye are of their religion:then wherefore do ye argue respecting thatof which ye have no knowledge, concerningAbraham? But God knoweth his case, and ye know it not. Abraham was not a Jew nor a Christian; but he was orthodox, a Muslim [or one resigned], a Unitarian, and he was not of the polytheists." (Surah iii., 58-60.)

ABSCONDING OF SLAVES Arabic Ibaq . An absconded male or female slave is called Abiq, but an infant slave who leaves his home is termedzall a word which is also used for an adult slave who has strayed. The apprehension of a fugitive slave is a laudable act, and theperson who seizes him should bring him before the magistrate and receive a reward offorty dirhams. (Hamilton ‘s Hidayah, vol. ii.p 278.)

ABSTINENCE. Arabic Taqwa Is very frequently enjoined inthe Qur’an. The word generally applies toabstinence from idolatry in the first instancebut it is used to express a life of piety. Anexcessive abstinence and a life of asceticismare condemned in the Qur’an, and the Christians are charged with the invention of themonastic life. (Surah lvii. 27.) "As for the monastic life, they invented it themselves."[MONASTICISM, FASTING.]

ABU ‘ABDI ‘LLAH. .
Muhammad ibn Isma ‘il al-Bukhari, the authorof the well-known collection of traditions received by the Sunnis. [BUKHARI.]

ABU ‘ ABDI ‘LLAH AHMAD IBN HANBAL
[HANBAL.]

ABU ‘ABDI ‘LLAH IBN ANAS . [MALIK]

ABU ‘ABDI ‘LLAH MUHAMMAD IBN AL-HASAN
Known as Imam Muhummad. Born at Wasit, a city in Arabian Iraq, A.H. 132. He studied under the great Imam Abu Hanifah, and had also studiedunder Imam Malik for three years. He is celebrated as one of the disciples of the Imam Abu Hanifah, from whom he occasionallydiffers, as is seen in the Hidiyah. He died at Rai, in Khurasan, where his tomb is still to be seen, A.H. 189.

citations: Dictionary of Islam, Hughes

article created 2006-04-12 , last updated 2006-04-12

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