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Encyclopedia of Religion entry for

Ashab

pl. of Sahib.The Companions or Associates of Muhammad.The term used for a single companion issahabi. Concerning the title of "Companion,"there is considerable controversy as to thepersons to whom it can be applied. Sa ‘idibn al-Musaiyab reckoned none a "Companion"but those who had been a year ormore with Muhammad, and had gone on awarlike expedition with him. Some say thateveryone who had attained puberty, had embracedIslam, and had seen the Prophet, wasa "Companion" even though he had attendedMuhammad but an hour. Others, however,affirm that none could be a "Companion"unless Muhammad chose him and he choseMuhammad, and he adhered to the Prophetat all times. The general opinion is thatevery one who embraced him, saw the Prophet,and accompanied him, even for a shorttime, was a "Companion".

It is related that the Prophet marched toMakkah with 10,000 Muslims, to Hunain with12,000, and that 40,000 accompanied him onthe farewell pilgrimage. The number of the"Companions" at his death is said to havebeen 144,000.

In point of merit, the refugees (Muhajirun)are more worthy than the auxiliaries (Ansar);but by way of precedence the auxiliaries aremore worthy than the later refugees.

The "Companions", have been arranged inthirteen classes, which are given by Abu ‘1-Fidaas follows:- I. Those who first embracedIslam, such as Khadijah, ‘Ali, Zaid, and AbuBakr, and those who did not delay till be hadestablished his mission. II. The Companionswho believed in him after his mission hadbeen fully established, amongst whom was ‘Umar. III. Those who fled to Abyssinia.IV. The first companions of ‘Aqabah, whopreceeded the Auxiliaries. V. The secondCompanions of ‘Aqabah. VI. The third Companionsof ‘Aqabah, who were seventy. VII.The refugees who went to the Prophet afterhis flight, when he was at Quba, before theerection bf the temple. VIII. The soldiers ofthe great battle of Badr. IX Those whojoined Islam between Badr and Hudaibiyah.X.Those who took the oath of fealty underthe acacia tree at Hudaibiyah. XI. Those whoJoined after the treaty of Hudaibiyah, butbefore the conquest. XII. Those that embracedIslim on the day of conquest. XIII. Thosewho were children in the time of the Prophet,and had seen him.

Muhammad frequently commended the"Companions," and spoke of their excellencesand virtues, a chapter in the Traditions beingdevoted to this subject (Mishkat, xxiv. c.xiii.) He is related to have said, "My companionsare like stars by which roads arefound, for which ever companion you followyou will find the right road."

AL-ASHABU ‘L-FIL

"The Companions of the Elephant." A termused in the Chapter of the Elephant, or thecvth Surah :- "Hast thou not seen how thyLord dealt with the companions of the elephant?Did He not cause their stratagem to miscarry?And He sent against them birds in flockssmall stones did they hurl down upon them,and he made them like stubble eaten down!"

This refers to the army of Abrahah, theChristian king of Abyssinia and Arabia Fe1ix,said to have been lost, in the year of Muhammad ‘sbirth, in an expedition against Makkahfor the purpose of destroying the Ka ‘bah. Thisarmy was cut off by small pox, and there is nodoubt, as the Arabic word for small-pox alsomeans "small stones," in reference to thehard gravelly feeling of the pustules, what isthe true interpretation of the fourth verse ofthis Surah, which, like many other poeticalpassages in the Qur’an, has formed the startingpoint for the most puerile and extravagantlegends.

ASHABU ‘L-KAHF .
"The Companions of the Cave," i.e. the SevenSleepers, mentioned in the Suratu ‘l-kahf, orChapter xviii of the Qur’an. The story, astold by early Christian writers, is given byGibbon (Rise and Fall, Chapter xxxi.). Whenthe Emperor Decius persecuted the Christians,seven noble youths of Ephesus are said tohave concealed themselves in a cave in theside of a mountain, where they were doomedto perish by the tyrant, who gave orders thatthe entrance should be firmly secured with apile of huge stones. They immediately fellinto a deep slumber, which was miraculously.prolonged, without injuring the powers of life,during a period of 187 years. This populartale, which Muhammad must have heardwhen he drove his camels to the fairs ofSyria, is introduced into the Qur’an as adivine revelation.

ASHABU ‘S-SUFFAH
"The sitters on the bench"of the temple at Makkah. They are thus describedby Abu l-Fida: "They were poorstrangers, without friends or place of abode,who claimed the promises of the Apostle ofGod and implored his protection. Thus theporch of the temple became their mansion,and thence they obtained their name.Muhammad went to meals, he used to callsome of them to partake with him; and heselected others to eat with his companions."

‘ASHARAH MUBASHSHARAH
"The ten who receivedglad tidings." Ten of the most distinguished ofMuhammad ‘s. followers, whose certain entranceinto Paradise he is said to have foretold.They are Abu Bakr, ‘ ‘Umar, Usman, ‘Ali,Talhah, az-Zubair ‘.Abdu ‘r-Rahman, Sa ‘d-ibn-Abu-Waqqas, Sa ‘id ibn Zaid, Abu ‘Ubaidahibn al-Jarrih. (Mishkat, book xxiv. c. xx., partii.) Muhammad declared it presumption foranyone to count upon an entrance intoheaven with absolute certainty, but he madean exception in favour of these ten distinguished persons.

AL-ASH ‘ARIYAH
A sect formed by Abu l-Hasan ‘Ali ibn Isma ‘ilal-Ash ‘ari. born A.H. 260 (A.D. 873-4).They hold that the attributes of God aredistinct from His essence, yet in such away as to forbid any comparison beingmade, between God and ins creatures. Theysay they are not " ‘ain nor gihair:", not of Hisessence, nor distinct from it: i.e. they cannotbe compared with any other things. Theyalso hold that God has one eternal will,from which proceed all things, the goodand the evil, the useful and the hurtful. Thedestiny of man was written on the eternaltable before the world was created. So farthey go with the Sifatis, but in order topreserve the moral responsibility of man theysay that he has power to convert will intoaction. But this power cannot create anythingnew, for then God ‘s sovereignty wouldbe impaired; so they say that God in His providenceso orders matters that whenever "aman desires to do a certain thing, good orbad, the action corresponding to the desire is,there and then, created by God, and, as itwere, fitted on to the desire." Thus it seemsas if it can ‘t naturally from the will of theman whereas it does not. This action iscalled Kasb (acquisition), because it is acquiredby a special creative act of God. It is anact directed to the obtaining of profit or theremoving of injury the term is therefore inapplicable to the Deity. Abu Bakr al-Bakil ‘Iani, a disciple of a1-Asli ‘ari, says: ‘Theessence or substance of the action is theeffect of the power of God, but its being anaction of obedience, such as prayer, or anaction of disobedience, such as fornication,are qualities of the action, which proceedfrom the power of man." The Imam Al-Haramain (A.H. 419-478) held "that theactions of men were effected by the powerwhich God has created in man." Abu Ishaqal-Isfariyini says: "That which maketh impressionor hath influence on action, is acompound of the power of God and the powerof man." They also believe that the word ofGod is eternal, though they acknowledge thatthe vocal sounds used in the Qur’an, which arethe manifestation of that word, are created.They say. in short, that the Qur’an contains(1) the eternal word which existed in theessence of God before time was; and (2) theword which consists of sounds and combinationsof letters. The last they call the createdword.

Thus Al-Ash ‘ari traversed the main positionsof the Mutazilites, denying that man can,by the aid of his reason alone, rise to theknowledge of good and evil. He must exerciseno judgment, but accept all that is revealed.He has no right to apply the morallaws which affect men, to the actions of God.It cannot be asserted by the human reasonthat the good will he rewarded or the badpunished in a future world. Man must alwaysapproach God as a slave, in whom there is nolight or knowledge to judge of the actions ofthe Supreme. Whether God will accept thepenitent sinner or not cannot be asserted, forHe is an absolute Sovereign, above all law.(Sale, from Ibn Khaldun; Die Mu ‘tazilitenoder die Freidenker in Islam, von H. Steiner.1865: Zur-Geschichte Abu ‘l-Hasan al-ash ‘arish,von W. Spitta, 1876: De Strijd over het Dogmain den Islam tot op El-ash ‘ari, door Dr,M. Th.Houtsma, Leiden, 1875; and Exposen de laRefore de l ‘Islamisme, by M.A.F. MehrenLeiden, 1878.)

‘ASHURA Lit. "thetenth" A voluntary fast day, observed on thetenth of the month of Muharram it is relatedthat Muhammad observed it, and said it wasa day respected by Jews and Christians(Mishkat. vii. vol. I.)

It is the only day of Muharram observedby the Sunni Muslims, being the day on whichit is said God created Adam and Eve, heavenand hell, the tablet of decrees, the pen, life,and death. It is kept by the Sunnis as a fast.[MUHARRAM]

ASIYAH . The wife ofPharaoh. One, of the four perfect women(the Virgin Mary, Khadijah, and Fatimah,being the other three). See Mishkatu ‘l-Masabih, xxiv c. 22. She is mentioned in theQur’an (Sura lxvi. 11): "And God strikethout a parable for those who believe: the wifeof Pharaoh, when she said, ‘My Lord, buildfor me a house with Thee in Paradise, andsave me from Pharaoh and his works, andsave me from the unjust people."

ASL Cause, first principle.foundation. Asl-wafar ‘, "Cause and effect.""fundamental and derivative principal"

ASMA ‘U ‘LLAH . [GOD, NAMES OF.]

‘ASR . The afternoonprayer. [PRAYERS.] The title of the CIIIrdSurah of the Qur’an.

ASS. According to the ImamAbu Hanifah, the ass is an unclean animal, andits flesh and milk are unlawful; nor is zakat tobe given on an ass. (Hamilton ‘s Hidayah,vol. i. 16, iv. 74, 86)

ASSISTANTS. [ANSAR.]

ASTROLOGY. Arabic ‘Ilmu ‘n-nujum.Qatidah says, referring to the Qur’an, ‘that God has created stars for three uses:(1) as an ornament to the heavens (Surahlxvii 5); (2) to stone the Devil with (Surahlxvii. 5); and (3) to direct travellers throughthe forests and on the sea (Surah. xv. 16).Muhammad condemns those who study thestars for any other purposes (Mishkat, xxi,c iii pt. iii.), and consequently the science ofAstrology is not considered lawful in Islam.

ASWAD . An impostorwho, in the time of Muhammad, claimedthe prophetic office. His name was ‘Aihalahibn Ka ‘b, and he belonged to the tribeof ‘Aus, of which he was an influential chiefHe was surnamed Zu ‘l-Himar, or "TheMaster of the Ass," (But another reading is Zu ‘l-Khimar or, "He with the veil.") because he used frequently to say, "The master of the assis coming unto me," and pretended to receive his revelations from two angels named Suhaikand Shuraik: Being good hand at legeidemain, and having a smooth tongue, he gainedmightily on the multitude by the strangefeats which he shewed them, and the eloquence of his discourse. By these means hegreatly increased his power, and having madehimself master of Najran and the territory ofTaif, on the death of Badhan, the governorof Yaman for Muhammad he seized that provincealso, killing Shahr, the son of Hadhan,and taking to wife his widow Azad whosefather he had also slain. The news beingbrought to Muhammad, he sent to his friendsand to the tribe of Hamdan, a party of whomconspiring with Qais ibn ‘Abd Yaghuth, whobore Aswad a grudge, and with Firuz andAswad ‘s wife, broke by night into his house,where Firuz surprised him and cut off hishead. While dying, it said that he roaredlike a bull, at which his guards came to thechamber door, but were sent away by hiswife, who told them that the prophet wasonly agitated by the divine inspiration. Thiswas done the very night before Muhammaddied. The next morning the conspiratorscaused the following proclamation to bemade viz. "I bear witness that Muhammadis the Apostle of God, and that ‘Aihala is aliar"; and letters were immediately sentaway to Muhammad, with an account ofwhat had been done; but a messenger fromheaven outstripped them and acquainted theprophet with the news, what he imparted tohis Companions a little before his death, theletters themselves not arriving till Abu Bakrwas chosen Khalif. It is said that Muhammadon his occasion told those who attendedhim that before the Day of Judgment thirtymore imposters, besides Musailimah and Aswad, should appear. The whole time fromthe beginning of Aswad ‘s rebellion to hisdeath was four months.

ATHEIST [DAHRI.]

ATIRAH.
The sacrifice offered by the idolatrous Arabs in the month of Rajab. It was allowed by the Prophet at the commencement of his mission, but was afterwards abolished. Mishkat, book iv., c. 50, "Let there be no Fara ‘ nor ‘Atirah".

AT-TAHIYAT
.Lit. "the greetings." A part of the stated prayers, recited after the Takbiru ‘l-Qurud, after every two rak ‘ahs. It is recited whilst the worshipper kneels upon the ground. His left foot bent under him, he sits upon it and places his hands upon his knees and says: - "The adorations (i.e. at-tahiyatu of the tongue are for God, and also of the body and of alms giving. Peace be on thee, O Prophet, with the mercy of God and His blessing. Peace be upon us, and upon God ‘s righteous servants." (Mishkat, iv., c. xvi) [PRAYER.]

AUGURY. [FA ‘L]

AULIYA , pl. of wali.
"Favourites of God." The expression occurs in the Quran in tue following verse. "Are notthe favourites of God those on whom no fearshall come, nor shall they be put to grief?"(Surah x. 63).

AUTAD .Lit. "props or pillars." - A term used by the Sufis for the four saints by whom the four corners of theworld are said to be supported.

A ‘UZU BILLAH . Another name for the Ta ‘auwuz., or the prayerin the daily liturgy : "I seek refuge with Godfrom the cursed Satan." [PRAYER.]

AVENGER OF BLOOD. In the Muhammadan Law, as in the Jewish, the punishment for wilful murder is left to the next of kin; but in the Jewish code the avenger of blood was compelled to take the life of the murder whilst in the Muslim code he may accept compensation, vide Qur’an Surah ii. 173, "O believers; retaliation (Qisas for blood-shedding is prescribed to you; the free man for the free, and the slave for the slave, and the woman for the woman; but he to whom his brother shall make any remission is to be dealt with equitably; and a payment should be made to him with liberality. This is a relaxation (i.e. of the stricter lex talionis) from your Lord, and a mercy." [QISAS.]

AYAH . Lit. "a sign or miracle." The term used for one of the smaller portions of the chapters of the Qur’an which we call verses. The number of verses is often set down after the title of the chapter, but the verses are not marked in the text as they are in our English Bibles. The number of verses in the Qur’an is variously estimated, but they are generally said to be about six thousand and two hundred. [Qur’AN.]

AL-A ‘YANU ‘S-SABITAH
pl. of ayn, in the sense of "the essence" of a thing. The established essences. A term used by the Sufi mystics to express figures emblenatic of the names of God. ( ‘Abdu ‘r-Razzaq ‘s Dictionary of Technical Terms of the Sufis, Sprenger ‘s edition.)

AYATU ‘L-FATH
Lit. "The verse of victory." The fifty-ninth verse of the Suratu ‘l-An ‘am (vi.) of the Qur’an. The powers of this verse are said to be so great, that if a person constantly recite it he will obtain his desires. It is generally recited with this object forty times after each season of prayer. It is as follows: - "And with Him are the keys of the secret things; none knoweth whatever is on the land and in the sea; and no leaf falleth but he knoweth it; neither is there a grain in the darkness of the earth, not a green thing nor a dry thing, but it is noted in a clear book." AYATU ‘L-HINZ .
"The verse of protection" Certain verses ofthe Qur’an which are usually inscribed onamulets. They are:-Surah ii, 256, "Andthe preservation of both (heaven and earth) isno burden unto Him": Surah xii. 64, "Godis the best protector". Surah xiii, 12. "Theyguard him by the command of God." Surah xv, 17. "We guard him from every devildriven away by stones" Surah xxxvii. 7,"A protector against every rebellious devil".

AYATU ‘L-KURSI .
"The verse of the throne." Verse 256 ofthe Suratu ‘l-Baqarah, or chap. ii. of theQur’an. It is related (Mishkat book iv, c xix, part III), that ‘Ali heard Muhammad say in the pulpit. "that person who repeats the Ayatu ‘l-Kursi after every prayer,nothing prevents him entering into Paradise but life;and whoever says it when he goes to his bed-chamber, God will keep him in safety,together with his house and the house of his neighbor.The verse is as follows: -- "God!There is no God but he; the Living, theAbiding. Neither slumber seizeth Him, norsleep. To Him belongeth whatsoever is inheaven and whatsoever is in earth. Who ishe that can intercede with Him but by Hisown permission? He knoweth what hathbeen before them and what shall be afterthem : yet nought of his knowledge do theycomprehend, save what He willeth. HisTHRONE reacheth over the heavens and theearth, and the upholding of both burdenethHim not ; and He is the High the Great."

A ‘YATU ‘L-MAWARIS .
"The verse of inheritances." The twelfthverse of the Suratu ‘n-nisa, or fortieth chapterof the Qur’an. It relates to inheritance, andis the foundation of the Muslim law on thesubject. It is given in the article on inheritance. [INHERITANCE]

AYIMMATU ‘L-ASMA .
"The leading names." The seven principalnames or titles of God. Namely: -

Al-Hagy -The Loving.
Al-Mim -The Knowing.
Al-Murid -The Purposer.
Al- Qache -The Powerful.
As-Samr - The Hearer.
Al-Basir -The Seer.
Al- Mutukullim - The Speaker.

AYISHAH The daughterof Abu Bakr, and the favorite wife at Muhammad to whom she was married when only nine years of age. She survived herhusbasnd many years, and died at al-MadinahA.H. 58. (A.D. 678), aged sixty-seven, andobtained the title of Ummu ‘l-Mu ‘minin, "The Mother of the Believers".

AYMAN pl of Yamisn[OATHS].

AYYAMU ‘L-BIZ "Thedays of the bright nights ‘." mentioned in the Miskat (book vii. c.7, part 3). as days onewhich Muhammad did not eat, whether halting or marching. They are the 13th, 14th,and 15th nights of the month. (See Lane ‘sDict., p. 284).

AYYAMU ‘L-QARR The day of rest after the day of sacrifice at thePilgrimage. [HAJJ].

AYYAMU ‘N-NAHR. The season of sacrifice at the Pilgrimage.[HAJJ].

AYYAMU ‘T TASHRIQ The three days after thefeast of sacrifice at Mini during the Pilgrimage. So called because the flesh of thevictim is then dried, or because they are notslain until after sun-rise. [HAJJ, PILGRIMAGE]

AYYIM . A legal term fora woman having no husband, whether she be a virgin or a widow.

‘AZABU ‘L-QABR .The punishment of the grave. That allpersons whether believers or not, undergosome punishment in their graves, is a fundamentalarticle of the Muslim belief. Thesepunishments are described in the followingHadis, on the authority of Abu Hurairah

"The Prophet of God said, - When a corpseis placed in its grave, two black angels cometo it, with blue eyes. The name of the one is Munkur and of the other Nakir, and they interrogate the dead person concerning the Prophet of God. If he be a Muslim, he will bearwitness to the Unity of God and the missionof Muhammad. The angels will then say,-We knew thou wouldst say so; and thegrave will thee; expand seventy times seventyyards in length, and seventy times seventy inbreath. A light will then be given for thegrave, and it will be said, ‘Sleep. ‘ Then thedead person will say, ‘ Shall I return to mybrethren and inform them of this? ‘ Thenthe angels will say, ‘Sleep like the bridegroom, till God shall raise thee up from thegrave on the Day of Resurrection. ‘ But ifthe corpse be that of an unbeliever, it willhe asked, ‘What sayest thou about theProphet? ‘ and he will reply, ‘I knowhim not. ‘ And then the angels will say, ‘We knew thou wouldst way so. ‘ Then theground will be ordered to close in upon him,and it will break his sides, and turn the rightside to his left, and he will suffer perpetualpunishment till God raise him therefrom. ‘In another tradition, recorded by ‘Anas, it issaid, ‘The wicked will be struck with arod (mitraqah), and they will roar out andtheir cries will be heard by all animals thatmay be near the grave exceptinsg man and thegenii." (Mishkat. book i., c.v.).

All Muhammadan doctors of the orthodoxschools (whether we apply the term orthodoxto Sunni or Shi ‘ah) believe in the literal interpretation of these punishments in the grave,which are said to take place as soon as theparty has left the grave-yard. Aperusal of the various traditions on the subject must convince any unprejudiced mindthat Muhammad intended to teach a literalinterpretation of his sayings on this subject.It is related that on one occasion, when theProphet was riding through a grave-yard, hismule, hearing the groans or the dead, tried tothrow his master. On that occasion, Muhammad said, "If I were not afraid that youwould leave off burying, I would ask God togive you the power of hearing what I hear."Shaikh, ‘Abdu ‘l-Haqq, in his commentary onthe Mischkat, says, "The accounts which arehere given of the punishment of the graveare undoubtedly true, and they are not eitherimaginary or figurative." (Mishkat, book i.,chap. v.; See Persian edition with ‘Abdu ‘l-Haqq ‘s commentary.)

AZAL . Eternity with respect to the past, at; distinguished from abad , eternity without end.

AZAN . Lit. "announcement."
The call or summons to public prayers proclaimed by the Mu ‘azzin (or crier) - in smallmosques from the side of the building or atthe door, and in large mosques from theminaret.

it is in Arabic as follows

Allahu akbar! Allahu akbar! Allahuakbar! Allahu akbar! Ashhadu an la ilahailla ‘llah! Ashadu an la ilaha illa ‘llah! Ashhadu anna Muhammadan rasulu-llah! Ashhaduanna Muhammadan rasulu-llah! Hayya ‘ala ‘s-salati! Hayya ‘ala ‘s-salati! Hayya ‘ala ‘l-falah! Hayya ‘ala ‘l-fatah.! Allahu akbar! Allahu akbar! La ilaha illa llah!

Which is translated:-

" God is most great! God is most great!God is most great! God is most great! Itestify that there is no god but God! I testify that there is no god but God! I testifythat Muhammad is the Apostle of God! Itestify that Muhammad is the Apostle of God!Come to prayer! Come to prayer! Come tosalvation! Come to salvation! God is mostgreat! God is most great! There is no godbut God!"

In the Azan in the early morning, after thewords, "Come to salvation!" is added

As-salatu khairun mina ‘n-naumi! As-salatu khairun mina ‘n-naumi! "Prayer is betterthan sleep! Prayer is better than sleep!

The Shi ‘ahs make a slight alteration in theAzan, by adding the words

Haaya ‘ala khairi ‘l- ‘amali! Haaya ‘ala khairi ‘l- ‘amali! "Come to the best or works! Come to thebest of works!" and by repeating the lastsentence of the Azan, "There is no god butGod," twice instead of once, as in the SunniAzan.

When the Azan is recited, it is usual formen of piety and religious feeling to, respondto each call, as, for example, when theMu ‘azzin cries:

"Allahu akbar! Allahu akbar! Allahuakbar! Allahu akbar!"

Those who hear it repeat

"Allahu akbar! Allahu akbar! Allahuakbar! Allahu akbar!"

The Mu ‘azzin says-

"I testify that there is no god but God; Itestify that there is no God but God;"

They reply -

"I testify that there is no God but God;I testify that there is no god but God."

Mu ‘azzin. - "I testify that, Muhammad isthe Apostle of God."

Reply-" I testify that Muhammad is theApostle of God."

Mu ‘azzin. ---" Come to prayer."

Reply.-" I have no power or strength butfrom God the most High and Great."

Mu ‘azzin.--- "Come to salvation."

Reply.-"What God willeth will be: whatHe willeth not willeth not be."

The recital of the Azan must be listened towith great reverence. If a person be walking at the time, he should stand still; if reclining;sit up. Mr. Lane, in his ModernEgyptians says, "Most of the Mu ‘azzins ofCairo have harmonious and sonorous voices,which they strain to the utmost pitch; yetthere is a simple and solemn melody in theirchants which is very striking, particularly inthe stillness of the night" But Vambery remarks that "the Tukistanees most carefullyavoid all tune and melody. The manner inwhich the Azan is cried in the west is here(in Bokhara) declared sinful, and the beautifulmelancholy notes which, in the silent hourof a moonlit evening, are heard from theslender minarets on the Bosphorus fascinating every hearer, would be listened to by theBokhariot with feelings only of detestation."

The summons to prayer was at first thesimple cry, "Come to public prayer." Afterthe Qiblah was changed, Muhammad bethought himself of a more formal call. Somesuggested the Jewish trumpet, others theChristian bell; but neither was grateful to theProphet ‘s ear. The Azan, or call to prayerwas then established. Tradition claims forit at supernatural origin, thus : - "While thematter was under discussion. ‘Abdu ‘llah, aKharrajite, dreamed that he met a man cladin green raiment, carrying a bell. ‘Abdu ‘llahsought to buy it, saying that it would do wellfor bringing together the assembly of thefaithful, I will show thee a better way,"replied the stranger; " let a crier cry aloud, ‘God. is most great, ‘ &C" Waking fromsleep, Abdu ‘llah proceeded to Muhammad, andtold him his dream. (Muir, from Kutibu ‘l-Wackidi) Hishami recites the story as if ‘Abdu ‘llah had actually met the man.

Bingham, in his Antiquities (vol.ii, bookviii. Chap. vii.), relates that, in the monasteryof virgins which Paula, the famous Romanlady, set up and governed at Jerusalem, thesignal for prayer was given by one goingabout and singing "Hallelujah!" for thatwas their call to church as St. Jeromeinforms us.

The Azan is proclaimed before the statedtimes of prayer, either by one of the congregation, or by the Mu ‘azzin or crier, who is paidfor the purpose. He must stand with his facetowards Makkah, with the points of his fore-fingers in his ears and recite the formulawhich has been given aboveit must not be recited by an uncleanperson, a drunkard, a madman, or a woman,

AZAR Terah, the fatherof Abraham. Surah vi. 74, "And whenAbraham said to his father Azar, Takest thouimages as gods?

"The Eastern authors unanimously agreethat he was a statuary, or carver of idols;and be is represented as the first who madeimages of clay, pictures only having beenin use before, and taught that they were to beadored as gods. However, we are told hisemployment was a very honourable one - andthat he was a great lord, and in high favourwith Nimrod, whose son-in-law he was, because he made his idols for him, and wasexcellent in his art. Some of the Rabbins sayTerah was a priest and chief of the order." --(Sale.)

AL-AZARIQAH A sect ofheretics founded by Nafi ‘ ibn al-Azraq whosay that ‘Ali was an infidel, and that hisassassin was right in killing him. (See ash Shahrantani, ed. Cureton, p. 49, Haarbruecker ‘stranslation, I., p. 133.

AL-AZBA ‘ . The slit-eared;one of Muhammad ‘s favorite camels.

AL-AZHA . [ ‘IDU ‘L-AZHA.]

AL- ‘AZIM . One of theninety-nine special names of God "Thegreat One."

‘AZIMAH . An incantation. [EXORCISM]

AL ‘AZIZ . One of theninety-nine special names of God. Itfrequently occurs in the Qur-an. It means "thepowerful or the mighty One."

‘AZRA ‘IL . The angel ofDeath. Mentioned in the Qur’an under thetitle of Malaku ‘l-Maut, Surah xxxii 11, "Theangel of death who is charged with you shaltcause you to die.". [MALAHU ‘L-MAUT.]

citations: Dictionary of Islam, Hughes

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

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