DICTIONARY OF ISLĀM. (continued 10)

ḤAMZĪYAH (حمزية‎). A sect of Muslims founded by Ḥamzah ibn Adrak, who say that the children (infants) of infidels will be consigned to the Fire of Hell, the general belief of Muḥammadans being that they will have a special place in al-Aʿrāf. (Kitābu ʾt-Taʿrīfāt, in loco.)

ḤANAFĪ (حنفى‎), ḤANĪFĪ (حنيفى‎). A member of the sect of Sunnīs founded by the Imām Abū Ḥanīfah. [ABU HANIFAH.]

ḤANBAL. [IBN HANBAL.]

ḤANBALĪ (حنبلى‎). A member of the Ḥanbalī sect of Sunnī Muslims. [IBN HANBAL.]

HAND. Arabic yad (يـد‎), pl. ayādī. Heb. ‏יָד‎.

(1) It is a rule with Muslims to honour the right hand above the left; to use the right hand for all honourable purposes, and the left for actions which, though necessary, are unclean. The hands must be washed before prayers [ABLUTIONS] and before meals.

(2) The expression yadu ʾllāh, the “hand of God,” occurs in the Qurʾān:—

Sūrah v. 69: “The Jews say, ‘God’s hand is fettered’; their hands are fettered, for they are cursed.”

Sūrah xlviii. 10: “God’s hand is above their hands.”

There is a controversy between the orthodox Sunnīs and the Wahhābīs regarding the expression, “God’s hand.” The former maintaining that it is a figurative expression for the power of God, the latter holding that it is literal; but that it is impossible to say in what sense or manner God has a hand; for as the essence of God is not known, how can the manner of His existence be understood?

HANDKERCHIEFS. The custom of keeping a handkerchief in the hand, as is frequently practised, is said to be abominable (makrūh). Many, however, hold that it is allowable, if done from motives of necessity. This, says Abū Ḥanīfah, is approved; for the practice is abominable only when it is done ostentatiously. (Hidāyah, vol. iv. p. 95.)

ḤANĪF (حنيف‎), pl. Ḥunafāʾ. Lit. “One who is inclined.” (1) Anyone sincere in his inclination to Islām. (2) One orthodox in the faith. (3) One who is of the religion of Abraham. (See Majmaʿu ʾl-Biḥār, in loco.)

The word occurs ten times in the Qurʾān.

I.—Six times for the religion of Abraham:—

Sūrah ii. 129: “They say, ‘Be ye Jews or Christians so shall ye be guided!’ Say: ‘Not so!’ but the faith of Abraham, the Ḥanīf, he was not of the idolaters.”

Sūrah iii. 60: “Abraham was not a Jew nor yet a Christian, but he was a Ḥanīf resigned, and not of the idolaters.”

Idem, 89: “Follow the faith of Abraham, a Ḥanīf, who was not of the idolaters.”

Sūrah vi. 162: “The faith of Abraham, the Ḥanīf, he was not of the idolaters.”

Sūrah xvi. 121: “Verily Abraham was an Imām, a Ḥanīf, and was not of the idolaters.”

Sūrah vi. 79: (Abraham said) “I have turned my face to Him who originated the heaven and the earth as a Ḥanīf, and I am not of the idolaters.”

II.—Four times for one sound in the faith:—

Sūrah x. 105: “Make steadfast thy face to the religion as a Ḥanīf, and be not an idolater.”

Sūrah xxii. 32: “Avoid speaking falsely being Ḥanīfs to God, not associating aught with Him.”

Sūrah xcviii. 4: “Being sincere in religion unto Him, as Ḥanīfs, and to be steadfast in prayer.”

Sūrah xxx. 29: “Set thy face steadfast towards the religion as a Ḥanīf.”

III.—The term was also applied in the early stages of Islām, and before Muḥammad claimed the position of an inspired prophet, to those who had endeavoured to search for the truth among the mass of conflicting dogmas and superstitions of the religions that existed in Arabia. Amongst these Ḥanīfs were Waraqah, the Prophet’s cousin, and Zaid ibn ʿAmr, surnamed the Enquirer. They were known as Ḥanīfs, a word which originally meant “inclining one’s steps toward anything,” and therefore signified either a convert or a pervert. Muḥammad appears from the above verses (when chronologically arranged), to have first used it for the religion of Abraham, but afterwards for any sincere professor of Islām.

ḤAQĪQAH (حقيقة‎). “Truth; sincerity.”

(1) The essence of a thing as meaning that by being which a thing is what it is. As when we say that a rational animal is the ḥaqīqah of a human being. (See Kitābu ʾt-Taʿrifāt.)

(2) A word or phrase used in its proper or original sense, as opposed to that which is figurative. A speech without trope or figure.

(3) The sixth stage in the mystic journey of the Ṣūfī, when he is supposed to receive a revelation of the true nature of the Godhead, and to have arrived at “the Truth.”

AL-ḤAQĪQATU ʾL-MUḤAMMADĪYAH (الحقيقة المحمدية‎). The original essence of Muḥammad, the Nūr-i-Muḥammadīyah, or the Light of Muḥammad, which is believed to have been created before all things. (Kitābu ʾt-Taʿrifāt, in loco.)

The Wahhābīs do not believe in the pre-existence of their Prophet, and the doctrine is most probably an invention of the Ṣūfī mystics in the early stages of Islām.

According to the Imām Qast̤alānī (Muwahib-i-laduniya, vol. i. p. 12), it is related by Jābir ibn ʿAbdi ʾllāh al-Anṣārī that the Prophet said, “The first thing created was the light of your Prophet, which was created from the light of God. This light of mine roamed about wherever God willed, and when the Almighty resolved to make the world, he divided this light of Muḥammad into four portions; from the first he created the Pen (qalam); from the second, the Tablet (lauḥ); from the third, the highest heaven and the throne of God (ʿarsh); the fourth portion was divided into four sections: from the first were created the Hamalatu ʾl-ʿArsh, or the eight angels who support the throne of God; from the second, the kursī, or lower throne of God; from the third, the angels; and the fourth, being divided into four subdivisions, from it were created (1) the firmaments or seven heavens, (2) the earth, (3) the seven paradises and seven hells, (4) and again from a fourth section were created (1) the light of the eyes, (2) the light of the mind, (3) the light of the love of the Unity of God, (4) the remaining portion of creation.”

The author of the Ḥayātu ʾl-Qulūb, a Shīʿah book of traditions (See Merrick’s translation, p. 4), says the traditions respecting the creations from this Light of Muḥammad are numerous and discordant, but that the discrepancies may possibly be reconciled by referring the diverse dates to different eras in the process of creation. “The holy light of Muḥammad,” he says, “dwelt under the empyrean seventy-three thousand years, and then resided seventy thousand years in Paradise. Afterwards it rested another period of seventy thousand years under the celestial tree called Sidratu ʾl-Muntahā, and, emigrating from heaven to heaven, arrived at length in the lowest of these celestial mansions, where it remained until the Most High willed the creation of Adam.”

(A very curious account of the absurd belief of the Shīʿahs on this subject will be found in Mr. Merrick’s edition of the Ḥayātu ʾl-Qulūb; Boston, 1850.)

ḤAQĪQĪ (حقيقى‎). “Literal,” as opposed to that which is majāzī, or figurative.

ḤAQQ (حق‎). “Truth, justice.” A term used in theology for that which is true, e.g. The word of God; religion. In law it implies that which is due. A thing decreed; a claim. By the Ṣūfī mystics it is always used for the Divine Essence; God.

Al-Ḥaqq, “The Truth.” One of the ninety-nine attributes of God.

AL-ḤĀQQAH (الحاقة‎). Lit. “The surely Impending.” The title of the LXIXth Sūrah of the Qurʾān, in which the word occurs in the opening verse: “The inevitable! (al-Ḥāqqatu!). What is the inevitable?” The word is understood by all commentators to mean the Day of Resurrection and Judgment. It does not occur in any other portion of the Qurʾān.

ḤAQQU ʾL-ʿABD (حق العبد‎). “The right of the slave (of God).” In law the right of an injured individual to demand redress and justice.

ḤAQQU ʾLLĀH (حق الله‎). “The right of God.” In law, the retributive chastisement which it is the duty of a magistrate to inflict for crime and offences against morality and religion. In theology it means prayer, alms, fasting, pilgrimage, and other religious duties.

ḤAQQU ʾL-YAQĪN (حق اليقين‎). “A conviction of the truth.” A term used by the Ṣūfī mystics for a state in which the seeker after truth has in thought and reflection a positive evidence of his extinction and of his being incorporated in the Essence of God. [YAQIN.]

ḤAQQU ʾN-NĀS (حق الناس‎). “The right of men.” A term in law implying the same as Ḥaqqu ʾl-ʿAbd.

ḤARAM (حرم‎), pl. Ḥuram. “That which is sacred.” (1) Al-Ḥaram, the sacred precincts of Makkah or al-Madīnah. (2) Ḥaram, the apartments of women in a Muḥammadan household. [HARIM.] (3) Ḥuram, wives.

ḤARĀM (حرام‎). Lit. “prohibited.” That which is unlawful. The word is used in both a good and a bad sense, e.g. Baitu ʾl-ḥarām, the sacred house; and Mālu ʾl-ḥarām, unlawful possessions. Ibnu ʾl-ḥarām, an illegitimate son; Shahru ʾl-ḥarām, a sacred month.

A thing is said to be ḥarām when it is forbidden, as opposed to that which is ḥalāl, or lawful. A pilgrim is said to be ḥarām as soon as he has put on the pilgrim’s garb.

Ḥarāmu ʾllāh lā afʿalu is a form of oath that a man will not do a thing.

ḤARAMU ʾL-MADĪNAH (حـرم المدينة‎). The sacred boundary of al-Madīnah within which certain acts are unlawful which are lawful elsewhere. The Imām Abū Ḥanīfah says that although it is respectful to the position of the sacred city, as the birth-place of the Prophet, not to bear arms, or kill, or cut grass, &c., still it is not, as in the case of Makkah, an incumbent religious duty. According to a tradition by ʿAlī ibn Abī T̤ālib (Mishkāt, book xi. ch. xvi.), the Ḥudūdu ʾl-Ḥaram, or sacred limits of al-Madīnah are from Jabal ʿAir to S̤aur. According to Burton, the diameter of the Ḥaram is from ten to twelve miles. (El Medinah and Meccah, vol. i. p. 362.)

ḤARAMU MAKKAH (حرم مكة‎). The sacred boundary of Makkah within which certain acts are unlawful which are lawful elsewhere. It is not lawful to carry arms, or to fight within its limits. Its thorns must not be broken, nor its game molested, nor must anything be taken up which has fallen on the ground, unless it is done to restore it to its owner. Its fresh grass or even its dry grass must not be cut; except the bog rush (iẕk͟hir), because it is used for blacksmith’s fires and for thatching houses. (A tradition by Ibn ʿAbbās, Mishkāt, book xi. ch. xv. pt. 1). ʿAbdu ʾl-Ḥaqq says that when Abraham, “the friend of God,” placed the black stone at the time of the building of the Kaʿbah, its east, west, north, and south quarters became bright with light, and that wherever the brightness extended itself became the Ḥudūdu ʾl-Ḥaram, or the limits of the sacred city. These limits are marked by manārs or pillars on all sides, except on the Jiddah and Jairānah roads, regarding which there is some dispute as to the exact distance.

HAREEM. [HARIM.]

HARES. Arabic arnab, pl. arānib. Heb. ‏אַרְנֶבֶת‎. The flesh of the hare is lawful, for the Prophet ate it, and commanded his companions to do so (Hidāyah, vol. iv. p. 75). A difference of opinion has in all ages existed as to the value of the hare as an article of food. The Greeks and Romans ate it in spite of an opinion that prevailed that it was not wholesome. In the law of Moses, it is specified amongst the unclean animals (Lev. xi. 6; Deut. xiv. 7). The Parsees do not eat hare’s flesh, nor do the Armenians.

ḤARF (حرف‎). (1) An extremity, verge, or border. (2) A letter of the alphabet. (3) A particle in grammar. (4) A dialect of Arabia, or a mode of expression peculiar to certain Arabs. The Qurʾān is said to have been revealed in seven dialects (sabʿat aḥruf). [QURʾAN.] (5) A term used by the Ṣūfī mystics for the particle of any true essence.

ḤARĪM, or HAREEM (حريم‎). A word used especially in Turkey, Egypt, and Syria, for the female apartments of a Muḥammadan household. In Persia, Afghanistan, and India, the terms ḥaramgah, maḥall-sarāi and zanānah are used for the same place.

The seclusion of women being enjoined in the Qurʾān (Sūrah xxxiii. 55), in all Muḥammadan countries it is the rule for respectable women to remain secluded at home, and not to travel abroad unveiled, nor to associate with men other than their husbands or such male relatives as are forbidden in marriage by reason of consanguinity. In consequence of these injunctions, which have all the force of a divine enactment, the female portion of a Muḥammadan family always resides in apartments which are in an inclosed court-yard and excluded from public view. This inclosure is called the ḥarīm, and sometimes ḥaram, or in Persian zanānah, from zan, a “woman”. Mr. Lane in his Modern Egyptians, has given a full account of the Egyptian ḥarīm. We are indebted to Mrs. Meer Ali for the following very graphic and interesting description of a Muḥammadan zanānah or ḥarīm in Lucknow.

Mrs. Meer Ali was an English lady who married a Muḥammadan gentleman, and resided amongst the people of Lucknow for twelve years. Upon the death of her husband, she returned to England, and published her Observations on the Musalmans of India, which was dedicated, with permission, to Queen Adelaide.

“The habitable buildings of a native Muḥammadan home are raised a few steps from the court; a line of pillars forms the front of the building, which has no upper rooms; the roof is flat, and the sides and back without windows, or any aperture through which air can be received. The sides and back are merely high walls, forming an enclosure, and the only air is admitted from the fronts of the dwelling-place facing the court-yard. The apartments are divided into long halls, the extreme corners having small rooms or dark closets purposely built for the repository of valuables or stores; doors are fixed to these closets, which are the only places I have seen with them in a zanānah or maḥall (house or palace occupied by females); the floor is either of beaten earth, bricks, or stones; boarded floors are not yet introduced. As they have neither doors nor windows to the halls, warmth or privacy is secured by means of thick wadded curtains, made to fit each opening between the pillars. Some zanānahs have two rows of pillars in the halls with wadded curtains to each, thus forming two distinct halls, as occasion may serve, or greater warmth be required; this is a convenient arrangement where the establishment of servants, slaves, &c. is extensive.

“The wadded curtains are called pardahs; these are sometimes made of woollen cloth, but more generally of coarse calico, of two colours, in patchwork style, striped, vandyked, or in some other ingeniously contrived and ornamented way, according to their individual taste.

“Besides the pardahs, the openings between the pillars have blinds neatly made of fine bamboo strips, woven together with coloured cords; these are called chicks. Many of them are painted green; others are more gaudy, both in colour and variety of patterns. These blinds constitute a real comfort to everyone in India, as they admit air when let down, and at the same time shut out flies and other annoying insects; besides which, the extreme glare is shaded by them—a desirable object to foreigners in particular.

“The floors of the halls are first matted with the coarse date-leaf matting of the country, over which are spread shat̤ranjīs (thick cotton carpets, peculiarly the manufacture of the Upper Provinces of India, woven in stripes of blue and white, or shades of blue); a white calico carpet covers the shat̤ranjī on which the females take their seat.

“The bedsteads of the family are placed, during the day, in lines at the back of the halls, to be moved at pleasure to any chosen spot for the night’s repose; often into the open court-yard, for the benefit of the pure air. They are all formed on one principle, differing only in size and quality; they stand about half a yard from the floor, the legs round and broad at bottom, narrowing as they rise towards the frame, which is laced over with a thick cotton tape, made for the purpose, and plaited in chequers, and thus rendered soft, or rather elastic, and very pleasant to recline upon. The legs of these bedsteads are in some instances gold and silver gilt, or pure silver; others have enamel paintings on fine wood; the inferior grades have them merely of wood painted plain and varnished. The servants’ bedsteads are of the common mango-wood without ornament, the lacing of these for the sacking being of elastic string manufactured from the fibre of the cocoa-nut.

“Such are the bedsteads of every class of people. They seldom have mattresses: a white quilt is spread on the lacing, over which a calico sheet, tied at each corner of the bedstead with cords and tassels; several thin flat pillows of beaten cotton for the head; a muslin sheet for warm weather, and a well wadded razāi (coverlid) for winter is all these children of Nature deem essential to their comfort in the way of sleeping. They have no idea of night-dresses; the same suit that adorns a lady, is retained both night and day, until a change be needed. The single article exchanged at night is the ḍupaṭṭa (a small shawl for the head), and that only when it happens to be of silver tissue or embroidery, for which a muslin or calico sheet is substituted.

“The very highest circles have the same habits in common with the meanest, but those who can afford shawls of Cashmere, prefer them for sleeping in, when the cold weather renders them bearable. Blankets are never used except by the poorest peasantry, who wear them in lieu of better garments night and day in the winter season; they are always black, the natural colour of the wool. The quilts of the higher orders are generally made of silk of the brightest hues, well wadded, and lined with dyed muslin of assimilating colour; they are usually bound with broad silver ribands, and sometimes bordered with gold brocaded trimmings. The middling classes have fine chintz quilts, and the servants and slaves coarse ones of the same material; but all are on the same plan, whether for a queen or the meanest of her slaves, differing only in the quality of the material. The mistress of the house is easily distinguished by her seat of honour in the hall of a zanānah, a masnad not being allowed to any other person but the lady of the mansion. The masnad carpet is spread on the floor, if possible near to a pillar about the centre of the hall, and is made of many varieties of fabric—gold cloth, quilted silk, brocaded silk, velvet, fine chintz, or whatever may suit the lady’s taste, circumstances, or convenience. It is about two yards square, and generally bordered or fringed, on which is placed the all-important masnad. This article may be understood by those who have seen a lace-maker’s pillow in England, excepting only that the masnad is about twenty times the size of that useful little article in the hands of our industrious villagers. The masnad is covered with gold cloth, silk, velvet, or calico, with square pillows to correspond, for the elbows, the knees, &c. This is the seat of honour, to be invited to share which, with the lady-owner, is a mark of favour to an equal or inferior: when a superior pays a visit of honour, the prided seat is usually surrendered to her, and the lady of the house takes her place most humbly on the very edge of her own carpet. Looking-glasses or ornamental furniture are very rarely to be seen in the zanānah, even of the very richest females. Chairs and sofas are produced when English visitors are expected; but the ladies of Hīndustān prefer the usual mode of sitting and lounging on the carpet; and as for tables, I suppose not one gentlewoman of the whole country has ever been seated at one; and very few, perhaps, have any idea of their useful purposes, all their meals being served on the floor, where dastark͟hwans (table-cloths we should call them) are spread, but neither knives, forks, spoons, glasses, nor napkins, so essential to the comfortable enjoyment of a meal amongst Europeans. But those who never knew such comforts have no desire for the indulgence, nor taste to appreciate them.

“On the several occasions, amongst native society, of assembling in large parties, as at births and marriages, the halls, although extensive, would be inadequate to accommodate the whole party. They then have awnings of white calico, neatly flounced with muslin, supported on poles fixed in the court-yard, and connecting the open space with the great hall, by wooden platforms which are brought to a line with the building, and covered with shat̤ranjī, and white carpets to correspond with the floor-furniture of the hall; and here the ladies sit by day and sleep by night very comfortably, without feeling any great inconvenience from the absence of their bedsteads, which could never be arranged for the accommodation of so large an assemblage—nor is it ever expected.

“The usually barren look of these almost unfurnished halls, is on such occasions quite changed, when the ladies are assembled in their various dresses; the brilliant display of jewels, the glittering drapery of their dress, the various expressions of countenance, and different figures, the multitude of female attendants and slaves, the children of all ages and sizes in their variously ornamental dresses, are subjects to attract both the eye and the mind of an observing visitor; and the hall, which when empty appeared desolate and comfortless, thus filled, leaves nothing wanting to render the scene attractive.

“The buzz of human voices, the happy playfulness of the children, the chaste singing of the ḍomnīs fill up the animated picture. I have sometimes passed an hour or two in witnessing their innocent amusements, without any feeling of regret for the brief sacrifice of time I had made. I am free to confess, however, that I have returned to my tranquil home with increased delight after having witnessed the bustle of a zanānah assembly. At first I pitied the apparent monotony of their lives; but this feeling has worn away by intimacy with the people, who are thus precluded from mixing generally with the world. They are happy in their confinement; and never having felt the sweets of liberty, would not know how to use the boon if it were to be granted them. As the bird from the nest immured in a cage is both cheerful and contented, so are these females. They have not, it is true, many intellectual resources, but they have naturally good understandings, and having learned their duty they strive to fulfil it. So far as I have had any opportunity of making personal observations on their general character, they appear to me obedient wives, dutiful daughters, affectionate mothers, kind mistresses, sincere friends, and liberal benefactresses to the distressed poor. These are their moral qualifications, and in their religious duties, they are zealous in performing the several ordinances which they have been instructed by their parents or husbands to observe. If there be any merit in obeying the injunctions of their law-giver, those whom I have known most intimately, deserve praise since ‘they are faithful in that they profess.’

“To ladies accustomed from infancy to confinement, this kind of life is by no means irksome; they have their employments and their amusements, and though these are not exactly to our taste, nor suited to our mode of education, they are not the less relished by those for whom they were invented. They perhaps wonder equally at some of our modes of dissipating time, and fancy we might spend it more profitably. Be that as it may, the Muslim ladies, with whom I have been long intimate, appear to me always happy, contented, and satisfied with the seclusion to which they were born; they desire no other, and I have ceased to regret they cannot be made partakers of that freedom of intercourse with the world we deem so essential to our happiness, since their health suffers nothing from that confinement, by which they are preserved from a variety of snares and temptations; besides which, they would deem it disgraceful in the highest degree to mix indiscriminately with men who are not relations. They are educated from infancy for retirement, and they can have no wish that the custom should be changed, which keeps them apart from the society of men who are not very nearly related to them. Female society is unlimited, and that they enjoy without restraint.

“Those females who rank above peasants or inferior servants, are disposed from principle to keep themselves strictly from observation; all who have any regard for the character or the honour of their house, seclude themselves from the eye of strangers, carefully instructing their young daughters to a rigid observance of their own prudent example. Little girls, when four years old, are kept strictly behind the pardah (lit. “curtain”), and when they move abroad it is always in covered conveyances, and under the guardianship of a faithful female domestic, who is equally tenacious as the mother to preserve the young lady’s reputation unblemished by concealing her from the gaze of men.

“The ladies of zanānah life are not restricted from the society of their own sex; they are, as I have before remarked, extravagantly fond of company, and equally as hospitable when entertained. To be alone is a trial to which they are seldom exposed, every lady having companions amongst her dependants; and according to her means the number in her establishment is regulated. Some ladies of rank have from two to ten companions, independent of slaves and domestics; and there are some of the royal family at Lucknow who entertain in their service two or three hundred female dependants, of all classes. A well-filled zanānah is a mark of gentility; and even the poorest lady in the country will retain a number of slaves and domestics, if she cannot afford companions; besides which they are miserable without society, the habit of associating with numbers having grown up with infancy to maturity: ‘to be alone,’ is considered, with women thus situated, a real calamity.

“On occasions of assembling in large parties, each lady takes with her a companion besides two or three slaves to attend upon her, no one expecting to be served by the servants of the house at which they are visiting. This swells the numbers to be provided for; and as the visit is always for three days and three nights (except on ʿĪds, when the visit is confined to one day), some forethought must be exercised by the lady of the house, that all may be accommodated in such a manner as may secure to her the reputation of hospitality.

“The kitchen and offices to the zanānah, I have remarked, occupy one side of the quadrangle; they face the great or centre hall appropriated to the assembly. These kitchens, however, are sufficiently distant to prevent any great annoyance from the smoke—I say smoke, because chimneys have not yet been introduced into the kitchens of the natives.

“The fire-places are all on the ground, something resembling stoves, each admitting one saucepan, the Asiatic style of cooking requiring no other contrivance. Roast or boiled joints are never seen at the dinner of a native; a leg of mutton or sirloin of beef would place the hostess under all sorts of difficulties, where knives and forks are not understood to be amongst the useful appendages of a meal. The varieties of their dishes are countless, but stews and curries are the chief; all the others are mere varieties. The only thing in the shape of roast meats are small lean cutlets bruised, seasoned and cemented with pounded poppy seed. Several being fastened together on skewers, they are grilled or roasted over a charcoal fire spread on the ground, and then called kabāb, which word implies roast meat.

“The kitchen of a zanānah would be inadequate to the business of cooking for a large assembly; the most choice dishes only (for the highly-favoured guests), are cooked by the servants of the establishment. The needed abundance required in entertaining a large party is provided by a regular bāzār cook, several of whom establish themselves in native cities, or wherever there is a Muslim population. Orders being previously given, the morning and evening dinners are punctually forwarded at the appointed hours in covered trays, each tray having portions of the several good things ordered, so that there is no confusion in serving out the feast on its arrival at the mansion. The food thus prepared by the bāzār cook (nānbai, he is called), is plain boiled rice, sweet rice, k͟hīr (rice-milk), mutanjan (rice sweetened with the addition of preserved fruits, raisins, &c., coloured with saffron), salans (curries) of many varieties, some cooked with vegetables, others with unripe fruits with or without meat; pulāos of many sorts, kabābs, preserves, pickles, chatnīs, and many other things too tedious to admit of detail.

“The bread in general use amongst natives is chiefly unleavened: nothing in the likeness of English bread is to be seen at their meals; and many object to its being fermented with the intoxicating toddy (extracted from a tree). Most of the native bread is baked on iron plates over a charcoal fire. They have many varieties, both plain and rich, and some of the latter resembles our pastry, both in quality and flavour.

“The dinners, I have said, are brought into the zanānah, ready dished in the native earthenware, on trays; and as they neither use spoons nor forks, there is no great delay in setting out the meal where nothing is required for display or effect, beyond the excellent quality of the food and its being well cooked. In a large assembly all cannot dine at the dastark͟hwān of the lady hostess, even if privileged by their rank; they are, therefore, accommodated in groups of ten, fifteen, or more, as may be convenient; each lady having her companion at the meal, and her slaves to brush off the intruding flies with a chaurī, to hand water, or to fetch or carry any article of delicacy from or to a neighbouring group. The slaves and servants dine in parties after their ladies have finished, in any retired corner of the court-yard—always avoiding as much as possible the presence of their superiors.

“Before anyone touches the meal, water is carried round for each lady to wash the hand and rinse the mouth. It is deemed unclean to eat without this form of ablution, and the person neglecting it would be held unholy. This done, the lady turns to her meal, saying, “Bismillāh!” (In the name or to the praise of God!), and with the right hand conveys the food to her mouth (the left hand is never used at meals); and although they partake of every variety of food placed before them with no other aid than their fingers, yet the mechanical habit is so perfect, that they neither drop a grain of rice, soil the dress, nor retain any of the food on their fingers. The custom must always be offensive to a foreign eye, and the habit none would wish to copy; yet everyone who witnesses must admire the neat way in which eating is accomplished by these really ‘Children of Nature.’

“The repast concluded, the lota (vessel with water), and the laggan (to receive the water in after rinsing the hands and mouth), are passed round. To every person who, having announced by the ‘Ash-Shukru liʾllāh!’ (All thanks to God!) that she has finished, the attendants present first the powdered peas, called besan,—which answers the purpose of soap in removing grease, &c. from the fingers—and then the water in due course. Soap has not even yet been brought into fashion by the natives, except by the washermen; I have often been surprised that they have not found the use of soap a necessary article in the nursery, where the only substitute I have seen is the powdered pea.

“Lotas and laggans are articles in use with all classes of people; they must be poor indeed who do not boast of one, at least, in their family. They are always of metal, either brass, or copper lacquered over, or zinc; in some cases, as with the nobility, silver and even gold are converted into these useful articles of native comfort.

“China or glass is comparatively but little used; water is their only beverage, and this is preferred, in the absence of metal basins, out of the common red earthen katora (cup shaped like a vase).

“China dishes, bowls, and basins, are used for serving many of the savoury articles of food in; but it is as common in the privacy of the palace, as well as in the huts of the peasantry, to see many choice things introduced at meals served up in the rude red earthen platter; many of the delicacies of Asiatic cookery being esteemed more palatable from the earthen flavour of the new vessel in which it is served.

“China tea-sets are very rarely found in the zanānah, tea being used by the natives more as a medicine than a refreshment, except by such gentlemen as have frequent intercourse with the “Ṣāḥib Log” (English gentry), among whom they acquire a taste for this delightful beverage. The ladies, however, must have a severe cold to induce them to partake of the beverage even as a remedy, but by no means as a luxury. I imagined that the inhabitants of a zanānah were sadly deficient in actual comforts, when I found, upon my first arrival in India, that there were no preparations for breakfast going forward; everyone seemed engaged in pān-eating, and smoking the ḥuqqah, but no breakfast after the morning namāz. I was, however, soon satisfied that they felt no sort of privation, as the early meal so common in Europe has never been introduced in Eastern circles. Their first meal is a good substantial dinner, at ten, eleven, or twelve o’clock, after which follows pān and the ḥuqqah; to this succeeds a sleep of two or three hours, providing it does not impede the duty of prayer—the pious, I ought to remark, would give up every indulgence which would prevent the discharge of this duty. The second meal follows in twelve hours from the first, and consists of the same substantial fare; after which they usually sleep again until the dawn of day is near at hand.

“The ḥuqqah (pipe) is almost in general use with females. It is a common practice with the lady of the house to present the ḥuqqah she is smoking to her favoured guest. This mark of attention is always to be duly appreciated; but such is the deference paid to parents, that a son can rarely be persuaded by an indulgent father or mother to smoke a ḥuqqah in their revered presence; this praiseworthy feeling originates not in fear, but real genuine respect. The parents entertain for their son the most tender regard; and the father makes him both his companion and his friend; yet the most familiar endearments do not lessen the feeling of reverence a good son entertains for his father. This is one among the many samples of patriarchal life, and which I can never witness in real life, without feeling respect for the persons who follow up the patterns I have been taught to venerate in our Holy Scripture.

“The ḥuqqah (pipe) as an indulgence or a privilege, is a great definer of etiquette. In the presence of the king or reigning nawāb, no subject, however high he may rank in blood or royal favour, can presume to smoke. In native courts, on state occasions, ḥuqqahs are presented only to the Governor-General, the Commander-in-Chief, or the Resident at his court, who are considered equal in rank, and therefore entitled to the privilege of smoking with him; and they cannot consistently resist the intended honour. Should they dislike smoking, a hint is readily understood by the ḥuqqah bardār to bring the ḥuqqah, charged with the materials, without the addition of fire. Applications of the munhnāl (mouthpiece) to the mouth, indicates a sense of the honour conferred.” (Observations on the Musalmāns of India, vol. i. p. 304.)

ḤĀRIS̤ (حارث‎). A surname which frequently occurs amongst “the Companions.” In the Taqrību ʾt-Tahẕīb, there are not fewer than sixty-five persons of this name, of whom short biographical notes are given.

Ḥāris̤ ibn Naufal ibn al-Ḥāris̤ ibn ʿAbdi ʾl-Mut̤t̤alib, was a Companion of some consequence; he lived close to the house of the Prophet, and had frequently to make room as the Prophet’s Ḥarīm extended itself. [HOUSES.]

Ḥāris̤ ibn Hishām ibn al-Mug͟hīrah, is another Companion, who lived at Makkah.

Ḥāris̤ son of Suwaid ibn S̤āmit, the poet, was executed at Uḥud.

ḤĀRIS̤ĪYAH (حارثية‎). A sect of Muslims founded by Abū ʾl-Ḥāris̤, who in opposition to the sect Abāz̤īyah, said it was not correct to say the acts of men were not the acts of God. (Kitābu ʾt-Taʿrīfāt, in loco.)

HĀRŪN (هارون‎). [AARON.]

HĀRŪT WA MĀRŪT (هاروت و ماروت‎). Two angels mentioned in the Qurʾān. They are said to be two angels who, in consequence of their compassion for the frailties of mankind, were sent down to earth to be tempted. They both sinned, and being permitted to choose whether they would be punished now or hereafter, chose the former, and are still suspended by the feet at Babel in a rocky pit, where they are great teachers of magic.

The account of these two angels in the Qurʾān, is given in Sūrah ii. 96:—

“They (the Jews) followed what the devils taught in the reign of Solomon: not that Solomon was unbelieving, but the devils were unbelieving. Sorcery did they teach to men, and what had been revealed to the two angels, Hārūt and Mārūt, at Babel. Yet no man did these two teach until they had said, ‘We are only a temptation. Be not then an unbeliever.’ From these two did men learn how to cause division between man and wife: but unless by leave of God, no man did they harm thereby. They learned, indeed, what would harm and not profit them; and yet they knew that he who bought that art should have no part in the life to come! And vile the price for which they have sold themselves,—if they had but known it!”

ḤASAD (حسد‎). “Envy, malevolence, malice.” It occurs twice in the Qurʾān.

Sūrah ii. 103: “Many of the people of the Book (i.e. Jews and Christians) desire to bring you back to unbelief after ye have believed, out of selfish envy, even after the truth hath been clearly shewn them.”

Sūrah cxiii. 5: “I seek refuge … from the envy of the envious when he envies.”

AL-ḤASAN (الحـسـن‎). The fifth K͟halīfah. The eldest son of Fāt̤imah, the daughter of Muḥammad, by her husband the K͟halīfah ʿAlī. Born A.H. 3. Died A.H. 49. He succeeded his father ʿAlī as K͟halīfah A.H. 41, and reigned about six months. He resigned the Caliphate in favour of Muʿāwiyah, and was eventually poisoned by his wife Jaʿdah, who was suborned to commit the deed by Yazīd, the son of Muʿāwiyah, by a promise of marrying her, which promise he did not keep. Al-Ḥasan had twenty children, fifteen sons and five daughters, from whom are descended one section of the great family of Saiyids, or Lords, the descendants of the Prophet. The history of al-Ḥasan, together with the tragical death of his brother al-Ḥusain, form the plot of the miracle play of the Muḥarram. [HUSAIN, MUHARRAM, SAIYID.]

HĀSHIM (هاشم‎). The great grandfather of Muḥammad. Born, according to M. C. de Perceval, A.D. 464. Sprenger places his birth in A.D. 442. He married Salmah, by whom he had a son, ʿAbdu ʾl-Mut̤t̤alib, the father of ʿAbdu ʾllāh, who was the father of Muḥammad. The author of the Qāmūs says Hāshim’s original name was ʿAmr, but he was surnamed Hāshim on account of his hospitality in distributing bread (hashm, to break bread) to the pilgrims at Makkah.

ḤASHR (حشر‎). Lit. “Going forth from one place, and assembling in another.” Hence the word is used in the Qurʾān in two senses, viz. an emigration and an assembly, e.g. Sūrah lix. 2: “It was He who drove forth from their homes those people of the book (i.e. Jews) who misbelieved, at the first emigration.” (Hence al-Ḥashr is the title of the LIXth Sūrah of the Qurʾān.) Sūrah xxvii. 17: “And his hosts of the jinn and men and birds were assembled for Solomon.”

The term Yaumu ʾl-Ḥashr is therefore used for the Day of Resurrection, or the day when the dead shall migrate from their graves and assemble for judgment. It occurs in this sense in the Qurʾān, Sūrah l. 42:—

“Verily we cause to live, and we cause to die. To us shall all return.

“On the day when the earth shall swiftly cleave asunder over the dead, will this gathering be easy to Us.

AL-ḤASĪB (الـحـسـيـب‎). “The Reckoner,” in the Day of Judgment. One of the ninety-nine attributes of God. The title occurs in the Qurʾān three times.

Sūrah iv. 7: “God sufficeth for taking account.”

Idem, 88: “God of all things takes an account.”

Sūrah xxxiii. 39: “God is good enough at reckoning up.”

ḤASSĀN (حـسـان‎). The son of S̤ābit. A celebrated poet in the time of Muḥammad, who embraced Islām. He is said to have lived 120 years, 60 of which were passed in idolatry and 60 in Islām.

It is related in the Traditions that the Prophet on the day of battle with the Banū Quraiz̤ah, cried out, “O Ḥassān ibn S̤ābit, abuse the infidels in your verse, for verily Gabriel helps you!” (Mishkāt, book xxii. ch. ix. pt. 1.) [POETRY.]

ḤĀT̤IB IBN ʿAMR (حاطب بن عمرو‎). An early convert to Islām, and one of the most trusted of Muḥammad’s followers. He distinguished himself at the taking of Makkah.

ḤAULĀNU ʾL-ḤAUL (حولان الحول‎). “A complete year.” A term used in Muḥammadan law for the period property must be in possession before zakāt is required of it. (Hidāyah, vol. i. p. 2.)

ḤAUẒU ʾL-KAUS̤AR (حوض الكوثر‎). A pond or river in Paradise. According to Muḥammad’s sayings in the Traditions (Mishkāt, book xxiii. ch. xii.), it is more than a month’s journey in circumference, its waters are whiter than snow and sweeter than honey mixed with milk, and those who drink of it shall never thirst. The word kaus̤ar occurs once in the Qurʾān, namely in Sūrah cviii., which derives therefrom its title, and where its translation and meaning is doubtful. “Verily, we have given thee al-Kaus̤ar.” Al-Baiẓāwī, the commentator, says it either means that which is good or abundant; or the pond al-Kaus̤ar which is mentioned in the Traditions.

HAWĀ (هـوا‎). “Desire, love; hankering after.” A term used by the Ṣūfī mystics for lust, or unholy desire. Hawā-i-Nafṣānī, “the lust of the flesh”; Ahl-i-Hawā, “a sceptic, an unbeliever.”

HAWĀJIM (هـواجـم‎). Lit. “Assaults, shocks.” A term used by the Ṣūfī mystics for those thoughts of the heart which enter it without desire or intention. (ʿAbdu ʾr-Razzāq’s Dict. of Ṣūfī Terms.)

HAWĀJIS (هواجس‎). “Thoughts.” A term used by the Ṣūfī mystics for the worldly thoughts of the heart. (ʿAbdu ʾr-Razzāq’s Dict. of Ṣūfī Terms.)

ḤAWĀLAH (حوالة‎). A legal term signifying the removal or transfer of a debt by way of security or corroboration from that of the original debtor to that person to whom it is transferred. (Hidāyah, vol. ii. p. 606.)

ḤAWĀMĪM (حواميم‎). A title given to the seven chapters of the Qurʾān which begin with the letters ح‎ Ḥā م‎ Mīm, namely, XL, Sūratu ʾl-Muʾmin; XLI, Sūratu Fuṣṣilat; XLII, Sūratu ʾsh-Shūrā; XLIII, Sūratu ʾl-Zuk͟hruf; XLIV, Sūratu ʾd-Duk͟hān; XLV, Sūratu ʾl-Jās̤īyah; XLVI, Sūratu ʾl-Aḥqāf.

For an explanation of the letters Ḥ M at the commencement of these Sūrahs, see ḤĀ MĪM.

It is related in the Traditions that a man said to the Prophet, “I am old, and my memory is imperfect, and my tongue is stiff;” and the Prophet replied, “Then repeat three of the Sūrahs beginning with Ḥā Mīm.” (Mishkāt, book viii. ch. i. pt. 3.)

ḤAWĀRĪ (حوارى‎). The word used in the Qurʾān (Sūrahs iii. 45; lxi. 14) for the Apostles of Jesus. Al-Baiẓāwī, the Muḥammadan commentator, says it is derived from ḥawar, “to be white,” and was given to the disciples of Jesus, either on account of their purity of life and sincerity; or because they were respectable men and wore white garments. In the Traditions (Mishkāt, book i. ch. vi. pt. 1) it is used for the followers of all the Prophets. The word may be derived from the Æthiopic hawryra, “to go, to be sent.”

AL-ḤAWĀSSU ʾL-K͟HAMSAH (الحواس الخمسة‎). [FIVE SENSES.]

HAWĀZIN (هوازن‎). A great and warlike tribe of Arabia in the days of Muḥammad, who dwelt between Makkah and at̤-T̤āʾif. Muḥammad defeated them at the battle of Ḥunain, A.H. 8, a victory which in the Qurʾān, Sūrah ix. 26, is ascribed to angelic aid. (See Muir’s Life of Mahomet, new ed. p. 432.)

HĀWIYAH (هاوية‎). A division of hell. The bottomless pit for the hypocrites. Qurʾān, Sūrah ci. 6, “But as for him whose balance is light, his dwelling shall be Hāwiyah.”

HAWK, The. Arabic baʾz (باز‎), ṣaqr (صقر‎). It is lawful to hunt with hawks provided they are trained. A hawk is held to be trained when she obeys the voice of her master. [HUNTING.]

ḤAYĀʾ (حياء‎). “Shame, pudency, modesty.” The word does not occur in the Qurʾān, but in the Traditions it is said, “Allāhu ḥayīyun,” i.e. “God acts with modesty.” By which is understood that God hates that which is immodest or shameless. Muḥammad is related to have said, “Modesty (ḥayāʾ) brings nothing but good.” (Mishkāt, book xxii. ch. xix.)

ḤAYĀT (حيوة‎). “Life.” The word frequently occurs in the Qurʾān, e.g. Sūrah xviii. 44, “Wealth and children are an adornment of the life of this world.” Sūrah ii. 25, “For you in retaliation is there life, O ye possessors of mind!”

Al-Ḥayātu ʾd-dunyā, “the worldly life,” is a term used in the Qurʾān for those things in this world which prevent from attaining to the eternal life of the next world.

Sūrah ii. 80: “Those who have bought this worldly life with the future, the torment shall not be lightened from them nor shall they be helped.”

HAYŪLĀ (هـيـولى‎). “Matter.” The first principle of everything material. It does not occur in either the Qurʾān or the Ḥadīs̤.

ḤAYẒ (حـيـض‎). Menses. [MENSTRUATION.]

ḤAẔAR (حذر‎). According to Arabic lexicons, the word means vigilance or a cautious fear, but it only occurs twice in the Qurʾān, and in both instances it implies terror.

Sūrah ii. 18: “They put their fingers in their ears at the thunder-clap for fear of death.” (Ḥaẕaru ʾl-Maut.) Idem, 244: “Dost thou not look at those who left their homes by thousands for fear of death.”

AL-ḤAẒARĀTU ʾL-K͟HAMS (الحضرات الخمس‎). According to the Kitābu ʾt-Taʿrifāt, al-ḥaẓarātu ʾl-K͟hamsu ʾl-Ilāhīyah, or “the five divine existences,” is a term used by the Ṣūfī mystics for the following:—

1. Ḥaẓratu ʾl-g͟haibi ʾl-mut̤laq, That existence which is absolutely unknown, i.e. God.

2. Ḥaẓratu ʾsh-shahādati ʾl-mut̤laqah, Those celestial (ajrām) and terrestrial (ajsām) existences which are evident to the senses.

3. Ḥaẓratu ʿālami ʾl-arwāḥ, That existence which consists of the spiritual world of angels and spirits.

4. Ḥaẓratu ʿālami ʾl-mis̤āl, That existence, which is the unseen world, where there is the true likeness of everything which exists on the earth.

5. Ḥaẓratu ʾl-jāmīʿah, The collective existence of the four already mentioned.

ḤĀẒIR ẒĀMINĪ (حاضر ضامنى‎). Bail for the person, which, according to the Imām Abū Ḥanīfah, is lawful. Bail for property is called māl ẓāminī.

ḤAẒRAH (حضرة‎). Lit. “Presence.” This title of respect has no equivalent in English, as it is employed in a variety of acceptations. Applied to an officer of rank, it would mean “your honour”; to a clergyman, “your reverence”; to a king, “your majesty.” When applied to the names of prophets, apostles, or saints, it expresses the sacredness of his office and character, i.e. our Saviour is called Ḥaẓratu ʿĪsā, and the Virgin Mary, Ḥaẓratu Maryam. The word is much used in Persian theological works. It is seldom used in this sense in Arabic books. Ḥaẓratu ʾllāh, “the presence of God,” is an Arabic term in prayer.

HEAD. Arabic raʾs, rās (راس‎). Heb. ‏רֹאשׁ‎. The author of the Raddu ʾl-Muḥtār, vol. i. p. 670, says: “It is abominable (makrūh) to say the prayers with the head uncovered, if it be done from laziness, but it is of no consequence if a Muslim say his prayers with his head uncovered from a sense of humility and unworthiness. But still it is better not to uncover the head, for humility is a matter connected with the heart.”

Amongst Muḥammadans it is considered a sign of disrespect to receive a visitor with the head uncovered; consequently on the approach of a visitor the turban or cap is immediately placed on the head.

There is no general custom as to shaving the head or otherwise. In Afghanistan, Muḥammadans generally shave the head, but the Baluchīs and many other Muslim tribes wear long hair.

The Egyptians shave all the rest of the hair, or leave only a small tuft (called shūshah) upon the crown of the head. Mr. Lane says: This last custom (which is almost universal among them) is said to have originated in the fear that if the Muslim should fall into the hands of an infidel, and be slain, the latter might cut off the head of his victim, and finding no hair by which to hold it, put his impure hand into the mouth, in order to carry it, for the beard might not be sufficiently long; but was probably adopted from the Turks, for it is generally neglected by the Badawīs, and the custom of shaving the head is of late origin among the Arabs in general, and practised for the sake of cleanliness.

HEAVEN. Arabic Samāʾ (سماء‎); Persian Asmān (اسمان‎); Heb. ‏שָׁמַיִם‎, which expresses the firmament as distinguished from Firdaus, or Paradise, the abodes of bliss. [PARADISE.] In the Qurʾān it is stated that there are seven paths, or stages, in heaven. Sūrah xxiii. 17: “And we have created above you seven paths, nor are we heedless of the creation.” By which the commentators understand that they are paths of the angels and of the celestial bodies. The creation of the heaven is declared to be for God’s glory and not for His pastime. Sūrah xxi. 16: “We created not the heaven and the earth, and that which is between them, by way of sport.”

It is the general belief that at the last day the heavens will fall, but that they are now upheld by God’s power. Sūrah xxii. 64: “He holds up the heaven from falling on the earth save at His bidding.”

According to the traditions (Mishkāt, book xxiv. ch. vii.), Muḥammad during the miʿrāj, or night journey, passed through these seven heavens, and they are stated to be as follows: (1) That which is of pure virgin silver and which is Adam’s residence; (2) of pure gold, which is John the Baptist’s and Jesus’; (3) of pearls, which is Joseph’s; (4) of white gold, which is Enoch’s; (5) of silver which is Aaron’s; (6) of ruby and garnet, which is Moses’; (7) which is Abraham’s. These accounts are, however, most confused; for in some books and according to popular tradition, the fourth and not the second heaven is assigned to Jesus.

This view is in harmony with the seven spheres of Ptolemy, the first of which is that of the moon, the second Mercury, the third Venus, the fourth the Sun, the fifth Mars, the sixth Jupiter, the seventh Saturn; each of which orbs was supposed by the ancients to revolve round the earth in its proper sphere. Muḥammad said the distance between each heavenly region is five hundred years’ journey. (Mishkāt, book xxiv. ch. i. pt. 3).

The Rabbis spoke of two heavens (cf. Deut. x. 14), “The heaven and the heaven of heavens,” or seven (ἑπτὰ οὐρανοὺς οὕς τινες ἀριθμοῦσι κατ’ ἐπανάβασιν, Clem. Alex. Strom., iv. 7, 636). “Resch Lakisch dixit septem esse cœlos, quorum nomina sunt, 1. velum; 2. expansum; 3. nubes; 4. habitaculum; 5. habitatio; 6. sedes fixa; 7. Araboth. (See Wetstein, ad. 2 Cor. xii. 2). St. Paul’s expression, “ἕως τριτοῦ οὐρανοῦ,” 2 Cor. xii. 2, has led to some discussion, for Grotius says the Jews divided the heaven into three parts, (1) Nubiferum, the atmosphere; (2) Astriferum, the firmament; and (3) Empyreum, the abode of God. But the statement, however, does not seem to be supported by any known Rabbinic authority.

HEBER. [HUD.]

HEGIRA. [HIJRAH.]

HEIRS. Arabic wāris̤ (وارث‎), pl. waras̤ah. [INHERITANCE.]

HELL. The place of torment is most frequently spoken of in the Qurʾān and Traditions as an-Nār, “the fire,” but the word Jahannam occurs about thirty times. It is said to have seven portals or divisions. Sūrah xv. 44: “Verily, hell (jahannam) is promised to all together (who follow Satan). It has seven portals, and at every door there is a separate party of them.”

The Persian word used for hell in books of theology is dozak͟h.

The seven divisions of hell are given by Muslim commentators as follows:—

1. Jahannam (جهنم‎), γεέννα, the purgatorial hell for all Muḥammadans. For according to the Qurʾān, all Muslims will pass through the regions of hell. Sūrah xix. 72: “There is not one of you who will not go down to it (hell), that is settled and decided by thy Lord.”

2. Laz̤ā (لظى‎). Sūrah xcvii. 5: “For Laz̤ā, dragging by the scalp, shall claim him who turned his back and went away, and amassed and hoarded.”

3. Al-Ḥut̤amah (الحطمة‎). Sūrah civ. 4:—

“Nay! for verily he shall be flung into al-Ḥut̤amah;

“And who shall teach thee what al-Ḥut̤amah is?

“It is God’s kindled fire,

“Which shall mount above the hearts of the damned;

“It shall verily rise over them like a vault,

“On outstretched columns.”

4. Saʿīr (سعير‎). Sūrah iv. 11: “Those who devour the property of orphans unjustly, only devour into their bellies fire, and they broil in saʿīr.”

(The word occurs in fourteen other places.)

5. Saqar (سقر‎). Sūrah liv. 47: “The sinners are in error and excitement. On the day when they shall be dragged into the fire on their faces! Taste ye the touch of saqar!”

Sūrah lxxiv. 44: “What drove you into saqar?”

6. Al-Jaḥīm (الجحيم‎). Sūrah ii. 113: “Thou shalt not be questioned as to the fellows of al-Jaḥīm” (Aṣḥābu ʾl-Jaḥīm).

(The word occurs in twenty other places).

7. Hāwiyah (هاوية‎). Sūrah ci. 8: “As for him whose balance is light, his dwelling shall be Hāwiyah.”

The Muḥammadan commentators, with that utter recklessness which so characterizes their writings, distribute these seven stations as follows (see al-Bag͟hawī, al-Baiẓāwī, and others): (1) Jahannam, the purgatorial hell for Muslims. (2) Laz̤ā, a blazing fire for Christians. (3) Al-Ḥut̤amah, an intense fire for the Jews. (4) Saʿīr, a flaming fire for the Sabians. (5) Saqar, a scorching fire for the Magi. (6) Al-Jaḥīm, a huge hot fire for idolaters. (7) Hāwiyah, bottomless pit for the hypocrites. A reference to the Qurʾān will prove that there is not the least reason for assigning these regions to their respective tenants beyond the sentence already quoted: “At each portal a separate party.”

The teaching of the Qurʾān (which is chiefly confined to those Sūrahs which, chronologically arranged, are the earliest), is as follows:—

Sūrah lxxiv. 26–34 (generally held to be the second Sūrah composed by Muḥammad, and relating to al-Walīd ibn al-Mug͟hīrah, a person of note amongst the unbelieving Makkans):—

“We will surely cast him into Saqar.

“And who shall teach thee what Saqar is?

“It leaveth nought, it spareth nought,

“Blackening the skin.

“Over it are nineteen angels.

“None but angels have we made guardians of the fire (aṣḥābu ʾn-nār): nor have we made this to be their number but to perplex the unbelievers, and that they who possess the Scriptures may be certain of the Truth, and that they who believe may increase their faith;

“And that they to whom the Scriptures have been given, and the believers, may not doubt;

“And that the infirm of heart and the unbelievers may say, What meaneth God by this parable?

“Thus God misleadeth whom He will, and whom He will He doth guide aright: and none knoweth the armies of thy Lord but Himself: and this is no other than a warning to mankind.”

Sūrah lxxxviii. 1–7:—

“Hath the tidings of the day that shall overshadow reached thee?

“Downcast on that day shall be the countenances of some,

“Travailing and worn,

“Burnt at the scorching fire,

“Made to drink from a fountain fiercely boiling.

“No food shall they have but the fruit of ẓarīʿ (a bitter thorn),

“Which shall not fatten nor appease their hunger.”

Sūrah lxxviii. 21–30:—

“Hell (Jahannam) truly shall be a place of snares,

“The home of transgressors,

“To abide therein ages;

“No coolness shall they taste therein nor any drink,

“Save boiling water and running sores;

“Meet recompence!

“For they looked not forward to their account;

“And they gave the lie to our signs, charging them with falsehood;

“But we noted and wrote down all:

“ ‘Taste this then: and we will give you increase of nought but torment.’ ”

The above are all Madīnah Sūrahs composed in the earlier stage of Muḥammad’s mission. The allusions to hell in the Makkan Sūrahs are brief and are in every case directed against unbelievers in the Prophet’s mission, and not against sin; e.g. Sūrah ix. 69, “God hath promised to the hypocrites (i.e. dissemblers as far as Islām was concerned), men and women, and unto the unbelievers, hell-fire to dwell therein for ever.”

The teaching of Muḥammad in the Traditions is much more specific, but it is impossible to assign a date for these traditions, even assuming them to be authentic. They are given on the authority of al-Buk͟hārī and Muslim (Mishkāt, book xxiii. ch. xv.):—

“ ‘The fire of the world is one part of seventy parts of hell fire.’ It was said, ‘O Prophet of God! verily the fire of the world would be sufficient for punishing.’ The Prophet replied, ‘Hell-fire has been made more than the fire of the world by sixty-nine parts, every part of which is like the fire of the world.’ ”

“Verily, the easiest of the infernals in punishment, is he who shall have both his shoes and thongs of them of fire, by which the brains of his head boil, like the boiling of a copper furnace; and he will not suppose that anyone is more severely punished than himself; whilst verily, he is the least so.”

“On the Day of Resurrection, the most luxurious of the world will be brought, and dipped once into the fire; after that it will be said, ‘O child of Adam, did you ever see any good, or did comfort ever pass by you in the world?’ He will say, ‘I swear by God I never saw any good, nor did comfort ever come near me.’ And a man of the severest distresses and troubles in the world will be brought into paradise; and it will be said to him, ‘O son of Adam, did you ever see any trouble, and did distress ever come to you in the world?’ And he will say, ‘I swear by God, O my Lord, I never suffered troubles in the world, nor did I ever see hardship.’ ”

“There are some of the infernals that will be taken by the fire up to their ankles, and some up to their knees, and some up to their waist, and some up to their necks.”

“Hell-fire burnt a thousand years so that it became red, and burnt another thousand years till it became white; after that it burnt a thousand years till it became black; then hell fire is black and dark, and never has any light.”

“Verily, hot water will be poured upon the heads of the infernals, and will penetrate into their bellies, and will cut to pieces everything within them; so that they will come out at their feet; and this is the meaning of the word of God, ‘Boiling water shall be poured on their heads, and everything in their bellies shall be dissolved thereby,’ after that, they will be made as they were.”

“The infernals shall be drenched with yellow water, draught after draught, and it will be brought to their mouths and they will be disgusted at it; and when very near, it will scorch their faces, and when they drink it it will tear their entrails to pieces. God says, ‘They who must dwell for ever in hell-fire, will have the boiling water given them to drink which shall burst their bowels’; and God will say, ‘If the infidels complain of thirst, they shall be assisted with water like molten copper, which will fry their faces; it will be a shocking beverage.’ ”

For most of these circumstances relating to hell and the state of the damned, Muḥammad was in all probability indebted to the Jews and, in part, to the Magians, both of whom agree in making seven distinct apartments in hell. (Nishmat hayim, f. 32; Gemar. Arubin, f. 19; Zohar. ad. Exod. xxvi. 2, &c. and Hyde, de Rel. Vet. Pers., p. 245), though they vary in other particulars.

The former place an angel as a guard over each of these infernal apartments, and suppose he will intercede for the miserable wretches there imprisoned, who will openly acknowledge the justice of God in their condemnation. (Midrash, Yalkut Shemuni, pt. 11, f. 116.) They also teach that the wicked will suffer a diversity of punishments, and that by intolerable cold (Zohar. ad. Exod. xix.) as well as heat, and that their faces shall become black (Yalkut Shemuni, ubi sup. f. 86); and believe those of their own religion shall also be punished in hell hereafter according to their crimes (for they hold that few or none will be found exactly righteous as to deserve no punishment at all), but will soon be delivered thence, when they shall be sufficiently purged from their sins by their father Abraham, or at the intercession of him or some other of the prophets. (Nishmat hayim, f. 82; Gemar. Arubin, f. 19.)

The Magians allow but one angel to preside over all the seven hells, who is named by them Vanānd Yezād, and, as they teach, assigns punishments proportionate to each person’s crimes, restraining also the tyranny and excessive cruelty of the devil, who would, if left to himself, torment the damned beyond their sentence. (Hyde, de Rel. Vet. Pers. p. 182.) Those of this religion do also mention and describe various kinds of torments wherewith the wicked will be punished in the next life; among which, though they reckon extreme cold to be one, yet they do not admit fire, out of respect, as it seems, to that element, which they take to be the representation of the divine nature, and therefore they rather choose to describe the damned souls as suffering by other kinds of punishment, such as an intolerable stink, the stinging and biting of serpents and wild beasts, the cutting and tearing of the flesh by the devils, excessive hunger and thirst, and the like. (See Eundem, ibid., p. 399; Sale’s Pre. Dis.)

The author of the Sharḥu ʾl-Muwāqif, p. 586, also says: “It is agreed amongst all orthodox Muslims that all unbelievers, without exception, will be consigned to the fire for ever, and that they will never be free from torment.” “But,” he adds, “there are certain heretics, who call themselves Muslims, who deny the eternity of the torments of the fire. For, they say, it is an essential property of all things fleshly that they come to an end. And, moreover, it is not possible for a thing to exist which goes on burning for ever. But to this we reply that God is all powerful and can do as He likes.”

The sect called as-Samāmīyah, founded by Samāmah ibn Ashras an-Numairī, say: “The Jews, and Christians, and Majūsī, and Zanādiqah, will, after the Day of Judgment, return to dust, just as the animals and the little children of unbelievers do.” (Sharḥu ʾl-Muwāqif, p. 633.)

The same writer says (p. 687): “Besides those who are unbelievers, all those (Muslims) who are sinners and have committed great sins (kabāʾir), will go to hell; but they will not remain there always, for it has been said in the Qurʾān (Sūrah xcix. 7), “He who does an atom of good shall see its reward.”

With reference to the verse in the Qurʾān, which distinctly states that all Muslims shall enter hell (Sūrah xix. 73, “There is not one of you that shall not go down to it”), al-Kamālān, the commentators, say, that according to extant traditions, all Muslims will enter hell, but it will be cool and pleasant to those who have not committed great sins; or, according to some writers, they will simply pass along the bridge Ṣirāt̤, which is over the infernal regions.

HELPERS, The. [ANSAR.]

HERACLIUS. Arabic Hiraql (هرقل‎). The Roman Emperor to whom Muḥammad sent an embassy with a letter inviting him to Islām, A.H. 7, A.D. 628.

“In the autumn of this year (A.D. 628), Heraclius fulfilled his vow of thanksgiving for the wonderful success which had crowned his arms (in Persia); he performed on foot the pilgrimage from Edessa to Jerusalem, where the ‘true cross,’ recovered from the Persians, was with solemnity and pomp restored to the Holy Sepulchre. While preparing for this journey, or during the journey itself, an uncouth despatch in the Arabic character was laid before Heraclius. It was forwarded by the Governor of Bostra, into whose hands it had been delivered by an Arab chief. The epistle was addressed to the Emperor himself, from ‘Mahomet the Apostle of God,’ the rude impression of whose seal could be deciphered at the foot. In strange and simple accents like those of the Prophets of old, it summoned Heraclius to acknowledge the mission of Mahomet, to cast aside the idolatrous worship of Jesus and his Mother, and to return to the Catholic faith of the one only God. The letter was probably cast aside, or preserved, it may be, as a strange curiosity, the effusion of some harmless fanatic.” (Muir’s Life of Mahomet, new ed. p. 383.)

Tradition, of course, has another story. “Now the Emperor was at this time at Hims, performing a pedestrian journey, in fulfilment of the vow which he had made, that, if the Romans overcame the Persians, he would travel on foot from Constantinople to Aelia (Jerusalem). So having read the letter, he commanded his chief men to meet him in the royal camp at Hims. And thus he addressed them:—‘Ye chiefs of Rome! Do you desire safety and guidance, so that your kingdom shall be firmly established, and that ye may follow the commands of Jesus, Son of Mary?’ ‘And what, O King! shall secure us this?’ ‘Even that ye follow the Arabian Prophet,’ said Heraclius. Whereupon they all started aside like wild asses of the desert, each raising his cross and waving it aloft in the air. Whereupon Heraclius, despairing of their conversion, and unwilling to lose his kingdom, desisted, saying that he had only wished to test their constancy and faith, and that he was now satisfied by this display of firmness and devotion. The courtiers bowed their heads, and so the Prophet’s despatch was rejected.” (Kātibu ʾl-Wāqidī, p. 50, quoted by Muir, in a note to the above passage.)

The letter written by Muḥammad to Heraclius is, according to a tradition by Ibn ʿAbbās, as follows:—

“In the name of God the Merciful, the Compassionate. This letter is from Muḥammad the Messenger of God, to Hiraql, chief of ar-Rūm. Peace be upon whosoever has gone on the straight road! After this, I say, verily I call thee to Islām. Embrace Islām that ye may obtain peace. Embrace Islām and God will give thee a double reward. If ye reject Islām, then on thee shall rest the sins of thy subjects and followers. O ye people of the Book (i.e. Christians) come to a creed which is laid down plainly between us and you, that we will not serve other than God, nor associate aught with Him, nor take each other for lords rather than God. But if they turn back, then say, ‘Bear witness that we are Muslims.’ ” (Qurʾān, iii. 57.) (See Ṣaḥīḥu Muslim, p. 98.)

The Shīʿah traditions give the above letter almost verbatim. (See Merrick’s Ḥayātu ʾl-Qulūb, p. 89.)

“Not long after, another despatch, bearing the same seal, and couched in similar terms, reached the court of Heraclius. It was addressed to Hârith VII., Prince of the Bani Ghassân, who forwarded it to the Emperor, with an address from himself, soliciting permission to chastise the audacious impostor. But Heraclius regarding the ominous voice from Arabia beneath his notice, forbade the expedition, and desired that Hârith should be in attendance at Jerusalem, to swell the imperial train at the approaching visitation of the temple. Little did the Emperor imagine that the kingdom which, unperceived by the world, this obscure Pretender was founding in Arabia, would in a few short years wrest from his grasp that Holy City and the fair provinces which, with so much toil and so much glory, he had just recovered from the Persians!” (Muir’s Life of Mahomet, p. 384.)

(For the Shīʿah account of the embassy to Heraclius, see Merrick’s Ḥayātu ʾl-Qulūb, p. 88.)

HERMAPHRODITE (Arabic خنثى‎, K͟huns̤ā) is a person who is possessed of the organs of generation of both man and woman, and for whose spiritual existence the Muḥammadan law legislates (vide Hidāyah, vol. iv. p. 559). For example, it is a rule, with respect to equivocal hermaphrodites, that they are required to observe all the more comprehensive points of the spiritual law, but not those concerning the propriety of which, in regard to them, any doubt exists. In public prayer they must take their station between the men and the women, but in other respects observe the customs of women. (Idem, p. 561.)

HIBAH (هبة‎). A legal term in Muḥammadan law, which signifies a deed of gift, a transfer of property, made immediately and without any exchange. [GIFTS.]

ḤIDĀD (حـداد‎). “Mourning.” The state of a widow who abstains from scents, ornaments, &c., on account of the death of her husband. Ḥidād must be observed for a period of four months and ten days. (Hidāyah, vol. i. p. 370.)

HIDĀYAH (هداية‎). Lit. “Guidance.” The title of a well known book on Sunnī law, and frequently quoted in the present work. There are many Muḥammadan works entitled al-Hidāyah, but this is called Hidāyah fīʾl-furūʿ, or “a guidance in particular points.” It was composed by the Shaik͟h Burhānu ʾd-dīn ʿAlī, who was born at Marg͟hīnān in Transoxania about A.H. 530 (A.D. 1135), and died A.H. 593.

There is an English translation of the Hidāyah (omitting the chapters on Prayer and Purification), by Charles Hamilton, four vols., London, A.D. 1791.

ḤIFZ̤U ʾL-ʿAHD (حفظ العهد‎). Lit. “The guarding of the covenant.” A term used by the Ṣūfī mystics for remaining firm in that state in which God has brought them. (ʿAbdu ʾr-Razzāq’s Dict. of Ṣūfī Terms.)

HIGHWAY ROBBERY. Arabic qat̤ʿu ʾt̤-t̤arīq (قطعو الطريق‎). Persian rahzani. Highway robbery is a very heinous offence according to Muḥammadan law, the punishment of which has been fixed by the Qurʾān (Sūrah v. 37): “The recompense of those who war against God and His apostle, and go about to enact violence on the earth, is that they be slain or crucified, or have their alternate hands and feet cut off, or be banished the land.” According to the Hidāyah, highway robbers are of four kinds, viz. (1) Those who are seized before they have robbed or murdered any person, or put any person in fear. These are to be imprisoned by the magistrate until their repentance is evident. (2) Those who have robbed but have not murdered. These are to have their right hand and left foot struck off. (3) Those who have committed murder but have not robbed. These are punished with death. (4) Those who have committed both robbery and murder. These are punished according to the option of the magistrate. If he please, he can first cut off a hand and foot, and then put them to death by the sword, or by crucifixion; or he may kill them at once without inflicting amputation. If any one among a band of robbers be guilty of murder, the punishment of death must be inflicted upon the whole band.

ḤIJĀB (حجاب‎). A partition or curtain. Veiling or concealing.

(1) A term used for the seclusion of women enjoined in the Qurʾān, Sūrah xxxiii. 53: “And when ye ask them (the Prophet’s wives) for an article, ask them from behind a curtain; that is purer for your hearts and for theirs.”

(2) A term used by the Ṣūfī mystics for that which obscures the light of God in the soul of man. (ʿAbdu ʾr-Razzāq’s Dict. of Ṣūfī Terms.)

ḤIJĀZ (حجاز‎). Lit. “A barrier or anything similar by which two things are separated.” The name al-Ḥijāz is given to that tract of country which separates Najd from Tahāmah, and is an irregular parallelogram about 250 miles long and 150 miles wide. It may be considered the holy land of the Muḥammadans, for within its limits are the sacred cities of al-Madīnah and Makkah, and most of its places are someway connected with the history of Muḥammad. It is a barren district consisting of sandy plains towards the shore and rocky hills in the interior; and so destitute of provisions as to depend, even for the necessaries of life, on the supplies of other countries. Among its fertile spots is Wādī Fāt̤imah, which is well watered, and produces grain and vegetables. Sajrah abounds in date trees. At̤-T̤āʾif, seventy-two miles from Makkah, is celebrated for its gardens, and the neighbourhood of al-Madīnah has cultivated fields. The towns on the coast are Jiddah and Yambuʿ, the former being considered the port of Makkah, from which it is distant about fifty-five miles, and the latter that of al-Madīnah. Al-Ḥijāz is bounded eastward by a lofty range of mountains, which, near At̤-T̤āʾif, take the name of Jabalu ʾl-Qura. The scenery there is occasionally beautiful and picturesque; the small rivulets that descend from the rocks afford nourishment to the plains below, which are clothed with verdure and shady trees. The vicinity of Makkah is bleak and bare; for several miles it is surrounded with thousands of hills all nearly of one height; their dark and naked peaks rise one behind another, appearing at a distance like cocks of hay. The most celebrated of these are aṣ-Ṣafā, ʿArafah and al-Marwah, which have always been connected with the religious rites of the Muḥammadan pilgrimage.

ḤIJR (حجر‎). In its primitive sense means interdiction or prevention.

(1) In the language of the law it signifies an interdiction of action with respect to a particular person, who is either an infant, an idiot, or a slave. (Hidāyah, vol. iii. p. 468.)

(2) Al-Ḥijr is a territory in the province of al-Ḥijāz between al-Madīnah and Syria, where the tribe of S̤amūd dwelt. It is the title of the XVth Sūrah of the Qurʾān, in the 80th verse of which the word occurs: “The inhabitants of al-Ḥijr likewise accused the messenger of God of imposture.”

HIJRAH (هجرة‎). Lit. “migration.” (1) The departure of Muḥammad from Makkah. (2) The Muslim era. (3) The act of a Muslim leaving a country under infidel rule. (4) Fleeing from sin.

The date of Muḥammad’s flight from Makkah was the fourth day of the first month of Rabīʿ, which by the calculation of M. Caussin de Perceval was June 20th, A.D. 622. The Hijrah, or the era of the “Hegira,” was instituted seventeen years later by the K͟halīfah ʿUmar, which dates from the first day of the first lunar month of the year, viz. Muḥarram, which day in the year when the era was established fell on Thursday the 15th of July A.D. 622. But although ʿUmar instituted the official era, according to at̤-T̤abarī, the custom of referring to events as happening before or after the Hijrah originated with Muḥammad himself.

Professor H. H. Wilson in his Glossary of Terms gives the following method of ascertaining the Muḥammadan and Christian years:—

Multiply the Hijrah year by 2,977, the difference between 100 solar and as many lunar Muḥammadan years; divide the product by 100, and deduct the quotient from the Hijrah year; add to the result 621,569 (the decimal being the equivalent of the 15th July, plus 12 days for the change of the Kalendar); and the quotient will be the Christian year from the date at which the Muḥammadan year begins; thus, Hij. 1269 × 2·977 = 3777·8, which divided by 100 = 37·778 and 1269 - 37·778 = 1231·222; this + 621·569 = 1852·791, the decimals corresponding to 9 months and 15 days, i.e. the 15th of October, which is the commencement of the Hij. year 1269. The reverse formula for finding the corresponding Hijrah year to a given Christian year, is thus laid down: Subtract 622 from the current year; multiply the result by 1·0307; cut off two decimals and add ·46; the sum will be the year, which, when it has a surplus decimal, requires the addition of 1: thus, 1852 - 622 = 1230; 1230 × 1·0307 = 1267·761; 1267·76 + ·46 = 1268·22; add therefore 1, and we have the equivalent Hijrah year 1269.

The Persian era of Yezdegird commenced on June 16th, A.D. 632, or ten years later than the Hijrah.

ḤIKMAH (حـكـمـة‎). Al-ḥikmah, “the wisdom,” is a term used by the Ṣūfī mystics to express a knowledge of the essence, attributes, specialities, and results of things as they exist and are seen, with the study of their cause, effects, and uses. This is said to be the wisdom mentioned in the Qurʾān, Sūrah ii. 272: “He (God) bringeth the wisdom (al-ḥikmah) unto whom He willeth.”

The Ṣūfīs say there are four kinds of wisdom expressed in the term al-ḥikmah:—

(1) Al-ḥikmatu ʾl-Mant̤ūqah, “spoken wisdom,” which is made known in the Qurʾān, or in the T̤arīqah, “the Path” (i.e. the Ṣūfī path).

(2) Al-ḥikmatu ʾl-maskūtah, “unspoken wisdom.” Such as understood only by Ṣūfī mystics, and not by the natural man.

(3) Al-ḥikmatu ʾl-majhūlah, “unknown wisdom,” or those acts of the Creator the wisdom of which is unknown to the creature, such as the infliction of pain upon the creatures of God, the death of infants, or the eternal fire of hell. Things which we believe, but which we do not understand.

(4) Al-ḥikmatu ʾl-jāmiʿah, “collective wisdom,” or the knowledge of the truth (ḥaqq), and acting upon it, and the perception of error (bāt̤il) and the rejection of it (ʿAbdu ʾr-Razzāq’s Dict. of Ṣūfī Terms.)

HILĀL (هلال‎). The new moon. A term used for the first three days of the month.

ḤILF (حلف‎). An oath; a vow. An affidavit. Ḥilf nāmah, a written solemn declaration. Ḥālif, one who takes an oath.

ḤILFU ʾL-FUẒŪL (حلف الفضول‎). A confederacy formed by the descendants of Hāshim, Zuhrah, and Taim, in the house of ʿAbdu ʾllāh ibn Judʿān at Makkah, for the suppression of violence and injustice at the restoration of peace after the Sacrilegious war. Muḥammad was then a youth, and Sir William Muir says this confederacy “aroused an enthusiasm in the mind of Mahomet, which the exploits of the sacrilegious war failed to kindle.”

ḤILM (حلم‎). Being mild, gentle, clement. Restraining oneself at a time when the spirit is roused to anger. Delaying in punishing a tyrant. (Kitābu ʾt-Taʿrīfāt.) Hence al-Ḥalīm, the Clement, is one of the attributes of God.

ḤIMA (حمى‎). Lit. “guarded, forbidden.” A portion of land reserved by the ruler of a country as a grazing ground. (See Mishkāt, book xii. ch. i. pt. i.) “Know ye that every prince has a grazing ground which is forbidden to the people, and know ye the grazing place (ḥima) is the thing forbidden by Him to men.”

HIMMAH (همة‎). “Resolution, strength, ability.” A term used by the Ṣūfī mystics for a determination of the heart to incline itself entirely to God. (ʿAbdu ʾr-Razzāq’s Dict. of Ṣūfī Terms.)

ḤINNAʾ (حناء‎). The Lawsonia inermis, or Eastern privet, used for dyeing the hands and feet on festive occasions. [MARRIAGE.] Muḥammad enjoined the use of ḥinnāʾ, and approved of women staining their hands and feet with it. He also dyed his own beard with it, and recommended its use for this purpose. (Mishkāt, book xx. c. 4.) It has therefore become a religious custom, and is sunnah.

ḤIQQAH (حقة‎). A female camel turned three years. The proper age for a camel to be given in zakāt, or legal alms, for camels from forty-six to sixty in number.

ḤIRĀʾ (حراء‎). The name of a mountain near Makkah, said to have been the scene of the first revelation given to Muḥammad. [MUHAMMAD.]

HIRAQL (هرقل‎). Heraclius the Roman Emperor, to whom Muḥammad sent an embassy, A.H. 7, A.D. 628. [HERACLIUS.]

HIRE. The Arabic term ijārah (اجارة‎), which means the use and enjoyment of property for a time, includes hire, rental, and lease. The hirer is termed ājir, or muʾjir. The person who receives the rent is the mustaʾjir.

The following are some of the chief points in the Sunnī law with regard to ijārah, and for further particulars the reader must refer in English to Hamilton’s Hidāyah, vol. iii. p. 312, or in Arabic to such works as the Durru ʾl-Muk͟htār, Fatāwā-i-ʿĀlamgīrī, and the Raddu ʾl-Muḥtār, in which works it is treated in the Bābu ʾl-Ijārah.

A contract of hire, or rental, or lease, is not valid unless both the usufruct and the hire be particularly known and specified, because there is a traditional saying of the Prophet, “If a person hire another let him first inform him of the wages he is to receive.”

A workman is not entitled to anything until his work is finished, but the article wrought upon may be detained until the workman be paid his full wages, and the workman is not responsible for any loss or damage in the article during such detention. If a person hire another to carry a letter to al-Baṣrah and bring back an answer, and he accordingly go to al-Baṣrah and there find the person dead to whom the letter was addressed, and come back, and return the letter, he is not entitled to any wages whatever! This strange ruling is according to Abū Ḥanīfah and two of his disciples, but the Imām Muḥammad says the messenger ought to be paid.

It is lawful to hire a house or shop for the purpose of residence, although no mention be made of the business to be followed in it, and the lessee is at liberty to carry on any business he pleases, unless it be injurious to the building. For example, a blacksmith or a fuller must not reside in the house, unless it is previously so agreed, since the exercise of those trades would shake the building.

It is lawful to hire or lease land for the purposes of cultivation, and in this case the hirer is entitled to the use of the road leading to the land, and likewise the water (i.e. his turn of water) although no mention of these be made in the contract.

A lease of land is not valid unless mention is made of the article to be raised on it, not only with a view to cultivation, but also for other purposes, such as building, and so forth. Or the lessor of the land may make declaration to the effect:—“I let the land on this occasion, that the lessee shall raise on it whatever he pleases.”

If a person hire unoccupied land for the purposes of building or planting, it is lawful, but on the term of the lease expiring it is incumbent on the lessee to remove his buildings and trees, and to restore the land to the lessor in such a state as may leave him no claim upon it, because houses or trees have no specific limit of existence, and if they were left on the land it might be injurious to the proprietor. But it is otherwise when the land is hired or leased for the purpose of tillage, and the term of the lease expires at a time when the grain is yet unripe. In this case, the grain must be suffered to remain upon the ground at a proportionate rent, until it is fit for reaping.

The hire of an animal is lawful, either for carriage, or for riding, or for any use to which animals are applied. And if a person hire an animal to carry a burden, and the person who lets it to hire specify the nature and quantity of the article with which the hirer is to load the animal, the hirer is at liberty to load the animal with an equal quantity of any article not more troublesome or prejudicial in the carriage than wheat, such as barley, &c. The hirer is not at liberty to load the animal with a more prejudicial article than wheat (unless stipulated beforehand), such as salt or iron. For a hired animal perishing from ill-usage, the hirer is responsible.

(For the sayings of Muḥammad on the subject of hire and leases, refer to the Mishkāt, Bābu ʾl-Ijārah.)

ḤIRṢ (حرص‎). “Avarice, greed, eagerness.” Derivatives of the word occur three times in the Qurʾān. Sūrah ii. 90: “Thou wilt find them (the Jews) the greediest of men for life.” Sūrah iv. 128: “And ye may not have it at all in your power to treat your wives with equal justice, even though you be anxious to do so.” Sūrah xii. 104: “And yet most men, though thou ardently desire it, will not believe.”

ḤISS (حس‎). “Understanding, sense.” Ḥiss bātin, internal sense; ḥiss z̤āhir, external sense; ḥiss mushtarik, common sense.

ḤIẒĀNAH (حضانة‎). Al-ḥiẓānah is the right of a mother to the custody of her children. “The mother is of all persons the best entitled to the custody of her infant children during the connubial relationship as well as after its dissolution.” (Fatāwā-i-ʿĀlamgīrī, vol. i. p. 728.)

When the children are no longer dependent on the mother’s care, the father has a right to educate and take charge of them, and is entitled to the guardianship of their person in preference to the mother. Among the Ḥanafīs, the mother is entitled to the custody of her daughter until she arrives at puberty; but according to the other three Sunnī sects, the custody continues until she is married.

There is difference of opinion as to the extent of the period of the mother’s custody over her male children. The Ḥanafīs limit it to the child’s seventh year, but the Shāfiʿīs and Malakīs allow the boy the option of remaining under his mother’s guardianship until he has arrived at puberty. Among the Shīʿahs, the mother is entitled to the custody of her children until they are weaned, a period limited to two years. After the child is weaned, its custody, if a male, devolves on the father, if a female, on the mother. The mother’s custody of the girl continues to the seventh year.

The right of ḥiẓānah is lost by the mother if she is married to a stranger, or if she misconducts herself, or if she changes her domicile so as to prevent the father or tutor from exercising the necessary supervision over the child.

Apostasy is also a bar to the exercise of the right of ḥiẓānah. A woman, consequently, who apostatizes from Islām, whether before or after the right vests in her, is disentitled from exercising or claiming the right of ḥiẓānah in respect to a Muslim child.

The custody of illegitimate children appertains exclusively to the mother and her relations. (Personal Law of Muḥammadans, by Syud Amīr Ali, p. 214.) [GUARDIANSHIP.]

HOLY SPIRIT. Arabic Ruḥu ʾl-Quds (روح القدس‎). The Holy Spirit is mentioned three times in the Qurʾān. In the Sūratu ʾn-Naḥl (XVIth, 104), as the inspiring agent of the Qurʾān: “Say, The Holy Spirit brought it down from thy Lord in truth.” And twice in the Sūratu ʾl-Baqarah (IInd, 81 and 254), as the divine power which aided the Lord Jesus: “and We strengthened him by the Holy Spirit” (in both verses).

The Jalālān, al-Baiẓāwī, and the Muslim commentators in general, say this Holy Spirit was the angel Gabriel who sanctified Jesus, and constantly aided Him, and who also brought the Qurʾān down from heaven and revealed it to Muḥammad.

For a further consideration of the subject, see SPIRIT.

HOMICIDE. [MURDER.]

HONEY. Arabic ʿasal (عسل‎). In the Qurʾān it is specially mentioned as the gift of God. Sūrah xvi. 70: “Thy Lord inspired the bee. ‘Take to houses in the mountains, and in the trees, and in the hives they build. Then eat from every fruit and walk in the beaten paths of thy Lord.’ There cometh forth from her body a draught varying in hue, in which is a cure for man.”

HORSES. Arabic faras (فرس‎), k͟hail (خيل‎), pl. k͟huyūl. Muḥammad’s affection for horses was very great, as was natural to an Arabian. Anas says there was nothing the Prophet was so fond of as women and horses. Abū Qatādah relates that Muḥammad said: “The best horses are black with white foreheads and having a white upper lip.” But Abū Wahhāb says the Prophet considered a bay horse with white forehead, white fore and hind legs the best. An instance of the way in which the traditionists sometimes contradict each other! (Mishkāt, book xvii. c. ii.)

In the Hidāyah (Arabic edition, vol. ii. p. 432) it is said that horses are of four kinds: (1) Birẕaun, Burẕūn, a heavy draught horse brought from foreign countries. (2) ʿAtīq, a first blood horse of Arabia. (3) Hajīn, a half-bred horse whose mother is an Arab and father a foreigner. (4) A half-bred horse whose father is an Arab and whose mother is a foreigner.

In taking a share of plunder, a horseman is entitled to a double share, but he is not entitled to any more if he keep more horses than one.

HOSPITALITY. Arabic ẓiyāfah (ضيافة‎). It is related that Muḥammad said:—

“Whoever believes in God and in the Day of Resurrection must respect his guest.”

“If a Muslim be the guest of a people and he spends the whole night without being entertained, it shall be lawful for every Muslim present to take money and grain necessary for the entertainment of the man.”

“It is according to my practice that the host shall come out with his guest to the door of his house.” (Mishkāt, book xix. ch. ii.)

Hospitality is enjoined in the Qurʾān. Sūrah iv. 40: “Show kindness to your parents, and to your kindred, and to orphans, and to the poor, and to your neighbour who is akin and to your neighbour who is a stranger, and the companion who is strange, and to the son of the road.”

HOUR, The. Arabic as-Sāʿah (الساعة‎). A term frequently used in the Qurʾān for the Day of Judgment.

Sūrah vi. 31: “When the hour comes suddenly upon them.”

Sūrah vii. 186: “They will ask you about the hour for what time it is fixed.”

Sūrah xv. 85: “Verily the hour is surely coming.”

Sūrah xvi. 79: “Nor is the matter of the hour aught but as the twinkling of an eye, or nigher still.”

Sūrah xxii. 1: “Verily the earthquake of the hour is a mighty thing.”

Sūrah liv. 46: “Nay the hour is their promised time! and the hour is most severe and bitter.”

HOURS OF PRAYER. The terms “Hours of Prayer” and “Canonical Hours,” being used in the Christian Church (see Johnson’s Engl. Canons and Canons of Cuthbert, ch. 15), we shall consider under this title the stated periods of Muḥammadan prayer. [PRAYER.] They are five: (1) Fajr (فجر‎), daybreak; (2) Z̤uhr (ظهر‎), when the sun begins to decline at midday; (3) ʿAṣr (عصر‎), midway between z̤uhr and mag͟hrib; (4) Mag͟hrib (مغرب‎), evening; (5) ʿIshāʾ (عشاء‎), when the night has closed in. According to the Traditions (Mishkāt, book xxiv. ch. vii. pt. 1), Muḥammad professed to have received his instructions to say prayer five times a day during the Miʿrāj, or the celebrated night journey to heaven. He said, God first ordered him to pray fifty times a day, but that Moses advised him to get the Almighty to reduce the number of canonical hours to five, he himself having tried fifty times for his own people with very ill success!

It is remarkable that there is but one passage in the Qurʾān, in which the stated hours of prayer are enjoined, and that it mentions only four and not five periods. Sūratu ʾr-Rūm, xxx. 16, 17: “Glorify God when it is evening (masāʾ), and at morning (ṣubḥ),—and to Him be praise in the heavens and in the earth,—and at afternoon (ʿashī), and at noon-tide (z̤uhr).” But al-Jalālān, the commentators, say all are agreed that the term, “when it is masāʾ” (evening or night), includes both sunset and after sunset, and therefore both the mag͟hrib and ʿishāʾ prayers are included.

Three hours of prayer were observed by the Jews. David says, “Evening, morning, and at noon will I pray.” (Ps. lv. 17.) Daniel “kneeled upon his knees three times a day.” These three hours of the Jews seem to have been continued by the Apostles (see Acts iii. 1), and were transmitted to the early church in succeeding ages, for Tertullian speaks of “those common hours which mark the divisions of the day, the third, sixth, and ninth, which we observe in scripture to be more solemn than the rest.” (De Orat., c. 25.) And Clement of Alexandria says, “If some fix stated hours of prayer, as the third, sixth, and ninth, the man of knowledge prays to God throughout his whole life.” (Stom. l. vii. c. 7, sect. 40.) Jerome says, “There are three times in which the knees are bent to God. Tradition assigns the third, the sixth, and the ninth hour.” (Com. in Dan., c. vi. 10.)

In the third century there seems to have been five stated periods of prayer, for Basil of Cappadocia speaks of five hours as suitable for monks, namely, the morning, the third hour, the sixth, the ninth, and the evening. (Regulæ fusius Tract. Resp. ad Qu., 37, sections 3–5.)

It is therefore probable that Muḥammad obtained his idea of five stated periods of prayer during his two journeys to Syria. But he changed the time, as will be seen from the table annexed, which was drawn up by Mr. Lane at Cairo, and shows the times of Muḥammadan prayer with the apparent European time of sunset, in or near the latitude of Cairo at the commencement of each zodiacal month:—

Mag͟hrib or Sunset. ʿIshāʾ or Night. Fajr or Daybreak. Z̤uhr or Noon. ʿAṣr or Afternoon.

Muslim Time. European Time. Muslim Time. Muslim Time. Muslim Time. Muslim Time.