1.
Efreeti (Dungeons & Dragons)
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In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, the efreeti is a type of genie. The efreeti is inspired by the ifrit of Arabic mythology, the efreeti first appeared in the original Dungeons & Dragons white box set. The efreeti appeared in first edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons in the original Monster Manual, the Pasha of the Efreet, Vizier of the Fire Sultan appeared in the adventure modules Pharaoh, and Oasis of the White Palm. The efreeti appeared in the D&D Expert Set, the Companion Rules set, the efreeti appeared in second edition under the genie heading in Monstrous Compendium Volume One, and in the Monstrous Manual. The noble efreeti and the Sultan of the efreet appeared for the Al-Qadim setting in the Monstrous Compendium Al-Qadim Appendix, the efreeti appeared under the genie of Zakhara heading in the Land of Fate boxed set. The efreeti appeared in the third edition Monster Manual, and appear in the 3.5 revised Monster Manual, the efreeti appears as a player character race in Savage Species. The efreet are genies from the Elemental Plane of Fire, which are said to be made of basalt, bronze, and congealed flames
2.
Daeva
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Daeva is an Avestan language term for a particular sort of supernatural entity with disagreeable characteristics. In the Gathas, the oldest texts of the Zoroastrian canon and this meaning is – subject to interpretation – perhaps also evident in the Old Persian daiva inscription of the 5th century BCE. In the Younger Avesta, the daevas are noxious creatures that promote chaos, in later tradition and folklore, the dēws are personifications of every imaginable evil. Equivalents for Avestan daeva in Iranian languages include Pashto, Balochi, Kurdish dêw, Persian dīv/deev, all of which apply to demons, monsters, the Iranian word was borrowed into Old Armenian as dew, Georgian as devi, with the same negative associations in those languages. In English, the word appears as daeva, div, deev, Old Avestan daēuua or daēva derives from Old Iranian *daiva, which in turn derives from Indo-Iranian *daivá- god, reflecting Proto-Indo-European *deiu̯ó with the same meaning. For derivatives in a European context, see Tyr, the Vedic Sanskrit cognate of Avestan daēuua is devá-, continuing in later Indo-Aryan languages as dev. The same is true of the inscription, where the daiva are the gods of rebels. The issue is related to the question of how Zoroasters own contribution to Iranian religion might be defined, while the progressive hypothesis gives Zoroaster credit for giving Iranian religion a moral and ethical dimension, it does not give Zoroaster credit for the development of the daevas into demons. It assumes that the development was gradual, and that a general distrust of the daevas already existed by the time the Gathas were composed, although with some points of comparison such as shared etymology, Indic devá- is thematically different from Avestan daēva. In the Rigveda, the devas are the angels of natural elements, in conflict with the asuras, although, asuras cant be compared to western world demons. There is no such division evident in the Zoroastrian texts, the use of asura in the Rigveda is unsystematic and inconsistent and it can hardly be said to confirm the existence of a category of gods opposed to the devas. Indeed, RigVedic deva is variously applied to most gods, including many of the asuras, likewise, at the oldest layer, Zoroastrianisms daevas are originally also gods, and it is only in the younger texts that the word evolved to refer to evil creatures. And the Zoroastrian ahuras are also only vaguely defined, and only three in number, the Gathas speak of the daevas as a group, and do not mention individual daevas by name. In these ancient texts, the term daevas occurs 19 times, wherein daevas are a category of quite genuine gods. In Yasna 32.3 and 46.1, the daevas are still worshipped by the Iranian peoples, Yasna 32.8 notes that some of the followers of Zoroaster had previously been followers of the daevas, though, the daevas are clearly identified with evil. In the Gathas, daevas are censured as being incapable of discerning truth from falsehood and they are consequently in error, but are never identified as drəguuaṇt- people of the lie. In Yasna 32.4, the daevas are revered by the Usij, described as a class of priests, devoid of goodness of mind and heart. Like the daevas that they follow, the Usij are known throughout the region of the earth as the offspring of aka mainyu, druj
3.
Hamzanama
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In the West the work is best known for the enormous illustrated manuscript commissioned by the Mughal Emperor Akbar in about 1562. Zarinkoob suggests that it was Hamza ibn Adharak that became an inspiration for Hamzanama, the text augmented the story, as traditionally told in dastan performances. The Dastan about Amir Hamza persists far and wide up to Bengal and Arakan, apart from the text, it included 1400 full page Mughal miniatures of an unusually large size, nearly all painted on paper, which were then glued to a cloth backing. The work was bound in 14 volumes, after the early pages, where various layouts were experimented with, one side of most folios has a painting, about 69 cm x 54 cm in size, done in a fusion of Persian and Mughal styles. On the other side is the text in Persian in Nastaliq script, the size of the commission was completely unprecedented, and stretched even the huge imperial workshop. According to contemporary accounts, about thirty main artists were used, after seven years only four volumes were completed, but the new head was able to galvanize production and complete the ten volumes in another seven years, without any loss of quality. Indeed, the pages are the most exciting and innovative in the work. The colophon of this manuscript is still missing, none of the folios of this manuscript so far found is signed, though many have been attributed to different artists. Though the elegance and finish may seem closer to Persian works, between them, these two manuscripts are the key works in the formation of the Mughal miniature style. Only a little over a hundred of the paintings survive, the largest group of 61 images is in the Museum of Applied Arts, Vienna, with the rest spread over many collections. The Victoria and Albert Museum possess 27 images, bought in Kashmir, the MAK organized in 2009 the exhibition GLOBAL, LAB, Art as a Message. Asia and Europe 1500-1700, which showed its whole holding of the Hamzanama, the Dastan-e-Amir Hamza existed in several other illustrated manuscript versions. One version by Navab Mirza Aman Ali Khan Ghalib Lakhnavi was printed in 1855 and published by the Hakim Sahib Press, Calcutta and this version was later embellished by Abdullah Bilgrami and published from the Naval Kishore Press, Lucknow, in 1871. Two English language translations have been published, the first is available in an expanded version on the website of the translator Frances Pritchett, of Columbia University. Pritchetts former student at Columbia University, Pasha Mohamad Khan, who teaches at McGill University, researches qissa/dastan. In 2007 Musharraf Ali Farooqui, a Pakistani-Canadian author, translated the Ghalib Lakhnavi/Abdulla Bilgriami version into English, the story is also performed in Indonesian puppet theatre, where it is called Wayang Menak. Here, Hamzah is also known as Wong Agung Jayeng Rana or Amir Ambyah, beach, Milo Cleveland, Early Mughal painting, Harvard University Press,1987, ISBN 0-674-22185-0, ISBN 978-0-674-22185-7 Grove, Oxford Art Online, Indian sub. §VI,4, Mughal ptg styles, 16th–19th centuries, restricted access
4.
Jinn
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Jinn, also romanized as djinn or anglicized as genies, are supernatural creatures in early Arabian and later Islamic mythology and theology. An individual member of the jinn is known as a jinni, djinni and they are mentioned frequently in the Quran and other Islamic texts. The jinn, humans, and angels make up the three known sapient creations of God, like human beings, the jinn can be good, evil, or neutrally benevolent and hence have free will like humans. Jaini were among various creatures believe among pre-Zoroastrian peoples of Persia, Jinn is an Arabic collective noun deriving from the Semitic root JNN, whose primary meaning is to hide. Some authors interpret the word to mean, literally, beings that are concealed from the senses, cognates include the Arabic majnūn, jannah, and janīn. Jinn is properly treated as a plural, with the singular being jinni, the anglicized form genie is a borrowing of the French génie, from the Latin genius, a guardian spirit of people and places in Roman religion. It first appeared in 18th-century translations of the Thousand and One Nights from the French, numerous mentions of jinn in the Quran and testimony of both pre-Islamic and Islamic literature indicate that the belief in spirits was prominent in pre-Islamic Bedouin religion. Julius Wellhausen has observed that such spirits were thought to inhabit desolate, dingy, and dark places, One had to protect oneself from them, but they were not the objects of a true cult. In Islamic theology jinn are said to be creatures with free will, made from fire by God as humans were made of clay. When jinns are called fire spirits it´s does not refer to their current nature, Jinn are mentioned 29 times in the Quran, Surah 72 is named after the jinn, and has a passage about them. Another surah mentions jinn in the last verse, the Quran also mentions that Muhammad was sent as a prophet to both humanity and the jinn, and that prophets and messengers were sent to both communities. Like humans, jinn will also be judged on the Day of Judgment, the social organization of the jinn community resembles that of humans, e. g. they have kings, courts of law, weddings, mourning rituals and practise religion. One common belief in Muslim belief lists five distinct orders of jinn — the Marid, the Ifrit, the Shaitan, the Ghul, and the Jann. A few traditions, divide jinn into three classes, those who have wings and fly in the air, those who resemble snakes and dogs, described them as creatures of different forms, some resembling vultures and snakes, others tall men in white garb. They may even appear as dragons, onagers, or any number of other animals, in addition to their animal forms, the jinn occasionally assume human form to mislead and destroy their human victims. Ibn Taymiyyah, a late medieval theologian whose writings would later become the source of Wahhabism, believed the jinn to be generally ignorant, untruthful, oppressive. In Sūrat Al-Jinn, verses 8–10, Allah narrates concerning the jinn how they touched or sought the limits of the sky and found it full of guards and shooting stars. Seven kings of the Jinn are traditionally associated with days of the week, the notion of a qarin is not universally accepted among all Muslims, but it is generally accepted that Shayṭān whispers in human minds, and he is assigned to each human being
5.
Ghost
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In folklore, a ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that can appear to the living. Descriptions of ghosts vary widely from a presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to realistic. The deliberate attempt to contact the spirit of a person is known as necromancy. The belief in the existence of an afterlife, as well as manifestations of the spirits of the dead is widespread, certain religious practices—funeral rites, exorcisms, and some practices of spiritualism and ritual magic—are specifically designed to rest the spirits of the dead. Ghosts are generally described as solitary, human-like essences, though stories of ghostly armies and they are believed to haunt particular locations, objects, or people they were associated with in life. Ghosts exist as a concept only, despite centuries of investigation, the English word ghost continues Old English gást, from a hypothetical Common Germanic *gaistaz. It is common to West Germanic, but lacking in North Germanic, the pre-Germanic form was *ghoisdo-s, apparently from a root denoting fury, anger reflected in Old Norse geisa to rage. The Germanic word is recorded as only, but likely continues a neuter s-stem. The original meaning of the Germanic word would thus have been a principle of the mind, in particular capable of excitation. In Germanic paganism, Germanic Mercury, and the later Odin, was at the time the conductor of the dead. It could also denote any good or evil spirit, such as angels and demons, also from the Old English period, the word could denote the spirit of God, viz. the Holy Ghost. The now-prevailing sense of the soul of a person, spoken of as appearing in a visible form only emerges in Middle English. The synonym spook is a Dutch loanword, akin to Low German spôk, alternative words in modern usage include spectre, the Scottish wraith, phantom and apparition. The term shade in classical mythology translates Greek σκιά, or Latin umbra, haint is a synonym for ghost used in regional English of the southern United States, and the haint tale is a common feature of southern oral and literary tradition. The term poltergeist is a German word, literally a noisy ghost, wraith is a Scots word for ghost, spectre, or apparition. It appeared in Scottish Romanticist literature, and acquired the general or figurative sense of portent or omen. In 18th- to 19th-century Scottish literature, it applied to aquatic spirits. The word has no commonly accepted etymology, the OED notes of obscure origin only, an association with the verb writhe was the etymology favored by J. R. R. Tolkien
6.
Islam
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Islam is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion which professes that there is only one and incomparable God and that Muhammad is the last messenger of God. It is the worlds second-largest religion and the major religion in the world, with over 1.7 billion followers or 23% of the global population. Islam teaches that God is merciful, all-powerful, and unique, and He has guided mankind through revealed scriptures, natural signs, and a line of prophets sealed by Muhammad. The primary scriptures of Islam are the Quran, viewed by Muslims as the word of God. Muslims believe that Islam is the original, complete and universal version of a faith that was revealed many times before through prophets including Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses. As for the Quran, Muslims consider it to be the unaltered, certain religious rites and customs are observed by the Muslims in their family and social life, while social responsibilities to parents, relatives, and neighbors have also been defined. Besides, the Quran and the sunnah of Muhammad prescribe a comprehensive body of moral guidelines for Muslims to be followed in their personal, social, political, Islam began in the early 7th century. Originating in Mecca, it spread in the Arabian Peninsula. The expansion of the Muslim world involved various caliphates and empires, traders, most Muslims are of one of two denominations, Sunni or Shia. Islam is the dominant religion in the Middle East, North Africa, sizable Muslim communities are also found in Horn of Africa, Europe, China, Russia, Mainland Southeast Asia, Philippines, Northern Borneo, Caucasus and the Americas. Converts and immigrant communities are found in almost every part of the world, Islam is a verbal noun originating from the triliteral root s-l-m which forms a large class of words mostly relating to concepts of wholeness, submission, safeness and peace. In a religious context it means voluntary submission to God, Islām is the verbal noun of Form IV of the root, and means submission or surrender. Muslim, the word for an adherent of Islam, is the active participle of the verb form. The word sometimes has connotations in its various occurrences in the Quran. In some verses, there is stress on the quality of Islam as a state, Whomsoever God desires to guide. Other verses connect Islām and dīn, Today, I have perfected your religion for you, I have completed My blessing upon you, still others describe Islam as an action of returning to God—more than just a verbal affirmation of faith. In the Hadith of Gabriel, islām is presented as one part of a triad that also includes imān, Islam was historically called Muhammadanism in Anglophone societies. This term has fallen out of use and is said to be offensive because it suggests that a human being rather than God is central to Muslims religion
7.
Middle East
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The Middle East is a transcontinental region centered on Western Asia and Egypt. The corresponding adjective is Middle-Eastern and the noun is Middle-Easterner. The term has come into usage as a replacement of the term Near East beginning in the early 20th century. Arabs, Turks, Persians, Kurds, and Azeris constitute the largest ethnic groups in the region by population. Indigenous minorities of the Middle East include Jews, Assyrians and other Arameans, Baloch, Berbers, Copts, Druze, Lurs, Mandaeans, Samaritans, Shabaks, Tats, in the Middle East, there is also a Romani community. European ethnic groups form a diaspora in the region include Albanians, Bosniaks, Circassians, Crimean Tatars, Franco-Levantines. Among other migrant populations are Bengalis as well as other Indians, Chinese, Filipinos, Indonesians, Pakistanis, the history of the Middle East dates back to ancient times, with the importance of the region being recognized for millennia. Most of the countries border the Persian Gulf have vast reserves of crude oil. The term Middle East may have originated in the 1850s in the British India Office, however, it became more widely known when American naval strategist Alfred Thayer Mahan used the term in 1902 to designate the area between Arabia and India. During this time the British and Russian Empires were vying for influence in Central Asia, Mahan realized not only the strategic importance of the region, but also of its center, the Persian Gulf. Mahan first used the term in his article The Persian Gulf and International Relations, published in September 1902 in the National Review, a British journal. The Middle East, if I may adopt a term which I have not seen, will some day need its Malta, as well as its Gibraltar, it does not follow that either will be in the Persian Gulf. The British Navy should have the facility to concentrate in force if occasion arise, about Aden, India, mahans article was reprinted in The Times and followed in October by a 20-article series entitled The Middle Eastern Question, written by Sir Ignatius Valentine Chirol. During this series, Sir Ignatius expanded the definition of Middle East to include regions of Asia which extend to the borders of India or command the approaches to India. After the series ended in 1903, The Times removed quotation marks from subsequent uses of the term, in the late 1930s, the British established the Middle East Command, which was based in Cairo, for its military forces in the region. After that time, the term Middle East gained broader usage in Europe, the description Middle has also led to some confusion over changing definitions. Before the First World War, Near East was used in English to refer to the Balkans and the Ottoman Empire, while Middle East referred to Iran, the Caucasus, Afghanistan, Central Asia, and Turkestan. The first official use of the term Middle East by the United States government was in the 1957 Eisenhower Doctrine, the Associated Press Stylebook says that Near East formerly referred to the farther west countries while Middle East referred to the eastern ones, but that now they are synonymous
8.
South Asia
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Topographically, it is dominated by the Indian Plate, which rises above sea level as Nepal and northern parts of India situated south of the Himalayas and the Hindu Kush. South Asia is bounded on the south by the Indian Ocean and on land by West Asia, Central Asia, East Asia, the current territories of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka form the countries of South Asia. The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation is an economic cooperation organisation in the region which was established in 1985, South Asia covers about 5.1 million km², which is 11. 51% of the Asian continent or 3. 4% of the worlds land surface area. The population of South Asia is about 1.749 billion or about one fourth of the worlds population, overall, it accounts for about 39. 49% of Asias population and is home to a vast array of peoples. The area of South Asia and its extent is not clear cut as systemic. Aside from the region of South Asia, formerly part of the British Empire, there is a high degree of variation as to which other countries are included in South Asia. Modern definitions of South Asia are consistent in including Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar is included by some scholars in South Asia, but in Southeast Asia by others. Some do not include Afghanistan, others question whether Afghanistan should be considered a part of South Asia or the Middle East, the mountain countries of Nepal and Bhutan, and the island countries of Sri Lanka and Maldives are generally included as well. Myanmar is often added, and by various deviating definitions based on often substantially different reasons, the British Indian Ocean Territory, the common concept of South Asia is largely inherited from the administrative boundaries of the British Raj, with several exceptions. The Aden Colony, British Somaliland and Singapore, though administered at various times under the Raj, have not been proposed as any part of South Asia. Additionally Burma was administered as part of the Raj until 1937, the 562 princely states that were protected by but not directly ruled by the Raj became administrative parts of South Asia upon joining Union of India or Dominion of Pakistan. China and Myanmar have also applied for the status of members of SAARC. This bloc of countries include two independent countries that were not part of the British Raj – Nepal, and Bhutan, Afghanistan was a British protectorate from 1878 until 1919, after the Afghans lost to the British in the Second Anglo-Afghan war. The United Nations Statistics Divisions scheme of sub-regions include all eight members of the SAARC as part of Southern Asia, population Information Network includes Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Burma, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka as part of South Asia. Maldives, in view of its characteristics, was admitted as a member Pacific POPIN subregional network only in principle, the Hirschman–Herfindahl index of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific for the region includes only the original seven signatories of SAARC. The British Indian Ocean Territory is connected to the region by a publication of Janes for security considerations, the inclusion of Myanmar in South Asia is without consensus, with many considering it a part of southeast Asia and others including it within South Asia. Afghanistan was of importance to the British colonial empire, especially after the Second Anglo-Afghan War over 1878–1880, Afghanistan remained a British protectorate until 1919, when a treaty with Vladimir Lenin included the granting of independence to Afghanistan. Following Indias partition, Afghanistan has generally included in South Asia
9.
Southeast Asia
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Southeast Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies near the intersection of geological plates, with seismic and volcanic activity. Southeast Asia consists of two regions, Mainland Southeast Asia, also known historically as Indochina, comprising Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar. Maritime Southeast Asia, comprising Indonesia, East Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, East Timor, Brunei, Cocos Islands, definitions of Southeast Asia vary, but most definitions include the area represented by the countries listed below. All of the states are members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the area, together with part of South Asia, was widely known as the East Indies or simply the Indies until the 20th century. Sovereignty issues exist over some territories in the South China Sea, Papua New Guinea has stated that it might join ASEAN, and is currently an observer. Southeast Asia is geographically divided into two subregions, namely Mainland Southeast Asia and Maritime Southeast Asia, Mainland Southeast Asia includes, Maritime Southeast Asia includes, The Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India are geographically considered part of Southeast Asia. Eastern Bangladesh and the Seven Sister States of India are culturally part of Southeast Asia, the eastern half of Indonesia and East Timor are considered to be biogeographically part of Oceania. Homo sapiens reached the region by around 45,000 years ago, homo floresiensis also lived in the area up until 12,000 years ago, when they became extinct. Austronesian people, who form the majority of the population in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, East Timor. Solheim and others have shown evidence for a Nusantao maritime trading network ranging from Vietnam to the rest of the archipelago as early as 5000 BC to 1 AD. The peoples of Southeast Asia, especially those of Austronesian descent, have been seafarers for thousands of years and their vessels, such as the vinta, were ocean-worthy. Magellans voyage records how much more manoeuvrable their vessels were, as compared to the European ships, Passage through the Indian Ocean aided the colonisation of Madagascar by the Austronesian people, as well as commerce between West Asia and Southeast Asia. Gold from Sumatra is thought to have reached as far west as Rome and this was later replaced by Hinduism. Theravada Buddhism soon followed in 525, in the 15th century, Islamic influences began to enter. This forced the last Hindu court in Indonesia to retreat to Bali, in Mainland Southeast Asia, Burma, Cambodia and Thailand retained the Theravada form of Buddhism, brought to them from Sri Lanka. This type of Buddhism was fused with the Hindu-influenced Khmer culture, very little is known about Southeast Asian religious beliefs and practices before the advent of Indian merchants and religious influences from the 2nd century BCE onwards. Prior to the 13th century CE, Hinduism and Buddhism were the religions in Southeast Asia
10.
Arabic alphabet
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The Arabic alphabet or Arabic abjadiyah is the Arabic script as it is codified for writing the Arabic language. It is written right to left, in a cursive style. Originally, the alphabet was an abjad consisting only of consonants, as with other abjads, such as the Hebrew alphabet, scribes later devised means of indicating vowel sounds by separate vowel points. The basic Arabic alphabet contains 28 letters, there are no distinct upper and lower case letter forms. Many letters look similar but are distinguished from one another by dots above or below their central part and these dots are an integral part of a letter, since they distinguish between letters that represent different sounds. For example, the Arabic letters transliterated as b and t have the basic shape, but b has one dot below, ب. Both printed and written Arabic are cursive, with most of the letters within a word connected to the adjacent letters. There are two main collating sequences for the Arabic alphabet, abjad and hija, in this order, letters are also used as numbers, Abjad numerals, and possess the same alphanumeric code/cipher as Hebrew gematria and Greek isopsephy. The hijā’ī or alifbā’ī order, used where lists of names and words are sorted, as in phonebooks, classroom lists, and dictionaries, groups letters by similarity of shape. Loss of sameḵ was compensated for by the split of shin ש into two independent Arabic letters, ش and ﺱ which moved up to take the place of sameḵ, the six other letters that do not correspond to any north Semitic letter are placed at the end. This is commonly vocalized as follows, abjad hawwaz ḥuṭṭī kalaman sa‘faṣ qarashat thakhadh ḍaẓagh, the hijā’ī order is never used as numerals. Another kind of order was used widely in the Maghreb until recently when it was replaced by the Mashriqi order. The Arabic alphabet is always cursive and letters vary in shape depending on their position within a word, letters can exhibit up to four distinct forms corresponding to an initial, medial, final, or isolated position. While some letters show considerable variations, others remain almost identical across all four positions, generally, letters in the same word are linked together on both sides by short horizontal lines, but six letters can only be linked to their preceding letter. For example, أرارات has only isolated forms because each letter cannot be connected to its following one, in addition, some letter combinations are written as ligatures, notably lām-alif. Notes See the article Romanization of Arabic for details on various schemes, however. Also names are transcribed as pronounced locally, not as pronounced in Literary Arabic. Regarding pronunciation, the values given are those of Modern Standard Arabic
11.
Supernatural
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One complicating factor is that there is disagreement about the definition of natural and the limits of naturalism. Concepts in the domain are closely related to concepts in religious spirituality. Sometimes we understand by nature the established course of things, as when we say that nature makes the night succeed the day, nature hath made respiration necessary to the life of men. Sometimes we take nature for the universe, or system of the works of God, as when it is said of a phoenix, or a chimera. And sometimes too, and that most commonly, we would express by nature a semi-deity or other kind of being. Parapsychologists use the term psi to refer to a unitary force underlying the phenomena they study. Views on the supernatural vary, for example it may be seen as, from this perspective, some events occur according to the laws of nature, and others occur according to a separate set of principles external to known nature. For example, in Scholasticism, it was believed that God was capable of performing any miracle so long as it didnt lead to a logical contradiction, others believe that all events have natural and only natural causes. They believe that human beings ascribe supernatural attributes to purely natural events, such as lightning, rainbows, floods, the supernatural is a feature of the philosophical traditions of Neoplatonism and Scholasticism. In contrast, the philosophy of Metaphysical naturalism argues for the conclusion that there are no supernatural entities, objects, most religions include elements of belief in the supernatural while also often featuring prominently in the study of the paranormal and occultism. Process theology is a school of thought influenced by the process philosophy of Alfred North Whitehead. It is not possible, in process metaphysics, to conceive divine activity as an intervention into the “natural” order of events. Process theists usually regard the distinction between the supernatural and the natural as a by-product of the doctrine of creation ex nihilo, in process thought, there is no such thing as a realm of the natural in contrast to that which is supernatural. On the other hand, if “the natural” is defined more neutrally as “what is in the nature of things, in Whiteheads words, “It lies in the nature of things that the many enter into complex unity”. It is tempting to emphasize process theisms denial of the supernatural, dreams as a Source of Supernatural Agent Concepts. Riekki T, Lindeman M, Raij T. T, Supernatural Believers Attribute More Intentions to Random Movement than Skeptics, An fMRI Study. CS1 maint, Multiple names, authors list Purzycki Benjamin G, the Minds of Gods, A Comparative Study of Supernatural Agency. Unresolved Mourning, Supernatural Beliefs and Dissociation, A Mediation Analysis, vail K. E, Arndt J, Addollahi A
12.
Jahannam
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The duration of a residence in hell differs in Islam. According to some Sunni oppinions, the punishment of hell just ends for Muslims, a Hadith relates that a person who committed suicide will be punished over and over on the Day of Judgment and later in Jahannam by the very means he/she used to end his/her life. At least two verses in the Quran emphasise that consignment to hell is horrible and eternal, with the caveat except as God wills it, otherwise the part except as God wills it is considered as a possible end of the eternity of hell. Some Hadith point the release of all the inhabitants of Hell, Muhammad is quoted as saying Allah will bring out people from the Fire and admit them into Paradise. Also he is quoted as saying Surely a time will come over hell when its gates shall be blown by wind, there shall be none in it, and this shall be after they have remained therein for many years. In another Hadith, it is related that on or after Judgement Day Muhammad and these include any who sincerely professed the Shahada, and then anyone with even an atom’s measure of goodness in his or her heart. Exempt from intercession will be anyone who participated in shirk, according to some islamic philosophers, like Al Kindi, and views from Sufism, hell itself will cease to exist. When God may uncreate, the inhabits of hell, who will not be saved or the whole creation, with the end of hell, the whole creation goes back to oneness and even the devil, will return to Gods grace. Author Phil Parshall quotes other Hadith telling similar stories of sinning believers being taken out of hell and allowed into heaven, the remaining inhabitants of Hell will stay there eternally. The Quran describes Jahannam as having nineteen angels, the keeper named Maalik explains to hells inhabitants who appeal to him to be let out that they must remain in Hell because they abhorred the truth when the truth was brought to them. Hell is perceived to be so deep that if a stone were thrown into it, it would fall for 70 years before reaching the bottom. (According to one calculation this would make it over 190,000,000 km deep, the breadth of each of Hells walls is equivalent to a distance covered by a walking journey of 40 years. Malik in Hadith quotes Mohammed as saying that the fire of Jahannam was seventy times greater than fire on earth and he also described that fire as blacker than tar. I saw therein many people hanging upside down with iron chains, the Quran gives several names for hell, Jaheem, Hatamah, Haawiyah, Ladthaa, Sa’eer, Saqar. In an eschatological manual by Qadi Ayyad, these are names for the different gates of hell, the period of time between a persons death and the Day of Judgement, is known in Islam as barzakh. Although not yet in hell, it is believed that the sinners and unbelievers destined for it will suffer during this time. By the time corpse handlers are ready to wash the body, but then, before earth is piled upon the freshly dug grave, an unusual reunion takes place, The spirit returns to dwell within the body. These angels carry out a trial to probe the soundness of a Muslims faith, according to theologian Al-Ghazali, Afterlife will start with the Day of the Arising and a trumpet blast which will wake the dead from their graves
13.
Dua
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In the terminology of Islam, duʿāʾ, literally meaning invocation, is an act of supplication. The term is derived from an Arabic word meaning to call out or to summon and these traditions precipitated new genres of literature in which prophetic supplications were gathered together in single volumes that were memorized and taught. Popular duas would include Muhammad al-Jazulis Dalail al-Khayrat, which at its peak throughout the Muslim world. Dua literature reaches its most lyrical form in the Munajat, or whispered intimate prayers such as those of Ibn Ata Allah, among the Shia schools, the Al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya records duas attributed to Ali and his grandson, Ali ibn Husayn Zayn al-Abidin. Anas reported that Allahs Messenger visited a person from amongst the Muslims in order to inquire who had grown feeble like the chicken, Allahs Messenger said, Did you supplicate for anything or beg of Him about that. I used to utter, Impose punishment upon me earlier in this world, thereupon Allahs Messenger said, Hallowed be Allah, you have neither the power nor forbearance to take upon yourself. Why did you not say this, O Allah, grant us good in the world and good in the Hereafter and he made this supplication and he was all right. Narrated Anas, Allahs Apostle said, None of you should long for death because of a calamity that had him, and if he cannot. Let me live as long as life is better for me, Dua is essentially an expression of submission of faith to God and of ones neediness. Type I, Dua al-masalah, or the dua of asking and this type of dua is when one asks for the fulfillment of a need, or that some harm be removed from him/her. An example would be when a person asks, O God, grant me good in this world, and good in the next life. Type II, Dua al-ibadah, or the dua of worship and this type of dua represents a very broad concept. In Islam, every act of worship includes this type of dua. Examples would include when a Muslim prays or gives zakāt or fasts, Dua can also be divided into two broad categories depending on what is being asked. These two categories include religion and the world, examples of making dua for religion would include things such as if a Muslim asked God to increase their faith or ask God to forgive them for their sins. Examples pertaining to the world would include such as if a Muslim asks God for an increase in wealth, to be cured from a disease. Until the 1950s, Ismailis from India and Pakistan performed the prayer the language of the local Jamaat Khana, a person recites sura Ya Sin early in the morning then his need for the day will be fulfilled. Abdullah bin Masood narrates that Muhammad has stated that the person who recites the last two ayat of sura Al-Baqara till the end, then these two ayats will be sufficient for him, i. e, God will protect him from all evil and ploys
14.
Satan
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Satan is a figure appearing in the texts of the Abrahamic religions who brings evil and temptation, and is known as the deceiver who leads humanity astray. In the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament, Satan is primarily an accuser and adversary, a malevolent entity, also called the devil. Although Satan is generally viewed as having negative characteristics, some groups have different beliefs. In Theistic Satanism, Satan is considered a deity who is either worshipped or revered, in LaVeyan Satanism, Satan is a symbol of virtuous characteristics and liberty. The original Hebrew term satan is a noun from a verb meaning primarily to obstruct, oppose, as it is found in Numbers 22,22,1 Samuel 29,4, ha-Satan is traditionally translated as the accuser or the adversary. The definite article ha- is used to show that this is a title bestowed on a being, thus, this being would be referred to as the satan. Ha-Satan with the definite article occurs 13 times in the Masoretic Text, in two books of the Hebrew Bible, Job ch. 1–2 and Zechariah 3, 1–2. 32 behold, I went out to thee,1 Samuel 29,4 The Philistines say, lest he be an adversary against us 2 Samuel 19,22 David says. 1 Kings 5,4 Solomon writes to Hiram, there is neither adversary nor evil occurrent, when the angels present themselves to God, Satan comes as well. God informs Satan about Jobs blameless, morally upright character, God therefore gives Satan permission to test Job. In the end, Job remains faithful and righteous, and there is the implication that Satan is shamed in his defeat, some scholars see contact with religious dualism in Babylon, and early Zoroastrianism in particular, as influencing Second Temple Judaism, and consequently early Christianity. Subsequent development of Satan as a deceiver has parallels with the spirit in Zoroastrianism, known as the Lie. In the Septuagint, the Hebrew ha-Satan in Job and Zechariah is translated by the Greek word diabolos, the Book of Enoch contains references to Satariel, thought also to be Sataniel and Satanel. The similar spellings mirror that of his angelic brethren Michael, Raphael, Uriel, the Second Book of Enoch, also called the Slavonic Book of Enoch, contains references to a Watcher called Satanael. It is a text of an uncertain date and unknown authorship. The text describes Satanael as being the prince of the Grigori who was cast out of heaven, a similar story is found in the book of 1 Enoch, however, in that book, the leader of the Grigori is called Semjâzâ. In the Book of Wisdom, the devil is represented as the being who brought death into the world, in the Book of Jubilees, Mastema induces God to test Abraham through the sacrifice of Isaac. He is identical to Satan in both name and nature, in Judaism, the term satan used since its earliest biblical contexts to refer to a human opponent
15.
Cirebon
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Cirebon is a port city on the north coast of the Indonesian island of Java. It is located in the province of West Java near the border with Central Java, approximately 297 km east of Jakarta, at 6°43′S 108°34′E.88 km2. The seat of a former Sultanate, the citys West and Central Java border location have seen its history influenced by both Sundanese and Javanese culture as well as Chinese. Being on the border of Sunda and Jawa, many of Cirebons residents speak a dialect that is a mix of Sundanese and Javanese. It is thought that the word derives from the Javanese word, caruban, meaning mixed, a reference to the citys mix of Sundanese, Javanese, Chinese. Alternatively, it could be derived from the Sundanese words of Ci, aside from fishery, its harbour, Tanjung Emas, on the Java Sea has been a major hub for timber from Borneo. A small landing site Penggung also serves the TNI-AU, the city lies on Jalur Pantura, a major road on the northern coast of Java that stretches from Anyer, passes through Jakarta, and ends at Surabaya. According to the manuscript Purwaka Caruban Nagari, in the 15th century Cirebon started as a fishing village named Muara Jati. At that time the port of Muara Jati already attracted foreign traders, the port master at that time was Ki Gedeng Alang-Alang, who was appointed by the king of Galuh kingdom, located inland in Kawali, Ciamis. Ki Gedeng Alang-Alang moved the port to Lemahwungkuk,5 kilometres southward, as the new settlement leader, Ki Gedeng Alang-Alang was bestowed the title Kuwu Cerbon. A prince from Pajajaran, Prince Walangsungsang, converted to Islam and was appointed as Adipati of Cirebon with the title Cakrabumi and he established the new kingdom of Cirebon and declared independence from Galuh. The establishment of the Cirebon sultanate marked the first Islamic rule in Western Java, Cirebon grew as one of the independent sultanates under the leadership of Sunan Gunungjati, in the early 16th century. The kingdoms of Banten and Mataram fought over Cirebon, which declared its allegiance to Sultan Agung of Mataram, but the later Mataram king ceded the city to the Dutch in the 1677. A treaty in 1705 saw Cirebon become a Dutch protectorate jointly administered by three sultans whose courts rivalled those of Central Java, the citys population was 298,224 at the Indonesia Census of 2010. As with other cities in Indonesia, a large population of ethnic Chinese has flocked into the city as a result of long-term Chinese immigration since the 17th century. Significant suburbs lie within densely populated Cirebon Regency, and the metropolitan area encompasses this entire regency as well as the city. Although surrounded by Sundanese-speaking areas in West Java, linguists have stated clearly that Cirebon are Javanese language areas, in addition, this is supported by the Cirebon people referring to themselves as wong Jawa, and to their language as basa Jawa. However, the Cirebon dialect is different from the dominant south central Javanese dialect that it is sometimes assumed to be non-Javanese by outsiders
16.
Persian miniature
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A Persian miniature is a small painting on paper, whether a book illustration or a separate work of art intended to be kept in an album of such works called a muraqqa. The techniques are comparable to the Western and Byzantine traditions of miniatures in illuminated manuscripts. The tradition continued, under some Western influence, after this, the Persian miniature was the dominant influence on other Islamic miniature traditions, principally the Ottoman miniature in Turkey, and the Mughal miniature in the Indian sub-continent. Persian art under Islam had never completely forbidden the human figure and this was partly because the miniature is a private form, kept in a book or album and only shown to those the owner chooses. It was therefore possible to be free than in wall paintings or other works seen by a wider audience. In Islamic art this is referred to as illumination, and manuscripts of the Quran, in later periods miniatures were increasingly created as single works to be included in albums called muraqqa, rather than illustrated books. This allowed non-royal collectors to afford a representative sample of works from different styles, the bright and pure colouring of the Persian miniature is one of its most striking features. Lighting is even, without shadows or chiaroscuro, walls and other surfaces are shown either frontally, or as at an angle of about 45 degrees, often giving the modern viewer the unintended impression that a building is hexagonal in plan. Buildings are often shown in complex views, mixing interior views through windows or cutaways with exterior views of parts of a facade. Costumes and architecture are always those of the time, many figures are often depicted, with those in the main scene normally rendered at the same size, and recession indicated by placing more distant figures higher up in the space. More important figures may be larger than those around them. The dress of figures is shown with great care, although artists understandably often avoid depicting the patterned cloth that many would have worn. Even when a scene in a palace is shown, the viewpoint often appears to be from a point some metres in the air. This is used in all the manuscripts for the court that constitute the most famous Persian manuscripts. The miniatures normally occupy a full page, later spreading across two pages to regain a square or horizontal landscape format. There are often panels of text or captions inside the picture area, the rest of the page is often decorated with dense designs of plants and animals in a muted grisaille, often gold and brown, text pages without miniatures often also have such borders. In later manuscripts, elements of the miniature begin to expand beyond the frame, another later development was the album miniature, conceived as a single picture rather than a book illustration, though such images may be accompanied by short lyric poems. The withdrawal of Shah Tahmasp I from commissioning illustrated books in the 1540s probably encouraged artists to transfer to these works for a wider circle of patrons
17.
Nizami Ganjavi
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Nizami Ganjavi, Nizami Ganjei, Nizami, or Nezāmi, whose formal name was Jamal ad-Dīn Abū Muḥammad Ilyās ibn-Yūsuf ibn-Zakkī, was a 12th-century Persian Sunni Muslim poet. Nezāmi is considered the greatest romantic epic poet in Persian literature and his heritage is widely appreciated and shared by Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Iran, the Kurdistan region and Tajikistan. His personal name was Ilyas and his chosen pen-name was Nezami and he was born of an urban background in Ganja and is believed to have spent his whole life in South Caucasus. According to De Blois, Ganja was a city which at that time had predominantly an Iranian population, the Armenian historian Kirakos Gandzaketsi mentions that, This city was densely populated with Iranians and a small number of Christians. Because Nezami was not a poet, he does not appear in the annals of the dynasties. Tazkerehs, which are the compilations of literary memoirs that include maxims of the poets along with biographical information. Much of this material in these Tazkerehs are based on legends, anecdotes, consequently, few facts are known about Nezamis life, the only source being his own work, which does not provide much information on his personal life. Nezami was orphaned early and was raised by his maternal uncle Khwaja Umar who took responsibility for him and his mother, named Raisa, was of Kurdish background. His father, whose name was Yusuf is mentioned once by Nezami in his poetry, in the same verse, Nezami mentions his grandfathers name as Zakki. In part of the verse, some have taken the word Muayyad as a title for Zakki while others have interpreted it as the name of his great grandfather. Some sources have stated that his father might be possibly from Qom, Nezami is variously mentioned as a Persian and/or Iranian. His first wife was a Kipchak slave girl which was sent to him by Fakhr al-Din Bahramshah, according to Iraj Bashiri she became Nezamis most beloved wife. His only son Mohammad was from this wife and she died after Khosrow and Shirin was completed. Mohammad was seven at the time, Nezami mentions his son again in Layli and Majnun adding that now this son is 14 years old and apple of my eyes. In Haft Peykar, he mentions and advises his son about taking more responsibility as the father was growing more frail. Some modern writers in the late 20th century have claimed that this wife was called Afaq, Nezami was not a philosopher in the sense of Avicenna or an expositor of theoretical Sufism in the sense of Ibn Arabi. Often referred to by the honorific Hakim, Nezami is both a poet and master of a lyrical and sensuous style. About Nezamis prodigious learning there is no doubt, poets were expected to be well versed in many subjects, but Nezami seems to have been exceptionally so
18.
Bukhara
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Bukhara, is one of the cities of Uzbekistan. Bukhara is a city-museum, with about 140 architectural monuments, the nations fifth-largest city, it had a population as of 31 August 2016 of approximately 247,644. Humans have inhabited the region around Bukhara for at least five millennia, the mother tongue of the majority of people of Bukhara is yet Persian Language. Located on the Silk Road, the city has served as a center of trade, scholarship, culture. UNESCO has listed the center of Bukhara as a World Heritage Site. Bukhara was known as Bokhara in 19th- and early 20th-century English publications, according to the Encyclopædia Iranica the name Bukhara is possibly derived from the Soghdian βuxārak Muhammad ibn Jafar Narshakhi in his History of Bukhara mentions, Bukhara has many names. One of its name was Numijkat and it has also been called Bumiskat. It has 2 names in Arabic, one is Madinat al Sufriya meaning - the copper city and another is Madinat Al Tujjar meaning - The city of Merchants. But, the name Bukhara is more known than all the other names, in Khorasan, there is no other city with so many names Since the Middle Ages, the city has been known as Buḫārā / بخارا in Arabic and Persian sources. The modern Uzbek spelling is Buxoro, the history of Bukhara stretches back millennia. It is now the capital of Bukhara Region of Uzbekistan, located on the Silk Road, the city has long been a center of trade, scholarship, culture, and religion. During the golden age of the Samanids, Bukhara became an intellectual center of the Islamic world. The historic center of Bukhara, which contains numerous mosques and madrassas, has been listed by UNESCO as one of the World Heritage Sites, Bukhara has been one of the main centres of world civilisation from its early days in 6th century BCE. From the 6th century CE, Turkic speakers gradually moved in and its architecture and archaeological sites form one of the pillars of Central Asian history and art. The region of Bukhara was a part of the Persian Empire for a long time, the origin of many of its current inhabitants goes back to the period of Aryan immigration into the region. The Samanid Empire seized Bukhara, the capital of Greater Khorasan, Genghis Khan besieged Bukhara for fifteen days in 1220 CE. Bukhara was the last capital of the Emirate of Bukhara and was besieged by the Red Army during the Russian Civil War. During the Bukhara operation of 1920, an army of well-disciplined, on 31 August 1920, the Emir Alim Khan fled to Dushanbe in Eastern Bukhara
19.
Johann Jakob Hess
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Johann Jakob Hess, was a Swiss Egyptologist and Assyriologist and an expert in other Oriental languages. Hess was born on 11 January 1866, the son of window and door maker Casimir Balthasar Jacques Hess and Josephine-Marie, née Rudolf, in Freiburg im Üechtland, Switzerland. This teaching position gave him the opportunity of traveling on leave to Egypt and he returned to Switzerland in 1918, being promoted to Emeritus Professor in 1936, aged 70. He was married twice and died at Zurich on 29 April 1949, Heidelberger Akademie der Wissenschaften, Sitzungsberichte der Heidelberger Akademie der Wissenschaften, Philosophisch-Historische Klasse, Jg. Von den Beduinen des inneren Arabiens, der demotische Teil der dreisprachigen Inschrift von Rosette. Available at the Macquarie University, Sidney, Australia, dated 1888, see, http, //trove. nla. gov. au/book/result. q&l-decade=188&l-language=Egyptian http, //www. ori. uzh. ch/isap/isapchecklist. html Neue Zürcher Zeitung,28. Mai 1949, Obituary notice Histoire de lUniversité de Fribourg, Suisse, 1889–1989,1,1991,67,116,119,3,1992,954 f. Literature from and about Johann Jakob Hess, a. k. a, jean Jacques Hess in Katalog der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek Hess, Johann Jakob im Historischen Lexikon der Schweiz
20.
Modern Persian
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Persian, also known by its endonym Farsi, is one of the Western Iranian languages within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European language family. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan and it is mostly written in the Persian alphabet, a modified variant of the Arabic script. Its grammar is similar to that of many contemporary European languages, Persian gets its name from its origin at the capital of the Achaemenid Empire, Persis, hence the name Persian. A Persian-speaking person may be referred to as Persophone, there are approximately 110 million Persian speakers worldwide, with the language holding official status in Iran, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan. For centuries, Persian has also been a cultural language in other regions of Western Asia, Central Asia. It also exerted influence on Arabic, particularly Bahrani Arabic. Persian is one of the Western Iranian languages within the Indo-European family, other Western Iranian languages are the Kurdish languages, Gilaki, Mazanderani, Talysh, and Balochi. Persian is classified as a member of the Southwestern subgroup within Western Iranian along with Lari, Kumzari, in Persian, the language is known by several names, Western Persian, Parsi or Farsi has been the name used by all native speakers until the 20th century. Since the latter decades of the 20th century, for reasons, in English. Tajiki is the variety of Persian spoken in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan by the Tajiks, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, the term Persian as a language name is first attested in English in the mid-16th century. Native Iranian Persian speakers call it Fārsi, Farsi is the Arabicized form of Pārsi, subsequent to Muslim conquest of Persia, due to a lack of the phoneme /p/ in Standard Arabic. The origin of the name Farsi and the place of origin of the language which is Fars Province is the Arabicized form of Pārs, in English, this language has historically been known as Persian, though Farsi has also gained some currency. Farsi is encountered in some literature as a name for the language. In modern English the word Farsi refers to the language while Parsi describes Zoroastrians, some Persian language scholars such as Ehsan Yarshater, editor of Encyclopædia Iranica, and University of Arizona professor Kamran Talattof, have also rejected the usage of Farsi in their articles. The international language-encoding standard ISO 639-1 uses the code fa, as its system is mostly based on the local names. The more detailed standard ISO 639-3 uses the name Persian for the dialect continuum spoken across Iran and Afghanistan and this consists of the individual languages Dari and Iranian Persian. Currently, Voice of America, BBC World Service, Deutsche Welle, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty also includes a Tajik service and an Afghan service. This is also the case for the American Association of Teachers of Persian, The Centre for Promotion of Persian Language and Literature, Persian is an Iranian language belonging to the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European family of languages
21.
Quran
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The Quran is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims believe to be a revelation from God. It is widely regarded as the finest work in classical Arabic literature, the Quran is divided into chapters, which are then divided into verses. The word Quran occurs some 70 times in the text of the Quran, although different names, according to the traditional narrative, several companions of Muhammad served as scribes and were responsible for writing down the revelations. Shortly after Muhammads death, the Quran was compiled by his companions who wrote down and these codices had differences that motivated the Caliph Uthman to establish a standard version now known as Uthmans codex, which is generally considered the archetype of the Quran known today. There are, however, variant readings, with minor differences in meaning. The Quran assumes familiarity with major narratives recounted in the Biblical scriptures and it summarizes some, dwells at length on others and, in some cases, presents alternative accounts and interpretations of events. The Quran describes itself as a book of guidance and it sometimes offers detailed accounts of specific historical events, and it often emphasizes the moral significance of an event over its narrative sequence. The Quran is used along with the hadith to interpret sharia law, during prayers, the Quran is recited only in Arabic. Someone who has memorized the entire Quran is called a hafiz, some Muslims read Quranic ayah with elocution, which is often called tajwid. During the month of Ramadan, Muslims typically complete the recitation of the whole Quran during tarawih prayers, in order to extrapolate the meaning of a particular Quranic verse, most Muslims rely on the tafsir. The word qurʼān appears about 70 times in the Quran itself and it is a verbal noun of the Arabic verb qaraʼa, meaning he read or he recited. The Syriac equivalent is qeryānā, which refers to reading or lesson. While some Western scholars consider the word to be derived from the Syriac, regardless, it had become an Arabic term by Muhammads lifetime. An important meaning of the word is the act of reciting, as reflected in an early Quranic passage, It is for Us to collect it, in other verses, the word refers to an individual passage recited. Its liturgical context is seen in a number of passages, for example, So when al-qurʼān is recited, listen to it, the word may also assume the meaning of a codified scripture when mentioned with other scriptures such as the Torah and Gospel. The term also has closely related synonyms that are employed throughout the Quran, each synonym possesses its own distinct meaning, but its use may converge with that of qurʼān in certain contexts. Such terms include kitāb, āyah, and sūrah, the latter two terms also denote units of revelation. In the large majority of contexts, usually with an article, the word is referred to as the revelation
22.
Surah
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A Surah is the term for a chapter of the Quran. There are 114 Surahs in the Quran, each divided into verses, the chapters or suras are of unequal length, the shortest chapter has only three ayat while the longest contains 286 verses. Of the 114 chapters in the Quran,87 are classified as Meccan, except for sura At-Tawba, all chapters or suras commence with In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate. This formula is known as the Bismillah and denotes the boundaries between chapters, the chapters are arranged roughly in order of descending size, therefore the arrangement of the Quran is neither chronological nor thematic. Suras are recited during the portions of Muslim prayers. Sura Al-Fatiha, the first chapter of the Quran, is recited in every unit of prayer, the word sura was used at the time of Muhammad as a term with the meaning of a chapter or a portion of the Quran. Its plural form suwar is also mentioned in the Quran, Or do they say, say, Then bring ten suwar like it and call upon whomever you can besides God, if you are truthful. Nöldeke following Buxtorf suggested that the sura has similar root with the Hebrew word שורה meaning a row. Some took it as connected with the Arabic word Sur meaning a wall, jeffery believes that it has a common origin with a Syrian word that means writing. Chapters in the Quran are not arranged in the order of revelation. For this reason, no attempt was made to edit the numerous revelations, organize them into thematic units, a number of medieval Islamic writers attempted to compile a chronologically ordered list of the chapters, with differing results. One version is given in a 15th-century work by Abd al-Kafi, another list is mentioned by Abu Salih, while a significantly different version of Abu Salihs is preserved in the book Kitab Mabani. Yet another, from the 10th century, is given by Ibn Nadim, a number of verses are associated with particular events which helps date them. Muhammads first revelation was chapter 96, verses 16,41 and 47,13 refer to migration of Muslims which took place in the year 622. Verses 8, 1-7 and 3, 120-175 refer to battles of Badr, Muhammads last pilgrimage is mentioned in 5,3 which occurred in 632, a few months before he died. This method is of limited usefulness because the Quran narrates the life of Muhammad or the history of the Muslim community only incidentally. In fact, very few chapters contain clear references to events which took place in Muhammads life, theodor Nöldekes chronology is based on the assumption that the style of the Quran changes in one direction without reversals. Tripartite chapters open with a warning, followed by one or more narratives about unbelievers
23.
An-Naml
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Sūrat an-Naml is the 27th sura of the Quran with 93 ayat. Sura 27 tells stories of the prophets Moses, Solomon, Salih, the miracles of Moses, described in the Book of Exodus, are mentioned in opposition to the arrogance and kufr of Pharaoh. The story of Solomon is most detailed, Solomon converted Bilqis to the religion after a hoopoe reported to him that she was a sun-worshipping queen. The suras name is taken from the ants whose conversations were understood by Solomon, similar to Sura 13 or Sura 29, The Ants has no thematic significance in the Sura beyond it being a familiar phrase amongst believers, a reminder of the suras story of Solomon. Ants do hold a privileged status among animals in Islam on account of the story of Solomon. Hadith literature tells of Muhammad forbidding Muslims to kill the ant, bee, hoopoe, or shrike, it is no coincidence that they are all featured in Sura 27, one interpretation for the ants theological significance coincides with its role historically. As written in the 1993 edition of the Encyclopaedia of Islam, Since early antiquity, the feverish activity with which they provide for their sustenance and the perfect organisation of their societies. This perfect organization under one cause correlates well with the Islamic idea of obedience, tawhid was preached by many Jewish prophets as well as Arabian prophets prior to Quranic revelation. Truly, this Quran explains to the Children of Israel most of what they differ about, God has no equal as a creator, all those who associate others with God are guilty of shirk. Earthly knowledge is nothing compared to God, only those with open ears, Disbelievers of the message of God will have no hope come Judgement Day. The revelation is a clear warning, Sura 27 reiterates that all humanity must turn to God without delay. Sura 27 is agreed to be a Meccan Sura from the middle of the Meccan period, Tafsīr al-Jalālayn notes that some exceptions exist, ayat 52-55 are from the Medinan period, aya 85 was revealed during the Hijra to Medina. Orientalist Theodor Nöldekes chronology places Sura 27 as 68th out of 114 and he places it amongst the 21 suras of the Second Meccan Period. Nöldeke estimates Sura 27 to be preceded by Sura 17 Al-Isra, all three suras use allusions to Judaism and the stories of Moses in particular. Standard Islamic Egyptian chronology places Sura 27 as 48th out of 114, in this order, it comes before Sura 28 al-Qasas and after Sura 26 al-Shuara, following its order in the standard Uthmanic Quran. Sura 27 begins with the words Ta Sin, as evident in Tafsīr al-Jalālayn, these words are sometimes interpreted as mysteries of God - signs to believe. Sura 27, as a mid-Meccan Period sura, can be interpreted multiple ways in terms of structure, thematically speaking, the sura progresses across several subjects, Declaration of Quran - Mosess Signs are Ignored by Pharaoh Solomon realizes Gods blessings and dedicates himself to Gods service. The Queen of Sheba deals well with Solomon and acts generously with him, the Queen of Sheba, one from disbelievers, converts and devotes herself to tawhid
24.
Sahih al-Bukhari
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Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī is one of the Kutub al-Sittah of Sunni Islam. These prophetic traditions, or hadith, were collected by the Persian Muslim scholar Muhammad al-Bukhari, Sunni Muslims view this as one of the two most trusted collections of hadith along with Sahih Muslim. It is also used as an authentic hadith collection by Zaidi Shia Muslims, in some circles, it is considered the most authentic book after the Quran. The Arabic word sahih translates as authentic or correct, the actual title of the book commonly referred to as Sahih al-Bukhari, according to Ibn al-Salah, is, al-Jaami’ al-Sahih al-Musnad al-Mukhtasar min Umuri Rasooli-llahi wa sunanihi wa Ayyaamihi. A word-for-word translation of the title is, The Abridged Collection of Authentic Hadith with Connected Chains regarding Matters Pertaining to the Prophet, His practices, Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani mentioned the same title, replacing the word umur with hadith. Al-Bukhari traveled widely throughout the Abbasid Caliphate from the age of 16 and it is reported that al-Bukhari devoted 16 years to sifting the hadiths he included in his Sahih from a collection of nearly 600,000 narrations. Sources differ on the number of hadiths in Bukharis Sahih. This aroused his interest in compiling hadith whose authenticity was beyond doubt, what further strengthened his resolve was something his teacher, hadith scholar Ishaq ibn Ibrahim al-Hanthalee – better known as Ishaq Ibn Rahwayh – had told him. We were with Ishaq Ibn Rahwayh who said, ‘If only you would compile a book of only authentic narrations of the Prophet. ’ This suggestion remained in my heart so I began compiling the Sahih. Bukhari also said, I saw the Prophet in a dream, in my hand was a fan with which I was protecting him. I asked some dream interpreters, who said to me, ‘You will protect him from lies. ’ This is what compelled me to produce the Sahih. The book covers almost all aspects of life in providing guidance of Islam such as the method of performing prayers. Bukhari finished his work around 846/232 AH, and spent the last twenty-four years of his life visiting other cities and scholars, in every city that Bukhari visited, thousands of people would gather in the main mosque to listen to him recite traditions. During this period of years, al-Bukhari made minor revisions to his book. Each version is named by its narrator, according to Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani in his book Nukat, the number of hadiths in all versions is the same. The most famous one today is the version narrated by al-Firabri, al-Khatib al-Baghdadi in his book History of Baghdad quoted Firabri as saying, About seventy thousand people heard Sahih Bukhari with me. Firabri is not the transmitter of Sahih al-Bukhari. There were many others that narrated that book to later generations, such as Ibrahim ibn Maqal, Hammad ibn Shaker, Mansur Burduzi, there are many books that noted differences between these versions, the best known being Fath al-Bari
25.
Muhammad
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Muhammad is the prophet of Islam. From a secular historical perspective he was a religious, political, from an Islamic perspective, he was Gods Messenger sent to confirm the essential teachings of monotheism preached previously by Adam, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and other prophets. He is viewed as the prophet of God in all branches of Islam. Muhammad united Arabia into a single Muslim polity and ensured that his teachings, practices, born approximately 570 CE in the Arabian city of Mecca, Muhammad was orphaned at an early age, he was raised under the care of his paternal uncle Abu Talib. Muhammad gained few early followers, and met hostility from some Meccan tribes, to escape persecution, Muhammad sent some followers to Abyssinia before he and his followers migrated from Mecca to Medina in the year 622. This event, the Hijra, marks the beginning of the Islamic calendar, in Medina, Muhammad united the tribes under the Constitution of Medina. In December 629, after eight years of intermittent conflict with Meccan tribes, Muhammad gathered an army of 10,000 Muslim converts, the attack went largely uncontested and Muhammad seized the city with little bloodshed. In 632, a few months after returning from the Farewell Pilgrimage, he fell ill, before his death, most of the Arabian Peninsula had converted to Islam. The revelations, which Muhammad reported receiving until his death, form the verses of the Quran, regarded by Muslims as the Word of God and around which the religion is based. Besides the Quran, Muhammads teachings and practices, found in the Hadith and sira literature, are upheld by Muslims. The name Muhammad means praiseworthy and appears four times in the Quran, Muhammad is sometimes addressed by designations deriving from his state at the time of the address, thus he is referred to as the enwrapped in Quran 73,1 and the shrouded in Quran 74,1. In Sura Al-Ahzab 33,40 God singles out Muhammad as the Seal of the Prophets, the Quran also refers to Muhammad as Aḥmad more praiseworthy. The name Abū al-Qāsim Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib ibn Hāshim, begins with the kunya Abū, the Quran is the central religious text of Islam. Muslims believe it represents the words of God revealed by the archangel Gabriel to Muhammad, the Quran, however, provides minimal assistance for Muhammads chronological biography, most Quranic verses do not provide significant historical context. An important source may be found in the works by writers of the 2nd. These include the traditional Muslim biographies of Muhammad, which additional information about Muhammads life. The earliest surviving written sira is Ibn Ishaqs Life of Gods Messenger written c.767 CE, although the work was lost, this sira was used verbatim at great length by Ibn Hisham and Al-Tabari. Another early history source is the history of Muhammads campaigns by al-Waqidi, many scholars accept the earliest biographies as accurate, though their accuracy is unascertainable
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Isra and Mi'raj
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The Isra and Miraj are the two parts of a Night Journey that, according to Islam, Muhammad took during a single night around the year 621. It has been described as both a physical and spiritual journey, a brief sketch of the story is in surah al-Isra of the Quran and other details come from the hadith collections of the reports of the teachings, deeds and sayings of Muhammad. In the Isra part of the journey, Muhammad travels on the steed Buraq to the farthest mosque where he leads other prophets in prayer and he then ascends to heaven in the Miraj journey where he speaks to God, who tells Muhammad what salah is. This remembrance of this journey is one of the most significant events in the Islamic calendar, the events of Isra and Miraj are referred to briefly in the Quran. For greater detail, they have discussed in Hadith literature. Of the hadith, two of the best known are by Anas ibn Malik, who would have been a boy at the time of Muhammads journey of Miraj. Within the Quran itself, surah al-Isra, the 17th chapter, in it, the first verse briefly describes the Isra. There is also information in a later verse and another sura, an-Najm. Glory to Him Who carried His servant by night from the Sacred Mosque to the Furthest Mosque, whose precincts We have blessed and he it is Who is All-Hearing, All-Seeing. Remember when We said to you that your Lord encompasses mankind in His knowledge, nor did We make the vision We showed you except as a test to people, as also the accursed tree in the Quran. And he saw him a time, By the lote-tree of the Extremity Near which is the Garden of Refuge When there covered the lote-tree that which covered it. He saw some of his Lords greatest wonders, from various hadiths we learn much greater detail. The Isra is the part of the journey of Muhammad from Mecca to Jerusalem and it began when Muhammad was in the Great Mosque, and the Archangel Jibrīl came to him, and brought Buraq, the traditional heavenly steed of the prophets. Buraq carried Muhammad to the al-Aqsa Mosque, the Farthest Mosque, Muhammad alighted, tethered Buraq to the Temple Mount and performed prayer, where on Gods command he was tested by Gabriel. It was told by Anas ibn Malik that Muhammad said, Jibrail brought me a vessel of wine, a vessel of water and a vessel of milk, Jibrail said, You have chosen the Fitrah. Muhammad was then taken to Sidrat al-Muntaha – a holy tree in the heaven that Gabriel was not allowed to pass. The place referred to in the Quran as The farthest mosque, however, the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem was not built during Muhammads lifetime. The Jerusalem interpretation was advanced by the earliest biographer of Muhammad – Ibn Ishaq – and is supported by numerous ahadith, when the Rashid caliph Umar conquered Jerusalem after Muhammads death, a prayer house was rebuilt on the site
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Gabriel
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Gabriel, in the Abrahamic religions, is an angel who typically serves as Gods messenger. Gabriel is mentioned in both the Old and New Testaments of the Bible, in the Old Testament, he appears to the prophet Daniel, explaining Daniels visions. In the Gospel of Luke, Gabriel appeared to Zechariah and the Virgin Mary, foretelling the births of John the Baptist and Jesus, respectively. In the Book of Daniel, he is referred to as the man Gabriel, while in the Gospel of Luke, Gabriel is not called an archangel in the Bible, but is so called in Intertestamental period sources like the Book of Enoch. In the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Anglican churches, the archangels Michael, Raphael, in Islam, Gabriel is considered an archangel whom God is believed to have sent with revelation to various prophets, including Muhammad. The 96th chapter of the Quran, The Clot, is believed by Muslims to have been the first chapter revealed by Gabriel to Muhammad, in the LDS Faith, The Angel Gabriel was The Prophet Noah, and Michael the Archangel was the Prophet Adam in their Mortal Ministries. Jewish rabbis interpreted the man in linen as Gabriel in the Book of Daniel, in the Book of Daniel, Gabriel is responsible for interpreting Daniels visions. Gabriels main function in Daniel is that of revealer, a role he continues in later literature, in the Book of Ezekiel, Gabriel is understood to be the angel that was sent to destroy Jerusalem. According to the Jewish Encyclopedia, Gabriel takes the form of a man, shimon ben Lakish concluded that the angelic names of Michael, Raphael, and Gabriel came out of the Babylonian exile. In Kabbalah, Gabriel is identified with the sephirot of Yesod, Gabriel also has a prominent role as one of Gods archangels in the Kabbalah literature. There, Gabriel is portrayed as working in concert with Michael as part of Gods court, Gabriel is not to be prayed to because only God can answer prayers and sends Gabriel as his agent. According to Jewish mythology, in the Garden of Eden there is a tree of life or the tree of souls that blossoms and produces new souls, which fall into the Guf, Gabriel reaches into the treasury and takes out the first soul that comes into his hand. Then Lailah, the Angel of Conception, watches over the embryo until it is born, the intertestamental period produced a wealth of literature, much of it having an apocalyptic orientation. The names and ranks of angels and devils were greatly expanded, and each had particular duties and status before God. In 1 Enoch 9, 1–3, Gabriel, along with Michael, Uriel and Suriel, saw much blood being shed upon the earth and heard the souls of men cry, Bring our cause before the Most High. —1 Enoch 10,9 Gabriel is the fifth of the five angels who watch, Gabriel, one of the holy angels, who is over Paradise and the serpents. And these are the four angels of the Lord of Spirits, the angel Gabriel is mentioned in Daniel 8, 16-26 and 9, 20-27. Gabriel, one who looked like a man, interprets Daniels visions, Gabriel speaks to Daniel while he is in a deep sleep, and Daniel is tired and sick for days after being with Gabriel
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God in Islam
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In Islamic theology, God is the all-powerful and all-knowing creator, sustainer, ordainer and judge of everything in existence. Islam emphasizes that God is strictly singular, unique, inherently One, also all-merciful, the Surat 112 Al-Ikhlāş says, He is God, One. He neither begets nor is born, Nor is there to Him any equivalent, in Islam, there are 99 known names of God, each of which evoke a distinct attribute of God. All these names refer to Allah, the supreme and all-comprehensive god, among the 99 names of God, the most familiar and frequent of these names are the Compassionate and the Merciful. Creation and ordering of the universe is seen as an act of mercy for which all creatures sing Gods attributes. Allah is the Arabic word referring to God in Abrahamic religions and it is distinguished from ilāh, the Arabic word meaning deity, which could refer to any of the gods worshipped in pre-Islamic Arabia. God is described and referred to in the Quran and hadith by certain names or attributes, the Quran refers to the attributes of God as most beautiful names. According to Gerhard Böwering, They are traditionally enumerated as 99 in number to which is added as the highest Name, there are numerous conventional phrases and expressions invoking God. Islams most fundamental concept is a strict monotheism called tawhid, affirming that God is one, the basic creed of Islam, the Shahada, involves لا إله إلا الله, or, I testify there is no god other than God. Muslims reject the Christian doctrine of the Trinity and divinity of Jesus, according to Vincent J. Tawhid constitutes the foremost article of the Muslim profession. The deification or worship of anyone or anything other than God is the biggest sin in Islam, the entirety of the Islamic teaching rests on the principle of Tawhid. God is the creator of the universe and all the creatures in it, praise is to Allah, Creator of the heavens and the earth, made the angels messengers having wings, two or three or four. He increases in creation what He wills, indeed, Allah is over all things competent. And it is We Who have constructed the heavens with might and verily and we created man from an extract of clay. Then We made him as a drop in a place of settlement, so blessed be Allah, the Best of creators. Be dutiful to your Lord, Who created you from a person and from Him He created his wife. And verily Allah is my Lord and your Lord, the most commonly used names in the primary sources are Al-Rahman, meaning Most Compassionate and Al-Rahim, meaning Most Merciful. God is said to love forgiving, with a hadith stating God would replace a sinless people with one who sinned but still asked repentance
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Ali
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‘Ali ibn Abi Talib was the cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic Nabi Muhammad, ruling over the Caliphate from 656 to 661 ACE, and was Imam of Shi‘ite from 632 to 661 ACE. ‘Ali was the first young male who accepted Islam, after migrating to Medina, he married Muhammads daughter Fatimah. Ali took part in the early caravan raids from Mecca and later in almost all the battles fought by the nascent Muslim community and he was appointed caliph by Muhammads Companions in 656, after Caliph Uthman ibn Affan was assassinated. ‘Alis reign saw wars and in 661, he was attacked and assassinated by a Kharijite while praying in the Great Mosque of Kufa. ‘Ali is important to various Sunni and Shi‘ite denominations politically, legislatively and spiritually, while Sunnis consider Ali the fourth and final of the Rashidun caliphs, Shi‘ites regard ‘Ali as the first Imam after Muhammad due to their interpretation of the events at Ghadir Khumm. Shias also believe that ‘Ali and the other Shi‘ite Imams are the successors to Muhammad. This disagreement split the Ummah into the Sunni and Shia branches, ‘Alis father, Abu Talib, was the custodian of the Kabah and a sheikh of the Banu Hashim, an important branch of the powerful Quraysh tribe. He was also an uncle of Muhammad, Alis mother, Fatima bint Asad, also belonged to Banu Hashim, making Ali a descendant of Ismail, the son of Ibrahim. Many sources, especially Shii ones, attest that Ali was born inside the Kaaba in the city of Mecca, according to a tradition, Muhammad was the first person whom Ali saw as he took the newborn in his hands. Muhammad named him Ali, meaning the exalted one, Muhammad had a close relationship with Alis parents. When Muhammad was orphaned and later lost his grandfather Abdul Muttalib, Ali was born two or three years after Muhammad married Khadijah bint Khuwaylid. When Ali was five or six years old, a famine occurred in and around Mecca, affecting the economic conditions of Alis father, Muhammad took Ali into his home to raise him. The second period of life began in 610 when he declared Islam at the age of 10. When Muhammad reported that he had received a revelation, Ali, then only about ten years old, believed him. According to Ibn Ishaq and some authorities, Ali was the first male to embrace Islam. Tabari adds other traditions making the claim of being the first Muslim in relation to Zayd ibn Harithah or Abu Bakr. Some historians and scholars believe Alis conversion is not worthy enough to him the first male Muslim because he was a child at the time. Hence the Shia say of Ali that his face is honoured, the Sunnis also use the honorific Karam Allahu Wajhahu, which means Gods Favour upon his Face
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Shia Islam
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Shia is a branch of Islam which holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib as his successor. Shia Islam primarily contrasts with Sunni Islam, whose adherents believe that Muhammad did not appoint a successor, instead they consider Abu Bakr to be the correct Caliph. Adherents of Shia Islam are called Shias of Ali, Shias or the Shia as a collective or Shii individually, Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam, in 2009, Shia Muslims constituted 10–13% of the worlds Muslim population. Twelver Shia is the largest branch of Shia Islam, in 2012 it was estimated that perhaps 85 percent of Shias were Twelvers. Shia Islam is based on the Quran and the message of Muhammad attested in hadith, Shia consider Ali to have been divinely appointed as the successor to Muhammad, and as the first Imam. The word Shia means follower and is the form of the historic phrase shīʻatu ʻAlī, meaning followers of Ali, faction of Ali. Shia and Shiism are forms used in English, while Shiite or Shiite, as well as Shia, the term for the first time was used at the time of Muhammad. At present, the word refers to the Muslims who believe that the leadership of the community after Muhammad belongs to Ali, nawbakhti states that the term Shia refers to a group of Muslims that at the time of Muhammad and after him regarded Ali as the Imam and Caliph. Al-Shahrastani expresses that the term Shia refers to those who believe that Ali is designated as the Heir, Imam and caliph by Muhammad, for the Shia, this conviction is implicit in the Quran and history of Islam. And Allah is Hearing and Knowing, Shia search for the true meaning of the revelation to get the purpose of the life blood and the human destiny. Shia Muslims believe that just as a prophet is appointed by God alone and they believe God chose Ali to be Muhammads successor, infallible, the first caliph of Islam. The Shias believe that Muhammad designated Ali as his successor by Gods command, Ali was Muhammads first cousin and closest living male relative as well as his son-in-law, having married Muhammads daughter Fatimah. Ali would eventually become the fourth Muslim caliph, after the Farewell Pilgrimage, Muhammad ordered the gathering of Muslims at the pond of Khumm and it was there that Shia Muslims believe Muhammad nominated Ali to be his successor. The hadith of the pond of Khumm was narrated on 18th of Dhu al-Hijjah of 10 AH in the Islamic calendar at a place called Ghadir Khumm, located near the city of al-Juhfah, Saudi Arabia. Muhammad there stated, Shia Muslims believe this to be Muhammads appointment of Ali as his successor, when Muhammad died in 632 CE, Ali and Muhammads closest relatives made the funeral arrangements. While they were preparing his body, Abu Bakr, Umar, Ali and his family accepted the appointment for the sake of unity in the early Muslim community. Alis rule over the early Muslim community was often contested, as a result, he had to struggle to maintain his power against the groups who betrayed him after giving allegiance to his succession, or those who wished to take his position. This dispute eventually led to the First Fitna, which was the first major civil war within the Islamic Caliphate, the Fitna began as a series of revolts fought against Ali ibn Abi Talib, caused by the assassination of his political predecessor, Uthman ibn Affan
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Adam in Islam
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Âdam is believed to have been the first human being and Nabi on Earth, in Islam. Adams role as the father of the race is looked upon by Muslims with reverence. Muslims also refer to his wife, Hawa, as the mother of mankind, Muslims see Adam as the first Muslim, as the Quran states that all the Prophets preached the same faith of Islam. The Quran and hadith give the account of the creation of Adam. Synthesizing the Quran with Sunni hadith can produce the following account and he created Adam from clay and He breathed life into him. He said, I am made from fire, when Adam is from clay, I am not going to prostrate before him. The Quran then says that God commanded that Adam and Eve not eat from one tree in the garden of Eden and they then began to cover themselves because they now knew that they were naked. For this, God banished Adam and Eve to earth, non-canonical Sunni hadith say that fruits were turned to thorns, non-canonical Sunni hadith also say that Adam and Eve were cast down far apart, so that they had to search for each other. In Islamic theology, it is not believed that Adams sin is carried by all of his children, Hadith say that once Adam was on earth, God taught him how to plant seeds and bake bread. This was to become the way of all of Adams children, Adam proceeded to live for about 1000 years, though this has been a topic of debate. According to the story of Adam, humankind has learnt everything from Adam and he was the first to learn to plant, harvest, and bake as well as the first to be told how to repent and how to properly bury someone. God also revealed the various restrictions and the alphabet to Adam. He was made the first prophet and he was taught 21 scrolls and was able to write them himself, Adam was also created from earth. It is well known that earth produces crops, supports animals, Earth is very important to humankind, so being created from it makes them very distinct. According to some Hadith, the races of people are even due to the different colors of soil used in creating Adam. The soil also contributed to the idea there are good people and bad people. Adam is an important figure in other religions besides Islam. The story of Adam varies slightly across religions, but manages to maintain a general theme and structure
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One Thousand and One Nights
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One Thousand and One Nights is a collection of Middle Eastern and South Asian stories and folk tales compiled in Arabic during the Islamic Golden Age. It is often known in English as the Arabian Nights, from the first English-language edition, the work was collected over many centuries by various authors, translators, and scholars across West, Central, and South Asia and North Africa. The tales themselves trace their roots back to ancient and medieval Arabic, Persian, Mesopotamian, Indian, Jewish, the stories proceed from this original tale, some are framed within other tales, while others begin and end of their own accord. Some editions contain only a few hundred nights, while others include 1,001 or more, the bulk of the text is in prose, although verse is occasionally used for songs and riddles and to express heightened emotion. Most of the poems are single couplets or quatrains, although some are longer, the main frame story concerns Shahryār, whom the narrator calls a Sasanian king ruling in India and China. Shahryār begins to marry a succession of only to execute each one the next morning. Eventually the vizier, whose duty it is to provide them, Scheherazade, the viziers daughter, offers herself as the next bride and her father reluctantly agrees. On the night of their marriage, Scheherazade begins to tell the king a tale, the king, curious about how the story ends, is thus forced to postpone her execution in order to hear the conclusion. The next night, as soon as she finishes the tale, she begins a new one, so it goes on for 1,001 nights. The tales vary widely, they include historical tales, love stories, tragedies, comedies, poems, burlesques, numerous stories depict jinns, ghouls, apes, sorcerers, magicians, and legendary places, which are often intermingled with real people and geography, not always rationally. The different versions have different individually detailed endings but they all end with the giving his wife a pardon. The narrators standards for what constitutes a cliffhanger seem broader than in modern literature, the history of the Nights is extremely complex and modern scholars have made many attempts to untangle the story of how the collection as it currently exists came about. Most scholars agreed that the Nights was a work and that the earliest tales in it came from India and Persia. At some time, probably in the early 8th century, these tales were translated into Arabic under the title Alf Layla and this collection then formed the basis of The Thousand and One Nights. The original core of stories was quite small, then, in Iraq in the 9th or 10th century, this original core had Arab stories added to it – among them some tales about the Caliph Harun al-Rashid. Devices found in Sanskrit literature such as stories and animal fables are seen by some scholars as lying at the root of the conception of the Nights. Indian folklore is represented in the Nights by certain animal stories, the influence of the Panchatantra and Baital Pachisi is particularly notable. The Jataka Tales are a collection of 547 Buddhist stories, which are for the most part moral stories with an ethical purpose
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Genie
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Jinn, also romanized as djinn or anglicized as genies, are supernatural creatures in early Arabian and later Islamic mythology and theology. An individual member of the jinn is known as a jinni, djinni and they are mentioned frequently in the Quran and other Islamic texts. The jinn, humans, and angels make up the three known sapient creations of God, like human beings, the jinn can be good, evil, or neutrally benevolent and hence have free will like humans. Jaini were among various creatures believe among pre-Zoroastrian peoples of Persia, Jinn is an Arabic collective noun deriving from the Semitic root JNN, whose primary meaning is to hide. Some authors interpret the word to mean, literally, beings that are concealed from the senses, cognates include the Arabic majnūn, jannah, and janīn. Jinn is properly treated as a plural, with the singular being jinni, the anglicized form genie is a borrowing of the French génie, from the Latin genius, a guardian spirit of people and places in Roman religion. It first appeared in 18th-century translations of the Thousand and One Nights from the French, numerous mentions of jinn in the Quran and testimony of both pre-Islamic and Islamic literature indicate that the belief in spirits was prominent in pre-Islamic Bedouin religion. Julius Wellhausen has observed that such spirits were thought to inhabit desolate, dingy, and dark places, One had to protect oneself from them, but they were not the objects of a true cult. In Islamic theology jinn are said to be creatures with free will, made from fire by God as humans were made of clay. When jinns are called fire spirits it´s does not refer to their current nature, Jinn are mentioned 29 times in the Quran, Surah 72 is named after the jinn, and has a passage about them. Another surah mentions jinn in the last verse, the Quran also mentions that Muhammad was sent as a prophet to both humanity and the jinn, and that prophets and messengers were sent to both communities. Like humans, jinn will also be judged on the Day of Judgment, the social organization of the jinn community resembles that of humans, e. g. they have kings, courts of law, weddings, mourning rituals and practise religion. One common belief in Muslim belief lists five distinct orders of jinn — the Marid, the Ifrit, the Shaitan, the Ghul, and the Jann. A few traditions, divide jinn into three classes, those who have wings and fly in the air, those who resemble snakes and dogs, described them as creatures of different forms, some resembling vultures and snakes, others tall men in white garb. They may even appear as dragons, onagers, or any number of other animals, in addition to their animal forms, the jinn occasionally assume human form to mislead and destroy their human victims. Ibn Taymiyyah, a late medieval theologian whose writings would later become the source of Wahhabism, believed the jinn to be generally ignorant, untruthful, oppressive. In Sūrat Al-Jinn, verses 8–10, Allah narrates concerning the jinn how they touched or sought the limits of the sky and found it full of guards and shooting stars. Seven kings of the Jinn are traditionally associated with days of the week, the notion of a qarin is not universally accepted among all Muslims, but it is generally accepted that Shayṭān whispers in human minds, and he is assigned to each human being
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Paradise
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Paradise is the term for a place of timeless harmony. Paradise is a place of contentment, a land of luxury, Paradise is often described as a higher place, the holiest place, in contrast to this world, or underworlds such as Hell. In eschatological contexts, paradise is imagined as an abode of the virtuous dead, in Christian and Islamic understanding, Heaven is a paradisaical relief. In old Egyptian beliefs, the otherworld is Aaru, the reed-fields of ideal hunting and fishing grounds where the dead lived after judgment, for the Celts, it was the Fortunate Isle of Mag Mell. For the classical Greeks, the Elysian fields was a land of plenty where the heroic. The Vedic Indians held that the body was destroyed by fire. In the Zoroastrian Avesta, the Best Existence and the House of Song are places of the righteous dead, on the other hand, in cosmological contexts paradise describes the world before it was tainted by evil. The concept is a theme in art and literature, particularly of the pre-Enlightenment era, the word paradise entered English from the French paradis, inherited from the Latin paradisus, from Greek parádeisos, from an Old Iranian *paridayda- walled enclosure. By the 6th/5th century BCE, the Old Iranian word had been adopted as Assyrian pardesu domain and it subsequently came to indicate the expansive walled gardens of the First Persian Empire. The term eventually appeared in Greek as parádeisos park for animals in the Anabasis of the early 4th century BCE Athenian Xenophon, aramaic pardaysa similarly reflects royal park. Hebrew פרדס appears thrice in the Tanakh, in the Song of Solomon 4,13, Ecclesiastes 2,5, in those contexts it could be interpreted as an orchard or a fruit garden. In the Septuagint, Greek παράδεισος parádeisos was used to translate both Hebrew pardes and Hebrew gan, garden, it is from this usage that the use of paradise to refer to the Garden of Eden derives. The same usage appears in Arabic and in the Quran as firdaws فردوس. The words etymology is derived from a PIE root *dheigʷ to stick. It is reflected in Avestan as pairi-daêza-, the literal meaning of this Eastern Old Iranian language word is walled, from pairi- around and -diz to make, form, build. The word is not attested in other Old Iranian languages, the idea of a walled enclosure was not preserved in most Iranian usage, and generally came to refer to a plantation or other cultivated area, not necessarily walled. For example, the Old Iranian word survives as Pardis in New Persian as well as its derivative pālīz, later in Second Temple era Judaism paradise came to be associated with the Garden of Eden and prophesies of restoration of Eden, and transferred to heaven. The Septuagint uses the word around 30 times, both of Eden, and of Eden restored, in the Apocalypse of Moses, Adam and Eve are expelled from paradise after having been tricked by the serpent
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Ancient Egyptian concept of the soul
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The ancient Egyptians believed that a human soul was made up of five parts, the Ren, the Ba, the Ka, the Sheut, and the Ib. In addition to these components of the soul there was the human body, the other souls were aakhu, khaibut, and khat. An important part of the Egyptian soul was thought to be the jb, the heart was believed to be formed from one drop of blood from the childs mothers heart, taken at conception. To ancient Egyptians, the heart was the seat of emotion, thought, will and this is evidenced by the many expressions in the Egyptian language which incorporate the word jb. This word was transcribed by E. A. Wallis Budge as Ab, in Egyptian religion, the heart was the key to the afterlife. It was conceived as surviving death in the world, where it gave evidence for, or against. It was thought that the heart was examined by Anubis and the deities during the Weighing of the Heart ceremony, if the heart weighed more than the feather of Maat, it was immediately consumed by the monster Ammit. A persons shadow or silhouette, Sheut, is always present, because of this, Egyptians surmised that a shadow contains something of the person it represents. Through this association, statues of people and deities were sometimes referred to as shadows, the shadow was also representative to Egyptians of a figure of death, or servant of Anubis, and was depicted graphically as a small human figure painted completely black. Sometimes people had a box in which part of their Sheut was stored. For example, part of the Book of Breathings, a derivative of the Book of the Dead, was a means to ensure the survival of the name, a cartouche often was used to surround the name and protect it. Conversely, the names of deceased enemies of the state, such as Akhenaten, were hacked out of monuments in a form of damnatio memoriae. Sometimes, however, they were removed in order to make room for the insertion of the name of a successor. The greater the number of places a name was used, the greater the possibility it would survive to be read, the Bâ was everything that makes an individual unique, similar to the notion of personality. In the Coffin Texts one form of the Bâ that comes into existence after death is corporeal, louis Žabkar argued that the Bâ is not part of the person but is the person himself, unlike the soul in Greek, or late Judaic, Christian or Muslim thought. The word bau, plural of the ba, meant something similar to impressiveness, power. When a deity intervened in human affairs, it was said that the Bau of the deity were at work. The Ka was the Egyptian concept of essence, which distinguishes the difference between a living and a dead person, with death occurring when the ka left the body
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Genie in popular culture
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Genies frequently occur as characters or plot elements in fictional works. They are often divided into different categories, of which the most prominent are marid, genie or jinn, tahir Shahs 2008 book In Arabian Nights is a collection of traditional Eastern stories of wisdom, interspersed with encounters with jinn. Jinnicky the Red Jinn is one of Ruth Plumly Thompsons original Oz characters and his most notable appearances are in Jack Pumpkinhead of Oz, The Purple Prince of Oz and The Silver Princess in Oz. Christopher Moore’s book Practical Demonkeeping describes the origin of the jinn. The Djinn in Charge of All Deserts gives the lazy camel his hump in the story How the Camel Got His Hump from Rudyard Kipling’s Just So Stories. Several references to jinn occur in the short story, Ramadan, in Neil Gaiman’s sixth The Sandman collection, Fables. In Gaimans novel American Gods, an ‘ifrīt drives a taxicab in New York, in Summoned by Rainy Kaye, Dimitri is a modern-day genie who must fulfill wishes even though he has no supernatural powers. In the Bartimaeus Trilogy books by Jonathan Stroud, a djinni is one of five major spirits, the others being afrits, marids, foliots, Jinn appear frequently in Rachel Caines Weather Warden series. The Wardens who control fire, weather and earth capture the jinn in bottles, Dragon Rider, a novel by Cornelia Funke, features a jinni named Asif who is huge, omnipotent, and has a thousand eyes. In the book series Children of the Lamp, the protagonists discover that they are members of a tribe named Marid. In the series, jinn are said to be made of fire and have powers that allow them to do anything they please according to The Baghdad Rules. In The Blue Djinn of Babylon, the book of the series, Edwiges. Jinn can only use their powers when it is warm, in Jinn by Matthew B. J. Delaney, Jinns are the Villains. There are several passing references to jinn in Salman Rushdies The Satanic Verses, the Djinn in the Nightingales Eye is a short story by British writer A. S. Byatt, published in an anthology of the same name. The book has them as created to make wishes and some of them became the mystical genies when they transported their owners back to Arabian times. The Doctor and Rose encounter a prototype GENIE that survived the destruction of its timeline and is causing great trouble. The two are able to capture the GENIE and reverse all of the wishes it granted, remembering the story of Aladdin, Rose wishes the GENIE free and it departs for a peaceful place where it can still grant wishes, but only those it wishes to grant. In the novel Proven Guilty in Jim Butchers series The Dresden Files, Lucius Glau, Madrigal Raiths lawyer, is a jann – the scion of a jinno, Djinn is the title of a 1981 novel by French author Alain Robbe-Grillet
