A Dictionary of Islam / Being a cyclopedia of the doctrines, rites, ceremonies, and customs, together with the technical and theological terms, of the Muhammadan religion.

by Thomas Patrick Hughes

F.

FAIʾ (فى‎). Booty obtained from infidels. According to Muḥammad ibn T̤āhir, faiʾ is booty taken from a country which submits to Islām without resistance, as distinguished from g͟hanīmah, or plunder. The K͟halīfah ʿUmar said it was the special privilege of the Prophet to take booty as well as plunder, a privilege not permitted to any other prophet.

ʿAuf ibn Mālik says the Prophet used to divide booty on the same day he took it, and would give two shares to a man with a wife, and only one share to a man without one. (Mishkāt, book xvii. c. xii.)

FAITH. [[IMAN].]

FAIẒ-I-AQDAS (فيض اقدس‎, Persian). Communications of divine grace made to angels and prophets and other superior intelligences.

AL-FAJR (الفجر‎), “The Daybreak.” The title of the LXXXIXth Sūrah of the Qurʾān, in the first verse of which the word occurs.

FAʾL (فال‎). A good omen, as distinguished from t̤iyārah, “a bad omen.”

Muḥammad is related to have said, “Do not put faith in a bad omen, but rather take a good one.” The people asked, “What is a good omen?” And he replied, “Any good word which any of you may hear.”

Ibn ʿAbbās says, “The Prophet used to take good omens by men’s names, but he would not take bad omens.”

Qat̤ʿān ibn Qabīṣah says, “The Prophet forbade taking omens from the running of animals, the flight of birds, and from throwing pebbles, which were done by the idolators of Arabia.” (Mishkāt, book xxi. c. ii.)

It is, however, very commonly practised amongst the Muḥammadans of India. For example, if a person start out on an important journey, and he meet a woman first, he will take it as a bad omen, and if he meet a man he will regard it as a good one.

AL-FALAQ (الفلق‎), “The Daybreak.” The title of the CXIIIth Sūrah of the Qurʾān. The word signifies cleaving, and denotes the breaking forth of the light from the darkness.

FALL, The (of Adam). Is known amongst Muslim writers as zallatu Ādam, “the fall,” or slip of Adam. The term zallah, “a slip” or “error,” being applied to prophets, but not ẕamb, “a sin,” which they say Prophets do not commit.

The following is the account of Adam’s “slip,” as given in the Qurʾān, [Sūrah ii. 33]:—

“And we said, ‘O Adam! dwell thou and thy wife in the Garden, and eat ye plentifully therefrom wherever ye list; but to this tree come not nigh, lest ye become of the transgressors.’

“But Satan made them slip (azallahumā) from it, and caused their banishment from the place in which they were. And we said, ‘Get ye down, the one of you an enemy to the other: and there shall be for you in the earth a dwelling-place, and a provision for a time.’ ”

[Sūrah vii. 18–24]:—

“ ‘And, O Adam! dwell thou and thy wife in Paradise, and eat ye whence ye will, but to this tree approach not, lest ye become of the unjust doers.’

“Then Satan whispered them to show them their nakedness, which had been hidden from them both. And he said, ‘This tree hath your Lord forbidden you, only lest ye should become angels, or lest ye should become immortals.’

“And he sware to them both, ‘Verily I am unto you one who counselleth aright.’

“So he beguiled them by deceits: and when they had tasted of the tree, their nakedness appeared to them, and they began to sew together upon themselves the leaves of the garden. And their Lord called to them, ‘Did I not forbid you this tree, and did I not say to you, “Verily, Satan is your declared enemy”?’

“They said, ‘O our Lord! With ourselves have we dealt unjustly: if thou forgive us not and have pity on us, we shall surely be of those who perish.’

“He said, ‘Get ye down, the one of you an enemy to the other; and on earth shall be your dwelling, and your provision for a season.’

“He said, ‘On it shall ye live, and on it shall ye die, and from it shall ye be taken forth.’ ”

[Sūrah xx. 114–120]:—

“And of old We made a covenant with Adam; but he forgat it; and we found no firmness of purpose in him.

“And when We said to the angels, ‘Fall down and worship Adam,’ they worshipped all, save Eblis, who refused: and We said, ‘O Adam! this truly is a foe to thee and to thy wife. Let him not therefore drive you out of the garden, and ye become wretched;

“ ‘For to thee is it granted that thou shalt not hunger therein, neither shalt thou be naked;

“ ‘And that thou shalt not thirst therein, neither shalt thou parch with heat’;

“But Satan whispered him: said he, ‘O Adam! shall I shew thee the tree of Eternity, and the Kingdom that faileth not?’

“And they both ate thereof, and their nakedness appeared to them, and they began to sew of the leaves of the Garden to cover them, and Adam disobeyed his Lord and went astray.

“Afterwards his Lord chose him for himself, and was turned towards him, and guided him.”

The Muslim Commentators are much perplexed as to the scene of the fall of Adam. From the text of the Qurʾān it would appear that the Paradise spoken of was in heaven and not on earth; and the tradition, that when Adam was cast forth he fell on the island of Ceylon, would support this view. But al-Baiẓāwī says some say the Garden of Eden was situated either in the country of the Philistines or in Fāris, and that Adam was cast out of it and sent in the direction of Hindustān. But this view he rejects, and maintains that the Garden of Eden was in the heavens, and that the fall occurred before Adam and Eve inhabited this earth of ours. [[EDEN].]

The Muḥammadan commentators are silent as to the effects of Adam’s fall upon the human race.

FALSE WITNESS. The Imām Abū Ḥanīfah is of opinion that a false witness must be publicly stigmatised, but not chastised with blows; but the Imāms ash-Shāfiʿī, Yūsuf, and Muḥammad are of opinion that he should be scourged and imprisoned.

In the Law of Moses, a false witness was punished with the punishment of the offence it sought to establish. [Deut. xx. 19]: “Thou shalt do unto him as he had thought to do unto his brother.” [[EVIDENCE].]

FANĀʾ (فناء‎). Extinction. The last stage in the Ṣūfīistic journey. [[SUFIISM].]

FAQĪH (فقيه‎). A Muḥammadan lawyer or theologian. The term is still retained in Spanish as alfaqui. [[FIQH].]

FAQĪR (فقير‎). Persian darwesh. The Arabic word faqīr signifies “poor”; but it is used in the sense of being in need of mercy, and poor in the sight of God, rather than in need of worldly assistance. Darwesh is a Persian word, derived from dar, “a door,” i.e. those who beg from door to door. The terms are generally used for those who lead a religious life. Religious faqīrs are divided into two great classes, the ba sharʿ (with the law), or those who govern their conduct according to the principles of Islām; and the be sharʿ (without the law), or those who do not rule their lives according to the principles of any religious creed, although they call themselves Musulmāns. The former are called sālik, or travellers on the pathway (t̤arīqah) to heaven; and the latter are either āzād (free), or majẕūb (abstracted). The sālik embrace the various religious orders who perform the ẕikrs, described in the article [ZIKR].

The Majẕūb faqīrs are totally absorbed in religious reverie. The Āzād shave their beards, whiskers, moustachios, eye-brows, and eye-lashes, and lead lives of celibacy.

The Āzād and Majẕūb faqīrs can scarcely be said to be Muḥammadans, as they do not say the regular prayers or observe the ordinances of Islām, so that a description of their various sects does not fall within the limits of this work. The Sālik faqīrs are divided into very numerous orders; but their chief difference consists in their silsilah, or chain of succession, from their great teachers, the K͟halīfahs Abū Bakr and ʿAlī, who are said to have been the founders of the religious order of faqīrs.

It is impossible to become acquainted with all the rules and ceremonies of the numerous orders of faqīrs; for, like those of the Freemasons and other secret societies, they are not divulged to the uninitiated.

The doctrines of the darwesh orders are those of the Ṣūfī mystics, and their religious ceremonies consist of exercises called ẕikrs, or “recitals.” [[ZIKR], [SUFIISM].]

M. D’Ohsson, in his celebrated work on the Ottoman Empire, traces the origin of the order of faqīrs to the time of Muḥammad himself:—

“In the first year of the Hijrah, forty-five citizens of Makkah joined themselves to as many others of al-Madīnah. They took an oath of fidelity to the doctrines of their Prophet, and formed a sect or fraternity, the object of which was to establish among themselves a community of property, and to perform every day certain religious practices in a spirit of penitence and mortification. To distinguish themselves from other Muḥammadans, they took the name of Sūfīs. [[SUFIISM].] This name, which later was attributed to the most zealous partizans of Islām, is the same still in use to indicate any Musulmān who retires from the world to study, to lead a life of pious contemplation, and to follow the most painful exercises of an exaggerated devotion. To the name of Sūfī they added also that of faqīr, because their maxim was to renounce the goods of the earth, and to live in an entire abnegation of all worldly enjoyments, following thereby the words of the Prophet, al-faqru fak͟hrī, or ‘Poverty is my pride.’ Following their example, Abū Bakr and ʿAlī established, even during the life-time of the Prophet and under his own eyes, religious orders, over which each presided, with Ẕikrs or peculiar religious exercises, established by them separately, and a vow taken by each of the voluntary disciples forming them. On his decease, Abū Bakr made over his office of president to one Salmānu ʾl-Fārisī, and ʿAlī to al-Ḥasanu ʾl-Baṣrī, and each of these charges were consecrated under the title K͟halīfah, or successor. The two first successors followed the example of the K͟halīfahs of Islām, and transmitted it to their successors, and these in turn to others, the most aged and venerable of their fraternity. Some among them, led by the delirium of the imagination, wandered away from the primitive rules of their society, and converted, from time to time, these fraternities into a multitude of religious orders.

“They were doubtlessly emboldened in this enterprise by that of a recluse who, in the thirty-seventh year of the Hijrah (A.D. 657) formed the first order of anchorets of the greatest austerity, named Uwais al-Karānī, a native of Kārū, in Yaman, who one day announced that the archangel Gabriel had appeared to him in a dream, and in the name of the Eternal God commanded him to withdraw from the world, and to give himself up to a life of contemplation and penitence. This visionary pretended also to have received from that heavenly visitor the plan of his future conduct, and the rules of his institution. These consisted in a continual abstinence, in retirement from society, in an abandonment of the pleasures of innocent nature, and in the recital of an infinity of prayers day and night (Ẕikrs). Uwais even added to these practices. He went so far as to draw out his teeth, in honour, it is said, of the Prophet, who had lost two of his own in the celebrated battle of Uḥud. He required his disciples to make the same sacrifice. He pretended that all those who would be especially favoured by heaven, and really called to the exercises of his Order, should lose their teeth in a supernatural manner; that an angel should draw out their teeth whilst in the midst of a deep sleep; and that on awakening they should find them by their bedside. The experiences of such a vocation were doubtless too severe to attract many proselytes to the order; it only enjoyed a certain degree of attraction for fanatics and credulously ignorant people during the first days of Islām. Since then it has remained in Yaman, where it originated, and where its partisans were always but few in number.”

It was about A.H. 49 (A.D. 766), that the Shaik͟h Alwān, a mystic renowned for his religious fervour, founded the first regular order of faqīrs, now known as the Alwanīyah, with its special rules and religious exercises, although similar associations of men without strict rules had existed from the days of Abū Bakr, the first K͟halīfah. And although there is the formal declaration of Muḥammad, “Let there be no monasticism in Islām,” still the inclinations of Eastern races to a solitary and a contemplative life, carried it even against the positive opposition of orthodox Islām, and now there is scarcely a maulawī or learned man of reputation in Islām who is not a member of some religious order.

Each century gave birth to new orders, named after their respective founders, but in the present day there is no means of ascertaining the actual number of these associations of mystic Muslims. M. D’Ohsson, in the work already quoted, gives a list of thirty-two orders, but it is by no means comprehensive.

No.	Name of the Order.	Founder.	Place of the Founder’s Shrine.	Date.	Date.
				A.H.	A.D.
1	Alwaniyah	Shaik͟h Alwan	Jeddah	149	766
2	Adhamiyah	Ibrahim ibn Adham	Damascus	161	777
3	Bastamiyah	Bayazid Bastami	Jabal Bastam	261	874
4	Saqatiyah	Sirri Saqati	Bag͟hdād	295	907
5	Qadiriyah	Abdu ʾl-Qadir Jilani	Bag͟hdād	561	1165
6	Rufaiyah	Saiyid Ahmad Rufai	Bag͟hdād	576	1182
7	Suhrwardiyah	Shihabu ʾd-Din	Bag͟hdād	602	1205
8	Kabrawiyah	Najmu ʾd-Din	Khawazim	617	1220
9	Shaziliyah	Abu ʾl-Hasan	Makkah	656	1258
10	Maulawiyah	Jalalu ʾd-Din Rumi	Conyah	672	1273
11	Badawiyah	Abu ʾl-Fitan Ahmad	Tanta, Egypt	675	1276
12	Naqshbandiyah	Pir Muhammad	Qasri Arifan	719	1319
13	Sadiyah	Sadu ʾd-Din	Damascus	736	1335
14	Bakhtashiyah	Haji Bakhtash	Kīr Sher	736	1357
15	Khalwatiyah	Umar Khalwati	Cæsarea	800	1397
16	Zainiyah	Zainu ʾd-Din	Kufah	838	1438
17	Babaiyah	Abdu ʾl-Ghani	Adrianople	870	1465
18	Bahramiyah	Haji Bahrami	Angora	876	1471
19	Ashrafiyah	Ashraf Rumi	Chīn Iznic	899	1493
20	Bakriyah	Abu Bakr Wafai	Aleppo	902	1496
21	Sunbuliyah	Sunbul Yusuf Bulawi	Constantinople	936	1529
22	Gulshaniyah	Ibrahim Gulshani	Cairo	940	1533
23	Ighit Bashiyah	Shamsu ʾd-Din	Magnesia	951	1544
24	Umm Sunaniyah	Shaik͟h Umm Sunan	Constantinople	959	1552
25	Jalwatiyah	Pir Uftadi	Broosa	988	1580
26	Ashaqiyah	Hasanu ʾd-Din	Constantinople	1001	1592
27	Shamsiyah	Shamsu ʾd-Din	Madīnah	1010	1601
28	Sunan Ummiyah	Alim Sunan Ummi	Alwali	1079	1668
29	Niyaziyah	Muhammad Niyaz	Lemnos	1100	1694
30	Muradiyah	Murad Shami	Constantinople	1132	1719
31	Nuruddiniyah	Nuru ʾd-Din	Constantinople	1146	1733
32	Jamaliyah	Jamalu ʾd-Din	Constantinople	1164	1750

A BASTAMI SHAIKH. (Brown.)

Three of these orders, the Bast̤āmīyah, the Naqshbandīyah, and the Bak͟htāshīyah, descend from the original order established by the first K͟halīfah, Abū Bakr. The fourth K͟halīfah, ʿAlī, gave birth to all the others. Each order has its silsilah, or chain of succession, from one of these two great founders.

The Naqshbandīyah, who are the followers of K͟hwajah Pīr Muḥammad Naqshband, are a very numerous order. They usually perform the Ẕikr-i-K͟hafī, or silent devotions, described in the account of [ZIKR].

The first duty of the members of this Order is to recite, daily, particular prayers, called the k͟hātim k͟hāwjagān; once, at least, the Istīg͟hfār (Prayer for Forgiveness); seven times the salāmāt; seven times the Fātiḥah (first chapter of the Qurʾān); nine times the chapter of the Qurʾān called Inshirāh (Chapter xciv.); lastly, the Ik͟hlāṣ (Chapter cxii.). To these are added the ceremonies called Ẕikr. [[ZIKR].]

For these recitals they meet together once a week. Ordinarily, this is on Thursday, and after the fifth prayer of the day, so that it occurs after night-fall. In each city, suburb, or quarter, the members of this association, divided into different bodies, assemble at the house of their respective pīr or shaik͟h, where, seated, they perform their pious exercises with the most perfect gravity. The shaik͟h, or any other brother in his stead, chants the prayers which constitute the association, and the assembly respond in chorus, “Hū (He),” or “Allāh!” In some cities, the Naqshbandīyah have especial halls, consecrated wholly to this purpose, and then the shaik͟h only is distinguished from the other brethren by a special turban.

The Bak͟htāshīyah was founded by a native of Buk͟hārā, and is celebrated as being the order which eventually gave birth to the fanatical order of Janissaries. The symbol of their order is the mystic girdle, which they put off and on seven times, saying:—

1. “I tie up greediness, and unbind generosity.”

2. “I tie up anger, and unbind meekness.”

3. “I tie up avarice, and unbind piety.”

4. “I tie up ignorance, and unbind the fear of God.”

5. “I tie up passion, and unbind the love of God.”

6. “I tie up hunger, and unbind (spiritual) contentment.”

7. “I tie up Satanism and unbind Divineness.”

The Maulawīyah are the most popular religious order of faqīrs in the Turkish empire. They are called by Europeans, who witness their ẕikrs and various religious performances at Constantinople and Cairo, the “dancing,” or “whirling” darweshes. They were founded by the Maulawī Jalālu ʾd-dīn ar-Rūmī, the renowned author of the Mas̤nawī, a book much read in Persia, and, indeed, in all parts of Islām.

THE MAULAWI OR DANCING DARWESH.

They have service at their takyah, or “convent,” every Wednesday and Sunday at two o’clock. There are about twenty performers, with high round felt caps and brown mantles. At a given signal they all fall flat on their faces, and rise and walk slowly round and round with their arms folded, bowing and turning slowly several times. They then cast off their mantles and appear in long bell-shaped petticoats and jackets, and then begin to spin, revolving, dancing and turning with extraordinary velocity. [[ZIKR].]

THE MAULAWI OR DANCING DARWESH.

THE MAULAWI OR DANCING DARWESH.

The Qādirīyah sprang from the celebrated Saiyid ʿAbdu ʾl-Qādir, surnamed Pīr-i-Dastagīr, whose shrine is at Bagdad. They practise both the Ẕikr-i-Jalī and the Ẕikr-i-K͟hafī. Most of the Sunnī Maulawīs on the north-west frontier of India are members of this order. In Egypt it is most popular among fishermen.

The Chishtīyah are followers of Muʿīnu ʾd-dīn Banda Nawāz, surnamed the Gīsū darāz, or the “long-ringletted.” His shrine is at Calburgah.

The Shīʿahs generally become faqīrs of this order. They are partial to vocal music, for the founder of the order remarked that singing was the food and support of the soul. They perform the Ẕikr-i-Jalī, described in the article on [ZIKR].

The Jalālīyah were founded by Saiyid Jalālu ʾd-dīn, of Buk͟hārā. They are met with in Central Asia. Religious mendicants are often of this order.

The Suhrwardīyah are a popular order in Afg͟hānistān, and comprise a number of learned men. They are the followers of Shihābu ʾd-dīn of Suhrward of al-ʿIrāq. These are the most noted orders of ba sharʿ faqīrs.

The be sharʿ faqīrs are very numerous.

The most popular order in India is that of the Murdārīyah, founded by Zinda Shāh Murdār, of Syria, whose shrine is at Makanpur, in Oudh. From these have sprung the Malang faqīrs, who crowd the bazaars of India. They wear their hair matted and tied in a knot. The Rufāʿīyah order is also a numerous one in some parts of India. They practise the most severe discipline, and mortify themselves by beating their bodies. They are known in Turkey and Egypt as the “Howling Darweshes.”

Another well-known order of darweshes is the Qalandarīyah, or “Wandering Darweshes,” founded by Qalandar Yūsuf al-Andalusī, a native of Spain. He was for a time a member of the Bak͟htāshīs; but having been dismissed from the order, he established one of his own, with the obligation of perpetual travelling. The Qalandar faqīr is a prominent character in Eastern romance.

A QALANDAR. (Brown.)

A RUFAʿI IN ECSTATICS. (Brown.)

THE SHAIKH OF THE DANCING DARWESHES AT CAIRO. (From a Photograph.)

Each order is established on different principles, and has its rules and statutes and peculiar devotions. These characteristics extend even to the garments worn by their followers. Each order has, in fact, a particular dress, and amongst the greater part of them this is chosen so as to mark a difference in that of the shaik͟h from that of the ordinary members. It is perceived principally in the turbans, the shape of the coat, the colours, and the nature of the stuff of which the dresses are made. The shaik͟hs wear robes of green or white cloth; and any of those who in winter line them with fur, use that kind called petit gris and zibaline martin. Few darweshes use cloth for their dress. Black or white felt dresses called ʿabāʾ, such as are made in some of the cities of Anatolia, are the most usual. Those who wear black felt are the Jalwatīs and the Qādirīs. The latter have adopted it for their boots, and muslin for their turbans. Some, such as the Maulawīs and the Bakrīs, wear tall caps called kulāhs, made also of felt; and others, such as the Rufāʿīs, use short caps called T̤āqīyah, to which is added a coarse cloth. The head-dress of almost all the darweshes is called tāj, which signifies a “crown.” These turbans are of different forms, either from the manner in which the muslin is folded, or by the cut of the cloth which covers the top of the head. The cloth is in several gores. Some have four, as the Adhamīs; some six, as the Qādirīs and the Saʿdīs; the Gulshanīs have eight; the Bak͟htāshīs twelve; and the Jalwatīs eighteen.

AN EGYPTIAN FAKIR. (From a Photograph.)

AN EGYPTIAN FAKIR. (From a Photograph.)

The darweshes carry about with them one or other of the following articles: a small crooked stick or iron, which the devotee places under his arm-pit or forehead, to lean upon when he meditates, or an iron or brass bar on which there is a little artificial hand wherewith to scratch his unwashed body, a bag made of lamb-skin, a kashkūl or beggar’s wallet.

Generally, all the darweshes allow their beards and mustachios to grow. Some of the orders—the Qādirīs, Rufāʿīs, K͟halwatīs, Gulshanīs, Jalwatīs, and the Nūru ʾd-dīnīs—still wear long hair, in memory of the usage of the Prophet and several of his disciples. Some allow their hair to fall over their shoulders; others tie it up and put it under their turban.

Whilst private Musulmāns are in the habit of holding rosaries of beads as a pastime, the darweshes do the same, only in a spirit of religion and piety. These rosaries have thirty-three, sixty-six, or ninety-nine beads, which is the number of the attributes of the Divinity [[GOD]]. Some have them always in their hands, others in their girdles; and all are required to recite, several times during the day, the particular prayers of their order. [[TASBIH].]

The individual who desires to enter an order is received in an assembly of the fraternity, presided over by the shaik͟h, who touches his hand and breathes in his ear three times the words, “Lā ilāha illa ʾllāh” (“There is no god but God”), commanding him to repeat them 101, 151, or 301 times each day. This ceremony is called the Talqīn. The recipient, faithful to the orders of his chief, obligates himself to spend his time in perfect retirement, and to report to the shaik͟h the visions or dreams which he may have during the course of his novitiate. These dreams, besides characterising the sanctity of his vocation, and his spiritual advancement in the order, serve likewise as so many supernatural means to direct the shaik͟h regarding the periods when he may again breathe in the ear of the neophyte the second words of the initiation, “Yā Allāh!” (“O God!”), and successively all the others to the last, “Yā Qahhār!” (“O avengeful God!”). The full complement of this exercise is called Chilleh, or “forty days,” a period sometimes even longer, according to the dispositions, more or less favourable, of the candidate. Arrived at the last grade of his novitiate, he is then supposed to have fully ended his career, called Takmīlu ʾs-Sulūk, and acquired the degree of perfection for his solemn admission into the corps to which he has devoted himself. During all his novitiate, the recipient bears the name of Murīd, or “Disciple,” and the shaik͟h who directs him in this pretended celestial career takes the title of Murshid, or “Spiritual Guide.”

The founder of the Alwānīs laid out the first rules of this novitiate; they were subsequently perfected by the institution of the Qādirīs, and more so by the K͟halwatīs. The darweshes of these two last societies are distinguished in some countries by the decoration of their turban, on the top of which are embroidered the words “Lā ilāha illā ʾllāh” (There is no god but God).

The tests of the novice among the Maulawīs seem to be still more severe, and the reception of these dervishes is attended with ceremonies peculiar to their order. The aspirant is required to labour in the convent or takyah 1,001 successive days in the lowest grade, on which account he is called the kārrā kolak (jackal). If he fails in this service only one day, or is absent one night, he is obliged to recommence his novitiate. The chief of the kitchen, or ashjibāshī, one of the most notable of the darweshes, presents him to the shaik͟h, who, seated in an angle of the sofā, receives him amid a general assembly of all the darweshes of the convent. The candidate kisses the hand of the shaik͟h, and takes a seat before him on a mat, which covers the floor of the hall. The chief of the kitchen places his right hand on the neck, and his left hand on the forehead of the novice, whilst the shaik͟h takes off his cap and holds it over his head, reciting the following Persian distich, the composition of the founder of the order:—

“It is true greatness and felicity to close the heart to all human passions; the abandonment of the vanities of this world is the happy effect of the victorious strength given by the grace of our Holy Prophet.”

These verses are followed by the exordium of the Takbīr, “Allāhu akbar—God is great,” after which the shaik͟h covers the head of the new darwesh, who now rises and places himself with the Ashjibāshī in the middle of the hall, where they assume the most humble posture, their hands crossed upon the breast, the left foot over the right foot, and the head inclined towards the left shoulder. The shaik͟h addresses these words to the head of the kitchen:—

“May the services of this darwesh, thy brother, be agreeable to the throne of the Eternal, and in the eyes of our Pīr (the founder of the order); may his satisfaction, his felicity, and his glory grow in this nest of the humble, in the cell of the poor; let us exclaim ‘Hū!’ in honour of our Maulawī.”

They answer “Hū!” and the accepted novice, arising from his place, kisses the hand of the shaik͟h, who at this moment addresses to him some paternal exhortations on the subject of the duties of his new condition, and closes by ordering all the darweshes of the meeting to recognise and embrace their new brother.

The following is said to be the usual method of admitting a Muḥammadan to the order of a ba sharʿ faqīr in India. Having first performed the legal ablutions, the murīd (disciple) seats himself before the murshid (spiritual guide). The murshid then takes the murīd’s right hand, and requires of him a confession of sin according to the following form:—

“I ask forgiveness of the great God than Whom there is no other deity, the Eternal, the Everlasting, the Living One: I turn to Him for repentance, and beg His grace and forgiveness.”

This, or a similar form of repentance, is repeated several times. The murīd then repeats after the murshid:—

“I beg for the favour of God and of the Prophet, and I take for my guide to God such a one (here naming the murshid) not to change or to separate from him. God is our witness. By the great God. There is no deity but God. Amen.”

The murshid and the murīd then recite the first chapter of the Qurʾān, and the murīd concludes the ceremony by kissing the murshid’s hand.

After the initiatory rite, the murīd undergoes a series of instructions, including the ẕikrs, which he is required to repeat daily. The murīd frequently visits his murshid, and sometimes the murshids proceed on a circuit of visitation to their disciples. The place where these “holy men” sit down to instruct the people is ever afterwards held sacred, a small flag is hoisted on a tree, and it is fenced in. Such places are called “takyah,” and are protected and kept free from pollution by some faqīr engaged for the purpose.

Another account of the admission of a murīd, or “disciple,” into the order of Qādirīyah faqīrs, is given by Tawakkul Beg in the Journal Asiatique:—

“Having been introduced by Ak͟hūnd Mullā Muḥammad to Shaik͟h Mulla Shāh, my heart, through frequent intercourse with him, was filled with such a burning desire to arrive at a true knowledge of the mystical science, that I found no sleep by night, nor rest by day. When the initiation commenced, I passed the whole night without sleep, and repeated innumerable times the Sūratu ʾl-Ik͟hlāṣ:—

‘Say: He is God alone;

God the eternal:

He begetteth not, and He is not begotten:

And there is none like unto Him.’

([Sūrah cxii].)

“Whosoever repeats this Sūrah one hundred times can accomplish all his vows. I desired that the shaik͟h should bestow on me his love. No sooner had I finished my task, than the heart of the shaik͟h became full of sympathy for me. On the following night I was conducted to his presence. During the whole of that night he concentrated his thoughts on me, whilst I gave myself up to inward meditation. Three nights passed in this way. On the fourth night the shaik͟h said:—‘Let Mullā Sang͟him and Ṣāliḥ Beg, who are very susceptible to ecstatic emotions, apply their spiritual energies to Tawakkul Beg.’

“They did so, whilst I passed the whole night in meditation, with my face turned toward Makkah. As the morning drew near, a little light came into my mind, but I could not distinguish form or colour. After the morning prayers, I was taken to the shaik͟h who bade me inform him of my mental state. I replied that I had seen a light with my inward eye. On hearing this, the shaik͟h became animated and said: ‘Thy heart is dark, but the time is come when I will show myself clearly to thee.’ He then ordered me to sit down in front of him, and to impress his features on my mind. Then having blindfolded me, he ordered me to concentrate all my thoughts upon him. I did so, and in an instant, by the spiritual help of the shaik͟h, my heart opened. He asked me what I saw. I said that I saw another Tawakkul Beg and another Mullā Shāh. The bandage was then removed, and I saw the shaik͟h in front of me. Again they covered my face, and again I saw him with my inward eye. Astonished, I cried: ‘O master! whether I look with my bodily eye, or with my spiritual sight, it is always you I see.’ I then saw a dazzling figure approach me. The shaik͟h told me to say to the apparition, ‘What is your name?’ In my spirit I put the question, and the figure answered to my heart: ‘I am ʿAbdu ʾl-Qādir al-Jilānī, I have already aided thee, thy heart is opened.’ Much affected, I vowed that in honour of the saint, I would repeat the whole Qurʾān every Friday night.

“Mullā Shāh then said: ‘The spiritual world has been shown to thee in all its beauty.’ I then rendered perfect obedience to the shaik͟h. The following day I saw the Prophet, the chief Companions, and legions of saints and angels. After three months I entered the cheerless region in which the figures appeared no more. During the whole of this time the shaik͟h continued to explain to me the mystery of the doctrine of the Unity and of the knowledge of God; but as yet he did not show me the absolute reality. It was not until a year had passed that I arrived at the true conception of unity. Then in words such as these I told the shaik͟h of my inspiration. ‘I look upon the body as only dust and water, I regard neither my heart nor my soul, alas! that in separation from Thee (God) so much of my life has passed. Thou wert I and I knew it not.’ The shaik͟h was delighted, and said that the truth of the union with God was now clearly revealed to me. Then addressing those who were present, he said:—

“ ‘Tawakkul Beg learnt from me the doctrine of the Unity, his inward eye has been opened, the spheres of colours and of images have been shown to him. At length, he entered the colourless region. He has now attained to the Unity; doubt and scepticism henceforth have no power over him. No one sees the Unity with the outward eye, till the inward eye gains strength and power.’ ”

Each institution imposes on its darweshes the obligation to recite certain passages at different times of the day in private, as well as in common with others. Several have also practices which are peculiar to themselves, and which consist in dances, or rather religious circular movements. In each convent there is a room consecrated to these exercises. Nothing is simpler than its construction; it contains no ornaments of any nature; the middle of the room, turned towards Makkah, contains a niche or miḥrāb, in front of which is a small carpet, mostly made of the skin of a sheep, on which the shaik͟h of the community reclines; over the niche the name of the founder of the order is written. In some halls this inscription is surmounted by two others—one containing the Confession of Faith, and the other the words “Bismillāh,” &c. (“In the name of God, the most Clement and Merciful.”) In others are seen on the wall to the right and the left of the niche tablets, on which are written in large letters the name of God (Allāh), that of Muḥammad, and those of the four first K͟halīfahs. At others are seen the names of al-Ḥasan and al-Ḥusain, grandsons of the Prophet, and some verses of the Qurʾān, or others of a moral character.

The exercises which are followed in these halls are of various kinds, a description of which is given in the account of [ZIKR].

The more zealous faqīrs devote themselves to the most austere acts, and shut themselves up in their cells, so as to give themselves up for whole hours to prayer and meditation; the others pass very often a whole night in pronouncing the words Hū and Allāh, or rather the phrase, Lā ilāha illā ʾllāh. So as to drive away sleep from their eyes, some of them stand for whole nights in very uncomfortable positions. They sit with their feet on the ground, the two hands resting upon their knees: they fasten themselves in this attitude by a band of leather passed over their neck and legs. Others tie their hair with a cord to the ceiling, and call this usage Chilleh. There are some, also, who devote themselves to an absolute retirement from the world, and to the most rigid abstinence, living only on bread and water for twelve days successively, in honour of the twelve Imāms of the race of ʿAlī. This retirement is called K͟halwah. They pretend that the shaik͟h ʿAmr K͟halwatī was the first to follow it, and that he often practised it. They add that one day, having left his retirement, he heard a celestial voice saying, “O ʿAmr K͟halwatī, why dost thou abandon us?” and that, faithful to this oracle, he felt himself obliged to consecrate the rest of his days to works of penitence, and even to institute an order under the name of K͟halwatīs, a name signifying “living in retirement.” For this reason, darweshes of this order consider it their duty, more than any others, to live in solitude and abstinence. The more devoted among them observe sometimes a painful fast of forty days consecutively, called by them al-arbaʿūn (forty). Amongst them all their object is the expiation of their sins, the sanctification of their lives, and the glorification of Islām; the prosperity of the state, and the general salvation of the Muḥammadan people. The most ancient and the greatest of the orders, such as the Alwānīs, the Adhamīs, the Qādirīs, the Rufaʿīs, the Naqshbandīs, the K͟halwatīs, &c., are considered as the cardinal orders; for which reason they call themselves the Uṣūls, or “Originals.” They give to the others the names of the Furūʿ, or “Branches,” signifying thereby secondary ones, to designate their filiation or emanation from the first. The order of the Naqshbandīs and K͟halwatīs hold, however, the first rank in the temporal line; the one on account of the conformity of its statutes to the principles of the ten first confraternities, and to the lustre which causes the grandees and principal citizens of the empire to incorporate themselves in it; and the other, because of its being the source of the mother society which gave birth to many others. In the spiritual line, the order of the Qādirīs, Maulawīs, Bak͟htāshīs, Rufaʿīs, and the Sāʿdīs, are the most distinguished, especially the three first, on account of the eminent sanctity of their founders, of the multitude of the miracles attributed to them, and of the superabundance of the merit which is deemed especially attached to them.

Although all of them are considered as mendicant orders, no darwesh is allowed to beg, especially in public. The only exception is among the Bak͟htāshīs, who deem it meritorious to live by alms; and many of these visit not only private houses, but even the streets, public squares, bureaux, and public houses, for the purpose of recommending themselves to the charity of their brethren.

They only express their requests by the words “Shayid Ullāh,” a corruption from “Shayun li-ʾllāh,” which means, “Something for the love of God.” Many of these make it a rule to live only by the labour of their hands, in imitation of Ḥājī Bak͟htāsh, their founder; and, like him, they make spoons, ladles, graters, and other utensils, of wood or marble. It is these, also, who fashion the pieces of marble, white or veined, which are used as collars or buckles for the belts of all the darweshes of their order, and the kashkūls, or shell cups, in which they are obliged to ask alms.

Although in no wise bound by any oaths, all being free to change their community, and even to return to the world, and there to adopt any occupation which may please their fancy, it is rarely that anyone makes use of this liberty. Each one regards it as a sacred duty to end his days in the dress of his order. To this spirit of poverty and perseverance, in which they are so exemplary, must be added that of perfect submission to their superior. This latter is elevated by the deep humility which accompanies all their conduct, not only in the interior of the cloisters, but even in private life. One never meets them anywhere but with head bent and the most respectful countenance. They never salute anyone, particularly the Maulawīs, and the Bak͟htāshīs, except by the exclamation, “Yā Hū!” The words Ai bi-ʾllāh, “thanks to God,” frequently are used in their conversation; and the more devout or enthusiastic speak only of dreams, visions, celestial spirits, supernatural objects, &c.

They are seldom exposed to the trouble and vexations of ambition, because the most ancient darweshes are those who may aspire to the grade of shaik͟h, or superior of the convent. The shaik͟hs are named by their respective generals, called the Raisu ʾl-Mashāʾik͟h (chief of shaik͟hs). Those of the Maulawīs have the distinctive title of Cheleby Efendi. All reside in the same cities which contain the ashes of the founders of their orders, called by the name of Āstāneh signifying “the court.” They are subordinate to the Muftī of the capital, who exercises absolute jurisdiction over them. In the Turkish Empire the Shaik͟hu ʾl-Islām has the right of removing all the generals of the various orders, even those of the Qādirīs, the Maulawīs, and of the Bak͟htāshīs, although the dignity be hereditary in their family, on account of their all three being sprung from the blood of the same founders of their orders. The Muftī has likewise the right to confirm the shaik͟hs who may be nominated by any of the generals of the orders.

(See The Dervishes or Oriental Spiritualism, by John P. Brown; Malcolm’s Persia; Lane’s Modern Egyptians; D’Ohsson’s Ottoman Empire; Ubicini’s Letters on Turkey; Herklots’ Musalmans; Taẕkiratu ʾl-Auliyā, by Shaik͟h Farīdu ʾd-Dīn al-ʿAt̤t̤ār.)

FAQR (فقر‎). The life of a Faqīr or an ascetic.

FARAʿ (فرع‎). The first-born of either camels, sheep, or goats, which the Arab pagans used to offer to idols. This was allowed by the Prophet at the commencement of his mission, but afterwards abolished. (Mishkāt, book iv. c. 50.)

FARĀʾIẒ (فرائض‎), pl. of Farīẓah. “Inheritances.” A term used for the law of inheritance, or ʿIlmu ʾl-Farāʾiẓ. Farīẓah means literally an ordinance of God, and this branch of Muslim law is so called because it is established fully in the Qurʾān, [Sūrah iv]. [[INHERITANCE].]

FARAQ (فرق‎). Lit. “Separation.” Faraq-i-Awwal is a term used by Ṣūfī mystics to express that state of mind in which the soul is drawn away from a contemplation of God by a contemplation of his creation; and faraq-i-s̤ānī (the second separation) is when the soul is constantly contemplating the stability of the creation with the eternity of the Creator. (ʿAbdu ʾr-Razzāq’s Dictionary of Ṣūfī Terms.)

FĀRAQLĪT̤ (فارقليط‎). The Arabic rendering of the Greek παράκλητος, “Paraclete.” Muḥammadan writers assert that it is the original of the word translated Aḥmad in the following verse in the Qurʾān, [Sūrah lxi. v. 6]:—

“And call to mind when Jesus, son of Mary, said:—‘O children of Israel! Verily I am an Apostle of God unto you, attesting the Taurāt revealed before me, and giving good tidings of a Prophet that shall come after whose name is Aḥmad.’”

Aḥmad is another derivative of the root to which Muḥammad belongs, signifying, like it, “the Praised.” It is not improbable that in some imperfect copies of [St. John xvi. 7], παράκλητος may have been rendered περικλυτος, which in some early Arabic translation of the Gospel may have been translated Aḥmad. In the Majmaʿu ʾl-Biḥār, a work written three hundred years ago, the word fāraqlīt̤ is said to mean a distinguisher between truth and error. The word also occurs several times in the well-known Shīʿah work, the Ḥayātu ʾl-Qulūb (vide Merrick’s translation, page 86). The author says, “It is well known that his (the Prophet’s) name in the Taurāt is Mūādmūād, in the gospels (Injīl) Tābtāb, and in the Psalms (Zabūr) Farakleet.” And again (p. 308), “God said to Jesus, O Son of my handmaid … verily I will send the chosen of prophets, Aḥmad, whom I have selected of all my creatures, even Farakleet, my friend and servant.” [[JESUS].]

FARSAK͟H (فرسخ‎). Persian Farsang. A land measure which occurs in Muḥammadan books of law. It is a league of 18,000 feet, or three and a half miles in length.

FARWAH (فروة‎). An Arab of the Banū Juẕām and Governor of ʿAmmān, who is represented by tradition (upon imperfect evidence) as one of the early martyrs of Islām. Having been converted to Islām, the Roman authorities crucified him. (Muir’s Life of Mahomet, vol. ii. p. 103.)

FARẒ (فرض‎). That which is obligatory. A term used for those rules and ordinances of religion which are said to have been established and enjoined by God Himself, as distinguished from those which are established upon the precept or practice of the Prophet, and which are called sunnah.

FARẒ KIFĀʾĪ (فرض كفائى‎). A command which is imperative (farẓ) upon all Muslims, but which if one person in eight or ten performs it, it is sufficient (kifāʾī), or equivalent to all having performed it.

They are generally held to be five in number: (1) To return a salutation; (2) To visit the sick and inquire after their welfare; (3) To follow a bier on foot to the grave; (4) To accept an invitation to dinner; (5) Replying to a sneeze. [[SNEEZING].]

They are also said to be six or seven in number, when there are added one or two of the following: (1) To give advice when asked for it; (2) To help a Muslim to verify his oath; (3) To assist a person in distress. ʿAbdu ʾl-Ḥaqq says this last injunction applies to all cases, whether that of a Muslim or an infidel. (Mishkāt, book v. c. i. part 1.)

FARẒU ʾL-ʿAIN (فرض العين‎). An injunction or ordinance the obligation of which extends to every Muslim, as prayer, fasting, &c.

FĀSID (فاسد‎). A seditious or rebellious person.

FĀSIQ (فاسق‎). A term used in Muḥammadan law for a reprobate person who neglects decorum in his dress and behaviour. The acceptance of such a person’s evidence is not admissible. He is not regarded as a Muslim citizen, although he may profess Islām.

FASTING. Arabic Ṣaum (صوم‎); Persian Rozah (روزه‎). Fasting was highly commended by Muḥammad as an atonement for sin. The following are the fasts founded upon the example of the Prophet and observed by devout Muslims:—

(1) The thirty-days of the month of Ramaẓān. This month’s fast is regarded as a divine institution, being enjoined in the Qurʾān ([Sūrah ii. 180]) and is therefore compulsory. [[RAMAZAN].]

(2) The day ʿĀshūrāʾ. The tenth day of the month Muḥarram. This is a voluntary fast, but it is pretty generally observed by all Muslims, for Abū Qatādah relates that the Prophet said he hoped that the fast of ʿĀshūrāʾ would cover the sins of the coming year. (Mishkāt, book vii. ch. vii. pt. 1.) [[ʿASHURAʾ].]

(3) The six days following the ʿĪdu ʾl-Fit̤r. Abū Aiyūb relates that the Prophet said, “The person who fasts the month of Ramaẓān, and follows it up with six days of the month of Shawwāl, will obtain the rewards of a continued fast.” (Mishkāt, book vii. ch. vii. pt. 1.)

(4) The Monday and Thursday of every week are recommended as fast days, as distinguished from the Christian fast of Wednesday. Abū Hurairah relates that the Prophet said, “The actions of God’s servants are represented at the throne of God on Mondays and Thursdays.” (Mishkāt, book vii. ch. vii. pt. 2.) These days are only observed by strictly religious Muslims.

(5) The month of Shaʿbān. ʿĀyishah relates that “the Prophet used sometimes to fast part of this month and sometimes the whole.” (Mishkāt, book vii. ch. vii. pt. 1.) It is seldom observed in the present day.

(6) The 13th, 14th, and 15th of each month. These days are termed al-ayyāmu ʾl-bīẓ, i.e. the bright days, and were observed by Muḥammad himself as fasts. (Mishkāt, book vii. ch. vii. pt. 2.) These are generally observed by devout Muslims.

(7) Fasting alternate days, which Muḥammad said was the fast observed by David, King of Israel. (Mishkāt, book vii. ch. vii. pt. 1.)

In the Traditions, fasting is commended by Muḥammad in the following words:—

“Every good act that a man does shall receive from ten to seven hundred rewards, but the rewards of fasting are beyond bounds, for fasting is for God alone, and He will give its rewards.”

“He who fasts abandons the cravings of his appetites for God’s sake.”

“There are two pleasures in fasting, one when the person who fasts breaks it, and the other in the next world when he meets his Lord. The very smell of the mouth of a keeper of a fast is more agreeable to God than the smell of musk.”

“Fasting is a shield.”

“When any of you fast utter no bad words, nor raise your voice in strife. If anyone abuse one who is fasting, let him refrain from replying; let him say that he is keeping a fast.” (Mishkāt, book vii. ch. i. pt. 1.)

FATE. [[PREDESTINATION].]

AL-FATḤ (الفتح‎), “The victory.” The title of the XLVIIIth Sūrah of the Qurʾān, in the first verse of which the word occurs. “Verily We (God) have given thee an obvious victory, that God may pardon thee thy former and later sin.”

Professor Palmer says “Some of the commentators take this to mean sins committed by Muḥammad before his call and after it. Others refer the word to the liaison with the Coptic handmaiden Mary, and to his marriage with Zainab, the wife of his adopted son Zaid.” None of the commentators we have consulted, including al-Baiẓāwī, al-Jalālān, al-Kamālān, and Ḥusain, give the last interpretation. They all say it refers to his sins before and after his call to the Apostleship.

FATHER. In the Sunnī law of inheritance, a father is a sharer in the property of his son or son’s son, taking one-sixth, but if his son die unmarried and without issue, the father is the residuary and takes the whole.

According to the law of qiṣāṣ or retaliation, if a father take the life of his son, he is not to be slain, for the Prophet has said, “Retaliation must not be executed upon the parent for his offspring”; and Abū Ḥanīfah adds, “because as the parent is the efficient cause of his child’s existence, it is not proper that the child should require or be the occasion of his father’s death”; whence it is that a son is forbidden to shoot his father, when in the army of the enemy, or to throw a stone at him, if suffering lapidation for adultery.

In the law of evidence, the testimony of a father for or against his child is not admitted in a court of law.

AL-FĀTIḤAH (الفاتحة‎). Lit. “The opening one.” The first chapter of the Qurʾān, called also the Sūratu ʾl-Ḥamd, or the “Chapter of Praise.” It is held in great veneration by Muḥammadans, and is used by them very much as the Paternoster is recited by Roman Catholics. It is repeated over sick persons as a means of healing and also recited as an intercession for the souls of the departed, and occurs in each rakʿah of the daily prayer. Muḥammad is related to have said it was the greatest Sūrah in the Qurʾān, and to have called it the Qurʾānu ʾl-ʿAz̤īm, or the “exalted reading.” It is also entitled the Sabʿu ʾl-Mas̤ānī, or the “seven recitals,” as it contains seven verses; also Ummu ʾl-Qurʾān, the “Mother of the Qurʾān.” According to a saying of the Prophet, the fātiḥah was revealed twice; once at Makkah and once at al-Madīnah. The Amīn is always said at the conclusion of this prayer.

The following transliteration of the Arabic of the Fātiḥah into English characters may give some idea of the rhythm in which the Qurʾān is written:—

“Al-ḥamdu li-ʾllāhi Rabbi ʾl-ʿālamīn.

Ar-raḥmāni ʾr-raḥīm.

Māliki yaumi ʾd-dīn.

Iyyāka naʿbudu, wa-iyyāka nastaʿīn.

Ihdinā ʾṣ-ṣirāt̤a ʾl-mustaqīm.

Ṣirāt̤a ʾllaẕīna anʿamta ʿalaihim.

G͟hairi ʾl-mag͟hẓūbi ʿalaihim, walā ʾẓ-ẓāllīn.”

Which is translated by Rodwell in his English Qurʾān as follows:—

“Praise be to God, Lord of all the worlds!

The Compassionate, the Merciful!

King on the Day of Judgment!

Thee do we worship, and to Thee do we cry for help!

Guide Thou us on the right path!

The path of those to whom Thou art gracious!

Not of those with whom Thou art angered, nor of those who go astray.”

FĀT̤IMAH (فاطمة‎). A daughter of Muḥammad, by his first wife K͟hadījah. She married ʿAlī the cousin of Muḥammad, by whom she had three sons, al-Ḥasan, al-Ḥusain, and al-Muḥsin; the latter died in infancy. From the two former are descended the posterity of the Prophet, known as Saiyids. Fāt̤imah died six months after her father. She is spoken of by the Prophet as one of the four perfect women, and is called al-Batūl, or “the Virgin,” by which is meant one who had renounced the World, also Fāt̤imatu ʾz-zuhrāʾ, or “the beautiful Fāt̤imah.”

There are three women of the name of Fāt̤imah mentioned in the Traditions: (1) Fāt̤imah, the daughter of Muḥammad; (2) The mother of ʿAlī; (3) The daughter of Ḥamzah, the uncle of Muḥammad.

AL-FĀT̤IMĪYAH (الفاطمية‎). “The Fatimides.” A dynasty of K͟halīfahs who reigned over Egypt and North Africa from A.D. 908 to A.D. 1171. They obtained the name from the pretensions of the founder of their dynasty Abū Muḥammad ʿUbaidu ʾllāh, who asserted that he was a Saiyid, and descended from Fāt̤imah, the daughter of the Prophet and ʿAlī. His opponents declared he was the grandson of a Jew of the Magian religion.

There were in all fourteen K͟halīfahs of this dynasty:—

(1) ʿUbaidu ʾllāh, the first Fatimide K͟halīfah, was born A.D. 882. Having incurred the displeasure of al-Muktafī, the reigning Abasside K͟halīfah, he was obliged to wander through various parts of Africa, till through fortunate circumstances he was raised in A.D. 910 from a dungeon in Segelmessa to sovereign power. He assumed the title of al-Mahdī, or “the Director of the Faithful.” [[MAHDI].] He subdued the Amīrs in the north of Africa, who had become independent of the Abbasides, and established his authority from the Atlantic to the borders of Egypt. He founded Mahadi on the site of the ancient Aphrodisium, a town on the coast of Africa, about a hundred miles south of Tunis, and made it his capital. He became the author of a great schism among the Muḥammadans by disowning the authority of the Abassides, and assuming the titles of K͟halīfah and Amīru ʾl-Muʾminīn, “Prince of the Faithful.” His fleets ravaged the coasts of Italy and Sicily, and his armies frequently invaded Egypt, but without any permanent success.

(2) Al-Qāʾim succeeded his father in A.D. 933. During his reign, an impostor, Abū Yazīd, originally an Ethiopian slave, advanced certain peculiar doctrines in religion, which he was enabled to propagate over the whole of the north of Africa, and was so successful in his military expeditions as to deprive al-Qāʾim of all his dominions, and confine him to his capital, Mahadi, which he was besieging when al-Qāʾim died.

(3) Al-Manṣūr succeeded his father in A.D. 946, when the kingdom was in a state of the greatest confusion. By his valour and prudence he regained the greater part of the dominions of his grandfather ʿUbaidu ʾllāh, defeated the usurper Abū Yazīd, and laid the foundation of that power which enabled his son al-Muʿizz to conquer Egypt.

(4) Al-Muʿizz (A.D. 955) was the most powerful of the Fatimide K͟halīfahs. He was successful in a naval war with Spain, and took the island of Sicily; but his most celebrated conquest was that of Egypt, which was subdued in A.D. 972. Two years afterwards he removed his court to Egypt, and founded Cairo. The name of the Abasside K͟halīfah was omitted in the Friday prayers, and his own substituted in its place; from which time the great schism of the Fatimide and Abasside K͟halīfahs is more frequently dated than from the assumption of the title by ʿUbaidu ʾllāh. The armies of al-Muʿizz conquered the whole of Palestine and Syria as far as Damascus.

(5) Al-ʿAzīz (A.D. 978). The dominions recently acquired by al-Muʿizz were secured to the Fatimide K͟halīfahs by the wise government of his son, al-ʿAzīz, who took several towns in Syria. He married a Christian woman, whose brothers he made patriarchs of Alexandria and Jerusalem.

(6) Al-Ḥākim was only eleven years of age when he succeeded his father in A.D. 996. He is distinguished even among Oriental despots by his cruelty and folly. His tyranny caused frequent insurrections in Cairo. He persecuted the Jews and Christians, and burnt their places of worship. By his order the Church of the Resurrection at Jerusalem was destroyed (A.D. 1009). His persecutions of the Christians induced them to appeal to their brethren in the West, and was one of the causes that led to the crusades. He carried his folly so far as to seek to become the founder of a new religion, and to assert that he was the express image of God. He was assassinated in A.D. 1021, and was succeeded by his son.

(7) Az̤-Z̤āhir (A.D. 1021) was not so cruel as his father, but was addicted to pleasure, and resigned all the cares of government to his Vizirs. In his reign the power of the Fatimide K͟halīfahs began to decline. They possessed nothing but the external show of royalty; secluded in the harem, they were the slaves of their vizirs whom they could not remove, and dared not disobey. In addition to the evils of misgovernment, Egypt was afflicted in the reign of az̤-Z̤āhir with one of the most dreadful famines that ever visited the country.

(8) Al-Mustanṣir (A.D. 1037) was only nine years old when he succeeded his father. The Turks invaded Syria and Palestine in his reign, took Damascus and Jerusalem (1076), where the princes of the house of Ortok, a Turkish family, established an independent kingdom. They advanced to the Nile with the intention of conquering Egypt, but were repulsed.

(9) Al-Mustaʿlī (A.D. 1094), the second son of al-Mustanṣir, was seated on the throne by the all-powerful Vizir Afẓal, in whose hands the entire power rested during the whole of al-Mustaʿlī’s reign. The invasion of Asia Minor by the Crusaders in 1097 appeared to Afẓal a favourable opportunity for the recovery of Jerusalem. Refusing to assist the Turks against the Crusaders, he marched against Jerusalem, took it (1098), and deprived the Ortok princes of the sovereignty which they had exercised for twenty years. His possession of Jerusalem was, however, of very short duration, for it was taken in the following year (1099) by the Crusaders. Anxious to recover his loss, he led an immense army in the same year against Jerusalem, but was entirely defeated by the Crusaders near Ascalon.

(10) Al-Āmir (A.D. 1101).

(11) Al-Ḥāfiẕ (A.D. 1129).

(12) Az̤-Z̤āfir (A.D. 1149).

(13) Al-Fāʾiz (A.D. 1154).

During these reigns the power of the Fatimides rapidly decayed.

(14) Al-ʿĀẓid (A.D. 1160) was the last K͟halīfah of the Fatimide dynasty. At the commencement of his reign Egypt was divided into two factions, the respective chiefs of which, Dargham and Shāwir, disputed for the dignity of Vizir. Shāwir implored the assistance of Nūru ʾd-dīn, who sent an army into Egypt under the command of Shīrkūh, by means of which his rival was crushed. But becoming jealous of Nūru ʾd-dīn’s power in Egypt, he solicited the aid of Amauri, King of Jerusalem, who marched into Egypt and expelled Shīrkūh from the country. Nūru ʾd-dīn soon sent another army into Egypt under the same commander, who was accompanied by his nephew, the celebrated Ṣalāḥu ʾd-dīn (Saladin). Shīrkūh was again unsuccessful, and was obliged to retreat. The ambition of Amauri afforded shortly afterwards a more favourable opportunity for the reduction of Egypt. Amauri, after driving Shīrkūh out of the country, meditated the design of reducing it to his own authority. Shāwir, alarmed at the success of Amauri, entreated the assistance of Nūru ʾd-dīn, who sent Shīrkūh for the third time at the head of a numerous army. He repulsed the Christians, and afterwards put the treacherous Vizir to death. Shīrkūh succeeded to his dignity, but dying shortly after, Saladin obtained the post of Vizir. As Nūru ʾd-dīn was attached to the interests of the Abassides, he gave orders for the proclamation of al-Mustahdī, the Abasside K͟halīfah, and for depriving the Fatimides of the K͟halīfate. ʿĀẓid, who was then on a sick-bed, died a few days afterwards. [[KHALIFAH].]

FATQ (فتق‎). Lit. “Opening.” A term used by Ṣūfī mystics to explain the eternity of matter, together with its development in creation. (ʿAbdu ʾr-Razzāq’s Dict. of Ṣūfī Terms.)

FATRAH (فترة‎). Lit. “Languor,” or “Intermission.” (1) The interval between the supposed revelation of the XCVIth Sūrah of the Qurʾān and the LXXIVth and XCIIIrd Sūrahs. It is during this period that the powers of inspiration of the Prophet are said to have been suspended, and it was then that he contemplated suicide by intending to cast himself from Mount Ḥirāʾ. The accounts of this interval are confused and contradictory, and various are the periods assigned to it, viz. from seven months to seven years.

(2) The term is also used for the time which elapses between the disappearance of a prophet and the appearance of another. (G͟hiyās̤u ʾl-Lug͟hah in loco.)

(3) A term used by Ṣūfī mystics for a declension in spiritual life. (ʿAbdu ʾr-Razzāq’s Dict. of Ṣūfī Terms.)

AL-FATTĀḤ (الفتاح‎), “The Opener” of that which is difficult.

One of the ninety-nine names or attributes of God. It occurs in the Qurʾān, [Sūrah xxxiv]., “For He is the opener who knows.”

FATWĀ (فتوى‎). A religious or judicial sentence pronounced by the K͟halīfah or by a Muftī, or Qāẓī. It is generally written. The following is a fatwā delivered by the present Muftī of the Ḥanafī sect at Makkah in reply to the question as to whether India is a Dāru ʾl-Islām. Fatwās are generally written in a similar form to this, but in Arabic:—

“All praises are due to the Almighty, who is Lord of all the creation!

O Almighty, increase my knowledge!

As long as even some of the peculiar observances of Islām prevail in it, it is the Dāru ʾl-Islām.

The Almighty is Omniscient, Pure and High!

This is the Fatwā passed by one who hopes for the secret favour of the Almighty, who praises God, and prays for blessings and peace on his Prophet.

(Signed) Jamal ibn ʿAbdu ʾl-lah Shaikh ʿUmaru ʾl-Ḥanafi, the present Muftī of Makkah (the Honoured).

May God favour him and his father.”

FAUJDĀR (فوجدآر‎). An officer of the Mog͟hul Government who was invested with the charge of the police, and jurisdiction in all criminal matters. A criminal judge. Faujdārī is a term now used in British courts for a criminal suit as opposed to dīwānī, or civil.

FAUTU ʾL-ḤAJJ (فوت الحج‎). The end of the Pilgrimage. [[PILGRIMAGE].]

FAẒL (فضل‎). Lit. “That which remains over and above; redundant.” A word used in the Qurʾān for God’s grace or kindness. [Sūrah ii. 244]: “God is Lord of grace to men, but most men give no thanks.” The Christian idea of divine grace, as in the New Testament, seems to be better expressed by fayẓ-i-aqdas.

FAẒŪLĪ (فضولى‎). Lit. “That which is in excess.” A term used in Muḥammadan law for anything unauthorised, e.g. baiʿ-i-faẓūlī, is an unauthorised sale. Nikāḥ-i-faẓūlī is an unauthorised marriage, when the contracts are made by an unauthorised agent.

FEAST DAYS. Arabic ʿīd (عيد‎); dual ʿīdān; plural aʿyād. The two great festivals of the Muḥammadans are, the ʿĪdu ʾl-Fit̤r, and the ʿĪdu ʾl-Aẓḥā. The other festivals which are celebrated as days of rejoicing are, the Shab-i-Barāt, or the fifteenth day of Shaʿbān; the Nau-Roz, or New Year’s day; the Ak͟hir-i-Chahār Shamba, or the last Wednesday of the month of Ṣafar; the Laylatu ʾr-Rag͟hāʾib, or the first Friday in the month of Rajab; the Maulūd, or the birthday of Muḥammad.

An account of these feasts is given under their respective titles.

FEMALE INFANTICIDE, which existed amongst the ancient Arabians, was condemned by Muḥammad. Vide Qurʾān:—

[Sūrah xvi. 60]: “For when the birth of a daughter is announced to any one of them, dark shadows settle on his face, and he is sad. He hideth himself from the people because of the bad news: shall he keep it with disgrace or bury it in the dust? Are not their judgments wrong.”

[Sūrah xvii. 33]: “Kill not your children for fear of want: for them and for you will We (God) provide.”

[Sūrah lxxxi. 8]: “… And when the damsel that had been buried alive shall be asked (at the Day of Judgment) for what crime she was put to death.”

FIDYAH (فدية‎). A ransom. From fidāʾ, “to ransom,” “to exchange.” An expiation for sin, or for duties unperformed. The word occurs three times in the Qurʾān:—

[Sūrah ii. 180]: “For those who are able to keep it (the fast) and yet break it, there shall be as an expiation the maintenance of a poor man.”

[Sūrah ii. 192]: “Perform the pilgrimage and the visitation of the holy places.… But whoever among you is sick, or hath an ailment of the head, must expiate by fasting, or alms, or a sacrifice.”

[Sūrah lvii. 14]: “On that day (the Day of Judgment) no expiation shall be taken from you (i.e. the hypocrites) or from those who do not believe; your abode is the fire.”

The other word used in the Qurʾān for the same idea is kaffārah. [[KAFFARAH], [EXPIATION].]

FIG. Arabic at-Tīn (التين‎). The title of the XCVth Sūrah of the Qurʾān, so called because Muḥammad makes the Almighty swear by that fruit in the first verse. Al-Baiẓāwī says God swears by figs because of their great use. They are most excellent, because they can be eaten at once, having no stones, they are easy of digestion, and help to carry off the phlegm, and gravel in the kidneys or bladder, and remove obstructions of the liver, and also cure piles and gout. (Tafsīru ʾl-Baiẓāwī, in loco.)

FIJĀR (فجار‎). Lit. “That which is unlawful.” A term given to a series of sacrilegious wars carried on between the Quraish, and the Banū Hawāzin, when Muḥammad was a youth, about A.D. 580–590. (Muir, vol. ii. 3.)

AL-FĪL (الفيل‎). The title of the CVth Sūrah of the Qurʾān, as it gives an account of the Aṣḥābu ʾl-Fīl, or “People of the Elephant.” [[ELEPHANT].]

FINES. Arabic Diyah (دية‎). A term which, in its strictest sense, means a sum exacted for any offence upon the person, in consideration for the claim of qiṣāṣ, or retaliation, not being insisted upon. (This does not apply to wilful murder.) A full and complete fine is that levied upon a person for manslaughter, which consists of either one hundred female camels or ten thousand dirhams (silver), or one thousand dīnārs (gold).

The fine for slaying a woman is half that for slaying a man, “because the rank of a woman is lower than that of a man, so also her faculties and uses!” The fine for slaying a ẕimmī (be he a Jew, Christian, or idolater) is the same as for slaying a Muslim.

A complete fine is also levied for the destruction of a nose, or a tongue, or a virile member, and, also, if a person tear out the beard, or the hair of the scalp, or the whiskers, or both eyebrows, so that they never grow again, “because the beauty of the countenance is thereby effaced.”

A complete fine is due for any fellow parts, as for two eyes, two lips, &c., and one half the fine for one single member.

For each finger, a tenth of the complete fine is due, and as every finger has three joints, a third of the fine for the whole is due for each joint.

The fine for a tooth is a twentieth of the complete fine.

A half fine is due for merely destroying the use of a limb, but if a person strike another in any way so as to completely destroy the beauty of his person, a complete fine must be paid. Wounds on the face, viz. from the crown of the head to the chin, are specially treated, and are termed shijāj. Of shijāj, or “face wounds,” there are ten: (1) hārifah, or such as draw no blood—a mere scratch; (2) dāmiyah, a scratch which draws blood, without causing it to flow; (3) damīyah, a scratch which causes blood to flow; (4) bāẓiʿah, a cut through the skin; (5) mutalāḥimah, a cut to the flesh; (6) simḥāq, a wound reaching into the pericranium; (7) mūẓiḥah, a wound which lays bare the bone; (8) hāshimah, a fracture of the skull; (9) munākilah, a fracture which causes the removal of part of the skull; (10) āmmah, a wound extending to the brain.

For an āmmah wound, a third of the complete fine is due. Fifteen camels are due for a munākilah, ten for a hāshimah, five for a mūẓiḥah, and so on.

All other wounds on other parts of the body may be adjusted for according to the above scale, but are left to the decision of the judge.

For further information on the subject see “Bābu ʾl-Diyah” in the Durru ʾl-Muk͟htār, or the Hidāyah, or the Fatāwā ʿĀlamgīrī, or the Raddu ʾl-Muḥtār.

FIQH (فقه‎). The dogmatic theology of the Muslims. Works on Muḥammadan law, whether civil or religious. The books most read by the Sunnīs are the Hidāyah, written by a learned man named ʿAlī ibn Abū Bakr, A.H. 593, part of which has been translated by the late Colonel Charles Hamilton; the Durru ʾl-Muk͟htār, by ʿAlāʾu ʾd-dīn, A.H. 1088; the Sharḥu ʾl-Wiqāyah, by ʿUbaidu ʾllāh ibn Masʿūd, A.H. 745; the Raddu ʾl-Muḥtār, by Saiyid Muḥammad Amīn ibn ʿĀbidi ʾd-dīn, and the Fatāwā ʿĀlamgīrī. Amongst the Imāmīyah School, or Shīʿahs, the principal works are Kitābu ʾsh-Sharāiʿ, by Abū ʾl-Ḥasan ʿAlī (A.H. 326); the Muqniʿ fī ʾl-Fiqh, by Abū Jaʿfar (A.H. 360); the Sharāʿiʾu ʾl-Islām, by Shaik͟h Najmu ʾd-dīn (A.H. 679); and the Jāmiʿu ʾl-ʿAbbāsi, by Bahāʾu ʾd-dīn (A.H. 1031).

FĪRĀSAH (فراسة‎), or farāsah. A Ṣūfī term for the enlightenment of the heart. A penetration into the secrets of the unknown. ʿIlmu ʾl-firāsah, “The science of physiognomy.”

FIRĀSH (فراش‎). Lit. “A couch.” In Muḥammadan law “a wife.”

FIRʿAUN (فرعون‎). [PHARAOH.]

FIRDAUS (فردوس‎). The highest stage of celestial bliss. [[PARADISE].]

FIRE. Arabic nār (نار‎). (1) The term an-nār, “the fire,” is generally used in the Qurʾān and the Traditions for “hell.” (2) In the Qurʾān ([Sūrah xxxvii. 29]) the power of God is declared as being able to “give fire out of a green tree.” On which al-Baiẓāwī says, “the usual way of getting fire is by rubbing two pieces of wood together, one of which is mark͟h and the other afār, and they produce fire, although both the sticks are green. (3) The burning to death of human beings is condemned by Muḥammad, who said “Let no one punish with the punishment of fire but God.”

FIRST-BORN. Although the Arabian legislator followed the Mosaic law in so many of his legal enactments, he has carefully avoided any legislation as to the rights of primogeniture, although it formed such a marked feature in the Pentateuch, in which the first-born of man and beast were devoted to God, and were redeemed with a price. In the Muslim law of inheritance, all the sons share equally, whilst in the Mosaic law the eldest son received a double portion of the father’s inheritance. ([Deut. xxi. 17].)

In cases of chiefship, or monarchy, the eldest son usually inherits, but it rests entirely upon his fitness for the position. Very often the eldest son is passed by and a younger brother selected as ruler. This was also the case amongst the Jews when Solomon succeeded his father in the kingdom. ([1 Kings i. 30]; [ii. 22].)

The curious fact that Muḥammad made no provision for these rights of primogeniture, may have arisen from his having had no son to survive him.

FISH. Arabic samak (سمك‎). (1) Fish which, dying of themselves, float upon the surface of the water, are abominated, according to Abū Ḥanīfah. Ash-Shāfiʿī, and Mālik say they are indifferent. Abū Ḥanīfah teaches that fish which are killed by accident are lawful, but such as die of themselves without any accident are unlawful. There are, however, different opinions regarding those which die of extreme heat or cold.

(2) In the law of sale, it is not lawful to sell fish which is not yet caught, nor is it lawful to sell fish which the vendor may have caught and afterwards thrown into a large tank.

(3) Whilst the destruction of all animals, except noxious ones, is forbidden during the pilgrimage, fishing in the sea is permitted by the Qurʾān, [Sūrah v. 97]: “Lawful for you is the game of the sea.”

FITAN (فتن‎), pl. of fitnah. Seditions; strifes; commotions.

A term specially used for those wars and commotions which shall precede the Resurrection. A chapter is devoted to the subject in all the books of traditions. (See Ṣaḥīḥu ʾl-Buk͟hārī, p. 1045; Ṣaḥīḥu Muslim, p. 388.)

Muḥammad is related to have said, “There will be K͟halīfahs after me that will not go the straight road in which I have gone, nor will follow my example, but in those times there will be the hearts of devils in the bodies of men.” Ḥuẕaifah then said to him, “O Prophet, what shall I do if I live to see those days?” And the Prophet said, “Obey him who has the rule over you, even though he flog your back and take your money.”

Ṣafīyah, in a tradition (recorded in at-Tirmiẕī and Abū Dāʾūd), said that Muḥammad said that the succession would last for thirty years, and that the “four rightly directed K͟halīfahs” reigned exactly that time: Abū Bakr, two years; ʿUmar, ten; ʿUs̤mān, twelve; and ʿAlī, six.

A mover or leader of sedition is called a bag͟hī or rebel. [[REBELLION].]

FIT̤RAH (فطرة‎). Lit. “Nature.” Certain ancient practices of the prophets before the time of Muḥammad, which have not been forbidden by him.

ʿĀyishah relates that the Prophet said: “There are ten qualities of the prophets—clipping the mustachios, so that they do not enter the mouth, not cutting or shaving the beard, cleansing the teeth (i.e. miswāk), cleansing the nostrils with water at the usual ablutions, cutting the nails, cleaning the finger joints, pulling out the hairs under the arm-pits, shaving the hair of the privates, washing with water after passing urine, and cleansing the mouth with water at the time of ablution.” (See Ṣaḥīḥu Muslim.)

The nose is to be washed out with water because it is supposed that the devil resides in the nose during the night. (See Mishkāt.)

There is a chapter in the Avesta of the Parsees, containing injunctions as to the paring of the nails of the hands and feet.

FIVE FOUNDATIONS OF ISLĀM. (1) Shahādah, or bearing witness that there is no deity but God; (2) Ṣalāt, or the observance of the five stated periods of prayer; (3) Zakāt, giving the legal alms once a year; (4) Ṣaum, fasting during the whole of the month of Ramaẓān; (5) Ḥajj, the pilgrimage to Makkah once in a life-time. They are also called the five foundations of practice, as distinguished from the six foundations of faith. [[ISLAM], [IMAN].]

FIVE KEYS OF SECRET KNOWLEDGE, which are with God alone, are said to be found in the last verse of the Sūrah Luqmān ([XXXIst, 34]) of the Qurʾān: “God! with Him is (1) the Knowledge of the Hour; (2) and He sendeth down rain; (3) and He knoweth what is in the wombs; (4) but no soul knoweth what shall be on the morrow; (5) neither knoweth any soul in what land he shall die. Verily God is knowing and is informed of all.”

FIVE SENSES, The. Arabic al-ḥawāssu ʾl-k͟hamsah (الحواسّ الخمسة‎). According to Muḥammadan writers, there are five external (z̤āhirī) senses, and five internal (bāt̤inī) senses. The former being those five faculties known amongst European writers as seeing (baṣirah), hearing (sāmiʿah), smelling (shāmmah), taste (ẕāʾiqah), touch (lāmisah). The latter: common sense (ḥiss-i-mushtarak), the imaginative faculty (qūwat-i-k͟hayāl), the thinking faculty (qūwat-i-mutaṣarrifah), the instinctive faculty (qūwat-i-wāhimah), the retentive faculty (qūwat-i-ḥāfiz̤ah).

FOOD. Arabic t̤aʿām (طعام‎), pl. at̤ʿimah. The injunctions contained in the Qurʾān ([Sūrah ii. 167]) respecting food are as follows: “O ye who believe! eat of the good things with which we have supplied you, and give God thanks if ye are His worshippers. Only that which dieth of itself, and blood, and swine’s flesh, and that over which any other name than that of God hath been invoked, hath God forbidden you. But he who shall partake of them by constraint, without desire, or of necessity, then no sin shall be upon him. Verily God is forgiving and merciful.” [Sūrah v. 92].: “O Believers! wine (k͟hamr) and games of chance, and statues, and divining-arrows are only an abomination of Satan’s work! Avoid them that ye may prosper.”

The other injunctions concerning food are found in the Traditions and sayings of Muḥammad.

No animal, except fish and locusts, is lawful food unless it be slaughtered according to the Muḥammadan law, namely, by drawing the knife across the throat and cutting the wind-pipe, the carotid arteries, and the gullet, repeating at the same time the words “Biʾsmi ʾllāhi, Allāhu akbar,” i.e. “In the name of God, God is great.” A clean animal, so slaughtered, becomes lawful food for Muslims, whether slaughtered by Jews, Christians, or Muḥammadans, but animals slaughtered by either an idolater, or an apostate from Islām, is not lawful.

Ẕabḥ, or the slaying of animals, is of two kinds. Ik͟htiyārī, or of choice, and Iẓt̤irārī, or of necessity. The former being the slaughtering of animals in the name of God, the latter being the slaughter effected by a wound, as in shooting birds or animals, in which case the words Biʾsmi ʾllāhi, Allāhu akbar must be said at the time of the discharge of the arrow from the bow or the shot from the gun.

According to the Hidāyah, all quadrupeds that seize their prey with their teeth, and all birds which seize it with their talons are unlawful, because the Prophet has prohibited mankind from eating them. Hyenas, foxes, elephants, weasels, pelicans, kites, carrion crows, ravens, crocodiles, otters, asses, mules, wasps, and in general all insects, are forbidden. But there is some doubt as to the lawfulness of horses’ flesh. Fishes dying of themselves are also forbidden.

The prohibition of wine in the Qurʾān under the word k͟hamr is held to exclude all things which have an intoxicating tendency, such as opium, chars, bhang, and tobacco.

A Muslim can have no religious scruples to eat with a Christian, as long as the food eaten is of a lawful kind. Saiyid Aḥmad K͟hān Bahādur, C.S.I., has written a treatise proving that Muḥammadans can eat with the Ahl-i-Kitāb, namely, Jews or Christians. The Muḥammadans of India, whilst they will eat food cooked by idolatrous Hindūs, refuse to touch that cooked either by Native or European Christians; and they often refuse to allow Christians to draw water from the public wells, although Hindūs are permitted to do so. Such objections arise solely from jealousy of race, and an unfriendly feeling towards the ruling power. In Afghanistan and Persia, no such objections exist; and no doubt much evil has been caused by Government allowing Hindūstānī Muslims to create a religious custom which has no foundation whatever, except that of national hatred to their English conquerors. [[EATING].]

FORBIDDEN FRUIT, The. Mentioned in the Qurʾān, [Sūrah ii. 33]: “And we (God) said, ‘O Adam, dwell thou and thy wife in Paradise and eat therefrom amply as you wish; but do not draw near this tree’ (shajarah).”

Concerning this tree, the Commentators have various opinions. Ḥusain says some say it was a fig tree, or a vine, but most people think it was a grain of wheat (ḥint̤ah) from a wheat stalk. [[ADAM], [FALL].]

FORGIVENESS. [[PARDON], [ʿAFU].]

FORGIVENESS OF INJURIES. Enjoined in the Qurʾān in the following words ([Sūrah xlii. 38]): “Let the recompense of evil be only a like evil—but he who forgiveth and maketh peace, shall find his reward for it from God; verily He loveth not those who act unjustly. And there shall be no way open (i.e. no blame) against those who, after being wronged, avenge themselves.… Whoso beareth wrongs and forgiveth—this is a bounden duty.”

FORNICATION. Arabic zināʾ (زناء‎). The word zināʾ includes both fornication with an unmarried person, and adultery with a married person. [[ADULTERY].]

The sin of fornication must be established, as in the case of adultery, either by proofs or by confession.

To establish it by proof, four witnesses are required, and if any person bring an accusation against a woman of chaste reputation and fail to establish it, he must be punished with eighty stripes. [[QAZF].]

When a person for conscience sake confesses the sin of fornication, the confession must be repeated four times at four different appearances before a qāẓī, and the person confessing must be very exact and particular as to the circumstances, so that there can be no mistake. A self-accused person may also retract the confession at any period before, or during, the infliction of the punishment, and the retractation must be accepted.

The punishment for fornication is one hundred stripes (or fifty for a slave). The scourging to be inflicted upon a man standing and upon a woman sitting; and the woman is not to be stripped. It should be done with moderation, with a strap or whip, which has no knots upon it, and the stripes should be given not all upon the same part of the body. [[DIRRAH].]

In some countries banishment is added to the punishment of scourging for fornication, especially if the sin is often repeated, so as to constitute common prostitution.

The law is founded upon the following verse in the Qurʾān, [Sūrah xxiv. 2–5]:—

“The whore and the whoremonger—scourge each of them with an hundred stripes; and let not compassion keep you from carrying out the sentence of God, if ye believe in God and the last day: And let some of the faithful witness their chastisement.

“The whoremonger shall not marry other than a whore or an idolatress; and the whore shall not marry other than a whoremonger or an idolater. Such alliances are forbidden to the faithful.

“They who defame virtuous women, and bring not four witnesses, scourge them with fourscore stripes, and receive ye not their testimony for ever, for these are perverse persons—

“Save those who afterwards repent and live virtuously; for truly God is Lenient, Merciful!”

The Muḥammadan law differs from Jewish law with regard to fornication; see [Exodus xxii. 16, 17]:—“If a man entice a maid that is not betrothed, and lie with her, he shall surely endow her to be his wife. If her father utterly refuse to give her unto him, he shall pay money according to the dowry of virgins.” [Deut. xxii. 25–29]:—“If a damsel that is a virgin be betrothed unto a husband, and a man find her in the city and lie with her, then ye shall bring them out unto the gate of the city, and ye shall stone them with stones that they die: the damsel because she cried not, being in the city, and the man because he hath humbled his neighbour’s wife; so shalt thou put away evil from among you. But if a man find a betrothed damsel in the field, and the man force her and lie with her, then the man only that lay with her shall die. But unto the damsel shalt thou do nothing: there is in the damsel no sin worthy of death.… If a man find a damsel that is a virgin, which is not betrothed, and lay hold on her, and lie with her, and they be found, then the man that lay with her shall give unto the damsel’s father fifty shekels of silver, and she shall be his wife; because he hath humbled her, he may not put her away all his days.”

FORTUNE-TELLING. Arabic kahānah (كهانة‎). Muʿāwiyah ibn Ḥakam relates that he asked the Prophet if it were right to consult fortune-tellers about future events, and he replied, “Since you have embraced Islām, you must not consult them.” [[MAGIC].]

FOSTERAGE. Arabic raẓāʿah, riẓāʿah (رضاعة‎). According to Abū Ḥanīfah, the period of fosterage is thirty months; but the two disciples, Yūsuf and Muḥammad, hold it to be two years, whilst Zufar maintains that it is three years. Fosterage with respect to the prohibitions attached to it is of two kinds; first, where a woman takes a strange child to nurse, by which all future matrimonial connection between that child and the woman, or her relations within the prohibited degrees, is rendered illegal; secondly, where a woman nurses two children, male and female, upon the same milk, which prohibits any future matrimonial connection between them. For further particulars on this subject, see Hamilton’s Hidāyah, vol. i. page 187.

FOUNDLING. Arabic laqīt̤ (لقيط‎). Lit. “That which is picked up.” The person who finds the child is called the multaqit̤. The taking up of a foundling is said to be a laudable and generous act, and where the finder sees that the child’s life is in peril, it is an incumbent religious duty. (Hidāyah, vol. ii. p. 252.)

The maintenance of a foundling is defrayed from the public treasury, but the finder is not to demand anything for his trouble and expense, but after the finding of the child has been reported to the magistrate, the child is legally placed under the care of the multaqit̤, and supported by the state. A foundling is declared to be free, and not a slave, and unless he be found on the land or property of a Jew or Christian, he is declared a Muslim. But if the child be found on the property of a Jew or Christian, he will be declared a Jew or Christian as the case may be. The multaqit̤ cannot contract the foundling in marriage without the sanction of the magistrate, but he may send him to school and in every respect see to his education and training without consulting the magistrate.

FRIDAY. Arabic Jumʿah (جمعة‎). “The Day of Assembly.” The Muḥammadan Sabbath, on which they assemble in the Jāmiʿ Masjid, or chief mosque, and recite two rakʿahs of prayers and listen to the oration, or k͟hut̤bah at the time of mid-day prayer. Muḥammad claims in the Traditions to have established Friday as a day of worship by divine command. He says, “Friday was ordered as a divine day of worship both for the Jew and Christian, but they have acted contrary to the command. The Jew fixed Saturday and the Christian fixed Sunday.”

According to the same traditions, Friday is “the best day on which the sun rises, the day on which Adam was taken into Paradise and turned out of it, the day on which he repented and on which he died. It will also be the Day of Resurrection.”

There is also a certain hour on Friday (known only to God) on which a Muslim obtains all the good he asks of the Almighty. Muḥammad prayed that God may put a seal on the heart of every Muslim who through negligence omits prayer for three successive Fridays. Muḥammad said:—

“Whoever bathes on Friday and comes to prayers in the beginning and comes on foot and sets near the Imām and listens to the k͟hut̤bah, and says nothing playful, but sits silent, every step he took will get the rewards of a whole year’s worshipping and rewards of one year’s fast and one year’s prayings at night.”

“There are three descriptions of people present on Friday, one of them who comes to the masjid talking triflingly, and this is what he gets instead of rewards; and there is a man who is present for making supplications, and he asks God, and if He wills He gives him, if not, refuses; the third a man who attends to hear the k͟hut̤bah and is silent, and does not incommode anyone, and this Friday covers his sins till the next, and three days longer; for God says, Whoever doth one good act will receive ten in return.” (Mishkāt, book iv. c. xliii.) [[KHUTBAH].]

FRIENDSHIP with Jews and Christians is condemned in the Qurʾān, [Sūrah v. 56]: “O ye who believe! take not the Jews and Christians for your friends (or patrons); they are the friends of each other; but whoso amongst you takes them for friends, verily he is of them, and, verily, God guides not an unjust people.”

FRUITS OF THE EARTH are described in the Qurʾān as evidences of God’s love and care for his creatures.

[Sūrah vi. 142]:—

“He it is who produceth gardens of the vine trellised and untrellised, and the palm trees, and the corn of various food, and olives, and pomegranates, like and unlike. Eat of their fruit when they bear fruit, and pay the due thereof on the day of its ingathering: and be not prodigal, for God loveth not the prodigal.”

[Sūrah xiii. 3]:—

“And He it is who hath outstretched the earth, and placed on it the firm mountains, and rivers: and of every fruit He hath placed on it two kinds: He causeth the night to enshroud the day. Verily in this are signs for those who reflect.

“And on the earth hard by each other are its various portions: gardens of grapes and corn, and palm trees single or clustered. Though watered by the same water, yet some make we more excellent as food than other: Verily in all this are signs for those who understand.”

FUGITIVES. (1) A fugitive slave, either male or female, is called ābiq (آبق‎). The capture of a fugitive slave is a laudable act, and the captor is entitled to a reward of forty dirhams. (2) A fugitive on account of religion is called muhājir (مهاجر‎). Special blessings are promised to those who flee their country on account of their being Muslims.

[Sūrah iv. 101]: “Whosoever flees in the way of God shall find in the earth a spacious refuge.”

[Sūrah xxii. 57]: “Those who flee in God’s way and then are slain or die, God will provide them with a godly provision.” [[SLAVES], [MUHAJIR].]

FULS (فلس‎). An idol (or an idol temple), belonging to the Banī T̤aiy, a tribe divided between the profession of idolatry and Christianity. Destroyed by ʿAlī by order of Muḥammad, A.H. 630. (Muir, vol. iv. p. 177.)

FUNERAL. Arabic janāzah (جنازه‎). [[BURIAL].]

FURĀT (فــرات‎). The river Euphrates, said to be one of the rivers of Eden. [[EDEN].]

AL-FURQĀN (الفرقان‎). (1) The title of the XXVth Sūrah of the Qurʾān. (2) One of the titles of the Qurʾān ([Sūrah ii. 181]; [iii. 2]; [xxv. 1]). (3) The title given to the Taurāt revealed to Moses ([Sūrah ii. 50]; [xxi. 49]). (4) The victory on the day of the battle of Badr ([Sūrah viii. 42]). (5) A term used by Ṣūfī mystics for a distinguishing between truth and error.

Muḥammadan lexicographers are unanimous in interpreting the word furqān to mean that which distinguishes between good and evil, lawful and unlawful. The Jews use the word perek, or pirka, from the same root, to denote a section or portion of scripture.

FUṢṢILAT (فصلت‎). Lit. “Were made plain.” A title of the XLIst Sūrah of the Qurʾān, from the word occurring in the second verse. The Sūrah is also known as the Hāmīm as-Sajdah, to distinguish it from the Sūrah XXXIInd, which is also called as-Sajdah, or “Adoration.”

FUTURE LIFE. The immortality of the soul and the reality of a future life are very distinctive doctrines of the religion of Muḥammad, and very numerous are the references to it in the Qurʾān. The whole system of Islām is based upon the belief in the future existence of the soul of man. A description of the special character of this future life will be found in the article on [PARADISE].

The terms generally used to express a future life are Dāru ʾl-Ak͟hirat, Dāru ʾl-Baqāʾ, Dāru ʾl-Uqbā.