Jābir says: “The Prophet came into Makkah with a white standard.”
Ibn ʿAbbās says: “The Prophet had two standards, a large black one and a small white one.”
Al-Barāʾ ibn ʿĀzib says: “The standard, I remember, was a square one, and black spotted with divers colours.”
In the struggle between the Shīʿahs and the Sunnīs, the Fatimides adopted green as the colour of their standard, whilst the Banī Umaiyah assumed white for theirs.
MUHAMMADAN STANDARDS. (A. F. Hole.)
| 1. | Muslim Standard of Central Asian Tribes. | 4. | Horse-tail Standard of Modern Turks. | |
| 2. | Standard of the Turkish Empire. | 5. | Standard of Egypt. | |
| 3. | Standard of the Empire of Morocco. | 6. | Standard of Persia. |
In Central Asia, the ordinary Muslim standards are either black or green, and are triangular. The sign of the crescent, as it appears on Turkish standards, was adopted after the taking of Byzantium; for, long before the conquest of Constantinople, the crescent had been used in the city for an emblem of sovereignty, as may be seen from the medals struck in honour of Augustus and Trajan. [[CRESCENT].]
There is a standard still preserved at Constantinople amongst the ancient relics, and called as-Sinjaqu ʾsh-sharīf, which is held to be a most sacred emblem, and is only produced on very special occasions. It is said to be the ancient standard of the Prophet.
