AẒ-ẒĀRR (الضار). “The Distresser.” One of the ninety-nine attributes of God. In the Qurʾān the word is applied to Satan.
[Sūrah lviii. 11]: “Only of Satan is this clandestine talk, that he may bring the faithful to grief; but, unless by God’s permission, not aught shall he harm them (laisa bi-ẓārrihim)! in God, then, let the faithful trust.”
God, therefore, is called the “Distresser,” in so far as evil befalls man only by His permission.
ẔARRAH (ذرة). “An atom.” The word occurs in the Qurʾān in the following verse:—
[Sūrah xcix. 6]: “On that day shall men come up in separate bands to behold their works; and whosoever shall have wrought an atom’s weight of good shall behold it, and whosoever shall have wrought an atom’s weight of evil shall behold it.”
ẔĀT (ذات), pl. ẕawāt. From ẕū, “a possessor,” of which ẕāt is the feminine. In the Dictionary al-Mug͟hrab it is defined as the essence of a thing, meaning that by being which a thing is what it is, or that in being which a thing consists; or the ultimate and radical constituent of a thing. It is used for the nature or essence of God, Allāh being called the Ismu ʾẕ-Ẕāt, or “Essential name of God.” Ẕātu ʾllāh, the “Essence of God,” is a scholastic theological expression. In Muslim law, ẕāt signifies the body connected with the soul, in opposition to badn, which means the “material body.”
ẔAWŪ ʾL-ARḤĀM (ذوو الارحام). [[UTERINE RELATIONS].]
ẔAWŪ ʾL-FURŪẒ (ذوو الفروض). The Sharers of inheritance whose shares are specified in the Qurʾān itself. [[INHERITANCE].]
ZEALOTS. [[GHULAT].]
Z̤IHĀR (ظهار). Lit. “Likening to the back.” A form of imprecation which involves the separation of husband and wife until expiation is made. According to the Hidāyah, z̤ihār signifies the likening of a woman to a kinswoman within the prohibited degrees, which interpretation is found in the comparison being applied to any of the parts or members of the body improper to be seen. The usual formula is: Anti ʿalaiya ka-z̤ahri ummī, “Thou art unto me as my mother’s back.”