In the Mishkāt (book iv. ch. i. pt. 3), there is a tradition that Muḥammad said he who neglects prayers will be in hell with Korah, Pharaoh, Hāmān, and Ubaiy ibn K͟half (an infidel whom Muḥammad slew with his own hand at the battle of Uḥud.)
AL-ḤAMD (الحمد), the “Praise.” A title of the first chapter of the Qurʾān. According to Kitābu ʾt-Taʿrifāt, “praise” (ḥamd) of God is of three kinds:—
(1) Al-ḥamdu ʾl-Qaulī, the praise of God with the tongue, with those attributes with which He has made known Himself. (2) Al-ḥamdu ʾl-Fiʿlī, the praise of God with the body according to the will of God. (3) Al-ḥamdu ʾl-Ḥālī, the praise of God with the heart and spirit.
AL-ḤAMĪD (الحميد). “The Laudable.” The One worthy of praise. One of the ninety-nine attributes of God. It frequently occurs in the Qurʾān, e.g. [Sūrah xi. 76], “Verily He is to be praised.”
ḤĀ MĪM (حا ميم). Seven Sūrahs of the Qurʾān begin with the letters ح ḥ, م m, and are called al-Ḥawāmīm. They are the XL, XLI, XLII, XLIII, XLIV, XLV, and XLVI. Various opinions are held by Muḥammadan commentators as to the meaning of these mysterious letters. Jalālu ʾd-dīn as-Suyūt̤ī in his Itqān, says these letters are simply initial letters, the meaning of which is known only to God, but Ibn ʿAbbās says the letters ح ḥ, and م m, stand for الرحمان ar-Raḥmān, “the Merciful,” one of the attributes of God.
Mr. Rodwell, in his Introduction to the Ḳorân, says, “Possibly the letters Hā, Mīm, which are prefixed to numerous successive Suras were private marks, or initial letters, attached by their proprietor to the copies furnished to Said when effecting his recension of the text under Othman. In the same way, the letters prefixed to other Suras may be monograms, or abbreviations, or initial letters of the names of the persons to whom the copies of the respective Suras belonged.”
ḤAMRĀU ʾL-ĀSĀD (حمرا الاساد). A village or small town, the scene of one of Muḥammad’s expeditions against the Quraish. Having reached this spot he kindled five hundred fires to make the Quraish believe that the pursuing force was very large, and, contenting himself with this demonstration, he returned to al-Madīnah, from which it was about 60 miles. According to Burton, it is the modern Wasitah.
“At Hamrâ al Asād, Mahomet made prisoner one of the enemy, the poet Abu Ozza, who had loitered behind the rest. He had been taken prisoner at Bedr, and, having five daughters dependent on him, had been freely released, on the promise that he would not again bear arms in the war against the Prophet. He now sought for mercy: ‘O Mahomet!’ he prayed, ‘forgive me of thy grace.’ ‘Nay, verily,’ said the Prophet, ‘a believer may not be twice bitten from the same hole. Thou shalt never return to Mecca, stroke thy beard and say, I have again deceived Mahomet. Lead him forth to execution!’ So saying, he motioned to a bystander, who with his sword struck off the captive’s head.” (Muir’s Life of Mahomet, new ed. p. 276.)
ḤAMZAH (حمزة). Muḥammad’s uncle, who embraced Islām and became one of its bravest champions. He was at the battle of Uḥud and slew ʿUs̤mān, one of the leaders of the Quraish, but was soon afterwards himself killed by a wild negro named Waḥshī, and his dead body shamefully mutilated. At his death Muḥammad is recorded to have said that Ḥamzah was “the lion of God and of His Apostle.” The warlike deeds of Ḥamzah are recorded in Persian poetry, in which he is celebrated as Amīr Ḥamzah.
ḤAMZĪYAH (حمزية). A sect of Muslims founded by Ḥamzah ibn Adrak, who say that the children (infants) of infidels will be consigned to the Fire of Hell, the general belief of Muḥammadans being that they will have a special place in al-Aʿrāf. (Kitābu ʾt-Taʿrīfāt, in loco.)