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(pl. of libd , labad ), felt. The production and craftsmanship of wool [see ṣūf ] was very prosperous in the mediaeval Muslim world, and supplied a variety of articles not only for refined and wealthy customers but also for the popular market in the form of relatively inexpensive clothing. In more recent times, local woollens have not managed to compete with European products (E. Ashtor, Les lainages dans l’Orient médiéval , in Atti Inst. F. Dattini , Florence 1976, 657-86). Felt was one of the less expensive products among the woollen articles manu…

(a.), “fan, vane”. 1. General aspects. In the Muslim East, from the Middle Ages to the present day, fans of various sizes have been simply a means of resisting the heat. Good ventilation and, where possible, reduction of the temperature are vital for the improvement of living conditions in regions where intense heat prevails throughout the summer. The civilisations preceding that of the Muslims were aware of some reasonably effective solutions to this problem, and it se…

(ar.), drinks. I. Problems of identification and of permissibility. The problem of the distinction between “permitted” and “forbidden” in relation to drinks is a subject of great interest to Islamic religious literature, on account of the prohibition, in the Ḳurʾān, of the consumption of wine [see k̲h̲amr ]. By extension, everything alcoholic is forbidden, and doctors of law devote entire chapters, and even independent works, to the subject of drinks ( as̲h̲riba ; for example: Kitāb al-As̲h̲riba by Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal, numerous editions). The use of ce…

, an Arabic word borrowed from Aramaic (Syriac form kurseyāʾ , in Hebrew: kissé ; see Th. Nöldeke, Mandäische Grammatik , 128; Fraenkel, De vocabulis peregrinis, 22; L. Koehler, W. Baumgarten, Lexicon in Veteris Testamenti libros, 446) which can signify seat, in a very general sense (chair, couch, throne, stool, even bench). In the daily life of med…

(a.), wine. The word, although very common in early Arabic poetry, is probably a loanword from Aramaic. The Hebrew yayn has in Arabic ( wayn ) the meaning of black grapes. The question has been fully treated by I. Guidi in his Della sede primitiva dei popoli semitici , in Memorie della R. Acad. dei Lincei , series iii, vol. iii, 603 ff. 1. Juridical aspects Arabia and the Syriac desert are, in contradistinction to Palestine and Mesopotamia, not a soil fit for the vine; there are, however, exceptions, among which may be mentioned al-Ṭāʾif (see H. Lammens, Ṭāif , 35 ff. = MFOB, viii, 146 ff.), S̲h̲…

(a.) “hair, pelt”. 1. General. The Arab poets, pre-Islamic as well as post-Islamic, often describe the hair of the women with whom they have fallen in love (al-ʿAskarī, Dīwān al-maʿānī , ii, 229; al-Raffāʾ, al-Muḥibb wa ’l-maḥbūb , i, 16-58; al-Nuwayrī, Nihāya , fann 2, ḳism 1, bāb 2; J. Sadan, Maiden’s hair and starry skies, in IOS, xi [1991], 57-88). The context in which these descriptions are found shows a fairly clear situation: the hair of the heads of beautiful women is observed by lovers away from the house, in the open air, on the public road,…

(a.), salt. 1. In the mediaeval Islamic world. In pre-Islamic times, the ancient Arabs were already familiar with salt and used it, not only for seasoning their food but also in certain rites, e.g. for the oath which cemented an alliance, made around a fire (al-D̲j̲āḥiẓ, Ḥayawān , iv, 472-3; Ibn Ḳutayba, ʿUyūn , iii, 39; al-Nad̲j̲īramī, Aymān , 1924, 30-1; al-Rāg̲h̲ib al-Iṣfahānī, Muḥāḍarāt , ii, 623; al-Marzūḳī, Amkina , ii, 155; cf. T. Fahd, Le feu chez les anciens Arabes , in Le feu dans le Proche-Orient antique, Leiden 1973, 61).…

(a.), furniture. The Arabic language lacks terms adequate to express the concept of furniture. Taking into account the mutual overlapping of the notions of “furniture”, “table-ware”, “carpets”, “household objects” and “utensils”, Arabic frequently has recourse to approximative terms and to broader categories (combinations of two expressions, for example ( fars̲h̲ = carpets, bedding and furniture; āla = crockery and household objects; fars̲h̲ and āla may be used in combination; adāt = utensils etc.; at̲h̲āt̲h̲ = literally, belongings, various household objects and (especially in modern Arabic) furniture; fars̲h̲ and at̲h̲āt̲h̲ may be used in combination; …

(a., pl. marātib ), a term with a variety of meanings: class, rank, degree assigned by etiquette, rank, hierarchy, arrangement of places in an audience, a sofa, an upholstered piece of furniture. The term presents an intriguing question in the domain of manners and etiquette. In pre-Islamic Arabic and the language of the very early Muslim generations, there was no well-developed conceptual vocabulary of ranks and categories, especially those perceived by the ruling class; there was a lack of terms dealing with the “distance” b…

(a.), that which is spread out (on the ground or on a bed), bedding. In mediaeval times, there was no adequate, single term for designating furniture and furnishings; this idea was expressed rather by the term fars̲h̲ (meaning not only “that which is spread out” but also, by extension, the more solid domestic objects which filled the role of “furniture” according to western concepts—whence the adjective mafrūs̲h̲ “furnished, provided with furnishings” [see at̲h̲āt̲h̲ in Suppl.]) or else by collocations of words such as fars̲h̲ and āla (lit. carpets, mattresses and utensils), fars̲h̲ a…

(a.) “drinking companion” and, by extension, friend, courtier (or confidant) of kings or of wealthy persons; his function is to entertain them, eat and drink in their company, play chess with them, accompany them in hunting and participate in their pastimes and recreations. Lexicography ( LA, xvi, 50 f.; TA, ix, 74; the Concordance of Ancient Arabic Poetry, edited by A. ¶ Arazi, contains more than 90 references to nadīm ) and mediaeval Arabic literature (which includes, among other literary forms, a special branch of anthologies devoted to drinking, feasting and pleasure; see Bibl …

(a), “lighthouse”, an elevated place where a light or beacon is established; the means of marking (with fire, originally) routes for caravans or for the army in war; lampstand (“candelabrum”, archaic meaning); minaret (in this sense normally in the fern., manāra , whereas for “lighthouse”, in both the masc. and fem., manār , manāra). In some modern Arabic dictionaries we also find fanār . It is by chance that this latter word resembles phare (French), faro (Italian, Spanish, which derive …

(a.) «boissons». 1. — Problèmes d’identification et delicéité. Le problème de la distinction entre «licite» et «illicite», en matière de boissons, intéresse vivement la littérature religieuse islamique, à cause de l’interdiction, dans le Ḳurʾān, de consommer du vin [voir Ḵh̲amr]. Par extension, tout ce qui est alcoolique est défendu, et les docteurs de la loi consacrent des chapitres …

(a.), vin. Bien que très courant dans la poésie arabe ancienne, ce terme a …

(a.), ce que l’on étale (par terre ou sur un lit), literie. Au moyen âge, l’on n’employait pas un terme adéquat et unique pour désigner les meubles, le mobilier; ce concept était exprimé plutôt par fars̲h̲ (non pas seulement « ce que l’on étale», mais aussi, par extension, les objets domestiques plus solides remplissant les fonctions de meubles d’après les concepts européens; d’où l’adjectif mafrūs̲h̲ «équipé», «meublé» [voir At̲h̲āt̲h̲ au Supplément]), ou par des combinaisons comme fars̲h̲ et āla (littéralement: tapis, matelas et ustensiles), fars̲h̲ et at̲h̲āt̲h̲ (tapis, matela…

(a.) «éventail». — 1. Aspects généraux. — Dans l’Orient musulman, depuis le Moyen Âge et jusqu’à nos jours, les éventails de différentes tailles n’étaient qu’un des moyens de lutter contre la chaleur. Une bonne aération et, si possible, l’abaissement de la température, sont indispensables pour améliorer la vie dans des régions où sévit, en été, une chaleur torride. Les civilisations précédant la civilisation islamique connaissaient déjà quelques solutions assez efficaces à ce problème; il semble…

(a.), «sel»;. 1. — Dans le monde islamique médiéval. Les anciens Arabes, à l’époque préislamique, connaissaient dėjà le sel et l’utilisaient, non seulement pour assaisonner leurs mets, mais aussi dans certains rites, comme par exemple l’alliance sous serment, autour du feu (al-Ḏj̲āḥiẓ. Ḥayawān, IV, 472-3; Ibn Kutayba, ʿUyūn, III, 39; al-Nad̲j̲īrmī, Aymān, 1924, 30-1; al-Rāg̲h̲ib al-Iṣbahānī, Muḥāḍarāt, II, 623; al-Marzūḳī, Amkina, II, 155; cf. T. Fahd, Le feu chez les ¶ anciens Arabes, dans Le feu dans le Proche-Orient antique, Leyde 1973, 43-61). Mais il semble que certai…

, cheveux, poil. 1. En général. Les poètes arabes, préislamiques aussi bien qu’islamiques, décrivent souvent les cheveux des femmes dont ils tombent amoureux (al-ʿAskarī, Dīwān al-maʿānī, II, 229; al-Raffāʿ, al-Muḥibb wa-l-maḥbūb, I, 16-58; al-Nuwayrī, Nihāya, fann II, ḳism I, bāb II; Sadan, Hair, infra, bibliographie). Le contexte dans lequel on rencontre ces descriptions révèle une situation assez claire: les cheveux sur les têtes des belles femmes sont observés par les amants hors du domicile, soit en plein air, sur la voie publique, …

(a.) mobilier. La langue arabe manque de termes adéquats pour exprimer le concept de mobilier. Étant donné l’interpénétration des concepts « meubles », « vaisselle », « tapis », «objets domestiques », ¶ « ustensiles », l’arabe a souvent recours à des termes approximatifs et à des catégories (combinaisons de deux vocables, par exemple) plus vastes ( fars̲h̲ — tapis, objets de literie et meubles; āla = vaisselle et objets domestiques; combinaison de fars̲h̲ et alā; adāt = ustensiles, etc.; at̲h̲āt̲h̲…

(a.) «commensal» et, par extension, ami, courtisan (ou familier) de rois ou de gens aisés; il a le devoir de les distraire, boire et manger en leur compagnie, jouer aux échecs avec eux, les accompagner à la chasse et participer à leurs loisirs et divertissements. La lexicographie ( LA, XVI, 50 sq.; TA…