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(a.), a vinegar- and flour-based meat stew or broth cooked with vegetables, fruits, spices and date-juice. It was apparently a popular ʿAbbāsid dish but very likely considered simple folk’s food, as borne out by the many anecdotes that make satirical mention of it. Its origins, however, seem to have been royal, namely the Sāsānid court: Ibn Sayyār al-Warrāḳ (d. second half 4th/10th century) mentions, in his K. al-Ṭabīk̲h̲ , ed. K. Öhrnberg and S. Mroueh, Helsinki 1987, 132, that K̲h̲usraw Anūs̲h̲irwān [ q.v.] once asked several cooks to prepare the finest dish they knew and a…

, Abū Muḥammad, 51st dāʿī al-muṭlaḳ , or absolute dāʿī (addressed as Bāwa Ṣāḥib and Sayyidnā ), vicegerent of the 21st Imām’s (al-Ṭayyib) descendants, and leader of the small, predominantly Gud̲j̲arātī, Ismāʿīlī merchant community of Dāwūdī Bohorās [ q.v.]. He was born in Bombay in 1304/1886, assumed headship of the dawat ( = daʿwa ) from ʿAbd Allāh Badr al-Dīn in 1330/1912, and ruled till his death in Matheran in 1384/1965, when he was succeeded by his son, Muḥammad Burhān al-Dīn (b. 1334/1915). He is buried in the “Rawḍat Ṭāhira” mausoleum built by his son, now a ziyāra site for Bohorās. Thou…

b. ʿAbd Allāh b. Muḥammad b. Mūsā b. Ibrāhīm, Abu ’I-ʿAbbās, al-Muhannad al-Bag̲h̲dādī , poet and letter-writer (one biographer mentions interesting ones, rasāʾil ʿad̲j̲ība ), born in Bag̲h̲dād in Ramaḍān 315/November ¶ 927. In 340/951, in his mid-twenties, al-Muhannad left Bag̲h̲dād for Cordova in search of fame and patronage, both of which he found as panegyrist and companion to the ʿĀmirid ruler al-Manṣūr b. Abī ʿĀmir [ q.v.]. His biographers are consequently Andalusian. The earliest notice occurs in Ibn al-Faraḍī (d. 403/1013 [ q.v.]), Taʾrīk̲h̲ ʿUlamāʾ al-Andalus …

, Abu ’l-Ḥusayn, son of the historian, littérateur and bookman Ibn Abī Ṭāhir (d. 280/893 [ q.v.]), and a historian and author in his own right. Ibn al-Nadīm describes the father as a superior author ( Fihrist , 147) but al-Ḳifṭī considers him equally "assiduous in [his] reporting" ( Ḥukamāʾ , 111). He died in his home town, Bag̲h̲dād, in 313/925; his date of birth is unknown. The mention of ʿUbayd Allāh in the biographical literature rests on the fact that he is his father’s son and that he wrote a continuation of his father’s K. Bag̲h̲dād , a history, properly a regnally-organised ak̲h̲bār …

, Abū Muḥammad, 51ème dāʿī al-muṭlaḳ, ou dāʿī absolu (appelé Bāwa Ṣāḥib et Sayyidnā), vice régent du 21ème descendant de l’Imām (al-Ṭayyib) et chef de la petite communauté commerçante ismāʿīlite de Dāwūdī Bahorās [ q.v.], essentiellement Gud̲j̲arātī. Il est né à Bombay en 1304/1886 et obtint la fonction de chef du dawat (= daʿwa) de ʿAbd Allāh Badr al-dīn en 1330/1912, charge qu’il occupa jusqu’à sa mort à Matheran en 1384/1965; son fils, Muḥammad Burhān al-dīn (né en 1334/1915) lui succéda alors. Il fut enterré dans le mausolée de « Rawḍat Ṭāhira», construit par son fils, aujourd’hui…

, Abū l-Ḥusayn, fils de l’historien, homme de lettres et libraire Ibn Abī Ṭāhir (m. en 280/893 [ q.v.]), historien et écrivain lui-même. Ibn al-Nadīm parle du père comme d’un auteur éminent ( Fihrist, 147) mais al-Ḳifṭī le considère comme étant également «assidu dans [ses] comptes-rendus» ( Ḥukamāʾ, 111). Il mourut dans sa ville natale, Bag̲h̲dād. en 313/925; on ignore sa date de naissance. ʿUbayd Allāh doit d’être mentionné dans la littérature biographique au fait qu’il est le fils de son père et qu’il écrivit une suite au K. Bag̲h̲dād de celuici, ouvrage d’histoire qui est à propr…

ragoūt ou potage à base de vinaigre et de farine cuit avec des légumes, des fruits, des épices et du jus de dattes. C’était apparemment un mets ʿabbāside fort apprécié, mais considéré comme populaire, à en juger par les nombreuses anecdotes qui le tournent en dérision. Quoi qu’il en soit, ses origines semblent bien avoir été royales, plus précisément à la cour des Sāsānides. Dans son K. al-Ṭabīk̲h̲, éd. Öhrnberg et Mroueh, Helsinki 1987, 132, Ibn Sayyār al-Warrāḳ (m. seconde moitié du IVe/Xe siècle) relate que Ḵh̲usraw Anūs̲h̲irwān [ q.v.] demanda un jour à plusieurs cuisiniers de p…

b. ʿAbd Allāh b. Muḥammad b. Mūsā b. Ibrāhīm, Abū l-ʿAbbās al-Muhannad al-Bag̲h̲dādī, poète et épistolier (un biographe mentionne les plus intéressantes de ses épîtres, rasāʾil ʿad̲j̲ība), né à Bag̲h̲dād en ramaḍān 315/novembre 927. En 340/951, vers vingt-cinq ans, il quitta Bag̲h̲dād pour Cordoue en quête de renommée et de patronage, qu’il trouva en qualité de panégyriste et de compagnon du maître ʿāmiride de l’Andalousie al-Manṣūr b. Abī ʿĀmir [ q.v.]. C’est pour-quoi ses biographes sont surtout des Andalous. La plus ancienne notice est celle d’Ibn al-Faraḍī (m. 403/1013 [ q.v.]) d…

Travel episodes of long or short duration. Instances and descriptions of travel may be real, e.g. trips undertaken by qurʾānic characters, or figurative, e.g. following the straight path (see path or way ) to earn God's pleasure. Both feature prominently in the Qurʾān. Common also are references to modes of and motives for travel and allusions to the journeys (see journey ) undertaken by Muḥammad (e.g. the night journey; see ascension ) and by the early Muslim community (e.g. the hijra from Mecca [q.v.] to Medina [q.v.]; see emigration ). The Qurʾān acknowledges the fact that the cou…

Garments worn for modesty (q.v.), utility, protection and decoration. Explicit references to clothing appear 23 times in the Qurʾān. Qurʾānic terms for clothing are libās and thiyāb (clothing, garment), zīna (finery), ḥilya (ornament) and rīsh (attire). Only rarely are specific items mentioned: ¶ (mail) shirts ( sarābīl,q 16:81), sandals ( naʿl,q 20:12), robes ( jalābīb,q 33:59) and shirt ( qamīṣ,q 12:18, 25-8, 93). A wrap or cloak (dithār) is evoked in q 74, which is entitled “The Cloaked One” (Sūrat al-Muddaththir). In the Qurʾān ḥijāb denotes a curtain or separation rather t…

, the name of an island placed in the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean by the Arabic geographical writers. It appears as early as the Akabār al-Ṣīn wa ’l-Hind of Sulaymān al-Tād̲j̲ir and in the K. al-Masālik wa ’lmamālik of Ibn K̲h̲urradād̲h̲bih (3rd/9th century) and then in almost all subsequent texts, and the title of its ruler, the Mahārād̲j̲[ā], is also regularly used from an early date. The location of Zābad̲j̲ in Southeast Asia is certain. The Arabic authors describe it as a trading empire, and place it in relation to known places, such as India, Ḳimār [ q.v.] (Khmer = Cambodia) an…

, Waḳwāḳ, Wāḳ Wāḳ , Wāḳ al-Wāḳ , al-Wāḳwāḳ (a.), a name, possibly onomatopoeic, of uncertain origin, found in mediaeval Islamic geographical, zoological and imaginative literature. One of the most mystifying place names in the geographical literature, it refers variously to an island or group of islands, inhabited by a darkskinned population who speak a distinct language; a people or race; and a tree producing humanfruit. There is also the cuckoo bird, onomatopoeically known as Wāḳwāḳ. 1. The island or islands of Wāḳwāḳ. (a) Introduction There are many stories connected with it …