(a.), the Muslim scripture, containing the revelations recited by Muḥammad and preserved in a fixed, written form. ¶ 1. Etymology and Synonyms a. Derivation and Ḳurʾānic usage. The earliest attested usage of the term ḳurʾān is in the Ḳurʾān itself, where it occurs about 70 times with a variety of meanings. Most Western scholars have now accepted the view developed by F. Schwally ( Gesch . des Qor ., i, 33 f.) and others that ḳurʾān is derived from the Syriac ḳeryānā , “scripture reading, lesson”, as used in Christian liturgy (see for example the 6th cent…

, the art of drawing prognostications from verses of the Ḳurʾān to which beneficial effects are attributed. The sacred text is used here in the same spirit as in rhapsodomancy ( ʿilm al-ḳurʿa ) and onomatomancy [see d̲j̲afr and ḥurūf. ] But it is here more particularly a case of the “natural properties” (φυσικά) which certain formulae of a magical and superstitious nature can have, based upon suitable Ḳurʾānic verses, letters drawn from these verse, words, names of angels, prophets or God, prayers bearing celebrated names and poems ( e.g. the Burda ). Hence these …

[see iʿd̲j̲āz ].

, the name of a popular figure, who plays a prominent part in legend and story. Al-K̲h̲aḍir is properly an epithet (“the green man”); this was in time forgotten and this explains the secondary form K̲h̲iḍr (approximately “the green”), which in many places has displaced the primary form. (i) In the Ḳurʾān and in oriental legend Legends and stories regarding al-K̲h̲aḍir are primarily associated with the Ḳurʾānic story in Sūra XVIII, 59-81, the outline of which is as follows. Mūsā goes on a journey with his servant ( fatā ), the goal of which is the mad̲j̲maʿ al-baḥrayn . …

(a.), pl. mawālī , a term of theological, historical and legal usage which had varying meanings in different periods and in different social contexts. Linguistically, it is the noun of place of the verb waliya , with the basic meaning of “to be close to, to be connected with someone or something” (see LA, xx, 287ff.; TA, x, 398-401), whence acquiring the sense “to be close to power, authority” > “to hold power, govern, be in charge of some office” (see Lane, s.v.) and yielding such administrative terms as wālī “governor”, and wilāya [ q.v.] “the function of governor” or, in a legal conte…

, in the sense of kalām Allāh the Word of God, must here be distinguished from 1) kalām meaning ʿilm al-kalām [ q.v.], “defensive apologetics”, or “the science of discourse” (on God); and 2) kalima [ q.v.] which, in the expression kalimat Allāh , means “a” (single) divine utterance. Kalām Allāh is found at least three times in the Ḳurʾān (II, 75, IX, 6, XLVIII, 15). God spoke to the prophets (II, 253); He spoke “clearly” to Moses (IV, 164, VII, 143), who had been chosen to transmit His messages and His Word (VII, 144); God…

, God the Unique one, the Creator and Lord of the Judgment, polarizes the thought of Islam; He is the sole reason for its existence. ¶ Allāh was known to the pre-Islamic Arabs; he was one of the Meccan deities, possibly the supreme deity and certainly a creator-god (cf. Ḳurʾān, xiii, 16; xxix, 61, 63; xxxi, 25; xxxix, 38; xliii, 87). He was already known, by antonomasia, as the God, al-Ilāh (the most likely etymology; another suggestion is the Aramaic Alāhā ).—For Allāh before Islam, as shown by archaeological sources and the Ḳurʾān, see ilāh . But the vague notion of supreme (not sole) di…

[see basmala ; Ḳurʾān ].

[see ḳurʾān ]

[see ḳāriʾ and ḳurʾān ].

[see ḳirāʾa and ḳurʾān ].

[see al-Ḳurʾān ].

[see al-ḳurʾān ].

, pl. ad̲j̲zāʾ , (i) a “foot” in prosody [see ʿarūḍ ]. (ii) a division of the Ḳurʾān for purposes of recitation [see ḳurʾān ].

[see al-ḳurʾān ].

(a.), a term of Islamic theology meaning “sin”, used in Ḳurʾān, II, 216/219, V, 32/29, XLIX, 12, amongst various other terms denoting sin and sinfulness in varying degrees, such as d̲h̲anb , pl. d̲h̲unūb , used in Ḳurʾān, III, 129/135 and passim . For a discussion of the concept of sin and its consequences, see k̲h̲aṭīʾa . ¶

(a.), a religio-legal term. The meaning of the root appears to be “to raise”, especially “to elevate a thing so that it is visible to all”. The word does not occur with this sense in either Ḳurʾān or Ḥadīt̲h̲ , but it may be etymologically connected with naṣaba . In the technical vocabulary of uṣūl al-fiḳh , the term refers to a text whose presence in either Ḳurʾān or Ḥadīt̲h̲ must be demonstrated to justify an alleged ruling. In his Risāla , al-S̲h̲āfiʿī uses it to refer to rulings textually referred to in either Ḳurʾān or Sunna , (81, 83, 88, 138, 149, 158-9, 166, 17…

al-Anṣārī al-Madanī, a member of the Banū Ḥudayla of the Medinan clan of al-Nad̲j̲d̲j̲ār, secretary to Muḥammad in Medina and early collector of the Ḳurʾān; his date of death may have been anywhere between 19/640 and 35/656, according to Ibn al-Ḏj̲azarī, Ṭabaḳāt , no. 131. Known as sayyid al-ḳurrāʾ and renowned for his memory (he was able to recite the entire Ḳurʾān in 8 nights), Ubayy is said to have collected his own copy of the Ḳurʾān prior to the collection commanded by ʿUt̲h̲mān, while also having been involved in the latter’s collection. Both the contents and the sūra …

(Ḳurʾānic term), “pious goodness” (R. Blachère’s translation; see Ḳurʾān, ii, 189). In the analysis of the spiritual states ( aḥwāl ) and the attitude of the soul towards God, it must at the same time be compared with and distinguished from taḳwā [ q.v.]. (L. Gardet)

(a.) is one of the names given to the mysterious letters placed at the head of 26 sūras of the Ḳurʾān, see al-ḳurʾān , D, d. Under ḳiṭʿa , there is a cross-reference to muḳaṭṭaʿa , with reference to the fragments of or extracts from a prose or verse work made by a compiler or anthologist, but a detailed consideration of these may be found under the heading muk̲h̲tārāt . Finally, it has been judged useful to reprint the article ḳiṭʿa from EI 1 since it is essentially concerned with the use of this term in mathematics. In this connection, reference may also be made to M. Souissi, La langue des mathémati…