[see ḥūr ].

[Voir Ḥūr ].

Ḥourīs are the virgins of Paradise promised to believers in the afterlife. The English word “houri” is derived from the Persian ḥūrī via French, which ultimately comes from the Arabic noun ḥūriyya. The Arabic word ḥūr is the plural of the adjective ḥawrāʾ (fem.)/ aḥwar (masc.), which denotes a general sense of “whiteness.” The term is used to describe the eye of a gazelle or oryx as it contrasts with the vivid blackness of its pupil, exemplified in the expression ḥūr al-ʿīn, “having eyes like those of gazelles and of cows,” which is often applied to women (Lane, Lexicon, 666). The word ḥūr is us…

, the names given by Muhammadans to the two sons of Adam, mentioned, but not by name, in the Ḳorʾān, who brought an offering to God. Jealous that his sacrifice was rejected the one slew his brother. A raven sent by God, which scratched upon the ground, showed him how he could dispose of the body (Sūra, v. 30—34). As this account in the Ḳorʾān, following the Bible narrative, appears bald and uninteresting, Ḳorʾānic exegesis, like the Biblical, endeavours to discover the psychological motives unde…

(a.), pl. of ḥawrāʾ and its masc. aḥwar , adjective from the root ḥ.w.r ., with the general idea of ‘whiteness’ (the root ḥ.y.r ., signifying ‘perplexity’ or ‘astonishment’, which has occasionally been suggested, is to be rejected); ḥawrāʾ is applied more particularly to the very large eye of the gazelle or the oryx, the clear whiteness of which arises from the contrast with the blackness of the pupil and the iris; by extension, ḥawrāʾ signifies a woman whose big black eyes are in contrast to their ‘whites’ and to the whiteness of the skin. The plural ḥūr is a substant…

(a.), pi. de ḥawrāʾ et de son masc aḥwar, adjectif formé sur le radical ḥ.w.r. qui implique une idée de blancheur (la racine ḥ.y.r. connotant la perplexité ou l’étonnement, parfois proposée, doit être rejetée); ḥawrāʾ s’applique plus particulièrement à l’œil, très grand, de la gazelle ou de l’oryx où la nette blancheur de la cornée fait ressortir le noir de la pupille et de l’iris; par extension, ḥawrāʾ désigne une femme dont les grands yeux noirs forment un contraste avec le blanc qui les entoure ainsi qu’avec la blancheur de la peau. Le pl. ḥūr est, dans le Ḳurʾān, un adjectif substant…

Khvāja ʿImād al-Dīn Maḥmūd Gīlānī (813–86/1411–81), commonly known as Maḥmūd Gāvān, was a powerful vizier of the Bahmanī sultanate of South India. Born into a politically important family in Gīlān, Gāvān seems initially to have entered service with the rulers of Gīlān (Sherwani, Gawan, 22–4, citing al-Sakhāwī). Following the death of his father, Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad b. Khvāja Kamāl al-Gīlānī, Maḥmūd and his elder brother Shihāb al-Dīn Aḥmad were forced into exile by a rival political faction, headed by two men who had once been protégés of the brothers’ own family ( Riyāḍ al-inshāʾ, 22…

, “Garden”, is the term which, used antonomastically, usually describes, in the Ḳurʾān and in Muslim literature, the regions of the Beyond prepared for the elect, the “Companions of the right”. E.g.: “These will be the Dwellers in the Garden where they will remain immortal as a reward for their deeds on earth” (Ḳurʾān, XLVI, 14). Other Ḳurʾānic terms will be considered later either as synonyms or as particular aspects of the “Garden”: ʿAdn and D̲j̲annāt ʿAdn . (Eden, e.g., LXI, 12), Firdaws (“Paradise”, sg. farādis , cf. παράδεισος XXIII, 11), the Dwelling of Salvation or of Peace ( dār al-Sa…

, «Jardin», est le terme qui, employé par antonomase, désigne le plus souvent, dans le Ḳurʾān et la littérature musulmane, le séjour de l’Audelà destiné aux Élus, les «Compagnons de la droite». Par ex.: «Ceux-là seront les Hôtes du Jardin où ils seront immortels, en récompense de ce qu’ils faisaient sur terre» (Ḳurʾān, XLVI, 14). D’autres termes coraniques seront considérés par la suite ou comme des synonymes, ou comme des particularisations du «Jardin»: ʿAdan et Ḏj̲annat ʿAdan (l’Eden, par ex. LXI, 12), Firdaws («paradis», sg. formé sur farādīs < παράδεισοΣ; XXIII, 11), Demeure d…

, daughter of Muḥammad and K̲h̲adīd̲j̲a, wife of ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib, mother of al-Ḥasan and al-Ḥusayn, was the only one of the Prophet’s daughters to enjoy great renown. She became the object of great veneration by all Muslims. This may be because she lived closest to her father, lived longest, and gave him numerous descendants, who spread throughout the Muslim world (the other sons and daughters of Muḥammad either died young or, if they had descendants, these soon died out); or it may be because…

(a.), the normal technical terms in Arabic and other Islamic literatures for the genre of panegyric poetry, the individual poem being usually referred to as umdūḥa (pl. amādīḥ ) or madīḥa (pl. madāʾiḥ ). The author himself is called mādiḥ or, as considered professionally, maddāḥ . The root itself is sometimes used without technical connotations, as also are commonly the various other roots signifying "praise": ḥ-m-d, m-d̲j̲-d, ḳ-r-ẓ, t̲h̲-n-y, ṭ-r-w/y, etc. 1. In Arabic literature. As both an independent unit and a component of the ḳaṣīda [ q.v.], the genre has been so widespread …

(a.), termes techniques normaux pour désigner, en arabe et dans d’autres littératures islamiques, le genre de la poésie panégyrique; un poème est généralement appelé umdūḥa (pi. amādiḥ) ou maḍīḥa (pi. madāʾīh), l’auteur lui-même, madīḥ ou, considéré d’un point de vue professionnel, maddāḥ. La racine est parfois employée sans acception technique, comme les autres radicaux impliquant l’idée de «louange»: ḥ.m.d, m.d̲j̲.d, ḳ.r.ẓ., t̲h̲.n.y,ṭ.r.w/y, etc. I. — En arabe. Tant sous forme d’unité indépendante que de composante de la ḳaṣīda [ q.v.], le genre est si répandu dans la l…

, fille de Muḥammad et de Ḵh̲aḍīd̲j̲a, emme de ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib, mère d’al-Ḥasan et d’al-Ḥusayn, fut la seule des filles du Prophète qui jouit d’une grande renommée. Soit parce qu’elle vécut plus près de son père, resta plus longuement en vie et lui donna une nombreuse descendance qui se répandit dans tout le monde musulman (les autres fils et filles de Muḥammad moururent en bas âge ou leur postérité, quand ils en eurent une, s’éteignit rapidement), soit parce que sur elle se réfléchit, outre l…