Dhu l-Fiqaar - Zulficar - Zulfikar - sword

Whatever happened before 910 A.D.
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TheMaw
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Dhu l-Fiqaar - Zulficar - Zulfikar - sword

Post by TheMaw »

Last night, I went to the library to find a quote I remembered about the origin of Dhu al-Fiqaar. I found it where I remembered: in Hishaam ibn al-Kalbi's Book of Idols (Kitaab al-A9naami) under the section on Manaatu. Al-Kalbii died in 206 AH (~822 CE) and was a scholar in al-Kuufah who, unusually for his time, specialised in history and stories of the pre-Islamic period. He was, however, attacked as a raafidi and 'merely' a historian, although al-Mas3uudii respected him highly. His grandfather and great-grandfathers fought for the Ahl al-Bayt at Siffin and in the "Battle of the Camel". Here is what he records:
The Quraysh as well as the rest of the Arabs continued to venerate Manaatu until the Apostle of God set out from Mdina in the eighth year of the Hijrah, the year in which God accorded him the victory. When he was at a distance of four or five nights from Medina, he dispatched Ali to destroy her. Ali demolisher her, took away all her [treasures] and carried them back to the Prophet. Among the treasures which Ali carried away were two swords that had been presented to her by al-Haarith ibn Abi Shamir al-Ghassaaniyy, King of al-Ghassaan. The one sword was called Mikhdham and the other Rasuub. They are the two swords of al-Haarith which 3alqamah mentions in one of his poems: [...] The Prophet gave these two swords to Ali. Dhu al-Fiqaar, the sword of Ali, was one of them.

It is also said that Ali found these two swords in [the temple] of al-Fals, the idol of the Tayyi', where the Prophet had sent him, and which he also destroyed.
Does anyone know the accuracy of this?
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TheMaw
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Post by TheMaw »

No one has alternate information on the origin of the sword aside from the narratives of ibn al-Kalbi?
hungama25
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Post by hungama25 »

MANAH

The most ancient of all these idols was Manah. The Arabs used to name [their children] 'Abd-Manah and Zayd-Manah. Manah was erected on the seashore in the vicinity of al-Mushallal in Qudayd, between Medina and Mecca. All the Arabs used to venerate her and sacrifice before her. [In particular] the Aws and the Khazraj, as well as the inhabitants of Medina and Mecca and their vicinities, used to venerate Manah, sacrifice before her, and bring unto her their offerings.

The children of the Ma'add were followers of a faith which still preserved a little of the religion of Ishmael. The Rabi'ah and the Mudar, too, were followers of a similar faith. But none venerated her more than the Aws and the Khazraj.

Abu-al-Mundhir Hisham ibn-Muhammad said: I was told by a man from the Quraysh on the authority of abu-'Ubaydab 'Abdullab ibn-abi-'Ubaydah ibn-'Ammar ibn-Yasir who was the best informed man on the subject of the Aws and the Khazraj, that the Aws and the Khazraj, as well as those Arabs among the people of Yathrib and other places who took to their way of life, were wont to go on pilgrimage and observe the vigil at all the appointed places, but not shave their heads. At the end of the pilgrimage, however, when they were about to return home, they would set out to the place


where Manah stood, shave their heads, and stay there a while. They did not consider their pilgrimage completed until they visited Manah. Because of this veneration of Manah by the Awa and the Khazraj, 'Abd-al-'Uzza ibn-Wadi'ah al-Muzani, or some other Arab, said:



"An oath, truthful and just, I swore
By Manah, at the sacred place of the Khazraj."


During the Jahiliyah days, the Arabs were wont to call both the Aws and the Khazraj by the single generic name, al-Khazraj. For this reason the part said, "at the sacred place of the Khazraj." This Manah is that which God mentioned when He said, "And Manah, the third idol besides." She was the [goddess] of the Hudhayl and the Khuza'ah.
The Quraysh as well as the rest of the Arabs continued to venerate Manah until the Apostle of God set out from Medina in the eighth year of the Hijrah, the year in which God accorded him the victory. When he was at a distance of four or five nights from Medina, he dispatched 'Ali to destroy her. 'Ali demolished her, took away all her [treasures], and carried them back to the Prophet. Among the treasures which 'Ali carried away were two swords which had been presented to [Manah] by al-Harith ibn-abi-Shamir al-Ghassani, the king of Ghassan. The one sword was called Mikhdham and the other Rasub. They are the two swords of al-Harith which 'Alqamah mentions in one of his poems. He said:



"Wearing two coats of mail as well as
Two studded swords, Mikhdham and Rasub ."



The Prophet gave these two swords to 'All. It is, therefore, said that dhu-al-Faqar, the sword of 'Ali, was one of them.

It is also said that 'Ali found these two swords in [the temple of] al-Fals, the idol of the Tayyi', whither the Prophet had sent him, and which he also destroyed.




http://answering-islam.org/Books/Al-Kalbi/
hungama25
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Post by hungama25 »

but there is a benefit of doubt here because the sword of h.ali[as] was no ordinary sword, it was the sword of king, the king of haq[truth]

there is this ishna shari hadith that states that it was h.jibrael[as] who brought that sword from heaven and gave it to imam ali[as].

the sword dhu-alfiqar is of great importance in islam the word "DHUL" means two [as in the edges of the sword] and "FIKQAAR" mean the backbone....so in short DHU-AL FIQAAR is the backbone of islam




H 629, Ch. 38, h 9

Muhammad ibn al-Husayn has narrated from Ali ibn Muhammad from Sahl ibn Ziyad from Muhammad ibn al-Walid Shabab al-Sayrafi from Aban ibn �Uthman from abu �Abdallah (a.s.) who has said the following "When the Messenger of Allah was about to dies, he called to him al-�Abbass ibn �Ad al-Muttalib and Amir al-Mu�mini (a.s.) . He said to al-�Abbass, "O auncle of Muhammad, will you inherit the legacy of Muhammad , pay his debts and fulfill his promises and commitments?" He responded, "O the Messenger of Allah, May Allah take my soul and the souls of my parents in service for your cause, I am an old man with a large number of dependents, with very little belongings while in generosity compete the winds." He (the Messenger of Allah) said, "I will give them away to whoever would want them along with its rights and responsibilities." Then the Holy Prophet (s.a.) said, "O Ali, brother of Muhammad, will you pay off the liabilities of Muhammad, pay off his debt and take possession of his legacy?" He said, "Yes, May Allah take my soul and the soul of my parents in service for your cause, it is my responsibility and in my favor" Ali (a.s.) has said, "I looked at him and saw take off even his ring from his finger and said to me wear on this ring in my lifeee time." He (Ali) (a.s.) has said, "I lookked to the ring when wearing on my finger and wished to have it out of all his properties." He then called upon Bilal loudly, "Bring me my helmet, the coat of arms, the flag, the Shirt, the Dhulfaqar, (famous sword), al-Sahab, (the Turban) al-Burd, ( the clothe) al-Abraqa, (the belt)and the Staff." Ali (a.s.) has said, "I had never before seen that belt. When it was brought its shine would almost take away one�s sight. It was of the belts of paradise." He (the Messenger of Allah) thensaid, "O Ali, Jibril brought this for me and said, "O Muhammad, place it in the ring of the coat of arms and use it as a belt around your midsection. Then he asked that the two pairs of Arabian shoves be brought to him along with the shirt. One of them was already stitched and the other was not yet stitched. It was the Shirt with which he take for the �Isra� (the night journey), the Shirt while wearing it he came out on the day of �Uhud. Three caps were brought, the cap used while on a journey, the cap used on the �Id days and the cap used on Frindays. Also the cap that was used during his meeting with his companions was brought to him." Then he (the Messenger of Allah ) said, "O Bilala, bring to us the two mules, the gray one and Dul dul and the two camels, al_Ghadba� and al-Qaswa� and the two horses." Al-Janah wopuld been kept near the door of the Mosque in case the Messenger of Allah needed. Whenever he would need any thing he would let a man to ride on it to go for the task and the horse wound run for the needs of the Messenger of Allah. Also Hayzum was brought to him, the donkey called �Ufayr were brought to him. He then said, "Take possession of these in my life time." Amir al-Mu�mini (a.s.) has said, "The first one of the animals died was �Ufayr who died at within the same hour that the Messenger of Allah died. He brook off his bound until and began to run until he came to the well of bnu Khatma in Quba and threw himself into it and it became his grave." It is narrated that Amir al-Mu�mini (a.s.) has said, "That donkey spoke to the Messenger of Allah say, May Allah take my soul and the soul of my parents in service for your cause, my father related to me from his father from his grand father from his father who lived with Noah in the Ark. Once Noah came to him and whipped his on his back and said, "From the descendents of this donkey there will a donkey on whose back the master and the last of the prophets will ride. I thank Allah who has made me that donkey."


This is from Volume 4, Chapter 38 of Al Kafi, you may view it here:

http://www.al-shia.com/html/eng/books/h ... 4-ch38.htm
TheMaw
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Post by TheMaw »

hungama25 wrote:the sword dhu-alfiqar is of great importance in islam the word "DHUL" means two [as in the edges of the sword] and "FIKQAAR" mean the backbone....so in short DHU-AL FIQAAR is the backbone of islam
Dhu means "thing/person that" and fiqaar means "cutting between the vertebrae": it means "Spinebreaker" or "Spinesplitter". The word for "two" is ithnaani, not "dhu".
hungama25
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Post by hungama25 »

the battle of nehrawan


Nahjul Balaghah, sermon # 59 When Amir al-mu'minin showed his intention to fight the Kharijites he was told that they had crossed the bridge of Nahrawan and gone over to the other side. Amir al-mu'minin said: Their falling place is on this side of the river. By Allah, not even ten of them will survive while from your side not even ten will be killed


history says that indeed only 10-12 people were killed from imam ali's[as] side and they were more than 20,000 kharajites killed during this battle.


nevertheless the sword dhu-alfiqar is not to win battle but to protect islam and there is a saying that imam mehdi[as] will appear with a sword[dhu-alfiqar] and will slay the kalinga and proclaim ISLAM over all other religions including the subsects of islam :wink:
kmaherali
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Post by kmaherali »

Imam Muhammad al-Baqir in a discourse given in Umm al-kitab (The Mother of Books), a major work of the early Shia Imami tradition of Central Asia, explains Dhu'l-fiqar as:

"The [the-sword] Dhu'l-fiqar of 'Ali signifies the Luminous Vital Conscious Spirit. Dhu'l-fiqar is the Spirit of Faith, the Lord of the believers, the oppressed ones, the worthy ones and the paupers. Samsam is the Spirit of Preservation; Qamqam is the Reflective Spirit; and Dargham is the Spirit of Knowledge. Islam and the [state] of being a Muslim becomes complete by the four swords of 'Ali, [287] as the Prophet, peace be upon him, said, 'Islam becomes complete by the four swords of'Ali'. A Muslim is the one who follows Islam. The four swords [of'Ali], Hasan, Husayn, [and] Muhammad ibn Hanafiyyah, the meaning of the Qa'im (Resurrector, or Messiah), the miracles of the Qa'im also signify the Vital Spirit of the brain. The miracle of the fire means the manifestation of the [Spirit of] Faith. The Qa'im will carry a red flag which signifies the Sacred Spirit. He will brandish a white sword that means, the Conscious Spirit having three hundred and thirteen emissaries who will form the army of the Resurrector. They are the same seven Spirits which are above the Spirit of Faith about which it has been explained in several places [288]. They are three hundred and three [in number]; that is thirteen and three, plus ten which is one [make fourteen divided by two]. The result is seven which signify the seven manifestations of the Prophets'.1

1 . This is in reference to the concept of Ismaili sacred history of religion which is divided into seven cycles, each cycle founded by a speaker-prophet, natiq. The seven natiqs are: Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Muhammad, and Qa'im (or Messiah). The first six are the revealers of the divine shara'i' (laws); the last one would unveil the inner truths of all the sharai' revealed to the speaker-prophets. Cf. H. Corbin, Cyclical Time and Ismaili Gnosis, tr. R. Manheim and J. W. Morris (London, 1983), especially pp. 84-99.

The Mother of Books (Umm al-kitab), Ismaili Thought in the Classical Age, edited by S.H. Nasr & M. Aminrazavi
aknak
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Post by aknak »

masha'llah what true indepth classical ismaillism,but as we are happy with the fodder and not the the kernal of the almond......we should rest there....!
TheMaw
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Post by TheMaw »

aknak wrote:masha'llah what true indepth classical ismaillism,but as we are happy with the fodder and not the the kernal of the almond......we should rest there....!
If you are comfortable, rest. If you aren't, move. I want to know more about what the historians say about Dhu l-Fiqaar.
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