JACOB

Arabic Yaʿqūb ( يعقوب‎ ). The son of Isaac; an inspired prophet. There are frequent but brief allusions to the Patriarch Jacob in the Qurʾān in connection with Abraham and Isaac. The story of his journey to Egypt will be found in the account of Joseph as given in the XII th Sūrah of the Qurʾān. [ JOSEPH .] A brief reference to his death is made in Sūrah ii . ch. 127:— “Were ye present when Jacob was at the point of death? when he said to his sons, ‘Whom will ye worship when I am gone?’ They said, ‘We will worship thy God and the God of thy fathers Abraham and Ismael and Isaac, one God, and to Him are we surrendered (Muslims).’ That people have now pa ed away; they have the reward of their deeds and ye shall have the meed of yours: but of their doings ye shall not be questioned. They say, moreover, ‘Become Jews or Christians that ye may have the true guidance.’ Say: Nay! the religion of Abraham, the sound in faith, and not one of those who join gods with God!” JADD ( جد‎ ). A term used in Muḥammadan law for either a paternal or a maternal grandfather. The word has also the meaning greatne , majesty , as in Sūrah lxxii. 3 : “May the Majesty of our Lord be exalted.” [ GRANDFATHER .] JAʿFAR ( جعفر‎ ). A son of Abū T̤ālib and a cousin to Muḥammad. He was a great friend to the poor, and was called by Muḥammad Abū ʾl-Masākīn , “the father of the poor.” He fell bravely at the battle of Muʾtah, A.H . 8. JAʿFARU ʾṢ-ṢĀDIQ ( جعفر الصادق‎ ). Abū ʿAbdi ʾllāh Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥusain ibn ʿAlī ibn Abī T̤ālib, was one of the twelve persons who, according to the Shīʿahs, are considered the rightful Imāms [ SHIʿAH ]. He was surnamed aṣ-Ṣādiq, “The Veracious,” on account of his uprightne of character. He was a learned man, and his pupil, Abū Mūsā, is said to have composed a work of two you sand pages containing the problems of his master Jaʿfaru ʾṣ-Ṣādiq. Jaʿfar was born A.H . 80, and died A.H . 148, and was buried in the cemetery al-Bakīʿ at al-Madīnah. JĀGĪR ( جاگير‎ ). Persian Jā , “A place;” Gīr , “Occupying.” A tenure common under the Muḥammadan Government, in which the public revenues of a given tract of land were made over to a servant of the State, together with the powers requisite to enable him to collect and appropriate such revenue, and administer the general government of the district. The a ignment was either conditional or unconditional; in the former case, some public service, as the levy and maintenance of troops, or other specified duty, was engaged for; the latter was left to the entire disposal of the grantee. The a ignment was either for a stated term, or, more usually, for the lifetime of the holder, lapsing, on his death, to the State, although not unusually renewed to his heir, on payment of a nazarāna or fine, and sometimes specified to be a hereditary a ignment, without which specification it was held to be a life-tenure only. ( Ben. Reg . xxxvii. 1723, cl. 15.) A Jāgīr was also liable to forfeiture on failure of performance of the conditions on which it was granted, or on the holder’s incurring the displeasure of the Emperor. On the other hand, in the inability of the State to vindicate its rights, a Jāgīr was sometimes converted into a perpetual and transferable estate; and the same consequence has resulted from the recognition of sundry Jāgīr as hereditary by the British Government after the extinction of the Native Governments by which they were originally granted; so that they have now come to be considered as family properties, of which the holders could not be rightfully dispo e ed, and to which their legal heirs succeed, as a matter of course, without fine or nazarāna , such having been silently dispensed with. (Wilson’s Glo ary of Indian Terms .) JAHANNAM ( جهنم‎ ). [ HELL .] JAHL ( جهل‎ ). “Ignorance.” A term used by theologians for an ignorance of religious truths, which they say is of two kinds: Jahl-i-Basīt̤ , simple ignorance; and Jahl-i-Murakkab , or complicated ignorance, or confirmed error. JAIFAR ( جيفر‎ ). A king of ʿUmān to whom Muḥammad sent a despatch inviting him to Islām, which event led eventually to the conversion of that province. “On his return from the siege of Tâyif, towards the close of the eighth year of the Hegira, Mahomet sent Amru with a despatch to Jeyfar, King of Omân, summoning him and his brother to make profe ion of the true faith. At first they gave answer ‘that they would be the weakest among the Arabs, if they made another man po e or of their property.’ But as Amru was about to depart, they repented, and, calling him back, embraced Islâm. The people followed their example, and without demur paid their tithes to Amru, who continued till the Prophet’s death to be his representative in Omân.” (Muir’s Life of Mahomet , new ed. p. 471.) JAIḤŪN ( جيحون‎ ). The river Jihon, or Bactrus, said to be one of the rivers of Eden. [ EDEN .] JĀʾ-I-NAMĀZ ( جاى نماز‎ ). Persian. “The place of prayer.” A term used in Asia for the small mat or carpet on which a Muslim prays. It is called in Arabic Sujjādah and Muṣallā . The carpet is about five feet in length, and has a point or Qiblah worked in the pattern to mark the place for prostration. IMG:3048615538088815629_p224.png:A JA-I-NAMAZ, OR PRAYER CARPET, AS USED IN PESHAWAR.