KORAH

Arabic Qārūn ( قارون‎ ). Heb. ‏קֹרַח‎ . The son of Yaṣhar (Izhar), son of Qāhis̤ (Kohath), son of Lāwī (Levi). The leader of the rebellion against Moses. Num. xvi. 1 ; Jude 11 (where he is coupled with Cain and Balaam). He is mentioned three times in the Qurʾān. Sūrah xl. 24, 25 : “Moreover we had sent Moses of old, with our signs and with clear authority, to Pharaoh, and Haman, and Korah; and they said, ‘Sorcerer, impostor.’ ” Sūrah xxix. 38 : “And Korah and Pharaoh and Haman. With proofs of his mi ion did Moses come to them, and they behaved proudly on the earth; but us they could not outstrip; for every one of them did we seize in his sin. Against some of them did we send a stone-charged wind; some of them did the terrible cry of Gabriel surprise; for some of them we cleaved the earth; and some of them we drowned.” Sūrah xxviii. 76–82 : “Now Korah was of the people of Moses: but he behaved haughtily toward them; for we had given him such treasure that its keys would have burdened a company of men of strength. When his people said to him, ‘Exult not, for God loveth not those who exult; but seek by means of what God hath given thee, to attain the future Mansion; and neglect not thy part in this world, but be bounteous to others as God hath been bounteous to thee, and seek not to commit exce es on the earth; for God loveth not those who commit exce es:’ he said, ‘It hath been given me only on account of the knowledge that is in me.’ Did he not know that God had destroyed before him generations that were mightier than he in strength and had ama ed more abundant wealth? But the wicked shall not be asked of their crimes. And Korah went forth to his people in his pomp. Those who were greedy for this present life said, ‘Oh that we had the like of that which hath been bestowed on Korah! Truly he is po e ed of great good fortune.’ But they to whom knowledge had been given said, ‘Woe to you! the reward of God is better for him who believeth and worketh righteousne , and none shall win it but those who have patiently endured.’ And we clave the earth for him and for his palace, and he had no forces, in the place of God, to help him, nor was he among those who are succoured. And in the morning those who the day before had coveted his lot said, ‘Aha! God enlargeth supplies to whom He pleaseth of His servants, or is sparing. Had not God been gracious to us, He had caused it to cleave for us. Aha! the ungrateful can never prosper. ’ ” Al-Baiẓāwī says Korah brought a false accusation of immorality against Moses, and Moses complained to God, and God directed him to command the earth what he pleased, and it should obey him; whereupon he said, “O earth, swallow them up”; and immediately the earth opened under Korah and his confederates, and swallowed them up, with his palace and all his riches.—There is a tradition that as Korah sank gradually into the ground, first to his knees, then to his waist, then to his neck, he cried out four several times, “O Moses, have mercy on me!” but that Moses continued to say, “O earth, swallow them up!” till at last he wholly disappeared: upon which God said to Moses, “Thou hadst no mercy on Korah, though he asked pardon of thee four times; but I would have had compa ion on him if he had asked pardon of Me but once.” He is represented by Jalālu ʾd-dīn as the most beautiful of the Israeli tes of his time. His opulence and avarice have become a proverb for those who ama wealth without giving away in alms and charity. In the Talmud it is said that “Joseph concealed three treasures in Egypt, one of which became known to Korah … the keys of Korah’s treasure chambers were a burden for 300 white mules.” Midr. Jalkut on Eccl . v. 12: “Riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt,”—which may have furnished Muḥammad with the nucleus of this story. Compare also Tract. Psachim , fol. 119 a . AL -KŪFAH ( الكوفة‎ ). A city on the west bank of the river Euphrates, about four days march from Bag͟hdād, but which has now entirely disappeared. The city of al-Kūfah was founded soon after the Arabs conquered Persia, A.D . 636, and in the reign of the K͟halīfah ʿUmar. It was built opposite the ancient town of Madain, on the other side of the river. The first Abbaside K͟halīfah, Abū ʾl-ʿAbbās , A.D . 750, made it his capital, and it was then a flourishing city, but when the K͟halīfah al-Manṣūr built Bag͟hdād, al-Kūfah decreased in importance, and gradually fell into decay. It was much famed for its learned men, and especially for its grammarians. Two sects of rival grammarians were named respectively from al-Baṣrah and al-Kūfah, and the more ancient characters of Arabic writing are called Kūfī or Kufic, after this seat of learning. The Kufic-Arabic letters resemble the Syriac, being square and heavy. The ancient copies of the Qurʾān are written in Kufic. KUFR ( كفر‎ ). Lit . “That which covers the truth.” Infidelity; blasphemy. Disbelieving in the Qurʾān or in any of the tenets of the Muslim religion. [ KAFIR .] KULĀH ( كلاه‎ ). The Persian for a cap, or cowl, especially worn by Muḥammadan faqīrs or darweshes. The faqīrs generally call it their tāj or crown, and it is one of the distinguishing marks of their order. IMG:3048615538088815629_p282.png:KULAHS. (E. Campbell.) KULAHS . ( E. Campbell .) KULS̤ŪM ( كلثوم‎ ). Kuls̤ūm ibn Hadam, the name of a hospitable but blind chief, with whom Muḥammad stayed at Qubāʾ upon his arrival in that place after his flight from Makkah. It was whilst he was staying with Kuls̤ūm that Muḥammad built his first mosque at Qubāʾ. Kuls̤ūm died soon afterwards. KURZ IBN JĀBIR ( كرز بن جابر‎ ). A Quraish chieftain who committed a raid near al-Madīnah, and carried off some of the flocks and herds of the Muslims. He was afterwards converted to Islām, and fell under K͟hālid at the taking of Makkah. KUSŪF ( كسوف‎ ). [ ECLIPSE OF THE SUN .] A Dictionary of Islam: Being a Cyclopædia of the Doctrines, Rites, Ceremonies, and Customs, Together with the Technical and Theological Terms, of the Muhammadan Religion L LĀĀDRĪYAH ( لاادرية‎ ). A sect of heretics who say it is impo ible for mortal man to be certain of any fact, even of man’s own identity. LABBAIKA ( لبيك‎ ). [ TALBIYAH .] LABĪD ( لبيد‎ ). The son of Rabīʿah ibn Jaʿfar al-ʿĀmirī, a celebrated poet in the time of Muḥammad who embraced Islām, and who is said to have died at al-Kūfah at the advanced age of 157 years. The Prophet is related to have said, “The truest words ever uttered by a poet are those of Labīd,—‘Know that everything is vanity but God.’ ” ( Mishkāt , book xxxii. ch. x. pt. 1.) [ POETRY .] LAḤD ( لحد‎ ). The hollow made in a grave on the Qiblah side, in which the corpse is placed. It is made the same length as the grave, and is as high as would allow a person to sit up in it. LĀHŪT ( لاهوت‎ ). Lit . “Extinction” or “absorption.” (1) The last stage of the mystic journey. (2) Divinity. (3) Life penetrating all things. [ SUFIISM .] LAḤYĀN ( لحيان‎ ). A branch of the Huẕail tribe, which inhabited, in the days of Muḥammad, as they still do, the vicinity of Makkah. Muḥammad formed an expedition against them, A.H . 6, on account of their treacherous attack on a small party of Muslims at Rajī. LAILATU ʾL-BARĀʾAH ( ليلة البراءة‎ ). [ SHAB-I-BARAʾAH .] AL -LAILATU ʾL-MUBĀRAKAH ( الليلة المباركة‎ ). Lit . “The Ble ed Night.” [ LAILATU ʾL-QADR .] LAILATU ʾL-QADR ( ليلة القدر‎ ). “The night of power.” A mysterious night, in the month of Ramaẓān, the precise date of which is said to have been known only to the Prophet and a few of the Companions. The following is the allusion to it in the Qurʾān. Sūratu ʾl-Qadr (xcvii.):— “Verily we have caused it (the Qurʾān) to descend on the Lailatu ʾl-Qadr . “Who shall teach thee what the Lailatu ʾl-Qadr is? “The Lailatu ʾl-Qadr excelleth a you sand months: “Therein descend the angels, and the spirit by permi ion “Of their Lord in every matter; “And all is peace until the breaking of the dawn.” This night must not be confounded, as it often is, with the Shab-i-Barāʾah, which is generally called Shab-i-Qadr, or the night of power, but which occurs on the 15th of Shaʿbān. [ SHAB-I-BARAʾAH .] The excellences of the Lailatu ʾl-Qadr are said to be innumerable, and it is believed that during its solemn hours the whole animal and vegetable creation bow down in humble adoration to the Almighty. LAILATU ʾR-RAG͟HĀʾIB ( ليلة الرغائب‎ ). The “night of supererogatory devotions.” A festival observed on the first Friday in the month Rajab, by certain mystic leaders who affirm that it was established by the Prophet; but it is generally rejected by orthodox Sunnīs. (See Raddu ʾl-Muḥtār , vol. i. p. 717.) LAIS̤ ( ليث‎ ). An Arabic tribe descended from Kinānah. Al-Baiẓāwī says they thought it unlawful for a man to eat alone, and were the cause of the verse in the Qurʾān, Sūrah xxiv. 60 : “There is no crime in you, whether ye eat together or separately.”