SULUS STYLE

كنت نبيا والادم بين الماء والطين‎ Kuntu nabīyan wa ʾl-adamu baina ʾl-māʾi wa ʾt̤-t̤īni . “I was a prophet, when man was yet a mixture of water and clay.” It will be observed that beneath the م‎ ( m ) of the words الادم‎ ( al-adamu ) and الماء ‎ ( al-māʾi ), in the S̤ulus̤ fragment, the letter is written a second time in a smaller character, and that, moreover, in the word الادم‎ it is surmounted by the sign IMG:3048615538088815629_symaltshadda.png:Mag͟hrib shadda , which in Mag͟hrib writing, as we have seen, generally represents the Tashdīd. This is done in the above-mentioned ornate styles, especially with those letters which admit of diacritical points, viz. ح‎ , د‎ , ر‎ , س‎ , ص‎ , ط‎ , ع‎ , . To indicate that no such diacritical point is intended, the sign IMG:3048615538088815629_symaltshadda.png:Mag͟hrib shadda is placed on the top of the letter, or to make still surer of preventing a mistake, the letter itself is repeated in a minute shape at the bottom. Only the letter ه‎ ( h ), as distinguished from ة‎ ( t ), is, in this case, written above the line, because it frequently occurs as abbreviation of هو‎ huwa , “He,” or الله‎ Allāh , “God,” and it would therefore be considered irreverential towards the Deity to write it beneath the other letters. As a feature common to this division of the Eastern Arabic manuscript style, we lastly point out the inclination of the characters from the left to the right, in contradistinction both to the Mag͟hrib and T̤aʿlīq writing, where the letters are traced perpendicularly, or even with a slight bend from the right to the left. Two other deviations from the pure Nask͟hī style are the Jarī and Dīwānī, officially employed in Turkey, and exhibited in the specimen No. 9:— IMG:3048615538088815629_p691-2.png:No. 9. No. 9. JARI AND DIWANI . The Jarī fragment in the upper division is a facsimile of the formula which accompanies the seal of the Sultān, and runs as follows:— نشان شريف عاليشان سامى مكان وطغراى غراى جهان اراى ستان خاقان نفذ بالعون الربانى والصون الصمدانى حكمى اولدر كه‎ Nishāni sharīfi ʿālīshān sāmī makān wa tug͟hrāʾī g͟harrāʾī jihān arāʾī sitāni k͟hāqān nufiẕa bi ʾl-ʿaun ar-rabbānī wa ʾṣ-ṣaun aṣ ṣamadānī ḥukmī oldur ki .… “This is the noble, exalted, brilliant sign-manual, the world-illuminating and adorning cipher of the K͟hāqān (may it be made efficient by the aid of the Lord and the protection of the Eternal). His order is that, etc.” The beauty of this style is considered to consist in its being written either diagonally from the top to the bottom of the page, or ascending elliptically from the bottom to the top. The Dīwānī style, of which the lower division gives an example, is used in the official correspondence of the Turkish administration. The final letters, and even words, are placed on the top of one another, and in its more intricate varieties the letters run together in a fanciful manner, which renders the decipherment of this writing frequently very difficult. Finally, we present in No. 10 a specimen of the Persian T̤aʿlīq writing:— IMG:3048615538088815629_p692.png:No. 10. No. 10. TAʿLIQ CHARACTER. همين چشم دارم ز خوانندگان كه نامم به نيكو برند بر زبان‎ Hamīn chashmi dāram zi k͟hwānandagān Ki nāmam ba nīkū bar and bar zabān . “Such hope I cherish that in minstrel’s lay, With right fair fame my name will live for aye!” ( Firdausī .) From this style of writing the Shikastah is derived, and bears the same relation to it which the Dīwānī bears to Nask͟hī. While in general preserving the peculiar outline of the T̤aʿlīq, it superposes finals and words, and joins letters in a similar way to the Dīwānī, with which, however, it contrasts favourably by a far more elegant and graceful delineation of the characters. It remains now only to add a few words on the writing materials which the Arabs, and Orientals in general, make use of. From the nature of the character and from the direction of the writing from the right to the left, it will be easily understood that our quill and steel pens would answer the purpose rather indifferently. The bolder stroke requires a broader nib, and, at the same time, the edges of the writing instrument should be smooth enough to glide with ease over the paper, so as to enable the hand to give that fine swing and swell to the curved lines, which form one of the chief beauties of the Arabic writing. These conditions are admirably fulfilled by the qalam or reed pen. For the same reasons their ink is richer and their paper more glo y than those which we employ ourselves. The best ink is said to be made of lamp-black and vinegar or verjuice, to which red ochre is added, well beaten up and mixed with yellow arsenic and camphor. The paper, before being used for writing, is submitted to the action of the pre , or made smooth by placing it on a well-levelled board of chestnut wood, and polishing it with an egg of crystal of about half a pound’s weight. We cannot here enter into further particulars on the subject. The reader who might feel interested in it, will find some curious details in a short poem by Abū ʾl-Ḥas an ʿAlī ibn al-Bauwāb, which De Sacy has published and translated in his Chrestomathie . As mentioned before, this calligraphist was one of the greatest masters of his art, so much so that when he died, A.H . 413 or 423, the following lines were written in his praise:— “Thy lo was felt by the writers of former times, and each succe ive day justifies their grief. The ink-bottles are therefore black with sorrow, and the pens are rent through affliction.” Ibn K͟hallikān, from whom we quote, finds these verses very fine. Without disparaging his taste, we can happily a ure our readers that Ibn al-Bauwāb’s verses are finer. With regard to the qalam , however, he rather mystifies us on the very point which would be most interesting, namely, the manner in which the nib should be cut or made. He says:— “Give your whole attention to the making of your nib, for on this, verily, all else depends. “But do not flatter yourself that I am going to reveal this secret; it is a secret which I guard with a miser’s jealousy. “All that I will tell is, that you must observe the golden mean between a too much rounded and too much pointed form.” Disappointed as we are at this oracular saying, we will condone him for his niggardly reticence on account of his final lines, with which we will also terminate our article:— “Let your hand devote its fingers to writing only useful things that you will leave behind you on quitting this abode of illusion; “For man will find, when the book of his actions will be unrolled before him, all that he has done during the days of his life.” WUJŪD ( وجود‎ ). An existence. Philosophers say existences are of three kinds:— Wājibu ʾl-Wujūd , nece ary existence—God. Mumkinu ʾl-Wujūd , a po ible existence—Creation. Mumtaniʿu ʾl-Wujūd , an impo ible existence—an A ociate with God. WUQŪF ( وقوف‎ ). “Standing.” A name given to those ceremonies of the Pilgrimage which are performed on Mount ʿArafah. (Burton, Pilgrimage , vol. ii. p. 383.) WUẒŪʾ ( وضوء‎ ). The ablution made before saying the appointed prayers. Those which are said to be of divine institution are four in number, namely: to wash (1) the face from the top of the forehead to the chin, and as far as each ear; and (2) the hands and arms up to the elbow; (3) to rub ( masaḥ ) with the wet hand a fourth part of the head; also (4) the feet to the ankles. The authority for these actions is the Qurʾān, Sūrah v. 8 : “O Believers! when ye addre yourselves to prayer, wash your hands up to the elbow, and wipe your heads, and your feet to the ankles.” The Sunnīs wash the feet: the Shīʿahs are apparently more correct, for they only wipe, or rather rub ( masaḥ ) them. In these ablutions, if the least portion of the specified part is left untouched, the whole act becomes usele and the prayer which follows is vain. The Sunnah regulations (or those established on the example of Muḥammad) regarding it are fourteen in number. (1) to make the intention or nīyah of wuẓūʾ , thus: “I make this wuẓūʾ for the purpose of putting away impurity”; (2) to wash the hand up to the wrist, but care must be taken not to put the hands entirely into the water, until each has been rubbed three times with water poured on it; (3) to say one of the names of God at the commencement of the wuẓūʾ , thus: “In the name of the Great God,” or “Thanks be to God”; (4) to clean the teeth ( miswāk ); (5) to rinse the mouth three times; (6) to put water into the nostrils three times; (7) to do all the above in proper order; (8) to do all without any delay between the various acts; (9) each part is to be purified three times; (10) the space between the fingers of one hand must be rubbed with the wet fingers of the other; (11) the beard must be combed with the fingers; (12) the whole head must be rubbed once; (13) the ears must be washed with the water remaining on the fingers after the last operation; (14) to rub under and between the toes with the little finger of the left hand, drawing it from the little toe of the right foot and between each toe in succe ion. [ ABLUTION , PRAYER , WATER .] 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 Y YADU ʾLLĀH ( يد الله‎ ). “Hand of God.” The expre ion occurs in the Qurʾan:— Sūrah xlviii. 10 : “God’s hand is above their hands.” Sūrah v. 69 : “The Jews say, ‘God’s hand is fettered. ’ ” The expre ion is a subject of controversy amongst the Muḥammadans. The Wahhābīs maintain that it is wrong to hold that it is merely a figurative expre ion, but rather that God doth po e a hand in such a manner as it exists, without attempting to explain the manner how. On the other hand, some maintain that it is merely a figurative expre ion for God’s power. YAG͟HŪS̤ ( يغوث‎ ). An idol mentioned in the Qurʾān, Sūrah lxxi. 23 . Profe or Palmer says it was in the figure of a lion. Al-Baiẓāwī says it was the name of a hero who lived between the days of Adam and Noah, who was afterwards worshipped in an idol of the name. YĀ HŪ ( يا هو‎ ). “O He!” that is, “O God.” An exclamation often recited by faqīrs or darveshes in their religious ẕikrs. The third personal pronoun singular, hū ( huwa ), “He” being a name for God, i.e . “He who exists.” [ ZIKR .] YAHŪD ( يهود‎ ), the plural of Yahūdī . Heb. ‏יְהוּדִי‎ . Jews. The word used in the Qurʾān (together with Banū Isrāʾīl ) for the Jews. [ JEWS , JUDAISM .] YAḤYĀ ( يحيى‎ ). John the Baptist. The son of Zachariah, whose birth is mentioned in the Qurʾān, Sūrah xix. 1 ; iii. 34 ; and who is said in the latter Sūrah to have been sent with glad tidings “to confirm the Word from God (Jesus), a chief and a chaste one and a prophet from the righteous.” And in Sūrah vi. 85 , his name occurs with that of Zachariah, Jesus, and Elias, as one of the “righteous ones.” [ JOHN THE BAPTIST .] YAʾJŪJ WA MAʾJŪJ ( ياجوج و ماجوج‎ ). [ GOG AND MAGOG .] YALAMLAM ( يلملم‎ ). The mīqāt or stage where the pilgrims from al-Yaman a ume the pilgrim’s garb at the pilgrimage. [ HAJJ .] YAMĀMAH ( يمامة‎ ). A province in the eastern portion of the Ḥijāz frequently mentioned in the history of Muḥammad. AL -YAMAN ( اليمن‎ ). The south-western province of Arabia. It is considered the most fertile part of the country, and is called the garden of Arabia. YAMĪN يمين‎ . [ OATH .] AL -YAQĪN ( اليقين‎ ). “The certainty.” (1) A term which implies belief, sure knowledge, and which occurs in the Qurʾān to expre the hour of death. Sūrah lxxiv. 43–48 : “They shall say, ‘We were not of those who prayed, we did not feed the poor; but we did plunge into discu ion with those who plunged, and we called the Judgment Day a lie until the certainty did come upon us.’ ” Sūrah xv. 99 : “Serve the Lord until the certainty come upon thee.” Muslims say there are three degrees of spiritual knowledge:— 1. ʿIlmu ʾl-Yaqīn ( علم اليقين‎ ), that which a man apprehends with his intellectual faculties. 2. ʿAinu ʾl-Yaqīn ( عين اليقين‎ ), that which he sees with the eye. 3. Ḥaqqu ʾl-Yaqīn ( حق اليقين‎ ), that which he fully embraces with the heart; the highest form of spiritual knowledge, especially of the Unity of God. YAQT̤ĪN ( يقطين‎ ). Heb. ‏קִיקָיוֹן‎ . The gourd tree under which Jonah sheltered after he escaped from the belly of the fish. Sūrah xxxvii. 145, 146 : “We cast him on a barren shore: and he was sick: and we made to grow over him a gourd tree .” YAʿQŪB ( يعقوب‎ ). [ JACOB .] YĀ SĪN ( يا سين‎ ). The two Arabic letters ى‎ and س‎ corresponding to the English y and s . The title of the XXXVI th Sūrah of the Qurʾān, which begins with these two letters, the mystic import of which is said to be unknown. Al-Baiẓāwī says perhaps they mean Yā Insān! ( يا انسان‎ ), “O Man!” Ḥusain suggests that they mean Yā Saiyid! ( يا سيد‎ ), “O Saiyid!” whilst the Jalālān think the meaning is known alone to God. Muḥammad said this chapter was the Qalbu ʾl-Qurʾān , “the heart of the Qurʾān,” and it is consequently held in high estimation. It is usually read to dying persons. Yā Sīn is a title given to Muḥammad with the belief that he is referred to as “O Saiyid,” in the first verse of the Sūrah referred to. YAS̤RIB ( يثرب‎ ). The ancient name of al-Madīnah, mentioned once in the Qurʾān, viz. Sūrah xxxiii. 13 . According to the traditionist, the Prophet changed the name from Yas̤rib to Madīnatu ʾn-Nabī, “the City of the Prophet,” because Yas̤rib was a name of shame and reproach. ( Majmaʿu ʾl-Biḥār , vol. iii. p. 499.) YAʿSŪB ( يعسوب‎ ). Lit . “A prince or chief.” The King of the Bees. A title given to ʿAlī. ( Majmaʿu ʾl-Biḥār , vol. iii. p. 502.) A name of one of Muḥammad’s horses. (Richardson’s Dictionary .)