AGENT

Arabic wakīl ( وكيل‎ ). One legally appointed to act for another. For the Muḥammadan law regarding the appointment of agents to transact busine , or to negotiate marriages, see Hamilton’s Hidāyah , vol. iii. p. 1; Baillie’s Digest. Hanīfī Code , p. 75; Imāmīyah Code , p. 29. The author of the Hidāyah says, “It is lawful for a person to appoint another his agent for the settlement, in his behalf, of every contract which he might lawfully have concluded himself, such as sale, marriage, and so forth;” and he then proceeds to lay down rules for guidance in such matters at great length. A woman who remains in privacy and is not accustomed to go into Court, ought, according to the saying of Abū Bakr, to appoint an agent and not appear herself. A slave or a minor may be appointed agent for a free man. AL -AḤAD ( الاحد‎ ). “The One.” A title given to God. [ NAMES OF GOD .] AḤADĪYAH ( احدية‎ ). Unity, concord. Al-Aḥadīyah is a term used by Ṣūfī mystics to expre a condition of the mind, completely absorbed in a meditation on the Divine Unity. ( See ʿAbdu ʾr-Razzāq’s Dictionary of the Technical Terms of the Ṣūfīs . Sprenger’s edition.) AḤQĀF ( احقاف‎ ). The name of a tract of land in Sihr in Yaman. The title of the XLVI th Sūrah of the Qurʾān. AHLU ʾL-BAIT ( اهل البيت‎ ). “The people of the house.” A term used in the Qurʾān ( Sūrah xxxiii. 33 ), and in the Ḥadīs̤ ( Mishkāt , xxiv. 21), for Muḥammad’s household. AHLU ʾL-HAWĀʾ ( اهل الهواء‎ ). A visionary person; a libertine. AHLU ʾL-KITĀB ( اهل الكتاب‎ ). Lit . “The people of the book.” A term used in the Qurʾān for Jews and Christians, as believers in a revealed religion. Some sects of the Shīʿahs include the Majūsī (Magī) under this term. AḤMAD ( احمد‎ ). The name under which Muḥammad profe es that Jesus Christ foretold his coming. Vide Qurʾān, Sūrah lxi. 6 , “And remember when Jesus the son of Mary said, ‘O children of Israel! of a truth I am God’s Apostle to you to confirm the law which was given before me, and to announce an apostle that shall come after me, whose name shall be Aḥmad .’ ” Muḥammad had, no doubt, heard that Our Lord had promised a Paracletos ( παρακλητος ), John xvi. 7 . This title, understood by him, probably from the similarity of sound, as equivalent to Periclytos ( περικλυτος ), he applied to himself with reference to his own name Muḥammad, the praised or glorified one . Muir thinks that in some imperfect Arabic translation of the Gospel of St. John, the word παρακλητος may have been translated Aḥmad , or praised . ( Life of Mahomet , vol. i. 17.) AḤZĀB ( احزاب‎ ). “Confederates.” The title of the XXXIII rd Sūrah of the Qurʾān, which is said to have been written when al-Madīnah was besieged by a confederation of the Jewish tribes with the Arabs of Makkah. A.H . 5. AIYŪB ( ايوب‎ ). [ JOB .] AJAL ( اجل‎ ). The appointed time of death, said to be ordained by God from the first. Qurʾān, Sūrah xxxv. 44 , “He respites them until the appointed time . When their appointed time comes, verily God looks upon His servants.” [ DEATH .] AJĪR ( اجير‎ ). A term used in Muḥammadan law for a person hired for service. [ IJARAH .] AJNABĪ ( اجنبى‎ ). A foreigner; any person not of Arabia. ĀK͟HIR-I-CHAHĀR-I-SHAMBAH ( آخر چهار شنبه‎ ). The last Wednesday of the month of Ṣafar. It is observed as a feast in commemoration of Muḥammad’s having experienced some mitigation of his last illne , and having bathed. It was the last time he performed the legal bathing, for he died on the twelfth day of the next month. In some parts of Islām it is customary, in the early morning of this day to write verses of the Qurʾān, known as the Seven Salāms (q.v.), and then wash off the ink and drink it as a charm against evil. It is not observed by the Wahhābīs, nor is its observance universal in Islām. AK͟HLĀQ ( اخلاق‎ ). The plural of K͟hulq . Natures, dispositions, habits, manners. The general term for books on morality, e.g . Ak͟hlāq-i-Jalālī , Ak͟hlāq-i-Muḥsinī , the name of a di ertation on Ethics by Ḥusain Wāʾiz̤ Kāshifī, A.H . 910, which has been translated into English by the Rev. H. G. Keene (W. H. Allen & Co.). ĀK͟HŪND ( آخوند‎ ). A maulawī; a teacher. A title of respect given to eminent religious teachers. One of the most celebrated Muḥammadan teachers of modern times was the “Āk͟hūnd of Swāt,” who died A.D . 1875. This great religious leader resided in the village of Saidū, in the district of Swāt, on the north-west frontier of India. ĀK͟HŪNDZĀDAH ( آخوندزاده‎ ). The son of an Āk͟hūnd. A title of respect given to the sons or descendants of celebrated religious teachers. [ AKHUND .] ĀL ( آل‎ ). Lit . “offspring, or posterity.” Used in Muslim works for the offspring of Muḥammad . AL -AʿLA ( الاعلى‎ ). “The Most High.” The title of the LXXXVII th Sūrah of the Qurʾān, in the second verse of which the word occurs: “The name of thy Lord the Most High is celebrated.” ʿALAM ( علم‎ ). A standard or ensign. A term used for the flags and standards paraded during the Muḥarram. [ MUHARRAM , STANDARDS .] ʿĀLAM ( عالم‎ ). The universe; world; condition, state of being. | ʿĀlamu ʾl-arwāḥ | The world of spirits. | | ʿĀlamu ʾl-k͟halq | The world; this life. | | ʿĀlamu ʾl-bāqī | The future state. | | ʿĀlamu ʾl-aʿz̤amah | The highest heaven. | | ʿĀlamu ʾsh-shahādah | The visible world. | | ʿĀlamu ʾl-g͟haib | The invisible world. | | ʿĀlamu ʾl-maʿqūl | The rational world. | The four mystic stages of the Ṣūfīs are— | ʿĀlamu ʾn-nāsūt | The present world. | | ʿĀlamu ʾl-malakūt | The state of angels. | | ʿĀlamu ʾl-jabarūt | The state of power. | | ʿĀlamu ʾl-lāhūt | The state of absorption into the Divinity. | [ SUFIISM .] ʿALĀMĀT ( علامات‎ ). The greater signs of the resurrection. [ ʿALAMATU ʾS-SAʿAH , RESURRECTION .] ʿALĀMĀTU ʾN-NUBŪWAH ( علامات النبوة‎ ). “The signs of Prophecy.” A term used for the supposed miracles and other proofs of the mi ion of Muḥammad. The title of a chapter in the Traditions. ( Mishkāt , xxi. c. vi.) ʿALĀMĀTU ʾS-SĀʿAH ( علامات الساعة‎ ). “The signs of the hour,” i.e . the signs of the time of the Resurrection and of the Day of Judgment. The title of a section of the Traditions. ( Mishkāt , xxiii. c. 3.) [ RESURRECTION .] ʿALAQ ( علق‎ ). “Congealed blood.” The title of the XCVI th Sūrah, the first five verses of which are generally allowed to be the earliest portion of the Qurʾān. AL -BALDAH ( البلدة‎ ). “The City.” A name sometimes used in the Ḥadīs̤ for Makkah.