RACHEL

Arabic Rāḥīl ( راحيل‎ ). Heb. ‏רָחֵל‎ , Rahel . The wife of Jacob and the mother of Joseph. Not mentioned in the Qurʾān, but the name occurs in commentaries. The English form Rachel is a strange error on the part of our translators, who almost invariably represent the Hebrew ‏ח‎ by the letter h . The correct form, Rahel , which is the form familiar to Muslim writers, occurs once in the English Bible, Jer. xxx i. 15 . AR -RAʿD ( الرعد ‎ ). “Thunder.” The title of the XIII th Sūrah of the Qurʾān, in the 14th verse of which the word occurs. “The thunder celebrates his praise.” AR -RADD ( الرد‎ ). Rejection, repulsion, refutation, reply; repeal, abrogation, making null and void; sometimes, erasure. In Muḥammadan law it applies especially to the return or surplus of an inheritance which remains after the legal portions have been distributed among the sharers, and which, in default of a residuary heir, returns, or is to be divided amongst the original sharers. RADDU ʾS-SALĀM ( رد السلام‎ ). The returning of a salutation which is an incumbent duty upon one Muslim to another. [ SALUTATION .] AR-RĀFIʿ ( الرافع‎ ). “The Exalter.” One of the ninety-nine names or attributes of God. The word occurs in the Qurʾān, Sūrah iii. 48 : “When God said, O Jesus! I will make thee die and will take thee up again to myself ” ( رافعك الى‎ ). RĀFIʿ IBN K͟HADĪJ ( رافع بن خديج‎ ). One of the Ṣaḥābah. He was too young to be present at Badr, but he accompanied Muḥammad at Uḥud and was wounded with an arrow, on which occasion the Prophet said to him, “I will answer for you in the Day of Judgment.” He died at al-Madīnah , A.H . 73, aged 86. RĀFIẒĪ ( رافضى‎ ). Lit . “A forsaker.” Synonymous with Rāfiẓah (pl. Rawāfiẓ ). A term used for a body of soldiers who have deserted their commander and turned back again, applied to a sect of Shīʿahs who joined Zaid the son of ʿAlī, the son of al-Ḥusain, the second son of the K͟halīfah ʿAlī, who, when they had submitted to Zaid, demanded that he should abuse Abū Bakr and ʿUmar, the first two K͟halīfahs of the Sunnīs; but Zaid refused to do so, for he said, “They were both Wazīrs of my forefather Muḥammad.” Upon this they forsook the party of Zaid, and were called Rāfiẓah . Zaid had then only fourteen faithful companions left, and he was soon surrounded by al-Ḥajjāj ibn Yūsuf, the general of the Imām Jaʿfar’s army, and fell at the head of his brave companions, not one of them surviving him. (2) The term Rāfiẓī is used by Sunnī Muslims for any sect of Shīʿahs. RAHBĀNĪYAH ( رهبانية‎ ). [ MONASTICISM .] RĀHIB ( راهب‎ ), pl. Ruhbān . A Christian monk. Mentioned in the Qurʾān, Sūrah v. 85 : “Thou wilt find the nearest in love to those who believe to be those who say, ‘We are Christians’; that is, because there are amongst them priests ( qi īsūn ) and monks ( ruhbān ), and because they are not proud.” [ MONASTICISM .] RAḤĪL ( رحيل‎ ). Lit . “That which is fit for travelling.” A small book-stand made so as to fold up for convenience in travelling, but now generally used as a book-stand in mosques and Muslim schools to support the Qurʾān and other books as the student reads his le on from them. They are also used in private dwellings. IMG:3048615538088815629_p532.png:RAḤĪL. AR -RAḤĪM ( الرحيم‎ ). “The Compa ionate.” One of the ninety-nine names or attributes of God. It generally occurs in conjunction with the attribute ar-Raḥmān , e.g . Qurʾān, Sūrah ii. 158 : “The Merciful, The Compa ionate.” [ RAHMAN .] RAḤMAH ( رحمة‎ ), Heb. ‏רִחַם‎ riham . “Mercy, compa ion.” The attribute of mercy is frequently dwelt upon in the Qurʾān, e.g .:— Sūrah vii. 54 : “The mercy of God is nigh unto those who do well.” Sūrah x. 58 : “A guidance and a mercy to believers.” Sūrah vi. 133 : “Thy Lord is the rich one, full of compa ion.” Ar-Raḥmān , “The Merciful,” is one of the chief attributes of the Almighty. AR -RAḤMĀN ( الرحمان‎ ), Heb. ‏רַחוּם‎ rahūm . “The Merciful. ” One of the ninety-nine names or attributes of God. It generally occurs in conjunction with the attribute ar-Raḥīm , e.g . Qurʾān, Sūrah ii. 159 : “Your God is one God. There is no god but He, the Merciful, the Compa ionate.” It also occurs in the initial formula, placed at the commencement of each Sūrah, with the exception of the IX th, “In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compa ionate.” Al-Baiẓāwī says that ar-Raḥmān is a more exalted attribute than ar-Raḥīm , because it not only contains five letters whilst Raḥīm only has four, but it expre es that universal attribute of mercy which the Almighty extends to all mankind, the wicked and the good, believers and unbelievers. RAHN ( رهن‎ ). Pledging or pawning. A legal term which signifies the detention of a thing on account of a claim which may be answered by means of that thing; as in the case of debt. This practice of pawning and pledging is lawful in Islām, for it is related that the Prophet, in a bargain with a Jew for grain, gave his coat of mail in pledge for the payment. It is also said in the Qurʾān, Sūrah ii. 283 : “Let pledges be taken.” The word is used in the Qurʾān in its plural form, rihān . (For further information on the subject of Pawning, see Hamilton’s Hidāyah , vol. iv. p. 188.) RAIḤĀNAH ( ريحانة‎ ). A Jewe whose husband had been cruelly murdered in the ma acre of the Banū Quraiz̤ah. Muḥammad offered to marry her if she would embrace Islām; but she refused to forsake the faith of her forefathers, and consented to become his concubine instead of his wife.