RULERS

The ideal administration of the Muslim world, as laid down in the Traditions, is that the whole of Islām shall be under the dominion of one Imām or leader, who is the K͟halīfah ( خليفة ‎ ), or vicegerent, of the Prophet on earth. The rulers of provinces under this Imām are called Amīr ( امير‎ ) (pl. Umarāʾ ). The Eastern titles of Sult̤ān and Shāh are not established in the Muḥammadan religion. The word Malik , Heb. ‏מֶלֶךְ‎ Melekh , occurs in the Qurʾān for a “king” and is used for King Saul ( Sūrah ii. 248 ). The word is still retained in Asia for the chiefs of villages. In the Qurʾān ( Sūrah iv. 62 ), believers are enjoined to “obey the Apostle and those in authority,” but the chief injunctions are found in the Traditions. In the Mishkātu ʾl-Maṣābiḥ , book xvi. ch. i., the following sayings of Muḥammad regarding rulers are recorded:— “Whoever obeys me obeys God, and whoever disobeys me disobeys God. Whoever obeys the Amīr obeys me. An Imām is nothing but a shield to fight behind, by which calamities are avoided; and if he orders you to abstain from that which is unlawful, he will have great regard; but if he enjoins that which God has forbidden, he will bear the punishment of his own acts.” “If God appoints as your Amīr a man who is a slave, with his ears and nose cut off, and who puts people to death according to God’s book, then you must listen and obey him in all things.” “If a negro slave is appointed to rule over you, you must listen to him and obey him, even though his head be like a dried grape.” “It is indispensable for every Muslim to listen to and approve the orders of the Imām, whether he likes or dislikes, so long as he is not ordered to sin and act contrary to law. When he is ordered to sin, he must neither attend to it nor obey it.” “There is no obedience due to sinful commands, nor to any order but what is lawful.” “He who shall see a thing in his ruler which he dislikes, let him be patient, for verily there is not one who shall separate a body of Muslims the breadth of a span, and he dies, but he dies like the people of ignorance.” “The best Imāms are those you love, and those who love you, and those who pray for compa ion on you, and you on them; and the worst of Imāms are those you hate, and those who hate you; and those whom you curse, and who curse you. Auf said, “O Prophet of God! when they are our enemies and we theirs, may we not fight against them?” He said, “No, so long as they keep on foot the prayers amongst you.” This he repeated. “Beware, he who shall be constituted your ruler, see if he does anything in disobedience to God, and if he does, hold it in displeasure, but do not withdraw yourselves from his obedience.” “There will be Amīrs among you, some of whose actions you will find conformable to law, and some contrary thereto; then when anyone who shall say to their faces, ‘These acts are contrary to law,’ verily he shall be pure; and he who has known their actions to be bad, and has not told them so to their faces, has certainly not remained free from responsibility, and he who has seen a bad act and obeyed it, is their companion in it.” The Companions said, “May we not fight them?” The Prophet said, “No, so long as they perform prayers.” “He who is disobedient to the Imām will come before God on the Day of Resurrection without a proof of his faith, and he who dies without having obeyed the Imām, dies as the people of ignorance.” “Prophets were the governors of the children of Israel, and when one died, another supplied his place; and verily there is no prophet after me, and the time is near when there will be after me a great many K͟halīfahs.” The Companions said, “Then what do you order us?” The Prophet said, “Obey the K͟halīfah, and give him his due; for verily God will ask about the duty of the subject.” “When two K͟halīfahs have been set up, put the last of them to death, and preserve the other, because the second is a rebel.” “Whoever wishes to make divisions amongst my people, kill with a sword.” “He who acknowledges an Imām must obey him as far as in his power, and if another pretender comes, kill him.” “Verily the time is near that you will be ambitious of ruling; and it is at hand that this love of rule will be a cause of sorrow at the Resurrection, although the po e ion of it appears pleasant, and its departure unpleasant.” “That is the best of men who dislikes power.” “Beware! you are all guardians of the subject, and you will all be asked about your obedience. The Imām is the guardian of the subject, and he will be asked respecting this. A man is as a shepherd to his own family, and will be asked how they behaved, and about his conduct to them; and a wife is a guardian to her husband’s house and children and will be interrogated about them; and a slave is a shepherd to his master’s property, and will be asked about it, whether he took good care of it or not.” “There is no Amīr who oppre es the subject and dies, but God forbids Paradise to him.” “Verily the very worst of Amīrs are those who oppre the subject.” “O God! he who shall be ruler over my people and shall throw them into misery, O God! cast him into misery; and he who shall be chief of my people and be kind to them, then be kind to him.” “Verily, just princes will be upon splendid pulpits on the right hand of God; and both God’s hands are right.” “God never sent any Prophet, nor ever made any K͟halīfah, but had two counsellors with him, one of them directing lawful deeds (that is, a good angel), and the other sin (that is, the devil). He is guarded from sin whom God has guarded.” [ KHALIFAH .] AR -RŪM ( الروم‎ ). The Arabic form of the Latin Roma , or Roman us . The ancient Byzantine, or Eastern Roman Empire. Still used in Eastern countries as a name for the Turkish Empire. The title of the XXX th Sūrah of the Qurʾān, which opens with the word. “The Greeks are overcome in the highest parts of the land; but after being overcome they shall overcome in a few years.” [ GREEKS .] RUQAIYAH ( رقية‎ ). A daughter of Muḥammad by his wife K͟hadījah. She was married to ʿUtbah, the son of Abū Lahab, but being divorced by her husband, she was married to ʿUs̤mān, the third K͟halīfah. RUQBĀ ( رقبى‎ ). Lit . “Waiting.” Giving a thing on condition that if the donor die before the receiver it shall become the property of the receiver and his heirs; but if the receiver die first, the property given shall return to the donor. It is forbidden in Muslim law, because it exposes each of the parties to the temptation of wishing for the other’s death. RUQYAH ( رقية‎ ). “Enchanting.” The use of spells. The word used in the Ḥadīs̤ for exorcism and incantation. [ EXORCISM .] RŪYĀʾ ( روياء‎ ). “A dream; a vision. A term used in the Qurʾān for the visions of the Prophets. It occurs five times. Once for the vision of Joseph ( Sūrah xii. 5 ); twice for the dream of the Egyptian king ( Sūrah v. 43 ); once for the vision of Abraham ( Sūrah xxxvii. 105 ); once for Muḥammad’s vision ( Sūrah xvii. 62 .). [ DREAMS .] 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 S 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 ṢĀʿ ( صاع‎ ) or ṢUWĀʿ ( صواع‎ ). A certain measure used for measuring corn, and upon which depend the decisions of Muslims relating to measures of capacity. It occurs in the Qurʾān, Sūrah xii. 72 , for the drinking-cup placed by Joseph in his brother’s pack. The compiler of the Tāju ʾl-ʿArūs , says that according to five different readers of the Qurʾān, it is given ṣuwāʿ in that verse, but in the majority of texts it is ṣāʿ . The Qāmūs explains ṣuwāʿ as a certain ve el from which one drinks, and ṣāʿ , a measure of capacity. Its invariable measure being, according to ancient authorities, four times the quantity of corn that fills two hands of a man of moderate size. Al-Baiẓāwī records, besides ṣuwāʿ and ṣāʿ , the reading ṣauʿ and ṣuwāg͟h . SABAʾ ( سبا‎ ). (1) A tribe of Yaman, whose dwelling-places are called Maʾrib, mentioned in the XXXIV th Sūrah of the Qurʾān (entitled the Sūratu Sabaʾ), verse 14:— “A sign there was to Sabaʾ in their dwelling places:—two gardens, the one on the right hand and the other on the left:—‘Eat ye of your Lord’s supplies, and give thanks to him: Goodly is the country, and gracious is the Lord!’ “But they turned aside: so we sent upon them the flood of Iram; and we changed them their gardens into two gardens of bitter fruit and tamarisk and some few jujube trees. “Such was our retribution on them for their ingratitude.” M. Cau in de Perceval, Hist. des Arabes , vol. iii., as well as M. de Sacy, fix this event in the second century of the Christian era. (2) Also the name of a province referred to in the Qurʾān, Sūrah xxvii. 21 , where it seems to be identical with the Sheba ‏ שֵׁבָא ‎ of the Bible, or the country of the Queen of Sheba:— “Nor tarried it (the lapwing) long ere it came and said, ‘I have gained the knowledge that thou knowest not, and with sure tidings have I come to thee from Sabaʾ: “ ‘I found a woman reigning over them, gifted with everything, and she hath a splendid throne; “And I found her and her people worshipping the sun instead of God; and Satan hath made their works fair seeming to them, so that he hath turned them from the Way: wherefore they are not guided, “To the worship of God, who bringeth to light the secret things of heaven and earth, and knoweth what men conceal and what they manifest: “God: there is no god but He! the lord of the glorious throne!” For a discu ion of the identity of the Sabaʾ of Arabia with the Sheba of the Bible, refer to the word Sheba in Smith’s Dictionary of the Bible . SABʿATU-AḤRUF ( سبعة احرف‎ ). [ SEVEN DIALECTS .] SABAʿU ʾL-MAS̤ĀNI ( سبع المثانى‎ ). Lit . “The Seven Repetitions.” A title given to the Introductory Chapter of the Qurʾān by Muḥammad himself. ( Mishkāt , book viii. ch. i.) There are three reasons a igned for this title:— (1) Because it is a chapter of seven verses, which is said to have been revealed twice over. (2) Because it contains seven words twice repeated, namely, Allāh , God; Raḥmān , Compa ionate; Raḥīm , Merciful; Iyākā , Thee and to Thee; Ṣīrāt̤ , Way; ʿAlaihim , to whom and with whom; G͟hair , Not, and Lā , Not. (3) Because the seven verses are generally recited twice during an ordinary prayer. (See Majmaʿu ʾl-Biḥār , in loco ; and ʿAbdu ʾl-Ḥaqq.)