N.
Project Gutenberg EPUB3 edition
Hughes, Thomas Patrick
AN-NABAʾ (النباء). “The information.” The title of the LXXVIIIth Sūrah of the Qurʾān, in the second verse of which the word occurs: “Of the mighty information whereon they do dispute.”
NĀBĀLIG͟H (نابالغ). A Persian term used for a minor. [PUBERTY.]
NABBĀSH (نباش). A plunderer or stripper of the dead. According to the Imāms Abū Yūsuf and ash-Shāfiʿī, the hand of a plunderer of the dead should be struck off, but Abū Ḥanīfah and the Imām Muḥammad are of the contrary opinion. (Hidāyah, vol. ii. p. 94.)
NABĪ (نبى). Heb. נָבִיא. A prophet. One who has received direct inspiration (waḥy) by means of an angel, or by the inspiration of the heart (ilhām); or has seen the things of God in a dream. (Vide Kitābu ʾt-Taʿrīfāt.) A rasūl, or “messenger,” is one who has received a book through the angel Gabriel. [PROPHETS.]
NABĪẔ (نبيذ). A kind of wine made from dates, which is lawful. (Hidāyah, vol. iv. p. 155.)
NĀD-I-ʿALĪ (ناد على). Persian. An amulet on which is inscribed a prayer to ʿAlī. It is much used by the Shīʿahs, and runs thus:—
“Cry aloud to ʿAlī, who is the possessor of wonders!
From him you will find help from trouble!
He takes away very quickly all grief and anxiety!
By the mission of Muḥammad and his own sanctity!”
NAFAQAH (نـفـقـة). [MAINTENANCE.]
AN-NĀFIʿ (النافع). “The Profiter.” One of the ninety-nine names or attributes of God. It does not occur in the Qurʾān.
NĀFIʿ (نافع). A slave belonging to Ibn ʿUmar. Many traditions have been handed down by him, and his authority is highly respected. Died, A.H. 117.
NAFK͟H (نفخ). “Blowing.” The blast on the Day of Judgment which will be sounded by Isrāfīl.
NAFL (نفل). “A voluntary act.” A term applied to such acts of devotion as are not enjoined by the teaching of Muḥammad, or by his example. A work of supererogation. [PRAYER.]
NAFS̤ (نفث). Blowing as a necromancer when making incantations.
(1) It occurs in this sense in the Qurʾān, Sūrah cxiii. 4: “I seek refuge … from the evil of the blowers upon knots.” Referring to those witches who make knots in a string and blow upon them, uttering some incantation.
(2) It is also used for the inspiration which Muḥammad professed to have received from Gabriel. (Majmaʿu ʾl-Biḥār, p. 376.)
NAFS (نفس). Animal life; soul; substance; desire. A word which occurs in the Qurʾān and the Traditions for the human conscience. [CONSCIENCE.]
NAFSĀʾ (نفساء). A woman in the condition of nifās, or the period after childbirth.
NAHJU ʾL-BALĀG͟HAH (نـهـج البلاغة). “The Road of Eloquence.” A celebrated book of Muḥammadan traditions compiled by ash-Sharīf Abū ʾl-Qāṣim al-Murtaẓā, A.H. 406, or his brother ash-Sharīf ar-Raẓī al-Bag͟hdādī. (See Kashfu ʾz̤-Z̤unūn, vol. vi. p. 406.)
AN-NAḤL (النحل). “The Bee.” The title of the XVIth Sūrah of the Qurʾān, in the 70th verse of which the word occurs: “And thy Lord inspired the bee.”
NAḤR (نحر). The lawful slaughtering of a camel, namely, by spearing it in the hollow of the throat, near the breast-bone. (Hidāyah, vol. iv. p. 72.)
NĀʾIB (نائب). A deputy, a lieutenant. A K͟halīfah is the nāʾib, or lieutenant, of Muḥammad. It is also used for the Viceroy of Egypt, who is the nāʾib, or deputy, of the Sult̤ān. (Lane’s Arabian Nights, Intro. p. 8.)
NAJĀSAH (نجاسة). A legal term for an impurity of any kind.
NAJĀSHĪ (نجاشى). Negus. The King of Abyssinia, often mentioned in the history of Muḥammad. At̤-T̤abarī, in his history, p. 127, says: “Now a just king was there (Abyssinia) named an-Najāshī. It was a land where the Quraish used to do merchandise, because they found abundance of food, protection, and good traffic.” (Muir’s Life of Mahomet, vol. ii. p. 133.)
NAJD (نجد). “High.” The highlands of Arabia. The name of the central province of Arabia. One of its cities, Riyāẓ, is celebrated as the seat of the Wahhābīs. (See Central and Eastern Arabia, by W. G. Palgrave, London, 1865; Journey to the Wahabee Capital, by Colonel Lewis Pelly, Bombay, 1866.)
AN-NĀJIYAH (الناجية). “The Saved.” A term given to the orthodox sect of Muḥammadans, and consequently each sect arrogates to itself the title of an-Nājiyah, or “the saved.”
AN-NAJJĀRĪYAH (النجارية). A sect of Muḥammadans founded by Muḥammad ibn Ḥusain an-Najjār, who agreed with the Muʿtazilah in rejecting all eternal attributes of God, to avoid distinction of persons as taught by the Christians, and in holding that the Word of God was created in subjecto (as the schoolmen term it), and to consist of letters and sound, and that God will not be seen in Paradise with the corporeal eye; but they did not receive the doctrines of that sect with regard to the decrees and predestination of God, but held the views of the orthodox party on this subject. According to the Sharḥu ʾl-Muwāqif, they are divided into three sects, viz.: Burg͟hūs̤īyah, Zaʿfarānīyah, and Mustadrikah.
AN-NAJM (النجم). “The Star.” The title of the LIIIrd Sūrah of the Qurʾān, which begins with the words, “By the star when it falls.”
NAJRĀN (نجران). A district between Yaman and Najd, inhabited by a Christian tribe, whose endurance and constancy in their Christian belief are the subject of the following verses in the Qurʾān. Sūrah lxxxv. 4–11. (The verses are said to have been revealed at an early date, and indicate Muḥammad’s kind feeling towards the Christians):—
“Cursed be the diggers of the pit,
“Of the fuel-fed fire,
“When they sat around it
“Witnesses of what they inflicted on the believers!
“Nor did they torment them but for their faith in God, the Mighty, the Praiseworthy:
“His the kingdom of the Heavens and of the Earth; and God is the witness of everything.
“Verily, those who vexed the believers, men and women, and repented not, doth the torment of Hell, and the torment of the burning, await.
“But for those who shall have believed and done the things that be right, are the Gardens beneath whose shades the rivers flow. This is the immense bliss!”
Sir William Muir gives the following account of the persecution:—