K.
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Hughes, Thomas Patrick
KĀFIR (كافر), pl. kāfirūn. Lit. “The coverer.” One who hides or covers up the truth.
The word is generally used by Muḥammadans to define one who is an unbeliever in the ministry of Muḥammad and his Qurʾān, and in this sense it seems to have been used by Muḥammad himself. Sūrah ii. 37: “Those who misbelieve (waʾllaẕīna kafarū), and call our signs lies, they are fellows of the Fire, they shall dwell within for ever.”
It is also used for those who believe in the Divinity of the Lord Jesus, and the Holy Trinity. Sūrah v. 76: “They indeed are infidels (la-qad kafara ʾllaẕīna), who say God is al-Masīḥu ibn Maryam.… Verily him who associates anything with God, hath God forbidden Paradise, and his resort is the Fire.”
Sūrah v. 77: “They are infidels who say Verily God is the third of three.”
[On this passage the Kamālān say it refers to the Nestorians and to the Malakāʾīyah, who believe that God is one of three, the other two being the mother and son.]
According to the Raddu ʾl-Muḥtār (vol. iii. p. 442), there are five classes of kāfirs or infidels: (1) Those who do not believe in the Great First Cause; (2) Those who do not believe in the Unity of God, as the S̤anawīyah who believe in the two eternal principles of light and darkness; (3) Those who believe in the Unity of God, but do not believe in a revelation; (4) Those who are idolaters; (5) Those who believe in God and in a revelation, but do not believe in the general mission of Muḥammad to the whole of mankind, as the Christians, a sect of the Jews (sic).
Saiyid Sharīf Jurjānī says: “Mankind are divided into two parties, namely, those who acknowledge the mission of Muḥammad, or those who do not believe in it. Those who do not believe in his mission are either those who reject it and yet believe in the inspiration and divine mission of other prophets, as the Jews or Christians, and also the Majūsī (Fire Worshippers); or those who do not believe in any revelation of God’s will. Those who do not believe in any revelation from God, are either those who acknowledge the existence of God, as the Brāhmā (Buddhists?), or those who deny the existence of a Supreme Ruler, as the Dahrī, or Atheists.”
“Those who do not acknowledge Muḥammad as an inspired prophet are either those who do it wilfully and from mere enmity, or those who do not acknowledge it from reflection and due study of the subject. For the former is eternal punishment, and for the latter that punishment which is not eternal. There are also those who, whilst they are Muslims, are not orthodox in their belief; these are heretics, but they are not kāfirs. Those who are orthodox are an-Nājī or the salvationists.” (Sharḥu ʾl-Muwāqif, p. 597.)
KAFŪR (كفور). The unthankful, or ungrateful. Condemned in the Qurʾān, Sūrah xxii. 39: “God loveth not the false, the unthankful.”
KĀFŪR (كافور). Lit. “Camphor.” A fountain in Paradise mentioned in the Qurʾān (Sūrah lxxvi. 5) as the fountain whereof the servants of the Lord shall drink. But al-Baiẓāwī, the commentator, takes it for an appellative, and believes that the wine of Paradise will be mixed with camphor because of its agreeable coolness and smell.
AL-KAHF (الكهف). “The Cave.” The title of the XVIIIth chapter of the Qurʾān, in which is related the story of the Seven Sleepers of Ephesus, known as the Aṣḥābu ʾl-Kahf.
KĀHIN (كاهن), pl. kahanah and kuhhān. A soothsayer, or augur. The word occurs only twice in the Qurʾān; and in both instances it is used for “a soothsayer.”
Sūrah lii. 29: “For thou (Muḥammad), by the favour of thy Lord, art neither a soothsayer (kāhin), nor one possessed (majnūn).”
Sūrah lxix. 42: “Neither is it (the Qurʾān) the word of a soothsayer (kāhin).”
The word is used in the Traditions in the same sense only:—
Mishkāt, book iv. chap. i.: “The Prophet said, believe in Islām, and put not your trust in soothsayers (kahanah).”
Mishkāt, book xxi. ch. ii.: “ʿĀyishah relates that the Prophet was asked about kahanah, fortune-tellers, and he said, ‘You must not believe anything they say.’ It was then said, ‘O Prophet, why do they then sometimes tell lies?’ And the Prophet said: ‘Because one of the jinn steals away the truth and carries it to the magician’s ear, and the magicians (kuhhān) mix a hundred lies with it.’ ”
The Hebrew כֹחֵן Kohain, ἱερεὺς, is applied in the Old Testament not only to the Jewish priests, but also to Melchizedek (Gen. xiv. 18), Potipher (Gen. xli. 45; see marginal reading in our English version), and to Jethro (Ex. ii. 16).
KAHRUBĀ (كهربا). Lit. “Attracting Straws.” Electricity, or the power of attraction. A Ṣūfī term.
KAIFĪYAH (كيفية). “Detailed circumstances.” A term used in Muḥammadan books for a statement or account of anything, e.g. kaifīyat-i-task͟hīr, “the manner of attack”; kaifīyat-i-rāsik͟hah, “a fixed or permanent quality”; kaifīyat-i-ʿāriẓah, “a moveable or accidental quality.”
KAʾLAH (كالة). A kind of sale which is prohibited. Mishkāt, book xii. ch. v. pt. 2: “The Prophet has forbidden selling on credit for credit.”
ʿAbdu ʾl-Ḥaqq explains it thus: “If ʿAmr owe Zaid a piece of cloth, and Bakr ten dirhams, and Zaid say to Bakr, I have sold you the piece of cloth, which is with ʿAmr for ten dirhams”—this sale is forbidden.
KALĀM (كلام). “A word; speech.” ʿIlmu ʾl-kalām, “scholastic theology”; fasīḥu ʾl-kalām, “eloquent”; muḥaṣṣalu ʾl-kalām, “the substance of a discourse.”
KALĀMU ʾLLĀH (كلام الله). “The Word of God.” A title given to the Qurʾān. Sūrah ii. 70: “Already a sect of them have heard the Word of God.”
KALIMAH (كلمة). Lit. “The Word.” The Creed of the Muslim.
لا اله الا الاه محمد رسول الله
Lā Īlāha illā ʾllāhu: Muḥammadun Rasūlu ʾllāh.
“There is no deity but God: Muḥammad is the Apostle of God.”
The whole sentence as it stands does not occur in the Qurʾān; but the first part of the creed, “There is no deity but God,” is in the Sūratu Muḥammad, or XLVIIth chapter of the Qurʾān, verse 21; and the second part, “Muḥammad is the Apostle of God,” is in the Sūratu ʾl-Fatḥ, or XLVIIIth chapter, verse 29. The first sentence is known as the Nafy and the Iṣbāt, or the rejection (there is no deity) and the affirmation (but God), and is recited often as a religious office by the Ṣūfī faqīrs.
The whole creed frequently occurs in the Traditions, and is an oft-recurring clause in the daily prayer.
This Kalimah occupies a similar place in the Muslim religion to the “Shemaʿ Israīl” of the Hebrew Bible in the Jews’ religion. The Shemaʿ (“Hear”) is the fourth verse of Deut. vi.: “Hear, O Israīl, Jehovah our Elohīm is one Jehovah”; which is frequently used in daily morning and evening service of the Jews. From the Traditions (Mishkāt, book xi. ch. 2, pt. 1) it appears that a something similar to this well known symbol of the Muslim creed, was in use amongst the ancient Arabians, and is still recited by Muslims, amongst whom it is known as the Talbiyah: “I stand up for Thy service, O God! There is no partner with Thee.” [TALBIYAH.]
The recital of the kalimah is the first of the five foundations or pillars of practice, and, according to the Fawāʾidu ʾsh-Sharīʿah, every Muslim should recite it aloud at least once in his lifetime, and he should understand its meaning. [RECITAL OF THE CREED.]
KALIMATU ʾL-ḤAẒRAH (كلمة الحضرة). The fiat of God when He said “Be,” and it was created. The word كن, kun, is therefore called the Kalimatu ʾl-Ḥaẓrah. It occurs in the Qurʾān, Sūrah xxxvi. 82: “His bidding is only when He desires anything to say to it ‘BE,’ and it is.” And in about eleven other places.
KALIMATU ʾSH-SHAHĀDAT (كلمة الشهادة). “The word of testimony.” The following expression of belief: “I bear witness that there is no deity but God, and that Muḥammad is His Apostle.” [PRAYER.]
KALĪMU ʾLLĀH (كليم الله). “The Converser with God.” A title given to the Prophet Moses (vide Mishkāt, book xxii. ch. xii.). It is also referred to in the Qurʾān, Sūrah iv. 162: “Moses did God speak to—conversing.”
KALĪSAH, KILĪSAH (كليسة). A Christian Church. Ἐκκλησία. The word is used in books of Muḥammadan law for both Christian and Jewish places of worship. The word kanīsah is also used. [KANISAH.]
KĀMIL (كامل). “Perfect; complete.” Al-Insānu ʾl-Kāmil, “the perfect man.” A mystic term. [INSANU ʾL-KAMIL.]
KĀMILĪYAH (كاملية). A sect of Shīʿah Muslims founded by Abū ʾl-Kāmil, who said the Aṣāḥīb, or Companions of the Prophet, were infidels, because they rejected the house of ʿAlī in forming the K͟halīfate, and he even called the K͟halīfah ʿAlī an infidel because he did not claim his rights when Muḥammad died. (Kitābu ʾt-Taʿrīfāt, in loco.)
KANʿĀN (كنعان). “Canaan.” Not mentioned by name in the Qurʾān. The Commentators al-Baiẓāwī and Jalālu ʾd-dīn, say he was the son of Noah; but the author of the Qāmūs dictionary says he was the son of Shem. (According to the Old Testament, he was the son of Ham, Gen. x. 6; 1 Chron. i. 8.)
He is said to be that son of Noah who was drowned, through unbelief, in the deluge. See Qurʾān, Sūrah xi. 44. [NOAH.]