A Dictionary of Islam Being a cyclopedia of the...

The author of the Sharḥu ʾl-Muwāqif, p. 586, also says: “It is agreed amongst all orthodox Muslims that all unbelievers, without exception, will be consigned to the fire for ever, and that they will never be free from torment.” “But,” he adds, “there are certain heretics, who call themselves Muslims, who deny the eternity of the torments of the fire. For, they say, it is an essential property of all things fleshly that they come to an end. And, moreover, it is not possible for a thing to exist which goes on burning for ever. But to this we reply that God is all powerful and can do as He likes.”

The sect called as-Samāmīyah, founded by Samāmah ibn Ashras an-Numairī, say: “The Jews, and Christians, and Majūsī, and Zanādiqah, will, after the Day of Judgment, return to dust, just as the animals and the little children of unbelievers do.” (Sharḥu ʾl-Muwāqif, p. 633.)

The same writer says (p. 687): “Besides those who are unbelievers, all those (Muslims) who are sinners and have committed great sins (kabāʾir), will go to hell; but they will not remain there always, for it has been said in the Qurʾān (Sūrah xcix. 7), “He who does an atom of good shall see its reward.”

With reference to the verse in the Qurʾān, which distinctly states that all Muslims shall enter hell (Sūrah xix. 73, “There is not one of you that shall not go down to it”), al-Kamālān, the commentators, say, that according to extant traditions, all Muslims will enter hell, but it will be cool and pleasant to those who have not committed great sins; or, according to some writers, they will simply pass along the bridge Ṣirāt̤, which is over the infernal regions.

“In the autumn of this year (A.D. 628), Heraclius fulfilled his vow of thanksgiving for the wonderful success which had crowned his arms (in Persia); he performed on foot the pilgrimage from Edessa to Jerusalem, where the ‘true cross,’ recovered from the Persians, was with solemnity and pomp restored to the Holy Sepulchre. While preparing for this journey, or during the journey itself, an uncouth despatch in the Arabic character was laid before Heraclius. It was forwarded by the Governor of Bostra, into whose hands it had been delivered by an Arab chief. The epistle was addressed to the Emperor himself, from ‘Mahomet the Apostle of God,’ the rude impression of whose seal could be deciphered at the foot. In strange and simple accents like those of the Prophets of old, it summoned Heraclius to acknowledge the mission of Mahomet, to cast aside the idolatrous worship of Jesus and his Mother, and to return to the Catholic faith of the one only God. The letter was probably cast aside, or preserved, it may be, as a strange curiosity, the effusion of some harmless fanatic.” (Muir’s Life of Mahomet, new ed. p. 383.)

Tradition, of course, has another story. “Now the Emperor was at this time at Hims, performing a pedestrian journey, in fulfilment of the vow which he had made, that, if the Romans overcame the Persians, he would travel on foot from Constantinople to Aelia (Jerusalem). So having read the letter, he commanded his chief men to meet him in the royal camp at Hims. And thus he addressed them:—‘Ye chiefs of Rome! Do you desire safety and guidance, so that your kingdom shall be firmly established, and that ye may follow the commands of Jesus, Son of Mary?’ ‘And what, O King! shall secure us this?’ ‘Even that ye follow the Arabian Prophet,’ said Heraclius. Whereupon they all started aside like wild asses of the desert, each raising his cross and waving it aloft in the air. Whereupon Heraclius, despairing of their conversion, and unwilling to lose his kingdom, desisted, saying that he had only wished to test their constancy and faith, and that he was now satisfied by this display of firmness and devotion. The courtiers bowed their heads, and so the Prophet’s despatch was rejected.” (Kātibu ʾl-Wāqidī, p. 50, quoted by Muir, in a note to the above passage.)

“In the name of God the Merciful, the Compassionate. This letter is from Muḥammad the Messenger of God, to Hiraql, chief of ar-Rūm. Peace be upon whosoever has gone on the straight road! After this, I say, verily I call thee to Islām. Embrace Islām that ye may obtain peace. Embrace Islām and God will give thee a double reward. If ye reject Islām, then on thee shall rest the sins of thy subjects and followers. O ye people of the Book (i.e. Christians) come to a creed which is laid down plainly between us and you, that we will not serve other than God, nor associate aught with Him, nor take each other for lords rather than God. But if they turn back, then say, ‘Bear witness that we are Muslims.’ ” (Qurʾān, iii. 57.) (See Ṣaḥīḥu Muslim, p. 98.)

“Not long after, another despatch, bearing the same seal, and couched in similar terms, reached the court of Heraclius. It was addressed to Hârith VII., Prince of the Bani Ghassân, who forwarded it to the Emperor, with an address from himself, soliciting permission to chastise the audacious impostor. But Heraclius regarding the ominous voice from Arabia beneath his notice, forbade the expedition, and desired that Hârith should be in attendance at Jerusalem, to swell the imperial train at the approaching visitation of the temple. Little did the Emperor imagine that the kingdom which, unperceived by the world, this obscure Pretender was founding in Arabia, would in a few short years wrest from his grasp that Holy City and the fair provinces which, with so much toil and so much glory, he had just recovered from the Persians!” (Muir’s Life of Mahomet, p. 384.)

HERMAPHRODITE (Arabic خنثى, K͟huns̤ā) is a person who is possessed of the organs of generation of both man and woman, and for whose spiritual existence the Muḥammadan law legislates (vide Hidāyah, vol. iv. p. 559). For example, it is a rule, with respect to equivocal hermaphrodites, that they are required to observe all the more comprehensive points of the spiritual law, but not those concerning the propriety of which, in regard to them, any doubt exists. In public prayer they must take their station between the men and the women, but in other respects observe the customs of women. (Idem, p. 561.)

HIDĀYAH (هداية). Lit. “Guidance.” The title of a well known book on Sunnī law, and frequently quoted in the present work. There are many Muḥammadan works entitled al-Hidāyah, but this is called Hidāyah fīʾl-furūʿ, or “a guidance in particular points.” It was composed by the Shaik͟h Burhānu ʾd-dīn ʿAlī, who was born at Marg͟hīnān in Transoxania about A.H. 530 (A.D. 1135), and died A.H. 593.

HIGHWAY ROBBERY. Arabic qat̤ʿu ʾt̤-t̤arīq (قطعو الطريق). Persian rahzani. Highway robbery is a very heinous offence according to Muḥammadan law, the punishment of which has been fixed by the Qurʾān (Sūrah v. 37): “The recompense of those who war against God and His apostle, and go about to enact violence on the earth, is that they be slain or crucified, or have their alternate hands and feet cut off, or be banished the land.” According to the Hidāyah, highway robbers are of four kinds, viz.

(4) Those who have committed both robbery and murder. These are punished according to the option of the magistrate. If he please, he can first cut off a hand and foot, and then put them to death by the sword, or by crucifixion; or he may kill them at once without inflicting amputation. If any one among a band of robbers be guilty of murder, the punishment of death must be inflicted upon the whole band.

ḤIJĀZ (حجاز). Lit. “A barrier or anything similar by which two things are separated.” The name al-Ḥijāz is given to that tract of country which separates Najd from Tahāmah, and is an irregular parallelogram about 250 miles long and 150 miles wide. It may be considered the holy land of the Muḥammadans, for within its limits are the sacred cities of al-Madīnah and Makkah, and most of its places are someway connected with the history of Muḥammad. It is a barren district consisting of sandy plains towards the shore and rocky hills in the interior; and so destitute of provisions as to depend, even for the necessaries of life, on the supplies of other countries. Among its fertile spots is Wādī Fāt̤imah, which is well watered, and produces grain and vegetables. Sajrah abounds in date trees. At̤-T̤āʾif, seventy-two miles from Makkah, is celebrated for its gardens, and the neighbourhood of al-Madīnah has cultivated fields. The towns on the coast are Jiddah and Yambuʿ, the former being considered the port of Makkah, from which it is distant about fifty-five miles, and the latter that of al-Madīnah. Al-Ḥijāz is bounded eastward by a lofty range of mountains, which, near At̤-T̤āʾif, take the name of Jabalu ʾl-Qura. The scenery there is occasionally beautiful and picturesque; the small rivulets that descend from the rocks afford nourishment to the plains below, which are clothed with verdure and shady trees.

The vicinity of Makkah is bleak and bare; for several miles it is surrounded with thousands of hills all nearly of one height; their dark and naked peaks rise one behind another, appearing at a distance like cocks of hay. The most celebrated of these are aṣ-Ṣafā, ʿArafah and al-Marwah, which have always been connected with the religious rites of the Muḥammadan pilgrimage.

(2) Al-Ḥijr is a territory in the province of al-Ḥijāz between al-Madīnah and Syria, where the tribe of S̤amūd dwelt. It is the title of the XVth Sūrah of the Qurʾān, in the 80th verse of which the word occurs: “The inhabitants of al-Ḥijr likewise accused the messenger of God of imposture.”

The date of Muḥammad’s flight from Makkah was the fourth day of the first month of Rabīʿ, which by the calculation of M. Caussin de Perceval was June 20th, A.D. 622. The Hijrah, or the era of the “Hegira,” was instituted seventeen years later by the K͟halīfah ʿUmar, which dates from the first day of the first lunar month of the year, viz. Muḥarram, which day in the year when the era was established fell on Thursday the 15th of July A.D. 622. But although ʿUmar instituted the official era, according to at̤-T̤abarī, the custom of referring to events as happening before or after the Hijrah originated with Muḥammad himself.

Multiply the Hijrah year by 2,977, the difference between 100 solar and as many lunar Muḥammadan years; divide the product by 100, and deduct the quotient from the Hijrah year; add to the result 621,569 (the decimal being the equivalent of the 15th July, plus 12 days for the change of the Kalendar); and the quotient will be the Christian year from the date at which the Muḥammadan year begins; thus, Hij. 1269 × 2·977 = 3777·8, which divided by 100 = 37·778 and 1269 - 37·778 = 1231·222; this + 621·569 = 1852·791, the decimals corresponding to 9 months and 15 days, i.e. the 15th of October, which is the commencement of the Hij. year 1269. The reverse formula for finding the corresponding Hijrah year to a given Christian year, is thus laid down: Subtract 622 from the current year; multiply the result by 1·0307; cut off two decimals and add ·46; the sum will be the year, which, when it has a surplus decimal, requires the addition of 1: thus, 1852 - 622 = 1230; 1230 × 1·0307 = 1267·761; 1267·76 + ·46 = 1268·22; add therefore 1, and we have the equivalent Hijrah year 1269.

ḤIKMAH (حـكـمـة). Al-ḥikmah, “the wisdom,” is a term used by the Ṣūfī mystics to express a knowledge of the essence, attributes, specialities, and results of things as they exist and are seen, with the study of their cause, effects, and uses. This is said to be the wisdom mentioned in the Qurʾān, Sūrah ii. 272: “He (God) bringeth the wisdom (al-ḥikmah) unto whom He willeth.”