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ʿALAM (علم‎). A standard or ensign. A term used for the flags and standards paraded during the Muḥarram. [MUHARRAM, STANDARDS.]

ʿĀLAM (عالم‎). The universe; world; condition, state of being.

ʿĀlamu ʾl-arwāḥ	The world of spirits.
ʿĀlamu ʾl-k͟halq	The world; this life.
ʿĀlamu ʾl-bāqī	The future state.
ʿĀlamu ʾl-aʿz̤amah	The highest heaven.
ʿĀlamu ʾsh-shahādah	The visible world.
ʿĀlamu ʾl-g͟haib	The invisible world.
ʿĀlamu ʾl-maʿqūl	The rational world.

The four mystic stages of the Ṣūfīs are—

ʿĀlamu ʾn-nāsūt	The present world.
ʿĀlamu ʾl-malakūt	The state of angels.
ʿĀlamu ʾl-jabarūt	The state of power.
ʿĀlamu ʾl-lāhūt	The state of absorption into the Divinity.

[SUFIISM.]

ʿALĀMĀT (علامات‎). The greater signs of the resurrection. [ʿALAMATU ʾS-SAʿAH, RESURRECTION.]

ʿALĀMĀTU ʾN-NUBŪWAH (علامات النبوة‎). “The signs of Prophecy.” A term used for the supposed miracles and other proofs of the mission of Muḥammad. The title of a chapter in the Traditions. (Mishkāt, xxi. c. vi.)

ʿALĀMĀTU ʾS-SĀʿAH (علامات الساعة‎). “The signs of the hour,” i.e. the signs of the time of the Resurrection and of the Day of Judgment. The title of a section of the Traditions. (Mishkāt, xxiii. c. 3.) [RESURRECTION.]

ʿALAQ (علق‎). “Congealed blood.” The title of the XCVIth Sūrah, the first five verses of which are generally allowed to be the earliest portion of the Qurʾān.

AL-BALDAH (البلدة‎). “The City.” A name sometimes used in the Ḥadīs̤ for Makkah.

ALCHEMY. Arabic Kīmiyāʾ (كيمياء‎). According to the Kashfu ʾz̤-z̤unūn, in loco, learned Muslims are not agreed as to the existence of this occult science, nor are they of one opinion as to its lawfulness, even if it should exist.

ALEXANDER THE GREAT. Mentioned in the Qurʾān as Ẕū ʾl-Qarnain, i.e. “He of the two horns,” with which he is represented on his coins. (Sūrah xviii. 82.) He seems to have been regarded by Muḥammad as one invested with a divine commission:—“Verily we established his power upon earth”; but commentators are not agreed whether to assign to him the position of a Prophet. [ZU ʾL-QARNAIN.]

AL-ḤAMD (الحمد‎). “Praise.” A title given to the first Sūrah, so called because its first word is Al-ḥamd. This chapter is also called Fātiḥah, which term is used by modern Muslims for the Sūrah when it is said for the benefit of the dead, Al-ḥamd being its more usual title. [FATIHAH.]

AL-ḤAMDU-LIʾLLĀH (الحمد لله‎). “Praise belongs to God.” An ejaculation which is called Taḥmīd, and which occurs at the commencement of the first chapter of the Qurʾān. It is used as an ejaculation of thanksgiving—“Thank God!” It is very often recited with the addition of Rabbi ʾl-ʿālamīn, “Lord of the Universe.” [TAHMID.]

AL-ʿALĪ (العلى‎). One of the ninety-nine special names of God. It means “The Exalted One.”

ʿALĪ (على‎). The son of Abū-T̤ālib, and a cousin-german to Muḥammad, who adopted him as his son. He married Fāt̤imah, the daughter of Muḥammad, and had by her three sons, Ḥasan, Ḥusain, and Muḥassin. He was the fourth K͟halīfah, and reigned from A.H. 35 to A.H. 40. He was struck with a poisoned sword by Ibn Muljam, at al-Kūfah, and died after three days, aged fifty-nine years. The Shīʿahs hold that, on the death of Muḥammad, ʿAlī was entitled to the Khalifate, and the respective claims of Abū Bakr, ʿUmar, and ʿUs̤mān on the one hand, and of ʿAlī on the other, gave rise to the Shīʿah schism. ʿAlī is surnamed by the Arabs Asadu ʾllāh, and by the Persians Sher-i-K͟hudā, i.e. “The Lion of God.” [SHIʿAH.]

ALIF. The letter Alif (ا‎) is a monogram frequently placed at the head of letters, prescriptions, &c. It is the initial letter of the word Allāh (الله‎), “God.”

ALIF LĀM MĪM. The Arabic letters الم‎, corresponding to A L M, which occur at the commencement of six Sūrahs, namely Sūratu ʾl-Baqarah (II.), Sūratu Ālu ʿImrān (III.), Sūratu ʾl-ʿAnkabūt (XXIX.), Sūratu ʾr-Rūm (XXX.), Sūratu Luqmān (XXXI.), and Sūratu ʾs-Sijdah (XXXII.). Muḥammad never explained the meaning of these mysterious letters, and consequently they are a fruitful source of perplexity to learned commentators. Jalālu ʾd-dīn gives an exhaustive summary of the different views in his Itqān (p. 470). Some suppose they stand for the words Allāh, “God”; Lat̤īf, “gracious”; Majīd, “glorious.” Others say they stand for Ana ʾllāhu aʿlamu, “I am the God who knoweth.” Others maintain that they were not meant to be understood, and that they were inserted by the Divine command without explanation, in order to remind the reader that there were mysteries which his intellect would never fathom.

ĀLU ʿIMRĀN (آل عمرآن‎). “The family of ʿImrān.” The title of the third chapter of the Qurʾān.

ʿĀLIM (عالم‎), pl. ʿulamāʾ. A learned man. The term usually includes all religious teachers, such as Imāms, Muftīs, Qāẓīs, and Maulawīs; and in Turkey it denotes the political party led by the religious teachers.

AL-ʿALĪM (العليم‎). One of the ninety-nine special names of God. It frequently occurs in the Qurʾān, and means “The Wise One.”

ALLĀH (الله‎). [GOD.]

ALLĀHU AKBAR (الله اكبر‎). “God is great,” or “God is most great.” An ejaculation which is called the Takbīr. It occurs frequently in the liturgical forms, and is used when slaying an animal for food. [TAKBIR.]

ALMSGIVING. The word generally used for alms is Ṣadaqah, or that which manifests righteousness; the word zakāt, or purification, being specially restricted to the legal alms. [ZAKAT.] Ṣadaqātu ʾl-Fit̤r are the offerings given on the Lesser Festival. The duty of almsgiving is very frequently enjoined in the Qurʾān, e.g. Sūrah ii. 274–5, “What ye expend of good (i.e. of well-gotten wealth), it shall be paid to you again, and ye shall not be wronged. (Give your alms) unto the poor who are straitened in God’s way and cannot traverse the earth.… Those who expend their wealth by night and by day, secretly and openly, they shall have their hire with their Lord.”

The following are some of the sayings of Muḥammad on the subject of almsgiving, as they occur in the Traditions:—“The upper hand is better than the lower one. The upper hand is the giver of alms, and the lower hand is the poor beggar.” “The best of alms are those given by a man of small means, who gives of that which he has earned by labour, and gives as much as he is able.” “Begin by giving alms to your own relatives.” “Doing justice between two people is alms; assisting a man on his beast is alms; good words are alms.” “A camel lent out for milk is alms; a cup of milk every morning and evening is alms.” “Your smiling in your brother’s face is alms; assisting the blind is alms.” “God says, Be thou liberal, thou child of Adam, that I may be liberal to thee.” (See Mishkāt, Matthew’s edition, vol. i. p. 429.)

ALWĀḤ (الواح‎), pl. of Lauḥ. “The tables” (of the Law). Mentioned in the Qurʾān, Sūrah vii. 142, “We wrote for him (Moses) upon the Tables (al-Alwāḥ) a monition concerning every matter.”

Muslim divines are not agreed as to the number either of the tables, or of the Commandments. The commentators Jalālain say they were either seven or ten. [TEN COMMANDMENTS.]

ʿAMAL-NĀMAH (عمل نامه‎). The Persian word for Ṣaḥīfatu ʾl-Aʿmāl, or record of actions kept by the recording angels. [SAHIFATU ʾL-AʿMAL, KIRAMU ʾL-KATIBIN.]

AMĀN (امان‎). Protection given by a Muslim conqueror to those who pay Jizyah, or poll tax. [JIHAD.]

AMBIYĀʾ (انبياء‎), pl. of Nabī. “Prophets.” The title of the XXIst Sūrah. [PROPHETS.]

ĀMĪN (امين‎), Hebrew ‏אָמֵן‎. An expression of assent used at the conclusion of prayers, very much as in our Christian worship. It is always used at the conclusion of the Sūratu ʾl-Fātiḥah, or first chapter of the Qurʾān.

Amīn, “Faithful.” Al-Amīn is the title which it is said was given to Muḥammad when a youth, on account of his fair and honourable bearing, which won the confidence of the people.

Amīnu ʾl-Bait, one who wishes to perform the pilgrimage to Makkah.

ĀMINAH (آمنة‎). Muḥammad’s mother. She was the wife of ʿAbdu ʾllāh, and the daughter of Wahb ibn ʿAbdi Manāf. She died and was buried at al-Abwāʾ, a place midway between Makkah and al-Madīnah, before her son claimed the position of a Prophet.

AMĪR (امير‎), Anglicè, Emir. “A ruler; a commander; a chief; a nobleman.” It includes the various high offices in a Muslim state; the Imām, or K͟halīfah, being styled Amīru ʾl-Umarāʾ, the ruler of rulers; and Amīru ʾl-Muʾminīn, the commander of the believers.

AMĪRU ʾL-ḤAJJ (امير الحج‎). “The chief of the pilgrimage.” The officer in charge of the pilgrims to Makkah. [HAJJ.]

AMĪRU ʾL-MUʾMINĪN (امير المومنين‎). “The Commander of the Believers.” A title which was first given to ʿAbdu ʾllāh ibn Jaḥsh after his expedition to Nak͟hlah, and which was afterwards assumed by the K͟halīfahs (first by ʿUmar) and the Sult̤āns of Turkey. [KHALIFAH.]

ʿAMR IBN AL-ʿĀṢĪ (عمرو بن العاصى‎). One of the Companions, celebrated for his conquest of Syria, Palestine and Egypt, in the reigns of Abū Bakr and ʿUmar. He died (according to an-Nawawī) A.H. 43.

AMULETS. Arabic Ḥamāʾil (حمائل‎), “anything suspended”; Taʿwīẕ, “a refuge”; Ḥijāb, “a cover.”

Amulets, although of heathen origin, are very common in Muḥammadan countries. The following are used as amulets: (1) a small Qurʾān, encased in silk or leather, and suspended from the shoulder; (2) a chapter or verse of the Qurʾān, written on paper and folded in leather or velvet; (3) some of the names of God, or the numerical power (see ABJAD) of these names; (4) the names of prophets, celebrated saints, or the numerical power of the same; (5) the Muḥammadan creed, engraven on stone or silver. The chapters of the Qurʾān generally selected for Amulets are: Sūrahs i., vi., xviii., xxxvi., xliv., lv., lxvii., lxxviii. Five verses known as the Āyātu ʾl-Ḥifz̤, or “verses of protection,” are also frequently inscribed on Amulets. They are Sūrahs ii. 256; xii. 64; xiii. 12; xv. 17; xxxvii. 7. [AYATU ʾL-HIFZ.]

These charms are fastened on the arm or leg, or suspended round the neck, as a protection against evil. They are also put on houses and animals, and, in fact, upon anything from which evil is to be averted. Strictly, according to the principles of Islām, only the names of God, or verses from the Qurʾān, should be used for amulets. Information regarding the formation of magic squares and amulets will be found in the article on Exorcism. [EXORCISM, DAʿWAH.]