KAʿBAH (كعبة). Lit. “A cube.” The cube-like building in the centre of the mosque at Makkah, which contains the Ḥajaru ʾl-Aswad, or black stone.
THE KAʿBAH. (From a Photograph.)
I. A Description of the Kaʿbah.—It is, according to Burckhardt and Burton, an oblong massive structure, 18 paces in length, 14 in breadth, and about 35 feet in height. It is constructed of grey Makkan stone, in large blocks of different sizes, joined together in a very rough manner, with cement. (Burton says it is excellent mortar, like Roman cement.) The Kaʿbah stands upon a base two feet in height, which presents a sharp inclined plane; its roof being flat, it has, at a distance, the appearance of a perfect cube. The only door which affords entrance, and which is opened but two or three times in the year (Burton says it can be entered by pilgrims, by paying the guardian a liberal fee), is on the east side, and about seven feet above the ground. At the south-east corner of the Kaʿbah, near the door, is the famous black stone [HAJARU ʾL-ASWAD], which forms a part of the sharp angle of the building, at four or five feet above the ground. The black stone is an irregular oval, about seven inches in diameter, with an undulating surface, composed of about a dozen smaller stones of different shapes and sizes. It is surrounded on all sides by a border of reddish brown cement, both the stone and the border being encircled by a band of a massive arch of gold or silver gilt, the aperture of the stone being one span and three fingers broad. In the corner facing the south, there is another stone about five feet from the ground. It is one foot and a half in length, and two inches in breadth, placed upright, and of common Makkan stone. According to the rites of the pilgrimage, this stone, which is called ar-Ruknu ʾl-Yamānī, or Yaman pillar, should only be touched with the right hand as the pilgrim passes it, but Captain Burton says he frequently saw it kissed by the pilgrims. Just by the door of the Kaʿbah, and close to the wall, is a slight hollow in the ground, lined with marble and sufficiently large to admit of three persons sitting, which is called al-Miʿjan, and supposed to be the place where Abraham and his son Ishmael kneaded the chalk and mud which they used to build the Kaʿbah. Here it is thought meritorious to pray. On the basis of the Kaʿbah, just above the Miʿjan, is an ancient Kufic inscription, which neither Burckhardt nor Burton were able to decipher or to copy. On the north-west side of the Kaʿbah, about two feet below its summit, is the water-spout, which is called the Miʾzābu ʾr-Raḥmah, or the water-spout of mercy. This spout is of gold, and was sent hither from Constantinople in A.H. 981. It carries rain from the roof, and discharges it upon Ishmael’s grave. There are two large green marble slabs, which are said to have been presents from Cairo, A.H. 241, which are supposed to mark the graves of Hagar and Ishmael. The pavement round the Kaʿbah consists of a very handsome mosaic of various coloured stones, and is said to have been laid down A.H. 826. On one side of the Kaʿbah is a semicircular wall, the extremities of which are in a line with the sides of the Kaʿbah, and distant about six feet, leaving an opening which leads to the grave of Ishmael. The wall is called al-Ḥat̤īm, “the broken,” and the enclosed area al-Ḥijr, “the enclosure.” The Kaʿbah is covered with a coarse tissue of mixed silk and cotton, being of a brilliant black colour, and with a gold band round it, upon which is inscribed the ninetieth verse of the third chapter of the Qurʾān: “Verily the first home founded for mankind was surely that at Bakkah, for a blessing and a guidance to mankind.” The inscription being in large Kufic characters. For a further account of this cover, see KISWAH.
THE KAʿBAH. (Burton.)
II. The History of the Kaʿbah, is embraced in the history of the Baitu ʾllāh or MASJIDU ʾL-HARAM.
According to the Traditions and the inventive genius of Muslim writers, the Kaʿbah was first constructed in heaven (where a model of it still remains, called the Baitu ʾl-Maʿmūr) two thousand years before the creation of the world. Adam erected the Kaʿbah on earth exactly below the spot its perfect model occupies in heaven, and selected the stones from the five sacred mountains, Sinai, al-Jūdī, Ḥirāʾ, Olivet, and Lebanon. Ten thousand angels were appointed to guard the structure, but, as Burckhardt remarks, they appear to have been often most remiss in their duty! At the Deluge the Sacred House was destroyed. But the Almighty is said to have instructed Abraham to rebuild it. In its reconstruction Abraham was assisted by his son Ishmael, who with his mother Hagar were at the time residents of Makkah, Abraham having journeyed from Syria in order to obey the commands of God.
Upon digging they found the original foundations of the building. But wanting a stone to mark the corner of the building, Ishmael started in search of one, and as he was going in the direction of Jabal Qubais, the angel Gabriel met him, and gave him the famous black stone. Ibn ʿAbbās relates that the Prophet said, the black stone when it came down from Paradise was whiter than milk, but that it has become black from the sins of those who have touched it. (Mishkāt, book xi. ch. iv. pt. 2.)
Upon the death of Ishmael, the Kaʿbah fell into the possession of the Banū Jurhum, and remained in their hands for a thousand years. It then became the property of the Banū K͟huzāʿah, who held it for three hundred years. But being constantly exposed to torrents, it was destroyed, and was rebuilt by Quṣaiy ibn Kilāb, who put a top to it. Up to this time it is said to have been open at the roof.
It is said, by Muḥammadan historians, that ʿAmr ibn Luḥaiy was the first who introduced idolatry into Arabia, and that he brought the great idol Hubal from Hait in Mesopotamia and placed it in the sacred house. It then became a Pantheon common to all the tribes. [IDOLS.] The tribe of Quṣaiy were the first who built dwelling-houses round the Kaʿbah. The successors of the Banū Quṣaiy were the Quraish. Soon after they came into possession, the Kaʿbah was destroyed by fire, and they rebuilt it of wood and of a smaller size, than it had been in the time of the Banū Quṣaiy. The roof was supported within by six pillars, and the statue of Hubal was placed over a wall then existing within the Kaʿbah. This took place during the youth of Muḥammad. Al-Azraqī, quoted by Burckhardt, says that the figure of the Virgin Mary and the infant Jesus was sculptured as a deity upon one of the six pillars nearest the gate.
The grandfather of Muḥammad, ʿAbdu ʾl-Mut̤t̤alib, the son of Hāshim, became the custodian of the Sacred House; and during his time, the Kaʿbah being considered too low in its structure, the Quraish wished to raise it; so they demolished it and then they rebuilt till the work reached the place of the black stone. Each tribe wishing to have the honour of raising the black stone into its place, they quarrelled amongst themselves. But they at last agreed that the first man who should enter the gate of the enclosure should be umpire. Muḥammad was the first to enter, and he was appointed umpire. He thereupon ordered them to place the stone upon a cloth and each tribe by its representative to take hold of the cloth and lift it into its place. The dispute was thus ended, and when the stone had reached its proper place, Muḥammad fixed it in its situation with his own hand.
At the commencement of Muḥammad’s mission, it is remarkable that there is scarcely an allusion to the Kaʿbah, and this fact, taken with the circumstance that the earliest Qiblah or direction for prayer, was Jerusalem, and not the Kaʿbah, seems to imply that Muḥammad’s strong iconoclastic tendencies did not incline his sympathies to this ancient idol temple with its superstitious ceremonies. Had the Jews favourably received the new prophet as one who taught the religion of Abraham, to the abrogation of that of Moses and Jesus, Jerusalem and not Makkah would have been the sacred city, and the ancient Rock [SAKHRAH] and not the Kaʿbah would have been the object of superstitious reverence.
Taking the Sūrahs chronologically, the earliest reference in the Qurʾān to the Kaʿbah occurs in Sūrah lii. 4, where the Prophet swears by the frequented house (al-Baitu ʾl-Maʿmūr), but commentators are not agreed whether it refers to the Kaʿbah in Makkah, or its heavenly model above, which is said to be frequented by the angels. We then come to Sūrah xvii. 1, where Muḥammad refers to his celebrated night dream of his journey from the Sacred Mosque (al-Masjidu ʾl-Ḥarām) at Makkah to the Remote Mosque (al-Masjidu ʾl-Aqṣā) at Jerusalem. And in this verse we find the Rock at Jerusalem spoken of as “the precinct of which We (God) have blessed, to show him (Muḥammad) of our signs,” proving that even then the Prophet of Arabia had his heart fixed on Mount Zion, and not on the Kaʿbah.
When Muḥammad found himself established in al-Madīnah, with a very good prospect of his obtaining possession of Makkah, and its historic associations, he seems to have withdrawn his thoughts from Jerusalem, and its Sacred Rock and to fix them on the house at Bakkah as the home founded for mankind,—Blessed, and a guidance to all creatures. (Sūrah iii. 90). The Jews proving obdurate, and there being little chance of his succeeding in establishing his claim as their prophet spoken of by Moses, he changes the Qiblah, or direction for prayer, from Jerusalem to Makkah. The house at Makkah is made “a place of resort unto men and a sanctuary” (Sūrah ii. 119).
The Qiblah is changed by an express command of the Almighty, and the whole passage is remarkable as exhibiting a decided concession on the part of Muḥammad to the claims of the Kaʿbah as a central object of adoration. (Sūrah iii. 138–145.)
“We appointed the Qiblah which thou formerly hadst, only that we might know him who followeth the apostle, from him who turneth on his heels: The change is a difficulty, but not to those whom God hath guided. But God will not let your faith be fruitless; for unto man is God Merciful, Gracious. We have seen thee turning thy face towards every part of Heaven; but we will have thee turn to a Qiblah which shall please thee. Turn then thy face towards the sacred Mosque, and wherever ye be, turn your faces towards that part. They, verily, to whom ‘the Book’ hath been given, know this to be the truth from their Lord: and God is not regardless of what ye do. Even though thou shouldest bring every kind of sign to those who have received the Scriptures, yet thy Qiblah they will not adopt; nor shalt thou adopt their Qiblah; nor will one part of them adopt the Qiblah of the other. And if, after the knowledge which hath come to thee, thou follow their wishes, verily then wilt thou become of the unrighteous. They to whom we have given the Scriptures know him—the apostle—even as they know their own children: but truly a part of them do conceal the truth, though acquainted with it. The truth is from thy Lord. Be not then of those who doubt. All have a quarter of the Heavens to which they turn them; but wherever ye be, hasten emulously after good: God will one day bring you all together; verily, God is all-powerful. And from whatever place thou comest forth, turn thy face toward the sacred Mosque; for this is the truth from thy Lord; and God is not inattentive to your doings. And from whatever place thou comest forth, turn thy face toward the sacred Mosque; and wherever ye be, to that part turn your faces, lest men have cause of dispute against you: but as for the impious among them, fear them not; but fear me, that I may perfect my favours on you, and that ye may be guided aright.”
The verses of the second Sūrah of the Qurʾān are, according to Jalālu ʾd-dīn and other commentators, not in their chronological order. It is therefore difficult to fix the precise date of the following verse:—
Sūrah ii. 108: “Who is more unjust than he who prohibits God’s mosques, that His name should not be worshipped there, and who strives to ruin them.”
According to al-Baiẓāwī, the verse either refers to the sacking of Jerusalem by Titus, or to the Quraish who, at al-Ḥudaibiyah, had prevented the Prophet from entering Makkah until the following year.
In the seventh year of the Hijrah, Muḥammad was, according to the treaty with the Quraish at al-Ḥudaibiyah in the previous year, allowed to enter Makkah, and perform the circuit of the Kaʿbah. Hubal and the other idols of the Arabian pantheon were still within the sacred building, but, as Muḥammad’s visit was limited to three days, he confined himself to the ordinary rites of the ʿUmrah, or visitation, without interfering with the idolatrous arrangement of the Kaʿbah itself. Before he left, at the hour of midday prayer, Bilāl ascended the holy house, and from its summit gave the first call to Muslim prayers, which were afterwards led by the Prophet in the usual form.
The following year Muḥammad occupied Makkah by force of arms. The idols in the Kaʿbah were destroyed, and the rites of the pilgrimage were established as by divine enactment. From this time the history of the Kaʿbah becomes part of the history of Islām.
The K͟halīfah ʿUmar first built a mosque round the Kaʿbah, A.H. 17.
For a history of the sacred mosque at Makkah, see MASJIDU ʾL-HARAM.
KAʿB IBN MĀLIK (كعب بن مالك). A companion of the Prophet and one of the Anṣārs of the tribe of K͟hazraj. He was celebrated as a poet, and embraced Islām after the second pledge of ʿAkabah. He was one of the three companions who refused to accompany Muḥammad on the expedition to Tabūk (Hilāl and Marārah being the other two), and who are referred to in the Qurʾān, Sūrah ix. 118, 119: “Verily He is kind to them, unto the three who were left behind.” For a time Muḥammad was displeased with them, but he afterwards became reconciled. Kaʿb became a companion of some note, and died during the reign of ʿAlī.
AL-KABĪR (الكبير). “The Great One.” One of the ninety-nine attributes of God, Sūrah xxxiv. 22: “He is the High (al-ʿAlī) and the Great (al-Kabīr).”
KABĪRAH (كبيرة). The fem. of kabīr, “great.” A term used in theological books for Gunāh-i-Kabīrah, “a great sin”; namely, that sin which is clearly forbidden in the law, and for which punishment has been ordained of God. [SIN.]
KAʿBĪYAH (كعبية). A sect of Muslims founded by Abū Qāsim Muḥammad ibn al-Kaʿbī, who was a Muʿtazilī of Bag͟hdād, who said the acts of God were without purpose, will, or desire.
KACHKŪL (كچكول). Persian (vulg. kachkol). The begging bowl of a religious mendicant. [FAQIR.]
KAFĀLAH (كفالة). [BAIL.]
KAFAN (كفن). The shroud for the dead. It usually consists of three pieces of cloth for a man and five for a woman. Those for a man: 1, An izār, or piece of cloth, reaching from the navel to the knees or ankle joints; 2, A qamīṣ, or shirt, from the neck to the knees; 3, A sheet to cover the whole corpse. For a woman there are also a breast band and head band. The whole being of white. [BURIAL.]
KAFFĀRAH (كفارة), from kafr, “to hide.” Heb. כִּפֻּרִים. Lit. “Coverings; atonements; expiation.”
The word occurs four times in the Qurʾān:—
Sūrah v. 49: “Whoso remitteth it as alms shall have expiation for his sins.”
Sūrah v. 91: “Its expiation shall be to feed ten persons.” “This is the expiation for your oaths.”
Sūrah v. 96: “In expiation thereof shall ye feed the poor.”
The other word used is fidyah [FIDYAH]. The expression kaffāratu ʾẕ-ẕunūb, “atonement for sins,” is used for expiation by prayer, alms, fasting, and pilgrimage. [EXPIATION.]
AL-KĀFĪ (الكافى). “The Sufficient One.” An attribute of God mentioned in the Qurʾān, Sūrah xxxix. 37: “Is not God sufficient for His servant.”
AL-KĀFĪ (الكافى). The title of a collection of traditions by Abū Jaʿfar Muḥammad ibn Yaʿqūb al-Kulīnī (A.H. 328) received by the Shīʿahs.
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.]
KANĪSAH (كنيسة). A Christian church, a Jewish synagogue, or a pagan temple. It is used in the Hidāyah (vol. ii. p. 219) for a synagogue. [CHURCHES.]
AL-KANZU ʾL-MAK͟HFĪ (الكنز المخفى). Lit. “The Secret Treasure.” A term used by the Ṣūfīs for the essence and personality of God.
KĀRAWĀN (كاروان). Persian. “A caravan.” The Arabic term is Qāfilah. A party of merchants proceeding on a journey under the direction of a leader who is called a Qāfilah Bāshī.
KARBALĀʾ (كربلاء), or MASHHADU ʾL-ḤUSAIN. A city in al-ʿIrāq, celebrated as the scene of the martyrdom of al-Ḥusain [AL-HUSAIN] and the place of his sepulchre. It is fifty miles south-west of Bag͟hdād, and about six miles west of the Euphrates.
AL-KARĪM (الكريم). “The Generous One.” One of the ninety-nine attributes of God.
KARŪBĪN (كروبين). [CHERUBIM.]
KASHF (كشف). The uncovering of anything covered; manifestation. A mystic term used for a revelation of any secret truth to the mind of man, by the grace and power of God.
KĀTIB (كاتب). An Amanuensis; a clerk; a secretary. In the latter sense it is used for Muḥammad ibn Saʿd ibn Manīʿ az-Zuhrī, the secretary to al-Wāqidī. [KATIBU ʾL-WAQIDI.]
KĀTIBU ʾL-WĀQIDĪ (كاتب الواقدى). The secretary of al-Wāqidī. A Muslim historian, largely quoted by Sir William Muir in his Life of Mahomet, and also by Sprenger, and often given as an authority in the present work.
Mr. Ameer Ali in his Life of Muḥammad (London, 1873), couples the name of Kātibu ʾl-Wāqidī with that of al-Wāqidī himself, as regarded by “the Muḥammadan as the least trustworthy and most careless biographers of Muḥammad,” and quotes Ibn K͟hallikān in support of his opinion. It is quite true that Ibn K͟hallikān does speak of the traditions received by al-Wāqidī as “of feeble authority,” but he bears testimony to the trustworthiness of al-Wāqidī’s secretary in the strongest terms, as will be seen in the following quotation, and it is manifestly unfair of Mr. Ameer Ali to couple the two names together in his preface:—
“Abû Abd Allah Muhammad Ibn Saad Ibn Manî az-Zuhri, was a man of the highest talents, merit, and eminence. He lived for some time with al-Wakidi [WAQIDI] in the character of a secretary, and for this reason he became known by the appellation of Katibu-l-Wakidi. Amongst the masters under whom he studied was Sofyân Ibn Oyaina. Traditional information was delivered on his own authority by Abû Bakr Ibn Abid-Dunyâ and Abû Muhammad al-Hârith Ibn Abi Osâma at-Tamimi. He composed an excellent work, in fifteen volumes, on the different classes (tabakât) of Muhammad’s companions and of the Tâbîs. It contains also a history of the khalifs brought down to his own time. He left also a smaller Tabakât. His character as a veracious and trustworthy historian is universally admitted. It is said that the complete collection of al-Wakidi’s works remained in the possession of four persons, the first of whom was his secretary, Muhammad ibn Saad. This distinguished writer displayed great acquirements in the sciences, the traditions, and traditional literature; most of his books treat of the traditions and law. The Khatîb Abû Bakr, author of the history of Baghdad, speaks of him in these terms: ‘We consider Muhammad ibn Saad as a man of unimpeached integrity, and the Traditions which he delivered are a proof of his veracity, for in the greater part of the information handed down by him, we find him discussing it, passage by passage.’ He was a mawla (slave) to al-Husain Ibn Abd Allah Ibn Obaid Allah Ibn al-Abbâs Ibn Abd al-Muttalib. He died at Baghdad on Sunday the 4th of the latter Jumâda, A.H. 203 (December, A.D. 818), at the age of sixty-two years, and was interred in the cemetery outside the Damascus gate (Bâb as-Shâm.)”—(Ibn K͟hallikān, Biog. Dict., in loco.)
AL-KAUS̤AR (الكوثر). Lit. “Abundance.” A pond in Muḥammad’s paradise known as the Ḥauẓu ʾl-Kaus̤ar, or “The Pond of Abundance.”
The word occurs once in the Qurʾān, Sūrah cviii. 1–3:—
“Truly we have given thee an abundance (i.e. al-Kaus̤ar);
“Pray therefore to the Lord, and slay the victims.
“Verily whoso hateth thee shall be childless.”
But it is not clear whether the pond is intended in this verse. Al-Baiẓāwī thinks it refers to abundance of blessings and not to the pond.
Anas relates that the Prophet said the prophet saw the pond al-Kaus̤ar in the night of his Miʿrāj or heavenly journey [MIʿRAJ] and that it “was a river of water on each side of which there were domes, each formed of a hollow pearl.”
ʿAbdu ʾllāh ibn ʿAmr relates that the Prophet said “the circumference of al-Kaus̤ar is a month’s journey, and it is a square, its water whiter than milk, its smell sweeter than musk, and its cups for drinking sparkle like the stars of heaven. He who drinks of its waters shall never thirst.” (Mishkāt, book xxiii. ch. xii.)