K͟HALĪLU ʾLLĀH (خليل الله). “The friend of God.” A title given to Abraham in the Qurʾān, Sūrah iv. 124: “For God took Abraham as his friend.”
With regard to this verse, al-Baiẓāwī says: “Abraham in a time of dearth sent to a friend of his in Egypt for a supply of corn: but the friend denied him, saying, in his excuse, that though there was a famine in their country also, yet, had it been for Abraham’s own family, he would have sent what he desired, but he knew he wanted it only to entertain his guests, and give away to the poor, according to his usual hospitality. The servants whom Abraham had sent on this message, being ashamed to return empty, to conceal the matter from their neighbours, filled their sacks with fine white sand, which in the East pretty much resembles meal. Abraham being informed by his servants on their return of their ill success, the concern he was under threw him into a sleep, and in the meantime Sarah, knowing nothing of what had happened, opening one of the sacks, found good flour in it, and immediately set to making bread. Abraham awaking, and smelling the new bread, asked her whence she had the flour. ‘Why,’ says she, ‘from your friend in Egypt.’ ‘Nay,’ replied the patriarch, ‘it must have come from no other than my friend, God Almighty.’ ” [ABRAHAM.]
K͟HAMR (خمر). The word used in the Qurʾān for wine or anything that intoxicates.
Sūrah ii. 216: “They will ask thee about wine (k͟hamr), and games of chance: say in both is sin and profit to men, but the sin of both is greater than the profit of the same.”
By the orthodox, the term k͟hamr is generally held to include not only alcoholic drinks, but opium and other narcotics. Some understand it to include tobacco; hence the destruction of tobacco pipes in the streets of Makkah by the Wahhābīs. [WAHHABI.]
K͟HĀN (خان). Persian. “A ruler; a chief.” A term used for the supreme ruler of small countries or provinces. The K͟hān of the Tartars. It is also one of the titles of the Sult̤ān of Turkey. It is also used for a caravansary or inn, being a corruption of the Persian k͟hanah, “a home.”
AL-K͟HANNĀS (الخناس). A demon mentioned in the Qurʾān, Sūrah cxiv. (the last chapter):—
“Say: I betake me for refuge to the Lord of men,
“The King of men,
“The God of men,
“Against the mischief of the stealthily withdrawing whisperer (al-k͟hannās),
“Who whispereth in man’s breast—
“Against genii and men.”
K͟HANZAB (خنزب). A demon who casts doubt at the time of prayer. ʿUs̤mān ibn Abī ʾl-ʿĀṣī relates that he came to the Prophet and complained that he was disturbed by the devil during prayers. The Prophet said, “This is a demon called K͟hanzab who disturbs prayer. When you are aware of any such disturbance, seek protection of God and spit over your left shoulder three times.” ʿUs̤mān did so, and all doubt and perplexity was dispelled.
K͟HARĀBĀT (خرابات). “A wine-shop or tavern.” A mystic term for the society of the Murshid, or inspired teacher. See Dīwān-i-Ḥāfiz̤ (Bicknell’s edition, p. 212):—
“Within the Magian’s house of wine our Maker’s light I see.”
“Behold this marvel, what a light and where that sight I see.”
K͟HARĀJ (خراج). A tax, or tribute on land. This was originally applied to a land tribute from non-Muslim tribes (Hidāyah, vol. ii. p. 204), but it is now used for a tax, or land-rent due to the State. Lā-k͟harāj is a term used for lands exempt from any such payment.
K͟HARQU ʾL-ʿĀDAH (خرق العادة). Lit. “The splitting of Nature.” That which is contrary to the usual course of nature. A term used for miracles. Either (1) Muʿjizah, miracles worked by Prophets; or (2) Karāmah, wonders performed by walīs or saints; or (3) Istidrāj, wonders worked by the power of Satan. [MIRACLES.]
K͟HASHYAH (خـشـيـة). “Fear.” K͟hashyatu ʾllāh, “The fear of God,” is an expression which occurs in the Qurʾān.
Sūrah ii. 69: “There are some that fall down for fear of God.”
Sūrah iv. 79: “A portion of them fear men as with the fear of God, or with a yet greater fear.”
K͟HAṢR (خصر). Lit. “The middle or waist.” An act forbidden in prayer, as related by Abū Hurairah, who said: “The Prophet forbade K͟haṣr in prayer.” (Mishkāt, book iv. ch. xx.) It is generally held to be the act of holding the waist with the hands to relieve the sensation of fatigue experienced in the position of standing. Some divines believe it to be a prohibition to lean on a mik͟hṣarah, or staff, in prayer, whilst others give to it the sense of cutting short the verbal forms of prayer, or remaining too short a time in the prescribed attitude. (Shaik͟h ʿAbdu ʾl-Ḥaqq.)
K͟HĀṢṢ (خاص). “Special” as distinguished from ʿĀmm, “general.” A term frequently used by Muḥammadan writers and in treatises on exegesis.
K͟HĀTIMU ʾN-NABĪYĪN (خـاتـم النبيين). “The seal of the Prophets.” A title assumed by Muḥammad in the Qurʾān. Sūrah xxxiii. 40: “He is the Apostle of God and the seal of the Prophets.” By which is meant, that he is the last of the Prophets.
K͟HĀTIMU ʾN-NABŪWAH (خاتم النبوة). “The seal of prophecy.” A term used for the large mole or fleshy protuberance on Muḥammad’s back, which is said to have been a divine sign of his prophetic office.
ʿAbdu ʾllāh ibn Sarjis describes it as being as large as his closed fist, with moles round about it. Abū Rams̤ah wanted to remove it, but Muḥammad refused saying, “The Physician thereof is He who placed it there.”
K͟HĀT̤IR (خـاطـر). “Mind; conscience.” A term used by mystic teachers. K͟hāt̤ir is said to be of four kinds: Al-K͟hāt̤iru ʾr-Rabbānī, “conscience inspired of God”; al-K͟hāt̤iru ʾl-Malakī, “conscience inspired by angels”; al-K͟hāt̤iru ʾn-Nafsānī, “a conscience inspired by the flesh”; al-K͟hāt̤iru ʾsh-Shait̤ānī, “a conscience inspired by the devil.” (Kitābu ʾt-Taʿrīfāt, in loco.)
K͟HATMAH (ختمة). An epilogue, but more generally a recitation of the whole of the Qurʾān. (K͟hatm, “concluding.”)
Mr. Lane in his Arabian Nights (vol. i. p. 382), says the most approved and common mode of entertaining guests at modern private festivities, is by a k͟hatmah, which is the recitation of the whole of the Qurʾān. Their mode of recitation is a peculiar chanting.
K͟HATN (ختن). A legal term for the husbands of female relations within the prohibited degrees. It likewise includes all the relations of these husbands. (Hidāyah, vol. iv. p. 518.)
K͟HATNAH (ختنة). [CIRCUMCISION.]
K͟HAT̤T̤ (خط). A line; a letter of the alphabet; an epistle. (1) A figure drawn by exorcists making an incantation. (2) K͟hat̤t̤-i-Sharīf, “royal letters; a diploma.” (3) ʿAbdu ʾllāh ibn ʿAbbās says a k͟hat̤t̤, or “letter,” is the language of the hand, and its divine origin is stated in the Qurʾān, Sūrah xcvi. 4: “Who hath taught us the use of the pen.” It is said Adam first wrote with his finger in the dust, but others say it was Idrīs. The same traditionist says the first who invented the Arabic character, were three persons of the tribe of Bulān of the race of Banū T̤aiy.
Ibn Isḥāq says there are four classes of Arabic writing: the Makkī, the Madanī, the Baṣrī, and the Kūfī; and the first who wrote the Qurʾān in a clear and elegant writing, was K͟hālid ibn Abī ʾl-Haiyāj, and that he was set to the work by Saʿd, who employed him as a calligraphist for the K͟halīfah Walīd ibn ʿAbdi ʾl-Malik, A.H. 86, and that K͟hālid wrote it in what is now called the Kufic character. (K͟hashfu ʾz̤-Z̤unūn, Flügel’s ed., vol. iii. p. 149.)
K͟HAUF (خوف). “Fear.” Generally used for the fear of God. ʿAbdu ʾllāh ibn Masʿūd relates that Muḥammad said: “There is no Muslim whose eyes shed tears, although they be as small as the head of a fly, from fear of God, but shall escape hell fire.” (Mishkāt, book xxii. ch. xxix. pt. 3.)
K͟HAWĀRIJ (خوارج). Lit. “The Revolters.” A sect of Muslims who affirm that any man may be promoted to the dignity of K͟halīfah, even though he be not of the Quraish tribe, provided he be elected by the Muḥammadan nation. The first who were so-called were the 12,000 men who revolted from ʿAlī after they had fought under him at the battle of Ṣiffīn, and took offence at his submitting the decision of his right to the K͟halīfate to the arbitration of men when, in their opinion, it ought to have been submitted to the judgment of God. They affirmed that a man might be appointed K͟halīfah, no matter of what tribe or nation, provided he were a just and pious person, and that if the K͟halīfah turned away from the truth, he might be put to death or deposed. They also held that there was no absolute necessity for a K͟halīfah at all. In A.H. 38, large numbers of this sect were killed, but a few escaped, and propagated their schism in different parts of the world. [KHALIFAH.]
K͟HAZRAJ (خـزرج). An Arabic tribe who, at an early period of Muḥammad’s mission, submitted to his authority. They are supposed to have settled in al-Madīnah early in the fourth century.
K͟HIBRAH (خبرة). A proof; an experiment. Practical knowledge. Ahlu ʾl-K͟hibrah, persons practically acquainted with any subject.
K͟HILĀFAH (خلافة). The office of K͟halīfah. [KHALIFAH.]
K͟HILWAH (خلوة). “Privacy; retirement.” A term used by the Ṣūfīs for retirement from the world for the purposes of worship and meditation.
K͟HIRQAH (خرقة). The robe of the faqīr or ascetic. A religious habit made of shreds and patches, worn by darveshes.
K͟HIT̤BAH (خطبة). “Betrothal.” Called in Hindūstānī mangnī. No religious ceremony is enjoined by Muḥammadan law, but it is usual for the Maulawī or Qāẓī to be invited to be present to offer up a prayer for a blessing on the proceeding.
The ceremony is usually accompanied with great rejoicings. The following is Mrs. Meer Hassan Ali’s account of a betrothal in the neighbourhood of Lucknow:—
“A very intimate friend of mine was seeking for a suitable match for her son, and, being much in her confidence, I was initiated in all the mysteries and arrangements (according to Musalman rule) of the affair, pending the marriage of her son.
“The young lady to be sought (wooed we have it), had been described as amiable and pretty—advantages as much esteemed as her rank; fortune she had none worth mentioning, but it was what is termed in Indian society a good and equal match. The overture was, therefore, to be made from the youth’s family in the following manner:—
“On a silver tray covered with gold brocade, and fringed with silver, was laid the youth’s pedigree, traced by a neat writer in the Persian character, on richly embossed paper, ornamented and emblazoned with gold figures. The youth being a Saiyid, his pedigree was traced up to Muhammad, in both paternal and maternal lines, and many a hero and begum of their noble blood filled up the space from the Prophet down to the youthful Mir Muhammad, my friend’s son.
“On the tray, with the pedigree, was laid a nazr, or offering of five gold mohurs, and twenty-one (the lucky number) rupees; a brocaded cover, fringed with silver, was spread over the whole, and this was conveyed by the male agent to the young begum’s father. The tray and its contents are retained for ever, if the proposal is accepted; if rejected, the parties return the whole without delay, which is received as a tacit proof that the suitor is rejected: no further explanation is ever given or required.
“In the present instance the tray was detained, and in a few days after a female from their family was sent to my friend’s house, to make a general scrutiny of the zanánah and its inmates. This female was pressed to stay a day or two, and in that time many important subjects underwent discussion. The youth was introduced, and, everything according with the views entertained by both parties, the fathers met, and the marriage, it was decided, should take place within a twelve-month, when the young lady would have accomplished her thirteenth year.
“ ‘Do you decide on having mangnī performed?’ is the question proposed by the father of the youth to the father of the young maiden. In the present case it was chosen, and great were the preparations of my friend to do all possible honour to the future bride of her son.
“Mangnī is the first contract, by which the parties are bound to fulfil their engagement at an appointed time.
“The dress for a bride differs in one material point from the general style of Hindustani costume: a sort of gown is worn, made of silver tissue, or some equally expensive article, about the walking length of an English dress; the skirt is open in front, and contains about twenty breadths of the material, a tight body, and long sleeves. The whole dress is trimmed very richly with embroidered trimming and silver riband; the deputtah (drapery) is made to correspond. This style of dress is the original Hindoo fashion, and was worn at the Court of Delhi for many centuries; but of late years it has been used only on marriage festivals amongst the better sort of people in Hindustán, except kings or náwábs sending khillauts to females, when this dress, called a jhammah, is invariably one of the articles.
“The costly dresses for the present mangnī my friend prepared at great expense, and with much good taste; to which were added a ruby ring of great value, large gold ear-rings, offerings of money, the flower-garlands for the head, neck, wrists, and ankles, formed of the sweet-scented jessamine; choice confectionery set out in trays with the pawns and fruits; the whole conveyed under an escort of soldiers and servants, with a band of music, from the residence of Mir Muhammad to that of his bride elect, accompanied by many friends of the family. These offerings from the youth bind the contract with the young lady, who wears his ring from that day to the end of her life.
“The poorer sort of people perform mangnī by the youth simply sending a rupee in a silk band, to be tied on the girl’s arm.
“Being curious to know the whole business of a wedding ceremony amongst the Musalmán people, I was allowed to perform the part of ‘officiating friend’ on this occasion of celebrating the mangnī. The parents of the young lady having been consulted, my visit was a source of solicitude to the whole family, who made every possible preparation to receive me with becoming respect. I went just in time to reach the gate at the moment the parade arrived. I was handed to the door of the zanánah by the girl’s father, and was soon surrounded by the young members of the family, together with many lady-visitors, slaves, and women-servants of the establishment. They had never before seen an English woman, and the novelty, I fancy, surprised the whole group; they examined my dress, my complexion, hair, hands, &c., and looked the wonder they could not express in words. The young begum was not amongst the gazing throng; some preliminary customs detained her behind the purdah, where it may be supposed she endured all the agony of suspense and curiosity by her compliance with the prescribed forms.
“The lady of the mansion waited my approach to the great hall, with all due etiquette, standing to receive and embrace me on my advancing towards her. This ceremony performed, I was invited to take a seat on the carpet with her on the ground; a chair had been provided for me, but I chose to respect the lady’s preference, and the seat on the floor suited me for the time without much inconvenience.
“After some time had been passed in conversation on such subjects as suited the tastes of the lady of the house, I was surprised at the servants entering with trays, which they placed immediately before me, containing a full-dress suit in the costume of Hindustán. The hostess told me she had prepared this dress for me, and I must condescend to wear it. I would have declined the gaudy array, but one of her friends whispered me, ‘The custom is of long standing; when the face of a stranger is first seen, a dress is always presented; I should displease Sumdun Begum by my refusal; besides, it would be deemed an ill omen at the mangnī of the young Bohur Begum if I did not put on the native dress before I saw the face of the bride elect.’ These I found to be weighty arguments, and felt constrained to quiet their apprehensions of ill-luck by compliance; I therefore forced the gold dress and the glittering drapery over my other clothes, at the expense of some suffering from the heat, for it was at the very hottest season of the year, and the hall was crowded with visitors.
“This important point conceded to them, I was led to a side hall, where the little girl was seated on her carpet of rich embroidery, her face resting on her knees in apparent bashfulness. I could not directly ascertain whether she was plain, or pretty, as the female agent had represented. I was allowed the privilege of decorating the young lady with the sweet jessamine guinahs, and placing the ring on the fore-finger of the right hand; after which, the ear-rings, the gold-tissue dress, the deputtah, were all in their turn put on, the offering of money presented, and then I had the first embrace before her mother. She looked very pretty, just turned twelve. If I could have prevailed on her to be cheerful, I should have been much gratified to have extended my visit in her apartment, but the poor child seemed ready to sink with timidity; and out of compassion to the dear girl, I hurried away from the hall, to relieve her from the burden my presence seemed to inflict, the moment I had accomplished my last duty, which was to feed her with my own hands, giving her seven pieces of sugar-candy; seven, on this occasion, is the lucky number, I presume, as I was particularly cautioned to feed her with exactly that number of pieces.
“Returning to the assembly in the dalhána; I would have gladly taken leave, but there was yet one other custom to be observed to secure a happy omen to the young people’s union. Once again seated on the musnud with Sumdun Begum, the female slaves entered with sherbert in silver basins. Each person taking sherbert is expected to deposit gold or silver coins in the tray; the sherbert-money at this house is collected for the bride; and when, during the three days’ performance of the marriage ceremony at the bridegroom’s house, sherbert is presented to the guests, the money collected there is reserved for him. The produce of the two houses is afterwards compared, and conclusions drawn as to the greatest portion of respect paid by the friends on either side. The poor people find the sherbert-money a useful fund to help them to keep house; but with the rich it is a mere matter to boast of, that so much money was collected in consequence of the number of visitors who attended the nuptials.” (Mrs. Meer Hasan Ali’s Indian Musalmáns, vol. i. p. 362.)
K͟HIYĀNAH (خيانة). Breach of trust. Amputation is not incurred by a breach of trust, as in the case of ordinary theft, according to a saying of the Prophet recorded in the Hidāyah (vol. ii. p. 93).
K͟HIYĀR (خيار). “Option.” A term used to express a certain period after the conclusion of a bargain, during which either of the parties may cancel it. According to ʿAbdu ʾl-Ḥaqq, it is of five kinds: (1) K͟hiyāru ʾsh-Shart̤, optional condition; where one of the parties stipulates for a period of three days or less. (2) K͟hiyāruʾl-ʿAib, option from defect; the option of dissolving the contract on discovery of defect. (3) K͟hiyāru ʾr-Ruʾyah, option of inspection; the option of rejecting the thing purchased after sight. (4) K͟hiyāru ʾt-Taʿyīn, option of determination; where a person, having purchased two or three things of the same kind, stipulates a period to make his selection. (5) K͟hiyāru ʾl-Majlis, the option of withdrawing from the contract as long as the meeting of the parties continues. The Ḥanafīyah doctors do not accept the last, but it is allowed by the other sects.
K͟HIẔLĀN (خذلان). “Abandonment.” The abandonment of a Muslim by God. The word occurs once in the Qurʾān, Sūrah iii. 154: “If then God help you, none shall overcome you, but if He abandon you, who is he that shall help you.”
Used by a Christian, it would imply the state of a person fallen from grace.
AL-K͟HIẒR (الخضر). Lit. “The green one.” The Maulawī Muḥammad T̤āhir says the learned are not agreed as to whether he is a prophet or not. His real name is, according to al-Baiẓāwī, Balyā ibn Malkān. Some say he lived in the time of Abraham, and that he is still alive in the flesh, and most of the religious and Ṣūfī mystics are agreed upon this point, and some have declared that they have seen him; and they say he is still to be seen in sacred places, such as Makkah or Jerusalem. Some few traditionists deny his existence. Others say he is of the family of Noah, and the son of a king. (Majmaʿu ʾl-Biḥār, p. 250.)
His name does not occur in the Qurʾān, but Ḥusain, Jalālu ʾd-dīn, al-Baiẓāwī, and nearly all the commentators, believe that al-K͟hiẓr is the mysterious individual referred to in the following narrative in the Qurʾān:—
Sūrah xviii. 59–81: “Remember when Moses said to his servant, ‘I will not stop till I reach the confluence of the two seas (i.e. the sea of Greece and the sea of Persia), or for years will I journey on.’ But when they reached their confluence, they forgot their fish, and it took its way in the sea at will. And when they had passed on, said Moses to his servant, ‘Bring us our morning meal; for now have we incurred weariness from this journey.’ He said, ‘What thinkest thou? When we repaired to the rock for rest I forgot the fish; and none but Satan made me forget it, so as not to mention it; and it hath taken its way in the sea in a wondrous sort.’ He said, ‘It is this we were in quest of.’ And they both went back retracing their footsteps. Then found they one of our servants to whom we had vouchsafed our mercy, and whom we had instructed with our knowledge. And Moses said to him, ‘Shall I follow thee that thou teach me, for guidance, of that which thou too hast been taught?’ He said, ‘Verily, thou canst not have patience with me; how canst thou be patient in matters whose meaning thou comprehendest not?’ He said, ‘Thou shalt find me patient if God please, nor will I disobey thy bidding.’ He said, ‘Then, if thou follow me, ask me not of aught until I have given thee an account thereof.’ So they both went on till they embarked in a ship, and he (the unknown) staved it in. ‘What!’ said Moses, ‘hast thou staved it in that thou mayest drown its crew? a strange thing now hast thou done!’ He said, ‘Did I not tell thee that thou couldst not have patience with me?’ He said, ‘Chide me not that I forgat, nor lay on me a hard command.’ Then went they on till they met a youth, and he slew him. Said Moses, ‘Hast thou slain him who is free from guilt of blood? Now hast thou wrought a grievous thing!’ He said, ‘Did I not tell thee that thou couldst not have patience with me?’ Moses said, ‘If after this I ask thee aught, then let me be thy comrade no longer; but now hast thou my excuse.’ They went on till they came to the people of a city. Of this people they asked food, but they refused them for guests. And they found in it a wall that was about to fall, and he set it upright. Said Moses, ‘If thou hadst wished, for this thou mightest have obtained pay.’ He said, ‘This is the parting point between me and thee. But I will first tell thee the meaning of that which thou couldst not await with patience. As to the vessel, it belonged to poor men who toiled upon the sea, and I was minded to damage it, for in their rear was a king who seized every ship by force. As to the youth, his parents were believers, and we feared lest he should trouble them by error and infidelity. And we desired that their Lord might give them in his place a child, better than he in virtue, and nearer to filial piety. And as to the wall, it belonged to two orphan youths in the city, and beneath it was their treasure: and their father was a righteous man: and thy Lord desired that they should reach the age of strength, and take forth their treasure through the mercy of thy Lord. And not of mine own will have I done this. This is the interpretation of that which thou couldst not bear with patience.”
In some Muslim books he seems to be confounded with Elias, and in others with St. George, the patron saint of England. In the above quotation he is represented as the companion of Moses, and the commentator Ḥusain says he was a general in the army of Ẕū ʾl-Qarnain (Alexander the Great). But as al-K͟hiẓr is supposed to have discovered and drunk of the fountain of life, he may be contemporary with any age!
K͟HUBĀB or K͟HABBĀB (خباب). The son of al-Aras̤s̤, the blacksmith. A slave converted in the early history of Islām, and one who suffered much persecution from the Quraish on account of his religious opinions.
When ʿUmar was K͟halīfah, K͟hubāb ibn al-Aras̤s̤ showed him the scars of the stripes he had received from the unbelieving Makkans twenty or thirty years before, ʿUmar seated him upon his masnad, saying that there was but one man who was more worthy of this favour than K͟hubāb, namely, Bilāl, who had also been sorely persecuted by the unbelievers. But K͟hubāb replied: “Why is he more worthy than I am? He had his friends among the idolators, whom the Lord raised up to help him. But I had none to help me. And I well remember one day they took me and kindled a fire for me, and threw me therein upon my back, and a man stamped with his foot upon my chest, my back being towards the ground. And when they uncovered my back, lo! it was blistered and white.” (Kātibu ʾl-Wāqidī, quoted by Sir W. Muir.)
K͟HUBAIB (خبيب). Son of ʿAda. One of the early martyrs of Islām. Being perfidiously sold to the Quraish, he was by them put to death in a most cruel manner, being mutilated and impaled. When at the stake and in the midst of his tortures, he was asked whether he did not wish Muḥammad was in his place, and he answered, “I would not wish to be with my family, my substance, and my children, on condition that Muḥammad was only pricked with a thorn.” When bound to the stake, his enemies said, “Now abjure Islām, and we will let you go.” He replied, “Not for the whole world.”
Sir William Muir says: “I see no reason to doubt the main facts of the story.” (Life of Mahomet, new ed. p. 286.)
K͟HUDĀI (خداى), also K͟HUDĀ (خدا). From the Persian خود k͟hūd, “self,” and آى āi, “coming.” The Supreme Being; the Self-Existing God. [GOD.] K͟hudā-parast, “a God worshipper”; K͟hudā-tars, “a God fearer”; K͟hudā-shinās, “a God knower”; K͟hudā-faroshān, “God sellers,” i.e. hypocrites.
K͟HUDĀWAND (خداوند). A Persian word, signifying, “lord,” “prince,” “master.” A possessor: a man of authority. It is used as a title of the Deity, and by Christian missionaries in India it is generally employed as a translation of the Greek Κύριος, “Lord.” In the G͟hiyās̤u ʾl-Lug͟hah, it is derived from K͟hudā, “God”; and wand, “like”; i.e. one like unto God.
K͟HULʿ (خلع). An agreement entered into for the purpose of dissolving marriage. The release from the marriage tie obtained by a wife upon payment of a compensation or consideration. In the Hidāyah it is said: “Whenever enmity takes place between husband and wife, and they both see reason to apprehend the ends of marriage are not likely to be answered by a continuance of their union, the woman need not scruple to release herself from the power of her husband, by offering such a compensation as may induce him to liberate her.” In the event of a woman desiring this form of divorce, she is not entitled to the repayment of her dower. This law is laid down in the Qurʾān: “If ye fear that they cannot observe the ordinances of God, then no blame shall attach to either of you for what the wife shall herself give for her redemption.” (Sūrah ii. 229.)
AL-K͟HULAFĀʾU ʾR-RĀSHIDŪN (الخلفاء الراشدون). “The well-directed K͟halīfahs.” A title given to the first four successors of Muḥammad—Abū Bakr, ʿUmar (Omar), ʿUs̤mān, and ʿAlī. It is generally held by the Sunnīs that after these four reigns, Islām became corrupted, and the succession in the office of K͟halīfah uncertain. [KHALIFAH.]
K͟HULQ (خلق). “Disposition; temper; nature.” Qurʾān, Sūrah lxviii. 4: “Verily thou art of a noble nature.”
K͟HULT̤ĪN (خلطين). An infusion of dates and raisins, boiled together until they ferment and become spirituous, but of which a Muslim can drink without impropriety or sin. This is grounded on a circumstance relative to Ibn Ziyād, which is thus related by himself: “ʿAbdu ʾllāh, the son of ʿUmar, having given me some sherbet to drink, I became intoxicated to such a degree that I knew not my own house. I went to him next morning, and, having informed him of the circumstance, he acquainted me that he had given me nothing but a drink composed of dates and raisins. Now this was certainly k͟hult̤īn, which had undergone the operation of boiling; because it is elsewhere related by ʿUmar that it is unlawful in its crude state.” (Hidāyah, vol. iv. p. 161.)
K͟HULŪD (خلود). “Eternity.” [ETERNAL PUNISHMENT.]
K͟HUMS (خمس). “A fifth.” The fifth of property which is given to the Baitu ʾl-Māl, or public treasury.
K͟HUNS̤Ā (خنثى). [HERMAPHRODITE.]
K͟HUSŪF (خسوف). [ECLIPSE OF THE MOON.]
K͟HUT̤BAH (خطبة). The sermon or oration delivered on Fridays at the time of z̤uhr, or meridian prayer. It is also recited on the two great festivals in the morning after sunrise. [ʿIDU ʾL-FITR, ʿIDU ʾL-AZHA.] The Friday prayer and sermon are established by an injunction in the Qurʾān, Sūrah lxii. 9: “O ye who believe! when the call to prayer is made upon the congregation day (yaumu ʾl-jumʿah), then hasten to the remembrance of God, and leave off traffic.” By the words “remembrance of God,” most commentators understand the k͟hut̤bah or sermon.
From the Traditions, it appears that Muḥammad used frequently to deliver a k͟hut̤bah, and that it was not the studied and formal oration which it has become in more recent times.
Jābir says: “When the Prophet delivered the k͟hut̤bah, his eyes used to be red, and his voice high, and his anger raged so that you would say he was warning a tribe of the approach of a hostile army, and frightening them with apprehensions of its arrival thus: It is at hand! In the evening or morning it will come down upon you and plunder you! And the Prophet would say, I have been sent, and the Resurrection is like these two fingers, and he used to join his fore-finger with the next to it, as an explanation of the semblance that the Resurrection was not farther off than the difference of length in the two fingers.” (Mishkāt, book iv. ch. xlvi.)
On Fridays, after the usual ablutions, the four Sunnah prayers are recited, and the preacher, or k͟hat̤īb, then seats himself on the pulpit, or mimbar, whilst the Muʾaẕẕin proclaims aẕān; after which he stands up on the second step and delivers the k͟hut̤bah. It must be in Arabic, and must include prayers for Muḥammad, the Companions, and the king, but its composition and general structure is left to the discretion of the preacher. In some countries, Egypt for example (Lane’s Egyptians, vol. i. p. 107), the k͟hat̤īb holds a wooden sword in his hand, whilst he delivers the exhortation. The k͟hut̤bah is divided into two sections, the k͟hut̤batu ʾl-waʿz̤, and the k͟hut̤batu ʾn-naʿt, supplications being made between the two sections. The following is a translation of a k͟hut̤bah, as delivered in India in the present day, from which the name and titles of the reigning monarch are omitted. It is the third of a series of sermons published at Lucknow in a volume entitled Majmaʿu K͟hut̤ab:—
“In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful.
“Praised be God. Praised be that God who hath shown us the way in this religion. If He had not guided us into the path we should not have found it.
“I bear witness that there is no deity but God. He is one. He has no associate. I bear witness that Muḥammad is, of a truth, His servant and His Apostle. May God have mercy upon him, and upon his descendants, and upon his companions, and give them peace.
“Fear God, O ye people, and fear that day, the Day of Judgment, when a father will not be able to answer for his son, nor the son for the father. Of a truth God’s promises are true. Let not this present life make you proud. Let not the deceiver (Satan) lead you astray.
“O ye people who have believed, turn ye to God, as Naṣūh114 did turn to God. Verily God doth forgive all sin, verily He is the merciful, the forgiver of sins. Verily He is the most munificent, and bountiful, the King, the Holy One, the Clement, the Most Merciful.”
(The preacher then descends from the pulpit, and sitting on the floor of the mosque, offers up a silent prayer. He then again ascends the mimbar, as before, and proceeds.)
“In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful.
“Praised be God. We praise Him. We seek help from Him. We ask forgiveness of sins. We trust in Him. We seek refuge in Him from evil desires and from former sinful actions. He who has God for His guide is never lost; and whomsoever He leadeth aside none can guide into the right path.
“We bear witness that there is no deity but God. He is one. He hath no partner.
“Verily we bear witness that Muḥammad is the servant and apostle of God, and may God have mercy upon him, who is more exalted than any being. May God have mercy upon his descendants, and upon his companions! May God give them peace! Especially upon Amīru ʾl-Muʾminīn Abū Bakr aṣ-Ṣiddīq (may God be pleased with him). And upon him who was the most temperate of the ‘friends,’ Amīru ʾl-Muʾminīn ʿUmar Ibn al-K͟hat̤t̤āb (may God be pleased with him). And upon him whose modesty and faith were perfect, Amīru ʾl-Muʾminīn ʿUs̤mān (may God be pleased with him). And upon the Lion of the powerful God, Amīru ʾl-Muʾminīn ʿAlī ibn Abī-T̤ālib (may God be pleased with him). And upon the two Imāms, the holy ones, the two martyrs, Amīru ʾl-Muʾminīn Abū Muḥammad al-Ḥasan and Abū ʿAbdi ʾllāh al-Ḥusain (may God be pleased with both of them). And upon the mother of these two persons, the chief of women, Fāt̤imatu ʾz-Zuhrāʾ (may God be pleased with her). And upon his (Muḥammad’s) two uncles, Ḥamzah and al-ʿAbbās (may God be pleased with them). And upon the rest of the ‘companions,’ and upon the ‘followers’ (may God be pleased with all of them). Of Thy mercy, O most merciful of all merciful ones, O God, forgive all Muslim men and Muslim women, all male believers and all female believers. Of a truth Thou art He who wilt receive our prayers.
“O God, help those who help the religion of Muḥammad. May we also exert ourselves to help those who help Islām. Make those weak, who weaken the religion of Muḥammad.
“O God, bless the ruler of the age, and make him kind and favourable to the people.
“O servants of God, may God have mercy upon you. Verily, God enjoineth justice and the doing of good, and gifts to kindred; and He forbiddeth wickedness, and wrong, and oppression. He warneth you that haply ye may be mindful. (Sūrah cxvi. 92.)
“O ye people, remember the great and exalted God. He will also remember you. He will answer your prayers. The remembrance of God is great, and good, and honourable, and noble, and meritorious, and worthy, and sublime.”
A more eloquent and strikingly characteristic k͟hut̤bah has been translated by Mr. Lane in his Modern Egyptians (vol. i. p. 107). It is a New Year’s Day sermon, delivered in the great mosque at Cairo, on the first Friday in the year, on the occasion of Mr. Lane’s first visit, and is as follows:—
“In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful.
“Praise be to God, the Renewer of Years, and the Multiplier of favours, and the Creator of months and days, according to the most perfect wisdom and most admirable regulation; who hath dignified the months of the Arabs above all other months, and hath pronounced that among the more excellent of them is al-Muḥarram the Sacred, and hath commenced with it the year, as He hath closed it with Ẕū ʾl-Ḥijjah. How propitious is the beginning, and how good is the end! I extol His perfection, exempting Him from the association of any other deity with Him. He hath well considered what He hath formed and established what He hath contrived, and He alone hath the power to create and to annihilate. I praise Him, extolling His perfection, and exalting His name, for the knowledge and inspiration which He hath graciously vouchsafed; and I testify that there is no deity but God alone; He hath no companion; He is the Most Holy King; the God of Peace; and I testify that our lord and our Prophet and our friend Muḥammad is His servant and His Apostle, and His elect, and His friend, the Guide of the Way, and the lamp of the dark. O God, bless and save and beautify this noble Prophet, and chief and excellent apostle, the merciful-hearted, our Lord Muḥammad, and his family and his companions, and his wives, and his posterity, and the people of his house, the noble persons, and grant them ample salvation.
“O servants of God, your lives have been gradually curtailed, and year after year hath passed away, and ye are sleeping on the bed of indolence, and on the pillow of iniquity. Ye pass by the tombs of your predecessors, and fear not the assault of destiny and destruction, as if others departed from the world and ye must of necessity remain in it. Ye rejoice at the arrival of new years, as if they brought an increase to the term of life, and swim in the seas of desires, and enlarge your hopes, and in every way exceed other people in presumption; and ye are sluggish in doing good. O how great a calamity is this! God teacheth by an allegory. Know ye not that in the curtailment of time by indolence and sleep there is very great trouble? Know ye not that in the cutting short of lives by the termination of years is a very great warning? Know ye not that the night and day divide the lives of numerous souls? Know ye not that health and capacity are two blessings coveted by many men? But the truth hath become manifest to him who hath eyes. Ye are now between two years: one year hath passed away, and come to an end, with its evils; and ye have entered upon another year, in which, if it please God, mankind shall be relieved. Is any of you determining upon diligence in doing good in the year to come? or repenting of his failings in the times that are passed? The happy one is he who maketh amends for the time past in the time to come; and the miserable one is he whose days pass away and he is careless of his time. This new year hath arrived, and the sacred month of God hath come with blessings to you, the first of the months of the year, and of the four sacred months, as hath been said, and the most worthy of preference and honour and reverence. Its fast is the most excellent of fasts after that which is obligatory, and the doing of good in it is among the most excellent of the objects of desire. Whosoever desireth to reap advantage from it, let him fast the ninth and tenth days, looking for aid. Abstain not from the fast through indolence, and esteeming it a hardship; but comply with it, in the best manner, and honour it with the best of honours, and improve your time by the worship of God morning and evening. Turn unto God with repentance, before the assault of death: He is the God who accepteth repentance of His servants, and pardoneth sins. The Apostle of God (God bless and save him) hath said, ‘The most excellent prayer, after the prescribed, is the prayer that is said in the last third of the night; and the most excellent fast, after Ramaẓān, is that of the month of God, al-Muḥarram.’
(The k͟hat̤īb, having concluded his exhortation, says to the congregation, “Supplicate God.” He then sits down and prays privately; and each member of the congregation at the same time offers up some private petition, as after the ordinary prayers, holding his hands before him (looking at the palms), and then drawing them down his face. The k͟hat̤īb then rises again, and recites the following):—
“Praise be to God, abundant praise, as He hath commanded. I testify that there is no deity but God alone: He hath no companion: affirming His supremacy, and condemning him who denieth and disbelieveth: and I testify that our Lord and our Prophet Muḥammad is His servant and His apostle, the lord of mankind, the intercessor, the accepted intercessor, on the Day of Assembling: God bless him and his family as long as the eye seeth and the ear heareth. O people, reverence God by doing what He hath commanded, and abstain from that which He hath forbidden and prohibited. The happy one is he who obeyeth, and the miserable one is he who opposeth and sinneth. Know that the present world is a transitory abode, and that the world to come is a lasting abode. Make provision, therefore, in your transitory state for your lasting state, and prepare for your reckoning and standing before your Lord: for know that ye shall to-morrow be placed before God, and reckoned with according to your deeds; and before the Lord of Might ye shall be present, ‘and those who acted unjustly shall know with what an overthrowal they shall be overthrown.’ Know that God, whose perfection I extol, and whose name be exalted, hath said and ceaseth not to say wisely, and to command judiciously, warning you, and teaching, and honouring the dignity of your Prophet, extolling and magnifying him. Verily, God and His angels bless the Prophet: ‘O ye who believe, bless him, and greet him with a salutation.’ O God bless Muḥammad and the family of Muḥammad, as Thou blessedst Ibrahīm and the family of Ibrahīm among all creatures, for Thou art praiseworthy and glorious. O God, do Thou also be well pleased with the four K͟halīfahs, the orthodox lords, of high dignity and illustrious honour, Abū Bakr, aṣ-Ṣiddīq, and ʿUmar, and ʿUs̤mān, and ʿAlī; and be Thou well pleased, O God, with the six who remained of the ten noble and just persons who swore allegiance to Thy Prophet Muḥammad (God bless him and save him) under the tree (for Thou art the Lord of piety and the Lord of pardon); those persons of excellence and clemency, and rectitude and prosperity, T̤alḥah, and Zubair, and Ṣaʿd, and Saʿīd, and ʿAbdu ʾr-Raḥmān ibn ʿAuf, and Abū ʿUbaidah Āmir ibn al-Jarrāh; and with all the Companions of the Apostle of God (God bless and save him); and be Thou well pleased, O God, with the two martyred descendants, the two bright moons, the ‘two lords of the youths of the people of Paradise in Paradise,’ the two sweet-smelling flowers of the Prophet of this nation, Abū Muḥammad al-Ḥasan and Abū ʿAbdi ʾllāh al-Ḥusain; and be Thou well pleased, O God, with their mother, the daughter of the Apostle of God (God bless and save him), Fāt̤imatu ʾz-Zahrāʾ, and with their grandmother K͟hadījah al-Kubra, and with ʿĀyishah, the mother of the faithful, and with the rest of the pure wives, and with the generation which succeeded the Companions, and with the generation which succeeded that, with beneficence to the Day of Judgment. O God, pardon the believing men and the believing women, and the Muslim men and the Muslim women, those who are living, and the dead; for Thou art a hearer near, an answerer of prayers, O Lord, of the beings of the whole world. O God, aid Islām, and strengthen its pillars, and make infidelity to tremble, and destroy its might, by the preservation of Thy servant, and the son of Thy servant, the submissive to the Might of Thy Majesty and Glory, whom God hath aided, by the care of the Adored King, our master the Sult̤ān, son of the Sult̤ān, the Sult̤ān Maḥmūd K͟hān; may God assist him, and prolong [his reign]. O God, assist him, and assist his armies, O Thou Lord of the religion, and the world present, and the world to come, O Lord of the beings of the whole world.
“O God, assist the forces of the Muslims, and the armies of the Unitarians. O God, frustrate the infidels and polytheists, thine enemies, the enemies of the religion. O God, invert their banners, and ruin their habitations, and give them and their wealth as booty to the Muslims. O God, unloose the captivity of the captives, and annul the debts of the debtors; and make this town to be safe and secure, and blessed with wealth and plenty, and all the towns of the Muslims, O Lord of the beings of the whole world. And decree safety and health to us and to all travellers, and pilgrims, and warriors, and wanderers, upon Thy earth, and upon Thy sea, such as are Muslims, O Lord of the beings of the whole world.
“ ‘O Lord, we have acted unjustly towards our own souls, and if Thou do not forgive us and be merciful unto us, we shall surely be of those who perish.’ I beg of God, the Great, that He may forgive me and you, and all the people of Muḥammad, the servants of God. ‘Verily God commandeth justice, and the doing of good, and giving what is due to kindred; and forbiddeth wickedness, and iniquity, and oppression: He admonisheth you that ye may reflect. Remember God; He will remember you: and thank Him; He will increase to you your blessings. Praise be to God, the Lord of the beings of the whole world!’”
The k͟hut̤bah being ended, the k͟hat̤īb then descends from the pulpit, and, if he officiate as Imām, takes his position and leads the people in a two-rakʿah prayer. The k͟hat̤īb, however, does not always officiate as Imām. The Prophet is related to have said that the length of a man’s prayers and the shortness of his sermon, are signs of a man’s common sense.
According to the best authorities, the name of the reigning K͟halīfah ought to be recited in the k͟hut̤bah, and the fact that it is not so recited in independent Muḥammadan kingdoms, but the name of the Sult̤ān or Amīr is substituted for the K͟halīfah, has its significance, for it is a question whether the Sult̤ān of Turkey, has any real claim to the spiritual headship of Islām. [KHALIFAH.] In India the name of the king is omitted and the expression “Ruler of the Age” is used.
In India, the recital of the k͟hut̤bah serves to remind every Muḥammadan priest, at least once a week, that he is in a Dāru ʾl-Ḥarb, “a land of enmity.” Still the fact that he can recite his k͟hut̤bah at all in a country not under Muslim rule, must also assure him that he is in a Dāru ʾl-Amān, or “land of protection.”