K͟HUT̤BATU ʾL-WAQFAH (خطبة الوقفة‎). The “sermon of standing.” The sermon or oration recited on Mount ʿArafāt at the mid-day prayer on the ninth day of the pilgrimage. (Burton’s Pilgrimage, vol. ii. p. 219.) [KHUTBAH.]

K͟HUZĀʿAH (خزاعة‎). Lit. “A remnant.” A part of the Banū ʾl-Azd who were left behind when the tribe migrated, and who settled down permanently near Makkah. They were from the first friendly to Muḥammad, and made a treaty with him soon after that of al-Ḥudaibiyah. They were an important portion of the army which marched to Makkah with the Prophet.

K͟HUZAIMAH (خزيمة‎). An Arabian tribe were expelled by the Yaman tribes and afterwards settled in the Ḥijāz, where they bore a prominent part in opposing the army of Muḥammad.

K͟HUZAIMAH IBN S̤ĀBIT (خزيمة بن ثابت‎). A Companion of some renown. He was present at the battle of Badr. He was killed at the same time as the K͟halīfah ʿAlī, A.H. 37.

K͟HWĀJAH (خواجه‎). Persian. A rich or respectable man; a gentleman. An opulent merchant.

KIBR (كبر‎). “Pride; haughtiness.” With regard to mortal man, it is considered a vice, but with regard to the Infinite God, it is held to be one of His attributes. Al-Kabīr, “the Great One.”

AL-KĪMIYĀʾ (الكيمياء‎). “Alchemy.” The word is supposed to be derived from the Greek χυμὸς, which signifies “juice,” and to be properly confined to the study of extracts and essences of plants. It is now, however, applied more especially to a pretended science, which had for its object the transmutation of the baser materials into gold or silver, or the discovery of a panacea or universal remedy for diseases. Although this so-called science has now fallen into deserved contempt, it was held in high repute, and much cultivated from the 13th to the 17th century, especially amongst the Saracens. The first Muslim of reputation who is said to have given his attention to the subject, was K͟hālid, a son of the K͟halīfah Yazīd (A.D. 683), and the first who wrote on the subject was Jābir ibn Abbān aṣ-Ṣūfī, who was a disciple of K͟hālid.

Ḥājī K͟halfah, the celebrated author of the Kashfu ʾz̤-Z̤unūn, says “the word Kīmiyah comes from the Hebrew, kīm and yah and means ‘from God.’ There is some discussion regarding this science. Many people do not believe in its existence, amongst others the celebrated philosopher Shaik͟h ʿAlī ibn Sīnāʾ, who wrote against it in his book, the Kitābu ʾsh-Shafāʾ: also Yaʿqūb al-Kindī, and many others. But, on the other hand, many learned men have believed in its existence; for example, Imām Fak͟hru ʾd-dīn ar-Rāzi, and Shaik͟h Najmu ʾd-dīn al-Bag͟hdādī.” (Kashfu ʾz̤-Z̤unūn, in loco.)

Ahlu Kīmiyāʾ, is a term used not only for an alchymist, but for a deceiver, and also a lover.

Al-Kīmiyāʾu ʾl-Akbar, the philosopher’s stone, or some celebrated tincture.

Kīmiyāʾu ʾl-Maʿānī, the chemistry of meanings, that is, the study of truth.

KINĀNAH (كنانة‎). (1) The name of the ancestor and founder of the Arabian tribe, the Banū Kinānah, the father of an-Naẓr, the grandfather of Fihr, who was surnamed Quraish. [QURAISH.]

(2) The name of the Jewish chief of K͟haibar who defended the fortress of Qamuṣ against Muḥammad. He was slain by order of the Prophet, who afterwards took Kinānah’s bride, Ṣafīyah, to his home and married her. [SAFIYAH.]

KINĀYAH (كناية‎). “A metaphor.” A word used in the science of exegesis, e.g. “Thou art separated,” by which may be meant, “Thou art divorced,” which is called T̤alāqu ʾl-Kināyah, or a divorce in metaphor.

KINDAH (كندة‎). A tribe of al-Yaman, and the descendants of Ḥimyar. They are admitted to be one of the noblest of the Arab tribes. One of the remarkable descendants of this tribe was al-Kindī the philosopher. [KINDI.]

AL-KINDĪ (الكندى‎), the philosopher. Abū Yūsuf Yaʿqūb ibn Isḥāq ibn aṣ-Ṣabbāḥ al-Kindī, who flourished at the court of the K͟halīfah Maʾmūn, A.D. 833, and who translated numerous classical and philosophical works for the Abbaside Government. De Slane says his father Isḥāq was Amīr of al-Kūfah, and his great grandfather was one of the Prophet’s Companions. It was at one time supposed he was a Jew or a convert to the Jewish religion, while others tried to identify him with the author of an Apology for Christianity, entitled Risālatu ʿAbdi ʾl-Masīḥ ibn Isḥāq al-Kindī, in which the writer explains to a Muslim friend his reasons for holding the Christian faith, in preference to Islām, whose acceptance the latter had pressed upon him. But it has been proved that al-Kindī, the philosopher, and al-Kindī, the author of the said treatise, are two distinct persons, although both living at the court of al-Maʾmūn and belonging to the same tribe.

Dr. J. M. Arnold, in his Islām and Christianity, p. 372, says the Risālah, or treatise of al-Kindī, is quoted as a genuine production by the celebrated historian, Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad al-Bīrūnī (died A.H. 430), in one of his works in confirmation of his statement that there were human sacrifices offered up in Arabia prior to the time of Muḥammad.

The Apology of al-Kindī has been rendered into English by Sir William Muir, from an edition in Arabic published by the Turkish Missions Aid Society.

KINDRED. [INHERITANCE, MARRIAGE.]

KING. The term used in the Qurʾān for a king is generally malik (ملك‎), Heb. ‏מֶלֶךְ‎, e.g. when the Israelites “said to a prophet of theirs, ‘Raise up for us a king.’ ” (Sūrah ii. 246.)

(1) The word malik is now merely used in Arabia and in Central Asia for a petty chief.

(2) Sult̤ān occurs in the Qurʾān for “authority,” or “power,” and not for a king. Sūrah lxix. 29, “My authority has perished from me.” But it is now the title assumed by the Emperor of Turkey.

(3) Pādshāh and Shāh are Persian words, the ruler of Persia having assumed the title of Shāh or King. The word Pādshāh is derived from pād, “a throne,” and shāh, “a lord or possessor,” i.e. “the lord of the throne.” In Hindustani it is Bādshāh.

(4) Wālī, is a title assumed by Muḥammadan rulers, the title being held by the Barakzai rulers of Afg͟hānistān in all legal documents. The word simply means a possessor, or one in authority.

(5) Amīr has a similar meaning to Wālī, and is a title which is assumed by Muslim rulers, as the Amīrs of Buk͟harah and of Kabūl. It is derived from ʿamr, “to rule.”

(6) Saiyid, “a lord,” is a title given to the descendants of Muḥammad, and is a regal title assumed by the ruler of Zanzibār.

(7) Imām, “a leader,” is the legal title of the head of the Muslims, and it is that given to the successors of Muḥammad, who are so called in the Traditions and in Muḥammadan works of law. [IMAM.]

(8) K͟halīfah, “a vicegerent.” K͟halīfah, or Caliph, is used for the same regal personage as Imām. [KHALIFAH, RULERS.]

KIRĀMAH (كرامة‎). The miracles of any saint other than a Prophet, as distinguished from muʿjizah, which is always used for the miracles of an apostle or prophet. [MIRACLES.]

KIRĀMĪYAH (كرامية‎). A sect of Muslims founded by Muḥammad ibn Karīm, and called also the Mujassīyah, or Corporealists, because they admitted not only a resemblance between God and created beings, but declared him to be corporeal in substance.

“The more sober among them, indeed, when they applied the word body to God, would be understood to mean that He is a self-subsisting being, which with them is the definition of body; but yet some of them affirmed him to be finite, and circumscribed either on all sides, or on some only (as beneath, for example), according to different opinions; and others allowed that He might be felt by the hand, and seen by the eye. Nay, one David al-Jawâri went so far as to say that His deity was a body composed of flesh and blood, and that He had members, as hands, feet, a head, a tongue, eyes, and ears; but that he was a body, however, not like other bodies, neither was he like to any created being. He is also said, further, to have affirmed that from the crown of the head to the breast he was hollow, and from the breast downward solid, and that He had black curled hair. These most blasphemous and monstrous notions were the consequence of the literal acceptation of those passages in the Koran (Sūrahs xl. 10; xx. 4; ii. 109), which figuratively attribute corporeal actions to God, and of the words of Muḥammad, when he said that God created man in His own image, and that he himself had felt the fingers of God, which He laid on his back, to be cold; besides which, this sect are charged with fathering on their Prophet a great number of spurious and forged traditions to support their opinion, the greater part whereof they borrowed from the Jews, who are accused as naturally prone to assimilate God to men, so that they describe Him as weeping for Noah’s flood till His eyes were sore.” (Sale.)

KIRĀMUN KĀTIBŪN (كـرام كاتبون‎). Lit. “Illustrious writers.” The two recording angels who are said to be with every man, one on the right hand to record his good deeds, and one on his left to record the evil deeds. They are mentioned in the Qurʾān, Sūratu ʾl-Infit̤ār (lxxxii.): “Yet truly there are guardians over you, illustrious recorders (kirāman kātibīn) cognizant of your actions.”

It is related that the Prophet enjoined his people not to spit in front, or on the right, but on the left, as on that side stands the recording angel of evil. (Mishkāt, book iv. ch. viii. pt. 1.)

As these angels are supposed to be changed every day, they are called the muʿaqqibāt, or those who succeed each other.

KISRĀ (كسرى‎), pl. Akāsirah. The Chosroes, or Cyrus, a name given to almost every king of Persia of the Sassānian dynasty (like Cæsar among the Romans and Pharaoh among the Egyptians). The kings of Persia, prior to Islām, according to Arab historians, composed four dynasties, namely, the Peshdādians, the chronology of which is unknown; the Kayānians, which ended B.C. 331, when Persia was conquered by Alexander the Great; the Ashkānians, which terminated A.D. 202; and the Sassānians, the last of whom was overcome by the Arabs, A.D. 636.

From the Qurʾān, Sūrah xxx. 1, it appears that after the taking of Jerusalem by Chosroes, the sympathies of Muḥammad were all enlisted on the side of the Cæsar, and he foretells his ultimate victory over the king of Persia:—

“The Greeks have been conquered in the neighbouring coast, but in a few years after their defeat they shall again be victorious.”

In the sixth year of the Hijrah, Muḥammad sent a despatch to Chosroes, inviting him to Islām. Sir William Muir says (Life of Mahomet, new ed. p. 384):—

“The despatch for the King of Persia reached the Court probably some months after the accession of Siroes. It was delivered to the Monarch, who, on hearing the contents, tore it in pieces. When this was reported to Mahomet, he prayed and said: ‘Even thus, O Lord! rend Thou his kingdom from him.’ Connected with the court of Persia, but of date somewhat earlier than the despatch sent to it, is a remarkable incident, which was followed by results of considerable importance.

“A few months before his overthrow, the Chosroes, receiving strange reports of the prophetical claims of Mahomet, and of the depredations committed on the Syrian border by his marauding bands, sent order to Bâdzân, the Persian Governor of Yemen, to despatch two trusty men to Medîna, and procure for him certain information regarding the Pretender. Bâdzân obeyed, and with the messengers sent a courteous despatch to Mahomet. By the time they arrived at Medîna, tidings had reached the Prophet of the deposition and death of Chosroes. When the despatch, therefore, was read before him, he smiled at its contents, and summoned the ambassadors to embrace Islâm. He then apprised them of the murder of the Chosroes and the accession of his son. ‘Go,’ said he, ‘inform your master of this, and require him to tender his submission to the Prophet of the Lord.’ The glory of Persia had now departed. She had long ago relaxed her grasp upon Arabia; and the Governor of Yemen was free to choose a protectorate more congenial to his people. Bâdzân, therefore, gladly recognised the rising fortunes of Islâm, and signified his adhesion to the Prophet. From the distance of this province, its allegiance was at the first little more than nominal; but the accession served as a point for further action, and meanwhile added new prestige to the Prophet’s name.”

KISWAH (كسوة‎). Lit. “A robe.” The covering of the Kaʿbah, or cube-like building, at Makkah. [KAʿBAH.]

When Captain Burton visited Makkah in 1853, he found it to be a coarse tissue of mixed silk and cotton, and of eight pieces, two for each face of the building, the seams being concealed by the broad gilt band called the ḥizām. It is lined with white calico, and has cotton ropes to secure the covering to metal rings at the basement. But on the occasion of Captain Burton’s visit, the kiswah was tucked up by ropes from the roof. The whole is of a brilliant black, with the gold band running round it.

The burqaʿ, or veil, is a curtain hung before the door of the Kaʿbah, also of black brocade, embroidered with inscriptions, in letters of gold, of verses from the Qurʾān, and lined with green silk.

According to Burton, the inscription on the gold band of the kiswah is the ninetieth verse of the third Sūrah of the Qurʾān: “Verily, the first House founded for mankind was surely that at Bakkah, for a blessing and a guidance to the worlds.” The whole of the kiswah is covered with seven Sūrahs of the Qurʾān, namely, XVIIIth, XIXth, IIIrd, IXth, XXth, XXXIXth, and LXVIIth (i.e. al-Kahf, Maryam, Ālu ʿImrān, at-Taubah, T̤ā Ḥā, Yā Sīn, and al-Mulk). The character is the ancient Kufic, and legible from a considerable distance.

Mr. Lane says that the kiswah is made of a mixture of silk and cotton, because the Prophet expressly forbade silk as an article of dress.

The kiswah and burqaʿ are now manufactured at Cairo, at a manufactory called the K͟hurunfīsh, and is made by a family who possess the hereditary right, and who are called the Baitu ʾs-Saʿd. When they are completed, they are taken to the mosque known as the Sult̤ān Ḥasan, and there kept until they are sent off with a caravan of pilgrims to Makkah. This usually takes place a few days after the ʿĪdu ʾl-Fit̤r, generally about the 6th day of the month of Shawwāl, and two or three weeks before the departure of the regal canopy or Maḥmal. [MAHMAL.] The procession of the kiswah is similar to that of the Maḥmal, and therefore requires no separate description.

According to Muslim historians, the Kaʿbah was first dressed with a kiswah or robe by a Ḥimyarite chief, named Tubbaʿu ʾl-Arqān. From the time of Quṣaiy it was veiled by subscriptions collected from Pagan Arabs, until Abū Rabiyah ibn al-Mug͟hīrah ibn ʿAbdi ʾllāh provided the covering, whereby he obtained the title of al-ʿAdl, “the Just.” When Muḥammad obtained possession, he ordered it to be covered with fine Yamānī cloth, and ordered the expense to be defrayed from the public treasury. The K͟halīfah ʿUmar chose Egyptian linen, and ordered the robe to be renewed every year. K͟halīfah ʿUs̤mān, being a man of eminent piety ordered it to be clothed twice a year. For the winter it had a robe of brocade silk, and in the summer a suit of fine linen. Muʿāwiyah, the Umaiyah K͟halīfah, was the first to establish the present kiswah of silk and linen tissue, but being reminded of the Prophet’s well-known dislike to silken robes he changed it again to the more orthodox covering of Yamānī cloth. The K͟halīfah Maʾmūn (A.D. 813) ordered the dress to be changed three times a year, the fine Yamānī cloth on the 1st of Rajab, white brocade on the 1st of Shawwāl, for the pilgrimage two months later, and rich red brocade on the 10th of Muḥarram. The K͟halīfah al-Mutawakkil (A.D. 847) sent a new robe every two months. During the Abbaside dynasty, the investing of the Kaʿbah with the kiswah was regarded as a sign of sovereignty over the holy places. The later K͟halīfahs of Bag͟hdād are said to have sent a kiswah of green and gold. The Fāt̤imide K͟halīfahs made the kiswah at Cairo of black brocade of mixed silk and cotton; and when Sult̤ān Salīm assumed the power of the K͟halīfate (A.D. 1512), the kiswah still continued to be supplied from Cairo, as is now the case under the Ottoman rule.

(Burckhardt’s Arabia, Lane’s Egyptians, Ali Bey’s Pilgrimage, Burton’s Mecca and Medina.) [KAʿBAH, MASJIDU ʾL-HARAM.]

AL-KITĀB (الكتاب‎). “The Book.” A term used for the Qurʾān, and extended to all inspired books of the Jews and Christians, who are called Ahlu ʾl-Kitāb, or believers in the book.

KITĀBĪ (كتابى‎). A term used for one of the Ahlu ʾl-Kitāb, “the people of the Book,” or those in possession of the inspired word of God, as Jews or Christians.

KITĀBĪYAH (كتابية‎). Fem. of Kitābī. A female of the Ahlu ʾl-Kitāb, or those who possess an inspired book, Jews or Christians.

KITĀBU ʾL-AʿMĀL (كتاب الاعمال‎). [SAHIFATU ʾL-AʿMAL.]

AL-KITĀBU ʾL-ḤUKMĪ (الكتاب الحكمى‎). A letter transmissible from one Qāẓī to another when the defendant in a suit resides at a distance. Such letter must be a transcript of real evidence.

AL-KITĀBU ʾL-MUBĪN (الكتاب المبين‎). Lit. “The Manifest or clear book.” The term is used in the Qurʾān both for the Tablet of Decrees (Lauḥu ʾl-Maḥfūz̤), and for the Qurʾān itself.

Sūrah vi. 59: “No leaf falleth but He knoweth it; neither is there a grain in the darkness of the earth, nor a green thing or sere, but it is noted in the clear book.”

Sūrah iv. 18: “Now hath a light and a clear book come to you from God.”

KITMĀN (كتمان‎). “Concealing; keeping secret.” The injunction of the Qurʾān is: “Hide not the truth while ye know it”; and yet the art of concealing profane religious beliefs has been a special characteristic of the Eastern mystics.

KNEELING. The attitude of kneeling amongst Muḥammadans consists of placing the two knees on the ground and sitting on the feet behind. Kneeling as practised by Christians in the present day, does not exist amongst Muslims as an attitude of worship.

The word jās̤ī, which occurs in the Qurʾān, Sūrah xlv. 27: “And thou shalt see each nation kneeling (jās̤iyatan), each nation summoned to the book,” expresses an attitude of fear and not of worship.

KNOWLEDGE. [ʿILM.]

KORAH. Arabic Qārūn (قارون‎). Heb. ‏קֹרַח‎. The son of Yaṣhar (Izhar), son of Qāhis̤ (Kohath), son of Lāwī (Levi). The leader of the rebellion against Moses. Num. xvi. 1; Jude 11 (where he is coupled with Cain and Balaam). He is mentioned three times in the Qurʾān.

Sūrah xl. 24, 25: “Moreover we had sent Moses of old, with our signs and with clear authority, to Pharaoh, and Haman, and Korah; and they said, ‘Sorcerer, impostor.’ ”

Sūrah xxix. 38: “And Korah and Pharaoh and Haman. With proofs of his mission did Moses come to them, and they behaved proudly on the earth; but us they could not outstrip; for every one of them did we seize in his sin. Against some of them did we send a stone-charged wind; some of them did the terrible cry of Gabriel surprise; for some of them we cleaved the earth; and some of them we drowned.”

Sūrah xxviii. 76–82: “Now Korah was of the people of Moses: but he behaved haughtily toward them; for we had given him such treasure that its keys would have burdened a company of men of strength. When his people said to him, ‘Exult not, for God loveth not those who exult; but seek by means of what God hath given thee, to attain the future Mansion; and neglect not thy part in this world, but be bounteous to others as God hath been bounteous to thee, and seek not to commit excesses on the earth; for God loveth not those who commit excesses:’ he said, ‘It hath been given me only on account of the knowledge that is in me.’ Did he not know that God had destroyed before him generations that were mightier than he in strength and had amassed more abundant wealth? But the wicked shall not be asked of their crimes. And Korah went forth to his people in his pomp. Those who were greedy for this present life said, ‘Oh that we had the like of that which hath been bestowed on Korah! Truly he is possessed of great good fortune.’ But they to whom knowledge had been given said, ‘Woe to you! the reward of God is better for him who believeth and worketh righteousness, and none shall win it but those who have patiently endured.’ And we clave the earth for him and for his palace, and he had no forces, in the place of God, to help him, nor was he among those who are succoured. And in the morning those who the day before had coveted his lot said, ‘Aha! God enlargeth supplies to whom He pleaseth of His servants, or is sparing. Had not God been gracious to us, He had caused it to cleave for us. Aha! the ungrateful can never prosper.’”

Al-Baiẓāwī says Korah brought a false accusation of immorality against Moses, and Moses complained to God, and God directed him to command the earth what he pleased, and it should obey him; whereupon he said, “O earth, swallow them up”; and immediately the earth opened under Korah and his confederates, and swallowed them up, with his palace and all his riches.—There is a tradition that as Korah sank gradually into the ground, first to his knees, then to his waist, then to his neck, he cried out four several times, “O Moses, have mercy on me!” but that Moses continued to say, “O earth, swallow them up!” till at last he wholly disappeared: upon which God said to Moses, “Thou hadst no mercy on Korah, though he asked pardon of thee four times; but I would have had compassion on him if he had asked pardon of Me but once.”

He is represented by Jalālu ʾd-dīn as the most beautiful of the Israelites of his time. His opulence and avarice have become a proverb for those who amass wealth without giving away in alms and charity.

In the Talmud it is said that “Joseph concealed three treasures in Egypt, one of which became known to Korah … the keys of Korah’s treasure chambers were a burden for 300 white mules.” Midr. Jalkut on Eccl. v. 12: “Riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt,”—which may have furnished Muḥammad with the nucleus of this story. Compare also Tract. Psachim, fol. 119a.

AL-KŪFAH (الكوفة‎). A city on the west bank of the river Euphrates, about four days march from Bag͟hdād, but which has now entirely disappeared.

The city of al-Kūfah was founded soon after the Arabs conquered Persia, A.D. 636, and in the reign of the K͟halīfah ʿUmar. It was built opposite the ancient town of Madain, on the other side of the river. The first Abbaside K͟halīfah, Abū ʾl-ʿAbbās, A.D. 750, made it his capital, and it was then a flourishing city, but when the K͟halīfah al-Manṣūr built Bag͟hdād, al-Kūfah decreased in importance, and gradually fell into decay. It was much famed for its learned men, and especially for its grammarians. Two sects of rival grammarians were named respectively from al-Baṣrah and al-Kūfah, and the more ancient characters of Arabic writing are called Kūfī or Kufic, after this seat of learning. The Kufic-Arabic letters resemble the Syriac, being square and heavy. The ancient copies of the Qurʾān are written in Kufic.

KUFR (كفر‎). Lit. “That which covers the truth.” Infidelity; blasphemy. Disbelieving in the Qurʾān or in any of the tenets of the Muslim religion. [KAFIR.]

KULĀH (كلاه‎). The Persian for a cap, or cowl, especially worn by Muḥammadan faqīrs or darweshes. The faqīrs generally call it their tāj or crown, and it is one of the distinguishing marks of their order.

KULS̤ŪM (كلثوم‎). Kuls̤ūm ibn Hadam, the name of a hospitable but blind chief, with whom Muḥammad stayed at Qubāʾ upon his arrival in that place after his flight from Makkah. It was whilst he was staying with Kuls̤ūm that Muḥammad built his first mosque at Qubāʾ. Kuls̤ūm died soon afterwards.

KURZ IBN JĀBIR (كرز بن جابر‎). A Quraish chieftain who committed a raid near al-Madīnah, and carried off some of the flocks and herds of the Muslims. He was afterwards converted to Islām, and fell under K͟hālid at the taking of Makkah.

KUSŪF (كسوف‎). [ECLIPSE OF THE SUN.]