ṢĀʿ (صاع) or ṢUWĀʿ (صواع). A certain measure used for measuring corn, and upon which depend the decisions of Muslims relating to measures of capacity. It occurs in the Qurʾān, Sūrah xii. 72, for the drinking-cup placed by Joseph in his brother’s pack.
The compiler of the Tāju ʾl-ʿArūs, says that according to five different readers of the Qurʾān, it is given ṣuwāʿ in that verse, but in the majority of texts it is ṣāʿ.
The Qāmūs explains ṣuwāʿ as a certain vessel from which one drinks, and ṣāʿ, a measure of capacity. Its invariable measure being, according to ancient authorities, four times the quantity of corn that fills two hands of a man of moderate size.
Al-Baiẓāwī records, besides ṣuwāʿ and ṣāʿ, the reading ṣauʿ and ṣuwāg͟h.
SABAʾ (سبا). (1) A tribe of Yaman, whose dwelling-places are called Maʾrib, mentioned in the XXXIVth Sūrah of the Qurʾān (entitled the Sūratu Sabaʾ), verse 14:—
“A sign there was to Sabaʾ in their dwelling places:—two gardens, the one on the right hand and the other on the left:—‘Eat ye of your Lord’s supplies, and give thanks to him: Goodly is the country, and gracious is the Lord!’
“But they turned aside: so we sent upon them the flood of Iram; and we changed them their gardens into two gardens of bitter fruit and tamarisk and some few jujube trees.
“Such was our retribution on them for their ingratitude.”
M. Caussin de Perceval, Hist. des Arabes, vol. iii., as well as M. de Sacy, fix this event in the second century of the Christian era.
(2) Also the name of a province referred to in the Qurʾān, Sūrah xxvii. 21, where it seems to be identical with the Sheba שֵׁבָא of the Bible, or the country of the Queen of Sheba:—
“Nor tarried it (the lapwing) long ere it came and said, ‘I have gained the knowledge that thou knowest not, and with sure tidings have I come to thee from Sabaʾ:
“ ‘I found a woman reigning over them, gifted with everything, and she hath a splendid throne;
“And I found her and her people worshipping the sun instead of God; and Satan hath made their works fair seeming to them, so that he hath turned them from the Way: wherefore they are not guided,
“To the worship of God, who bringeth to light the secret things of heaven and earth, and knoweth what men conceal and what they manifest:
“God: there is no god but He! the lord of the glorious throne!”
For a discussion of the identity of the Sabaʾ of Arabia with the Sheba of the Bible, refer to the word Sheba in Smith’s Dictionary of the Bible.
SABʿATU-AḤRUF (سبعة احرف). [SEVEN DIALECTS.]
SABAʿU ʾL-MAS̤ĀNI (سبع المثانى). Lit. “The Seven Repetitions.” A title given to the Introductory Chapter of the Qurʾān by Muḥammad himself. (Mishkāt, book viii. ch. i.) There are three reasons assigned for this title:—
(1) Because it is a chapter of seven verses, which is said to have been revealed twice over.
(2) Because it contains seven words twice repeated, namely, Allāh, God; Raḥmān, Compassionate; Raḥīm, Merciful; Iyākā, Thee and to Thee; Ṣīrāt̤, Way; ʿAlaihim, to whom and with whom; G͟hair, Not, and Lā, Not.
(3) Because the seven verses are generally recited twice during an ordinary prayer. (See Majmaʿu ʾl-Biḥār, in loco; and ʿAbdu ʾl-Ḥaqq.)
SABBATH. The term used in the Qurʾān for the Jewish Sabbath is Sabt (سبت), a corruption of the Hebrew שַׁבָּת Shabbāth. It occurs five times in the Qurʾān:—
Sūrah ii. 61: “Ye know, too, those of you who transgressed on the Sabbath, and to whom We (God) said, ‘Become scouted apes.’ ”
Sūrah iv. 50: “Or curse you as We (God) cursed the Sabbath breakers.”
Sūrah iv. 153: “We (God) said to them (Israel), ‘Break not the Sabbath.’ ”
Sūrah vii. 163: “And ask them (the Jews) about the city that stood by the sea when its inhabitants broke the Sabbath; when their fish came to them appearing openly on their Sabbath-day, but not to them on the day when they kept no Sabbath.”
Sūrah xvi. 125: “The Sabbath was only ordained for those who differed about it.”
In explanation of these verses, the commentator, al-Baiẓāwī relates the following traditions. Moses gave orders for the observance of the Day of Rest on Friday; but the Jews would not obey, and declared that they would observe Saturday, as it was on that day that God rested from creation, so it came to pass that “the Sabbath was ordained for those who differed about it.” But in the time of King David, certain people began to break the Sabbath by fishing in the Red Sea near the town of Ailah (Elath), and as a punishment they were turned into apes.
For an account of the Muḥammadan Sabbath, see FRIDAY.
SABEANS. Arabic Ṣābiʾ (صابىء), pl. Ṣābiʾūn. Probably from the Hebrew צָבָא tsābā, “a host.” Gen. ii. 1, i.e. “Those who worship the hosts of heaven.” According to some Arabic writers, the Ṣābiʾūn were a certain sect of unbelievers who worshipped the stars secretly, and openly professed to be Christians. According to others, they are of the religion of Ṣābiʾ, the son of Seth, the son of Adam; whilst others say their religion resembled that of the Christians, except that their qiblah was towards the south, from whence the wind blows. In the Qāmūs it is said they were of the religion of Noah. The word ṣābiʾ also means one who has departed from one religion to another religion, and the Arabs used to call the Prophet aṣ-Ṣābiʾ, because he departed from the religion of the Quraish to al-Islām. (See Lane’s Dict. in loco.) Al-Baiẓāwī says some assert they were worshippers of angels, others that they were the worshippers of the stars.
They are mentioned three times in the Qurʾān, and from the following verses it would appear that Muḥammad regarded them as believers in the true God.
Sūrah ii. 50: “They who believe and they who are Jews, and the Christians, and the Sabeans—whoever believeth in God and the Last Day, and doeth that which is right, shall have their reward with their Lord.”
Sūrah v. 73: “They who believe, and the Jews and the Sabeans, and the Christians—whoever of them believeth in God, and in the Last Day, and doeth what is right, on them shall no fear come; neither shall they be put to grief.”
Sūrah xxii. 17: “They who believe, and the Jews, and the Sabeans, and the Christians, and the Magians, and those who join other gods with God, verily God shall decide between them on the Day of Resurrection.”
ṢĀBIʾ (صابىء). [SABEANS.]
SABĪLU ʾLLĀH (سبيل الله). “The road of God.” A term used for religious warfare and other meritorious deeds; e.g. Qurʾān, Sūrah ii.:—
Verse 149: “And say not of those who are slain in the road of God that they are dead, but rather that they are living.”
Verse 263: “Those who expend their wealth in the road of God.” [JIHAD.]
SABT (سبت). [SABBATH.]
SACRIFICE. There are six words used in the Muḥammadan religion to express the idea of sacrifice.
(1) ذبح ẕabḥ, Hebrew זֶבַח zebach. Like the Hebrew word (Gen. xxxi. 54), the Arabic is used generally for slaughtering animals, whether on the Great Festival of Sacrifice [ʿIDU ʾL-AZHA], or, at ordinary times, for food. In the Qāmūs, the word ẕabḥ is defined “to split or pierce; to cut the throat of any creature.” In the Qurʾān, the word is used for the slaughtering of the heifer by Moses (Sūrah ii. 63), for the slaying of the sons of Israel by Pharaoh (Sūrah ii. 46), for sacrificing to idols (Sūrah v. 4); and for the intention of Abraham to sacrifice his son (Sūrah xxxvii. 101).
(2) قربان qurbān, Hebrew קָרְבָּן korbān (Lev. ii. 14), Lit. “Approaching near.” It occurs twice in the Qurʾān, for the sacrifice to be devoured by fire from heaven, which the Jews demanded of Muḥammad (Sūrah iii. 179), and for the offering of the sons of Adam (Sūrah v. 30). It is a word frequently employed in Islām to express the ordinary sacrifice, and the great festival is called in Persia the ʿĪd-i-Qurbān, or “Feast of Sacrifice.”
(3) نحر naḥr. Lit. “To injure the jugular vein.” Used for stabbing the breast of a camel, as in sacrifice, hence the sacrifice itself. It occurs once in the Qurʾān, Sūrah cviii. 1, 2: “Verily we have given thee al-Kaus̤ar, so pray to thy Lord and sacrifice,” which al-Baiẓāwī says means to sacrifice a camel, the most costly victim of the Arabians. The ʿĪdu ʾl-Aẓḥā is called the Yaumu ʾn-Naḥr. [ʿIDU ʾL-AZHA.]
(4) اضحية uẓḥīyah. A word which does not occur in the Qurʾān, but in the Traditions it is the subject of a Chapter in Mishkātu ʾl-Maṣābīḥ (book iv. ch. xlix.). According to the Qāmūs, it is derived from ẓaḥw, ẓuḥā, a word which expresses that time of the day when the sun has risen to a considerable height, about 10 A.M. (Ṣalātu ʾẓ-Ẓuḥā, being a voluntary prayer at that hour). Uẓḥīyah is therefore the sacrifice offered about 10 o’clock on the day of the Great Festival.
(5) هدى Hady, or, according to another reading, Hadī. Occurs four times in the Qurʾān, Sūrahs ii. 193, v. 2, 96, 98, for offering of an animal for sacrifice sent to the temple at Makkah, when the pilgrim is not able to reach in time. The Qāmūs defines it as that “which is presented.” Al-Baiẓāwī (Tafsīr, p. 100) gives Hady as the plural form of Hadyah and Hadī as that of Hadīyah. The latter occurs in the Qurʾān, Sūrah xxvii. 35, for an offering or gift, and seems to have the same meaning as the Hebrew מִנְחָה minchah, which is used in the Old Testament for a gift or tribute (Gen. iv. 3), and also for the unbloody sacrifice or “meat offering” (Lev. ii. 1).
(6) منسك mansak. Occurs in the Qurʾān, Sūrah xxii. 35: “We have appointed to every nation a rite (mansak).” Sūrah ii. 122: “Show us our rites” (manāsik): also verse 196. Al-Baiẓāwī (Tafsīr, p. 91), to the first passage, says the word means a place of devotion, or a sacrifice which draws a man near to God, and mentions another reading, mansik, a place of worship, of which manāsik is likewise the plural. The word, as quoted above, as well as the plural form, is translated by the late Professor Palmer “rites.” [RITES.]
II. There are only two occasions upon which Muḥammadans sacrifice, namely, on the Great Festival held on the 10th day of Ẕū ʾl-Ḥijjah [ʿIDU ʾL-AZHA] and on the birth of a child [AQIQAH].
(1) The great sacrifice recognised by the Muslim faith is that on the Great Festival, called the ʿĪdu ʾl-Aẓḥā, or “Feast of Sacrifice.” This sacrifice is not only offered by the pilgrims at Makkah, but in all parts of Islām, upon the day of sacrifice. In the first place, this sacrifice is said to have been established in commemoration of Abraham having consented to sacrifice his son (most Muslims say it was Ishmael), as recorded in the Qurʾān, when it is said God “ransomed his (Abraham’s) son with a costly victim” (Sūrah xxxvii. 107); but Shaik͟h ʿAbdu ʾl-Ḥaqq, in his commentary on the Mishkāt, also says that al-Uẓḥīyah, “the sacrifice,” is that which at the special time (i.e. on the festival) is slaughtered with the object of obtaining nearness to God.
(2) The teaching of the Qurʾān on the subject of sacrifice is conveyed in the following verses (Sūrah xxii. 37):—
“The bulky (camels) we made for you one of the symbols of God (Shaʿāʾiri ʾllāhi), therein have ye good. So mention the name of God over them as they stand in a row (for sacrifice), and when they fall down (dead), eat of them and feed the easily contented and him who begs. Thus have we subjected them to you: haply ye may give thanks. Their flesh will never reach to God, nor yet their blood, but the piety from you will reach Him.”
Al-Baiẓāwī on this verse says, “It, the flesh of the sacrifice, does not reach unto God, nor its blood, but the piety (taqwā) that is the sincerity and intention of your heart.” (Tafsīru ʾl-Baiẓāwī, vol. ii. p. 52.)
(3) In the Traditions (Mishkāt, book iv. ch. xlix.) we have the following:—
Anas says: “The prophet sacrificed two rams, one was black, and the other was white, and he put his foot on their sides as he killed them, and cried out, ‘Biʾ-smi ʾllāhi, Allāhu akbar! In the name of God! God is most great!’ ”
ʿĀyishah says: “The Prophet ordered a ram with horns to be brought to him, and one that should walk in blackness, sleep in blackness, and look in blackness” (by which he meant with black legs, black breast and belly, and black eyes), “and he said, ‘O ʿĀyishah, give me a knife and sharpen it!’ And I did so. Then the Prophet took hold of the ram and threw him on his side and slew it. And when he was killing it he said, ‘In the name of God! O God accept this from Muḥammad, and from his children, and from his tribe!’ Afterwards he gave to the people their morning meal from the slaughtered ram.”
Jābir says: “The Prophet sacrificed two rams on the day of the Festival of Sacrifice, which were black or white, and had horns, and were castrated; and when he turned their heads towards the Qiblah, he said, ‘Verily I have turned my face to Him who brought the heavens and the earth into existence from nothing, according to the religion of Abraham, and I am not of the polytheists. Verily my prayers, my worshipping, my life, and my death, are for God, the Lord of the universe, who hath no partner; and I have been ordered to believe in one God, and to abandon associating any other god with Him; and I am one of the Muslims. O God! this sacrifice is of Thee, and for Thee; accept it then from Muḥammad and his people!’ And he added, ‘In the name of God! the Great God!’ and then killed them.”
ʿAlī said: “The Prophet has ordered me to see that there be no blemish in the animal to be sacrificed; and not to sacrifice one with the ears cut, either at the top or the bottom, or split lengthways, or with holes made in them. The Prophet prohibited sacrificing a ram with broken horns, or slit ears.”
ʿĀyishah relates that the Prophet said: “Man hath not done anything, on the day of sacrifice, more pleasing to God than spilling blood; for verily the animal sacrificed will come on the Day of Resurrection, with its horns, its hair, its hoofs, and will make the scales of his actions heavy; and verily its blood reacheth the acceptance of God before it falleth upon the ground; therefore be joyful in it.”
Zaid Ibn Arqam relates: “The Companions said, ‘O messenger of God! what are these sacrifices, and whence is their origin?’ He said, ‘These sacrifices are conformable to the laws of your father Abraham.’ They said, ‘O Prophet! what are our rewards therefrom?’ He said, ‘There is a reward annexed to every hair.’ The Companions then said, ‘O Prophet! what are the rewards from the sacrifices of camels and sheep, that have wool?’ He said, ‘There is a good reward also for every hair of their wool.’ ”
(4) The following is the teaching of the Hidāyah regarding the nature and conditions of the sacrifice:—
It is the duty of every free Muslim arrived at the age of maturity to offer a sacrifice, on the ʿĪdu ʾl-Aẓḥā, or “Festival of the Sacrifice,” provided he be then possessed of a Niṣāb (i.e. sufficient property), and be not a traveller. This is the opinion of Abū Ḥanīfah, Muḥammad, Zufar, and Ḥasan, and likewise of Abū Yūsuf, according to one tradition. According to another tradition, and also according to ash-Shāfiʿī, sacrifice is not an indispensable duty, but only laudable. At-Tahāwī reports that, in the opinion of Abū Ḥanīfah, it is indispensable, whilst the disciples hold it to be in a strong degree laudable. The offering of a sacrifice is incumbent on a man on account of himself, and on account of his infant child. This is the opinion of Abū Ḥanīfah in one tradition. In another he has said that it is not incumbent on a man to offer a sacrifice for his child. In fact, according to Abū Ḥanīfah and Abū Yūsuf, a father or guardian is to offer a sacrifice at the expense of the child (when he is possessed of property), eating what parts of it are eatable, and selling the remaining parts that are valuable in their substance, such as the skin, &c. Muḥammad, Zufar, and ash-Shāfiʿī have said that a father is to sacrifice on account of his child at his own expense, and not at that of the child. The sacrifice established for one person is a goat; and that for seven, a cow or a camel. If a cow be sacrificed for any number of people fewer than seven, it is lawful; but it is otherwise if sacrificed on account of eight. If for a party of seven people the contribution of any one of them should be less than a seventh share, the sacrifice is not valid on the part of any one of them. If a camel that is jointly and in an equal degree the property of two men should be sacrificed by them on their own account, it is lawful; and in this case they must divide the flesh by weight, as flesh is an article of weight. If, on the contrary, they distribute it from conjectural estimation, it is not lawful, unless they add to each share of the flesh part of the head, neck, and joints. If a person purchase a cow, with an intent to sacrifice it on his own account, and he afterwards admit six others to join with him in the sacrifice, it is lawful. It is, however, most advisable that he associate with the others at the time of purchase, in order that the sacrifice may be valid in the opinion of all our doctors, as otherwise there is a difference of opinion. It is related from Abū Ḥanīfah that it is abominable to admit others to share in a sacrifice after purchasing the animal, for, as the purchase was made with a view to devotion, the sale of it is therefore an abomination.
The time of offering the sacrifice is on the morning of the day of the festival, but it is not lawful for the inhabitants of a city to begin the sacrifice until their Imām shall have finished the stated prayers for the day. Villagers, however, may begin after break of day. The place, in fact, must regulate the time. Thus, where the place of celebration is in the country, and the performers of it reside in the city, it is lawful to begin in the morning; but if otherwise, it must be deferred until the stated prayers be ended. If the victim be slain after the prayers of the Mosque, and prior to those offered at the place of sacrifice [IDGAH], it is lawful, as is likewise the reverse of this. Sacrifice is lawful during three days—that is, on the day of the festival, and on the two ensuing days. Ash-Shāfiʿī is of opinion that it is lawful on the three ensuing days. The sacrifice of the day of the festival is far superior to any of the others. It is also lawful to sacrifice on the nights of those days, although it be considered as undesirable. Moreover, the offering of sacrifices on these days is more laudable than the custom of omitting them, and afterwards bestowing an adequate sum of money upon the poor. If a person neglect the performance of a sacrifice during the stated days, and have previously determined upon the offering of any particular goat, for instance; or, being poor, have purchased a goat for that purpose,—in either of these cases it is incumbent on him to bestow it alive in charity. But if he be rich, it is in that case incumbent on him to bestow in charity a sum adequate to the price, whether he have purchased a goat with an intent to sacrifice it or not. It is not lawful to sacrifice animals that are blemished, such as those that are blind, or lame, or so lean as to have no marrow in their bones, or having a great part of their ears or tail cut off. Such, however, as have a great part of their ears or tail remaining may lawfully be sacrificed. Concerning the determination of a great part of any member, there are, indeed, various opinions reported from Abū Ḥanīfah. In some animals he has determined it to be the third; in others more than the third; and in others, again, only the fourth. In the opinion of the two disciples, if more than the half should remain, the sacrifice is valid, and this opinion has been adopted by the learned Abū ʾl-Lais̤. If an animal have lost the third of its tail, or the third of its ears or eye-sight, it may be lawfully sacrificed; but if, in either of these cases, it should have lost more than a third, the offering of it is not lawful. The rule which our doctors have laid down to discover in what degree the eye-sight is impaired is as follows. The animal must first be deprived of its food for a day or two that it may be rendered hungry, and having then covered the eye that is impaired, food must be gradually brought towards it from a distance, until it indicate by some emotion that it has discovered it. Having marked the particular spot at which it observed the food, and uncovered the weak eye, the perfect eye must then be bound, and the same process carried on, until it indicate that it has observed it with the defective eye. If, then, the particular distance from those parts to where the animal stood be measured, it may be known, from the proportion they bear to each other, in what degree the sight is impaired.
It is not lawful to offer a sacrifice of any animal except a camel, a cow, or a goat; for it is not recorded that the Prophet, or any of his companions, ever sacrificed others. Buffaloes, however, are lawful as being of the species of a cow. Every animal of a mixed breed, moreover, is considered as of the same species with the mother.
If a Christian or any person whose object is the flesh, and not the sacrifice, be a sharer with six others, the sacrifice is not lawful on the part of any. It is lawful for a person who offers a sacrifice either to eat the flesh or to bestow it on whomsoever he pleases, whether rich or poor, and he may also lay it up in store. It is most advisable that the third part of the flesh of a sacrifice be bestowed in charity. It is not lawful to give a part of the sacrifice in payment to the butcher. It is abominable to take the wool of the victim and sell it before the sacrifice be performed, but not after the sacrifice. In the same manner, it is abominable to milk the victim and sell the milk. It is most advisable that the person who offers the sacrifice should himself perform it, provided he be well acquainted with the method, but if he should not be expert at it, it is then advisable that he take the assistance of another, and be present at the operation. It is abominable to commit the slaying of the victim to a Kitābī (a Jew or Christian). If, however, a person order a Kitābī to slay his victim, it is lawful. It is otherwise where a person orders a Magian, or worshipper of fire, to slay his victim, for this is inadmissible. (Hamilton’s Hidāyah, vol. iv. 76.)
(5) From the foregoing references to the Qurʾān, the Traditions, ʿAbdu ʾl-Ḥaqq, al-Baiẓāwī, it will appear that whilst the Muḥammadan sacrifice is (1) Commemorative, having been instituted in commemoration of Abraham’s willingness to offer his son; (2) Self Dedicatory, as expressed in the Traditional sayings of Muḥammad; and (3) Eucharistic, according to the verse in the Qurʾān already quoted, “Haply ye may give thanks”; that the expiatory character of the sacrifice is not clearly established, for there is no offering for, or acknowledgment of, sin, connected with the institution. Muḥammadanism, true to its anti-Christian character, ignores the doctrine that “without shedding of blood there is no remission.” (Lev. xvii. 11; Heb. ix. 22.)
(6) At the birth of a child it is incumbent upon the Muslim father to sacrifice a goat (one for a girl and two for a boy) at the ceremony called ʿAqīqah, which is celebrated on either the seventh, fourteenth, twenty-first, twenty-eighth, or thirty-fifth day after birth, when the hair is first shaved and its weight in silver given to the poor. ʿAbdu ʾl-Ḥaqq says ʿAqīqah comes from ʿaqq, “to cut,” and refers to cutting the throat of the animal. Others refer it to cutting the hair. The idea of the sacrifice on this occasion is dedicatory and eucharistic. Buraidah says, “We used, in the time of ignorance, when children were born to us, to slay sheep and rub the child’s head with the blood; but when Islām came we sacrificed a sheep on the seventh day, and shaved the child’s head and rubbed saffron on it.”
ṢĀD (صاد). The fourteenth letter of the Arabic alphabet. The title of the XXXVIIIth Sūrah of the Qurʾān, which begins with the letter.
ṢADAQAH (صدقة), pl. ṣadaqāt. From ṣadq, “to be righteous, truthful”; Hebrew צֶדֶק tsedek. A term used in the Qurʾān for “Almsgiving,” e.g. Sūrah ii. 265: “Kind speech and pardon are better than almsgiving (ṣadaqah) followed by annoyance, for God is rich and clement.”
Ṣadaqatu ʾl-Fit̤r is the alms given on the lesser Festival, called the ʿĪdu ʾl-Fit̤r, which consists of half a ṣāʿ of wheat, flour, or fruits, or one ṣāʿ of barley. This should be distributed to the poor before the prayers of the festival are said. (Hidāyah, vol. i. p. 62.) [ʿĪDU ʾL-FITR.]
SAʿD IBN ABĪ WAQQĀṢ (سعد بن ابى وقاص). Called also Saʿd ibn Malik ibn Wahb az-Zuhrī. He was the seventh person who embraced Islām, and was present with Muḥammad in all his battles. He died at ʿAtīq A.H. 55, at the age of 79, and was buried at al-Madīnah.
SAʿD IBN MUʿĀẔ (سعد بن معاذ). The chief of the Banū Aus. He embraced Islām at al-Madīnah after the first pledge at ʿAqabah. He died of wounds received at the battle of the Ditch, A.H. 5. (See Muir’s Life of Mahomet, vol. iii. 282.)
SAʿD IBN ʿUBĀDAH (سعد بن عبادة). One of the Companions, and an Anṣārī of great reputation. He carried the standard at the conquest of Makkah. Died A.H. 15.
ṢADR (صدر), or Ṣadru ʾṣ-Ṣudūr. The chief judge. Under Muḥammadan rule, he was especially charged with the settlement of religious grants and the appointment of law officers.
SADŪM (سدوم). [SODOM.]
AṢ-ṢAFĀ (الصفا). A hill near Makkah. One of the sacred places visited by the pilgrims during the Ḥajj. [PILGRIMAGE.]
ṢAFAR (صفر). Lit. “The void month.” The second month of the Muḥammadan year. So called because in it the ancient Arabs went forth on their predatory expeditions and left their houses ṣifr, or empty; or, according to some, because when it was first named it occurred in the autumn, when the leaves of the trees were ṣufr, or “yellow.” (G͟hiyās̤u ʾl-Lug͟hah, in loco.) [MONTHS.]
ṢAFF (صف). An even row or line of things.
(1) A term used for a row of persons standing up for prayers.
(2) Aṣ-Ṣaff, the title of the LXIth Sūrah of the Qurʾān, in the 6th verse of which the word occurs for the close unbroken line of an army.
AṢ-ṢĀFFĀT (الصافات), pl. of ṣāffah, “Ranged in ranks.” The title of the XXXVIIth Sūrah of the Qurʾān, in the first verse of which the angels are mentioned as being ranged in ranks.
ṢAFĪYAH (صفية). One of the wives of Muḥammad. She was the widow of Kinānah, the Jewish chief of K͟haibar, who was cruelly put to death. In after years it is said Muḥammad wished to divorce her, but she begged to continue his wife, and requested that her turn might be given to ʿĀyishah, as she wished to be one of the Prophet’s “pure wives” in Paradise.
ṢAFĪYU ʾLLĀH (صفى الله). Lit. “The Chosen of God.” A title given in the Traditions to Adam, the father of mankind. [ADAM.]
ṢAFŪRĀʾ (صفوراء). The Zipporah of the Bible. The wife of Moses. According to Muslim Lexicons, she was the daughter of Shuʿaib. [MOSES.]
ṢAFWĀN IBN UMAIYAH (صفوان بن امية). A Ṣaḥābī of reputation. A native of Makkah. He was slain the same day as the K͟halīfah ʿUs̤mān.
ṢAḤĀBĪ (صحابى), fem. Ṣaḥābīyah. “An associate.” One of the Companions of Muḥammad. The number of persons entitled to this distinction at the time of Muḥammad’s death is said to have been 144,000, the number including all persons who had ever served as followers of the Prophet, and who had actually seen him. The general opinion being that one who embraced Islām, saw the Prophet and accompanied him, even for a short time, is a Ṣaḥābī, or “associate.” [ASHAB.]
ṢĀḤIBU ʾN-NIṢĀB (صاحب النصاب). A legal term for one possessed of a certain estate upon which zakāt, or “legal alms,” must be paid. Also for one who has sufficient means to enable him to offer the sacrifice on the great festival, or to make the pilgrimage to Makkah. The possessor of 200 dirhems, or five camels, is held to be a Ṣāḥibu ʾn-Niṣāb, as regards zakāt.
ṢĀḤIBU ʾZ-ZAMĀN (صاحب الزمان). “Lord of the Age.” A title given by the Shīʿahs to the Imām Mahdī. (G͟hiyās̤u ʾl-Lug͟hah, in loco.)
ṢAḤĪFAH (صحيفة), pl. ṣuḥuf. Lit. “A small book or pamphlet.” A term generally used for the one hundred portions of scripture said to have been given to Adam, Seth, Enoch, and Abraham, although it is used in the Qurʾān (Sūrah lxxxvii. 19) for the books of Abraham and Moses: “This is truly written in the books (ṣuḥuf) of old, the books (ṣuḥuf) of Abraham and Moses.” [PROPHETS.]
ṢAḤĪFATU ʾL-AʿMĀL (صحيفة الاعمال). The “Book of Actions,” which is said to be made by the recording angels (Kirāmu ʾl-Kātibīn) of the deeds of men, and kept until the Day of Judgment, when the books are opened. See Qurʾān:—
Sūrah l. 16: “When two (angels) charged with taking account shall take it, one sitting on the right hand and another on the left.”
Sūrah xvii. 14, 15: “And every man’s fate have We (God) fastened about his neck; and on the Day of Resurrection will We bring forth to him a book, which shall be proffered to him wide open: Read thy Book: There needeth none but thyself to make out an account against thee this day.” [KIRAMU ʾL-KATIBIN, RESURRECTION.]
ṢAḤĪḤU ʾL-BUK͟HĀRĪ (صحيح البخارى). The title of the first of the Kutubu ʾs-Sittah, or “six correct” books of traditions received by the Sunnīs. It was compiled by Abū ʿAbdu ʾllāh Muḥammad ibn Ismāʿīl al-Buk͟hārī, who was born at Buk͟hārah, A.H. 194, and died at K͟hartang, near Samarkand, A.H. 256. It contains 9,882 traditions, of which 2,623 are held to be of undisputed authority. They are arranged into 160 books and 3,450 chapters. [TRADITIONS.]