Dhu al-Fiqar

Dhu l - Faqar (Arabic ذو الفقار, DMG you l - Faqar, about: double grooved, two - edged, two - klingig or (sword ) with two blades), and Zulfiqar, Zulfikar, Turkish: Zülfikar was the Name of a sword of the Prophet Mohammed, which he received in the battle of Badr as prey. After it had come into the possession of his son Ali ibn Abi Talib, it became an important symbol of the Shiites.

The name of the sword is attested as early as the late 8th century. According to one account should therefore be made aware of the sword to the presence of holes ( Fuqra ) or grooves or furrows that have arisen during the process of chasing. Later, the name was, however, interpreted in the sense, that the blade has a crack. Accordingly, it was presented as zweiklingig. In the reinterpretation also Iran's eschatological myths about the Saoshyant were effective.

Importance in the Shia

At least since the early 9th century a close relationship between Ali ibn Abi Talib and the sword Dhu al - Faqar is made. Ibn Hisham quotes the tradition that at the battle of Uhud called an anonymous caller: " There is no better sword than Dhu l - Faqar and no better hero than ʿ Alī " ( lā Saifa Illa of Dhu l - Faqar wa - La Fata illa ʿ Aliyun ).

Because of these and similar traditions ascribe the sword part a magical power, has become Dhu l - Faqar an important symbol of ʿ Alī and the Shiites. This symbolic function, it also meets with the Alevis, who call it in Turkish Zülfikar. For them, it represents the resistance against oppression and inhumanity. The Zülfikar is often worn by young people as a necklace or emblem on a green flag to show their religion.

Twelver Shia myth has it that Dhu al - Faqar is now in the possession of the hidden Muhammad al- Mahdi.

The formula laa saif illa Dhu l - Faqar ( " There is no better sword except Dhu l - Faqar ") appears incidentally also individually artfully worked swords that are forged in the Islamic world since the Middle Ages to modern times.

Use as a personal name

The name of the sword is also common for Muslims as a personal name, as first name, for example, at the former Pakistani prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, or as a family name in the Turkish artist Ali Zülfikar.