Symbols of Islam

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Islam is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion teaching that there is only one God (Allah), and that Muhammad is the last messenger of God. It is the world's second-largest religion with over 1.9 billion followers and Muslims form 24.4% of the world's population.

Common inconography[]

Symbol Image History and usage
Crescent and Star Star and Crescent.svg Used first in the Ottoman Empire and is related to the moon.
Rub el Hizb Rub el Hizb.png The Rub el Hizb is used to facilitate recitation of the Quran. The symbol is also found on a number of emblems and flags.
Sujud U+06E9.svg Used in the Quran.

Colours[]

Further information: Green in Islam

History[]

Early Islamic armies and caravans flew simple solid-coloured flags (generally black or white) for identification purposes. In later generations, the Muslim leaders continued to use a simple black, white, or green flag with no markings, writings, or symbolism on it. The Umayyads fought under white and gold banners. The Abbasids chose black (blue) and fought with black banners. The Fatimids used a green standard, as well as white. Various countries in the Persian Gulf have red flags. The four Pan-Arab colours, white, black, green and red, dominate the flags of Arab states.[1][2]

Meanings[citation needed][]

  •   Green – Associated with Jannah (heaven) and life.
  •   White – Used to symbolize purity and peace.
  •   Black – The colour of modesty in Islam.
  •   Red – Symbolizes the life force.
  •   Cyan – Signifies the impenetrable depths of the universe.
  •   Grey – Dyeing one's hair grey is Sunnah.
  •   Yellow – Wearing gold is prohibited for Muslim men.

Black flags[]

The Black Standard flag

The Black Standard flag is one of the flags flown by Muhammad in Muslim tradition. It was historically used by Abu Muslim in his uprising leading to the Abbasid Revolution in 747 and is also associated with the Abbasid Caliphate. It is also a symbol and is associated with the Islamic eschatology (heralding the advent of the Mahdi). The Black Banner, which is different from the flag used by ISIL. Scholars have interpreted ISIL's use of a similar black flag in attempts to their claim to re-establishing a Caliphate.


Religious flags with inscriptions were in use in the medieval period, as shown in miniatures by 13th-century illustrator Yahya ibn Mahmud al-Wasiti. 14th-century illustrations of the History of the Tatars by Hayton of Corycus (1243) shows both Mongols and Seljuqs using a variety of war ensigns.

This is the first main thing of Islam.
La ilaha illallah, Muhammadur rasulullah; English translation: "There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is messenger of Allah."

Crescent and star[]

The Ottoman Flag

The crescent is usually associated with Islam and regarded as its symbol. It is also found on Islamic buildings before the rise of Ottoman Turks and can be found in Islamic countries beyond Turkish influences.[3] The crescent and star symbol became strongly associated with the Ottoman Empire in the 19th century. By extension from the use in Ottoman lands, It became a symbol also for Islam as a whole, as well as representative of western Orientalism. "Crescent and Star" was used as a metaphor for the rule of the Islamic empires (Ottoman and Persian) in the late 19th century in British literature.[4] This association was apparently strengthened by the increasingly ubiquitous fashion of using the crescent and star symbol in the ornamentation of Ottoman mosques and minarets.[5] By contrast, the majority of religious Islamic publications emphasize that the crescent is rejected "by some Muslim scholars".[6] The "Red Crescent" emblem was adopted by volunteers of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) as early as 1877 during the Russo-Turkish War; it was officially adopted in 1929.[7]

After the collapse of the Ottoman Empire in 1922, the crescent and star was used in several national flags adopted by its successor states. In 1947, after the independence of Pakistan, flag of Pakistan was white crescent and star with a green background. The crescent and star in the flag of the Kingdom of Libya (1951) was explicitly given an Islamic interpretation by associating it with "the story of Hijra (migration) of our Prophet Mohammed"[8] By the 1950s, this symbolism was embraced by movements of Arab nationalism such as the proposed Arab Islamic Republic (1974).[9]

Rub el Hizb[]

Further information: Rub el Hizb
Flag of Morocco (1258-1659)

The Rub el Hizb is used to facilitate recitation of the Quran, which is divided into 60 Hizb (60 groups of roughly equal length); the symbol determines every quarter of Hizb, while the Hizb is one half of a juz'. The symbol is also found on a number of emblems and flags.

The symbolic values of numbers[]

  • The number 1 symbolizes the Shahada of Muslims: "There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah."
  • The number 4 is a very important number in Islam with many significations: Eid-al-Adha lasts for four days from the 10th to the 14th of Dhul Hijja; there were four Caliphs; there were four Archangels; there are four months in which war is not permitted in Islam; when a woman's husband dies she is to wait for four months and ten days; the Rub el Hizb is composed of quadrilaterals.
  • The number 8 in Islam symbolizes the eight angels that carry the throne of Allah in Jannah (heaven).
  • The number 3 is also significant as many sunnah acts are advised to be done in three's.

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Islamic flags Archived 2007-06-10 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ Saudi Aramco World : Flags of the Arab World
  3. ^ Arnold, Thomas. “Symbolism and Islam.” The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs, vol. 53, no. 307, 1928, pp. 155–156. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/863786.
  4. ^ e.g. A. Locher, "With Star and Crescent: A Full and Authentic Account of a Recent Journey with a Caravan from Bombay to Constantinople"; Andrew Haggard, "Under Crescent and Star" (1895).
  5. ^ "Mosque and minaret are surounted by crescents; the air glowing over the Golden Horn is, as it were, full of moons." Hezekiah Butterworth, The Zigzag Series (1882), p. 481.
  6. ^ "Many Muslim scholars reject using the crescent moon as a symbol of Islam. The faith of Islam historically had no symbol, and many refuse to accept it." Fiaz Fazli, Crescent magazine, Srinagar, September 2009, p. 42.
  7. ^ Mohd Elfie Nieshaem Juferi, "What Is The Significance Of The Crescent Moon In Islam?". bismikaallahuma.org. Retrieved September 21, 2017.
  8. ^ The symbolism of the star and crescent in the flag of the Kingdom of Libya (1951-1969) was explained in an English language booklet, The Libyan Flag & The National Anthem, issued by the Ministry of Information and Guidance of the Kingdom of Libya (year unknown, cited after Jos Poels at FOTW, 1997) as follows: "The crescent is symbolic of the beginning of the lunar month according to the Muslim calendar. It brings back to our minds the story of Hijra (migration) of our Prophet Mohammed from his home in order to spread Islam and teach the principles of right and virtue. The Star represents our smiling hope, the beauty of aim and object and the light of our belief in God, in our country, its dignity and honour which illuminate our way and puts an end to darkness."
  9. ^ Edward E. Curtis, Black Muslim religion in the Nation of Islam, 1960-1975 (2006), p. 157.

External links[]

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