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Bahamut
Bahamut, or Bahamoot ( ; ), according to Zakariya al-Qazwini, is a monster that lies deep below, underpinning the support structure that holds up the earth. In this conception of the world, the earth is shouldered by an angel, who stands on a slab of gemstone, which is supported by the cosmic beast (ox) sometimes called Kuyutha'(/Kuyuthan)/Kiyuban/Kibuthan (plausibly a corruption or misrendering of Hebrew לִוְיָתָן "Leviathan"). Bahamut carries this bull on its back, and is suspended in water for its own stability. Balhūt is a variant name found in some cosmographies. In the earliest sources, the name is Lutīyā, with Balhūt given as a byname and Bahamūt as a nickname. Orthography ''Bahamūt'' is the spelling given in al-Qazwini (d. 1283)'s cosmography., p. 216 and note 198. ''Bahamoot'' is Edward Lane's transcribed spelling. ''Balhūt'' is the alternate spelling given in Yaqut al-Hamawi (d. 1229)'s geographic work and copies of Ibn al-Wardi (d. 1457)'s work. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kujata (bull)
Kuyūthā () is the cosmic bull in medieval Islamic cosmography. It is said to carry on its back the angel who shoulders the earth and the rock platform upon which the angel stands. The bull is said to stand on the giant fish or whale, Bahamut. The bull is variously described as having 40,000 horns and legs, or as many eyes, ears, mouths and tongues in the oldest sources. The number of appendages can vary in later versions. Its breathing is said to control the tides of the ocean. Kīyūbān () or Kibūthān () also appear in printed editions of Qazwini's cosmography. These have been claimed to be corruptions of Leviathan (). Alternate names include Al-Rayann. Kuyootà, Kuyoothán were forms of the name as transcribed by Edward Lane, and given as Kuyata (Spanish), Kujata (first English translation, 1969), and Quyata (revised English translation) in various editions of Jorge Luis Borges's ''Book of Imaginary Beings''. Orthography "Kuyootà" was Edward Lane's transcription of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Behemoth
Behemoth (; , ''bəhēmōṯ'') is a beast from the biblical Book of Job, and is a form of the primeval chaos-monster created by God at the beginning of creation. Metaphorically, the name has come to be used for any extremely large or powerful entity. Etymology The Hebrew word ''behemoth'' has the same form as the plural of the Hebrew noun בהמה ''behemah'' meaning 'beast', suggesting an augmentative meaning 'great beast'. However, some theorize that the word might originate from an Egyptian word of the form '' pꜣ jḥ mw'' 'the water-ox' meaning 'hippopotamus', altered by folk etymology in Hebrew to resemble ''behemah''. However, this phrase with this meaning is unattested at any stage of Egyptian. Even before the decipherment of Ancient Egyptian in the early 19th century there was widespread identification of the biblical behemoth with the hippopotamus. The word for hippopotamus in Russian remains derivative of ''behemoth'' (бегемот), a meaning that entered the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leviathan
Leviathan ( ; ; ) is a sea serpent demon noted in theology and mythology. It is referenced in several books of the Hebrew Bible, including Psalms, the Book of Job, the Book of Isaiah, and the pseudepigraphical Book of Enoch. Leviathan is often an embodiment of chaos, threatening to eat the damned when their lives are over. In the end, it is annihilated. Christian theologians identified Leviathan with the demon of the deadly sin '' envy''. According to Ophite diagrams, Leviathan encapsulates the space of the material world. In Gnosis, it encompasses the world like a sphere and incorporates the souls of those who are too attached to material things, so they cannot reach the realm of God's fullness beyond, from which all good emanates. In Hobbes, who draws on Job 41:24, Leviathan becomes a metaphor for the omnipotence of the state, which maintains itself by educating all children in its favour, generation after generation. This idea of an eternal power that 'feeds' on its ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
ʿAjā'ib Al-makhlūqāt Wa Gharā'ib Al-mawjūdāt
''Aja'ib al-Makhluqat wa Ghara'ib al-Mawjudat'' () or ''The Wonders of Creatures and the Marvels of Creation'' is an important work of paradoxography and cosmography by Zakariya al-Qazwini, who was born in Qazwin in 1203 shortly before the Mongol invasion of the Khwarazmian Empire. Background to the work Qazwini's ''Aja'ib al-Makhluqat'' was criticized for being less than original. Substantial parts of his work are derivative of Yaqut al-Hamawi's ''Mu'jam al-Buldan''. Qazwini mentions fifty names as his sources, the most important of whom are old geographers and historians such as Istakhri, Ahmad ibn Fadlan, al-Masudi, Ibn Hawqal, al-Biruni, Ibn al-Athir, al-Maqdisi, and al-Razi. Even though Qazwini's work is a compilation of known and unknown sources, it influenced later works of Islamic cosmology and Geography and cartography in medieval Islam, Islamic geography through its style and language. Qazwini's cosmography is not pure science but was intended to entertain its readers b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mount Qaf
Mount Qaf, or Qaf-Kuh, also spelled Cafcuh and Kafkuh (), or Jabal Qaf, also spelled Djebel Qaf (); ''Koh-i-Qaf'', also spelled ''Koh-Qaf'' and ''Kuh-i-Qaf'' or ''Kuh-e Qaf'' (); or ''Kaf Dağı'' in Turkish is a legendary mountain in the popular mythology of the Middle East. In some early Arab traditions, Mount Qaf is said to be the homeland of the jinn and was made out of shining emerald by God. Iranian tradition Historically Iranian power never extended over all of the Northern Caucasus and ancient lore shrouded these high mountains in mystery. In Iranian tradition this mountain could be any of the following: * The highest mountain in Qafqaz * The "unknown" mountain referred to as ''Gapkuh''''Qāf'' is the Arabized form of the Middle Persian word ''gâp'' meaning "unknown". The oldest mention of ''Gapkuh'' or the "unknown mountain" is in an inscription of Shapur I (241-272 AD) for the mountains between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. The name of the Caucasus Mountains is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Falak (Arabian Legend)
Falak () is the giant serpent mentioned in the ''One Thousand and One Nights''. He resides below Bahamut, the giant fish which carries (along with a bull and an angel) the rest of the universe including six hells, the earths and the heavens.Theresa Bane ''Encyclopedia of Beasts and Monsters in Myth, Legend and Folklore'' McFarland, 2016 p. 51 Falak itself resides in the seventh hell below everything else and it is said to be so powerful that only its fear of the greater power of God prevents it from swallowing all the creation above. See also * Leviathan * Surtr In Norse mythology, Surtr (Old Norse "black"Orchard (1997:154). or more narrowly "swart",Simek (2007:303–304) Surtur in modern Icelandic language, Icelandic), also sometimes written Surt in English, is a jötunn; he is the greatest of the fire ... References Arabian legendary creatures Legendary serpents Jahannam One Thousand and One Nights {{MEast-myth-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Columbia University Press
Columbia University Press is a university press based in New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ..., and affiliated with Columbia University. Founded in 1893, it is currently directed by Jennifer Crewe (2014–present) and publishes titles in the humanities and sciences, including the fields of literary and cultural studies, history, social work, sociology, religion, film, and international studies. History Columbia University Press was founded in May 1893. In 1933, the first four volumes of the ''History of the State of New York'' were published. In the early 1940s, the Press' revenues rose, partially thanks to the ''Encyclopedia'' and the government's purchase of 12,500 copies for use by the military. Columbia University Press is notable for publishing r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Al-Damiri
Al-Damiri (1341–1405), the common name of Kamal al-Din Muhammad ibn Musa al-Damiri (), was a Shafi'i Sunni scholar, jurist, traditionist, theologian, and expert in Arabic from late medieval Cairo. He was best known for his writing on Muslim jurisprudence and natural history. He wrote the first known systematic work on zoological knowledge in Arabic, the '' Ḥayāt al-ḥayawān al-kubrā'', 1371. Life Al-Damiri was born in 1341 (742 AH) in Cairo, where he lived, learned, graduated, and died. His family’s origins go back to the countryside of Lower Egypt, from the village of Damira, close to Samannud on the eastern or Damietta branch of the Nile in the Delta. Since his youth, he worked with his father in a sewing shop, and his love for animals continued to grow with him, along with his passion for science and other knowledge, which prompted his father to direct him to complete his religious studies at Al-Azhar University. He mastered the sciences of theology, jurisprudenc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wahb Ibn Munabbih
Wahb ibn Munabbih () was a Yemenite Muslim traditionist of Dhamar (two days' journey from Sana'a) in Yemen. He was a member of Banu Alahrar (Sons of the free people), a Yemeni of Persian origin. He is counted among the Tabi‘in and a narrator of '' Isra'iliyat''. By integrating Biblical material and Arabian lore, he enabled to construct a holistic approach to sacred history as laid out by the Quran.Rashwani, Samer. Behind the Story: Ethical Readings of Qurʾānic Narratives: ما وراء الحكاية: دراسات أخلاقية في القصة القرآنية. Brill, 2024. p. 187 He was also known as the author of '' The Book of Crowns on the Kings of Himyar''. Biography Wahb ibn Munabbih was recorded as a native of Dhamar region, with alleged Jewish ancestry. His full Kunya (tecnonym) is Wahb ibn Munabbih ibn Kamil ibn Shaykh al-Yamani Abu Uqbah ash-Shan'ani Al-Abna'. His full name is given as "Abu 'Abd Allah Wahb ibn Munabbih al-Ṣana'ani al-Dhimari". His father ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ahmad Ibn Muhammad Al-Tha'labi
Abū Isḥāḳ Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn Ibrāhīm al-Nīsābūrī al-Thaʿlabī ; died November 1035), who was simply known as Al-Tha'labi (), was an eleventh-century Sunni Muslim scholar of Persian origin. Al-Tha'labi was considered a leading Quranic exegete of the fifth/eleventh century who famously authored the classical exegesis '' Tafsir al-Tha'labi'', and his ''Ara'is al-Majalis'' is perhaps the best and most frequently consulted example of the Islamic qisas al-anbiya genre. He was an expert Quranic reciter and reader ('' muqriʾ''), traditionist, linguist, philologist, preacher, historian, litterateur, and theologian. Name The word al-Tha'labi, most biographers stress, was a nickname laqab), and not a tribal name (nasab). This means that al-Tha'labi was of Persian descent and not a member of the Arab tribal groups that carries the name. Life According to Tilman Nagel, al-Tha'labi was born in the city of Nishapur during the fifties of the fourth century (350). Alt ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
