Zulfiqar (Dhu'l-Fiqar) (Arabic:
ذوالفقار) was the sword of Muhammad and his son-in-law, Ali.
The scimitar is one of the oldest and best known symbols of
Islam, as important to Muslims as Excalibur is to the British.
Ali's son, Imam Husayn bin Ali, used Zulfiqar against the
Umayyad caliph Yazid I in the Battle of Karbala, where he and
his family perished. As a symbol of honour and knighthood,
Zulfiqar has appeared in the iconography of Islamic nations for
centuries, and was used extensively by the Abbasid Caliphate and
the Ottoman Empire. Multiple conflicting images of the sword
exist. Some show two parallel blades to emphasize its mystical
abilities and speed, while others portray a more
traditionally-shaped scimitar and still others depict a split,
V-shaped blade. |
