Zulfiqar

Zulfiqar (Arabic: ذو الفقار‎ Ḏū-l-Faqār or Ḏū-l-Fiqār) is the name of the legendary sword of Ali ibn Abi Talib which is said to have been given to him by Muhammad. Muhammad gave this sword to his cousin Ali in the Battle of Uhud. It was historically frequently depicted as a scissor-like double bladed sword on Muslim flags, and it is commonly shown in Shi'ite depictions of Ali and in the form of jewelry functioning as talismans as a scimitar terminating in two points. Middle Eastern weapons are commonly inscribed with a quote mentioning Zulfiqar, and Middle Eastern swords are at times made with a split tip in reference to the weapon.

Name

The name is also variously transliterated as Dhulfiqar, Zulfiquar, Zulfikar, Thulfeqar, Zoulfikar, Zulfeqhar etc. The meaning of the name is unclear. The word ذو ḏu means "lord, master", and the idafa construction "master of..." is common in Arabic phraseology (e.g. in Dhu-l-Qarnayn, Dhu-l-Kifl, Dhu-l-Hijjah etc.). The meaning of فقار, on the other hand, is unclear. It may be vocalized as either fiqār or faqār; Lane cites authorities preferring faqār and rejecting fiqār as "vulgar", but the vocalization fiqār still sees the more widespread use. The word faqār has the meaning of "the vertebrae of the back, the bones of the spine, which are set in regular order, one upon another", but may also refer to other instances of regularly spaced rows, specifically it is a name of the stars of the belt of Orion. Interpretations of the sword's name as found in Islamic theological writings or popular piety fall into four categories:

Zulfikar (film)

Zulfikar is an upcoming Indian Bengali Drama film directed by Srijit Mukherji. The film is based on adaptation of two of William Shakespeare’s tragedies: Julius Caesar and Antony and Cleopatra. The shooting of the film has started, as of January 2016.

Cast

References

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