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:

Zulfiqar (tank)

Zulfiqar (ذوالفقار) is an Iranian main battle tank (MBT), conceived by Brigadier General Mir-Younes Masoumzadeh, deputy ground force commander for research and self-sufficiency of the armed forces. It is named after Zulfiqar, the legendary sword of Ali, the fourth Caliph and the first Shiite Imam.

The test prototypes of the tank were evaluated in 1993. Six semi-industrial prototypes of the tank were produced and tested in 1997.

Design specifications

Features

The tank has a distinctive box-shaped, steel-welded turret of local design. The Zulfiqar is believed to be developed from major components of the Soviet T-72 and American M48 and M60 tanks. The suspension is modelled on the M48 /M60 Patton tanks supplied to Iran by the U.S. The SPAT 1200 transmission also seems to be a local development of that of the M-60. Zulfiqar-1's combat weight has been reported to be 36 tonnes with a 780 hp diesel engine; giving the tank a 21.7 hp per ton ratio. Some sources see resemblances between the Zulfiqar design and the Brazilian prototype Osório.

Zulfiqar (disambiguation)

Zulfiqar (also Zulfikar and other Romanisations) or Dhu al-Fiqar was the legendary sword of the Islamic leader Ali.

Zulfiqar may also refer to:

Transport

People