Zulfiqar

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Part of a series on Shi'a Islam
Ahl al-Kisa
Ahl al-Kisa Muhammad Ali · Fatimah Hasan · Husayn
The Four Companions
The Four Companions Salman al-Farsi Miqdad ibn Aswad Abu Dharr al-Ghifari Ammar ibn Yasir
Beliefs & Practices
Succession of Ali Imamate of the Family Mourning of Muharram Light of Aql · Ismah Tawassul
Views
The Qur'an · Sahaba Mu'awiya I Abu Bakr · Umar
History
History of Shia Islam Ghadir Khumm First Fitna · Second Fitna The Battle of Karbala

Holy Days
Eid ul-Fitr · Eid al-Adha Eid al-Ghadeer Ashura · Arba'een Mawlid · Al-Mubahila
Branches
Twelver · Ismaili · Zaidi
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Zulfiqar (Arabic: ذو الفقار‎) is the legendary sword of the Islamic leader Ali. In Arabic the name is commonly transliterated as Thulfeqar, Dhulfiqar. The scimitar is one of the oldest and best known symbols of Islam, and is particularly important to Shiite and Alevi Muslims.

Zulfiqar, a fictional representation of the sword of Ali.

Imam Husayn bin Ali used Zulfiqar in the Battle of Karbala, and as a consequence, seen as a symbol of honour and martyrdom. A few conflicting images of the sword exist. While some show two parallel blades to emphasize its mystical abilities and speed, while others portray a more traditionally-shaped scimitar. Some depict a split, V-shaped blade. Shi'a Muslims, who consider Ali as the rightful successor to Muhammad, consider the sword to be exceptional because its bearers were both Muhammad and Ali, who was highly regarded among Muslims and non-Muslims.

Scene of Battle of Badr from the film The Messenger of God: The Muslim army sends out its champions including Ali. Zulfiqar is in the foreground.

Part of a series on Ahl al-Kisa Ali Son-in-law of Muhammad First Shi'a Imam Fourth Sunni Caliph
Birth Family Ali Descendants Timeline of Ali's life Succession to Muhammad Hadith of the pond of Khumm The Twelve Imams The Fourteen Infallibles Nahj al-Balagha Birthplace Zulfiqar Ali the Warrior Ali caliphate First Fitna Imam Ali Mosque Views: Sunni Shi'a non-Muslim Ali in Muslim culture
Ali · Fatimah · Hasan · Husayn This box: view • talk • edit

By most accounts, Muhammad presented Zulfiqar to a young Ali at the Battle of Uhud. During the battle, Ali struck one of the fiercest adversaries, breaking both his helmet and his shield. Seeing this, Muhammad was reported to have said "La fatà illa Ali, la saif illa Zulfiqar" ( لا فتى إلا علي لا سيف إلا ذو الفقار ), meaning "There is no hero but Ali, and no sword except Zulfiqar". This is widely engraved on weapons and has become a battle cry for some Muslims.

"Zulfiqar" and phonetic variations have been popular given names, as in former Pakistani Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. Various spelt variations exist in modern language scripts, including "Zulfikar", "Thulfiqar", "Dhulfaqar", "Zolfaqar", etc. "Thulfiqar", though, is the most common spelling amongst Arabs. "Zulfiqar", however, remains the most widely used rendition of the Arabic word amongst Desi and Persians reflecting the pronunciation of the Arabic letter dhal in these languages.

[edit] History

The name is variously explained, but is generally thought to mean "cleaver of the spine", "the two-pronged one" or "double-edged one". It is sometimes also interpreted as "sharp distinction between right and wrong" or "the one who distinguishes between right and wrong", or "trenchant".

By most historical accounts, Ali used the sword at the Battle of the Trench to cut a fierce Meccan opponent and his shield in two halves. The opponent was Amr ibn Abdawud, whose strength was often compared to that of a thousand men. No one had dared to fight him except Ali, who killed him with one powerful blow. Though Amr wore strong armor and carried powerful weapons, he is said to have been no match to Ali and his sword.

[edit] Recent times

Obverse and reverse of the military order

The last Shah of Iran renamed the military order Portrait of the Commander of Faithful to the new reference, Order of Zolfaghar.

In 2004, Iran revealed a new Zulfiqar tank model; in August 2006, the nation announced a massive war games operation entitled The Blow of Zolfaghar.

Pakistan navy also keeps a ship named PNS Zulfiquar

Moreover Pakistan's highest military medal is named after bearer of sword of Zulfiquar namely Nishan-e-Haider. Nishan-e-Haider means Order of The Lion, Ali was given the name Haider which means Lion because of his outstanding bravery and courage.