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The Rub el Hizb, also known as an Islamic Star (Arabic: ربع الحزب rubʿ al-ḥizb), is an Islamic symbol in the shape of an octagram, represented as two overlapping squares. It is found on a number of emblems and flags. In Arabic, Rubʻ means "one-fourth" or "quarter," while Hizb translates to "a group." Initially, it was used in the Quran, which is divided into 60 Hizbs (groups of roughly equal length); Rub el Hizb further divides each Hizb in four. A Hizb is one half of a juz'. The main purpose of this dividing system is to facilitate the recitation of the Quran.
Uses
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The Rub el Hizb can be seen on:
- The flag of the Marinid and Saadi dynasties of Morocco
- The current emblem of Turkmenistan
- The current emblem of Uzbekistan
- The flag of the Azat Republican Party of Kazakhstan [2]
- The unofficial flag of Kazakhstan in the 1990s, the basis of the modern state flag, light blue with a hollow yellow rub el Hizb
- The official emblem of the elite Special Police Squad "Bosna" of the Ministry of Interior of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina during the Siege of Sarajevo
- The fictional flag of Hatay in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
- The emblem of the Organization of the Scout Movement of Kazakhstan
- The previous emblem of the Iraq Boy Scouts and Girl Guides Council
- The logo of the Cairo Metro
- The octagonal buildings [3][4][5]
- Isra and Mi'raj: The meeting of the crescent moon and the star. [6]
The cross-sections of the Petronas Twin Towers are based on the Rub el Hizb with extra circular sectors (outlined in red in the image on the right) added to increase the total floor space.
Al-Quds star
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The al-Quds star (in Arabic نجمة القدس, najmat al-Quds) is an adaptation of the Islamic Rub el Hizb symbol specifically associated with Jerusalem.
The eight-pointed star design is inspired by the octagonal ground-plan of the Umayyad Dome of the Rock shrine (built to commemorate Jerusalem's status as the first Qibla or direction of prayer in Islam), as well as by the standard Rub el Hizb symbol.
Versions of the al-Quds star are used as:
- The logo of the 2009 Arab Capital of Culture, chosen to be Jerusalem, under the Cultural Capitals Program to promote and celebrate Arab culture and encourage cooperation in the Arab region.
- The logo of al-Quds Bank, a financial institution headquartered in Ramallah.
See also
- Star of Lakshmi
- Sujud, which uses the symbol ۩ in most Qurans
- List of symbolic stars
- Octagram
References
- ^ Galal Abada (2004). "Petronas Office Towers" (PDF). Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Archived from the original on 2012-10-01.
- ^ "Azat Party, Kazakhstan". crwflags.com. Archived from the original on 26 November 2020. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
- ^ Google Images
- ^ Google Images
- ^ Google Images
- ^ Google Images