2 – Section Two: Glossary of Rare Hadith Terms

Having finished citing the reports that prohibit instruments of amusement—reports that include a variety of expressions, some of them broad and all-inclusive, such as al-maʿāzif (musical instruments), and others confined to a single kind, like al-barābiṭ, for example—I noticed that a number of uncommon words also appear in certain verses and hadiths. For the sake of completeness I have explained them here, clarified their meanings, and arranged them alphabetically, while indicating the pages on which they previously occurred.

1 – “Arīkatuhum” ⦗p. 64⦘
According to al-Qāmūs, arīkah—patterned after safīnah—is “a couch placed inside a curtained alcove resembling a dome,” or, more generally, “anything upon which one reclines: a couch, a platform, or a mattress,” or “a padded bed.”

2 – “al-Awtar” ⦗p. 60, 61⦘
Plural of watar (with movable vowels): the string of a bow and whatever is fastened to it. In our context it refers to the strings that are tied to and stretched across musical instruments such as the ʿūd (lute) and the qānūn (zither).

3 – “al-Barābiṭ” ⦗p. 65⦘
Plural of barbaṭ: an entertainment instrument resembling the ʿūd. The word is a Persian loanword; its original form is barbaṭ.