(1) The word may be pronounced with either a kasra or a fatha on the initial ha; it is the plural of halqa (ring), in which the lam is normally quiescent. Al-Jawhari and others record a rare dialect in which the lam itself is vowelled with a fatha. (2) Meaning: scattered, group after group. The term is read with a light zay; its singular is izzah. The expression therefore forbids division and commands cohesion, as al-Nawawi states in his Sharh Muslim. (2-) Abu Dawud 1:409–10; Ibn Hibban, no. 1664 (Mawarid); al-Hakim 2:115; al-Bayhaqi 9:152 (through al-Hakim); and Ahmad 4:193—all through the chain of al-Walid ibn Muslim from ’Abd Allah, that is, Ibn Zabr, who heard Salm ibn Mishkam say: “Abu Tha‘labah al-Khushani narrated to us.” The chain is continuous and sound. Al-Hakim graded it sahih al-isnad, and al-Dhahabi concurred. Zabr is ’Abd Allah’s grandfather; his father’s name was al-Ala. Note: If separating in a purely mundane affair is deemed the work of Satan, what of splitting in religion and in its greatest practical pillar, the prayer, when we now see Muslims in the same mosque following several imams at once? Is that not likewise from Satan? Indeed—by the Lord—it is, but most people do not realize. “Surely in that is a reminder for whoever has a heart or lends an attentive ear while present” (Q 50:37).