Need help with translation of a " blasphemous"(?) inscription

[Victrix]

Originally Posted by ariel

Thanks.
A semi-literate European....
What a disappointment! I hoped it might be a Kharijite " blasphemy" :-(((

I’m not very knowledgeable on the subject but the reference to Ali might be Shiite which could be ”blasphemous” in the eyes of a Saudi (Sunni)?

[ariel]

Regretfully it doesn't seem to be true: Ali is venerated by both branches.
One of the most popular saying of Muhammed is " There is no hero like Ali, no sword like Zulfikar". It is written on the majority of Islamic blades coming from all over, Sunni or Shia.

[Kubur]

Originally Posted by ariel

Regretfully it doesn't seem to be true: Ali is venerated by both branches.
One of the most popular saying of Muhammed is " There is no hero like Ali, no sword like Zulfikar". It is written on the majority of Islamic blades coming from all over, Sunni or Shia.

But why? Ariel do you have an explanation about that?

[ariel]

Originally Posted by Kubur

But why? Ariel do you have an explanation about that?

Explanation for what?

[Kubur]

Originally Posted by ariel

Explanation for what?

for
Ali is venerated by both branches.
It is written on the majority of Islamic blades coming from all over, Sunni or Shia.
why?

[ariel]

Originally Posted by Kubur

for
Ali is venerated by both branches.
It is written on the majority of Islamic blades coming from all over, Sunni or Shia.
why?

Because Ali was a commanding figure during Muhammed’s life, a hero according to Muhammed himself. As such, he deservedly earned respect and admiration of the entire Umma and his role had never been forgotten by any Muslim.

However, that did not mean that according to the majority he deserved to become a Caliph. And that was the crux of the matter.

He is venerated by Sunni and Shia alike , but for different reasons. For Sunni he was an outstanding hero, but no more. For Shia, as a direct descendant of Muhammed, he was a legitimate Caliph unjustly deprived of the mantle, and no less.

In no small measure, the divide follows political traditions of Bedouins from Arabia proper, who democratically elected their leader and Shia who followed dynastical system of ancient Persia.

After that, history records centuries of bloodshed between the branches that persists even now. Per Sunni list of enemies, Shias are Numero Uno, far ahead of idolaters and Jews, and vice versa. Not for nothing contemporary Iran and Saudi Arabia are at each other throats. Geopolitical and financial ( oil) considerations are fueled by the remembrances of the battle of Karbala.

[Kubur]

Nobody spotted the bolster? Is it Ethiopian?

Definitively not Mamluk they don't mention Ali.

Thank you Ariel, so in short Ali is a hero for both Sunni and Shia.

I have the feeling that it's more complicated than that...

There is no deep meaning?

[Kubur]

Originally Posted by ariel

Because Ali was a commanding figure during Muhammed’s life, a hero according to Muhammed himself. As such, he deservedly earned respect and admiration of the entire Umma and his role had never been forgotten by any Muslim.

Thank you Ariel for your explanation. I agree with you for the basics, Ali was considered as a great fighter and a hero. The same is true for the sword zulfiqar given by the Prophet to Ali.

Inscriptions mentionning Ali and Zulfiqar were talismanic symbols used to protect the owner of the weapon and to give him some strength or even supernatural powers.

لا فتى إلا علي لا سيف إلا ذو الفقار‎
lā fatā ʾillā ʿAlī; lā sayf ʾillā Ḏū l-Fiqār.
"There is no hero like Ali; There is no sword like Dhu-l-Fiqar"

Why Ali is popular in the Sunni world?

In fact it's more complicated than simply Ali the perfect warrior and shinny knight of Islam.

Ali and Zulfiqar are parts of the symbols used in many sufi sects, including dervishes in Iran and Sudan but also Bektasi janissaries in the Ottoman army and since at least the 13th c.
THis is the deep meaning of Ali and Zulfiqar in the Sunni world.

Kubur