| ۞ | |
|---|---|
Rub el Hizb | |
| In Unicode | U+06DE ۞ARABIC START OF RUB EL HIZB |
TheRub el Hizb (Arabic:رُبْعُ الْحِزْبِ or رُبُعُ الْحِزْبِ,romanized: rubʿ al-ḥizb,lit. 'quarter of the party') is anIslamic symbol in the shape of anoctagram,[1] represented as two overlapping squares ۞. While its main utility today is to mark a division inside some copies of theQuran to facilitaterecitation, it has originally featured on a number of emblems and flags in the past and continues to do so today.
In Arabic,rubʿ means 'one-fourth' or 'quarter', whileḥizb (pluralaḥzāb) translates to 'a group'. TheQuran is divided into 60aḥzāb (groups of roughly equal length in turn grouped into 30ajzāʾ), with instances of Rub el Hizb further dividing eachḥizb into four, for a total of 240 divisions.
TheSeljuk star is aneight-pointed star polygon that is an ancientTurkish national symbol (Tamga). It is a common motif inSeljuk art.[2]
The symbol was used as a cultural symbol in the time ofAl-Andalus in theIberian Peninsula, appearing on the coins.[3] In addition, the use of it in so many areas[which?] led to its name being changed to "the star ofAbd al-Rahman I". From Al-Andalus it was exported to the rest of theArab world.[4] It has also been used extensively inTurkic Islamic culture andhistory.[5][6]
The symbol has been used as a basis for plans of buildings, as in the case of thePetronas Towers.
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