Barakah orBaraka (Arabic:بركة "blessing") is ablessing power inIslam,[1] a kind of continuity of spiritual presence and revelation that begins withGod and flows through that and those closest to God.[2]
According to G.S. Colin, theQuran is said to be charged withbarakah, and God can bestow prophets and saints withbarakah.Muhammad and his descendants are said to be especially endowed with it. These special people, whether alive or dead, can transfer theirbarakah to ordinary people.[3]
Sacred places are said to containbarakah and ward off evil spiritual forces, thus monasteries and Sufi temples are often visited for protection against demonic beings.[4]
Barakah is also described as a blessing force of creation and fertility, causing cereals to miraculously multiply.[3]
The concept is also used by Arabic-speaking Christians, notably theCoptic Orthodox community in Egypt, to refer to the holy power which is believed to emanate from saints and the sites and relics sacred to them. Relics and locations carrybaraka based on their literal or metaphorical proximity to a holy person. In line with Egypt's long history of holy sites and figures venerated by both its major religions, Copts believe that the benefits ofbaraka are not limited solely to members of the Coptic Church, and that followers of Islam and other denominations of Christianity can gain blessings from encounters with holy artifacts and locations.[5]
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