Zulfiqar

Zulfiqar "bifurcated" ( Dhū l-Fiqār) is the sword of the Islamic leader Ali. In Arabic the name is commonly transliterated as Dhu al-Fiqar, Thulfeqar, Dhulfiqar, Zoulfikar etc.

Origin

Two swords were captured from the temple of Manat in the Raid of Sa'd ibn Zaid al-Ashhali. Muhammad gave them to Ali, saying that one of them was Dhulfiqar, which became the famous sword of Ali and a symbol of Shia Islam

According to the Twelver Shia, Zulfiqar is currently in the possession of Imam Muhammad al-Mahdi, as part of his collection called al-Jafr.

People

"Zulfiqar" and phonetic variations have been popular given names, as with former Pakistani Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. Variously spelled variations exist in modern language scripts.

Recent Usage

The last Shah of Iran renamed the military order Portrait of the Commander of Faithful to Order of Zolfaghar.

During the Bosnian War, a Bosnian army's special unit was named "Zulfikar".

In 2010, The Islamic Republic of Iran revealed the attack boat dubbed the Zolfaghar, likening it to the sword as an unstoppable weapon of its time.

The Iranian Zulfiqar......
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