Nick

Zulfiqar was a sword with two blades Muhammed gave to Ali, his bravest warror. Who can tell me more about this famous sword and its equally famous owner? When was it made? Who made it? How did Muhammed acquire it? What were the advantages of its double-bladed design? And where is it now?
[IMG]http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f29/*********/zulfiqar.gif[/IMG]

Salah

I've never heard of this weapon, but it looks fully awesome

What is the source for it's being double bladed though? If this is based solely on a literary source than perhaps it was just meaning that it was a double-edged thrusting sword (e.g. a Roman legionary's gladius). The early Arabs did indeed use a lot of weapons based on those of the Romans...

HobgoblinTheGreat

Ali, or (Husayn ibn ‘Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib) was the cousin of Muhammed.
Muḥammad presented Zulfiqar to a young Ali, By most historical accounts, Ali used the sword at the to cut a fierce Meccan opponent and his shield in two halves. The opponent was Amr ibn Abdawud, whose strength was often compared to that of a thousand men. No one had dared to fight him except Ali, who killed him with one powerful blow. Though Amr wore strong armor and carried powerful weapons, he is said to have been no match to Ali and his sword. Seeing this, Muhammad was reported to have said "There is no hero but Ali and no sword except Dhū l-Fiqār" : لا فتى إلا علي لا سيف إلا ذو الفقار‎. Imām used Zulfiqar in the , and as a result it is seen as a symbol of honor and martyrdom. consider the sword to be exceptional because its bearers were both Muḥammad and Ali, who was highly regarded among Muslims and non-Muslims.
It is said that the sword came down from Heaven as a gift from Allah. So you will not find a date or origin of who made it... lost in history is the real answer.

plutoboyz

the sword could lock enemy's sword on its tip.

Nick

What happened to it after Ali was killed?

okamido

I came across this photo, but unfortunately I don't know how real, or what country it is from.


http://www.flickr.com/photos/ihsankaracabey/

Zeno

The "bey" part at the end of the link would suggest Turkish... As does the ankara part before it. But it is presented as being Zulfiqar. Ihsankarabey is the user's name. Prolly he or she is Turkish.

Kampfringen

How would you lock an enmy's sword on its tip?
It was not desighned to do that. Not with the tip. The tip is the weakest point for leverage. It is for cutting and thrusting. The part closest to the hilt is meant for displacing blows and stifleing blows because it has the best leverage.

Salah

As Zeno pointed out, this is probably a Turkish weapon, I would guess late medieval at the very earliest, probably recent/modern.

Curved swords (the stereotypical "scimitar" of Western legend) were not introduced to the Dar al-Islam until the 8th Century (the Central Asian dah wielded by ghulam slave-soldiers). And even as late as the 14th Century, the artwork of the Egyptian Mamluk Dynasty depict soldiers fighting with straight or only slightly curved swords.

No form or scimitar or saber, or anything even remotely close, would have been used in Muhammad's lifetime, or a for a couple generations afterwards. Late pre-Islamic and early Islamic Arabs used short stabbing swords that were modeled directly on the late Roman gladius and semispatha.

Reis

I think it is maentioned in the Quran though i could be mistaken.