ABSTRACT
Israel', because of the references to them towards the end of the sura and also at its beginning.) One widely recorded tradition associates the practice of praying five times a day with the Night Journey, and so, this Sura, Muhammad having been initially commanded by God to pray fifty times a day but finally managing, on the advice of Mūsā (q.v.), to have the number reduced to five. (See al-Aqsā, al-Masjid; Iblīs; Sūrat al-Najm; Salāt.) Isrāfl One of the great Islamic angels. He is often called 'The Lord of the Trumpet' because it is his task to sound that instrument on the Day of Resurrection. In Islamic art he is often portrayed poised, ready to blow the trumpet on the Last Day at God's express command. Isrāfīl is not mentioned by name in the Qur'an but there is much tradition about him. For example, the spirits of some of the dead who wait for the Resurrection inhabit the holes in the mighty trumpet of Isrāfīl. What is mentioned in the Qur'an is the actual sounding of the trumpet at the end of time. (See Angel; Archangel; Art and Architecture, Islamic; Ba'th; Yawm al Qiyāma.) Istanbul Former capital of the Ottoman empire and still a major city in modern Turkey. Constantinople was captured by the Ottomans (q.v.) from the Byzantines in 857/1453, renamed Istanbul, and replaced Bursa (q.v.) and the later Edirne (Adrianople) as the Ottoman capital. The capture inaugurated a great golden age of Turkish Islamic art and architecture under such architects as Sinān (q.v.). Today Istanbul is still a treasure house of Islamic architecture with monuments ranging from the Topkapi Palace, and the converted Hagia Sophia of Justinian (into a mosque), to the magnificent Süleymāniye Mosque and the Blue Mosque with its six tall minarets. (See Art and Architecture, Islamic; Mehmet II 'The Conqueror'; Süleymān 'The Magni ficent'.) Istawā (Ar.) Literally, this Arabic verb means 'to be straight', 'to stand erect', 'to sit down', 'to mount', and even 'to be
