Istihstān the debate about anthropomorphism and the attributes of God. sat on the throne' was to endow God with Kayf; Sifāt istihsān came to be opposed to qiyās though it istihsān was never accepted by the great scholar jurist status quo'. In other words, the law presumes a past istisftāb include the status of missing persons, istislāh in theory and effect seeks to discover the maslaha (which may be translated here as 'public welfare') it is the practice of istislāh has not been confined to

Ithnā 'Asharās (Ithnā 'Ashariyya) Twelvers. Their name derives from the Arabic word for 'twelve'. These make up the majority branch of Shī'ites (q.v.) and they are called 'Twelvers' because they acknowledge twelve principal Imams after the death of the Prophet Muhammad. The Twelfth Shī'ite Imam, Muhammad al-Qā'im (q.v.), disappeared and his return is awaited by Twelver Shī'ites. The latter differ from Sunnīs (q.v.) over a variety of issues, notably the question of who should have succeeded Muhammad - 'Alī b. Abī Tālib (q.v.) in Shī'ite belief - but also on a number of legal points including marriage and inheritance. (Twelvers permit the concept of mut'a (q.v.) or temporary marriage.) Today the country with the largest number of Twelver Shī'ites is Iran (most of the population) but Southern Iraq also has substantial numbers constituting in total perhaps as many as 50% of the total Iraqi population. (See Amal; Āyatullāh; Ghadir al-Khumm; Ghayba; al-Hasan b. 'Alī; Hizb Allāh; Hujjat '1-Islām; al-Husayn b. 'Alī; Imām; alMuhurram; Mujtahid; Siffīn, Battle of; Ta'ziya.)

Īwān (Ar.) or Līwān (Ar.) Arched hall. Originally this word indicated a recessed reception room, having a raised floor, abutting a courtyard. In Islamic architecture the term is more frequently used to designate the vaulted areas round the central yard of a mosque or madrasa (q.v.). This vault was usually open only on one side and possessed an arch on that side which was called the wan arch, a feature having much in common with the Gothic window or arch in Western architecture. (See Art and Architecture, Islamic; Masjid.)

'Izrā'īl (Ar.) Azrael. He is the principal Islamic angel of death with a reputation in tradition for toughness and ruthlessness. He is mentioned in the Qur'ān but as 'The Angel of Death' (Malak al-Mawt) rather than by name (see v. 11 of Sūrat al-Sajda (q.v.) ). We depend on the tradition literature for our information about him. He is of gigantic size and has a roll with the names of all mankind inscribed upon it. He does not know, however, when

Jabr

each person will die. An individual's death is signalled by a leaf falling from the tree beneath God's throne on which the fated person's name appears. It is then 'Izrā'īl's task to separate that person's soul from his or her body. 'Izrā 'īl has been called Azrael in Western literature. (See Angel; Archangel.)

Jabr (Ar.) Compulsion, predestination, fate, determinism, determination. This was a word of considerable theological significance in the debates of mediaeval Islam. (See Jahm b. Safwān; Qadar.)

Jacob See Ya'qūb.