Sāhib
The word Sāhib ( Arabic صاحب, DMG ṣāḥib ) means "companion, owner, master, follower" and is also used in the Koran . In the Indian and Pakistani language areas, it is used as a polite form of address .
In the Arabic language area
Ṣāḥib is the active participle of the verb ṣaḥiba yaṣḥabu with the meaning "accompany, be friends with". In the meaning of “companion” the word occurs several times in the Koran, for example in sura 9:40 : “When he said to his companion (ṣāḥib) : Do not be sad!” And in sura 18 : 37: “There spoke Companion (ṣāḥib) to him while he was talking to him. ”The leader of an army is called Sāhib al-Jaish .
The plural of ṣāḥib is aṣḥāb . From this, for example, the Qur'anic expression Ashāb al-Kahf ("Companions of the Cave") in Sura 18: 9 for the Seven Sleepers of Ephesus is derived. The “inmates of paradise” are called Ashāb al- janna (Sura 2:82) in the Qur'an , and the “inmates of hellfire” Ashāb an-nār ( Sura 2 : 39) or Ashāb as-saʿīr ( Sura 35 : 6). However, the name Ashāb an-nār is also used for the angels who act as guardians of hell. For the Midianites , the Qur'an also has the name Ashāb Madyan (Sura 9:70, 22:44, actually "Companions of Midian").
In later times the name Ashāb al-hadīth became common for followers of the hadith scholarship. The companions of the Prophet Mohammed are either called Aṣḥāb ar- rasūl in Arabic or designated with the plural form Sahāba reserved for them .
In the Indian area
On the Indian subcontinent, the term Sāhib (also Saheb ) became predominant as a form of address for Europeans , especially during the British colonial period , based on its meaning "owner" for the owner of slaves or workers. It was also used respectfully for a (married) woman, although a feminine form of the noun, sahiba , exists.
In British India , the form Memsahib or Memsaab (as a short form of Madam / Ma'am Sahib ) emerged as a female form of address , which in colonial Africa , e.g. in Kikuyu , became Msabu .
The holy book of Sikhism , the Guru Granth Sahib (literally: Teacher Book Lord ), has the word in the title. Another form of deferential address in the Indian languages is Sri (or Shree or Sree ).
literature
- WP Heinrichts: Art. Ṣāḥib in The Encyclopaedia of Islam. New Edition Vol. VIII, pp. 830b-831a.
