At a glance
- Era
- Pre-Islamic Arabia
- Review
- Draft Completeness 1/5 · Help complete it
Overview
Hawatif (voices) are sounds heard without a visible body. Al-Masudi notes that they were numerous among the Arabs, and most frequent in the days of the Prophet's birth and the beginning of his mission. 2
How people explained them
Al-Masudi transmits that people disputed about them. One group held that they come from solitude in the wilderness and isolation in the valleys. When a person is alone he reflects, and when he is afraid false suspicions and melancholy enter him, so that he imagines voices and figures, as happens to those afflicted with obsessive thoughts. 2
This is what al-Masudi transmits from that group. What is not recorded here: the explanations of other schools. It needs a further source.
People and things also explored
The abjad letters named for Madyan's kings· Intellectual invasion (al-ghazw al-fikri) in the Sheikh's view· Islamic management· Media and the responsibility of its producers· al-Anwāʾ (Star Rains)· Jahiliyya names of days and months· The ill-omened days· Divining Arrows
Sources
- Muruj al-Dhahab — al-Masʼudi , p. 473
- Muruj al-Dhahab — al-Masʼudi , p.473
Cite this page
islam.museum contributors. “The hawatif (calling voices)”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/concept/hawatif/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-16.