{{Short description|Islamic symbol in the shape of an octagram}} {{Infobox symbol |mark=۞ |unicode= {{unichar|06DE|ARABIC START OF RUB EL HIZB|html=}} }} [[File:Konya Karatay Ceramics Museum Kubad Abad Palace find 2405.jpg|thumb|Seljuk mosaic tile decoration from the Kubadabad Palace (early 13th-century Anatolia)]] The '''Rub el Hizb''' ({{langx|ar|رُبْعُ الْحِزْبِ or رُبُعُ الْحِزْبِ|rubʿ al-ḥizb|quarter of the party}}) is an Islamic symbol in the shape of an octagram,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Blair |first=Sheila |title=Islamic Calligraphy |publisher=Edinburgh University Press |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-7486-3540-5 |pages=144}}</ref> represented as two overlapping squares ۞. While its main utility today is to mark a division inside some copies of the Quran to facilitate recitation, it has originally featured on a number of emblems and flags in the past and continues to do so today.
In Arabic, {{Transliteration|ar|rubʿ}} means 'one-fourth' or 'quarter', while {{Transliteration|ar|ḥizb}} (plural {{Transliteration|ar|aḥzāb}}) translates to 'a group'. The Quran is divided into 60 {{lang|ar|aḥzāb}} (groups of roughly equal length in turn grouped into 30 {{Transliteration|ar|ajzāʾ}}), with instances of Rub el Hizb further dividing each {{Transliteration|ar|ḥizb}} into four, for a total of 240 divisions.
== History == The symbol was used as a cultural symbol in the time of Al-Andalus in the Iberian Peninsula, appearing on the coins.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Ariza Armada |first=Almudena |date=2017 |title=THE COINAGE OF AL-ANDALUS |url=https://shedet.journals.ekb.eg/article_87829_4b1aefcbf0be7e09c877183df0d16b06.pdf |journal=SHEDET |issue=4 |pages=68–90}}</ref> In addition, the use of it in so many areas{{which|date=March 2024}} led to its name being changed to "the star of Abd al-Rahman I". From Al-Andalus it was exported to the rest of the Arab world.<ref>{{Cite web |title=MuslimHeraldry |url=https://www.hubert-herald.nl/MuslimHeraldry.htm |access-date=2025-05-02 |website=www.hubert-herald.nl}}</ref> It has also been used extensively in Turkic Islamic culture and history.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-02-01 |title=Eight-Pointed Star Meaning |url=https://www.dorisleslieblau.com/eight-pointed-star-meaning/ |access-date=2023-09-11 |website=Antique Rugs by Doris Leslie Blau |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Reki |first=Mahina |last2=Arslan Selçuk |first2=Semra |date=2018-05-22 |title=Evolution of Geometric Patterns in Islamic World and a Case on the Jalis of the Naulakha Pavilion in the Lahore Fort |url=https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/499821 |journal=Gazi University Journal of Science |series=Part B: Art, Humanities, Design and Planning |volume=6 |issue=1 |pages=83–97 |via=}}</ref>
== Variants == <gallery> File:Rub_El_Hizb.svg|Interlaced File:Rub_El_Hizb_Outline.svg|Outline </gallery>
== Contemporary use ==
=== Architecture === [[File:Petronas Towers level 43 plan.svg|thumb|150px|Development of the Petronas Towers Tower 1 level 43 floor plan from a Rub el Hizb symbol.<ref>{{cite web|author=Galal Abada|date=2004|title=Petronas Office Towers|url=http://www.akdn.org/architecture/pdf/1969_Mal.pdf|url-status=unfit|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121001183326/http://www.akdn.org/architecture/pdf/1969_Mal.pdf|archive-date=2012-10-01|location=Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia}}</ref>]] The symbol has been used as a basis for plans of buildings, as in the case of the Petronas Towers.
=== Former flags === <gallery> File:Flag of the Ottoman Empire (eight pointed star).svg|An Ottoman flag with an eight pointed star (after 1844) File:Flag of the Emirate of Afghanistan.png|Flag of the Emirate of Afghanistan (1919–1926) </gallery>
=== Current flags === <gallery> File:Flag of Azerbaijan.svg|Flag of Azerbaijan File:Kazakhstan Customs Service flag.svg|Flag of the Kazakhstan Customs Bureau File:Flag of the Organization of Turkic States.svg|Flag of the Organization of Turkic States File:Flag of the President of Turkmenistan.svg|Standard of the President of Turkmenistan File:Flag of the President of Uzbekistan.svg|Standard of the President of Uzbekistan </gallery>
=== Emblems === <gallery> File:Emblem of Azerbaijan.svg|Emblem of Azerbaijan File:Emblem of Karakalpakstan.svg|Emblem of Karakalpakstan File:Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg|Emblem of Uzbekistan File:Emblem of Turkmenistan.svg|Emblem of Turkmenistan </gallery>
== See also == * Anatolian Seljuk architecture * Armenian eternity sign * Borjgali * Lists of national symbols * Sujud * Star of Lakshmi * Star of Ishtar * Shamsa * Mandala * Surya Majapahit * Octagram
== References == {{Reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rub el Hizb}} Category:Star symbols Category:Islamic terminology Category:Islamic symbols