Middle Eastern and Islamic folklore is full of legendary beasts and creatures of all shapes and sizes. Some of the most unique are the winged creatures who fill the pages of epic tales, bestiaries, and encyclopedic works.
A thread on the creatures of sky and air-
The most famous in Persian lore, is the legendary Simurgh. An auspicious creature with stunning peacock-like plumes, this creature of the sky is an omen of wisdom and benevolence.
In artistic renderings it is depicted as either peacock-like or a composite creature made up of different animals.
It appears in the Shahnameh as a benevolent caretaker of a young abandoned prince while Attar’s work plays on its name; "si-murgh" meaning 30 birds.
Related, is Homa who never lands, but remains in the sky its whole life. An elusive creature, like the Simurgh it was interpreted as a benevolent force.
According to Batislam, in Ottoman literature the Homa is a creature of fortune and blessings.
According to Schimmel, the Mughals saw the Homa as a king-maker bestowing blessings to rule.
A similar legendary bird is the Anqa. Al Qazwini describes it as beautiful and multi-colored and related to or living at the mythic Mount Qaf.
According to him, the Anqa lives thousands of years and so accumulates great wisdom of life.
A more menacing bird is the Rukh, or the Roc. An enormous raptor capable of carrying off an elephant in its talons.
It is so massive that it has been mistaken for a flying island.
Among the godly creatures of the sky are the Ababil, a flock of birds sent by God to pelt the invading army of Himyar with rocks driving them away from the Ka’aba.
In the accounts of Muhammad’s night journey he is transported across the lands and the heavens by Buraq, a heavenly steed with a human-like face
In artistic renderings, it is often drawn as a light mule-like creature with a beautiful face and great wings.
See this great thread by @MENALibAHS on some artistic depictions of Buraq
In some narrations from ibn Abbas, the angel Jibr’ail has a celestial steed, Haizum, a winged-horse with fiery hooves who serves as battle mount and steed on divine missions
Then there are winged creatures with some human characteristics.
The Peri of Persian lore is one such being. Described as beautiful winged beings in Persianate epics, they were often depicted as fairy-like or angelic women.
Mischievous in nature, they are Islamized as a type of goodly jinn.
A similar being is found in Bengali lore, the Byangoma.
Described as birds with human faces they are endowed with great wisdom and the power of foresight.
There are also countless jinn which are said to possess wings.
One of the classes of jinn are said to fly through the air on wings in fact.
One type of mischievous jinn takes ravens as mounts flying through the air and pelting unsuspecting travelers with stones.
Others like the Sa’alin fly through the air on night horses, winged steeds formed of the midnight wind.
The greatest of the winged jinn is Maymum, the terror of the night and King of Saturn.
A great and powerful jinn potentate, he descends from the clouds to carry away hapless victims.
Under him is Kabus, the winged shadow who creeps through the house, perching the chest of the sleeping thus giving them night terrors.
And many others! The lore is deep and rich.
Medieval Muslims looked to the sky and its great expanse and were filled with awe, wonder, and even a little apprehension.
For them the heavens could bring blessed beings like the Simugh, wonderous creatures like the Peri, or terrors for the unsuspecting like Kabus
I'll be covering more legendary and mythic creatures in future threads
adding another brilliant thread of amazing depictions!
Stories, travelogues, and encyclopedias from the Islamic world recount tales of strange beasts of the sea. Mysterious and deep, the world’s waters were believed to be home to great monsters terrifying in manner.
A thread on sea monsters-
The most famous mentioned by al-Qazwini is Bahamut, a mighty fish or whale of the deep. So massive in bulk it is considered one of the layers of the earth upon which the whole world rests.
As it shifts and moves it causes earthquakes.
One time, Iblis sought to entice the great whale into shaking the very foundations of the Earth, but God intervened by captivating Bahamut and keeping the destruction at bay.
South Asia and Southeast Asia are rich in folklore and tales of monsters, creatures, and legendary beings. Sprits stalk the forests, revenants haunt the night, and monsters creep through the land.
A thread-
In Bengali legends, the Bhoot is a ghost-like being which comes in many shapes and forms.
One, Boba, is an ancient being which strikes when you are sleeping, strangling its victims while vulnerable.
It is believed to cause sleep paralysis.
The night spirit, Nishi, mesmerizes its victim with its voice calling out their name. Nishi then leads the person deep into the woods where they are never seen from again.
Tomorrow is Epiphany an important Christian holiday which for many mark the occasion of the three wise men visiting Jesus. In these accounts the wise men follow a star, later called the Star of Bethlehem
Some Muslim scientists & astrologers would attempt to identify the star
The 8th century Jewish astrologer, Mash’allah would propose a theory in which all of human history is shaped and organized by a conjunction of the two superior planets, Jupiter and Saturn.
The two greats would meet in a predictable pattern through the signs of the zodiac.
Mash’allah, drawing heavily from his Persian teachers like Nawbakht, situated religious history into these planetary cycles arguing they predicted the coming of new religions and the rise of prophets.
In the Islamic apocalypse, the angel of death has an important role in reaping the souls of all, bringing life to an end…even the lives of the angels.
A thread on the angel of death and the end of days-
A minor and contested narration found in Suyuti attributed to Anas and transmitted by al-Bayhaqi and ibn Mardawayh relates how in the end of days only God and the angels will remain.
God will command Israfil to blow the Trumpet and herald the end of time and creation.
All will perish except for God and the four chief angels: Jibra’il, Mik’ail, Israfil and the Angel of Death, sometimes called Azra’il.
This week was shab-e yalda, the Winter Solstice festival. It was historically observed in the Persianate world through poetry, fruits, the lighting fires to keep away the dark, and the reading of fortunes.
A thread-
Several yearly festivals are mentioned by al-Biruni and shab-e yalda or chelle as it is observed today likely reflects a mixture of different practices and traditions.
He mentions festivals among the Persians and the Sogdians as pre-Islamic traditions which may have seen a revival during the Samanid period alongside Nowruz, the new years festival.