When did Zechariah al-Ḍāhirī die?
Zechariah Dhahiri
Zechariah (Yaḥya) al-Ḍāhirī (, , b. "circa" 1531 – d. 1608), often spelled Zechariah al-Dhahiri () (16th century Yemen), was the son of Saʻīd (Saʻadia) al-Ḍāhirī, from Kawkaban, in the District of al-Mahwit, Yemen, a place north-west of Sana’a. He is recognized as one of the most gifted Yemenite Jewish poets and rabbinic scholars who left Yemen in search of a better livelihood, travelling to Calicut and Cochin in India, Hormuz in Persia, Basra and Irbīl in Babylonia, Bursa and Istanbul in Anatolia, Rome in Italy, Aleppo and Damascus in Syria, Safed and Tiberias, as well as Jerusalem and Hebron in the Land of Israel (then part of Ottoman Syria), Sidon in Ottoman Lebanon and Egypt, and finally unto Abyssinia where he returned to Yemen by crossing the Erythraean Sea and alighting at a port city near Mocha, Yemen. He wrote extensively about his travels and experiences in these places, which he penned in a Hebrew rhymed prose narrative, and eventually publishing them in a book which he called Sefer Ha-Mūsar ("The Book of Moral Instruction"), in circa 1580.
Zerzura
According to the historical writings from the scribes of an emir in Benghazi, Libya in 1481, a camel driver named Hamid Keila came to Benghazi in bad shape and recounted to the emir that he had been to the city of Zerzura. Apparently Hamid Keila and a caravan had been heading out from the Nile River to the oases of Dakhla (Darkhla/Dakhilah) and Kharga (Kharijah) and were caught in a vicious sandstorm that killed everyone except Keila who apparently survived under the shelter of his dead camel. After the storm passed, the man had emerged from the camel to find himself confused by the lie of the land because the storm changed all the familiar landmarks. It was when Keila was becoming delirious from having no water that a group of strange men found him. The men were said to be tall with fair hair and blue eyes, carrying straight swords instead of Arab scimitars, who then took the camel driver back to a city called Zerzura to tend to him. Zerzura was indeed described as a white city that was approachable through a wadi (valley) that ran between two mountains, and from the wadi was a road that lead to the gates of the city which had a carving of a strange bird above them. Within the city were white houses of inner luxury, palms, springs, and pools that were used by fair-skinned women and children for washing and bathing. Hamid Keila recounted that the Zerzurans, or "El Suri", treated him with kindness and spoke a strange form of Arabic that was difficult for him to understand but was carefully explained to him by the Suri, who apparently weren't Muslim because the women wore no veils and no mosques could be found in the city, nor did Hamid Keila hear any calls to prayer by a muezzin.
Francesco Antonio Zaccaria
Francesco Antonio Zaccaria (March 27, 1714 - October 10, 1795) was an Italian theologian, historian, and prolific writer.
Berechiah ha-Nakdan
"Sefer ha-Ḥibbur" () is Berechiah's best-known philosophical work, wherein he develops on the works of Saadia Gaon, Bahya ibn Pakuda, and Solomon ibn Gabirol. Berechiah was also the author of an ethical treatise entitled "Sefer Matzref", divided into thirteen chapters. In it he quotes Rabbi Abraham ibn Daud (died c. 1198) without the formula for the dead, so that it is quite probable that the book was composed before 1180. In these essays he invented several Hebrew terms for philosophical concepts.
Zakariyya al-Ansari
Zakariyyā al-Ansārī was a leading Islamic scholar of the 15th century. He was born in or around 1420 CE, in Sunaika, located in the Egyptian province of Sharqiyya. During his adolescence, al- Ansārī moved to Cairo to study at al-Azhar University. He lived in such poverty there, that he would venture out into the night in search of water faucets and the rinds of watermelon. However, according to al-Ansārī’s own account, after a few years at al-Azhar, a mill worker came to his aid. He provided the young al-Ansārī with money for his food, clothing and books. al-Ansārī told of a remarkable encounter with his benefactor told him,
Eventually, this foretelling would prove to be accurate. While a student, al- Ansārī studied under al-Qāyāti, Ibn Hajar al-Asqalāni, Jalāl al-Dīn al Mahallī and Sharaf al-Din al Munawi.
Zakariyya Ahmad
Zakariyya Ahmad (; born 1896 in Faiyum, Egypt –1961; ) was an Egyptian musician and composer. He sang mainly religious songs as a member of several groups from 1919 to 1929, but later expanded his repertory into popular music.
Zechariah Dhahiri
Al-Ḍāhirī's description of the city of Tiberius is on this wise: “…Now, I quickly passed through that land of great drought, until I reached the far end of the Sea, known as "Kinneret ", and, lo! Tiberius was closed before me! And when I came into her streets and into the pathways of her palaces, I enquired of a young lad, ‘Where are they, the seven principal men of the city?’ He then said to me, ‘They are seated in the synagogue which is by the wall of the [city’s] fortified enclosure, upon the seaboard of the "Kinneret", which lies to the east. I then went there in haste, to see whether it be fat or lean, and when I had arrived there I saw distinguished elders, the glory of the Jews; those well-versed in Scripture and in the Mishna, while others of them had knowledge of the Talmud and of sound reason; still others of them knowledgeable in theoretical "Kabbalah", and those who know the proper usage of the language. Now, when I took sight of them, a recurring trepidation came over me, for I by their estimation was young of age, and being but a boorish man who had not yet acquired knowledge, while they were all wise. So I sat down toward the end of the familiar synagogue, keeping silent and wondering at what shall be.” The greatest scholar of Tiberius at that time was Rabbi Eliezer ben Yochai, “in whose generation he was of singular character.” Most had gone there from Spain, amongst whom he names as the community's leader, Rabbi Samuel Hacohen, along with Rabbi Yaakov Halevi, a certain Rabbi Avraham, Rabbi Moshe Gedaliah and Rabbi Avraham Gabriel. The Jewish community of Tiberius is said to have been supported around that time by a wealthy Jewish philanthropist from Istanbul, Doña Gracia Mendes of the House of Nasi (d. 1569), but at her death the community lost thereby all means of support and was compelled to ask for Jewish donations abroad.
There is to be noted in al-Ḍāhirī's style a marked transition from the early Spanish-type of poetry typical of Yemen prior to his time (depicted in the prosaic writings of Daniel berav Fayyūmī and Avraham b. Ḥalfon, both, of Yemenite Jewish provenance) and the later classical Yemenite poetic writings (as depicted in the liturgical poems composed by Yosef ben Israel and Shalom Shabazi). Unlike the latter who compiled works, both, in Hebrew and in Judeo-Arabic, al-Ḍāhirī's corpus of prosaic writings are written almost exclusively in Hebrew.
Asghar Bichareh
Asghar Bichareh (Persian اصغر بیچاره; June 11, 1927 – June 11, 2016) was an Iranian photographer and actor. Bichareh was a photographer for the Iranian film and music industries, as well as having a studio and acting in over 23 films. Bichareh was known for his extensive collection of old cameras and cinema and theater photos. He died of laryngeal cancer in 2016 in Los Angeles, where he spent the last few years of his life.
Zechariah Dhahiri
The early Spanish poets of the Golden Age, Moses ibn Ezra (b. "circa" 1060), Alḥarizi (1170–1235), Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra (c. 1089–1167), Solomon ibn Gabirol (c. 1020–1058), Judah Halevi (died 1150), among others, had all left an indelible mark on Zechariah al-Ḍāhirī. Some of the greatest exponents of Jewish law had also come from Spain, namely, Maimonides and Alfasi. Other proponents of Jewish law from the Spanish Jewish exiles who were expelled from Spain began to make a name for themselves in the Land of Israel where they had come. Neither al-Ḍāhirī, nor the people of Yemen, were oblivious to this. Al-Ḍāhirī patterns his "Sefer Ha`anaḳ" (A treatise on Hebrew homonyms) after a work by a similar name written by Moses ibn Ezra. Al-Ḍāhirī's frequent mention of Sephardic prayer rites and customs in his "Ṣeidah la’derekh" leads one to conclude that al-Ḍāhirī was strongly influenced by the Spanish-rite "Siddur" (Sephardic Prayer Book), as he brings down portions of its layout in the biblical sections known as Parashat "Ṣav" and "Breishit". So, too, the author shows the influence of "kabbalistic" practices on his writings, such as where he devotes several chapters to theosophical Kabbalah in his "Sefer Ha-Mūsar", and where he brings down in his "Ṣeidah la’derekh" an esoteric teaching relating to the blowing of the ram's horn on New Year's Day and which practice is cited in the name of the illustrious Rabbi, Moses Cordovero. In another place, al-Ḍāhirī makes mention of the Sephardic practice where some will refrain from shaving their heads during the Counting of the Omer, while others prohibit the shaving of the head from the beginning of the counting until the thirty-third day of the Counting of the Omer. Here, incidentally, it is alluded that the Yemenite Jewish custom in this regard was different. Even so, al-Ḍāhirī levels harsh words of criticism against Spanish Jewry's lack of poetic style in their daily communications and "belles lettres", which, by that time, had mostly been lost by them.
Reza Zanjani
Ayatollah Seyed Reza Zanjani (born 1902 in Zanjan, died 4 January 1984) was a Shia Iranian cleric who opposed first the autocracy of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and then theocracy that was established by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and his supporters following the Islamic Revolution.
Murder of Husayn al-Dhahabi
Husayn al-Dhahabi was an Al-Azhar scholar and former Egyptian minister of religious endowments. He was a critic of the militant jihadist movement that had splintered from the mainstream Muslim Brotherhood. In July 1977, he was kidnapped by the radical group Takfir wal-Hijra, who held him hostage and demanded the release of imprisoned members of their movement. When their demand was not met, they executed al-Dhahabi. Following his execution, the government of Anwar Sadat cracked down on militant Islamic organizations in Egypt.
Andronikos Asen Zaccaria
Andronikos Asen Zaccaria died in 1401, and was succeeded by the eldest of his four sons, Centurione II Zaccaria, who in 1404 became the last Prince of Achaea, reigning until deposed by the Despotate of the Morea in 1430.
Book of Zephaniah
As with many of the other prophets, there is no external evidence to directly associate composition of the book with a prophet by the name of Zephaniah. Some scholars, such as Kent Harold Richards and Jason DeRouchie, consider the words in Zephaniah to reflect a time early in the reign of King Josiah (640–609 BC) before his reforms of 622 BC took full effect, in which case the prophet may have been born during the reign of Manasseh (698/687–642 BC). Others agree that some portion of the book is postmonarchic, that is, dating to later than 586 BC when the Kingdom of Judah fell in the Siege of Jerusalem. Some who consider the book to have largely been written by a historical Zephaniah have suggested that he may have been a disciple of Isaiah because of the two books' similar focus on rampant corruption and injustice in Judah.
Zubaidah bint Ja`far
Zubaidah bint Ja`far ibn Mansur (Arabic: زبيدة بنت جعفر ابن المنصور) (died 26 Jumada I 216 AH / 10 July 831 AD) was the best known of the Abbasid princesses. She is particularly remembered for the series of wells, reservoirs and artificial pools that provided water for Muslim pilgrims along the route from Baghdad to Mecca and Medina, which was renamed the Darb Zubaidah in her honor. The exploits of her and her husband, Harun al-Rashid, form part of the basis for "The Thousand and One Nights".
Zahirism
While those outside the school of thought often point to Dawud al-Zahiri (815–883/4 CE) as the "founder" of the school, followers of the school themselves tend to look to earlier figures such as Sufyan al-Thawri and Ishaq Ibn Rahwayh as the forerunners of Ẓāhirī principles. Umm al-Qura University professor Abdul Aziz al-Harbi has argued that the first generation of Muslims followed the school's methods and therefore it can be called "the school of the first generation."
Al-Dahhak ibn Qays al-Fihri
Abū Unays (or Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān) al-Ḍaḥḥak ibn Qays al-Fihrī (died August 684) was an Umayyad general, head of security forces and governor of Damascus during the reigns of caliphs Mu'awiya I, Yazid I and Mu'awiya II. Though long an Umayyad loyalist, after the latter's death, al-Dahhak defected to the anti-Umayyad claimant to the caliphate, Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr.
Madrasa El Bechiria
The madrasa is named after Sheikh Mohamed Al Bechir Al Zouaoui (), who was an important Rahmaniyya tariqa scholar, who died in Tunis in 1826.
A. M. Azahari
After his defeat, Azahari fled to Jakarta where he was granted asylum by President Sukarno in 1963 and lived in Bogor, West Java. A. M. Azahari later died in 2002 in Bogor, Indonesia. He was 73.
Abdelbaset al-Megrahi
On 26 July 2011, during the Libyan Civil War, Megrahi was shown on Libyan state television, attending a pro-Gaddafi rally of members of his tribe. Megrahi appeared to be frail, and was in a wheelchair. However, in late August 2011, CNN reported that a TV crew had found Megrahi comatose and, according to his family, on his deathbed. Notwithstanding this report, in early October in an interview with Reuters from his bed, al-Megrahi protested his innocence and claimed that he had only days, weeks or months to live. On 13 April 2012, he was hospitalized. He died on 20 May 2012. He was 60.
Dzhokhar Dudayev
Dzhokhar Musayevich Dudayev (; ; ; 15 February 1944 – 21 April 1996) was a Soviet Air Force general and Chechen leader, the first President of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, a breakaway region in the North Caucasus, from 1991 to his death 1996.
Zachariah Anani
Zachariah Anani (25 December 1958 – 4 July 2016, Arabic: زكريا عناني, also Zack or Zak) was a Sunni Muslim citizen of Lebanon who later converted to Christianity and settled in Canada in 1996. He described himself as a former militia fighter.
Abu Zakariya Yahya al-Wattasi
Abu Zakariya Yahya ibn Ziyan al-Wattasi (died 1448) ("abū zakarīyā' yaḥyā ben ziyān al-waṭṭāsī" was a vizier of the Marinid sultan of Fez, regent and effective strongman ruler of Morocco from 1420 until 1448. He is the founder of the Wattasid dynasty of viziers and later sultans, and as such often designated as Yahya I in Wattasid lists. He was also known by his nickname "Lazeraque" (the wall-eyed), as found in Portuguese chronicles.
Abu Hurairah
Following the death of Muhammad, Abu Hurayrah spent the rest of his life teaching hadith in Medina, except for a short period as governor of Eastern Arabia (then called "Bahrayn") during the reign of Umar, and when he was the governor of Medina during the early Umayyad Caliphate. Abu Hurayrah died in 681CE (59AH) at the age of 78 and was buried at al-Baqi'.
Hezekiah
As an example of the reasoning that finds inconsistencies in calculations when coregencies are "a priori" ruled out, dates the fall of Samaria (the Northern Kingdom) to the 6th year of Hezekiah's reign. William F. Albright has dated the fall of the Kingdom of Israel to 721 BC, while E. R. Thiele calculates the date as 723 BC. If Abright's or Thiele's dating are correct, then Hezekiah's reign would begin in either 729 or 727 BC. On the other hand, states that Sennacherib invaded Judah in the 14th year of Hezekiah's reign. Dating based on Assyrian records date this invasion to 701 BC, and Hezekiah's reign would therefore begin in 716/715 BC. This dating would be confirmed by the account of Hezekiah's illness in chapter 20, which immediately follows Sennacherib's departure (). This would date his illness to Hezekiah's 14th year, which is confirmed by Isaiah's statement () that he will live fifteen more years (29 − 15 = 14). As shown below, these problems are all addressed by scholars who make reference to the ancient Near Eastern practice of coregency.
Zechariah ben Jehoiada
The Gospel of Matthew records his name as "Zechariah son of Berechiah". This identification can be reconciled if Jehoiada was Zechariah's grandfather, and Berechiah his father. However, the prophet Zechariah is listed as the son of Berechiah () and some therefore make this identification. The Book of Zechariah is commonly dated to c. 520-518 BC, several hundred years after the reign of Jehoash of Judah, and in this interpretation Zechariah is chronologically the last of the martyrs.
Mukaththir ibn Isa
At some point the Emirate returned to Da'ud, as al-Dhahabi reports that he was Emir in 587 AH (1191/1192). He writes that in that year Da'ud looted the Kaaba of its wealth and stripped the Black Stone of its silver collar. When the "amir al-hajj" arrived he deposed Da'ud and installed Mukaththir once again as Emir. Da'ud died in 589 AH (1193), and Mukaththir reigned without interruption until Qatadah ibn Idris conquered Mecca and ended the reign of the Hawashim. According to varying reports, Qatadah's takeover of Mecca occurred between 597 and 599 AH (between 1200 and 1203). According to Ibn Mahfuz, in 597 AH (1200/1201) Hanzalah ibn Qatadah marched on Mecca and Mukaththir fled to Wadi Nakhlah, where he died in 600 AH (1203/1204).
Shawqi al-Shaykh
Shawqi al-Shaykh (شوقي الشيخ) was an Egyptian Islamist who broke way from al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya to found the group al-Shawqiyun in the late 1980s. Al-Shaykh was a proponent of the doctrine of Takfir and publicly challenged the leadership of al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya calling Omar Abdel Rahman an apostate and demanding that Hosni Mubarak pay him the Jizya. Egyptian security forces killed Al-Shaykh in the village of Kahk in the governorate of Fayoum in April 1990.
Muhammad Zakariya Kandhlawi
Upon Zakariya's return to Saharanpur in Safar 1346 AH (1927), "Sunan Abu Dawud" was transferred to him from Maulana Abdul Latif. In this year he also taught "Sunan an-Nasa'i", "Muwatta Malik" in the transmission of ash-Shaybani, and parts 12 to 16 of "Sahih al-Bukhari". After Eid al-Adha the first volume of Sahih al-Bukhari was transferred to Zakariya, while the second volume remained with Maulana Abdul Latif. From Safar 1346 AH onward Zakariya also taught "Jami' at-Tirmidhi", "Sahih Muslim", and other "daurah" books when teachers were unavailable due to sickness or travel.
Gedaliah, son of Pashhur
Gedaliah, son of Pashhur, is a man described in the Book of Jeremiah of the Hebrew Bible, Judaism's Tanakh, and Christianity's Old Testament. He is described as one of the political opponents of Jeremiah, one of those who appealed to King Zedekiah to have Jeremiah executed because of his prophecies that Jerusalem and the Temple would be destroyed by the Babylonians due to the wickedness of the Jews:
In August 2008, the Israeli archeologist Eilat Mazar announced the discovery of a bulla, a lump of clay bearing a seal impression, inscribed with the name Gedaliah ben Pashur, in the excavations of the Ir David Foundation in the City of David, just south of Jerusalem's Temple Mount. Mazar noted that the just-discovered bulla was found just yards from the spot where, three years ago, another bulla was found with a name from the above verse, viz. Yehukal ben Shelemyahu (Jucal the son of Shelemiah). Both men served as ministers to King Zedekiah, the last ruler of the Kingdom of Judah before Jerusalem and its Temple were destroyed by the Babylonians in 587 B.C.
Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr
In response to the wellspring of opposition forming throughout Arabia, Yazid dispatched a Syrian Arab expeditionary force led by Muslim ibn Uqba to suppress Ibn al-Zubayr and the Ansar. The Umayyad force defeated the latter at the Battle of al-Harrah in the summer of 683. The army continued toward Mecca, but Muslim died en route and command passed to his deputy Husayn ibn Numayr al-Sakuni. The latter besieged the city on 24 September after Ibn al-Zubayr's refusal to surrender. The Ka'aba was severely damaged during Husayn's bombardment. News of Yazid's death in November prompted Husayn to negotiate with Ibn al-Zubayr. The former proposed to recognize him as caliph on the condition that he would rule from Syria, the center of the Umayyad military and administration. Ibn al-Zubayr rejected this and the army returned to Syria, leaving Ibn al-Zubayr in control of Mecca.
Book of Malachi
There are very few historical details in the Book of Malachi. The greatest clue as to its dating may lie in the fact that the Persian-era term for governor (pehâ) is used in 1:8. This points to a post-exilic date of composition both because of the use of the Persian period term and because Judah had a king before the exile. Since, in the same verse, the temple has been rebuilt, the book must also be later than 515 BC. Malachi was apparently known to the author of Ecclesiasticus early in the 2nd century BC. Because of the development of themes in the book of Malachi, most scholars assign it to a position after Haggai and Zechariah, close to the time of Ezra and when Nehemiah came to Jerusalem in 445 BC.
Zachary Pearce
Zachary Pearce, sometimes known as Zachariah (8 September 1690 – 29 June 1774), was an English Bishop of Bangor and Bishop of Rochester. He was a controversialist and a notable early critical writer defending John Milton, attacking Richard Bentley's 1732 edition of "Paradise Lost" the following year.
Muhammad ibn Zakariya al-Razi
Abū Bakr Muhammad ibn Zakariyyā al-Rāzī ( "Abūbakr Mohammad-e Zakariyyā-ye Rāzī", also known by his Latinized name Rhazes () or Rasis; 854–925 CE), was a Persian polymath, physician, alchemist, philosopher, and important figure in the history of medicine. He also wrote on logic, astronomy and grammar.
Abd al-Rahman al-Shaghouri
Al-Shaghouri soon became an important figure within al-Hashimi's tariqa, serving as the lead singer for his session of sacred dance (Haḍra). Before his death in 1961, al-Hashimi had also given al-Shaghouri permission to transmit the general litany of the tariqa, a daily formula of meditations and prayers that typically serves to signal a disciple's commitment to his tariqa. Although he had received authorization as a full spiritual guide by Muhammad Sa'id al-Hamzawi of Syria and Ali al- Budlaymi of Algeria, he did not take any disciples until he was also authorised by his friend and companion, Muhammad Sa'id al-Kurdi from Irbid (Jordan). Despite al-Kurdi himself being renowned as one of the great spiritual guides of his time, particularly in Jordan, he only gave his authorization to al-Shaghouri to be a spiritual guide and his successor upon his death.
Muhammad Zahid Al-Kawthari
Muhammad Zahid b. Hasan al-Kawthari (1296 AH – 1371 AH/1879–1952) was the adjunct to the last Shaykh al-Islam of the Ottoman Empire, a Hanafi Ash'ari scholar and a polymath.
Said Ali al-Shihri
On 22 January 2013, members of al-Shihri's family told Al Arabiya that he had died earlier that day after succumbing to wounds from a previous airstrike. An Al Qaeda spokesman identified as Abdulla bin Muhammad stated on his Twitter account that al-Shihri died "after a long journey in fighting the Zio-Crusader campaign." It was not known exactly how he died and under what circumstances, though his family alleged the drone strike took place sometime in the second week of December 2012. On 9 April, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula's media arm Al-Malahem Foundation released an audio message of al-Shihri, accompanied by a previously unreleased photo, and an Al Qaeda cleric identified as Abu-Saad Al-Aamly denied reports of al-Shihri's death.
Zainuri Kamaruddin
Zainuri Kamaruddin, also known by his "nom de guerre" Abu Talhah, (1966/67 – 13 January 2017) was a prominent Malaysian Islamist militant who fought as commander for Kumpulan Mujahidin Malaysia and later the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant's Katibah Nusantara. In May 2016, Zainuri was declared "public enemy No 1" by Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia Ahmad Zahid Hamidi due to his skills in the construction of improvised explosive devices. He was killed by an airstrike on Raqqa during Operation Wrath of Euphrates.
Zechariah of Israel
Zechariah became king of Israel in Samaria in the thirty-eighth year of Azariah, king of Judah. () William F. Albright has dated his reign to 746 BC – 745 BC, while E. R. Thiele offers the dates 753 BC – 752 BC.
Zurarah ibn A'yan
Zurarah ibn A'yan (about 690-768 AD) () was a famous companion of Imam Baqir, Imam Sadiq, and Imam Kazim.
He was a Muhaddith and Islamic scholar with great knowledge in religion,and was also one of the companions known as the "companions of consensus" whose hadith are given extra credence by Shia scholars. Muhaddith Qummi in his book "Tuhfah al-Ahbab" said that "his excellence and status are too great to mention here".
Sardar Haji Faiz Muhammad Khan Zikeria
Faiz Muhammad Zikria (1892 – 1979) was born in Kabul, Afghanistan and completed his education in Habibia High School. He was the counselor of Foreign Service in 1921 and was also acting Minister of Education from 1923 to 1924 became Minister for Education 1924 to 1927. He was later Minister for Foreign Affairs 1929-1938, became Ambassador to Turkey from 1938–1948, Ambassador at the court of St James's 1949-1950 and to Saudi Arabia 1955-1960. He retired in 1960 and emigrated to the USA in 1964. He was also a noted poet and writer. He died in the USA, in 1979 and was buried in Peshawar. As being descendants of royal blood line of Barakzai Dynasty, he was married 2 times and had 8 sons and 4 daughters. His sons are Faiz Ahmad Zikria, famous Dari poet, composer and musician Fazl Ahmad Khan Nainawaz, Amir Ahmad Zikria, Habib Ahmad Zikria, Bashir Ahmad Zikria, an Emeritus professor of surgery at the College of Physicians & Surgeons, Columbia University in New York City, Najib Ahmad Zikria, a prominent psychiatrist, and Zia Ahmad Zikria.
Abu Turab al-Zahiri
Zahiri died on Saturday morning, the 21st of Safar in 1423 Hijri, corresponding to May 4, 2002 Gregorian. While in his private library, Zahiri complained of paralysis in his feet to an aide. Prevented from pronouncing the Muslim testimony of faith due to aphasia, Zahiri died on his bed pointing toward the sky instead. He was buried in Mecca's historic Jannatul Mualla cemetery the next morning.
Saadia Gaon
The seven years which Saadia spent in Baghdad did not interrupt his literary activity. His principal philosophical work was completed in 933; and four years later, through Ibn Sargado's father-in-law, Bishr ben Aaron, the two enemies were reconciled. Saadia was reinstated in his office; but he held it for only five more years. David b. Zakkai died before him (c. 940), being followed a few months later by the exilarch's son Judah, while David's young grandson was nobly protected by Saadia as by a father. According to a statement made by Abraham ibn Daud and doubtless derived from Saadia's son Dosa, Saadia himself died in Babylonia at Sura in 942, at the age of sixty, of "black gall" (melancholia), repeated illnesses having undermined his health.
Zechariah Dhahiri
The book is one of the finest examples of Hebrew literary genius ever written in Yemen, its author making use of a poetic genre known as "maqāma", a prosimetric literary genre of rhymed prose with intervals of poetry in which rhetorical extravagance is conspicuous, to describe his journeys. The vocalization of "Sefer Ha-Mūsar" gives insight unto scholars into Yemenite Hebrew pronunciation. Al-Ḍāhirī, who is clearly very adept in the Hebrew tongue, admits to having modeled his own poetry – two-hundred and seventy-five of which poems are found in his "Sefer Ha-Mūsar" and in his "Sefer Haʻanaḳ" – on the Hebrew work "Taḥkemoni" of Alḥarizi, who, in turn, was influenced by the Arabic "maqāmāt" of al-Ḥarīrī. His vivid descriptions of the town Safed and of Rabbi Joseph Karo’s "yeshiva" are of primary importance to historians, seeing that they are a first-hand account of these places, and the only extant account which describes the "yeshiva" of the great Sephardic Rabbi, Joseph Karo. With his broad Jewish education and his exceptional skills in his use of the Hebrew language, Zechariah al-Ḍāhirī is an important source in the study of Jewish history in the Land of Israel during the Renaissance and of Jewish persecution in Yemen at that time.
Kings of Judah
As an example of the reasoning that finds inconsistencies in calculations when coregencies are "a priori" ruled out, dates the fall of Samaria (the Northern Kingdom) to the 6th year of Hezekiah's reign. William F. Albright dated the fall of the Kingdom of Israel to 721 BC, whereas E. R. Thiele calculated the date as 723 BC. If Abright's or Thiele's dating are correct, then Hezekiah's reign would begin in either 729 or 727 BCE. On the other hand, states that Sennacherib invaded Judah in the 14th year of Hezekiah's reign. Assyrian records date this invasion to 701 BC, and Hezekiah's reign would therefore begin in 716/715 BC. This dating would be confirmed by the account of Hezekiah's illness in chapter 20, which immediately follows Sennacherib's departure (). This would date his illness to Hezekiah's 14th year, which is confirmed by Isaiah's statement () that he would live fifteen more years (29−15=14). These problems are all addressed by scholars who make reference to the ancient Near Eastern practice of coregency.
Joseph Karo
A Yemenite Jewish traveler, Zechariah (Yaḥya) al-Dhahiri, visited Rabbi Karo's "yeshiva" in Safed, in "circa" 1567 CE and wrote of his impressions on this wise:
Zechariah (Hebrew prophet)
On the Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar, his feast day is February 8. He is commemorated with the other Minor Prophets in the calendar of saints of the Armenian Apostolic Church on July 31. The Roman Catholic Church honors him with a feast day assigned to September 6.
Zedekiah
After the Egyptians were defeated by the Babylonians at the Battle of Carchemish in 605 BC, Nebuchadnezzar II then besieged Jerusalem. Jehoiakim changed allegiances to avoid the destruction of Jerusalem. He paid tribute from the treasury, some temple artifacts, and some of the royal family and nobility as hostages. The subsequent failure of the Babylonian invasion into Egypt undermined Babylonian control of the area, and after three years, Jehoiakim switched allegiance back to the Egyptians and ceased paying the tribute to Babylon. In 599 BC, Nebuchadnezzar II invaded Judah and again laid siege to Jerusalem. In 598 BC, Jehoiakim died during the siege and was succeeded by his son Jeconiah (also known as Jehoiachin). Jerusalem fell within three months. Jeconiah was deposed by Nebuchadnezzar, who installed Zedekiah, Jeconiah's uncle, in his place.
Az-Zakariyya
Az-Zakariyya or Zakaria () was a Palestinian Arab village 25 km northwest of the city Hebron (al-Khalil) in the Hebron Subdistrict, and about north-northwest of Beit Gubrin, which was depopulated in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. The village had a population of 1,180 on 15,320 dunums in 1945. The village was named in honor of the prophet Zachariah. In 1950, the Israeli moshav of Zekharia was founded on the site of Az-Zakariyya.
Zechariah ben Jehoiada
Zechariah ben Jehoiada is a figure in the Hebrew Bible described as a priest who was stoned to death during the siege of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar II. He may possibly have been alluded to in the New Testament.
Francesco Zucchi
He was invited to Dresden to engrave some plates from the pictures in the Gallery but his work was interrupted by the Seven Years' War. According to Henry Fuseli, Zucchi never actually went to Dresden but he was sending his works from Venice instead. His artistic production includes reproductions of paintings, city views of Venice, Brescia, Brixen (Bressanone) and many illustrations for books including the 1742 Italian translation of the Paradise Lost by Milton. He died in 1764.
Zacara da Teramo
Antonio "Zacara" da Teramo (in Latin Antonius Berardi Andree de Teramo, also Zacar, Zaccara, Zacharie, Zachara, and Çacharius; b. probably between 1350 and 1360 – d. between May 19, 1413 and mid-September 1416) was an Italian composer, singer, and papal secretary of the late Trecento and early 15th century. He was one of the most active Italian composers around 1400, and his style bridged the periods of the Trecento, "ars subtilior", and beginnings of the musical Renaissance.
Dawud al-Zahiri
Al-Zahiri died during the month of Ramadan in Baghdad, where he was buried. The exact year in which he died according to the Gregorian calendar is a matter of some dispute, with historians having stated both 883 CE and 884 CE.
Muhammad Zakariya Kandhlawi
After completing his academic studies, Muhammad Zakariya was appointed as a teacher at Mazahir Uloom on 1 Muharram 1335 AH (c. 29 October 1916). At the age of 18, he was one of the youngest members of the staff. He was initially assigned to teach books on Arabic grammar, morphology, and literature, as well as some primary texts of Islamic jurisprudence. He later advanced to teaching books of hadith and other "daurah" books.
Muhammad Zakariya Kandhlawi
In 1373 AH (1954) Maulana Abdul Latif was unavailable due to travel, so Zakariya was given both volumes of "Bukhari" to teach in addition to his usual assignment of "Abu Dawud". The same arrangement was made in 1374 AH (1955) when Abdul Latif was ill. In 1375 AH (1956), after the death of Maulana Abdul Latif, "Sunan Abu Dawud" was transferred to Maulana As'adullah, and "Sahih al-Bukhari" was transferred to Maulana Zakariya.
Hezekiah
After the death of Assyrian king Sargon II in 705 BC, Sargon's son Sennacherib became king of Assyria. In 703 BC, Sennacherib began a series of major campaigns to quash opposition to Assyrian rule, starting with cities in the eastern part of the realm. In 701 BC, Sennacherib turned toward cities in the west. Hezekiah then had to face the invasion of Judah. According to the Bible, Hezekiah did not rely on Egypt for support, but relied on God and prayed to Him for deliverance of his capital city Jerusalem. (; ; ; ; )
Muhammad Zakariya Kandhlawi
Zakariya continued teach until 1388 AH (1968), when he developed cataracts. In total, he taught half of "Sahih al-Bukhari" 25 times, the complete work 16 times, and "Sunan Abi Dawud" 30 times.
Abdul Qadeem Zallum
In 1951 he moved to al-Khaleel and worked as a teacher in Osama Bin Munqiz School. Here he met Taqiuddin al-Nabhani in 1952. He joined Hizb ut-Tahrir in 1953. After the death of Taqiuddin al-Nabhani in 1977, Zallum was chosen to be the global leader of Hizb ut-Tahrir. He remained the head of Hizb ut-Tahrir until he resigned on March 17, 2003. Zallum died on April 29, 2003.
Zakariya Rashid Hassan al-Ashiri
On April 2, 2011 Al-Ashiri was arrested and charged with providing false news, inciting hatred towards the regime and calling for an overthrow of the government. On April 9, 2011, just seven days after his arrest, Al-Ashiri was reported dead while in government custody under mysterious circumstances. Authorities claim that he died of complications due to "sickle cell anemia." The Committee to Protect Journalists reported that this diagnosis was denied by family members. Photos later surfaced of Al-Ashiri's corpse, which displayed cuts and gashes, and added further evidence that Al-Ashiri had been beaten to death. As a result, the Committee to Protect Journalists called on Bahraini authorities to conduct a thorough investigation on his death.
Abu Abdallah al-Shi'i
Abu Abdallah al-Husayn ibn Ahmad ibn Zakariyya al-Shi'i (, "Abū ʿAbd Allāh ash-Shi'ī"; died 28 February 911) was a "Da'i" for the Isma'ilis in Yemen and North Africa, mainly active among the Kutama Berbers, whose teachings and conquest of Ifriqiya gave rise to the Fatimid Caliphate.
Abu Hurairah
Abū Hurayrah al-Dawsī al-Zahrāni (‎; 603–681), often spelled Abu Hurairah, was one of the sahabah (companions) of Muhammad and, according to Sunni Islam, the most prolific narrator of hadith. He was known by the "kunyah" Abu Hurayrah "Father of a Kitten", in reference to his documented attachment to cats. It is unclear as to what his real name is, the most popular opinion being that it was ‘Abd al-Raḥmān ibn Ṣakhr (). Abu Hurayrah spent four years in the company of Muhammad and went on expeditions and journeys with him. It is estimated that he narrated around 5374 Ahadith.
Sofiane el-Fassila
Sofiane el-Fassila (), also known as Harek Zoheir حارك زهير, (born 1975 – October 6, 2007) served as the second-in-command of Al Qaeda in North Africa until Algerian security forces killed him.
Al-Mutawakkil al-Mutahhar
Al-Mutahhar bin Muhammad was no immediate relative of the family that had provided imams for the last three generations. He was a descendant of the grand organizer of Zaydiyyah Islam, al-Qasim ar-Rassi (d. 860), in the 14th degree. When the old imam al-Mansur Ali died of the plague that ravaged Yemen in 1436, he was one of three candidates who brought forward their da'wa (call for the imamate). He took the honorific title al-Mutawakkil al-Mutahhar. The two other claimants were al-Mahdi Salah ad-Din (d. 1445) and al-Mansur an-Nasir (d. 1462). Of these, al-Mansur initially became the dominant, and imprisoned his two rivals. While al-Mahdi died in captivity, al-Mutawakkil was released by his captor after some time. In spite of the internal political disunity, the Zaidi community was relatively safe for incursions from the Sunni lowland of Yemen. The once powerful Rasulid Dynasty declined rapidly and collapsed altogether in 1442-1454. A new lowland power, the Tahiride Dynasty, took over in 1454. They did what they could to discomfort the Zaidi state from the beginning.
Muhammad Zakariya Kandhlawi
In Gangoh, Zakariya saw much of his father's shaykh, Rashid Ahmad Gangohi, with whom he had an affectionate relationship. Gangohi died on 8 Jumada ath-Thani 1323 AH (11 August 1905), when Zakariya was seven.
Muhammad al-Bukhari
Abū ‘Abd Allāh Muḥammad ibn Ismā‘īl ibn Ibrāhīm ibn al-Mughīrah ibn Bardizbah al-Ju‘fī al-Bukhārī (‎; 19 July 810 – 1 September 870), or Bukhārī (), commonly referred to as Imam al-Bukhari or Imam Bukhari, was a Persian Islamic scholar who was born in Bukhara (the capital of the Bukhara Region (viloyat) of Uzbekistan). He authored the hadith collection known as "Sahih al-Bukhari", regarded by Sunni Muslims as one of the most authentic ("sahih") hadith collections. He also wrote other books such as "Al-Adab al-Mufrad".
Zechariah Aghmati
R. Zechariah's major contribution was the "Sefer Ha-Ner", a supercommentary on the "Halachot" of Isaac Alfasi. The work is extremely significant from a historical perspective as it is the first known compilation work on the Talmud. This "Shittah Mekubbetzet" genre grew in the 12th and 13th century and reached a pinnacle of popularity in the 15th century. His sources are almost all Sephardic and include: R. Chananel ben Chushiel, R. Barukh ha-Sefardi, R. Isaac ibn Ghiyyat, Joseph ibn Migash, Maimonides' "Perush ha-Mishnayot," Rashi, and Hai Gaon and the Geonim. The quotes are all in the original, either Hebrew or Arabic, and R. Zechariah’s own comments are also in Arabic. However, most printed editions are translated into Hebrew.
Seder Olam Zutta
With the deaths of Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi—more exactly, in the 52nd year of the Persian domination, or year 3442 of the creation—prophecy ceased and the period of the wise men ("ḥakamim") began. From Hananiah (Zerubbabel's grandson) onward every exilarch is indicated as having been guided by wise men. The names of the kings that reigned over Judea from Alexander the Great to Roman Palaestina during the destruction of the Second Temple are given. Like the "Seder 'Olam Rabbah", this chronicle gives the reigns of the Maccabees and the Herods as covering 103 years each. The Herodian dynasty consisted, according to the "Seder 'Olam Zuṭa", of three kings only—Herod, Agrippa, and Monobaz; at the end of Monobaz's reign and during the time of the 11th exilarch, Shechaniah, the son of Shemaiah, the Romans destroyed the Temple. Further, from Nahum, the 17th exilarch, the names are given of the wise men, probably the chiefs of the academy, who assisted the exilarchs. With Rab Huna, 29th exilarch, the direct male line of descent from David terminated. The exilarchs following are stated to have been descendants of Rab Huna through his daughter, the wife of R. Hananiah, the head of the yeshibah, whose marriage is related at length.
Zechariah Elefant
Zechariah Elefant (Yiddish: "זכריהו עלעפאנט", Hebrew: "זכריהו אלפנט", Hungarina: "Elefánt Zoltan", English: Sol Elefant; February 11, 1886, Kárász, Hungary - June 1957, New York City) was a rabbi, author, publisher, and book salesman.
Taqi al-Din al-Nabhani
Muhammad Taqi al-Din bin Ibrahim bin Mustafah bin Ismail bin Yusuf al-Nabhani (1909 – December 11, 1977) was an Islamic scholar from Jerusalem who founded the radical Islamist and anti-democratic political party Hizb ut-Tahrir.
Adam Yahiye Gadahn
On May 18, 2008, Counterterrorism Blog surmised that Adam Gadahn was dead based on the latest al-Qaeda missive. Mansfield wrote: "Normally important messages from Zawahiri contain linguistic indications that they were translated by Adam Gadahn. Gadahn’s translation style is noticeably absent from this video, giving more credence to open source reports from Pakistan regarding the possible death of Gadahn in an American air strike. (There are other plausible explanations for Gadahn's absence from the scene—including his quip in his January video tape that ripping up his passport would not hinder his ability to travel.)"
Zechariah Dhahiri
Zechariah (Yaḥya) al-Ḍāhirī visited Rabbi Joseph Karo's "yeshiva" in Safed, in "circa" 1567 CE (the kabbalistic philosophies of which he describes in Maimonidean, neo-Platonic terms rather than purely mystical, theosophical, or sefirotic), writing of his impressions on this wise:
In Safed, al-Ḍāhirī also met-up with other great rabbis, such as Rabbi Moses Cordovero, the kabbalist, and Rabbi Moses di Trani.
Gulchehra Begum
Gulchehara Begum (also known as GulChihra or GulShara; c. 1515–1557) was a Perso-Turkic princess, the daughter of Emperor Zāhir ud-Dīn Mohammad Babur of India, and sister of Emperor Humayun. Later, her nephew, Prince Jalal-ud-Dīn ascended the imperial throne as Emperor Akbar the Great.
Michel Bakhoum
Michel Bakhoum died on 21 April 1981. The next day, the daily Egyptian newspaper Al-Ahram published a front-page news article about him, citing that he died, and summarized his main works. Al-Ahram is the main newspaper in Egypt, established in 1876, with about one million copies printed daily. News in the first page of Al-Ahram about people who have died, is only kept for the most notable in Egypt. In addition, a street in the Dokki District (in Giza, Greater Cairo) where he lived was named after him, "Dr. Michel Bakhoum Street". This is considered an honor bestowed to very few people in Egypt. An article about Michel Bakhoum appears in the "Dictionary of Distinguished Egyptians in the 20th Century" published by the Middle East News Agency in 1998. Also, an article in the Book entitled "History of the Coptic Church, Volume 8: 20th Century".
Anushtakin al-Dizbari
Sharaf al-Maʿālī Abu Manṣūr Anūshtakīn al-Dizbarī (d. January 1042) was a Fatimid statesman and general who became the most powerful Fatimid governor of Syria. Under his Damascus-based governorship, all of Syria was united under a single Fatimid authority. The historians of his day, including Ibn al-Qalanisi and Ibn al-Adim, noted Anushtakin's wealth, just rule and fair treatment of the population, with whom he was popular.
Zechariah Dhahiri
Upon Zechariah al-Ḍāhirī's return to Yemen in 1568, during the Turkish-Yemeni wars, al-Ḍāhirī was imprisoned in Sana’a, along with other principal persons of the Jewish community, for a period of one year in earnest by the lame theocratic ruler, al-Imām al-Mutahhar b. al-Mutawakkil Yaḥya Sharaf ad-Din, who allegedly suspected them of collaborating with the enemy. Al-Ḍāhirī, writing about this experience, says that he saw his own suffering as God's way of punishing him for his having left the Land of Israel and returning to Yemen. It was during this time that he began to write his momentous work, Sefer Ha-Mūsar – a record of his travel experiences, at the age of thirty-seven, although it was completed several decades later. After the community's release from prison, the lame king still kept a firm grip upon his Jewish subjects, scattering them in different places throughout the country where they were kept under close-surveillance while working in the many towers built in that country. This close-surveillance continued unabated until the king's death in 1573. After the king's death, the Jews of Yemen were released from their incarceration by the succeeding ruler, who had borne a grudge against the former king and had destroyed his heirs to the throne. It was during this confinement to the towers (between 1569-1573) that Zechariah al-Ḍāhirī also completed another momentous work, which he composed mainly in the late hours of the night, viz., the book, Ṣeidah la’derekh (Victuals for the Road), being a commentary on the Pentateuch where he interweaves "kabbalistic" themes and philosophy drawn from the "Zohar", Rabbi Saadia Gaon, Maimonides’ "Guide for the Perplexed", Yosef Albo's "Sefer Ha`iqarim" and Rabbi Joseph ben Abraham Gikatilla’s "Sha'are Orah". He mentions that during the period of this book's compilation, he and his family were not permitted to leave the tower except with prior consent of his overseers. It was at this time that al-Ḍāhirī made a vow to return to the Holy Land, after he had performed a pending vow. It is uncertain whether or not he ever made the return trip.
Zechariah of Israel
The account of his reign is briefly told in "2 Kings" (). According to the Bible, Zechariah did what was evil in the Lord's sight, as the previous kings of Israel since Jeroboam ben Nebat had done. Zechariah ruled Israel for only six months before Shallum, a captain from his own army, murdered him and took the throne. This ended the dynasty of Jehu after four generations of his descendants, fulfilling the prophecy in .
Exilarch
Only a single entry has been preserved regarding the later fortunes of the exilarchate. When Gaon Hai died in 1038, nearly a century after Saadia's death, the members of his academy could not find a more worthy successor than the exilarch Hezekiah, a descendant, perhaps a great-grandson, of David ben Zakkai, who thereafter filled both offices. But two years later, in 1040, Hezekiah, who was the last exilarch and also the last "gaon", fell a victim to calumny. He was imprisoned and tortured to death. Hezekiah, is counted as the last exilarch and also the last "gaon". Two of his sons fled to Spain, where they found refuge with Joseph, the son and successor of Samuel ha-Nagid. However, "Jewish Quarterly Review" mentions that Hezekiah was liberated from prison, and became head of the academy, and is mentioned as such by a contemporary in 1046. ["Jewish Quarterly Review", hereafter "J. Q. R.", xv. 80]
Zakariyya al-Ansari
Al-Ansārī died in 1520, in Cairo, at the age of 100. He was given the honorary title "Shaikh al-Islam" and is known for the legacy of his mystic and legal writings. Al-Ansārī gained fame especially in Indonesia and Malaya due to his frequent mention as a source for Malay writers. His commentaries on the Sahih of Bukhari, Abhari’s adaptation of Isagoge, al-Jazari’s tajwid and his Futuhat al-ilahiyya on mysticism are among Ansārī’s most popular texts in Indonesia.
Zekharia
In the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, Az-Zakariyya was the longest lasting Palestinian Arab community in the southern Jerusalem Corridor. The villagers were evicted by the Israelis in three different phases, last eviction was carried out on June 9, 1950, on the orders of David Ben-Gurion, Moshe Sharett and Yosef Weitz, and most ended up on the West Bank.
Zekharia
The tomb of Zecharia, which has been attributed to both the Hebrew prophet Zecharia and Zechariah, father of John the Baptist, is located on the moshav. The site is mentioned in sources as early as the fourth century, in the writings of Sozomenos, and it appears on the Madaba map. In the 1970s, there was a resurgence of Jewish interest in the site, which became a pilgrimage destination for Jews from Iraq, Iran, Cochin, India and elsewhere, who prayed there and lit candles.
Zachariah Carpi
Zachariah Carpi (In Italian Zaccaria; in Hebrew יששכר חיים קארפי, Issachar Hayim Carpi) was an Italian-Jewish revolutionary, born at Revere in the second half of the 18th century. After the French Revolution he appears to have engaged in plots against the Austrian government of Lombardy. On 25 March 1799, he and his son, Mordecai Moses Carpi, were imprisoned at Mantua. When Napoleon reached that city in 1800, Carpi was sent to Venice, thence to Sebenico in Dalmatia, and through Carinthia and Croatia to Peterwardein in Hungary, where he was at last released by Napoleon's orders on 3 April 1801. He wrote a narrative of his imprisonment under the title "Toledot Yitzchaq", which was edited by G. Jaré, and published at Cracow in 1892. Besides this, he wrote an account of his early life, under the title "Megillat Yitzchaq", and a book for children entitled "Dibre Yitzchaq". The last two works are no longer extant.
Malachi
Malachi, Malachias, Malache or Mal'achi (; ) was the writer of the Book of Malachi, the last book of the Neviim (prophets) section in the Hebrew Bible. No allusion is made to him by Ezra, however, and he does not directly mention the restoration of the temple. The editors of the 1906 Jewish Encyclopedia implied that he prophesied after Haggai and Zechariah (; , ) and speculated that he delivered his prophecies about 420 BCE, after the second return of Nehemiah from Persia (Book of Nehemiah ), or possibly before his return, comparing with ( with ).
Book of Zechariah
Zechariah 1–8, sometimes referred to as First Zechariah, was written in the 6th century BC. Zechariah 9–14, often called Second Zechariah, contains within the text no datable references to specific events or individuals but most scholars give the text a date in the fifth century BCE. Second Zechariah, in the opinion of some scholars, appears to make use of the books of Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, the Deuteronomistic History, and the themes from First Zechariah. This has led some to believe that the writer(s) or editor(s) of Second Zechariah may have been a disciple of the prophet Zechariah. There are some scholars who go even further and divide Second Zechariah into Second Zechariah (9–11) and Third Zechariah (12–14) since each begins with a heading oracle.
Ezra–Nehemiah
Ezra 1 (the decree of Cyrus) and Ezra 2 (the list of returnees) are presented as Persian documents; Ezra 3–6, which contains further supposed Persian documents mixed with third-person narrative, may be based on the prophetic works of Haggai and Zechariah, who were active at the time; Ezra 7–10, partly in the first-person, is sometimes called the "Ezra Memoir", but has been so heavily edited that the source, if it exists, is very difficult to recover. There is widespread agreement that a genuine memoir underlies Nehemiah, although it has clearly been edited. It can be no earlier than about 400 BC, but is probably later, possibly even as late as 336–331 BC (the reign of Darius III, the last Persian king); it probably circulated as an independent document before being combined with Ezra.
Zahir al-Umar
Zahir successfully withstood assaults and sieges by the Ottoman governors of the Sidon and Damascus provinces, who attempted to limit or eliminate his influence. He was often supported in these confrontations by the rural Shia Muslim clans of Jabal Amil. In 1771, in alliance with Ali Bey al-Kabir of Egypt Eyalet and with backing from the Russian Empire, Zahir captured Sidon, while Ali Bey's forces conquered Damascus, both acts in open defiance of the Ottoman sultan. At the peak of his power in 1774, Zahir's autonomous sheikhdom extended from Beirut to Gaza and included the Jabal Amil and Jabal Ajlun regions. By then, however, Ali Bey had been killed, the Ottomans entered into a truce with the Russians, and the Sublime Porte felt secure enough to check Zahir's power. The Ottoman Navy attacked his Acre stronghold in the summer of 1775 and he was killed outside of its walls shortly after.
Muhammad al-Zawahiri
Muhammad Rabee al-Zawahiri (born 1953) is an Egyptian Islamist who was a member of Egyptian Islamic Jihad and one of 14 people subjected to extraordinary rendition by the CIA prior to the 2001 War on Terror. He is the younger brother of Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri.
Zechariah (Hebrew prophet)
Zechariah was a person in the Hebrew Bible and traditionally considered the author of the Book of Zechariah, the eleventh of the Twelve Minor Prophets. He was a prophet of the Kingdom of Judah, and, like the prophet Ezekiel, was of priestly extraction.
Islamization of Xinjiang
The Taẕkirah is a genre of literature written about Sufi Muslim saints in Altishahr. Written sometime in the period from 1700-1849, the Eastern Turkic language (modern Uyghur) " Taẕkirah of the Four Sacrificed Imams" provides an account of the Muslim Kara-Khanid war against the Khotanese Buddhists. The "Taẕkirah" uses the story of the Four Imams as a device to frame the chronicle, the Four Imams being a group of Islamic scholars from Mada'in city (possibly in modern-day Iraq), who travelled to help the Islamic conquest of Khotan, Yarkand, and Kashgar by the Kara-Khanid leader Yusuf Qadir Khan. The legend of the conquest of Khotan is also given in the hagiology known as the Tazkirat or "Chronicles of Boghra". Extracts from the Tazkiratu'l-Bughra on the Muslim war against the "infidel" Khotan was translated by Robert Barkley Shaw.
Zahirism
The Ẓāhirī school enjoyed its widest expansion and prestige in the fourth Islamic century, especially through the works of Ibn al-Mughallis, but in the fifth century it lost ground to the Hanbalite school. Even after the Zahiri school became extinct in Baghdad, it continued to have some followers in Shiraz. Ẓāhirism maintained its prestige in Syria until 788 A.H. and had an even longer and deeper impact in Egypt. In the 14th century C.E., the Zahiri Revolt marked both a brief rekindling of interest in the school's ideas as well as affirmation of its status as a non-mainstream ideology. Al-Muhalla, a Medieval manual on Ẓāhirī jurisprudence, served in part as inspiration for the revolt and as a primary source of the school's positions. However, soon afterwards the school ceased to function and in the 14th century Ibn Khaldun considered it to be extinct. With the Reconquista and the loss of Iberia to Christian rule, most works of Ẓāhirī law and legal theory were lost as well, with the school only being carried on by individual scholars, once again on the periphery.
Zahirism
Zahirism, Ẓāhirī () madhhab or al-Ẓāhirīyyah () is a school of thought in fiqh founded by Dawud al-Zahiri in the ninth century, characterised by reliance on the manifest ("ẓāhir") meaning of expressions in the Qur'an and hadith, as well as rejection of analogical deduction ("qiyās"). After a limited success and decline in the Middle East, the Ẓāhirī school flourished in the Caliphate of Córdoba, particularly under the leadership of ibn Hazm.
Internet censorship in the Arab Spring
On 2 April 2011 Bahraini authorities detained blogger Zakariya Rashid Hassan al-Ashiri. Al-Ashiri ran a news website that focused on human rights, business, and culture. Authorities charged him with promoting secularism and inciting hatred against the government. Al-Ashiri was detained but died after only seven days. Authorities claimed that the blogger died from complications due to sickle cell anaemia. However, pictures were discovered that showed bruises all over his body, indicating beatings. His death while in custody provoked an outcry from the international community.
Al-Zamakhshari
Al-Zamakhshari died in the Monday night of 8th Zulhijja, 538 AH/ 12 June, 1144 AD.
Torture during the Bahraini uprising (2011–present)
Zakariya Al Asheri was a forty-year-old Bahraini blogger and journalist who worked as an editor and writer for a local blog news website in Al Dair. He died on 9 April 2011, officially as a result of massive heart failure and cardiac arrest following complications of sickle-cell disease while in Ministry of the Interior custody. His family reported that he had never previously experienced harmful effects of sickle-cell disease despite being a carrier. Although the Ministry of Interior informed the family that he had died from sickle-cell disease while asleep, a blindfolded cellmate described hearing prison guards enter their cell and beat Zakariya to death when he refused to be quiet. The commission attributed his death to torture.
Ziad al-Hariri
Mohammed Ziad al-Hariri (born 1930) is a former prominent Syrian Army officer. A staunch Arab nationalist, he supported the union between Syria and Egypt in 1958, opposed Syria's secession from it in 1961 and served as the chief leader of the coup d'état that toppled the secessionist government in March 1963. Politically independent from the Nasserists and their Ba'athist rivals, Hariri served as the army's chief of staff following the coup and was briefly defense minister until being dismissed during a wide-scale purge of non-Ba'athists from the military. He retired from political activity soon afterward.
Abu Zakariya Yahya al-Wattasi
Abu Zakariya continued ruling Morocco until his death in 1448. His popularity and power was still strong enough to secure the appointment of his nephew, Ali ibn Yusuf, to succeed him as the new all-powerful Wattasid vizier of Morocco, for the dissolute and increasingly irrelevant Marinid sultan Abd al-Haqq II.
Zechariah (priest)
Zechariah (Arabic: زَكَرِيَّا Zakariyyā) is also as a prophet in Islam, and is mentioned in the Qur'an as the father of John the Baptist. Zechariah is also believed by some Muslims to have been a martyr. An old tradition narrates that Zechariah was sawed in half, in a death which resembles that attributed to Isaiah in "Lives of the Prophets".
Ali az-Zahir
Abu'l Hasan ʻAlī az-Zāhir li A'zaz li Din-illah (20 June 1005 – 13 June 1036) () was the Seventh Caliph of the Fātimids (1021–1036). Az-Zāhir assumed the Caliphate after the disappearance of his father Al-Ḥakīm bi Amr al-Lāh. According to the Hijri Calendar, his birth date is 3rd of Ramzaan 395 A.H.
Book of Zechariah
During the Exile many Judahites and Benjamites were taken to Babylon, where the prophets told them to make their homes, suggesting they would spend a long period of time there. Eventually freedom did come to many Israelites, when Cyrus the Great overtook the Babylonians in 539 BC. In 538 BC, the famous Edict of Cyrus was released, and the first return took place under Sheshbazzar. After the death of Cyrus in 530 BC, Darius consolidated power and took office in 522 BC. His system divided the different colonies of the empire into easily manageable districts overseen by governors. Zerubbabel comes into the story, appointed by Darius as governor over the district of Yehud Medinata.
Zechariah Dhahiri
Zechariah Ḍāhirī is said to have been instrumental in introducing elements of the Spanish prayer-rite into Yemen, as well as "kabbalistic" practices.
Zequinha
After leaving Palmeiras, Zequinha went to Curitiba side Atlético-PR for whom he played for from 1968 until 1970. His last season in Brazil came with Náutico in 1970. 
He played for the Brazilian national team from 1960 to 1965. On 25 July 2009 Zequinha died at the age of 74
Zekharia
The nearby town of "Beth Zacharia" (on a nearby hill) is said to have existed in Roman times. According to legend, the body of the prophet Zachariah was found here in 415 CE and a church and monastery were established in the lower village by the same name. The Madaba Map displays the lower town as the burial site of the prophet Zechariah.
Pekah
Pekah became king in the fifty-second and last year of Azariah, king of Judah, and he reigned twenty years. In the second year of his reign Jotham became king of Judah, and reigned for sixteen years. Jotham was succeeded by his son, Ahaz in the seventeenth year of Pekah's reign. William F. Albright has dated his reign to 737 – 732 BC, while E. R. Thiele, following H. J. Cook and Carl Lederer, held that Pekah set up in Gilead a rival reign to Menahem's Samaria-based kingdom in Nisan of 752 BC, becoming sole ruler on his assassination of Menahem's son Pekahiah in 740/739 BC and dying in 732/731 BC. This explanation is consistent with evidence of the Assyrian chronicles, which agree with Menahem being king in 743 BC or 742 BC and Hoshea being king from 732 BC.