hātif

hātif, in Arab folklore, a mysterious nocturnal voice that is sometimes prophetic. A hātif is mentioned in the Bible (Ezekiel 21:2 and 7; Amos 7:16) as a prophet’s voice, and it seems to have presaged Muhammad’s prophetic mission. It is said that the hātif can rise from within a calf sacrificed to an idol or from the idol itself. The Bedouin believe that it most often announces the death of some prominent figure, and it is said to have foretold the Prophet Muhammad’s death. According to tradition, Iblīs, the devil, disguised himself as a hātif and, after Muhammad’s death, attempted to prevent ʿAlī, the Prophet’s son-in-law, from ritually washing Muhammad’s dead body; a true hātif appeared, however, and saved ʿAlī from grave sin. In modern Arabic the word hātif means “telephone.”