Mithqāl (Arabic: مثقال) is a unit of mass equal to 4.25 grams (0.137 ozt) which is mostly used for measuring precious metals, such as gold, and other commodities, like saffron.
The name was also applied as an alternative term for the gold dinar, a coin that was used throughout much of the Islamic world from the 8th century onward and survived in parts of Africa until the 19th century.[1] The name of Mozambique's currency since 1980, the metical, is derived from mithqāl.[2]
Etymology
editThe word mithqāl (Arabic: مثقال; “weight, unit of weight”) comes from the Arabic thaqala (ثقل), meaning “to weigh” (cf. Hebrew: שקל, romanized: shekel). Other variants of the unit in English include miskal (from Persian or Urdu مثقال; misqāl), mithkal, mitkal and mitqal.
Indian mithqaal
editIn India, the measurement is known as mithqaal. It contains 4 mashas and 3½ raties (rata'ii; مثقال).[3]
It is equivalent to 4.25 grams when measuring gold,[4] or 4.5 grams when measuring commodities.[5] It may be more or less than this.[6]
Nikki mithqal
editA gold coin minted in Nikki, Benin and known as the mithqal was in wide circulation in West Africa in the 18th century, particularly the Niger bend. It was useable in the trans-Saharan trade and coexisted with the use of cowries as shell money.[7]
Conversion factors
edit| Unit | Mithqāl | Gold dinar | Dirham | Gram | Troy ounce | Ounce | Grain |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mithqāl | 1 | 1 | 0.70 | 4.25 | 0.13664 | 0.14991 | 65.5875 |
The mithqāl in another more modern calculation is as follows:
| Unit | Mithqāl | Nākhud | Gram | Troy ounce |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mithqāl | 1 | 19 | 3.642 | 0.117 |
Nakhud is a Baháʼí unit of mass used by Bahá'u'lláh.[8] The mithqāl had originally consisted of 24 nakhuds, but in the Bayán, the collective works of the Báb, this was reduced to 19.[9]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Johnson, Marion (1968), "The Nineteenth-Century Gold 'Mithqal' in West and North Africa", The Journal of African History, 9 (4), Cambridge University Press: 547–569, doi:10.1017/s0021853700009038, ISSN 0021-8537, JSTOR 180144, S2CID 161545754
- ^ "Metical" Archived 15 November 2017 at the Wayback Machine in Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa com Acordo Ortográfico. Porto: Porto Editora, 2003-2015. Accessed 1 April 2015. (in Portuguese)
- ^ Quarterly Journal of the Pakistan Historical Society. Pakistan Historical Society. 1 January 2006. p. 86. Archived from the original on 1 July 2023. Retrieved 5 September 2017.
- ^ "Assessing the Nisaab of bank notes". IslamWeb. 2007. Archived from the original on 26 September 2007. Retrieved 9 March 2007.
- ^ "M". Economic Glossary. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 9 March 2007.
- ^ "Glossary". The Clear Path. 2005. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 9 March 2007.
- ^ Green, Toby (2020). A Fistful of Shells. UK: Penguin Books. p. 325.
- ^ Smith, Peter (2000). "Nakhud". A Concise Encyclopedia of the Baháʼí Faith (illustrated, reprint ed.). Oxford: Oneworld Publications. p. 250. ISBN 1-85168-184-1. Archived from the original on 1 July 2023. Retrieved 20 October 2020 – via Google Books.
- ^ Honeyman, Nobel Augusto Perdu (5 May 2004). La relevancia de la pragmática en la traducción de textos multi-culturales: versión del Kitab-i-Aqdas (in Spanish). Universidad Almería. p. 508. ISBN 9788482406473.
