Meaning
What does the description as "ulūf" mean?
Answer
Imām Ibn al-Jawzī (d. 597/1201) summarized the scholars' opinions in his book "Zād al-Masīr" as follows:
- It means they were united, mu'talifūn. [Ibn Zayd]
- It refers to their number (i.e. thousands, plural of alf). This is the view held by the majority of scholars. They differed on the exact number, providing seven different opinions: (i, ii) They were 4,000 or 40,000. [both attributed to Ibn ʿAbbās] (iii) They were 90,000. [ʿAṭāʾ ibn Abī Rabāḥ] (iv) They were 7,000. [Abū Ṣāliḥ] (v) They were 30,000. [Abū Mālik] (vi) They were around 33,000. [Al-Suddī] (vii) They were 8,000. [Muqātil]