The hand of Fatima, or Hamsa, is a very famous symbol used in many countries around the world in the last 1800 years. It is mainly used in jewelry and wall hangings, although sometimes shown in art.
The hand of Fatima is known by many names: the Hamsa hand, hamesh, hamesh, Khadijah, Chamsa, Jemisa, also called the hand of Miriam, named after Moses and Aaron, and sometimes it is related to the Hindu hand, Jewish or Arabic.
What is the meaning of the symbol of the hand of Fatima or Hamsa?
The symbol of the “Hamsa hand” It is characterized by the design of a symmetrical right hand with five fingers: the heart in the middle finger, on the sides of the ring and the index, a little shorter than the heart and each other, and Ends two thumbs, of the same size and slightly curved outward.
Sometimes, other symbols such as eyes, Star of David, fish, and others with the intention of strengthening the power of Hamsa contain innumerable representations.
For example: If you are represented with your fingers together, the amulet is for luck, in the case of your own separate fingers to ward off negative energies, According to folklore tradition.
In relation to the above, Muslims refer the five fingers of the hand with the pillars of Islam, While the Jews attributed it to the symbolism, the five books of the Torah.
The drawing of the eye that is often found on Hamsa represents the eye, it sees everything and also refers to the eye of Horus and Turkish. Nothing escapes your vision.
The Hand of Hamsa Origin
The Prophet Muhammad, founder of Islam, had a daughter, the beautiful and virtuous Fatima that worshiped Muslims with great devotion.
The story goes that on one occasion Fatima was very busy in the kitchen preparing the meal when her husband, Ali, arrived unexpectedly. To hear it, Fatima left her chores and went to receive.
However, it was sad to see that his wife was accompanied by a beautiful young concubine disappointed.
Prudent, Fatima remained silent and, tormented by jealousy, He returned to the kitchen. But, immersed in dark and sad thoughts, did not pay attention to what he did: I had a pot of boiling stock to the fire and, paying more attention to his grief, his job, He put his hand inside and began to stir the stew.
So engrossed that felt no pain, But Ali saw what he did and, horrified, hurried to it, screaming. It was then when Fatima realized that the hand was on fire and found out that it was the pot.
It was when her husband screamed when he saw what he was doing when Fatima knew what he was doing, because until then his sadness hurt him more than the burning that the court had made. Wound that was healing her husband.
The next day, her husband confessed that he had spent the night with the young concubine. And when he arrived the night of Fatima back to see how her husband went back to the girls room and through the slit in the door, you could check how he kissed her and she could not help that a tear over her cheek falls. Then Ali just then felt a great sadness from the bottom of his heart and a tear fell over her cheek.
At that time, he realized the love, so deep it felt to spend from Fatima and pain that made him, Therefore escapes from the room and left without going further to the girl
Since that time “the hand of Fatima” It became an important symbol in the Muslim world. It brings happiness and endowed with the virtues of patience, loyalty and fertility, In addition to its power of preservation, especially in pregnant women, for their protection of the matrix.
In the past, the hand of Fatima, moreover, continues on an individual basis, such as hanging from a chain or bracelet used to hang a representation of it big at the entrance of the house to protect the family or people who lived there.
If you travel to an Arab country, you will discover and admire a very specific motif on numerous front doors and wall murals or as necklaces, key rings and even tattoos: the hand of Fatima. It is not only a beautiful piece of jewelry, but has a very special meaning in the Arab world.
A protective talisman – Hand of Fatima
The hand of the Fatima serves to protect against evil spirits, so-called jinn, but also from the evil eye. According to the Islamic popular belief, one has to take into account the jinn in everyday life without interruption. These less good or evil spirits can be dispelled by a defensive spell. They are presented in the sura 72 of the Qur’an as real, because they profess to Islam towards Islam, as he read from the Koran – therefore they are given much importance, they “live” invisible between the people and have their own will, that makes them act good or evil.
The evil eye evoked by envy (in Arabic “hassad”) is another constant danger. In Islamic culture, the hand of the Fatima, but also chains with amber or amulets with Koransuren are used to ward off the “evil eye”.
History of Fatima
The name Fatima derives from the fourth and youngest daughter of the Prophet Muhammad. She embodies purity and is revered as a sinless virgin, as her offspring are the only survivors until adulthood. She is considered the mother of the aliden and at the same time the mother of all descendants of the Prophet.
At the same time, she is said to have a healing ability as she treated the Prophet Muhammad when he returned from the war wounded.
Therefore, it is still believed that it is possible with the hand of Fatima to cure incurable diseases.
The Shiites count Fatima as the only woman among the “Fourteen Infallible,” a group of men who also includes her father Mohammed, who are considered immune from error and sin – an unusual position of a woman in Islam.
Symbol meaning of the five fingers
The hand of Fatima is also called “Hamsa”, which in Arabic means “five” and refers to the five fingers of the hand.
On the one hand, we assume that these are the “five pillars” of Islam – confession, prayer, alms, fasting, pilgrimage – on the other hand, that they represent the family of five Mohammed – Mohammed himself, Ali, Fatima, Hasan and Hussein , As a symbol of unity, the hand of Fatima is also credited with a protective power.
Women in Arab culture therefore like to be under their protection, as Fatima is the embodiment of femininity and strength.
They carry the symbol through amulets or appropriate painting on the body.
Hand of Fatima – Tattoo Meaning
There are many popular and interesting tattoo motifs that adorn the body in individualized form. One of these motives is the hand of Fatima. Usually it is presented as a raised hand, not infrequently colored and also with a seeing eye in the palm. But what’s up with this motive?
A hand of the Fatima Tattoo has the same meaning as other representations of the hand of Fatima. The hand of Fatima was first spread as a written or painted picture and then as jewelry (for example, in the form of a pendant) before the motif found its way into the tattoo scene.
According to the Arab-North African (Islamic) popular belief, the hand of Fatima stands as a symbol against the evil eye or as a symbol of protection or luck.
According to the Islamic popular belief, the hand of Fatima protects against jinns (ghosts) and the evil eye, at the same time it brings the blessing on the wearer.
The hand of Fatima is named after the youngest daughter of Mohammed with his first wife, Fatima, who is worshiped as a sinless virgin.
The five fingers of the hand are – depending on the cultural space – for Mohammed and his nearest relatives or even the five basic duties of Islam, the hand itself testifies to the divine protection. The Seeing Eye in the palm is not always part of the hand of the Fatima, but is usually shown with to ward off the evil eye.
Many representations of the hand of Fatima and also many hand of Fatima tattoos are held in blue colors. It is usually chosen a symmetrical shape, in which the little finger and the thumb are shown the same size, the Seeing Eye centrally in the middle of the palm.
However, there are no formal limitations, many other representations have become established over time. The presentation is therefore limited only by your own imagination.
Conclusion
In the modern world we are used to come across ornamental objects, such as pendants, earrings, trinkets of all kinds, apparently just pretty and picturesque, but that hide much deeper meanings that are often ignored even by the wearer.
It is not only a question of the progressive loss of stories and traditions, of the impoverishment of symbols, engulfed by the constant and swirling evolution of fashions and manias typical of the modern world.
In some cases, the history and meaning of certain objects is confused in the interweaving of multiple interpretations and readings, to the point of losing any identification.
In some ways it is the case of the Hand of Fatima, or Hand of Alo, or Hamsa or Hamsa. Already the fact that the same object is called with multiple names gives an idea of the difficulty in finding a univocal interpretation for it.
The fact is that the Hand of Fatima is such an ancient amulet, as it is linked to different religions and cultures, each of which has given it a different meaning and value.
The Hand of Fatima is an amulet that has the shape of a hand with five fingers. Index and the ring finger have the same length and are attached to the middle, just longer. On the sides of the amulet there are two inches inclined towards the outside and of the same size.
Often the Hand of Fatima is decorated with engravings, the most characteristic of which is an open eye in the palm of the hand itself, in the Muslim version (the Eye of Allah) and a Star of David in the Hebrew version.
The position in which the Hand of Fatima is placed also slightly changes its meaning. Placed upwards it symbolizes strength, power and blessing, attracting luck, patience and love downwards.
It can also be presented with three open fingers and two symmetrical fingers on the sides; with all five fingers open; with the thumb raised and four fingers open.