Mithqal
Mithqāl (Arabic: مثقال) is a unit of mass equal to 4.25 grams which is mostly used for measuring precious metals, such as gold, and other commodities, like saffron.
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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
The word mithqāl (Arabic: مثقال; “weight, unit of weight”) comes from the Arabic thaqala (ثقل), meaning “to weigh”. Other variants of the unit in English include miskal (from Persian or Urdu مثقال; misqāl), mithkal, mitkal and mitqal.
Indian mithqaal
In 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]
Conversion factors
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 | Ounce |
---|---|---|---|---|
Mithqāl | 1 | 19 | 3.642 | 0.117 |
Nakhud is a Baháʼí unit of mass used by Bahá'u'lláh.[7] The mithqāl had originally consisted of 24 nakhuds, but in the Bayán, the collective works of the Báb, this was reduced to 19.[8]
See also
References
- Johnson, Marion (1968), "The Nineteenth-Century Gold 'Mithqal' in West and North Africa", The Journal of African History, Cambridge University Press, 9 (4): 547–569, doi:10.1017/s0021853700009038, ISSN 0021-8537, JSTOR 180144
- "Metical" 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.
- "Assessing the Nisaab of bank notes". IslamWeb. 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.
- Smith, Peter (2000). "Nakhud". A Concise Encyclopedia of the Baháʼí Faith (illustrated, reprint ed.). Oxford: Oneworld Publications. p. 250. ISBN 1-85168-184-1. 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.
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