Template:U:ar:belts

In the time of ʿUmar a would mean a belt worn by Christians, Jews, Sabians, Magians and other non-Muslims; for it had become fashionable in the Byzantine Empire under Diocletian and Constantine to wear a  or  which was first a symbol of servitude in public office and then in religious office. For Zoroastrians parallelly the conviction developed to wear a, whereas Babylonian Jews wore a. Public officials in the Iranian empire wore a without which no Iranian of distinction would go out, termed in Arabic. With the new Muslim rulers the former girdles were imposed and the or  prohibited for non-Muslims. An Arabic term for “girdle” neutral from the beginning is.