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Assalaamu `alaykum, all. Having a great love for Mawla `Ali (karramAllahu wajhahu) and swords in general, I thought I'd do some research into the famed Dhu-l Faqar; perhaps one day I might order a reproduction made to the specifications outlined below:1. Arab swords of the early Islamic era were similar in almost every way to either the Roman spatha or the Sassanid longsword, i.e. they were straight and double-edged (the saber was an innovation originating in Central Asia, not finding its way to the Persians or Arabs until much later). The highest quality were made in Yemen from imported wootz ingots (made in southern India). They were uniformly worn hung from a baldric; wearing a sword on one's hip on a belt was not customary (in fact it seems to have been looked down upon) for the Arabs.2. I have effectively ruled out its name referring to a bifurcation of the tip or serration of the edges (as we see on Shī`ī pendants and Indo-Pakistani interpretations). Bifurcation of the tip would make a sword structurally unsound (particularly with the desired impact area being roughly the upper third of the blade), and such a measure would be ludicrous to as ferocious a warrior as `Alī (`alayhi salām); such a sword would not have been one famously used by him. Serration of the edge (such as on the medieval Flamberge), while indeed effectively improving the performance of a cut-centric sword (as spathae were), was not innovated until much later in history. Thus I have determined that the name either has to do with cleaving/separating (the vertebrae, specifically), or referring to a particularly intricate fuller design it may have incorporated (fiqr is a word meaning fine engraving). As it was quite ordinary for spathae to have multiple (quite attractive) fullers, I'm leaning more toward translating its name as "Lord of Cleaving."3. By investigating Ibn al-Qayyim's "Zād ul-Ma`ād" and Imām Tirmidhī's "Shamā'il," I have determined the parts of Dhū-l Faqār's furniture which were made of silver, and they are as follows:-Bikrāh: these are the part of the scabbard which attach to the rings through which the baldric straps are fed.-Dhu'ābah: this would usually refer to the lanyard hung from the pommel (used for weapon retention and decoration), but since this is mentioned along with those features made of silver, I have to assume this refers to a ring through which the lanyard was strung.-Na`l: this is the decorative (and protective) endcap at the base of the scabbard, also called chape. Not to be confused with chappe.-Halqah: throat (chappe). As spathae featured both a chappe on the scabbard and the hilt, I shall thus apply it to both. Note that the chappe of a spatha's hilt tended to be incorporated into the larger (usually) shoulder-style rounded handguard.-Qabī`ah: pommel cap and handle accents.4. The blade will resemble in length, width, and taper, that of a typical 7th-century Roman spatha. It should have a roughly spatulate tip. I have decided on a U-shaped fuller; this would be a double-fuller which is joined at the tip (and matches a picture I found of the Fatimid iconography).5. As I mentioned, the best quality swords made by the Arabs were made in Yemen, which had considerable Persian influence at the time. So why isn't this sword being made in the Sassanid longsword style? I'm not assuming Dhū-l Faqār was a Yemeni-made sword, because there is a hadīth which mentions that one of the swords (not named, unfortunately) belonging to RasūlAllāh ﷺ (as Dhū-l Faqār originally did) was made in the style of the Bani Hanīfah. This tribe inhabited the Yamāmah region, which is part of modern-day Najd; far from Persian influence. Furthermore, all of the anatomical features mentioned above are indicative of Roman style. None of the Sassanid longswords I've seen has incorporated them as described, while every spatha has.So that's where I am now. I've still got a lot of research to do for ideas on the particular style of decoration I'm going to use for the mountings. I've seen some examples from the period that experts aren't sure are Byzantine or Arab, so it's safe to assume Byzantine and Arab weaponry incorporated similar, if not identical, motifs.So what's everyone think of my sword ijtihād so far? Input is welcome!

For me, I think Zelda games are good ways that we can use to train ourselves for Jehad. It makes us ready for when the time of Jehad comes by Allah's will and we have to use our swords to fight. You know Legend of Zelda does have you play as Link who has a sword to fight with and that will prepare us for when our Imam comes. Does that sound good. I mean Ocarina of Time,Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword seem like good sword training games that are useful to us Muslims before our Imam comes. I mean Skyward Sword and Twilight Princess both are very beneficial Zelda games that teach us sword fighting skills so that we can prove to the Imam that we're ready for sword fighting against enemies.

"www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJIRpVw444Y"

I was listening to a lecture today and i heard something that i thought was very fishy, so to speak. Anyways it goes something like this. During the battle of Uhud when Imam ali was fighting against the non-believers, Prophet Mohammed said "Imam ali did a strike that was worth the worship of ALL of the humans and all of the jinns" During this battle is when Allah (swt) sent down his sword Zulfiqar through the angel gabriel. This is what the speaker said. Now i wondering if one strike by Imam Ali could be worth the worship of all the humans and all of the jinns. So does that mean, that strike was worth more than prophet Mohammed worship and everyone else's? I just got really confused. if someone could clear this up for me, i will really appreciate it. I was thinking that this hadith was a little bit fabricated, but Allah (swt) knows best. So i wanted to get other peoples opinion on it, maybe i am not looking at it in the wrong perspective. Thanks