NAQUS. ناقوس
A thin oblong piece of wood, which is beaten with a flexible rod called wabil toabil وبيل, used by the Christians of Muhammad’s time to summon the people to worship. At first “the Companions” suggested either a lighted fire or the niqus as the call to prayer, but Muhammad decided upon the azan. (Mishkat, book iv. ch. v. pt. i.) This method of calling Christian people to player still exists in some Greek monasteries, and was seen and illustrated by the Hon. R. Curzon in 1831 (Visits to the Monasteries of the Levant). It is called the simandro and is generally, beaten by one of the monks. [AZAN.]
A thin oblong piece of wood, which is beaten with a flexible rod called wabil toabil وبيل, used by the Christians of Muhammad’s time to summon the people to worship. At first “the Companions” suggested either a lighted fire or the niqus as the call to prayer, but Muhammad decided upon the azan. (Mishkat, book iv. ch. v. pt. i.) This method of calling Christian people to player still exists in some Greek monasteries, and was seen and illustrated by the Hon. R. Curzon in 1831 (Visits to the Monasteries of the Levant). It is called the simandro and is generally, beaten by one of the monks. [AZAN.]
Based on Hughes, Dictionary of Islam
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