The Rub el Hizb is a Muslim symbol

Symbol

A symbol is something which represents an idea, a physical entity or a process but is distinct from it. The purpose of a symbol is to communicate meaning. For example, a red octagon may be a symbol for "STOP". On a map, a picture of a tent might represent a campsite. Numerals are symbols for...

, represented as two overlapping squares, which is found on a number of emblems and flags. In Arabic, Rubʻ means "one fourth, quarter", while Hizb means a group or party. Initially, it was used in the Quran, which is divided into 60 Hizb (60 groups of roughly equal length); the symbol determines every quarter of Hizb, while the Hizb is one half of a juz'

Juz'

A juz is one of thirty parts of roughly equal length into which the Qur'an is sometimes divided. This division facilitates recitation of the Qur'an in a month, especially during Ramadan when the entire Qur'an is recited in the Tarawih salat; reciting approximately one juz' a night...

. The main purpose of this dividing system is to facilitate recitation of the Qur'an.

The symbol is used as a marker for the end of a chapter in Arabic calligraphy. It is represented by two overlapping squares as in the Unicode

Unicode

Unicode is a computing industry standard for the consistent encoding, representation and handling of text expressed in most of the world's writing systems...

 glyph at U+06DE.

An eight-pointed star was used as a symbol of Tartessos

Tartessos

Tartessos or Tartessus was a harbor city and surrounding culture on the south coast of the Iberian peninsula , at the mouth of the Guadalquivir River. It appears in sources from Greece and the Near East starting in the middle of the first millennium BC, for example Herodotus, who describes it as...

, an ancient civilization based in Andalusia

Andalusia

Andalusia is the most populous and the second largest in area of the autonomous communities of Spain. The Andalusian autonomous community is officially recognised as a nationality of Spain. The territory is divided into eight provinces: Huelva, Seville, Cádiz, Córdoba, Málaga, Jaén, Granada and...

. As the region was ruled by Islamic dynasties for eight centuries, this may suggest a possible origin of the Rub el Hizb.

The Star of Lakshmi is a similar symbol, based on the same geometric star figure, which figures in Hinduism

Hinduism

Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...

, where it represents Ashtalakshmi, the eight forms, or "kinds of wealth", of the goddess Lakshmi

Lakshmi

Lakshmi or Lakumi is the Hindu goddess of wealth, prosperity , light, wisdom, fortune, fertility, generosity and courage; and the embodiment of beauty, grace and charm. Representations of Lakshmi are also found in Jain monuments...

.

Uses

The Rub el Hizb can be seen on:

• The current coat of arms of Turkmenistan
  Coat of arms of Turkmenistan
  The State Emblem of Turkmenistan was created after Turkmenistan gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. The eight-point green starburst with golden edges features in its center a red circular disc which carries sheaves of wheat, five carpet guls, and centered upon that a smaller blue...
  
  
• The current coat of arms of Uzbekistan
  Coat of arms of Uzbekistan
  The state emblem of Uzbekistan was adopted on July 2, 1992. It is similar to the emblem of the previous Uzbek SSR. Like other post-Soviet republics whose symbols do not predate the October Revolution, the current emblem retains some components of the Soviet one.The emblem is in the form of a circle...
  
  
• Azat party
  Azat party
  Azat is a political party in Kazakhstan that is led by Chairman Toleubek Karamendin. It was one of the most active of the political movements during the struggle for Kazakhstan's independence...
  
   flag http://www.crwflags.com/FOTW/flags/kz-azat.html
• The unofficial flag of Kazakhstan
  Kazakhstan
  Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
  
   in the 1990s, the basis of the modern state flag, light blue with a hollow yellow rub el hizb
• The fictional flag of Hatay in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
  Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
  Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is a 1989 American adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg, from a story co-written by executive producer George Lucas. It is the third film in the Indiana Jones franchise. Harrison Ford reprises the title role and Sean Connery plays Indiana's father, Henry...
  
  
• modified on the flag of Azerbaijan
  Flag of Azerbaijan
  The flag of Azerbaijan is the national flag of Azerbaijan. It consists of an horizontal tricolour of blue, red, and green, with a white crescent and an eight-pointed star centered in the red band. The blue band refers to the nation's Turkic heritage, the red stands for progress, and the green...
  
  
• The emblem of the Organization of the Scout Movement of Kazakhstan
  Organization of the Scout Movement of Kazakhstan
  The coeducational Organization of the Scout Movement of Kazakhstan was officially founded in 1992, and received World Organization of the Scout Movement recognition on January 16, 2008...
  
  
• The previous emblem of the Iraq Boy Scouts and Girl Guides Council
  Iraq Boy Scouts and Girl Guides Council
  Iraq was one of the first Arab nations to embrace the Scouting movement, launching its program in 1921, just two years after the League of Nations had created the country out of the old Ottoman Empire...
  
  
• The logo of the Cairo Metro
  Cairo Metro
  The Cairo Metro in Egypt is the first of only two full-fledged metro system in Africa, and the Arab World. The system consists of two operational lines, with construction having begun on a third line in 2006....
  
  
• The logo of Faith No More
  Faith No More
  Faith No More is an American rock band from San Francisco, California, formed originally as Faith No Man in 1981 by bassist Billy Gould, keyboardist Wade Worthington, vocalist Michael Morris and drummer Mike Bordin. A year later when Worthington was replaced by keyboardist Roddy Bottum, and Mike...
  
  

The cross-sections of the Petronas Twin Towers

Petronas Twin Towers

The Petronas Towers are skyscrapers and twin towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia...

 are based on the Rub el Hizb, but with extra circular sectors (outlined in red in the image on the right) added to increase the total floor space.

Al-Quds star

The al-Quds star (in Arabic نجمه القدس, najmat al-Quds) is an adaptation of the Islamic Rub el Hizb symbol which is specifically associated with al-Quds (i.e. Jerusalem).

The eight-pointed star design is inspired by the octagonal ground-plan of the Umayyad Dome of the Rock

Dome of the Rock

The Dome of the Rock is a shrine located on the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem. The structure has been refurbished many times since its initial completion in 691 CE at the order of Umayyad Caliph Abd al-Malik...

 shrine (built to commemorate Jerusalem's status as the first Qibla

Qibla

The Qiblah , also transliterated as Qibla, Kiblah or Kibla, is the direction that should be faced when a Muslim prays during salah...

 or direction of prayer in Islam), as well as by the standard Rub el Hizb symbol.

Versions of the al-Quds Star are used as:

• The logo of the 2009 Arab Capital of Culture, chosen to be al-Quds, under the Cultural Capitals Program to promote and celebrate Arab culture and encourage cooperation in the Arab region
  Arab world
  The Arab world refers to Arabic-speaking states, territories and populations in North Africa, Western Asia and elsewhere.The standard definition of the Arab world comprises the 22 states and territories of the Arab League stretching from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Arabian Sea in the...
  
  .

• The logo of al-Quds Bank, a financial institution headquartered
  Headquarters
  Headquarters denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the top of a corporation taking full responsibility managing all business activities...
  
   in Ramallah
  Ramallah
  Ramallah is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank located 10 kilometers north of Jerusalem, adjacent to al-Bireh. It currently serves as the de facto administrative capital of the Palestinian National Authority...
  
  .

See also

• Ashthalakshmi, the Star of Lakshmi
• Quraysh (tribe)
• Sujud, which uses the symbol ۩ in most Korans
• List of symbolic stars
• Octagram
  Octagram
  In geometry, an octagram is an eight-sided star polygon.- Geometry :In general, an octagram is any self-intersecting octagon ....