Sunday, January 6, 2013

Muezza

Muezza (or Muʿizza) (Arabic: معزة‎) is said to have been the Islamic prophet Muhammad's favorite cat.

According to the legend, Muhammad awoke one day to the sounds of the Adhan, the Muslim daily call to prayer. Preparing to attend, he began to dress himself; however, he soon discovered his cat Muezza sleeping on the sleeve of his prayer robe. Rather than wake her, he used a pair of scissors to cut the sleeve off, leaving the cat undisturbed. When he returned from the Mosque, Muhammad received a bow from Muezza in gratitude. He then stroked his beloved cat three times. The accuracy of this story is not clear, as no references to it are made in the Quran or the Hadith, but rather by historical sources not considered religious text in Islam.