Sa (Islamic measure)

The Sāʿ (Arabic: ص‍َاعًا and صَ‍ۡع in spelling, and sa'e in the Latin alphabet, literally: "one") is an ancient measurement of volume from the Islamic world, with cultural and religious significance.

[citation needed] Likewise, Shams al-Dīn al-Maqdisī, who lived in the 10th century, stated that in al-Ḥijāz 1 Sāʿ = 4 Mudd = 1/3 Makkūk.

Its relation to the Ratl was especially controversial, with two prevailing opinions: Al-Juwayni reported that Al-Shafi‘i and also the hanafi scholar Abu Yusuf quarreled about the measurement of the Sāʿ in front of the Kalif Harun al-Rashid (reigned 786–809) at Medina.

According to a hadith referred to by Anas ibn Malik in different versions and is also found in Sahih al-Bukhari, Muhammad asked God on the return from the Battle of Khaybar to bless the Sāʿ and the Mudd of the Muslims.

[9] For example, for the merinid sultan Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn Othman (reigned 1331-1351), a vessel was made from copper, which should represent the "Sāʿ of the Prophet.

[12] According to Walther Hinz, who relies on the news of a Mudd calibration vessel from Ayyubid time, the "Sāʿ of the Prophet" ( ṣā' an-nabī ) is exactly 4.2125 liters.