Wikipedia's first sentence called it “islamic symbol”. Today it says “islamic symbol in the shape of an octagram”.
Measured, not asserted. Every count, date and revision on this page was taken from Wikipedia's own history and checked against the live article. The words quoted are theirs.
Machine-checked against the full current article on 2026-08-03.
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The opening as it read in 2010
Rub El Hizb The Rub el Hizb ( ) is an Islamic symbol , represented as two overlapping squares, which is found on a number of emblems and flags. In Arabic, Rubʕ 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' .1The main purpose of this dividing system is to facilitate recitation of the Qur'an.2It is also used as a marker for the end of a chapter in Arabic calligraphy .3An eight-pointed star was used as a symbol of Tartessos , an ancient civilization based in Andalusia . As the region was ruled by Islamic dynasties for eight centuries, this may suggest a possible origin of the Rub el Hizb.4The 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 glyph ۞ at U+06DE.5The Rub el Hizb can be seen on: The current coat of arms of Turkmenistan The current coat of arms of Uzbekistan Azat party flag [1] The unofficial flag of Kazakhstan 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 modified on the flag of Azerbaijan The emblem of the Organization of the Scout Movement of Kazakhstan The previous emblem of the Iraq Boy Scouts and Girl Guides Council The logo of the Cairo Metro The logo of Faith No More The cross-sections of the Petronas Twin Towers are based on the Rub el Hizb, but with extra circular sectors added to increase the total floor space. coat of arms of Turkmenistan, in use since 2003 coat of arms of Uzbekistan, adopted by law on July 2, 1992 flag of Azerbaijan, adopted on February 5, 1991 emblem of the Organization of the Scout Movement of Kazakhstan previous emblem of the Iraq Boy Scouts and Girl Guides Council previous emblem of the Iraq Boy Scouts and Girl Guides Council Azat party flag Kazakhstan Customs flag fictional flag of Hatay fictional flag of Hatay unofficial flag of Kazakhstan in the 1990s Logo of the Cairo Metro Logo of the Cairo Metro6
This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 366224831.
The opening as it stood in 2015 3 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Rub El Hizb The Rub el Hizb ( rubʿ al-ḥizb ) is a Muslim symbol , 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' . 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 glyph ۞ at U+06DE.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 639967196.
The opening as it stood in 2020
Rub El Hizb The Rub el Hizb ( rubʿ al-ḥizb ) is an Islamic symbol , 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' . 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 glyph ۞ at U+06DE.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 959996111.
The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023 4 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Islamic symbol in the shape of an octagram The Rub-el-Hizb ( , rubʿ al-ḥizb ) is an Islamic symbol in the shape of an octagram , represented as two overlapping squares.It has been found on a number of emblems and flags.The main purpose of this dividing system is to facilitate the recitation of the Quran.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1175537278.
The opening as it stood in 2025 1 passage from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Islamic symbol in the shape of an octagram Seljuk mosaic tile decoration from the Kubadabad Palace (early 13th-century Anatolia ) The Rub el Hizb ( Arabic : رُبْعُ الْحِزْبِ or رُبُعُ الْحِزْبِ , romanized : rubʿ al-ḥizb , lit. ' quarter of the party ' ) is an Islamic symbol in the shape of an octagram , represented as two overlapping squares ۞.While its main utility today is to mark a division inside some copies of the Quran to facilitate recitation , it has originally featured on a number of emblems and flags in the past and continues to do so today.In Arabic, rubʿ means 'one-fourth' or 'quarter', while ḥizb (plural aḥzāb ) translates to 'a group'.The Quran is divided into 60 aḥzāb (groups of roughly equal length in turn grouped into 30 ajzāʾ ), with instances of Rub el Hizb further dividing each ḥizb into four, for a total of 240 divisions.The Seljuk star is an eight-pointed star polygon that is an ancient Turkish national symbol ( Tamga ).It is a common motif in Seljuk art.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1288802718. This is our newest snapshot; the live article may have moved again since.
Today
Wikipedia's first sentence called it “islamic symbol”. Today it says “islamic symbol in the shape of an octagram”. Read the current article and compare.
2010
2015
2020
Oct '23
2025
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What Wikipedia says this is
Every article opens by defining its subject. This one was redefined since 2010, and today's defining sentence is their current revision.
Then
islamic symbol
Now
islamic symbol in the shape of an octagram
Struck red text is no longer in the article; dotted amber text was rewritten. Every revision id links to Wikipedia's copy; the text shown is our own saved copy. Data: /data. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA; quoted for the record; not affiliated with Wikipedia.