Identify Cubits
Start with a measurement from Islamic-era texts (e.g., 50 Hashimi cubits for a mosque courtyard).
Enter an Arabic Hashimi cubit value below to see it visually scaled into modern imperial feet.
The longest documented cubit — the imperial standard of the Islamic Golden Age.
The Arabic Hashimi cubit (dhirā' al-Hāshimī) measures approximately 25.6 inches (65.02 cm). Named after the Banu Hashim clan, it became the official architectural and commercial standard across the early Islamic caliphates, from Damascus to Baghdad to Córdoba.
At 25.6 inches, the Hashimi cubit surpasses every other documented cubit standard in history — including the Sacred Egyptian (25.26 in), the Royal Egyptian (20.6 in), and the Babylonian (19.8 in). This makes it a unique benchmark in comparative metrology.
The Hashimi cubit to feet ratio is 1 : 2.1333. Islamic-era metrologists documented this cubit as equal to two French feet, a cross-reference that gives modern historians a highly precise conversion factor.
From the mosques of Baghdad to the irrigation canals of Al-Andalus.
During the Islamic Golden Age (8th–14th century CE), the Hashimi cubit was the standard by which the great mosques, libraries, and caravanserais of the caliphate were built. The House of Wisdom in Baghdad, the Great Mosque of Córdoba, and the elaborate qanat irrigation systems of Persia were all laid out using this exact standard.
Medieval Islamic scholars were meticulous record-keepers. They documented the Hashimi cubit's equivalence to two French feet in mathematical treatises, allowing it to be cross-referenced with European standards centuries later. This makes the Hashimi cubit one of the most precisely reconstructable ancient measurements in existence.
Start with a measurement from Islamic-era texts (e.g., 50 Hashimi cubits for a mosque courtyard).
Apply the formula: 50 × 2.1333 = 106.67.
The result is approximately 106.7 feet — the courtyard's full width in modern terms.
Let's convert a qanat irrigation tunnel length:
Persian qanat tunnels, engineered to carry mountain meltwater to arid cities, could stretch for miles. A 300-cubit section translates to roughly 640 feet of underground engineering — all laid out using the Hashimi standard.
Multiply by 2.1333 (derived from 25.6 inches ÷ 12).
To convert feet back to Hashimi cubits, divide by 2.1333.
Where the Arabic Hashimi cubit conversion is used today.
Architectural historians convert Hashimi cubit dimensions to study the proportions of early mosques, madrasas, and caravanserais across the former caliphate.
Hydrologists studying ancient Persian qanat systems convert cubit-based tunnel dimensions to understand the extraordinary precision of underground water engineering.
Translators of medieval Arabic mathematical and scientific treatises use the 2.1333 factor to interpret physical descriptions and experimental apparatus dimensions.
Historians mapping the Silk Road and Indian Ocean trade networks use the Hashimi cubit to convert distance and cargo measurements found in medieval merchant records.
Common Islamic-era values pre-converted into feet for instant lookup.
Everything you need to know about the Arabic Hashimi cubit.
One Arabic Hashimi cubit equals approximately 2.1333 feet (25.6 inches or 65.02 cm). This makes it the longest reliably documented cubit in world history.
The name derives from the Banu Hashim, the clan of the Prophet Muhammad. The Hashimi cubit became the official measurement standard during the early Islamic caliphates, used extensively in the construction of mosques, caravanserais, and irrigation systems across the expanding Muslim world.
Islamic-era metrologists documented the Hashimi cubit as equal to two French feet (roughly 25.6 inches). This precise cross-reference, recorded in multiple medieval Arabic and European scholarly works, allows modern historians to reconstruct the measurement with high confidence.
Multiply the number of Hashimi cubits by 2.1333. For example, 10 Hashimi cubits equals approximately 21.33 feet.
Yes. At 25.6 inches, the Arabic Hashimi cubit is the longest reliably documented cubit standard in the ancient and medieval world, surpassing even the Sacred Egyptian cubit (25.26 inches) and the Royal Egyptian cubit (20.6 inches).