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An open right-hand palm, often with an eye motif, used across Jewish, Muslim, Christian and secular Middle Eastern/North African traditions as a protective symbol.
Also known as: Khamsa, Hand of Fatima, Hand of Miriam, Hand of Mary
A protective hand symbol with no single confirmed origin — candidate antecedents span Mesopotamian, ancient Egyptian, Punic and Iron Age Judean sources — carrying genuinely distinct meanings across Islam, Judaism and Christianity, plus wide secular/decorative use today. The common name 'Hand of Fatima' is itself a comparatively recent popularisation, not an ancient native term.
In Sunni Islamic contexts, associated with Fatima al-Zahra (daughter of the Prophet Muhammad) as a protective emblem against harm and the evil eye.
A devotional meaning specific to Sunni Islamic tradition, presented alongside — not in place of — the distinct Shia, Jewish and Christian readings below.
In Shia Islamic contexts, the five fingers are read as representing the panjtan (Muhammad, Ali, Fatimah, Hasan and Husayn) — a distinct theological framing from the Sunni association with Fatima alone. Notably, hanging the hamsa as a protective amulet is rejected in Salafi Islam as impermissible.
A real intra-Islamic disagreement, not a minor footnote — Salafi rejection is a documented, active position, not a fringe one.
Contexts: Religion
In Sephardi/Mizrahi Jewish tradition, known as the Hand of Miriam and historically doubled as the Hebrew letter Shin (invoking 'Shaddai', a name of God) in Kabbalistic amulets; usage declined among Ashkenazi communities by the mid-20th century, so it is not uniform across all of Judaism.
A devotional meaning specific to Sephardi/Mizrahi Jewish tradition, not observed uniformly across all of Judaism.
Also used as the 'Hand of Mary' in some Levantine Christian communities — a Nasrid-period gold pendant inscribed 'Ave Maria gratia plena' found in a Muslim-ruled context shows cross-confessional use, though a 1526 Iberian church council also banned khamsas as 'Islamic' and ordered replacement with crosses, showing the symbol has also been a site of religious boundary-policing rather than only shared use.
Both shared devotional use and historical religious boundary-drawing are documented — presented as both, not resolved into one narrative.
14th–16th century, documented instances · Contexts: Religion
In contemporary and secular use, worn widely as a general good-luck/protection charm on jewellery, stripped of specific religious attribution, and adopted as an official national symbol of Algeria.
A secular, decorative reading that coexists with — and does not replace — the religious meanings documented above.
Is distinguished from the Jain ahimsa hand by two things a reader can check: the hamsa is drawn symmetrically, with a thumb on each side rather than an anatomically correct hand, and it carries an eye or a decorative motif rather than a wheel. The two are sold side by side in the same jewellery shops and belong to entirely unconnected traditions.
Related forms that are not treated as separate canonical symbols — see our variant rules.
Eye-in-palm variant
A separate protective eye motif (warding off the 'evil eye') is frequently depicted within or alongside the hamsa's palm — a related but distinct symbol, not part of the hamsa's own original design.
An open right hand shown palm-forward, fingers together or slightly spread, often with an eye motif in the centre of the palm.
Both are open-palm marks worn as pendants; the symmetry and the wheel tell them apart.