The failure of the stars.—The literal meaning of is the setting in the early morning of one of the twenty-eight Mansions of the moon, or , while the opposite con­stellation, called its , or watcher, is rising. The Mansions of the moon, of which a list has been given in the notes to a former Assembly, are constellations through which the moon passes in her course, and the raḳîb of each is the fourteenth from it; thus the raḳîb of is ; the raḳîb of is . As in the course of the earth’s revolution round the sun each of these constellations sets in the morning, while the oppo­site constellation is rising with the sun, the year is divided into twenty-eight , to each of which is allotted thirteen days, except to which has fourteen, thus making up the 365 days. The auroral settings of these constellations served among the Arabs to denote the seasons of rain, wind, or heat; just as among the Greeks and Latins the setting of the Hyads or the rising of Sirius indicated particular states of the weather. Thus became almost synonymous with season, and the name is applied to the seven seasons or successions of weather or tem­perature in the year, which are as follows: (1) , which is said (Maḳâmât of Naṣîf al Yazaji, p. 217,) to range from the 9th of Aylûl (September) to the 18th of Tishrîn al Owwal (October). The of this period is the setting of Al Faraghân (the Fore and Hind Spouts of the Urn) and Batn al Hût. (2) , which continues from the end of the former to the 9th of Kânûn al Owwal (December), and its is the setting of Ash Sharaṭân, and Al Buṭayn, and Ath Thurayya, and Ad Debarân. (3) , which lasts to the 18th of Nîsân (April), and whose is the setting of Al Haf‘ah, and Al Han‘ah, and Ath Thira‘, and An Nathrah, and Aṭ Ṭarf, and Al Jabheh, and Az Zubrah, and Aṣ Ṣarfah, and Al ‘Awwâ, and As Simâk. (4) , which lasts from the end of the former to the 9th of Ḥazîrân (June). Its is the setting of Al Ghafr, and Az Zubâna, and Al Iklîl, and Al Ḳalb. (5) , which lasts from then to the 5th of Tem-mûz (July). Its is the setting of Ash Showleh and An Na‘â’im. (6) , which lasts to the 13th of Âb (August). Its is the setting of Al Beldeh, and Sa‘d al Thâbiḥ, and Sa‘d al Bula‘. (7) , which lasts till the 8th of September, thus completing the year. Its is the setting of Sa‘d as So‘ûd and Sa‘d al Akhbiyeh. The days of the month are to be reckoned according to the Old Style. The three last are periods of heat. Of Al Busrî it is said that , that is, it fails to produce rain during its . The word is applied to a hot wind which blows during summer, by some described as a north wind, by others as a south wind coming from Yemen; the dis­crepancy being no doubt caused by the geographical position of those who used the word.

As the Arabs, in their observations of the seasons, thought chiefly of the rain which was to moisten their parched fields, the word became equivalent with rain, and is used in this sense at p. 713 of the Ḥamâseh. “I said to him, ‘May the cloud pour on thee with a which shall moisten every pleasant plant.’” The Commentator gives as the equivalent to . So in a verse quoted in De Sacy’s Commentary it is said:

The of As Simâk (Spica Virginis) and of the Pleiades ceased not to pour on us.

The influence of each setting was held to prevail for only a few out of the thirteen days that the setting continued. Thus it is said that the of the Pleiads is five nights, and that of Ash Sharaṭân three nights. The of the Pleiads was considered the most favourable; and, according to some, the name was given them on account of the abundance of rain. But it is more probable that this name applies to the multitude of the stars composing the constellation. Compare the Hebrew , a heap of stars (Job xxxviii. 31), where the translation probably is “Hast thou bound the knots of the Pleiads?” It falls, as has been stated, in the time of the late autumn rain-season called . Those which generally brought rain were called stirrers up of the heaven. The belief of the Arabs of the Ignorance that the rain was produced by the settings of stars was discouraged by the Moslem teachers; and from an anecdote related of ‘Omar (see Lane’s Lexicon, article ,) the Khalif seems to have considered that the supply of rain was a sign that sins were pardoned, founding his opinion on Koran lxxi. 9.

The tract of Naṣîbîn.— is a fertile tract of land in oppo­sition to the unproductive desert, whether the former be on the sea-coast or on the banks of a river. Of Naṣîbîn, the well-known city of Nisibis, between the upper Euphrates and Tigris, it is only necessary to record here that, according to a Tradition reported by Abû Hurayrah, it was seen at a distance by the Prophet, during the Night-journey. “The earth appeared afar, and I saw a city that pleased me, and I said, ‘O Gabriel, what is this city?’ He said, ‘Naṣîbîn.’ I said, ‘God hasten the conquest of it.’” It was, accordingly, one of the first places gained by the Moslems, having been taken in the year 18, under the Khalifate of ‘Omar.

A camel of Mahrah.—The camels of the tribe of Mahrat ibn Ḥaydân, in Yemen. In the Ḥamâseh, p. 783, occurs a verse in which a noble she-camel is said to be from Ḥaḍramowt, and selected from the camels of Mahrah. The she-camels of Mahrah are said to have been covered by , about which there are various opinions. Sherîshi says that these were the stallions of a race of small wild camels between ‘Omân and Ash Shiḥr; but others say that they were stallions of the camels of the Jinn, which inhabit the desert country beyond the sands of Yabrîn. The race of Mahrah, called , possessed the powers of this savage or supernatural breed, and were distinguished by their fleetness and endurance.

A lance of Samhar.—At p. 227 of the Ḥamâseh mention is made of “a lance of Rodayneh;” and the commentator explains that Rodayneh was the wife of Samhar, and that they made lances and straightened them for sale, and that when Samhar was from home Rodayneh sold them. They are said to have lived in Baḥrayn. Samhar, however, is otherwise said to be a place in Abyssinia, where lances are made. Samhar and Rodayneh are also said to have been people who made lances, but not to have been man and wife, since she was the wife of a man named . Whatever may be the truth on these points, the names of Samhar and Rodayneh are commonly used as epithets for lances. Imr al Ḳays speaks of “a lance of Samhar,” Dîwân, p. 25, v. 4, Ar. Text, and three lines further on of “a lance of Rodayneh, with a point made by Ḳa‘ḍab.” Compare also Mo‘allaḳah of Lebîd, v. 50, where Samhar is said to have lived at a place called , in Baḥrayn. This would connect the lances of Samhar with those of Khaṭṭ, which are also celebrated by the poets. Ḥamâseh, pp. 26 and 231. In the commentary at the former page it is said that is the coast of Baḥrayn and ‘Omân.

Hill drawing me up from dale.—The conceit of a gram­matical allusion need only be noticed.

Won a portion.—This is the technical term for winning at the game called , which has been explained in the notes to a former Assembly. Each man turned or shuffled about the arrows, , and when his arrow won this phrase was used. is also used in this sense by the Arabs, as in the passage of Ezekiel before referred to. See Lâmîyet al ‘Arab, verse 29.

Lay down my neck in it.—The metaphor is from a camel lying down to rest. is the under part of the neck, which the camel lays along the ground.