As she drinks to me.—Compare the address of Abû Odayneh to Al Aṣwad ibn Al Munthir, inciting him to slay the prisoners taken from Ghassân, v. 3. Schultens, Mon. Vetust. Arabiœ, p. 58.

Why he naṣbed the first .—Ḥarîri has, perhaps, taken the idea of this Assembly from an anecdote related of Abû ‘Othmân al Mâzini, the grammarian. One day a slave girl happened to sing in the presence of the Khalif Al Wâthiḳ a verse, in which it was doubtful whether a certain word should be made marfû‘ or manṣûb. A discussion arose among the guests; but the girl declared that she had the authority of Abû ‘Othmân for the accusative case. The Khalif then sent for Abû ‘Othmân, and asked, somewhat contemptuously, of what family he was. The grammarian replied, “Of the Benû Mâzin.” “Of which Mâzin?” said the Khalif; “Is it of Rabî‘ah, or Temîm, or Ḳays?” “Of Rabî‘ah” was the reply. Then the Khalif, know­ing that a peculiarity of this tribe was to substitute B for M, and M for B in pronunciation, asked Abû ‘Othmân jocularly, “,” “What is thy name?” Now Abû ‘Othmân’s name was Bekr, and if he had answered according to the pronunciation with which the Khalif credited him, he would have uttered the offensive word “Mekr,” which means deceit, and have further­more declared that it was his name, so he replied in a marked manner “Bekr.” The Khalif, perceiving his readiness, was much pleased, and repeating to him the verse asked him his opinion. He answered that the word must be manṣûb, and sup­ported his decision by satisfactory arguments. In the end the Khalif dismissed him with a present of one thousand denars. Ibn Khallikân; life of Abû ‘Othmân. This anecdote is also related by Ḥarîri in the Durrah.

Sîbawayh.—Ibn Khaldûn observes in the Muḳaddimeh fî ’t târîkh, that most of the Moslems learned in the law and in science were of foreign origin, and not of Arab race; though the Koran, the foundation of all, was an Arab book. Sîbawayh was one of the most eminent of these strangers, who, prizing the knowledge of the Arab language, law, and religion, above all that their own countries had produced, devoted themselves to the learning that had its origin in the schools of Basra and Kufa. He was a Persian by birth, and his full name was ‘Amr ibn ‘Othmân ibn Ḳanbar; the name Sîbawayh being a laḳab, or surname, which he received. For the meaning of this appella­tion, see Ibn Khallikân, who gives his life; and for its form, Anthol. Gram. Arabe, p. 151. He was a mowla to the Benû ’l Ḥârith ibn Ka‘b. According to the tradition concerning him adopted by Sherîshi, he was born at Bayḍâ, near Shiraz. He early came to Basra to study, and joined the class of Ḥammâd ibn Selemeh, who had also instructed Al Aṣma‘î (see the latter’s life in Ibn Khallikân). Sîbawayh employed himself in copy­ing out Traditions; and it would appear that at this early period of his life he plunged into the controversy respecting raf‘ and naṣb; for it is related that while writing from dictation some words of the Prophet, “There is not one of my companions ,” Sîbawayh said that it should be , since was the of . “No,” said Ḥammâd, “you are wrong, for this is only the of exception.” He then left Ḥammâd to obtain more perfect instruction, and attached himself to Al Khalîl ibn Aḥmed. He also studied under ‘Îsa ibn ‘Omar, and in the life of the latter, by Ibn Khallikân, it is said that Sîbawayh’s celebrated work, called preeminently the Kitâb, was founded upon ‘Îsa’s work called . Sîbawayh, according to this account, interpolated observations of Al Khalîl into ‘Îsa’s book, and, adding his own remarks, produced the celebrated compilation which was after-words looked upon as the standard work on Arabic Grammar. See also Anthol. Gram. Arabe., p. 381, note 1. Among his masters were also Yûnus ibn Ḥabîb and Abû ’l Khaṭṭâb, known under the name of Al Akhfash the Elder. The discussion con­cerning the raf‘ and naṣb, which took place before Ar Reshîd, and the treachery of the Kufian grammarian, Al Kisâ’î, and his pupil Al Amîn, son of Hârûn, have been already noticed in the Introduction. The anecdote is given by numerous writers. It is related by Sherîshi that when Sîbawayh left the Khalif’s presence in despair he met his friend Al Akhfash the Younger, to whom he was in the habit of submitting his writings before publication, and told him what had occurred. Al Akhfash, indignant, at once sought out Al Kisâ’î, and put to him a hundred grammatical questions, accusing him of a mistake in every answer. On this Al Kisâ’î asked him if he were Al Akhfash, and, on his answering in the affirmative, requested him to undertake the education of his children, to which Al Akhfash consented. He made the Kufian acquainted with Sîbawayh’s book, and in the end Al Kisâ’î repented deeply of the artifice which had caused Sîbawayh’s death. When near his end he exclaimed to Ar Reshîd, “Commander of the Faithful, impose on me the diyeh (the fine for involuntary homicide), for I fear I have had a share in killing Sîbawayh.” The year and place of the death of Sîbawayh are both disputed. According to a legend given by Sherîshi, he would not return to Basra discredited after quitting Bagdad, but repaired to Ahwâz, and there made inquiry if there were any prince with a fondness for grammar. He was recommended to Ṭalḥat ibn Ṭâhir of Khorasan, and set out for his court, but was taken ill at Sâweh and died. Some valuable extracts from the Kitâb have been published by De Sacy in his Anthologie. The work appears to have been early used as a text book. In the life of Abû ‘Othmân al Mâzini, who has been spoken of above, it is related that he refused to teach the Book of Sîbawayh to a thimmî or non-Moslem, although offered a hundred denars; also that another person having gone through the Book, exclaimed, “God reward thee, I have not understood a word of it.”

I will announce to you its interpretation.—The words of the butler to Pharaoh before he departs to question Joseph con­cerning the king’s dream. Koran xii. 45.

Call to me “Come down.”— belongs to the class called . Words of the form , with the sense of the imperative, may be formed from triliteral verbs, and are inde­clinable on the kesr. Alfîyeh, vv. 595 and 627. The word “Nizâl” was a challenge to alight and fight on foot.

What is the word?—The grammatical notes suggested by this Assembly will be found appended to the author’s Explanation.

If ye return I return.—These words are from the Koran: “If ye (the unbelievers) return to the fight we (God) will return,” viii. 19. In the Koran the muḍâri‘ mejzûm is used, but after as a conditional particle the mâḍi has the same future signification. Extract from Zamakhshari, Anth. Gramm. Arabe, p. 113, Arab. Text.

We changed from weariness.—The varying of the preposition, as in this sentence, is a favourite artifice of the author. It has been imitated in the translation.

Unless every hand endow me: signifies “he caused him to possess gifts;” it is used with a double mef‘ûl. Koran vi. 94, and xxxix. 11.

The light of proof.—At Koran iv. 174, it is said, “O people, a proof has come to you from your Lord, and we have sent down to you a clear light.”

We were astonished, etc.—These words give an instance of the tejnîs called , which is when one of the two words between which the tejnîs subsists is shorter than the other, and you make the correspondence complete by adding to the shorter a part or the whole of the word next to it. See De Sacy’s commentary to the Twenty-third Assembly, at word tejnîs, and Mukhtaṣar, p. 624.

Need is not courtesy.— is the showing honour to one by appearing glad at meeting him, and enquiring concerning his condition. This saying is to be found at Arab. Prov. II. 690. It is used when one shows kindness for a purpose or necessity of his own, and not out of disinterested courtesy.