Its power is supreme.—Abû Zayd’s fear of irreverence is grounded on the use of to signify especially the greatness of the Deity, to whom this word is generally applied. means the supreme greatness and majesty of God, or his abso­lute independence. Abû Zayd asks pardon for saying that money is Almighty.

The honourable performs what he promises.—This saying was first uttered by Al Ḥârith ibn ‘Amr al Kindi to Ṣakhr ibn Nahshal. Ḥârith had said to Ṣakhr, “Shall I show thee booty, on the condition that I receive the fifth part of it?” “Yes,” answered Ṣakhr. Ḥârith had then directed him to a caravan from Yemen, which Ṣakhr plundered. Ḥârith then uttered these words, which passed into a proverb. The legend goes on to relate that Ṣakhr’s tribe desired to evade payment of the fifth, until he seized a hill by which they must pass, and, after a fight, compelled them to fulfil his agreement with Ḥârith. Prov. Arab. II. 747 and I. 52.

The rain-cloud pours if it has thundered.— are clouds which make you think there is rain in them. Thus the word cannot be applied to a cloud after the rain has come out of it.

He cast it into his mouth.—This superstitious usage seems to be common in many parts of the world.

The adornment of the loved one, the colour of the lover.—The adornment refers to the impression of the coinage; the colour to the yellowness of the gold.

The niggard shrink from the night-farer.—To receive the traveller at night, and to minister to his needs, was one of the most sacred duties of the Arabs. For this purpose the generous used to pitch their tent near the camel-tracks, that the traveller might not miss it, or on heights that he might discern it from afar; they were accustomed also to light fires, that he might find his way to them by night. Thus Abû Zayd, in the Thirteenth Assembly, says, “Their fires were kindled for the tra­vellers, and they fed the guest with fresh meat.” Compare also the beginning of the Forty-fourth: “On a dark night I spied a fire lighted on a hill top, the sign of liberality.” Compare also Ḥamâseh I. p. 693, where a poet says, “I occupy the road with my tent and its vestibule; I settle on the tops of the hills, and dwell there;” and p. 699, where it is said of one: “His fire was kindled on the hill when the fires of others were veiled. He was not the richest of men, but he was the widest of arm (the most generous.)”

Many similar passages will be found in the . The traveller often made a noise to set the dogs bark­ing, so as to be guided to an inhabited place; he was then called : compare Fifth Assembly. The niggardly man was as much despised as the generous man was admired. His pot was said to be cold, and he was compared with a glowworm, whose fire warms nothing. A certain Mâdir was noted for his meanness: see p. 517, De Sacy’s Ḥarîri; also Prov. Arab. I. 190. Kosa‘ was also proverbial for his stinginess, since he burnt his dog’s throat to prevent him from barking, so that travellers might not be brought to his tent. Prov. Arab. I. 202. The early Arab poets are full of the most extravagant praises of the liberality both of themselves and those they celebrate; and this virtue appears to have been carried to the wildest excesses. The history of Ḥâtim Ṭay, as recorded in legends and proverbs, is the most conspicuous instance of this. Ḥarîri, in his verse, attributes the meanness which sometimes marked the reception of a benighted wayfarer to the corrupting influence of the denar.

Save by fleeing from thee.—The meaning is that money can only render service to a man when it quits him.

How abundant is thy shower.—The two forms of admiration and occur in this Assembly; the latter at the beginning of the first rejez, the former in this passage. For a full explanation of them, see Alfîyeh of Ibn Mâlik, with com­mentary of Ibn ‘Akîl, p. 228, edition of Dieterici, or p. 178 Boulak edition. The theory concerning them which is accepted by these grammarians, is that, in the case of , the is the inchoative (), and is or a perfect indeter­minate, that is the past tense of the verb; the pronoun hidden in it referring to , and being the object of the verb. The proposition is the of , and the virtual meaning . In the second form, , the verb expresses admiration under the form of the imperative, its agent being the noun mejrûr by , and the being pleonastic. The proof that is a verb is that it takes the before the of the first person. The question whether the is is not of much importance; the dictum of Sîbawayh is in opposition to the opinion of Al Akhfash, who makes it . In one case the sense would be, “What a thing makes Zayd handsome!” or, “What a making of Zayd handsome there is!” In the other it would be, “That which makes Zayd handsome, or the making of Zayd handsome, is a wonderful thing.” For the con­ditions under which admiration can be expressed by these two forms the student must be referred to the Alfîyeh itself.

Agreement binds strongest.—Prov. Arab. I. 669. The author of this saying was a judge of the Arabs, who addressed it to a dishonest suitor.

Tossed him.—Tossed him gently; the meaning of “give” is secondary.

The twice-read chapter.—The first chapter of the Koran is evidently here meant. It begins with the words, “Praise to God, the Lord of the world,” and may therefore be fitly used in returning thanks for any blessing. The poet Ibn Rashîḳ, quoted by Sherîshi, says of a beautiful boy whom he had been describ­ing, “Say to him who admires his beauty, ‘Repeat over him the Sura of Praise.’” The word , which occurs in the Koran, xv. 87, has given rise to much controversy. The passage runs, “We have given thee .” The expla­nation of Bayḍâwi, which is commonly adopted, is that this refers to the seven verses of the first Sura; he gives, however, a dictum which asserts that it signifies seven Suras, of which the first is the Cow and the last the double chapter, the and the . Compare also xxxix. 24. Other significations are also propounded, for which see Lane. Ḥarîri uses the word to signify the first Sura, which is pronounced twice in every act of prayer or rek‘ah.

Blessing his morning’s walk.—I have thus translated to dis­tinguish from which follows; though the distinction made by the author is somewhat hard to seize. It is said that is praise for that which depends on the will of the person praised; so that praising a pearl for its clearness is not though it is . In the present case would seem to be more applicable to the company. But also has the signifi­cation of lowly and reverent praise, and may therefore refer to the providential morning’s walk, by which God brought him to a generous friend.

What is thy condition.—For , see Alfîyeh, line 313.

The tempest.—A strong, hot wind, that strips and burns the trees.

I have feigned to be lame.—The metre of these verses is , as of those at the end of the First Assembly, except that here the is . The same liberty of making the also obtains.

There is no guilt on the lame.—An allusion to the Koran, xxiv. 60, where it is said that there is no harm in the blind or the lame sitting at mens’ tables. The Arabs of the Ignorance had a superstitious prejudice on this subject, which Moḥammed sought to remove. Abû Zayd now takes the words from the context, and turns them into an excuse for himself. Or he may allude to xlviii. 17, which excuses the lame man from going to war.