Shot with the bow.—According to the author of the Ḳâmûs, cited in the commentary to De Sacy’s Ḥarîri, p. 447, has here the meaning of , and is equivalent to .

And, lo! it was Abû Zayd.—These words seem not to form part of the ḳarîneh, but to be a kind of exclamation apart from the regular movement of the cadence.

For if the moon of Sirius has gone down, etc.; if the full moon of the Lion has waned, etc.—By Shi‘ra the Arabs understand the star which we call Sirius, but they also speak of Shi‘rayân, meaning Sirius, which they call , and Procyon. The stations of the moon, according to the Arab astronomers, are twenty-eight in number. She passes through the signs of the zodiac in every lunar year twelve times, and remains in each station a day and a night. Their names are as follows:—

the two horns of the Ram.

the Ram’s belly.

the Pleiads.

Aldebaran.

three stars in the head of Orion.

five stars in Orion’s shoulder.

two stars above the Twins.

nose of the Lion.

eye of the Lion.

forehead of the Lion.

mane of the Lion.

heart of the Lion.

the Dog, five stars in the Virgin.

Spica Virginis.

the stars <Greek> in the foot of the Virgin.

the horns of the Scorpion.

the Crown.

the heart of the Scorpion.

the Scorpion’s tail.

stars in Pegasus.

a place were no constellation appears.

the Slaughterer’s Luck, in Capricorn.

the Glutton’s Luck (see Lane, sub voce ).

the Luck of Lucks, stars in Aquarius.

the Luck of the tents, stars in Aquarius.

the fore lip or spout of the Urn.

the hind lip of the Urn.

the Fish’s belly.

These twenty-eight stations are divided into four parts, seven being allotted to each of the four seasons; thus is the eighth of the number, and consequently the first station of summer. The laborious Naṣîf al Yazaji has united the names of the stations of the moon in some verses which are to be found in his twenty-second Assembly, page 215.

Might be removed.—This rendering, which is adopted in De Sacy’s commentary, is given as more idiomatic and apposite than “he bade take away.” Sherîshi allows either.

The hurlings of exile.—Sherîshi gives as a synonym of this word; or it may mean “destinations” or “distant goals.” See Schultens’ note, Ḥarir. Consess. Sex. p. 113.

Like the heart of the mother of Moses.—In the Koran, xxviii. 9, it said, “The heart of the mother of Moses was empty,” that is, despairing or bewildered at the loss of her child. Another ex­planation is, “free from care,” because she had confidence in God, or believed that Pharaoh would take care of the infant. (Bayḍâwi). From this passage “the heart of the mother of Moses,” passed into a proverb as an image of emptiness.

Fate which is bye-named the Father of wonders, i.e. which has this name as a metonym. The of an Arab is formed from the name of his first or his favourite son, by the prefixion of Abû. To address a man by this fore-name was commonly indicative of respect and goodwill. When his names were written at length it was placed at the beginning of them; thus, Abû Moḥammed Ḳâsim ibn ‘Alî ibn Moḥammed ibn ‘Othmân al Ḥarîrî al Baṣrî. Ḳâsim was the name given at birth; ‘Alî, Moḥammed, and ‘Othmân were the names of his father, grandfather, and great grandfather; Ḥarîrî was a name given him from the trade of his family; and Baṣrî (the Basrian) from the name of his city.

The laḳab or sobriquet given in praise, as Badî‘ az Zemân, or in blame as must be placed after the name, but when the kinyeh alone is used, the laḳab may be placed either before or after it. The subject of names is discussed in the Alfîyeh and its commentary, section ; and still more fully by Al Ashmûni and his Commentator, Aṣ Ṣabbân: Boulak edition, Vol. i., p. 164.

Hail, people of this dwelling.—Metre rejez. The word is manṣûb, both as being in a state of annexion, and as not referring to persons actually present to the caller.

Worn with journeys.— is here mejrûr after . This kind of annexion is called or . Alfîyeh, v. 387.

Aching in entrails.— is said to be a maṣdar used as an epithet.

Throw away thy staff.—A common expression for settling or coming to rest.

By the sanctity of the Shaykh who ordained hospitality, and founded the House of pilgrimage in the Mother of Cities.— According to Moslems, the Ka‘beh or Holy House of Mecca was founded by Abraham. A legend declares that he was called “Shaykh” because he was the first man who became gray. On seeing his white hairs he said to the Lord, “What is this?” The Lord answered that it was the sign of dignified gravity. Abraham said, “Lord, increase this in me,” and then he became fully gray, being about 150 years of age. He ordained the rites of hospitality, since he was the first who entertained guests and fed the poor. He also entertained angels: “Our mes­sengers came to Abraham with good tidings. They said, ‘Peace;’ he answered, ‘Peace,’ and delayed not to set before them a roast calf.” Koran xi. 72. The hospitality of Abra­ham is highly celebrated: compare the well known poem of Sa‘di, beginning which Dr. Franklin paraphrased into the style of the Bible. Abraham is held by the Moslems to be the original founder of their religion, which is the worship of one God, and complete submission to His will. Tradition goes further and makes him the author of the rites of the pilgrimage, and even of the usages of civilized life. Thus it is said of him that he was the first who cut his moustache, and pared his nails, and rasit pubem, and cleaned his teeth, and parted his hair, and wore a shirt, and cleansed his nostrils by drawing up water into them, and in latrinâ se aquâ mundavit. On this subject see Ṭabari. That he was the founder of the Ka‘beh is an article of faith, since it is expressly declared in the Koran (xxii. 27). For the epithet of the “Friend of God,” applied to Abraham, see Bayḍâwi on Koran iv. 124. Compare also ii. 118; iii. 60 and 89—91; also the beautiful legend at vi. 74. For the ex­planation of the name Bekkeh at iii. 90, see Kashshâf of Zamakh-shari, Calcutta edition, p. 219, or Bayḍâwi. Traditions con­cerning Abraham are to be found in Al Bokhâri, vol. ii. p. 338.

Fayd: a place in the Nejd, half way between Mecca and Bagdad. It is mentioned in the Mo‘allaḳah of Lebîd; and the passage may be profitably referred to since the commentary con­tains a curious remark concerning the declinability of nouns.

The Benû ‘Abs.—The tribe of ‘Abs was one of the most famous during the Ignorance. It descended from Ghaṭafân through Baghîḍ, and was close of kin to Thobyân, with which it waged a long war. This war, which is one of the most cele­brated events of the pre-islamitic period, is known as the war of Dâḥis from the name of a horse belonging to Ḳays, son of Zohayr, chief of the ‘Abs, which was the cause of the dispute. It lasted forty years, that is, the feud or vendetta which arose extended over that time; for by the term “war” among the early Arabs must be only understood a state of chronic hostility, in which each tribe endeavoured to injure the other by forays, ambuscades, or single assassinations. The origin of the war of Dâḥis was the treachery of a section of the tribe of Thobyân, who, when Dâḥis was matched against Ghabrâ, a mare belong­ing to a certain Ḥothayfet ibn Bedr, obtained the victory for the latter by foul means. The whole story may be read in M. Caussin de Perceval’s Essai, vol. II. and at the Proverb “There has fallen out between them a war of Dâḥis and Ghabrâ.” Ar. Prov. II. 275. Compare also Ar. Prov. I. 210. Elegiac verses by Ḳays on Ḥothayfeh are to be found at Ḥamâseh, p. 210. This war, like the war of Basûs, was celebrated among the Arabs for its calamities; hence the proverb More unlucky than Dâḥis. (Prov. Arab. I. 690). Several phrases, said to have been uttered by Ḳays during the race, have also become proverbial. The ‘Abs were eventually driven from their settle­ments, to which they only returned after a considerable time; at last they were reconciled with Thobyân. The most cele­brated personage of the Benû ‘Abs in older times was the war­rior and poet ‘Antarah, son of Sheddâd. He fought in the war of Dâḥis, and was, moreover, author of one of the Mo‘al-laḳât. His poem was composed in honour of his cousin ‘Ableh, whose hand he succeeded in gaining, against the will of her father and brother. ‘Antarah was a mulatto, the son of a negress slave, and therefore ignoble, . He was of so dark a complexion that, like Ta’abbaṭa Sherran, another poet of the early age, he was nicknamed , “crow.” For these reasons his alliance was long rejected, and he was exposed to treacherous schemes against his life. Yet his valour and genius made him one of the most conspicuous persons in a remarkable age, and he has always been reckoned the chief hero of the sons of ‘Abs. A romance has been founded on his adventures, which is still one of the most popular works in the East. ‘Abs em­braced Islam early, and when the deputies came to Medina to make profession of faith on the part of their brethren, the Pro­phet told them that the warrior he most desired to have seen was ‘Antarah. ‘Abs, with the rest of the race of Ghaṭafân, joined in the revolt against Abû Bekr, but were subdued by Khâlid ibn Al Walîd. Their descendants are said still to inhabit their ancient regions.