Ibn ‘Abbâs.—‘Abd Allah, the son of ‘Abbâs, the son of ‘Abd al Muṭṭalib, the son of Hâshim, of the tribe of Ḳoraysh, was cousin to Moḥammed, and the most eminent doctor of the first age of Islam. He was born three years before the Hijra, and consequently was thirteen years old at the death of the Prophet. The year in which he died is variously stated, the extremes being 68 and 74 of the Hijra according to Sherîshi. Another account makes him to have died in the year 67, in the 81st year of his age. He had been blind from his 30th year, but pos­sessed great knowledge and acuteness, and so accurate a memory that he handed down 660 Traditions of the Prophet. He was a man of great physical beauty, and was so careful of his appear­ance that he dyed his hair with henna. One said of him, “When I saw Ibn ‘Abbâs I said, ‘He is the handsomest of men;’ when he spoke I said, ‘the most eloquent;’ when he discoursed I said, ‘the most learned.’” His remarkable sagacity was supposed to be due to a prayer of Moḥammed in his favour when he was a child: “Teach him wisdom, and give him in­crease of knowledge and science.” He was called by the Moslems the “Doctor” and the “Sea” (of learning). It is related of him that he saw the angel Gabriel twice when in company with the Prophet. On one occasion he saw a man with the Prophet whom he did not know, whereupon he asked who it was. The Prophet said, “Hast thou seen him?” “Yes,” replied Ibn ‘Abbâs. “That,” said Moḥammed, “is Gabriel; surely thou shalt lose thy sight.” This calamity accordingly fell upon him while he was still a young man. He was said to have observed in verse—

God has taken the light from my two eyes,

But set their light in my tongue and my heart.

Some of his recorded sayings have merit. He was an advocate of change of study. He said, “When I am tired of the orator I take up the poet.” On the accession of ‘Ali he gave him prudent advice as to his treatment of Mu‘âwiyeh, which, un­fortunately for the new Khalif, was not taken. (Ockley). He was the most liberal of the early Moslems, for he lectured not only on the Koran and law but on grammar, on the Days of the Arabs, and on poetry, giving a day in turn to each; and to him is especially due the preservation of the early Arab poetry. He was for a time governor of Basra under the Khalif ‘Ali.

Iyâs.—Abû Wâthilet Iyâs ibn Mu‘âwiyet ibn Ḳorrah, called Al Muzanî, was Kadi of Basra at the beginning of the second century of the Hijra. He is celebrated in Arabic tradition for his wonderful acuteness, of which a number of stories are related, so that you say of a very clever person, More intelligent than Iyâs (Arab. Prov. I. 593). Ibn Khallikân says of him, “He was renowned for ready expression and for penetration, and the acuteness of his mind was proverbial; the persons of merit who spoke their language with elegance considered him as their chief; his conjectures were verified by the events, and in the management of affairs he showed great dexterity. It is he to whom Ḥarîri alludes in his Seventh Assembly. He was ap­pointed Kadi of Basra by ‘Omar ibn ‘Abd al ‘Azîz, and his grandfather Iyâs was one of the Companions of Moḥammed.” Of his acuteness Ibn Khallikân relates the following anecdotes: Being at a place in which something happened which caused alarm, and where three women, whom he did not know, were present, he said, “One of them is pregnant, another is nursing, and the third is a virgin.” On inquiry it was found that he had judged rightly; and when he was asked how he came to know, he replied, “In time of danger persons lay their hands on what they most prize: now I saw that the pregnant woman, in her fright, placed her hand on her belly, which showed that she was with child; the nurse placed her hand on her bosom, by which I knew that she was suckling; and the gesture of the third proved to me that she was a maid.” Hearing a Jew ridi­cule the Moslems for believing that the inhabitants of Paradise are to eat food and yet not pass it away, he asked him if all that he ate passed off in that manner; and on the Jew replying that God converted a portion of it into nourishment, he said “Why should not God convert into nourishment the whole of the food eaten by the inhabitants of Paradise?” Being one day in a court­yard, he said that there was an animal under one of the bricks; the people having raised it found a snake under it. He was asked how he came to know that it was so. He said that among all the bricks in the pavement there were only two under which any dampness appeared, so that he knew there must have been something underneath that breathed. Other anecdotes of the same kind follow. Maydâni tells of him that, hearing a dog bark, he said the dog was tied to the brink of a well. When this was found to be the case, he explained that he had first heard the bark and then the echo. Two men came before him, of whom one ac­cused the other of not restoring some money that he had committed to him, while the defendant denied that he had received any at all. The Kadi asked the plaintiff where he had given it to the defendant. He answered that it was under a certain tree. The Kadi told him to go to the tree, so as to refresh his memory by the sight of it. While he was gone, the Kadi asked the defend­ant whether he thought his adversary had reached the tree. “Not yet,” said the man unconsciously, “for it is a long way off.” Thus his deceit was exposed. On one occasion he was worsted by a witness. A man was testifying about a garden, and Iyâs, having reason to suspect him, asked how many trees there were in the garden. The man, in return, asked the Kadi how many beams there were in the roof of the court, and the Kadi could not tell.

His conductor.—The conductor, or driver of the camels, is called , though he be behind them, because he guides them.

The third prop of the pot.—The Arabs of the desert place two stones close to the slope of a rock, and on these they rest the pot; the rock itself being the third prop. The “third prop,” became a proverbial expression, to signify anything heavy or inconvenient; and is thus applied to the old woman whose company was un­desirable. It is the more appropriate as she made up the trio which repaired to the house of Ḥârith. See De Sacy, in Chrestomathie Arabe.

Yes, by the Watcher from whom no secret is hidden!—I have adopted this rendering on the authority of Sherîshi; but not without hesitation. It seems, however, to present fewer objec­tions than any other. In the first place cannot refer to the old woman, but clearly refers to God; for Ḥarîri would not have been guilty of the impiety of jesting with so solemn a phrase as the Watcher from whom no secret is hidden. If this be so, we must either accept the trivial idea that the old woman and God accompanied them, or translate the phrase as an oath. It is common with Ḥarîri to indicate a thing by alluding to some quality of the Deity which is in accordance with it. Thus in the Tenth Assembly: “I adjured him to say whether he was Abû Zayd,” “Yes,” he answered, “By Him who has permitted the chase!” meaning, “By Him who permitted the chase! you have before you Abû Zayd, the hunter.” Compare the Forty-first Assembly, where Abû Zayd, speaking of his clever son, says, “Yes, by Him who brings pearls from the deep!” in allusion to the boy’s improvisations. In the present case the mention of God, as one from whom no secret is hidden, indicates that the old woman would be an inconvenient spy on their actions.

The Farḳadân are two bright stars in the Little Bear. The four which form the square of either Bear are called , the Bier; the others are called , the Sons or Followers of the Bier; being here the plural of , since the word refers to irrational objects. The stars called Farḳadân are, I believe, the two nearest the pole-star. The pole-star is called . There can be little doubt that the Great Bear is mentioned in the Book of Job under the names and ; ix. 9 and xxxviii. 32. Our translation “Canst thou guide Arcturus with his sons?” would be more properly “the Bier with its sons.” See Thesaurus of Gesenius.

As if his mouth were full.—Literally, as if he had an impe­diment that prevented him from speaking.

Since time, etc.—Metre ṭawîl.