The author of the Labâb-ut-tafâsir says that when Adam —u. w. b., etc.—exchanged the pleasant mansion of eternity [in paradise] for the abode of affliction in this world, the Lord Almighty—w. n. b. e.—sent him for his consolation an ark, which contained the portraits of all the prophets,* the last of all of which was the figure of our prophet— u. w. b., etc.—made of red rubies, and around it the members of his family and his companions were arranged. The ark was made of box-wood, three cubits long and two broad, adorned with golden bars and pictures. Sheth had received it by inheritance, and it reached Ebrahim in the same way. After him it fell into the possession of Esmâil and then into that of the latter’s son Qidâr, with whom the sons of Esahâq contended for the possession of the ark; he would, however, not surrender it until one night when he was ordered by a [Divine] herald to give it to his uncle’s son Ya’qûb. He accordingly bore it on his shoulders to Kana’an, delivered it to his lordship, and thus it remained among the children of Esrâil until Mûsa received it. Some affirm that the ark of tranquillity and the ark of the testimony were one and the same thing, and they state their case as follows: ‘When the time of Mûsa’s departure from the world had drawn near he prayed to the Lord of Magnificence in this manner—“O Lord, the children of Esrâil are Thy servants and the time of my death is approaching; if Thou wouldst confer upon them a favour, which might after me become to them an occasion of victory, they would certainly conquer their enemies, and have a cause for rejoicing.” The prayer of Mûsa having been responded to, the allocution reached him to construct an ark, endowed with the above-named properties, and to place therein that which would be indicated to him, so that the affairs of the children of Esrâil might prosper. After that Mûsa constructed an ark of silver, gold, brass, iron, and other substances, placed a golden bolt on it, and deposited in it the stone from which the twelve fountains gushed, as well as the fragments of the tables [of the law] and the two others which he had obtained after breaking the former ones, with a vessel in which the angels had washed the hearts of the prophets, and also the books of the Mosaic Law, which he had written with his own noble hand; he also ordered that after his death his garments and those of Harûn be put into the ark with their shoes, and that its top be then closed. When the children of Esrâil acted according to his injunctions, and whenever any misfortune befell them, they brought forth the ark, by whose blessing they were relieved thereof. This ark was sometimes in the treasuries of kings, sometimes in the hands of grandees and of pious men among the children of Esrâil, until on a certain occasion some A’mâlekites arrived, vanquished the children of Esrâil, took away the ark and placed it under the feet of idols in their temple, but when they entered in the morning they found the ark placed upon the heads of the idols. They were astonished at this, and threw the ark upon the ground; but after they had several times observed it occupying a place contrary to their wishes, they took it out of the city and conveyed it to a village in the neighbourhood; and the inhabitants of the latter became afflicted with sore necks in consequence of this step. The ark was therefore taken to another place and buried; the people of the locality then became subject to hemorrhoids, and at last tied the ark upon cows and calves, and carried it back to the children of Esrâil. An angel was their guide and conducted them to the Jews, who then rejoiced, magnified God, and transferred the dominion to Tâlût.* There are, however, many opinions about the ark of tranquillity, some being of opinion that the figure of a woman was in the ark, which began to speak when any untoward incident took place, giving advice to the children of Esrâil, how to manage their affairs. It is also said that only its face resembled a human countenance, but all its limbs were different. Others allege that the ark of tranquillity contained an animal with a head like a cat, and having a wing on each shoulder. Another tradition affirms that it had two heads and again another that it had only one, but also a tail and wings. This ark has also been interpreted as Berenj jafâfa,* the Divine mercy, the radiating light and the spirit; but He [i.e., Allah] knows best the true state of the case.