Black of Robe.—Ta’abbaṭa Sherran says of crossing the desert in a dark night, when the Ghûl was abroad:
A moonless night; I pierced through its robe, as the full-breasted girl puts on her frock. De Sacy’s Ḥarîri, p. 480.
Fantasies.—◌ is the evil whispered suggestion of the mind, or of Satan, which comes in loneliness. The verb is applied to the temptations of Adam and Eve in Paradise, Koran vii. 19; xx. 118; and to the suggestions of a man’s own mind, l. 15. Compare cxiv.
My night-dark night.—A similar expression occurs in the Fifth Assembly. The epithet is used of a dark, moonless night, such as precedes the new moon.
Enter ye into them with peace.—These are words from the Koran, Sura xv. 46. It will be said to those who are welcomed to the gardens and fountains of Paradise, “Enter ye into them with peace, free from fear.” In l. 33, the pronoun refers to the same substantives understood. For this reason the speaker keeps to the actual words of the Koran in addressing whoever knocked at the door. Compare the Forty-first Assembly, where Hârith addresses Abû Zayd, “Woe to thee; will ye bid others to piety, but forget to bid yourselves?” where he speaks in the plural, because these words so occur in a Tradition of Moḥammed, who on the night of the masra saw persons who had their tongues and lips cut off with shears of fire, and who, when asked who they were, answered, “We were of those who bade others to piety, but forgot ourselves.” De Sacy’s Ḥarîri, p. 538.
Without the guess of doubt; or, rather, without guessing at the doubtful or hidden. This expression is taken from Koran xviii. 21, where it is applied to the vain guesses made by people as to the number of the Youths of the Cave, that is the Seven Sleepers.
I took to How? and Where?—I took to asking him of his health, and where he was dwelling.
Let me swallow down my spittle.—This is a most ancient phrase meaning, “Give me time to rest and collect myself.” It is found in the book of Job, vii. 19, “How long wilt thou not depart from me, nor let me alone till I swallow down my spittle?” When Ibn Surayj disputed with Abû Bekr Moḥam-med az Zâhiri, the latter said, “Give me time to swallow down my spittle.” Ibn Surayj answered, “You might swallow the Tigris before you answer me.” (Ibn Khallikân, life of Ibn Surayj.) This anecdote Hammer-Purgstall, in his life of Ibn Surayj, has curiously perverted.
O thou base-born.—The phrase ◌ has given rise to much controversy. It may be interpreted, “Thou who art without a father,” that is, who hast no known father, and art base-born,” as the phrase ◌ may be rendered, “thou who hast no mother, and art a foundling, picked up,” or “who hast no free mother, and art a ◌;” or it may mean, “God curse, or cease to preserve, thy father!” But whatever its grammatical import, there can be no doubt that it is generally used playfully, and though in form an imprecation, or an insult, it expresses fondness and intimacy, or even admiration, like ◌, “May God fight against thee!” or ◌, “May thy mother be bereft of thee!” which are used when a man does anything worthy of admiration, as the reciting of some fine verses. Similarly, it is said in praise of a good archer, ◌, “Let him not be counted among his people.”—Anthologie Gram. Arabe. p. 41 Ar. Text, where a verse of Imr al Ḳays is quoted. The meaning of the first and third of these expressions may be, however, “He is so superior to every one that no one can fight against him, and God alone must fight against him;” and “Let him not be counted among his people, for he is far above them.” But it is more reasonable to take them as a kind of complimentary imprecation, as an Englishman might say, “Confound the fellow, how clever he is!” An Arab of the desert was even heard to say to the Deity, in a year of drought, “Send down upon us rain, ◌.” But Sulaymân ibn ‘Abd al Melik, who heard him, put the best construction upon his words, and considered them to mean, “Thou hast no father;” and that the Arab was merely testifying that God had no father, nor female companion, nor offspring.” (Lane.) In the forty-seventh line of the Mo‘allaḳah of Zohayr, the phrase is evidently a mere expletive. ◌ is said to be for ◌, the ◌ being redundant. (See De Sacy’s Ḥarîri p. 464.) On this point, however, refer to Lane’s Lexicon.
I was evil in thought at his refraining..—When an Arab finds that his guest will not eat, he fears that he meditates some evil against him, and that he does not desire to bind himself by accepting hospitality. Thus when Abraham saw that the angels refused what he set before them he was afraid until they reassured him. Koran xi. 73.
Brother of empty talk.—◌ are originally small ways, branching off the main road (Sherîshi); and the word must then have been applied to wanderings or digressions of talk, and so to vain and unprofitable speech.
Yesternight.—Ḥarîri, in the Durrah (Anthol. Gram. Arabe, p. 27, Texte Arabe), says that it is a mistake when one who in the morning is speaking of the previous night calls it ◌; for from the dawn to the time when the sun begins to decline he should say ◌, and only during the latter part of the day, and during the succeeding night, should he say ◌. It is related in a Tradition of the Prophet that when he had finished the morning prayer he said to the Companions, “Is there one of you who has seen a vision this night?” using the word ◌. Compare “last night” and “yesternight” in English. The use in the text is correct, as the conversation takes place at night.
An ally of want.—◌ is one who unites in a confederacy with another. The word is applied to the confederacies of the tribes, as that between Asad and Ghaṭafân, and that between certain tribes of Ḳoraysh. It here means one who is a close companion of want.
Fulfilled its vow, i.e., “come to an end.” It is said of a man, “he has fulfilled his vow,” when he dies, as if death were incumbent upon him, as a thing vowed, and he fulfilled the vow by dying. The original of this expression is to be found at Koran xxxiii. 23, where it is explained as referring to those who have fought in the cause of Islam till they have met martyrdom, as Ḥamzah, and Muṣ‘ab son of ‘Omayr, and Anas son of An Naḍr. Others are spoken of in the same passage as “awaiting” their hour, as ‘Othmân and Ṭalḥah. This Anas was the uncle of Anas ibn Mâlik, the transmitter of Traditions.
Sunrise.—Ḥarîri in the Durrah says that ◌ is said of the sun only in the winter. Anthol. Gram. Arabe, p. 28.
Pass by.—From left to right, so as to give a good shot. The meaning is any one who might show himself a fit subject to be practised upon.
Cornelian.—This stone is recommended by the Prophet. ‘Âyisheh and ‘Ali relate that he said, “Seal with seals of cornelian.”
The yellow gold.—◌ is apparently the Greek
More bewildered than a lizard.—This is proverbial; it is said that the lizard when he wanders away from the stone under which he lives cannot find his way back.
Chid me on.—As the camel driver chides or urges on his camels by singing to them.
A driblet from my watering.—This is proverbial, like ◌, signifying little from, or instead of, much. A similar expression occurs in Forty-fourth Assembly; ◌
All the length of that day.—Literally, all the cloud of that day, like the shadow of that day: compare Thirty-second Assembly, “who resolved to pass the shadow of that day.”
To let down my bucket into rivers.—To ask charity in many places, or to endeavour to gain money. In the Forty-ninth Assembly Abû Zayd tells his son, “Cast thy bucket into every cistern,” meaning, “get gain wherever thou canst.” “Let down thy bucket among the buckets” (compare Seventeenth Assembly), was a proverbial expression, meaning, “come and labour and take thy chance with the rest;” derived from the watering of travellers at a well, when each man let down the bucket and drew for himself. Arab. Prov. II. 436.
With burning stomach.—Literally, liver. It is said in a Tradition, “For every dried up liver there is a recompense;” meaning, “For the giving of drink to whoever is parched with intense thirst there is a recompense.” From this Tradition Ḥarîri probably took the phrase ◌.
Advancing one foot, drawing back the other.—A proverbial expression denoting indecision, like the one following, “I blow (as a wind) and am calm.”
The Wolf’s disease is a name for hunger, because the wolf is ravenous for his prey, or because he bears hunger longer than any other beast. It is a curse on an enemy to say, “God strike him with the wolf’s disease!”
Thy disorder.—◌ is a fit or paroxysm, either from fever or from mental excitement, or from the effects of inspiration, which last kind is known to have affected the Prophet. It is here applied to the passion or anguish of the stranger.
Its blotting out.—I have translated according to Sherîshi, who renders the word by ◌. Another interpretation is “the perishing of science and its schools.”
What question, or proposition.—◌ is defined in the Ta‘rîfât as something said of which it can be predicated that it is true or false.
The chiefs of the schools.—Literally, the mountain peaks. ◌ is a peak or a ridge of desert mountain, such as serves as a guide to the travellers for a great distance. He means that he had consulted those who were men of great reputation, who were looked up to as guides by all who trod the paths of learning.
Worn-out way-marks.—This second ◌ signifies originally the marks in the desert by which the way was known. In early times, or in newly-explored parts, they consisted only of the hoof-prints and the dung of the camels, and men sometimes found their way by the smell of the track. Thus of Ḥonayf al Ḥanâtim, a man of Taym Allât ibn Tha‘labeh, it is related that, having been carried off by Jinn in the region called Wabâr which is inhabited by Jinn, he found his way back, though blind, by the smell of the track, so that it is said proverbially, A better pathfinder than Ḥonayf al Ḥanâtim. A negro slave called ◌ Do‘aymiṣ of the Sands, is said to have had the same power. Arab. Prov. I. 492. For the fate of the latter, see Freytag’s Lexicon, sub voce. When a way was frequented they put up stones as guides for travellers, and these received different names according to their size. One of small size was called ◌, one larger ◌, one larger still ◌, one larger still ◌, or ◌, the general name being ◌. (Hamâseh, vol. II. pars prior, p. 279). Thus to express that a thing was obscure and unintelligible it was said that its track-marks or road signs were razed out or taken away.
The doctors of the ink-flasks.—◌ is a learned man of the Jews, or of some religion other than Islam, but it is here used generally to signify one skilful in law.
Oft a shot is without a shooter.—Oft he who knows not how
to aim strikes the mark by chance. The meaning is, “Though
the doctors have been unable to explain this puzzle, yet you may
succeed by chance.” The origin of this proverb is thus related:
The first who used these words was Al Ḥakam ibn ‘Abd Yaghûth
the Manḳarî, who was the best archer of his time; and the reason
of it was that he had vowed to sacrifice an antelope on the
Ghabghab, and hunted for days but could strike nothing.
Having returned bootless, he went forth to his people and said,
“What do ye? for I am about to kill myself, if I cannot get a beast
to sacrifice.” Then said to him his brother Al Ḥosayn ibn ‘Abd
Yaghûth, “Slay in the place of it ten camels, but do not kill thyself.”
He answered, “No, by Allât (or Al Lât) and Al ‘Ozza
I will not harm the stumbler and leave the runaway;” meaning
that he would not substitute a domestic beast of burden for a
wild animal. Then said to him his son Al Moṭ‘im ibn Al Ḥakam,
“Father, take me with thee, and I will help thee.” He
answered, “I will not take with me a weakly trembler.” But
his son constrained him, and they set out, and soon they met
with an antelope, and Al Ḥakam shot and missed; then there
came by another, and Al Ḥakam missed again. Then said his
son to him, “Father, give me the bow.” When, then, a third
came by, the boy shot and killed her. Then said his father,
“Oft a shot is without a shooter,” which became proverbial.
The foregoing legend is remarkable for its connection with the
idol-worship of the Ignorance. The father of Al Ḥakam is ‘Abd
al Yaghûth, or the servant of Yaghûth, who is one of the false
gods mentioned in the Sura, called Noah, lxxi. 22: “They
said Abandon not your deities; abandon not ◌, and ◌; and
◌, and ◌, and ◌.” Bayḍâwi says in his commentary
that these were pious men living between the days of Adam
and Noah, who were afterwards worshipped, and that Yaghûth
was the idol of the tribe of ◌. Its worship was first celebrated
at Akameh in Yemen, and afterwards at Najrân. Allât and Al
‘Ozza, by whom the hunter swears, were goddesses. The former
appears to have been one of the most ancient deities, for it is
reasonable to conclude that it is to her that Herodotus refers,
A man died, etc.—Sherîshi says that the composer of the puzzle speaks of a brother because a stranger cannot inherit; and of a Moslem, because people of a different religion cannot have mutual rights of inheritance; and describes him as free, because a slave cannot inherit from the free man; and he adds, “I could not find any of our Shaykhs who was aware why the word ‘pious’ was introduced, until Abû ’l ‘Abbâs Al Layti informed me that there was a subtle meaning in it, since he who has killed anyone wilfully loses his right of inheritance.” Ḥarîri, by mentioning these conditions as fulfilled, means to say that there was no legal obstacle to the brother’s inheriting.
Her legal share.—◌ is applied to a law which is positively ordained in the Koran: a law that rests on the Traditions of the Prophet is called ◌. In Koran iv. 14, the share of the widow is fixed at one-fourth of the property of her deceased husband, if he leaves no children; but if he leaves children she receives only an eighth. In the answer to the puzzle it is mentioned that the widow in this case received an eighth, because her deceased husband left a grandson.
An ordinance of law.—◌ is a standard maxim or principle of law which is universally accepted, and which admits of no doubt. It is applied to those propositions of the Koran of the meaning of which there is no dispute. It is defined in the Ta‘rîfât as that which admits of only one meaning, or which does not admit of ◌; that is, which does not require expounding, or admit of figurative interpretation, because it is not dubious. ◌, signifying to set up a thing as a standard is set up, or as a bride is raised on a seat of honour, is no doubt akin to the Hebrew ◌, signifying something set up; as a banner or ensign on a high hill, Isaiah xiii. 2; xxx. 17; or as the pole on which the brazen serpent was placed, Numbers xxi. 8, 9. The metre of these verses is khafîf.
Thou hast fallen on one who is knowing in it.—This proverbial expression is attributed to Mâlik ibn Jobayr, who was one of the Khalif ‘Omar’s generals, or else to another Mâlik, the son of Jana, who was among the sages of the Arabs. According to Arab. Prov. II. 109, where he is made the son of Jobayr, he made use of this phrase when some one questioned him as to who was the first man “for whom the staff was struck;” that is, whose garrulity and wandering in old age were checked by his son’s striking, at his request, a staff on the ground. Mâlik, who was learned in the traditions of the Arabs, said, “Thou hast fallen upon one who is knowing in it,” which became proverbial. For “striking the staff” see Forty-ninth Assembly, p. 655, De Sacy’s edition; Arab. Prov. II. 543, and I. 55. It is also said that the poet Farazdaḳ made use of this expression when he met Ḥosayn, son of ‘Ali, who was journeying to Irak, while the poet was journeying to Ḥijâz. Ḥosayn asked him what was the disposition of the people of Kufa, and Farazdaḳ answered, “Thou hast fallen on one who is knowing in it; the hearts of the people are with thee, but their swords are with the Benû Omayyeh.”
One who is at home in it.—Literally, “the son of its root, or foundation,” that is, one well acquainted with its essence and reality: a common expression equivalent to the foregoing.
As God hath commanded.—It is said in the Koran, xxxiii. 53, “When ye are invited, enter.”
The ark of Moses, mentioned at Koran xx. 39. The ark of the covenant is also called ◌, Koran ii. 249, and is said by Bayḍâwi to have been in size three cubits by two. The word may thus be a figure for any very small dwelling. ◌ is used in Arabic for a coffin, or the wooden case placed over a grave; as ◌ was applied to the large coffin or hearse in which chiefs were taken for burial: see Commentary on Mo‘allaḳah of Ṭarafeh, line 12. The identity of these words with the words used in the Bible, the one to designate the ark of Noah and the ark in which Moses was exposed, and the other the ark of the covenant, need only be pointed out.
Weaker than a spider’s web; or house.—This is also an allusion to the Koran. In the Sura called the Spider it is said that those who choose any protector but God are like the spider when she makes her house; for “the weakest of houses is the house of the spider.” It has been objected to Ḥarîri, that whereas God has said, “the weakest of houses is the house of the spider;” he speaks in this Assembly of a house weaker than that of a spider, thus contradicting the sacred text. But it is observed in his justification that an exaggeration in similitudes is not to be taken literally, and that the sin would consist in believing and asserting as a positive truth that a house could really be weaker than the house of a spider.
The proud rider on the desired steed, etc.—These are enigmatic phrases signifying dates and cream. The rich-coloured dates were laid upon the cream and the two were sold in the markets; thus the dates might be called the rider and the cream the steed. Similarly, the cream by itself would be hurtful to the stomach, but the dates corrected this fault, so one is called the wholesome and the other the hurtful companion. This kind of language, as applied to various kinds of food, was called Ṭofaylî, a word derived from a celebrated dinner hunter named Ṭofayl, of whom an account will be given in the notes to the next Assembly. In the Nineteenth Assembly a number of Ṭofayli bye-names, ◌, are introduced.
The free-born woman hungers, but will not eat by her breasts. —This is a proverb directed against the practising of any ignoble art for gain. The free-born woman will rather starve than accept the occupation of a nurse, which belongs to slave women. This appears to have been a very ancient saying, for it is said to have been addressed proverbially by Al Ḥârith ibn Sulayk the Asadi to his wife Zebbâ. Ḥârith was advanced in years when he sought her in marriage of her father, ‘Alḳamat ibn Kha-ṭafah. The maiden disliked the marriage, but was persuaded by her mother; Ḥârith giving 150 camels, a slave, and a thousand dirhems. Some time after, as a young man of the Benû Asad passed by, Zebbâ sighed deeply, and her husband asked the reason. “What have I to do with old men?” she replied. Ḥârith then in his anger addressed her with this proverb, by which he meant seemingly that she would better have consulted her honour by bearing her lot uncomplainingly. He, however, repudiated her, and sent her back to her family. Arab. Prov. I. 211. Sherîshi gives the dialogue between mother and daughter, and make Zebbâ’s reply to her husband to be ◌; he also says that the occasion of her sighing was her beholding a number of the youths of Asad wrestling.
Forbidden the eating of usury.—It is said (Koran ii. 276,) “They who eat (devour the produce of) usury shall not rise save as he rises whom the devil prostrates by touching (or possessing him.”) Compare iii. 125: “Eat not usury, doubling and doubling the sum.” Compare also xxx. 38.
Press host on host.—A hyperbolical phrase quoted from a poet, and signifying here, “Mix them together.”
The voracious elephant.—“More voracious than the elephant” is a proverbial phrase. Arab. Prov. I. 133.
Say to him.—The metre of the answer to the puzzle, as well as of the puzzle itself, is khafîf, already described in the notes to the Tenth Assembly. In the second line Sherîshi reads ◌. His observations are reproduced in the notes to De Sacy’s edition.
The van of the darkness.—◌ is a part, or the first part of the night; or the darkness of the night. In Ḥamâseh, p. 595, Ar. Text, it may have the last meaning. “She is like the full moon that is in the midst of the darkness of a cold night.”
The thunder is lauding God in the cloud.—Koran xiii. 14. This passage gives the name of “Thunder” to the Sura.
The dogs barked after me.—Ḥarîri, in the Durrah, (Anthologie Gram. Arabe, p. 39, Texte Arabe), observes that ◌ governs an accusative immediately, and that it is a vulgarism to follow it by ◌.
Its white hand.—“White hand” is used idiomatically to express an unasked or ungrudged favour, as “a black hand” expresses niggardliness; it also means some great action which cannot be rivalled, so that it is said, “He has a white hand in this matter;” that is, “he is most able in it.” A third signification is an argument, or a clearly demonstrated proof. These various meanings seem to have arisen from the passage in the Koran, vii. 105, where it is said that Moses, before Pharaoh, drew forth his hand from his bosom, and it was white to the eyes of those who looked on it. The Moslems do not, like the Jews, interpret this as smitten with leprosy, Exodus iv. 6; but as a gift of supernatural beauty, the former colour of it having been brown or red. The “hand of Moses” became symbolical of power and ability.
The first of the morning dawned.—Literally the nose of the morning sneezed.
The caller of Blessing is the muezzin who cries ◌. There is here an allusion to the practice of wishing people the mercy of God when they sneeze, ◌. For a mention of this usage see Twenty-second Assembly.
Hospitality is three days.—This is a very celebrated Tradition, although by it the hospitable practices of the Ignorance were only confirmed. “The entertainment of a guest is three days, and the viaticum, ◌, is a day and a night, and what exceeds this is alms.” The Tradition is thus explained in Lane, Book I. p. 486. “The period of the entertainment of a guest is three days, during the first of which the host shall take trouble to show him large kindness and courtesy, and on the second and third of which he shall offer him what he has at hand, not exceeding his usual custom; then he shall give him that wherewith to journey for the space of a day and a night, and what is after that shall be as an alms, and an act of favour, which he may do if he please, or neglect if he please.”
Visit him thou lovest.—Similar counsels are to be met with continually in the poets. For the proverb, “Visit (only) at intervals; thou shalt increase friendship,” see Ar. Prov. I. 587.
The West.—By this name the people of the East denote Africa from Tunis to Morocco; but not Andalûs or Spain.
The prayer of sunset.—This is strictly speaking the first prayer of the day, which is reckoned from sunset to sunset; though the morning prayer is often called the first. The time of the prayer of sunset begins a few minutes after the disappearance of the sun; the second prayer time, ◌, begins when the evening has closed in; the third at day-break, ◌ or ◌; the fourth a little after the ◌, or noon; and the fifth at the ◌, or afternoon, midway between noon and dusk. Slight differences respecting the time of these devotions divide the four orthodox sects of Islam, but it is illegal to pray exactly at sunset, sunrise, or noon, since this was the practice of the sun-worshippers.
Performed with completeness.—This is interpreted to mean that it was performed in public, since a prayer in public in the mosque is more complete and excellent than one performed in private: or it may mean that it was performed with its full rite.
Joined to it what was optional.—That is, had added to the farḍ, or strictly incumbent inclinations, the two sunneh inclinations. The prayers consist of so many ◌, or inclinations, each with its accompanying recitations. The number of inclinations varies with the different prayers; but the prayer of sunset has three inclinations which are farḍ, and two which are sunneh; and the meaning of the text is that Ḥârith accomplished all five.
Ṭofayl, according to the legend, was the father of all intrusive guests, who come without being invited. According to Sherîshi he was Ṭofayl ibn Dallâl the Dârimî, and according to Abû ‘Obaydeh, cited at the proverb “More intrusive than Ṭofayl,” Arab. Prov. II. 838, he belonged to the tribe of ‘Abd Allah ibn Ghaṭafân. He dwelt at Kufa, and was known by the name of “Ṭofayl of the weddings,” or “Ṭofayl of the brides,” from his presenting himself unbidden at marriage feasts. From him every one who is ◌, that is, an intruder while people are eating, or ◌, that is, an intruder while they are drinking, is called a Ṭofayli; and from the nature of Eastern society the race has never failed. The satirical stories at the expense of these people are innumerable. One of them is supposed to sing:
“We are the people who when we are invited accept, and when we are forgotten invite ourselves:
“For we say, ‘Perhaps we were invited, but were from home, and the messenger came to us, but could not find us.’”
Yet it is doubted whether Ṭofayl ever existed, for ◌ signifies the coming on of night upon day; and from this the name Ṭofayli may be figuratively derived, as one who comes upon a company, unbidden and unwelcome.
Choice of the young camel’s hump.—◌ is the flesh of the back from the shoulders to the rump, including the hump. ◌ is the young camel till the time that it is weaned. In the Mo‘allaḳah of Ṭarafeh, v. 93, we read, “The serving maids place the young camel on the coals and hasten to us with slices of the fat hump.” Yet it is said, “More insipid than the flesh of the young camel.” Arab. Prov. II. 713.
They loosed their loops to me, that is, they rose up to me. This phrase has its origin in the peculiar posture taken by Arabs when sitting at their ease. The Arabs in the desert had, when sitting, nothing to rest their backs against; it was their custom therefore to draw up their knees to their stomachs, and then bind their back to their legs with a garment, or a piece of cloth, such as a turban is made of. The thing with which this was done was called ◌, and the act of doing it ◌. Or sometimes the man raised his knees in this manner and supported himself by holding a sword in front of his legs; and sometimes he knit his hands in front of them. Thus it was said that ◌ were “the walls of the Arabs,” that is, the things against which they rested their backs when sitting. The word is very insufficiently translated ‘loop;” and, indeed, it is impossible to render it in English. To loose the ◌ naturally means to rise; and to bind them means to sit down. To sit in this manner is the most easy posture among the Arabs, and would be adopted in a long confabulation. It is forbidden during the sermon as tending to sleep.
The blinding lightning that snatches away the sight. Compare Koran ii. 19.
The sip of the timid bird.—In the Thirty-ninth Assembly a similar comparison is used: “Not longer than the tasting of the drinker.”
The two words are ◌, the ordained form of salutation from one Moslem to another. The men on the ◌ or highest part of the barrier which separates Paradise from Hell, shall say to the people of Paradise, “Peace be upon you,” Koran vii. 44. It is not used to a person of another religion. The giving of this salutation to a Moslem is not an obligatory duty, farḍ, but a precept of Tradition, sunneh. To return it however is obligatory, since it is said, Koran iv. 88, “If ye be saluted return a still better salutation, or at least return it.” The former part of this command leads strict professors to repeat the full answer, which is, “On thee be peace and the mercy of God and his blessings;” or at least as much of this formula as is necessary to make it more complete than the original salutation. The Tradition given by Bayḍâwi is that a man said to the Prophet, “Peace be on thee.” The Prophet replied, “And on thee be peace and the mercy of God.” Another then said, “Peace be on thee and the mercy of God,” to which the Prophet replied, “And on thee be peace and the mercy of God and his blessings.” A third man said, “Peace be on thee and the mercy of God and his blessings,” to which the Prophet replied, “And on thee.” The man said, “Thou hast fallen short to me.” The Prophet answered that the man had left him nothing further to add, and that he had returned his wishes by saying, “And on thee.” Thus this full formula which unites all that can be desired for a man need not be exceeded in the answer.
The two salutations, or pronouncings of salâm.—Sherîshi says that these are the salâm uttered on entering the mosque, and that uttered at the close of the two inclinations with which it is proper to salute the mosque; or else it is the salâm uttered at the prayer of sunset, and that uttered after the inclinations. These opinions, no doubt, arise from the fact that only one salâm is necessary to the two inclinations with which the mosque must be saluted, so that if there were two salâms there would be four inclinations, which is unusual. But the commentator cited by De Sacy is of opinion that Ḥarîri takes the word ◌ in its ordinary sense as a salutation, so that it would be the same as rak‘âh.
The messenger of lank-bellied children.—◌ is originally a post-horse or mule; it is then applied to a messenger who rides on such an animal, and, lastly, to any messenger.
Tables.—Ḥarîri, in the Durrah (Anth. Gram. Arabe p. 29, Texte Arabe), says that a table is not ◌ until the viands are placed on it; that, in fact, it means a table laid with food. The disciples said to Jesus, “O Jesus, son of Mary, is thy Lord able to send down to us a table, ◌, from heaven?” where their meaning is shown to be a table laid with food, by their adding, “We desire to eat of it.” Koran v. 112. Until the food is upon it, says Ḥarîri, it is called ◌. This opinion, however, is contrary to what is stated in De Sacy’s Commentary, page 360, for there ◌ is also said to signify the table only after the food is on it. Both words mean the small table, or rather tray, on which food is served.
Become absurd by being reversed.—The commentators have noticed that in the Koran instances of this property may be found as ◌, xxi. 34; and ◌, lxxiv. 3. The last is introduced into the author’s second sentence. It need hardly be said that in the Koran they are quite unintentional. The learned have discovered them as they have discovered that there are two verses which contain all the letters of the alphabet, and many matters of the same kind.
Originate virgin phrases in it.—Literally, “Deflower virgins of it.” Compare Sixth Assembly.
The men of the Cave.—The history of the Seven Sleepers, so famous in the Middle Ages, is an article of faith with the Moslems, since it forms the subject of the earlier part of the Eighteenth Sura, called the Cave. According to the Christian tradition, the Seven Sleepers were young men of Ephesus, who, fleeing from the persecution of the Emperor Decius, took refuge in a cave, and there slept through a long period of time. The legend, like that of Endymion among the ancients, has singularly attracted the imagination wherever it has become known. In Koran xviii. 8, it is said, “Hast thou considered that the men of the Cave and Ar Raḳîm were of our signs, a wonder?” The meaning of Ar Raḳîm is the subject of dispute. It was either the name of the mountain or the valley in which the cave was situated, or of their village, or the name of their dog, which is mentioned at verse 17 as sleeping at the entrance of the cave, or else it is the name of a leaden or stone tablet on which their names were engraved by their countrymen, who built a chapel on the spot (verse 20); or else “the men of Ar Raḳîm” were distinct from the “men of the Cave,” who slept, for it is related that the men of Ar Raḳîm were three, who taking refuge in a cave from a tempest were shut in by the fall of a rock. Each of them prayed for help through the merits of a good action which he had performed. When the first had thus adjured God, the mountain cracked, so that they could see the light; when the second had spoken, it split, so that they could distinguish each other, and when the third had spoken, it opened and they were delivered.—Bayḍâwi. Respecting the number of the Companions of the Cave the Koran leaves us in uncertainty. It is said, “Men will say that they were three, and the fourth was their dog; that they were five, and the sixth was their dog, conjecturing what is hidden; and they will say that they were seven, the eighth was their dog. Say, My Lord knows best their number; there are but few who know concerning them.” Nor is the exact duration of their sleep determined, for it is said, “They remained in their cave three hundred years, ◌;” which is explained by Bayḍâwi to mean that opinions differ as to whether they remained three hundred or three hundred and nine years. According to the same Commentator (verse 21) the opinion that they were seven in number is the most correct; the names of six of them and of their dog are given on the authority of ‘Ali: the six were royal counsellors, and the seventh, whose name is not given, was a shepherd who accompanied them. Some of the names are seemingly corruptions of Latin or Greek. Ibn ‘Abbâs, cited by Sherîshi, gives the names differently; the dog, however, in both versions is Ḳiṭmîr. This dog has been reckoned by some among the seven most celebrated animals; the others being the hudhud or lapwing of Solomon, which brought him the news of the Queen of Sheba (Koran xxvii. 20); the camel of Ṣâliḥ; the cow of Moses, which gives a name to the second Sura; the fish of Jonah; the serpent of Eve; and the peacock of Paradise. The history of the people of the Cave was one of the twenty-eight subjects on which the Jews of Khaybar, at the instigation of Abû Jahl and Welîd ibn Moghayrah, questioned the Prophet. They sent five learned men thus to prove him, and Mohammed, though nothing had been revealed to him on the subject, answered, in the presence of the Ḳoraysh, that he would give the due replies; trusting that Gabriel would bring him the explanations from God. But he forgot to add, “if it please God,” and, to correct him, God left him fifteen days without any divine help, so that his enemies triumphed over him. At last, at the end of the fifteenth day, Gabriel brought to him the verses of the Koran which answered the several questions; but there was also revealed at the same time the following, “Say not of anything ‘I will do it to-morrow,’ without adding, ‘if God will it.’” These words occur in the history of the Cave, Koran xviii. 23, and bear witness that this history was one on which the Prophet was entirely uninformed, at the time when he rashly accepted the challenge of the Jews. For the history of these questions see Ṭabari.
Blame him who wearies of thee.—It will be observed that in these sentences only the twenty-eight letters are considered, and that no account is made of teshdîd or tanwîn, or even of the hamzeh, in such a word as ◌ although it is essentially a letter.
He who completes the kindness.—On the meaning of ◌, compare the verses at the end of the Sixth Assembly.
To mould and break, etc.—i.e., to form sentences, and then to reject them, on finding that they were deficient; to be at one moment ready to solve the difficulty, and at the next unable to utter a word.
I seek food.—That is, I seek a solution of the difficulty from those around. The word is used in a saying of ‘Ali, which is interpreted to mean, “When the Imâm seeks for a word or an explanation, give him one.” You say ◌, when the reader of the Koran stops (through ignorance what reading to give to a particular word), and you explain to him and give him an opinion; on the other hand, he ◌ when he solicits this help. A somewhat similar use of the word occurs in the Thirty-first Assembly, p. 390, De Sacy’s edition: “Their seeking to taste of his speech.”
My breeze fell.—i.e., my efforts were given up in despair.
Iyâs has been spoken of in the notes to the Seventh Assembly.
There is One learned, etc.—These words are from Koran xii. 76, and refer to the stratagem suggested by God to Joseph, of hiding his cup in Benjamin’s sack.
Bestow on the needy. — Metre rejez. The letters of these verses are the same whether read forwards or backwards, though this is effected by counting the augmentative elif which makes the ◌ of the last syllable.
Excellent are this company.—Metre kâmil, which has been described at the Fourth Assembly.
Princes in bounty.—I have thus translated in accordance with Sherîshi, who renders ◌ by ◌, making ◌ a form of ◌, in use among the people of Yemen. It is said in the Twenty-seventh Assembly, “I sojourned with Arabs who were as deputies of princes;” meaning noble-spirited men. The title ◌ is explained at Assembly Eighteen. This rendering is the more consistent with the sense, since Abû Zayd praises the company both for their cleverness and their liberality.
Saḥbân would be as Bâḳil. — For the former of these two persons, who is always spoken of as the pattern of eloquence, see the Fifth Assembly. Bâḳil was a man of Rabî‘ah, or, as it is otherwise said, of Iyâd. He had an impediment in his speech for which his name became proverbial, so that it is said, More tongue-tied than Bâḳil. Once, when he had a fawn under his arm, which he had bought for eleven dirhems, he was met by people who asked him how much he had given; he stretched out his arms and opened his fingers to express ten, and put out his tongue to express one. The fawn which was under his arm made its escape. When censured for his stupidity, he is said to have answered in verse that a man could not help his own stupidity, and that when afflicted with it, it was an advantage to him not to be able to speak fluently. Ar. Prov. II. 146.
The glooming has now set in.—These words are derived from the Sura called ◌, at the end of the Koran. ◌ signifies to be overflowed or obscured, as the night by darkness or clouds, or the eye by tears. It is said by some to apply there to the eclipsing of the moon. (Bayḍâwi.) Sherîshi also renders the word by “moon,” and quotes a Tradition of ‘Âyisheh, that the Prophet one night, looking at the moon, said to her, “Commend thyself to God from the evil of this; for this is ◌, the moon which is becoming eclipsed.” I have preferred to render it “glooming;” but if it refer to the moon it may mean merely that the moon had set.
Between me and my house.—On the repetition of ◌, when it is joined to a pronoun so as to form but one word with it, read the lucid explanation of Ḥarîri, in the Durrah; Anthol. Grammat. Arabe, p. 44, Texte Arabe.
Distraction.—◌ is described as fear and delirium caused by hunger. It is used also to express angry petulance, or caprice of mind.
Emptiness.—◌ is a maṣdar.
To his people.—◌ is the reserve or support of an army or attacking body; a band stationed behind soldiers for them to take refuge with in retreat.
His return.—◌, which is one of several maṣdars of ◌, signifies, according to some, only the returning to one’s family at night.
The seed-plots of advantages: the nurseries, the place where something is planted. This word is used in the sense of a bride from whom offspring is expected at Assembly Thirty-nine, unless, indeed, we have to read there ◌, without the point.
When thou hast got the plucking.—Metre muteḳârib.
Accost with “Give now,” etc.—The meaning of this is, “when you ask, endeavour to get the favour instantly granted, but when you are solicited, put off the asker as long as you can.” It is said proverbially, “When he begs he urges, and when he is begged of he puts off.” Ar. Prov. I. 41. In the Thirty-seventh Assembly it is said “Remains there one who when he is asked for food says, ‘Take?’” At p. 509 of De Sacy’s edition, some verses of Al Boḥtori are quoted, the last of which expresses a similar idea.
What is postponed from thee.—i.e., what is only due at some future time. ◌ signifies neither present nor future wealth.
In thy heart.—◌, which is ◌ from ◌, is a word of various meanings, but seems here to signify the pericardium; the integument (◌) of the heart. It is also said to signify the core of the heart or the heart’s blood.
In its heat.—◌ is the ardour of the horse for the gallop, and thence the gallop itself.
Cast in his bucket among the buckets.—Ar. Prov. II. 436. See also notes to Fifteenth Assembly. Compare also Ar. Prov. II. 260.
Thinner than a reed.—Ḥarîri, in the Durrah (Anthol. Gram. Arabe p. 31, Texte Arabe) says that a reed is only called ◌ when it is cut for writing; so ◌, which occurs a few lines back, means only the thread or string of a necklace.
The shears.—Sherîshi reminds us that Ḥarîri, in the Durrah, censures the use of ◌, and ◌, which, as they signify instruments that are made up of a double blade, should be used in the dual, as ◌. Yet Sherîshi, though acknowledging that the dual is the more usual, and the preferable form, gives instances of the use of the singular. The shears are called dry because they are used but seldom, and lie rusty during the greater part of the year.
To lay low all he aimed at.—◌ is said of one who strikes and kills the game on the spot; ◌ of one who strikes it so that it escapes, and lingers for some time. To eat the latter is forbidden, since it is held to come under the prohibitions of Koran ii. 168 and v. 4. There is also a Tradition of the Prophet, “Eat what thou hast struck so that it was killed at once, and leave what thou hast struck so that it lingered.”
Until the quivers were empty.—This metaphor for the exhaustion of a store of conversation has already occurred. According to some there is a difference between the two names for a quiver, ◌ and ◌, the former being a large and wide quiver, with a cover to it, intended for the wooden arrows, called ◌, which were used by the Persians; while the latter is of leather, made to hold the Arab arrows of reed, ◌. Other names are ◌, which occurs in Assembly Twelve, and is said to mean a quiver of wood or of skin; ◌, which consists of two pieces of wood, joined together, and ◌, which is a leathern bag for arrows.
Or the word ‘Silence’ were incumbent upon them.—The sense of these words in the original is obscure. The Commentator cited by De Sacy explains them by the passage in the Koran, “When the Koran is read listen to it and be silent,” vii. 203. The meaning in that case would be, “They were as speechless as if the duty of listening to the Koran were incumbent upon them.” But the phrase ◌, Koran x. 96, means “those on whom the word of God is established and fixed that they should not believe” (Bayḍâwi). Also ◌, Koran xxxvi. 6, has a similar meaning. The passage in the text may therefore be rendered, “As if a sentence or judgment from God of silence had been established against them.
The term of grace.— ◌ is technically the term which must elapse before a repudiated wife can be sent away: Koran lxv. 1–6. ◌ is also used in speaking of the time which should elapse before she marries again. The meaning in the text is simply, “I have given you your full time.”
The tether of delay.—◌ is the long rope by which animals are tied when grazing.
I will rub the spark.—In De Sacy’s Commentary it is said that to give to ◌ the sense of blame is a mistake; but I cannot but think that the ambiguity was present to Ḥarîri’s mind, who is fond of surprising the reader by such plays of language.
The light of cheerfulness.—The primitive meaning of ◌ is the foretokens or earnests of anything; and it is used in this sense in the reversed reading. Then it was applied to the streaks of light which the dawn makes in the night, and which are earnests of the coming morning. Hence in the text it signifies the bright gleams of a cheerful countenance.
Eloquence in speech is witchcraft to hearts.—This is taken from a traditional utterance of Moḥammed: “Some eloquence (or exposition) is as witchcraft.” The occasion on which it was spoken is given with the proverb. Arab. Prov. I. 1.
Self-restraint.—◌ is defined in the Ta‘rîfât as the abstaining from what is doubtful for fear of falling into what is forbidden.
The ornament of rulers is hatred of defamers. — Moḥammed said, “He who defames his neighbour to the Prince injures his Prince, his neighbour, and himself.”
Excellence is in the hand of God; He gives it to whom he will.— These words are from Koran lvii. 29, where they are used as a rebuke to “the people of the Book” or of “writing,” that is the Jews and Christians, who possessed Scriptures, and despised the Prophet’s revelation. Ḥârith consoles himself for his inferiority to Abû Zayd by reflecting that literary gifts are in the hands of God.
I do not take forfeit of my pupils: as I do from my unsuccessful competitors. As Ḥarîth was only a listener, not one of the contenders in the strife of eloquence, but an humble learner, Abû Zayd will not take a present from him.
Be Abû Zayd.—That is, I hope and believe that thou art Abû Zayd. The Prophet seeing Abû Therr al Ghafâri, at a distance, before he could well distinguish him, said, “Be Abû Therr,” that is, “I hope that thou art he,” or “God ordain that thou be he.”
He declared the Power of God and our return to Him.—◌ or ◌ signifies he ejaculated ◌ (There is no strength and no power but in God). ◌ signifies he ejaculated ◌ (We belong to, or are in the hands of, God, and to Him we return). These are exclamations uttered at the befalling of calamity.
Time hath drawn his sword.—The metre of these verses is ◌ and they belong to the third ◌ which is ◌ and its first ◌ which is ◌, the measure being ◌ It is to be noticed that each line ends with ◌ taken in a different sense.
Loose our loops: to rise up. See Sixteenth Assembly.
We went asunder like the bands of Saba.—The allusion here is to the most famous event in early Arab history, namely, to what is called ◌, or the bursting of the dyke of Mârib, in Yemen, by which the reputed descendants of Saba were scattered to the extremities of Arabia, and into Syria, and Irak. The subject has been almost exhausted by Sylvestre de Sacy, in the masterly essay which is contained in Vol. xlviii. of the Mémoires de l’ Académie Royale des Inscriptions et Belles-lettres. To this work, and to the Arabic texts which the learned author has published with it, the student who desires full information on the subject is referred. It will be here necessary to give only such a brief narrative as will explain the allusion in the text. According to Arab tradition, there was in Yemen or South Western Arabia a large and fertile country inhabited by the descendants of Saba, ◌. Mas‘ûdi describes it as distinguished above all others for its rich fields, its gardens and its meadows, its buildings and canals, its fine trees and plentiful rivers. In this happy country, which was called the land of Saba, there was situated a great city called Mârib, which was the capital of its kings, a powerful race of monarchs, who had defeated all their enemies. But all this prosperity was artificial. The country had been originally uninhabitable, on account of the frequent inundations; since the torrents rushed down from the mountains, sweeping harvests and cattle before them. But Loḳmân, son of ‘Âd, he who is called “Loḳmân of the Vultures,” and who must not be confounded with Loḳmân al Ḥakîm, son of Bâ‘urâ, of the children of Âzar, who was sister’s son to Job, or, as others say, son of Job’s maternal aunt, and who was a witness of the power of God in giving David the skill to make coats of mail (Bayḍâwi on Koran xxxi. 11), became king of the country, after the destruction of the race of ‘Âd. For an account of “Loḳmân of the Vultures,” see Ṭabari, at the history of the prophet Hûd. This Loḳmân turned the channels of some of the rivers, and gave them an outlet to the sea; to restrain the rest, he constructed between two high mountains, at the mouth of a ravine into which the waters precipitated themselves, a strong dyke, which caused the floods to form a great basin or reservoir. In this dyke were openings through which the husbandmen drew off supplies of water for their fields, and the country of Mârib became fertile, populous, and rich. This prosperity endured for ages. Loḳmân himself is said to have lived three thousand five hundred years, having been granted by God a life equal in length to the lives of seven vultures, each of which lived five hundred years. His life only came to an end when the last vulture, which was named Lubad (◌) died. At last the country came under the government of ‘Amr ibn ‘Âmir Muzayḳîyâ, or the Tearer, who was so called because he tore up, every evening, the ◌, or pair of garments, which he had worn during the day; for his pride was such that he would not wear them again, or suffer another to wear them. A more probable derivation is that he ◌ or “tore away” the people from their settlements. This ‘Amr descended, according to Mas‘ûdi, from Saba, through Kahlân and Azd. He had a wife named Ẓarîfet al Khayr, who was a divineress of great skill, and who at her death left her Jinn, or familiar spirits, to Shiḳḳ and Saṭîḥ; as has been noticed already in the history of Shiḳḳ. In his time there arose a fear that the dyke would give way. ‘Amrân, brother of ‘Amr, who was also a diviner, received presages that the people would be scattered into distant countries. Ẓarîfeh dreamed that a great cloud covered the country, out of which came thunderbolts that destroyed all they fell upon. She declaimed her dream to her husband in prophetic rhythm; and her frenzy was such that they held her fast till she grew calm. Afterwards, when her husband was absent and giving her cause for jealousy, she went to seek him, but three moles stood upright before her; a tortoise turned on its back in her path, and the trees were agitated without a wind. She forced her way into her husband’s presence, and in a prophetic frenzy declaimed, “By the light and the darkness; By the earth and the heaven; Surely each tree shall perish; And the waters shall return as in the times that are past.” “Who hath told thee that?” said ‘Amr. “The moles,” she answered in the same strain, “have shown me years of calamity, in which the son shall separate from the father.” In the end she bade ‘Amr go and examine the dyke, and if he found a rat making holes in it, be sure that the destruction would come to pass. He went, and found that it was so, and told what he had seen in some verses of the metre rejez. ‘Amr then determined to quit the country; but being desirous to obtain a good price for his property he devised a stratagem which would give him an excuse for selling it, without telling his people that it would soon be worthless. He made a feast, and contrived that he should be struck by a youth who was present. When he had received the blow he declared that he could never bear such an insult, and that he would dispose of all he had and depart. When he had arranged his affairs he revealed what was to happen, and a general emigration took place. God then sent great rains which burst the dyke, and ruined the country of Mârib. Such is the legend. Before proceeding to discuss the historical event on which it rests, it will be as well to cite the passage in the Koran concerning it, and the opinions of the commentators. At Sura xxxiv. 14, it is said, “Saba had in its dwelling a sign of our power; two gardens, right and left: we said Eat of the gift of your Lord, and be thankful to him: your country is a goodly one, and your Lord is forgiving. But they turned aside (from thankfulness) and we sent on them the Sayl al ‘Arim, and for their two gardens we gave them two with bitter fruit, and the tamarisk and scanty lotus.” In this passage ◌ is interpreted to be any bitter fruit, or to be the fruit of the kind of trees called ◌. With respect to ◌, it is interpreted by Bayḍâwi as “troublesome,” or “disastrous,” or as “a violent rain,” or “a rat,” the word “torrent” being put in annexion with ‘rat,’ because a rat bored through the dam which Bilḳîs had constructed for them, and by which she kept in the water, having left orifices according to the wants of the inhabitants; or else it is a high bank, founded as a dam; in which last case it is the plural of ◌, which means heaped up stones; it is also said to be the name of the valley from which the torrent came. These discordant opinions conduce to the belief that ◌ was a word of the language of Yemen, the meaning of which was not understood by Ḳoraysh. It is, however, the prevalent opinion among the learned that ◌ means a dyke, and to this the analogy of the Hebrew lends weight. In the song of Moses, Exodus xv. 8, it is said ◌. For ◌, a heap, see Cant. vii. 3; and Ruth iii. 7.
Of the epoch of the bursting of the dyke of Mârib it is impossible
to speak with accuracy. It took place probably more
than a century after the birth of Christ. Mârib is mentioned
by Pliny as a flourishing city in his time; and even Bayḍâwi,
with all his orthodox respect for tradition, admits that the calamity
occurred between the time of Christ and Moḥammed.
Other writers also speak of it as having occurred in the ◌,
a name applied pre-eminently to this period. De Sacy, reviewing
the various narratives and genealogies, places it between
150 and 170
The Arabic writers generally make Saba the son of Yashjob, the son of Ya‘rob (who was the first person who spoke Arabic or made it clear by the ◌) the son or descendant of Ḳaḥṭân. Saba had the name of ‘Abd Shems (servant or worshipper of the sun), and he begat two sons, Ḥimyar and Kahlân. This genealogy shows that they consider the Ḥim-yaritic Arabs of the south to be identical in race with the ancient Sabæans. The name of Saba is, no doubt, of very great antiquity, since at Genesis x. 28, Sheba is made the son of Joktan, whom the Arabs identify with Ḳaḥṭân. There is another Sheba the son of Raamah and grandson of Cush mentioned at verse 7, with whom the former must not be confounded. This Sheba son of Raamah has, like Sheba the grandson of Abraham, a brother called Dedan, from which it would seem that two different genealogies have been attributed to a single race.
With travellers.—According to some, ◌ is applied only to those who are mounted on camels, and he who is mounted on a horse is called ◌, of which the plural in use is ◌, as the owner of, or attendant on, mules, asses, or elephants, or the rider on one of these animals, is called ◌, the plural being formed by the addition of ◌. But others deny this, and quote the verse of Imr al Ḳays— ◌ “When they mount their horses, and put on their breast-plates, the earth grows hot though the day be cold:” Dîwân, p. 42. This, it is said, is a proof that ◌ can be applied to horses. But Sherîshi points out that the former opinion is, after all, correct, for the Arabs, when they use ◌ alone, apply it always to the riding on camels; and if riding on any other animal be intended, the name of the animal is mentioned, as in the verse quoted, Ḥarîri, in the Durrah (Anthol. Gram. Arabe, p. 54, Texte Arabe), says that ◌ ought not to be used of a mixed body or train of animals, since it applies to camels only; and so ◌ signifies exclusively one who is mounted on a camel. But he admits that Al Khalîl ibn Aḥmed allows ◌ and ◌ to be applied to people mounted on any kind of beasts, the difference between the two words being that the latter is applied to a more numerous company than the former. In accordance with this high authority, I have translated ◌ simply travellers.
The Benû Nomayr.—Nomayr descended from Ghaṭafân, through Khasaf, Hawâzin, Bekr, Mu‘âwiyeh, Ṣa‘ṣa‘ah and ‘Âmir. They dwelt in the plains beyond the mountains which separate Tihâmeh from Nejd, and extended as far north as Yathrib (Medina). The sons of ‘Âmir were Hilâl, Ghanî, Rabî‘ah and Nomayr (see Caussin de Perceval’s Genealogical Tables, No. X., part A.), and the sons of Rabî‘ah were ‘Âmir ibn Rabî‘ah, Kilâb, and Ka‘b. Though having this celebrated kindred, Nomayr refused to ally itself with another tribe, and hence is known as one of the three ◌. The derivation of ◌ is doubtful; but it is applied to a tribe which is strong enough to depend on itself, and will not form alliances or confederacies with any other; so that to say of the sons of Such an one that they are a ◌ means that they are strong and able to defend themselves. Sherîshi says, “The Benû Nomayr are a tribe of the Benû Ṣa‘ṣa‘ah, and one of the ◌ of the Arabs, and the most noble of the families of Ḳays son of Ghaylân (Ghaṭafân issued from Moḍar by Ḳays ibn Ghaylân). Now the Jamrât of the Arabs are three, and were called so because they multiplied among themselves and no others mixed with them, for ◌ in the speech of the Arabs signifies collecting together; these were the Benû Nomayr and the Benû ’l Ḥârith ibn Ka‘b and the Benû Ḍabbah (son of Udd son of Ṭâbikhah son of Elyas son of Moḍar). Two of these became extinct, the Benû Ḍabbah by confederating with Ribâb, and the Benû ’l Ḥârith by confederating with Methḥij, and Nomayr alone remained. One of their poets has said,
‘Nomayr are the Jamrah of the Arabs; they cease not to burn in war.’” To understand this verse it must be borne in mind that ◌ signifies a “live coal” as well as an independent tribe. Yet with all this pride of race it does not appear that they played any pre-eminently distinguished part in early Arab history.
Wealth and worth.—This is the best rendering I can find for this phrase, which belongs to the class known as ◌. The two words have almost the same meaning, if ◌ be considered to be, like ◌, a supply of anything which one has acquired. When used negatively the phrase means that a man is poor and useless, Arab. Prov. II. 634; and here the sense may be that they were a prosperous and serviceable people. But Sherîshi gives to ◌ the metaphorical sense of friendship, which is consistent with the meaning of ◌ as a maṣdar; for the latter signifies the bringing in provision for one’s friends or fellow travellers; so that the phrase may mean in the text well-to-do and liberal people.
Making a marriage feast.—◌ is used especially in the sense of a feast at a wedding; compare a note to Assembly Eleven. ◌ is any feast to which persons are invited. ◌ is the general multitude; those who, as it were, troop or hurry in to a feast when they are invited. See Commentary, p. 373, De Sacy’s edition. ◌ is a general invitation as opposed to ◌, a select invitation.
Both of settled land and of desert; otherwise called ◌, the people of mortar, that is, those living in permanent houses; and ◌, the people of goat’s or camel’s hair, that is, those living in tents made of such materials. According to the commentary on a verse in the Ḥamâseh, p. 670, Arab. Text, ◌ was a man who was of the pure race of the Arabs, whether he lived in cities or in the desert; while ◌ were those who dwelt in the desert, whether Arabs by race or not; and one of the latter was ◌. The Commentator quotes a verse, “They call us ◌, but ◌ is our name.”
Both the important and those of no account.—Both those whom it was necessary to invite, as his own relatives and friends, and the chief merchants of the caravan; and those who might have been neglected, as the servants and drivers, and the lower class of people. This is the explanation of Sherîshi, and is obviously more reasonable than the others given in De Sacy’s Commentary.
Of one hand and two: What was soft and might be eaten with
one hand, as tharîd, and the like, and what needed to be broken
or pulled to pieces by using both hands, as meat. This expression
is ascribed to Ḥassân ibn Thâbit, who, being blind,
was at a feast of the Anṣar or Moslems of Medina with his son
Abd ar Raḥmân. When the tharîd was set on, he said, “My
son, is it of one hand or two?” “Of one,” answered his son,
and Ḥassân put forth one hand to eat it. When the roast meat
came he asked the same question, and being told that it was of
“two hands,” he abstained; thinking, it would seem, that he
could not cut or tear it decently from the dish like the others.
Ḥassân ibn Thâbit was one of the chief poets of the days of the
Prophet, and one of the three who sang his praises in opposition
to the satirical poets on the other side. The other two were
Ka‘b ibn Mâlik and ‘Abd Allah ibn Rawâḥah. He died
Tesnîm, a fountain in Paradise. At Koran lxxxiii. 27, it is said that the wine of the blessed shall be mixed with Tesnîm, “a fountain at which those who are brought near (to God) shall drink.” According to Bayḍâwi, it is called Tesnîm from the loftiness of its position, or the nobility of its draught. He, however, considers that a distinction is made in the text between the ◌ and the rest of the people of Paradise; and that the meaning is that the former will drink of the fount of Tesnîm unmixed, and the latter mixed. In Freytag’s Lexicon it is said that the fount of Tesnîm flows over the place called ◌. It is elsewhere defined as the highest and noblest of the drinks of Paradise.
Its train.—◌ with kesr is a bevy or flock of women, or of birds, like the Ḳaṭa, or of deer; and ◌ with fetḥ is a herd of grazing camels.
Revenge!—A cry of those who call on their fellows to take blood revenge for murder. A verse of Ḥassân ibn Thâbit is as follows: “Speedily shalt thou hear in their dwellings ‘God is great! Oh the revenges for ‘Othmân;’” or, Oh, ye avengers of ‘Othmân; that is, the cry of those who shall take revenge for ‘Othmân. Another reading of this verse is ◌, said to be a transposition from ◌. See Lane, Book I. p. 322. The meaning of the author is that the guests prepared to set upon the sweetmeats as men rush to their revenge.
As the lizard from the fish.—The lizard was supposed not to drink; but, when thirsty, to open his mouth to the wind. So the Arabs said, “I will not do so and so until the lizard goes to water;” and the phrase “Quenching thirst more easily than the lizard,” became proverbial. Arab. Prov. I. p. 573. In the Thirty-eighth Assembly, it is said, “Praise and parsimony can so ill be united, that this may be thought a lizard and that a fish.” In the Fiftieth Assembly the author describes Basra from its maritime position as a place where ships and camels meet, where the lizards and fish come together. Both ◌ and ◌ signify large fish.
As Ḳodâr among Thamûd.—Thamûd is many times mentioned in the Koran as one of the ancient peoples who were destroyed for their wickedness. At ix. 71, it is said, “Have they not heard of those who went before them, the people of Noah and ‘Âd and Thamûd, and the people of Abraham and the inhabitants of Midian, and of the subverted cities?” (the Cities of the Plain). Again, at l. 12, “Before them the people of Noah and the men of Rass (See Bayḍâwi on xxv. 40), and Thamûd, and ‘Âd, and Pharaoh, and the brethren of Lot, and the people of ◌ or ◌ (Midian), and the people of Tobba‘ (Bayḍâwi on xliv. 36) treated prophets as impostors.” Thamûd are said to have been inhabitants of Al Ḥijr, in the country between Ḥijâz and Syria, where to this day dwellings hewn in the stone are to be found, which, according to the Koran and to Moslem tradition, belonged to Thamûd. Koran xv. 80. The passages of the Koran on which the tradition of the destruction of Thamûd is based, are, firstly, vii. 71–77, where it is said that God sent to Thamûd their brother Ṣâliḥ, who gave them the sign of a she-camel, which they killed, and were themselves destroyed by an earthquake. Bayḍâwi, in the commentary on this passage, makes Thamûd to be the son of ‘Âbar, son of Aram, son of Shem, son of Noah; but he also cites an opinion that the tribe received its name from the scarcity of water, ◌ being a scanty pond of water. The pedigree of Ṣâliḥ he gives as son of ‘Obayd, son of Asaf, son of Mâsiḥ, son of ‘Obayd, son of Ḥâthir, son of Thamûd. Secondly, Koran xi. 64–71, then xxvii. 46–53, not to mention other frequent references to the story. An account of the destruction of Thamûd, based on these passages and on tradition, is given by Bayḍâwi at vii. 76; but the complete legend will be found in Ṭabari, whose narratives in this as in so many other cases subsequent authors only repeat with variations. Thamûd lived in the country which had formerly been inhabited by ‘Âd, and hollowed the rocks for their dwellings. They were idolaters, and God sent to them their brother Ṣâliḥ to convert them. They challenged him to go forth with them on a feast day, and to call upon his God, while they called on their idols; and promised that if he should be answered while they were unsuccessful, they would worship his God. They fruitlessly called on their idols, and then angrily bade him give them a sign. “Thou art but one of the wizards; thou art but a man like ourselves; bring a sign if thou be of the truthtellers.” Koran xxvi. 153. Ṣâliḥ asked what sign they desired, and they said, “Bring out of that rock a she-camel and her foal, of a red colour, which shall walk and graze.” The rock opened and the camel came forth. Ṣâliḥ said to them, “Do her no harm, lest the punishment of the great day take hold on you,” (xxvi. 156). Now Thamûd having but one well were forced to be careful of their water, and whenever the she-camel went to drink, which was every other day, she drank the well dry. Then it was agreed that the water should be one day for the camel, and the other for the tribe. But it was revealed to Ṣâliḥ that the camel should be killed by one who was not yet born, and that he would be a child with red hair and blue eyes. The people therefore killed nine new-born children who answered this description; till at last the prophet became hated, and the nine fathers of the murdered children, who are supposed to be alluded to at Koran xxvii. 49, saved the tenth child, who was Ḳodâr, son of a woman named Ḳodayrah: his father’s name was Sâlif. Then they lay in wait to kill Ṣâliḥ, but God caused a rock to fall upon them. When Ḳodâr grew up he became an opponent of the prophet, and undertook to kill the she-camel, which he did by houghing her, whence he is called ◌. The foal then disappeared, and God destroyed the people of Thamûd by a cry from heaven. Ḳodâr became proverbial as one who brought evil on his race; so that it is said, “More unlucky than the hougher of the she-camel;” “More unlucky than the Red Man of ‘Âd;” ‘Âd being either confused with Thamûd by mistake, or used because Thamûd was related to ‘Âd; for some of the genealogists say that Thamûd was the cousin of ‘Âd. Bayḍâwi says that their chief was Jondo‘, son of ‘Âmir, and that he believed: and that those who opposed Ṣâliḥ were Thawwâb, son of ‘Amr, and Al Ḥobâb, the keeper of their idols, and Ribâb, son of Ṣaghr, their diviner. See his commentary on Koran vii. 76, for these and other details.
Their sepulchres: literally, their tomb mounds; the heaps of stones piled up over a grave. In a Tradition ◌ signifies, “Do not heap up stones over my grave, but leave it level.”
And was free from guilt.—Having sworn that he would not sit near the vase, he could not return without sin until it was taken away. The respect for vows of this kind may be noticed in several places in the author’s work. When Abû Zayd’s host in Assembly Fifteen swears that he will not let him lodge in the house, Abû Zayd at once goes out into the rain, since it would be a sin to induce a man to break such a vow. Also when Abû Zayd vows that he will depart, Ḥârith does not seek any further to detain him.
Glass is a betrayer.—At the proverb “More divulging than glass,” Arab. Prov. II. 780, is a composition which Ḥarîri may have had in mind. It is an address by a poet, Sahl ibn Hârûn, in praise of glass, in opposition to another poet who had indited one in praise of gold.
The witchcraft of Babylon.—Compare Koran ii. 96. For Hârût and Mârût, and their seduction by Zoharah, see Bayḍâwi on the passage.
Give life to one buried alive.—These words have reference to the practice of burying female children alive, which prevailed among the ancient Arabs. In the sublime Sura of the Koran called ◌ (lxxxi), it is said, “When the girl buried alive shall be asked for what sin she was slain:” and the passage refers to the practice which still in Moḥammed’s time lingered among the tribe of Temîm, and was only completely eradicated by the influence of Islam. It is probable that in remote times it was connected with the superstitious rite of sacrificing children which was common to all the Semites, and was practised by the Jews up to the age of the Captivity, as we learn from the denunciations of Jeremiah, vii. 31; xix. 5. But in later times it was ascribed to the poverty of many of the tribes, which made them desire to have among them only those who could bear hardship in time of need, and to their fear of dishonour, since women were often carried off by their enemies in forays, and made slaves and concubines to strangers. So that at a wedding the wish to the newly-married pair was ◌, “With concord and sons,” see Assembly Twenty-ninth, p. 364, De Sacy’s edition: or “With concord and permanence, with sons and no daughters.” So strong was this feeling, even in the time of the Prophet, that at Koran xvi. 59, it is used as an argument against those Arabs who, like the tribes of Khozâ‘ah and Kinâneh, said that the angels were the daughters of God. “They attribute daughters to God, Glory be to him (◌ is used in the Koran when any blasphemous supposition is to be repelled); yet they wish them not for themselves. When a female child is announced to one of them, his face grows dark, and he is as though he would choke.” Compare Koran xvii. 42, and xxxvii. 153. The older proverbs show the prevalence of this inhumation of female children, and the belief of the Arabs that it was praiseworthy. It was said “To send women before (to the other world) is a benefit. Ar. Prov. I. 228. Also ◌, “The burying of girls is a generous deed,” and ◌, “The best son-inlaw (or marriage relative) is the grave.” The little regard for relationship through females among the tribes is expressed in some verses attributed to Ghassân ibn Wa‘leh, at p. 259 of the Ḥamâseh. In the commentary is quoted the proverb, “Our sons’ sons are our sons, but our daughters’ sons are the sons of strangers.” From some verses of Isḥâḳ ibn Khalaf, page 140 of the Ḥamâseh, we perceive the reasons which may have induced a father to put an end to his daughter’s days. The poet says:—
Were it not for Omaymeh, I would not be saddened at want, nor would I endure the gloom in the dark night.
She makes me wish to live, since I know how she will be contemned as an orphan, when her brothers of the womb are churlish to her. (Brothers by her mother but not by her father.)
I fear that poverty may some day reach her, and tear away her veil, so that she will be as meat on the tray. (See Assembly Twelve.)
She desires my life, but I long for her death, through compassion on her; for to women death is the most generous guest.
Yet, with the comparative softening of manners which took place in the age before Moḥammed, the inhumation of daughters seems gradually to have been abandoned. It was kept up longest in the tribe of Temîm (see the proverb “More wandering than the maid buried alive;” Ar. Prov. II. 16): an evil which is attributed to Ḳays ibn ‘Âṣim, chief of Temîm, a hero praised by Moḥammed as the noblest of the Arabs of the desert: some elegiac verses on him are to be found at p. 367 of the Ḥamâseh. As Temîm had refused tribute to No‘mân, king of Hira, the latter had sent his squadron of cavalry, called Dowsar, (for which see the proverb “More valorous than Dowsar:” Ar. Prov. I. 198) and had carried off, among others, the daughter of Ḳays. Negotiations were entered into for the restoration of the prisoners, and the king gave leave to all who chose to depart. The daughter of Ḳays, being in love with one of her captors, refused to return to her tribe, and her father swore to bury all his future female children, which he did to the number of ten, and thus re-established the usage among the Benû Temîm. The story is told differently by others: see C. de Perceval’s Essai, II. 574. Humanity, however, revolted at the practice, and rich men would buy the lives of the female infants. The grandfather of the poet Al Farazdaḳ, named Ṣa‘ṣa‘at ibn Nâjiyeh, thus rescued many, as has been mentioned in the notes to Assembly Nine; compare also commentary at p. 118 of Ḥamâseh. After the establishment of Islam the practice was wholly abrogated, as may be seen from the verses of Jez’ ibn Kolayb, at p. 117 of Ḥamâseh, where it is said, “Since the Prophet arose men have nourished their girls.” On this subject, compare Pocock, Specimen, p. 323. ◌ is, like ◌ and ◌, a masculine form, as being an epithet particularly applicable to a female. The Arabs believe that a charming voice would rouse the dead.
The pipes of David.—Of David it is said at Koran xxxiv. 10, “We gave David a grace (the art of singing); O ye mountains repeat with him the praises of God, and ye birds.” Compare also xxxviii. 16. The Prophet hearing one read the Koran harmoniously said, “He is gifted with the pipes of David,” the pipes being a metaphorical expression for the voice. ◌ is pleonastic, as in the verse cited by De Sacy; compare Lane, Book I. p. 127.
Ma bad.—The life of Ma‘bad, the greatest musician and singer of the early Khalifate, is given in the Kitâb al Aghâni, p. 29, edition of Kosegarten, and to this the student is referred. Ma‘bad ibn Wahb or ibn Ḳaṭan was a mulatto ◌, and a freedman, as some say, of Mu‘awiyeh. He was not, like some of his contemporary singers, of an effeminate and attractive person, for he was brown, tall, and squinting. He died at Damascus during the reign of Al Welîd ibn Yezîd. A number of anecdotes are related of him in the Kitâb al Aghâni, where his superiority to Ṭoways and Ibn Surayj, two of his contemporaries, is asserted on the authority of a poet, p. 31. But when Ma‘bad composed seven songs of surpassing merit, the musicians of Mecca selected seven from the works of Ibn Surayj, which they declared were equal to the former. For an account of these early musicians see the Proœmium to Kosegarten’s Kitâb al Aghâni, cap. I. De citharœdis cantricibusque Arabibus. Ma‘bad appears to have been a scientific musician of great merit.
Isaac.—This was Isḥâḳ ibn Ibrâhîm, commonly known as
Ibn an Nadîm al Mowṣili. His father Ibrâhîm was a celebrated
musician of his time, but was surpassed by his more eminent
son, who appears to have been a paragon of accomplishments.
In the life of him by Ibn Khallikân it is said that he was the
companion of the Khalifs, a man of taste, and of great talents as
a singer. He was also well acquainted with pure Arabic and the
ancient poets, the history of the poets and the adventures of the
tribes. He was born
Away, begone.—The Arabs of the Ignorance, when they desired that a man who was on a journey should not return, were accustomed to light a fire and call out ◌. This fire was called ◌.
Zonâm was flute player to Hârûn ar Reshîd, who was so fond of his performance, that he would not drink without hearing it. According to Sherîshi he invented a sort of flute or fife.
The red camels, i.e. all that is excellent and valuable. According to the Arabs the red she-camel could best bear the midday heat, and the best were the ◌ and the ◌ or white-red. Hence, the red camels are used proverbially for wealth. When the head of Abû Jahl was brought to the Prophet, after the Day of Bedr, he exclaimed, “It is more acceptable to me than a red camel.”
Saṭîḥ.—Saṭîḥ has been already spoken of.
The court of his Prince; or his Ḳayl. The Ḳayls or petty princes of Ḥimyar governed a great part of southern Arabia, as tributaries, from the earliest times. They are sometimes called ◌ because they generally had names compounded with Thû as Thû’l Mulk, Thû Jadan. When the people of Ḥaḍramowt accepted Islam, the principal Ḳayl of the country, Wâ’il son of Ḥojr, came to make his submission to Moḥammed. According to the Arabic grammarians, ◌ is allied to ◌ as one who speaks or commands (De Sacy’s Ḥarîri, p. 494), but Ibn Khaldûn condemns this etymology as fanciful (Anthol. Gram. Arabe, p. 171 Texte Arabe), and asserts, with great probability, that ◌ is a word of the language of Ḥimyar which was unknown to the descendants of Moḍar.
And I had no alarm.—◌. This idiom is adopted from the Mo‘allaḳah of ‘Antarah, v. 11.
Pharaoh.—For the history of Pharaoh see Koran x. 76; xxvi. 9; xxviii.; xl. 24, etc. He is called ◌, for the meaning of which see Bayḍâwi on xxxviii. 11.
He shouted, from ◌ the voice; or he accused me, from ◌
The informer gained nought.—◌ signifies he became fortunate by such a thing. According to Sherîshi, it means he got a ◌, that is, an arrow or lot, like ◌. The meaning, therefore, will be, he got as his share nothing save, etc.
Now since I have explained.—Metre ṭawîl.
Resources, old or new: that is, inherited or acquired. Compare Ṭarafeh, Mo‘allaḳah, v. 53.
Long since treachery vexed the Best of Mankind, so that there was declared concerning the woman that carried firewood that which was declared.—The 111th Sura of the Koran is entitled Perish, from its first word. It runs as follows:—“Perish the two hands of Abû Lahab, and perish he. His riches shall not avail him, nor his gain (or his works in which he trusted). He shall be burned in the flaming fire: And his wife, the Carrier of Firewood; Round her neck a twisted rope.” Abû Lahab and his wife Umm Jemîl hold among Moslems the same position as Judas Iscariot among Christians. They are persons of whose damnation there can be no doubt whatever, since it is positively announced in the Word of God. It is, therefore, usual, when they are spoken of, to add, “On them be a curse.” They were closely connected with Moḥammed. Abû Lahab, whose real name was ‘Abd al ‘Ozza, was his uncle, being a son of ‘Abd al Moṭṭalib; his wife was a daughter of Ḥarb, and sister to Abû Sofyân. She was consequently aunt to Mu‘âwiyeh. This couple were among the most fanatical opponents of the Prophet. ‘Abd al ‘Ozza and others befouled his house with ordure; and Umm Jemîl maligned him among the Ḳoraysh. The carrying of firewood is explained either to mean that she added “fuel” to the hatred of the Prophet’s enemies by her calumnies; or that she will carry wood to Hell for her own tortures. It is also said that she was in the habit of literally strewing thorns during the night before the entrance of the Prophet’s house, on the path where he must pass in the morning. But it is probable that this is but a misunderstanding of a common figurative expression. The unbelieving pair are always known by the names which were fixed upon them in the above Chapter, “The Father of Flame,” and the “Bearer of Fuel.” Abû Lahab died of the disease called ◌, a kind of malignant pustule, seven days after the news of the battle of Bedr reached Mecca; his end being perhaps hastened by a blow he received in a broil caused by his rage at the event. Sîrat ar Resûl, p. 460. It is a Tradition that Abû Lahab squinted, and that his wife had but one eye: so apt is the popular creed to attribute bodily defects and ugliness to the reprobate. It is also a Tradition that the Prophet said, “Whoso recites the Sura ◌, I have hope that God will not unite him and Abû Lahab in the same abode.”
A driving forth to his devil.—This is an allusion to the words of God to Iblîs, Koran vii., after the threat of the latter to tempt and destroy man.
He made an irrevocable divorce with joy.—◌ is said when a man makes the divorce with his wife to be absolutely separating, so as to cut her off from return. He cannot then marry her again until another has married her, and consummated the marriage, and divorced her. The reader may remember the story of ‘Ala ad dîn Abû’sh Shâmât in the Thousand and One Nights.
As the infidels despair of the tenants of the tombs.—At Koran lx. 13, it is said, “Associate not with those against whom God is wroth; who despair of the next world as infidels despair of the tenants of the tombs.
Man is made up of impatience.—According to the Tradition in Ṭabari, the angel Gabriel quoted these words to Adam when the first man sought to rise and eat before the clay of his body was entirely vivified. They are to be found at Koran xxi. 38. The angel is also said to have quoted the words, “Man is impatient,” which occur at xvii. 12. When these quotations from the Koran at so early a period in history are recorded, it should be remembered that the Koran has eternally existed, though it was only revealed to mankind through Moḥammed.
There was a companion.—The following lines are of the metre khafîf. They have little merit, except as exhibiting the author’s power of playing upon words.
A churl.—For the meaning of ◌, see Lane.
His verse.—◌ is used only of a poem that is of some other metre than rejez.
His encomium and his satire.—The former being the description of the maiden, the latter of the treacherous friend. For the peculiar meaning of ◌ see De Sacy’s Commentary: ḳarẓ is explained at Assembly Twenty-seven, under the phrase, “The two ḳarẓ gatherers.”
The people of the Fire, etc.—The inhabitants of Hell. This is a quotation from Koran lix. 20. The speaker means that if a glass vase had the evil qualities which offended Abû Zayd, the silver vases now produced were free from them.
Nor count Hûd with ‘Âd.—The destruction of the people of ‘Âd is one of the most frequently recurring topics of the Koran, where they are commonly associated with Thamûd, as an impious race, rebellious against God. The legend is too long to be given in the already too extensive notes to this Assembly. But the following references will be useful. At Koran xlvi. 20, it is said, “Call to mind the brother of ‘Âd (Hûd), when he preached to his people in the Aḥḳâf.” Ḥiḳf is a thin curving or winding strip of sand, and according to Bayḍâwi this was the name of a region on the sea coast of Ash Shiḥr, in Yemen, that is the country between Aden and ‘Omân, otherwise called Ḥaḍramowt. In Mr. Palgrave’s map of Arabia, prefixed to his travels, the name is given to a sandy region near the Persian Gulf. At Koran lxxxix. 5, they are spoken of in connection with Irem of the Columns, the City of Sheddâd, which remains invisible to mortal eye in the deserts of Yemen. The reader may also refer to vii. 63; xi. 52 (the Sura called Hûd); to xxvi. 123: and liv. 18. At Koran vii. 63, the pedigree of Hûd is given by Bayḍâwi as son of ‘Abd Allah, son of Ribâḥ, son of Al Kholûd, son of ‘Âd, who was son of ‘Owṣ(◌) son of Aram, son of Shem, son of Noah. Or, according to another opinion, he was Hûd, son of Shâlaḥ, son of Arphaxad, son of Shem, and was the son of the paternal uncle of ‘Âd’s father. The people of ‘Âd were of great stature; Koran vii. 67. The ordinary form of the legend among the Moslems, founded on the scattered passages in the Koran, is to be found in Ṭabari, in the “History of the Prophet Hûd.” The people of ‘Âd would not believe the preaching of Hûd, and were destroyed by a hurricane which is described at Koran lxix. 6, as ◌, for the meaning of which words see Bayḍâwi. Two of them, according to the received Tradition, escaped, having believed on the true God. One of these was Loḳmân of the Vultures, who afterwards reigned over the country of Saba: compare note to Assembly Seventeen. Count not Hûd with ‘Âd means “Count not the innocent with the guilty.”
Recite the Chapter of Victory; that is Koran xlviii., which begins “We have aided thee to a conspicuous victory.” This passage is held to have been revealed in promise of the entrance into Mecca, which is spoken of especially as ◌, or else to refer to the capture of Khaybar, or to the Peace of Al Hodaybiyeh which gave the Prophet the opportunity of extending his power over the Arabs; or else it may refer to the victory of the people of Rûm over the Persians, which had been predicted by the Prophet in Sura xxx. The victories of Khosru Perwez had brought the Eastern Empire to the brink of ruin, when Heraclius, suddenly displaying consummate military talents, turned the tide of success in the year 625, and humiliated the Persian monarch by a series of victories. This struggle of the two Empires for regions which were soon to become the spoil of a third race was watched with intense interest by Mohammed, who is said to have sympathized with the Christians as the possessors of a revealed religion, and who was doubtless pleased at the fulfilment of his prediction. The general opinion, however, is that the opening of the Sura was revealed at Al Hodaybiyeh; and it is recorded that the Prophet, when he entered Mecca, recited the Sura of Victory. Abû Zayd means to say “Rejoice in what ye have gained,” or, as we should say, “Sing the Te Deum.”
It may be that ye mislike a thing.—Koran ii. 213.
Both and the boy.—On the naṣb after ◌ see Alfîyeh of Ibn Mâlik, v. 315, and commentary. If, however, the reading be ◌ with “Take,” or “I give,” understood, there is a simple conjunction. This is a phrase expressive of prodigal liberality in giving, derived from a speech of ‘Amr, son of Homrân, who, having before him some camel’s hump, cream and dates, was asked by a hungry man for some hump and cream, and replied, “Both, and the dates,” which became proverbial. Arab. Prov. II. 349 and 880.
The failure of the stars.—The literal meaning of ◌ is the setting in the early morning of one of the twenty-eight Mansions of the moon, or ◌, while the opposite constellation, called its ◌, or watcher, is rising. The Mansions of the moon, of which a list has been given in the notes to a former Assembly, are constellations through which the moon passes in her course, and the raḳîb of each is the fourteenth from it; thus the raḳîb of ◌ is ◌; the raḳîb of ◌ is ◌. As in the course of the earth’s revolution round the sun each of these constellations sets in the morning, while the opposite constellation is rising with the sun, the year is divided into twenty-eight ◌, to each of which is allotted thirteen days, except to ◌ which has fourteen, thus making up the 365 days. The auroral settings of these constellations served among the Arabs to denote the seasons of rain, wind, or heat; just as among the Greeks and Latins the setting of the Hyads or the rising of Sirius indicated particular states of the weather. Thus ◌ became almost synonymous with season, and the name is applied to the seven seasons or successions of weather or temperature in the year, which are as follows: (1) ◌, which is said (Maḳâmât of Naṣîf al Yazaji, p. 217,) to range from the 9th of Aylûl (September) to the 18th of Tishrîn al Owwal (October). The ◌ of this period is the setting of Al Faraghân (the Fore and Hind Spouts of the Urn) and Batn al Hût. (2) ◌, which continues from the end of the former to the 9th of Kânûn al Owwal (December), and its ◌ is the setting of Ash Sharaṭân, and Al Buṭayn, and Ath Thurayya, and Ad Debarân. (3) ◌, which lasts to the 18th of Nîsân (April), and whose ◌ is the setting of Al Haf‘ah, and Al Han‘ah, and Ath Thira‘, and An Nathrah, and Aṭ Ṭarf, and Al Jabheh, and Az Zubrah, and Aṣ Ṣarfah, and Al ‘Awwâ, and As Simâk. (4) ◌, which lasts from the end of the former to the 9th of Ḥazîrân (June). Its ◌ is the setting of Al Ghafr, and Az Zubâna, and Al Iklîl, and Al Ḳalb. (5) ◌, which lasts from then to the 5th of Tem-mûz (July). Its ◌ is the setting of Ash Showleh and An Na‘â’im. (6) ◌, which lasts to the 13th of Âb (August). Its ◌ is the setting of Al Beldeh, and Sa‘d al Thâbiḥ, and Sa‘d al Bula‘. (7) ◌, which lasts till the 8th of September, thus completing the year. Its ◌ is the setting of Sa‘d as So‘ûd and Sa‘d al Akhbiyeh. The days of the month are to be reckoned according to the Old Style. The three last are periods of heat. Of Al Busrî it is said that ◌, that is, it fails to produce rain during its ◌. The word ◌ is applied to a hot wind which blows during summer, by some described as a north wind, by others as a south wind coming from Yemen; the discrepancy being no doubt caused by the geographical position of those who used the word.
As the Arabs, in their observations of the seasons, thought chiefly of the rain which was to moisten their parched fields, the word ◌ became equivalent with rain, and is used in this sense at p. 713 of the Ḥamâseh. “I said to him, ‘May the cloud pour on thee with a ◌ which shall moisten every pleasant plant.’” The Commentator gives ◌ as the equivalent to ◌. So in a verse quoted in De Sacy’s Commentary it is said:
The ◌ of As Simâk (Spica Virginis) and of the Pleiades ceased not to pour on us.
The influence of each setting was held to prevail for only a few out of the thirteen days that the setting continued. Thus it is said that the ◌ of the Pleiads is five nights, and that of Ash Sharaṭân three nights. The ◌ of the Pleiads was considered the most favourable; and, according to some, the name ◌ was given them on account of the abundance of rain. But it is more probable that this name applies to the multitude of the stars composing the constellation. Compare the Hebrew ◌, a heap of stars (Job xxxviii. 31), where the translation probably is “Hast thou bound the knots of the Pleiads?” It falls, as has been stated, in the time of the late autumn rain-season called ◌. Those ◌ which generally brought rain were called ◌ stirrers up of the heaven. The belief of the Arabs of the Ignorance that the rain was produced by the settings of stars was discouraged by the Moslem teachers; and from an anecdote related of ‘Omar (see Lane’s Lexicon, article ◌,) the Khalif seems to have considered that the supply of rain was a sign that sins were pardoned, founding his opinion on Koran lxxi. 9.
The tract of Naṣîbîn.—◌ is a fertile tract of land in opposition to the unproductive desert, whether the former be on the sea-coast or on the banks of a river. Of Naṣîbîn, the well-known city of Nisibis, between the upper Euphrates and Tigris, it is only necessary to record here that, according to a Tradition reported by Abû Hurayrah, it was seen at a distance by the Prophet, during the Night-journey. “The earth appeared afar, and I saw a city that pleased me, and I said, ‘O Gabriel, what is this city?’ He said, ‘Naṣîbîn.’ I said, ‘God hasten the conquest of it.’” It was, accordingly, one of the first places gained by the Moslems, having been taken in the year 18, under the Khalifate of ‘Omar.
A camel of Mahrah.—The camels of the tribe of Mahrat ibn Ḥaydân, in Yemen. In the Ḥamâseh, p. 783, occurs a verse in which a noble she-camel is said to be from Ḥaḍramowt, and selected from the camels of Mahrah. The she-camels of Mahrah are said to have been covered by ◌, about which there are various opinions. Sherîshi says that these were the stallions of a race of small wild camels between ‘Omân and Ash Shiḥr; but others say that they were stallions of the camels of the Jinn, which inhabit the desert country beyond the sands of Yabrîn. The race of Mahrah, called ◌, possessed the powers of this savage or supernatural breed, and were distinguished by their fleetness and endurance.
A lance of Samhar.—At p. 227 of the Ḥamâseh mention is made of “a lance of Rodayneh;” and the commentator explains that Rodayneh was the wife of Samhar, and that they made lances and straightened them for sale, and that when Samhar was from home Rodayneh sold them. They are said to have lived in Baḥrayn. Samhar, however, is otherwise said to be a place in Abyssinia, where lances are made. Samhar and Rodayneh are also said to have been people who made lances, but not to have been man and wife, since she was the wife of a man named ◌. Whatever may be the truth on these points, the names of Samhar and Rodayneh are commonly used as epithets for lances. Imr al Ḳays speaks of “a lance of Samhar,” Dîwân, p. 25, v. 4, Ar. Text, and three lines further on of “a lance of Rodayneh, with a point made by Ḳa‘ḍab.” Compare also Mo‘allaḳah of Lebîd, v. 50, where Samhar is said to have lived at a place called ◌, in Baḥrayn. This would connect the lances of Samhar with those of Khaṭṭ, which are also celebrated by the poets. Ḥamâseh, pp. 26 and 231. In the commentary at the former page it is said that ◌ is the coast of Baḥrayn and ‘Omân.
Hill drawing me up from dale.—The conceit of a grammatical allusion need only be noticed.
Won a portion.—This is the technical term for winning at the game called ◌, which has been explained in the notes to a former Assembly. Each man turned or shuffled about the arrows, ◌, and when his arrow won this phrase was used. ◌ is also used in this sense by the Arabs, as in the passage of Ezekiel before referred to. See Lâmîyet al ‘Arab, verse 29.
Lay down my neck in it.—The metaphor is from a camel lying down to rest. ◌ is the under part of the neck, which the camel lays along the ground.
Stumbling with the crazed, etc.—In accordance with the suggestion of Sherîshi, I have given a double meaning to ◌, according to the word to which it refers. The primitive meaning of ◌ is to beat; and it is secondarily applied to the purblind she-camel, which beats or strikes the ground with her foot, and so stumbles, as well as to him who beats a tree for its leaves, to use them as fodder; and, metaphorically, to him who gets money out of people by begging. Thus the senses of stumbling or wandering recklessly, and of making gain by importunity, are united in the same word.
My single lot had become twofold.—Another allusion to ◌. Ḥârith had said that to arrive in Naṣîbîn was one prize, and now the presence of Abû Zayd doubles it.
Abû Yaḥya is a kinyeh or bye-name of Death. Yaḥya is the Arabic equivalent to John (the Baptist), but the signification seems here to be The Father or Lord of the Living, from ◌, Death being he who is mighty over every one who lives.
His pledge was forfeit.—As one who had not paid in time the debt for which he had pledged his property. This is equivalent to saying, “his term had run out.”
Bewildered, etc.—Metre muteḳârib.
The old wine.—So Imr al Ḳays says, that when his mistress’s tribe had departed, he remained “as one drunk with wine.” Dîwân, p. 36, v. 11.
We took seat about his bed.—There are several Traditions of the Prophet concerning the visiting of the sick, as “Whoso visits a sick person, and sits with him for an hour, God will give him the reward of a year’s good works;” and “He who visits a sick person enters into God’s mercy, but if he takes seat by him, he is whelmed by it.”
Look on this, the offspring of the moment.—Literally, “Look on her, the daughter of the hour.” The “daughter of the hour” is a name for extemporised poetry. Abû Zayd, seeing the anxiety of his friends, desires to show them that he is not so ill as to have lost his power of improvisation, and, calling on them to take notice, proceeds to recite some excellent verses. ◌ is used especially of the looking of a bridegroom on his unveiled and richly appareled bride.
God has saved me.—The metre of these verses is ◌, which has been explained in the notes to Assembly Two. But the ◌ here is the third of the first ◌, and suffers the ◌ called ◌, which is the dropping of a ◌ at the end of a foot; so that ◌ becomes ◌. The last feet of the two hemistiches are consequently ◌ and ◌ respectively.
Death forgets me not.—Though the sentiments here expressed are common enough among poets and moralists, yet the reader may compare the Mo‘allaḳah of Ṭarafeh, v. 68, “By thy life, Death, while it fails to strike a man, is only like a slackened tether of which the end is kept in hand;” i.e., however long a tether Fate may give to a man’s life, he will be one day checked.
The guarded domain of Kolayb.—Wâ’il, commonly known as Kolayb Wâ’il, was one of the most famous personages of Arab antiquity. He descended from Wâ’il, through Taghlib, and was son of Rabî‘ah, who about 140 years before the Hijra was one of the chiefs of the Benû Taghlib. Besides Kolayb Wâ’il, Rabî‘ah had two other children, the poet Mohalhil and a daughter, Fâṭimeh, who became the mother of the poet Imr al Ḳays. At this time the tribes of Bekr and Taghlib paid tribute to a sovereign of the race of Ḥimyar, and being unable or unwilling to continue the payment, prepared to revolt. But the rising being foreseen the people of Taghlib were attacked, and Kolayb and his brother Mohalhil made prisoners. The descendants of Ma‘add, who, though accustomed to fierce wars amongst themselves, would unite against a foreign adversary, (compare Arab. Prov. II. 198), were roused to arms by Bekr and Taghlib, the two brothers Kolayb and Mohalhil were delivered, and under the leadership of Rabî‘ah the sons of Ma‘add defeated the people of Yemen in the battle of Sullân, and gained their independence. After the death of Rabî‘ah, his son Wâ’il succeeded, and again defeated an army of Yemen, on the Day of Khozâza, ◌. Wâ’il was then raised to the chiefship of a confederacy of Arabs, and was the greatest potentate of the Nejd. His greatness is proverbial among the Arabs, so that it is said “More potent than Kolayb Wâ’il.” Arab. Prov. II. 145. The “guarded domain” was the land which he was accustomed to take for himself wherever he thought fit. The legend is that he used to lame a dog, and place it in the midst of any field or meadow that pleased him; and wherever the sound of the barking could be heard, all others must abstain from pasturing their camels or sheep. From this dog it is said that he was called Kolayb; either because people misunderstood the story, or applied the term “Little dog” to him as a nickname. He set dogs on those who used a well before him; no man might cross the spot where he sat; no fire might be lighted near his own; and he imposed a strict game law, by declaring, whenever he chose, that “the game of such a place is under my protection,” (or covenant). Once, when he was walking in his domain, a lark flew away from her eggs at his approach, upon which he said, “Fear not; thy eggs are under my protection.” Then he improvised in rejez:
Oh lark! the valley is open to thee in this pasture land; So lay thy eggs and sing;
And peck what thou desirest: The fowler is far from thee, so be glad;
Yet sure he will take thee some day; beware!
For the rest of the history of Kolayb, his death, and the war that followed, see the Twenty-sixth Assembly, at the words “the war of Al Basûs.” Some lines by Mohalhil on his brother Kolayb are to be found at p. 420 of the Ḥamâseh, and in the commentary is a narrative of the events which led to his death. Mohalhil’s elegy on his brother is said to have been the first specimen of the ḳaṣîdeh, or regular poem.
The light of to-day.—◌ is used here like ◌ in Assembly Fifteen.
Make alliance with him by a day-sleep.—Literally, “join his cord or rope;” an idiom used of forming an alliance with any one by marrying a daughter to him. The original idea is that of attaching a camel to a man’s rope, that is, of presenting him with the camel. The meaning of the text is, “Give drowsiness, which is a persevering suitor, the day-sleep that it demands.”
The Traditions handed down.—Among the Traditions of the Prophet, recommending the day-sleep or siesta, is the following, by Anas ibn Mâlik, “Help the wakeful devotion of night by sleep in the day.” Also of the same Traditionist: “Take the day-sleep, for Satan takes it not.”
God smote upon the ears.—This is taken from Koran xviii. 10, where it is said of the Sleepers in the Cave, “We smote upon their ears (with deafness), in the Cave a number of years.”
We washed hand and foot for the two mute prayers.—These expressions are explained by Ḥarîri in the tefsîr at the end of the Assembly. The ◌ of an animal are the thinner parts of the leg, above the foot, and in man the wrists and ankles. The “two mute prayers” are those of noon and afternoon, because the recitation at them is under the breath.
The Father of Indwelling.—All these “Ṭofayli bye-names and Ṣûfi metonymies” are explained by Ḥarîri himself in the interpretation which he has added to this Assembly. The Father of Indwelling is Hunger, because he dwells in and holds his seat in every stomach.
The Father of Assembling is the ◌ or round table on which food is brought in; so called because it gathers together the food or the guests.
The Father of Pleasantness is white bread as being the most delicate food of its kind; and it is patient at every wrong because it undergoes grinding, kneading, and baking.
The Father of Lovingness is kid’s flesh, called so from its savouriness; the burning and torment are during the roasting.
The Father of Acuteness is vinegar: the Father of Help is salt, the Father of Comeliness signifies vegetables; a play on words being possibly intended, since ◌ means also melted fat, or gravy, which would run from the meat on to the vegetables. The Mother of Hospitality is the food called Sikbâj, so called because it is the principal dish given to guests. The Mother of Strengthening or Restoration is the food called Harîseh, because it contains wheat, which is called the Strengthener. The Mother of Joyfulness is the food called Jûthâbeh, apparently a kind of pie. The Father of Dignity is the food Khabîṣ, and is called so from its high price. The Father of Loftiness is the food called Fâlûthaj, which is made of honey, and has this title also on account of its costliness. The Two Rumourers are the ewer and basin, which, rattling as they are brought along, rumour the close of the entertainment. The rising of the camels is the removal of the table. The Father of Softness is alkali, for washing. The Father of Generosity is the perfume or incense, which was used at the close of the feast. The Chosroes referred to is Khosru Perwez who is one of the exemplars of magnificence and luxury among the Arabs. It is said by the commentators on this passage that he was the first for whom sikbâj, the Persian ◌, was cooked, and that none fed of it without his permission. This monarch who, after a career of success against the Eastern Empire, rivalling that of his predecessor Khosru Nushirvan, closed his reign in defeat and shame, deposed by an impious son, appears from authorities more trustworthy than Moslem tradition to have carried Persian luxury to its highest point. His wars being the subject of a prophecy in the Koran, he has an enduring reputation. His splendour and his love for the beautiful Shîrîn, who was a present to him from Cæsar, are often celebrated by the poets, as in the Shah Nameh and the odes of Hafiz, and form the subject of many romances.
Further explanations of these fanciful names are needless here. So far as they can be understood they are interpreted by Sherîshi, most of whose remarks have been introduced into the text of De Sacy’s commentary.
Despair not in calamities.—Sir William Jones quotes these beautiful verses as a specimen of Eastern moral poetry (Poeseos Asiaticæ Commentarii, cap. xiv.). The metre is kâmil.
I was making towards.—The texts from which ◌ derives its technical meaning of an ablution with sand are Koran iv. 46 and v. 9, which may be rendered, “Have recourse to, or make towards, good sand or earth.”
Mayyâfâriḳîn is a town of Diyâr Bekr, thirty parasangs from Naṣîbîn. On account of its length the adjective formed from it is Fâriḳî.
Who blows on knots, i.e. a magician. This phrase is derived from the Sûrat al Falaḳ, at the end of the Koran. “I seek a refuge with God from the malice of women who blow on knots.” Bayḍâwi explains it as follows:—“The malice of women who are enchantresses, and who tie knots in strings, and blow on them as an enchantment. ◌ is a blowing such that spittle comes from the mouth. It is said that a Jew enchanted the Prophet with eleven knots in a cord, and hid it in a well; the Prophet became sick, and the ◌ (the Suras ◌ and ◌, which have eleven verses between them), descended from Heaven, and Gabriel informed the Prophet of the place where the enchantment was hidden. The Prophet thereupon sent ‘Ali, who brought the cord, and the Prophet repeated over it the two chapters; at each verse that he repeated a knot was unloosed, and when the whole were unloosed he was relieved.” Hence, the meaning of Ḥarîri may be that Abû Zayd had in his bearing the malicious cunning of a wizard. Bayḍâwi, however, gives another explanation of ◌ as meaning women who by their wiles loosen the determinations and defeat the purposes of men; and who, as it were, spit on knots to soften them, and make them easy of unloosing. If Ḥarîri took the passage in this sense, it may mean that Abû Zayd accosted with the confidence of one who can solve any riddle and circumvent any antagonist. The latter sense is perhaps the more apposite.
The sheep.—◌ was the name of an undersized species of sheep in Baḥrayn, with an ugly face and short legs. It is used as a similitude for mean and contemptible persons. A poet satirizing a family of Temîm says:—“O Foḳaym, ye basest of Temîm: if ye were sheep ye would be naḳad; if ye were water ye would be froth; if ye were wool ye would be refuse.” See the proverb, “More vile than naḳad,” Arab. Prov. I. 513. The author means that Abû Zayd greeted like one accustomed to make his living out of noble and mean.
Habeo, amici.—The measure of these verses is the first ◌ of the first ◌ of the ◌; the ◌ being ◌ and the ◌ being ◌, as in the Second Assembly. Sir William Jones has honoured this piece, which he had probably met with as an extract, by comparing it with the lament of David over Saul and Jonathan. In his specimens of Oriental elegiac poetry, he says, “Bellissimum est in hoc genere poema in vicesimâ Haririi Mekamâ, quod integrum subjiciam.” He then gives the translation, and proceeds:—“Hæc elegia non admodum dissimilis esse videtur pulcherrimi illius carminis de Sauli et Jonathani obitu: atque adeo versus iste,
‘Ubi provocavit adversarios nunquam rediit a pugnæ conten-tione sine spiculo sanguine imbuto;’
Ex Hebræo reddi videtur,
‘A sanguine occisorum, a fortium virorum adipe
‘Arcus Jonathani non rediit irritus.’”
Sir William may be pardoned, since the purpose of Ḥarîri was to show his wit by imitating the sublime elegiac strains of the ancient Arabs; and the English Orientalist was no more deceived than the company who are represented as bestowing their charity on Abû Zayd. Following Sir William Jones’s example, I shall ask the reader to compare Ḥarîri’s verses with those which are attributed to Ta’abbaṭa Sherran in the Ḥamâseh, p. 382, but which are probably the composition of that Arabic Macpherson, Khalf al Aḥmar. The ◌ contains many passages of a like import. The poem of Imr al Ḳays, beginning “Approach, ye two, to the old dwelling in ‘As‘as,” Dîwân, p. 34, is also worthy of attention.
Victoria a cœlo, etc.—Koran lxi. 13. These words were a battle-cry of the early Moslems, being taken from the above Sura, which is called the “Line of Battle,” and exhorts believers to the jihâd, or war against infidels. They are used in the marriage ceremony with the same allusion as in the present verses.
Gratus fuit.—Was saluted with the greeting ◌, May I be thy ransom.
Incurvus formâ.—Koran xxxvi. 68. A somewhat irreverent allusion.
If there were a thong to my staff.—This is a proverbial expression, equivalent to “If I had power or means.” A thong passing through a hole in the handle of a staff enables a man to grasp it more securely.
Mirages of the plain, white shingle of the hollow.—That is, ye who give a deceptive hope of bounty which is not fulfilled, as the mirage at a distance makes the traveller believe that water is near; or as a layer of white pebbles is taken for silver. For words signifying the mirage or kindred phenomena, see ◌. The word ◌ means a hollow where water collects, and, with the more common and chaste form ◌, a patch of ground or a plain, differing from what is about it. In the latter sense the plural is said to be ◌. A piece of ground thus diversified by pebbles is called ◌.
Fold his cloth over its rent, and keep his splayness of tooth from inspection.—Metaphorical expressions signifying the concealment of another’s fault or imposture, Arab. Prov. II. 38. ◌ is the irregular growth of the teeth, or their unequal length. The epithet is applied to an eagle, because the upper part of its beak is longer than the lower (De Sacy’s Ḥarîri, p. 243), also to a talon, because it protrudes, p. 240.
God fight against thee.—A term of playful imprecation, which has been already spoken of in a former note.
The scout who lies not to his people.—“The scout lies not to his people” is a proverbial expression. The ◌ was he who was sent on by a tribe on the march to search for pasturage or water, and he lies not because his interests are the same as theirs. Arab. Prov. II. 525. This proverb was used by No‘mân, son of Zowrâ, in the address by which he sought to induce the Benû Bekr to yield to Khosru Perwez. Caussin de Perceval, Essai, Vol. II. p. 177.
Right from wrong. — The best explanation of the original expression is that ◌ is the twist of a rope towards one’s self, and ◌ the twist away from one’s self; so that it might be translated, “what to take and what to leave.” Sherîshi renders it “what to turn to and what to turn from.”
Rayy.—The seat of government of the region known under the Khalifate as Daylam was a place of much importance during the most flourishing time of the Arab sovereignty, and under the House of Seljuk. It was called Rayy al Mahdîyeh, since the Khalif Al Mahdi held his court there for many years during the reign of Al Manṣûr, and there was Hârûn ar Reshîd born in the year 145 or 149. Rayy was conquered under the Khalif ‘Omar by Ka‘b ibn Ḳurt, the Anṣâri. The derivative adjective formed from Rayy is Râzi, as Marwâzi, from Marw. This city was the birth-place of Ibn Fâris ar Râzi, the poet and grammarian, whose life is given by Ibn Khallikân. It is related of Ibn Fâris that he was the instructor of Badî‘ az Zemân, the author of the Maḳâmât, which Ḥarîri took as his model. It is further said that he wrote a treatise on the meaning of words and that from it Ḥarîri took the idea of his Thirty-second Assembly, in which a hundred legal questions that turn on the double meanings of words are proposed. According to Ṭabari the city of Rayy was founded by Husheng, one of the primeval kings, and the first who sawed wood, and made doors, and dug metals. See the early part of his Chronicle.
Loosed the loops of error, i.e. had risen from it. ◌, as has been before explained, is that by which an Arab, sitting on the ground, draws up his legs to his stomach so as to support himself, though there be nothing to lean against. See Sixteenth Assembly, “They loosed their loops to me,” i.e. they rose.
Good from evil.—This is the virtual meaning of the phrase ◌, of which so many etymologies are given in the commentary. The expression belongs to the class which the Arabs call ◌, and of which they make constant use, as may be seen from many examples in the present work. It is analogous to our helter-skelter and namby-pamby, and it may fairly be believed that in many cases the second element had no original meaning, but was added as a rhyme to the first. Compare ◌ at the end of the Tenth Assembly; ◌ and ◌ a little later in the present. But the lexicographers always strive to give a derivation if possible. In the present case those propounded are all very unsatisfactory; and it is better to consider it a phrase formed in the mouth of the people, of which no true etymology can be given.
One morning.—For the use of the word ◌ compare De Sacy’s Commentary at the beginning of the Nineteenth Assembly. It is manṣub as a ẓarf. In four cases the masculine ◌ is used; with some portions of time it is improper to use ◌ or ◌, but in all cases it refers only to past time, so that it would not be lawful in such a phrase as “I will go some morning” or “some day.”
Ibn Sam‘ûn.—This was a celebrated preacher who flourished about a century and a half before Ḥarîri. He was born in the year 300 of the Hijra, and died in the year 387. He resided at Bagdad in the time of the Khalifs Al Muṭî‘ l’illâh and Aṭ Ṭâ’i‘ l’illâh. He was a man of great eloquence, to judge from the effect he produced on his hearers, but was no ascetic, for when one asked him how he, who exhorted others to piety, should feed delicately and wear fine clothes, he answered that if a man felt himself at peace with God while doing these things they were lawful to him. He appears to have been endowed with great tact, for Sherîshi relates the following narrative of Abû’ṭ Ṭâhir Moḥammed ibn ‘Alî al ‘Ilâf: “I went to see Ibn Sam‘ûn and found him on his chair in the congregation, and as he preached, Abû’l Fatḥ, who was sitting by the side of the chair, was overcome with drowsiness and fell asleep. Then Abû’l Ḥasan (Ibn Sam‘ûn) stopped for a time until Abû’l Fatḥ woke up and raised his head, when he said to him, ‘Didst thou see the Apostle of God in thy dream?’ ‘Yes,’ said Abû’l Fatḥ. ‘It was for that reason,’ returned the preacher, ‘that I stayed my discourse, that I might not interrupt thee in thy converse.’” The same commentator tells an anecdote which shows the dangers to which men of note were exposed for their political opinions. A servant of the Khalif Aṭ Ṭâ’i‘ l’illâh relates that the Khalif one day bade him go and bring Ibn Sam‘ûn to the palace. “I saw,” said he, “that the Khalif was angry, and he was much feared when in that condition on account of his severity, so that I was concerned for Ibn Sam‘ûn. When he arrived I informed the Khalif, who took his seat in the hall, and bade that he be brought in. When he entered he made salutation and began a discourse. And his first words were, ‘It is related of the Commander of the Faithful, ‘Ali son of Abû Ṭâlib (God accept him);’ then he mentioned a Tradition of him, and went on preaching on this tenor until Aṭ Ṭâ’i‘ wept, and his sobs could be heard, and the handkerchief which was to his eyes was wet with tears. When Ibn Sam‘ûn had ceased the Khalif I gave it to him, and he departed. When I returned to Aṭ Ṭâ’i, handed me a packet, with perfumes and other things for him, and I said, ‘Master, I saw thee incensed against Ibn Sam‘ûn, and through his coming hither thou art calmed; what is the reason?’ The Khalif answered, ‘Complaint was made that he had spoken ill of ‘Ali (whom God accept), and I wished to be convinced; and if the thing had been true I would have killed him; but when he came before me he opened his discourse with the mention of ‘Ali, and by the Blessing on him, so that I knew he was innocent.’” It must be remembered that it was the traditional policy of the Abbasides to exalt ‘Ali and his House at the expense of the Omayyides, and to paint in the darkest colours not only Mu‘âwiyeh and his son Yezîd, and such guilty instruments of their ambition as ‘Obayd allâh ibn Ziyâd, but the whole of the reigning House, and those who served them. The men of letters, as well as the religious, joined in this canonization of ‘Ali and Al Ḥosayn, and this reprobation of their enemies. Indeed, it is curious to find that, even under the House of Omayyeh, the poets and scholars were in general partisans of the son of Abû Ṭâlib, and the descendants of the Prophet. Abû’l Aswad, the founder of the system of grammar, fought under ‘Ali at Ṣiffîn, and is said to have learned from him the division of the parts of speech into the noun, the verb, and the particle (Ibn Khallikân). The same side was espoused by almost all his successors; even those who asked and received the largesses of the victorious family. In later times there is scarcely one of the house of Omayyeh whom the Moslems willingly praise, except the saint ‘Omar ibn ‘Abd al ‘Azîz, who vainly sought to reconcile the partisans of his own House and of ‘Ali. They scarcely do justice even to so great a sovereign as Welîd ibn ‘Abd al Melik’ though in his lifetime he rewarded the genius and received the praises of two such highly esteemed poets as Al Farazdaḳ and Jerîr. It would have been strange if a popular preacher of the fourth century had really slandered one who was then the chief hero of Islam. The life of Ibn Sam‘ûn is given by Ibn Khallikân, who says that no such preacher had again appeared. He was the author of a book of Traditions; among the specimens of his pulpit eloquence is the following: “Exalted be God, who has enabled man to speak by a piece of flesh (the tongue); to see by a piece of fat (the eye); and to hear by a piece of bone (the ear.)”
With a breast-hunch.—◌ signifies the protrusion of the breast, together with a hollowness of the back, and is the opposite of ◌, which is the ordinary hunchbackedness. In the book of which the French title is “La Vie et les Aventures de Fariac,” written a few years since by Fâris ash Shidyâḳ, a Syrian possessed of an extraordinary knowledge of the Arabic vocabulary, there will be found at p. 344 a list of more than 200 names of bodily defects and ailments. This author, whose purpose is either to instruct the reader or to display his own knowledge, makes it a practice to introduce into his compositions as many recondite words as possible, which he duly explains according to the best authorities. The book, whatever may be thought of its literary merits, is no doubt very useful to the Arabic student, and deserves to be well known. I would particularly draw attention to the twelve pages of names of garments and materials for clothing at p. 307, as this is a subject which has been chosen by a European scholar, M. Dozy, for a separate work. The immense number of names, or rather epithets, for a handsome woman according to her various points of beauty, given at p. 241, may surprise even those who are accustomed to the boundless resources of this extraordinary language. For ◌ Fâris gives the signification mentioned above. See p. 348 of the book (Paris, 1855. Benjamin Duprat, Libraire de l’Institut).
The cap and the cloak.—The Ḳalansuweh, or high-crowned cap of a dervish or preacher, and the Ṭaylasân or cloak which he hung over his shoulders. Both were Persian garments, which are appropriate, the scene of the adventure being laid at Rayy. The ṭaylasân being a foreign garment, an Arab would say, “Thou son of a ṭaylasân!” meaning, “Thou barbarian.” The dictum of Sherîshi, who lived at the other end of the world, that the ṭaylasân was a green garment, can hardly be relied upon; though doubtless green was a favourite colour. On this word, see De Sacy. Chrest. Arabe, Vol. II. p. 269.
Son of man, or Adam.—◌ is manṣûb through the iḍâfeh. Bayḍâwi at Koran ii. 29 says that ◌ is a foreign word of the measure of ◌ and ◌. The plural is ◌.
The stumbling of the purblind beast.—This is a proverbial expression. Such an one goes recklessly like the dim-sighted she-camel that beats the ground with her fore foot as she goes along, not guarding herself from anything. It is applied to one who truns from a thing as if he were not cognizant of it, or who is continually falling into a thing. (Lane sub voce ◌.) The verse of Zohayr there quoted is from Mo‘allaḳah, v. 49.
To increase.—Distinguished from this is ◌, which is the ostentation of wealth. Compare Twenty-sixth Assembly, “he appropriated me for his ostentation.”
Thy two caves.—◌ like ◌ in the Forty-fifth Assembly (p. 602 De Sacy’s edition), is interpreted to mean the two apertures or channels of the body (os et pudenda) by which mankind gratify the appetites of gluttony and lust. Such was the explanation of the term by Moḥammed, for when it was said to him, “O Apostle of God, what is it that most makes men enter Paradise?” he answered, “The fear of God and goodness of disposition;” and when it was said, “What sends them into Hell?” he answered, “Their two caves, os et pudenda.” It is less well interpreted as the mouth and the belly. The Arabs have a curious fondness for thus classing things in pairs. Compare the proverb, “Man’s worth is according to his two least parts,” i.e. his heart and tongue. Arab. Prov. II. p, 653, and Assembly 35.
Dost thou think thou shalt be left at large?—Koran lxxv. 36: “Doth man think that he shall be left at large?” Other quotations from the Koran in this sermon are lxxix. 40; and liii. 40. The latter passage teaches the doctrine that, at the day of judgment, a man will have only his own works to rely upon, and that the merits of others cannot be attributed to him. But as the Traditions teach that alms and pilgrimage performed by survivors are accepted for the dead, it is held that he who does these good works does them as the substitute for the dead.
Between the lion and the fawn.—Between the strong and the weak. Compare Twentieth Assembly, “a hunter of the lion and the dwarf sheep.”
By thy life.—These verses are of the metre ṭawîl, which has been already explained. They present a fine instance of what is called ◌ or ◌, since in the last foot of every line there is a ◌, and a ◌, which is always the letter ◌ with kesreh. Furthermore each successive couple of verses accord in having the first two syllables of the ◌ identical. The taste for this more elaborate harmony of sound, which certainly increases the beauty of the versification, had become general in Ḥarîri’s time, and had probably been increased by the poetry of Abû ’l ‘Ala, who composed Luzûm, or pieces in which these stricter rules were observed, some of them being doubly, or even triply rhymed (Ibn Khallikân). It is of very general occurrence in the Assemblies, and is elsewhere mentioned in these notes, but the present lines are unusually laboured. Compare page 484, De Sacy’s edition.
Death and his stroke.—◌ is, perhaps, originally the plural of ◌. It is said to signify the decreed and predestined time or form of death.
The terror of his meeting, and the taste of his wormwood cup.—Probably, “of his colocynth.” With respect to the terror and the bitterness of death, the following legends are related by Sherîshi:—Abraham (on him be peace), said to Death, “Canst thou show me the form in which thou snatchest the spirit of the wicked man?” He answered, “Thou canst not bear it.” Abraham said, “I can, so turn aside and change.” Death did so, then turned round again, and behold he stood in the form of a man, with black hair erect, foul breath, black garments, and there came out of his mouth and nostrils a flame of fire and smoke. Abraham fainted, and when he revived, Death had returned to his shape. Then Abraham said, “If the wicked man in dying had to meet nothing but thy shape it would be horror enough.” God said to Abraham “How didst thou find the taste of death, O friend?” (Abraham is called the ◌, or friend of God, at Koran iv. 124, and is generally spoken of by Moslems as ◌, a name familiar to travellers from his burial place at Hebron). Abraham answered, “Like a skewer that had been laid in wet wool.” By which, I presume, is meant that it was foul and loathsome, as the skewer is with rust; or that it was as painful as being pierced by a rusty weapon. God said, “Have I not made it easy to thee?” He also said to Moses (on him be peace) “How didst thou find death?” He answered, “I was as a bird that is fried in the pan, and cannot die and be at rest, or escape and fly away.” Another version is, “Like a sheep that is flayed alive.” The use of colocynth and other plants as synonyms for the bitterness of calamity is common among the Arabs. Al Mute-nebbi, in the first of his poems to Sayf ad Dowleh, says, “I have pastured on evil until its ◌ are sweet to me.” (Dieterici’s ed. p. 378.) In the Ḥamâseh ◌ and ◌ are used together, p. 509; compare also p. 166. The word ◌ is said to signify the colocynth when it is most bitter; but what plant is meant by ◌ appears doubtful. I have therefore taken the liberty to render it by “wormwood” which is used thus metaphorically in English. The usual word for colocynth is ◌.
The day’s duties pressed upon us.—This is a free translation of the expression ◌, which is taken from the law of inheritance. At Koran iv. 12, the main principles of the law of inheritance are laid down, and it is defined what share of a deceased person’s property shall belong to each relative. It may be, however, that the sum of the fractions is greater than unity; and then each inheritor has to give up a part proportionate to his inheritance. This is called ◌. For instance, if there be three inheritors, of whom one has a right to one half, the second to one third, and the last to one fourth of the inheritance, the united portions would exceed the estate by one twelfth, and this deficiency is made good by each foregoing a part of his lawful share. The contrary may also take place. It may be, for example, that there are only two inheritors, of whom one can only claim the fourth, and the other the third of the inheritance, and there remains an excess of five-twelfths, which is distributed between them proportionately to their legal shares: see the note on this passage, De Sacy’s ed. Vol. II. p. 122. The day, in this case, is compared to a deficient inheritance, because the people, in listening to the preacher, had let one prayer-time pass and were approaching another, so that they would have to compress two prayers into the insufficient remainder of the day. There is a double signification given to ◌;—a legal division of an inheritance and the legal or incumbent prayers. The difference between ◌ and ◌, in respect of prayer, has been explained in the notes to the Sixteenth Assembly, under the phrase joined to it what was optional.”
Of the prompt.—Literally, of one who draws or girds up his garments in readiness to run.
Wonderful! a man hoping.—The metre of these verses is the perfect kâmil, according to the Circle, and consists of ◌ six times in each verse. This metre was explained in the notes to the Fourth Assembly, where a less perfect specimen of it occurs.
Nor cares he.—◌ after ◌ is considered either as redundant or corroboratory. In a verse cited by Lane, “And our habit is not cowardice,” it prevents the government of ◌ and leaves the noun marfû‘, and is therefore held not to be a negative; but in another verse, where the noun becomes manṣûb, it is explained as a negative corroborative of ◌. That ◌ by itself can have the force of a negative may be held as proved by Koran x. 69 and lxxii. 26.
The fire of war.—This is an allusion to the bale-fire which the ancient Arabs lighted on a height to collect the tribe or its allies for a foray. There are various traditional fires celebrated by the poets. The “fire of hospitality,” ◌, was that which a man lighted to guide travellers to his tent, or to prepare food for them. The “fire of branding,” ◌, was that with which the iron, ◌, was heated for the branding of a great personage’s camels, that they might be known, and allowed to drink at the well before others. The “fire of treachery,” ◌, was lighted by a man when he had been treacherously injured by his neighbour. The wronged man solemnly lighted a fire at Mina, during the pilgrimage, and exclaimed, “This be his enemy.” The “fire of safety,” ◌, was a thanksgiving of a man’s friends for his safe return. On the other hand, the “fire of departure” was a solemn cursing of a man by his enemy when he set out on an expedition. The fire was lighted, and the ill-wisher exclaimed, “Away! begone!” Compare Eighteenth Assembly: “It would be said to Isaac, ‘Away! begone!’” This was called ◌. The “fire of the lion” was that lighted to scare wild beasts. The “fire of the snake-bitten,” ◌, was lighted for the recovery of one who had been so hurt; either as a charm, or because it helped him to keep awake, on which his recovery depended. The “fire of ransom,” ◌, was lighted when women of rank, who had been made captive, were redeemed; for they were brought out of the hostile camp by night, apparently to lessen their humiliation. The “fire of praying rain” was a sacrifice in time of drought. The “fire of hunting” was lighted to blind or confuse the deer. The “fire of covenanting,” ◌, was on the occasion of some solemn alliance or agreement being made. See the sixth Assembly of Naṣîf al Yazaji.
A lisper.—One who pronounces the sîn like thâ, and the râ like ghayn. The terrors of the day of judgment are dwelt upon continually in the Koran. Compare xxii. l. “The nurse shall abandon the child to whom she gives suck, and every pregnant woman shall bring forth (from fear), and ye shall see the men as drunken.” Also xxvii. 89; xxxix. 67, and in the later Suras passim. With regard to the word ◌ it is clearly formed by onomatopœia, the letters of which it is composed being those which the speaker substitutes in pronunciation for others. Wâṣil ibn ‘Aṭâ, the founder of the sect of the Mu‘tazilûn, had this defect, and showed great cleverness in avoiding the use of words which he could not pronounce. Thus he would say ◌ instead of ◌ for rain, ◌ instead of ◌ for blind, ◌ instead of ◌ for bed, and so on.
Viler than the toad-stool of the plain.—A proverbial expression, Arab. Prov. I. 512, where a great number of proverbs beginning “Viler than” are collected. Thus it is said, “Viler than the ◌,” or “dwarf-sheep;” compare the Twentieth Assembly: “Viler than the egg of the earth,” that is, the ostrich’s egg, which she lays and abandons in the desert (compare Job xxxix. 14), an expression which was afterwards used to signify a foundling or vagabond, one who had no known kin or home.
What he sipped and what he supped.—The iniquities which he permitted himself.
He shall bite his hand.—To bite the hand is significant of confusion and repentance: compare the verses at the end of the Tenth Assembly. Thus the much discussed expression at Koran vii. 148, means that the children of Israel fell upon their hands and bit them, in repentance at having worshipped the calf.
Belted with authority or adorned.—The ◌ was a broad belt or stomacher worn by women. Sherîshi renders the word by ◌ “girt.”
Neglects the life to come, etc.—Koran lxxv. 20.
And when he bears rule walks in the earth to do violence in it. —This is from Koran ii. 201. Ḥarîri takes ◌ in the sense of “to bear rule,” though in the original passage the context shows that it may be better rendered, “when he turns away and departs,” that is, “as soon as he has done talking piously, and calling God to witness, he goes forth and does evil.” Bay-ḍâwi adopts this interpretation, but gives the other also. Ḥarîri probably introduced the quotation because it had furnished a subject for controversy.
As thou rewardest thou shalt be rewarded.—A proverbial expression, Arab. Prov. II. 354; probably derived from Christian sources, like that at p. 372. “As thou sowest thou shalt reap.” The proverb in the text is given as an instance of the figure by which the first of two verbs is expressed by the second, the word “rewarded” being used instead of “doest,” for the sake of accordance and congruity: as in the verse of the Koran, xvi. 127, “If ye avenge, avenge as ye have been avenged upon,” meaning, “as ye have been offended.” Compare Fourteenth Assembly, “Reward us as we have rewarded thee.”
Showed him a sharp glance.—This is a proverbial phrase usually applied to one who threatens or warns (Arab. Prov. II. 410); also if fortune or destiny looks intently, or sharply, or sternly on one. Thus ◌ comes to mean misfortune or calamity. Ḥarîri, however, uses the phrase literally, with the meaning “I looked intently at him.” Compare the use of the phrase at Arab. Prov. I. 527.
The better of two guides.—Abû Zayd means that he can show Ḥârith what he is looking for better than Ḥârith can find it himself; that is, if he is seeking to learn who the preacher is Abû Zayd can satisfy him at once by revealing himself, which he straightway does.
I am he whom thou knowest.—Metre rejez.
Their Shem, their Ham, and their Japhet.—The three sons of Noah who entered with him into the ark; the one who refused (Koran xi. 44) being Canaan, or, as is otherwise said, Yâm. The world became the inheritance of Noah’s three sons, the posterity of the seventy-two persons who accompanied his family into the ark having become extinct, so that these three might be called the heirs of all mankind. Shem was the primate of the earth after his father, and, according to his father’s blessing, became the ancestor of the Prophets, all of whom, whether Arabs or foreigners, are of the posterity of Shem. He went as far as Yemen and founded Ṣan‘â, and settled the middle region of the earth from Yemen to Ash Shâm, possessing the Holy Place. From him were descended ‘Âd, and Thamûd, and Ṭasm, and Jedîs, and Al ‘Amâlîk (Amalek), and the subjects of Ya‘rob and Jorhom the Elder, who were called ◌ because they were created speaking Arabic; also the descendants of Ismâ‘îl, called ◌ because they acquired the Arabic tongue by settling among the former; also ◌ who are defined as especially the descendants of ‘Adnân; also the Jabâ-bireh of Ash Shâm (the gigantic nations of Hebrew tradition), and the Pharaohs of Egypt. It is also said that Shem was the father of the Arabs, and the Persians, and the people of Rûm, all of them races in whom are good qualities. Japhet was the father of the Saḳâlib (Slaves), and the people of Burjân (the Danubian Bulgars), and the Chinese, and the Khazars (a people near the Caspian, powerful in the seventh and eighth centuries), and Yâjûj and Mâjûj (Gog and Magog, the races of Northern Asia), and the Turks; and these have no good qualities. Of the posterity of Ham are Sind, and Hind, and all the races of the Blacks, like Kûsh and the Zenj, a people whose position is very unintelligibly described as extending from Abyssinia to the island or country of Waḳwâḳ (the home of Ibn Ṭofayl’s Ḥayy ibn Yaḳẓân), but who may be taken to be the people of Eastern Africa; Ham also begat the Abyssinians and others. On this subject refer to Al Mas‘ûdi. A useful work is Géographie du Moyen Age étudiée par Joachim Lelewel; Bruxelles, 1852.
‘Amr ibn ‘Obayd was a celebrated ascetic (◌) and preacher
of the time of the Khalif Al Manṣûr. His life is narrated by
Ibn Khallikân; and Sherîshi gives a lengthy notice of him in
his Commentary. He was born
“All of you walk mincingly; All of you seek your gain; All except ‘Amr ibn ‘Obayd.”
The Khalif grieved much at his death, and indited some verses on the occasion, an unusual honour for a subject.
Keep to truth.—Metre ◌, as before explained.
The rolls of folding.—Letters and writings.
What locust had gone off with him.—A proverbial expression, meaning “what had become of him.” The Arabs also say of any one that is lost, “The ‘Anḳâ has flown off with him.” Arab. Prov. II. 25. The ‘Anḳâ, the Persian ◌, is a fabulous bird, which is supposed to dwell on the Ḳâf, or mountain barrier, which surrounds the world.