Chapter XVI: Part 16

Awhile ago, I was sore wakeful one night and thought the dawn would never break: so, as soon as it was day, I rose and girding on my sword, mounted my steed and set my lance in rest. Then I rode out to hunt, and as I went along, a company of men accosted me and asked me whither I went. I told them, and they said, 'We will bear thee company.' So we all fared on together, and presently we saw an ostrich and gave chase; but it evaded us and spreading its wings, fled before us and drew us on after it, till it brought us to a desert, wherein there was neither grass nor water, nor was aught to be heard there save the hissing of serpents, the wailing of Jinn and the howling of ghouls. Here we lost sight of the ostrich, nor could we tell whether it had flown up into the sky or sunk into the ground. Then we turned our horses' heads and thought to go back; but found that our return would be toilsome and dangerous at that time of exceeding heat; for the heat was grievous to us, so that we were sore athirst and our horses stood still. So we made sure of death; but as we were in this case, we espied a spacious meadow afar off, wherein were gazelles frisking. There was a tent pitched and by the tent-side a horse tethered and a spear stuck in the earth, whose head glittered in the sun. When we saw this, our hearts revived, after we had despaired, and we turned our horses' heads towards the meadow and rode on, till we came to a spring, where we alighted and drank and watered our beasts. Then I was seized with a frenzy of curiosity and went up to the door of the tent, where I saw a young man like the new moon, without hair on his cheeks, and on his right hand a slender damsel, as she were a willow wand. No sooner did I set eyes on the girl, than love of her got hold upon my heart and I saluted the young man, who returned my greeting. Then said I to him, 'O brother of the Arabs, tell me who thou art and what is this damsel to thee?' With this, he bent down his head awhile, then raised it and replied, 'Tell me first who thou art and what are these horsemen with thee.' 'I am Hemmad, son of El Fezari,' answered I, 'the renowned cavalier, who is reckoned as five hundred horse among the Arabs. We went forth this morning to hunt and were overcome by thirst; so I came to the door of this tent, thinking to get of thee a draught of water.' When he heard this, he turned to the fair maiden and said to her, 'Bring this man water and what there is of food.' So she went in, trailing her skirts, whilst her feet stumbled in her long hair and the golden bangles tinkled on her ankles, and returned after a little, bearing in her right hand a silver vessel of cold water and in her left a bowl full of milk and dates and flesh of wild cattle. But, of the excess of my passion for her, I could take of her nor meat nor drink, and I recited to her the following verses, applying them to her:

The dye of the henna upon her hand doth show, As 'twere a raven
new lighted on fresh-fall'n snow;
And see the full moon and the sun beside her face, This dim and
the other fearful for shame and woe.

Then, after I had eaten and drunk, I said to the youth, 'O chief of the Arabs, I have told thee truly who and what I am, and now I would fain have thee do the like by me and tell me the truth of thy case.' 'As for this damsel,' replied he, 'she is my sister.' Quoth I, 'It is my desire that thou give her to me to wife of free will: else will I slay thee and take her by force.' With this, he bowed his head awhile, then raised his eyes to me and answered, 'Thou sayest sooth in avouching thyself a renowned cavalier and a famous champion and the lion of the desert; but if ye all attack me treacherously and slay me and take my sister by force, it will be a stain upon your honour. If ye be, as thou sayest, cavaliers that are counted among the champions and fear not the shock of battle, give me time to don my armour and gird on my sword and set my lance in rest and mount my horse. Then will we go forth into the field and fight; and if I conquer you, I will kill you, every man of you; and if you overcome me and slay me, this damsel my sister is thine.' 'This is but just,' answered I, 'and we oppose it not.' Then I turned my horse's head, mad for love of the damsel, and rode back to my companions, to whom I set forth her beauty and grace, as also the comeliness of the young man and his valour and strength of soul and how he avouched himself a match for a thousand horse. Moreover, I described to them the tent and all the riches and rarities it contained and said to them, 'Be sure that this youth would not have taken up his abode alone in this desert place, were he not a man of great prowess: so I propose that whoso slays him shall take his sister.' And they agreed to this. Then we armed ourselves and mounting, rode to the tent, where we found the young man armed and mounted; but his sister ran up to him, with her veil drenched with tears, and laying hold of his stirrup, cried out, saying, 'Alas!' and 'Woe worth the day!' in her fear for her brother, and recited the following verses:

To God above I make my moan of sorrow and affright. Mayhap, the
empyrean's Lord will smite them with dismay.
They fain would kill thee, brother mine, with malice
aforethought, Though never cause of anger was nor fault
forewent the fray.
Yet for a champion art thou known among the men of war, The
doughtiest knight that East or West goes camping by the way.
Thou wilt thy sister's honour guard, whose might is small, for
thou Her brother art and she for thee unto the Lord doth
pray
Let not the foe possess my soul nor seize on me perforce And work
their cruel will on me, without my yea or nay.
By God His truth, I'll never live in any land where thou Art not
albeit all the goods of plenty it display!
But I will slay myself for love and yearning for thy sake And in
the darksome tomb I'll make my bed upon the clay.

When he heard her words, he wept sore and turning his horse's head towards her, made answer with the following verses:

Stand by and see the wondrous deeds that I will do this day,
Whenas we meet and I on them rain blows in the mellay.
E'en though the lion of the war, the captain of the host, The
stoutest champion of them all, spur out into the fray,
I'll deal a Thaalebiyan[FN#159] blow at him and in his heart I'll
let my spear, even to the shaft, its thirst for blood allay.
If I defend thee not from all that seek thee, sister mine, May I
be slaughtered and my corse given to the birds of prey!
Ay, I will battle for thy sake, with all the might I may, And
books shall story after me the marvels of this day.

Then said he, 'O my sister, give ear to what I shall enjoin on thee.' And she answered, 'I hear and obey.' Quoth he, 'If I fall, let none possess thee;' and she buffeted her face and said, 'God forbid, O my brother, that I should see thee laid low and yield myself to thine enemies!' With this he put out his hand to her and drew aside her veil, whereupon her face shone forth, like the sun from out clouds. Then he kissed her between the eyes and bade her farewell; after which he turned to us and said, 'Ho, cavaliers! Come ye as guests or are you minded to cut and thrust? If ye come as guests, rejoice in hospitality; and if ye covet the shining moon,[FN#160] come out against me, one by one, and fight.' Then came out to him a sturdy horseman, and the young man said to him, 'Tell me thy name and thy father's name, for I have sworn to fight with none whose name and whose father's name tally with mine and my father's, and if it be thus with thee, I will give thee up the girl.' 'My name is Bilal,'[FN#161] answered the other; and the young man repeated the following verses:

Thou liest when thou talkest of "benefits"; for lo, Thou comest
with mischief and malice and woe!
So, an thou be doughty, heed well what I say: I'm he who the
braver in the battle lays low
With a keen-cutting sword, like the horn of the moon; So look
(and beware) for a hill-shaking blow!

Then they ran at one another, and the youth smote his adversary in the breast, that the lance-head issued from his back. With this, another came out, and the youth repeated the following verses:

O dog, that art noisome of stench and of sight, What is there of
worth that to come by is light?
'Tis only the lion, of race and of might Right noble, recks
little of life in the fight.

Nor was it long before he left him also drowned in his blood and cried out, 'Who will come out to me?' So a third horseman pricked out, reciting the following verses:

I come to thee, with a fire in my breast that blazes free, And
call on my comrades all to the fight to follow me.
Though thou hast slain the chiefs of the Arabs, yet, perdie, Thou
shalt not 'scape this day from those that follow thee!

When the youth heard this, he answered him, saying:

Thou com'st, like theright evil fiend that thou art, With a lie
on thy lips and a fraud at thy heart;
This day shalt thou taste of a death-dealing dart And a spear
that shall rid thee of life with its smart.

Then he smote him on the breast, that the spear-point issued from his back, and cried out, saying, 'Will another come out?' So a fourth came out and the youth asked him his name. He replied, 'My name is Hilal.'[FN#162] And the youth repeated these verses:

Thou err'st, that wouldst plunge in my sea of affray And thinkest
to daunt me with lies and dismay.
Lo, I, to whose chant thou hast hearkened this day, Thy soul, ere
thou know'st it, will ravish away!

Then they drove at one another and exchanged blows; but the youth's stroke forewent that of his adversary and slew him: and thus he went on to kill all who sallied out against him. When I saw my comrades slain, I said in myself, 'If I fight with him, I shall not be able to withstand him, and if I flee, I shall become a byword among the Arabs.' However, the youth gave me no time to think, but ran at me and laying hold of me, dragged me from my saddle. I swooned away and he raised his sword to cut off my head; but I clung to his skirts and he lifted me in his hand, as I were a sparrow [in the clutches of a hawk]. When the maiden saw this, she rejoiced in her brother's prowess and coming up to him, kissed him between the eyes. Then he delivered me to her, saying, 'Take him and entreat him well, for he is come under our rule.' So she took hold of the collars of my coat-of-arms and led me away by them as one would lead a dog. Then she did off her brother's armour and clad him in a robe, after which she brought him a stool of ivory, on which he sat down, and said to him, 'May God whiten thine honour and make thee to be as a provision against the shifts of fortune!' And he answered her with the following verses:

My sister said, (who saw my lustrous forehead blaze Midmost the
war, as shine the sun's meridian rays)
"God bless thee for a brave, to whom, when he falls on, The
desert lions bow in terror and amaze!"
"Question the men of war," I answered her, "of me, Whenas the
champions flee before my flashing gaze.
I am the world-renowned for fortune and for might, Whose prowess
I uplift to what a height of praise!
O Hemmad, thou hast roused a lion, who shall show Thee death that
comes as swift as vipers in the ways."

When I heard what he said, I was perplexed about my affair, and considering my condition and how I was become a captive, I was lessened in my own esteem. Then I looked at the damsel and said to myself, 'It is she who is the cause of all this trouble;' and I fell a-marvelling at her beauty and grace, till the tears streamed from my eyes and I recited the following verses:

Reproach me not, O friend, nor chide me for the past, For I will
pay no heed to chiding and dispraise.
Lo, I am clean distraught for one, whom when I saw, Fate in my
breast forthright the love of her did raise.
Her brother was my foe and rival in her love, A man of mickle
might and dreadful in affrays.

Then the maiden set food before her brother, and he bade me eat with him, whereat I rejoiced and felt assured of my life. When he had made an end of eating, she brought him a flagon of wine and he drank, till the fumes of the wine mounted to his head and his face flushed. Then he turned to me and said, 'Harkye, Hemmad, dost thou know me?' 'By thy life,' answered I, 'I am rich in nought but ignorance!' Said he, 'I am Ibad ben Temim ben Thaalebeh, and indeed God giveth thee thy liberty and spareth thee confusion.' Then he drank to my health and gave me a cup of wine and I drank it off. Then he filled me a second and a third and a fourth, and I drank them all; and he made merry with me and took an oath of me that I would never betray him. So I swore to him a thousand oaths that I would never deal perfidiously with him, but would be a friend and a helper to him.

Then he bade his sister bring me ten dresses of silk; so she brought them and laid them on me, and this gown I have on my body is one of them. Moreover, he made her bring one of the best of the riding camels, laden with stuffs and victual, and a sorrel horse, and gave the whole to me. I abode with them three days, eating and drinking, and what he gave me is with me to this day. At the end of this time, he said to me, 'O Hemmad, O my brother, I would fain sleep awhile and rest myself. I trust myself to thee; but if thou see horsemen making hither, fear not, for they are of the Beni Thaalebeh, seeking to wage war on me.' Then he laid his sword under his head and slept; and when he was drowned in slumber, the devil prompted me to kill him; so I rose, and drawing the sword from under his head, dealt him a blow that severed his head from his body. His sister heard what I had done, and rushing out from within the tent, threw herself on his body, tearing her clothes and repeating the following verses:

Carry the tidings to the folk, the saddest news can be; But man
from God His ordinance no whither hath to flee.
Now art thou slaughtered, brother mine, laid prostrate on the
earth, Thou whose bright face was as the round of the full
moon to see.
Indeed, an evil day it was, the day thou mettest them, And after
many a fight, thy spear is shivered, woe is me!
No rider, now that thou art dead, in horses shall delight Nor
evermore shall woman bear a male to match with thee.
Hemmad this day hath played thee false and foully done to death;
Unto his oath and plighted faith a traitor base is he.
He deemeth thus to have his will and compass his desire; But
Satan lieth to his dupes in all he doth decree.

When she had ended, she turned to me and said, 'O man of accursed lineage, wherefore didst thou play my brother false and slay him, whenas he purposed to send thee back to thy country with gifts and victual and it was his intent also to marry thee to me at the first of the month?' Then she drew a sword she had with her, and planting it in the ground, with the point set to her breast, threw herself thereon and pressed upon it, till the blade issued from her back and she fell to the ground, dead. I mourned for her and wept and repented when repentance availed me nothing. Then I went in haste to the tent and taking whatever was light of carriage and great of worth, went my way: but in my haste and fear, I took no heed of my (dead) comrades, nor did I bury the maiden and the youth. This, then, is my story, and it is still more extraordinary than that of the serving-maid I kidnapped in Jerusalem."

When Nuzet ez Zeman heard these words of the Bedouin, the light in her eyes was changed to darkness, and she rose and drawing the sword, smote him amiddleward the shoulder-blades, that the point issued from his throat. The bystanders said to her, "Why hast thou made haste to slay him?" And she answered, "Praised be God who hath granted me to avenge myself with my own hand!" And she bade the slaves drag the body out by the feet and cast it to the dogs. Then they turned to the second prisoner, who was a black slave, and said to him, "What is thy name? Tell us the truth of thy case." "My name is Ghezban," answered he and told them what had passed between himself and the princess Abrizeh and how he had slain her and fled. Hardly had he made an end of his story, when King Rumzan struck off his head with his sabre, saying, "Praised be God that gave me life! I have avenged my mother with my own hand." Then he repeated to them what his nurse Merjaneh had told him of this same Ghezban; after which they turned to the third prisoner and said to him, "Tell us who thou art and speak the truth." Now this was the very camel-driver, whom the people of Jerusalem hired to carry Zoulmekan to the hospital at Damascus; but he threw him down on the fuel-heap and went his way. So he told them how he had dealt with Zoulmekan, whereupon Kanmakan took his sword forthright and cut off his head, saying, "Praised be God who hath given me life, that I might requite this traitor what he did with my father, for I have heard this very story from King Zoulmekan himself!" Then they said to each other "It remains only for us to take our wreak of the old woman Shewahi, yclept Dhat ed Dewahi, for that she is the prime cause of all these troubles. Who will deliver her into our hands, that we may avenge ourselves upon her and wipe out our dishonour?" And King Rumzan said, "Needs must we bring her hither." So he wrote a letter to his grandmother, the aforesaid old woman, giving her to know that he had subdued the kingdoms of Damascus and Mosul and Irak and had broken up the host of the Muslims and captured their princes and adding, "I desire thee of all urgency to come to me without delay, bringing with thee the princess Sufiyeh, daughter of King Afridoun, and whom thou wilt of the Nazarene chiefs, but no troops; for the country is quiet and under our hand." And he despatched the letter to her, which when she read, she rejoiced greatly and forthwith equipping herself and Sufiyeh, set out with their attendants and journeyed, without stopping, till they drew near Baghdad. Then she sent a messenger to acquaint the King of her arrival, whereupon quoth Rumzan, "We should do well to don the habit of the Franks and go out to meet the old woman, to the intent that we may be assured against her craft and perfidy." So they clad themselves in Frankish apparel, and when Kuzia Fekan saw them, she exclaimed, "By the Lord of Worship, did I not know you, I should take you to be indeed Franks!" Then they sallied forth, with a thousand horse, to meet the old woman, and King Rumzan rode on before them. As soon as his eyes met hers, he dismounted and walked towards her, and she, recognizing him, dismounted also and embraced him; but he pressed her ribs with his hands, till he well-nigh broke them. Quoth she, "What is this, O my son?" But before she had done speaking, up came Kanmakan and Dendan, and the horsemen with them cried out at the women and slaves and took them all prisoners. Then the two Kings returned to Baghdad, with their captives, and Rumzan bade decorate the city three days long, at the end of which time they brought out the old woman, with a tall red bonnet of palm-leaves on her head, diademed with asses' dung, and preceded by a herald, proclaiming aloud, "This is the reward of those who presume to lay hands on kings and kings' sons!" Then they crucified her on one of the gates of Baghdad; and her companions, seeing what befell her, all embraced the faith of Islam. As for Kanmakan and his uncle Rumzan and his aunt Nuzhet ez Zeman, they marvelled at the wonderful events that had betided them and bade the scribes set them down orderly in books, that those who came after might read. Then they all abode in the enjoyment of all the delights and comforts of life, till there overtook them the Destroyer of Delights and the Sunderer of Companies; and this is all that hath come down to us of the dealings of fortune with King Omar ben Ennuman and his sons Sherkan and Zoulmekan and his son's son Kanmakan and his daughter Nuzhet ez Zeman and her daughter Kuzia Fekan.

END of VOL. II.

Notes to Volume 2.

[FN#1] A.H. 65-86.

[FN#2] i.e. none could approach him in the heat of fight.

[FN#3] Sophia.

[FN#4] Apparently Palestine (in this case).

[FN#5] i.e. man of might and munificence.

[FN#6] About £35,000.

[FN#7] Dhai ed Dewahi.

[FN#8] i.e. sperma hominis.

[FN#9] Apparently the names of noted wrestlers.

[FN#10] A phrase of frequent occurrence in the Koran, meaning "your female slaves" or "the women ye have captured in war."

[FN#11] Quoth he (Solomon), "O chiefs, which of you will bring me her throne?" (i.e. that of Belkis, queen of Sheba) ......."I," said an Afrit of the Jinn, "will bring it thee, ere thou canst rise from thy stead, for I am able thereto and faithful!"--Koran xxvii. 38, 39.

[FN#12] One of the fountains of Paradise.

[FN#13] Kutheiyir ibn Ali Juma, a well-known poet of the seventh and eighth centuries at Medina. He was celebrated for his love of Azzeh, in whose honour most of his poems were written. The writer (or copyist) of this tale has committed an anachronism in introducing these verses, as Kutheiyir was a contemporary of the Khalif Abdulmelik ben Merwan before whose time Sherkan and his father (both imaginary characters) are stated( see supra, p. 1 {Vol. 2, FN#1}) to have lived; but the whole narrative is full of the grossest anachronisms, too numerous, indeed, to notice.

[FN#14] Jemil ben Mamer, another celebrated Arabian poet and lover, a friend and contemporary of Kutheiyir.

[FN#15] A person who dies for love is esteemed a martyr by the Arabs.

[FN#16] I suspect these verses to have been introduced in error by some copyist. They appear utterly meaningless in this context.

[FN#17] The bishop.

[FN#18] Apparently referring in jest to her speech to him see supra, p. 27 {see text, Vol. 2, after FN#17}, "Thou art beaten in everything."

[FN#19] He likens the glance of her eye to the blade of a Yemen sword,--a comparison of frequent occurrence in Arabic poetry.

[FN#20] Mehmil. A decorated framework or litter borne by a camel, sent as an emblem of royalty with the caravan of pilgrims to Mecca, by way of honour to the occasion and to the sacred object of the pilgrimage, much as great people send their empty carriages to attend the funeral of a person for whose memory they wish to show their respect. The introduction of the Mehmil here is another of the many anachronisms of the story, as the custom is said not to here come into use till a much later period.

[FN#21] Mecca.

[FN#22] Medina.

[FN#23] Oriental substitutes for soap.

[FN#24] i.e., death.

[FN#25] Apparently the Bedouin was angry with the merchant for praising the girl to her face and perhaps also alarmed at finding that he had kidnapped a young lady of consequence, where he only thought to have made prize of a pretty wench of humble condition and friendless.

[FN#26] Delight of the age.

[FN#27] Affliction (or wrath) of the age.

[FN#28] For fuel.

[FN#29] "God will open on me another gate (or means) of making my living." A common formula, meaning, "It is not enough."

[FN#30] Or state problems.

[FN#31] One of the four great Muslim sects or schools of theology, taking its name from the Imam es Shafi (see post, p. 131, note). {see Vol. 2 FN#89}

[FN#32] Second of the Abbasside Khalifs, A.H. 136-158.

[FN#33] The second Khalif after Mohammed (A.H. 13-23) and the most renowned for piety and just government of all the borders of the office, except perhaps his descendant Omar ben Abdulaziz (A.H. 99-102).

[FN#34] As a reward (in the next world) for good deeds.

[FN#35] The fourth Khalif.

[FN#36] The word rendered "good breeding" may also be translated "polite accomplishments" or "mental discipline" and has a great number of other meanings.

[FN#37] Sixth Khalif and founder of the Ommiade dynasty (A.H. 41 60).

[FN#38] One of the most notable men of the day, chief of the great tribe of the Benou Temim. He was a contemporary of the Prophet and was held in much esteem by Muawiyeh.

[FN#39] Surname of Ahnaf.

[FN#40] Governor of Bassora and other places under the first four Khalifs.

[FN#41] Ziad teen Abou Sufyan, illegitimate brother of the Khalif Muawiyeh, afterwards governor of Bassora Cufa and the Hejaz.

[FN#42] Because it might have been taken to mean, "inhabitants of hell."

[FN#43] i.e. death.

[FN#44] A battle fought near Medina, A.D. 625, in which Mohammed was defeated by the Meccans under Abou Sufyan.

[FN#45] One of Mohammed's widows and Omar's own daughter.

[FN#46] A well-known man of letters and theologian of the seventh and eighth centuries.

[FN#47] i.e. to prepare himself by good works, etc., for the world to come.

[FN#48] A celebrated Cufan theologian of the eighth century.

[FN#49] i.e. for the next world.

[FN#50] The eighth Khalif of the Ommiade dynasty, a rival in piety and single-mindedness of Omar ben Khettab.

[FN#51] The descendants of Umeyyeh and kinsmen of the reigning house.

[FN#52] The second, fifth, sixth and seventh Khalifs of the Ommiade dynasty.

[FN#53] The mother of Omar ben Abdulaziz was a granddaughter of Omar ben Khettab.

[FN#54] Brother of Omar's successor, Yezid II.

[FN#55] This passage apparently belongs to the previous account of Omar's death-bed; but I have left it as it stands in the text, as it would be a hopeless task to endeavour to restore this chaos of insipid anecdote and devotional commonplace to anything like symmetry.

[FN#56] Lit. with (or by) neither book (i.e. Koran) nor Sunneh (i.e. the Traditions of the Prophet).

[FN#57] Chief of the tribe of Temim and one of the most elegant orators of the eighth century.

[FN#58] Surnamed Eth Thekefi, Governor of Yemen and Irak: also a well known orator, but a most cruel and fantastic tyrant.

[FN#59] Tenth Khalif of the Ommiade dynasty (A.D. 723-742).

[FN#60] i.e. slave-girl.

[FN#61] i.e. It was decreed, so it was.

[FN#62] Nuzhet ez Zeman.

[FN#63] Nuzhet ez Zeman.

[FN#64] Zoulmekan.

[FN#65] Nuzhet ez Zeman.

[FN#66] Sedic.

[FN#67] Sidc.

[FN#68] Mohammed Ibn Shihab ez Zuhri, a celebrated Traditionist and jurisconsult of Medina in the seventh and eighth centuries.

[FN#69] Alexander.

[FN#70] The celebrated fabulist, said to have been a black slave of the time of David, but supposed by some to be identical with Aesop.

[FN#71] Koran iii. 185.

[FN#72] One of the Companions of the Prophet.

[FN#73] One of the contemporaries of Mohammed and a noted Traditionist (or repeater of the sayings of the Prophet) at Cufa in the seventh century.

[FN#74] A noted Traditionist and expounder Of the Koran in the first century of the Muslim era. He was a black and a native of Cufa.

[FN#75] Son of the martyr Hussein and grandson of the Khalif Ali.

[FN#76] A very eminent doctor of the law and Traditionist of the eighth century. He was a native of Cufa and was regarded as one of the great exemplars of the true believers.

[FN#77] i.e. those who love and obey the precepts of the Koran.

[FN#78] i.e. Barefoot. A native of Merv and a famous ascetic of the eighth and ninth centuries.

[FN#79] Necessitating a fresh ablution, before the prayer can be ended.

[FN#80] Another noted ascetic of the time.

[FN#81] About a penny.

[FN#82] A well-known legist and devotee of the eighth and ninth centuries at Baghdad, Sounder of one of the four great orthodox Muslim schools.

[FN#83] A famous theologian and devotee of the eighth century at Bassora.

[FN#84] A noted preacher and Traditionist of Khorassan in the ninth, century.

[FN#85] Koran .xvi. 6.

[FN#86] A Traditionist of Medina. who flourished in the eighth century.

[FN#87] This paragraph is part extract from and part paraphrase of the Koran xxviii 22-27.

[FN#88] A well-known pietist of the eighth century.

[FN#89] Abou Hatim el Asemm (the Deaf), a famous Balkhi theologian of the ninth century.

[FN#90] One of two of the most famous theologians of the second century of the Hegira and the founders of two of the four great Mohammedan schools.

[FN#91] One of two of the most famous theologians of the second century of the Hegira and the founders of two of the four great Mohammedan schools.

[FN#92] Ismail ibn Yehya el Muzeni, a famous Egyptian doctor of the law pupil of Es Shafi and Imam of the Shafiyite school in the ninth century.

[FN#93] Koran lxxvii. 35, 36.

[FN#94] Mohammed.

[FN#95] Islam.

[FN#96] "In Hell shall they (the unbelievers) burn, and ill shall be (their) stead."--Koran, xiv. 34.

[FN#97] Mohammed pretended that his coming had been foretold in the Gospels and that the Christians had falsified the passage (John xvi. 7) promising the advent of the Comforter (<Greek> ) by substituting the latter word for <Greek> , glorious, renowned, praised, i.e. Mohammed.

[FN#98] The second chapter of the Koran, beginning, "This is the Book, etc."

[FN#99] It appears by what follows that Afridoun, supposing the victory to be gained, returned to Constantinople immediately after sending this message and left the command of the army to King Herdoub.

[FN#100] At Mecca.

[FN#101] i.e. There is no god but God.

[FN#102] Koran, x. 25.

[FN#103] Cassia fistularis, a kind of carob.

[FN#104] "say not of those who are slain in the way (service) of God that they are dead; nay, they are living." Koran, ii 149.

[FN#105] Apparently Constantinople.

[FN#106] This verse alludes to the garbled version of the miracle of Aaron's rod given in the Koran, which attributes the act to Moses and makes the Egyptian sorcerers throw down ropes, to which by their art they give the appearance of serpents.

[FN#107] i.e., of the Koran.

[FN#108] A certain formula, invoking peace on the Prophet and all men recurring at the end of the five daily prayers and pronounced sitting.

[FN#109] ex voto.

[FN#110] i.e. Mohammed.

[FN#111] "What news bringest thou, O saint?"

[FN#112] i.e. Mohammed.

[FN#113] These epithets are often applied by the Arabs, in a complimentary sense, to anyone who works great havoc among his enemies by his prowess and cunning.

[FN#114] See Vol. I. p. 135, note. {Vol. 1, FN#45}

[FN#115] i.e. Deal with thee as if thou wert slave-born and therefore not used to knightly fashions nor able to endure stress of battle.

[FN#116] A chapel so called in the Temple at Mecca.

[FN#117] Mohammed.

[FN#118] Protector of the women that ride therein.

[FN#119] The Mohammedans have a legend that God gave David extraordinary skill in working iron and making chain mail, that he might earn his living without drawing upon the public treasury. "And we gave David a grace from us and softened for him iron (saying), 'Make thou coats of mail and adjust the rings duly and deal rightly, for I look upon what ye do."' --Koran, xxxiv. 10.

[FN#120] This appears to be an allusion to the colours of the house of Abbas, which were black.

[FN#121] Kafir means "black" as well as "infidel."

[FN#122] One of the Mohammedan legends represents Moses as seeking the water of life.

[FN#123] The allusion here is to the face of a beloved one, which is likened to a moon rising out of her dress.

[FN#124] An ornamental hand, said to be so called from the resemblance of the pen with which it is written to the leaf of the sweet basil.

[FN#125] lit. "the love of the Beni Udhra," an Arabian tribe, famous for the passion and devotion with which love was practiced among them.

[FN#126] Syn. eye (nazir).

[FN#127] Syn. eyebrow (hajib).

[FN#128] i.e. including the two days that had already elapsed.

[FN#129] i.e. a graceful youth of the province in which Mecca is situate.

[FN#130] A small piece of wood used in a children's out-door game called tab.

[FN#131] The stone of the beleh or "green" date, not allowed to ripen.

[FN#132] Or drachm-weight.

[FN#133] An audacious parody of the consecrated expression used to describe the ceremonious circumambulation of the Kaabeh at Mecca.

[FN#134] Subaudiantur autem utriusque sexûs pudenda.

[FN#135] Subaudiantur autem utriusque sexûs pudenda.

[FN#136] Subaudiatur vas muliebre.

[FN#137] The word sac (leg), when used in the oblique case, as it would necessarily be here, makes saki, i.e. cup-bearer. A play upon the double meaning is evidently intended.

[FN#138] In the East, bathers pay on leaving the bath.

[FN#139] As a styptic.

[FN#140] Dunya.

[FN#141] Semen hominis.

[FN#142] i.e. the rolls of dirt that come off under the bathman's hands.

[FN#143] Paradise.

[FN#144] The cold room of the bath.

[FN#145] The hot room.

[FN#146] The door-keeper of hell.

[FN#147] The door-keeper of Paradise.

[FN#148] i.e. Crown of Kings.

[FN#149] An obscure star in the Great Bear.

[FN#150] Zibl means "dung" or "sweepings." Can (Khan) means "chief."

[FN#151] i.e., Him who fights for the Faith.

[FN#152] A town on the Euphrates, on the borders of Syria and Mesopotamia.

[FN#153] i.e. recognized him as king by naming him in the public prayers.

[FN#154] i.e. the silky whiskers, which it is common, in poetry, to call green likening them to newly-sprouted herbage.

[FN#155] i.e. the Day of Judgment.

[FN#156] Ironical.

[FN#157] i.e. Kanmakan.

[FN#158] Meaning, apparently, poisoned.

[FN#159] i.e. with a blow worthy of the members of the family of Thaalebeb to which (see post, p. 368 {see ...Said he, 'I am Ibad ben Temin ben Thaalebh, and indeed...}) he belonged.

[FN#160] i.e. his sister.

[FN#161] i.e. benefits.

[FN#162] i.e. new moon.