"When I was with some other officials at Damascus the population rebelled against us, and even the governor was under the necessity of escaping by getting himself let down in a basket from his palace. I also fled, and whilst doing so the mob pursued me, and I ran into the house of the above-mentioned man, who was sitting at the door of it. I said to him: 'Help me and Allah will help you!' He received me kindly, and told his wife to put me into a certain room, whilst he remained sitting at the door. I had scarcely gone in when my pursuers likewise rushed in and insisted on searching the house, which they actually did, and would certainly have discovered me had not the man's wife kept them off from the room in which I sat trembling for my life. When the people at last dispersed, the man and his wife comforted me as much as they could, and hospitably entertained me in their house for four months, till every danger had passed away. When I was bold enough to go out and see what had become of my slaves, I found that they had all dispersed, and I asked my kind host to allow me to depart to Baghdad. He consented, but when the caravan was starting he insisted on presenting me with a horse, a slave, and all the provisions required for the journey. All these were surprises thrust upon me when I was about to start, and was wondering how I could possibly travel without any of these things. Moreover, during my whole sojourn this kind man had never asked me my name for fear that I might thereby be compromised. After I had safely arrived in Baghdad I desired many a time to show my gratitude to this man, but could obtain no information about him. I still desire to requite his services, and this is the reason why I was so anxious to learn something about him from you."
'After the man had listened to the above statement he said: "Verily, Allah has enabled you to requite the kindness of that man." I asked: "How can that be?" and he replied: "I am that man, but the trouble in which you see me has hindered you from recognising me." Then he reminded me of various circumstances, and so established his identity that I was perfectly convinced of it, and could not restrain myself from embracing him most fervently. To my inquiries how he had fallen into the calamity which had overtaken him, he replied:
"A disturbance arose in Damascus similar to the rebellion which had broken out when you were there; the Prince of the Believers sent troops and suppressed it, but I, having been suspected as one of the ringleaders thereof, was captured by his command, brought as a prisoner to Baghdad, and considered to have forfeited my life, which I shall certainly lose. I left my family without taking leave, but a slave of mine has followed me here, and will carry back information about me. He is to be found at such and such a place, and if you will send for him I will give him the necessary instructions. I shall consider it a high favour, and as a reward for all the obligations under which you were to me."
'I told him to put his trust in Allah, and got a smith to relieve him first of his irons, then I made him enter the bath, provided him with good clothes, and sent for his slave, to whom he gave, with tears in his eyes, the message for his family. I then ordered my people to get ready several horses and mules, which I loaded with baggage and provisions, gave the man a bag of ten thousand dirhems, with another of five thousand dinars, and ordered my lieutenant to escort him on his journey to Damascus as far as Anbar.' But the man replied: "The Prince of the Believers considers that I have committed high treason, and will send troops to pursue me; I shall be recaptured and executed, and by allowing me to escape you will endanger your own life." I said: "Never mind what will became of me, but save your life, and I shall afterwards endeavour to save mine." He rejoined: "That shall not be, and I cannot leave Baghdad without knowing what has become of you." Seeing him determined in his purpose, I ordered my lieutenant to take him to a certain place in the town where he could remain in concealment till the next day, when he might be informed as to whether I had extricated myself from the difficulty, or had lost my life, in which latter case I should only have repaid him for having risked his in Damascus to save mine, and after that he could depart.
'The lieutenant had taken the man away, and I made preparations for my death, getting ready my winding-sheet in which my corpse was to be shrouded, when an official on the part of Mamun arrived with this message: "The Prince of the Faithful orders you to bring the man with you." Accordingly I hastened to the palace, where I found the Khalif sitting and expecting me. The first words he said to me were these: "I want to see the man!" I remained silent, and on his uttering them more emphatically, replied: "Will you please listen to me, O Commander of the Believers?" He continued: "I am determined to strike your head off if the man has fled." I said: "O Prince of the Faithful, the man has not escaped, but listen to what I have to say about him, and then you may act as you deem fit." He continued: "Speak!" Accordingly I narrated everything, and said that I was anxious to requite the man in some measure for all the good he had done to me, that I was desirous to save his life even at the cost of my own, if need be, and finished my explanation by showing the winding-sheet I had brought with me. After the Khalif had patiently listened, he exclaimed: "His merit is superior to yours, because he has treated you nobly without knowing you; whereas you only do so after having enjoyed his beneficence. I desire to reward him myself." "The man is here, and would not leave until apprized of my fate; I can produce him at once." The Khalif said: "This trait of his character is yet more noble; go, comfort the man, and bring him here." Accordingly I departed, and when I introduced the man to the Khalif, he received him kindly, offered him a seat, conversed with him till dinner was brought in, of which he made him partake in his own company. Lastly, the Khalif invested him with a robe of honour, and wished to appoint him Governor of Damascus, but this he humbly refused. Accordingly, Mamun presented him with ten horses saddled and bridled, ten mules caparisoned, and ten bags, each of which contained ten thousand dinars; he also gave him ten slaves, with animals to ride upon, and a letter to the Governor of Damascus to absolve him from the payment of taxes. This man afterwards corresponded with Mamun, and when a courier arrived from Damascus the Khalif used to say to me, "Abbas! a letter from your friend has arrived."'
One night Harun-ar-Rashid was quite sleepless, and said to his vizier, Jaafar, the son of Yahya, the Barmekide: 'I cannot sleep this night; I feel oppressed, and do not know what to do.' The servant Masrur, who happened to be standing near, burst out laughing at these words, and the Khalif continued: 'What are you laughing for? Do you mock me or wish to show your levity?' Masrur said: 'I swear by your relationship to the Prince of Apostles that I have done this unwittingly; but last evening I was near the castle, and walked to the bank of the Tigris, where I saw many persons assembled around a man who made them laugh, and just now I recollected some of his words, which caused me to smile; his name is Ben Almugázeli, and I crave pardon from the Commander of the Faithful.' Then Rashid said: 'Bring him here this moment.' Accordingly Masrur went to Ben Almugázeli and said to him: 'The Commander of the Faithful wants you.' He replied: 'To hear is to obey!' And Masrur continued: 'But on the condition that if he presents you with anything, one-fourth of it will belong to you, and the rest to me.' The man rejoined: 'No, I must have one-third of it and you the other two-thirds.' Masrur would not agree to this proposal, but at last consented after a great deal of haggling. When he was admitted and had made his salutations, the Khalif said: 'If you make me laugh I shall give you five hundred dinars, but if not I shall give you three blows with this sock.' Now Ben Almugázeli said to himself: "What is the odds if I get three strokes with the sock?" because he thought it was empty. Accordingly he began to jest and to play tricks at which low people might have laughed, but not Rashid, who did not even smile. The man was first astonished, then grieved, and at last frightened when Rashid said: "Now you have deserved the blows." He then took up the sock and twisted it, but at the bottom there were some balls, each of which weighed two drachms. When he had struck Ben Almugázeli once, the latter yelled pitifully, but recollecting the condition Masrur had imposed upon him, he exclaimed: "Mercy, O Commander of the Faithful, listen to two words of mine." He said: "Speak what you like." The man continued: "I have promised Masrur to let him have two-thirds of the bounty I might receive, and to keep one-third for myself, and to this he agreed only after much bargaining. Now the Commander of the Faithful has decided that the bounty shall consist of three blows, of which my share would be one, and Masrur's two. I have received mine, and now is his turn to take his." Rashid laughed, called for Masrur, and struck him; Masrur groaned from pain, and said: "I present him with the remainder." The Khalif laughed and ordered them to be presented with one thousand dinars, of which each received five hundred, and Ben Almugázeli went away grateful.'
In this work there are several other stories concerning various Khalifs, the Barmekide family, and other people, but the extracts given above are sufficient to show the nature of the volume.
Two short anecdotes are taken from the 'Sihr-ul-oyoon,' or 'Magic of the eyes,' a work known to Haji Khalfa, and noted by Fluegel in his lexicon. This book contains seven chapters, with some drawings of the eye, and an appendix consisting entirely of poetry, which, however, is also interspersed throughout the work, excepting in the chapters treating on the anatomy, the infirmities of, and the remedies for the eye.
Moghairah bin Shabah states that he never was so cunningly deceived as by a youth of the Benou-ul-Háreth. He intended to sue for the hand of a girl of that tribe, when this youth, who stood near him, said: 'O Amir, you have no need of her.' 'Why?' 'I saw a man kiss her.' Accordingly Moghairah went away, but heard some time afterwards that the said youth had married the girl himself. On meeting again Moghairah said to the youth: 'Did you not tell me that you had seen a man kiss her.' 'Certainly I did,' the young man replied, 'but that man was her father.'
A man happened to find on the road a silver brooch, which women use for applying collyrium to their eyes. This pin was handsome, and he concluded that the girl who had lost it must have very beautiful eyes. He indulged so much in this fancy that he conceived an affection for the owner of the brooch, and was fond of showing the precious article to his acquaintances. One day a friend paid him a visit, and after the wine they had drunk had taken effect, he took out the said brooch according to his wont, kissed it, and wept over it. The friend, who knew the brooch, asked whence he had obtained it, but he replied: 'Pray do not question me, I am in love with the proprietress of it; my heart is melting, and it is so dear to me that I get jealous when other eyes beside my own look at it.' The friend said: 'I shall bring about a meeting between you and your mistress.' The other asked, 'Who could procure me that felicity?' The friend went away, but returned in a short time bearing a covered platter, which he placed before him, saying, 'Uncover this basin,' and lo! it contained a female head, weltering in its own gore, and on beholding it the man nearly fainted with grief. His friend, however, said: 'Be not dismayed, but tell me how you obtained this brooch, which I had presented to my wife, whose head is before you.' He replied that he had found the brooch on a certain day on the road, and described the spot, adding that he imagined the owner of it must be beautiful, and conceived a warm affection for her, but that he had never seen her face, and knew not who she might have been. The friend said: 'This is true enough, because she told me one day that she had lost it; hence no blame rests on you.' The two men parted; the would-be lover, however, took this melancholy event so much to heart that he not only repented of his folly, but died of grief.
The following curious philosophic discourse is taken from the'Siraj-ul-Mulûk,' or Lamp of Kings, a well-known work composed aboutA.D. 1126, and typographed at Cairo A.D. 1872:
'Allah, the Most High, has said (Koran, vi., verse 38): "There is no kind of beast on earth, nor fowl which flieth with its wing, but the same is a people like unto you." Allah the Most High has accordingly established a resemblance between us and all the animals. It is well known that they are not like us in their figures and forms as perceived by the eye, but in their demeanour; and there is not a human being who does not possess some qualities peculiar to animals. When you perceive that a man's character is unusual, you must endeavour to find out the qualities of the animal with which it may be compared, and judge of him according to these; and to avoid all misunderstanding, and to maintain intercourse with him, you must behave towards him in conformity with them.
'Accordingly, when you see an ignorant man of rude behaviour, strong in body, whose anger overpowers him at any moment, you are to compare him to a tiger, and there is an Arab proverb: "He is more stupid than a tiger." When you see a tiger, you avoid him, and do not fight with him, therefore towards an individual of this kind you must behave in the same manner.
'When you observe a man wantonly attacking the reputation of others, compare him to a dog, because it is his nature. When a dog barks at you it does not trouble you much, and you go your own way. You must deal in this manner with such men, because they are like dogs who assault others without any provocation.
'When you perceive that a man's nature is to say "Yes" when you say "No," and "No" if you say "Yes," compare him to an ass, because when you approach him he recedes, and when you move away he will move towards you. You must put up with your donkey, and neither separate from him nor insult him. Deal in the same way with such a person.
'When you perceive a man searching out the weaknesses or shortcomings of people, compare him to a fly, which settles on a carcase, and then gluts itself with the vilest parts of it, such as the rotten flesh and the filthy offal.
'When you observe a Sultan taking the lives, and confiscating the property of his subjects, consider him to be a lion, and be on your guard that he does not injure you.
'When you see a wicked man full of tricks and boastings, compare him to a fox.
'If you happen to meet with a tale-bearer who foments enmity among friends, consider him to be a "Zeriban," which is a small beast of fetid smell, so that when two persons fall out with each other, the Arabs say that "a Zeriban has passed between them." It is, indeed, the peculiarity of this animal that an assembly disperses when it enters, accordingly it is driven off as soon as perceived, and a tale-bearer ought to be dealt with similarly.
'When you observe that a man loathes to listen to intelligent conversation, and hates meetings of learned men, but is fond of gossip, all kinds of nonsense, and scandals of society, compare him to the May-bug, which delights in impure exhalations, and loves dunghills, but hates the perfumes of musk or of roses, which actually kill it when sprinkled upon it.
'If you meet an individual displaying a great deal of piety outwardly, but always intriguing to acquire property, to enrich himself by unrighteous means, and to cheat widows and orphans, consider him to be a wolf:
"The wolf is so devout;You see him on his knees,He nicely prays and sighs.But when his game is near,He falls upon it speedilyAnd tears it all to pieces."
'When you discover a liar consider him to be like a dead man, who can give no information, and with whom no one can associate. A liar may also be compared to an ostrich which buries all its eggs in the sand, but leaves one upon the surface, and one close under it, whilst all the others are deeply concealed. When an inexperienced man perceives that egg he takes it, and perhaps also the one close below it, and after scraping up the sand a little, and finding nothing more goes away; whilst a person who knows this habit of the ostrich does not stop searching until he has got possession of all the eggs. You must deal in the same manner with a liar, and not believe him till you get to the bottom of his story, i.e. until you elicit the actual truth.
'When you observe that a man's whole attention is absorbed in endeavours to make a good appearance by keeping his clothes nice, and apprehensive lest they should be dirtied in any way, always picking any little straws that might adhere to them, and constantly adjusting his turban, consider him to be a peacock, whose nature is always to admire his own person, to stalk about majestically, to display the plumage of his tail, and to solicit praise of his beauty.
'If you become acquainted with a rancorous person who never forgets the slightest insult, but avenges himself for it even after a considerable lapse of time, compare him to a camel, for the Arabs truly say of such a man that "he is more rancorous than a camel." Avoid such a man as you would an ill-natured camel.
'When you meet a hypocrite, who is different from what he appears to be, compare him to the Yarbu,i.e.the mouse of the desert, which has two apertures to its lair, the one for an entrance, and the other for an exit, so that it always cheats the hunter who digs for it.'
Yet another story-book may be quoted, viz., the 'Ilam en Nâs,' or Warnings for Men, containing historical tales and anecdotes of the time of the early Khalifates. Some of these were translated by Mrs. Godfrey Clerk in 1873 (King and Co.), and her little volume also contains a very good genealogical table of the families of the Prophet, and of the Rashidin (or 'rightly directed,'i.e.Abu Bakr, Omar, Othman, and Ali), the Omaiyide, and the Abbaside Khalifs.
Among the many works of Arabic literature one of the most interesting and the most amusing is Ibn Khallikan's celebrated Biographical Dictionary. The author must have been a very intelligent and a very industrious man, for his volumes contain an enormous amount of information about many hundred Arabs. This work is rendered all the more readable and all the more amusing by the many anecdotes related in connection with their lives, and a few of these stories are now given below.
Ibn Abbas, son of Abbas, uncle of Muhammad, was one of the ablest interpreters of the Koran. It was owing to his efforts that the study of the poems, composed before the introduction of Islamism, became of such importance to the Muslims, for he frequently quoted verses of the ancient poets in proof of the explanation he gave of different passages of the Koran, and he used to say: 'When you meet with a difficulty in the Koran look for its solution in the poems of the Arabs, for these are the registers of the Arabic nation.' On being asked how he had acquired his extensive knowledge, he replied: 'By means of an inquiring tongue and an intelligent heart.'
It may here perhaps be stated that the Koran, composed avowedly in the purest Arabic, offered many difficulties to those who were not acquainted with the idiom of the desert Arabs, a race who alone spoke the language in its perfection. The study of the ancient poets was therefore considered as necessary for the intelligence of the Koran, and their poems, often obscure from the intricacy of their construction and their obsolete terms, required the assistance of grammatical analysis and philology to render them comprehensible.
Ibn Faris Ar-Razi, the Philologist, is the author of these verses:
'Well, some things succeed and some fail: when my heart is filled with cares I say: "One day perhaps they may be dispelled." A cat is my companion; books the friends of my heart; and a lamp my beloved consort.'
Badi Az-Zaman al-Hamadani, the author of some beautiful epistles and excellent essays, which last Hariri took as a model in the composition of his, wrote as follows about death: 'Death is awful till it comes, and then it is found light; its touch seems grating till felt, and then it is smooth; the world is so hostile and its injustice so great that death is the lightest of its inflictions, the least of its wrongs. Look, then, to the right; do you see aught but affliction? Look to the left; do you see aught but woe?'
Abu Wathila Iyas Al-Kadi was renowned for his excessive acuteness of mind, observation, and penetration. Many stories are told about him in connection with these qualities, which are really astonishing. It is related of him that he said: 'I was never worsted in penetration but by one man: I had taken my seat in the court of judgment at Busra, when a person came before me and gave testimony that a certain garden, of which he mentioned the boundaries, belonged to a man whom he named. As I had some doubts of his veracity, I asked him how many trees were in that garden, and he said to me, after a short silence: "How long is it since our lord the Kadi has been giving judgment in this hall?" I told him the time. "How many beams," said he, "are there in the roof?" On which I acknowledged that he was in the right, and I received his testimony.'
It is a curious circumstance that Homer the Greek poet, Radaki thePersian poet, and Bashshar bin Burd the Arabian poet, were all blind.Here is a specimen of one of the verses of the last-named:
'Yes, my friends! my ear is charmed by a person in that tribe; for the ear is sometimes enamoured sooner than the eye. You say that I am led by one whom I never saw; know that the ear as well as the eye can inform the mind of facts.'
He composed also the following verse, which is the most gallant of any made by the poets of that epoch:
'Yes, by Allah! I love the magic of your eyes, and yet I dread the weapons by which so many lovers fell.'
Several sayings of Al-Hasan bin Sahl, the vizier to the Khalif Al-Mamun, have been preserved. Once he himself wrote at the end of a letter of recommendation, dictated to his secretary: 'I have been told that on the day of judgment a man will be questioned respecting the use he made of the influence given him by his rank in the world, in the same manner as he will be questioned respecting the use he made of the superfluity of his wealth.'
Again he said to his sons: 'My sons, learn the use of language; it is by it that man holds his preeminence over other animals; the higher the skill which you attain in the use of language, the nearer you approach to the ideal of human nature.'
It is related of Sari-as Sakati, the celebrated Sufi, that he said that for twenty years he never ceased imploring Divine pardon for having once exclaimed, 'Praise be to God!' and on being asked the reason he said: 'A fire broke out in Baghdad, and a person came up to me and told me that my shop had escaped, on which I uttered these words; and even to this moment I repent of having said so, because it showed that I wished better to myself than to others.'
Al-Ahnaf bin Kais, whose prudence was proverbial among the Arabs, used to say: 'I have followed three rules of conduct, which I now mention merely that the man of reflection may profit by my example—I never interfered between two parties unless invited by them to do so; I never went to the door of these people (meaning princes) unless sent for by them; and I never rose from my place to obtain a thing when all men were anxious to possess it.'
Abu Yazid Taifur al-Bastaimi, the famous ascetic, being asked how he had acquired his knowledge of the spiritual world, answered that it was by means of a hungry belly and naked body. He used to say: 'When you see a man possessing miraculous powers, so as even to mount into the air, let not that deceive you, but see if he observes God's commands and prohibitions, if he keeps within the bounds imposed by religion, and if he performs the duties which it prescribes.'
Abul Aswad ad-Duwali, the inventor of grammar, in intelligence one of the most perfect of men, and in reason one of the most sagacious, was notorious for his avarice, and he used to say: 'If we listened to the demands made by the poor for our money, we should soon be worse off than they.' He said also to his sons: 'Strive not to rival Almighty God in generosity, for He is the most bountiful and the most glorious; had He pleased He would have given ample wealth to all men, so strive not to be generous lest you die of starvation.' It is also related that Abul Aswad had an attack of the palsy, and that he used to go to the market himself, though scarcely able to draw his legs after him, and yet he was rich, and possessed both male and female slaves. A person who knew this accosted him one day, and said: 'God has dispensed you from the necessity of moving about on your own business, why do you not remain seated at home?' To which he replied: 'No; I go in and out, and the eunuch says "He is coming," and the boy says "He is coming," whereas, were I to continue sitting in the house, the sheep would urine upon me without any person's preventing them.'
It is related that on a dispute between the Sunnites and Shiites of Baghdad about the relative merits of Abu Bakr and Ali, both parties agreed to abide by the opinion of the Shaikh Abul Faraj bin Al-Jauzi. They consequently deputed a person, who questioned him on the subject when he was seated in the preacher's chair. The one reply which he made bears in Arabic two different meanings—the first, that the best of them was he whose daughter was married to the other man; and the second, that the best of them was he who had married the daughter of the other man. He then withdrew promptly, lest he should be questioned further, and the Sunnites said: 'He means Abu Bakr, because his daughter Ayesha was married to the Prophet,' 'Nay,' said the Shiites, 'he means Ali, because Fatima, the Prophet's daughter, was married to him.' The answer was certainly very clever; had it even been the result of long reflection and deep consideration, it would have been admirable, but coming as it did without any previous preparation, it was still more so.
Shibab Ad-Din (flambeau of the faith) as-Suhrawardi was a pious and holy Shaikh, most assiduous in his spiritual exercises, and the practice of devotion, and successfully guided a great number of Sufis in their efforts to obtain perfection. Many persons wrote to him for his opinion on circumstances which concerned themselves, and one wrote as follows: 'My lord,—If I cease to work I shall remain in idleness, and if I work I am filled with self-satisfaction; which is best?' To this the Shaikh replied: 'Work, and ask Almighty God to pardon thy self-satisfaction.' The following is one of his verses:
'If I contemplate you, I am all eyes; and if I think of you I am all heart.'
Abu Ali Al-Jubbai was an able master in the science of dogmatic theology, and had at one time a pupil named Abul Hasan Al-Ashari. It is related that one day the two had the following discussion. Al-Ashari propounded to his master the case of three brothers, one of whom was a true believer, virtuous and pious; the second an infidel, a debauchee, and a reprobate; and the third an infant; they all died, and Al-Ashari wished to know what had become of them. To this Al-Jubbai answered: 'The virtuous brother holds a high position in Paradise, the infidel is in the depths of hell, and the child is among those who have obtained salvation.' 'Suppose now,' said Al-Ashari, 'that the child should wish to ascend to the place occupied by his virtuous brother, would he be allowed to do so?' 'No,' replied Al-Jubbai, 'it would be said to him: "Thy brother arrived at this place through his numerous works of obedience towards God, and thou hast no such works to set forward."' 'Suppose, then,' said Al-Ashari, 'that the child say, "That is not my fault; you did not let me live long enough, neither did you give me the means of proving my obedience."' 'In that case,' answered Al-Jubbai, 'the Almighty would say: "I knew that if I allowed thee to live thou wouldst have been disobedient, and incurred the severe punishment of hell; I therefore acted for thy advantage."' 'Well,' said Al-Ashari, 'and suppose the infidel brother were here to say: "O God of the Universe! since you knew what awaited him, you must have known what awaited me; why, then, did you act for his advantage and not for mine?"' Al-Jubbai had not a word to offer in reply. This discussion proves that the Almighty elects some for mercy, and others for punishment, and that his acts are not the results of any motive whatsoever.
It is related that As-Shafi said: 'There are five men on whom people must rely for the nourishment of their minds: he who wishes to become learned in jurisprudence must have recourse to Abu Hanifah; he who desires to become skilled in poetry must apply to Zoheir bin Ali Sulma, the author of one of the Mua'llakas, or suspended poems at Mecca; he who would like to become well acquainted with the history of the Muslim conquests must obtain his information from Muhammad bin Ishak; he who wishes to become deeply learned in grammar must have recourse to Al-Kisai; and he who seeks to be acquainted with the interpretations of the Koran must apply to Mukatil bin Sulaiman.'
There are several stories current as to how the Khalif Omar bin Al-Khattab took upon himself the title of 'Commander of the Faithful.' One is that Omar was one day holding a public sitting, when he said: 'By Allah! I do not know what we must say. Abu Bakr was the successor of the Apostle of God, and I am the successor of the successor of God's Apostle. Is there any title that can answer?' Those who were present said: 'Commander (Amir) will do.' 'Nay,' said Omar, 'you are all commanders.' On this Al-Mughira said: 'We are the faithful, and you are our Commander.' 'Then,' said Omar, 'I am the Commander of the Faithful.'
Abu Ali Yahya, the vizier of Harun-ar-Rashid, was the son of Khalid, and the grandson of Barmek. Yahya was highly distinguished for wisdom, nobleness of mind, and elegance of language. One of his sayings was: 'Three things indicate the degree of intelligence possessed by him who does them: the bestowing of gifts, the drawing up of letters, and the acting as ambassador.' He used to say to his sons: 'Write down the best things which you hear; learn by heart the best things which you write down; and in speaking utter the best things which you have learned by heart.'
Ibn As-Sikkit, the philologist, related that Muhammad bin As-Summak used to say: 'He who knows mankind humours them; he who has not that knowledge thwarts them; and the main point in humouring mankind is to abstain from thwarting them.' The neglect of carrying out this maxim cost As-Sikkit his life. One day, whilst he was with the Khalif Al-Mutwakkil, that prince's two sons, Al-Motazz and Al-Muwaiyad, came in, and the Khalif said to him: 'Tell me, Yakub, which you like best—these two sons of mine, or Al-Hasan and Al-Hussain, the sons of Ali.' Ibn As-Sikkit answered by depreciating the merits of the two princes, and giving to Al-Hasan and Al-Hussain the praise to which they were well entitled. On this Al-Mutwakkil ordered his Turkish guards to chastise him, and they threw him down and trod on his belly. He was then carried to his house, where he died two days afterwards, A.D. 859.
Three men met together; one of them expressed a wish to obtain a thousand pieces of gold, so that he might trade with them; the other wished for an appointment under the Emir of the Muslims; the third wished to possess the Emir's wife, who was the handsomest of women, and had great political influence. Yusuf bin Tashifin, the Emir of the Muslims, being informed of what they said, sent for the men, bestowed one thousand dinars on him who wished for that sum, gave an appointment to the other, and said to him who wished to possess the lady: 'Foolish man! what induced you to wish for that which you can never obtain?' He then sent him to her, and she placed him in a tent, where he remained three days, receiving each day, one and the same kind of food. She had him then brought to her, and said: 'What did you eat these days past?' He replied: 'Always the same thing.' 'Well,' said she, 'all women are the same thing!' She then ordered some money and a dress to be given him, after which she dismissed him.
The following anecdotes have been gathered from various sources.
A certain shepherd had a dog of which he was very fond, and which having, to his great grief, died, was buried by him with every mark of affection and regret. The Kadi of the village, whose ill-will the shepherd had in some way incurred, hearing of this, ordered him to be brought before him on the serious charge of profanity in having mocked the ceremonies of the Muhammadan religion, and buried an unclean animal with sacred rites. On being asked what he had to say in his defence, the prisoner thus addressed the magistrate: 'If your reverence will be pleased to hear my story, you will, I am sure, excuse me. My dog's mother died when he was quite a puppy, and he was brought up by a she-goat of my flock, who adopted him. When she died in her turn she left him all her property, consisting of several fine young kids. Now when my dog was taken ill, and found himself at the point of death, I asked him what I should do with the kids which belonged to him, and he replied: "Give them to his reverence the Kadi." I thought the animal so sensible for this that I gave him Muslim burial.' 'Quite right,' said his reverence. 'What else was the lamented deceased pleased to observe?'
A knowledge of the language of birds and beasts is regarded as the greatest divine gift, and was expressly vouchsafed, according to the Koranic legend, to Solomon, the son of David. It is related that one day Solomon was returning to his palace when he saw a cock and hen sparrow sitting near the gateway, and overheard the former telling the latter that he was the person who had designed, and planned, and built all the surroundings. On hearing this Solomon remarked to the male bird that he must know he was telling a fearful lie, and that nobody would believe him. 'That is true,' replied the sparrow, 'nobody probably will believe my story except my wife; she believes implicitly everything that I say.'
One day a king was sailing in a boat with a negro slave, who was so seasick that his groans and lamentations disturbed the royal repose. A doctor who happened to be present undertook to keep the slave quiet, and, on receiving permission to do so, ordered him to be thrown overboard, which was promptly done. The poor wretch managed with difficulty to catch hold of the rudder of the boat, and, being taken on board once more, sat shivering in a corner, and did not utter another sound. The king, delighted with this result, asked the doctor how he had silenced the fellow. 'Your Majesty will see,' was the reply, 'he had never before experienced the inconvenience of being drowned, and did not properly appreciate the security of a boat.'
One day the Khalif Harun-ar-Rashid and his jester, the poet Abu Nuwas, were disputing as to the truth of an axiom laid down by Abu Nuwas, that 'an excuse was often worse than the crime,' and the poet offered to convince the monarch of it before the night was over. The Khalif, with a grim humour peculiarly his own, promised to take off his jester's head if he failed to do so, and went out in a rage. After awhile Harun came in a somewhat surly temper to his harem, and the first thing which greeted him was a kiss from a rough-bearded face. On calling out violently for a light and an executioner, he found that his assailant was Abu Nuwas himself. 'What on earth, you scoundrel, do you mean by this conduct?' asked the enraged Sovereign. 'I beg your Majesty's most humble pardon,' said Abu Nuwas, 'I thought it was your Majesty's favourite wife.' 'What!' shrieked Harun, 'why the excuse is worse than the crime.' 'Just what I promised to prove to your Majesty,' replied Abu Nuwas, and retired closely followed by one of the imperial slippers.
An Arab whose camel had strayed swore an oath that he would, on finding it, sell it for one dirhem. When he had again obtained possession of the animal he repented of his oath, but tied a cat to the neck of the camel and shouted: 'Who will buy a camel for one dirhem, and a cat for a hundred dirhems? But I will not sell them separately.' A man who was there said: 'How cheap would this camel be if it had no collar on the neck!' Something of the same kind happened in France the other day. A peasant died, leaving his property to be sold by his wife. Among other things there was a dog and a horse, which the woman put up for sale together, saying that the dog's price was twenty pounds, and the horse's one pound, but that they must be sold together. It turned out that the deceased husband had left the dog to his wife, and the horse to another relation, the monies realized by the sale of each to be paid to the respective parties.
An Arab of the desert said to his boy: 'O son! on the day of resurrection thou wilt be asked what merit thou hast gained, and not from whom thou art descended; that is to say, thou wilt be asked what thy merit is, and not who thy father was.'
A learned man relates the following: 'I stood with a friend on a road conversing with him when a woman halted opposite to me, looking at me steadfastly. When this staring had passed all bounds, I despatched my slave to ask the woman what she was listening to. He came back and reported that the woman had said: "My eyes had committed a great sin. I intended to inflict a punishment upon them, and could devise none worse than looking at that hideous face."'
There are some good verses in the Arabic descriptive of the places where certain Arabs wished to be buried. It was Abu Mihjan, the Thackifite, who chose the vineyard.
'Bury me, when I die, by the roots of the vine,The moisture thereof will distil into my bones;Bury me not in the open plain, for then I much fearThat no more again shall I taste the flavour of the grape.'
Another version:
'When the Death angel cometh mine eyes to close,Dig my grave 'mid the vines on the hill's fair side;For though deep in earth may my bones repose,The juice of the grape shall their food provide.Oh, bury me not in a barren land,Or Death will appear to me dread and drear!While fearless I'll wait what he hath in handIf the scent of the vineyard my spirit cheer.'
On the other hand, some of the wild people prefer the hill slopes, and an example is given in the address of the dying Bedouin to his tribe:
'O bear with you my bones where the camel bears his load,And bury me before you, if buried I must be;And let me not be buried 'neath the burden of the vine,But high upon the hill whence your sight I ever see!As you pass along my grave cry aloud, and name your names,The crying of your names shall revive the bones of me,I have fasted through my life with my friends, and in mydeathI will feast when we meet on that day of joy and glee.'
The French poet, Alfred de Musset's, gentle verses in his elegy toLucie, and which have been engraved on his tomb in Paris, atPère-Lachaise, run as follows:
'When I shall die, dear friends, aslantMy silent grave a willow plant;I love its foliage weeping near,To me its colour's sweet and dear;Its shadow gray will lightly fallUpon my tomb—a mourning pall,And will likewise do the keepingOf the ground where I am sleeping.'
Published under the patronage of the Old Oriental Translation Fund.
=From the Persian=.
1. Memoirs of the Emperor Jehanghir. 2. History of the Afghans. 3. The Adventures of Hatim Tai. 4. The Life of Sheikh Muhammad Ali Hazin. 5. Autobiographical Memoirs of the Moghul Emperor Timur. 6. The Life of Hafiz ul Mulk Hafiz Rehmut Khan. 7. The Geographical Works of Sadik Isfahani. 8. Firdusi's Shah Nameh. 9. Private Memoirs of the Moghul Emperor Humayun. 10. History of the Mahomedan Power in India during the Last Century. 11. Customs and Manners of the Women of Persia. 12. Mirkhond's History of the Early Kings of Persia. 13. The Political and Statistical History of Guzerat. 14. Chronique d'Abou Djafar Muhammad Tabari. 15. Laili and Majnun. 16. Practical Philosophy of the Mahomedan People. 17. Specimens of the Popular Poetry of Persia. 18. History of Hyder Naik, otherwise called Nuwab Hyder Ali. 19. The Dabistan, or School of Manners. 20. History of the Reign of Tipu Sultan. 21. Historical Memoirs of Early Conquerors of Hindustan, and Founders of the Ghaznavide Dynasty.
=From the Arabic=.
1. The Travels of Ibn Batuta.2. Travels of Marcarius, Patriarch of Antioch.3. The Algebra of Muhammad Ben Musa.4. History of the First Settlement of the Mahomedans inMalabar.5. Alfiyya, ou la Quintessence de la Grammaire Arabe.6. Haji Khalfæ Lexicon Encyclopædicum et Bibliographicum.7. The History of the Temple of Jerusalem.8. Histoire des Sultans Mamelouks de l'Égypte.9. The History of the Mahomedan Dynasties in Spain.10. El-Mas'udi's Historical Encyclopædia, entitled 'Meadowsof Gold and Mines of Gems.'11. Ibn Khallikan's Biographical Dictionary.12. Makamat, or Rhetorical Anecdotes of Abul Kasem alHariri of Basra.13. The Chronology of Ancient Nations, by Albiruni.
=From the Sanscrit=.
1. Kalidasæ Raghuvansa Carmen. 2. Harivansa, ou Histoire de Famille de Hari. 3. The Sánkhya Káriká, or Memorial Verses on the Sánkhya Philosophy. 4. Rig Yeda Sanhita. 5. Kumara Sambhava. 6. The Vishnu Purana, a System of Hindu Mythology and Tradition. 7. Sama Veda. 8. Kalidasa, the Birth of the War God.
=From the Chinese=.
1. Han Koong Tsew, or the Sorrows of Hen—a Tragedy. 2. The Fortunate Union—A Romance. 3. Hoe Lan Ki—A Drama. 4. Le Livre des Récompenses et des Peines. 5. Mémoires sur les Contrées occidentales.
=From The Japonais-Chinois=.
1. San Kokf Tsou Ban To Sets; ou, Aperçu général des trois Royaumes. 2. Annales des Empereurs du Japon.
=From the Turkish=.
1. History of the War in Bosnia during 1837-38-39. 2. History of the Maritime Wars of the Turks. 3. Annals of the Turkish Empire, A.D. 1591 to 1659. 4. Narratives of Travels in Europe, Asia, and Africa.
=From the Armenian=.
1. The History of Vartan, and of the Battle of the Armenians. 2. Chronique de Matthieu d'Edesse.
=From The Cingalese=.
1. Yakkun Nattannawa and Kolan Nattannawa, two Cingalese poems.
=From the Coptic=.
1. The Apostolic Constitutions, or Canons of the Apostles.
=From the Ethiopic=.
1. The Didascalia, or Apostolical Constitutions of the Abyssinian Church.
=From the Hebrew=.
1. The Chronicles of Rabbi Joseph Ben Joshua Ben Meir.
=From the Hindustani=.
1. Les Aventures de Kamrup.
=From the Malay=.
1. Memoirs of a Malayan Family.
=From the Maghadi=.
1. The Kalpa Sutra and Nava Tatva. Two works illustrative of the Jain Religion and Philosophy.
=From the Syriac=.
1. Spicilegium Syriacum; containing remains of Bardesan, Meliton, Ambrose, and Mara Bar Serapion.
=Miscellaneous=.
1. Miscellaneous Translations, two volumes, 1831-34. 2. Translations from the Chinese and Armenian. 3. A Description of the Burmese Empire. 4. Essay on the Architecture of the Hindus. 5. Histoire de la Littérature Hindoui et Hindustani. 6. Biographical Notices of Persian Poets. 7. The Poems of the Huzailis, edited in Arabic.
Aasha (Al), the poet, 30, 77, 82
Abbas, uncle of Muhammad, 3,7
Abbasides, the, 7, 12
Abbaside Khalifs, the most celebrated, 12,96
Abbaside Khalifs, list of, 19
Abd-al-Hamid, the secretary, 95
Abd-Allah bin Hilal, the translator, 90
Abd-Allah bin Rewaha, the poet, 34
Abd-Allah bin Zobeir, the politician, 34
Abd-ar-Rahman I. of Spain, 8
Abd-ar-Rahman II. of Spain, 9
Abd-ar-Rahman III. of Spain, 9, 11, 102
Abdul-Muttalib, grandfather of Muhammad, 120, 121
Abdul Wahab, the reformer, 16
Abode of Wisdom, 106
Abraham, the father of three religions, 144
Abu Awana, the traditionist, 38
Abu Bakr, the Khalifah, 4, 18, 123, 137, 147
Abu Bakr as Sauli, the editor of poems, 77, 83, 84, 101
Abu Hatim es Sejastani, the philologist, editor of poems and author, 76
Abu Nuwas, the poet, 77, 79-82
Abu Obaida, the general, 4
Abu Obaida, the philologist, 60, 61
Abu Othman, the philologist, 62, 76
Abu Sa'ud, the mufti, 112
Abu Sofyan, the politician and Companion, 34, 137
Abu Sulaiman Dawud ez Zahari, the imam, 38
Abu Tammam, the poet, 76,77
Abu Thaleb, uncle of Muhammad, 121, 125
Abu Zaid, the traditionist, 38
Abu Zaid bin Aus, the editor of poems, 76
Abul Abbas as Saffah, 7, 19
Abul Aina, the philologist, 63
Abul Ala-al-Maari, the philologist and poet, 84
Abul Atahya, the poet, 77, 78
Abul Faraj, the historian, 97
Abul Faraj al Ispahani, 77, 83, 84, 87
Abul Feda, the historian, 97, 108, 109
Abul Khair, or Ahmed bin Mustafa, 55, 113, 115
Abul Mashar (Albumasar), the astronomer, 24, 42
Ahmed-bin-ud Dmveri, the author, 58
Akhfash (Al), the grammarian, 49
Akhtal (Al), the poet, 77, 78, 82
Alchemists, 40(Khalid bin Yazid, Jaafar asSadik, Jaber bin Hayam, eachindexed separately.)
Ali bin Abu Thaleb, the Khalifah, 5, 6, 19, 123, 127
Ali bin Ridhwan, the philosopher, 65, 69, 70
Ali bin Yunis, the astronomer, 43
Amina, mother of Muhammad, 121
Amr bin Al-Aasi, the general, 4, 129, 147
Amra-al-Kais (Amriolkais), the poet, 28, 79, 80
Amru, the poet, 29
Analysis of twelve stories from the 'Arabian Nights,' 157-174
Anbari (Al), the grammarian, 49
Anecdotes, eighteen from Ibn Khalhkan's Biographical Dictionary, 217-228
Anecdotes from various sources, 228
Animal fables and stories, 153, 156
Ansari (Al), the philologist, 62
'Antar,' a Bedouin romance, 184, 185
Antara, the poet, 28
Arab verses about burial places, 233
Arabia, description of, 1, 2; history of, 2; detached from the Abbasides, 15; semi-independent, 16; Turkish dealings with, 16; Wahhabi movement in 16; Egyptian dealings with, 17; Wahhabism in 17; present government of, 17; future prospects of 18
Arabian learning, 10, 24
'Arabian Nights,' The. Date of their commencement 152, 153; the oldest part of the work, 153; the oldest tales and stories, 154; the remaining ones, 154; the sources from which they sprang, 152, 180; many authors composed the work, 153-180; compared with the 'Kathá Sarit Ságara', 181; remarks on the 'Nights' and 'Antar,' 186; Galland's translation of, 154, 175, 176; Payne's, 155, and Burton's 155; stories from, 157-174
Arabic language, 23, 24
Arabic literature, decline of, 117, 118 its former position, 117; its present state, 118
Arabic literature, translation of, vii.
Arabic story books, 151, 152, 184, 188, 192, 201, 210, 212, 216
Asmai (Al), the philologist, 60, 61, 62
Asmai (Al), supposed author of 'Antar,' 184
Astronomers, 41(Fezari (Al), Abul Mashar, Farghani (Al), Battani (Al),Ali bin Yunis, Es-Zerkel, each indexed separately.)
Ayesha, third wife of Muhammad, 4, 38, 125, 126, 128, 137, 138
Az-zahra, mistress or wife of Abd-ar-Rahman III. of Spain, 12
Badger (Rev. G.P.), on Muhammad, 120
Badger (Rev. G.P.), about the Koran, 140
Badr, battle of, 127
Baghdad, founding of, 12; description of 96; fall and conquest of, 12
Baital Pachesi, 183
Baladori (Al), the translator and chronicler, 91
Barmekides, The, 12, 98-101
Bashshar bin Burd, the poet, 77, 78
Battani (Al), or Albategnius, the astronomer, 25, 43
Bekri (Al), the traveller and geographer, 49, 50, 52
Benjamin's (Mr.) 'Persia and the Persians,' 6
Beruni (Al), the traveller and geographer, 49, 50, 51
Biblos, or Book, or Bible, 139; the work of many men, 139; its increased interest after visiting Egypt, Palestine and Syria, 139; can be read in various ways, 139; its description by 'Il Secolo,' 140 as a scientific work of little value, 140
Birgeli, or Birkeli, the dogmatist and grammarian, 112
Bohtori (Al), the poet, 76, 77, 84
Boulak (Cairo) text of the 'Nights,' 156, 180
Breslau (Tunis) text of the 'Nights', 156, 174, 175, 180
Buddha, 119
Buddha compared with Jesus, 142, 143
Buddhism and Christianity, 142
Buddhist birth stories, or Jataka tales, 184
Bujeir bin Zoheir, the poet, 32
Bukhari (Al), the traditionist, 38, 39
Burton (Richard F.), description of his 'Nights' translation inSixteen volumes, 155, 156, 175-180
Busiri (Al)'s poem of the Mantle, 21, note
Calcutta texts of the 'Nights' 156, 175, 180
Calligraphers 113(Ibn Mukla, Ibn Al Bawwab, Yakut Al Mausili, Ibn Hilal,Hamdallah, Mir Ah, Muhammad Hussain Tabrizi, each indexed separately)
Casiri, the bibliographer, 11
Caussin de Perceval, 26, 78, 155
Chavis and Cazotte, the translators, 155, 178, 179
Chinese language, 23
Christianity and Buddhism, 142
Clerk (Mrs. Godfrey), 216
Clouston, W.A., 29, 184
Companions of the Prophet, 39
Compilers of encyclopædias and biographies, 55 (Nadim (An), Ibn Khallikan, Abul Khair, Haji Khalfa, each indexed separately.)
Contents of this work, ix.-xiv.
Cordova, 7, 8, 9, 11
Cromwell and the Bible, 140
Democracy of Islam, 149
Dow, a translator, 154
Duwali (Ad), the grammarian, 45, 46
Early Ideas,' a group of Hindoo stories, 151,181
Egypt, the Fatimites established in, 13; invasion of, by Jawhar, 13; conquest of, by Saladin, 13; other dynasties in, 13; conquest of, by Selim the First, 14; incorporated with Turkey, 14
English newspapers, 186
English tales and stories, 186
Epistolography, 95
Erpenius, a translator, 26, 97
Essays and discourses by Hariri, 87, 88
Es-Zerkel, or Arzachel, the astronomer, 44, 45
Fadhl bin Yahya, the Barmekide, 99, 100
Farabi (Al), or Alfarabius, the philosopher, 24, 25, 65, 66, 67
Farazdak, the poet, 77, 78
Farghani (Al), or Alfraganius, the astronomer, 24, 25, 42
Farra (Al), the grammarian, 48
Fatimites, The, 13
Fezari (Al), the astronomer, 41
Firuzabadi, the lexicographer, 110
Fluegel, the translator, 115, 193, 202, 210
France, Invasion of, by the Arabs, 7
Freytag, the translator, 27
Gabriel bin Georgios, the physician, 73, 74
Galland, his translation of the fables of Lokman and Bidpay, 26; and of the 'Nights,' 154, 175, 176; his biography, by Burton, 154; his texts, 180
Gauttier, a translator, 155
Gayangos (Pascual de), the translator 10, 11, 22, 117
Geographers and travellers, 49(Muslim Homeir, Mervezi (Al), Ibn Foslan, Ibn Khordabeh, Jeihani,Istakhri (Al), Ibn Haukul, Beruni (Al), Bekri (Al), Idrisi,Ibn Batuta, each indexed separately.)
Georgios bin Bakhtyeshun, the physician, 72, 73, 98
Ghazali (Al), the mystic and philosopher, 65, 70
God of the Arabs, 148
God of the Jews, 148
Golius, 41, 42
Grammarians, The, 45(Duwali (Ad), Khalil (Al), Sibawaih, Jahiz (Al), Kisai (Al), Mubarrad(Al), Thalab, Farra (Al), Akhfash (Al), Shaibani (As), Anbari (Al),each indexed separately.)
Granada, Kingdom of, established, 9;fall of, 9, 112;taken by Ferdinand and Isabella,9;Alhambra at, 11, 112
Gunádhya, the Hindoo author, 182, 183
Habicht, a translator, 155, 175
Hajaj bin Yusuf bin Matta, the translator, 90, 98
Haji Khalfa, the bibliographer, 55, 113, 115
Hakim II. of Spain, his education, 103; his diwan of poems, 103; his library; 104; and catalogue of books, 104, 105
Halaku Khan, 13, 107
Hamdallah, the penman, 113
Hamilton (Terrick), the translator of 'Antar,' 184, 185
Hanbal, the imam, 37
Hanifa, the imam, 37
Hanyfs, The, 133
Harath, the poet, 29
Hariri (Al), the author of the 'Makâmat', 87, 88
Harun-ar-Rashid, the Khalif, 12, 19, 73, 96-100
Hasan bin Ali, the Fatimite, 5
Hasan bin Sehl, the translator, 91
Hasan bin Thabit, the poet, 34
Hazar Afsaneh, or Thousand Stories, 152
Hazim (Al), the traditionist, 38
Herbelot (D'), the translator and Orientalist, 97
Hertlemah, the hostile poetess, 31
Hijrah, or Emigration, 25
Historians, The, 52(Ibn Ishak, Ibn Hisham, Wackidi (Al), Muhammad bin Saad,Madaini (Al), Tabari, Masudi, Ibn Athir, Baha-uddin,Imad-uddin, Kamal-uddin, Abul Feda, Ibn Khaldun,Ibn Hajar, Ibn Kesir, Taki-uddin of Fez, Ibn Arabshaw,Makrisi (Al), Sayuti, Makkari (Al), each indexedseparately.)
'Hitopodesa,' a Hindoo story-book, 151, 153, 183
Hobeira, the hostile poet, 31
Honein, Battle of, 130
Honein bin Ishak, the physician and translator, 75, 91
Hughes's 'Dictionary of Islam,' 120, 149
Hussain bin Ali, the Fatimite, 5
Ibn Al Arabi, the mystic, 95
Ibn Al Athir, the historian, 54, 55
Ibn Al Bawwab, the penman, 113, 114
Ibn Al Mukaffa, the translator and author, 89, 91-94, 152
Ibn Arabshaw, the historian, 110
Ibn As Sikkit, the editor of poems, 76
Ibn Bajah (Avempace), the philosopher, 24, 25, 65, 70
Ibn Batlan, the physician and philosopher, 70
Ibn Batuta, the geographer and traveller, 108, 109
Ibn Demash, the editor of poems, 76
Ibn Duraid, the philologist and writer on natural history, 64
Ibn Foslan, the geographer and traveller, 49
Ibn Hajar, the historian and biographer, 109
Ibn Haukul, the geographer and traveller, 49, 50
Ibn Hilal, the penman, 113
Ibn Hisham, the historian, 52
Ibn Ishak, the historian, 52
Ibn Kamal Pasha, a writer on law, 112
Ibn Kesir, the historian, 110
Ibn Khaldun, the historian, 108, 109
Ibn Khallikan, the biographer, 55-57, 116, 216; eighteen anecdotes from his work, 217-228
Ibn Khordabeh, the geographer, 49,50
Ibn Kutaiba, the philologist and author, 63
Ibn Malik, the grammarian, 108
Ibn Mukla, the penman, 113,114
Ibn Rashid (Averroes), the philosopher, 24, 25, 65, 71
Ibn Sina (Avicenna), the physician, 24, 25, 65, 67, 69
Ibn-ul-Marzaban, the editor of poems, 76
Ibn Wahshiyah, the translator, 91
Ibn Yunis, the historian, 44
Ibrahim of Aleppo, a writer on law, 112
Idrisi, the geographer, 49, 50, 52
'Ilam en nas,' a story-book, 216
Imams, The Shiah, 37
Imams, The Sunni, 37, 38
Isa bin Musa, the physician, 75
Islam, The dogmas, precepts, and ordinances of, 148, 149
Istakhri (Al), the geographer and traveller, 49, 50
Jaafar as Sadik, the alchemist, 41
Jaafar bin Yahya, the Barmekide, 99-101
Jaber (Al), or Geber, the astronomer, 24, 25, 41
Jaber bin Hayam, the alchemist, 40, 41
Jahiz (Al), the philologist, 47, 58, 59
Jami's 'Beharistan,' 188
Jarir, the poet, 77, 78, 80
Jawini's 'Negaristan,' 188
Jeihani, the geographer, 49, 51
Jerusalem, the early Kiblah, 133;changed to Mecca, 136
Jesus compared with Buddha, 142;no details about his early career, 143
Jones (Sir William), 29
Jurisconsults, The seven, 36(Obaid Allah, Orwa, Kasim, Said, Sulaiman, Abu Bakr,Kharija)
Kaabab, The, at Mecca, 3, 122, 144
Kab-bin-Zoheir, the poet, 31-33
Kali (Al), the philologist and author, 87, 103
Kama (Al), the poet, 30, 77
'Kama Sutra' of Vatsyayana, 182
Karitha, the hostile poetess, 31
Kasidas,i.e., Arab idyls or elegies, 28, 29
Kasim bin Asbagh, the traditionist, 38
Kasim (Al) bin Ma'an, the philologist and author, 59
'Kathá Sarit Ságara,' The, 153, 154, 181-184; translated by Professor Tawney, 181; compared with the 'Arabian Nights', 181; divided into 124 chapters, containing 330 stories, 182; their nature, 181-183
Khafaji, the poet, 117
Khalef al Ahmer, the author, 58
Khalid bin Barmek, 99