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Cornell University 
 Library 
 
 The original of tiiis book is in 
 tine Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924023164654 
 
Cornell University Library 
 PK 2971.B581S96 
 
 History of the caliphs / 
 
 3 1924 023 164 654 
 
HISTORY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE CALIPHS 
 
 BY 
 
 JALALU'DDIN A'S SUYTJTI, 
 
 TRANSLATED FROM THE ORIGINAL ARABIC 
 
 BY 
 
 MAJOR Hf SrjARRETT, 
 
 SECEETAEY AND MEMBER, BOAED OF EXAMINEES, FOET WILLIAM, 
 FELLOW OF THE CALCrTTA TNITEESITY. 
 
 CALCUTTA : 
 
 FEINTED BY J. W. THOMAS, BAPTIST MISSION PEESS. 
 
 AND PUBLISHED BY THE 
 ASIATIC SOCIETY, 57, PARK STREET. 
 
 1881. 
 
ORNELL 
 
 UNIVERSITY^ 
 
 V LIBRARY 
 X — •- 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Extensive as is the reputation of as Suydti as a distinguished author 
 and scholar, and unsurpassed for the number and range of the works which 
 in every branch of literature known to his age, his unwearied pen never 
 ceased to produce, we are indebted to the malice or envy of but one of his 
 contemporaries and to his own testimony, for the few details of his life 
 and studies that we possess. Eeference to one or other of his multitudi- 
 nous volumes is made by writers of his own and succeeding times where 
 the kindred subject of which they treat naturally calls for it, but only one 
 contemporary biographical notice of him besides his own, is extant. To 
 these I shall presently refer. 
 
 Haji Khalifah, at the close of his Lexicon, gives a detailed list of as 
 Suyuti's works, prefaced by a column of laudatory epithets which have less 
 the ring of sincere admiration than of conventional panegyric, yet hia 
 wonder or his envy might well oiFer the incense of adulation to the 
 astonishing author of five hundred and four volumes. Kuranic exegesis, 
 Tradition and its cognate subjects, jurisprudence, philology, rhetoric, prose 
 and poetical composition, the phenomena of nature, curiosities of literature, 
 discourses on social questions, criticism, history, biography, all these were 
 fields not too vast for his discursive intelligence and none too minute for his 
 indefatigable industry. Some of his compositions are indeed, nothing more 
 than pamphlets of smaller compass than many an article of a modern Eeview, 
 but a considerable number, to judge from some of those, about one-fifth 
 of the whole, that have come down to us, must have been of goodly bulk. 
 It would doubtless have been better for his reputation as it would assuredly 
 have been more profitable to the generality of his readers, had he confined 
 his labours to the production of a few works of universal interest and 
 written for posterity rather than for his day. By far the greater part of 
 his writings were on subjects which have no interest to a European 
 student. Two hundred and six works on Tradition and ninety-one on 
 Jurisprudence would, it might be supposed, have been thoroughly exhaus- 
 tive had not another line been previously written regarding them, yet this 
 
[ iv ] 
 
 was the contribution of but one author to the store of countless volumes 
 that had already preceded his labours and had been forgotten, to be follow- 
 ed by others as countless and as unreraembered. 
 
 However much we may regret this misapplied diligence, the age in 
 which as Suyuti lived, naturally moulded his literary tastes and influenced 
 his course of study, and he but reflected its spirit in seeking pre-eminence 
 among the scholarly and erudite of his nation after the manner in which 
 they had attained it. Legal studies, inseparably connected as they are 
 with the religion of the Moslems, were of the utmost consequence from the 
 very infancy of Islam, and at a time when the Crescent waved from the 
 pillars of Hercules to the steppes of Tartary, they formed a necessary 
 part of the education of all cultured minds. Every Moslem author or nearly, 
 every one with whom we are acquainted, was either a recognized doctor 
 of jurisprudence or had studied it under some one of its famous masters. 
 No college was founded but we read that its first chairs were those of 
 Tradition and Law. Other branches of knowledge were indeed, far from 
 neglected. Grammar, Medicine and the complicated problems of Inheritance 
 were cultivated with assiduity and success, but with the exception of the 
 first mentioned of this Eastern Trivium, which is rather an instrument of 
 knowledge than an end in itself, they occupied, the second place. In the 
 great Mustansiriyah College built on the eastern bank of the Tigris at 
 Baghdad by the Caliph al Mustan^ir and endowed by his splendid muni- 
 ficence, provision was first made, as as Suyliti tells us, for Chairs of the 
 four great Schools of Muhammadan law. The next was that of Tradition, 
 the third of Grammar, followed by professorships of Medicine and the Law 
 of Inheritance. De Slane in his Introduction to Ibn Khallikan's Biogra- 
 phical Dictionary has described the system of education pursued during 
 the times of which we write. The young student, he says, commenced 
 his labours by learning the Kuran by heart, and as many of the traditions 
 as he was able to acquire at his native place : to this he joined a slight 
 acquaintance with grammar and some knowledge of poetry. On attaining 
 the age of fourteen or sixteen, he began his travels and visited the great cities 
 where he learnt traditions and received certificates of licence to relate 
 them, from eminent traditionists. He then followed the courses of 
 lectures held in the mosques or colleges, and generally attached himself to 
 one of the professors. He there learnt by heart the most approved works 
 on the dogmas of religion, and studied their commentaries under the 
 tuition of his master. He acquired a knowledge of the different readings 
 of the Kuran and of its orthodox interpretation, whilst he pursued the 
 study of ancient poetry and philology, grammar and rhetoric. The second- 
 ary points of jurisprudence, forming the doctrines of the school to which 
 he belonged, next became the object of his study and an acquaintance with 
 
[ V ] 
 
 logic and dialectics completed his education. Having obtained from 
 his professors, certificates of capacity and license to teach the works he 
 had mastered, he was eligible for the posts of preacher, Kddhi, Mufti, 
 Imam or professor. 
 
 Under a system so universal in its adoption and so rigidly upheld by 
 learned opinion as the sole method of orthodox mental discipline, profitable 
 as a means of worldly advancement as well as the most salutary for the 
 soul, it is not surprising that the literary efi'orts of as Suyuti should bear 
 principally upon those studies to which such an exaggerated importance 
 was attached by his age. Besides the treatises on Jurisprudence and 
 Tradition already mentioned, his commentaries and writings on the Kuran 
 number thirty-five. Philology, Grammar and Ehetoric claim sixty-three 
 of his volumes. Seventy-six were his contribution to general literature, 
 and thirty-three were devoted to history and biography. For this classi- 
 fied list of his writings, we are indebted to his own autobiography in his 
 well-known work entitled Husn al Muhadhirah fi akhbar i'l Misr wa'l 
 Kahirah (agreeable colloquy on Misr and Cairo'). This autobiography 
 has been published with a Latin version by Albert Meursinge in the 
 Prolegomena to his edition of as Suyuti's Tabakat u'l Mufassirin {Classes 
 of the Interpreters of the Kurdn). But as it is a work not easily accessible 
 and no English translation of the original has as yet appeared I cannot 
 more fitly introduce the author to those interested in his life, than in his 
 own words. 
 
 " The author of this work," he writes, " is Abu'l Fadhl A'bdu'r 
 Eahman-b-u'l Kamal Abu Bakr-b-Nasiri'ddin Muhammad-b-Sabiki'ddin 
 Abi Bakr-b-Pakhr Othmau-b-Nasiriddin Muhammad-b-Sayfi'ddin Khidhr- 
 b-Najmi'ddin Abi's Salah Ayyiib-b-Nasiri'ddin Muhammad-b-i's Shaykh 
 Humami'ddin al Khudhayri al Usuyiiti.* 
 
 In recording the narrative of my life in this book, I have but followed 
 the example of recent writers, for it is rarely that any of them has 
 published a history without introducing therein his own biography.f 
 Eegarding my ancestor Humamu'ddin, I have to observe that he was one 
 of the masters of the spiritual life and of the doctors of the mystics. 
 Mention of him will follow in the section treating on the Sufis. The 
 others who came after him were men of position and authority. Of these, 
 one exercised judicial functions in his own city, another held the ofiice of 
 inspector of markets, another accompanied the Amir ShaykhiiJ and 
 
 * The name is written TTsuyiiti or Suyuti indifferently. 
 
 t I here omit a list of authors and their works, as irrelevant to the main subject 
 of the writer's life. 
 
 t See page 529. Further partioulais of him are furnished by Weil. Gesoh. 
 
 Abb. Cal. Eg. pp. 475, 477, m- 
 
[ vi ] 
 
 founded and endowed a college at Suyut ;* another was a wealthy mer- 
 chant, but I know of none who altogether devoted himself to the acquisi- 
 tion of learning except my father, a notice of whom will occur in the 
 section treating of the Sliafi'ite jurisconsults. 
 
 As regards our connection with the name of Khudhayri, I do not 
 know to what it can refer save the Khudhayri quarter of Baghdad, and 
 in fact, a person whom I can implicitly trust, told me that he heard my 
 father — may God have mercy on him — say, that his ancestor was a Persian 
 or from the East. The connection therefore is apparently with the quarter 
 above mentioned. 
 
 I was born after sunset on Saturday night the 1st Bajab, 849 (3rd 
 October, 1445), and I was carried, my father being then living, to the 
 Shaykh Muhammad the recluse, a man eminent for sanctity, near the 
 Nafisif tomb, who gave me his blessing. I grew up an orphan and 
 I learnt the Kuran before I was eight years of age. I next got by-hearfc 
 the U'mdah, the Minhaju'l Fikh wa'l Usdl and the Alfi'yah of Ibn Malik. 
 From the beginning of year 64 I began to devote myself to learning. I 
 studied jurisprudence and grammar under a number of doctors and read 
 the law of inheritance with the learned and most distinguished professor 
 of his age in that science, the Shaykh Shihabu'ddin as Sharimsahi who 
 used to say that he had arrived at a great age and had passed a hundred 
 by many years. God knows best. I read with him his commentary on 
 the Majmliu'.J and received a certificate of licence to teach the Arabic 
 language in the beginning of the year 66. In this year I became an 
 author. The first work I composed was an exposition of the formula 
 Alb ijJl § and 4U| *<~J which I submitted to my master the Shaykh u'l 
 Islam A'lamu'ddin al Bulkini|| who wrote to me in praise of it. I con- 
 tinued to study jurisprudence with him till his death. I also read with 
 him from the beginning the Tadrib,^ by his father, up to the chapter on 
 
 • In Upper Egypt on the western hank of the Nile about 27° lat. Yakiit speaks 
 of it as having contained 75 Christian churches and a large Christian population, 
 t See Note J page 509. 
 
 I Al Majmuu' fi i'lm i'l Faraidh, by A'hdu'Uah Shamsu'ddin Muhammad-h-Sharaf 
 al KilUi as Shafi'i : died 777 (1375). H. K. 
 
 § My MS. has SilAi**! and omits the second word. The work referred to will 
 be found in hia list under the first heading. 
 
 II Abu'l BakS Salilj-b-0majr-b-Easl5n A'lam u'ddin al Bulklni was bom 791 
 (1388) and died 868 (1463). Meurs. He was named BuDjini after Bulkinah in Egypt 
 in the district of Hauf. 
 
 H gA^I tjS* Vi)-^ (Exeroitatua de partibua juris speoiaUbus) auotore Sirdju'ddin 
 Omar.b-Easlau Bolkeiui Shafi'ita, aimo 805 (1463) mortuo. H, K. 
 
[ ^ii ] 
 
 Procuration. I heard his lectures on the Hawi as Saghir* from the 
 beginning, to the chapter de Statibus Mulieris ; and on the Minhaj from 
 the beginning, to the chapter on the Poor-rate : and on the Tanbiht from 
 its commencement nearly up to the chapter on the Poor-rate ; likewise a 
 portion of ar RaudhahJ from the chapter on the Judicial office : a portion 
 of the supplement to the commentary on the Minhaj by az Zarkashi ;§ and 
 from the chapter on the Cultivation of Waste lands, to the chapter on 
 Testaments or thereabouts. In the year 67 he granted me a license to 
 teach jv/risprudence and to decide on eases proposed to me and was present 
 at my inauguration. || 
 
 When he died in the year 68, I resorted to the Shaykh u'l Islam 
 Sharafu'ddin al Munawi^ and read with him a portion of the Minhaj. I 
 heard his Expositions on Partition except a few lectures which I missed 
 and I attended his readings from the commentary al Bahjah,** and its 
 marginal notes by him, and from the commentary on the Kuraa by al 
 Baydhawi. For traditions and the Arabic language, I read with our 
 Shaykh the learned Imam Taki'uddin as Shumunni the Hanafite and 
 continued with him for four years. He wrote to me in praise of two of 
 my compositions, a commentary on the Alfiyah of Ibn Malik and the 
 Jama'u'l Jawami'tt on the Arabic language, and he gave verbal and 
 written testimony of my proficiency in the sciences on more than one 
 occasion. He once acquiesced in my bare statement regarding a tradition, 
 for verily he adduced in his marginal gloss on as Shifa,JJ the tradition of 
 Abu'l Hamra on Captives and alleged its citation by Ibn Majah. I had 
 occasion to quote it with its ascriptions and I therefore searched Ibn 
 Majah in the place where it was supposed to be, but I did not find it. 
 Then I went through the whole book but did not light upon it. Suspect- 
 
 » See p. 514 
 
 t There are many works of thia name as well as that of Minhaj in H. K. 
 
 t t'-'^^^ S?^ '^)J\ ee H. K. 
 
 { See D'Herb. art. Zsrkeshi. 
 
 II Reference is made to this in the list of his works under the heading " Commen- 
 taries and works on the Kuran." 
 
 U Abu Zakariya Yahya-h-Muhammad Sharafu'ddin al Munawi, died 871 (1466). 
 Meurs. 
 
 ** Al Bahjah al Wardiyah a commentary on the Hawi u's Saghir by Zaynu'ddin 
 Omar-b-Mudhaffar-b-i'l Wardi : died 749 (1348). H. K. 
 
 ft sai^l Jr^^^i^ C*!*^-*) C*'?- by Taju'ddin A'bdu'l Wahab as SubH : died 771 
 (1369). H. K. ' _, 
 
 XI tf*^*'' l3>«^ "-^ir*^ <5** ^*^' ty the Imam IJafidh Abu'l Fadhl I'yadh- 
 b-Musa Yahsabi: died 544 (1149). H. K. notes on this book at some length and 
 rnentions the gloss of as Shumunni. 
 
[ viii J 
 
 ing an oversight, I read it through a second time and again found it not. 
 I returned to it a third time but did not discover it. I saw it, however, in 
 the Catalogue of the companions by Ibn Kani', upon which I went to the 
 Shaykh and informed him. On hearing this from me, he at once took up 
 his manuscript and taking a pen, he struct out the name of Ibn Majah 
 and wrote Ibn Kani' in the margin. I was distressed at this and dis- 
 mayed, on account of the great veneration in which I held the Shaykh, and 
 the contemptuous opinion I had of myself and I said " will you not wait 
 a little, perhaps you may consult the work yourself ?" He replied : " No, 
 I relied for Ibn Majah on the authority of Burhan al Halabi." I did not 
 quit the Shaykh until his death, when I attended our Shaykh the learned 
 and most eminent master al Kafiaji* for fourteen years. I studied under 
 him various branches of knowledge such as Kuranic exegesis, the funda- 
 mentals of doctrine, the Arabic language, rhetoric and others and he gave 
 me a high diploma. I next attended many lectures of the Shaykh Sayfu'- 
 ddin Hanafif on the Eashshaf,J on the Taudhih with his gloss thereon, 
 the Talkhi's u'l Miftah and the A'dhud, and I began to write works in 
 the year 66. My writings up to this time numbered 300 works exclusive 
 of those I obliterated and left unfinished, and they penetrated, praise be to 
 God, the countries of Syria, Hijaz, Yaman, India, Mauritania and 
 Takrur.§ When I made the pilgrimage, I drank of the water of the well 
 Zemzem with various intentions : among others that I should arrive in 
 Jurisprudence to the eminence of Shaykh Siraju'ddin al Bulkini, and in 
 Tradition to the distinction of the Hafidh Ibn Hajr. From the beginning 
 of the year 71 I gave decisions on points of law and I employed myself in 
 writing traditions from the beginning of the year 72. I acquired a pro- 
 found knowledge of the seven sciences of Exegesis, Tradition, Jurisprudence, 
 Grammar and the three branches of Ehetoric after the manner of the Arabs 
 and the rhetoricians, and not after the fashion of the Persians and philo- 
 sophers. What I am conscious of is this, that the proficiency I attained 
 in these six sciences (save jurisprudence) and the writings thereon which 
 I perused, none of my Shaykhs ever reached therein nor were therewith 
 
 * So Meurs. points tlie name Or*i J t**^*^' S?'^-^* t£>^.=^l in'*^*' lirf A*J=* 
 ^a-UjJ Kib -born 790, died 879. According to the Lubbu'l Lubab his name refers 
 I4J &S\j3\j «3|y xJSJ ( I. c_K=.ls-'| ) 1=^1 ^^, «Jl^ ^Jl. 
 
 t Mnhammad-b-Muhammad-b-Omar-b-^etlu Bogha al Yektamri, died in 881, 
 As Suyuti wrote an elegy on Mm recorded in the Husn al Muhddh. Meurs. 
 
 X The famous commentary of Zamakhshari. The Talkhi's is a work on rhetoric 
 by Kazwini. H. E. mentions several Tau^lhilj. The A'dhud is a work on grammar by 
 Abu A'li al Farisi composed for A'dhud u'd Dawlah. H. K. 
 
 § In the extreme south of al Maghrab, aeoording to Ya^tit, probably in the 
 6aud£u. 
 
[ ix ] 
 
 acquainted, still less those inferior to them I do not say the same, by 
 Allah, of jurisprudence, for my Shaykh has a deeper insight and a larger 
 grasp of the subject. After these seven branches of knowledge comes in a 
 lower degree my acquaintance with the fundamentals of jurisprudence, 
 with dialectics and grammatical inflexions. Below this, composition and 
 epistolary style and the law of inheritance. Below this, the various read- 
 ings of the Kuran which I did not study under any Shaykh* and next Me- 
 dicine, but Arithmetic I found the most difficult to me and the most remote 
 from my inclination, and when I apply myself to a question appertaining 
 thereto, it is as though I strove to support a mountain. 
 
 I have now completely acquired, praise be to the Most High, the means 
 of diligently investigating and determining cases referred to me. I say this 
 in acknowledgement of the favour of God and not in vain-glory, for what 
 is the world that one should strive to gain it in glorying, now that the 
 time of departure from it is approaching, and hoariness hath begun, and 
 the best part of life hath passed. And now if I wished to write on every 
 question, a dissertation with its statements and proofs, whether cited or 
 reasoned from analogy, the perceptions of it by the mind, its refutations 
 and vindications, and a comparison between the contrary opinions held 
 regarding it, I should be able to do so by the grace of the Most High, and 
 through Him, not of my own strength and ability, for there is no power or 
 virtue but in God. Whatever God willeth, there is no power to accomplish 
 it save in God Himself. 
 
 At the commencement of my studies, I read somewhat of the science 
 of logic, but subsequently the Lord put a dislike of it into my heart, and 
 hearing that Ibn u's Salahf had decided a reference to him on the subject 
 by interdicting it, I abandoned it for that reason, and the Lord supplied 
 its place to me with the science of tradition which is the noblest of all 
 studies. As for my Shaykhs in the relation of traditions whom I heard, or 
 from whom I received certificates of licence, they were numerous. I have 
 adduced them in my CatalogueJ to the number of about 150. I did not 
 however, devote myself much to the hearing of traditions as I was employ, 
 ed on what was of more importance, vig., the study of their critical exami- 
 nation." 
 
 "With these words concludes the autobiography which is followed by 
 a catalogue of the author's works. I have now to notice the only other 
 memoir of him which we possess, and to which I have already alluded. 
 This is furnished to us by his contemporary Muhammad-b-Abdi'r fiahman- 
 
 * i^i-" t>* ^ "^^ (^ ) tliese words axe in Meursinge, but not in my MS. 
 
 t See page 431. 
 
 t There are two of these, called the Greater and the Lesser Mua'jam which are 
 
 given in his list of worlis. 
 
[ ^ ] 
 
 b-Muhammad Shamsu'ddin as Sakhdwi, and is given by Meursinge in his 
 Prolegomena and translated by him into Latin. This fragment, he states) 
 is taken from the Leyden Codex 518. {Catal JST. 1876.) entitled 
 j/o3U| ^^J| j^ gJlk/tj^*J| (Luna oriens ex Itmiine miea/nte) by Ahmad-b- 
 Abdi's Salam Kadhi of Maniif . It contains an excerpt of the principal 
 work of as Sakhawi called £«t-i^l ej/' cl*JI g*^l 5'*'' {lumen micant 
 hominibus stBculi noni) and gives amongst the celebrities of that age, the 
 following notice of as Suyiiti : 
 
 " He was born on the first night of the month of Eajab 849, his 
 mother being a Turkish slave, and he was reared an orphan. He learnt 
 by-hearfc the Kuran, the U'mdah, the Minhaj both the section on the 
 derivative and part of the fundamental principles, and the Alfi'yah on 
 grammar. Having proved his capacity in the year 64, he studied gram- 
 mar under Shamsu'ddin Muhammad-b-Mlisa al Hanafi Imam of the 
 Shaykhuniyah College, and under al Fakhr Othman al Maksi,* as Shams al 
 Bami,t Ibn u'l Falati.f Ibn Tusuf one of tjie most eminent doctors of 
 the Shaykhuniyah, al Burhan al A'jluni, and according to some, under an 
 Nua'mani, with some of them, jurisprudence, with some, grammar. He 
 progressed until he read some works on jurisprudence under al A'lam al 
 Bulkini. He then read with al Munawi for a very short time who gave 
 him a lesson in good manners when, pained at his taking a seat at the 
 head of the assembly, he said, " when we were young, we never sat save 
 behind the circle of distinguished personages such as these." On this he 
 broke ofE§ from him and read altogether with as Sayfu'ddin, as Shumunni 
 and al Kafiyaji the Hanafites, somewhat of the sciences, and also, as he 
 asserts, with as Shihab as Sharimsahi a part of his commentary on the Maj- 
 mdu' of al Kallai : likewise under al I'zz al Mikati his treatise on the 
 Mikat,|| and under Muhammad-b- Ibrahim as Sharwani ar Riimi^ the phy- 
 
 * Othmau-b-A'tdi'llah-b-Othmfin al Fakhr Abu A'mr al Maksi bom 818 (1416), 
 died 877 (1472). Maks is a village on the Nile adjacent to, Cairo. 
 
 t Mutammad-b-Abmad as Shams al Bami, born 820 (1417) died 885 (1480). 
 Meurs. 
 
 t Muhammad-b-A'li al Ku?i as Shafi'i, born 824, died 870. Ibid. 
 
 § I do not follow Meursinge in his translation of ^^^ — "turn vero totum se 
 Bcientiis vovit." This form of the verb bears the meaning of devoting one's self to a 
 thing, but the object is not mentioned and the ordinary signification of the word is 
 here most applicable. The preceding passage is also misunderstood. The speaker is 
 al Munawi not as Suydti. 
 
 II The Mikat is an appointed place of rendezvous for pilgrims proceeding to 
 Mecca where they first enter into the state of Ihrdm or prohibition from lawful acts 
 which are at that period unlawful. These stations wiU be found mentioned in the 
 JAmi' Eumtizby Shamsu'ddin Muhammad al Kohistdni. Meursinge's translation of 
 Mi^at " horologia" is quite imtenable. 
 
 ir Bom 778 (1376), died 873 (1468). Meurs. 
 
[ xl ] 
 
 Bicia,n at Cairo, two abridgments on medicine by Ibn u'l Jamaa'h,* and under 
 al I'zz al Hanbali some studies in the fundamental principles of jurispru- 
 dence from the Jama' u'l Jawami.' 
 
 Here ends what he asserts to have done. He attached himself to me 
 for some time and wrote to me in a long prose epistle the following words, 
 " and verily we presented ourselves uninvited to the feast of his compre- 
 hensive bounty, and we made the camel of our affliction kneel in the. 
 spacious courtyard of his affluence."t Moreover he praised me on other 
 occasions in verse and prose as I have elsewhere shown. In the same 
 ■way, for a very short period he frequented the lectures of az Zayn Kasim 
 al Hanafi and al Bikai'i. He also practised himself in poetry under as 
 Shihab al Mansuri,J and he heard traditions from the compilers of tradi- 
 tion then living such as al Kammasi, al Hijdzi, as Shawi, al Muktumi 
 Nashwan and Hajir, and some doctors of Aleppo gave him certificates of 
 licence to relate traditions, among them Ibn Mukbil. The last who gave 
 him a certificate was as Salah-b-Abi Omar, but nevertheless he had made 
 no profound study of all that I have alluded to. He then travelled to 
 Fayyiim, Damietta, al Mahallah and other places and took down in writing 
 what he had heard from those who professed versification, as al Muliyi'd- 
 din-b-Saki'yah and al A'la-b-u'l Janadi al Hanafi. Thence to Mecca by 
 sea in Kabii' II, 69 and studied a little under al Muhyi'ddin A'bdu'I Kadir 
 al Maliki and profited by the assistance of our friend Ibn Fadhl§ among 
 others, and more than one granted him a licence to teach and instruct. Al 
 A'lam al Bulki'ni granted him his encouragement until he obtained the 
 chair of jurisprudence in the Shaykhiiniyah mosque which had come down 
 to him from his father and was present with him at some conferences 
 therein. 
 
 Then he held himself aloof || and affected the airs of a Shaykh and 
 applied himself to the sciences suitable to that profession. Moreover at 
 the time when he used constantly to visit me, he carried off many of 
 my compositions such as J^«aLJ &i.sa^)\ JLai^i - &jf^iJf U« J/j 
 ^ijJ( j^JLe !s^«aJ| . UjKi ui<y«, and others I need not enumerate. Nay he took 
 
 * I'zzu'ddin Mul^ammad-b-Sharafu'ddin Abi Bakr, bom 759 (1358), died 819 
 (1416). IMd. 
 
 t As Suyuti means to say that he owed much of solace in his toil to the bounty 
 of as Sakhawi. 
 
 t Ahmad-h-Muhammad, horn 798, died 887. Meurs. 
 
 { The Hafidh, author of a work entitled Durrar as Sunniyah wa Bahiyah, a 
 treatise on Muhammadau law, composed 865 A. H. D'Herh. 
 
 II Meursinge does not find the 7th form this verb C*^' and translates it 
 'omnes ooUegit vires suas.' Lane gives the form and example u»WI w* £*^l 'he 
 withdrew himself from men,' 
 
[ xii ] 
 
 from the books of the MuljmMi'yah College and elsewhere, many ancient 
 compositions which were unknown to many of his contemporaries, on 
 various sciences, altered them slightly, transposed them and gave them 
 out as his own, and prefaced them with pretentious introductions from 
 which the unlearned reader might expect much, but not a part of which 
 was fulfilled. The first he produced was a paper on the interdiction of the 
 science of logic which he had extracted from a work of Ibn Taymiyah 
 and in the greater part of it he was indebted to my assistance. Upon this 
 many eminent scholars opposed him and even al A'lam al Bulkini rejected 
 him and took from him what he had dictated to him in his lectures on this 
 question, and had it not been for my good offices with a number of these, 
 such as al Anbasi,* Ibn u'l Falati and Ibn Kasim,t the result would have 
 been disastrous. 
 
 He also lectured to a number of the common people in the mosque of 
 Ahmad-b-Tdlun ; moreover he acquired a predominancej over some who 
 were themselves good for nothing, so that this was the means of his being 
 favoured by his executor Shihab-u'ddin-b-u't Tabbakh who provided for 
 his being brought up under Barsabai§ Comptroller of the Household. 
 After this he attached himself to Inal al Ashkar, II president of the order 
 of prefects^ until that personage appointed him professor of tradition in 
 the Shaykhuniyah College after the death of the Shaykh Othman al Maksi, 
 notwithstanding he had left a son. He was also appointed to the post of 
 lecturer on the Sahihayn of al Buhhdri and Muslim although he was 
 unable to fulfil the condition attached to those offices by the endower,** 
 
 * A'bdu'r Eahim-'b-rbrahim-'b-Hajjaj Zaynu'ddin al Anbasi, as Shafi'i, 1)0111 829, 
 died 891. M. 
 
 t Muhammad-b-K&sim-b-A'U Shamsu'ddin al Maksi as Shafi'i, bom 817, died 
 893. 
 
 X I differ from M. in the translation of this passage. He would omit the second 
 
 \J^ in (♦t***i 1^* <rf^* j'**. I would retain it and read the first (^ or perhaps u'^*! 
 His rendering of t5^ as " pupillus" is, I think, inadmissible. 
 
 § Probably Barsabai al Bajashi. See Weil. Gesoh. Abb. Cal. Eg. II, p. 313. 
 
 I Inal al Ashkar az Zahiri. Mention of him is made by Weil first in the reign 
 ol Sultan Khush Kadam in 867 (H62) when he was Atabek of Aleppo. In the reign 
 of al Malik al Ashraf Kaitbai, he was transferred from the government of Malatiyah 
 to that of Aleppo, pp. 307, 333. 
 
 H See Carlyle's edit, of the Maured allatdfat fCantabrig 1792) for this title. Note 
 7. p. 41. 
 
 ** What those conditions were is mentioned in the IJusn al Muljddhirah in de- 
 scribing the foundation of the Amir Bhaykhu. It was begun in Muharram 756 {Jan, 
 Feb. 1356). Chairs were appointed for the four orthodox doctrinal schools, a 
 chair of Tradition, of Kurau reading, lectures (^^""O on the ^aljiljayn and the Shifa'. 
 
[ xi'i ] 
 
 and to lecture on Mysticism at the Mausoleum of Barkdk* governor of 
 Syria, which is by the gate of al Karafah at Oairo, through the favour of 
 his townsman Abu Tayyib as Suyuti, and to other posts. All this, though 
 he was not fitted for those offices nor nearly so, and for this reason it was 
 said proverbially, that he undertook what he was not qualified to perform. 
 He then gave a loose to his tongue and his pen against his Shaykhs who 
 were his superiors, even to saying of Kadhi Adhud that he was not of as 
 much consequence as a prick in the foot of Ibn u's Salah, and for this he 
 was reproved by one of the Hanabalite vice-presidents in the presence of 
 their Kadhi. He also disparaged as Sayyidf and ar Eadhi on a point of 
 grammar without sufficient foundation, so that he withdrew his statement 
 to a stranger who, when he met him, said, " verily thou assertest that the 
 Sayyid al Jurjani maintains that a letter (iJ^a.)J intrinsically hath no 
 meaning either inherent in it or otherwise, but this statement of the 
 Sayyid's testifieth to the falsehood of what thou dost allege." He replied, 
 " verily I have seen no statement of his to that effect, but when I was at 
 Mecca, I conversed with a distinguished person on this subject, he told 
 me what I have asserted and I relied upon his authority." The other 
 answered, " it is strange how any one who is an author himself could 
 depend upon such a statement in connection with such a master." Thus 
 far this assertion. He also said that any one who read with ar Radhi and 
 his grammatical teaching, had never reached such a degree of proficiency 
 as to entitle him to be called moderately acquainted with grammar. 
 
 He continued thus displaying his presumption till he declared him- 
 self prof oundly versed in the seven sciences. § 
 
 He further maintained that if all the learned men of the time were to 
 propound thousands of questions to him, he could answer them all by the 
 sole exercise of his reasoning powers, and were he to set them but a tenth 
 part of the same, they would be unable to solve them. He likewise 
 elaborated a work to facilitate the acquisition of the degree of Mujtahid|| 
 
 The head professor who lectured on Mysticism and the Hanafite theology, was required 
 to he the most learned Hanafite in Egypt, and to be profoundly versed in exegesis and 
 the fundamentals of jurisprudence, and was not to he a ]^a4hi, and this condition was a 
 general one for all the salaried College officials. 
 
 * Consult D'Herb. art. Barkok, and Weil. Gesch. Ahb. Cal. Eg. 510 seq. 
 
 t Ahu'l Hasan A'li-h-Muhammad Zaynu'ddin al Husayni al Jurj&u known as 
 as Sayyid as Sharif, died 816. Meurs.- 
 
 I KJjf^ has two senses grammatically speaking, one a letter, the other a particle, 
 »'. «., what is used to express a meaning and is not a noun or a verb. See Lane. 
 
 k Here follows an extract from as Suyuti' which has already been translated in the 
 preceding autobiography. 
 
 I This terra is employed to denote a doctor who exerts all his capacity for the 
 purpose of forming a right opinion upon a legal question. The title was common in 
 
[ xW ] 
 
 in order to assert his own claim to it. And how well spoke one of the 
 professors of arithmetic, — " that which he hath confessed* regarding 
 himself in order that it might be inferred that he was impartial, is a proof 
 of his dullness and lack of understanding from the testimony of masters 
 of this science that it is one needing quick intelligence." 
 
 And similar to this is the saying of some one that he claimed the 
 rank of Mujtahid to hide his own errors. And to this effect also, are 
 his own words when a certain distinguished person met him and desired to 
 confer with him on some point, " it cannot be that my store of knowledge 
 in scholastic theology is of small account." 
 
 The following speech was made to him by another—" inform me 
 regarding the means of acquiring the degree of Mujtadhid. Is there any 
 one living conversant with them ?" He replied, " Tes, there are those 
 who have some knowledge of them, but they are not collectively united in 
 one person but dispersed among a number," The other rejoined, "tell 
 me who they are, and we will bring them together for thee, and thou shalt 
 speak with them, and if each one of them confesseth that thou hast a 
 knowledge of his subject and noteth thee as distinguished therein, it is 
 possible that we may allow thy claim." And he was silent and uttered 
 not a word. 
 
 He mentions that his compositions number more than 300 volumes, 
 but I have seen some of them consisting only of one page, and those that 
 are less than a " kurrasah"t are numerous. He mentions amongst them 
 a commentary on the ShatibiyahJ and the Alfiyah on the readings of the 
 Kuran, notwithstanding his own confession, as has already gone before, 
 that he had studied them under no Shaykh. 
 
 Among his writings, the following were fraudulently appropriated 
 from the compositions of our Shaykh. § 
 
 ..■'•'. * „ I " . , ^ ' ' ' " 
 
 the first ages of IsUm, but the principal points having heen fixed by the great doetors, 
 the exercise of private judgment in legal questions soon ceased to be recognized. 
 Some later doctors like as Sujrd^i claimed the title and the right, but both were 
 refused to them by public opinion. See De Slane I. K. I. p. 201. 
 
 • Alluding to as Suyuti's disinclination to that study. 
 
 t A " kurrasah" according to De Slane (Vol, II, p. 98) generally contains 20 
 pages. 
 
 X See Note, p. 603. 
 
 § Meursinge understands him to mean here, al Bulkimi, as aa Sakh&wi speak* of 
 him under this title { l^***" ) in his biography. 
 
[ *v ] 
 
 All these are the dissertations of our Shaykh, and would that he had 
 not altered them when he appropriated them, for if he had given them as 
 they were, it would have been more profitable. The works belonging to 
 other authors also, among his compositions are numerous. This would be 
 seen were all the works named at hand, but in any case, he was given to 
 much arrogant boasting. He came to me once and asserted that he had 
 read the Musnad of as Shafi'i with al Kammasi, and of his own accord 
 communicated to me what contained a falsehood in every part of it. In the 
 same way he related on the authority of alKamal brother of alJalal alMahalli, 
 a dream in which al Kamal proved his untruth. Al Badru'ddin the Hanbalite 
 Kadhi said to me, " I never saw him reading the Jama' u'l Jawitmi' with 
 my Shaykh notwithstanding my constant zeal in attendance on him {the 
 Shayhh') ; but indeed Khayru'ddin ar Rishi the Nakib studied it under 
 him." I said, " perhaps he used to come at the same time." He 
 replied, " I never observed it." 
 
 He asserted that he composed the Nafhat u'l Miskiyah wa'l Tuhfat u'l 
 Makkiyah (The Mushy Fragrance and the Meccan gift) in one ' kurrasah' 
 when he was at Mecca after the manner of the Ifuwan u's Sharaf of Ibn 
 u'l Mukri* in a single day, and that he wrote an Alfiyah on tradition 
 superior to the Alfiyah u'l I'rakif and other things which it would be 
 tedious to mention. Similar to this is his saying (which verifies the adage 
 that forgetfulness is the undoing of falsehood) in one place that he knew 
 by heart a part of the Minhaj on Fundamentals, and in another that he 
 knew the whole of it, and that the course of Dictation was discontinued 
 after the death of our Shaykh until he reinstated it. So too his assertion 
 that the first who was appointed to the Shaykhliniyah College was al 
 Kafiyaji, and his remarking to me several times, " by Allah, if the Turkish 
 Superintendent had not appointed him, or had I alone to do in the affair, I 
 would not have preferred him from my knowledge of the special claim of 
 another." Add to all this the inversions and solecisms in pronunciation 
 that fell from him and what arose from his misapprehension of meaning, 
 through his not fre quenting the lectures of the learned nor attending their 
 evening and nightly assemblies, instead of which he worked alone, deep 
 among codices and tomes, and relied upon what had not secured the 
 approval of accurate scholars ; moreover he was opposed by all men uni- 
 versally when he claimed the degree of Mujtahid. He composed 
 
 the following works: — g?>M'^( ^^ iJ J lsj^J^^ l^^^l 
 
 * See note, p. S40. 
 
 t Alfiyah u'l T'rajki fi XJ?u'l u'l Haditli by the ^lafidh Zaynu'ddin A'bdu'r 
 Eahfm-'b-i'l Huaayn al I'raki : died 806 (1403). This and its commentaries are 
 noticed at some length by H, K, 
 
[ xvi ] 
 
 All this during his stay at Mecca, treating discourteously therein the 
 people of Hijaz for which he richly deserved severe reproof, some of these 
 compositions being more foul than others. Of these I have seen only the 
 first which contains great disparagement of al Jaujari and much arrogance 
 which in parts shows his folly, nay his rabid rage. The fourth is in refu- 
 tation of al Burhan an Nuaraani* where he reads the words of the Kadhi 
 I'yadh at the close of the Shifa ,^/aj«a=i lx,ascij in the dual number, 
 after he had written him a paper containing hard and coarse language not 
 proper to be addressed to scholars, which induced al Burhan to procure 
 learned opinion upon it and those who wrote agreeing with his reading 
 were al Amin al Iksirai, al U'bbadi, al Bami, az Zayn Kasim al Hanafi, al 
 Fakhr ad Dayyimi and the writer of this memoir. Al Burhan wrote a 
 pamphlet which he entitled al Kaul al Mufassal fi radd a'la'l Mughaffal. 
 {A clear tractate in refutation of the imiecile) ; moreover one of the 
 disciples of al Jaujari wrote also in support of him but al Jaujarif was 
 incensed against him who undertook this on account of the praise of the 
 person eulogized that his work contained. As Suytiti also wrote a letter 
 to al Kamal-b-Abi Sharif J and filled it with unworthy attacks on al 
 Kirmani. Al Khatib al Waziri sent his son to him at Kaudhah§ to 
 exhibit his proficiency in study, but he sent him back, alleging as an 
 excuse that he did not fulfil his father's description || of him on certain 
 points and that his letter for other reasons, likewise, was not satisfactory 
 to him. 
 
 • The Imam Hdfidh Abu'l Padhl ryadh-li-Musa Yah?abi, called as Sabti because 
 he was a native of Ceuta. He was bom in 470 (1077) died in 644 (1149). Among his 
 best known works are a history of Cordova, a devotional work called Azhar u'r Byadh, 
 and the Shifa (Note % p. vii). See his life in D'Herb. The words at the close of the 
 Shifa alluded to are, {teste Meurs.) 4i*Ua- j lij.*J if"} ^-Ax-air; Ix^sij gt peouliarem 
 nobis faoere volet (Bern) peouliarem favorem turboe Prophetsa nostri ejusque agminia. 
 ^^-a^^fli. ia here an inf. n. of U*"^ like {.^^d and tS/iS^ Burhanu'ddin took 
 it as a dual number. Weijers' note on this in Meurs. is remarkable. Quo modo vero 
 Burhanoddinus iste ibi in duali numero ... legere ... equidem plane non intelligo ; et 
 magis etiam miror partium stadium eorum eruditorum, qui nud^, ut videtur, Sojuti 
 invidi^ ducti, Borhannodino iUi adversus hunc adstipulati, aut oerte illi non plane 
 oblecuti sunt. 
 
 t Muhammad-b-A'bdi'l Muni'm Shamsu'ddfn al Jaujari al Kahiri as Shafi'i ; 
 bom 822 (1419) died 889 (1484). M. He was the author against whom was directed 
 the first treatise mentioned in the last page. 
 
 X Abu'l Hand Muhammad al Kamalu'ddin-b-Abi Sharif as ShAfi'i : bom 824' 
 Meurs. 
 
 § A place, according to Meursinge where as Suydti had an estate. 
 
 II I must differ from Meursinge's rendering of this, " non posse se patri ejus (in 
 response suo) omues quos oporteret tituloa dare." 
 
[ xvii ] 
 
 When a certain student once spoke of the impiety of Ibn u'l A'rabi,* 
 he replied, "verily war is announcedf that shall come upon him from God, 
 though the judge can find nought against him and he himself deprecates 
 examination of his writings for points which he judges orthodox in which 
 the believer and discerner of true doctrine cannot concur with him," More- 
 over he reported of him that he said, "it is forbidden to examine my 
 words." As Suyuti was one of those who adopted this tenet (of Ibn 
 A'rabi's) from A'bdu'llah Muhammad-b-Omar al Maghrabi who lived 
 near the Karakiha al Hasani College whose lectures he attended for some 
 time. More might be said, but were I to discuss all that regarded him, I 
 should transgress due limits. To be brief, he wrote hastilyj without 
 re/lection : I never knew him to be anything but vain and overweening, 
 even towards his own mother, so that she used constantly to complain of 
 him, and his conduct continued to grow worse in this respect, — may the 
 Most High inspire him with rectitude. 
 
 The Caliph favoured him and appointed him Shaykh of the Baybar- 
 siyah College in succession to al Jalal al Bakri,§ after which his zeal 
 abated, nay became congealed, so that he sought retirement from the world 
 according to what he himself says, " I gave up lecturing and resolving 
 cases of law and turned myself to the Most High." Before this time he 
 asserted that he had a dream in which the prophet upbraided him, and his 
 Vicegerent as Siddik ordered him to be imprisoned for a year, that he 
 might revert to lecturing and expounding the law when he took it upon 
 himself to abandon them, and that he asked pardon and desisted from his 
 purpose : so that if any one came to him with a case, .though he were 
 
 * Muhyiddiu-b-A'li a most voluminous writer on Sufiism, » native of Muroia : 
 bom 560 (1165), died 638 (1240). Consult Haj. Khal and the Tabakat al Mufass. of 
 as Suyuti, edit, Meurs. also De Slaue. I. K. Vol. IV, p. 351. In Suyflti's notice of 
 him it is stated that some of his expressions were not altogether orthodox and that 
 though outwardly confirming to the faith, he had some peculiar views on doctrine, 
 but ad Dahabi excuses him on the ground that his writings on Sufiism and his austeri- 
 ties, had disturbed his intellect, and he imagined things that had no existence. See 
 also D'Herb. art. Arabi. 
 
 f Referring to Kur. II, *-[y"J J «Ul^>x) t^ys! tyil* fjg apprized of war that 
 shall come upon you from God and his apostle.) Meaning, " you threaten him with war 
 from God on account of his impiety, though the temporal judge can find nothing to 
 substantiate the charge ; and he himself deprecates examination of his writings to 
 prove him unorthodox by wresting his words from their proper sense." The Arabio 
 of this passage is obscure and probably corrupt. 
 
 X I cannot concur in Meursinge's translation " Et hoc celeriter describi potest." 
 
 § A'bdu'l Baka Muhammad-b-A'bdi'r Rahman ad Dahrdti, known as Jalalu'ddfn 
 al Bakri; born 807 (1404), died 891 (1486). M. The Caliph who appointed him must 
 have been al Mutawakkil 'ala'Uah Abu'l I'zz who died in 903. 
 
[ xviii ] 
 
 about to drown at the time, lie would take it to write his decision thereon. 
 It was not long after this, that he said what has gone before. 
 
 'Al Muhyi'ddin-b-u'l Mughayzil left him when he experienced from 
 him great ili-treatment, after he had acted towards him previously with 
 generosity and he has related instances of his extravagant pretensions which 
 the circumstances themselves verify. As an example, he requested al 
 Burhanu'ddin al Karati to appoint him to conduct a judicial case which 
 was under his charge. The latter complied and on his own part furnished 
 in addition a duplicate of the original process. As Suydti went to him 
 accompanied by al A'lamu'ddin Sulayman al Khalif ati to take it, and he 
 never thanked him nor uttered a word expressive of his obligation. He 
 on one occasion related to Muhyi'ddin after as Sunbati's death, a circum- 
 stance showing his injustice. He said, " why hast thou told me of this 
 only after his death?" As Suyliti replied, " that thou mayest know the 
 hearts of men." And this notwithstanding his great kindness to him, 
 especially during the time of the high prices when there was a dearth of 
 bread and food in the Shaykhiiniyah, and he used to give him a dinar 
 weekly as he states himself. lu the same way a certain Turk left him, 
 whom from a Hanafite he had made a Shafi'ite, notwithstanding that as 
 Suyiiti had begun by showing great kindness and courtesy towards him. 
 Al Maghrabi likewise abandoned him, the same who used to assert his 
 great sanctity, and also al Fath al Kami.* 
 
 An instance of his arrogance, is his saying to one of his attendants, 
 " when I receive the office of Kadhi, I will appoint thee to such and such a 
 thing, nay thou shalt obtain every thing." 
 
 Subsequently in the year 898, the Shaykh Abu'n Naja sonf of 
 Shaykh Khalaf opposed him and publicly exposed his deficiencies and 
 faults, and he was humbled by him and greatly abased. The Imam al 
 Karaki spoke highly of Abu'n Naja as I have fully shown in the Hawa- 
 dith.J Previously to this as Suyiiti wrote a work entitled, "the Cautery 
 in refutation of as Sakhawi," in which he opposed what is affirmed in the 
 Sahih,§ although I never touched upon the subject save some time before, 
 
 * Meursinge conceives that these were all instances of persons who were at first 
 attached to as Suyuti but were afterwards driven from him by his violence and harsh- 
 ness. 
 
 t Abu'n Naja-b-Khalaf al Mi§ri as Shfifi'i, born 849. He used to hold assem- 
 blies in the mosques and other public places to which he drew large numbers even 
 from the quarters where as Suyuti lived, and even lectured in Suyuti's own college tha 
 Baybarsiyah. M. note 183, p. 43. 
 
 X Meursinge supposes that this is the name of a book {Be rebut gestiaj by as 
 Sakhawi but of which no mention is made by H6ji Khalifahi 
 
 § Meursinge translates *iS'»'^i ti* "inter vera." I understand §alji^ to 
 signify the authentic traditions that are known under that name. 
 
[ ^is; ] 
 
 nay my course towards it having been to speak neither in affirmation or 
 denial. Let us praise God the Distributer of understanding." 
 
 The Compiler* adds, " The Sultan al A'adil Tdmani Baif removed 
 him from the post of professor of the Baybarsiyah on Monday the 12th 
 Eajab 906 {1st Februari/ 1501) when a number of the Sufi Shaykhs of the 
 Madrassah held a meeting against him on account of his niggardliness 
 with them and his hostility to them by depriving many of them of their 
 stipends and appointing others thereto. He received many humiliations 
 such as judicial mandates, annoyances, interdictions : and other similar 
 things occurred. In the professorship after him was appointed Laishin 
 al Bilbisi, known as Ibn u'l Ballan, on Monday the 26th of the said month, 
 although there were others superior to him in desert, but fortune prevails 
 over merit. Yet he was in no way at ease, fearful lest Jaldlu'ddin (as 
 Suyu^i) should disturb him by assorting that al A'adil had forced him 
 publicly to forego his right. And indeed this move of al Jalalu'ddin 
 actually took place though not persisted in, and thus the position of al 
 Bilbisi was insecure. After this Jalalu'ddin's affairs became tranquil and he 
 turned aside from this office and that of professor of tradition in the Shaykhu- 
 niyah with a view to a life of withdrawal from worldly affairs, and he broke 
 off all connection with society by residing at Eaudhah, and I have heard 
 that a number of the principal nobles used to visit him whom he did not 
 rise to greet. 
 
 The professorship of the Baybarsfyah was offered to him on the death 
 of al Bilbisi on Saturday the 25th of Dul Hijjah 909, but he declined it 
 and al Kamalu'ddin at Tawil assumed it on Monday the 27th of the said 
 month after he had expended largely, it is said, on that account. Jalalu'ddin 
 continued in retirement till he died on Thursday the 18th Jumada F, 911 
 (ilth October 1505). May the Lord have mercy upon him and- upon us." 
 
 Having now giyen as Sakhawi's strictures on as Suyiitl, I cannot in 
 justice refrain from presenting to the reader the latter's opinion of his 
 critic, and for this I am indebted to Meursinge who has extracted the follow- 
 ing notice from a work of the historian's, entitled liil-*) *'iJt j c^Ij^sJ/I h)Uc| 
 {ihe choicest of the great and sons of the Age), Cod. 416th, p. 94. 
 
 " Muhammad-b-A'bdi'r Eahman-b-Muhammad-Abl Bakr-b-Othman- 
 b-Muhammad as Sakhawi Shamsu'ddin, the traditionist, the historian, the 
 calumniator, was born in 831 (1427-8) and attended while he was 
 yet young, the dictations of the Hafidh Ibn Hajr who fostered in him a 
 love of the science of tradition. He frequented his classes and wrote out 
 
 * The word «JI*^ here indicates the termination of as Sakhawi's narrative and 
 that what follows is by the author who has extracted it. 
 
 t One of the Circassian Mamelukes who reigned three years and a half, 906-9 
 (lfiOl-3). M. 
 
[ XX 1 
 
 many of his compositions with hia own hand. He studied under very 
 many collectors of traditions ia Egypt, Syria and Hijaz and he selected 
 and extracted them for himself and for others, notwithstanding his mis- 
 reading of them and his being destitute of all knowledge, so that he was 
 good for nothing but in the mere science of tradition. Then he fell upon 
 history and dissipated his life therein and devoted all his efforts to it, and 
 lacerated therein the reputations of men and filled it with their misdeeds, 
 and all that had been imputed to them whether true or false, and asserted 
 that he was thus doing a necessary duty, viz., apportioning blame or praise, 
 whereas this is manifest folly and error and blasphemy against God. 
 
 Moreover he was guilty of a fragrant violation of right and was under 
 the burden of many sins, as I have shown in the preface to this book. I 
 mention this only that no one may be seduced by him or trust to any thing 
 that is in his historical writings defamatory of men, especially the learned, 
 or pay heed thereunto. He died in Shaa'ban 902." (April 1497.) 
 
 The Leyden copy of the work from which this is taken, Meursinge 
 believes to be the only one existing in Europe, and he proposed to himself 
 to treat further of it on some future occasion as it contains memoirs more 
 or less full, of the distinguished men of as Suytiti's age. Whether he ever 
 fulfilled his intentions I do not know, and am therefore unable to give 
 further particulars regarding the irregularities alluded to at the close of 
 the above extract. This is, however, of little importance. The recrimi- 
 nations of authors are little to their credit, and are read with indifference 
 when the passions and jealousies which evoked them are hushed and 
 forgotten. The supplement to as Sakhawi's narrative bears unwilling 
 evidence of the reverence in which as Suyiiti was held at a time when, 
 retired from the world, he still received the unsolicited visits of the great. 
 His petulant notice of the historian's just criticism of Burhanu'ddin's 
 reading of the Shifa of Kadhi I'yadh, and the evident jealousy which 
 induced the learned referees to side with Burhdn, his hints of the dis- 
 approval with which Bulkini and Munawi regarded our author who never- 
 theless speaks of them in his Husn al Muhddhirah in terms of unqualified 
 esteem, sufficiently prove the unfairness and suggest the untruthfulness of 
 the writer. His rancour against the historian was probably caused by as 
 Suyiiti's criticism of his work the Dhu'l Lami', in his pamphlet entitled the 
 Cautery, and the name not indistinctly hints that the iron was applied red 
 hot. Possibly previous differences may have made his duty a grateful 
 one, and a critique undertaken in this spirit, would not be altogether just. 
 The angry retort of his patient, however, inflicted as keen a wound as he 
 received and the passing satisfaction of an incisive and now forgotten 
 criticism, was more than avenged by the immortality of his victim's reply. 
 
[ xxi ] 
 
 The length to which these hitherto little known particulars of as 
 Suyiiti's life have unavoidably led me, precludes any extended notice of 
 the work which is here presented to the public. The sources whence the 
 author derived the materials for his history are indicated by him at its 
 close, and if their treatment does not discover any evidence of originality 
 of design, it has at least the merit of condensing into a readable compass, 
 not only the principal events which occurred during the reign of each 
 Caliph, but the personal details and sketches of court life and manners 
 which are often wanting in Abu'l Fida but which lend their chief interest 
 to the lively narrative of Masa'udi. To the dignity of a history according 
 to the European acceptation of the term, it has indeed no pretensions. To 
 investigate the relations of cause and effect, to trace the growth and deve- 
 lopment of communities and assign the reasons of their arrestation or 
 decline, to discuss the social, political and religious questions which disturb 
 the tranquillity or affect the fortunes of states, to analyze the characters of 
 public men and the influences which bear on their conduct ; to paint vivid 
 descriptions of battle-scenes and pageantries of state ; to survey the arts, 
 manufactures, trades and products of a country and all that constitutes 
 and adorns its national life, this ideal epic of poetry and philosophy, no 
 Eastern historian has ever attempted. Historical science in its infancy 
 among the Moslems as De Slane has shown, began with oral traditions 
 transmitted from one Hafidh to another, together with the series of 
 authorities for each independent fact, till their accumulated store became 
 too burdensome for retention by memory. They were then committed to 
 writing in the form of a collection of statements supported by lines of 
 ascription reaching to the original narrators who were in most cases eye- 
 witnesses of what they related. A subsequent writer suppressed the 
 ascriptions to a large extent, marshalled the facts and blended the discon- 
 nected traditions into one continuous but bulky history. Such were Ibn 
 u'l Athir and at Tabari. Then came the abridger who condensed the work 
 of his predecessor into a simpler and smaller volume while the greater work 
 was consigned to veneration and decay in some public library. Such were 
 Abu'l Fida and as Suydti. De Slane has, I think, unfairly censured these 
 last-mentioned writers. He considers them to have done nearly as much 
 injury to their predecessors as Justin and Florus have done to Livy and 
 Tacitus. I do not admit the justness of the parallel nor perceive its 
 relevancy. Justin's history, is a compilation of extracts rather than an 
 abridgment of the lost books of Trogus Pompeius whose guides were 
 exclusively Greek, and who treated in the main but with voluminous digres- 
 sions, of the rise, decline and fall of the Macedonian monarchy. Though 
 Justin has been censured for omitting much from his original that was 
 worthy of record, yet that original was professedly not Tacitus, whose 
 
f xxii ] 
 
 Histories and Annals are concerned with the period between the second 
 consulship of Galba and the death of Domitian, and from the death of 
 Augustus to the death of Nero. It is true that the Editio Princeps of 
 Florus published about 1471, bore the title, " Titi Livii Epithoma," but 
 it is not regarded by modern scholars as an abridgment of Livy, but a 
 compilation from various authorities epitomizing the leading events from 
 the building of the city to the rise of the Empire. The Epitomes of 
 the books of Livy have been ascribed to Floras, and with equal probability 
 to Livy himself. There is no internal testimony in favour of either conclu- 
 sion, and external evidence is altogether wanting.* It is difficult, therefore 
 to perceive in what way the assumed injury has been afEected. The paral- 
 lel applied to the Easterns fails in a similar manner. Their merit would 
 perhaps be slight, were it confined to their condensation, however judicious, 
 of a single work, but this is far from being the case. Abu'l Fida cites no 
 less than fourteen authors, and as Suydti, twelve, to whose voluminous 
 pages they are indebted for their materials. The greater number of the 
 works which they mention have perished, and it is to their labours we owe 
 the preservation of much that would otherwise have been irretrievably 
 lost. Eeiske's eloquent commendation of Abu'l Fida is a just and sufficient 
 testimony to his eminence, and his concluding words wiU suffice me for 
 any panegyric of as Suytiti, — ipse usus eum commendabit, quare laudibus 
 ejus celebrandis parcam. 
 
 The MSS. from which the text of this work was edited, which is but 
 one among the many services of the accomplished Orientalist Colonel 
 JS^assau Lees to the world of letters, were the following — 
 
 MS. belonging to Maulvie Muhammad Wajih, Head Professor of the 
 
 Calcutta Madrassah : this copy is now missing. 
 „ the property of Maulvie Abd'us Shukiir of Jounpore. Likewise 
 
 missing. 
 „ in the possession of the Asiatic Society, Calcutta. This latter is 
 
 the only one with which I have been able to collate the text. 
 
 Another MS. is mentioned by Weil in his history of the Abbaside 
 
 Caliphs in Egypt (note, p. 122, Vol. II,) and numbered Cod. 
 
 Goth. N. 321, which I have not seen. 
 The system of transliteration of Arabic proper names adopted by me, 
 is the same now in general use throughout India. The following letters 
 alone present any difficulty, and are thus represented : 
 
 • Consult. Eamsay's art, on Livy in 'WiUiam Smith, CI. D. 
 
c 
 
 is written 
 
 ^ 
 
 » 
 
 u» 
 
 » 
 
 u^ 
 
 » 
 
 h 
 
 }» 
 
 t, 
 
 
 [ xxiii ] 
 
 h 
 
 dh 
 t 
 
 dh 
 
 f, „ -with a comma over the 
 
 vowel. 
 Some proper names of persons, such as Omar and Ofchman, and those 
 of certain towns and countries, the corrupt spelling of which has been 
 consecrated and fixed by custom, are left unaltered. 
 
 In concluding, I have to acknowledge my indebtedness to Maulvie 
 Kabiruddin Ahmad whose wide range of reading and intelligent acquain- 
 tance with the historical, philosophical and doctrinal literature of the Arabs 
 have been of great service to me. In what pertains to the accuracy of 
 the translation and the manner of it, I must leave to the criticism of the 
 learned, the correction and removal of defects in both, of which I am only 
 too conscious, but which with the best endeavours, I have failed to amend. 
 
 H. S. J. 
 
HISTORY OF THE CALIPHS, 
 
 BT 
 
 JALALU'DDIN A'S SUYUTI. 
 
 After the praises of God, of Him who promises and performs, and 
 who threatens and forgives, — and blessings and peace upon our Chief, 
 Muhammad, Prince of the nobly born, progenitor of the Caliphs — and 
 upon his family and Companions, the possessors of magnanimity and good 
 faith, I proceed to give in this slight historical sketch, a biographical 
 account of the Caliphs, the Princes of the Faithful, who have stood in 
 authority over the people from the age of Abu Bakr the "Witness to the 
 Truth — may God approve him — up to this my time, according to the order 
 of their reigns one after another. And I have mentioned in the lives of 
 all them, the remarkable occurrences which happened during the reign of 
 each, and the chief doctors of the faith, and the illustrious personages who 
 lived during their time. 
 
 Many circumstances instigated the composition of this work : among 
 them, that a collection of the biographies of the chiefs of the faith, and 
 those eftdowed with virtue, was desirable and would be welcome, and in 
 truth, there are those who have compiled histories in which they have 
 introduced these distinguished men, but unsystematically, and without 
 giving a full account of them, and their completion would entail prolixity 
 and weariness. For this reason I was desirous of separately detailing each 
 class of men in a work apart, which would be more advantageous for those 
 who wished for particulars of any one class, and easier to consult. Thus 
 I have set apart one book for the prophets — upon whom be the benediction 
 and peace of God, — and another for the Companions of the Prophet ; 
 abridged from the " Isaba" of the Shaykhu'l Islam Ibn Hajr ; — and 
 another comprising the various commentators of the Kuran ; and an 
 1 
 
C 2 ] 
 
 abridged work on the lives of the Hufiadh,* epitomized from the TabaHt 
 of ad Dahabi ; and a voluminous work on the grammarians and philologists, 
 any similar to which had not been before composed; and a book on 
 those learned in the fundamentals of the faith, — and a voluminous work 
 on those famed for sanctity ; and another on the doctors of the Law of 
 Inheritance ; and another on Ehetoricians ; and another on Writers, that 
 is authors of prose composition ; and another on those celebrated for cal- 
 ligraphy ;t and another on the Arab poets whose works are authori- 
 ties in the language, and these comprehend the greater number of eminent 
 men of the nation. 
 
 I rest satisfied, regarding doctors of Law, with what other men have 
 written on that subject, on account of its abundance, and independence of 
 am further information thereon, — and I have likewise contented myself 
 with what the Tabakat of ad Dahabi J contains on the Readers of the 
 Kuran. The Kadhis are included among the preceding, and therefore, 
 among personages of distinction, the history of the Caliphs alone remains 
 tmwritten, notwithstanding the eagerness of men for accounts of them. 
 I have therefore set apart this book for them but have not included in it, 
 any who disputed the Caliphate by force of arms, and did not succeed 
 to power, such as many of the descendants of Ali and a few of the House 
 of Abbas : neither have I made mention of any of the Caliphs, the descen- 
 dants of U'bayd-u'llah,§ because their authority was illegal for many 
 reasons— among them — this, that they were not of the tribe of the Kur- 
 aysh, and although the ignorant vulgar have named them Fatimites, 
 
 * A Hafidli or one who remembers wliat he has heard or read, is of the 3rd grade 
 of the Traditionists. Of these there are five. The Hafidh must know 300,000 tradi- 
 tions hy heart, and he able to name the lines of authorities of each. 
 Consult Ibn-Sala^ on tradition. 
 
 + The Khattu'l Mansub is a species of handwriting, the invention of which is 
 attributed by Ibn Khali (see life of al-Bawwab) to Abu Abdullah al-Hasan brother 
 of Ibn Muklah, while ad pahabi (Tarikhu'l Islam) gives the credit of it to the latter. 
 See De Slane's notes on this handwriting. Ait. Ibn al Aamidi the 5^dhi. 
 
 J Abu Abdullah Muhammad a doctor of the Shfifii school, sumamed the ' sun 
 
 ■ of religion' bom at Damascus A. H. 673, (1276) but his ancestors were Turkoman. 
 
 He was the chief Hifidh and !l§[.urau reader of Syria. His works are very numerous. 
 
 The Taba]k;dt there mentioned is a biography of the Headers of the ^min. See Ibn 
 
 Khali. 
 
 § The founder of this house was ITbaydu'llah al Mahdi who assumed the 
 Caliphate in 296 A. H. (A. D. 908). At the same period Abdu'Uah was Caliph in 
 Spain, and Al Mu^tadir at Baghdad : " In the 10th century" says Gibbon " the chair 
 of Mahomed was disputed by three Caliphs who reigned at Baghdad, Caiioan and 
 Cordova, excommmiioated each other and agreed in a principle of discord that a sectary 
 is more odious and criminal than an unbeliever." 
 
[ 3 ] ■ 
 
 nevertheless their ancestor was a worshipper of fire. Kadhi Abdu'l JabbAr 
 of Basrah says that the name of the ancestor of the Egyptian Caliphs was 
 Said and his father was a Jew blacksmith of Salamiyah.* 
 
 The Kadhi Abu Bakr al Bakilanif says that al Kaddah the grandfather 
 of Ubaydu'llah, called al Mahdi, was a fire-worshipper, and l/Baydu'llah 
 went to Africa and asserted that ,he was a descendant of Ali ; none of 
 the genealogists recognised him as such, but ignorant people called them 
 Fatimites. 
 
 Ibn Khallakan remarks that most of the learned did not hold as valid, 
 the pedigree of Ubaydu'llah al Mahdi, the ancestor of the Egyptian 
 Caliphs, insomuch that when al Aziz bi'Udh son of al Muizz in the be- 
 ginning of his reign, ascended the pulpit on a Friday, he found there a 
 piece of paper, and in it these lines — 
 
 " We have heard a false pedigree 
 Eead from the pulpit in the mosque. 
 If thou art truly what thou assertest. 
 Then name fhy ancestor up to the fifthj generation. 
 And if thou mean to verify what thou sayest 
 Then give us thy pedigree like that of at Taia. § 
 If not, then leave thy pedigree in obscurity 
 < And enter with us into a common ancestry 
 
 For the genealogies of the sons of Hashim 
 To them aspires not the desire of the ambitious. 
 
 Al Aziz wrote to the Umayyad,|| then ruler of Spain, a letter in which 
 he reviled and satirized him, whereupon the Umayyad replied, saying, " After 
 the usual greetings, verily thou knewest me, therefore hast thou satirized 
 me, and surely if I knew thee, I would answer thee :" and this came sorely 
 upon al Aziz and silenced him from reply, for it meant that he was an im- 
 postor and his family unknown. 
 
 * The printed edition has ^luJ an arrow-maker — the MS. has Sa^jJLw of 
 Sulaymiah — the latter is probably a copyist's error for ixjl« a small town in the 
 district of Enessa where according to Ibn !^hallakau Al Mahdi was bom — I have 
 preferred the latter reading. 
 
 t Called Bakilani or vendor of beans. He was of Basrah but long resident in 
 Baghdad and celebrated as a doctor of scholastic theology a voluminous author, died 
 A. H. 403 (1013 A. D.). Ibn KhaU. 
 
 X The text and MS. have *jU> instead of pjl) . It is clear from Ibn Khal- 
 lakan that the former is incorrect as al Aziz was fifth in descent from al Mahdi. 
 
 § A ootemporary of al Aziz. At Taiali'llah reigned as Caliph at Baghdad in 
 A. H. 363 (A. D. 913) a lineal descendant from Hashim great-grandfather of Mu- 
 jbammad. 
 
 II This must have been either Hakam or Hisham called al Mustansir. Hakam died 
 one year after the accession of al Aziz and was succeeded by Hisham al Muayyad. 
 
[ 4 ] 
 
 Ad Dahabi says that authorities are agreed upon this, that Fbayd- 
 u'Uah al Mahdi was not a descendant of Ali ; and how well spoke his grand- 
 son al Mtiizz, the ruler of Cairo, when fbn Tabataba,* the descendant of 
 All questioned him regarding their origin ! He half drew his sword from 
 the scabbard and said " This is my pedigree," and scattering gold among 
 the nobles and those who were present, said " here are ike proofs of my 
 iiobUifcy." 
 
 And atnong tJie reasons aforesmA is this, that the greater number of 
 them were Magians, beyond the pale of Islam; and there were of them, 
 some who reviled the prophets, and among them some who held the use of 
 wine lawful, and some of them commanded worship unto themselves, and 
 the best of them were heretics, unclean and base, who directed the execra- 
 tion of the Companions of the jprophet — may God approve them — and to 
 such as these, homage is not binding and their headship is illegal. And 
 Abu Bakr al Bakilani says that l/baydu'Uah al Mahdi, was a vUe Batini,t 
 eager for the subversion of the orthodox faith. He persecuted learned 
 men and doctors of law, that he might be able to seduce the people, and 
 his descendants followed his ways. They gave a license to wine and for- 
 nication and promulgated heresy. Ad Dahabi says that al Kaim the son 
 of al Mahdi, was more wicked than his father, an accursed Magian, who 
 openly reviled the prophets, and he adds that the House of Ubaydu'llah 
 was more malevolent towards the Orthodox faith than the Tartars. 
 
 Abu'l Hasan al KabasiJ says that Ubaydu'llah and his descendants 
 put to death four thousand of the learned and pious, seeking to turn them 
 from acknowledging the Companions of the prophet, but they preferred 
 death — then, well indeed, had he been only a heretic but he was a Magian. 
 (Zindik.)§ 
 
 The Kadhi lyadh tells us thatH Abu Muhammad al Kayruwani, al 
 
 * Abu Muhammad Abdu'llah 9th in descent from AU, a native of Hijaz but an 
 inhabitant ot Egypt. He was a Sharif noted for the nobility of his character, his vast 
 ppssessions and the style in which he lived, born A. H. 286 (A. D. 899) and died 4th 
 !Rajab at Cairo A. H. 348 (September A. D. 959). Ibu Khali. 
 
 t This is the same sect as the Assassins so often mentioned in the history of the 
 Crusades, founded by Hasan Saba, known as the Old Man of the Mountain. The word 
 signifies possessing inward light and knowledge. See Von Hammer-Gesch-dor 
 
 % A doctor of the M41iki school. A great Traditionist — died A. H. 403, (A. D. 
 1012.) IbnKhaU. 
 
 § This term primarily implies an assertor of the doctrine of Dualism, but it is also 
 used to signify an atheist or one who denies the world to come and maintains the eter- 
 nity of the present. Consult. Lane, art Jj (i,)) De Saoy, Ohresth. Ar. 2nd Ed. II. p. 274. 
 
 II Abu'l Fadtil lyddlj a traditionist — the greatest authority of his age on Arabic 
 history and literature. He was educated at Cordova and died in Morocco — ^A. H. 644 
 (A. D. 1160). Ibn Khali. 
 
[ 5 ] 
 
 Kiz^ni, one of the doctors of the Maliki school was asked as to the case of 
 one compelled by the House of Ubayd, namely, the Caliphs of Egypt — to 
 acknowledge their claims or die. He replied " he must choose death and no 
 one can be excused in such an instance : their assumption of authority at first 
 took place before their pretensions were understood, but afterwards flight was 
 imperative and no one through fear of death could excuse his volimtwry 
 abiding, forasmuch as residence in a place, the people of which are 
 required to abandon the religious precepts of Islam is not permissible ; 
 nevertheless some few doctors of law did remain exceptionally for 
 them, lest a Tonowledge of their religious ordinances might be wanting to 
 the Muslims and the rulers seduce them from their faith." 
 
 And Yusuf ur Euayni says that the learned of Kayruwan were agreed 
 that the House of ITbayd were in the condition of apostates and Magians, 
 for they declared openly against the law. Ibn Khallakan remarks as 
 follows : " Verily they laid claim to the knowledge of hidden things, and 
 accounts of them regarding this are well-known, for when al Aziz cue day, 
 g,scended the pulpit, he observed a piece of paper in which was written — 
 
 Verily we are patient under tyranny and oppression 
 
 But not under infidelity and folly ; 
 
 If thou art gifted with the knowledge of what is hidden 
 
 Eeveal to us the writer of this letter. 
 A woman, also, once addressed to him. a petition in which was written : 
 " By Him who hath exalted the Jews through Misha* and the Christians 
 through Ibn Nastur, and hath disgraced the true believers in thee, see 
 that thou look into my case," and Misha the Jew was intendant of the 
 finances in Syria and Ibn Nastdr in Egypt. 
 
 Among other reasons is this, that their assumption of the Oaliphate, 
 occurred at a time when an Abbasi Imam was already in possession with 
 priority of allegiance ; it was therefore illegal, for a' covenant of fealty to 
 two Imams at the same time cannot be justified, and the fijst is the right- 
 ful one. And again there is a tradition to this effect, that this authority 
 when it shall come into the possession of the children of Abbas, shall not 
 depart from them, until they themselves shall resign it unto Jesus the 
 Son of Mary, or al Mahdi.f It is therefore ascertained that whosoever 
 assumes the Caliphate during their incumbency is a schismatic and a 
 rebel. 
 
 For these reasons therefore, I have made no v mention of any of the 
 House of ITbayd, nor of other schismatics but only of the Caliphs who 
 unite orthodoxy of headship and a covenant of allegiance. 
 
 * The readings of tlie MS. vary in both places where this name ocouts. 
 t The last of the Imams who it is believed, will appear before the Day of Judg- 
 ment, to overthrow Bajjal — the Man of Sin that is to come. 
 
[ 6 ] 
 
 I have prefaced the beginning of the book with a few chapters, con- 
 taining observations of importance and what I have introduced of strange 
 and remarkable occurrences, is taken from the history of the Hafidh-acl 
 Dahabi, and the responsibility for his own work is upon him, and the Lord 
 is my helper. 
 
 In explanation of haw the prophet left no successor and the 
 mystery of this.* 
 
 Al-Bazzarf in his Musnad (collection of traditions) states on the 
 authority of HudayfahJ that the Companions of the prophet said : ! 
 Apostle of God, wilt thou not appoint a successor unto us ?" He replied, 
 " Verily did I appoint a successor over you, and were you to rebel against 
 the successor appointed by me, punishment would come upon you." 
 
 The two Shaykhs§ have recorded regarding Omar that he said when 
 he was stabbed. " Were I to name a successor, then, verily, he named a 
 successor, who was greater than I," (meaning Abu Bakr,) "and were I to 
 leave you without one, then, verily, he also hath left you so, who was 
 greater than I," (meaning the Apostle of God). 
 
 Ahmad and al Bayhaki|l in their Proofs of Prophecy, have related on 
 good authority from Amar-b-Sufyan, that when Ali was victorious on the 
 day of the Camel,^ he said, " O ! men, verily the Apostle of God hath 
 committed nothing unto us in regard to this authority, in order that we 
 might of our own judgment approve and appoint Abu Bakr, who ruled 
 and so continued until he went his way ; then Abu Bakr thought fit to 
 nominate Omar who ruled and so continued until the right became estab- 
 
 * As tte mention of the liaea of authorities for each tradition is of no pf ofit to 
 the general reader, they will be omitted, the first and last alone being given. 
 
 t Abu Bakr Muhammad Ibn Abdu'l Baki, surnamed the Kadhi of the infirmary, 
 a great traditionist — flourished about A. D. 1123. The MS. has al Bazzdz of whom 
 I can find no notice as traditionist but only as a teacher of Kurdu reading. Another 
 al Bazzar is Abu Bakr Muhammad Abdu'Uah-b-Ibrahim — a Shafiite doctor, author 
 of the Ghilaniyat, died A. H. 354. 
 
 t Abu Abdu'llah-b-u'l Yaman, one of the oompanionB died A, D. 656. Ibn 
 Hajar. 
 
 § Al Bukh£ii and Muslim, the two greatest of the six highest authorities on tra- 
 dition — the other are at Tirmidi, Abu Dauud, an Nasai and Ibn Mdja. 
 
 II Abu Bakr-b-al-Husayu called al Bayhaki from his birthplace near Naypabur 
 an eminent traditionist bom 384 (994) died 458 (1066). Ibn Khali. 
 
 ^ H The battle so called from the camel ridden by Aysha when defeated and taken 
 prisoner by Ali under the walls of Basrah A. ^. 66. See Gibbon, Vol. VI, p. 276. 
 Ed. Mil. 
 
[ 1 1 
 
 lished.* Then the people sought worldly advantages and events occurred 
 regarding which may the Lord determine." Al.Hakimf in his Mustadrak 
 has recorded, and al Bayhaki has confirmed it in his " Proofs" on the 
 testimony of Abu WAil, that it was asked of KM. " Wilt thou not appoint 
 a successor unto us ?" He replied, " The Apostle of God appointed none, 
 shall I therefore do so ? hut if God desireth the good of the people, He 
 will unite them after me upon the best of themselves, as He united 
 them after their prophet upon the best among them. 
 
 Ad Dahabi remarks that among the heretics there are some idle tra- 
 ditions that tAe prophet bequeathed the Caliphate to Ali, and verily 
 Huzayl-b-ShurahbilJ says, " Did Abu Bakr obey Ali, the legatee of the 
 apostle of God ? Abu Bakr would have been glad to have received the 
 bequest from the apostle of God, for then he would have forced Ali to 
 submit." 
 
 Ibn Saad§ has recorded on the authority of Hasan that Ali said, 
 " When the apostle of God died, he deliberated upon our tnode of govern- 
 ment, and we found that the prophet had made Abu Bakr take the lead 
 in public prayers. We approved, therefore, for our temporal affairs one 
 whom the apostle of God approved for our spiritual concerns. We thus 
 gave precedence to Abu Bakr.'J Al Bukhari says in his history that it is 
 related on the authority of Safinah|| that the prophet said of Abu Bakr, 
 Omar, and Othman — "these shall be the Caliphs after me," but this is not 
 to be followed, says al Bukhari, because Omar Ali, and Othman have 
 asserted that the prophet did not appoint a successor. 
 
 ibn-Haban^ has recorded the above tradition and relates on the autho- 
 rity of Safinah that when the apostle of God built the mosque at Medina, 
 he laid a stone on the foundation and said to Abu Bakr, " Lay thy stone 
 
 * For this ourious meaning of &J|yS^ S!/* ^®® Lane art. {>)j^. 
 
 t Abu Abdu'Uah Muhammad bom at Naysabur '321 A. H, (933) and held the 
 office of Kadhi under the Samani rule, and died there A. H. 405 (A. D. 1014). He was 
 the most eminent traditionist of his time. The Mustadrak ala's Sahihayn (Supple- 
 ment to the two Sahihs of al Bukhari and Muslim) is the work alluded to. He compo- 
 sed numerous others, on the sciences connected with tradition. Consult, Ibn KhaU. 
 
 J Of the tribe Aud. He was what is called a Tabi or one next in time to the 
 Companions. An Nawawi. 
 
 § Abdu'Uah Muhammad, b. Saad of Basrah called Katib-i-Wakidi from having 
 transcribed and completed the works of that historian. Also author of the Tabakati 
 Kabir, died 845 A. D. Ibn Khali. 
 
 II Abu Abdu'r Kahman Mihran sumamed Safinah by Muljammad whose freed- 
 man he was, on account of his having carried across a stream some of the Companions 
 with whom Muhammad was one day walking, Safma signifying a boat. An Nawawi. 
 
 U Abu Abdu'llah • Mu^ammad-b-Yabya-b-Haban, died at Medina A. D. 739, at 
 the age of 74 An. Naw. 
 
[ 8 ] 
 
 by the side of my stone ;" then he said to Omar " lay thy stone by the side 
 of the stone of Abu Bakr ;" then he said to Othman, " lay thy stone by 
 the side of the stone of Omar." Then he said " These shall be the Caliphs 
 after me." 
 
 Abu Zarah says that his authorities are not unreliable, and indeed 
 al Hakim has recorded it in his Mustadrak and al-Bayhaki has confirmed 
 it in his " Proofs" and others besides these two. I remark that there is 
 no contradiction betweeq it and the saying of Omar and Ali that the 
 prophet did not name a successor, for the meaning of these two is .that 
 at the time of his death, he did not lay down an authoritative injunction 
 for the succession of any particular one, and this other refers to what 
 occurred at a period antecedent, for it is similar to a saying of the prophet 
 in another tradition, " Obey my law, and the law of the Caliphs after me, 
 the orthodox, the rightly guided," and to his saying, " Follow those after 
 me Abu Bakr and Omar" and others from among the traditions referring 
 to the Caliphate. 
 
 On the Imams leing of the Kuraysh, and the Calif hate being the 
 prerogative of these. 
 
 Abu Dauiid at Tay^lisi* in his collection of traditions has recorded 
 from Abu Barzahf that the prophet said — " The Imams shall he of the 
 Kuraysh, as long as they shall rule and do justice and promise and fulfi], 
 and pardon is implored of them and they are compassionate." And at 
 TirmidiJ from Abu Hurayrah§ that the apostle of God said ; " the sover- 
 eignty shall rest in the Kuraysh and judicial authority with the Auxili- 
 aries, and calling to prayers with the Abyssinians." And Imam Ahmad 
 in his Musnad from tftbah-b-Abdan that the prophet said : " The Caliphate 
 shall rest in the Kuraysh and judicial authority with the Auxiliaries and 
 the office of calling to prayer with the Abyssinians." His authorities are 
 trustworthy. Al Bazzar has recorded from Ali Ibn Abi Tdlib that the 
 apostle of God said : " The princes shall he of the Kuraysh ; the just 
 among them rulers of the just, and the wicked, rulers of the wicked." 
 
 • Atu Dautid Sulaymfai a Porsian by birth resident at Basrah, died A. D. 81 S. 
 Ibn Khali. 
 
 t Abu Barzah Nazlah-b-TTbayd one of the Companions who fought by Mut^inimad's 
 side ia seven engagements, died during the campaign in Khurasan 684. Ibn Hajr. 
 
 t Abu I'aa Muljammad called after his birthplace Tirmi^ on the banks of the 
 Oxus. He ia one of the six great traditiouists, died A. D. 892. 
 
 § A well-tnown Compiinion of Muljanunad, his real name is a subject of dispute 
 Ibn Uajr places his death in A. H. S9. 
 
[ 9 ] 
 
 The Imiim Ahmad* has related on the authority of Safinah that he 
 heard the Apostle of God say; " The Caliphate shall last for thirty years 
 and after it, shall follow a monarchy." The learned say that in these 
 thirty years are included only the four Caliphs and the reign of al 
 Hasan. And al Bazzar from Abu U'baydah-b-u'lt Jarrah that the prophet 
 said " Your religion began with the prophetic mission and in clemency : it 
 shall continue with the Caliphate and in clemency ; then shall follow mon- 
 archy and despotism." A reliable tradition. A'bdu'Uah-b- Ahmad records 
 on the authority of Jabir-b-Samurah from the prophet that he said ; " This 
 rule shall continue in honour, its holders overcoming all that oppose them 
 therein, up to twelve Caliphs, all of them of the Kuraysh." The two Shaykhs 
 and others have recorded this and there are other lines of ascription and 
 readings of it ; among them — " this rule shall continue secure," and 
 "this rule shall remain in force" — and, according to Muslim, " the rule 
 over the people shall continue in force until twelve men shall have ruled 
 them ;" and also according to him " this authority shall not come to an 
 end until twelve CalijDhs shall have passed away in it from among the 
 people ;" — and " Islam shall continue revered and unassailable until there 
 shall have heen twelve Caliphs ;" and according to al Bazzar, " the sway 
 of my people shall continue to abide until twelve Caliphs, all of them of 
 the Kuraysh shall have passed away" — and according to Abu Dauud there 
 is an addition ; " and when he returned to his house, there came to him 
 the Kuraysh and they said, " then what will follow ?" He replied, " there 
 will follow sedition." And also according to him, " This faith shall 
 continue to abide until twelve Caliphs shall have been over you, upon all of 
 whom the people shall be gathered together :" and according to Ahmad and 
 al Bazzar from Ibn Masa'ud who was asked, " How many of the Caliphs 
 shall rule this people ?" He replied : " We asked the Apostle of God con- 
 cerning them, and he answered " Twelve, like unto the number of the 
 chiefs' of the children of Israel." Kadhi I'yadh says that the meaning of 
 the twelve Caliphs in this tradition and in those resembling it, is perhaps 
 this, that they. would flourish during the period of the glory of the Caliphate 
 and the vigour of Islam, and the integrity of its government, and the 
 gathering of the people around him who assumed the vicegerency, and 
 
 * The Imam Atu A'bdu'llah. Aljmad as Shaybani-al-Marwazi (native of Marw) 
 was the son of Muhammad-h-Hanbal, born at Baghdad A. H. 164 (A. D. 780), a 
 traditionist of the first class. It is said he knew by heart a million of these traditions, 
 al Bukhari tod Muslim were his disciples. His persistence in refusiag to declare the 
 Kui-an created is well-known. He died at Baghdad A. H. 241 (855). 
 
 t Abu U'baydah commonly called the son of al Jarrah — but incorrectly according 
 to Ibn Hajr and sin Nawawi who maintain that his father was A'bdu'Uah and his grand- 
 father al Jarrah. 
 2 
 
[ 10 ] 
 
 these conditions were found in those round whom the people gathered until 
 the sway of the children of Umayyah was troubled and discord fell among 
 them in the reign of Walid-b-Yazid, and thus it continued among them 
 tmtil arose the Abhaside power and they overthrew their sovereignty." 
 
 The Shajkh u'l Islam Ibn Hajr in the " Commentary on al Bukhari 
 gays ;" — the words of the Kadhi I'yadh are the best that have been uttered 
 on this tradition, and the most important, on account of their confirmation 
 of his remark on some of the lines of ascription of the authentic tradition, 
 "upon all of whom the people shall be gathered together:" and the 
 elucidation of this is, that the meaning of gathering together, is their 
 submission to do him homage, and this very thing came to pass, for the 
 people gathered round Abu Bakr, then Omar, then Othman, then A'li until 
 occurred the affair of the " two Arbitrators" at Siffin,* and Mu'awiyah 
 assumed the Caliphate from that day. 
 
 Then the people gathered round Mu'dwiyah at the time of the treaty 
 with al Hasan : then they united upon his son Yazid and the authority 
 of al Husayn was never established — nay — he was killed before its accom- 
 plishment. Then when Yazid died, discord fell among them until they 
 gathered round Abdu'l Malik-b-Marwan, after the death of Ibn uz Zubayr. 
 Then they gathered round his four sons, al Walid, and Sulayman, and 
 Yazid and Hisham ; and between Sulayman and Yazid, there intervened 
 Omar b-A'bdi'l A'ziz. These, therefore, are seven, after the orthodox 
 Caliphs, and the twelfth is Walid-b-Yazid b-Abdi'l Malik, round whom the 
 people gathered when Hisham, his father's brother died. He reigned about 
 four years. Then they rose up against him and slew him and dissension 
 prevailed and things were changed from that day, and it never happened 
 after that, that the people gathered round any Caliph, for the reign of 
 Yazid-b-Walid, the same who rose against his cousin al Walid-b-Yazid, 
 was not long : for there marched against him before he died, the son of 
 his father's uncle, Marwan-b-Muhammad-b-Marwan. When Yazid died, 
 his brother Ibrahim reigned but Marwan slew him ; thereupon the sons of 
 A'bbas made war upon Marwan until he was slain. Then the first of the 
 Caliphs of the children of Abbas was as Saffah, but his reign was not 
 protracted by reason of the multitude of those who went out against him. 
 Then his brother al Mansiir held sway, and his reign was long, but the 
 remote west passed away from them through the conquest of Spain by the 
 
 * Abu Mtisa Asha'ri on the part of A'li and A'mr b-u'l Aas on the part of Mu'4- 
 wiyah. The plain of Siffin, says Gibhon, which extends along the western bank of the 
 Euphrates, is determined by D'Anville (1' Euphrate et le Tigre, p. 29) to he the 
 Campus Barbarioua of Procopiua, 
 
[ 11 ] 
 
 descendants of Marwan, and it continued in tteir hands predominant over 
 it, until they afterwards assumed the Caliphate — and things came to such 
 a pass that nothing remained of the Caliphate in the provinces but the 
 name, after it had been that in the time of the children of Abdu'l Malik 
 b-Marwan, the Khutbah was read in the name of the Caliphs in all the 
 regions of the earth, the east and the west, the right hand and the left, 
 wherever the true believer had been victorious, and none in any one of all 
 the provinces, was appointed to hold a single office, except by order of the 
 Caliph. 
 
 Regarding the immoderate lengths to which things went, verily in the 
 fifth century in Spain alone, there were six persons who assumed the title 
 of Caliph and together with them, a descendant of U'baydu'llah ruler in 
 Egypt and an A'bbasi in Baghdad, exclusive of those who claimed the 
 Caliphate in the regions of the earth, of the descendants of A'li and the 
 schismatics." He adds, " perhaps this interpretation is the meaning of 
 the prophet's words " there will follow sedition," that is, slaughter arising 
 from sedition openly occurring and continuous, and such actually occurred. 
 And it has been also said that the meaning of it is, the appearance of the 
 twelve Caliphs during the whole duration of Islam until the day of judg- 
 ment, acting according to the truth, although their reigns may not follow 
 in succession one after another ; and this confirms what has been recorded 
 by Musaddad in his Musnad-i-Kabir from Abu'l Khuld who says, " This 
 people shall not perish until there shall have been from among them, twelve 
 Caliphs, all of them labouring in the way of salvation and the true faith, and 
 among them, two shall be of the family of Muhammad." According to 
 this, therefore, the meaning of his words " there will follow sedition" is, 
 the troubles foretelling the resurrection by the coming of Dajjal and the 
 issue thereof — (here he ends)." I observe that according to this, of the 
 twelve Caliphs, are accounted for, the four and al Hasan and Mu'awiyah 
 and Omar Ibn A'bdi'l A'ziz : these are eight and it is probable that there 
 may be added to them, al Muhtadi of the House of A'bbas, for he is 
 among them what Omar-b-A'bdi'l A'ziz is, among the children of Umayyah, 
 and in the same way, ad Dhahir,* on account of what was vouchsafed 
 unto him of rectitude of conduct, and there remain two who are to be 
 awaited, one among them heinff al Mahdi, for he is of the family of 
 Muhammad, upon whom be the blessing and peace of God, 
 * Ad Dhahir hi'amri'Uah. 
 
[ 12 ] 
 
 On the traditions premonitory of the Caliphate of the children of 
 
 Umayyah. 
 
 A't Tirmidi relates on the authority of Yusuf-b-Saa'd that a man stood 
 up before al Hasan the son of A'li, after he had sworn allegiance to Mu'a- 
 wiyah, and said, " Thou hast blackened the faces of the true believers," 
 and he replied " Eeproach me not, may the Lord have mercy on them, 
 for the prophet saw the children of Umayyah on his pulpit, and it troubled 
 him : then was revealed to him " Verily we have given thee al Kauthar"* 
 and there was also revealed to him — " we sent down the Kuran on a night 
 of power and what shall make thee understand how excellent the night of 
 power is : the night of power is greater than a thousand months"t " in 
 which the children of Umayyah shall possess the Caliphate, O Muhammad." 
 Al Kasim says, " I have computed and lo ! it is a thousand months, no 
 more and no less." At Tirmidi says " this but once recorded tradition, I 
 know only from the tradition of al Kasim who is reliable but his master is 
 uttknown." Al Hakim has given this tradition in his Mustadrak (Supple- 
 ment) and Ibn Jarir in his Commentary — but the Hafidh Abu'l Hajjaj and 
 Ibn Kathir say that it is unreliable. 
 
 Ibn JarirJ in his Commentary has related on the authority of the 
 grandfather of Abu Sahl that he said, " the Apostle of God saw the child- 
 xen of al Hakam-b-Abi'l A'as leap upon his pulpit with the leap of apes, 
 and that troubled him and he never brought himself to smile until his 
 death, and God revealed to him concerning it, " We have appointed the 
 vision which we showed thee only for an occasion of dispute unto men."§ 
 The authorities are weak, but there are concurring testimonies from the 
 traditions of A'bdu'llah-b-Omar, and Ya'la-b-Murrah, Husayn-b-A'li and 
 others. I have quoted it with its authorities in the Commentary and 
 Musnad, and alluded to it in my work, the " Eeasons of Eevelation. 
 
 * Kur. VIII. — Al Kauthar is a stream in Paradise — the word signifies " ahxm.- 
 dance of good." Hence tKe gift of wisdom. See Sale. 
 
 t Kur. XVIII — the concluding sentence is not in the Kuran. 
 
 { Abu Jaa'far Muhammad-b-Jarir at Tahari is the author of a great Commentary 
 on the j^uran and a famous history. He was a master of the highest authority (Imim) 
 on various branclies of knowledge, such as tradition, jurisprudence and the like — bom 
 A. H. 224 (838-9) at Amul in Tabaristau and died at Baghdad A. H. 310 (A. D. 923) 
 Ibn Khali. 
 
 § Kur. XVII. This verse is generally supposed to refer to the prophet's journey 
 to heaven, which was the occasion of much dispute amongst his followers until con- 
 firmed by the testimony of Abu Bakr. See Sale. 
 
[ 13 ] 
 
 On the traditions annunciatory of the Caliphate of the children 
 
 of A'bhds. 
 
 Al Bazzar has related from Abu Hurayrat that the Apostle of God 
 said to A'bbas — " in ye shall rest prophecy and sovereignty :" and at Tir- 
 midi from Ibn A'bbas, that the Apostle of God said to A'bbas, " when it 
 shall be the morning of the second day, come to me, thou and thy son, 
 that I may invoke upon thy descendants a blessing by which, may God 
 profit tbee and thy son ;" and he went at dawn and I went with him and 
 he clothed us with a mantle ; then he said, " Lord ! vouchsafe unto 
 A'bbas and unto his son, an outward and inward mercy ; leave them not 
 in sin ; Lord, preserve him in his son." Thus has at Tirmidi quoted 
 it in his " Jami'," and Eazin* al A'bdari has added to the end of it, " and 
 mate the Caliphate abiding in his posterity." I observe that this tradi- 
 tion, and that which precedes it, are the best that have come down on 
 this subject. 
 
 At Tabaranif records that the Apostle of God said, " I saw in vision 
 the children of Marwan taking possession of my pulpit, one after another, 
 which troubled me, and I saw the children of A'bbas taking possession of 
 my pulpit one after another and that gladdened me ;" and Abu Nua'ymJ 
 in his Huliyah, from Abu Hurayrah, that the Apostle of God came forth, and 
 there met him A'bbas and he said, " Shall I not give thee good tidings, 
 O father of excellence ?" who replied 'Yea, Apostle of God," and he 
 said. "Verily God hath begun this authority with me and will fulfil it 
 in thy posterity." (The ascription is unreliable.) There has also come down 
 a tradition of A'li's on authorities still weaker than this, quoted by Ibn 
 
 * Abu'l Ilasan Eazin-'b-Mu'£wiyah-'b-A'mmar a member of the trite of A'bdu' 
 d Dar, a native of Saragosaa in Spain, was Imam to the Maliki school at Mecca. His 
 ■wort is generally designated Kit&h-i-Eazin, in which he assembled and classed all the 
 traditions contained in the Sahi^ of al Bukhari, and Muslim, the Muwatta of Malik, 
 the Jami' of at Tirmidi and the Siman of Ahu DauM, died at Mecca A. H. 525 (A. D. 
 1130.) Ihn Khali. De Slaue. 
 
 t Ahu'l Kasim Sulaymfc b-Ahmad of the tribe of Lakhm, the chief Hdfidh of 
 his time — bom at Tabariya in Syria and having settled at Ispahan contiaued there 
 till his death on Saturday 28th of Du'l Ka'adah A. H. 360 (September A. D. 971) at 
 the age of about one hundred. His Dictionary (Mu'jam) of the traditionists is the 
 best known of hjs works, the large (kabir), small (saghir) and medium (auaat) 
 editions of which are frequently alluded to. Ibn Khali. 
 
 J Hafidh Abu Nu'aym Aljmad b-A'bdu'llah author of the *LjJjJ|( *jJ«a. or oma- 
 
 meat of the Saints " containing the lives of the principal Muslim Saints, born in Rajab 
 336 (A. D. 948) and died at Ispahan in Safar 430 (A. D. 1038). Ibn Khali. 
 
[ 14 J 
 
 A'sakir* from the ascription of Muhammad-b-Yunas al Karimi (and he 
 was a fabricator of traditions) up to A'li, that the Apostle of God, said to 
 A'bbas. " Verily God hath begun this authority with me and will fulfil 
 it in thy posterity." And the same has been handed down in the tradition 
 of Ibn A'bbas quoted by al Khatibf in his history, and the reading of it 
 as follows : " With ye shall begin this authority and in ye shall it be 
 fulfilled," and this will appear with its ascrij)tion in the life of al Muhtadi 
 bi'llah. It has also come down in the tradition of A'mmar-b-Tasir, quoted 
 by al Khatib, and Abu Nua'ym records in the Huliyah on the authority of 
 Jabir-b-A'bdu'llah, that the Apostle of God said ; " there shall be kings of 
 the posterity of A'bbas, who shall be the rulers of my people ; may God 
 glorify the faith through them." Also in his " Proofs" from TJmmu'l 
 PadhlJ who said " I was passing by the prophet when he exclaimed — 
 " verily thou art pregnant of a boy and when thou givest him birth, then 
 bring him to me," and when I gave birth to him, I went to the prophet 
 and he called out the AdAn in his right ear, and the§ Ikamah in his left, 
 and he made him drink of his spittle and named him Abdu'llah and said 
 to me "depart with the Father of the Caliphs." I made this known to 
 A'bbas and he spoke of it to the Apostle who said, " he is what she told 
 you ; he is the Father of the Caliphs among whom shall be as SaS'ah 
 and among whom shall be al Mahdi, and among whom shall be one who 
 shall pray together with Jesus the Son of Mary, upon Him be peace." 
 
 Ad Daylami|| in his Musnad u'l Firdaus has related from Aysha a 
 tradition ascribed to the prophet — " It shall come to pass that the children 
 of A'bbas shall possess a standard, and it shall not depart from their hands 
 
 * Atu'l Kasim A'li, sumamed Thikatuddin, a native of Damascus and chief tiadi- 
 tionist of Syria who acquired a superiority in that science that no other had ever attain- 
 ed, horn A. H. 499, (1105) died at Damascus A. H. 571, (A. D. 1176). Ibn KhaU. 
 
 t Hafidh Ahu Bakar AJimad-h-A'li known as Alkhatib or the preacher, a native 
 of Baghdad who composed a history of the city and is the author of nearly one hun- 
 dred works. Though a doctor of law, he made tradition his principal study, bom 
 A. H. 392 (A. D. 1002) and died A. H. 463 (A. D. 1071). Ibn KhaU. 
 
 X The " Mother of Excellence," the name of the wife of A'bbas and also of his 
 daughter, the former is here meant. 
 
 § The Ikamah is a sentence which is said after the conclusion of the Adan or call 
 to prayer and which announces that prayers have begun. This ceremony is still occa- 
 sionally performed at the birth of a child — but is not obligatory. 
 
 II Abu Shujdd Shiruyiah-b-Shahrd4r-b-Shiruyiah-b-Fanna Khusrau of Hamadin 
 ad Daylami. He was the author of a history of Hamadan and the " Musnad u'l Fir- 
 daus." HAfidh Yahya-b-Mandah says of him that though fairly well read, his know- 
 ledge of traditions was imperfect, and he could not distinguish between good and 
 untrust-worthy ones and therefore his Firdaus is full of idle tales, died A. H. 509. 
 Bustdn u'l Muljaddithin, 
 
[ 15 ] 
 
 as long as they shall uphold righteousness." And Darakutni* in his 
 " A£rad" from Ibn A'bbds that the prophet said to A'bbds, " When thy 
 posterity shall inhabit the Sawwadf and clothe themselves in black and 
 their followers shall be the people of Khurasan, dominion shall not cease 
 to abide with them until they resign it unto Jesus, the Son of Mary." 
 Ahmad b-Ibrahim is a worthless authority and his master is unknown and 
 the tradition is so little reliable that Ibn u'l JauziJ has mentioned it in 
 his " Fabrications" — but there is evidence for it in a tradition ascribed 
 to the prophet, quoted by at Tabarani in the " Kabir" — " the Caliphate 
 shall abide among the children of my paternal uncle, and of the race of my 
 father, until they deliver it unto the Messiah." (A'd Daylami has quoted 
 it from Ummi Salimah§ with a different ascription). 
 
 AlU'kayli|| records in his book of " Invalid authorities," a tradition' 
 ascribed to the prophet " the children of Abbas shall reign two days for 
 every day in which the children of TJmayyah shall reign, and two months 
 for every month." Ibn u'l Jauzi has quoted this in his ' Fabrications' 
 and has invalidated it on account of the untrustworthiness of Bakkar,^ 
 but it is not as he has said, for verily, Bakkar should not be accused of 
 falsehood nor fabrication ; moreover Ibn A'di says of him, that he is among 
 the doubtful authorities whose traditions are recorded, and has added ' I 
 hope there is no harm in aecepting him as an authority ;" and on my life, 
 the purport of this tradition is not far from the truth, for the Abbaside 
 
 * Abu'l Hasan A'li-'b-Omar. A Hafidh of great loaming and a Shafii doctor, 
 was a native of BagMad — tlie name Darakutni means belonging to Daru'l Entn 
 (cotton house) a quarter of Baghdad, born A. H. 306 (A. D. 919; and died A. H. 385 
 (A. I). 995). 
 
 t The towns and villages of Babylonian I'rak. 
 
 X Abu'l Faraj Ibn u'l Jauzi a celebrated preacher and doctor of the Hanbalites. 
 His compositions are so numerous that it is said (with some exaggeration) that he 
 wrote 180 pages a day ; and the parings of his pens were gathered up into a heap and 
 in pursuance of his last orders, were employed to heat the water with which his corpse 
 was washed. Bom about A. H. 508 (1114-5), died at Baghdad A. H. 597 (A. D. 1281). 
 His " Fabricated Traditions" — is in 4 Vols. Ibn -KhaU. Saadi of Shiraz mentions 
 him in thte G-ulistan as having counselled him to forego profane music, the neglect of 
 which advice waa avenged on the sensitive ears of the poet, at a convivial meeting as 
 therein related. 
 
 § One of the prophet's wives. 
 
 II De Slaue so writes the name, but in a note (Vol. IV, p. 199,) he remarks that 
 according to Ibn Duraid, J.JAP should be pronounced A'kil. This is so in respect of 
 the son of Abu Talib and Akil-b-Mukarrin the Companion, but U'kayl was the epony- 
 mous ancestor of a branch of the Hawazin who were of the tribe of i^ays. See the 
 Muntaha'l Arab. 
 
 II One of the authorities in the line of ascription. 
 
[ 16 ] 
 
 rule, at the time of its splendour, and the extension of its authority 
 throughout the countries of the earth, towards the rising and the setting 
 sun, besides the remote west, may be placed between the year one hundred 
 and thirty and odd and the year 290 when al Muktadir reigned, and in 
 his time, its organisation was broken up, and the whole west seceded from 
 its sway : then followed dissension and trouble in his government and after 
 him, as will appear. Thus the period of the glory of their sovereignty 
 and their .dominion was about 160 years, and that is double the reign of the 
 illustrious children of Umayyah for that lasted 92 years, from which must 
 he deducted nine years, during which, the authority was vested in Ibn u'z 
 Zubayr : thus there remains 83 years and a fraction and that is a thousand 
 months exactly and so I have afforded confirmation of the tradition. 
 
 Az Zubayr-b-Bakkar* records in his ' Muwaffakiyat, from Ibn Abbds, 
 that he said to Mu'awiyah " ye shall not reign a day, but we shall reign 
 two, and not a month but we shall reign two months, and not a year but 
 we shall reign two years :" and, " the black standards shall be for us, the 
 people of the prophetical House," and, " their overthrow shall not come 
 save from the side of the west." Ibn A'sakir relates in his history of 
 Damascus from Ibn A'bbasf that the' Apostle of God said to him " O God, 
 defend A'bbds and the son of A'bbds," and he said this three times : then 
 he exclaimed, " uncle, dost thou not know, that al Mahdi shall be of thy 
 descendants, — the prospered of God, happy, and approved. " (al KarimiJ is 
 a fabricator) . Ibn Saa'd records in his Tabakat (classes) from Ibn A'bbas, 
 that al A'bb&s the son of A'bdu'l Muttalib, sent to the children of A'bdu'l 
 Muttalib, and he gathered them together about him and A'li held a place 
 in his estimation which no other possessed, and al A'bbas said — " O son of 
 my brother, verily I have formed an opinion and I do not wish to deter- 
 mine anything regarding it until I have sought counsel of thee ;" then 
 A'li said — " What is it ?" He replied. " Go to the prophet and ask of 
 him, in whom shall rest this authority after him and if it rest in. us, we 
 
 * Atu A'bdu'Uah az Zubayr, a member of the tribe of Kuraysh. He was Kadhi 
 of Mecca and composed tbe genealogies of the Kuraysh, a standard authority on the < 
 subject. He also taught traditions and died at Mecca A. H. 256 fa.. D. 870) aged 
 84. Ibn Khali. He named the book mentioned in the text after his son 
 al Muwaffak to whom he dedicated it. Masudi Tome VII. p. 91. 
 
 t Abu'l A'bbas A'bdu'Uah son of A'bbia uncle of Muljammad, born three years 
 before the Hijrah. He was considered the ablest interpreter of the Koran of his day 
 and the mos^ learned in the traditions, the legal decisions of the first three Caliphs, 
 the law, and the sciences of poetry and arithmetic. Appointed governor of Basrah by 
 the Caliph A'U, died at Taif A. H. 68 (A. D. 687) aged 70. Ibn KhaU. De Slane. 
 
 X Al Karimi is one of the authoritaas in the line of ascription. 
 
[ 17 ] 
 
 shall not resign it, by Allah, while there remaineth of us a chief upon the 
 earth, and if it rest in other than us, we shall never seek it." A'li said, 
 " uncle, in whom shall abide this authority save in thee, and will any 
 contend with you regarding this autliority ?" 
 
 Ad Daylami in his Musnad u'l Firdaus, records a tradition ascribed to 
 the prophet " When God willoth to form any one for the Caliphate, he 
 toucheth his forehead with His right hand." 
 
 On the dignity of the prophetic mantle which the Caliphs wore in succession 
 
 to the very last. 
 
 As Silafi,* in his Tuydriyat, has quoted, with its ascription to al 
 Asma'i,t on the authority of Ibn A'mr-b-i'l A'la, that when Kaa'b b-uz 
 Zubayr read out before the prophet his poem beginning Banat Su'ad,J lie 
 threw to him the mantle that was upon him ; and when Mu'awiyah reigned, 
 he wrote to Kaa'b saying, " sell me the mantle of the Apostle of God for 
 ten thousand dirhams," but he refused, and when Kaa'b died, Mu'awiyah 
 Bent to his children an offer of twenty thousand dirhams, and he received 
 from them the mantle, the same which was in the possession of the Caliphs 
 of the House of A'bbas, and this has been related by others. But ad 
 .Dahabi says in his history ; " regarding the mantle in the possession of the 
 Caliphs of the House of A'bbas, verily Yunas-b-Bukayr relates from the 
 account of the expedition of Tabiik of Ibn Ishak, that the prophet gave 
 a mantle to the people of Aylah,§ with his letter, the same that he wrote 
 
 * ATdu'I Tahir Aljmad, called as Silafi after his grandfather, from the Persian 
 (Seh lab) three lips — he received this name as one of his lips was s'plit and appeared 
 double. He was a Hafidh and taught traditions and was appointed President of the 
 College called after him, founded in A. H. 546 (1151) by al Aadil as Sallar at Alex- 
 andria; bom at Ispahan 472 A. H. (1079) and died A. H. 576 (1180). Ibn Khali. 
 The printed edition has Turyat for Tuyuriyat. 
 
 t Abu Sa'id A'bdu'l Malik the celebrated philologer, a native of Basrah, but 
 '■o:emoved to Baghdad in the reign of Hariin u'r Eashi'd. He was a complete master 
 of the Arabic language and was consulted by al Mamiin on all doubtful points of litera- 
 ture ; for his numerous treatises, consult Ibn Khali, born A. H. 122 (740), died at 
 Basrah 216 (831). 
 
 X This well-known poem was recited before Muhammad on the poet's embracing 
 Islam. He had written some satirical verses on the prophet, who in consequence 
 ordered his followers to put him to death if they caught him. Kaa'b not caring to 
 indulge his wit at the expense of his life, made his submission. The poem begins with 
 the praise of his mistress Su'ad and ends with an entreaty of pardon. 
 
 § On the Red Sea, the Elana of Ptolemy. 
 3 
 
[ 18 ] 
 
 to them granting them immunity and. Abu'l A'bbas as Saffiah purchased 
 it for 300 dinars." I remark that that which Mu'awiyah bought was 
 lost in the decline of the House of pmayyah. The Imam Ahmad b-Han- 
 bal records in his " Zuhd" from TJ'rwah-b-uz Zubayr* that the garment 
 in which the Apostle of God went out to meet deputations was a 
 mantle from Hadhramaut, its length four cubits, and its breadth two 
 cubits and a span, which was in the possession of the Caliphs, and it 
 became thread bare, and they lined it with stuffs and it used to be worn 
 on the festivals of Adha and Fitr. Verily this mantle was in the possession 
 of the Caliphs, and they inherited it in succession, and wore it upon their 
 shoulders, on state occasions, whether in assembly or mounted cavalcade, 
 and it was upon al Muktadir when he was slain, and was stained with his 
 blood, and I think it was lost during the irruption of the Tartars — " for we 
 belong to God and unto him shall we return." (Kur II.) 
 
 On some observations which occur scattered throughout these hioffraphies, 
 
 but the mention of which here in one place is most suitable 
 
 and advantageous. 
 
 Ibn u'l Jauzi narrates that according to as Siili.f it is said that every 
 sixth Caliph who ruled over the people was deposed, and adds " I reflected- 
 on this and observed it with wonder. The supreme authority was vested 
 in our prophet ; then there arose Abu Bakr, and Omar and Othman, and 
 A'li and al Hasan — and he was deposed. Then Mu'awiyah and Yazid-b- 
 Mu'awiyah and Mu'awiyah-b-Yazid and Marwan, and A'bdu'l Malik-b- 
 Marwan and Ibn u'z Zubayr and he was deposed. Then al Walid and 
 Sulayman and Omar-b-A'bdi'l A'ziz and Yazid and Hisham and al Walid 
 and he was deposed. After this the dominion of the House of Umayyah 
 ceased, and as SafEah reigned, and al Mansur and al Mahdi and al Hadi 
 and ar Eashid and al Amin and he w, is deposed. Then al Mamiin. and al 
 Mua'tasim and al Wathik and al Mutawakkil and al Muntasir and al 
 Musta'in and he was deposed. Then al Mua'tazz and al Muhtadi, and al 
 
 * Abu A'bdu'Uali, one of the seven great jurisconsults of Medina. His father az 
 Zubayr b-A'wwam was one of the ten Companions to whom Muhammad promised 
 Paradise. His mother was Asma-d. of Abu Bakr — born A. H. 22 (642-3) died A H 
 93 (711-2). Ibn Khali. 
 
 t Abu Bakr as Suli known as the chess-player. He was an accomplished scholar 
 and traditionist. He became one of the Caliph ar Radl.ii's' boon companions and was 
 intimate with al Muktafi and al Muktadir. He composed numerous works ; the chief 
 science he cultivated was biography, died at Ba?rah A. H. 336 (A. D 986-7) Ibn 
 KhaU. 
 
[ 19 1 
 
 Mua'tamid, and al Mua'fcadhid and al Muktafi and al Muktadir and lie was 
 deposed, and again a second time and then put to death. Then al Kahirand 
 ar Radhi and al Muttaki and al Mustakfi and al Mutii' and at Tail' and he was 
 deposed. Then al Kadir and al Kaim and al Muktadi and al Mustadhir and 
 al Mustarshid and ar llashid and he was deposed " This is the end of the 
 narration of Ibri u'l Jauzi Ad Dahabi says that what al Jauzi has mention- 
 ed is defective in several points. One of them is his statement, that 
 A'bdu'l Malik was succeeded by Ibn u'z Zubayr, but this was not the case, 
 for Ibn u'z Zubayr was fifth and after him came A'bdu'l Malik. Either 
 both of them must be fifth, or one was the true paliph and the other a 
 rebel, for unto Ibn u'z Zubayr was sworn a prior allegiance, and therefore 
 the Caliphate of A'bdu'l Malik was legally established only from the time 
 when Ibn u'z Zubayr was killed. The second point is, his omitting to 
 count Yazid An i\'akis and his brother Ibrahim wlio was deposed and Mar- 
 wan; for thus computing them, al Amin would be the ninth. I remark 
 that it has already been said, that Marwan falls out of the account, 
 because he was a rebel, and also Mu'avpiyah-b- Yazid, for allegiance was 
 sworn to Ibn u'z Zubayr after the death of Yazid, and Mu'awiyah opposed 
 him in Syria : these two are therefore one, and the authority of Ibrahiih, 
 he who succeeded Yazid An Nakis was not completely established, for 
 some acknowledged him as Caliph, and others did not so acknowledge 
 him : and there were some who claimed for him the supreme power, but 
 not the Caliphate, and he ruled but for forty or seventy days. Therefore 
 according to this computation, Marwan the Ass,* was the sixth, for he was 
 the twelfth from Mu'awiyah, and al Amin after him, the sixth. Thirdly, 
 the deposals are not confined to every sixth, for al Mua'tazz was deprived 
 of ofiice and likewise al Kahir, al Muttaki and al Mustakfi. I reply that 
 his stctement is not affected by this objection because the meaning is, that 
 as regards every sixth, the deposal is undoubted, but he does not deny 
 that there were others besides them who were deposed as well. He adds 
 in addition to what Ibn u'l Jauzi has stated, that after ar Rashid, reigned 
 al Muktafi and al Mustanjid and al Mustadhii, and an Nasir and al Dhahir 
 and al Mustansir who was the sixth but was not deposed. Then al Mus- 
 ba'sina, and he was the same whom the Tartars slew, and was the last of 
 the sovereign Caliphs. The Caliphate was interrupted subsequently for 
 three years and a half; then al Mustansir afterwards was elected, 
 
 * " Before his accession to th.e throne" says Gibboa "he had deserved by his Geor- 
 gian warfare, the honorable epithet of the Ass of Mesopotamia. He had been governor 
 of Mesopotamia and the Arabic proverb praises the courage of that warlike breed of 
 asses who never fly from an enemy. The surname of Mervan may justify the compa- 
 rison of Homer (Iliad A 557) and both will silence the moderns who consider the ass a 
 stupid and ignoble emblem." 
 
[ 20 ] 
 
 but hv did not actually assume the Caliphate, for he was acknowledged 
 in Egypt and he inarched into Trak and encountered the Tartars aid was 
 killed likewise, and the Caliphate remained in abeyance a year. Then it 
 ■was established in Egypt, and the first of the Caliphs was al Hakim, then 
 al Mustakfi, then al WdthiTi, then al Hdkim, then al Mua'tadhid, then al 
 Mutawakkil who was the sixth and was deposed. Then reigned al Mua'- 
 tasim hut he was deposed after fifteen . days and'al Mutawakkil recalled. 
 He was again deposed and al Wafchik acknowledged : then al Mua'tasim 
 and he was deposed, and al Mutawakkil recalled who continued to reign 
 *tintil his death. Nest al Musta'in, and al Mua'tadhid and al Mustakfi, 
 then al Kaim, who was the sixth from al Mua'tasim the first (who was 
 also al Mua'tasim the second) and he was deposed. Then al Mustanjid 
 the reigning Caliph, the fifty first of the Caliphs of the House of A'bbas. 
 
 Note.. It is said thdt the House of A'bbas is distinguinhed hy a be- 
 ginning, a middle, and an end — The beginning was al Mansiir, the middle 
 al Mamun and the end al Mua'tadhid. The Caliphs of the House of 
 A'bbas, were all of them the children of concubines, except as SafEah, al 
 Mahdi and al Amin, and no Hashimite, the son of a Hashimite woman,- 
 ever ruled the Caliphate except A'li-b-Abi Talib and his son al Hasan, and 
 al Amin (so says as Slili) — and no one whose name was A'li ever held the 
 Caliphate except A'li the son of Abu Talib and A'li al Muktafi (ad 
 Dahabi). I remark that the greater number of the names of the Caliphs 
 occur but once, and few twice, and thos.e most frequently recm-ring are 
 A'bdu'llah, Ahmad and MuhHUimad, — and all the surnames of the Caliphs 
 occur singly up to al Musta'sim, the last of the Caliphs of Irak — Then 
 recur the surnames of the Caliphs of Egypt — thus al jMustansir recurs, 
 and al Mustakti, and al Wathik, and al R;iwim, and al Mua'tadhid, and al 
 Mutawakkil, and al Mua'tasim,* imd al Musta'in, and al Kaim, and al Mus- 
 tanjid. All of these recur but once, except al Mustakfi and al Mua'tadhid 
 which recur once- oftener, for among the A'bbaside Caliphs, three are 
 called by those two names. 
 
 Not one of the Caliphs of the House of A'bbas is distinguished oy a 
 surname of the House of U'bayd, except al Kaim, al JHdkim, ad Dhahir 
 and al Mustansir, but as regards al Mahdi and al Mansiir, the assumption 
 of these surnames by the House, of A'bbas preceded the rise of the H^iuse 
 of U'bayd. And some writers have mentioned that none surnamed al 
 Kahir was prosperous, either among the Caliphs or the temporal sovereigns, 
 and 1 add also, al Mustakfi and al Musta'in, by which surnames two of the 
 House of A'bbds were distinguished, and those two were deposed and ex- 
 pelled but al Mua'tadhid is among the most glorious of surnames and th« 
 * The text has Musta'sim incorrectly. The MS. is accurate in tlie name. 
 
[ 21 1 
 
 most blessed for hkn who was called by it. No one held the Caliphate after 
 the son of his brothers, except al Mustakfi after ar Rashid, and al Mus- 
 tansir after al Mua'tasim. Ad Dahabi states this, and adds that no three 
 brothers possessed the Caliphate, except the sons of ar Rashid, viz., al Amin, 
 al Mamun, and al Mua'tasim, and the sons of al iVlutawakkil, viz., al Mus- 
 tansir, al Mua'tazz and al Mua'tamid, and the sons of al Muktadir, viz., 
 ar Eadhi, al Muktafi and al Mutii'. He continues, that four of the sons 
 of A'bdu'l Malik governed the state, and that no parallel to this is to be 
 found, except among temporal sovereigns. I remark that a parallel case 
 to it occurs among the Caliphs after the prophet, for four, nay five of the 
 sons of al Mutawakkil Muhammad, held the Caliphate, viz., al Musta'in, 
 and al Mua'tadhid, and al Mustakfi, and al Kaim and al Mustanjid the 
 reigning Caliph. No one ruled the Caliphate during the lifetime of his 
 father except Abu Bakr as Siddik, and Abu Bakr at Taii'-b-ul Mutii', 
 whose father was struck by paralysis and who voluntarily abdicated in 
 favour of his son. 
 
 The learned say that the first who governed the Caliphate while his 
 father was alive, was Abu Bakr, and he was the first who appointed a 
 successor, and the first who instituted a public treasury and the first who 
 named the Kuran al Mushaf. The first who was called, prince of the 
 Faithful, was Omar-b-u'l Khattab, and he was the first who made use of 
 the scourge, and the first who established the date from the Flight, and 
 the first who ordered the prayers called at Tarawih,* and the first who 
 established the public registers. 
 
 The first who interdicted pasturage from encroachment, was Othman, 
 and he was the first who assigned lands on feudal tenure, that is to say, 
 the first who did so to any extent, and the first who made tlie addition of 
 the call to prayer on Fridays, and the first who sanctioned a stipend for 
 the criers to prayer, and the first who was confused in speech while read- 
 ing the Khutbah, and the first who appointed a chief Officer of Consta- 
 bulary. 
 
 The first who during his lifetime named an heir to succeed him, 
 was Mu'awiyah, and he was the first who introduced eunuchs into his ser- 
 vice. The first who ever caused the heads of criminnls to be brought before 
 him was A'bdu'llah-b u'z Zubayr. The first who caused his name to be 
 struck on the coinage, was A'bdu'l Malik-b-Marwan. The first who pro- 
 hibited his being addressed by name was al Walid-b-A'bdi'l Malik. 
 
 The first introduction of surnames, was by the House of A'bbas. Ibn 
 Fadhli'llah says that some think that the House of Umayyah had sur- 
 
 * A form of prayer performed at some period of the night, ia the month of Eama- 
 dh^n, after the ordinary prayer of nightfall consisting of twenty or more le'kahs, 
 according to different persuasions. Lane's Lex. Art. Iksijji 
 
[ 22 ] 
 
 names similar to those of the House of A'bbas. I remark that certain 
 writers assert the surname of Mu'awiyah to have been an Nasir li dlni'llah, 
 and the surname of Yazid, al Mustansir, and that of Mu'awijah his son, 
 fir Eaji' ili'l Hakk, and that of Marwan, al Mtitamin bi'llah and that of 
 A'bdu'l Malik, al Muwaffak li' amri'llah, and that of his son al Walid, al 
 Muntakim bi'llah, and that of Omar b-A'bdi'l A'ziz, al Ma'sum bi'llah, and 
 that of Yazid-b-Abdi'l Malik, al Kadir hi Sana' i'llah, and that of Yazid 
 an Nakis, as Shakir li anu'mi'llah. 
 
 The iirst time that public opinion became conflicting and disunited 
 was in the reign of as Saffah. The first Caliph who gave access to astrologers 
 and acted according to the judgments of the stars was al Mansur, and he 
 was the first who employed slaves in ofiices of trust and gave them prece- 
 dence over Arabs. The first who ordered the composition of polemical 
 writings to refute the enemies of the Faith was al Mahdi. The first before 
 whom men walked with swords and maces, was al Hadi. The first who 
 played at polo in the open plain was ar Rashid. In the reign of al Amin, 
 the Caliph was first addressed by word and in writing, by his surname. 
 Al Mua'tasim was the first who employed Turks in the office of the public 
 registers. Al Mutawakkil was the first who ordered a distinguishing garb 
 for Jews and Christians. The first whom the Turks adjudged to death 
 was al Mutawakkil : and from this is seen the confirmation of the prophe- 
 tical tradition as quoted by at Tabarani by a respectable line of ascription, 
 from Ibn Masa'ud who stated that the Apostle of God said, " Molest not 
 the Turks, as long as they leave ye unmolested, for verily they who shall 
 first take from my people their kingdom and the things which the Lord 
 hath conferred upon them, are the sons of Kantdra."* 
 
 The first who invented large sleeves and diminished the size of the 
 head-dress was al Musta'in. Al Mua'tazz was the first Caliph who intro- 
 duced ornaments of gold on riding animals. Al Mua'tamid was the first 
 Caliph treated with severity and kept under restraint and guarded. The 
 first who ruled the Caliphate among minors was al Muktadir. The last Caliph 
 who kept the troops and public effects under his personal direction was ar 
 Itadhi, and he too was the last Caliph, whose poems were collected into a 
 Diwan, and the last Caliph who uniformly read the Khutbah and prayed 
 before the people, and the last Cali[)h who sat in company with boon com- 
 panions, and the last Caliph whose expenses and gifts and rewards, retinue, 
 and stipend, and treasury and meats and drinks and festal assemblies, and 
 chamberlains, and other affairs were conduoled after the manner of the 
 
 * Banu 5.antura, Turks or Nubians according to the Muntahal u'l Arab, or as 
 some siiy Kantdra waa the name of a slave of Abraham's, from whom the Turks are 
 duscended. 
 
[ 23 ] 
 
 'early Calipbate ; and he was the last Caliph who went journeying in gar- 
 ments like unto the Caliphs of former times. 
 
 The first time that surnames recurred was after the reign of al Mus- 
 tansir, he who ruled after al Musta'^im. {This is mentioned in the Awail 
 of al A'skari*). The first Caliph who reigned during his mother's lifetime, 
 was Othman-b-AfEan, then al Hadi, and ar Rashid, and al Amin and al 
 Mutawakkil, al Mustansir, al Musta'in, al Mua'tazz, al Mua'tadhid and al 
 Mutii'. No one held the Caliphate during the lifetime of his father, except 
 Abu Bakr as Siddik, and to him-may be added at Taii'. 
 
 A's Siili says : " I know of no woman who gave birth to two Caliphs, 
 except Wiladah, the mother of al Walid and as Sulayman, the two sons 
 of Ahdu'l Malik ; and Shahin, the mother of Yazid an Nakis and Ibrahim, 
 the two sons of al Walid ; and Khayzurdn, the mother of al Hadi dnd ar 
 Rashid." I remark, that there may be added, the mother of al A'bbas and 
 Hamzah, and the mother of Daulid and Sulayman, the children of the last 
 Mutawakkil. 
 
 Those who assumed the title of Caliph, of the House of U'bayd, were 
 fourteen : three in Africa, al Mahdi, al Kaim, and al Mansiir, and eleven in 
 Egypt, al Miii'zz, al A'ziz, ad Dhahir, al Mustansir, al Musta'li, al Amir, 
 al Hafidh, ad Dhafir, al Faiz and al A'adhid. The beginning of their rule 
 was in the year two hundred and ninety and odd, and its extinction in the 
 year 567. 
 
 Ad Dahabi says that this may be called the Magian or the Jewish 
 dynasty, but not that of the descendants of A'li, or the Batinitef not the 
 Fatimite, and they were fourteen violaters of covenants not successors to 
 the vicegerency, (here he ends). 
 
 Those who assumed the title of Caliph among the descendants of 
 Umayyah in the West, J were in a better position than the descendants of 
 
 * Al Hasan-b-A'tdi'llah-ti-Sahl. Atu Hilal al A'skari, a diseiplo of Abu Ahmad 
 al A'skari ; author of a Commentaxy on the :^uran in 5 Vols. : the Awail (Initions) : 
 a work on prose and vei-se, and another on Proverbs. A scholar of exemplary life. 
 Died subsequently to the year 400 A. H. (1009). Tabakat u'l Mufassirin, as Suyuti 
 Edit. Mearsinge. No. 29. 
 
 t U'baydu'Uah, the founder of this dynasty, claimed descent from Ismail-b- Jaa'far 
 the seventh Imam of the posterity of Ali, and his descendants are termed by the Orien- 
 tal writers tlie Ismailites of the West to distinguish them from another branch of the 
 same race, the Ismailites of the East. These latter were the famous assassins, 
 called also Batinis from their mystical interpretation of the !]^uran, under whose 
 terrible daggers, the East crouched for two hundred years. 
 
 t The Arabs termed Spain and Africa, indifferently, the West (Al Maghrab) — 
 The word "' Afrikiya," which they sometimes use, is not the whole but only a portion 
 of al Maghrab. For its divisions, consult D'Herbelot. 
 
[ 24 ] 
 
 U'baydu'Uah in many ways, as rer/ards orthodoxy, and tradition and justice 
 and merit, and knowledge, and battling and warring with infidels, and 
 they were many in number, so that there were together at one time in 
 Spain, six persons, each of them calling himself Caliph. 
 
 Some former writers have compiled histories of the Caliphs : among 
 them, that by Niftawayh the Grammarian, in two volumes, up to the reign 
 of al Kahir, and the Aurak of as Suli, in which he has mentioned the 
 Abbasides only up to* — with which I am acquainted, and the history of 
 the Caliphs by Abu'l Padhl Ahraad-b-Abi Tahir al Marwazi, al Katib one 
 of the most excellent of poets who died in the year 280 A. H.- ; and the 
 history of the Abbaside Caliphs by Amir Abu Musa Hariin-b-Muhammad 
 al A'bbasi. 
 
 Al Khatib in his History, records with authorities from Muhammad 
 b-A'bbad that none of the Caliphs knew the Kuran by heart, except 0th- 
 man-b-A'ffan and al Mainun. I remark, that that restriction is not to 
 pass unchallenged, fur Abu Bakr knew it accurately also, and several 
 auiJiors have made this clear, among them an Nawawi in his Tahdib u'l 
 Asma ; and of Ali likewise it is handed down by one line of tradition th.it 
 he had the whole of it by heart, after the death of the prophet. Ibn u's 
 Saa'i says — " I was present at the ceremony of allegiance sworn to the 
 Caliph ad Dbablr, and he was^ seabed at the window of a chamber in a 
 white robe, and about him a cloak of camel's hair, and upon his shoulders, 
 the mantle of the prophet : the wazir was standing in front of him upon a 
 pulpit, and the Comptroller of the Household upon a step below him, and 
 he was taking the covenant from the people : and the words of the covenant 
 were, " I do homage to our lord and master the Imam, to whom obedience 
 is a bounden duty upon all men, Abu Nasr Muhammad aji^ Dhahir bi'amr'illah 
 according to the boolc of God, and the law of the prophet and the decision 
 of the prince of the faithful, and verily there is no Caliph but he." 
 
 * The MS. has here a blank— the text inserts J^s*-^ ^^\. As SuK died in A. H 335 
 and as his History professes only to relate what he had himself seen (see Kashfu'd 
 Dhunun), the blank might be filled up with the name of al Mutii li'llah who succeeded 
 to the Caliphate in A. H. 334. 
 
[ 25 1 
 
 Ahu Bah' as Siddik. 
 
 Abu'Bakr'as Siddik, the vicegerent of the apostle of God whose name 
 is A'bdu'Uah-b-Abi Kuhafah Othman, b-A'amir, b-A'mr, b-Kaa'b, b-Saa'd, 
 b-Taym, b-Murrah, b-Kaa'b, b-Luwayy, b-Ghalib, al Kurayshi, at Taymi, 
 unites with the genealogy of the Apostle of God in Murrah."* 
 
 An Nawawi in his Tahdib says " What I have stated regarding the name 
 of Abu Bakr being A'bdu'Uah, is correct, and well known. It is said also, 
 that his name was Atik {the Liberated), but the truth upon which all 
 the learned B,re agreed is, that al A'tik was his surname, not a name, and he 
 was surnamed al A'tik on account of his exemption from hell firef as has 
 come down in the tradition given by at Tirmidi : and it is also said, on 
 account of the " itakat" of his countenance, that is to say, its comeliness 
 and its beauty. It is said likewise that there is nothing in his genealogy 
 which can be found fault with. Musa'b-b-uz Zubayr and others say, that 
 the people concurred in naming him as Siddik (Witness to the Truth), 
 because he hastened to testify to the Apostle of God, and steadfastly 
 adhered to truth, and there never escaped from him on any one of the many 
 events of his life any remissness or hesitation, and he held exalted positions 
 in Islam. Among those events, were his conduct regarding the Nocturnal 
 journey, and his steadfastness and reply to the unbelievers regarding it, 
 and his flight with the Apostle of God, and his forsaking his family and 
 children, and his being with the Apostle in the cave, and throughout the 
 whole journey : then his exhortations on the day of Badr, and the day of 
 HudaybiyahJ when the delay in entering Mecca, was the occasion of grave 
 
 * Murrah 
 
 f ^ 
 
 Tamim Kilab 
 
 Saa'd 
 
 Kaa'b A'bd Manaf 
 
 A'mr Hashim 
 
 A'amir A'bdu'l Muttalib 
 
 I I 
 
 Abu :^uhafa A'bdu'Uah 
 
 Abu Bakr Muhammad, 
 
 t Nine others are included by Muhammad as sharing this distinction, Omar, 
 Othman, A'li, Talhah, az Zubayr, Saa'd Ibn Abi "Wakkas, Sa'id, Abu U'baydah, and 
 A'bdu'r Eahman-b-Auf. 
 
 J "Muhammad" says Sale "-when at Hudaybiyah sent Ja-ww£s-b-Ommeyya 
 the Khozaite to acquaint the Mecoans that he was come with a peaceable intention 
 4i 
 
[ 26 ] 
 
 doubts to others : then his weeping when the Apostle of God said " Verily, 
 God hath given his servant a choice between this world and the next :" 
 then his firmness on the day of the death of the Apostle of God, and his 
 reading the Khutbah to the people and consoling them : then, in the con- 
 tention regarding the oath of allegiance, his undertaking the charge for the 
 good of the true believers : next, his diligence in despatching the army 
 of Usamah-b-Zayd to Syria, and his determination regarding it : then his 
 rising up to oppose the apostates, and his dispute with the Companions, 
 until he overwhelmed them with arguments-and God opened their hearts 
 as He had opened his heart to the understanding of the truth, viz., to do, 
 battle with the apostates : then his fitting out the army for Syria for his 
 conquests and sending it succour : lastly the conclusion of this career 
 by an important action which was among the best of his good deeds, and 
 the most glorious of his titles to honor, and that was, his appointing Omar 
 as his successor over the true believers : and what virtues, and dignities, 
 and excellencies without number belong not to the Witness to the Truth ?" 
 (an Nawawi). I add that I am desirous of enlarging upon the biography 
 of as Siddik to some extent, mentioning therein much of what I know of 
 him regarding his life, and I shall arrange this in sections. 
 
 ^Regarding his name and surname an allusion to which has 
 already preceded. 
 
 Ibn Kathir* says, that all admit that his name was A'bdu'llah-b-Oth- 
 mdn, except the narration of Ibn Saa'd on the authority of Ibn Sirin f 
 which asserts his name to have leen A'tik whereas the truth is that it was 
 his surname. Then there is some disagreement as to the time of his being 
 so surnamed, and the reason of it : for some say that it was on account of 
 
 to visit the temple, but they refusing to admit him, he sent Othmiin whom they im- 
 prisoned and a report ran that he was slain whereupon, Muhammed called hia men 
 about him and they took an oath to be faithful to him even to death." 
 
 * The H£fidh I'mfidu'ddin Isma'il-b-Abdu'Uah ad Damashki died in 774 A. H. 
 The name of hia well known history is the " Biddyah wa'l Nihdyah fi't Tdrikh"— « the 
 beginning and the end of history." Consult. Haj. Khal. 
 
 t Abu Bakr Muljammad a native of Basrah. He was bom A. H. 33 (A. D. 
 653 4) two years before the death of the Caliph Othmdn and died at Basrah A. H. 110 
 (A. D. 729). He was a draper by profession, deUvered traditions on the authority 
 of Abu Hurayra and others and was skiUed in the interpretation of dreams. Ibn 
 Khali. 
 
[ 27 ] 
 
 the " i'tdkat" of his countenance that is, its beauty — but Abu Nua'ym al 
 Fadhl-b-Dukayn says, that it was on account of his priority* in merit — 
 and also it is said, on account of the nobility of his pedigree, that is its 
 purity, as there is nothing in his lineage that can be accounted a stain, and 
 it is said too that he was first so named and afterwards called A'bdu'llah. 
 At Tabardni relates from al Kasim-b-Muhammadf that he questioned 
 Ayesha as to the name of Abu Bakr, and she replied, " A'bdu'llah ;" then 
 he said that the people called him A'tik ; she answered that Abu Kuhafah 
 had three sons whom he named Atik, Mua'tak, and Mua'ytak. 
 
 Ibn MandahJ and Ibn A'sakir record on the authority of Mlisa-b- 
 ■JTalhah that he said, "I asked my father Talhah, why Abu Bakr was 
 called A'tik ;" he replied, "his mother had no son surviving and when she 
 gave him birth, she took him to the temple and exclaimed, ' O God ! if this 
 one is granted immunity from death, then bestow him upon me.' " At 
 "Tabarani records from Ibn A'bbas, that he was called A'tik from the beauty 
 of his countenance, and Ibn A'sakir from Ayesha that she said " the name 
 of Abu Bakr, that by which his family called him, was A'bdu'llah, but the 
 name of A'tik superseded it" — and in one reading, " but the prophet named 
 him A'tik." 
 
 Abu Ta'la§ records in his Musnad (likewise Ibn Saa'd and al Hakim) 
 and confirms it on the testimony of Ayesha, that she said. " By Allah 
 verily I was in my house on a certain day and the Apostle of God and his 
 Companions were in the courtyard, and a curtain between me and them, and 
 lo ! Abu Bakr came up, and the prophet said, " he who would rejoice in 
 looking upon one exempted from hell fire, let him behold Abu Bakr," and 
 verily his name, that by which his family called him was A'bdu'llah but the 
 name of A'tik superseded it." And at Tirmidi and al Hakim from Ayesha, 
 that Abu Bakr went to the Apostle of God and he said. " O ! Abu Bakr, 
 thou art exempted by the Lord from hell fire," and from that day, he was 
 called A'tik. Al Bazzar and at Tabarani record on good authority from 
 A'bdu'Uah-b-u'z Zubayr, that the name of Abu Bakr was A'bdu'llah, and 
 the Apostle of God said to him " thou art exempted by the Lord from hell 
 fire ;" thus he received the name of A'tik. 
 
 * A'tik signifying: also ancient, noble. 
 
 t Grandson of Abu Bakr one of the most eminent of tbe Tabi'is and of tbe seven 
 great jurisconsults of Medina. Ibn Khali. 
 
 X Abu A'bdu'Uah-b-Mandah a celebrated traditionist and a Hafidh of high autho- 
 rity, author of a history of Ispahan, died A. H. 301, (A. D. 913-4J. Ibn Khali. 
 
 § Hafldh Abu Ya'la A^ad author of a well known collection of traditions and 
 of works on ascetic devotion and other subjects, born at ilosal A. H. 210 (826) died 
 A. H. 307, (919-20). De Slane, I. K. 
 
[ 28 ] 
 
 As regards as Siddik, it is said that he was so called in the time of 
 ignorance, because he was distinguished for his love of truth. (Ibn 
 Mandah*) ; and also because he hastened to certify to the truth of the 
 prophet with regard to what he announced. 
 
 Ibn Ishakf records on the authority of Hasan al BasriJ andKatadah,§ 
 that the first time he was known by it was the morning after the " Noc- 
 turnal Journey." Al Hakim relates in his Mustadrak (Supplement) on 
 the authority of Ayesha, that the idolaters went to Abu Bakr and said 
 " What dost thou think of thy companion, who pretends that he was borne 
 by night to Jerusalem ?" He replied, " and did he say that ?" They 
 answered " yes ;" then he said' " Verily he hath spoken the truth, and indeed 
 I would testify to him in more than that, even to the announcement of 
 Ms journey to Heaven, going in the morning and returning in the evening," 
 and for this he was called the Witness to the Truth. (The authorities are 
 good). 
 
 Sa'id-b-Mansur narrates in his " Traditions" from Ibn Wahab, the 
 freedman of Abu Hurayrah that when the Apostle of God returned on the 
 night of his Nocturnal journey, he arrived at Du Tua|| and said, " O ! 
 Gabriel, verily my people will not believe me." He replied " Abu Bakr 
 will testify to thee, for he is a Witness to the Truth." 
 
 Al Hakim in his Mustadrak, (Supplement) records on the authority of 
 Nazal- b-Sabrah that he tells us, " I said unto 'Ali, Prince of the Faith, 
 ful tell me of Abu Bakr." He replied " The Lord named that man as 
 
 * So the MS. ; the text has Ibn Masada who was one of al Mamun's vizirs, an. 
 elegant writer but not stated by Ibn Khallakau to be a traditionist. 
 
 + Muhammad-b-Ishak-b-Yasfa the freedman. of Kays-b-Makhramah. Tasar was 
 one of the prisoners taken al A'yuu't Tamr, sent by KhaHd-b-Walid to Abu Bakr at 
 Medina. He is held by the majority of the learned to be a sure authority on tradition 
 and his work the "Maghazi wa'e Siyar (conquests and expeditions) bears a high 
 character. He went to the Caliph Abu Jaa'far al Mansur at Hira and put the Maghazi 
 in writing for his use and the learned of Kufa heard him read and explain that work ; 
 died at Baghdad A. H. 151, (768). Ibn KhaU. 
 
 X Abu Sa'i'd al ^asan of Basrah one of the most eminent of the Tabi'i's, his mother 
 was a slave of TJmm Salimah one of the prophet's wives. He was born at Medina two 
 years before the death of the Caliph Omar and died al Basrah A. H. 110 (728) Ibn 
 KhaU. 
 
 § !^atfidah-b-Dyama as Sadusi, a native of Basrah and one of the Tabi'is, blind 
 from birth, but of the greatest learning, much consulted by the Ummyyad family on 
 points of history, genealogy and poetry, born A. H. 60, (679-80), died at Wasit A H 
 117, (735-6). Ibid. 
 
 II A village near Mecca, not to be confounded with the valley of Tria or Tawa 
 according to Sale, where Moses saw the burning bush, (Kur xx.) consult Tdkfit Mua'j. 
 Bui. 
 
[ 29 1 
 
 Siddik by the tongue of Gabriel and by the tongue of Muhammad. He 
 ■was the vicegerent of the Apostle of God in public prayei'S. He ap^ 
 proved him for our spiritual concerns, and we have acquiesced in him for 
 our worldly government." (The authorities for this are good). And Dara- 
 kutni and al Hakim from Abu Yahya.* " It is beyond computation how 
 often I have heard A'li say upon the pulpit that the Lord named Abu 
 Bakr, as Siddik upon the tongue of Gabriel ;" and at Tabarani on good 
 unexceptionable authorities from Hakim-b Saa'd, " I have heard A'li declare 
 and confirm by oath, that God undoubtedly revealed from Heaven, the 
 name of Abu Bakr as as Siddik. 
 
 In the tradition relative to the Battle of Ohud, the propJiei said, " Be 
 at peace, for verily unto you there is ffiven a prophet, a witness to the truth 
 and two martyrs." 
 
 The mother of Abu Bakr was the daughter of his father's uncle. 
 Her name was Salma, the daughter of Sakbar, b-A'amir, b-Kaa'b and she 
 received the surname of the " mother of goodness" (Ummu'l Khayr) . 
 
 On Ms Nativity and place of hirth. 
 
 He was born two years and some months after the birth of Muhammad 
 for he died when he was sixty-three years of age. Ibn Kathir says, 
 that what is recorded by Khalifah-b-u'l Khayyat,t on the authority of Yazid- 
 b-u'l Asamm, viz., that the prophet said to Abu Bakr " Verily am I the 
 greater or art thou ?" and he replied " thou art greater, but I am older in 
 years," is a tradition of an imperfect lino of ascription and cited but by one 
 authority, for the contrary is notorious, and indeed confirmed on the 
 authority of Ibn A'bbas. 
 
 His birthplace was Mecca which he never left except to trade, and he 
 was the possessor of great wealth in his tribe, and a man of perfect genero- 
 sity, courtesy, and beneficence among them ; as Ibn u'l Dughannah says, 
 " Verily thou art affectionate to thy kindred and speakest the truth in what 
 thou narratesfc, and acquirest what others are denied and givest help in 
 worldly troubles, and art hospitable to the stranger." An Nawawi says 
 that he was one of the chiefs of the Kuraysh in the time of Ignorance, 
 and one of their conncillors, and beloved among them, and the wisest in 
 
 * The MS. has Atu'l Hayya. There are no less than eleven of this name given 
 by Ibn Hajr as being acquainted with Muhammad. 
 
 t Abu A'mr surnamed Shabab a native of Basrah and author of the Tabakat, 
 was a HAfidh versed in history and of great talents. Al Bukhari gives traditions on 
 his authority, 4ied A. H. 2iO, (A. D. 864-3). Consult. Ibn KhaU— who omits the def. 
 article before Khayyat. 
 
[ 30 ] 
 
 the direction of their affairs ; and when the true faith came, he chose it 
 above all things and entered it with the most perfect submission. 
 
 Az Zubayr-b-Bakkar and Ibn Asakir record on the authority of Ma'rdf- 
 b-kharrablid, that Abu Bakr as Siddik was one of ten amongst the 
 Kuraysh to whom attached pre-eminence both in the time of Ignorance, 
 and Islam : for upon him lay the settlement of 'blood-money and fines, and 
 that was because the Kuraysh had no king upon whom the direction of all 
 affairs might devolve : moreover in each tribe there existed a general juris- 
 diction exercised by its several chiefs, and to the Banu Hashira pertained 
 the right of Sikayah and Eifadah,* the meaning of which is, that no one 
 might eat or drink except of their food and their drink ; and to the 
 Banu A'bdu'd Dar, the office of door-keeper and guardian of the Kaa'hah, 
 and the Banner and the Council, that is to say, no one might enter the 
 Kaa'bah except with their permission, and when the Kuraysh fastened on 
 the banner of war, the Banu A'bdu'd Dar bound it for them, and when 
 they assembled together for any purpose either to confirm or to annul, their 
 gathering could not take place except in the Hall of Council and nothing 
 could take effect, save done therein and it appertained to the Banu iftdu'd 
 Dar. 
 
 Abu Bakr was the most abstinent of men in the time of Ignorance. 
 Ibn A'sakir records with accurate authorities from Ayesha ; " by Allah, 
 Abu Bakr never recited poetry,t whether in the time of ignorance or Islam, 
 and indeed he and Othman-f orbore from wine even in the time of Ignorance ;" 
 and Abn Nua'ym records from her on excellent authority, " Verily Abu 
 Bakr denied himself wine in the time of Ignorance ;" and Ibn Asakir from 
 Abdu 'Uah-b-u'z Zubayr, " Abu Bakr never recited a verse ;" and from 
 
 * Eifadah was a contribution which the trite of the Kuraysh made in the time 
 of Ignorance, for the purpose of purchasing for the pilgrims, wheat and raisins for the 
 beverage called AJjAJ. Bach gave according to his ability, and thus they collected 
 a great sum in the days of the assembling of the pilgrims. And they continued to 
 feed the pilgrims until the end of those days ; the " Sil^ayah" was the supplying this 
 beverage and Eifadah, -these provisions. Lane. 
 
 t The Kuran though not directly forbidding yet discredits the profession of verse 
 making. 4j (j**^! i[j j*^\ 8^i*J^ I* " We have not taught (Muhammad) the art 
 of poetry nor is it expedient fer him," Kur. XXXVI. Sale remarks that this was in 
 answer to the infidels who pretended that the Kuran was only a poetical composi- 
 tion. Again uyjWl /ni*^i M«Jt Kur. XXVI. "Those err who follow the steps of 
 the poets." But the learned have determined that moral, didactic and religious poetry 
 is permissible. There are verses imputed to the great Shdfi'i in which he declares that 
 were not men of his cloth prohibited from writing poetry, he would Jiave surpassed 
 Labid. 
 
[ 81 ] 
 
 Abu'l A'aliyah av Riahi, that it was asked of Abu Bakr in an assembly of 
 the Companions of the Apostle of God " didst thou ever drink wine in the 
 time of Ignorance ?" he replied " God forbid," and they said, " why not ?" 
 He answered, " 1 sought to preserve my reputatiop and retain my decorum, 
 and verily he who drinketh wine destroyeth his reputation and his decorum." 
 The narrator says that when this reached the apostle of God, he said," Abu 
 Bakr hath spoken truly Abu Bakr hath spoken truly," twice. This 
 -tradition is wanting in regularity of transmission and is cited but by one 
 authority hothias regards authorities and the text. 
 
 On his outward description. 
 
 Ibn Saa'd relates on the authority of Ayesha that a man said to her, 
 " describe to me Abu Bakr,' and she replied, " he was a man of a very fair 
 complexion, of slender build, thin cheeked and with a stoop ; he could not 
 keep up his lower garments from slipping over his loins ; he was lean, with 
 eyes deep set, his forehead prominent, and the backs of his hand fleshless. 
 Such is his description. He states also on her authority, that Abu Bakr 
 made use of the tinctures of hinna* and katam ; and on the authority off 
 Anas, that when the apostle of God went to Medina, there was none among 
 the companions with grizzled hair, except Abu Bakr, and he dyed it with 
 binna and katam. 
 
 On his embracing the faith. 
 
 At Tirmidi, and Ibn Haban in his Sahih, (authentic traditions) record 
 on the authority of Abu Sa'idJ al Khudri, that Abu Bakr said " Have not 
 I the greatest claim among men to it," that is, the Caliphate ; " was not 
 I the first to embrace the faith ? was it not I who did such a thing ? was 
 it not I who did such another thing ?" And Ibn A'sakir on the ascription 
 of al Harith from A'li, that he said, " the first who embraced the faith 
 
 * Lawsonia inermia, — the Katam is a herb which mixed with cypress is used as a 
 tincture. 
 
 t Abu Sulayt Anas b-Abi Anaa, one of the Banu Najjar, he was a companion of 
 Muhammad and fought on his side at Badr. De Slane I. K. 
 
 I Abu Sa'id Saa'd b-Malik of the tribe of Khudra a Companion and an Ansar of 
 the third class. At the age of 13, he accompanied his father to Ohud who fell at that 
 battle. The son accompanied Muljammad in twelve expeditions, died at Medina A. H. 
 74 (693-4). De Slane I, K. 
 
[ 33 ] 
 
 among the men was Abu Bakr" ; and Khaythamah* on accurate authoritiea 
 from Zayd-b-Arkam,t " the first man who prayed with the prophet, was 
 Abu Bakr as Siddik" and Ibn Saa'd on the authority of Abu Arwa ad 
 Dausi the Companion, that the first who embraced Islam was Abu Bakr as 
 Siddik. 
 
 At Tabarani in his Kabir, and 'Abdu'llah b-Ahmad in the " Zawaidu' 
 Zuhd," record on the authority of as Shaa'biJ that he said, ",I asked Ibn 
 A'bbas what man was the first to embrace Islam ?" he replied, " Abu Bakr 
 as Siddik. Hast thou not heard the words of Hassan§ where he says ? 
 " When thou rememberest the afl[iiction of a faithful brother. 
 Then remember too thy brother Abu Bakr and what he hath done. 
 The best of men, the most pious and most just of them 
 Save the prophet and the most faithful in performing what he hath 
 
 undertaken. 
 
 The second,|| the follower, the place of whose witnessing is extolled 
 
 And the first among those who have borne witness to the prophets." 
 
 Abu Nua'ym records on the authority Pur^t-b-Saib that he said, " I 
 
 inquired of Maymiin-b-Mihran saying, ' is Ali the most excellent in thy 
 
 opinion, or Abu Bakr, or Omar ?' " He trembled so that the staff fell from 
 
 his hand and then replied " I never thought that I should live to the time 
 
 when any one should be compared to those two — to God be attributed their 
 
 good deeds — they two were the chief in Islam." I said " then was Abu 
 
 Bakr the first to embrace IsMm or Ali ?" he answered " By Allah, verily 
 
 Abu Bakr believed in the prophet in the time of Buhayra, the monk^ ou 
 
 * Abu Khaythamah Zuhayr an eminent traditionist of Nasa who settled at Bagh- 
 dad and died A. H. 234 (A. D. 849). De Slane I. K. 
 
 + One of the Companions, accompanied Muhammad in seventeen expeditions set- 
 tled at Kufah and died there A. H. 56 or as some say 68, An Nawawi. 
 
 J Abu Amr A' amir sprang from Himyar and was accounted a member of the tribe 
 of Hamdan of which Shaa'b is a branch. He held high rank among the Tabi'is and 
 was distinguished for his learning, born about A. H. 19, died A. H. 104 (722). Ibn 
 KhaU. 
 
 § IJassan-b-Thabit was one of the poets who espoused the cause of Muhammad. 
 His son A'bdu'r Eahman lived under Mu'awiyah and used to address complimentary 
 poems to Eamla, daughter of that Caliph. De Slane I. K. For his elegy on Muljam- 
 mad's death see Weil. Leben Muhammad. Vol. II, p. 356. 
 
 II Abu Bakr, is referred to in Kur IX asj'*^' tj'»U.4 lit (yJ-i-*! ^^\ "the 
 second of the two when they two were in the cavo." 
 
 IT Muhammad was reclining under a lote tree says Ibn Hajr, while Abu Baler was 
 conversing with Buhayra. The latter asked him who it was, that was seated there ; 
 he replied that it was Muhammad the son of A'bdu'llah. " Then by Allah, said 
 Buhayra, he is the prophet for none has taken shelter under that tree since the time 
 of Jesus the Son of Mary." This impressed itself on Abu Bakr's mind and was the 
 
[ 33 ] 
 
 the occasion of his meeting him." Accouniis va.vy a,s to priority in Islam 
 between him and Khadijah when he procured her marriage with the 
 prophet* and all this was before A'li was born, and verily there are many 
 among the Companions and their immediate successors, and others who say, 
 that he was the first to embrace Islam, indeed, some of them assert that 
 there is universal assent to this. Again, it is said that A'li was the first to 
 join the true faith, and some say, Khadijah, but there is a reconciliation 
 of these accounts, in that Abu Bakr was the first to embrace the faith 
 among, men, A'li among children and Khadijah among women and the first 
 who pointed out this reconciliation, was Abu Hanifah from whom Na'aym 
 quotes it. 
 
 Ibn Abi Shaybahf and Ibn A'sakir record on the authority of Salim- 
 b-Abi Jaa'd that he said, " I asked of Muhammad-b-Hanifah, — was Abu 
 Bakr the first of the people to adopt Islam ?" He replied — " no." I said, 
 " for what reason then is he exalted and preferred,' so that no one speaks of 
 any but Abu Bakr?" He replied, " because he was the most excellent 
 "of them in Islam, from the time he embraced the faith until he attained 
 to his God." And Ibn A'sakir on a reliable ascription from Muhammad- 
 b-Saa'd-b-Abi Wakkds,J that he said to his father Saa'd, — " was Abu Bakr 
 as Siddik the first of you in embracing the faith ?" He said. " No, for 
 there were more than five in the faith before him but he was the best of us 
 in Islam." 
 
 Ibn Kathir says, " it is clear that Muhammad's family believed before 
 every other — his wife Khadijah, his freedman Zayd and the wife of Zayd 
 Umm-i-Ayman and A'li and Warakah." Ibn A'sakir records on the 
 authority of I'sa-b-Tazid that Abu Bakr said, "I was seated in the court- 
 yard of the Kaa'bah where Zayd-b-A'mr-b-Nufayl was sitting, when there 
 passed by him Umayyah-b-Abi Salt§ and he said. " How art thou, thou 
 
 cause of Hs early conversion. I may add that Ibn Hajr discords as erroneous the 
 opinion held hy Ibn Athir (and adopted by Sprenger) that this Buhayra was the same 
 person as the one who figures in a deputation to Muhammad from the king of Abyssi- 
 nia forty years afterwards. 
 
 * By assisting Muhammad with money on that occasion as is generally beHeved. 
 
 t The Hafidh Othman a native of Ktifah, died A. H. 239 (A. D. 853-4). He com- 
 posed a commentary on the Kuran and a collection of traditions : 30,000 persons are 
 said to have attended his lessons. De Slane I. K. 
 
 t Abu Ishak Saa'd-b-Abi Wakkds, a descendant of A'bdu Manat was by his own 
 account the third convert to Islam, he being then 17 years of age. He fought in 
 aU the prophet's battles ; his death occurred between A. H. 50-8. De Slane I. K. 
 
 § He was a poet of some reputation of the tribe of Thakif. Ibn Hajr says that 
 he was an enquirer after truth, but more for the curiosity of the discovery than with 
 intent to follow it. " His verses,". said Muhammad " are pious enough but his heart 
 5 
 
[ 34 ] 
 
 seeker after good ?" He answered " well." The other said " haat thou 
 
 discovered anything ?" He replied ' No :' then the other said— 
 
 " Every religion in the day of judgment : save that founded of God in 
 
 truth, shall perish," 
 
 But regarding the prophet, he that men look for, shall he be from 
 among us or from among you ?" Abu Bakr continues, " and I, had not 
 heard before that of a prophet expected who was to be sent." He 
 adds. " Then I went out to Waraka'-b-Naufal* and he was one who con. 
 stantly watched the heavens and muttered frequently to himself and I 
 stopped him and related to him the circumstance. He said " Tea — O ! 
 sou of my brother, I am skilled in the scriptures and in knowledge ; know, 
 that this prophet, he whom men await, shall be by descent of the most 
 noble of the Arabs. I am likewise skilled in genealogy, and thy tribe is 
 by descent, the most noble among the Arabs." I said. " O uncle, and 
 what will the prophet say ?" He replied, " he shall speak that which 
 hath been said to him, and know, that he shall not oppress nor be oppress- • 
 ed nor desire you to oppress each other." Therefore when the Apostle of 
 God was sent, I believed in him and testified to him." 
 
 Ibn Ishak says, that he heard from MuHammad-b-Abdi'r Eahman-b- 
 Abdi'Uah b-i'l Ha?in at Tamimi that the Apostle of God said, " I never 
 called any one to the true faith but there arose in him an aversion to it, 
 and an irresolution and deliberation, except Abu Bakr who delayed not 
 from it when I spoke to him, and did not hesitate therein." Al Bayhaki 
 says " and this was because he had been accustomed to behold the proofs 
 of the prophetic mission of the Apostle of God, and to hear its traditions, 
 before his call, and when the prophet summoned him, then verily thought 
 and deliberation had passed by for him and he at once embraced Islam." 
 He then records on the authority Abu Maysarahf that when the Apostle of 
 God went forth, he used to hear one calling to him " O Muhammad," and 
 when he heard the voice he would turn fleeing : he told this in secret to 
 Abu Bakr who was his intimate friend in the time of Ignorance." 
 
 Abu Nua'aym and Ibn A'sakir record on the authority of Ibn A'bbas 
 that the Apostle of God said, " I never spoke to any one regarding Islam 
 but he denied me and rejected my words, save the son of Abu Kuhafa and 
 
 is unbelieving." There is a doubt whether he was ever converted, but by spme he 
 is considered a Companion. His excuse for not testifying to the prophet was, that he 
 had once hinted to his tribe that he himself was likely to be the prophet to come. 
 
 • A cousin of Muljammad's said to have been a convert to Christianity and to 
 have been acquainted with the Scriptures, and to have transcribed some portions of 
 the Gospels into Hebrew or Arabic' See Muir, Vol. II. p, 61. 
 
 t Tie froedman of al A'bbaa-b-Abdi'l Muttalib. Ibn Hajr. 
 
, [ 35 ] 
 
 yerily I never said unto him a thing but he acquiesced in it and was stead- 
 fast therein." 
 
 And al Bukhdri from Abu'd Darda* that the apostle of God said, 
 " will ye not leave un.to me my companion ? verily I said, ! men, I am 
 the apostle of God unto ye all, and ye said " thou liest," and Abu Bakr 
 said "thou hast spoken truly." 
 
 On Ms companionship with the prophet and the expeditions 
 which he accompanied. 
 
 The learned say that Abu Bakr accompanied the prophet from the 
 time he embraced Islam to his death, and never separated himself from 
 him either in journeying or residence at home, except when he had per- 
 mission to depart on account of pilgri^nage or war ; and he was present 
 with him in all his expeditions, and acompanied him in his flight, and for- 
 sook his family and children with cheerfulness for the sake of God and 
 his Apostle, and he was his companion in the cave. The Lord called him, 
 " the second of the two when tht-y two were in the cave" when the prophet 
 said to his companion, " be not sad for God is with us," and he assisted the 
 Apostle of God on other occasions. Splendid, were his services in the 
 wars : he was steadfast on the day of Ohud and the day of Hunayn when 
 the people fled, as will appear in the chapter on his courage. 
 
 Ibn A'sakir records on the testimony of Abu Hurayrah, that the 
 angels took part in the battle of Badr and they said " See ye not as 
 Siddik with the Apostle of God in a shed ?" And Abu Ya'la and al Hakim 
 and Ahmad from A'li that he said, " the Apostle of God said to me and 
 to ^bu Bakr on the day of Badr, " with one of you two is Gabriel and with 
 the other Michael." And Ibn A'sdkir from Ibn Sirin, that A'bdu'r 
 Eahman the son of Abu Bakr on the day of Badr was on the side of the 
 idolaters, and when he was converted to Islam, he said to his father," verily, 
 thou wert exposed as a mark to me on the day of Badr, but I turned 
 away from thee and did not slay thee." Abu Bakr said, " as to thee, hadst 
 thou come before me, I should not have turned away from thee." 
 
 * One of the Companions.' The particulars of this narration will be found in 
 Bukhari's aa Sahib- Vol. VI, Kitabu'l Manakib. 
 
[ 36 ] 
 
 On Ms lraverti,for Tie was the bravest of the Companions. 
 
 Al Bazzar records in his Musnad from A'li that he said ; Tell me who 
 is the bravest of men ;" they said " thou art." He replied " Verily I never 
 encountered any one but I was even with him, but tell me, who was the 
 bravest of men ?" They said, " we know not ; who is he ?'* He said " Abu 
 Eakr, for verily on the day of Badr, we made for the Apostle of God a 
 shelter from the sun, and we said, " who shall, remain with the Apostle of 
 God lest any of the idolaters fall upon him ?" then by Allah, not one of 
 us approached except Abu Bakr who brandished a sword over the head of 
 the Apostle of God ; no one attacked him but he attacked him likewise : he 
 is therefore the bravest of men." Ali said. " I saw the Apostle of God 
 assaulted by the Kuraysh, and one threatened him and another shook him 
 violently and they said, " thou art he who makest of the gods, one God ;" he 
 added, " and by Allah not one of us approached except Abu Bakr who 
 struck one and threatened another and pushed aside another and said " woe 
 unto ye — will ye slay a man who saith — my God is Allah ?" then A'li lifted 
 up the mantle that was on him and wept, so that his beard was wet with 
 tears and he said " I conjure ye by Allah, to say whether was the true 
 believer* of the family of Pharoah the better or Abu Bakr ?" and the 
 people were silent, and he said, " do ye not answer me ? by Allah, a single 
 hour of Abu Bakr is better than a thousand hours of the believer of the 
 family of Pharoah, for that man concealed his faith and this man pro- 
 claimed it." 
 
 Al Bukhari records from U'rwah-b-uz Zubayr that he said, " I asked 
 of A'bdu'Uah-b-A'mr-b-i'l A'as,t what was the greatest violence that the 
 idolaters had offered to the Apostle of God ; he replied " I saw U'kbah-b- 
 Abi Mua'yt go towards the prophet who was praying and throw his cloak 
 about his neck, and throttle him violently, whereupon Abu Bakr came and 
 drove him from him and said, " will ye slay a man who saith — my God is 
 
 * Tliis person, according to tradition, was an Egyptian and Pharoah's uncle's 
 son, but a true believer, who finding that the king had been informed of what Moses 
 had done, and designed to put him to death, gave him notice to provide for his safety 
 by flight. He is mentioned in the Kuran. Chapters XXVIII and XL. See Sale. 
 
 t Abu Muhammad or Abu A'bdu'r Eahman, the Companion. An Nawawi says 
 that the name A'a? commonly so spelt, should be more properly written A'asi. 
 He was 12 or 13 years younger than his father and was converted to Islam before him 
 and received no less than 700 traditions from Muljammad. His devotion and learning 
 were universally acknowledged. The date of his death is differently stated, according 
 to some as early as 55 A. H. according to others in 73. Consult An Nawawi and 
 Ibu Khali. 
 
[ 37 ] 
 
 Allah ? and in truth he hath come to you with manifestations from your 
 God !" And al Haytham-b-Kulayb in his Musnad from Abu Bakr, '' On 
 the day of Ohud, all the people forsook the Apostle of God and I was the 
 first to return to him," — ^the rest of the tradition will appear in the 
 Musnad as he has related it. And Ibn A'sakir from Ayesha, " when the 
 prophet gathered the Companions together there were thirty- eight persons. 
 Abu Bakr then entreated the Apostle of God to declare himself openly, 
 but he said " O ! Abu Bakr we are only a few ;'' but Abu Bakr did not 
 desist from importuning the Apostle of God, until he declared himself. 
 The Muslims were scattered round about the Mosque each man among his 
 kindred, when Abu Bakr rose before the people preaching, and he was the 
 first who summoned the people to God and to his Apostle ; then the 
 idolaters fell upon Abu Bakr and upon the Muslims and beat them with 
 heavy blows round about the Mosque" — the rest of the tradition will 
 follow in the biography of Omar. 
 
 Ibn A'sakir records from A'li, that when Abu Bakr was converted, he 
 declared his faith and summoned the people to God and to his apostle. 
 
 On Ms spending Ms substance on the Apostle of God for he was 
 the most generous of the Oompanions. 
 
 The Lord hath said, "But he who strictly bewareth idolatry and 
 rebellion, shall be removed far from the same : (hell fire) — who giveth his 
 substance in alms" &c. to the end of the Sdra. (Kur XCII). Ibn u'l Jauzi 
 says that the learned are agreed, that this was revealed regarding Abu Bakr. 
 Ahmad records on the authority of Abu Hurayrah that the Apostle of God 
 said, " No wealth hath ever availed me, as hath availed me the wealth of Abu 
 Bakr," and Abu Bakr wept and said — " I and my wealth are they not 
 for thee ! Apostle of God ?" Al Khatib relates a tradition imperfect 
 in regularity of transmission, on the authority of Sa'id-b-u'l Musayyab,* 
 and adds that the Apostle of God made use of the substance of Abu Bakr 
 as if it were his own. — And Ibn A'sakir from Ayesha with- different autho- 
 rities, and from U'rwah-b-uz-Zubayr,,that on the day when Abu Bakr was 
 converted, he had forty thousand dinars — and according to another reading, 
 forty thousand dirhams, and he spent them upon the Apostle of God. 
 i 
 
 * Abu Muhammad Sa'id-'b-u'l Musayyab, Kurayshi, one of the seven great juris- 
 consults of Medina. He was the chief of the first series of Tabi'is— he married the 
 daughter of Abu Hurayra and related traditions on his authority, born A, H. 15—16, 
 (636-7), died at Medina A. H. 91, (A. D. 709-10). Ibn Khali. 
 
[ 38 J 
 
 Abu Sa'id al Aa'rdbi records on the authority of Ibn O'mar, that on 
 the day when Abu Bakr was converted, he had in his house forty thousand 
 dirhams, and when he set out for Medina at the time of the Tlight, he had 
 no more than five thousand, all of which he spent upon the manumission 
 of slaves, and in aid of Islam. And Ibn A'sikiv on that of Ayesha, that 
 Abu Bakr gave freedom to seven slaves all of whom had suffered persecu- 
 tion for the sake of God. 
 
 Ibn Shahin* records in his " Sunnah," and al Baghawif in his com- 
 mentary on the Kuran, and Ibn A'sakir from Ibn 0'mar,J that he said, 
 " I was near the prophet, and by him was Abu Bakr, and upon him a 
 garment of goat's hair, and he had pinned it together on his breast with 
 a skewer ; then Gabriel came down to him and said " O ! Muhammad, how 
 is it that I see Abu Bakr wearing a garment of goat's hair which he hath 
 pinned on his breast by a skewer ?" He replied " O ! Gabriel, he. spent his 
 substance upon me before the conquest of Meeea." Gabriel said " Then the 
 Lord sendeth him His benediction and saith, " Say unto him — art thou con- 
 tent with me in this thy poverty or angry ?" Abu Bakr said, " Can I be 
 angry with my God ? I am content with my God — I am content with my 
 God — I am content with my God," (related only by one authority and its 
 ascription is untrustworthy). 
 
 Al Khatib records also a weak ascription, through Ibn Omar to the 
 prophet, who said, " Gabriel, upon whom be peace, came down to me 
 and upon him was a coarse garment fastened together with a skewer, and I 
 said to him " O ! Gabriel what is this ?" He replied, " Verily the Lord 
 hath commanded the angels to fasten their garments in heaven as Abu 
 Bakr fastens his upon earth." Ibn Kathir remarks that this is excessively 
 untrustworthy and adds that were it not that this and the preceding 
 
 * The Hifldli Abu Hafs Omax 'b-Shahin of Baghdad composed works computed 
 at 330 in number, among them a Commentary on the Kuran and a collection of tradi- 
 tions, died A. H. 386, (A. D. 995). De Slane I. K. 
 
 t Abu Muljammad al Husayn— known as al Farra al Baghawi, a Shafi'i doctor 
 Traditionist and Commentator on the Imuran, died A. H. 610 (A. D. 1117) at Marwar- 
 rud. Baghawi is the relative adjective, irregularly formed, derived from Bagh or 
 Baghshur a town in Khorasan. (Ibn Khali). There is also a traditionist Abu'l K&sim 
 al Baghawi, a Hafidh of great repute, died A. H. 317, (A. D. 929). ' De Slane I. K. 
 
 X Abu A'bdu'r Ealiman, A'bdu'Uah-b-Omar i'l Khattdb one of the most eminent 
 of the CompanionB for his piety, learning and contempt of the world. During the civil 
 wars which raged among the followers of Islam, he remained neutral, occupied in the 
 duties of religion. For a period of sixty years, persons came from all parts to consult 
 him, and his generosity was so great that he would frequently distribute 30,000dirhams. 
 in charity on the days in which he gave audience. Died at Mecca A. H. 73 
 (692-3) aged 84. De Slane I. K. 
 
[ 39 ] 
 
 tradition have been handed down by so many people, the rejection of the 
 two would be advisable. > 
 
 Abu* Daudd and at Tirmidi relate on the authority of Omar-b-u'l 
 Khattab, that he said, " the Apostle of God commanded us to give alms 
 and that was in proportion to the property I possessed, and I said to 
 myself, " to-day I will surpass Abu Bakr if I am to surpass him on any 
 day, and I brought half of my property." Then the Apostle of God said 
 '" what hast thou kept for thy family ?" I replied, " The like unto that ;" 
 and Abu Bakr came with all the property that he had, and the prophet 
 said, " O Abu Bakr ! what hast thou kept for thy family?" He replied, 
 " I have reserved for them God and his prophet ;" then I said, " I shall never 
 surpass him in anything." (At Tirmidi says that the tradition is good and 
 trustworthy.) 
 
 Abu Nua'ym records in his ' Huliyah,' on the authority of al Hasan al 
 Basri that Abu Bakr brought his alms to the prophet secretly and said, 
 " O Apostle of God this is my alms and with God belongeth for me the 
 world to come ;" then Omar brought his offering and showed it openly and 
 said, " Apostle of God this is my alms, and for me belongeth with God 
 the world to come." The Apostle of God exclaimed " there is the saime 
 difference between your offerings as between your words." (The ascription 
 is good but interrupted in transmission.) And at Tirmidi from Abu Huray- 
 rah, that the Apostle of God said, " I have never been under obligation 
 to any one but I have requited him, save Abu Bakr, and verily he hath 
 put obligations upon me, which God will requite unto him on the day of 
 resurrection, and the wealth of none hath ever availed me, as hath availed 
 me the wealth of Abu Bakr." 
 
 Al Bazzar records on the authority of Abu Bakr that he said, " I 
 brought my father Abu Kuhafah to the prophet who said, " why didst 
 thou not leave the Shaykh where he was that I might go to him ?" If 
 said " it is his duty rather to go to thee." He answered, " I would be 
 considerate towards him for the kindnesses of his son towards me." And 
 Ibn A'sakir from Ibn A'bbas that the Apostle of God said " No one hath 
 benefited me in greater measure than Abu Bakr, who hath aided me with 
 his person and his substance and hath given me his daughter in marriage. 
 
 * Atu Daudd Sulayman b-u'l Ashftli of the tribe of Azd, as Sijistani, was a Hafidh 
 in the traditions, eminent for his piety and holy life. He was one of the earliest who 
 compiled a book of traditions (Kitab u's Sunan). He was bom A, H. 202 (817-8) and 
 died at Basrah A. H. 275 (889). Ibn Khali. 
 
 t The text has d^ meaning " Abu Bakr said." 
 
[ 40 1 
 
 On Ms learning, for verily Tie was the wisest of the Oompanions 
 and the most sagacious of them. 
 
 An Nawawi says in his " Tatdib" (and I have copied it from his 
 ■work) . " The learned of our time have adduced in proof of his great 
 wisdom his words in the tradition verified in the " Sahihayn,"* " by Allah 
 I will oppose by force every one who maketh a difference between prayers 
 and alms;t by Allah, if they withhold from me as much as the halter of a 
 camel which they used to pay to the Apostle of God, I will oppose them 
 by force for withholding it." The Shaykh Abu Ishak has brought for- 
 ward this and other things in his Tabakat, (classes) in testimony that 
 Abu Bakr was the wisest of the Companions, for they aU of them, with 
 the exception of him, fell short of comprehending the wisdom of this 
 course. He then explained to them in his discussion of it with them, that 
 his judgment was the right one, and they were converted to it. It has 
 been related to me on the authority of Ibn Omar, that he was asked who 
 used to decide cases for the people in the time of the Apostle of God. He 
 answered, " Abu Bakr and Omar, I know of no others besides those two." 
 And the two Shaykhs record on the authority of Abu Sa'id al Khudri that 
 henarrates, that the Apostle of God addressed the people and said " God, the 
 Holy and Most High, hath given unto one of his servants a choice between 
 this world and the things which are His, and that servant hath chosen that 
 which is with the Lord God ;" and Abu Bakr wept and said, " my ancestry 
 male and female be thy ransom," and we wondered at his weeping because 
 the Apostle of God had spoken regarding a servant that had been given 
 a choice, but it was the Apostle of God himself who had been left to choose, 
 and Abu Bakr was wiser than we were. Then the Apostle of God said. " Abu 
 Bakr has been the most generous of men towards me, in his Companionship, 
 and worldly goods, and were I to choose a friend besides my God, I would 
 assuredly choose Abu Bakr, but the brotherhood of Islam and its affection J 
 
 * The two works entitled Sahih of al Bukhari and Muslim. 
 
 t Keferring to the people of Hira and Yaman who after the death of Muhammad 
 accepted prayers to be an article of faith, hut rejected alms-giving. The council having 
 assembled to consider this recusancy, the Companions were in favor of letting it pass 
 as a matter of little moment, but Abu Bakr strongly insisted on repressing this heresy 
 on the spot lest the dangerous example should be followed by others to the peril of 
 the rising faith. 
 
 J This termination of this sentence is not ia the printed text or MS. which is 
 abrupt and incomplete, but I find it supplied by al Bukhari in his Sharalj on the 
 authority of Ibn A'bbas. 
 
[ 41 ] 
 
 is sufficient for me. There shall not remain a door* but it shall be closed 
 except the door of Abu Bakr." (These are the words of An Nawawi.) 
 
 Ibn Kathir says, that as Siddik was the best read, that is the most 
 learned of the Companions in the Kuran, inasmuch as the prophet gave 
 him precedence of the Companions, as Imam in public prayers by his words, 
 " the most learned of the people in the Kurdn shall be their Imam." At 
 Tirmidi records from Ayesha, that the Apostle of God said, " it is not 
 expedient for a people among whom is Abu Bakr that another than he 
 should act as ImAm to them." He was withal the most skilled in the 
 traditionary law, so that when the Companions referred to him on several 
 occasions he came out before them,'with a relation of the sayings of the 
 prophet, which he recollected and bi'ought forward when there was neces- 
 sity for it, and which they knew not ; and how could it be otherwise for 
 verily he was constantly in the society of the Apostle of God from the 
 beginning of his mission till his death : and withal he was one of the 
 most acute-minded of the servants of God and the most learned of them, 
 and although there are but few traditions recorded, orally transmitted from 
 him, on account of the fewness of his days and his death following quickly 
 on that of the prophet, yet had his life been prolonged, assuredly they 
 would have been far greater in number, and the narrators would not have 
 left a single tradition of his but they would have transmitted it, but these, 
 in his day, were the Companions, none of whom had occasion to relate on 
 his authority, an event in which they themselves had taken part with him : 
 they therefore related on his authority only what they did not themselves 
 know. ^ 
 
 Abu'l Kasim al Baghawi records on the authority of Maymiin-b- 
 Mihrau, that Abu Bakr, when a plaintiff came before him, used to look 
 into the book of God, and if he found in it that which would decide 
 between the claimants, he decided according to it, and if it were not in the 
 Book, and he was aware of a tradition of the prophet respecting such a 
 case, he decided according to it ; but if it embarassed him, he would go 
 forth and ask of the true believers and say, " such a one and such a one 
 came to me ; now do ye know whether the Apostle of God passed judgment* 
 on such a case ?" Then sometimes a number of the people would gather 
 round him, all of them relating a decision of the Apostle of God in such 
 a matter, and he would say, " Praise be to God who hath set amongst us 
 
 • The Commentators give various interpretations of tliis passage : the most 
 probatle opinion is, that the doors spoken of, are those of the Mosque built by Mu- 
 hammad at Medina and one of which opened on to his house, another on to that of 
 Abu Bakr, and the like with Omar and A'li ; and the closing of all but Abu Bakr's 
 door, was a secret allusion to his succession to the Caliphate. 
 6 
 
[ 42 ] 
 
 those *ho bear in mind traditions from the prophet." But if it em- 
 barassed him to discover a tradition of the Apostle of God concerning it 
 he would assemble the chiefs of the people, and the chosen among them 
 and consult them, and if their opinions concurred in one decision, he 
 would decide accordingly. Omar used to do likewise, and when he was 
 unable to find a decision in the Kuran or traditional usage, he would look 
 to see if there were a judgment by Abu Bakr in such a case, and if he 
 discovered that Abu Bakr had adjudged such a matter, he would decide 
 according to that judgment ; otherwise, he would summon the chiefs of the 
 people, and when they had concurred in a decision, he acted according to 
 it. As Siddik was also the most learned of men in the genealogy of the 
 Arabs, more especially that of the Kuraysh. 
 
 Ibn Ishak records on the authority of Yakub-b-U'tbah, who had it 
 from an Ansar Shaykh that Jubayr-b-Mu'tim* was amongst the most 
 learned of the Kuraysh in the pedigrees of the Kuraysh and the Arabs 
 in general, and he used to say, " verily I learnt genealogy from Abu Bakr 
 who was one of the most learned in genealogy of the Arabs." And further, 
 as Siddfk was skilled in the science of the interpretation of dreams, and 
 he used to interpret dreams in the time of the prophet, and indeed Mu- 
 hammad-b-Sirin says .(and he was by common consent, the first in this 
 science) that Abu Bakr was, after the prophet the best interpreter of 
 dreams of this nation. (Ibn Saa'd.) 
 
 Ad Daylami records in his Musnadu'l Firdaus, and Ibn A'sakir on the 
 authority of Samurah,t that the Apostle of God said " I have been com- 
 mandeo. to cause dreams to be interpreted by Abu Bakr." 
 
 Ibn Kathir says that he was one of the most eloquent of men, and 
 the best preacher among them. Az Zubayr-b-Bakkar says " I have heard 
 certain of the learned declare that the most eloquent preachers, among the 
 Companions of the Apostle of God, were Abu Bakr as Siddik and A'li-b- 
 Abi Talib;" and the saying of Omar wUl appear in the tradition of 
 Sakifah.J 
 
 * Abu Muhammad or Abu A'di Jubayr-b-Mu'tim, a Companion, of the tribe of 
 Kuraysh; was converted before the Khybar Expedition and some say on the day of 
 the conquest of Mecca ; died at Medina, A. H. 54 and some say 69. An Nawawi, 
 T. A. 
 
 t Abu Sa'id Abu Mujiammad or Abu A'bdu'llah Samurah-b-Jundab the Com- 
 panion — foxight at Ohud and other battles, by the side of the prophet — resided at 
 Basrah where he acted as governor during the absence of Ziyad b-Abihi at Kufa; died 
 at Basrah 68 or 69. An Nawawi. 
 
 } As Sa^ffah was a building in Medina belonging to the Banu Saa'd, where after 
 the death of the prophet, the rival claims of the fiigitives of Mecca aid the auxiliaries 
 of Medina to elect a successor were iirged with a fierceness, perilous to the common 
 cause. 
 
[ 43 1 
 
 He was likewise the most learned of men in ike Jmowledge of the Lord, 
 and the most God-fearing of them : his utterances regarding that and 
 regarding the interpretation of dreams and his preachings will all of them 
 follow in a future section. Among the proofs which point to his heing 
 the wisest of the Companions, is the tradition on the truce of Hudayhiyah,* 
 when Omar inquired of the Apostle of God regarding that truce and said 
 " why should we accept dishonor in our religion ?" and the prophet answered 
 him : then he went to Abu Bakr and inquired of him regarding that which 
 he had asked of the Apostle of God, and as Saddik answered him with the 
 same answer as the prophet's exactly." (Al Bukhari and others.) 
 
 He was withal, the most judicious of the Companions in counsel and 
 the most perfect of them in wisdom. 
 
 Tamam ar Kazi records in his " Fuwaid" and Ibn A'sakir from A'b- 
 du'Uah-b-A'mar-b-i'l A'fis that he narrates, " I heard the Apostle of God 
 say — Gabriel, came to me and said " verily God commands thee to take 
 counsel of Abu Bakr." And At Tabarani and Abu Nua'ym and others, 
 from Mu'ad-b-Jabal,t that when the prophet desired to send Mu'ad to 
 Yaman, he took counsel of some of the Companions, among them, Abu 
 Bakr, and Omar and Othman and Talhah and Az Zubayr and XJsayd-b- 
 Hudhayr, and each one of the number gave his opinion : then the prophet 
 said, " what dost thou think, O Mu'ad ?" {Mudd continues) I said I ap- 
 prove what Abu Bakr hath spoken : the prophet exclaimed " verily the 
 Lord in the heavens above willeth not that Abu Bakr should err." Ibn 
 Usdmah relates this in his Musnad thus, " verily the Lord in heaven willeth 
 not that Abu Bakr as Siddik should err upon earth ;" and at "Tabarani 
 records in his Ausat from Sahl-b-Saa'dJ as Sai'di that the Apostle of God 
 said " verily the Lord willeth not that Abu Bakr should err," (his autho- 
 rities are trustworthy). 
 
 An Nawawi says in his Tahdib, that as Siddik was one of the Com- 
 panions who knew the Kuran by heart, and a number others, among them 
 Ibn Kathir in his commentary, have stated the same. But the tradition 
 
 * " According to Jellalu'ddin, says Sale, fourscore of the infidels came privatelyto 
 Muhammad's camp with an intent to surprise some of his men, but were taken and 
 brought before the prophet who pardoned them and ordered them to be set at liberty, 
 and this generous action was the occasion of the truce struck up by the Kuraysh with 
 Muhammad." 
 
 t Of the tribe of Khazraj, a native of Medina and one of the Companions, died 
 A. H. 18 (A. D. 639) aged thirty-three (and some say, thirty-four, and thirty-eight) 
 of the plague at Bmaus. An Nawawi. 
 
 % Abu'l Abbas or Yahya Sahl-b-Saa'd one of the Companions and a native of 
 Medina; delivered 188 traditions, died at Medina A. H. 88 (A. D. 707). His name was 
 ipiuzn and he was called Sahl by the prophet to avoid the ill-omen of its meaning. 
 Huzn signifying « grief," and " Sahl," " easy"— "faeUe." An Nawawi, T. A. 
 
[ 44 ] 
 
 of Anas wMcTi, says " Four persons collected the Kuran in the time of the 
 Apostle of God," means, four among the auxiliaries, as he has explained 
 in his work Al Ittkan ;* hut what Ibn Abi Daulid says, on the authority 
 of as Shaa'bi, viz., that Abu Bakr died and the Kuran was not collected, 
 is either to be rejected or interpreted to mean, its collection into a book 
 according to the arrangement adopted by Othman. 
 
 On his heing the most eminent of the Companions and the most virtuous. 
 
 The Sunnis are agreed that the most eminent of men, after the Apostle 
 of God were, Abu Bakr, then Omar, then Othman, then A'li, then the rest 
 of the ten,t then the rest of those engaged at Badr, then the rest of 
 those engaged at Ohud ; then the rest of the people of the Covenant, J 
 then the rest of the Companions. Abu Man§ur al Baghdadi§ relates this 
 as a fkct upon -which all are agreed. 
 
 Al Bukhari narrates on the authority of Ibn Omar that he said, 
 " we were making a choice among men in the time of the Apostle of God, 
 and we preferred Abu Bakr, then Omar, then Othman ;" and at Tabarani 
 adds in the " Kabir" " and the prophet knew of this and did not disap- 
 prove it." 
 
 Ibn A'sakir records on the authority of Ibn Omar, that he said, 
 " we (and among us was the Apostle of God) gave the preference first to 
 Abu Bakr, then to Omar, then to Othman, then to A'li ;" and from Abu 
 Hurayrah, " we, a gathering of the Companions of the Apostle of God, 
 being a considerable number together, said the most distinguished of 
 this people after their prophet, are Abu Bakr, then Omar then Othman — 
 then we were silent." 
 
 t Called Xj-i*** ^jA* or tlie ten to whom joyful tidings are given. See note, 
 page 25. 
 
 i Those whom he called together al Hudayhiyah and who swore to he faithful 
 to him till death. 
 
 § Abu Man?tir A'bdu'l Kahir a native of Baghdad, a dogmatic theologian of the 
 Shafi'i school, well acquainted with general literature and versed in a numher of 
 other sciences particularly arithmetic ; a book of his on the latter bears the name of 
 at Takmila, He was likewise skilled in the law of inheritance and composed poetry, 
 died at Isfardin A. H. 429, (A. D. 1037-8) and was interred by the grave of his 
 master Abu Ish&k, Ibn Khali. 
 
C 4,5 ] 
 
 At Tirmidi records from Jabir-b-A'bdu'Uah* that Omar said to Abu 
 Bakr " O best of men after the Apostle of God," and Abu Bakr replied — 
 nay, thou if thou speakest thus, then verily, I have heard the prophet say 
 " the sun hath never risen upon a man better than Omar." And al 
 Bukhari from A'li-b-Abi Talib, " I said to my father^who among men is 
 the best after the Apostle of God ?" He replied " Abu Bakr." I said 
 '■' who after him," he replied " Omar," and I feared lest he should say 
 Othman. I continued " then thou." He answered " I am nothing but one 
 among the true believers." And Ahmad and others from A'li, " the best 
 of this people after its prophet is Abu Bakr and then Omar." Ad Dahabi 
 says " this hath come down in regular transmission from A'li, therefore 
 may God curse the hereticsf how ignorant are they !" 
 
 At Tirmidi and al Hakim record on the authority of Omar-b-u'l 
 Khattab that he said, " Abu Bakr is our chief and the most excellent of us, 
 and the most beloved among us of the Apostle of God." And Ibn A'sa- 
 kir from Abdu'r EahmanJ-b-Abi Layla, that Omar ascended the pulpit 
 and said, " know that the most eminent of this people after its prophet is 
 Abu Bakr, and whosoever speaketh otherwise is a slanderer : upon him 
 be the retribution that overtaketh the slanderer," and that A'li said, " let 
 not any one prefer me in merit to Abu Bakr or Omar, or I shaU scourge 
 him according to the punishment of the law for the slanderer." 
 
 Abdu'r Eahman-b-Hamid in his Musnad, and Abu Nua'ym and others, 
 record with different authorities from Abu'd Darda, that the Apostle of 
 God said, " The sun hath never risen and hath never gone down upon one 
 more eminent than Abu Bakr, save he were a prophet ;" and in another 
 reading " upon one of the true believers, after the prophets and Apostles, 
 more eminent than Abu Bakr." And the same from the tradition of Jabir 
 with the reading " The sun hath never risen upon one amongst you more 
 eminent than he." At Tabarani and others record this and it has evi- 
 dences from other sources which determine its accuracy or trustworthiness 
 and indeed Ibn Kathir hath pointed out its absolute authenticity. 
 
 * Atu A'bdu'llah Jabir-b-A'tdi'llali as Salami-al Ans&i, emtraoed Isldm one 
 year before tbe first pact, made with. Muhammad al Akaha (Abul Feda, Tom 1, page 
 Sa) and -was present at the second; died A. H. 78 (A. D. 697-8) aged ninety-four 
 years. De Slane, I. K. 
 
 t The Shiahs and such as maintain the pre-eminence of Ali over his three 
 predecessors. 
 
 % Abu I'sa A'bdu'r Eahman one of the principal Tabi'is bom at Kufah where his 
 father had settled,6 years before Omar'a death. He died A. H. 83. An Nawawi. 
 
[ 46 1 
 
 At Tabarani records from Salimah-b-u'l A'kwaa'* that the Apostle 
 of God said " Abu Bakr as Siddik is the most eminent of men, save it be 
 a prophet ;" and in his Ausat from Saa'd-b-Zurarah, that the Apostle of 
 God said, " The holy spirit Gabriel announced to me, — " the best of thy 
 people after thee is Abu Bakr." 
 
 And the twp Shaykhs from A'mr-b-u'l A'as, " I said ' Apostle of 
 God, who among mankind is the most beloved by thee ?" He replied 
 "Ayesha." I said "among men?" "Her father." I sai4 " then who ?" 
 lie replied. " Then Omar-b-u'l Khattab." This tradition without the 
 "then Omar" has come down in the narrative of Anas and Ibn Omar and 
 Ibn A'bbds. 
 
 At Tirmidi, an JSTasaijf and al Hdkim record on the authority of 
 A'bdu'Uah-b-Shakii; that he narrates, " I said to Ayesha— which of the Com- 
 panions of the Apostle of God was most beloved by him ?" She answered 
 "Abu Bakr." I said " which next ?" She replied " Then Omar" I said 
 " which next ?" She answered Abu U'baydah-b-u'l Jarrah." And at Tir- 
 midi from Anas, that the Apostle of God said of Abu Bakr and Omar, 
 " These are the chief of the adult dwellers in paradise, of those who have 
 been the first and of those who will be the last, save they be prophets and 
 Apostles," J 
 
 At Taibarani records in his Ausat on the authority of A'mmar-b- 
 Tasir§ that he said, " whosoever giveth precedence to any one of the 
 Companions of the Apostle of God over Abu Bakr and Omar, verily he 
 putteth a slight upon the Fugitives and Auxiliaries." And Ibn Sa'id on 
 
 * Salimah-b-u'l A'kwaa', one of tlie CompanionB. He swore allegiance to Muham- 
 mad on tlie day of Hudaybiyah and aooompanied him in seven of his expeditions. 
 He used to reside at Medina, but on the death of Omar, lie left it for Eabadah and 
 returned to Medina a few days before his death, A. H. 74 (693J at the age of 80. An 
 Nawawi. 
 
 t The Hafidh, Abu A'bdu'r Eahmfin, chief traditionist of his age and author of 
 a Sunan or collection of traditions, was an inhabitant of old Cairo. He was a great 
 advocate of the rights of A'U and was maltreated by the mob on that account, under 
 the effects of which he died A. H. 303, (A. D. 916). Bom at Nasa n city of Khora- 
 bSxl a. H. 214-5. (A. D. 829-30). He composed a work called the Al Khasiis (cha- 
 racteristics) on the merits of AU. Ibn KhaU. 
 
 X The Muhammadan doctors place the Apostles higher in degree than the prophete. 
 The two words cU'y'jjV " prophet apostle," are employed only for those who bear 
 the double character. By the latter they signify, one whose divine mission is testified 
 to by a sacred hook whereas the prophetical office alone is not always so distinguished. 
 The Prophet Apostles are four, Moses, David, Jesus, Muhammad. 
 
 § One of the Companions, who fell in the battle fought (A, H. 37) between A'li 
 and Mu'fiwiyah at Siffi'n. Ibn Khali. 
 
[ 47 ] 
 
 the authority of az Zubri,* that the Apostle of God said to Hassfin-b- 
 Thabit. " Hast thou said anything in verse of Abu Bakr ?" He answered 
 " yes." Then he said " speak and I will listen," and he repeated this 
 verse — 
 
 " The second of the two in the glorious cave and verily 
 The enemy went round about it when they ascended the mountain 
 And verily they knew that he was the beloved of the Apostle of 
 
 God: 
 Who held no one his equal among the people." 
 and the Apostle of God laughed so that his back teeth were visible, and 
 said, " thou hast spoken truly, Hassan, he is as thou sayest." 
 
 Ahmad and at Tirmidi record from Anasf-b- Malik that the Apostle of 
 God said, " The most compassionate of my people unto my people is 
 Abu Bakr, and the most zealous of them-in upholding the commands of 
 God, Omar, and the most truly modest among them, Othman, and the 
 most learned of them in things lawful and unlawful Mu'ad-b-Jabal, and 
 the most skilled in the law of inheritance, Zayd-b-Thabit,J and the most 
 learned of them in theKuran Ubayy-b-Kaa'b,§ and in every people, there is 
 one that is confided in, and the trusted one of this people is Abu U'baydah- 
 b-u'l Jarrah." Abu Ya'la has taken this from the tradition of Ibn Omar 
 and added to it " and the best of them in adjudication, A'li." Ad Daylami 
 quotes this in his Musnad u'l Firdaus from the tradition of Shaddad-b-Aus 
 
 * Abu Bakr Muhammad Ibn Shihfib of the Kurayah, one of the most eminent of 
 the Tabi'is, jurisconsults and traditioniats of Medina. He saw ten of Muliammad's 
 Companions. He was made Kadhi by Yazid-b-Abdi'l Malik and died A. H. 124 
 (A. D. 742) at the age of seventy-two or three. Ibn Khali. 
 
 t Abu Hamzah, Anas-b-MaUk surnamed "the servant of God's Apostle." 
 *Jj Uy»j /« jl^ was one of the most eminent of the Companions. At his mother's 
 request Muhammad prayed for his spiritual and temporal prosperity, through which the 
 riches of Anas multiplied, his date trees bore fruit twice a year and he was the father 
 of 78 sons ; he was 10 years in his master's service and on his death removed to Basrah. 
 He died A. H. 93 (A. D. 711-2). De Slane, I. K. 
 
 X Abu Sa'id-Zayd-b-Thabit a Companion and native of Medina. He was Mu- 
 hammad's Secretary and used to commit his dictation of the Kurdn to writing and 
 carried on his master's ordinary, correspondence and afterwards acted in the same capa- 
 city under Abu Bakr and Omar. He was one of the three to whom Abu Bakr com- 
 mitted the task of collecting the !Kuran. He was celebrated for his knowledge of the 
 law of inheritance among other subjects and had the charge of the public treasury in 
 the Caliphate of Othm£n. He died at Medina A. H. 64. An Nawawi. 
 
 § One of the Companions, present at the second pact of al A'kabah ; fought at 
 Badr and other engagements. Muhammad recited to him the 98th Sura of the Kuran 
 as he said, at the express divine command, an honour which no other Companion shared 
 with him : died at Medina before A. H. 30 in the Caliphate of Othmdn. An Nawawi, 
 T. A. 
 
[ 48 ] 
 
 and added " and Abu Darr,* the most devout of my people and the most 
 sincere, and Abu'd Darda, the most pious of my people, and the most God- 
 fearing and Mu'awiyah-b-Abi Sufyan, the most benign of my people and 
 the most munificent." And verily my most erudite master Al Kafijif was 
 asked whether these characteristics were at variance with those before 
 given, and he replied that there was no contradiction. 
 
 On what has been revealed in the verses of the Kurdn in Ms praise and his 
 witnessing to the truth and other matters regarding him. 
 
 Know, that I have seen a work of a certain author on the names of 
 those regarding whom there hath been a revelation in the Kur4n, but in- 
 accurate and incomplete and, I therefore myself composed a work on that 
 sutject, comprehensive, exhaustive and accurate and I extract from it here, 
 whatever refers to As Siddik. 
 
 The Lord said, " The second of the two when they two were in the 
 cave : when he said unto his Companion, "be not grieved for God is with 
 us. And God sent down his security upon him." (Kur. e. ix.) The true 
 believers are agreed that the Companion mentioned is Abu Bakr, and there 
 will appear a tradition from him on this subject. 
 
 Ibn Abi Hatim records from Ibn A'bbas concerning the divine words 
 " and God sent down his security upon him," that he said, " that is, upon 
 Abu Bakr, for as to the prophet, the security never ceased to be with him." 
 And from Ibn Masa'lid,J that Abu Bakr purchased Bilal§ from Umayyah- 
 b-Khalaf and Ubayy-b-Khalaf, for a cloak and ten pieces of money and he 
 set him free for the sake of God : then God revealed. " By the night 
 when it coverefch" (Kur XCII) to the words " verily your endeavour is 
 different" that is the endeavour of Abu Bakr and Umayyah and Ubayy. 
 
 Ibn Jarir records from A'amir-b-A'bdu'Uah-b-iz Zubayr that Abu 
 Bakr used to give manumission in Mecca to slaves of the true faith, and thus 
 
 * Jundub-'b-Junadah Abu Darr Ali Gtaffari, one of the Companions of an ascetic 
 life and one of the earliest converts. There is much variance of opinion regarding his 
 real name. He died at Babadah a village three imles from Medina A. H. 32. For 
 particulars of his life consult Ibn Hajr, and an Naw. 
 
 t This name is written Kafiaji by by Meursinge. See Introduction. 
 
 % A'bdu'Uah-b-Masa'M-b-Ghafll. A eminent Companion and one of the Fugitives 
 both to Abyssinia and Medina and a trusty confidant of Muhammad's whom he 
 accompanied on all his expeditions. Some say he died at Kufah, others, at Medina 
 about A. H. 32, being a little more than sixty years of age. An Nawawi. 
 
 § Muhammad's Abyssinian caller to prayer. 
 
[ 49 J 
 
 he used to set free old women and other women when they embraced Islam 
 and his father said to him, " O.my son, I see that thou freest weak women, 
 but if thou wert to free strong men, they would stand by thee and protect 
 thee, and repel Tiarm from thee." He replied, " father I desire the 
 things which are of God." He adds " I was told by some of my family 
 that this verse was revealed concerning him " now who is obedient and 
 feareth God" (Kur XCII)— to the end. 
 
 Ibn Abi Hatim and at Tabarani record from U'rwah that Abu Bakr 
 freed seven slaves, all of whom had suffered persecution for the sake of 
 God and regarding him was revealed, " but he who strictly bewareth idolatrif 
 and rebellion shall he removed, far from the same" to the end of the Sura 
 (Kur. XCII). Al Bazzar records from A'bdu'llah-b-u'z-Zubayr, that this 
 verse, " by whom no benefit is bestowed on any that it may be recompens- 
 ed," to the end, (Kur. XCII) was revealed concerning Abu Bakr;. and al 
 Bukhari records from Ayesha that Abu Bakr never violated an oath until 
 God revealed the atonement for an oath violated (Kur. V). 
 
 Al Bazzar and Ibn A'sakir record from Usayd-b-Safwan (who enjoyed 
 the Companionship of the prophet) that A'li said, " and he who brought the 
 truth was Muhammad and Abu Bakr as Siddik testified to him." Ibn 
 A'sakir says, " this is the tradition regarding this reading but perhaps it is 
 a reading of A'li's.* 
 
 Al Hakim records from Ibn A'bbas regarding the words of God, 
 " and consult them in the affair" (Kur. III.), that they were revealed con- 
 cerning Abu Bakr and Omar. And Ibn Abi Hatim from Ibn Shaudab 
 that the verse " but for him who dreadeth the tribunal of his Lord are 
 prepared two gardens," (Kur. LV), was revealed regarding Abu Bakr, and 
 there are other ascriptions which 1 have mentioned in the Eeasons of 
 Revelation. 
 
 At Tabarani records in his Ausat from Ibn Omar and Ibn A'bbas that 
 the divine words " and the good man among the faithful" (Kur. LXVI) 
 were revealed concerning Abu Bakr and Omar. And A'bdu'Uah-b-Abi 
 Hamid in his Commentary, from Mujahid,t that when " verily God and 
 his angels bless the prophet" (Kur. XXXIII) was revealed, Abu Bakr said, 
 " O Apostle of God ! God hath never revealed to thee a blessing but he 
 hath included me in it." Then was revealed this verse " it is he who 
 is gracious to you and his angels intercede for i/ou." (Kur. XXXIII.) 
 
 * That is with the words " ti'l Hakk." The -word in the Kuraa is " Sid^" and 
 not " n3.^kk"—^J0^J ^JiJ^Jb *U. i^^\ Kur. XXXIX. 
 
 t The oelehrated Imam and Tabi'i Ahu'l Hajjaj Mujahid-b-Jubayr, was a doctor 
 of high authority on jurisprudence and Kuranic interpretation. A'bdu'llah-h-Omar 
 (espected him to such a degree that he held his stirrup when he mounted on horse- 
 hack, died A. H. 101, (A. D. 719-20). De Slane I. K. 
 7 
 
[ 50 ] 
 
 Ibn A'sakir records from 'Ali-b-u'l Husayn, that the following verse 
 was revealed regarding Abu Bakr, Omar and A'li, " and we will remove aU 
 grudges from their breasts ; they shall he as brethren sitting over against 
 one another on couches" (Kur. XV) ; and from Ibn A'bbas, that, " we have 
 commanded man to show kindness to his parents" down to the words "this 
 is a true promise which they are promised in this world" (Kur. XL VI) 
 was revealed regarding Abu Bakr as Siddik; and from Ibn TJ'aynah,* 
 that God had chided all the true believers through the Apostle of God, 
 except Abu Bakr alone who had escaped from the reproach : and he recites 
 the words "if ye assist not the prophet, verily God will assist him as He 
 assisted him formerly when the unbelievers drove him out of Mecca, the 
 second of the two when they two were in the cave." (Kur. IX). 
 
 On the traditions handed doim regarding his merit covpled with that of 
 Omar over and above what has preceded. 
 
 The two Shaykhs record from Abu Hurayrah that he said, " I heard 
 the Apostle of God say, " whilst a shepherd was in the midst of his flock, 
 a wolf rushed upon it and carried off from it a sheep and the shepherd pm-- 
 sued it. The wolf turned to him and said " who will he a protector to it 
 on the day of resurrection ? — the day when there will be no other shep- 
 herd than myself ;"t and as a man was driving an ox which he had laden, 
 it turned to him and spake and said "verily I was not created for this, but 
 I was created for tillage" and the people cried out. " Good God, that 
 an ox should talk !" The prophet said, "I believe in it and likewise do 
 Abu Bakr and Omar ;" and Abu Bakr and Omar were not there, that is, 
 they were not present in the assembly, but he bore witness for them both 
 as to their belief in it, because of his knowledge of the perfection of their 
 faith." 
 
 At Tirmidi records from Abu Sa'id al Khudri, that the Apostle of 
 God said, " there was never a prophet but he had two ministers from the 
 dwellers in heaven, and two ministers from among the dwellers on earth, 
 
 * Atu Muhammad Sufyan b-tT'aynah, bom at Kufah A. H. 107 and "taken by his 
 father to Mecca where he died A. H. 198 (814 A. D.) He was an Imam of learning, 
 piety and of a mortified Hfe, distinguished for the exactitude of the traditions which 
 he handed down. Ibn Khali. 
 
 t " Saba' " in Yakit (Mua'jam u'l Bnldan) is a valley in Palestine in which 
 tradition says, mankind will be assembled for the judgment. This very tradition is 
 quoted in proof— but it also stated that there are other interpretations— what they are 
 I cannot discover. In ^ustultoi's commentary on .al Buthpi this tradition is noted 
 but without explanation. Sou also Lane, ait.***. 
 
[ 51 ] 
 
 and my 4iwo ministers of the dwellers in heaven, are Gabriel and Michael, 
 and my two ministers of the dwellers on earth are Abu Bakr and Omar." 
 The Traditionists and others record from Sa'id-b-Zayd, " I heard the 
 Apostle of God say, " Abu Bakr shall be in paradise and Omar shall be in 
 paradise, and Othman shall be in paradise and A'li shall be in paradise," 
 and he mentioned the whole of the ten ;* and Al Tirmidi from Abu Sa'id 
 " verily the dwellers in the lofty mansions [of pa/radise)—ih.Qj that are 
 below them shall see them as ye see the stars shining in the horizon of the 
 sky, and verily Abu Bakr and Omar shall be among them ;" and from 
 Anas, that the Apostle of God went out to his Companions, of the Fugi- 
 tives and Auxiliaries, and there were seated among them Abu Bakr and 
 Omar, but none of them raised his eyes to him except Abu Bakr and Omar, 
 and they remained gazing upon him and he upon them, and smiling upon 
 him and he upon them. 
 
 Al Tirmidi and al Hakim record from Ibn Omar that the Apostle of 
 God went forth one day and entered the mosque, with Abu Bakr and Omar, 
 one of them upon his right hand and the other upon his left, and he held 
 their hands and said, " thus shall we arise on the day of judgment ;" and at 
 Tirmidi from Ibn Omar, that the Apostle of God said, " I shall be the first 
 from whom the earth shall be rent asunder, then Abu Bakr and then 
 Omar ;" and he and al Hakim record, confirming it on the authority of 
 Ibn Handhalah that the prophet looked upon Abu Bakr and Omar and 
 said, " these are my hearing and my sight." 
 
 Al Bazzar, and al Hakim record from Abu Arwa ad Dausi,t that he 
 said, " I was with the prophet when Abu Bakr and Omar approached and 
 he said " praise be to God whg hath strengthened me with ye two." And 
 Abu Ta'la from A'mmar-b-Tasir, that the Apostle of God said, " a little 
 while ago, Gabriel came to me and I said " O Gabriel, recount unto me 
 the merits of Omar b-u'l Khattab," and he answered " if I were to relate 
 to thee the merits of Omar, the narration of his merits would not be 
 ended during the period in which Noah tarried with his people, for verily 
 Omar is a good work amongst the good works of Abu Bakr ;" and Ahmad 
 from A'bdu'r Eahman-b-Ghanam, that the Apostle of God said to Abu 
 Bakr and Omar " if you were agreed upon a counsel, I would not oppose 
 you." 
 
 * See page 25. Note t 
 
 t Ibn Hajr can give no account of this person beyond the mention, of one or two 
 traditions (including this with a slightly different reading) on his authority. Hia 
 name and genealogy are unknown — he is supposed to have been present with the 
 prophet at the affair of " IJ^arifeLarat u'l Kudr" and_ died at the close of Mu'awiyah's 
 reign. 
 
[ 52 ] 
 
 Ibn Saa'd relates on the authority of Iba Omar that he was asked 
 who used to give decisions in the time of the Apostle of God, and he replied, 
 " Abu Bakr and Omar, and I know of no others besides those two ;" and 
 from Abu'l Kasim-b-Muhammad, that Abu Bakr, Omar, Othman and A'li 
 used to decide cases in the time of the Apostle of God ; and at Tabarani, 
 from Ibn Masa'ud that the Apostle of God said, " every prophet hath a 
 chosen one among his people, and verily my elect from among my Com- 
 panions, are Abu Bakr and Omar;" and Ibn A' sakir from A'li that the 
 Apostle of God said, " may God have mercy upoin Abu Bakr who hath 
 given me his daughter in marriage, and bore me to the city of refuge 
 (Medina) and gave freedom to Bilal — may God have mercy upon Omar 
 who ever speaketh the truth though it be bitter, for the speaking of the 
 truth hath left him without a friend — may God have mercy upon Othmaa 
 before whom the angels are abashed — may God have mercy upon A'li — 
 O God encompass him with the truth whithersoever he goeth." 
 
 And at Tabarani records from Sahl that when the prophet returned 
 from his last pilgrimage, he ascended the pulpit and blessed God and 
 glorified Him and said; ' people,' verily Abu Bakr hath never done me a 
 wrong, therefore know this of him. people, verily I am content with 
 him and with Omar and Othman and A'li and Talhah and az Zubayr and 
 Saa'd and Abdu'r E.ahman-b-A'uf,* and the First FugitiveSjf know this 
 of them." 
 
 A'bdu'Uah b-Ahmad records in the " Zawaid u'z Zuhd" from Ibn Abi 
 Hazim, that a man came to A'li-b-u'l Husayn and said, " what place did 
 Abu !Pakr and Omar hold near the Apostle of God ?" He replied " that 
 which they hold at this moment." And Ibn Saa'd from Bistam-b-Muslim^ 
 that the Apostle of God said to Abu Bakr and Omar, " no one shall have 
 authority over you two after me ;" and Ibn A'sakir, a tradition relat- 
 ing direct to the prophet through Anas, " love towards Abu Bakr and 
 Omar is faith, hatred towards them is infidelity ;" and from Ibn Masa'ud, 
 " love towards Abu Bakr and Omar and a knowledge of them is an in- 
 junction of the law :" and from Anas, direct from the prophet, " verily I 
 hope for the same henefit to my people, by their pro/essio» of love towards 
 Abu Bakr and Omar, that I hope for them by their profession of faith 
 " there is no God but God." 
 
 •• Abu Muhammad A'bdu'r Eahman b-A'uf of the ^nraysh a native of Medina, 
 one of the ten to whom paradise was assured, died A. H. 32, aged 72. An Nawawi. 
 
 + The first fugitives to Abyssinia who were driven by the persecution of the 
 ^uraysh to seek shelter with the king (Naj&hi) of that country. There were eleven 
 in number, and four of them were.aooompanied by their wives. See Muir's Life of Mu- 
 I^ammad, Vol. II, p. 133. 
 
[ 53 ] 
 
 On tJie traditions handed down referring exclusively to his merit, over and 
 above what has preceded. 
 
 The two Shaykhs record on the authority of Abu Hurayrah that he 
 said, " I heard the Apostle of God say," he who repeatedly* giv:eth of the 
 things that are his, for the sake of God, shall be summoned through the 
 gates of paradise in these words : " ' servant of God, this is goodi for thee 
 to enter ly," and he who is of those who pray, shall be summoned through 
 the Gate of Prayer, and he who is of those who have fought for the faith, 
 shall be summoned through the Gate of Religious War, and he who is of 
 those who give in alms, shall be summoned through the Gate of Alms, and 
 he who is of those who fast shall be summoned through the Gate of Fast- 
 ing — that is\ the Gate of Satiety." Then Abu Bakr said, " it cannot be 
 necessary that one should be summoned though these gates — shall, then,, 
 one be summoned through them all?" And he answered, " yes, and I hope, 
 .that thou wilt be among them, Abu Bakr ;" and Ibn DauM and al Hakim 
 from A^u Hurayrah that the Apostle of God said, " but thou, Abu Bakr, 
 shall be the first of my people to enter paradise ;" and the two Shaykhs 
 from Abu Sa'id that the Apostle of God said, " he who hath laid me under 
 the greatest obligation of all men both with his person and his goods, is 
 Abu Bakr, and if I were to take a friend other than my Lord, I would 
 surely take Abu Bakr, but the brotherhood of the faith is sufficient." 
 
 Al Bukhari records on the authority of Abu'd Darda that he said, " I 
 was sitting with the prophet when there came forward Abu Bakr, and greeted, 
 him and said, " verily a dispute arose between me and Omar and I was hasty 
 with him, but afterwards I repented and besought him to forgive me, but 
 he refused, wherefore I have come to thee," and he said " May God have 
 mercy upon thee, O Abu Bakr" three times. Afterwards, verily Omar 
 repented and went to the house of Abu Bakr, but found him not, and he 
 hastened to the prophet and the face of the prophet became flushed with 
 wrath so that Abu Bakr was afraid, and he fell upon his knees and said 
 twice, " Apostle of God, I was more intemperate than he." The prophet 
 exclaimed to the bystanders " verily, the Lord sent me unto you as a pro- 
 phet, and you said, " thou liest," and Abu Bakr said, " thou hast spoken 
 truly," and he comforted me with the service of his person and his goods ; 
 then will ye not leave me to me my Companion?" this he said twice and 
 
 • My authorities for this sense of tlie word ^ji^jj are Turbushti and Tibi, see 
 the Commentary of Kustulani on this tradition.. 
 
 t The MS. omits. " the Gate of Fasting." The printed text is correct here : the 
 words /•(Ji«aJ| us^ y* being in al Bukhari — where it ia explained as I have translated 
 it. ' 
 
[ 54 ] 
 
 after that he was troubled no more." Ibn A'di records a similar account 
 from the tradition of Ibn Omar in which is the following, " the Apostle of 
 God said," afflict me not in my Companion, for verily the Lord sent me as 
 as a guide unto salvation and the true faith and you said, " thou hast lied," 
 and Abu Bakr said, " thou hast spoken truly," and had it not been that the 
 Lord had named him " Companion," verily I would have taken him as an 
 intimate friend but the brotherhood of Islam is sufficient." And Ibn 
 A'sakir from al Mikdam* that A'kilf the son of Abu Talib, and Abu Bakr 
 were reviling each other and he adds that Abu Bakr used to be a great 
 reviler as well as a great genealogist but that he had learned courtesy of 
 manner' from his Companionship with the prophet and he turned away from 
 A'kil and complained to the prophet, and the Apostle of God rose up before 
 the people and said, " will ye not leave unto me my Companion, what is your 
 worth, and his ? By Allah there is not a man among you, but darkness is 
 upon the door of his house, save the door of Abu Bakr, and verily upon 
 his door, there is light — and by Allah, verily ye said to me, " thou hast lied," 
 and Abu Bakr said " thou hast spoken truly," and ye withheld your pos- 
 sessions, but he gave unto me that which he had, and ye reviled me, but 
 he. cherished me and followed me." And al Bukhari from Ibn Omar that 
 the Apostle of God said, " he who traileth his garments haughtily, the 
 Lord will not look upon him on the day of judgment," and Abu Bakr said 
 " should either of the two sides of my garment trail loosely, must I be 
 careful of that ?" The Apostle of God replied " thou art not he who doeth 
 that >in pride." And Muslim from Abu Hurayrah, that the Apostle 
 of God said, '' who among you hath begun the day fasting ?" And Abu 
 Bakr replied " I have ;" then he said " who among you hath fed the poor 
 to-day?" Abu Bakr replied "I;" then he said, "who among you, hath 
 visited the sick to-day," and Abu Bakr replied " I ;" then the Apostle of 
 God said " these things shall not come together in a man, but he shall 
 enter paradise." Verily this tradition hath been handed down through the 
 narration of Anas-b-Malik and Abdu'r Eahman-b-Abi Bakr, andj has 
 
 mentioned this tradition of Anas and at the end of it " paradise shaU 
 surely be thy portion." And al Bazzdr records the tradition of A'bdu'r 
 
 * Al Mikdam-b-Ma'di Karib, one of the Companions— he resided at Emessa, and 
 related forty-seven traditions regarding his master, died in Syria A. H. 87 at the 
 age of 91. An Nawawi. 
 
 t Ahu Yazid or Abu Isa the 2nd son of Abu Talib ; he fought unwilUngly on the 
 side of the infidels al Badr, and was taken prisoner and was converted before Huday- 
 biyah. He was a, distinguished genealogist. He was quick in repartee says an 
 Nawawi, and generally silenced his antagonist. He died in the Caliphate of Mu'a- 
 wiyah, having lost his sight — and was buried at al Bakii' the cemetery at Medina. 
 
 J The MS. has here a blank and the printed text does not supply the omission. 
 
[ 55 ] 
 
 Rahman and its words are these, " the Apostle of God read the praj^ers in 
 the morning : then he turned to his Companions and said " who, among you, 
 hath begun the day fasting ?" Omar replied ' ! Apostle of God, I did 
 not purpose to myself, during the past night, to fast, thus I have become 
 this morning as one who hath broken his fast,"* and Abu Bakr said 
 " but I purposed to myself during the night to fast, and thus I have 
 risen fasting." Then the prophet said " Hath any among you visited 
 the sick to-day ?" and Omar replied, " Apostle of God, we have not 
 gone forth from here, how then can we have visited the sick ?" but Abu 
 Bakr said '■ I heard that my brotherf A'bdu'r Rahman-b-A'uf was sick and 
 I went round that way to him, to see how he was this morning." Then 
 he said " hath any one among you fed the poor to-day ?" and Omar 
 replied " we have been praying, Apostle of God, and have not gone 
 forth," but Abu Bakr said, " I entered the mosque when, behold ! there 
 came a beggar, and I found a piece of barley bread in the hand of Abdu'r 
 Rahman and I took it and gave it to him," and he said, " Eejoice with 
 the good tidings of paradise ;" then he spoke a word which comforted 
 Omar, and Omar knew that he should never purpose to do a good work 
 but Abu Bakr would be before him in it." 
 
 Abu Ya'la records from Ibn Masa'iid, that he said " I was in the 
 mosque praying when there entered the Apostle of God, and with him 
 Abu Bakr and Omar and he found me praying and he said, " ask — it shall be 
 granted unto you," then he said " whosoever wishes to read the Kuran in 
 a fresh and joyous manner, let him read it with the reading of the son of 
 Umm A'bd." J Then I returned to my house and i(j^u Baki: came to me and 
 gave me the good tidings regarding what the prophet had said ; then caine 
 Omar and he found Abu Bakr going forth, having already been before him 
 and he said " verily thou art the foremost in good." Ahmad records on good 
 authority from Eabii'h-u'l Aslami,§ that he said, " a disputation arose 
 between me and Abu Bakr, when he said to me a word which I disliked, 
 and he repented and said to me, " Eabii'h return it to me likewise, so 
 that there may be retaliation." I replied " I shall not do so." He answered 
 " Thou shalt say it or I shall call up against thee, the Apostle of God." 
 
 * The mere act of atstaining from food during tlie day, does not constitute a fast 
 religiously speaking. Tlie intention to fast, must precede the abstention to make it 
 efficacious. During the long fast of the Eamadhan the intention is pre-supposed and 
 need not be daily renewed. 
 
 t The term brother is, aa is weU-kuown, applied lo all of a tribe indisoriminately 
 without reference to consanguinity. 
 
 t The mother of Ibn Masa'ud. 
 
 § Eabii'h-b-Kaa'b-b-Malik al Aslami Hijazi, one of the Companions, settled at 
 Medina and died at Harrah in A. H. 63. Ibn Hajr. 
 
[ 56 ] 
 
 I said, "I will -not do so," and Abu Bakr departed and there came 
 some men of the tribe of Aslam and they said to me, " may Grod have mercy 
 upon Abu Bakr ! for what reason hath he called up against thee the pro- 
 phet, he being the one that hath said to 'thee what he hath said ?" And I 
 replied, " know ye not who is Abu Bakr as Siddik ? he is the " second of 
 the two" — and he is the grey beard of the Muslims — look to yourselves , 
 that he turn not and see ye abetting me against him, lest he be angered 
 and the Apostle of God come and be wroth on account of his anger, and 
 the Lord be wrathful on account of the anger of those two, and Rabii'h 
 perish ;" and Abu Bakr departed and I followed him alone until he came 
 to the Apostle of God and he related to him the story as it occurred : then 
 the prophet lifted up his head towards me and said," Eabii'h, what hath 
 happened between thee and as Siddik ?" I replied, " O Apostle of God 
 such and suoh a thing happened and he said to me a word which I disliked, 
 then he said to me, " speak to me as I have spoken, so that there may be 
 a retaliation," and I refused." Then the Apostle of God said " good, do 
 not return it, but say ' the Lord have mercy upon thee, O Abu Bakr :' " then 
 I said "the Lord have mercy upon thee O Abu Bakr." 
 
 Al Tirmidi records and approves a tradition on the authority of Ibn 
 Omar, that the Apostle of God said to Abu Bakr " Thou shalt be my 
 Companion at the Pool,* as thou wert my Companion in the Cave ; and 
 A'bdu'llah-b- Ahmad from Ibn A'bbas,tthat the Apostle of God said, " Abu 
 Bakr was my Companion and my Comforter in the cave ;" and al Bayhaki 
 from HudayfahJ that the Apostle of God said " verily there is a bird in 
 paradise whose flesh taffeth like that o/Bactrian Camels ;" Abu Bakr said, 
 "it is then delicate of flavour, O Apostle of God" — he replied, " he who 
 eateth of them shall enjoy them and thou shalt be of those who shall eat 
 of them :" and Abu Ya'la from Abu Hurayrah, that the Apostle of God 
 said, " I was borne towards the heavens, and I passed no heaven, but I 
 found therein my name, Muhammad the Apostle of God and Abu Bakr 
 as Siddik as my vicegerent." Its authorities are weak, but the same has 
 been handed down in the tradition of Ibn A'bbas, Ibn Omar, Anas, Abu 
 
 * Salsata, the fountain in paradise where the prophet is believed to give drink ta 
 the faithful who are thirsty. 
 
 t These words " from Ibn Abbas'" are omitted in the printed edition but suppKed 
 by the MS. 
 
 t Abu A'bdu'Uah Hudayfah-b-u'l Tamdn. He and his father were both at the 
 battle of Ohud when his father was accidentally killed by his own side. He was 
 much trusted by Muhammad and employed on secret and important negotiatioua. He 
 was engaged in the campaign of Nahawand and commanded the troops at the capture 
 of Hamaddn, Eay and Dinawar. Omai made him governor of Madain where he died, 
 in A. H. 36, forty days after the assassination of Omur. An Nawawi, T. A. 
 
[ 57 1 
 
 Sa'id and Abu' d Darda with weak ascriptions, but supporting each other 
 reciprocally. 
 
 Abu Abi Hatim and Abu J^ua'ym record on the authority of Sa'id-b- 
 Jubayr* that he said, " I was reading this verse before the prophet — " Oh 
 thou soul which art at rest," (Kur. LXXXIX), when Abu Bakr said " O 
 Apostle of God surely this is a good saying,'" and the Apostle of God 
 replied, " yea, verily, the angel shall say it to thee at the time of thy death." 
 And Ibn Abi Hatim from A'amir-b-Abdi'llah-b-i'z Zubayr that he said, 
 that when the verse, " and if we had commanded them, saying, slay your- 
 selves," (Kur. IV) was revealed, Abu Bakr said, " Apostle of God, didst 
 thou command me to slay myself, I would do so," and he replied " thou 
 speakest truly." And Abu'l Kasim al Baghawi from Ibn Abi Mulaykah, 
 " the Apostle of God and his Companions went into a pool and he com- 
 manded that every man should swim towards his friend;" he adds, " and every 
 man swam until there were left the Apostle of God and Abu Bakr, and the 
 Apostle of God swam towards Abu Bakr and embraced him and said, " were 
 I to choose an intimate friend until such time as I saw the Lord face to face, 
 verily I would take Abu Bakr, but he is my Companion." Wakii'f has 
 followed him on the authority of A'bdu'l Jabbar-b-u'l Ward, (states Ibn 
 A'sdkir,) and Abdu'l Jabbar is trustworthy, and his master, was the Imam 
 Ibn Abi Mulaykah but it is irregular in transmission and narrated but by 
 one authority. I remark that at Tabarani has recorded it in the " Kabir" 
 and Ibn Shahin in the " Sunnat" in a different manner, but in uninter- 
 rupted succession from Ibn A'bbas. IbnJ Abi'd Dunya records in the 
 " Makarimu'l Akhlak," (noble qualities) and Ibn A'sakir, according to the 
 ascription of Sadakah-b-Maymiin al Karashi, from Sulayman-b-Yasar,§ 
 
 * Abu A'bdu'Uah. or Muhammad Sa'id-lD-Ju'bayr-'b-Hisham al Asadi was a black 
 and a client by enfranoMsement to tbe tribe of "Waliba-b-u'l Harith. He was an emi- 
 nent Tabi'i and a native of Kufab. He learnt his traditions from Ibn Omar and Ibn 
 A'bbas. He was put to death by Hajjaj-b-Yusuf for his revolt against Abdu'l Malik-b- 
 Marwan, and the last hours of Hajjaj were said to have been tormented by his 
 victim's apparition. His death took place in A. H. 95 (A. D. 714) and was followed in 
 the same year by that of his murderer. Ibn Khali. 
 
 t Abu Sufiyan Wakii'-b-u'l Jarrah, bornatKufah A. H. 129 an eminent juris- 
 consult and traditionist. He studied under Abu Hanifah and used to decide points of 
 law. He made the pilgrimage 70 times and on returning from the last, he died at Fayd, 
 a town midway between Mecca and Kiifah A. H. 197 (A. D. 812-3). De Slane, I. K. 
 
 X Abu Bakr A'bdu'Uah-b-Muhammad-b-U'bayd a member by adoption, of the 
 !^uraysh, and sumamed Ibn Abi' d Dunya, composed works on ascetic and other sub- 
 jects, and was a traditionist. He was preceptor to some of the Abbaside family and 
 one of hia pupils was al Mua'tadhid. He received a pension of fifteen dinars a month. 
 Died A. H. 281, (A. D. 894). De Slane, I. K. 
 
 § A Tabi'i and one of the seven great jurisconsults of Medina and a traditionist 
 of repute, died A. H. 103. An Nawawi. 
 
 8 
 
[ 58 ] 
 
 that the Apostle of God said, " virtuous qualities are three hundred and 
 and sixty in mmber ; when God desires a good servant, he creates in him 
 one of these qualities through which, he may gain admission to paradise." 
 Abu Bakr said " Apostle of God is there in me one of them ?" He 
 replied, " Yes, the sum of them all." And Ibn A'sakir according to 
 another ascription through Sad'akah from some other, " virtuous qualities are 
 three hundred and sixty ;" and Ahu Bakr said " have I any of these ?" 
 He replied, " all of them are in thee, therefore I give thee joy, O Abu Bakr." 
 And Ibn A'sakir, according to the ascription of Mujamma'-b-Yakiib the 
 Auxiliary, from his father, who said, " there was a circle of the people 
 round the Apostle of God, clustered together, so that they were as walls 
 around him, but the seat of Abu Bakr among them was vacant, and no 
 one among the people sought to take it, and when Abu Bakr came, he 
 sat down on that seat, and the prophet turned his face towards him and 
 directed to him his discourse, and the people listened. " And from Anas that 
 the Apostle of God said, " the love of Abu Bakr, and gratitude towards 
 him is incumbent upon every one of my people." And he records the 
 same from the tradition of Sahl-b-Saa'd. And from Ayesha, direct from 
 the prophet, " all men shall be judged excepting Abu Bakr." 
 
 On what has been handed down of the sayings of the Companions and pious 
 early Muslims* regarding his merit, 
 
 Al Bukhdri records on the authority of Jabir, that Omar-b-u'l Khat- 
 tab said, " Abu Bakr is our prince." And al Bayhaki in the " Shaa'b u'l 
 fman'' (people of the faith) from Omar, that he said, " if the faith of Abu 
 Bakr were weighed against the faith of mankind, it would surely out- 
 weigh them." And Ibn Abi Khaythamah and A'bdu'llah-b- Ahmad in the 
 Zawaid uz Zuhd (Profusions of Piety) from Omar that he said, " verily 
 Abu Bakr was ever foremost and conspicuous — verily I would I were 
 a hair on the breast of Abu Bakr" (Musaddad in his Musnad) ; and " I 
 would wish to be in paradise that I might behold Abu Bakr" (Ibn Abi'd 
 Dunya and Ibn A'sakir) ; and " the fragrance of Abu Bakr is sweeter than 
 the fragrance of musk" (Abu Nua'ym). 
 
 Ibn A'sakir records from A'li that he went to Abu Bakr and found 
 that he was reciting the praises of God, and he said " no one shall look 
 
 * According to Abu'l Mahdsin i-ftl-Jl is particularly applied to Ayosha, Abu 
 Bakr, Omar, Othman Talliah, az Zubayr, Mu'awiyah and A'mr-b-u'l A'a? : 
 Jl,«aJ| t_ftLJ| ig applied to the first chief persona of the Tiibi'is. Lane, 
 
[ 59 ] 
 
 upon God, with the record of his deeds in Ms hand,* who is dearer to me 
 than this praiser of the Lord." And from A'bdu'r Eahman-b-Abi Bakr 
 as Siddik that the Apostle of God said, " Omar, the son of al Khattab hath 
 told me that he never attempted to precede Abu Bakr in a goOd deed, but 
 Abu Bakr was before him in it." And at Tabardni in his Ausat from A'li 
 that he said, "by Him in whose hand is my life, I never sought to be fore- 
 most in any good action, but Abu Bakr anticipated me in it," and from 
 Juhayfah, that A'li said, " the best of men after the Apostle of God, are 
 Abu Bakr and Omar — never shall there be joined together love of me and 
 hatred towards Abu Bakr and Omar in the heart of a true believer." And 
 in the " Kabir" from A'mr, that he said, " three among the Kuraysh are 
 the most comely of the Kuraysh in face, the best of them in disposition, 
 the most constant in heart ; if they converse with thee, they will not lie to 
 thee, and if thou speakest with them, they will not give thee the lie, Abu 
 Bakr as Siddik, Abu U'baydah-b-u'l Jarrah and Othman-b-A'ffan." Ibn 
 Saa'd records on the authority of Ibrahimf an Nakha'i, that Abu Bakr 
 was named the Compassionate on account of his benignity and clemency. 
 And Ibn A'sakir from ar Eabii'-b-Anas, that it is written in the Primeval 
 Eecord,J " Abu Bakr is like unto rain which wherever it falleth, it doeth 
 good." Also that ar Eabii' said " I looked among the Companions of the pro- 
 phet, but I found not a prophet that had a Companion like unto Abu Bakr as 
 Siddik." And from Az Zuhri, " among the virtues of Abu Bakr was this, 
 that he never doubted concerning God a single moment ?" And from az 
 Zubayr-b-Bakkar, " I heard several of the learned say that the preachers 
 among the Companions of the Apostle of God were Abu Bakr and A'li." 
 And from Abu Hasin, " there was never begotten of Adam among his pro- 
 geny, after the prophets and Apostles, any more eminent than Abu Bakr, 
 and verily Abu Bakr on the day of Apostasy§ stood up as a prophet among 
 the prophets." 
 
 Ad Dinauri records in the " Mujalisat,"|| and Ibn A'sakir from 
 as Shaa'bi, that he said, " the most pure, the most High God hath 
 
 * It is the Muhammadan lielief that at the last day, every man shall stand before 
 the judgment seat holding in his hand the record of his actions inscribed in it by 
 the " Katibayn" or the two attendant angels who are with each man durino- his life. 
 
 t Abu I'mran Ibrahim-b-Yazid an Nakha'i native of Kufah and celebrated as an 
 Imam and doctor. He died A. H. 95 or 96 (A. D. 713-4) aged 49. Kakha'i is from 
 Nakha' a great branch of the tribe of Madhij in Taman. Ibn Khali. 
 
 % Called also &^=^ ■^j^ the Guarded Tablet, existing before all time in which 
 is inscribed everything destined to occur. 
 
 § See note f, page 40. 
 
 11 A work partly on tradition, partly historical, with extracts from poetical authors 
 by Ahmad-b-Mardan ad Dinauri of the MaUki school who died A, H. 113. Ittihafu'n 
 Nabala, by Sadik; Hasan Khan of Bhopal. 
 
t 60 ] 
 
 distihguished Abu Bakr by four qualities, by which He hath distinguished 
 none other among men : he named him ' the Witness to the Truth,' 
 (as Siddik) and hath named ' The Witness to the Truth' none other besides 
 him, and he was the Companion in the Cave with the Apostle of God, 
 and his associate in his flight, and the Apostle of God commanded him to 
 read the prayers, the Muslims being witnesses." And Ibn Abi Dauud* 
 in the Kitabu'l Masabih from Abu Jaa'far, that Abu Bakr used to hear 
 the secret converse of Gabriel with the prophet but did not see him. And 
 al Hakim from Ibn u'l Musayyab,t that Abu Bakr stood to the prophet 
 in the place of a Wazir, for he used to consult him in all his affairs, and 
 he was the second to embrace Islam, and the second in the Cave and 
 the second in the shed on the day of Badr, and the second in his sepulchre, J 
 and the Apostle of God never gave precedence of him to any one. 
 
 On the tradition and the verses of the Kurdn indicative of the Caliphate 
 of Ahu £ahr and the sayings of the doctors thereon. 
 
 m 
 
 At Tirmidi records with approval, and al Hakim likewise, confirm- 
 ing it on the authority of Hudayfah that the Apostle of God said, 
 " Follow these " two after me, Abu Bakr and Omar." And Abu'I 
 ]Kasim al Baghawi on good authority from A'bda'Uah-b-Omar, " I heard 
 the Apostle of God say, ' there shall be twelve Caliphs succeeding me, 
 but Abu Bakr shall tarry but a little while.' " There is unanimity 
 regarding the correctness of the first part of this tradition, handed down 
 in several lines of ascription, and indeed the explanation of it hath already 
 gone before in the beginning of this book. In the " Sahihayn" it is stated 
 regarding the preceding tradition, that when the prophet was preaching 
 near upon the time of his death and said, " God hath given his servant a 
 choice," and at the end of the tradition^ " there shall not remain a door 
 but it shall be closed save the door of Abu Bakr," and in another reading 
 
 * Abu Bakr A'bdu'llali-b-AM Daulid was a Hafidh of the first eminence at Bagh- 
 dad, son of the great traditionist Abu Dauud. He died A. H. 316 (A. D. 928). Ibn 
 Khallakan says that he composed a work called " Kitab u'l Masabih (the Book of 
 Lanterns). Both the printed text and MS. have " Kitab u'l Masdhif" which must be 
 an error. 
 
 t His father's name must be pronounced Musayyab, says Ibn KhallakAn, (as 
 beiag the passive participle of the verb Sayab) but it is said that Sa'id pronounced it 
 Musayyib (active participle) because he had said " may God reward (sayab) him who 
 pronounces my father's name Musayyib." 
 
 X His tomb at Medina is between the tomb of the prophet and that of Omar. 
 
 § See p. 41. 
 
[ 61 ] 
 
 of those two authorities, " there shall not remain a wicket in the mosque, 
 but the wiolset of Abu Bakr," the learned assert that this was indicitive 
 of his Caliphate, for he used to go forth through it to prayer with the 
 Muslims." Indeed this reading has come down in the tradition of Anas 
 and its words are these, " Close ye these doors leading into the mosque, 
 except the door of Abu Bakr." 
 
 The two Shaykhs record on the authority of Jubayr-b-Mu'tim that 
 he said, " a woman went to the prophet, and he commanded her to come 
 to him another time ; she said, ' suppose I come and find thee not ?' (as 
 if she spoke of his death). He answered, ' if thou findest me not, then 
 go to Abu Bakr.' " Al Hdkim records and verifies the tradition on the 
 authority of Anas that he said, " the Banti Mustalik* sent me to the 
 Apostle of God, saying, ' ask him — to whom must we give our poor-rate 
 after his death ?' and I went to him and asked him, and he said ' unto 
 Abu Bakr.' " And Ibn A'sakir from Ibn Abbas that he said, " a woman 
 went to the prophet to ask something and he said to her ' come again 
 another time.' She replied ' Apostle of God, if I come and find thee 
 not?' (referring to his death). He said ' if thou comest and findest me 
 not, then go to Abu Bakr, for verily he shall be Caliph after me.' " And 
 Muslim from Ayesha, " the Apostle of God said to me in his last illness 
 ' call to me thy father and thy brother that I may write a testament, for, 
 verily I fear lest the covetous should covet and speak, saying, " I am the 
 most worthy,' but God and the true believers will reject all save Abu 
 Bakr.' " And Ahmad^and others record the same from her with other 
 ascriptions : according to one of them, she said, " the Apostle of God in 
 his illness of which he died, said to me, ' call to me A'bdu'r Eahman the 
 son of Abu Bakr, that I may write a testament in favour of Abu Bakr, so 
 that none may oppose him after me ;' then he said, ' nay, leave it, God 
 forbid that the true believers should be at strife regarding Abu Bakr.' " 
 And Muslim from Ayesha, that she was asked whom the Apostle of God 
 would have named as a successor, if he had appointed one : she replied 
 "Abu Bakr." It was said to her "whom next after Abu Bakr ?" she 
 answered "Omar." They said to her " whom after Omar ?" She replied 
 
 * The Banu Mustalik (descended]' from Mustalik-t-A'mr-'b-Eal)u'-b-Kharijali) 
 dwelt in the district of Kudayd, between Mecca and Medina near tKe sea coast. In 
 A. H. 5, this tribe rebelled against Muhammad, but were brought to obedience by 
 his marching against them in person, with Omar and defeating them. Eaudhat u's Safa. 
 Mu^ammad-b-Khawand Shih. It was on his return from the expedition that Ayesha 
 was by an accident, left asleep by the aide of the road and discovered next morning 
 by Safwan-b-u'l Mua'ttal and brought to camp. To save her reputation was the object 
 of the 24th Chapter of the Kuran. 
 
[ 62 ] 
 
 " Abu U'baydah-b-u'l Jarrah." And the two Shaykhs from Abu Musa* 
 al Asha'ri that he said, " the prophet fell ill and his sickness increased, 
 and he said, ' command Abu Bakr to read prayers before the people.' Ayesha 
 answered, ' Apostle of God, verily he is a man of soft heart : when he 
 rises up iiji thy place, he will be unable to pray before the people.' Then 
 he said, ' command Abu Bakr to pray before the people,' but she only 
 repeated what she had said. Again he exclaimed, ' command Abu Bakr to 
 pray before the people — verily ye are the mistressesf of Joseph' — and the 
 Apostle went to him himself. Thus he prayed before the people during 
 the lifetime of the Apostle of God."J In one of the traditions from 
 Ayesha, the reading is, " I frequently returned to this subject with the 
 Apostle of God and nothing induced me to this frequent recurrence, but 
 that it did not come into my mind that the people would ever be satisfied 
 that any man should stand in his place after him, and that I saw that no 
 one would stand in his place but the people would take it as an ill omen, 
 therefore I hoped that that might tm-n the Apostle of God from naming 
 Abu Bakr." And in the tradition of Ibn Zama'a if is recorded, that the 
 Apostle of God ordered them to read the prayers, and Abu Bakr was not 
 present, but Omar came forth and prayed, then the Apostle of God cried out, 
 " No — no — no — God and the Muslims will not sufEer any but Abu Bakr to 
 pray before the people." And according to the tradition of Ibn Omar, 
 " Omar recited the Takbir and raised his head angrily and said ' where is the 
 son of Abu Kuhafah ?' " The learned say that in this tradition is the clearest 
 proof that as Siddik was the most eminent of the Companions absolutely, 
 and the most deserving of the Caliphate among them and the best of them 
 in the ofiice of Imam. Al Asha'ri says, " it is indeed undoubtedly ascer- 
 tained that the Apostle of God commanded as Siddik to pray before the 
 people in the presence of the Fugitives and the Auxiliaries, by his words, 
 ' he shall stand as Imam before the people who is the best read of them in 
 the Book of God.' This proves that he was the best read, that is the 
 most learned of them in the Kuran : and verily the Companions themselves 
 were convinced that he was the most deserving of the Caliphate, and among 
 these was Omar (and the words of Omar will follow in the Sfection on the 
 covenant of allegiance) and among them was also A'li." 
 
 * A'bdu'llah-T3-!^flays Abu Musa al Asha'ri — such is his name given by Ibn Hajr. 
 He was the arbitrator (see page 10) at Siflfin on the part of A'li, He had served as 
 governor under Muhammad, Abu Bakr, Omar, Othman and A'li, and died in A. H. 60 
 (A. D. 670-1). Ibn Khali. 
 
 t Meaning " entioers to evil." The MS. and printed edition have (y^l for {^\ 
 Lane gives the tradition with lyj^l 
 
 t Here follows a list of other authorities for this tradition which to avoid the 
 tedious repetition of names, I have omitted. The few whom these could interest are 
 not likely to look for them in an English translation. 
 
[• 63 ] 
 
 Ibn A'sakir records on his authority that he said, " verily the prophet 
 commanded Abu Bakr to pray before the people and indeed I was present, 
 and I was not absent and was suffering from no illness ;* and we accepted 
 for our temporal affairs what the prophet had approved for our spiritual 
 concerns." The learned say that Abu Bakr was recognised for his fitness 
 for the Imdmate during the time of the prophet. And Ahmad and Abu 
 Dauud and others record on the authority of Sahl-b-Saa'd, that there was 
 a feud in the tribe of A'mr-b-A'uf and the prophet arrived and went to 
 them after midday, that he might make peace between them, and said, " 
 Bilal — if the time of prayers should be at hand and I come not, then com- 
 mand Abu Bakr to pray before the people ;" and when the time for after- 
 noon prayers came, Bilal announced the prayers and then commanded Abu 
 Bakr, and he prayed. 
 
 Abu Bakr as Shafi'if records in the " Ghilaniyat" and Ibn A'sakir 
 from HafsahJ that she said to the Apostle of God, " when thou wert ill, 
 thou gavest precedence to Abu Bakr :" he replied, " It was not 1 who 
 preferred him, but God who preferred him." And Ibn Saa'd from al 
 Hasan, that Abu Bakr said, " Apostle of God, I never cease to see myself 
 in vision treading in the courtyards of men:" he replied, " thou shalt be 
 among men as a road/b/- tJiem :" he added, " and I see on my breast what 
 are like unto two spots." He replied " those are two years."§ 
 
 Ibn A'sakir records on the authority of Abu Bakr that he said, " I 
 went to Omar and there were some people engaged in eating in his pre- 
 sence, and he cast his eyes upon a man, the hindmost of the number, and 
 said, ' what dost thou find of events before thy time in the books thou 
 readest ?' He replied ' the vicegerent of the Apostle, will be his witness 
 to the truth' " (Siddik). And from Muhammad-b-u'z Zubayr, that he said, 
 " Omar-b-Abdi'l A'zfz sent me to al Hasan of Basrah, to ask him concern- 
 
 * That is to say that he was an eye-witness in the full possession of his senses. 
 
 t Ahu Bakr Muhammad-h-A'bdu'llah-h-Ihrahiin known as al Bazzar, as Shafi'i, 
 died, A. H. 354. The Grhilaniyat is a collection of traditions written from the dicta- 
 tion of the author's Shaykhs. It received its name probahly from Ahu Talih Miiham- 
 mad-h-Muljammad-b-Ibrahim-h-Ghilan, who taught the traditions. He died in A. H. 
 404. - Ittihafu'l Nubala. 
 
 I The daughter of Omar-h-u'l Khattab : her first hushand was Hasan-h-Hudafah 
 who fought at Badr and died at Medina — she was then offered hy her father to Abu 
 Bakr and Othman successively who both declined the proposal. Omar, mentioning 
 this circumstance to Muhammad; he replied, " One shall marry Hafsah who is greater 
 than Othman (meaning himself) and one shall marry Othman who is greater than 
 Hafsah" (meaning his own daughter Umm Kulthum). Abu Bakr afterwards excused 
 himself to Omar ty saying that his knowledge of his master's predilection for Hafsah, 
 was the cause of his declining, otherwise he would gladly marry her. Ibn Hajr. 
 § Signifying that they were prophetic of the duration of his Caliphate. 
 
L «* J 
 
 in" certain things," and I went to him and said to him, " Satirfy me regard- 
 ing that in which people difEer — did the Apostle of God name Abu Bakr 
 his successor ?" and al Hasan who was seated, stood erect and said, " can 
 such a thing be in doubt ! thou hast no father. Yea, by that God than 
 whom there is no other Godj verily he named him his successor, for he was 
 undoubtedly the most learned in divine knowledge and the most devout 
 towards Him and the most steadfast in His fear, inasmuch as he would 
 have died for its sake, even though He had not commanded him there- 
 unto."* And Ibn A'di records from Abu Bakr-b-A'yyashf that be narrates, 
 " ar Eashid said to me, O Abu Bakr how did the people come to appoint 
 Abu Bakr as Siddik successor ?" I said, " O prince of the faithful, God was 
 silent and his apostle was silent, and the true believers were silent." He 
 replied, " By Allah, thou hast but increased my anxiety." I said, J " O prince 
 of the faithful, the prophet fell ill during eight days and BUal went in to 
 him and said, ' Apostle of God, who is to pray before the people ?' He 
 replied, ' command Abu Bakr to pray before the people ;' and Abu Bakr 
 prayed before the people during the eight days, and the divine inspiration 
 continued to descend wpon Muhammad, but the Apostle of God was silent 
 on account of the silence of the Lord, and the Faithful were silent on account 
 of the silence of the Apostle of God ; — this pleased him and he said ' May 
 God bless thee.' " 
 
 Some of the learned have deduced the Caliphate of as Siddik from the 
 verses of the Kuran. Thus al Bayhaki records from al Hasan of Basrah 
 reg'arding the divine words, " true believers, whoever of you apostatizeth 
 from his religion, God will certainly bring other people to supply his place 
 whom He will love and who will love Him" (Kur. V), that he said, " this, 
 by Allah, signifietk Abu Bakr and his Companions, for when the Arabs 
 apostatized, Abu Bakr and his Companions waged war with them, till he 
 brought them back to Islam." And Yunas-b-Bukayr, from Katadah, that 
 he said, " when the prophet died the Arabs apostatized," then he goes on 
 to relate the expedition of Abu Bakr against them till he says, " and we 
 used to declare that this verse was revealed regarding Abu Bakr and his 
 Companions, " God will certainly bring other people to supply his place, 
 
 * " If we had commanded them saying ' Slay yourselves or depart from your 
 houseSj' they would not have done it." Eur. IV. 
 
 t Abu Bakr Salim-b-A'yyash an eminent Traditionist and native of Kufah. Eigh- 
 teen days after the death of ax Eashid, Ibn Ayyash died at Kufah, A. H. 193 (809J at 
 the age of ninety-eight. Ibn KhaU. 
 
 t The text has " he said" meaning the narrator. In similar instances in future 
 the English idiom will be followed, to avoid breaks in the narrative and references to 
 footnotes. 
 
[ 65 ] 
 
 whom He will love and who will love Him," And Ihn Ahi Hatim, from 
 Jiiaybar, regarding the divine words, " say unto the Arabs of the desert 
 who were left behind, ye shall be called forth against a mighty and a war- 
 like nation (Kur. XLVIII), that he said, " these were the Banu Hunay- 
 fah."* Ibn Abi Hatim and Ibn Kutaybahf say that this verse is a proof 
 of the Caliphate of Abu Bakr as Siddik for it was he who summoned the 
 people to fight against them. The Shaykh Abu'l Hasan al Asha'riJ relates 
 " I heard Abu'l A'bbds-b-u's Shurayh say, that the Caliphate of Abu Bakr is 
 predicted in this verse of the Kuran ;" he adds, " for the learned are agreed 
 that after its revelation there were no wars to which the people were sum- 
 moned except those wherein Abu Bakr summoned them§ and the people, 
 to the reduction of the apostates and those who refused tribute." He con- 
 tinues " this is demonstrative of the right of the succession of Abu Bakr 
 and the duty of allegiance to him, since God has declared that he who 
 turneth away from it " shall be punished with a grievous punishment." 
 (Kur. XLVIII). 
 
 Ibn Kathir says, " they who interpret the word ' nation' as being the 
 Vetsisns dcaA. GcTceoks, for them it is sufficient that it was as Siddik who 
 fitted out an army against them, and the final settlement of their affairs was 
 left in the hands of Omar and Othman, for those two were but branches of 
 as Siddik." The Most High says, " God promiseth unto such of you as 
 believe and do good works that he will cause them to succeed the v/ribe- 
 lievers in the earth" (Kur. XXIV) ; this verse, says Ibn Kathir, is applica- 
 ble to the Caliphate of Abu Bakr." Ibn Abi Hatim records in his Com- 
 
 * They inhabited al Yamamah and were the followers of Muaaylama Muhammad's 
 rival. Sale, p. 415. 
 
 t Abu Muhammad A'bdu'Uah-b-Muslim-b-Kutaybah, was a grammarian and 
 philologer of eminence. He taught traditions in Baghdad. He was author of very 
 numerous works on a variety of subjects. His father was a native of Marw ; but he 
 himself was bom at Baghdad, or as some say at Kufah, A. H. 213, (828-9), died A. H 
 270 (884). Ibn KhaU. 
 
 t Abu'l Hasan Ali al Asha'ri drew his descent from Abu Musa one of the pro- 
 phet's Companions. He was an able defender of the Simnite doctrines and the founder 
 of the sect called Asha'ris. Abu Bakr al Bakilani was a great supporter of his peculiar 
 views. He was bom in Basrah, A. H. 270 (883-4) and died at Baghdad between A. H. 
 330 and 34fl, (941-52). He was at first a MotaziUte but made a public renunciation 
 of his belief in freewill and the creation of the Imuran in the mosque at Basrah and 
 wrote in refutation of that school. His works are 55 in number. Ibn Khali. 
 
 § That is " the Arabs who were left behind" mentioned in the above verse. These 
 were the tribes of Aslam, Juhaynah, Muzaynah and G-hifar who being summoned to 
 attend Muhammad in the expedition of Hudaybiyah, stayed behind and excused them- 
 selves by saying that their families must suffer in their absence, whereas in reality 
 they wanted firmness in the faith and courage to face the Kiuaysk Sale, p, 414 
 9 
 
I 66 ] 
 
 mentary on the authority of Abdu'r Eahman-b-Abdi'l Hamid al Mahdi, 
 th^t the jurisdiction of Abu Bakr and Omar is to he found in the Book o£ 
 .God according to the word of God, " God promiseth unto each of you 
 as believe and do good works, that he will cause them to succeed the 
 'unbelievers in the earth." And al Khatib from Abu Bakr-b-A'yyash, that 
 Abu Bakr as Siddlk is mentioned in the Kuran as the successor of the 
 Apostle of God, for the Most High God says, " to the poor Fugi- 
 tives"* &c., to his word " these are men of veracity." He therefore whom 
 God calls " truthful" cannot lie : and the Companions used to address him 
 " vicegerent of the Apostle of God." Al Bayhaki records on the authority 
 of az Za'faranif that he relates, " I heard as Shafi'i say, " the people 
 concurred in the Caliphate of Abu Bakr and that was, because men were in 
 perplexity after the death of the Apostle of God, but they found not 
 beneath the expanse of heaven a better than Abu Bakr, and they placed 
 him in authority over them." 
 
 Asad u's Sunnah in his Fadhail, (excellencies) records on the authority 
 of M'uawiyah-b-Kurrahf that he said, " the Companions of the Apostle of 
 God never doubted that Abu Bakr was the Vicegerent of the Apostle of 
 God, and they never called him anything but vicegerent of the Apostle of 
 God, and they in no case concurred in what was false or erroneous." 
 
 Al Hakim records and confirms it on the authority of Ibn Masa'M 
 that he said, "the Muslims never approved a thing to be good, but it was 
 good in the sight of the Lord, and they never judged a thing to be perni- 
 cious, but it was pernicious in the sight of the Lord, and verily all the 
 Companions concurred in appointing Abu Bakr successor." And al Hakim, 
 records, ad Dahabi verifying it on the authority of Murrah-b-u'1-Tayyib 
 that he said, " Abu Sufyan§-b-Harb went to A'li and said, " how is it that 
 
 * "A part also telongeth to the poor Muhajerin. who have been dispossessed of 
 their houses and their substance, seeking favour from God, and his good will and 
 assisting God and his Apostle. These are men of veracity" (Kui. LIX.) Wherefore 
 Muhammad distributed those spoils among the Muhajerin (Fugitives) only and gave 
 no part to the Auxiliaries, except only to three of them who were in necessitous 
 circumstances. Sale, p. 445. 
 
 t Abu A'li al ^asan-b-Mu^ammad-b as Sabbah, az Zu'far&ni, was one of as 
 Shafi'i's disciples. He attained an eminent rank as a doctor of law and tradition, died 
 A. H. 260 (874). Za'farani is derived from az Za'faraniyah (the saffron field) a 
 village near Baghdad. The street of this name in the city is called after this doctor 
 who lived in it. Ibn Khali. 
 
 ^ % Mu'awiyai.b-Kurrah-b-Iyfa-b-Hilal. He was the father of the celebrated ?:4dhi 
 lyas, Ka'dhi of Basrah, to whom Hariri alludes in his 7th MaUmah, as skilled in tho 
 ait of physiognomy, see his life in Ibn KhaUakan; Mu'4wiyah died A. H. 80 (699). 
 
 § Abu Sufydn §a:^hr-b-Harb-b-Umayya of the Kuraysh, the father of the Caliph 
 Mu'awiyah. 
 
[ 67 1 
 
 this authority is with the least of the Kuraysh in insignificance, and the 
 meanest of them ? (that is Abu Bakr) ; by Allah I would like to pour the 
 Kwaysh upon him, horse and foot." He adds, A'li replied " verily it is long 
 since that thou hast been hostile to Islam, O Abu Sufyan, but that hurts 
 it not at all ; we fijid Abu Bakr worthy of the Caliphate." 
 
 On his covenant of altegicmce. 
 
 The two Shaykhs record that Omar-b-u'l Khattab addressed the people 
 on his return from the pilgrimage and said in his exhortation — " It hath 
 eome to my knowledge that a certain one among you sayeth, ' were Omar 
 to die, I would swear allegiance to such a one,' — let not any man deceive 
 himself so as to say that fealty to Abu Bakr was hastily given, — although, 
 it was even so, yet the Lord prevented the evil consequences thereof ; and 
 there is not one among ye to-day behind whom the necks of competitors 
 stop short,* like unto Abu Bakr. Verily he was the best among us when 
 the Apostle of God died. And verily A'li and aa Zubayr and they that 
 were with them, remained behind in the house of Tatimah and all the 
 Auxiliaries tarried behind us in the porch of the Banu Sai'dah, and the 
 Fugitives gathered round Abu Bakr, and I said to him, " O Abu Bakr come 
 with us to our brethren the Auxiliaries ;" and we went, betaking ourselves 
 to them, until we met two worthy menf who told us what the people had 
 done and said " whither are ye going, ye men of the Fugitives ?" I said, 
 " we seek our brethren of the Auxiliaries." They answered, " see, that 
 ye do not approach them, but settle your affairs yov/rselves, ye men of 
 the Fugitives." Then I said, " by Allah, we will go to them ;" and 
 we went on till we came up to them in the porch of the Banu Sai'- 
 dah — ^and lo ! they were assembled and in the middle of them was a 
 man muffled up in his garments and I said " who is this ?" And 
 they said " Saa'd-b-U'badah"J — and I said " what is the matter with 
 
 * " Vor dem man sioh melir teugte" is Weil's translation of tlis passage. Leben 
 Muham. p. 350. A'bd'ur Eahman-b-A'H as Sbaybani in the Taysirul Wusul inter- 
 prets it, "before whom the neots of riding camels are cut off or stop short." And Ibn 
 u'l Athir, the brother of the historian in the Kitab u'n Nihaya a treatise on the obscure 
 terms of the traditions, gives it the meaning I have rendered. 
 
 t These two were according to Zuhri, " Oweim-b-Saidah and Ma'an-b-A'di." 
 WeU-Leb-Mnham. Vol. II, 352 ; Ma' an was one of those kiUed fighting at Yemamah 
 against Musaylamah. 
 
 X Abu Thabit Saa'd-b-TJ'badah b-Dulaym of the Banu Sa'i'dah, native of Medina 
 He was the standard bearer of the Auxiliaries in their expeditions. He was distin- 
 guished for his liberality. He died in Hawran A. H. 16 and was buried at Mizzah near 
 Damascus. An Nawawi. 
 
[ 68 ] 
 
 him ?" They answered, " He is in pain." And when we were seated, 
 their preacher arose and glorified God as was befitting unto Him, and 
 said, " and now, I say that we are the Auxiliaries of the Lord and the 
 army of Islam, while ye, men of the Fugitives, are but a handful 
 amongst us, and verily a party among you have sallied forth seeking that 
 ye may uproot us and exclude us from power." And when he was silent, 
 I sought to speak, and verily I had embellished a discourse which pleased 
 me, which I intended to speak in presence of Abu Bakr, and verily I 
 feared the want of some severity on his part,* for he was calmer than I 
 and more sedate — Then Abu Bakr said. " Softly with thee," and I was 
 loth to anger him for he was wiser than I, and, by Allah, he did not omit 
 a word of what had so pleased me in its composition, but he spoke it 
 himself unpremeditatedly and surpassed it, so that I was speechless. And 
 he said, " and now, as to what ye have said of good regarding yourselves, 
 indeed ye are worthy of it, and the Arabs do not recognise this authority 
 except in this tribe of the Kuraysh — 'they are the noblest of the Arabs 
 by descent and tribe, and verily I approve for ye one of these two men 
 whichever ye please." Then he took my hand and the hand of Abu 
 U'baydah-b-u'l Jarrah. I was not displeased with what he otherwise said, 
 but by Allah, were I brought out that thou shouldst strike off my head, 
 though it befell me through no crime of mine, it would be more pleasing 
 to me than that I should rule a people among whom was Abu Bakr. 
 Then a speaker of the Auxiliaries said, " I am of those by means of whose 
 counsel people seek relieff — let there he a ruler from among us and a ruler 
 from among ye, men of the Kuraysh." Then the confusion increased 
 and voices rose high until I feared a tumult, and I said, " stretch out thy 
 hand O Abu Bakr," and he stretched out his hand, and I took the oath of 
 fealty to him, and • the Fugitives swore allegiance to him ; then the 
 Auxiliaries swore allegiance to him, and by Allah, in regard to that for which 
 we assembled, we could find nothing more fitting than to swear fealty to 
 Abu Bakr — ^we feared that if we separated, from the concourse and no 
 covenant were taken, they might conclude a covenant after our departure 
 so that we should either have to hold to a covenant with them which we did 
 not approve, or to oppose them, whence discord would arise." 
 
 An Nasai, Abu Ya'la and al Hakim record, verifying it on the 
 authority of Ibn Masa'lid, that when the Apostle of God died, the Auxi- 
 
 • "Weil ioh an ihm etwas Sot&fe vemiisste. Weil-Iieten Muham. Vol. II, p. 361. 
 
 t Literally " I am their muoh-rutbed little rubbing-post and their propped little 
 palm tree loaded with fruit" i. «., as mangy camels seek relief by rubbing themselves 
 against a post, so I am suoh a post for ye, and I have a family that wUl aid and defend 
 me. See Lane's Lex art J j.& 
 
C 69 ] 
 
 liaries said, " let there 5e a ruler from among us, and from among ye a 
 ruler," whereupon Omar-b-u'l Khattdb went to them and said — " ye men 
 of the Auxiliaries, know ye not that the Apostle of God commanded Abu 
 Bakr to lead the people in prayer ? now which of ye preferreth himself 
 toAbuBakr?" The Auxiliaries exclaimed "God forbid that we should 
 take precedence of Abu Bakr." And Ibn Saa'd, al Hakim, and al Bayhaki 
 from Abu Sa'id al Khudri, " the Apostle of God died, and the people 
 assembled in the house of Saa'd-b- CF'badah and among them were Abu 
 Bakr aijd Omar, and the preachers of the Auxiliaries arose and a man 
 among them began to speak saying, " O ye men of the Fugitives, whenever 
 the Apostle of God appointed one from among you to any authority, he 
 joined unto him one of us ; we think therefore that two men, one from 
 among you, and one from among us, should assume this authority ;" and 
 the preachers of the Auxiliaries followed each other after the same manner. 
 Then Zayd-b-Thdbit arose and said, " do ye not know that the Apostle of 
 God was of the Fugitives, and we were the Auxiliaries of the Apostle of 
 God, therefore are we the Auxiliaries of his vicegerent, as we were his 
 Auxiliaries." Then he took Abu Bakr by the hand and said " this is your 
 master." Then Omar and afterwards the Fugitives and the Auxiliaries 
 swore allegiance to him, and Abu Bakr agcended the pulpit, and he looked 
 among the chiefs of the people, but beheld not az Zubayr, He therefore 
 summoned az Zubayr and he came and he said, " thou sayest that thou art 
 the son of the aunt of the Apostle of God, and his disciple, dost thou wish 
 to break the staff of the Muslims?" Az Zubayr replied " no blame be 
 laid on thee, vicegerent of the Apostle of God !" and he rose and swore 
 allegiance to him. Then Abu Bakr looked among the chiefs of the people, 
 and he saw not A'li. He therefore summoned him and he came : then he 
 said " thou callest thyself the son of the uncle of the Apostle of God, and 
 related unto him through his daughter, dost thou wish to break the staff of 
 the Muslims ?" He replied " no blame be laid on thee, O vicegerent of 
 the Apostle of God !" and he swore him allegiance." 
 
 Ibn Ishak records on his " Sirat " (record) from Anas-b-Malik that 
 after Abu Bakr had received the covenant of allegiance in the porch of 
 the Banu Sai'dah, when the morrow came, he seated himself at the pulpit, 
 and Omar rose and spoke before Abu Bakr. And he praised God and 
 magnified him and then said ;" verily the Lord hath centred your authori- 
 ty on the best among you, the Companion of the Apostle of God, and 
 " the second of the two when they two were in the cave," therefore 
 arise and swear allegiance unto him." And the people swore unto 
 Abu Bakr a general allegiance after the allegiance of the Porch. Then 
 Abu Bakr spoke and praised God and magnified Him, then continued, 
 "and now, ye people, verily I have received authority over you 
 
[ 70 T 
 
 though I be not the best among you, yet if I do well, assist me, 
 and if I incline to evil, direct me aright. Truth is a sacred trust 
 and falsehood is a betrayal. He that is weak among you, is strong 
 before me, inasmuch as I shall restore unto him his due, if it please' 
 God, and he that is strong among you is weak, inasmuch as I shall take 
 that which is due from him if it please God. A people abstaineth not from 
 warring in the cause of the Lord, but he smiteth them with ignominy, and 
 iniquity is never made manifest among a people, but He afflicteth them 
 with misfortune. Obey me as long as I obey the Lord and his Apostle, 
 and when I turn aside from the Lord and his Apostle, then obedience ta 
 me shall not be obligatory upon you. Kiss up to your prayers— may the 
 Lord have mercy upon you." 
 
 Abu Mdsa-b-U'kbah in his 'Maghazi' (Battles) records, likewise al 
 Hakim, verifying it on the authority of A'bdu'r-Eahman-b-A'uf that Abu 
 Bakr preached and spoke saying, " by Allah, I was never covetous of this 
 authority, neither by day nor by night, nor desirous of it, nor asked it of 
 God either in secret or openly, but I was in fear of sedition. I have no 
 repose in this authority. Verily I am invested with a mighty office, the 
 power and capacity for which are not in me, save by the assistance of God." 
 Then Ali and az Zubayr said, " we were not incensed but for this, that we 
 were put aside from the consultation, yet we think Abu Bakr the most 
 deserving of that authority/ among men, for he was the Companion in the 
 Cave, and we indeed recognise his superiority and his excellence, and verily 
 the Apostle of God while he was yet alive commanded him to pray before 
 the people." And Ibn Saa'd from Fbrahim at Taymi* that he said " when 
 the Apostle of God died, Omar went to Abu U'baydah-b-u'l Jarrah" and said 
 " stretch out thy hand, for verily I will swear thee allegiance for thou art 
 the trusted one of this people according to the word of the Apostle of 
 God." And Abu U'baydah replied to Omar, " never before this have I seen 
 in thee weakness of mind since thou hast embraced Islam. What ! wilt 
 thou swear allegiance to me when there is among you as Si'ddik, and he 
 the second of the two ?" And from Muhammad, that Abu Bakr said to 
 Omar, " stretch out thy hand, verily I will swear thee allegiance," but Omar 
 said to him "thou art more meritorious than L" Abu Bakrreplied," thou art 
 firmer than I" and again he repeated it, but Omar said, " then verily thou 
 hast my firmness together with thy merit," and he swore allegiance to him. 
 And Ahmad from Hamid-b-A'bdi'r Eahman-b-A'uf, " the Apostle of God 
 died, and Abu Bakr was with some of the people of Medina, and he came 
 
 • Ibrahim-'b-u'l Hfaith-b-Klialid-b-Sakhr at Taymi, of the Kuraysh. According 
 to al Bukhari, ho and his father wero among the Fugitives. That ho survived Muljsun- 
 mad is all that is known of him by Ibn Hajr. 
 
[ 71 ] 
 
 and uncovered his face and kissed it and said ' May my father and my 
 mother he a ransom for thee ? how sweet wert thou in life and art in 
 death ! Muhammad is dead — by the Lord of the Kaabah — " and he repeated 
 the tradition" — he adds " Abu Bakr and Omar departed leading each other 
 along until they came to the Auxiliaries and Abu Bakr spake and did not 
 omit a thing of what had been revealed regarding the Auxiliaries, nor of 
 what the Apostle of God had said concerning them, but he - mentioned it 
 and exclaimed, ' verily ye Icnow that the Apostle of God said, " were the peo- 
 ple to march in one valley, and the Auxiliaries marched in another valley, I 
 would march in the valley of the Auxiliaries ;" and verily thou knowest 
 Saa'd,* that the Apostle of God said when thou wert seated by, " the 
 Kuraysh are the masters of this authority and the good men will follow 
 those of them that are good, and the wicked will follow the wicked among 
 them." Then Saa'd said to him — " thou hast spoken truly — we are the 
 ministers and ye are the princes." 
 
 Ibn A'sakir records on the authority of Abu Sa'id al Khudri that when 
 homage was paid to Abu Bakr, he saw some dissatisfaction among the peo- 
 ple and he said, " what keeps you back men ? am not I the most deserv- 
 ing of this authority among you ? was not I the first to embrace Islam ? 
 was not I this and that ?" and he mentioned his qualifications. And Ahmad 
 Eafi't u'l Tai that he said, " Abu Bakr told me of the allegiance sworn to 
 him and what the Auxiliaries and what Omar had said to him and he added 
 " then they swore allegiance to me and I accepted it from them, for I feared 
 lest discord should arise and apostasy follow it." And Ibn Ishak and 
 Ibn A'aidJ in his ' Maghazi,' from the same, that he said to Abu Bakr, 
 " what brought thee to take upon thyself the government of the people, 
 when verily thou hadst forbidden me to rule over two of them ?" He 
 replied " I found no way of avoiding it I feared dissensions among the 
 people of Muhammad." 
 
 And Ahmad from Kays-b-Abi Hazim, verily I was seated by Abu Bakr 
 as Siddik about a month after the death of the Apostle of God and he was 
 
 • Saa'd-b-Ubadah. 
 
 t Eafl'-b-A'mr-b-Jabir-b-Haiith at Ta'i. In the time of ignorance he lived as a 
 robber and used to fill ostrich eggs with water and hide them in various places in the 
 desert for his own use, and when he became a convert he became a guide for the 
 Muslims in their expeditions. He had made a particular friend of Abu Bakr at the 
 engagement of Dat SalasU, who used to allow him to sleep on his own bedding and 
 gave him some of his own clothes to wear and acted as his spiritual director. He 
 died at the close of the Caliphate of Omar. Ibn Hajr. 
 
 X The text has A'abid, for A'aid. The author's real name is Abu A'bdu'Uah 
 Muhammad-b-A'aid of the tribe of ;5"™ysh, a native of Damascus and like Ibn Ishak 
 the author of a Maghazi. Kashfu'd Dhunun. 
 
[ 72 ] 
 
 relating the account of it, when the summons to prayer went forth among 
 the people, and the people assembled together and he ascended the pulpit 
 and said, " O men, I would indeed have been glad if another had sufficed 
 for this in my stead, and though you have taken me according to the 
 command of your prophet, I am not capable of ferf arming its duties, for 
 tlie prophet was indeed preserved from the deceits of the evil one, and 
 inspiration descended upon him from heaven." 
 
 Ibn Saa'd records on the authority of al Hasan of Basrah that when 
 allegiance was sworn to Abu Bakr, he stood up and preached saying, " and 
 now, verily I have been placed in this authority, though I am averse from 
 it, and by Allah, I would have been pleased if any of you had sufficed for 
 it in my stead, but if you charge me to act unto you as did the Apostle of 
 God, I could not undertake it, for the Apostle of God was a servant 
 whom the Lord honored with His inspiration and preserved him there- 
 by from error, and surely I am a mortal and am not better than any 
 one of you — therefore watch over me — and when you see that I am steadfast, 
 then obey me, and when you see that I tui'n asidiSi from tJie right path, 
 set me aright. And know that I have a devil that seizes upon me, there- 
 fore when you see me enraged, avoid me, for at that time, I cannot be 
 influenced by your counsels or your glad salutations." And Ibn Saa'd and 
 al Khatib, according to the narration of Malik from U'rwah, that when 
 Abu Bakr assumed the supreme power, he preached to the people and he 
 praised God and magnified Him and said, " and now, verily I have been 
 made to rule over you though I am not the most worthy among you ; but 
 the Kuran was revealed and the prophet declared the law, and instructed us 
 and we learnt of him ; and know, O ' men, that piety is the most solid 
 goodness, and the vilest of what is vile is vice, and verily the strongest 
 among you before me is he that is weak, inasmuch as I shall take for him 
 what is due to him and the weakest among you before me is he that is 
 strong inasmuch as I shall take from him that which is due by him : O men, 
 verily I am a follower and not an innovator, therefore when I do well, aid 
 me, and if I turn aside, direct me aright. I have spoken, and may God 
 have mercy upon me and upon you." Mdlik says, ' no one ever becomes 
 Imam except upon this condition.' Al Hakim records in his Mustadrak 
 (supplement) from Abu Hurayrah that when the Apostle of God died, 
 Mecca was convulsed by an earthquake, and Abu Euhafah noticed it and 
 said "what is this." They said, " the Apostle of God is dead." He an- 
 swered. " It is a momentous thing, who then hath risen up in authority 
 after him ?" They said, " thy son." He replied, " will the Banu A'bd 
 Mandf and the Banu'l Mughirah consent to this ?" They answered " yes." 
 He exclaimed, " there is no overthrower of that which hath been exalted, 
 and no exalter of that which hath been humbled." Al Wdkidi records with 
 
[ 73 ] 
 
 ascriptions to Ayesha, Ibn Omar, Sa'id-b-u'l Mussayyab and others, that 
 allegiance was sworn to Abu Bakr on the day of the death of the Apostle 
 of God, Monday* the 12th of Rabii' u'l Awwal, in the 11th year of the 
 Hijrah. And at TabarAni in his Ausat from Ibn Omar, that he said, 
 " Abu Bakr never seated himself in the place of the Apostle of God in 
 the pulpit, until after he had passed to the Lord, and Omar never sat in 
 the seat of Abu Bakr nor Othman in that of Omar until they had passed 
 to the Lord." 
 
 On what occurred during Ms Oaliphate and the chief events that tooh placer 
 
 during his time, such as the despatch of the army of TTsamah, the 
 
 slaughter of the apostates and those who refused the poor rate, 
 
 Musaylamah the liar and the collection of the Kurdn. 
 
 Al Isma'ilif records on the authority of Omar that he said, " when 
 the Apostle of God died, some of the Arabs fell from the faith and they 
 said, ' we will perform the prayers, but we will not pay the poor rate :' I 
 went to Abu Bakr and said, ' O vicegerent of the Apostle of God, conciliate 
 the people and be indulgent to them for they are but on a level with brute 
 beasts:' and he replied, ' I hoped for thy help and thou hast come to me 
 withholding thy aid — thou wert haughty in the time of ignorance and art 
 meanspirited in Islam — wherefore then should I conciliate them by lying 
 verses and deceitful eloquence ? Alas ! alas ! the prophet is dead and 
 divine inspiration is withheld ! By Allah, I will do battle with them as 
 long as I can grasp a sword in my hand, even if they deny me the worth of 
 a camel's halter.' " Omar adds, "I found him in this business more energetic 
 and determined than myself, and he governed the affairs of the people with 
 justice — ^thus many of their difficulties were made easy to me when I came 
 to rule them." And Abu'l Kasim al Baghawi, and Abu Bakr as Shafi'i 
 in his " Fawaid," (Useful Observations) and Ibn A' sakir record from 
 Ayesha that she said, " when the Apostle of God died, hypocrisy raised its 
 head, and the Arabs apostatized and the Auxiliaries turned away and if 
 
 • " TJInfin Mahomed mourut un samedi, second jour de la semaine ohfez les Musul- 
 maus dans le moi Eabie premier." I know not on what authority BoulainviUiers 
 makes j^xi" 5ll /•_jJ ("the second day") to he Saturday. See Vie de Mahomed, p. 440. 
 
 t Ahu Bakr Ahmad-b-Ibrahim al Isma'Ui, a great Shafi'i doctor, famous for his 
 knowledge of the law and tradition. He was the author of numerous works on 
 tradition. He died in Rajah A. H. 371 (982) aged 94. His son Ahu Saa'd, called 
 also al Isma'fli, studied under his father and became Shaykh of the Shafi'is in Jurjan, 
 died A. H. 396, (A. D. 1005-6) aged 63. De Slanc, Ibn Khali. 
 10 
 
[ 74 ] 
 
 what fell upon my father had fallen upon the solid mountains, it would 
 have crushed them ; and the Companions never disputed a single point, but 
 he was prompt with its advantages and its merits. They said ' where is 
 the prophet to be buried ?' and we found no one who had any knowledge 
 regarding this ; but Abu Bakr exclaimed, I heard the Apostle of God say, 
 no prophet died but he was buried under the bed in which be expired.' " 
 Aysha adds, " they disputed regarding his inheritance, and they found no one 
 who had any information on this point ; but Abu Bakr exclaimed, ' I heard 
 the Apostle of God say, " we, the Company of the prophets are not inherit- 
 ed of — that which we leave is the portion of the poor." 
 
 Some of the learned say that this was the first disagreement that 
 occurred among the Companions, for some of them said, " let us bury him 
 in Mecca, the city wherein he was born," and others said, " nay, in his 
 mosque," and others " nay, in the cemetery of Medina," and others " nay in 
 Jerusalem, the Sepulchre of the prophets," until Abu Bakr informed them 
 of what he knew. Ibn Zunjawayh says, that as Siddik was the single 
 authority for this tradition among the Fugitives and Auxiliaries, and they 
 had recourse to him for it. Al Bayhaki and Ibn A'sakir record on the 
 authority of Abu Hurayrah, that he said, " by Him, than whom there is 
 no other God, if Abu Bakr had not been appointed Caliph, God would not 
 have been worshipped," — this he said a second, and again a third time ; 
 then they said to him, " how so, Aba Hurayrah !" and he said, " verily 
 the Apostle of God sent Usamah-b-Zayd at the head of seven hundred 
 men to Syria and when they reached Dii Khushub* the prophet died, and 
 the Arabs round about Medina apostatized, and the Companions of the 
 Apostle of God gathered about Abu Baler and they said, " recall these — 
 will you send these against the Greeks while the Arabs around Medina 
 have apostatized ?" but he said, " by Him, than whom there is no other 
 God, were dogs to drag the wives of the prophet by their feet, I would not 
 recall an army despatched by the Apostle of God, nor would I dismount 
 a standard that he had bound." He therefore despatched TJsamah, who so 
 acted that he never passed in his march by a tribe inclined to apostatize but 
 they said, " were there no strength in them, such as these would not have 
 gone forth from among them, but let us leave them to encounter the 
 Greeks;" and they encountered them and defeated them and slew them and 
 returned in safety whereupon those others remained steadfast in Islam." 
 And from U'rwah, " the Apostle of God kept saying in his illness, ' des- 
 patch the army of Usamah.' He therefore set out until he reached 
 " Jurf,"t and the prophet's wife Patimah sent to him saying, " hasten not, 
 for verily the Apostle of God is grievously sick," and he did not proceed 
 
 * A valley about ono march from Medina. Ya^:tit, M. B. 
 t Three miles from Medina on the road to Syria, 
 
[ 75 ] 
 
 until the Apostle of God died and when he was dead, Usamah returned to 
 Abu. Bakr and said, " verily the Apostle of God sent me forth but we were 
 under different circumstances to what you are now — verily I fear lest the 
 Arabs apostatize and if they apostatize, they should be the first to be' 
 attacked, and if they do not apostatize I will set forth, for with me are 
 the chiefs of the people and the most distinguished amongst them." Then 
 Abu Bakr preached to the people and said, " by Allah, were* a bird of prey 
 to carry me off, it would be more pleasing to me than that I should set 
 about anything before the command of the Apostle of God: he therefore 
 despatched him." 
 
 Ad Dahabi says that when the death of the Apostle of God became 
 known round about, many of the Arab tribes apostatized from Islam and 
 refused the payment of the poor rate, and Abu Bakr as Siddik set out to 
 attack them, but Omar and others counselled him to abstain from attack- 
 ing them, but he said, " by Allah, if they deny me so much as a camel's halter 
 or a kid which they used to pay to the Apostle of God, I will war against 
 them for the refusal of it ;" then Omar said, " how canst thou war against the 
 people, when verily the Apostle of God said, " I have been commanded to do 
 battle against men until they confess that there is no God but God, and verily 
 Muhammad is the Apostle of God, and whoever confesseth it his property 
 and life are safe from me, save in the claim and account of God therein." 
 Abu Bakr replied, " by Allah, I will surely oppose by force those who dis- 
 tinguish between prayers and the poor rate, for the poor rate is a due from 
 property and verily ^Ae j^j-qpAei! said " save in the claim therein." Omar 
 says, " then, by Allah, I saw it was nothing else than that God had dis- 
 posed the heart of Abu Bakr to combat them and I knew that it was just." 
 And on the authority of U'rwah, " Abu Bakr set out with the Fugitives 
 and Auxiliaries until they reached Naka'a over against Najd, and the Arabs 
 fled with their families and the people addressed Abu Bakr, saying, " re- 
 turn to Medina and to the children and women, and set a man in command 
 of the army," and they did not desist until he returned and appointed 
 Khalid-b-u'l Walid and said to him, " when they shall have embraced the 
 faith, and paid the poor rate, then let any among you who so wishes, 
 return," and he went back to Medina. 
 
 Ad Darakutni records on the authority of Ibn Omar, that when Abu 
 Bakr set forth and was mounted upon his camel, A'li-b-Abi Talib took it 
 by the bridle and said, " whither goest thou, Vicegerent of the Apostle of 
 God ? I say unto thee that which the Apostle of God said unto thee on the 
 day of Ohud, ' sheath thy sword and make us not anxious for thy person' — 
 and turn back to Medina, for, by Allah, if we suffer loss in thee, Islam will 
 
 * MeanLng were he carrion and a feast for birds of prey. 
 
[ 76 ] 
 
 never be set in order." And from Handhalak-b-A'li-al Laythi, tliat Abu 
 Bakr despatched Khalid and commanded him to war against men for five 
 objects ; whosoever refused any one of these, he should attack him as he 
 ■would attack any who had refused all the five, viz., the confession of faith 
 " verily there is no God, but God and — verily Muhammad is his servant and 
 his apostle — the institution of prayers — the donation of the poor rate, the 
 fast of Eamadhan, Khalid and those who were with him, then went forth 
 in Jumada' '1 Akhir and he attacked the Banu Asad and Ghatfan and slew 
 whom he slew, and captured whom he captured, and the rest returned to 
 Islam ; and of the Companions who were slain in this affair were U'kashah*- 
 b-Mihsan and Thdbit-b-Akram. 
 
 In Eamadhan of this year, died Tatimah daughter of the Apostle 
 of God, the chief of women upon earth, her age being four and twenty. 
 Ad Dahabi says that the Apostle of God had no descendants but by her, 
 for the posterity of his daughter Zaynabf became extinct (so says az 
 Zubayr-b-Bakkar) and Umm AymanJ died a month before her. 
 
 In the month of Shawwal died A'bdu'Uah the son of Abu Bakr as 
 Siddik. After this Khalid set out with his army for Tamama to attack 
 Musaylamah the liar towards the end of the year. The armies met and the 
 investment§ lasted some days. At length Musaylamah the liar, God curse 
 him, was slain — Wahshi the slayer of Hamzah killed him. 
 
 Among the Companions that fell in this engagement were Abu Huday- 
 fah-b-U'tbah, Salim his freedman, ShuJaa'-b-Wahab, Zayd-b-u'l Khattab- 
 A'bdu'llah-b-Sahl, Malik-b-A'mr Tufayl-b-A'mr a'd Dausi, Yazid-b-Kays, 
 A'amir-b-Bukayr, A'bdu'Uah-b-Makhramah, Saib-b Othman-b-Madha'un, 
 Ubad-b-Bashir, Maa'n-b-A'di, Thabit-b-Kays-b-Shamas, Abu Dujanah 
 Simak-b-Harb, and others amounting to seventy. || Musaylamah on the 
 
 * One of the Companions held in much favour hy Muhammad. At Badr his 
 sword hroke and Muhammad gave him a dried palm hranoh which became in his hand 
 a sword with a white blade and a firm handle with which he returned to the battle. 
 He was one of the 70 to whom Muhammad promised paradise without the judgment 
 being held regarding them. He was 44 years old when Muhammad died. An Nawawi. 
 
 t She married her aunt's son A'bu'l Afai-b-i'r Eabii' al A'bshami. Ibn Hajr. 
 
 X His foster-mother Barakah, an Abyssinian slave girl who tended Muhammad on 
 the death of his father A'bdu'Uah, and continued in the capacity of his nurse after 
 the death of his mother Amina. She married Zayd-b-Haritha. Tbn Hajr. 
 
 § The followers of Musaylamah retired into a garden called the " Hadfkatu'l 
 A'bdi'r Eahman, and afterwards ' Hadikatu'l Mawt, or the garden of death, and there 
 defended themselves to the last. According to the account of Wahshi quoted in the 
 Eaudhat u's Safa he allows Ibn Am&ra a share in the death of Musaylamah as they 
 both attacked him at the same time. Hamzah the uncle of Muljammad was slain at the 
 battle of Ohud. 
 
 II These were only the principal men among the fallen, for says iQilbon " in the 
 
[ 77 ] 
 
 day he was slain was a hundred and* fifty years old, his birth Tiaving tahen 
 place before that of A'bdu'llah the father of the prophet. 
 
 In the year 12 A. H. as Siddik sent al A'la-b-u'l Hadhrami to 
 Bahrayn where they had apostatized, and the armies met at Jawatha, and 
 the Muslims were victorious. Then he sent A'kramah-b-Abi Jahl to 
 A'mman where they had also fallen from the faith, and he despatched al 
 Muhajir-b-Abi Umayyah, against the people of Nujayr who likewise had 
 apostatized, and Ziyad-b-Labid the Auxiliary, against another body of the 
 apostates. 
 
 In this year died Abu'l A'asi-b-u'r Eabii' the husband of Zaynab 
 daughter of the Apostle of God, and as Saa'd-b-Jaththamah al Laythi and 
 Abu Marthad al Ghanawi. 
 
 In this year likewise, after the reduction of the apostates as Siddik 
 sent Khalid-b-u'l Walid to the land of Basrah, who attacked Ubulla and 
 captured it and took Mad&in Kisra, the one in Irak, partly by treaty and 
 partly by force. During the same, Abu Bakr undertook the pilgrimage 
 and despatched A'mar-b-u'l A'as and the army to Syria and there occurred 
 the battle of Ajnadayn in the month of the first Jumada A. H. 13, and 
 the Muslims were victorious and Abu Bakr received the good tidings of it 
 when he was dying. In this battle, there fell A'krahmah-b-Abi Jahl and 
 Hisham-b-u'l A'asi and others. In the same year took place the engage- 
 ment of Marju's Suffar,t where the infidels were defeated and al Fadhl- 
 b-u'l A'bbas and ot!hers were kiUed. 
 
 The Collection of the Kttrdn. 
 
 Al Bukhari records on the authority of Zayd-b-Thabit that he said, 
 " Abu Bakr sent for me at the time of the slaughter of the people at 
 Tamama, Omar being with him and said ' verily Omar hath come to me 
 saying, " the slaughter of the men at Yamama was great and I fear lest 
 
 first action thy were repulsed with a loss of twelve himdred men : their defeat was 
 avenged by the slaughter of 1000 infidels and Museilama himself was pierced, by an 
 Ethiopian slave with the same javelin which had mortally wounded the uncle of Ma- 
 homet." Decline and Fall. 
 
 * This must be a great exaggeration as it was but a short time before his death 
 that the prophetess Sajah fell in love with him for the beauty and manliness of his 
 person. After his death she resided with the Taghlabites and was converted in the 
 Caliphate of Mu'awiyah. Abu'l Feda Annales, p. 212. 
 
 t Close to Damascus. Several skirmishes took place before Damascus, during 
 the siege, little to the credit of the warriors of the Cross. For a detailed account of 
 this period, consult the interesting pages of Ockley. 
 
[ 78 ] 
 
 the loss in action of the readers of the Kuran in the provinces become 
 excessive, and therefore much of the Kuran may be lost unless they collect 
 it together, and verily I think that the Kurdn should be collected." Abu 
 Bakr went on, " and I replied to Omar, how shall I do the thing which the 
 Apostle of God hath not done" ? Omar answered " by AUah, it is a good 
 work," and he did not cease to persist with me in this matter until God 
 enlightened my mind concerning it, and I have come to think as Omar 
 thinks." Zayd adds, " Omar, was meanwhile seated by him not speaking : 
 then Abu Bakr said, " thou art an intelligent youth and I have no 
 doubts regarding thee, and verily thou wert he who recorded the revela- 
 tions of the Apostle of God, search therefore for the Kuran and collect 
 it." And by Allah, had he charged me with the carrying away of a hill 
 from among the mountains, it would not have been weightier upon me than 
 that which he commanded me in the collection of the Kuran, and I said, 
 " how can you two undertake a thing which the Apostle of God hath not 
 donej'" and Abu Bakr said, "by Allah, it is a good work," a»d I did not 
 cease discussing it with him, until God enlightened my mind in that 
 towards which he had already disposed the minds of Abu Bakr and Omar. 
 And I searched for the Kuran and collected it from scraps of paper and 
 shoulder-blades* and leafless palm branches, and the minds of men until 
 I found from the Sura of Eepentanee (IX) two verses in the possession of 
 Khuzaymah-b-Thabit which I found with no one else viz., " now hath 
 an Apostle come to you of your own nation" (Kur. IX), to the end. Tlie 
 pages in which the Kuran was collected remained with Abu Bakr until 
 the Lord took him to Himself, then with Omar until the Lord took him 
 to Himself, and afterwards with Hafsah daughter of Omar. Abu Ta'la 
 records on the authority of A'li that he said, " the greatest among men 
 meriting reward for the volumes of the Kuran is Abu Bakr, for he it was 
 who first collected the Kuran between two boards." 
 
 On the things in which he was foremost. 
 
 Among these are, that he was the first to embrace Islam, the first to 
 collect the Kuran, the first who named it ' Mushaf,' (the Book) the proof 
 of which has been advanced, and he was the first who was called Caliph. 
 Ahmad records on the authority of Abu Bakr-b-Abi Mulaykah, that he said, 
 Abu Bakr was once addressed " Vicegerent of God." He replied, "I am 
 
 * On oompariBg the passage with the Sahilj of al Bukhari I find a slight differ- 
 ence in the reading in various places : for ' shoulder-hlades' (Jlifi or as I should pre- 
 fer to read oUfl al Bukhari JjlaJ, has thin whitish stones. 
 
[ 79 1 
 
 the Vicegerent of the Apostle of God and with this I am content." He 
 was the first who ruled the Caliphate while his father was yet alive, and 
 the first Caliph for whom his subjects appointed a stipend. Al Bubhari 
 records from Ayesha that she narrates, " when Abu Bakr was appointed 
 Caliph he said, " my people know that my profession* is not insuiBcienfc 
 for the provision of my family, but I am busied with the affairs of the 
 Muslims and the family of Abu Bakr will soon consume this property of 
 Ms while he is labouring for the Muslims." And Ibn Saa'd from A'ta-b- 
 u's Saibf that he said, "after allegiance had been sworn unto Abu Bakr, next 
 morning he arose and was going to the market place with some mantles 
 upon his arm, when Omar said to him, " whither art thou going ?" He 
 replied, " to the market place :" Omar said, " dost thou do this although 
 thou hast been given to rule over the Muslims ?" He answered, " whence, 
 then shall my family be fed?" Omar replied, "Come! A'bu U'baydah 
 shall provide for thee :" and they went to Abu U'baydah and he said " I will 
 set apart for 'thee, the allowance for one man of the Fugitives — neither that 
 assigned to the best, nor to the meanest among them, and a garment for 
 winter and for summer ; when thou hast worn a thing out ; thou canst 
 return it and take another." Then he assigned unto him every day, half 
 a sheep and the wherewith to cover his head and his person. And from 
 Maymlin, " when Abu Bakr became Caliph, they assigned to him two 
 thousand dirhams, and he said, " increase the sum for me for I have a family, 
 and you have employed me on other work than my own trade" ; so they 
 gave him an increase of five hundred dirhams." 
 
 At Tabarani records in his Musnad on the authority of al Hasan-b-A'Ii- 
 b-Abi Talib that he said, " when Abu Bakr was near unto death, he said, " O 
 Ayesha, behold the camel, the milk of which we have drank, and the plat- 
 ter in which we prepared our food, and the garments we have worn ; verily 
 we made use of them when wo governed the affairs of the Muslims. When 
 I die, give them to Omar." When therefore Abu Bakr died, she sent them to 
 Omar, and he said, " the Lord have mercy upon thee, Abu Bakr, for verily 
 thou hast afilicted him who cometh after thee." And Ibn Abi'd Dunya, from 
 Abu Bakr-b-Hafs that he said, " Abu Bakr, when he was near unto death, 
 said to Ayesha, " daughter — we have governed the affairs of the Muslims 
 and have not taken for ourselves either a dinar or a dirham, but we have 
 eaten the fill of our bellies with the coarse flour of their food, and clothed 
 our backs with their rough garments and there doth not remain with us of 
 the booty taken by the Muslims, save this Nubian slave and this camel 
 
 * He was by trade a oloth-merohant. 
 
 t Atu's Saib A'ta-bu's Saib-b-Maiik a member of the tribe of Thakif and a native 
 of Kfifah, a traditionist of good authority, died A, H, 136 (753-4). De Slane, I. K. 
 
[ 80 ] 
 
 for drawing water, and this coarse garment, but when I die, send them to 
 Omar." He was the first also, to establish a public treasury. Ibn Saa'd 
 records on the authority of Sahl-b-Abi Khaythamah and others that Abu 
 Bakr had the public treasury at Sunh,* over which no one kept guard. 
 It was said to him " wilt thou not place over it some one to guard it ?" 
 He replied, " there is a lock upon it" : and he used to give away what was 
 in it till it was empty. But when he removed into the city he transferred 
 it and placed it in his house ; and the revenue came in to him, and he used 
 to distribute it amongst the poor and divide it equally amongst them. He 
 used also to purchase camels and horses and arms and give them away for 
 the service of God ; and he used to buy garments that were brought in 
 from the desert tracts and distribute them amongst the widows of Medina. 
 
 When Abu Bakr died and was buried, Omar summoned the trustees 
 amongst them being A'bdu'r Eahman-b -A'uf and Othman-b-A'ffan, and 
 entered with them into the treasury of Abu Bakr ; and they opened the 
 treasury, but they did not find a thing in it, neither a dinar nor a dirham. 
 
 I observe that this tradition refutes the remark of al A'skari in his 
 Awayil (Beginnings) that the first who instituted a public treasury was 
 Omar, and that neither the prophet possessed a public treasury nor Abu 
 Bakr. Indeed I have refuted this in the work which I composed on the 
 Awayil. Moreover I have observed that al A'skari himself adverted to it 
 in another part of his book, for he says that the first who superintended 
 the public treasury was Abu U'baydah b-u'l Jarrah on the part of Abu Bakr. 
 Al Hakim says that the first surname in Islam, was the surname of Aba 
 Bakr, Atik. 
 
 The two Shaykhs record on the authorii^ of Jabir that the Apostle of 
 God said to Mm, " when the tribute comes from Bahrayn I will give thee 
 so much and so much," but when the tribute from Bahrayn came in after 
 the death of the Apostle of God, Abu Bakr said — " he who hath a claim 
 against the Apostle of God or a promise ^om 7i»OT, let him come to us," 
 and I went and informed him and he said " take," and I took and found 
 that the promise was for five hundred dirhams, but he gave me two thou- 
 sand five hundred. 
 
 * In one of the euburbs of Medina about a mile distant from the house of Mu- 
 hammad. Ya^ut, M, B. 
 
[ 81 •] 
 
 On some examples of Ms gentleness and humility. 
 
 Ibn A'sakir records on the authority of Anisah,* that she said, " Abu 
 Bakr settled amongst us three years before he was appointed Caliph, and one 
 year after he became so, and the girls of the tribe used to go to him with 
 their flocks and he used to milk them for them." And Ahmad in th& 
 " Zuhd" from Maymlin-b-Mihran that he said, " a man went to Abu Bakr 
 and said ' peace be to thee, Vicegerent of the Apostle of God.' " He re- 
 plied " who among these assembled is he ?" And Ibn A'sakir from Abu 
 Salih al Ghifari, that Omar-b-u'l Khattab was in the habit of ministering 
 at night to an aged blind woman in one of the suburbs of the city, and he 
 used to give her to drink and assist her, and it came to pass that he went 
 to her and found another who was before him with her and who did what 
 she required. He went again another time that he might not be anticipat- 
 ed in attendance on her, and lay in wait for him and behold it was Abu 
 Bakr who was going to her, he being at that time Caliph, and Omar 
 exclaimed " by my life, thou art the man I" And Abu Nna'ym and others 
 from A'bdu'r Bahmdn al Ispahani that al Hasan the son of A'li went to 
 Abu Bakr, who was then on the pulpit of the Apostle of Grod, and said 
 " come down from the seat of my father," and he answered, " thou speakest 
 truly for this is thy father's seat" ; and he put him on his lap and wept 
 and A'li said, " by Allah, this was not said by my command," and Abu 
 Bakr said, "thou speakest the truth ; by Allah, I did not suspect thee." 
 
 Ibn Saa'd records on the authority of Ibn Omar that he said, " the 
 prophet appointed Abu Bakr to lead the pilgrimage in the first pilgrimage 
 that took place in Islam ; then the Apostle of God performed it himself 
 the following year, and when the Apostle of God died^ and Aba Bakr be- 
 came Caliph, he appointed Omar-b-u'l Khattab to lead the pilgrimao-e and 
 performed it himself the year following, and when Abu Bakr died and Omar 
 became Caliph, he appointed A'bdu'r Eahman-b-A'uf over the pilgrimao-e. 
 Subsequently Omar failed not to perform it himself each year till his death 
 wlien Othman succeeded to the Caliphate, and he appointed A'bdu'r Eah- 
 man-b-Auf over the pilgrimage." 
 
 On his illness, death and last testament and. the Oaliphate of Omar. 
 
 Sayf and al Hakim record on the authority of Ibn Omar that th e 
 cause of the death of Abu Bakr was through excessive grief for the death 
 
 * Daughter of Khutayb-b-Yasaf, one of the Auxiliaries. She accompanied Mu- 
 ^lammad in some of his pilgrimages and related traditions from him. Ihn Hajr. 
 11 
 
[ 82 ] 
 
 of the Apostle of God, his body continuing to waste away until he died. 
 And Ibn Saa'd and al Hakim on good authorities from Ibn Shihab, that 
 Abu Bakr and al Harith-b-Kaladah* were eating broth which had been 
 sent as a present to Abu Bakr, when al Harith said to Abu Bakr, " with-; 
 draw thy hand, O Vicegerent of the Apostle of God, for by Allah, there is 
 poison in it, that will do its worTc in a year, and I and thou shall both die 
 on the same day." And he withdrew his hand, and these two did not fail 
 to sicken until they died on the same day about the close of the year. 
 And al Hakim from Shaa'bi that he said, " what can we expect from this 
 vile world when even the Apostle of God was poisoned and poisoned was 
 Abu Bakr ?" 
 
 And al Wakidi and al Hakim from Ayesha that the beginning of the 
 sickness of Abu Bakr, was that he bathed, on Monday the 7th of Jumada'l 
 Akhirah, and the day was cold and he took fever for fifteen days and did 
 not come forth to prayers and died on Tuesday the 22nd of Jumada'l 
 Akhirah in the thirteenth year of the Hijrah being sixty-three years old 
 (23rd August, 634)- 
 
 Ibn Saa'd and Ibn Abi 'd Dunya record on the authority of Abu's Safar 
 that the Companions went in unto Abu Bakr in his sickness and said, 
 " O Vicegerent of the Apostle of God, shall we caU unto thee a physician 
 that he may look to thee ?" He replied, " verily he hath already seen 
 me." And they answered " what did he say ?" He said, " verily I effect 
 that which I please."t And al Wakidi on different authorities, that when 
 Abu Bakr sickened, he summoned A'bdu'r Eahmdn-b'-Auf and said, " tell 
 me of Omar-b-u'l Khattab." He replied " thou canst not ask me concern- 
 ing anything but thou art better acquainted with it than I." Abu Bakr 
 said " well, even so." A'bdu'r Eahmdn answered, " by Allah, he is even 
 better than thy opinion of him." Then he summoned Othman-b-A'ffan 
 and said, "tell me of Omar-b-u'l Khattab" and he answered, "thou 
 knowest more of him than I." Abu Bakr replied, " Be it so." The 
 other replied, " verily, my knowledge of him is that his inward disposition 
 is better than his outward appearance, and indeed there is not his like 
 
 * One of Muhammad's Companions— of the tribe of Thakif, and a judge of the 
 Arabs. His wife was al Farigha daughter to Hammam-b-tT'rwai, ; going into her 
 apartment one morning he found her picking her teeth on which he sent her a sentence 
 of divorce for said he " if you have breakfasted before your time, you arc a glutton and 
 if you have passed the night with particles of meat between your teeth, you are a 
 slut." To this she replied that it was neither one nor the other, but that she was 
 removing the fragment of a toothpick. She afterwards married Yusnf-b-tJ'^ayl to 
 whom she bore the tyrant at Hajjdj. Ibn Khali. 
 
 t Taken with a slight alteration from the Kur, chapters XI and LXXXV. 
 
[ 83 ] 
 
 amongst us." Abu Bakr consulted together with those two, Sa'id-b-Zayd, 
 and Usayd-b-u'l Hudhayr, and others from among the Fugitives and Auxi- 
 liaries, and Usayd said, " verily, I think him the best after thee ; he approves 
 what merits approval, and is indignant with what deserves wrath ; 
 what he conceals is better than what he suffers to appear, and no one can 
 sway this authority more vigorously than he." Some of the Companions 
 went unto Abu Bakr and one of them spake to him saying, " what wilt 
 thou say to thy Lord, when He asketh of thee regarding the appointment 
 of Omar over us, and verily thou seest his asperity of temper" : and Abu 
 Bakr said, " by Allah, dost thou think to terrify me ? I shall say God 
 I have given the best of thy people to rule over them. Tell others from 
 me what I have said," Then he summoned Othman and said, " write — In 
 the name of God the most merciful and compassionate. This is the testa- 
 ment made by Abu Bakr the son of Abu Kuhafah at the close of his life in 
 the world as he is about to leave it, and at the beginning of his life in the 
 next, being about to enter it, a time when the infidel believeth and the 
 sinner gaineth certitude, and the liar speaketh the truth. I have made 
 Caliph over you after me, Omar-b-u'l Khattab — therefore hear and obey 
 him, and verily I have not been wanting in my duty to God and His 
 apostle and His religion and myself and you: if therefore he acteth 
 justly, then will my opinion regarding him and my knowledge of him be 
 justified, and if he doeth the contrary, then every action receiveth that 
 which it hath earned, and I have intended what is good and know not what 
 is hidden, ' and they who act unjustly shall know hereafter with what 
 treatment they shall be treated' (Kur. XXVI) and peace be to you and 
 the mercy of God and His blessing." He then ordered that they should 
 seal the document. After this he commanded Othman who went forth 
 with the document sealed, and the people swore allegiance and approved it. 
 Then Abu Bakr summoned Omar in private and charged him with what 
 he charged him and Omar left him. Then Abu Bakr lifted up his hands 
 and said, " O God I have wished in this but their good, and I feared discord 
 amongst them, therefore have I done regarding them that which thou 
 knowest and exerted my faculties for them to the utmost ; and I have 
 appointed to rule over them the best among them and the most vigorous, 
 and the most zealous of them for that which directeth them aright ; and 
 verily what I have recollected of thy commands, I have remembered, 
 therefore put another in my place over them, for they are thy servants and 
 their forelocks* are in thy hands. Instruct, Lord, their rulers and 
 make him whom tJio'u appointest, to be one of the Orthodox Caliphs and 
 render his subjects righteous towards him." 
 
 * By " forelocks'' may be also signified the oMefs of the nation. 
 
[ «4 ] 
 
 Ibn Saa'd and al Hakim record on the authority of Ibn Masa'iid that 
 he said, " the most sagacious of mankind were three — Abu Bakr when he 
 appointed Omar as Caliph,— the wife of Moses when she said, " Hire him 
 for certain* wages" (Kur. XXVIII) and the minister ofJEcft/ptf when he dis- 
 cerned the character of Joseph from his physiognomy and said to his wife 
 " use him honorably" (Eur. XII). And Ibn A'sakir from Yasar-b-Hamzah 
 that he said, " when Abu Bakr was grievously sick, he stood up over the 
 people from a window and said ' O ye men, verily I have made a covenant, 
 therefore consent ye to it ;' and the people said, ' we consent, O Vicegerent 
 of the Apostle of God ;' then A'li stood up and said, ' I shall not consent 
 unless it be for Omar,' and Abu Bakr replied, ' verily it is fir Omar.' 
 And Ahmad from Ayesha that she said, ' Abu Bakr, when he was nigh 
 unto death said, " what day is this?"' They answered 'Monday:' J he 
 said, ' if I die to-night delay not for me my itlrial until to-morrow, for 
 verily the dearest to me of all days and nights is that which is nearest of 
 them to ihe time of tJie death of the Apostle of God.' And Malik from 
 Ayesha, that Abu Bakr gave to her twenty camel-loads of fruit-cuttings 
 of the palms from his property at Ghabah,§ and when he was nigh unto 
 death, he said, ' O daughter, by Allah, there is not one among the people 
 whose richness is more pleasing to me than thine, and none whose poverty 
 would be more distressing to me after my death, and verily I had given to 
 thee twenty camel-loads of the fruit-cuttings of my palms ; — if thou badst 
 cut them and taken them, they would have been thine, but now they are 
 the property of my heirs, who are verily thy two brothers and thy two 
 sisters — then let them divide it according to the book of God.' She 
 replied, ' father, even had it been so that I had cut them, I would have 
 left them, but surely she, my sister is Asma, who then is the other sister ?' 
 He said, ' the child that is in the womb of the daughter of Kharijah, whom 
 I think is a girl.' Ibn Saa'd records this tradition and at the end of it 
 adds, 'the child in the womb of the daughter of Kharijah, || verily it hath 
 been put into my heart that it is a girl therefore take charge of her with 
 kindness,' and from her was born Umm Kulthum." 
 
 * For this story see Kuran XXVIII and Sale's notes, p. 319. 
 
 t His name was Kitfir or Itflr (a corruption of Potiphar) and he was man of great 
 consideration, heing superintendent of the royal treasury {al Baydawi). Sale, p. 189. 
 
 t According to a tradition attested hy an Nawawi and others, on a Monday Mu- 
 hammad was horn, on a Monday he fled from Mecca, on a Monday, he arrived at 
 Medina. His first revelation was made to him on a Monday, and on a Mondav ho 
 died. ' 
 
 § Twelve miles from Medina on the road to Syria. 
 
 II Khdrijah-h-Zayd-h-Ahi Znhayr one of the Auxiliaries, of the tribe of Khazrai 
 Abu Bakr married his daughter whom he left pregnant at his death. Ibn Hajr. 
 
[ 85 ] 
 
 Ibn Saa'd records from U'rwah* that Abu Bakr left away a fifth of 
 his property and said, " take of my good that which God taketh of the 
 booty of the Muslims."t And by a different ascription from the same, 
 that Abu Bakr said, " that I should bequeath a fiftb is preferable to me 
 than that I should bequeath a fourth, and to bequeath a fourth is prefera- 
 ble to me than if I bequeathed a third, for he who bequeaths a third, leaves 
 nothing." And Saa'd-b-Man§tir in his Sunnan (Traditions) from ad Dhah- 
 hak,J that Abu Bakr and A'li bequeathed a fifth of their property to such 
 among their relations as did not legally inherit from them. 
 
 A'bdu'Uah-b-Ahmad records in the Zawaid u'z Zuhd from Ayesha that 
 she said, " by Allah, Abu Bakr did not leave a dinar nor a dirham stamjied 
 with the name of God." And Ibn Saa'd and others from Ayesha, " when 
 Abu Bakr was grievously sick, I recited this verse appositely, 
 
 ' By thy life, wealth is of no avail to a man : 
 On the day when the death-rattle is in his throat and his breast 
 is contracted by it.' 
 
 and Abu Bakr uncovered his face and said, ' it is not so, but say and the 
 agony of death shall come in truth ; this O man, is what thou soughtest to 
 avoid' (Kur. L) — behold these my two garments — wash them and shroud 
 me in them, for the living is more in want of new ones than the dead." 
 And Abu Ya'la from Ayesha, " I went to Abu Bakr when he was at the 
 point of death and I said 
 
 ' He whose weeping ceaseth not when he is veiled ; 
 Verily at some time it shall flow forth.' 
 
 * TJ'rwah, was tlie son of Ayesta's siater Asma who received from Muhammad 
 the title of Diltu'n Nitakayn " wearer of the two girdles," for having torn her veil in 
 two, with one half of -which she tied up the wallet of provisions aad the water which 
 Muhammad and Ahu Bakr took with them in their flight to Medina. She was also the 
 mother of the Caliph A'bdu'Uah-h-uz Zuhayr. Ibn Hajr. 
 
 t By the Muhammadan law, a testator can leave away one-third of his property 
 to whom he chooses, the other two-thirds going to his heirs. Abu Bakr appeared to 
 consider that to leave away the utmost the law allowed would have been ungenerous 
 to his heirs. A fifth of the spoils taken in war by the Muslims became the property 
 of the Caliph for the use of the State. 
 
 X Ad Dhahhak-b-Sufyan-b-Kaa'b-b-A'bdi'llah of the Banu Kilab. He was one of 
 the Companions and was counted for his prowess equal to a hundred horsemen. An 
 Nawawi states that it is a glari ng error to call htm the son of !^ays, as some authori- 
 tias do. There were two generals, bearing the name of Dhahhak-b-Kays, mentioned 
 byDeSlane (I. K. Vol. IV, p. 212). He was placed by Muhammad at the head of 
 the Banu Salim who numbered at that time 900 men, saying to them that one who 
 was equal to a hundred men was well able to command a thousand. 
 
[ 86 ] 
 
 And he said, ' do not say that, but say " And the agony of death shall 
 come in truth ; this, O man, is what thou soughtest to avoid," ' then he said 
 ' on what day did the Apostle of God die,' I answered ' on a Monday' : 
 he said, ' I hope for death between this and the night ;' and he died on 
 Tuesday and was buried before the day broke." And A'bdu'llah-b-Ahmad 
 in the Zawaidu'z Zuhd on the authority of Bakr-b-A'bdillah al Muzani, 
 that when Abu Bakr was nigh unto death, Ayesha seated herself near his 
 head and said. 
 
 Unto every possessor of camels, do his camels return for water : 
 
 And who so spoileth, shall himself be despoiled. 
 And Abu Bakr understood it and said, " it is not so, O daughter, but it is 
 as the Lord hath said ' and the agony of death shall come' " &c. And Ah- 
 mad from Ayesha, that she recited appositely this verse when Abu Bakr was 
 dying, 
 
 " And one so unsullied in honor that the cloud draweth moisture 
 from his face : 
 
 The protection of orphans, the defence of widows." 
 And Abu Bakr said " that must be the Apostle of God." And A'bdu'llah- 
 b-Ahmad in the Zawaid u'z Zuhd from U'bada-b-Kays, that when Abu 
 Bakr was nigh unto death, he said to Ayesha, " wash me these two gar- 
 ments and shroud me in them, for verily thy father shall be one of two 
 men, either robed in the best of garments or stripped by an ignoble 
 stripping." And Ibn Abi 'd Dunya from Abu Mulaykah, that Abu Bakr left 
 as his last commands that his wife Asma the daughter of U'mays, should 
 bathe him, and that A'bdu'r Eahman-b- Abi Bakr should help her. And 
 Ibn Saa'd from Sa'id-b-u'l Musayyab, that Omar read prayers over Abu 
 Bakr between the tomb and the pulpit of Muhammad and recited the 
 " Takbir,"* four times. And from U'rwah and al Kasim-b-Muhammad, 
 that Abu Bakr left as his last instructions to Ayesha, that he should be 
 buried by the side of the Apostle of God, and when he died, they dug a 
 grave for him and laid his head on a level with the shoulder of the Apostle 
 of God, and the niche of his grave touched the grave of the Apostle of 
 God.f And from Ibn Omar, that Omar, Talhah, Othman and A'bdu'r "S 
 
 • In prayers for the dead, the "takbir,"' that is the saying " Allahu Akbar" God 
 is great, is followed the first time, by the recital of the praises of God, the second time 
 by those of Muhammad, the third time by prayers for the living and the dead, and the 
 fourth by the salutation of dismissal " peace be to you" &o. 
 
 t Muhammad, Abu Bakr and Omar lie side by side at Medina, the graves in 
 eohellon, so that the head of Abu Bakr's grave rests on a line with the shoulder of 
 that of Muljammad : see a diagram of their position in Burton's Pilgrimage, Vol. II, 
 p. 74. The iijsr' or niche is out into the side of the grave and the body rests therein. 
 
[ 87 1 
 
 Eahman the son o£ Abu Bakr descended into the grave of Abu Bakr. 
 And he records likewise on several lines of ascription, that he was buried 
 at night. And from Ibn u'l Musayyab that when Abu Bakr died, Mecca 
 was convulsed by an earthquake, and Abu Kuhafah said, " what is that ?" 
 they answered, " thy son is dead." He said, " It is a terrible calamity — > 
 who has arisen in authority after him ?" they replied " Omar ;" he exclaim- 
 ed " He was his companion," And from Mujahid that Abu Kuhafah 
 returned what he had inherited, from Abu Bakr to the son of Abu Bakr 
 and Abu Kuhafah survived Abu Bakr only six months and some days, 
 dying in Muharram A. H. 14, at the age of ninety-seven. The learned 
 say that none but Abu Bakr ruled the Caliphate during the lifetime of 
 his father, and the father of none but of Abu Bakr inherited from his son 
 as Caliph. 
 
 Al Hakim records on the authority of Ibn Omar that Abu Bakr ruled 
 two years and seven months ; and in the history of Ibn A'sakir, ii is stated 
 with the ascription thereof on the authority of al Asma'i, that Khufaf *-b- 
 Nudbah as Salami said, mourning Abu Bakr. 
 
 Tell every living thing that there is no permanence for it : 
 
 And for the whole universe, its decree is destruction. 
 
 The goods of men are but as a trust : 
 
 Borrowed on the condition of repayment : 
 
 And a man strives, but there is one who lieth in wait for him : 
 
 The eye mourneth for him and the ardour of the voice. 
 
 He groweth old, or is slain, or subdued : 
 
 Sickness that hath no remedy maketh him to lataent. 
 
 Verily Abu Bakr was as the rain 
 
 What time Orion causeth not the herbage to grow with moisture. 
 
 By Allah, there shall not attain unto the excellence of his days : 
 
 Neither the youth that wears the Mizar,t nor one that wears the 
 
 Eida. 
 He who strives to attain unto the excellence of his days : 
 Earnestly, is apart and solitary upon the earth. 
 
 * Khufaf-b-U'inayr-b-al Harith, a descendant of Imtil Kays generally known as 
 rbn Nudbah, the latter beidg his mother's name. She was a captive in the possession 
 of his grandfather Harith, who gave her to his son U'mayr, who had by her Khufaf. 
 He was present at the battle of Hunayn, and at the conquest of Mecca where 'he 
 carried the standard of the Banu Salim. He shared with Durayd the honor of being 
 the two greatest poets of the Arab chivalry ; died in the CaUphate of Omar. Ibn Hajr. 
 
 t The Mizar or drawers, covers the lower part of the body, while the Eida is a 
 garment worn over the upper part of the body. 
 
I 88 ] 
 
 On the traditions related on his authority ascribed to Muhammad. 
 
 An Nawawi says in his Tahdib — " As Siddik has narrated one hundred 
 and forty-two traditions from the Apostle of God. The reason of the 
 small number of his narrations is that his death preceded the spreading 
 abroad of the traditions and the solicitude of the Tabi'is in listening to them, 
 and collecting and preserving them." I observe that Omar has mentioned 
 in the tradition regarding the oath of allegiance* preceding, " that Abu 
 Bakr did not omit a thing of what had been revealed regarding the 
 Auxiliaries nor what the Apostle of God had said concerning them, but he 
 mentioned it" : and this is the most complete proof of the extent of his 
 memory of the traditions, and the amplitude of his knowledge of the 
 ]^uran,t and I have thought it expedient to inscribe here, consecutively but 
 briefly his traditions, mentioning after each tradition the authorities that 
 have recorded it, and I purpose to follow them out with their aseriptiong^ 
 in a collected form, if it so please God. 
 
 1. The tradition of the Plight, (the two Shaykhs and others.) 
 
 2. 2%e tradition, " The waters of the sea are a means of purifying, 
 its dead are lawful to eat." (Darakutni.) 
 
 3. The tradition, " The tooth-stick is a means of purifying the- 
 mouth, a cause of approbation to the Lord." (Ahmad.) 
 
 4. The tradition that the Apostle of God eat from a shoulder o_f 
 a sheep and then prayed without performing ablution. (Al Bazzar and 
 Abu Ya'la.) 
 
 5. The tradition, " Let none of you perform ablution on account of 
 food that he hath eaten, the eating of which is lawful unto him." (Al Baz- 
 zar.) 
 
 6. The tradition, the Apostle of Go^ forbade the beating of those 
 who were at prayer. (Abu Ya'la and al Bazzar.) 
 
 7- The tradition, " The last prayers the prophet prayed, he prayed 
 behind me, wearing a single garment." 
 
 8. The tradition, " He who is rejoiced to read the Kuran freshly, 
 as it was revealed, let him read it according to the reading of Ibu Umm 
 A'bd." (Ahmad.) 
 
 9. The tradition that he said to the Apostle of God, " teach me 
 a prayer, which I may say in my prayers," — he replied, " O God I have 
 
 • See page 71 — the word Ui should be inserted hetween S and iiSi to make 
 it identical with Omar's words in the tradition quoted, though neither the MS. nor 
 printed text have it. . 
 
 t Here follows a list of those who have related traditions on his authority, which I 
 see no profit in transcribing. 
 
[ «9 ] 
 
 wronged my own soul with a great wronging, and none but Thou forgiveth 
 sins, therefore pardon me in Thy clemency, and have mercy on me, for Thou 
 art the Clement and the Merciful. (Al Bukhari and Muslim.) 
 
 10. The tradition. " He who prayeth in the morning, is under the 
 protection of God, therefore seek ye not to violate the promise of God, and 
 he who slayeth him. who doth so^ God will summon him and prostrate him 
 upon his face in hell fire." (Ibn Majah.)* 
 
 11. The tradition. " No prophet ever died, until one among his 
 people had stood before him as Imam in prayer." (Al Bazzar.) 
 
 12. The tradition. " No man committeth a sin, and then performeth 
 his ablution so /that it be valid, and then prayeth with two bowings of the 
 head and body, and asketh pardon of God, but He forgiveth him." 
 (Ahmad and the authors of the Four Sunans, and Ibn Hahan.) 
 
 13. The tradition. " God hath never taken from life a prophet save 
 in the place wherein he desireth to be buried." (At Tirmidi.) 
 
 14. The tradition. " God curse the Jews and the Christians — ^take 
 ye the sepulchres of their prophets as mosques." (Abu Ta'la.) 
 
 15. The tradition. " Verily a dead bodyf is sprinkled with hot water 
 by reason of the lamentations of the living." (Abu Ya'la.) 
 
 16. The tradition. " Beware of hell fire, though it be but for half 
 a date, for verily it maketh straight the crooked, and preventeth a wicked 
 death, and efEecteth for the hungry what it doth for him who is full." 
 
 17. The tradition, " The obligation of alms-deeds — in full." (Al 
 Bukhari and others.) 
 
 ] 8. TJie tradition from Ibn Abi Mulaykah, who said — " Often 
 times the bridle would fall from the hand of Abu Bakr and he would strike 
 the foreleg of his camel and make it kneel down," — they said to him " why 
 didst thou not command us^to give it to thee." He replied, " my friend the 
 Apostle of God commanded me to ask nothing of men." (Ahmad.) 
 
 19. The tradition. " The Apostle of God commanded Asma the 
 daughter of U'mays when she brought forth Muhammad the son of Abu 
 Bakr, to bathe herself and invoke the name of God." 
 
 * Albu A'tdu'Ilali Muhammad-b-Tazid-'b-Majah al Kazwini a celebrated Hafidh ia 
 the author of a -work in tradition entitled Kitab us Sunan. He is the author of a 
 conunentary on the ^iiran and a history of Kazwin. Hia hook on tradition is counted 
 one of the six Sahihs (authentic collections) ; horn A. H. 209 (82i-5) died A. H. 273 
 (887). Ihn Khali. 
 
 t That ia, punished for the profitless lamentations of the living : another tradition 
 says, " verily the dead will he punished for his family's weeping for him. ( o»a*J | ul 
 AJLc aIaj *ISjj uiiju) the reason of which Lane thinks to be, that the Arabs used to 
 charge their families to weep and wail for them, and the dead are obnoxious to punish- 
 ment for having done this. 
 12 
 
[ 90 ] 
 
 20. The tradition. The Apostle of God was asked " which are the 
 most excellent actions of the pilgrimage ?" He replied, " the raising of the 
 voice in the ' talbiyat,' and the shedding of the blood of the victims 
 Iroughtfor sacrifice." (At Tirmidi and Ibn Majah.) 
 
 21. The tradition. — That he kissed the Blach Stone and said, " were 
 it not that I have, seen the Apostle of God kiss thee, I would not have 
 kissed thee (Ad Ddrakutni). 
 
 22. The tradition that the Apostle of God sent to the people of 
 Mecca an ordinance that no idolater should make the pilgrimage after that 
 year, and that no one should make the circuit of the Kaaha naked, &c. 
 (Ahmad.) 
 
 23. The tradition. " Between my dwelling and my pulpit is a 
 garden of the gardens of paradise, and my pulpit is upon a fountain of 
 the fountains of* paradise." (Abu Ya'la.) 
 
 24. The tradition of Muhammad's going to the house of Abu 
 Haytham-b-u'l Tayyihan, in full. (Abu Ya'la.) 
 
 25. The tradition " Gold with gold, like with like, silver with 
 silver, like with like, but who giveth or asketh over and above shall be 
 in hell fire." (A'bu Ya'la and al Bazzar.) 
 
 26. The tradition. " Cursed be he who doeth injury to a true believer 
 or defraudeth him." (At Tirmidi.) 
 
 27. The tradition, " The avaricious man shall not enter paradise, 
 nor the deceiver, nor the betrayer, nor he who ruleth evilly, and the first 
 that shall enter paradise is the servant who is obedient to God and obedi- 
 ent to his master." (Ahmad.) 
 
 28. The tradition. He who freeth a slave, inherits of him. (Al 
 Dhiaf al Mukaddasi in the Mukhtirah.) 
 
 29. The tradition. " WeJ are not inherited of ; that which we leave 
 is the portion, of the poor." (Al Bukhari.) 
 
 30. The tradition. "Verily when the Lord ansigneth a means of 
 subsistence to a prophet, and afterwards taketh his life, He continueth it 
 unto him who cometh after him." (Abu DauM.) 
 
 31. The tradition. " Evading family descent, though in a trifling 
 degree, is impiety towards God." (Al Bazzdr.) 
 
 * The text here has icu for &«,J erroneously. Tlie MS. has the correct reading. 
 For variations of this tradition, see Burton's Pilgrimage, Vol. II, p. 6S. 
 
 t Hafidh DMA u'ddi'n Muhammad-b-Abdi'l "Wdhid al Mukaddasi al Hanbali, 
 died 643 A. H. (124S) The Mukhtdrah (chosen) is a work on tradition. Kashf u'd 
 Dhuntin. 
 
 t See page 74. 
 
[ 91 ] 
 
 32. The traiiiion. " Thou and thy goods belong to thy father." 
 Abu Bakr said, " he meant by that only what regards necessary mainte^ 
 nance." (Al Bayhaki.) 
 
 33. The tradition. " He whose feet become dusty in the service of 
 God, God will preserve them from hell fire.'' (Al Bazzar.) 
 
 Si. The tradition. " I was commanded to war with men." (The 
 two Shaykhs and others.) 
 
 35. The tradition. " An excellent servant of God and a brother to 
 his kindred is Khalid-b-u'l Walid, and a Sword of the Swords of God which 
 He hath drawn against the infidels and hypocrites." (Ahmad.) 
 
 36. The tradition. " The sun hath never risen upon a better man 
 than Omar." (At Tirmidi.) 
 
 37. The tradition. " He who hath swayed authority over the Mus- 
 lims and hath appointed over them a governor out of favour, upon him 
 shall be the curse of God— the Lord shall not accept from him either 
 artifice or ransom until He maketh him to enter hell, and he who giveth 
 to any one what is reserved for the Lord, verily violateth unlawfully what 
 is reserved to God, upon him, therefore, shall be the curse of God." 
 
 38. The tradition — the story of Mai'z* and his stoning. (Ahmad.) 
 
 39. The tradition. " He doeth not amiss who asketh pardon thought 
 he return to Ms fault seventy times a day." (At Tirmidi.) 
 
 40. The tradition that Muhammad held a council of war. (At 
 Tabarani.) 
 
 il. The tradition when there was revealed " whoso doeth evil shall 
 be requited for it" etcetera. (Kur. IV) — (At Tirmidi, Ibn Haban and 
 others,) 
 
 42. The tradition. " Verily ye read this verse ' Q true believers, 
 take care of your souls' " &c., (Kur. V.) (Ahmad and the authors of the Four 
 Sunans,t and Ibn Haban.) 
 
 43. The tradition. " What is thy opinion of two people, of whom 
 God maketh the third ?" (The two Shaykhs. ) 
 
 44. The tradition. " God let us not die by spear-thrusts or pes- 
 tilence." ' (Abu Ya'la.) 
 
 45. The tradition. " The Siira of Hud hath made me grey," &c. Ad 
 Darakutni in the Hal (Defects impairing the validity; of traditions.) 
 
 46. The tradition, " Infidelity moves more stealthily among my 
 people than the creeping of an ant,'' &e. (Abu Ya'la and others.) 
 
 * Mai'z-b Malik al Aslami, one of the Compaaiions was stoned on account of 
 adultery. 
 
 t The first four of the six 6rreat Masters of Tradition, i. e., al Bukhari, Muslim. 
 Abu Daadd and at Tirmidi. 
 
[ 92 ] 
 
 47. The tradition, " I said, O Apostle of God, instruct me in some- 
 thing that I should say in the morning time and 'in the evening" &c. 
 (Al Haytham b-Kulayb in his Musnad, and also at Tirmidi and others 
 from the ascription of Abu Hurayrah.) 
 
 48. The tradition. " Be careful to say, ' there is no God but God,' 
 and to ask pardon of Him, for Satan bath said ' I destroy men by sin, and 
 they destroy me by saying there is no God but God, and the asking of 
 pardon, and when I see that, I destroy them through their passions for they 
 think themselves to be rightly guided-" (Abu Ya'la.) 
 
 49. The tradition when there was revealed ; " lift not up your 
 yoices above the voice of the prophet"* I said " O Apostle of God, I will 
 not address thee save in the voice of one who is decrepid." (As Sirar), 
 al Bazzar. 
 
 50. The tradition. " Every one obtains that which is created for 
 him." (Ahmad.) 
 
 51. The tradition. " He who lieth towards me of set purpose or 
 refuseth a thing that I have commanded, shall surely dwell in a chamber 
 of hell." (Abu Y.a'la.) 
 
 52. The tradition. " There is no escape from this thing" &c., is in 
 that o/"" there is no God but God " (Ahmad and others.) 
 
 53. The tradition. " Go forth and call out to the people, ' He 
 who confesseth that 'there is no God but God,' shall assuredly possess Para- 
 dise ;' and I went forth and Omar met me &c." (Abu Ya'la, and this is 
 preserved from the tradition of Abu Hurayrah — ^recorded by only one au- 
 thority from the tradition of Abu Bakr.) 
 
 54. The tradition. " There are two classes of my people that shall 
 not enter paradise — the Murgiansf and the Kadarians." (Al Darakutni in 
 the Hal Defeats invalidating traditions.) 
 
 55. The tradition. " Ask safety of God." (Ahmad, Nasai and Ibn 
 Majah who gives many ascriptions of it.) 
 
 * Km. XLIX. This verse is said to have 'been occasioned by a dispute between 
 Abu Bakr and Omar concerning the appointment of a governor of a certain place in 
 which they raised their voices so high in Muhammad's presence, that it was thought 
 necessary to forbid it for the future. Sale. 
 
 t These teach that the judgment of every Muslim guilty of grievous sin will be 
 deferred till the rosurreotion, for which reason they pass no sentence on him in this 
 world either of absolution or condemnation. They also hold that disobedience with 
 faith hurteth not, and obedience with iofldelity profiteth not. This sect is subdivided 
 into four species. For the origin of the name and their further doctrines, consult Sale, 
 p. 123. Preliminary discourse. The Kadarians deny absolute predestination, the 
 Muatazalites are by some comprehended under this denomination. See Sale p. 115. 
 
[ 93 ] 
 
 56. Tlie tradition. When the Apostle of God desired anything, he 
 would say, " God, take for me, choose for me." (At Tirreidi.) 
 
 57. The tradition,. " The prayer of submission is, ' God wTio art 
 the dispeller of grief " &c. (Al Bazzdr and al Hakim.) 
 
 58. The tradition. " Every body that is nourished with forbidden 
 things, hell fire is its proper portion" — and in another reading "there 
 shall not enter Paradise a body that hath been fed on what is forbidden 
 to it." (Abu Ya'la.) 
 
 59. The tradition. " There is no part of the body that complaineth 
 not of the sharpness of the tongue." (Abu Ya'la.) 
 
 60. The tradition. " The Lord descehdeth on the night in the mid- 
 dle of the month of Shaa'ban, and in it pardoneth every mortal except an 
 infidel, and the man in whose heart is hatred." (Al Darakutni.) 
 
 61. The tradition. " Verily Bajjal shall come forth from the East 
 from a land called Khurasan, and there shall follow him peoples whose 
 faces are like two-fold shields." (At Tirmidi and Ibn Majah.) 
 
 62. The tradition: " I have been given seventy thousand who shall 
 enter Paradise without judgment being taken of them," &o. (Ahmad.) 
 
 63. The tradition of Intercessioij — in full — concerning the running 
 to and fro of people from prophet to prophet.* (Aljmad.) 
 
 64. The tradition. "Were the people to march in one valley and 
 the Auxiliaries marched in another' valley, I would march in the valley 
 of the Auxiliaries." (Ahmad.) 
 
 65. The tradition. " The Kuraysh are the masters of this authority, 
 the good among them will follow the good among them, and the wicked 
 among them will follow the wicked among them." (Ahmad.) 
 
 66. The tradition that Muhammad, gave a charge regarding the 
 Auxiliaries at the time of his death, and said, " receive those of them that 
 do good, and pardon those of them that do evil. (Al Bazzar and at 
 Tabarani.) 
 
 67. The tradition. " I know a land called TJ'man whose shores the 
 sea washes — in it there is a tribe of Arabs. Were my messenger to go 
 among them, they would not assail him with arrows or with stones." 
 (Ahmad and Abu Ya'la. ) 
 
 68. The tradition that Abu Bakr passed by al Hasan who was 
 playing with some boys and lifted him on to his neck, and said, " by my 
 father, he hath a likeness to the prophet, and hath no likeness to A'li." 
 (Al Bukhari.) Ibn Kathir says, " this comes under the class of uninter- 
 
 * The belief being that on the Day of Judgment, people will run from prophet to 
 prophet praying for their interceesion. 
 
[ 94 ] 
 
 rupted ascriptions, as it is a confirmation of his remark that the Apostle of 
 God resembled al Hasan." 
 
 69. The tradition that the prophet used to visit TJmm Ayman. 
 (Muslim.) 
 
 70. The tradition. " The thief must be put to death for the fifth 
 theft".* (Abu Ta'la and ad Daylami.) 
 
 71. The tradition, of the narrative of Ohud (at Tayalisi and at 
 Tabardni.) 
 
 72. The tradition. " While I was with the apostle of God, behold I 
 saw him driving away something from himself, and I did not see what 
 thing it was. I said, ' apostle of God, what is it thou art driving away ?' 
 He replied ' the world wearied me and I said " away with thee," and it 
 said to me, " what ! wilt thou not have me ?" ' " (Al Bazzar.) 
 
 Thus much has Ibn Kathir recorded in the ascriptions of as Siddik, 
 (if those traditions traced uninterruptedly to the prophet, but he has 
 omitted others which I follow up to complete the number mentioned by an 
 
 NawawLt 
 
 73. The tradition. " Kill a tike wherever you may find it among- 
 men." (At Tabarani in the Ausat.) 
 
 74. T7ie tradition. " Eeflect whose are the houses ye dwell in 1 
 whose the land ye inhabit ! and in the path of whom do ye walk !" (Ad 
 Daylami.) 
 
 75. The tradition. " Be frequent in your prayers over me, for the 
 Lord hath stationed an angel above my grave, and when a man of my 
 people prayeth, the angel sayeth to me, ' verily such a one the son of such 
 a one hath this moment prayed for thee.' " (Ad Daylami.) 
 
 76. The tradition. The Friday prayer is an atonement for all that 
 occurreth until the next Friday prayer, and ablution on a Friday is an 
 atonement, &c. (Al U'kayli in the Dhua'fa {weak authorities). 
 
 77. The tradition. " Verily the heat of hell to my people shall be a& 
 that of a hot bath." (At Tabarani.) 
 
 78. The tradition. " Beware of lying, for lying is an estrangement 
 from the faith." (Ibn Lai in the Makarim u'l Akhlak (noble qualities). 
 
 79. The tradition. " To every one who hath fought at Badr, is 
 announced the tidings of Paradise." (Ad DArakutni in the " Afrad" 
 Traditions recorded but by one authority.) 
 
 * According to the law, the thief loses his left hand for the first offence, his right 
 foot for the second, Ms right hand for the third and his left foot for the fourth. The 
 ingenuity that could contrive a fifth theft under these disadvantages would seom to 
 deserve commendation rather than death. 
 
 t An Nawawi mentions one hundred and forty-two, and- as Suydti gives but one 
 hundred and four. I am grateful for the omission. 
 
[ 95 ] 
 
 80. The tradition. " Eeligion is the weighty banner of God ; who is 
 able to sustain it ?" (Ad Daylami.) 
 
 81. The tradition. The Sura Y. S* is called the " Commonalty" (the 
 throat), &c., (ad Daylami and al Bayhaki in the Shaa'b u'l Imin— people 
 of the Faith.) 
 
 82. The tradition. " A monarch just and humble, is the shadow of 
 God and His spear upon earth, and every night and day shall be placed to 
 his account the good works of sixty just men." (Abu'l Shaykh al U'kayli 
 in the Dhua'fa and Ibn Haban in the " Kitab u't Thawab" — Beoord of 
 recompense.) 
 
 83. The tradition. " Moses said to his Lord ' What is the reward 
 for one who consoleth the bereaved mother ?' He replied ' God will 
 cover him with His shadow.' " (Ibn Shahinin the "Targhib." (Incentive) 
 and ad Daylami.) 
 
 84. The tradition. " God ! strengthen Islam in Omar b-u'l Khat- 
 tab." (At Tabarani in the Ausat.) 
 
 85. The tradition. " No game is ever pursued, nor a thorny tree 
 lopped, nor the root of a tree cut, but by reason of their infrequency in 
 praising God." (Ibn Eahwayhf in his Musnad.) 
 
 86. The tradition. " Had I not been sent unto you, Omar would 
 surely have been sent" &c. (Ad Daylami.) 
 
 87. The tradition. " Were the inhabitants of Paradise to trade, 
 they would trade in stuffs. "J 
 
 88. The tradition. " He who rebelleth claiming either for himself or 
 for another, while an Imam ruleth the people, upon him is the curse of God, 
 and the angels and the whole people, — therefore slay him." (Ad Daylami 
 in the History of Samadan ?) 
 
 89. The tradition. " He who reeordeth on my authority a doctrine 
 or a tradition, the reward thereof shall not cease to be placed to his account 
 
 * The meaning of these letters is unknown ; acme pretend that they stand for Ya 
 insan (0 man). This chapter is said to hare several other titles given to it by Mu- 
 hammad himself, and particularly that of the heart of the Imuran. It is read to 
 persons in their dying- agony. Sale. 
 
 + Abu Takub Ishak, a native of Marw, as Shahjan was equally distinguished for 
 his knowledge of law and tradition as for his piety. Ibn Hanbal considered him an. 
 Im£m among the Muslims and an eminent jurisconsult. His Musnad is well-known. 
 He was bom A. H. 161 (A. I). 777-8) and died at Naysabiir A. H. 238 (853). ' Rah- 
 wayh, says Ibn Khallakdn was a name given to his father, because he was bom on the 
 road to Mecca (rah in Persian signifying road and wayh found.) This word is also 
 pronounced Edhuya. Ibn Khallakan's philology is not always safe to follow. 
 
 J Abu Bakr, Othman, f all^^h A'bdur Ea^iman-b-A'uf were all cloth-merchants. 
 Ibn Kutayb. i 
 
[ 96 ] 
 
 while that doctrine or tradition continueth." (Al Hakim in the History 
 of the doctors of Naysahur.") 
 
 90. TTie tradition. " He who walketh barefoot in the service of God, 
 God will not ask of him on the Day of Judgment regarding what was 
 obligatory upon him." (At Tabarani in the Ausat.) 
 
 91. The tradition. " Whoso would be glad that God should protect him 
 from the heat of hell and bring him under His own shadow, let him not be 
 harsh with the true believers, but merciful unto them." (Ibn Lai in the 
 Makdrim u'l Akhlak and Abu'l Shaykh and Ibn Haban in the " Thawab" 
 Mecompense.) 
 
 92. The tradition. " He who riseth in the morning purposing to 
 worship God, God will write down to him the recompense of his day, even 
 though he sinneth against Him." (AdDaylami.) 
 
 93. The tradition. " No people hath abstained from warring in the 
 cause of the Lord, but He hath included them in one common punishment." 
 (At Tabarani in the Ausat.) 
 
 94. The tradition. "A slanderer shall not enter Paradise." (Ad 
 Daylami but without ascription.) 
 
 95. The tradition. " Despise not any of the Muslims, for the mean- 
 est of the Muslims is great before God." (Ad Daylami.) 
 
 96. The tradition. God says " if ye desire my mercy, be merciful 
 unto my people." (Abu'l Shaykh, Ibn Haban and ad Daylami.) 
 
 97. The tradition. " I asked of the apostle of God regarding the 
 nether garment, and he touched the muscle of his leg, and I said ' 
 apostle of God increase the length for me ;' then he touched the lower part 
 of the muscle, and I said ' increase the length for me,' he replied, ' it 
 would not be good to have it lower.' I said, ' O apostle of God we are 
 undone :' he answered, ' O Abu Bakr, be guided aright, and take the middle 
 course, thou wilt be safe.' " (Abu Nua'ym in the Huliyah.) 
 
 98. The tradition. "My palm and the palm of A'li are exactly 
 equal." (Ad Daylami and Ibn A'sdkir.) 
 
 99. X%e tradition. " Neglect not to invoke God against Satan, for if 
 ye do not regard him, he is not heedless of ye." (Ad Daylami but without 
 ascription.) 
 
 100. The tradition. " He who buildeth a temple unto God, God will 
 build for him a mansion in Paradise." (At Tabardhi in the Ausat.) 
 
 101. The tradition. " He who hath eaten of this unclean* herb, let 
 him not approach our temple." (At Tabardni in the Ausat.) 
 
 102. The tradition of the lifting up of the hands in the beginning of 
 
 * Garlic. In two traditions given in the Kitdb u'l IktifA, onions are included in 
 this prohibition. These will be found in the life of Omar in that work. 
 
[ 97 J 
 
 prayer, in the bowing of the head, and in prostration.* (Al Bayhaki in the 
 Sunan.) 
 
 103. The tradition. " Give a Camel to Abu Jahl."t (Al Isma'ili in 
 the Mua'jam alphabetical Dictionary of the Traditionists.) 
 
 104. The tradition. " Looking upon A'U is worship." (Ibn A'sakir.) 
 
 On what hath ieen handed down of as Siddik in comment 
 on the Kurdn. 
 
 Abu'l Kasim al Baghawi records on the authority of Ibn Mulaykah 
 that Abu Bakr was asked regarding a verse of the Kuran and he said, 
 " what earth would sustain me and what sky would overshadow me, were I 
 to speak that concerning the book of God which God hath not intended." 
 And Abn TJ'baydah . from Ibrahim at Taymi, that Abu Bakr was asked 
 regarding the saying of the Most High, " grapes and clover" (Kur. LXXX) 
 and he said, " what sky would overshadow me and what earth would sustain 
 me, did I speak regarding the book of God that which 1 know not." And 
 al BayBaki and others from Abu Bakr that he was asked regarding the 
 meaning of " al Kalalah,"J and he answered " I will presently give an 
 opinion regarding it and if it be just, it is from God, but if it be faulty 
 it Cometh from me and from the Evil One. I think it to mean lacking 
 parent and offspring ;" and when Omar became CaKph, he said, " verily, 
 I forbear from setting aside a thing that Abu Bakr hath spoken." 
 
 Abu Nua'ym records in his Huliyah from al Aswad-b-Hilal, that Abu 
 Bakr said to the Companions, " What say ye concerning these two verses, 
 ' As for those who say our Lord is God and who behave uprightly' (Kur. 
 •XLI) — ' and they who believe and clothe not their faith with injustice' 
 (Kur. VI). They replied, ' and who behave uprightly,' — that is, ^ho diO 
 not sin and do not clothe their faith with sin." He replied, " ye have 
 placed upon it a meaning which it will not bear ;" then he said, " Who say 
 our Lord is God and who behave uprightly" — that is, " who do not incline 
 
 * In the beginning of prayers, lifting up the hands is the universal practice, the 
 Shafi"i school alone adopting it in the howings and prostrations. 
 
 t The uncle of Muhammad. 
 
 % Kur. IV. AJ^lwi translated by Sale — " a distant relation.'' Zamalcshari in 
 his great Commentary gives it three meanings : — 
 
 1. One who has neither son nor father aUve. 
 
 2. One who has neither father living nor any issue. 
 
 3. One who has no living relative in the direct paternal line, nor through his 
 own children. 
 
 13 
 
to a God other than Him, and who do not clothe their faith with infidelity 
 by associating others with Him." And Ibn Jarir from Abu Bakr as 
 Siddik, regarding the saying of the Most High, " They who do right shall 
 receive a most excellent reward and a superabundant addition" (Kur. X), 
 that he said it signified the looking upon the face of the Lord ; and re- 
 garding the words of the Most High, " Those who say our Lord is God 
 and who behave uprightly," that he said, " Verily the people say this, but 
 he who dieth according to iYas precept, he it is who behaveth uprightly." 
 
 On what has leen handed of estallished traditions from as Siddik on the 
 subject of his words, decisions, discourses and prayers. 
 
 Al Lalakai* records in his Sunnat on the authority of Ibn Omar that 
 a man went to Abu Bakr and said, " dost thou think that fornication in a 
 man is predestined?" He answered, "Tes." Then he said, "if God 
 hath predestined it concerning me, will He punish me for it ?" He replied 
 " yes, thou son of an uncircumcised woman, and by Allah, were a man by 
 me, I would command him to bring thee to reason." And Abu Dauu'd in 
 his Sunan from Abu Abdu'llah as Sunabihi.t that he once prayed behind 
 Abii Bakr at evening prayers, and Abu Bakr read during the first two 
 bowings of the head, the first chapter of the Kuran and a Sura of the 
 shorter sections,^ and he read in the third bowing, " O Lord, cause not our 
 hearts to swerve from truth after thou hast directed us" (Kur III.) And 
 Ibn Abi Khaythamah and Ibn A'sakir from Ibn U'aynah, that when Abu 
 Bakr was engaged in condoling with a man he used to say, " there is no 
 harm in patience and no profit in lamentation : death is easier to bear than 
 that which precedeth it, and more severe than that which cometh after it : 
 remember the death of the apostle of God, your sorrow will be lessened and 
 may God increase your reward." And Ibn Abi Shaybah and ad Darakutni 
 from SAlim-b-U'bayd§ who was a Companion, that he said, " Abu Bakr 
 
 * Atu'l KAsim Hibatu'Uah-t-5asan-'b-Mausur ar Eazi. 
 
 t Abu A'bdiillali A'bdiir Rahman-b-Aaalat as Sunabijji, the latter is a branch of 
 Banu Mur4d. 
 
 i The Mufassal is that portion of the Kuran from the XLIXth Chapter to the end, 
 according to the moat correct opinion and so called because of the many divisions 
 between its chapters. 
 
 § Abu A'bdu'llah Salim-b-"D'bayd-b-Eabii'h, the freedman of Abu Hudayfeh the 
 Companion. Abu Nua'ym denies this pedigree, and others assert him to be the son of 
 Ma'kal. He was of Persian origin, one of the most eminent of the Companions and 
 Auxiliaries. Omar thought so highly of him, that at hia death he is reported to have 
 
[ 99 ] 
 
 used to say to me, ' Stand between aie and the dawn that I may eat my 
 morning meal.'* And from Abu Kilabab and Abd's Safar that they said, 
 ' Abu Bakr as Siddik used to say, " shut the door that we may eat our 
 morning meal." ' And al Bayhaki and Abu Batr-b-Ziyad of Naysabur, in 
 the Kafcab u'l Ziyaddt from Hudayfahf-b-Usayd, that he said, ' verily 
 I observed Abu Bakr and Omar and what they did in the early part 
 of the forenoon, with the intention that the example of those two 
 might be followed.' And Abu Dauud from Ibn A'bbds that he said, 
 'I testify that Abu Bakr as Siddik said, "eat of fishes those only 
 that swim." ' And as Shafi'iJ in the Aa'm (Universal) from Abu Bakr 
 as Siddik, that he was averse to the sale of flesh in exchange for a 
 live animal. And al Bukhari, that he placed the grandfather in the same 
 degree as the father, that is, in regard to inheriting. And Ibn Abi Shaybah 
 in his Musannaf, from Abu Bakr, that he said, ' a grandfabher stands 
 in the place of the father, if there be no father but he, and the grand- 
 son in place of the son, if there be no other than he.' And from al 
 Kasim, that a man was brought before Abu Bakr, who had been dis- 
 owned by his father, and Abu Bakr said ' smite him on the head 
 for Satan is in his head.' And from Ibn Abi Malik, that once when Abu 
 Bakr prayed over a dead man, he said, ' God ! his people, and his goods 
 and his kindred have forsaken this Thy servant, and his sin was grievous 
 but Thou art merciful and compassionate.' " 
 
 Sa'id-b-Mansur records in his Sunan on the authority of Omar, 
 that Abu Bakr decided the case of A'asim,§ the son of Omar-b-u'l Khattab 
 in favour of the mother of A'a^'im, saying, " her breath and fragrance 
 and kindness are better for thee (A'asim) than thine (Omar)." And 
 al Bayhaki from ^ays-b-Abi Hazim, that a man went to Abu Bakr 
 
 said that had Salim heen alive, he would not have named a Council of Consultation to 
 elect for the Caliphate. Salim fought at Badr and Ohud and the hattle of the Ditch 
 and was killed at Yamamah where he carried the standard of the Muslims embrac- 
 ing it with the stamps of his arms after his hands had been hewn off. An Nawawi. 
 
 * After the rise of the true dawn (jiUaJi^^' the day begins, and everything by 
 which fasting would be broken, becomes unlawful to him who fasta. 
 
 t Hudayfah-b-Usayd one of the Companions — present at Hu^aybyah and was one 
 of those who swore to bo faithful to Muhammad when he was seated under the lote 
 tree. According to Ibn Haban, he died A. H. 42. Ibn Hajr. 
 
 X Bom A. H. 150 (707—8), died A. H. 204 (820) and buried in the leaser Karafah 
 cemeteiy at old Cairo near Mount Mukattam. His life and teaching are well enough, 
 known to dispense with an account of them here. Consult Ibn KhaUakan. 
 
 § A'asim was then a child, and Omar having a quarrel with the mother, wished to 
 remove the Ipoy from her control, but Abu Bakr decided against it. The boy became- 
 the grandfather of Omar-b-Abdi'l A'ziz the Caliph. 
 
[ 100 1 
 
 and- said, "my father desireth to take my property, saying, that he is 
 in need of the whole of it," and Abu Bakr said to his father, " Surely 
 that only of his property is thine which is sufficient for thy suste- 
 nance ;" he answered, " O Vicegerent of the Apostle of God, did not 
 the Apostle of God say, ' thou and thy goods belong to thy father !' 
 He replied, ' Yes, but he meant by that only necessary maintenance.' 
 And Ahmad from the grandfather of A'mr-b-Shu'ayb,* that Abu Bakr 
 used not to kill a freedman in retaliation for a slave. And al Bukhari 
 from the grandfather of Ibn Abi Mulaykah, that a man had bitten the 
 hand of another who in return knocked out his teeth, and Abu Bakr 
 suffered it to pass with impunity. And Ibn Abi Shaybah and al Bayhaki 
 from A'krimahf that Abu Bakr adjudged the loss of a. ear to he repaid by 
 fifteen camels and said, ' the hair and turban will conceal the disgrace of 
 it.' And al Bayhaki and others from Abu Imam al Juni, that Abu Bakr 
 sent troops to Syria arid appointed over them Yazid-b-Abi Sufyan and 
 said, " I commend to thee ten precepts. Slay not a woman nor a child, 
 nor an aged man, and cut not down a tree that beareth fruit, and lay not 
 waste a cultivated country, and destroy not a sheep, nor a camel, save for 
 food, and lop not a date tree nor burn it, and conceal not plunder and be 
 not faint of heart." ' " 
 
 Ahmad, and Abu Dauud and an Nasai record on the authority of Abu 
 Barzah al Aslami, that he said, " Abu Bakr was enraged with a man and 
 his anger became violent, and I said, to him, ' O Yicegerent of the Apostle 
 of God shall I cut off his head ?' He replied, ' woe unto thee — that is 
 not lawful for any one after the Apostle of God.' And Sayf in the Kitab 
 u'l Futiih, (Beoord of Conquests) on the authority of his Shaykhs, that two 
 female singers were brought before Muhajir Ibn Abi (Jmayyah who was 
 ruler of Yamamah, one of whom had sung in contumely of the prophet, 
 and he cut off her hand and pulled out her teeth ; the other had sung 
 deriding the Muslims, and he cut off her hand and pulled out her teeth • 
 and Abu Bakr wrote to him, saying, ' I have heard what thou hast done to 
 the woman who sang in contumely of the prophet, and if thou hadst 
 not been beforehand with me in it, I would have ordered thee to put her 
 to death, for punishment in regard to the prophets is not as other punish- 
 ments — he among the Muslims, therefore, who doeth such a thing is an 
 
 * Abu Itrahim A'mr-b-Shua'yb-b-Muhaimnad-lj.A'tdi'Uah of the l^uraysh, in 
 point of time next to the Tabi'ia. A great many distinguished Traditionists relate on 
 his authority and his reputation is high amongst them for aoouraoy. An Nawawi. 
 
 t There are two of this name, one the sou of Abu Jahl, and the other the freedman 
 of Ibn A'bbas, one of the moat distinguished of tho Tabi'is the accuracy of whose tradi- 
 tions is much praised by al Bukhari, he died A. H. 104. An Nawawi, 
 
[ 101 ] 
 
 apostate, or being a tributary subject, is a treacherous enemy : but she who 
 sang deriding the Muslims, were she among those who profess Islam then 
 correction and deprivation of suisiance without mutilation would have been 
 sufficient, but were she a tributary subject, then by my life, if I forgave 
 her infidelity, it would be a great mercy, and had I been beforehand with 
 thee in the like of this, I would assuredly have afflicted her sorely, but 
 rather choose thou clemency, and beware thou of mutilating men, for it 
 is a sin and a thing to be avoided save in retaliation.' " 
 
 Malik and ad Ddrakutni record on the authority of Safiyah, 
 the daughter of Abu U'bayd, that a man seduced a slave girl, a 
 virgin, and confessed to it, and Abu Bakr passed order on him, and 
 he was scourged and banished to Fadak.* And Abu Ya'la from 
 Muhammad-b-Hatib that a man was brought before Abu Bakr who 
 had committed theft, and his feet and hands had been cut ofE 
 and Abu Bakr said to him, " I do not find that anything can he done to 
 thee save what hath been adjudged regarding thee by the Apostle of 
 God, on the day that he commanded thy death,f for verily he had know- 
 ledge of thee," and he ordered him to be put to death. And Malik from 
 al Kasim-b- Muhammad, that a man of the people of Yaman, whose hand 
 and foot had b'een cut off for theft came and abode with Abu Bakr and 
 complained to him that the governor of Yaman had treated him unjustly 
 (and the man used to pray during the night), and Abu Bakr said, " by thy 
 father, thy night is not like unto the night of a thief." After a little 
 time they lost an ornament belonging to Asma, daughter of Umays, the 
 wife of Abu Bakr, and the man went round with them searching and say- 
 ing, " God ! with thee he retribution upon him who hath plundered 
 by night the people of this just house." Afterwards, they found the 
 ornament with a goldsmith who afiirmed that the mutilated man had 
 brought it to him. Then the mutilated man either confessed or it 
 was proved against him, and Abu Bakr . passed an order upon him and 
 his left hand was amputated, and Abu Bakr said, " By Allah, his impre- 
 cation upon himself was, to me, more grievous for him than his theft." 
 And ad Darakutai from Anas that Abu Bakr ordered amputation for 
 the theft of a, shield, the value of which was five dirhams. And Abu Nua'ym 
 in his Huliyah, on the authority of Abu Salih that when the people of 
 Yaman came J in the time of Abu Bakr and heard the Kuran, they began 
 to weep, and Abu Bakr said " Thus were we, and afterwards our hearts 
 became hardened." Abu Nua'ym adds — " that is, strengthened, and tranquil 
 
 * A village in Hijaz two days journey from Medina, 
 t See page 94, note. 
 
 X That is, when Abu Bakr meditated the conquest of Syria and sent letters to the 
 chiefs of Arabia Telis summoning them with their followers. 
 
[ 103 ] 
 
 with the knowledge of the Most High." And al Bukhaid from Ibn Omar 
 that Abu Bakr said, " behold, Muhammad in the people of his House." 
 And Abu U'bayd* in the Gharib from Abu Bakr that he said, " happy was 
 he who died remaining in his abode," that is, in the beginning of Islam 
 before the breaking out of sedition. 
 
 The Four Traditionists and Malik record on the authority of Kabisahf 
 that a grandmother went to Abu Bakr as Siddik inquiring of him regarding 
 her inheritance and he said, "nothing is due to thee according to the 
 book of God, and I know of nothing for thee in the traditions of the 
 prophet of God, therefore come back another time, so that I may inquire 
 of the people, and he inquired of the people and al MughirahJ-b-Shu'bah 
 said " I was present when he gave such as her one sixth ;" and Abu Bakr 
 said, "was any other with thee ?" whereupon Muhammad-b-Maslamah arose 
 and said the same that al Mughirah had spoken, and Abu Bakr ordered 
 the Wee for her. And Malik and Darakutni, from al Kasim-b-Muhammad, 
 that two grandmothers went to Abu Bakr demanding their inheritance, the 
 mother of a mother and the mother of a father and he accorded the inheri- 
 tance to the mother of the mother. Thereupon A'bdur Bahman-b-Sahl the 
 Auxiliary who had fought at Badr, and was an associate of the Banu Harith 
 said to him, " O vicegerent of the apostle of God dost thou bestow it 
 upon her who, if she died, would not be inherited of ?"§ so he divided it 
 between the two. And Abdur Eazzak in his Musannaf records on the 
 authority of Ayesha, the tradition of the wife of Eufaa'h who was divorced 
 from him and married afterwards A'bdur Rahman-b-u'z Zubayr who was 
 unable to consummate his marriage, and she desired to return to Rufaa'h, 
 but the Apostle of God said, " No, not tiU your marriage be consummated ;" 
 
 * Abu U'bayd al Kasim-b-Saliam, was bom at Herat and was Kadhi of Tarsus for 
 eigbteen years. He was conspicuous for bis piety and learning in various branches of 
 literature, and his traditions are received as authentic. He died at Mecca in A, H. 224 
 according to al BukbSri. The book alluded to in the text is Gharib u'l Hadith (obscure 
 expressions occurring in the Traditions). He also wrote a work called " Gharib u'l 
 Musannaf, (original collection of rare expressions.) Ibn Khali. 
 
 t Kabi?ab-b-Puayb one of the Tdbi'is, born in the year of the conquest of Mecca 
 and died in the Caliphate of A'bdu'l Malik-b-Marwan under whom he acted in the 
 capacity of Secretary. An Nawawi. 
 
 I Abu A'bdu'Uah-b-Shu'bah of the tribe of Thakif a native of Kufah, one of the 
 Companions. He was present at nearly all the expeditions and actions that took place 
 iu his time. Omar gave him the government of Ba?rah and afterwards of Ivufah wherein 
 he was confirmed by Otbman and subsequently deposed, but again re-instated by 
 Mu'awiyah. and died at Kufah A. H. 60. It is said that he married three hundred 
 women, and some say, a thousand. An Nawawi. 
 
 § According to the Muljammadan law a grandson does not inherit from his mater- 
 nal grandmother. 
 
[ 103 ] 
 
 this much is in the Sahih, and A'hdu'r Eazzak adds, " then she tarried 
 some time and then went to him and informed him that he had touched 
 her, but he forbade her to return to her first husband and said, ' verily if 
 it were thus with her that she returned to Eufaa'h, her marriage would 
 not be consummated for the second time :"* then she went to Abu Bakr 
 and Omar during their Caliphate but they prohibited her. And al Bay- 
 haki from TJ'kbah-b-A'amirt that A'mr-b-u'l A'as and Shurahbil-b-Hasa- 
 nahj sent him as a messenger to Abu Bakr with the head of Bannan the 
 Syrian general, and when he came to Abu Bakr, he expressed his disap- 
 proval, and U'kbah said to him, ' O Vicegerent of the Apostle of God, 
 they do the same with us,' and he replied, ' do those two follow the ex- 
 ample of the Persians and Greeks ? let no head be brought to me for 
 verily letters and news are sufficient.' And al Biukhari from Kays-Ibn- 
 Hazim,§ that Abu Bakr went to a woman of the tribe of Ahmas called 
 Zaynab, and he observed that she did not speak, and he said, ' why doth 
 she not speak ?' They replied, ' she has made the pilgrimage and is under 
 a vow of silence.' He said to her, ' speak ! for this is not lawful, this is 
 one of the practices of the time of Ignorance :' and she spoke and said 
 ' who art thou?' and he said 'One of the Fugitives;' she said, 'which of 
 the Fugitives ?' he replied, ' of the Kuraysh.' She asked, ' of what family 
 of the Kuraysh ?' He said, ' verily thou art very inquisitive — I am Abu 
 Bakr.' She said, ' How long shall be our continuance in this holy rule 
 which God hath brought since the time of Ignorance ?' He replied, ' your 
 continuance in it shall be as long as your Imams act uprightly.' She 
 ^id, 'and what are the Imams?' He answered 'Are there not in thy 
 tribe, chiefs and leaders who govern them and whom the tribe obey?' She 
 said, ' yes'. He replied, ' then they are those men.' And from Ayesha, that 
 Abu Bakr had a slave who used to pay him an impost on his earnings and 
 Abu Bakr used to eat of the fruits .of this impost, and he one day brought 
 him a thing, of which Abu Bakr eat, and the slave said to him, ' dost thon 
 
 * The Muhammadan law insists on tlie consummation of the marriage with the 
 second husband, hefore the first can receive the divorced wife hack. 
 
 t One of the Companions, distinguished for his manner of reading the Kuran — 
 he governed Egypt for Mu4wiyah-b-Ahi Sufyan and died there in A. H. 58. He 
 carried the news of the taking of Damascus to Omar and reached Medina in seven days 
 and returned to Syria in two and a half through the help of his ravocationa at Muham- 
 mad's tomb. An Nawawi. ' 
 
 X He was appointed by Abu Bakr and subsequently by Omar to the command of 
 the army in Syria, and continued as Omar's lieutenant in that country till his death of 
 the plague A. H. 18, at the age of sixty-seven. Ibid. 
 
 § One of the Tabiis. He was bom before the propagation of Islam and set out 
 to pay his homage to Mu^iammad who, however, died before Kays arrived. He was 
 a resident of Ktifah and died A. H. 81. Ibid. 
 
[ 104 ] 
 
 know what this is ?' Abu Bakr said, ' what is it ?' he replied, ' I once told 
 the fortune of a man in the time of Ignorance, and my divination was not 
 just inasmuch as I deceived him, but he met me and gave me this, of which 
 thou hast eaten ;' whereupon Abu Bakr put his hand in his throat and 
 reiected everything that was in his stomach." 
 
 Ahmad records in the " Zuhd" from Ibn Sirin that he said, " I do not 
 know any one who sought to reject the food that he had eaten except Abu 
 Bakr," and he related the story. And an Nasai from Aslam, that Omar 
 beheld Abu Bakr who seized hold of his own tongue and said, " this it is 
 that hath brought me to that to which I have come." And A'bu U'bayd ia 
 the " Gharib," from Abu Bakr, that he passed by A'bdu'r Rahman-b-A'uf 
 who was quarrelling with a neighbour and he said to him, " speak not in 
 anger with thy neighboiir for that remaineth but men pass away from thee." 
 And Ibn A'saldr from Musa-b-U'kbah, that Abu Bakr as Siddlk was once 
 preaching, and he said, " Praise be to God — the Lord of created things I glori- 
 fy Him and implore His assistance, and ask His mercy in what cometh 
 a,f ter death, for my hour and yours are approaching — and I bear witness 
 that there is no God but God above who hath no copartner and that Mu- 
 hammad is His servant, and His prophet, whom He hath sent in the Truth 
 as a messenger of good tidings, and an admonisher and a shining light that 
 he may warn the living and certify the Word to the unbelievers — and he 
 who obeyeth God and his prophet, verily he hath followed the right way, 
 and he who hath sinned against those two, verily hath erred with a mani- 
 fest erring : I commend unto ye devotion to God, and adherence to the 
 commands of God which He hath laid down for ye and, given for your 
 guidance, for verily the whole of the precepts of Islam after the pro- 
 fession of faith, are the hearing and obeying those whom God hath ap- 
 pointed to rule over ye, and verily he who obeyeth God and those who 
 enjoin goodness and prohibit what is unlawful hath prospered and hath 
 performed what is incumbent upon him of his obligations ; and beware ye 
 of following vain desire, for verily he prospereth who is preserved from 
 lust and greed and anger : aTid beware ye of pride, for what pride belongeth 
 to him who is made of earth, and who afterwards returneth to earth and 
 then the worm devoureth him ? for to-day he is alive and to-morrow he is 
 dead ; therefore act ye uprightly from day to day and from hour to hour, 
 and fear the prayer of the oppressed, and number yourselves among the 
 dead ; and be ye patient for every work is accomplished through patience, 
 and be ye watchful, for watchfulness is profitable. Act uprightly for a 
 good act is acceptable to God, and refrain from the things against which 
 the Lord hath warned ye under pain of His wrath : and vie ye with one 
 another in hastening to obtain the things which the Lord bath promised ye 
 in His mercy ; and teach ye, and yourselves comprehend, and be heedful 
 
[ 105 ] 
 
 and in fear, for verily the Lord hath declared unto ye the things for which 
 He hath destroyed those that were before ye, and the things through which 
 He hath delivered those whom He delivered before ye. Verily He hath 
 manifested unto ye in His Book His commands and His prohibitions and 
 the works He approveth, and those He abhorreth : and verily by my soul, 
 I will not be wanting to you — and God is He whose assistance is implored, 
 and there is no power nor strength but in the Lord. And know ye, verily, 
 that in your works in which ye have been sincere with God, ye then 
 obeyed God, and preserved your portion of excellence, and attained unto 
 your desire, and what ye have done over and above what is enjoined for your 
 faith, keep before ye as religious merits, that ye may make satisfaction for 
 those who have gone before ye, — and make your charitable donations even at 
 the time of your poverty and self-need of them. Then bethink ye — O ser- 
 vants of God — of your brethren and your companions those that have departed, 
 for they have attained to the works that they sent before them, and abide by 
 them and are settled in misery or happiness in the state that cometh after 
 death. Verily the Lord hath no copartner, and between Him and any of His 
 creatures there is no mediatory influence that can bestow good upon him 
 or avert from him evil save in His worship and obedience to His com- 
 mands, for verily there is no good in the good after which cometh hell-fire, 
 and no evil in the evil after which cometh heaven. I say unto ye these 
 words, and may God have mercy upon me and ye, and bless ye the prophet 
 and peace be upon Him and the mercy of God and His blessing." 
 
 Al Hakim and al Bayhaki record on the authority of A'bdu'llah-b- 
 TJ'kaym that he said, " Abu Bakr as Siddik preached to us and he glorified 
 God and praised Him as befitted Him, and then said, ' I commend unto ye 
 piety to God and that ye praise Him as befitteth Him, and that ye mingle 
 desire with fear, for the Lord God praised Zachariah and the people of his 
 house, and said, " These strove to excel in good works and called upon us with 
 love and with fear and humbled themselves before us" (Kur. XXI.) There- 
 fore, know, O servants of God, that the Lord hath your lives as a pledge 
 for what is due to Him, and hath taken your compacts* regarding it, and 
 hath purchased of ye a little that is perishable, in exchange for eternal 
 abundance ; and this Book of God is among ye, whose light cannot be 
 extinguished, nor its wonders end ; therefore seek ye illumination from 
 
 * " And wten thy Lord drew forth thy posterity from the loins of the sons of 
 Adam, and took them to witness against themselves, saying, am I not your Lord ? They 
 answered. Tea, we do bear witness, Kur. VII. The commentators say that God 
 stroked Adam's hack and extracted from his loins his whole posterity and assembled 
 them in the shape of ants, and after they had, in the presence of the angels, con- 
 fessed their dependence on Him, they were returned to the loins of Adam. See Sale. 
 14 
 
[ 106 ] 
 
 its light, and accept counsel from His Book and seek light from it in the 
 day of darkness, for verily He hath created ye for His worship and hath 
 iippointed for ye gua/rdian angels " honourable in the sight of God writing 
 down gotir actions who know that which ye do." (Kvpf. LXXXII). And 
 know, O servants of God that ye proceed and draw nigh unto an appointed 
 time, the knowledge of which, verily, is hidden from ye, therefore if ye are 
 able so to do, that the appointed periods be fulfilled while ye are engaged 
 in the works of the Lord, then so act ye, but this ye cannot do save with 
 the permission of the Lord. Vie ye with one another in fulfilling the 
 alligation of your appointed times before your appointed periods are com- 
 pleted, lest they cast ye upon the evillest of your works ; and, verily, there 
 are some who have made over the obligations of their appointed times on 
 others, and have taken no heed of themselves, therefore I forbid ye to be 
 like unto them. Then haste ! haste ! flee ! flee ! for behind ye is a nimble 
 pursuer — swift of deed.' And Ibn Ab'id Dunya, and Ahmad in the ' Zuhd' 
 and Abu Nua'ym in the ' Huliyah' from Yahya-b-Abi Kathir, that Abu 
 Bakr used to say in his discourse, 'where are the comely, beautiful of 
 countenance — exulting in their youth? Where are the monarchs who 
 built cities and entrenched them round about ? Where are they who gave 
 victory on fields of battle ? verily their pillars were overthrown when Fortune 
 betrayed them, and they went down into the darkness of the grave. Haste I 
 haste ! flee ! flee !' And Ahmad in the Zuhd from Salman,* that he said, 
 ' I went to Abu Bakr and said, " leave me an injunction," and he replied, 
 " Salman, fear God, and know that there shall shortly be victories, but I 
 know not what may be thy portion among them, of what thou may mayest put 
 into thy belly or cast upon thy back, but, know, that he who prayeth the 
 five appointed times of prayer, verily he is under a covenant with God, and 
 walketh under the protection of the Most High : therefore slay not any 
 of the people of God's covenant, lest thou betray God in His covenant and 
 the Lord throw thee prostrate on thy face in hell fire." And from Aba 
 Bakr that he said, " the good shall be taken away, the best, followed by 
 the next in merit, until there remain the dregs of the people, like the husk of 
 dates and of barley — the Lord shall not take heed of them." And Sa'id-b- 
 Man?ur in the Sunan from Mu'dwiyah-b-Kurrah that Abu Bakr as Siddik • 
 used to say in his prayers, " Lord ! render thou the best of my life its 
 close, and the best of my deeds the last, and the best of my days the day of 
 Thy meeting." And Ahmad in the Zuhd from al Hasan, " I heard that Abu 
 Bakr used to say in his prayers, " God verily I ask of Thee that which may be 
 the best for me in the end — God ! vouchsafe that the last good that Thou 
 
 * There are two Companions of the name, one the freedmaa of Muljammad, a 
 native oi Persia by birth, and the other Salmdn-b-A'imir. Consult an Nawawi. 
 
[ 107 1 
 
 bestowest upon me, be Thy approbation, and the loftiest places in the gardens 
 of delight." And from A'rfajah* that Abu Bakr said, " he who is able to 
 ■weep let him weep, or if not, let him endeavour to weep." And from 
 Abu Bakr on the authority of A'rzah, " the most deadly of things are 
 the two that are red — gold and safEron."t And on the authority of 
 Muslim-b-Tas^r,J "the true believer is rewarded in everything, even 
 in affliction — for, in the breaking of a shoe-latehet, or some trifle in his 
 sleeve, should he lose it, and be in fear for it, he will find it by his side." 
 And on the authority of Maymlln-b-Mihran that a raven with large wings 
 was brought to Abu Bakr, and he turned it over and said, " no game is 
 hunted and no tree is felled save it hath neglected the praises of God." 
 And al Bukhari in the " Adab," and A'bdu'Uah-b-Ahmad in the Zawaid u'z. 
 Zuhd from as Sunabihi, that he heard Abu Bakr say that the pray«r of a 
 brother for his brothers in God is accepted." And A'bdu'Uah in the Zawaid 
 u'z Zuhd from Labid the poet, that he went to Abu Bakr and repeated this 
 verse — 
 
 " Is not every thing but God unprofitable?" 
 
 He replied. " Thou hast spoken truly." And Labid continued : 
 
 " And every joy is surely fleeting." 
 
 Abu Bakr exclaimed, " thou hast spoken falsely — there is with God a 
 joy jbhat never passeth away," — and when Labid had gone, he said " Some- 
 times a poet speaketh words of wisdom." 
 
 On Ms sayings wliich manifest the greatness of his fear of his God. 
 
 Abu Ahmad al Hakim records on the authority of Mu'ad-b-.Tabal that 
 Abu Bakr entered a garden, and, behold, there was a ringdove in the shade 
 of a tree, and he heaved a deep sigh and said, " happy art thou, bird, that 
 eatest of the trees and seekest shelter beneath them, and art not called to 
 account — would that Abu Bakr were like unto thee." And Ibn A'sakir 
 from al Asma'i that when Abu Bakr was once praised, he said, " Lord, 
 Thou knowest more of me than I myself, and 1 know more concerning 
 myself than they — God, make me better than they think me, and for- 
 give me that which they know not, and call me not to account for what 
 
 * A'rfajali-'b-Asa'd-b-Safwaii, one of the Companions, of the Banu Tamm. 
 
 t These are said to destroy women, that is the love of gold and perfnmes, as flesh 
 meat and wine called also 01^4-^51 ' are said to destroy men. 
 
 i A'bu A'bdu'lla MusUm-b-Yasar of Ba?rah. kSome say he was the fireedman of 
 Othmln, others of Talhah. He was distinguished for his knowledge of jurisprudence, 
 he died A. H. 100-1. An Nawawi, 
 
[ 108 ] 
 
 they say." And Ahmad in the Zuhd from Abu I'mran al Jfini, that Abn 
 Bakr as Siddik said, " I would I were a hair in the side of a servant, a true 
 believer." And from Mujahid, that Ibn u'z Zubayr when he rose to 
 prayers was as a stock of wood in abasement, and I have been told that 
 Abu Bakr was the same. And from al Hasan that Abu Bakr said, " by 
 Allah, verily I would I were this tree which is eaten of and felled." And 
 from Katadah that he said, " it has been related to me that Abu Bakr said 
 ' I would that I were pasture that cattle might eat me.' " And from 
 Dhamrah-b-Habib that a son of Abu Bakr's was near unto death, and the 
 youth kept looking towards a cushion, and when he was dead, they said to 
 Abu Bakr, " we saw thy son looking towards a cushion," and they moved 
 him from the cushion and they found underneath it five or six dinars. 
 Then Abu Bakr struck one hand upon the other, and uttered the two pro- 
 fessions of faith, and kept saying ' verily we belong to God and urito Him 
 shall we return.' O such a one, how greatly doth thy body desire that it 
 should be amplified for this."* And from Thabit al Bunani that Abn 
 Bakr applied this verse by way of similitude. 
 
 Thou shalt not cease to announce the death of a friend until thou 
 art as he is 
 
 And verily the youth eherisheth a hope, and dieth without attaining 
 it- 
 Ibn Saa'd records on the authority of Ibn Sirin, that, after the death 
 of the prophet, there was no one more apprehensive on account of what he 
 knew not, than Abu Bakr, and no one after Abu Bakr more apprehensive 
 on account of what he knew not, than Omar, and when a case came before 
 Abu Bakr, and he could not find its exemplar in the Book of God, nor a 
 tradition regarding it in the Sunnat, he would say, " I will act to the best 
 of my judgment, and if it be just, then it is from God, and if erroneous, 
 then it is mine, and may God pardon me." 
 
 On what has been handed down of Mm regarding the interpretation 
 of dreams. 
 
 Sa'id-b-Mansur records on the authority of Sa'id-b-u'l Musayyab 
 that he said, " Ayesha dreamed that there came down into her house, three 
 
 * " On tlie Bay of Judgment, their treasures shall be intensely heated in the fire 
 of hell, and their forehead and their sides and backs shall, be stigmatized therewith." 
 Kur IX. As Suyuti in his Commentary (Tafsir u'l Jaldlayn) says on this passage, 
 that the bodies of these reprobates will be inflated and extended in order to become 
 capable of receiving the brand of each coin that they have treasured. The identical 
 word t*J| is employed by him to express this meaning. 
 
[ 109 ] 
 
 moons, and she related it to Abu Bakr who was one of the most learned 
 in interpretation among men. He said, " verily thy dream hath spoken 
 truly — there shall be buried verily in thy house, three of the best of man- 
 kind." And when the prophet died, he said, " Ayesha, this is the best of 
 thy moons.'' And from Omar-b-Shurhabil, that the apostle of God said, 
 " I dreamed that I drove before me some black sheep, then I drove after 
 them white sheep, so that the black could not be seen among them." 
 And Abu Bakr said, " apostle of God, as for the black sheep, verily they 
 signified the Arabs who shall embrace the faith, and increase in numbersi 
 and the white sheep are the barbarians who shall be converted until the 
 Arabs shall not be seen among them by reason of their numbers." The 
 apostle of God replied, " so the angel interpreted it this morning." A 
 tradition is also also ascribed to him from Ibn Abi Laylah that the apostle 
 of God said, " I dreamed I was at a well drawing from it, and there ap- 
 proached me black sheep and behind them grey sheep ;" and Abu Bakr 
 said, "suffer me to interpret it" and he continued as above. 
 
 Ibn Saa'd records on the authority of Muhammad Ibn Sirin that he 
 said, " the most learned in interpretation of this people after their prophet 
 is Abu Bakr." And from Ibn Shihab, that the apostle of God had a 
 dream and related it to Abu Bakr and said, " I dreamed as it were that I 
 and thou were vying with each other in mounting a ladder, and I preceded 
 thee by two steps and a half." He replied, " O apostle of God, the Lord 
 will take thee unto His forgiveness and mercy and I shall live after thee 
 two years and a half." Al 'Bayhaki records in the Proofs on the au- 
 thority of A'bdu'Uah-b-Buraydah that the apostle of God sent A'mr-b- 
 u'l A'as at the head of a body of troops, among them being. Abu Bakr and 
 Omar, and when they arrived at the field of war, A'mr commanded that 
 they should not light fires, and Omar was wroth and purposed going to him, 
 but Abu Bakr prevented him and explained to him, saying, " the apostle of God 
 hath not placed him* over thee, but for his knowledge of wars this there- 
 fore Cometh from him." And from an ascription of Abu Ma'shar that the 
 •apostle of God said " verily I shall appoint a man over the people who is 
 the best among them, who may be vigilant of eye and clear-sighted in war." 
 
 Khalifah-b-Khayyat and Ahmad-b-Hanbal, and Ibn A'sakir record on 
 the authority of Tazid-b-u'l Asamm,t that the prophet said to Abu Bakr 
 " Am I the greater or thou ?" He replied " thou art the greater and no- 
 bler, but I am older than thou." This tradition is interrupted in trans- 
 
 * The printed text has jUJjtJi'xj. for al»i>jl«..i 
 
 t Atu A'uf Yazid-b-u'l Asamm a native of Kdfah and a Tabi'i. He dwelt at 
 Eakkah and died there A. H. 103. He was the son of the sister of Maymuna wife of 
 Muhammad and the traditions related by him are considered authentic. An Nawawi, 
 
[ no ] 
 
 mission and narrated but by one authority, but if it were substantiated, 
 this answer should be accounted as a proof of his sagacity and reverence ; 
 but this reply is commonly ascribed to A'bbds. And the same is ascribed 
 to Sa'id-b-Yarbiin (recorded by at Tabarani) and its reading, that the 
 Apostle of God said to him, " which of us is the greater ?" he replied, 
 "thou art greater and better than I, but I am the elder." 
 
 Abu Nua'ym records that it was said to Abu Bakr, " O vicegerent of the 
 apostle of God, wilt thou not employ in service those who fought at Badr ?" 
 He replied, " I know their dignity but I am loth to defile them with the 
 world." And Ahmad in the Zuhd from Isma'il-b-Muhammad, that Abu 
 Bakr divided the spoil into portions and divided it, equally among the 
 people, and Omar said to him, " dost thou apportion it equally among the 
 men of Badr and the rest of the people ?" Abu Bakr replied, " verily the 
 world is a sufficiency, and the best sufficiency is that which is most compre- 
 hensive, but verily the superiority of these* lies in their spiritual rewards." 
 
 Ahmad records in the Zuhd on the authority of Abu Bakr-b-Hafs that 
 he said, " I have heard that Abu Bakr used to fast in summer, and break his 
 fastf in winter." And Ibn Sa'ad from Hayyan the goldsmith that the 
 impression on the signet ring of Aba Bakr was, " excellent is the omnipotent 
 God !" — At Tabarani records on the authority of Musa-b-U'kbah that 
 he said, " I do not know four people who attained with their sons to 
 the time of the prophet, save these four, Abu Kuhafah and his son Abu 
 Bakr as Siddik, — and his son Abdu'r Bahman — and Abu A'tik son of 
 A'bdu'r Eahman whose name was Muhammad." And Ibn Mandah and 
 Ibn A'sakir from Ayesha, that the parents of none among the Tugitives 
 embraced Islam, save the parents of Abu Bakr. — Ibn Saa'd and al Bazzar 
 
 * That is, the men of Badr. 
 
 t This would seem to imply that even when the Ramadhan fell in winter, so ortho- 
 dox a believer did not comply with the indispensable duty of fasting during that 
 month. The explanation however, though so immaterial a point scarcely deserves it, is 
 perhaps as follows. According to Lane, the present months of the Muhammadan 
 year, were named by KUdb-b-Murrah, an ancestor of Muhammad, about two centuries 
 before Islam. These months were lunar, and' from this period, with a view of adopt- 
 ing their year to the solar, the Arabs added a month, which they called vJj""*'! 
 at the end of every three years, until they were forbidden to do so by Kuran (Ch. IX). 
 The abolition of the intercalation was proclaimed by Muhammad at the pilgrimage 
 in the tenth year of the Flight. It is obvious from the derivations of the Arabic 
 names of the months, that they were called after th« seasons in which they fell. The 
 U)l}X!/a. (from is'^J signifying vehement heat) occurred between the middle of 
 July and the middle of August : whUe the years were yet adapted to the solar, there 
 would be a fixity of recurrence, or nearly so, of the months in the same seasons, and 
 thus Abu Bakr might well have fasted in summer frequently enough to account for 
 the tradition. 
 
[ 111 ] 
 
 record on good autborities from Anas that the oldest in years of the compa- 
 nions of the apostle of God were Abu Bakr as Siddilj and Subayl-b-A'mr- 
 b-Baydhd. 
 
 Note — Al Bayhalji records in the " Proofs" on the authority of Asma 
 daughter of Abu Bakr that she said, " In the year of the conquest of 
 Mecca, a daughter of Abu ^^uhafah went forth and some horsemen met 
 her, and upon her neck was a necklace of gold pieces, and a man wrenched 
 it from her neck. And when the apostle of God entered the mosque, Abu 
 Bakr stood up and said ' I call upon God and Islam for the necklace of my 
 sister' — and by Allah, no one answered him. He repeated it then a second 
 time, but no one answered him. Then he exclaimed, ' sister reckon upon 
 a reward of God for thy necklace, for by Allah, there is little honesty 
 among men now-a-days. ' " 
 
 Note — I have seen in the handwriting of the Hafidh ad Dahabi, the 
 names of those who were unequalled in their time, in their special qualifi- 
 cations. Abu Bakr as Siddik in genealogy, Omar-b-u'l Khat^ab in stead- 
 fastness in the commands of God, Othman-b-A"ffan in modesty, A'li in 
 judicial decision, Ubayy-b-Kaa'b in reading the Kuran, Zayd-b-Thabit, in 
 the law of inheritance, Abu U'baydah-b-u'l Jarrah in honesty, Ibn A'bbaa 
 in comment on the Kuran, Abu Darr in truthfulness of speech, Khalid-b-u'l 
 Walid in courage, al Hasan al Basri in admonition, Wahb-b-Munabbih in 
 narration, Ibn Sirin in interpretation of dreams, Nafi' in reading the Kuran, 
 Abu Hanifah in jurisprudence, Ibn Ishak in accounts of military expedi- 
 tions, Mukatil in expounding obscurities, al Kalbi in narrations from the 
 Kuran, al Khalil in prosody, Fudhayl-b-I'yadh in devotion, Sibawayh in 
 grammar, Malik in science, as Shafai in knowledge of tradition, Abu 
 U'baydah, in interpreting obscure words occurrirtg in traditions, A'li-b-u'l 
 Madini in defects invalidating traditions, Tahya-b-Ma'in in traditional 
 authorities, Abu Tammam in poetry, Ahmad-b-Hanbal in the Sunnah, al 
 Bukhari in discrimination of traditions, al Junayd in mysticism, Muhammad- 
 b-Nasr al Marwazi in reconciling the contradictory meanings of traditions, 
 al Jubbai in expounding the tenets of the Mua'tazalites, al Ashari in 
 scholastic theology, Muhammad-b-Zakariya ar Eazi, in medicine, Abu 
 Ma'shar in astrology, Ibrahim al Kirmani in interpretation of dreams, Ibn 
 Nubatah in preaching, Abu'l Faraj al Isbahani in debate, Abu'l Kasim at 
 Tabarani on traditions of the highest authority, Ibn Hazm in the literal 
 interpretation of the Kuran, Abu'l Hasan al Bakri in lying, al Hariri in 
 his discourses, Ibn Mandah in extent of travel, al Mutanabbi in poetry, al 
 Mausili in vocal music, as Suli in chess, al Khatib al Baghdadi in quickness 
 in reading the Km'an, A'li-b-Hilal in calligraphy, A'ta as Salimi* in fear, 
 
 * rbn KhaUakam gives the life of A'ta-b-Abi Eabah Aslam Mufti of Mecca, and 
 a devout ascetic. The ' fear' may therefore signify ' the fear of God' if this be the in- 
 
[ 112 ] 
 
 al Kadhi al FMhil, in composition, al Asma'i in singular anecdotes, Asha'b 
 in covetousness, Ma'bid in singing, Avicenna in philosophy. 
 
 OMAE-B-U'L KHATTi^B. 
 
 Omar-b-n'l Khattdb, b-KTufayl-b-A'bdu'l A'za, b-Eiyah-b-Kurt-b- 
 Eazah-b-A'di-b-Kaa'b-b-Luayy, the Prince of the Faithful, Abu Hafs, al 
 Kurayshi, al A'dwi, al Faruk, {the Discriminator) embraced Islam in the 
 sixth year of the prophetic mission being seven and twenty years of age 
 (ad Dahabi). An Nawawi says that Omar was born thirteen years after 
 the year of the elephant.* He was one of the chiefs of the Kuraysh and 
 was charged with the duties of an envoy in the time of Ignorance ; for the 
 Kuraysh, whenever a war took place among themselves, or between them- 
 selves and others, used to send him as envoy, that is as a representative, 
 and whenever a challenger would contend against their honor, or a boaster 
 contest their glory, they would send him to vie and to contend in their name. 
 He embraced the faith early — after the conversion of forty men and ten wo- 
 men — or as some say, after thirty-nine men, and twenty- three women, and 
 others, forty -five men and eleven women. He had no sooner embraced Islam, 
 than he openly declared his faith at Mecca and the Muslims rejoiced at it. 
 An Nawawi adds, that he was one of the converts, and one of the ten to 
 whom Paradise was promised, and one of the just Caliphs, and one of the 
 fathers-in-law of the Apostle of God, and one of the most learned and most 
 ascetic of the Companions. Five hundred and thirty-nine traditions direct 
 from the Apostle of God are ascribed to him. Traditions are related on 
 his authority by Othman-b-A'fian by A'li and Talhah and Saa'd, and Ibn 
 A'uf and Ibn Masa'dd, and Abu Darr, and Omar-b-A'basah, and his son 
 A'bdu'Uah, and Ibn A'bbas, and Ibn liz Zubayr, and Anas, andAbuHuray- 
 rah, and A'mr-b-u'l A'as, and Abu Musa al Asha'ri, and al Baraa-b-A'azib, 
 and Abu Sa'id al Khudri, and others of the Companions and some besides 
 them. I remark, that I will here devote some chapters to the principal 
 observations of note connected with his biography. 
 
 dividual meant. I can discover no other name bearing any resemblance with that in 
 the text. 
 
 * The year of the defeat of Ahraha-h-u'l Sahah sumamed al Ashram or the slit. 
 nosed-Mng or viceroy of Yaman, who marched against Mecca at the head of an ai-my, 
 ■wherein were several elephants, to avenge the profanation of the ChristiEin Church at 
 Sanda, by some of the tribe of Kenanah. His fate and that of his army is well-known. 
 See the story in Sale and his comments thereon. In this year Mu\iammad was bom. 
 
[ 113 ] 
 
 On the accounts which have been handed down regarding his conversion. 
 
 At Tirmidi records on the authority of Ibn Omar, that the prophet 
 said, " O God, glorify Islam by the most endeared to Thee of these two 
 men, Omar the son of al Khattab or Jahl the son of Hishdm." And al 
 Hakim from Ibn A'bbas, that the prophet said, " God, glorify Islam 
 by Omar the son of al Khattab in particular." And Ahmad f];om Omar that 
 he said, " I went forth to hinder the Apostle' of God, but I found that 
 he had preceded me to the mosque, and I stood up behind him and he 
 sought to expound the Surah ' al Hakkah.'* And I began to wonder at 
 the composition of the Kuran and I said, ' by Allah, this is a poet, as the 
 Kuraysh say.' Then he read, ' This is the discourse of an honorable 
 apostle and not the discourse of a poet — how little do ye believe,' &c., 
 (LXIX). And the true faith entered into my heart with a full posses- 
 sion." And Ibn Abi Shaybah from Jabir that he said, "the beginning of 
 the conversion of Omar was thus as Omar hath related, ' the painsf 
 of labour seized my sister in the night, and I went forth from the house 
 and entered the precincts of the Kaa'bah, and the prophet came and entered 
 the enclosure and upon him were two garments, and he prayed to God for 
 that which God willed and then departed. And I heard a thing the like 
 of which I had not heard before, and he went forth and I followed him and 
 he said, " who is that ?" and I replied, " Omar," then he said, " O Omar wilt 
 thou not leave me night or day ?" and I feared lest he should curse me, 
 and I said, " I testify that there is no God but God, and that thou art the 
 Apostle of God." He answered " keep this secret." I replied, " No, by 
 Him who sent thee in the truth, I will surely proclaim it, as I proclaimed 
 my infidelity.'' And Ibn Saa'd, and Abu Ya'la, and al Hakim and al Bayhaki 
 in the " Proofs" on the authority of Anas, that Omar went forth girt with 
 his sword and a man of the Banu Zuhrah met him and said, " whither art thou 
 going, O Omar ?" and he replied, " I intend to slay Muhammad ;" the other 
 said, " how wilt thou be secure from the Banu Hashim and the Banu Zuh- 
 rah, if thou shouldst slay Muhammad ?" J He replied, " I cannot but think 
 that thou hast changed thy faith." He answered, " shall I not assure thee 
 
 * Ch. LXIX, entitled " the InfalliMe" ; the original words is one of the epithets 
 of the Day of Judgment. 
 
 t In the text the word (jol'sr*' jg pointed as the objective instead of the nomi- 
 native case. 
 
 X The father of Muhammad belonged to the former tribe, his mother to the 
 latter, 
 
 15 
 
[ 114 ] 
 
 of a strange thing, that thy brother-in-law,* and thy sister have changed 
 their faith and abandoned thy religion ?" Then Omar departed and went 
 to those two with whom was Khabbabjf and when he heard the sound of 
 Omar approaching he hid himself in the house. And Omar entered and 
 said, "what is this muttering" — (for they were reading the T. H.)J — 
 and they said, " it is nothing but a discourse we were holding among our- 
 selves." He said, " then perhaps you two have changed your religion," 
 and his brother-in-law replied to him, ' 0, Omar suppose the truth were in 
 another religion than thine !" whereon Omar sprang upon him and tram- 
 pled him heavily under foot ; his sister then came to push him aside from her 
 husband, but he struck her a blow with his hand, and her face bled : then 
 being angry she said, " and suppose the truth were in another religion than 
 thine ! verily I testify that there is no God but God, and that Muhammad 
 is His servant and His Apostle." Then Omar exclaimed, " give me the book 
 which you have, that I may read it." His sister said, " verily thouart unclean 
 and ' none shall touch it except those who are clean' (Kur. LVI) — ^therefore 
 rise and bathe or perform ablution." AndOmar rose and made his ablutions 
 and took the book and read the T. H., until he came to " Verily I am God ; 
 there is no God besides me ; wherefore worship Me and perform tliy 
 prayers in remembrance of Me" (Kur. XX). Then Omar said, " direct 
 me to Muhammad ;" and when Ehabbab heard the words of Omar, he 
 came forth and said, ." Eejoice with good tidings, O Omar, for verily, I 
 trust that the prayer of the Apostle of God on Wednesday nightf may be 
 for thee when he said, ' God, glorify Islam by Omar, the son al Khattab, 
 or A'mr|| the son of Hisham. ' " The Apostle of God was at the time in 
 the original house^f which stands at the foot of as Saf a, and Omar went 
 
 • Sa'id-b-Zayd. 
 
 t Atu Abdu'llah Khafbab-b-u'l Aratt was one of the earliest converts. He had 
 been taken prisoner in the time of Ignorance and sold as a slave at Mecca. He is 
 said to have been a freedman of Anmar daughter of Sabaa' of the tribe of Khuzaa'h 
 confederate of the Banu Zuhrah. He died at KAfah A. H. 37 in the Caliphate of A'li 
 and was buried outside the city at his special request. It had been the custom in 
 Kufah for people to be buried at the doors of their houses, but after Khabbab's death 
 and by his example, the custom was abolished, and the dead were buried outside the 
 ioty. 
 
 t The XXth Oh. of the Imuran is so entitled. The meaning of the letters is un- 
 certain. 
 
 § The day of the Arabs begins at sunset, the night of Thursday is therefore our 
 Wednesday night. 
 
 II This was Abu Jahl's name. An Nawawi describes him in his biography, as 
 Abu Jahli^the enemy of God, " the Pharaoh of this people" — this latter epithet was 
 given to him by Muhammad as he gazed upon his dead body after the battle of Badr 
 ■where ho fell fighting against the new faith. 
 
 V The house aUuded to belonged to Arlj^am of the Banu Makhzdm, one of the 
 
[ 115 ] 
 
 on until he reached the house, at the door of whieh were Hamzah and 
 Talhah and others. And Hamzah said, " this is Omar ; if God desireth* 
 his good, he will be converted, and if He desireth otherwise, his death will 
 sit lightly upon us." The narrator adds, " the prophet was then within, 
 under the divine inspiration, and he came forth and went to Omar and 
 clasped him round all his garments and his sword belt, and said ' wilt thou 
 not cease, Omar, until God sendeth upon thee calamity and chastisement 
 such as He sent upon al WaUd-b-u'l Mughirah.'f And Omar said ' I 
 testify that there is no God, but God and that thou art the servant of God 
 and His Apostle.' " 
 
 Al Bazzar, and at Tabarani and Abu Nua'ym in the " Htdiyah," and 
 al Bayhaki in the " Dalail" record on the authority of Aslam J that he 
 narrates : " Omar said to me — I was the most violent of men against the 
 Apostle of God, and while I was one sultry day in the noontide heat in 
 one of the streets of Mecca, a man met me and said, ' I wonder at thee, O 
 son of al Klattab, that thou thinkest that thou art this and that while 
 verily an event has occurred at thy house.' I said, 'and what is that ?' 
 He replied, ' thy sister hath embraced Islam' — Then I turned back in 
 wrath until I knocked at the door. They asked, ' who is there ?' I 
 replied, ' Omar.' Then they hastened away and hid from me, and 
 verily, they had been reading a paper before them which they had 
 left and forgotten. Then my sister arose and opened the door,, and I said, 
 ' enemy of thyself, hast thou changed thy faith ?' and I struck her 
 upon the head with a thing that was in my hand arid the blood flowed and 
 she wept and said, ' O son of al Khattab ! what thou soughtest to do, do, 
 for verily I have changed my faith.' Omar continued, aad I went in and 
 sat upon a bedstead, and I looked upon the paper and said, ' what is that ? 
 give it to me' — she said, ' thou art not worthy of it for thou art not puri- 
 fied from uncleanness, and this book " none shall touch it, except those 
 who are clean; " ' but I did not desist until she gave it to me, and I opened 
 
 earliest converts to the faith, and was a favourite resort of Muhammad's. From the 
 converts made therein, it was styled, according to al Wakidi, the house of Islam. 
 Bee,Muir, Vol. II, p. 118. 
 
 * The printed edition is here in error, there should be no ' tashdid' over this verb, 
 which is the 4th form of ^jy apocopated by the particle ^yi. 
 
 t One of the " scoffers" alluded to in Kur. ch. XT. Passing by some arrows, one 
 of them hitched in his garment, and he, out of pride, not stooping to take it off, the 
 head of it cut a vein in his heel, and he bled to death. See the tragic end of the other 
 four in Sale, p. 21.4. Sale spells the name Mugheirah, but I can find no authority for 
 it. An Nawawi is clear upon its pronunciation. 
 
 X The freedman of Omar-b-u'l Khattab. According to some, he had been one of 
 the prisoners of Yaman— others say that he was an Abyssinian. An Nawawi. 
 
[ 116 1 
 
 it, and behold ! there was in it ' whatever is in the heavens and the earth 
 singeth praise unto God.' (LVII), and I was terrified, and I read unto 
 ' Believe in God and his Apostle.' Then I exclaimed, ' I testify that 
 there is no God but God,' and those who had fled away, came forth to me 
 and magnified God and said, ' rejoice with good tidings, for the Apostle of 
 God prayed on Monday and said, " God, glorify Thy faith by the most 
 endeared to Thee of two men, either Abu Jahl the son of Hisham or 
 Omar !" ' and they directed me to the prophet to the house at the foot of 
 as Saf a. And I went on until I knocked at the door, and they said, ' who 
 is it.' I replied ' the son of al Khattab,' and, verily, they knew my vio- 
 lence against the Apostle of God, and no one was bold enough to open the 
 door until Muhammad said, ' open for him,' and they opened for me and 
 two men seized my arm, until the prophet came to me and said, ' stand off 
 from him.' Then he caught me round my garment and drew me to him 
 and said, ' be converted, O son of al Khattab. God ! direct him aright.' 
 Then I made the profession of faith. Thereupon the Muslims magnified 
 God, with a ' takbir' that was heard in the defiles of Mecca. They had 
 hitherto sought concealment, and I* never wished to see a man, beating or 
 being beaten, but I beheld him while nothing of this could befall me. Then 
 I went to my maternal uncle, Abu Jahl, the son of Hisham, and he was a 
 man of high consideration, and I knocked at his door and he said, ' who is 
 that ?' I replied, ' the son of al Khattab, and verily I have changed my 
 religion,' and he said, ' do it not.' Then he went within and shut the door 
 upon me, and I said, ' this is nothing ;' and I went on to a man of the chiefs 
 of the Kuraysh, and called out to him, and he come forth to me and I ad- 
 dressed him in the same words as to my uncle, and he replied to me, as my 
 uncle had replied, and he went in and shut the door upon me and I said, 
 ' this is nothing ! shall the Muslims be beaten and I not be beaten ?' Then 
 a man said to me, ' dost thou wish that thy being converted to Islam, should 
 be known ?' and I said ' yes.' He replied, ' when the people assemble 
 in the precincts of the Kaabah, go to a certain man who cannot keep a 
 secret and say to him that which is to be between thee and him, viz., verily 
 I have changed my faith, for it is rare that he can conceal a secret.' And I 
 went when the people had assembled in the enclosure, and I mentioned what 
 was to be between me and him, saying, ' verily I have changed my faith.' 
 He replied ' Hast thou really done so ?' I said ' yes.' Then he cried out 
 at the top of his voice, ' verily the son of al Khattdb hath changed his 
 
 ♦ The Arabic idiom here, is so difficult to transfer with any closeness of translation, 
 into English, that I fear I have sacrificed iateUigibility to a desire to be literal. Omar 
 means to say, that either before his conversion, or before it was made known, his posi- 
 tion as a chief of the !^uraysh secured him from all insult. 
 
[ 117 ] 
 
 faith ;' then they fell upon me, and I did not cease to beat them, nor they 
 to beat me, while the people gathered round me. Then my uncle said, 
 ' what is this gathering ?' they said to him, ' Omar hath changed his faith.' 
 Then he stood up in the enclosure and waved his sleeve saying, ' verily I 
 take under my protection the son of my sister,' and they gave way from 
 me. But I did not like to see one of the Muslims beating or being beaten, 
 but I would see him and say, ' this is nothing, perchance it may befall me,'* 
 and I went to my uncle and said ' thy protection is returned to thee' and 
 I did not cease from beating and being beaten until God exalted Islam." 
 Abu Nua'ym in the " Dalail," and Ibn A'sdkir record on the autho- 
 rity of Ibn Abbas that he said, " I asked of Omar, ' why art thou called 
 al Pdruk ? {the discriminator) ?' and he said, ' Hamzah embraced 
 Islam three days before me, and I went to the mosque, and Abu Jahl 
 hastened to the prophet and reviled him, and Hamzah was informed of 
 it ; so he took his bow and went to the mosque towards a group of the 
 Kuraysh in which was Abu Jahl, and he leaned upon his bow over against 
 Abu Jahl and regarded him, and Abu Jahl saw that mischief was in his 
 countenance,' and he said, ' what is the matter with thee O ! Abu U'ma- 
 rah ?'t and Hamzah lifted up his bow and struck him with it upon the 
 two cupping-veins of the neck and cut them, and the blood flowed, where- 
 upon the Kuraysh adjusted the matter amicably, fearing mischief." 
 Then Omar continued, " the Apostle of God was at that time concealed in 
 the house of Arkam the son of A'bu'l Arkam al Makhziimi, and Hamzah 
 went away and embraced Islam. Three days afterwards, I went forth 
 when behold ! there came a certain man of the tribe of the Banu Makhzum, 
 and I said, ' hast thou turned away from the faith of thy fathers and 
 followed the faith of Muhammad ?' and he replied, 'if I have done so, 
 then verily, one hath done so likewise who hath a greater claim upon thee 
 than I.' I said — ' and who is that ?' He answered, ' thy sister as well as 
 thy brother-in-law.' And I departed and reached the house, and I heard 
 a low whispering, and I entered and said, ' what is this ?' and words did 
 not cease to pass between us, until I took my brother-in-law by the head 
 and smote him and covered him with blood, but my sister rose against me 
 
 * That is, I hope it may hefall me. The MS. has j^JL^ for the i>,j of the 
 printed edition which makes the sense clearer. This passage is similar to the one I 
 have already noted in a preceding page, with the difference, that he is now descrihing 
 a state of feeling arrived at since his conversion had heen made puhlic. His zeal as a 
 convert and his natural pugnacity would not permit him to behold a Muslim being 
 beaten without wishing to share in the unpopularity of the new faith. Hia fervour 
 would not be content with anything but hard knocks which, however, he returned 
 as freely as he received them. 
 
 t His surname : it was also that of al Bara-b-A'azib — the Companion. 
 
[ 118 ] 
 
 and seized my head and said, ' verily that hath been done in spite of thee.' 
 And I was ashamed when I saw the blood and I sat down and said, ' show 
 me this writing,' but she replied, ' none shall touch it except those who 
 are clean.' And I arose and bathed, and they brought out to me a paper 
 in which was ' In the name of God, the most merciful and Compassionate' 
 (and I said ' names, good and holy'). T. H. we have not sent dowh the 
 Kuran unto thee that thou should'st be unhappy and I read on to His 
 words ' most excellent names' (Kur. XX). And there arose in my heart 
 a great awe and I said, ' is it from this the Kuraysh have fled ?' and I 
 embraced Islam and said, ' where is the Apostle of God ?' She replied 
 ' verily he is in the house of Arkam,' and I went and knocked at the door 
 and the people gathered together and Hamzah said to them, • what is it 
 •with ye ?' They said, ' it is Omar' ; he replied, ' what ! Omar ! open the 
 door to him, and if he cometh to us amicably, we will receive him, and 
 if he turneth away from us we shall slay him ;' and the Apostle of God 
 heard that, and he came forth and Omar made the profession of faith. 
 Then the people of the house magnified God with a ' takbir' that was heard 
 by the dwellers in Mecca. I said, ' Apostle of God, are we not in the 
 Truth ?' he replied, ' yes.' I said, ' then wherefore this concealment ?' 
 So we came forth in two ranks, I at the head of one of them and Hamzah, of 
 the other, until we entered the mosque, and the Kuraysh looked upon me 
 and upon Hamzah, and a great grief fell upon them. The Apostle of God 
 therefore, named me the Discriminator, from that day, because Islam was 
 made manifest and truth distinguished from falsehood." Ibn Saa'd records 
 from Dakwan* that he narrates, " I said to Ayesha, who named Omar, the 
 Discriminator ?" she replied, " the prophet." And Ibn Majah and al 
 Hakim from Ibn A'bbds, that he said, " wlien Omar embraced Islam, 
 Gabriel descended and said, ' Muhammad, verily the dwellers in heaven 
 announce with rejoicing the conversion of Omar.' " Al Bazzar records, and 
 al Hakim, who verifies it on the authority of Ibn A'bbas, that when Omar 
 was converted, the idolaters said, " verily, to-day, the sect have avenged 
 themselves upon us," and the Lord revealed,t " prophet ! God is thy sup- 
 port, and such of the true believers that have followed thee" (Kur. VIII). 
 And al Bukhari from Ibn Masa'M that he said, " we continued increasing 
 in honour from the time when Omar was converted." And Ibn Saa'd and 
 at Tabarani from Ibn Masa'ud, that he said, " the conversion of Omar 
 
 * There are seven of this name mentioned by Ibn Hajr. The one referred to 
 in the text is probably the freedman of Huljammad. 
 
 t Some say this passage was revealed in a plain called aJi Beida, hetween Mecca 
 and Medina during the expedition of Budr. tSale. 
 
[ 119 ] 
 
 was a conquest, his flight* a victory, and his Imamate a divine mercy, 
 and verily, we said that we were unable to pray in the House of Ood 
 until Omar was converted, and when Omar was converted, he fought 
 with them until they left us alone and we prayed therein." Ibn Saa'd and 
 al Hdkim record from Hudayfah, that he said, " when Omar was con- 
 verted, Islam was as a man advancing who doth not progress without 
 approaching, and when Omar was slain, Islam was as a man retreating, 
 who doth not progress without receding." And at Tabarani from Ibn 
 A'bbas, that he said, " the first who openly manifested Isldm was Omar-b- 
 u'l Khattab." His authorities are trustworthy and excellent. And Ibn 
 Saa'd from Suhayb, " when Omar was converted, Islam was declared and 
 the people openly invited to it, and we sat in a circle round the temple and 
 went in procession round the temple, and avenged ourselves on those who 
 had oppressed us, and returned back upon them somewhat of that which 
 they had brought upon us." And Ibn Saa'd from Aslam, the freedman of 
 Omar, " Omar was converted in the month of Du'l Hijjah in the sixth year 
 of the prophetic mission, and he was then six and twenty years old." 
 
 On Ms FliffM. 
 
 Ibn A'satir records on the authority of A'li, that he said, " I never 
 knew any one flee unless secretly, except Omar-bu'l Khattdb, for he, when 
 he resolved on flight, girt on his sword and slung over him his bow and 
 grasped in his hand its arrows, and went to the Kaa'bah where in its 
 quadrangle were the chiefs of the Kuraysh, and he went round about it 
 seven times, then prayed two rakaa'hsf at the station of Abraham, and 
 went to each, one by one, in their circle and said, ' may the faces be foul 
 of such as desire that his mother be bereaved of him and his child be left 
 an orphan and his wife a widow, and if there he such a one, let him meet 
 me behind this valley' — but no one followed him." And from al Bara.J 
 that he said, "the first man who came to us, of the Tugitives was 
 Musaa'b-b-U'mayr, then Ibn Umm Maktiim,§ then Omar-bu'l Khattab with 
 
 * To Medina with the prophet. 
 
 t A rakaa'h is a single act of standing in prayer, followed hy an inclination of 
 the head, and two prostrations. 
 
 t Itn Hair gives six of the name— the reference in the text is prohahly to al 
 Bara-b-A'azib, one of the Auxiliaries of Medina. 
 
 § Some say his name was A'tdu'Uah, others A'mr-h-Kays. His mother's name 
 was A'atikah of the Banu Makhzdm. He resided at Medina after Badr, being then 
 blind, and used to ofaoiate as Imam at public prayers when Muhammad was absent in 
 his expeditions. A'warifu'l Ma'arif of Ibn. Kutaybah. 
 
[ 120 1 
 
 twenty horsemen, and we said, ' what is the Apostle of God doing ?' He 
 replied, ' he cometh after me ;' then then Apostle of God arrived and with 
 him Ahu Bakr."* 
 
 An Nawawi says that Omar was present with the Apostle of God in 
 all his expeditions, and was of those who remained steadfast to him on the 
 day of Ohud. 
 
 On the traditions handed down, regarding his merit, other than what 
 has preceded in the life of Abu Bakr. 
 
 The two Shaylihs record on the authority of Ahu Hurayrah that the 
 Apostle of God said, " while I was asleep, I saw myself in Paradise, and he- 
 held there was a woman performing her ablutions by the side of a house ; 
 I said, ' whose is this house ?' they replied ' Omar's.' Then I recollected 
 thy jealousy and I turned back." And Omar wept and said, " should I be 
 jealous of thee, Apostle of God !" And from Ibn Omar that the Apostle 
 of God said, '' whilst I was asleep, I dreamt that I drank (meaning 
 milk) so that I saw the stream issuing from my nails, and I gave it to 
 Omar." They said, " how dost thou interpret it, Apostle of God !" He 
 answered, " it was knowledge." And from Abu Sa'id, al Khudri, " I 
 heard the Apostle of God say, ' whilst I was sleeping, I saw the people pre- 
 sented to me, and upon them were garments, some of them reaching to the 
 breast and some of them reaching below it, and Omar was presented to me 
 and upon him a garment which he was dragging along.' They said, 
 'how dost thou interpret it, Apostle of God!' He answered — 'it was 
 religion.' " And from Saa'd-b-Abi Wakkas, that the Apostle of God said, 
 " O son of al Khaftdb — by Him in whose hand is my life, the devil hath 
 never met thee walking in a road, but he hath taken a road other than 
 thy road." And al Bukhari from Ibn Hurayrah, that the Apostle of God 
 said, " verily there have been among those who have gone before ye 
 among the nations, men inspired, and if there be such a one among my 
 people, it is Omar." And at Tirmidi from Ibn Omar, that the Apostle of 
 God said, " verily God hath placed truth upon the tongue of Omar the 
 son of al Khattab and upon his heart." 
 
 Ibn Omar says, " never did a thing come upon the people, and they 
 said one thing regarding it, and Omar another, but the Kur^n revealed it 
 after the manner that Omar had said." And at Tirmidi and al Hakim, 
 
 * Al Bard, as quotedl Ijy an Nawawi, places four others between Ibn Umm Maktdm 
 and Omar, viz., A'mm4r-b-Yiisir Saa'd-b-Ati \Vakka?, Ibn Masa'ud and Bilal. 
 
t 121 ] 
 
 who has verified it from U'kbah-b-A 'amir, record, that the Apostle of God 
 said, " if there were to be a prophet after me, it would be Omar the son 
 of al Khattab." And at Tirmidi, from Ayesha, that the Apostle of God' 
 said, " verily I behold the evil spirits among Genii and men, fleeing from 
 before Omar." And Ibn Majah anH al Hakim from Ubayy-b-Kaa'b, that 
 the Apostle of God said, " the first with whom Truth joineth hands, and the 
 first it blesseth, and the first it taketh by the hand and entereth Paradise, 
 is Omar." And from Abu Darr that he narrates, " I heard the Apostle of 
 God say, ' verily the Lord hath placed truth upon the tongue of Omar, by 
 which He speaketh.' And Ahmad and al Bazzar from Abu Hurayrah 
 that the Apostle of God said, ' verily the Lord hath placed truth upon the 
 tongue of Omar and upon his heart.' And Ibn Manii' in his Musnad from 
 A'li, that he said, ' we the Companions of Muhammad did not doubt that 
 the divine presence spake by the tongue of Omar.' And al Bazzar from 
 Ibn Omar, that the Apostle of God said, ' Omar is the lamp of the dwellers 
 in Paradise.' And from Kudamah-b-Madhu'iin on the authority of his 
 brother,* Othman-b-Madhu'dn, that the Apostle of God said, ' this is the 
 bolt against discord' — and he pointed with his hand to Omar — ' there shall 
 not cease to be between you and discord, a gate strongly bolted, as long as 
 he liveth among you.' " 
 
 At Tabarani records in the A'usat from Ibn A'bbas, that Gabriel came 
 to the prophet and said, " greet Omar with a salutation and tell him that 
 his anger is glory and his approval, command." And Ibn A'sakir from 
 Ayesha, that the prophet said, " verily Satan avoideth Omar." And 
 Ahmad on the ascription of Buraydah,t that the prophet said, " verily 
 Satan avoideth thee, Omar !" • and Ibn A'sakir from Ibn A'bbas that 
 the Apostle of God said, " there is not an angel in heaven, but he revereth 
 Omar and not a demon on earth but he fleeth from Omar." And at 
 Tabarani in the Ausa't from Abu Hurayrah that the Apostle of God said, 
 " verily God gloried regarding the pilgrims of A'rafahJ in general and 
 Omar in particular." And at Tabarani and al Daylami from al Fadhl b-u'l 
 A'bbas that the Apostle of God said, "the Truth. after me is with Omar 
 wherever he may be." 
 
 * The text and MS. have 'unole' which appears to be an error. 
 
 t Ahu A'bdu'llah Buraydah h-u'l IJusayh, one of the Companions. He resided 
 at Medina, afterwards at Basrah and removed suhsecLuently to Marw where he died 
 A. H. 62. He related 164 traditions from Muhammad. An Nawawi. 
 
 t This is given differently hy different authorities. In the Kitah u'l Iktifa 
 ( lilsr'i**); ill J/ai ^Jl^^l V^ ) '^7 Ibrahim-h-Ahdu'Ua, al Wasabi, al Yamani, 
 as Shafi'i— God vied Vith his angels regarding men on the day of A'rafah. Lane 
 gives another reading, "the angels vied with them." The day of A'rafah is the 
 9th of Du'l Hijjah— for its ceremonies, consult Burton. 
 
 16 
 
[ 122 ] 
 
 The two Shaykhs record on the authority of Ibn Omar and Abu 
 Hurayrah that the Apostle of God said, " whilst I was sleeping, I saw 
 myself by a well, upon which was a bucket, and I drew up from it what 
 God willed ; then«Abu Bakr took it and he drew up a bucket-full or two, 
 and there was feebleneas in his drawing and may God have mercy upon 
 him. Then came Omar and he sought to draw, and the bucket became 
 changed into a large bucket, and I have not seen a chief of the people do 
 his wonderful deeds, so that the people satisfied their thirst and abode at 
 the water." ? 
 
 An Nawawi says in his Tahdib, that the learned assert that this is an 
 indication of the Caliphate of Abu Bakr and Omar, and the numerous con- 
 quests and triumphs of Islam during the time of Omar. At Tabarani 
 records on the authority of Sadisah,* that the Apostle of God said, " verily 
 Satan hath never met Omar since his conversion but he hath fallen 
 prostrate on his face." And from Ubayy-b-Kaa'b that the Apostle of God 
 said, " Gabriel said to me, ' verily Islam will weep at the death of Omar.' " 
 And in the Ausat from Abu Sa'id al Khudri, that the Apostle of God said, 
 " he who hateth Omar, hath hated me, and he who loveth Omar, hath 
 loved me, and verily, the Lord gloried regarding the people on the evening 
 of the day of A'rafah in general, and rejoiced over Omar in particular, and 
 the Lord hath never sent a prophet, but there was among his people one 
 inspired, and if there be such a one among my people, it is Omar." They 
 said " Apostle of God, how inspired ?" He replied, " the angeb speak by 
 his tongue." (His authorities are good.) 
 
 On the sayings of the Companions and tlie early Muslims regarding him. 
 
 Abu Bakr as Siddik said, " there is not upon the face of the earth a 
 man dearer to me than Omar." (Ibn A'sakir.) It was said to Abu Bakr 
 in his illness, " what wilt thou say to thy God, now that thou hast appointed 
 Omar to rule ?" He replied, " I will say to Him 'I have appointed over 
 them the best of them." (Ibn Saa'd.) A'li said, « when the righteous are 
 mentioned, then quick and mention Omar : we used to say not without 
 reason that the divine presence speaketh by the tongue of Omar." 
 (At Tabarani in the Ausat.) And Ibn Omar said, " I never saw any one 
 after the Apostle of God, from the time that he died, more vehement and 
 yet more beneficent than Omar." (Ibn Saa'd.) And Ibn Masa'dd " if the 
 
 * The freedwoman of Htaf?ah, the daughter of Omar. She belonged to the 
 Auxiliaries. Ibn Hajr. 
 
[ 1^3 1 
 
 ■wisdom of Omar were placed in the scale of a balance, and the wisdom of 
 living things upon the earth in the other scale, the wisdom of Omar would 
 outweigh them, and verily people used to think that he bore away nine- 
 tenths of wisdom." (At Tabardni in the Kabir and al Hakim.) And 
 Hudayfah— " it is as if the wisdom of mankind lay hidden in the bosom 
 of Omar ;" and, " by Allah I know not a man whom the reproof of the 
 censurer in what relateth to the service of God, doth not touch, but 
 Omar." And Ayesha speaking of Omar said, " by Allah, he was active in 
 affairs, singly undertaking their management." And al Mu'awiyah, " Abu 
 Bakr sought not the world and it sought not him,' but Omar, the world 
 sought though he sought it not, while we are plunged in it up to the 
 middle." (Az Zubayr-b-Bakkar in the Maukifiyat.) 
 
 , Jabir relates that A'li went to Omar when he was at prayers and 
 said, " may the mercy of God be upon thee! -there is no one with the 
 record of whose actions it would be more pleasing to me to meet God, 
 (after the Companionship of the prophet) than this performer of prayers." 
 (Al Hdkim). And Masa'tid has said, " when the righteous are mentioned, 
 then quick and mention Omar — verily Omar was the most learned of us 
 in the book of God, and the most profoundly versed in the religious ordi- 
 nances of the Most High." (At Tabarani and al Hakim.) Ibn A'bbas 
 was asked regarding Abu Bakr, and he said " he was like goodness itself ;" 
 and he was asked regarding Omar, and he said, " he was like a wary bird 
 that seeth a snare in every path, to take it ;" and he was' questioned about 
 A'li, and he said, " he was full of resolution and vigilance and wisdom and 
 dignity" (recorded in the Tuyuriyat). 
 
 At Tabarani records on the authority of U'mayr-b-Eabii', that Omar 
 said to Kaa'b al Ahbar,* " what description of me dost thou find ?" "I find 
 thy description to be a horn of iron,"t he said, " and what is a horn of 
 iron ?" He replied, " a resolute prince whom the reproof of the censurer in 
 what relateth to the service of God, doth not touch." Omar said, " then 
 what ?" He replied " there shall come after thee a Caliph whom a cruel 
 faction shall slay." He asked, " then what ?" He answered, " then shall 
 follow calamity." And Ahmad and al Bazzar and at Tabarani from Ibn 
 Masa'ud that he said, " Omar, the son of al Khattab, was distinguished above 
 men, for four things : 
 
 * A Jew who embraced Islam in the time of Omar and a constant companion of 
 that Caliph. D'Herbelot gives the name to a hook in which are recorded many, 
 fabulous stories of Islam. The author he adds, is unknown and his work contains 
 many Christian traditions, among them, that of the guardian angels. According to the 
 the Muntaha 1' Arab, al Ahb&r is incorrect— it should be Hibr, (/4^) which signifies a 
 Jewish or Christian doctor of science. 
 
 t Kings xxii. 11. 
 
[ 124 ] 
 
 1. " In the affair of the prisoners on the day of Badr,* whom he 
 ordered to be put to death, and God revealed, ' unless a revelation had been 
 previously delivered from God,' &c., (Kur. VIII). 
 
 2. " In the affair of the veil.f He commanded the wives of the 
 prophet that they should be veiled and Zaynab said to him, ' thou art against 
 us, O son of al Khattab, and yet the divine inspiration descends within our 
 house;' then God revealed, ,' and when ye ask of the propJiefs wives, 
 what ye may have occasion for, &c.,' (Kur. V). 
 
 3. " By the prayer of the prophet, ' O God strengthen Islam by 
 Omar.' 
 
 4. " By his voice in favour of Abu Bakr, he being the first to swear 
 allegiance to him." 
 
 Ibn A'sakir records from Mujahid, that he narrates, " we used to say 
 that the devils were chained during the rule of Omar, and were unloosed 
 when he perished." And from Salim-b-A'bdi'UahJ that he said, " news 
 of Omar was long in reaching Abu Musa, and he went to a woman 
 possessed by a devil, and he asked her about him and she said, ' stay till 
 my demon cometh,' and he came and she asked of him regarding Omar, 
 and he said, ' I left him, girt round with a garment smearing with pitch 
 the public camels, § and that man, no devil seeth but he falleth upon his 
 nostrils, the angel is before his eyes, and Gabriel speaketh by his 
 tongue.' " 
 
 Sufyan || al -Thauri says " whosoever thinketh that Ali had more 
 right to the Caliphate, than Abu Bakr or Omar, hath ascribed blame to 
 Abu Bakr, Omar, the Fugitives and the Auxiliaries. And Sharik^f has 
 
 * For an account of this, consult Sale, p. 146. 
 
 t Consult Sale, p. 349. 
 
 X The grandson of Omar distinguished for the piety and austerity of his life, 
 died at Medina, A. H. 105-8. 
 
 § " The abstinence and humility of Omar," says Gihhon " were not inferior to the 
 virtues of Abu Batr : his food consisted of barley-bread or dates : his drink was 
 ■water ; he preached in a gown that was torn or tattered in twelve places, and a Persian 
 satrap who paid his homage to the conqueror, found him asleep among the beggars on 
 the steps of the mosque of Medina." Decline and Fall. 
 
 II Abu A'bdu'llah Sufyan at Thauri-b-Sa'id-b-MasrIik was a native of Kufah and 
 of the highest authority in traditions and other sciences. He was made Kadhi of 
 Ktifah by al Mahdi, but he fled and concealed himself to avoid the honour and its heavy 
 responsibility — an amusing account of this is given by Ibn Khallikan, SufyAu was 
 born A. H. 95 (A. D. 713-4), and died at Basrah A. H. 161 (777-8). 
 
 1 The printed edition has Shurayk, but this is an error. There is no one of any 
 note bearing that name, while Abu A'bdu'llah Sharik an Nakha'i was the person who 
 was appointed Kddlii of KHfah, after Sufyfa at Thauri s flight. He was a strong up- 
 holder of All's merits, and his evidence is therefore adduced in proof of the superiority, 
 
[ 125 ] 
 
 observed, ' no oiie who hath goodness in him, placeth A'li before Abu Bakr 
 and Omar.' And Abu Usamah says ' do ye know who were Abu Bakr 
 and Omar ? — those two men were the father of Islam and its mother. 
 And Jaa'far as Sddik,* ' I am quit of any one who mentioneth Abu Bakr 
 or Omar otherwise than favorably.' " 
 
 On the coincidences of the sayings of Omar with the Kuran wMcTi some of 
 the learned compute at more than twenty. 
 
 Ibn Mardawayh records on the authority of MujAhid that Omar 
 would form a judgment and the Kuran would reveal it. And Ibn Asakir 
 from Ali, that he said, " verily there are in the Kuran some judgments 
 after the judgment of Omar ;" and from Ibn Omar, an ascription reach- 
 ing to the prophet, " the people never spake regarding a thing, Omar 
 likewise having spoken regarding it, but the Kurdn was revealed after the 
 manner that Omar had spoken." And the two Shaykhs from Omar that 
 he said, " I was in accordance with my Lord in three things ; I said ' 
 Apostle of God if we were to take the station of Abraham for a place of 
 prayer, and there was revealed, take the station of Abraham for a 
 place of prayers' (Kur. II) : and I said, ' Apostle of God, there go 
 unto thy women the righteous and the sinner, and did thou but command 
 them to be veiled !' — then Was revealed the verse regarding the veiling ; 
 and the vrives of the prophet assembled in indignation and I said, ' if he 
 divorce you, his Lord can easily give him in exchange better wives than 
 you.' (Kur. LXVI) and the like unto that was revealed." And Muslim 
 from Omar that he said, " I was in accordance with my Lord in three 
 things — ^regarding the veiling — regarding the prisoners of Badr — and the 
 station of Abraham." Therefore in this tradition there is a fourth in- 
 stance : again according to the Tahdib of an Nawawi, the Kuran was re- 
 vealed coincidently with his judgment, regarding the prisoners of Badr — 
 the veiling — the station of Abraham and the prohibition of wine. Thus 
 
 universally acknowledged, of Abu Bakr and Omar. I can, however, find in Ibn Khalli. 
 kan no hint of Shank's assertion of the pre-eminence of Abu Bakr and Omar — the 
 evidence seems quite the other way, and I strongly suspect that as Suyuti's citation is 
 not to be trusted. 
 
 * The Imam Abu A'bdu'llah Jaa'far as Sadik (the Veracious) foiuih iu descent 
 from Ali-b-Abi Talib, born A. H. 80 (A. D. 699), died and buried at Medina A. H. 
 148 (766). The same tomb contains the bodies of his father Muhammad al Bakir, his 
 grandfather A'li Zayn u'l A'abidin and his grandfather's uncle, al Hasan son of A'li. 
 " How rich a tomb," says Ibn Khallikan "ia generosity and nobility !" 
 
[ 126 ] 
 
 a fifth instance is added, the tradition regarding which is in the Sunan 
 and the Mustadrak of al Hakim, namely, that he said, ' O God, manifest 
 ■unto Tis regarding wine, a distinct declaration ;' God then revealed its prohi- 
 bition.* 
 
 Ibn Abi Hatim records in his Commentary on the authority of 
 Anas that Omar said, " I was in accordance with my Lord in four things — 
 the following verse was revealed, ' we formerly created man in a finer sort 
 of clay' &c. (Kur. XXIII) and when it was revealed, I said, ' wherefore, 
 blessed be God, the most excellent Creator,' and then came down, ' Wherei 
 fore blessed be God, the most excellent Creator.'f (Kur. XXIII). A 
 sixth instance is thus added in this tradition, and for the tradition there 
 is another line of ascrip'tion which I have adduced in the Tafsir u'l 
 Musnad. Again I have seen in the work ' Tadhail u'l Imamayn' {Distin- 
 guishing merits of tlie two 'Lmkxa%),hj AhxL A'bdu'Ilah as Shaybani, that 
 Omar was in accordance with his Lord in one and twenty instances. He 
 mentions these six and adds 
 
 7th. " The story of A'bdu'Uah-b-Ubayy." I observe that its tradition is 
 in the Sahih on the authority of Omar who said, " when A'bdu'llah-b- 
 Ubayy died, the Apostle of God was invited to read prayers over him, and 
 he stood over him, but I arose and advanced until I was abreast of him and 
 said, ' Apostle of God ! what ! over the enemy of God, the son of Ubayy 
 who said one day such and such a thing, — and by Allah, but a little 
 while after there came down " Neither do thou pray over any of them who 
 shall die" &c.' " Kur. IX). J 
 
 8th. " ' They will ask thee concerning wine &c.' (Kur. 11). 
 
 9th. " ' O true believers, come not to prayers when ye are drunk' (IV). 
 I remark that these two with the verse from the Sura of the ' Table' (IV) 
 are but one single instance, and the three are in the preceding tradition. 
 
 10th. " When the Apostle of God was frequent in asking pardon for a 
 faction, Omar said, ' it shall be equal unto them ;' then God revealed ' It 
 shall be equal unto them, whether thou ask pardon for them' (Kur. 
 LXIII). I observe that at Tabarani has recorded this on the authority 
 of Ibn A'bb^s. 
 
 11th. " When Muhammad consulted the Companions regarding the ad- 
 vance to Badr, Omar counselled the advance, and there came down • as 
 the Lord brought thee forth from thy house, &c.,' (Kur. VIII). 
 
 * In Chs. Ill and V. 
 
 t These words are ascribed by Sale to A'bdu'Uah-b-Saa'd, Muhammad's amanu- 
 ensis. See Sale's %mc. p. 108. 
 
 X For the story, consult Sale, p. 159. 
 
[ 127 ] 
 
 12th. ■ " When he consulted the Companions regarding the affair of the 
 Falsehood,* Omar said, ' who gave her to thee in marriage, Apostle of 
 God ?' He replied ' Allah' — Omar said, ' dost thou then think that thy 
 Lord would put a deceit upon thee regarding her ? God forbid ! this is a 
 grievous calumny,' (Kur. XXIV), and the like was revealed. 
 
 13th. " The account concerning him in the matter of the fast when 
 Omar went in unto his wife after waking from sleep, and that was forbid- 
 den in the beginning of Islam ; and there was revealed, ' it is lawful for 
 you on the night of the fast, &c.' (Kur. II). I note that Ahmad has 
 recorded this in his Musnad. 
 
 14th. " The words of the Most High ' whoever is an enemy to Gabriel, 
 &c.,' (Kur. II). I not.e that Ibn u'z Zubayr'and others have recorded this 
 with numerous lines of ascription and the nearest of these to coincidence 
 with the Kurdn is that recorded by Ibn Abi Hakim on the authority of 
 A'bdu'r Rahman-b-Abi Laylah, viz., that a Jew met Omar and said, ' verily 
 Gabriel, he whom your master speaketh of, is an enemy to us ;' and Omar 
 saidto him, ' whosoever is an enemy to God, or his angels, or his Apostles, 
 or to Gabriel or Michael, verily God is an enemy to the unbelievers.' 
 (Kur. II) . Thus it was revealed by the tongue of Omar. 
 
 15th. " The words of the Most High. ' And by thy Lord, they will 
 not perfectly believe, &c.,' (Kur. IV). I observe that Ibn Abi Hatim and 
 Ibn Mardawayh have recorded the story of this, on the authority of Abu'l 
 Aswad, who said, .' tw.o men carried their dispute for decision before the 
 prophet, and he judged between them, and the man against whom he had 
 decided, said, " let us appeal to Omar the son of al Khattab," and they 
 went to him, and the other maxi said, "the Apostle of God has judged in 
 my favour against this man, but he exclaimed let us appeal to Omar ;" and 
 Omar said, " was it so ?" He replied " yes." Then Omar said, "■ stay where 
 ye are until I come out unto you," ' and he went out to them grasping his 
 sword, and he smote him who had said, ' let ns appeal to Omar,' and slew 
 him and the other went back and said, ' Apostle of God ! Omar hath 
 slain my Companion.' He answered ' I should not have thought that 
 Omar would dare to slay a true believer.' Then God revealed, ' and by 
 thy Lord they will noi perfectly belieye,' &c. Thus the blood of the man 
 was made lawful and Omar was absolved from the guilt of his death. To 
 this tradition there is also concurrent testimony which I have adduced in 
 the Tafsir u'l Musnad. 
 
 16th. " The asking permission to enter, and this was because his slave 
 vrent in to him, while ha was sleeping, and he said, ' God ! forbid their 
 
 * The imputations against the conduct of Ayesha when she was accidentally left 
 behind on the return march to Medina after the expedition againat the Banu Mustalik, 
 see Sale, p. 288^ 
 
[ 128 ] 
 
 entrance ;' and there'Vas revealed the verse regarding the asking permis- 
 sion (Kur. XXIV.) 
 
 17th. "His words concerning the Jews. ' Verily they are a people 
 not seeing the right course.'* 
 
 18th. " The words of the Most High, ' And.there shall be many of the 
 former and many of the latter.' (Kur. XXXVI) I note that Ibn A'sakir 
 has recorded the story of this in his history, on the authority of Jabir-b- 
 A'bdu'Uah and it is in the Asbab u'n Nuzul (Reasons of Revelation). 
 
 19th. " He adduced the citationf ' The man and woman of advanced 
 years when they commit adultery,' &c. 
 
 20th. " On the day of Ohud, when Abu Sufyan called out, ' is there 
 a certain one among the people ?' his saying, ' do. not answer him,' and 
 the Apostle of God acted conformably to his counsel. I note that Ahmad 
 has recorded this in his Musnad." 
 
 As Shayhomi continues, " and there should be added to this, that 
 which Othman-b-Sa'id a'd Darami in the work ' The Refutation of the 
 Jahmiyah,'J has recorded from Salim-b-A'bd'illah, that Kaa'b al Ahbar 
 said, ' woe unto the king of earth from the king of heaven ;' and Omar 
 exclaimed, ' save unto him who calleth himself to account,' and Kaa'b 
 replied ' by Him in whose hand is my life, verily it is in the Pentateuch — 
 thou hast indeed said according to it,' and Omar fell worshipping." 
 
 I have also seen in the Kamil of Ibn A'di on the authority of Ibn 
 Omar that Bilal used to call out, when he summoned to prayers, " I testify 
 that there _is no God, but God — come ye to prayers," and Omar said to 
 him, " say at the end of it, ' I testify that Muhammad is the Apostle of 
 God ;' and the Apostle of God said, ' say as Omar hath spoken.' " 
 
 On Ms miracles. 
 
 Al Bayhaki and Abu Nua'ym have both of them recorded in the proofti 
 of prophecy, and al Ldlakai in the commentary on the Tradition, and ad 
 Dayr§ A'akuli in his observations, and Ibn al Aa'r4bi|| in the " Miracles 
 
 * This refers to Kur. II. j*^ ^S^^ '■=**^ 
 
 + A case of this kind was brought before Omar, and he directed them to be stoned, 
 quoting^ at the same time this verse which was revealed but never written. It is not 
 to be found in the KurAn, but retains all the authority of the written ordinances. 
 
 % A sect of the l^adaris who deny absolute predestination. 
 
 i Dayr u'l A'dktil is a town situated on the Tigris fifteen parasangs distant £pom 
 Baghdad. The traditionist here alluded to is probably Yahya Abdu'l Karim-b-u'l 
 Haytham who died in A. H. 278. Takii( M. B. 
 
 II Abu Abdu'llah Muhammad-b-Ziyad, a genealogist and philologar of the highest 
 
[ 129 ] 
 
 of the saints," and al Khatib in the Traditionists of Malik, on the authori- 
 ty of Ibn Omar, that he said, " Omar had despatohed an army at the head 
 ■of which was a man called Sariyah, and while Omar was one day preaching 
 he hegan to call out, ' Sdriyah ! the hill !' three times. After this ar- 
 rived a messenger from the army, and Omar questioned him and he said, ' O 
 prince of the faithful, we were being routed, and while we were thus, lo! 
 we heard a voice calling out, " Sdiriyah ! the hill," three times, so we 
 stayed our backs against the hill, and the Lord put them to flight.' He 
 adds — ' they said to Omar, " verily thou didst call out so." This hill near 
 to which Sariyah was, is by Nahawand in Persian Irak.' " Ibn Mardawayh 
 records from Ibn Omar that he said, " Omar was preaching on a Friday, 
 when he uttered vague words in his discourse saying, ' O Sariyah ! the hill ! 
 he who asketh of the wolf to keep guard, doth wrong :' and the people 
 looked one upon the other, and A'li said to them, ' let him explain what 
 he hath said.' And when he ceased, they asked of him, and he replied, 
 ' we thought that the infidels had routed our brethren, who verily were 
 passing by a hill, and if they inclined towards it, they would have to fight 
 on one front only, and if they passed heyond it they would be destroyed ; 
 then there went forth from me what ye thought ye heard.' He adds 
 that a messenger arrived a month afterwards, .and said that they had heard 
 the voice of Omar on that day, and he .continued, ' we inclined towards 
 :the hill and God gave us the victory.' " 
 
 Abu Nua'ym records in the "Proofs" from A'mr-b-u'l Harith* that he 
 ,aaid, " while Omar was preaching on a Friday, lo ! he abruptly checked his 
 discourse and exclaimed — ' Sariyah ! the hill !' twice or three times, and 
 then proceeded with his preaching, and some who were present exclaimed 
 'verily he raveth — surely he is mad.' Whereon A'bdu'r Ea^man-b- 
 A'uf who had confidence in him, went to him and said — 'thou givest them 
 occasion to speak against thee, for whilst thou wert preaching, behold ! 
 thou didst cry out " Sariyah, the hill!" — what meaneth this?' He 
 replied, ' verily, by Allah, I could not restrain it ! I saw them fighting 
 near a hill, and they were being attacked in their front and rear, and I 
 could not help exclaiming " 0, Sariyah ! the hill," that they might gain 
 the hill.' And they tarried until the messenger of Sariyah arrived with 
 his despatch, saying, " the enemy met us upon a Friday, and we fought 
 them until, when the hour of congregating for prayer arrived, we heard 
 
 reputation ; a list of his works is given by Ibn Khali. He was hom A. H. 160 (767) 
 and died at Sarraman-raa A. H. 231 (846). 
 
 * A'mr-b-u'l Harith b-Abi Dhirar, a native of Kufah and a Companion. He was 
 the brother of Juayriyah one of Muljammad's wives and of the Banu Mustali^. An 
 Nawawi. 
 
 17 
 
[ 130 ] 
 
 one calling out ' Sariyah ! the hill !' twice, and we gained the hill and 
 we continued to prevail over our enemy until the Lord defeated them and 
 slew them." ' Then those that had reproached Omar, said, ' leave this 
 man alone, for verily he is in collusion with him.' " 
 
 Abu'l giasim-b-Bishran in his Fawaid records on the authority of Ibn 
 Omar, that Omar b-u'l Khattab said, to a man, "what is thy name?" 
 He replied, " Jamrah" {a live coal). He said, " The son of whom ?" He 
 answered, " the son of Shihab" {flame). He asked, "of what tribe?" he re- 
 plied, " al Hurkah" IJieat). He said, "where is thy dwelling?" he an- 
 swered, " at al Harrah" {warmth). He asked, " at which of them ?" He 
 replied " of Dat Ladha" (filaeing). Then Omar said, " go to thy family 
 for verily they have been burnt." And the man returned and found that 
 his people had been burnt to death. 
 
 Abu'l Shaykh records in the Kitab u'l A'dhamat {Booh of greatness) 
 on the authority of Ifays-b-u'l Hajjdj, who had it from one who related it 
 to him, that when Egypt was conquered, A'mr-b-u'l A'As arrived on a cer- 
 tain day of one of the Coptic months, and the Jieople said to him, " verily 
 our Nile hath an observance without which it will not rise." He asked 
 " and what is that ?" They said, " when eleven nights of this month* 
 have elapsed, we seek a girl, a virgin, living with her parents, and we 
 obtain the consent of her parents, and we robe her with garments and 
 ornaments, the best that can be had,, and throw her into this Nile." And 
 A'mr said to them — " this can never be in Islam for verily Islam 
 destroyeth what preceded it." They therefore departed, and the Nile 
 rose neither little nor much, so that they meditated leaving their country. 
 And when A'mr saw that, he wrote to Omar-b-u'l Khattab concerning 
 it, g.nd Omar replied to him, saying, " verily thou hast acted rightly in 
 what thou hast done, for verily, Isldm destroyeth what preceded it," and 
 he sent a slip of paper within his letter, and wrote to A'mr, saying, " verily, 
 I have sent thee a slip of paper' within my letter, which cast into the 
 Nile." And when the letter of Omar reached A'mr-b-u'l A' as, he took the 
 slip of paper and opened it, and behold, there was in it, " From the servant 
 of God, the Prince of the Faithful, to the Nile of Egypt— Now, if thou 
 didst rise of thy own power, then rise not, but if the Lord caused thee to 
 rise, then I implore the Lord, the One, the Conqueror, to make thee 
 rise !" And he cast the slip of paper into the Nile, a day beforef the 
 Festival of the Cross. And when they entered upon the next morning, 
 
 • Abu'l Mahaein determines this to be the Oopldo month of Bunah, that is, the 
 Syrian month of Huzayr&ii or our June approximately. Nujum uz Zahirah. 
 
 t Abu'l Mahfisin has fj^J vHS^-" "^ (ji ^ This date, according to the 
 Calendars of the Eastern and Western Churches, is the 14th September. 
 
[ 131 ] 
 
 verily the Lord had caused it to rise sixteen, cubits in a single night ; thus 
 the Lord put an end to this custom' among the people of Egypt up to this 
 day. 
 
 Ibn A'sdkir records on the authority of Tarik-b-Shihab* that he said, 
 " if a man spoke with Omar in conversation and told him a falsehood, he 
 would say, ' withhold this,' then as he continued the conversation, ho 
 would say, * withhold this also,' and the man would say to him, ' all that 
 I said to thee was the truth, except what thou didst command me to with- 
 hold.' And from al Hasan that he said, ' if there was a man who knew a 
 falsehood when it was spoken, it was Omar-b-u'l Khattab.' " 
 
 Al Bayhaki records in the Proofs on the authority of Abu Hudbah al 
 Him§i that he said, " Omar was informed that the people of Irak had 
 pelted with stones their governor, and he wenj} forth in a violent anger 
 and prayed, but was distracted in his prayers, and when he came to the 
 salutation, he said, ' God, verily they have put confusion upon me, there- 
 fore put thou confusion upon them, and place over them a youth of the 
 Banu Thaklf who may rule over them after the manner of the rule of 
 the time of Ignorance, not receiving with favour the beneficent among 
 them, and not pardoning their evildoers.' "' I observe that he referred by 
 this, to al Hajjaj. Ibn Lahia'hf says that at that time al Hajjaj was 
 not born. 
 
 On some particulars of his character. ' 
 
 Ibn Saa'd records on the authority of al Ahnaf-b-u'l KaysJ that he 
 said, " we wefe seated at Omar's door, when there passed by a slave girl, 
 
 * Abu A'bdu'Uah, Tarik b-Shihab the Companion. He was bom before the risa 
 of Islam, and fought in about thirty or forty expeditions under Abu Bakr and Omar. 
 He was a native of Kufah and died there in A. H. 83. Ad. Nawawi. 
 
 t Abu A'bdu'r Eahmau A'bda'llah-b-Lahia'h al Ghafiki, a native of Egypt was 
 a narrator of traditions and historical narratives and pieces in prose and verse but 
 of weak memory and of little repute. He was appointed Kadhi of Old Cairo by 
 Abu Jaa'far al Manjur A. H. 155 (A. D. 772) and removed from ofSoe A. H. 
 164. He was the first !^adhi who made it his duty to be present when watch was 
 kept for the new moon in Eamadhan but this custom was discontinued under the 
 Fatimite dynasty and re-established by Salah ud Dm. He died at Old Cairo A. H. 
 174 (790) or some say A. H. 170, aged eighty-one. Ibn Khali. 
 
 i Abu Bakr ad Dahhak-b-Kays (a different person from the one who fell at Marj 
 Kahit) surnamed at Tamimi, was generally known as al Ahnaf or the Clubfoot. Hs 
 was chief of his tribe and held high rank among the Xabi'is and possessed a great 
 
E 132 1 
 
 and tliey said, ' she is the concubine of the Prince of the Faithful.' And 
 Omar exclaimed, ' she is not a concubine of the Prince of the Faithful 
 and is not lawful to him, verily she is the property of the Lord.'* Then 
 ■we said, ' what then is lawful to him of the property of the Most High 
 God ?' He replied, ' verily, nothing is lawful to Omar of what belongeth 
 to the Lord, but two garments, a garment for winter and a garment for 
 summer, and what may enable him to perform the pilgrimage and the 
 religious visitations, and my sustenance and that of my family is like 
 unto that of a man of the Kuraysh, neither the richest nor the poorest 
 of them. Beyond this I am but a man among the Muslims.' Khuzay- 
 mah-b-Thabitt says, that when Omar appointed a ruler, be would write to 
 him and make it conditional upon him, that he should not ride a palfrey, 
 nor eat delicacies, nor clothe himself in fine garments, nor close his doors 
 against the needy, for if he should do this, verily punishment would come 
 upon him." A'krimah-b-Khalid and others narrate, that HafsahJ and 
 A'bdu'llah and some others expostalated with Omar and said, " if thou 
 wert to eat good food, it would confirm thee in maintaining the truth:" he 
 exclaimed, " are ye all of this opinion ?" They said, " yes." He replied, " I 
 understand your counsel, but I have left my two Companions upon a road, 
 and if I depart from their road, I shall not find them at the journey's end." 
 He adds, " and a dearth fell upon the people, and he eat that year, neither 
 butter nor fat." Ibn Abi Mulaykah narrates that U'kbah-b-Farkad spoke 
 to Omar about his food, and he exclaimed, "fie on thee, 'shaU I eat of 
 . good things during my life in this world, and seek enjoyment in them." 
 Al Hasan states that Omar went in to his son A'asim who' was eating flesh 
 meat, and he exclaimed, " what is this ?" He replied, " I had a great craving 
 for it." Omar retorted, " dost thou eat everything thou hast i craving 
 for ? It would be sufficiently immoderate in a man that he should eat all 
 that he desired." Aslam mentions that Omar said, " a craving for fresh 
 fish hath come upon me." He continues, " whereon Yarfa§ mounted his 
 
 reputation for aouteness, learning and prudence. Hia influence was such, that, as 
 Mu'iwiyah's sister said of him, if he were angered, he had one hundred thousand of 
 the tribe of Tamim to share his anger without asking him the reason of it. He died 
 at Kufah about A. H. 67- The notice of his life in Ibn Khali will repay perusal. 
 
 • /. e. The State Treasury, used for the benefit of all the Muslims. 
 
 + Abu TJ'm&ah Khuzaymah-b-Thabit, was one of the Auxiliaries, and a native of 
 Medina. Surnamed also Khatmah, from his once smiting a man on the nose (/th^) 
 He fought al Badr and other battles, and was present with A'U at the fight of the 
 Camel, and at SifFin whore he himself was killed A. H. 37. An Nawawi. 
 
 % His daughter (wife of Muljammad) : A'bdu'Uah was his son. 
 
 § The frecdman of Omar. 
 
[ 133 ] 
 
 camel and rode four miles on and four miles back and purcliased a basket- 
 ful of a miktal weight,* and brought it, and then betook himself to his 
 camel and washed it down and repaired to Omar who said, ' come, that I 
 may see the camel,' and he looked upon it and exclaimed, ' thou hast for- 
 gotten to cleanse this sweat that is under its ear. An animal hath been 
 punished to serve the appetite of Omar — no, by Allah, Omar shall not taste 
 of thy basket.' " 
 
 Katddah says, that Omar when he was Caliph, used to wear a garment 
 of woollen stuff patched partly with leather, and would wander through 
 the streets with a scourge over his shoulders with which he chastised the peo- 
 ple, and passing by bits of rag and dates, he would gather them up and throw 
 them into the houses of people, that they might make use of them. Anas 
 says, " I saw between the shoulders of Omar, four patches in his shirt." 
 And Abu Othman an Nahdi, " I saw upon Omar a nether garment patched 
 with leather." And A'bdu'llah-b-A'amir-b-Eabii'h,t " I made the pil- 
 grimage with Omar, and he erected neither a tent of goat's hair, nor one 
 of wool — he would throw his cloak, and mat of dressed skin upon a bush 
 and seek shelter beneath it." And A'bdu'llah-b-Isa, " upon the face of 
 Omar were two dark furrows worn from weeping." And al Hasan, " Omar 
 would come to a verse of the Kuran of his daily recitation, and would fall 
 down in a faint so that it would be some days before he recovered." And 
 Anas, " I entered an enclosure and I heard Omar say — and between me and 
 between him there was a wall" — " Omar, son of al Khattab, Prince of the 
 Faithful ! good ! by Allah, thou must fear God, son of al Khattab, or 
 He will surely punish thee !" And A'bdu'llah-b-Aamir-b-Eabii'h, " I saw 
 Omar take up a straw from the ground, and he said, ' would that I were 
 this straw ! O ! would that I were nothing ! would that my mother had not 
 borne me !' " And U'baydu'Uah-b-Omar-b-Hafs, " Omar-b-u'l Khattab car- 
 ried upon his neck a skin of water, and people expostulated with him re- 
 garding it, and he said — ' my spirit made me vain, and I wished to abase 
 it.' And Muhammad-b-Sirin, a kinsman of Omar's went to him and 
 besought him to make him a grant from the public treasury, but Omar 
 reproved him and said, ' dost thou wish that I should meet God a faith- 
 less, prince ?' and he bestowed upon him ten thousand dirhams from his 
 own property." And an Nakha'i, " Omar used to carry on trade while he 
 was Caliph." And Anas, " the stomach of Omar used to rumble from eating 
 
 * About 80 lbs. 
 
 t Descended from A'nz the son of "Wail and a confederate of al Khattab the 
 father of Omar. He was born four years before Muhammad's death, and his father 
 was a Companion of note, ' He died A. H. 85. An Nawawi. 
 
[ 134 ] 
 
 oli^re oil in the year of destruction,* and verilj he had forbidden himself 
 the use of butter, and he tapped his stomach with his finger and said 
 ' verily there is nothing else for us but that, until the people have the 
 means of living.' And Sufyan-b-U'aynah narrates that Omar said, ' the 
 most beloved of men to me, is he who discovers to me my faults.' Aslam 
 says, ' I saw Omar the son of al Khattab take a horse by the ear, and with^ 
 the other hand holding his own ear, leap upon the back of the horse.' 
 And Ibn Omar, ' I never saw Omar, in a passion, but he restrained himself 
 from what he sought to do when God was mentioned to him or the fear 
 of God put into him, or a man read him a verse of the Kuran.' Bilal 
 said to Aslam, ' what do you think of Omar ?' He replied, ' he is the 
 best of men, but when he is angry, it is a fearful thing,' and Eilal said, 
 ' if thou art by him when he is angry; thou hast but to read the Kuran 
 to him until his ^anger departs.' Al Ahwas-b-Hakim narrates on the 
 authority of his father, that some flesh-meat was brought to Omar dressed 
 with butter, but he refused to eat them and said ' they are both delica- 
 cies.' Ibn Saa'd gives all these details and records on the authority of 
 al Hasan that Omar said, ' The simple way by which I govern the people- 
 is that I frequently change their rulers.' " 
 
 On Ms appearance. 
 
 Ibn Saa'd and al Hakim record on the authority of Zirr.f that ha 
 said, " I went forth with the people of Medina on a festival day, and I 
 saw Omar walking barefoot ; he was advanced in years, bald, of a tawny 
 colour — a left-handed man, tall and towering over the people." Al Wakidi 
 observes, " it was not known to us that Omar was tawny coloured, unless 
 it was that Zirr saw him in the year of destruction, when verily, his colour 
 might have altered while he eat olive oil." Ibn Saa'd states on the 
 authority of Ibn Omar that the latter was describing Omar and said, " he 
 was a man fair of complexion, a ruddy tint prevailing, tall, bald and grey." 
 And from U'bayd-b-U'mayr " Omar used to overtop the people in height." 
 And from Salimah-b-u'l Akwaa', " Omar was ambidexter, that is, that he 
 could use both his hands equally well." 
 
 * The 17th year of the Flight in which men and cattle perished in great numhera. 
 The word comes from ^Ujj ashes ; — heing thus called, hecause the earth became like 
 ashes by reason of the drought. Lane. 
 
 t Probably Abu Miriam Zirr, Hubaysh-b-Hubdsa, a member of the tribo of Asad 
 and a native of Kufah. Ho was a great master in the art of reading the i^urdu and 
 celebrated as a philologiSr. Ho died at a very advanced age A. H, 82 (A. D 701). Do 
 Slano, I. K. 
 
[ 135 ] 
 
 Ibn A'sakir records from Abu Eaja al U'taridi that he said, " Omar 
 was a man, tall, stout, very bald, very ruddy, with scanty hair on the 
 cheeks, his moustache large, and the ends of it reddish." In the history 
 of Ibn A'sdkir, it is recorded with various ascriptions, that the mother of 
 Omar-b-u'l Khattab, was Hantamah, the daughter of Hisham b-u'l Mu- 
 ghirah, and sister of Abu Jahl-b-Hisham ; thus Abu Jahl was his maternal 
 uncle. 
 
 On. Ms OalipTiate. 
 
 He assumed the Caliphate according to the bequest of Abu Bakr in A. H. 13. 
 Juraada'l Akhirah, the thirteenth year of the Plight. Az Zuhri says that A. D. 634. 
 Omar was elected to the Vicegerency on the day of the death of Abu 
 Bakr and that was on Tuesday, the 22nd. of Jumada'l Akhirah, (recorded by 
 al Hdkim). He directed the government with the most complete success 
 and victories were numerous during his time. 
 
 In the year 14 A. H. Damascus was taken, partly by convention, 
 partly by force : Emessa and Baa'lbek* by convention, and Basrah and 
 UbuUah, both by force. In the same year, Omar assembled the people 
 for the prayers called at Tarawiht (al A'skari in the Awail). 
 
 In the year 15 A. H. the whole of the country of the Jordan was sub- 
 dued by force of arms, save Tiberias which was taken by convention ; and in 
 the same, occurred the battles of Yermuk J and Kadisiyyah. (Ibn Jarir.) 
 During the same Saa'd§ founded Kdfah, and Omar established stipends for 
 the soldiers and instituted the registers, and assigned allowances according 
 to priority of merit. || 
 
 In the year 16 A. H. al Ahwaz was taken and al Maddin, and in the 
 latter, Saa'd held the Friday prayers in the hall of Khusrau, and this was the 
 first congregation assembled in Irak, and that was in the month of Safar. 
 In the same year was the battle of Jalula^ in which Tezdajird grandson 
 of Khusrau was defeated and fled to Eai ; Takrit was captured and 
 
 • According to Taktit, the pronunciation of this is »-*^"^ — Ba'lubakka. 
 
 t See ETote, p. 21. 
 
 % Hieromax, a stream formed by the springs of Mount Hermon, which loses 
 itself in the Jordan below the lake of Tiberias. 
 
 § Ibn Abi Wakkas. 
 
 II See an Nawawi. Art. Omar. 
 
 H A river that flows through Ba'kuba, and where the Persians were defeated with 
 great slaughter, no less than a hundred thousand it is said, having fallen. The river 
 took its name of Jallila, says Yakut, from the excessive \ (JU.) number of the slain. 
 
[ 136 ] 
 
 Omar marched and took Jerusalem, and preached at al Jabiyah* his famous 
 discourse. And in the same Kinnasrin was taken by force of arms, and 
 Aleppo and Antioch, and Manbij by treaty andSanij by force, and Kirkisiyah 
 by treaty. In the month of Kabii' u'l Awwal, the Era of the Flight was 
 adopted by the advice of A'li. 
 A. D. 638. In the year 17 A. H. Omar ejoJairged the mosque of the prophet, and 
 
 A. H. 17. a famine occurred in Hijaz and it was called the year of destruction and 
 Omar through the merits of A'bbas prayed for rain for the people. Ibn 
 Saa'd records on the authority of Niyar al Aslami, that when Omar went 
 forth to pray for rain he appeared with the mantle of the Apostle of God 
 upon him. And from Ibn A'unf that he said, " Omar took the hand of 
 Abbds, and lifted it up and said, ' God ! I implore Thee by the uncle of 
 Thy prophet, that Thou wilt cause this drought to pass away from us, and 
 send down rain upon us ;' and they did not quit the place till it rained, 
 and the heavens poured down rain upon them for days." During the same 
 year al Ahwaz was taken by treaty. 
 
 In the year 18 A. H., Jundaysabdr was occupied by convention, and 
 Hulwan by force. A pestilence also occurred at Emaus ; Edessa and Sumay- 
 sat were taken by force, and Harran and Nagibin and a part of Mesopota- 
 mia by force (though some say by convention), and Mosal and its adjacent 
 districts. 
 
 In the year 19 A, H., CsesareaJ was overpowered. In the year 20 
 A. H. Egypt was conquered by force of arms, though it is also said, that 
 with the exception of Alexandria which was taken, the whole of Egypt sur- 
 rendered under convention. Ali-b-Eab4h says that the whole of Mauritania 
 was won by force of arms,§ : Tustar|| was also taken possession of. In 
 the same died the Eoman Emperor {Seraclius), and Omar expelled 
 the Jews from Khaybar and Najran and apportioned Khaybar and Wadi u'l 
 Elura among those who had been present at the eacpedition.''^ 
 
 In the year 21 A. H. Alexandria was taken by storm, and Nahdwand, 
 and after this the Persians were unable to muster an army : also Barkah 
 and other places. 
 
 * In the province of Jaydlir in Palestine — Omar's discourse will be found in the 
 Futuhu's Shiim of al Azdi, p. 227. 
 
 t The freedman of MiBwar-t-Makhramah, the Companion. 
 
 J This word in the original should be spelt with a (j° instead of a jj» 
 
 § Gibhon places the complete conquest seven years later under Othmto, the conduct 
 of the invasion being entrusted to the foster-brother of the Caliph, A'bdu'Uah-b-Saa'd, 
 the amanuensis of Muhammad. 
 
 II The present Shiister in EJiuzistSn. Ya^tit. 
 
 f "Wadi u'l '^\sxB. is between Tayma and Khaybar. The expedition directed by 
 Muhammad took_place A. H. 7. For the apportionment of the lands, my authority is 
 Yalfut. 
 
[ 137 ] 
 
 In the year 22 A. II. jALdarbijdn was subdued by force, others say A. H. 22. 
 surrendered under convention, and Dinaur, Masabddn, and Hamaddn cap- A. D. 642-3. 
 tured, and Tripoli in Morocco and Eai and A'skar and Kumas. 
 
 In the year 23 A. H. took place the conquest of Kirman, Sajistdn, and 
 Makrdn of the mountainous districts, and Ispahan and its dependencies. 
 
 Towards the close of the year occurred the death of our prince Omarj 
 after his return from the pilgrimage, he being martyred. Sa'id-b-u'l 
 Musayyab says that when Omar returned from Mina,* he made his camel 
 kneel in the watercourse and throwing himself backwards, lifted up his 
 hands to heaven, and exclaimed, "O God ! I am advanced in years and my 
 strength has failed, and my zeal dissipated ; take me therefore to thyself 
 while as yet I have not fallen short of my duty nor exceeded due bounds ;" 
 and the month of Du'l Hijjah did not elapse before he was slain, (al 
 Hakim) (3rd November 6di4). 
 
 Abu Salih as Sammanf narrates that Kaa'b u'l Ahbar said to Omar, 
 " I find in the Pentateuch that thou wilt be martyred." He replied, " how 
 can martyrdom be mine, I being in the land of Arabia ?" And Aslam, that . 
 
 Omar said, " God, give me for my portion, martyrdom in thy cause, 
 and grant that my death may be in the city of Thy Apostle," (al Bukhari). 
 Maa'dan-b-Abi Talhah narrates that Omar preached and said, " I beheld a 
 vision as if a fowl had struck me with its beak one or two blows, and 
 verily I see in it but my approaching death. And verily there are some 
 who enjoin me to name a successor, and indeed the Lord will not neglect J 
 His faith and His Vicegerency, but if anything overtake me, then the 
 Vicegerency is to be determined by consultation among those six with 
 whom the Apostle of God, when he died, approved"- (al Hakim). Az 
 Zuhri states that Omar used not to suffer a captive who had reached the 
 age of puberty, to enter Medina, but al Mughirah-b-Shuu'bah, being in 
 Kufah, wrote to him and mentioned to him that he had with him, a youth, 
 a cunning workman, and asked his permission that he might enter Medina, 
 and added that he was a master of several trades profitable to the people, 
 for he was a blacksmith, an engraver and a carpenter. Omar therefore 
 gave him permission to send him to Medina, and al Mughirah put a tax§ 
 upon him of one hundred dirhams a month. He, however, went to Omar 
 
 * The return from Mina to Mecca during the ceremonies of the pilgrimage, ia 
 called an Nafr or the Flight. 
 
 t Abu Salih as Samman named also Dhakwan and sumamed az Zaiyat, was a 
 Mawla of the tribe of Ghatfan and an eminent Traditionist, died at Medina A. H. 101 
 (719-20). De Slane, I. K. 
 
 X Compare Kur. II, aSCJI+jI fA/iJ;.' i^\ ^Ji l-oj 
 
 § That is, that ho was to pay that sum to his master from his earnings. 
 
 18 
 
[ 138 1 
 
 A. H. 23. and complained of the severity of the tax, hut Omar replied that the tax 
 A. D. 643. was not excessive ; he, therefore, departed indignantly murmuring. Omar 
 waited some days and then sent for him and said, " was not I informed 
 that thou sayest, that if thou wouldst thou art able to make a mill that 
 will grind by means of the wind ?" He looked upon Omar sullenly and said, 
 " verily I will make a mill for thee that men shall talk about," : when he 
 retired, Omar said to those that were about him, " the slave but now 
 threatened me." After a little, Abu Lliliiah* took a double-bladed dagger, 
 having its haft in the middle, and hid in a corner of one of the^recesses of 
 the mosque before day-break, and remained there until Omar came forth 
 rousing the people to prayers, and when he drew near him, he stabbed him 
 with three blows. (Ibn Saa'd.) A'mr-b-Maymdn the Auxiliary narrates, 
 that Abu Luliiah, the slave of al Mughirah, struck Omar with his double- 
 bladed dagger, and wounded together with him twelve men, of whom 
 six died, and a man of Irak threw a garment over him, and when he was 
 suffocating in it, he slew himself. Abu Eafi',t states, that Abu LuMah 
 the slave of al Mughirah, used to make miUs, and al Mughirah tasked him 
 daily with an impost of four dirhams, and he met Omar and said, " O 
 Prince of the Faithful, verily al Mughirah hath been hard upon me, there- 
 fore speak to him;" and he answered, "act well towards thy master," 
 and it was the intention of Omar to speak to al Mughirah regarding it. 
 But the other grew angry and said, " the justice of Omar is extended unto 
 all the people, save unto me." He therefore purposed his death, and 
 took a dagger and sharpened it and poisoned it, and while Omar was ex- 
 claiming, " get ye into your ranks, before the takbir is said," the slave 
 went and stood over against Omar in the rank and smote him in the 
 shoulder and in the side, and Omar fell, and he wounded thirteen men with 
 him, of whom six died. Omar was carried to his family, and the sun 
 being about to rise, A'bdu'r Kahman-b-A'uf read prayers before the people 
 from the two shortest Suras. They brought Omar date-wine, and he drank 
 of it and it came out of his wound, but it could not be distinguished ^rgm 
 ike blood; they therefore gave him milk, and it came out of his wound, 
 and they said, " there is no harm to thee" and he answered, " if there be 
 harmj in being slain, why then I am slain." The people then began to 
 
 * The slave's name. 
 
 t There are several of this name. The one referred to is prohahly the freedman 
 of Muhammad. He had heen given by A'bbds to Muhammad who gave him his liberty 
 on hearing of the conversion of A'bbas. Some say he died before Othman's murder, 
 others, during the Caliphate of A'li. Ibn Hajr and an Nawawi. 
 
 t In other narrations given in the Kitab u'l Iktifa on the authority of A'mr-b- 
 Mayytin the outflow of the milk from the wound, was decisive in regard to the woimd 
 being mortal. The physician who was called' in, told him he could not live till the 
 evening. > 
 
[ 139 ] 
 
 praise him, saying, " tliou wert such and such," but lie said " yet, by Allah, A. H. 23. 
 I would that I might escape from judgment with these as a sufficiency,* A. D. 643. 
 nothing due by me nor to me, and that the Companionship of the Apostle 
 of God were a security unto me." Then Ibn A'bbas praised him, but be 
 said — " if the fulness of the earth in gold were mine, assuredly I would 
 ransom myself therewith from the terror of the day of resurrection,t and 
 verily, I have made ihe election to. the Oaliphate to be determined in con- 
 sultation by Othman, A'li, Talhah, az Zubayr, A'bd'ur Eahman-b-A'uf, and 
 Saa'd." And he commanded Suhayb to pray before the people, and ap- 
 pointed for the six a term of three days J wherein to deliberate (al Hakim). 
 Ibn A'bbas says that Abu Lultiah was a Magian. A'mr-b Maymdn nar- 
 rates that Omar said, " praise be to God, that he hath not caused my death 
 by the hand of a man who professeth Isldm." Then he said to his son, 
 " A'bdu'Uah, see what debts I owe ;'' and they computed and found them 
 to be eighty-six thousand Mrhams, or about that. And he said, " if the 
 property of the family of Omar be sufficient, then pay it from their goods, 
 otherwise ask of the Banu A'di, and if their goods be not sufficient, then 
 ask of the Kuraysh. Go to Ayesha, the Mother of the Faithful, and say, 
 ' Omar asketh leave -that he may be buried with his two Companions.' 
 And A'bdullah went to her and she said, ' I wished it (meaning the place) 
 for myself, but now I shall assuredly give him the preference over my- 
 self.' And A'bduUah went hack and said, ' verily she hath given permis- 
 sion ;' then Omar praised the Most High God. They said also to him 
 "make a testament, prince of the Faithful, and appoint a successor." 
 He answered, " I do not see any one more entitled to this authority than 
 those men with whom the Apostle of God, when he died, was content," 
 and he named the six. He added, " let A'bdu'Uah the son of Omar be 
 present with them, but he must have no part in the affair, and if the 
 
 * IjlflS" iy(^ i.iJ'i lii| CDiiJ J This is the reading of the same tradition on the same 
 authority, in the Kitab u'l Iktifa. The ^Ji referring to the praises which were being 
 made of him. 
 
 ■)■ »ih^\ lit. " the place whence one will look down on the day of resurrection, 
 but it may be taken as a noun of time and applied to the day of judgment, see Lane 
 art. ^U,. 
 
 X This is made clear from the Kitab u'l Iktifa, in two traditions from Simak-b- 
 Harb and Anas respectively. Omar ordered the father of Talhah to take fifty men and 
 post themselves at the door of the house where the six were to deliberate, and to suffer 
 no one to enter, nor the third day to elapse without the election being concluded. 
 According to the former tradition, the Ansars were directed to confine the six for three 
 days in a house, and if by that time their deliberations were not satisfactorily conclu- 
 ded, they were to enter and slay them. An effectual method of quickening the most 
 hesitating judgment. 
 
[ 140 ] 
 
 A. H. 23. government fall to Saa'd, then let him be the man, but if not, then let 
 •A. D-. 643, whichever of ye be" named to rule, seek his assistance, for verily I did not 
 remove him either for incapacity or treachery."* He went on to say, " I 
 commend to the Caliph after me, the fear of God, and I commend to him 
 the Fugitives and the Auxiliaries, and I commend to him the welfare of 
 the people of the provinces," with other similar charges. And when he 
 died, we went forth with him at a foot-pace and A'bdu'Uah the son of 
 Omar, saluted and said, " Omar desireth permission," and Ayesha replied 
 " bring him in ;" and he was taken in and placed there with his Compa- 
 nions. When his burial was over, and they had returned, those of the 
 Council assembled, and A'bdu'r Kahman-b-A'uf said, "delegate your 
 authority unto three among you." Then az Zubayr said, " I give my 
 authority to A'li," and Saa'd said, " I give my authority to A'bdu'r Rahman," 
 and Talhah said, " I give my authority to Othman." The narrator continues, 
 " then those three went apart and A'bdu'r Rahman said, ' I do not desire it' 
 — now which of you two will be quit of this affair ? and we will put it to 
 him (and God be his witness and Islam) to consider the best among the 
 Muslims in his own judgment, and to strive for the welfare of the people." 
 Then the two Shaykhs A'li and Othman were silent, whereon A'bdu'r 
 Rahmdn said, " give the choice unto me, and the Lord be my witness, 
 I shall not fail ye in choosing the best of ye." The two agreed and 
 he retired apart with A'li and said, " thou hast the priority in Islam and 
 kinship with the Apostle of God as thou well knowest, the Lord be thy 
 witness, that if I give thee the authority, thou vrilt do justice, and if I put 
 another over thee, thou wilt hear and obey !" He said, " yes." Then 
 he retired apart vrith the other and said the same to him, and when he 
 received their promises, he swore allegiance to Othman, and A'U likewise 
 swore Mm allegiance. 
 
 It is recorded in the Musnad of Ahmad on the authority of Omar 
 that he said, " if my death overtake me, and Abu U'baydah be yet alive, 
 I appoint him my successor, and if my Lord enquireth of me, I shall 
 answer that I heard the Apostle of God say, 'every prophet hath one 
 in whom he confides, and my trusted one is Abu U'baydah the son of al 
 Jarrdh ; but if my death overtake me and Abu U'baydah be dead, I appoint 
 as successor Mu'adL the son of Jabal, and if my Lord enquire of me why I 
 appointed him, I shall answer that I heard the Apostle of God say that he 
 
 * The people of Kdfah complained to the Caliph against Saa'd, on acoovint of his 
 injustice and oppression, and his unorthodox manner of reading prayers, and Chnar 
 removed him from his government and appointed in his place A'mm&r-h-Y4sir. Ibn 
 Athir. OoUey asorilnes the removal of Saa'd to Othm&, in the 35th yew of the 
 Flight. 
 
[ 141 ] 
 
 would be raised up on the day of resurrection in front of the doctors of A. H. 23. 
 science, a little apart."* However they both died during bis Caliphate. A. D. C43. 
 In the same Musnad it is stated on the authority of Abu Eafi', that Omar 
 when dying was spoken to regarding the appointment of a successor, and he 
 said, " verily, I have seen among my Companions an evil covetousness, and if 
 one of two men were attainable to me, and I could make over this authori- 
 ty to him, I would trust him, viz., Salimf the freedman of Abu Hudayfab, 
 and Abu TJ'baydah-b-u'l Jarrab." 
 
 Omar was stabbed on Wednesday the 26th of Du'l Hijjah and was 
 buried on Sunday the first of the Sacred month of Muharram being sixty- 
 three years old — some say he was sixty-six, and some sixty -one, and others 
 sixty, which al Wakidi prefers. Again, according to some, he was fifty- 
 nine, and to others, fifty-five or fifty-four. Subayb prayed over him in 
 the mosque. 
 
 According to the Tahdib of al Muzani,J the impression on the signet 
 ring of Omar was " Death is a sufficient admonisher." 
 
 At Tabarani records on the authority of Tdrik-b-Shibab, that Umm 
 Ayman said on the day that Omar was slain, " Islam is to-day rent." And 
 from A'bdu'r Ealiman-b-Yasar,§ " I witnessed the death of Omar and the 
 sun was eclipsed on that day." (His authorities are trustworthy.) 
 
 On the things in which he was foremost. 
 
 Al A'skari says that he was the first who was called Prince of the 
 Faithful, and the first who adopted the Era of the Flight, and the first 
 who establis-hed a public treasury, and the first who instituted the prayers 
 {at TardwiK) of the month of Kamadhan, and the first who went the 
 rounds at night, and the first who punished lampooning, and the first who 
 gave eighty stripes for indulgence in wine, and the first who prohibited 
 marriage limited to a term, and the first who forbade the sale of female 
 
 * Acoording to an Nawawi the tradition makes the distance a bow shot, tpl^ 
 *Ul«J| (i^AJ iyj A^a-*! fyi i'** 
 
 t Salim was slain at Tam&mah. See, note §, p. 98. 
 
 J Abu Ibrahim Isma'fl'-b-Tahya al Muzani, was a disciple of the Imam as 
 Shafi'i and a native of Egypt. He was of most austere life, a Mujtahid, and a 
 profound thinker. He was the author of many works, the most celebrated being the 
 Mukhta§aru'l Mukhta?ar (Abridgement abridged) a treatise on the legal doctrines 
 of the Shdfiites. He died at Mi?r A. H. 264 (878). Muzani signifies belonging to 
 Muzayna a well-known tribe named after Muzayna, daughter of Kalb. Ibn KhaU. 
 
 § The MS. has Busbar, the printed edition. " Yas&r" with (Bushdr) in brackets. 
 I can find no notice of the individual alluded to, in any works to which I have access. 
 
[ 143 ] 
 
 A. H. 23. slaves who had borne children to their masters, and the first who assembled 
 A. D. 643. the people .to prayers over the dead with four Takbirs, and the first 
 who instituted the public register, and the first who made conquests, 
 and made a survey o£ the Sawad,* and the first who brought corn 
 from Egypt by the bay of Aylah (Akaba) to Medina, and the first who 
 constituted the poor-rate in Islam to be used unaliehably for the service 
 of God, and the first who adopted the deviation by excess in the division 
 of inheritances,t and the first who instituted the dedication of horses for 
 religious service, and the first who said, " may God lengthen thy life," (he 
 said it to A'li) ; and the first who said, " may God strengthen thee," (he 
 said it to A'li). This is the end of al A'skari's narration. 
 
 An Nawawi mentions in his Tahdfb, that he was the first who adopted 
 the use of the scourge. Ibn Saa'd states this in his Tabakat, and adds 
 that it used to be said afterwards " verily the scourge of Omar is more 
 terrible than your swords." He continues, " he was the first who established 
 Kddhis in the provinces, and the first who founded the cities of Basrah 
 and Klifah, and placed in a flowrishing condition Mesopotamia, Syria, 
 Egypt and Mosal." 
 
 Ibn A'sakir records on the authority of Ism&'il-b-Ziyad, that he said, 
 that A'li, passing by the mosques in the month of Ramadhan in which 
 lamps were burning, exclaimed, " may the Lord illumine Omar in his grave 
 as he hath illumined for us our mosques." 
 
 Ibn Saa'd says that Omar established raeal-houses, and placed within 
 them flour and parched barley-meal, and dates and currants, and what might 
 be necessary to aid the disabled traveller, and he stored along the road be- 
 tween Mecca and Medina, what would relieve those unable to continue 
 their journey. He likewise demolished the mosque of the prophet and 
 increased and enlarged it and floored it with pebbles. It was he who ex- 
 pelled the Jews from Hijaz to Syria, and transferred the people of Najrdn 
 to K6fah. He also put back the praying station of Abraham, to the place 
 where it now stands, it having before adjoined the Temple. 
 
 * The paiticularsof this survey will be found in Yakut ait. i^y^. 
 
 t For the explanation of the term ^y^ I must refer the reader to the Muham- 
 madan Law of Inheritance, as it is too lengthy to transcribe here. Cousult also Lane 
 art. {jjc 
 
[ 143 ] 
 
 On some accounts of Mm and Ms decisions. 
 
 Al A'skari records in the Awail, and al Tabarani in the Kabir, and al A. H. 23. 
 Hdkim on the ascription of Ibn Shihab that Omar-b-A'bdil A'ziz inquired A. D. 643. 
 of Abu Bakr-b-Sulaymdn b-Abi Hathmah, saying, " how was it in the time 
 of Abu Bakr that it used to be written, ' From the Vicegerent of the 
 Apostle of God,' and afterwards Omar used at first to write ' From the 
 Vicegerent of Abu Bakr ?' Who then first wrote, from the prince of the 
 Faithful?" He answered, "as Shifa who was one of the Fugitive women, 
 told me that Abu Bakr used to write, ' From the Vicegerent of the Apostle 
 of God,' and Omar used to write, ' From the Vicegerent of the Vicegerent 
 of the Apostle of God,' until Omar wrote to the prefect of Irak to send 
 him two sturdy men, whom he might question regarding Irak and the 
 people thereof; and he sent him Labid-b-Eabii'h and A'di-b-Hatim. 
 They arrived at Medina and entered the mosque, and found A'mr-b-u'l 
 A'as, and they said, ' ask permission for us to see the prince of the Faith- 
 ful.' A'mr replied, ' by AUah, ye have hit his name.' And A'mr went 
 in to him and exclaimed, ' peace be to thee prince of the Faithful.' He 
 said ' how hast thou come by this name ? verily thou must explain what 
 thou hast said.' Then the other informed him of what had happened and 
 said 'thou art the prince and we, the Faithful.' Thus the letters have 
 continued to be so inscribed up to this day." 
 
 An Nawawi in his Tahdib says that A'di-b-Hatim, and Labid-b- 
 Babii'h, called him by that name when they went to him from Irak, and 
 some say, that al Mughirah-b-Shuu'bah called him by it. Again it is 
 asserted that Omar said to the people, " you are the Faithful, and I am 
 your prince ;" he was therefore called prince of the Faithful, and before 
 that he was addressed as Vicegerent of the Vicegerent of the Apostle of 
 God, but they gave up that phrase on account of its length. Ibn A'sakir 
 records on the authority of Mu'awiyah-b-Kurrah that he said, " it used 
 to be written, ' From Abu Bakr, Vicegerent of the Apostle of God,' and 
 when Omar-b-u'l Khattab ruled, they wished to address him Vicegerent 
 of the Vicegerent of the Apostle of God, but Omar said, ' this is too long.' 
 They answered, ' not so, but we have made thee to rule over us and thou 
 art our prince.' He said, ' yea — ye are the Faithful and I am your 
 prince.' Thus it came to be written, Pyince of the Faithful." 
 
 Al Bukhari records in his history on the authority of Ibn u'l Mu- 
 sayyab that the first who adopted the usage of dating was Omar-b-u'l 
 Khattab two years and a half after his accession to the Caliphate, and he 
 dated from the 16th year of the Flight, by the advice of A'li. As Silafi 
 in the Tuyyuriyat records from Ibn Omar, that Omar wished to write 
 
[ 144 ] 
 
 A. H. 23. a record of memorable actions, and he prayed for the blessing of God for 
 A. D. 643. a month, and he arose one morning determined upon it, but after a little 
 he said, " verily I remember a people* who were before ye, who used to 
 write books, and they gave themselves up to it, and neglected the Book of 
 God." And Ibn Saa'd from Shaddad,t that the first sentence that Omar 
 uttered when he ascended the pulpit, was, " God, verily I am rough in 
 temper, therefore soften me, and verily I am weak, therefore strengthen 
 me, and verily I am avaricious, therefore make me generous." And Ibn 
 Saa'd and Sa'id-b-Manslir and others from Omar, that he said, " I place 
 myself with regard to the property of the Lord, in the position of a guar- 
 dian of an orphan's property. If I am in good circumstances, I refrain 
 from touching it, and if I am in distress, I take of it with moderation, and 
 when I am again in good circumstances, I repay it." 
 
 Ibn Saa'd records on the authority of Ibn Omar that Omar-b-u'l 
 Khattab, when he was in need, would go to the Superintendent of the 
 public treasury, and ask a loan of him, and he was often in distress, and 
 the Superintendent of the treasury would go to him to exact the debt and 
 press him, and Omar would be evasive with him, but sometimes his stipend 
 would be due, and he would pay the debt. And from Ibn u'l Bara-b- 
 Ma'rlir,J that Omar went forth one day, and complained of a sickness, 
 and honey was recommended to him, and he was told that a bottle of it 
 was in the public treasury, and he said, " if ye permit me, I will take it, 
 otherwise it is unlawful for me," and they gave him permission. And 
 from Salim-b-A'bdi'llah, that Omar would put his hand into the saddle 
 gall of his camel and say, " verily I fear lest I may be brought to account 
 for what hath befallen thee." 
 
 And from Ibn Omar, that when Omar desired to hinder the people from 
 anything, he would go to his family and say, " verily I know not any one 
 who hath done a thing which I have forbidden, but I doubled his punish- 
 ment." 
 
 It has been related to me from another source, that Omar went forth 
 one night wandering about Medina, as he was frequently in the habit of 
 
 * He refers to the Jews and Christians. 
 
 t Shaddad-h-Aus the Companion. He helonged to the tribe of the Najjar, and 
 was a native of Medina, but he lived much at Jerusalem and died there A. H. 58, 
 aged 75. His tomb, says an Nawawi, " is still to be seen outside the Gate of Mercy," 
 one of the twenty gates of the great Masjid. 
 
 X Bishr-b-u'l Bara-b-Ma'rlir the Companion, an Ansdr of the tribe of Ehazraj 
 He was present at Akabah, Badr and Ohud and died at Khaybar from eating of the 
 sheep of which Muhammad partook and which the Jews are said to have poisoned, 
 Some say he died at once, others after great suffering. An Nawawi. 
 
[ 145 ] 
 
 doing, when lie passed by the house of one of the women of the Arabs ^- H. 23. 
 whose door was bolted upon her, and she was saying, ^- "■ °*^' 
 
 This night whose stars wander in their nightly journey, is wearisome 
 
 And keeps me sleepless, for I have none with whom I may be merry. 
 
 And, by Allah, were there no God whose issues were to be feared ! 
 
 But I fear a Watcher, who keepeth ward : 
 
 Over our souls, and whose recorder never is negligent. 
 
 The fear of the Lord and shame hindereth me : 
 
 And my husband, too worthy of honor that his place should be taken. 
 He therefore wrote to his prefects in the field that no one should be . 
 detained on military service against the enemy for more than four months. 
 
 Ibn Saa'd records on the authority of Salman that Omar said to him, 
 " am I a monarch or a Caliph ?" and Salman answered him, " if thou tax 
 the land of the Muslims in dirhams, less or more, and putteth them to 
 unlawful use, thou art a monarch and not a Caliph," and Omar took warning 
 by it. And from Sufyan-b-Abi'l A'rja, that Omar said, "by Allah, I 
 know not whether I am a Caliph or a monarch, if I be a monarch, it is a 
 terrible thing." A speaker said to him, " prince of the Faithful, there 
 is a difference between the two." He said, "what is it?" He replied, 
 " a Caliph doth not take save lawfully, nor give save where it is due, 
 and thou, thanks be to God, art such, but a monarch oppresseth the people, 
 and taketh from this and giveth to that :". and Omar was silent. And ' 
 from Ibn Masaiid that Omar was riding a horse, and his garment fell back 
 from his thigh, and the people of Najran saw upon his thigh a dark mole 
 and they said, " this is he whom we find in our books that he is to turn 
 us forth from our land." And from Saa'd al Jari that Kaa'b al Ahbar 
 said to Omar, " I find thee verily in^ the Book of God, posted at one of the 
 gates of hell, hindering the people from falling into it, and when thou 
 diest, they will continue to rush headlong, into it, till the day of judg- 
 ment." And from Abu Maa'shar, that he narrates, " my Shaykhs told me 
 that Omar said, ' this authority cannot be rightly conducted except by 
 severity without haughtiness and leniency without weakness.' " 
 
 Ibn Abi Shaybah records in the Musannaf on the authority of Hakam- 
 b-TJ'mayr,* that Omar wrote, " now, let not the Commanders of armies and 
 divisions inflict upon any one the scourging ordained by law until he 
 arriveth at Darbf, lest rage inspired ly Satan induce him to desert to the 
 
 * Hakam-'b-H'mayr al Thamali, Thamalah is a branch of tlie tribe of Azd 
 Ibn Hajr has little to say of bim but that he was present at Badi and that his tradi- 
 tions are not to be relied upon. 
 
 t The ancient Derbe near the Cilioian gates, the chief mountainous pass from the 
 direction of the countries occupied by the Arabs into the Greek Empire. Lane. 
 19 
 
t 146 1 
 
 4- H. 23. infidels." Ibn Abi Hatim records in his Commentary on the authority of 
 A. D. 643. as Shaa'bi, that the Roman Emperor wrote to Omar saying, " verily my 
 messengers who come to me from thee, pretend that thou hast with thee 
 a tree, which in its nature has none of the qualities of a tree. It 
 sproijteth like asses' ears, then it openeth put like a pearl, then it becometh 
 green like the green emerald, then it turneth ruddy and becometh 
 like a red ruby, next it ripeneth and cometh to maturity, and turneth. 
 into the most delicious honey-cake that is eaten. Next it drieth up and 
 becom,eth the preservation of the dweller in his house, and a store for 
 the traveller ; now if my messengers have spoken truly then I cannot 
 think this tree to be other than one of the trees of paradise." Whereupon 
 Omar wrote to him, saying, " From the servant of God, the prince of the 
 Faithful, to Caesar the Eoman Emperor — verily thy messengers have spoken 
 truly. This tree which we possess, is the same which the Lord caused to 
 sprout* for Mary when she bore Jesus her Son. Therefore fear God and 
 assume not Jesus to be God, besides God, for, ' verily the likeness of Jesus 
 in the sight of God is as the likeness of Adam : He created him out of the 
 dust,' " &c., (Kur. III). 
 
 Ibn Saa'd records on the authority of Ibn Omar that Omar issued an 
 order to his prefects, among them being Saa'd-b-Abi Wakkas, and in 
 accordance therewith they wrote the amount of the property in their pos- 
 session and Omar shared their property with them, and took half and gave 
 them half. And from as Shaa'bi, that Omar when he employed a prefect 
 wrote down the amount of his property. And from Abu Imamah-b-Sahl-b- 
 Hunayf t that he said, " Omar remained some time without supporting himself 
 from the public treasury until poverty thus came upon him, and he sent to 
 the Companions of the Apostle of God and took counsel of them and said, 
 ' verily I have diligently employed myself in this authority, what therefore 
 do I deserve from it ?' And A'li said, ' morning and evening food,' and 
 Omar accordingly took that." And from Ibn Omar, that Omar ma,de the 
 pilgrimage and spent during his pilgrimage sixteen dinars, and he said to 
 Ms son " O A'bdu'Uah, I have been wasteful of this money." 
 
 A'bdu'r EazzakJ records in his Musannaf on the authority of Katadah 
 and as Shaa'bi, that a woman went to Omar and said, " my husband rises 
 
 * This was a certain palm tree which the Muhammadan tradition supposes Mary 
 to have leaned upon for support, and though a withered trunk, it put forth leaves and 
 fruit'that she might gather and eat, Kur. XIX. The stupidity of the Eoman and the 
 effrontery of the Arah are only to he matched hy the mendacity of the narrator. 
 
 t One of the Companions helonging to the AnsSrs. 
 
 t Prohahly A'hdu'r Eazzak as Sandni one of the most celebrated traditionists of 
 his age. People travelled to Yaman from all parts to hear him. Died A. H. 211 
 (826-7). De Slane, I. K. 
 
[ 147 ] 
 
 in tbe night to pray and fasts all day," and Omar said " verily thou hast A. H. 23. 
 
 praised thy husband highly." Whereon Kaa'b-b-Siwar exclaimed, " but A. D. 643; 
 
 slie complains of him !" And Omar said, " how ?" He replied, " she means 
 
 that she has not her share of her husband's society." He answered, 
 
 " then if thou thinkest that, judge between them." He said, " prince of 
 
 the Faithful, the Lord hath permitted to him four wiyes, and to her of 
 
 every four days, one day, and of every four nights one night." And from 
 
 Ibn Jurayh* that he said, " one whom I can believe, told me that while 
 
 Omar was wandering about Medina, he heard a woman say — 
 
 ' The night is wearisome and its bounds gloomy 
 
 And it hath kept me sleepless while 
 
 I have no friend with whom to be merry. 
 
 And were there no fear of God whose like there is not !' 
 And Omar exclaimed, ' what is the matter with thee ?' She replied, 
 ' thou hast sent my husband on service for some months, and I pine for 
 him.' He said, ' dost thou desire to do evil ?' She replied, ' God forbid !' 
 Then he said, ' restrain thyself, for verily, a messenger shall go to him,' 
 and he sent for him, and wrote that the troops should not be kept on service 
 for more than four months." And from Jabir-b-A'bdi'Uah that he went 
 to Omar complaining to him of the treatment he had met with from his 
 women, and Omar said " verily, I find the same, so much so that when I 
 ask for anything I want, my wife says to me, ' thou goest only after the 
 girls of a certain tribe, watching for them.' Thereupon A'bdu'Uah-b- 
 Musa'dd said to him, ' hast thou not heard that Abraham, upon whom be 
 peace, complained to the Lord of the temper of Sarah, and it was said to 
 him verily she was made from a rib,t therefore put up with what she does 
 as long as thou seest no unsoundness in her faith.' And from A'krimah 
 b-Khalid, that a son of Omar's went to him, and he had anointed and comb- 
 ed his hair, and put on fine garments, and Omar smote him with his 
 scourge until he made him cry, and Haf sah said to him, ' why dost thou 
 strike him ?' He answered, ' I saw that his spirit had made him vain, 
 and I wished to abase it within him,' And from Layth-b-Abi Salim that 
 Omar said, ' give not as names al Hakam or A'bdu'l Hakam, for the Lord 
 is the only ruler (Hakam), and call not a road Sikkah.' "J 
 
 * The MS, has Jurayj and not Jurayh as in the printed text — of Jurayh, I can 
 find no mentioit. A'bdu'l Malik-b-Jurayj, according to Ibn Khallakan was celehrated 
 for his learning ; and it is said that he was the first after the promulgation of lalim 
 who composed books. He was a native of Mecca and a member by adoption of the 
 Kiiraysh. Bom A. H. 80 (699-70), and A. H. 149 (766). 
 
 t Meaning that she was crooked by nature and hard. ' A crooked rib' is a meta- 
 pTior for a woman amongst the unpolished sons of the desert. 
 
 J The only reason I can suggest for this prohibition is the tradition c*«k. j U> 
 
[ 148 ] 
 
 A. H. 23. Al Bayhaki records in the Shaa'b u'l Fmain on the authority of ad 
 
 A. D. 643, Dhahhak that Abu Bakr said, " by Allah, I would I were a tree by the 
 wayside, that camels might pass by me and seize me and take me in their 
 mouths and chew me and swallow me, then cast me forth as ordure, and- 
 that I were not a mortal man." And Omar said, '' would that I were a 
 ram, bhat my people might fatten me as it appeared goad to them, so that 
 when I became as fat as could be, those whom they loved might visit 
 them, and they might kill me for them, and make part of me roast and 
 part of me dried flesh, and eat me, and that I were not a mortal man." 
 And Ibn A'sakir from Abu'l Bakhtari,* that Omar Ibn u'l Khattab was 
 preaching from the pulpit, when al Husayn the son of A'li stood up 
 against him and said, " come down from the pulpit of my father !" and 
 Omar replied, " it is the pulpit of thy father, not the pulpit of my father, 
 who hath counselled thee to this ?" Then A'li rose and said, " by Allah, 
 no one counselled him to this — but (turning to Ms son) I vsriU assuredly 
 make thee smart, O traitor;" and Omar said, " hurt not the son of my 
 brother, for he hath said truly that it is the pulpit of his father;" (The 
 authorities are trustworthy.) Al Khatib in his Euwat (narrators') records 
 on the authority of Abu Salamah-b-A'bdi'r Eahman and S'aid-b-u'l Mus- 
 sayyab, that Omar and Othman were disputing on a certain point among 
 themselves, when a looker on exclaimed, " verily they will never agree," 
 but they did not separate except upon the best and most admirable 
 agreement, regarding it. And Ibn Saa'd from al Hasan, that at the 
 first discourse that Omar preached, he praised God and glorified Him, 
 and then said, " verily I am tried with^e and ye are tried with me, 
 and I have followed as Vicegerent among ye after my two Companions^ 
 As to those who are with us, we have undertaken their affairs in person, 
 and as to those who are away from us, we have appointed over them as 
 rulers, men of power and trust, and he who doeth well, we will give 
 him increase of benefits, and whoso doeth evil, we will punish, and may 
 • the Lord have mercy upon me and ye." And from Jubayr-b-u'l Huway- 
 rith that Omar took counsel of the Muslims regarding the establishing of 
 registers and A'li said to him, " divide every year the revenue that is 
 
 lyi ill (♦>*j'ii ^^-".'l "The ploughshare enters not the abode of a people, but they 
 become abased " The same word signifying, " a ploughshare'' and " a road." Omar might 
 have held its use as of ill-augury to his people. The real meaning of the tradition 
 however is, that with the introduction of agriculture begins the extortion of orulers. 
 
 * Abu'l Bakhtari Wahb-b-Wahh of the Kuraysh and a native of Medina: he re- 
 moved from Medina to Baghdad under the Caliphate of Harun ar Rashid. He was- 
 appointed Kadlji of Medina and afterwards removed. He died at Baghdad A. H. 200 
 (815-16) under the Caliphate of al Mdmtin. He was liberal with his purse, but noto- 
 rious as a fabricator of traditions and Ibn l^anbal ctilUi him a liar. Ibn Khali. 
 
[ 149 ] 
 
 collected for thee and keep not back anything." And Othman said, " I A. H. 23. 
 
 see that there is a large revenue sufficient for the people, and if they do A. D. 6-43. 
 
 not keep a register so that he who hath received may be distinguished 
 
 from him who hath not received, I fear that affairs will fall into confusion." 
 
 Then al Walid-b-Hisham-b-i'l Mughirah said to him, " prince of the 
 
 Faithful, verily I have been to Syria, and I have seen that its princes- have 
 
 established registers and organized armies, therefore establish registers 
 
 and organize troops," and he took his counsel. Then he summoned A'kil- 
 
 b-AbiTalib andMakhramah-b-Naufal and Jubayr-b- Muslim who were among 
 
 the most skilled genealogists of the Kuraysh, and he said, " write down 
 
 the people according to their degrees," and they wrote beginning with 
 
 the Banu Hashim, then followed them up with Abu Bakr and his 
 
 people, then Omar and his people, in the Caliphate, and when Omar 
 
 looked into it, he said, " begin with the kindred of the prophet, the nearest 
 
 after the nearest, until ye place Omar where God hath placed him." 
 
 And from Sa'id-b-u'l Musayyab, that Omar established the registers in 
 
 the month of Muharraija the 20th year of the Flight. And from al 
 
 Hasan, that Omar wrote to Hudayfah, saying, " give the men their stipends 
 
 and rations," and he replied, " verily I have done so and a large sum is 
 
 over." Thereupon Omar wrote to him, " verily the booty which God hath 
 
 given unto them, belongeth not to Omar nor to the family of Omar, — • 
 
 divide it among them." 
 
 Ibn Saa'd records on the authority of Jubayr-b-Muti'm, that he said 
 " while Omar was standing'upon the mount of A'rafah,* he heard a man call 
 out and say, " O Caliph, Caliph." And another man heard him, (and 
 they were taking provisions for the way) and said " what is the matter 
 with thee — may Allah cleave thy uvula." Then I advanced towards the 
 man and called out to him." Jubayr continues : " verily the next day I was 
 standing with Omar at al Aka'bah,t casting stones at it when there came 
 a stone with force, striking violently the head of Omar. Then I turned 
 that way and heard a man from the mount say, — " dost thou know, by the 
 Lord of the Kaa'bah that Omar shall never again stand in this station 
 a,fter this year ?" Jubayr adds. " And lo ! it was he who had called out 
 among us the day before, and the thing weighed heavily upon me." And 
 from Ayesha that she said, "at the time of the last pilgrimage which 
 Omar performed with the mothers of the true believers,! when we returned 
 
 * This was on the second day of the pilgrimage called the Taum A'rafah the 
 9th of Du'l Hijjah. 
 
 t Jamrat u'l A'kabah, or as it is vulgarly termed, Shaytan al Kabir, the great 
 devil — one of the three piUars stoned during the ceremonies of the pilgrimage. See 
 Burton Vol. Ill, pp. 238-282. 
 
 J The wives of Muhammad. 
 
[ 150 ] 
 
 A. H. 23. from A'rafah, passbg loj al Muhassab,* I heard a man upon his camel 
 A. D. 643. saying, ' where was Omar the prince of the Faithful!' and I heard! 
 another man reply, ' here was the prince of the Faithful ;' then he made 
 his caTnel kneel down and raised his voice, wailing, and said — • 
 
 ' Upon such an Imam as thou be peace and bless 
 
 May the hand of Grod, that lacerated exterior. 
 
 Whosof goeth with speed or rideth upon the wings of the ostrich : 
 
 To overtake that which thou hast sent before thee yesterday, will be 
 out-stripped. 
 
 Thou hast adjudged affairs but left behind them 
 
 Calamities in their sleeves not yet unloosed'.' 
 And that rider moved not, nor was it known who he was, and we used to 
 say that he was a Jinn. And Omar returned from that pilgrimag,e and 
 was stabbed (with a dagger) and died." And on the authority of Omar 
 that he said, " this authority shall rest with the men of Badr as long as 
 one of them is left ; then with the men of Oliud as long as one of them 
 is left, and then with such and such, but there shall be no part in it for 
 a liberated slave, nor for the son of a liberated slave, nor for a Muslim 
 hecome so at the conquest of Mecca." And from an Nakha'i, that a man 
 said to Omar, " wilt thou not name as successor, A'bdu'Uah-b-Omar ?" He 
 said, " may Allah smite thee ! by Allah, never have I desired this of God 
 that I should appoint as successor a man who knoweth not properly how to 
 divorce his wife. "J And from Kaa'b that he said, " there was amongst, 
 the children of Israel a king ;§ when T recall him, I think of Omar, and 
 when I recaU Omar, I think of him. And he had with him a prophet who 
 was inspired, and the Lord inspired the jirophet to say to him, ' make thou 
 thy covenant, and write unto me thy testament, for verily thou art a 
 dead man in three days.' " The prophet therefore told him this, and when 
 it was the third day he fell down between the wall and the bed. Then 
 he turned to his Lord and said, " Lord ! if Thou knewest that 1 was just 
 in government,, and, when affairs became troubled that I followed Thy 
 
 * Tte Bame of tlie way tetween the mountains, opening upon the part called 
 ^hj J/t between Mecca and Miaa, so called from the pebbles in it. Lane. 
 
 ■^ (_j**" also signifies running to and fro between as Safd and al Maiwah. The 
 meaning is probably that the merits acquired by Omar iu his pilgrimage are not to be 
 
 f 
 surpassed. I prefer to read (3^^. for ci^W as otherwise the CT* is left ' en 1' air,' 
 without its complement. 
 
 X A'bdu'llah once attempted to put her away at a time when divorce was not 
 permitted by the Muljammadan law. 
 
 § Ezeohias, Kings iv. xx. 
 
[ 151 ] 
 
 guidance, and was such and such, then lengthen my life, that my son may A H. 23. 
 
 grow up and my people be set in order." And the word of the Lord came A. D. 64i3. 
 
 to the prophet, saying, " verily he hath said so and so, and indeed hath 
 
 spoken truly, and verily I have added to his life fifteen years, and during 
 
 that there is time that his son may grow up and his people be set in 
 
 order." And when Omar was stabbed, Kaa'b said — " if but Omar were to 
 
 ask of his Lord, He would surely preserve him." Omar was informed of 
 
 this, and he said, " God, take me to Thyself while as yet I am not 
 
 enfeebled nor under reproach." And from Sulayman-b-Yasdr, that the 
 
 Jinns mourned over Omar. 
 
 Al Hakim records on the authority of Malik-b-Dindr* that a voice 
 was heard on the mount of Tabalahf when Omar was slain, saying, 
 
 " Let him who wept, weep for Islam : 
 For verily they are about to be laid prostrate, and their appointed 
 
 time hath not been exceeded. 
 And the world hath gone back and its good withdrawn : 
 And verily he is wearied of it who was confident in the promise." 
 
 Ibn Abi 'd Dunya records on the authority of Yahya-b-Abi Eashid of 
 Basrah, that Omar said to his son, " be moderate in the expenses of my 
 shroud, for verily if there be aught of good with God in my favour, he 
 will give nie in exchange what is better than it, and if I have been 
 otherwise, He will strip me and be swift in my stripping. And be moder- 
 ate in my grave that ye dig for me, for verily if there be aught of good 
 with God in my favour, he will widen it unto me as far as my eye can 
 reach, and if I have been otherwise, he will straighten it upon me until my 
 ribs interlace. And let no woman go forth with me, and praise me not for 
 that which is not in me, for the Lord knoweth best what I am. Therefore 
 when you go forth, hasten in your going, for if there be aught of good 
 with God in my favour, you will speed me on to that which is my good, 
 and if I have been otherwise, ye cast from your necks an evil that ye 
 bear." 
 
 Ibn A'sakir records on the authority of Ibn A'bbas that al A'bbas said, 
 " I asked of the Lord a year after Omar died, that he would show him 
 unto me in sleep," and I saw him after a year and he was wiping the sweat 
 from his forehead and I said to him, " with my father — mayest thou 
 ie rcmsomed, and with my mother — how is it with thee ?" He replied, " it 
 
 * Abu Yahya, MaKk-b-Dmar of Basrah, an ascetic and one of the Tabiis. Ha 
 was freedman of one of the women of the Bauu Najfah. He is regarded as a trust- 
 worthy authority, died A. H. 123 or 129. An Jfawawi. 
 
 t Eight days' march from Mecca and six from Tajf. 
 
[ 152 ] 
 
 A. H. 23.' is but now tliat I am free from the Judgment and Omar would have 
 A. D. 643. perished,* had I not indeed met One who is Merciful and Compassion- 
 ate." And from Zayd-b-Aslam,t that Abdu'llah-b-Omar-b i'l A'as saw 
 Omar in sleep and he said, " how hast thou done ?" he replied, " how 
 long is it that I left jou ?" He answered, "twelve years ssgo." He said 
 '' verily it is even now that I am free from Judgment." Ibn Saa'd records 
 on the authority of Salim-b-Abdi'Uah-b-Omar that he said, " I heard a man 
 of the Auxiliaries say, ' I prayed to God that he would show me Omar in 
 sleep, and I saw him after ten years and he was wiping the sweat from his 
 forehead and I said, prince of the Faithful, what hast thou been doing ?" 
 He replied, " I have but now been freed from Judgment, and had it not 
 been for the mercy of my God> I had perished." 
 
 Al Hakim records on the authority of as Shaa'bi that A'atikah the' 
 daughter of Zayd-b-A'mr b-Nufayl said, mourning Omar — 
 
 " Eye ! let thy tears and weeping be abundant : 
 
 And weary not — over the noble chief. 
 
 Death hath afflicted me in the fall of a, horseman 
 
 Distinguished in the day of battle and of contumely. 
 
 The stay of Faith, the defence against inclement fortune : 
 
 And a champion unto the afflicted and ojDpressed. 
 
 Say unto the hopeless and the desolate, die ! 
 
 Since death hath given us to drink the cup of dissolution." 
 
 Among the distinguished people who died during Omar's time were, 
 U'tbah-b-Ghazwan, — al A'la-b-u'l Hadhrami, — Kays-b-u's Sakan — Abu 
 Kuhafah father of as Siddfk — Saa'd-b-U'badah — Suhayl-b-A'mr — Ibn 
 Umm Maktdm the Muaddin — Ayyash-b-Abi Eabii'h — A'bdu'r Hahman 
 brother of az Zubayr-b-A'wam — Kays-b-Abi Sa'saa'h one of those who col- 
 lected the Kuran — Nauf al-b-u'l Harith-b-i'l Muttalib — his brother Abu 
 Sufyan — Mariyah, mother of the Sayyid Ibrahim — Abu Ubaydah-b-u'l Jarrah 
 Maa'd-b-Jabal — Yazid-b-AbiSufyan— Shurahbil-b-Hasanah — alFadhl-b-u'l 
 A'bbas — Abu Jaridal-b-Suhayl — Abu Malik al Asha'ri — Saf wan-b-u'l Mua't- 
 tal— U'bayy-b-Kaa'b— Bilalthe Muaddin— U'sayd-b-u'l Hudhayr— al Bara- 
 b-Mdlik the brother of Anas — Zaynab, daughter of Jahsh — A'yadh-b-Ghanam 
 Abu'l Haytham-b-u't Tayyihdn— Khalid-b-u'l Walid— al Jartid, chief of the 
 Banu Abdi'l Kays— an Nu'm^n-b-Mukarran — Katadah-b-u'n Nu'man — al 
 Akra'-b-Hdbis — Saudah, daughter of Zama'-h — U'waym-b-Saidah — Ghilan 
 at Thakafi — Abu Mihjan at ThS,kafi — and others of the Companions. 
 
 * Lit. his means of support would have heen destroyed — or his dwelling would 
 have heen demolished. 
 
 t Ahu Usdmah Zayd-h-Aalam tho froedman of Omar, a native of Medina, and one 
 of the Tahi'is, distinguished for his piety and theological learning, and much sought 
 after for his instructions and discourses. He died at Medina about A. H. 136. An 
 Nawawi. 
 
[ 153 ] 
 
 A. H. 23. 
 OTHMA'N-B-A'FFA'N. A. D. 643. 
 
 Othman-b-A'fian-b-Abi'l A'as-b-Umayya-b-Abdi's Shams-b-Abd Ma- 
 naf-b-Kusayy-b-Kilab-b-Murrah-b-Kaa'b-b-Luayy-b-Ghalib, al Kuraysbi 
 al Umawi, Abu A'mr, called also Abu A'bdu'llah and Abu Lay lab, was 
 born in ths 6th year of the Elephant. He was converted early and was 
 one of those called to Islam by as Siddik. He took part in the two 
 Flights, the first to Abyssinia and the second to Medina, and married 
 Eukayyah, the daughter of the Apostle of God before the prophetic 
 mission, and she died at his house on one of the nights of the fight of Badr, 
 and he was detained from Badr through his attendance on her, with the 
 permission of the Apostle of God, who assigned to him a portion of the 
 spoils and compensated him. He is therefore numbered among those pre- 
 sent at Badr, and the messenger arrived with the news of the victory of the 
 Muslims at Badr, on the day that they buried her at Medina. The Apostle 
 of God then gave him in marriage after her, her sister Umm Kulthum 
 and she died in his house in the 9th year of the Hijrah. The learned say 
 that no one besides him is known to have married the two daughters of a 
 prophet, and for that, he has been named possessor of the two Luminaries. 
 He was one of the first early converts, and the foremost of the Fugitives 
 and one of the Ten to whom the attainment of Paradise was testified, and 
 one of the Six, with whom, when the Apostle of God died he was well 
 content, and one of the Companions who, collected the Kuran. Indeed Ibn 
 A'bbad* says that none but he and al Mamlin, among the Caliphs, collected 
 the Kuran. Ibn Saa'd says that the Apostle of God appointed him Vice- 
 gerent at Medina during his military expeditions to Dat u'r Eik^a' and 
 Ghatfan. One hundred and forty-six traditions are related by him on the 
 authority of the Apostle of God.f 
 
 Ibn Saa'd records on the testimony of A'bdu'r Eahman-b-hatib that 
 he said, " I never saw any one of the Companions of the Apostle of God, 
 who, when he narrated a tradition, gave it more completely and excellently 
 
 * Abu'l Eaaim Isma'il-b-Abi'l Hasan A'bbad the Sahib the wonder of his age 
 for his talents, virtues and generosity. He was Vizir to Muwayyid u'd Doulah-b- 
 Rukn u'd Dawlat-b-Buwayh and subsequently to his brother Fakhr u'd Dawlah. He 
 was the author of numerous works, the most known being the Muhit, a work on 
 philology, another on epistolary writing, one on Festivals, and another on the rank of 
 Imam, stating the merits of Ali and tie legitimacy of those who preceded him. Born 
 A. H. 326 (938) at Istakhar and died at Eai A. H. 385 (995). Ibn KhaU. De Slane 
 writes the name A'bbad but according to Meursiugo (De Interpret, Kur. p. 39) Suyuti 
 makes it A'bbad and I'bbad. The Munt. Arab, gives A'bbad. 
 
 + Here follows a list of those who have narrated traditions on his authority 
 which I have omitted. 
 20 
 
[ 154 ] 
 
 A. H. 23. than Othman-b-A'ffan, save verily he were a man who held traditions in 
 A. D. 6-13. great fear. And on the authority of Muhammad-b-Sirin that the most 
 learned of them in the ceremonials of the pilgrimage, was Othman, and 
 after him Ibn Omar.'' Al Bayhaki records in his Sunan on the authority 
 of A'bdu'llah-b-Omar-b-Aban al Jua'fi that he narrates, " my maternal 
 uncle Husayn al Jua'fi said to me, ' dost thou know why Othman hath 
 been called Possessor of the two Luminaries ?' I said, ' no.' He replied, 
 ' none hath ever been united to the two daughters of a prophet from the 
 time that God created Adam, nor shall he so till the resurrection cometh 
 to pass, save Othman — for that reason he hath been called Possessor of the 
 two Luminaries.' " 
 
 Abu Nua'ym records on the authority of al Hasan that he said, " verily 
 Othman was called Possessor of the two Luminaries, because we know 
 none save him, who hath closed his door upon the two daughters of a 
 prophet." And Khaythamah in the Fadhail u's Sihabah, {Merits of the 
 Companions) and Ibn A.'sakir from A'li-b-Abi Talib, that he was asked 
 regarding Othman and he said, " that man is called in the court of 
 heaven, Possessor of two Luminaries — he was the son-in-law of the Apostle 
 of God through his two daughters." Al MaKni records on a weak ascrip- 
 tion from Sahl-b-Saa'd that he said, " Othmdn is called Possessor of the two 
 Luminaries because he passeth over from one station to another in Para- 
 dise and there gleameth for him two streams o4 light, and he is called so 
 on that account." He adds, that he received the surname of Abu A'mr 
 in the time of Ignorance, but when Islam arose, Eukayyah bore him A'b- 
 du'llah, and he received the surname (Abu A'bdw'llah) from him. 
 
 His mother was Arwa, daughter of Kurayz-b-Rabii'h-b-Habib-b- 
 Abdi's Shams, and her mother was Umm Hakim al Baidha, daughter of 
 Abdu'l Muttalib-b-Hashim, twin sister of the father of the Apostle of God. 
 Thus the mother of Othman was the daughter of the paternal aunt of the 
 prophet.* 
 
 * Hashim 
 A'bdu'l Muttalib 
 
 A'bdu'Uah Umm Hakim 
 
 Mul,iDmmad. Aiwa. 
 
[ 155 ] 
 
 Ibn Ishak says that hb was the first to embrace Isldm after Abu Bakr, A H. 23. 
 and A'li, and Zayd-b-Harithah. Ibn A'sakir records on various ascriptions, A. D. 643. 
 that Othiman was of middling stature, neither short nor tall, of a comely 
 aspect, fair, inclined to yellow, upon his face the scars of small-pox, full 
 bearded, large of limb, broad between the shoulders, fleshy in the thigh, 
 long in the forearms, which were clothed with hair. He was curly -headed, 
 bald, having the most beautiful teeth of all men, his locks falling below 
 his ears dyed a yellowish colour, and verily he used to bind his teeth with 
 gold wire. And on the authority of A'bdu'llah-b-Hazm al Mazini,* that 
 he said, " I have seen Othmdn the son of Affdn, but I have never seen man 
 or woreian more beautiful of face than he." And from Mtisa-b-Talhah, 
 that Othman was the most comely of men. And from Usamah-b-Zayd that 
 he said, " the Apostle of God sent me to the house of Othman with a dish 
 of meat and I entered, and lo ! there was Eukayyah seated. And I began 
 to look now upon the face of Eukayyah, and now upon the face of Othman, 
 and when I returned, the Apostle of God enquired of me and said, " didst 
 thou go in to them ?" I said " yes ;" he continued, " hast thou ever seen a 
 more comely pair than those two ?" I said " no — Apostle of God." 
 
 Ibn Saa'd records on the authority of Muhammad-b-Ibrahim-b-i'l' 
 Harith at Taymi, that when Othman became a Muslim, his paternal uncle 
 al Hakam-b-Abi'l A'as-b-XJmayyah, took him and bound him with a cord 
 and said, " dost thou turn from the faith of thy fathers to the religion of 
 an innovator ? by Allah, I will never let thee go until thou abandonest 
 what thou art about." And Othman said, " by Allah, I will never forsake 
 it nor abandon it." And when al Hakam saw his steadfastness in his 
 faith, he released him. 
 
 Abu Ta'la records on the authority of Anas, that the first of the Mus- 
 lims who emigrated with his family to Abyssinia was Othman-b-A'ffan, 
 aAd the Apostle of God said, " may God protect those two, for Othman 
 was assuredly the first who emigrated with his family after Lot." And 
 Ibn A'di from Ayesha, that when the prophet married his daughter TJmm 
 Kulthum to Othman, he said to her, '' verily thy-husband resembles jnost, 
 among men, thy forefather Abraham and thy father Muhammad." And 
 Ibn A'di and Ibn A'sakir, from Ibn Omar, that the Apostle of God said, 
 " I find a resemblance in Othman to my forefather Abraham." 
 
 * There are three families of the Mazins— those of the tribes of Tamim, Kays and 
 Eabii'h. 
 
[ 156 1 
 
 A. H. 23. On the traditions lumded down regarding his merits, over and 
 
 A. D. 643. above what has preceded. 
 
 The two Shaykhs record on the testimony of Ayesha, that the prophet 
 gathered together his garments when Othman entered, and said " shall I 
 not be bashful before the man before-whom the angels stand abashed ?" 
 And al Bukhari from Abu A'bdu'r Eahman as Sulami,* that Othman when 
 he was besieged in his house, stood up overlooking the hesiegers and said, 
 " I conjure ye, by Allah, and I call on none but the Companions of the 
 prophet,— do ye not know that the Apostle of God said, ' he who aideth 
 in providing for the army of distress,t for him is Paradise' — and I fitted 
 them out ? Do ye not know that the Apostle of God said, ' he who diggeth 
 the well at Etimah.J for him is Paradise,' and I dug it?" And they 
 testified to the truth of what he said. 
 
 At Tirmidi records on the authority of A'bdu'r Eahman-b-Khabbab, 
 that he said, " I saw the Apostle of God encouraging the army of distress, 
 and Othman exclaimed, ' Apostle of God ! I answer for one hundred 
 camels with their housings and saddles for the sake of God :' and the 
 prophet continued encouraging the troops, and Othman cried out, ' O 
 Apostle of God, I answer for two hundred camels with their housings and 
 I saddles for the sake of God.' And he went on encouraging the troops, 
 and Othman called out, ' O Apostle of God — I answer for three hundred 
 camels with their housings and saddles for the sake of God.' Then "the 
 Apostle of God descended from the pulpit, saying, " Othman will not be 
 judged whatever he may do after this." And from Anas and al Hdkim, 
 verified on the authority of A'bdu'r Eahman-b-Samurah§ that Othman went 
 to the prophet with a thousand dinars, when he was fitting out the army 
 of distress and poured it into his lap, and the Apostle of God began turn- 
 ing it over, saying twice, " it shall not harm Othman, whatever he may ^o 
 
 * A'bu A'fcdu'r Eahmfin A'bdu'Ilah-b-Habib as Sulami al Kufi was bom in the life- 
 time of Muhammad. He learned to read tbe Kurfa under the tuition of the Caliphs 
 Othmlji and A'li and taught the same aoienoe in the mosque of Kufah, died A. H. 74 
 (693-4). De Slane I. K. 
 
 t The army of Tabuk. This expedition against the Greeks was undertaken 
 at a time of great heat and drought, and the sufferings of the troops procured for it 
 this name. He furnished them with 960 camels and 60 horses. 
 
 X Between Jurf and ZighAbah, near Medina; Omar purchased it firom the Jews 
 for twenty thousand dirhams, and gave it to the Muslims. An Nawawi. 
 
 § Abu S'aid, A'bdu'r Ealimfai, son of Samurab. the Companion. (See note t 
 p. 42). He was a resident of Ba?rah. He fought in Khorasln in the time of Othm4n 
 and overran Sigistdn and Kabul. He related fourteen traditions from his master. 
 Died at Bairah (and some say at Marv) A. H. SO or 51. An Nawawi. 
 
[ 157 ] 
 
 after this day." And from Anas that he said, " when the Apostle of God 
 commanded the allegiance pleasing* to God to be, sworn to him, Othmdn "*■• "*''' 
 was the messenger of the Apostle of God to the people of Mecca, aiid the 
 men sware allegiance, and the prophet said, ' verily Ofchman, is employed 
 in the requirements of God and the needs of His Apostle,' and he struck 
 one hand upon the other, and the hand of the Apostle of God as a pledge 
 for Othman was better than their hands for themselves." And from Ibn 
 Omar that the Apostle of God spoke of dissensions and said, alluding to 
 Othman, "this one shall be wrongfully slain in them." 
 
 At Tirmidi and al Hakim and Ibn Majah record on the authority of 
 Murrah-b-Kaa'b that he said, " I heard the apostle of God speaking of 
 troubles that he thought to- be near at hand, when a man passed by 
 muffled up in his garment, and he said, ' this man to-day is in the path of 
 salvation ;' and I went to him and lo ! it was Othman, and I turned my 
 face towards ^Ae ^ro^Ae^, and said, 'this man?'' He replied 'yes.'" And 
 at Tirmidi and al Hakim from Ayesha, that the prophet said, " O Othman, 
 perchance the Lord may clothe thee with a garment, and if the hypocrites 
 desire to take it from thee, put it not off till thou meetest me in Paradise." 
 And at Tirmidi from Othman that he said on the day of the siege of his 
 house, " verily, the apostle of God, hath made a covenant with me, and I 
 am awaiting its fulfilment." 
 
 Al Hdkim records on the authority of Abu Hurayrah that he said, 
 " Othman purchased Paradise from the prophet on two occasions ; viz., 
 when he dug the well of Riimah, and when he fitted out the army of dis- 
 tress." And Ibn A'sakir from Abu Hurayrah, that the prophet said, 
 " Othman among the Companions, most resembles me in disposition." And 
 at Tabarani from A'smah-b-Malik that he said, " when the daughter of the 
 apostle of God died under the roof of Othman, the apostle of God said, 
 " Give your daughters in marriage to Othman — if I had a third daughter, I 
 would assuredly give her in marriage to him, and I have never wedded any 
 to him save under inspiration." And Ibn A'sakir from A'li, that he narrates, 
 " I heard the apostle of God say to Othman, " if I had forty daughters, 
 I would wed them with thee one after the other, until not one of them 
 was left." And from Zayd-b-Thabit that he narrates, " I heard the 
 Apostle of God say, Othman passed me, and there was with me one 
 of the angels who said, ' he shall he a martyr — his people shall slay him — 
 I am abashed before him.' " Abu Ya'la records on the authority of Ibn 
 Omar that the prophet said, " verily the angels stand abashed before 
 
 * At HudayWyah. The word m^J^J is used, because it is employed with 
 reference to this occasion in Kur. XL VII. 
 
[ 158 ] 
 
 A. H. _3. Othman as they stand abashed before God and his apostle." And Ibn 
 
 A. D. 613. A'sakir from al Hasan that the modesty of Othman was mentioned in his 
 
 hearing, and he said, " if it were that he was in the middle of his house, 
 
 and the door closed upon him, and he were to put aside his clothes to pour 
 
 water upon himself, modesty would forbid him to straighten his back." 
 
 On Ms Caliphate. 
 
 He was sworn allegiance to as Caliph, three nights after Omar was 
 buried, and it is related that the people at that time were gathered about 
 A'bdu'r Eahman-b-A'uf taking counsel with him, and speaking privily 
 with him, and there was not a man of judgment who was in private with 
 him who held any one equal to Othman. And when A'bdu'r Bahman took 
 his seat for the covenant of allegiance, he praised God and glorified him and 
 said in his discourse, " verily I see that the people reject all but Othman." 
 (Ibn A'sakir from Miswar*-b-Makhramah). But according to another 
 account, he said, " and now O A'li I have regarded the people and I have 
 not seen any of them equalling Othman, therefore make not a way unto 
 the Caliphate for thyself." Then he took the hand of Othman and said, 
 " I swear allegiance to thee according to the law of God, and the law of 
 his apostle, and the law of the two Caliphs after him." And A'bdu'r Bah- 
 man swore fealty to him, and Fugitives and the Auxiliaries swore him allegi- 
 ance. 
 
 Ibn Saa'd records on the authority of Anas, that Omar an hour before 
 be died sent to the father of Talhah the Auxiliary and said, " go at the head 
 of fifty of the Auxiliaries with those men of the Council, for as I count 
 upon it, they will assemble together in a house. Stand thou at that door 
 with thy Companions and suffer none to go in to them and let not the 
 third day pass with them before they give authority to one among them." 
 It is recorded in. the Musnad of Ahmad on the authority of Abu Wailf 
 
 • Abu A'bdu'r Eahman Miswar-b-Makhramali-b-Naufal descended from Murrah. 
 He was bom at Mecca two years after the Fligbt and was one of the moat skilled of the 
 Companions in jurisprudence. He remained at Medina till the death of Othman and 
 then returned to Mecca, and after the death of Mu'awiyah, remained with Ibn az 
 Zubayr, till tlje siege by al Hajj&j, when he was killed by a stone from a catapult. 
 An Naw. 
 
 + Abu Wdil Shakik-b-Salimah a Tabi'i of the tribe of Asad, native of Kufah. He 
 was a cotemporary of Muljammad but never saw him, died A. H. 79. His authority 
 as a traditiouist is acknowledged. An Nawawi. 
 
[ 159 ] 
 
 that he narrates, ''■ I said to A'bdu'r Rahman-b-A'uf, ' how did ye swear A. H. 23. 
 allegiance to Othman and pass over A'li?' he replied, ' it was not my A. D. 643. 
 fault. Verily I began with A'li and I said, " I will make with thee a cove- 
 nant of allegiance according to the Book of God, and the law of His 
 apostle, and the institutions of Abu Eakr, and Omar." And he replied 
 " in as far as I am able ;" then I offered the same to Othmdn and he 
 accepted.' " 
 
 And it is related that A'bdu'r Rahman said to Othman in private, " if 
 I make not a covenant of allegiance with thee whom dost thou counsel to 
 me ?" He replied, " A'li ;" and he said to A'li, " if I make not a covenant 
 of allegiance with thee, whom dost thou counsel to mp ?" he said, " Oth- 
 man." Then he summoned az Zubayr and said, " if I make not a cove- 
 nant of allegiance with thee, whom dost thou counsel to me ?" He 
 replied, "A'li or Othman." Then he summoned Saa'd and said, " whom 
 dost thou counsel to me? for I and thou desire it not : " and he said, 
 " Othman." Then A'bdu'r Rahman took counsel with the chief men, and 
 he said that most of them were for Othman. 
 
 Ibn Saa'd and al Hakim record on the authority of Ibn Masa'iid that 
 he said, " when Othman was sworn allegiance to, we placed in authority 
 the best that remained among us, and we were not remiss in our duty." 
 
 In this year of his Caliphate, Rai was taken, for it had been taken 
 before and lost again. In "the same, the people were attacked with a great 
 issuing of blood from the nose, and it was called the Year of the He- 
 morrhage. This haemorrhage seized Othman, so that he was detained 
 from the pilgrimage and deputed another j,n his stead. During the same 
 many Grecian fortresses were taken, and Othman placed Saa'd-b-Abi 
 Wakkas in the government of Kufah, and removed al Mughirah. 
 
 In the year 25, Othman removed Saa'd from Kiifah and appointed 
 al Walid-b-U'k'bah-b-Abi Muayt', who was a Companion, a brother of 0th- 
 man's on the motlier's side, and that was the first thing with which he was 
 reproached in that he preferred his relations to posts of authority : moreover 
 it is related that al Walid read morning prayers to the people four 
 rakaa'ts, while he was intoxicated, and he looked upon them and said, 
 " shall I go on for ye ?" 
 
 In the year 26, Othman enlarged the sacred mosque and extended 
 it and purchased the adjoining buildings for its augmentation. During 
 the same Sablir* was taken. 
 
 In the year 27, Mu'awiyah led an expedition against Cyprus, and 
 crossed the sea with his troops, and with him was U'badah-b-u'l Samitf 
 
 * Shahpur probatly. Near Shiraz. Tlie MS. has Naysabtir. 
 
 t He was one of the Companipns sent by Omar to Syria at the time of its con- 
 
[ 160 ] 
 
 A. H. 27. and his wife Umm Haram, daug'hter of Milhan, a woman of the Auxiliaries. 
 A. D. 647. She fell from her mule, and died there for the faith. The prophet had 
 foretold to her this expedition and prayed that she might be one of them. 
 She was buried at Cyprus. 
 
 During this year Arrajan (jErghdn) and Darabjird were taken ;* and 
 in the same Othman removed A'mr-b-u'l A'as from Egypt and appointed 
 over it A'bdu'llah-b-Saa'd-b-Abi Sarh, who led an expedition against Nor- 
 thern Africa and overran it both plains and hills, and each man of the 
 troops received a thousand and some say, three thousand dinars. Spain 
 was als6 subsequently conquered in this year. 
 
 An anecdote deserves mention. Mu'awiyah had urged upon Omar-b- 
 u'l Khattab the expedition to Cyprus and the neeessity of reaching it by 
 a sea voyage, and Omar wrote to A'mr-b-u'l A'as, saying, " describe to me 
 the sea and its rider." And he wrote, saying, "Verily I saw a huge con- 
 struction, upon which mounted diminutive creatures, if it is stiU, it rends 
 the heart, if it moves, it terrifies the senses. Within it the faculties grow 
 diminishing and calamities augmenting. Those inside it, are like worms 
 in a log. If it inclines to one side, they are drowned, if it escapes, they 
 are confounded." When Omar read the letter, he wrote to Mu'awiyah, 
 saying, " By Allah, I will not set a true believer upon it." 
 
 Ibn Jarir says that Mu'awiyah proceeded against Cyprus in the time 
 of Othman, and concluded a peace with its inhabitants on condition of 
 tribute. 
 
 In the year 29, Persepolis was taken by force of arms and Kasa and 
 other places. During the same, Othman enlarged the mosque of Medina 
 and built it of carved stone, and fashioned its pillars of stones, and its roof 
 of teakwood, and made its length one hundred and sixty cubits and its 
 breadth one hundred and fifty cubits. 
 
 In the year 30, Jtir was taken, and many towns in the land of Khura- 
 san. Naysabtir was occupied by treaty, though some say, by force ; and 
 Tiis and Sarkhas both by treaty and likewise Marw and Bayhak.f When 
 these extensive provinces were conquered, abundant was the tribute unto 
 Othman, and wealth came unto him from every side, so that he established 
 
 quest to teach the people the Kuran. He died at Jerusalem and some say at Eamlah 
 in A. H. 34, aged 72. An Nawawi. 
 
 * An aliph is omitted in the printed edition. DfirAhjird is near Persepolis : another 
 town of the name is near Nayaabur. 
 
 t Aooording to Ydkut, Bayha^ comprises the country hetween Naysahflr, or as 
 it is commonly written Nishapur, Kiimis and Juwayn, and contains throe hundred 
 and twenty-one villages. 
 
[ 161 ] 
 
 for himself treasuries and gave bountiful stipends,* and he would order a A. H. 30. 
 man a hundred thousand badras, in each " badrah,"t being four thousand A. D. 650. 
 ounces. 
 
 In the year 31, {Sere a hiatus in the MSS. The intervening years have 
 little to mark them). In 31, according to Abu'l Fida, {Annals') Yezdi- 
 jird died, and a rebellion broke out in Khurasan, but was quelled by 
 Othmdn. In 83 died Iln Masa'ud, the Companion. In 34 and 35 
 occurred the seditions in Kufah against the nepotism of Othmdn. In 
 the year 35 took place the assassination of Othmdn. 
 
 Az Zuhri says that Othman ruled the Caliphate twelve years. For 
 six years he governed without the people having anything to reproach 
 against him ; and he was more beloved by the Kuraysh than Omar, for 
 Omar was stern with them, and when Othman ruled them, he treated them 
 with leniency and was attached to them. But afterwards he became heed- 
 less of their affairs, and appointed his kinsmen and the people of his house 
 to authority during the last six years, and bestowed upon Marwan a fifth 
 of the revenues of Africa, and lavished on his kindred and family the 
 property of the State, and explained it as the assistance to kindred which 
 the Lord had enjoined, and said, " verily Abu Bakr and Omar have neg- 
 lected in that matter what was incumbent upon them, and I have taken it 
 and divided it among my kindred ;" but the people disapproved of it. 
 (Ibn Saa'd). 
 
 Ibn A'sakir records, after another account, on the authority of az 
 Zuhri that he narrates, " I said to Sa'id-b-u'l Musayyab, ' canst thou tell 
 me the ma,nner of the death of Othman, and how it was with the people 
 and with him, and why the Companions of Muhammad forsook him ?' 
 and Ibn u'l Musayyab replied, ' Othman was slain unjustly, and he who 
 slew him was a wrongdoer, but those who forsook him are to be excused.' 
 I said, ' how was that ?' He replied, ' when Othman assumed, the govern- 
 ment, some of the Companions disapproved of his rule, because Othman 
 
 Jill might also mean that he caused provisions and the like to poitr in plenti. 
 
 fully — as in Omar's orders to Jthe tax-gatherers eri*^~*'l *^ (jyil ; tut here the 
 context seems to refer to stipends from the treasury. 
 
 t A badrah is a purse containing a sum of, from one thousand to ten thousand 
 dirhams. It appears incredihle that in the early days of the Caliphate such extrava- 
 gance could have existed, hut the lavish hounty of Othman is noticed by Gibbon and 
 it gained for him in return but ingratitude and discontent. 
 21 
 
[ 162 ] 
 
 A. H. 35. had a great affection for his tribe. He ruled the Caliphate twelve 
 A. D. 655-6. years, and frequently appointed to office among the Banu Umayyah, 
 ' those who had not enjoyed the Companionship of the Apostle of 
 God. Thus there were committed by his prefects those actions which 
 the Companions of Muhammad did not approve. Othman, however, 
 favoured them and did not remove them, and during the last six years, he 
 preferred the children of his uncle and appointed them to rule, and let 
 none others share with them, nor enjoined on them the fear of God. 
 Thus he appointed A'bdu'llah-b-Saa'd-b-Abi Sarh to govern Egypt and he 
 remained over it some years. The people of Egypt complained and sought 
 redress against him. And verily before this, there had occurred on the 
 part of Othman a slight towards A'bdu'Uah-b-Masa'lid, and Abu Darr 
 and A'mmar-b-Ydsir, and the Banu Hudayl and the Banu Zuhrah had in 
 their hearts what was in them on account of Ibn Masa'ud, and the Banu 
 Ghafdr, and their confederates and those that were wroth concerning Abu 
 Darr, had in their hearts what was in them, and the Banu Makhzum were 
 wroth with Othman on account of A'mmdr-b-Yasir. And the people of 
 Egypt came complaining against the son of Abu Sarh, and Othman wrote 
 to him a letter threatening him in it, but the son of Abu Sarh refused to 
 submit to what Othman had forbidden him, and he scourged him who 
 had come from Othman, of the people of Egypt that had gone to Othman 
 complaininff,,-ajndL slew him. Then seven hundred of the people of Egypt 
 went forth, and they alighted at the mosque at Medina,, and made their 
 complaint to the Companions at the appointed places of prayer, of what 
 the son of Abu Sarh had done to them. Thereupon Talhah-b-TJ'bayd- 
 i'llah arose and spoke harsh words to Othman, and Ayesha sent to him 
 and said, ' the Companions of Muhammad have come to thee and asked 
 of thee the removal of this man and thou hast refused, yet this man hath 
 put to death a man among them. Therefore do them justice against thy 
 governor.' And A'li-b-Abi Talib went in to him and said, ' verily they 
 demand of you one man in the place of another and have claimed for him 
 tie revenge for blood, therefore remove him from over them and judge 
 between them, for a claim stands against him, therefore do them justice 
 upon him.' He replied to them, ' choose ye a man that I may appoint 
 him over ye in his place.' And the people pointed out to him Muhammad 
 the son of Abu Bakr, and said, ' place over us Muhammad the son of Abu 
 Bakr.' And he wrote him his charge and appointed him. And there 
 went forth with them a number of the Fugitives and Auxiliaries that they 
 might see what was happening between the people of Egypt and the son 
 of Abu Sarh, and Muhammad and those with him set forth. But when 
 they were at the third day's stage from Medina, behold ! there came up 
 with them a black slave upon a camel striking the camel violently like to 
 
[ 163 ] 
 
 A man who pursues or is pursued, and the companions of Muhammad* A. H. 35. 
 said to liim, ' what is thy adveijture and thy condition ? for verily thou A. D. 655-6. 
 art either fleeing or pursuing.' And he said to them, ' I am the slave of the 
 prince of the Faithful who hath sent me to the prefect of Egypt.' And a 
 man said to him, ' this is the prefect of Egypt.' He replied, ' it is not this 
 one I want.' " 
 
 Then Muhammad the son of Abu Bakr was informed regarding him, 
 and he sent a man in pursuit of him, who caught him and brought him 
 before him, and he said, " slave, who art thou ?" And he began saying at 
 one time, " I am the slave of the prince of the Faithful," and at another, 
 " I am the slave of Marwan," until a man recognized him as the slave of 
 Othman. Then Muhammad said to him, " Unto whom art thou sent ?" 
 He replied, " to the prefect of Egypt." He asked, " with what ?" He 
 answered, " with a letter." He said, " Is the letter with thee ?" He re- 
 plied, " no" whereupon they searched him, but found no letter upon him, 
 but with him was a ewer in which was something dried up that rustled, and 
 they shook it that it might be cast out, but it did not come out, so they 
 broke the ewer when lo ! there was in it a letter from Othman to the son 
 of Abu Sarh. Then Muhammad assembled those that were with him of 
 the Fugitives and Auxiliaries and others, and he opened the letter in their 
 presence, when behold ! there was in it : " When Muhammad and such a 
 one and such a one reach thee, contrive a scheme for their death, and set 
 aside his charge, and remain in thy government until my advice reach thee, 
 and imprison such as come to me seeking redress against thee ; verily my 
 advice will reach thee in regard to that matter, if it please God." And 
 when they read the letter, they were terrified and confounded, and they 
 turned back to Medina, and Muhammad sealed the letter with the seals of 
 the people who were with him, and gave it to a man among them, and they 
 proceeded to Medina and assembled Talhah and az Zubayr and A'li and 
 Saa'd and those who were among the Companions of Muhammad. Then 
 they reopened the letter in their presence and informed them of the story 
 of the slave, and read to them the letter. And there was not one of the 
 people of Medina but was wroth against Othman, and it increased the 
 wrath and anger of those who were enraged on account of Ibn Masa'ud, 
 Abu Darr, and A'mmar-b-Yasir. And the Companions of Muhammad 
 went to their homes there not being one among them, but he was grieved 
 at what they had read in the letter. And the people besieged Othman, and 
 Muhammad the son of Abu Bakr led against him the Banu Taym and 
 
 * The usual benediction foUo-ws this name, but I am inclined to tbink it has 
 been inadvertently inserted, Muliammad here referring to the son of Abu Bakr and 
 not to the founder of Islam. 
 
[ 164 ] 
 
 A. H. 35. others ; and when A'li saw that, he sent to Talhah and az Zubayr and 
 A. D. 655-6. Saa'd and A'mmar and others of the Companions, all of them being men 
 who had fought at Badr. Then he went to Othman taking with him the 
 letter, the slave and the camel, and Ali said to him, " is this slave, thy 
 slave ?" He replied, " yes." He continued, " and this camel, thy camel ?" 
 He answered, " yes." He said, " then didst thou write this letter ?" He 
 said, " no," and he swore by Allah, saying, " I did not write this letter, 
 nor command it to le written, nor have I any knowledge of it." A'li said 
 to him, " then is the seal thy seal ?" He answered, " yes." He said, 
 " then how could thy slave go forth with thy camel, and with a letter upon 
 which is thy seal, thou knowing not of it ?" But Othman swore by the 
 Lord, saying, " I did not write this letter nor command it to he written, 
 nor did I ever send this slave to Egypt." 
 
 Now as to the writing, they recognised it to be the writing of Mar- 
 wan, and they doubted regarding Othman, but demanded of him that he 
 should give up to them Marwan, but he refused, Marwan being with him 
 in the house. Then the Companions of Muhammad went forth from him 
 much enraged, and they were in doubt regarding him for they knew that 
 Othman would not swear falsely, save that some said, " Othman will not 
 be absolved in our hearts, unless he giveth up to us Marwan, that we may 
 interrogate- him and learn the affairs of the letter, and how he commanded 
 the death of a man among the Companions of Muhammad without due 
 cause, and if it be Othman that vsrrote it, we will depose him, and if it be 
 Marwan that wrote it upon the suggestion of Othman, we shall consider 
 what we shall do concerning Marwdn." And they kept to their houses, 
 but Othman refused to give Marwan up to them, for he feared death for 
 him. And the people besieged Othman and prevented him from obtaining 
 water ; he therefore looked down upon the people from above and exclaim- 
 ed, " Is A'li among ye ?" And they said, " no." He said, " is Saa'd 
 among ye ?" They replied, " no'' ; then he was silent. Again he exclaimed, 
 " Will not any one inform A'li that he may give us water to drink ?" Ali 
 was then informed of this and he sent three large leathern water bottles 
 filled with water, but it was nigh unto not reaching him, for a number of 
 the freedmen of the Banu Hashim and the Banu Umayya were wounded 
 on account of it until the water reached him. A'li was then informed that 
 the death of Othman was sought, and he said, " verily we desire of him 
 MarwAn, but the death of Othman — no," and he said to al Hasan and al 
 Husayn, " go ye with your swords until ye stand over the door of Othmdn 
 and suffer not any one to go in to him." And az Zubayr sent his son and 
 Talhah sent his son, and a number of the Companions of Muhammad sent 
 their sons to prevent the people from going into Othmdn, and to demand 
 the surrender of Marwan. And when Muhammad the son of Abu Bakr 
 
[ 165 ] 
 
 saw that, and that the people had shot arrows against Othman, until al A. H. 35. 
 
 Hasan was stained with blood at his door, and an arrow had reached Mar- A. D. 655-6. 
 
 wan who was inside the house, and Muhammad the son of Talhah was dyed 
 
 with Mood and Kanbar the freedman of A'li had his head broken, then Mu- 
 
 hammad-b-Abi Baki- feared that the Banu Hashim might be angered at the 
 
 -condition of al Hasan and al Husayn and provoke a tumult, so he took the 
 
 hands of two men and said to them, " if the Banu Hashim arrive and see 
 
 the blood upon the face of al Hasan, they will disperse the people from 
 
 Othman, and what we desire will miscarry, but come with me until we 
 
 climb above him upon the house, and slay him without any one's knowing 
 
 it. And Muhammad and his two Companions climbed from a house of a 
 
 man of the Auxiliaries until they penetrated unto Othman, and not one 
 
 of those who were with him knew of it, for all those that were with him 
 
 were upon the tops of the houses, and he was alone with his wife. Then 
 
 Muhammad said to the two, " stay where ye are, for verily his wife is with 
 
 him, so that I may enter before ye, and when I s6ize him, then come in 
 
 and set upon him until ye slay him." And Muhammad entered and seized 
 
 him by the beard, and Othman said to him, " by Allah, could thy father 
 
 see thee, thy behaviour towards me would surely be hateful to him :" 
 
 thereupon his hand relaxed its hold, but the two men went in to him and 
 
 set upon him until tlW slew him, and then' came forth fleeing towards 'i/ 
 
 whence they had entered. Then his wife screamed, but her screaming 
 
 was not heard by reason of the clamour in the house, and she mounted up 
 
 to the people, and said, '' verily the prince of the Faithful hath been slain." 
 
 And the people entered and found him slain, and the news reached A'li, 
 
 and Talhah and az Zubayr and Saa'd and those that were in Medina, and 
 
 they set forth, for verily their senses left them at the news they had 
 
 heard, until they went in to Othman and found him slain, and they repeated 
 
 the ejaculation : " Verily we belong to God and unto Him shall we return" 
 
 (Kur. II). Then A'li said to his two sons, " how was the prince of the 
 
 Faithful slain and ye two at his door ?" and he raised his hand and struck • 
 
 al Hasan, and smote the breast of al Husayn, and reviled Muhanimad the 
 
 son of Talhah and A'bdu'llah the son of az Zubayr, and went forth in great 
 
 anger until he reached his house. Then the people hastened to him and 
 
 said, " we swear thee allegiance, wherefore stretch out thy hand, for a chief 
 
 is of necessity to us." And Ali said, " that belongeth not to me, — verily 
 
 that is with the men of Badr, for with whomsoever the men of Badr are 
 
 content, he is Vicegerent." 
 
 But there was not one of the men of Badr, hut went to A'li and said, 
 " we know none more deserving of it than thee — stretch forth thy hand 
 that we may make a covenant with thee." And they swore allegiance to 
 him, and Marwan and his son fled, and A'li went unto the wife of Othman 
 
[ 166 ] 
 
 A. H. 35. and said to her, " who slew Othman ? " She replied, " I know not ; two 
 A. D. 655-6. men went in to him, whom I do not recognize and with them was Muham- 
 mad the son of Abu Bakr," and she informed A'li and the people of what 
 Muhammad had done. And A'li sent for Muhammad and asked him con- 
 cerning what the wife of Othman had mentioned, and Muhammad said 
 " she hath not spoken falsely — verily, by Allah, I went in to him, and I 
 purposed to slay him, but he bid me remember my father, and I stood off 
 from him turning in repentance to God, — by Allah, I did not slay him nor 
 hold him ;" and the wife of Othman said, " he hath spoken truly, but he 
 brought the two within." 
 
 Ibn A'sakir records on the authority of Kananah the freedman of 
 Safinah, and others, that it was one of the Egyptians, a man with blue 
 eyes and ruddy complexion that slew Othman — he was called Himar. 
 Ahmad records on the authority of al Mughirah-b-Shuu'bah, that he went 
 into Othman, when he was beseiged and said, " thou art verily the Imam 
 of the people, and yet there hath befallen thee what thou seest ; and verily 
 now I place before thee three courses ; choose one of them. Either go 
 forth and fight them, for surely with thee are numbers and force, and thou 
 art in the right and they are in the wrong — or cut open for thyself a door, 
 other than the door over which they stand, and mount thy camel and get 
 thee to Mecca, for they will not hold it lawful to slay thee while thou art 
 there, — or betake thee to Syria, for verily the people of Syria, among them 
 is Mu'awiyah." But Othman said, " if I go forth and fight, I cannot be 
 the first of those who have succeeded the Apostle of God, to shed blood — 
 and if I set out for Mecca, then have I heard the Apostle of God say, " a 
 man of the Kuraysh shall be buried in Mecca upon whom shall be half the 
 chastisement of the world" — and I shall not be he — and if I betake me to 
 Syria, then I cannot forsake the city of my Flight, and the neighbourhood 
 of the Apostle of God." 
 
 Ibn A'sdkir records on the authority of Abu Thaur al Fahami that he 
 narrates, " I went in to Othman while he was besieged and he said, " I have 
 laid up with my Lord ten things — ^verily I was one of four in Islam — and 
 the Apostle of God gave me his daughter in marriage — afterwards she 
 died and he gave me in marriage his other daughter — and I never courted* 
 nor sought Jier, nor have I applied my right hand to an unworthy use, since 
 I made a covenant of allegiance with it, with the Apostle of God, — and 
 never has a Friday passed over me since I became a Muslim, but I freed a 
 slave, except when I had nothing in my possession, when I would free one 
 afterwards, — and I have never committed fornication either in the time of 
 Ignorance or Isldm — and never have I stolen either in the time of Igno- 
 rance or Islam — and verily I collected the Kuran in the time of the Apos- 
 tle of God." 
 
 * It may also moan — " I nover onriclied mysolf — nor dosivod might . 
 
[ 167 ] 
 
 The assassination of Othmdn took place in the midst of the three days A. IT. 35. 
 next after the day of sacrifice,* in the year 35. It is also said that he A. D. 055-6. 
 was slain on Friday thg 18th of Du'l Hijjah (I7th June, 656) and was 
 buried on Friday night between sunset and night-fall in Hash Kaukabf 
 in the cemetery, and he was the first buried therein. 
 
 Others say that he was slain on Wednesday, and some, on Monday 
 the 24th of Du'l Hijjah, and on the day he was slain, he was eighty-two 
 years old. It is also said that he was eighty-one, — and eighty -four — and 
 eighty-six— and eighty-eight or nine — and ninety. Katadah says that az 
 Zubayr read prayers over him and buried him, Othman having charged 
 him to do that. 
 
 Ibn A'di and Ibn Asakir record from a tradition of Anas transmitted 
 uninterruptedly from the prophet, " verily the Lord hath a sword 
 sheathed in a scabbard as long as Othmdn liveth, and when Othman shall be 
 slain, that sword shall be drawn, and it shall not be sheathed until the day 
 of resurrection." A'mr-b-Kaid is the sole authority for this, and he is the 
 author of traditions of unacknowledged authority. Ibn A'sakir records 
 on the authority of Yazid-b-Abi Habib that he said, " I have heard that 
 the whole party that attacked Othman were all seized with insanity." 
 And from Hudayfah, that he said, " the beginning of seditions is the 
 murder of Othman, and in the last times of sedition will be the coming 
 of Dajjal, and by Him in whose hand is my life, not a man shall die hav- 
 ing in his heart a grain's weight of the desire of Othman's murder, but he 
 would follow Dajjal, did he attain unto his time, and if he hath not attain- 
 ed unto his time, he will believe in him in his grave." And from Ibn 
 A'bbas, that he said, " if the people had not sought the blood-wit of Oth- 
 man, they would have been stoned from Heaven." And from al Hasan, 
 that he said, " Othman was slain and A'li was absent on an estate belonging 
 to him, and when he heard it, he exclaimed, " O God ! verily I have not 
 approved, nor abetted it." 
 
 Al Hakim has recorded and verified on the authority of Kays-b-A'bbad 
 that he narrates, " I heard A'li on the day of the Camel say, ' O God, I 
 am guiltless before thee of the blood of Othman,' and verily my mind wan- 
 dered on the day of the murder of Othman, and my spirit revolted, and 
 they came to me to swear allegiance and I exclaimed, ' verily I am ashamed 
 to make a covenant with a people that have slain Othman, and verily 
 
 * 7. e. the 11th, 12th and 13th of Du'l Hijjah— these days were so called ( (hi 
 f\iJ!Si\ \ heoauae the flesh of the victims was therein out into thin stripes and dried in 
 the sun. Lane. 
 
 t A piece of ground hought hy Othman and attached to the cemetery at Medina, 
 TaWt. 
 
[ 168 ] 
 
 A. H. 35. I am ashamed before God that allegiance should be sworn to me, while 
 A. D. 655-6. Othmanisyet unburied.' Then they departed and when. the people re- 
 turned, they questioned me concerning the covenant of allegiance ; I re- 
 plied, ' O God, I am in fear for that which hath been done against Othman.' 
 Then they came to a determination and swore allegiance and exclaimed, 
 ' prince of the Faithful ;' and it was as if my heart was rent and I 
 said, ' God, smite me on account of Othman until thou art content.' "* 
 Ibn A'sakir records on the authority of Abu Khaldah al Hanafi that he 
 narrates, " I heard A'li say, ' verily the Banu Umayyah think that I put 
 Othman to death, but no !^by that God besides whom there is no other 
 God, I did not slay nor abet, nay, verily I forbade it but they disobeyed 
 me.' And from Samurah, that he said, ' verily Islam was in a strong 
 fortress, and verily they have made in Islam a breach by their slaying of 
 Othman, which will not be closed till the day of resurrection, and verily 
 the Caliphate was with the people of Medina, but they have cast it forth 
 and it shall not return to them.' And from Muhammad-b-Sirin, that he 
 said, ' the piebald horsesf were never missing in battles, and among the 
 troops until Othmdn was slain, and never were there variations in the ap- 
 pearance of the new moons until Othman was slain, and the redness in the 
 horizon of the sky was never seen until al Husayn was murdered." 
 
 A'bdu'r Razzak records in his Musannaf on the authority of Hamid- 
 b-Hilal, that A'bdu'llah-b-Saldm went to the besiegers of Othman, saying, 
 " slay him not, for by Allah, not a man among ye shall slay him but he 
 will meet the Lord mutilated, without a hand. And verily, the sword of 
 God hath continued sheathed, but surely by Allah, if ye slay him, the 
 Lord will indeed draw it, and will never sheathe it from ye — never was a 
 prophet slain, but there were slain on account of him, seventy thousand, 
 and never a Caliph, but there were slain by reason of him five and thirty 
 thousand before the people were again united." And Ibn A'sakir from 
 A'bdu'r Rahman-b-Mahdi, that Othman had two merits which belonged not 
 to Abu Bakr nor to Omar, viz., his self-coUectedness until he was slain, 
 and his uniting the, people upon owe text of the Kuran. And al Hakim 
 from as Shaa'bi that he says, " I have not heard among the elegies on 
 Othman, any more beautiful than the words of Kaa'b-b-Malik — ■ 
 
 ' He restrained his hands, and made fast his gate : 
 And he knew that the Lord was not heedless. 
 
 ♦ These reiterated asseverations of his innooence have the air of conscious guilt. 
 Githon gives it as doubtful whether he was sincere in his oppositon^^to the rehela, 
 and adds, that it is certain that he enjoyed the benefit of their crime. 
 
 t Upon which, it is feigned that the angels were mounted who fought in tha 
 Muslim ranks against the infidel. 
 
[ 169 ] 
 
 And he spake unto the people of the house, " slay ye them not A^Jl. 35. 
 
 The Lord forgiveth every man that doth not contend." A. D. 655-6. 
 
 Thou hast seen how the Lord hath poured out upon them 
 
 Enmity and hatred, following harmony with one another. 
 
 And thou hast seen how goodness turned fleeing afterwards 
 
 From the people, with the jlight of hastening winds." 
 
 Ibn Saa'd records on the authority of Musa-b-Talhah, that he said, " I 
 saw Othman go forth on a Friday wearing two yellow coloured garments, 
 and take his station at the pulpit, and the Muaddin was calling to prayers, 
 while he was conversing, asking the people concerning their current prices 
 and their news, and the sick among them." And from A'bdu'Uah ar 
 Eumi, that Othman performed his ablutions at night himself, and it was 
 said to him, " if thou didst order some of thy servants, they would 
 suffice for thee." He replied, " no, the night is for them that they may 
 repose therein." 
 
 Ibn A'sakir records on the authority of A'mr the son of Othman-b- 
 A'ffan, that the impression on the signet ring of Othman was, " I believe 
 in Him who hath created and completely formed his creatures," (Kur. 
 LXXXVII). And Abu ISTua'ym in the " Dalail," from Ibn Omar, that 
 Jahjah al Ghifdri stood up before Othman while he was preaching, and 
 seized his staff out of his hand, broke it across his knee, but the year did 
 not pass by, before the Lord sent upon his foot a gangrene, of which he 
 died. 
 
 On the thinffs in which he was foremost. 
 
 AI A'skari says in the Awail that he. was the first who bestowed gifts 
 of revenue lands, and the first who enclosed pasturage, and the first who 
 lowered his voice in pronouncing the Takbir, and the first who embellished 
 the mosque at Medina, and the first who commanded the first call to 
 prayers on the Fridays, and the first who gave stipends to tCe callers to 
 prayer. He was the first who became impeded in his speech in preaching, 
 whereupon he exclaimed, " ye people, the first mounting is a hard task, 
 but after to-day, there are yet days and if I live the discourse will come 
 to ye after its wont — for we were never preachers, but the Lord will teach 
 us." (Ibn Saa'd.) He was the first who made: the discourse precede 
 prayers on the Eed, and the first who committed to the discretion of the 
 people the payment of their poor-rates, and the first who governed the 
 Caliphate during the lifetime of his mother, and the first who established 
 a constabulary, and the first who set apart an enclosure in the mosque, in 
 22 
 
[ 170 ] 
 
 A. H. 35. ' fear lest there slaould befall him what befell Omar. Thus much is men- 
 A D. 655-6. tioned by al A'skari. He adds, that the first occasion in which dissension 
 fell among the people, and some accused others of error, was in his time, 
 concerning the things for which they censured him — before that they dif- 
 fered in matters of jurisprudence but did not accuse each other of error. 
 I note that there remain of the things in which he was foremost, the 
 following, viz., that he was the first of this people who emigrated with his 
 family for the sake of God, as hath gone before, and the first who united 
 the people upon one text in the reading of the Kurdn. Ibn A'sakir re- 
 cords from Hakim-b-A'bbdd-b-Hanif that the first laxity that shewed 
 itself in Medina when the world waxed prosperous and the fatness of men 
 reached its height, was the flying of pigeons* and the shooting withf cross- 
 bows. Othman appointed over this a man of the Banu Layth in the eighth 
 year of his Caliphate, and he cut the wings of the pigeons and broke the 
 hows. 
 
 Among the distinguished people who died during Othman's time, were, 
 Surakah-b-Malik-b-Ju'shum — Jabbar-b-Sakhr — Hatib-b-Abi Baltaa'h — 
 I'yadh-b-Zuhayr. — Abu TJsayd as Sai'di — As-b-u's Samit — Harith-b- 
 Naufal — A'hdu'Uah-b-Hudafah— Zayd-b-i^^harijah, he who spake after 
 death — Labid the poet — Al Musayyab, the father of Sa'id — Mu'ad-b-A'mr 
 b-'il Jamiih — Ma'bid-b-u'I A'bbas — Mu'aykab-b-Abi Fatimah ad Dausi — 
 Abu Lababah-b-Abdi'l Mundir, Nua'ym-b-u'I Masa'ud al Ashja'i and 
 others of the Companions ; and besides the Companions, Hutayah the poet, 
 and Abu Duayb the poet, of the tribe of Hudayl. 
 
 A'LI-B-ABI TA'LIB. 
 
 A'li was the son of Abu Tdlib. The name of Abu Tdlib was A'bd 
 Mandf, the son of Abdu'l Muttalib, whose name was Shaybah, the son of 
 Hashim. Hashim's name was A'mr, son of A'bd Manaf, and the latter's 
 name, al Mughirah, the son of Kusayy, whose name was Zayd-b..Kilab-b- 
 Murrah-b-Kaa'b-b-Luayy-b-Ghalib-b-Fikr-b-Malik-b-Nadr-b-Kananah. Se 
 was called Abu'l Hasan, and Abu Turab, which names the prophet 
 gave him as surnames. His mother was Fatimah, the daughter of 
 Asad, the son of Hashim, and she was the first Hashimite woman givino- 
 birth to a Hashimi, that had been converted to Islam and taken part in 
 the Flight. A'li was one oi Vne iQn io -vihom th^ attainment of VaxzAim 
 
 * For wagers. 
 
 t For ^ in the printed edition the MS. has 4j both forms are allowable. 
 
[ 171 ] 
 
 was testified, and the brother of the Apostle of God in the J'raternal Union* A. H. 35. 
 and his son-in-law through Fdtimah, the queen of womankind. He was A. D. 655-6. 
 also one of the earliest converts to Isldm and one of the most learned 
 doctors of divinity and renowned heroes and famous ascetics and most cele- 
 brated preachers. He was one of those who collected the Kurdn and read 
 it under the tuition of the Apostle of God, and Abu'l Aswad ad Duali,t 
 Abu Abdu'r Rahman as Sulami,J and Abdu'r Eahmdn-b-Abi Laylah§ read 
 under his tuition. 
 
 He was the first Caliph of the Banu Hdshim and the father of the 
 two grandsons of Muhammad. He embraced Islam early ; indeed Ibn 
 A'bhas and Anas and Zayd-b-Arkam and Salman al Farisi, and others have 
 said that he was the first who embraced Islam, and some say that there is 
 a consensus for this. 
 
 Abu Ya'la records on the authority of A'li that he said, " the Apostle of 
 God was sent on his prophetic mission on Monday and I became a Muslim 
 on the Tuesday." His age when he was converted was ten years and some 
 say nine, and some eight, and others, under that." Al Hasan-b-Ziiyd-b-i'l 
 Hasan says, that he never worshipped idols from his infancy. (Ibn Saa'd.) 
 When the prophet fled to Medina, he commanded him to remain behind 
 at Mecca for some days, in order to discharge for him certain trusts and 
 charges and bequests which were incumbent on the prophet, and then join 
 him with his family, and he did so and was present with the Apostle of 
 God at Badr and Ohud and all the expeditions except Tabiik, for verily 
 the prophet had appointed him his Vicegerent at Medina. Throughout 
 all these operations, his services were conspicuous, and the prophet gave 
 him the standard to ca/rry on many battle-fields. Sa'id-b-u'l Musayyab 
 says that A'li received on the day of Ohud sixteen wounds. It is estab- 
 lished in the Sahihayn that the prophet gave him the standard on the day 
 of Khaybar and told him that victory would be at his hands. The accounts 
 of his bravery, and his services in the wars are well-known. 
 
 " A'li was advanced in years, stout, bold, very hairy, of middle stature, 
 inclining to shortness, full-bellied, with a very large beard white as cotton 
 which filled the space between the shoulders, and very tawny-complexioned. 
 
 * Muhammad united tiie Fugitives and Auxiliaries in the brotlierhood of Islam, 
 each man taking a brother. Muhammad's choice was A'U. Hamzah took Zayd-h- 
 Harith — and Jaa'far AU's brother, took Muad-b-Jabal. For the rest consult Ibn 
 Hisham. 
 
 t A'bu'l Aswad Dhalim-b-A'mr-b-Sufyan Kadhi of Basrah of which town he 
 was a native. He was one of the Tabi'is and the first who gave lectures on grammar. 
 An Nawawi. 
 
 X See note * p. 156. 
 
 § See note % p. 45. 
 
[ 172 ] 
 
 A. H. 35. Jabir-b-A'bdu'llah says that A'li on the day of Khaybar, carried the gate- 
 A. D. 655-6. upon his back, so that the Muslims got upon it and took the fort, and 
 indeed they dragged the gate afterwards, but it took forty men to lift it. 
 (Ibn A'sakir.) Ibn Ishak has recorded in the Maghazi and Ibn A'sakir, 
 on the authority of Abu Eafi',* that he said, " A'li seized a gate near the 
 fort, the fort of Khaybar, and used it as a buckler to guard himself, and 
 it continued in his hand while he was fighting, until the Lord gave us the 
 victory. Then he cast it from him, and verily I know that we eight men 
 tried to turn over the same gate, and we were not able to turn it over." 
 Al Bukhari narrates in the Adab on the authority of Sahl-b-Saa'd, 
 that the dearest of his own names to A'li was Abu Turab, and that he 
 was well pleased to be called by it. It was the prophet alone who named 
 him Abu Turab, and that because, one day being angry with Fatimah, 
 he went forth and lay down by the wall in the mosque, and the prophet 
 came up, and verily A'li's back was covered with dust The prophet there- 
 fore began to brush the dust from his back and to say, " sit up, father 
 of dust." {^Abu Turab.) Five hundred and eighty-six traditions are ascrib- 
 ed to him, on the direct authority of the Apostle of God, and traditions 
 have been related on his authority by his three sons, al Hasan, al Husayn, 
 and Muhammad-b-u'l Hanafiyah ; — by Ibn Masa'ud and Ibn Omar, — Ibn 
 A'bbas — Ibn uz Zubayr — Abu Musa — Abu Sa'id— Zayd-b-Arkam — Jabir- 
 b-Abdu'Uah, — Abu Imamah — Abu Hurayrah and others of the Companions 
 and Tabi'is, upon all of whom be the approbation of God. 
 
 On the traditions transmitted regarding Ms merit. 
 
 The Imam Ahmad-b-Hanbal says, "there hath not come down to us 
 regarding the merits of any one of the Companions of the Apostle of God, 
 what hath been transmitted concerning A'li." (Al Hakim.) The two 
 Shaykhs record on the authority of Saa'd-b-Abi Wakkas, that the Apostle 
 of God left A'li-b- Abi Talib behind as his Vicegerent during the expedition 
 of Tabuk, and A'li said, " Apostle of God, dost thou leave me behind 
 among the women and children ?" He replied, "art thou not content to 
 be to me in the relation of Aaron to Moses, save that there shall be no 
 prophet after me ?" And from Sahl-b-Saa'd that the Apostle of God said 
 on the day of Khaybar, " I wiU surely give the standard to-morrow to a 
 man, at whose hands the Lord will give victory, one who loveth God and 
 
 * " Abu Eafe" says Gibbon with characteristic humour in relating this story, 
 " was an eye-witnesa, but who shall be witness for Abu Uafo f" 
 
[ 173 ] 
 
 His prophet and whom God and His prophet love," and the people passed A. H. 35. 
 the night in perplexity as to the one among them to whom it would be A. D. 655-6. 
 given. And when they entered upon the dawn, they went early to the 
 Apostle of God, each qfall of them hoping that it would be given to him, 
 but he said, " where is A'li the son of Abu Talib ?" They said to him, 
 " he complaineth of pain in his eyes." He replied " then send for him ;" 
 and they brought him and the Apostle of God spat upon his eyes and 
 prayed for him, and he was healed so that it was as if he had no pain, 
 and he gave him the standard. Muslim records on the authority of Saa'd- 
 b-Abi Wakkas, that when this verse, "Let us all together, our sons and 
 your sons," (Kur. Ill), was revealed, the Apostle of God summoned A'li 
 and Fatimah, and al Hasan and al Husayn, said, " God, these are my 
 family." And al Tirmidi^ from the prophet, that he said, " he whose friend 
 I have been, A'li is also his friend ;" and in some of the readings there is 
 this addition, " God, befriend him who is a friend to A'li and, be an 
 enemy to him who is an enemy to A'li ;" and in a tradition of Ahmad from 
 Abu Tufayl* the latter says, " A'li assembled the people in the enclosure 
 before the mosque, and said, ' I ask in the name of God, of every Muslim 
 that heard the Apostle of God speak on the day of Ghadir Khumm,t 
 what he said, when he arose.' Then there stood up before him thirty of 
 the people, and they bare witness that the Apostle of God said, ' he whose 
 friend I have been, A'li is also his friend, — God, befriend whomsoever is 
 a friend to him, and be an enemy to him who is his enemy.' " And at Tir- 
 nidi and al Hakim, verified, on the authority of Buraydah, that the Apos- 
 tle of God said, ." verily the Lord enjoined upon me the love of four men, 
 and declared unto me that He loved them." They said to him, " Apostle 
 of God, name them to us.'' He replied, ''A'li is among them;" (this lie 
 said three times), " and Abu Darr and Mikdad and Salman." And at Tir- 
 , nidi, an Nasai, and Ibn Majah from Hubshi-b-Junadah,J that the Apostle 
 of God said, " A'li is a part of me and I of A'li." And at Tirmidi from 
 Ibn Omar, that the Apostle of God united his Companions in a fraternal 
 union, and A'li approached with his eyes filled with tears, and said, " 
 
 * Atu Tufayl A'amir-'b-'Watliilah.-'b-A'bdi'llali one of the Companions. Accord- 
 ing to Muslim lie died A. H. 100, the last of the Companions. Ibn Hajr. 
 
 t A pool near Juhfah between Mecca and Medina ; it received the name of Khumm 
 from a dyer so called, according to Zamakshari. The SHias assert that it was here 
 that Muhammad preached and constituted A'li his successor by his words that follow. 
 Mawla may signify master as well as friend, and is thoir interpretation of the 
 tradition. 
 
 % ^ubshi-b-Junadah-b-Nasr-b-Imamah as Saluli, one of the Companions. He 
 accompanied the Pilgrimage of Farewell and then settled at Kufah. According to al 
 A'skari he took part in some of A'li's battles. Ibn Hajr. 
 
[ 174 ] 
 
 A. TI. 35. Apostle of God, thou hast united in brotherhood thy Companions, but hast 
 A. D. 655-6. not made a brotherhood between me and between any one," and the Apos- 
 tle of God replied, " thou art my brother in this world and the next." 
 
 Muslim records on the authority of A'li that he said, " by Him who 
 hath cleft the seed and created the soul, verily the Illiterate prophet pro- 
 Inised me, that none but a true believer should love me, and none but a 
 hypocrite hate me." And at Tirmidi from Abii Sa'id al Khudri that he 
 said, " we used to distinguish the hypocrites by their hatred to A'U." And 
 at Tirmidi and al Hdkim from A'li, that the Apostle of God said, " I am 
 the city of wisdom and A'li is its gate." This tradition is reasonably good, 
 but not perfect, as al Hakim asserts, nor fabricated as a number of others, 
 among them, Ibn Jauzi and an Nawawi maintain : indeed, I have explained 
 its position in the appendices to the Fabricated Traditions. 
 
 Al Hakim records and verifies on the authority of A'li, that he said, 
 " the Apostle of God sent me to Yaman,* and I said, ' O Apostle of God, 
 dost thou send me — and I a youth-^to judge between them, while I know 
 not the office of a judge ?' and he struck my breast with . his hand and 
 said, ' God,' direct him aright and confirm his tongue,' and by Him 
 who hath cleft the seed, I never hesitated in my judgment between two 
 parties." And Ibn Saa'd from A'li, that they said to him, " How is it that 
 thou hast the most traditions of any of the Companions of the Apostle 
 of God ?" He replied, " verily whenever I asked'of him he informed me, 
 and when I was silent, he began a discourse with me." And from Abu 
 Hurayrah, that Omar-b-u'l Khattab said, " A'li is the best of us in judi- 
 cial decision." And from Ibn Masa'ud, that he said, " we used to declare 
 that the best j udicial authority among the people of Medina, was A'li. ' ' And 
 from Ibn A'bbas, " whenever a trustworthy person tells me a judgmentf 
 of A'li's, I do not deviate from it." And from Sa'id-b-u'l Musayyab, that 
 Omar-b-u'l Khattab used to beg God to preserve him from a perplexing 
 case which the father of al Hasan was not present to decide ; and, that Omar 
 said, " none of the Companions used to say ' ask ye of me,' except A'li." 
 
 Ibn A'sakir records on the authority of Ibn Masa'ud that the most 
 learned of the people of Medina in the law of inheritance and in judicial 
 decisions was A'li. And from Ayesha, that when A'li was mentioned to 
 her, she said, " verily he is the most learned in the Sunnah that is left," 
 
 * In A. H. 10, Muhammad sent A'li to Yaman to summon the people to Islam. 
 He had already despatched Khalid-h-u'l "Wali'd, whose efforts had been unsuccessful 
 On A'li's arrival, he read Muhammad's letter to the people of Yaman, and the whole 
 tribe of Hamdin wore converted in a single day. The remainder shortly afterward, 
 followed their example. Ibn u'l Athir. Kamil, Vol. II. 
 
 t The MS. has ^i^*^ instead of ^^Jt of the printed edition. 
 
[ 175 ] 
 
 Masriik* says that the wisdom of the Companions culminated in Omar, A. H 35. 
 A'li, Ibn Masa'dd and A'bdu'Uah. . A. D. 655-6. 
 
 A'bdu'llah-b-Ayyash-b'iA'bi Eabii'h says that A'li had an exceedingly 
 biting tooth for knowledge, and be had pre-eminence by reason of his 
 family connections, and priority in Islam, and his being the son-in-law of 
 the Apostle of God, and his knowledge of the Sunnah, and intrepidity 
 in war and liberality with his wealth. At Tabarani records in the Ausat 
 on a weak ascription from Jabir-b-A'bdi'llah, that the Apostle of God 
 said, " the people are of various stocks but I and A'li are of one stock." 
 And at Tabarani and Ibn Abi Hatim from Ibn A'bbas that he said, " the 
 Lord never revealed the wordsf ' O true believers' but that A'li was imder- 
 stood to he, the lord and chief of them, and verily the Lord hath reproved 
 the Companions of the prophet in various places, but hath never men- 
 tioned A'li save with approval." And Jbn A'sakir from Ibn A'bbas that 
 there hath not been revealed in the Book of God regarding any one what 
 hath been revealed concerning A'li, and that three hundred verses have 
 been revealed concerning A'li. 
 
 Al Bazzar records on the authority of Saa'd, that the Apostle of 
 God said to A'li, " it is not lawful for any one to be in the mosque, while 
 under the obligation of performing a total ablution except for me and for 
 thee." And at TabarAni records and al Hakim likewise, verifying on the 
 authority of Umm Salmah that she said, " when the Apostle of God 
 was angered, none dared speak to him but A'li." And from Ibn Mas'ald 
 that the prophet said, " to look upon A'li is devotion." And at fabarani 
 in the Ausat from Ibn A'bbas that he said, " A'li possessed eighteen 
 eminent qualities which belonged to no other of this people." And Abu 
 Ya'la from Abu Hurayrah that Omar-b-u'l Khattab said, " verily A'li 
 hath been endowed, with three qualities, of which had I but one, it would 
 ^be more precious to me than were I given high bred camels." It was 
 asked of him what they were ; he replied, " his marriage with Fatimah, 
 daughter of the prophet, his remaining in the mosque while that is per- 
 mitted to him which is not lawful for me, and his carrying the standard 
 on the day of Khaybar." And Ahmad and Abu Ya'la according to a 
 sound ascription from A'li that he said, " I have never had a disorder of 
 the eyes, nor an ache of the head, since the Apostle of God, drew his hand 
 over my face, and spat upon my eyes on the day of Khaybar when he gave 
 me the standard." And Abu Ya'la and al Bazzar from Saa'd-b-Abi Wak- 
 
 * Abu Ayesha Masruk b-u'l Ajdaa' of Kufah one of tlie Tabi'is. He is regarded 
 as an autbentio relator of traditions and was devoted to tbe aoq^uisition of knowledge, 
 died A. H. 62-3. An Uawawi. 
 
 t Kur, XXXIII ^assm. 
 
[ 176 ] 
 
 A. H. 35. kas, that the Apostle of God said, " who grieveth A'li, grieveth me." And 
 
 A, D. C55-6. at Tabarani. according to a sound ascription from U'mm Salmah, that the 
 
 Apostle of God said, " he who hath loved Ali, verily he hath loved me, 
 
 and who hath hated A'li, verily he hath hated me, and who hath hated me, 
 
 verily he hath hated the Lord." 
 
 Ahmad records and al Hakim verifying it on the authority of Umm 
 Salmah that she narrates, " I heard the Apostle of God say, ' he who hath 
 reviled A'li, verily he hath reviled me.' " And from Abu Sa'id al Khudri, 
 that the Apostle of God said to A'li, " verily thou wilt do battle for the 
 Kuran, as thou hast done battle for its revelation." Al Bazzar, Abu Ta'la 
 and al Hakim record from A'li, that he said, " the Apostle of God sum- 
 moned me and said, ' verily there is in thee a similitude to Jesus — 
 the Jews hated Him to that degree that they slandered His mother, 
 and the Nazaranes so loved Him, that they gave Him a dignity that He 
 hath not, — now verily, by reason of me two classes of men shall perish — 
 the enthusiastic partizan that speaketh in extravagant praise of what is not 
 in me, and the enemy whose hatred of me bringeth him to slander me.' " 
 
 At Tabarani records in the Ausat and Saghir* from Umm Salmah 
 that she narrates, " I heard the Apostle of God say, ' A'li is with the 
 Kuran and the Kuran with A'li — they shall not be divided until they 
 arrive at the fountain of Kauihar in Paradise.'' " And Ahmad and al Ha- 
 kim from A'mmar-b-Yasir, according to a sound ascription that the pro- 
 phet said to A'li — "the most miserable of mankind are two men — the fair 
 man of the tribe of Thamudf who hamstrung the camel, and he who 
 shall smite thee, A'li, upon this (meaning the top of his head) until this, 
 (meaning his beard) shall be moistened with its blood." And al Hakim 
 records, verifying it on the authority of Abu Sa'id al Khudri, that he said, 
 " the people complained of A'li, and the Apostle of God arose among us 
 preaching and exclaimed, ' complain not of A'li, for by Allah, verily he is^ 
 somewhat rough in respect of that which is due to God, and for the sake 
 of God.' " 
 
 Ibn Saa'd says that allegiance was sworn to A'li as Caliph, the day 
 
 after the murder of Othman, at Medina, and all those of the Companions 
 
 who were there acknowledged him, and he adds that Talhah and az Zuhayr 
 
 swore allegiance unwillingly, and not of free accord. They subsequently 
 
 departed for Mecca where Ayesha was, and they took her and went forth 
 
 ' with her to Basrah seeking vengeance for the blood of Othman, This 
 
 reaching A'li, he set out for Irak, and met at Ba§rah, "Talhah, az Zuhayr, 
 
 and Ayesha and those that were with them. This was the battle of the 
 
 Camel which took place in Jumada'l Akhirah in the year 36 A. H. In it 
 
 • See Sale, notes/, g. h. page 1^4. The man's name Was Kedar. 
 
 t See Note t, p. 13. 
 
[ 177 ] 
 
 were slain Talhah and az Zubayr and others, and the slain amounted to -^- H. 36. 
 thirteen thousand, and A'li remained at Basrah fifteen nights and then set -A-. B. 650-7. 
 forth for Kiif ah. After this Mu'awiyah-b-A'bi Suf yan and those that were 
 with him in Syria, rose against him, and the news reached A'li and he 
 marched forth and they met at Siffin in Safar of the year 37. The en- 
 gagement lasted for days, and the men of Syria lifted up the Kurans on 
 the points of their lances demanding their rights therein contained, a 
 stratagem of A'mr-b-u'l Aas. The people were thus loth to fight and 
 clamoured together for a reconciliation, and they appointed two arbitrators. 
 A'li appointed Abu Musa al Asha'ri, and Mu'awiyah, A'mr-b-u'l A'as,.and 
 they wrote between them a document to the effect that they should meet 
 at the beginning of the year al Adruh* and consider concerning the gov- 
 ernment of the nation. The people then separated and Mu'awiyah re- 
 turned to Syria and A'li to Kiifah. Then there arose against him schis- 
 matics from among his companions and those that were with him, and they 
 said, " judgment belongeth only to God," and they encamped at Hardra. 
 A'li sent to them Ibn A'bbas, and he contended with them and convinced 
 them by argument, and a large body of them returned, but some remained 
 firm and marched to an Nahrawan and obstructed the road, A'li then 
 went out against them and overthrew them at an Nahrawan, and among 
 them was slain Du at Thudayyah,t and that was in the year 35. And the 
 people assembled at Adruh in Shaa'ban of that year, and Saa'd-b-Abi Wak- 
 kas and Ibn Omar, and others of the Companions were present. A'mr 
 cunningly gave precedence of himselfj to Abu Miisa who spoke and deposed 
 A'li ; then A'mr spoke and confirmed M'uawiyah and swore allegiance to 
 him. The people separated upon this, and Ali thus became opposed to his 
 Companions, so that he bit his finger with rage and said, " I have been re- 
 belled against and Mu'awiyah is submitted to." Then there gathered 
 together three men of the schismatics, A'bdu'r Eahman-b-Muljam al Mu- 
 
 * In the district El-Belka in Syria. 
 
 t This person, whose real name is not given by Ibn Hajr, lived in the time of 
 Muhammad, and -^as noted for his exceeding devotion and piety though not a Muslim, 
 Muhammad said that he was diabolically possessed, and Abu Bakr and Omar went 
 into hia house to kill him, but finding him in prayer, withdrew. He was found 
 among the slain at Nahrawan, and he is said to have resembled a Nubian in appear- 
 ance with one breast like that of a woman (hence his name) upon which were small 
 hairs like that upon the tail of the Jerboa. Ibn Hajr. 
 
 X When the two Arbitrators met , they agreed that each should depose his master, 
 and then proceed to adjudicate their respective claims. A'mr pleading the seniority 
 and age of Abu Mdsa, courteously insisted on his initiating the deposition, which hav- 
 ing been done, A'mr declared that since one of the claimants had renounced his pre- 
 tensions, the best course to pursue was to confirm the other which was accordingly 
 done. 
 
 23 
 
[ 178 ] 
 
 A. H. 37. i-adi, and al Burk-b-A'bdi'llali at Tamimi, and A'mr-b-Bukayr at Tamimi, 
 A. D. 657-8. and they i^et at Mecca, and entered into a covenant and bound them- 
 selves by a league that they would certainly slay those three, A'li-b-Abi 
 Talib, Mu'awiyah-b-Abi Sufyan, and Amr-u'l A'as, and free the people 
 from them ; and Ibn Muljam said, " I will take Ali for ye," and al Burk 
 said, " I will take Mu'awiyah for ye," and A'mr-b-Bukayr said, " I will 
 suffice for ye for A'mr-b-u'l A'as." And they pledged themselves that it 
 should be on the same night, the night of the 11th or the 17th of Rama- 
 dhan. Then they went each of them to the city where his man was, and 
 Ibn Muljam arrived at Kufah, and met his companions of the schismatics, 
 but he concealed from them what they intended to do on the night of 
 Friday the 17th of Eamadhan of the year 40. And A'li awoke in the 
 morning and said to his son al Hasan, " I saw in the night the Apostle of 
 God, and I said, ' Apostle of God, what have I not met at the hands of 
 thy people, of oppression and contention ?' and he said to me, ' call the 
 curse of God. upon them.' And I said, 'O God, give in exchange be- 
 tween me and them their good to me, and take in exchange between 
 them and me my evil, for them.' Upon this Ibn u'l Nabbah the Muaddin 
 entered, and exclaimed, ' to prayers,' and A'li went forth from the door 
 crying out, ' O people — to prayers — to prayers' and Ibn Muljam came 
 before him, and smote him with a sword, and it struck the top of his fore- 
 head and reached his brain. Then the people rushed upon him from every 
 side, and seized and bound him. And A'li lingered Friday and Saturday, 
 and died on Saturday night* (2lst January 661) and al Hasan, al Husayn 
 and A'bdu'llah-b- Jaa'f a] bathed him, and al Hasan read prayers over him, and 
 he was buried in the night in the palace at Klifah. The limbs of Ibn Mul- 
 jam were cut off, and he was put into an osier basket and burnt in the fire." 
 This is the whole narrative of Ibn Saa'd, ai^^ verily he has done well in 
 his account of this event, and has not amplified his narrative as others 
 have done, for it is more suitable for this occasion. Muhammad has said 
 " when my Companions are mentioned, refrain from speaking" — and he 
 adds, " sufficient for my Companions, is the mention of their death."t 
 
 In the Mustadrak, it is recorded on the authority of as Suddi,t that 
 
 * Weil notices that thougli Friday the 17th of Ramadhan A. H. 40 is generallv 
 stated to he the day on which A'li was wounded, the 17th of the month actually fell 
 on a Sunday. He thinks it prohahle that the day of his death was ia later times con- 
 founded with that on which he was stahhed. 
 
 t Without details regarding the manner of it. Such is the only sense I can ex- 
 tract from the passage. The MS. has JUwf tjla^l which is to me unintelligible. 
 
 X The Professor Abu Muhammad Hibat-u'UAh-b-Sahl-h-Omar, al Bastftmi, gener- 
 ally known as Suddi. IIo explained the Muwatta of Malik to al Muwayj'ad at 
 Tiisi. IbulihaU. 
 
[ 179 J 
 
 A'bdu'r Rahman-bMuljam al Muradi loved a woman of tlie Schismatics A. H. 40. 
 called Katam, and he married her and assigned for her dowry three thou- ^ D. (joi. 
 sand dirhams and the slaying of A'li. With reference lo this al b'arazdak* 
 has said, 
 
 " I have not seen a dowry sent by a generous man 
 
 Like unto tha dowry of !^Catam, manifest — not obscure. 
 
 Three thousand dirhams, and a slave and a maid 
 
 And the smiting of A'li with a cleaving sword. 
 
 For there is no dowry be it ever so costly, costlier than A'li : 
 
 And no criminal violence but is less than the violence of Ibn Muljam.f" 
 
 Abu Bakr-b-A'yyash says, that the grave of A'li was kept concealed 
 in order that the Schismatics might not dig it up, and Sharik states that 
 his son al Hasan carried him to Medina. Al MubarradJ states on the 
 authority of Muhammad-b-Habib, that the first who was transferred from 
 one grave to another was A'li. 
 
 Ibn A'sakir records on the authority of Sa'id-b-Abdi'l A'ziz, that when 
 A'li was slain, they took him to bury him by the apostle of God, and while 
 they were on their road one night, lo ! the camel upon which he was borne, 
 fled away and it was not known whither it went, nor could they overtake 
 it, and for this reason the people of I'rak say that he is in the clouds. 
 Others assert that the camel came into the land of Tayy, and they took 
 the hoSy and buried it. A'li when he was slain was sixty-three years of 
 age, and some say sixty-four, and sixty-five and fifty-seven, and fiftif-eight. 
 He had nineteen concubines. 
 
 * Atu Fira3 Hammam-'b-GhalilD-b-Sa'sa'a, a celetrated poet of the tribe of Tamim. 
 The anoedotes told of him are very numerous ; the reader should consult Ibn Khali 
 who has a long article on his wit and adventures, the latter not very reputable. He 
 died at Basrah A. H. 110 (728-9) at the age of nearly a hundred. His surname Faraz- 
 dak (lump of dough) was given him on account of his ugly face. 
 
 t I do not foUow M. Barbier de Eeynard in his rendering of this passage : " TJne 
 ame, si energique quelle soit vaut-elle 1' ame d' Ibn Moldjem." Les Praiiies d 'Or. 
 Tom. IV. p. 428. 
 
 X Abu'l A'bbas Muljammad-h-Yazid known as al Mubarrad, a distinguished gram- 
 marian. Ha resided at Baghdad and composed numerous works on literary subjects 
 such as al Kamil, arEoudhah and al Muktadhib. He was a contemporary of Thaa'lah — 
 the author of the Fasih, and with them terminated the series of the great philologers. 
 He was horn A. H. 210 (826) and died at Baghdad A..H. 286 (899). His surname al 
 Muharrad was given to him from his having been concealed in the wicker case of a 
 large water jar ; his friend who had concealed him there to avoid an importunate 
 visitor in search of him, called out as soon as the latter had gone, al Mubarrad, al Mu- 
 barrad ! ( Who wants cool water). Ibn Khali. 
 
A. H. 40. 
 A. D. 661. 
 
 [ i«o 1 
 
 On some of the accotmts of A'li, Ids judicial decisions and 
 
 Ibn A'sakir records on the authority of al Hasan that he said, that 
 ■when A'li entered Basrah there stood up before him Ibn u'l Kawwa, and 
 5ays-b-A'bbad, and said, " wilt thou not inform us concerning this course 
 of thine on which thou goest, assuming authority over the people, involving 
 them in confusion ? was it a charge of the apostle of God, that he laid 
 upon thee ? tell us — for thou art firm and undeviating with regard to what 
 thou hast heard." And he said, " as to there being on me a charge from 
 the Apostle of God, concerning that, — no — by Allah — surely if I was the 
 first to maintain that he spoke truth, I will not be the first to put a lie 
 upon him, and if I had received from the prophet a charge regarding that, 
 I would not have suffered a brother* of the children of Taym the son of 
 Murrah, nor Omar the son of al Khattab, to stand upon his pulpit, and I 
 would surely have fought them with my own hand, even though I had not 
 got but this my garment ; but the apostle of God was not slain mur- 
 derously, nor did he die suddenly, but he lingered some days and nights in 
 his illness, the Muaddin coming to him and summoning him to prayers. 
 And he commanded Abu Bakr to pray before the people, though he knew 
 my high consideration, and verily a woman among his wives desired to turn 
 him from Abu Bakr, but he refused and was angered and said, " ye are the 
 mistresses of Joseph — direct Abil Bakr to pray before the people." 
 
 And when the Lord took his prophet, we looked into our affairs, and 
 chose for our temporal interests, him whom he had approved for our reli- 
 gious affairs, for prayers were the fundamental principle of Islam and Abd 
 Bakr was the chief of the faith and the pillar of the faith. We therefore 
 swore allegiance unto Abii Bakr, and he was worthy of it, not two of us 
 being at variance over him, and none of us gave testimony against another, 
 nor denied his privilege. I therefore discharged unto Abu Bakr his due, 
 and acknowledged obedience to him and fought on his side in his armies 
 and I ever accepted what he bestowed upon me and fought when he 
 sent me to war and inflicted in his presence the prescribed castiga- 
 tion for offences with my scourge. And when he was taken away, 
 Omar assumed the Caliphate and governed it according to the in- 
 stitutes of his Companion and what he knew of his polity. And 
 we swore allegiance unto Omar, not two of us being at vai-iance over him, 
 
 * Abu Bakr. 
 
[ 181 ] 
 
 and none of us gave testimony against another, nor denied his privilege. A. H. 40. 
 I therefore discharged unto Omar his due and acknowledged obedience to A. D. 661. 
 him and fought on his side in his armies, and I ever accepted what 
 he bestowed upon me, and fought when he sent me to war, and in- 
 flicted in his presence the prescribed castigation for offences with my 
 scourge. And wlien he was taken away, I bethought me of my connec- 
 tions,' and my priority in Islam, and my precedence and my merit, and I 
 considered that Omar would not hold any one equal to me, but he feared 
 that the Caliph after him would not commit a fault but it would attach 
 to him in his grave, therefore he withdrew from it, himself and his son, 
 and if there had been any partiality on his part he would surely have 
 chosen his son for it, but he threw the responsibility of it from himself 
 on to a party of the Kuraysh, six in number, I being one of them. And 
 when the party assembled, I thought that they would not hold any one 
 equal to me, and A'bdu'r Eahman-b-A'uf took our engagements that we 
 should hear and obey whomsoever the Lord should place over our affairs. 
 Then he took Othman the son of A'ffan by the hand, and struck liis own 
 hand upon his hand, and I regarded my own conduct, and lo ! my sub- 
 mission had already preceded my allegiance, and behold my engagement 
 had been taken for another. We therefoi'e swore allegiance unto Othman, 
 and I discharged unto him his due, and acknowledged obedience to him, 
 and fought on his side in his armies and I ever accepted what he bestowed 
 upon me and fought when he sent me to war, and inflicted in his presence, 
 the prescribed castigation for offences with my sourge. And when he was 
 slain, I considered my own affairs, and lo ! the two Vicegerents who had 
 assumed the government by virtue of the command of the Apostle of 
 God unto them to read prayers, had passed away, and this one for whom 
 the engagement had been taken, verily, was slain, therefore the people of 
 Mecca and Medina and the men of these two cities,* swore allegiance unto 
 me — but there hath usurped the government, one who is not like unto me 
 and whose kinship is not as my kinship, nor his knowledge like unto my 
 knowledge, nor his priority in the faith like unto my priority, and I had 
 more claim to it than he." 
 
 Abu Nua'ym records in the Dalail, on the authority of the father of 
 Jaa'far-b- Muhammad, that two men having an altercation, were brouo-ht 
 before A'li who sat himself at the foot of a wall, and a man said to him 
 " the wall will fall down," and A'li said, " Go to — God is a sufficient 
 protector," and he decided between them, and arose, and then the wall 
 fell. 
 
 * Eajrah and Kufah. 
 
[ 182 ] 
 
 A. H. 40. It is recorded in the " Tuyuriyat" with its ascription to the same 
 
 A. D. 661. authority, that a man said to A'li, " we hear thee say in thy preaching 
 '0 God make me righteous with that through which thou hast made 
 righteous the orthodox Vicegerents, the rightly guided.' Who then are 
 they ?" And his eyes filled with tears and he said, " they are my two 
 friends Abu Bakr and Omar, the Imams of salvation, the two elders of 
 Islam, and the two men of the Kuraysh who are followed after the Apostle 
 of God. He who followeth those two, is preserved, and whoso goeth 
 after their footsteps is directed aright over the Straight Bridge ahove Hell, 
 and he who cleaveth unto those two he is of the company of the Lord." 
 And A'bdu'r Bazzak records on the authority of Hujr al Madari, that he 
 narrates, " A'li said to me, ' how will it go with thee when thou art ordered 
 to curse me ?' I said, ' will that come to pass ?' He said, ' yes ;' I 
 answered ' then what shall I do ?' He said, ' curse me, but do not renounce 
 me.' He adds, — ' and Muhammad-b-Yusuf, the brother of al Hajjaj, 
 who was governor of Yaman ordered me to curse A'li' and I said, ' the 
 prince hath commanded me to curse A'li, therefore curse ye him with the 
 curse of God,' and no one comprehended it but one man." 
 
 At Tabarani records in the Ausat and Abu Nua'ym in the Dalail on 
 the authority of Zaddn, that A'li was relating a tradition when a maa 
 accused him of speaking falsely, and A'li said to him, " shall I curse thee 
 if 1 have lied?" and he said, '• curse," and A'li cursed him, and he did not 
 quit the place till his sight left him. And from Zirr-b-Hubaysh* that two 
 men were sitting down, eating their morning meal, and one of the two had 
 five loaves, and the other three loaves, and when they had placed the meal 
 before them, a man passed and saluted them and they said, " sit down and 
 eat," and he sat down and eat with them, and they shared equally in their 
 meal the eight loaves, and the man arose and threw to them eight dirhams 
 and said, " take these in exchange for what I have eaten belonging to ye 
 two and have received of your food." They then quarrelled over it and the 
 owner of the five loaves said, " for me are five dirhams and for thee three," 
 and the owner of the three loaves exclaimed, " I shall not agree unless 
 the dirhams are divided equally between us ;" and they took their case 
 before A'li the prince of the Faithful and related to him their adventure, 
 and he said to the owner of the three, " verily thy companion hath offered 
 to thee what he hath offered, and his loaves were more than thine, there- 
 fore be content with three." But he replied, " by Allah, I will not be 
 satisfied with him except in my exact due." And A'li said, " in baie right 
 thou shouldst have only one dirham and he seven dirhams." And the 
 
 * Aba Maryant Zirr-b-IJubaysh, n native of Kfifah one of the Tabi'is. lie was 
 ■born in the time of Ignorance and died A, H. 82. An Niiwawi. 
 
[ 183 ] 
 
 man said, " Good God !" and A'U answered, " that is so." The other said, A. H. 40. 
 '' inform me of the grounds of this being my bare right, that I may A. D. 661. 
 acquiesce in it." A'li answered, " are there not in eight loaves, four and 
 twenty thirds which ye have eaten and ye are three men ? and it is not 
 known who is the greatest eater amongst ye and who the least, you will 
 therefore be considered in your eating as equal." He went on, " now thou 
 hast eaten eight-thirds, and verily thou hadst but nine-thirds, and thy 
 companion eat eight-thirds, and Ije owned fifteen-thirds of which he eat 
 eight — there remain of his, therefore, seven which the owner of the dir- 
 hams eat, and he eat of what belonged to thee one out of nine. There- 
 fore for thee is one for thy one, and for him seven. " And the man ex- 
 claimed " now I am content." 
 
 Ibn A'bi Shaybah records in the Musannaf on the authority of A'ta 
 that a man was brought before A'li and two men testified against him that 
 he had committed theft, whereupon A'li tools up a certain case in which 
 the people were concerned and threatened false witnesses . and said, "a 
 false witness was never brought before me but I did to him such and such 
 a thing." Then he summoned the two witnesses but could not find them, 
 wherefore he let the accused go. 
 
 Ibn A'sakir records on the authority of an ascription to the father of 
 Jaa'far-b-Muhammad that the signet ring of A'li was of stamped coin, 
 the impression on it being " excellent is the Omnipotent God." And from 
 A'mr the son of Othman-b-A'ffan that the impression on the signet ring 
 of A'li was, " the kingdom is the Lord's." And from al Madaini,* that when 
 A'li entered Ktifah, one of the wise men of the Arabs went in to him and 
 said, " by Allah, O prince of the Faithful, verily thou hast adorned the 
 Caliphate, but it hath not adorned thee, and thou hast exalted it, but it 
 hath not exalted thee, and it was more in need of thee than thou of it." 
 And from Mujammi', that A'li used to sweep out the public treasury and 
 then pray within it, in the hope that it would be testified in his favour 
 that he did not keep the state property within it withheld from the 
 Muslims. 
 
 Abu'l Kasim al Zajjaji narrates in his Dictations, that he had been 
 told that the father of Abu'l Aswad said, " I went in unto the prince of 
 the Faithful A'li and found him looking down in deep thought and I said 
 to him " what art thou thinking over prince of the Faithful ?" He replied, 
 
 * Atu'l Hasan A'li-b-Muhammad a native of Madain, a client by enfranchise- 
 ment (Mawla) to the family of A'bd Shams-b-A'bd Manaf. He was bom A. H. 135 
 (752-3) and died A. H. 225 (839-40.) He wrote upwards of twenty works on Mu 
 hammad, and a number on the history of the §;uraysh, and the Umayyad and Abba- 
 side Caliphs and other subjects. De Slane, Ibn Khali. 
 
[ 184 ] 
 
 A. H. 40. ' " verily I have beard in this your city a faulty pronunciation of the 
 A. D. 661. vowels ; I was therefore thinking of composing a work on the principles 
 of the Arabic language." I exclaimed, " if thou doest this thou wilt give 
 us life, and this language will be presei-ved amongst us." Three days after- 
 wards I went to him, and he threw me a writing in which was, " In the 
 name of God, the most Merciful the most Compassionate. Speech consists 
 entirely of nouns, verbs and particles. A noun is that which denotes the 
 thing named, and a verb is that which denotes the actiom named, and a, 
 particle is that which expresses a signification, being neither a noun nor a 
 verb." Then he said, " examine it and add to it what may occur to thee : 
 know, O Abu'l Aswad, that objects are of three kinds, expressed, under- 
 stood, and what is neither expressed nor understood, and verily the learned 
 have vied with each other in the definition of what is neither expressed nor 
 understood." Abu'l Aswad continues, " then I collected accordingly some 
 parts of speech and showed them to him. Among them were particles 
 governing the accusative. Of these I mentioned " verily" and " that,"* 
 and " would that," and " perhaps" and " as if," but I did not include 
 " but." He said to me " why hast thou omitted it ?" I replied, " I did not 
 count it among them." He said, " yes it is among them, therefore add it 
 to them." 
 
 Ibn A'sakir records on the authority of Eabii'h-b-Najid that A'li 
 said, " be among men like the bee among birds, for there is none among 
 the birds but thinks them insignificant, but if the birds knew what of good 
 there is in their bellies, they would not think thus of them. Mix with 
 the people with your tongues and persons and separate yourselves from 
 them in deeds and in your hearts, for verily to a man shall be given that 
 which he hath earned, and he shall appear at the day of resurrection with 
 him whom he loveth." And from A'li that he said, " give ye a more urgent 
 heed to the acceptance tefore Ood of your works rather than to the 
 works themselves, for verily an action accompanied by the fear of God is 
 not of little account, for how can an action accepted by God, be of light 
 estimation ?"t 
 
 And from Yahya-b-Jua'dahJ that A'li said, " O ye bearers of the 
 Kuran, act ye according to it, for he is a wise man who hath understood 
 and acted according as he hath understood, and whose knowledge hath 
 accorded with his works, and it shall come to pass that there shall be sects 
 
 * The MS. has also vy' " certainly not." 
 
 t The text of the printed edition is here incorrect for '•^i read '-'•*':! and for 
 iJ^SJ^ read clkflA^ 
 
 J Of the Kuraysh descended from Mabhzum, one of the Tabi'is. He was son of 
 A'li'a sister. An Nawawi. 
 
[ 185 ]. 
 
 carrying a knowledge that goeth not beyond their coUar-bonea, whose dis- A. H. 40. 
 position is at variance with their exterior show, and whose works are A. D. 661. 
 opposed to their understanding, sitting in a circle contending for superi- 
 ority one with another, until a man will be wroth with his neighbour that 
 he should sit by another than himself and leave him — such as these, their 
 works in these their assemblies shall not ascend to God." And from A'li, 
 "the grace of God is the be'st guide, a good disposition the best companion, 
 wisdom the best friend, and good breeding the best inheritance, and there is 
 nothing more hateful than pride." And on the authority of al Harith that a 
 man went to A'li and said, " tell me what is Tate." He replied, " it is a 
 gloomy road — tread it not." He asked again, " tell me what is Fate." He 
 said, " it is a deep sea — enter not upon it." Again he asked, " tell me what 
 is Fate." He replied, " it is a mystery of God's which is hidden from thee, 
 therefore seek not to penetrate it." He asked again, "tell me what is Fate." 
 He exclaimed, " questioner, hath the Lord created thee for what He 
 hath willed, or what thou hath willed ?" He replied " indeed for what 
 He hath willed." Ali answered, " Then He will use thee as He thinketh 
 fit." 
 
 He also records of the sayings of A'li.* 
 " Misfortunes have their terminations. When any one is in misfor- 
 tune, it must be that it will have an end : therefore it behoveth the wise 
 man when distress cometh upon him, to submit to it until its time is ac- 
 complished, for verily in repeUing it before the fulfilment of its term, there 
 is an increase to its calamities." 
 
 It was said to A'li, " what is generosity ?" He replied, " that from 
 which the iniative proceedeth, for what cometh after a request is liberality 
 and munificence." 
 
 A man went to A'li and praised him and spoke extravagantly, and it 
 happened that A'li had heard somewhat of him before that, so he said to 
 him, " verily I am not as thou sayest, yet I am above that which is in thy 
 heart." 
 
 " The punishment of sin is lukewarmness in devotion, and straitness 
 of means, and the lessening of enjoyment. A lawful appetite is not sought 
 to be gratified, but there cometh that which diminisheth it." 
 
 A man said to A'li, and he secretly hated him, " may the Lord make 
 thee firmly established." A'li replied, " upon thy heart," (on the authority 
 of Ibn Eabii'h). 
 
 * A collection of one hundred and sixty-nine moral sentences, attributed to A'li 
 is given by Ockley. See. Hist. Sar. p. 339. 
 24 
 
[ 186 ] 
 
 A. H. 40. Abu Bakr, Omar and Othman used to versify * but A'li was tbe best 
 
 A. D. 661. poet of the three. (As Shaa'bi.) 
 
 He records likewise oa the authority of Nabit al Ashja'i that A'li 
 
 spoke this verse. 
 
 f 
 " When hearts contain despair, 
 
 And the spacious breast is stifled by what is within it, 
 
 And cares make their abode and repose, 
 
 And sorrows anchor in their habitations, 
 
 And no way is seen for the dispelling of distress, 
 
 And the stratagem of the cunning availeth not, 
 
 There shall come to thee in thy despair a helper 
 
 Whom the Answerer of prayer who is nigh, shall bring. 
 
 For all sorrows when they have reached their term, 
 
 There is linked to them an approaching joy." 
 
 And on the authority of as Shaa'bi, that A'li said to a man to whom 
 the society of another man was displeasing — 
 
 " Consort not with a foolish brother, beware of him : 
 For how many a fool hath corrupted the gentle when he hath frater- 
 nised with him ! 
 A man is judged by the man with whom he consorteth ; 
 For there are comparisons and similitudes for one thing vrith another. 
 The measure of a sandal is made when it is matched with it. 
 And the evidence of the feeling of one heart towards another is when 
 
 they meet." 
 And from al Mubarrad that upon the sword of A'li was inscribed — 
 " Men lust after the world and plot for it, 
 Yet its clearness is mingled for thee with impurities. 
 They do not give thee of it thy portion, according to thy wisdom, 
 
 when it is distributed : 
 But men have their allotted shares according to their destinies, 
 How many there are of the wise and sagacious nnprospered : 
 While a fool hath gained his wealth by his errors. 
 If it could be acquired by force and rapine, 
 Falcons would swoop off with the subsistence of sparrows." 
 
 And on the authority of Hamzah-b-Habib az Zayyat that A'li used to 
 speak this verse : 
 
 • The expression j**«l uj^ ' he spoke poetry is used, for poetry was always 
 spoken by the Arats in classical times, and seldom written if written at all, until after 
 
 the lifetime of the author. Lane, Art j*^ 
 
C 187 ] 
 
 " Disclose not thy secret but to thyself, A. H. 40. 
 
 For every confidant, hath a confidant ; A. D. 681. 
 
 For verily I have seen erring men, 
 Who do not aspire to a high sense o£ honour." 
 
 He records likewise on the authority of U'kbah-h-Abi'l Sahba, that 
 ■when Ibn Muljam stabbed A'li, al Hasan who was weeping went in unto 
 him and A'li said, " my dear son, treasure in thy memory from me four 
 things and yet four.'' He said, " what are they, father ?" He replied, 
 " wisdom is the richest treasure, and folly the greatest poverty, and the 
 most hateful of what is odious is pride, and the noblest excellence a good 
 disposition." Al Hasan said, " and the other four ? He replied, " beware 
 thee of the companionship of a fool, for he will desire to profit thee and 
 will do thee harm, and beware of the friendship of a liar, for he will bring 
 nigh unto thee what is afar off and make distant from thee what is near at 
 hand — and beware thee of the friendship of a miser, for he will withhold 
 from thee what thou art most in need of — and beware thee of the friend- 
 ship of a libertine for he will sell thee for a trifle." 
 
 And from A'li that a Jew went to him and said, " when did our God 
 exist ?" and the face of A'li flushed with anger and he said, " creation was 
 not and He was ; He was while yet there was no being : He existed without 
 a cause — He was, having no beginning and no end — -all limits fall short of 
 him, for he is the end of all ends," and the Jew embraced Islam. 
 
 Ad Darraj, in his well known work, records on an obscure ascription 
 to Shurayh. the Kadhi,* that when A'li set forth to SifKn, he lost a coat of 
 mail belonging to him, and when the war was over, and A'li returned to 
 Kufah the armour came into the hands of a Jew, and he said to the Jew, 
 " the armour is my armour — I neither sold it nor gave it away." The Jew 
 replied, " it is my armour and in my possession." A'li said, "let us go to 
 the Kadhi," and A'li preceded him and sat by the side of Shurayh and said, 
 " were not my opponent a Jew, I would assuredly sit on a level with him 
 in the court, but I heard the apostle of God say, ' treat them with 
 ignominy, for the Lord hath treated them with ignominy.' Shurayh said, 
 ' proceed, prince of the Faithful.' And he said, ' yes — this armour 
 which is in the hand of this Jew, is my armour — I neither sold it nor gave 
 it away.' Shurayh exclaimed, ' what dost thoa say, Jew ?' He replied, 
 
 * Abu Umayyah Shurayh al Harith-b-^ays of the tribe of Kinda. He was an 
 eminent Tabi'i bom before the promulgation of Islam and appointed Kadhi of Kiifah 
 by Omar — a post he held with scarcely any iaterruption for seventy-five years. He was 
 one of the four persons called the smooth-faced chiefs (as S£dat at Tula) the others 
 being A'bdu'llah-b-u'z Zubayr, Kays-b-Saa'd, and al Aljnaf-b-Kays. He died A. H. 
 87, at the age of one hundred years. Ibn Khali. 
 
[ 188 ] 
 
 A. 11. 40. 'it is my armour and in my possession.' Then Shurayh said, ' hast thou 
 A. D. 6G1. any proof, prince of the Faithful ?' He said, " yes, Kanbar andal Hasan 
 are witnesses that the armour is my armour.' Shurayh replied, 'the 
 evidence of a son is not admissible in favour of a father ' A'li exclaimed, 
 ' what ! the evidence of one among the people of Paradise not admissible !' 
 I heard the apostle of God say — ' al Hasan and al Husayn are the two 
 chiefs of the youth among the dwellers in Paradise.' The Jew said, ' the 
 prince of the Faithful caused me to appear before the Kadhi and the Kadhi 
 gave judgment against him, — I testify that this is the Truth — I testify 
 that there is no God but God, and I testify that Muhammad is the apostle of 
 God and that this armour is thy armour.' " 
 
 The discourses of A'li , in exposition of the Kuran are numerous and 
 are fully treated in my commentary supported by their ascriptions. And 
 verily Ibn Saa'd records on the authority of A'li that he said, " by Allah, 
 a verse of the Kuran was never revealed, but I knew regarding what it was 
 revealed and where it was revealed and concerning whom it was revealed, 
 for my Lord hath given unto me a wise heart and an eloquent tongue." 
 And he and others on the authority of Abii't Tufayl that A'li said, " ask 
 ye me regarding the book of God, for verily there is not a verse but I 
 know whether it was revealed by night or day, in the plains or on the 
 mountains." 
 
 IBn Abi Dautid records from Muhammad-b-Sirin that he said, " when 
 the Apostle of God died, A'li delayed to swear allegiance to Abd Bakr, and 
 Abd Bakr met him and said, ' art thou averse to my holding authority ?' 
 He said, ' no, but I have sworn not to put on my mantle except for prayers 
 until I have collected the Kuran.' And they think that he wrote it accord- 
 ing to the order of its revelation." Muhammadb-Sirin adds, " if that book 
 were to be met with, there would be found in it much instruction." 
 
 On some of his short sententious maxims worthy of remark. 
 
 1. Precaution consists in evil opinion (recorded by Abu'l Shaykh-b- 
 Hiyan). 
 
 2. He is near of kin whose kinship is affection though his relation- 
 ship be distant, and he is remote whom enmity hath rendered distant 
 though his kinship be close, for there is nothing nearer to the body than 
 the hand, but when the hand is corrupted it is cut offi, and when cut off it 
 is cauterised. (Abu Nua'ym.) 
 
 3. Take ye live maxims from me. 1. ' Let none of ye fear any- 
 thing but his sin, 2. And hope for nothing but his Lord. 3. He who 
 
[ 189 ] 
 
 knoweth not, let him not be ashamed to learn. 4. He who knoweth, let A. H. 40. 
 him not be ashamed when he is asked concerniug what he knoweth not, A, D. 661. 
 to say " God knows best." 5. Patience is to faith what the head is to the 
 body ; when patience departeth, faith departeth, and when the head goeth 
 the body goeth. (Ibn Mans'ur in his Sunan.) 
 
 4. The perfect doctor of the law is he who doth not make men 
 despair of the mercy of God and is not indulgent to them in respect 
 of their sii)s against God — and doth not proffer them immunity from the 
 chastisement of. God and doth not willingly forsake the Kuran for other 
 than it — for there is no profit in devotion in which there is no knowledge, 
 and no knowledge unless accompanied by comprehension, and no proper 
 reading of the Kurdn without meditation upon it. (Dhurays in the 
 Fadhail u'l Kuran. (Excellencies of the Kuran.) 
 
 5. I make it incumbent upon myself when I am asked what I know 
 not, to say God knoweth best. (Ibn A'sakir.) 
 
 6. He who seeketh to do justice unto men, let him desire for them 
 what he desireth for himself. (Ibid.) 
 
 7. Seven things are of the devil. 1. Excessive anger. 2. Exces- 
 sive sneezing.* 3. Excessive yawning. 4. Vomiting. 5. Bleeding at 
 the nose. 6. Clandestine discourse. t 7. Sleeping during devotional 
 exercise. 
 
 8. Eat ye the pomegranate for it is astomachic. (A'bdu'llah-b- Ahmad 
 in the Zawaid u'l Musnad.) 
 
 9. Thy reading the Kuran under the tuition of a learned man, and 
 his reading it to thee are equal in meritorioumess. (Al Hakim in his 
 History.) 
 
 10. A time shall come upon the people when a true believer will be , 
 more abject than a female slave. (S.a'id-b-Mansur.) 
 
 And by Abu'l Aswad ad Duali is the following, eulogizing A'li. 
 " And now, eye, alas for thee ! come to my aid ! 
 Now weep for the prince of the Faithful ; 
 And let Umm Kulthiimt weep for him 
 
 * It is also said in a tradition v^^^''' h^. J o*'^*^l 'r*"^ ol " He (Muham- 
 mad) used to like sneezing and dislike yawning," because the former is accompanied 
 ■by lightness of body and openness of the pores, whereas in yawning the contrary is 
 the case, hut the Arabs used to augur ill from sneezing, so that if a man were journey, 
 ing and heard a sneeze, it prevented him from going on. With regard to yawning, it 
 is said, kiJii f^it!a-\ ijjIjJ lit "when any one of you yawns, let him cover his 
 mouth," for it is believed, that the devil leaps into the uncovered yawning mouth. 
 Lane. . . 
 
 .J. ^Jkx^\ ^^ isy^\ l+JI Kur. LVIII. 
 
 I The daughter of A'li by Fatimah and wife of Omar. 
 
[ 190 ] 
 
 A. H. 40. With her flowing tears, for verily she hath beheld death. 
 
 A. D. 6G1. Now say to the schismatics wheresoever they may be : 
 
 May the eyes of the envious never be refreshed. 
 
 In the month of the Fast have ye made us to grieve 
 
 For the best of all men universally. 
 
 Ye have slain the best of those that have mounted steeds 
 
 And tamed them or put foot upon a vessel, 
 
 Of those who wear and adjust sandals : 
 
 And of those who read the Kuran and its perspicuous verses. 
 
 And in him were the noblest virtues 
 
 And the love of the Apostle of the Lord of created things. 
 
 Verily the Kuraysh knew wheresoever they were, 
 
 That thou wert the best of them in ancestry and faith. 
 
 When I stood* before the face of the father of Husayn, 
 
 I saw the radiance that shone above his eyes. 
 
 And before his death we were happy, 
 
 Beholding the son-in-law of the Apostle of God among us, 
 
 Establishing the truth in which there was no thought of evil, 
 
 And acting equitably between enemies and kinsmen ; 
 
 Knowledge with him was not hidden. 
 
 Nor was he created among the proud of heart. 
 
 The people became when they lost A'li 
 
 Like unto the ostrich bewildered in a country bare of herbage. 
 
 Eejoice not, Mu'awiyah, son of Sakhr : 
 
 For verily the continuance of the Caliphs is with us." 
 
 Of the distinguished persons who died during the time of A'li 
 whether by a natural death or by violence were, Hudayfah-b-u'l Imam — 
 Az Zubayr-b-u'I A'wam — Talhah — Zayd-b-Siihan — Salman al Farisi — 
 Hind-b-Abi Halah and Uways al Kurani — Khabbab-b-u'l Aratt — A'mmar- 
 b-Yasir — Sahl-b-Hanif — Suhayb-ar Kurni — Muhammad the son of Abu 
 Bakr as Siddik — Tamim ad Dari — Khawwat-b-Jubayr — Shurahbil-b-as 
 Samt — Abu Maysarah al Badri — Safwan-b-A'ssal — A'mr-b-A'nbasah — 
 Hisham-b-Hakim — Abu Kad freedman of the prophet and others. 
 
 * I prefer the reading of the first to the second person sing, and in this follow, 
 M. Eeynard in the Praiiies d 'Or. Tom. IV, p. 436. 
 
[ 191 ] 
 
 A. H. 40. 
 AL HASAN-B-A'LI-B-ABl TALIB. A. D. 661. 
 
 Al Hasan was the son of A'li, tlie son of Abu Talib, Abu Muhammad, 
 grandson of the Apostle of God, and his descendant, the last of the 
 Caliphs according to his prediction.* 
 
 Ibn Saa'd records on the authority of I'mran-b-Sulayman that al Hasan 
 and al Husayn were two of the names of the dwellers in Paradise, the 
 Arabs never having been named by those two in the time of Ignorance. 
 
 Al Hasan was born in the middle of the month of Eamadhan in the 
 3rd year of the Plight. It is stated that he heard traditions from the 
 prophet, and Ayesha and others of the Tabi'is — among them his son al 
 Hasan, and Abu'l Haura Rablah-b-Shayban. As Shaa'bi and Abu Wail, have 
 related traditions on his authority. He resenibled the prophet in appear- 
 a)ice, and the prophet named him al Hasan and slaughtered a sheep as a 
 sacrifice for him on the seventh day, and shaved his head and ordered that 
 the weight of his hair in silver should be given in alms, and he was the 
 fifth of the people of the mantle. t Al A'skari says that this name (al 
 Hasan) was not known in the time of Ignorance. 
 
 Al MufadhalJ says that the Lord concealed the names of al Hasan 
 and al Husayn until the prophet named his two sons§ by them, and al 
 Bukhari records on the authority of Anas that no one resembled the pro- 
 phet more than al Hasan the son of A'li. The two Shaykhs record on the 
 authority of al Bara that he said, " I saw the Apostle of God, with al 
 Hasan upon his shoulder, and he was saying " God verily I love him, 
 therefore love Thou him," And al Bukhari from Abu Bakr that he said, 
 " I heard the prophet, while on the pulpit with al Hasan by his side, look- 
 ing now upon the people, and now upon him, exclaim, ' verily this son of 
 
 • Muhammad is reported to have said, " the Caliphate shall continue after me 
 thirty years and then shall he a kingdom." Muhammad died in the 11th year of the 
 Flight and J^asan's ahdioation was in the year 40 from whence it is plain, says al 
 Bukhari that not only was Muhammad a prophet but Hasan was his rightful successor. 
 Ook. Hist. Sar. p. 352. 
 
 t When Mulbammad went forth to dispute with the amhassadors from the people 
 of Najran on the suhjeot of religion he took with him A'li Fatima, al Hasan and al 
 ^usayn, and some say gathered them under his mantle. See Sale, Kur. p. 44. 
 
 J Ibn Khali gives two of the name, both philologers of eminence and authors of 
 numerous works. One, Ahu Talib al Mufaddhal-b-Salama of the school of Kufah. 
 The other Abul A'bhas al Mufaddhal-b-Muhammad-b-Ya'la, a native of Kufah author 
 of the Mufaddhal, died A. H. 168. 
 
 § They were always looked upon by him in the light of his children, his own 
 having died at an early age. 
 
[ 19a ] 
 
 A. H. 40. mine is a prince and perchance the Lord will unite through his means, the 
 A. D. 661. two contending parties o£ the Muslims.'* And from Ibn Omar that the 
 prophet said, ' they two are my descendants in the world meaning al 
 Hasan and al Husayn.' " 
 
 At Tirmidi and al Hakim record on the authority of Abu Sa'id al 
 Khudri that the Apostle of God called al Hasan and al Husayn the two 
 princes of the youth of Paradise. And at Tirmidi from Usarnah-b-Zayd 
 that he narrates, " I saw the prophet with al Hasan and al Husayn on 
 either hip, and he exclaimed ' these are my two sons and the sons of my 
 daughter. God, -verily I love them, wherefore love Thou them and love 
 him who loveth them.' And from Anas that the Apostle of God was asked 
 ' which of the people of thy house are dearest to thee ?' He replied, ' al 
 Hasan and al Husayn.' Al Hakim records on the authority of Ibn 
 A'bbas, that the prophet advanced, carrying upon his neck al Hasan, and 
 a man met him and said, ' an excellent steed thou ridest, lad !' the Apostle 
 of God replied, ' and he is an excellent rider.' " 
 
 Ibn Saa'd records on the authority of A'bdu'llah-b-u'z Zubayr that 
 he said, " the one most resembling the prophet of his family, and the most 
 endeared to him of them was al Hasan the son of A'li — I saw him come 
 while Muhammad was worshipping and mount upon his neck (or, he says, 
 his back) and Muhammad did not make him get down until he himself got 
 down — and indeed I saw him in the act of bowing in prayer, separate his 
 legs for al Hasan so that he might pass through from the other side." 
 And from Abu Salimah-b-A'bdu'r Eahmanf that the Apostle of God used 
 to put out his tongue towards al Hasan the son of A'li, and when the boy 
 saw the redness of the tongue, he would be merry with him. Al Hakim 
 records on the authority of Zubayr-b-u'l Arkam, that al Hasan rose and 
 preached and a man of the tribe of Azd Shanuwwah stood up and said, " I 
 testify verily that I saw the Apostle of God take him in his lap, saying, 
 ' he who loveth me, let him surely love him, and he that is present, let 
 him inform him who is absent,' and were it not for reverence of the Apos- 
 tle of God I would have told it to no one." 
 
 Al Hasan had many virtues — he was a prince gentle of disposition, 
 grave, reserved and dignified ; generous, greatly extolled, averse from strife 
 and the sword, and given much to marrying — he would bestow upon one 
 man as much as a hundred thousand dirhams. 
 
 Al Hdkim records on the authority of A'bdu'Uah-b-U'bayd-b-U'mayr 
 that al Hasan performed the pilgrimage on foot twenty-five times, his 
 
 * The Syrians who set up Mu'awiyah, and the people of I'rdk who took the side 
 of al IJasan. 
 
 t A Tahi'i, son of A'bdu'r Eahm4n-h-A'uf, died at Medina A, H. aged 72. 
 
[ 193 J 
 
 horses being led beside him. And Ibn Saa'd from U'mayr-b-Ishak that -A- H, 40. 
 
 he said, " no one ever discoursed before me whom I more wished when A. D. 661. 
 
 he spoke that he should' not be silent, than al Hasan the son of A'li, and 
 
 I never heard from him an improper word except once, when there was 
 
 verily a dispute between al Hasan and A'mr-b-Othmdn regarding some 
 
 land. Al Hasan proposed a thing which A'mr did not approve, and al 
 
 Hasan said, there is nothing for it then in my opinion but to act in spite 
 
 of him."* He adds, " this was the harshest word of impropriety that I 
 
 ever heard from him." 
 
 He also said, " Marwdn was ruler over us and he used to revile A'li 
 every Friday from the pulpit and al Hasan used to listen without retorting 
 a thing. Then he sent a man to say to him, ' I swear by A'li, and by 
 A'li, and by A'li, and by thee, and by thee, and by thee, and I find not a 
 comparison for thee but that of a mule, which when it is asked, " who is 
 thy father?" replies, " my mother is a mare." ' Al Hasan replied to him 
 ' go back to him and say to him from me — verily I will not blot out from 
 thee a thing that thou hast said by reviling thee in turn, but • my place of 
 meeting and thine is before God, and if thou hast spoken the truth, the Lord 
 will reward thee according to thy truth, and if thou hast lied, then the Lord 
 is terrible in vengeance.' " 
 
 Ibn Saa'd records on the authority of Euzayk-b-Sawwar that there 
 passed words between al Hasan and Marwan and al Hasan was silent. 
 Then Marwan blew his nose with his right hand, and al Hasan said to 
 him, " Out upon thee ! dost thou not know that the right hand is for 
 honour and the left for what is base ? Shame upon thee !" Marwan held 
 his peace. And from Asha'th-b-Sawwar on the authority of another, that 
 a man sat down by al Hasan, and he said, " verily thou hast sat down by 
 me as I was about to rise — wilt thou give me permission ?" And from 
 A'li-b-Zayd-b-Juda'an, that al Hasan gave away his property twice for the 
 sake of God, and three times shared his property with God by religious 
 donations, so that he would give a sandal, and keep a sandal, and give a 
 boot and keep a boot. And from A'li the son of al Husayn, that al Hasan 
 was given to divorcing his wives, and he never separated himself from a 
 woman but she stiU continued to love him, and he married ninety women. 
 And from the father of Jaa'far-b- Muhammad that he said, " al Hasan 
 used to marry and divorce till I feared that he would cause enmity 
 amongst the tribes." A'li once said, " O men of Kufah, give not your 
 daughters in marriage to al Hasan, for he is a man that divorceth fre- 
 quently :" and a man from Hamadan exclaimed, " by Allah, we will surely 
 give in marriage to him and such as he approves, he may retain, and such 
 
 * Lit; that his nose should cleave to the dust, i. e., render him suhmisaive. 
 25 
 
[ 194. 1 
 
 A. H. 40. as he dislikes, he may divorce." And from A'bdii'llah-h-Husayn, that af 
 A. D. 661. Hasan was a man much given to taking women in marriage, and they 
 rarely committed a fault towards him, and it was seldom with a woman 
 he married but she loved him and was passionately attached to him. 
 
 Ihn A'sakir records on the authority of Juwayrah-b-Asma that when 
 al Hasan died, Marwan wept over his bier, and al Husayn said to him, 
 " dost thou weep for him and verily thou hast given him to sufier* what 
 thou hast given him to suffer." He replied, " verily, I would have done 
 the same to one even more forbearing than he," and he pointed with his 
 hand to the hill.f And from al Mubarrad that it was said to al Hasan — 
 " Abti Darr sayeth — poverty is dearer to me than wealth, and sickness than 
 health." He replied — " may God have mercy upon Abii Darr, but I say, 
 that he who confideth in the good choice of the Lord for him, desireth not 
 to be in any other condition than that which the Lord hath chosen for 
 him, and this is the highest attainment of resignation unto what Fate hath 
 ordained." 
 
 Al Hasan assumed the Caliphate after the assassination of his father, 
 according to the allegiance sworn to him by the people of Kufah, and 
 governed it during six months and some days. Then Mu'awiyah marched 
 against him and the affair was left in the hands of God. Then al Hasan 
 sent to him, offering to resign the government to him on the condition 
 that the Caliphate should revert to himself after him, J and that he should 
 not call upon any one of the people of Medina, Hijaz and I'rak for any- 
 thing that had happened during his father's lifetime, and that he should 
 pay his debts. Muawiyah accepted his demands, and they made peace upon 
 this. Thus was made manifest the prophetical prediction in his words 
 " the Lord will unite through his means, the contending parties of the 
 Muslims." And he abdicated the Caliphate in his favour. Al Balkini§ 
 indeed has sought to prove from his renunciation of the Caliphate which 
 is the highest of dignities, the lawfulness of the renunciation of offices. 
 
 His abdication of the Caliphate took place in the year 41 in the month 
 of Eabii' u'l Awwal, and some say in Eabii' u'l A'khir (August 661) and 
 Jumada li'l Awwal. His Companions used to say to him, " O shame of 
 the Muslims," and he would reply, " shame is better than hell fire." And a 
 man said to him, " peace to thee, dishonourer of the Muslims." He 
 
 * Lit. to swallow. 
 
 t A8 fortearing — or as self-contained — as a hill — is a proverbial compaiison in 
 AraWo. 
 
 J This condition I find in no other author I have consulted. 
 
 § The surname of Jalflu'ddin, author of a work on the difficulties of science. His 
 best known composition is the Muhimmat ul Muhimmat, a commentary on Asnavi tho 
 great Jurisconsult who died A. H. 882. D'Herb. art. Ballfini. 
 
[ 195 ] 
 
 replied, " I am no dishonourer of the Muslims, but I was loth to have ye A. H. 41. 
 slaughtered for the sake of a kingdom." Al Hasan then removed from A. D. 661. 
 Kiifah to Medina and settled there. 
 
 Al Hakim records on the authority of Jubayr-b-Nufayr* that he nar- 
 rates, " I said to al Hasan, verily the people say that thou desirest the Cali- 
 phate." He replied, " the chiefs of the Arabs were under my authority, 
 warring with those with whom I warred, and at peace with those with whom 
 I was at peace — yet I abandoned it, seeking the favour of God, and to 
 spare the blood of the people of Muhammad : shall I then again seize it 
 amid the despondency of the people of Hijaz ?" 
 
 Al Hasan died at Medina of poison. His wife Ja'dah, daughter of al 
 Asha'th-b-Kays poisoned him. Yazid-b-Mu'awiyah suborned her to poison 
 him, promising that he would then marry her, and she did so. And when al 
 Hasan was dead, she sent to Yazid claiming the fulfilment of what ha 
 had promised, but he replied, " I did not approve thee for al Hasan, shall 
 I then be content with thee for myself ?" His death took place in the year 
 49. Some say, however, it ocowrei on the 5th of Eabii' u'l Awwal in the 
 year 50, and others in the year 51. His brother endeavoured to make him 
 confess to him who poisoned him, but he would not inform him and said,' 
 " the Lord is terrible in His vengeance if it be the one 1 suppose, and if 
 not, by Allah, let not an. innocent man be put to death on my accounb." 
 
 Ibn Saa'd records on the authority of I'mran-b-Abdi'llah-b-Talhah 
 that al Hasan saw in a dream that there was as if inscribed between his 
 eyes " Say God is One" (Kur. CXII) and he announced the good news to 
 the people of his house, and they related it to Sa'id-b-u'l Musayyab, and ha 
 exclaimed " if his dream speak truly, little time remaineth unto his death." 
 And he lived but a few days when he died. 
 
 Al Bayhaki and Ibn A'sakir record on a line of ascription through 
 the father of Abu Mundir Hisham-b- Muhammad, that al Hasan was in 
 straitened circumstances, and they used to give him an allowance of one 
 hundred thousand dirhams a year. One year Mu'awiyah withheld it from 
 him, and he was in great distress. He himself narrates " I sent for an ink- 
 horn that I might write to Mu'awiyah to remind him of me, but I refrained 
 and I saw the Apostle of God in a dream. And he said, ' how art thou 
 O Hasan ?' I replied, ' well ; father,' and I complained to him of my allow- 
 ance being kept back from me and he said, ' didst thou send for an ink- 
 horn to write to a creature like unto thyself, reminding him of it ?' I 
 answered ' yes, Apostle of God — what then should I do ?' He said 
 ' say — God, instil into my heart Thy desire, and cut off my hope from 
 all beside Thee, so that I may not hope in any one save Thee, Lord ! and 
 vouchsafe unto me Lord of created things that which my strength is too 
 « OneoftheTabi'is. 
 
[ 196 ] 
 
 A. H. 41. weak to reach, and my striving falleth short of, to which my desire attaineth 
 A,. D. 661. not nor doth my supplication aspire, and which hath not passed upon my 
 tongue, of what Thou hast bestowed of certitude upon any one of those that 
 have gone before, and those that have come after.' 
 
 He continues, " by Allah, I did not persist with this prat/er for a week, 
 but Mu'awiah sent me 1,500,000, dirhams, and I exclaimed, ' praise be to 
 the Lord who doth not forget him who remembereth Him and disap- 
 pointeth not him that calleth upon Him.' Then, I saw the prophet in 
 a dream, and he said, ' Hasan, how art thou,' and I said, ' well, O 
 Apostle of God,' and I related to him my story and he said, * thus it is, 
 
 my son, with him who hopeth in the Creator and hopeth not in the 
 creature.' " 
 
 It is stated in the Tuyyuriyat on the authority of Salim-b-I'sa, the 
 Kuran-reader of the people of Kdfah, that when al Hasan was nigh unto 
 death, he became affected with violent grief, and al Husayn said to him, 
 " what meaneth, brother, this lamentation ? Verily thou goest unto the 
 Apostle of God and unto A'li, and they two are thy fathers, and unto 
 Khadijah and Fatimah, and they two are thy mothers, and unto al Easim 
 'and at Tahir, and they two are thy maternal uncles,* and imto Hamzah 
 and Jaa'far, and they two are thy paternal uncles." Al Hasan said to him, 
 " brother, verily I am entering upon one of the decrees' of the Most 
 High, upon the like of which I have not entered, and I behold a people 
 among the creatures of God, the like of whom I have never seen." Ibn 
 A'bdi'l Barr says, " it has been related to me in different ways, that when 
 al Hasan was near unto death, he said to his brother — " O my brother, 
 verily thy father cast his eyes upon this authority, but the Lord averted 
 it from him, and Abu Bakr held it ; afterwards again he raised his eyes 
 to it, but it was turned from him unto Omar ; then at the time of the 
 Council, he had no doubt that it would not pass from him, but it was 
 turned from him unto Othman, and when Othmdn was slain A'li was 
 sworn allegiance to : then it was contested until the sword was drawn, and 
 it never rested undisturbed in his possession. And verily, by Allah, I do 
 not think that the Lord will unite in us the prophetic mission and the 
 Caliphate, and indeed I know not with what indignity the rabble of Kufah 
 have not treated thee, and cast thee forth. And verily I asked of Ayesha that 
 
 1 might be buried with the Apostle of God, and she agreed, therefore when 
 I am dead, ask that of her, and I do not think otherwise of the people 
 but that they will hinder thee, and if they do so, do not dispute with 
 them." And when he was dead, al Husayn went to Ayesha, the mother 
 of the Faithful, and she said, " yes ; willingly," but Marwdn hindered 
 
 * Sons of Muhammad. 
 
[ 197 1 
 
 them, and al Husayn and those that were with him took up their arms A. H. 41. 
 until Abu Hurayrah turned him back. Afterwards he was buried in al A. D. G61. 
 Bakii' by the side of his mother. 
 
 MU'AWITAH-b-ABI SUJTYAN. 
 
 Mu'awiyah, the son of Abli SufySn Sakhr-b-Harb-b-IJmayyah-b- 
 A'bdi's Shams-b-A'bd. Manaf-b-Kusayy alUmawiy — Abu A'bdu'r Eahman, 
 embraced Islam with his brother on the day of the conquest of Mecca. 
 He was present at Hunayn,* and was of those whose hearts were conei- 
 liatedf by MuJiammad. He became sincerely converted to Islam, and was 
 one of the Secretaries to the Apostle of Grod. It is said that he had one 
 hundred and sixty traditions from Muhammad. Of the Companions who 
 related traditions on his authority, were Ibn A'bbas, Ibn O'mar, Ibn u'z 
 Zubayr, Abu'd Darda — Jarir al Bijli, Nu'man-b-Bashfr and others. And 
 among the Tabi'is, Ibn u'l Musayyab, Hamid-b-A'bdi'r Eahman Ac. 
 
 He was of those celebrated for acuteness and forbearance, and verily 
 traditions of his merit have been transmitted, which are seldom well esta- 
 blished. At Tirmidi records on the authority of the prophet, substantia- 
 ting it from A'bdu'r Eahman-b-Abi A'mirah the Companion, that he said 
 to Mu'awiyah, " God, make him a guide unto others and himself rightly 
 directed." And Ahmad in his Musnad from I'rbadh-b-Sariyah that he 
 narrates, " I heard the Apostle of God say, ' O God, instruct Mu'awiyah in 
 writing and accounts, and preserve him from eternal punishment.' " 
 
 Ibn Abi Shaybah records in the Musannaf, and at Tabarani in the 
 Kabir on the authority of A'bdu'l Malik-b-TJ'mayr, that Mu'awiyah said, 
 " I never ceased to desire the Caliphate since the Apostle of God said to 
 me, ' Mu'awiyah, when thou rulest, act with kindness.' " 
 
 Mu'awiyah was a man, tall, fair, handsome and of awe-inspiring 
 aspect, and Omar used to look upon him and say, " this is the Caisar of 
 the Arabs." It is recorded of A'li that he said, " be not averse to the 
 rule of Mu'awiyah, for verily when ye lose him, ye will see heads fall from, 
 their shoulders." Al Makburif says, " ye admire the sagacity of Hera- 
 
 » This tattle was fought in 8 A. H. in the valley of Hunayn, about 3 miles from 
 Mecca, between Muhammad and the tribes of Havazen and Thakif. See Sale, Kur. 
 p. 161. 
 
 t These were certain Arabs of name and position whom Muhammad won over to 
 his side by showing them every consideration, in order that their example might be 
 followed by their tribes. The Muntaha'l Arab gives a list of thirty of them. 
 
 I Abu Sa'id Kaysan Makburi— a Tabi'i— he was called Makburi because he lived 
 near a graveyard. Muntaha'l Arab. 
 
[ 198 3 
 
 A. H. 41. clius and Khusrau, and ye pass over Mu'awiyah ?" He was proverbial 
 A. D. 661. for his forbearance. Ibn Abi'd Dunya and Abu Bakr-b-Abi A'asim have 
 severally composed a work solely on his forbearance. Ibn A'un narrates 
 that a man said to Mu'awiyah, " by Allah, thou must surely act uprightly 
 with us, Mu'dwiyah, or we will assuredly set thee right." He said, 
 " how ;" he replied, " with a stick." Mu'awiyah answered " Very well — I 
 will act uprightly." 
 
 Kabisah-b- Jabir* says, " I was much in company with Mu'awiyah and 
 I never saw a man of more settled forbearance, and slower to folly and 
 further from indolence than he ; — and when Abu Batr sent me to Syria, 
 Mu'awiyah set forth with his brother Yazid-b-Abi Sufyan, and Yazid dying, 
 appointed, him his successor in Damascus. Omar confirmed him in this, 
 and subsequently Othman, who added to his goTTernment the whole of 
 Syria, and he was prefect for twenty years and Caliph twenty years.'' 
 Kaa'b al Ahbar said, " no one shall rule this people as long as Mu'awiyah." 
 Ad Dahabi says that Kaa'b died before Mu'awiyah was made Caliph, and 
 that Kaa'b was right in what he said, for Mu'awiyah continued Caliph 
 for twenty years, and none of the princes of the earth contended with him, 
 unlike others who came after him, for they had opponents and portions of 
 their dominions passed out of their sway. Mu'awiyah went forth against 
 A'li as has preceded, and assumed the title of Caliph. Then he marched 
 against al Hasan, who abdicated in his favour. He therefore became firmly 
 established in the caliphate from Eabii' u'l Akhir or Jumada '1 Awwal 41. 
 The year was therefore called the year of Union, on account of the gather- 
 ing of the people under one Caliph. During this year Mu'awiyah appointed 
 Marwan-b-u'l Hakam over Medina. 
 I In the year 43 Eukhkhajf and other places in Sijistan were captured 
 
 / and Waddan in Barkah and KlizaaJ of the country of the Moors. And in 
 the same Mu'awiyah appointed as his lieutenant Ziyad " the son of his 
 father," and this is the first instance in Islam in which the command of 
 the prophet was Yiolated§ — (at Tha'alabi|| and others). 
 
 * Atu'l A'la Kabisah-b-Jabir al Asadi a native of Kufah and one of the TaM'is, 
 of respeotatle authority aa a Traditioniat. Died a little before 83 A. H. An Nawawi 
 
 t The printed edition has ^^ which is an error. The MS. gives ^^ and Ibn 
 u'l Athir confirms it. 
 
 % The MS. has (j_yJ but I am unable to trace the names in Yakut. 
 
 § Ziyad was the reputed son of Abu Sufyan by Sumayyah who was married to a 
 Greek slave. According to the prophetical law the child belonged to his legal fether 
 the Greek, but Mu'iwiyah, anxious to secure in his interest so eminent a man, publicly 
 acknowledged him as his brother by the father's aide, notwithstanding the remonstran- 
 oea of his family. The doubtful parentage of Ziydd gained for him the vague diatinc- 
 tion of " the son of his father." See Ockley, Abul Fida, D'Herb. 
 
 II Ibn Khali gives two of this surname— both from Nayaabur, Abu Ishdk, a well 
 
[ 199 ] 
 
 In the year 45 al Kikan* was reduced and in the year 50, Kuhistan A. H. 45^ 
 conquered. In the same year Mu'awiyah invited the people of Syria to A. D. 665-6. 
 engage for the succession after him of his son Yazid, and they made a 
 covenant with him. He was the first who made a compact for the Cali- 
 phate to descend to his son, and the first who did so while in sound health. 
 
 Afterwards he wrote to Marwdn at Medina, to take the covenant /row 
 tie people, and Marwdn preached and said, " verily the prince of the Faith- 
 ful hath seen fit to appoint his son Tazid as successor over ye according to 
 the institution of Abu Bakr and Omar," whereupon A'bdu'r Eahman the 
 son of Abu Bakr as Siddik arose and said, " rather according to the insti- 
 tution of Khusrau and Cffisar, for Abli Bakr and Omar did not do so for 
 their children, nor for any one of the people of their house." 
 
 In the year 51, Mu'awiyah performed the pilgrimage, and took the 
 covenant for his son. Then he sent to the son of Omar and recited the 
 profession of faith and said, " now, O son of Omar, verily thou didst say 
 unto me, that thou in truth wouldst not wish to pass a single dark night 
 without there being over thee during it a ruler — therefore, verily, I warn 
 thee that thou break not the stafE of the Muslims nor strive for the dis- 
 turbance of their harmony." Then the son of Omar praised God and 
 glorified Him and said, " now, verily there were before thee Caliphs who 
 had sons, thy son being no better than their sons, yet they did not regard 
 in their sons what thou regardest in thy son, but they chose for the Mus- 
 lims the best wheresoever they knew Jiim to he, and thou dost caution me 
 lest I break the staff of the Muslims, but I have not been doing so, and 
 indeed I am but a man among the Muslims and when they are agreed 
 upon a thing, then surely I am one of them." And he said, '' may the Lord 
 have mercy upon thee," and the son of Omar departed. Then he sent to 
 the son of Abd Bakr and recited the profession of faith, and began his 
 discourse, but the other cut short his speech and said, " verily, thou assured- 
 ly hast desired that I should commend thee to God in the affair of thy 
 son, but, by Allah, I shall not do so — by Allah, I will refer this matter to 
 a, council of the Muslims, or I will assuredly by circumvention unsettle it 
 upon thee." Then he sprung up and departed. But Mu'awiyah said, 
 " O God, suffice to me against him in whait Thou wiliest." Then he said, 
 " Softly, youth — go not within sight of the people of Syria, for verily I 
 fear lest they anticipate me with regard to thee, until I tell them in the 
 evening that thou hast sworn allegiance." Next he sent to the son of a'z 
 Zubayr and said, ' son of a'z Zubayr — verily thou art a crafty fox which 
 
 known Commentator on the Kuran — -who died A. H. 629 (1035-6), the other Abu 
 Mansur Abdu'l Malik a volximinous author ; died A. H. 3fi0 (961). 
 * Yaklit places this district between Sind and Khurasan. 
 
[ 200 ] 
 
 A. IT. 51. whenever it cometh out of one hole goeth into another, and verily thott 
 A. D. 671. hast supported these two men and hast blown into their nostrils, and hast 
 carried them against their judgment." The son of az Zubayr replied, " if 
 indeed thou art weary of the government, resign it, and bring us thy son 
 and we will swear allegiance to him. Hast thou considered if we make a 
 covenant for thy son together with thee, which of ye two we must hear 
 and obey ? The covenant can never be made with ye two conjointly." 
 Then he departed, whereupon Mu'awiyah ascended the pulpit and praised 
 God and glorified Him and said, " verily, we have heard the sayings of 
 certain misguided men who think that the son of Omar and the son of Abu 
 Bakr and the son of az Zubayr have not sworn allegiance to Yazid, where- 
 as they have heard and obeyed him and made a covenant of allegiance with 
 him." And the people of Syria said, " by AUah, we shall not be content 
 until they swear allegiance to him before witnesses, otherwise we shall 
 smite their necks" but he said, " great God, how prompt are the people to 
 evil against the Kuraysh — ^let me not hear this speech from any of ye after 
 to-day." Then he descended and the people said, " the son of Omar and 
 the son of Abd Bakr and the son of az Zubayr have sworn allegiance," and 
 the Syrians said, " no ! by AUah," but the people said " yes". And Mu'awiyah 
 set forth and arrived in Syria. It is stated on the authority of Ibn Mun- 
 kadir* that Ibn Omar said when the covenant was made for Tazid, " if he 
 proveth good we will be content, and if wicked we must be patient." 
 
 Al Kharaitit records in the Hawatif {Monitors) on the authority of 
 Hamid-b-Wahb that Hind the daughter of TJ'tbah-b-Eabii'h was the 
 wife of al Fakah-b-u'l Mughirah, and he was one of the youths of tlio 
 Kuraysh, and he possessed a banqueting house which the people could 
 enter without permission. One day the house was empty, and al Fakah 
 arose. Hind being within, and went forth on some businees of his and a 
 man of those who used to guard the house, came and entered it, but when 
 he saw the woman he turned fleeing ; but al Fakah observed him, and he 
 went up to her and kicked her with his foot and said, " who was he that 
 was with thee ?" She replied, " I did not see any one and I did not wake 
 until thou didst wake me." But he said to her " go to thy family." And 
 the people spoke concerning her, wherefore her father took her apart 
 and said to her, " daughter — verily people talk much about thee, there- 
 fore teU.me concerning it, and if the man speak truly, I will suborn one 
 who will slay him and the talk about us will cease, and if he lieth, I 
 will summon him before certain soothsayers of Yaman." The narrator 
 
 * Abu Bakr Mu^ammad-'b.Munkadir of the Kuraysh was a traditionist of good 
 authority. Ho died A. H. 130, (747-8). De Slane, I. K. 
 
 t Abu Bakr Mubammad-b-Jaa'far, al Kharaiti authority of the Mak&rim u'l 
 Akhlalf and other works died at Jaffa or Askalon, A. H, 328 (939-40). De Slane, I. K. 
 
[ 201 ] 
 
 continues, " tten she swore to him upon that by which they used to swear A H. 51. 
 in the time of Ignorance that he spoke falsely concerning her, wherefore A, D. 671- 
 U'tbah said to al Fakah, ' verily thou hast charged my daughter with k 
 grave thing, therefore summon me before certain of the soothsayers of 
 Yaman.' And al Fakah went forth with a party of the Banu Makhziim, 
 and U'tbah at the head of a party of the Banu A'bd Manaf, and with 
 them Hind and other women along with her in familiar intercourse. 
 But when they drew near the confines, the appearance of Hind was 
 transformed and her countenance changed and her father said to her, ' O 
 daughter, verily I see the change of appearance that hath come over thee, 
 and what is that, but on account of the guilt thou feelest.' She replied, 
 ' no, by Allah, father ! it is not from guilt, but I know that you go unto 
 a mortal who may fail or prove right, therefore I cannot trust him that 
 he brand me not with a stain which will be a reproach to me among the 
 Arabs.' But he said to her, ' verily I will prove him for thee before he 
 look into thy business.' And he whistled to his horse until he staled and 
 he inserted a grain of wheat and bound it with a thong. And they reached 
 the soothsayer in the morning who slew a camel for them, and received 
 them with honour, and when they had finished their morning meal, U'tbah 
 said to him, " verily we have come to thee concerning an affair, and indeed 
 I have concealed from thee a hidden thing that I may prove thee — where- 
 fore see what it is," He replied, " wheat." He said, " I desire what is 
 clearer than this." He answered "a grain of wheat in a colt." And 
 U'tbah said, " thou hast spoken truly, see into the business of these women." 
 Then he began to approach each one of them, striking her shoulder and 
 saying " rise," until he came to Hind and he struck her shoulder and said 
 " rise thou undefiled and no adulteress, and verily thou shalt give birth to 
 a king called Mu'awiyah." Then al Fakah looked upon her and took 
 her by the hand, but she withdrew her hand from his hand said, — " go 
 to, for by Allah, I will surely endeavour that it is by another than thee." 
 And Abu Sufyan married her and she brought forth Mu'awiyah. 
 
 Mu'awiyah died in the month of Eajab of the year 60 (April 6S0) J 
 and was buried between the gate of al Jabiyah, and the Little Gate. It i 
 is said that he lived seventy-seven years, and he possessed a little of the 
 hair of the Apostle of God and a paring of his nail, and enjoined as his last 
 request that it should be put into his mouth and eyes, and he added, " do 
 this and leave me alone with the Most Merciful of the Merciful." 
 
 26 
 
[ 202 ] 
 
 A. H 60. 
 
 A. D. 680. . On some accounts of Mm. 
 
 Tbn Abi Sbaybah records in the Musannaf on the authority o£ Abu 
 Sa'id-b-Jumhan that he narrates, " I said to Safinah, — verily the Eanu 
 Umayyah conceive that the Caliphate is among them." He replied, 
 " verily the fieree-eyed sons* lie — they are the most rigorous of kings and 
 the first of the kings is Mu'awiyah." And al Bayhaki and Ibn A'sakir 
 from Ibrahim-b-Suayd al Armani that he narrates, " I said to Ahmad-b- 
 Hanbal, — who are the Caliphs ?" He answered, " Abu Bakr, Omar, Ofchman 
 and A'li." I said, " and Mu'awiyah ?" He replied, " no one had more 
 claim to the Caliphate in the time of A'li than A'li." And as SUafi in 
 the Tuyyuriyat from A'bdu'llah-b-Ahmad-b-Hanbal that he states, "I 
 asked my father concerning A'li and Mu'awiyah," and he answered, " know, 
 that A'U had many enemies, and his enemies searched for a fault in him 
 but they found it not, wherefore they went to a manf who had fought 
 with him and battled with him, and they praised him extravagantly setting 
 a snare themselves for him." And Ibn A'sakir from A'bdu'l Malik-b- 
 TJ'mayr,} that Jarlyah-b-Kudamah as Saa'di went to Mu'awiyah who said 
 to him, " who art thou ?" He replied, " Jariyah the son of Kudamah." 
 He said, " and what art thou near to being — art thou anything but a 
 bee ?" He answered, " dost thou not imderstand, that verily, thou hast 
 likened me to it, and it protects itself with a sting and is sweet of juice ! 
 by Allah, Mu'awiyah is nothing but a bitch, howling to the dogs, and 
 IT'mayyah is but the diminutive of a female slave."§ And from al Fadhl- 
 b-Suayd, that Jariyah-b-Kudamah went to Mu'awiyah who said to him, 
 " thou art the procurator of A'li the son of Abu Talib and the kindler 
 of fire in thy burnings, going round about the villages of the Arabs, 
 
 * Lit. blue-eyed, which ia employed as signifying hostility because the SS\\ blue- 
 nesa or Kghtness of the eye is predominant in the Greeks and the Daylam between 
 whom and the Arabs is a confirmed enmity. Imr u'l Kays, used this adjective in this 
 sense, piwan, p. 34, Ar Text. Consult Lane, and Chenery, notes to 10th aasembly of 
 al Hariri. 
 
 t I- «., Mu'fiwiyah. 
 
 J Abu A'mr or Abu Omar A'bdu'l Malii-b-TJ'mayr was one of the Tibi'ia and a 
 native of Kufah of which town he was K&dhi, He ia considered a good authority by 
 Borne and doubtful by others, as his memory towards the close of his life failed him. 
 He died about A. H. 136. An Kawawi. 
 
 § Meaning that the names themselves have that signification in Arabic. I know 
 not why he should have likened Jariyah to a bee, the name not bearing that meaning, 
 unless it be for the same reason that a ship is termed Jdiiyah because it runs or flows 
 on the sea, and thus the bee in the air. Jai'iyah likewise signifies a female slave. 
 
[ 203 ] 
 
 shedding their blood."* Jariyah replied, " Mu'awiyah — put A'li aside A. H. 60. 
 
 from thee, for we have never 'hated A'li since we loved him, and never A. D. 680. 
 
 acted with dissimulation towards him since we dealt sincerely with him." 
 
 He answered, "alas for thee, O Jariyah, how contemptible wert thou 
 
 to thy family when they named thee Jariyah." He replied, " Mu'awiyah, 
 
 thou wert contemptible to thy family when they called thee Mu'awiyah." 
 
 He said, " thou hast no free mother." The other replied, " a free mother 
 
 bore me not ! verily the hilts of the swords with which we met thee at 
 
 SifKn are in our hands." He answered, "verily thou threatenest me!" 
 
 He replied, " verily thou didst not seize us by violence, nor conquer us 
 
 by force, but thou gavest us engagements and compacts, and if thou fulfil 
 
 thy part to us, we will fulfil ours, but if thou inclinest to the contrary, 
 
 then verily, we will abandon them. Behind us are tall men, and strong 
 
 coats of mail, and sharp lances, and if thou stretchest, out towards us the 
 
 distance between thy thumb and forefinger in treachery, we will meet thee 
 
 with both arms reach of deceit." Mu'fiwiyah exclaimed, " may the Lord 
 
 not multiply the like of thee among the people." And on the authority 
 
 of Abu 't Tuf ayl A'amir-b-Wathilah the Companion, that he went in unto 
 
 Mu'awiyah who said to him, " wert thou not among the slayers of 0th- 
 
 man ?" He replied, " no, but I was among those that were with him but 
 
 did not assist him." He said, " and what hindered thee from assisting 
 
 him ?" He answered, " the Fugitives and Auxiliaries did not aid him." 
 
 He said, "but surely his claim upon them that they should aid him was 
 
 imperative !" He retorted, " then what hindered" thee, prince of the 
 
 Faithful from helping him, for with thee were the people of Syria ?" 
 
 Mu'Awiyah replied, " but my seeking vengeance for his blood is helping 
 
 him." Abu't Tufayl laughed and then exclaimed, " thou and Othman are 
 
 as the poetf says : 
 
 * Mu'awiyah had sent A'bdu'llai-b-u'l Hadhrami to Basrah to secure that town 
 for him and A'li despatched Aa'yan-b-Dhahiah for the same purpose. The latter was 
 killed whereupon Jariyah was sent and he besieged A'bdu'llah in his house and set it 
 on fire and burnt him to death. Ibn Hajr. 
 
 t M. Barbier de Eeynard's text of Masa'ddi gives this poet's name as Hanafi. In 
 a note it is stated that according to a MS. in the Asiatic Society of Paris, the name 
 should be Ja'di ^jA*^, The readings of the first hemistich of the verse are various. 
 Masa'ddi has iSJIjIaaJJI in the text and iSULij in the above-mentioned MS., but the 
 scansion of both these is faulty. The same MS. has ^jj^^i for j,ijiJj. The printed 
 edition of as Suyuti has kSiixfiJi Ji. I would amend it i«lijjij)/ as the negative here de- 
 stroys the sense unless employed as a query. In the second hemistich a , after JU^ 
 
 which is necessary in the scansion, is erroneously omitted but is found in Maaa'udi's 
 version. 
 
[ 204 ] 
 
 A. H. 60. • I win surely find thee weeping for me after my death : 
 
 A. D. 680. And during my life, thou didst not* furnish me with my food.' " 
 
 As Shaa'bi says, that the first who preached seated to the people, was 
 Mu'dwiyah and that was when his flesh had increased and his stomach had 
 grown large. (Kecorded by Ibn Abi Shaybah.) Az Zuhri states that Mu'a- 
 wiyah was the first who introduced the discourse before prayers on the Eed. 
 (Abdu'r Kazzak in his Musannaf.) And Sa'id-b-u'l Musayyab says that 
 he was the first who introduced the call to prayers on the Eed, (Ibn Abi 
 Shaybah) and who diminished the number of the Takbirs. Al A'skari says 
 in his Awail, " Mu'awiyah was the first to establish post-messengers in 
 Islam, and the first who appointed eunuchs for his personal service, and 
 the first with whom his subjects jested familiarly, and the first to whom it 
 was said hy the Muaddin, " peace be to thee, O prince of the Faithful and 
 the mercy of God and His blessing — to prayers ! May the Lord have mercy 
 upon thee," — and the first, who established the office of the Seal, and he 
 appointed to it A'bdu'llah-b-Aus al Ghassani, and confided to him the Seal, 
 and upon the stone of it was inscribed, " every work has its reward ;" and 
 that continued with the A'bbaside Caliphs to the end. The reason of his 
 instituting it was, that he commanded to be given to a man one hundred 
 thousand dirhams, and he opened the document and made it two hundred 
 thousand, and when the account was taken to Mu'awiyah, he disavowed it, 
 and established the register of the Seal from that day. " And he was the 
 first who established an enclosure in the great mosque, and the first who 
 permitted the stripping of the Kaa'bah, for before that its vesture was 
 thrown one over another." 
 
 Az Zubayr-b-Bakkdr records, in the Muwaffikiydt on the authority of 
 the son of az Zuhri's brother, that he narrates, " I said to az Zuhri — who 
 was the first who demanded an oath in the covenant of allegiance ?" He 
 replied, " Mu'dwiyah made them swear by God, but when A'bdu'llah-b- 
 Marwan came, he made them swear upon divorce and manumission.* Al 
 A'skari records in his book of the Awail on the authority of Sulayman-b- 
 A'bdu'Uah-b-Maa'mar, that Mu'dwiyah went to Mecca or Medina and 
 arriving at the mosque, sat himself down among a circle in which were, 
 Ibn Omar, Ibn A'bbds and A'bdu'r Eahmdn-b-Abi Bakr. And they wel- 
 comed him, but Ibn A'bbds turned fi-om him and Mu'awiyah said, " I have 
 more claim to his authority than this recusant and the son of his paternal 
 uncle."t And Ibn A'bbas said, " why ! for priority in Islam, or early 
 companionship with the Apostle, or kinship with him ?" He answered, 
 
 * That ia, that the penalty of the violation of their oath would be divorce of their 
 ■wives and manumission of their slaves. 
 
 t /. «., A'li — A'bbfis and Abu TAlib being brothers. 
 
[ 205 ] 
 
 " no, but for being the son of the paternal uncle of the murdered OtJiman."* A. H. 60. 
 He retorted, "then this one more deserveth it," meaning the son of Abu A. D. 680. 
 Bakr. Mu'awiyah answered, "his father died a natural death." Ibn 
 A'bbas replied, " then this one has more claim to it," meaning the son of 
 Omar. He answered, " verily an infidel slew his father." The other re- 
 joined, " then that is the worse for thy argument, for it was the Muslims 
 who were wroth with the son of thy paternal uncle and slew him." 
 
 A'bdu'llah-b-Muhammad-b-U'kayl says that Mu'awiyah arrived at 
 Medina, and there met him Abu Katadah the Auxiliary, and Mu'awiyah 
 said, " all the people have come unto me except ye, men of the Aux- 
 iliaries." He replied, " we had no riding animals." He said, " where were 
 yo«w camels for drawing water ?" " We lamed them in the chase after thee 
 and thy father at Badr," After a little Abu Katadah said, " verily the 
 Apostle of God said to us, ' you will see after me a state of calamity.' " 
 Mu'awiyah asked, " what then did he command you to do ?" He replied, 
 " he commanded us to be resigned." He answered, " then be resigned," 
 This reached A'bdu'r Eahman-b-Hassdn-b-Thabit, and he said — 
 
 " Now, give Mu'awiyah the son of Harb 
 
 The prince of the Faithful, this message from us, 
 
 ' We will then be resigned and wiU await you 
 
 At the day of mutualf endamaging and contention.' " 
 Ibn Abi'd Dunya and Ibn A'sakir record on the testimony of Jabalah- 
 b-Suhaym that he narrates, " I went in unto Mu'awiyah during his Cali- 
 phate, and round his neck was a rope and a child was leading him, and I 
 said to him, ' O prince of the Faithful, dost thou do thus ?' ' fool,' he 
 said, 'be silent,' for I heard the Apostle of God say, 'he who hath a 
 child, let him act towards him as a child,' " (recited but by one authority 
 according to Ibn A'sakir.) Ibn Abi Shay bah records in the Musannaf on 
 the authority of as Shaa'bi, that a youth of the Kuraysh went in to Mu'a- 
 wiyah and spoke harshly to him, and Mu'awiyah said to him, " son of 
 
 * TTmayyali. 
 
 ! ,. 1 
 
 A'bu'l A asi Harb 
 
 Affan Abu Sufyan 
 
 Othm&i Mu'dwiyah. 
 
 t That is tbe day of resurrection called yjliJJ; ^jj or the day of mutual cheating 
 or overreaching, because the people of Paradise wiU then overreach the people of hell 
 by their state of enjoyment while the latter -will suffer the punishment they deserve or 
 because the former will impute defect to the latter for preferring infidelity to faith. 
 Lane. The LXIVth Chap, of the Kuran is so named. 
 
[ 206 ] 
 
 A. H. 60. my brother ! I warn thee against a king, for a king waxes angry with the 
 A. D. 680. sudden anger of a child, and seizes with the gripe of a lion." And from 
 as Shaa'bi that Ziyad said, " I appointed a man as collector and he em- 
 bezzled the proceeds of the taxes and fearing that I woidd punish him, he 
 fled to Mu'Awiyah, and I wrote to him, gaymg, " verily this is disrespect 
 towards me,"* but he wrote to me, saying, " verily it is not fitting for me 
 nor for thee to govern men by one kind of polity : if we were to be le- 
 nient to them all, we would confound men in iniquity, and we should not be 
 hard with them all for we would drive men to ruin, wherefore act thou 
 with severity and harshness and I will act with mildness, and clemency." 
 And from the same, I heard Ma'awiyah say, " a people were never yet 
 divided but the wicked prevailed over the just, save this people." It 'is 
 recorded in the Tuyyuriyat on the authority of Sulayman al Makhzumi, 
 that Mu'awiyah gave a general audience to the people, and when the assem- 
 bly had gathered together, he said, " recite ye to me three verses by an 
 Arab, each verse complete in its meaning ;" and they were silent. Then 
 A'bdu'Uah-b-u'z Zubayr rose and said, " This Abu Khubayb here, is the 
 most eloquent and learned of the Arabs," and Abu Khubayb said, " what 
 is it ?" Mu'awiyah said, " recite to me three verses by an Arab, each 
 verse complete in its meaning." He replied, " for three hundred thousand 
 dirhams V Mu'awiyah said, " and wiU they be worth it?" He answered, 
 "thou hast the choice; therefore thou art the best iudge."f Mu'awiyah 
 said, " out with them :" and he recited to him from Afwah al Azdi. J 
 
 " I have proved men age after age. 
 And have seen none but dissemblers and praters." 
 Mu'awiyah exclaimed " he hath spoken truly, go on." He continued— 
 
 " And I have not seen among evils, any more calamitous in their 
 
 fall, 
 Or more distressing than the enmity of men," 
 Mu'awiyah said " he hath .spoken truly, go on." He continued — 
 " And I have tasted the bitterness of all things : 
 And there is no favour more bitter than supplication." 
 Mu'dwiyah exclaimed, " he hath said truly," and he ordered him three hun- 
 dred thousand dirhams, 
 
 * The MS. has rightly u^t^w which words are improperly inverted in the 
 printed edition. 
 
 t Lit. " complete and sufficient." 
 
 X The printed edition has (_jjjjl which is incorrect. See the Muntaha'l Arab art. 
 
[ a07 1 
 
 Al Bukhari and an NaSai and Ibn Abi Hatim in his commentary, A. II. 60. 
 record with various readings, that Marwdn was preaching in Medina, he A. D. 6S0. 
 being then ruler over Hijaz on the part , of Mu'awiyah, and he said, 
 " verily God hath shown the prince of the Faithful in regard to his son, 
 an excellent counsel, and if he appointeth him successor, verily then Abu 
 Bakr and Omar named successors," (and in one reading " according to the 
 institution of Abu Bakr and Omar"). Whereupon A'bdu'r Eahman-b-Abi 
 Bakr said, " rather according to the institution of Heraclius and Khusrau, 
 for, by Allah, Abu Bakr did not give it to any of his sons nor to any of the 
 people of his house, and Mu'awiyah hath not done this save from par- 
 tiality and favour to his son." And Marwan said, " art thou not he who 
 said to his parents ' Fie upon you ?' " (Kur. XVII.) And A'bdu'r Eah- 
 mdn said, " art thou not the son of the accursed, of him thy father whom 
 the Apostle of God cursed ?" but Ayesha exclaimed, " Marwan hath lied, 
 that* was not revealed regarding A'bdu'r Eahman, but it was revealed 
 regarding such a one the son of such one, but the Apostle of God cursed 
 the father of Marwan and Marwan was then in his loins — therefore Marwan 
 is full of the curse of God." 
 
 Ibn Abi Shaybah records in the Musannaf on the authority of U'rwah, 
 that Mu'awiyah said, " there is no forbearance without tryings of temper." 
 And Ibn A'sakir from as Shaa'bi that he said, " the most sagacious of the 
 Arabs are four, Mu'awiyah, A'mr-b-u'l A'as, Mughirah-b-Shuu'bah and 
 Ziyad : but Mu'Swiyah shows it in his forbearance and gravity, A'mr in 
 difficulties, al Mughirah in swift action, and Ziyad in great and small 
 things. The most eminent judges were four, and the most sagacious men 
 four, and the judges were Omar, A'li, Ibn Masa'iid, and Zayd-b-Thabit 
 and the most sagacious, Mu'awiyah, A'mr-b-u'l A'as, al Mughirah and 
 Ziyad." And from Kabisah-b-Jabir that he said, " I have associated with 
 Omar the son of al Khattab and I never saw a man more learned in the 
 book of God, or more profoundly versed in the religion of God than he, 
 and I have associated with falhah the son of U'baydu'llah, and I have 
 never seen a man more munificent in large gifts of wealth, unsolicited, 
 than he, and I have associated with Mu'awiyah and I have never seen a 
 man of greater forbearance or slower to folly or more extreme in gravity 
 than he, and I have associated with A'mr the son of al A'as and I have 
 never seen a man purer in ancestry and a gentler companipn than he, and 
 I have associated with al Mughirah the son of Shuu'bah, and if there were 
 a city with eight gates, out of any gate of which one could not go forth 
 save by cunning, he would assuredly get out by them all." 
 
 Ibn A'sakir records on the authority of Hamid-b-Hilal, that A'kil 
 the son of Abti Talib begged of A'li and said, " I am poor and needy, there- 
 * I. e., the verao above-mentioned. " Fie upon you," 
 
[ 208 ] 
 
 A. H. 60. fore give unto me." He replied, " wait until my stipend cometh with' that 
 A. D. 680. of the other Muslims, and I will give unto thee with them," but he was 
 importunate and A'li said to a man, " take him by the hand and go with 
 him to the shops of the people of the market and say, ' break these locks 
 and take what is in the shops,' A'kil said, ' dost thou wish to make me a 
 thief ?' A'li retorted, ' and dost thou wish to make me a thief that I 
 should take the property of the Muslims and give it to thee, and not to them ?' 
 He answered, ' I shall assuredly go to Mu'awiyah.' He replied, ' that 
 as thou wiliest,' and he went to Mu'awiyah and begged of him, and he 
 gave him a hundred thousand dirhams and said, ' get up on the pulpit and 
 mention what A'li hath given thee and what I have given thee.' Then 
 he mounted, and praised God and glorified him, and said, ' people I tell 
 ye, verily I tempted Ali in regard to his religion and he preferred his 
 religion, and verily I tempted Mu'awiyah in regard to his religion and he 
 preferred me to his religion.' " 
 
 Ibn A'sakir records on the authority of the father of Jaa'far-b-Mu- 
 hammad, that A'kil went in unto Mu'awiyah who said, " that is A'kil 
 and his paternal uncle was Abd Lahab," and A'kil said, "this is Mu'awi- 
 yah and his maternal aunt was the bearer of wood*" (Kur. CXI). And 
 from al Auzaa'i,t that Khuraym-b-F4tik went unto Mu'awiyah, and his 
 nether garment was tucked up, and he had shapely legs. And Mu'awiyah 
 said, " if but those legs belonged to a woman ;" and Khuraym said " like thy 
 hips, prince of the Faithful." 
 
 There died during the reign of Mu'awiyah among distinguished per- 
 sons, Safwan-b-Umayyah and Hafsah, U'mm Habibah, Safiyyah, Maymu- 
 nah, Saudah and Juayriyyah mothers of the Faithful,— ^Labid the poet, 
 Othman-b-Talhah al Hajabi, A'mr-b-u'l A'as, A'bdu'Uah-b-Salamthe learn- 
 ed doctor, Muhammad-b-Maslamah, Abu Musa al Asha'ri, Zayd-b-Thabit, 
 Abu Bakrah, Kaa'b-b-Malik, al Mughirah-b-Shuu'bah, Jarir al Bajli, Abu 
 Aylib al Ansari, I'mran-b-Hasin, Sa'id-b-Zayd, Abd Katadah al Ansari, 
 Fudhalah-b-U'bayd, A'bdu'r Eahman-b-Abi Bakr, Jubayr-b-Mu'tim, Usa- 
 mah-b-Zayd, Thauban, A'mr-b-Hassan-b-Thabit, Hakim-b-Hizam, Saa'd- 
 
 * " The hands of Abu Lahab shall perish and he shall perish. His riches shall 
 not profit him nor that which he hath gained. He shall go dovfn to be burned in 
 flaming fire and his wife also bearing wood, on her neck a cord of twisted fibres of » 
 palm tree." Kur. CXI. Her name was TJmm Jamil, she was the daughter of Harb and 
 sister of Abd Sufyau. See Sale. 
 
 t Abu A'mr A'bdu'r Eahmdn-b-Tuhmid al Auzaa'i the chief doctor of law among 
 the Syrian Muslims and the most learned in jurisprudence. He dwelt at Bayrtit ; Suf- 
 y&n at Thauri was his pupil in traditions, with many others. Born al Baalbek A. H. 
 88 (707) died at Bayrut. His tomb is in a village called Hantds outside the gate of 
 the city. Ibn Khali. 
 
[ 209 ] 
 
 b-Abi Wakkas, Abu'l Tusr, Kutham-b-ul A'bbas, and bis brotber U'bayd- A. H. 60. 
 u'llab, U'kbab-b-A'dmir, and Abu Hurayrah (in tbe year 59, for be used A. D. 680. 
 to pray " God, verily I fly to thee for protection against tbe year 60 and 
 tbe reign of cbildren," and his prayer was heard)-;-and others. 
 
 YAZrD-B-MU'AWIYAH. 
 
 Tazid tbe son of Mu'aWiyab, Abu Khalid, the Uinkyyad, was bom 
 in tbe year 25 or 26. He was stout, very corpulent and hairy — His 
 mother Maysun* was the daughter of Bahdal al Kalabi, He narrated 
 traditions on the authority of bis father, and they are related on bis 
 authority by his son Khalid and A'bdu'l Malik-b-Marw^n. His father 
 made bim his heir, and tbe people were averse to it as hath gone before. 
 Al Hasan of Basrah says, " two men threw into confusion the affairs of 
 the people, A'mr the son of al A'a? on the day he suggested to Mu'awiyab 
 tbe lifting of tbe Kurans on the lances, and they were upraised (and Ibn 
 u'l Kara adds, ' and the schismatics asserted that judgment helongeth to 
 Ood, and this judgment will continue to he maintained till the day of re- 
 surrection,') and al Mugbirab-b-Shuu'bab, for verily he was Mu'awiyah's 
 prefect over Kufah, and Mu'awiyab wrote to bim, saying, ' when thou 
 readest this letter, come to me — deposed from thy office,' but be delayed 
 about it, and when be arrived, Mu'awiyab said to him ' what delayed 
 thee ?' He replied, ' an affair which I was settling and arranging,' and 
 Mu'awiyab said, ' what was that ?' He replied, ' the covenant of alle- 
 giance for Yazid, after thee.' He said, 'and hast thou done it?' He 
 answered ' yes' : Mu'awiyab replied, ' go back to. thy prefecture.' And 
 when be went put his Companions said to him, ' bow goes it with thee ?' 
 He answered, ' I have placed the foot of Mu'awiyab in the stirrup of error 
 in which it will continue till tbe day of resurrection'.' Al Hasan says, 
 ' for this reason, these have taken covenants of allegiance for their sons, 
 and were it not for that, there would have been a Council of election till 
 the day of resurrection.' " 
 
 Ibn Sirin states that A'mr-b-Hazm went to Mu'awiyab and said to 
 him, " I call the Lord to thy remembrance in regard to the people of 
 Muhammad, concerning him whom thou placest as thy successor over 
 them." He replied, "thou, hast given me counsel and spoken according' 
 
 .• This Bedouin tride of Mu'flwiyah was a graceful poetess — some of her verses 
 are translated in Carlyle's specimens of Arabian poetry. One song especially is well 
 known and is given in Ockley and in Burton's Pilgrimage. The lattpr says that the 
 Bedouins never hear it without screams of joy. 
 27 
 
[ 210 1 
 
 A. H. CO. to thy judgment, but verily there remain none but my son and their sons, 
 
 A. D. 680. and my son is the most deserving." 
 
 A'tiah-b-Kays says that Mu'awiyah preached and said, " O Lord, i£ I 
 have surely made a covenant for Yazid on account of the merit I saw in 
 him, then cause him to arrive at that which I have hoped, and assist him, 
 but if it was indeed the love. of the father for his son that hath influenced 
 me, and if he be not deserving of that which I have done for him, then 
 *tale him away before he arriveth at it." And' when Mu'awiyah died, the 
 people of Syria swore allegiance to Yazid. Then he sent to the people of 
 Medina, one who was to take the covenant of allegiance for him, but al 
 Husayn and Ibn u'z Zubayr refused to acknowledge him- and they too 
 went forth in the night to Mecca. With regard to Ibn u'z Zubayr he 
 neither swore allegiance nor made any pretension on his own account, but 
 as to al Husayn, the people of Kufah had written to him in the time of 
 Mu'awiyah soliciting him to come to them and he had refused, but when 
 Yazid was acknowledged he reverted to what had been formerly meditated, 
 determining at one time to remain and at another purposing to go to them. 
 Ibn u'z Zubayr counselled him to set out, but Ibn A'bbas used to say " do 
 not do it," and Ibn Omar said to him, " go not forth, for the Lord gave the 
 apostle of God a choice between this world and the next, and he chose the 
 next, and thou art a part of him, and thou shalt not obtain it" meaning the 
 world, and he fell upon his neck and wept and bade him adieu. Ibn Omar 
 used to say, " al Husayn prevailed over us concerning his departure, and by 
 my life, verily he had beheld a warning example in his father and. his bro- 
 ther ;" and Jabir-b-A'bdu'Uah and Abu Sa'id, and Abti Wakid al Laythi 
 Tised to address him similarly, but he did not yield to any of them and 
 resolved upon the journey to Irak, whereupon Ibn A'bbas said to him, " by 
 Allah, verily, I think thou wilt be slain among thy wives and children as 
 Othman was slain." But he did not acquiesce, and Ibn A'bbas wept and 
 said " the eye of the son of az Zubayr hath become refreshed."* And when 
 Ibn A'bbas saw Abdu'llah-b-u'z Zubayr, he said to him, " what thou hast 
 desired hath come to pass — ^this al Husayn is about to set forth and will 
 quit thee and al Hija'z," Then he quoted appositely — 
 " lark ! in this pasture land. 
 The valley is open to thee, lay thy eggs and sing. 
 Peck at what thou wiliest to peck,"t 
 
 * Meaniog, that he saw his own way to the Caliphate only through the death of 
 al Husayn whose march to Kiifah he had counselled. 
 
 t The verses are Kulayb Wail's of the tribe of Taghlib — the most powerful chief 
 of Najd, The proverbial " guarded domain of Xulayb," was any land he chose to 
 take for pasture, prohibiting others therefrom. It is said, he would put a dog in a 
 field and wherever its bark could be heard, the prohibition of pasturage extended. 
 
[ 211 ] 
 
 And the people of I'rak, sent messengers and letters to al Husayn, A. H. 60. 
 inviting him among them, whereupon he set forth from Mecca to I'rak A. D. 680. 
 on the 10th of Du'l Hijjah, and with him a party of his household, men, 
 women and children. Then Yazid wrote to U'baydu'llah-b-Ziydd, his 
 prefect in I'rak to oppose him, and he sent against him an army of four 
 thousand men, commanded by Omar-b-Saa'd-b-Abi Wakkas. And the 
 people of Kiifah deserted al Husayn, as had been their way with his father 
 before him, and when the troops came up with him he profferred sub- 
 mission to them and to return and go to Yazid to place his hand in the 
 band of Yazid, but they refused everything bu^ his death, and he was slain 
 -and his head was carried in a platter until it was placed before Ibn Ziyad — 
 may God curse his slayer, and Ibn Ziyad with him and Yazid likewise. 
 
 He was slain at Karbala and the narrative of his death is long the 
 mention of which the heart cannot endure, " il^erily we belong to God, and 
 verily unto Him shall we return." There were slain together with him six- 
 ■teen men of his family. And when al Husayn was murdered, the world 
 stood stiU for seven days, and the sun upon the walls appeared as safEron- 
 coloured sheets, and the stars struck one upon the other. His murder took 
 place on the 10th of Muharram, and the sun was eclipsed on that day and 
 the horizon of the sty became red for six months after his death. The 
 redness did not cease to be seen after that, but it had never been beheld 
 before. 
 
 It is said that not a stone was turned in Jerusalem on that day but 
 fresh blood was found beneath it, and the saffron that was in their army 
 became ashes, and they slew a camel in their army and they saw in its 
 flesh, as if flames, and they cooked it and it became like the colocynth, 
 and a man spake some words against al Husayn and the Lord launched at 
 him two stars from heaven and his sight was destroyed. 
 
 At Thaa'labi says that historians have recounted in several ways 
 on the authority of Abdu'l Ma^k-b-U'mayr al Laythi, that he said, " I saw 
 upon this palace," and he pointed to the royal palace of Kiifah, " the head 
 of al Husayn the son of A'li upon a buckler, before U'baydu'Uah-b-Ziyad ; 
 afterwards I beheld the head of U'baydu'llah-b-Ziyad before al Mukhtar-b- 
 Abi U'bayd ; again, I saw the head of al Mukhtar before Musaa'b-b-u'z 
 Zubayr ; next I saw the head of Musaa'b before A'bdu'l Malik-b-Marwdn, 
 
 From this dog, he is supposed to have received the name of Kulayb. Once when ha 
 was walking in his domain, a lark flew away from her eggs at his approach, upon 
 which he said, "Pear not, thy eggs are under my protection," and then added the 
 verse quoted which concludes thus : " The fowler is far from thee, so be glad#-yet, 
 sure, he will take thee some day, so beware." See Ohenery's notes to 19th and. 26th 
 Assemblies of al Hariri. 
 
[ 212 ] 
 
 A. H. 60. and I related this circumstance to A'bdu'l Malik who was startled at it 
 A. D. 680. and left the place."* 
 
 At Tirmidi records on the authority of Salmaf that she narrates, " I 
 went ib unto TJmm, SalimahJ and she ' was weeping and I said, ' what 
 makes thee weep ?' She repliedi ' I saw the apostle of God in a dream, 
 with dust on his head and beard,' and I said, ' what hath come to thee, O 
 , apostle of God ?' He replied, ' I witnessed but now the murder of al 
 Husayn.' " And al Bayhaki in the Dalail from Ibn A'bhas that he said, 
 " I saw the Apostle of God at midday, with dishevelled hail-, soiled with 
 dust and in his hand a phial of blood, and I said, ' with my father and my 
 mother, mayst thou he ransomed, what is this ?' He replied, ' this is the 
 blood of al Husayn and his Companions, I have not ceased to gather it up 
 from to-day ;' and they computed the day and found that he was slain on 
 that day." 
 
 Abu Nua'ym records in the Dalail from Umm Salimah, that she said, 
 " I heard the jinns weeping for al Husayn and lamenting over him." 
 And Thaa'lab in his Dictations from Abu Jandb al Kalabi that he narrates, 
 " I went to Karbala and I said to one of the Arab Chiefs, ' tell me re- 
 garding what hath reached me, «««., that ye hear the lamentations- of the 
 jinns ;' and he said, ' thou wilt not meet with any one, but he will tell 
 thee that he hath heard it.' I replied, ' then tell me what thou hast 
 heard.' He replied, ' I have heard them saying — 
 
 The Apostle stroked his forehead 
 
 And he had a radiance in his checks ; 
 
 His parents were the noblest of the KuraysL, 
 
 And the grandsire the best of grandsires.' " 
 
 And when al Husayn and the children of his father were slain, Ibn 
 Ziyad Sent their heads to Yazid who at first rejoiced at their death, but 
 repented afterwards when the Muslims hated him for it, and the people 
 bore him enmity and bore him enmity with justice. 
 
 Abu Ya'la records in his Musnad on a weak ascription to Abu TJ'bay- 
 dah, that the Apostle of God said, " the government of my people shall 
 not cease to be based on justice until the first that shall subvert it shall 
 be a man of the Banu Umayyah called Yazid." Ar Euyani records 
 in his Musnad on the authority of Abu'd Dardd, that he narrates, " I heard 
 
 • According to Ockley, he commanded the castle to be demolished to arert the 
 ill oinen — Maea'udi says jj"''^ I (j** (ills' <.s*^l (j'^l (•<*«^^l 
 
 \ Freedwoman. of Muhammad or according to others of §afiyyah-d of A'bdu'l 
 Muttalib^Bhe married Abu Eafi,' freodman of Muljammad. 
 
 1^ See note § page 15. 
 
[ 213 ] 
 
 the Apostle &f God say, ' the first who will alter my law, will be one of A. H. GO. 
 the Banu Umayyah called Yazid.' " Naufal-b-u'l Furat Says, " I was with A. D. 680. 
 Omar-b-A'bdi'l A'ziz, when a man mentioned Yazid and said, ' the prince of 
 the Faithful Yazid the son of Mu'dwiyah said,' and he exclaimed, ' dost 
 thou call him prince of the Faithful ?' and he gave orders regarding him, 
 and he was scourged twenty lashes." , 
 
 In the year 63 it reached YaziA, that the people of Medina had re- 
 belled against him and deposed him, wherefore he sent against them a 
 large force and ordered it to attack them and then march to Mecca to , 
 engage Ibn u'z Zubayr. And they set out and there took place the battle 
 of Harrah over against the gate of Taybah, and what shall make thee 
 understand what the battle of Harrah was ! Al Hasan mentions it once 
 and says, " by Allah, scarcely one of them escaped." A large number of 
 the Companions and others were slain in it, and Medina was sacked and a 
 thousand virgins violated. Verily we belong to God and verily unto Him 
 shall we return. The apostle hath said, " he who intimidateth the people 
 of Medina, the Lord shall put him in fear and upon him be the curse of 
 God and his angels and of aU mankind" (Muslim relates this). The reason 
 of his deposition by the people of Medina was that Yazid became bound- 
 less in iniquities. Al Wakidi records with various lines of ascription, that 
 A'bdu'Uah-b-Handhalah-b-i'l Ghasil said, " by Allah, we did not rebel 
 against Yazid until we feared that we sh9uld be stoned from Heaven on 
 account of a man who would marry slave mothers who had home children 
 to tJieir masters and daughters and sisters, and drink wine and abandon 
 public prayers." Ad Dahabi says, " when Yazid had done unto the people 
 of Medina what he had done, together with his drinking wine and indul- 
 gence in forbidden things, the people became violent against him and more 
 than one rebelled against him, and the Lord did not bless his life and while 
 the army of Harrah marched to Mecca, the commander of the troops* died 
 on the way. But he appointed over them a chief to succeed him and they 
 reached Mecca and besieged Ibn u'z Zubayr and attacked him and launched 
 engines of war against him, and that in Safar of the year 64. And from 
 ^ihe sparks of their fires, the coverings of the Kaa'bah took fire and its roof 
 and the two horns of the ram, the one by which Ishmael was ransomedf 
 and which were in the roof." 
 
 The Lord destroyed Yazid in the middle of the month of Eabii' u'l I 
 Awwal of this year (11th November, 683) and the news of his death arrived '-^ 
 
 f Muslim-b-TJ'kbali, he died at a place called Harsha having appointed Husayn ' 
 ((^«a&.) b-Numayr as Sakuni to succeed him. Ibn Khali, art. Abu Jaa'far. 
 
 t The printed edition should have, with the MS. t5** for tS'<i'». It is ■well- 
 known that the Muhammadans maintain that lehmael and not Isaac waa taken for 
 saorifloe by Abraham. 
 
[ 214 ] 
 
 A. H. 64. -while the fighting was going on. And Ibn u'z Zubayr called out ; " O 
 A- D. 683. men of Syria, verily your oppressor is dead ;" and they were routed and 
 broken and the people captured them, and Ibn u'z Zubayr invited the 
 covenant of allegiance for himself, and assumed the title of Caliph. But 
 ,the people of Syria swore allegiance to Mu'awiyah the son of Tazid, but 
 his reign was not long, as will appear afterwards. Among the verses t^ 
 ' Tazid are, • 
 
 This sorrow hath returned and drawn near, 
 
 And embittered sleep and withheld it. 
 
 Gazing upon the stars I watched them 
 
 And when a planet rose 
 
 It circled over until, verily, I saw it 
 
 Declining to its fall. 
 
 And my love in Matirlin,* what time 
 
 The ant eatethf of what she hath garnered. 
 
 Hath a pleasant abode and when she arriveth, 
 
 She alighteth at a temple near Damascus 
 
 Under the domes in the midst of cloisters 
 
 Round which the olives are ripening. 
 Ibn A'sakir records on the authority of A'bdu'Uah-b-Omar that he 
 
 said — " Abu Bakr the witness to the truth, ye have well hit his name 
 
 and Omar, the discriminator, a horn of iron, ye have well hit his name, 
 
 Ibn A'fiFan the possessor of two luminaries, unjustly slain, is given a double 
 
 portion of divine mercy. Mu'awiyah and his son are kings of the Holy 
 
 land. As SafEah, and Salam,J and aLMansiir, and Jabir, and al Mahdi, 
 
 and al Amin and the prince of wrath, are all of them of the Banu Kaa'b- 
 
 b-Lawayy, all of them virtuous, their like cannot be found." Ad Dahabi 
 
 • says that this is given in various ways, but no one has traced its ascription. 
 
 Al Wakidi states on the authority Abu Jaa'far al Bakir,§ that the 
 
 X first who covered the Kaa'bah with silk brocade was Yazid-b-Mu'awiyah. 
 
 There died of distinguished people in the reign of Yazid, besides 
 those who were killed with al Husayn and in the battle of Harrah, Umm 
 Salimah the mother of the Faithful, Khalid-b-U'rfutah, Jarhad al Aslatni, 
 
 * A village near Damascus. 
 
 t The printed edition has "-^^l for J^t The MS. here agrees with Yakut who 
 gives these verses with slight variants under ait — liij^'*^! 
 
 J I am unahle to explain the introduction of the names, Salam, J&hir and the 
 prince of wrath. The MS. is in accordance with the text but both are probably iu 
 error. Its unintelligibility may account for ita lack of ascription. 
 
 J Muliammad-b-A'li-b-al iJusayu-b-A'U-b-Abi Talib called al Baiiir, from the 
 profundity of his knowledge. Muntaha'l Arab. 
 
[ 215 I 
 
 Jabir-b-A'tik, Burayda bu'l Husayb, Maslamah-b-Mukhallad, A'lkamah-b- A. H. 64. 
 Kays an Nakha'i the doctor of law, Masriik, Miswar-b-Makhramah and A. D. 683. 
 others. The number of the slain at Harrah of the Kuraysh and the 
 Auxiliaries, were three hundred and six. 
 
 MU'AWIYAH-B-YAZrD. 
 
 Mu'awiyah-b-Yazid-b-Mu'awiyah, Abu A'bdu'r Rahman, called also 
 Abu Tazld, and Abu Layla, was acknowledged Caliph according to the 
 covenant of his father in the month of Eabii' u'l Awwal 64i. He was 
 a virtuous youth, and was sufBeriug in health when appointed Caliph, and 
 continued ill till he died. He never came forth to the people and did not 
 take any part in affairs, nor prayed before the people. The duration of. 
 his Caliphate was forty days ; some say two months and others three 
 months. He died being one and twenty years of age. When he was at the 
 point of death, it was said to him, " wilt thou not name a successor ?"' 
 He replied, " I have not enjoyed the sweets of it, therefore I shall not 
 take upon myself its bitterness." 
 
 A'BDU'LLAH-B-U'Z ZUBATE. 
 
 A'bdu'llah was the son of az Zubayr-b-i'l A'wwdm-b-Khuwaylad, b- 
 Asad-b-Abdi'l U'zza-b-Kusayy, His surname was Abu Bakr and he. 
 was also called Abu Khubayb, a Companion, son of a Companion. His 
 father was one of the ten unto whom the atiainmenf of Paradise was tes- 
 tified, and his mother was Asma, daughter of Abd Bakr as Siddik, and his 
 father's mother was Safiyyah, paternal aunt of the Apostle of God. He 
 was born at Medina twenty months after the Flight, and it is also said, 
 within the first year, and he was the first child born to the Fugitives after 
 (he Flight. The Muslims rejoiced at his birth with an exceeding joy> 
 for the Jews used to say, " we have bewitched them therefore no son 
 shall be born to them. The Apostle of God rubbed his palate with a 
 date,* which he had first chewed and named him A'bdu'llah and gave him 
 the surname of Abu Bakr after the name and surname of his grandfather. 
 
 He was a great observer of fasting and devotions and given to long 
 * A custom with a newly born child to induce it to suck. 
 
[ 216 ] 
 
 A. H. 64. prayer, attached to his kindred and of great intrepidity. He apportioned 
 A. D. 683. his timq into three srecwrmg nights ; on one night iie prayed standing till 
 morning, on the next with body inclined, and the next worshipping on his 
 face till the morning. It is said that he had thirty-three traditions from 
 the prophet, and his brother TJ'rwah, and Ibn Abi Mulaykah, A'bbas-b- 
 Sahl, Thdbit al Bunani, A'ta, TJ'baydah as Salmani and others relate them 
 on his authority. « 
 
 He was one of those who refused to acknowledge Tazid-b-Mu'awiyah 
 and he fled to Mecca making no pretension to the Oalvphate for himself 
 but refusing to swear allegiance. And Yazid was wroth against him 
 with exceeding anger, but when Yazid died, he was acknowledged Caliph 
 and the people of Hijaz, Yaman, I'rak and Khurasan obeyed him. He 
 renewed the building of the Kaa'bah and made for it two gates after the 
 plans of Abraham, and included within it six cubits of the enclosure 
 when Ayesha his aunt related to him the tradition from the prophet.* 
 External to his authority were only Syria and . Egypt, and Mu'awiyah-b- 
 Yazid was acknowledged in those two places, but his reign was not long, 
 and when he died the people of those two countries obeyed Ibn u'z Zubayr 
 and swore him allegiance. Then Marwdn-b-u'l Hakam rebelled and took 
 possession of Syria and then of Egypt and remained in possession till he 
 died in the year 65, after having covenanted for his son A'bdu'l Malik. 
 
 It is most just what ad Dahabi observes that Marwan is not to be 
 counted amongst the princes of the Faithful,t but as a rebel in revolt 
 against az Zubayr, nor was his covenant for his son legal, but the Cali- 
 phate of A'bdu'l Malik became rightful from the time that az Zubayr was 
 slain. Ibn u'z Zubayr, however, remained at Mecca as Caliph until A'bdu'l 
 Malik obtained the ascendancy who despatched al Hajjaj to oppose him at 
 the head of forty thousand men, and he besieged him, for some months 
 and attacked him with engines of war. The friends of az Zubayr then 
 deserted him and stole secretly to al Hajjaj, who defeated him and slew 
 
 * This tradition is thus given in al Bukhari, " Muhammad said to Ayesha, • were 
 it not that thy tribe have been, but lately converted from infidelity, I would order the 
 temple to be demolished, and what had been excluded from it I would again adjoin to 
 it, and would make two gates, to the east and west, and thus fashion it after the plan 
 of Abraham.' " The narrator adds, that this tradition induced Ibn u'z Zubayr to de- 
 molish the temple — see §aljilj, p. 206. Delhi edition, 1848. 
 
 t Weil omits Ibn u'z Zubayr and places the name of Marwan between Mu'a- 
 wiyah II and A'bdu'l Malik. Maea'udi however, clearly, states that the" authority 
 of Ibn u'z Zubayr became established even in Syria, and he was publicly proclaimed 
 from aU the pulpits of Isl4m except that of Tiberias, where Hasan-b-MaHk held for 
 Khffid-b-YazId— see Prairies d'Or. Tom. 5, p. 194. Ockley likewise recognises Ibn 
 u'z Zubayr as 9th Caliph, but places Marw4n after him as the 10th. 
 
r 217 ] 
 
 him" and crucified him, and that on Tuesday the 17th* of JutaiMa'l Awwal, A. H. 73. 
 and say Jumada'l Akhirah of the year 73 (3rd October 692). A. D. 692. 
 
 Ibn A'sakir records on the authority of Muhammad-b-Zayd-b-A'b- 
 di'Uah-b-Oraar that he said, " I was standing upon the summit of the Mil 
 of Abu Kubays, at the time the engines were laid against Ibn u'z Zubayr 
 when a thunderbolt i^W-from heaven, so that I saw it wheeling round as 
 if it were a red wild ass, and it burnt up of the people at the engine about 
 fifty men, Ibn u'z Zubayr was the best horseman of his time among the 
 Kuraysh — and his exploits are well attested. 
 
 Abu Ya'la records in his Musnad on the authority of Ibn u'z Zubayr 
 that the prophet was bled and when it was over, he said to him, " A'b- 
 du'llah, go with this blood and pour it out where no one may see thee }" 
 and when he departed he drank it. 
 
 On his return the prophet said to him, "what hast thou done ?" He 
 replied, " I designed it for a most secret place and I have put it therein." 
 He said " perhaps thou hast swallowed it." He replied, " yes." He ex- 
 claimed, " woe unto the people from thee, and woe unto thee from the peo- 
 ple ;" and they used to think that the strength that was in him was from 
 that blood. And from Nauf ul Bikalif that he said, " verily I find in the 
 revealed book of God that the best horseman among the Caliphs is Ibn 
 u'z Zubayr." 
 
 A'mr-b-Dinar says " I never saw one at prayers more devout than Ibn 
 u'z Zubayr, and he ^yas once praying in the enclosure of the temple when a 
 ioltfrom a catapult struck the side of his garment, but he did not heed it." 
 Mujahid says, " there was no method of devotion which men from its hard- 
 ship failed to perform, but Ibn u'z Zubayr undertook it, and verily a 
 torrent came and flooded the temple, whereupon he went round it swim- 
 ming." Othman-b-'Talhah says that Ibn u'z Zubayr could not be matched 
 in three things — in bravery, piety or eloquence, and he had a voice that 
 when he preached resounded in the hills. Ibn A'sakir records from U'rwah 
 that an Nabighah al Jaa'di recited this verse regarding Ibn u'z Zubayr. 
 
 Thou didst remind us of Siddik when thou didst rule us ; 
 
 And of Othman and the Discriminator, and the poor rejoiced. 
 
 And thou didst administer justice equally amongst the people, and it 
 was undeviating • 
 
 But in the morning returned the dark sable clouds. 
 
 And .from Hisham-b-Urwah and Khubayb, that the first who covered 
 the Kaa'bah with silk brocade was A'bdu'Uah-b-u'z Zubayr, its covering 
 
 * Weil, following Masa'udi makes it the 14tli— as the 14th and not the 17th was 
 a Tuesday. 
 
 t Abu Yazi'd Nauf-b-Pudhalah, a Tabi'i of the Banu Bikal— Mimt Arab 
 
 28 
 
[ 218 ] 
 
 A. H. 73. having been of haircloths and dressed leather. And from Omar-b-Kaya 
 A. D. 692. that he said, " Ibn u'z Zubayr had one hundred servants, each servant 
 among them speaking a different tongue, and Ibn u'z Zubayr used to speak 
 with each of them in his own tongue and when I regarded him in his 
 worldly conduct, I used to say, ' this man never turns to God for the twink- 
 . ling of an eye,' and when I regarded him in his religious conduct, I used to 
 say, ' this man never turns to the world for the twinkling of an eye.' " 
 And from Hisham-b-U'rwah, " the first word my paternal uncle Ibn u'z 
 Zubayr distinctly uttered as a child was ' sword,' and he never let it out of 
 his mouth, and his father when he heard that, would say, ' well, by Allah, thou 
 shalt have it for a day and a day and days.' " And from Abu U'baydah, 
 that A'bdu'Uah-b-u'z Zubayr al Asadi, went to A'bdu'Uah-b-u'z Zubayr-b- 
 i'l Awwam and said, " prince of the Faithful, between me and thee there 
 is relationship through a certain female." Ibn u'z Zubayr replied, " yes, 
 it is as thou sayest, but if thou wilt consider this, thou wilt mark that all 
 men go back to one father and mother." He said, " O prince of the 
 Faithful, my means of subsistence are at end." He replied, " I never was 
 surety to thy family that it would suffice for thee until thou dost return 
 to them !" He answered, " O prince of the Faithful, my camel is foot- 
 sore." He replied, "help her by cooling her hoof and pasture her on the 
 plant called Subt,* and cover her with hair and ride her in the morning and 
 the evening." He exclaimed " prince of the Faithful, verily I came to 
 thee asking for relief, but I did not come to thee asking for a prescription — 
 the Lord curse the camel that bore me to thee ;" and Ibn u'z Zubayr re- 
 plied " and its rider." And al Asadi departed, reciting this verse — 
 
 " I see that with Abu Khubayb, needs 
 Are unsupplied, and there is no Umayyad in the land 
 Among the Banu A'as or the descendants of Harb 
 Eesplendent like the white star of a generous steed. 
 And I said to my companions, ' draw nigh to my stirrup 
 For I shall leave the interior of Mecca in the darkness 
 And when I pass Dat I'rk,t there shall be for me 
 No return to this son of remissness.' " 
 
 A'bdu'r Eazzak records in his Musannaf on the authority of az Zuliri, 
 
 that never was a head brought to the Apostle of God at Medina, not even 
 
 after the battle of Badr, but a head was once taken to Abu Bakr, and he 
 
 I disapproved of it. The first to whom heads were taken was A'bdu'llah- 
 
 b-u'z Zubayr. 
 
 * Lane makes this to be a plant resem'bliiig the AUhea ojkinalis or marsh mallow, 
 t A place near Mecca -where the pilgriins from Irak put on the pilgrim's dress 
 lefore approaching the Kaa'bah. 
 
[ 219 ] 
 
 During the reign of u'z Zubayr occurred the rebellion of al Mukhtdr, A. H. 73. 
 the liar, he who pretended to prophecy,* and Ibn u'z Zubayr despatched A- D. 0024 
 an army to oppose him until he overpowered him in the year 67 and put 
 him to death — may God curse him. 
 
 Of the distinguished men who died during the reign of a'z Zubayr, 
 were, Usayd-b-Dhuhayr. A'bdu'Uah-b-A'mr-b-i'l A'aa, an Nu'man-b-Bashir, 
 Sulayman-b-Surad, Jabir-b-Samurah, Zayd-b-Arkam,- A'di-b-Hatim, Ibn 
 A'bbds, Abd Wakid al Laythi, Zayd-b-Khalid al Juhni, Abti'l Aswad ad 
 Duall and others. 
 
 A'BDII'L MALIK-B-MAEWAN. 
 
 A'bdu'l Malik-b-Marwan-b-i'l Hakam-b-Abi'l A'as-b-TJ'mayyah-b-A'bd 
 Shams-b-A'bd Manaf-b-Kusayy-b-KiMb, — A'bu'l Walid, was born in the 
 year, 26, and was acknowledged Caliph according to the covenant of his 
 father, during the Caliphate of Ibn u'z Zubayr, but his Caliphate was not 
 valid, and he continued as a usurper over Egypt and Syria. Subsequently 
 he took possession of I'rak and the adjacent provinces, till Ibn u'z Zubayr 
 was slain in the year 73, from which day his Caliphate became valid and 
 his authority established. 
 
 During this year, al Hajjaj pulled down the Kaa'bah and restored it 
 to the condition in which it now is ; he likewise suborned a man to strike 
 • Ibn Omar with a poisoned javelin, of which he sickened and died. 
 
 In the year 74 al Hajjaj went to Medina and began to oppress its 
 people and humiliate the remnant of the Companions of the Apostle of 
 <3rod therein, and sealedf them in their necks and hands, thereby bringing 
 
 * On what ground this is asserted I cannot find. Neither d'Herbelot, nor Ootley 
 nor Weil, nor Masaudi mention it. The latter says that when his wives were com- 
 manded hj' Musa'b to curse their dead husband, two of them refused testifying to his • 
 piety and his exertions in the cause of God and his prophet and his avenging the 
 hlood of Husayn. One of these two women subsequently relented under threat of 
 death and called al Mukhtar an infidel, adding that she would have abjured Islam like- 
 wise under a similar threat. The other died rather than consent to the intimidations 
 of Musa'b. The aim of al Mukhtar's ambition was to extirpate the murderers of al 
 Husayn, and avenge his death which he amply accomplished by killing, according to 
 Ockley, nearly fifty thousand men. He was slain in the 67th year of his age after hav- 
 ing beaten all the generals of Tazid, Marwan and Abdu'l Malik and made himself mas. 
 ter of Baylonian Irak. 
 
 t Lane says that the "sealing of the neck" ( (3''*^5" f**'^ ) is mentioned in the 
 Kisalah Yuaufiyah thus— Omar sent Ibn Hunayf to seal the ^J^ or imbeUvers of 
 
[ 220 ] 
 
 A. H. 73. ttem into contempt, such as Anas, Jabir-b-A'bdi'Uah, and Sahl-b-Soa'd as 
 A. D. 692. Saa'di-— verily we belong to God and unto God do we return. 
 
 In the year 75 the Caliph A'bdu'l Malik made the pilgrimage with 
 the people, and he sent al Hajjaj as governor to I'rAk. 
 
 In the year 77 Heraolea was taken, and A'bdu'l A'ziz-b-Marwan, 
 demolished the principal mosque at Cairo and enlarged it on all four sides. 
 
 In the year 82 the fortress of Sinan in the district of Masisah,* was 
 taptured, and the expedition to Armenia and Sinhajah in nothern Africa 
 took place. 
 
 In the year 83 the city of Wasit was founded by al Hajjaj. 
 -^ In the year 84 Masisah was occupied and the valleys of Mauritania. 
 
 In the year 85 the city of Ardabil was founded and the city .of 
 Bardaa'h,t both by A'bdu'l A'ziz-b-Abi Hatim-b-i'n Nu'man al Bahili. 
 
 In the year 86 the forts of Taulak and Akhram were taken. During 
 the same occurred the Pestilence of the Girls, so called because it began 
 with the women : in the same died the Caliph A'bdu'l Malik in the month 
 of Shawwdl leaving seventeen sons. Ahmad-b-A'bdi'llah al I'jli says that 
 A'bdu'l Malik was foul of breath, and that he was a six months' child. 
 Ibn Saa'd says that he was pious and virtuous when at Medina before the 
 Caliph, and Tahya al Ghassani mentions that A'bdu'l Malik was often in 
 the company of Umm u'd Darda,J and she said to him on one occasion, 
 " it has reached me, prince of the Faithful, that thou drinkest wine after 
 all thy piety and devotion." He replied " yes, by AUah, and it is the 
 pleasantest liquor I have tasted." Nafi' says, " verily I have seen Medina 
 and there is not in it a youth more zealous nor more learned in the law, 
 nor more virtuous nor more versed in the book of God than A'bdu'l Malik 
 the son of Marwan," and Abu'z Zanad observes that the jurists of Me- 
 dina are four, Sa'id-b-u'l Musayyab, A'bdu'l Malik-b- Marwan, U'rwah-b- 
 u'z Zubayr and Kabisa'h-b-Duayb. Ibn Omar remarks that men beget a 
 son, but Marwan begot a father,§ and A'bbadah-b-Lubni, that it was said 
 to Ibn Omar, " verily ye are a body of elders, and it will soon be that ye will 
 
 the Sawfid, and he sealed 5,00,00.0 of them in classes : that is, he marked them twelve 
 dirhams and twenty-four and forty-eight, tying a thong upon the neck of each and 
 Jutting upon the knot a seal of lead. 
 
 * On the north frontier of Syria. 
 
 t In Adarbijdu. 
 
 J Abu 'd Darda the Companion had two wives of this name — the first Zhayrah 
 died during his lifetime, the second Hujaymah is here alluded to. On her husband's 
 death she vowed to remain a widow, and refused Mu'&wiyah's offer of marriage, saying 
 that she hoped to marry her husband again in Paradise.' She ended her days in great 
 piety between Jerusalem and Damascus. An Nawawi. 
 
 § Meaning one moro illustrious than himself. 
 
[ sal ] 
 
 ,pas^ aWay, whom then shall we consult after ye ?" He replied, "verily Mar- A. H. 86. 
 
 wan bath a son learned in the law, consult him." Suhaym the freedman of A. D, 703. 
 
 Abu Hurayrah narrates that A'bdu'l Malik, when be was a lad went in to 
 
 Abu Hurayrah who said, " this man shall govern Arabia." And TJ'baydah- 
 
 b-Eiyah al Ghassani, that TJmmti'd Darda said to A'bdu'l Malik, " I never 
 
 ceased thinking that this authority would come to thee since I saw thee." 
 
 He replied, " how so ?" She answered, " I never saw any one better than 
 
 thou art as a narrator of traditions nor one more intelligent as a listener 
 
 to them." And as Shaa'bi, " I never associated with any one, but I found 
 
 in myself a superiority over him, save A'bdu'l Malik-b-Marwan, and verily 
 
 I never related a tradition to him but he added to it, and never a verse of 
 
 poetry but he capped me in it." 
 
 Ad Dahabi says that A'bdu'l Malik heard traditions frem Othman and 
 Abu Hurayrah and Abu Sa'id and Umm Salimah, Barirah,* Ibn Omar and 
 Mu'awiyah ; and U'rwah, Khalid and others have related them on his 
 authority. 
 
 Bakr-b-A'bdu'Uah al Muzani narrates "a Jew whose name was Tusuf 
 embraced Islam, and he had read the scriptures, and he passed by the 
 house of Marwan and said, ' woe to the people of Muhammad from the 
 people of this house,' and I said to him ' for how long ?' He replied, 
 • until the black standards come from Khorasan.' A'bdu'l Malik had a 
 friend who slapped him on the shoulder and said 'fear God in tliy 
 cJiarge of the people of Muhammad when thou rulest them.' He replied, 
 ' leave me ! fie on thee, what hath such as I am to do with that dignity !' 
 The other answered ' fear God in what concerneth them.' " The narrator 
 continues, " Yazid despatched an army against the people of Mecca and 
 A'bdu'l Malik said, ' God preserve me, is it sent against the sanctuary of 
 God?' and Yusuf slapped his shoulder and said, ' thy army against them 
 ehaU be greater.' " 
 
 Yahya al Ghassani relates, "when Muslim-b-U'kbaht arrived at 
 Medina, I entered the mosque of the Apostle of God and sat down by the 
 side of A'bdu'l Malik, and he said to me, ' art thou of this army ?' I 
 said ' yes.' He replied ' may thy mother be childless of thee ! dost thou 
 not know against whom thou goest ? — against the first-born in Islam 
 and against the son of the disciple of the Apostle of God and against a son 
 of the Possessor of the two Girdles, J against him whose palate the 
 Apostle of God rubbed with a date ! By Allah, if thou goest to him in the 
 
 * Barirah was the daughter of Safwan and the freedwoman of Ayesha. An 
 Nawawi. 
 
 t He commanded the army despatched by Yazxd against Medina, and after- 
 wards to engage Ibn u'z Zubayr at Mecca. (See p. 213.) 
 
 % See note •, page 85. 
 
I 232 ] 
 
 A-. H. 86. daytime, thou wilt find him fasting, and if thou goest to him at night, 
 
 A. D. 705. thou wilt find him praying — and if the people of the earth comhine to slay 
 
 him, the Lord will assuredly fling them headlong into hell-fire.' And 
 
 when the Caliphate fell to A'bdu'l Malik, he sent us with al Hajjaj until 
 
 we slew him." 
 
 Ibn Abi Ayesha says that the announcement of the government having 
 devolved upon him reached A'bdu'l Malik when the ?!uran was in his 
 lap, and he closed it and said, " this is my last time with thee ;" and Ma- 
 lik narrates, " I heard Yahya-b-Sa'id say ' those who prayed in the mosque 
 between midday and the afternoon were A'bdu'l Malik and certain youths 
 with him — when the Imam had read the midday prayers they used to 
 stand praying till the afternoon ; and it was said to Sa'id-b-u'l Musayyab, 
 if we could but stand and pray as those pray !' He replied, ' devotion 
 lieth not in much prayer and fasting, but verily devotion consisteth in 
 meditation on the commands of God and abstaining from the things 
 that God hath prohibited.' " Musa'b-b-A'bdu'Uah says, that the first who 
 was named Abdu'l Malik in Islam, was Abdu'l Malik-b-Marwan. And 
 Yahya-b-Bukayr narrates, " I heard Malik say that the first who coined 
 dinars was Abdu'l Malik and he inscribed on them a verse of the Kuran." 
 Mu^a'b states that Abdu'l MaUk inscribed on the dinar, " Say God is One" 
 (Kur. CXII) and on the reverse, " there is no God but God ;" and its circum- 
 ference was a rim of silver, and he inscribed outside the rim, " Muhammad 
 is the Apostle of God, whom He hath sent as a guide unto salvation and the 
 true faith." 
 
 It is stated in the Awdil of al A'skari with its ascription, that A'bdu'l 
 Malik was the first who wrote at the headings of letters " Say there is 
 one God," together with the mention of the prophet and the date, and the 
 Grecian emperor wrote, saying, " verily you have introduced in your epistles 
 somewhat of the mention of your prophet, therefore abandon it, otherwise 
 there will reach you on our dinars the mention of what you will not like." 
 And this pressed sorely upon A'bdu'l Malik and he sent to Khalid-b-Yazid- 
 b-Mu'awiyah and consulted him, who said " forbid their money and strike 
 for the people coins upon which shall be the praise of God and His pro- 
 phet and do not forego for them that which they dislike in your epistles." 
 He therefore coined dinars for the people in the year 75. And the first 
 Caliph who was parsimonious was A'bdu'l Malik, and he was named 
 " Sweat of a stone," and obtained the surname of the " Father of flies" 
 from his foul breath. He was the first in Islam who acted ^treacherously 
 and the first who forbade speaking in presence of the Caliphs, and the first 
 who prohibited exhortation to uprightness of conduct.* 
 
 * I. e. venturing to suggest to the Calipl, a particular course of conduct or 
 condemning any that lie might have adopted, a not unfrequent practice with holy 
 fanatics in early times— compare wy_/*4J4 /♦*>* ^J (Kur. VII.) 
 
[ 223 ] 
 
 He then records with its ascription on the authority of Ibri u'l Ka- A. H. 86. 
 labi, that Marwdn-b-u'l Hakam hp,d named A'mr-b-Sa'id-b-i'l Aas to the A. D. 705. 
 succession after his own son, but A'bdu'l Malik slew him, and his assas- 
 sination was the first act of treachery in Islam. One has said — 
 
 people ! be not prevailed over in your judgments, for verily 
 Ye have experienced perfidy from the sons of Marwan. 
 And verily they slew A'mr and did not act uprightly, 
 Asserting treachery and fraud to be the command of God ; 
 And they slay men ripe of judgment, in sound mind 
 That they may give children to rule over the affairs of men. 
 They jest with the Book of God and take 
 
 Their desires in iniquities against the Lord, to be a means of ap- 
 proaching him. 
 
 He has also recorded with an ascription, (in which comes al Karimi 
 who is suspected of falsehood) on the authority of the father of Jurayj, 
 that he said, " A'bdu'l Malik preached to us in Medina after the death of Ibn 
 u'z Zubayr, in the year of his pilgrimage, the year 75, and after praising 
 and glorifying' God, he said " now, I am not a weak Caliph, to wit 
 Othman, nor a Caliph a hypocrite, to wit Muawiyah, nor a Caliph weak 
 in understanding, to wit Yazid — now, verily the Caliphs before me used 
 to consume and enjoy this property of the State — now forsooth, I will not 
 heal the diseases of this people save with the sword until your spears rise 
 erect for me. Ye thrust upon me the deeds of the Fugitives, but ye do not 
 yourselves according to their works — therefore you will add only to your 
 punishment until the sword shall decide between me and between ye. 
 This A'mr, his kinship was such as it was and his position such as it 
 was — he said with his head — thus, and I said with my sword — thus. Now, 
 I will endure anything from you but attacking a governor or raising a 
 standard — verily the collar which I put upon the neck of A'mr-b-Yazid 
 is with me — by Allah, no one shall do his deed, but I will put it upon his 
 neck — by Allah, no one shall enjoin upon me the fear of God after this my 
 rising to-day but I will smite his neck" — then he descended. ■ 
 
 Al A'skari then continues that Abdu'l Malik was the first that altered 
 " the public registers from Persian to Arabic and the first that raised up 
 his hands on the pulpit. I remark that ten innovations are thus summed 
 up in him of which five are reprehensible. 
 
 Ibn Abi Shaybah records with its ascription in the Musannaf on the 
 authority of Muhammad-b-Sirin, that the first who introduced the call to 
 prayers on the festivals of Fitr and Adhha were the children of Marwan, 
 either A'bdu'l Malik or one of his sons. Abdu'r Kazzak records from Ibn 
 
[ 224 ] 
 
 A. H. 86. ' Jurayj that he said, " more than one person has told me that the first who 
 A. D. 705. covered the Kaa'bah with silk brocade was A'bdu'l Malik, but verily those 
 among the jurists who have been best acquainted with that subject, say, 
 ■ ' there hath reached us what we know regarding the covering of the Kaa'- 
 bah more exact, than that.' Yusuf-b-u'l Majishlin* says that when Abdu'l 
 Malik sat down to administer justice, men stood at his head with swords. 
 And al Asma'i, that it was said to Abdu'l Malik, ' greyness is hastening 
 upon thee,' he replied, ' and how could it be otherwise when I give forth 
 my wlole intellect to the people every Friday.' " Muhammad-b-Harb az 
 Ziyadi narrates that it was said to Abdu'l Malik " who is the best of men ?" 
 he replied, " he who is humble in a lofty station, devout though in authori- 
 ty and just though in power." And Ibn Ayesha, that Abdu'l Malik when 
 a man from any of the remote countries came in to him, used to say, 
 " spare me four things — and say after that what thou pleasest — do not lie 
 to me for liars have no judgment, and do not answer me regarding what 
 I do not ask thee for it is a distraction from what I do ask thee, and do 
 not be extravagant in my praise for I know myself better than thou, and 
 do not incite me against my subjects forverily clemency unto them is more 
 needful for me." 
 
 Al Maddini says that when Abdu'l Malik was made aware of his ap- 
 proaching death, he said, " by Allah, I would that from the time I was 
 born until to-day, I had been a porter ;" then he commended unto his sons, 
 the fear of God, and warned them against dissension and discord, and said, 
 " be ye as sons of a virtuous mother, and be brave in war, and as a beacon 
 in doing good, for verily war doth not bring death before its time, and as 
 to goodness, its reward and its fame endure, and be ye sweet in bitterness 
 and lenient in severity, and be ye as Ibn A'bd al Aa'la as Shaybani says — 
 
 ' Verily arrows when they are gathered together, and hath sought 
 To break them, a strong man full of rage and might. 
 They resist and cannot be broken, but if they be separated 
 Then rupture and weakness belong to what is dispersed.' 
 
 * Abu Tusuf YaVfib, the father of TuBuf, was the son of Abd Salama Tiiaix, a 
 client of the Banu Taym. He was a Mawla of the Munkadirs, a family of Medma. 
 He pretended to have been ravished to heaven in spirit, and to have seen Muhammad 
 with Abu Bakr and Omar at his right and left hand and Omar-b-Adi'l A'ziz at his feet. 
 He died at Baghdad under the Caliphate of al Mahdi, A. H. 164 (780-1). Ibn Khali 
 says that Mdjish-iin signifies rose colour or tinged with red and white, and the name 
 was given liim by Sukaynah-d-of IJusayn-b-Abi f^Hb. Another explanation is that as 
 they were originally from Ispahan, they saluted each other when they met with 
 " Shlirii-Shdm" and were therefore called Mdjishun. The etymology is not satisfae. 
 tory. 
 
[ 225 ] 
 
 Walid, fear God in that in which I leave thee to succeed me ; and A. H. 86. 
 he -went on to say — " look to al Hajjaj, and honour him, for verily, he it A. D. 705t 
 is who hath coerced for you the pulpits, and he is thy sword, Walid, and 
 thy right hand against those who oppose thee, — therefore hear not the 
 word of any one against him, for thou art more in need of him than he of 
 thee — and summon the people when I die to the covenant of allegiance, 
 and he who saith with his head — thus — say with thy sword — thus." 
 
 Another relates that when A'bdu'l Malik was on the point of death^ 
 his son al Walid went in unto him, and A'bdu'l Malik recited appositely — 
 
 How many a visitor hath a sich man, who doth not visit him 
 
 But to learn whether he shall see him die. 
 
 Al Walid wept ; and A'bdu'l Malik said, " what is this ? dost thou 
 whine with the whining of a slave girl ? When I am dead, gird up thy 
 loins and go forth and put on the skin of a leopard and lay thy sword 
 upon thy shoulder, and whosoever showeth himself against thee smite him 
 on the neck, and he who submits shall die a natural death." I remark 
 that if the crimes of A'bdu'l Malik had been only the appointing of al 
 Hajjaj over the Muslims and the Companions, bringing them into contempt 
 and degrading them- by death, stripes, reproach and imprisonment — and 
 verily he slew of the Companions and the greatest of the Tabi'is what is 
 beyond count, to say nothing of others besides them, and sealed the neck 
 of Anas and others of the Companions with a seal, intending thereby their 
 humiliation, — then, for these alone, may God not have mercy upon him nor 
 pardon him. 
 
 The following are lines of A'bdu'l Malik's — 
 
 By my life, verily, I have lived a long space in the world. 
 
 And the world hath come nigh to me with the striking of sharp 
 
 That which delighted me hath gone [swords. 
 
 Like a flash that hath passed among enduring remains. 
 
 And O would that I had never busied myself with the kingdom for a 
 moment. 
 
 Nor diverted myself amidst the joyous pleasures of life. 
 
 And that I had been as one clad in rags, living on a little 
 
 For a time until he visited the narrowness of the tombs. 
 
 In the history of Ibn A^sakir it is stated on the authority of Ibrahim- 
 b-A'di that he said, " I saw A'bdu'l Malik at a time when four events werei 
 announced to him during the night and he was not moved nor did his face| 
 alter — to wit the death of U'baydu'Uah-b-Ziyad, the death of Hubaysh-b-p— 
 Daljah* in Hijaz, the rupture between himself and the Greek Emperor, 
 
 « The only mention I can find of tliis name is in tlie Muntahal Arab where he is 
 mentioned as a traditioaist. 
 29 
 
[ 226 ] 
 
 A. H. 86. and the rebellious march of A'mr-b-Sa'id to Damascus." And in the same 
 A. D. 705. it is stated on the authority of Asma'i that four men never spoke in- 
 correctly either in earnest or jest— as Shaa'bi, A'bdu'l Malik, al Hajjaj- 
 b-Yusuf and Ibn u'l Kirriyyah.* 
 
 As Silafi mentions in the Tuyyuriyat with its ascription, that A'bdu'l 
 Malik went forth one day and a woman met him and exclaimed, " O prince 
 of the Faithful !" He said, " what is thy business ?" She replied, " my 
 brother died and left six hundred dinars, and there was given to me of his 
 inheritance but one dinar, and it was said to me, ' this is thy due ;' and 
 the thing was incomprehensible to A'bdu'l Malik and he sent to as Shaa'bi 
 and asked of him, who said, ' yes, this man died and left two daughters and 
 they had two-thirds, four hundred, and a mother who had a sixth, one 
 hundred, and a wife who had an eighth, seventy-five, and twelve brothers, 
 who had twenty-four, and for this woman remaineth one dinar.' " 
 
 Ibn Abi Shaybah relates in the Musannaf from Khalid-b-Muhammad 
 of the Kuraysh, that A'bdu'l Malik said, " he who desireth to take a female 
 slave for his amusement, let him take a native of Barbary, and who needs 
 one for the sake of children, let him have a Persian, and who desireth to 
 have one for service, let him take a Greek." 
 
 Abu U'baydah narrates that when al Akhtal recited to A'bdu'l Malik 
 his verse in which he says of the TTmayyads — 
 
 The most inveterate enemy ends by submittingf to them 
 And they are greatest of men in meekness when they are in power. 
 He said, " slave, take him by the hand, and lead him forth and put upon 
 him robes of honour as many as will cover him up — then he said,"„" verily 
 every tribe hath a poet, and the poet of the Banu Umayyahis al Akhtal."} 
 Al Asma'i says that al Akhtal went A'bdu'l Malik who said, " come now, 
 describe intoxication to me." He replied, " its beginning is pleasure and 
 
 * Alu Sulayman Aiytib al Hilffi. Al Kirriyyah -which signifies — ^the crop of a 
 bird, was given to Jamaa, mother of Jusham, one of his ancestors. He was an untu- 
 tored Arab of the desert, hut the elegance and precision of his language gave him the 
 reputation of one of the best orators of that people. He was summoned by al HajjAj to 
 his court and honored so far as to be entrusted by him with a mission to A'bdu'l Malik. 
 He was put to death afterwards in A. H. 84 by that tyrant for hafing allowed himself 
 to be compelled to join in the rebellion of Ibn u'l Ashath. Ibn Khali. 
 
 f For i5'-ft*~:! read illsi«>J : the verse will be found in the Kitab u'l Aghani, "Vol. 7. 
 
 } The life of al Akhtal is given by M. Causain de Perceval in the Journal Asia- 
 tique for April ' 34. His real name. was Grhydth-b-Ghauth and. belonged to the Banu 
 Malik, a branch of the Taghlabites. He was a Christian like the greater number of 
 the tribes of Bihr£, Taghlib, and Tandkh and remained attached to his faith, notwith- 
 standing the many seductive offers made to him to abandon it for IsUm. He died at 
 an advanced age recommending Faiazdal^ with his last breath, to cover his rival Jarir 
 with ridicule. 
 
[ 227 ] 
 
 its end a headache, and between that there is a moment, the crisis of which A. H. 86. 
 I -will not describe to thee." He said " and what is its crisis ?" he re- A. D. 705. 
 plied, " verily thy kingdom, prince of the Faithful, then is of less 
 account to me than the latchet of my shoe," and he versified, saying, 
 
 When my boon Companion giveth me to drink and giveth yet again 
 
 Three goblets of bubbling wine • , 
 
 I go forth trailing my garment behind me as if 
 
 I were lord over thee, prince of the Faithful. 
 
 At Tha'alabi narrates that A'bdu'l Malik used to say, " I was born in 
 the month of Ramadhdn, and weaned in Eamadhan, and completed learning 
 the JEfuran by heart in Eamad.han, and I reached the age of puberty in 
 Eamadhan, and the Caliphate fell to me in Eamadhan, and I fear lest I 
 die in Eamadhan," and when he entered upon the month of Shawwal and 
 felt safe, he died. (8th October 705.) 
 
 Of those of note who died in the reign of A'bdu'l Malik were, Ibn 
 Omar, Asma, daughter of as Siddik, Abu Sa'id-b-u'l Mua'Ua, Abu Sa'id 
 al Khudri, Eafi'-b-Khadij, Salimah-b-u'l Akwa', I'rbddh-b-Sariyah, Jabir- 
 b-A'bdi'Uah, A'bdu'Uah-b-Jaa'far-b-Abi Talib, as Saib-b-Yazid, Aslam the 
 freedman of Omar, Abu Idris al Khaulani, the Khadhi Shurayh, Aban-b- 
 Othman-b-A'ffan, al Aa'sha the poet, Ayub-b-u'l Kirriyah, proverbial for 
 eloquence, Khalid-b-Yazid-b-Mu'awiyah, Zirr-b-Hubaysh, Sinan-b-Sali- 
 mah-b-i'l Muhabbik' Suwayd-b-Ghaflah, Abu Wail Tarik-b-Shih^b, Mu- 
 hammad-b-u'l Hanafiyah, A'bdu'Uah-b-Shaddad-b-i'l Had, Abu TJ'baydah- 
 b-A'bdi'llah-b-Masa'ud, A'mr-b-Harith, A'mr-b-Salimah al Jirmi and 
 others. 
 
 AL WALrD-B-ABDI'L MALIK. 
 
 Al Walid-b-Abdi'l Malik, Abii'l A'bbas, was brought up effeminately, 
 says as Shaa'bi, by his parents and he grew up without ciiture. Elih-b- 
 Zinbaa' narrates, " I went in one day to Abdu'l Malik, and he was medita- 
 ting, and he said, ' I was thinking to whom I should commit the govern- 
 ment of Arabia, and I cannot find any one.' I said, ' what dost thou think of 
 al Walid ?" He replied, " verily he is not well versed in grammar." Walid 
 heard this and he rose at once and assembled the grammarians, and sat with 
 them in his house for six months and then came forth more ignoran't than 
 before, and A'bdu'l Malik said, " verily he is excusable." Abd'z Zinad* states 
 
 * A native of Medina, a doctor of law and one of the Tati'is. His varied 
 information and his erudition gained him preeminence among the learned of his day. 
 He died A. H. 130, (A. D. 748), aged 66. De Slane, I. K. At page 220 the name 
 ia misspelt Zauad. 
 
[ 228 ] 
 
 A. H. 86. that al Walid mispronounced to a great degree ; he exclaimed from the 
 A. D. 705. pulpit of the prophet's mosque, " O people of al Medina."* 
 
 Abu A'krinah ad Dhabi says that al "Walid read from the pulpit, " O 
 that death had made an end of me."t (Eur. LXIX), and below the pulpit 
 stood Omar-b-A'bdi'l Aziz and Sulayman-b-Abdi'l Malik, and Sulayman 
 exclaimed, " by Allah, I would it had." Walid was despotic and tyrannous. 
 
 Abu Nu'aym records in the Huliyah from Ibn Shaudab that Omar-b- 
 A'bdi'l A'ziz said, " al Walid in Syria, al Hajjaj in I'rak, Othman-b- 
 HabbarahJ in Hijaz and Kurrah-b-Sharik in Egypt, have filled the earth, 
 by Allah, with tyranny." And Ibn Abi Hatim in his Commentary, from 
 Ibrahim-b-Abi Zuraa'h, that al Walid said to him, " will the Caliph be 
 judged ai the resurrection, ?" He replied, "O prince of the Faithful, art 
 thou more honoured of the Lord, or David ? Verily the Lord united in 
 him the prophetic mission and the vicegerency, yet hath he threatened 
 him in His Book and said, " David," &c. (Kur. XXXVIII.) § 
 
 Al Walid, however, stirred up religious wars in his time and great 
 conquests were made under his Caliphate — and withal he used to circum- 
 cise orphans and appointed teachers for them and assigned for those crip- 
 pled by disease, persons to attend them and for the blind those who should 
 lead them, and he embellished the mosque of the prophet and enlarged it 
 and settled a daily allowance on the doctors of law and the infirm and 
 the poor and forbade their begging of the people, and assigned for them 
 what would suffice ybr their maintenance a,nd. xegulntedi aSaiis by a thorough 
 administration ; and Ibn Abi A'ylah says, " the Lord have mercy on al 
 Walid, and where is the like of Walid who conquered India and Spain and 
 built the mosque of Damascus, and who used to give platters of silver 
 which I divided among the readers || of the Kurau of the mosque at 
 Jerusalem ?" 
 
 Al Walid assumed the Caliphate according to thb covenant of his 
 father in the month of Shawwal in the year 86, and in the year 87, he set 
 
 • It is impoBsiMe to render the error in a translation as it consista in a misplaoe- 
 ment of the diacritical points. He said " Ya ahl u'l Medinah" instead of " Ya ahla'l 
 Medinah," the vocative requiring the objective case when the noun is in construe"- 
 tion. 
 
 t Misplacing the vowel-points again. " Ya laytu ha for Y& layta ha. 
 
 J The MS. has Janadah. 
 
 § " David ! verily we have appointed thee a sovereign prince in the earth 
 
 judge therefore between men with truth and follow not thy own lust, lest it cause 
 thee to err from the way of God." Kur. XXXVIII. 
 
 II Both the MS. and the printed edition have Ir* (readers of the Kuran,) but it 
 is possible that ]y^ (the poor) might have been the original word and the elision of 
 the «-> taken place through the error of a copyist. 
 
[ 229 1 
 
 about the building of the mosque at Damascus and ordered the enlarge- A. H. 87. 
 ment of the mosque of the prophet and its thorough construction. During A. D. 706. 
 the same BIkand* was taken by force of arms and Bukhara, and Sardinia 
 and Matmtirah,t Kumayldm and the Persian Gulf. And Omar-b-A'bdi'l 
 A'ziz, governor of Medina made the pilgrimage with the people, and per- 
 formed by mistake the ceremony of standingf on Mount A'rafah on, the 
 Day of Victims and was sore grieved thereat. 
 
 In the year 88 Jurthumah§ and Tddnah|l were taken — and in the 
 year 89, the islands of Majorca and Minorca. In the year 91 were cap- 
 tured Nasaf ^ and Kash, Shiiman, and other towns and forts by the Cas- 
 pian Sea. In the year 92 the whole of Spain was subdued and the cities 
 of Armdil** and Katarbtin — and in 93 Daybal and other places were 
 conquered, and Kirakh, Barham, Bajah, al Baidha, Khuwdrazm, Samar- 
 kand, and Sughd. In 94, Kdbul, Farghanah, Shash and Sandarah were 
 taken and in 95, Miikantt and Darband. In 96, Tus and other places. 
 
 In this year died the Caliph al Walid in the middle of Jumdda'l 
 i^kkirah at the age of fifty-one, (23rd February 715). Ad Dahabi says 
 that religious wars were continuous throughout his reign, and great conquests 
 were made as in the time of Omar-b-u'l Khattab. Omar-b-A'bdi'l A'ziz 
 saiys, " when I put al Walid in his grave, behold he kicked in his shroud, — 
 that is, he struck the earth with his foot." Among the sayings of al Walid 
 is the following, "if God had not mentioned the family of Lot in the 
 
 * A town between Bukhara and the Oxus. 
 
 t On the firontiers near Tarsus. Kumaykim, according to the Muntaha'l Arah is 
 the name of a stream, hut it does not say where. 
 
 % The Wakf or standing on Mount Arafah should take place on the second day 
 of the pilgrimage, 9th Of Du'l Hijjah, and the ceremony of the Day of Victims on 
 the third day, 10th of Du'l Hijjah. 
 
 § In Najd. 
 
 II On the frontiers of Masisah, north of Syria. 
 
 U Nasaf is a large town between Samarkand and the Oxus, and Kash is three para- 
 gangs from Jurjan. • , 
 
 * * Both these places are in Sind ; Ibn u'l Athir writes the second name Kannazbur 
 and in some readings Firbur, Kimur and Fabryur. Daybal is in Sind. Of Barham I 
 can find no mention, but Ibn Athir speaks of a place, Brahmauabad in Sind, taken and 
 destroyed at this time. Bajah, Yakut places in Africa, and al Baidha so called from its 
 white citadel, in the district of Persepolis. Kirakh is written Kiraj by Ibn Athir and 
 he states that Muhammad-b-ul !?.asim who commanded the army in Sind, hearing at 
 Multdn of the death of his uncle al Hajjaj, returned at once to Eori Bakkar and 
 thence proceeded to Kiraj. I am inoUned to ihink that this must be Karachi, as Daybal 
 or Dewal is stated by Blphinstone to have been probably close to that seaport. See 
 Blph. India, p. 263, where will be found a sketch of Kasim's conquests. 
 
 tt Mukan is in Adarbijan. Tus had already been conquered in the time of Othman. 
 Another reading is Tuways which I cannot find, but Yakut mentions a district Tawa- 
 wis, near Bukhara. The MS. is here wanting. 
 
[ aso ] 
 
 A. H, 96. Kuran, (VII, XV, XXVII, LXVI) I wotdd never have thought that any 
 
 A. D. 715. one would act thus." 
 
 Of persons of note who died in the reign of al Walid, were U'tbah- 
 b-A'bdu's Sulma, al Mikddm-b-Ma'di Karb, A'bdu'llah-b-Bashr al Mazini, 
 A'bdu'Uah-b- Abi Aufa, Abu'l A'aliyah, Jabir-b-Zayd, Anas-b-Malik, Sahl-b- 
 Saa'd, as Saib-b-Yazid, as Saib-b-Khallad, Khubayb-b-A'bdi'llah-b-i'z 
 Zubayr, Bilal-b-Abi'd Dardd,, Sa'id-b-u'l Musayyab, Abu Salimah-b-A'bdi'r 
 Eahman, Abu Bakr-b-A'bdi'r Eahmdn, Sa'id-b-Jubayr martyred, slain by 
 al Hajjaj may the Lord curse him, Ibrahim an Nakha'i, Mutarrif, Ibrahim- 
 b-A'bdi'r Kahman-b-A'uf, al A'jjaj the poet and others. 
 
 SULAYMAN-B-A'BDI'L MALIK. 
 
 Sulayman-b-A'bdi'l Malik, Abu Aytib, was among the best of the 
 kings of the Banu Umayyah, and he assumed the Caliphate according t© 
 the covenant of his father in succession to his brother, in Jumada'l Akhi- 
 rah of the year 96. He has related a few traditions on the authority of 
 his father and A'bdu'r Eahman-b-Hubayrah, and his son A'bdu'I Wahid 
 and uz Zuhri have transmitted them from him. 
 
 He was eloquent, fluent of speech, preferring justice, a lover of war. 
 He was born in the year 60. It is to be accounted among his merits that 
 Omar-b-Abdi'l A'ziz was as his prime minister, and he used to follow his 
 beneficial counsels ; and he deposed the revenue collectors of al Hajjaj and 
 released those who were in the prisons of I'rak, and restored public pray- 
 ers to their original appointed times, the Banu Umayyah having suffered 
 them to lapse into dilatoriness. Ibn Sirin says, " the Lord have mercy on 
 Sulayman who inaugurated his Caliphate by the restoration of prayers to 
 their stated times, and closed it by appointing as his successor Omar-b- 
 .^'bdi'l A'ziz." Sulayman forbade singing, and he was among those famed 
 as large eaters, for he eat at a sitting seventy pomegranates, a lamb, six 
 fowls, and a Makkiik* of Taif currants. Tahya al Ghassani says that 
 Sulayman looked into a mirror and his youthf ulness and beauty surprised 
 him, and he said, " Muhammad was the prophet, and Abu Bakr Witness 
 to the Truth, and Omar the Discriminator, and Othman the Bashful, and 
 Mddwiyah the Forbearing, and Yazid the Patient, and A'bdu'I Malik the 
 Administrator, and Walid the Tyrant, and I am the Young King ;" but the 
 month in which he thus spoke did not pass over him but he died, and the 
 day of his death was Friday the 10th of Safar in the year 99 (22nd Sept. 
 
 * Atout 11 pounds and a quarter. It is not astoniehmg that after this feat, he 
 had an attack of iudigeetion which proved fatal. 
 
[ 231 ] 
 
 717). During his reign were conquered Jurjan, and the Iron Portress,* A. H.'99. 
 and Sarda, and Shakka, and Tabristan and the city of as Sakalibah.f A. D. 7l7. 
 
 Of persons of note that died during his time were, Kays-b-Abi Hazim, 
 Mahmud-b-Labid, al Hasan-b-i'l Husayn-b-A'li, Kurayb freedman of Ibn 
 A'bbas, A'bdu'r Eahman-b-i'l Aswad an Nakha'i and others. 
 
 A'bdu'r Eahman-b-Hassdn al Kandnl says, that Sulaymdn died at 
 Dabik,J engaged in leading an expedition. When he sickened, he said to 
 Eajd-b-Hayat, " who is to succeed me in this authority ? shall I appoint 
 my son?" He replied, "he is absent." He said, " then my other son ?" 
 He answered, " he is a child." He said, " then whom dost thou advise ?" 
 He replied, " I think that thou shouldst appoint Omar-b-A'bdi'l A'ziz." He 
 said, " I fear that my brothers will not consent." He rejoined, " appoint 
 Omar, and after him Tazid-b-A'bdi'l Malik and write a document and seal 
 it and summon them to take a covenant regarding it sealed." He replied, 
 " vferily thou hast conceived wisely." Thereupon he called for paper and 
 wrote the covenant therein and gave it Eaja, and said, " go forth unto the 
 people and let them make a covenant regarding that which is within it, 
 sealed as it is." And he went forth and said, " verily the prince o£ the 
 Faithful hath commanded ye to make a covenant of allegiance for him 
 wJiose name is in this document." They said, " who is in it ?" He answered, 
 " It is sealed — ye cannot be informed concerning the one who is in it until 
 the Caliph dieth." They said, " we will not swear allegiance." And he 
 returned to Sulayman and informed him of it, and he said, "go to the 
 commander of the guards and the watch, and assemble the people and order 
 them to take the oath, and he who refuses smite his neck." And they 
 swore allegiance. Eaja relates, " while I was returning, behold I met His- 
 ham and he said to me, Eaja, verily thou knowest thy credit with me, 
 and verily the prince of the Faithful hath done a thing and I know not 
 what it is, and verily I fear that it may be that he hath put the Caliphate 
 
 • I do not find any sucli name in YakAt, it is protaMy some local name given to 
 a strong fort, unless Darband is meant, which was defended by Anushirwan by an 
 iron gate. Neither Sarda or Shakka are given, nor are they noticed by Ibn u'l Athir. 
 
 t So likewise Ibn u'l Athir, Tabari calls it Sakalie. WeU says that it should be 
 Sakalibah -which he considers a district to the N. and N. W. of Constantinople. He 
 can find no town of that name. Yakut makes as Sakalibah a (slav) district " between 
 Bulgaria, and Constantinople." The word city I imagine, must be an error, or must 
 refer to the then capital city of the Thracian towns of the Propontis, round which Mas- 
 lamah wheeled his army after the passage of Abydus, to invest Constantinople defend- 
 ed by Leo the Isaurian. An army of Bulgarians from the Danube at the oaU of Leo 
 fell upon the Saracen army and slaughtered twenty -two thousand. See Gibbon, 
 Ch. LIL 
 
 J Near Chalcis. He was preparing, according to Gibbon, to lead against Constan- 
 tinople the remaining forces of the East. 
 
[ 232 ] 
 
 A. H. 99. from me, and if it be indeed that he hath put it aside from me, tell me 
 A. D. 717. while there is yet time ia the affair, that I may see what to do ," and I 
 said, " good God ! the prince of the Faithful hath asked me to conceal a 
 thing, and shall I tell it to thee ? that can never be." Then I met Omar-b- 
 A'bdi'l A'ziz and he said to me, " Eaja, a grave thought has occurred 
 to my mind concerning this man, I fear lest it be that he hath put the 
 Caliphate upon me and I am not equal to this position, therefore tell me 
 while there is yet time in the affair, perchance I may escape from it as long 
 as I live." I said, " good God ! the prince of the Faithful asked me to 
 conceal a thing and shall I tell it to thee ?" Shortly after Sulayman died 
 and the document was opened, when lo ! within was the covenant for Omar- 
 b-A'bdi'l A'ziz, and the faces of the sons of A'bdu'l Malik changed, but 
 when they heard that after him was to be Yazid the son of A'bdu'l Malik, 
 they returned and came to Omar and did homage to him as Caliph ; but he 
 was stupified at it, and was not able to rise until they took him by the 
 arms and brought him to the pulpit and helped him to mount it. He sat 
 £1 long time without speaking, at last Eaja said to them, " do ye not stand 
 up to the prince of the Faithful to swear allegiance to him ?" Then they 
 made the covenant with him, and he stretched out his hand to them. Then 
 he arose and praised God and glorified Him and said, " O people, I am 
 not one who decideth but one who executeth, nor one who begin- 
 neth but one who followeth — and verily the countries and cities round 
 about ye, if they submit as ye have submitted then I am your ruler, 
 but if they refuse then I am not a ruler for ye." Then he descended, 
 and there came to him the master of the horse, and he said, " what is 
 this?" The man replied, "the Caliph's charger." He said, " I have 
 no need of it — bring me my mule," and they brought him his mule and 
 he proceeded to his house. Then he called for an ink horn and wrote 
 with his own hand to the prefects of the provinces. Eaja says, " I 
 thought that he would soon lack strength, but when I saw his actions in his 
 correspondence, I knew that he would become powerful." It is related 
 that there fell some words between Marwan-b-A'bdu'l Malik* and Sulay- 
 mdn during the Caliphate of Sulaymdn, who said to him " O son of an 
 ttncircumcised woman !" and Marwan opened his mouth to answer him, when 
 Omar-b-A'bdi'l A'ziz stopped his mouth and said, " I conjure thee for God's 
 sake — he is thy Imam and thy brother and he is thy elder in years." And 
 Marwan held his peace, and said, " thou hast slain me, by Allah, verily thou 
 hast put vdthin me that which is hotter than fire," and he died before the 
 evening. 
 
 Ibn A'bi'd Dunya records on the authority of Ziyad-b-Othm^n that 
 he went in unto Sulaym4n-b-A'bdi'l Malik when his son Ayiib died, and 
 • It must be rememhered that A'bdu'l Malik had seventeen sons. 
 
[ 233 ] 
 
 said, " prince of the Faithful, verily A'bdu'r Eahman-b-Abi Bakrah A. H: 99. 
 used to say ' he who desireth the things that are eternal, let him habitu- A. D. 717. 
 ate himself to misfortunes.' " 
 
 OMAR-B-A'BDI'L A'ZfZ. 
 
 Omar-b-A'bdi'l A'ziz-b-Marwdn — the good Caliph — Abu Hafs, was 
 the fifth of the orthodox Caliphs. Sufy^n at Thauri says that the five 
 Caliphs are Abu Bakr, Omar, Othmdn, A'li, and Omar-b-A'bdi'l Aziz (Abu 
 Dauud). Omar was born at Hulwan, a village in Egypt, of which his father 
 was governor in the year of the Flight 61, or as some say 63, His mother 
 was Umm A'asim, daughter of A'asim-b-Omar-b-i'l Khattdb. On Omar's 
 face was a scar, a horse having kicked him in the forehead when he was 
 a boy. His father wiping the blood off him said, " if thou art he of the 
 Scar of the Banu Umayyah, verily thou art fortunate." (Ibn A'sakir.) 
 Omar-b-u'l Khattab used to say, " of my posterity there shall be a man 
 with a scar in his face who shall fill the earth with justice" (at Tirmidi). 
 The opinion of his father regarding him proved true. Ibn Saa'd records 
 that Omar-b-u'l Khattab said, " would that I knew which of my posterity 
 shall be the possessor of the letter Shin* in Ms name — he who is to fill 
 the earth with justice as it hath been filled with tyranny." And from Ibn 
 Omar that he said, " we used to say that the world would not pass away 
 until a man of the posterity of Omar should rule, doing according to the 
 works of Omar, and Bilal-b-A'bdi'Uah-b-Omar had a mole upon his face, 
 and they used to think that it was he until the Lord sent Omar-b-A'bdi'l 
 A'ziz." 
 
 Omar-b-A'bdi'l A'ziz related traditions on the authority of his father 
 and Anas and others ; and az Zuhri, Muhammad-b-u'l Munkadir, Yahya- 
 b-Sa'id the Auxiliary, Maslamah-b-A'bdi'l Malik, Eaja-b-Hayat and many 
 more related them on his. 
 
 He learnt the Kuran when he was yet a child, and his father sent him 
 to Medina to be instructed there, and he used to attend U'baydu'llah-b- 
 A'bdi'llah,t studying science under his tuition. When his father died, 
 A'bdu'l Malik sent for him to Damascus and married him to his daughter, 
 
 * The word ' scar' or fracture begins with that letter. 
 
 t Abu Ahdu'Uah U'baydu'Uah-b-A'bdi'llah-'b-tl'thah, was one of the seven great 
 jurisconsidts of Medina. Az Zuhri called him an ocean of knowledge, and Omar-b- 
 Abdi'l Aziz used to saj' that an evening with Il'baydu'llah was worth a thousand pieces 
 of gold out of the public treasury. He died at Medina A. H. 102 (720-1). One of his 
 poems is given in the Hamdsah. Ibn KhaU. 
 
 30 
 
[ 234 ] 
 
 A. H. 99. Fdtimah. Even before his Caliphate he walked in virtue save that he was 
 A. D. 717. over given to luxury, and the envious that found fault with him did not 
 reproach him save for excess in luxury and haughtiness in his gait. When 
 al Walid assumed the Caliphate, he made Omar governor of Medina and 
 he ruled it from the year 86 to the year 93 when he was removed, and he 
 went to Syria. After this, verily, al Walid determined to set aside his 
 brother Sulayman from the succession, and to appoint his own son ; and 
 many of the principal men, willingly or unwillingly obeyed him, but Omar- 
 b-A'bdi'l A'ziz objected, and said, " the covenant unto Sulayman is upon 
 our necks," and he was firm, and al Walid immured him, but he was inter- 
 ceded for after three days and they found him with his neck drooping 
 from exhaustion. Sulayman learnt this regarding him and nominated him 
 to the succession in the Caliphate. 
 
 Zayd-b-Aslam narrates that Anas said, " I never prayed behind an 
 Imam after the Apostle of God, resembling the Apostle of God more in 
 the manner of his praying, than this youth, i. e., Omar-b-A'bdi'l A'ziz — > 
 while he was governor of Medina." Zayd-b-Aslam adds, "he used to dwell 
 long in his bendings and prostrations, and shortened the time of standing 
 and sitting," (this tradition has several lines of ascription to Anas — record- 
 ed by al Bayhaki and others). 
 
 Muhammad-b-A'li-b-i'l Husayn was asked regarding Omar-b-A'bdi'l 
 A'ziz, and he said, " he is the noblest of the Banu Umayyah and verily he 
 wUl be raised up at the day of resurrection, unequalled and alone." 
 
 Maymiin-b-Mihran said that the learned in comparison with Omar 
 A'bdi'l A'ziz were mere students, Abd Nuaym records on the authority of 
 Eiyah-b-U'baydah by a sound ascription, that he said, " Omar-b-A'bdi'l 
 A'ziz went forth to prayers, and an old man was leaning on his arm, and I 
 said to myself, ' verily this old man is rude ;' and when he had prayed and 
 entered his house, I joined him and said, ' may God prosper the Amir, 
 who was the old man that was leaning on thy arm ?' He replied, O Riyah 
 didst thou see him ?' I said ' yes.' He answered, ' I do not hold thee 
 to be other than a virtuous man — that was my brother al Khidhr* who 
 came to me and told me that I shall rule this people, and shall act with 
 justice unto them.' " And from Abd Hashim that a man went to Omar-b- 
 A'bdi'l A'ziz and said, " I saw the prophet in a dream, with Abd Bakr on 
 his right hand and Omar on his left, and lo ! two men were disputing and 
 thou wert seated before him, and he said to thee. ' Omar when thou 
 rulest, do according to the works of these two, of Abd Bakr and Omar.' 
 
 * This person as is well known, is regarded as a prophet, and was supposed to 
 have been the minister of an ancient king of Persia. By some he is said to he Elias, 
 and by others St, George of England. His aid is frequently invoked by Muljammadan 
 story-tellers whether the knot be worthy of his untying or otherwise. 
 
[ 235 ] 
 
 And Omar-b-A'bdi'l A'ziz made him swear before God, sm/ing ' didst thou -^- H. 99. 
 see this ?' And he swore, and Omar wept." A. D. 717. 
 
 He was acknowledged Caliph according to the covenant of Sulayman in 
 the month of Safar 99 as hath gone before, and he continued in the Cali- 
 phate for two years and five months about the duration of thai ot Ahi. 
 Bakr, filling the earth with justice, removing grievances and establishing 
 good laws. When the writi;ig of the covenant was read containing his 
 name, he was stupified and said, " by Allah, verily I never asked for this 
 authority of God." The master of the horse brought him the Caliph's 
 charger, but he refused it, and said, " bring me my mule." Hakam-b-Omar 
 relates, " I was present with Omar-b-Abdi'l A'ziz when the equerries came 
 demanding of him provender j^j" the horses and the stipends of their atten- 
 dants. He exclaimed, * send them to the Syrian towns, and let any one buy 
 them who listeth, and put the prices of them with the property of the 
 Lord — this grey she mule sufllceth for me.' " Omar-b-Darr says, that when 
 Omar returned from the funeral of Sulayman, his freedman said to him 
 " why do I see thee sad ?" He replied, " one should grieve to be in the 
 station that I am in, — there is not one of this people, but I wish to give 
 him his due without his writing to me about it or demanding it from me." 
 And from A'mr-b-Muhajir and others, that when Omar was appointed 
 Caliph, he stood up before the people and- praised God and glorified him 
 and said, " people ! there will be no revealed Book after the Kuran and 
 no prophet after Muhammad, — now verily I am not one who decideth but 
 one who exeouteth, nor one who beginneth but one who followeth, and I 
 am not better than any one of ye but I am more forbearing in meekness, 
 and verily a man that fleeth from a tyrannous Imam, doeth not wrong- 
 fully — surely there is no obedience due from the creature to what is sinful 
 before the Creator." And from az Zuhri, that Omar-b-A'bdi'l A'ziz wrote 
 to Salim-b-A'bdi'Uah* to describe to him the practice of Omar-b-u'l Khat- 
 tab concerning the poor-rate, and he wrote to him regarding what he asked 
 telling him, " verily if thou doest unto thy age and thy people according 
 to the works of Omar unto his age and people, thou wilt be greater before 
 the Lord than Omar." And from Hammadf.that when Omar was appoint- 
 ed Caliph he wept and said ifo a certom ^erso«. "0! such a one, dost 
 
 * Grandaon of Omar-b-u'l Khattab. 
 
 t Abu'l Kasim Paminad-b-AW Layla Saptir (or Maysara) a Daylamite torn at 
 Kufah called ar Eawiyah (the narrator) because lie was able, according to his own 
 account to the Caliph al "Walid-b-A'bdi'l Malik, to recite the poems of more poets than 
 the Caliph had ever read or heard of. In one sitting he recited two thousand poems 
 by poets who flourished before Muhammad, and it was he who united in one collection 
 the seven "Muallakat." He was treated by the Umayyads with preference and 
 honour. He was bom A. H. 95 (713—4) and died in 155 (A. D. 772). Ibn KhalL 
 
[ 236 ] 
 
 A. H. 99. thou fear on my account ?" He replied, " how is thy desii-e with regard 
 A. D. 717. to money ?" He said, " I have no love for it." He answered, " then fear 
 not for the Lord will assist thee." And from Mughirah, that at the time 
 Omar succeeded to the Caliphate, he assembled the sons of Marwan and 
 said, " verily the Apostle of God possessed the estate of Fadak, from which 
 he derived funds and supported by it the children of the Banu Hashim 
 and gave in marriage their orphans by its means, and verily Fatimah asked 
 him to bestow it upon her and he refused, and it continued thus during the 
 lifetime of Abu Bakr and Omar. Afterwards Marwdn assigned it away, 
 and it hath come into the hands of Omar-b-A'bdi'l A'ziz. Now I think 
 that a thing forbidden to Fatimah by the Apostle of God is no right of 
 mine, and verily I call ye to witness that I have restored it to what it 
 was in the time of the Apostle of God." And from al Layth, that 
 when Omar became Caliph, he began with his kindred and the people of 
 his house, and confiscated what was in their hand, and called their sub- 
 stance, exactions. 
 
 Asma-b-U'bayd narrates that A'nbasah-b-Sa'id-b-i'l A'as went in to 
 Omar-b-A'hdi'l A'ziz and said, " O prince of the Faithful ! the Caliphs be- 
 fore thee used to bestow gifts but thou hast forbidden them to us, and I 
 have a family and an estate — wilt thou permit me to go to my estate to 
 improve the circumstances of mj iamilj ?" He replied, " the most beloved 
 of ye to me is he who spares me, his keep." Then he added, " be freq^uent 
 in the remembrance of death, for if thou be in straitened circumstances 
 it will enlarge them for thee, and if in- affluence it will straiten it upon 
 thee." 
 
 Furdt-b-u'l Sdib narrates that Omar-b-A'bdi'l A'ziz said to his wife 
 Fatimah, daughter of A'bdu'l Malik who possessed a jewel which her 
 father had given her, the like of which had never been seen, " choose whether 
 thou wilt give up thy jewel to the public treasury, or suffer me to separate 
 from thee, for verily I am loth that I and thou and it should be in one 
 house." She replied, "I prefer thee to it, and to double «fe ©aZwe." He 
 therefore gave orders and it was taken away and placed in the public 
 treasury of the Muslims ; and when Omar died, and Yazid succeeded to 
 the Caliphate, he said to Fatimah, " dost thou wish that I should return 
 it to thee ?" she answered, " no, by Allah, I did not care for it during his 
 life and shall I take it again after his death ?" A'bdu'l A'ziz says that 
 one of the prefects of Omar-b-A'bdi'l A'zi'z wrote to him, sayinff — " verily 
 our city is in ill condition — if the prince of the Faithful thinketh fit to 
 assign us money that we may repair it, let him do so :" and Omar wrote 
 to him, saying, " when thou readest this letter, fortify it with justice and 
 purify its streets from oppression — for verily that is its restoration, and peace 
 be to thee." Ibrahim as Sakuni states that Omar-b-A'bdi'l A'ziz said, " I never 
 lied from the time that I knew that a lie was a disgrace to its utterer." 
 
[ 237 ] 
 
 And Kays-b'Jubayr says that Omar among the Banu Umayyah is like the A. H. 99. 
 true believer of the family of Pharaoh.* And Maymtin-b-Mihran, that the A. D. 717* 
 Lord used to be regardful of His people by means of a succession of pro- 
 phets, but that verily the Lord now watcheth over His people through 
 Omar-b-A'bdi'l A'ziz. And Wahb-b-Munabbah, "if there be a guide among 
 this people it is Omar-b-A'bdi'l A'ziz." 
 
 Muhammad-b-Pudhalah narrates that A'bdu'Uah-b-Omar-b-A'bdil 
 A'ziz passed by the dwelling of a monk in Mesopotamia, and the monk 
 went down to him, and he had never visited any one before, and said, 
 " knowest thou why I have come down to thee ?" He replied, " no." 
 He answered, " on account of the merits of thy father, I find him among 
 the just Imams in the position of the month of Eajab among the sacred 
 months ;" Aytib-b-Suwayd has interpreted this to mean that the throe 
 consecutive months Du'l Kaa'dah, Du'l Hijjah, and al Muharram, are Abti 
 Bakr, Omar and Othman, and Eajab, separate from them is Omar-b- 
 A'bdi'l A'ziz. Hasan al Kassab says, " I saw wolves grazing with sheep 
 in the desert during the Caliphate of Omar-b-A'bdi'l A'ziz and I said, 
 ' good God ! a wolf among sheep apd not injuring them !' The shepherd 
 answered, " when the head is sound, there is no harm to the body.' " 
 Malik-b-Dinar narrates that when Omar-b-A'bdi'l A'ziz ruled, the shepherds 
 said, " on account of this good man who rules the people as a just Caliph, 
 the wolves restrain themselves from our flocks." And Miisa-b-Aa'yan, 
 " we were tending sheep in Kirman during the Caliphate of Omar-b- 
 A'bdi'l A'ziz, and the sheep and the wolf used to pasture in one place, but 
 meanwhile one night, behold, a wolf attacked a sheep, and I said, ' I 
 cannot but think that the just man is dead,' and they enquired and found 
 that he had died that night." Walid-b-Muslim states that he had heard 
 that a man in Khurasan related, saying, " a stranger came to me in my sleep 
 and said, ' when he of the Scar among the sons of Marwan rules, go and 
 swear allegiance to him for he is a just Imam,' and I began whenever a 
 Caliph arose, to ask regarding him until Omar A'bdi'l A'ziz succeeded, 
 and the stranger came to me three times in my sleep, so 1 set out and 
 swore allegiance to him." He also states on the authority of Habib-br 
 Hind al Aslami that he said, " Sa'id-b-u'l Musayyab said to me, 'verily 
 the Caliphs are three, Abu Bakr, Omar, and > Omar-b-A'bdi'l A'ziz,' I 
 replied, Abu Bakr and Omar, verily we know them, but who is Omar ? 
 He answered, ' if thou livest thou wilt attain to Ms time, and if thou diest 
 lefore that he will come after thee.' I remark that Ibn u'l Musayyab 
 died before the Caliphate of Omar." 
 
 Ibn A'un says that when Ibn Sirin was asked regarding wine, he said, 
 *' the Imam of salvation that is, Omar-b-A'bdil A'ziz has forbidden its 
 
 * See page 36, Note •. 
 
[ 238 ] 
 
 A. H. 99. use." And al Hasan declared, that if there is a Mahdi,* it is Omar-b- 
 A. D. 717. A'bdi'l A'ziz and if not he, then there is no other than Jesus the son of 
 Mary." Malik-b-Dinar said — "people assert that Malik is an ascetic, 
 whereas the ascetic is Omar-b-A'bdi'l A'ziz, for the world came to him. 
 and he abandoned it." And Yunas-b-Abi, Shabib, " I saw Omar-b-A'bdi'l 
 A'ziz and verily the waist-band of his drawers was hidden in the folds of 
 fat of his stomach : I saw him again after he had become Caliph, and if 
 I had wished to count his ribs without touching them I could have done 
 so." 
 
 His son A'bdu'l A'zfz.said, " Abu Jaa'far al Manslir enquired of me, 
 gayvng, " what was the income of thy father when he succeeded to the 
 Caliphate?" I replied "forty thousand dinars?" He asked, "and how- 
 much when he died ?" I replied, " Four hundred dinars, and if he had 
 lived longer it would have been less." Maslamah-b-A'bdi'l Malik narrates, 
 " I went in to Omar-b-A'bdi'l A'ziz to visit him in his illness, and lo, he 
 was wearing a dirty shirt and I said to Fatimah the daughter of A'bdu'l 
 Malik, " dost thou not wash his shirt ?" she replied, " by AUah, he has 
 no other." 
 
 Abu Umayyah, the eunuch, the slave of Omar said, " I went in one 
 day to my mistress, and she gave me a meal of lentils, and I said, " every 
 day lentils !" she replied, " my son, such is the meal of thy master the 
 prince of the Faithful." When death was approaching, he sent me with 
 a dinar, to the people of the monastery of Sima'dn-^ to say — " if ye sell me 
 a place for my grave, it is well otherwise I will turn from ye elsewhere: 
 and I went to them and they answered " were it not that we are averse to 
 his leaving us we would not consent." Al A'un-b-u'l Maa'ramar narrates 
 that Omar went to his wife and said, " O Fatimah, hast thou a dirham 
 that I may buy some grapes with it ?" She said, " no'' and added, " and 
 thou, the prince of the Faithful, dost thou not possess a dirham where- 
 with to buy grapes ?" He replied, " this is easier for me than to labour 
 under manacles in hell." 
 
 Sahl-b-Sadakah says that when Omar was appointed Caliph, lamenta- 
 tion was heard in his house and they enquired about it and people said^ 
 
 * " The directed" the surname of the twelfth and last Jm&ca of the race of 
 A'U. His name was Abu'l ^asim Muliammad son of Hasan aJ. A'skari the eleventh 
 Imdm. He was horn at Sarramanra 265 A. H., and he descended into a, cistern 
 in presence of his mother at 9 years of age, whence he is expected to return towards 
 the end of the world to join the Messiah in combating Antichrist and establishing 
 one faith. See D. Herb, and Ibn KhaU. 
 
 f In the district about Damascus — a pleasant spot says Yatfit surrounded by 
 gardens and buildings — Omar-b-A'bdi'l A'ziz was buried here but the site of his. 
 grava is unknown. 
 
[ a39 ] 
 
 that Omar had given his female slaves a choice, saying, " verily business A. H. 99. 
 hath come upon me that will keep me engaged from ye ; therefore she that A. D. 717. 
 ■wishes that I should free her, I hereby free her, and she that desires that 
 I should retain her, I will retain her though I have no need of her" — and 
 they wept in despair at it. According to his wife Patimah, when he 
 entered, the bouse, he used to throw himself down at his place of. prayer 
 and would not cease to weep and pray until the drowsiness of his eyes 
 overpowered him and when he awoke, he would do the same thing through- 
 out the night. 
 
 Al Walid-b-Abi'l Musayyab said, " I never knew any one more in 
 fear of the Lord than Omar." And Sa'id-b-Su'ayd, that Omar prayed 
 before the people on a Friday, wearing a shirt patched at the collar in 
 front and behind, and a man said to him, " prince of the Faithful, verily 
 God hath given unto thee, and wert thou but to clothe thyself properly !" 
 Omar looked down awhile, then raised his head and said, " moderation is 
 most meritorious in affluence, and pardon most praiseworthy in power." 
 
 Maymdn-b-Mihran narrates, " I heard Omar say, ' if I remained 
 among you fifty years, I should not perfect justice amogst you — verily I 
 desire a thing, but fear lest your hearts endure it not, I therefore leave the 
 world with that in my desire unfulfilled — wherefore if your hearts are 
 averse to this thing, they must rest content with the other.' " 
 
 And Ibrahim-b-Maysarah, " I said to Talis* ' is Omar A'bdu'l A'ziz 
 the Mahdi ?' He replied, ' he is a Mahdi but not the Mahdi, for he hath 
 not entirely perfected justice.' " Omar-b-TJsayd says, " it was before Omar's 
 death that a man used to come to us with a considerable sum of money 
 and say, ' use this as ye think fit,' and he continued until he had brought 
 all his property : thus Omar verily provided for the wants of the people." 
 And Juwayriyah,t " we went in to Fatimah, the daughter of A'li-b-Abi Talib, 
 and she praised Omar-b-A'bdi'l A'ziz and said, ' if he had remained with'us, 
 we should have needed none after him.' " 
 
 A'ta-b-Abi Eabah J narrates, " Fatimah the wife of Omar, told me that 
 she went in to him, and he was at his place of prayer, his tears streaming 
 
 * Abu A'bdu'r Eahmiln Ta<is-b-Kaysan al Khaulani one of the most eminent of 
 the Tabi'ls, was of Persian extraction. He died at Mecca A. H. 106 (725) and the 
 crowd at his funeral was so great that the governor had to send a guard to clear the 
 ■way. Abu'l Faraj al Jouzi says that he was oaUed Taus because he -was the peacock 
 of the ^uran readers, but it is the general opinion that it was his real name. Ibn 
 KhaU. 
 
 f The traditionist, a member of the Dubaia'h tribe — died A. H. 173, (A. D. 
 789-90.) De Slane, I. K. 
 
 J He was a Mulatto bom at al Janad and Mawla to the Fikr family at Mecca. 
 He held a high rank as a Tabi'i, a jurisconsult and ascetic and he and al Mujahid were 
 tiie muftis of Mecca. He died A. H. U5 (733-4) at the age of 88. Ibn KhaU. 
 
[ 240 ] 
 
 A. H. 99. over his beard, and she said, ' prince of the Faithful, has anything 
 A. D. 717. happened?' He replied, 'OFitimah, verily lam invested with authority 
 over the people of Muhammad, the Arabs among them and the foreigners, 
 and I was meditating upon the poor that are starving and the sick that 
 are destitute, and the naked that are in distress, and the oppressed that are 
 stricken, and the stranger that is in prison and the venerable elder, and him 
 that hath a large family and small means, and the like of them in the 
 countries of the earth and the distant provinces, and I felt that my Lord 
 would ask an account of them at my hands on the day of resurrection, and 
 I feared that no defence would avail me, and I wept.' " Al Auzaa'i says 
 that Omar-b-A'bdi'l A'ziz was seated in his house and virith him were the 
 chiefs of the Banu Umayyah, and he said, " do ye wish that I should give 
 each one of you to rule over a province ?" and one of them said, " why 
 dost thou propose to us what thou wilt not perform ?" He replied, " do 
 ye see this carpet of mine, verily I know that it will fall to ruin and decay, 
 yet verily I am loth that ye should soil it with your feet — therefore how- 
 can I place ye in authority over my administration — in authority over 
 the property of the Muslims and their persons ? this cannot be for you — • 
 it cannot be !" And they said to him, " why, have we not kinship — have we 
 not a claim ?" He replied, — " ye and the most remote of the Muslims are 
 but equal in my sight in this matter, save that a long journey's distance 
 keeps that man of the Muslims from me." 
 
 Hamid narrates, " al Hasan dictated to me a letter addressed to Omar- 
 b-A'bdi'l A'ziz, in which he employed all his powers of persuasion and 
 lamented his needs and his larje family, and Omar ordered him a present." 
 And al Auzda'i, that when Omar desired to punish a man, he kept him in 
 confinement for three days and then punished him, not wishing to be hasty 
 in the first impulse of anger. And al Juayriyah-b-Asma, that Omar-b- 
 A'bdi'l A'ziz said, " my heart is most covetous — nothing of worldly goods is 
 given to it but it desires something still better, and when I was given 
 that than which nothing in the world is greater, my heart longed for that 
 which is better than it — namely, heaven." According to A'mr-b-Muhajir 
 the expenditure of Omar every day was two dirhams. Yusuf-b-Ya'kub al 
 Kahili says that Omar used to wear at night a cloak of camel's hair and 
 the lamp in his house was placed on the top of three reeds upon which was 
 some clay. Omar ordered his servant to heat some water for him and he 
 went and heated a vessel in the public kitchen, whereupon Omar ordered 
 him to take a dirham's worth of wood and place it in the kitchen. (A'td al 
 Khurasani.) He used to light a wax-caudle for himself when engaged in 
 the needs of the Muslims, and when he had finished their business, he 
 would extinguish it and light his own lamp. (A'mr-b-Muhajir.) The 
 Caliph was always attended by three hundred guards and three hundred 
 armed attendants, but Omar said to the guards, " verily I have among ye 
 
[ 24.1 ] 
 
 Fate as a defender and Deatt as a guard — he among ye who remains, A. H. 99. 
 shall have ten dinars, and whoso wishes may go to his family." A. D. 717. 
 {A.1 Hakam-b-Omar.) A'mr-b-Muhajir relates, " Omar once longed for 
 an apple, and one of the people of his house made him a present of 
 one, and he said, ' how sweet is its odour, and how beautiful it is ! take 
 it O slave ! to him who sent it, and give him greeting and say to him 
 " verily thy present hath pleased us very much." I said to him, ' O prince 
 of the Faithful, he is the son of thy uncle and one of thy own house, and 
 verily I have heard that the prophet used to eat such presents ;' he replied, 
 ' fie on thee — verily a present to the prophet was a present, but to us in 
 these days it is a bribe.' " " I never knew Omar during his Caliphate," 
 says Ibrahim-b-Maysarah, " strike any one but one man who had received 
 presents from Mu'awiyah, and he struck him three stripes." When Omar 
 discontinued to the people of his house, the special allowance which used 
 to be issued to them, they murmured against it, but he said, " my property 
 will not be enough for ye all, yet as for this money, your claim to it is 
 as the claim of a man dwelling afar at-Birku'l Ghimad."* (Al Auzaa'i.) 
 He also wrote to cancel such orders of al Hajjaj as were opposed to public 
 opinion. Yahya al Ghassani says, " when Omar made me prefect of Mosul, 
 I found theft, and house-breaking more common there than in the majority 
 of cities, wherefore I wrote to inform him of the state of the city and 
 asked him whether I should take men up on suspicion and chastise them 
 on mere accusation, or arrest them on clear proof and according as the law 
 directed ; he wrote to me in reply that I should arrest them only on clear 
 proof and as the law directed, for if justice would not make them honest, 
 then may God not reform them. I therefore acted accordingly and I did 
 not leave Mosul until it had become one of the most orderly of cities and 
 least frequent in theft and house-breaking." And Eaja-b-Hayat narrates, 
 " I was conversing one night with Omar when the lamp grew dim aod 
 near it was an attendant asZ«ep. I exclaimed, " shall I rouse him ?" He 
 said, " no." I said, " shall not I get up then ?" He replied, " it is not 
 polite for a man to exact service from his guest ;" and he went to the oil 
 flask and trimmed the lamp and returned and said, " I arose as Omar-b- 
 A'bdi'l A'ziz and have returned as Omar-b-A'bdi'l A'ziz." According to 
 Nuaym, Omar's secretary, Omar said, " fear of vainglory verily prevents 
 me from speaking much." MakMl observes, " if I were to swear to it I 
 would but speak the. truth, that I never saw any one more pious and god- 
 fearing than Omar-b-A'bdi'l A'ziz." 
 
 When the niention of death was made, Omar, says Sa'id-b-U'rubah, 
 would tremble in all his joints. He used to assemble every night the 
 doctors of law and converse with them on death and the resurrection, and 
 * Or Birku'l Ghamad a town at the extreme comer of Yaman. Yakut M. B. 
 31 
 
[ 242 ] 
 
 A. H. 99. they would weep as if a bier were before them. (A'ta.) Ubaydu'llah-b- 
 A. D. 717. A'yzar narrates, " Omar preached to us in Syria from a pulpit of clay and 
 said, ' people purify your inner thoughts and your exterior conduct will 
 be amended — direct your actions with regard .to the world to come, and 
 your worldly concerns will not be amiss — and know that a man between 
 whom and Adam there is no living ancestor, has assuredly a heriditary 
 portiotfin death,* peace be to ye.' " 
 
 The Banu Marwan assembled at Omar's gate and said to his son 
 A'bdu'l Malik — " say to thy father that the Caliphs before him used to make 
 grants to us and recognised our station, but verily thy father hath prohi- 
 bited to us that which is in his hands ;" and his son went in to him and 
 informed him, and he replied, " tell them forsooth my father says to ye — 
 * verily I fear, if I should rebel against my Lord, the punishment of the 
 Great Day.' " (Kur. VI,) (Wuhayb-b-u'l Ward). 
 
 Omar said, " take ye for counsel that which those before ye approved 
 to be good, and take not that which is opposed to them, for they were 
 better than ye and wiser." Jarirf once came and took his post for a long 
 time at the gate of Omar who would not notice him, whereupon he wrote 
 ■to A'un-b-A'bdi'Uah who was a confidant of Omar's — 
 
 reader with the flowing turban, 
 
 This is thy day, verily my day hath passed. 
 Tell our Caliph if thou meetest him 
 
 1 am at the gate like one chained to a pillar. 
 (Al Auza'ai.) 
 
 When Omar succeeded to the Caliphate, Bilal-b-Abi Bardah went and 
 congratulated him and said, there have been those whom the Caliphate 
 ennobled, but thou hast ennobled it, and there have been those whom it 
 has graced it, but thou bast lent a grace to it and thou art as Malik-b- 
 Asma says : 
 
 " Thou addest a sweet odour to the most delicious fragance 
 If thou but touch it — where is thy like ? where ? 
 For lo ! the pearl gives lustre to the beauty of the face 
 But the beauty of thy face gives lustre to the pearl." 
 (Jdayriyah.) 
 
 When A'bdu'l Malik-b-Omar-b-A'bdi'l A'ziz died, Omar began to 
 praise him whereupon Maslamah J said, " O prince of the Faithful, if he had 
 lived thou wouldst have made him heir." He said, " no," He answered 
 • Lame mentions this (art tWj* ) as a tradition. 
 
 t Abu Hazrah Jarir-b-A'tiyai— the poet— the great rival of Farazda^ and al 
 Akhtal— for his history consult Ibn Khali. Kitabu'l Aghani— and the Journal 
 Asiatique for April '34. 
 
 t Son of A'bdu'l Malik-b-Marwfin. 
 
[ 243 ] 
 
 " and why not, for thou wert but now praising him." Omar said, " I fear A. H. 99. 
 
 that there might have been a consideration in my regard towards him, such A. D. 717. 
 
 a consideration as a son holds in the eye of his father," (Ju'dnah). A man 
 
 said to Omar — " leave me a charge." He said, " I commend to thee the. 
 
 fear of God and the preferring of Him above all fhings, and affliction will be 
 
 ■withheld from thee and help will be vouchsafed to thee from> God" (Ghassan.) 
 
 The daughter* of XJsamah-b-Zayd went in to Omar and he arose before 
 
 her and advanced towards her, and made her sit down in his seat,, and he 
 
 sat down before her and left her no wish ungratificd. (Abu A'mr.) The 
 
 sons of Marwan assembled together and they said, " if we went in to the- 
 
 prince of the Faithful, we might naake him favourably disposed towards 
 
 us by pleasantry ;" and they entered and one among them spake and jested, 
 
 and Omar regarded him;, then another added his jest to the other's, and 
 
 Omar said, " is it for this ye have assembled — for the lowest kind o£ 
 
 discourse and that which breeds enmities ? When ye assemble, betake 
 
 yourselves to the Book of God, and if ye go beyond that, then to the laws 
 
 of the Apostle of God,, and if ye go again beyond that, then employ 
 
 yourselves in the interpretation of the meanings o£ the traditions." 
 
 (Al Hajjaj-b-A'nbasah.) 
 
 lyas-b-Mu'awiyah-b-Kurrah. says, " I liken Omar to none but an 
 excellent workman who has no tools with which to work — that is, he has 
 none to help. him." And Omar-b-Hafs narrates, " Omar said to me, ' when 
 thou hearest a word from a Muslim, do not impute to it aught of evil as 
 long as thou canst find for it a good motive.' " 
 
 Omar used to dissuade Sulayman-b-A'bdi'l Malik from putting the 
 ^aruriyah sectariansf to death and he would, say to him, " imprison them 
 until they show repentance." And a Hariiri was brought before Sulay- 
 man who said to him, "well now !" The Hariiri replied, " what shall I 
 say, O villain, son of a villain ?" Sulayman exclaimed — " send for Omar- 
 A'bdi'l A'ziz ;" and when he came, he said, " listen to the speech of this 
 man," and the Haruri repeated it, find Sulayman said,. " what dost thou 
 think should he done to him ?" but he was silent. He said again " I com- 
 mand thee to tell me what thou thinkest regarding him." He answered, 
 
 * Her name was Fatimah; slie resided at the village of Mizzah near Damascus 
 after the death of her father, the -well known Mawla of the prophet who was des- 
 patched at the head of an army to Syria at the time the prophet was dying. (See page 
 1i) Usamah- died at Medina, and some say at Wadi'l Kur4 about A. H. S4. 
 
 t A sect erf schismatics called after Harura, a town two miles distant from Kufah 
 tecause they first assembled there and taught that government belongs only to God. 
 They consisted of Nejdeh and his Companions holding their tenets. They were also 
 called Mubayyadhah because their ensigns in war were white. They dived so deeply, 
 says Lane, into matters of religion that they became heretics — and hence the appella- 
 tion is applied also to any who do thus. Lane, art. j^ 
 
[ 244 ] 
 
 A. H. 99. " I think with regard to him that thou shouldst revile him as he hath reviled 
 A. D. 717. thee." He replied, " the matter ends not thus," and he commanded regarding 
 him, and his head was struck off, and Omar departed. But Khalid the 
 captain of the guard, overtook him, and said, " Omar, how couldst thou 
 say to the prince of the Faithful — ' I do not see anything for him but that 
 thou shouldst revile him as he hath reviled thee ? verily I was expecting 
 that he would command me to strike off thy head." He replied, " and if 
 he had commanded thee, wouldst thou have done it ?" He answered, " yea, 
 by Allah." Now when the Caliphate fell to Omar, Khalid came and stood 
 up in the place of the captain of the guard and Omar said, " O Khalid 
 put this sword from thee" and he added, " O God, verily I have humbled 
 Khalid for thy sake, therefore raise him up never again." Then he looked 
 upon the faces of the guard, and summoned A'mr-b-Muhajir the Auxiliary 
 and said, " O A'mr, verUy thou knowest that there is no kinship between me 
 and thee save the kinship of Islam, but I have heard thee diligently 
 reading the Kuran, and I have seen thee praying in a place when thou 
 didst think that none observed thee, and I saw thee pray with devotion and 
 thou art one of the Auxiliaries — take this sword therefore, for verily I give 
 thee the command of my guard." (Yahya al Ghassdni.) Shu'ayb says, " I 
 have been told that A'bdu'l Malik-b-Omar-b A'bdi'l A'ziz went in to his 
 father and said, " O prince of the Faithful what wilt thou say unto thy Lord 
 hereafter when he questioneth thee ?" and added, " thou hast witnessed 
 heresies and hast not crushed them, and laws fallen into disuse and 
 thou hast not revived them." And his father answered, " may the Lord 
 have mercy upon thee and reward thee for a good son — my child, verily 
 thy tribe have bound this authority knot by knot and loop by loop, 
 and were I to seek to oppose them by taking away what they possessed, 
 .1 would not be safe from their making a rupture with me in which much 
 blood would be shed — by Allah, the loss of worldly goods would be easier 
 unto me than that a cupping-glass of blood should be spilt on my account, 
 yet art thou not content that a single day in the world should come to thy 
 father, except he crush a heresy therein and revive a law." 
 
 Omar said, " he is happy who is preserved from disputation, anger and 
 covetousness " (Ma'mar.) It was said to Omar, " if thou wert to appoint 
 a bodyguard and to be careful in thy food and drink."* He replied, " God 
 if thou knowest that I fear aught except the day of resurrection believe 
 not in my fear." (Artah-b-Mundir.) 'Adi-b-u'l Fadhl narrates, " I heard 
 Omar preaching to the people, and he said, ' fear ye God, O people ! and 
 proceed with moderation in your quest of worldly goods, for if the destined 
 portion of any one be upon the summit of a mountain or in the depths of 
 
 * Such aentenoea where the apodosjs is wanting to complete the period are common 
 enough in the Semitic languages and may be found frequently in the Bible, «. g. 
 Gen. Hi. ii. 
 
[ 245 ] 
 
 the earth, it will reach him.' " And Azhar says, " I saw Omar preaching to A. H 99. 
 the people wearing a patched garment." And Abdu'Uah-b-u'l A'la, " I A. D. 7l7. 
 heard Omar preaching on a Friday a single discourse which he kept repeating 
 and beginning it with these seven sentences — ' Praise he to God, we glorify 
 Him and implore His help and His pardon, and we fly to God for protection 
 against the wickedness of our passions and the evil of our deeds ; whom 
 God directeth, none can misguide, and there is no guide for him whom God 
 alloweth to go astray — and I testify that there is no god but one God who 
 hath no copartner — and I testify that Muhammad is His servant and His 
 apostle ; — he who obeyeth God and His apostle, verily he foUoweth the 
 right path — and whoso rebelleth against God and His apostle, verily goeth 
 astray.". Then he commended unto them the fear of God and continued to 
 preach, and he concluded his final discourse with these verses " my 
 servants who have transgressed" (Kur. XXXIX) to the conclusion of the ' 
 
 section. Hajib-b-Khalifah al Biirjumi says, " I was present when Omar 
 being then Caliph, was preaching, and he said in his discourse, ' verily that 
 which the apostle of God and his two companions have instituted, is the 
 faith which we conform to and follow out and that which others besides 
 .those two have established we may put aside.' " (Abu Nuaym gives with 
 their ascriptions in his Huliyah all that I have advanced.) 
 
 Ibn 'Asakir records on the authority Ibrahim-b-Abi A'ylah that he 
 said, " we went in to Omar on the day of the festival,* and the people were 
 greeting him, and saying, " the Lord be propitious unto us and unto thee 
 P prince of the Faithful," and he returned it to them and did not dis- 
 approve their conduct. I remark that this is an excellent precedent for 
 a congratulatory salutation for the day of the festival, and for the year 
 and for the month. He records also from Ju'linah, that Omar gave A'mr- 
 b-Kays as Sakiini the command of an expedition against the Greeks and 
 said, " receive graciously those among them that do good and forgive those 
 of "them that do evil — and be not the foremost among them, lest thou be 
 slain, nor yet the hindermost lest thou appear cowardly, but be in the 
 middle so that thy place may be seen and thy voice heard." And from 
 Saib-b-Muhammad, that A'bdu'l Jarrah-b-A'bdi'Uah wrote to Omar, saying, 
 " verily the people of Khurasan are a race whose community is unruly 
 and verily nothing will mend them but the sword and the scourge, therefore 
 if the prince of the Faithful see fit to permit their use to me ?" And 
 Omar wrote, " now, verily thy letter hath reached me, saying, that the 
 people! of Khurasan are a community that are unruly, and that nothing 
 will mend them but the sword and the scourge, but in truth thou hast 
 
 * By the term Eed is meant one of the two principal religious festivals of the 
 Muslims. Eed u'l Adha (festivals of the victims) held on the 10th of Du'l Hijjah or 
 the Eed ul Eitr the festival of the breaking of the fast after the Bamadhan. 
 
[ 246 ] 
 
 A. H. 99. spoken falsely for justice will mend them and truth — therefore spread 
 A. D. 717. these amongst them and peace he to thee." And from TJmayyah-b-Zayd, 
 of the Kurayshr that he said, " when Omar dictated his correspondence to 
 me, he would say, ' God I fly to thee for protection from the evil of my 
 tongue.' " And from Salih-b>- Jubayr that he said, " I have often times 
 discoursed with Omar on a subject and he would get wroth and I would 
 say — ' it is written in a book, — fear the wrath of a youthful king and be- 
 gentle with him until his anger departeth ;' and he would say to m& 
 afterwards, ' let not what thou seest in me, O Salih, hinder thee from 
 recurring to the subject with me when thou seest it Jit.'' " And from 
 A'bdu'l Hakim-b-Muhamraad al Makhzlimi that Jarir-b-u'l Khatafi went 
 before Omar and was about to recite poetry when Omar checked him, but 
 he said " indeed I am about to make mention of the Apostle of God." 
 Omar replied — " well if it be the Apostle of God, then mention him" — and 
 Jarlr went on. 
 
 Verily He who sent the prophet Muhammad 
 
 Hath conferred the Caliphate on a just prince, 
 
 Who hath restored extortions with exactness to their just owners 
 
 Prom their unrighteousness, and made straight the errii^ of the- 
 
 deviator. 
 Verily I seek of thee a present bounty 
 For the heart clings to the love of the present. 
 Omar said to him " I find nothing due to you in the book of God," 
 He replied, " yes, prince of the Faithful — verily I am a wayfarer." He 
 therefore ordered him fifty dinars from his privy purse. 
 
 It is recorded in the Tuyyuriyat that Hariz-b-Othman a'r Eahbi went 
 in with his father to Omar who asked the latter regarding his son, and) 
 then said, "teach him the great science." He answered, " and what is th& 
 great science ?" Omar replied, " contentment, and abstaining fromi molest- 
 ing others'' Ibn Abi Hatim records from Muhammad-b-Kaa'b al Karadhi 
 that he narrates, " Omar, summoned me and said, ' define justice to me.' 
 I said, ' well, thou askest regarding a momentous thing — be to the little 
 ones among men as their father — to the great as their son — to your equals 
 among them as a brother and the same towards women, and punish men 
 according to the degree of their faults and the measure of their bodily 
 endiwance, and strike not, be sure, a single blow of a scourge in anger 
 lest thou exceed justice and be of those who oppress.' " 
 
 Abdu'r Eazzdk records in his Musannaf from az Zuhri that Omar 
 used to make his ablutions after eating anything that had touched the 
 fire, so that he would make his ablutions after eating sugar. And from 
 Wuhayb that Omar said, " he who considers his words as a part of his 
 actions will be sparing of his conversation." 
 
[ 247 1< 
 
 Ad Dahabi says that Ghaylan* professed a denial of predestination A. H. 99. 
 during the Caliphate of Omar, who sought to make him abjure, wherefore A. D. 717. 
 he said, " verily I was in error but thou hast directed me aright." Omar 
 exclaimed, " God — if he be sincere, forgive him, otherwise crucify him 
 and cut off his hands and feet." And his prayer concerning him took 
 effect, for he was seized in the Caliphate of Hisham-b-A'bdi'l Malik and 
 his limbs were cut off and he was crucified at Damascus for the denial of 
 predestination. Some other author says that the Banu TJmayyah used to 
 vilify A'li-b-Abi Talib in the Khutbah, and when Omar ruled, he abolished 
 this and wrote to his prefects to discontinue it, and he read in its place 
 " verily God commandeth justice and the doing of good." (Kur. XVI) 
 and the rest of the verse, and the reading of this has continued to this 
 day. 
 
 Al Kali says in his Dictations on the authority of Ahmad-b-Ubayd 
 that Omar before his Caliphate versified. 
 " Eestrain thy heart from love 
 
 And from subservience to passion, 
 
 For by the life of thy Lord, verily in 
 
 The greyness of thy head and its baldness 
 
 Is an admonisher if thou canst 
 
 Take warning as he is admonished who is wise. 
 
 Till how long wilt thou not forbear ? 
 
 Till how long and how long ! 
 
 After thou hast been called of mature age 
 
 Dost thou still snatch at the name of youth ! 
 
 Youth is worn out and thou 
 
 If thou live, will be a hostage to calamity. 
 
 That sufficeth as an admonisher 
 
 To a man from wandering astray." 
 At Tha'alabi says in the Lataif u'l Ma'arif (Curiosities of Knowledge) 
 that Omar-b-u'l Khattab, Othman, A'li, Marwan-b-u'l Hakam and Omar- 
 b-A'bdi'l A'ziz were bald, and after that, baldness ceased to he seen among 
 the Caliphs. Az Zubayr-b-Bakkdr says that a poet said of Patimah 
 daughter of A'bdu'l Malik-b-Marwan and wife of Omar-b-A'bdi'l A'ziz. 
 
 Daughter of a Caliph — a Caliph her grandsire. 
 
 Sister of Caliphs and her husband a Caliph." 
 
 ♦ Ghayl4n of Damascus according to Sale, (p. 112) together with Mabad al 
 Juhni and Jonas al Aswari, broached heterodox opinions concerning predestination 
 shortly after the rise of the first heresy in Isl&m, that of the Kharijites under the Cali- 
 phate of A'li. Their opinions were followed by Wasil-b-A'ta the founder of the 
 Mu'atazalitea. 
 
[ 248 1 
 
 A H. 99. He continues " no other woman but herself can claim in her behalf this 
 
 A, D. 717. verse up to my time," and I add up to mine. 
 
 His siclcness and death. 
 
 Ayah states that it was said to Omar A'bdu'l A'ziz, " if thou wert to 
 go to Medina and w^rt to die there, thou wouldst be buried in the place of 
 the fourth grave with the Apostle of God." He replied, " by Allah, that 
 the Lord should chastise me with every torture save hell-fire, would be 
 preferable to me than that the Lord should conceive that I deemed myself 
 worthy of that place." WaKd-b-Hisham says that it was said to Omar 
 in his sickness, " wilt thou not get thyself a remedy ?" He answered — 
 " verily I knew the moment in which I was given to drink poison, and if 
 my cure were but to touch the lobe of my ear or were I brought a per- 
 fume which I had only to raise to my nose, I would not do it." U'bayd- 
 b- Hasan narrates that when Omar was on the point of death, he said io 
 those present — " depart from me," and Maslamah and Fatimah sat down 
 by the door and they heard him saying, " welcome these faces that are 
 not the faces of men or genii." Then he said, " as to this future mansion 
 of paradise,'' (Kur. XXVIII) and the rest of the verse : then the sound 
 grew faint, and they went in and found him dead. Hisham says that when 
 the news of Omar's death went abroad, Hasan al Basri said, " the best of 
 men is dead :" and Khalid ar Ribi'i, " I find in the Pentateuch that the 
 heavens and the earth shall weep over Omar-b-A'bdi'l A'ziz for forty 
 mornings." Yusuf-b-Mdhak says, '' while we were levelling the earth- over 
 the grave of Omar, lo ! there fell upon us a scroll of parchment from the 
 sky in which was written, ' In the name of God the most Merciful, the 
 Compassionate. Immunity from God for Omar-b-A'bdi'l A'ziz from hell- 
 fire.' " 
 
 Ka'tadah narrates that Omar wrote to the heir who was to succeed 
 him, " In the name of God the most Merciful the Compassionate." 
 
 From Omar-b-Abdi'l Aziz, to Tazid-b-A'bdi'l Mallik. 
 
 " Peace be to thee ! Verily I glorify God unto thee, besides whom there 
 is no other God. And now, verily, I write to thee, being nigh unto death 
 through my sickness, and insooth I know that I shall be questioned 
 regarding the things that I have governed, the King of this world and the 
 next taking account, of me concerning it, and I am unable to hide from 
 him a tittle of my deeds. If therefore He be content with me verily I 
 shall be happy and shall escape from enduring contempt, but if He be 
 displeased with me, then woe unto me for that which 1 shall become. I 
 ask of God, of Hiin besides whom there is no other God, to save me 
 
[ S49 ] 
 
 through His mercy from hell-fire and to vouchsafe unto me His approba- A . H. 99. 
 tion and Paradise. Let the fear of God be upon thee — and the people — A. J). 717. 
 the people — be thy care, for verily thou will remain after me but a little 
 while." (Abu Nua'ym has given all this with their ascriptions in the 
 Huliyah). 
 
 Omar died at Dayr-Sima'an, in the district about Emessa* on the 20th 
 or as some say the 25th of Eajab of the year 101 (5th or 10th February 
 720), he being at that time thirty-nine years and six months old. His 
 death was caused by poison. The Bahu Ummayyah hated him on account 
 of his severity to them and his confiscating from them much that they bad 
 plundered. He neglected to take precautions and they gave him poison to 
 drink. Mujahid narrates, " Omar said to me, ' what do people say 
 about me ?' I replied ' they say thou art disordered in mind' He replied, 
 ' I am not disorderd in mind : verily, I knew the moment in which they 
 gave me poMOW to drink.' Then be summoned one of his slaves and said 
 — ' alas ! for thee — what brought thee to give me poison to drink ?' He 
 replied, ' one thousand dinars that I was given and the promise that I should 
 be liberated.' Omar said, 'bring them here.' Mujahid adds that he brought 
 them and Omar put them into the public treasury and said to him, ' go that 
 no one may see thee. ' " 
 
 Among people of note who died in Omar's reign were, Abu Imamah- 
 b-Sahl-b-Hunayf, Kharijah-b-Zayd-b-Thabit, Salim-b-Abi'l Jaa'd, Busr-b- 
 Sa'id,t Abu Othman an Nahdi, and Abu's Saha. 
 
 XAZrD-B-A'BDI'L MALIK. 
 
 Yazid-b-A'bdi'l Malik-b-i'l Hakam, Abu Khalid, of the house of TJmay- 
 yah, a native of Damascus, was born in the year 71 and ruled the Caliphate 
 in succession to Omar-b-A'bdi'l A'ziz, according to the covenant of his bro- 
 ther Sulayman, as hath gone before. A'bdur Eahman-b-Zayd-b-Aslam 
 says that when Yazid ruled he said to the people " take as your rule of life, 
 the conduct of Omar-b-A'bdi'l A'ziz ;" and there were brought to him 
 forty Shaykhs and they testified to him, saying — " for the Caliphs there 
 is neither a day o/' reckoning nor punishment." 
 
 * Yakdt says Damascus : it is probably somewhere between those two towns. 
 Another of the same name was in Mount Lebanon and a third near Antiooh. Sima' an 
 is Simon, and Yakut says that the convent was named, it is supposed, after Simon 
 Peter, " one of the great doctors of the Christians !" 
 
 t Ibn u'l Athir, says Busr-b-Saa'd. The name Abu's SaJba is probably wrong — 
 I have never met a name of the kind and, it is not mentioned in the Kamil. Abu Sali]^ 
 Zakwan died in the time of Omar and also Abu Salih Saman. 
 32 
 
[ 250 ] 
 
 A- H. 101. When Omar died, Yazid exclaimed, " by AUaL, Omar was not more 
 
 A. D. 720. in need of the Lord than I," — and for forty days he continued to follow 
 the example of Omar, and then abandoned it. (Ibn u'l Majishiin). 
 When Omar was on the point of death, he wrote to Tazid-b-A'bdi'l Malifc 
 saying, " peace be to thee ! now, verily I do not see myself other than 
 what I am — I commend to thee in God's name the people of Muhammad — • 
 for verily thou wilt leave the world to one who wiU not praise thee, and 
 wilt go unto One who wUl not hold thee excused — and peace he to thee !" 
 (Sulaym -b-Bashir. ) 
 
 In the year 102 Yazid-b-u'l MuhaUab rebelled against the Caliphate, 
 and Muslamah-b-A'bdi'l Malik-b-Marwan was despatched against him, and 
 Yazid was defeated and slain, and that at A'kr* a place near Karbala. 
 Al Kalbi says, " I was a youth when people used to say that the Banu 
 Umayyah slaughtered religion on the day of Karbala and clemeneyf on 
 the day of A'kr. Yazid died towards the endj of Shaa'bin in the year 
 105 (28th January 724). 
 
 Of people of note who died during his reign were, ad Dhahhak-b- 
 Muzahim, A'di-b-Artah, Abu'l Mutawakkil an Naji, A'ta-b-Yasdr, Mujahid, 
 Yahya-b-Wathab the Kmin reader of Kufah, Khalid-b-Maa'dan as Shaa'bi 
 the scholar of Irak, A'bdur Eahman-b-Hassan-b-Thabit, Abu Kilabah al 
 Jarmi, Abii Burdah-b-Abi Miisa al Asha'ri, and others. 
 
 HISHA'M-B-A'BDI'L MALIK. 
 
 Hisham-b-A'bdi'l Malik, Abu'l Walid was born after the year 70§ 
 and succeeded to the Caliphate according to the covenant of his brother 
 Yazid. Musaa'b az Zubayri says that A'bdu'l Malik had a dream regarding 
 which he questioned Sa'id-b-u'l Musayyab, who interpreted it to mean that 
 four of the issue of his loins would bear sway. Hisham was the last of 
 these. He was discreet and wise. He would never allow any money to 
 enter his treasury until forty people had testified upon oath that it had 
 
 * The printed edition has A'kir which ia inooireot. 
 
 + By the Caliph's orders 300 Irdlian prisoners were put to death at K6fah. This 
 inhumanity was not however confined to one side, for Mu'Awiyah, Yarid's son, accord- 
 ing to Weil, on leaving Wdsit slaughtered 32 of the prisoners he had taken. Among 
 them A'di-h-Artah and his son. See Weil, Gesoh, CaHph, and Ibn Khali, who has 
 a long article on Ya^id-h-Muhallah. The family of MuhaUab were as celebrated 
 under the Umayyads for generosity as the Barmekides under the house of A'bbds: 
 
 t On the 26th according to Ibn u'l Athir. 
 
 § In the year 72 according to Ibn u'l Athir. 
 
{ 251 ] 
 
 been rightfully exacted, and that to every just claimant had been given A. H. 105. 
 his due. A. D. 724. 
 
 A man once addressed Hishdm abusively, and he said to him, " O such 
 a one, it doth not befit thee to revile thy Caliph." And once he was wroth 
 with a man and said^ — " by Allah, verily I intended to scourge thee !" (Al 
 Asma'i.) Sahbal-b-Muhammad says, " I never saw one of the Caliphs to 
 whom tlie shedding of blood. was more hateful and upon whom it was more 
 grievous, than Hisbam." It is recorded on Hisham's authority that he said, 
 " there is not one remaining of the pleasures of the world, but I have enjoyed 
 it, save one — a friend regarding whom I can dispense with the trouble of 
 being vigilant concerning what is between me and him." 
 
 When Hisham built ar Eusaf ah* near Kinnisrin, he desired to retire 
 there for one day during which no care should approach him, but the day 
 •Was not half spent when there floated towards him a feather covered with 
 blood from some part of the frontier and was borne to him, and he ex- 
 claimed, " not a single day !" 
 
 ' It is said that the following line is his and no other of his is recorded. 
 " If thou dost not rebel against concupiscence, it will lead thee 
 To what will occasion evil speaking against thee. 
 
 He died in Eabii't u'l Akhir of the year 125. (6th February 743). 
 
 In the year 107 of his reign ^aysariyah in Asia Minor J was taken by 
 the sword. 
 
 In the year 108 Khanjarah§ was taken by al Battal the famous hero. 
 
 In the year 112 Kharshanah|| near Malatiyah was captured. 
 
 Of persons of note who died in the reign of Hisham, were, Salim-b- 
 A'bdi'llah>b-Om:ar, Talis, Salayman-b-Yasar, I'kramah Mawla of Ibn 
 
 * Atoiit four parasangs west of Eakkah towards the desert. He built it when 
 the plague desolated Syria and used to reside in it during the summer. One of 
 Yakfit's authorities (Ibn Butlan) asserts it to have been originally a fort built of stone 
 Sn which was a large Christian Church built by Constantine the son of Helena. 
 iBeneath the Church was a ciatem on marble piUais paved with marble and full of rain 
 water. The people living in its neighbourhood were mostly Bedouin Christians. The 
 ;word ]8asaf«.h *i/«j signifies a dam oonstruoted for the purpose of obstructing or 
 retaining water — hence the place was so called after the cistern in the fort, no other 
 water nearer than the river Euphrates being procurable. 
 
 t On the 6th according to WeU. 
 
 % Yakut spells this word AjjI-^' and not *-iy'>^ as in the text. 
 
 § The printed edition and MS. both have Hanjarah. Yakut does not give it, but 
 tiames Khanjarah as a portion of the Grecian territory. Abdullah al -Battal was one 
 of the Generals of Mu'awiyaii-b-Hisham who commanded the troops in Asia Minor. 
 In 739-al Battal was defeated in one of his expeditions and slain. See Weil, p. 638, 
 Vol. 1, and Ibn ul Athir for the year A. H. 122. 
 
 II Haraanah in the printed edition and MS, but Ibn u'l Athir and Yailfiit make it 
 Kharshanah. 
 
[ 252 ] 
 
 A. H. 125. A'bbas, al Kdsim-b-Muhammad-b-Abi Bakr i's Siddik, Kuthay tbe poet 
 A. D. 743. lover of A'zza, Muhammad-b-Kasl-al Karadbi,* al Hasan al Basri, Muham- 
 mad-b-Sirin, Abu't T'ufayl A'amir-b-Wathilah the last of the Companions, 
 Jarir, Tarazdak, A'tiyah al A'tifi, Mu'awiyah-b-Kurrah, Makhul, A'ta-b- 
 Abi Eabah, Abu Jaa'far al Bakir, Wahab-b-Munabbih, Sukaynah daugh- 
 ter of al Husayn, al A'a'raj, KatMah, Nafi Mawla-b-Omar, Ibn A'amir 
 the Kuran reader of Syria, Ibn Kathir Kuran reader of Mecca, Tbabit 
 al Bunani, Malik-b-Dinar, Ibn Muhayyasahf the Kuran reader, Ibn 
 Shihab az Zuhri, and others. 
 
 Among the narratives concerning Hisham, Ibn Asakir records on the 
 authority of Ibrahim-b-Abi A'ylah that he said, " Hisham desired to place 
 me over the finances of Egypt, but I declined and he grew wroth so that 
 his countenance was agitated and there was a fierceness in his eye, and h© 
 cast upon me a forbidding look and said, ' thou shalt assuredly take charge 
 willingly or againsb thy will;' but I restrained myself from speaking 
 till his anger had calmed down, and I said, ' prince of the Faithful, may 
 I speak ?' He replied, ' yes.' I said, ' verily God hath spoken in His 
 glorious Book, " we proposed the faith unto the heavens and the earth and 
 the mountains and they refused to undertake the same &c." (Kur XXXIII 
 now, by AUah, O prince of the Faithful, He was not wroth with them when 
 they were loth, and I do not deserve that thou shouldst be angered against 
 me because I refused, or that thou shouldst force me when I am unwill- 
 ing' — and he laughed and forgave me." And from Khalid-b-SafwanJ 
 that he said, " I visited Hisham and he said, ' say, what is it ? O son of 
 Safwan,' — I began — one of the kings set forth on a pleasure excursion to al 
 Khaurnak,§ and he was a man of wisdom as well as of wealth and power, and 
 he looked round and said to his, courtiers — ' xmto, whom doth this belong' ? and 
 
 * Ibn u'l Athir writes this name Kurti (j^j*' but Ibn Khali confirms the reading 
 of tbe text ; al ^aradhi signifies a dealer in Karadh. .tjJ the leaf of the salam tree used 
 in tanning. See Ibn Kball, De, S. Vol. 3, p. 373. 
 
 t KTot Muhayyasan as in the text. See Ibn u'l Athir for the spellings of this 
 name, under the year 113 A. H. 
 
 X His father was the chief of tbe Banu Tamim and a great orator. Khilid was 
 equally distinguished in his oratory and his avarice and his frequent divorces. No night, 
 he used to say, was so pleasant as tbe one wherein he had dismissed his wives. Ibn 
 Kutaybah K. M. 
 
 § This was an Nua'm4n-b-Imr u'l Kays-b-A'di descended from KahtSn— tha 
 palace of Khaumak built by him was near Kufah. It was designed by a Greek called 
 Sinimm&r and finished in sixty years. The architect was thrown from its summit by 
 order of Nua'mAn for boasting that by the removal of a secret part of the masonry the 
 building would faU. The story in the text is given much the same in Yakut. 
 
[ 253 ] 
 
 tbey said — ' unto the ting.' He exclaimed, ' have ye seen any who hath been A. H. 125. 
 favoured as I have been favoured ?' " Now there was with him one of the most A. D. 743. 
 excellent of those versed in lore and he said, " verily thou hast enquired 
 regarding a certain matter — dost thou give rne leave to reply ?" The king 
 answered, " yes." He said, — " hast thou regarded the condition in which 
 thou art ? is it a thing in which thou wilt continue or rather a thing which 
 hjith come to thee by inheritance, and which shall pass from thee to another 
 as it hath come to thee ?" He answered — " such is the case." He continu- 
 ed, " dost thou then pride thyself on a trifling thing which thou dost possess 
 but for a short time and from which thou must sever for a time that will 
 endure, and of which account will be demanded of thee ?" The king 
 exclaimed, "alas! then — where is there a refuge and where a haven of 
 retreat ?" and a cold shudder seized him. The other said, " either thou 
 must continue in thy sovereignty and act in obedience to God in regard to 
 what displeaseth or gratifieth thee, or thou must relinquish thy kingdom 
 and lay down thy crown and cast from thee thy worn garments and 
 Worship thy Lord." He answered, " I will reflect to-night and will go. 
 to thee in the morning." And when it was morning, he knocked at his 
 door and said, " I have chosen this mountain and these solitudes and have 
 put on my garments of sackcloth, and if thou wilt be my companion — 
 do not deny me." And they dwelt upon the mountain until they died — 
 
 A'di-b-Zayd-b-Hammad* says on this subject t 
 " O thou who rejoieest at other's afiliction and scoffest 
 At fortune ! art thou exempt and perfect ? 
 Or hast thou a firm covenant with time ? 
 Nay ! thou art an arrogant fool ! 
 
 Whom hast thou seen whom Death hath suffered to endure ? 
 Or who hath over him a defender to save him from being wronged ? 
 Where is Khu§rau — king of kings — father of 
 Sasan, and where Sabur before him ? 
 And the fairf illustrious race, monarchs 
 Of Eiim ? no mention of them remains. 
 And the Lord of Hadhr J when he founded it and when 
 
 * Not al Himar as in tte text. He was a poet of the time of Ignorance. He and 
 his family professed tlie Christian religion. For his life consult Kitab u'l Aghani. 
 Tom. II. p. 18, and the Journal Asiatique for Novemher '38. 
 
 t Called also Banu'l A'sfar from A'sfar, son of Rum, son of Esau, son of Isaac, son 
 of Abraham. See Lane, for other derivations of this word. 
 
 X Between Mosul and Tabrit. The name of a certain king Satirun is connected 
 with this city's early history — it was huilt of cut stone and was of great magnificence 
 which is still attested, according to Yakut, by the remnants of its ruined walls. It 
 afterwards fell into the possession of a chief called Dhayzan and being built under 
 
t 254 ] 
 
 The Tigris anil the Khablir went back towards it — 
 
 He built it strongly of marble and covered it with oement, 
 
 And now birds have 'their nests in its pinnacles. 
 
 Death hath not respected him and perished 
 
 Hath his kingdom, and his gate is deserted. 
 
 And remember the Lord of Khaurnak the day 
 
 That he gazed from an eminence and be the memory a guide to thee ! 
 
 His wealth gladdened him and the plenty 
 
 That he possessed — and the river lay before him and Sadir.* 
 
 And his heart repented and he said, 
 
 What is the happiness of a creature that is about to die ? 
 
 And after prosperity and empire and dominion 
 
 The graves have concealed them there, 
 
 And they become like unto a withered leaf 
 
 That the .east and west winds whirl away." 
 
 The narrator continues, " and Hisham wept until his beard was wet, 
 and he commanded his two daugbters to take up his couch and he secluded 
 himselft in his palace. And his servants and his retinue went to Khalid- 
 b-Safwan and said, ' what hast thou desired with the prince of the Faith- 
 ful ? thou hast ruined his happiness.' He replied, ' begone from me — ■ 
 I have verily made a covenant with God, that I would never be alone with 
 a king, but I would remind him of the Most High.' " 
 
 AL WALrD-B-TAZrD-B-A'BDI'L MALIK. 
 
 Al Walid-b-Yazid-b-A'bdi;i Malik-b-Marwan-b-i'l Hakam,— the pro- 
 fligate Caliph, Abu'l A'bbas was born in the year 90. When his father 
 was on the point of death, he was unable to appoint him successor as he 
 was but a child ; he therefore covenanted for his brother Hishim, and 
 named him heir after Hisham. He assumed the government on the death 
 of Hisham in Eabii' u'l Akhir in the year 125. He was a libertine and 
 a wine-drinker land a breaker of the divine commands. He vri^hed to make 
 
 talismanio influence, it could not be taken save by the breaking of the spell. For the 
 atory consult Ya^lit. The heroine was the daughter of Dhazan, who had been so 
 delicately nuituted that a crumpled myrtle leaf disturbed her sleep. Ibn Khali says that 
 Satirun and Dhazau were the same person. See under " art" Muljammad-b-J4bir. 
 
 * A river near Hirah— also a palace built near Khaurnak by Nu'aman the Great 
 for a Persian king — consult Yakdt. 
 ,"' <^ 
 
 t For (•>' read fy I believe the text here to be corrupt. The MS. has J^\ 
 
[ 255 ] 
 
 the pilgrimage in order that he might drink upon the summit of the Kaa'bah. A. H. 126. 
 The people abhorred him for his profligacy, and rose up against him and A. D. 74i4i. 
 he was slain on (27th) Jumada'l Akhirah of the year 126. (16th April 
 744). 
 
 It is recorded on his authority that when he was besieged he said to 
 the people, " have not I increased your largesses ? Have not I removed 
 your grievances ? Have not I given unto the poor among ye ?" They 
 replied, " we do not reproach thee for ourselves, but we find fault with 
 thee for thy transgressions against the prohibitions of God, and the drinking 
 of wine and marriage with the concubines of thy father who have borne 
 children to him, and thy contempt for the commands of the Lord." And 
 when he was slain and his head was cut off and taken to Tazid an Nakis, 
 he placed it on a spear, and his brother Sulayman-b-Tazid looking upon it 
 said — " away with it — I testify that he was a wine-drinker, licentious and 
 profligate and he sought to seduce me into immorality." 
 
 Al Mu'afa al Jariri* says, " I have collected some particulars regard- 
 ing the life of al Walid and his verses which contain the wickedness he 
 committed through his folly and weakness of mind and the heresies he 
 openly expressed regarding the Kuran, and impiety towards God." Ad 
 Pahabi observes that the impiety and atheism of al WaM are not clearly 
 established, but he was notorious for drinking and profligacy, and for that 
 reason they rebelled against him. 
 
 Mention of al Walid was once made in the presence of al Mahdi and 
 a man said that he was an atheist, and al Mahdi replied, "go to, the 
 Vicegerency of God in his charge is too sublime an office that He should 
 have given it to an atheist." Al Walid was one of the most comely of 
 men as well as one of the most violent and he was among the most polished 
 of poets. Marwan-b-Abi Hafsah az Zuhri was always reviling al Walid 
 and finding fault with him to Hisham, and saying, " it is not lawful for 
 thee to do other than put him aside,'' but Hisham was not able to do so, 
 and if az Zuhri had lived until al Walid reigned, the latter would have put 
 him to death. (Abu'z ZinM.) 
 
 Hisham desired to put aside al Walid and bestow the succession ijpon 
 his son, but al Walfd said, 
 
 Thou hast been ungrateful for the favours of thy benefactor — wert thou 
 but thankful 
 
 The most Merciful would requite thee with favour and bounty. 
 
 I have seen that thou hast planned industriously to set me aside, 
 
 * Prohably Abu Ma'sAd al Mu'afa-b-Imr4n, a native of Mosul of the tribe of 
 Azd, who studied jurisprudence under Sufyan at Thauri. He was remarkable for his 
 learning and piety, died A. H. 184. I. K. De Slane. 
 
[ 256 ] 
 
 A. H. 126. If thou wert wise, thou wouldst annul what thou has designed. 
 
 A. D. 744. I behold thee working enmity upon those that remain, 
 
 Happy for them wert thou to die from the evil thou workest ! 
 
 I am as one among them to-day, while their frequent exclamation is 
 
 O would that we had been in happier circumstances* or that thou 
 hadst never lived, 
 (ad Dhakhak-b-Othmdn). 
 
 Hammad ar Eawiyah narrates, " I was one day with al Walid and 
 two astrologers came in to him and said, ' we have looked into what thou 
 hast commanded us, and we have found that thou wilt reign for seven 
 years. I was desirous,' continues Hammad, 'to deceive him so I said 
 falsely — "I too am learned in signs and the systems of knowledge, and 
 verily I have looked into this and have found that thou wilt reign forty 
 years." And he looked down in thought and then said, ' what they have 
 declared will not afflict nor what thou hast said, make me over-confident. 
 By AUah, I will assuredly gather in the revenue lawfully like unto the 
 gathering of him who was to live forever, and I will surely disburse it 
 according to its just claims, as he would disburse it who was to die to- 
 morrow.' " 
 
 In the Musnad of Ahmad verily there hath come down a tradition — 
 " there shall be over this people, a man called al Walid ; he will assuredly 
 be more hard upon this people than Pharaoh upon his subjects." 
 
 Ibn Fadhli'Uah says in the Masalik (Ways).t " Al Walid was an 
 inexorable tyrant, a title that does not wrong him — a path which he trod, 
 but which did not guide him aright — ^the Pharaoh of this transitory age — 
 of this world filled with calamities. He wUl come at the day of resurrec- 
 tion at the head of his tribe, bringing them into hell-fire and delivering 
 them over to shame. Miserable the station where they alight — and hateful 
 their place of return on that plain of assemblage. He hath shot arrows 
 at the holy Book, and hath been licentious and hath not fearedj sins." 
 
 As Slili records on the authority of Sa'id-b-Salim that Ibn Miyadah 
 repeated to al Walid the verse of his in which he says : 
 
 " Tou have surpassed the Kuraysh, save the family of Muhammad 
 
 Save the Banu Marwdn, the eminent. 
 
 * I read -vritli the MS- ,J^. Of the word uir^ in the printed edition, I can make 
 no sense. 
 
 t jIaioDI iJ^jl/ojUit ^^J^S\ t-iJU*. Yj(g oculorum de historia prinoi- 
 pum magnarum urhiuta— in twenty folios by Shihib-uddin Ahmad-b-Yahya-b- 
 Muhammafl, al Kirmami, a'd Dimish^i, as Shafl'i known as Ibn Fadhli'llah, died 749 
 (1848). A supplement to this work was written by the author's son. Haj. lihal. 
 
 X It may be also translated — " hath not concealed his sinn" — according as the verb 
 may be taken from the root vjj^ or (j^ 
 
[ 357 ] 
 
 Al Walid said to him, " I see that thou hast put before us the family A. H. 12ft 
 of Muhammad." He replied, " I do not think it is lawful to do otherwise." A. D. 7414, 
 And this Ibn Miyadah is he who says of al Walid also in his long poem. — 
 
 " I purposed to say a true speech. 
 
 And verily I shall say it in spite of enemies. 
 
 I have seen al Walid the son Yazid blessed. 
 
 His shoulders strong under the burdens of the Caliphate." 
 
 YAZrC-AN-NAKIS-B-U'L WALI'D. 
 
 Yazid the Eetrencher, Abii Khalid-b-u'l Walid-b-Abdi'l Malik was 
 surnamed the Eetrencher because he cut down the allowances to the troops. 
 He usurped the Caliphate and slew his nephew al Walid and took posses- 
 sion of the government. His mother was Shahfarand daughter of Firiiz 
 son of Yazdajird, and the mother of Firlz was daughter of Shiruyah son 
 of Khusrau, and the mother of Shiruyah was daughter of Khakan the 
 Turkish chief and the grandmother of Firdz was the daughter of the 
 Eoman Emperor — for this reason Yazid says boastingly : 
 " I am the son of Khusrau, my ancestor was Marwan 
 Csesar was my grandsire and my grandsire was Khakan. " 
 At Tha'alabi says that he was the most noble in descent on both sides 
 as well in regard to the monarchy as the Caliphate, and when he had put 
 al Walid to death he stood up to preach and said, " now verily, by Allah, 
 I have not rebelled out -of insolence or ingratitude, nor seeking after worldly 
 advantage, nor aiming at sovereignty and verily I have been but an 
 oppressor unto my own soul if the Lord have not mercy upon me — but I 
 came forward out of zeal for God and His religion as a summoner to His 
 Book and the laws of his prophet, at a time when the banners of right 
 guidance were defaced, the light of piety extinguished and a tyrant appear- 
 ed making lawful, things that are forbidden and indulging in heretical 
 innovations.* And when I beheld that, I feared that a darkness had come 
 over ye which would not be removed for the multitude of your transgres- 
 sions and the hardness of your hearts, — and I feared lest he should seduce 
 many of the people to follow his course, and that they would consent, 
 wherefore I asked of the Lord a blessing upon my purpose, and I sum- 
 moned those of my family and under my authority who obeyed my call, and 
 the Lord freed the people and the cities from him by the jurisdiction that is 
 from God and there is no power or strength but from God. ye people ! 
 
 * He himself was a Mua'tazalite. See Masa'udi. 
 33 
 
[ 258 ] 
 
 A. H. 126. verily I promise ye, if I rule your afEairs, that I shall not lay a brick upon 
 A. D. 744. a brick, nor a stone upon a stone, nor carry away revenue from any city until 
 I have fortified its frontier and expended for its welfare what will sufiice to 
 make ye secure, and if any balance should remain, I will transfer it to the 
 city that is next to it, in order that the means of subsistence may be duly 
 provided for, and that you may all be on an equality therein. If therefore 
 ye desire to swear allegiance to me on the conditions I have proposed, I 
 am yours, and if I deviate ^o»8 my word, allegiance to me will not be bind- 
 ing upon ye. And if ye see any one more capable than I am for this autho- 
 rity, and ye desire to make a covenant with him then I will be the first to 
 swear him allegiance and ask pardon of God for myself and for ye."* 
 
 Othman-b-Abi'l A'atikah says that the first Caliph who came forth 
 armed on the two festivals was Yazld-b-u'l Walid : he came forth then 
 between two ranks of armed horsemen from the gate of the fort to the 
 place of prayer. 
 
 And on the authority of Abu Othman al Laythi, that Yazid said, " O 
 children of Umayyah, beware of singing, for it lessens shame, increases 
 concupiscence and destroys manliness and indeed it takes the place of wine 
 and doth that which intoxicating liquor effects, but if needs be that ye do it, 
 then restrain your women therefrom, for song is an incentive to in- 
 continence." 
 
 Ibn A'bdi'l Hakam narrates, " I have heard as Shafi'i say that when 
 Yazid assumed the government, he summoned the people to deny pre- 
 destination and seduced them to it and honoured the followers of Ghaylan. 
 Yazid did not long enjoy the Caliphate but died in the same year on the 
 7th of D'u'l Hijjah :t thus his Caliphate lasted not quite six months, he 
 being thirty-five years old, some say forty-six. It is said he died of the 
 plague." 
 
 IBRAHtM-B-U'L WALfD-B-A'BDI'L MALIK. 
 
 Ibrahim-b-u'l Walid-b-A'bdi'l Malik was acknowledged Caliph after 
 the death of his brother Yazid an Naki? who as some say made a testament 
 in his favor, while others assert that he did not. Burd-b-Sinan narrates, 
 " I was with Yazid-b-u'l Walid when he was on the point of death, and 
 KatanJ came to him and said, ' I am a messenger from those who are 
 
 • This disconree is translated ly Weil from Tabari and it is given by Ibn u'l 
 Atbir. Tbey differ slightly, but much less so from each other than either of them from 
 the text of as Suyliti. 
 
 t According to Weil the end of that month. 
 
 J Perhaps ^atan-b-Mudrik al ]K.iUbi governor of Ba^ah. 
 
[ 259 ] 
 
 behind thy gate asking of thee in the name of God's justice why thou hast A. H. 126. 
 appointed over their affairs thy brother Ibrahim.' But he grew wroth A. D. 744. 
 and said ' I appoint Ibrahim ?' — then he said to me '0 father of the 
 learned, whom dost thou think that I should appoint ?' I replied, ' I 
 shall not counsel thee regarding the conclusion of what I warned thee 
 against entering upon.' Then a faintness came over him so that I thought 
 that he was dead. Then Ka^an sat down and forged a testamentary docu- 
 ment as if from the dictation of Yazid and summoned some people and asked 
 them to bear witness to it — but no, by Allah, Yazid made no testament 
 at aU." 
 
 Ibrahim continued in the Caliphate seventy days* and was then 
 deposed, for Marwan-b-Muhammad set forth against him and received the 
 covenant of allegiance and Ibrahim fled. Afterwards he came and abdicat. 
 ed the government and resigned it to Marwan and voluntarily swore him. 
 allegiance and Ibrahim lived after that till the year 132 and he was killed 
 among those of the Banu Ummayyah who were slain in the massacre 
 perpetrated by as Saffah. • 
 
 It is related in the history of Ibn A'sakir that Ibrahim heard tradi- 
 tions from az Zuhri and narrated them on the authority of his paternal 
 uncle Hisham, and his son Yakiib recited them from him. His mother 
 was a slave concubine,t and he was the brother of Marwan u'l Himar by 
 l]is mother. His deposal took place on Monday the 14th of Safar in the 
 year 127 (23rd November 744). Al Madaini says that his authority was 
 never completely established, one party acknowledging him as Caliph and 
 another acknowledging his temporal government, and another refusing 
 altogether to swear him allegiance, and one of the poets of that time has 
 
 We swear Ibrahim J allegiance every Friday — 
 Verily a government must perish that hath thee for its ruler. 
 It has been said by some one that the impression on his signet ring 
 was, " Ibrahim relies upon God !" 
 
 * Lit. nights, but the word O^ is often used to signify a period of twenty-four 
 hours counted from the sunset of one day to the sunset of the next. 
 
 t TJmm-Walad, eiguiflea a slave who has home a child to her master." After 
 she has hecome a mother, she can no longer he sold, and is considered as married to 
 her master though no marriage ceremony may have been performed. 
 
 t For (^^[fi\ e'^ of the text, I read with Masa'udi, (^^^j>\ ^^. 
 
[ 260 1 
 
 A. H. 127. 
 
 A. D. 744. MAEWAN AL HIMAE. 
 
 Marwan the Ass, Abu A'bdu'l Malik-b-Muhammad-b-Marwan-bi'l 
 Hakam was the last of the Caliphs of the Band Umayyah. He was 
 surnamed al Jaa'di after his preceptor al Jaa'd-b'Dirham,* and the Ass, 
 because he was never weary of fighting those who rose up against him, 
 and he would mate march after march and was patient \inder the hard- 
 ships of war. It is a proverbial expression — " such a one is more patient 
 than an ass in war," and for that reason he was so named. Another reason 
 given is, that the Arabs name every hundred years an ass, and when the 
 rule of the Banu Umayyah was nigh upon a hundred years, they called. 
 Marwan the Ass, on that account. 
 
 Marwan was born in Mesopotamia of which his father was adminis- 
 trator in the year 72 and his mother was a slave concubine. Before his 
 Caliphate he had the government of several important prefectures and 
 took Iconium in the year 105. He ^was famed for his horsemanship, 
 intrepidity, manliness, sagacity and recklessness. When al Walid was 
 slain and the news reached him, he being in Armenia, he summoned 
 such of the Muslims as approved him, to do him allegiance, and they swore 
 fealty to him. As soon as he heard of the death of Yazid, he disbursed 
 sums of money and set out and fought Ibrahim and put him to flight. 
 Marwan was then acknowledged Caliph and that occurred in the middle o£ 
 Saf ar in the year 127 and his authority was firmly established. 
 
 The first thing he did was to command the exhuming of Yazid an 
 Nakis, and he took him out of his grave and crucified him for his murder 
 of al Walid. However he found little repose in the Caliphate on account 
 of the number of those that rose 'against him on every side up to the 
 year 132. Then the Banii A'bbas rebelled against him, and at their head 
 A'bdu'Uah-b-A'li, the paternal uncle of as SafEah. He set out to engage 
 them, and the two armies met near Mosul. Marwan was routed and he 
 returned to Syria, but A'bdu'Uah followed him and Marwan fled to Egypt. 
 Salih, the brother of A'bdu'Uah pursued him and they met at the village 
 of Blisirt and Marwdn was slain in Du'l Hijjah of the same year. (5th 
 August 750.) 
 
 * Ibn u'l Athir says that Jaa'd had the reputation of being an atheist, and he 
 indoctrinated Marwan with his own heresies, teaching the creation of the Kor&n and 
 the denial of predestination. 
 
 t Four several places all in Egypt — says Gibhon tore the name of Busir or 
 Busiria, so famous in Greek fable. The first where Marwan was slain to the west of 
 the Nile in the provinoe of Fium or Arsinoe, the second in the Delta, the third near 
 the Pyramids, the fourth, which was destroyed by Dioolotian, in the Thebuia. Chap. 
 XII, Decline and Fall, 
 
[ 261 ] 
 
 Of people of note who died during his reign were, as Suddi, the A. H. 132. 
 elder, Malik-b-Din4r, the ascetic, A'asim-b-Ahi'n Najiid, the Kuran reader, A. D. 750. 
 Yazid-b-A'bi Habib, Shaybah-b-Nisah the Kuran reader, Muhammad-b- 
 u'l Munkadir, Abu Jaa'far Tazid-b-i'l Ka'kaa' the KurSn reader of Medina, 
 Abu Aylib as Sikhtiyani, Abu'z Zinad, Hammam-b-Munabbih, and Wasil- 
 b-A'ta the Mua'tazalite. 
 
 As Siili records on the authority of Muhammad-b-Salih, that when 
 Marwan was slain, his head was cut off and sent to A'bdu'Uah-b-A'li, who 
 gazed upon it, and it was removed, when a cat came and tore out the 
 tongue and began to gnaw it ; whereupon A'bdu'Uah-b-A'li said, " if the 
 world had shown us none other of its wonders but the tongue of Marwan 
 in the mouth of a eat, it would have been sufficient for us." 
 
 AS SAFFA'H, 
 First Oaliph of the Souse of AHibaB. 
 
 As' Saffah, the first Caliph of the House of A'bbds, Abii'l A'bbas, 
 A'bdu'llah-b-Muhammad-b-A'li-b-A'bdi'llah-b-A'bbas-b-A'bdi'lMuttalib-b- 
 Hashim, was born in the year 108 (some say 104) at Humaymah in 
 the district of Balk;a, and there grew to manhood. He was acknowledged 
 Caliph at Kiifah. His mother was Eaitah of the tribe of Harith. He 
 related traditions on the authority of Ibrahim-b-Mu^iammad the Imam, 
 and his paternal uncle. Isa-b-A'li related them on his. He was younger 
 than his brother al Mangiir. , 
 
 Ahmad records in his Musnad on the authority of Abu Sa'id al Khudri 
 that the Apostle of God said, " there shall come forth from the people of 
 my house, after the lapse of time and the appearance of seditions, a man 
 called as Saffah, and it shall come to pass that his largesses of money shall 
 be by handfuls." 
 
 U'baydu'Uah al A'yshi narrates — " my father relates ' I heard the 
 Shaykhs saying — by Allah, verily the Caliphate hath come to the children 
 of A'bbas, and there is not upon the earth any more learned in the Kuran, 
 nor more distinguished for piety nor more devout than they.' " The origin 
 of the authority of the Banii A'bbas was that the Apostle of God told 
 his uncle A'bbas that the Caliphate would descend to his posterity, and his 
 descendants continued in expectation of it (Ibn Jarir at Tabari). The 
 latter relates from Eishdin-b-Kurayb, that Abu Hashim A'bdu'Uah-b- 
 Muhammad-b-i'l Hanafiyah went to Syria, and met Muhammad-b-A'li-b- 
 A'bdi'Uah-b-A'bbas and said, " cousin, verily I have information which 
 I wish to lay before thee, but be sure tell no one of it — ^verily this authority 
 
[ 262 ] 
 
 A. H. 132. which people hope for, shall be with you." The other replied, " verily 
 A. D. 750. I was aware of it, but let no one hear of it from thee." 
 
 Al Madaini* narrates on the authority of a number of people, that the 
 Imam Muhammad-b-A'li-b-A'bdi'llah-b-A'bbas said, "we have three op- 
 portunities — the death of Yazid-b-Mu'awiyah, the beginning of the century, 
 and the rupture in Africa. At that time the summoners shall summon 
 the people in our behalf, and our allies from the east shall come until their 
 horsemen shall reach the west." 
 
 And when Tazid-b-Abi Muslim was slain in Africa and the Berbers 
 were reduced, Muhammad the Imam sent a man to Khurasan and com- 
 manded him to invite the people to approve one of the posterity of Mu- 
 hammad and not to name any one. Then he despatched Abd Muslim al 
 Khurasani and others, and wrote to the principal men who received his 
 letters favourably, but it came to pass that Muhammad died, leaving the 
 succession to his son Ibrahim. On the news of this reaching Marwan, he 
 imprisoned Ibrahim and put him to death. Ibrahim had bequeathed the 
 succession to his brother A'bdu'Uah as Saffah and his followers gathered 
 about him and he was acknowledged as Caliph at Kufah on the 3rd Eabii' 
 u'l Awwal in the year 132. He read prayers to the people on the Friday 
 and said in his discourse, " praise be to God who hath chosen Islam for 
 Himself and hath honored it and exalted it and magnified it and hath chosen 
 it for us and strengthened it by us, and made us its people, its asylum and 
 its defence to maintain and protect it." Then he went on to mention the 
 kinship of the Banw A'bbds alluded to in the Kuran until he said, " and 
 when the Lord took to Himself His prophet, his companions stood up in 
 authority untU the Banu Harb and Marwan usurped it, and they were 
 tyrannous and appropriated every thing to themselves. And God bare 
 with them for a time until they angered Him, wherefore He took ven- 
 geance upon them by our hands, and restored unto us our right, that He 
 might be bountiful through us upon those who are outcastf throughout 
 the earth, and He. hath ended with us as He began with us and we of the 
 prophetical house have no grace but through God. ye people of Kiifah 
 ye are the seat of our regard and the abiding place of our affection — ^ye 
 have not been remiss in this, nor hath the rigour of the tyrannous turned 
 ye from it — for ye are the most favored people unto us and of those who 
 most honour us ; wherefore verily I have increased your largesses by a 
 
 * Atu'l Hasan A'li-b-Mulfammad al MadSini vraa a Mawla of the family of A'bd 
 Shams-b-A'bd Manaf. Ho was bom A. H. 135 (762-3) and died A. H. 225 (839-40). 
 He was a disciple of the Mua'tazalite doctor Ma'mar-b-u'l Ashath. He wrote upwards 
 of twenty works on Muljammad and many others biographical and historical ti-eatises, 
 De Slane I. K. 
 
 t Tor tyiM>^] read Ijij^AUf 
 
[ 263 ] 
 
 hundred dirhams each. Therefore he prepared, for I am the justifying A. H. 132. 
 shedder of blood and the destroying avenger."* A. D. 750. 
 
 fsa-b-A'lif when he mentioned their setting out from HumaymahJ 
 for Kiifah, used to say, " fourteen men departed from their homes, seeking 
 what we sought through the greatness of their resolution, the steadfast- 
 ness of their hearts." 
 
 When news of the allegiance sworn to as Saffah reached Marwdn, he 
 set forth to encounter him, but was defeated as hath gone before, and after- 
 wards slain. At the ceremony of allegiance sworn to as Saffah, a count- 
 less number§ of the Banu Ummayyah and their followers were put to death 
 and his dominions were firmly settled under his authority to the furthest 
 confines of the West. 
 
 Ad Daha'bi says that in his reign the unity of the State was dissolved 
 and all between Tahart and Tubnah as far as the Soudan fell from his 
 obedience, as well as the entire kingdom of Spain, and there come forth in 
 these provinces, those|| who took possession of them, and that so conti- 
 nued. 
 
 As Saffah died of small-pox in Du'l Hijjah in the year 136 (9th June 
 754) bequeathing the succession to his brother Abd Jaa'far. In the year 
 136 he removed to Anbar and made it the seat of government. 
 
 Eegarding accounts of as Saffah, S'lili relates among his sayings, 
 " As power becomes great, concupiscence grows less. It is rare that bounty 
 is given unasked but a just claim is destroyed thereby. Verily they are 
 the basest and meanest of men who account avarice prudence, and cle- 
 mency ignoble. When forbearance is mischievous, to pardon is weakness. 
 Patience is praiseworthy save in what prejudices the faith or renders 
 sovereignty contemptible, and moderation is commendable except at the 
 season of 'opportunity. As Sdli adds that as Saffah was the most generous 
 of men — he never made a promise and delayed its fulfilment at its 
 appointed time, nay he never rose from his seat without performing it. 
 
 * This discourse whicli is here consideratly shortened, is given in full by Ibn 
 n'l Athir. During its delivery as Saffah -was seized with an attack of fever and sat 
 down. His uncle Dauud-b-A'li rose and continued the oration which will be found 
 in tlie Kamil. 
 
 t The uncle of the Caliph al Mansur and of as Saffa^. 
 
 J The K£mil has erroneously **j!*^ 
 
 § Sulayman-b-A'li put to death a number of them at Baarah, and had their bodies 
 flung to the dogs. Abdu'llah-b-A'U, in Palestine massacred about ninety of them. 
 " The laws of hospitality were violated by a, promiscuous massacre, the board was 
 spread over their fallen bodies and the festivity of the guests was enlivened by the music 
 of their dying groans." The surprising accuracy of Gibbon can only be known to 
 those who consult his authorities. Though the KamU is not one of them, the above 
 passage is almost a Hteral' translation from it. 
 
 11 The Edrisites of Mauritania and the Fatimites of Africa and Egypt. 
 
[ 264 ] 
 
 A. H. 136. A'bdu'Uah-b-Hasan once said to him, " I have heard of a million 
 
 A. D. 754. dirhams but have never seen them," whereupon he ordered concerning 
 them and they were brought, and he commanded him to take them with 
 him to his house. 
 
 As Siili says that the impression on his signet-ring was, " God is the 
 reliance of A'bdu'Uah and on Him he confideth." Scarcely any poetry of 
 his has been handed down. 
 
 Sa'id-b- Muslim al Bahili narrates that A'bdu'llah-b-Hasan went in 
 unto as SafEah and the assembly was full of the Banii Hashim and their 
 followers and the chiefs of the people and with him he carried the Kuran 
 and he said, " prince of the Faithful, give us our right which God hath 
 vouchsafed unto us in this book." He replied, " verily thy great-grand- 
 father A'li, who was better than I am and more just, held this authority, 
 and he gave unto thy progenitors al Hasan and al Husayn somewhat, and 
 it would be but right did I give thee the same, and if I have done 
 that, verily I have given thee thy due, and if I have done more, then 
 this should not be my reward from thee." And A'bdu'Uah departed and 
 returned no answer, and the people were astonished, at the reply of as 
 SafEah. Historians say ^that under the House of A'bbas the unity of 
 Islam was dissolved, and the Arab name lapsed from the registers, and the 
 Turks were installed in public offices and the Daylamites came into power, 
 and afterwards the Turks, and a mighty empire belonged to them, and 
 the dominions of the earth were parcelled out and on every side was a 
 usurper, doing violence to the people and ruling them with tyranny. They 
 say that as Saffah was quick to shed blood and his prefects in the east and 
 west followed his example in that, but withal he was liberal with his 
 wealth. « 
 
 Of people of note who died in his reign were Zayd-b-Aslam, Abdu'- 
 Uah-b-Aslam, A'bdu'llah-b-Abi Bakr-b-Hazm, Eabii' ar Eai,* jui-isconsult 
 of Medina ; A'bdu'l Malik-b-U'mayr, Tahya-b-Abi Ishak al Hadbrami, 
 Abdu'l Hamid the wellknown scribe slain with Mai'wan at Bu§ir, Mansiir- 
 b-u'l Mu'atamtr, and Hammam-b-Munabbih.' 
 
 AL MANS'im. 
 
 Al Man§dr Abu Jaa'far, A'bdu'llah-b-Muhammad-b-A'li-b-A'bdi'Uah-b- 
 A'bbas (whose mother was Salamah a Berber slave concubine) was born in 
 the year 95 and had known his grandfather but had no traditions from 
 
 * Or the Eationalist, so called, because he drew many of his legal decisions from 
 the fourth source of Muljammadan law, which is entitled Hai (private judgment) or 
 Kiyas (analogy). This system was followed by the Hanafites who were called 
 Ashabu'r Eai, or Eationalists. See De Slane, I. K. notes to Uabii' u'r Eai. 
 
[ 265 ] 
 
 him. He narrated tbem on the authority of his father and A'ta-b-Tasdr ; A. H. 136. 
 and his son, al Mahdi, from Jiim. -A-. D. 754. 
 
 He was acknowledged Caliph according to the bequest of his brother 
 and was the foremost among the Band A'bbas in majesty of demeanour, 
 bravery, prudence, iudgment and haughtiness — a hoarder of wealth, averse 
 to pastime and frivolity, of cultivated mind, of excellent converse in science 
 and literature and with a natural taste for jurisprudence. 
 
 He put a multitude of people to death until his power was established, 
 and it was he who scourged Abji Hanifah on account of Ms refusal to 
 accept the office of Kddhi, and then put him in prison where he died after 
 some days. It is also said that he despatched him by poison because he 
 had passed a judicial sentence authorizing rebellion against him. He was 
 polished in language, eloquent and fluent, well fitted, for governing but 
 excessively avaricious. He was surnamed Abu'd Dawanik* on account of his 
 scrutiny of the accounts of intendants and artificers even to fractions of 
 dirhams and grains. 
 
 Al Khatib records on the authority of the prophet that he said, 
 *' from us shall arise as Saffdh and from us al Manslxr, and from us al Mahdi," 
 (ad Dahabi states this to be unacknowledged and its ascription interrupted). 
 He and Ibn A'sakir and others state on the ascription of Sa'id-b-Jubayr 
 that Ibn A'bbas said, " from us shall come as SafEah, from us al Mansdr 
 and from us al Mahdi." The ascription of this is pronounced by ad 
 Dahabi to be sound. Ibn A'sakir records from Abu Sa'id al Khudri that 
 he narrates, "I heard the apostle of God say, 'from us shill arise 
 al Kaim, from us al Man?ui', from us as Saffah and from us al Mahdi. As to 
 al Kaim, the Caliphate shall come to him, and during his reign not a 
 cupping-glass of blood shall be spilt, as to al Mansur, his standard shall 
 not be turned back : as to as Saffah, he will lavish treasure and blood and 
 with regard to al Mahdi, he shall fill the Caliphate with justice as it hath 
 been filled with tyranny.' " 
 
 And from al Mansur, that he said, " I beheld myself as it were in the 
 precincts of the temple and the Apostle of God was in the Kaa'bah the 
 door of which was open and a crier cried out, ' where is A'bdu'llah ?' and 
 piy brother Abu'l A'bbas arose and stood upon the step and was taken 
 within, and it was not long before he became forth with a spear upon 
 which was a black pennon measuring four cubits. Then there was cried 
 out, ' where is A'bdu'Uah ?' And I stood upon the step and was made to 
 ascend and lo ! there was the Apostle of God and Abu Bakr, Omar and 
 Bilal, and he invested me with authority and commended to me his people, 
 and put on my head a turban, the windings of which were twenty and 
 
 * A Danilj ia the sixth part of a dirham. 
 
[ 266 ] 
 
 A. H. 136. three and he said, 'take this unto thyself, father of |^the Caliphs, until 
 
 A. D. 754. the day of resurrection.' " 
 
 Al Man§ixr assumed the Caliphate in the beginning of the year 
 137. The first thing he did was to put to death Abu Muslim al Khura- 
 sani, the author of their Call and the founder of their dynasty. In the 
 year 138 A'bdu'r Eahman-b'Mu'awiyah-b-Hisham-b-A'bdi'l Malik-b- 
 Marwan the TJmayyad entered Spain and conquered it. His reign was 
 long and Spain continued in the hands of his descendants until after the 
 fourth century. This A'bd'r Bahman was a man of learning and justice. 
 His mother was a native of Barbary. 
 
 Abu MudhafEar al Abiwardi says that people used to say that the 
 two sons of two Berber women ruled the world — al Manslir and A'bdu'r 
 Eahmah-b- Mu'awiyah. 
 
 In the year 140 he laid the foundation of the city of Baghdad. In the 
 year 141 appeared the Bdwandiyah* sectaries the asserters of metemp- 
 sychosis and al Mansur put them to death. During the same, Tabaristaa 
 was conquered. 
 
 Ad Dahabi says that in the year 143 the doctors of Islam began at 
 this period to compose works on tradition, jurisprudence and the inter- 
 pretation of the Kuran. Thus Ibn Juraijf wrote at Mecca, Malik com- 
 posed the Muwatta at Medina, al Auzaa'i wrote in Syria, Ibn Abi 
 A'rubah,J Hammad-b-Salamah§ and others in Basrah, Ma'mar, in Taman,|| 
 Sufyan at Thauri in Klifah, Ibn Ishak drew up his Maghazi (wars of 
 Islam.) Abu Hanifah wrote treatises on law and the theory of private 
 judghaent. Very soon after Hushaym,^ al Layth, and Ibn Lahia'h com- 
 
 • 'Weil is in accordance with. Ibn u'l Athir wlio calls tiiem " Edwandiyah, a people 
 of Khurasan, followers of A'bu MuaUm and believing in metempsychosis." Masa'udi 
 calls the sect Khurramiyah — in one MS. (*j!'^;^)and in two others ^j^ and *il'^^ 
 YakAt places Efiwand between Kfahdn and Ispahan. The text *i*i>:!j is incorrect. 
 
 t Abu KhaJid A'bdu'l Malik of Mecca, by adoption a member of the Kuraysh. 
 It is said he was the first in Islam to compose books, died A. H. 149, (766). Ibn 
 Khali. For fi^ read ^>J- 
 
 I A traditionist of Basrah, died A. H. 166, (772-3.) De Slane I. K. 
 
 § Abu SulamaJi Hammad-b-Salamah, a traditionist of the highest order, descended 
 from an enfranchised slave of this Banu Tamim, died A. H. 167. Ibid. 
 
 II Ma'mar-b-Abi U'rwah Eashid a Mawla to the tribe of Azd, learned traditions 
 from az Zuhri a native of Basrah and settled in Taman, died A. H. 153. De Slane 
 I.K. 
 
 IT Abu Mua'wiyah, Hushaym the Traditionist was a, native of Basrah died 
 A. H. 183. De Slane in translating this passage of ad Dahabi (Introduction to Vol. 1,) 
 gives " Ibn Hishsim," for " Hushaym." Ibn Hishim's family was also of Basrah 
 though he was born at old Cairo. He is the author of the history of the Prophet drawn 
 from Ibn IshfiVs work and called Sirat Ibn Hish&ca. He died A. H. 218 I have not 
 the work of ad Dahabi to consult : the Nujum, of Abu'l Maljasin from which De Slauo 
 
[ 267 ] 
 
 posed their works. Then followed Ibn u'l Mubarak and Abu Yusuf and A. H. 143. 
 Ibn Wahab, at which period the collection of works of science and their A. D. 760. 
 classification increased greatly and, treatises on the Arabic language and 
 idiom were drawn up and also on history and the encounters of the desert 
 Arabs. Before this period, the learned used to discourse from memory or 
 lectured on science from manuscripts, accurate, but unsystematically 
 arranged." 
 
 In the year 145 occurred the rebellion of the brothers Muhammad 
 and Ibrahim, the two sons of A'bdu'llah-b-Hasan-b-i'l Hasan-b-A.'li-b-Abi 
 Talib, but al Manglir defeated and slew them and a large number of the 
 descendants of the prophetical House. Verily we belong to God and verily 
 unto Him shall we return. Al Man^dr was the first who occasioned 
 dissensions between the A'bbassides and the Aliites for before that they 
 were united. He persecuted many of the learned who had risen with them 
 or counselled rebellion, by puttbg them to death and scourging them and 
 in other ways — among them Abu Hanifah and A'bdu'l Hamid-b-Jaa'far, 
 and Ibn A'jlan. Among those who pronounced on the legality of rebel. 
 ling with Muhammad against al Manstir, was Malik-b-Anas. It was said 
 to him-^" upon our necks is the oath of allegiance to al Mansdr !" He 
 replied — " ye swore allegiance under compulsion and an oath is not binding 
 upon one who is forced." 
 
 In the year 146 occurred the expedition against Cyprus. In the 
 year 147 al Man§ur removed his paternal uncle I'sa-b-Musa' from the 
 succession to which as SafEah had appointed him after al Mansdr. Isa 
 was he who fought for him against the two brothers and defeated them 
 and he rewarded him by setting him aside against his will and nominating 
 his own son al Mahdi. 
 
 In the year 148 the whole empire was firmly established under the 
 authority of al Mansdr, and awe of him waxed great in the minds of 
 men. The provinces submitted to him and Spain alone was excluded from 
 his sway, for A'bdu'r Rahman-b-Mu'awiyah, the Umayyad, of the house of 
 Marwan, had taken possession of it, but he was not called prince of the 
 Faithful but " the prince" only and in the same way, his posterity. 
 
 cites, has " Hisham" without any p^e&x. DeSlane is incorrect in his translation of 
 tJiB word t^lr ' in his Introduction!, (p. xxiv) as will he seen on a reference to the 
 original in Abul Mahasin where the name Eahii' does not occur. Moreover after the 
 words islr^ in the Nujum follows **yJy Now Eabii' was jurisconsult of Medina 
 and Ibn Khali mentions nothing of his ever having been at Kufah whereas it was 
 Abu Hanifah' 3 native town/ For the biographies of those authors not mentioned in 
 the notes, consjdt Ib n £!■ i. 
 
 / 
 / 
 
[ 268 ] 
 
 A- H. 145. In the year 149 al Man^ur completed the building of Baghdad. In 
 
 A, D. 762. the year 150, the Khurasan troops under their leader Usfcad Sis* revolted 
 from his authority and seized the grea^ part of Khurasan, and calamities 
 increased and evils waxed great and affairs grew serious with al Man§ur, 
 for the strength of the army of Khurasan amounted to 3,00,000 warriors 
 horse and foot. Ajthamf al Marwazi engaged them in battle but he 
 was slain and his army destroyed. Then al Manslir despatched Khazim- J 
 b-Khuzaymah to attack them at the head of a prodigious force that 
 obstructed the plains, and the two armies met and fought obstinately. 
 It was a famous battle. It is said that seventy thousand men were slaia 
 in it and Ustad Sis was routed and he fled to the mountains. The general, 
 Khazim, gave orders in the following year regarding the prisoners, and 
 their heads were struck off and they were in number 14000. Then they 
 besieged Ustad Sis for some time, until he surrendered. They kept him 
 in confinement and dismissed his troops who numbered 30,000, 
 
 In the year 151 al Manstir built ar Rusafah {^of KufaK) and made it 
 a strong and lofty construction. 
 
 In the year 153, al Mansur compelled his subjects to wear tall caps— 
 they used to make them of reed and paper, and cover them with black. 
 Abd Dulamah§, says — 
 
 We desired an increase from the Imam 
 And the chosen Imam gave us an increase to our caps. 
 Thou mayest behold them on the heads of men as if 
 They were wine jars of the Jews covered with the bumlis. 
 In the year 158 al Manslir commanded the governor of Medina to 
 imprison Sufyan at Thauri and A'bbad-b-Kathir and they were put into 
 confinement, and the people feared that al Mangur would put them to 
 death when he came from the pilgrimage, but the Lord did not suffer him 
 to reach Mecca in health, for he arrived ill and died, and the Lord was 
 sufficient for them against his wicked purpose. His death occurred at 
 Batnll in Du'l Hijjah (6th) (7th October 775) and he was buried between 
 al Hajin and Bir Maymun. Salm^ al Khdsir says, 
 
 * So Ibn u'l Atliir and Weil. The text gives (jHS** ol*«l which is incorrect, 
 t Ibn u'l Athir has " Ajsham" /,ma.\ 
 
 X For (•j''^ read ^j^ 
 
 § Abd Dultoah was an Abyssinian slave celebrated for his wit, his amusing 
 adventures and his talekt for poetay. He died A. H. 161 (778-9). His real name was 
 Zand. Some amusing stories regarding him, may be found in Ibn KhaUikdn. 
 
 II Batn Mutt or Marr, five miles from Mecca. This name is not mentioned by 
 "Weil or Ibn Athir : Masa'udi says that death overtook him at the Bustan of the Banu 
 A' Amir on the Irdk road. Al IJaj-dn fe a hill overlooking Mecca. 
 
 II A native of Basrah, a poet notorious for his profligati. Ufe, He lived at Bagh.< 
 
[ 269 ] 
 
 The pilgrims returned and left the son of Muhammad A. H. 158. 
 
 As a pledge at Mecca in the niched tomb. A. D. 775. 
 
 They witnessed the entire ceremonies while their Imam 
 
 Beneath the broad stone, purposing, to perform the pilgrimage, 
 witnessed them not. 
 Eegarding accounts of al Manstir, Ibn A'sAkir records with its ascrip- 
 tions, that Abu Jaa'far al Mansur used to travel for the purpose of acquir- 
 ing knowledge, before his Caliphate. Once when he was about to enter 
 a place of resort, the guardian seized him and said, " pay down two dirhams 
 before thou enterest." He replied, " loose me for for I am one of the 
 Banii Hashim." The man said, " pay down two dirhams." He replied 
 " loose me, for I am one of the descendants of the uncle of the prophet." 
 The man went- on, "pay down two dirhams." He replied, "loose me 
 for I am a man versed in the book of God." The man repeated " pay 
 down two dirhams." He exclaimed " loose me for I am a man 
 skilled in jurisprudence and the law of inheritance." He replied " pay 
 down two dirhams." When at length the man's insistance wearied 
 him, he paid the two dirhams and returned and set himself to amassing 
 money and to scrupulous niggardliness therein, until he received the 
 nickname of Abii'd Dawanik. And on the authority of Eabii'-b-Yunas 
 the chamberlain, who narrates, " I heard al Mansur say, ' the Caliphs 
 are four, Abu Bakr, Omar, Othman and A'li, and the kings are four, 
 Mua'wiyah, A'bdu'l Malik, Hisham and I." And from Malik-b-Anas, 
 " I went in unto al Mansur and he said, ' who are the most excellent of 
 men after the apostle of God !' I replied, ' Abu Bakr and Omar.' He 
 said, ' thou hast hit it — and such is the opinion of the prince of the Faith- 
 ful.' " And from Isma'il al Fihri, " I heard al Mansiir on the day of A'rafah, 
 saying in his discourse from the pulpit at A'rafah, ' ye people ! verily 
 I am the Lord's ruler upon His earth and I govern ye through His grace 
 and guidance and I am His treasurer over His tribute which I divide 
 according to His pleasure and bestow with His permission. And verily 
 the Lord hath made me as a lock upon it : when He willeth to open me, 
 he openeth me that I may give unto ye, and when it pleaseth Him to fasten 
 me. He fasteneth me. Wherefore turn ye to the Lord, O ye people! and 
 ask of Him on this glorious day in which he hath given unto ye of His 
 grace, as he hath made known to ye in His Book when he saith, " this 
 day I have perfected your religion for ye and have completed my mercy upon 
 
 dad and received his epithet (the loser) because he sold a copy of the Kurau to huy a, 
 book of poetry or else because he squandered his patrimony. He died about 186 
 A, H. De Slaue I. E. 
 
C 270 1 
 
 A. H. 158. ye, and I have chosen for ye Islam to be your religion" (Kvir. V)*, that He 
 A. D. 775. may vouchsafe unto me justness of conduct, and guide m? to rectitude and 
 inspire me with clemency unto ye and kindness towards ye, aiid open me 
 to be bountiful unto ye, and the distribution of your allowances in equity, 
 for he hearkeneth and granteth.' " As Suli records this and mentions 
 further at the beginning of it, that the reason of this discourse was that the 
 people esteemed him niggardly, and he adds at the end, " and people said 
 ■*the prince of the Faithful transfers to his God the responsibility of 
 •withholding his hovmty^ " And he records on the authority of al Asma'i 
 and others that al Mansdr ascended the pulpit and said, " praise be unto 
 God : I glorify Him and implore His aid, and I believe in Him and put 
 iny trust in Him and I testify that that there is no god but one God who 
 hath no equal." Then there arose before him a man who said, " O prince 
 of the Faithful, be thou mindful of Him whom thou art praising." He 
 answered, " welcome, welcome, verily thou hast admonished me by One that 
 is great and put me in fear of One that is mighty — God forbid, that I should 
 be as one who when it is said to him, ' fear God,' his pride takes it as an 
 offence, but the exhortation began with me and proceeded from me ; and 
 thou ! thou speaker, I swear by Allah, it was not God thou thoughtest of, 
 but thou soughtest that it should be said — he arose and spake and was 
 punished but bore it patiently. But the thing is not worthy of notice 
 from such a speaker, and take this as a favourable opportunity from 
 God.t Have a care. Verily I have pardoned it. Beware, ye men, of 
 the like of it ; — and I testify that Muhammad is His servant and His 
 apostle." He then returned to his discourse asflitently as though he were 
 reading it from paper. 
 
 He also records with various ascriptions that al Mansdr said to his 
 eon al Mahdi— " O Abd A'bdu'llah, nothing maketh a Caliph virtuous but 
 piety, nor well disposeth a monarch but obedience, nor reformeth a people 
 but justice ; and thf best of men to pardon is he who is the most powerful 
 of them to chastise, and the feeblest of men in intellect is he who op- 
 presseth him that is beneath him. Do not proceed with an aSair until 
 thou hast reflected upon it, for the meditation of a wise man is a mirror 
 which showeth him his faults aud his merits. son, seek the continuance 
 of bounty by gratitude, and of power by pardon, and of obedience by con- 
 ciliating affection, and of victory by humility and forgiveness of men." And 
 from Mubdrak-b-Fudhdlah that he said, " we were with al Mansiir when 
 he summoned a man and sent for a sword, and Mubarak said, ' prince 
 
 * This passage it is said wa3 revealed on Friday evening, being the day of the 
 pilgrims visiting aoimt A'rafat the last time Muljammad repaired to the temple of 
 Mecca, therefore cUed the pilgrimage of Valediction. Sale, p. 81. 
 
 t The KdmU has «!»>** il l«*^l. 
 
[ 271 1 
 
 of the Faithful, I heard al Hasan declare that the Apostle of God said, A. H. 158, 
 " when the day of resurrection cometh, a crier of the Lord's shall rise A. D. 775. 
 and shall cry out — arise those whose reward is with God, and none shall 
 stand up but he who hath pardoned." And al Man§ur said — let him go 
 his way.' " 
 
 And from al Asma'i, that a man was taken to al Man§iir whom he 
 ■was about to punish, but the man said, " prince of the Faithful, ven- 
 geance is but justice, but forgiveness would be super-eminent virtue and 
 may God preserve the prince of the Faithful from choosing for himself the 
 less noble of two courses without being able to attain to the higher 
 degree ;" and he pardoned him. And from the same, that alMansiir met a 
 desert Arab in Syria and said to him, " praise God, O Arab, who hath taken 
 from ye the plague under the government of us of the prophetical house ;" 
 He replied, " verily God hath not overwhelmed us with both bad dates and 
 bad measure, your government and the plague." 
 
 And from Muhammad-b-Mansiir al Baghdadi, that a certain devotee* 
 stood up before al Mansiir and said, " verily the Lord hath given unto 
 thee the whole earth, redeem then thy soul, with a portion of it. 
 Remember the night which thou shalt pass in the grave, — a night 
 thou hast never before so passed, and remember the night which shall 
 bring forth the day that hath no night after it." And al Manglir was 
 silenced and commanded money to be given to him, but he said, " if I 
 needed thy money, I should not have admonished thee." And from 
 A'bdu's Salam-b-Harb, that al Mansiir sent for A'mr-b-U'bayd who came 
 to him, and he commanded money to be given to him but he refused to 
 accept it, and al Mansiir said, " by AUah, thou shalt accept it." He re- 
 plied, " by Allah, I will not accept it." Al Mahdi who was present said 
 to him, " verily the prince of the Faithful hath taken his oath." He 
 replied, " the prince of the Faithful is more able to pay the expiation of 
 broken oaths than is thy uncle."*!- Al Mansiir said to Him, " ask for what 
 
 • This was A'mr-b-TJbayd whose mention follows in the next anecdote. Both of 
 ihem are related in his life in Ibn Khallikan. He was a celebrated ascetic and 
 Bcholastio theologian ; his devotion was proverbial though his orthodoxy is disputed 
 ly nearly all but his own sect of the Mu'atazalites of which he was the chief. He was 
 liom A. H. 80 (699) and died A. H. 144 (761-2). Al Mansur composed an elegy on 
 his death tod praised bim as an orthodox believer and saint. 
 
 t In Ibn Khallikan, he addresses al IMahdi, as " son of my brother" and therefore 
 calls himself his uncle, not of course meaning that there existed the remotest relation- 
 ship, for A'mr's father acted as lieutenant to the successive chiefs of police at Ba?rah 
 and had been one of the prisoners taken at Kabul. The expiation for breaking an 
 oath consists in granting freedom to a slave or in once feeding and clothing ten 
 paupers — if this cannot be done, a fast for three days is obligatory. De Slaue, I. K. 
 Vol. I, p. 53. 
 
[ 272 ] 
 
 A. H. 158. thou needest." He replied, " I ask thee not to send for me until I go to 
 A. D. 775. thee, and not to give unto me until I ask of thee." He said, " dost thod 
 know I have made this al Mahdi my heir ?" He replied, " the supreme 
 power will come to him the day it comes to him, and thou wilt be other- 
 vrise employed than in providing for it." And from A'bdu'Uah.b-Salih 
 that al Man^tir wrote to Sawwar Kadhi of Basrah, saying, " look to the 
 piece of land regarding which a certain officer and a certain merchant 
 have disputed and give it to the officer ;" and Sawwar wrote, " verily it 
 was proved to me that it belonged to the merchant, and I cannot withdraw 
 it from his possession except on clear evidence." Then al Mansur wrote, 
 " by Allah, save whom there is no God, thou shalt give it to the officer ;" 
 Sawwdr replied to him, " by Allah, save whom there is no God, I shall 
 not withdraw it from the possession of the merchant except lawfully." 
 When this letter reached al Manstir, he exclaimed, " thou hast filled thy 
 office with justice and my judges are now turning me to justice." And 
 from another source that Sawwar was denounced to al Mansur who summon- 
 ed him, and al Mangur happened to sneeze and Sawwar did not bless him, 
 and al Man§lir said, " what prevented thee from saying a blessing ?" He 
 replied, " because thou didst not praise God."* Al Mansur said, " indeed 
 I praised God to myself," and he answered " I prayed for a blessing on 
 thee to myself." The Caliph exclaimed, " go back to my office, for verily 
 if thou payest no regard to me, thou wilt pay none to any other." 
 
 And from Numayr al Madani who narrates, " al Man§iir arrived at 
 Medina, and Muhammad-b-Imran at Talhai was holding judgment as 
 Kadhi and I was his scribe. And certain camel-owners sought justice 
 against al Mansdr in some affair, and Muhammad ordered me to write to 
 him to appear, and to do them justice ; but I asked to be excused, but he 
 would not excuse me, wherefore I wrote the summons and sealed it." He 
 said — " by Allah, no one shall go with it but thyself." Wherefore I car- 
 ried it to ar Eabii%rho went in imto al Mansur. Shortly after he came 
 forth and said to the people, " verily the prince of the Faithful saith to 
 ye — " I have been summoned to the judgment-seat, but let no one go up 
 with me." Then he and ar Eabii' went, but the Kadhi did not rise be- 
 fore him, nay, he loosed his mantle and wrapped it round his legs and back, 
 and then summoned the plaintiffs. They made their plaint and he decided 
 in their favour against the Caliph ; and when he had finished, al Mansur 
 said to him, " may God reward thee for thy judgment, with the best of 
 rewards — verily I have commanded to be given to thee, ten thousand 
 dinars." 
 
 * The prayer for the sneezer (-which is, may God avert from thee what may mako 
 thy enemy rejoice at thy affliction) is uttered, when he has, in odedience to an 
 injunction of tho prophet said *^ <W^I praise be to God. Lane, art. 
 
[ a73 ] 
 
 And from Muhainmad-b-Haf? al I'jli, that a son was born to A'bii A- H. 158. 
 l)uldmah, who went early in the morning to al Mansur and informed him A- D. 775. 
 and recited — 
 
 " If there sat above the sun, on account of their liberality 
 A people, it would be said — sit ye children of A'bbas. 
 And ascend upon the rays of the sun, all of ye 
 Unto heayen, for ye are the most bountiful of men. 
 
 Then Abu Dulamah drew out a purse and al Manst5r said, " what 
 is that ?" He replied, " I mean to put into it what thou orderest for me." 
 He said, " fill it for him with dirhams," and it held a thousand dirharas. 
 And from Muhammad-b-Sallam al Jimhi, that it was said to al Mansur, 
 " is there any yet left of the pleasures of the world that thou hast not en- 
 joyed ?" He replied, " one thing is still Wanting-^that I should sit upon 
 a bench, and round me the traditionists, the disciple writing from dictation, 
 saying, 'whom didst thou mention* may the Lord have mercy on thee ?' " 
 The next morning the courtiers and the sons of the ministers came with 
 their ink-horns and tablets, but al Mansiir said, "ye are not they — for 
 .they are of soiled garments, weary of foot, long of hair, the couriers of the 
 earth, the transmitters of tradition." And from A'bdu's 8amad-b-A'li, 
 :that he said to al Manslr, " verily thou hast applied punishment as if 
 thouhadst never heard of pardon." He answered, "because the Banli Mar- 
 wan, their bones have not yet decayed and the swords of the descendants 
 of Abu Talib have not been sheathed, and we are among a people who saw 
 us subjects yesterday and Caliphs to-day, and the fear of us will not take 
 possession of their hearts save by ignoring pardon and the adoption of 
 chastisement." And from Yunas-b-Habib that Ziyad-b-A'bdi'Uah al 
 Harithi wrote to al Mansur, petitioning for an increase to his allowances 
 and stipends, and employed all his eloquence in the composition of his letter 
 but al Mansur noted on the case, saying, "verily wealth and eloquence 
 when combined in one individual, make him vain-glorious, and the prince 
 of the Faithful hath compassion on thee on that account ; therefore be 
 content with eloquence." And from Muhammad-.b-SaUam, that a slave 
 girl saw al Mansur with a patched tunic, and she exclaimed — " the Caliph 
 with a patched tunic !" He replied, " fie on thee, hast thou not heard the 
 words of Ibn Harmah rf 
 
 * That is, of course, asking for the names of the authorities whom the tradition- 
 ist mentions in the asoriptioua of any tradition. 
 
 t Abu Isha^ Ibrahim-b-A'li-b-Maslamah-b-A'amir-b-Harmah died A. H. 176. 
 Al Asma'i says of him that he was the last of the poets, and his life has been written 
 by as Suli (probably not now extant). This is the only information regarding him 
 furnished by De Slane in his life of as Suli, I. K. 
 
 35 
 
[ 274 ] 
 
 A. H. 158. Verily a youth may attain honor though his mantle 
 
 A. D. 775. Be thread-hare, and the collar of his tunic, patched." 
 
 Al A'skari says in the Awdil that al Mansdr among the sons of Ahhas, 
 ■was like A'bdu'l Malik among the Banu Umayyah, in niggardliness. One 
 of the people saw upon him a patched tunic, and said, " great is He who hath 
 tried Ahd Jaa'far with poverty in his own kingdom." 
 
 Salm the camel-driver once drove al Manslir's camel, singing to it, 
 and al Manslir was so excited with delight, that he nearly fell from the 
 animal, and he rewarded him with half a dirham. The man said, " I drove 
 Hisham and he rewarded me with ten thousand." The Caliph replied, "He 
 had no right to give thee that from the public treasury. O Kabii',* ap- 
 point some once to take it from him ;" and they did not finish with him 
 until al Manstir made him drive the camel, going and coming for nothing. 
 
 In the Awail of al A'skari it is stated that Ihn Harmah was much 
 addicted to wine, and he went into al Man?iir, and versified, saying, 
 " His glances from both sides of his throne 
 When he launches them, contain punishment or favour. 
 On the one hand he to whom thou gxaxi^Sii protection, thou protectesb 
 
 from destructionjf 
 On the other, he whom thou wishest to be bereft of a child, he is 
 
 bereft. 
 And al Manslir was pleased with him and said, " what is thy need ?" 
 He replied, " write to thy prefect at Medina not to punish me, if he finds 
 me drunk." Al Man^dr answered, " I will not abate a single restrictive 
 ordinance of the ordinances of God." He said " contrive some expedient 
 for me." And al Manslir wrote to his prefect, saying, " whoever bringeth 
 before thee Ibn Harmah drunk, scourge him with a hundred stripes and 
 scourge Ibn Harmah with eighty." "Wherefore when the watch nsed to 
 pass by Ibn Harmah when he was drunk, he would exclaim, " who will 
 buy a hundred for eighty," and then leave him and pass on. Al Mangur 
 gave him on this occasion ten thousand dirhams and said to him, " take care 
 of them, O Ibrahim, for there is nothing for thee like it again with me." 
 He replied, " verily I will meet thee on the bridge of as Sirat with it, 
 with the seal of the court treasurer."} 
 
 • Abu'l Tadhl Rabii'-b-Yimas was cham'beTlaui to al Man?tir, and later, on 
 the deposition, of Abu Ayub, al !Muri£iii, became his vizier, and continued in the service 
 of al Mahdi in the same capacity. The Caliph treated him -with signal favor. He 
 died in A. H. 170 (786) in the reign al H£di, poisoned according to some, by that Galiph. 
 Ibn Khali. 
 
 t This line is faulty : in the text the word Xam| as it stands has no meaning and will 
 
 not scan— I suggest and adopt the following emendation, cffiir ' *J^I c*i*T (j^\ *l» 
 % The word '^'H'^ is used by Masa'&di in this sense, in his life of al Mahdi. 
 
[ a75 ] 
 
 Among the lines of al Mansdr, and they are few, is the following — A. H. 158. 
 
 When thou hast formed an opinion he steadfast in it, ^' ■'-'■ "'^• 
 
 For verily it is an iH-judgment that is vacillating. 
 
 Nor grant thy enemies respite in power for a single day 
 
 But be beforehand with them, lest they obtain the same to-morrow. 
 
 Abdu'r Eahman-b-Ziyad-b-Anu'm al Ifriki narrates, " I was pursuing 
 my studies with Abti Jaa'far al Manslir before his Caliphate, when he took 
 me into his house and placed some food before me, wherewith there was 
 no flesh-meat. Then he called out, ' girl ! hast thou any sweetmeats ?' 
 She said, 'no.' 'Nor any dates?' 'No.' Then he laid himself down 
 and read ' peradventure your Lord will destroy your enemy,' &c. (Kur. 
 VII.) And when he succeeded to the Caliphate, I visited him, and he 
 said, ' how is my government compared with that of the Banu Umyyah ?' 
 I replied, 'I see no oppression under their rule, but I find it also 
 under thine.' He exclaimed, ' we have no helpers.' I answered, ' Omar-b- 
 A'bdi'l A'ziz said that a monarch is like a market that attracts to 
 itself what will sell freely in it : if he be virtuous, they bring him the 
 virtuous among them ; if he be wicked, they bring him the wicked among 
 them,' whereupon al Mansur lowered his eyes." 
 
 Among the sayings of al Mansur are,* " kings can tolerate every 
 thing but three practises — revealing a secret, an outrage on his harem, or 
 a blow aimed at his power. When thy enemy stretches out his hand to 
 thee, cut it ofE if thou art able, otherwise kiss it." The ascriptions of these 
 are given by as Suli who also records on the authority of Ya'kiib-b-Jaa'far 
 as one of the instances related of the quick apprehension of al Manslxr,t 
 that he entered Medina and said to ar Eabii', " find me a man who will 
 point out to me the chief rasmsions of the people." And a man came to 
 him and began to inform him about the houses, save that he never began 
 to speak until al Manslir questioned him. And when he left him he 
 ordered him a thousand dirhams. The man asked ar Eabii' for it, but 
 he replied, " he said nothing to me about it, but he will soon ride round 
 again when you can remind him." Al Mansdr continued his ride a second 
 time, and the man began to give him information regarding the homes, 
 but found no opportunity of speaking on the subject of his reward. At 
 length when the Caliph desired to leave him, the man said, beginning of his 
 
 Speaking of Sharik, he says, *i«?^l iJ^ ^^jjk ^ V"^ translated by M.de Meynard, 
 " le Khalife lui ayant donnfi un bon sur le payeur de la cour." 
 
 * This is told by Masaudi of al Mamun. 
 
 t This story will be found in Ibn Khallikan's life of ai Eabxi'-b-Yunas. 
 
( 276 ] 
 
 A. H. 158. own accord, " and this, O prince of the Faithful, is the house of A'atikah 
 A. D. 775. of whom al Ahwas* says 
 
 " O dwelling of A'atikah which I avoid 
 
 Through dread of foes, upon thee my heart is fixed." 
 Al Maristir was displeased at his beginning to speak unasked, but he 
 went over the poem in his mind, and behold there was in it, 
 
 " I see that thou performest what thou dost promise 
 But there are some insincere of speech who' promise what they 
 never perform." 
 Al Mansdr laughed and said — " confound thee ! Eabii' give him a thou- 
 sand dirhams." 
 
 As Siili records on an ascription from Ishak of Mosul that al Manslir 
 never joined his courtiers in convivial drinking bouts or musical entertain- 
 ments, but when he sat, a curtain was between him and them, a distance 
 of twenty cubits being between it and them and he the same distance from 
 it. The first of the Banu A'bbas who mixed with his courtiers, was al 
 Mahdi. And from Yaklit-b-Jaa'far, that al Mansur said to Kutham-b-u'l 
 A'bbas-b-A'bdi'Uah-b-i'l A'bbas, who was his prefect over Yamamah and 
 Bahrayn, " what is the meaning of Kutham and whence is it derived ?" 
 He replied, " I do not know." Al Manslir exclaimed, " thy name a 
 Hashimite name, and thou not understand it ! by Allah, thou art ignorant." 
 He replied, " will the prince of the Faithful deign to enlighten me re- 
 garding it ?" Al Manslir said, " the Kathim is he who broacheth a cask 
 of wine after eating and " yekthimu al ashiya" means, he takes the things 
 and breaks them." 
 
 It is related that a fly was worrying al Mansur, whereupon he sent 
 for Mukatil-b-Sulaymanf and asked him why God had created flies ? He 
 replied, " to humble the mighty by their means." Muhammad-b-A'li al 
 Khur^sani says that al Manslir was the first Caliph who admitted astro- 
 logers into his society, and acted according to the dictates of the stars, and 
 the fii'st Caliph for whom Syrian and Persian books were translated into 
 Arabic, such as the apologue of Kalilah and Damnah,J and Euclid. He 
 
 • A'tdu'Ilah-b-Muhammad al An?ari, sumamed al Ahwas (and not al Akhwa§ 
 as the text and all the MSS. of Ibh Khali except the autograph have it) was a 
 descendant of one of the An?Ara. He cultivated poetry and such was the virulence of 
 his satires that Omar-h-A'hdi'l A'ziz banished him to the island of Dahlak in the Red 
 Sea. Omar's successor recalled him, and he died A. H. 179 (796-6.). De Slane, I. K. 
 Vol. I, p. 586. 
 
 t Ahu'l IJasan MuHtil-h-Sulayman-b-Bashir; he was distinguished as an 
 eminent commentator on the IJuran. As a traditionist his authority is disputed, and 
 the general opinion is unfavorable to his veracity. He died at Basrah, A. H. 150 
 (767-8. Ibn Khali. 
 
 % Translated by A'bdu'llah Ibn u'l Mutaffa' the Katib renowned for the elegance 
 
I 277 ] 
 
 was the first who appointed his freedmen to offices and preferred them A. H. 158. 
 before Arabs, and this custom became frequent after his time, until the A. D. 775, 
 Arab sway and preeminence declined. He was also the first who sowed 
 dissensions between the Banu A'bbas and the descendants of A'li for before 
 that they were united in interest. 
 
 Traditions from the narration of al Matisur. 
 
 As Suli says that al Man^iir was the most learned of men in traditions 
 and genealogy, famous for his research. Ibn A'sakir in his history of 
 Damascus gives the ascription of a tradition told by al Mangur from 
 Ibn A'bbds, that the prophet wore his signet ring on his right hand. And 
 as Siili mentions an ascription through al Manslir from Ibn A'bbas that 
 the Apostle of God said, " the people of my house are like unto the ark 
 of Noah ; who saileth in it is saved, who remaineth behind perisheth." 
 And through al Mangdr from the father of Ibn A'bbas that the apostle of 
 God said, " when I appoint a governor and fix for him his stipend, whatever 
 else he may acquire over and above, is unlawful plunder." And from the 
 father of Yahya-b-Hamzah al Hadhrami that he narrates, " al Mahdi 
 appointed me to the office of Kadhi and said, " be fearless in thy judgments 
 for my father told me on the authority of al A'bbas that the Apostle of God 
 said, " the Lord saith — by my majesty and glory, I will take revenge upon 
 the oppressor in his present life and in his life to come, and I will take 
 vengeance upon him who seeth one oppressed, being able to succour 
 him and yet doth it not.' " And through al Mansiir from Ibn A'bbas 
 that the prophet said, " every connection and every affinity shall be sunder- 
 ed at the day of resurrection, save connection with me and affinity to me. 
 And from the same that he said, " I heard A'li-b-Abi Talib say, ' journey 
 not in the last three nights of the lunar month nor when the sun is in 
 Scorpio.' " 
 
 Of people of note who died in the reign of al Mansdr were Ibn u'l 
 Mukaffa', Suhayl-b-Abi Salih, al A'la-b-A'bdi'r Eahman, Khalid-b-Yazid 
 al Misri the jurisconsult, Dauiid-b-Abi Hind, Abu Hazim Salimah-b-Dinar 
 al Aa'raj (the lame), A'ta-b-Abi Muslim al Khurasani, Yunus-b-U'bayd, 
 Sulayman al Ahwal (the one-eyed), Musa-b-U'kbah, author of the Maghazi, 
 A'mr-b-Ubayd al Mu'atazali, Yahya-b-Sai'd al Ansari, al Kalbi, Ibn Ishak 
 Jaa'far-b-Muhammad as Sadik, al Aa'mash, Shibl-b-A'bbad the ICuran 
 
 of his style. He was a Persian by birth, and a Magian but made the- profession of 
 Islam : his orthodoxy however was always suspected. He was put to death under al 
 Mansur's orders. 
 
[ a78 ] 
 
 A. H. 15^. reader* of Mecca, Muhammad-b-A'jldn, al Madani the jurisconsult, Muham- 
 A. D. 775. mad-b-Abdi'r Eahman-b-Abi Layla, Ibn Juraij, Abu Hanifah, Hajjaj-b- 
 Art^t, Hammad ar Eawiyah, Edbah the poet, al Jariri, Sulayman at Tamimi, 
 A'asim al Ahwal, Ibn Shirmah ad Dhabbi, Mukatil-b-Hayyan, Mukatil-b- 
 Sulayman, Hisham-b-TJ'rwah, Abu A'mr-b-i'l A'li,, Asha'b at Tammaa', 
 the avaricious, Hamzah-b-Habib az Zayyat, al Auzaa'i' and others. 
 
 AL MAHDI. 
 
 Al Mahdi Abu Abdu'llah Muhammad-b-i'l Mansdr was born at Aidajt 
 in the year 127 or as some say 126. His mother was Umm Musa, daughter 
 of al Mansdr a descendant of the Himyarite J princes. He was munificent, 
 much extolled, of handsome countenance, beloved by his subjects and o£ 
 orthodox belief. He persecuted the Ziadiks§ and destroyed a considerable 
 number of them. He was the first who commanded the writing of pole- 
 mical works in refutation of the Zindiks and the heretics. He related 
 traditions on the authority of his father and Mubarak-b-Fudhalah ; and 
 Tahya-b-Hamzah, and Jaa'far-b-Sulayman al Dhaba'i, and Muhammad-b- 
 A'bdi'Uah ar Eakashi, and Abu Sufyan Sa'i'd-b-Tahya the Himayarite, 
 have narrated them from him. " I have never known it said," observes ad 
 Pahabi, " that there was any invalidation or correction of his testimony." 
 Ibn A'di records from a tradition of Othman ascribed to the prophet, " al 
 Mahdi shall be of the descendants of my uncle A'bbas." Muhammad-b-u'l 
 Walid the Mawla of the Band Hashim is the single authority for this, and 
 he was one who fabricated traditions. Ad Dahabi in this place adduces a 
 tradition of Ibn Masa'dd ascribed to the prophet, " the name of al Mahdi 
 shall correspond with mine and the name of his father with that of my 
 father." 
 
 * The difference between a " Kixi" and a " Mukri," is that the first reads the 
 Eurdn to his pupils, the second makes them read and coTiects them where they 'eir. 
 De Slane, I. K. p. 676, Vol. 1. 
 
 + Between Khuzistan and Ispahan. 
 
 t His genealogy aooording to Masa'fidi, al Maii|(ir-h-A'bdi'Uali-b-pi Sabm-b- 
 Abi Sarh, descended from Dd Eu'ayn a Himyrite prince. 
 
 § The precise religious or irreligious code of this free-thinking commune of 
 seotaiians, is nowhere satisfactorily given, but the broad principles of their school 
 seems to have been a denial of the existence of a Supreme Being, the rejection of all 
 religious systems, but a strict observance of the laws of nature as imprinted in the 
 heart of man and the profession of the love of humanity in its widest sense. A practical 
 application of this last, permitted incestuous marriages. Consult Weil, p. 105, under 
 al Mahdi. 
 
I a79 ] 
 
 When al Mahdi grew up, his father appointed him governor of A. H. 158. 
 Tabaristan and its dependencies, and he was taught polite literature and A. D. 775. 
 associated with the learned and distinguished himseH. Subsequently his 
 father named hJm to the succession and when his father died, he was 
 acknowledged Caliph. The news reached him at Baghdad and he preached 
 before the people and said, " verily the prince of the Faithful is a servant — 
 he hath been summoned and hath answered to the summons, and he hath 
 been commanded and hath obeyed." Then his eyes filled with tears and 
 he said, " verily the apostle of God wept at separating from his friends, 
 and indeed, I have suffered a great separation and have been invested with 
 a weighty charge, but the prince of the Faithful reckons upon a reward 
 from God and I implore His assistance upon the Caliphate of , the Muslims. 
 O ye people ! be inwardly, as ye appear outwardly, obedient to us, and we will 
 grant ye security and ye will be made worthy of commendation in the end. 
 Lower ye the wings of submission imto him who hath diffused justice 
 amongst ye, and hath put away coercion from ye and hath shed peace over 
 ye, since the Lord hath approved him as a promoter of these things. By 
 Allah, I wUl consume my life between chastising and favouring ye." 
 Niftawayh says that when the public treasure came into the hands of al 
 Mahdi, he set about the removal of grievances and took a considerable part 
 of the public stores and distributed them and treated generously his kind- 
 red and his clients. Another author observes that the first who congratu- 
 lated al Mahdi on his accession to the Caliphate and condoled with him 
 on his father's death was Abu Dulamah who said 
 " Of my eyes one of them is seen joyful 
 
 Glad for its lord, while the other sheds tears. 
 
 Weeping and smiling by turns, for saddens it 
 
 That which it takes iU, and that which it experiences, mates it glad. 
 
 Now the death of the Caliph in the inviolable state of pilgrimage, 
 grieves it, 
 
 And that this most clement one has arisen, gladdens it. 
 
 I have never before beheld what I have now seen nor do I experience 
 
 My combing one hair while plucking out another. 
 
 The Caliph is dead, alas for the religion of Muhammad ! 
 
 But there comes to ye after, one that succeeds him. 
 
 God hath granted to this, the honor of the Caliphate 
 
 And to the other the beauteous gardens of delight." 
 In the year 159 al Mahdi made a covenant for the succession in favor 
 of his sons Miisa al Eadi and Harun-ar Eashid after him. In the year 
 160, Barabad* in India was taken by force. During the same al Mahdi 
 * So the word is given both by Ibn u'l Athir and Weil. The latter cannot 
 determine the position of the town, but supposes it to have been on the sea coast or 
 on one of the arms of the Indus. The expeditionary fleet was commanded by A'bdu'l 
 
[ 280 1 
 
 A. H. 160, made the pilgrimage and the guardians of the Kaa'bah informed him that 
 
 4- D. 776-7. they feared its breaking in from the number of coverings over it, and he 
 
 gave orders regarding it, and it was stripped and restricted to the covering 
 
 ;of al Mahdi. Snow* was carried to al Mahdi at Mecca. Ad Dahabi 
 
 .observes that this was never arranged for any sovereign before. 
 
 In the year 161, al Mahdi commanded the construction of the Mecca 
 :road, and built houses along it and made reservoirs, and he ordered the 
 .abandonment of the reserved places for Imams in the mosques of Islha and 
 lessened the size of the pulpits and restricted them to the measure of the 
 pulpit of the Apostle of God. 
 
 In the year 163 and the following years, conquests in the Grecian 
 provinces were numerous. In the year 166 al Mahdi removed to Kasr u's 
 Saldmf and he ordered to be established for him a postal service of mules 
 and camels from the prophetical city (Medina) and from Yaman and 
 Mecca to the royal residence. Ad Dahahi says that he was the first who 
 established a post from al Hijaz to al I'rak. During this and the follow- 
 ing years al Mahdi was energetic in the persecution of the Zindiks and in 
 exterminating them and hunting them down throughout the provinces 
 and putting people to death on mere suspicion. In the year 167 he 
 ordered a great enlargement of the sacred mosque (of Mecca) J and brought 
 a number of buildings within its enclosure. In the year 169 al Mahdi 
 died : he had given chase to an animal, and the quarry rushed into a ruined 
 -building ; the horse following, al Mahdi struck his back against the door- 
 way and died on the spot. This took place on the 22nd Muharram. 
 (4th August 785). It is also said that he died of poison. Salm al Khasir 
 laments him as follows : 
 
 " There weeps over al Mahdi one that weeps 
 As if frenzy were on her, yet she is not insane. 
 Yea — she tears her countenance and discovers 
 Her locks and reveals her tresses. 
 
 Verily, if the Caliph has passed away after his exaltation, 
 Surely he has left deeds which have not passed away. 
 
 Malik-'b-Shihd'b al Masma'i. The troops before setting sail on tlieir return wera 
 attacked by a disease in the mouth, of which about a thousand died. Shipwreck added 
 to their discomfiture and a similar attempt was not repeated. 
 
 * " A pious and charitable motive may sanctify the foundation of cisterns and 
 caravanseras which he distributed along a measured road of 700 miles, but his train 
 of camels laden with snow could serve only to astonish the natives of Arabia and 
 to refresh the fruits and liquors of the royal banquet." Decline and Fall. Chapter LII. 
 
 t " The palace of peace" — Yakub states this to have been erected at Rakkah, by 
 ar Eaahid the son of al Mahdi — Eabkah is the ancient Nicephorium. 
 
 X Burton is an error in giving the year 163, as the date of this enlargement. See 
 Mecca, p. 161. 
 
[ 281 ] 
 
 The peace of God throughout each day ■ A. H. 169. 
 
 Be upon al Mahdi from the time when he remained a pledge of the A. D. 785. 
 grcme. 
 
 "We have left religious peace and worldly happiness all 
 
 "Where the prince of the Faithful lies buried." 
 Among accounts of al Mahdi, as Suli says that when he covenanted 
 for the succession of his son Musa, Marwan-b-Abi Hafsah said, 
 " Allegiance hath been covenanted for Mtisa at Eusafah 
 
 By which God hath made fasb the loops of Islam. 
 
 Mlisa, he whose merit the Kuraysh know 
 
 And unto them is preeminence among the tribes. 
 
 Through Muhammad {Musa) after the prophet Muhammad 
 
 AU lawful things have sprung to life, and all that is forbidden hath 
 perished. 
 
 The guide of his people — who are through him 
 
 Protected from ignominy and deprivation. 
 
 Musa sways the rod of the Caliphate after him (al Mahdi) 
 
 And with that are dried up the records of pens !"* 
 Another says — ' 
 
 " O son of the Caliph, verily the people of Ahmad {Muhammad) 
 
 Their desires incline to thee in obedience. 
 
 Thou shalt fill the earth with justice, like unto that 
 
 Which the learned of the people used to relate to them, 
 
 Until their dead shall desire to witness 
 
 Of the justice of thy rule what the living behold. 
 
 Then upon thy father now be the gladness of their empire 
 
 And hereafter upon thee its garment and its mantle." 
 As Stili records with its ascription that a woman advanced before al 
 Mahdi, and said, " O sinewf of the Apostle of God ! see to my need." 
 He exclaimed, "I have never heard that epiVAef from any one — (turning 
 to his attendants), do what she wants and give her ten thousand dirhams." 
 Kuraysh al Khuttali says that Salih-b-A'bdi'l Kuddiis al Basri was brought 
 
 * *l.aJ( (juaa. jg aji expression that signifies an unalteraWe fact, the ink of the 
 pen that decreed it having dried up — so the tradition IJJ' '^'' '•^ f^\ •-*=>■ that is, 
 all that a man meets with in the world has already been destined and cannot be avoid- 
 ed or altered. See the Sahih of Bukhari, Chapter on Fate, p. 976, Folio and Kirmani's 
 notes on this expression. 
 
 t It may also mean — " heir." The word signifies also the heirs of a person who 
 lias left neither parent nor ofispring, and can be applied to a single person as weU as 
 to a pi. number. 
 36 
 
[ 282 ] 
 
 k. H. 169. before al Mahdi on the charge of being a Zindik, and Salih exclaimed, 
 ^.. D. 785. " I repent before God," and he recited to him regarding himself. 
 " Enemies suffer not at the hands of a fool 
 What a fool sufiers at his own. 
 And an old man will not abandon his habits 
 Until he is hidden in the dust of his grave." 
 Al Mahdi therefore let him go, but when he was about to depart, he 
 called him back and said, " didst thou not say that an old man will not 
 abandon his habits ?" ' He replied, " yes." " In the same way then," said 
 he, " thou wilt not abandon thy ways until thou diest," whereupon he- 
 ordered him to be put to death. Zahir states that ten traditionists were 
 brought before al Mahdi, among them Faraj -b-Fudhalah and Ghiyath-b- 
 Ibrahim. Now al Mahdi took pleasure in pigeons and when Ghiyath was 
 introduced, it was said to him, " recite a tradition unto the prince of the 
 Faithful." Whereupon he related from so and so on the authority of Abu 
 Hurayrah from the prophet, " there shall be no wager except on a hoof* 
 or an arrow or lance head" and he added to it, " or a wing." Al Mahdi 
 then ordered for him ten thousand dirhams," but as he arose, al Mahdi 
 said, " I declare that the nape of thy neck is as the nape of the neck of 
 a liar. Surely thou hast interpolated that." Then he gave orders regard- 
 ing the pigeons and their throats were cut. It is related that Sharik went 
 in unto al Mahdi who said to him, " one of three things thou must do — 
 either thou must take the office of Kadhi, or thou must instruct my sons 
 and relate traditions to them or eat a meal with me." He considered a 
 moment and said, " to eat with thee will be least inconvenient to me." 
 Whereupon al Mahdi ordered dishes of marrow mixed with sugar and 
 other things, of which he eat ; but the cook said, " he will not prosper 
 after it." The narrator adds that after this Sharik taught traditions to 
 them and accepted the office of Kadhi.f 
 
 Al Baghawi records in the Ja'diyat on the authority of Hamdan al 
 Isbahani that he narrates, " I was with Sharik when there came to him the 
 son of al Mahdi, who leaning against the wall asked him concerning a 
 tradition, but Sharik did not take any notice of him, so he repeated Jiia 
 
 * The tradition is not here given entire, it should te t-***^ j' j*'*' j' ""^^ ts* ^' 
 " except in the hoof of «■ catml, or that of a horse, mule or aas, or in the case of an 
 arrow or lance head" — (shooting or throwing the lance), because all these are used 
 in fight with the enemy. Lane, art (3^ 
 
 t Masalidi adds to this story that the Caliph having given Sharik an order on 
 the paymaster, Sharik made some difficulty on the subject of payment, upon which 
 the paymaster said — "you have'not been selling cloth P" " No," said Sharik, " but some* 
 thing more precious, my religion." Mvacvii ud Dahab, Vol, VI, 
 
[ 283 ] 
 
 question and Sharik repeated Ms conduct, when the former said to him, A. H. 169. 
 " it seems as though thou thinkesfc lightly of the sons of the Caliph !" He A. D. 785. 
 replied, " not so, but knowledge is too precious in the estimation of its 
 possessors, for them to throw it "away." The other then sank down upon 
 his knees and then put his question, whereupon Sharik said, " thus should 
 knowledge be sought." 
 
 Among the verses of al Mahdi recited by as Siili are the following — 
 
 " The people will not restrain themselves from us. 
 The people do not weary of us, 
 Verily their endeavour is 
 To dig up what we have buried. 
 If we dwell in the bowels of the earth 
 They would come where we were."* 
 
 As Siili records with its ascription to Muhammad-b-U'marah, that al 
 Mahdi had a slave girl of whom he was passionately fond, and she likewise 
 of him, save that she avoided him not a little, whereupon he sent one 
 clandestinely to her who knew what was in her mind, and she said to him, 
 " I feai- lest he should weary of me and leave me and I should die." 
 Al Mahdi then said concerning this, 
 
 " A girl fresh as a new moon 
 
 Hath conquered my heart. 
 
 Whenever my love is assured to her 
 
 She bringeth but excuses ; 
 
 Separation is not pleasing to me 
 
 Nor our refraining from meeting. 
 
 Nay, I will continue in my afEection 
 
 For her, keeping in fear, satiety." 
 The following is by him on his boon-Companion, Omar-b-Bazii'. 
 " O God r perfect unto me my joy 
 
 Through Abu Hafs my comrade : 
 
 Tor the pleasure of my life 
 
 Is in song and wine, 
 
 And perfumed slave girls 
 
 And music and enjoyment. 
 
 • * The next line I have omitted to translate as 1 can make no sense of it and 
 Ibelieve it to be corrupt. I give it for tlie benefit of those wbo may succeed better. 
 
 *"^ ^ji i!fj«''l ts' * ^J^^ it}^ C^ J The first two lines only of the verse are given 
 \>j Masa-ddi but differently to those in the text. They are placed in the mouth of Abd 
 2akkar a singer performing before the Caliph Harun ar Bashid. 
 
I 284 ] 
 
 v. S. 169. I obiserve that the poetry o£ al Mahdi is much smoother and Jnoro 
 
 k. D. 785. graceful than that of his father or of his sons. 
 
 As Siili also states with ascription to Ishak of Mosul, that al Mahdi 
 at the beginning of his reign, like al Manstir, kept himself secluded from 
 / his courtiers for about a year, after which he mixed with them. It was • 
 suggested to him that he should withdraw himself more, but he said, 
 "verily the enjoyment consists in their being present." And on the 
 authority of Mahdi-b-Sabik, that a man called out to al Mahdi while he 
 was among his cortege. 
 
 Say to the Caliph, Hatim is a traitor to thee, 
 Then fear God and Save us from Hatim. 
 For when a virtuous man asks the assistance of a traitor 
 He becomes a partner in his guilt. 
 Whereupon al Mahdi said, " let every one of my prefects who is 
 named Hatim, be deprived of office." And from Abli TJ'baydah that he 
 said, " al Mahdi used to read to us the five appointed services of prayer 
 in the mosque of Bagrah when he came there. One day prayers were 
 being begun when a desert Arab exclaimed, ' I am not in a state of legal 
 purification, and verily I desire to join the prayers behind thee.' Whereon 
 he ordered them to wait for him, and they waited for him, and al Mahdi 
 entered the arched niche of the mosque and stayed until it was said that 
 the man had come, upon which he recited the takbir, and the people wonder- 
 ed at the considerate courtesy of the Caliph." And from Ibrahim-b-Nafi', 
 that some of the people of Basrah carried a dispute concerning one of the 
 streams about Basrah before al Mahdi, and he said, " verily the earth 
 belongeth to God being in our hands for the ienefit of the Muslims, 
 therefore that regarding which there hath been no purchase, its value, 
 reverts to all of them and fo« their advantage. Therefore no one indi- 
 vidual hath any claim upon it." Then the deputation said, "this 
 stream is ours by the direction of the apostle of God, for he said, ' he who 
 cultivateth waste land it belongeth to him,' and this land is waste." Al 
 Mahdi threw himself forward at the mention of the prophet, until his cheek 
 touched the ground, and he exclaimed, " I hearken unto what he hath said 
 and obey." Then he continued, " it remains now to be shown that this is 
 waste land, so that I may make no objection, and yet how can it be waste 
 when the water surrounds it on all sides — now if they can establish the proof 
 of this, I will assent." 
 
 And on the authority of al Asma'i, I heard al Mahdi from the pukiit 
 at Basrah say, " verily the Lord hath laid upon ye a command, in tJie 
 performance of which He Himself set the example and made His angels 
 follow Him for He hath said, ' verily God and his angels bless the pro' 
 phet &c.' (Kur. XXXIII.) He hath distinguished him by means of it 
 
[ a85 ] 
 
 among the apostles inasmuch as He hath distinguished ye by it among A. H. 169. ' 
 nations." A. D. 785. 
 
 I have to observe that he was the first to speak thus in a discourse, 
 and preachers unto this day have been guided by it as an example. 
 
 When al Mahdi died, and sackcloths were, hanging from the cupolas 
 of the Caliph's harem, Abu'l A'tahiyah* said — 
 
 " At eve, they went in dyed garments. 
 And in the morning they were clad in sackcloth. 
 Unto every butting ram in the world 
 
 Shall come a day when there shall be one butting against him. 
 Thou art not immortal 
 Didst thou live to the age of Noah: 
 Weep for thyself, hapless one 
 If thou art to weep." 
 
 Traditions from the narration of al MaTidi. 
 
 As Stili gives a tradition through al Mahdi from Abu Sa'id al Ehudrl 
 who said, " the apostle of God preached a discourse to us from the after- 
 noon until sunset which some remember and some have forgotten, and he 
 said in it, ' now verily the goods of this world are sweet and refreshing* 
 and the rest of the tradition in full." 
 
 And through al Mahdi from A'bbas, that a deputation of Persians 
 visited the apostle of God, and they had shaved their beards and allowed 
 their moustaches to grow long, and the prophet said — " do the contrary of 
 what they do — let your beards grow long and shave your moustaches," and 
 the shaving of the moustache means the removal of as much of it as falls 
 upon the lip," and al Mahdi placed his hand upon his upper lip. 
 
 Mansiir-b-Muzahim and Muhammad-b-Yahya-b-Hamzah, narrate of 
 of Hamzah-b-Yahya that he said, " al Mahdi read to us the evening prayer 
 and called out in a high voice, ' In the name of God, the most Merciful, 
 the most Compassionate.' I exclaimed, * prince of the Faithful what 
 means this !' He replied, ' my father related to me, on the authority of 
 
 * Atu lehak Isma'il-b-u'l ;^a3im was bom at Ain u't Tamr in A. H. 130, brought 
 up at Ktifah and settled at Baghdad. He was surnamed Abu'l A'tahiyah, and also 
 al Jarrar, because he sold jars. He was among the principal of the poets who flourish- 
 ed in the eariy times of Islam and ranted in the same class with Bashshar and Abu 
 NawS.s. His- passion for U'tba, a female slave of al Mahdi and his numerous odes to 
 her, added to his notoriety, but did not advance his suit, for though the Caliph was 
 wilUng to bestow her upon him, she disbelieved in his affection and abhorred his face. 
 He died at Baghdad in 211 (A. D. 826). Ibn Khali. 
 
[ 286 ] 
 
 A. H. 169. Ibn A'bbas, that the prophet called aloud — In the name of God, the 
 A. D. 785. most Merciful, the most Compassionate' — I said to al Mahdi, 'may I 
 transmit this on thy authority ,?' He replied, ' yes.' " 
 
 Ad Dahabi says, " this ascription is unbroken in continuity but I 
 pever knew any one adduce al Mahdi, or his father as authority for religious 
 ordipances." Muhammad-b-u'I Walid, client of the Banii Hashim is the 
 only authority for this, and Ibn A'li states that he fabricated traditions. 
 I remark that he is not alone in this, for I have noticed another that 
 follows him. 
 
 Of people of note who died in the reign of al Mahdi were Shu'bah- 
 J-m'Z Sajjdj Ahu Bistdm, Ibn Abi Dib, Sufyan at Thauri, Ibrahim-b- 
 Adham the ascetic, Dautid at Tai the ascetic, Bashshar-b-Burd the most 
 eminent of the post-classical' poets, Hammad-b-Salamah, Ibrahim-b- 
 Tahman and Khalil-b- Ahmad, author of the treatise on prosody. 
 
 AL HADI. 
 
 M Hadi, Abd Muhammad, Musa-b-u'l Mahdi-b-i'l Mansur, whose 
 mother was a Berber slave concubine called al Khayzuran, was born at 
 JBai in the year 147 and was acknowledged Caliph after his father, in 
 accordance with the latter's deed of succession. Al Khatib says that no 
 one ruled the Caliphate before him at his age. He continued in it for a 
 year and some months. His father ch^ged him as his last bequest to 
 exterminate the Zindiks and he pursued them actively and put to death 
 a large number of them. He used to be called Musa Atbik, because his 
 upper lip was contracted, and his father placed a servant in charge over 
 him when he was a child, who whenever he saw his mouth open would say, 
 " Musa, draw your lips together !" (Atbik), whereon be would recover 
 himself and compress his lips. He was therefore thus distinguished. 
 
 Ad Dahabi says that he was addicted to drinking and frivolous amuse- 
 ment, and used to ride a brisk-going donkey, and did not uphold the 
 dignity of the Caliphate ; yet withal he was eloquent, with a great com- 
 mand of language, well educated, an aspect of awe encompassed him and 
 he possessed intrepidity and hardiness. Another author describes him as a 
 despot, and as being the first before whom men marched with sharp 
 scimitars and staves and strung bows. His prefects imitated him in this 
 and the wearing of arms prevailed much in his time. 
 
 He died in Eabii' u'l Awwal* in the year 170, (15th Sept. 786). 
 Accounts are conflicting regarding the manner of his death. Some say 
 
 • The text taa " Akhir." Tlxis is an error protally of the copyist as in the 
 life of ar Bashid, as Suyiti places al Hddi's death in Eabii' I, All other authorities 
 
[ 287 T 
 
 that he pushed one of his courtiers over a precipitous bank upon the A. H. 170/ 
 stumps of a reed bed that had been cut, but the courtier clung to him and A. D. 786. 
 he fell and a reed entered his nostril and they were both kiUed. It is said 
 too that he had an ulcer in his stomach. Another account is, that his 
 mother al Khayzurdn poisoned him, when he sought to murder ar Kashid 
 in order to confer the succession on his own son. 
 
 It is said that his mother was an imperious woman, assuming absolute 
 direction of afiairs of state. A line of persons attended at her gate every 
 morning, but he forbade them doing so, and addressed her in rough lan- 
 guage, and said,* " verily, if there attendeth a noble at thy gate, I will 
 assuredly strike off his head — but as for thee, hast thou not a spindle to 
 employ thee, or a Kuran, or beads to engage thee in devotion ?" And she ' 
 arose beside herself with anger, and it is reported that he sent her poisoned 
 food, but she caused some of it to be given to a dog which was imme- 
 diately affiectedt by it. She therefore conspired to put him to death 
 when he was prostrate with fever and they smothered him with the bed 
 covering and sat upon its sides. He left seven sons. 
 
 Of the verses of al Hddi, are the following on his brother Hdriin 
 when he refused to renounce the succession. 
 
 I counselled Hariin, but he rejected my counsel. 
 
 And every man that taketh not advice, repenteth ; 
 
 I invite him to a deed that will restore harmony between us, 
 
 But he turneth from it, and in that he doth wrong. 
 
 And were it not for my expectation of his consent from day to day 
 
 He should do what I say under compulsion. 
 
 Among the events of al Hadi's reign, it is recorded by Al Khatib on 
 the authority of al Padhl that al Hadi was wroth with a man, and they 
 interceded for him with the Caliph, upon which he was pacified towards 
 him, and the man went to make his excuses, and al Hadi said to him, 
 " my approval exempts thee from the pain of apology." And on the 
 authority of Musaa'b, that Marwan-b-Abi Haf jah went in unto al Hadi 
 
 concur in the mouth teing Eahii' I, except Tabari, who says Jumada I, and a 
 Makin, Eahii' II, hut this latter is a mere slip of the pen, as he himself states the 
 duration of al Hadi's reign te be one year and 52 days, which fits in with 14th Eabii' 
 I. Weil fixes the date at the 16th Eabii' I. See Gesh, der. Cal. 
 
 * This speech is not accurately given by as Suydti and is marred in the telling. 
 Ibn u'l Athir and Masau'di concur in their narratives of it. 
 
 t The verb J^J^I has not this meaning in the Lexicons, but it is plain that 
 
 ^i " 
 this IS the sense mtended which would be usually expressed by^" 
 
[ 288 ] 
 
 A. H. 170. and recited to him a panegyric on him, until he came to the following verse, 
 A. D. 786. ujg bounty and intrepidity are to-day so evenly balanced 
 
 That no one knows with which the superiority lies. 
 
 Al Hadi said to him, " which dost thou prefer, thirty thousand dirhams 
 down, or one hundred thousand paid through the accountant's office ?" 
 He replied " give the thirty thousands dirhams down and let the hundred 
 thousand come round to me through the office." Al Hadi said " nay, both 
 shall be paid down together," and the sum was taken to him. 
 
 As S'lili observes that no woman is known to have given birth to two 
 Caliphs, except al Khnzayran, the mother of al Hadi and ar Eashid, and 
 Wiladah, daughter of al Abbas, of the tribe of A'bs,* wife of A'bdu'l 
 Malik-b-Marwan, who bore al Walid and Sulayman ; and Shahint daughter 
 of Firliz son of Tazdajird, son of Khusrau, who bore to al Walid-b- 
 A'bdi'l Malik, Tazid an Nakis and Ibrahim, both of whom succeeded to 
 the Caliphate. I remark that there may be added to these, Bai Khatlin, 
 the concubine of the last al Mutawakkil who gave birth to al A'bbas and 
 Hamzah who both ruled the Caliphate ; and Kazl a concubine of the same 
 who bore Dauud and Sulayman who governed it likewise. 
 
 As Slili also says that no Caliph was ever known to ride post, except al 
 Hadi wAo ro<?e from Jurjan to Baghdad, J He adds that the impression on 
 his signet ring was, "the Lord is the reliance of Mdsa and in him he confides." 
 
 The following, according to as Siili is by Salm al Khasir eulogising 
 al Hadi. 
 
 Mdsa is a rain — a cloud that riseth early, — and is then discharg- 
 ed — he appropriates power to himself — how hath he forcibly seized — and 
 waxed strong ! — and then pardoned ! — just in disposition' — of enduring tb- 
 ■coYin—for good and evil — weal and woe — the best of mortals — of the race 
 of Mudhar — a moon that is ' at full — unto him who beholdeth — He is 
 the refuge — of them that are nigh — and the glory — of those that remain. 
 
 As Sdli says, " this detached verse — is of the! measure Musta'filun — 
 Musta'filun ;§ he was the first to employ it and I have never heard 
 poetry of this detached character by any one else." 
 
 * There are two of this name ; one a branch of the Kaya A'yldn, the eponymous 
 head of which was A'bs-b-Baghidh-b.Eayth, and the other of the Banu Kudljaa'h 
 sprung from A'bs-b-Khaulan. Muntaha'l Arab. 
 
 t See page 257. The name there given is " Shahfarand." 
 
 X This took place when the death of his father was announced to him and he 
 accomplished the distance according to Ibn u'l Athir, in twenty days. 
 
 § A variety of the Eajaz, dimeter acataieotio, the third epitrite 
 
 *-' — varied by the diiamb ^ '-' 
 
 O carminum | dulces notas, 
 Quaa ore fun i dia melloo. 
 
[ 289 ] 
 
 He .traces an ascription to Sa'id-b-Salm who is reported to have said, A. H. 170. 
 " verily I trust that the Lord will be merciful unto al Hadi on account A. D. 786. 
 of an act of his which I witnessed. I was present with hitn one day when 
 Abu'l Khitab, as Saa'di was reciting a poem to him in his praise continuing 
 till he came to, 
 
 " ' best of those whose hands tie the waist band, 
 O best of those whom the face of Mudhar hath invested with their 
 authority.' " 
 
 Al Hadi said to him, " have a care ! whom dost tliOii mean ? Shame 
 on thee !" For he excepted no one in his verse ; whereupon I exclaimed, 
 "O prince of the Faithful, surely, he means of the people of this age." 
 The poet then reflected and said, 
 
 " Save the prophet, the Apostle of God* to whom 
 Belongeth preeminence and thou, in that preeminence, doth glory." 
 
 Al HMi said, "now thou hast hit it and hast done well," and he 
 ordered fifty thousand dirhams to be given to him. 
 
 Al Madaini says, that al Hadi condoled with a man on account of the 
 ■loss oi his son, and said, "he made thee glad when he was to thee a 
 temptationf and an evil, and now grieveth thee when he hath become unto 
 thee a reward and a mercy !" 
 
 As Slili narrates that Salm al Kh5,sir recited on al Hadi the following 
 verse coupling condolence and congratulation. 
 
 " Verily Musa hath assumed the Caliphate and guidance unto salvation, 
 And Muhammad {al Mahdi) prince of the Faithful, is dead. 
 He is dead whose loss the people suffer in common 
 And he hath arisen who will suffice thee for him who is gone." 
 
 And Marwan-b-Abi Hafsah says similarly — 
 " Verily there pride themselves in every city 
 On account of the grave of the prince of the Faithful, the ceme- 
 teries. / 
 
 * Wto -was eigMeenth in direct descent from Mudhar-b-Mzar-h-Maa'd-b-Adnan ; 
 the generations between Adnan and labmael are uncertain, some enumerating eigbt, 
 others (and among these, Muhammad himself) counting no more than three. See Sale's 
 Genealogical Tables. 
 
 t This is said with reference to Kur. VIII, " Know that your wealth and your 
 
 children are a temptation to you" "^^ (^iJ^jl j ^^J \y'\ '*J| 1^1*1 j and it is men- 
 tioned in a tradition that the death of a child is the occasion of a storing of reward 
 unto the father, 
 
 37 
 
[ 290 ] 
 
 A. H. 170. And had they not been consoled in his son after his death, 
 
 A. D. 786. Never would the pulpits have ceased to weep over him. 
 
 And if Miisa had not arisen upon them, they would have wailed 
 With a yearning cry, as the tribes yearn for the best portions of 
 plunder." 
 
 Traditions from the narration of al Sddi. 
 
 As Sdli narrates from al Mutallib-b-U'ikashah al Marri that he said, 
 " we went to al Hadi as evidence against a man who had reviled one of 
 the Kuraysh and passed on even to the disparagement of the prophet — 
 whereupon he convened an assembly for us, to which he summoned the 
 chief jurisconsults of his time, and had the man brought into his presence ; 
 and we gave evidence against him. The countenance of al Hadi changed, 
 and he hung down his head, and then raised it, and said, ' I heard my 
 father al Mahdi relate on the authority of Ibn A'bbas, that he said — he who 
 desireth to put scorn upon the !^uraysh, may the Lord put scorn upon him, 
 and thou, O enemy of God, wert thou not satisfied in desiring that for the 
 Kuraysh but thou must pass on to disparage the prophet ? Strike off his 
 head :" (recorded by al Khatib from the ascription of as Siili) : and the 
 tradition in this narration stops thus with Ibn Ahhds, but one with aiiother 
 ascription traced to the prophet, hath also come down. 
 
 Of people of note who died in the reign of al Hadi were, Nafi', 
 Kuran reader of the people of Medina and others. 
 
 HAEITN U'E RASHrD. 
 
 Ar Eashid Harlin, Abli Jaa'far-b-u'l Mahdi Muhammad-b-il Mansur 
 A'bdi'Uah-b-Muhammad-b-A'Ii-b-A'bdi'llah-b-i'l A'bbas succeeded as Ca- 
 liph by the covenant of his father on the death of his brother al Hadi on 
 Friday night the 16th Rabii' I, in the year 170. As Suli mentions that 
 that on this night al Mamdn was born to him, and in the whole coarse of 
 time there has never been a night but this, in which a Caliph died, a 
 Caliph succeeded, and a Caliph was born. He used to be called Abii Musa 
 but took henceforth the surname of Abd Jaa'far. He related traditions 
 on the authority of his father and grandfather and Mubarak b-Fudhdlah, 
 and his son al Mamiin and others have related them on his. He was one 
 of the most distinguished of Caliphs and most illustrious of the princea 
 
[ a9i ] 
 
 of the earth. He undertook many military expeditions as well as pil- A. H. 170. 
 grimages, as Abu'l A'la al Kilabi has said concerning him — A. D. 786. 
 
 " He who seeketh or desireth to meet thee 
 Will finA thee either in the two sacred cities or on the most distant 
 
 frontier. 
 If in the country of the enemy, it will be on a high-mettled charger, 
 If in the land of the desert, on a camel's saddle." 
 
 His birth took place at Eai when his father was Prefect over it and 
 over Khurasan in the year 148. His mother was a slave concubine called 
 Khuzayran who was also the mother of al Hadi, and Marwan-b-Abi 
 Haf§ah* has said regarding her : 
 
 " Khuzayran, rejoice thee and again rejoice ! 
 Tor thy two sons have come to rule the universe." 
 
 Ar Eashid was very fair, tall, handsome, of captivating appearance, 
 and eloquent. He was versed in science and literature. During his Ca- 
 liphate, he used to pray every day a hundred " rakaa'ts," until he died, never 
 neglecting them save for some special cause, and he used to give in charity 
 from his private purse every day a hundred dirhams. 
 
 He loved science and its professors, and held in reverence the sacred 
 shrines of Isldm and abhorred disputation in religion and controversy on 
 established points pf doctrine. The opinion of Bishr al Marrisif on the 
 creation of the Kuran was reported to him, and he exclaimed — " if I catch 
 him, I will strike off his head." 
 
 He used to weep over his own extravagance and his sins, especially when 
 an exhortation was addressed to him. He loved panegyric and would 
 bestow large sums in reward for it. There are likewise verses attributed 
 to him. 
 
 On one occasion Ibn u's SammafcJ the preacher went in unto him and 
 
 * He was descended from Atu Hafsah Yazid, according to some a Jewisli convert, 
 according to others one of the captives taken at Istathar. He was purchased by 
 Othman, given to Marwau-h-al Hatam who married him to one of his own concuhines 
 by whom he had had a daughter called Hafsah. This girl was brought up by Yazid as his 
 own and he received the surname of " father of Hafsab " Marwan, the subject of this 
 notice, was extremely avaricious and asked 1000 dirhams for every verse he wrote in 
 praise of the Abbaside Caliphs. De Sacy Chrest. Arab. Tom. Ill, p. 518. 
 
 t Abu A'bdu'r Eahman Bishr-b-Grhidth al Marrisi a theologian and jurisconsult 
 of the school of Hanifah. He taught openly the creation of the Kuran and he be- 
 longed to the sect of the Murgians which is called after him the Marrisian, and he held 
 that it was not an act of infidelity to bow down to the sun and moon but only a tolten 
 of it. He died at- Baghdad A. H. 218, (833-4). Ibn Khali. De Slane writes 
 incorrectly " Marisi" for Marrisi." 
 
 J Abu'l Abbas Muljammad-b-Sabih surnamed al Ma^kur (or as Ibn u'l Athir says 
 
[ 292 ] 
 
 A. H. 170. he exerted himself to the utmost to do him honor, and Ibn u's Sammak 
 A. D. 786. said to him — " thy humility in thy greatness is nobler than thy greatness :" 
 then he addressed him an exhortation and made him weep. He was also in 
 the habit of going in person to the house of al Fudhayl-b-I'yadh. * 
 
 A'bdu'r Bazzak says, " I was with al Fudhayl at Mecca when Hardn 
 • passed by and al Fudhayl said, " the people dislike this man, but there is 
 not on earth any more esteemed by me than he — were he to die, thou 
 wouldst surely behold most serious events occur." 
 
 Abu Mu'awiyah ad Dharirf says, " I never mentioned the prophet 
 before ar Eashld, but he said, ' may God bless my lord ;' and I related to 
 him this tradition of his, ' I would that I might do battle for the sake 
 of God and be slain, and be brought to life and slain again,' and Harun wept 
 until he sobbed aloud ; and I once related to him the tradition, ' Adam 
 and Moses entered into a disputation,' and there was by him one of the 
 chiefs of the Kuraysh, and the Kurayshi said, — but where did he meet 
 him ? — At this ar Bashid grew wroth and exclaimed — ^the leather mat 
 and the sword ! — shall a Zindik impugn a tradition of the prophet !' — 
 But I continued to pacify him and to say, ' O prince of the Faithful, it 
 came from him unpremeditatedly,' until he was appeased. I was once 
 taking a meal with ar Bashid, when a man whom I did not perceive poured 
 water upon my hand, and ar Bashid said, ' dost thou know who is pouring 
 water upon thee ?' I said, ' no.' He replied, ' it is I, out of reverence for 
 thy knowledge.' " Mansur-b-A'mmar J says "I never saw any more copious 
 in tears when engaged in devotional exercises than three men, al Fudhayl- 
 b-I'yadh, ar Bashid, and another." 
 
 TJ'baydu'llah al Kawariri narrates that when ar Bashfd met al Fudhayl, 
 
 al Mudakkar) and known as Ibn u's Sammak, (son of the seller or catclier of fish). 
 He was a native of Kdfah. and a professional narrator of anecdotes. His devotion, his 
 pious exhortations and the elegance of his language acquired hini great celebrity. He 
 died at Kufah, A, H. 183 (799-80). Ibn KhaU. 
 
 » Abu A'li al Fudhayl-b-I'yadh a celebrated ascetic. Drew his origin from a 
 family of the tribe of Tamim which had settled at Talakan in Khurasan. Ho was 
 bom at Abiward or Samarkand, passed his youth at Abiward and then went to learn 
 traditions at Kufah, from thence he removed to Mecca where he dwelt tell his death 
 in 187 A. H. (803). It is said that his commenced life as a highway robber and was 
 converted by hearing a sentence of the ]§luran pronounced, when he was about to 
 climb a wall to see a girl whom he loved. Ibn KhaU. 
 
 t Abd Mu'awiyah Muhammad-b-Khazim, ad Dhan'r (the blind) adopted member 
 of the tribe of Minkar, born at Kufah A. H. 113. He was a traditionist of eminence, 
 died A. H. 195 (811). De Slane, I. K. 
 
 % A native of Khui'as&n (or of Ba?rah as some say) celebrated for his wisdom 
 piety and eloquence as a preacher. Ho also deUverod traditions. Ho resided at Cairo 
 and died A, H, 226 (839-40). Do Hlaue, I. K, 
 
[ 293 ] 
 
 the latter said to him, " thou with the handsome face ! art thou he who A. H. 170. 
 is answerahle lefore Qod for this people ? IJayth related to me on the A. D. 786. 
 authority of al Mujdhid, that the verse ' and the cords of relation between 
 them shall be cut asunder,' (Kur. II) signifieth the connection that was 
 between them in the world, and Harlin began to weep and sob."* As 
 an instance of his good qualities, it is said that when the news of the 
 death of Ibn u'l Mubarakf reached him, he gave an audience of condolence 
 and commanded his nobles to condole with him on the loss of Ibn u'l 
 Mubarak. 
 
 Niftawayh says that ar Eashid followed in the footsteps of his grand- 
 father Abu Jaa'far save in covetousness, for no Caliph before him, had 
 been as munificent as he. He bestowed on one occasion on Sufyan-b- 
 TJ'yaynahJ one hundred thousand dirhams, and on another, two hundred 
 thousand on Ishdk§ of Mosul, and he gave Marwan-b-Abi Hafsah for a 
 poem, five thousand dinars, a robe of honor, a horse from his own stud and 
 ten Greek slaves. 
 
 Al Asma'i narrates, " ar Eashid said to me, ' Asma'i, what hath made ■ 
 thee neglect me and keep aloof from me ?' I replied, ' by Allah, prince 
 of the Faithful, the provinces, after thee could not attach me to them, 
 until I came to thee.' And he was silent but, when the people dispersed 
 he said 'what means could not attach me,' (alakatni).|| I said, 
 
 ' Of thy two hands, one keepeth not within it a dirham 
 Through munificence, while the other sheddeth blood with a sword.' 
 
 * This story ia related differently and protaWy more correctly in Ibn Khali. 
 
 t Abu Abdu'r Eahman Abdu'Uah al Marwazi, a Mawla to the tribe of Handha- 
 lah, a man of profound learning and of mortified life. He loved retirement and was 
 extremely assiduous in the practice of ascetic devotion. He died at Hit on the 
 Eupbrates on his return from a military expedition in A. H. 181 (797). Tbe nauseous 
 details of his funeral are given by Masa'udi. Ibn KbaU. 
 
 J He was an imam of learning and piety and distinguished for the exactitude 
 of his traditions. His parents lived at Klifab where be was born A. H. 107. He 
 made the pilgrimage seventy times. He died at Mecca, A. H. 198 (814). Ibn KbaU. 
 In the text for ***** read *^i* 
 
 § Abu Muhammad Isbtt known by the name of Ibn u'n Nadim al MausUi (son 
 of the boon companion from Mosul) a member' by adoption of the tribe of Tamun and 
 bom al Arrajan. He was a constant companion of the Caliphs in their parties of plea- 
 sure : he was well versed in pure Arabic and tbe history of the poets, in jurisprudence 
 and tradition, and as a singer was without a rival. Born A. H. 150, died 235 (A. D. 
 850). Ibn Khali. 
 
 II The verb ilakat means to bind to one's self or to put raw silk into an inkstand 
 as is the oriental custom, to prevent the reed-pen being overcharged with ink. Al 
 Asm'ai who had a marvellous command of the Arabic language and knowledge of the 
 poets and their works, purposely used an uncommon word to attract the attention of 
 
[ 294 1 
 
 A. H. 170. He replied, ' thou hast said well and continue to be thus ; honor us in 
 A. D. 786. public and instruct us in private,' and he ordered for me five thousand 
 dinars." 
 
 In the Murdju'd Dahab (Meadows of goli) of Mas'audi, the author 
 says that ar Eashid desired to unite the Mediterranean and the Red Sea at 
 a point adjacent to Farama,* but Yahya-b- Eashid the Barmecide said to 
 him that the Greeks would carry off the people from the sacred mosque 
 (at Mecca) and that their ships would come up to al Hijaz ; he therefore 
 abandoned it. 
 
 Al Jahidhf observes that there were assembled round ar Eashid such 
 a company as were never united under any other Caliph, to wit, his 
 ministers the Barmecides, his Kadhi Abu Yusuf, his-poet Marwan-b-Abi 
 Hafsah, his boon companion al A'bbas-b-Muhammad the paternal uncle 
 of his father, his chamberlain al Fadhl-b-u'r Eabii' one of the most cele- 
 brated and remarkable of men, his musician Ibrahim of Mosul, and his wife 
 Zubaydah. Another author says that all the days of ar Eashid were as happy 
 in their joyousness as if they had been marriage-feasts, and ad Dahabi 
 states that a narrative of the adventures of ar Eashid would extend to 
 great length and his good actions are numerous. There are accounts of 
 him also in his diversions, forbidden pleasures and musical entertainments, — 
 may God exalt him. 
 
 Of people of note who died in his reign were Malik-b-Anas, al Layth- 
 b-Saa'd, Abu Yusuf the disciple of Abu Hanifah, al Kasim-b-Maa'n, 
 Muslim-b-Khalid al Zanji, Niih al Jami', the Hafidh Abu U'wanah al 
 Yeshkuri, Ibrahim-b-Saa'd az Zuhri, Abu Ishak al Fazari, Ibrahim-b-Abi 
 Yahya the master of as Shafi'i, Asad al Klifi one of the most eminent of 
 the disciples of Abd Hanifah, Ismail-b-A'yyash, Bashir-b-u'l Mufadhdhal, 
 Jarir-b-Abdi'l Hamid, Ziyad al Bakkai, Sulaym the Kuran reader, the 
 disciple of Hamzah,J Sibawayh the great master of Arabic, Dhaygham 
 
 Haron, and then illustrated it by a verse which instructed the Caliph in its meaning 
 as well as in the needs of the speaker. The Arabic verse in the printed edition is 
 
 inoorreot. The word <-^l« should be pointed i^"" and the second hemistich should 
 
 begin, with the word 1 1>>^ which has been omitted, but which is in the MS. Th^ 
 metre is Bajaz. 
 
 * Near what is now el Arish on the Mediterranean ; the town, of Farama has dis- 
 appeared and no trace of it remains. See Yakut for its history. 
 
 + Abu Othmin Amr-b-Bakr known as al Jihidlj (the starer) and al Hadaki (the 
 goggle-eyed) on account of the prominence of his eyes. He was a native of Ba?rah, 
 celebrated for his learning and author of numerous works on every branch of science. 
 One of his best works is the Book on Animals. Numerous anecdotes are told of him 
 by Ibn KhaU whom the reader may consult. He died at Bajrah A. H, 255 at the age 
 of ninety. 
 
 t Probably IJamzah-b-^abib az Zayyat one of the seven readers of the ^uran and 
 maslor of al Kisai, diod at IJulw&n A. H 166 (772-3). Ibn KhaU. 
 
[ 295 ] 
 
 the ascetic, A'bdu'llah al U'mari the ascetic, A'bdu'Uah-b-u'l Mubarak, A, H. 170. 
 A'bdu'Uah-b-Idris ad Kiifi, A'bdu'l A'ziz-b-Abi Hazim, ad Darawardi, al A. D. 786. 
 Kisdi master of the Kuran readers and grammarians and Muhammad-b-u'l 
 Hasan the disciple of Abti Hanifah both on the same day ; A'li-b-Mushir, 
 Ghunjar, fsa-b-Yunas as Sabii'i, al Fudhayl-b-I'yadh, Ibn u's Sammak the 
 preacher, Marwdn-b-Abi Hafsah the poet, al Mu'dfa-b-I'mran al Mawsili, 
 Mua'tamir*-b-Sulayman, al Mufadhdhal-b-FudMlah Kadhi of old Cairo, 
 Musa al Kadhim (the forbearing), Musa-b-Eabii'h Abu'l Hakam al Misri 
 one of the saints, an Nua'man-b-A'bdi's Salam al Isbahani, Hushaym, 
 Yahyaf-b-Abi Zaidah, Yazid-b-Zuray', Yunas-b-Habib the grammarian, 
 Yakdb-b-A'bdi'r Eahraan, the Kurdn reader of Medina, Sa'saa'h-b-ti's 
 Sallam, the learned doctor of Spain, one of the disciples of Malik, 
 Abdur Eahman-b-u'l Kasim the most eminent of the disciples of Malik 
 al A'bbas-b-u'l Ahnaf, the famous poet, Abu Bakr-b-A'yydsh, the K!uran 
 reader, Yusuf-b-u'l Majishun and others. 
 
 The following are among the events of his reign. In the year 175 
 A'bdu'Uah-b-Musaa'b az Zubayri falsely accused Yahya-b-A'bdi'llah-b- 
 Hasan, the descendant of A'li of having invited him to rebel with him 
 against ar Eashid, whereupon Yahya imprecated with him the curse of 
 God upon which ever of them spoke falsely, in the presence of ar Eashid 
 and locked his hand in the hand of the other, and exclaimed, " say — O God, 
 if thou knowest that Yahya did not invite me to oppose and rebel against 
 the prince of the Faithful here, then commit me to my own power and 
 strength, and utterly destroy me by a chastisement from thee. Amen. 
 Lord of created things." Az Zubayri stammered hesitatingly but repeated 
 it, and Yahya did the like, and they arose and departed and az Zubayri died 
 the same day. 
 
 In the year 176 the city of DubsahJ was captured by the Amir 
 A'bdu'r Eahman-b-A'bdi'l Malik-b-Salih al A'bbasi. In the year 179 ar 
 Eashid performed the lesser pilgrimage in the month of Eamadhan and 
 remained in the state of Ihram§ until he made the greater pilgrimage and 
 went on foot to A'rafah from Mecca. 
 
 In the year 180 occurred the great earthquake in which the top of 
 the minaret at Alexandria fell. In the year 181, the fort of Saf§af || was 
 
 * " Mua'mmar" according to Ibn u'l Athir. tS***-'' W^/^ y^ ej'i'^ {^yij*** 
 
 t "Zakariya." Ibn u'l Athir. 
 
 X Ibn u'l AtMr bas Dalsah or Dulsa, for the word is not pointed, but Dulsah is 
 stated in a note to be a variant. I cannot find the name on the map. He places this 
 event in the year 190. 
 
 { I. e. abstaining from all acts which axe unlawful at that season. 
 
 II On the frontier of Syria between Antiooh and the Grecian territory. 
 
[ 296 ] 
 
 A. H. 180. captured by force of arms, the captor being ar Eashid. In the year 183 
 A. D. 796. the Khazars* burst upon Armenia and fell upon the true believers and 
 piade great slaughter and carried away captive more than a hundred thou- 
 sand souls. Thus a grievous calamity fell upon Islam, the like of vrhich 
 had not been heard of before. 
 
 In the year 187, there came a letter to ar Eashid from Nicephorusf 
 the Roman Emperor breaking the truce which had been established be- 
 tween the Muslims and Irene Empress of Eome. The letter ran as follows : 
 " From Nicephorus, the Eoman Emperor, to Harun, sovereign of the Arabs : 
 After preliminaries — verily the Empress who preceded me gave thee the 
 rank of a rook and put herself in that of a pawn, and conveyed to thee many 
 loads of her wealth, and this through the weakness of women and their 
 folly. Now when thou hast read this letter of mine, return what thou 
 hast received of her substance, otherwise the sword shall decide between 
 me and thee." When ar Eashid read the letter, he was so inflamed 
 with rage, that no one durst look upon his face, much less speak to him, 
 and his courtiers dispersed from fear, and his ministers speechless forbore 
 from counsel. Then ar Eashid sent for an inkhorn and wrote upon the 
 back of the letter. " In the name of God, the most Compassionate the 
 most Merciful, from Hartin the prince of the faithful to Nicephorus the 
 Eoman dog. Verily I have read thy letter, son of an unbelieving mother, 
 and the answer thou shalt behold and not hear." Thereupon he set out 
 the same day and did not stay until- he reached Heraclea, and there took 
 place a famous battle and a manifest victory, and Nicephorus implored 
 peace and engaged to pay a tribute which he would transmit to him every 
 year and it was accepted. But when ar Eashid returned to ar Eakkah, 
 the dog violated the engagement, deeming impossible the return of ar 
 Eashid in the winter, and no one durst tell ar Eashid of the violation, but 
 A'bdu'r Eahman-b-Yusuf at Tamimi versified, saying, 
 
 " Nicephorus hath violated what thou didst concede to him, 
 Therefore around him* the circle of destruction shall revolve. 
 Give the good news to the prince of the Faithful, 
 Verily he is a spoil that the great God hath vouchsafed thee." 
 And Abu'l A'tahiyah made some verses which were shown to ar Eashid, 
 and he said — " indeed hath he done so ?" He therefore set out on his 
 
 * A Turkieh. tribe north, of Derbend, their eponymous ancestor being Khazar the 
 son of Japhet, the sou of Noah — for a particular account of them, consult Yakdt. The 
 cause of their irruption was the death of the Khiikiins daughter whom the Barmecide 
 Fadhl-b-Yahya had wooed. The Khdkdn had been informed that the Muslims had 
 put her to death. According to another account the murder of the Khalfto himself by 
 an Arab provoked the calamity. See Weil, Vol. Y, p. 168. 
 
 t The printed edition has j;*^ for Jj^ 
 
[ 297 ] 
 
 return march in the face of tbe greatest hardships until he caused his camel A. TI. 180. 
 to kneel in the Emperor's courtyard, and continued until he attained his A- i). 79o. 
 purpose and accomplished the object of his holy war : and concerning this, 
 Abu'l A'tahiyah says, 
 
 Now hath Heraclea perished in war 
 
 At the hand of the king who is guided to success. 
 
 Harun hastened thundering with death, 
 
 And lightening with bright cutting swords ; 
 
 And his standards upon which victory alights 
 
 Speed by as though they were broken masses of cloud. 
 
 In the year 189 he ransomed his people in captivity with the Romans, 
 so that there did not remain a single Muslim captive in their territories. 
 In the year 190 he took Heraclea and spread his troops over the Roman 
 territories. ShurahiUb-Maa'n-b-Zaidah captured the fortress as Sakdliyah, 
 and Yazid-b-Makhlad,* Malakuniyah.f Humayd-b-Ma'yuf set out against 
 Cyprus, and devastated and wasted it by fire and carried away into captivity 
 sixteen thousand of its people. 
 
 In the year 192 ar Rashid marched towards Khurasdn, and Muham- 
 mad-b u's Sabah at Tabari mentions that his father accompanied ar Rashid 
 to an Nahrawan, and he used to enter into conversation with him on the 
 road, until he said one day, " §abah I do not think that thou wilt see 
 me again after this," J I replied, " nay — may the Lord bring thee back in 
 safety." He continued, " I do not think thou knowest what I have." I 
 answered, " no— by Allah." Ar Rashid said " come till I show thee," and he 
 left the road and signed to his attendants who retired. Then he said " the 
 faithfulness of God, Sabah, he thy oath, that thou keep it secret concern- 
 ing me," and he uncovered his stomach, when lo ! there was silken bandage 
 round about his stomach, and he said, " I have concealed this disease from 
 all men, for each one of my sons hath a spy upon me ; Masrur is the spy 
 of al Mamiin, and Gabriel the son of Bakhtishuu' § is the spy of al Amin, 
 and I have forgotten the third. There is not one of them but counts my 
 breathings, and reckons my days and finds my life too long, and if thou 
 wishest to know this, I will at once send for a horse and they will bring 
 me one very lean in order to increase my malady hy its roughness." And 
 he sent for a horse and they brought one such as he described, and he 
 
 * Read *ii* for o.J.i'' 
 
 + The printed edition has erroneouly al i^uniyah. Malakuniyah is stated by 
 Yakut to be near Iconium. According to Theophanes, the Arabs took Thebasa (Dub- 
 sah or Dalsah ?) Malacopsea, Sideropolia, and Andrasua. Neither Yaktit nor Weil fix' 
 the position of aa Sakaliyah. See Weil's notice of these names, Xom. II, p. 160. 
 
 % The narrative hero passes from the third to the first person with the usual JU, 
 
 § His physician. 
 
 88 
 
[ 298 ] 
 
 A. H. 192. glanced at me and then mounted and bid me farewell, and set out for 
 A. D. 807. Jurjan. Shortly after he left it in the month of Safar of the year 193, 
 ■while stiU suffering, for Tus, and continued there till he died. 
 
 Ar Eashid had covenanted for the succession of his son Muhammad in 
 the year 175 on account of his mother Zubaydah's great eagerness for it 
 and surnamed him al Amin, he being at the time five years of age. Ad 
 Dahabi says that this was the first unsettlement that came upon the Mus- 
 lim state as regards the Imamate. He afterwards covenanted for his son 
 A'bdu'llah after al Amin in the year 182 and surnamed him al Mamiin and 
 bestowed on him the government of all the provinces of Khurasan. Next 
 he covenanted for the succession of his son al Kdsim after his two brothers, 
 in the year 186 and surnamed him al Miitamin, and made him governor 
 of Mesopotamia and the frontiers while he was yet a child. When he had 
 thus partitioned the world among these three, it was observed by one of 
 the learned, that he had thrown among them what would be their injury, 
 and that the evil of it would work mischief to his people. The poets 
 recited congratulatory poems on the covenant of allegiance, and he after- 
 wards suspended copies of the covenant in the temple of Mecca, and regard- 
 ing this Ibrahim of Mosul and said — 
 " The best of affairs in their issue, 
 ' The most just of ordinances in their completion. 
 Is a deed, the decrees of which hath promulgated 
 The most Merciful in the Sacred Temple." 
 
 And A'bdu'l Malik-b-Salih says :* 
 
 " The love of the Caliph is a love to which submit themselves not 
 The sinner against God, and the schismatic who promoteth discord. 
 God invested Harlin with this jurisdiction 
 When He chose him. He verified our faith and our laws. 
 And Harun through this benignity unto us, hath given jurisdiction 
 
 over the earth 
 Unto al Amin, al Mdmtin, and al Mutamin." 
 
 It has been stated by some authorities that ar Eashid withheld the 
 Caliphate from his son al Mua'tasim on account of his being illiterate, 
 but the Lord caused it to come to him and made all the Caliphs succeeding 
 him, to be of his descendants, and did not establish a Caliph from among 
 sons of ar Eashid, save of his stock. 
 
 * AM A'bdu'r Eahman A'bdu'l Malik-b-SaUlj-'b-A'li-b-A'bdi'lIah-'b-i'l A'bbSs- 
 b-A'bdi'l Muttalib. He was the most elegant speaker of all the surviving descendants 
 of al A'bb&B. The town of Manbij which he held as appanage, was his place of rcsi- 
 donoe. He died at Eakkah A. H. 193. Ibn Khali, 
 
[ 299 ] 
 
 Salm al Khasir says regarding the covenant in favour of al Amin — A. H. 193. 
 " Say to the dwellings on the vrhite sand-hills , A.D.808-9. 
 
 Watered by the morning rain-clouds, 
 Verily men and spirits have sworn allegiance to the guide unto 
 
 salvation 
 Unto Muhammad, the son of Zubaydah, daughter of Jaa'far.* 
 Verily God prospered the Caliphate, when he built 
 The House of Vicegerency, for the nobly born, the illustrious, 
 For he is the Caliph through his sire and grandsire 
 Who bear testimony unto him by evidence of sight and report." 
 Upon this Zubaydah stuffed his mouth with jewels which he sold for 
 twenty thousand dinars. (£10,000.) 
 
 Some particulars of the life of or BasMd. 
 
 As Silafi records in the Tuyytiriyat with ascription to Ibn u'l Muba- 
 rak, that when ar Rashid succeeded to the Caliphate, one of the slave girls 
 of al Mahdi made an impression on him and he sought her hand, but she 
 said, " I am not lawful unto thee, since thy father used to visit me." But 
 he grew violently enamoured of her and sent to Abti Yusuf,t and asked o£ 
 him, sajfing, " hast thou any remedy for this case ?" He replied, " O prince 
 of the Faithful — what ! is a slave girl to be believed whenever she makes 
 an assertion ? do not credit her — for verily she is not to be trusted." Ibn 
 u'l Mubarak observes on this " I know not at whom I should most 
 wonder in this affair — whether at this man who steeped his hands in the 
 blood of the Muslims and seized their goods, or at this slave girl who of 
 her own accord shrunk from the prince of the Faithful, or at this juris- 
 consult and judge of the earth who said, 'violate the honour of thy 
 father and gratify thy lust and put it upon my shoulders ?" As Silafi records 
 also on the authority of A'bdu'Uah-b-Yusuf that ar Eashid said to Abli 
 Tusuf, " I have bought a slave and wish to take her at once before the 
 legal period of abstention be passed — hast thou a device to offer ?" He 
 
 • Son of the Caliph al Mansdr. 
 
 t The Kadhi Ahli Yusuf Yakub al An?ari. He was a native of Kufah and one 
 of Abu Hanifah's disciples, a legist, a learned scholar and a Hafidh. While at Bagh- 
 dad, he acted as !^adhi to al Mahdi, al Hadi and Harun by the latter of whom he was 
 treated with great honor and respect. He was the first who bore the title of Kadhi u'l 
 Kudhat (or Chief Justice) and it is said that he was the first who changed the dress of 
 the ulema (learned) and gave it the form which it retains to this day. The anecdotes 
 told of him by Ibn Khali are numerous. He was bom 113 A. H, and died at Bagh- 
 dad A. H. 182 (798) holding the Kadhiship till his death. 
 
[ 300 ] 
 
 A. H. 193. replied, " Yes— give her to one of thy sons and then marry her."* And 
 A.D.808-9. from Ishak-h-Eahwayh that ar Eashid sent for Abd Yusuf one night, 
 who gave him his judgment on the case reguired. Ar Rashid then ordered 
 one hundred thousand dirhams (£2,500) to be given to him. " Abd Yusuf 
 exclaimed if the prince of the Faithful sees good, he will order it to be 
 given at once before morning." Ar Rashid said to Ms attendants, " bring 
 it immediately ;" but one of his suite exclaimed " the Treasurer is at his 
 house and the doors of the Treaswry are locked." Abii Yusuf retorted 
 " verily the doors were locked when he sent for me." They were therefore 
 opened and the money given. 
 
 As Siili records with ascription to Ya'kub-b-Jaa'far, that ar Eashid 
 set out in the year in which he assumed the Caliphate, in order to ravage 
 the outlying Eoman provinces and returned in Shaa'bdn and performed 
 the pilgrimage with the people at the close of the year, and distributed 
 great sums among the Sacred Cities. He had previously seen the prophet 
 in a dream who had said to him, " this authority will come to thee during 
 this month ; make war therefore and perform the pilgrimage and give 
 largely to the people of the Sacred Cities:" all of which he carried out. 
 And from Mu'awiyah-b-Salih on the authority of his father, that the first 
 verse composed by ar Rashid was when he made the pilgrimage in the 
 year of his accession to the Caliphate ; he entered a house and lo ! at the 
 head of a chamber in it was a line of a verse written upon the wall. 
 
 " Now, O prince of the Faithful, dost thou not see 
 (I ransom thee) that separation from a friend is a momentous thing ?" 
 
 "Whereupon he sent for an inkhorn and wrote beneath it with his own 
 band — 
 
 " Yes ; and the camels marked for sacrifice, and what moves 
 In Mecca wearied, at a hurried pace." 
 
 And from Said-b-Muslim that the understanding of ar Rashid was as 
 the understanding of the learned. An Nu'mdni versified to him in describ- 
 ing a horse, 
 
 " As if his two ears when he raises his head 
 Were the first feather of a wing or an obliquely-nibbed pen." 
 
 Ar Rashid said " omit lyli' (as if) and say " thou wouldest think his 
 two ears." So that the verse may run smoothly.f 
 
 And from A'bdu'llah-b-u'l A'bbas-b-i'l Fadhl-b-i'r Rabii' that ar 
 Rashid swore that he would not approach a female slave of his for a certain 
 number of days, and he was much attached to her. And when the period 
 
 * This legal period of abstention not being required in cases of marriage. 
 t The Caliph's emendation does not touch the scansion which is the sam« with cither 
 word. The metre is Rajaz. 
 
[ 301 ] 
 
 had elapsed, she did not seek to make him reconciled to her, whereupon he -A-. H. 193. 
 said, A.D. 808-9. 
 
 " *He shunned me when he saw me infatuated 
 
 And prolonged his patience, when he discovered it. 
 
 He was my slave and hath now become my master 
 
 Verily this is among the wonders of the age." 
 Then he sent for Abd'l A'tahiyah and said " Cap these lines" who said, 
 " The potency of love hath disclosed to him my humiliation 
 
 In my love for him, and he hath a comely face : 
 
 And through the one I have become his slave 
 
 And through the other hath appeared and become manifest what I 
 feel." 
 Ibn A'sakir records on the authority of Ibn U'layyah that ar Rashid 
 seized a Zindik, and gave orders that his head should be struck off, and the 
 Zindik said, " why dost thou strike ofE my head ?" He replied " I shall 
 free the people from thee." He replied "and where art thou against 
 the thousand traditions which I have falsely ascribed to the Apostle of 
 God, not one word of which he spoke ?" Ar Eashld answeved, " and where 
 art thou, enemy of God, before Abii Ishak al Fazari, and A'bdu'llah-b-u'l 
 Mubarak who can sift and eject them letter by letter ?" 
 
 As Siili records on the authority of Ishak al Ha^himi that he said, 
 " we were with ar Rashid when he exclaimed, ' I hear that the people 
 suspect me of hatred towards A'li-b-Abi Talib, whereas, by Allah I love no 
 one with the love I bear to him, but these people are the most violent in 
 bating and reviling us, and in attempting to excite discord in our kingdom, 
 notwithstanding that we have taken their blood-revenge, and shared with 
 them what we possess, so that they are more favourably inclined to the 
 children of Umayyah than towards us. But as to the descendants of his 
 loins, they are indeed the chiefs of the people and the first in merit, and 
 verily my father al Mahdi related to me on the authority of Ibn Abbas 
 that he heard the prophet say regarding al Hasan and al Husayn — whoso 
 loveth those two, verily loveth me, and whoso hateth those two, verily he 
 hateth me ; — and he likewise heard him say — Fatimah is the chief of the 
 women of the universe, save Miriam the daughter of I'mranf and Asyah 
 daughter of Muzahim.' " 
 
 * This mode of appealing to a mistress under tlie mark of an address to one of 
 the other sex is common in oriental poetry. It is from a jealousy of making public 
 the circumstances of life, or the attractions of those whom Eastern custom rigidly ex- 
 cludes from the gaze of men. According to De Slane this is still carried so far in 
 Cairo that pubHo singers dare not amuse their auditors with a song in which the be- 
 loved indicated is a female. 
 
 t This is the name given in the Kurau to the father of the Blessed Virgin. (Kur, 
 
[ 302 ] 
 
 A. H. 193. It is related that Ibn u's Samtnak went in unto ar Eashid who called 
 
 A. D. 808-9. for water to drink, and a goglet was brought to him, and when he took hold 
 of it, Ibn u's Sammak said " gently ! O prince of the Faithful ! if thou 
 wert forbidden this draught, at how much would'st thou purchase it ?" He 
 answered " with the half of my kingdom." The other said — " drink, may 
 the Lord make it wholesome to thee." And when he had drunk, Ibn u's 
 Sammak said, " I ask of thee, if its emission from thy body were forbid- 
 den thee, at how much would'st thou purchase its emission ?" He replied 
 " with the whole of my kingdom." He continued " verily a kingdom 
 ■whose price is a draught of water and its emission, is not worth contending 
 for." And Harun wept bitterly. 
 
 Ibn u'l Jauzi relates that ar Eashid said to Shayban, " give me an 
 admonition." He replied, " that thou shouldst consort with one who will 
 terrify thee until security cometh upon thee, is better than that thou 
 shouldst consort with one who will inspire thee with a feeling of security 
 until fear cometh upon thee." Ar Eashid said, " explain this to me." He 
 replied, " he who saith to thee, ' thou art answerable for thy people,' is a 
 better counsellor unto thee than one who saith — ye people of the propheti- 
 cal house — yoursins are forgiven ye— for ye are the kinsfolk of your pro- 
 phet." And ar Eashid wept until those who were around him had com- 
 passion on him. 
 
 In as Suli's work of the Aurak it is stated with its authorities, that 
 when ar Eashid assumed the Caliphate, and installed Yahya-b-Khalld as 
 first minister, Ibrahim of Mosul said, 
 
 " Didst thou not see that the sun was wan, 
 But when Hardn came, its rays shone forth. 
 
 The world has become clothed with beauty through his sovereignty, 
 For Harun is its monarch and Tahya its minister." 
 Whereupon ar Eashid made him a present of one hundred thousand 
 difhams and Yahya gave him fifty thousand. 
 
 The following is by DauM-b-Eazin of Wasit on Hardn. 
 " Through Harun the light hath shone over every city. 
 And in the justice of his disposition the ways of rectitude are 
 
 through him established. 
 The Imam whose works are directed to the service of God, 
 And what most frequently occupy him to that end, are war and 
 
 pilgrimage. 
 The eyes of the people are blinded by the light of his face 
 When his shining countenance appeareth before men. 
 
 Ill, see Sale's notes, p. 39). Asyah was the wife of Pharaoh who saved the life of 
 Moses from the anger of her husband, (Kur, XX, Sale, p, 257). 
 
[ 303 ] 
 
 Hopes grow ample through the munificence of his hand, A. H. 193. 
 
 For he giveth unto him who hopeth from him beyond what he A. D. 808-9. 
 hopeth." 
 The Kddhi al Fadhil* observes in one of his Epistles. " I know of no 
 journey ever undertaken by a monarch in search of knowledge, save that 
 by ar Eashid, who journeyed with his two sons al Amin and al Mamdn to 
 study the Muwattaf under Malik : the original of the Muwatta heard by ar 
 Eashid was in the library of the Egyptians. Afterwards the Sultan Salah- 
 u'ddin-b-Aydb travelled to Alexandria and studied the Muwatta under Ibn 
 Tahir J-b-A'uf — I do not know of a third that can he added to these two." 
 The following is by Man§ur an Namari§ on ar Eashid — 
 " He made the Kuran his Imam and his guide 
 When the Kuran chose him as a defence." 
 And from a poem of his is this verse — 
 
 " Noble qualities and beneficence are valleys, 
 God hath caused thee to dwell in them where they meet." 
 
 It is said that ar Eashid rewarded him for this with a hundred thou- 
 sand dirhams. 
 
 * AhA A'li Atdu'r Eahim al Lakhmi, al A'skalani, known as the Kadhi al Fadtiil 
 (the excellent Kddhi) was the son of the KMhi al Aahraf (the most nohle) and grandson 
 of the Kadhias Sa'id (fortunate). He was horn at Asoalon in A. H, 529 and was Vizir 
 to al Malik an Nasir Salah-u'ddm hy whom he was treated with great favour. He 
 was pre-eminent as a writer of epistles and surpassed every predecessor. Such is the 
 judgment of Ibn Khali confirmed hy the opinion of his contemporaries but to a Euro- 
 pean taste, his style is turgid, and the specimens of his correspondence given by Ibn 
 Khali, show the conventional mannerism and the hackneyed tropes of all Oriental 
 letter writers. He died at Cairo A. H. 696, (1200). 
 
 t The famous work on tradition by MaUk-b-Anas, which ia part of the basis on 
 which the Malikite system of jurisprudence is founded. 
 
 J The printed edition has incorrectly the name A'li for the preposition a'la (tj^) 
 and Ibn (wO for abi (i^') The MS. has not these faults. Abd Tahir Isma'il-b- 
 Makki-b-Isma'il-b-Isa-b-A'uf az Zuhri was a, doctor of the school of Malik and a 
 Mufti of the highest consideration, The Hafidh as Silafi attended his lectures and as 
 the text rightly says, the Sultan Salah-u'ddm studied the Muwatta under him. He 
 died A. H. 681 (U86). 
 
 § Mansur-b-u'l Zibrikan-b-Salmah called an Namari because descended from 
 Namar-b-Kasit. He was a native of Mesopotamia and brought by al Fadhl-b-Yahya 
 to the notice of ar Eashid. This poet adroitly copied Marwan-b-Abi Hafsah in join- 
 ing to his eulogies of the Caliph the disparagement of the family of A'li, by which he 
 intended to show that he did not recognize their claim to the Imamate. A practice 
 pleasing to the Caliph, notwithstanding his professions of love towards A'li and his 
 affected kindness to his descendants. Mansur died at Eas u'l A'yn in the reiga of 
 Hariin ; consult Kitab u'l Aghani, Tom. 12. 
 
[ 304 ] 
 
 A. H. 193. Al Husaya-b-rahra narrates that ar Eashid used to say — "among 
 
 A.D.803-9. the most pleasing to me of what has been said in my praise, is — 
 
 The father of al Amin, al Mamun and al Mutamin 
 " How generous is he as an affectionate father ! and how generous 
 those whom he hath begotten." 
 Ishak of Mosul says, " I went in unto ar Eashid and recited to him, 
 ' A woman enjoyed thrift, I said to her. Stay thee 
 For that is a thing to which there is no way. 
 I see that men are friends of the munificent and I see not 
 A miser in the universe that hath a friend. 
 And verily I have seen that avarice bringeth contempt on those that 
 
 practise it. 
 And my spirit is too generous that it should be called avaricious. 
 And the best of circumstances for a youth — if thou knowest it, 
 Is when he hath acquired a thing, that he be in the habit of giving 
 
 to others, 
 My gift is as the gift of the abundant in generosity, 
 And I have not, as thou verily knowest, little. 
 And how should I fear poverty and be deprived of wealth 
 While the judgment of the prince of the Faithful is so excellent.' " 
 Ar Eashid exclaimed — " no indeed — how ? if it please God. O Fadhl, 
 give him one hundred thousand dirhams. To Grod be attributed the flow 
 of the verses he hath brought us ! How admirable is their point and how 
 beautiful their arrangement !" I said, " O prince of the Faithful, thy words 
 are better than my verse." He replied, " O Fadhl, give him another 
 hundred thousand." 
 
 In the Tuyyuriyat with its ascription to Ishak of Mosul, it is stated 
 that Abd'l A'tahiyah said to Abu Nawas* I would that I had been before 
 hand with thee in the verse in which thou didst praise ar Eashid. 
 " Verily I used to fear thee, but what freed me 
 
 From fearing thee was thy fear of God." 
 Muhammad-b-A'li al Khurasani says that ar Eashid was the first 
 Caliph who played with hockey stick and ball and shot arrows at a target, 
 and the first Caliph of the sons of al A'bbds that played at chess, and 
 as Siili states that he was the first who appointed degrees and classes for 
 singers. Of the verses of ar Eashid in lament over his female slave 
 Haylanah, (Helen) as Siili quotes the following : 
 
 * The ready wit and brilliant powers of extempore versification of ar Eashid'a 
 famous poet may be souglit for in D'Horbelot's meagre sketch of his life, by the reader 
 who may be unacquainted with Arabic. The Arabic scholar needs no roforenco to the 
 life of one of the best known figures of his time. 
 
{ 305 ] 
 
 " I endured afflictions and sorrow ^- "• ^^°' 
 
 When death took HayMnah to itself. A- D. 808-9, 
 
 I parted from my happiness when I lost her 
 
 And care not now what it may be. 
 
 She was my world : and when she sank 
 
 Into her grave, I parted from my world. 
 
 Verily people have multiplied, but I 
 
 Behold no creature after her. 
 
 By Allah, I shall not forget thee 
 
 As long as the wind shaketh the boughs on the uplands." 
 And quoted by as Sdli is this verse by him — 
 " O, mistress of the mansion in Firk, 
 
 And mistress of the Sultan and his kingdom 
 
 For God's sake, spare to slay me 
 
 For I am neither Daylam nor Turk." 
 
 Ar Eashid died at Tds in Khurasan while leading a military expedi- 
 tion, and was buried there on the 3rd Jumada II, 193* (23rd March 809) 
 at the age of forty-five, and his son Salih read prayers over him. 
 
 As Siili says that ar Rashid left one hundred million dinars, and 
 furniture and jewels and bullion and beasts of kinds, to the value of one 
 hundred and twenty-five thousand dinars. 
 
 Another author states that Gabriel the son of Bakhtishuu' erredf in 
 his medical treatment of ar Rashid which was the cause of his death, and 
 ar Rashid purposed to have him quartered, but he said, " give me time 
 till to-morrow and thou wilt enter upon the morning in health." But he 
 died the same day. 
 
 It is said that ar Rashid dreamed that he was leading the prayers as 
 Imam at Tiis, and he wept, and said " dig me a grave ;" and one was dug 
 for him, and he was borne in a covered litter upon a camel, and it was driven 
 along until he beheld the grave, and he said, " O son of man, thou art 
 about to come to this." And he gave orders to a party who set him down, 
 and they read over him the entire Kuran while he was in the litter on the 
 
 * It is as "Weil remarks, a strange fact that notwithstanding the full and splendid 
 court kept by ar Eashid and the learned doctors, authors, traditionists and poets 
 that attended it, the date of his death, as that of his birth, is uncertain. Accor- 
 ding to Wdkidi, he died on Friday night, 3rd Jumada II, according to Hisham, Sunday 
 night in the beginning of Jumada II. According to others Jumada I. The duration 
 of his Caliphate is also a, matter of dispute — Weil follows Wakidi whose narrative 
 accords with that of" as Suyliti. 
 
 t The MS. has JaJi (was rough or harsh) instead of kle (erred) of the printed 
 text, , 
 
 39 
 
[ 306 ] 
 
 A. H. 193. edge of the grave. When he died allegiance was sworn in the army to 
 A. D. 809. al Amin, he being at that time in Baghdad. When the news reached him, 
 he prayed before the people on the Friday and preached a discourse and 
 announced the death of ar Eashid unto the people, and they swore alle- 
 giance to him. Eaja the eunuch took the mantle, sceptre and signet ring 
 and rode post from Marw till he reached Baghdad in twelve days in the 
 middle of the month of Jumada II, and deposited them with al Amin. 
 The following is by Abii'sh Shis* lamenting ar Eashid — 
 
 " A sun hath set in the East 
 And for it my eye weepeth ; 
 We have never before seen a sun 
 That set where it riseth." 
 
 Abd Nuwas has the following partly in condolence and partly in 
 congratulation. 
 
 " The stars revolve in fortunate and sinister aspects, 
 And we too are in grief and joy. 
 The heart weeps while the eye smiles 
 For we are in gloom and in gladness. 
 The rising al Amfn makes us smile 
 And the death yesterday of the Imam makes us weep. 
 They are two moons. One hath appeared at Baghdad 
 In al Khuld,t and a moon at Tus hath sunk in the grave." 
 
 Of the traditions recited by ar Eashid, as Suli mentions one related 
 by him on the authority of Anas that the Apostle of God said, " fear hell- 
 fire, though it be but for the value of a split date." And from A'li-b-Ab£ 
 Talib that the prophet said, " purify your mouths, for they are the path- 
 ways of the Kurdn." 
 
 AL AMrN. 
 
 Al Amin Muhammad, Abd A'bdu'llah, son of ar Eashid was the heir 
 of his father and assumed the Caliphate after him. He was one of the 
 finest of youths in appearance — fair, tall, handsome, possessed of great 
 strength and vigour and of renowned bravery. It is said that he once 
 
 • Muhammad-'b-A'bdu'llah-b-Eazin al KhuzSa'i surnamed Abu'sli Shfs. He com- 
 posed poema in honour of aa Kashid, al Amin and that GaUph's eon and successor, and 
 wrote elegies on the death of ar Eashid. He died A. H. 196. Ibn KhaU. 
 
 t " Paradise" the name of the palace at Baghdad, built by al Man^ur, Yakut. 
 
[ 307 ] 
 
 killed a H6n* with his own hands. He was eloquent, polished in speech, A. H. 193. 
 well-educated and accomplished, but defective in judgment, of great prodi- A. D. 809. 
 gality, weak in mind, apathetic and unfit for government. 
 
 As soon as he was acknowledged Caliph, on the following day, he 
 ordered the construction of a level piece of ground near the palace of al 
 Mansur for playing at ball. In the year 194 he removedf his brother al 
 :5asim from the government to which ar Eashid had appointed him, and 
 there occurred an estrangement between him and his brother al Mamiin. 
 
 It is said that Fadhl-b-Kabii', being aware that when the Caliphate 
 came to al Mamdn, he would have no mercy on him, J instigated al Amin 
 and urged him to set him aside and give the succession to his son Miisa. 
 When the disgrace of his brother al Kaaim reached al Mamiin, he cut off 
 all communication with al Amin and omitted his name from the uniforms§ 
 and the coinage. Shortly after al Amin sent to him desiring him to yield 
 Mlisa precedence in the succession to the Oaliphate before himself and stated 
 that he had named him NAtik-b-i'l Hakk (proclaimer of the truth). 
 But al Mamiin rejected it and refused him. The messenger|| (of al Amin) 
 joined the party of al Mamiin, and did homage to him as Caliph in secret. 
 Afterwards he used to keep him informed of news and sent him advices 
 from I'rak. 
 
 And when he returned and informed al Amin of the refusal of al 
 Mamiin, he struck out his name from the succession and sent for the deed 
 which ar Rashid had written and deposited in the Kaa'bah. They there- 
 fore brought it to him and he tore it in pieces and the estrangement le- 
 tween the brothers was thus increased. His counsellors urged their advice 
 on him and Khuzaymah-b-Khazim^ said, " O prince of the Faithful, he 
 who lieth to thee, giveth thee no good counsel, and he who speaketh the 
 truth to thee, doth not betray thee. Do not encourage** the officers to call 
 
 * The narrative of the feat is given by Ma§a'udi. 
 
 t That is Mesopotamia, hut allowed him to retain the governorship of Kinnasrin 
 and command of the fortresses of the marches. "Weil. 
 
 J He was the prime minister of al Amin and altogether wedded to his interest. 
 He had also suffered the maltreatment of one of al M&mtin's messengers in his presence 
 by one of his suite, and allowed him to speak harshly of that prince of which al Mamuu 
 Was informed by the messenger himself on his return. Ibn u'l Athir. 
 
 § So Weil translates this word j^. The MS. has "khutbah" (*i^'»') Ibn u'l 
 Athir has j^ with the printed text. 
 
 I His name was A'bbas-b-Miisa, one of four delegates despatched by the Oaliph 
 to al Mamiin. 
 
 IT The printed text and MS. have — Hazim-b-Khuzaymah, but this is an error^ 
 Masa-ddi, Ibn u'l Athir Ibn Khaldun and Weil who follows them, write the name as I 
 have given it. 
 
 ** For .s' of the printed text, read, as in Masaudi and Ibn u'l Athir, /g.^ar'. 
 
 The MS. has also ^^y^^ but without the Tashdid. 
 
[ 308 ] 
 
 A. H. 194. for deposal, for they will some dm/ depose thee, and do not incite them 
 A. D. 810. to violate a compact, for they will violate their covenant of allegiance 
 to thee, for verily he who deceives shall be deceived, and he who perjures 
 himself shall be betrayed." But be would not listen to advice, and set 
 about conciliating the officers with presents, and had the covenant of suc- 
 cession taken for his son Mdsa who was at that time a child in arms, and 
 surnamed him Natik-b-i'l Hakk. One of the poets has said regarding 
 this.* 
 
 " The Caliphate is ruined by the treachery of the vizier. 
 
 The profligacy of the prince and the folly of his counsellor ; 
 
 For Fadhl is the vizier and Bakr the councillor. 
 
 Seeking that in which lieth the perdition of the prince. 
 
 And stranger than either one or the other 
 
 Is that we should swear allegiance to a little child, 
 
 Onet that is unable to blow its nose 
 
 And is never out of the lap of its nurse. 
 
 And J what is this, but that Fadhl and Bakr 
 
 Seek to deface the Illustrious Book. 
 
 And were it not for the vicissitudes of Fortune, these two 
 
 Would never be among princes and leaders." 
 When al Mdmun was assured of his having been set aside, he assumed 
 the title of the prince of the Faithful and was thus addressed. Al Amin 
 appointed A'li-b-I'sa-b-Mahan to the mountainous districts of Hamaddn, 
 Nahawand, Kumm and Ispahan in the year 195. A'li-b-I'sa then set 
 forth from Baghdad in the middle of Jumada II, at the head of an army 
 forty thousand strong, the like of which had not been seen, to engage al 
 Mamun, and he took with him a silver chain,§ in order as he thought to 
 bind him with it. Al Mamlin despatched against him Tahir-b-u'1-Husayn at 
 the head of less than four thousand men. He was victorious and A'li was 
 slain and his army routed. His head was taken to al Mdmun and 
 sent through Khurasan and al Mamiin was saluted as Caliph. The 
 news reached al Amin while he was engaged in fishing, and he said 
 to him who brought the reporb, " Confound thee ! Leave me, for Kau- 
 thar (his eunuch) hath taken two fish, and I have not taken anything as yet." 
 
 * This, according toMasaMi was a blind poet of BagMad called A'li-lD-Al)i Tffib. 
 
 Some of the Hnes I have omitted for reasons obvious to tbose who can read tbe original. 
 
 t So this line rirns in Masa'udi jy« aUa> JirH m) y # 4iJ| ^-«» ^^-«^ ir»Ji-' ly'" 
 
 j.llojS;'^ The one in the text is probably the correct one, but it is untranslatable. 
 
 X Masaddi haSjU j pLxj J/| ti'lil* j He also gives a closing line which ia not 
 
 in the text, jjjfia:-'| ji,<oj 1^a3 jiy jl^s'^li jywi ^^^ j But it hath summits like 
 hills upon which worthless things are flung up. 
 
 § This, according to Tabari, was given to Aliby al Amin, according to Ibn Khal- 
 ddn by Zubaydah. Weil. 
 
[ 309 ] 
 
 A'bdu'llat-b-Sdlih al Jarmi* says, that when A'li was slain, the people A. H. 195. 
 in Baghdad raised a great tumult and al A.min repented of having set aside A. D. 811. 
 his brother. The nobles too, sought to obtain what they could of him, and 
 despatched their troops to demand pay of al Amin, and the contest con- 
 tinued between him and his brother. The affairs of al AmIn daily grew worse 
 through his abandonment to frivolity and follies, while those of al Mamiin 
 improved till the inhabitants of the Sacred Cities and the greater part of 
 I'rak swore aUegianee to him. The circumstances of al Amin at length 
 became desperate, the discipline of the army was destroyed, and his treasures 
 dissipated, by reason of which the condition of the people fell into a griev- 
 ous state. Meanwhile violence, devastation and ruin waxed great and in- 
 creased through the continuance of hostilities and the play of the engines 
 of war and the liquid naphtha, till the splendours of Baghdad were obli- 
 terated and dirges were sung over it. And among the pieces recited 
 regarding it, is the following — 
 
 " If wept tears of blood over Baghdad when 
 
 I lost the delights of a happy life ; 
 
 The eye of the envious fell upon it 
 
 And destroyed its people by the engines of war." 
 The siege of Baghdad continued for fifteen months, and the greater 
 number of the Abbasides and ministers of State joined the forces of al 
 Mamuri and none remained with al Amin to defend him, but the rabble and 
 the vagabonds J of Baghdad, and this lasted till the beginning of the year 
 198. Then Tahir-b-u'l Husayn entered Baghdad at the point of the sword, 
 and al Amin fled -with his mother and family from the palace to the city of 
 al Manslir,§ and all his troops and servants dispersed, and food and water 
 became scarce among them. 
 
 Muhammad-b-Eashid narrates, " Ibrahim-b-u'l Mahdi|| told me that 
 he was with al Amin in the city of al Mansur, and added, " he sent for me 
 
 * In the text this name is marked Jurmi, Taut I think this is an error. Ibn Khal 
 in his life of Ahti Omar al Jarmi (so De Slane writes the name) says that there are 
 several trihes so called. The Muntaha'l Arab gives the name Jarm, hut not Jurm, nor 
 is there such a town in YakAt who, however, mentions Jirm as a place near Badakhshan, 
 
 t Ten more lines of this poem may he found in Mas' audi. 
 
 J Kazimirski gives two plurals to this word — viz., jjfe.Jsj|jA. and «X*^ , The 
 text and MS. have ^mJi^, Lane does not give it. 
 
 § The old city called also the city of Ahti Jaa'far. Masa'lidi. See M. deMeynard's 
 translation, Tom VI., p. 471. 
 
 II Brother to Hardn ar Eashid. He had great talent as a singer and was an agreeable 
 companion at parties of pleasure. He was surnamed at Tinnin or the dragon, from his 
 large frame. He was proclaimed Caliph at Baghdad during the absence of al Mamdn in 
 Khurasan, and so contiaued for nearly two years. His flight and adventures have been 
 ■ given by Tabari and others and are well known. He died at Sarr-man-raa A. H. 224 
 (839). IbnKhaU. 
 
[ 310 ] 
 
 A. H. 198. one night, and I went to him and he said, ' dost thou not observe the "beauty 
 A..D.813-14i. of the night, the splendour of the moon and its radiance on the water? 
 what sayest thou to a bout of wine ?' I replied ' do as thou wilt.' Then 
 we drank together and he sent for a slave girl whose name was Dhaa'f 
 (weakness) and I was struct with the ill-omen of her name. He command- 
 ed her to sing and she sang a verse of an Nabighah al Jaa'di's.* 
 
 ' By my life, Kulayb had more allies. 
 
 Had more numerous foUowersf than thou, and yet was stained with 
 blood.' 
 
 The Caliph felt this as in ill augury and said ' sing something else.' 
 So she sang — 
 
 ' Their departure hath made mine eye to weep and hath rendered it 
 
 sleepless. 
 For separation is a cause of weeping unto friends. 
 The adversity of fortune continued to attack them 
 Until they destroyed one another, for the adversity of fortune is 
 
 inimical. 
 And to-day I weep for them greatly and lament them 
 Until I return so incessantly that no tears are left in my eyes.' 
 
 He exclamed — ' may Allah curse thee ! knowest thou nothing but that ? 
 She replied ' I thought that thou didst like this.' Then she sang again — 
 ' But, by the Lord of repose and movement, 
 Verily death hath many snares. 
 Days and nights do not recur nor 
 Do the stars revolve in the sky and the firmament. 
 Save to take a king from his kingdom. 
 Verily his authority passeth to another monarch, 
 But the kingdom of the Lord is everlasting. 
 It deoayeth not neither is it shared.' 
 
 He exclaimed — ' Begone — Allah curse thee !' and she arose and 
 stumbled over a crystal goblet of price and broke it. He said, ' alas, Ibrd- 
 
 * Ha8san-b-|f ays a member of the trite of Jaa'd-Tj-Kaa'b known as an. NAbighai 
 al Jaa'di was one of tbe most celebrated of the poets contemporary with Muhammad. He 
 was born before the promulgation of Islamism and fought on A'li's side at Siffin. He 
 died during the reign of Abdu'Uah-b-uz Zubayr. He was Burnamed an Nabighah because 
 he did not give any proofs of poetical talent till after his 30th year. De Slan§. Ibn 
 Khali. 
 
 + So I venture to translate U!^j.«j( The phrase <-*JiJt aIj^ (-Lift* means 
 Okayl has numerous horsemen, ljAJA'O a man having many dependents. Masa'Adi 
 has l/«jA.j,v.j| and Ibn u'l Athir the same. 
 
[ 311 ] 
 
 tim !— dost thou not see ? by Allah. I cannot but think that my time is A. H. 198. 
 
 drawing near !' I replied ' nay— may Allah prolong thy life and render A.D.813-14v 
 
 glorious thy kingdom.' Then I heard a voice from the Tigris, saying—' the 
 
 case is judged regarding which ye two called for a judicial decision' — at 
 
 ■which Muhammad al Amin sprung up in great trouble. A night or two 
 
 after this, he was slain. He was taken and imprisoned in a house and a 
 
 party of Persians were let in upon him, and they struck him with their 
 
 swords, and cut him through the nape of his neck and went with his head 
 
 to Tahir, who placed it upon a wall of a garden, and it was proclaimed by 
 
 the crier, ' This is the head of the deposed Muhammad,' and his body 
 
 was dragged by a rope." 
 
 Tahir then sent the head, the mantle, the sceptre and the praying 
 carpet which was of palm branches lined, to al Mdmdn. The assassin- 
 ation of his brother weighed sorely on al Mamiin for he would have 
 preferred that he should have been sent to him alive in order that he might 
 consider his intention regarding him. He therefore hated Tahir and neg- 
 lected him with total oblivion till he died in distant exile.* Thus were 
 verified the words of al Amin, for he had written a letter with his own hand 
 to Tahir-b-u'l Husayn when he was summoned to war against him in which 
 he said ' O Tahir, no assertor of our rights hath ever arisen in our behalf, 
 since we came to power, but his reward from us was the sword — therefore 
 look to thyself or meddle not — consider Abd Muslim and such as he, who 
 spent themselves in serving the A'hlasides and their end was death at their 
 hands." Kegarding the murder of al Amin, is the following by Ibrahim al 
 Mahdi. 
 
 " Turn to the mansion on the hills, effaced by the blowing winds 
 
 At Khuld, formed of stone and tile. 
 
 And the polished marble with which it was faced 
 
 And its gate, a gate of resplendent gold. 
 
 And convey for me a message to 
 
 The prince, concerningt the ruled and him who rules. 
 
 Say to him ' O son of the prince of right guidance. 
 
 Cleanse the cities of God from the 'presence of Tahir ; 
 
 It was not enough for him that he should cut J the jugular veins of 
 al Amin 
 
 « His splendid Ibanislunent to the almost iBdependent government of Khuristo 
 may weU have consoled him for the loss of the society of a capricious master from whose 
 taidy remorse he did not feel himself safe. D'Herhelot says that al MAmtin could not 
 look upon Tahir without weeping. He became the founder of the dynasty that hears 
 his name. 
 
 t Ibn u'l Athir has ts^* for lif* of the text. 
 
 X The text makes tliis and another verb in the next line passive without any 
 
[ 312 ] 
 
 A H 198. I'i^e the slaughter of sacrificial ofEerings, with cutting blades, 
 
 A.D. 813-14. ^^^ ^® must* drag his limbs 
 
 With a rope, meaning thereby to act as a merciless avengerf ; 
 
 Verily death hath settled on his eyelids 
 
 And his eye hath a troubled glance.' " 
 Asd among the verses that were composed is also — 
 
 " Why should I lament thee ? why ? for thy mirth, 
 
 O Abii Musa and thy continual frivolity ? 
 
 And for thy neglect of the five devotions at their appointed times 
 
 Through, thy passion for wine ? 
 
 For Shanif J I shall not mourn 
 
 Nor care I for the retribution that hath befallen Kauthar. 
 
 Thou wert incapable of rule nor 
 
 Was obedience rendered unto thee in the Arabian kingdom. 
 
 Why should we mourn for thee ? for what thou hast exposed us to 
 
 At one time to the engines of war, and at another to pillage ?" 
 There is a poem by Khuzaymah-b-u'l Hasan supposed to be recited by 
 Zubaydah, in which he says : § 
 
 " Tahir came, may the Lord not purify Tahir from sin. 
 
 For Tahir was impure in the purpose for which he came. 
 
 He turned me forth with uncqvered head and unveiled. 
 
 And plundered my goods and destroyed my dweUings. 
 
 What 1 have suffered will afiiict Harun, 
 
 And what hath befallen me from the basest and most corrupt of. 
 mankind. 
 
 Eemember, O prince of the faithful my kinship : 
 
 I ransom thee with my life, thou who art revered and remembered. 
 Ibn Jarir says that when al Amin assumed the government, he pur- 
 chased eunuchs and gave excessive prices for them, and admitted them to 
 his intimacy and abandoned the society of his wives and slave girls. 
 Another author observes that on his accession he sent into the districts in 
 quest of buffoons, and allowed them stipends and procured a number of 
 
 occasion. The sense is made clearer by allowing them to stand simply as transitive 
 verbs which from Ibn u'l Athir, it is evident they are. 
 • i^>jsri Ji\ ^J^ iijn u'l Athir. 
 
 J These were two of his minions. 
 
 § This poem is omitted in the MS., but it wiU be found in Ma?a'udi where it is 
 stated to be written by Zubaydah herself to al Mdmun. There are several additional 
 Hues in Maja'udi and some variants from those in the text, the last lino especially 
 being altogether diflforont. 
 
[ 313 1 
 
 wild beasts, and animals of prey and birds, and kept apart from his family A. H, 198. 
 and his nobles, and treated them with contempt. He wasted what was in A.D.813-14. 
 the public treasuries and squandered jewels and objects of price in profu- 
 sion and built numerous palaces in various places for purposes of amusement, 
 and on one occasion he gave a boat full of gold as a present to one who 
 sang to him the following verse — 
 
 " I kept retired from thee till thou saidst, 'he knoweth not the distress 
 of aversion,' 
 
 And I visited thee so often that thou saidst, * he hath no self- 
 restraint.' " 
 
 He also built five barques in the shape of a lion, an elephant, an eagle, a 
 serpent and a horse, and spent great sums on their construction, regarding 
 which Abd Nuwas said, 
 
 " The Lord hath subjected unto al Amin 
 
 Animals for his riding which have never been subjected to Solomon. 
 
 For whenever his riding camels go by land, 
 
 He goeth upon the water mounted on a lion* of the forest. 
 
 A lion with outstretched limbs ready to spring 
 
 With wide jaws and terrible teeth." 
 
 As Sdli relates on the authority of Muhammad-b-A'mr ar Rumi, that 
 Kauthar the eunuch of al Amin went forth to watch the fighting and a 
 missile struck him in the face. Al Amin set about wiping the blood from 
 his face and said — 
 
 " They have struck the apple of my eye, 
 And on account of me, have they struck him. 
 May Allah punish for my heart's sake 
 Those who have set it on fire." 
 
 But he was unable to add to these lines, so he summoned A'bdu'llah-b- 
 u't Taymi the poet and said to him " Cap these two." Upon which he 
 exclaimed — 
 
 " There is no equal to him whom I love, 
 
 The whole world is dazed in him. 
 
 Union with him is sweet, but 
 
 Parting is bitter and hateful. 
 
 Those who see in him his 
 
 Superiority over them, are envious of him. 
 
 In the same manner as the monarch that reigns is envied by his 
 brother." 
 
 For c*aJ read 
 
 40 
 
[ 314 ] 
 
 A. H. 198. Upon which al Amin gave him three mule-loads of dirhams. But when 
 
 A.D,813-14. al Amin was slain, at Taymi went to al Mamlin and vaunted his praises, but 
 he would not allow him an audience, whereupon he betook himself to al 
 Fadhl-b-Sahl who introduced him into al Mamdn's presence, and when he 
 had made his salutation, the Caliph said, " Come, O Taymi, some more 
 of—" 
 
 In the same manner as the monarch that reigns 
 Is envied by his brother. 
 At Taymi said,* 
 
 " A'bdu'llah al Mamun was succoured 
 When they oppressed him. 
 The covenant was violated 
 Which they had formerly made with him. 
 His brother did not deal with him 
 As his father had directed." 
 Upon this he pardoned him and ordered ten thousand dirhams to be 
 given to him. 
 
 It is said that Sulayman-b-Mansur complained to al Amin that Aba 
 Nuwas had satirized him and he replied, " O uncle, can I put him to death 
 after his saying — 
 
 I offer praise unto Muhammad al Amin, 
 And beside it there is no commodity so desired. 
 Praise speaketh truly of Muhammad al Amin, 
 Though of praise there is much that \» false and lieth. 
 Verily the bright moon waneth after it hath reached its fulness. 
 But the splendour of the light of Muhammad waneth not : 
 And if the pebbles of the sons of al Mansiir be counted 
 Then Muhammad among them is like a picked sapphire." 
 Ahmad- b-Hanbal observes " verily I trust that the Lord wiU be 
 merciful unto al Amin for his repudiation of Isma'il-b-U'layyah, who was 
 brought unto him, and the Caliph said — son of an adulteress — it is thou 
 that sayest that the Kuran is created !" 
 
 Al Masa'lidi says, " no one up to my time hath ruled the Caliphate 
 being a Hashimite and the son of a Hashimite woman, save A'li-b-Abi 
 Talib, his son al Hasan, and al Amin whose mother was Zubaydah daughter 
 of Jaa'far-b-Abi Jaa'far al Mangdr : her name was Amat u'l Aziz (hand- 
 maid of the Almighty) and Zubaydahf was a surname given to her." 
 
 * To the reader -who ia not acquainted -with the Arabic it may he as well to 
 mention that this is continued in the same metre and rhymes with the preceding lines 
 to al Amin. 
 
 + Zubaydah is diminutive of " Zubdah" cream or fresh butter. See hor life in 
 Ibn Khali, And Do Slane's note. 
 
[ 315 ] 
 
 tsbak of Mosul states that there were q[ualities in al Amin to be A. H. 198. 
 found united in no other — he was one of the handsomest of men in A.D.Sla-l*. 
 face and one of the most generous ; the noblest of the Caliphs by his 
 father's and mother's side, skilled in letters, versed in the art of poetry, 
 but enslaved by sensuality aad frivolity, and notwithstanding his extra- 
 vagance in money, a niggard in his table. 
 
 Abul Hasan al Ahmar says, " I used often to forget a verse by which 
 a point of grammar might be illustrated, and al Amin would adduce it 
 for me, and I have never met among the sons of a monarch any quicker of 
 apprehension than he and al Mamin, His assassination occurred on (the 
 24.th or 25th) Muharram of the year 198, (24ith or 25th September, 813) 
 he being twenty-seven years of age." 
 
 Of people of note who died during his reign were : Ismail-b-U'layyah, 
 Ghundur, Shakik al Balkhi the ascetic, Abti Mu'awiyah ad Dharir (the blind) 
 Muwarrij* as Saddsi, A'bdu'llah-b-Kathir the Kuran reader, Abu Nuwas 
 the poet, A'bdu'llah-b-Wahb, disciple of Malik, Warsh the Kuran reader, 
 Wakii' and others. 
 
 A'li-b-Muhammad an Naufali and others say that neither as Saffah 
 nor al Mansiir nor al Mahdi nor al Hadi nor ar Bashid were prayed for 
 in the pulpits by their surnames, nor so addressed in epistolary correspon- 
 dence until al Amin reigned, and he was prayed for as al Amin in the 
 pulpits, and correspondence was conducted in his name thns, " From the 
 servant of God Muhammad al Amin prince of the Faithful," and to the 
 same effect al A'skari observes in his Awail, viz., that the first who was 
 prayed for by his surname in the pulpits was al Amin. 
 
 Among the verses of al Amin addressed to his brother al Mamun, 
 reviling him on account of the base descent of his mother, on hearing that 
 al Mamiin was in the habit of recounting his vices and asserting his own 
 superiority over him, are the following quoted by as Stili — 
 
 " Be not vain-glorious for thyself in the absence of the choicest 
 of thy race. 
 For vaunting is justified alone in a perfect man. 
 And if thou exaltest thyself over men through their merit, 
 Then pause, for thou art not pre-eminent. 
 Thy grandsire hath bestowed upon thee what thou didst desire, 
 
 yet forsooth 
 Thou wilt find the reverse of thy wishes with Marajil,! 
 Thou ascendest the pulpit each day, hoping 
 For that which thou shalt not obtain after me. 
 
 * The text has erroneously " Muwarrakh," but the MS. ia correct. Muwarrij 
 was a grammarian of Basrah. See his life in Ibn Khali, 
 t The name of his mother who was a slave concubine. 
 
[ 316 1 
 
 A. H. 198. And thou reproachest one who is above thee in merit 
 
 A.D.813-14i. And repeatest vain words regarding me." 
 
 I remark that this verse is of approved merit, and if it is really his, it 
 is better than the poetry of his brother and his father. As Suli says, that 
 the following lines on his eunuch Kauthar who was serving wine to him 
 while he was reclining on a couch of narcissus flowers, and the moon had 
 just risen are ascribed to him, but others ascribe them to al Husayn b-u'd 
 Dhahhak* al Khalii', a boon companion of his who was never separate from 
 him. 
 
 " The full moon hath so pourtrayed thy beauty of thy face that 
 I deemed I saw thee and yet saw thee not. 
 Whenever the tender narcissus breathes, 
 I think it the sweet breath of thy brightness. 
 An illusion of my desires hath occupied me with thee 
 In the splendour of the one and the fragance of the other. 
 I will abide while I live, in thankfulness 
 Unto the one and the other while they resemble thee." 
 By him also are these lines on his eunuch Kauthar — 
 " What seek the people of a lover 
 Afflicted for one he loves ? 
 Kauthar is my faith and my worldly fortune, 
 Both my sickness and my physician ; 
 The most despicable of men is he who reproveth 
 A lover on account of his beloved." 
 
 The following was composed by him when he despaired of his kingdom, 
 and Tahir obtained the mastery over him. 
 " O soul ! now must thou beware 
 For where is there a refuge from Fate ? 
 Every man, of what he feareth 
 And hopeth, is in peril. 
 He who sippeth the sweets of life 
 Shall one day be choked by affliction." 
 As Siili records with its ascription that al Amin said to his scribe, 
 "Write as follows: From the servant of God, Muhammad, prince of the 
 Faithful, to Tahir-b-u'l Husayn — Greeting to thee ! And now, verily, things 
 
 * Generally known by the appellation of al Khalii' (the libertine). He waa bom 
 at Ba?rah in 162 A. H., descended from a native of Khurdsan. He was a writer and a 
 poet, and was admitted to the society of the Caliphs and enjoyed their favour to an 
 extent almost unequalled by any other save Ibrdhim of Mosul. He had some amusing 
 adventures with Abu Nuwds. He died A. H. 250 (864) having nearly attained his 
 hundredth year. Ibn Khali. An account of him will be found in the Kitdb u'l 
 Agh&ni. Fol. 6, p. 170— but the verses in the text ai'e not oitod therein. 
 
[ 317 3 
 
 have proceeded between me and between my brother even to the rending A. H. 198. 
 of veils, and the disclosure of what is inviolable, and I am not sure but A.D. 813-14. 
 that he may covet this authority which is distant and remote from Mm, 
 through the difEerences in our friendship and the opposition of our interests. 
 Yet, verily, I am content that thou shouldst write me a safe-conduct to my 
 brother, and if he be generous towards me, such conduct is worthy of him, 
 but if he put me to death, then hath manliness destroyed manliness, and 
 the sword cloven the sword, for, verily, I would rather that a lion should 
 rend me than that a dog should bark at me," but Tahir refused his re- 
 quest. And on the authority of Ismail-b-Abi Muhammad al Yazldi, that 
 he said, " my father used to discourse with al Amin and al Mamlin on sub- 
 jects in which they displayed their eloquence, and he used to say, " the 
 children of the Caliphs of the House of Umayyah used to be sent out to 
 the desert, that they might gain purity of speech, but ye are even more chaste 
 in language than they." As Siili says, " I know not of any relation of a 
 tradition by al Amin save this one. Al Mughirah-b-Muhammad al Muhal- 
 labi said to me, ' I saw a company of the Banu Hashim, among whom was 
 one of the sons of al Mutawakkil, with al Husayn-b-u'd Dhahhak, and 
 they asked him regarding al Amin and his acquirements. Al Husayn 
 described his accomplishments as considerable. ' And in theological law ?' 
 asked they. He replied ' that al Mamun was more profoundly versed in it 
 than he.' 'And in tradition?' they said. He answered 'I never heard 
 a tradition from him but once, when it was announced to him that a slave 
 of his had died in Mecca, when he exclaimed — my father related to me a 
 tradition, heard from A'bbas, who said — I heard the prophet say — he who 
 dies engaged in the functions of the pilgrimage, shall be raised giving the 
 salutation Labayk.' "* 
 
 At Tha'alabi in the Lataif-u'l Ma'arif observes that Abu'l A'ynaf 
 used to say, " were Zubaydah to let loose her braided locks, they would 
 
 * This Taltiyat or cry of supplication (wMcli signifies, " here I am at thy service") 
 is incumbent upon the pilgrim. To use it frequently is meritorious and is a aunnat 
 or practice, a, single Talbiyat is a " shart " or positive condition. The refrain is 
 
 See Burton's Mecca, p. 232. 
 
 t Ahu Abdu'llah Muhammad-h-al Kasim, Maula to the Caliphal Mansur was a blind 
 man remarkable for his repartees, verses and literary knowledge. He was born at al 
 Ahwaz A. H, 131 and bred at Basrah. He received the surname of Abu'l A'yna from 
 
[ 318 ] 
 
 L H. 198. fasten upon nothing but Caliphs or heirs to the Caliphate, for al MansAi? 
 
 \..D.813-14. was her grandsire and as SafEah the brother of her grandsire, and al Mahdi 
 her paternal uncle, and ar Eashid her husband, and al Amia her son, and 
 al Mamun and al Mua'tasim the sons of her husband, and al Wathik and 
 al Mutawakkil her husband's grandsons, and as for the heirs-apparent, they 
 are numerous. Like her, in this respect, of the House of Umayyah was 
 A'atikah, daughter of Tazid-b-Mu'awiyah. Tazid was her father, Mu'awiyah 
 her grandfather, Mu'awiyah-b-Yazid her brother, Marwan-b-u'l Hakam 
 her father-in-law, Abdu'l Malik her husband, Yazid her son, al Walid her 
 son's son, al Walid, Hisham and Sulayman the sons of her husband, and 
 Yazid and Ibrahim the two sons of al Walid, grandsons of her husband. 
 
 AL MAMITN. 
 
 Al Mdmlin A'bdu'Uah Abli'l A'bbis the son of ar Eashid was horn 
 in the year 170 on Thursday night* in the middle of Eabii' I, the 
 same night on which al Hadi died, and on which his father ar Eashid, 
 succeeded him. His mother was a slave concubine named Marajil who 
 died in giving birth to him. In his childhood he applied himself to learn- 
 ing. He heard traditions from his father and Hushaym and A'bbad-b- 
 u'lA'wam, Yusuf-b-A'tiyah, Abu Mu'awiyah adpharir,Ishma'il-b-U'layyah, 
 Hajjaj al Aa'war (the one-eyed) and men of their class.f 
 
 Al Yazidi instructed him in polite accomplishments and he assembled 
 the jurisconsults from all quarters, and became a proficient in jurisprudence 
 and the Arabic language, and the history of the encounters of the desert 
 Arabs. When he grew up he applied himself to philosophy and the sciences 
 of the ancients and became profoundly versed in them, and it was that 
 which seduced him into asserting the creation of the Kuran. f Jaa'f ar-b- 
 
 his having asked Abu Zayd al An?firi, the diminutive of A'yni (a large-eyed female) 
 to -wbioli he received the answer ' TJ'yayna O Ahu'l A'ynA, which nickname clung 
 to him ever after. He died, according to Bome in 283, according to others 282 A. H. 
 Some of his witty replies are given hy Ibn KhaU from whom the above extract is 
 taken. 
 
 * In the life of ar Eashid, this event is given as having occurred on Friday 
 night. See page 290. 
 
 t For j***^ read as in the MS. (»«*fl■^^. 
 
 % The orthodox Muslims maintain, if I may venture upon a definition of their 
 belief, that the Kurin, the uncreated Logos, was from the beginning, — co.eternal 
 with the Deity, not of His essence in hypostatic union, but an inseparable inherent 
 quality of it, like His Unity. Al Mdmtin adopted the opinions of the Mua'tazalites 
 (whom Weil terms the Protestants and Rationalists of Islam) who asserted tho 
 necessity of its creation by the Deity, They believed the word of God to have been 
 
[ 319 ] 
 
 Abi Othman at Tayalisi and others Lave related traditions on his authority. A. H. 198. 
 He was the most distinguished of the House of A'bbas for his prudence, A.D.813-14. 
 his determination, his clemency and judgment, his sagacity and awe- 
 inspiring aspect, his intrepidity, majesty and liberality. He had many 
 emiment qualities, and a long series of memorable actions are r worded of 
 him were it not that he marred them hy what he did in forcing men to an 
 interrogation regarding the creation of the Kuran. Of the House of 
 A'bbas none wiser than he ever ruled the Caliphate. He was eloquent and 
 fluent of speech, and he used to say, " Mu'awiyah ruled through his A'mar, 
 and A'bdu'l Malik through his Hajjaj, but I by myself." It used to be 
 said that the Band A'bbas were distinguished by a beginning, a middle 
 and an end, for the beginning was as Saffah, the middle al Mamun, and 
 and the end al Mu'atadhid. 
 
 It is related that in one of the fasts of the Eamadhan, he read the 
 Kuran through thirty-three times. He was notorious for his attachment 
 to the Shiite doctrines which indeed led him to exclude his brother al 
 Miitamin and confer the succession upon A'li ar Eidha* as we shall shortly 
 mention. Abu Maa'shar.f the astrologer, says that al Mamun was wont 
 to govern with justice, possessed a natural turn for jurisprudence, and 
 deserved to be accounted among the greatest doctors. Of ar Eashid, it is 
 reported that he said, " verily I recognise in A'bdu'llah {al Mamun) the 
 prudence of al Mansur, the piety of al Mahdi, and the maje.sty of al Hadi, 
 and if I chose to mention him in connection with a fourth (meaning 
 himself), I might do so, and yet I gave precedence to Muhammad {al 
 Amiri) before him, although I knew him to be a slave to his passions, 
 lavishly profuse of what he possessed, and calling into counsel with him 
 his concubines and wives, and had it not been for Umm Jaa'far {ZubaydaK) 
 and the affection of the Banu Hashim for him, I would have placed 
 A'bdu'llah before him.' 
 
 Al Mamiin assumed the supreme power after the assassination of his 
 brother in the year 198, while he was in Khurasan and he took the surname 
 of Abu Jaa'far. As Suli says that the A'bbassides preferred this surname, 
 because it was the surname of al Mansiir, and it possessed in their minds 
 
 created in subjeeto, and to consist of letters and sound, copies tliereof being -WTitten 
 in books to express the original. They also vent further and affirmed, that -whatever 
 was created in subjeeto was an accident and liable to perish. See their doctrines in 
 Sale. The arguments of al Mamun in defence of his opinions will afterwards appear 
 in a letter to his Prefect at Baghdad. 
 
 * The son of Musa, the sixth in descent from A'li-b-Abi Talib. 
 
 t Abu Maa'shar Jaa'far-b-Muhammad, al Balkbr the celebrated astrologer was the 
 great master of his age in that art. He composed a number of works on the science 
 of the stars, such as the Mudkhil {Introduction) the Zij (astronomical tables). He was 
 very successful in his divinations. He died A. H. 272 (885-6J. Ibn Khali. 
 
[ 320 1 
 
 A. H. 198, a majesty and an auspieiousness on account of the longevity of those who 
 
 A.D.813-14. were so named, such as al Mansur and ar Eashid. 
 
 In the 201 he excluded his brother al Mutamin from the succession 
 and appointed as heir after him A'li ar Eidha the son of Mdsa al Kadhim 
 (the meek) the son of Jaa'far as Sadik {the vfriffht). His extravagant 
 attachment to the Shiite doctrines induced him to this, so that it was even 
 said, that he himself purposed abdicating and resigning the government to 
 him. It was he who named him ar Eidha (the accepted of God and men), 
 and he coined money in his name, gave him his daughter in marriage and 
 promulgated this in the various quarters of his empire. He likewise 
 commanded the abandonment of black garments* and the adoption of 
 green. This was highly displeasing to the Banii'l A'bbas, and they rose 
 ■up against him and swore allegiance to Ibrahim the son of al Mahdi who 
 was surnamed al Mubarak (blessed). Al Mamun prepared to oppose him 
 and various affrays and engagements took place and al Mamiin set out 
 for Irak. Now it came to pass that A'li ar Eidha diedf in the year 203, 
 whereupon al Mamun wrote to the people of Baghdad telling them as 
 they were angered against him on account of his having taken the cove- 
 nant of allegiance for A'li, that he was now dead, but they returned him 
 a rough answer, so al Mamun began his advance. Now Ibrahim the son 
 of al Mahdi heard that the people had withdrawn from their engagement 
 to him, wherefore he hid himself in the month of Du'l Hijjah. Thus his 
 reign lasted two years all but a few days, and he remained in concealment 
 for the space of eight years. Al Mamiin arrived at Baghdad in Safar 
 204, and the Abbasides and others entreated him to return to the wearing 
 of black and the abandonment of green ; he at first hesitated but after- 
 wards consented. 
 
 As Siili records with its ascription that one of the women of his 
 family said to al Mamun, " verily thou art generous to the descendants of 
 A'li-b-Abi Tdlib, but the government in thy hands is more powerfully 
 employed against thy interests for their benefit than it would be in their 
 hands for thine," but he replied, " verily I have done what I have done, 
 
 * According to Itn Khaldfln, the A'bbasides adopted iDlack as mourning for the 
 slaughter of so many of the Hashlmites under the Umayyad dynasty. The followers of 
 A'li who rose against the Ahhasidea took the opposite colour, white. The adoption of 
 green hy al Mamun, Weil supposes to have been suggested by an idea of a mixture 
 of the two colours, as significant of an alliance between the two — the word j*^^ 
 meaning grey as well as green. The rebel Aliites in the reign of al Man?ur wore 
 yellow according to Tabari. Al Mdmidn, however, soon recalled the order, and the 
 cherished black was again resumed. See Weil. Tom II, p. 216. 
 
 t It was strongly suspected that he died of poison administered at the instigation 
 of al Mdmfin ; Masa'iidi attributes Uis death to indigestion from eating grapes, but 
 alludes to the rumour that he was poisoned. 
 
[ 3ai ] 
 
 because Abii Bakr when he ruled, did not appoint any of the Banii Hashim A. H. 204 
 
 to office, and so with Omar and Othmdn ; then A'li succeeded to the A. D. 819. 
 
 government and he appointed A'bdu'llah-b-A'bbas to Basrah, Ubayd- 
 
 u'llah to Yaman, Maa'bad to Mecca and Kutham to Bahrayn, and he left 
 
 none of them without naming them to some post. This therefore was 
 
 upon our shoulders, until I recompensed him in his posterity by what I 
 
 have done." 
 
 In the year 210, al Mamiin married Buran daughter of al Hasan-b- 
 Sahl* and her outfit amounted to many thousand dinars. Her father 
 presented the chief officers of State with robes of honour and entertained 
 them for the space of nineteenf days, and wrote on slips of paper the 
 names of estates belonging to him, and scattered them among the generals 
 and the A'bbassides, and into the hand of whomsoever a slip fell with the 
 name of an estate in it, he received it, and he showered before al Mamiin 
 a tray full of pearls when the bride was conducted to him. 
 
 In the year 211 al Mamun commanded it to be proclaimed that who- 
 soever should speak well of Mu'awiyah should be outlawed and that A'li- 
 b-Abi Talib was to he considered the best of men after the Apostle of 
 God. In the year 212 al Mamiin made public his doctrine on the creation 
 of the ICnran conjoined with the deolaration of the superiority of A'li 
 over Abu Bakr and Omar, but the people shrunk from it with aversion 
 and the country was near being involved in rebellion, but he did not obtain 
 by this what he desired, wherefore he desisted from it until the year 218. 
 In the year 215 al Mamun undertook an expedition against the Byzantines 
 and captured by force of arms the fortress of Kurrah, and the fortress 
 of Majidah,J and then returned to Damascus. In the year 216 he again 
 advanced into the Eoman territory and took a number of fortresses and 
 again retired to Damascus. Afterwards he proceeded to Egypt and entered 
 it, and was the first who entered it of the A'bbaside Caliphs. In the year 
 217 he returned to Damascus and repeated his invasion of the Soman 
 territory. § 
 
 * His prime minister. The cost of tlie nuptials is stated by Ibn Khali to have 
 been 60 million dirhams (about £1,200,000). Buran's grandmother presented the 
 OaUph with 1000 pearls — and on the marriage night a candle of ambergris weigh- 
 ing 801b was placed in a candlestick of gold. The Caliph himself protested against 
 this wild extravagance. In compensation for hia expenses he gave al Hasan one 
 year's revenue of Fars and al Ahwaz. Ibn Khali. 
 
 t For **^«« in the text which is a misprint, rea **«J 
 
 X So Ibn al Athir and Weil : the text has Majid. Both these places are in the 
 neighbourhood of Tarsus. 
 
 § As Suyuti omits to mention the conquest of Crete and Sicily. " Under the 
 reign of al Mamfin, at Baghdad, of Michael the Stammerer at Constantinople, the 
 41 
 
[ 322 ] 
 
 A. H. 218. In the year 218 be submitted the people to an inquisition regarding 
 
 A. D. 833. the doctrine of the creation of the Kursln, and he wrote to bis prefect in 
 
 Baghdad, Ishak-b- Ibrahim al Khuzaa'i cousin of Tahir-b-u'l Husayn 
 
 regarding the interrogation of the learned, a letter in which he says as 
 
 follows: 
 
 " Verily the prince of the Faithful is aware that the public at large, 
 and the general herd of the rabble and vulgar mob who have no insight 
 nor knowledge, nor seek illumination from the light of wisdom and its 
 demonstration, are a people ignorant of God and blind in regard to Him, 
 and in error as to the truth of His doctrine, and fail to estimate Him 
 according to the reality of His transcendence, and to arrive at a true 
 knowledge of Him and to distinguish between Him and His creature, and 
 that inasmuch as they have formed an ill opinion of the difEerence between 
 Him and His creation and what He hath revealed in the Kuraa, for they 
 are agreed upon its being from the beginning, not created by God nor 
 produced by Him ; yet, verily, the Most High hath said, ' verily we have 
 made the same an Arabic Kuran' (Kur. XLIII). Now, indeed whatever 
 He hath made. He hath created, as the Most High hath said, ' and hath 
 created the darkness and the light,' (Kur. VI) and, ' do we relate unto 
 thee of the histories of the Apostles,' (Kur. XI) — vim., of what had 
 previously occurred — wherefore He announceth that He relateth events 
 subsequent to which He produced the Kurdn. Again He says, ' this hoo&j 
 the verses of which are guarded against corruption, and are also distinctly 
 explained,'* (Kur. XI). .Therefore is God the guardian of His book and 
 its expounder, He is therefore its maker and its originator. Further, they 
 pretend to adhere to the prophetical traditions and that they are the people 
 of orthodoxy and of the church, and all besides them are in error and 
 infidelity, and they pride themselves on this and seduce the ignorant 
 by it, so that a number of persons following a false course and yielding 
 submission to other than God, have inclined to agreement with them. 
 Thus they wrest the truth to the side of their vain words and make of 
 other than God a channel to their own error." He goes on to say, " the 
 prince of the Faithful therefore considereth these to be mischievous people 
 who would hinder a portion of the divine unity, and vessels of ignorance 
 and beacons of falsehood and the tongue of Satan speaking among his 
 
 islands of Crete and Sicily were subdued by the Arabs. Hie former of these con- 
 quests is disdained by their own writers who were ignorant of the fame of Jupiter and 
 Minos, but it has not been overlooked by the Byzantine historians.'' Decline and 
 Fall, (0. lii). The history of Sicily under the MusUms may be read with interest in 
 the pages of Amari-Storia dei Musulmini di Sicilia. 
 
 * So distinctly explained that this single passage alone has received many dif- 
 
 ferent interpretations on account of the ambiguity of the words i-i**^i^T and >^A-A*, 
 The difficulties of private judgment are not confined to the churches of the West. 
 
[ 823 ] 
 
 accomplices and terrifying his enemies — the people of God's word. It is A. H. 218. 
 right, therefore, that the sincerity of such a one should he suspected and his A. D. 833. 
 testimony rejected, for he is not to he trusted who is ignorant as to his 
 true course and his portion in the divine unity, and hath heen moreover in 
 exceeding'error and hath wandered astray from the right path. And by the 
 life of the prince of the Faithful, the greatest liar among men is he who 
 speaketh falsely of God and of His revelation, and who inventeth untruths 
 and doth not comprehend God with a real comprehension of Him. Assemble, 
 therefore, the Kadhis that are with thee and read to them my letter and 
 question them as to what they maintain, and discover from them what they 
 believe in regard to the creation of the Kuran and its being called, into 
 existence, and inform them that I seek no assistance in my service, nor do 
 I put my confidence* in one who is untrustworthy in his faith. And if 
 they allow it and are of accord, then command them to .interrogate those 
 witnesses that come before them and to question them as to their belieff 
 in the matter of the Kuran, and to reject the testimony of those who do 
 not allow it to be created, and write to me regarding what cometh to thee 
 concerning the Kadhis of the people under thy jurisdiction in their inter- 
 rogations, and orders about them will be issued accordingly." Al Mamun 
 likewise wrote to him to send seven individuals to him, and they were, 
 Muhammad-b-Saa'd Katib u'l Wakidi, Yahya-b-Ma'in, Abu Khaythamah, 
 Abu Muslim disciplej of Yazid b-Harun, Isma'il-b-Daudd, Isma'il-b-Abi 
 Masa'iid, and Ahmad-b-Ibr^him adDauraki. They were accordingly sent 
 to him and he questioned them on the creation of the Kuran and 
 they admitted it, wherefore he sent them back from Rakkah to Baghdad. 
 The reason of their having been summoned was, that they at first hesita- 
 ted, but afterwards admitted it through fear. He wrote again to 
 Ishak-b-Ibrahim to summon the jurisconsults, the Shaykhs and the tradi- 
 tionists and to inform them of what the seven had admitted. He 
 did so, and some joined in agreement, while others were recusant and 
 Yahja-b-Ma'in said, '' we consented through fear of the sword." After- 
 wards he wrote another letter to Ishak, after the manner of the first, and 
 
 « The MS. has (J-'li ^ in place of the (JJjt S of the text, 
 t The MS. has ly* the text w*. 
 
 t Lit. one who writes at the dictation of another. It was the custom for the 
 disciples of a master of any science to sit round him and write down the information 
 he gave them : these manuscript records were termed Amali or dictations. Yazid-b- 
 Earun was a famous traditionist of Baghdad. It was through dread of his opposition 
 that al Mamtin hesitated for some time to assert publicly his doctrine on the creation 
 of the :^uran, a doctrine which Yazid strenuously opposed. He was born A. H. 118, 
 died 206. See De Slane I. K. regarding further particulars of his life. The lives of 
 the others mentioned (except the last) will be found in Ibn Khali. 
 
[ 324 1 
 
 A. H. 218. commanded him to summon those who were recusant. He therefore 
 A. D. 833. summoned a number among whom were Ahmad-b-Hanbal, Bishar-b-u'l WaHd 
 al Kindi, Abd Hassan az Ziyddi, A'li-b-Abi Mukdtil, al Fadhl-b-Ghanim, 
 TJ'baydu'Uah-b-Omar al Kawariri (the flask-seller), A'li-b-u'l Jaa'd, Sajjadah, 
 ad Dayyal-b-u'l Haytham, Kutaybah-b-Sa'id, Saa'dawayh al Wasiti, Ishak- 
 b-Abi Israil, Ibn u'l Haras * Ibn U'layyah the elder, Muhammad-b-Nlih 
 al I'jli, Tahya-b-A'bdu'r Eahman al Omari, Abu Nasr at Tammdr (the 
 date-seller) Abii Ma'mar al ICatia'i, Muhammad-b-Hatim-b-Maymiin and 
 others, and he showed them the letter of al Mamiin, but they hung back 
 and dissembled, neither admitting nor denying. Then he said to Bishar-b- 
 u'l Walid " what dost thou say ?" he answered " verily I have informed 
 the prince of the Faithful more than once." The other continued, " and 
 what is thy opinion now ? for verily a letter has newly arrived from the 
 prince of the Faithful." He answered, " I say, it is the word of God." 
 He rejoined, " I do not ask thee that — is it created ?" Bishar replied, 
 " there is nothing better to say than what I have told thee, besides I 
 have a stipulation with the prince of the Faithful that I need not discuss 
 it." Then Ishak addressed A'li-b-Mukatil, "what dost thou say?" He 
 replied, " the Kuran is the word of God, but if the prince of the Faithful 
 lay on us a command, we hear and obey." Abii Hassan az Ziyadi replied 
 to the same effect. Next he questioned Ahmad-b-Hanbal " what dost 
 thou say ?" He answered " it is the word of God." He asked, " is it 
 created ?" he replied, " it is the word of God, I shall not say more than 
 this." Then he interrogated the rest and recorded their answers. Ibn u'l 
 Baka said, " I declare that the Kurdn was made and brought into existence 
 on the authority of the revealed text to that effect." Ishak said to him 
 " and what is made is created." He replied " yes." " Therefore," said 
 Ishak, " the Kuran is created." He answered, " I do not say it is created." 
 Then Ishak sent their answers to al Mamun, and a letter from al Mamiin 
 reached him, saying, " what the pretenders to orthodoxy and the seekers 
 after an authority for which they are unfitted have replied, hath reached 
 me. Now whoso doth not admit that the Kuran is created, suspend his 
 exercise of judicial powers and authority to relate tradition." He goes on 
 in his letter. " As to what Bishar sayeth, verily he lieth, for there passed 
 no stipulation between the prince of the Faithful and him,t more than the 
 accounts which the prince of the Faithful has of his belief and sincere 
 profession and assertion that the Kuran is created. Summon him before thee 
 therefore, and if he recanteth, publish his case abroad, but if he persisteth 
 in his infidelity and denieth, in his impiety and heresy, that the Kurdn is 
 created, smite him on the neck and send his head to me. The same with 
 
 » MS. and Itn u'l Athi'r. Harash i^j* 
 t MS. >-^i LS* " in this matter." 
 
[ 325 ] 
 
 Ibr^him-b-u'l Mahdi : question him, and if he assents, it is well, i£ not cut A. H. 218. 
 off his head. As for A'li-b-Abi Mukatil, say to him, ' art thou not he who A. D. 833. 
 said to the prince of the Faithful that thou verily canst absolve and bind ?.' 
 As to ad Dayyal, inform him that the grain which he stole from the 
 granaries is what distracts him from other affairs. With regard to Ahmad- 
 b-Yazid-b-i'l A'wam and his saying that he cannot give a better answer 
 concerning the Kuran, tell him that he is a child in mind though not in 
 years — he is ignorant — he will find an answer to his liking when he is 
 better taught ; if he doth not do so, the sword is behind it. As to Ahmad- 
 b-Hanbal, inform him that the prince of the Faithful is aware of the 
 matter of his argument and draws an inference from it, of his ignorance 
 and falsehood. As to Fadhl-b-Ghanim, tell him that it is not unknown 
 to the prince of the Faithful what he was about in Egypt and what wealth 
 he acquired in less than a year — to wit in his ofiice of Kadhi. As for az 
 Ziyadi tell him that he used falsely to claim clientship with a spurious 
 son."* (But Abli Hassan az Ziyadi denied that he was client Jy descent 
 of Ziyad " the son of his father," but that he was called az Ziyadi for other 
 reasons.) As to Abu Na§r the date-seller, verily the prince of the Faithful 
 likeneth the meanness of his intellect to the baseness of his trade. With 
 regard to Ibn Niih and Ibn Hatim inform them that they employ them- 
 selves in taking usury, to the hindrance of their knowledge of the divine 
 unity, and if nothing justified the prince of the Faithful in hostility to 
 them in the cause of Q-od, but their usury and what hath been revealed 
 regarding such as they, that alone would justify it, but how much the 
 more when they have added infidelity to usury and have become like the 
 Nazarenes. As to Ibn Shujaa' inform him that the prince of the Faithful 
 was with him but a short time since, and took from him what he took of 
 the property which he authorized unto Ibn Hisham from the substance 
 of the prince of the Faithful. As for Saa'dawayh of Wasit, say to him — • 
 " may the Lord bring to shame that man whose pretentiousness in tradition 
 and the craving for authority therein have led him to lie at the time of in- 
 terrogation. With regard to him known as Sajjadah and his denial that he 
 had heard from those who had conversed with the learned, of the doctrine 
 that the Kur£n is created, tell him that his occupation, and the counting 
 of beads (date stones) and his directions for the adjustment of his prayer- 
 carpet and the deposits made with him by A'li-b-Yahya and others, are what 
 cause him to forget the divine unity. As to the flask-seller, what is 
 
 * See note §, page 198. It will be remembered that Mu'awiyab attempted to 
 procure the recognition of Ziyad as the son of Abti Sufyan by Summayya the wife 
 of a Greet slave whom he met in a tavern and ia a fit of drunkenness seduced. The 
 truth of the affliation, however, was doubtful and Ziyad was known or unknown aa 
 the " son of his father," 
 
[ 326 ] 
 
 A. H. 218. manifest of his circumstances and taking of bribes and presents, sufficiently 
 A, D. 833. reveals his religious profession, his evil course of life and the weakness of 
 his understanding and of his faith. As to Yahya al Omari, if he be a 
 descendant of Omar-b-u'l Khattab, the answer to him is apparent. With 
 regard to Muhammad-b-u'l Hasan-b-A'li-b-A'4'sim, if he foUoweth his 
 ancestors who have passed away, he cannot have professed adherence to the 
 doctrinal school which is mentioned in connection with him, besides, he is 
 but a lad in need of being instructed. And verily the prince of the 
 Faithful sent to you one known as Abu Mushir, after the prince of the 
 Faithful had subjected him to inquisition on the subject of the Kuran ; 
 — he faltered and hesitated about it, until the prince of the Faithful called 
 for the sword for him when he abjectly yielded. Now interrogate him in the 
 matter of his assent, and if he standeth by it, publish it abroad and 
 proclaim it, and such as do not draw back from their heresy of those thou 
 hast named after Bishar and Ibn u'l Mahdi, send them bound to the camp 
 of the prince of the Faithful, that he may question them, and if they recant 
 not, he will put them to the sword." The narrator says — " but all of them 
 yielded upon this, save Ahmad-b-Hanbal, Sajjadah, Muhammad-b-Niih and 
 the flask-seller, whereupon Ishak gave orders regarding them and they 
 were put in fetters. Then he questioned them the following day, they 
 being in fetters, and Sajjadah yielded. Again he interrogated them a 
 third time, and the flask-seller submitted, and he sent Ahmad-b-Hanbal 
 and Muhammad-b-Niih to the Eoman territories.* Afterwards it came to al 
 Mamiin's ear that these had reaUy yielded under compulsion, wherefore he 
 was enraged and summoned them to him, and they were being taken to 
 him when the news of the death of al Mamun reached them before their 
 arrival in his presence. Thus the Lord was merciful to them and banished 
 their fear." 
 
 Now al Mamdn fell sick in the Eoman territories, and when his illness 
 became serious, he sent for his son A'bbas to be brought to him, and he 
 feared that he would not reach him in time, but he arrived when al 
 Mamdn was in the last distress. And, verily, letters had been already 
 despatched to the provinces containing the following, " From A'bdu'llah 
 al Mamun, and his brother Ishak the Caliph after him, under authority of 
 these presents." Some say that this occurred by order of al Mamiin, 
 while others assert that they wrote this at a time when a swooning fit was 
 on him. 
 
 Al Mamiin died on Thursday the 18th Eajab, 218 (^th August 883) 
 at Badandun in the Eoman territories and was carried to Tarsus and there 
 buried. t Al Masa'udi relates that he encamped on the stream of Badan- 
 
 * Where the Caliph with his army was at the time. 
 
 t Known to the Byzantines under the name of iroBoi'Soi' or ttoSoi'tos. Yakut, 
 places it at a day's march from Tarsus. Within the fortifications of which is the 
 
[ 327 ] 
 
 dun and its coldness and limpidity, the beauty of the place and its'abundant A, H. 218. 
 
 ■verdure pleased him. He saw in the stream a fish glittering like silver A. D. 833. 
 
 which struck him with admiration, but no one could swim in the streani 
 
 on account of the intensity of its coldness. He therefore offered a sword* 
 
 to any one who would bring it out An attendant went in and caught it 
 
 and came out, but it struggled and got away into the water, and the chest 
 
 and throat of al Mamiin were splashed and his garments drenched. The 
 
 attendant went in a second time and caught it. And al Mamdn said " let it 
 
 be fried at once." Shortly after an ague seized him and he was covered 
 
 up with blankets while he was shivering and crying out.f Then they 
 
 lighted a fire round him and the fiah was brought, but he could not touch 
 
 it in his distraction regarding his own condition. After a little he rallied 
 
 from his sufEering and asked the interpretation of the name of the place 
 
 in Arabic. They said, " stretch out thy feet," J and he regarding it as 
 
 an evil omen. Then he asked the name of the country and they said 
 
 " Eakkah." Now according to the horoscope drawn at his birth, it was 
 
 foretold that he would die at Kakkah, wherefore he always avoided making 
 
 a stay at Eakkah, but when he heard this reply from the Romans he 
 
 knew Ms fate and despaired and said " O Thou whose kingdom never endeth, 
 
 have mercy on one whose kingdom hath passed away." When the news 
 
 of his death reached Baghdad, Abu Sa'id al Makhzlimi said — 
 
 " Hast thou seen the stars protect 
 Mamun and his kingdom firmly established ? 
 They have abandoned him between the two valleys of Tarsus 
 As they abandoned his father at Tus." 
 
 At Tha'alabi observes, " there are not known of any father and son 
 among the Caliphs any more distant graves than those of ar Rasliid and 
 al Mamun." He adds, " similarly the sepulchres of five of the sons of al 
 A'bbas are separated by a wide interval of space, the like of which men 
 have not seen, for the tomb of A'bdu'Uah is in Taif, that of U'baydu'llah at 
 Medina, that of al Fadhl in Syria, of Kutham in Samarkand, and of Maa'bad 
 in Africa." 
 
 tomb of al Mamun. According to him one of the gates of the town is called the • 
 gate of Badandfin. 
 
 * Masa'udi, has ''H** " a prize." 
 
 t " The cold ! the cold !" i:yM ^J^\ Masa'udi. 
 
 X Podendon — from iroSo and reicai. 
 
A. H. 218. 
 A, D. 833. 
 
 [ 328 ] 
 
 On some accoiMtts of al Mdmun. 
 
 Niftawayh* says that Hamid-b-u'l A'bbAs-b-i'l Wazir related to me 
 as follows : " We were in the presence of al Mamiin when he sneezed, but 
 we did not pray for a blessing upon him, whereupon he said, ' why do ye 
 not pray for a blessing upon me ?' we replied, ' we held thee too exalted, 
 O prince of the Faithful.' He answered, ' I am not one of those monarchs 
 who thinketh himself above prayer.' " Ibn A'sakir records on the authority 
 of Muhammad al Tazidi that he said, " I used to instruct al Mamiin, and 
 one day I went to him but he was in privacy, wherefore I sent to him one 
 of the attendants to inform him of my arrival, but he delayed, and I . sent 
 again to him and still he tarried, so I said ' this youth often diverts 
 himself with idle trifling.' They replied, ' yes, and withal when he leaves 
 thee, he is ill-tempered with his attendants and they meet with great 
 annoyance from him, therefore set him right with correction.' And when 
 he came out, I ordered him to be brought up and I struck him seven blows 
 with a scourge, and he was rubbing his eyes which were in tears when they 
 called out, ' Jaa'far-b-Yahya* is coming.' So he took a kerchief and wiped 
 the tears from his eyes and gathered up his garments and went to his 
 carpet, sat down cross-legged and after a little, said, ' let him come in.' 
 He then entered and I withdrew from the assembly, fearing that he 
 would complain to him of me. Jaa'far then advanced in front of him and 
 conversed with him and made him laugh and went out again. Then I 
 came up and said, ' verily I feared that thou wouldst complain of me to 
 Jaa'far.' He replied, ' O Abli Muhammad, I would not have told ar 
 Eashid of this, how then Jaa'far ! indeed I am much in need of correc- 
 tion.' " 
 
 And from A'bdu'llah-b-Muhammad at Taymi that he relates — " Ar 
 Rashid designed to make a journey, wherefore he commanded the people 
 to prepare for it and informed them that he would set out at the end of 
 the week, but the week passed and he did not go, so they gathered round al 
 Mamiin and asked him to obtain information concerning it, wherefore al 
 Mamiin wrote to ar Bashid, who did not know that he could versify, the 
 following lines ; — 
 
 " best of those whom a beast of burden conveyeth, 
 And of those whom a saddled charger foUoweth, 
 Is there an appointed time for the march that we may know it, 
 Or is our order for the march to remain obscure ? 
 
 * This famous grammarian was a native of "Wdait where he was born in A. H. 
 244, he resided at Baghdad and died there A. H. S23. Ibn Khali. 
 
 t For the Kfe and unhappy end of this famous minister of ar Eashid consult 
 Ibn Khali, and D'Herbelot. 
 
[ 339 ] 
 
 There is no knowledge of this save with the king, A. H. 218. 
 
 From his lustre we borrow light in the darkness. A. D. 833. 
 
 If thou go forth, good guidance will set out following thee 
 
 And if thou remain, good guidance will be detained with thee." 
 Ar Rashid read them and was pleased with them, and wrote upon 
 them, " O my little son ! what hast thou to do with verse-making,* which 
 is the highest qualification of the base, but the last of the accomplishments 
 of the noble." He also records on the authority of al Asma'i that the 
 impression on the signet ring of al Mamiin was, " the servant of God son 
 of the servant of God." And on that of Muhammad-b-A'bbad, that none 
 of the Caliphs knew the Kuran by heart except Othman-b-A'ffan and al 
 Mamiin. I observe, that I have already refuted this limitation in the 
 remarks that have preceded. He records likewise on the authority of 
 Ibn U'aynahjt that al M&mlin assembled the learned and held a public 
 andience, when there came forward a woman and said, " O prince of the 
 Faithful, my brother died and left six hundred dinars — they have given 
 me but one dinar, saying, " this is thy share." Al Mamiin computed and 
 made the fractional division of the inheritance and said to her, " this is thy 
 portion." The learned said to him, " how dost thou know, prince of the 
 Faithful ?" He said to her, " this man left two daughters." She answered, 
 " yes." He proceeded, " then they have two-thirds, viz., four hundred, and 
 be left a mother, and she has one-sixth, viz., one hundred, and he left a wife 
 and her share is an eighth, viz., seventy-five — and, by Allah, hast thou twelve 
 brothers ?" She said, " yes." He went on — " they get two dinars a piece 
 and one dinar comes to thee." And from Muhammad-b-Hafs al Anmati 
 (the carpet merchant), that he narrates, " we were breakfasting with al 
 Mamiin on a festival day and there were placed upon the table more than 
 three hundred dishes, and every time a dish was served, al Mamun looked 
 upon it and observed, " this is good for such a thing and hurtful for such 
 another. Now if there be among you one who is phlegmatic, let him 
 avoid this, and he among you, who has the yellow bile J let him eat of this, 
 and he who is subject to atrabiliousness, let him not partake of this, and 
 he who desires to eat but little, let him restrict himself to this." Upon 
 this Yahya-b-Aktham§ said to him, " prince of the Faithful, if we were to 
 
 • |^»SJ| MS. 
 
 t In the printed text for. ^iM^ read *^e. The MS. ia here correct, 
 t According to early notions on this subject the four constituent humours of the 
 body were: f^h phlegm, j^"^^! yellow tile, *Ti>j«"-'l black bile, and (•<iJl 
 
 the blood. See Lane, Art. ctj^. 
 
 § Yahya-b-Aktham was appointed ?;adhi of Ba§rah by al Mamun in A. H. 202. 
 See I. K. Life of Ibn Abi Duwad. 
 43, 
 
[ 330 ] 
 
 A. H. 218. enter upon the discussion of medicine thou wouldst be a G-alen in the 
 A,. D. 833. knowledge of it, or of the stars, a Hermes in their computation, or of 
 jurisprudence an A'li-b-Abi Talib in its comprehension, or should liberality 
 be spoken of, thou wouldst be a Hatim Tai in its description, or the truth 
 of tradition, an Abu Darr in its proof, or generosity a Kaa'b-b-Mamah* 
 in his deeds, or good faith, a Samuel b-A'adiya in fidelity."t Al Mamun 
 was pleased at this speech and said, " verily, man is distinguished by his 
 intellect, and were it not for that, no flesh would be better than other flesh, 
 nor blood than other blood." 
 
 And from Yahya-b-u'l Aktham — " I never saw a more perfect man 
 than al Mamlin — I once passed a night with him and he awoke and said, 
 'O Yahya, see what there is near my foot.' I looked but saw nothing. 
 He then called for a candle and the attendants hastened up, and he said, 
 ' search' and they searched and lo ! beneath his quilt was a snake as long as 
 his body, and they killed it, and I said ' verily the knowledge of the 
 unseen is a further addition to the accomplishments of the prince of the 
 Faithful !' He replied — ' God preserve me ! no — but a secret monitor called 
 to me but now when I was sleeping and said — 
 
 " 0, thou who sleepest at night — awake ! 
 !For calamities travel by night. 
 The reliance of a youth on his fortune 
 Is like trusting to loosened fastenings." 
 
 And I awoke and knew that something had happened either near or at a 
 distance, and I reflected on what might be near and it was what thou hast 
 seen.' " And from U'marah-b-U'kayl, " Ibn Abi HafjahJ the poet said 
 
 * One of the principal chiefs of the trihe of Iy£dh, noted for his liberality. Da 
 Slane, I. K. under Yakut al ^amawi. 
 
 t Samuel the son of A'adiya, proverbial among the Arabs for his good feiith. His 
 name is introduced in the 23rd Assembly of al Hariri. The story of his fidelity ia 
 briefly as follows: Imr'u'l Kays having fled from the pursuit of the king of Hira took 
 refuge with Samuel in his castle of al Ablak in Tayma. Thence he proceeded to the 
 court of the emperor Justinian to implore aid against his enemies, leaving with Samuel 
 his daughter and several suits of mail. After various adventures at the Greek court, 
 he died at Ancyra. On his death the prince of Ghassan determined to seize the 
 armour of the warrior poet and besieged Samuel in his castle. Samuel's infant son 
 was by some accident, captured outside the gate and Samuel was offered the choice of 
 surrendering the armour or seeing his child slain. On his refusal to betray his trust 
 the alternative was carried out before his father's eyes. The siege was raised and 
 Samuel had the satisfaction of delivering the armour to the heirs of Imr' u'l lj;ays at the 
 fair of TJ'kadfe. See Chenery's Hariri. Abu'l Feda. Anteislam Hist. p. 133. 
 
 X Marwan-b-Abi gaf?ah a native of al Yaradma and grandson of Abu Had^ah the 
 Mawla of Marwau-b-u'l ^akam, bom, A. H. 105, died at Baghdad A. H. 182, He 
 
[ 331 ] 
 
 to me, "dost thou know that al Mamiin doth not understand poetry ?" I A. H. 218. 
 replied " who is there that hath a quicker perception of it than he ? by A. D. 833. 
 Allah, verily did we recite the first line of a verse he would anticipate 
 the end of it without ever having heard it." Ibn Abi Hafsah replied, 
 " verily I recited to him a line which I had well expressed, but I did not 
 see him moved by it — and it was this — 
 
 The Imam of right guidance, al Mamtin, is employed 
 
 In the concerns of religion, while men are busy about the world." 
 
 I said to him, " thou hast done no more than make of him an old 
 woman in her closet with beads in her hand, for who can rise to the trans- 
 action of worldly affairs, when he is diverted from them by other things 
 and trammelled by them ? Thou hast not spoken as thy uncle spoke of al 
 Walid— 
 
 He doth not lose his portion in the world 
 
 Nor do the things of the world distract him from religion." 
 
 Ibn A'sdkir states that he had heard that an Nadhr-b-Shumayl* related 
 as follows : I went to al Mamun when he was at Marv, wearing worn out 
 garments and he said to me, " O Nadhr, dost thou come into the presence 
 of the prince of the Faithful in such garments ?" I replied, " O prince of 
 the Faithful verily the heat of Marv cannot be kept out except by wearing 
 old garments like these." He said, " nay, but thou livest in a miserable 
 way." We then spoke on tradition. At length al Mamiin said, " I heard a 
 tradition from Hushaym-b-Bushayrf on the authority of Ibn A'bbas who 
 related that the apostle of God said, ' when a man marries a woman for 
 her piety and beauty, it is a preventive (sadad) against want.' " I replied 
 " the wordsj of the prince of the Faithful have reported truly the ti'adi- 
 
 tanked as a, poet with the first of his age and his best piece is considered his Kasida 
 rhyming in-l-(al Ldrmiyh) composed in honor of Maa'n-h-Zaida aa Shaybani. Ibn; 
 Khali. 
 
 * Abii'l Hasan, at Nadhr-b-Shumayl-b-Kharashah-b-Tazid, at Tami'mi was a 
 native of Basrah and celebrated as a grammarian.. He was skilled as a, jurisconsult 
 and traditionist and well acquainted with poetry and the battles of the desert Arabs. 
 He left Basrah, where he found no means of support and settled al Marv and acquired 
 great wealth. The story in the text is given in Ibn Khali, with some variation. An 
 Nadhr died A. H. 204 (A. D. 820). 
 
 t Hushaym-b-Bushayr a native of Wasit acquired a high reputation as a tradi- 
 tionist at Baghdad. He knew by-heart twenty thousand of them. Died A. H. 183- 
 (799) at the age of 79. De Slane ; Ibn KhaU. 
 
 I Ibn Khall's version has here C^ cri^^*-'! ^"1 k t5*'« and the Kitab u'l 
 Agh&ni, (in the life of tJamzah-b-Baipi) l^J*^\ ^'•t ^ ^jS<^ without 
 the mention of Hushaym. 
 
[ 332 ] 
 
 A. H. 218. tion from Hushaym. It was related to me by A'uP al A'ard.bi* on the 
 A. D. 833. authority of al Hasan that the prophet said, ' when a man marries a 
 woman for her piety and beauty, it is a preventive (sidad) against want.' 
 Al Mamdn was at the time lecturing, but sat up then and exclaimed, ' is 
 eadad a mispronunciation, O Nadhr ?' I said, ' yes here, but undoubtedly 
 a mispronunciation of Hushaym's, for he was an incorrect speaker.' He 
 asked, ' what is the difference between the two ?' I answered, ' Sadad 
 means, following a right course of action, and sidad, what is necessary to 
 support life and whatever thou mayest stop up a thing with.' He said, 
 ' do the Arabs (of the desert) know this distinction ?' I replied ' yes, al 
 A'rji,t a descendant of Othman-b-A'ffian, says as follows — 
 
 They have left me to perish and what a youth have they left to 
 perish 
 One who coitld have helped them in an evil day or in the defence 
 (sid£d) of a breach.' " 
 Al Mamdn looked down for a little and then said, " the Lord confound 
 those who have no education." After a little he said, " recite to me, 
 O Nadhr the most captivating verse composed by the Arabs." I replied 
 the lines of Ibn £aidh;( on al Hakam-b-Marw^ : 
 " She says to me with sleepy eyes 
 Stay with us ; but I did not stay, 
 ' Which of the chiefs hast thou visited ?' I said to her 
 ' What chief but al Hakam !' 
 Whenever the two chamberlains§ of his tent, say 
 ' This is Ibn Baidh at the door,' be smiles : 
 Verily I paid in advance in regard to thee, as a pledge — 
 Come,|| let him enter and give me my earnest money." 
 He continued — " recite to me the verse expressive of the greatest 
 
 * A'uf-b-A'bi Jamxla Btcmaiued al Aa'rabi (the deseit Arab) b<»e a &ii reputation 
 as a traditioniat. 
 
 t A'bdu'llah-'b-A'inr al A'rji, a graEdson of the Caliph Othman: his life extracted 
 from as Suyuti's Shar^ Shawkhidul Mughni, is given hy De Saoy in his Anthologie 
 Giammaticale, p. 453. De Slaue ; Ibn Khali. A notice oi him will aJso be found in 
 the Kitdb ul Aghfini. 
 
 J Uamzah-b-Baidfh al 9anafi was one of the best poets of the TJmayyad dynasty 
 as well as one of the most licentious. He was a native of Kufah and eulogised al 
 Muhallab and his son, also Abfai-b-u'I WaL'd and the ^idj^i Bil41-b-Abi Burdah. He 
 received large rewards from them. A long notice of him will be found in the 
 Kitab u'l Agh&ni, where the verses in the text are also given. He did not live till the 
 accession to power of the Abbaside dynasty, 
 
 { For l+*''^" m?4 ^^ 
 
 li The text and M;S. are here in error. It should be as in the Eitib u'l Aghini— 
 
[ 833 ] 
 
 justice of conduct, which the Arabs have spoken." I repeated the lines A. H. 218. 
 of Ibn A'rdbah* of Medina— A. D. 833. 
 
 " Verily, though the son of my uncle were to chide, 
 
 I would thrust away such as came behind and after him. 
 
 And my wealtbf should aid him, even were he a man 
 
 Far remote in his land and sky. 
 
 And I should be the lord of his secret and preserve it 
 
 Until there seized me a yearningj for the time of its fulfilment. 
 
 And if misfortunes injured his camels at pasture 
 
 My healthy camels should join his afflicted with mange. 
 
 And were he to call me by name to ride a steed 
 
 That was refractory, I would sit on his back for him. 
 
 And were he to come on his way and on his own affairs 
 
 I would not look into what was behind his tent. 
 
 And were he to wear a handsome garment, I should not say 
 
 Would that upon me were the beauty of his mantle." 
 He said, " now recite to me a verse of the Arabs, most expressive of 
 content." Upon which I quoted the lines of Ibn A'bdal al Asadi — 
 " Verily I am a man who continues (and that 
 
 By the favour of God) being well instructed, to teach polite learning. 
 
 I remain at home while home is free from disquiet to me. 
 
 And if I am far away, I am cheerful. 
 
 I grasp not at the friendship of a friend nor 
 
 Make my mind desire a thing after it hath passed away. 
 
 I seek myself what a generous man seeketh 
 
 Of the means of subsistence and am moderate in my desire thereof. 
 
 Verily I behold a generous man when 
 
 I seek a benefit of him, eager to grant it. 
 
 But the slave pursueth not what is lofty nor 
 
 Giveth ought to thee save in fear. 
 
 Like an ass, galled in the back§ and vicious, 
 
 Which is good for nothing untU it is beaten. 
 
 * For (J4^\ read t*^"^' as in the E. A. De Slane states that he was 
 a traditionist of Ba?rah. Died A. H. 156. 
 
 t For LffJ^ read (as in the MS. and Kitah u'l Aghani) ^SJ^ 
 t t5^ L^ fc*** Kitab u'l Aghani. 
 
 § The MS. and Kitab u'l Aghani have in the first hemistich t^'jJf jl**'l J*« 
 H 3**Jl. The text is here in error. In the second hemistich the K. A. has 
 lJ-*J=! for ay^- 
 
[ 334 ] 
 
 A. H. 218. And I have found no firm stay* save 
 
 A. D. 833. Religion, from what I have experienced, and nobility of race. 
 
 Verily he who stays tranquilly at home is nourished, who never 
 
 Hath bound pack or saddle on his camel, 
 
 While support of existence is withheld from the owner of the 
 camel and pack 
 
 And one who never ceases to travel." 
 Al Mamiin exclaimed, " thou hast said well, Nadhr !" He then took 
 a piece of paper and wrote something I know not what : then he observed, 
 " How do you form the imperative from turdb !"' (earth or dust). I said 
 " atrib,"f (cover him with earth or dust). " And of t'ln ?" (elay). I said, 
 "tin" (plaster or seal up). He went on, "what then would a writing 
 be ?" I said " mutrab, (sprinkled with dust) or matin," (plastered or sealed 
 with clay). He exclaimed, "better and better," and he wrote for me an 
 order for fifty thousand dirhams. Then he commanded an attendant to 
 take me to al Padhl-b-Sahl, and I went with him and when al Fadhl read 
 the writing, he exclaimed, " O Nadhr, didst thou charge the prince of the 
 Faithful with a mispronunciation ?" I said, " by no means, but Hushaym 
 spoke very incorrectly and the prince of the Faithful did but foUow his 
 words." Then he ordered me on his own account thirty thousand dirhams, 
 thus I set forth for my house with eighty thousand." 
 
 Al Khatib records on the authority of Muhammad-b-Ziyad the desert 
 Arab, that he relates as follows : " Al Mamun sent for me and I went to 
 him, and he was in the garden walking with Yahya-b-Aktham, and I saw 
 the two moving with their faces turned from me, so I sat down, and when 
 they came forward, I arose and saluted him as Caliph and I heard him say 
 to Yahya, ' O Abu Muhammad how good are his manners ! He saw us 
 turned from him and sat down, and then seeing us advance, he arose and 
 returned me my salutation.' Then he said ' tell me regarding the verse of 
 Hind the daughter of U'tbahJ — 
 
 We are the daughters of Tarik 
 
 Moving upon cushions with the walk of the desert grouse.* 
 
 * hj' is the loop-shaped handle of the water sTdn and *»^ its suspensory thong. 
 
 t The text points the word " itrah," but the simple triliteral form •.yJ is in- 
 transitive and the transitive derived conjugation (IV.) is here meant (JLmI) as is clear 
 from Ihn Khalli^an's narrative where, after the words ' hotter and better,' al Mamun 
 says boy, earth, him, and plaster him *^^ j *J^I (•il* k The text has likewise 
 erroneously " mutayyan for matin. 
 
 X "Wife of Abu Suf5'4n and mother of Mu'dwiyah. The words were Used by her on 
 the day of Ohud, quoting proverbially tho saying of az Zarkd al lyddhiyali when 
 Kisrah warred with lyddh. Lane gives the following version ; t^^5' (3j'-'= <S»^ e^*"" 
 Cj ♦wl ,^1^ j^.Uj J./ciy "We are the daughters of tho morning star, wo bond not to a 
 
[ 335 1 
 
 'Who is this Tarifc? for I have looked in her pedigree and found him A. H. 218. 
 not.' I replied, ' O prince of the Faithful I do not know of him in her A. D. 833. 
 pedigree.' He answered ' assuredly she meant by it the star, claiming 
 descent from it on account of her beauty — according to the words of the 
 Most High. " By the heavens and the nocturnal star.' " (Kur. LXXXVI.) 
 I said, ' corroborate that ly proof, prince of the Faithful.' He rejoined, 
 ' I know it perfectly well.' Then he threw to me a piece of amber -which 
 he was turning about in his hands and I sold it for five thousand dirhams." 
 
 And from Abu U'badah* who says, that al Mdmiin was one of the 
 greatest sovereigns of the earth and that this title was justly due to him. 
 
 And from Ibn Abi Dauiid that one of the schismatics came before 
 al Mdmun, and he said to him, " what induced thee to oppose us ?" He 
 answered, "a verse of the Book of God." Al Mamun said " and which is 
 that ?" He replied, " the words of the Most High, ' and who so judgeth 
 not according to what God hath revealed, they are infidels' (Kur. V)." The 
 Caliph asked " hast thou any certain knowledge that this was revealed ?" 
 He replied " Yes." " And what is thy proof ?" " The consensus of the 
 people." Al Mamtin replied " then as thou art content with their agree- 
 ment concerning the revelation, be content with their unanimity in the 
 interpretation thereof." The other said, "thou hast spoken truly, peace 
 be to thee. O prince of the Faithful." 
 
 Ibn A'sakir records on the authority of Muhammad-b-Man§ur that 
 al MAmiin said, " one of the signs of a man of distinction is that he will 
 ill-treat one who is above him, and will suffer one who is beneath him to 
 ill-treat him." And from Sa'id-b-Muslim that al Mamiin said, " I would 
 that those who commit crimes were aware of my conception of pardon, 
 that fear might leave them and joy be unmixed in their hearts." And 
 from Ibrahim-b-Sa'id al Jauhari, that a man stood before al Mamun who 
 had committed a crime, and he said to him, "by Allah, I will slay thee !" 
 He replied, " O prince of the Faithful act gently in regard to me for com- 
 passion is the half of mercy." He replied, " how can I ? now that I have 
 sworn to slay thee." He answered, " it is better to meet God as a perjurer 
 than to meet Him as a slayer," — upon which al Mamiin let him go his 
 way. 
 
 Al Khatib records from Abu's Salt A'bdu's Salam-b-i's Salih that he 
 narrates as follows, " I passed the night with al Mamian and the attendant 
 
 lover &c. Two other lines with variations of the others will he found in Ibn 
 Hisham used by Hind as an encouragement to the youths going to battle at Ohud. 
 j3j 'jJ'.'*"' cj' (3^^ \j^^ ii)i If ye advance we shall embrace ye. If ye fly, we 
 shall abandon ye. 
 
 * Probably Abli U'bfidah al Buhturi the poet, the friend and contemporary of Abu 
 Tanunam the author of the Hamaeah; his Ufe will be found in Ibn Khali. 
 
[ 336 I 
 
 A. H. 21 8. who used to trim the lamp went to sleep, and al Mdmun arose and trimmed 
 A. D. 833. it and I heard him say, ' I am sometimes in the bath-room when the 
 servants are reviling and traducing me, not knowing that I hear them but 
 I forgive them.' " As Sdli records on the authority of A'bdu'llah-b-u'l 
 Bawwab that he said, " al Mamiin was so forbearing that he used to enrage 
 us. On one occasion he sat cleaning his teeth behind a curtain on the 
 banks of the Tigris and we were standing before him, when a boatman 
 passed and said — ' do ye imagine that this al Mamun hath any worth in my 
 eyes, when verily he hath put to death his own brother ?' — and, by Allah, 
 he did nothing more than smile and say to us, ' what contrivance have ye, 
 that I may have merit in the eyes of this excellent man ?' " 
 
 Al Khatib records on the authority of Tahya-b-Akhtham that he 
 narrates as follows, " I never knew a man more noble than al Mamun. I 
 passed a night with him and he was seized with coughing and I saw him 
 close his mouth with his sleeve, so that I might not awake, and he used to 
 say that the beginning of equitable dealing is that a man should be just to 
 his intimate friends, then to those who are nearest to them in succession, 
 until he reaches the lowest grade." 
 
 Ibn A'sdkir records from Yahya-b-Khalid al Barmaid that he relates, 
 " al Mamiin said to me, O Yahya take every opportunity of satisfying the 
 needs of men, for the heavens are too inconstant and fortune too unjust, to 
 leave a man in one condition and continue unto him his enjoyments." 
 
 And from A'bdu'Uah-b-Muhammad az Zuhri, — " al Mamiin said, 
 ' superiority in argument is more pleasing to me than superiority of force, 
 for superiority of force vanishes by its decay, whil^ superiority in argu- 
 ment nothing can destroy.' " And from U'tbi, " I hfeard al Mamun say, 
 ' he who praiseth thee not for goodness of intention will not thank thee for 
 excellence of deed.' " And from Abu'l A'aliyah, "I heard al Mamiin say, 
 ' how odious is contentiousness in monarchs, and more odious than that, 
 is vexation in judges, before comprehension of what is before them, and 
 more odious than it, is the shallowness of jurisconsults in religion, and 
 more odious still is avarice in the rich, jesting in old men, idleness in youths 
 and cowardice in soldiers.' " 
 
 And from A'li-b-Abdi'r Eahim al Marwazi, that al Mamiin said, " he, 
 of all men is most unjust to himself, who draweth near to one who keeps him 
 at a distance, and abaseth himself before one who honoureth him not and 
 receiveth the praise of one whom he doth not know." And from al 
 Mukhdrik,* " I recited to al Mdmlin the words of Abd'l A'tdhiyah." 
 
 • He was one of the first singers of his time. He once sung in the presence of the 
 Oaliph ar Tlashid who was so delighted, that he caused the curtains usually placed 
 between himself and the musicians to he removed, and ordered him to draw near and 
 sit on the throne hy his side. Ee was afterwards attached to the service of al Mamun 
 
[ 337 ] 
 
 " I am in need of the protection of a master, A. H. 218. 
 
 Who is compassionate and who is unrufl3.ed though I trouble him." A, D. 833. 
 
 He said to me, " repeat it," and I repeated it seven times, whereupon 
 he exclaimed, " O Mukharik,' take the Caliphate from me and give me 
 such a master." 
 
 And from Hudbah-b-Khdlid, " I was at breakfast with al Mamdn, 
 and when the table was taken away, 1 began to gather up what was on the 
 ground, and al Mamun looked at me and said, ' hast thou not had enough ?' 
 I replied, ' yes, but Hammad-b-Salamah told me on the authority of Anas 
 that he had heard the apostle of God say, — whoso eateth what is under 
 the table is secure from poverty : whereupon he ordered me a thousand 
 dinars.' " And from al Hasan-b-A'bdtis as SaflEar (the brazier), that when al 
 Mamiin married Baran, the daughter of al Hasan-b-Sahl, the people sent 
 presents to al Hasan, and a poor man sent him two wallets in one of which 
 was salt and in the other glasswort and wrote to him at the same time, 
 saying, " May I be sacrificed for thee — these goods of little worth fall short 
 of the extent of my desire, but I was unwilling that the scroll of the beneficent 
 should be folded up and no mention of my name within it, therefore have 
 I sent unto thee what is commenced with,* on account of the auspiciousness 
 and blessing of it, and what is concluded with, by reason of its goodness 
 and cleansing properties." Al Hasan took the two wallets and went 
 with them to al Mamun, who was pleased thereat and ordered them to be 
 emptied and filled with dinars. As Suli records on the authority of 
 Muhammad-b-u'l Kasim that he had heard al Mamiin say, " by Allah, 
 I delight in pardon to such an extent, that I fear I may not be rewarded 
 on account of it, and if men knew the extent of my love of pardoning, 
 they would come to me guilty of crimes." 
 
 Al Khatib records on the authority of al Manstir al Barmaki, that 
 ar Eashid possessed a slave girl whom al Mamun loved, and once while 
 she was pouring out water for ar Rashid from a vessel she held, al Mamiin 
 who was behind him, made a sign of a kiss to her, and she reproved him 
 with her eyebrows and delayed in pouring out the water. Hariin looked at 
 her and said, " what is this ?" and she faltered in her answer to ar Rashid. 
 Whereupon he said — " if thou dost not tell me, I will certainly put thee 
 to death." She replied, " A'bdu'llah made a sign to me of a kiss." Harun 
 looked towards him, and lo ! shame and fear so fell upon him that it made 
 Hariin take pity on him, and he embraced him and said, " dost thou love 
 her ?" He said, " yes." He answered, " rise and take her into that room." 
 
 and accompanied him to Damascus. He died A. H. 230 (844-5). He was surnamed 
 Abu'l Hina. De Slane, I. K. 
 
 * The Arabs heginning their meals by tasting salt and using glasswort to wash 
 their hands with. 
 43 
 
[ 338 ] 
 
 A. H. 218. And, he arose and as he went, ar Rashid said to him, ' say a verse on 
 A. D. 833. this' and he recited — 
 
 " A gazelle, I hinted with my glance 
 As to my feelings to her.* 
 I kissed her from afar. 
 But she made excuses with her lips, 
 And returned the best of answers 
 By the contraction of her eye-brows. 
 But I did not quit my place 
 Before I obtained possession of her." 
 
 Ibn 'Asakir records on the authority of Abu Khalifah al Fadhl-b- 
 Habab, that he narrates, " I heard a slave-dealer say as follows : ' I showed a 
 slave girl to al Mamlin, skilled in versifying, eloquent, well-bred and a good 
 chess-player, and I asked of him a thousand dinars as her price, and he said, 
 " if she can cap a verse I will recite to her by a verse of her own, I will 
 purchase her for what thou askest, and will give thee over and above the 
 bargain," and al Mamiin recited — 
 
 ' What wilt thou say regarding one whom sleeplessness hath emaciated 
 Through the strength of his love for thee, so that he became distracted.' 
 And she capped it thus — 
 
 ' When I find a lover whom hath smitten 
 The sickness of love, I will show him kindness.' " 
 As Suli from al Husayn al Khalii' that he narrates as follows, " when 
 al Mamiin was angered with me and stopped my stipend, I composed a 
 poem wherein I praised him and gave it to one who conveyed it to him." 
 The beginning of it is — 
 
 " Eeward me, for I thirst for the promise : 
 When wilt thou fulfil the promise confirmed by vow ? 
 I fly to thee for protection from the breach of faith of princes, and 
 
 verily thou seest 
 That I die for love of thee. 
 
 Will he who is incomparable in goodness, grudge me 
 A slender gift? and verily I alone have given him an incomparable love." 
 &e., until he says — 
 
 " The Lord found A'bdu'llah the best of His servants, 
 And he gave him sovereignty and God knoweth His servants best. 
 Now surely al Mamun is a defence unto his people 
 Distinguishing between error and right guidance." 
 
 * The pronoun is here in the mascvilino, the reason of which has been heforo 
 explained. 
 
[ 339 ] 
 
 " Al Mamdn observed ' verily he hath done well, save that he is the A. H. 218. 
 author of the following : A. D. 833. 
 
 ' O mine eyes ! rain abundantly and weep over Muhammad (al-Amin) 
 
 And spare not thy tears over him and give your aid. 
 
 May public affairs fail of success after Muhammad 
 
 And the unity of the kingdom not cease to be divided. 
 
 May al Mamdn not enjoy the kingdom after him. 
 
 And not cease to be an exile in the world and a fugitive.' 
 
 This then is against the other and I have nothing for him. " The 
 chamberlain said, " where, then, is the prince of the E'aithful's practice of 
 pardon ?" He replied, " well as to that, why, yes," and he ordered him a 
 present and restored to him his stipend. 
 
 And from 'Ulayyah Hammad-b-Ishak, that when al Mamun went to 
 Baghdad, he held inquiry into wrongful exactions every day until noon. 
 And from Muhammad-b-u'l 'Abbas, that al Mamiin was very fond of chess 
 and used to say, " this sharpens the intellect," and he originated some 
 moves in it. He used to say, " I will never hear any one say, 'come let us 
 play,' — but, ' let us fall on, let us press one another.' " However he did not 
 excel in it, and he would exclaim, " I have the administration of the world 
 and am equal to it, whereas I am straitened in the ordering of a space two 
 spans by two spans." 
 
 And from Ibn Abi S'aid, that Di'bil* satirized al Mamiin saying : 
 " I belong to the same tribe as those whose swords 
 
 Slew thy brother and raised thee to the throne. 
 
 They exalted thy fame after its long abasement 
 
 And drew thee forth from the depth of thy degradation." 
 
 When al Mamiin heard it, he did no more than say " what little shame 
 hath Di'bil ! when was I obscure who indeed have been reared in the lap of 
 Caliphs?" and he did not punish him. As Suli states also from various 
 sources that al Mamiin used to drink date-wine. And on the authority of 
 Jahidh, that the associates of al Mamiin used to assert that the colour of his 
 face and of his body was the same except his legs which were yellow as if 
 anointed with saffron. 
 
 And from Ishak of Mosul, that al Mamiin said, " the sweetest of songs 
 
 * Abu A'li D'itil-b-Ali'l Khuzaa'f, was a good poet, but addicted to satire and 
 scurrility, always ready to slander mem of merit, not sparing even the Caliphs. Ibra- 
 him-b-u'l Mahdi was so irritated at one of his cutting verses, that he complained to al 
 Mamun who counselled him to put up with it in silence as he himself had done in 
 regard to the lines quoted in the text which are given by Ibn Khali. D'ibil was born 
 A. H. 148, and died at Tib near Wasit A. H, 2i6. Ibn KhaU. His life will also be 
 found in the Kitab u'l Aghani. 
 
[ 340 ] 
 
 A. H. 218. is that which, the hearer, whether it be well or ill sung, rejoiceth over. 
 
 A. D. 833. And from 'Ali-b-i'l Husayn that Muhammad-b-Hamid* was standing over 
 al Mamun while he was drinking^ when Gharib broke forth and sang a 
 verse of an Nabighah al Jaa'di's. — 
 
 " Like the hem of the striped garment of Yaman." Whereupon al 
 Mamdn suspected that she did not begin without a reason and the company 
 were silent. He therefore said, " may I be repudiated by ar Eashid ! but 
 if I am not told truly regarding this, I will cause the culprit to confess with 
 grievous blows and will punish him heavily, but if I am told the truth, I 
 will forward the true speaker's desire." Whereupon Muhammad-b-Hamid 
 replied, " my lord, I made signs of a kiss to her." He rejoined, " now comes 
 the truth, thou hast spoken truly, dost thou wish that I should marry thee 
 to her?" He answered, "yes." Then al Mamiin said, "praise be to God 
 the Lord of all creatures, and may God bless our chief Muhammad and his 
 offspring — verily I give in marriage unto Muhammad the son of 
 Hamid, my freedwoman Gharib and I assign her as a dowry from him 
 four hundred dirhams with the blessing of God and by the ordinance of the 
 prophet. Take her hand," and she arose with him. Then al Mu'atasim 
 went to the threshold and said to Ibn Hamid, " the brokerage !" He 
 replied, " it is thine" — The other said — " my brokerage is that she must 
 sing to me during the night." And she continued to sing to him till the 
 morning and Ibn Hamid at the door. Then she arose, took his hand 
 and departed with him. And from Ibn A'bi Dauud, that the Roman 
 Emperor sent a present to al Mamiin of two hundred pounds of musk 
 and two hundred skins of sable, and al Mamun said, " double the gift 
 for him that he may know the splendour of Islam." And from Ibrahim- 
 b-u'l Hasan that al Madaini told al Mamiin that Mu'awiyah said, " the 
 Band Hashim are lions and swift to wrath, but we are more numerous in 
 chiefs." Al Mamun replied, '' verily he hath made an admission and 
 adduced a claim ; he is therefore, in his claim, a plaintifE, and in his admis- 
 sion a defendant." 
 
 As Siili likewise records on the authority of Abut Hsamah that he 
 narrates as follows, — " one of my companions told me that Ahmad-b-Abi 
 Khalidf was once reading stories to al Mamiin and said, " a certain at 
 
 * De Slane in a note to the life of AM Tammdm mentions a Muljammad-b-Hamid 
 at Tusi, a son of one of al Mamun's principal generals who fell in battle against Babak 
 al Khurrami in Adarbijdn A. H. 214. He is mentioned as renowned for his Uberality 
 and that his death gave great pain to al Mamun. It is probably the same person, the 
 accent on the name being misplaced in one or other version. 
 
 t The MS. has Ibn Abi tJsfimah, of whieh name there are two, at Tamimi, n 
 traditionist and al Halabi, a disciple of the poet an Ndmi. Abu Usdmah Junfidah 
 was a philologer of distinction who died A. H. 399. 
 
 J Ahmad-b-Abi KhAHd al Ahwal was vizier to al Mimun and al Mua'tasim, 
 succeeding al Fadhl-b-Saljl in that post. Ho was a man of great intelligence and 
 
[ 341 ] 
 
 Tharidi"* (it being al Yazidi) and al Mdmtin laughed and called out ' ho ! A. H. 218. 
 
 page, bring some food to Abu al A'bbas for verily he is hungry' — and he A. D. 833. 
 
 ■was ashamed and said, ' I am not hungry but the author of the story 
 
 is a dunce, for he has pointed the ya ((^) with the points of the ih 
 
 (>i)).' Al Mamun exclaimed, ' never mind.' And they brought food and 
 
 he eat until he had done. Then he went on and came to the story of a 
 
 certain al Hamsi, instead of which he said, al Khabisi,t whereupon 
 
 al Mamlin laughed and called out, ' ho ! boy, a dish of Khabis.' Ahmad 
 
 said, ' verily the author of the story was a fool, for he hath made an open 
 
 mim ((*) and it is as, if there were two dots.' Al Mamun laughed and 
 
 said, ' were it riot for the incorrectness of those two words, thou would'st 
 
 have remained hungry.' " 
 
 And from Abu A'bbad that he said, " I do not think that God ever 
 created a disposition more excellent than that of al Mamlin nor one more 
 generous, and in truth he was aware of the gluttony of Ahmad-b-Abi 
 Khalid, so that .whenever he sent him on any business, he gave him his 
 breakfast before he sent him. It was represented to him in a case that if 
 he, the prince of the Faithful, saw fit to settle some provision upon Ibn 
 Abu Khalid, it would he well, as he was in the habit of favouring the more 
 powerful party for the sake of his entertainment, wherefore al Mamiin 
 settled upon him a thousand dirhams a day for his table, yet notwithstand- 
 ing, he would desire greedily to eat at the expense of others. ' Di'bil the 
 poet has said regarding this — 
 
 " We thank the Caliph for the settlement 
 Of a maintenance upon the son of Abu Khalid. 
 Thus he hath restrained his tyranny over the Muslims 
 And given him his occupation at home." 
 And from Ibn AbiDauu.d,J " I heard al Mamiin say to a man 'whether 
 thy conduct be marked with perfidy or with token of good, I will not hold 
 thee responsible for either ; thou wilt not cease to do evil, and I to do good, 
 and thou to be in fault and I to forgive until it shall be pardon itself that 
 shall amend thee,' " And from al Jahidh that Thumamah-b-u'l Ashras§ 
 
 foresight and expressed himself elegantly in speech. He died A, H. 240. See De 
 Slane's correction of D. Herhelot's error regarding this Wazir. Vol. I, p. 20. 
 
 * Tharid signifies sliced tread in milk or broth with meat. 
 
 t Khabis is a kind of sweetmeat. 
 
 % I am of opinion that this name should be Ibn Abi Duad, the Kadhi who died in 
 240 A. H. Ibn Abi Dauud the Hafidh died in 316. It is scarcely probable that he 
 could have heard and remembered speeches of al M£mlin's in 218. 
 
 § Abu Maa'n Thmnamah-b.u'l Ashras surnamed al Majin or the licentious for his 
 disorderly life. Al Mamfin met him once in the street in a state of intoxication and 
 said to him, " is it you Thumamah P" " Yes P" " Are you drunk P" No. " Do you know 
 me ?" " Yes.'' "Who am I ?" " I don't know." This threw the Caliph into such 
 a fit of laughter that he nearly fell off his horse. He died A. H. 213. De Slaue, I. K. 
 
[ 34a ] 
 
 A. H. 218. said, " I have never seen any one more eloquent than Jaa'far-b-Yahya al 
 
 A. D. 833. Barmaki and al Mamun." 
 
 As Silafi records in the Tuyytiriydt on the authority of Hafs al 
 Madiani, that a negro who pretended to the gift of prephecy was brought 
 before al Mamtin and said, " I am Moses the son of Imran," and al 
 Mamun said to him, " verily Moses the son of Imran drew forth his hand 
 from his bosom white, therefore draw forth thy hand white, that I may 
 believe in thee." The negro replied, " surely that was done by Moses 
 when Pharaoh said to him, ' I am thy most High God.' Therefore say as 
 Pharaoh said, that I may draw out my hand white, otherwise it will not 
 become white." Also that al Mamun said, " a revolt has never broken 
 out against me, but I found the cause of it in the tyranny of the prefects." 
 Ibn A'sakir records on the authority of Yahya-b-A'ktham, that al Mam«n 
 used to preside at a disputation on questions of jurisprudence every 
 Tuesday, and there came a man wearing a garment which he had tucked 
 up, and holding his shoes in his hand and he stopped on, the border of the 
 carpet and said, " peace be to you." Al Mamiin returned his salutation and 
 the other said, "tell me regarding this seat which thou occupiest — dost 
 thou sit there* with the unanimous consent of the people or by violence 
 and force?" He replied, " neither the one nor the other, but one who 
 governed the afEairs of the Muslims bequeathed it to me and to my 
 brother, and when the authority devolved upon me, I felt that I needed 
 the unanimous consent of the Muslims in the east and the west in 
 accepting me, but I saw that if 1 abandoned the government, the 
 security of Islam would be disturbed, and their afEairs fall into confu- 
 sion, and that they would contend in strife one with another, so that holy 
 wars and pilgrimages would be neglected, and the highways infested with 
 robbers, wherefore I arose in defence of the Muslims, until they should be 
 of accord upon one man whom they should approve, and I would then 
 resign the government to him : now when they agree upon a man, I will 
 abdicate in his favour." The man replied, " peace be to you and the mercy 
 of God and his blessing," and he departed. And from Muhammad-b-u'l 
 Mundir al Kindi, that ar Rashid, being upon the pilgrimage entered Kiifah 
 and summoned the Traditionists, and none stayed away but A'bdu'Uah-b- 
 Idris, and Isa-b-Yunas. He sent al Amin and al Mamun to them, and 
 Ibn Idris related to them one hundred traditions, and al Mamun said, 
 " O uncle ! Suffer me to repeat them by heart." He answered, " do so," 
 and he repeated them and Ibn Idris marvelled at his memory. Some 
 author states that al Mamiin took away books of philosophy and works 
 of Grecian writers from the islands of Cyprus. This much ad Dahabi 
 briefly narrates. Al Fakahi says that the first who covered the Kaa'bah 
 with white brocade was al Mamun, and this continued to be the custom 
 * 1 profor to read, i^>-^ aa in the MS. for *-»-l.^ 
 
[ 34.3 ] 
 
 after him till tlie time of the Caliph an Nasir, save when Mahraiid the A. H- 218. 
 son of Sabaktagin during the interval, covered it with yellow brocade, A. D. 833, 
 
 The following are among the sayings of al Mamiin. " There is no 
 pleasure greater than that of observing the intellects of men. Stra- 
 tagem is of no avail to turn back an affair when it advances, or to advance 
 it where it is retrogressing. The best of conferences is where one gets 
 an insight into men. Men are of three classes. Those who are as 
 nourishment, necessary under all circumstances ; those who are like 
 medicine, necessary on occasion of sickness, and those who are like 
 diseases, hateful under every condition. The answer of none has 
 ever embarrassed me, as the answer of a man of the people of Kiifah 
 embarrassed me, whom its inhabitants sent to me and he complained 
 against their governor. I replied, " thou liest, for he is a just man." 
 He said, " the prince of the Faithful hath spoken truly and I have 
 lied : verily thou hast specially chosen him for us in this city, to the 
 exclusion of other cities, now appoint him to another city that he may 
 encompass them with his equity and justice as he hath encompassed 
 us." I said, *' rise, and be off, verily I shall remove him, from over 
 you." 
 
 The following are among the lines of al Mamiin : 
 " My tongue concealeth your secrets 
 And my tell-tale tear is an informer of my secret. 
 Were it not for my tears, I should conceal my love. 
 Yet were it not for love, I should have no tears." 
 And on chess — 
 
 " A square field of red-dressed leather 
 Between too friends known for generosity ; 
 They call war to mind and invent stratagems therein, 
 Without being guilty of shedding blood there. 
 This one attacks that, and that 
 Falls upon this, and the eye of caution sleepeth not. 
 See then the ingenious foes moving with skill 
 Among two armies without drum or banner." 
 As Suli records on the authority of Muhammad-b- A'mr, that Asram-b- 
 Humayd* presented himself before al Mamiin with whom was al Mua'tasim, 
 and the Caliph said " describe me and my brother and give no preference 
 to either over his fellow ;" whereupon he versified after a little : 
 " I saw a ship sailing upon a sea. 
 Towards two seas, beyond which are other seas, 
 
 * This individual is mentioned in Ibn Khall's life of A'bdu'Uah-b-Tahir, as the 
 author of some verses quoted, but no other information is given of him. 
 
[ 344 ] 
 
 A. H. 218. Towards two princes whose splendours both, 
 
 A. D. 833. Are equal, at whom the beholder is confounded. 
 
 They are two Princes ; this resembles that, 
 And that this, and that and this are chiefs ; 
 If this were that and that this 
 In this and that together would be my delight. _ 
 A canopy of glory is extended over the one 
 And the face of the other is a shining moon." 
 
 Traditions related on the authority of al M&mun. 
 
 Al Bayhaki mentions on the authority of Jaa'far-b-Abi Othman at 
 Tayalisi that he relates as follows, " I was praying the afternoon prayer at 
 ar Eu?afah behind al Mamun in the enclosed space of the mosque on the 
 day of A'rafah, and when he pronounced the salutation the people responded 
 with the Takbir, and I saw al Mamtin behind the railing exclaiming, " no, O 
 people ! no people ! to-morrow is the day prescribed by Abu'l Kasim 
 {Muhammad)." And when the day of Adha {lOth I>ul Hijjah) arrived, I 
 went forth to prayers and he ascended the tribune and praised God and glori- 
 fied Him and said, " God is exceeding great, and frequent be the praise of God, 
 and I extol the perfections of God morning and evening !" Hushaym-b- 
 Bushayr related to me on the authority of Abu Burdah-b-Din4r that the 
 apostle of God said, " he who performeth sacrifice before he prayeth, 
 assuredly it is a flesh ofEering which he hath anticipated before its time, 
 but who so performeth sacrifice after he hath prayed, verily he fulfiUeth 
 the ordinance. God is exceeding great, and frequent be the praise of God 
 and I extol the perfections of God morning and evening. O Lord, amend 
 me and seek to render me virtuous, and amend others through me." 
 Al Hakim says, " I have copied this tradition only from Abu Ahmad 
 who is in my opinion a trustworthy authority, and it continued to occupy 
 my thoughts until I mentioned it to Abu'l Hasan ad Darakutni who 
 observed, 'this relation is, in my opinion, soundly transmitted from 
 Jaa'far.' I said, ' does any corroborative authority follow our Shaykh Abu 
 Ahmad in this ?' He said, ' yes' and recited a tradition from the Wazir 
 Abu'l Fadhl Jaa'far-b-u'l Furat through Jaa'far at Tayalisi to Yahya-b- 
 M'ain* who said that he had heard al Mamdn and mentioned the discourse 
 and the tradition." 
 
 * Abfi Zakariya Yahya-b-M'ain was a native of Baghdad, a celebrated ^iifidh 
 and noted for the exactitude of his traditional information, On his death, he left one 
 hundred and thirty cases and four water-jar stands filled with books. Aljmad-b-^anbal 
 used to declare that any tradition unknown to Ibn Ma' in was not a true tradition, 
 
[ 345 ] 
 
 As Suli states that Yabya-b-Ma'in says as follows: " Al Mdmiin A. H. 218. 
 preached to us at Baghdad on a Friday which happened to coincide with A. D. 833. 
 the day of A'rafah, and when he came to the salutation, the people shouted 
 the Takbir, but he disapproved of the Takbir and he leaped up and seized 
 the wooden rail of the enclosure and said, ' people, this Takbir should 
 not be said out of its place. I have heard from Hushaym on the authority 
 of Ibn 'Abbas that the apostle of God used to continue the Talbiyat until 
 he had thrown stones at the Jamrat* u'l 'Akabah, and the Takbir was 
 pronounced on the morrow at midday at the close of the Talbiyat, if God 
 so willeth." 
 
 And that Ibrahim al Mosuli says, " we were with al Mdmiin when 
 a man stood before him and said, ' prince of the Faithful, the apostle 
 of God said — creatures are the household of God, and the most pleasing 
 of the servants of God unto God (may He be honored and glorified) is he who 
 most profiteth His household.' Al Mamiin cried out and said, ' be silent, I 
 am more learned in tradition than thou art : Yusuf-b-A'tiah, the brazier told 
 me on the authority of Thabit-b-Anas that the prophet said — creatures are 
 the household of God, and the most pleasing of the servants of God unto 
 God, is he who most profiteth His household.' "f Ibn 'Asa'kir records this 
 by the same ascription. 
 
 As Siili also mentions that he had heard a tradition on the authority 
 of 'Abdu'l Jabbar-b-'Abdu'Uah who relates — " I heard al Mamiin preach- 
 ing and he spoke in his discourse of modesty and he described and praised 
 it and said, ' Hushaym told me on the authority of Abu Bakrahf and 
 Imran-b-Husayn that the apostle of God said — modesty is a part of faith 
 and faith hath its portion in Paradise, while obscenity is brutishness, and 
 
 and that he was created for the express purpose of exposing false ones. He said of 
 himself that he had written quantities of traditions under the dictation of liars and 
 made use of the paper for heating his oven. I thus obtained, he added, one advan- 
 tage that of having bread well- baked. He died A. D. 233. 
 
 • Vulgarly called the Shaytan u'l Kabir or Great Devil. Another pillar is the 
 Wuata or central place of stoning built in the middle of Muna and there is a third at 
 the eastern end called al TJla. These mark the successive spots where the devil in the 
 shape of an old Shaykh appeared to Adam, Abraham and Ishmael and was driven back 
 by the throwing of stones, the size of a bean, as enjoined by Gabriel. This Jamrat u'l 
 Akabah is a dwarf buttress of masonry about 8 feet high by 2 J placed against a rough 
 wall of stones at the Mecoan entrance to Muna. Burton's Mecca, p. 282. 
 
 t The parenthetical sentence of the first speaker was apparently an incorrect 
 transmission. 
 
 t Abu Bakrah Nufai-b-u'l Harith was a companion of Muhammad's, who named 
 him Abu Bakrah or the father of the pulley, because he let himself down by a puUey 
 from the castle of Taif when it was attacked by the Muslims in A. H. 8. I'mran-b- 
 IJusayn al Khuzaa'i was also a Companion, became Kadhi of Basrah and died there 
 A. H. 53. De Slane; I. K. 
 
[ 346 ] 
 
 A. H. 218. brutishness hath its portion in hell fire.' " Al Hdkim mentions on the 
 A. D. 833. authority of Yahya-b-Aktham the Kadhi, that he says as follows—" Al 
 Mamdn said to me one day, ' O Tahya, I wish to relate traditions.' I 
 replied, ' and who is fitter for this than the prince of the Faithful ?' 
 He said, ' let them place a tribune for me,' and he ascended it and the first 
 tradition he gave us was through Hushaym from Abu Hurayrah that the 
 prophet said — ' Imr u'l Kays is the leader of the poets in hell :' then he 
 related about thirty traditions and afterwards descended and said, ' O 
 Yahya what dost thou think of our lecture ?' I replied, ' a most excellent 
 lecture, O prince of the Faithful thou hast instructed high and low.' He 
 answered, ' no ! by thy life !' I observed no pleasure that you took in 
 it : a lecture is for men with thread-bare garments and ink-horns." 
 
 Al Khatib says that he was told on the authority of Ibrdhim-b-Sa'id 
 al Jauhari that when al Mamun conquered Egypt, a person said to him, 
 " praise be to God, O prince of the Faithful who hath sufficed thee against 
 thy enemies, and subjugated to thee the two I'raks and the Syrian provinces 
 and Egypt and withal thou art the descendant of the uncle of the apostle 
 of God." Al Mamun replied,* " well said, now there is one condi- 
 tion still wanting to me, and that is, that I should sit in an assembly 
 and below me a disciple who should say ' whom didst thou mention, may 
 the Lord be well pleased with thee ?' and I should reply — the two 
 Hammads, Hammadrb-Salamah and Hammad-b-Zaydf narrated to me 
 on the authority of Anas-b-Mdlik that the prophet said, ' he who sup- 
 porteth two daughters or three or two sisters, until they die, or he 
 is taken from them by death, shall be with me in Paradise like these 
 two,' and he pointed to his fore and middle fingers. Al Khatib remarks 
 that there is a glaring error in this story and he supposes it probable that 
 al Mamiin related this on the authority of some person who had it from 
 the two Hammads, and that, because the birth of al Mamiin occurred in 
 the year 170, and Hammad the son of Salamah died in the year 167, three 
 years before al Mamun was born, and Hammad-b-Zayd died in the 
 year 179." 
 
 Al H4kim mentions that he was told on the authority of Muhammad- 
 b-Sahl-b-A'skar that he narrates as follows : " Al M^mun one day stood 
 waiting for the call to prayers and we were standing before him, when there 
 came up to him a stranger with an ink-horn in his hand, who said, ' O prince 
 of the Faithful, I am a master of tradition, devoted to it.' Al Mamun 
 said, ' what dost thou remember on such and such an article ?' and he could 
 
 * For oJlaJ read J'**. 
 
 t Abu Ismail IjIaraindd-'b-Zayd surnamed al AzraV (blue-eyed) a native of Ba§rah 
 who receive his knowledge from the first doctors of his age under some of whom his 
 namesake b-Salamah studied. He held a high repute as a jurist, traditiouistand^dfidh 
 died A. H. 179. D. Slane I. K, 
 
[ 347 ] 
 
 not mention a word about it, while al Mamdn continued, ' Husliaym A. H. 218. 
 
 told me who had it from Hajjaj, who had it from such and such a one' A. D. 833. 
 
 &c., until he mentioned the article, then he questioned him on a second 
 
 article, and he could not say a word about it, and al Mamlin gave it and 
 
 then turning to his companions said, ' one of these searches for traditions 
 
 for three days and then says — I am a traditionist. Give him three dir- 
 
 hams." 
 
 Ibn A'sakir quotes from Yahya-b-Aktham as follows : " I passed a night 
 "with al Mamun and I awoke in the middle of the night, being thirsty and 
 I tosfed about and al Mamun said, ' Yahya, "what is the matter with 
 thee ?' I replied, ' I am thirsty.' He leaped up from his couch and 
 brought me a goglet of water. I said, ' O prince of the Faithful, wilt thou 
 not call a servant ? wilt thou not summon a page ? He replied, ' no my 
 father told me on the authority of U'kbah-b-A'amir that the apostle of 
 God said, ' the chief of the people is their servant.*' Al Khatib mentions 
 a similar tradition from Yahya-b-Aktham save that he traces it up to 
 Jarir-b-A'bdu'llah who heard the apostle of God say, " the chief of the people 
 is their servant." Ibn A'sakir gives the ascription of a tradition through 
 Abti Hudayfah of Bukhara and al Mamtin to Ibn A'bbas that the prophet 
 said, " the prince of a people is of them." 
 
 Muhammad-b-Kudamah states that it reached al Mamdn that Abu 
 Hudayfah related this tradition on his authority, whereupon he ordered 
 ten thousand dirhams to be given to him. During the reign of al Mamiin 
 the descendants of al A'bbas were numbered and they were thirty-three 
 thousand males and females and that in the year 200 A. H. 
 
 Of people of note who died in his time were, Sufyan-b-U'aynah, the 
 Imam as Shafi'i, A'bdu'r Eahman-b-Mahdi, Yahya-b-Sa'id al Kattan {the 
 cotton-spinner), Yunas-b-Bukayr the historian of the wars, Abu Matii' al 
 Balkhi the disciple of Abu Hanifah, Ma'ruf al Karkhi the devotee, Ishak- 
 b-Bashr, author of the Kitab u'l Mubtada, Ishak-b-u'l Furat Kadhi of old 
 Cau-o one of the most eminent of the disciples of Malik, Abu A'mr as 
 Shaybani, the philologer, Ashhab the disciple of MaUk, al Hasan-b-Ziyad 
 al Lultii disciple of Abu Hanifah, Hammad-b- Usaraah the Hafidh, Ruh-b- 
 U'badah, az Zayd-b-u'l Habab, Abu Dauiid at "Tayalisi, al Ghazi-b-Kays 
 one of Malik's disciples, Abii Sulayman ad Darani, the famous devotee, 
 A'li ar Bidha-b-Musa al Kadhim, al Fara the great master of the Arabic 
 language, Kutaybah-b-Mihran author of the Imalah, Kutrub the gram- 
 marian, al Wakidi, Abii U'baydah, Maa'mar-b-u'l Muthanna, an Nadhr- 
 b-Shumayl, as Sayyidat Nafisah, Hisham, one of the grammarians of Kiifah, 
 al Yazidi, Yazid-b-Hariin, Yakub-b-Ishak al Hadhrami the Kuran 
 reader of Basrah, Abdur Razzak, Abii'l A'tahiyah the poet, Asad u's Sun- 
 
 * Compare Matt, xx 27 ; Luke xxii 26. 
 
[ 348 ] 
 
 A. H. 218. nat, Abu A'asim an Nabil, al Farydbi* Abdu'l Malik-b-u'l Majishdn, A'b- 
 A, D. 833. du'Uah-b-Ti'l Hakam, Abli Zayd al An?ari the professor of Arabic philology, 
 Al Asma'i and others. 
 
 AL MUA'TASIM BI'LLAH. 
 
 Al Mua'tasim Billah, Abd Ishak Muhammad the son of ar Eashid was 
 born in the year 180, so says ad Dahabi, but according to as Stili, in the 
 year 178. His mother was a slave concubine of Kuf ah of foreign extraction : 
 her name was Maridah,t and she was held in the highest favour by ar Bashid. 
 He related traditions on the authority of his father and his brother al 
 Mamun, and Ishak of Mosul and Hamdiin-b-Iama'il and others related 
 them on his. He was a brave man, of great personal strength and of high 
 spirit, but destitute of education. As Sdli relates on the authority of 
 Ibrahim-b-Muhammad al Hashimi that there was a page studying at the 
 same school with al Mua'tasim. The page died, and al Mua'tasim's father, 
 ar Eashid, said to him, " Muhammad, thy page is dead." He replied, " yes, 
 my lord, and is at rest from school." Ar Eashid exclaimed, " is this what 
 school gets from thee ? (turning to Ms attendants) let him alone, do not 
 teach him." " Ibrahim," he adds " therefore, used to write and to read but 
 indifferently." 
 
 Ad Dahabi says that al Mua'tasim would have beea one of the great- 
 est and most awe-inspiring of the Caliphs were it not for the inquisition 
 of the learned regarding the creation of the Kuran which has left a stain 
 upon his glory. Niftawayh and as Suli say that al Mua'tasim had many 
 good qualities, and he was called the Octonary because he was the eighth 
 Caliph of the house of 'Abbds, and the eighth in descent from 'Abbas, the 
 eighth of the children of ar Eashid, succeeded to the government in the 
 year 218, reigned eight years and eight months and eight days, his birth 
 occurred in 178, he lived forty-eight years, his horoscope was the Scorpion 
 which is the eighth sign of the Zodiac, he was victorious in eight expeditions, 
 slew eight of his enemies, left eight male and the same number of female 
 children, and he died in the month of Eajab I, eight nights thereof still 
 remaining unelapsed.J Many laudable actions are ascribed to him, and 
 
 * The text has incorrectly Faryani. His name was Muljammad-b-Yusuf-b- 
 "WAkid-b-A'bdi'llali ad Dhabbi, and he was one of the Traditionists of Bukhara. " Ibn 
 .Ti'l Athir." 
 
 t According to Masa'lidi, she was the daughter of Shabib : no other particular is 
 given. 
 
 X In another account ho had also 8,000 slaves and 8 miUions of gold. 
 
[ 349 ] 
 
 some eloquent sayings and tolerable verses, but when he was enraged, he A. H. 218. 
 was reckless in the destruction of life. A. D. 833. 
 
 Ibn Abi Dudd *says, " al Mua'tasim would put out his arm to me and 
 say, ' Abdullah ! bite my arm with all your force ;' I would decline and 
 he would say, ' it will not hurt me,' and I would try it, but, lo the points 
 of spears would make no impression upon it much less teeth." Niftawayh 
 observes that he was one of the most powerful of men in bodily strength 
 and would take a man's elbow between his fingers and break it. Others 
 remark that he was the first of the Caliphs to introduce Turks into ofiices of 
 state. He affected to imitate the Persian monarchs and to adopt their 
 manners ; his Turkish slaves amounted to over ten thousand. 
 
 Ibn Tunas says that D'ibil satirized al Mua'tasim ; subsequently fearing 
 its consequences he became terrified and fled until he reached Egypt. 
 Afterwards he proceeded to Mauritania. The verses in which he satirized 
 him were these : 
 
 " The kings of the sons of 'Abbas in history are seven. 
 And history doth not show us an eighth among them. 
 So the people of the cavet in the cave were seven. 
 On the morn they took up their abode therein and the eighth was 
 
 a dog. 
 And verily I hold their dog in greater esteem than thee, 
 For thou art a man of sin, and it was sinless. J 
 For verily the affairs of the people have been ruined since there 
 
 ruled over them 
 Wasif and Ashnas, and afflictions have increased. 
 And verily I hope that there will be seen after their setting 
 The risings of a sun through which thou mayst be straitened. 
 And thy heart's desire is a despicable§ Turk 
 To whom thou art a father and a mother." 
 
 He was acknowledged as Caliph in succession- to al Mamlin in the 
 month of Eajab in the year 218. He followed the course adopted by al 
 Mamlin in regard to questioning the people on the creation of the Kuran 
 and continued in it to the end of his life. He wrote to the provinces on 
 that subject, and commanded the teachers to instruct the children accord- 
 ingly, and the people suffered much tribulation on that account, and he 
 
 * Not Dauud as in the text. 
 
 t The seven sleepers. 
 
 X Or tailless, a pun intended. In the first half of this line the Kitah u'l Aghani 
 (art. Di'hil, fol. 18), has ^J "^^ ^«*^ t5^* ^ ts^t j. The last two lines are 
 not in the K. A. 
 
 § For *:'t* read *^'t* as in the MS. 
 
[ 350 ] 
 
 A. H. 218. put to death manj of the learned therefor, and he scourged the Imam 
 A. D. 833. Ahmad-b-Hanbal whose scourging took place in the year 220. 
 
 During the same, al Mua'tasim removed from Baghdad and founded 
 Surra man raa, and this because he was solicitous to enlist Turks in his 
 service. Wherefore he sent into Samarkand, Farghdnah and the adjacent 
 countries to purchase them and lavished wealth upon them and clothed 
 them in various kinds of brocade and belts of gold. And they used to 
 gallop their horses through Baghdad and harrass the people, and the city 
 was reduced to extremities through them. Then the people of Baghdad 
 assembled round al Mua'tasim and said, " if thou goest not forth from 
 among us with thy troops, we will attack thee," and he said " how will ye 
 attack me ?" They replied " with the arrow of enchantments." He 
 replied, " I have no power against that." And this was the cause of his 
 founding Surra man raa and his removal to it. 
 
 In the year 223 al Mua'tasim led an expedition against the Byzantines 
 and slaughtered* them with a great slaughter, the like of which hath not 
 been heard of under any other Caliph. He dispersed their collected troops 
 and ravaged their country and carried Amoriumf by the sword, massacreing 
 therein thirty thousand and taking a like number captive. When he was 
 engaged in the preparations for its attack, the astrologers pronounced 
 that the aspect of the stars was sinister, and that he would be defeated, 
 but it proved amongst his most conspicuous victories and successes. It was 
 upon this subject that Abu TammamJ wrote his well known poem which 
 runs thus : 
 
 " The sword is more truthful in prophecy than documents, 
 
 In its edge, a sharpness between earnest and jest. 
 
 And divination lies in the flaming fires of glittering lances 
 
 Between the set battalions, not in the seven planets. 
 
 Where now is their fabling — and where the predictions of the stars 
 and all 
 
 The fictions and falsehood they fabricated ! 
 
 Delusion and lying asseverations 
 
 That come not to fulfilment § when computed, nor is it strange." 
 
 Al Mua'tasim died on Thursday the 19th of Eabii' I, 227. (5<A 
 January 842). He had in truth humbled his enemies round about, and it 
 
 * The MS., has (♦«** '^l*, the text ^*'^'*, but this verb does not possess the 4th 
 conjugation. I would therefore emend as follow (♦* '^. 
 
 t For the name and site of Amorium. See Gibbon, Cap. LII, 
 
 t Abd Tamm4m ^Jtabib the celebrated poot and author of the Hamfisah. His life 
 Tvill be found in Ibn Khali, He died at Mosal about A. H. 231 (846-6). Consult also 
 liitab al Aghdni, Fol. 16, p. 99. 
 
 § The MS. has CV for C^i 
 
[ 351 ] 
 
 is said that be exclaimed in his last sickness — " Until while they were A. H. 227. 
 
 rejoicing for that which had been given to them, we suddenly laid hold on A. D. 842. 
 
 them." (Kur. VI.) And when death was nigh at hand he began to say, 
 
 " artifice is exhausted and there is no evading (death)." It is related also 
 
 that he began to say, " I have been taken from among this people" and it is 
 
 also said that be exclaimed, " God, verily thou knowest that I fear Thee 
 
 on my own account and I do not fear Thee in respect of Thyself, and I 
 
 hope in Thee in respect of Thee, and I do not hope in Thee from my 
 
 deserts." 
 
 Among his verses are the following — 
 " Bring my steed and be quick, page, 
 
 And place the saddle and bridle upon him. 
 
 Tel! the Turks that I am about to plunge into 
 
 The sea of death, then let who will, arise." 
 He had purposed marching to the uttermost parts of the west to con- 
 quer the provinces which had not come under the authority of the House of 
 'Abbas on account of the occupation of them by the Umayyads, for 
 as Suli narrates that al Mua'tasim said, " the sons of Umayyah ruled 
 and none of us had any territory and now we have authority and 
 yet this Umayyad holds Andalusia, for them." He therefore appoint- 
 ed what was necessary for the expedition, and made due arrangements, but 
 his sickness increased and he died. As Suli states that he had heard al 
 Mughirah-b-Muhammad observe that it was stated that kings were never 
 gathered together at the court of any one in such numbers as in the court 
 of al Mua'tasim, and that no monarch had ever made conquests like his, 
 for he took prisoner the king of Adarbijan, the king of Tabaristan, the king 
 of Astisdn, the king of Ashyasih,* the king of Parghanah, the king of 
 Takharistan, the king of Suffah and the king of Kabul." As Suli also 
 states that the impression on his signet ring was — " Praise be to God who 
 hath no like." 
 
 Eegarding personal accounts of al Mua'tasim, as Siili records on the 
 authority of Ahmad al Yazidi that when al Mua'tasim had finished the 
 building of his palace in the plain and held audience within it, the people 
 came to him and Ishak of Mosul wrote a poem on it, the like of which in 
 beauty no one had heard, save that he began it with these words — 
 " O mansion ! misfortune hath altered and defaced thee : 
 
 Would that I knew whatf hath aflaiicted thee !" 
 
 * The MSi has " Ashyah," wHoli is mentioned by Yakut as the name of a lofty 
 and impregnable fort in the mountains of Yaman. Astisan and Suffah are imnoticed 
 by him, and I have not found them in Ibn ul Athir. The text has Tukharistan but 
 Ya^dt's authority points the word Takharistan or Takhiristan, 
 
 t The MS. has (^^^ '* for is'^^. 
 
[ 352 ] 
 
 A. H. 227. And al Mua'tasim and the people took an ill omen at this and they 
 A, D. 842. looked at each other and wondered, saying, " how hath this happened 
 with Ishak with his penetration and intelligence and long attendance upon 
 kings." After this al Mua'tasim destroyed the palace. He also records 
 on the authority of IbrAhim-b-u'l A'bbas that when al Mua'tasim discoursed, 
 he attained whatever he desired to effect and even went beyond it. He 
 was the first who was bountiful in his table and increased its expenses till 
 they reached the sum of one thousand dinars a day. And from Abu 
 U'aynah, " I heard al Mua'tasim say ' when passion is in the ascendant, 
 reason is dulled.' And from Ishak, that al Mua'tasim used to say, 'he 
 who seeketh the truth with all its duties and responsibilities, is sure to 
 attain to it.' And from Muhammad-b-Omar ar Eiimi, " al Mua'tasim had 
 a page called A'jib, the like of whom men had never seen, and to whom he 
 was attached, and he composed some verses on him and then summoned me, 
 and said, ' thou knowgst that I am inferior to my brothers in polite learn- 
 ing on account of the affection of the prince of the Faithful (my father) 
 for me, and my inclination to amusements, and I am but a youth and 
 cannot reach to what they have attained, yet verily I have composed some 
 verses on A' jib and if they are good, tis well, otherwise tell me truly that 
 I may suppress them,' then he recited — 
 
 ' Verily I behold A'jib 
 Eesembling a reared gazelle : 
 His face is like a moon. 
 And his stature like a wand, 
 And when he snatches a sword, 
 I behold a lion robbed of his prey. 
 And when he shoots arrows, 
 He does it excellently and hits the mark. 
 He is a physician for all that I suffer in love. 
 May I never be without such a physician, 
 Verily I love A'jib 
 With a loTe which I find wonderful.' 
 
 Thereupon I swore to him by the oath of allegiance that it might he 
 accounted a graceful composition among the verses of such of the Caliphs 
 who were not poets, at which he was pleased and ordered me 5,000 dirhams." 
 As Suli records on the authority of A'bdu'l Wahid-b-u'l A'bbds ar 
 Eiydshi, that the Koman Emperor wrote to al Mua'tasim a letter threatening 
 him, and when it was read to him, he said to the secretary, " write — In 
 the name of God, the most Merciful, the most Compassionate. Now, I 
 have read thy letter, and heard thy address, and the answer is what thou 
 shalt see ; not hear, ' and the infidels shall surely know whose will be the 
 reward of paradise.' " (Kur. XIII.) And from Fadljl al Yazidi, that al 
 
[ 353 ] 
 
 Mua'tasim sent to the poets in attendance, saying, 'who among you is -A- H. 227. 
 capable of versifying on me as well as did Mansur an Namari on ar Rashid A. D, 842. 
 as follows : 
 
 " Noble qualities and munificence are valleys, 
 God hath caused thee to dwell in them where they meet. 
 He who relieth not upon the trusted of God, 
 Obtaineth no profit from his five daily prayers. 
 If rain withholds itself, His bounties are not corrupted. 
 And if an affair is straitened to us, if we remember Him, it is un- 
 loosed." 
 
 Upon which Abu Wuhayb said, " there is one among us who can do 
 better than that, " and he continued." 
 
 " Three things there are by the beauty of which the world is re- 
 splendent. 
 The noonday sun, Abu Ishdk and the moon. 
 In every calamity, his actions resemble 
 A lion, rain, and a sharp sword." 
 
 When he died, his Wazir Muhammad-b-Abdi'l Malik mourned him 
 in verse partly elegiac, partly congratulatory, and said, 
 
 " I exclaimed when they buried thee, and there were tossing 
 Above thee hands full of earth and clay. 
 Go, for thou wert an excellent protector in things temporal, 
 And an excellent defender of the faith. 
 May the Lord make not amends to the people who have lost 
 The like of thee, save by the like of such as Harun {al Wathilc)." 
 
 Traditions related hy al Mua'tasim. 
 
 As Suli narrates a tradition through al Mua'tasim from Ibn 'Abbas 
 that the prophet observed a body of men of a certain tribe moving proudly 
 in their gait, and a flush of anger rose to his face, and he recited, " and 
 the tree cursed in the Kuran" (Kur. XVII). It was said to him, "what 
 tree is that, O apostle of God, that we may avoid it ?" He said, " it is 
 not a tree of vegetable growth, but the children of Umayyah, who when they 
 rule, will be tyrannous, and when trusted in, will betray ;" and he slapped 
 his hand upon the shoulder of his uncle al 'Abbas and said, " the Lord 
 will bring forth from thy loins, O uncle, one whose hand shall accomplish 
 their destruction." I am of opinion that this tradition is not genuine but 
 fabricated by al 'Alai. Ibn 'Asakir records a tradition from Ishak-b- 
 45 
 
[ 354 ] 
 
 A. H. 227. Yabya-b-Ma'ad that he said, " I was once visiting al Mua'tasim when he 
 A. D. 842. was sick and I said to him ' art thou better ?' he replied, ' how can that 
 be, when verily I have heard ar Eashid relate a tradition from the prophet — 
 whoso is cupped on a Thursday and sickens on that day, dies in it." 
 Ibn 'Asabir observes that the names of two authorities between ad Dhabii'i 
 and Ishdk have been omitted from this ascription. 
 
 Of people of note who died during the reign of al Mua'tasim were 
 al Humaydi, Shaykh al Bukhari, Abu Nuaym al Fadhl-b-Dukayn, Abu 
 Ghassan an Nahdi, Kalun and Khallad the Kuran readers, itdam-b-Abi 
 Ayas, A'fEan, al Ka'nabi, A'hdan al Marwazi, A'bdu'llah-b-Salih, the secre- 
 tary of al Layth, Ibrahim-b-u'l Mahdi, Sulayman-b-Harb, A'li-b-Muham- 
 mad al Madaini, Abii U'bayd al Kasim-b-Sallam, Kurrah-b-Habib, A'arim, 
 Muhammad-b-rsa, the sword cutler and Hafidh, Asbagh-b-u'l Faraj, the 
 jurisconsult, Saa'dawayh of Wdsit, Abii Omar al Jirmi, the grammarian, 
 Muhammad-b-Sallam of Baykand, Sunayd, Sa'id-b-Kathir, U'fayr, Tahya- 
 b-Yahya at Tamimi and others." 
 
 AL WATHIK BILLAH. 
 
 Al Wdthik bi'llah, Abii Jaa'far (and it is also said, Abu'l Kasim) the 
 son of al Mua'tasim, the son of ar Rashid whose mother was a Greek slave 
 concubine named Karatis, was born on the 20th Shaa'ban in the year 19S 
 and assumed the Caliphate according to the testament of his father. 
 Allegiance was sworn to him on the 19th of Rabii' I in the year 227. 
 In the year 228 he appointed Ashnas the Turk, regent (Sultan) of the 
 kingdom and decorated him with a jewelled double girdle, and a jewelled 
 crown, and I believe him to have been the first Caliph who appointed a 
 Sultan* for verily the Turks became numerous only in the time of his 
 father. 
 
 In the year 231 his instructions reached the governor of Basrah com- 
 manding him to question the Imams and callers to prayer regarding the 
 creation of the Kiuran, and be followed his father in this, but retracted 
 towards the close of his reign. In this year he put to death Ahmad-b- 
 Nasrf al Khuzda'i. He was one of the traditionists and assumed authority J 
 
 * So Preitag in the notes to Halobi, p. 84. 
 
 Anno 228 Watsikus Aschnasum turoam in imperio vicarivim sibi creavit quern 
 primum chalifarum vioarium sibi constituerit fuisse puto.'' Weil, Note 2, p. 344. Al 
 Wdthi^ bmdli. 
 
 t D'Herbelot. Ibn ill Athir, Weil, and the Murdj nd Dahab all have Nasr and 
 not Nadbr as in the text. 
 
 X That thia is the meaning here, appears to be evident from Weil's statement 
 
[ 355 ] 
 to enjoin to good and to prohibit from evil. He sent for him from Bagh- A. H. 231 
 
 dad to Samarra in fetters and questioned him regarding the Kuran, but he 
 said " it is not created," and in regard to the vision of God at the Day of 
 Judgment, he said, " thus goes the narration and he related the tradition."* 
 Al Wathik said to him " thou liest," but he replied to al Wathik, " nay, it 
 is thou that dost lie." The Caliph said, " what ! -will He be seen, as is 
 seen a circumscribed and corporeal form which space can contain and the 
 eye grasp ! verily I deny a God with such attributes — what say ye ?" And 
 some of the Mua'tazalite doctors who were about him, said, " it is lawful to 
 put him to death." Wherefore he ordered the sword to be brought and said 
 " when I rise against him, let no one rise with me, for verily I throw the 
 burden of my sinsf upon this infidel who worshippeth a God I do not wor- 
 ship, and whom I do not recognize with those attributes with which he 
 investeth Him." He then commanded the executioner's carpet to be 
 brought, and the prisoner was placed upon it while still fettered, and he 
 walked towards him and smote off his head, and ordered the head to be 
 taken to Baghdad where it was impaled, and his body was impaled at 
 Surra man raa. It remained in that state for six years until the reign of 
 al Mutawakkil, who caused it to be taken down and buried. When he 
 was impaled, an inscription was written and attached to his ear, which ran 
 thus : " This is the head of Ahmad the son of Nasr, the son of Malik. 
 The servant of God, the Imam Hardn invited him to affirm the creation 
 of the Kuran and to deny the similitude of God to human form, but be 
 refused except to continue in his obstinacy, therefore may God hasten his 
 descent into hell fire." A man was placed on guard over the head, to turn 
 it from looking towards the kiblah, with a spear, but the guard who was 
 over it narrated that he saw it one night, turn its face towards the kiblah 
 
 that Ahmad-li-Na^r in his oouapiracy to dethrone the Caliph meant either to usurp the 
 government himself or place therein a Caliph of his own choice. This is confirmed 
 by the words of the Kamil &c. yJij*^^Mj^\ ^J^ «j«j'->* used hy D'Herhelot. 
 
 • ^♦fl^l ^jyUS" 4i:liaJt pjj i^j ^Jyy 11 Ye shall see your Lord at the Day of 
 Judgment as ye see the moon." The Mua'tazalites hold this to attribute a corporeal 
 from to the Godhead, hut they assert that men after death will see God with their 
 spiritual eyes that is with their reason. Another tradition runs ty^j-*JI (•liT ly^l v^' 
 •SAliij iijif^jh jjIaa) i^y (jJ^**-*! tirW " God wiU turn about between two of his 
 fingers the heart of a son of Adam a true believer." The orthodox believe that the 
 Essence of God's corporeal form is different from that of man's; but the Mua'tazalites, 
 of whom the Caliph was one, allowed not the existence of matter, and gave this an 
 allegorical interpretation. See the Kamfl. and Weil's note. If the latter copies the 
 Kamil, I think he is in error in putting the last tradition and speeoh_into the mouth 
 of Ahmad. 
 
 + Meaning that he hoped for the forgiveness of God for his offences, through the 
 merit of slaying such an infidel. 
 
 A. D. 84-5. 
 
[ 356 ] 
 
 A. H. 231. and recite the Surah Y. S. (XXXVI) with a fluent tongue. This narration 
 
 A, D. 845. is given in other ways. 
 
 During this year al Wathik engaged for the ransom of sixteen hundred* 
 Muslim prisoners from the Romans, but Ibn Abi Duadf (may the Lord 
 reprobate him) said, " such of the prisoners as acknowledge the creation 
 of the Kuran, let us release and bestow upon them two dinars, but whoso 
 refuseth let us leave him in captivity." Al Khatib says that Ahmad-b- 
 Abi Duad influenced al Wathik and urged him to severity in the inqui- 
 sition, and summoned the people to confess that the Kuran is created. It 
 is said that al Wathik retraced his steps before his death. One author 
 relates that one of those who were brought in fetters from the provinces, 
 was taken before the Caliph, and when he entered, Ibn Abi Duad being 
 present, the prisoner said ; " Inform me regarding this belief which you 
 summon the people to accept — did the apostle of God hold it and yet not 
 call the people to believe in it, or was it a thing which he held not ?" Ibn 
 Abi DuM replied " yes he did hold it." The other said "then he was at 
 liberty not to call the people to believe in it, and you are not so !" The 
 narrator says, that those present were confounded and al Wathik laughed, 
 and arose holding his mouth and entered a chamber and threw himself 
 down at length, exelaining, " the prophet was at liberty to be silent about 
 it and we are not !" He then ordered that the man should be given three 
 hundred dinars, and should be sent back to his city, and he did not ques- 
 tion any one after this, but held Ibn Abi Duad in aversion from that day. 
 The man alluded to was Abu A'bdiir Rahman A'bdu'llah-b-Muhammad al 
 Azadi, the Shaykh of Abii Dauud and an Nasai. 
 
 Ibn Abi'd Dunya says that al Wathik was of fair complexion in which 
 sallowness prevailed, with a handsome beard, and a spot in his eyes. J Yahya- 
 b-Aktham states that no one was as generous to the posterity of Abu 
 Talib as was al Wathik. There was not one among them in distress, when 
 he died. Another author observes that al Wathik was well versed in 
 polite literature and was a graceful poet. He was much attached to a slave 
 who had been sent to him as a present from Egypt, and one day al Wathik 
 annoyed him,, and afterwards, he heard him say to another slave, " by 
 * According to Ibn Ath. 4,400 men, 800 women and children, and 100 of the 
 non-Muslims (Ahl ud Dimmah) living under a MusHm government. 
 
 t Not Dauud as in the text. Ibn A'bi Dauud was the well known Hafidh of 
 Baghdad who died in A. H. 316, " Ibn Abi Duad was made chief Kddhi by al Mua'- 
 tasim and continued in high favor with that Caliph and his successor. In the reign 
 of al Mutawakkil he was struck with paralysis and his office conferred on his son 
 and he died in A. H. 240 (864). See his life in Ibn Khali. The mistake in the name 
 is made in the Kdmil, doubtless by a copyist and passed imnoticed by WeU who has 
 followed it." 
 
 X The terrible eyes of al Wathik are noticed by D'Herbelot and figure in Beck- 
 ford's famous romance. 
 
[ 357 ] 
 
 Allah, al Wathik has been wishing since yesterday that I would speak to A. H. 231. 
 him but I will not,"— and al Wathik said— A. D. 845. 
 
 " O thou who dost glory in punishing me 
 Thou art but a tyrant, tyrannous when in power. 
 "Were it not for my infatuation, we would meet according to our 
 
 respective positions. 
 And if I recover from this some day, thou shalt see !" 
 Among the verses of al Wdthik are the following : — 
 " A heart that ruleth hearts* 
 "With the repose of a languishing dark eye, 
 Beautiful of form, ravishing, 
 Full of coquettishness, and arch glances : 
 It is not possible for an eye when 
 She glanceth, to turn away from her." 
 As Suli says that al "Wathik was called al Mamiin the Younger on account 
 of his polite learning and accomplishments, and al Mamun used to honour 
 him and give him precedence before his son. Al "Wathik was one of the 
 most proficient of men in every thing ; for he was a poet and the most 
 versed in music among the Caliphs, there being about a hundred melodies 
 and airs composed by him. He was also skilled in the lyre and in reciting 
 poetry and narratives. 
 
 Al Fadhl al Yazidi observes that there was none of the Caliphs of the 
 House of A'bbas that could recite more poetry than al "Wathik and having 
 been asked whether al "Wathik could recite more than al Mamlin, he replied, 
 " yes, for al Mamiin mixed up with Arabian learning, the learning of the 
 ancients in astrology, medicine and logic, and al "Wdthik adulterated Arabian 
 science with nothing." Yazid al Muhallabi says that al "Wathik was a very 
 great eater, and Ibn Pahm,t that al "Wathik had a table of gold made up of 
 four-pieces, each piece requiring twenty men to carry it, and everything 
 upon the table, dishes, plates and saucers were of gold. Ibn Abi Duad 
 begged of him not to eat from it on account of the prophetical prohibition 
 against it, whereupon he ordered it to be broken up, coined and taken to 
 the treasury. 
 
 Al Husayn-b-Yahya narrates that al Wathik dreamed that he asked 
 for paradise of God, and a speaker said, " no one shall perish before Grod, 
 save he whose heart is ' mart' [\ii>yo). In the morning he asked his com- 
 panions regarding that, and they knew not the meaning of it. Then he 
 
 , * f II 
 
 * Read *f« for gt* 
 
 t Abu 'All al Husayn-b-Muhammad-b-Fahm, a learned traditionist and a native of 
 Baghdad, died A. H. 289 (902), aged 78. De Slane ; I. K. 
 
[ 358 ] 
 
 A. H. 231. sent for Abii Muhallim* and caused him to be brought into his presence 
 A. D. 845. and enquired of him regarding the dream and the word ' mart.' Abu 
 Muhallim replied, ' mart' is a desert which produces no herbage, and the 
 meaning of it is, that no one will perish before God except he whose heart 
 is barren of faith, like the barrenness of a desert of herbage." Then al 
 Wathik said to him, " I should like a proof from poetry of this ' mart ;' " 
 whereupon one who was present hastily interposed and recited a line from 
 the Banu Asad. 
 
 " She passed deserts which the sand-grouse avoids 
 Did a wise man enter into daybreak in them, he would lose his senses." 
 
 Abu Muhallim laughed and said " I shall not depart until I have 
 recited to thee ;" and he recited from the desert Arabs a hundred well- 
 known verses from a hundred distinguished poets in every verse of these 
 being the mention of the word ' mart,' and al Wathik ordered him one 
 hundred thousand dindrs. Hamdun-b-Isma'il says that there was none 
 among the Caliphs more forbearing than al WAthik nor more patient under 
 annoyance and opposition than he. And Ahmad-b-Hamdiin narrates that 
 his tutor, Hardn-b-Ziyad went to him and he received him with the greatest 
 deference, and it was said to him, " who is this, O prince of the Faithful to 
 whom thou dost this thing ?" He replied, " he is the first who unloosed 
 my tongue to recite the praises of God and brought me within the compass 
 of His mercy." 
 
 The following eulogy on him is by A'li-b-Jahm : — 
 
 " The minds of men confide 
 In the monarch Wathik bi'llah. 
 A monarch through whom wealth suffers, 
 But his companions suffer not. 
 A lion at whose fierceness smiles 
 Stern war. 
 
 The sword is friendly with him 
 But the dainty gazelle is in fear. 
 sons of A'bbas, the lord hath forbidden 
 But that ye only sliould rule." 
 
 Al Wathik died at Surra man raa on Wednesday the 24th of Dn'l 
 Hijjah in the year 232, {llth August 847). When he was on the point of 
 death, he began repeating these two lines : 
 
 " Death is common to all mankind 
 Neither prince nor subject is spared. 
 
 * The MS. has Abu Mujlim, but I can find no celebrity bearing either of those 
 na,mes. 
 
[ 359 ] 
 
 Their poverty* hurteth not the poor ^- ^- ^'^^' 
 
 And princes are notf profited against God by what they possess." -A-. D- 847. 
 
 It is related that after he was dead, he was left abandoned and the 
 people set about swearing allegiance to al Mutawakhil and a lizard came 
 and pulled out his eyes and eat them. 
 
 Among distinguished persons who died during his reign were Musad- 
 dad, Khalaf-b-Hisham, the cloth merchant and Kuran reader, Isma'il-b- 
 Sa'id as Shdlakhi the Shaykh of the people of Tabaristan, Muhammad-b- 
 Saa'd Katib u'l Wakidi, Abii Tammam at Tai the poet, Muhammad-b- 
 Ziyad-b-i'l Aa'rabi the grammarian, al Buwayti the disciple of as Shdfi'i 
 in prison and in manacles on account of the inquisition on the Kurdn, 
 A'li-b-u'l Mughirah al Athram (JbroTeen tooth) the grammarian and others. 
 Regarding personal accounts of al Wathik, as Suli records that Jaa'f ar- 
 b-A'li-b-i'r Eashid narrates as follows : 
 
 " We were in presence of al Wdthik who had just taken his morning 
 draught, when his eunuch Mahaj brought him a rose and a narcissus. The 
 next day he recited the following regarding this : 
 
 " God preserve thee with thy narcissus and rose, 
 
 Thou shapely of figure and form. 
 
 His eyes have inflamed love 
 
 And increased desire and passion. 
 
 I sought by my sovereignty proximity to him. 
 
 But my sovereignty is the cause of my remoteness. 
 
 The intoxication of love hath dazed him. 
 
 And in union he turneth to repulsion. 
 
 If a favour is asked of him he turneth aside 
 
 And the tears pour down his cheeks. 
 
 He glories over the injuries his glances have done, 
 
 And he knoweth not the fulfilling of promises. 
 
 The master complains of the tyranny of the slave 
 
 Wherefore do justice to the master against his slave." 
 
 He adds " and they were agreed that by no other Caliph were there 
 verses equal to these." As Suli also records that A'bdu'Uah-b-u'l Mua'tazz 
 said, "one of my companions recited to me the following verse by al 
 Wathik who was attached to two slaves, one of whom served him one day 
 and the other the next." 
 
 " My heart is divided between two persons : 
 Who has ever before seen one soul in two bodies ? 
 
 • For f»«»)l^ read as in Ibn u'l Athir ^y^, 
 
 t Compare Kur. Ill, 8 and LVIII 18 (•«^lj*l (»«i* t5**^ w'. " Their posses- 
 sion will not suffice them in Heu of (or defend them) against God." 
 
[ 360 ] 
 
 A. H. 232. rpijig Qjjg jg angry if the other is kind 
 
 A. D. 847, Thus my heart is occupied by a double grief." 
 
 And from Khirbil, that a verse of al Akhtal was sung in presence of 
 al Wathik as follows : — 
 
 " A jovial singer joined me in my cups 
 Neither abstemious nor yet quarrelsome (sawwar) over his wine." 
 
 Some said it was " sawwar" and others " saar," Whereupon he sent 
 to Ibn ul Aa'rabi questioning him on the point. He replied, " Sawwar 
 means assaulting": one says, " he does not assault his boon companions" 
 and saar is one who leaves a residue (sdran) in the cup, and verily 
 both readings are given." Upon this al Wathik ordered Ibn u'l Aa'rabi 
 twenty thousand dirhams. He records likewise from Ahmad-b-u'l 
 Husayn-b-Hisham that he says, " al Husayn-b-u'd Dahhak and Mukha- 
 rik were disputing one day at an assembly in presence of al Wathik 
 regarding Abli Nuwas and Abu'l A'tahiyah as to which was the better 
 poet, and al Wathik said, ' lay a wager between ye,' and they staked 
 between them two hundred dinars and al Wathik said, ' who among the 
 learned is here ?' They replied, ' Abu Muhallim ;' whereupon he sum- 
 moned him and he was questioned on the subject. He said, ' Abu Nuwas 
 is the better poet and the most profoundly versed in Arabian science and 
 the most copious of us in his variety of the kinds of verse.' Upon this 
 al Wathik commanded that the stakes be paid to al Husayn.' " 
 
 AL MUTAWAKKIL ALA'L'LAH. 
 
 Al Mutawakkil ala'l'lah Jaa'far Abu'l Fadhl the son of al Mua'tasim 
 the son of ar Eashid, whose mother was a slave concubine named Shujda', 
 was born iu the year 205 and according to some, 207. He was acknow- 
 ledged Caliph, in succession to al Wathik in Du'l Hijjah 232. He evinced 
 his partiality for the Sunnite doctrines and favoured its professors and 
 abolished the inquisition and wrote to the provinces to that effect, and 
 that, in the year 234. 
 
 He summoned the Tradltionists to Samarra and loaded them with 
 presents and honoured them and commanded them to bring forward tradi- 
 tions on the attributes* of God and His personal vision at the day of 
 judgment. Abu Bakr-b-Abi Shaybah taught in the mosque of Eusdfah, 
 
 * WWoh were rejected by the Muatazalites, the true doctrine of Wasil-b-A'ta 
 their founder teing tliat whoever asserted an eternal attribute, asserted that there were 
 two goda, See Sale, p. 113, on their tenets. 
 
[ 361 ] 
 
 tliere gathering round him about thirty thousand people, and his brother A. H. 234i. 
 
 O'thman lectured in the mosque of al Mansur, about thirty thousand A. D. 84i8-9. 
 
 also being collected under him. The praj^ers of the people for al Muta- 
 
 wakkil were frequent and they were vehement in his praise and honor to 
 
 such an extent that one of them said, " the Caliphs are but three — Abu 
 
 Bakr for his waging war on the apostates, Omar-b-A'bdi'l A'ziz for his 
 
 removal of abuses, and al Mutawakkil for his revival of traditional doctrine 
 
 and abolition of severe measures. Eegarding this, Abu Bakr-b-u'l Khab- 
 
 bazah says — 
 
 " And now to-day orthodoxy has become 
 
 Honoured, as if it never had been in reproach. 
 
 It overpowers and subdues since its pinnacle has been set up. 
 
 While the pinnacle of falsehood and lying is overthrown from its 
 height. 
 
 And the innovators in religion have fled 
 
 Into hell fire disgraced and unaccepted of God. 
 
 The Lord hath made amends for them by his Caliph Jaa'far 
 
 His Vicegerent, the holder of orthodoxy and trusting in Him. 
 
 The Vicegerent of my Lord and the descendants of His prophet's 
 uncle, 
 
 The best of those of the sons of 'Abbas who have borne rule. 
 
 The gatherer of the scattered portions of the faith after their dis- 
 persion. 
 
 And the cleaver of the heads of apostates with the sword. 
 
 May the Lord of mankind preserve him long 
 
 Safe from dangers and unreplaced. 
 
 And grant him, for his protection to religion, an abode in paradise 
 
 In the familar society, among its gardens, of the best of the 
 Apostles." 
 
 In this year Ibn Abi Duad was seized with paralysis which made 
 bim like a fallen stone ; may God not reward him ! Among the wondrous 
 events of this year, was a wind that blew in I'rak, an intensely hot wind, 
 the like of which had not been known. It burnt up the sown fields of 
 Kufah, Basrah and Baghdad, and destroyed travellers, continuing for fifty 
 days. It reached Hamadan and burnt up the fields and cattle and came 
 upon Sinjar and Mosal, preventing the people from frequenting the market 
 places and walking in the streets, and killed a large number. In the 
 previous year a tremendous earthquake occurred in Damascus, the houses 
 of which fell and killed the people within them, and it extended to Antioch 
 and destroyed it, and to Mesopotamia and laid it waste and even to Mosal, 
 and it is said that fifty thousand persons were killed. 
 4,Q 
 
[ 362 ] 
 
 A. H. 234. In tlie year 235 al Mutawakkil ordered the Christians* to wear collars 
 
 A. D. 848-9. round their necks. 
 
 In the year 236 he ordered the tomb of al Husayn to be destroyed, 
 and the destruction likewise of the houses round about it, and that it should 
 be turned into cultivation, and he forbade the people to make pilgrimages 
 to it ; it was therefore destroyed and it remained a waste. 
 
 Al Mutawakkil was notorious for his Na^abif tenets, and the Muslims 
 
 were grieved on this account, and the people of Baghdad wrote upon the 
 
 walls and mosques reviling him and the poets satirized him. Among what 
 
 has been said on the subject is the following — 
 
 " By Allah, if the Umayyads 
 
 Went to slay the son of the Prophet's daughter unjustly put to 
 
 death. 
 Verily the sons of his ancestor have come against him likewise. 
 See, by my life, his tomb destroyed ! 
 They grieve that they did not share 
 
 In his assassination wherefore they pursue his mouldered bones." 
 In the year 237 he sent to the prefect of Egypt to shave the beard of 
 Abu Bakr Muhammad-b-Abi'l Layth, the chief judge of Egypt and to 
 scourge him and to have him carried round the city on an ass. This was 
 done, and indeed done well for Abi Bakr was an oppressor, and one of the . 
 leaders of the JahmiteJ following. He appointed to the judicial office in 
 his stead al Hdrith-b-Miskin one of the disciples of Malik notwithstanding 
 his declining it, and he disgraced the deposed Kadhi by scourging him with 
 twenty stripes every day in order to return their oppressions .upon the 
 doers thereof. In this year a conflagration broke out in Ascalon and 
 burnt down houses and granaries, and it continued burning for a third of 
 the night, when it ceased. During the same he invited Ahmad-b-Hanbal 
 to come to see him, and he went, but he had no interview with him, obtain- 
 ing audience only of his son al Mua'tazz. 
 
 In the year 238 the Eomans attacked Damietta and plundered and 
 burnt it, and took thence six hundred women prisoners, and made good a 
 
 • Ibn u'l Athir makes no mention of this word " ghul" ■whieli moans a collar of 
 iron, wood or leather worn round the neck, but he says that the non-Muslim population 
 were compelled to wear yellow head coverings and girdles, to use stirrups of wood, and 
 among other things to have the figures of devils put in front of their dwelling-houses ; 
 the women and slaves had also distinct dresses assigned to them. See also Weil, 
 p. 361, Vol. II. 
 
 I i_^A/iak«j| t>*| -^as the name given to the adversaries of the Caliph A'li. 
 
 t Ibn u'l Athir mentions four persons who encouraged al Mutawakkil in his 
 persecution of the followers of A'li, vix., A'li-b-u'l Jahm the poet, of the Banu Shdmah, 
 Omar-b-Farakh, Abt!ls Samt and A'bdu'Uah-b-Mu^ammad-b-Dauud al Hdshimi. 
 
[ 363 ] 
 
 basty retreat by sea. In the year 240, the people of Khilat* heard a loud A. H. 240. 
 shriek from the vault of heaven, and a large number of people died there- A. D. 854. 
 from, and hail fell in I'rak, like hen's eggs, and thirteen villages were 
 swallowed up in the earth in Mauritania. 
 
 In the year 241, there was a commotion of the stars in the heavens, 
 and the heavenly bodies were falling the greater part of the night like 
 locusts ; a disturbing occurrence such as had not been known. 
 
 In the year 242 there was a great earthquake at Tunis and its depen- 
 dencies, and at Eai, Khurasan, Naysabur, Tabaristan and Ispahan, the 
 hills were rent asunder, and the earth opened to an extent that would 
 have admitted a man into the cleft. The village of Suwayda on the confines 
 of Egypt was stoned from heaven, and one of the stones was weighed and 
 it came to ten ratis (pounds). A mountain too in Yaman on which were 
 the tilled fields of its owners, moved until it came to the tilled lands of 
 others, and in Aleppo there came down a white bird somewhat smaller 
 than the white vulture, in the month of Eamadhan, and it screamed out, 
 " O ye people, fear the Lord, the Lord, the Lord," and it called out thus 
 forty times, and then flew away but returned on the morrow and did the 
 same again : the post brought word to this effect and five hundred men who 
 had heard it, testified to it. 
 
 During the same year Ibrahim-b-Mutahhar the secretary made the 
 pilgrimage from Basrah in a carriage drawn by camels at which the people 
 wondered. In the year 243 al Mutawakkil went to Damascus which 
 greatly pleased him and he built himself a palace at Darayya and resolved to 
 dwell there, upon which Yazid-b-Muhammad al Muhallabi said — 
 
 " I think that Syria will rejoice over the sorrow of I'rak 
 Since the Imam hath resolved to quit it. 
 For if thou quittest ( prince) I'rak and its inhabitants 
 Verily thou wilt afilict the fair one with divorce." 
 
 Upon which he changed his mind and returned after two or three 
 months. In the year 244 al Mutawakkil put to death Yakub-b-u's Sikkitf 
 the great master of the Arabic language whom he had invited to teach his 
 sons, and one day looking upon his two sons al Mu'atazz and al Muayyad, 
 he said to Ibn u's Sikkit, " which are the more endeared to you, these two 
 or al Hasan and al Husayn ?" He answered " Kanbar," (meaning the 
 freedman of A'li) is better than these two." Upon this he gave orders to 
 the Turks who trampled upon his belly till he died. It is also said that he 
 commanded his tongue to be torn out, after which he expired, and he sent 
 his blood-money to his son. Al Mutawakkil was a Nasabi. 
 
 In the year 245 earthquakes occurred over the world universally and 
 
 * In Central Armenia. 
 
 t He was the author of the work Isla^ u'l Mantik, Muntaha'l Arab, . 
 
[ 864 ] 
 
 A, H. 245. cities and forts and bridges were destroyed, and a mountain at Antioch fell 
 A. D. 859, into the sea. In the heavens there were heard dreadful sounds : Egypt was 
 convulsed by an earthquake and the inhabitants of Bilbis* heard a terrible 
 shriek from the direction of Cairof from which many of them died. The 
 springs at Mecca dried up and al Mutawakkil sent one hundred thousand 
 dinars to have water conveyed to it from A'rafah. Al Mutawakkil was 
 very liberal and much eulogised. It is said that no Caliph gave in bounty 
 to a poet as much as was given by al Mutawakkil and regarding this 
 Marwan-b-Abi Janiib said J — 
 
 " Stay the munificence of thy hands from me and add not more 
 
 For verily I fear lest I become haughty and insolent." 
 He replied, " no, I shall not refrain till my bounty overwhelmeth thee." 
 He bestowed on him for one poem, a hundred and twenty thousand dirhams 
 and fifty robes. One day A'li-b-u'l Jahm visited al Mutawakkil who held 
 in his hand two pearls which he was turning about, and A'li recited to him 
 a poem, upon which he threw him a pearl. A'li turned it about and al 
 Mutawakkil said, " dost thou think little of it, while, by Allah, it is worth 
 more than a hundred thousand dirhams?" He answered, "no, but I 
 was thinking over some verses that I am composing in order that I may 
 have the other too." The Caliph exclaimed, " say them." He recited — 
 " At Surra man raa is the Imam of justice, 
 
 Prom whose ocean the seas lap their waters. 
 
 May the kingdom be with him and with his children. 
 
 As long as night succeedeth day. 
 
 In every contingency he is hoped in and feared 
 
 As if he were heaven and hell. 
 
 His two hands in bounty are as rival wives, 
 
 For both of them are jealous of him. 
 
 His right hand giveth nought 
 
 But the left giveth the like to it." 
 Upon this, he threw him the other pearl. 
 
 One author observes that eight persons the father of each of whom was 
 a Caliph acknowledged al Mutawakkil as Caliph, namely, Mansur, the son 
 of al Mahdi, A'bbas the son of al Hadi, Abu Ahmad the son of ar Rashid, 
 A'bdu'Uah the son of al Amin, Musa the son of al Mdmiin, Ahmad the son 
 of al Mua'tasim, Muhammad the son of al Wathik, and his son al Muntasir. 
 
 • Not Bulbays as in the text, though Yakiit says it is wdgarly called Biltays. 
 
 t The phrase j^^^ '^^'^ (i>* may he also taken to mean that BUbis was in the 
 district of old Cairo, but I do not think that is here intended. 
 
 J The text has tJy^i ■which must here be taken to imply a past sense. Ibn 
 Khali has no notice of this poet beyond mentioning one of his verses in praise of Ibn 
 Abi Dudd. 
 
[ 365 ] 
 
 Al Masa'iidi remarks that no one was known to be distingmslied for any A. H. 245. 
 accomplishment, whether grave or gay, but had a share in al Mutawakkil's A. D. 859. 
 favour, and received considerable sums of money, and further that he was 
 addicted to sensual pleasures and wine and had four thousand concubines. 
 
 A'li-b-u'l Jahm relates that al Mutawakkil was much attached to 
 Kabihah* the mother of his son al Mua'tazz, and was constantly in her 
 society. She stood before him one day having written upon her cheek in 
 musk and ambergris the word " Jaa'far," whereupon he looked at her 
 meditatingly and versified as follows : — 
 
 " She hath written Jaa'far upon her cheek with musk, 
 I would give my life for the spot where it has left a trace. 
 If she hath engraved lines of musk upon her cheek 
 Verily she hath inscribed lines of love upon my heart." 
 
 In the work on Inquisitions by as Salami, it is stated that Du'n Niinf 
 was the first who discoursed in old Cairo on the methods of ecstatic commu- 
 nion with the Deity and the degrees of the contemplative' life among the 
 mystics. A'bduUah-b-u'l Hakam, who was one of the principal men of old 
 Cairo and among the most eminent of the disciples of Malik, opposed him 
 on the ground of his introducing a doctrine which none before him had 
 advanced, and accused him of impiety. The governor of Egypt then sent 
 for him and questioned him as to his belief which he explained. The 
 governor approved his conduct and wrote regarding him to al Mutawakkil 
 who commanded him to be summoned. He was accordingly sent, travelling 
 post, and when the Caliph heard his discourse, he was enraptured with him 
 and held him in high favour and honoured him, so that he used to say, 
 " talking of pious men, give me Du'n Nlin !" 
 
 Al Mutawakkil covenanted for the succession, first for his son al Mun- 
 ta§ir, then for al Mua'tazz, and next for al Muayyad. He subsequently 
 sought to give al Mua'tazz the precedence out of his love for his mother, 
 and he asked al Muntasir to renounce the- succession, who refused. Al 
 Mutawakkil thereupon summoned him to a public audience, degraded him 
 from his position, and threatened, reviled and menaced him. It happened 
 that the Turks had withdrawn their countenance from al Mutawakkil on 
 account of certain affairs, wherefore they conspired with al Muntasir to 
 
 * The text " Fatfliah" is wrong, all authorities together with the MS. have ^sHtf*^ 
 JMa?audi has *-H* (a slave) in one copy and *^— in another, and the story ia told 
 differently, the verses heing ascribed to Mahbubah another slave girl of the Caliph's 
 and two other lines are added. 
 
 t Abu'l Faydh Thauban-b-Ibrahim sumamed Du'n Nun (or he of the Pish, an 
 epithet of the prophet Jonas) the well-known Muslim saint and ascetic ; his life will be 
 found in I. K. He died A. H, 245 or 246 in Old Cairo, buried in the lesser Kaiafa 
 one of its cemeteries. 
 
[ 366 ] 
 
 H. 245. gia,y his father, and five men went in to him at dead of night when he was 
 -L'. 859, g^^ g^ festive meeting and they slew him and his minister Fath-b-Khakaa 
 on the 5th of Shawwal in the year 247 {lOtJi Dec. 861). 
 
 Some one saw him in a dream and said to him, " what hath God done 
 to thee ?" He replied, " He hath pardoned me for the sake of the few 
 orthodox traditionary doctrines that I have revived." When he was slain 
 the poets mourned him, and among these are the following verses of Yazid 
 al Muhallabi. 
 
 " His death came while his eye was sleeping, 
 
 Why came not death to him where lances are in splinters ?* 
 
 A Caliph who obtained what none hath received : 
 
 Never were there created a body and a soul like his." 
 Among his concubines was a girl called Mahbdbah, a poetess, and 
 possessing many accomplishments, and very skilful with the lute. When he 
 was slain, she came into the possession of Bugha the elder, and he summoned 
 her one day to a carousal. She sat down sorrowfully and he asked her to 
 sing. She excused herself, but he adjured her and sent for the lute and she 
 placed it on her lap and sang extempore, 
 " How can life delight me 
 
 When I see Jaa'far no more ? 
 
 This monarch whom I have seen 
 
 Covered with blood and dust. 
 
 All who are sick with lovef 
 
 Or disease may be indeed cured. 
 
 Save Mahbubah who 
 
 If she knew that Death were to be purchased, 
 
 Would purchase it with all 
 
 That her hands possessed, that she might be borne to the grave. 
 
 For a melancholy death 
 
 Is preferable to life prolonged." 
 
 Bugha was angry with her at this and ordered that she should be 
 imprisoned, and this is the last that was heard of her. 
 
 Among curious coincidences it is stated that al Mutawakkil said 
 
 to al Buhturi,J " speak a verse regarding me and Fath-b-Khdkan for I 
 
 desire that he should continue in life with me, and that I should not lose 
 
 ■* ' - ^ '" . 
 
 * This word should he printed *''^* plur. of S**** a fragment. 
 
 + Masa'ddi has J^^ for (•'** 
 
 X Abu U'hadah al "Walid-b-U'bayd of the tribe of T4i, al Buhturi was born at 
 Manbij about A. H. 206 (821-2). He was acoounted a poet of the first rank and was 
 considered by somo superior to Abu TammSm and al Mutanabbi. Ho returned to 
 Manbij after the death of al Mutawakkil and died there in A, H, 284 (897-8), Consult 
 Ibn Khali. 
 
[ 367 ] 
 
 him for my joy would then depart, nor he lose me. Say therefore some- A. H. 24?- 
 thing to this effect,"— and al Buhturi said, A. D. 861. 
 
 " O my prince, how hast thou broken thy promise to me 
 And abstained from the fulfilment of thy engagements with me. 
 May the days not show me thy loss Fath, 
 Nor announce my loss unto thee while thou livest : 
 The greatest of calamities would be that thou should'st precede me, 
 And yet a calamity, should'st thou remain after I am gone. 
 Beware of taking another friend than myself 
 Since I have made thee alone the object of my love." 
 
 They were both slain together as hath gone before. 
 
 Regarding personal accounts of al Mutawakkil, Ibn A'sakir records 
 that al Mutawakkil saw in a dream a piece of sugar of the kind called 
 Sulaymani falling upon him from heaven upon which was written ; Jaa'far 
 al Mutawakkil ala'li'ldh (who conjldeth in God). When he was saluted Caliph, 
 the people deliberated about giving him a name, and some said " let us call 
 him al Muntasir." Then al Mutawakkil related to Ahmad-b-Abi Duad 
 what he had seen in his dream, who found it a suitable name. He there- 
 fore adopted it and wrote to that effect to the provinces. 
 
 He records also from Hisham-b-A'mmar that he narrates, " I heard 
 al Mutawakkil exclaim, ' alas ! for Muhammad-b- Idiis as Shafi'i ! how 
 glad should I have been had I lived in his days ; I would then have beheld 
 him, and witnessed his life and received instruction from him, for I saw 
 the apostle of Grod in a dream, and he was saying — people ! Muhammad 
 the son of Idris, the descendant of al Muttalib hath departed to the mercy 
 of God and hath left behind with ye an excellent doctrine, wherefore 
 follow it and ye shall be rightly guided.' Then al Mutawakkil con- 
 tinued, ' O God ! vouchsafe unto Muhammad, the son of Idris a large 
 share of Thy mercy and render easy unto me the remembrance of his 
 doctrines, and profit me thereby.' I remark that from this we may infer 
 that al Mutawakkil was attached to the Shafi'i school. He was the first 
 of the Caliphs who followed its teaching." 
 
 He also records on the testimony of Ahmad-b-A'li al Basri that al 
 Mutawakkil sent to Ahmad-b-u'l Ma'dil and others of the learned and 
 assembled them in his palace ; he then went out to them and all the com- 
 pany arose before him except Ahmad-b-u'l Ma'dil, and al Mutawakkil said 
 to U'baydu'llah,* " does not this man consent to our covenant of allegiance ?" 
 He said, " yes, O prince of the Faithful, but there is a defect in his eye- 
 sight." But Ahmad exclaimed, "prince of the Faithful, there is no 
 defect in my eyesight, but I have preserved thee from the wrath of God^ 
 
 * U'baydu'Uah.-b-Yahya-'b-Khakaii wto succeeded Muhammad-b-Fadhl as Wazir 
 in that post till the CaHpli's death. Mur. pahab, Vol, VII, p. 197. 
 
[ 368 ] 
 
 A. H. 247. for the prophet hath said, 'whoso desireth that men should stand up 
 A. D. 861. before him, let him take up his abode in heU-fire ;' " thereupon al Muta- 
 wakkil went and sat down by his side. 
 
 And from Yazid al Muhallabi, " al Mutawakkil said to me, ' O 
 Muhallabi, the Caliphs oppressed their subjects to compel their obedience, 
 but I have been gentle with them that they might submit to and obey me.' " 
 And from A'bduUah-b-Hammad at Tarmusi that he relates as follows : 
 " I went to al Mutawakkil and he said — ' O Abu Yahya, what hath kept thee 
 from me, I have not seen thee for three days ! I purposed to give thee 
 something but have transferred it to some one else.' I replied, ' O prince 
 of the Faithful ! may the Lord requite thee with good for this intention. 
 Shall I give thee a couple of verses on this subject ?' He replied ' yes,' 
 so I versified — 
 
 ' I thank thee indeed for the favour that thou didst intend. 
 For thy solicitude in granting favours is well known. 
 And I shall not reprove thee since destiny hath not brought it 
 
 about. 
 For one's lot is apportioned according to fixed decree.' 
 Upon this he ordered me one thousand dinars." 
 
 He records also from Jaa'far-b-Abdu'l Wahid the Hashimite as 
 follows : " I visited al Mutawakkil when his mother died, and he said, 'O 
 Jaa'far, I often repeat this single verse, and when I wish to go on to the 
 next, I get confused — and this is what I say.' 
 ' When the world parts us, I call to mind 
 And console myself with the memory of the prophet Mulbammad.' 
 One of the company present capped it with — 
 ' And I say to it — verily death is our road 
 
 And he who dieth not to-day, dieth to-morrow.' " 
 And from Fath-h-Khakan that he says, " I went in one day to al 
 Mutawakkil and I saw him looking down and abstracted in thought and 
 I said, — ' Prince of the Faithful ! why this thoughtf ulness ! for by 
 Allah, there is not upon the face of the earth any one possessing greater 
 happiness nor one more fortunate than thou art.' He answered, ' O Fath 
 — he enjoyeth greater happiness who hath a spacious house, a virtuous 
 wife, and a present sufficiency, one who knoweth us not lest we injure him 
 and hath no need of us, lest we disdain him.' " And from Abii'l U'ayna 
 that a slave girl who was a poetess and named Fadhl was given as a 
 present to al Mutawakkil who said to her, " art thou a poetess ?" she 
 replied, " so think they who sold and bought me !" He continued — 
 " recite me some of thy verses," she versified — 
 
 " The Imam of right guidance assumed the sovereignty 
 In the year thirty and three. 
 
[ 369 ] 
 
 The Caliphate passed to Jaa'far A. H. 247. 
 
 When he was seven and twenty. A, D. 861. 
 
 I hope, indeed, Imam of right guidance 
 That thou mayest rule the kingdom for eighty years. 
 May God not bless the man who sayeth not 
 At the time of my prayer for thee — Amen." 
 Ibn A'sSkir further records that A'li-b-u'l Jahm narrates as follows : 
 " There was given to al Mutawakkil a slave girl called Mahbiibah. She had 
 been brought up in Taif, instructed in polite learning and could compose 
 verses. Al Mutawakkil was much enamoured of her, but she fell subse- 
 quently under his displeasure, and he forbade the slave girls of the palace 
 to speak to her. I visited him one day and he said to me, ' verily I had 
 a dream of Mahbtibah that I had become reconciled with her and she with 
 me.' I answered, ' a happy omen, O prince of the Faithful.' He rejoined, 
 ' come with us and let us see what she is about.' We proceeded until we 
 reached her chamber, when lo f she was touching her lute and saying, 
 ' I wander round the palace and behold none 
 To whom I can complain or who will respond to me. 
 So that I am as if I had committed a sin 
 Tor which there is no repentance which will release me. 
 Then* who will be my intercessor with a monarch 
 Who visited me in his slumber and made peace with me. 
 But when the morning dawned upon us 
 He reverted to his disdain and forsook me.' " 
 Then al Mutawakkil called and she came forth, and she fell at his feet, 
 and kissed them, and murmured, " O my Lord, I dreamt of thee this 
 night that thou wert reconciled with me." He replied, "and I too, by 
 Allah, dreamt of thee." He then restored her to her former place in his 
 favour. When al Mutawakkil was assassinated, she fell to the lot of 
 Bugha, and the precedingf verses have already been recorded in their place. 
 Ibn A'sakir mentions on the authority of A'li-b-u'l Jahm that al 
 Buhturi praises al Mutawakkil for having abolished the Inquisition and 
 satirizes Ibn Abi Duad in the following lines : 
 " Prince of the Faithful verily we thank 
 Thy ancestors the illustrious and noble. 
 Thou hast restored to the faith its unity, after 
 I had seen it in two hostile factions. 
 Thou hast overthrown oppressors over the whole earth 
 And the place of tyranny is known no more. 
 
 * The Muruj-u'd Dahab has ^ for li* 
 t Pago 366. 
 47 
 
r 370 ] 
 
 A. H. 247. And in the space of a year which hath smitten their proud ones 
 
 A. D. 861. According to their deserts hy a sudden descending calamity. 
 
 And it hath left nothing of Ibn Abi Duad 
 Save a punishment which speaks with signification. 
 Sabur-b-Sahl* was confounded at it 
 And granted him respite and afforded him protection. 
 When his companions carouse at night 
 They prolong vain discourse on the creation of the Kuran." 
 And from Ahmad-b-Hanbal, that he says, " I was wakeful one night 
 but afterwards fell into a slumber and in my dream I saw, as it were, a 
 man ascending to heaven, and a speaker, saying, 
 ' A king who is led to a just king 
 
 Eminent in mercy and not an oppressor.' 
 Afterwards when I awoke at dawn, there arrived at Baghdad from 
 Surra man raa a messenger announcing the death of al Mutawakkil." 
 
 And from A'mrf-b-Shayban al Jubni " I saw in the night in which 
 al Mutawakkil was slain, in my dream a speaker, saying, 
 
 ' O thou whose eye sleepeth in regard to the things of the body, 
 ShedJ thy tears, O A'mr, son of Shaybdn. 
 Seest thou not the youths guilty of shameful deeds, what tbey have 
 
 done 
 Unto the Hashimite and Fath-b-Khakan. 
 He hath departed to God unjustly dealt with, and there call out 
 
 to him 
 The dwellers in the heavens by twos and ones. 
 And there shall come unto ye others distinguished§ 
 Whom ye may expect possessing dignity upon dignity. 
 Then weep for Jaa'far and mourn for your Caliph 
 For verily men and jinns weep for him.' 
 Again I dreamt of al Mutawakkil after some months, and I said, 
 ' what hath the Lord done unto thee ?' He answered, ' He hath pardoned 
 me for the sake of the few traditionary doctrines I have revived.' I 
 continued, ' what then dost thou do here ?' He replied, ' I wait for 
 Muhammad, my son, that I may plead for him to God.' " 
 
 * I can find no mention of this name in any wort I have consulted and cannot 
 explain the allusion. 
 
 + Prohahly the son of the grammarian and philologor Ahu A'mr Ishak. Su^ u'l 
 Juhn la the name of a street in Damascus, which has given its name to several indivi- 
 duals. 
 
 t These verses are different in Ibn u'l Athir and only two couplets are given. 
 
 § Compare &/oj~*Jl Jjjsr^l Kur. Ill, 9. And read (♦^J ^. for (>^ ^, The 
 lino is obscure. 
 
[ 371 ] 
 
 A. H. 247. 
 Traditions related tlirough al Mutawalelcil. • -j-v ggi 
 
 Al Khatib narrates a tradition through al Mutawakkil from the pro- 
 phet that he said, " whoso refuses to be compassionate, declines a good 
 action." Ibn A'sakir records in a tradition from A'li-b-u'l Jahm that he 
 relates as follows : ''I was with al Mutawakkil when they were discoursing 
 with him on the subject of beauty, and he said, ' fine hair is undoubtedly 
 a beauty ;' then he recited a tradition from Ibn A'bbas, who said, — ' the 
 apostle of God had tresses of hair that fell to the lobes of his ears like 
 strings of pearls. He was one of the most comely of men, and was of a 
 delicate tawny colour, erring neither on the side of excess nor of deficiency. 
 A'bdu'l Muttalib also had locks falling to the lobes of his ears and Hashim 
 likewise.' A'li goes on to say that al Mutawakkil had the same, and adds, 
 * al Mutawakkil told me that al Mua'tasim likewise wore long locks, and 
 so too al Mamiin, ar Rashid, al Mahdi and al Mansur and his father 
 Muhammad, his grandfather A'li and his great-grandfather A'bdu'Uah-b- 
 'Abbas.' " 
 
 I remark that this tradition is continuous in three ways — by the men- 
 tion of the hair, by the mention of the genealogical tree of descent, and 
 the enumeration of the Caliphs — and in the ascription six Caliphs occur. 
 
 Of distinguished persons who died during the reign of al Mutawakkil 
 were : Abii Thaur, Ahmad-b-Hanbal, Ibrahim-b-u'l Mundir al Hizami, 
 Ishak-b-Eahwayh, Ishak the Caliph's boon Companion, Eiih the Kuran 
 reader, Zuhayr-b-Harb, Sahniin, Sulayman as Shadkuni, Abu Mas'aud al- 
 A'skari, Abu Jaa'far an Nufayli, Abu Bakr-b-Abi Shaybah and his brother, 
 Dik u'l Jinn the poet, A'bdu'l Malik-b-Habib the Imam of the Maliki 
 school, A'bdu'l A'ziz-b-Yahya al Ghiil, one of the disciples of as Shafi'i, 
 U'baydu'llah-b-Omar al Kawariri, A'li-b-u'l Madini, Muhammad-b-A'bdu'l- 
 lah-b-Numayr, Yahya-b-Ma'in, Tahya-b-Bukayr, Yahya-b-Yahya, Yusuf al 
 Azrak the Kuran reader, Bishr-b-u'l Walid al Kindi al Maliki, Ibn 
 Abi Duad that dog, may God not have mercy on him, Abu Bakr al 
 Hadalli al A'llaf Shaykh of the Mua'tazalite school and head of those who 
 err from the true faith, Jaa'far -b-Harb one of the heads of the Mua'taza- 
 lites, Ibn Kilab the orator, the Kadhi Yahya-b-Aktham, al Harith al 
 Muhasibi,* Harmalah a disciple of as Shafi'i, Ibn u's Sikkit, Ahmad-b- 
 Manii', Du'n nun al Misri the ascetic, Abu Turab an Nakhshabi, Abu Omar 
 ad Dtiri the Kuran reader, the poet Di'bil, Abd O'thman al Mazini the 
 grammarian and others. 
 
 * See his life in Ibn Ehall. He was an ascetic and called al Muhasitf, because 
 he frequently called himself to account (yuhasib) for his actions. 
 
[ 372 ] 
 
 A., H. 247. 
 
 A. D. 861. AL MUNTASIR BI'LLAH. 
 
 Al Muntasir bi'Uah Muhammad Abd Jaa'far, called also Abu A'bdu'l- 
 lah was the son of al Mutawakkil the son of al Mua'tasim, the son of 
 ar Eashid. His mother was a Greek slave named Habshiyah. He was of 
 comely countenance, of a tawny colour, large-eyed, with an aquiline nose, of 
 middling stature, robust of body, corpulent, and of engaging and yet awe- 
 inspiring exterior. He was a man of great capacity, well-inclined, with 
 little of the tyrant in him, a benefactor to the followers of A'li, and generous 
 to them. He removed from the posterity of Abu Talib the threats and 
 persecutions which they suffered by being forbidden to visit the shrine of al 
 Husayn, and restored to the posterity of al Hasayn, the domain of Fadak.* 
 Yazid al Muhallabi says, regarding this,. 
 
 " Thou hast been generous to the descendants of Abu Talib after they 
 Had suffered reproach age after age. 
 And thou hast restored concord in the house of Hashim 
 I behold them as brothers after hostility had divided them."t 
 He was acknowledged Caliph after the assassination of his brother in 
 Shawwal 247. He set aside his brothers al Mua'tazz and al Muayyad from 
 the succession after him, covenanted for them by al Mutawakkil. He 
 displayed justice and equity towards his subjects, wherefore all hearts were 
 inclined towards him notwithstanding the great awe in which they held 
 him, and he was moreover munificent and forbearing. Among his sayings 
 are the following : " The pleasure of pardoning is sweeter than the delight 
 of gratifying anger, and the worst of deeds in the powerful is revenge." When 
 he assumed the government, he began to reproach the Turks, saying, " these 
 are the assassins of the Caliphs." Therefore they conspired against him 
 and sought to do away with him, but they failed in their purpose, because 
 he was formidable, brave, sagacious and circumspect. Then they went 
 cunningly to work until they sent secretly thirty thousand dinars to his 
 physician Ibn Tayfur J to cause a malady. He therefore proposed to bleed 
 him and he bled him with a poisoned lancet of which he died. It is also 
 said that Ibn Tayf lir forgetting this and falling ill himself, ordered his slave 
 to Heed Mm, who bled him with the same lancet and he died also. It is 
 likewise stated that he was poisoned by a pear, and according to another 
 account, that he died of the quinsy. When he was on the point of death, 
 he exclaimed, " O mother, this world and the next have gone from me : I 
 shortened the days of my father, and my own end is now hastened." 
 
 » See Ufe of Omar-b-A'bd'il A'ziz, p. 236. 
 t Two more couplets are given by Masa'udi. 
 t Masa'ddi and the K&mil have at Tayfurii, 
 
[ 373 ] 
 
 Al Muntasir died on the 5tli of Rabii II, 248, {1th June 862) at the A. H. 248. 
 age of 26 or less, having enjoyed the Caliphate for a term computed at A. D. 862. 
 somewhat under six months. It is said that one day he sat down to a 
 convivial meeting, and some carpets having been brought out from his 
 father's treasuries, he ordered them to be spread at the banquet and he 
 beheld on one of the carpets a circle in which was figured a Persian, and 
 on his head a crown, and round it a Persian inscription. He sent for some 
 one who could read it, and a man was brought, who looked at it and frowned, 
 and the Caliph said, " what is this ?" He replied, " it has no meaning," 
 but the Caliph insisted, whereupon the man read. " I am Shiruyah the son 
 of Khusrau the son of Hurmuz, I slew my father, but I did not enjoy the 
 sovereignty for more than six months." The face of al Muntasir changed 
 colour and he ordered the carpet which was woven with gold, to be burnt. 
 
 In the Lataif u'l Ma'arif {Owiosities of Knowledge) of at Tha'alabi, 
 it is stated that the most nobly born of the Caliphs who governed the 
 Caliphate was al Muntasir, for he and his five immediate ancestors were 
 Caliphs, as well as his brothers Mua'tazz and al Mua'tamid. I remark 
 that even more nobly born than he was al Mua'tasim, whom the Tartars 
 slew, eight of whose immediate ancestors were Caliphs. At Tha'alabi 
 further observes that the noblest by birth of the Persian monarchs that 
 reigned was Shiruyah who slew his father and survived him only six months 
 and the noblest of the Vicegerents that ruled the Caliphate was al 
 Muntasir who likewise slew his father and enjoyed the succession but sis 
 months. 
 
 AL MUSTATN BI'ILA'H. 
 
 Al Musta'in bi'Uah Abu'l A'bbas Ahmad the son of al Mua'tasim, the 
 son of ar Rashid and the brother of al Mutawakkil was born in the year 221. 
 His mother was a slave concubine named Mukharik. He was comely, 
 fair, pock-marked in the face, and had a defective pronunciation. When al 
 Muntasir died, the generals assembled and took counsel together and said, 
 " if you should appoint to the government any of the sons of al Mutawakkil, 
 there will remain none of us alive." Wherefore they said, "there is 
 nothing for it but Ahmad the sdn of our master al Mua'tasim." They 
 therefore swore him allegiance, and he continued in power till the beginning 
 of the year 251. The Turks became alienated from his cause when Wasif 
 and Bugha put to death* Baghirthe Turk, he who murdered al Mutawakkil. 
 
 * The text is here inoorreot, the words ts** J (not in the MS.) should be omitted : 
 the words of Masa'udi are identical with the MS. ijyh jS^ l«ij <-»*-« j JJj LJ 
 the names Wa^if and Bugha should therefore stand in the nominative case. 
 
[ 374 ] 
 
 A. H. 248. Al Musta'in in the hands of Wasif and Bugha lost all authority, so that It 
 A. D. 862. was said on this subject — 
 
 " A Caliph in a cage 
 
 Between Wasif and Bugha 
 
 Says what they tell him 
 
 As speaks a parrot." 
 And when the Turks became estranged from him, he feared and fled 
 from Samarra to Baghdad, and they sent to him pleading excuses and 
 tendering submission, begging of him to return, but he refused, whereupon 
 they went to the prison and released al Muatazz bi'Uah and swore him 
 allegiance and deposed al Musta'in. Al Mua'tazz then fitted out a larga 
 force to attack al Musta'in, but the people of Baghdad espoused the cause 
 of al Musta'in and many engagements took place between the two factions. 
 The war lasted for some months and the slaughter was great. Prices also 
 rose and disorders increased, and the cause of al Musta'in began to decline. 
 They endeavoured to bring about a peace founded on the deposal of al 
 Musta'in, and Isma'il the Kadhi and others proposed with this object 
 definite conditions. Al Musta'in therefore abdicated in the beginning* of 
 the year 252 and the Kadhi and others testified to it. He was removed to 
 Wasit and remained there nine months imprisoned under the charge of a 
 nobleman,t but was subsequently brought back to Samarra. Al Mua'tazz 
 then sent to Ahmad-b-Tuliin to overtake al Musta'in and slay him, but he 
 Said, " by AMh, I will not slay the sons of the Caliphs." He next incited 
 to it Sa'id (Jb-SdliK) his chamberlain who slew him on the 3rd of Shawwal 
 of the same year, he being 31 J years of age. 
 
 He was virtuous, of distinguished merit, accomplished and eloquent, 
 and he was the first who set the fashion of wearing loose sleeves, for he 
 made their breadth about three spans, and he diminished the height of the 
 caps which were excessively tall before his time. 
 
 Among persons of note who died during his reign were : A'bd-b-Hamid, 
 Abii't Tahir-b-Sarh, al Harith-b-Miskin, al Bazzi the Kuran reader, Abu 
 Hatim al Sijistani, al Jahidh and others. 
 
 AL MUA'TAZZ BI'LLAH. 
 
 Al Mua'tazz bi'Uah Muliammad called also az Zubayr, Abu A'bdu'Uah 
 the son of al Mutawkkil, the son of al Mua'tasim the son of ar Bashid, 
 
 * nth Du'l Hijjali, 4tli January 866. 
 
 t Aljmad-b-Tdlun afterwards governor of Egypt. Masa'^di. 
 
 X Masa'&di says 35. 
 
[ 375 ] 
 
 Was born in the year 232. His motlier was a Greek slave called Kabihah.* A. H. 252. 
 He was acknowledged Calipb on the abdication of al Musta'in in the year A. D. 866. 
 252, at the age of nineteen, none ever having ruled the Caliphate before 
 bim at an earlier age than his. He was exceedingly beautiful. A'li-b-Harb 
 one of the teachers of tradition to the son of al Mua'tazz saya, " I never 
 sarw a Caliph more comely than he." He was the first Caliph who set 
 the fashion of appearing on horseback with ornaments of gold, for the 
 Caliphs before him used to ride with but trifling ornaments of silver. In 
 the first year of his reign died Ashnds he whom al Wathik had appointed 
 Eegent of the kingdom, leaving 500,000 dinars. Al Mua'tazz took posses- 
 sion of them, and he invested with the robes of office Muhammad-b- 
 A'bdi'lkh-b-Tahir and girded him with two swords. Subsequently he 
 deposed him and bestowed the viceregal robes upon his brother, that is the 
 brother of al Mua'tazz, Abu Ahmad, and crowned him with a diadem of 
 gold and a jewelled cap and _j'a«e Am two jewelled girdles and belted him 
 with two swords. He deposed him, however, the same year and banished 
 him to Wasit and invested Bughdf the cup-bearer and placed upon him 
 the viceregal crown ; but he rebelled against al Mua'tazz the following year 
 and was slain and his head brought to the Caliph. 
 
 In the month of Eajab of this year, al Mua'tazz set aside his brother 
 al Muayyad from the succession, and scourged him and put him in prison 
 where he died after a few days. Al Mua'tazz fearing, however, lest it 
 should be saidof him that he had put him to death or had artfully contrived 
 it, summoned the Kadhis in order that they might behold him, and there 
 was no mark of violence J found on him. 
 
 Al Mua'tazz was impotent in the hands of the Turks, It happened 
 that a number of the chiefs went to him and said, " O prince of the Faithful 
 give us our pay and we will slay Salih the son of Wasif."§ Now al 
 Mua'tazz feared him, wherefore he sent to his mother for money to dis- 
 tribute among them, but she being extremely covetous, refused him and 
 there was nothing left in the public treasuries. Then the Turks straight- 
 way agreed to depose him, and Salih-b-Wa^if and Muhammad-b-Bugha 
 joined with them, and they armed themselves and went to the palace and 
 sent to al Mua'tazz, saying, " come out to us." He returned as answer, 
 
 * See page 365. 
 
 t This was Bugha the younger. 
 
 J Masa'udi says lie had been enveloped in a far rohe, the sides of which were 
 fastened, so that he was smothered within it. 
 
 § This promise was only a blind to induce the Caliph to give them money, for 
 SaUh was one of the three principal promoters of this iusurreotionaiy demand. 
 Together with the other two, vis., Bablsial and Muhammad the son of Bugha, he sub- 
 seq^uently took the Caliph prisoner and forced him to abdicate. 
 
[ 376 ] 
 
 A. H. 252. saying, " verily I have taken medicine and am weak." Then a number of 
 a; D. 866. them set upon him and dragged him by the foot, and beat him with clubs 
 and made him stand in the sun in the fierce heat of the day and smote him 
 on the face, saying, " abdicate." Then they summoned the Kadhi Ibn 
 Abi Shawarib and witnesses and deposed him. Next they sent for Muham- 
 mad the son of al Wathik (al Muhtadi) from Baghdad to the capit3,l 
 which was then at Samarra, for al Mua'tazz had removed him to Baghdad, 
 and al Mua'tazz resigned the Caliphate to him and swore him allegiance. 
 Then the mob seized al Mua'tazz five nights after his abdication and put 
 him into a hammam. and when he had bathed he became thirsty, but they 
 forbad him water. Then he was taken out* and they gave him snow water 
 which he drank and dropped dead. This occurred in the month of Shaa'ban 
 the honoured, in the year 255 {Juli/ 869). His mother Kabihah concealed 
 herself, but subsequently appeared in public in Eamadhan and gave up 
 immense treasures to Salih the son of Wasif . Among these were 1,300,000 
 dinars,t and a casket in which was eleven and a quarter pounds weight of 
 emeralds, and a casket in which was a similar measure of pearls of large 
 size, and a measure of three pounds and three quarters of rubies, besides 
 other things. The caskets were valued at two thousand dinars. When 
 Salih-b-Wasif beheld all this, he exclaimed, " may God bring evil upon 
 her. She exposed her son to be murdered for the want of 50,000 dinars, 
 while she had this in her possession." He appropriated the whole and 
 banished her to Mecca where she remained until the reign of al Mua'tamid 
 who brought her back to Samarra where she died in the year 264. 
 
 Of persons of note who died in the I'eign of al Mua'tazz were, Sarri as 
 Sakti, Hardn-b-Sa'id al Ayli, ad Darimi author of the Musnad, al U'tbi 
 author of the Masail u'l U'tbiyah on the doctrine of Malik, and others. 
 
 AL MUHTADI BI'LLA'H. 
 
 Al Muhtadi b'i'Uah, the good Caliph, Muhammad Abu Ishdk, called 
 also Abu A'bdu'Uah, the son of al Wathik, the son of al Mua'tasim, the 
 son of ar Eashfd whose mother was a slave concubine named WardahJ was 
 
 * The MS. has not the word Jj' which hero has no meaning and should he 
 omitted from the text. Ibn u'l Athir relates the manner of his death altogether 
 differently. 
 
 t The dinfir of that period, according to De Slane, had an intrinsic value of about 
 ton shillings British. 
 
 t According to Ibn u'l Athir, her name was Kaiab or Kurb. 
 
[ 377 ] 
 
 born during the Caliphate of his grandfather about the year 210 and ^- ^- 255- 
 odd,* and was acknowledged Caliph on the 29th Eajah 255 (13th July 869). ^- D. 869. 
 
 He would not accept the oath of allegiancef from any one until they 
 bad brought al Mua'tazz, whereupon al Muhtadi rose and saluted him as 
 Caliph and seated himself before him. Witnesses were then brought who 
 testified against al Mua'tazz that he was unequal to the Caliphate, and he 
 himself acknowledged it and stretched out his hand and tendered allegiance 
 to al Muhtadi. From that day al Muhtadi was raised to the throne. 
 
 Al Muhtadi was of a light tawny complexion, comely of countenance, 
 chaste, pious, just, firm in carrying out the commands of God, intrepid, 
 and brave, but he found none as an ally or a helper. Al Khatib says that he 
 did not cease to fast from the time he began his reign till he was assassinated. 
 
 Hashim-b-u'l Kasim relates as follows : I was once in presence of 
 al Muhtadi one evening in the Ramadhan, when I started up to depart, 
 but he said " sit down," and I sat down, and he advanced and prayed before 
 us. Then he called for food, and an earthenj vessel was brought in which 
 were round flat cakes of white bread, and on it were vessels in which were 
 salt, vinegar and olive-oil, and he invited me to eat. I began to eat, think- 
 ing that they would presently bring the viands, but he looked at me and 
 said, " dost thou not fast ?" I replied, " Yes." He continued, " hast thou 
 not the intention§ of fasting?" I answered, "how not! since it is 
 Eamadhdn !" He said, " eat and satisfy thyself, for there is no other food 
 than what thou seest here." I was astonished, and after a little I exclaim- 
 ed, " and why, O prince of the Faithful ? for the Lord hath given thee 
 amply of his benefits !" He replied, " verily the thing is as thou sayest, but 
 I considered that there was indeed among the Band Umayya, Omar-b- 
 A'bdil A'ziz, and he lived on scanty food and poorly as thou hast heard, 
 therefore I was jealous for the Banu Hashim, and I adopted the life thou 
 dost witness." 
 
 Jaa'far-b-A'bdi'l Wahid|| says, " I was conferring with al Muhtadi 
 regarding a certain point, and I said to him, ' Ahmad-b-Hanbal used 
 to maintain, it,' but he was averse to my alluding to any of his 
 departed ancestors, and he said, ' may God have mercy upon the son of 
 
 * " Or it may be translated, between the years 213 and 219." See the discussion 
 on this point in Lane, art. jj'^i. 
 
 t For *^ii read *'*ii as in the MS., it would read therefore "^^l *i*i 
 
 { For <-»^ read o^' : the Kamil has <-»^^ (a kind [of willow the /Sa?j« 
 Egyptia) and '-'"•^ in another reading. 
 
 J See note page 55. 
 
 II A member of the Abbaside family whom al Mutawakkil appointed to succeed 
 Yahya-b-Aktham, as I5:adtii. He died in 258 (871-2) some say 268. Ibn Khali, life 
 cf Yahya-b-Aktham. 
 48 
 
[ 378 ] 
 
 A. H. 255. Hanbal, if it were permitted to me to bold myself clear of my father, I 
 A. D. 869. would have no part with him.'* Then he said, ' assert the truth and 
 maintain it, for the man who asserts the truth is noble in my eyes.' " 
 
 Niftawayh relates as follows : " One of the Hashimites told me that 
 he found in al Muhtadi's possession a coffer containing a woollen tunic and 
 a coarse garment which he used to wear at night and pray in. He put 
 down all wanton pastimes and forbade singing, and checked the oppression 
 of the Eegent's myrmidons. He was particularly zealous in the adminis- 
 tration of the public registers, himself sitting down and making the secre- 
 taries sit down in front of him, and they would work at the accounts. 
 He also never failed to hold audience on Mondays and Thursdays. He 
 scourged a number of the principal men and banished Jaa'far-b-Mahmlid 
 to Baghdad abhorring his presence, because he considered him attached to 
 the Eafldhite tenets." 
 
 In his time Mlisa the son of Bugha set out with his followers from 
 Eai for Samarra to put to death Salih-b-Wasif in revenge for the murder 
 of al Mua'tazz and the spoliation of his mother's treasures, and the populace 
 called out against Ibn Wasif, saying, " O tyrant, verily Musa hath come 
 against thee." Then Musa-b-Bughd sought admission to the presence of 
 al Muhtadi, but he would not grant it, upon which he forced an entrance 
 with his followers while the Caliph was seated in the HaU of Justice and 
 took him away upon a sorry mare and they sacked the palace and lodged 
 al Muhtadi in the palace of Najudf who kept saying, " O Musa, fear God. 
 Alas for thee ! what dost thou want ?" He replied, " by Allah, we seek 
 nothing but what is for thy good, — now swear to us that thou wilt not 
 follow the guidance of Salih-b-Wasif ." He took this oath to them and 
 they renewed the oath of allegiance to him at the same time. They next 
 sought Salih to bring him to account for his deeds, but he hid himself and 
 al Muhtadi invited them to a mutual reconciliation. They then suspected 
 that he knew his place of concealment and a discussion arose about this. 
 Subsequently they talked of deposing al Muhtadi, but the next day al 
 Muhtadi came out to them girt with his sword, and said, " verily, your 
 intentions have come to my knowledge, but I am not like those who have 
 preceded me, such» as al Musta'in and al Mua'tazz. By Allah, I have not 
 come forth to you save well considering what I do.f I have made my 
 last testament and this is my sword. By Allah, I will wield it as long as 
 I can grasp its hilt in my hand. Have ye no religion, no shame, no 
 
 * On account of hia persecution of Ahmad-'b-IIanlial and others on the question 
 of the creation of the Kurdn. 
 
 t Ibn u'l Athir hasj^'?'^! Yajur. NAjdr and Bajur are also variants. Ibn Khal' 
 ddn, likewise according to Weil gives tbe name of this Turk as YAjur. 
 
 X In Ibn u'l Athir, the word is "«^ "prepared for death," 
 
[ 379 1 
 
 gentleness left ? How long* will there continue this opposition to the A. H. 255. 
 
 vicegerents and this audacity against God ?" Then he continued, " I have A. D. 869. 
 
 no knowledge of Salih." On this they were appeased and dispersed and 
 
 Miisa-b-Bugha issued a proclamation that whoever should bring Sali^ 
 
 should receive ten thousand dinars, but no one was able to lay hold of him. 
 
 It happened, however, that a certain boy entered a lane at noontide and he 
 
 saw a door ajar. He entered and crossed the vestibule which was dark 
 
 and beheld Salih asleep. He recognized him and there being no one with 
 
 him he went to Musa and informed him, and he sent a party who seized 
 
 him and cut off his head which was carried round the city and al Muhtadi 
 
 vsras inwardly grieved at this. 
 
 Subsequently Miisa accompanied by Bakyalf set out for Sinn against 
 Musawir.J Al Muhtadi hereupon wrote to Bdkyal to put to death Miisa 
 as well as Muflih one of the Turkish chiefs or to arrest them, and himself 
 assume the leadership of all the Turks. Bakydl acquainted Musa with 
 the purport of his letter and said, " I am not pleased with this, for indeed it 
 toucheth us all." They then agreed to put al Muhtadi to death, and set 
 out against him. On the side of al Muhtadi fought the men of the west 
 and of Farghdnah and of Ushrusanah,§ and there were slain of the Turks 
 in one day, four thousand, and the fighting continued until the troops of 
 the Caliph were put to flight. He was taken prisoner, put to the torture 
 and died. This occurred in Eajab (18th) in the year 256, (21s^ Jwie 870). 
 Thus his Caliphate lasted one year all but fifteen days.|| 
 
 When the Turks rose against him, the people rose in tumult and wrote 
 on slips of paper and threw them in the mosques, " O ye Muslims ! pray 
 for your Caliph, the just, the approved, who resembleth Omar the son of 
 A'bdu'l A'ziZjTf may the Lord defend him against his enemies." 
 
 * The MS. has ^ and so Ibn u'l Athir — it is a tetter reading than the (^ of the 
 text ; the accidental oversight of the oblique stroke of the <^ has no doubt caused 
 the error. 
 
 f One of the Turkish leaders. 
 
 X Muaawir-b-A'bdu'l Hamid-b-Musawir in revenge for the maltreatment of his 
 son by the prefect of Mosul, attacked Mosul at the head of a band of Bedouins and 
 Kurds, released his son from prison, defeated the Turkish generals and for a time 
 occupied the greater part of the province. See Ibn u'l Athir and "Weil, p. 406, Vol. II. 
 
 § Not TJsrus, as in the text. The MS. is here correct. It is the name of a district 
 beyond the Oxua, lying between Samarkand and the Jaxartes. Yakut. 
 
 II The date of his abdication was the 15tiL of Eajab. Ibn u'l Athir, 
 
 II The Kamil has, — but I think incorrectly — Omar-b-u'l Khattab. 
 
[ 380 ] 
 
 A. H, 265, 
 A. D. 870. 
 
 AL MUA'TAMID A'LA'LLA'H, 
 
 Al Mua'tamid a'la'llah Abu'l 'Abbds, called also Abu Jaa'far, Ahmad, 
 the son of al Mutawakkil, ths son of al Mua'tasim, the son of ar Eashid, 
 •was born in the year 227. His mother was a Greek named Fityan. 
 
 When al Muhtadi was slain, al Mua'tamid was lying in prison at al 
 Jausak,* and they brought him out and swore allegiance to him. He then 
 appointed his brother AM Ahmad Talhah surnamed al MuwafEak hi'lldh, 
 (the directed of God) ruler over the East and nominated his son Jaa'far 
 to the succession and gave him the government of Egypt and the West 
 and surnamed him al Mufawwadh ila'llah (recommended to God). Al 
 Mua'tamid now gave himself up to pastime and sensual pleasures, and 
 neglected the care of his subjects, the people therefore regarded him with 
 dislike, and became attached to his brother Talhah. 
 
 During his reign the Zanjt entered Basrah and its dependencies and 
 laid waste and slaughtered and burnt and ravaged and made prisoners. 
 Many engagements took place between them and the Caliph's troops, which 
 during most of them, were commanded by his brother al MuwafEak. 
 
 This event was followed by the plague which never fails to follow blood- 
 shed in I'rak, and countless people died therein. This was succeeded by con- 
 vulsions and earthquakes, and thousands of people perished in falling 
 ruins, and hostilities with the Zanj continued from the accession of al 
 Mua'tamid in 256 till the year 270. In that year the chief of the Zanj — 
 may God curse him — whose name was Bihbud,J was slain. He pretended 
 that he had been sent from God to the people but had rejected the mission, 
 and that he was cognizant of hidden things. 
 
 As Sdli says that he slew 1,500,000 Muslims, three hundred thousand 
 having been slain in a single day at Basrah. He had a pulpit in his city 
 
 * There are various places of this name, some in the vicinity of Baghdad. Consult 
 Yakdt. 
 
 t The leader of the Zanj was, according to Ibn u'l Athir, A'U-b-Muhammad-b- 
 Ahmad who was 5th in descent from A'li-b- Abi Talib : according to another account his 
 grandfather was Abdur Eahun (not Abdui Ra^mdn as Weil has it) of the tribe of Kays. 
 He rallied round his standard the African slaves (known by the generic name of Zanj) 
 and kept his ground against the Caliph's troops till the year 270. The Arabic his- 
 torians name him "al'Khabith,'" "the impure," " or the reprobate." Consult Weil, 
 pp. 452-4, Vol. II, and Ibn Athir p. 139, and D'Herbelot. 
 
 J This is certainly incorrect, the chief of the Zanj was A'li al Khabith as above 
 stated. Bihbiid was one of his generals, and took a considerable part in the defence of 
 the Zanj stronghold of Mukht4rah. Ibn u'l AtWr does not give the date of his death 
 and rarely mentions him, and Weil not at all. Al Khabith was slain oa 3rd Safar 270, 
 after he had been for more than 14 years the terror of IslSm, 
 
[ 381 ] 
 
 Xvliich he used to ascend and revile Othman A'li, Mu'awiyab, Talhah, az A. H. 256. 
 Zubayr and Ayesha, and he used to sell by the public crier an Aliide woman A. D. 270. 
 at two or three dirhams, and one of the Zanj had ten Aliide women whom 
 he employed in his service. 
 
 When this reprobate was slain, his head was brought into Baghdad 
 on a spear, and pavilions of triumph were erected and the people called 
 down blessings on al Muwaffak, and the poets praised him and it was " a 
 day upon which men are assembled" (Kur XI). The people thenceforth 
 reposed in security and returned to the cities which the Zanj had taken and 
 there were many such, as Wasit and Eamahurmuz. 
 
 In the year 260 of this reign a great scarcity prevailed in Hijaz 
 and I'rak, and a hurr* of wheat in Baghdad rose to one hundred and fifty 
 dinars. During the same year the Byzantines captured the town of 
 Luluah.f 
 
 In the year 266 al Mua'tamid covenanted for the succession after 
 him of his son Jaa'far al Mufawwadh ila'llah and next, for his brother 
 Talhah al Muwafiak. He appointed his son over Mauritania and Syria, 
 Mesopotamia and Armenia, and placed his brother over the East and 
 Irak, Baghdad, Yaman, Parthia, Ispahan, Eai, Khurasan, Tabaristan, 
 Sijistan and Sind. He appointed also for each of them two banners, black 
 and white, and stipulated that if anything should hajapen to him, the 
 government should go to his brother, should his son not be of age, and he 
 set the agreement in writing and sent it in charge of the chief K.Mh\ 
 Ibn Abi Shawarib to hang it in the Kaa'bah. 
 
 In the year 266 the Byzantine troops entered Diyarbakr and ravaged it, 
 and the inhabitants of Mesopotamia and of Mosul fled. During the same 
 year the Bedouins plundered the covering of the Kaa'bah and carried it 
 away. 
 
 In the year 267 Ahmad-b-A'bdi'Uah al Hijabi made himself master of 
 Khurasan, Kirman and Sijistan and even purposed subjugating Irak. He 
 struck the coinage in his own name, and on the reverse side the name of al 
 Mua'tamid, a strange circumstance. His own slaves put him to death at 
 the close of the year, thus God sufficed for his evil deeds. 
 
 In the year 269 al Mua'tamid conceived strong suspicions against his 
 brother al MuwafEak who had risen against him in the year 264, but they 
 had subsequently become reconciled. When in this year these suspicions 
 again strongly possessed him, he wrote to Ibn Tuliin his prefect in Egypt 
 and they agreed upon a certain course. Ibn Tulun set out until he reached 
 Damascus and al Mua'tamid left Samarra on the pretext of a change of air, 
 his intended destination being Damascus. When this reached al Muwaffak, 
 
 * Atout 7100 lbs. Ibn Athir gives the price as 120 dinars, 
 t According to Yakat a fortress near Tarsus. 
 
[ 382 ] 
 
 A. H. 269. he wrote to Ishak-b-Kundaj* to turn him back, and Ibn Kund^j rode from 
 A. D. 882-3. Na^ibin to al Mua'tamid and met him between Mosul and al Hadithah 
 and said, " O prince of the Faithful, thy brother is opposing the enemy 
 and thou hast come forth from thy residence and the capital of thy empire, 
 and when this becomes authentically known to him, he will return from 
 engaging the rebels, and thy enemies will take possession of the dominioa 
 of thy ancestors,' ' and other words to the like effect. Then he placed a 
 party in charge of al Mua'tamid, and gave orders respectitig his suite of 
 attendants. t Then he sent to al Mua'tamid, saying, " this is no place for 
 thee, therefore return." Al Mua'tamid said " swear to me that thou wilt 
 go down with me and wilt not deliver me up," and he swore to him and went 
 down to Samarra. There Sai'd-b-Mukhallad the Secretary of al Muwaffak 
 met him and Ishak delivered the Caliph up to him, who took him to the 
 house of Ahmad-b-Khasib and would not suffer him to enter the palace 
 and placed over him five hundred men who forbade all access to him. 
 
 When this reached al Muwaffak, he sent Ishak a robe of honour and 
 presents, and bestowed upon him the estates of the chiefs who were with al 
 Mua'tamid and gave him the title of Du's Sanadayn {Lord of tTie two 
 Sanads) and surnamed Sai'd, Du'l Wizaratayn {possessor of the dignity 
 of the two ministries of State') . Sdi'd continued to serve under al Mua'ta- 
 mid, but al Mua'tamid' had no real authority in the administration, and he 
 himself says regarding this : 
 
 " Is it not strange that one like myself 
 Should see that there is not a little that is denied him. 
 The whole world is under the authority of his name 
 And yet of all this he hath nothing in his possession. 
 The entire wealth of the state is carried to him 
 Yet he is denied much of what is exclusively his own." 
 
 He was the first Caliph who had force put upon him, was restrained 
 and kept under ward. 
 
 Al Mua'tamid was then brought to Wasif, and when this reached Ibn 
 Tdliin, he assembled the Kadhis and the nobles, and said, " verily al Muwaf- 
 fak hath rebelled against the prince of the Faithful, therefore set him 
 aside from the succession." They thereupon removed him from the 
 succession, all save the Kadhi Bakkar-b-Kutaybah who exclaimed, " thou 
 didst bring me from al Mua'tamid a deed appointing him to the succession, 
 bring me therefore, another deed excluding him." He replied, " but al 
 Mua'tamid is under restraint and compulsion," He answered, " I do not 
 
 • In the Kamil followed by Weil, this name is written Kundajik;. He was gover- 
 nor of Mosul. Ibn Khali, accords with the text. 
 t Placed them in chains according to Ibn Athir. 
 
[ 383 ] 
 
 know it." Then Ibn Tulun said, " the people have beguiled thee with A. H. 269. 
 their saying that there is no one in the world like Bakkar ! Thou art A. D. 882-3. 
 old and dotest." He then imprisoned him and put him in chains and 
 confiscated from him all the gifts he had received for years past which 
 amounted to ten thousand dinars, and they say that this sum was found in 
 the house of Bakkar with the seals unbroken.* Al MuwafEak hearing of this 
 caused Ibn Tlilun to be cursed from the pulpits. 
 
 Subsequently in the month of Shaa'ban 270, al Mua'tamid was brought 
 back to Samarra and entered Baghdad, Muhammad-b-Tahir accoutred, 
 preceding him and the troops in attendance on him as !f he were not under 
 constraint. 
 
 Ibn Tdliinf died in this year, and al Muwaffak appointed his son Abu'l 
 A'bbas to his government and sent him with the army of I'rak to Egypt ; 
 but Khumaruwayh the son of Ahmad-b-Tuliin had succeeded to his father's 
 possessions, wherefore there took place between him and Abii'l A'bbas the 
 son of al Muwaffak a great battle, so that the earth ran with blood. The 
 victory remained with the Egyptians. 
 
 In this year a breach took place in the Isa canal and the water reached 
 Karkh and destroyed seven thousand houses. 
 
 During the same, the Byzantines came down upon Tarsus with one 
 hundred thousand men, but the victory remained with the Muslims who 
 took in plunder what could not be computed, and it was a great and unpa- 
 ralleled victory. J 
 
 In the same year was made public the mission of al Mahdi U'bayd- 
 u'Uah-b-U'bayd the ancestor of the Banu U'bayd the heretic Caliphs of 
 Egypt, in Yaman ;§ and he continued in the prosecution oE this design 
 ■until the year 278, in which year he made the pilgrimage to Mecca and 
 
 * rbn Khali in his life of Baktar states that Ibn Tiilun used to give Baktar every 
 year 1000 dinars in addition to his salary. The Kadhi made no use of this, neither did 
 he break the seal placed on the purse which contained it. Eighteen such purses were 
 delivered up to Ihn Tiilun, to his great confusion with the seals unbroken. 
 
 t The good effects of Ibn Tulfin's administration of Egypt, his reforms and 
 endowments, the splendour of his court, and the vast wealth he bequeathed, may be 
 read with interest in Weil, who draws a parallel between him and Muhammad A'li 
 the destroyer of the Mamelukes in our own times. 
 
 t This expedition, according to Weil, was led by Stypiotis ; Ibn Athir mentions it 
 and states that, according to report, 70,000 Byzantines fell including the commander 
 of the forces, seven crosses of gold were taken, and one large one of tho same metal 
 studded with jewels, 16,000 beasts and mules, besides considerable plunder in silver 
 articles and brocade and 10,000 standards ! 
 
 § The establiaher of this mission or " call" was Abu Abdu'llah al IJusayn the 
 SMite a native of Sana's, in Yaman. Consult his life in Ibn Khali, and Weil, p. 611. 
 
[ 384 ] 
 
 A. H. 270. joined with a tribe o£ tbe Banu Kutamah.* His pretension satisfied tbem, 
 A. D. 884. and he went with them to Egypt and saw that there was in them devotion 
 and vigour. He accompanied them to Mauritania and this was the 
 ■" beginning of al Mahdi's rise. 
 
 In the year 271, says as Sdli, Hardn the son of Ibrahim al Hashimi, 
 took the office of Muhtasib, and issued orders that the people of Baghdad 
 should transact business with the copper coins called " fulus," but they 
 employed them reluctantly and afterwards abandoned them. 
 
 In the year 278 the Nile in Egypt fell so low that nothing remained 
 of it and prices rose. During the same year, died al Muwaffak, and al Mua'- 
 tamid was thus freed from him. In the same year, the Carmathians ap- 
 peared in Kiifah. They are a sect of heretics who assert that no ablution 
 is necessary after being in a state of ceremonial uncleanness, and that the 
 use of wine is lawful, and they add words to the call to prayers and 
 maintain Muhammad-b-u'l Hanifah to be the apostle of God, and that 
 fasting is obligatory in the year on two days only, on the festival of the 
 Nauroz (JVe«o Fear's Hay) and that of Mihrjan, f that the place of pilgrim- 
 age and that towards which the face should be directed in prayer should be 
 Jerusalem, and the like, and their opinions spread among the foolish and 
 the dwellers in the deserts and the people were troubled by them. 
 
 In the year 279, the power of al Mua'tamid declined through the 
 usurpation by Abu'l A'bbas the son of al Muwaffak of the administration 
 of affairs, and the devotion of the troops to him. Al Mua'tamid held a 
 public audience and before it took himself to witness that he set aside his 
 son al Mufawwadh from the succession and he took the covenant for 
 Abu'l A'bbas and surnamed him al Mua'tadhid. During this year al 
 Mua'tadhid ordered that no astrologer and no story-teller should sit by 
 the roadside, and he took an oath from booksellers that they would not 
 sell works on philosophy and polemics. 
 
 Al Mua'tamid died suddenly after a few months of this year had 
 elapsed. Some say he was poisoned, others that he was smothered in his 
 bedding when he was asleep ; and this on Monday the 19th of Eajab 
 279 (14<A October 892). His Caliphate lasted twenty-three years, but he 
 was under subjection to his brother al Muwaffak through the latter's 
 usurpation of the government, and when al Muwaffak died, he was for 
 several reasons kept under ward by al Mua'tadhid in like manner. 
 
 * Not " Eanfinah" as in the text. The MS. is in accordanoe with ail the other 
 authorities and has ^utamah. Aooording to Weil, it was the missionary Abu A'bdu'llah, 
 not U'haydu'Uah that made the pilgrimage and secured the Banu Kutamah. 
 
 + These were two Persian festivals held in honor of the sun. The first took place 
 on the 1st of Farwardin (March) when the sun entered Aries, and the second on the 
 16th of Mihr (September) the time of the autumnal equinox. — For an account of 
 the Carmathians, consult Ibn Athir, Weil, D'Herbolot, Ibn Khali &c. 
 
[ 385 ] 
 
 Among persons of note who died in the reign of al Mua'tamid were, A. H. 279. 
 al Bukhdri, Muslim, Abu Dauud OSS %Mtow», at Tirmidi, Ibn Majah, ar A. D. 891. 
 Rabii' al Jizi, ar Eabii' al Murddi, al Muzani, Yunas-b-A'bdu'l Aa'la, 
 az Zubayr-b-Bakkar, Abu'l Fadhl ar Riashi, Muhammad-b-Yahya ad Duhli, 
 Hajjaj-b-u's Sha'ir, the Hafidh al I'jli, the chief Kadhi Ibn Abi's Shawarib, 
 as Siisi the Kuran reader, Omar-b-Shaybah, Abu Zara'h ar Eazi, Muham- 
 mad-b-Abdi'Uah-b-A'bdi'l Hakam, the Kadhi Bakkar, DauM at Tahiri, 
 Ibn Darah Bakil-b-Mukhallad, Ibn Kutaybah, Abd Hatim ar Rdzi, and 
 others. 
 
 The following are among the verses of A'bdu'llah the son of al Mua'tazz 
 on al Mua'tamid : 
 
 " best of those with whom riding camels travel swiftly, 
 Of those the rope of whose covenant is bound firm, 
 The reins of sovereignty were unwillingly forced 
 Into thy hands, which thou didst grasp and abandon. 
 Subject then to thyself the world and its inhabitants 
 As long as the arrow is turned aside of which thou art the target."* 
 Of the verses of al Mua'tamid when he was under ward, are these : 
 " I am so placed that I am unable to ward off 
 What I suffer of indignity and contempt. 
 The affairs of men proceed without me 
 And little mention of them is made to me. 
 When I desire a thing, they take it from me 
 And say, ' herein is harm to thee.' " 
 As Stili says that he ha,d a scribe who used to write his verses in water 
 of gold, and Abu Sa'id al Hasan-b-Sa'id an Nisaburi mourned him as 
 follows : 
 
 " Verily the eye of avaricious fortune hath brightened 
 After it had been blurred, dim-sighted and blear. 
 Misfortunes have attained their desires 
 By the death of the Imam of right guidance, al Mua'tamid. 
 And since he has gone, no vigilant guardian is left me 
 And we strive our best against misfortunes." 
 
 AL MUA'TADHID BI' LLAH. 
 
 Al Mua'tadhid bi'Uah Ahmad, Abu'l A'bbas son of the heir. apparent 
 al Muwaffak Talhah-b-u'l Mutawakkil-b-u'l Mua'tasim-b-i'r-Eashid was 
 
 * Tor **^ read as in the MS. ^^_yo, 
 49 
 
[ 386 ] 
 
 A. H. 279, born in Du'l Kaa'dah in tlie year 242, but according to as Sdli in Eabii' 
 A. D. 891. I, 243. His mother was a slave concubine called Sawab, but some say, 
 Hirz, and others Dharar, and he was acknowledged Caliph in succession to 
 his paternal uncle al Mu'atamid in the month of Eajab 279. 
 
 He was comely, intrepid, of a grave exterior, majestic in presence, of 
 considerable intellectual power, and the fiercest of the Caliphs of the 
 house of A'bbas. He once had the courage to engage a lion single-handed. 
 He was little prone to mercy ; when enraged with one of his generals, he 
 ordered him to be thrown into a pit, and to be covered over with earth. 
 He possessed great talents for administratioti, 
 
 A'bdu'llah-b-Hamdlin relates as follows : " Al Mua'tadhid set out for 
 the chase and dismounted by the side of a cucumber bed, I being with 
 him. The keeper called out loudly, and al Mua'tadhid said, ' bring him 
 to me.' He was brought and the Caliph questioned him as to the reason 
 of his shout, and he answered, ' three youths came upon the cucumber 
 bed and plundered it.' They were brought before him and he decapitated 
 them in the cucumber bed on the following day. Some time subsequently 
 discoursing with me, he said, ' tell me truly why the people dislike me !' 
 I replied, 'for shedding blood.' He said, ' by Allah, I have never shed blood 
 unlawfully since I assumed the government.' I rejoined, ' why then 
 didst thou put to death Ahmad-b-u'l Tayyib.' He replied, ' he sought 
 to lead me into heresy.' I said, ' well then, the three who came down 
 upon the cucumber bed.' He replied, ' by Allah, I did not lawlessly shed 
 their blood, but I executed robbers who had been guilty of murder, and I 
 had been made to believe that these were they.' " 
 
 The Kadhi lsma,'i\.h-Ishak* says : " I visited al Mua'tamid upon one 
 occasion and he pushed a book towards me. I glanced into it and lo ! 
 there was collected for him in it the ordinances of indulgence from legal 
 observances, granted by the erroneous opinions of the learned. I exclaimed, 
 ' the author of this is a Zindik.' He said, ' is he a fabricator ?' I replied, 
 ' no, butt he who permits the use of intoxicating liquor will not hold 
 temporary marriage lawful, and he who holds temporary marriage lawful, 
 will not permit singing, and there is no learned man but has some error, 
 and he who holds all the errors of the learned, his religion is gone,' where- 
 upon he gave orders concerning the book and it was burnt." 
 
 Al Mua'tadhid was bold, active, and distinguished for manliness, 
 indeed he had been present in military expeditions, and his capacity was 
 acknowledged. He administered the government admirably and the people 
 stood in awe of him and feared him with a great feai-. Dissensions were 
 lulled during his days through the excessive dread he inspii-ed, and his 
 
 * He was appointed Kddlji of Baghdad A. H. 262 (875-6), De Slano, I, K. 
 t The words ^yJJ, ^^^ ^^,4 ^ ^^^ jjg_ 
 
[ 387 ] 
 
 reign was happy and full of peace and prosperity. He diminished the A. H. 279. 
 taxes and diffused justice and freed his subjects from oppression. He used A. D. 891. 
 to be called as Saffah the Second, because he restored the power of the 
 House of A'bbas which had become effete and weak and was approching 
 its decay, for it had been rudely shaken from the time of the assassination 
 of al Mutawakkil. On this subject Ibn ar Eumi* says eulogizing him — 
 " Hail sons of A'bbas, for your Imam 
 Is the Imam of right guidance, power and liberality, most worthy 
 
 of praise, t 
 As with Abu'l A'bbas (as Saffah) rose your power. 
 So with Abu'l A'bbas likewise is it restored, 
 The Imam towards whom yesterday turns 
 Lamenting with grief and for whom to-morrow yearns." 
 To the same effect, says likewise Ibn al Mua'tazz — 
 " Dost thou not see the dominion of the House of A'bbas 
 Hath returned triumphant after its decline. 
 O thou that seekest power, do like him 
 Be worthy of sovereignty or otherwise, seelc it not.'' 
 
 In the first year during which he became Caliph he forbade book- 
 sellers from selling works on philosophy and the like of them, and pro- 
 hibited story-tellers and astrologers from sitting by the wayside. He also 
 read the prayers of the festival of Adha and pronounced the takbir in the 
 first Raka'at six times, and in the second once, but the Khutbah was never 
 heard to be delivered by him. 
 
 In the year 280, the missionary of al Mahdi entered Cyrene. His 
 designs became spread abroad and a battle took place between him and 
 the ruler of Africa and his authority grew apace. 
 
 In the same year came advices from Daybul that the moon had 
 heen eclipsed in the month of Shawwal, and that darkness had spread over 
 the country till the afternoon when a black storm began to blow which 
 continued for a third of the night, followed by a mighty earthquake which 
 
 * Abu'l flasan A'li was tlie son of al A'bb&s the son of Juraij or Jurgis 
 (Georgius). He was considered an admirable poet, and his poems were transmitted 
 down orally by al Mutannabi who learned them from himself. He was born at 
 Baghdad A. H. 221 (836) and died there, A. H. 283 (896). The cause of his 
 death was poison administered by al Mua'tadhid's minister who feared his satirical 
 tongue. A poisoned biscuit was given to him while he was in the minister's 
 company. The poet ate it and perceiving that he was poisoned rose to withdraw, 
 on which the minister asked Mm whither he was going. " To the place you are 
 sending me." " Present my respects to my father." " I am not taking the road to 
 hell," retorted the poet who retired to his house and died a few days after. Ibn 
 KhaU. 
 
 t His name, Ahmad, has this interpretation. 
 
[ 388 ] 
 
 A. H. 280. destroyed the whole city, and the number of those taken out from the 
 A. D. 893-4. ruins was one hundred and fifty thousand. 
 
 In the year 281, Makdriyah* in the Byzantine territory was taken. 
 During the same the waters of llai and Tabaristan subsided into the 
 earth, so that water sold at three pints for the dirham, and the people 
 were famished and fed on corpses. In the same al Mua'tadhid demolished 
 the Hall of Assemblyf at Mecca and converted it into a place of prayer 
 adjoining the Sacred Mosque. 
 
 In the year 282 he cancelled what had been instituted regarding thtf 
 burning of fires and the pouring of water upon the people on the day 
 of the new year and abolished the Magian year. During the same Katr 
 u'n Nada (the dew-drop) daughter of Khumaruwayh-b-A'hmad-b-Tiiliin 
 was led in bridal procession to his house and he consummated his marriage 
 with her in Eabii' I. Her portion consisted of four thousand jewelled 
 waistbandsj and ten coffers of jewels. 
 
 In the year 283 he prescribed throughout his dominions that relations§ 
 called Dii u'l Arham should be capable of inheritance, and he abolished the 
 Court of Inheritances lapsed to the Grown and the benedictions of the 
 people on al Mua'tadhid rose louder. 
 
 In the year 284 a great redness showed itself in Egypt, so that when 
 a man looked upon the face of another, he beheld him quite red, and in 
 the same way appeared the walls. The people supplicated the Most High 
 in prayer, and this redness continued from the afternoon till night. 
 
 Ibn Janr|| relates that in this year al Mua'tadhid resolved upon 
 having Mu'awiyah cursed from the pulpits. His minister U'baydu'Uah 
 endeavoured to dissuade him by the fear of a public disturbance, but he 
 gave no heed to him, and drew up a letter on the subject in which he men- 
 
 * I do not trace this name in Hm Athir, and Yakut does not give it. 
 
 t The Bab al Nadwah etill exists at Mecca under its later name of Bab u'l A'tik, 
 the Old Gate. The Hall of Assembly was built by Kusayy and contained the great 
 tribal standard: see page 30, and Burton's Mecca, p. 180. The new year's day was 
 altered from the Persian date to the Uth of Huzayran the Syrian month of June 
 called thenceforth t5'>-a*J*Jt J j j^^t Ibn Ath. 
 
 X Ibn Khali says that she received one thousand mortars of gold. De Slane 
 notes that mortars were used for pounding perfumes and were an important article 
 of the female toilette. Ibn Khali relates on hearsay that the Caliph by marrying her 
 purposed reducing the ftiWn family to poverty. 
 
 § l»layJI| }j6 means in law any relations that have no portions of the inheri- 
 tances termed U^^!/* and are not such heirs as are indicated by the term **'Ac^ see Lane 
 arts, ii and ^^• 
 
 II Not Jurayr as pointed in the text. Ibn Jarir at Tabari is the author of the 
 great commentary on the Kur£n and the celebrated history. He was born A. H. 
 224 (838-9) at Amul in Tabaristan and died at Baghdad 310 (923). Ibn Khali. 
 
[ 389 ] 
 
 tioned many of the virtues of A'li and impugned the character of A. H. 284. 
 Mu'awiyah. The Kadhi Yusuf said to him, " Prince of the Faithful, I A. D. 897. 
 fear a disturbance at the hearing of this." He replied, " if the popu- 
 lace move, I will put them to the sword." He continued, " what will thou 
 do then, with the followers of A'li, who in every province have rebelled 
 against thee ? for when the people hear all this of the merits of the prophe- 
 tical House, they will be more inclined to them." Upon this al Mua'- 
 tadhid withdrew from it. 
 
 In the year 285, a yellow looking storm blew in Basrah ; it next turned 
 green and then grew black and extended to the provinces. It was followed 
 by hail, the weight of a hailstone being one hundred and fifty dirhams 
 and the wind uprooted about five hundred palm trees and it rained in one 
 village black and white'stones. 
 
 In the year 286, Abi5 Sa'id* al Karmati appeared in Bahrayn and his 
 power increased. He was the father of Abti Tahir Sulayman he who, as 
 will follow, carried off the Black Stone. Engagements took place between 
 him and the Caliph's troops. He descended upon Bagrah and its environs 
 and defeated the army of the Caliph on several occasions. 
 
 Of personal accounts of al Mua'tadhid recorded by al Khatib and 
 Ibn Asakir, is the following on the authority of Abti'l Husayn al Khasibi 
 who relates that al Mua'tadhid sent to the Kadhi Abu Hdzim, saying, " verily 
 I have a claim upon the goods of a certain person, and I have heard that 
 his creditors have appeared before thee, and that thou hast divided his 
 property amongst them ; therefore put us down as being one of them." 
 Abu'l Hazim replied, " tell him that the prince of the Faithful — may the 
 Lord lengthen his days — when he conferred with me at the time of investing 
 me with office, said that he put o£E its responsibility from his own shoulders 
 and- placed it upon my shoulders, and it is not permitted to me to pass 
 judgment on the property of an individual in favour of a claimant without 
 evident demonstration." The messenger returned and informed the Caliph 
 who said, " tell him, such a one and such a one are witnesses, alluding to 
 two respectable persons." The Kadhi replied ; " let them give testimony 
 before me and I will examine them, and if they are just I will accept their 
 testimony otherwise I will execute what is in my judgment established." 
 Those persons, however, refrained from giving testimony fearing the result 
 and nothing was given to al Mua'tadhid. 
 
 Ibn Hamdun the boon companionf says that al Mua'tadhid spent 
 
 * For a sketch of the Carmathiana under Abu Sa'id and his son Abd Tahir, see 
 Ibn Khali under art. al Jann&bi, and for the history of the Carmathians, Abu'l Fida, 
 Ibn Ath., Weil, M. de Saoy's Expose de I'histoire des Druzes, and Gibbon's shoit 
 but picturesque narrative. 
 
 t ^amdun-b-Isma'il-b-Dauud the KWib was the first of his family who followed 
 
[ 390 ] 
 
 A. H. 286. sixty thousand dinars on the construction of al Buhayrah whither he used 
 A. D. 899. to retire with his slave girls, among them his favourite Durayrah. 
 
 Durayrah died during the reign of al Mua'tadhid, and he grieved over 
 her with exceeding grief, and said, mourning h6r loss — 
 
 " O beloved ! none can equal her 
 As a loved one to me. 
 Thou art far from my sight, 
 But near to my heart. 
 Since thou art gone I have 
 No share in pleasures. 
 Thou hast in my heart, over my 
 Heart, though thou be away, a watcher. 
 And my thoughts have been of thee since 
 Thou hast departed, thoughts that are never absent. 
 "Would that thou couldst see how since 
 Thou hast left, I lament and mourn. 
 And my heart ! a flame hath filled 
 It with burning grief. 
 Thou mayst truly know that I 
 Am disconsolate and afflicted for thee. 
 I do not find my soul, though I console it 
 For thy loss, become cheerful. 
 I have tears that do not resist me 
 And resignation that will not obey." 
 
 One author praises al Mua'tadhid thus, in detached sentences — 
 A vision approached — in the land of the Mimosa — amongst the tents- 
 wandering about the hills : an auspicious neighbour — healing the sickness — 
 of- whomsoever it kisseth — or clingeth to. It hath a slender waist — when 
 clasped — wearing long tresses. Then it departed. I did not sleep — for 
 love and anxiety. Reproach censureth — how long and yet how long— a day 
 of calamity. I labour to collect — all learning* — it hath therefore not 
 perished. He is a beacon — and a place of protection — the best of mortals — 
 by female or male descent — who containeth all high resolves — and how full 
 of manly vigour. Firm and dignified — liberal of nature — who illumineth 
 darkness — like the full moon — whose rights are protected — and what should 
 be inviolate, guarded^wherefore he hath not sought what is forbidden. 
 He distinguisheth specially and generally — in what he lavisheth. With him 
 
 the profession of a Nadim or boon companion. His son A^mad was an oral transmitter 
 of poetry and historical narrations. De Slane ; I. K, 
 * The MS. has f>^ for f^. 
 
[ 391 ] 
 
 are favours— and punisbments. Good things abound— when he smiteth— A. H. 286. 
 
 AT) 899 
 and water beoometh blood— when he taketh revenge. •^- -^^ °'' ' 
 
 In Kabii' II of the year 289, al Mua'tadhid fell ill of a grievons 
 
 sickness, for his constitution was injured by the excess of his sensuality, 
 
 but after a little he recovered, and Ibn al Mua'tazz said — 
 
 " My heart fluttered with trembling wings 
 Bemoaning the mishaps of calamities. 
 And in fear lest they should wish thee evil 
 Who art the lion of the kingdom and the Sword of War." 
 
 He, however, again relapsed and died on Monday the 22nd of the same 
 month {Wh April 902). Al Masa'iidi relates that they doubted whether al 
 Mua'tadhid was dead and ths physician drew near and felt his pulse, 
 whereupon be opened his eyes and kicked the physician with his foot, 
 flinging him away several yards so that the physician died and al Mua'tad- 
 hid died immediately after. During his last moments he thus versified : 
 
 " Enjoy the world ; for, verily, thou shalt not live. 
 And snatch its brightness while it is bright, and lay aside retirement, 
 And be not confident of fortune, for verily I trusted to it 
 And it hath not left me any place nor regarded my due. 
 I have slain heroes among men and have not left 
 An enemy and given none a respite, in his own conceit.* 
 I have cleared the habitations of the kingdom of every rival, 
 Scattered them in the west and dispersed them in the east. 
 And when I reached unto the stars in glory and power, 
 And the necks of all the people were abased before me in submission, 
 Death smote me with an arrow and extinguished the spark of my 
 
 life. 
 And now am I fallen, hastening to the grave. 
 I have lost this world and the next through my folly. 
 Who is there more miserable than I am in his abasement ? 
 Would that I knew whether after death I shall behold 
 The mercies of God or be cast into hell fire." 
 
 Among the verses of al Mua'tadhid are the following : 
 
 " thou who regardest me with a languishing dark eye 
 And slayest me with coyness and glances of love, 
 I complain to thee of what I have suffered 
 Through love : have I no relief to expect from thee ? 
 By thy glance and thy beauty thou hast taken 
 Among men the place of their eyes and their souls." 
 
 * Ibn Ath, has *■{!** a tetter reading. See his variants on this poem. 
 
[ 392 ] 
 
 A. H. 289. As Sdli relates the following by him : 
 
 A. D. 902. " None hath ever suffered from the the burning of separation 
 
 What I have undergone from it. 
 
 thou who askest me regarding its taste ! 
 
 1 have found it bitter of flavour. 
 My body is dissolved and my eye 
 Weeps and my heart is aflame. 
 
 Since thou art gone I have no companion 
 
 But sadness and longing. 
 
 May God watch over you both 
 
 When I am with you and without you." 
 Ibn al Mua'tazz mourns him in these lines : 
 " world — shame on thee — thou hast left me no one, 
 
 And thou art a parent of evil that devourest thy children. 
 
 I ask pardon of God — this all is destiny. 
 
 I resign myself to God, the Lord, One, Eternal. 
 
 O thou dweller in the tomb in the dark earth 
 
 Of Tahiriyah, alone, in a distant abode ! 
 
 Where are the armies thou wert wont to lead ? 
 
 Where the treasures whose number thou wert wont to count over ? 
 
 Where is the throne thou wert wont to fill 
 
 With awe so that the eye of him who beheld it trembled ? 
 
 Where are the enemies of old whose stubbornness thou didst abase ? 
 
 Where the champions thou didst scatter abroad ? 
 
 Where the swift steeds whose fetlocks thou didst die with blood, 
 
 And which bore in thee a raging lion ? 
 
 Where the lances which thou didst feed on hearts ? 
 
 Since thou hast died, they have reached neither heart nor liver ! 
 
 Where are the gardens whose rivulets flow* murmuring 
 
 And answer to them the warbling birds ? 
 
 Where are the handmaids wandering at pleasure like gazelles 
 
 Trailing coloured robes fresh from the loom ? 
 
 "Where the wanton pastimes and where the red wine thou didst deem 
 
 A ruby clothed in silver mail ? 
 
 Where the assaults on thy enemies, seeking 
 
 The welfare of the kingdom of the sons of 'Abbas, when it had 
 fallen into disorder ? 
 
 Thou didst not fail to subdue every mighty one among them 
 
 And to overthrow the lofty and the powerful who were trusted in. 
 
 And now thou. hast passed away, and neither trace nor vestige remains 
 
 So that thou art as if thou hadst never been." 
 ^ .. f « 
 
 * LSj^ read isJ^^ 
 
[ 393 ] 
 
 Among the persons of note who died during the reign of al Mua'tadhid A. H. 289. 
 were Ibn u'l Mawwaz al Maliki, Ibn Abi'd Dunya, the Kadhi Isma'il, al A. D, 902. 
 Harith-b-Abi Usamah, Abu'l U'ayna, al Mubarrad, Abu Sa'id the Cobbler 
 the Sufi Shaykh, al Buhturi the poet and others. 
 
 Al Mua'tadhid left four male and eleven female children. 
 
 AL MUKTAFI BFLLAH. 
 
 Al MuktafI bi'llah Abii Muhammad A'li the son of al Mua'tadhid was 
 born in the beginning of the month of Eabia' II, in the year 264. His 
 mother was a Turkish woman named Jijak. His comeliness was proverbial 
 so that one author has said : — 
 
 " I compared her beauty and her deeds 
 But her beauty equals not her deceit, 
 By Allah, I never addressed her, though verily she 
 Is like the sun, the full moon or Muktafi." 
 
 His father made him his heir and he was acknowledged as Caliph 
 during his father's sickness on Friday afternoon the 19th of llabia' II, 289. 
 As Suli observes that none of the Caliphs had his name of A'li, save he and 
 A'li b-Abi Talib, and none the surname of Abu Muhammad save al Hasan 
 the son of A'li, al Hadi, and al Muktafi. 
 
 When he was acknowledged Caliph on the death of his father, he was 
 absent at Eakkah, and the Wazir Abu'l Hasan al Kasim-b-U'baydu'llah 
 undertook the duties of receiving the oath of allegiance and wrote to him 
 and he arrived in Baghdad on the 7th of Jumada I, and passed down the 
 Tigris in a ship and it was a great day. The Kadhi Abii Omar fell through 
 the bridge by reason of the crowd but was taken out unhurt. Al Muktafi 
 alighted at the palace and the poets spoke their poems, and he bestowed 
 seven robes of honour upon the Wazir al Kasim, and destroyed the under, 
 ground prisons which his father had established, turning them into mosques. 
 He ordered the gardens and shops which his father had taken from the 
 people whereon to build his palace, to be restored to their owners, and he 
 showed an excellent disposition, and the people loved him and invoked 
 blessings upon him. During this year Baghdad was convulsed by a great 
 earthquake which lasted for days, and also in the same, a furious wind blew 
 at Basrah uprooting all its palm trees, the like of which had been never 
 heard of. 
 
 In the same year rose Yahya-b-Zakariiyah the Carmathian, and 
 engagements took place between him and the troops of the Caliph until 
 he was killed in the year 290. His brother al Husayn succeeded him and 
 50 
 
[ 394 ] 
 
 A. H. 289. shewed the mole upon his face* and pretended that it was his token. He 
 A. D. 902. was joined by his cousin I'sa-b-Mahniyaht who asserted that al Husayn 
 was entitled " al Mudaththir," and that he it was who was intended in the 
 Sura (LXXIV), and he surnamed a page of his " al Mutawwak-bi'n Nur 
 (Collared with Light). He overran Syria and destroyed and ravaged and 
 assumed the titles of al Mahdi prince of the Faithful, and prayers were 
 made for him in the pulpits. All the three were, however, killed in the 
 year 291. 
 
 In this year AntaliyahJ (with an 1) was taken by storm, and the booty 
 captured therefrom was beyond computation. 
 
 In the year 292 the Tigus rose so high that the like of it had never 
 before been seen, for it did much injury in Baghdad, the rise reaching 
 twenty-one cubits. 
 
 The following is by as Stili eulogizing al Muktafi and mentioning the 
 Carmathians — 
 
 " Al Muktafi the Caliph was made sufficient 
 For the emergency he was provident against.' " 
 
 And he goes on until he comes to 
 
 " Sons of A'bbas — ye 
 Are the chiefs and the first of men. 
 Allah ordained that ye 
 Should be rulers over the people, 
 And those among ye who hold rule 
 Are the brightest and best of God's creatures. 
 He who obeyeth you is a true believer, 
 And whoso rebelleth hath turned infidel. 
 
 » A mark of the Imdmate : for an aooount of this sect of the Ismaaites, their belief 
 and mode of initiation, see "Weil, Vol. II. p. 493. They are discussed at sufficient 
 length in D'Herbelot, art. Carmath, and "by Gibbon, cap LII. 
 
 + Ibn u'l Mahdi, according to Ibu Ath. who gave himself out as great-grandson 
 of the Imam Isma'il. Al Mudaththir signifies " the Covered" and the 74th Sura of the 
 KurAnisso entitled. Ibn al Mahdi himself gave al Susayn the title of al Mudath- 
 thir and named him his heir. Ibn Ath. 
 
 t Ibn Ath. has 1 in one copy, k in another. InTak^t, Antaliyah is called one of 
 the great Byzantine cities, and its position is marked by the words of al Balkhi who 
 says that when you pass Kalamiyah (near Tarsus) and Lamas you get to Antaliyah. 
 Ibn BatHtah fixes its position with precision. He travelled from Latakia to Alaia," 
 thence to Antaliyah (Adalia, in the gulf of that name) proceeding onwards inland b^ 
 Buldur and Isbarta. The Greek writers mention the sack of Thesaalonioa at this time 
 and the coincidence of their acoounfa with that of the Arabs in the number of prisoners 
 and booty leads Weil to the conclusion that this place must be meant, but I beUeve 
 it to be a coincidence and nothing more, as the diflferenoe of sites and names will not 
 easily support the notion of mistaken identity, 
 
[ 395 ] 
 
 Allah hath revealed that regarding ye a. n. ^^ • 
 
 Before in the perspicuous chapters of the Kuran." ^' D. 904. 
 
 As Suli says, " I heard al Muktafi saying during his illness, ' I 
 grieve not but for seven hundred thousand dinars which I expended from 
 the funds of the Muslims on buildings of which I had no need and which 
 I might have done without, and verily I ask pardon of this from God." ' 
 Al Muktafi died in the prime of life on Sunday night the 12th of Du'l 
 Kaa'dah in the year 295 (13th August 907) leaving eight male and eight 
 female children. 
 
 Among persons of note who died during his reign were : A'bdu'llah-b- 
 Ahmad-b-Hanbal, Thaa'lab the great master of the Arabic language, Kun- 
 bal the Kurdn reader, Abu A'bdu'llah al Busanji the jurisconsult, al Bazzar 
 the author of the Musnad, Abu Muslim al Kajji, the Kadhi Abu Hazim, 
 Salih Jazarah,* Muhammad-b-Nasr al Marwazi, the Imam Abu'l Husayn 
 an Ntxri the Sufi Shaykh, Abti Jaa'far at Tirmidi, the Shafii Shaykh in Irak. 
 
 I read in the History of Naysabiir by A'bdu'l Ghafir regarding Ibn 
 Abi'd Dunya that he says as follows — " when the Caliphate fell to al 
 Muktafi I wrote to him these two couplets." 
 
 " The right of correction is a right of paternal authority 
 According to men of intelligence and honour. 
 And the most deserving of men to maintain this 
 And to regard it are those of the prophetical House." 
 
 The narrator adds " upon this he brought me ten thousand dirhams." 
 This is a proof that Ibn Abi'd Dunya lived till the reign of al Muktafi. 
 
 AL MUKTADIR BI'LLAH. 
 
 Al Muktadir bi'llah, Abii'l Fadhl Jaa'far the son cf al Mua'tadhid was 
 born in Eamadhan of the year 282. His mother was a Greek but some 
 say a Turkish woman, her name Shaa'b, and according to another account, 
 Gharib. When the illness of al Muktafi became serious, he enquired about 
 him, and on being assured that he had reached the age of puberty, he 
 made him his heir. None ever governed the Caliphate at an earlier 
 ao^e than he for he was thirteen years old when he assumed power. The 
 Wazir al A'bbas-b-u'l Hasan regarding him as a child, sought to depose 
 him and a party conspired with him to place A'bdu'llah the son of al 
 
 * The MS. has incorrectly, "the son of Jazarah" whereas Jazarah was his sur- 
 name. The Muntaha'l Arab calls him— Salili ^afidh-b-Muhammad. 
 
[ 396 ] 
 
 A. H. 295. Mua'tazz upon the throne. The son of al Mua'tazz agreed to it on the 
 A.D. 907. condition that no blood should be spilt, but al Muktadir on hearing of this 
 bettered the condition of al A'bbas and lavished wealth upon him that 
 contented him, upon which he reverted from his design. The rest of the 
 conspirators, however came upon al Muktadir on the 20th of Babii' I, 296 
 when he was playing at ball.* He fled and the doors were locked, and the 
 Wazir with a number of others were slain. The son of al Mua'tazz was 
 sent for, and he came, and the generals assembled together with the 
 Kadhis and principal men, and they swore homage to him as Caliph, and 
 gave him the title of Ghfilib bi'Uah.t He appointed Muhammad-b-Daudd- 
 b-i'l Jarrah his Wazir and Abu'l Muthanna Ahmad-b-Yakub to the office 
 of Kadhi, and letters were despatched as issued under the Caliphate of 
 the son of al Mua'tazz. 
 
 Al Mu'afa-b-Zakariya al Jariri J relates as follows : " When al Muktadir 
 was deposed and allegiance was sworn to the son of al Mua'tazz, people 
 went to visit my Shaykh Muhammad-b-Jarir at Tabari. He asked what 
 the news was. He was told that the son of al Mua'tazz had been acknow- 
 ledged Caliph. He asked who was appointed to the office of Wazir. 
 They told him Muhammad-b-Daudd. He then enquired who was named 
 to that of Kadhi ; he was told, Abu'l Muthanna. Thereupon he looked 
 down in thought, and then said, ' this afEair will not succeed.' He was 
 asked why it should not. He replied, ' every one name that you have 
 mentioned is eminent, in its meaning high in dignity, but fortune shifts 
 and prosperity turns its back, and I behold in this but its decline, and I 
 cannot think that its season will endure.' " 
 
 Ibn al Mua'tazz now sent to al Muktadir commanding him to depart 
 to the house of Muhammad-b-Tahir in order that he himself might remove 
 to the palace. He submitted, for there were with him only a few retainers 
 but they said one to another, " shall we, O brethren, yield the govern- 
 ment, and shall we not exert ourselves to avert what hath befallen us ?" 
 And they girded on their arms and made for the quarter of al Mukharrim 
 in which resided Ibn u'l Mua'tazz. When he beheld them surrounding him, 
 the Lord put fear into the hearts of those with him, and they retired in 
 
 • For x/i/l read ij^^ as in Ibn Ath. 
 
 t According to Ibn Atb. " al Murtadha bi'llah" and Weil gives also, " al Munsif 
 bi'Uah." 
 
 t The IJadhi Abli'l Faraj Muafa surnamed-b-Tarard al Jariiri was a jurisconsult, 
 a philologer, a poet, and a scholar versed in every branch of science. He held the post 
 of Kddlji in that quarter of Baghdad called Bab u't Tdk. He was considered also a 
 faithful transmitter of tradition. He was born in A. H. 303 (916) and died at Nahia- 
 •wAnin 390 (A.D. 1,000). He was called al Jariri because he adopted the religious 
 opinions of Ibn Jan'r at Tabari, consult both names in Ibn Khali. 
 
[ 397 ] 
 
 disorder without fighting. Ihn al Mua'tazz, together with his Wazir, and A. H. 296. 
 his Kddhi fled, and there was rapine and slaughter in Baghdad. Al A. D. 908. 
 Muktadir made prisoners of the jurisconsults and nohles that had deposed 
 him, and made them over to Miinis* the treasurer who put them to death 
 save four, among these being the Kadhi Abu Omar, and they were saved 
 from death. Ibn al Mua'tazz was placed in confinement from which he 
 was shortly after taken out dead. The authority now reverted to al 
 Muktadir who appointed Abu'l Hasan A'li-b-Muhammad al Turat his Wazir. 
 He pursued a most praiseworthy course, brought abuses to light, and 
 invited al Muktadir to justice. The Caliph, on account of his own inex- 
 perience, committed the administration to his care and devoted himself to 
 amusement and frivolity and dissipated the public treasure. During this 
 year al Muktadir ordered that Jews and Christians should be employed in 
 menial service, and that they should ride only on packsaddles. During the 
 same, the affairs of al Mahdi throve in Africa : he was saluted as Imam 
 and the Caliphate was claimed as his right. He extended justice and 
 beneficence to the people and they inclined to him. Africa fell under his 
 power and his dominion increased, and the city of al Mahdiyah was founded. 
 Ziyadat u'llah-b-Aghlab, the ruler of Africa, fled to Egypt,t but after- 
 wards repaired to I'rak. Prom this date Africa passed from the sway of 
 the children of A'bbas, the term of their rule over the whole of the 
 dominions of Islam having been one hundred and sixty and odd years, and 
 from this period dates their decline. Ad Dahabi says that the administra- 
 tion became disorganised under al Muktadir by reason of his youth. 
 
 In the year 300J a mountain near Dinawar subsided into the earth and 
 a large quantity of water issued from beneath it and overwhelmed villages. 
 During the same year a mule gave birth to a colt — and God is powerful to 
 do what He willeth. 
 
 In the year 301 A'li-b-Tsa became Wazir. He followed a course of 
 virtue, justice and piety. He abolished the use of wine and diminished 
 the taxation by the amount it had been increased in the year, vig., five 
 hundred thousand dinars. During the same the Kadhi Abu Omar was 
 restored to the judicial ofiice and al Muktadir rode from his palace to al 
 
 * For tj-^ji read ^jr'j'" as in Ibn Ath. 
 
 t After his decisive defeat at Arbes in Jumada II, 296 (Feb. 909) bj- TJbaydu'llah'a 
 missionary and general Abu A'bduUah. This last prince of the Aghlabite dynasty 
 died according to Ibn A'sakir in A. H. .^04 at Eamla. The duration of the power of his 
 House was 212 years, 5 months and 14 days. Ibn Khali, see also Weil, p. 584. 
 
 { It was in this year also as well as in 290 that disturbances of the stars and the 
 failure of the Nile were remarked hx Egypt, as related by A'bdu'l Latif, and troubles 
 arose which in the latter year occasioned the fall of the House of Tulun. See hia 
 Hist. Egypt, Cap. I. Lib. II. 
 
[ 398 ] 
 
 A. H. 301. Shamasiyah,* and tliis was the first ride he had made and in which he 
 A. D. 9 13. showed himself to the people. During the same al Husayn the weaver 
 was brought into Baghdad exposed to the public gaze, on a camel. He 
 was crucified aHve,t and it was proclaimed over him — " This is one of the 
 missionaries of the Carmathians, therefore recognize him." He was then 
 kept in prison till he was put to death in the year 309. It was given out 
 that he claimed divine power, and that he asserted the descent of the 
 divinity upon eminent persons and that he wrote to his associates with 
 long rays of light. He was questioned but found not to possess any 
 knowledge of the Kuran, nor of the Traditions, nor of jurisprudence. 
 
 During the same year al Mahdi the Fatimite set out at the head of 
 40,000 Berbers to attack Cairo, but the Nile interposing as a barrier 
 between him and the city, he turned towards Alexandria and ravaged and 
 slaughtered and then returned. The troops of al Muktadir marched 
 against him to Barkah and several engagements took place, the Fatimite 
 afterwards made himself master of Alexandria and Fayyum in this year. J 
 
 In 302 al Muktadir caused five of his children to be circumcised, and 
 expended on the festival of their circumcision six hundred thousand dinars, 
 and he circumcised at the same time a number of orphans and treated them 
 with great kindness. During the same al Muktadir read the prayers for the 
 Eed in the principal mosque of Cairo, and before this time the prayers for 
 the Eed had never been made in it. A'li-b-Abi Shaykhah read his discourse, 
 to the people from a hook, and it happened that by an inaccuracy, he said, 
 " Fear God with His true fear and die not unless ye be also infidels."§ 
 (Kur III. 
 
 During this year also the Daylamites were converted to Islam by 
 al Hasan-b-A'li|| al A'lawi al Utrijsh (the deaf) and before this they were 
 Magians. 
 
 * A part of Baghdad. 
 
 t From early morning till midday for three days. According to Tbn Ath, this 
 !Husayn-h-Manstir denied that he pretended to the powers the vulvar accused him of 
 claiming and he held himself to he a devout worshipper of God. Some believed in his 
 sanctity and miraculous powers and asserted that he even raised the dead ; others 
 condemned him as an impostor. On examination he was found to maintain nothing 
 opposed to the law of Islam, but the Wazir Hdmid was determined on his death, and 
 catching at a hasty expression of Abu Omar's, the l^adlji, that the shedding of his blood 
 was lawful, he was barbarously scourged with a, thousand stripes, his hands and feet 
 cut off and his body burnt and the ashes thrown into the Tigris. Ibn Ath. 
 
 { This account is confused and incorrect in order of time. Mahdi with his son, 
 Abu'l Kasim first marched and took Barkah, next occupied Alexandria and Fayydm 
 and some other towns, and was then attacked by the CaUph's troops under Munis al 
 Khadim and driven back to Africa. Ibn Ath. 
 
 § Instead of infidels he should have said " true believers." 
 
 II He was another partisan of the AUide cause and received the surname of an 
 Nfoir al TJtrush (the deaf conqueror). He won the Daylamites to his side, converted 
 
[ 399 ] 
 
 In the year 304 Baghdad was in consternation regarding an animal A. H. 304. 
 called Zazbab. People said that they saw it at night upon the flat roofs of A. D. 916. 
 the houses, and that it eat children and tore off the breasts of women. 
 They used to watch and beat upon their drinking vessels that it might be 
 scared, and they set up covered pens for their children, and this continued 
 for many nights. 
 
 In the year 305 the ambassadors arrived from the Eoman Emperor 
 with presents seeking to conclude a peace. Al Muktadir prepared a grand 
 display, and assembled the army and set them in ranks under arms, 160,000 
 strong, extending from the Shamasiyah gate to the palace. Behind them 
 came the royal retinue 7,000 in number, and after them the chamberlains 
 who were 700. The coverings that were placed upon the walls of the 
 palace were 38,000 and were of brocade, and there were 22,000 carpets, and 
 in the courtyard were one hundred wild beasts in chains besides other 
 things. 
 
 In this year there arrived presents from the prince of Oman, and 
 among them a bird, black in colour, which spoke in the languages of Persia 
 and of India more fluently than a parrot. 
 
 In the year 306, the mother of al Muktadir opened a hospital, and the 
 sum expended on it yearly was seven thousand dinars.* "During the same 
 the supreme authority fell into the hands of the Caliph's harem and his women 
 through his imbecility, and things came to such a pass that the mother of 
 al Muktadir governed like a queen-regent, holding audience to redress 
 wrongs and looking into the petitions of the people every Friday. She held 
 public audiences and used to summon the Kadhis and nobles and issue 
 state edicts signed under her hand. 
 
 In the same year al Kaim Muhammad-b-al Mahdi the Fatimite 
 returned again towards Egypt, and made himself master of a great portion 
 of Upper Egypt. In the year 308 prices rose exceedingly high in Baghdad, 
 and the people were starving, through the Wazir Hamid-b-u'l A'bbas 
 having undertaken the administration of the royal domains in the Sawadf 
 
 many of them to Islam and took possession of Tabaristau from the Samanides, and his 
 descendants ruled in parts of Daylam, Tabaristan and Ghflin to the middle of the 
 4th century. 
 
 * So the text and MS. The words of Ibn Athir are : In this year al 
 
 Muktadir ordered th3 building of a hospital and it was named the Muktadiri 
 
 Hospital. 
 
 t The Sawad extends in length from Hadithat u'l MausU to A'bbadan and in 
 breadth from al U'dhayb to IJulwan. Hamid took their administration from A'li-b- 
 I'sa whom he wished to rain with the Caliph and who had been endeavouring to subvert 
 Hdmid's power, and in order to fill the Caliph's purse without ruioing himself,- he was 
 obliged to purchase com &o. at a high cost and instead of sending it to Baghdad, sold 
 it in other places where he obtained a better price. This reacted on the Baghdad 
 market and caused the popular tumult. See Weil, p. 552. 
 
[ 400 ] 
 
 A. H. 308. and renewed wrongful exactions. The people fell to plundering and the 
 A. D. 920. troops rode among the populace, but they dispersed them and the fighting 
 continued some days. The mob set fire to the prison and opened the cells 
 and plundered the citizens and stoned the Wazir and the afEairs of the 
 House of A'bbas fell into great disorder. During the same year the troops 
 of al ICaim took possession of the Delta from Fustat and the distress of 
 the people of Cairo became grievous and they prepared for war and 
 hostilities took place. 
 
 In the year 309 al Husayn the weaver was put to death by the 
 sentence of the Kadhi Abu Omar and the jurisconsults and the doctors, 
 who declared that it was lawful to shed his blood, and there are accounts 
 of the extraordinary circumstances regarding him which authors have 
 separately compiled. 
 
 In the year 311 al Muktadir ordered the restoration of the inheritances 
 inherited by those who are Du u'l Arham,* to the condition from which 
 they had been altered by al Mua'tadhid. 
 
 In the year 312, Farghanah was conquered by the ruler of Khu- 
 rasdn. In the year 814 the Byzantines captured Malatiyah by the 
 sword. During the same, the Tigris was frozen over at Mosal and cattle 
 crossed over and such a thing was never before heard of. In the year 315, 
 the Byzantines entered Damietta and took the inhabitants prisoners with 
 all the property therein, and sounded their bells for worship in the mosques 
 of that town. During the same the Daylamites made their appearance 
 in Eai and the mountainous districts, and people were slain and children 
 slaughtered. 
 
 In the year 816, the Carmathian established a residence which he 
 called the House of Pilgrimage.f It was during these years that his evil 
 doings increased, and his conquest of towns and attacks on the Muslims, 
 and through him calamities multiplied, and fear of him fell upon all hearts. 
 His followers became more numerous and he sent his bands in every 
 direction, and the Caliphate was convulsed by him, and the troops of al 
 Muktadir were routed on several occasions. During these years the pil- 
 grimage to Mecca was interrupted through fear of the Carmathians and 
 the people of Mecca quitted the town. The Byzantines marched against 
 Khalat, J tore down the pulpit from the principal mosque and set up the cross 
 
 * See note §, p. 388. 
 
 f It was in the Katamah country near tlie mountainous district of Ankijdn in 
 Bartary the head quarters of Abu A'bdu'llah the missionary of al Madi. The account 
 is here incorrect. The House of Pilgrimage in the Valley of the Good jHl^J't * was 
 established in 280 or 88 (for Ibu Ath. has a variant in the date) by Abu A'bdu'llah 
 who was put to death by alMahdi in 298. The " Carmathian" in the year 316, refers 
 to Abu Tahir. See Ibn Ath. under these years. 
 
 t In Armenia. 
 
[ 4.01 ] 
 
 in its place. In the year 317 Munis al Khadim surnamed al Mudhaffar A. H. 317. 
 rebelled against al Mukfcadir because he heard that he purposed conferring A. D. 929. 
 on Hariin-b-Gharib the cilice of Amir u'l Umara, {chief of the Amirs) in 
 place of Miinis himself. The whole of the military force and the nobles 
 and the confederates advanced with him against the palace. The atten- 
 dants of al Muktadir fled and al Muktadir was brought out from his 
 palace after his evening repast on the night of the 14th of Muharram 
 together with his mother, his maternal aunt and his women and 600,000 
 dindrs were taken from his mother. His abdication was testified to* and 
 they sent for Muhammad the son of al Mua'tadhid, and Miinis, and the 
 nobles ♦vore allegiance to him and surnamed him al Kahir bi'llah (conquer- 
 ing through Ood). The office of Wazir was entrusted to Abu A'li-b- 
 Muklah on the Saturday and al Kahir took his seat on Sunday and the 
 Wazir wrote informing the provinces of this. On Monday the royal 
 procession was to be held and the troops came demanding their largesse for 
 their covenant of allegiance and their pay for the year, Miinis not being 
 present. Voices were then loudly raised and they slew the chamberlain and 
 made for the house of Munis demanding al Muktadir to restore him to 
 the Caliphate. They bore him on their shoulders from the house of Miinis 
 to the palace and al Kahir was seized and he was brought out weeping and 
 crying "Allah! Allah! protect me!" Al Mulitadir desired him to 
 approach and embraced him, and said, " brother, by Allah thou art not 
 in fault — by Allah, no harm shall ever befall thee from me — therefore be 
 of good cheer." The people were silent and the Wazir returned and wrote 
 to the provinces announcing the restoration of the Caliph to the Caliphate 
 and al Muktadir lavished sums of money on the troops. 
 
 In this year al Muktadir sent 'the Mecca caravan in charge of Mansiir 
 ad Daylami. They arrived safely at Mecca. But on the day of Tarwiyah,t 
 Abu Tahir the Carmathian, the enemy of God, fell upon them and slew the 
 pilgrims in the holy temple with a swift slaughter and threw the slain 
 into the well of Zem Zem and smote the Black Stone with an iron mace 
 and broke it and then they dug it up. They remained at Mecca eleven 
 days when they departed, and the Black Stone remained in their possession 
 for more than twenty years, (50,000 dinars being offered to them for it 
 which they refused) until it was restored in the Caliphate of al Mutii'. 
 It is said that when they carried it away, forty strongj camels sunk under 
 its weight from Mecca to Hajar and when it was brought back, it was 
 borne by a lean young camel which grew fat on the road. Muhammad-b- 
 u'r Eabii'-b-Sulayman relates as follows : " I was at Mecca in the year 
 of the Carmathians when a man of them ascended the temple to tear down 
 
 * By Abu Omar the ^adlji— ^^^ *4-^ '^x^ij*<' ^ ^j-^U (ji^r^l Ibn Ath. 
 t The first of the three days of pilgrimage, i. e., the 8th of Du'l Hijjah. 
 I Iba Khali says three. Life of al Jannsbi. 
 51 
 
[ 403 ] 
 
 A. H. 317. the water-spout,* I was observing him and losing patience, I cried, ' O God ! 
 A. D. 929. what hath induced thee !' and the man fell upon his head and died on the 
 spot." The Carmathian (Abu Tdhir) ascended to the doorf of the Kaa'bah 
 calling out. 
 
 " We, by Allah, and by Allah, we 
 Create creatures and destroy them, we. 
 
 Abu Tahir did not prosper after this, and his body was eaten up with 
 small-pox. 
 
 During this year a great tumult arose in Baghdad regarding the saying 
 of the Most High, " Perad venture the Lord will raise thee to an honorable 
 station." (Kur. XVII). The Hanbalites asserted the meaning of%t to be 
 that God would place Muhammad upon His throne beside Sim, while 
 others maintained that this meant only the power of intercession The 
 controversy continued, and they fell to blows until a great number were 
 slain. 
 
 In the year 319 the Carmathians fell upon Ktifah and the people 
 of Baghdad feared their entry into Baghdad itself. They implored aid and 
 lifted up their Kurans and reviled al Muktadir. 
 
 During the same, the Daylamites entered Dinawar and took prisoners 
 and made great slaughter. 
 
 In the year 820 Munis marched against al Muktadir, the greater part 
 of the troops of Munis, being composed of Berbers. When the contending 
 armies met, a Berber struck al Muktadir with a javelin by which he fell to the 
 ground. He then slew him with a sword and placed his head upon a spear. 
 The body was stripped and remained naked until it was covered over with 
 dry grass. A grave was dug for him on the spot and he was there buried, 
 and this on Wednesday the 27th of Shawwal (31s^ October 932). 
 
 It is said that his Wazir took his horoscope on that day and al 
 Muktadir said to him, "at what time was that?" He replied, "at 
 the hour of sunset." The Caliph took it as a bad omen and purposed 
 turning back, but the horsemen of Munis approached and the battle began. 
 As to the Berber who slew him, the people called out against him, and he 
 rode on towards the palace to bring out al Kahir when he encountered a 
 stack of brambles which threw him violently over his bridle, a prong caught 
 him and the horse passed from under him in his gallop and he was killed. 
 The people pulled him down and burnt him with the bramble stack. 
 
 Al Muktadir had good sense and sound judgment, bat was addicted 
 to sensuality and drinking and profuse in his expenditure. His women 
 
 * This was of gold, a span in width and stands out about the distance of two cubits. 
 Ibn Batoutah. Defremery, Vol. I, 312. 
 
 t There is only one door according to Burton, that affords entrance to the Kaa'bah. 
 It is opened only two or three times a year and is seven feet from the ground. 
 
[ 4.03 ] 
 
 Lad entire influence over him, and he lavished upon them the whole of the A. H. 320. 
 crown jewels and precious objects and bestowed upon one of his concubines A. D. 932. 
 a matchless pearl, the weight of which was three mithkals,* and he gave 
 Zayddn the Comptroller of the Harem a string of jewels, the like of 
 which were never seen, and he wasted immense wealth. He had in his 
 palace eleven thousand eunuch boys, besides slaves and Greeks and negroes. 
 He left twelve male children, three of whom ruled the Caliphate, viz., ar 
 Rddhi, al Mutakki and al Mutii'. The same occurred with al Mutawakkil 
 and ar Eashid, but in the instance of A'bdu'I Malik four of his children 
 held sway — and there is no parallel to this except among temporal sover- 
 eigns. Thus observes ad Dahabi. I note, however, that in my time, five 
 of the sons of al Mutawakkil held the Caliphate, al Musta'in al 'Abbas, 
 al Mua'tadhid Dauud, al Mustakfi Sulaymau, al Kaim Hamzah, and al 
 Mustanjid Yusuf, which is unparalleled. 
 
 In the Lataif u'l Ma'arif of at Thaa'labi is the strange fact that none 
 of the name of Jaa'fir governed the Caliphate, save al Mutawakkil and al 
 Muktadir, and they were both put to death — the former on the nightf 
 preceding the fourth day of the week, the latter on the fourth day itself. 
 
 Among praiseworthy actions of al Muktadir is the following related by 
 Ibn Shahin, namely, that his Wazir A'li-b-fsa desired to effect a recon- 
 ciliation between Ibn Sai'dJ and Abii Bakr-b-Abi Dauiid as Sijistani and the 
 Wazir said, " Abu Bakr, Abu Muhammad {-b-Sdi'd) is older than thou, 
 wert thou then to make the advance to him, it would be fitting." He 
 replied, " I will not.'' The Wazir said, " thou art a vain old man." He 
 replied, '* nay, the vain old man is he — the liar against the apostle of God." 
 Saying this Ibn Abi Dauud rose, and exclaimed, "thou thinkest that I am 
 inferior to thee because my stipend cometh to me from thy hand — by 
 Allah, I will never take anything at thy hands." Al Muktadir hearing of 
 this weighed out his daily allowance with his own hand and sent it on a 
 platter by his servant. 
 
 Of distinguished persons who died during the reign of al Muktadir 
 were, Muhammad-b-Abi Dauiid ad Dhahiri, Yusuf-b-Yakub the Kadhi, 
 Ibn Sarih the Shafi'i Shaykh, al Junayd the Siifi Shaykh, Abu Othman 
 al Hiri the devotee, Abu Bakr al Birdiji, Jaa'far al Kariyani,§ Ibn Bassam 
 the poet, an Nasai the author of the Sunan, al Hasan-b-Sufyan author of 
 
 * A mithkal is one dinar's weight or If of a dirham equal to about four and a 
 half drams. 
 
 t It must be remembered that the Muhammadan day begins at sunset. 
 
 I Yahya-b-Muhammad-b-Said al Baghd&di an eminent traditionist died in A. H. 
 318, at the age of 90. Ibn Ath. 
 
 § Ibn u'l Ath. has two variants, al Faryabi and al Gharyani. 
 
[ 404 ] 
 
 A. H 320. the Sunan, al Jubbdi the Mua'tazalite Shaykh, Yamut-b-Muzarra'* the 
 A. D. 932. grammarian ; Ibn u'l Jala the Sufi Shaykh, Abu Ya'Ia al Mausili author 
 of the Musnad, al Ashndni the Kuran reader, Ibn Sayf one of the great 
 Kuran readers of Cairo, Abu Bakr ar Ruyani author of the Musnad, Ibn 
 u'l Mundir the Imam, Ibn Jarir at Tabari, az Zajjaj the grammarian, Ibn 
 Khuzaymah, Ibn Zakariya the physician, al Akhfash the Less, Bannan al 
 Jammal, Abu Bakr-b-Abi Dauiid as Sijistani, Ibn u's Sarraj the grammarian, 
 Abu A'lianah the author of theSahih,t Abu'l Kasim al Baghawi al Musnid.J 
 Abu U'bayd-b-Harbubah,al Kaa'bithe Mua'tazelite Shaykh, Abu Omar the 
 ^adhi, Kudamah the Secretary and others. 
 
 AL KA'HIR BI'LLAH. 
 
 Al Kahir bi'llah Abu Mansur Muhammad was the son of al Mua'- 
 tadhid-b-Talhah-b-Mutawakkil. His mother was a slave concubine called 
 Fitnah. When al Muktadir was slain, he was summoned together with 
 Muhammad the son of al Muktafi, and they asked the son of al Muktafi 
 whether he would accept the government. He replied, " I have no need of 
 it, and my uncle here has a better right to it." Al Kahir was then addressed 
 and he accepted, and the oath of allegiance was sworn to him and he was 
 surnamed al Kahir bi'llah, as he had been thus surnamed in 317. 
 
 His first act was to despoil the family of al Muktadir and to maltreat 
 them, and he scourged the mother of al Muktadir till she died under the 
 punishment. 
 
 In the year 321 the army was unfavorable to him, and Munis and 
 Ibn Muklah,§and others conspired to dethrone him in favour of the son of 
 al Muktafi, but al Kdhir intrigued with them till he seized their persons 
 and put them to death and immured the son of al Muktafi between two 
 walls. As for Ibn Muklah, he concealed himself, but his house and the 
 houses of the conspirators were burnt down. Al Kahir now discharged 
 
 • The text is here incorreot, the life of this grammarian will be found in Ibn 
 Khali. 
 
 t More properly speaking author of a Musnad extracted from the Sahflj of Muslim. 
 See Ibn Ath. anno. 312. 
 
 t I do not find this personage mentioned by Ibn Ath., but De Slane mentions a 
 traditionist named, as in the text, who died in 317, the author of a Mu'jam or cata- 
 logue of the Companions of Muhammad. Musnid signifies a reader of isnads or ascrip- 
 tions. De Slane elsewhere makes it synonymous with Hafidh. 
 
 ^ The life of this celebrated scribe and minister may be read in Ibn KhaU whose 
 narrative throws light on the events of this and the succeeding reign. He was the 
 inventor (or his brother, for the question is in dispute) of the style of writing termed 
 Shark! or Oriental, derived from the characters used by the people of Kvifah. 
 
[ 405 ] 
 
 the pay of the troops who were thus quieted, and his authority became A. H. 321. 
 firmly established, and awe of him filled the minds of men. To his titles A, D. 933. 
 was added that of " Chastiser of the enemies of God," which was engraved 
 upon the coinage. 
 
 In this year he issued a prohibition against female musicians,* and the 
 use of wine, and arrested all singers and forbade the employment of 
 infamous persons, and he broke all instruments of idle diversion, but per- 
 mitted the sale of female singers on the condition of their being of rustic 
 and simple manners, yet withal he did not relinquish intemperance himself 
 nor desist from listening to music. 
 
 In the year 322 the Daylamites grew in power and this because the 
 followers of Mardawijf entered Ispahan, and among their leaders was A'li- 
 b-Buwayh who gaining considerable resources, detached himself from his 
 chief Mardawij. Subsequently he engaged Muhammad-b-Yaktit the Caliph's 
 governor of Ispahan ; Muhammad was defeated and Ibn Buwayh occupied 
 Fars, Buwayh himself had been in very poor circumstances and employed 
 himself in catching fish. He saw himself in a dream, as it were a whale, 
 and there came forth from his person a column of fire, and the column 
 dispersed until it filled the earth. This was interpreted to mean that 
 his posterity would rule the world, and that their dominion would reach 
 to the limits embraced by the fire. Years passed by and events resulted 
 in his becoming a general under Mardawij-Ziyad ad Daylami who despatch- 
 ed him to obtain resources from Karaj.J He wrung out of it five hundred 
 thousand dirhams and marched to occupy Hamadan. The inhabitants 
 closed the gates against him, but he attacked them and took it by storm, 
 though some say, by treaty, and then set out for Shiraz. Subsequently his 
 resources ran short, and one day when he was lying asleep on his back, a 
 serpent crept out of the roof of the hall where he was. He ordered it to 
 be pulled down and there were taken from it chests of gold which he 
 distributed amongst his troops. At another time he sent for a tailor to sew 
 something for him : the man was deaf and imagined that information had 
 been laid against him, whereupon he exclaimed, " by Allah, I have nothing 
 but twelve chests and I know not what is in them." They were sent for 
 and there were found in them vast sums of money. On another occasion 
 as he was riding, the legs of his horse sunk into the earth, which on dig. 
 
 * The MS. has liiH;" Ibn Ath. states that the Caliph's object in all this was 
 not to reform morals, but to purchase at a cheap rate for his own amusement, the 
 singing girls whom he forbade his subjects to entertain. " Heav9n preserve us," 
 he pathetically adds, " from such morals as these." 
 
 t Of Ghilan, one of the soldiers of fortune who figured in the wars between the 
 Aliides and the Samanides in fabaristan. See Weil, pp. 651-2-3, and 657. 
 
 % Not Karkh as in the text. The MS. is here correct. Karaj is between Ispahan 
 and Hamadan, 
 
[ 406 ] 
 
 A. H 322. ging up tliey found to contain treasure. He made himself master of the 
 A. D. 934. provinces, and Khurasan and Pars passed away from the rule of the Caliph. 
 During this year al Kahir put to death Ishak-b-Isma'il an Naubakhti. 
 he who had counselled the elevation of al Kdhir to the Caliphate. He, 
 cast him down head foremost into a well and filled it up. His crime was, 
 that before the Caliphate of al Kahir, he had outbid him for a female slave 
 and bought her, for which reason he bore him a grudge. During the 
 same the army was incited against him because Ibn Muklah during his 
 concealment put them in dread of him, saying, " he has built dungeons for 
 you to imprison you" and the like, and they assembled to assault him and 
 forced an entrance upon him, sword in hand, but he fled. They, however, 
 overtook him and seized him on the 6th of Jumada I* (25<A April 934) and 
 swore allegiance to Abu'l 'Abbas Muhammad the son of al Muktadir and 
 surnamed him ar Radhi bi'llah. Then they despatched to al Kahir his 
 Wazir and the Kadhis Abu'l Husayn the son of the Kadhi Abu Omar, and 
 al Hasan-b-A'bdi'llah-b-Abi's Shawarib, and Abd Talib-b-u'l Buhlul. They 
 accordingly went and al Kdliir was asked what he had to say. He replied, 
 " I am Abu Mansdr Muhammad the son of al Mua'tadhid and the cove- 
 nant of allegiance to me is upon your necks and upon the necks of the 
 people, and I will not release nor absolve ye from it — therefore depart." 
 They retired and the Wazir said, " he must be deposed and there is no 
 need of reflection,! on his deeds which are notorious." The Kadhi Abu'l 
 Husayn thus continues the narration. " I then went to ar Badhi and 
 recounted to him what had passed and informed him that I considered his 
 assumption of the Caliphate as abounden duty." He replied, " depart and 
 leave me and him." He then directed Sima the commander of the guards to 
 blind him, who therefore seared his eyes with a red hot needle. Mahmiid 
 al I§pahani says : " The cause of al Kaliir's deposition was the depravity of 
 his nature and his shedding of blood. He refused to abdicate, they there- 
 fore branded his eyes till they came out upon his cheeks." As Suli observes 
 that be was violent and blood-thirsty, of a depraved disposition, volatile 
 and inconstant, and addicted to intemperance, and that had it not been for 
 the munificence of his chamberlain Salamah, the whole countryj would 
 have been ruined. He had also made for him a javelin which he carried 
 about, and he never cast it aside until he had slain a man with it. A'li-b- 
 
 * The text and MS. have Jum&da II. hut this is wrong. All the other authorities 
 give Jumida I. and the duration of al Kdhir's reign which was 1 year 6 months and 8 
 days, proves it. 
 
 t I prefer the reading of the MS. here which is ij^-"* *Jl*>l «*» jSfiJ llj jis:! 
 and which would run. " He should be deposed and do not reflect about it — his deeds 
 are notorious." 
 
 X Literally, the soil and its products, — See Kur II. 
 
[ 407 ] 
 
 Muhammad al Khurdsani narrates as follows. " Al Kahir sent for me one A. H. 322. 
 day, and the javelin was before him, and he said, " I wish to ask you A. D. 934. 
 regarding the Caliphs of the House of A'bbas — as to their qualities and 
 dispositions." I replied, " with regard to as Saffah — he was quick to 
 shed blood and his prefects imitated him in that respect, but he was 
 withal munificent and liberal with money." He said, " and al Man^iir ?" 
 I continued, " he was the first who threw dissension between the 
 descendants of al A'bbas and the descendants of Abu Talib who before 
 that were united, and he was the first Caliph who gave access to astro- 
 logers, and the first who had translated for him Syrian and Persian 
 works like the book of Kalilah and Daranah and the book of Euclid 
 and other Greek works, and the people read them and took to them. And 
 when Muhammad-b-Ishak observed this, he compiled his work on battles 
 and military expeditions. Al Mansur likewise was the first who employed 
 his slaves in service and preferred them over the Arabs." He asked, "and 
 al Mahdi ?" I replied, " he was generous, just and equitable. He restored 
 what his father had taken by violence from the people, and was zealous in 
 rooting out the Zindiks. He also re-fashioned the sacred temple of Mecca 
 and the mosques of Medina and Jerusalem." He exclaimed " and what of 
 al Hadi ?" I answered, " he was a proud tyrant, and his prefects walked 
 in his way during his short reign." He went on, '' and ar Easbid ?" I 
 said, "he was devoted to war and pilgrimage, and he established houses and 
 reservoirs of water on the road to Mecca and fortified the frontier positions 
 of Kadanah, Tarsus, Masisah and Mara'sh. His bounty embraced the 
 people at large, and during his days flourished the Barmecides with their 
 renowned munificence. He was the first Caliph who played at polo and 
 who shot arrows at a target and who played at chess." "And al Amin ?" 
 I said, " he was bountiful but absorbed in sensuality, and affairs fell into 
 disorder." 
 
 " And al Mamun ?" 
 
 I said, " astrology and philosophy had too much influence over him, but 
 he was forbearing and munificent." 
 
 "AndalMua'tasim?" 
 
 I replied, " he followed in his footsteps, but the love of horseman- 
 ship and the imitation of foreign potentates unduly swayed him, and he 
 occupied himself in war and conquest." 
 
 " And al Wathik ?" 
 
 I replied, " he walked in the ways of his father." 
 
 " And what of al Mutawakkil ?" 
 
 I said, " he was opposed to the course of conduct of all Mamun and 
 al Mua'tasim and al Wathik in the matter of religious belief, and prohibit- 
 ed contention and controversies and disputes and punished them, and he 
 commanded the reading and hearing of traditions, and forbade the doctrine 
 
[ 408 ] 
 
 A. F. 322. of the creation of the Kuran, wherefore the people loved him." Then he 
 A. D. 934. asked concerning the rest of the Caliphs, and I answered him in what 
 regarded them, and he said to me, " I have heard thy discourse, and it is as 
 if I saw the actors themselves." Then he arose and departed. 
 
 Al Masa'iidi says that al Kahir confiscated an immense amount of 
 property from Miinis and his followers, and when he was deposed and 
 blinded, he was asked for it, but he refused compliance, and he was tortured 
 in various ways, but would not confess anything. Then al Radhi bi'llah 
 took him and caused him to approach and brought him close and said to 
 him, " verily thou seest the demands of the army for money, and I possess 
 nothing and what thou hast, doth not profit thee, therefore confess where it 
 is." He replied — "well, if thou doest this,* why then the money 
 is buried in the garden." For he bad formerly laid out a garden in which 
 were trees of various kinds brought to him from the provinces and he had 
 embellished it and built therein a pavilion and ar Eadhi was much attached 
 to the garden and the pavilion, and he said, " in what part of it is the 
 treasure ?" He replied, " I am blind and cannot be a guide to the place 
 but dig up the garden and you will find it." Ar Eadhi dug up the garden, 
 and the foundations of the pavilion, and rooted up the trees but found 
 nothing, and he said to al Kahir *' where is the treasure ?" Al Kahir replied, 
 " have I any treasure ? my only regret was thy sitting in the garden and thy 
 enjoyment of it, and I therefore wished to grieve thee through its loss." 
 
 Ar Eadhi repented of what he had done and put him in prison where 
 he remained till the year 333 when they released him and left him at 
 liberty. He was standing one day in the mosque of al Mansur among 
 the ranks of the worshippers wearing a lined garment of white, when he 
 exclaimed — " Give me alms for I am one whom ye know :" and this was 
 in the reign of al Mustakfi and done in order to dishonour him. For this 
 he was forbidden to appear in public till he died in the year 339 on the 
 3rd Jumada I, {IHth October 950) at the age of three and fifty. The sons 
 he had were A'bdu's Samad, Abu'l Kasim, Abli'l Fadhl and A'bdu'l A'ziz. 
 
 Of persons of note who died in his reign were at Tahawi the Hana- 
 fite Shaykh, Ibn Durayd, Abu Hashim al JubbAi and others. 
 
 AR RADHI-BI'LLA'H. 
 
 Ar R4dhi-bi'lldh Abu'l A'bbds Muhammad the son of al Muktadir 
 was born in the year 297. His mother was a Greek slave concubine called 
 Dhaldm. He received the oath of allegiance on the day of the deposition 
 
 • I road with the MS. lit for lo. 
 
[ 4.09 ] 
 
 of al Kahir and he commanded Ibn Muklah to draw up a document con- A. H. 322. 
 taining the misdemeanour of al Kahir and to read it to the people. A. D. 934. 
 
 During the year of his Caliphate, that is 322 — died Mardawij* the 
 Daylamite chief in Ispahan. His power had growq great, and they say that 
 he even purposed marching against Baghdad, and that he cultivated the 
 friendship of the chief of the Magians — and he used to declare that he 
 vrould restore the Persian monarchy and annihilate the Arab power. 
 
 In the same year A'li-b-Buwayh sent to ar Eadhi proposing the 
 retention of the provinces he had conquered as a fief of the Caliphate on 
 the yearly payment of 800,000t dirhams. The Caliph therefore sent him 
 a standard and a robe of honour. Ibn Buwayh subsequently put off inde- 
 finitely the payment of the money. 
 
 During the same year died al Mahdi the ruler of Africa. His reign 
 was twenty-five years in duration. He was the ancestor of the Egyptian 
 Caliphs whom the vulgar call the Fatimites, because this al Mahdi claimed 
 to be a descendant of A'li, while in truth his ancestor was a Magian. 
 
 The Kddhi Abu Bakr al Bakilani says — " the grandfather of U'bayd- 
 u'llah surnamed al Mahdi was a Magian. U'baydu'llah entered Egypt and 
 gave out that he was a descendant of A'li, but none of the genealogists 
 would acknowledge him as such. He was a Batini — a reprobate, thirsting 
 to extirpate the religion of Islam. He got rid of the learned and the 
 jurisconsults that he might be able to seduce the people and his posterity 
 followed his example. They made wine-bibbing and fornication lawful 
 and disseminated heresy. After his death his son al Kaim bi'amri'Uah 
 Abu'l Kasim Muhammad succeeded him. In this year appeared Muham.. 
 mad-b-A'li al Shalmaghani known as Ibn Abi'l A'zakir.J It was reported 
 that he claimed divine power and raised the dead to life. He was put to 
 
 * According to Ibn. Ath. he was murdered by tbe Turks in his service iu"323. 
 He used to assert that the spirit of Solomon dwelt in him, and that the Turks were 
 devils who could be made submissive only by violent measures — which he consistently 
 resorted to. A little before his assassination, which was instigated by Tuztin who 
 became afterwards the commander-in-chief at Baghdad — he had made for himself a 
 golden throne on which he sat surrounded by his nobles on silver seats, and he wore a 
 crown of gold after the manner of the Khusroes. He purposed to rebuild Madaiu and the 
 palace of the Persian kings, and to have himself saluted as king of kings. Ibn Athir's 
 narrative wiU repay perusal. 
 
 t The MS. and text here have 800,000,000— but this sum would be equivalent to 
 about £20,000,000 sterling which is of course absurd. Ibn Ath. mentions that he 
 offered the Caliph a lump sum of a million dirhams (about £25,000) but says nothing 
 of an annual tribute. One ("-"■^O thousand — therefore omitted in the text would 
 bring the amount approximately to that mentioned by Ibn Ath. 
 
 J Ibn Khali, notices this individual in his Life of Ibn al Mukaffa, and says that 
 lie was burnt by fire and his disciple Ibn Abi A'un crucified after being beheaded. 
 52 
 
[ 410 ] 
 
 A. H. 322. death and crucified, and a number of his companions were put to death 
 
 A. D. 931. with him. In the same died Abu Jaa'far as Sajzi one of the chamberlains. 
 
 It is said that he reached the age of 140 and that a,ll his senses were in 
 
 sound condition. From, this year the pilgrimage to Mecca from Baghdad 
 
 ■was interrupted* until the year 327. 
 
 In the year 823 ar Radhi bi'Uah ruled in paramount authority and 
 conferred the east and west on his two sons Abu'l Fadhl and Abu Jaa'far. 
 
 During the same occurred the well known afEair of Ibn Shanabudf 
 and the recantation he was called upon to make regarding his unorthodox 
 reading of the Kurd,n, and his declaration that was taken down and that 
 in the presence of the Wazir Abu A'li-b-Muklah. 
 
 In the same year in Jumdda I, a violent storm blew in Baghdad — 
 the earth was darkened and the darkness continued from the afternoon till 
 sunset. 
 
 During the month of Du'l Kaa'dah of the same, the stars kept falling 
 all night with extraordinary frequency, the like of which has been never 
 recorded. 
 
 In the year 324 Muhammad-b-Raik governor of Wasit and its depen- 
 dencies obtained supreme predominance in the state. He issued orders 
 to the provinces, and the offices of the minister of state and of the con- 
 trollership of the public registers were abolished, and he and his scribes 
 took charge of the whole, and all monies were taken to him and the state 
 treasuries were abolished and ar Radhi remained with him as a mere phan- 
 tom, having nothing of the Caliphate but the name. In the year 325 
 affairs fell into great confusion. The provinces became a prey either to a 
 rebel that seized them or to a prefect who would not pay the state revenues, 
 and they became separate independent princes and nothing remained in the 
 possession of ar Radhi but Baghdad and the Sawad on account of the 
 hand of Ibn Rdik being upon him. J 
 
 * By the Carmathians. 
 
 + Abu'l Hasan Muhammad a famous reader of the ^uran, but whose readings 
 deviated from the received orthodox text. Ibn Khali gives various instances of his 
 misreadings, and adds that he was reported to be a man of little knowledge. When he 
 was being scourged by order of Ibn Muklah, he cursed him and prayed that God 
 would cause his hand to be out off which actually took place. He died at Baghdad 
 in 328 (939). 
 
 I Basrah appertained to Ibn Riik, Khuzistan was held by al Baridi, Fars by 
 Im4d u'd Dawlah Ibn Buwayh, Kirmau by Abu A'li Muljammad-b-u'l Tas, Eai, Ispa- 
 han and the mountainous districts were fought for by Rukn u'd Daulah another son of 
 Buwayh's and Washmagir brother of Mardawlj ; the Haradanites ruled in Mesopotamia, 
 the Ikshides in Syria and Egypt, the Fatimites in Africa, the Umayyads in Spain, the 
 Samanidos in Khurasan and the trans Oxus country, the Daylamites in Tabaristdn and 
 JurjAn and the Carmathians in Yemdmah and Ba\irayn. Such is the picture drawn by 
 Ibn Ath. of the now distracted Caliphate. 
 
[ 411 ] 
 
 When the power of the Caliphate in these times waxed feeble, and the A. H. 324. 
 pillars of the Abbaside dominion tottered to their fall, and the Carmathians A. D. 936. 
 and other heretics became supreme in the provinces, the spirit of the Amir 
 A'bdiir Eahmdn, the descendant of Umayyah and Marwan, ruler of Spain, 
 became emboldened, and he said, " I am the most worthy of men for the 
 Caliphate." He called himself prince of the Faithful, the Defender of the 
 religion of God. He held rule over the greater part of Spain. He 
 inspired great awe and carried on religious wars, and commanded military 
 expeditions, and possessed many eminent qualities, and he overthrew all 
 rivals, and captured seventy fortresses. There were thus three personages 
 calling themselves princes of the Faithful, the Abbaside at Baghdad, this 
 one in Spain, and al Mahdi at Cyrene. 
 
 In the year 326 Bahkam* rose against Ibn Edik and prevailed over 
 him and Ibn Rdik concealed himself. Bahkam entered Baghdad and ar 
 Eadhi received him with honour, raised him in dignity and gave him iihe 
 title of Amir u'l Umara and invested him with the government of 
 Baghdadrand Khurasan. 
 
 tn the year 327, Abu A'li Omar-b-Yabya, the descendant of A'li, wrote 
 to the Carmathian leader with whom he was on friendly terms, soliciting 
 him to open the road free to pilgrims, and that he would give him five 
 dinars for every camel. Permission was accorded and the people perform- 
 ed the pilgrimage, and this was the first year that mail was levied from 
 pilgrims. 
 
 In the year 828, Baghdad was swamped by a terrible inundation, so 
 that the rise of the water reached nineteen cubits and men and animals 
 were drowned and houses destroyed. 
 
 In the year 329, ar Eadhi fell ill and died in the month of Eabii' I,t 
 at the age of thirty-one and a half. He was beneficent, liberal and accom- 
 plished, skilful in versifying, eloquent and a patron of men of learning, 
 and a collection has been made of his poetry. He heard traditions from al 
 Baghawi and others. Al Khatib observes that some notable particu- 
 larities distinguish him ; among these — that he was the last of the- Caliphs 
 whose verses were collected together, and the last of the Caliphs who 
 
 * Or Bajkam. He was a Turk and originally a slave of the Daylamite "Wazira 
 and afterwards of the Daylamite prince Makan under whom he commanded a troop of 
 horse. He afterwards served under Mardawij, and eventually offered his services to 
 the Caliph, and Ibn Raik called him with his Turkish and Daylamite following to 
 Baghdad. See Weil, p. 664. 
 
 + A'bu'l Fida and Ibn Ath. have Eabii' I. Weil gives one authority that writes 
 Kabii' II, but as he justly observes, this date does not coincide with the duration of ar 
 Eadhi's reign which was 6 years 10 months, and (according to Ibn Ath.) ten days. 
 Abu'l Fida makes him 32 years old, Ibn Ath. 33 and some months. They both say 
 that he died in the middle of the month which would be about (18th Deo. 940). 
 
[ 412 ] 
 
 A. H. 329. undertook the sole direction of the army and the finances, the last who 
 
 A. D. 940. preached on Fridays, and the last who sat with boon companions. His 
 
 largesses and his state surroundings were after the manner of the former 
 
 Caliphs, and he was the last of the Caliphs who journeyed in the fashion of 
 
 his predecessors. 
 
 Among his verses are the following — • 
 " All that is pure tends to defilement* 
 And all things to decay. 
 And the march of youth towards 
 Death — is in death or affliction. 
 May hoariness be abundant 
 As a monitor to warn mortals. 
 O thou who entertainest hope and 
 Art confounded in an ocean of deception, 
 Where are they that were before us ? 
 Their forms and traces have disappeared. 
 O God, pardon my sin, 
 Thou who art the best of those who pardon." 
 
 Abu'l Hasan-b-Zarkuyah relates on the authority of Isma'il al Kha- 
 tabi,t that he said : " Ar Eadhi sent for me on the eve of the close of the 
 Eamadhan fast. I went to him and he said, 'O Isma'il, I purpose 
 to-morrow to pray before the people— what shall I say when I come to 
 the supplication for myself ?' I looked down in thought for a little 
 while, and I exclaimed, 'say, O prince of the Faithful! "O Lord excite 
 me, that I may be thankful for thy favour wherewith thou hast favoured 
 me and my parents," ' &c., (Kur. XXVII). He replied, ' that will suffice.' 
 Afterwards a servant followed me and gave me four hundred dinars." 
 
 Of people of note who died in his reign were : Niftawayh, Ibn 
 Mujahid the Kuran reader, Ibn Kas the Hanafite, Ibn Abi Hatim, Mabra- 
 mdn, Ibn Abd Kabbih author of the IkdJ (necklace) ai Istakhari, the 
 Shafi'ite Shaykh, Ibn Shanabud, Abu Bakr al Anbari and others. 
 
 * Itn Ath. and Abu'l Fida give these verses with variants. 
 
 t I cannot find this name in Ibn Khali : both the MS. and text have ^s^, a form 
 I have not before met — it should be, perhaps trH''^ or ijJl'ti. 
 
 j See his Ufe in Ibn Khali. The I'kd" contains m"uch important information on 
 the manners of ancient Arabs of which some extracts have been given by M. Fresnel 
 
[ 413 ] 
 
 A TT ^29 
 AL MTJTTAKI LI'LLA'H. A. D. 940. 
 
 Al Muttaki li'Uah Abu Ishak Ibrahim was the son of al Muktadir. 
 He was acknowledged Caliph on the death of his brother ar Radhi, being 
 thirty-four years old. His mother was a slave girl called Khaliib or as 
 some say, Zuhrah. He never made any changes in his establishment nor 
 secretly visited a female slave that he had. He used to fast and pray 
 much, and he never drank wine, and he used to say, " I need no boon 
 companion but the Kurdn." He had nothing of authority but the name, 
 and the administration was in the hands of Ibn* A'bdu'llah Ahmad-b-A'li al 
 KM the secretary of Bahkam. In this year the green dome of the city of 
 Mansiirf which was the crown of Baghdad and a memorial of the House of 
 A'bbas, fell in. It was one of the edifices erected by Mansiir. Its heiglit 
 was eighty cubits, and below it was a hall, its length twenty cubits by twenty 
 cubits, and over it was the statue of a horseman with a spear in his hand, 
 and when he turned facing towards any direction, it was known that a 
 rebel had risen up in that quarter. The summit of this dome fell in during 
 a night of rain and thunder. 
 
 In this year Bahkam J the Turk was slain and Kurtakin the Daylamite 
 succeeded him in the office of Amir u'l Umara. Al Muttaki took posses- 
 sion of the treasures of Bahkam that were in Baghdad and they were more 
 than a million dinars. Subsequently in this year Ibn Eaik obtained 
 predominance and fought Kurtakin at Baghdad. § Kurtakin was routed 
 and he concealed himself while Ibn Raik became Chief Amir in his place. 
 
 In 330 there occurred a scarcity in Baghdad so that a " kur" of wheat 
 fetched 316 dinars. Distress was in consequence very severe and people fed 
 on corpses, and it was a famine the like of which had never been seen in 
 Baghdad. 
 
 During the same year Abu'l Husayn A'li Ibn Muhammad al Baridi|| 
 
 * AM A'tdu'Uali. Ibn Ath. 
 
 t Baghdad, because built by bim. Yaktit, on the authority of al Khatib, men- 
 tions the horseman that stood on it, and -which pointed in the direction of any rebellion 
 as it occurred, — but adds that he considers it a most preposterous falsehood. Neither 
 the dome nor the horseman existed when Ibn Batutah visited it about 1330 A. D. 
 Let the horseman with his spear be considered — -what it may have been — a simple 
 weather-cook, and the wonder vanishes, for from " a' the airts the wind can blaw" 
 came daily tidings of disaster and rebellion. 
 
 X During a hunting excursion he came upon a troop of Kurds who had amassed 
 considerable plunder. He followed them up, and in the mel^e he was fallen upon 
 from behind and transfixed with a spear. Ibn Ath. 
 
 § This engagement took place according to Ibn Ath, at U'kbarah, a town on the 
 Tigris ten parasangs from Baghdad. 
 
 II Not Yazidi as in the text. The family of Baridi were masters of Khuzistan 
 during ar Ead^i's reign. 
 
[ 414 ] 
 
 A. H. 330. raised the standard of revolt and the Caliph and Ibn Eaik set out to 
 A. D. 941-2. engage him, but they were defeated and fled to Mosal, and Baghdad and 
 the royal palace were sacked. 
 
 When the Caliph arrived at Takrit he found there Sayf u'd Daulah 
 Abu'l Hasan A'li-b-Abdi'Uah-b-Hamdan and his brother al Hasan. Ibn Kaik 
 was treacherously assassinated, and the Caliph appointed al Hasan-b-Hamdan 
 to his office and gave him the title of Nasir u'd Daulah (^Defender of the 
 State) and to his brother a robe of honour and surnamed him Sayf u'd 
 Daulah, {The Sword of the State). He then returned to Baghdad accom. 
 panied by these two, upon which al Baridl fled to Wasit. Subsequently 
 advices arrived in the month of Du'l Kaa'dah that al Baridi was marching 
 on Baghdad, whereupon the people were alarmed and the principal men of 
 Baghdad fled. The Caliph set forth in order to be with Nasir u'd Daulah, 
 while Sayf u'd Daulah marched to meet al Baridi.* A desperate engagement 
 took place between the two near Madain. Al Baridi was defeated and 
 returned in disheartened mood to Wasit. Sayf u'd Daulah pushed on to 
 Wasit and al Baridi retreated to Basrah. 
 
 In the year 331 the Byzantines made a raid as far as Arzan, Mayya- 
 farikin and Nisibin and slaughtered and took prisoners. Then they 
 demanded the handkerchief preserved in the church of Edessa with which 
 they believe the Messiah to have wiped his face by which its image was 
 impressed upon it, engaging in turn to release all those they had taken 
 captive. It was sent to them and the prisoners were set free. 
 
 During the same, the nobles of Wasit rose against Sayf u'd Daulah who 
 fled on relays of post horses making for Baghdad. His brother Nasir u'd 
 Daulah then set out for Mosal in fear on account of the flight of his 
 brother. Tuzunf left Wasit and marched on Baghdad from which Sayf u'd 
 Daulah had fled to Mosal. Tuziin entered Baghdad in Ramadhan and al 
 Muttaki presented him with a robe of honour and appointed him chief of 
 the Amirs. Soon afterwards there fell a mutual distrust between al 
 Muttaki and Tuziin. Tiizdn sent Abu Jaa'far-b-Shirzad from Wasit to 
 Baghdad which he governed {in TuzAn^s absence) issuing his commands and 
 prohibitions. Al Muttaki then wrote to Ibn Hamdan to come to him, 
 who advanced at the head of a considerable force. Ibn Shirzad concealed 
 himself and al Muttaki and his family set out for Takrit and Ndair u'd 
 Daulah moved forward with a large army consisting of Arabs and Kurds 
 to engage Tuzun. The two armies met at U'kbaraJ and Ibn Hamdan and 
 
 • Several consecutive engagements took place continuing for some days in one 
 of which Sayf u'd Daulah was worsted. He was reinforced by his brother and suc- 
 ceeded in routing al Baridi. 
 
 t See note • , p. 409. 
 
 % Us Suyuti seems in error here and is confusing this engagement with that 
 between Ibn Rdilf and Kurtakin (p. 413) . Ibn Ath. says that a series of actions between 
 
[ 415 ] 
 
 the Caliph retreated in disorder to Mosal. A second engagement after- A. H. 331. 
 ■wards took place and Ibn Hamdan and the Caliph fled to Nisibin, upon A. D. 94'2-3. 
 which the Caliph wrote to al Ikhshid* the ruler of Egypt to come to him. 
 Subsequently he received at the hands of the House of Hamddn much 
 annoyance and vexation upon which he proposed a reconciliation with 
 Tiiziin who consented and confirmed his words by oath. Later al Ikhshid 
 repaired to al Muttaki who was at Eakkah and the news of the reconcilia- 
 tion with Tuzun having already reached him, he said, " Prince of the 
 Faithful, I am thy slave, and verily I know the Turks and their evil deeds 
 and their treachery — then the Lord protect thee — come with me to Egypt 
 for it is thine and be in safety for thy person." He would not however 
 consent, and al Ikhshid returned to his dominions, and al Muttaki set out 
 from Eakkah to Baghdad on the 4th of Muharram, 438. Tiizun went 
 forth to meet him and they met between Anbar and Hit. Tdziin dismounted 
 and kissed the ground, and al Muttaki commanded him to remount, but he 
 would not do so and walked on foot before him to the camp he had pitched 
 for him. When the Caliph alighted, Tiizun seized him together with Ibn 
 Muklah and those that were with him. Shortly after he blinded the 
 Caliph with a hot iron, and he was taken into Baghdad with his eyes seared, 
 his ring mantle and sceptre having been taken from him. Ttiz\3n 
 then sent for A'bdu'llah the son of al Muktafi and swore allegiance 
 to him as Caliph and he was surnamed al Mustakfi bi'llah (contenting ^ 
 
 himself with God). Then the blinded Muttaki swore him allegiance and 
 thus testified to his own abdication on the 20th of Muharram, or as it is Said 
 of Safar.t (I2th October, 944). 
 
 When he was blinded, al Kahir (the deposed Oaliph) said — 
 " I and Ibrahim {al Muttaki) are two blind old men. 
 
 There must be to the two old men but one common end. 
 
 As long as Tuziin holds sway 
 
 Which is implicitly obeyed, the blinding iron will be in the chafing 
 dish."J 
 
 Nasir u'd Daulah and Ibn Hamdan took place during three days at 2 parasangs below. 
 Takrit and Takrit is 30 parasangs from Baghdad and therefore 20 from TJ'kbara. 
 
 * This family was descended from the princes of Farghanah. The Caliph al 
 Mua'tasim bi'llah drew into his service a number of soldiers from Farghanah among 
 whom was Juff, grandfather of Abu Bakr Muhammad al Ikhshid father of Tughj. See 
 Ibn Khali, and Abu'l Mahasin Nujum, Part I, page 251. Of Tulun and Ikhshid, 
 Gibbon says, " The founders of these two potent dynasties confessed either in words or 
 actions the vanity of ambition. The first on his death-bed implored the mercy of God 
 to a sinner ignorant of tlfe limits of his own power : the second in the midst of 400,000 
 soldiers and 8,000 slaves concealed from every human eye the chamber where he 
 attempted to sleep." Chap. LII. Ikhshid signifies according to Abu'l Mahasin, king of 
 kings in the Farghanian tongue. 
 
 t AH the other authorities give the latter date. 
 
 X The MS. has j*^ for ,/♦?■* which is perhaps a better reading. 
 
[ 416 ] 
 
 A. H. 333, But a year did not elapse before Tuzdn died. As for al Muttaki, he 
 A. D. 944. was conveyed to an island opposite Sindiyyah* where he was imprisoned. 
 He remained in prison twenty-five years till his death in Shaa'bdn 357. 
 In the reign of al Muttaki lived Hamdi the robber to whom Ibn Shirzad 
 when he governed Baghdad accorded the license of robbing therein on the 
 payment to him of 25,000 dinars a month. f He used to fall unawares 
 upon the houses of the people with torches and lights and carry off their 
 property. Iskuraj the Daylamite who held the post of chief of police in 
 Baghdad, caught him and sawed him in half, and this in the year 332. 
 
 Of distinguished persons who died during the reign of al Muttaki J were 
 Abu Yakiib an Nahrjuri one of the disciples of Junayd, the Kadhi Abu 
 A'bdi'llah al Mahamali, Abu Bakr al Farghani the Sdfi, the Hafidh Abu'l 
 'Abbas-h-A'kadah, Ibn Wallad the grammarian and others. 
 
 When al Kahir heard that al Muttaki was blinded, he said, " We are 
 now two, needing a third," — and so it turned out, for al Mustakfi was also 
 blinded. 
 
 AL MUSTAKFI BI'LLAH. 
 
 Al Mustakfi bi'Uah Abu'l Kasim A'bdu'Uah was the son of al Muktafi- 
 b-u'l Mua'tadhid. His mother was a slave concubine called Amlah u'n Nas 
 {the most beautiful of manlcind). He was acknowledged Caliph on the 
 deposal of al Muttaki in the month of Safar 333 at the age of forty-one. 
 During his reign Tuzun died. His secretary Abu Jaa'far-b-Shirzad was 
 with him at the time and he thereupon sought the viceroyalty for 
 himself and obtained the concurrence of the army, and the Caliph invested 
 him with a robe of honour. Subsequently Ahmad-b-Buwayh entered 
 Baghdad and Ibn Shirzdd concealed himself, and Ibn Buwayh entered the 
 palace. The Caliph stood before him and gave him a robe of honour and 
 the title of Mui'zz u'd Daulah and his brother A'li that of I'mad u'd Daulah, 
 and their brother al Hasan that of Rukn u'd Daulah and engraved their 
 
 • Sindiyyah was a village situated on the Isa Canal between Anbar and Baghdad. 
 Ya:kut. 
 
 t Ibn Hamdi, according to Ibn Ath., who places the hush-money at 15,000 dinars. 
 The name of the prefect of police he gives as Abu'l A'bb£s. The terrible scarcity then 
 prevailing at Baghdad, and the heavy and incessant rains had half depopulated the city. 
 Private houses and public edifices, mosques, baths and palace's had fallen into ruin, and 
 were abandoned by the famishing people. 
 
 t Daring this reign the Eussians made their first appearance in Arab history. 
 They sailed down the Kur and attacked and took the town of Bardaai on the confines 
 of Aiarbijfin in 332. They put to death a great number of the inhabitants, but were 
 afterwards expelled by the Daylamite general. 
 
[ 417 ] 
 
 titles on the coinage. Al Mustakfi took for himself the title of the Imam A. H. 333, 
 of the Truth, and caused this to be struck on the coinage. Mui'zz u'd A. D. 914. 
 Daulah now waxed in power. He placed the Caliph under ward and- 
 appointed for him every day by way of maintenance five thousand dirhams 
 and no more. He was the first of the Daylamites who was supreme in 
 I'rak. He was the first who exhibited trials of speed ietween runners in 
 Baghdad and unduly encouraged wrestlers and swimmers, wherefore the 
 youth of Baghdad gave themselves up to learning to wrestle and to 
 swim, so that a swimmer would swim holding in his hand a chafing 
 dish upon which was a vessel, and he would swim until the meat in 
 it was cooked. After a time Mu'izz u'd Daulah began to suspect al 
 Mustakfi, and he visited him in Jumada II of the year 834. He 
 stood in waiting and the people were likewise standing according to 
 their degrees when two of the Daylamites stepped forward towards the 
 Caliph, who stretched forth his hand thinking that they wished to kiss it, 
 but they pulled him from his throne and threw him on the ground and 
 dragged him by his turban, and the Daylamites thronged through the 
 palace into the Harem and plundered it until nothing was left therein. 
 Mu'izz u'd Daulah repaired to his own residence and they drove al Mustakfi 
 on foot to him and he was deposed and his eyes seared on the same day 
 (22nd Jumada, II 334 = 29th January, 946). His Caliphate lasted a 
 year and four months, and they summoned al Fadhl the son of al Muktadir 
 and swore allegiance to him. Then they brought forward his cousin al 
 Mustakfi who acknowledged him as Caliph and testified to his own abdica- 
 tion. He was then imprisoned till he died in the year 338 at the age of 
 forty-six. He professed the Shiite doctrines. 
 
 AL MUTri' BI'LLA'H. 
 
 Al Mutii' bi'llah Abu'l Kasim al Fadhl was the son of aH Muktadir. 
 His mother was a slave concubine called Mashghalah. He was born in the 
 year 301 and was acknowledged Caliph on the abdication of al Mustakfi in 
 Jumada II, 334, and Mu'izz u'd Daulah .appointed him a stipend of but 
 one hundred dinars a day. In this year of his Caliphate the scarcity in 
 Baghdad became excessive, so that men ate corpses and ordure and died by 
 the roadside and the dogs devoured their flesh. An estate was given in 
 exchange for loaves of bread, and among the very destitute, children were 
 found roasted ^r/oo^. A " kur" of flour was purchased for Mu'izz ud 
 Daulah at 20,000 dirhams* and a " kur" is equivalent to seventeen kintars- 
 of Damascus. 
 
 * This would be about £42 a bushel. 
 58 
 
[ 418 ] 
 
 H. 334. ' During this year a dissension arose between Mu'izz u'd Daulah and 
 D. 946. Ndsir u'd Daulah-b-Hamddn and Mu'izz u'd Daulah ni9.rched to engage 
 -Nasir taking al Mutii' with him. He afterwards returned accompanied by 
 al Mutii' almost as a prisoner. 
 
 During the same, died al Ikshid, ruler of Egypt, Muhammad-b-Tughj* 
 al Farghani, and the meaning of al Ikshid is ting of kings, and this was 
 the title of each prince of Farghdnah, as al Isbahhadt is the title of 
 every prince of Tabaristan, and Sul of the prince of Jurjan, and Khakan of 
 the chief of the Turks, and IfhshinJ that of the prince of Ushrrisanah, and 
 Sdmdn of the prince of Samarkand. Al Ikshid was brave and awe-inspir- 
 ing. He governed Egypt on the part of al Kahir (A. ff. 321). He had 
 eight thousand slaves and was the master of Kafu.r.§ 
 
 During the same, died al Kaim al U'baydi, ruler of the West, and ho 
 was succeeded by his son and heir Isma'il al Mansur bi'Uah. Al Kaim was 
 more wicked than his father, an accursed Zindik who openly reviled the 
 prophets. His criers used to call out — " Curse the Cave|| and what it con- 
 tained" and he put to death many of the learned. 
 
 In the year 335 Mu'izz u'd Daulah renewed protestations of mutual 
 confidence with al Mutii', freed him from close ward and lodged him in 
 the palace once more. 
 
 In the year 838, Mu'izz u'd Daulah solicited permission to associate 
 with him in his government his brother A'li-b-Buwayh I'mad u'd Daulah 
 in order that he might eventually succeed him, to which al Mutii' consent- 
 ed, but it so happened that I'mdd u'd Daulah died the same year, upon which 
 al Mutii' appointed Eukn u'd Daulah the father of Adhud u'd Daulah. 
 
 In the year 339 the Black Stone was restored to its place and a silver 
 band was fixed to it to secure it,^ its weight being 3777 dirhams and a half. 
 
 * Not Tufj as in the text. His life will be found in Ibn Khali. 
 
 t The text has Isbahand : Ahu'l Mah&sin from whom this information is pro- 
 bably taken, writes the word labahbad, and this is confirmed by the words of Yakut. 
 •JAjA-o J)t AJ^-J J %j . ^jijJ, uv^l ^J'^ '^JIS' J 
 
 J So Abu'l Mahdsin : though the word in the Leyden edition is printed Afshint 
 the Muntaha'l Arab points it as I have done. The Ikshin of the text must be incor- 
 rect. 
 
 § Abu'l Misk {father of Musk) Kdfur (camphor) was a negro slave sold to Muljam- 
 mad al Ikshid, by whom he was appointed guardian of his two sons, upon whose death 
 he virtuUy succeeded to supreme power. Ibn Khali. 
 
 II Meaning Muhammad and Abu Bakr who took refuge in a cave on their flight 
 to Medina. 
 
 f Ibn Batutah says that the Stone is in four pieces, having been broken by the 
 Carmathians. According to Burton, it appears to be composed ol a dozen small stones 
 of different sizes joined together as if the whole had been broken to pieces by a violent 
 blow and then reunited. The silver band was afterwards changed into a massive arch 
 of gold or silver gilt. Consult Burton's Mecca. 
 
[ 419 ] 
 
 Muhammad-b-Nafi' al Khuzaa'i says, " I looked carefully at the Black A. H. 339. 
 Stone when it was dug up, the blackness was only on the surface, the whole A. D. 950. 
 of it being white beneath,* and its length was about the measure of a 
 cubit." 
 
 In the year 341 a sect of metempsychosists appeared, and among them 
 a youth who asserted that the soul of A'li had passed into him, and his 
 wife who pretended that the soul of Fatima had entered her, and another 
 who gave out that he was Gabriel. They were scourged but they gloried in 
 their kinship with the Prophetical House, wherefore Mu'izz u'd Daulah 
 ordered them to be released through his partiality to the people of the 
 House, and this was one of his accursed deeds. 
 
 In the same year died al Mansdr al U'baydi the ruler of the West at 
 Mansuriyah which he had founded. He was succeeded by his son and heir 
 Saa'd in the government and surnamed Mu'izz li din'illdh (the glorijier of 
 the religion of Qod). He it was who founded Cairo. Al Mansur succeed- 
 ing his father, displayed benevolence of disposition, for he put down 
 oppressions and the people loved him. His son too was of an amiable 
 character and the West acknowledged his undisputed sway. 
 
 In the year 343 the prince of Khurasan named al Mutii' in the khut- 
 bah, before which time the khutbah had not been read in his name. Upon 
 this al Mutii' sent him a standard and a robe of honour. 
 
 In the year 344, old Cairo was convulsed by a dreadful earthquake 
 which overthrew houses, lasting for three hours and the people called out 
 to the Lord in supplication. In the year 346 the sea sunk eighty cubits, 
 and there appeared within it hills and islands and things such as had never 
 been beheld. 
 
 About Eai and its dependencies occurred a dreadful earthquake. . The 
 town of at Talikan sunk into the earth, and there escaped of its inhabitants 
 only about thirty persons, and one hundred and fifty of the villages of Rai 
 were swallowed up. The calamity extended as far as Hulwan, the greater 
 part of which was engulfed and the earth vomited up the bones of the 
 dead, and waters burst forth from it. A mountain in Bai was cleft 
 asunder, and a village with its inhabitants was suspended between heaven 
 and earth during the half of a day, then it was swallowed up. The earth 
 was rent in a mighty chasm and fetid waters came forth from it and 
 volumes of smoke. This is the narration of Ibn u'l Jauzi. 
 
 In the year 347, the earthquakes recurred at Kumm and Hulwan and 
 jn the mountainous districts, and great numbers of people perished, and 
 locusts came and overspread the earth and settled upon all the crops and 
 the trees. 
 
 In the year 350 Mu'izz u'd Daulah built in Baghdad a vast stupen- 
 
 * See Burton, p. 159, note. 
 
[ 420 ] 
 
 A. H. 350. dous palace, its foundations being thirty-six cubits deep in the earth.* 
 A. D. 961. During the same, he invested with the office of Kadhi, Abu'l A'bbas A'bdu'l- 
 lah-b-Hasan-b-Abi's Shawarib, who rode wearing the robe of honour from the 
 palace of Mu'izz u'd Daulah preceded bj drums and trumpets and accom- 
 panied by the troops, and he undertook to convey every year to the treasury 
 of Mu'izz u'd Daulah two hundred thousand dirhams writing a judicial 
 record to that effect, but al Mutii' refused to invest him and to allow him 
 audience, andf he commanded that he should not be authorized on any 
 occasion to have access to him. 
 
 During the same, Mu'izz u'd Daulah' farmed the offices of market 
 inspector and chief of police in Baghdad, and all this was after an indisposi- 
 tion from which he suffered and was restored to health — but may God not 
 preserve him from punishment for his sins. During the same, the Byzan- 
 tines took the island of Crete from the Muslims which had been conquered 
 by the latter about the year 230. J 
 
 In the same year died the ruler of Spain an Nasir li dini'llah {Defender ' 
 of the religion of Ood) and was succeeded by his son al Hakim. 
 
 In the year 351, the Shiites wrote upon the doors of the mosques 
 " Curse upon Mu'awiyah and cursed be he who took from Fatima her right 
 to Fadak § and upon those who forbade al Hasan to be buried with his 
 grandfather, and a curse upon him who banished Abu Parr."|| This was 
 however rubbed out in the night. Mu'izz u'd Daulah wished to re-inscribe 
 it, but his minister al Muhallabi suggested that he should write in place 
 of what had been effaced, " May God curse the oppressors of the family 
 of the apostle of God," and they particularized Mu'awiyah alone in the 
 
 • The cost of this was 13,000,000 dirhams, about £3,25,000 a great part of 
 which he extorted from his followers. He was at this time suffering from gravel and 
 he supposed that a lofty house and purer air would benefit him. Ibn Ath. 
 
 t This word ' and' ( J ) should be inserted in the text, as it stands in the MS. 
 
 J This would make it in the reign of al Wathik, whereas it was taken by the 
 Arabs under Abu Hafs Omar-b-Isa al Andalusi surnamed the Cretan, in the Caliphate 
 of al Mamun A. H. 210, and in the reign of Michael the Stammerer (A. D. 823). It 
 was retaken by Nioephorus Phooas, according to Yakut in the 13th of Muharram 350 
 (It/i March 961). Ibn Ath. is incorrect in giving the year as 351. 
 
 § She gave out that it had been granted to her as a marriage portion by Muljam- 
 mad, but the shrewd Abu Bakr needed some further testimony than her own word. 
 
 II Othman. Mu'awiyah induced that Caliph to recall Abu Darr from Syria to 
 Medina for inciting the people to give alms in larger proportion than was legally incum- 
 bent upon them. Othman reproved him for this and Ka'ab al Aljbar interfering in the 
 discussion, the hasty Abu Darr smote him for a meddling Jew, and requested the Caliph's 
 leave to retire from men ; he was permitted to select Rabatjah three miles from 
 Medina on the Hijaz road. See Tabari, Zoteuberg, Tom III, p. 667, 
 
t 421 ] 
 
 In the year 352 on the 10th day of the Muharram, Mu'izz u'd Daulah A. H. 352. 
 forced the people to close the market-places and forhade the cooks from A. D. 963. 
 cooking. They set up cupolas in the public squares and hung sackcloths 
 over them, and they made the women come forth with dishevelled hair, 
 beating their breasts and mourning for al Husayn. This was the first day 
 in which lamentation had been made over him in Baghdad, and this innova- 
 tion continued for some years. On the 12th of Du'l Hijjah of the same 
 was held the festival of Ghadir Khumm* and drums were beaten. 
 
 During this year one of the Arman Chiefs sent to Na§ir u'd Daulah- 
 b-Hamdan, twins coupled together, their age being twenty-five. The junc- 
 tion was at the side and they had two bellies and two navels and two 
 stomachs. Their times of hunger and thirst &c. were different. Each had 
 two palms, two arms, two hands, two thighs, and two shanks. One of them 
 died and so remained for days, while his brother was yet living and he 
 began to putrefy. Na?ir u'd Daulah assembled the physicians to decide 
 if they were able to sever the dead from the living, which they could not do. 
 Soon after he who was alive, sickened from the smell of the dead and died. 
 
 In the year 353 a vast tent was made for Sayf u'd Daulah, the height 
 of its poles being fifty cubits. In the year 354 died the sister of Mu'izz u'd 
 Daulah, and al Mutii' went down to his residence in a fast sailing boat, 
 to condole with him. Mu'izz u'd Daulah went forth to meet him but would 
 not put him to the inconvenience of leaving the boat, but kissed the earth 
 several times before him and the Caliph returned to his palace. 
 
 During the same, Nicephorusf {JPhocas) Emperor of Eome fortifiedj 
 •Cesarea near the frontier towns of the Muslims, and took up his abode in 
 it that he might pursue his depredations at all seasons. 
 
 In the year 356, Mu'izz u'd Daulah died and his son Bakhtyar suc- 
 ceeded him in his government and al Mutii' surnamed him I'zz u'd Daulah. 
 
 In the year 357, the Carmathians seized Damascus, § and during it 
 no one made the pilgrimage either from Syria or from Egypt. They 
 
 * Gliadir is a valley between Mecca and Medina wherein is a pool (Ghadir) where 
 Muhammad once preached. See the various derivations of this name in Yakut. The 
 discourse of this occasion -was in favour of A'li. According to Weil this festival was 
 on the 18th and according to Abu'l Fida on the 8th of Du'l Hijjah. 
 
 t The text has 'Jacoh'. Ihn Ath. Nakfur, which is Nicephorna Arabecized. 
 Beiske (Ahu'l Fed.) gives the name in fuU. 
 
 J The word is '^ which cannot mean "founded" as Cesarea was one of the 
 conquests of Omar, 19 A. H. The words of Ihn Ath. are <^iA« *Jj'"Ht^J ^^. " he 
 built near or at Cesarea, a town," &c. 
 
 § From the Fatimite General Jaa'far-b-Falah who was acting under the orders 
 of Jauhar the Commander-in-Chief of the African Caliph Mu'izz. The Carmathians 
 pressed on against Cairo, but reinforcements sent to Jauhar enabled him to hold it and 
 the aUiance of the Carmathian was bought by the prudent policy of Mu'izz. 
 
[ 422 ] 
 
 A. H. 357. then determined to march to old Cairo and take possession of it ; but the 
 A. D. 968. U'baydites came and mastered it, and the heretic rule was supreme in the 
 countries of the West, and in Egypt and Syria. And this because when 
 Kafiir al Ikshidi died, affairs fell into disorder and the largesses to the 
 troops diminished, whereupon a faction wrote to al Mu'izz (the Fatimite 
 Caliph) solicting from him a force in order that they might surrender old 
 Cairo to him. He sent his f reedman Jauhar,* al Ka'id (the generallisgimo) 
 at the head of one hundred thousand horsemen, who took possession of it. 
 He encamped at the spot which is now Cairo and traced out its position 
 and built a palace for al Mu'izz now known as al Kasrayn. He abolished the 
 khutbah for the House of A'bbas, and the wearing of black, and 
 caused the preachers to wear white, and he commanded that in the khutbah 
 should be said, " O God, bless Muhammad the chosen, and A'li the accepted, 
 and Fatima the virgin, and al Hasan and al Husayn the grandsons of the 
 Apostle, and bless the Imams the predecessors of the prince of the 
 Faithful al Mu'izz billah." All this took place in the month of Shaa'- ' 
 ban 358. 
 
 Afterwards in Eabii' II of the year 359 they introduced into the call 
 to prayers, at old Cairo — " Hasten to an excellent work,"t and they began 
 the construction of the principal mosque of al Azhar (the splendid) and 
 completed it in Kamadhan 361. And in the year 359 a huge meteor fell 
 in I'rak by which the whole country was illumined as though it were with 
 the rays of the sun, and after its fall was heard a sound like a peal of 
 thunder. 
 
 In the year 360 the callers to prayer in Damascus introduced into the 
 call to prayers, " Hasten to an excellent work" by command of Jaa'far-b- 
 Falah the prefect of al Mu'izz bi'Uah at Damascus and no one dared to 
 oppose it. 
 
 In the year 362 Bakhtyar exacted money from al Mutii', who said, 
 " I have nothing of sovereignty left now but the khutbah in my name 
 and if ye desire it, I will abdicate," but he pressed him so that he sold his 
 own furniture and gave him 400,000 dirhams, and it was bruited about on 
 men's tongues that the Caliph had been mulcted. 
 
 During the same, one of the attendants of the Police MagistrateJ at 
 
 * Ibn Khali may be consulted for the life of this General. 
 ^ t The -words of the A dan after the invocation of the Deity Muhammad are — 
 C i.* ^_ja. %jl^{JiB j^a. "hasten to prayers— hasten to the attainment of ever- 
 lasting life," to which were added the words in the context, used by the Shiiahs to this 
 day. 
 
 t The text should have "Wali {{Jh ) as in the MS. which term is equivalent to 
 the Sdhib u'l Maunat which Ibn Ath. employs. This conflagration according to the 
 latter took place at Karklj and 30 mosques wore burnt down. 
 
[ 423 ] 
 
 Baghdad was killed, whereupon the Wazir Abu'l Fadhl as Shirazi sent A. H. 862, 
 
 people to throw inflammable materials from the quarter of the copper- a. D. 973. 
 
 smiths to that of the fish-mongers, and a huge conflagration occurred, the 
 
 like of which had not been seen, and considerable property was burnt and 
 
 many people ^erM/te<? in their houses and in the baths. The Wazir died in 
 
 the same year — may God not have mercy upon him. In Eamadhan of this 
 
 year al Mu'izz entered old Cairo with the coffins of his ancestors. 
 
 In the year 263 al Mutii' invested with the office of Kadhi, Abu'l 
 Hasan Muhammad-b-Umm Shaybdn al Hashimi after his having de- 
 clined the office, and he stipulated for himself certain conditions. Among 
 them, that he should not receive any stipend for the judicial office, nor be 
 invested with a robe of honour, nor be petitioned regarding things which 
 were contrary to law. And he appointed for his secretary three hundred 
 dirhams monthly, and for his chamberlain one hundred and fifty, and to 
 the official at his gate, skilled in the division of inheritances, one hundred — 
 and to the treasurers of the judicial court and the assistants six hundred, 
 and he wrote him a charge which ran as follows : " This is what the 
 servant of God al Fadhl al Mutii'-li'llah prince of the Faithful, hath com- 
 missioned unto Muhammad-bSalih the Hdshimite what time he called him 
 to those things appertaining to the judicial office over which he hath 
 appointed him, among the dwellers in the city of peace, the city of al Mansiir 
 and the eastern city from the east side and the west side — and Kiifah — 
 and the districts watered by the Euphrates — and Wasit — and Karkhi — 
 and the course of the Euphrates and the Tigris — and the road to Khura- 
 san — and Hulwan, — and Karmisin,* and Diyar Mudaraf — and Diyar Ra- 
 bia'h — and Diyar Bakr — and Mosal — and the two sacred cities — and 
 Yaman — and Damascus — and Emessa — and the district of Kinassrin — and 
 al A'wasim — and Cairo — and Alexandria — and the province of Palestine — 
 and the Jordan and all their dependencies — and the supervision consequent 
 therefrom over such as he may prefer of the A'bbasides in Kiifah and the 
 districts watered by the Euphrates and their dependencies — and the duties 
 of the chief judicial office with which he hath invested him — and inquiry 
 into the condition of the judges — and the consideration of all that the 
 course of judicial decisions involves — in all the provinces and countries which 
 the empire comprehends and within which the Abbaside prerogative deter- 
 mines — and the maintaining of such whose method and conduct he approves, 
 and the removal of those whose character and disposition he reprehends — 
 watchful over private and public interests, embracing those of the faith 
 
 * Not Farmisin — as in tte text. The MS. is correct. 
 
 t This is the plain country to the east of the Euphrates towards Harran. The text 
 and MS. have^r*** without the diacritical points. For the limits of these three 
 Diyars, consult Yikdt. 
 
[ 424 ] 
 
 A. H. 363. and those tolerated under its protection, from the Caliph's knowledge that he 
 A. D. 974. is the chief of his house, of eminent continence of life, pure in his 
 faith and his trust — renowned for his virtue and stainless conduct — a 
 cynosure for his erudition and sagacity — acknowledged for his forbearance, 
 and intelligence — far removed from association with the base — clothed in 
 the most beauteous garment of virtue — the pure — the beloved — rejoicing 
 in supernatural serenity — learned in worldly affairs — cognizant of the things 
 which imperil the salvation to come. The Caliph hath enjoined him the 
 fear of God, for verily it is a covering shield — and that he should make the 
 Book of God his study in all that he does — and order his decisions and 
 decrees in accordance with it — his guide to which he should turn for aid, — 
 his prop upon which he must rely — and that he should take the law of the 
 apostle of God as the beacon to which he must advance — the exemplar 
 ■which he must follow — and that he should observe the consensus of teach- 
 ing and follow the orthodox Imams — and use his own discretionary faculties 
 in cases which are not found in the Book, the Law and the general concur- 
 rence of the faithful — and that he should summon to this Council those on 
 whose wisdom and judgment he can rely, and be the same in look and word 
 to two litigants when they come before him — and accord to both of them 
 of bis justice and his equity, so that the weak shall be secure from his 
 tyranny and the powerful despair of his partiality. He hath further 
 enjoined him to regard with solicitous affection his assistants and coadju- 
 tors, and those of bis supervisors and instrum.ents upon whom he relies, 
 withdrawing them from the evil adoption of reprehensible conduct and 
 checking any tendencies to unlawful gain," — and he continued a long dis- 
 course to the same effect. I here remark that the Caliphs used to nominate 
 the Kadhi resident within their metropolis, over the judicial service through- 
 out the whole of the territories and provinces under their sovereignty, and 
 the Kadhi would appoint as deputy under his authority whomsoever he 
 pleased in every district and in every town, and for this reason he was 
 entitled the Kadhi of the Kadhis, and no one was so named save such as 
 were thus distinguished, and others besides him were Kadhi simply 
 or Kadhi of such a town. But now-a-days in a simple town there are four 
 conjointly, and each of them called Kadhi of the Kadhis — and perhaps a 
 single one of the subordinates of the former ones had a jurisdiction twice 
 as large as any of the chief Kadhis now possesses, and indeed the chief 
 Kadhis then held a more extensive authority than is enjoyed by sovereigns 
 of this our time. 
 
 In this year, namely 363, al Mu^ii' was struck with paralysis and he 
 lost the power of speech. Sabuktagin, chamberlain of I'zz u'd Daulah 
 summoned him to abdicate and to resign the government to his son at 
 Tdii' li'Udh (ohedient to Ood). And this he did and made over the 
 
[ 425 ] 
 
 government to him on Thursday the 13th* of Du'l Kaa'dah {Uh August, A. H. 363. 
 974). The duration of the reign of al Mutii' was twenty-nine years and A. D. 974. 
 some months, and his abdication was attested by the Kadhi, Ibn Umm 
 Shayban. After his abdication he went by the name of the virtuous 
 Shaykh. 
 
 Ad Dahabi says that al Mutii' and his son were powerless in the hands 
 of the House of Buwayh, and the authority of the Caliphate continued to 
 decline until the accession of al Muktafi when it recovered a little, but 
 the sway of the heretical House of U'bayd in Egypt was pre-eminent and 
 their commands universally obeyed and their power contested the A'bba- 
 side sovereignty in their time. 
 
 Al Mutii' went to Wdsit with his son and there died in the month of 
 Muharram 364. Ibn Shahin remarks, " He voluntarily abdicated as far 
 as I can ascertain." Al Khatib relates a tradition on the authority of 
 Muhammad-b-Yusuf al Kattan through al Mutii' li'llih that Ahmad-b- 
 Hanbal said, " when the friends of a man die, he beomes humbled." 
 
 Of distinguished persons who died in the reign of Mutii' were al 
 Khirki the Hanbalite Shaykh, Abu Bakr as Shibli the Sufi, Ibn u'l Kadhi 
 the Shafi'ite Imam, Abu'r Raja al Uswani, Abu Bakr as Stili, al Haytham- 
 b-Kulayb as Shashi, Abu't Tayyib as Sa'Mki, Abu Jaa'far the coppersmith 
 and grammarian, Abu Nasr al Farabi, Abu IshAk al Marwazi the Shafi'ite 
 Imam, Abu'l Kasim az Zajjaji the grammarian, al Karkki the Hanafite 
 Shaj'kh, ad Dinawari author of the Majalisat {^Gonferenoe), Abu Bakr al 
 Dhaba'i, the Kddhi Abu'l Kasim at Tgniikhi, Ibn u'l Haddad author of 
 the Fariiu' {development of Law), Abu A'li-b-Abi Hurayrah one of the 
 most eminent of the Shafi'ite doctors, Abu Omar the devotee, al Masa'uJi 
 author of the Meadows of gold, Ibn Darastwayh, Abu A'li at Tabari the 
 first who wrote on controversy in the abstract, al Fakihi author of the 
 history of Mecca, al Mutanabbi the poet, Ibn Habb^n author of the Sahih, 
 Ibn Shaa'ban one of the Malikite elders, Abu A'li al Kali, and Abii'l Faraj 
 author of the Agbani. 
 
 AT TAII' LI'LLAH 
 
 At Tail' li'llah Abu Bakr A'bdii'l Karim was the son of al Mutii'. 
 His mother was a slave concubine called Hazar. His father abdicated in 
 his favour, he being forty-three years of age. He rode in procession 
 wearing the royal mantle accompanied by the troops and preceded by 
 
 * The text has 23rd, but this is an error. The MS. is in aco'ordance with. Ibn 
 Ath. who makes it the 13th. 
 54 
 
[ 426 ] 
 
 A.' H. 363* Subuktagin. On the following day he invested Subuktagin with the 
 A ■ D. 974. office of Sultdn, fastened for him a banner to a spear and gave him the 
 title of Nasir u'd Daulah {Defender of the State). Shortly after a mis- 
 understanding occurred between I'zz u'd Daulah and Subuktagin. The latter 
 invited the Turks to his aid who answered to his call, and hostilities took 
 place between him and I'zz u'd Daulah. In Du'l Hijjah of this year 
 i. e., 863, the khutbah and the prayer for al Mu'izz the U'baydite were 
 read in the sacred cities, 
 
 In the year 864 A'dhud u'd Daulah marched on Baghdad to aid I'zz 
 u'd Daulah against Subuktagin. Baghdad and its possession excited his 
 cupidity and he set about acquiring it. He won the favour of the troops 
 and they turned against I'zz u'd Daulah, who now retired from public 
 life.* A'dhud u'd Daulah wrote to the provinces under the authority of 
 at Tail' announcing the nomination to supreme authority of A'dhud u'd 
 Daulah. Upon this a quarrel arose between at Tail' and A'dhud u'd 
 Daulah on which account the khutbah in the name of at "Tail' was dis- 
 continued in Baghdad and other places from the 10th Jumada I, untU it 
 was restored on the 10th of Bajab. 
 
 In this year and subsequently, heresy became rampant and spread in 
 Egypt and Syria and in the East and the West, and the cessation of the 
 prayers called at Tarawih was proclaimed on the part of the U'baydite. 
 In the year 365 Bukn u'd Daulah-b-Buwayh renounced in favour of his 
 sons the dominions he held in his possession, conferring on A'dhud u'd 
 Daulah, Ears and Kirman, on Miiayyid u'd Daulah, Uai and Ispahan, and 
 on Fakhr u'd Daulah, Hamadan and Dinawar. In the month of Kajab a 
 judicial session was held in the palace of Sultan I'zz u'd Daulah and the 
 chief Kadhi-b-Ma'nif took his seat and adjudicated cases, because I'zz u'd 
 Daulah had requested it, that he might witness how the procedure of his 
 court was conducted. During the same a breach occurred between I'zz u'd 
 Daulah and A'dhud u'd Daulah during which a Turkish page belonging to 
 I'zz u'd Daulah was imprisoned. He longed to recover him and his sorrow 
 overpowered him, and he refused to eat and took to weeping, shunning 
 society and ceasing to hold audience in his court. He wrote to A'dhud 
 u'd Daulah entreating him to restore the boy to him, and he demeaned 
 himself till he became the ridicule of the people. He was reproved for his 
 conduct, but would not forbear from it, and he proffered in ransom for the 
 boy two slave girls skilled in the lute for one of whom,t a hundred thou- 
 sand dinars had been paid on his account, and he said to the messenger — 
 "if he is reluctant to restore him, add what thou thinkest fit and do not 
 hesitate, for verily I would be content to have him even if I had to go to 
 
 * '■J^'^'j *^'^^ '^j^ i *Jii ^k t>^' IbnAth. 
 t After JAo-Lpt road W^ bs in the MS. 
 
[ 427 ■] 
 
 the ends of the earth," — and A'dhud u'd Daulah restored the youth to A. H. 365. 
 him. ' A. D. 975. 
 
 During the same, the khuthah in the name of I'zz u'd Daulah was 
 discontinued in Kiifah and was read for A'dhud u'd Daulah. In the same, 
 died al Mu'izz li din i'lldh the U'baydi ruler of Egypt and the first of 
 the U'baydites that conquered it. His son Nizar succeeded him in the 
 government and was surnamed al A'ziz. 
 
 In the year 366 died al Mustan^ir bi'llah al Hakam-b-Nasir li din 
 i'llah, the Umayyad ruler of Spain. His son al Muayyid bi'llah Hishdm 
 succeeded him. In the year 367 an engagement took place between I'zz 
 u'd Daulah and A'dhud u'd Daulah. The latter was victorious, and he 
 took I'zz u'd Daulah prisoner and afterwards put him to death. At "Tail' 
 then invested A'dhud u'd Daulah with the royal robe and crowned him 
 with a jewelled crown and decked him with a collar and bracelet and girt 
 a sword about him, and fastened for him two banners with his own hand, 
 one ornamented with silver after the fashion of nobles, and the other with 
 gold after the manner of regents designate, and the second banner had 
 never been bound for any one before him. He also wrote him a diploma 
 of investiture which was read in his presence, and there was none but was 
 astonished, for this had never been the custom, the diploma being given 
 only to the successors to the Sultanate in the presence of the prince of the 
 Faithful, and when he received it the prince of the Faithful would say — 
 " this is my diploma, act therefore according to it." 
 
 In the year 868 at Tail' commanded that the drums should be sounded 
 at the gate of A'dhud u'd Daulah, in the morning, at sunset and at night 
 fall and that the khuthah should be read in his name in the pulpits of the 
 metropolis. Ibn al Jauzi observes that these two orders were never issued 
 before his time nor sanctioned for regents designate, for Mu'izz u'd Daulah 
 desired that the drums should be sounded for him in Baghdad, and he 
 solicited it of al Mutii' who would not permit it, and A'dhud u'd Daulah 
 would not have enjoyed this privilege except for the impotence of the 
 Caliphate. 
 
 In the year 369 the ambassador of al A'ziz ruler of Egypt arrived 
 in Baghdad, and A'dhud u'd Daulah solicited at Taii' to add to his titles 
 that of Taj u'l Millat {Grown of the Faith) and to present him anew with 
 a robe of honour and to crown him. At "Taii' consented and took his 
 seat upon the throne, and around him stood a hundred men with swords 
 and bravely apparelled, and before him was placed the Kuran of the Caliph 
 Othman, and upon his shoulders the Apostolic Mantle and in his hand the 
 sceptre, and he was girt with the sword of the Apogtle of God. A curtain, 
 sent by A'dhud u'd Daulah had been set up, and he had requested that it 
 might ,be placed as a veil before at Taii', in order that the eyes of none 
 
[ 428 J 
 
 A. H. 869. of the troops should behold him before himself. The Turks and Daylamites 
 A. D. 979. then entered, but none of them in mail, and the nobles and officers of State 
 stood ranged on either side. Then permission was given to A'dhud u'd 
 Daulah to enter, and he entered, and the veil was raised and A'dhud u'd 
 Daulah kissed the earth. The general Ziyad was struck with awe and he 
 said to A'dhud u'd Daulah, " What is this ? O king,* is he the Almighty ?" 
 He looked towards him, and replied, " This is the Vicegerent of the 
 Almighty upon earth," — and he continued moving onwards kissing the 
 ground seven times. Then at Taii' looked towards Ehdlis the eunuch and 
 said, " let him approach." And A'dhud u'd Daulah ascended and kissed 
 the ground twice, and the Caliph said to him — " come near to me," and he 
 approached and kissed his foot and at Tail' stretched out his right band to 
 him and commanded him to sit doton, and he sat down upon a seat after 
 the Caliph had repeatedly requested him to be seated, and he excusing 
 himself, till the Caliph said, " I adjure thee to be seated" whereupon he 
 kissed the throne and sat down. Then at Taii' said to him, " verily I 
 think it meet to entrust to thy care what Grod hath committed, to me of 
 the afEairs of my subjects in the east of the earth and the west thereof, 
 together with their direction in all their aspects, with the exception of 
 what appertains to my special and personal effects — wherefore assume 
 charge of them." He replied, "may God aid me in obedience to the 
 prince of the Faithful and in his service." Then the Caliph bestowed 
 upon him a robe of honour and took his departure. 
 
 I remark that I look upon this fact as a proof that he was a Caliph 
 so impotent that the Caliphate was never so feeble in the time of any 
 other as it was in his, nor was the authority of any Sultdn so powerful as 
 that of A'dhud u'd Daulah, and things have come to such a pass in our 
 time that the Caliph visits the Sultdn to congratulate him, at the begin- 
 ning of each month, and the utmost that the Sultan condescends in his 
 favour, is to come down from his dais and the two sit down together 
 beyond the dais ; then the Caliph arises and departs like an ordinary 
 person, and the Sultdn seats himself in the Hall of State. Indeed, I have 
 been told that Sultan al Ashraf Barsabaif when he marched to Amida to 
 engage the enemy, the Caliph accompanied him, riding before him and 
 acting as his chamberlain while all dignity and honour were reserved for 
 
 • A'dhud u'd Danlah was the first prince according to Ibn Khali, who since the 
 promulgation of iBldmism, had received the title of Malik. 
 
 t Ah4'r Na?r Sayf u'd din sumamed Malik al Ashraf, eighth Sult&i of Egypt 
 of the second dynasty of the Mamelukes called Burjites — who hegan his reign in 
 825 A. H., (1421 A. D.,) and died 841 after a reign of 7 years. D'Herhelot says that 
 he was so modest that he would not force his suhjeots to kiss the earth or prostrate 
 themselves hefore him. His life will be found in Weil's Hist, of the Ahbaside Caliphs 
 in Egypt, Vol. II. 
 
[ 4a9 ]. 
 
 the Sultdn, the Caliph appearing as one of the nobles in the suite of the A H. 370 
 Sultan. ' A. D. 980. 
 
 In the year 370, A'dhud u'd Daulah Isft Hamadaii and marched to 
 Baghdad, and at Taii' went out to meet him, though it had never been the 
 custom for the Caliphs to go forth to meet any one, for when the 
 daughter* of Mii'izz u'd Daulah died, al Mutii' went to visit and condole 
 with him, and Mu'izz u'd Daulah kissed the ground. On this occasion the 
 messenger of A'dhud u'd Daulah went to request at Taii' to meet him 
 who was unable to decline. 
 
 In the year 372, A'dhud u'd Daulah died and at Taii' appointed to 
 the Sultanate in his place, his son Samsam u'd Daulah, and he gave him 
 the title of Shams u'l Millat (Sun of the Faith). He bestowed upon him 
 seven robes of honour and crowned him and fastened for him two banners. 
 
 Subsequently in the year 373 died Muayyid u'd Daulah brother of 
 A'dhud u'd Daulah. In the year 375 Samsam u'd Daulah proposed to 
 put a tax upon stuffs of silk and cotton woven in Baghdad and its environs, 
 the farming of which brought him a million dirhams a year, but the people 
 assembled in the mosqne of al Mansur and determined to stop the Friday 
 prayers and the city was almost in an uproar whereupon he remitted this 
 monopoly. 
 
 In the year 376, Sharaf u'd Daulah marched against his brother 
 Samsam u'd Daulah. He was victorious over him and blinded him. The 
 army now favoured Sharaf u'd Daulah who marched to Baghdad. At 
 faii' rode out to meet him and to congratulate him on his conquest of 
 the provinces and gave him a diploma of investiture in the dignity of the 
 Sultanate, and crowned him. The diploma was read out while at Taii' 
 listened. In the year 378, Sharaf u'd Daulah ordered an observation of 
 the seven heavenly bodiesf and their orbits as al Mamiin had done. 
 During the same a great scarcity prevailed in Baghdad and deaths occurred 
 therein, and the people of Basrah suffered from a violent heat and from 
 a burning wind under which men dropped down. A strong wind blew at 
 Fam u's SilhJ which dried up the Tigris so that it was said that the 
 bottom appeared, and many ships were overwhelmed, and it carried down 
 a boat full of cattle which it cast in the land of Jukha§ where it was seen 
 after some time. 
 
 * He had before said " sister.". See page 421. 
 
 t The Bun, moon, Venus, Mercury, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. 
 
 J A large canal ahove Wasit. 
 
 § The name of a stream in the Sawad of Baghdad upon which a large town was 
 situated rich enough to yield a revenue of eight million dirhams. It was destroyed 
 says Yakut, by the Tigris altering its course and a plague completed its ruin. Yakut. 
 
[ 430 ] 
 
 A. H. 379. In the year 379 died Sharaf u'd Daulah who bequeathed the succession 
 
 A. D. 989. to his brother Abu Nasr, and at Tail' went to the palace to condole with 
 him, and the latter kissed the earth several times. Afterwards Abu Nasr 
 rode to visit at Taii'. The nobles were present and at Tail' bestowed 
 seven robes of honour upon Abu Nasr, the upper one being of black, and 
 a black turban and placed a collar round his neck and two bracelets upon 
 his arm, and the chamberlains preceded him with drawn swords. Then he 
 kissed the ground before at Taii' and sat upon a chair of state. His 
 diploma of investiture was read out, and at Taii' surnamed him Baha u'd 
 Daulah wa Dhiya u'l Millat. (^The Qlory of the State and the lustre of 
 Faith.) 
 
 In the year 381 at Taii' was arrested. The cause of this was that 
 he had imprisoned one of the suite of Baha u'd Daulah. Upon this, Baha 
 u'd Daulah went to at Taii' who was seated in the pavilion girt with a 
 sword, and as he approached he kissed the ground and seated himself on 
 a chair. His myrmidons advanced and dragged at Taii' from his throne, 
 and the Daylamites pressed upon him and enveloped him in a mantle and 
 he was taken up to the Sultan's palace. The city was in commotion and 
 Baha u'd Daulah returned and dictated an oath to at Taii' that he would 
 abdicate and resign the government to al Kadir bi'llab, and the nobles and 
 principal men testified to this. This took place on the 19th of Shaa'ban 
 {Ist November, 991) and a despatch was sent to al Kadir bi'llah who was 
 at al Bati'hah* to summon him. At "Taii' dwelt in the palace of Kadir 
 bi'llah, respected and honoured in most comfortable circumstances — (as an 
 instance of which — a candle was one night taken to him the half of which 
 had been burnt, and he refused it and they brought him another)! — until 
 he died on the night of the Eed u'l Fitr 393, (2rai August, 1002). Al 
 Kadir, prayed over him and the nobles and attendants followed him and the 
 Sharif ar EidhaJ mourned in a poem. He was particularly hostile to the 
 descendants of Abu Talib. Eeverence for his authority had so declined 
 in his reign, that the poets satirized him. 
 
 • Between Wasit and Ba?rah. 
 
 t On another occasion al l^adir sent him a dish of lentils. He asted the messenger 
 if that was the kind of food the Caliph ate. On being answered in the affirmative, he 
 desired the man to tell his master that if such fare contented him, he need not have 
 aspired to the dignity of the Caliphate. From that time e^l il^adir appointed a girl from 
 his own kitchen to cook whatever he asked for. Ibn Ath. 
 
 X Abu' 1 IJasan MtJjammad the son of at Tahir Du'l Manakib directly descended 
 from A'li-b-Abi Talib. His poetical works flU a laige diwdn of four volumes and at 
 Thaa'labi considers him the ablest poet of all the descendants of A'li-b-Abi Talib. 
 His life in Ibn Khali, will repay perusal. He was bom at Baghdad 369 A. H., (969-70) 
 and died there 406 A, H. (1016). 
 
[ 431 ] 
 
 Of persons of note who died in the days of at Tail' were Ibn Sunni A. H. 381. 
 the Hafidh, Ibn A'di, al Kaffal the elder, as Sirafi the grammarian, Abu A. D. 991. 
 Sahl as Sa'luki, Abu Bakr ar Eazi' al Hanafi, Ibn Khalawayh, al Azhari 
 the great philologist, Abu Ibrahim al Farabi author of the Diwan u'l 
 Adab, ar Raffa the poet, Abu Zayd al Marwazi as Shafi'i, ad Dariki, Abu 
 Bakr al Abhari the Malikite Shaykh, and Abu'l Layth as Samarkandi, 
 the Hanafite Imam, Abd A'li al Fdrisi the grammarian, and Ibn u'l 
 Hallab al Maliki. 
 
 AL KADIR BI'LLAH. 
 
 Al Kddir bi'Uah Abu'l A'bbas Ahmad-b-Ishak-b-i'l Muktadir was born 
 in the year 336. His mother was a slave girl called Tamanni and some 
 say Damnah. He was acknowledged Caliph on the abdication of his 
 brother, being then absent, but he arrived on the 10th of Ramadhan and 
 gave public audience the next day and received congratulations and the 
 poets recited their paems before him. Among these was the following by 
 as Sharif ar Ridha — 
 
 " Sons of A'bbas, the honour of the Caliphate, 
 This day Abu'l A'bbas hath renewed. 
 
 May fortune long preserve as a store for time of need, this rock 
 Of that mighty immoveable mountain, {the A'bbdside dynasty)." 
 
 Al Khatib says that al !(Cadir was distinguished for his rectitude and 
 nobility of character, for long watching and much alms-giving, and an 
 admirable course of conduct in accordance with the accounts reported of 
 him. He studied the science of the law under the learned Abu Bishar al 
 Harawi the Shafi'ite, and he composed a treatise on the fundamental 
 principles of faith in which he introduced the merits of the Companions 
 and accused of impiety the Mua'tazalites and those who maintained the 
 creation of the Kuran, and this work used to be read every Friday, in an 
 assembly of Traditionists in the mosque of al Mahdi, and in presence of 
 the people. (Ibn u's Salah* records this in his Classes of the Shafi'ites.) 
 
 Ad Dahabi states that in the mbnth of Shawwal of the year of his 
 accession, a public audience was held at which al Kadir and Baha u'd 
 
 * Abu Omar Othman as Sliahrozuri was a jurisconsult of the Shafi'i school. He 
 was one of the most eminent of his time in ]^iu:amc interpretation, traditions, juris- 
 prudence, biographies of traditionists and other branches of tnowledge. He was 
 professor of the sehool for teaching traditions founded at Damascus by al Malik al 
 Ashraf. He died in 643 A. H. (1245). 
 
[ 432 J 
 
 A. H. 381. Daulah pledged their faith to each other and al Kadir invested him with 
 A, D. 991. authority wheresoever the A'bbaside dominion was acknowledged outside his 
 own gate. During the same Abu'l Futdh* al Hasan-b-Jaa'far the A'liide, 
 the governor of Mecca claimed sovereignty for himself, and assumed the 
 surname of ar Kashid bi'llah and he was saluted Caliph. The sovereign 
 of Egypt was under much apprehension thereat, but after a little the 
 authority of Abu'l Futuh declined, and he returned to his allegiance to al 
 A'ziz the U'baydite. 
 
 In the year 382 the Wazir Abu Nasr Sabur Ardashir purchased a 
 house at Karkh and fitted it up and named it the House of Learning' 
 devoting it to the use of the learned and he bequeathed it many 
 volumes. 
 
 In the year 384 the pilgrims from I'rak returned, for the Bedouin 
 {Ohief) Usayfarf forbade their advance save under his pass, wherefore 
 they returned and did not perform the pilgrimage, neither did the people 
 of Syria or Yaman make it, but those of Egypt did so. In the year 387 
 Sultan Fakhr u'd Daulah died. He was succeeded by his son Rustam in 
 the government of Rai and its dependencies at the age of forty, and al 
 Kadir gave him the title of Majd u'd Daulah {Olory of the State). 
 
 Ad Dahabi remarks among strange occurrences, the death of nine 
 sovereigns in a series during the years 387 and 888 — among them, Mansdr- 
 b-Nuh lord of Trans-Oxiana, Fakhr u'd Daulah prince of Rai and the 
 mountainous tracts and al A'ziz the U'baydite ruler of Egypt. 
 
 And regarding 'them Abu Mansdr A'bdd'l Malik at Tha'alabi says — 
 " Hast thou not seen the kings of our time in the past two years. 
 That a caller suramoneth them to death and slaughter. 
 The hand of death hath grasped Nuh the son of Mansllr J 
 With the regrets that his heart contained. 
 
 Alas ! for the calamity of Mansur {h-Nuh) on the day of Sarkhas. 
 His kingdom was torn from him and he about to perish. 
 His repose was disturbed by this being blinded and he became 
 A sightless prince whom calamities had attacked. 
 
 * An account of the pretension of this person will be found in Ibn Khallakan's 
 Life of the Wazir al Maghribi — ^but Ibn Khalddn places this rebellion ia the time of 
 al Hakim instead of al A'ziz who died in 386 — and this ia confirmed by Ibn Khallakaa. 
 
 + The reason given by Ibn Ath. is that TJsayfar complained of the debasement of 
 the coin in which the mail he levied had been previously paid by the Sultdn. During 
 the correspondence that ensued on this, the time for the pilgrimage passed by. 
 
 t N(ilj-b-Man?<lr of the Samani dynasty died in 387, and was succeeded by his 
 son Abu'l IJariih Man^tir-b-'Ndb in the government of Bukhara. He was seized at 
 Sarkhas in Khurasto by two of his rebellious nobles, Buktuz<in and Fai^ and blinded, 
 Consult Ibn Ath,, anno 389. 
 
[ 4.33 ] 
 
 And the lord of Egypt hath gone his way, ^- H. 387, 
 
 And the prince of the mountains whom the sepulchres have -^^ ^- ^^' • 
 concealed. 
 
 And the ruler of Jurjan in his vain regret, 
 
 Whom the regardant eye of death was watching. 
 
 And the king of Khwarazm* the face of whose felicity hath become 
 darkened, 
 
 And to whom the day of his evil destiny hath appeared. 
 
 And Abu A'lif was exalted upon earth seeking to gain it 
 
 Until misfortunes destroyed him. 
 
 And the lord of Bust, J that lion whose 
 
 Claws were the keys of the East and West. 
 
 A quick messenger from adversity alighted near him, 
 
 And when fate presents itself it cannot be averted 
 
 By armies though they exceed in number the pebbles 
 
 And though the plains and level grounds are thronged with them. 
 
 Upon Samsam u'd Daulah the Buwide came 
 
 Destroying calamities whose spoils are afflictions. 
 
 And verily the prince of Juzjan§ bath crossed 
 
 The bridge of life, and the fates that had long regarded him, 
 approached." 
 Ad Dahabi says that al A'ziz the sovereign of Egypt died in 386 and 
 the conquests made by him beyond those of his predecessors, were Emessa, 
 Hamdt and Aleppo. The khutbah was said for him in Mosal and Yaman. 
 His name was impressed upon the coinage and the standards, and he was 
 succeeded in the government by his son al Mansiir who was surnamed al 
 Hakim bi-amri'Uah. 
 
 In the year 390 a gold mine was discovered in Sijistan and they 
 extracted red gold from the soil. 
 
 In the year 393 the governor of Damascus al Aswad the Hakimite[| 
 gave an order regarding a certain Mauritanian, and he was paraded upon 
 an ass, and it was cried out, " This is the retribution for him who loveth 
 Abii Bakr and Omar." Then they struck off his head — may God have 
 mercy upon him, but not upon his slayer or his master al Hajiim. 
 
 • Put to death by the ruler of Jurjan Mamfin-b-Muhammad. 
 
 t Euler of Khurasan succeeding his father Simjur. He was imprisoned hy 
 Suhuktagin and died in prison. 
 
 X Between the ancient Drangiana. (Sijistan) Ghazni and Herat. Subuktagin is 
 probably meant here as he died in 387 A. H. 
 
 § A city in Khurasan. 
 
 U Because appointed by al Hakim bi'amri'Uah who gave him ia addition the 
 command of his troops in Syria. 
 55 
 
[ 4.34 ] 
 
 A. H. 394. In the year 394 Baha u'd Daulah invested the Sharif Abu Ahmad al 
 
 A.D. 1003-4- Husajn-b-Mlisa al Mlisawi with the office o£ chief Kadhi and the superin- 
 tendency of the pilgrimage and of the court for the redressal of abuses, and 
 the chief jurisdiction over the descendants of Abd Talib,* and wrote him 
 from Shiraz a commission to that effect, but he did not assume the office of 
 5adhi through the refusal of al Kadir to sanction it. 
 
 In the year 395, al Hakim put to death a number of the principal 
 men of old Cairo by confining them till they died, and commanded that 
 writings reviling the Companions should be placed on the doors of mosques 
 and in the public roads, and he gave orders to his prefects to revile them. 
 In the same lie ordered that all dogs should be killed, and forbade the use 
 of beer, of maluhhya,\ and prohibited the sale of fish without scales, and 
 he put to death a number of people who sold them after their prohibition. 
 
 In the year 396 he ordered the people in old Cairo and the Sacred 
 Cities to rise and bow down in the streets and places of public assembly 
 when the name of al Hakim was mentioned. 
 
 In the year 398, an open rupture occurred between the Shiias and 
 Sunnis at Baghdad in which the Shaykh Abu Ahmad al Asfaraini was 
 nearly killed, and the heretics {SMias) in Baghdad called out, " O for 
 Hakim, O for Mansiir." Al Kadir was enraged at this and sent mounted 
 the horse-guards in attendance at his gate to the assistance of the Sunnis, 
 and the heretics were dispersed. During the same, al Hakim demolished the 
 church of the Kesurrection J at Jerusalem and ordered the destruction of all 
 the churches in Egypt. He also commanded that the Christians should 
 place crosses upon their necks, the length of the cross to be a cubit and 
 its weight five Egyptian ratls,§ and that the Jews should carry on their 
 necks logs of wood equal in weight to the crosses and wear black turbans, 
 whereupon a number of them embraced Islam. Shortly afterwards he 
 permitted the restoration of the churches and temples and suffered those 
 who had embraced Islam, since it had been forced upon them, to return 
 to their faith. 
 
 * Ibn u'l Athir has ejJrfjic for ii^.*-* Uj — but the latter ejqjression is used by Ibn 
 Khali. See his life of the Sharif ar Eidha son of Abu Ahmad al Husayn. 
 
 t A species of mallows. De Slane gives the botanical name as Corchorous oKtoriua. 
 Al Pakim also forbade lupin pellets to be eaten with the malukhya. 
 
 % Ibn Khali, places this event in 408. The word Kumdmah {sweepings), says De 
 Slane, is used by the Muslims contemptuously for Kiy5mah (Resurrection). Yakdt 
 however, does not bear out this statement of its contemptuous application by the 
 Muslims. He allows that it is called IJliyamah, but says that the proper word is Ku- 
 mamah as the place used to be the refuse repository outside the city, where in the 
 earliest times malefactors were executed. After the death of the Messiah, he con- 
 tiuues, it became the place of reverence it now is. 
 
 § De Slane makes this eq[ual to ten pounds. Lane gives the Baghdad rati at one 
 pound. 
 
[ 435 ] 
 
 In the year 399 Abu A'mar the Kddhi of Basrah was removed from A. H. 399. 
 office and Abu'l Hasan-b-Abi's Shawarib assumed the post of Kadhi. The A. D. 10Q8. 
 poet al U'sfari wrote as follows regarding this — 
 
 " I have a pleasant story 
 Such as those which are sung, 
 Of two Kadhis one of whom is condoled with 
 And the other congratulated. 
 This one says, ' I was forced' to accept it 
 The other says, ' I was well rid of it.' 
 And both of them lie. 
 Which of us will believe them ?" 
 
 In the same year the supremacy of the House of Umayyah in Spain 
 sunk into feebleness and their authority declined. * 
 
 In the year 400 the Tigris fell to an extent never before witnessed and 
 agricultural leases were granted on account of the island that appeared 
 in it, and this had never before happened. 
 
 In the year 402 al Hakim forbade the sale of dates,t and caused them 
 to be burnt, and also the sale of grapes and destroyed many vineyards. 
 
 In the year 404 he prohibited the women from going out on the roads 
 night or day, and this continued till his death. 
 
 In the year 411 (27th Shawwal, l^th February) al Hakim (may God 
 curse him) was slain at H ulwan a village in Egypt and his son A'li suc- 
 ceeded him and was surnamed ad Dhahir li'i'zazi din i'llah, {the aider 
 in exalting the religion of Ood), but their supremacy declined in his reign, 
 Aleppo and a great part of Syria being lost to them. 
 
 In the year 422 died al Kadir bi'llah on Sunday night, the 11th of 
 Pu'l Hijjah {29th November 1081) at the age of eighty-seven, and the 
 duration of his Caliphate was forty-one years and three months. 
 
 Of persons of note who died during his reign were : — Abu Ahmad al 
 A'skari the professor of general literature, ar Eummani the grammarian, 
 Abu'l Hasan al Masarjisi the Shafi'ite Shaykh, Abu U'baydi'llah al Mar- 
 zabani, the Sahib Ibn A'bbad the minister of Muayyid u'd Daulah, the 
 first of the ministers who was called the Sahib, ad Darakutni the well 
 known Hafidh, Ibn Shahin, Abu Bakr al Audani the Shafi'ite Imam, 
 Tusuf-b-'u's Sirafi, Ibn ZulakJ al Misri, Ibn Abi Zayd al Maliki, the Mali- 
 
 * An account of the deposition of Mahdi and the restoration of Hisham II, and 
 the history of these troublous times will be found treated at length by M. Dozy (Hist, 
 dea. Musalm. D' Esp. Vol. Ill, p. 299) and more briefly by Ibn Ath. anno 400. 
 
 t Ibn Khali, says "raisins" {^r^j)- 
 
 X The text should here be corrected. 
 
[ 436 ] 
 
 A. H. 422. kite Shaykh, Abu Talib al Makki author of the Food for the Heart • Ibn 
 A. D. 1031. Battah al flanbali, Ibn Samadnf the preacher, al Khattabi, al Hati'mi the 
 philologist, al Udfui Abu Bakr, Zdhir al Sarkhasi the Shafi'ite Shaykh, 
 Ibn Ghalbtin the Kuran reader, al Kushmayhani the reciter of the Sahih, 
 al Mu'afa-b-Zakariya and Nahrawdni, Ibn Khuayz Mandad, Ibn Jinni, al 
 Jauhari author of the Arabic lexicon called as Sahah, Ibn Faris author of 
 the MuJKiil Ji'l Loghat {Collection of Philological Observations), Ibn 
 Mandah the Ha'fidh, al Isma'ili the Shafi'ite Shaykh, Asbagh-b-u'l Faraj 
 the Malikite Shaykh, Badii' u'z Zaman the first who composed Makamas 
 (Discourses) Ibn Lai, Ibn Abi Zumnayn,J Abu Hayyan at Tauhidi, al 
 Wawa,§ the poet, al Harawi author of the KitabuH Grharibayn, Abu'l Fath 
 il Busti the poet, al Halimi the Shafi'ite Shaykh, Ibn u'l Faridh, Abu'l 
 Hasan al Kabisi, the Kadhi Abu Bakr al Bakilani, Abu't Tayyib as 
 Sa'liiki, Ibn u'l Akfani, Ibn Nubatah author of the khutbahs {sermons), 
 as Saymari the Shafi'ite Shaykh, al Hakim author of the Mustadrak aWs 
 Sahihayn {strictures on the two Sahihs), Ibn Kajj, the Shaykh Abu Hamid 
 al Asfardini, Ibn Fiirak, as Sharif ar Eidha Abu Bakr ar Kazi author of 
 the Alkab {Titles), \\ the Hafldh Abu'l Ghani-b-Sa'id, Ibn Mardawayh, 
 Hibbat u'llah-b-Salamah, the blind Commentator, Abii A'bdu'r Kahman 
 as Salami the Slifi Shaykh, Ibn u'l Bawwab the Caligraphist, A'bdu'l 
 Jabbdr al Mua'tazali, al Mahdmili the Shafi'ite Imam, Abu Bakr al Kafial 
 the Shafi'ite Shaykh, the master Abu Ishak al Asfaraini,^ al Lalakai, Ibn 
 ii'l Fakhkhar the scholar of Spain, A'li-b-I'sa ar Riba'i the gramraariaa 
 and othei's. Ad Dahabi says that in this age lived the principal doctor of 
 the Asha'rites** Abu Ishak al Asfaraini, the head of the Mua'tazalites the 
 Kadhi A'bdu'l Jabbar, the head of the Kafidhites (schismatics) the Shaykh 
 al Mufid, the head of the Kiramites Muhammad-b-u'l Haysam, the head 
 of the Kuran readers Abu'l Hasan al Hammami, the head of the Tradi- 
 tionists the Hafidh A'bdu'l Ghani-b-Sa'id, the head of the Siifis Abu 
 A'bdu'r Eahman as Salami, the chief of the poets Abu Omar-b-Darraj, 
 
 * Intended as a guide to novices entering the Sufi or contemplative life. De 
 Slane, I. K. 
 
 t The text has incorrectly Shama'un. See Ibn Ath. and Ibn Khali. 
 
 t I oamnot find this name in any author I have consulted and am ignorant of its 
 true pronunciation. 
 
 § The text should have a second aliph. 
 
 II This is an error. He died in 311. In Ihn Khali, the word is A'ktab (v'''"'!) 
 of which De Slane remarks that he knows neither the true pronunciation nor the 
 meaning. Haji Khalifa does not mention it neither does Abu'l Mahfisin though he 
 notes the death of this eminent physician. 
 
 IF The text wrongly points this name. 
 
 «* For the opinions of these various sects, consult Sale's preface to his translation 
 of the Kurau. 
 
[ 437 ] 
 
 the first of Caligraphists Ibn u'l Bawwab, and the first among sovereigns A. H. 422. 
 Mahmdd-b-Subuktagin. I observe that there may be added to these, al A. D. 1031. 
 Hakim bi'amri'llah the chief among the impious, al Jauhari' the first of 
 philologists, Ibn Janni the first of grammarians, al Badii' the first of 
 eloquent speakers, the first of Khatlbs Ibn Nubatah, the first of com- 
 mentators Abu'l Kdsim-b-Habib an Naysabdri, and the first of Caliphs 
 al Kddir bi'Uah for he was one of the most learned of them, having 
 studied law and composed treatises therein and let it sufiiee thee that the 
 Shaykh Takki u'd din-b-i's Salah counts him among the Shafi'ite doctors 
 and has introduced him in the classes of them — further his reign was one 
 of the longest in duration. 
 
 AL KAIM-BI-AMRI'LL^H. 
 
 Al Kaim-bi-amri'Uah, {who stands hy the order of Ood) Abu Jaa'far 
 Abdu'llah the son of al Kadir was born about the middle of Du'l 
 ^aa'dah in the year 391. His mother was an Armenian slave concubine 
 named Badr u'd Duja {the full moon of darhnes) and some say Katr 
 u'd Nada (dewdrop). He assumed the Caliphate on the death of his 
 father in 422 having been his heir-presumptive during his lifetime and 
 it was his father who surnamed him al Kaim-bi-amri'llah. 
 
 Ibn u'l Athir states that he was comely, of an attractive countenance, 
 austere in life, pious, devout, learned, fuU of confidence in God, charitable, 
 patient. He was assiduous in the cultivation of literature and skilled in 
 writing, prompt to justice and benevolence, attending to all claims and 
 undesirous to refuse anything that might be asked of him. Al Khatib 
 observes that his authority continued firm until he was arrested in the year 
 450. The cause of this was that the Turk Arslan al Basasiri* came into 
 power and in the absence of any rivals, his authority increased and the Emirs 
 of the Arabs and other tribes stood in awe of him and prayers were offered 
 for him upon the pulpits. He levied money and desolated whole villages, 
 al Kaim being unable to determine anything without him. At length he 
 discovered his evil designs, for he heard that it was his intention to plunder 
 the palace and to arrest the Caliph himself. Upon this the Caliph com- 
 municated with Abu Talib Muhammad Mikayilf the chief of the Ghuzz, 
 known as Toghrul Bek who was at Eai, requesting him to march to his relief. 
 
 * Abu'l Harith Arslan the general of the Turkish troqpa at Baghdad. He had 
 been a Mamluk to Baha u'd Daulah-b-Buwayh. His life may be found in I. K. 
 
 t Not Mikyal as in the text. Toghrul Bek was the first monarch of the Seljuk 
 Dynasty. See I. K. 
 
[ 438 ] 
 
 A. H. 447. Subsequently the palace of al Basdsiri was burnt down and in the year 
 A. D. 1055. 447 Toghrul Bek arrived and al Basasiri retired to Eahbah where he was 
 joined by a number of Turks and he wrote to the sovereign of Egypt 
 (al Mustamir bi'lldh) who assisted him with money. He also correspond- 
 ed with fnal* the brother of Toghrul Bek inciting him by the ofEer o£ 
 his brother's dignities. Tnal accordingly revolted and engaged the atten- 
 tion of Toghrul Bek. Afterwards al Basasiri marched to Baghdad in the 
 year 450 accompanied by the Egyptian standards and engagements took 
 place between him and the Caliph. Public prayers were offered up for the 
 Egyptian monarch al Mustansir in the great mosque of al Mansiir and to 
 t'.e call to prayers was added " Haste to an excellent work."t Sub- 
 sequently he was prayed for in all the mosques except that of the Caliph, 
 and hostilities continued for some months. At length al Basasiri seized 
 the Caliph in the month of Du'l Hijjah and removed him to A'anahJ and 
 confined him there. Toghrul Bek in the meantime defeated bis brother 
 and put him to death. Then he wrote to the prefect of A'Anah to send 
 back the Caliph with honour to his palace, and the Caliph arrived at the 
 royal palace on the 25th of Du'l Kaa'dah in the year 451 entering with 
 great pomp, the nobles and chamberlains preceding him. Toglirul Bek 
 next despatched an army which encountered al Basasiri and defeated him 
 and he was slain and his head carried to Baghdad. After the Caliph 
 returned to his palace, he never slept save upon his prayer-carpet and gave 
 himself up to fasting and prayer. He forgave all who had injured him 
 and he accepted the restoration of what had been plundered from him only 
 on payment for the same, saying, " I count upon obtaining for these 
 things, a reward from God," and after this he never laid his head upon 
 a pillow. When his palace was plundered there were not found in it any 
 instruments of music. It is related that when al Basasiri placed him in 
 confinement, he wrote his own story and sent it to Mecca where it was 
 hung up in the kaa'bah. It contained the following — " To the most 
 High God from his lowly servant. O Lord, thou knowest all secrets and 
 readest all hearts ! O Lord, verily thou art self-suflB.cing in Thine own 
 knowledge and understanding of Thy creatures, needing not my telling. 
 This slave hath been ungrateful for Thy benefits and hath not given thanks 
 for them and hath put aside the consequences thereof and hath not 
 remembered them. Thy forbearance hath led him astray, so that he hath 
 rebelled against us and hath done evil to us in insolence and malice. O 
 
 * The text has inoorreotly J'V 
 t See note t, p. 422. 
 
 t Above Hit, on the Euphrates and near Hadithah. The text incorrectly' points 
 the word. 
 
[ 439 J 
 
 Lord, the Defender hath been humbled and the Tyrant exalted, but thou A. H. 451. 
 art the All-knowing, the Wise, the Just, the Supreme Ruler. Through thee A. D. 1059. 
 shall we overcome him and to Thee we fly from his hands. Verily he hath 
 been exalted over us by means of creatures, but we shall overcome by Thy 
 aid and verily we summon him, in judgment before Thee, and we trust to 
 Thee for justice against him and we carry this oppression of us to Thy 
 sanctuary and trust to Tby mercy to remove it — therefore judge between 
 us for Thou art the best of judges." 
 
 In the year 428, al Dhahir the TJ'baydite Sovereign of Egypt died 
 and was succeeded by his son al Mustansir who was of the age of seven, and 
 he reigned as Caliph sixty years and four months. Ad Dahabi says, " I 
 know of no one in Islam, whether Caliph or Sultan, that reigned for this 
 period. During his days there was a famine in Egypt, the like of which 
 had not been known since the time of Joseph. It continued seven years 
 so that people devoured each other, and it is said even that a small loaf 
 was sold for fifty dinars. 
 
 In the year 443 al Mu'izz-b-Badis* suppressed the kbutbah for the 
 U'baydite in Mauritania and established in the name of the House of 
 A'bbas. 
 
 In the year 451, a peace was concluded between Sultan Ibrahim-b* 
 Masa'dd-b-Mahmlid-b-Subuktagin prince of Ghazni and Sultan Jughri 
 Bek-b-Saljukf the brother of Toghrul Bek ruler of Khurasan after long 
 hostilities. Jughri Bek died the same year and was succeeded by his son 
 Alp Arslan. 
 
 In the year 454 the Caliph betrothed his daughter to Toghrul Bek 
 after doing his utmost to avoid it. He was much perturbed and wished 
 that it should be withdrawn but at last he yielded against his will. This was 
 a concession never obtained by any of the Buwide princes with all their' 
 subjection of the Caliphs and their power over them. I observe that now 
 the Caliph of our time hath married his daughter to one of the slaves of 
 the Sultan — to say nothing of the Sultan — " Verily we belong to God and 
 verily unto Him shall we return." Subsequently in the year 455 Toghrul 
 Bek arrived and visited the daughter of the CaliphJ and he restored the 
 
 * Nadis in the text and MS. is incorrect. He was of the Sanhaj, one of the 
 oldest and purest Berber tribes claiming descent from Himyarite Arabs. He ruled 
 Africa for the House of A'bbas, and the khutbah was never again read in that country 
 for any Egyptian sovereign. Ibn Khali. 
 
 t Not (j£?*^ as in the text. He was the son of Mikayil and brother of Toghrul 
 Bek. The word Toghrul signifies a kind of falcon and Bek a commander. Ibn Khali. 
 
 J This was a mere visit of ceremony and frequently repeated, she receiving him 
 seated on a throne of gold and never lifting her veil or rising. Weil says that the- 
 marriage contract alone was celebrated and that Toghrul Bek died on the 8th Eamadhan 
 
[ 440 ] 
 
 A. H. 455. inheritances* and the taxes and farmed the revenues of Baghdad for one 
 A. D. 1063. hundred and fifty thousand dinars. He then returned to Rai and died in 
 the month of Eamadhan — may the Lord not forgive him. He was succeeded 
 by his nephew A'dhud u'd Daulah Alp Arslan prince of Khurasan to whom 
 al Kaim sent a robe of honour and the investiture. Ad Dahabi says that 
 he was the first called the Sultan on the pulpits of Baghdad. He reached 
 an eminence which none other of the sovereigns attained and he conquered 
 many of the cities of the Christians and appointed Nidham u'l Mulk his 
 Wazir who abolished what his predecessor A'mid u'l Mulk had done 
 regarding the reviling of the Asha'ris,t and he gave his countenance to 
 Shafl'ites, and honoured the Imam u'l HaramaynJ and Abu'l Kasim al 
 Kushayri§ and founded the Nizamiyah College. It is said that this was 
 the earliest College || founded for jurisconsults. 
 
 In the year 458 a little girl was born at Bab u'l Azaj^ with two 
 heads and two faces and two necks upon one body, and during the same, 
 a heavenly body of great brilliancy appeared like a halo round the moon 
 on a night when it was at its full, and it terrified the people, continuing 
 during ten nights when its light waned and it disappeared. 
 
 In the year 459, the Nizamiyah College at Baghdad was completed 
 and the Shaykh Ibn Ishak as Shirazi** was appointed professor. The 
 people assembled to hear him, but he did not appear and concealed himself 
 
 (18th according to I. K.) 455, {ith September, 1063) before tte nuptials were completed, 
 Ibn Ath. seems to bear out this view. The Caliph demanded as the price of his hand 
 from 100 to 300,000 dinars and the revenues of Wasit. 
 
 * The words of Ibn Ath. and Ibn Khaldtin are here identical *«^l iji^ i^^ 
 
 t Many Shafi'ite doctors were attached to the teaching of al Asha'ri (see Sale's 
 preface to the Kuran for their doctrines) which led them into controversy with the 
 ^anbalites on points of faith. See I. K.'s life. 
 
 t Abu'l Maali A'bdu'l Malik surnamed Dhiya u'ddin (Splendour of Iteligion), 
 called the Imam u'l Haramayn from his long residence in the two Sacred Cities. He was 
 considered the most learned doctor of the Shafl'ites in later times. The list of many 
 of his works wUl be found in his biography by Ibn Khali. He died in A. H. 478. 
 
 § Likewise a Shafi'ite doctor of eminence and one of the most learned in Juris- 
 prudence, Kuranio Exegesis and Traditions &o., he held the first rank as u preacher. 
 Born A. H. 376 (986) and died 465 (1072). Ibn Khali. 
 
 II The Nizamiyah College was founded for the express purpose of establishing 
 him in it as a professor. This is controverted by ad Dahabi. See de Slane's preface to 
 Vol. I of hia translation of Ibn Khali. 
 
 f A quarter in Baghdad. ^^ ' 
 
 ** Another eminent Shafi'ite doctor whose life will be found in Ibn Khali. He 
 was bom at Firdzubdd A. H. 393 (1003) and died at Baghdad 476 (1083) and the 
 Nizamiyah College was closed for a year as a token of mourning for bis death. 
 
[ 441 ] 
 
 and Ibn u's Sabbagh* the author of the Shamil lectured. Subsequently A. H. 459. 
 they pressed Abu Ishdk with friendly solicitations until he consented and A. D. 1066. 
 opened a course of teaching. 
 
 In the year 460 a tremendous earthquake occurred at Eamlahf which 
 destroyed it, and even the water rose over the mouths of the wells and 
 twenty-five thousand of its inhabitants perished. The sea retreated from, 
 the shore the space of one day's journey, and the people went down to its 
 bed gathering the fish and the waters returned upon them and destroyed 
 them. 
 
 In the year 461 the great mosque of Damascus caught fire and its 
 beauties were effiaced and its appearance rendered unsightly and its golden 
 roofs destroyed. In the year 462 an envoy from the Emir of Mecca came 
 to Alp Arslan informing him that he had established the khutbah for the 
 A'bbasides and discontinued it for the Egyptian al Mustan§ir and had 
 omitted from the Adan " Hasten to an excellent work," whereupon the 
 Sultan bestowed upon him thirty thousand dinars and a robe of honour. 
 This was caused by the fallen state of the Egyptians through severe 
 famines in successive years so that people fed upon each other and an 
 irdabbj of wheat fetched one hundred dinars and a dog was sold for fifty 
 dinars and a cat for thirty. 
 
 * Atd Na?r A'bdu's Sayyid, — {the son of the dyer) -was chief Shafl'i jurisconsult, 
 of Persian, and Arabian Irak. His work the Shamil (comprehensive) is one of the best 
 Shafi'ite treatises on their system of jurisprudence. He was reinstated as professor 
 of the Nizamiyah OoUege on the death of Abu Ishak as Shirazi. Born at Baghdad 
 400 A. H., (1009-10) and died there 477 (1084). Ibn Ehall. 
 
 t In Palestine. Ibn Ath. says that the shock was felt throughout Palestine and 
 Egypt. 
 
 t An Egyptian measure equal, according to Kazdmirski, to about five bushels. 
 Lane fixes it at 24 Saa ( ?''* ) this latter being about four times the quantity of com 
 that fills the two hands. Al Akhtal describing miserly people, says, 
 
 " Bread is like Indian amber to them 
 While wheat is seventy irdabbs for a dinar." 
 " Since writing the above I have met with an account of the famine that desolated 
 Darfur, Kordofan and other provinces of Central Africa, in 1877 ; by Dr. Daniel 
 Comboni, Vicar Apostolic of that region. The Austrian Consul, he writes, paid £10-3 
 for an ardeb (so the word is commonly pronounced) of flour, the ordinary price being 
 15 shillings. Later on, at Khartoum, flour could not be obtained at any price and in 
 the kingdom of Kordofan £20 ooiild not purchase a single ardeb." This measure 
 he gives as equivalent to a sack containing about 2 cwt. 100 dm£rs would be equal 
 to about £45, double the price of the ardeb in the famine of 1877, which was terrible 
 enough. 
 
 56 
 
[ 442 ] 
 
 A. H. 462. The author of the Mirat* relates that a woman went out of Cairo 
 
 A. D. 1069. with a mudd {about two pounds) of jewels, crying out, " Who will take 
 this for a mudd of wheat ?" 
 
 One of the poets congratulating al Kdim says — 
 " Verily the Egyptian knew that within his armies 
 Were the famine years of Joseph and the plague of Emmaus. 
 They remained there till he was anxious for his safety 
 And he feared them with an exceeding fear." 
 
 In the year 463 the khutbah was read for al Kaim and the Sultan 
 Alp Arslan in Aleppo when the people there beheld the supremacy of their 
 authority and the decline of the sway of al Mustansir. 
 
 During the same a great battlef was fought between the Muslims and 
 the Byzantines, and the Muslims were victorious, praise be to God. They 
 were led by Alp Arsldn who took the Emperor prisoner but afterwards 
 released him for a large sum and concluded a peace for fifty years. When 
 he was released he said to Alp Arslan — " In what direction is the Caliph ?" 
 He pointed to it and the Emperor uncovered his head and bent in sub- 
 mission in that direction. 
 
 In the year 464, a great murrain in sheep broke out. 
 
 In 465, Alp Arsldn was slain and was succeeded in the government 
 by his son Malik Shah who was surnamed Jalal u'd Daulah. He restored 
 the administration of the Empire to Nidham u'l Mulk and gave him the 
 title of Atabek. He was the first so called and it means " the Father J 
 Emir." 
 
 During the same the famine was so severe in Egypt that a woman ate 
 a small loaf jptirchased for a thousand dinars and the plague reached its 
 height. 
 
 In the year 466 there was a great inundation in Baghdad. The 
 Tigris rose thirty cubits, the like of which had never occurred and property 
 
 * ProbaWy the Mirit uz Zamto, the Mirror of the Age hy the learned Professor 
 Imfim and historian Shama u'ddin Abu'l Muzaffar Tusuf-b-Eizaghli grandaon of Abu'l 
 Faraj-b-u'l Jauzi. He was born at Baghdad 697 A. H., (1200-1), died 654 A. H. 
 (12S7). His great historical work the Mirdt extends to forty volumes and Abu'l 
 Mahasiu acknowledges his indebtedness to it when composing his annals. De 
 Blane, I. K. 
 
 t This was fought on 26th August, 1071 near Metdzkerd, midway between Van 
 and Erzeroum. Eomanus Diogenes was taken prisoner and released on a ransom of 
 1,600,000 dindra. The intrepidity of the captive and the courtesy of the conqueror 
 may be read with pleasure and instruction ia the picturesque and accurate narrative 
 of Gibbon. Cap. LVII. 
 
 X In Ibn Khall's life of Jakar Najiru'ddin, the meaning of At4bek ia given as 
 ijj J\ jiljl ^^JJ. isy^ the educator of princes— fi-om the Turkish Ata father and 
 £ek Emir. 
 
[ 443 ] 
 
 and lives and cattle were destroyed. The people went about in boats and A . H. 466. 
 the Friday prayers were twice held on sailing vessels on the face of the A. D. 1073, 
 waters, and the Caliph arose supplicating the Lord. Baghdad was levelled 
 at a stroke, one hundred thousand houses or more being destroyed. 
 
 In the year 467, on Wednesday night the 13th of Shaa'ban (2nd April, 
 1075) the Caliph al Kdim-bi-amri'Uah died. This happened in consequence 
 of his having been bled. He went to sleep and the place where he was 
 bled became unbound. A great loss of blood ensued and he awoke, his 
 strength being much diminished. He sent therefore for his grandson and 
 heir A'bdu'llah the son of Muhammad and bequeathed the succession to 
 him and then died. The duration of his Caliphate was five and forty 
 years. 
 
 Of persons of note who died during his reign were Abu Bakr al Birkdni, 
 Abu'l Fadhl al Palaki, at Thaa'labi the commentator, al Kudiiri the 
 Hanafite Shaykh, Ibn Sina {Avicena) the philosopher, Mahyar the poet, 
 Abu Nuaym author of the Hulyah, Abu Zayd ad Dabiisi, al Barda'i the 
 Malikite, author of the Tahdib, Abu'l Husayn al Basri the Mua'tazalite, Makki 
 author of the I'rab* (grammatical inflexions), the Shaykh Abu Muhammad 
 al Juayni, al Mahdawi author of the commentary, al Iflili, at Thamanini, 
 Abu A'mr ad Duwani, al Khalil author of the Irshad fi maaWifat JJla- 
 md i'l Baldd (Directory of information respecting the learned of all coun- 
 tries), Salim ar Eazi, Abu'l A'la the Kurdn reader, Abu O'thman as Sabiini, 
 Ibn Battah the Expounder of al Bukhari, the Kadhi Abu Tayyib at Tabari, 
 Ibn Shita the Kuran reader, al Mawardi the Shafi'ite, Ibn Babshad, al 
 Kudhaa'i author of the Shihab (Flambeau on the merits of as Shafl't), 
 Ibn Burhan the grammarian, Ibn Hazm ad Dhahiri, al Bayhaki, Ibn Sidah 
 author of theMuhkam (fixed) Abu Ya'la-b-u'l Farrathe Hanbalite Shaykh, 
 al Hadhrami one of the Shafi'ite school, al Hazli author of the Kamil 
 {Perfect) on the reading of the Kuran, al Ftirani, al Khatib al Baghdadi 
 Ibn Rashik author of the U'mdah (Column on the art of poetry and 
 poetical criticism) and Ibn A'bdi'l Barr. 
 
 AL MUKTADI BI-AMRI'LLA'H. 
 
 Al Muktadi bi-amri'llah (Directing himself ly the command of Ood) 
 Abu'l Kasim, A'bdu'llah was the son of Muhammad the son of al Kaim. 
 
 * Thia is probably the work entitled, " Kitab u'z Zahi fil Luma ad dallat a'la 
 Muatamalat i'l li'rab," " The blooming, a treatise on the lights whioh indicate the 
 grammatical inflexions in general use." This Ig^uran reader was the author of many 
 voluminous works, the list of which is given by Ibn Khali. 
 
[ 4.44 ] 
 
 A. H. 467. His father died during the lifetime of al Kaim while his mother was 
 A. D. 1075. pregnant with him, and he was born six months after his father's death. 
 His mother was a slave concubine called Arjawan. He was acknowledged 
 Caliph on his grandfather's death, he being nineteen years and three months 
 old. The oath of allegiance was taken in the presence of the Shaykh 
 Abu Ishak as Shirdzi, Ibn u's Sabbagh and ad Damaghani.* During his 
 reign many good works and escellent deeds were done in the provinces, and 
 the ordinances of the Caliphate during his days were noble and honorable 
 in contradistinction to those of his predecessors. Among his good deeds, 
 he proscribed female singers and evil doers in Baghdad, and ordered that 
 no one should enter the baths without drawers, and he destroyed the towers 
 of the baths with a view to securing public decorum. He was pious, 
 virtuous, firm of purpose, magnanimous and one of the noblest of the 
 House of A'bbas. In this year of the Caliphate the khutbah was restored 
 in Mecca in the name of the House of U'bayd. During the same, Nidham 
 n'l Mulk assembled the astronomers and they made the New Year's day 
 the first point of the sun's entry into Aries, and before this it was held at 
 the meridian of his passage through Pisces, and this act of al Nidham was 
 the origin of the reformation of the Calendar, f 
 
 In the year 468 the khutbah was read for al Muktadi at Damascus, 
 and the words " Haste to an excellent work,'' in the call to prayers were 
 discontinued at which the people rejoiced. In 469, Abu Nasr son of the 
 Master Abu'l Kasim al Kushayri al Asha'ri arrived at Baghdad and 
 preached at the Nizamiyah College. A great dissension arose with the 
 Hanbalites because he discoursed in favour of the Asha'ri doctrine and 
 disparaged them. His followers and partisans increased in number and a 
 tumult ensuing, a number were killed. Takhr u'd Daulah-b-Jahir was 
 removed from the office of Wazir of al Muktadi because he separated 
 himself from the Hanbalites. 
 
 In the year 475 the Caliph sent Shaykh Abu Ishak as Shirazi as an 
 envoy to the Sultan with a complaint against A'mid Abu'l Fath.f 
 
 * Abii Jaa'far Muhammad a Ilanafite jurisconsult Kadhi of Karkh (a suburb of 
 Baghdad). He resigned that office and entered the Caliph's service as chamberlain 
 and proved an able statesman. De Slane, I. E., died 518 A. H. 
 
 t " In Persia" says Gihhon " since the age of Zoroaster the revolution of the sun 
 has been known and celebrated as an annual festival, but after the faU of the Magian 
 empire, the intercalation had been neglected : the fractions of minutes and hours were 
 multiplied into days ; and the date of the spring was removed from the sign of Aries to 
 that of Pisces. The reign of Malak was illustrated by the Jelalean era (from Malak 
 Shah's surname JaUl u'd Daulah) and all errors either past or future were corrected by a 
 computation of time which surpasses the Julian and approaches the accuracy of the 
 Gregorian style." — Decline and FaU, Cap. LVIl. 
 
 t The words of Abu'l Fida are ; The Caliph sent Abu Ishalf to the Sultan 
 Malak Shdh and to Nidhdm u'l Mulk. He left Baghdad for Khui'asdn with a com- 
 
[ 445 ] 
 
 In the year 476, prices fell in all the provinces and ilie scarcity ceased. A. H. 476. 
 During the same, the Caliph nominated Abu Shujda' Muhammad-b-u'l A. D. 1083. 
 Hasan to the office of Wazir and gave him the title of Dhahir u'd din 
 {Defender of the 'FaitK). I believe that this was the first introduction of 
 surnames coupled with the word " din." 
 
 In the year 477, Sulayman the son of Kultumish the Saljiik prince 
 of Konieh and Akserai,* set out with his troops for Syria and took Antioch 
 which had fallen into the possession' of the Byzantines in the year 353, t 
 and he sent to Sultan Malak Shah to communicate the good tidings. 
 
 Ad Dahabi says that the posterity of Saljiik were sovereigns of a 
 portion of Byzantine territory. Their ascendancy continued for a con- 
 siderable time and a remnant of them existed up to the reign of al Malik 
 ad Dhahir BibarsJ. 
 
 In the year 478 a dark storm swept over Baghdad — the thunder 
 pealed and the lightning flashed luridly and sand and dust fell like rain and 
 many thunderbolts fell, and the people thought that it was the day of 
 resurrection, and it continued for three hours past the afternoon. This 
 occurrence was witnessed by the Imam Abu Bakr at Turtlishi§ who has 
 related it in his Amali (Dictations). 
 
 In the year 479 Tusuf-b-Tashiffn|| prince of Ceuta and Morocco sent 
 to al Muktadi requesting that he, would confirm his authority and invest 
 him with the sovereignty of the provinces he possessed. The Caliph 
 
 plaint against A'mid of Irak Abu'l Fath-b-Ati'l Layth. He returned ■with the 
 acceptance by the Sultan of the Caliph's request and A'mid wa3 forbidden to exert any 
 authority over the Sultan's private establishment. Eeiske, takes A'mid {Coltmien) to 
 signify here not a proper name but metaphorically — procuratorem commissarium. 
 An accoimt of Abu Ishak's mission is given by him in a note taken from the classes of 
 the Shafi'ites (fabakat u's Shafi'iah) " auctore Sebekaeo,"— and the Caliph's charge 
 to his envoy is to complain that the people of the city (Baghdad) suffer much annoy-, 
 anoe at the hands of Abu'l Fath. See Abu'l Fida, anno 475. From Ibn Athir it 
 appears that the mission was for the purpose of reinstating Abu Shuj4a' as minister 
 who had succeeded Fakhr u'd Daulah and had been displaced by the Sultdn. 
 
 * I have spelt the names as they are marked in Keith Johnston's Atlas. 
 
 t The text has by some mistake 358. In the MS. the unit is omitted. A mas- 
 terly sketch of these events will be found at the close of Gibbon's 57th chapter. 
 
 t This dynasty of the Saljuks of Rum dates from the year 480 and closes in 700 
 A. H. continuing 220 years under fifteen sovereigns whose names are recorded by the 
 diligence of D'Herbelot. The Iranian and Kermanian branches will be found noticed 
 by the same author. 
 
 § He was a native of Tortosa in Spain and a Malikite doctor noted for his ascetic 
 life. He studied at Seville, at Baghdad and at Basrah. He died in 620 A. H., (1126). 
 
 Ibn Khali. 
 
 II The text makes an N of the initial instead of T. The MS. is correct — the 
 particulars of this event wiU be found in Ibn Khali, under Mua'tamid-b-A'bbad. 
 
[ 446 ] 
 
 A. H. 479. accordingly sent him a robe of honour and standards and gave him the 
 A. D. 1086. title of prince of the Muslims at which he was much pleased, and the 
 jurisconsults of Mauritania rejoiced. It was he who founded the city of 
 Morocco. 
 
 During the same, Sultan Malak Shah entered Baghdad for the first 
 time and took up his residence at the palace and played at ball. He met 
 the Caliph with reciprocal* civility and shortly after he returned to 
 Ispahan. During the same, the khutbah for the U'baydite sovereign (al 
 Mustansir hi'lWi) was discontinued in the Sacred Cities and was read 
 for al Muktadi. 
 
 In the year 481 the sovereign of Ghaznah al Muayyid Ibrahim-b- 
 Masa'ud-b-Mahmud-b-Subuktagin died and his son Jalal u'd din Masa'iid 
 succeeded him. 
 
 In the year 483 a College was built at Baghdad by Tdj u'l Mulk 
 Mustawfif u'd Daulah at the gate of Abraz and Abu Bakr as ShashiJ 
 lectured there. 
 
 In the year 484 the Pranks conquered the whole of the island of 
 Sicily which had been first conq^uered by the Muslims after the year 200§ 
 A. H. The Aghlabites retained possession of it uninterruptedly till al 
 Mahdi the U'baydite conquered Africa. During the same, Sultan Malak 
 Shah arrived in Baghdad and ordered a large mosque to be built. The 
 nobles also erected mansions round about it, to dwell in when they visited 
 Baghdad. He then returned to Ispahan but again repaired to Baghdad 
 in 485 A. H. with evil intent. He sent to the Caliph informing him that 
 he must quit Baghdad and that he might go to any other city he pleased. 
 The Caliph was much perturbed and replied, " Give me a respite though 
 it be for a month." He answered, " Not a single hour." The Caliph 
 then sent to the Wazir of the Sultan begging for a delay of ten days. At 
 this juncture occurred the illness and death of the Sultan which was ascribed 
 to the miraculous powers of the Caliph. It is said that the Caliph fasted 
 and when he had broken his fast, he sat upon ashes and called down 
 
 * Or it may mean " He played against the Caliph." The Sultan and the Caliph 
 were on the most friendly terms and interchanged visits ajid presents. The MS. has 
 
 (•i'AJ for f/^"' of the text. 
 
 t Taj u'l Mulk Abu'l Ghanaim was the favourite of Turkan Khatun wife of 
 Malak Shah. At her instigation Nidham u'l Mulk was deposed. Tdj 111 Mulk suc- 
 ceeded him and put him to death. See Weil, Ibn Ath. De Slane, I. K. 
 
 % The College was called the Tajiyah after its founder. Ahu Bakr was surnamed 
 the glory of Isldm, and was considered the first jurisconsult of the age of the Shafi'ite 
 school. He died 429 A. H., (1037). His life will be found in Ibn Khali. 
 
 § 212 A. H., 827-8 A. D. See Gibbon's 62nd chapter. The descent of the 
 Saracens of Africa was invited by the revengeful Euphomiua who had been sentenced 
 by the Emperor to the loss of his tongue for the abduction of a nun, The Arabic 
 name of the island in the text should be spelt with a 0° for a (j"< 
 
[ 447 ] 
 
 a curse upon Malab Shah. The Lord heard his prayer and Malak Shah A. H. 485. 
 departed to hell-fire.» ^- D- 1092. 
 
 When he died, his wife Turkan concealed his death and sent to the 
 nohles secretly, requesting their allegiance to his son Mahmiid who was 
 then five years old. They swore fealty to him whereupon she sent to al 
 Muktadi to invest him with the dignity of the Sultanate. He assented 
 and gave him the title of Nasir u'd dunya wad din (Defender of Spirituals 
 and Temporals). His brother Barkyardk son of Malak Shdh, however, 
 opposed him and the Caliph invested him with authority and surnamed 
 him Eukn u'd din — and that in Muharram of the year 487. The Caliph 
 signed the diploma of investiture and died suddenly the next day (15M 
 Muharram, 4<th jPehruary 1094). It was said that his female slave Shams 
 u'n Nahar {the sun of day) poisoned him. His son al Mustadhir bi'Uah 
 was acknowledged as his successor in the Caliphate. Of persons of note 
 who died during his reign were A'bdu'l Kahir al Jurjani, Abu'l Walid al 
 Bdji, the Shaykh Abu Ishak as Shirazi, al Aa'lam {the hare-lipped) the 
 grammarian, Ibn u's Sabbagh author of the Shamil, al Mutawalli, Imam 
 u'l Haramayn, ad Damaghani the Hanafite, Ibn f'adhdhal al Mujashi'i, and 
 al Bazdawi the Hanafite Shaykh. 
 
 AL MUSTADHIE BI'LL^H. 
 
 Al Mustadhir bi'llah {Imploring help of God) Abu'l A'bbds Ahmad 
 son of al Muktadi was born in Shawwal of the year 470. He was acknow- 
 ledged Caliph on the death of his father, being sixteen years of age. Ibn 
 u'l Athir says that he was of gentle manners, of generous disposition, zealous 
 in good works, a fine penman, skilful in the despatch of the royal rescripts 
 in which no one could approachf him, indicating considerable J merit and 
 
 « ^»M.i J.7 l^Xa.j <aM\ vi^Aa. (^1 is an AraWo"prOTerb,saidto'beaBayiiigof Zuhayr 
 expressive of the meaning I have given. It is said that TJ'mm Kasha'm (Death) was 
 the name of " camel that had fled from its owner and passing by a large fire, it shied 
 and flung its saddle into the middle of it. The expression is now used as an impreoa- 
 tion. The text would therefore be literally rendered — " and Malak Shah went to 
 where her saddle was thrown iy Umm Kasha'm." See the Durrat al Yatimah bi'l 
 Amthal i'l 1^*^™^^ ('^^ matchless pearl on ancient proverbs) by Ibrahim Sarkis of 
 Lebanon. 
 
 t Ibn u'l Athir has *i)'«i. not '^b^. 
 
 X For y^f read^^ as in Ibn Ath. 
 
[ 448 ] 
 
 A. H. 487. extensive knowledge. He was humane and liberal and a patron of the 
 A. D. 1094. learned and the virtuous. His tenure of the Caliphate was not free from 
 trouble for the times he lived in were turbulent and occupied with frequent 
 wars. 
 
 During this year of his reign died al Mustansir the U'baydite 
 Bovereign of Egypt and was succeeded by his son al Mustaa'li Ahmad. 
 During the same, the Byzantines took Valencia. 
 
 In the year 488, Ahmad* Khan prince of Samarkand was slain, as it 
 seemed that he held impious tenets. The nobles seized him and the 
 jurisconsults were summoned and pronounced sentence of death against 
 him and he was put to death — may God not have mercy upon him — and 
 they gave the government to his cousin Masa'ud. 
 
 In the year 489 the seven planets with the exception of Saturn met 
 in the sign of Pisces and the astronomers predicted a deluge similar to the 
 deluge of Noah and it came to pass that the pilgrims encamped at Dar u'l 
 Mandkibt when a flood overtook and drowned the greater number of 
 them. 
 
 In the year 490, the Sultan Arslan Arghun son of Alp Arslan the 
 Saljiik, ruler of Khurasdn was assassinated. The country was seized by 
 Sultan Barkyardk and its cities and people yielded obedience to him. 
 During the same the khutbah was read for the U'baydite (Mustaa'li) in 
 Aleppo, Antioch and Maa'rrah and Shayzar for the space of one month 
 and afterwards restored for the A'bbassides. During the same the Franks 
 advanced and captured Nice which was the first city they took and they 
 reached KafartabJ and devastated the adjacent country. This was the 
 first appearance of the Franks in Syria. They passed the Bosporus in vast 
 numbers, and princes and their subjects were in consternation and terrible 
 were their depredations. It is said that when the ruler of Egypt 
 beheld the supremacy of the Saljliks and their predominance in Syria, he 
 wrote to the Franks inviting them to enter and conquer Syria, and from 
 every quarter there was a general summons of the Frankish people. 
 
 In the year 492, the mission of the Batini§ sectaries spread into 
 Ispahan. During the same the Franks took Jerusalem after a siege of a 
 month and a half, and slaughtered more than seventy thousand, among 
 them, many learned, devout, and pious men. They destroyed the places 
 
 * Not *«>-l as in the text. 
 
 t Ibn u'l AtUr has >Ji»J'i* and a variant <i**l** — hut none of these places are to 
 be found in Takdl;. See the M. B. under V*'^. 
 t Between Maa'rrah and Aleppo. 
 { See note t)Jp.,4. 
 
[ 449 ] 
 
 of religious visitation and collected the Jews together in a chureli and A. H. 492. 
 burnt it over their heads. The refugees arrived at Baghdad and recounted A. D. 1099. 
 tales that brought tears to the eyes. But the rival Sultans were at vari- 
 ance with each other, wherefore the Franks subdued all Syria. 
 AMI Mudhaffar al Abiwardi* says regarding this— 
 " I have mixed blood with flowing tears, 
 
 For none is left among us to be a mark for the catapults. 
 
 A poor weapon for a man is the tear that he sheds 
 
 When war kindles its flame with keen-edged swords. 
 
 O sons of Islam ! behind ye 
 
 Are battles which will bring death upon your paths. 
 
 O thou fair sleeper in the shade of security and ease 
 
 And pleasure like the delicate flower of the grove ! 
 
 How can the eye slumber whose lids are filled 
 
 With dust that awaketh every sleeper ? 
 
 Your brethren in Syria take their midday rest 
 
 On the backs of well grown steeds or in the maws of vultures. 
 
 Home beateth them with contumely, and ye 
 
 Trail the skirts of submission like those who seek peace. 
 
 How much blood has been shed with impunity, 
 
 And how many fair women veil with shame their beauty with their 
 hands ! 
 
 So that the glittering swords have their curved blades red with 
 blood for their sakes, 
 
 And the tall lances bear their pointsf blood-dyed. 
 
 It may soon be that he who lies buried in Medina 
 
 Will call out with a loud voice, " O sons of Hashim ! 
 
 Do I see my people not speeding towards the foe 
 
 Their spears, while the pillars of the faith are tottering 1 
 
 And choosing hell-fire for fear of death 
 
 And counting not the inevitable shame ? 
 
 Are the chief of the Arabs content with ignominy 
 
 And submit they to the scorn of barbarian lords P 
 
 Would that if they fight not in defence 
 
 Of their faith, they would be jealous for the honour of their homes." 
 
 * He was a direct descendant from Mua'wiyah the less, and a poet of great celebrity 
 and an eminent genealogist and was a native of Abiward. His ooUeoted works are 
 classed under various heads, such as Irakiyah, (pieces relative to Irak) Najdiyah 
 (relative to Najd) and Wajdiyah (amatory pieces). He died at Ispahan 507 A. H, 
 Ibn KhaU. 
 
 + Ibn Ath. has this word with a i instead of j — thus making it an adjective 
 sharp, penetrating. See his variants of this poem. 
 57 
 
[ 450 ] 
 
 A. H. 492t During the same, Muhammad the son of Malak Shah rose against his 
 
 A. D. 1099. brother Barkyardk and vanquished him, wherefore the Caliph invested 
 him with the supreme authority and gave him the title of Ghiyath u'ddunya 
 wa'd din (Sedresser of wrongs in spirituals and temporals) and his name 
 was read in the khutbah at Baghdad. Many engagements subsequently 
 took place between them. The Kuran of Othman was brought this year 
 from Tiberius to Damascus for fear of an accident to it, and the people 
 went out to meet it and they placed it in the treasury in the reserved space 
 of the principal mosque. 
 
 In 494 the power of the Batinis in Irak increased and their assassi- 
 nation of the people, and the terrors they occasioned were such that the 
 nobles wore armour under their garments and they slew many people, 
 among them ar Euyani* author of the Bahr u'l Madhab {ocean of 
 doctrine). In this year the Franks took the town of Saruj,t and Hayfa, 
 Urslif and Cesarea, 
 
 In 495 died al Mustaa'li ruler of Egypt and was succeeded by his 
 son a child of five years, Mansur al Amir bi'ahkam allah (Ruling accord- 
 ing to the commands of Ood). 
 
 In the year 496 seditions occurred against the authority of the Sultan, 
 and the preachers omitted the prayer for him, and restricted themselves to 
 the prayer for the Caliph and no other. 
 
 In 497 a peace was concluded between the two Sultans Muhammad 
 and Barkyaruk. The occasion of it was, that after hostilities had been 
 protracted between them and dissensions had become universal, and pro- 
 perty plundered and blood spilt and the provinces ravaged during which 
 the Sultanate was the coveted prize, and princes after being victorious 
 were in their turn subdued, men of understanding interfered in the 
 interests of peace, and treaties and oaths and compacts were drawn up and 
 the Caliph bestowed the viceregal robe of honour upon Barkyaruk and the 
 khutbah was read for him in Baghdad. 
 
 In the year 498 Sultan Barkyaruk died and the nobles set up his son 
 Jalal u'd Daulah Malak Shah in succession to him. The Caliph invested 
 him and his name was read in the khutbah in Baghdad. He was under 
 five years of age. His uncle Muhammad, however, opposed him and as the 
 general voice was in his favour, the Caliph placed him in the dignity of 
 the Sultdnate and he returned to Ispahan, a powerful Sultan much feared 
 and at the head of a numerous army. 
 
 * Abu'l Mahasin A'bdu'l Wahid a Shafl'ite jurisconsult of eminence in great 
 favour with Nidhdm u'l Mulk. His work, the Baljr, was a voluminous treatise on the 
 jurisprudence of hia school. He was killed at Amul and owed his death to sectarian 
 intolerance. Ihn Khali. He was bom 415 A. H., (1025) and slain 602 (1108). 
 
 t Sardj is near HarrAn N. E. of Aleppo. IJayfa is in the bay of Aero and TJrsdf 
 on the coast between Cesarea and Jaffa. 
 
[ 451 ] 
 
 During the same year the smi^U-pox broke out with great virulence in A. H. 498. 
 Baghdad, and a countless nunaber o£ children died and it was followed by A.D.1I04-5. 
 a great plague. 
 
 In the year 499, a man arose in the neighbourhood o£ Nahawand 
 claiming the gift of prophecy. The people foUowdd him but he was taken 
 and put to death. In the year 500, the fort of Shahdiz* in Ispahan 
 of which the Ismailites had taken possession, was recaptured and destroyed 
 and the defenders slain. Their leader (Ahmad-b-A'bdi'l Malilc-b-A'Udsh) 
 was flayed alive and his skin stuffed with straw. This was done by 
 Sultan Muhammad after a close siege. Praise be to God. 
 
 In the year 501 the Sultan removed the imposts and taxes in Baghdad 
 and many blessings were invoked on him and he increased in justice and 
 beneficence. 
 
 In 502 the Ismailites returned and occupied Shayzar when its in- 
 habitants were off their guard and took possession of it and captured the 
 citadel and shut the gates. Its governor was at the time absent on a 
 tour of pleasure, but he returned and quickly exterminated them. 
 
 During this year the Shafi'ite Shaykh ar Ruyani author of the Bahr 
 was slain by the Ismailites as hath already gone before. 
 
 In the year 503, the Franks took Tripoli after a siege of some years. 
 
 In 504 the troubles of the Muslims increased by reason of the Franks, 
 and being convinced of their ultimate conquest of the whole of Syria, the 
 Muslims sought to conclude a peace which the Franks rejected, but 
 proposed a truce on the condition of the payment of many thousand dinars. 
 A truce was therefore concluded which they afterwards broke — may the 
 Lord confound them.f 
 
 During the same a dark storm swept over old Cairo which prevented 
 people breathing and a man could not even see his hand, and sand fell 
 upon the people and they believed their destruction was upon them. After 
 a short time it cleared a little and then turned yellow and this went on 
 from the afternoon till past sunset. A bloody battle also took place this 
 year between the FranksJ and Ibn Tashifin ruler of Spain in which the 
 Muslims were victorious, and they slew and made captive and plundered 
 to an extent which cannot be described and the bravest of the Franks fell. 
 
 * Ibn Atli. Weil writes the name incorrectly Shahdurr. See Yakut. 
 
 t This pious wish is not echoed by Ibn Athir who does not state in terms that 
 the truce was broken. Its duration was limited to the harvest time. The Crusaders 
 after this, plundered a fleet of merchant ships conveying a rich cargo from Egypt but 
 it is not stated whether this was done during the truce. The silence of the Arab 
 historian speaks in acquittal of the Frank. Aleppo purchased this truce at 32,000 
 dinars besides horses and garments. Tyre contributed 7,000, Shayzar 4,000, and 
 riamat 2,000. 
 
 X Under Alfonso of Toledo according to the Kimil. 
 
[ 452 ] 
 
 A. H. 507. In the year 507, Mauddd governor of Mosal advanced with an army 
 
 A. D. 1113. against the Frankish king of Jerusalem* (Baldwin) and a terrible engage- 
 ment took place between them. Shortly after Maudud returned to Damas- 
 cus, and one day while he was reading the Friday prayers, lo ! a Batini 
 sprung upon him and stabbed him and. he died on the spot. The Frankish 
 king upon this wrote to the governor of Damascus,t a letter which runs 
 as follows : " Verily a people that slays its chief, on a festival day in the 
 temple of Him whom they worship, the Lord must necessarily destroy." ' 
 
 In the year 511 a great flood swept over Sinjar J and its fortifications 
 and a great number of people were destroyed. The flood carried away the 
 gate of the city several parasangs, and it lay hidden under the soil which the 
 stream took with it, and it was discovered two years after. A little child 
 escaped safely in its cot which the flood carried away. The cot lodged in 
 an olive tree. The child afterwards lived and grew to manhood. 
 
 In the same year died the Sultan Muhammad who was succeeded by 
 liis son Mahmud at the age of fourteen. 
 
 In the year 512 died the Caliph al Mustadhir bi'llah on the 16th 
 Kabii' II. § He reigned 25 years. Ibn Ukayl the Hanbalite Shaykh 
 washed his body and his son al Mustarshid read the prayers over him. 
 Shortly after his death died his grandmother Arjawan the mother of al 
 Muktadi. Ad Pahabi says that no other Caliph is known whose grand- 
 mother outlived him but this one. She saw her son a Caliph, her grandson 
 and her great-grandson. 
 
 The following verses are by al Mustadhir — 
 
 " The warmth of love dissolved in my heart what was frozen 
 On the day thou didst stretch out thy hand in farewell. 
 How can I tread the path of patience while verily 
 I behold the way through the defiles of love are various ? 
 If I break my plighted troth, O my delight ! 
 In time to come, may I never behold thee again." 
 
 * Godfrey of Bouillon was sncceeded in the government of Jerusalem by the 
 two Baldwins, his brother and cousin, Baldwin was defeated in this battle {SOth June 
 1113) which took place near Tiberias, with great loss. 
 
 t The Atabak Tughtakin, who it is conjectured instigated the deed, the fruits of 
 which he enjoyed. 
 
 X Near Mosal. 
 
 § The text has 23 Eabii' I, and so also the KS., but this must be an error as 
 as Snyuti himself admits that the Caliph's son al Must&rshid succeeded on tht death 
 of his father in Sabii' II. Both Ibn u'l Athir and Ibn Khaldun give the date to be 
 the middle of Eabii' II. The former specifies it with exactitude, namely, the 16th of 
 that month (ith August 1118) and gives the duration of his reign at 24 years S months 
 and 11 days, with which Abu'l Fida exactly accords. 
 
[ 453 ] 
 
 The following is by Sarim al Bata.ihi — A. H. 512. 
 
 " I dwelt with Mustadhir the son of Muktadi A. D. 1118. 
 
 Bi'llah, the son of al Kaim, the son of al Kadir, 
 Under his protection. I hope of the bounty of his hands 
 That he will be a guardian to my family. 
 May my abode be with him in my advancing years 
 And may he obtain from my praise, verses of world-wide fame." 
 
 Al Mustadhir wrote an order thereupon giving him the choice of 
 receiving a present and departing, or remaining with him with a yearly 
 stipend. As Silafi narrates that Abu'l Khattab-b-i'l Jarrah said to him. 
 " I was praying with al Mustadhir in the Ramadhdn, and I read as follows : 
 ' Verily thy son hath been called a thief.' (Kur. XII), a reading which I 
 had from al Kasai, and when I came to the concluding benediction, he 
 said, ' This reading is a good one because it clears the children of the 
 prophets from having spoken falsely.' "* 
 
 AL MUSTARSHID BI'LLAH. 
 
 Al Mustarshid bi'llah {Tahmg Ood for a Guide) Abu Mansdr al 
 Fadhl-b-u'l Mustadhir was born in Eabii' I, in the year 485 and was 
 acknowledged Caliph on the death of his father in Eabii' II, 512. He 
 was a man of high resolves and great courage, spirit, intelligence and of 
 awe-inspiring presence. He assumed the affairs of the Caliphate and 
 administered them in an admirable manner. He revived its ancient 
 customs, and put life into its bones, strengthening the pillars of the law 
 and ornamenting its sleeves. He personally undertook the direction of 
 hostilities and marched on several occasions to Hillah and Mosal and the 
 road to Khurasan, until the last march he undertook when his army was 
 defeated near Hamadan and he was taken prisoner to Adarbijan. He 
 heard traditions from Abu'l Kasim-b-Bayyan, and A'bdu'l Wahab-b- 
 Hibbat i'Uah as Sabti. Muhammad b-Omar-b-Makki a,l Ahwazi, and his 
 Wazir A'li-b-Tirad ag Zaynahi and Isma'il-b-Tahir al Mausili, related 
 them on his authority. This is mentioned by Ibn u's Sama'ani.f 
 
 • The ordinary reading is — ' thy son hath committed theft' by a change of the 
 diacritical points. The passage refers to the finding of the cup in Benjamin's sack 
 and Eeuhen addressing his brethren, refuses to return to Egypt without Benjamin and 
 tells the rest to say the above words to Jacob. 
 
 t The Hafidh Abu Saa'd sumamed Taj u'l Islam a Shafi'ite doctor bom 466, 
 (1074) died 510 (1116). A list of his works is given by Ibn Khali. 
 
[ 454 J 
 
 A. H. 512. Ibn u's Salah notices him in the classes of the Shafi'ites and let that 
 
 A D. 1118. ^® sufficient for thee as a testimony of his merit and he says that he it was 
 for whom Abu Bakr as Shashi composed his work the U'mdah_^ Farun u's 
 Shafiyah {the Pillar on the derivative institutes of the Shqfi'i doctrine) on 
 jurisprudence, the book being known by his surname, for al Mustarshid* 
 had at that time the title of Umdat u'ddunya wa'd din (Pillar in spirituals 
 and temporals). As Subkif also speaks of him in bis classification of the 
 Shafi'ite doctors and says that in the beginning of his reign,- he was devout 
 and wore hair-cloth and used to retire alone into a room to pray ; that he 
 was born on Wedneeday the 18th of Shaa'ban in the year 486 and that 
 his father included him in the khutbah as his heir and engraved his name 
 on the coinage in Eabii' I, 488. 
 
 He wrote a beautiful hand which none of the Caliphs before him 
 equalled, He used to correct his secretaries and rectify the errors in 
 their documents. As for his nobility of mind, awe-inspiring presence, 
 his courage and intrepidity, they were as clear as the sun. His reign 
 continued to be troubled by many dissessions and enemies. He used to 
 march in person to put them down until his final expedition to Irak when 
 he was defeated, taken prisoner and suffered martyrdom. 
 
 Ad Dahabi says that Sultan Mahmlid son of Muhammad Malak Shah 
 died in 525 and was succeeded by his son Dauiid. His uncle Masa'ud son 
 of Muhammad opposed him and an engagement took place, but after a 
 short time they made peace on the condition of an equal partition, each 
 of them retaining sovereign authority. Masa'ud was named Sultan in 
 the khutbah at Baghdad and Dauud as his successor, and they both 
 received robes of honour. Afterwards an estrangement occurred between 
 the Caliph and Masa'ud and the Caliph marched against him. The two 
 armies met, but the greater part of the Caliph's troops played false and 
 Masa'dd was victorious and took him and his suite prisoners and confined 
 them in a fort near Hamadan. When the people of Baghdad heard this, 
 they filled the streets in a state of commotion, having dust upon their 
 heads, and wept and lamented and the women came forth with uncovered 
 faces mourning the Caliph, and they abstained from public prayers and the 
 reading of the khutbah. 
 
 Ibn u'l Jauzi says that Baghdad was convulsed by frequent earth- 
 quakes, continuing iive or six times each day, and the people fell to sup- 
 
 • See Haji Khalifah under yj.4^ 
 
 t Abu Nasr A'bd'ul Wahdl) sumamed tlie crown of religion, chief ^idlji of 
 Damascus. His work on tlie Shafi'ite doctors was in three parts called at Tabakdt al 
 Kubra (the greater) al "Wusta {the medium) and al Sughra {the less). He was bom at 
 Cairo, A. H. 728 (1327-8), and died of the plague at Damascus, A, H. 771 (1369-70) 
 Db Slane, I. K. 
 
[ 455 ] 
 
 plicating the Lord. Sultan Sinjar* thereupon wrote to his nephew Masa'dd, A. H. 325. 
 saying, " As soon as my son, the Redresser of Spirituals and Temporals, A. D. 1131. 
 is informed of this letter, let him present himself before the Caliph, and 
 kiss the ground before him and ask his pardon and forgiveness and make 
 the humblest supplications for his indulgence, for verily signs from the 
 heavens and the earth have appeared to us, the like of which we are unable 
 to listen to, much less witness, such as hurricanes, lightnings and earth- 
 quakes, and their continuance for twenty days, together with dissensions 
 in the army and confusion in the provinces, for verily I fear for myself 
 before the Lord. And the appearance of his signs and the abstention of 
 the people from praying in the mosques and the discontinuance of the 
 khutbah are things I am not able to bear, therefore I conjure thee by 
 Allah to mend thy affairs and restore the Caliph to his residence of honour 
 and carry before him the housings of State as hath been our custom and 
 the custom of our ancestors." And Masa'ud did all that was commanded 
 him and kissed the ground before the Caliph and stood before him asking 
 pardon. Sinjar subsequently sent another messenger accompanied by an 
 armed force, urging Masa'ud to restore the Caliph to his capital. With 
 this force were seventeen Isma'ilites and it is said that Masa'ud was 
 ignorant of their presence, but others affirm that it was he who secretly 
 introduced them. They attacked the Caliph in his tent and treacherously 
 slew him and murdered with him a number of his attendants. The troops 
 were not aware of their presence until they had effected their purpose, when 
 they captured them and put them to death under the curse of God. The 
 Sultan Masa'ud publicly mourned him and affected grief for this, and there 
 was lamentation and weeping, and when the news reached Baghdad the 
 people felt it sorely and they went forth bare foot rending their garments, 
 the women with dishevelled hair, beating their breasts and lamenting over 
 him, for al Mustarshid was much beloved among them for his bravery and 
 ■justice arid for his goodness towards them. The assassination of al Mustar- 
 shid took place at Maraghah* on Thursday the 16th of Du'l Kaa'dah 529, 
 {21th August 1134). 
 
 * Sixth Sultan of the elder hranch of the Saljflts. He was son of Malak Shah. 
 He governed Khurasan for 20 years under his brothers Barkyaruk and Muhammad, 
 to -whose possessions he succeeded, after forcing Sultan Masa'ud to acknowledge his 
 paramount authority. He conquered Transoxiana and compelled tribute from the 
 Ghaznevide kings. He was taken prisoner by the Ghuz a Turkish tribe and remained 
 with them for five years. He effected his escape, but died in 552 when on the point of 
 recovering his kingdom. See D. Herbelot art. Sangiar. Gibbon, Cap. LIX and Ibn 
 Khali. 
 
 + In Adarbij§in. Accounts vary as to the exact date of the Caliph's death. 
 
[ 456 ] 
 
 A. H. 529. The following is by him— 
 
 A. D. 1134. « J g^jjj jjg^ ruddy of visage, sought for in battle, 
 
 Who can conquer the world without opposition. 
 My horsemen shall sweep over the Roman empire 
 And my glittering sword shall be wielded in the furthest ends of 
 China." 
 The following also are among his lines written during imprisonment — 
 " It is not strange that lions should be wounded 
 By dogs of enemies, human beings and brutes. 
 Tor the javelin of Wahshi made Hamzah drink of death 
 And A'li was slain by the sword of Ibn Muljam." 
 By him also are these verses when he was defeated and counselled to 
 fly, but refused and held his ground till he was captured : 
 " They said, ' dost thou stand while 
 The enemy surround thee, and fly not ?' 
 I answered them, ' the man who will not be counselled 
 By admonition, deoeiveth himself ; 
 May I never acquire good while I live 
 And may Fortune never avert evil from me, 
 If I have ever thought that other 
 Than God can profit or injure me.' " 
 Ad Dahabi says that he preached to the people on the festival of 
 Adhha and said, " God is great while the stars move in their orbits and the 
 light breaks in the East, and the sun rises and the heavens cover the earth. 
 God is great, while the clouds shed rain, and the mirage gleams, and what 
 is sought is successfully accomplished, and the returning wanderer is glad- 
 as he returns — " and he spoke a long discourse and then sat down. 
 Again he rose and preached and said — 0#God, be beneficent to me in 
 my posterity and aid me in what Thou hast given me to rule and inspire 
 me with thanks for Thy benefits and give me Thy grace and help me." 
 When he had pronounced this and was about to descend, Abu'l Mudhaffar 
 the Hashimite advanced to him and recited as follows : 
 
 " The peace of God be upon thee thou best of those who have ascended 
 The pulpit and whose standards victory attends ! 
 And most excellent of those who, bearing rule, 
 Art an Imdm to thy people and benefitest them universally by thy 
 
 virtuous conduct ! 
 Best of men in the world in the east and west, 
 And he whose ancestor was he for whom the rain came upon earth !* 
 Verily, thy discourse and true eloquence which would soften a stone 
 * The Mutammadans aBoribe the creation of the earth and all its blessinga, to 
 their prophet's advent and that they wore for hia sake alone, brought into existence. 
 
[ 4.-57 ] 
 
 Hath bedecked our ears with ear-rings. -A-. H. 529. 
 
 Thou hast filled all hearts with dread, A. D. 1134 
 
 And verily the whole city hath trembled with the fear of its 
 threatening 
 
 Thou hast added by it to the glory and nobility of the descendants 
 of Adnan,* 
 
 And by it amongst men is renown for thee won. 
 
 Thou art the chief of the A'bbas 
 
 In whom the lowly and the wise glory. 
 
 Unto God we owe the age in which thou art our Imam, 
 
 And unto Him the faith of which thou art to us the chief. 
 
 Mayst thou continue reigning through time 
 
 While age succeeds to age possessing thee ! 
 
 Mayest thou be present at this happy festival with our good wishes 
 
 And thy prayers and sacrifice exalt us in honor." 
 His Wazir Jalalu'ddin al Hasan-b-A'li-b-Sadakah thus praises him — 
 " I have found men as water in sweetness and delicacy, 
 
 But the prince of the Faithful is its perfect purity. 
 
 I figured to myself the personification of Wisdom, 
 
 And verily the prince of the Faithful is its likeness. 
 
 And were it not for religion and the divine law and a sense of piety 
 
 I would say in reference to him, may his glory be exalted."t 
 In the twenty -fourth year of his reign, a cloud ascended and rained 
 down fire upon the city of Mosal, through which many houses and places 
 in the city were burnt. In the same year the sovereign of Egypt al Amir 
 bi Ahkami'Uah Manslir was slain and left no issue. His nephew al Hafidh, 
 A'bdu'l Majid-b-Muhammad-b-i'l Muntasir succeeded him. During the 
 same also, flying scorpions with two stings made their appearance in 
 Baghdad, and men were in fear of them for verily they killed a number of 
 children. 
 
 Of persons of distinction who died during his reign were Shamsu'l 
 Aimmat Abu'l Fadhl the Hanafite Imam, Abur Eaf£a-b-Ukayl al Hanbali, 
 the chief Kadhi Abu'l Hasan al Damaghani, Ibn BulaymahJ the Kuran 
 reader, at Tughrai author of the Lamyat u'l A'jam,§ Abd Ali as Sadafi 
 
 * The Kurayeh. 
 
 t An expression applied to God alone. 
 
 J I can find no trace of such a name in any work I have consulted and do not 
 know its true pronunciation. 
 
 § This has been repeatedly published in Europe and has been edited by Pooock. 
 This poet was Wazir to the Sultan Masa'ud and was put to death by Mahmud's Wazir 
 (after the former Sultan had been defeated near Hamadan by his brother Mahmrid) on 
 the suspicion or accusation of being an atheist {A. S. 613, or 14). Tughrai signifies a 
 tughra writer, the tughra being a flourish at the beginning of ofScial papers over the 
 word B'ism'iUah and containing the titles of the prince. See Iba Khali, 
 58 
 
[ 458 ] 
 
 A. H. 529. the Hafidh, Abd Nasi- al Kushayri, Ibn u'l Kattda' the philologer, Muhi 
 A. D. 1134. u's Sunnat al Baghawi {al Farrd), Ibu u'l Fihdm the Kurdn reader, al 
 Hariri author of the Makamat, al Maidani author of the Amthal. (Pro- 
 verls)* Abu'l Walid-b-Eushd al Maliki, the Imam Abu Bakr of Tortosa, 
 Abu'l Hajjaj of Saragossa, Ibn u's Sayyid of Badajos ihe grammarian and 
 philologist, Abu All al Fariki of the Sha'fiites, Ibu u'l Tarawah the gram- 
 marian, Ibn u'l Badish ihe grammarian, Dhafir al Haddad the poet, A'bdu'l 
 Ghafir al Farisi and others. 
 
 AE RASHID BI'LLAH. 
 
 Ar Eashid bi'llah {Directed aright hy &od) Abu Jaa'far Mansur son 
 of al Mustarshid was born in the year 502. His mother was a slave 
 concubine. It was said that there was an obstruction at his birth. The 
 physicians were consulted and they recommended the enlargement of the 
 passage with a golden instrument which was done and proved beneficial. 
 His father introduced his name in the khutbah as his heir in the year 
 513, and he was acknoiyledged Caliph on the assassination of his father in 
 Du'l Kaa'dah 529. He was eloquent, versed in literature and a poet ; 
 brave, beneficent, generous, of a virtuous disposition, choosing justice and 
 hating iniquity. When Sultan Masa'M returned to Baghdad the Calipb 
 departed for Mosal. The Kadhis, the principal men and the learned were 
 then summoned bg Masa'ud and they drew up an indictment containing 
 the evidence of certain people on the tyranny of ar Rashid, his confiscatioa 
 of property, shedding of blood and wine drinking and the jurists were asked 
 whether the doer of these things was deserving of the supreme adminis- 
 tration and whether, should his guilt be established, it were lawful for the 
 Sultan for the time being, to depose him and substitute for him one more 
 worthy. They gave sentence on the lawfulness of his deposition, and the 
 Kadhi of the city, Ibn u'l Karkhi pronounced his deposal. And they swore 
 allegiance to his uncle Muhammad the son of al Mustadhir who was sur- 
 named al Muktafi li'amri'Uah {Ibllowing the commands of God). This 
 occurred on the 16tht Pu'l Kaa'dah 530 {IQth August 1185). When 
 the news of his deposition reached ar Rdshid, he set out from Mosal for 
 the provinces of Adarbijan with his adherents, and they levied a sum of 
 money from Mardghah and acted there with great injustice and passed to 
 Hamaddn where they committed violence and slew a number of people 
 and crucified others and shaved ofE the beards of some of the learned. 
 
 * A Latin translation of which has heen published by Professor ITreytag of 
 Bonn. 
 
 t 18th Ibn Ath. 
 
[ 459 ] 
 
 Subsequently tbey advanced on Ispahan and laid siege to it and ravaged the A. H. 530w 
 villages. Ar Rashid fell ill o£ a grevous sickness* outside Ispahan and A. D. 1135. 
 some Pe]?sians who were in his service as chamber attendants, went in to 
 him and slew him with knives, but were afterwards themselves all put 
 to death. This took place on the IBthf of Eamadhan 532. Al I' mad J 
 Kdtib says that ar Rashid possessed the beauty of Joseph and the 
 liberality of Hatim. 
 
 Ibn u'l Jauzi observes — " according to as Slili the general opinion is 
 that every sixth Caliph was deposed. I have looked into this statement 
 and observed it with wonder." I remark that I have continued the rest of 
 his observations in the introduction. fPage 18). 
 
 The mantle and sceptre were not taken from ar Rashid till he was 
 assassinated when they were brought after bis death to al Muktafi. 
 
 AL MUKTAFI LI'AMRI'LLA'H. 
 
 Al Muktafi li'amri'Uah Abu A'bdu'llah Muhammad the son of al 
 Mustadhir bi'llah was born on the 22nd Rabii' 489. His mother was a 
 Nubian. He was acknowledged Caliph on the deposal of his nephew, at 
 the age of forty. The reason of his being surnamed al Muktafi was that, 
 six days before his elevation to the Caliphate, he dreamb that he saw the 
 Apostle of God saying to him, " This authority shall come to thee, there- 
 fore follow the commandments of God." He therefore received the title 
 of " the follower of the commandments of God." Sultan Masa'iid after he 
 had dealt even-handed justice and set Baghdad in order, next took the 
 
 * Neither Ibn Khalddn nor Abu'l Fida mention his illness. This vague account 
 of ar Eashid's movements after leaving Mosal may be supplemented by Weil's (pp. 238 
 and 9, Vol. Ill) , narrative taken from Ibn Ath. and Ibn Ehaldun, and Eeisfce's Latin 
 version of Abu'l Fida, Vol. Ill, p. 477. 
 
 t Ibn Ath. and Abu'l Fida, have 25th Ibn Khaldun, ISth. 
 
 { Abd A'bdu'llah Muhammad Imam u'ddin {pillar of religion) Katib al Ispahani 
 {the scribe of Ispahan) was a Sha'fiite doctor and author of many poems and epistles. 
 He was honoured with the friendship of Saladin and served him as Secretary of State 
 till that monarch's death, (A. H., 589-1193) which reduced him to riiin and deprived 
 him of all influence. He was bom 519 (1126) and died at Damascus 697 (1201). A 
 list of his works wiU be found in Ibn Blhall — the principal being the Kharidat u'l 
 Kasr wa Jaridat u'l A'sr {virgin of the palace and volume or palm branch of the age) con- 
 taining an account of the poets between the years 500 and 572, in 10 vols, of which Be 
 Slane speaks slightingly and apparently with much reason. He has also written a 
 history of the SaJjuk dynasty, the conquest of Jerusalem and a historical and aute- 
 biographioal work entitled the " Syrian Lightning." 
 
[ 4.60 ] 
 
 A. H. 532. whole of the cattle and furniture and gold, and curtains and pavilions that 
 
 A. D. 1138. were in the palace of the Caliph and left in the stables of the Caliph but 
 
 four horses and eight mules* for the conveyance of water yrojre the Tigris. 
 
 It was therefore said that al Muktafi was acknowledged Caliph on the 
 
 condition of his possessing neither a horse nor travelling furniture. 
 
 In the year 531 Sultan Masa'tid seized all the possessions of the 
 Caliph and left him nothing but his personal estate and he sent his Wazir 
 to demand of the Caliph one hundred thousand dinars,. Al Muktafi 
 replied, " I have never known anything stranger than thy conduct. Thou 
 knowest that al Mustarshid went to thee with all his wealth and what follow- 
 ed, followed ; next ar Easbid ruled and acted as he acted and departed 
 and took what remained,t and nothing was left but the furniture, the 
 whole of which thou hast seized, and turned to thy use in the mint and 
 thou hast possessed thyself of inheritances and the proceeds of the poll 
 tax. For what reason then should I give thee this money ? Nothing 
 remains but that I should quit the palace and deliver it up, for I have 
 vowed to God that J would not take a grain's worth from the Muslims 
 unjustly." The Sultan then abandoned his demands on the Caliph and 
 turned to taxing the property of the people and he imposed fines on the 
 merchants, and the people suffered severely through this. Subsequently in 
 Jumada I the estates of the Caliph and his domains and inheritances were 
 restored to his control. During this year the nsw moon was looked for on 
 the night of the 30th Ramadhan, but it was not seen, and the people of 
 Baghdad entered upon morning, fasting in completion of the term. On the 
 following day they looked again for the new moon but did not see it 
 though the sky was bright and clear, the like of which has not been heard 
 of in history. 
 
 In the year 533 there was a great earthquake at Khubzah,J felt for 
 a distance of ten parasangs and multitudes perished, after which Khubzah 
 was swallowed up, and black water rose in the place where the town had 
 stood. During the same the nobles took possession of the revenues of the 
 provinces and Sultan Masa'iid was helpless, nothing being left him but the 
 name of power. The supremacy of Sultan Sinjar also declined for the 
 Lord is the humbler of tyrants, but the Caliph al Muktafi became powerful : 
 
 * The version of Itn Atli. is very different. The SultAn sent to the Caliph 
 informing him of the settlement of certain personal estates for his maintenance. 
 He replied that he had eighty mules in his palace for the conveyance of water from 
 the Tigris and that the Sultan should see to the necessities of the person who drank this 
 water. It was therefore agreed that he should receive the same allowance as al 
 Mustadhir. 
 
 t Eoad ^J^. 
 
 X This is a fort near Mecca according to YaWt, but Ibn Ath. and Ahu'l Fida 
 speak only of the effects of this earthquake in Syria and especially at Aleppo. 
 
[ 461 ] 
 
 bis iafluence increased and his authority grew great, and this was the A. H. 533. 
 beginning of the restoration of the A'bbaside power, for which, praise be to A,D.1138-9. 
 God. 
 
 In the year 541 Sultan Masa'dd arrived at Baghdad and set up a 
 mint, but the Caliph imprisoned the coiner who occasioned the establish- 
 ment of the mint, whereupon Masa'ud arrested the chamberlain of the 
 Caliph, who was greatly incensed and closed the principal mosque and the 
 other mosques for three days. Upon this the chamberlain was released 
 whereon the coiner was set free and the affair ended peaceably. 
 
 During the same Ibn u'l A'bbadi* held his discourses. On one 
 occasion Masa'ud was present and the preacher addressed himself to the 
 mention of the tax on sales, and what the people had undergone and he 
 said, " O Lord of the world ! thou givest in one night to a musician as 
 much as this that thou takest from the Muslims, wherefore bestow on me 
 that musician and give him to me and make of him a thank-offering to 
 God for what He hath bestowed upon thee." And he consented and 
 proclamation was made in the city of its remission, and placards were sent 
 round, preceded by drums and trumpets, on which the remission of the 
 tax was inscribed, and they were nailed up on the doors of the mosqves^ 
 and there remained until an Na^irli dini'Uah commanded the placards to 
 be pulled down, saying, " we have no need of Persian memorials." 
 
 In the year 543 the FranksJ besieged Damascus, but Nuru'ddin 
 Mahm6d-b-Zinki governor of Aleppo and his brother Sayfu'ddin Ghazi 
 lord of Mosal advanced to its relief. The Muslims were victorious, praise 
 be to God, and the Pranks were routed. !N'uru"'ddin continued the war with 
 the Franks and recovered what they had taken of the cities of the Muslims. 
 In the year 544 died the sovereign of Egypt al Hafidh li dini'Uah 
 (^Protector of the religion of God) and his son ad Dhafir Isma'il succeeded 
 him. During the same a great earthquake occurred and Baghdad was. 
 convulsed about ten times, and a mountain in Hulwan was shattered by it.. 
 In the year 545 it rained blood in Yaman and the earth was sprinkled with 
 blood and its traces were left upon the garments of the people. 
 
 * Ibn AtK. states that he was a preacher who came as an envoy from Sultan 
 Sinjar. So great was the influence of his discourses that not only the court, hut the 
 common people left their occupations and went eagerly to hear him. 
 
 t So Ibn Ath. who places this in the year 533, and does not state that it was in 
 consequence of al A'bbadi's intervention. 
 
 1 "Under the king of Germany" — writes Abu'l Fida. This was Conrad III. See 
 Eeiske's note to this passage. Conrad marched with St. Louis of France and Baldwin 
 " sed re infecta domum redierunt, seditione inter obsidentes exorta.'' " The fruitless 
 siege of Damascus," says Gibbon, "was the final effort of the second crusade." See his 
 LIJC Chapter. 
 
[ 462 ] 
 
 A. H. 547. In the year 547 Sultan Masa'iid died. Ibn Hubayrah who was the 
 
 A. D. 1152. Wazir of al Muktafi relates that when the followers of Masa'iid behaved 
 arrogantly towards al Muktafi and treated him with disrespect, and he was 
 not powerful enough to proceed from undisguised enmity into open war, it 
 was decided to pray for the curse of God upon Masa'ud for a whole month 
 as the prophet called down curses during a month upon Ei'l and Dakwan.* 
 Whereupon he and the Caliph secretly, each one in his place, began to 
 pray at daybreak from the night of the 29th Jumada I and this continued 
 every night. And whon the month was completed Masa'dd died upon his 
 throne,t not a day beyond the month and not a day under it. The army 
 agreed upon the elevation to the Sultanate of Malak Shah,J and Khas- 
 bek§ undertook the administration in his name, but he afterwards arrested 
 Malak Shah and sent for his brother Muhammad from Khuzistan who 
 arrived and the Sultanate was resigned to him. At this juncture the 
 Caliph assumed the supreme administration and his commands were uni- 
 versally obeyed, and he removed the professors whom the Sultan had 
 appointed to the Mdhamiyah College. It was reported to him, also that 
 the district of Wasit was in a state of anarchy whereupon he marched at 
 the head of his army and set the provinces in order and entered Hillah 
 and Kufah and returned to Baghdad confirmed in power and victorious 
 and the city was decorated ybj- Ms entry. In the year 548 the Ghuzz|| rose 
 up against Sultan Sinjar and took him prisoner and treated him with 
 contumely and overran his dominions, but left the khutbah in his name. 
 He remained in their power a shadow without reality and he wept for him- 
 self over his nominal authority and his stipend was as much as that of one 
 of his own grooms. 
 
 * Ril and Dakw&i were two tribes descended from Sulaym, who pnt to death 
 seventy of the Auxiliaries whom Muhammad had sent at their request to aid them 
 against one of the hostile tribes. These VO were termed Kurra and were apparently 
 in the service of Muljammad as catechiats and expounders of the ^uran : when they 
 reached Bir Mainah, they were met by the Banu Ri'l and Dakwan and treacherously 
 slain. Two other tribes, that of U'sayyah and Lahyau were associated in this 
 murderous deed and in the curse of Muljammad. The story and ascriptions will be 
 found in the Sahih of Bukhari, pp. 585-6. 
 
 t The more prosaic narrative of Ibn Ath. makes him die of a fever which carried 
 him off in a week. Ibn Khali, states the cause of his death to have been an attack of 
 vomiting and a flow of liquid from the mouth, apparently caused by the intemperate 
 life he led. In I. K.'s life of Ibn Hubayrah there is no mention of this circumstance. 
 
 X Nephew of Masa'ud. 
 
 § Of Turkoman origin who as a boy entered the service of Masa'ud and rose to 
 pre-eminence over the other Emirs. He was afterwards put to death by Muhammad 
 for conspiring to obtain the Sultdnate for himself. Abu'l Fida. Ibn Ath. 
 
 II A Turkoman horde consisting of about 40,000 fiuniUes, on the banks of the 
 Oxus between Balkh and Bukh&ra. Weil ; see also Abu'l Fida. 
 
[ 463 ] 
 
 In the year 549 the sovereign of Egypt ad DhMr billdh al U'baydi A. H. 549. 
 was slain at Cairo and was succeeded by his son al Faiz Tsa a little child, A. D. 1154. 
 and the affairs of the Egyptians fell into a ruinous state. Upon this al 
 Muktafi wrote a diploma of investiture for Nuru'ddin-b-Zinki* and entrus- 
 ted to him the government of Egypt, and ordered him to march thither. 
 He was at the time engaged in hostilities with the Franks, pushing on 
 vigorously the holy war, for he had captured Damascus in the month of 
 Saf ar of this year, and had taken possession of a number of forts and strong- 
 holds of the Byzantines by the sword and by treaty. His dominions increased 
 and his fame spread, and al Muktafi sent him the investiture of authority 
 and commanded him to proceed to Egypt and gave him the title of al 
 Malik al A'adil {the Just King). The power of al Muktafi now reached its 
 zenith : his authority was established, he was victorious over his foes and 
 he determined to march for the provinces in rebellion against his govern- 
 ment, and his affairs continued in prosperity and success till he died on 
 Saturday night, the 2nd Eabii' I, 555 {I2th March 1160). 
 
 Ad Dahabi days that al Muktafi was one of the most eminent of the 
 Caliphs, learned, well-read, brave, forbearing, of easy disposition, supreme 
 in the qualities of a prince, worthy of the Imamate, matchless among 
 Imams, no order however insignificant, being issued in his administration 
 except under his transcript. He wrote out during his Caliphate three- 
 fourths of the Kuran. He heard traditions from his master Abu'l 
 Barakah-b-Abi'l Paraj-b-u's Sunni.f 
 
 Ibn u's Sama'ani states that, with his brother al Mustarshid, he heard 
 traditions from Jaz-b-A'rafah on the authority of Kasim-b-Bayydn. Tra- 
 ditions are related on his authority by Abd Manstir al Jawalikif the 
 philologer his Imam, Ibn Hubayrah hie Wazir and others. 
 
 Al Muktafi gave a new gate to the kaa'bah and made a coffin of 
 cornelian for his own burial. 
 
 He had a praiseworthy disposition, his reign was deserving of commend, 
 ation, as he occupied himself with religion, learning, virtue, good counsel, 
 and administration of the State. He restored the defaced memorials of the 
 
 * Hia character and conquests are sketched by Gihbon in his 69th chapter. 
 
 t This is apparently the same person as Ahn'l Barakah-h-u'l Anhari whose life is 
 given by Ibn KhaU. The dates and circumstances of both, accord, the surname ia 
 somewhat different, Ibn Khali writing Abu'l Wafa for Abu'l Faraj. He was a philolo- 
 gist and grammarian of repute and studied at the Nidhamiyah the Sha'fiite juris- 
 prudence. He was bom in 513 (1119) and died at Baghdad in 677 (1181). 
 
 X Bom 466 (1073) died 626 (1134). Jawaliki signifies a maker and seller of 
 mats. Eelative adjectives of this form are rare being derived from the plural of the 
 noun and not &om the singular. The life of this great scholar may be consulted 
 in Ibn KhaU. 
 
[ 464 1 
 
 A. H. 555. Imamate and re-established the ancient customs of the Caliphate and ap- 
 A. D. 1160. plied himself personally to public affairs and more than once headed military 
 ■expeditions, and his reign was long protracted. 
 
 Abii Talib A'bddr Eahman-b-Muhammad-b-A'bdi's Samii' al Hdshimi 
 in his work on the excellencies of the A'bbasides, says that the reign of al 
 Muktafi was distinguished for justice and notable for good works. Before 
 his accession to the Caliphate, he was of pious conduct. In the beginning 
 of his reign he applied himself to religious exercises and the transcription of 
 scientific works, and reading the Kuran. And there was never seen since 
 al Mua'tasim, a Caliph who combined such beneficence, gentleness of 
 manner and kindness of heart as his, with his intrepidity, firmness and 
 bravery, together with the sobriety, piety and devotion that particularly 
 characterized him. His armies were likewise victorious wherever they 
 advanced. Ibn u'l Jauzi observes that from 6he days of al Muktafi, 
 Baghdad and Irak returned under the power of the Caliphs and no contend- 
 ing rival was left to dispute them, while before that period from the reign 
 of al Muktadir to his time the supreme authority was in the hands of royal 
 tyrants under whom nothing but the nominal direction of the Caliphate 
 remained to the Caliphs. 
 
 Among the Sultans of his time were Sultan Sinjar lord of Khurasan, 
 and Sultan Nuru'ddin Mahmiid sovereign of Syria. 
 
 He was liberal, munificent, a lover of traditions and of the hearing 
 of them, diligent in the acquisition of knowledge and revering its pro- 
 fessors. 
 
 Ibn u's Sama'ani relates a tradition through al Muktafi with ascription 
 to the Apostle of God that he said, — " the nobles will increase but in 
 violence and the people in covetousness, and the day of resurrection will 
 QOVCiQ finding only the wicked among mankind, left." 
 
 When al Muktafi sent for the Imam Abii Mansur al Jawaliki the 
 grammarian, in order to make him his chaplain to read the prayers before 
 him, the latter said nothing more to him on entering than — " To the prince 
 of the Faithful, greeting and the mercy of God." Ibn u't Talmid* a Chris- 
 
 * His name was Hibat u'llah-t-Abi Ghan4im, and lie was reputed the first physician 
 of the age. The Katib I'mad u'ddin calls him the Galen and Hippocrates of his day, 
 which in Oriental imagery may not mean much, but what is more to the purpose, the 
 sweetness of his disposition, his judgment, his elevated sentiments, his powerful 
 intellect, his modesty of deportment and his charity are praised by his enemies who 
 wonder that with his extraordinary intelligence, he should allow himself to be deprived 
 of the blessings of Islamism. This is disinterested and sincere eulogy. He died at 
 Baghdad in 560, (1164-S) at the age of nearly 100 and Ibn Khali relates that all the 
 inhabitants of Baghdad, whether dwelling on one side of the river or the other attended 
 his funeral to the oJmroh which sufSoiently disposes of A'bdu'l Latif's statement 
 {autobiography, see Be Slam'e extract) that he died a Muslim. 
 
[ 465 ] 
 
 tian physician was standing by, and said, " This is not the way of saluting A. H. 555. 
 the prince of the Faithful, Shaykh !" Ibn u'l Jawaliki paid no attention to A. D. IIGO. 
 him, but said, " Prince of the Faithful, my salutation is, that enjoined by 
 prophetical tradition," and he repeated the tradition and added, " Prince of 
 the Faithful ! if any one were to swear that no kind of knowledge can 
 enter into the heart of a Christain or a Jew in a proper manner, he would 
 not be obliged to make expiation for perjury, for God hath put a seal upon 
 their hearts* and the seal of God is not broken but by faith." Al Muktafi 
 answered, " thou hast spoken truly and done well." Ibn u'l Talmid with 
 all his extensive erudition remained silent as if bridled with a stone. 
 
 Of distinguished persons who died during the reign of al Muktafi were 
 Ibn u'l Islam Abrash the grammarian, Ydnus-b-Mughith, Jamal u'l Islam- 
 b-u'l Muslim as Sha'fii, Abu'l Kasim al Ispahani, author of the Targhib 
 {Instigation), Ibn Barrajan, al Mazari al Maliki author of the Mu'lim 
 lifawdid hitdb Muslim {indicator of the instructive passages in the look of 
 Muslim), AZ Zamakshari, ar Eushati author of the Ansab (Genealogies), 
 al Jawaliki the Caliph's Imam, Ibn A'tiyah author of the Commentary, 
 Abiis Sa'adat-b-u's Shajari, the Imam Abii Bakr-b-u'l A'rabi, Ndsihu'ddin 
 al Arrajani the poet, the Kadhi lyadh, the Hafidh Abii'l Walid-b-ul 
 Dabbagb, Abu'l Asaa'd Hibbat u'r Bahman al Kushayri, Ibn A'lam al 
 Furs the Kuran reader, ar Eaffa the poet, as Shahrastani author of the 
 Milal wa'n Nihal (Sects and Beligions), al Kaysarani the poet, Muhammad- 
 b-Yahya the disciple of al Ghazzali, Abu'l Fadhl-b-Nasir the Hafidh, Abu'l 
 Karam as Shahrozuri the Kuran reader, al Wawa the poet,t Ibn u'l Khali 
 the Sha'fiite Imam and others. 
 
 AL MUSTANJID BI'LLAH. 
 
 Al Mustanjid bi'llah (Seeking assistance in God) Abu'l MudhafEar the 
 son of al Muktafi was born in 518. His mother was a Georgian slave 
 concubine called Taiis (Peacock). His father caused his name to be read 
 in the khutbah as his heir in the year 547 and he was acknowledged Caliph 
 on the day of his father's death. He was distinguished for justice and 
 clemency. He remitted the taxes to a large extent, so that he left Irak 
 without any taxation. He was severe upon all promoters of disorder. He 
 imprisoned for a long time a man who used to bring calumnies against 
 
 * (^J^ fc*'* *-^-'l 1*^ (Kur. II). 
 
 t Of Aleppo — another of the name, called ad DiraishVi ("/ Damascus) died in the 
 reign of Kadir-bi'Uah. 
 59 
 
[ 466 ] 
 
 A. H. 555. people "before the Magistrate. A person presented himself before the 
 A. D. 1160, Caliph and offered him ten thousand dinars for his release ; he replied, " I 
 will give thee ten thousand dinars wouldst thou but show me another like 
 him that I may imprision him and avert his mischief from the people." 
 
 Ibn u'l Jauzi says that al Mustanjid was distinguished for his pene- 
 trating intellect, sound judgment, powerful understanding and eminent 
 merit. He wrote excellent verse and eloquent prose, and was skilful in the 
 use of astronomical instruments such as the astrolabe and the like. Of his 
 verses are the following : 
 
 " She reproached me for my greyness which is venerable, 
 Would she had reproached me with what is dishonor. 
 If my forelocks are becoming white what then ? 
 Tor the moons are the glory of the night." 
 And on a miser — 
 " A miser lit in his house 
 A candle as a respect towards us on his part. 
 Not a tear fell from its eyes 
 But a tear fell also from his." 
 
 And on Ibn Hubayrah his Wazir, whose administration of the affairs 
 of the Muslims he had witnessed with admiration. 
 
 " Two merits are transparently clear that characterize and abound 
 in thee, 
 By mention of which thou shalt be remembered to the day of 
 
 resurrection. 
 Thy presence while the world is needing thy help. 
 And thy bounty, while beneficence is repudiated by men. 
 Abii Yahya,* if Jaa'far sought thy place 
 
 And Yahya, both Jaa'far and Yahya would refrain from takinw it. 
 Nor have I seen any one purposing to do thee harm, Abu Mu- 
 
 dhaffar 
 But thou dost overcome him," 
 He died on the Sthf of Eabii' II 566 (22m«? December 1170) and it was 
 during the first year of his Caliphate that al Faiz sovereign of Egypt died 
 and was succeeded by al A'Adhidu'ddini'Uah {Aider of the religion of God) 
 the last of the U'baydite Caliphs. 
 
 In the year 562 Nuru'ddin despatched the Emir Asadu'ddin Shirkdh 
 
 at the head of two thousand horse to Egypt. He encamped at al Jaziraht 
 
 • AM Yahya and Abd Mudhaffar are both surnames of Ibn Hubayrah. Yahya 
 
 and Jaa'far are the two Barmecides, father and son, famed for their generosity and 
 
 misfortunes in the time of Hardn ar Eashid, 
 
 + All the other authorities agree in the date being the 9th. 
 
 X A quarter of Fustit, so called because when the Kile is full, it is sm-rounded 
 by water and cut off from the rest of the town. 
 
[ 467 ] 
 
 and besieged Cairo for about two months. Its governor (SMwar) applied A. H. 562. 
 to the Pranks for assisstance who marched from Damietta to his aid where- A.D. 1166-7. 
 on Asadu'ddin retired to Upper Egypt. Afterwards a battle took place (at 
 Bdhayn) between him and the Egyptians (and Franles) where he gained 
 the victory despite the fewness* of his troops and the numerical superiority 
 of the enemy and thousands of the Franks were slain. Asadu'ddin then 
 collected the tribute of Upper Egypt while the Franks marched against 
 Alexandria which had been taken by Salahu'ddin {Saladin) Yusuf-b-Ayiib 
 nephew of Asadu'ddin, and besieged it for four months. Asadu'ddin set 
 out against them whereon they raised the siegef and he returned to Syria. 
 
 In the year 564 the Franks marched into Egypt with a large army, 
 captured Bilbays and laid siege to Cairo, but its governor set fire to it in 
 fear of them and wrote to Niiru'ddin to solicit his aid, whereon Asadu'ddin 
 arrived with his troops and the Franks abandoned Cairo on hearing of his 
 approach, J and Asadu'ddin entered it. Al A'ddhid sovereign of Egypt 
 appointed him to the ofiice of Wazir and bestowed upon him a robe of 
 honor. Asadu'ddin did not long survive, dying after sixty-five days. 
 A'adhid appointed his nephew Salahu'ddin in his place and entrusted him 
 with administration of affairs and gave him the title of al Malik an Nasir 
 and Salahu'ddin conducted his government in the ablest manner. 
 
 Among personal accounts of al Mustanjid, ad Dahabi relates that from 
 the time he fell ill,§ an intense redness continued to appear in the sky and 
 its reflection was observed upon the walls. 
 
 Of persons of note who died during his reign were ad Daylami author 
 of the Musnad u'l Firdaus, al I'mrani of the Shafi'ite school author of the 
 Bayan (" Elucidation of the secondary points of law," in ten volumes), Van. 
 u'l Bazri the Shafi'ite doctor of the people of al Jazirat-J-Owa?",!] the 
 
 * "Jacobus a, Vitriaco gives the king of Jerusalem no more than 374 knigMs. 
 Both the Franks and Moslems report superior numbers of the enemy, a differenca 
 which may be solved by counting or omitting the unwarlike Egyptians." Decline and 
 Fall, LIX. Gibbon praises the masterly evolutions of Shirkuh throughout the cam- 
 paign. 
 
 t A peace was concluded on the terms of a payment of money to be made to 
 Shirkuh for the cost of the war, and that he in turn should surrender Alexandria to the 
 Egyptians and evacuate Egypt with the Franks. 
 
 f This expedition was led by Amaury king of Jerusalem in violation of the treaty 
 above mentioned. "Amaury, says," Gibbon, "retired with the shame and reproach 
 that always adhere to unsuccessful injustice." 
 
 § His prefect of the palace Adhud u'ddin and the Emir Kaymaz concerted his 
 death with his physician. He was ordered a hot bath and being carried into the 
 room the doors were looked on him till he died. 
 
 li A town three day's jourgey above Mosal. 
 
[ 468 ] 
 
 A. H. 566. Wazir-b-Hubayrah, the Shaykh A'bdu'lkadir al Jili, the Imam Abii Sa'id 
 A. D. 1170. as Sama'ani, Abii'n Najib as Suhrawardi, Abii'l Hasan-b-Hudayl the Kuran 
 reader and others. 
 
 AL MUSTADHr BI'AMEI'LLAH. 
 
 Al MustadM bi'amri'llah {Seehing light from the command of God) al 
 Hasan Abii Muhammad son of al Mustanjid bi'Uah was born in the year 
 536. His mother was an Armenian slave concubine named Ghadhdha 
 {Delicate). He was acknowledged Caliph on the death of his father. 
 
 Ibn u'l Jauzi says that he issued a proclamation remitting the taxation 
 and removing tyrannical exactions, and he displayed a justice and genero- 
 sity, the like of which we never before witnessed in our lives. He dis- 
 tributed large sums of money among the Hashimites and the descendants 
 of Ali and the learned, and upon colleges and on Ribats.* He was ever 
 prodigal of wealth, holding it in no esteem ; forbearing, sedate and compas- 
 sionate. When he assumed the Caliphate, he bestowed robes of honor 
 upon the officials of state and others and the Master Tailor of the Stores 
 relates that he distributed 1300 tunics of silk. His name was read in the 
 khutbah, in the pulpits of Baghdad and the usual largesses were bestowed. 
 He named Elih-b-u'l Hadithi to the office of Kadhi and bestowed com- 
 mands upon seventeen Mamluks. 
 
 The following is by Hays Bay^f on him — 
 
 " O Imam of good 'guidance, thou art raised upon the summit of 
 munificence 
 With wealth and silver and gold. 
 
 Thou grantest lives and security of person and dost lavish provinces 
 Within the space of an hour of a day. 
 For what then shall praise be given thee, who verily 
 Hath exceeded the beneficence of seas and showers ; 
 
 * The Eibats says Do Slane— (Life of Nap--m-ddaulat) were fortified barracks 
 along the frontiers. At an early period there were not less than 10,000 in Transoxiana 
 alone. Travellers on arriving at a RibAt found every accomodation gratis. These 
 (establishments were supported by the government and their revenues were increased by 
 private gifts. Military service in a Eibat was considered as an act of religion. For 
 further particulars, reference is made to Ibn Haukal (extracts) in the Geography of 
 Abu'l Fida, pp. 236-487, of the Arabic Text. 
 
 t Abu'l Fawaris Saa'd a celebrated poet and member of the tribe of Tamim. He 
 was a Sha'fiite doctor, but his profession of jurisprudence was mastered by his passion 
 for literature and poetry, and he was eminent for his knowledge of the various dialects 
 of the desert Arabs. Seeing some people in a commotion, he asked what had caused 
 the disturbance {hayt bayfi) and he thus received the nickname, He died A. H, 574 
 (1179). Ibn Khali. • • 
 
[ 469 ] 
 
 Verily thou art a standing miracle, "■• "■ " 
 
 Confounding intellects and imaginations. A. D. lli^- 
 
 Thy noble nature has been fashioned of power and liberality, 
 Of water and of fire!" 
 Ibn u'l Jauzi says, " al Mustadhi kept retired from the people at 
 large and never rode save accompanied by his suite and none but Kaymdz* 
 entered his presence. During his Caliphate the dynasty of the House or 
 U'bayd passed away, and his name was read in the khutbah in Egpyt and 
 engraved on the coinage. On the arrival of the messenger of these good 
 tidings, the markets were closed, in Baghdad and triumphal cupolas were 
 erected. I composed at the same time a work which I entitled the con- 
 quest of Egypt." These are the words of al Jauzi, Ad Dahabi states 
 that during his reign, heresy declined in Baghdad and was subverted and 
 the people lived in security, and great prosperity was enjoyed during his 
 Caliphate. The khutbah was read for him in Yaman and Barkah and 
 Tiizarf and Cairo as far TJswan (Syene) and kings submitted to him, and 
 that in the year 567. The katib al I'mad says that in 567 the Sultan 
 Salah u'ddin-b-Ayub demanded the full submission of the people in the 
 great mosque of old Cairo and that was by the establishment of the 
 khutbah on the first Friday of the month of MkharramX for the House of 
 A'bbas. Thus heresy was destroyed and orthodoxy flourished and the 
 khutbah was read for the House of Abbds on the second Friday in Cairo. 
 Thi-s was followed by the death of al A'adhid on the 10th of Muharram. 
 Salah u'ddin took possession of the palace with all the treasures§ and 
 valuables it contained, which were so vast that the sale of them over and 
 above what Salah u'ddin had taken for himself, continued during ten 
 years. Sultan Nlir u'ddin despatched Shibab u'ddin al Mudhahhar, son of 
 the most learned Sharaf u'ddin||-b-Abi U'sriia to Baghdad with the good 
 
 * The Emir Kutbu'ddin !Kayinaz who shared with Adhud u'ddin in the murder 
 6f al Mustanjid. Ibn u'l Athir says that they raised al Mustadhi to the Caliphate 
 on the condition of his appointing Adhud u'ddin his Wazir and Kaymaz the general 
 of his troops. Hia tyrannies and exactions caused a revolt of the people instigated 
 by the Caliph and he fled from the city while the populace plundered his palace. He 
 died before reaching Mosal from the hardships he had to undergo in his flight. A. H. 
 S70. Ibn Ath. 
 
 t Tuzar is about ten parasangs from Neftah on the Shatt Kabir. North-western 
 Africa. 
 
 J Ibn Ath. 
 
 § Among these, one curiosity, a drum, will provoke the incredulity or the envy 
 of physicians. Its wonderful virtues are described in Eeiske's Latin version of Abul- 
 fida. 
 
 II He was a learned Shafi'its doctor who taught publicly at Aleppo and Mosal. 
 He was much esteemed by Nuru'ddin Mahmud-b-Zinki by whom he was appointed 
 professor of several colleges and finally Kadlji of Damascus. Born at Mosal 492 
 (1099), died at Damascus 585 (1189). Ibn Khali. 
 
[ 470 ] 
 
 A. H. 567. news and ordered me to draw up a public announcement o£ it to be read 
 A.D, 1171-2. in all the provinces of Islam. I accordingly indited a jojful proclamation 
 beginning thus : " Praise be to God, the Exalter of Truth and its Revealer — 
 the Destroyer of Falsehood and its Disabler." It contained also the 
 following, " and there is not left in those provinces a pulpit but the khutbah 
 is appointed to he read therein for our lord the Imam al Mustadhi bi'- 
 amri'llah, prince of the Faithful, and the mosq[ues for the Friday prayers 
 have been re-established and the temples of heresy destroyed" — and so 
 the Katib goes on till he says : " Long have the past generations gone 
 over them, and they have remained two hundred and eight years* 
 harassed by the pretentious claim of vain dissemblers, filled with a crowd 
 of devils ; but the Lord gave us possession of those countries and esta- 
 blished our authority in the land and placed in our power as we had hoped 
 for, the extirpation of impiety and heresy and directed us unto one whom 
 we have constituted our delegate in establishing the A'bbaside authority in 
 that place and bringing to destruction therein pretenders and heresiarchs." 
 There is a poem by al I'mad on this in which are the following verses — 
 " Verily we have read the khutbah in Cairo for al Mustadhi, 
 The Vicegerent of the Chosen One, the Imdm of the age 
 And by his victory we have brought down the arm of the Aider 
 
 {al A'ddhid) 
 And yet the Impotent who dwelt in the palace. 
 And we have left the pretender seeking his own destruction 
 In ignominy under the grave stone and its confining. 
 In answer to the joyful tidings the Caliph sent robes of honor and 
 presents to Nuru'ddin and Salah u'ddin, and standards and banners to the 
 preachers of Cairo. He bestowed upon the Katib al I'mad a robe of 
 honor and a hundred dinars, upon which he wrote another poem in which 
 was the following : 
 
 They have given victory in Egypt unto the summoner of the 
 
 guides unto truth. 
 And taken revenge on the suspected son of the Jew.f 
 
 Ibn u'l Athir narrates that the occasion of the establishment of the 
 khutbah for the A'bbasides in Cairo was this, that when Salah u'ddin was 
 firmly settled in power and the authority of al A'adhid had declined, Nur 
 
 * The duration of the TJ'baydite dynasty according to Ibn Ath. from the time 
 of al Mahdi's first appearance at Sijilmfisah in A. H. 296 (908-9) to the death of al 
 A'ddhid was ahout 272 years and a month. The text of the Kamil is here in error. 
 The Upsala edition gives 299, for A. H. 296. Abulf has rightly 296. Of this period, 
 208 years represent the term of their rule in Egypt. 
 
 t U'baydu'Uah, see page 3, 
 
[ 4.71 ] 
 
 u'ddin wrote to him commanding him to establish it, but he excused him- A. H. 567. 
 
 self for fear of an insurrection of the Egyptians, but Niru'ddin would not A. D. 1171-2. 
 
 listen to his words and sent to him insisting upon it. And it came to pass 
 
 that al A'adhid fell sick whereon Salah u'ddin took counsel of the nobles, 
 
 some of whom approved while others among them were afraid. But it 
 
 happened that a Persian known as al Amir al A'alim had just then arrived 
 
 in Cairo and when he perceived their hesitation, he declared that he would 
 
 be the first to begin it. When therefore the first Friday of Muharram 
 
 came round, he mounted the pulpit before the preacher and offered up a 
 
 prayer for al Mustadhi and no one showed any disapprobation. Wherefore 
 
 when it was the second Friday, Salah u'ddin commanded the preachers to 
 
 discontinue the khutbah for al A'adhid, and this was done without any 
 
 opposition.* This occurred while al A'adhid was dangerously ill. He died 
 
 on the 10th of Muharram. 
 
 In the year 569, Niiru'ddin sent presents and gifts to the Caliph, 
 among them a striped wild ass, very savage and streaked as with rays and 
 the people went forth to see the sight. And among them was a resident of 
 the A'ttabi quarter of Baghdad of much pretension but thick-witted and 
 without merit and some one called out, " If indeed we have been sent a 
 wild ass streaked with rays (a'ttdbi), we possess an ass of the Attabi 
 quarter." 
 
 In the same year hail-stones fell in I'rak as big as oranges and de- 
 stroyed houses and killed a great number of cattle, and the Tigris rose so 
 high that Bagdhad was flooded and the Friday prayers were held out.side 
 the walls. The Euphrates rose in the same way and villages and fields 
 were laid waste and the people turned in supplication to the Lord. And 
 it was extraordinary, that while this was the state of the flood, the fields 
 adjacent to the Dujayl (a branch of the Tigris) were ruined by drought. 
 
 In this year died Sultan Nuru'ddin sovereign of Damascus, and his 
 son al Malik as Salih Isma'il being but a child, the Franks took to ravag- 
 ing the coasts but they were conciliated by sums of money and a peace was 
 concluded with them. During this year a faction among the U'baydites 
 and their partisans sought to establish and restore the pretensions of the 
 family of al A'adhid, and some of Salahu'ddin's nobles approved their 
 design, but Salah u'ddin being informed of this, crucified them between the 
 two palaces (aZ Kasrayn). 
 
 In the year 572, Salah u'ddin ordered the building of the great wall 
 surrounding the old town of Misr and Cairo and deputed the Emir Baha 
 u'ddin Karakush to superintend its erection. Ibn u'l Athir says that its 
 circumference was 29,300 Hashimi cubits. During the same he gave 
 
 * Literally — " and two goats did not fight for it with their horns." 
 
[ 472 ] 
 
 A. H. 572. ordersj^for the erection of the fort on the hill Mukattam,* the same that 
 
 A. D. 1176. became afterwards the royal palace, but it was not finished until the reign of 
 
 al Malik al Kdmil nephew of Salah u'ddin, who was the first that resided in 
 
 it. In the same year also, he built the mausoleumt of the Imam as 
 
 sum. 
 
 In the year 674, a mighty wind swept over Baghdad at midnight and 
 columns as of fire appeared in all quarters of the heavens, and the people 
 prayed to God in exceeding supplication. In the year 575 died the Caliph 
 al Mustadhi at the end of Shawwal having covenanted for the succession 
 of his son Ahmad. J 
 
 Of distinguished persons who died during the reign of al Mustadhi 
 were Ibn u'l Khashshab the grammarian, Abti Nizar al Hasan-b-Safi the 
 prince of grammarians (Malik u'n NuMf), the Hafidh Abu'l A'la al 
 Hamadani, Nasih u'ddin-b-u'd Dahhan the grammarian, the great HaGdh 
 Abu'l Kdsim-b-A'sakir of the Shafi'i school, al Hays Bays the poet, the 
 Hafidh Abii Bakr-b-Khayr and others. 
 
 AN NASIR LI DIN I'LLAH. 
 
 An Ndsir li df n i'Uah (Defender of the religion of God) Ahmad Abu 
 A'bbas the son of Mustadhi was born on Monday the 10th Eajab 553 
 His mother being a Turkish woman named Zumurrad (Hmerald). He was 
 acknowledged Caliph on the death of his father in the beginning of Du'i 
 Kaa'dah 575. A number of Traditionists among whom were Abu'l 
 Husayn A'bdu'l Hakk al Yusufi, Abu'l Hasan A'li-b-A'sakir al Bataihi and 
 Shuhdah,§ licensed him to declare traditions, and he granted licenses to 
 others who used to relate traditions on his authority during his lifetime vying 
 with each other therein, desiring vain-glory more than correctness of 
 ascriptions. 
 
 * This citadel waa also enclosed within the rampart. Ibn Ath. Abulf. 
 
 + This fact is not in aocordanoe with Ibn Ath. and Abulf who state that he built 
 a college for the Shafi'ite doctors over the burial place of the Shafi'ite Imam, at £ar£- 
 fah — the Pfere la Chaise of Cairo. 
 
 t The other authorities— Ibn Ath. Abulf, Ibn Khaldtin, place his death in Du'l 
 Kaa'dah — the two former naming the 2nd day of the month {Slst March H80). 
 
 § Shuhdah-d of Abu Na?r Ahmad-b-i'l Faraj surnamed the " glory of women," 
 and al Katibah (the female scribe). She ranked among the first scholars of the age 
 and instructed a great number in tradit^s which she had received from the highest 
 authorities. She died at Baghdad 674 (1178) and was interred outside the Abraz 
 gate. Her husband, whom she survived, was Abu'l flaaan A'li-b-Muhammad-b-Tnhya 
 ad Durayni, a man of rank and the favourite of the Caliph al Muktafl. Ibn Khali, 
 
[ 473 1 
 
 Ad Dababi says tbat no one ruled tbe Caliphate for a longer period ^' "' ^'^' 
 tban he, for he governed it forty-seven years, and the period of his life A. D, 1180. 
 continued full of glory and splendour, occupied in the extirpation of 
 enemies and the subjugation of princes. He found no oppression, nor did 
 any rebel rise against him but he exterminated theni, and no opponent but he 
 overthrew him and whosoever thought to do him evil, the Lord confounded 
 him with contumely. And with the prosperity of his undertakings, he was 
 most vigilant in the good administration of his kingdom, nothing being con- 
 cealed from him regarding his subjects, great or small. His spies kept 
 him informed of both the public and private circumstances of monarchs, 
 and he was a master of ingenious artifice and subtil cunning and device 
 which noue could fathom. He would bring about reconciliation between 
 hostile princes without their perceiving Ms intervention, and sow discord 
 between sovereigns in alliance, without their knowledge. When the envoy 
 of the ruler of Mazandaran came to Baghdad, a letter reached him every 
 morning mentioning what he had done the preceding night, and he used 
 every effort at concealment, yet the letter regularly arrived. He made an 
 assignation with a woman one" night who introduced herself by a secret 
 door. The letter reached him in tbe morning containing the following. 
 " Over ye was a coverlet upon which was a design of elephants." He was 
 much astonished and quitted Baghdad not doubting but that the Caliph 
 was acquainted with invisible things ; for the Imamiyahs* believe that the 
 Imam preserved inviolate from sin, knows what is in the pregnant womb 
 and behind walls. And the ambassador of Khwarazm Shah once arrived 
 ■with a secret message and a sealed letter, but he was told to return, as it 
 ■was known what he had brought, and he returned, believing tbat they had 
 a knowledge of the invisible. Ad Dahabi says that it was reported of an 
 Na§ir that he was ministered to by the genii. "When {Muhammad) 
 Khwarazm Shah had conquered Khurasan and Transoxiana and behaved 
 with great arrogance and haughtiness, and had led great monarchs captive, 
 and destroyed many peoples and abolished the khutbah for the House of 
 A'bbas throughout his dominions, and arrived at Hamadan on his march to 
 Baghdad, a snow-storm continued to fall on them during twenty days, 
 overtaking them out of its proper season. One of his confidants thereon 
 suggested to him that this was occasioned by the anger of God for his 
 march against the House of the Caliphate, and he heard at the same time 
 that the Turkish tribes had gathered together against him and were eager 
 to invade his dominions on account of his distance from them. This was 
 
 * " One of the exorbitant sects of the Shee'ah who asserted that Ali ■was 
 expressly appointed by Muhammad to be his suooessor." Lane, ait. ^t I may add that 
 they do not acknowledge the Imamate except in the posterity of 'Ali, For them a 
 visible Imam no longer exists. See Sale's Prelim. Discourse. 
 60 
 
[ 474 ] 
 
 A. H. 575. the cause of his return and an NA?ir was quit of his evil designs without a 
 
 A D. 1180. battle.* 
 
 An Ndsir was one who when he furnished food, gave sufficient to 
 satisfy, and when he struck, struck hard, and there were occasions when he 
 gave as gives one who fears no poverty. And once there arrived a man 
 with a parrot that could repeat, " Say God is one" (Kur. CXII), a present 
 to the Caliph from India. In the morning it was found dead and the man 
 arose early in great consternation, when there arrived a footman (from the 
 Caliph) asking for the parrot. The man wept and said that it had died in 
 the night. The other replied, " verily we know that — bring the dead bird," 
 and added, " How much didst thou think the Caliph would have given 
 thee ?" He answered, " Five hundred dinars." The other said, " Here are 
 five hundred dinars ! Take them, for verily the Caliph hath sent them to 
 thee, for he .knew all about thee since thou didst set out from India." 
 
 When Sadr Jahanf set out for Baghdad with a number of juriscon- 
 sults, his people said to one of them, as he departed from his house in 
 Samarkand mounted upon a fine mare, " if thou wouldst leave it with us, it 
 womZ<? Je loeZHest it be taken from thee at Baghdad." He replied "the 
 Caliph himself could not take it from me." The Caliph, however, gave 
 orders to a certain sharp fellow to set on him when he entered Baghdad and 
 itake it from him and escape in the crowd, which he did. The juriscon- 
 sult made a complaint but received no redress. When they returned from 
 the pilgrimage, the Caliph bestowed a robe of honor upon Sadr Jahan and 
 his suite and presented a robe of honor likewise upon the jurisconsult and 
 his mare *as presented to him bearing a golden saddle and a coUar, and he 
 was told that the Caliph had not taken his mare, but that a furnace-heater 
 had done so, upon which he fell down in a swoon. The Caliph lavished 
 munificent giftsj upon them. 
 
 Al Muwaffak w'd din A'bdu'l Latif § says that an Ndsir filled all hearts 
 with dread and terror ; and the people of India and Egypt feared him, as 
 feared him the inhabitants of Baghdad. He gave new life to the majesty 
 of the Caliphate which had perished at the death of al Mua'taaim and 
 which expired again at his death. The very princes and nobles of Egypt 
 and Syria, when the conversation turned on him in their private conferences, 
 
 • This invasion of Mubammad Khwarazm ShSk took place in 614 (1217). Weil 
 states that an N^ sent an embassy to Changiz Khdn and sought his aid against 
 Muljammad, p. 382, Vol. III. Ibn Athir alludes to the report and adds that any 
 misdeed would pale beside the enormity of such a crime. 
 
 t This title is nsuaUy given to the Kad^i al ^udfeSit or Chief Judge of any 
 monarch. I cannot ascertain who is here referred to. 
 
 t The Arabic must here be corrupt. The text is iminteUigible. The MS. has 
 /t^'^ir* perhaps for ^J'U^^J 
 
 { The author of the monograph on Egyipt, translated by De Saoy, 
 
[ 4.75 ] 
 
 would lower tlioii- voices in fear and reverence. Once a merchant arrived A. H. 575. 
 in Baghdad with some gold-embroidered goods* from Damietta and he A. D. 1180. 
 was questioned about them, but he denied having them. He was then given 
 particulars about them, as to their number, colours and kinds, but he con- 
 tinued denying the more until he was told among other tokens ly which he 
 was known, was that he had revenged himself upon a Turkish slave of his 
 and had taken him secretly to the sea coast at Damietta and had there 
 slain and buried him. Of this no one had known. 
 
 Ibn u'n Najjart says that Sultans were abased before an Nasir, and 
 those who had opposed him submitted to him. The proud and the rebel- 
 lious were cast down before him, and tyrants were subdued by his sword ; 
 his foes declined and his allies multiplied, and he overran many countries 
 and conquered provinces as none of the Caliphs and sovereigns that preceded 
 him had done, and his name was read in the khutbah in the provinces of 
 Spain and in the cities of China. He was the sternest Caliph of the House 
 of A'bbas and the very mountains were rent in awe of him. He was of a 
 good disposition, well-proportioned, endowed with mental and bodily 
 excellence, fluent of speech and eloquent in expression. His rescripts were 
 incisive and his words carried weight. His reign was a beauty spot in the 
 face of the age and a pearl in the crown of glory. Ibn Wasil says that an 
 Nasir was hardy, brave, of good judgment, and strong intellect, subtil and 
 ingenious. He had spies in Irak and the whole of the adjacent countries, 
 who kept him informed of circumstances the most trifling, even to men- 
 tioning that a man in Baghdad had given a feast and had washed his hands 
 before his guests. This fact the spy reported to an Nagir who wrote in 
 reply thereto, " bad manners in the host and officiousness in the news 
 writer." He adds, " with all this, he was of vicious disposition towards his 
 subjects, inclined to oppression and violence so that the people emigrated 
 from their provinces and he seized their goods and property. 
 
 He would do things of a contradictory character. He was a Shi'ite, 
 favouring the sect of the Imamites, opposing in this his ancestral traditions, 
 so that one day Ibn u'l Jauzi was asked in his presence who was the best 
 of men after the apostle of God. He replied, " the best of them after him 
 was he whose daughter married the other (or he who had married the 
 daughter of the other),X for he dared not distinctly mention Abu Bakr. 
 
 * I read with the MS. p "'*. The word f^ is in the singular and is therefore 
 here inadmissible. 
 
 t The Qafidh Ahd Abdi'llah Muhammad sumamed Ibn u'u Najjar was bom at 
 Baghdad 578 A. H., (1183). He was a master of tradition and of the seven manners 
 of reading the Kuran. He spent 27 years in travelling, and noting down whatever 
 information he could collect. He died in 643 (1245) at Baghdad. The best known 
 of his works is the supplement in 16 Vols, to Abu Bakr al Baghdadi's History of 
 Baghdad. De Slane, I. K. 
 
 X The double meaning cannot be expressed in English by one phrase. This 
 
[ 476 ] 
 
 A. H. 575. ji,ii u'l xthiv observes that an Ndsir was of wicked disposition and that 
 
 A. D. 1180. jj.^^ ^a,s ruined during his reign by the taxes he levied and his seizure of 
 goods and property. He would do a thing and then its contrary. He 
 devoted himself to shooting with the cross-bow and in twirling pigeons.* 
 Al MnwafEak A'bdu'l Latif says that in the midst of his administrative 
 duties he occupied himself with the relation of traditions, and he appointed 
 licentiates with sanction to repeat them on his authority and to spread 
 them abroad, settling allowances on them. He also indited permissive 
 letters to princes and learned men to the same e'ffect, and he made a com- 
 pilation of seventy traditions, and on arriving at Aleppo caused it to be 
 heard by the people. Ad Dahabi states that an Nasir licensed a number 
 of the learned and they related traditions on his authority, among them 
 being Ibn Sakkinah, Ibn u'l Akhdhar, Ibn u'l Damaghani and others. 
 
 Abu'l Mudhaffar grandson of Ibn u'l Jauzi and others relate that 
 the eyesight of an Nasir began to grow weak' towards the end of his 
 life : others say that it went altogether, but none of his subjects were 
 aware of this even to his Wazir and his own household, for he had a slave 
 girl whom he had himself taught to write and she used to write a hand 
 like his and indite the royal rescripts. Shamsu'ddin al Jauzi says that the 
 water which an Nasir used to drink was brought on beasts of burden from 
 a distance of seven parasangs above Baghdad. It was then boiled seven 
 times, once each day, and aftewards kept in vessels for seven days more 
 and then he would drink it ; he died after having been given frequent 
 soporifics to drink. He had been subjected to an operation and gravel was 
 extracted from which he expiredf on Sunday the last day of Ramadhan in 
 the year 622 {Qth October 1225). 
 
 Among his pleasantries, it is related that a servant of his named 
 Yumn {Felicity) wrote him a letter full of reproach whereon he penned the 
 following — 
 
 " He who possesseth Tumn is fortunate, 
 He for whom a price has been paid, is of value." J 
 
 reply satisfied \ioiTa. parties, for as Ibn Khali says in his life of Ibn u'l Jauzi, the Siumia 
 maintained that he meant Abu Bakr Vhose daughter married Muljammad, while the 
 Shii'as insisted that 'Ali was intended hecause Fi,tima, Muljammad's daughter, was 
 married to him. 
 
 • Ibn Ath. does not mention the words— (•'*«=^l tjj*J but speaks of his fondness 
 
 for carrier pigeons V^^l. The expression of Ibn Khaldun is f^^k V*^t 
 t According to Ibn Ath. he died of dysentery. 
 
 t I presume that I have misunderstood the sense, for I can make no pleasantry out 
 of it. • 
 
[ 477 ] 
 
 When he assumed the Caliphate, he despatched to Sultdn Salah u'ddin ^- ". 575. 
 a robe of honour and the investiture of his dignity and the Sultdn wrote ^- ^- ^^° ' 
 him a letter which ran as follows : " Thy servant, praise be to God, reckoneth 
 for himself 'prioriij of merit in Islam, for the House of A'bbas was not so 
 prospered by the early deeds of Abu Muslim, for he aided and then con- 
 cealed, nor by the later services of Toghril Bek, for he defended but after- 
 wards kept under restraint, whereas thy servant hath extirpated those who 
 would contend for the mantle of the Caliphate and hath made the death-rattle 
 to be swallowed, the water of which the Lord hath stored up for inpouring 
 within his sword. And he brought down the lying names of pretenders to 
 the Oaliphate riding aloft on the pulpits, and was exalted by the assistance 
 of Ibrahim and he demolished the concealed idols by his visible sword." 
 Among events of his reign was a mandate which in 577 an Nasir* sent 
 rebuking Sultan Salah u'ddin for adopting the title of al Malik an Nasir, 
 knowing that the Caliph had chosen this name for himself. 
 
 In the year 580 the Caliph constituted the tomb of Mdsa al Kadhimf 
 a sanctuary for those who took refuge therein, and many people fled to it 
 and disturbances arose. 
 
 In the year 581 there was born at al A'lth,t a child with a forfehfead 
 a span and four fingers long and but one ear. During the same, news 
 arrived that the khutbah was read for an Nasir in the chief towns of 
 Mauritania. In the year 582 six of the planets were in conjunction in Libra 
 and the astronomers announced a general devastation in all the provinces 
 through a hurricane of wind. The people began to dig caves in the boun- 
 daries and to make them secure, closing their entrances against the wind ; 
 and they carried thither water and provisions and took up their abode there 
 in expectation of the night on which they had announced a hurricane to 
 take place, like the hurricane which destroyed the tribe of A'ad,J which was 
 to be the night of the 9th Jumada II. Nothing, however, occurred therein, 
 and not even a breeze blew, so that candles were lighted and the wind had 
 not sufficient force to extinguish them. The poets commemorated this 
 event. Among the verses written on it were the following by Abu'l 
 Ghanaim§ Muhammad-b-u'l Mua'llim — 
 
 i 
 * Tte text is in error. The words "al Mafik" are not in the MS. 
 
 The son of Jaa'far as Sadik and 5th in descent from A'U-h Abi TaKh, called al 
 Kadhim or the Meek. He was one of the twelve Imams and famous for his holiness 
 of life and his charity. He was bom at Medina, A. H. 129 (746-7) and died at 
 Baghdad in 183 or 186. His tomb is in the Shiinizi cemetery on the west side of the 
 river. Ibn Khali. 
 
 t A village on the Tigris betwee TT'J^bara and Samarra. 
 
 I See Sale's Prelim. Discourse, p. 5. 
 
 § He was a native of Wasit and known generally by the appellation of Ibn u'l 
 Mua'llim (son of the preceptor) He was bom in 501 (1108) and died in 592 (1196) at 
 
[ 478 ] 
 
 A. H. 582. " Tell Abu'l Fadhl the words of one who oonfesseth : 
 
 A. D. 1186. Jumada hath passed and Eajab hath come. 
 
 Yet no hurricane hath happened as they announced, 
 Nor hath a comet appeared. 
 No, indeed — nor hath the sun been darkened, nor 
 Hath a cone appeared bearing on its point flaming fires. 
 One hath announced this who knoweth not 
 What will happen to himself, and this is strange. 
 Verily the falseho'od of the astronomers hath become apparent, 
 And in every assertion, they make — how they lie !" 
 In the year 583, it came to pass that the first day of the year happened 
 to be the first of the days of the week* and the first day of the solar year 
 and the first according to the years of the Persians, and the sun and moon 
 were in the first of the signs of the Zodiac {Aries) — and this was one of 
 the most extraordinary coincidences. 
 
 During the same, many conquests were made. Sultan Salahu'ddin 
 took many of the Syrian towns that had been in the hands of the Franks, 
 the most important of which was Jerusalem, it having continued in the 
 possession of the Franks ninety^one years. The Sultan effaced the 
 memorials which the Franks had set up, and destroyed the churches they 
 had introduced, and on the site of one of the churches he founded a college 
 for the Sha'fiites — May the Lord reward him with blessings from Islam ! 
 But he did not destroy the church of the resurrection following the ex- 
 ample of O'mar who did not injure it when he took Jerusalem. Muham- 
 mad-b-Asaa'd an Nassabah {the genealogist) says regarding this — 
 
 " Hast thou seen in a dream what I behold with my eyes 
 Jerusalem captured and the Franks routed. 
 And Kumamah swept of the defilement 
 
 By the removal of which it has been purified and by its own decline, 
 And their kings bound with thongs,t 
 And never before was one of their kings seen captive. 
 The aid of the Lord hath come and victory. 
 
 Which the apostle promised — therefore glorify God and ask for pardon. 
 O JosephJ witness to the truth ! thou by conquering it 
 Art its second O'mar, the glory of the most pure Imdm " 
 
 the village of Hurtli ten parasanga from Wasit. Hia poetry ia chiefly amatory and 
 were oonaidered so touohing that they were sung by the Rifiii dervishes at their 
 concerts for the purpose of exciting the soul to mystic raptitfe. Ihn Khali. 
 
 * Ibn Ath. says that it fell on a Saturday. He adds to the ooiuoidenoes that the 
 first day of the Christian year fell likewise at the same time. 
 
 t Guy of Lusjgnan. 
 
 X Saladin had the same name as the patriarch. Favulf {the distinguisher between 
 rig\t and wrong) was the surnamu of 'Omar. 
 
[ -179 J 
 
 Among remarkable occurrences is to he noted that Ibn Barrajan* says A. H. 583. 
 in his Commentary on " Alif, La'm, Mim the Greeks have been overcome : A. D. 1187. 
 (Kur. XX S) that Jerusalem will remain in the hands of the Greeks until 
 the year 583 : they will then be overcome and it will be captured and 
 become the house of Islam to the end of time" taken from a calculation 
 of the verse — and so it came to pass. 
 
 Abu Shamahf observes that this prophecy of Ibn Barrajan is the one 
 of the most remarkable that has occurred, for Ibn Barrajan died some time 
 before the event, and the precise date of his death is known. 
 
 In the year 589 died Sultan Salahu'ddin and the messenger announ- 
 cmff the news arrived in Baghdad with the Sultan's coat of mail, his 
 charger and one dinar and thirty-six dirhams,J which was all the property 
 he left. Egypt fell to his son I'madu'ddin Othman al Malik al A'ziz, 
 Damascus to his son al Malik al Af dhal Nuru'ddin A'li, and^Aleppo to 
 to his son al Malik al Dhahir Ghiyathu'ddin Ghazi. 
 
 In the year 590 died Sultan Toghril Bek Shah, son of Arslan, son of 
 Toghril Bek, son of Muhammad, son of Malak Shah, the last of the 
 Saljukian sovereigns. 
 
 Ad Dahabi says that they were twenty and odd princes in number, 
 the first being Toghril Bek, the one who restored al Kaim to Baghdad, and 
 the duration of their sovereignty was one hundred and sixty years. 
 
 In the year 592 a dark storm blew at Mecca and swept over the 
 
 whole country, and a reddish sand fell upon the people and a portion of the 
 
 Rukn al Yamani§ (the south-eastern portion of the haa'hah) fell down. 
 
 -During the same|| Khwarazm Shah fitted out an army, crossed^ the Oxus 
 
 at the head of 50,000 men and sent to the Caliph demanding the Sultanate 
 
 * The author of a commentary on the Kuran which he explains after the mystic 
 system of the Sufis. He died in the city of Morocco A. H. 531 (1141-2). Ibn Khali, 
 {art. Muhi u'ddin-i-ux Zalci) adds that from the time he met with the verse, and learnt 
 Ibn Barrajan's account of it, he searched for the commentary and found the passage 
 written marginally in a different hand from that of the text and is ignorant whether 
 or no it be an interpolation. He also found a cabalistic calculation made from the 
 words " a few years" in the verse of the Kuran — which runs : " The Greeks have 
 been overcome in the nearest part of the land, but after their defeat they diaU over- 
 come within a few years." See also Sale's Kuran. 
 
 t Abu'l Kasim A'bdu'r Eahman, sumamed Shihab u'ddin and called Abu Shamah 
 from a mole on his left temple. He was born at Damascus A. H. 599(1202). He 
 was a jurisconsult, a grammarian, a traditionist and an historian. He has left two 
 abridgments of the history of Damascus, one in 15, the other in 5 Vols, besides the 
 biographies of Nur-u'ddin and Saladin, and several other works on theology and 
 grammar. De Slane, I. K. 
 
 X Ibn Ath, says forty. Ibn Khali on the authority of Ibn Shaddad, forty-seven. 
 
 § See Burton's Mecca, p. 162. 
 
 11 Shis is inaccurate. The invasion of Khwarazm Shah occurred in 614 (1217). 
 
[ 480 ] 
 
 A. H. 592. and the restoration oi: the Sultan's palace to its former state of gplehdour, 
 A. D. 1196. and threatening that he himself would march to Baghdad, and that the 
 Caliph would he suhject to him as were the Saljukian princes. On this 
 the Caliph demolished the Sultan's palace and sent back his envoy without 
 a reply, after which the Lord sufficiently met his misdeeds as has already 
 gone before. 
 
 In the year 593 a huge meteor fell and a terrible sound was heard 
 at its fall, and houses and edifices were convulsed, and the people called 
 to the Lord for help and burst into public supplications, conceiving that 
 it was one of the signs of the day of resurrection. 
 
 In the year 595 al Malik al A'ziz died in Egypt, and his son al 
 Mansdr succeeded him, but al Malik al A'adil Sayfu'ddin Abu Bakr* the 
 son of Aydb attacked and made himself master of it and was eventually 
 succeeded by his son al Malik al Kamil. 
 
 In the year 596, the Nile delayed its rise in Egypt, thus causing it 
 great damage, it not reaching thirteen cubits in height,t and there was a 
 great dearth so that people eat carrion and men, and this living on human 
 beings became notorious and public, and the strangest stories are told 
 regarding it. They proceeded to such an extent that they dug open the 
 graves and eat the corpses and the people of Egypt " dispersed with a 
 complete dispersion." (Kur. XXXIV). Death from starvation increased 
 so enormously that no one could walk in the streets without his foot or 
 his glance falling upon the dead or the dying. The people of the villages 
 utterly perished, so that if a traveller passed through a village, he would 
 not see a single soulj and would find all the houses open and the inhabi- 
 tants dead. Indeed ad Dahabi recounts stories regarding this that make 
 the flesh creep at hearing them. He says that the streets were strewn 
 with dead bodies, and their flesh was the prey of carrion birds and wild 
 beasts, and persons of good birth together with their children were sold 
 for a few dirhams, and this state of things continued till the middle of the 
 year 598. 
 
 * This prince conspired with al Malik al A'ziz whose name was Othman and 
 wrested Damascus from al Malik al Afdhal whose name was A'li. The latter 
 wrote to the Caliph a letter of complaint beginning, " My lord ! Abu Bakr and hia 
 companion Othman have forcibly taken possession of the right of A'li. Behold 
 the fortune of this name, how it experiences in our day what it met with in the past." 
 The Caliph's witty reply may be found in Abulf, and his translator. 
 
 t The fluctuations of the Nile's rise may be learnt from the 1st Chap. Book II, of 
 A'bdu'l Latif's Monograph of Egypt : 1 8 cubits is the height it must reach to fully 
 satisfy the requirements of the country. Any height less than 16 cubits must 
 result in famine more or less severe according to the faU. The 2nd Chapter contains 
 the horrible details of the picture but faintly sketched by as Suyutf. The Egyptian 
 cubit is 22 inches and its measure together with the normal height of the Kile's rise, 
 has remained unaltered since the days of Herodotus. Gib. C. XXVIII. 
 
 } Literally, " ons blowing fire into flame," 
 
[ 481 ] 
 
 In the year 597 a great earthquake occurred in Egypt, Syria and A. H. 597. 
 Mesopotamia, and many houses and forts were destroyed and a village in A. D. 12 lO. 
 the dependency of Bu§ra* was swallowed up. At the close of Muharram 
 in the year 599, the stars were in great commotion and sped like a flight 
 of locusts and this continued till morning. The people were panic-stricken 
 and cried out to the Most High, and the like of this was never seen save 
 at the birth of the Apostle of God. 
 
 In the year 600 the Franks made a raid from Rosetta up the Nile 
 against Fuwwah, and plundered and ravaged and returned. In eOl the 
 Frankst took Constantinople and expelled the Byzantines in whose possession 
 it had been before the rise of Islam and it remained under the Franks until 
 the year 660. {25th July, 1261) when the ByzantinesJ again recovered it 
 from them. 
 
 In the same year, a woman in Katufta§ gave birth to child with two 
 ))eads, two arms and four legs, but it did not live. 
 
 In the year 606 was the beginning of the Tartar ascendancy, and 
 a narration of their history will presently follow. 
 
 In 615, the Franks captured the chain fort at Damietta. Abu Shamah 
 says that this fort was the key of Egypt. It was a lofty tower in the 
 middle of the Nile and opposite to it on the east side was Damietta and 
 on the west the mainland of the Delta ; and on each side was a chain, one of 
 them extending across the Nile to Damietta and the other across the Nile to 
 the mainland, obstructing the passage of ships from the ocean. In the 
 year 616, the Franks captured Damietta (5^A November, 1219) after several 
 engagements and a prolonged investment and al Malik al Kamil {Sovereign 
 of Egypt) was too weak to offer them any resistance. They introduced 
 their innovations therein and converted the principal mosque into a church. 
 Al Malik al KAmil then laid the foundations of a city at the branching 
 of the two waters,|| and named it Manstirah and strengthened it with 
 ramparts and entered it with his army. 
 
 In this year the chief Kadhi Kuknu'ddin ad Dhahir entered into a 
 
 • There are two places of this name in Yakdt. One in Syria near Damascus, 
 the other a village near BagMad close to TJ'^Lbara. 
 
 t Under Dandolo. 
 
 % In the reign of Michael Paleologus ; see for the whole of this period the 40th, 
 41st and 42nd chapters of Gibbon. 
 
 § So the MS. Yakut gives the name and describes the locality — an extensive 
 quarter on the western side of Baghdad. ^*^ as written in the text is not to be 
 found in Yaj^dt. 
 
 II The Nile is joined to Lake Menzaleh by the canal of Ashmiin which terminates 
 at Man^urah. 
 61 
 
[ 482 ] 
 
 A. H. 616. correspondence with al Kamil, and al Malik al Mua'dhdham* I'ga prince 
 A. D. 12 19. of Damascus had a personal ill-feeling against him, whereupon he sent him 
 a parcel in which was a jacket and a halter and commanded him to wear it 
 before the people in his judicial court. He dared not refuse, but after a 
 short time, he rose and went to his house and kept to his room and died 
 after a few months of rage, and cast forth a portion of his liver, and 
 the people sorely grieved at this. It happened that al Malik al Mua'dhdham 
 sent after this to as SharafwWt^MJ-b-U'naynt a present of wine and a 
 striped garment, at a time when he affected an abstinent life, and said, 
 " Praise God for this" upon which he wrote in reply, saying, 
 " O al Malik al Mua'dhdham the custom 
 That thou hast introduced shall continue for ages : 
 The princes after thee will follow thy way, 
 Giving robes of honor to Kadhis and presents to the devout." 
 In the year 618, praise be to God, Damietta was recovered from the 
 Franks, and in 621 the School of Tradition al Kamiliyah, was founded at 
 Cairo between the two palaces, and Abu'l Khattab J-b-Dihyah was appointed 
 professor. The Kaa'bah had up to this time been covered with white 
 brocade since the days of al Mamiin, but an Nasir covered it with green 
 brocade and subsequently with black, and so it has continued up to this 
 day. 
 
 Of persons of note who died during the reign of an Na.§ir were, the 
 
 * Al Malik al A'£dil during his Ufetime partitioned Ms dominions among his 
 sons. To al Malik al Kamil Muhammad he gave Egypt ; al Mua'dhdham had Damas- 
 cus, Jerusalem, Tiberias, and other places ; part of Mesopotamia, Mayyafarikin, Khilat, 
 &o. were given to al Malik al Ashraf, and the remainder among two other sons Shihab- 
 u'ddin Ghazi and Arslan Shah. These princes lived, says Ibn Ath., in great concord 
 and were as if moved by one spirit, (p. 230) a statement difficult to reconcile with 
 facts. See Ibn Ath., p. 274 and after — Weil, p. 448. — I do not feel assured that I 
 have correctly apprehended the sense of this passage. Ad Dhdhir can scarcely be 
 another surname of Ruknu'ddin, yet I can give it no other sense. 
 
 t " With him," says Ibn KhaU, " closed the series of our great poets, his equal has 
 never since appeared." His predilection for satire caused his expulsion from Damas- 
 cus by Saladin, his poem " Scissors of reputations" having irritated the chief men at 
 Damascus against whom it was directed. His travels extended to India and Trausoxiaua 
 and he returned to Damascus when al MaHk al A'adil took possession of it after 
 Saladin's death, in 592 (1196) and he died there in A. H. 640 (1033). 
 
 X He was a native of Valencia and sumamed Pu'n Nasabayn {of the double pedi- 
 gree) being descended from Dihyah of the tribe of Kalb a companion of Mulininmad on 
 one side, and from al IJusayn on the other. He was born in A. H. 544 (1150) and 
 died at Cairo 633 (1235). The principal cities of Spain and of north Africa, as well 
 Syria and KhurasAn were visited by him for the sake of collecting traditions of which 
 he was considered a perfect master and attained to the dignity of a Hifldh. Ibu 
 KhaU. 
 
[ 483 ] 
 
 Hafidh Abii Tdhir as Silafi, Abu'l Hasan-b-u'l Kassar the philologist, al A. H 022. 
 
 Kamil Abu'l Barakdt al Anbari, the Shaykh Ahmad-b-u'r Rifaa'i, Ibn A. D. 1225. 
 
 Bashkiidl, Yunus, father of the Bani Yunus of the Sha'fiite school, Abii 
 
 Bakr-b-Tahir al Ahdab {Hwmplached) the grammarian, Abu'l Fadhl 
 
 father of ar Eafa'i, Ibn Malakiin, the grammarian, A'bdu'l Hakk of Seville, 
 
 author of the Ahkam (Judgments), Abu Zayd as Suhayli author of the ar 
 
 Eaudh al Unuf ( Untrodden meadows), the Hafidh Abii Musa al Madini, 
 
 Ibn Barri the philologist, the Hafidh Abii Bakr al Harimi, as Sharaf-b-Abi 
 
 U'srdn, Abu'l Kasim al Bukhari al Othmani,* author of the al Jarai' al 
 
 Kabir (the great Oomprehender) one of the most eminent of the Hanafites, 
 
 an Najm al Habiishani known as as Salah, Abu'l Kasim-b-Firrah as Shatibi 
 
 author of the Kasidah,t Fakhru'ddin Abii Shujaa' Muhammad-b-A'li-b- 
 
 Shu'a'yb-b-u'd Dahlian, doctor of the law of Inheritance, the first 
 
 who made a table of Inheritances after the diagram of a pulpitj 
 
 Burhan al Margbinani author of the Hidayah, of the Hanafite School, 
 
 Kadhiklian author of the Fatawa {decisions) of the same school. 
 
 A'bdur Eahim-b-Hajlin, the devotee of Upper Egypt, Abu'l Walid- 
 
 b-Eashid, author of the Philosophical Sciences, Abu Bakr-b-Zuhr the 
 
 physician, al Jamal-b-Fadhlan of the Shafi'ite school, al Kadhi al Fadhil 
 
 tjhe master of Composition and epistolary style, Shihab at T^isi, Abu'l 
 
 Faraj-bu'l Jauzi, al I'mdd the Secretary, Ibn Adhimah the ^uian 
 
 reader, the Hafidh A'bdu'l Ghani al Mukaddasi author of the TJ'mdah 
 
 (Column), ar 'B.Mk^u'ddin at faiisi author of the Tarikat u'l Khilaf 
 
 {System of Controversy), Shamim al Hilli, Abu Darr al Khashini the 
 
 grammarian, the Imam Fakhru'ddin ar Eazi, Abu'l Sa'adat Ibn u'l 
 
 Athir author of the Jami' u'l Usiil fiahddith ir Basul {Combiner of the 
 
 fundamentary Treatises on the Apostolic Traditions) and the Nihayah fi'l 
 
 Gharib {The extreme or obscure terms in tradition), al I'mad-b- Yunus 
 
 author of the Sharh al Wajiz {the Epitomized commentary), as Sharaf § 
 
 author of the Tanbih {Admonition), the Hafidh Abu'l Hasan-b-u'l Mufadh- 
 
 dhal, Abti Muhammad-b-Hawti'Uah, and his brother Sulayman, the Hafidh 
 
 A'bdu'l Kadir ar Euhawi, the devotee Abu'l Hasan-b i'l Sabbagh Bi^na, 
 
 al Wajih-b-u'd Dahhan the grammarian, Takkiu'ddin-b-u'l Muktarih, 
 
 Abu'l Yumn al Kindi the grammarian, al Ma'in al Hajiri author of the 
 
 • Al A'ttaH. MS. 
 
 t On the Kuran readings called Hirz u'l Amani wa Wajh u'l Tahani (wishes 
 
 accomplished and open congratulations). 
 
 X That is showing the family relations and their shares of inheritance by a 
 diagram of steps, which would give it the appearance of a pulpit. 
 
 § More correctly, author of the commentary on the Tanbih a work on juris- 
 prudence by Abu Ishak as Shirazi. His more famous father, Kamalu'ddin Yunus 
 died in the reign of al Mustansir, 17 years later. 
 
[ 484 ] 
 
 A..H. 622. Kifayab {Su^oimey) of the Shafi'ite school, al Rutn al A'midi author of 
 
 A. D. 1225. the Tarikat bi'l Khilaf, Abu'l Baka al TJ'kbari author of the I'irab {science 
 
 of literal inflectiom), Ibn Abi TJsaybah the physician, A'bdu'r Kahim-b- 
 
 u's Sama'dni, Najmu'ddin al Kabari Ibn Abi Sayt' al Yamani, Muwatfak- 
 
 uddin-b-Kadamah al Haubali, Fakhru'ddiD-b-A'sakir and others. 
 
 AD DHAHIR BI'AMEI'LLAH. 
 
 Ad Dhabir bi'amri'llah ( Pre-eminent hy the decree of GoJ) Abii Nasr 
 Muhammad son of an Ndsir li dini'Uah was born in the year 371. His 
 father took the covenant for him as his heir and he succeeded to the 
 Caliphate on his father's death, at the age of fifty-two. They said to him 
 on Ms accession — "dost thou not rejoice ?" He replied, "Verily the 
 harvest is blighted." They said, " May God prosper thy days." He 
 answered, " What can a man earn who opens his shop only late in the 
 afternoon." He was beneficent towards his subjects, reduced taxation, 
 checked abuses and distributed large sums of money. {Abu Shdmak.) 
 
 Ibn u'l Athlr says in the Kamil, " When ad Bhahir acceded to 
 power, he displayed such justice and benevolence as to recall the adminis- 
 tration of the two 'Omars, and if it were said that none like unto him, 
 governed the Caliphate since 'Omar-b-A'bdi'l A'ziz, the speaker would say 
 truly, for he restored an immense amount of property that had been 
 linjustly taken, and goods confiscated in the time of his father and before 
 it, and remitted all taxes in the towns and ordered a return to the former 
 taxation throughout the whole of I'r&k and the disctwitinuance of what, 
 his father had recently imposed ; all this being an amount beyond compu- 
 tation. As an instance of this, the town of Ba'kdba was originally 
 assessed at ten thousand dinars, and when an Ndsir became Caliph, he 
 levied from it during the year, eighty thousand dinars, but ad DhAhir 
 festered its original assessment on the appeal of the people. And when 
 the old tax was again levied in the districts, a deputation obtained audience 
 and represented that the greater number of the trees on their properties 
 had withered and were ruined, whereupon he ordered that no tax should be 
 levied except upon a sound (date) tree."* As an illustration of his justice, 
 the Treasul-y scales exceeded jnst measure by half a kira{ (two grains) in a 
 mithkal (twenty grains) and they accepted payments according to this standard 
 but issued them according to the scale of weights in use in the Provinces, 
 
 • This quotalSon, is not exactly literal— ^jortions of it are so, -while the rest after 
 the author's fa^idti, is an abridgment of the originwl, in his own style. The souse is 
 however fairly given. 
 
[ 485 ] 
 
 Upon this a mandate was despatched to the prime minister, beginning " Woe A. H. 622. 
 be unto those who give short measure" (Kur. LXXXIII) and it continued A. D. 1225. 
 " We have heard such and such reports : let the Treasury scales be re-altered 
 to what is customary in the mercantile transactions of the people." They 
 wrote to him to the effect that a great disparity would result, which from 
 the returns of the past year, they had calculated would amount to 35,000 
 dinars. He returned a reply, rejecting the suggestions of his correspon- 
 dent and adding, " let it be discontinued though the disparity be 350,000 
 dinars." As another instance of his justice, the Superintendent of the 
 finance registers returned from Wasit with more than 100,000 dinars 
 obtained by oppression ; he restored it all to the owners thereof. He 
 released those who were in prison and sent ten thousand dinars to the 
 Kadhi to pay it in satisfaction for those who were in distress,* and he 
 distributed on the night of the festival of Sacrifice (10th JDu'l Hijjah) 
 ten thousand dinars among the learned and the devout. It was said to 
 him on one occasion that no one had ever given scarce a portion of the 
 sums that he had lavished, he replied, " I opened my shop late in the 
 afternoon ; sufEer me then to do good, — for how much longer have I to 
 live ?" There were found in a room of his palace, thousands of letters all 
 of which were sealed. He was asked why he did not open them, he 
 answered, " I have no need of them ; they are all accusations of informers." 
 The whole of this is tahen from Ibn u'l Athir. 
 
 Sibt-b-u'l Jauzi relates that once when he entered the Treasury, an 
 attendant said to him, " This used to be full in the time of thy father." 
 He replied, " the Treasury is not made to be kept full, but to be emptied 
 and distributed for pious purposes, for verily to accumulate is the occupation 
 of a trader." Ibn Wasil says that he displayed justice and diminished 
 taxation and appeared much in public which his father rarely did. He 
 died on thie 13th Eajab,t 623 ( lOM July, 1226) ; his reign having been nine 
 months and some days in duration. He was licensed by liis father to 
 recite traditions. Abu Salih Nasr-b-Abdi'r Razzak-b-i'l Shaykh A'bdil 
 Jfadir al Jili recited them on his authority. An eclipse of the moon 
 occurred twice in the year in which he died. Nasru'Uah-b-ir'l Athir J arrived 
 on an embassy from the governor of Mosal with a letter of condolence 
 to his successor which began thus : 
 
 * That is, for those who were impriBoned for debt. Ibn Ath. expresses the sense 
 with greater clearness. 
 
 t Ibn u'l Ath. 14. 
 
 % Better known as Dhiau'ddin Ibn u'l Athir — ^bom in 558 (1163) died at 
 Baghdad 637 (1239-40). He entered the service of Saladin whose prime minister, hs 
 became. He ended his days aa a writer of despatches under Najru'ddin Mahmud, 
 governor of Mosal. Ibn Khali. 
 
[ 486 ] 
 
 A. H. 623. " Why should not day and night plead excuse when the calamity they 
 
 A. D. 1226. have brought about is so great ? — and why should not the sun and moon 
 be eclipsed when the third luminary has disappeared ? 
 " How desolate is the world, once so gladsome 
 
 And what solitude for those in it through one scene of death." 
 And he is our lord and master the Imam ad Dhahir prince of the 
 Faithful whose reign was a mercy unto both worlds. 
 
 AL MTJSTANSIR BVLLKB.. 
 
 Al Mustansir bi'Uah {Seeking assistance in God) Abu Jaa'far Man- 
 slir the son of ad Dhahir bi amri'llah was born in the month of Safar 588, 
 his mother being a Turkish slave. According to Ibn un Najjar, he was 
 acknowledged Caliph on the death of his father in Rajab 623. He dealt 
 justly with his subjects and was equitable in his decisions and sought the 
 society of men of wisdom and piety, and founded mosques and Bibats 
 and colleges and hospitals. He set up the beacon of religion, extirpated 
 the refractory, promulgated laws, restrained dissensions and brought his 
 people under the most admirable regulations. He undertook religious wars 
 with the utmost devotion and assembled armies for the defence of Islam, 
 guarded the frontiers and captured many fortresses. 
 
 Al Muwaffak A'bdu'l Latif says, " When Abu Jaa'far was acknow- 
 ledged Caliph, he pursued an excellent course of conduct, re-established the 
 ways of kindliness that had been effaced, set up the beacon of religion 
 and the watch tower of Islam and won all hearts to the love of him, and 
 all tongues to his praise, and the most captious found in him no reproach. 
 His grandfather an Nasir courted his society and used to call him the 
 Kadhi from his right judgment and intelligence, and repugnance to all 
 vice that he met with." The Hdfidh Zakiu'ddin A'bdu'l Adhim al 
 Mundiri* observes that all Mustansir was zealous in good works and 
 earnest in tlie advancement of virtue of which many brilliant instances 
 are recorded of him. He founded the Mustansiriyah college and settled 
 good stipends on men of learning. 
 
 Ibn Wd§il says that al Mustansir built on the eastern bank of the 
 Tigris a college than which none more beautiful or more extensively 
 endowed was ever constructed upon the face of the earth. He appointed 
 
 • A renowned jurist and traditionist. He was bom in Egypt in 581 (1185) and 
 became Shaykh of the Kdmiliyali School of Tradition founded at Cairo by al Malik nl 
 Kamil in 622. Ibn Khallik&n was one of his pupils. He died in 656 (1258). Do 
 Slane, I. K. 
 
t 487 ] 
 
 four prof essors for the four orthodox doctrinal schools,* and built within A. H. 623. 
 it a hospital and provided a kitchen for the use of the jurisconsults and A. D. 1226. 
 large cooling jars for cool drinking water and furnished their apartments 
 with mats and carpets, olive oil, paper, ink and the like and over and 
 above, a monthly stipend of a dinar for each jurist. Further he provided 
 for them a Hammam, the like of which had never been done before. He 
 enlisted a large army such as his father and grandfather had never orga- 
 nized before him, and he was withal of a lofty spirit, brave and of great 
 intrepidity. The Tartars invaded his dominions, but his forces encountered 
 them ahd the Tartars suffered a complete rout. He had a brother called 
 al Khafaji of great courage who used to say that were he in supreme 
 authority, he would cross the Oxus at the head of an army, wrest the 
 provinces from the Tartars and root them out. When al Mustanjir died, 
 the Chief- Secretary and High Steward were averse to the investiture of 
 al Khafaji through fear of him, wherefore they set up the son of al 
 Mustansir Abu Ahmad on account of his mildness of character and weak- 
 ness of understanding, in order that the government might remain in their 
 hands, " that God might accomplish the thing which was decreed to he 
 done" (Kur. VIII) regarding the destruction of the Muslims during his 
 reign and the Tartar domination — for we belong to God and unto Him do 
 we return. 
 
 Ad Dahabi says that the aggregate of the endowments of the Mustan- 
 ^iriyah college reached yearly over 70,000 mitbkals {dinars). The building 
 was begun in the year 625 and completed in 631. Books were sent to it 
 to the number of one hundred and sixty camel-loads of valuable works. 
 The complement of its jurists of the four doctrinal schools was 248. There 
 were four lecturers, and a professor of tradition, of grammar, of medicine, 
 and of the law of inheritance. It was further provided with bread, 
 cooked flesh-meat, sweetmeats and fruit. The Caliph also placed thirty 
 orphans on the foundation and endowed it to an extent that surpasses 
 description. Ad Dahabi here enumerates the villages and lands settled on 
 it and adds that it was opened on the first Thursday of Eajab, the Kadhis, 
 professors and nobles, and all the state officials being present, and it was a 
 " day whereon men were assembled," (Kur. XI). 
 
 Among events in the reign of al Mustansir in 618, al Malik al Ashraf 
 lord of Damascus ordered the building of a college of Traditions called al 
 Ashrafiyah which was completed in the year 630. 
 
 In the year 632 al Mustansir gave orders for the coinage of silver 
 
 dirhams to be used instead of chips of gold. The Wazir held an audience 
 
 and summoned the governors, merchants and money-changers : leather 
 
 mats were spread out and the dirhams placed upon them and the Wazir 
 
 * Of Malik, as Shafi'i, Hanbal, and Abu IJanifah. 
 
[ 488 -] • 
 
 A. H. 632. said, " Our master, the prince of the Faithful hath prescribed yout employ- 
 
 A. D. 1234. ment of these dirhams instead of gold chippings, out of kindness to you 
 
 and to free you from illicit usurious traffic." Upon this they broke o«t 
 
 in benedictions rip on him. They were then circulated in I'rak and their 
 
 currency fixed at ten for the dinar. 
 
 Al MuwafEak Abu'l Ma'ali al ^fasim-b-Abi'l Hadid* said with regard 
 to this — 
 
 " May we never lose thy excellent judgment among us. 
 Thou hast removed us far from unjust standards of measure, 
 Thou hast prescribed the use of silver so that we have become 
 
 familiar with it 
 Which was never familiar to us hefore. 
 
 Not for hoarding wealth was thy prohibition against deviationf 
 But for a right course and for positive certitude." 
 
 In the year 635 the office of Kadhi at Damascus was held by Shamsu'ddfn 
 Ahmad al Juni. He was the first Kadhi who established stations for 
 witnesses in the city, for before that time, the people had to attend the 
 houses of witnesses to obtain their testimony. During the same, died the 
 two brothers, the Sultans, al Ashraf prince of Damascus and two months 
 after him al Kamil sovereign of Egypt. Kulamah:|: ttie son of al Kamil 
 assumed the sovereignty of Egypt and was surnamed al A'adil, but he 
 was subsequently deposed and his brother al Malik as Salih Ayyiib Najm- 
 u'ddin usurped the government. 
 
 In the year 637 Shaykh I'zzu'ddin§-b-A'bdi's Sallam held the office of 
 public preacher at Damascus. He preached a discourse free from all hereti- 
 cal tendency. He abolished the use of the gilded standards and set up in- 
 their place black and white ones and only a single caller to prayer chanted 
 before him. During the same Rasul u'l Amin Nuru'ddin O'mar-b-A'li-b. 
 Easuli't Turkomani who had possessed himself of Taman visited the 
 
 * He was a jurisconsult and a man of letters and ability ; bom at al Mad&in in 
 590 and died at Baghdad in 656 (1258) soon after the taking of that city by the 
 Tartars. He was the brother of Abu Hamid 'Izzu'ddin al Maddini who wrote a refuta- 
 tion of Dhiauddin Ibn u'l Athir's work called the Current Proverb. See life of this 
 latter in Ibn Khali. 
 
 t For the various meanings o^ J"** and tj/* on the tradition *** (J^JI 
 Jii.c )lj (Jj^o. See Lane, art. 
 
 t His name was Sayfu'ddin Abu Bakr. 1 have nowhere met the name in the 
 ' text. 
 
 § He afterwards (638) repaired to Misr, fearing the revenge of al Malik as SMilj 
 Isma'fl of Damascus whom he had reviled for surrendering two forts to the Franks on 
 condition of their aiding him against his nephew as §&lilj Ayub of Egypt. The latter 
 made him Kadhi of Mi?r which, says Abu'l Fida, he reluctantly accepted. For an 
 instance of his thaumaturgy, see Eeiske's note, p. 711. 
 
[ 489 ] 
 
 Caliph to obtain the investiture of the Sultanate of Yaman after the death A. H. 637. 
 of al Malik al Masa'M* son of al Malik al Kamil, and this sovereignty A. D, 1239. 
 continued in his house till the year 865. 
 
 In 639, al Malih as SAlih sovereign of Egypt founded the college 
 which is between the two palaces and the fort at Eaudhah, but this fort 
 was destroyed by his slaves in 651. 
 
 In the year 640, on Friday the 10th of Jumada II, {5th December, 
 1242) died al Mustansir. The poets composed elegies on him and among 
 them Safiu'ddln A'bdu'llah-b-Jamil. As an instance of the virtues of al 
 Mustansir, al Wajih al Kayrawani praised him in a poem in which he said — 
 
 " Hadst thou been present on the day of Sakifahf 
 Thou wouldst have been the foremost — the God-fearing Imam." 
 Whereupon some one in his presence exclaimed, " Thou hast erred 
 for verily al A'bbas the ancestor of the prince of the Faithful was then 
 present, and none but Abu Bakr could have been the foremost." Al 
 Mustansir assented to this speech and rewarded the speaker thereof 
 with a robe of honor and commanded al Wajih to be banished who as ad 
 Dahabi relates, departed for Egypt. Of persons of note who died dur- 
 ing the reign of al Mustansir were the Imam Abu'l Kasim ar Eafi'i, al 
 Jamal al Misri, Ibn Maghriiz the grammarian, Yakut al Hamawi, as 
 Sukaki author of the Miftah (key), the Hafidh Abu'l Hasan-b-u'l Kattan, 
 Yahya-b-Mu'ti author of the grammatical treatise the Alifiyah (consisting 
 o/1000t)e?-ses) al Muwaffak A'bdu'l Latif al Baghdadi, the Hafidh Abd 
 Bakr-b-Nuktah, the Hafidh I'zzu'ddin A'li-b-u'l Athir, author of the 
 History (Kdmil), the Ansab,J and the Asadu'l Ghabah {Lion of the forest) 
 
 * He liad teen sent to Yaman. by his grandfather al Malik al A'adil I. in 611 
 (1225) and entered Mecca the same year where the khuthah -was read in his name. 
 He retained hia government under his father al K^mil's supremacy and died at Mecca 
 in 626 (1229). For the fortunes of the Easu'l dynasty in Taman, consult Abulf, p. 524 
 Vol. 4 and 126, Vol. 5, Weil, 203. I am indebted to the courtesy and erudition of 
 Mr, Stanley Lane Poole for the following note. " Rasul was an envoy of the 'Abbasi 
 Caliph, who adopted the name of his office (Rasul) and was Governor of Mecca about 
 620 A. H. His son Niiruddin Omar-b-Easul is the founder of the dynasty of the 
 Beni Rasul who governed Yemen from the death of its last Ayyiibi ruler (al Malik al 
 Masa'ud) to the subversion of the.dynaaty by the Beni Tahir in 853 A. H. The dynasty 
 ruled at Zebid in the Tehamah and coins of two of the kings struck at Aden, are in the 
 British Museum. There is a special history of the Easuliyah at the India Oflioe, by 
 El Khazraji, and an account of them in Ibn-Ed. Deyba (B. M. MS.) arid Johannsen'a 
 Historia Yamanoe." 
 
 + See page 42, note J. 
 
 J This was an abridgment in 3 Vols, of Abu Saa'd as Samani's Ans&b (explanation 
 of patronymics and other relative adjectives). The Asad u'l Ghabah fi Maa'rifat.is Siha- 
 bah contains notices of 7500 of the companions, supplementing the omissions of his 
 predecessors and correcting their errors. IJaji Khalifah. 
 62 
 
[ 490 ] 
 
 A. H. 640. Ibn U'tbi the poet, as Sayf al Amidi, Ibn FadhUn, Omar-b-il Faridh 
 A. D. 1242. author of the Taiiyah* jVt Tasawwuf, as Shihab as Suhrawardi author 
 of the A'warif u'l Ma'arif (the divine cognitions in degrees of spiritual 
 Tcnowledge) al Baha-b-Shaddad, Abu'l A'bbas al A'ufi author of the Maulid 
 a'n Nabawi {tihe prophetical nativity'), the learned Abu'l Khattab-b-Dihyah 
 and his brother Abu O'mar, the Hafidh Abu'r Eabia'h-b-Salimf author of 
 the Iktifa hi MagTi&zil Mustafa wa'l Khulafd al Thaldthah {a sufficient 
 account of the Military expeditions of the Chosen and the three Caliphs'), 
 Ibn u'l Shawd the poet, the Hafidh Zakiu'ddin al Barzali, al Jamal al 
 HasiriJ the Hanafite Shaykh, as Shams al Jdni, al Harrani, the Hafidh 
 Abu A'bdu'llah az Zaini, Abu'l Barakat-b-u'l Mustawfi, ad Dhiau'ddin- 
 b-i'l Athir author of the Mathal al Sair {Jkhe current Proverb) Ibn A'rabi 
 author of the Fusus u'l Hikam {the Bezejs of words of wisdom), Kamal- 
 u'ddin-b-Yunus the commentator§ on the Tanbih {Admonition, of Ahu 
 Ishak as Shirdzi) and others. 
 
 Al MrSTA'SIM BI'LLAH. 
 
 Al Musta'gim bi'Uah {Seeking protection with Ood) Abu Ahmad 
 A'bdu'llah son of Mustanair bi'llah, last of the Caliphs of the two I'raks 
 ■was born in the year 609, his mother being a slave concubine called Hajir. 
 He was acknowledged Caliph on the death of his father. Al Muwayyad|l 
 at Tdsi granted him authority as a licentiate of traditions through Ibn 
 un Najjdr, and so likewise did Abu Euh al Harawi and a number of others. 
 Traditions were repeated on his authority and license by an Najm al 
 Badarai, as Sharf ad Dimyati. Ad Dimydti has taken from his special 
 narration forty traditions which I have seen in his handwriting. He was 
 generous, mild of temper, of good disposition, and exemplary virtue. 
 The Shayhh Kutbu'ddin says, that he was orthodox in religion, eon- 
 forming to its precepts like his father and grandfather, but not their 
 
 * This is a poem in the letter Ta on the doctrines of the Siifis. The text and MS 
 are in error in writing the TTord ^r^ 
 
 t Haji Khalifah states him to be the son of Musa. 
 
 X So called from a quarter in Bukhdra where mats (hasfr)- are made in which he 
 must have resided. See Ibn Khall's life of al A'midi Eukn'uddm : the MS. writes the 
 word correctly. The printed text is in error. 
 
 § The Commentator was rather his son Sharafu'ddin who died in the reign of an 
 K&sir. See note §, p. 483. 
 
 II This traditionist's family originally came from "Tds, but he fixed his residence 
 at Naysabdr. He was considered the most authoritative traditionist of his time, and 
 students flocked to him from all quarters. Ibn Khali himself was a licentiate of this 
 master, born 624 (1130) died 617 (1220). Ibn Khali. 
 
[ 491 ] 
 
 equal in vigilance, firmness of purpose and loftiness of soul. Al Mustan- A. H. 640. 
 sir had a brother known as al Khafaji of great bravery and valour, who A. D. 1242. 
 used to say that if God would put him. in possession of supreme power, he 
 would cross the Oxus at the head of an army, wrest the country from the 
 Tartars and exterminate them. But when al Mustansir died, the Chief 
 Secretary and High Steward and the principal nobility did not approve the 
 assumption of the government by al Khafaji for they feared him, where- 
 fore they chose al Musta'sim on account of his lenity and meekness, in 
 order that the real power might rest with them. They accordingly set 
 him in authority. Al Musta'sim placed his dependence upon his Wazir 
 Muwayyadu'ddin al A'lkami the heretic (Shiite) who ruined the country 
 and played with the Caliphate as he willed. He carried on a secret cor- 
 respondence with the Tartars, counselled with them and urged them to 
 march into Irak, to take possession of Baghdad and put an end to the 
 A'bbaside dynasty, in order that he might set up a Caliph of the posterity 
 of A'li. Whatever information regarding them arrived, he concealed from 
 the Caliph but kept the Tartars informed of the Caliph's movements until 
 events happened as they subsequently did. 
 
 In the year 647 of his reign the Franks* took Damietta. The Sultan 
 al Malik as Salih {Ayyub) was at the time ill, and he died on the night of 
 the 15th of Shaa'ban. His wife Umm Khalil, called Shajar u'd Durr 
 (Spray of Pearl) concealed his death and summoned his son Turan Shah 
 al Malik al Muadhdham who arrived, but it was not long before he was 
 assassinated, in Muharram of the year 648. His father's dependents 
 assaulted and slew him and they raised up his father's wife Shajar u'd 
 Durr and the Turks swore allegiance to her and to her chief minister 
 I'zzzu'ddin Aybak the Turkoman. She began by bestowing robes of honor 
 and rich presents upon the principal nobles and appointed 'Izzu'ddin to the 
 Sultanate in Eabii' II, and he received the title of al Mu'izz. Subsec[uently 
 be withdrew from the dignityt and the troops swore allegiance to al 
 Malik al Ashraf son of Salahu'ddin Yusuf-b-i'l Masa'iid-b-i'l Kamil, a boy 
 of eight and Ilzzu'ddin remained as his guardian (atdheh). They were both 
 included in the khutbah and their names stamped upon the coinage. 
 
 In this year Damietta was recovered from the Franks. In the year 
 652 a fire appeared in the land of Aden and its sparks at night flew 
 out towards the sea and a vast column of smoke arose from it by 
 day. During the same, al Mui'zz set aside the nominal authority of 
 al Malik al Ashraf and assumed the Sultanate. In the year 654 appeared 
 the fire in the prophetical city of Medina. Abu Shamah relates that 
 
 * Under St. Louis of France in the 6th. Crusade, 1249. 
 
 t It was thought expedient that an Ayyuhite should, at least in name, hold the 
 regal office. 
 
[ 492 ] 
 
 A. H. 654., he received letters from Medina with the following. " On Tuesday 
 A. D. 1256. night, the 3rd Jumada II, a mighty rushing sound was heard followed 
 by a great earthquake which continued at short intervals till the 5th of 
 the month when a huge fire appeared in al Harrah* near Kuraydhah ; 
 we saw it from our houses in Medina as if it were close upon us, and there 
 flowed from it rivers of fire towards Wadi Shataf like the rush of a flood. 
 "We ascended our houses to see it, when lo ! the hills ran with torrents of 
 flame and they continued thus, and in the same way flames appeared like 
 unto mountains from which sparks flew like a vast edifice so that the light 
 of them could be seen throughout both Mecca and the desert. And all the 
 people assembled at the holy tomb, praying for mercy and repentant, and 
 this continued for more than a month. Ad Dahabi observes that the 
 mention of this fire comes down in an uninterrupted tradition and it is this 
 which the Chosen One predicted where he said, " the last day shall not be, 
 until a fire riseth out of Hijaz which shall light up the necks of the camels 
 in Busra ;" J and verily more than one of those who were at Busra during 
 that night have mentioned this fire and that the necks of the camels were 
 visible by its light. 
 
 In the year 655, perished al Mu'izz Aybak Sultan of Egypt. He was 
 murdered by his wife Shajar u'd Durr and they raised to the Sultanate in 
 succession to him, his son al Malik al Mansiir and during this the Tartars 
 were spreading over the provinces, their enormities increasing and their 
 flame kindling ; the Caliph and the people heedless of what was intended 
 regarding them, and the Wazir al A'lkami§ seeking the destruction of 
 the A'bbaside dynasty and its transmission to the posperity of A'li and 
 corresponding secretly with the Tartars, while al Musta'sim, absorbed in 
 his pleasures had no knowledge of events nor interest in the public welfare. 
 His father al Mustansir had largely increased his army and withal, had 
 pacified the Tartars with gifts, made peace with and conciliated them, 
 whereas al Musta'?im when he came to power, being destitute of under- 
 standing and administrative ability, was counselled by his Wazir to disband 
 the greater part of his troops, since his object would be' attained by 
 treating the Tartars with generosity and courtesy, and this he accordingly 
 did. The Wazir subsequently entered into a correspondence with the 
 Tartars, urged them to march upon the provinces and facilitated their 
 
 * The Banu Kuraydhah lived near Khaybar and al harrah is probably Harrat 
 u'n Ndr, whicli is adjacent to Khaybar. 
 
 t This name is not given in Yakiit and I am uncertain as to the correctness of 
 the text here. The MS. is manifestly corrupt. See a notice of this eruption in 
 Burton's Mecca, page, 4. 
 
 X Near Harwdn in Palestine. 
 
 § Muayyadu'ddin-b-u'l A'lkami, Abulf. 
 
[ 493 ] 
 
 purpose. He proposed himself as their governor to which they agreed A. H. 
 and made preparations for their march upon Baghdad. •"■• ^• 
 
 1257. 
 
 A brief notice of the Tartars.- 
 
 Al Muwaffak A'bdu'l Latif says in his account of the Tartars, that it 
 is a narrative that absorbs all other narratives, a chronicle that supersedes 
 all other chronicles, a history that causes all other histories to be for- 
 gotten, a misfortune that reduces to insignificance all other misfortunes, 
 a calamity that involved the earth and filled it to its length and breadth. 
 The language of this people is blended with that of India in the vicinity 
 of which they dwell, and between them and Mecca is a distance of four 
 months' journey. As compared with the Turks, they have broader faces, 
 are fuller in the chest, leaner in the flanks, have smaller eyes, are tawny 
 in colour, quick in movement both of body and mind. Accounts of other 
 nations reach them, but no information respecting them penetrates to 
 other countries, and it is scarcely possible that a spy can settle among 
 them for a foreigner does not resemble them in appearance. When they 
 purpose setting out in a certain direction, they conceal their design and 
 execute it with sudden rapidity, so that the people of a city know nothing 
 of them till they enter it, nor an army until they are in the midst of it : 
 thus unto people the means of circumventing them are confounded and 
 the ways of escape straitened. Their women fight as well as the men. 
 Their principal weapons are arrows, and their food, any flesh-meat they 
 can get, and there is no exception or quarter in their massacre, for they 
 slay men, women and children. Their aim was the destruction of the 
 human race and the ruin of the world, not the desire of dominion or 
 plunder. 
 
 Another author observes that the country of the Tartars borders on 
 the confines of China ; that they dwell in deserts and are notorious for 
 their malignity and perfidy. The occasion of their rise was as follows : 
 The country of China is of vast extent, its circuit occupying a six months' 
 Journey. It is composed of six principalities and they have a sovereign 
 chief who governs the whole six; He is the great Kan who resides at 
 Tamghaj and is like the Caliph of the Muslims. The Sultan of one of these 
 principalities was Dosh Khan who had married the paternal aunt, of Jingiz 
 Khan. After the death of her husband, Jingiz Khan went on a visit to 
 her, and he was accompanied by Kashlii Khan and she informed them that 
 the prince her husband had left no heir and suggested to her nephew that 
 he should succeed him. Upon this Jingiz Khan assumed the governmenfe 
 
[ 494 ] 
 
 A. H. 655. and was joined by the Moguls. He then despatched presents to the great 
 A. D. 1257. ^fan, who foaming with rage, ordered the tails of the horses that had been 
 presented to him, to be cut off and that thej should be driven away, and 
 he put to death the envoys, because the Tartars had no previous title to 
 possession, they being but nomad wanderers in China. When .Tingiz 
 Khan and his friend Kashlti Khan heard this, they vowed revenge, declared 
 war against the Kan and a vast number of Tartars mustered round them. 
 The Kan, aware of their power and malice, sent to conciliate them, affecting 
 at the same to warn and threaten them. This, however, availed nothing, 
 whereon he marched to encounter them and they advanced to meet him. 
 A great battle took place and they defeated the Kan and took possession 
 of his dominions. Their excesses were prodigious and the country re- 
 mained subject to Jingiz Khan and Kashlu Khan in common. They next 
 marched against the country of Shakun on the confines of China and 
 took possession of it. Kashlii Khan soon after died and his son succeeded 
 him, but Jingiz Khan held him of no account and attacked and seized him 
 and assumed sole authority. The Tartars submitted to him and acknow- 
 ledged his sway. They paid him divine honours and carried their devotion 
 to the greatest extreme. 
 
 After this, their first irruption was in 606 from their own territories 
 towards Farghanah and the Turkish dominions. Upon this Khwarazm 
 Shah Muhammad-b-Tukush lord of Khurasan — he, who had overthrown 
 kings and conquered their territories and had marched against the Caliph 
 (an JUdsir) but unsuccessfully as has already gone before — ordered 
 the inhabitants of Farghanah and Shash and Kasan and similar pro- 
 sperous and flourishing towns, to quit them and to pass into Samarkand 
 and other places. He then laid them all waste lest the Tartars should 
 take possession of them as he knew he was unable to stand against 
 them. The Tartars continued plundering and roving until the year 615 
 when Jingiz Khan sent an embassy and presents to Khwarazm Shah and 
 the envoy spoke as follows : " The great Kan greets thee and says to thee 
 that the magnitude of thy power and the lofty dominion to which thou 
 hast attained and the extent of thy authority over the nations is not 
 unknown to him, and that he considers an alliance with thee among neces- 
 sary obligations and that thou art to him like the most honoured of his 
 children — further, that it is not hidden from thee that he has conquered 
 China and thou knowest his dominions, that they are rich in soldiers and 
 horses and mines of gold and of silver and a sufiiciency of other things : 
 if therefore thou seest fit to unite in friendship with him and to suffer the 
 traders to proceed, in order that thou mayest learn the mutual interests of 
 both countries, thou wilt act accordingly." And Khawdrazm Shah 
 answered him according to his desire and Jingiz Khan was glad, and things 
 
[ 495 ] 
 
 remained on this peaceful footing until traders arrived from his dominions. A. H. 655. 
 At that time the maternal uncle of Khawarazm Shah was in the govern- A. D. 1257. 
 ment of Transoxiana with twenty thousand horsemen, and he coveted the 
 goods of the traders and wrote to Khawarazm Shdh, saying that these men 
 had come in the disguise of traders, but that their design was no other 
 than to spy, and he asked permission to act in their regard. Khawarazm 
 Shah gave him sanction to keep a watch on them, whereupon he seized 
 them and confiscated their property. Upon this the envoys of Jingiz 
 Khan arrived before Khawarazm Shah, saying on the pari of their master, 
 " Verily thou didst give thy safe-conduct to the traders and hast played 
 false, and perfidy is a base action and in a Muslim prince especially base ; 
 but if thou assertest that what thy uncle hath done, hath been done 
 without thy permission, then deliver him up to us, otherwise thou wilt 
 behold from me that which thou knowest of me in such a matter." The 
 fear that seized upon Khawarazm Shah was such as to disturb his judg- 
 ment, and he affected hardiness and ordered the envoys to be put to death 
 and they were put to death. Alas ! for a deed which causing the blood 
 of Muslims to be shed urfavenged, drew from every side a torrent of 
 blood. 
 
 Then Jingiz Khan went forth against him and Khawarzm Shah 
 crossed the Oxus to Nisabiir and thence passed on to the castle of Hamadan 
 in fear of the Tartars. But the enemy surrounded him and slew all that 
 were with him and he escaped alone and betook himself to an island in the 
 Caspian Sea. There he fell ill of a pleurisy and died alone and abandoned 
 and Ms corpse was shrouded in the bedding* he had with him. This 
 occurred in the year 617 and the Tartars took possession of the whole of 
 the dominions of Khawarzm Shah. 
 
 Sibt u'l Jauzi says that the Tartars first appeared in Transoxiana in 
 the year 615. They took Bukhara and Samarkand and slew the inhabi- 
 tants and besieged Khawarzm Shah. After this they crossed the river 
 (Oxus') but Khawarzm Shah had overthrown the princes of the cities of 
 Khurasan, and the Tartars found none to oppose them. They therefore 
 marched rapidly over the country slaying and taking prisoners and pressed 
 onwards till they reached Hamadan and Kazwin in the same year. 
 
 Ibn u'l Athir says in his Kamil that the invasion of the Tartars was 
 one of the greatest of calamities and the most terrible of visitations which 
 fell upon the world in general and the Muslims in particular, the like of 
 which succeeding ages have failed to bring forth ; for if one were to say 
 that the world, since God created it to the present time, was never so 
 afflicted, one would speak truly, for history has nothing which approaches 
 it. The utmost that historians have to mention is the treatment of 
 
 * The MS. omits the word c^!/^ 
 
[ 496 3 
 
 A. H. 655. Jerusalem and the children of Israel by Nabuehadnezzar, but what is 
 A. D. 1257. Jerusalem compared with what these accursed wretches destroyed of the 
 cities of Islam, and what are the children of Israel in comparison with 
 those whom the Tartars slew ? This was a calamity of which the sparks 
 flew far and wide and its misery was universal, flying over the earth like a 
 cloud driven before the wind— for a horde issued forth from the confines of 
 China and attacked the cities of Turkistan such as Eashghar and the 
 territory of Shaghrak,* from thence to Bukhara and Samarkand which 
 they captured, exterminating their inhabitants. Tlien a body of them 
 pass on to Khurasan, finishing by destroying, plundering, slaying and devas- 
 tating it, and thence to Rai and Hamadan and to the borders of Irak. Next 
 they march to Adarbijan and its dependencies ravaging and laying them 
 waste— a/Z in less than the space of one year— an event the like of which 
 has never been heard. From Adarbijan they passed to Darband Sharwan.f 
 subjugated its territory and crossed over to Allan and al Lalkaz, slaughter- 
 ing and making prisoners. Thence they marched to the plains of Kaf jakj 
 the people whereof were more numerous than the Turks and slew those 
 who opposed them ; the rest fled and the Tartars took possession of the 
 country. Another band passed on to Ghazni and its dependencies and to 
 Sijistan {Dranffiana) and to Kirman (Carmania) and did there what those 
 had done and indeed worse. Such as this has never before been heard of, 
 for Alexander who made himself master of the world did not do so with such 
 rapidity, for he conquered it in about ten years and moreover he did not 
 massacre and was content with submission. But these subjugated the' 
 greater part of the habitable globe, its fairest and most fertile regions, in 
 about a year, and none remained in the provinces which they had not assault- 
 ed, save such as were tremblingly awaiting their coming. Moreover they 
 were not dependent upon the transport of corn nor on supplies reaching 
 them for they had with them their sheep and oxen and horses, the flesh of 
 which they eat and nothing else. As for their horses, they dig up the 
 ground with their hoofs and eat the roots of plants and know nothing of 
 barley. As for their belief, they worship the sun at his rising and deem 
 fiothing unlawful. They eat the flesh of all animals and even of men : 
 they do not recognize marriage, for a woman is visited by more than one 
 man. 
 
 • This name is not in Yakut. He, however, gives S&gharj (gv* ) a place five 
 parasanga from Samarkand. 
 
 t This is a town in the vioinity of Darband huilt by Aauahirwan from whom it 
 takes the name. Allan and al Lalkaz are mentioned by Yakut as adjacent. 
 
 t " The Dasht-i-Kipzao or plain of Kipzak," aays Gibbon, " extends on either side 
 of the Volga in a boundless space towards the Saik and Borysthones and is supposed 
 to contain the primitive name and nation of the Cossacks." For the rise and progress 
 of the Tartars, see his LXIVth chapter. 
 
[ 497 ] 
 
 In the beginning of the year 656, the Tartars, 200,000 in number led A. F. 656. 
 by Huldku, reached Baghdad ; the army of the Caliph advanced to meet them A. D. 1258. 
 but was defeated, and they entered the city on the 10th of Muharram. 
 The Wazir — may God confound him — counselled al Musta'sim to conciliate 
 them, and said, " I will go forth to them myself to arrange the terms of 
 peace ;" and he set forth and secured from them the safety of his own 
 person and returned to the Caliph, and said, " The monarch desires to 
 marry his daughter to thy son the Emir Abu Bakr, and he will confirm 
 thee in the office of Caliph as he has suffered the lord of ar Eiim* to 
 retain his sovereignty, and he seeketh nothing but thy submission to him 
 as thy ancestors submitted to the Saljuk princes, and he will then depart 
 with his army. Let then, my lord, consent to this, for verily thus will the 
 blood of the Muslims be spared, and afterwards thou canst do what thou 
 wilt, but it is advisable that thou go forth to him." Then the Caliph set 
 out at the head of all the nobles and he was made to alight at a tent. The 
 Wazir entered tlie city and summoned the jurists and principal men to 
 witness the negotiation and they all came forth from Baghdad and their 
 heads were struck off, and thus company after company came out and were 
 decapitated until all the learned and the nobles, the chamberlains and 
 principal men were put to death Then a bridge was thrown across and 
 the sword was let loose in Baghdad, and the massacre continued for about 
 forty days till the number of the slain was more than a million souls and 
 none escaped but those who hid themselves in wells and subterraneous 
 canals. The Caliph was trampled to death. Ad Dahabi says, " I do not 
 think that he was buried and there were slain with him a number of his 
 children and uncles, and some were imprisoned, and it was a calamity such 
 as had never befallen Islam." What the Wazir sought, however, was not 
 fulfilled, for he tasted of ignominy and contempt from the Tartars and he 
 did not long survive this event. The poets wrote elegies on Baghdad and 
 its inhabitants and the words of Sibt at Ta'awidif are applicable to the 
 Wazir — 
 
 * Sahib u'r Eum. In Abulf, the expression is Sultan tir Rum, which Eeiske 
 translates Eomanice domino — I understand the Sultan of loonium to he here meant. 
 This dynasty opposed some resistance to the Mogul arms. The Byzantine capital 
 escaped the universal destruction though Hulaku threatened to march against it 
 with 400,000 men, but he was diverted by the conquest of Baghdad and a long 
 vicissitude of Syrian wars. See Gibbon, LXIVth Cap. Michael Paleologus was taken 
 prisoner by the Tartars after the recovery of Constantinople by the Greeks, which 
 the Oriental writers place in 65.5 (1257) and the European in 1261), and their general 
 Noga married Maria his natural daughter and " guarded the dominions of his friend 
 and father." Ibid. 
 
 t Abu'l Fath Muljammad surnamed at Ta'awidi (a M;nto' of amulets) . He was 
 63 
 
[ 498 ] 
 
 A. H. 656. " It perished and the people with it, and their mansions 
 
 A, D. 1258. Are desolate through the continuance of our lord the Wazir." 
 
 And another of them says : 
 " People of Islam, weep and mourn, 
 For grief of what hath befallen al Musta'sim. 
 The ministerial authority before his time 
 
 Was in the hands of Ibn u'l Furat, and then passed to Ibn u'l 
 
 A'lkami." 
 
 At the last khutbah preached at Baghdad the preacher opened it 
 
 thus — " Praise be to God who hath overturned in death eminent lives and 
 
 hath commanded the destruction of the people of this house. This — 
 
 while the sword continues therein." 
 
 There is a well-known poem by Takiu'ddin-b-A'li Yusr on Baghdad 
 and it is as follows — 
 
 " Sorrowing are the tales of Baghdad for him who weeps. 
 Why remainest thou when thy friends have departed ? 
 Approach not Baghdad, ye pilgrims 
 
 For in this guarded enclosure and abode there are no dwellers. 
 The crown of the Caliphate, the sojourn of spring, where are 
 
 honoured 
 Its memorials — verily desolation hath effaced it. 
 In this abode there are marks of the wasting that hath come 
 
 upon it, 
 And traces of tears upon its ruins. 
 
 O fire of my heart, sprung of the fire from the tumult of war 
 That flamed over her — a whirlwind hath swept over this dwelling 
 
 place. 
 The cross hath been raised high over her pulpits 
 And he whom the belt* girdeth rules over her. 
 How many a chaste matron have the Turks forcibly made captive 
 Fenced by other veils than that of modesty ? 
 And how many moons of heauty were eclipsed in their full 
 From which to their fulness they shall never return ? 
 And how many a treasure hath become dispersed 
 Through plunder, which the infidels have captured? 
 
 bom at Baghdad in 519 (1126) and died there in S84 (1188). He was a clerk in the 
 fief office at Baghdad, and towards the close of his life hecame hlind. His poetry 
 which is much admired hy Ibn Khali, he himself collected into a Diwan. 
 
 • The " Zunnir" was a waist-belt worn by the Eastern Christians and the non- 
 Muslim subjects, introduced by an ordinance of the Caliph al Mutawakkil (A. D. 869) 
 to distinguish them from the Muslims. 
 
t 499 ] 
 
 And how many penalties were laid by the sword -^^ "■• 606. 
 
 On the necks of men through which their sins are put away ? -A- D. 1258. 
 
 Nay, I say that the captive was dishonoured by their dragging 
 Sim to the shedding of his blood by the terrible foe." 
 
 And when Hulaku had completed the massacre of the Caliph and the 
 inhabitants of Baghdad, and had appointed a governor over I'rak (and Ibn 
 u'l A'lkami had recommended them to set up a Caliph of the posterity of 
 A'li, to which they would not consent and cast him aside, and he remained 
 with them in the position of one of their slaves and died of grief — may 
 God not have mercy upon him nor pardon him), he sent a letter to an 
 Nasir,* lord of Damascus, as follows : " The Sultdn al Malik an Nasir — 
 may his life be prolonged — is aware that when we set out for I'rak and 
 their forces opposed us, we slew them with the sword of God. Then the 
 chiefs of the city and its notables came forth to us, but the issue of their 
 speech was the cause of the destruction of lives meriting destruction. 
 But as to the governor of tbe city, verily he came forth to serve us and 
 entered under our obedience, and we asked him regarding certain things 
 wherein he deceived us and deserved death, for his falsehood was manifest 
 ' and they shall find that which they have wrought, present before their 
 eyes,' (Kur. XVIII). Answer the lord of the earth and speak not of 
 thy impregnable fortresses and thy valiant armies : and verily we have 
 heard that a part of the army hath taken refuge with thee in flight and 
 sought an asylum at thy threshold — 
 
 ' Where is a place of refuge ? there is no asylum for the fugitive, 
 For ours are the two plains, the earth and the sea.' 
 
 Therefore on the instant of thy informing thyself of our letter, make 
 the summits of the Syrian fortresses level with the earth and their length 
 as their breadth, and peace he to thee." Then he sent him a second letter 
 saying, " To al Malik an Na§ir — now, verily, we have taken Baghdad and 
 destroyed its kingdom and its monarch. He had indeed been avaricious 
 of his wealth and undesirous of the maintenance of his troops hoping that 
 his kingdom would continue in that manner, and verily his fame spread 
 and his power increased until his moon was eclipsed at its full. 
 ' When a thing reacheth its prime, its decline begins, 
 Expect decay when fulness is announced.' 
 
 » Al Malik an Nasir Atu'l Mudhaffar Tusuf surnamed Salahu'ddra, eon of al 
 MaHk al A'ziz son of az Dliahir son of Saladin, born 627 (1230). He succeeded to 
 Damascus and Syria on the death, of his father but expelled by the Tartars, he lost 
 his life at the hands of Hulaku in 1259. See Abulf, p. 621. The full text of this 
 letter which was written by the learned Nasiru'ddin and addressed to an Nasir and 
 the princes of Syria will be found in Wassaf, p. 43, followed by their haughty and 
 insulting reply. 
 
[ 600 ] 
 
 A. H. 656. But we seek for increase during the march of ages. ' Be not there- 
 A. T>. 1258. fore as those who have forgotten God and whom he has caused to forget 
 their own souls' (Kur. LIX), and show what is in thy Hiind, whether 
 ahstention from good offices or the furtherance of courtesy, and answer the 
 summons of the lord of the earth, that thou mayest be secure from his 
 wrath and enjoy his benefits, and be liberal with him of thy wealth and 
 thy troops and delay not our messengers." Again he sent him a third 
 letter, saying, " Now, we are the army of the Lord. By us He avengeth 
 Himself of those who are insolent and vain, and who are rebellious and 
 haughty and do not submit to the commands of God, and who if they are 
 reprehended, become enraged, and if remonstrated with, continue stubborn. 
 And, verily, we have overthrown cities and destroyed the inhabitants and 
 have slain women and children. O ye who are left ! ye are about to attain 
 to those who have passed away. O ye who are heedless ! ye are being. 
 driven towards them — for we are the army of destruction, not the army of 
 dominion. Our purpose is vengeance and our kingdom is beyond the 
 Aesireqfmen. Our guest is not injured and our justice throughout our 
 dominions is known far and wide, and where is there an asylum from our 
 swords ? 
 
 ' Where is there a place of refuge ? there is no asylum to the fugitive, 
 
 For ours are the two plains, the earth and the sea. 
 
 Lions are submissive to our power and have fallen 
 
 In my grasp, princes and Caliphs.' 
 
 We are about to set forth against ye and it is for ye to flee and for 
 us to pursue : 
 
 ' Laila shall soon know what debt is to be paid, 
 And how importunate a creditor is her creditor.' 
 We have destroyed cities and made orphans of the children and extir- 
 pated the inhabitants, and have made them taste of affliction, and we 
 have made their great ones little and their nobles captive. Ye think that 
 ye can escape and be delivered from us, but ye shall shortly know to what ye 
 are tending, and verily he is rendered excused who hath admonished." 
 
 Thus began the year 657 and the world without a Caliph. During 
 this the Tartars descended upon Amida. The sovereign of Egypt at this 
 time was al Manser A'li-b-i'l Mu'izz, {A'ybak) a boy, and his tutor was the 
 Emir Sayfu'ddin Kotuz* al Mu'izzi a slave of his father, and the Sahib 
 Kamalu'ddin al A'dimf sent a messenger to them asking for aid against 
 
 * The text is in error in this name. The MS. is correct. 
 
 t Omaj-b-AUmad Chief Kadhi of Aleppo, born A. H. 688 (1192) and died at 
 Cairo 660 (1261-2). He had been driven from Aleppo by the invasion of the Tartars. 
 He wrote a biographical Dictionary mentioning the remarkable men who had been in 
 
[ 501 ] 
 
 the Tartars. Upon this Kotuz assembled the nobles and principal men A. H. 657. 
 and there was present the Shaykh I'zzu'ddin-b-A'bdi's Sallam who was A. D. 1250. 
 celebrated for his oratory, and the Shaykh said ; " Since the enemy has 
 overrun the provinces, it is incumbent upon the whole commonwealth to 
 oppose them, and it is lawful to take from the people what they can afford 
 of their substance on the condition that the public treasury be first exhaus- 
 ted, and that ye should sell what ye possess of girdles of priee and furni- 
 ture and content yourselves each of you, with horse and arms, so that ye 
 and the commonalty be on an equal footing ; for to take the substance 
 of the people and to leave wealth and, costly furniture in the hands of 
 the army, can never be." A few days after this, Kotuz seized upon al 
 Mansiir, the son of his master, and said, " This is but a boy and the times 
 are critical. It is necessary that a man of spirit should arise to carry on 
 the war against the infidels." Kotuz obtained the supreme authority and 
 was surnamed al Mudhaffar. 
 
 The year 658 now began, and the age still without a Caliph. During 
 this the Tartars crossed the Euphrates and reached Aleppo and put it to 
 the sword and then arrived at Damascus. In the month of Shaa'ban the 
 Egyptians marched into Syria to oppose the Tartars, and al Mudhaffar sent 
 on with his forces and his picked troops* Ruknu'ddin Baybars al Banduk- 
 dari. They and the Tartars met at A'in Jaliitf and a battle took place on 
 Friday the 15th Eamadhan. The Tartars were utterly routed and the Mus- 
 lims were victorious, praise be to God. 
 
 The Tartars were slain with a great carnage and they fled precipitately 
 and the people pursued them with eagerness, seizing and plundering 
 them. A letter from al Mudhaffar with the news of the victory arrived 
 at Damascus and the people were elate with joy. Shortly after, al Mudhaffar 
 entered Damascus triumphant and victorious, and the people hailed him 
 with great affection. Baybars pursued the Tartars to the territory of 
 Aleppo and drove them from the provinces. The Sultan Kotuz had 
 promised him the government of Aleppo, but afterwards retracted it 
 which Baybars took to heart, and this was the cause of their estrange- 
 that city. His life is given by De Saoy in the Biographie TJniverselle and ty Freytag 
 in his Selecta ex Historia HaleW. De Slane, I. K. 
 
 * I presume this to he the meaning of (j»^"^ which I have not met elsewhere 
 and am ignorant of its derivation. The word (j»i"^ occurs in the Maurad u'l Lata- 
 fat, p. 89 [edition Cantab. Car^yfo), translated by Carlyle "milites," but he confesses 
 (note 70), that it is conjecture. He adds, " in vita Saladini a Boheddino, ssepe occur- 
 rit verbum tJ^V- quod reddit Schultens per Sagittarios. The reading of the text 
 is perhaps an error for o^i - though the MS. agrees. Were it not for the authority 
 of Schultens, I should suspect Carlyle's reading, as his edition is extremely faulty. 
 
 t A town below Nazareth in Palestine. 
 
[ 502 ] 
 
 A. H. 658. ment. Tlie Sultan had intended to set out for Aleppo in order to sweep 
 A. D. 1259- from the provinces all traces of the Tartars, but hearing that Baybars 
 60- was alienated from him and was conspiring against him, he changed his mind 
 
 and returned to Egypt. He had, however, resolved upon the overthrow 
 of Baybars and he divulged it to one of his confidants and Baybars be- 
 came acquainted with it. They set out for Egypt, each being on their 
 guard against the other, till Baybars conspired with some of the nobles 
 to slay al Mudhaffar, and they assassinated him on the way, on the 16th 
 Du'l Kaa'dah, and Baybars assumed the government and received the title 
 of al Malik al Kahir. He entered Cairo and removed from the people 
 the tyrannous exactions imposed upon them by al MudhafEar. The 
 Wazir Zayn u'l Millat wa'ddin {Qlory of the faith and of religion) Ibn 
 u'z Zubayr counselled him to change his title and said that no one who 
 had borne it had prospered, for al 5ahir the son of al Mua'tadhid had 
 been so named, and he was subsequently deposed and blinded, and al Kahir 
 the son of the governor of Mosal had been poisoned. The Sultan there- 
 fore put away this surname and took the title of al Malik al Dhahir. 
 Then began the year 659, and the age as before without a Caliph until the 
 month of Eajab when the Caliphate was re-established in Egypt and al 
 Mustansir was acknowledged as we shall hereafter relate. The period 
 during which the Caliphate was in abeyance was three years and a half. 
 
 Of persons of note who died during the reign of al Musta'sim were 
 the Hdfidh Takiu'ddin as Sarifini, the Hafidh Abu'l Kd,sim-b-u'l Talisan,* 
 Shams, u'l Aimmah al Kurdi one of the most eminent of the Hanafites, 
 the Shaykh Takiu'ddin-b-u's Salah, al A'lam u'ddin as Sakhawi, the Hafidh 
 Muhibbu'ddin-b-u'n Najjdr the historian of Baghdad, Muntakhabu'ddin 
 the commentator of the Mufassal^V Naho {Detailed exposition of the 
 science of grammar hy ZamaMshari), Ibn Ya'ish the grammarian, Abu'l 
 Hajjaj al Aksari the devotee, Abu A'li as Shalubini the grammarian, Ibn 
 u'l Baytar author of the Jdmi Mufridat i'lAdwigat wa'l Aghdiyat {compre- 
 hending materia medica and diet), the learned Jamalu'ddin-b-u'l Hajib 
 the Maliki Imam, Abu'l Hasan-b-u'l Dabbdj the grammarian, al Kifti 
 author of the Memoir of Grammarians, Afdhalu'ddin al Khunji author of 
 the Treatise on Logic, al Ardi author of {hiatus in the MS.) the Hafidh 
 Yusuf-b-Khalil, al Baha-b-Bintu'l Hamiri, al Jamal-b-Omrdnf the gram- 
 marian,- ar Eidha as Saghdni author of the U'bab u'lZdkhir {the Surging 
 Billow) and others works, al Kamdl u'ddin Abdu'l Wdhid az Zamlakani 
 author of al Ma'ani wa'l bayan wa li'jaz u'l Kurdn (significations and 
 exposition and the toondrom diction of the Kurdn), as Shams al Khusru 
 
 • More correctly I ttiiik "Taylsin. 
 
 t His life is given liy Ibn Khali, who makes him the son of Omar eon of Aha 
 Baki — I have not before met the name in the text with which the MS. accords. 
 
[ 508 ] 
 
 Shahi, al Majd u'ddin-h-Tajmiyah, Yusuf Sibt Ibn i'l Jauzi author of the A., H. 659, 
 Mirdt u'z Zamdn (mirror of the age), Ibn Batish one of the most eminent A. D. 1261. 
 of the Shafii'tes, an Najm u^AMn al Badardi, Ibn Abi'l Tadhl al Mursi 
 {Murcia) author of the Commentary on the Kurdn and others. 
 
 Of those -who died during the abeyance of the Caliphate were az 
 Zaki A'bdu'l A'dhim al Mundiri, the Shaykh Abu'l Hasan, as Shad.ili the 
 Shaykh of the Shddilites, Sha'lat the Kuran reader, al Fdsi the commen- 
 tator of the Kasidat us Shatibiyah,* Saa'du'ddin-b-u'l U'zza the poet, as 
 Sa'rsari the poet, Ibn u'l Abbar the historian of Spain and others. 
 
 AL MUSTANSIR BI'LLA'H AHMAD. 
 
 Al Mustansir bi'llah Ahmad Abti'l Kdsim was the son of ad Dhahir 
 bi'amri'Uah Abu Nasr Muhammad-b-u'n Nasir li dini'Udh. Shaykh Kutb^ 
 u'ddin says that he was kept in imprisonment in Baghdad, but when the 
 Tartars captured it, he was released and fled and proceeded to the west of 
 I'rak. When Baybars assumed the Sultanate, he set out to visit him in 
 the month of Rajab with ten of the Banu Muharish.t The Sultan went 
 forth to meet him with the Kddhis and officers of State. He rode through 
 Cairo and subsequently certified his family descent through the Chief 
 Kadhi Taju'ddin-b-Bint i'l Aa'zz and he was then acknowledged Caliph. 
 The first who swore him allegiance was the Sultan ; next the Chief Kadhi 
 Taju'ddin, then the Shaykh I'zzu'ddin-b-A'bdi's Sallam and lastly the 
 nobles according to their degrees. This occurred on the 13th J Rajab, (12th 
 May 1261) and his name was impressed on the coinage and read in the 
 khutbah, and he received the surname of his brother and the people re- 
 joiced. He rode in procession on the Friday bearing the black mantle, to 
 the mosque in the citadel. He then mounted the pulpit and preached a 
 discourse in which he extolled the nobility of the House of A'bbas, 
 blessed the Caliph and the Muslims and prayed before the people. Next he 
 proceeded to the ceremony of the bestowal on the Sultan of the robe of 
 honor usually granted by the Caliph and the diploma of investiture. A 
 pavilion was erected without the walls of Cairo and the Caliph and the 
 Sultan rode to the pavilion on Monday, the 4th of Shaa'ban, and there were 
 present the Kadhis, nobles and the prime minister. The Caliph with his 
 own hand invested the Sultan with the dress of honor§ and collar. A 
 
 * Kasidat u's ShatiWyali. A poem on tlie Imuran readings by Ibn Pirruh as 
 Shatibi (waiios of Xativa). 
 
 i According to Makrizi they were the Banu Mihna and to Nuwairi the Banu Kha- 
 Kjah. WeU, A'bbSs Ohal. in Eg. p. 24, Vol. I. 
 
 X 9th Eajab. Weil. 
 
 § This consisted of a black gold embroidered turban, a violet mantle, a gold 
 chain for the neck and golden buckles for the feet. Weil, p. 25. 
 
[ 504 ] 
 
 A. H. 659. pulplfc was erected and Fakhru'ddin-b-Lukmdn (the Secretary of State) 
 
 A. D. 1261. ascended it and read the diploma of investiture. Then the Sultan rode 
 
 in his robe of honor and entered by the Bab u'n Naar (Oate of Succour). 
 
 Cairo was gaily adorned and the High Marshal rode bearing before him the 
 
 diploma while the nobles proceeded on foot. 
 
 The Sultan then appointed for the Caliph an Atabek and Comptrol- 
 lers of the Household, a High Steward, a Treasurer, a Chamberlain and a 
 Secretary and settled upon him a revenue, and a body of slaves, a hundred 
 horses, thirty mules and ten full-grown camels and the like. Ad Dahabi 
 says that no one ever ruled the Caliphate after his nephew save this 
 Caliph and al Muktafi. The prince of Aleppo the Amir Shamsu'ddia 
 Akush* ^t up another Caliph and gave him the title of al Hakim bi'- 
 amri'llah and the khu^bah was read in his name which was also stamped 
 on the coinage. Subsequently the Caliph al Mustansir set out for I'rak 
 accompanied by the Sultan v^ho followed him till they arrived at Damas- 
 cus. 
 
 The Sultan then furnished the Caliph and the three sons of the lord 
 of Mosalf for the expedition against Baghdad and assigned him and them 
 1,000,000, dinars in gold and 66,000 dirhams. The Caliph then set out 
 with the eastern'princes, al Malik as SAlih Isma'il lord of Mosal, al Malik 
 al Mudhaffar A'li, lord of Syria, and al Malik al Mtydhid lord of Jazirat- 
 ibn. Omar. The Aleppo Caliph al Hakim also joined him and submitted 
 to him and entered under his obedience. He then advanced and took 
 Hadithah and Hit. Here the Tartar armyj encountered him and a great 
 number of Muslims were slain and the Caliph al Mustansir was missing. 
 According to some he was slain, which was apparently the case ; according 
 to others he escaped and fled and lay concealed in the provinces. This 
 occurred on the 3rd Muharram 660 {28th Novemher, 1261). His 
 Caliphate lasted less than six months and he was succeeded a year later by 
 al Hakim, the same who was declared Caliph at Aleppo in al Mustansir's 
 lifetime. 
 
 * He came of the Turkisli trite of Burli to whioli Baybars also belonged. 
 Eeiske writes the name Barli, Quatremere Berki, aee Weil, p. 17. 
 
 t Badru'ddin. Lulu called al Malik ar Ealjim. He submitted to Hulaku after the 
 taking of Baghdad. He died according to Abu'lf in 657. The names of his three 
 sons are mentioned below. Ibn Khali, says {Life of Arsldn Shah Nuru'ddin) that he 
 had been Mamluk of al Malik al Kahir son of ArsUn Shdh and was lieutenant- 
 governor of Mosal and declared himself independent in 630 {July 1233). 
 
 J Under Karabogha the Tartar governor of Baghdad. 
 
[ 505 ] 
 
 A. H. 660. 
 AL HAKIM BI'AMRI'LLAH ABU'L A'BBAS. A.D.1261-2- 
 
 Al H^kim bi'amri'llah (^Ruling hy the Command of God) Abu'l 
 A'bbas Ahmad, son of Abu A'li al Hasan al Kubbi, son of Abu Bakr, son 
 of the Caliph al Mustarshid, son of al Mustadhir bi'llah, concealed him- 
 self at the time of the capture of Baghdad and escaped the massacre. 
 He soon after left it accompained by a retinue and sought the protection of 
 Husayn-b-Falah Emir of the Banu Khafajah and remained with him for 
 some time. He then proceeded with the Arabs to Damascus and resided 
 for a time with the Emir* I'sa-b-Muhanna. Al Malik an Nasir lord of 
 Damascus becoming informed of him, sent to invite him but the advance 
 of the Tartars surprised him and disconcerted his plans. When, however, 
 al Malik al MudhafEar came to Damascus he sent the Emir Kilij al 
 Baghdadi to summon him. He then joined him and swore allegiance to 
 him and a number of the Arab chiefs set out to take service under him. 
 With their aid he took A'anah, Hadithah, Hit and Anbar and engaged the 
 Tartars and overthrew them. Subsquently A'lau'ddin Taybars at that 
 time lieutenant-governor of Damascus forf al Malik ad Dhahir 'Baybars 
 wrote inviting him, upon which he set out for Damascus in the month of 
 Safar, and he sent him on to the Sultan, but al Mustanjir bi'llah having 
 preceded him to Cairo by three days, he did not think it prudent to 
 enter it for fear of being seized. He therefore returned to Aleppo, the 
 prince of which and the nobles, among them A'bdu'l Halim-b-Taymiyah, 
 swore allegiance to him and he gathered a considerable force and marched 
 toA'anah. When alMustansir returned, hemet him at A'anah and al Hakim 
 acknowledged his authority and submitted to him. But when al Mustan- 
 sir was no more, after the battle mentioned in his biography, al Hakim set 
 out for Eahbah and visited I'sa-b-Muhanna. At this time al Malik ad 
 Dhahir Baybars wrote regarding him and summoned him and he went 
 to Cairo with his son accompanied by a retinue. Al Malik ad Dhahir 
 received him with all honor and they swore him allegiance as Caliph. His 
 
 * The Emir of tlie Arats under tie Caliphs, according to De Slane, appears to 
 have filled the same functions as the Ghassanide princes did under the Greeks of the 
 Lower Empire and the princes of Hira under the Persians. They were phylarcha or 
 comptrollers of the nomadic tribes. After the defeat of the Tartars at A'iu Jalut, 
 Kotuz appointed al Malik al Ashraf Musa to Emessa, Palmyrah and Eahahah, gave 
 the government of Ham&t, B&rin and Maa'rah to al Malik al Mansur, and Salamiyah 
 to the Emir of the Arabs I'sa-b-Muhanna. Abulf, p. 596, anno, 658. Weil, p. 17. 
 
 t The text has J which is here certainly an error. The MS. omits the j and 
 is not more intelligible. Bead iJ for J and the sense is as clear as the construction 
 would be correct. In point of fact, f ayhars held Damascus for Baybars. See Abulf, 
 p. 632. 
 
[ 506 ] 
 
 A. H. 660. reign was long for his Caliphate extended over forty years. Al Malik ad 
 A.D,1261-2. Dhahir gave him as his residence the great Bastion in the Citadel and he 
 preached frequently in the mosque of the Citadel. The Shaykh Kutbu'd- 
 din says that on Thursday the 8th Muharram of the year 661 (22nd Nov. 
 1262), the Sultan held a public audience and al Hakim bi'amri'Uah went 
 on horseback to the Great Hall in the Citadel on the hill and sat with the 
 Sultan ; this being after the verification of his descent, and the Sultan 
 received him and acknowledged his authority over the Faithful. Then he 
 advanced to the Sultan and invested him with the administration of 
 affairs, after which the people, according to their degrees did him homage. 
 The next day being Friday, he preached a discourse in which he made 
 mention of the religious war and the Imamate and represented what had 
 occurred to the dishonor of the Caliphate and he proceeded thus, — " But 
 this Sultan al Malik ad Dhahir stood up in defence of the Imamate with 
 but few adherents and scattered the hordes of the infidels after they had 
 penetrated into the centre of the empire." The beginning of the discourse 
 was, " Praise be to God who hath raised up a pillar and a defender for the 
 House of A'bbas." He then wrote to the provinces announcing his call. 
 
 In this year and subsequently occurred successive arrivals of bodies 
 of Tartars who had become Muslims, demanding asylum. They were 
 given bread and a daily allowance and this was the beginniag of the stay 
 of their misdeeds. 
 
 In the year 662 was completed the Dhahiriyah College between the 
 two palaces and the Chair of Shafi'ite theology was held by at Taki u'ddin- 
 b-Eazin and the chair of Tradition by as Sharaf u'ddin ad Dimiati. During 
 the same, Egypt was convulsed by a great earthquake. 
 
 In the year 663 the Muslim Sultan of Spain, Abu A'bdu'llah-b-n'l 
 Ahmar was victorious over the Franks and recovered from their hands 
 thirty-two towns, among them Seville and Murcia. During the same, 
 conflagrations were frequent in divers parts of Cairo and wrappers were 
 found upon the roofs of the houses containing fire and sulphur. In the 
 same, was excavated the Canal of Ashmnn,* the Sultan himself and the 
 nobles working at it. In the same, died Hulaku the Tartar despot who 
 was succeeded by his son Abagha. In this year the Sultan conferred the 
 dignity of the Sultanate on his son al Malik as Sa'id who was four years 
 of age, and paraded him in state through the Citadel on the hill and bore 
 the housings himself before his son, from the Bab u'l Sirr (the Secret Gate) 
 to the Bab u's Silsilah (the Chain Gate) and then returned, while as Sa'id 
 rode to Cairo, the nobles walking before him. In this year also were 
 re-appointed for the Egyptian territory, four Kadhis, one for each school 
 of doctrine, and this was owing to the delay of the KMhi Taju'ddia-b- 
 
 • Connectuig lake Menzaloli with the Nile at Damietta. 
 
[ 507 ] 
 
 Bint u'l Aa'zz in giving effect to the numerous decisions, so that affairs A. H 663. 
 were at a stand still. To the care of the Sbafi'ites was assigned the A. D. 1264. 
 administration of the property of orphans and the departnaent of the 
 public treasury. Subsequently the same reform was carried out at Damas- 
 cus. In the month of Eamadhdn the Sultan placed a restraint upon the 
 Caliph and forbade his intercourse with the people, as his followers were in 
 the habit of entering the city and talking of afEairs of State. 
 
 In the year 665, the Sultan commanded the erection of a mosque at 
 Hasaniyah* which was completed in 667 and a Hanafite preacher was 
 there installed. 
 
 In the year 674 the Sultan sent an army against Niibah and Dun- 
 kulah {JJongola) and was victorious. The king of Niibah was taken 
 prisoner and sent to al Malik ad Dhahir and a tribute was laid on the 
 people of Dunkulah, praise be to God. The first expedition against Nubah, 
 says ad Dahabi, was in the year 31 A. H. when it was attacked by A'bdu'l- 
 lah-b-Abi Sarh at the head of 5O0O horsemen j he did not conquer it but 
 concluded a peace and returned. It was again invaded in the time of 
 Hisham but unsuccessfully and again in the reign of al Mansur. Tiknf 
 az Zinki next invaded it ; then Kaftir al Ikshidi : then N^siru'd 
 Daulah-b-Hamdan, and finally Turan Shah brother of Sultan Salahu'ddin 
 in 568, but it was never conquered until this year. Regarding this Ibn 
 'Abdi'z Dhahir says : 
 
 " This is a victory, the like of which I have not heard 
 Neither /rowj the testimony of an eye-witness nor from the deposi- 
 tions of others," 
 
 In the year 676 died al Malik ad Dhahir at Damascus in the month 
 of Muharram, and his son al Malik as Sa'id Muhammad assumed the 
 sovereignty at the age of eighteen. During the same at Taki-b-Eazin 
 united the offices of Kadhi of Misr (old Cairo) and Cairo, and before this 
 time, the judicial office of Misr was separate from that of Cairo. 
 
 In 678 al Malik as Sa'id was deposed and was sent to al Kark as 
 Sultan of that place, but died the same year, and they placed in authority 
 over Egypt his brother Badr u'ddin Salamish who was seven years of age. 
 He was surnamed al Malik al A'adil and the Emir Sayfu'ddin Kilawun 
 was appointed his Atabek, and the coinage was struck with bis name on 
 one side and the name of his Atabek on the reverse, and both were prayed 
 for in the khutbah. In the month of Eajab, Salamish was deposed with- 
 out resistance and Kilawun usurped the government under the title of al 
 Malik al Mansur. 
 
 • A town to the east of Mosal between it and Jazirat-ibn Omar, 
 t I am doubtful about this pronunciation. 
 
[ 508 ] 
 
 A. H. 679. In the year 679 on the day of A'rafah (9th Du'l Hijjah) large hail- 
 
 A.D.1280-1. stones fell in the Misr district and thunderbolts. In 680 the Tartar army 
 
 reached Syria occasioning consternation. The Sultan marched out to 
 
 engage them and a battle took place and great carnage ensued, but the 
 
 victory remained with the Muslims — praise be to God. 
 
 In the year 688 the Sultan took Tripoli by the sword {2Qth April, 
 1289). It had been in the hands of the Christians from the year 503 up 
 to this time, and had been first conquered in the reign of Mu'awiyah. 
 At Taju'ddin Ibn u'l Athir wrote a letter to the governor of Yaman 
 announcing the good news in which he says : 
 
 " Of the Caliphs and sovereigns of those days, there was none but 
 thought only of himself, absorbed in his festivals of pleasure, looking upon 
 personal safety as a great good fortune, and who when mention of war 
 was made before him, would ask only regarding the roads of flight. His 
 desire was attained in his dignity, and he was content with the mint and 
 the khutbah. Though their wealth were plundered and their domi- 
 nions passed away, they troubled themselves not regarding what was 
 wrested from them, and they were such as is described in the verse — 
 
 ' If they fought, they were slain ; if they attacked, they were routed ; 
 If they waged war, they were despoiled ; if they contended for 
 
 victory, they were overcome. 
 Until the Lord brought forth one who defended His faith 
 And abased infidelity and its demons." 
 Some say that the meaning of Tripoli in the Greek tongue is ' three 
 forts united.' " 
 
 In the year 689 died Sultan Kilawun in the month of Du'l Kaa'dah, 
 and his son al Malik al Ashraf Salahu'ddin Khalil assumed the sovereignty. 
 He made manifest the authority of the Caliph which had been of no 
 account in his father's days, so much so, that his father had never solicited 
 of him the investiture of the Sultanate. The Caliph then preached to 
 the people on Friday and alluded in his discourse to his having appointed 
 al Malik al Ashraf to the supreme authority in Islam. And when he had 
 ended his discourse, the Chief Kadhi Badru'ddin-b-Jamaa'h, prayed before 
 the people. The Caliph then preached a second time, proclaiming a 
 religious war and spoke of Baghdad and urged its re-conquest. 
 
 In the year 691, the Sultdn set out and invested Ka'lat n'r Eiim.* 
 
 In 693, the Sultan was assassinated at Tarujah-f {12th Muharram, 
 17th December, 1293), and his brother Muhammad-b-u'l Mansur was placed 
 
 * A strong fortress to the -vrest of the Euphrates opposite Bu-iah, between it and 
 Sumaysat. It was taken after an investment of 33 days ; the garrison consisting of 
 Tartars and Armenians put to death, and the name of the fortress was changed to 
 ga'lat u'l Muslimlm. Weil, p. 184. 
 
 t A village on the west bank of the Nile between Cairo and Alexandria. 
 
[ 509 ] 
 
 upon the throne and surnamed al Malik an Nasir, being at the time seven ^. H, 693. 
 years of age ; but he was deposed in Muharram, 694 and Ketbogba al Mansuri j^ j). 1294. 
 was proclaimed Sultan and he assumed the title of al Malik al A'ddil (1st 
 December, 1294) . In this year Kazan-b-Arghiin-b-Abagha-b-Hulakii, the 
 Tartar monarch embraced Islam, at which the people rejoiced and the Muslim 
 faith spread among his troops. In 696 while the Sultan was at Damascus, 
 Lajin* usurped the government and the nobles swore allegiance to him, 
 not two of them opposing him, and he was surnamed al Malik al Man§ur, 
 and this in the month of Safar. The Caliph bestowed upon him the black 
 dress of honour and drew out his diploma of investiture and Ldjin des- 
 patched al A'adil to Sarkhad as its governor. Lajin was assassinated in 
 Jumada II, 698,t and al Malik an Nasir Muhammad-b-i'l Mansur Kilawun 
 who had been banished to Kark was restored and invested with supreme 
 authority by the Caliph. He transferred al A'adil to the government of 
 Hamat where be remained till he died in 702. In the year 701 the Caliph 
 al Hakim died on Thursday night, 18th of Jumada I, (IS^A January 1302). 
 The afternoon prayer was read for him at the Horse Market under the 
 Citadel, and his bier was attended by the principal officers of State, all of 
 them on foot and he was buried near the tomb of as Sayyidah Nafisa.J 
 He was the first of the Caliphs there interred, but it continued hencefor- 
 ward to be their place of burial. He had covenanted for the succession of 
 the Caliphate to his son Abu'r Eabii' Sulayman. 
 
 Of persons of note who died during the reign of al Hakim were : 
 As Shaykh I'zzu'ddin-b-A'bdi's Sallam, al A'lamu'ddin al Llraki, Abu'l 
 Kasim al Kabbari the ascetic, az Zaynu'ddin Khalid an Nabulusi, the 
 Hafidh Abu Bakr-b-Suddi, the Imam Abu Shamah, at Taju'ddin-b-Bint 
 i'l Aa'zz, Abu Hasan-b-A'dlan, Majdu'ddin-b-Dakiku'l I'id,§ Abu'l Hasan- 
 b-U'sftir the grammarian, al Kamalu'ddin Sallar al Irbili, A'bdu'r Kahim-b 
 
 * IJusamu'ddin Lajin originally a Mamlut of Sultan al Malik al Mans<ir son of 
 the first Mameluke Sultan Mu'izzu'ddin Aybak. He was puroliased ty Kilawun under 
 wliom lie quickly rose to te governor of Syria. The vicissitudes of these ephemeral 
 reigns may he read in Weil's Gesoh. des A'bbas, Caliph in Eg. 
 
 t According to Ahulf, 11th Kabii' II, {ISth Jcmuari/ 1299). So also Weil; on 
 Makrizi's authority. 
 
 J She was the daughter of al Ilasan-h-Zayd-b-Hasan-h-A'li-h-Abi TaJib. Her 
 father was governor of Medina in the time of al Mansur, by whom he was imprisoned. 
 Al Mahdi restored him to liberty and returned him the goods that had been confiscated 
 from him. Nafi'sa was noted for her piety. When as Shafi'i died, his corpse was 
 brought to her house, the site of which is now occupied by her mausoleum be- 
 tween old and New Cairo. The place was called the Derb u's Sabda', but the street 
 fell into ruin and nothing remained in the time of Ibn Khali, save her funeral chapel 
 and her tomb. Her husband was the son of Jaa'far as Sadik. She died in 208, 
 (824). Consult Ibn Khali and Abu'l Mahasin : annales. 
 
 § Keiske writes the name " Aid"' but it ia not easy to digest his pronunciation. 
 
[ 510 ] 
 
 A. H. 701. Yunas author of the Ta'jiz Ji MuJchtas&r i'l Wajiz. {Infestation, an 
 A. D. 1302. epitome of the Wajiz, on the derivative doctrines of as ShafPi), al Kur- 
 tubi Shamsu'dddn Mahmud author of the Commentary on the Kuran and 
 the Tadkirat hi ahwal u'l Mauta wa Umur u'l Akhirat (Note on the con- 
 dition of the dead and what concerns the life to come), the Shaykh Jamal- 
 u'ddin-b-Malik, and his son Badru'ddin, an Nasfr at Tusi chief of the 
 philosophers, Khassah the Tartar, at Tdju'ddin-b-i's Sabda'i, treasurer of 
 the Mustansinyah College, al Burhan-b-Jamaa'h, an Najmu'ddin al Katibi al 
 Mantaki, the Shaykh Muhyi'd'din an Nawawi, as Sadru'ddin Sulayman the 
 Hanafite Imam, at' Taju'ddin-b-Muyassir the historian, al Kawashi the 
 Commentator, at Takiu'ddin-b-Eazin, Ibn Khallakdn author of the Wa- 
 fayatu'l Aiyan (deaths of eminent men), Ibn Ayaz the grammarian, A'bdu'l 
 Halim-b-Taymiyah, Ibn Ju'wan, Nasiru'ddin-b-Munir, an Najm-b-ul 
 Barizi, al Burhan an Nasafi author of the compositions on Controversy 
 and Rhetoric, ar Eidha as Shatibi the philologist, al Jamal as Sharishi,* 
 an Nafisi, the Shaykh of the phisicians, Abii'l Husayn-b-i'r Eabii' the 
 grammarian, al Ispahani Shamsu'dddn Muhammad the Commentator on the 
 Mah^iilj/? usul i'l Fikh {Summa on the principles of jurisprudence hy 
 Fahhru'ddm ar Sdzi), al A'fif at Tilmisanithe poet imputed heterodox, at 
 Taj-b-u'l Pirkah, az Zaynu'ddin-b-Murhil as Shams al Juni, al I'zz-al 
 Fardki, al Muhibb at Tabari, at Taki-b-Bint u'l Aa'zz, ar Eidha al Kus- 
 tantini, al Baha'u'ddin-b-u'n Nahhas the grammarian, Yakut al Must- 
 a'simi, master of the Khatt i Manslibf and others. 
 
 AL MUSTAKFI BI'LLAH ABITE EABri'. 
 
 Al Mustakfi bi'Uah Abd'r Eabii' Sulayman son of al Hakim bi*- 
 amri'Uah was born about the middle of Muharram, 684. He occupied 
 himself little about affairs. He succeeded to the Caliphate according to 
 the covenant of his father in Jumada I, 701. His name was read in the 
 khu^bah in the chief towns of Egypt and Syria and the welcome news 
 thereof penetrated to all the dependencies and dominions of Islam. The 
 Caliphs used to reside at Kabsh but the Sultan transferred them to the 
 citadel and set apart a palace for them. In the year 702 the Tartars 
 invaded Syria and the Sultan accompanied by the Caliph marched to 
 engage them. They were victorious and made a great slaughter among 
 the Tartars and the rest fled. During the same Egypt and Syria were 
 convulsed by a great earthquake and many lost their lives in the destruc- 
 tion caused by it. 
 
 * Kot Sharbaehi aa in the text. t See page 2, note f. 
 
[ 511 1 
 
 In the year 704 the Emir Baybars* al Jdshangir al Mansliri, establish- A. H. 704. 
 ed stipends and lectures for the mosque of al Hakim and rebuilt it after A. D. 1304. 
 its demolition by the earthquake, and he made the four Kadhis professors 
 of jurisprudence. The lecturer on tradition was Saa'du'ddin al Hdrithi, 
 and on grammar Abu Hayyan. 
 
 In the year 708, the Sultan al Malik an Nd?ir Muhammad-h-KiUwun 
 set out with the intention of making the pilgrimage to Mecca.f He 
 therefore left Cairo in the month of Eamadhan (24th) the venerable 
 (7th March 1309) and a number of the nobles accompanied him to take 
 leave of him whom he sent back. On passing Kark he turned aside 
 towards it and a bridge was erected for him. As he reached the middle of 
 it, it broke. Those who were in front of him escaped. His horse leaped 
 vfith him and he was saved but those who were behind to the number of 
 fifty, fell, and four were killed. The greater number were onl^ bruised 5y 
 their fall in the moat beneath. The Sultan remained at Kark. Sub- 
 sequently he wrote a letter to the Egyptian provinces containing his abdi- 
 cation. This was verified by the Kadhis of Egypt and then despatched 
 to the Kadhis of Syria, and the Emir Euknu'ddin Baybars al Jdshangir 
 was acknowledged Sultan on the 23rd Shawwal (5<A April 1309) and 
 surnamed al Malik al Mudhaffar. The Caliph invested him and clothed 
 him in the black mantle and circular turban, and the diploma of inves- 
 titure was sent to Syria in a black satin bag and there published. It 
 bore heading that it was from Sulayman, and, in the name of God the 
 most Clement, the most Merciful. 
 
 In the month of Eajab 709 al Malik an Nasir returned, desirous of 
 recovering his power. A number of the nobles favoured his undertaking 
 and he entered Damascus in Shaa'ban and afterwards Cairo on the festival 
 of al Fitr and went up into the citadel. Al Mudhaffar Baybars had 
 already fied with some of his followers some days before his arrival, but 
 he was subsequently captured and put to death in the same year. Al 
 A'la al Widaa'i says regarding the return of an Nasir to power — 
 
 " Verily the fortune of al Malik an Nasir 
 Hath basked in the sunshine. 
 He hath returned to the throne. 
 As Solomon returned into his." 
 
 During this year the Wazir recommended that the non-Muslim sub- 
 jects should return to the wearing of white turbans as they were subjected 
 to a payment to the revenue of 700,000 dinars yearly, over and above the 
 
 * Comptoller of the Household to the SultSn and afterward raised to the throne 
 under the title of al Malik al Mudhaffar. 
 
 t This was hut an excuse to escape from the control of his miniBter Sayfu'ddia 
 SaUar and that of Bayhars, Weil, p. 276, Ahulf, 208. 
 
[ 512 ] 
 
 A. H. 709. poll tax, but the Shaykh Takiu'ddin-b-Taymiyah* rose up in strenuous 
 A. D. 1309. opposition and it was rejected — praise be to God. During the same, the 
 Tartar monarch Khuband,t spread heresy throughout his dominions and 
 commanded the preachers to mention no one in the khutbah but A'li-b- 
 Abi Talib and his two sons and the family of the prophet, and this con- 
 tinued until his death in the year 716. His son Abu Sa'id succeeded him 
 who reigned with justice and established the orthodox faith and the 
 approval of the rightful succession of the two Shaykhs {^Abw Baler and 
 Omar) followed by Othman and A'li in the khutbah, and many discords 
 were thus appeased, praise be to God. He was one of the best of the 
 Tartar monarehs and the most praiseworthy in his conduct. He continued 
 to reign till he died in the year 736, and after this there was no union in 
 the nation, and they were scattered far and wide. In the year 717 the 
 Nile rose to a great height such as was before unheard of and many towns 
 were submerged by it and a great num.ber of people. In the year 724 the 
 Nile rose similarly and remained covering the earth for three months and 
 a half, and the damage caused by it was greater than its benefits. In the 
 year 728 were repaired the roofs of the Holy mosque at Mecca, and the 
 gates and such of the outer portion as is contiguous to the gate of the 
 Banu Shaybah.J In 730 the Friday prayers were held in the hall of the 
 Shafii'tes in the Salihiyah College between the two palaces and this was 
 the first time they were held there. During the same the mosque begun 
 by the Emir Kausun§ outside the Zuwaylah Gate was completed and the 
 khutbah preached therein in the presence of the Sultan and the nobles and 
 the Chief Kadhi Jalalu'ddin al Kazwini preached the discourse on that 
 day. rakhru'ddin-b-Shukar was subsequently confirmed in that post. 
 
 In the year 733 the Sultan prohibited shooting with bullets and 
 ordered that the crossbows for it should not be sold, and forbade astrolo- 
 gers to practice their profession. During the same the Sultan caused to be 
 made for the kaa'bah a door of ebony covered with silver plates the weight 
 whereof was 35,300 dirhams\\ and a fraction. He had the old taken up 
 
 • He persecuted the Cliristiaiis with relentless hatred, perhaps in ravenge for 
 his own persecution by hia oo-reHgionists. Abulf. states that he was summoned from 
 Damascus to Cairo in 706 and imprisoned for his unorthodox opinions in maintaining 
 the corporeal form of the Godhead — a doctrine imputed to Ibn Hanhal. He was the 
 author of a work entitled Masalat fi'l Kanais {The question of the Churches) in which 
 he asserts the right of the Muslims to demolish aU Christian Churches and that they 
 Wdre justified in closing them in Cairo. See D'Herh., p. 676. 
 
 t Abulf. Kharbanda {\<^"j^). 
 
 X Now called the Bdb u's Salam. Burtom III, p. 178. 
 
 § He married the daughter of Sulfan an N&§ir Mu|jammad and became prime 
 minister and virtually the ruler of the kingdom under the nominal sovereignty of 
 al Malik al Ashraf A'ldu'ddin Kujuk. 
 
 II The weight is omitted in the Text and MS. it may possibly be ounces. 
 
I 513 1 
 
 and the Banii Shaybah took possession of it with its plates. It bore upon A. H. 733. 
 it the name of the governor of Yaman. A. D. 1332. 
 
 In the year 736, a misunderstanding occurred between the Caliph and 
 the Sultan, and the latter arrested the Caliph and imprisoned him in 
 a tower and forbade him intercourse with the people. Subsequently he 
 banished him to Kiis* in the month of Du'l Hijjah, him and his children 
 and household and allowed them what was sufficient for their maintenance, 
 they being about one hundred souls — for we belong to God and unto Him 
 do we return. Al Mustakfi remained at Kiis till he died there in Shaa'- 
 ban in the year 7410, (5th Feh-uary, 1340) and was there buried, being 
 upwards of fifty years of age. 
 
 Ibn Hajr al A'skalani in his Durar u'l Kdminahf (Sidden Pearls) 
 says that he was accomplished, and generous, wrote an extremely fine 
 hand, was brave, skilled at polo and at shooting with bullets. He convers- 
 ed with learned and literary men and was munificent to them and affected 
 their society. During the whole of his reign, he was prayed for upon 
 the pulpits in the khutbah, even during his incarceration and the period 
 of his residence at Kus. There was considerable goodwill at first between 
 him and the Sultan, for he used to accompany the Sultan to the fields and 
 play at ball with him, and they were like brothers. The reason of the 
 misunderstanding between them was that a plaint was taken to him in 
 which was the handwriting of the Caliph to the effect that the Sultan 
 should attend the sessions of the holy law, J at which the Sultan was 
 angry and the affair come to this pass that he banished him to Kiis and 
 appointed for him a continuance of his favours greater than he had enjoyed 
 at Cairo. 
 
 Ibn Padhli'llah in his biography from the Masalik ul Alsdr says 
 that he was bold in action, and gentle in speech. 
 
 Of persons of note who died during the reign of al Mustakfi were the 
 chief Kadhi Takiu'ddin-b-Dakik u'l 'Ii'd, the Shaykh Zaynu'ddia al Fariki 
 the Shafi'ite Shaykh, and the head of the School of Tradition over which 
 he presided from the death of an Nawawi up to this time, Sadru'ddin- 
 -b-u'l Wakil presiding over it after him, as Sharf al Fazari, as Sadr- 
 b-u'z Zarir-b-il Hasib, the Hafidh Sharfu'ddin ad Dimiati, ad phiya§ 
 
 * In Upper Egypt. 
 
 t Durar u'l Kaminahfi A'iyfo i'l miat it Th&minah [Bidden Pearls or Worthies 
 of tU m Century) a work alphatetioally arranged in one large volume— wMch the 
 autkor completed in 830 (U26). A compendium of it was written ty As Suytiti and 
 al Mutarrad— Ibn Hajr died in 852, (1448). Haj. Khali, 
 
 X According to WeU tlie Sultan learnt that the Caliph was frequently visited hy 
 a Mamluk and a jurisconsult, and fearing a conspiracy he arrested the Caliph, im- 
 prisoned the Mamluk and beat the other to death, p. 405. 
 
 § The word din must be understood after all these titles. Dhiyau'ddm, Light of 
 religion. Shamsu'ddin, Sun of religion, &c. 
 
 65 
 
[ 51i ] 
 
 A. H. 740. at Tdsi, Commentator on the Hawi al Saghir {the Lesser Collector on the 
 A. D. \M0. derivative principles of BhajVite. jurisprudence ly Kazvoini), as Shams 
 as Sardji of the Hanafite School, Commentator of the Hidayah jVl Furiiu' 
 (Ouide to the derivative principles of Hanafite jv/risprudence ly Bwrhan 
 ii'ddin A'H al Marghindni), the Im^m Najmu'ddin-b-i'r Eifaa'h the 
 Shafi'ite Imam of his time, the Hafidh Saa'du'ddin al Harithi, al 
 Fakhr an Nuri the Traditionist of Mecca, ar Eashid-b-u'l Mu'allim one 
 of the most eminent of the Hanafites, as Sadr-b-u'l Wakil the Shafi'ite 
 Shaykh, al Kamal-b-n'l Sharishi, at Taj at Tabrizi, al Fakhr-b-Bint. 
 Abi Saa'd, as Shams-b-Abi'l I'zz the Hanafite Shaykh, ar Ridha at Tabari 
 the Imam of Mecca, as Safi Abu't Thana, Mahmud al Urmawi, the Shaykh 
 Ndru'ddin al Bakri, al A'la bu'l A'ttar the disciple of the Imam au 
 Nawawi, as Shams al Ispah^ni author of the Commentary on the- Kuran 
 and the Commentary on the Mukhtasar {Hpitome) of Ibn u'l Hajib and 
 the Commentary on the Tajrid m7 Kaldm {imposition of Metaphysics hy 
 Nasiruddin Abu Jaafar at Tusi,') and the like, at Taki the goldsmith 
 the Kuran reader, the last of the Kuran reading Shaykhs, as Shihab 
 MahmM the professor of the Art of Composition, al Jatnal-b-Mutahhar 
 the Shii'te Shaykh, al Kamal-b-Kadhi Shuhbah, an Najm al Kumiili* 
 author of the Jowahir u'l Bahr (Pearls of the Sea an epitome of his Bahr 
 v!l MuMt), al Kamal-b-u'l Zamlakani the Shaykh Taki u'ddia-b-Tay- 
 miyah, Ibn Jibarah the Shatibite Shaykh, an Najm al Balisi, Commen- 
 tator on the Tanbih^ Furuu^ u's ShafViyah (The Summons, on the deriva. 
 tive principles of Shafii'te jurisprudence hy Abu Ishdk Ibrahim as 
 Shirazi), al Burhan al Fazari the Shafi'ite Shaykh, al A'ld al Kiinuwi 
 Commentator on the Hawi u'l SdgMr, al Fakhr al Turkomani of the 
 Hanafite School, Commentator of the Jdmi' Kabir of as Shaybdni, al 
 Malik al Muwayyad lord of Hamat author of several works, among them 
 the metrical version of the Hawi, the Shaykh Yakut al A'rshi disciple of 
 the Shaykh Abu'l A'bbas al Mursi, al Burhan al Ja'bari, al Badr-b- 
 Jamaa'h, at Taj-b-Fakahani, al Fath-b-Sayyidi'n Nas, al Kutb al Halabi, 
 az Zayn al Kinani the Kadhi Muhyi'ddin-b-Fadhli'Uah, ar Eukn-b-u'l 
 Kawai',t az Zayn-b-Murhil, as Sharaf-b-u'l Barizi al Jalal al Kazwini 
 and others, 
 
 * Haj. Khali, writea this word {y-** and pronounces it Kamali. The 
 town Kumulah (*•!>♦*) is in Upper Egypt to the west of the Nile. The text and MS. 
 give the title of the work Jawahir TFa'l Baijx which is inexact. 
 
 t MS. C{/ (Kawbah.) 
 
[ 515 ] 
 
 A. H. 740. 
 AL WATHIK BI'LLAH TBEAHrM. A. D. 1340, 
 
 Al Wathik bi'llah Ibrahim was the son of the heir to the Caliphate 
 al Mustamsik bi'llah Abu A'bdu'llah Muhammad son of al Hdkim bi'- 
 amri'llah Abu A'bbas Ahmad. His grandfather al Hakim had covenanted 
 for the succession for his son Muhammad and gave him the title of al 
 Mustamsik bi'llah, but he died during his lifetime, whereupon he took 
 the covenant for al Mustamsik's son, this Ibrahim, believing him to be 
 worthy of ths Caliphate, but he afterwards discovered him to be unfit 
 for it, through his pursuit of pleasure and his association with low com- 
 pany. He therefore turned from him and named his own son — that is, 
 the son of al Hakim — al Mustakfi, the uncle of Ibrahim. It was Ibrahim 
 who was the cause of the misunderstanding between the Caliph al Mus- 
 takfi and the Sultan after they had been like brothers, by his having 
 carried to him a slanderous tale regarding him, after which happened 
 what followed. 
 
 Thus it came to pass that when al Mustakfi died at Kiis, he named 
 his own son Ahmad for the succession but the Sultan disregarded this and 
 acknowledged* this Ibrahim who was surnamed al Wathik until when the 
 Sultan was at the point of death he repented of what he had done, and 
 deposed this Ibrahim, and acknowledged the heir Ahmad who received the 
 surname of al Hakim. This took place on the Istf of Muharram 742. 
 Ibn Hajr says that the people petitioned the Sultan regarding Ibrahim and 
 described his evil life, but he paid no heed to this and desisted not until 
 the people acknowledged him. The populace nicknamed him al Musta'ta 
 bi'llah. t 
 
 Ibn Fadhli'Uah in the Masalik in the biographical notice of al 
 Wathik says : " His grandfather named him for the succession, believing 
 him to be virtuous and that he would respond loudly to him who called him 
 to the Caliphate — but he grew up in dishonour, and inclined to nought, but 
 the neglect of piety. He was led astray by sensualities, and did what he was 
 not induced to do by his necessities. He associated with the mean and 
 the base. His extravagance brought his reputation low — the evil of his 
 conduct was disguised to him so that he thought it good — he was so blinded 
 
 • According to some authorities on the 6th, according to others the 14th Du'l 
 Kaa'dah. WeU, p. 406. 
 
 t This must he the date of his assuming the surname, for the Sultan died 9 days 
 earlier, via., the 21st Du'l Ilijjah, 741 which is given hy as Suyuti as the date on which 
 al Hakim was acknowledged. See Ms life, later, 
 
 X " Begging of the Lord." He received this nickname on account of the small 
 stipend granted him — Makrizi places the allowance of al Hakim bi'amri'Uah at 3560 
 dirhams a month and 19 Ardabhs of wheat and 10 of barley. "Weil, p. 406. 
 
[ 516 ] 
 
 A. H, 740. as to think praiseworthy what was wicked. Pigeon-flying and the pur- 
 A. D. 1340. chase of rams for butting, and fighting-cocks seduced him — and his emula- 
 tion in possessing fine-haired goats with long ears and the like of such 
 things that degrade manliness and impair dignity,t this all led him into 
 evil dealings, and purchasing goods not worth their price, and renting houses 
 the hire of which he could not defray, and scheming for money wherewith 
 to fill his hands, and abominations wherewith to fill his mouth, and things 
 forbidden of which he eat and caused his family to partake, so that he 
 became a mark for contempt and a prey to men of his time. And when 
 al Mustakfi died at a time when the Sultan was in the height of his anger 
 against him, and of his wrath which pressed upon him by reason of its 
 excessive vehemence, he sent for this al Wathik the improvident, the 
 witless, (save that he was not thereto compelled, — and he was one of those 
 who had secretly defamed his uncle to the Sultan, and had fastened 
 treacherous machinations round his brow like the binding of an amulet) 
 and he presented himself before the Sultan and brought with him the 
 covenant of his grandfather. The Sultan therefore undertook the cove- 
 nant of allegiance to him notwithstanding its ambiguity and turned 
 towards him the face of the Caliphate. And indeed the cancelling of this 
 covenant and the annulling of this compact had already taken place. 
 Then the Chief Kadhi Abu Omar-b- Jamaa'h sought to turn the mind of 
 the Sultan from introducing the name of al Wathik in the khutbah, but 
 he would not do so. Au agreement at length was effected by omitting 
 both claimants from the khutbah and being content therein with the name 
 of the Sultan alone — so he went his way. Thus on the death of al 
 Mustakfi the name of the Caliphate passed from the pulpits as if it had 
 never risen over their summit, and the prayer for the Caliphs vacated 
 the vaulted recesses of the mosques as if it had never reverberated at their 
 gates or their flinty stones (Marwah.f) It was as though he were the last of 
 the Caliphs of the House of A'bbas and its symbols upon him were as garments 
 of mourning, and were sheathed those swords of steel. This state of things 
 continued until the Sultan was near his end, and death had knocked at his 
 rock (Safaf). Among his last injunctions was the restoration of authority to 
 those to whom it belonged, and the carrying out of the covenant of al 
 Mustakfi in favour of his son, and he said, " how hath the truth become 
 
 • The MS. has IS^ for I"** of the printed edition, which is, I think, inadmis- 
 Bible in the sense of guiding to evil. The grammatical construction any way appears 
 faulty. 
 
 t Safa and Marwah are two small hiUs near Mecca, between which the Sa'i or 
 Course of the U'mrah or Lesser Pilgrimage ia made. One of the gates of the Prophet's 
 mosque ia termed the Safa gate. The word signifies a rook or smooth stones. Marwah 
 means a hard white flint. It is a small line in the lower slope of the Abu Kubajij. 
 Proyeis are recited from these mounts by the pilgrims during the Sa'i ; see Burton, 
 p. 314, — $t aeg. 
 
[ 517 ] 
 
 manifest" (Kur. XII). And he was moved towards those who were re- A. H. 740. 
 
 maining behind him and felt compassion, and Ibrahim was deposed* and A. D. 1340. 
 
 grew lean — for verily he had fed as flocks feed and covered his dishonour 
 
 with the raiment of men of worth, till he grew fat and his body became 
 
 swollen and he assumed the surname of al Wathik (Firm in Qod), and 
 
 what was he to be the bearer of such a name, the fear of which had 
 
 long penetrated into the hearts of men and the dread of it stretched to 
 
 bursting, the places where the sides lie in sleeppf Go to ! The eagles are 
 
 not counted as their ^amfe(? effigies, nor is the gnat, however long its 
 
 proboscis, like an elephant ; but verily the march of time brings to 
 
 currency what is worthless and the cat by puffing itself out simulates 
 
 the lion. Now verily he hath returned to the biting of his own hands 
 
 and he who is despicable falls easily under contempt." This is the end of 
 
 Ibn Fadhli'llah's words. 
 
 AL HAKIM BI'AMEI'LLAH ABU"L A'BBAS. 
 
 Al Hdkim bi'amri'Uah Abu'l A'bbas Ahmad was the son of al Mus- 
 takfi. His father when he died at Kiis covenanted for his succession to 
 the Caliphate but al Malik an Nasir preferred to him his cousin Ibrahim 
 on account of his personal feeling against al Mustakfi. Now the charac- 
 ter of Ibrahim was depraved and the Chief Kadhi I'zzu'ddin-b-Jamaa'h 
 exerted himself to the utmost to turn the Sultan from appointing him, 
 but he would not yield. At length when he was at the point of death, 
 he commended to the Emirs the restoration of the authority to the 
 heir of al Mustakfi — his son Ahmad, therefore when al Mansur Abu Bakr 
 the son of an Nasir assumed the supreme power, he convened an assembly 
 on the 21st Du'l Hijjah 741 (7th June, 1341) and summoned the Caliph 
 Ibrahim and the heir Ahmad and the Kadhis and said, " Who by law is 
 entitled to the Caliphate ?" Ibn Jamaa'h replied, " Verily the Caliph al 
 Mustakfi who died in the city of Kiis bequeathed the Caliphate after him 
 to his son Ahmad and had it attested by forty witnesses in the city of 
 Kiis, and this was proved before me after its confirmation before my 
 deputy in the city of Kiis." The Caliph therefore deposed Ibrahim, 
 and swore allegiance to Ahmad and he was surnamed al Hakim bi'am- 
 ri'Uah after the title of his grandfather. 
 
 * I prefer taking this verb in the passive and would amend the pointing of the 
 ■text. 
 
 t wyWl *i^j,A liJxil MS. 
 
[ 518 J 
 
 A. H. 741. Ibn Fadhli'llah says in his biography in the Masalik. " He was 
 
 A. D. 1341. the Imam of our age and the white cloud of our land of Egypt. He 
 arose in wrath against his enemies and submerged his well wishers with 
 the overflow of his munificence : through him affairs attained to their 
 proper issue, and their intelligent apprehension was referred to him. 
 He revived the usages of the Caliphate, and enjoined what was not in 
 the power of any to disobey. He trod the ways of his ancestors that had 
 been obliterated, and restored them by the glad aspects of his children, 
 for verily they had been effaced. And he gathered together the sons of 
 his father who had been long scattered ; and he extended his assistance 
 to them for fortune had been adverse, and he elevated his name upon the 
 summits of the pulpits and verily a long time had elapsed and no such stars 
 had arisen except in his firmament, and no such mists and streaming rain had 
 gone forth save from his clouds. He was summoned after the death of 
 the Sultan, and his authority and renown travelled abroad in universal 
 allegiance and imperative submission. His father had appointed him by a 
 prior covenant and committed its deposit unto men of trust. Subsequent- 
 ly al Malik al Mansur Abu Bakr the son of the late Sultan succeeded to 
 power, and residences were assigned to him under the authority of the 
 monarch." 
 
 Ibn Fadhli'llah continues, " verily I drew up for him the form of the 
 covenant of allegiance which was as follows : 
 
 " In the name of God the most merciful. ' Verily they who swear 
 fealty unto thee, swear fealty unto God' (Kur. XLVIII) &c. as far as 
 His word ' great.'* This is a covenant of acceptance and a covenant of 
 benefit and a voluntary agreement to which the congregation of the 
 faithful testify and testifies to it the Most Merciful — a covenant the 
 conditions of which are obligatory on the necks of men,t and which circles 
 in its fulness and the entirety of its import, deserts and seas covered with 
 highways— a covenant by which may God improve the condition of the 
 people, and through its means grant them prosperity, and thus mutual 
 harmony be promoted and gladness pass through the land, till the stars of 
 the constellations press thronging upon the multitudinous commiugling 
 of the Galaxy. A covenant fortunate and of happy augury, glorious, 
 comprising within it security both in spiritual and temporal matters ; a 
 covenant just and lawful, to be observed and guarded ; a covenant to 
 * " The rest of tlie verae is : ' The hand of God is over their hands. Whoever 
 shall violate his oath, will violate it to the hurt of his own soul, but whoever shall 
 perform that which he hath covenanted with God, He will surely give him a reward 
 that is great.' " 
 
 t This sentence is slightly modified from the following in the Kuran XVII, 
 
 Aft\c ^ tJiJc iXx«yt j^l»~)| oi xiie fate or actions of every man have wo bound about 
 his neck. 
 
[ 519 ] 
 
 •which all desires vie in attaining, and all hearts strive to gain, and upon A. H. 741. 
 
 which the scattered nations are agreed. A covenant over which the A. D. 13-11. 
 
 clouds pour their plenteous rain and the full moon is resplendent. A 
 
 covenant consented to by the church and the concourse of the faithful, 
 
 and to stretch their hands towards which the church hath assembled. 
 
 They therefore who hear God and obey, have acknowledged its legality 
 
 and every man hath done his utmost towards its fulfilment. It hath 
 
 obtained the consent of eyes and ears, and by its means Truth hath reached 
 
 him who meriteth it, which the adversary hath acknowledged and thus 
 
 dissension hath ceased. It is contained in ' a book distinctly written : 
 
 those who approach near unto God are witnesses thereto.' (Kur. LXXXIII) 
 
 and the most approximate unto Qod of the Imams accept it. Praise be 
 
 to God who hath rightly guided us unto this, for we should not have 
 
 been so directed, were it not that the Lord led us thereto on account of 
 
 His mercy upon us and upon the people. 
 
 And praise be to God, there have agreed upon this covenant unto us 
 and unto the House of A'bbas, those who bind and loose, and the doctors 
 of theological law in what relateth both unto matters of small and of 
 great moment, the rulers in authority and governors, and those in places of 
 dignity and power, the bearers of knowledge and of standards, the 
 guardians of the sword and the pen, the chiefs of the sons of A'bd 
 Manaf, the low in dignity and the high, the chiefs of the Kuraysh, the 
 rulers of the sons of Hashim and the stainless remnant of the House of 
 A'bbas, the chosen among the Imams and the commonalty. A covenant, 
 the pavilions of which are seen in the two Sacred Cities and whose 
 standards float over the Two Straits.* Its blessings are known at A'rafat 
 and confessed at Mina, and acknowledged on the dayf of the Great 
 Pilgrimage. It is sought between the Yamdni Corner J and Abraham's 
 station of prayer and the Blach Stone, and nought is desired through it 
 save the glory of God. A covenant, the bond of which shall not be 
 loosed nor its obligation rejected, compulsory and absolute, continuousS 
 
 * Mazimayn." One between Mecca and Mina ; the other hetween Muzdalif and 
 Mount A'rafat. 
 
 t When the day of A'rafat {9th Du'l Hijjah) falls on a Friday. See Burton, 
 p. 226, III. 
 
 J The Ruknu'l Yamani is the corner of the kaa'hah facing south — where there 
 is a stone called Mustajabu'd Du'a " where prayer is granted" which pilgrims touch and 
 ask pardon for their sins. The place of Abraham is a building south of the kaabah said 
 to contain the stone upon which Abraham stood when he built the kaa'bah and whioh 
 is believed to preserve the impression of his foot — ^but no pilgrim sees it as the frame 
 holding it is always covered with red brocade. Burton's finances did not allow of his 
 paying 5 dollars to enter the Makam Ibrahim and no European has ever entered it. 
 See Vol. Til, p. 177. 
 
 § For *^lo read as in the MS. *-^J'.> 
 
[ 520 ] 
 
 A, H. yjil. and everlastingjComplete and universal, comprehensive and perfect, just 
 
 A. D. 1341. and clear, ardours and yet rest giving. 
 
 And there is none distinguished in science or judicial decision, nor one 
 to whom men turn for bounty or the ordering of decrees, nor the Imam 
 of a mosque nor a preacher, nor one of authority in judgment who is 
 consulted and who answereth, nor those who fill the mosques, and none 
 whom their vaulted recesses gather together ; nor one who laboureth in the. 
 solution of a point and faileth or hitteth it, nor a narrator of tradition 
 nor a discourser on the ancient and the modern, nor one known for piety 
 and virtue, nor the horsemen of war and strife, nor one who killeth 
 with an arrow, piereeth with a spear, or striketh with a sword, nor who 
 moveth on foot, or flieth on wings, mixeth with the people or sitteth in 
 retirement, nor a concourse great or small, nor one the hoisting of whose 
 standard riseth to Orion, nor whose contention in glory soareth above the 
 stars of the Lesser Bear, nor the dweller in the desert or cultivated 
 land, nor one who abideth, nor one who departeth, nor the first nor the 
 last, nor who concealeth within, nor who divulgeth without, nor Arab 
 nor barbarian, nor a pastor of camels or of sheep, nor one who is sedate, 
 nor he who is hasty, nor the dweller in an abode in town or desert, nor 
 the lord of columns, or of a wall, nor one who plungeth into stormy 
 seas, deserts and barren wastes, nor one who betaketh himself frequently 
 to the backs of steeds, nor who letteth his skirt trail in the dust, nor one 
 upon whom the sun of day shineth and the stars of night, nor whom the 
 sky covereth and the earth beareth up, and none whose names in their 
 diversities distinguish, and who are i-aised in station, one above, another 
 but he hath put his trust in this covenant, and hath assented to it and is 
 secure by reason thereof, for God hath been gracious to him and guided 
 him unto it, and hath acknowledged and attested it and cast down his 
 eyes and dropped them abashed before it and extended his hands towards 
 it in homage and his belief in submission, and acquiesced in it and 
 approved it and gathered its commands upon himself and executed them, 
 and eatered under its obedience and acted according to its requirements. 
 And justice hath been done among them in truth, and men say — Praise be 
 to God, Lord of the genii and of mankind. 
 
 Now verily when the Lord made choice of His servant Sulaymau 
 Abu'r Rabii' the Imam al Mustakfi bi'Uah prince of the Faithful, the 
 Lord received him with honor and gave him in exchange for the Abode 
 of Peace {BagTidad) the mansion of salvation, and transferred him with 
 cleansed hands from testifying to the orthodox religion, to the vision of 
 perfect peace, where He made him near unto Him and confirmed him at 
 His side and preferred him on account of what he had sent before him of 
 his desired works and fruits, and chose for him a company to be nigh him, 
 
[ 521 ] 
 
 and placed him " with those unto whom God hath heen gracious of the A, H. 741. 
 prophets and the sincere, and the martyrs and the righteous ; and these A, D. 134il. 
 are the most excellent company" (Kur. IV). Great God for a day such as 
 his ! and were he to have no successor, " the earth would hecome too straight 
 notwithstanding it is spacious" (Kur. IX). Every man shall be reward- 
 ed according to what he hath earned, and to every heart shall it be 
 announced what it hath hoarded and gathered, for verily a flame hath 
 been kindled, though it is within the ribs of the breast, and verily pulpit 
 and throne will be in danger if there be not a virtuous successor to him, 
 and of a truth, the governed and he who governs will be thrown into 
 perplexity if thought doth not forecast the issue of affairs. And now 
 there remaineth not of the family of A'bbas, nor in the House of al 
 Mustarshid, nor in any other of the pontifical Houses, of the remnants 
 of their sires and grandsires, and not one whom the latter times hath 
 brought forth, for they are barren and without progeny, any to whom 
 the people of Muhammad may confide the bond of their designs and the 
 secret of their purposes save one, and where is this one ? By Allah ! it ia 
 he who comprehendeth within himself the claims to the heritage of hia 
 stainless sires, the inheritance of his ancestors, and he is none other than 
 one who hath wrapped about him the mantle of night and day, the heir 
 of one who hath been borne to his Lord, the son of the Imam, proceed- 
 ing from his loins, one whom all agree to be in these days, the wonder 
 of mankind, the Incomparable, and thus the great exemplar in creation : 
 and verily he is excellent in dignity, since are looped upon him the 
 garments of the Bast and the West, who hath the mastery of the empire 
 between the rising and the setting sun, who ascendeth to the level of the 
 sky of this sublime eminence, the sole remnant of Imams that have 
 departed, a most excellent Caliph, in whom are centred the conditions of 
 the Caliphate, conducting himself virtuously for the sake of God, while 
 he is the heir of a House which shall retain the sovereignty till the 
 day of doom, whose munificence puts the clouds to sham-e, whom his 
 rival cannot withstand, nor his censurer deceive, who mounteth not the 
 floor of a pulpit in the presence of the Sultan of his time, but he pro- 
 claimeth it to be by his order and riseth as there placed by him, who 
 sitteth not upon the throne of the Caliphate but the Sultan knoweth that 
 his Mustakfi* was not disappointed and his Hakim is not absent, the vice- 
 gerent of the Lord upon the earth and the successor of His apostle, his 
 lieutenant and his descendant, the follower of his virtuous deeds and the 
 heir to his knowledge, our lord and master, the servant of God and His 
 friend, Abu'l A'bbas the Imam al Hakim bi'amri'llah prince of the Faith- 
 
 • These names of course include plays upon their meanings, which may to 
 substituted for them. 
 66 
 
[ 523 ] 
 
 A H. 741. ful, may God strengthen the faith by his abiding, and make of his sword a 
 A. D. 1341. collar for if Ae«ec/fc« 0/ the impious, and humble transgressors beneath hia 
 standards, and grant him assistance until the Day of Requital, and by his 
 warring for the faith throw prostrate upon their faces* the troops of the 
 rebellious, and make the earth seek his protection from those who follow 
 not religion, and cause to return through his justice the days of -his ancestors 
 the orthodox Caliphs and the rightly guided Imams, who judged with truth 
 and by it were equitable, and acted in accordance with it, — and aid his allies, 
 and ordain his power, and establish in all hearts the awe of his presence, 
 and his majesty, and confirm him in life, and gather unto him his 
 dominions. "Wherefore when that prince passed to his Lord and beheld 
 those who had gone before him, and was borne to the throne of Paradise 
 from the chair of the Caliphate, and the age was without an Imam who 
 might take up what remained of his lustrous day, and a Caliph who 
 might overcome the increase of night by his splendours, and a successor 
 of the prophet like unto him and to his fathers, (for the world, after the 
 death of his ancestor, the seal of the Prophets, needed no other prophet to 
 follow his footsteps, and he departed and left no successor, and nothing 
 remained, since no text of the Kuran was found apposite to such an emer- 
 gency but the assembly of the Faithful, and upon it rested the election to 
 the Caliphate after the Apostle of God without dispute), — the public 
 welfare demanded the gathering of an assembly firmly knit together on 
 every side, and the bond of a covenant testified to by God and the angels, 
 and the people gathered to it and " that was a day whereon all men were 
 assembled and a day whereon witness was borne," (Kur. XI). 
 
 But there was present thereat one that heeded not who should succeed 
 to the Caliphate after him, and did not consider who covenanted with 
 him, and had stretched out his hand covetously for more beside it and 
 had dissembled. But the people were unanimous in their voice and asked 
 the blessing of God upon it and He bestowed it, and an oath was taken, 
 strengthened by religious conviction and fortified by oaths, and compacts 
 were made upon it and their faithful keeping proposed to all parties, so 
 that every one present placed the collar of this charge upon his neck, and 
 laid his hand upon the holy book and swore by the Lord and perfected 
 his assent. 
 
 And none discarded it or made a reservation regarding it nor hesitated ; 
 and he who rejected it thoughtlessly, returned and renewed it. Verily 
 every man who swore, purposed that the intention of his oath was the 
 intention of one whom this allegiance bound, and the intention of one who 
 pledged it his oath, and took upon himself the obligation of fidelity to it, by 
 his responsibility and guarantee as is the custom in the oath of fealty, and 
 
 * Lit. " chins." 
 
[ 523 ] 
 
 to its reiterated conditions and commands and its binding asseverations, A. H. 741. 
 
 that he would render obedience to this Imam to whom obedience is obligatory A. D. 1341, 
 
 and would not separate himself from the commonwealth, nor appeal from the 
 
 council of the Faithful to another assembly,* and the like which are contained 
 
 in the records of oaths in which are written the names of those who swear, 
 
 set down in the writing of those who can write among them and the 
 
 signatures of trustworthy witnesses for those who cannot write and who 
 
 allow them to sign for them, according as they testify to it one for the 
 
 other and the dwellers on earth and in heaven acting in concert therein. 
 
 A covenant, the accomplishment of which hath been perfected by the 
 
 will of God, and whose clouds are surcharged with abundant rain, and the 
 
 people cried out, praise be to God who hath caused sorrow to depart from 
 
 us, and hath given us good. And praise unto God who sufficetli His 
 
 servant, and is abounding unto him who joineth His praise to His every 
 
 gift. Again praise unto God for a blessing, the increase of which tho 
 
 prince of the Faithful desireth, and cautiously feareth, unless he combat the 
 
 enemies of the Lord by its assistance, and by it discipline those who ascend 
 
 the pulpits in his dominions throughout what interveneth between the 
 
 divergence of their opposite extremes. We praise him and praise be to 
 
 God and again praise unto God, a sentence which one wearieth not in 
 
 repeating, and which doth not so descend that arrows can surpass the just 
 
 directness of its course, and which cannot he discontinued save after 
 
 observance of what compelleth the frequency of its repetitions, increase of 
 
 dignity to those that love it, and the diminution of irreverence not of 
 
 affection to what resembleth it. 
 
 And we testify that there is no God but one, who hath no copartner, 
 a confession of which the replenishing of its ink-flow resembles the blood 
 drops of the martyrs, and the dark locks of youths and shining clouds contend 
 for its favour, whose broidered letters are like unto that which the House 
 of A'bbas weareth of its symbols, the nights of their covering, and enemies 
 of their mourning vesture. And we testify that Muhammad is His 
 servant and His apostle, upon whom be the blessing of God, and upon the 
 congregation of his family and those who succeed him of his posterity and 
 who have gone before him of his ancestors. And may the Lord be well 
 pleased with his companions and those that immediately followed them, 
 and be merciful unto them till the Day of Eeqnital. 
 
 Now since the Lord hath granted to the prince of the Faithful what 
 had belonged to his grandsire, of the prophetical heritage, and bestowed 
 upon him of the sovereignty of Solomon what is not meet for any one after 
 
 • I am not sure that the reduplication of **'♦? ' is not a copyist's error, though 
 the text and MS. are in accord. If it he so, the translation would run " nor quit the 
 congregation." 
 
L 524 ] 
 
 A. H. 741. him, and taught him the language of birds, in what is borne to him of 
 A. D. 1341. remarkable events, by carrier pigeons, and subjected to him couriers upon 
 the backs of steeds, as He subjected the wind to Solomon, and recompensed 
 him through Muhammad the Seal of the prophets, with what his father 
 Sulayman acquired and possessed, and bestowed upon him a greatness 
 which brought all creation under his obedience without contention, and 
 appointed for him in the robes of the House of A'bbas that which fulfilleth 
 in him its sable symbols and its lordliness of ancestry, and scattereth of 
 its swarthiness upon the shade of eyelashes what rendereth superfluous the 
 dark profundity of the heart and the blackness of the eye, and extendeth 
 his shadow over the earth and every part of the capital and the whole 
 city of Baghdad, (he being one who worshippeth at night, and by day is 
 like A'skari and in liberality like Jaa'far the most munificent), he is 
 therefore in perpetual supplication to the Lord for his grace, and in joy, 
 forasmuch as he hath choked every enemy in his own spittle. And he 
 hath begun this day of fealty with what is most important among the 
 interests of Islam, and with such virtuous works as adorn mankind, and 
 he maketh the fear of God his guide, and baseth his commands upon it, 
 and f olloweth the holy law and abideth by it and maketh the people to abide 
 thereby, and whoso will not receive his commands with voluntary obedience 
 must submit to them by compulsion. And the prince of the Faithful 
 hasteneth to set about what will pacify all minds, by which he may repel 
 the machinations of the devil who is verily in despair, and captivate the 
 hearts of his subjects though he be independent of it, yet because he 
 ruleth them. And the prince of the Faithful calleth God and his 
 people to witness that he hath confirmed every holder of an office among 
 the administrators of affairs, in his present position, that he may 
 continue to repose under the protection of his shadow, according to the 
 various classes of the rulers, and the courses of the provinces and 
 and marches, on land and sea, plain and mountainous country, east 
 and west, far and near, gentle and simple, few and many, little and greyt, 
 lord and slave and governor, and the soldier before whom glanceth his 
 glorious sword and his trusty spear, together with those whether ministers, 
 judges or secretaries, or such as possess judgment in composition, and 
 knowledge of accounts, and are conversant with affairs of postal service or 
 collection of revenue, and such as are necessary and unnecessary, engaged 
 in teaching, and in the colleges, in Eibdts, cells and convents, those who 
 have weighty engagements or whose attachments to the world are but 
 slight, and all possessors of offices and holders of stipends, and such as 
 have of the Lord's bounty a determinate portion, and a claim whether 
 unknown or recognized. And everything shall remain in its present state, 
 so that he may ask the blessing of God, and it may be made clear to him 
 what is before him, for he who inoreaseth his worthiness, his merit i& 
 
[ 525 ] 
 
 augmented. For the prince of the Faithful seeketh but the glory of A. H. 741. 
 God, and maketh no distinction of persons in the religion of the Lord, A. D. 134il. 
 nor favoureth one right in preference to another, for partiality in the 
 administration of justice is a deception towards the Muslims. Everything 
 that hath continued up to the present, shall remain established according 
 to the commands of God, as God hath taught him, and his father Sulayman 
 hath instructed him. Nor shall the prince of the Faithful make in this 
 nor in any portion of it, any alteration, in gratitude to God for His 
 bounty, and thus shall be rewarded he who giveth thanks. Nor shall he 
 disturb unto any one his watering place, and may God purify His clear 
 bounty to him free from all defilement. And no expositor can affect to 
 comment upon this save one who disowneth favours and is ungrateful, nor 
 an objector find an evasion, for the prince of the Faithful seeketh pro- 
 tection from God and let us fly to his reign for defence against all change. 
 The prince of the Faithful, may the Lord exalt his power — hath com- 
 manded the preachers to proclaim the mention of him and that of the 
 present Sultan, from the pulpits throughout the provinces, and that the 
 coinage shall be stamped with the impress of their names and become 
 freely current, and the robes of night and day be girdled with a 
 prayer for them both, and that there shall be made manifest therewith 
 that which shall illumine the face of the dirham and the dinar. 
 
 And verily the prince of the Faithful hath proclaimed in this full 
 assembly what every preacher hath to announce and what will be repeated 
 by all that are far and near, the purport of which is, that the Lord hath 
 issued commands and prohibitions, and He is the Watcher from whom 
 nothing is hidden, and the intelligent should apply their faculties to 
 them, and the preachers deduce therefrom the courses of their precepts, 
 and excellencies will be perfected by them, and the hidden thoughts of the 
 holy in their retirements will be elicited through them, and those who 
 hold discourse at night shall speak of them, and the camel driver and the 
 mariner shall chant them, and their magic shall be sweet in 'the moonlit 
 night and be inscribed upon the brow of the morn. The stony vallies of 
 Mecca shall hear them in exhortation, and by their vehement urging shall 
 Kafah* be revived, and every father shall instruct his son therein, and 
 every generous son shall question his father. And it is for you, ye 
 people on the part of the prinfle of the Faithful who hath f urnishedf you 
 with an evident demonstration, and upon you is obligatory that by which 
 he hath called you to the way of the Lord in wisdom and excellent admoni- 
 tion, and obedience to the prince of the Faithful is your duty, and were it 
 
 • I cannot explain this name if it be a name. Yakut does not give it. The MS. 
 appears to have Fanah which Ya^ut places in Nejd. 
 t "i^MS. 
 
[ 526 ] 
 
 A. H. 741. not for the sake of the preservation of the people, the Lord would not have 
 A. D. 1341. accepted the works of those commandments — nor restrained the waters by 
 them, nor spread out the earth nor rivetted the mountains thereof, nor 
 would voices have been unanimous upon one who is worthy — nor the 
 Caliphate have advanced towards him trailing its robes. He hath there' 
 fore possessed himself of it to the exclusion of the other descendauts of 
 his father, and it hath been found meet for him alone, and he only is meet 
 for it. 
 
 And verily the prince of the Faithful hath sufficed you against any 
 occmom q/" solicitation, through what the Lord hath opened unto you of 
 the gates of provision and means of maintenance, and he hath rewarded 
 you according to your merit and taught you commendable virtues, and 
 maintained you in the benefits you possess, and hath not been niggardly 
 through fear of expense. And you have now no claim left against the 
 prince of the Faithful, but that he should cause to pass freely among you 
 the book of God and the traditions of His apostle, and act according to 
 what He hath sent, who hath gratuitously bestowed. Maythe Lord vouch- 
 safe unto the prince of the Faithful a long reign, and augment His mercies 
 upon those who have gone before and preserve the obligations of the 
 pilgrimage and warring for the faith, and cause the people to slumber 
 peacefully in their beds by reason of His all-comprehensive j ustice. 
 
 The prince of the Faithful will establish the pilgrimage every year 
 according to the custom of his fathers, and his favour will include the 
 dwellers in the Sacred Cities and the ministers of the holy house of God, 
 and he will show the right path unto him who is astray, hoping that he will 
 return to the state that was his in past times, and his swelling waters shall 
 be poured forth upon those two temples, and he will send unto the third 
 of them in Jerusalem, a streaming cloud, and by his justice he will set up 
 the sepulchres of the prophets — upon whom be peace — wherever they may 
 be, and the greater number whereof are in Syria. And the Friday prayers 
 and congregations, these shall continue with you according to their 
 ancient traditions and right course, and in the reign of the prince of the 
 Faithful, whoso joineth him shall receive increase from what may be 
 received of the provinces of the infidels and be delivered of them into his 
 hands. As regardeth fighting for the faith, let the warring of him suffice 
 who is so appointed by the prince of the Faithful in his behalf, invested 
 by him with authority over all that is beyond his throne. And the prince 
 of the Faithful hath appointed in him — may the Lord cause his kino-dom 
 and sovereignty to endure — an eye that slumbereth not, and hath girded a 
 sword, of which were the lightnings to sleep on any night, heedless of enemies, 
 the dreams of these would unsheath its image against them. The prince 
 of the Faithful will presently arrange for the restoration of all that hath 
 
[ 527 ] 
 
 been captured by the enemy and indeed the order hath already gone forth A. H. 741. 
 for the continuance of hostilities by land and sea against the prostrate foe. A. D. 1311, 
 And he will not abstain from either slaying or making prisoners those 
 whom he subdueth, nor will he free them from fetters and bonds, and he 
 will not cease from sending against them by land his eagle steeds and 
 by sea his raven ships, bearing each of them in its rider, a bird of prey. 
 And he will guard his dominions from such as venture to disturb its con- 
 fines or traverse its borders with their footsteps. And he will look to the 
 welfare of the forts and fastnesses and the frontiers, and what is needful 
 for them of implements of war, and the principal cities which are the 
 stations of the troops and the lairs of the lions, and the nobles, the 
 forces and legions, and their disposition on the right and the left and on 
 the extended wings. And he will inspect their condition in review as to 
 their horses closely compacted between heaven and earth, and their wealth 
 of twisted mail, and swords covered with liquid gold as though they were 
 beautiful maidens hidden from view, and cutting blades, and lances dyed 
 by reason of being long bathed in blood, and arrows cleaving to the bows 
 and leaving them yearning with the yearning of she camels* that have lost 
 their young, and bows resounding with the clamour of the wrathful. 
 
 All this the prince of the Faithful desireth to cheer your hearts and 
 to extend a lengthened train over your desires. Your lives and property » 
 
 and honor shall be preserved from exposure to danger, save in what the 
 holy law permitteth. And an increase of boyity shall be given to you 
 in the measure of what is kept hidden by you or manifested. To proceed 
 to particulars of affairs, verily ye know that he who separates himself 
 from the prince of the Faithful excludes himself from remembrance such 
 as this, and according to the difference of your degrees, you are all a 
 charge from, Ood committed to the prince of the Faithful, and all of you 
 are equal in truth before him, and upon you rests the fulfilment of his 
 precepts and showing obedience with a sincere heart. For verily every one 
 of you hath entered under the protection of the prince of the Faithful 
 and under his obedience, and the obligations of the oath of fealty are 
 incumbent upon him and its conditions binding upon his neck. And each 
 one of you will be known by his fulfilment of that which he hath learnt, 
 " but whoever shall perform that which he covenanted with God, He will 
 snrely give him a reward that is great," (Kur. XLVIII). These are the 
 words of the prince of the Faithful. 
 
 The writer goes on to say, " He will so act in all this, that the issue 
 of his deeds may, merit praise, and on this condition the covenant is made 
 with him and for it he covenanteth. And over and above this, as to 
 
 * The word Oj '*"' should be more properly written t^ii which ia the true plural 
 of jji^«;£ See Lane, art. (j>*- 
 
[ 528 ] 
 
 A. H. 741. injustice, the witness of it hath not been borne against him, now will it 
 A. D. 1341. be borne. And the prince of the Faithful supplicateth the Lord for His 
 mercy under every condition, and seeketh His protection against remissness, 
 and He prayeth Him to help him to the attainment of the hopes that he 
 desireth, and not to extend to him the cord of delay. And the prince of the 
 Faithful will seal his words with the justice and benevolence that the Lord 
 hath commended : and praise be to God that he is one of most to be 
 commended* of his creatures, for the Lord hath bestowed upon him the 
 kingdom of Sulayman. May the Lord permit him freely to enjoy what 
 he hath bestowed, and give him to rule over the ends of the earth and 
 after a long life, cause his posterity to succeed him. May his seat never 
 cease to be on the threshold of eminence, and the splendour of majesty 
 through him, be united to the supreme rule of the Caliphate, as though 
 its Mansur had never died nor its Mahdi or its Rashid passed away." 
 
 Ibn Hajr says in his Durar that he was first surnamed al Mustansir 
 and afterwards al Hakim. The Shaykh Zaynu'ddin al I'raki states that 
 the Caliph heard traditions from some of the later traditionists and that 
 he himself related them. He died of the plague about the middle of 
 the year 753. Among events of his days, Sultan al Mansur was deposed 
 in the first year of his reign on account of the depravity of his life and 
 his drinking of wine ; — it was even said that he did not hold inviolate his 
 father's wives. He was banished to Kus and there assassinated. This was 
 a chastisement from God for what his father had done to the Caliph, 
 and such is the way of the Lord with those who set themselves to do evil 
 unto one of the posterity of A'bbas. He was succeeded by his brother al 
 Malik al Ashraf Kujuk Cilst Safar — Qth August, 1341) who was deposed 
 the same year and his brother Ahmad elected and surnamed an Nasir 
 (SrdShaa'bdn — llth January, 1342) and Shaykh Takiu'ddin as Subki Kadhi 
 of Syria who had accompanied him, arranged the covenant of allegiance 
 between him and the Caliph. 
 
 In the year 743 an Nasir Ahmad was deposed and his brother 
 Isma'il was raised to power and surnamed as Salih (22nd Muharram, — 27th 
 June 1342). In 746 as Salih died (4<A BaUi' II—Brd August, 1345), 
 and the Caliph invested his brother Shaa'ban who was surnamed al Kamil. 
 In 747 (3rd Jumada II — 2Qth September, 1346) al Kamil was put to death 
 and his brother Amir Hajf was elected and surnamed al MudhafEar. In 
 748, al Mudhaffar was deposed and succeeded in power (Vlth Samadhdn — 
 18th December, 1347) by his brother Hasan who was surnamed an Nd^ir. 
 
 * Abmad " wortWeBt of praise" was one of the names of the Caliph. 
 
 f "Weil names him Zaynu'ddin HAji. He received the name of Haji or Hdj 
 (pilgrim) as he was bom in 732 while his father Sultdn Muljammad an Nasix was on 
 the pilgrimage. Weil, p, 470. 
 
[ 529 ] 
 
 In 749 occurred the universal plague* the like of which was never A. H. 749. 
 heard of. - A. D. 1348. 
 
 In the year 752 an Nasir Hasan was deposed and his brother Salih 
 elected (28^A Jum. Il—lind August 1351), and surnamed al Malik as 
 Salih, who was the eighth who reigned of the descendants of an Nasir 
 Muhammad-b-Kilawun, and Shaykhli was made his Atabek. He was the 
 first, as Ibn Fadhl i'Uah adds in the supplement of the Masalik, who was 
 named in Egypt the Great Emir. 
 
 Of personages of note who died during the reign of al Hakim were 
 the Hafidh Abu'l Hajjaj al Mizi, at Taj A'bdu'l Baki al Yamani, as Shams 
 A'bdu'l Hadi, Abu Hayyan, Ibn u'l Wardi, Ibn u'l Labaii, Ibn A'dlan, 
 ad Dahabi, Ibn Fadhli'llah, Ibn Kayyim al Jauziyah, al Eakhr al Misri 
 the Shaii'ite Shaykh in Syria, at Taj al Marakashi and others. 
 
 AL MUA'TADHID BI'LLAH ABU'L FATH. 
 
 Al Mua'tadhid bi'Uah Abu'l Fath Abu Bakr the son of al Mustakfi 
 was acknowledged Caliph after the death of his brother in the year 753 
 according to his covenant. He was virtuous and complaisant and a friend 
 to men of letters. He died in Jumada I, 763. Among the events of his 
 reign occurred the deposition in 755 of al Malik as Salih (2«c? Shawwdl, — 
 20th October, 1254) and an Nasir Hasan was reinstated. In the j-ear 
 756 orders were issued for the coining of new copper pieces of the size 
 and weight of a dinar and four and twenty of these were made equivalent to 
 a dirham. Before this the old copper pieces were a rati and a half to the 
 dirham, and from this may be known the value of the silver dirhams 
 struck by Shaykhli and the Emir Surghitmish for the salaried officials of 
 their colleges, for their dirhams signified two-thirds of a rati in copper 
 pieces. 
 
 In the year 762 an Nasir Hasan was put to death and Muhammad 
 the son of his brother al Mudhaffar was raised to the throne (9th Jum. I — 
 17th March 1361) and surnamed al Mansiir. 
 
 Of persons of note who died in the reign of al Mua'tadhid were 
 Shaykh Takiu'ddin as Subki, as Samin {Shihdb u'ddm Ahmad-b-Tustif al 
 
 * This was the great plague or Wack death wMch spread over Europe in 1348 
 and desolated Florence. According to Arabic sources it took its rise in China in A. H, 
 742 and spread over Tartary ; thence to Constantinoplo, Asia Minor and Syria on one 
 side, and Greece, Italy, Spain, France and the north of Europe on the other. In 
 old and new Cairo in the months of Shaa'ban and Eamadhan 900,000 beings perished. 
 In Aleppo the deaths were 500 a day and in Gaza 22,000 died in 33 days. For its 
 further details, consult Weil, p. 479, from Makrizi, and Abu'l ilah. 
 
 67 
 
[ 530 ] 
 
 a. M. 753. Halali) author of the li'rah {treatise on inflexions in fhe Kurdn), al 
 
 A D. 1352. Kawam al Itkani, al Baha-b- A'kil, as Salah al A'laii, al Jaraal-b-Hisham 
 
 the Hafidh Maghlataii, Abu Imdmah-b-u'n Nakkash and others. 
 
 AL MTJTAWAKKIL A'LA'LLAH ABTJ A'BDU'LLA'H. 
 Al Mutawakkil a'la'llah Muliammad the son o£ al Mua'tadhid, the 
 father of the Caliphs of the present age, assumed the Caliphate by the 
 covenant of his father, after his death in Jumada I, 763. His reign 
 extended over forty-five years throughout the depositions and imprison- 
 ments that disturbed it, as we shall presently relate, and he left many 
 children. It is said that he had one hundred children including 
 those still-born, of whom many, male and female, died. Five among them 
 held the Caliphate which is unprecedented, viz., al Musta'in al A'bbas, al 
 Mua'tadhid Dauiid, al Mustakfi Sulayman, al Kaim Hamzah, and al Mus- 
 tanjid Yusuf . Of his children at the present time but one is left called 
 Musa, much resembling Ibrahim the son of al Mustakfi^ and of the 
 posterity of A'bbas now remaining, all are of the stock of this al Muta- 
 wakkil — may the Lord increase their number and give them increase of 
 His aid. The following were among the events of his reign. In the year 
 764 alMan^ur was deposed {lith Shaa'bdn — 29th May, 1363) and Shaa'ban- 
 b-Husayn-b-Nasir-b-Kilawun succeeded to power and was surnamed al 
 Ashraf. 
 
 In 773 the green badge on the turbans of the descendants of the 
 prophet was introduced by command of the Sultan that they might be 
 thus distinguished and this was its first introduction. Abu A'bdu'Uah-b. 
 Jabir* the blind grammarian, author of the commentary on the Alfiyah 
 of Ihn Malih, known as al Aa'ma wa'l Ba^ir {the blind and the discerning) 
 says regarding this — 
 
 " They have given the descendants of the apostle a badge, 
 
 But a badge is a distinction for one who is unknown. 
 
 The light of prophecy is on their noble features, 
 
 The nobly born needeth no green decoration." 
 In this year began the irruption of the tyrant Tamarlang {Tamarlane') 
 who devastated the provinces and destroyed the inhabitants and continued 
 his depredations on the earth until he perished under the curse of God in 
 the year 807. t And it has been said regarding him : 
 
 * The text has Jabiz erroneously. Ibn Jibir died in 780 (1378). His comitien- 
 tary though a work of great merit, did not escape the criticism of as Suyuti whose 
 indefatigable pen was employed in exposing its errors. See Hdj. Khal. 
 
 + The text has here a gross error, giving the year as 873. The MS. has a blank 
 for the unit. Timur died aooordiug to Ibu Arab Shah on Wednesday the 17th 
 Shaa'ban 807, (17<A February, 1.405J. D'Herb. places his death on the 10th Shaa'ban. 
 
[ 531 ] 
 
 " The Tartars woried evil yet had they but witnessed ^' H. 773. 
 
 The deeds of Tamarlang how much more terrible !" -A-. D. 1371. 
 
 And his omen upon the people of greater ill boding ! 
 
 He was in his origin one of the children of the peasantry and bred 
 to theft and highway robbery. Subsequently he joined the service of the 
 Sultan's* master of the horse and was established in his place after his 
 death, and he never ceased to rise until he attained to what he reached. 
 A certain person was asked in what year occurred Tamarlang's irruption. 
 He replied, "in the year of the Chastisement." {A'4a,b), that is according 
 to alphabetical enumeration 773. f 
 
 In the year 775 the reading of al Bukhari was begun in the citadel 
 during the month of Eamadhan in the presence of the Sultan, and the 
 Hafidh Zaynu'ddin of I'rak was appointed reader, but later, Shihab 
 u'rUryani was associated with him on alternate days. 
 
 In the year 777 eggs became so dear at Damascus that a single one 
 sold for three dirhams at the calculation of sixty dirhams io the dinar.J 
 
 In the year 778 al Ashraf Shaa'ban was put to death and his son 
 A'li surnamed al Manstir succeeded to power (3rd Du'l Kaa'dah — Uth 
 March), and it happened thus. Al Ashraf was making the pilgrimage with 
 the Caliph and the Kadhis and n obles, when the nobles conspired against 
 him and he fled back to Cairo, The Caliph likewise returned and some 
 others and they purposed to make the Caliph Sultan, but he declined. 
 They therefore raised the son of al Ashraf to the throne and al Ashraf 
 concealed himself, till they seized him in the month of Du'l Kaa'dah. 
 
 In the same year the sun and moon were both eclipsed. The moon 
 was under eclipse on the 14th Shaa'ban, and the sun on the 28th of the 
 same month. 
 
 In the year 779 on the 4th Eabii' I, Tnbak al Badri the war minister 
 summoned Zakariya son of Ibrahim, son of al Mustamsik, son§ of the 
 Caliph al Hakim and bestowed on him a robe of honour and made him 
 Caliph without the formality of the oath of allegiance and without the 
 concurrence of the Faithful, and surnamed him al Musta'gim bi'llah. He 
 
 • Al Malik Husayn of Herat. 
 
 t The beginning of his rise and power is fixed by most historians in. 771 when 
 he received from Sultan Surghatmish Chaghtai the succession to the satrapy of 
 Samarkand and Transoxiana, and as he died in 807, this would make his reign 33 
 years. He was bom in 736. D'Herb. 
 
 X The MS. has here a marginal note j'^"^ *^i' e^J>*^ (20 eggs for a dinar). 
 § The word i^. is inadvertently omitted both in the MS. and Text, and in the 
 latter >-^l is written by a misprint for i-^iS'. 
 
[ 532 ] 
 
 A. H. 779 further ordered al Mutawakkil to be banished to Kds for certain things* 
 A. D. 1377. which he resented as having been done by him at the time of the assassina- 
 tion of al Ashraf. The Caliph set out but returned the next day to his 
 house and to the Caliphate on the 20th of the month, and al Musta'sim 
 was deposed, the duration of his Caliphate having been fifteen days. Al 
 Mutawakkil was the sixth of the Caliphs residing in Egypt who were 
 reinstated after some interruption of their Caliphate. This deposition 
 therefore was in accordance with custom. 
 
 In the year 782 a letter came from Aleppo stating that an Imam was 
 reading public prayers when a person made sport of him during his 
 praying, but he did not interrupt the prayers until he came to the end 
 and when he pronounced the benediction, the face of the jester was turned 
 into that of a hog and he fled to a forest in the neighbourhood. The 
 people were in wonder at this affair and a deposition was taken of it. 
 
 In the month of Safar {23rd) 783 al Mansur died and his brother 
 Haji son of al Ashraf succeeded him and was surnamed as Salih. In 
 Eamadhan (19th) 784 (2Gth Noveviber, 1382) as Salih was deposed and 
 Barkuk assumed the government and was surnamed ad Dhahir, and he 
 was the first Sultan of the Circassian race. In Rajab of 785, Barkuk 
 arrested the Caliph, deposed him and imprisoned him in the fortress on 
 the hill. Muhammad son of Ibrahim, son of al Mustamsik son of al 
 Hakim was then acknowledged Caliph and surnamed al Wathik bi'llah 
 and he continued in the Caliphate till he died on Wednesday the 17th 
 Shawwal, 788. The people then petitioned Barkuk to reinstate al Muta- 
 wakkil, but he refused and summoned the brother of Muhammad Zakariya, 
 he who had been appointed for a short period, — and swore fealty to him 
 and he was surnamed al Mu'tasimf bi'llah. He continued in ofiice until 
 the year 791. Barkuk then repented of what he had done to al Muta- 
 wakkil, and brought him out of confinement, restored him to the Caliphate 
 and deposed Zakariya. Zakariya continued to dwell in his private re- 
 sidence till he died while under deposition ; and al Mutawakkil remained 
 Caliph till his d'eath. 
 
 In the month of Jumada II, of the same year as Salih Haji was 
 restored to the dignity of Sultan and his surname was changed to al 
 Mansur. Barkuk was imprisoned at Kark. 
 
 • I'ntiak desired tlie Caliph to .pronounce the deposition of the SultAn in whose 
 place he sought to elect his own step son Ahmad. To justify this course he 
 asserted that Ahmad's mother was with child by the Sultdn H;isan an Na^ir before 
 her second marriage -with Yelboga al Chaski. The Caliph's refusal resulted in his 
 deposal. Weil, p. 633. 
 
 t Weil says that according to the best MS. he was surnamed al Mu'tasim {having 
 recourse to God) not al Musta'?im, (p. 122, Vol. II), The MS. has this reading but the 
 text, MuBta'?im, which is therefore incorrect. 
 
[ 533 ] 
 
 In the month of Shaa'ban of this year the Muazzins after the summons A. H. 791. 
 to prayer, introduced the prayer and the salutation upon the prophet, and A. D. 1389. 
 this was the first time it was introduced. It was done at the instance of 
 the Market inspector Najmu'ddin at Tumbudi. In the month of Safar 792 
 Barkiik was taken out of confinement and restored to power in which he 
 continued till his death (14<A) Shaww^l 801, {I9th June, 1399). He was 
 succeeded {XhiK) by his son Paraj who was surnamed an Nasir and he 
 remained in power till the 6th* Eabii' I. 808 {\st September, 1405) when 
 he was deposed from office and succeeded by his brother A'bdu'l A'ziz 
 surnamed al Mansdr. He was subsequently deposed on the 4tht Jumada 
 II, of the same year and an Nasir Faraj reinstated. In this year died the 
 Caliph al Mutawakkil on Tuesday night the 28th of Eajab, 808, (ISth 
 January, 1406.) 
 
 Of persons of note who died during the reign of al Mutawakkil were 
 as Shams-b-Muflih the doctor of the Hanbalites, as Salah as Safadi, as 
 Shihab b-u'n Nakib, al Muhibb the Commissary of the Forces, as Sharif 
 al Husayni the Hafidh, al Kutb at Takhtani, the chief Kadhi I'zzu'ddin-b- 
 Jamaa'h, at Taj-b-u's Subki and his brother Shaykh Bahau'ddin, al Jamal 
 al Asnawi, Ibn n's Saigh al Hanafi, al Jamdl-b-Nubatah, al A'fif al 
 Yafi'i, al Jamal as Sharishi, as 8haraf-b-Kadhi u'l Jabal, as Siraj al Hindi, 
 Ibn Abi Hajalah, the Hafidh Takiu'ddin-b-Rafi', the Hafidh I'madu'ddin- 
 b-Kathir, al U'nabi the grammarian, al Baha Abu'l Baka as Subki, as Shams- 
 b-Khatib Birdd, al I'mad al Husbd.ni, al Badr-b-Habib, ad Dhiya al 
 Karami, as Shihab al Adra'i, as Shaykh Akmal u'ddin, as Shaykh Saa'd 
 n'ddin at Taftazani, al Badr az Zarkashi, as Siraj-b-Malkan, as Siraj al 
 Balkini, and the Hafidh Zaynu'ddin al 'Iraki. 
 
 AL WATHIK BI'LLAH OMAE. 
 
 Al Wathik bi'llah Omar-b-Ibrahim son of the heir al Mustamsik son 
 of al Hakim, was acknowledged Caliph on the deposition of al Mutawak- 
 kil in the month of Eajab, 785, {September, 1383), and continued in the 
 Caliphate till he died on Wednesday the 19thJ Shawwal 788, {llth M- 
 vember, 1386.) 
 
 * According to "Weil, tlie 25th. 
 
 t 8th, Weil. 
 
 J The date has already been given (see page 532) as the 17th. The MS. and 
 Text both have the discrepancy. Weil does not give the date and I am unable to 
 determine which of the two is the correct one. According to the Calendric scales 
 for verifying dates published by the Asiatic Society, the 19th of Shawwal 788 fell on 
 a Tuesday, 
 
[ 534 ] 
 
 ,■ ' '„°; AL MU'TA'SIM BI'LL^i^H ZAKARrYA. 
 
 A. D. 1386. 
 
 Al Mu'tasim bi'llah Zakarfya. The son of Ibrahim the son of al 
 
 Mustamsik was acknowledged Caliph on the death of his brother al Wathik. 
 
 He was deposed in 791 (10th Jumada I — 5lh June, 1389) and remained afc 
 
 his residence in deposition until his death, and al Mutawakkil was restored 
 
 as has been previously mentioned. 
 
 AL MUSTATN BI'LLA'H ABITTi FADHL. 
 
 Al Musta'In bi'llah Abu'l Fadhl al A'bbas son of al Mutawakkil 
 whose mother was a Turkish slave named Bai Khattia, was acknowledged 
 Caliph according to his father's covenant in the month of Bajab, 808. The 
 S'ultan at the time was al Malik an N^sir Faraj. 
 
 When an Nasir set out to engage the Shaykh* in battle and was 
 defeated and fled, the Caliph was acknowledged as Sultan in addition to 
 the Caliphate. Tliis took place on (25th) MuharramSlS, {7th May, 1412). 
 He did not, however, assent to this, save after opposition and continuous 
 protest and receiving the engagement of the Emirs on oath.f He then 
 returned to Egypt accompanied by the Emirs and occupied himself in 
 appointing and removing ministers. The coinage was struck in his name 
 but his title remained unaltered. 
 
 The Shaykh u'l Islam Ibn Hajr wrote his famous poem on hira 
 which is as follows — 
 
 " The kingdom is on a sure foundation among us, 
 
 Through al Musta'in the Just the A'bbdside. 
 
 The dignity of the descendants of the uncle of Muhammad 
 
 Hath returned to its place after a long oblivion. 
 
 On the 2nd of the second Rabii' the auspicious, 
 
 On Tuesday, rejoicings were made. 
 
 For the coming of the people's guide, their trusted one, 
 
 Preserved from defect, pure in his utterances. 
 
 The lord of a house round which men circle. Hath it been ever 
 known 
 
 That he who sought it, hath been turned back disappointed ? 
 
 * Shaykh Mahmddi named hy Faraj to the government of Damascus. He after- 
 wards heoame Sultan under the title of al Malik al Muayyad. 
 
 + He bound them in the event of his deposition from the Salt&nate to maintain 
 him as Caliph. Weil, p. 126. 
 
[ 535 ] 
 
 A branch sprung from Hashim, in a garden A. H. 81 5. 
 
 Of holy plantations and goodly shoots ■A- T>- 1412. 
 
 Of the approved and selected of God, — the purchasers 
 
 Of praise, ornamented by and robed in it, 
 
 Among chiefs who have led calamities captive and purified 
 
 Themselves from contamination with the base. 
 
 Lions v?hen present in fight, and when retired 
 
 In their social gatherings are as deer in their coverts. 
 
 And his star-like radiance amongst them 
 
 Is like the full moon that riseth in darkness. 
 
 And in his hand when attaching the sign manual, 
 
 A pen that irradiates like the flash of a spark. 
 
 And in his countenance, for such as approach, are smiles 
 
 That are sought, and for the honour of al A'bbas. 
 
 Then praise be to God who hath exalted His religion 
 
 After it had been in desolation, 
 
 By noble chiefs the pillars of greatness, 
 
 Between seekers of retaliation and the beneficent. 
 
 They rise with the burdens of noble qualities and ascend 
 
 To lofty dignities, the lordly, the steadfast. 
 
 They have left their enemies prostrate on the field of ruin, 
 
 And may God guard them from the temptations of tlie evil one. 
 
 And their Imam through his greatness precedeth them. 
 
 Like the precedence of the name of God upon a document. 
 
 And were not the ordering of the kingdom under his guidance, 
 
 The condition of men in the kingdom would not endure. 
 
 And how many a prince before him hath sought eminence, 
 
 Which, notwithstanding his exertions, cast him back in poverty. 
 
 Until he alone attained dignities, being meet for them, 
 
 Which have yielded to him after much refractoriness. 
 
 The hands of princes are submissive to him and are obedient 
 
 The fingers of the Meter of the Egyptian Nile. 
 
 For it is he who hath repelled evil from us. 
 
 In the world would evil abound were it not for him. 
 
 He hath effaced tyranny which embraced all princes 
 
 In every part and of all kinds. 
 
 By the deposition ofVae recreant* called, in opposition to his deeds, 
 
 The Defender, (an JSfdsir) insecure of foundation. 
 
 How many gifts of God were his 
 
 Which were as though remote or in oblivion. 
 
 The mystery of evil never ceaseth to be within his sides 
 
 « Tlie Sultan Faraj al Malik an Najir. 
 
[ 536 ] 
 
 A. H. 815. As fire, or his companionship with the sepulchres. 
 
 A. D. 1412. What wickedness hath he not done, the sins of which are upon him 
 
 Till the day of resurrection ? He shall have none to mourn for 
 him. 
 
 He huilt its pillars in deceit, yet 
 
 In fraud were they built without foundation. 
 
 Every man is forgotten or remembered but once, 
 
 But he shall not be forgotten for evil. 
 
 The God of nations prolonged his days, so that 
 
 When they seized him, the bitterness of the cup of death did not 
 * pass him by. 
 
 And the Lord hath given us instead of him, a prince 
 
 Whose days are exalted beyond computation. 
 
 Mecca and the earth have heard the good tidings, 
 
 From the East unto the West, from U'dayb* to Fez. 
 
 The signs of his glory none shall seek to disown 
 
 Among men, but the wicked fool. 
 
 The virtues of al A'bbas have never been united 
 
 Save in his descendant, the A'bbaside, king of men. 
 
 And the sway of al Musta'in, shall renounce 
 
 No more in his kingdom, the thankless, the forgetful. 
 
 For after the sons of Umayya 
 
 In past times, came the sons of A'bbas. 
 
 And he of the Scarf of the sons of Umayya came raising up 
 
 Justice, after the destroyer,J the base. 
 
 My prince, thy servant hath come to thee, hoping 
 
 For thy acceptance, let it not be accounted ill. 
 
 And were it not for awe of thee, his praises would be longer, 
 
 Wherefore hath he brought them in a balance. 
 
 May the God of mankind cause thy glory to endure 
 
 Guarded in justice by the God of mankind. 
 
 And mayest thou live to hear praises from thy servant, 
 
 For were it not for thee he would endure sorrow. 
 
 A servant, pure in affection who chants as he drives his camel 
 
 And rwasfrom zeal upon his eyes before his head.§ 
 
 His praises of the posterity of the house of Muhammad 
 
 Are words of fragrant musk among men." 
 
 • Sweet -waters belonging to the Banu Tamim, four miles from ^adisi'yah, 
 which is 15 parasanga from Kufah. 
 
 t Omar-b-A'bdi'l A'ziz. 
 
 t A'bdu'l Malik-b-MarwAn. 
 
 § The words in this line have nearly all double meanings, being plays upon the 
 Meccan pilgrimage. 
 
[ 537 ] 
 
 When al Musta'in reached Egypt he took up his residence in the A. H. 815. 
 fort, and the Shaykh {MahmudiJ in the stables, and al Musta'in consigned A. D. 141.2, 
 to his care the administration of the sovereignty throughout the land of 
 Egypt and surnamed him Nidham u'l Mulk. The nobles when they were 
 released from duty at the palace, used to attend the Shaykh at the stables 
 and their respects were next paid to him, and in his presence the business 
 of administration was carried on. Then his Chancellor waited on al 
 Musta'in where the signature was attached to royal mandates and letters. 
 It was then represented that the Caliph was not empowered to attach the 
 sign manual to a document except after it had been shown to the Shaykh. 
 The Caliph was now in trepidation and his heart was straitened and his 
 disquietude increased. Now when it was the month of Shaa'ban, the 
 Shaykh demanded of the Caliph that he should resign the Sultanate into 
 his hands according to custom. The Caliph assented on the condition that 
 he might come down from the citadel into his own residence (^ist Shaa'ban, 
 815 — 6th JVovember, 1412) but to that the Shaykh would not consent, and 
 usurped the Sultanate and assumed the title of al Muayyad, and he public- 
 ly proclaimed the deposition of al Musta'in and acknowledged as Caliph 
 his brother Dauiid (I6th Dul Hijjah, 8 lQ—7th March, 1414) , Al Musta'in 
 was transferred from the palace to one of the houses of the citadel, and 
 his people with him, and guards were appointed to prevent his access to 
 the people. When this reached Nauruz, governor of Syria, he assembled 
 the judges and the doctors and asked their judicial decision regarding 
 what al Muayyad had done in deposing the Caliph and imprisoning him. 
 They gave sentence that it was unlawful, and it was agreed to give battle 
 to al Muayyad. The latter set out against Nauruz in the year 717 A. H. and 
 despatched al Musta'in to Alexandria. He remained there imprisoned 
 until the reign of Tatar* when he was released and permitted to proceed 
 to Cairo, but he preferred to reside in Alexandria which place was agree- 
 able to him and where he received considerable sums from the merchants 
 and he continued to reside there until he died, in the cause of God,t of 
 the plague in Jumada II, 813. The following were among the remarkable 
 events of his reign. In the year 712, the Nile began its rise on the first 
 day of the month of Masuri,J and it reached a maximum of twenty-two 
 
 • According to Weil, until the reign of Barsabai (825) . 
 
 t The term "H-frw a martyr, is applied by the Prophet to such Muslims who 
 die of colic, or who are drowned, or killed by a falliag building, or die of pleurisy, or 
 pestilence, and to a woman dying in pregnancy. 
 
 % The Coptic month, answering to August, beginning on the 26th July. The rise of 
 the Nile begins in the month of Abib or July and continues till September. At that 
 period, Egypt, as its historian Abu'l Mahaain says, glitters like a white pearl. The follow- 
 ing three months it appears Uke black musk, as the waters disappear. The next three 
 months, it is like a rich emerald from the sprouting of the vegetation, an(3. 4i;ring the 
 68 
 
[ 538 ] 
 
 A. H. 815. cubits.* 
 
 A. D, 1412. In the year 714, Ghiyathu'ddin (Mahmud TugUah) Aa'zam Shah-b- 
 
 Sikandar emperor of Hindustan sent to the Caliph for his investiture 
 of sovereignty and sent him a large sum and a present to the Sultan. 
 
 Among the remarkable personages who died during his Caliphate were 
 al MuwajEk an Nashiri the poet of Yaman, Naaru'Uah of Baghdad a doctor 
 of the Hanbalites, Shams u'l Mu'id the grammarian of Mecca, Shihab 
 u'l Husbani, Shihab u'n Ndshiri the jurisconsult of Taman, Ibn u'l 
 Haim author of the law of Inheritances and their computation, Ibn u'l 
 A'fif, the poet of Yaman, and al Muhibb Ibn al Shahnah the Hanafi 
 jurisconsult, father of the Kadhi of the troops, 
 
 AL MUA'TADHID BI'LLAH ABIT'L PATH. 
 
 Al Mua'tadhid bi'lldh Abu'l Fath Daulid-b-u'l Mutawakkll, whose 
 mother was a Turkish slave named Kazal, was acknowledged Caliph on 
 the death of his brother in the year 815t A. H : the Sultan being al 
 Muayyad who continued such till his death in Muharram 824. J His son 
 Ahmad was then invested with the Sultanate and surnamed al MudhafEar 
 who appointed Tatar§ his first minister. In the month of Shaa'ban (29^A 
 August, 1421) Tatar arrested him, whereupon the Caliph invested "Tatar 
 with the Sultanate and he was surnamed ad Dhahir. In Dul Hijjah 
 {isth) of the same year Tatar died, and his son Muhammad was invested 
 and surnamed as Salih who appointed Barsabai|| his first minister. 
 Subsequently Barsabai fell upon as Salih and deposed him, and the Caliph 
 
 last three months froiH the ripening of the crops it ia like molten gold. Abu'l Malia* 
 Tom I, p. 32, The names of the Coptic months and the Syrian that correspond with 
 them will be found here, 
 
 * A'bdu'l Latif in his account of Egypt gives 13 cubits as the minimum height 
 requisite for the wants of Egypt, 19 cubits is rarely reached, and 20 is an excessive rise. 
 Lib. II, Cap. I. 
 
 t According to "Weil, 16th Dul Hijjah, 816, 7th March, 1414, 
 
 X 8th Muharram, 823, 13th January, 1421, Weil. 
 
 § A Circassian, educated in theology and jurisprudence by a slave dealer. He 
 was purchased by the Sultan Barkuk for 12,000 dirhams, He was given his freedom by 
 Sultan Faraj and thus gradually rose to power. See Weil, Gesch. A'bb. Khal. Egypt, 
 Volj II, p. 161. 
 
 II Also a slave originally of the Emir Dokmak governor of Malatya who made 
 a present of him to SultjAn Bar^:uk. All the Sult&na since the last, with the exception 
 of al Mu?ta'in had been Circassians, Weil writes the name, I think incorrectly, Bura- 
 bai. It ia of Chaldoio origin signifying the son (^Bar) of Sabai, 
 
[ 539 ] 
 
 invested him with the Sultaaate in {8th) Eabii' II, 825 in which he A. H. 841. 
 continued till his death {IQth.) in Du'l Hijjah, 841 {7th June, 1438), where- A. D. 1438. 
 on his son Yusuf received the investiture and the title of al A'ziz who 
 named as his first minister Jakmak; the latter then fell upon al A'ziz and 
 arrested him in Eabii' I. {\.Qth) 842 and the Caliph gave him the inves- 
 titure and he was surnamed ad Dhahir in whose reign the Caliph died. 
 
 Al Mua'tadhid was one of the first of the Caliphs in merit, aeuteness 
 and sagacity. He courted the society of men of letters and genius, and 
 profited much by them and associated himself with them in their works. 
 He was extremely liberal and munificent. He died on Sunday the 4th of 
 Eabii' I, 845 {22nd July, 1441), being according to Ibn Hajr, nearly 
 seventy years of age, but his brother's daughter informed me that he lived 
 63 years. 
 
 The following are among the remarkable events of his reign. 
 
 In 816 Sadru'ddin-b-al Admi held the inspectorship of markets in 
 addition to the office of Kadhi and he was the first who held the two 
 together. In the year 819 Mankali Bugha assumed it and he was the first 
 among the Turks in the world who held the post of inspector. In the 
 same year a man appeared in Egypt who pretended that he had ascended 
 into heaven and had seen the Most High and spoken with him, and 
 many of the common* people believed in him. A meeting was therefore 
 convened regarding him, and he was asked to retract but he refused to 
 retract : then the M.3M^\ jurisconsult posted an order for his death on the 
 testimony of two persons that he was of sane mind, but a number of 
 doctors of medicine asserted that he was of unsound mind ; he was there- 
 fore confined in the hospital. 
 
 In the year 821 a buffalo at Bilbays gave birth to a young one with 
 two heads and two necks and four forefeet, and the two connecting portions 
 of the back and quarters in one, and two legs only, and the tail divided in 
 two which was a wonder of creation. In the year 822 a great earthquake 
 occurred at Arzankanf in which a number of people perished. During the 
 same, was completed the Muayyadiyah College and Shams-b-al Mudiri 
 was appointed head professor ; the Sultan attended his lectures and Ibra- 
 him the son of the Sultan arranged the spreading of the Shaykh's praying 
 carpet with his own hand. In the year 823 a camel was killed at Ghazzah 
 and its flesh shone as shines a candle, and a piece of it was thrown to a 
 dog but it would not eat it. In the year 824 the Nile continued at its 
 full till the end of the month Hatur J and thus many of the sown fields 
 were submerged. In the year 825 Fatimah daughter of the Kadhi Jalal- 
 
 • The text has (♦■'[>* the MS. f L>*. 
 t Erzinjan, in Armenia. 
 J November. 
 
[ 540 ] 
 
 A. H. 825. u'ddin al Balkini gave birth to a child with two extra hands to his palms 
 A D. 1422. and horns on its head like the horns of a bull, but it died after a little 
 while. During the same, Cairo was shaken by a slight earthquake, and 
 also the Nile began its rise on the 28th o£ Abib.* 
 
 Among the remarkable personages who died during his reign were, 
 as Shihab-b-Haji the juriscousult of Syria, Burhan-b-Eifaa'h the scholar, 
 az Zayn Abu Bakr al Maraghi the jurisconsult of Medina and its professor 
 of tradition, al Husam al Abiwardi, al Jamal-b-Dhahirah Hafidh of 
 Mecca, al Majd as 8hirazi author of the Kamiis, Ehalaf an Nahriri one 
 of the greatest of the Maliki doctors, as Shams-h-u'l Babbani one of the 
 greatest of the Hanafites, Abu Hurayrah-b-u'n Nakkash, al Wanughi, 
 'Izzu'ddin-b Jamaa'h the preceptor, Ibn u'l Hisham al A'jami, as Salah 
 al Akfashi,t as Shihab al Ghazzi one of the doctors of the Shaft' ites, al 
 Jalal al Balkini, al Burhan al Bijiiri, al Wall al I'rdki, as Shams-b-al 
 Mudiri, as Sharaf al Eabbani, al A'la-bu'l Mua'Ua, Badr b-u'd Damamlni, 
 at Taki al Hasini the commentator of Abu Shujaa', al Harawi, as Siraj 
 reader of the Hidayah, an Najm-b-Haji, al Badr al Bushtaki, as Shams 
 al Barmawi, As Shams as Shatanufi, at Taki al Fasi, az Zayn al Kimani, 
 an Nidham Yahya as Sirafi, KaraJ Yaklib ar Bumi, as Sharaf-b-Muftih 
 the Hanbalite, as Sliams-b-al Kushayri, Ibn al Jazri, a teacher of 
 reading of the Kurdn, Ibn u'l Khatib ad Dahashah, as Shihab al Abshiti, 
 az Zayn at Tafihni, al Badr al Mukaddasi, as Sharaf-b-u'l Mukri the 
 scholar of Yaman, author of the U'nwan u's Sharaf, § at Taki-b-Hijjah 
 the poet, al Jalal al Murshidi the grammarian of Mecca, al Humam 
 as Shirazi the pupil of as Sharif, al Jamal-b-u'l Khayyat the scholar of 
 Yaman, al Bu§iri the traditionist, as Shihab-b-al Muhammirah, al 
 A'la al Bukhari, as Shams al Bisati', al Jamdl al Kazriini, the scholar 
 of Medina, al Muhibb al Baghdadi al Hanbali, as Shams-b-A'mmar 
 and others. 
 
 AL MUSTAKFI BI'LLAH ABITE BABri*. 
 
 Al Mustakfi bi'Uah Abu'r Babii' Sulayman-b-u'l Mutawakkil assumed 
 the Caliphate by the covenant of his brother al MuaHadhid, who was his 
 uterine brother. My father, may God have mercy upon him, drafted the 
 
 • De Saoy writes thia word VW' Epiphi. See his L' Egypte. A'bdu'l Latif. 
 t The text has Af kahsi which is inoorreot. Akfaha is a town in Upper Egypt. 
 
 ?' 
 % Not ir* as Id the text. 
 
 § IJ'nwda us Sharaf al Wdfi (a HiU of ample nobility) a work on jurisprudence, 
 
 grammar, history and prosody. tj[(iji KhaUfah has a short notice of this work. 
 
[ 541 ] 
 
 original covenant which was in this form. " This is the deed wherehy A. H. 815. 
 testifieth upon his noble person, which may God preserve, defend and A. D. 1441. 
 protect and guard from afflictions, our lord and prince, in whom are 
 centred dignities, princely, pure, stainless, pontifical, sublime, of the line 
 of A'bbas, the prophetical, the Ood strengthened, the prince of the 
 Faithful, the descendant of the Cliief of the Apostles, and the heir of the 
 orthodox Caliphs, al Mua'tadhid bi'llah Abu'l Fath Dauud, may the 
 Lord exalt the faith through him and prosper Islam and the Muslims by 
 his long life, — that he hath made this covenant in favour of his uterine 
 brother, the sublime seat of dignity, the learned doctor, the noble, the 
 princely, high in rank and birth, of royal descent, my lord Abu'r Eabii' 
 Sulayman al Mustakfi bi'llah, may God increase his dignity, for the sub- 
 lime Caliphate and hath appointed him Caliph after him, and placed him 
 as an Imam over the Muslims, according to covenant, legally, with full 
 trust and approval, to counsel the faithful, and for the fulfilment of what 
 is obligatory upon him for the due government of the affairs of those who 
 believe in one God, and to follow the traditions of the orthodox Caliphs 
 and rightly -guided Imams ; and this, because "of what he knoweth of his 
 faith, and goodness, and rectitude and sufficiency and fi^tness, and capabili- 
 ty, forasmuch as he hath tested his condition, and become acquainted 
 with his heart and verily he is one through whom one serveth God* 
 for he is the most God-fearingf of any he hath seen and verily he knoweth 
 of nothing that hath emanated from him which impaireth his claim there- 
 unto : and verily were he to leave the State uncontrolled without commit- 
 ting it to the care of the above referred to, he would thereby bring trouble 
 upon those who have authority to loose and bind in the choice of whom 
 they should appoint to the Imamate and approve for that office : he hath, 
 therefore, hastened to the escecution of this covenant out of compassion to 
 them and for the purpose of freeing them from this charge and that the 
 supreme authority might fall to one worthy of it, because of his knowledge 
 that this covenant is not in need of the approval of the whole of the people 
 concerned in it : but it is incumbent upon him who heareth it and it is a 
 charge upon him, that he should become acquainted with it and enjoin 
 obedience to it at such time aa it may be required, and summon the people 
 to submit to it. Those, therefore, that have been present at it by his 
 gracious permission, have ratified this respecting it, and previous to this, 
 my lord al Mustakfi Abu'r Eabii' Sulayman who is mentioned in it— -may 
 Grod increase his dignity — hath written his f uU acquiescence according to 
 law, at his command." 
 
 ■"ii ■' ^ i"/( '^•*" 
 • Compare the tradition of AU *J ""•" J'^. ^ji^ *U1»J| &as* The love of the 
 
 learned is a religion through which God is served." 
 
 t The MS. has ^^■'l \J^'^ a better reading than the text, ««^ i^*J|, 
 
[ 542 ] 
 
 A. H. 845. He was one of the most virtuous of the Caliphs, pious, devout, 
 
 A. D. 1441. religious, constant in worship and prayer and reading the Kurdn given to 
 silence, shunning the society of men, of excellent disposition. His brother 
 AI Mua'ta'dhid said of him " I have never known a serious fault in my 
 brother Sulaynian since he grew up :" and al Malik ad Dhahir had full 
 confidence in him and recognised his worth. My father was his Imam 
 and held a distinguished position in his regard, intimate with him and 
 extremely honoured by him. As for us, we were brought up in his house and 
 under his bounty, and his family are excellent in faith, devotion and virtue, 
 and I do not think that there will be found on the face of the earth a 
 Caliph, after the descendants of Omar-b-A'bdi'l A'ziz, more virtuous than 
 those of the house of this Caliph. 
 
 He died on Friday the close of Du'l Hijjah* 854, being sixty-three 
 years old : my father outlived him by forty days, and the Sultan attended 
 the funeral to the grave and carried the bier in person. 
 
 Among the distinguished persons who died during his reign loere at 
 Taki al Makrizi, as Shaykh I'badah, Ibn Kamil, the poet, al Wafai, 
 al Kayani, and the Shaykh u'l Islam Ibn Hajr. 
 
 AL KA'IM BI'AMEI'LLA'H ABU'L BAKA. 
 
 Al KAim bi'amri'Uah Abu'l Baka, Hamzah-b-ul Mutawakkil, was 
 acknowledged Caliph in succession to his brother, who had not however, 
 bequeathed it to him or to any other. He was hardy and intrepid, and 
 restored somewhat of the pomp of the Caliphate, and he possessed a haughti- 
 ness of manner unlike his brothers. During his ' time, died al Malik al 
 Dhahir Jakmak in the beginning of the year 857, and his son Othman was 
 invested and surnamed al Mansiir, and he so continued for a month and a 
 half. Then fnalf fell upon al Manstir and seized his person, whereupon 
 the Caliph invested him in Eabii' I {fird — \^th March 1453) and he was 
 surnamed al Ashraf. Shortly after a rupture occurred between the Caliph 
 and al Ashraf on account of a risingj of the troops against him, he there- 
 fore deposed him from the Caliphate in the month of Jumada II, 859 {June 
 1455) and sent him to Alexandria and there imprisoned him till his death 
 
 « Muharram 865. Weil. 
 
 t The textha^ J^i'l whicli is incorrect. The MS. has J^lt and Weil's autho- 
 rity oonfirms it. 
 
 X An outbreak of the Mamelukes on account of a sufficient number of camels of 
 transport not being allowed them for the expedition to the Delta, which was favoured 
 by the Caliph, occasioned the rupture. 
 
[ 543 ] 
 
 in 863,* and he was buried near the tomb of the sister of al Musta'in. A. H. 859. 
 What is strange regarding these nterine brothers, is that they were both A. D. 1455. 
 deposed from the Caliphate, both imprisoned at Alexandria, and both there 
 baried. 
 
 My father and al A'la al Kalakshandi were the only ones of note who 
 died during the reign of al Kdim. 
 
 AL MUSTANJID BI'LLAH, THE REIGNING CALIPH. 
 ABUL MAHASIN. 
 
 Al Mustanjid bi'llah Abul Mahasin Yusuf-b-u'l Mutawakkil succeeded 
 to the Caliphate on the deposition of his brother, the Sultan at the time 
 being al Ashraf Tnal. The Sultan died in the year 865 (15th Jumada 
 I — 2Qth I'eiruary 146 y and his son Ahmad was invested and surnamed al 
 Muwayyad. Subsequently Khushkadamf set upon al Muwayyad and seized 
 him and the Oaliph invested him and he was surnamed ad Dhahir, and con- 
 tinued in power till his death in Eabii' 872 {lOth — Qth October, 1467), 
 BalbaiJ was next invested with office and surnamed ad Dhahir, but the 
 army rebelled against him after two months and seized him, whereupon 
 Timurbugha was raised to power and surnamed ad Dhahir, and they set 
 upon him likewise after two months when the present Sultan Kaitbai was 
 invested (6^A iJo/aJ — Q\.st January 1468) and surnamed al Ashraf and 
 his authority became established and his administration has attained 
 a vigour and firmness equalled by no Sultan before him since the 
 time of an Nasir Muhammad-b-Kilawan, for he journeyed from Egypt 
 to the Euphrates with a very slender escort of the troops, there not being 
 among them a single one among his trusty commanders. As an instance 
 of his excellent conduct, he never appointed a holder of a religious office, 
 such as the judges and elders and professors except from the most worthy 
 at the time, after long thought and deliberation, so that an office remained 
 vacant for many months, and he never appointed a Kadhi or a Shaykh 
 on any occasion, for a bribe. When Khushkadam first assumed power, 
 Janim§ governor of Syria advanced to Egypt under a private understand- 
 ing between him and the troops regarding his assumption of the Sultanate 
 When news q/his approach reached ad Dhahir, he ordered the Caliph and 
 
 * 17tli Shawwdl 862— 28th August 1458. "Weil. 
 
 t He was first of the Mameluke Sultans, among whom he was the thirty-eighth, 
 whose origin is known to he undoubtedly Greek. 
 
 % Weil has Jelbai, but the MS. ia in aocordauce with the text. 
 § The text has inaccurately ^Jt'^. 
 
[ 544 ] 
 
 A. H. 872. the four IJadhis and the troops to mount to the citadel, and he sent to 
 A. D 1468. the governor of Syria insisting on his departure, who departed after mak- 
 ing certain conditions.* The Kadhis and the troops returned to their 
 quarters, but the Caliph remained a resident in the citadel, and the Sultan 
 would not permit his return to his accustomed residence. He therefore 
 remained there till he died on Saturday the 24th of Muharram, 884 (2lsi 
 April, 1479) after suffering for about two years from paralysis. Prayers 
 were read over him in the citadel, and he was then borne to the sepulchre 
 of the Caliphs in the vicinity of the Nafisi shrine.f He had reached the 
 age of ninety and perhaps passed it. 
 
 AL MUTAWAKKIL A'LA'LLAH ABIT'L I'ZZ. 
 
 Al Mutawatkil a'la'Uah Abu'l I'zz A'bdu'l A'ziz-b-Yakdb-b-i'l Muta- 
 wakkil a'la'Uah was born in the year 819. His mother, whose name was 
 Haj Malik, was the daughter of a soldier. His father never succeeded 
 to the Caliphate. He grew up, reverenced, popular, beloved by gentle and 
 simple, for his admirable qualities, and commendable virtues, and meekness 
 and kind behaviour and geniality to every one, and for his manifold accom- 
 plishments. He also employed himself in acquiring knowledge and read 
 with my father and others. His uncle al Mustakfi married him to his 
 daughter, and he had by her, a virtuous son, a Hashimite son among the 
 descendants of Hashim. Now when the sickness of his uncle al Mustanjid 
 had continued some time, he bequeathed the Caliphate to him, and when al 
 Mustanjid died, he was sworn fealty to on Monday the 26th of Muharram 
 {23rd April) in the presence of the SultAn and the judges and the nobles. 
 
 He first desired the title of al Musta'in bi'Uah ; then he hesitated 
 between al Musta'in and al Mutawakkil, and al Mutawakkil was finally 
 decided upon. He then rode from the citadel to his accustomed residence, 
 preceded by the judges and administrative officials and nobles, and it was 
 a " day upon which witness was borne" (Kur. XI). Then he returned 
 at the end of the day to the citadel where al Mustanjid used to dwell. 
 
 In this year the Sultan al Malik al Ashraf journeyed to Hijdz to 
 perform the pilgrimage, which was a function that had not been witnessed 
 in a Sultan for more than one hundred years. He began by visiting 
 Medina the noble, and spent there six thousand dinars ; he then proceeded 
 to Mecca, and there spent five thousand dinars, and appointed for the 
 
 • These were that the SultSn should support Janim against a religious faction 
 of the Emirs at Damascus which the Sultan promised and performed, p. 293, Weil. 
 f See note f p. 509. 
 
[ 545 J 
 
 college which he founded at Mecca, a Shaykh, and a Siifi, and he performed A. H. 885. 
 the pilgrimage and returned, and the city was decked out for some days in A. D. 1480. 
 honor of his arrival. 
 
 In the year 885,* an army, at the head of which was the Chancellor 
 Yeshbek, left Egypt for I'rdk, and there encountered the troops of Yakiib 
 Shah b-Hasanf near Euha ; the Egyptians were defeated and there were 
 slain of them, those that were slain, and the rest were taken prisoners : 
 the Chancellor was captured and his head sttuck ofE. This occurred in the 
 latter half of the month of Ramadhan. 
 
 It is a strange coincidence that a great rupture had taken place 
 between him and the Hanafite Kidhi Shamsu'ddin al Amshati in Egypt, 
 and each of them desired the fall of the other, and the beheading of the 
 Chancellor on the banks of the Euphrates and the death of al Amshdti in 
 Egypt occurred on the same day. 
 
 In the year 886, the earth was convulsed on Sunday the 17th of 
 Muharram late in the afternoon with a severe shock, and the earth and the 
 mountains and the edifices rose and fell, and it continued for a short 
 time and then ceased, praise he to God for its ceasing. Prom this cause, 
 a pinnacle of the Salihiyah College fell upon the chief Hanafite Kadhi 
 Sharafu'ddin-b-A'bd, and he was killed. " Verily we belong to God and 
 verily to Him shall we return." In Eabii' I of this year, a man arrived 
 in Egypt from India called Khaki who asserted that his age was two 
 hundred and fifty years. I went to see him and lo ! he was a robust man, 
 his beard all black ; reasonable conjecture would not admit that his age 
 was seventy, far less anything beyond it, and he could bring no proof in 
 support of what he asserted, and what I concluded was that he was a liar. 
 As to what I heard from him it was this : he said that he had made the pil- 
 grimage when he was eighteen years old ; he then returned to India and 
 there heard of the advance of the Tartars on Baghdad to capture it ; and 
 then he travelled to Egypt in the feign of Sultan Hasan, before he had 
 founded his college, but he never brought forward anything which satis- 
 factorily explained his statement. 
 
 During the same "year came the news of the death of Sultan Muham- 
 mad-b-Othman, the lord of Asia Minor, and that his two sons disputed 
 
 • According to Weil, 887. 
 
 f He was one of the sons of TJsun Hasan, first ruler of Diartekir and who suhse- 
 quently extended his authority over a great part of Persia. He was of the dynasty 
 of the White Sheep, defeated and slew Shah Jahan the chief of the Black Sheep, took 
 Azarhijan and the western portion of Khurasdn and measured swords even with 
 Muhammad II. He sustained a crushing defeat at the hands of the Turkish Sultan 
 in the spring of 1473, the victory being mainly due to the Turkish artillery. Weil 
 Tom. II, p. 340. 
 69 
 
[ 546 ] 
 
 A. H. 886. the sovereignty with each other. One* of them was victorious and 
 A. D. 1481. established himself in the kingdom and the other set out for Egypt. The 
 Sultan received him with great honor and entertained him. He afterwards 
 proceeded from Syria to Hijaz, making the pilgrimage. 
 
 In the month of Shawwal letters arrived from Medina the noble, stating 
 that on the night of the 13th of Eamadhan, a thunderbolt fell from 
 heaven upon the city and set it on fire, and burnt the roof of the holy 
 mosque and all the treasures and books in it and nothing was left of it 
 but the walls, and it was a terrible calamity.f 
 
 The Caliph died on Wednesday the last day of Muharram 903, (29<A 
 September 1497) and bequeathed the Caliphate to his son^Yakub and gave 
 him the title of al Mustamsik bi'llah. This is the conclusion of what 
 has been obtainable for compilation in this history, and verily for the 
 events thereof, I have relied on the history of ad Dababi which ends with 
 the year 700 : after that ia^e, on the history of Ibn Kathir';, which '"ends 
 with the year 738 : then on the Masalik and its supplement, to the year 
 773 : then on the Inba u'l Ghumr {teaching of the unlearned) of Ibn 
 Hajr to the year 850 : but for other matters than these events, I perused 
 the history of Baghdad by al Khatib in ten volumes, and the history of 
 Damascus by Ibn A'sakir in fifty-seven volumes, and the Awrak of as 
 Suliin seven volumes, and the Tayyliriydt in three volumes, 'and the Hulyah 
 of Abu Nuaym in nine volumes, and the Mujdlasat of ad Dinawari, and the 
 Kamil of al Mubarrad in two volumes, and the Amali of Thaa'Iab in one 
 volume and others. A former author has written a poem in the metre 
 called Eajaz, containing the names of the Caliphs and the dates of their 
 deaths up to the reign of al Mua'tamid, but I have composed a poem still 
 better than it, and I think it advisable to conclude the book with it. 
 
 Note. 
 
 I have not thought it necessary to translate this rhj^hmioal memoria teohnioa, 
 which is a bald repetition of names and dates with here and there an incident recalling 
 an event in the life of a Caliph. As a piece of doggerel by which to recollect the 
 
 * Bajazet II, who succeeded to the sovereignty in 1481, his elder brother Mustafa 
 having died. Jam, the third son, was twice defeated by Bajazet and forced to fly to the 
 Sultan of Egypt for succour on the pretence of pilgrimage. Assisted by his new ally 
 he again tempted fortime, was again routed and took refuge with Pierre D'Aubusson, 
 Grand Master of the Knights of Malta at Rhodes. Bajazet concluded a treaty with 
 the latter, paying him an annual sum of 40,000 crowns of gold on condition of his 
 safe custody of his brother. See D'Herbelot. Art. Geiil. 
 
 t Kaitbai, though of a fiercce and brutal disposition, -who had no hesitation in 
 mangUng and flaying jOhe objects of his anger, burst into tears when he heard of this 
 conflagration. Sea hia character in Weil, Vol, II, p. 857. 
 
[ 547 ] 
 
 Buooession of the Calipha, it might be of some use to a Muhammadan student, hut no 
 English reader would care to learn by heart what an Index will readily supply him 
 with, in a form which no poetry could render tolerable to the ear and which must be 
 tedious in the most poetical of prose. 
 
 The Umayyad Dynasty in Spain. 
 
 The first of these monaroha was A'bdu'r Eahman-b-Mu'awiyah-b- 
 Hisham-b-A'bdi'l Malik-b-Marwan. Allegiance was sworn to him as 
 Caliph when he fled to Andalasia in the year 138 A. H. (755 A. D.) He was 
 a man of learning and justice. He died in Eabii' II, 170 (786). His son 
 Hisham Abu'l Walid succeeded him and died in the month of Safar 180. 
 (796). He was succeeded by his son al Hakam Abu'l Mudhaffar, surnamed 
 al Murtadha who died in Du'l Hijjah 206, (821). After him came his 
 son A'bdu'r Rahman, and he was the first of the Umayyads who exalted 
 the monarchy, and clothed it with the splendour of the Caliphate. During 
 his reign the wearing of embroidered garments was first introduced in 
 Spain, and the coinage of dirhams, for no mint existed in it since it was 
 conquered by the Arabs, and they used to employ the dirhams that were 
 brought to them from the East. He resembled Walid-b- A'bdu'l Malik in his 
 haughtiness, and al Mamiin the A'bbasside in his search for books on 
 philosophy. He was the first who introduced the study of philosophy 
 into Spain. He died in the year 239, (853). His son Muhammad succeed- 
 ed him, and died in Safar 273 (886). His eon al Mundir followed him, 
 dying in Safar 275. Then arose his brother A'bdu'llah, who was the most 
 eminent of the Caliphs of Spain for his wisdom and virtue. He died in 
 Eabii' I, 300 (912). He was succeeded by his grandson A'bdu'r Eahmaa- 
 b-Muhammad, surnamed an Nasir and he was the first who assumed the 
 Caliphate in Spain and the title of prince of the Faithful. This took 
 place when the A'bbasside power in the reign of al Muktadir was on the 
 wane : those before his time calling themselves prince {Amir) only. He 
 died in Eamadhan 350 (961). He was succeeded by his son al Hakam al 
 Mustansir who died in Safar 366 (976). Then came his son Hisham al 
 Muayyad, who was deposed and imprisoned in 399 (1008-9). Next 
 followed Muhammad-b-Hisham-b-A'bdi'l Jabbar-b-i'n Nasir A'bdu'r Eah- 
 mdn and he was surnamed al Mahdi, continuing in power sixteen months, 
 when the son of his brother, Hisham-b-Sulaymah-b-i'n Nasir A'bdu'r 
 Eahman rebelled against him and was acknowledged Caliph and assumed 
 the title of ar Eashid. His uncle, however, defeated and slew him, but 
 the people conspired to depose his uncle who concealed himself, but was 
 afterwards put to death. They then swore allegiance to the son of the 
 brother of the murdered Hisham, Sulayman-b-u'l Hakam al Mustansir, 
 who was surnamed al Musta'in. Subsequently they rose up against him, 
 
[ 548 ] 
 
 and he was imprisoned in the year 406 (1016). Then A'bdu'r Eahman- 
 b-A'bdi'l Malik-b-i'n Nasir succeeded and was surnamed al Murtadha, but 
 he was put to death at the close of the year. At this period the Umayyad 
 power began to wane and the A'liide family of Hasan arose, and an Nasir 
 A'li*-b-Hamud assumed the sovereignty in Muharram of the year 407, 
 (1016). He was slain in Du'l Kaa'dah 408. Then followed his brother 
 al Mamun al Kasim : he was deposed in the year 411. Next arose his 
 nephew Yahya-b-u'n Nasir A'li-b-Hamud, who was surnamed al Mustaa'li 
 and he was put to death after a year and seven months. 
 
 After this the Umayyad dynasty was restored and al Mustadhir 
 A'bdu'r Eahman-b-Hisham-b-A'bdi'l Jabbar assumed the sovereignty : he 
 was slain after fifty days, and Muhammad-b-A'bdi'r Rahman-b-U'baydi'Uah- 
 b-i'n Nasir A'bdu'r Eahman rose to power, and was surnamed al Mustakfi. 
 He was deposed after a year and four months. Then came Hisham-b- 
 Muhammad-b-A'bdi'l Malik-b-i'n Na?ir A'bdu'r Rahman, who was sur- 
 named al Mua'tamid, (A. D. 1027). He continued in power for some time, 
 but was afterwards deposed and imprisoned till he died in Safar of the 
 yeart 400 and {here a blank in the ilfiS".)— (428). At his death perished the 
 Umayyad dynasty in Spain. 
 
 The impious dynaity of the House of U'hayd, 
 
 The first of them that arose in Africa was al Madhi U'baydu'llah in 
 the year 296 (908-9): he died in 322. Then came his son al Kdim bi'amri'llah 
 Muhammad : he died in the year 333 (944). Then arose his son Isma'il 
 who died in the year 34 L (952) . Next came his son al M'uizzli'di[ii'llah Saa'd, 
 who entered Cairo in the 362 and died in 365 (976-6), Then succeeded 
 his son al A'ziz Nizar,t who died in the year 382 (992), he was followed by 
 his son al Hakim bi'amri'lldh Man?ur who was slain in 411 (1020). Then 
 came his son ad Dhdhir li' I'zaz-i-din i'llah A'li : he died in 428 (1036). 
 His son al Mustan?ir Maa'd succeeded him and he died in 487 (1094). He 
 was tlius Caliph for sixty years and four months. A^ Pahabi says that 
 
 * The founder of the short-lived Hamddite dynasty. He was a descendant of 
 Uasan son of AU-b-Abi TaUb but his family had been settled in Africa for 20O years 
 and had become " berberised," and he himself spoke Arabic extremely ill. Our author 
 here is not quite in accordance with M. Dozy who makes A'U succeed directly after 
 Sulaymfin, after having put him, his father and brother to death. To the reader who 
 cares to follow the fortunes of the Caliphate in Spain, I recommend the perusal of M. 
 Dozy's interesting volumes. 
 
 t December 1036. With his death also closes the history of M. Dozy. 
 
 t So the MS. The printed text has Bazar which is an error ; see his life in Ibn 
 Khali. 
 
[ 549 ] 
 
 he knows of no Caliph or Sultau in Islam who reigned for this period. 
 After him reigned his son al Mustaa'li bi'llah Ahmad and he died in 495 
 (1101-2). After him was elected his son al Amir hi ahkami'llah Mansur, 
 a boy of five years of age and he was put to death in 524 (1130), leaving no 
 children to succeed him. Next followed his cousin al Hafldh li din i'Uah 
 A'bdu'l Majid-b-Muhammad-b-i'l Mustansir, who died in 5M (1149). 
 Then came his son ad Dhd,fir bi'lUh Isma'il and he was assassinated in 
 549, and he was succeeded by his son al Faiz bi Nasri'lldh Tsa, who died in 
 555 (1160). Then followed al A'adhld li dini'llah A'bdu'llah-b-Yusuf- 
 b-i'l Hdfidh li dini'llah, who was deposed in 567 (1171-2) and died the 
 same year, when the A'bbaslde claim was set up in Egypt and the dynasty 
 of the house of U'bayd became extinct. A^ Dahabi says " Thus there 
 were fourteen violaters of covenants not successors* to the vicegerency." 
 
 The Dynmty of Tahataba,\ descendants of Hasan and A'li. 
 
 Among them, Abu A'bdullah Muhammad-b-Ibrahim Tabataba assumed 
 the Caliphate in Jumdda I, 199 A. H. (814) ; and about this period, there 
 arose in Yaman, al Hadi Yahya-b-u'l Husayn-b-i'l Kasim-b-Tabataba for 
 whom dominion over the Muslims was claimed : he died in Du'l Hijjah 
 208 (823). His son Murtadha Muhammad succeeded him and died in 
 820 (932). Then came his brother an Nasir Ahmad who died in Safar 
 323. Al MuntakhabJ al Husayn his son followed and died 329 (940-1). 
 Then his brother al Mukhtar al Kasim who was slain in Shawwal 344 
 (955). Then his brother al Hadi Muhammad : then ar Rasbid al A'bbas, 
 and the dynasty became extinct, 
 
 THE TABAEISTANI DYNASTY. 
 Six persons governed in succession : three of them, the descendants of 
 al Hasan, and three, from among the descendants of al Husayn. Hisham 
 al Daa'i ila'l Hakk al Hasan-b-Zayd-b-Muhammad-b-Isma'il b-i'l Husayn. 
 b-Zayd i'l Jawwad-b-il Hasan-b-il Hasan,§ b-A'li-b-Abi Talib, in the 
 year 250 (864) in Eai and Daylam. Then arose his brother al Kaim 
 bi'l Hakk, Muhammad, who was slain in 288, (901). Then came his grand- 
 
 • The MS. has ^=^ instead of lAUr*"**. 
 
 •|- Ibrahim 6th in descent from A'li was eurnamed Tabataba from his pronouncing 
 the guttural T^ like a T. Calling for his waistcoat one day -wishing to say Kaba, 
 Kaba he said Taba, Taba, and was so nicknamed. According to Abu'l Mahaain it was 
 in Jumdda' II, 199 the rebellion took place. 
 
 J Not Muntajab, as in the text. 
 
 § Incorrectly c i~>'*='^l ^n the text. 
 
[ 550 ] 
 
 son al Mahdi al Hasan-b-Zayd-b-i'l Kaim bi'l Hakk ; and after him* — (the 
 MS. is here a hlanlc). 
 
 Ohseroation. — Ibn Abi Hatim in his commentary, says, that he heard 
 a tradition on the authority of A'bdu'llah-b-A'mar-b-i'l A'as who said, 
 " Since the world has been, a century has never closed, but a ffreaf event 
 occurred at the close of it." I observe that at the end of the first century, 
 oi the history of this naMion, there was the calamity of al Hajjaj,t and 
 what shall make thee understand what al Hajjaj was ? In the second 
 century, were the troubles of al Mamiin and his wars with his brother, 
 when the beautiful places of Baghdad were demolished and its people 
 destroyed : then his assassination of his Irother ; then the inquisition of 
 the people concerning the creation of the Kuran, and this was one of the 
 greatest calamities on this nation, and the earliest, relative to a distinct 
 call to heresy, for no Caliph before him ever invited the people to any 
 thing approaching heresy. In the third century occurred the irruption of 
 the Carmathians, and that will suffice for thee : then the revolution 
 against al Muktadir, when he was deposed and Ibn u'l Mua'tazz acknow- 
 ledged and al Muktadir restored next day, and the assassination of 
 the Kadhi and a number of the learned, for a Kadhi had never been 
 put to death before him in Islam. Then the disorganization of the 
 empire and the predominance of the conquerors over the provinces which 
 had continued up to this time. Among which also is to he counted the 
 beginning of the sovereignty of the U'baydites and enough for thee ia 
 their wickedness and infidelity and slaughter of the learned and the pious. 
 In the fourth century was the calamitous reign of al Hakim bi'amri' Iblis 
 not bi'amri'llahi,J and let what he hath done suffice thee. In the fifth 
 century the Franks took Syria and Jerusalem. In the sixth century was 
 the famine, the like of which had never been heard of since the time of 
 Joseph and then it was that the Tartar ascendancy began. In the seventh 
 century occurred the great Tartar disaster, the like of which was unheard 
 of and which caused seas of Muslim blood to flow. In the eighth century 
 was the irruption of Timurlang before the tremendous nature of which the 
 Tartar misfortune was comparatively insignificant, and I implore of the 
 Almighty that He will take us into His mercy before the occurrence of 
 the calamity to come in the ninth century, through the glory of Muham- 
 mad, may God bless and preserve him, and his posterity and all his Com- 
 panions, Amen. 
 
 * For the Arabian dynastieB consult the al Kami! of Ibn u'l Athir under the 
 proper year. 
 
 t See the life of A'bdu'l Malik-b-Marwan. 
 
 % The ruler by the oommaud of the devil not by the command of God, See his 
 deeds under " al J^adir bi'llah,'' 
 
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 th November, 1386. 
 
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INDEX TO PROPER NAMES. 
 
 Ahmad-b-Hantal, ... ,„ 9 
 
 Ibn Asakir, ... ... 14 
 
 Ibn Abbaa, ... ... 16 
 
 al Asma'L ... ,,, ... 17 
 
 al A'skari, ... ,„ ... 28 
 
 Anas, ... ... ... 31 
 
 A'bdullah-b-A'mr-b-i'l A'a?, ... 36 
 
 A'bdu'r Eahmln-b-Abi Layla, ... 45 
 
 A'mm4r-b-Yasir, ... ... 46 
 
 Anaa-b-Malik, ... ... 47 
 
 Abu Arwa-ad-Dausi, ... ,„ 61 
 
 A'bdu'r Eahinan-b-A'uf, ... 52 
 
 A'kil-b-Abi Talib, ... ... 54 
 
 A'ta-b-u's Siiib, ... ... 79 
 
 Anisah, ... ... ... 81 
 
 A'asim, ... ... .,, 99 
 
 A'mr-b-Shu'ayb, ... ... 100 
 
 A'krimah, ... ... ... 100 
 
 A'rjafah, ... .,. 107 
 
 A'mr-b-u'l Hfoith, ... ... 129 
 
 A^naf-b-u'lKays, ... ... 129 
 
 A'bau'Uah-b-A'amir-b-Eabii', ... 133 
 
 Ibu A'un, ... ,., 136 
 
 A'bdur Baizzak as Sanani, ... 116 
 
 IbnAbbad, ' ... ... 163 
 
 Abu A'bdu'r Rahman as Sulami, ... 156 
 
 A'bdu'r Kahman-b-Samurah, ... 166 
 
 Abu'l Aswad ad Duali, ... 171 
 
 Abd'ul Malik-b-XJ'mayr, ... 202 
 
 al Auzaa'i,,.. ... ... 208 
 
 al Akbtal, ... ... ... 226 
 
 A'ta-b-Abi Kaba^, ... ... 239 
 
 Ibn Abi A'rubah, ... ... 266 
 
 A'mr-b-IJ'bayd, ... ... 271 
 
 alAhwas, .,. ... ... 276 
 
 Abdul Malik-b-SiUih, ... ... 298 
 
 Asyah, ... ... ... 302 
 
 AbuA'yna, ... ... 817 
 
 A'ufalA'rabi, ... ... 332 
 
 alArji, ... ... ... 332 
 
 Ahmad-b-Abi Khalid, ... ... 340 
 
 AbuBakrah, ... ... 345 
 
 Al Abiwardi, ... ... 444 
 
 Ibnti'l Athir Nasru'llah, ... 485 
 
 A^:usb, ... ... ... 694 
 
 Abu A'bdu'Uab-b-Jibir, .,. 630 
 
 
 ■ Pagt 
 
 al B4^il£ni, 
 
 3 
 
 al Bazzitr Abu Bakr, ... 
 
 6 
 
 al Baj'hal^i Abu Bakr,... 
 
 6 
 
 Abu Barzah, 
 
 7 
 
 al Bagbawi, 
 
 ... 38 
 
 Bil0, 
 
 ... 48 
 
 Buraydab, ... 
 
 ... 121 
 
 Bishr-bu'l Bara, 
 
 ... 144 
 
 Abu'l Bakbtari, 
 
 ... 148 
 
 al Bulkini, 
 
 ... 194 
 
 al Bakir Abu Jaa'far, ... 
 
 ... 214 
 
 Barirah, ... 
 
 ... 221 
 
 Bisbr al Marri'si, 
 
 ... 291 
 
 Ibn Bakbtisbliu', 
 
 ... 297 
 
 al Buhturi, 
 
 ... 366 
 
 BabkaxQ, ,., ... 
 
 ... 441 
 
 Barsabai, ... ... 
 
 ... 428 
 
 D. 
 
 
 Ad Dahabi, 
 
 2 
 
 Abu Dauud al Tayalisi, 
 
 8 
 
 ad Daylami, 
 
 ... 14 
 
 Darakutni,... 
 
 ... 15 
 
 Abu'd Darda, 
 
 ... 33 
 
 Abu Dauud, ... 
 
 ... 39 
 
 Ibn Abid Dunya, 
 
 ... 57 
 
 Ibn Abi Dauud, 
 
 ... 60 
 
 ad Dbabbak, 
 
 ... 85 
 
 Dayr A'akuli, 
 
 ... 128 
 
 Abu Dulamah, 
 
 ... 266 
 
 Di'bil, ... 
 
 ... 339 
 
 Ibn Abi Du4d, 
 
 ... 856 
 
 Dun Nun, .. 
 
 ... 365 
 
 Ad Damagbani, 
 
 ... 444 
 
 F. 
 
 
 Farazdak, 
 
 ... 179 
 
 Fatimab-d-of Usamah-b-Kayd, 
 
 ... 243 
 
 Ibn FadhK'Uab, 
 
 ... 256 
 
 Fudhayl.b-I'yddb, ... 
 
 ... 292 
 
 Ibn Fahm, 
 
 ... 357 
 
 G. 
 
 Grhaylan, 
 
 247 
 
t 560 ] 
 
 a. 
 
 
 
 Page 
 
 
 Page 
 
 Kamfilu'ddin 61 A'dim, 
 
 500 
 
 Abu'l Hasan al Kfibasl, 
 
 4, 
 
 al Khatib, 
 
 14 
 
 Hudayfah, 
 
 6 
 
 ^antura. 
 
 22 
 
 al pakim Atu A'tdu'Uah, 
 
 7 
 
 Ibn Kathir, 
 
 26 
 
 Huzayl-'b-Shurahba, ... 
 
 7 
 
 Kaeim-b-Muhaimnad, ... 
 
 27 
 
 Ibn JinUn, 
 
 7 
 
 ^atadah, 
 
 28 
 
 Abu Hurayrah, 
 
 7 
 
 Ibn Kutaybah, ... ... 
 
 66 
 
 Hasan al Basri, 
 
 28 
 
 Kharijah-b-Zayd, 
 
 84 
 
 Bassan-b-Thabit, 
 
 32 
 
 Khufaf-b-U'mayr, 
 
 87 
 
 Hudayfah, 
 
 56 
 
 Kabisah, 
 
 102 
 
 Abu'l IJasan al Ash'ari, 
 
 66 
 
 IKays-b-Bazim, 
 
 103 
 
 Harith-b-Kaladah, 
 
 82 
 
 Khabbdb, 
 
 114 
 
 Hudayfah-b-Usayd, ... 
 
 99 
 
 Kaa'b u'l AhbSr, 
 
 123 
 
 Bakam-b-U'mayr, 
 
 145 
 
 Khuzaymah-b-Thabit, ... 
 
 132 
 
 Bubshi-b-Junadah, ... 
 
 173 
 
 :^abi8ah, 
 
 198 
 
 Hammad, 
 
 235 
 
 al Kbaraiti, ... 
 
 200 
 
 Baruriyah (sect), 
 
 243 
 
 Khicjhr, 
 
 234 
 
 Hammad-b-Salamah, ... 
 
 266 
 
 Ii:adhi al F4dhil, 
 
 303 
 
 Hushaym, 
 
 266 
 
 Kaa'b-b-Mamah, 
 
 330 
 
 Ibn Karmah, 
 
 273 
 
 Kafur, 
 
 418 
 
 Hasan-b-Sahl, 
 
 321 
 
 al Kushayri, 
 
 440 
 
 Hushaym-b-Busliayr, ... 
 
 331 
 
 jKaymaz, 
 
 469 
 
 Bamzal-b-Baidh, 
 
 332 
 
 Abul Khattab-b-Dayyah, 
 
 482 
 
 Hind, 
 
 332 
 
 L. 
 
 
 Bammad-b-Ziyad, 
 
 346 
 
 
 Ibn Hamdun, 
 
 389 
 
 al Liilaka, 
 
 98 
 
 Bamdi, 
 
 416 
 
 Ibn Lahiyah, 
 
 131 
 
 Bays Bay?, 
 
 468 
 
 Lijin, 
 
 M. 
 
 al Mnbdl, 
 
 Abu Musa Asha'ri, ... 10, 
 Ibn Mandah, 
 Muhammad-b-Saa'd-b-Abi Wakka§, 
 
 509 
 
 I. 
 
 ryfidh the Kidy, 
 
 Ibn Ishak, 
 
 al lema'ili Abu Bakr, ... 
 
 lahak of Mosul, 
 
 4 
 
 28 
 
 73 
 
 293 
 
 6 
 
 62 
 27 
 33 
 
 Ibrahim al Mahdi, ■ ... 
 Isma'il-b-I?ha^ 
 
 Ikhehid, 
 
 809 
 386 
 416 
 
 Abu Maysarali, 
 Mu'ad-b-Jabal, 
 Abu Man?ur al Baghdad!, 
 
 35 
 43 
 
 44 
 
 Imamu'l Haramayn, ... 
 
 440 
 
 Ibn Masa'ud, ... ..• 
 
 Mujahid, ... ... 
 
 Mi^d am -b-Ma' di Karib, 
 Musayyab, 
 
 48 
 49 
 54 
 60 
 
 Ibn Is^ak as Shirazi, ... 
 Al I'mad, 
 
 440 
 459 
 
 J. 
 
 
 MustaUk, 
 
 61 
 
 
 Mu'awiyah-b-Kurrah, .. 
 
 66 
 
 Ibn u'l Jauzi, 
 
 14 
 
 Ibn Mdjah, 
 
 89 
 
 Jubayr-b-Mu'tim, 
 
 42 
 
 Ma'iz-b-Malik, 
 
 91 
 
 Jabir-b A'bdiUah, 
 
 46 
 
 Mughirah-b-Shu'bah, ... 
 
 102 
 
 Jundub-b-JunAdah, ... 
 
 48 
 
 Muslim-b-Yasir, 
 
 107 
 
 Jaa'far as Sadik, ... ... 
 
 125 
 
 al Muzani, 
 
 141 
 
 Jarir, 
 
 242 
 
 Mdlik-b-Dinto, 
 
 161 
 
 Ibn juraij. 
 
 266 
 
 al Mdzini, 
 
 15S 
 
 al Jahidh, 
 
 294 
 
 Miswar-b-Makhramah, ... 
 
 158 
 
 Jaa'far-b-A'bdil Wdljid, 
 
 377 
 
 Masru^F, ... ... 
 
 175 
 
 Ibn Jarir, 
 
 388 
 
 al Mubarrad, 
 
 179 
 
 al Jariri, ... 
 
 396 
 
 al Madaini AbAl Basan, 
 
 183 
 
 al JawaJiki, 
 
 463 
 
 al Mufaijdhal, 
 
 191 
 
 K. 
 
 
 al Makburi, „, ... 
 
 197 
 
 
 al Munkadir, ,„ 
 
 200 
 
 Kdtib i Wdkidi. See Ibn Saa'd. 
 
 
 al Mahdi, ... „. 
 
 238 
 
 Khalifah-b-Khayyat, ,.. 
 
 29 
 
 al Mua'fa al Jarfri, ... ... 
 
 265 
 
 Abu Khaythamah, 
 
 82 
 
 al Mad&ini, ,„ 
 
 262 
 
[ 561 ] 
 
 Ma'mar, ... ... 266 
 
 Mukfitil-b-Sulayman, ... ... 276 
 
 Marwan-b-Abi Etafsah, .., 291 
 
 Abu Mu'awiyah ad Dharir, ... 292 
 
 Mansur-b-A'mmar, ... ,„ 292 
 
 Ibn til Mubarak, ... ... 293 
 
 Mans<ir an Namari, ... ... 303 
 
 Abu Maa'shar, ... ... 319 
 
 Marw^n-b-Abi i^Jafsah, ... 330 
 
 Mukharik, ... ... 335 
 
 Musawir, ... ,,, 379 
 
 Xbn Muklah, ,,. ... 404 
 
 Mardawij, . ... 405 
 
 Al Muwaffak Abu'l M'adli, ... 488 
 
 Al Muwayyad, ,„ ... 440 
 
 N. 
 
 Abu Nuaym, 
 
 ... 13 
 
 an Nasai, 
 
 ... 46 
 
 Ibrahim an Nakha'i, ... 
 
 ... 59 
 
 Nua'man, 
 
 ... 252 
 
 Nabigbab al Jaa' di, . , . 
 
 ... 310 
 
 Niftawayh, 
 
 ... 328 
 
 Nadhr-b-Sbumayl, 
 
 ... 330 
 
 Nuh-b-Mansdr, 
 
 ... 432 
 
 An'Nasir (alMaUk), ... 
 
 ... 499 
 
 Ibn Omar, 
 
 E. 
 
 Eazin-b-A'mmar, 
 
 Eabia'h-b-Kaa'b, 
 
 Eafi'u't Tai, 
 
 Ibn Eabwayh, 
 
 Abu Rafi', 
 
 Eabii'fir Eai, 
 
 Eabii'-b-Yunas, , 
 
 Ibn ar Eumi, 
 
 Ar Euyani, . 
 
 Easlil a't Turkomani, . 
 
 S. 
 
 Ibn Saa'd, . 
 
 Safinab, 
 
 as Silafi, 
 
 as Suli, 
 
 Ibn Sirin, 
 
 Abu Sa'id, 
 
 as Sbaa'bi, 
 
 Ibn Abi Shaybab, 
 
 Sa'id-b-u'l Musayyab,. 
 
 Ibn Sbabin, . 
 
 Samiirab-b-Jundab, 
 
 Sabl-b-Saa'd, 
 
 Salimab-b-Akwaa', 
 
 Bufyan-b-TJ'aynah, 
 
 Sa'id-b-Jubayr, 
 
 18 
 
 65 
 71 
 95 
 188 
 264 
 274 
 387 
 450 
 489 
 
 7 
 7 
 
 17 
 18 
 26 
 31 
 32 
 33 
 37 
 38 
 42 
 43 
 46 
 60 
 67 
 
 Sulayman-b-Yasar, 
 
 ... 67 
 
 Abu Sufy^n-b-Harb, ... 
 
 66 
 
 Saa'd-b-TJ'badab, 
 
 ... 67 
 
 Sunabihi, 
 
 ... 98 
 
 Salim-b-U'bayd, 
 
 ... 98 
 
 as Sbafi'i, 
 
 ... 99 
 
 Salman, 
 
 ... 106 
 
 Sadi'sah, 
 
 ... 122 
 
 Sffim-b-Abdi'llab, ... 
 
 ... 124 
 
 Sufyan at Tbauri, 
 
 ... 124 
 
 Sharik, 
 
 ... 124 
 
 Abu Salih as Samman, 
 
 ... 137 
 
 Shaddad-b-Aua, 
 
 ... 144 
 
 as Suddi, ... 
 
 ... 178 
 
 Abu Salimab-b-Abdir Ea^man, 
 
 ... 192 
 
 Salma, 
 
 ... 212 
 
 Abu Sulaymdn al Hilali, 
 
 ... 226 
 
 Salm al Khasir, 
 
 ... 268 
 
 Ibn u's Sammak, 
 
 .. 291 
 
 Sufyan-b-If'aynali, 
 
 ... 293 
 
 Abu's Sbi's, 
 
 ... 386 
 
 Samdl-b-A'idiya, 
 
 ... 330 
 
 Ibn Sa'i'd, 
 
 ... 403 
 
 Sharif ar Eidlja, 
 
 ... 430 
 
 Ibn u's Salah, 
 
 ... 431 
 
 Ibn Sabbagh, 
 
 ... 441 
 
 As Subki, 
 
 ... 454 
 
 Sultan Sinjar, 
 
 ... 455 
 
 Sharaf-uddia-b-Abi U'?run, 
 
 ... 469 
 
 Shuhdad, 
 
 ... 472 
 
 Sayyidah Nafisah, 
 
 ... 509 
 
 T. 
 
 Ibn Tabataba, 
 
 4 
 
 at Tirmidi, 
 
 7 
 
 at Tabari, 
 
 ... 12 
 
 at Tabarani, 
 
 ... 13 
 
 Tdrik-b-Shihab, 
 
 ... 131 
 
 Abu Tufayl, 
 
 ... 173 
 
 atThaa'labi, 
 
 ... 198 
 
 Taus, 
 
 ... 239 
 
 Thumamah-b-u'l Ashras, 
 
 ... 341 
 
 Abu Tammam, 
 
 ... 350 
 
 Ibn Tulun, 
 
 .. 383 
 
 At Turtushi Abu Bakr, 
 
 ... 445 
 
 Tasbifin-Yusuf, 
 
 ... 445 
 
 Taj ul Mulk, 
 
 .. 446 
 
 Ibn ut Talmid, 
 
 ... 464 
 
 At Ta'widi, 
 
 ... 497 
 
 Taki-u' ddin-b-Tay miyaii, 
 
 ... 511 
 
 U. 
 
 
 TJ'baydu'llab al Mahdi, 
 
 2, 23 
 
 Abu TJ'baydah-b-ul Jarra^, 
 
 9 
 
 TJmmul Fadhl, 
 
 ... 14 
 
 U'rwah-b-Zubayr, 
 
 ... 18 
 
 TJmayyah-b-Abi Salt, ... 
 
 ... 33 
 
 XJbayy-b-Kaa'b, 
 
 ... 47 
 
 Umm A'bd, ... 
 
 ... 65 
 
[ 562 ] 
 
 J 
 
 Page 
 
 
 Page 
 
 tl'kashah-b-Mihaan, ... 
 
 . 76 
 
 Yusuf-b-u'lMajisMn,... 
 
 ... 224 
 
 TJmm Ayman, 
 
 . 76 
 
 Abu YuBuf-the Kadhi,... 
 
 ... 299 
 
 U'rwah, 
 
 . 85 
 
 Yahya-b-Akthara, 
 
 ... 830 
 
 Abu U'bayd, 
 
 . 102 
 
 Yahya-b-Ma'in, 
 
 ... 344 
 
 U'kbah-b-A'dmir, 
 
 , 103 
 
 
 
 Ibn UmTn-Maktlim, 
 
 . 119 
 
 Z. 
 
 
 ■0'baydu'llali-b-A'bdi'Uah, 
 
 . 233 
 
 
 
 U'nayn (Sharaf-u'ddin Ibn), 
 
 . 482 
 
 az Zubayr-b-Bakkar, ... 
 Zayd-b-Arkam, 
 
 ... 16 
 ... 32 
 
 
 
 az Zubri, 
 
 ... 47 
 
 W. 
 
 
 Zayd-b-Thabit, 
 
 ... 47 
 
 Warakah-b-Naufal, ... 
 
 . 34 
 
 az Za'faraai, 
 
 ... 66 
 
 Wakii', 
 
 . 57 
 
 Zaynab, 
 
 ... 76 
 
 Walid-b-u'l Mughirah, 
 
 . 115 
 
 Zirr, 
 
 ... 134 
 
 
 
 Zayd-b-Aslam, 
 
 ... 152 
 
 Y. 
 
 
 Zirr-b-IJubaydli, 
 
 ... 182 
 
 
 Ziyid, "the son of his father," 
 
 ,. 198 
 
 AbuYa'la, ... ... 27 
 
 Abli'zZinM, 
 
 .. 227 
 
 Yazid-b-u'l A?amin, ... 
 
 . 109 
 
 Zanj, 
 
 .. 380 
 
 Yahya-b-Jua'dah, 
 
 . 184 
 
 Zaki dddin-al MnndirL 
 
 .. 486 
 
EEEATA. 
 
 Page 44 line 22 place a oomma after "said." 
 „ 45 note */<»•" al A'kabah" ««<?" at al A'^abah.' 
 „ 76 line S for " Akhix" read " Kiihivah." 
 „ 76 note • after " 70" read " thousand." 
 » 78 „ * /or "oUJ has" >•««(* "has tJliJ." 
 „ 113 „ * /or "words" »-e«(J" word." 
 „ 170 line 18 for "As" read " Aua." 
 „ 191 „ 9 semicolon after "prophet;" 
 „ 191 „ 10 comma, not full stop, after " Shayb^u." 
 „ 194 „ 33 for " Awwal" read " tTla." 
 „ 220 „ 18 for " Oaliph" read " Caliphate." 
 ,,417 „ 27 & 27 /or " Mutii'biUah" reaf? " Mutii'lilldh." 
 „ 304 „ 7 for " enjoyed" read " enjoined." 
 „ 363 „ 13 for " ratis" read " ratls." 
 „ 431 „ 11 /or "Tamanni" r««<? "Tamanni." 
 „ 445 „ 13 for " Bibars" read " Baybars." 
 „ 537 „ 33 for " 712" read " 812." 
 ,,538 „ 2/or"714"m<«"814." 
 
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