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diff --git a/37985.txt b/37985.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..a763759 --- /dev/null +++ b/37985.txt @@ -0,0 +1,25744 @@ +Project Gutenberg's A Literary History of the Arabs, by Reynold Nicholson + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: A Literary History of the Arabs + +Author: Reynold Nicholson + +Release Date: November 11, 2011 [EBook #37985] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A LITERARY HISTORY OF THE ARABS *** + + + + +Produced by Fritz Ohrenschall, Turgut Dincer, Sania Ali +Mirza and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at +http://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + + ------------------------------------------------------------- + Transcriber's note: + + This e-text includes characters that require UTF-8 + (Unicode) file encoding: + + aOEL, a¸Y, a¹c, a¹¬, a¸¤, aº-, aº' + + If any of these characters do not display properly--in + particular, if the dots do not appear under the letters + make sure your text readeraEuro(TM)s aEurooecharacter setaEuro or aEurooefile + encodingaEuro is set to Unicode (UTF-8). You may also need to + change the default font. Depending on available fonts, some + tables may not line up vertically. As a last resort, use + the Latin-1 version of the file instead. + + Spelling of the Arabic names is different in the body of + the text, in the References and in the Index, these have + been left as shown in the original text. Bold numbers in + the Index are enclosed between "+" signs. + ------------------------------------------------------------- + + + + +[Illustration: LITIGANTS BEFORE A JUDGE + +From an Arabic manuscript in the British Museum (Or. 1200; No. 1007 in +Rieu's _Arabic Supplement_), dated A.H. 654 = A.D. 1256, which +contains the _MaqAimESec.t_ of a¸¤arA¬rA¬ illustrated by 81 miniatures in +colours. This one represents a scene in the 8th MaqAima: AbAº Zayd and +his son appearing before the Cadi of MaaEuro~arratu aEuro(TM)l-NuaEuro(TM)mAin. The figure +on the left is a¸¤Airith b. HammAim, whom a¸¤arA¬rA¬ puts forward as the +relater of AbAº Zayd's adventures.] + + + A LITERARY + HISTORY OF THE ARABS + + BY + + REYNOLD A. NICHOLSON + + CAMBRIDGE + + AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS + + 1966 + + + PUBLISHED BY + + THE SYNDICS OF THE CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS + + Bentley House, 200 Euston Road, London, N.W. 1 + American Branch: 32 East 57th Street, New York N.Y. 10022, + West African Office: P.O. Box 33, Ibadan, Nigeria + + First edition (T. Fisher Unwin) 1907, reprinted 1914, 1923 + Reprinted (Cambridge University Press) 1930, 1941, 1953, + 1962, 1966 + + _First printed in Great Britain at the University Press, Cambridge + Reprinted by offset-litho by Latimer Trend & Co. Ltd, Whitstable_ + + + + To + + PROFESSOR A. A. BEVAN + + In grateful recollection of many kindnesses + + + + +PREFACE + + +_A Literary History of the Arabs_, published by T. Fisher Unwin in +1907 and twice re-issued without alteration, now appears under new +auspices, and I wish to thank the Syndics of the Cambridge University +Press for the opportunity they have given me of making it in some +respects more accurate and useful than it has hitherto been. Since the +present edition is printed from the original plates, there could be no +question of revising the book throughout and recasting it where +necessary; but while only a few pages have been rewritten, the +Bibliography has been brought up to date and I have removed several +mistakes from the text and corrected others in an appendix which +includes a certain amount of supplementary matter. As stated in the +preface to the first edition, I hoped "to compile a work which should +serve as a general introduction to the subject, and which should be +neither too popular for students nor too scientific for ordinary +readers. It has been my chief aim to sketch in broad outlines what the +Arabs thought, and to indicate as far as possible the influences which +moulded their thought.... Experience has convinced me that young +students of Arabic, to whom this volume is principally addressed, +often find difficulty in understanding what they read, since they are +not in touch with the political, intellectual, and religious notions +which are presented to them. The pages of almost every Arabic book +abound in allusions to names, events, movements, and ideas of which +Moslems require no explanation, but which puzzle the Western reader +unless he have some general knowledge of Arabian history in the widest +meaning of the word. Such a survey is not to be found, I believe, in +any single European book; and if mine supply the want, however +partially and inadequately, I shall feel that my labour has been amply +rewarded.... As regards the choice of topics, I agree with the author +of a famous anthology who declares that it is harder to select than +compose (_ikhtiyAiru aEuro(TM)l-kalAim aa¹LaEuro~abu min taaEuro(TM)lA-fihi_). Perhaps an +epitomist may be excused for not doing equal justice all round. To me +the literary side of the subject appeals more than the historical, and +I have followed my bent without hesitation; for in order to interest +others a writer must first be interested himself.... Considering the +importance of Arabic poetry as, in the main, a true mirror of Arabian +life, I do not think the space devoted to it is excessive. Other +branches of literature could not receive the same attention. Many an +eminent writer has been dismissed in a few lines, many well-known +names have been passed over. But, as before said, this work is a +sketch of ideas in their historical environment rather than a record +of authors, books, and dates. The exact transliteration of Arabic +words, though superfluous for scholars and for persons entirely +ignorant of the language, is an almost indispensable aid to the class +of readers whom I have especially in view. My system is that +recommended by the Royal Asiatic Society and adopted by Professor +Browne in his _Literary History of Persia_; but I use aº" for the letter +which he denotes by _dh_. The definite article _al_, which is +frequently omitted at the beginning of proper names, has been restored +in the Index. It may save trouble if I mention here the abbreviations +'b.' for 'ibn' (son of); J.R.A.S. for _Journal of the Royal Asiatic +Society_; Z.D.M.G. for _Zeitschrift der Deutschen MorgenlA¤ndischen +Gesellschaft_; and S.B.W.A. for _Sitzungsberichte der Wiener +Akademie_. Finally, it behoves me to make full acknowledgment of my +debt to the learned Orientalists whose works I have studied and freely +'conveyed' into these pages. References could not be given in every +case, but the reader will see for himself how much is derived from Von +Kremer, Goldziher, NA¶ldeke, and Wellhausen, to mention only a few of +the leading authorities. At the same time I have constantly gone back +to the native sources of information." + +There remains an acknowledgment of a more personal kind. Twenty-two +years ago I wrote--"my warmest thanks are due to my friend and +colleague, Professor A. A. Bevan, who read the proofs throughout and +made a number of valuable remarks which will be found in the footnotes." +Happily the present occasion permits me to renew those ties between us; +and the book which he helped into the world now celebrates its majority +by associating itself with his name. + + REYNOLD A. NICHOLSON + + _November 1, 1929_ + + +Frontispiece + +LITIGANTS BEFORE A JUDGE (British Museum Or. 1200) + + + + + Contents + + PAGE + + PREFACE ix + + INTRODUCTION xv + + CHAPTER + + I. SABA AND a¸¤IMYAR 1 + + II. THE HISTORY AND LEGENDS OF THE PAGAN ARABS 30 + + III. PRE-ISLAMIC POETRY, MANNERS, AND RELIGION 71 + + IV. THE PROPHET AND THE KORAN 141 + + V. THE ORTHODOX CALIPHATE AND THE UMAYYAD + DYNASTY 181 + + VI. THE CALIPHS OF BAGHDAD 254 + + VII. POETRY, LITERATURE, AND SCIENCE IN THE aEuro~ABBASID + PERIOD 285 + + VIII. ORTHODOXY, FREE-THOUGHT, AND MYSTICISM 365 + + IX. THE ARABS IN EUROPE 405 + + X. FROM THE MONGOL INVASION TO THE PRESENT DAY 442 + + APPENDIX 471 + + BIBLIOGRAPHY 477 + + INDEX 487 + + + + +Introduction + + +[Sidenote: The Semites.] + +The Arabs belong to the great family of nations which on account of +their supposed descent from Shem, the son of Noah, are commonly known as +the 'Semites.' This term includes the Babylonians and Assyrians, the +Hebrews, the PhA"nicians, the AramA|ans, the Abyssinians, the SabA|ans, and +the Arabs, and although based on a classification that is not +ethnologically precise--the PhA"nicians and SabA|ans, for example, being +reckoned in Genesis, chap. x, among the descendants of Ham--it was well +chosen by Eichhorn (aEuro 1827) to comprehend the closely allied peoples +which have been named. Whether the original home of the undivided +Semitic race was some part of Asia (Arabia, Armenia, or the district of +the Lower Euphrates), or whether, according to a view which has lately +found favour, the Semites crossed into Asia from Africa,[1] is still +uncertain. Long before the epoch when they first appear in history they +had branched off from the parent stock and formed separate +nationalities. The relation of the Semitic languages to each other +cannot be discussed here, but we may arrange them in the chronological +order of the extant literature as follows:--[2] + + 1. Babylonian or Assyrian (3000-500 B.C.). + + 2. Hebrew (from 1500 B.C.). + + 3. South Arabic, otherwise called SabA|an or a¸¤imyarite (inscriptions + from 800 B.C.). + + 4. Aramaic (inscriptions from 800 B.C.). + + 5. PhA"nician (inscriptions from 700 B.C.). + + 6. A†thiopic (inscriptions from 350 A.D.). + + 7. Arabic (from 500 A.D.). + +[Sidenote: The Arabs as representatives of the Semitic Race.] + +Notwithstanding that Arabic is thus, in a sense, the youngest of the +Semitic languages, it is generally allowed to be nearer akin than any of +them to the original archetype, the 'Ursemitisch,' from which they all +are derived, just as the Arabs, by reason of their geographical +situation and the monotonous uniformity of desert life, have in some +respects preserved the Semitic character more purely and exhibited it +more distinctly than any people of the same family. From the period of +the great Moslem conquests (700 A.D.) to the present day they have +extended their language, religion, and culture over an enormous expanse +of territory, far surpassing that of all the ancient Semitic empires +added together. It is true that the Arabs are no longer what they were +in the Middle Ages, the ruling nation of the world, but loss of temporal +power has only strengthened their spiritual dominion. Islam still reigns +supreme in Western Asia; in Africa it has steadily advanced; even on +European soil it has found in Turkey compensation for its banishment +from Spain and Sicily. While most of the Semitic peoples have vanished, +leaving but a meagre and ambiguous record, so that we cannot hope to +become intimately acquainted with them, we possess in the case of the +Arabs ample materials for studying almost every phase of their +development since the sixth century of the Christian era, and for +writing the whole history of their national life and thought. This book, +I need hardly say, makes no such pretensions. Even were the space at my +disposal unlimited, a long time must elapse before the vast and various +field of Arabic literature can be thoroughly explored and the results +rendered accessible to the historian. + +[Sidenote: Arabs of the North and South.] + +From time immemorial Arabia was divided into North and South, not only +by the trackless desert (_al-RubaEuro~ al-KhAilA-_, the 'Solitary Quarter') +which stretches across the peninsula and forms a natural barrier to +intercourse, but also by the opposition of two kindred races widely +differing in their character and way of life. Whilst the inhabitants of +the northern province (the a¸¤ijAiz and the great central highland of Najd) +were rude nomads sheltering in 'houses of hair,' and ever shifting to +and fro in search of pasture for their camels, the people of Yemen or +Arabia Felix are first mentioned in history as the inheritors of an +ancient civilisation and as the owners of fabulous wealth--spices, gold +and precious stones--which ministered to the luxury of King Solomon. The +Bedouins of the North spoke Arabic--that is to say, the language of the +Pre-islamic poems and of the Koran--whereas the southerners used a +dialect called by Mua¸Yammadans 'a¸¤imyarite' and a peculiar script of which +the examples known to us have been discovered and deciphered in +comparatively recent times. Of these SabA|ans--to adopt the designation +given to them by Greek and Roman geographers--more will be said +presently. The period of their bloom was drawing to a close in the early +centuries of our era, and they have faded out of history before 600 +A.D., when their northern neighbours first rise into prominence. + +[Sidenote: Ishmaelites and Yoqa¹-Ainids.] + +It was, no doubt, the consciousness of this racial distinction that +caused the view to prevail among Moslem genealogists that the Arabs +followed two separate lines of descent from their common ancestor, SAim +b. NAºa¸Y (Shem, the son of Noah). As regards those of the North, their +derivation from aEuro~AdnAin, a descendant of IsmAiaEuro~A-l (Ishmael) was +universally recognised; those of the South were traced back to Qaa¸Ya¹-Ain, +whom most genealogists identified with Yoqa¹-Ain (Joktan), the son of aEuro~Abir +(Eber). Under the Yoqa¹-Ainids, who are the elder line, we find, together +with the SabA|ans and a¸¤imyarites, several large and powerful +tribes--_e.g._, a¹¬ayyiaEuro(TM), Kinda, and TanAºkh--which had settled in North +and Central Arabia long before Islam, and were in no respect +distinguishable from the Bedouins of Ishmaelite origin. As to aEuro~AdnAin, +his exact genealogy is disputed, but all agree that he was of the +posterity of IsmAiaEuro~A-l (Ishmael), the son of IbrAihA-m (Abraham) by HAijar +(Hagar). The story runs that on the birth of IsmAiaEuro~A-l God commanded +Abraham to journey to Mecca with Hagar and her son and to leave them +there. They were seen by some Jurhumites, descendants of Yoqa¹-Ain, who +took pity on them and resolved to settle beside them. IsmAiaEuro~A-l grew up +with the sons of the strangers, learned to shoot the bow, and spoke +their tongue. Then he asked of them in marriage, and they married him to +one of their women.[3] The tables on the opposite page show the +principal branches of the younger but by far the more important family +of the Arabs which traced its pedigree through aEuro~AdnAin to IsmAiaEuro~A-l. A +dotted line indicates the omission of one or more links in the +genealogical chain.[4] + + + I.[5] + + THE DESCENDENTS OF RABIaEuro~A. + + aEuro~AdnAin. + a", + MaaEuro~add. + a", + NizAir. + a", + RabiaEuro~a. + a", + ------------------------------------------------------- + a", a", a", + aEuro~Anaza. a", a", + WAiaEuro(TM)il. Namir. + a", + a"OEa"Euroa"Euroa"Euroa"Euroa"Euroa"'a"Euroa"Euroa"Euroa"Euroa"Euroa" + a", a", + Bakr. Taghlib. + + + II. + + THE DESCENDANTS OF MUa¸AR. + + aEuro~AdnAin. + a", + MaaEuro~add. + a", + NizAir. + a", + Mua¸ar. + a", + --------------------------------------------------------- + a", a", . . + a", a", . . . + Qays aEuro~AylAin a", . . . + . a¸OEabba. . Khuzayma. Hudhayl. + . . . . + Ghaa¹-afAin. . TamA-m. . . + a", . . . + a", a"OEa"Euroa"Euroa"Euroa"Euroa"Euroa"Euroa"Euroa"Euroa"Euroa" . . + a", a", a", Asad. KinAina. + a", Sulaym. HawAizin. a", + a", a", + a"OEa"Euroa"Euroa"Euroa"Euroa"Euroa"Euroa"Euroa"Euroa" a", + a", a", a", + Abs. DhubyAin. Fihr (Quraysh). + +[Sidenote: Character of Mua¸Yammadan genealogy.] + +It is undeniable that these lineages are to some extent fictitious. +There was no Pre-islamic science of genealogy, so that the first +Mua¸Yammadan investigators had only confused and scanty traditions to work +on. They were biassed, moreover, by political, religious, and other +considerations.[6] Thus their study of the Koran and of Biblical history +led to the introduction of the patriarchs who stand at the head of their +lists. Nor can we accept the national genealogy beginning with aEuro~AdnAin as +entirely historical, though a great deal of it was actually stored in +the memories of the Arabs at the time when Islam arose, and is +corroborated by the testimony of the Pre-islamic poets.[7] On the other +hand, the alleged descent of every tribe from an eponymous ancestor is +inconsistent with facts established by modern research.[8] It is +probable that many names represent merely a local or accidental union; +and many more, _e.g._, MaaEuro~add, seem originally to have denoted large +groups or confederations of tribes. The theory of a radical difference +between the Northern Arabs and those of the South, corresponding to the +fierce hostility which has always divided them since the earliest days +of Islam,[9] may hold good if we restrict the term 'Yemenite' (Southern) +to the civilised SabA|ans, a¸¤imyarites, &c., who dwelt in Yemen and spoke +their own dialect, but can hardly apply to the Arabic-speaking +'Yemenite' Bedouins scattered all over the peninsula. Such criticism, +however, does not affect the value of the genealogical documents +regarded as an index of the popular mind. From this point of view legend +is often superior to fact, and it must be our aim in the following +chapters to set forth what the Arabs believed rather than to examine +whether or no they were justified in believing it. + +'Arabic,' in its widest signification, has two principal dialects:-- + +1. South Arabic, spoken in Yemen and including SabA|an, a¸¤imyarite, +MinA|an, with the kindred dialects of Mahra and Shia¸Yr. + +2. Arabic proper, spoken in Arabia generally, exclusive of Yemen. + +[Sidenote: South Arabic.] + +Of the former language, leaving MahrA-, SocotrA-, and other living +dialects out of account, we possess nothing beyond the numerous +inscriptions which have been collected by European travellers and which +it will be convenient to discuss in the next chapter, where I shall give +a brief sketch of the legendary history of the SabA|ans and a¸¤imyarites. +South Arabic resembles Arabic in its grammatical forms, _e.g._, the +broken plural, the sign of the dual, and the manner of denoting +indefiniteness by an affixed _m_ (for which Arabic substitutes _n_) as +well as in its vocabulary; its alphabet, which consists of twenty-nine +letters, _Sin_ and _Samech_ being distinguished as in Hebrew, is more +nearly akin to the A†thiopic. The a¸¤imyarite Empire was overthrown by the +Abyssinians in the sixth century after Christ, and by 600 A.D. South +Arabic had become a dead language. From this time forward the dialect of +the North established an almost universal supremacy and won for itself +the title of 'Arabic' _par excellence_.[10] + + +[Sidenote: The oldest specimens of Arabic writing.] + +[Sidenote: The Pre-islamic poems.] + +[Sidenote: The Koran.] + +[Sidenote: Arabic in the Mua¸Yammadan Empire.] + +The oldest monuments of written Arabic are modern in date compared with +the SabA|an inscriptions, some of which take us back 2,500 years or +thereabout. Apart from the inscriptions of a¸¤ijr in the northern a¸¤ijAiz, +and those of a¹cafAi in the neighbourhood of Damascus (which, although +written by northern Arabs before the Christian era, exhibit a peculiar +character not unlike the SabA|an and cannot be called Arabic in the usual +acceptation of the term), the most ancient examples of Arabic writing +which have hitherto been discovered appear in the trilingual (Syriac, +Greek, and Arabic) inscription of Zabad,[11] south-east of Aleppo, dated +512 or 513 A.D., and the bilingual (Greek and Arabic) of a¸¤arrAin,[12] +dated 568 A.D. With these documents we need not concern ourselves +further, especially as their interpretation presents great difficulties. +Very few among the Pre-islamic Arabs were able to read or write.[13] +Those who could generally owed their skill to Jewish and Christian +teachers, or to the influence of foreign culture radiating from a¸¤A-ra and +GhassAin. But although the Koran, which was first collected soon after +the battle of YamAima (633 A.D.), is the oldest Arabic book, the +beginnings of literary composition in the Arabic language can be traced +back to an earlier period. Probably all the Pre-islamic poems which have +come down to us belong to the century preceding Islam (500-622 A.D.), +but their elaborate form and technical perfection forbid the hypothesis +that in them we have "the first sprightly runnings" of Arabian song. It +may be said of these magnificent odes, as of the Iliad and Odyssey, that +"they are works of highly finished art, which could not possibly have +been produced until the poetical art had been practised for a long +time." They were preserved during hundreds of years by oral tradition, +as we shall explain elsewhere, and were committed to writing, for the +most part, by the Moslem scholars of the early aEuro~AbbAisid age, _i.e._, +between 750 and 900 A.D. It is a noteworthy fact that the language of +these poems, the authors of which represent many different tribes and +districts of the peninsula, is one and the same. The dialectical +variations are too trivial to be taken into account. We might conclude +that the poets used an artificial dialect, not such as was commonly +spoken but resembling the epic dialect of Ionia which was borrowed by +Dorian and A†olian bards. When we find, however, that the language in +question is employed not only by the wandering troubadours, who were +often men of some culture, and the Christian Arabs of a¸¤A-ra on the +Euphrates, but also by goat-herds, brigands, and illiterate Bedouins of +every description, there can be no room for doubt that in the poetry of +the sixth century we hear the Arabic language as it was then spoken +throughout the length and breadth of Arabia. The success of Mua¸Yammad and +the conquests made by Islam under the Orthodox Caliphs gave an entirely +new importance to this classical idiom. Arabic became the sacred +language of the whole Moslem world. This was certainly due to the Koran; +but, on the other hand, to regard the dialect of Mecca, in which the +Koran is written, as the source and prototype of the Arabic language, +and to call Arabic 'the dialect of Quraysh,' is utterly to reverse the +true facts of the case. Mua¸Yammad, as NA¶ldeke has observed, took the +ancient poetry for a model; and in the early age of Islam it was the +authority of the heathen poets (of whom Quraysh had singularly few) that +determined the classical usage and set the standard of correct speech. +Moslems, who held the Koran to be the Word of God and inimitable in +point of style, naturally exalted the dialect of the Prophet's tribe +above all others, even laying down the rule that every tribe spoke less +purely in proportion to its distance from Mecca, but this view will not +commend itself to the unprejudiced student. The Koran, however, +exercised a unique influence on the history of the Arabic language and +literature. We shall see in a subsequent chapter that the necessity of +preserving the text of the Holy Book uncorrupted, and of elucidating its +obscurities, caused the Moslems to invent a science of grammar and +lexicography, and to collect the old Pre-Mua¸Yammadan poetry and +traditions which must otherwise have perished. When the Arabs settled as +conquerors in Syria and Persia and mixed with foreign peoples, the +purity of the classical language could no longer be maintained. While in +Arabia itself, especially among the nomads of the desert, little +difference was felt, in the provincial garrison towns and great centres +of industry like Baa¹Lra and KAºfa, where the population largely consisted +of aliens who had embraced Islam and were rapidly being Arabicised, the +door stood open for all sorts of depravation to creep in. Against this +vulgar Arabic the philologists waged unrelenting war, and it was mainly +through their exertions that the classical idiom triumphed over the +dangers to which it was exposed. Although the language of the pagan +Bedouins did not survive intact--or survived, at any rate, only in the +mouths of pedants and poets--it became, in a modified form, the +universal medium of expression among the upper classes of Mua¸Yammadan +society. During the early Middle Ages it was spoken and written by all +cultivated Moslems, of whatever nationality they might be, from the +Indus to the Atlantic; it was the language of the Court and the Church, +of Law and Commerce, of Diplomacy and Literature and Science. When the +Mongol invasion in the thirteenth century swept away the aEuro~AbbAisid +Caliphate, and therewith the last vestige of political unity in Islam, +classical Arabic ceased to be the IºI?I¹I1/2I(R) or 'common dialect' of +the Moslem world, and was supplanted in Arabia, Syria, Egypt, and other +Arabic-speaking countries by a vulgar colloquial idiom. In these +countries, however, it is still the language of business, literature, +and education, and we are told on high authority that even now it "is +undergoing a renaissance, and there is every likelihood of its again +becoming a great literary vehicle."[14] And if, for those Moslems who +are not Arabs, it occupies relatively much the same position as Latin +and Greek in modern European culture, we must not forget that the Koran, +its most renowned masterpiece, is learned by every Moslem when he first +goes to school, is repeated in his daily prayers, and influences the +whole course of his life to an extent which the ordinary Christian can +hardly realise. + +[Sidenote: The Nabaa¹-A|ans.] + +I hope that I may be excused for ignoring in a work such as this the +information regarding Ancient Arabian history which it is possible to +glean from the Babylonian and Assyrian monuments. Any sketch that might +be drawn of the Arabs, say from 2500 B.C. to the beginning of our era, +would resemble a map of Cathay delineated by Sir John Mandeville. But +amongst the shadowy peoples of the peninsula one, besides Saba and +a¸¤imyar, makes something more than a transient impression. The Nabaa¹-A|ans +(_Nabaa¹-_, pl. _AnbAia¹-_) dwelt in towns, drove a flourishing trade long +before the birth of Christ, and founded the kingdom of Petra, which +attained a high degree of prosperity and culture until it was annexed by +Trajan in 105 A.D. These Nabaa¹-A|ans were Arabs and spoke Arabic, although +in default of a script of their own they used Aramaic for writing.[15] +Mua¸Yammadan authors identify them with the AramA|ans, but careful study of +their inscriptions has shown that this view, which was accepted by +QuatremA"re,[16] is erroneous. 'The Book of Nabaa¹-A|an Agriculture' +(_KitAibu aEuro(TM)l-FalAia¸Yat al-Nabaa¹-iyya_), composed in 904 A.D. by the Moslem +Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-Waa¸Yshiyya, who professed to have translated it from the +ChaldA|an, is now known to be a forgery. I only mention it here as an +instance of the way in which Moslems apply the term 'Nabaa¹-A|an'; for the +title in question does not, of course, refer to Petra but to Babylon. + +[Sidenote: Three periods of Arabian history.] + +From what has been said the reader will perceive that the history of the +Arabs, so far as our knowledge of it is derived from Arabic sources, may +be divided into the following periods:-- + + I. The SabA|an and a¸¤imyarite period, from 800 B.C., + the date of the oldest South Arabic inscriptions, to + 500 A.D. + + II. The Pre-islamic period (500-622 A.D.). + + III. The Mua¸Yammadan period, beginning with the Migration + (Hijra, or Hegira, as the word is generally written) + of the Prophet from Mecca to MedA-na in 622 A.D. + and extending to the present day. + +[Sidenote: The SabA|ans and a¸¤imyarites.] + +For the first period, which is confined to the history of Yemen or South +Arabia, we have no contemporary Arabic sources except the inscriptions. +The valuable but imperfect information which these supply is appreciably +increased by the traditions preserved in the Pre-islamic poems, in the +Koran, and particularly in the later Mua¸Yammadan literature. It is true +that most of this material is legendary and would justly be ignored by +any one engaged in historical research, but I shall nevertheless devote +a good deal of space to it, since my principal object is to make known +the beliefs and opinions of the Arabs themselves. + +[Sidenote: The pagan Arabs.] + +The second period is called by Mua¸Yammadan writers the _JAihiliyya_, +_i.e._, the Age of Ignorance or Barbarism.[17] Its characteristics are +faithfully and vividly reflected in the songs and odes of the heathen +poets which have come down to us. There was no prose literature at that +time: it was the poet's privilege to sing the history of his own people, +to record their genealogies, to celebrate their feats of arms, and to +extol their virtues. Although an immense quantity of Pre-islamic verse +has been lost for ever, we still possess a considerable remnant, which, +together with the prose narratives compiled by Moslem philologists and +antiquaries, enables us to picture the life of those wild days, in its +larger aspects, accurately enough. + +[Sidenote: The Moslem Arabs.] + +The last and by far the most important of the three periods comprises +the history of the Arabs under Islam. It falls naturally into the +following sections, which are enumerated in this place in order that the +reader may see at a glance the broad political outlines of the complex +and difficult epoch which lies before him. + + +_A._ The Life of Mua¸Yammad. + +[Sidenote: Life of Mua¸Yammad.] + +About the beginning of the seventh century of the Christian era a man +named Mua¸Yammad, son of aEuro~AbdullAih, of the tribe Quraysh, appeared in +Mecca with a Divine revelation (Koran). He called on his fellow-townsmen +to renounce idolatry and worship the One God. In spite of ridicule and +persecution he continued for several years to preach the religion of +Islam in Mecca, but, making little progress there, he fled in 622 A.D. +to the neighbouring city of MedA-na. From this date his cause prospered +exceedingly. During the next decade the whole of Arabia submitted to his +rule and did lip-service at least to the new Faith. + + +_B._ The Orthodox Caliphate (632-661 A.D.). + +[Sidenote: The Orthodox Caliphs.] + +On the death of the Prophet the Moslems were governed in turn by four of +the most eminent among his Companions--AbAº Bakr, aEuro~Umar, aEuro~UthmAin, and +aEuro~AlA---who bore the title of _KhalA-fa_ (Caliph), _i.e._, Vicegerent, and +are commonly described as the Orthodox Caliphs (_al-KhulafAi +al-RAishidAºn_). Under their guidance Islam was firmly established in the +peninsula and was spread far beyond its borders. Hosts of Bedouins +settled as military colonists in the fertile plains of Syria and Persia. +Soon, however, the recently founded empire was plunged into civil war. +The murder of aEuro~UthmAin gave the signal for a bloody strife between rival +claimants of the Caliphate. aEuro~AlA-, the son-in-law of the Prophet, assumed +the title, but his election was contested by the powerful governor of +Syria, MuaEuro~Aiwiya b. AbA- SufyAin. + + +_C._ The Umayyad Dynasty (661-750 A.D.). + +[Sidenote: The Umayyad dynasty.] + +aEuro~AlA- fell by an assassin's dagger, and MuaEuro~Aiwiya succeeded to the +Caliphate, which remained in his family for ninety years. The Umayyads, +with a single exception, were Arabs first and Moslems afterwards. +Religion sat very lightly on them, but they produced some able and +energetic princes, worthy leaders of an imperial race. By 732 A.D. the +Moslem conquests had reached the utmost limit which they ever attained. +The Caliph in Damascus had his lieutenants beyond the Oxus and the +Pyrenees, on the shores of the Caspian and in the valley of the Nile. +Meantime the strength of the dynasty was being sapped by political and +religious dissensions nearer home. The ShA-aEuro~ites, who held that the +Caliphate belonged by Divine right to aEuro~AlA- and his descendants, rose in +revolt again and again. They were joined by the Persian Moslems, who +loathed the Arabs and the oppressive Umayyad government. The aEuro~AbbAisids, +a family closely related to the Prophet, put themselves at the head of +the agitation. It ended in the complete overthrow of the reigning house, +which was almost exterminated. + + +_D._ The aEuro~AbbAisid Dynasty (750-1258 A.D.). + +[Sidenote: The aEuro~AbbAisid dynasty.] + +Hitherto the Arabs had played a dominant rA'le in the Moslem community, +and had treated the non-Arab Moslems with exasperating contempt. Now the +tables were turned. We pass from the period of Arabian nationalism to +one of Persian ascendancy and cosmopolitan culture. The flower of the +aEuro~AbbAisid troops were Persians from KhurAisAin; BaghdAid, the wonderful +aEuro~AbbAisid capital, was built on Persian soil; and Persian nobles filled +the highest offices of state at the aEuro~AbbAisid court. The new dynasty, if +not religious, was at least favourable to religion, and took care to +live in the odour of sanctity. For a time Arabs and Persians forgot +their differences and worked together as good Moslems ought. Piety was +no longer its own reward. Learning enjoyed munificent patronage. This +was the Golden Age of Islam, which culminated in the glorious reign of +HAirAºn al-RashA-d (786-809 A.D.). On his death peace was broken once more, +and the mighty empire began slowly to collapse. As province after +province cut itself loose from the Caliphate, numerous independent +dynasties sprang up, while the Caliphs became helpless puppets in the +hands of Turkish mercenaries. Their authority was still formally +recognised in most Mua¸Yammadan countries, but since the middle of the +ninth century they had little or no real power. + + +_E._ From the Mongol invasion to the present day (1258 A.D.--). + +[Sidenote: The Post-Mongolian period.] + +The Mongol hordes under HAºlAigAº captured BaghdAid in 1258 A.D. and made an +end of the Caliphate. Sweeping onward, they were checked by the Egyptian +Mamelukes and retired into Persia, where, some fifty years afterwards, +they embraced Islam. The successors of HAºlAigAº, the Al-khAins, reigned in +Persia until a second wave of barbarians under TA-mAºr spread devastation +and anarchy through Western Asia (1380-1405 A.D.). The unity of Islam, +in a political sense, was now destroyed. Out of the chaos three +Mua¸Yammadan empires gradually took shape. In 1358 the Ottoman Turks +crossed the Hellespont, in 1453 they entered Constantinople, and in 1517 +Syria, Egypt, and Arabia were added to their dominions. Persia became an +independent kingdom under the a¹cafawids (1502-1736); while in India +the empire of the Great Moguls was founded by BAibur, a descendant of +TA-mAºr, and gloriously maintained by his successors, Akbar and AwrangzA-b +(1525-1707). + +[Sidenote: Arabian literary history.] + +[Sidenote: Writers who are wholly or partly of foreign extraction.] + +Some of the political events which have been summarised above will be +treated more fully in the body of this work; others will receive no more +than a passing notice. The ideas which reveal themselves in Arabic +literature are so intimately connected with the history of the people, +and so incomprehensible apart from the external circumstances in which +they arose, that I have found myself obliged to dwell at considerable +length on various matters of historical interest, in order to bring out +what is really characteristic and important from our special point of +view. The space devoted to the early periods (500-750 A.D.) will not +appear excessive if they are seen in their true light as the centre and +heart of Arabian history. During the next hundred years Moslem +civilisation reaches its zenith, but the Arabs recede more and more into +the background. The Mongol invasion virtually obliterated their national +life, though in Syria and Egypt they maintained their traditions of +culture under Turkish rule, and in Spain we meet them struggling +desperately against Christendom. Many centuries earlier, in the balmy +days of the aEuro~AbbAisid Empire, the Arabs _pur sang_ contributed only a +comparatively small share to the literature which bears their name. I +have not, however, enforced the test of nationality so strictly as to +exclude all foreigners or men of mixed origin who wrote in Arabic. It +may be said that the work of Persians (who even nowadays are accustomed +to use Arabic when writing on theological and philosophical subjects) +cannot illustrate the history of Arabian thought, but only the influence +exerted upon Arabian thought by Persian ideas, and that consequently it +must stand aside unless admitted for this definite purpose. But what +shall we do in the case of those numerous and celebrated authors who are +neither wholly Arab nor wholly Persian, but unite the blood of both +races? Must we scrutinise their genealogies and try to discover which +strain preponderates? That would be a tedious and unprofitable task. The +truth is that after the Umayyad period no hard-and-fast line can be +drawn between the native and foreign elements in Arabic literature. Each +reacted on the other, and often both are combined indissolubly. Although +they must be distinguished as far as possible, we should be taking a +narrow and pedantic view of literary history if we insisted on regarding +them as mutually exclusive. + + + + +CHAPTER I + +SABA AND a¸¤IMYAR + + +[Sidenote: Primitive races.] + +[Sidenote: Legend of aEuro~Ad.] + +With the SabA|ans Arabian history in the proper sense may be said to +begin, but as a preliminary step we must take account of certain races +which figure more or less prominently in legend, and are considered by +Moslem chroniclers to have been the original inhabitants of the country. +Among these are the peoples of aEuro~Ad and ThamAºd, which are constantly held +up in the Koran as terrible examples of the pride that goeth before +destruction. The home of the aEuro~Adites was in a¸¤aa¸ramawt, the province +adjoining Yemen, on the borders of the desert named _Aa¸YqAifu aEuro(TM)l-Raml_. It +is doubtful whether they were Semites, possibly of Aramaic descent, who +were subdued and exterminated by invaders from the north, or, as Hommel +maintains,[18] the representatives of an imposing non-Semitic culture +which survives in the tradition of 'Many-columned Iram,'[19] the Earthly +Paradise built by ShaddAid, one of their kings. The story of their +destruction is related as follows:[20] They were a people of gigantic +strength and stature, worshipping idols and committing all manner of +wrong; and when God sent to them a prophet, HAºd by name, who should warn +them to repent, they answered: "O HAºd, thou hast brought us no evidence, +and we will not abandon our gods for thy saying, nor will we believe in +thee. We say one of our gods hath afflicted thee with madness."[21] Then +a fearful drought fell upon the land of aEuro~Ad, so that they sent a number +of their chief men to Mecca to pray for rain. On arriving at Mecca the +envoys were hospitably received by the Amalekite prince, MuaEuro~Aiwiya b. +Bakr, who entertained them with wine and music--for he had two famous +singing-girls known as _al-JarAidatAin_; which induced them to neglect +their mission for the space of a whole month. At last, however, they got +to business, and their spokesman had scarce finished his prayer when +three clouds appeared, of different colours--white, red, and black--and +a voice cried from heaven, "Choose for thyself and for thy people!" He +chose the black cloud, deeming that it had the greatest store of rain, +whereupon the voice chanted-- + + "Thou hast chosen embers dun | that will spare of aEuro~Ad not one | that + will leave nor father nor son | ere him to death they shall have + done." + +Then God drove the cloud until it stood over the land of aEuro~Ad, and there +issued from it a roaring wind that consumed the whole people except a +few who had taken the prophet's warning to heart and had renounced +idolatry. + +From these, in course of time, a new people arose, who are called 'the +second aEuro~Ad.' They had their settlements in Yemen, in the region of Saba. +The building of the great Dyke of MaaEuro(TM)rib is commonly attributed to their +king, LuqmAin b. aEuro~Ad, about whom many fables are told. He was surnamed +'The Man of the Vultures' (_Dhu aEuro(TM)l-NusAºr_), because it had been granted +to him that he should live as long as seven vultures, one after the +other. + +[Sidenote: Legend of ThamAºd.] + +In North Arabia, between the a¸¤ijAiz and Syria, dwelt the kindred race of +ThamAºd, described in the Koran (vii, 72) as inhabiting houses which they +cut for themselves in the rocks. Evidently Mua¸Yammad did not know the +true nature of the hewn chambers which are still to be seen at a¸¤ijr +(MadAiaEuro(TM)in a¹cAilia¸Y), a week's journey northward from MedA-na, and which are +proved by the Nabaa¹-A|an inscriptions engraved on them to have been +sepulchral monuments.[22] ThamAºd sinned in the same way as aEuro~Ad, and +suffered a like fate. They scouted the prophet a¹cAilia¸Y, refusing to +believe in him unless he should work a miracle. a¹cAilia¸Y then caused a +she-camel big with young to come forth from a rock, and bade them do her +no hurt, but one of the miscreants, QudAir the Red (al-Aa¸Ymar), hamstrung +and killed her. "Whereupon a great earthquake overtook them with a noise +of thunder, and in the morning they lay dead in their houses, flat upon +their breasts."[23] The author of this catastrophe became a byword: +Arabs say, "More unlucky than the hamstringer of the she-camel," or +"than Aa¸Ymar of ThamAºd." It should be pointed out that, unlike the +aEuro~Adites, of whom we find no trace in historical times, the ThamAºdites +are mentioned as still existing by Diodorus Siculus and Ptolemy; and +they survived down to the fifth century A.D. in the corps of _equites +Thamudeni_ attached to the army of the Byzantine emperors. + +[Sidenote: aEuro~AmAilA-q.] + +[Sidenote: a¹¬asm and JadA-s.] + +Besides aEuro~Ad and ThamAºd, the list of primitive races includes the aEuro~AmAilA-q +(Amalekites)--a purely fictitious term under which the Moslem +antiquaries lumped together several peoples of an age long past,_e.g._, +the Canaanites and the Philistines. We hear of Amalekite settlements in +the TihAima (Netherland) of Mecca and in other parts of the peninsula. +Finally, mention should be made of a¹¬asm and JadA-s, sister tribes of +which nothing is recorded except the fact of their destruction and the +events that brought it about. The legendary narrative in which these are +embodied has some archA|ological interest as showing the existence in +early Arabian society of a barbarous feudal custom, 'le droit du +seigneur,' but it is time to pass on to the main subject of this +chapter. + +[Sidenote: History of the Yoqa¹-Ainids.] + +The Pre-islamic history of the Yoqa¹-Ainids, or Southern Arabs, on which we +now enter, is virtually the history of two peoples, the SabA|ans and the +a¸¤imyarites, who formed the successive heads of a South Arabian empire +extending from the Red Sea to the Persian Gulf. + +[Sidenote: The SabA|ans.] + +Saba[24] (Sheba of the Old Testament) is often incorrectly used to +denote the whole of Arabia Felix, whereas it was only one, though +doubtless the first in power and importance, of several kingdoms, the +names and capitals of which are set down in the works of Greek and Roman +geographers. However exaggerated may be the glowing accounts that we +find there of SabA|an wealth and magnificence, it is certain that Saba +was a flourishing commercial state many centuries before the birth of +Christ.[25] "Sea-traffic between the ports of East Arabia and India was +very early established, and Indian products, especially spices and rare +animals (apes and peacocks) were conveyed to the coast of aEuro~UmAin. Thence, +apparently even in the tenth century B.C., they went overland to the +Arabian Gulf, where they were shipped to Egypt for the use of the +Pharaohs and grandees.... The difficulty of navigating the Red Sea +caused the land route to be preferred for the traffic between Yemen and +Syria. From Shabwat (Sabota) in a¸¤aa¸ramawt the caravan road went to +MaaEuro(TM)rib (Mariaba), the SabA|an capital, then northward to Macoraba (the +later Mecca), and by way of Petra to Gaza on the Mediterranean."[26] The +prosperity of the SabA|ans lasted until the Indian trade, instead of +going overland, began to go by sea along the coast of a¸¤aa¸ramawt and +through the straits of BAib al-Mandab. In consequence of this change, +which seems to have taken place in the first century A.D., their power +gradually declined, a great part of the population was forced to seek +new homes in the north, their cities became desolate, and their massive +aqueducts crumbled to pieces. We shall see presently that Arabian legend +has crystallised the results of a long period of decay into a single +fact--the bursting of the Dyke of MaaEuro(TM)rib. + +[Sidenote: The a¸¤imyarites.] + +The disappearance of the SabA|ans left the way open for a younger branch +of the same stock, namely, the a¸¤imyarites, or, as they are called by +classical authors, HomeritA|, whose country lay between Saba and the sea. +Under their kings, known as TubbaaEuro~s, they soon became the dominant power +in South Arabia and exercised sway, at least ostensibly, over the +northern tribes down to the end of the fifth century A.D., when the +latter revolted and, led by Kulayb b. RabA-aEuro~a, shook off the suzerainty +of Yemen in a great battle at KhazAizAi.[27] The a¸¤imyarites never +flourished like the SabA|ans. Their maritime situation exposed them more +to attack, while the depopulation of the country had seriously weakened +their military strength. The Abyssinians--originally colonists from +Yemen--made repeated attempts to gain a foothold, and frequently managed +to instal governors who were in turn expelled by native princes. Of +these Abyssinian viceroys the most famous is Abraha, whose unfortunate +expedition against Mecca will be related in due course. Ultimately the +a¸¤imyarite Empire was reduced to a Persian dependency. It had ceased to +exist as a political power about a hundred years before the rise of +Islam. + +[Sidenote: Sources of information.] + +The chief Arabian sources of information concerning Saba and a¸¤imyar are +(1) the so-called 'a¸¤imyarite' inscriptions, and (2) the traditions, +almost entirely of a legendary kind, which are preserved in Mua¸Yammadan +literature. + +[Sidenote: The South Arabic or SabA|an inscriptions.] + +[Sidenote: Objections to the term 'a¸¤imyarite.'] + +Although the South Arabic language may have maintained itself +sporadically in certain remote districts down to the Prophet's time or +even later, it had long ago been superseded as a medium of daily +intercourse by the language of the North, the Arabic _par excellence_, +which henceforth reigns without a rival throughout the peninsula. The +dead language, however, did not wholly perish. Already in the sixth +century A.D. the Bedouin rider made his camel kneel down while he +stopped to gaze wonderingly at inscriptions in a strange character +engraved on walls of rock or fragments of hewn stone, and compared the +mysterious, half-obliterated markings to the almost unrecognisable +traces of the camping-ground which for him was fraught with tender +memories. These inscriptions are often mentioned by Mua¸Yammadan authors, +who included them in the term _Musnad_. That some Moslems--probably very +few--could not only read the South Arabic alphabet, but were also +acquainted with the elementary rules of orthography, appears from a +passage in the eighth book of HamdAinA-'s _IklA-l_; but though they might +decipher proper names and make out the sense of words here and there, +they had no real knowledge of the language. How the inscriptions were +discovered anew by the enterprise of European travellers, gradually +deciphered and interpreted until they became capable of serving as a +basis for historical research, and what results the study of them has +produced, this I shall now set forth as briefly as possible. Before +doing so it is necessary to explain why instead of 'a¸¤imyarite +inscriptions' and 'a¸¤imyarite language' I have adopted the less familiar +designations 'South Arabic' or 'SabA|an.' 'a¸¤imyarite' is equally +misleading, whether applied to the language of the inscriptions or to +the inscriptions themselves. As regards the language, it was spoken in +one form or another not by the a¸¤imyarites alone, but also by the +SabA|ans, the MinA|ans, and all the different peoples of Yemen. +Mua¸Yammadans gave the name of 'a¸¤imyarite' to the ancient language of +Yemen for the simple reason that the a¸¤imyarites were the most powerful +race in that country during the last centuries preceding Islam. Had all +the inscriptions belonged to the period of a¸¤imyarite supremacy, they +might with some justice have been named after the ruling people; but the +fact is that many date from a far earlier age, some going back to the +eighth century B.C., perhaps nearly a thousand years before the +a¸¤imyarite Empire was established. The term 'SabA|an' is less open to +objection, for it may fairly be regarded as a national rather than a +political denomination. On the whole, however, I prefer 'South Arabic' +to either. + +[Sidenote: Discovery and decipherment of the South Arabic inscriptions.] + +Among the pioneers of exploration in Yemen the first to interest himself +in the discovery of inscriptions was Carsten Niebuhr, whose +_Beschreibung von Arabien_, published in 1772, conveyed to Europe the +report that inscriptions which, though he had not seen them, he +conjectured to be 'a¸¤imyarite,' existed in the ruins of the once famous +city of aº'afAir. On one occasion a Dutchman who had turned Mua¸Yammadan +showed him the copy of an inscription in a completely unknown alphabet, +but "at that time (he says) being very ill with a violent fever, I had +more reason to prepare myself for death than to collect old +inscriptions."[28] Thus the opportunity was lost, but curiosity had been +awakened, and in 1810 Ulrich Jasper Seetzen discovered and copied +several inscriptions in the neighbourhood of aº'afAir. Unfortunately these +copies, which had to be made hastily, were very inexact. He also +purchased an inscription, which he took away with him and copied at +leisure, but his ignorance of the characters led him to mistake the +depressions in the stone for letters, so that the conclusions he came to +were naturally of no value.[29] The first serviceable copies of South +Arabic inscriptions were brought to Europe by English officers employed +on the survey of the southern and western coasts of Arabia. Lieutenant +J. R. Wellsted published the inscriptions of a¸¤ia¹Ln GhurAib and Naqb +al-a¸¤ajar in his _Travels in Arabia_ (1838). + +Meanwhile Emil RA¶diger, Professor of Oriental Languages at Halle, with +the help of two manuscripts of the Berlin Royal Library containing +'a¸¤imyarite' alphabets, took the first step towards a correct +decipherment by refuting the idea, for which De Sacy's authority had +gained general acceptance, that the South Arabic script ran from left to +right[30]; he showed, moreover, that the end of every word was marked by +a straight perpendicular line.[31] Wellsted's inscriptions, together +with those which Hulton and Cruttenden brought to light at a¹canaEuro~Ai, were +deciphered by Gesenius and RA¶diger working independently (1841). +Hitherto England and Germany had shared the credit of discovery, but a +few years later France joined hands with them and was soon leading the +way with characteristic brilliance. In 1843 Th. Arnaud, starting from +a¹canaEuro~Ai, succeeded in discovering the ruins of MaaEuro(TM)rib, the ancient SabA|an +metropolis, and in copying at the risk of his life between fifty and +sixty inscriptions, which were afterwards published in the _Journal +Asiatique_ and found an able interpreter in Osiander.[32] Still more +important were the results of the expedition undertaken in 1870 by the +Jewish scholar, Joseph HalA(C)vy, who penetrated into the Jawf, or country +lying east of a¹canaEuro~Ai, which no European had traversed before him since 24 +B.C., when A†lius Gallus led a Roman army by the same route. After +enduring great fatigues and meeting with many perilous adventures, +HalA(C)vy brought back copies of nearly seven hundred inscriptions.[33] +During the last twenty-five years much fresh material has been collected +by E. Glaser and Julius Euting, while study of that already existing by +PrA|torius, HalA(C)vy, D. H. MA1/4ller, Mordtmann, and other scholars has +substantially enlarged our knowledge of the language, history, and +religion of South Arabia in the Pre-islamic age. + +[Sidenote: The historical value of the inscriptions.] + +Neither the names of the a¸¤imyarite monarchs, as they appear in the lists +drawn up by Mua¸Yammadan historians, nor the order in which these names +are arranged can pretend to accuracy. If they are historical persons at +all they must have reigned in fairly recent times, perhaps a short while +before the rise of Islam, and probably they were unimportant princes +whom the legend has thrown back into the ancient epoch, and has invested +with heroic attributes. Any one who doubts this has only to compare the +modern lists with those which have been made from the material in the +inscriptions.[34] D. H. MA1/4ller has collected the names of thirty-three +MinA|an kings. Certain names are often repeated--a proof of the existence +of ruling dynasties--and ornamental epithets are usually attached to +them. Thus we find DhamaraEuro~alA- DhirrA-a¸Y (Glorious), YathaaEuro~amar Bayyin +(Distinguished), KaribaaEuro(TM)A-l WatAir YuhanaEuro~im (Great, Beneficent), SamahaEuro~alA- +YanAºf (Exalted). Moreover, the kings bear different titles corresponding +to three distinct periods of South Arabian history, viz., 'Priest-king +of Saba' (_Mukarrib Saba_),[35] 'King of Saba' (_Malk Saba_), and 'King +of Saba and RaydAin.' In this way it is possible to determine +approximately the age of the various buildings and inscriptions, and to +show that they do not belong, as had hitherto been generally supposed, +to the time of Christ, but that in some cases they are at least eight +hundred years older. + +[Sidenote: Votive inscriptions.] + +How widely the peaceful, commerce-loving people of Saba and a¸¤imyar +differed in character from the wild Arabs to whom Mua¸Yammad was sent +appears most strikingly in their submissive attitude towards their gods, +which forms, as Goldziher has remarked, the keynote of the South Arabian +monuments.[36] The prince erects a thank-offering to the gods who gave +him victory over his enemies; the priest dedicates his children and all +his possessions; the warrior who has been blessed with "due +man-slayings," or booty, or escape from death records his gratitude, and +piously hopes for a continuance of favour. The dead are conceived as +living happily under divine protection; they are venerated and sometimes +deified.[37] The following inscription, translated by Lieut.-Col. W. F. +Prideaux, is a typical example of its class:-- + + "SaaEuro~d-ilAih and his sons, BenAº Marthadim, have endowed Il-Maa¸ cubedah of + HirrAin with this tablet, because Il-Maa¸ cubedah, lord of AwwAim DhAº-aEuro~IrAin + AlAº, has favourably heard the prayer addressed to him, and has + consequently heard the BenAº Marthadim when they offered the + first-fruits of their fertile lands of Arhaa¸ cubedim in the presence of + Il-Maa¸ cubedah of HirrAin, and Il-Maa¸ cubedah of HirrAin has favourably heard the + prayer addressed to him that he would protect the plains and meadows + and this tribe in their habitations, in consideration of the frequent + gifts throughout the year; and truly his (SaaEuro~d-ilAih's) sons will + descend to Arhaa¸ cubedim, and they will indeed sacrifice in the two shrines + of aEuro~Athtor and Shamsim, and there shall be a sacrifice in HirrAin--both + in order that Il-Maa¸ cubedah may afford protection to those fields of Bin + Marthadim as well as that he may favourably listen--and in the + sanctuary of Il-Maa¸ cubedah of a¸¤arwat, and therefore may he keep them in + safety according to the sign in which SaaEuro~d-ilAih was instructed, the + sign which he saw in the sanctuary of Il-Maa¸ cubedah of NaaEuro~mAin; and as for + Il-Maa¸ cubedah of HirrAin, he has protected those fertile lands of Arhaa¸ cubedim + from hail and from all misfortune (_or_, from cold and from all + extreme heat)."[38] + +In concluding this very inadequate account of the South Arabic +inscriptions I must claim the indulgence of my readers, who are aware +how difficult it is to write clearly and accurately upon any subject +without first-hand knowledge, in particular when the results of previous +research are continually being transformed by new workers in the same +field. + +[Sidenote: Literary sources.] + +[Sidenote: HamdAinA- (aEuro 945 A.D.).] + +Fortunately we possess a considerable literary supplement to these +somewhat austere and meagre remains. Our knowledge of South Arabian +geography, antiquities, and legendary history is largely derived from +the works of two natives of Yemen, who were filled with enthusiasm for +its ancient glories, and whose writings, though different as fact and +fable, are from the present point of view equally instructive--a¸¤asan b. +Aa¸Ymad al-HamdAinA- and NashwAin b. SaaEuro~A-d al-a¸¤imyarA-. Besides an excellent +geography of Arabia (_a¹cifatu JazA-rat al-aEuro~Arab_), which has been edited +by D. H. MA1/4ller, HamdAinA- left a great work on the history and +antiquities of Yemen, entitled _al-IklA-l_ ('The Crown'), and divided +into ten books under the following heads:--[39] + + Book I. _Compendium of the beginning and origins of genealogy._ + + Book II. _Genealogy of the descendants of al-HamaysaaEuro~ b. a¸¤imyar._ + + Book III. _Concerning the pre-eminent qualities of Qaa¸Ya¹-Ain._ + + Book IV. _Concerning the first period of history down to the reign + of TubbaaEuro~ AbAº Karib._ + + Book V. _Concerning the middle period from the accession of AsaEuro~ad + TubbaaEuro~ to the reign of DhAº NuwAis._ + + Book VI. _Concerning the last period down to the rise of Islam._ + + Book VII. _Criticism of false traditions and absurd legends._ + + Book VIII. _Concerning the castles, cities, and tombs of the + a¸¤imyarites; the extant poetry of aEuro~Alqama,_[40] + _the elegies, the inscriptions, and other matters._ + + Book IX. _Concerning the proverbs and wisdom of the a¸¤imyarites in + the a¸¤imyarite language, and concerning the alphabet + of the inscriptions._ + + Book X. _Concerning the genealogy of a¸¤Aishid and BakA-l_ (the two + principal tribes of HamdAin). + +[Sidenote: NashwAin b. SaaEuro~A-d al-a¸¤imyarA- (aEuro 1177 A.D.).] + +[Sidenote: aEuro~AbA-d b. Sharya.] + +[Sidenote: a¸¤amza of Ia¹LfahAin.] + +The same intense patriotism which caused HamdAinA- to devote himself to +scientific research inspired NashwAin b. SaaEuro~A-d, who descended on the +father's side from one of the ancient princely families of Yemen, to +recall the legendary past and become the laureate of a long vanished and +well-nigh forgotten empire. In 'The a¸¤imyarite Ode' (_al-Qaa¹LA¬datu +aEuro(TM)l-a¸¤imyariyya_) he sings the might and grandeur of the monarchs who +ruled over his people, and moralises in true Mua¸Yammadan spirit upon the +fleetingness of life and the futility of human ambition.[41] +Accompanying the Ode, which has little value except as a comparatively +unfalsified record of royal names,[42] is a copious historical +commentary either by NashwAin himself, as Von Kremer thinks highly +probable, or by some one who lived about the same time. Those for whom +history represents an aggregate of naked facts would find nothing to the +purpose in this commentary, where threads of truth are almost +inextricably interwoven with fantastic and fabulous embroideries. A +literary form was first given to such legends by the professional +story-tellers of early Islam. One of these, the South Arabian aEuro~AbA-d b. +Sharya, visited Damascus by command of the Caliph MuaEuro~Aiwiya I, who +questioned him "concerning the ancient traditions, the kings of the +Arabs and other races, the cause of the confusion of tongues, and the +history of the dispersion of mankind in the various countries of the +world,"[43] and gave orders that his answers should be put together in +writing and published under his name. This work, of which unfortunately +no copy has come down to us, was entitled 'The Book of the Kings and the +History of the Ancients' (_KitAibu aEuro(TM)l-MulAºk wa-akhbAiru aEuro(TM)l-MAia¸A-n_). +MasaEuro~AºdA- (aEuro 956 A.D.) speaks of it as a well-known book, enjoying a wide +circulation.[44] It was used by the commentator of the a¸¤imyarite Ode, +either at first hand or through the medium of HamdAinA-'s _IklA-l_. We may +regard it, like the commentary itself, as a historical romance in which +most of the characters and some of the events are real, adorned with +fairy-tales, fictitious verses, and such entertaining matter as a man of +learning and story-teller by trade might naturally be expected to +introduce. Among the few remaining Mua¸Yammadan authors who bestowed +special attention on the Pre-islamic period of South Arabian history, I +shall mention here only a¸¤amza of Ia¹LfahAin, the eighth book of whose +Annals (finished in 961 A.D.) provides a useful sketch, with brief +chronological details, of the TubbaaEuro~s or a¸¤imyarite kings of Yemen. + +[Sidenote: YaaEuro~rub.] + +[Sidenote: a¸¤imyar and KahlAin.] + +Qaa¸Ya¹-Ain, the ancestor of the Southern Arabs, was succeeded by his son +YaaEuro~rub, who is said to have been the first to use the Arabic language, +and the first to receive the salutations with which the Arabs were +accustomed to address their kings, viz., "_InaEuro~im a¹LabAia¸Yan_" ("Good +morning!") and "_Abayta aEuro(TM)l-laaEuro~na_" ("Mayst thou avoid malediction!"). +His grandson, aEuro~Abd Shams Saba, is named as the founder of MaaEuro(TM)rib and the +builder of the famous Dyke, which, according to others, was constructed +by LuqmAin b. aEuro~Ad. Saba had two sons, a¸¤imyar and KahlAin. Before his death +he deputed the sovereign authority to a¸¤imyar, and the task of protecting +the frontiers and making war upon the enemy to KahlAin. Thus a¸¤imyar +obtained the lordship, assumed the title AbAº Ayman, and abode in the +capital city of the realm, while KahlAin took over the defence of the +borders and the conduct of war.[45] Omitting the long series of mythical +SabA|an kings, of whom the legend has little or nothing to relate, we now +come to an event which fixed itself ineffaceably in the memory of the +Arabs, and which is known in their traditions as _Saylu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~Arim_, or +the Flood of the Dyke. + +[Sidenote: The Dam of MaaEuro(TM)rib.] + +Some few miles south-west of MaaEuro(TM)rib the mountains draw together leaving +a gap, through which flows the River Adana. During the summer its bed is +often dry, but in the rainy season the water rushes down with such +violence that it becomes impassable. In order to protect the city from +floods, and partly also for purposes of irrigation, the inhabitants +built a dam of solid masonry, which, long after it had fallen into ruin, +struck the imagination of Mua¸Yammad, and was reckoned by Moslems among +the wonders of the world.[46] That their historians have clothed the +bare fact of its destruction in ample robes of legendary circumstance is +not surprising, but renders abridgment necessary.[47] + +[Sidenote: Its destruction announced by portents.] + +Towards the end of the third century of our era, or possibly at an +earlier epoch,[48] the throne of MaaEuro(TM)rib was temporarily occupied by aEuro~Amr +b. aEuro~Amir MAiaEuro(TM) al-SamAi, surnamed MuzayqiyAi.[49] His wife, aº'arA-fa, was +skilled in the art of divination. She dreamed dreams and saw visions +which announced the impending calamity. "Go to the Dyke," she said to +her husband, who doubted her clairvoyance, "and if thou see a rat +digging holes in the Dyke with its paws and moving huge boulders with +its hind-legs, be assured that the woe hath come upon us." So aEuro~Amr went +to the Dyke and looked carefully, and lo, there was a rat moving an +enormous rock which fifty men could not have rolled from its place. +Convinced by this and other prodigies that the Dyke would soon burst and +the land be laid waste, he resolved to sell his possessions and depart +with his family; and, lest conduct so extraordinary should arouse +suspicion, he had recourse to the following stratagem. He invited the +chief men of the city to a splendid feast, which, in accordance with a +preconcerted plan, was interrupted by a violent altercation between +himself and his son (or, as others relate, an orphan who had been +brought up in his house). Blows were exchanged, and aEuro~Amr cried out, "O +shame! on the day of my glory a stripling has insulted me and struck my +face." He swore that he would put his son to death, but the guests +entreated him to show mercy, until at last he gave way. "But by God," he +exclaimed, "I will no longer remain in a city where I have suffered this +indignity. I will sell my lands and my stock." Having successfully got +rid of his encumbrances--for there was no lack of buyers eager to take +him at his word--aEuro~Amr informed the people of the danger with which they +were threatened, and set out from MaaEuro(TM)rib at the head of a great +multitude. Gradually the waters made a breach in the Dyke and swept over +the country, spreading devastation far and wide. Hence the proverb +_DhahabAº_ (or _tafarraqAº_) _aydA- Saba_, "They departed" (or "dispersed") +"like the people of Saba."[50] + +[Sidenote: Fall of the SabA|an Empire.] + +This deluge marks an epoch in the history of South Arabia. The waters +subside, the land returns to cultivation and prosperity, but MaaEuro(TM)rib lies +desolate, and the SabA|ans have disappeared for ever, except "to point a +moral or adorn a tale." Al-AaEuro~shAi sang:-- + + aOEL| aOEL| aOEL| + Metre _MutaqAirib_: (aOEL - -|aOEL - -|aOEL - -|aOEL -). + + "Let this warn whoever a warning will take-- + And MaaEuro(TM)rib withal, which the Dam fortified. + Of marble did a¸¤imyar construct it, so high, + The waters recoiled when to reach it they tried. + It watered their acres and vineyards, and hour + By hour, did a portion among them divide. + So lived they in fortune and plenty until + Therefrom turned away by a ravaging tide. + Then wandered their princes and noblemen through + Mirage-shrouded deserts that baffle the guide."[51] + +The poet's reference to a¸¤imyar is not historically accurate. It was only +after the destruction of the Dyke and the dispersion of the SabA|ans who +built it[52] that the a¸¤imyarites, with their capital aº'afAir (at a later +period, a¹canaEuro~Ai) became the rulers of Yemen. + +[Sidenote: The TubbaaEuro~s.] + +The first TubbaaEuro~, by which name the a¸¤imyarite kings are known to +Mua¸Yammadan writers, was a¸¤Airith, called al-RAiaEuro(TM)ish, _i.e._, the Featherer, +because he 'feathered' his people's nest with the booty which he brought +home as a conqueror from India and AdharbayjAin.[53] Of the TubbaaEuro~s who +come after him some obviously owe their place in the line of a¸¤imyar to +genealogists whose respect for the Koran was greater than their critical +acumen. Such a man of straw is a¹caaEuro~b Dhu aEuro(TM)l-Qarnayn (a¹caaEuro~b the +Two-horned). + +[Sidenote: Dhu aEuro(TM)l-Qarnayn.] + +The following verses show that he is a double of the mysterious Dhu +aEuro(TM)l-Qarnayn of Koranic legend, supposed by most commentators to be +identical with Alexander the Great[54]:-- + + "Ours the realm of Dhu aEuro(TM)l-Qarnayn the glorious, + Realm like his was never won by mortal king. + Followed he the Sun to view its setting + When it sank into the sombre ocean-spring; + Up he clomb to see it rise at morning, + From within its mansion when the East it fired; + All day long the horizons led him onward,[55] + All night through he watched the stars and never tired. + Then of iron and of liquid metal + He prepared a rampart not to be o'erpassed, + Gog and Magog there he threw in prison + Till on Judgment Day they shall awake at last."[56] + +[Sidenote: BilqA-s.] + +Similarly, among the TubbaaEuro~s we find the Queen of Sheba, whose +adventures with Solomon are related in the twenty-seventh chapter of the +Koran. Although Mua¸Yammad himself did not mention her name or lineage, +his interpreters were equal to the occasion and revealed her as BilqA-s, +the daughter of SharAia¸YA-l (Sharaa¸YbA-l). + +[Sidenote: AsaEuro~ad KAimil.] + +The national hero of South Arabian legend is the TubbaaEuro~ AsaEuro~ad KAimil, or, +as he is sometimes called, AbAº Karib. Even at the present day, says Von +Kremer, his memory is kept alive, and still haunts the ruins of his +palace at aº'afAir. "No one who reads the Ballad of his Adventures or the +words of exhortation which he addressed on his deathbed to his son +a¸¤assAin can escape from the conviction that here we have to do with +genuine folk-poetry--fragments of a South Arabian legendary cycle, the +beginnings of which undoubtedly reach back to a high antiquity."[57] I +translate here the former of these pieces, which may be entitled + + +THE BALLAD OF THE THREE WITCHES.[58] + + "Time brings to pass full many a wonder + Whereof the lesson thou must ponder. + Whilst all to thee seems ordered fair, + Lo, Fate hath wrought confusion there. + Against a thing foredoomed to be + Nor cunning nor caution helpeth thee. + Now a marvellous tale will I recite; + Trust me to know and tell it aright! + + Once on a time was a boy of Asd + Who became the king of the land at last, + Born in HamdAin, a villager; + The name of that village was Khamir. + This lad in the pride of youth defied + His friends, and they with scorn replied. + None guessed his worth till he was grown + Ready to spring. + + One morn, alone + On Hinwam hill he was sore afraid.[59] + (His people knew not where he strayed; + They had seen him only yesternight, + For his youth and wildness they held him light. + The wretches! Him they never missed + Who had been their glory had they wist). + + O the fear that fell on his heart when he + Saw beside him the witches three! + The eldest came with many a brew-- + In some was blood, blood-dark their hue. + 'Give me the cup!' he shouted bold; + 'Hold, hold!' cried she, but he would not hold. + She gave him the cup, nor he did shrink + Tho' he reeled as he drained the magic drink. + + Then the second yelled at him. Her he faced + Like a lion with anger in his breast. + 'These be our steeds, come mount,' she cried, + 'For asses are worst of steeds to ride.' + ''Tis sooth,' he answered, and slipped his flank + O'er a hyena lean and lank, + But the brute so fiercely flung him away, + With deep, deep wounds on the earth he lay. + Then came the youngest and tended him + On a soft bed, while her eyes did swim + In tears; but he averted his face + And sought a rougher resting-place: + Such paramour he deemed too base. + And him thought, in anguish lying there, + That needles underneath him were.[60] + + Now when they had marked his mien so bold, + Victory in all things they foretold. + 'The wars, O AsaEuro~ad, waged by thee + Shall heal mankind of misery. + Thy sword and spear the foe shall rue + When his gashes let the daylight through; + And blood shall flow on every hand + What time thou marchest from land to land. + By us be counselled: stay not within + Khamir, but go to aº'afAir and win! + To thee shall dalliance ne'er be dear, + Thy foes shall see thee before they hear. + Desire moved to encounter thee, + Noble prince, us witches three. + Not jest, but earnest on thee we tried, + And well didst thou the proof abide.' + + AsaEuro~ad went home and told his folk + What he had seen, but no heed they took. + On the tenth day he set out again + And fared to aº'afAir with thoughts in his brain. + There fortune raised him to high renown: + None swifter to strike ever wore a crown.[61] + + * * * * * + + Thus found we the tale in memory stored, + And Almighty is the Lord. + Praise be to God who liveth aye, + The Glorious to whom all men pray!" + +Legend makes AsaEuro~ad the hero of a brilliant expedition to Persia, where +he defeated the general sent against him by the Arsacids, and penetrated +to the Caspian Sea. On his way home he marched through the a¸¤ijAiz, and +having learned that his son, whom he left behind in MedA-na, had been +treacherously murdered, he resolved to take a terrible vengeance on the +people of that city. + + [Sidenote: AsaEuro~ad KAimil and the two Rabbins of MedA-na.] + + [Sidenote: AsaEuro~ad KAimil at Mecca.] + + [Sidenote: He seeks to establish Judaism in Yemen.] + + [Sidenote: The ordeal of fire.] + + "Now while the TubbaaEuro~ was carrying on war against them, there came to + him two Jewish Rabbins of the BanAº Qurayaº"a, men deep in knowledge, who + when they heard that he wished to destroy the city and its people, + said to him: 'O King, forbear! Verily, if thou wilt accept nothing + save that which thou desirest, an intervention will be made betwixt + thee and the city, and we are not sure but that sudden chastisement + may befall thee.' 'Why so?' he asked. They answered: ''Tis the place + of refuge of a prophet who in the after time shall go forth from the + sacred territory of Quraysh: it shall be his abode and his home.' So + the king refrained himself, for he saw that those two had a particular + knowledge, and he was pleased with what they told him. On departing + from MedA-na he followed them in their religion.[62]... And he turned + his face towards Mecca, that being his way to Yemen, and when he was + between aEuro~UsfAin and Amaj some Hudhalites came to him and said: 'O King, + shall we not guide thee to a house of ancient treasure which the kings + before thee neglected, wherein are pearls and emeralds and chrysolites + and gold and silver?' He said, 'Yea.' They said: 'It is a temple at + Mecca which those who belong to it worship and in which they pray.' + Now the Hudhalites wished to destroy him thereby, knowing that + destruction awaited the king who should seek to violate its precinct. + So on comprehending what they proposed, he sent to the two Rabbins to + ask them about the affair. They replied: 'These folk intend naught but + to destroy thee and thine army; we wot not of any house in the world + that God hath chosen for Himself, save this. If thou do that to which + they invite thee, thou and those with thee will surely perish + together.' He said: 'What then is it ye bid me do when I come there?' + They said: 'Thou wilt do as its people do--make the circuit thereof, + and magnify and honour it, and shave thy head, and humble thyself + before it, until thou go forth from its precinct.' He said: 'And what + hinders you from doing that yourselves?' 'By God,' said they, 'it is + the temple of our father Abraham, and verily it is even as we told + thee, but we are debarred therefrom by the idols which its people have + set up around it and by the blood-offerings which they make beside it; + for they are vile polytheists,' or words to the same effect. The king + perceived that their advice was good and their tale true. He ordered + the Hudhalites to approach, and cut off their hands and feet. Then he + continued his march to Mecca, where he made the circuit of the temple, + sacrificed camels, and shaved his head. According to what is told, he + stayed six days at Mecca, feasting the inhabitants with the flesh of + camels and letting them drink honey.[63]... Then he moved out with his + troops in the direction of Yemen, the two Rabbins accompanying him; + and on entering Yemen he called on his subjects to adopt the religion + which he himself had embraced, but they refused unless the question + were submitted to the ordeal of fire which at that time existed in + Yemen; for as the Yemenites say, there was in their country a fire + that gave judgment between them in their disputes: it devoured the + wrong-doer but left the injured person unscathed. The Yemenites + therefore came forward with their idols and whatever else they used as + a means of drawing nigh unto God, and the two Rabbins came forward + with their scriptures hung on their necks like necklaces, and both + parties seated themselves at the place from which the fire was wont to + issue. And the fire blazed up, and the Yemenites shrank back from it + as it approached them, and were afraid, but the bystanders urged them + on and bade them take courage. So they held out until the fire + enveloped them and consumed the idols and images and the men of + a¸¤imyar, the bearers thereof; but the Rabbins came forth safe and + sound, their brows moist with sweat, and the scriptures were still + hanging on their necks. Thereupon the a¸¤imyarites consented to adopt + the king's religion, and this was the cause of Judaism being + established in Yemen."[64] + +[Sidenote: AsaEuro~ad's farewell to his son.] + +The poem addressed to his son and successor, a¸¤assAin, which tradition has +put into his mouth, is a sort of last will and testament, of which the +greater part is taken up with an account of his conquests and with +glorification of his family and himself.[65] Nearly all that we find in +the way of maxims or injunctions suitable to the solemn occasion is +contained in the following verses:-- + + "O a¸¤assAin, the hour of thy father's death has arrived at last: + Look to thyself ere yet the time for looking is past. + Oft indeed are the mighty abased, and often likewise + Are the base exalted: such is Man who is born and dies. + Bid ye a¸¤imyar know that standing erect would I buried be, + And have my wine-skins and Yemen robes in the tomb with me.[66] + And hearken thou to my Sibyl, for surely can she foresay + The truth, and safe in her keeping is castle GhaymAin aye.[67] + +[Sidenote: The castles of Yemen.] + +[Sidenote: GhumdAin.] + +In connection with GhaymAin a few words may be added respecting the +castles in Yemen, of which the ruined skeletons rising from solitary +heights seem still to frown defiance upon the passing traveller. Two +thousand years ago, and probably long before, they were occupied by +powerful barons, more or less independent, who in later times, when the +a¸¤imyarite Empire had begun to decline, always elected, and occasionally +deposed, their royal master. Of these castles the geographer HamdAinA- has +given a detailed account in the eighth book of his great work on the +history and antiquities of Yemen entitled the _IklA-l_, or 'Crown.'[68] +The oldest and most celebrated was GhumdAin, the citadel of a¹canaEuro~Ai. It is +described as a huge edifice of twenty stories, each story ten cubits +high. The four faASec.ades were built with stone of different colours, +white, black, green, and red. On the top story was a chamber which had +windows of marble framed with ebony and planewood. Its roof was a slab +of pellucid marble, so that when the lord of GhumdAin lay on his couch he +saw the birds fly overhead, and could distinguish a raven from a kite. +At each corner stood a brazen lion, and when the wind blew it entered +the hollow interior of the effigies and made a sound like the roaring of +lions. + +[Sidenote: ZarqAiaEuro(TM)u aEuro(TM)l-YamAima.] + +The adventure of AsaEuro~ad KAimil with the three witches must have recalled +to every reader certain scenes in _Macbeth_. Curiously enough, in the +history of his son a¸¤assAin an incident is related which offers a striking +parallel to the march of Birnam Wood. a¹¬asm and JadA-s have already been +mentioned. On the massacre of the former tribe by the latter, a single +a¹¬asmite named RibAia¸Y b. Murra made his escape and took refuge with the +TubbaaEuro~ a¸¤assAin, whom he persuaded to lead an expedition against the +murderers. Now RibAia¸Y's sister had married a man of JadA-s. Her name was +ZarqAiaEuro(TM)u aEuro(TM)l-YamAima--_i.e._, the Blue-eyed Woman of YamAima--and she had +such piercing sight that she was able to descry an army thirty miles +away. a¸¤assAin therefore bade his horsemen hold in front of them leafy +branches which they tore down from the trees. They advanced thus hidden, +and towards evening, when they had come within a day's journey, ZarqAi +said to her people: "I see trees marching." No one believed her until it +was too late. Next morning a¸¤assAin fell upon them and put the whole tribe +to the sword. + +[Sidenote: a¸¤assAin murdered by his brother.] + +[Sidenote: DhAº RuaEuro~ayn.] + +The warlike expeditions to which a¸¤assAin devoted all his energy were felt +as an intolerable burden by the chiefs of a¸¤imyar, who formed a plot to +slay him and set his brother aEuro~Amr on the throne. aEuro~Amr was at first +unwilling to lend himself to their designs, but ultimately his scruples +were overcome, and he stabbed the TubbaaEuro~ with his own hand. The assassin +suffered a terrible punishment. Sleep deserted him, and in his remorse +he began to execute the conspirators one after another. There was, +however, a single chief called DhAº RuaEuro~ayn, who had remained loyal and +had done his best to save aEuro~Amr from the guilt of fratricide. Finding his +efforts fruitless, he requested aEuro~Amr to take charge of a sealed paper +which he brought with him, and to keep it in a safe place until he +should ask for it. aEuro~Amr consented and thought no more of the matter. +Afterwards, imagining that DhAº RuaEuro~ayn had joined in the fatal plot, he +gave orders for his execution. "How!" exclaimed DhAº RuaEuro~ayn, "did not I +tell thee what the crime involved?" and he asked for the sealed writing, +which was found to contain these verses-- + + "O fool to barter sleep for waking! Blest + Is he alone whose eyelids close in rest. + Hath a¸¤imyar practised treason, yet 'tis plain + That God forgiveness owes to DhAº RuaEuro~ayn.[69]" + +On reading this, aEuro~Amr recognised that DhAº RuaEuro~ayn had spoken the truth, +and he spared his life. + +[Sidenote: DhAº NuwAis.] + +[Sidenote: Massacre of the Christians in NajrAin (523 A.D.).] + +[Sidenote: Death of DhAº NuwAis.] + +With aEuro~Amr the TubbaaEuro~ dynasty comes to an end. The succeeding kings were +elected by eight of the most powerful barons, who in reality were +independent princes, each ruling in his strong castle over as many +vassals and retainers as he could bring into subjection. During this +period the Abyssinians conquered at least some part of the country, and +Christian viceroys were sent by the NajAishA- (Negus) to govern it in his +name. At last DhAº NuwAis, a descendant of the TubbaaEuro~ AsaEuro~ad KAimil, crushed +the rebellious barons and made himself unquestioned monarch of Yemen. A +fanatical adherent of Judaism, he resolved to stamp out Christianity in +NajrAin, where it is said to have been introduced from Syria by a holy +man called FaymiyAºn (Phemion). The a¸¤imyarites flocked to his standard, +not so much from religious motives as from hatred of the Abyssinians. +The pretended murder of two Jewish children gave DhAº NuwAis a plausible +_casus belli_. He marched against NajrAin with an overwhelming force, +entered the city, and bade the inhabitants choose between Judaism and +death. Many perished by the sword; the rest were thrown into a trench +which the king ordered to be dug and filled with blazing fire. Nearly a +hundred years later, when Mua¸Yammad was being sorely persecuted, he +consoled and encouraged his followers by the example of the Christians +of NajrAin, who suffered "_for no other reason but that they believed in +the mighty, the glorious God_."[70] DhAº NuwAis paid dearly for his +triumph. Daws DhAº ThaaEuro~labAin, one of those who escaped from the massacre, +fled to the Byzantine emperor and implored him, as the head of +Christendom, to assist them in obtaining vengeance. Justinus accordingly +wrote a letter to the NajAishA-, desiring him to take action, and ere long +an Abyssinian army, 70,000 strong, under the command of AryAia¹-, +disembarked in Yemen. DhAº NuwAis could not count on the loyalty of the +a¸¤imyarite nobles; his troops melted away. "When he saw the fate that had +befallen himself and his people, he turned to the sea and setting spurs +to his horse, rode through the shallows until he reached the deep water. +Then he plunged into the waves and nothing more of him was seen."[71] + +Thus died, or thus at any rate should have died, the last representative +of the long line of a¸¤imyarite kings. Henceforth Yemen appears in +Pre-islamic history only as an Abyssinian dependency or as a Persian +protectorate. The events now to be related form the prologue to a new +drama in which South Arabia, so far from being the centre of interest, +plays an almost insignificant rA'le.[72] + + [Sidenote: Yemen under Abyssinian rule.] + + [Sidenote: Abraha and AryAia¹-.] + + [Sidenote: Abraha viceroy of Yemen.] + + On the death of DhAº NuwAis, the Abyssinian general AryAia¹- continued + his march through Yemen. He slaughtered a third part of the males, + laid waste a third part of the land, and sent a third part of the + women and children to the NajAishA- as slaves. Having reduced the + Yemenites to submission and re-established order, he held the + position of viceroy for several years. Then mutiny broke out in the + Abyssinian army of occupation, and his authority was disputed by an + officer, named Abraha. When the rivals faced each other, Abraha said + to AryAia¹-: "What will it avail you to engage the Abyssinians in a + civil war that will leave none of them alive? Fight it out with me, + and let the troops follow the victor." His challenge being accepted, + Abraha stepped forth. He was a short, fleshy man, compactly built, a + devout Christian, while AryAia¹- was big, tall, and handsome. When + the duel began, AryAia¹- thrust his spear with the intention of + piercing Abraha's brain, but it glanced off his forehead, slitting + his eyelid, nose, and lip--hence the name, _al-Ashram_, by which + Abraha was afterwards known; and ere he could repeat the blow, a + youth in Abraha's service, called aEuro~Atwada, who was seated on a + hillock behind his master, sprang forward and dealt him a mortal + wound. Thus Abraha found himself commander-in-chief of the + Abyssinian army, but the NajAishA- was enraged and swore not to rest + until he set foot on the soil of Yemen and cut off the rebel's + forelock. On hearing this, Abraha wrote to the NajAishA-: "O King, + AryAia¹- was thy servant even as I am. We quarrelled over thy + command, both of us owing allegiance to thee, but I had more + strength than he to command the Abyssinians and keep discipline and + exert authority. When I heard of the king's oath, I shore my head, + and now I send him a sack of the earth of Yemen that he may put it + under his feet and fulfil his oath." The NajAishA- answered this act + of submission by appointing Abraha to be his viceroy.... Then Abraha + built the church (_al-QalA-s_) at SanaEuro~Ai, the like of which was not to + be seen at that time in the whole world, and wrote to the NajAishA- + that he would not be content until he had diverted thither every + pilgrim in Arabia. This letter made much talk, and a man of the BanAº + Fuqaym, one of those who arranged the calendar, was angered by what + he learned of Abraha's purpose; so he went into the church and + defiled it. When Abraha heard that the author of the outrage + belonged to the people of the Temple in Mecca, and that he meant to + show thereby his scorn and contempt for the new foundation, he waxed + wroth and swore that he would march against the Temple and lay it in + ruins. + +[Sidenote: Sayf b. DhA- Yazan.] + +[Sidenote: The Persians in Yemen (_circa_ 572 A.D.).] + +The disastrous failure of this expedition, which took place in the year +of the Elephant (570 A.D.), did not at once free Yemen from the +Abyssinian yoke. The sons of Abraha, Yaksum and MasrAºq, bore heavily on +the Arabs. Seeing no help among his own people, a noble a¸¤imyarite named +Sayf b. DhA- Yazan resolved to seek foreign intervention. His choice lay +between the Byzantine and Persian empires, and he first betook himself +to Constantinople. Disappointed there, he induced the Arab king of a¸¤A-ra, +who was under Persian suzerainty, to present him at the court of MadAiaEuro(TM)in +(Ctesiphon). How he won audience of the SAisAinian monarch, NAºshA-rwAin, +surnamed the Just, and tempted him by an ingenious trick to raise a +force of eight hundred condemned felons, who were set free and shipped +to Yemen under the command of an aged general; how they literally +'burned their boats' and, drawing courage from despair, routed the +Abyssinian host and made Yemen a satrapy of Persia[73]--this forms an +almost epic narrative, which I have omitted here (apart from +considerations of space) because it belongs to Persian rather than to +Arabian literary history, being probably based, as NA¶ldeke has +suggested, on traditions handed down by the Persian conquerors who +settled in Yemen to their aristocratic descendants whom the Arabs called +_al-AbnAi_ (the Sons) or _Banu aEuro(TM)l-Aa¸YrAir_ (Sons of the Noble). + +Leaving the once mighty kingdom of Yemen thus pitiably and for ever +fallen from its high estate, we turn northward into the main stream of +Arabian history. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +THE HISTORY AND LEGENDS OF THE PAGAN ARABS + + +[Sidenote: The Age of Barbarism (al-JAihiliyya).] + +Mua¸Yammadans include the whole period of Arabian history from the +earliest times down to the establishment of Islam in the term +_al-JAihiliyya_, which was used by Mua¸Yammad in four passages of the Koran +and is generally translated 'the state or ignorance' or simply 'the +Ignorance.' Goldziher, however, has shown conclusively that the meaning +attached to _jahl_ (whence _JAihiliyya_ is derived) by the Pre-islamic +poets is not so much 'ignorance' as 'wildness,' 'savagery,' and that its +true antithesis is not _aEuro~ilm_ (knowledge), but rather _a¸Yilm_, which +denotes the moral reasonableness of a civilised man. "When Mua¸Yammadans +say that Islam put an end to the manners and customs of the _JAihiliyya_, +they have in view those barbarous practices, that savage temper, by +which Arabian heathendom is distinguished from Islam and by the +abolition of which Mua¸Yammad sought to work a moral reformation in his +countrymen: the haughty spirit of the _JAihiliyya_ (_a¸Yamiyyatu +aEuro(TM)l-JAihiliyya_), the tribal pride and the endless tribal feuds, the cult +of revenge, the implacability and all the other pagan characteristics +which Islam was destined to overcome."[74] + +Our sources of information regarding this period may be classified as +follows:-- + +[Sidenote: Sources of information concerning the JAihiliyya.] + +(1) _Poems and fragments of verse_, which though not written down at the +time were preserved by oral tradition and committed to writing, for the +most part, two or three hundred years afterwards. The importance of +this, virtually the sole contemporary record of Pre-islamic history, is +recognised in the well-known saying, "Poetry is the public register of +the Arabs (_al-shiaEuro~ru dA-wAinu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~Arab_); thereby genealogies are kept in +mind and famous actions are made familiar." Some account of the chief +collections of old Arabian poetry will be given in the next chapter. + +(2) _Proverbs._ These are of less value, as they seldom explain +themselves, while the commentary attached to them is the work of +scholars bent on explaining them at all costs, though in many cases +their true meaning could only be conjectured and the circumstances of +their origin had been entirely forgotten. Notwithstanding this very +pardonable excess of zeal, we could ill afford to lose the celebrated +collections of Mufaa¸a¸al b. Salama (aEuro _circa_ 900 A.D.) and MaydAinA- (aEuro +1124 A.D.),[75] which contain so much curious information throwing light +on every aspect of Pre-islamic life. + +[Sidenote: _The Book of Songs._] + +(3) _Traditions and legends._ Since the art of writing was neither +understood nor practised by the heathen Arabs in general, it was +impossible that Prose, as a literary form, should exist among them. The +germs of Arabic Prose, however, may be traced back to the _JAihiliyya_. +Besides the proverb (_mathal_) and the oration (_khua¹-ba_) we find +elements of history and romance in the prose narratives used by the +rhapsodists to introduce and set forth plainly the matter of their +songs, and in the legends which recounted the glorious deeds of tribes +and individuals. A vast number of such stories--some unmistakably +genuine, others bearing the stamp of fiction--are preserved in various +literary, historical, and geographical works composed under the aEuro~AbbAisid +Caliphate, especially in the _KitAibu aEuro(TM)l-AghAinA-_ (Book of Songs) by Abu +aEuro(TM)l-Faraj of Ia¹LfahAin (aEuro 967 A.D.), an invaluable compilation based on the +researches of the great Humanists as they have been well named by Sir +Charles Lyall, of the second and third centuries after the Hijra.[76] +The original writings of these early critics and scholars have perished +almost without exception, and beyond the copious citations in the +_AghAinA-_ we possess hardly any specimens of their work. "The _Book of +Songs_," says Ibn KhaldAºn, "is the Register of the Arabs. It comprises +all that they had achieved in the past of excellence in every kind of +poetry, history, music, _et cetera_. So far as I am aware, no other book +can be put on a level with it in this respect. It is the final resource +of the student of belles-lettres, and leaves him nothing further to +desire."[77] + + +[Sidenote: Scope of this chapter.] + +In the following pages I shall not attempt to set in due order and +connection the confused mass of poetry and legend in which all that we +know of Pre-islamic Arabia lies deeply embedded. This task has already +been performed with admirable skill by Caussin de Perceval in his _Essai +sur l'histoire des Arabes avant l'Islamisme_,[78] and it could serve no +useful purpose to inflict a dry summary of that famous work upon the +reader. The better course, I think, will be to select a few typical and +outstanding features of the time and to present them, wherever possible, +as they have been drawn--largely from imagination--by the Arabs +themselves. If the Arabian traditions are wanting in historical accuracy +they are nevertheless, taken as a whole, true in spirit to the Dark Age +which they call up from the dead and reverently unfold beneath our eyes. + +[Sidenote: The Arab dynasties of a¸¤A-ra and GhassAin.] + +[Sidenote: Odenathus and Zenobia.] + +About the middle of the third century of our era Arabia was enclosed on +the north and north-east by the rival empires of Rome and Persia, to +which the Syrian desert, stretching right across the peninsula, formed a +natural termination. In order to protect themselves from Bedouin +raiders, who poured over the frontier-provinces, and after laying hands +on all the booty within reach vanished as suddenly as they came, both +Powers found it necessary to plant a line of garrisons along the edge of +the wilderness. Thus the tribesmen were partially held in check, but as +force alone seemed an expensive and inefficient remedy it was decided, +in accordance with the well-proved maxim, _divide et impera_, to enlist +a number of the offending tribes in the Imperial service. Regular pay +and the prospect of unlimited plunder--for in those days Rome and Persia +were almost perpetually at war--were inducements that no true Bedouin +could resist. They fought, however, as free allies under their own +chiefs or phylarchs. In this way two Arabian dynasties sprang up--the +GhassAinids in Syria and the Lakhmites at a¸¤A-ra, west of the +Euphrates--military buffer-states, always ready to collide even when +they were not urged on by the suzerain powers behind them. The Arabs +soon showed what they were capable of when trained and disciplined in +arms. On the defeat of Valerian by the Chosroes SAibAºr I, an Arab +chieftain in Palmyra, named Udhayna (Odenathus), marched at the head of +a strong force against the conqueror, drove him out of Syria, and +pursued him up to the very walls of MadAiaEuro(TM)in, the Persian capital (265 +A.D.). His brilliant exploits were duly rewarded by the Emperor +Gallienus, who bestowed on him the title of Augustus. He was, in fact, +the acknowledged master of the Roman legions in the East when, a year +later, he was treacherously murdered. He found a worthy successor in his +wife, the noble and ambitious Zenobia, who set herself the task of +building up a great Oriental Empire. She fared, however, no better than +did Cleopatra in a like enterprise. For a moment the issue was doubtful, +but Aurelian triumphed and the proud 'Queen of the East' was led a +captive before his chariot through the streets of Rome (274 A.D.). + +These events were not forgotten by the Arabs. It flattered their +national pride to recall that once, at any rate, Roman armies had +marched under the flag of an Arabian princess. But the legend, as told +in their traditions, has little in common with reality. Not only are +names and places freely altered--Zenobia herself being confused with her +Syrian general, Zabdai--but the historical setting, though dimly visible +in the background, has been distorted almost beyond recognition: what +remains is one of those romantic adventures which delighted the Arabs of +the _JAihiliyya_, just as their modern descendants are never tired of +listening to the _Story of aEuro~Antar_ or to the _Thousand Nights and a +Night_. + +[Sidenote: MAilik the Azdite.] + +[Sidenote: JadhA-ma al-Abrash.] + +The first king of the Arab settlers in aEuro~IrAiq (Babylonia)[79] is said to +have been MAilik the Azdite, who was accidentally shot with an arrow by +his son, Sulayma. Before he expired he uttered a verse which has become +proverbial:-- + + _UaEuro~allimuhu aEuro(TM)l-rimAiyata kulla yawmin + falamma aEuro(TM)stadda sAiaEuro~iduhAº ramAinA-._ + + "I taught him every day the bowman's art, + And when his arm took aim, he pierced my heart." + +MAilik's kingdom, if it can properly be described as such, was +consolidated and organised by his son, JadhA-ma, surnamed al-Abrash (the +Speckled)--a polite euphemism for al-Abraa¹L (the Leprous). He reigned as +the vassal of ArdashA-r BAibakAin, the founder (226 A.D.) of the SAisAinian +dynasty in Persia, which thereafter continued to dominate the Arabs of +aEuro~IrAiq during the whole Pre-islamic period. JadhA-ma is the hero of many +fables and proverbs. His pride, it is said, was so overweening that he +would suffer no boon-companions except two stars called _al-FarqadAin_, +and when he drank wine he used to pour out a cup for each of them. He +had a page, aEuro~AdA- b. Naa¹Lr, with whom his sister fell in love; and in a +moment of intoxication he gave his consent to their marriage. Next +morning, furious at the trick which had been played upon him, he +beheaded the unlucky bridegroom and reviled his sister for having +married a slave. Nevertheless, when a son was born, JadhA-ma adopted the +boy, and as he grew up regarded him with the utmost affection. One day +the youthful aEuro~Amr suddenly disappeared. For a long time no trace of him +could be found, but at last he was discovered, running wild and naked, +by two brothers, MAilik and aEuro~AqA-l, who cared for him and clothed him and +presented him to the king. Overjoyed at the sight, JadhA-ma promised to +grant them whatever they asked. They chose the honour, which no mortal +had hitherto obtained, of being his boon-companions, and by this title +(_nadmAinAi JadhA-ma_) they are known to fame. + +[Sidenote: The story of ZabbAi.] + +JadhA-ma was a wise and warlike prince. In one of his expeditions he +defeated and slew aEuro~Amr b. aº'arib b. a¸¤assAin b. Udhayna, an Arab chieftain +who had brought part of Eastern Syria and Mesopotamia under his sway, +and who, as the name Udhayna indicates, is probably identical with +Odenathus, the husband of Zenobia. This opinion is confirmed by the +statement of Ibn Qutayba that "JadhA-ma sought in marriage ZabbAi, the +daughter of the King of Mesopotamia, who became queen after her +_husband_."[80]--According to the view generally held by Mua¸Yammadan +authors ZabbAi[81] was the daughter of aEuro~Amr b. aº'arib and was elected to +succeed him when he fell in battle. However this may be, she proved +herself a woman of extraordinary courage and resolution. As a safeguard +against attack she built two strong castles on either bank of the +Euphrates and connected them by a subterranean tunnel; she made one +fortress her own residence, while her sister, Zaynab, occupied the +other. + + Having thus secured her position she determined to take vengeance on + JadhA-ma. She wrote to him that the sceptre was slipping from her + feeble grasp, that she found no man worthy of her except himself, + that she desired to unite her kingdom with his by marriage, and + begged him to come and see her. JadhA-ma needed no urging. Deaf to + the warnings of his friend and counsellor, Qaa¹LA-r, he started from + Baqqa, a castle on the Euphrates. When they had travelled some + distance, Qaa¹LA-r implored him to return. "No," said JadhA-ma, "the + affair was decided at Baqqa"--words which passed into a proverb. On + approaching their destination the king saw with alarm squadrons of + cavalry between him and the city, and said to Qaa¹LA-r, "What is the + prudent course?" "You left prudence at Baqqa," he replied; "if the + cavalry advance and salute you as king and then retire in front of + you, the woman is sincere, but if they cover your flanks and + encompass you, they mean treachery. Mount al-aEuro~Aa¹LAi"--JadhA-ma's + favourite mare--"for she cannot be overtaken or outpaced, and rejoin + your troops while there is yet time." JadhA-ma refused to follow this + advice. Presently he was surrounded by the cavalry and captured. + Qaa¹LA-r, however, sprang on the mare's back and galloped thirty miles + without drawing rein. + + When JadhA-ma was brought to ZabbAi she seated him on a skin of + leather and ordered her maidens to open the veins in his arm, so + that his blood should flow into a golden bowl. "O JadhA-ma," said + she, "let not a single drop be lost. I want it as a cure for + madness." The dying man suddenly moved his arm and sprinkled with + his blood one of the marble pillars of the hall--an evil portent for + ZabbAi, inasmuch as it had been prophesied by a certain soothsayer + that unless every drop of the king's blood entered the bowl, his + murder would be avenged. + + Now Qaa¹LA-r came to aEuro~Amr b. aEuro~AdA-, JadhA-ma's nephew and son by + adoption, who has been mentioned above, and engaged to win over the + army to his side if he would take vengeance on ZabbAi. "But how?" + cried aEuro~Amr; "for she is more inaccessible than the eagle of the + air." "Only help me," said Qaa¹LA-r, "and you will be clear of + blame." He cut off his nose and ears and betook himself to ZabbAi, + pretending that he had been mutilated by aEuro~Amr. The queen believed + what she saw, welcomed him, and gave him money to trade on her + behalf. Qaa¹LA-r hastened to the palace of aEuro~Amr at a¸¤A-ra, and, + having obtained permission to ransack the royal treasury, he + returned laden with riches. Thus he gradually crept into the + confidence of ZabbAi, until one day he said to her: "It behoves every + king and queen to provide themselves with a secret passage wherein + to take refuge in case of danger." ZabbAi answered: "I have already + done so," and showed him the tunnel which she had constructed + underneath the Euphrates. His project was now ripe for execution. + With the help of aEuro~Amr he fitted out a caravan of a thousand camels, + each carrying two armed men concealed in sacks. When they drew near + the city of ZabbAi, Qaa¹LA-r left them and rode forward to announce + their arrival to the queen, who from the walls of her capital viewed + the long train of heavily burdened camels and marvelled at the slow + pace with which they advanced. As the last camel passed through the + gates of the city the janitor pricked one of the sacks with an + ox-goad which he had with him, and hearing a cry of pain, exclaimed, + "By God, there's mischief in the sacks!" But it was too late. aEuro~Amr + and his men threw themselves upon the garrison and put them to the + sword. ZabbAi sought to escape by the tunnel, but Qaa¹LA-r stood + barring the exit on the further side of the stream. She hurried + back, and there was aEuro~Amr facing her. Resolved that her enemy should + not taste the sweetness of vengeance, she sucked her seal-ring, + which contained a deadly poison, crying, "By my own hand, not by + aEuro~Amr's!"[82] + +In the kingdoms of a¸¤A-ra and GhassAin Pre-islamic culture attained its +highest development, and from these centres it diffused itself and made +its influence felt throughout Arabia. Some account, therefore, of their +history and of the circumstances which enabled them to assume a +civilising rA'le will not be superfluous.[83] + +[Sidenote: The foundation of a¸¤A-ra.] + +About the beginning of the third century after Christ a number of +Bedouin tribes, wholly or partly of Yemenite origin, who had formed a +confederacy and called themselves collectively TanAºkh, took advantage of +the disorder then prevailing in the Arsacid Empire to invade aEuro~IrAiq +(Babylonia) and plant their settlements in the fertile country west of +the Euphrates. While part of the intruders continued to lead a nomad +life, others engaged in agriculture, and in course of time villages and +towns grew up. The most important of these was a¸¤A-ra (properly, +al-a¸¤A-ra, _i.e._, the Camp), which occupied a favourable and healthy +situation a few miles to the south of KAºfa, in the neighbourhood of +ancient Babylon.[84] According to HishAim b. Mua¸Yammad al-KalbA- (aEuro 819 +or 821 A.D.), an excellent authority for the history of the Pre-islamic +period, the inhabitants of a¸¤A-ra during the reign of ArdashA-r BAibakAin, +the first SAisAinian king of Persia (226-241 A.D.), consisted of three +classes, viz.:-- + +(1) The _TanAºkh_, who dwelt west of the Euphrates between a¸¤A-ra and +AnbAir in tents of camel's hair. + +(2) The _aEuro~IbAid_, who lived in houses in a¸¤A-ra. + +(3) The _Aa¸YlAif_ (Clients), who did not belong to either of the +above-mentioned classes, but attached themselves to the people of +a¸¤A-ra and lived among them--blood-guilty fugitives pursued by the +vengeance of their own kin, or needy emigrants seeking to mend their +fortunes. + +[Sidenote: The aEuro~IbAid.] + +Naturally the townsmen proper formed by far the most influential element +in the population. HishAim, as we have seen, calls them 'the aEuro~IbAid.' His +use of this term, however, is not strictly accurate. The aEuro~IbAid are +exclusively the _Christian Arabs of a¸¤A-ra_, and are so called in +virtue of their Christianity; the pagan Arabs, who at the time when +a¸¤A-ra was founded and for long afterwards constituted the bulk of the +citizens, were never comprised in a designation which expresses the very +opposite of paganism. _aEuro~IbAid_ means 'servants,' _i.e._, those who serve +God or Christ. It cannot be determined at what epoch the name was first +used to distinguish the religious community, composed of members of +different tribes, which was dominant in a¸¤A-ra during the sixth +century. Dates are comparatively of little importance; what is really +remarkable is the existence in Pre-islamic times of an Arabian community +that was not based on blood-relationship or descent from a common +ancestor, but on a spiritual principle, namely, the profession of a +common faith. The religion and culture of the aEuro~IbAid were conveyed by +various channels to the inmost recesses of the peninsula, as will be +shown more fully in a subsequent chapter. They were the schoolmasters of +the heathen Arabs, who could seldom read or write, and who, it must be +owned, so far from desiring to receive instruction, rather gloried in +their ignorance of accomplishments which they regarded as servile. +Nevertheless, the best minds among the Bedouins were irresistibly +attracted to a¸¤A-ra. Poets in those days found favour with princes. A +great number of Pre-islamic bards visited the Lakhmite court, while +some, like NAibigha and aEuro~AbA-d b. al-Abraa¹L, made it their permanent +residence. + +[Sidenote: The Lakhmites.] + +[Sidenote: NuaEuro~mAin I. (_circa_ 400 A.D.).] + +[Sidenote: The Castle of Khawarnaq.] + +[Sidenote: NuaEuro~mAin becomes an anchorite.] + +It is unnecessary to enter into the vexed question as to the origin and +rise of the Lakhmite dynasty at a¸¤A-ra. According to HishAim b. +Mua¸Yammad al-Kalbi, who gives a list of twenty kings, covering a +period of 522 years and eight months, the first Lakhmite ruler was aEuro~Amr +b. aEuro~AdA- b. Naa¹Lr b. RabA-aEuro~a b. Lakhm, the same who was adopted by +JadhA-ma, and afterwards avenged his death on Queen ZabbAi. Almost nothing +is known of his successors until we come to NuaEuro~mAin I, surnamed al-AaEuro~war +(the One-eyed), whose reign falls in the first quarter of the fifth +century. NuaEuro~mAin is renowned in legend as the builder of Khawarnaq, a +famous castle near a¸¤A-ra. It was built at the instance of the SAisAinian +king, Yazdigird I, who desired a salubrious residence for his son, +Prince BahrAim GA cubedr. On its completion, NuaEuro~mAin ordered the architect, a +'Roman' (_i.e._, Byzantine subject) named SinimmAir, to be cast headlong +from the battlements, either on account of his boast that he could have +constructed a yet more wonderful edifice "which should turn round with +the sun," or for fear that he might reveal the position of a certain +stone, the removal of which would cause the whole building to collapse. +One spring day (so the story is told) NuaEuro~mAin sat with his Vizier in +Khawarnaq, which overlooked the Fen-land (al-Najaf), with its +neighbouring gardens and plantations of palm-trees and canals, to the +west, and the Euphrates to the east. Charmed by the beauty of the +prospect, he exclaimed, "Hast thou ever seen the like of this?" "No," +replied the Vizier, "if it would but last." "And what is lasting?" asked +NuaEuro~mAin. "That which is with God in heaven." "How can one attain to it?" +"By renouncing the world and serving God, and striving after that which +He hath." NuaEuro~mAin, it is said, immediately resolved to abandon his +kingdom; on the same night he clad himself in sackcloth, stole away +unperceived, and became a wandering devotee (_sAiaEuro(TM)ia¸Y_). This legend +seems to have grown out of the following verses by aEuro~AdA- b. Zayd, the +aEuro~IbAidite:-- + + "Consider thou Khawarnaq's lord--and oft + Of heavenly guidance cometh vision clear-- + Who once, rejoicing in his ample realm, + Surveyed the broad Euphrates, and SadA-r;[85] + Then sudden terror struck his heart: he cried, + 'Shall Man, who deathward goes, find pleasure here?' + They reigned, they prospered; yet, their glory past, + In yonder tombs they lie this many a year. + At last they were like unto withered leaves + Whirled by the winds away in wild career."[86] + +The opinion of most Arabian authors, that NuaEuro~mAin embraced Christianity, +is probably unfounded, but there is reason to believe that he was well +disposed towards it, and that his Christian subjects--a Bishop of +a¸¤A-ra is mentioned as early as 410 A.D.--enjoyed complete religious +liberty. + +[Sidenote: Mundhir I.] + +[Sidenote: Mundhir III, b. MAiaEuro(TM) al-samAi.] + +[Sidenote: Rise of Kinda.] + +[Sidenote: Mazdak.] + +[Sidenote: Mundhir expelled from a¸¤A-ra by a¸¤Airith of Kinda.] + +[Sidenote: Death of Mundhir III.] + +[Sidenote: Mundhir's "Good Day and Evil Day."] + +[Sidenote: a¸¤anaº"ala and SharA-k.] + +NuaEuro~mAin's place was filled by his son Mundhir, an able and energetic +prince. The power of the Lakhmites at this time may be inferred from the +fact that on the death of Yazdigird I Mundhir forcibly intervened in the +dispute as to the Persian succession and procured the election of BahrAim +GA cubedr, whose claims had previously been rejected by the priesthood.[87] In +the war which broke out shortly afterwards between Persia and Rome, +Mundhir proved himself a loyal vassal, but was defeated by the Romans +with great loss (421 A.D.). Passing over several obscure reigns, we +arrive at the beginning of the sixth century, when another Mundhir, the +third and most illustrious of his name, ascended the throne. This is he +whom the Arabs called Mundhir b. MAiaEuro(TM) al-samAi.[88] He had a long and +brilliant reign, which, however, was temporarily clouded by an event +that cannot be understood without some reference to the general history +of the period. About 480 A.D. the powerful tribe of Kinda, whose princes +appear to have held much the same position under the TubbaaEuro~s of Yemen as +the Lakhmites under the Persian monarchs, had extended their sway over +the greater part of Central and Northern Arabia. The moving spirit in +this conquest was a¸¤ujr, surnamed Akilu aEuro(TM)l-MurAir, an ancestor of the +poet ImruaEuro(TM)u aEuro(TM)l-Qays. On his death the Kindite confederacy was broken up, +but towards the year 500 it was re-established for a brief space by his +grandson, a¸¤Airith b. aEuro~Amr, and became a formidable rival to the +kingdoms of GhassAin and a¸¤A-ra. Meanwhile, in Persia, the communistic +doctrines of Mazdak had obtained wide popularity among the lower +classes, and were finally adopted by King KawAidh himself.[89] Now, it is +certain that at some date between 505 and 529 a¸¤Airith b. aEuro~Amr, the +Kindite, invaded aEuro~IrAiq, and drove Mundhir out of his kingdom; and it +seems not impossible that, as many historians assert, the latter's +downfall was due to his anti-Mazdakite opinions, which would naturally +excite the displeasure of his suzerain. At any rate, whatever the causes +may have been, Mundhir was temporarily supplanted by a¸¤Airith, and +although he was restored after a short interval, before the accession of +AnAºshirwAin, who, as Crown Prince, carried out a wholesale massacre of +the followers of Mazdak (528 A.D.), the humiliation which he had +suffered and cruelly avenged was not soon forgotten;[90] the life and +poems of ImruaEuro(TM)u aEuro(TM)l-Qays bear witness to the hereditary hatred subsisting +between Lakhm and Kinda. Mundhir's operations against the Romans were +conducted with extraordinary vigour; he devastated Syria as far as +Antioch, and Justinian saw himself obliged to entrust the defence of +these provinces to the GhassAinid a¸¤Airith b. Jabala (a¸¤Airith +al-AaEuro~raj), in whom Mundhir at last found more than his match. From this +time onward the kings of a¸¤A-ra and GhassAin are continually raiding and +plundering each other's territory. In one of his expeditions Mundhir +captured a son of a¸¤Airith, and "immediately sacrificed him to +Aphrodite"--_i.e._, to the Arabian goddess al-aEuro~UzzAi;[91]--but on taking +the field again in 554 he was surprised and slain by stratagem in a +battle which is known proverbially as 'The Day of a¸¤alA-ma.'[92] On the +whole, the Lakhmites were a heathen and barbarous race, and these +epithets are richly deserved by Mundhir III. It is related in the +_AghAinA-_ that he had two boon-companions, KhAilid b. al-Mua¸allil and +aEuro~Amr b. MasaEuro~Aºd, with whom he used to carouse; and once, being irritated +by words spoken in wine, he gave orders that they should be buried +alive. Next morning he did not recollect what had passed and inquired as +usual for his friends. On learning the truth he was filled with remorse. +He caused two obelisks to be erected over their graves, and two days in +every year he would come and sit beside these obelisks, which were +called _al-GhariyyAin_--_i.e._, the Blood-smeared. One day was the Day of +Good (_yawmu naaEuro~imin_), and whoever first encountered him on that day +received a hundred black camels. The other day was the Day of Evil +(_yawmu buaEuro(TM)sin_), on which he would present the first-comer with the +head of a black polecat (_aº"aribAin_), then sacrifice him and smear the +obelisks with his blood.[93] The poet aEuro~AbA-d b. al-Abraa¹L is said to +have fallen a victim to this horrible rite. It continued until the doom +fell upon a certain a¸¤anaº"ala of a¹¬ayyiaEuro(TM), who was granted a year's +grace in order to regulate his affairs, on condition that he should find +a surety. He appealed to one of Mundhir's suite, SharA-k b. aEuro~Amr, who +straightway rose and said to the king, "My hand for his and my blood for +his if he fail to return at the time appointed." When the day came +a¸¤anaº"ala did not appear, and Mundhir was about to sacrifice SharA-k, +whose mourning-woman had already begun to chant the dirge. Suddenly a +rider was seen approaching, wrapped in a shroud and perfumed for burial. +A mourning-woman accompanied him. It was a¸¤anaº"ala. Mundhir +marvelled at their loyalty, dismissed them with marks of honour, and +abolished the custom which he had instituted.[94] + +[Sidenote: aEuro~Amr B. Hind (554-569 A.D.).] + +He was succeeded by his son aEuro~Amr, who is known to contemporary poets and +later historians as aEuro~Amr, son of Hind.[95] During his reign a¸¤A-ra +became an important literary centre. Most of the famous poets then +living visited his court; we shall see in the next chapter what +relations he had with a¹¬arafa, aEuro~Amr b. KulthAºm, and a¸¤Airith b. +a¸¤illiza. He was a morose, passionate, and tyrannical man. The Arabs +stood in great awe of him, but vented their spite none the less. "At +a¸¤A-ra," said DahAib al-aEuro~IjlA-, "there are mosquitoes and fever and lions +and aEuro~Amr b. Hind, who acts unjustly and wrongfully."[96] He was slain by +the chief of Taghlib, aEuro~Amr b. KulthAºm, in vengeance for an insult +offered to his mother, LaylAi. + +[Sidenote: NuaEuro~mAin AbAº QAibAºs.] + +[Sidenote: aEuro~AdA- b. Zayd.] + +It is sufficient to mention the names of QAibAºs and Mundhir IV, both of +whom were sons of Hind, and occupied the throne for short periods. We +now come to the last Lakhmite king of a¸¤A-ra, and by far the most +celebrated in tradition, NuaEuro~mAin III, son of Mundhir IV, with the _kunya_ +(name of honour) AbAº QAibAºs, who reigned from 580 to 602 or from 585 to +607. He was brought up and educated by a noble Christian family in +a¸¤A-ra, the head of which was Zayd b. a¸¤ammAid, father of the poet +aEuro~AdA- b. Zayd. aEuro~AdA- is such an interesting figure, and his fortunes were +so closely and tragically linked with those of NuaEuro~mAin, that some account +of his life and character will be acceptable. Both his father and +grandfather were men of unusual culture, who held high posts in the +civil administration under Mundhir III and his successors. Zayd, +moreover, through the good offices of a _dihqAin_, or Persian landed +proprietor, Farrukh-mAihAin by name, obtained from Khusraw AnAºshirwAin an +important and confidential appointment--that of Postmaster--ordinarily +reserved for the sons of satraps.[97] When aEuro~AdA- grew up, his father sent +him to be educated with the son of the _dihqAin_. He learned to write and +speak Persian with complete facility and Arabic with the utmost +elegance; he versified, and his accomplishments included archery, +horsemanship, and polo. At the Persian court his personal beauty, wit, +and readiness in reply so impressed AnAºshirwAin that he took him into his +service as secretary and interpreter--Arabic had never before been +written in the Imperial Chancery--and accorded him all the privileges of +a favourite. He was entrusted with a mission to Constantinople, where he +was honourably received; and on his departure the Qaya¹Lar,[98] +following an excellent custom, instructed the officials in charge of the +post-routes to provide horses and every convenience in order that the +ambassador might see for himself the extent and resources of the +Byzantine Empire. aEuro~AdA- passed some time in Syria, especially at +Damascus, where his first poem is said to have appeared. On his father's +death, which happened about this time, he renounced the splendid +position at a¸¤A-ra which he might have had for the asking, and gave +himself up to hunting and to all kinds of amusement and pleasure, only +visiting MadAiaEuro(TM)in (Ctesiphon) at intervals to perform his secretarial +duties. While staying at a¸¤A-ra he fell in love with NuaEuro~mAin's daughter +Hind, who was then eleven years old. The story as told in the _Book of +Songs_ is too curious to be entirely omitted, though want of space +prevents me from giving it in full.[99] + + [Sidenote: aEuro~AdA- meets the Princess Hind in church.] + + [Sidenote: His marriage to Hind.] + + It is related that Hind, who was one of the fairest women of her + time, went to church on Thursday of Holy Week, three days after Palm + Sunday, to receive the sacrament. aEuro~AdA- had entered the church for + the same purpose. He espied her--she was a big, tall girl--while she + was off her guard, and fixed his gaze upon her before she became + aware of him. Her maidens, who had seen him approaching, said + nothing to their mistress, because one of them called MAiriya was + enamoured of aEuro~AdA- and knew no other way of making his acquaintance. + When Hind saw him looking at herself, she was highly displeased and + scolded her handmaidens and beat some of them. aEuro~AdA- had fallen in + love with her, but he kept the matter secret for a whole year. At + the end of that time MAiriya, thinking that Hind had forgotten what + passed, described the church of ThA cubedmAi (St. Thomas) and the nuns + there and the girls who frequented it, and the beauty of the + building and of the lamps, and said to her, "Ask thy mother's leave + to go." As soon as leave was granted, MAiriya conveyed the + intelligence to aEuro~AdA-, who immediately dressed himself in a + magnificent gold-embroidered Persian tunic (_yalmaq_) and hastened + to the rendezvous, accompanied by several young men of a¸¤A-ra. When + MAiriya perceived him, she cried to Hind, "Look at this youth: by + God, he is fairer than the lamps and all things else that thou + seest." "Who is he?" she asked. "aEuro~AdA-, son of Zayd." "Do you think," + said Hind, "that he will recognise me if I come nearer?" Then she + advanced and watched him as he conversed with his friends, + outshining them all by the beauty of his person, the elegance of his + language, and the splendour of his dress. "Speak to him," said + MAiriya to her young mistress, whose countenance betrayed her + feelings. After exchanging a few words the lovers parted. MAiriya + went to aEuro~AdA- and promised, if he would first gratify her wishes, to + bring about his union with Hind. She lost no time in warning NuaEuro~mAin + that his daughter was desperately in love with aEuro~AdA- and would either + disgrace herself or die of grief unless he gave her to him. NuaEuro~mAin, + however, was too proud to make overtures to aEuro~AdA-, who on his part + feared to anger the prince by proposing an alliance. The ingenious + MAiriya found a way out of the difficulty. She suggested that aEuro~AdA- + should invite NuaEuro~mAin and his suite to a banquet, and having well + plied him with wine should ask for the hand of his daughter, which + would not then be refused. So it came to pass. NuaEuro~mAin gave his + consent to the marriage, and after three days Hind was brought home + to her husband.[100] + +[Sidenote: aEuro~AdA- secures the election of NuaEuro~mAin as King of a¸¤A-ra.] + +[Sidenote: He is imprisoned and put to death by NuaEuro~mAin.] + +On the death of Mundhir IV aEuro~AdA- warmly supported the claims of NuaEuro~mAin, +who had formerly been his pupil and was now his father-in-law, to the +throne of a¸¤A-ra. The ruse which he employed on this occasion was +completely successful, but it cost him his life.[101] The partisans of +Aswad b. Mundhir, one of the defeated candidates, resolved on vengeance. +Their intrigues awakened the suspicions of NuaEuro~mAin against the +'King-maker.' aEuro~AdA- was cast into prison, where he languished for a long +time and was finally murdered by NuaEuro~mAin when the Chosroes (ParwA(C)z, son +of Hurmuz) had already intervened to procure his release.[102] + +[Sidenote: The vengeance of Zayd b. aEuro~AdA-.] + +[Sidenote: Death of NuaEuro~mAin III.] + +aEuro~AdA- left a son named Zayd, who, on the recommendation of NuaEuro~mAin, was +appointed by Khusraw ParwA(C)z to succeed his father as Secretary for +Arabian Affairs at the court of Ctesiphon. Apparently reconciled to +NuaEuro~mAin, he was none the less bent on vengeance, and only waited for an +opportunity. The kings of Persia were connoisseurs in female beauty, and +when they desired to replenish their harems they used to circulate an +advertisement describing with extreme particularity the physical and +moral qualities which were to be sought after;[103] but hitherto they +had neglected Arabia, which, as they supposed, could not furnish any +woman possessed of these perfections. Zayd therefore approached the +Chosroes and said: "I know that NuaEuro~mAin has in his family a number of +women answering to the description. Let me go to him, and send with me +one of thy guardsmen who understands Arabic." The Chosroes complied, and +Zayd set out for a¸¤A-ra. On learning the object of his mission, NuaEuro~mAin +exclaimed with indignation: "What! are not the gazelles of Persia +sufficient for your needs?" The comparison of a beautiful woman to a +gazelle is a commonplace in Arabian poetry, but the officer accompanying +Zayd was ill acquainted with Arabic, and asked the meaning of the word +(_aEuro~A-n_ or _mahAi_) which NuaEuro~mAin had employed. "Cows," said Zayd. When +ParwA(C)z heard from his guardsman that NuaEuro~mAin had said, "Do not the cows +of Persia content him?" he could scarcely suppress his rage. Soon +afterwards he sent for NuaEuro~mAin, threw him into chains, and caused him to +be trampled to pieces by elephants.[104] + +[Sidenote: Character of NuaEuro~mAin III.] + +NuaEuro~mAin III appears in tradition as a tyrannical prince, devoted to wine, +women, and song. He was the patron of many celebrated poets, and +especially of NAibigha DhubyAinA-, who was driven from a¸¤A-ra in +consequence of a false accusation. This episode, as well as another in +which the poet Munakhkhal was concerned, gives us a glimpse into the +private life of NuaEuro~mAin. He had married his step-mother, Mutajarrida, a +great beauty in her time; but though he loved her passionately, she +bestowed her affections elsewhere. NAibigha was suspected on account of a +poem in which he described the charms of the queen with the utmost +minuteness, but Munakhkhal was the real culprit. The lovers were +surprised by NuaEuro~mAin, and from that day Munakhkhal was never seen again. +Hence the proverb, "Until Munakhkhal shall return," or, as we might say, +"Until the coming of the Coqcigrues." + +[Sidenote: NuaEuro~mAin's conversion to Christianity.] + +Although several of the kings of a¸¤A-ra are said to have been +Christians, it is very doubtful whether any except NuaEuro~mAin III deserved +even the name; the Lakhmites, unlike the majority of their subjects, +were thoroughly pagan. NuaEuro~mAin's education would naturally predispose him +to Christianity, and his conversion may have been wrought, as the legend +asserts, by his mentor aEuro~AdA- b. Zayd. + + +[Sidenote: The GhassAinids or Jafnites.] + +According to Mua¸Yammadan genealogists, the GhassAinids, both those +settled in MedA-na and those to whom the name is consecrated by popular +usage--the GhassAinids of Syria--are descended from aEuro~Amr b. aEuro~Amir +al-MuzayqiyAi, who, as was related in the last chapter, sold his +possessions in Yemen and quitted the country, taking with him a great +number of its inhabitants, shortly before the Bursting of the Dyke of +MaaEuro(TM)rib. His son Jafna is generally regarded as the founder of the +dynasty. Of their early history very few authentic facts have been +preserved. At first, we are told, they paid tribute to the a¸ajAiaEuro~ima, +a family of the stock of SalA-a¸Y, who ruled the Syrian borderlands +under Roman protection. A struggle ensued, from which the GhassAinids +emerged victorious, and henceforth we find them established in these +regions as the representatives of Roman authority with the official +titles of Patricius and Phylarch, which they and the Arabs around them +rendered after the simple Oriental fashion by 'King' (_malik_). + + [Sidenote: Ibn Qutayba's account of the GhassAinids.] + + [Sidenote: a¸¤Airith the Lame.] + + [Sidenote: Jabala b. al-Ayham.] + + The first (says Ibn Qutayba) that reigned in Syria of the family of + Jafna was a¸¤Airith b. aEuro~Amr Mua¸Yarriq, who was so called because + he burnt (_a¸Yarraqa_) the Arabs in their houses. He is a¸¤Airith + the Elder (al-Akbar), and his name of honour (_kunya_) is AbAº + Shamir. After him reigned a¸¤Airith b. AbA- Shamir, known as + a¸¤Airith the Lame (_al-AaEuro~raj_), whose mother was MAiriya of the + Ear-rings. He was the best of their kings, and the most fortunate, + and the craftiest; and in his raids he went the farthest afield. He + led an expedition against Khaybar[105] and carried off a number of + prisoners, but set them free after his return to Syria. When Mundhir + b. MAiaEuro(TM) al-samAi marched against him with an army 100,000 strong, + a¸¤Airith sent a hundred men to meet him--among them the poet LabA-d, + who was then a youth--ostensibly to make peace. They surrounded + Mundhir's tent and slew the king and his companions; then they took + horse, and some escaped, while others were slain. The GhassAinid + cavalry attacked the army of Mundhir and put them to flight. + a¸¤Airith had a daughter named a¸¤alA-ma, who perfumed the hundred + champions on that day and clad them in shrouds of white linen and + coats of mail. She is the heroine of the proverb, "The day of + a¸¤alA-ma is no secret."[106] a¸¤Airith was succeeded by his son, + a¸¤Airith the Younger. Among his other sons were aEuro~Amr b. a¸¤Airith + (called AbAº Shamir the Younger), to whom NAibigha came on leaving + NuaEuro~mAin b. Mundhir; Mundhir b. a¸¤Airith; and al-Ayham b. a¸¤Airith. + Jabala, the son of al-Ayham, was the last of the kings of GhassAin. + He was twelve spans in height, and his feet brushed the ground when + he rode on horseback. He reached the Islamic period and became a + Moslem in the Caliphate of aEuro~Umar b. al-Khaa¹-a¹-Aib, but afterwards + he turned Christian and went to live in the Byzantine Empire. The + occasion of his turning Christian was this: In passing through the + bazaar of Damascus he let his horse tread upon one of the + bystanders, who sprang up and struck Jabala a blow on the face. The + GhassAinA-s seized the fellow and brought him before AbAº aEuro~Ubayda b. + al-JarrAia¸Y,[107] complaining that he had struck their master. AbAº + aEuro~Ubayda demanded proof. "What use wilt thou make of the proof?" said + Jabala. He answered: "If he has struck thee, thou wilt strike him a + blow in return." "And shall not he be slain?" "No." "Shall not his + hand be cut off?" "No," said AbAº aEuro~Ubayda; "God has ordained + retaliation only--blow for blow." Then Jabala went forth and betook + himself to Roman territory and became a Christian; and he stayed + there all the rest of his life.[108] + +[Sidenote: a¸¤Airith the Lame.] + +The Arabian traditions respecting the dynasty of GhassAin are hopelessly +confused and supply hardly any material even for the rough historical +sketch which may be pieced together from the scattered notices in +Byzantine authors.[109] It would seem that the first unquestionable +GhassAinid prince was a¸¤Airith b. Jabala (a1/4%Ia1/2 cubedI¸I+-I, I"I?a?| I"I+-I squareda1/2+-I"I+-), who +figures in Arabian chronicles as 'a¸¤Airith the Lame,' and who was +appointed by Justinian (about 529 A.D.) to balance, on the Roman side, +the active and enterprising King of a¸¤A-ra, Mundhir b. MAiaEuro(TM) al-samAi. +During the greater part of his long reign (529-569 A.D.) he was engaged +in war with this dangerous rival, to whose defeat and death in the +decisive battle of a¸¤alA-ma we have already referred. Like all his +line, a¸¤Airith was a Christian of the Monophysite Church, which he +defended with equal zeal and success at a time when its very existence +was at stake. The following story illustrates his formidable character. +Towards the end of his life he visited Constantinople to arrange with +the Imperial Government which of his sons should succeed him, and made a +powerful impression on the people of that city, especially on the +Emperor's nephew, Justinus. Many years afterwards, when Justinus had +fallen into dotage, the chamberlains would frighten him, when he began +to rave, with "Hush! Arethas will come and take you."[110] + +[Sidenote: Mundhir b. a¸¤Airith.] + +a¸¤Airith was succeeded by his son, Mundhir, who vanquished the new King +of a¸¤A-ra, QAibAºs b. Hind, on Ascension Day, 570 A.D., in a battle which +is perhaps identical with that celebrated by the Arabs as the Battle of +aEuro~Ayn UbAigh. The refusal of the Emperor Justinus to furnish him with +money may have prevented Mundhir from pursuing his advantage, and was +the beginning of open hostility between them, which culminated about +eleven years later in his being carried off to Constantinople and forced +to reside in Sicily. + +From this time to the Persian conquest of Palestine (614 A.D.) anarchy +prevailed throughout the GhassAinid kingdom. The various tribes elected +their own princes, who sometimes, no doubt, were Jafnites; but the +dynasty had virtually broken up. Possibly it was restored by Heraclius +when he drove the Persians out of Syria (629 A.D.), as the GhassAinians +are repeatedly found fighting for Rome against the Moslems, and +according to the unanimous testimony of Arabian writers, the Jafnite +Jabala b. al-Ayham, who took an active part in the struggle, was the +last king of GhassAin. His accession may be placed about 635 A.D. The +poet a¸¤assAin b. ThAibit, who as a native of MedA-na could claim kinship +with the GhassAinids, and visited their court in his youth, gives a +glowing description of its luxury and magnificence. + + [Sidenote: a¸¤assAin b. ThAibit's picture of the GhassAinid court.] + + "I have seen ten singing-girls, five of them Greeks, singing Greek + songs to the music of lutes, and five from a¸¤A-ra who had been + presented to King Jabala by IyAis b. QabA-a¹La,[111] chanting + Babylonian airs. Arab singers used to come from Mecca and elsewhere + for his delight; and when he would drink wine he sat on a couch of + myrtle and jasmine and all sorts of sweet-smelling flowers, + surrounded by gold and silver vessels full of ambergris and musk. + During winter aloes-wood was burned in his apartments, while in + summer he cooled himself with snow. Both he and his courtiers wore + light robes, arranged with more regard to comfort than + ceremony,[112] in the hot weather, and white furs, called + _fanak_,[113] or the like, in the cold season; and, by God, I was + never in his company but he gave me the robe which he was wearing on + that day, and many of his friends were thus honoured. He treated the + rude with forbearance; he laughed without reserve and lavished his + gifts before they were sought. He was handsome, and agreeable in + conversation: I never knew him offend in speech or act."[114] + +[Sidenote: GhassAinid civilisation.] + +[Sidenote: NAibigha's encomium.] + +Unlike the rival dynasty on the Euphrates, the GhassAinids had no fixed +residence. They ruled the country round Damascus and Palmyra, but these +places were never in their possession. The capital of their nomad +kingdom was the temporary camp (in Aramaic, _a¸YA(C)rtAi_) which followed +them to and fro, but was generally to be found in the Gaulonitis +(al-JawlAin), south of Damascus. Thus under the quickening impulse of +Hellenistic culture the GhassAinids developed a civilisation far superior +to that of the Lakhmites, who, just because of their half-barbarian +character, were more closely in touch with the heathen Arabs, and +exercised a deeper influence upon them. Some aspects of this +civilisation have been indicated in the description of Jabala b. +al-Ayham's court, attributed to the poet a¸¤assAin. An earlier bard, the +famous NAibigha, having fallen out of favour with NuaEuro~mAin III of HA-ra, +fled to Syria, where he composed a splendid eulogy of the GhassAinids in +honour of his patron, King aEuro~Amr, son of a¸¤Airith the Lame. After +celebrating their warlike prowess, which he has immortalised in the +oft-quoted verse-- + + "One fault they have: their swords are blunt of edge + Through constant beating on their foemen's mail," + +he concludes in a softer strain: + + "Theirs is a liberal nature that God gave + To no men else; their virtues never fail. + Their home the Holy Land: their faith upright: + They hope to prosper if good deeds avail. + Zoned in fair wise and delicately shod, + They keep the Feast of Palms, when maidens pale, + Whose scarlet silken robes on trestles hang, + Greet them with odorous boughs and bid them hail. + Long lapped in ease tho' bred to war, their limbs + Green-shouldered vestments, white-sleeved, richly veil."[115] + +[Sidenote: Character of Bedouin history.] + +The Pre-islamic history of the Bedouins is mainly a record of wars, or +rather guerillas, in which a great deal of raiding and plundering was +accomplished, as a rule without serious bloodshed. There was no lack of +shouting; volleys of vaunts and satires were exchanged; camels and women +were carried off; many skirmishes took place but few pitched battles: it +was an Homeric kind of warfare that called forth individual exertion in +the highest degree, and gave ample opportunity for single-handed deeds +of heroism. "To write a true history of such Bedouin feuds is well-nigh +impossible. As comparatively trustworthy sources of information we have +only the poems and fragments of verse which have been preserved. +According to SuyAºa¹-A-, the Arabian traditionists used to demand from +any Bedouin who related an historical event the citation of some verses +in its support; and, in effect, all such stories that have come down to +us are crystallised round the poems. Unfortunately these crystals are +seldom pure. It appears only too often that the narratives have been +invented, with abundant fancy and with more or less skill, to suit the +contents of the verses."[116] But although what is traditionally related +concerning the Battle-days of the Arabs (_AyyAimu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~Arab_) is to a +large extent legendary, it describes with sufficient fidelity how tribal +hostilities generally arose and the way in which they were conducted. +The following account of the War of BasAºs--the most famous of those +waged in Pre-islamic times--will serve to illustrate this important +phase of Bedouin life.[117] + +[Sidenote: War of BasAºs.] + +Towards the end of the fifth century A.D. Kulayb, son of RabA-aEuro~a, was +chieftain of the BanAº Taghlib, a powerful tribe which divided with their +kinsmen, the BanAº Bakr, a vast tract in north-eastern Arabia, extending +from the central highlands to the Syrian desert. His victory at the head +of a confederacy formed by these tribes and others over the Yemenite +Arabs made him the first man in the peninsula, and soon his pride became +no less proverbial than his power.[118] He was married to a¸¤alA-la, +daughter of Murra, of the BanAº Bakr, and dwelt in a 'preserve' +(_a¸YimAi_), where he claimed the sole right of pasturage for himself +and the sons of Murra. His brother-in-law, JassAis, had an aunt named +BasAºs. While living under her nephew's protection she was joined by a +certain SaaEuro~d, a client of her own people, who brought with him a +she-camel called SarAibi. + +[Sidenote: Kulayb b. RabA-aEuro~a and JassAis b. Murra.] + +[Sidenote: The wounding of SaaEuro~d's she-camel.] + +Now it happened that Kulayb, seeing a lark's nest as he walked on his +land, said to the bird, which was screaming and fluttering distressfully +over her eggs, "Have no fear! I will protect thee." But a short time +afterwards he observed in that place the track of a strange camel and +found the eggs trodden to pieces. Next morning when he and JassAis +visited the pasture ground, Kulayb noticed the she-camel of SaaEuro~d among +his brother-in-law's herd, and conjecturing that she had destroyed the +eggs, cried out to JassAis, "Take heed thou! Take heed! I have pondered +something, and were I sure, I would have done it! May this she-camel +never come here again with this herd!" "By God," exclaimed JassAis, "but +she shall come!" and when Kulayb threatened to pierce her udder with an +arrow, JassAis retorted, "By the stones of WAiaEuro(TM)il,[119] fix thine arrow in +her udder and I will fix my lance in thy backbone!" Then he drove his +camels forth from the _a¸YimAi_. Kulayb went home in a passion, and said +to his wife, who sought to discover what ailed him, "Knowest thou any +one who durst defend his client against me?" She answered, "No one +except my brother JassAis, if he has given his word." She did what she +could to prevent the quarrel going further, and for a time nothing worse +than taunts passed between them, until one day Kulayb went to look after +his camels which were being taken to water, and were followed by those +of JassAis. While the latter were waiting their turn to drink, SaaEuro~d's +she-camel broke loose and ran towards the water. Kulayb imagined that +JassAis had let her go deliberately, and resenting the supposed insult, +he seized his bow and shot her through the udder. The beast lay down, +moaning loudly, before the tent of BasAºs, who in vehement indignation at +the wrong suffered by her friend, SaaEuro~d, tore the veil from her head, +beating her face and crying, "O shame, shame!" Then, addressing SaaEuro~d, +but raising her voice so that JassAis might hear, she spoke these verses, +which are known as 'The Instigators' (_al-MuwaththibAit_):-- + +[Sidenote: Verses spoken by BasAºs.] + + "_O SaaEuro~d, be not deceived! Protect thyself! + This people for their clients have no care. + Look to my herds, I charge thee, for I doubt + Even my little daughters ill may fare. + By thy life, had I been in Minqar's house, + Thou would'st not have been wronged, my client, there! + But now such folk I dwell among that when + The wolf comes, 'tis my sheep he comes to tear!_"[120] + +[Sidenote: Kulayb murdered by JassAis.] + +JassAis was stung to the quick by the imputation, which no Arab can +endure, that injury and insult might be inflicted upon his guest-friend +with impunity. Some days afterwards, having ascertained that Kulayb had +gone out unarmed, he followed and slew him, and fled in haste to his own +people. Murra, when he heard the news, said to his son, "Thou alone must +answer for thy deed: thou shalt be put in chains that his kinsmen may +slay thee. By the stones of WAiaEuro(TM)il, never will Bakr and Taghlib be joined +together in welfare after the death of Kulayb. Verily, an evil thing +hast thou brought upon thy people, O JassAis! Thou hast slain their chief +and severed their union and cast war into their midst." So he put JassAis +in chains and confined him in a tent; then he summoned the elders of the +families and asked them, "What do ye say concerning JassAis? Here he is, +a prisoner, until the avengers demand him and we deliver him unto them." +"No, by God," cried SaaEuro~d b. MAilik b. a¸ubayaEuro~a b. Qays, "we will not +give him up, but will fight for him to the last man!" With these words +he called for a camel to be sacrificed, and when its throat was cut they +swore to one another over the blood. Thereupon Murra said to JassAis:-- + + [Sidenote: Verses of Murra, the father of JassAis.] + + "_If war thou hast wrought and brought on me, + No laggard I with arms outworn. + Whate'er befall, I make to flow + The baneful cups of death at morn._ + + _When spear-points clash, my wounded man + Is forced to drag the spear he stained. + Never I reck, if war must be, + What Destiny hath preordained._ + + _Donning war's harness, I will strive + To fend from me the shame that sears. + Already I thrill and my lust is roused + For the shock of the horsemen against the spears!_"[121] + +[Sidenote: Outbreak of war between Taghlib and Bakr.] + +Thus began the War of BasAºs between Taghlib on the one side and the clan +of ShaybAin, to which Murra belonged, on the other; for at first the +remaining divisions of Bakr held aloof from the struggle, considering +ShaybAin to be clearly in the wrong. The latter were reduced to dire +straits, when an event occurred which caused the Bakrites to rise as one +man on behalf of their fellows. a¸¤Airith b.aEuro~UbAid, a famous knight of +Bakr, had refused to take part in the contest, saying in words which +became proverbial, "I have neither camel nor she-camel in it," _i.e._, +"it is no affair of mine." One day his nephew, Bujayr, encountered +Kulayb's brother, Muhalhil, on whom the mantle of the murdered chief had +fallen; and Muhalhil, struck with admiration for the youth's comeliness, +asked him who he was. "Bujayr," said he, "the son of aEuro~Amr, the son of +aEuro~UbAid." "And who is thy uncle on the mother's side?" "My mother is a +captive" (for he would not name an uncle of whom he had no honour). Then +Muhalhil slew him, crying, "Pay for Kulayb's shoe-latchet!" On hearing +this, a¸¤Airith sent a message to Muhalhil in which he declared that if +vengeance were satisfied by the death of Bujayr, he for his part would +gladly acquiesce. But Muhalhil replied, "I have taken satisfaction only +for Kulayb's shoe-latchet." Thereupon a¸¤Airith sprang up in wrath and +cried:-- + + "_God knows, I kindled not this fire, altho' + I am burned in it to-day. + A lord for a shoe-latchet is too dear: + To horse! To horse! Away!_"[122] + +And al-Find, of the BanAº Bakr, said on this occasion:-- + + [Sidenote: Verses by al-Find.] + + "_We spared the BanAº Hind[123] and said, 'Our brothers they remain: + It may be Time will make of us one people yet again.'_" + _But when the wrong grew manifest, and naked Ill stood plain, + And naught was left but ruthless hate, we paid them bane with bane! + As lions marched we forth to war in wrath and high disdain: + Our swords brought widowhood and tears and wailing in their train, + Our spears dealt gashes wide whence blood like water spilled amain. + No way but Force to weaken Force and mastery obtain; + 'Tis wooing contumely to meet wild actions with humane: + By evil thou may'st win to peace when good is tried in vain._"[124] + +[Sidenote: The Day of Shearing.] + +The BanAº Bakr now prepared for a decisive battle. As their enemy had the +advantage in numbers, they adopted a stratagem devised by a¸¤Airith. +"Fight them," said he, "with your women. Equip every woman with a small +waterskin and give her a club. Place the whole body of them behind +you--this will make you more resolved in battle--and wear some +distinguishing mark which they will recognise, so that when a woman +passes by one of your wounded she may know him by his mark and give him +water to drink, and raise him from the ground; but when she passes by +one of your foes she will smite him with her club and slay him." So the +Bakrites shaved their heads, devoting themselves to death, and made this +a mark of recognition between themselves and their women, and this day +was called the Day of Shearing. Now Jaa¸Ydar b. a¸ubayaEuro~a was an +ill-favoured, dwarfish man, with fair flowing love-locks, and he said, +"O my people, if ye shave my head ye will disfigure me, so leave my +locks for the first horseman of Taghlib that shall emerge from the +hill-pass on the morrow" (meaning "I will answer for him, if my locks +are spared"). On his request being granted, he exclaimed:-- + + [Sidenote: The vow of Jaa¸Ydar b. a¸ubayaEuro~a.] + + "_To wife and daughter + Henceforth I am dead: + Dust for ointment + On my hair is shed._ + + _Let me close with the horsemen + Who hither ride, + Cut my locks from me + If I stand aside!_ + + _Well wots a mother + If the son she bore + And swaddled on her bosom + And smelt him o'er,_ + + _Whenever warriors + In the mellay meet, + Is a puny weakling + Or a man complete!_"[125] + +He kept his promise but in the course of the fight he fell, severely +wounded. When the women came to him, they saw his love-locks and +imagining that he was an enemy despatched him with their clubs. + +[Sidenote: Women as combatants.] + +The presence of women on the field and the active share they took in the +combat naturally provoked the bitterest feelings. If they were not +engaged in finishing the bloody work of the men, their tongues were busy +inciting them. We are told that a daughter of al-Find bared herself +recklessly and chanted:-- + + "_War! War! War! War! + It has blazed up and scorched us sore. + The highlands are filled with its roar. + Well done, the morning when your heads ye shore!_"[126] + +The mothers were accompanied by their children, whose tender age did not +always protect them from an exasperated foe. It is related that a +horseman of the BanAº Taghlib transfixed a young boy and lifted him up on +the point of his spear. He is said to have been urged to this act of +savagery by one al-BazbAiz, who was riding behind him on the crupper. +Their triumph was short; al-Find saw them, and with a single +spear-thrust pinned them to each other--an exploit which his own verses +record. + +On this day the BanAº Bakr gained a great victory, and broke the power of +Taghlib. It was the last battle of note in the Forty Years' War, which +was carried on, by raiding and plundering, until the exhaustion of both +tribes and the influence of King Mundhir III of a¸¤A-ra brought it to an +end. + + +[Sidenote: The War of DAia¸Yis and GhabrAi.] + +Not many years after the conclusion of peace between Bakr and Taghlib, +another war, hardly less famous in tradition than the War of BasAºs, +broke out in Central Arabia. The combatants were the tribes of aEuro~Abs and +DhubyAin, the principal stocks of the BanAº Ghaa¹-afAin, and the occasion +of their coming to blows is related as follows:-- + + Qays, son of Zuhayr, was chieftain of aEuro~Abs. He had a horse called + DAia¸Yis, renowned for its speed, which he matched against GhabrAi, a + mare belonging to a¸¤udhayfa b. Badr, the chief of DhubyAin. It was + agreed that the course should be a hundred bow-shots in length, and + that the victor should receive a hundred camels. When the race began + GhabrAi took the lead, but as they left the firm ground and entered + upon the sand, where the 'going' was heavy, DAia¸Yis gradually drew + level and passed his antagonist. He was nearing the goal when some + DhubyAinites sprang from an ambuscade prepared beforehand, and drove + him out of his course, thus enabling GhabrAi to defeat him. On being + informed of this foul play Qays naturally claimed that he had won + the wager, but the men of DhubyAin refused to pay even a single + camel. Bitterly resenting their treachery, he waylaid and slew one + of a¸¤udhayfa's brothers. a¸¤udhayfa sought vengeance, and the + murder of MAilik, a brother of Qays, by his horsemen gave the signal + for war. In the fighting which ensued DhubyAin more than held their + own, but neither party could obtain a decisive advantage. Qays slew + the brothers a¸¤udhayfa and a¸¤amal-- + + "_a¸¤amal I slew and eased my heart thereby, + a¸¤udhayfa glutted my avenging brand; + But though I slaked my thirst by slaying them, + I would as lief have lost my own right hand._"[127] + + After a long period--forty years according to the traditional + computation--aEuro~Abs and DhubyAin were reconciled by the exertions of + two chieftains of the latter tribe, a¸¤Airith b. aEuro~Awf and Harim b. + SinAin, whose generous and patriotic intervention the poet Zuhayr has + celebrated. Qays went into exile. "I will not look," he said, "on + the face of any woman of DhubyAin whose father or brother or husband + or son I have killed." If we may believe the legend, he became a + Christian monk and ended his days in aEuro~UmAin. + +[Sidenote: The HijAiz.] + +Descending westward from the highlands of Najd the traveller gradually +approaches the Red Sea, which is separated from the mountains running +parallel to it by a narrow strip of coast-land, called the TihAima +(Netherland). The rugged plateau between Najd and the coast forms the +a¸¤ijAiz (Barrier), through which in ancient times the SabA|an caravans +laden with costly merchandise passed on their way to the Mediterranean +ports. Long before the beginning of our era two considerable trading +settlements had sprung up in this region, viz., Macoraba (Mecca) and, +some distance farther north, Yathrippa (Yathrib, the Pre-islamic name of +MedA-na). Of their early inhabitants and history we know nothing except +what is related by Mua¸Yammadan writers, whose information reaches back +to the days of Adam and Abraham. Mecca was the cradle of Islam, and +Islam, according to Mua¸Yammad, is the religion of Abraham, which was +corrupted by succeeding generations until he himself was sent to purify +it and to preach it anew. Consequently the Pre-islamic history of Mecca +has all been, so to speak, 'Islamised.' The Holy City of Islam is made +to appear in the same light thousands of years before the Prophet's +time: here, it is said, the Arabs were united in worship of Allah, hence +they scattered and fell into idolatry, hither they return annually as +pilgrims to a shrine which had been originally dedicated to the One +Supreme Being, but which afterwards became a Pantheon of tribal deities. +This theory lies at the root of the Mua¸Yammadan legend which I shall +now recount as briefly as possible, only touching on the salient points +of interest. + +[Sidenote: Foundation of the KaaEuro~ba.] + +In the Meccan valley--the primitive home of that portion of the Arab +race which claims descent from IsmAiaEuro~A-l (Ishmael), the son of IbrAihA-m +(Abraham) by HAijar (Hagar)--stands an irregular, cube-shaped building of +small dimensions--the KaaEuro~ba. Legend attributes its foundation to Adam, +who built it by Divine command after a celestial archetype. At the +Deluge it was taken up into heaven, but was rebuilt on its former site +by Abraham and Ishmael. While they were occupied in this work Gabriel +brought the celebrated Black Stone, which is set in the southeast corner +of the building, and he also instructed them in the ceremonies of the +Pilgrimage. When all was finished Abraham stood on a rock known to later +ages as the _MaqAimu IbrAihA-m_, and, turning to the four quarters of the +sky, made proclamation: "O ye people! The Pilgrimage to the Ancient +House is prescribed unto you. Hearken to your Lord!" And from every part +of the world came the answer: "_Labbayka aEuro(TM)llAihumma, labbayka_"--_i.e._, +"We obey, O God, we obey." + +[Sidenote: Idolatry introduced at Mecca.] + +The descendants of Ishmael multiplied exceedingly, so that the barren +valley could no longer support them, and a great number wandered forth +to other lands. They were succeeded as rulers of the sacred territory by +the tribe of Jurhum, who waxed in pride and evil-doing until the +vengeance of God fell upon them. Mention has frequently been made of the +Bursting of the Dyke of MaaEuro(TM)rib, which caused an extensive movement of +Yemenite stocks to the north. The invaders halted in the a¸¤ijAiz, and, +having almost exterminated the Jurhumites, resumed their journey. One +group, however--the BanAº KhuzAiaEuro~a, led by their chief Lua¸Yayy--settled +in the neighbourhood of Mecca. aEuro~Amr, son of Lua¸Yayy, was renowned +among the Arabs for his wealth and generosity. Ibn HishAim says: 'I have +been told by a learned man that aEuro~Amr b. Lua¸Yayy went from Mecca to +Syria on some business and when he arrived at MAiaEuro(TM)ab, in the land of +al-BalqAi, he found the inhabitants, who were aEuro~AmAilA-q, worshipping idols. +"What are these idols?" he inquired. "They are idols that send us rain +when we ask them for rain, and help us when we ask them for help." "Will +ye not give me one of them," said aEuro~Amr, "that I may take it to Arabia to +be worshipped there?" So they gave him an idol called Hubal, which he +brought to Mecca and set it up and bade the people worship and venerate +it.'[128] Following his example, the Arabs brought their idols and +installed them round the sanctuary. The triumph of Paganism was +complete. We are told that hundreds of idols were destroyed by +Mua¸Yammad when he entered Mecca at the head of a Moslem army in 8 A.H. += 629 A.D. + +[Sidenote: The Quraysh.] + +To return to the posterity of IsmAiaEuro~A-l through aEuro~AdnAin: the principal of +their descendants who remained in the a¸¤ijAiz were the Hudhayl, the +KinAina, and the Quraysh. The last-named tribe must now engage our +attention almost exclusively. During the century before Mua¸Yammad we +find them in undisputed possession of Mecca and acknowledged guardians +of the KaaEuro~ba--an office which they administered with a shrewd +appreciation of its commercial value. Their rise to power is related as +follows:-- + + [Sidenote: The story of Qua¹Layy.] + + [Sidenote: Qua¹Layy master of Mecca.] + + KilAib b. Murra, a man of Quraysh, had two sons, Zuhra and Zayd. The + latter was still a young child when his father died, and soon + afterwards his mother, FAia¹-ima, who had married again, left Mecca, + taking Zayd with her, and went to live in her new husband's home + beside the Syrian borders. Zayd grew up far from his native land, + and for this reason he got the name of Qua¹Layy--_i.e._, 'Little + Far-away.' When he reached man's estate and discovered his true + origin he returned to Mecca, where the hegemony was wholly in the + hands of the KhuzAiaEuro~ites under their chieftain, a¸¤ulayl b. + a¸¤ubshiyya, with the determination to procure the superintendence + of the KaaEuro~ba for his own people, the Quraysh, who as pure-blooded + descendants of IsmAiaEuro~A-l had the best right to that honour. By his + marriage with a¸¤ubbAi, the daughter of a¸¤ulayl, he hoped to + inherit the privileges vested in his father-in-law, but a¸¤ulayl on + his deathbed committed the keys of the KaaEuro~ba to a kinsman named AbAº + GhubshAin. Not to be baffled, Qua¹Layy made the keeper drunk and + persuaded him to sell the keys for a skin of wine--hence the + proverbs "A greater fool than AbAº GhubshAin" and "AbAº GhubshAin's + bargain," denoting a miserable fraud. Naturally the KhuzaaEuro~ites did + not acquiesce in the results of this transaction; they took up arms, + but Qua¹Layy was prepared for the struggle and won a decisive + victory. He was now master of Temple and Town and could proceed to + the work of organisation. His first step was to bring together the + Quraysh, who had previously been dispersed over a wide area, into + the Meccan valley--this earned for him the title of _al-MujammiaEuro~_ + (the Congregator)--so that each family had its allotted quarter. He + built a House of Assembly (_DAiru aEuro(TM)l-Nadwa_), where matters affecting + the common weal were discussed by the Elders of the tribe. He also + instituted and centred in himself a number of dignities in + connection with the government of the KaaEuro~ba and the administration + of the Pilgrimage, besides others of a political and military + character. Such was his authority that after his death, no less than + during his life, all these ordinances were regarded by the Quraysh + as sacred and inviolable. + +[Sidenote: Mecca in the sixth century after Christ.] + +The death of Qua¹Layy may be placed in the latter half of the fifth +century. His descendant, the Prophet Mua¸Yammad, was born about a +hundred years afterwards, in 570 or 571 A.D. With one notable exception, +to be mentioned immediately, the history of Mecca during the period thus +defined is a record of petty factions unbroken by any event of +importance. The Prophet's ancestors fill the stage and assume a +commanding position, which in all likelihood they never possessed; the +historical rivalry of the Umayyads and aEuro~AbbAisids appears in the persons +of their founders, Umayya and HAishim--and so forth. Meanwhile the +influence of the Quraysh was steadily maintained and extended. The KaaEuro~ba +had become a great national rendezvous, and the crowds of pilgrims which +it attracted from almost every Arabian clan not only raised the credit +of the Quraysh, but also materially contributed to their commercial +prosperity. It has already been related how Abraha, the Abyssinian +viceroy of Yemen, resolved to march against Mecca with the avowed +purpose of avenging upon the KaaEuro~ba a sacrilege committed by one of the +Quraysh in the church at a¹canaEuro~Ai. Something of that kind may have +served as a pretext, but no doubt his real aim was to conquer Mecca and +to gain control of her trade. + +[Sidenote: The Year of the Elephant.] + +[Sidenote: The Abyssinians at Mecca.] + +This memorable expedition[129] is said by Moslem historians to have +taken place in the year of Mua¸Yammad's birth (about 570 A.D.), usually +known as the Year of the Elephant--a proof that the Arabs were deeply +impressed by the extraordinary spectacle of these huge animals, one or +more of which accompanied the Abyssinian force. The report of Abraha's +preparations filled the tribesmen with dismay. At first they endeavoured +to oppose his march, regarding the defence of the KaaEuro~ba as a sacred +duty, but they soon lost heart, and Abraha, after defeating DhAº Nafar, a +a¸¤imyarite chieftain, encamped in the neighbourhood of Mecca without +further resistance. He sent the following message to aEuro~Abdu +aEuro(TM)l-Mua¹-a¹-alib, the Prophet's grandfather, who was at that time the +most influential personage in Mecca: "I have not come to wage war on +you, but only to destroy the Temple. Unless you take up arms in its +defence, I have no wish to shed your blood." aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-Mua¹-a¹-alib +replied: "By God, we seek not war, for which we are unable. This is +God's holy House and the House of Abraham, His Friend; it is for Him to +protect His House and Sanctuary; if He abandons it, we cannot defend +it." + + [Sidenote: aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-Mua¹-a¹-alib's interview with Abraha.] + + Then aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-Mua¹-a¹-alib was conducted by the envoy to the + Abyssinian camp, as Abraha had ordered. There he inquired after DhAº + Nafar, who was his friend, and found him a prisoner. "O DhAº Nafar," + said he, "can you do aught in that which has befallen us?" DhAº Nafar + answered, "What can a man do who is a captive in the hands of a + king, expecting day and night to be put to death? I can do nothing + at all in the matter, but Unays, the elephant-driver, is my friend; + I will send to him and press your claims on his consideration and + ask him to procure you an audience with the king. Tell Unays what + you wish: he will plead with the king in your favour if he can." So + DhAº Nafar sent for Unays and said to him, "O Unays, aEuro~Abdu + aEuro(TM)l-Mua¹-a¹-alib is lord of Quraysh and master of the caravans of + Mecca. He feeds the people in the plain and the wild creatures on + the mountain-tops. The king has seized two hundred of his camels. + Now get him admitted to the king's presence and help him to the best + of your power." Unays consented, and soon aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-Mua¹-a¹-alib + stood before the king. When Abraha saw him he held him in too high + respect to let him sit in an inferior place, but was unwilling that + the Abyssinians should see the Arab chief, who was a large man and a + comely, seated on a level with himself; he therefore descended from + his throne and sat on his carpet and bade aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-Mua¹-a¹-alib + sit beside him. Then he said to his dragoman, "Ask him what he wants + of me." aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-Mua¹-a¹-alib replied, "I want the king to restore + to me two hundred camels of mine which he has taken away." Abraha + said to the dragoman, "Tell him: You pleased me when I first saw + you, but now that you have spoken to me I hold you cheap. What! do + you speak to me of two hundred camels which I have taken, and omit + to speak of a temple venerated by you and your fathers which I have + come to destroy?" Then said aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-Mua¹-a¹-alib: "The camels are + mine, but the Temple belongs to another, who will defend it," and on + the king exclaiming, "He cannot defend it from me," he said, "That + is your affair; only give me back my camels." + + As it is related in a more credible version, the tribes settled + round Mecca sent ambassadors, of whom aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-Mua¹-a¹-alib was + one, offering to surrender a third part of their possessions to + Abraha on condition that he should spare the Temple, but he refused. + Having recovered his camels, aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-Mua¹-a¹-alib returned to the + Quraysh, told them what had happened, and bade them leave the city + and take shelter in the mountains. Then he went to the KaaEuro~ba, + accompanied by several of the Quraysh, to pray for help against + Abraha and his army. Grasping the ring of the door, he cried:-- + + "_O God, defend Thy neighbouring folk even as a man his gear[130] + defendeth! + Let not their Cross and guileful plans defeat the plans Thyself + intendeth! + But if Thou make it so, 'tis well: according to Thy will it + endeth._"[131] + + [Sidenote: Rout of the Abyssinians.] + + Next morning, when Abraha prepared to enter Mecca, his elephant + knelt down and would not budge, though they beat its head with an + axe and thrust sharp stakes into its flanks; but when they turned it + in the direction of Yemen, it rose up and trotted with alacrity. + Then God sent from the sea a flock of birds like swallows every one + of which carried three stones as large as a chick-pea or a lentil, + one in its bill and one in each claw, and all who were struck by + those stones perished.[132] The rest fled in disorder, dropping down + as they ran or wherever they halted to quench their thirst. Abraha + himself was smitten with a plague so that his limbs rotted off + piecemeal.[133] + +These details are founded on the 105th chapter of the Koran, entitled +'The SAºra of the Elephant,' which may be freely rendered as follows:-- + + "Hast not thou seen the people of the Elephant, how dealt + with them the Lord? + Did not He make their plot to end in ruin abhorred?-- + When He sent against them birds, horde on horde, + And stones of baked clay upon them poured, + And made them as leaves of corn devoured." + +The part played by aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-Mua¹-a¹-alib in the story is, of course, a +pious fiction designed to glorify the Holy City and to claim for the +Prophet's family fifty years before Islam a predominance which they did +not obtain until long afterwards; but equally of course the legend +reflects Mua¸Yammadan belief, and may be studied with advantage as a +characteristic specimen of its class. + +"When God repulsed the Abyssinians from Mecca and smote them with His +vengeance, the Arabs held the Quraysh in high respect and said, 'They +are God's people: God hath fought for them and hath defended them +against their enemy;' and made poems on this matter."[134] The following +verses, according to Ibn Isa¸YAiq, are by Abu aEuro(TM)l-a¹calt b. AbA- RabA-aEuro~a +of ThaqA-f; others more reasonably ascribe them to his son Umayya, a +well-known poet and monotheist (a¸¤anA-f) contemporary with +Mua¸Yammad:-- + + [Sidenote: Verses by Umayya b. Abi aEuro(TM)l-a¹calt.] + + "Lo, the signs of our Lord are everlasting, + None disputes them except the unbeliever. + He created Day and Night: unto all men + Is their Reckoning ordained, clear and certain. + Gracious Lord! He illumines the daytime + With a sun widely scattering radiance. + He the Elephant stayed at Mughammas + So that sore it limped as though it were hamstrung, + Cleaving close to its halter, and down dropped, + As one falls from the crag of a mountain. + Gathered round it were princes of Kinda, + Noble heroes, fierce hawks in the mellay. + There they left it: they all fled together, + Every man with his shank-bone broken. + Vain before God is every religion, + When the dead rise, except the a¸¤anA-fite.[135]" + +[Sidenote: Battle of DhAº QAir (circa 610 A.D.).] + +The patriotic feelings aroused in the Arabs of the a¸¤ijAiz by the +Abyssinian invasion--feelings which must have been shared to some extent +by the Bedouins generally--received a fresh stimulus through events +which occurred about forty years after this time on the other side of +the peninsula. It will be remembered that the Lakhmite dynasty at +a¸¤A-ra came to an end with NuaEuro~mAin III, who was cruelly executed by +Khusraw ParwA(C)z (602 or 607 A.D.).[136] Before his death he had deposited +his arms and other property with HAiniaEuro(TM), a chieftain of the BanAº Bakr. +These were claimed by Khusraw, and as HAiniaEuro(TM) refused to give them up, a +Persian army was sent to DhAº QAir, a place near KAºfa abounding in water +and consequently a favourite resort of the Bakrites during the dry +season. A desperate conflict ensued, in which the Persians were +completely routed.[137] Although the forces engaged were comparatively +small,[138] this victory was justly regarded by the Arabs as marking the +commencement of a new order of things; _e.g._, it is related that +Mua¸Yammad said when the tidings reached him: "This is the first day on +which the Arabs have obtained satisfaction from the Persians." The +desert tribes, hitherto overshadowed by the SAisAinian Empire and held in +check by the powerful dynasty of a¸¤A-ra, were now confident and +aggressive. They began to hate and despise the Colossus which they no +longer feared, and which, before many years had elapsed, they trampled +in the dust. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +PRE-ISLAMIC POETRY, MANNERS, AND RELIGION + + +"When there appeared a poet in a family of the Arabs, the other tribes +round about would gather together to that family and wish them joy of +their good luck. Feasts would be got ready, the women of the tribe would +join together in bands, playing upon lutes, as they were wont to do at +bridals, and the men and boys would congratulate one another; for a poet +was a defence to the honour of them all, a weapon to ward off insult +from their good name, and a means of perpetuating their glorious deeds +and of establishing their fame for ever. And they used not to wish one +another joy but for three things--the birth of a boy, the coming to +light of a poet, and the foaling of a noble mare."[139] + +As far as extant literature is concerned--and at this time there was +only a spoken literature, which was preserved by oral tradition, and +first committed to writing long afterwards--the _JAihiliyya_ or +Pre-islamic Age covers scarcely more than a century, from about 500 +A.D., when the oldest poems of which we have any record were composed, +to the year of Mua¸Yammad's Flight to MedA-na (622 A.D.), which is the +starting-point of a new era in Arabian history. The influence of these +hundred and twenty years was great and lasting. They saw the rise and +incipient decline of a poetry which most Arabic-speaking Moslems have +always regarded as a model of unapproachable excellence; a poetry rooted +in the life of the people, that insensibly moulded their minds and fixed +their character and made them morally and spiritually a nation long +before Mua¸Yammad welded the various conflicting groups into a single +organism, animated, for some time at least, by a common purpose. In +those days poetry was no luxury for the cultured few, but the sole +medium of literary expression. Every tribe had its poets, who freely +uttered what they felt and thought. Their unwritten words "flew across +the desert faster than arrows," and came home to the hearts and bosoms +of all who heard them. Thus in the midst of outward strife and +disintegration a unifying principle was at work. Poetry gave life and +currency to an ideal of Arabian virtue (_muruwwa_), which, though based +on tribal community of blood and insisting that only ties of blood were +sacred, nevertheless became an invisible bond between diverse clans, and +formed, whether consciously or not, the basis of a national community of +sentiment. + +[Sidenote: Origins of Arabian poetry] + +In the following pages I propose to trace the origins of Arabian poetry, +to describe its form, contents, and general features, to give some +account of the most celebrated Pre-islamic poets and collections of +Pre-islamic verse, and finally to show in what manner it was preserved +and handed down. + +By the ancient Arabs the poet (_shAiaEuro~ir_, plural _shuaEuro~arAi_), as his name +implies, was held to be a person endowed with supernatural knowledge, a +wizard in league with spirits (_jinn_) or satans (_shayAia¹-A-n_) and +dependent on them for the magical powers which he displayed. This view +of his personality, as well as the influential position which he +occupied, are curiously indicated by the story of a certain youth who +was refused the hand of his beloved on the ground that he was neither a +poet nor a soothsayer nor a water-diviner.[140] The idea of poetry as an +art was developed afterwards; the pagan _shAiaEuro~ir_ is the oracle of his +tribe, their guide in peace and their champion in war. It was to him +they turned for counsel when they sought new pastures, only at his word +would they pitch or strike their 'houses of hair,' and when the tired +and thirsty wanderers found a well and drank of its water and washed +themselves, led by him they may have raised their voices together and +sung, like Israel-- + + "Spring up, O well, sing ye unto it."[141] + +[Sidenote: Satire.] + +Besides fountain-songs, war-songs, and hymns to idols, other kinds of +poetry must have existed in the earliest times--_e.g._, the love-song +and the dirge. The powers of the _shAiaEuro~ir_, however, were chiefly +exhibited in Satire (_hijAi_), which in the oldest known form "introduces +and accompanies the tribal feud, and is an element of war just as +important as the actual fighting."[142] The menaces which he hurled +against the foe were believed to be inevitably fatal. His rhymes, often +compared to arrows, had all the effect of a solemn curse spoken by a +divinely inspired prophet or priest,[143] and their pronunciation was +attended with peculiar ceremonies of a symbolic character, such as +anointing the hair on one side of the head, letting the mantle hang down +loosely, and wearing only one sandal.[144] Satire retained something of +these ominous associations at a much later period when the magic +utterance of the _shAiaEuro~ir_ had long given place to the lampoon by which +the poet reviles his enemies and holds them up to shame. + +[Sidenote: SajaEuro~.] + +The obscure beginnings of Arabian poetry, presided over by the magician +and his familiar spirits, have left not a rack behind in the shape of +literature, but the task of reconstruction is comparatively easy where +we are dealing with a people so conservative and tenacious of antiquity +as the Arabs. Thus it may be taken for certain that the oldest form of +poetical speech in Arabia was rhyme without metre (_SajaEuro~_), or, as we +should say, 'rhymed prose,' although the fact of Mua¸Yammad's +adversaries calling him a poet because he used it in the Koran shows the +light in which it was regarded even after the invention and elaboration +of metre. Later on, as we shall see, _SajaEuro~_ became a merely rhetorical +ornament, the distinguishing mark of all eloquence whether spoken or +written, but originally it had a deeper, almost religious, significance +as the special form adopted by poets, soothsayers, and the like in their +supernatural revelations and for conveying to the vulgar every kind of +mysterious and esoteric lore. + +[Sidenote: Rajaz.] + +Out of _SajaEuro~_ was evolved the most ancient of the Arabian metres, which +is known by the name of _Rajaz_.[145] This is an irregular iambic metre +usually consisting of four or six--an Arab would write 'two or +three'--feet to the line; and it is a peculiarity of _Rajaz_, marking +its affinity to _SajaEuro~_, that all the lines rhyme with each other, +whereas in the more artificial metres only the opening verse[146] is +doubly rhymed. A further characteristic of _Rajaz_ is that it should be +uttered extempore, a few verses at a time--commonly verses expressing +some personal feeling, emotion, or experience, like those of the aged +warrior Durayd b. Zayd b. Nahd when he lay dying:-- + + "The house of death[147] is builded for Durayd to-day. + Could Time be worn out, sure had I worn Time away. + No single foe but I had faced and brought to bay. + The spoils I gathered in, how excellent were they! + The women that I loved, how fine was their array!"[148] + +[Sidenote: Other metres.] + +Here would have been the proper place to give an account of the +principal Arabian metres--the 'Perfect' (_KAimil_), the 'Ample' (_WAifir_) +the 'Long' (_a¹¬awA-l_), the 'Wide' (_Basia¹-_), the 'Light' +(_KhafA-f_), and several more--but in order to save valuable space I must +content myself with referring the reader to the extremely lucid +treatment of this subject by Sir Charles Lyall in the Introduction to +his _Ancient Arabian Poetry_, pp. xlv-lii. All the metres are +quantitative, as in Greek and Latin. Their names and laws were unknown +to the Pre-islamic bards: the rules of prosody were first deduced from +the ancient poems and systematised by the grammarian, KhalA-l b. Ahmad (aEuro +791 A.D.), to whom the idea is said to have occurred as he watched a +coppersmith beating time on the anvil with his hammer. + +[Sidenote: The oldest extant poems.] + +We have now to consider the form and matter of the oldest extant poems +in the Arabic language. Between these highly developed productions and +the rude doggerel of _SajaEuro~_ or _Rajaz_ there lies an interval, the +length of which it is impossible even to conjecture. The first poets are +already consummate masters of the craft. "The number and complexity of +the measures which they use, their established laws of quantity and +rhyme, and the uniform manner in which they introduce the subject of +their poems,[149] notwithstanding the distance which often separated one +composer from another, all point to a long previous study and +cultivation of the art of expression and the capacities of their +language, a study of which no record now remains."[150] + +[Sidenote: Their date.] + +It is not improbable that the dawn of the Golden Age of Arabian Poetry +coincided with the first decade of the sixth century after Christ. About +that time the War of BasAºs, the chronicle of which has preserved a +considerable amount of contemporary verse, was in full blaze; and the +first Arabian ode was composed, according to tradition, by Muhalhil b. +RabA-aEuro~a the Taghlibite on the death of his brother, the chieftain Kulayb, +which caused war to break out between Bakr and Taghlib. At any rate, +during the next hundred years in almost every part of the peninsula we +meet with a brilliant succession of singers, all using the same poetical +dialect and strictly adhering to the same rules of composition. The +fashion which they set maintained itself virtually unaltered down to the +end of the Umayyad period (750 A.D.), and though challenged by some +daring spirits under the aEuro~AbbAisid Caliphate, speedily reasserted its +supremacy, which at the present day is almost as absolute as ever. + +[Sidenote: The Qaa¹LA-da.] + +This fashion centres in the _Qaa¹LA-da_,[151] or Ode, the only form, or +rather the only finished type of poetry that existed in what, for want +of a better word, may be called the classical period of Arabic +literature. The verses (_abyAit_, singular _bayt_) of which it is built +vary in number, but are seldom less than twenty-five or more than a +hundred; and the arrangement of the rhymes is such that, while the two +halves of the first verse rhyme together, the same rhyme is repeated +once in the second, third, and every following verse to the end of the +poem. Blank-verse is alien to the Arabs, who regard rhyme not as a +pleasing ornament or a "troublesome bondage," but as a vital organ of +poetry. The rhymes are usually feminine, _e.g._, sa_khA-nAi_, tu_lA-nAi_, +mu_hA-nAi_; mukh_lidA-_, _yadA-_, aEuro~uw_wadA-_; ri_jAimuhAi_, si_lAimuhAi_, +a¸Ya_rAimuhAi_. To surmount the difficulties of the monorhyme demands +great technical skill even in a language of which the peculiar formation +renders the supply of rhymes extraordinarily abundant. The longest of +the _MuaEuro~allaqAit_, the so-called 'Long Poems,' is considerably shorter +than Gray's _Elegy_. An Arabian Homer or Chaucer must have condescended +to prose. With respect to metre the poet may choose any except _Rajaz_, +which is deemed beneath the dignity of the Ode, but his liberty does not +extend either to the choice of subjects or to the method of handling +them: on the contrary, the course of his ideas is determined by rigid +conventions which he durst not overstep. + + [Sidenote: Ibn Qutayba's account of the contents and divisions of + the Ode.] + + "I have heard," says Ibn Qutayba, "from a man of learning that the + composer of Odes began by mentioning the deserted dwelling-places + and the relics and traces of habitation. Then he wept and complained + and addressed the desolate encampment, and begged his companion to + make a halt, in order that he might have occasion to speak of those + who had once lived there and afterwards departed; for the dwellers + in tents were different from townsmen or villagers in respect of + coming and going, because they moved from one water-spring to + another, seeking pasture and searching out the places where rain had + fallen. Then to this he linked the erotic prelude (_nasA-b_), and + bewailed the violence of his love and the anguish of separation from + his mistress and the extremity of his passion and desire, so as to + win the hearts of his hearers and divert their eyes towards him and + invite their ears to listen to him, since the song of love touches + men's souls and takes hold of their hearts, God having put it in the + constitution of His creatures to love dalliance and the society of + women, in such wise that we find very few but are attached thereto + by some tie or have some share therein, whether lawful or + unpermitted. Now, when the poet had assured himself of an attentive + hearing, he followed up his advantage and set forth his claim: thus + he went on to complain of fatigue and want of sleep and travelling + by night and of the noonday heat, and how his camel had been reduced + to leanness. And when, after representing all the discomfort and + danger of his journey, he knew that he had fully justified his hope + and expectation of receiving his due meed from the person to whom + the poem was addressed, he entered upon the panegyric (_madA-a¸Y_), + and incited him to reward, and kindled his generosity by exalting + him above his peers and pronouncing the greatest dignity, in + comparison with his, to be little."[152] + +Hundreds of Odes answer exactly to this description, which must not, +however, be regarded as the invariable model. The erotic prelude is +often omitted, especially in elegies; or if it does not lead directly to +the main subject, it may be followed by a faithful and minute +delineation of the poet's horse or camel which bears him through the +wilderness with a speed like that of the antelope, the wild ass, or the +ostrich: Bedouin poetry abounds in fine studies of animal life.[153] The +choice of a motive is left open. Panegyric, no doubt, paid better than +any other, and was therefore the favourite; but in Pre-islamic times the +poet could generally please himself. The _qaa¹LA-da_ is no organic +whole: rather its unity resembles that of a series of pictures by the +same hand or, to employ an Eastern trope, of pearls various in size and +quality threaded on a necklace. + +The ancient poetry may be defined as an illustrative criticism of +Pre-islamic life and thought. Here the Arab has drawn himself at full +length without embellishment or extenuation. + +It is not mere chance that AbAº TammAim's famous anthology is called the +_a¸¤amAisa_, _i.e._, 'Fortitude,' from the title of its first chapter, +which occupies nearly a half of the book. 'a¸¤amAisa' denotes the +virtues most highly prized by the Arabs--bravery in battle, patience in +misfortune, persistence in revenge, protection of the weak and defiance +of the strong; the will, as Tennyson has said, + + "To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield." + +[Sidenote: The Ideal Arab hero.] + +[Sidenote: ShanfarAi.] + +As types of the ideal Arab hero we may take ShanfarAi of Azd and his +comrade in foray, TaaEuro(TM)abbaa¹-a Sharran. Both were brigands, outlaws, +swift runners, and excellent poets. Of the former + + "it is said that he was captured when a child from his tribe by the + BanAº SalAimAin, and brought up among them: he did not learn his origin + until he had grown up, when he vowed vengeance against his captors, + and returned to his own tribe. His oath was that he would slay a + hundred men of SalAimAin; he slew ninety-eight, when an ambush of his + enemies succeeded in taking him prisoner. In the struggle one of his + hands was hewn off by a sword stroke, and, taking it in the other, + he flung it in the face of a man of SalAimAin and killed him, thus + making ninety-nine. Then he was overpowered and slain, with one + still wanting to make up his number. As his skull lay bleaching on + the ground, a man of his enemies passed by that way and kicked it + with his foot; a splinter of bone entered his foot, the wound + mortified, and he died, thus completing the hundred."[154] + +The following passage is translated from ShanfarAi's splendid Ode named +_LAimiyyatu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~Arab_ (the poem rhymed in _l_ of the Arabs), in which he +describes his own heroic character and the hardships of a predatory +life:--[155] + + "And somewhere the noble find a refuge afar from scathe, + The outlaw a lonely spot where no kin with hatred burn. + Oh, never a prudent man, night-faring in hope or fear, + Hard pressed on the face of earth, but still he hath room to turn. + + To me now, in your default, are comrades a wolf untired, + A sleek leopard, and a fell hyena with shaggy mane:[156] + True comrades: they ne'er let out the secret in trust with them, + Nor basely forsake their friend because that he brought them bane. + + And each is a gallant heart and ready at honour's call, + Yet I, when the foremost charge, am bravest of all the brave; + But if they with hands outstretched are seizing the booty won, + The slowest am I whenas most quick is the greedy knave. + + By naught save my generous will I reach to the height of worth + Above them, and sure the best is he with the will to give. + Yea, well I am rid of those who pay not a kindness back, + Of whom I have no delight though neighbours to me they live. + + Know are companions three at last: an intrepid soul, + A glittering trenchant blade, a tough bow of ample size, + Loud-twanging, the sides thereof smooth-polished, a handsome bow + Hung down from the shoulder-belt by thongs in a comely wise, + That groans, when the arrow slips away, like a woman crushed + By losses, bereaved of all her children, who wails and cries." + +On quitting his tribe, who cast him out when they were threatened on all +sides by enemies seeking vengeance for the blood that he had spilt, +ShanfarAi said:-- + + "Bury me not! Me you are forbidden to bury, + But thou, O hyena, soon wilt feast and make merry, + When foes bear away mine head, wherein is the best of me, + And leave on the battle-field for thee all the rest of me. + Here nevermore I hope to live glad--a stranger + Accurst, whose wild deeds have brought his people in danger."[157] + +[Sidenote: TaaEuro(TM)abbaa¹-a Sharran.] + +ThAibit b. JAibir b. SufyAin of Fahm is said to have got his nickname, +TaaEuro(TM)abbaa¹-a Sharran, because one day his mother, who had seen him go +forth from his tent with a sword under his arm, on being asked, "Where +is ThAibit?" replied, "I know not: he put a mischief under his arm-pit +(_taaEuro(TM)abbaa¹-a sharran_) and departed." According to another version of +the story, the 'mischief' was a Ghoul whom he vanquished and slew and +carried home in this manner. The following lines, which he addressed to +his cousin, Shams b. MAilik, may be applied with equal justice to the +poet himself:-- + + "Little he complains of labour that befalls him; much he wills; + Diverse ways attempting, mightily his purpose he fulfils. + Through one desert in the sun's heat, through another in starlight, + Lonely as the wild ass, rides he bare-backed Danger noon and night. + He the foremost wind outpaceth, while in broken gusts it blows, + Speeding onward, never slackening, never staying for repose. + Prompt to dash upon the foeman, every minute watching well-- + Are his eyes in slumber lightly sealed, his heart stands sentinel. + When the first advancing troopers rise to sight, he sets his hand + From the scabbard forth to draw his sharp-edged, finely-mettled brand. + When he shakes it in the breast-bone of a champion of the foe, + How the grinning Fates in open glee their flashing side-teeth show! + Solitude his chosen comrade, on he fares while overhead + By the Mother of the mazy constellations he is led."[158] + +[Sidenote: The old Arabian points of honour.] + +These verses admirably describe the rudimentary Arabian virtues of +courage, hardness, and strength. We must now take a wider survey of the +moral ideas on which pagan society was built, and of which Pre-islamic +poetry is at once the promulgation and the record. There was no written +code, no legal or religious sanction--nothing, in effect, save the +binding force of traditional sentiment and opinion, _i.e._, Honour. +What, then, are the salient points of honour in which Virtue +(_Muruwwa_), as it was understood by the heathen Arabs, consists? + +[Sidenote: Courage.] + +Courage has been already mentioned. Arab courage is like that of the +ancient Greeks, "dependent upon excitement and vanishing quickly before +depression and delay."[159] Hence the Arab hero is defiant and boastful, +as he appears, _e.g._, in the _MuaEuro~allaqa_ of aEuro~Amr b. KulthAºm. When there +is little to lose by flight he will ride off unashamed; but he will +fight to the death for his womenfolk, who in serious warfare often +accompanied the tribe and were stationed behind the line of battle.[160] + + "When I saw the hard earth hollowed + By our women's flying footprints, + And LamA-s her face uncovered + Like the full moon of the skies, + Showing forth her hidden beauties-- + Then the matter was grim earnest: + I engaged their chief in combat, + Seeing help no other wise."[161] + +The tribal constitution was a democracy guided by its chief men, who +derived their authority from noble blood, noble character, wealth, +wisdom, and experience. As a Bedouin poet has said in homely language-- + + "A folk that hath no chiefs must soon decay, + And chiefs it hath not when the vulgar sway. + Only with poles the tent is reared at last, + And poles it hath not save the pegs hold fast + But when the pegs and poles are once combined, + Then stands accomplished that which was designed."[162] + +[Sidenote: Loyalty.] + +The chiefs, however, durst not lay commands or penalties on their +fellow-tribesmen. Every man ruled himself, and was free to rebuke +presumption in others. "_If you are our lord_" (_i.e._, if you act +discreetly as a _sayyid_ should), "_you will lord over us, but if you +are a prey to pride, go and be proud!_" (_i.e._, we will have nothing to +do with you).[163] Loyalty in the mouth of a pagan Arab did not mean +allegiance to his superiors, but faithful devotion to his equals; and it +was closely connected with the idea of kinship. The family and the +tribe, which included strangers living in the tribe under a covenant of +protection--to defend these, individually and collectively, was a sacred +duty. Honour required that a man should stand by his own people through +thick and thin. + + "I am of Ghaziyya: if she be in error, then I will err; + And if Ghaziyya be guided right, I go right with her!" + +sang Durayd b. a¹cimma, who had followed his kin, against his better +judgment, in a foray which cost the life of his brother aEuro~AbdullAih.[164] +If kinsmen seek help it should be given promptly, without respect to the +merits of the case; if they do wrong it should be suffered as long as +possible before resorting to violence.[165] The utilitarian view of +friendship is often emphasised, as in these verses:-- + + Take for thy brother whom thou wilt in the days of peace, + But know that when fighting comes thy kinsman alone is near. + Thy true friend thy kinsman is, who answers thy call for aid + With good will, when deeply drenched in bloodshed are sword and spear. + Oh, never forsake thy kinsman e'en tho' he do thee wrong, + For what he hath marred he mends thereafter and makes sincere."[166] + +At the same time, notwithstanding their shrewd common sense, nothing is +more characteristic of the Arabs--heathen and Mua¸Yammadan alike--than +the chivalrous devotion and disinterested self-sacrifice of which they +are capable on behalf of their friends. In particular, the ancient +poetry affords proof that they regarded with horror any breach of the +solemn covenant plighted between patron and client or host and guest. +This topic might be illustrated by many striking examples, but one will +suffice:-- + + [Sidenote: The story of SamawaEuro(TM)al b. aEuro~AdiyAi.] + + The Arabs say: "_AwfAi mina aEuro(TM)l-SamawaEuro(TM)ali_"--"More loyal than + al-SamawaEuro(TM)al"; or _WafAiun ka-wafAiaEuro(TM)i aEuro(TM)l-SamawaEuro(TM)ali_"--" A loyalty like + that of al-SamawaEuro(TM)al." These proverbs refer to SamawaEuro(TM)al b. aEuro~AdiyAi, an + Arab of Jewish descent and Jew by religion, who lived in his castle, + called al-Ablaq (The Piebald), at TaymAi, some distance north of + MedA-na. There he dug a well of sweet water, and would entertain the + Arabs who used to alight beside it; and they supplied themselves + with provisions from his castle and set up a market. It is related + that the poet ImruaEuro(TM)u aEuro(TM)l-Qays, while fleeing, hotly pursued by his + enemies, towards Syria, took refuge with SamawaEuro(TM)al, and before + proceeding on his way left in charge of his host five coats of mail + which had been handed down as heirlooms by the princes of his + family. Then he departed, and in due course arrived at + Constantinople, where he besought the Byzantine emperor to help him + to recover his lost kingdom. His appeal was not unsuccessful, but he + died on the way home. Meanwhile his old enemy, the King of a¸¤A-ra, + sent an army under a¸¤Airith b. aº'Ailim against SamawaEuro(TM)al, demanding + that he should surrender the coats of mail. SamawaEuro(TM)al refused to + betray the trust committed to him, and defended himself in his + castle. The besiegers, however, captured his son, who had gone out + to hunt. a¸¤Airith asked SamawaEuro(TM)al: "Dost thou know this lad?" "Yes, + he is my son." "Then wilt thou deliver what is in thy possession, or + shall I slay him?" SamawaEuro(TM)al answered: "Do with him as thou wilt. I + will never break my pledge nor give up the property of my + guest-friend." So a¸¤Airith smote the lad with his sword and clove + him through the middle. Then he raised the siege. And SamawaEuro(TM)al said + thereupon:-- + + "_I was true with the mail-coats of the Kindite,[167] + I am true though many a one is blamed for treason. + Once did aEuro~AdiyAi, my father, exhort me: + 'O SamawaEuro(TM)al, ne'er destroy what I have builded.' + For me built aEuro~AdiyAi a strong-walled castle + With a well where I draw water at pleasure; + So high, the eagle slipping back is baffled. + When wrong befalls me I endure not tamely._"[168] + +The Bedouin ideal of generosity and hospitality is personified in +a¸¤Aitim of a¹¬ayyiaEuro(TM), of whom many anecdotes are told. We may learn +from the following one how extravagant are an Arab's notions on this +subject:-- + + [Sidenote: a¸¤Aitim of a¹¬ayyiaEuro(TM).] + + When a¸¤Aitim's mother was pregnant she dreamed that she was asked, + "Which dost thou prefer?--a generous son called a¸¤Aitim, or ten + like those of other folk, lions in the hour of battle, brave lads + and strong of limb?" and that she answered, "a¸¤Aitim." Now, when + a¸¤Aitim grew up he was wont to take out his food, and if he found + any one to share it he would eat, otherwise he threw it away. His + father, seeing that he wasted his food, gave him a slave-girl and a + mare with her foal and sent him to herd the camels. On reaching the + pasture, a¸¤Aitim began to search for his fellows, but none was in + sight; then he came to the road, but found no one there. While he + was thus engaged he descried a party of riders on the road and went + to meet them. "O youth," said they, "hast thou aught to entertain us + withal?" He answered: "Do ye ask me of entertainment when ye see the + camels?" Now, these riders were aEuro~AbA-d b. al-Abras and Bishr b. AbA- + KhAizim and NAibigha al-DhubyAinA-, and they were on their way to King + NuaEuro~mAin.[169] a¸¤Aitim slaughtered three camels for them, whereupon + aEuro~AbA-d said: "We desired no entertainment save milk, but if thou must + needs charge thyself with something more, a single young she-camel + would have sufficed us." a¸¤Aitim replied: "That I know, but seeing + different faces and diverse fashions I thought ye were not of the + same country, and I wished that each of you should mention what ye + saw, on returning home." So they spoke verses in praise of him and + celebrated his generosity, and a¸¤Aitim said: "I wished to bestow a + kindness upon you, but your bounty is greater than mine. I swear to + God that I will hamstring every camel in the herd unless ye come + forward and divide them among yourselves." The poets did as he + desired, and each man received ninety-nine camels; then they + proceeded on their journey to NuaEuro~mAin. When a¸¤Aitim's father heard + of this he came to him and asked, "Where are the camels?" "O my + father," replied a¸¤Aitim, "by means of them I have conferred on + thee everlasting fame and honour that will cleave to thee like the + ring of the ringdove, and men will always bear in mind some verse of + poetry in which we are praised. This is thy recompense for the + camels." On hearing these words his father said, "Didst thou with my + camels thus?" "Yes." "By God, I will never dwell with thee again." + So he went forth with his family, and a¸¤Aitim was left alone with + his slave-girl and his mare and the mare's foal.[170] + +[Sidenote: a¸¤Aitim's daughter before the Prophet.] + +We are told that a¸¤Aitim's daughter was led as a captive before the +Prophet and thus addressed him: "'O Mua¸Yammad, my sire is dead, and he +who would have come to plead for me is gone. Release me, if it seem good +to thee, and do not let the Arabs rejoice at my misfortune; for I am the +daughter of the chieftain of my people. My father was wont to free the +captive, and protect those near and dear to him, and entertain the +guest, and satisfy the hungry, and console the afflicted, and give food +and greeting to all; and never did he turn away any who sought a boon. I +am a¸¤Aitim's daughter.' The Prophet (on whom be the blessing and peace +of God) answered her: 'O maiden, the true believer is such as thou hast +described. Had thy father been an Islamite, verily we should have said, +"God have mercy upon him!" Let her go,' he continued, 'for her sire +loved noble manners, and God loves them likewise.'"[171] + +a¸¤Aitim was a poet of some repute.[172] The following lines are +addressed to his wife, MAiwiyya:-- + + "O daughter of aEuro~AbdullAih and MAilik and him who wore + The two robes of Yemen stuff--the hero that rode the roan, + When thou hast prepared the meal, entreat to partake thereof + A guest--I am not the man to eat, like a churl, alone--: + Some traveller thro' the night, or house-neighbour; for in sooth + I fear the reproachful talk of men after I am gone. + The guest's slave am I, 'tis true, as long as he bides with me, + Although in my nature else no trait of the slave is shown."[173] + +[Sidenote: Position of women.] + +[Sidenote: Arabian heroines.] + +[Sidenote: FAia¹-ima daughter of Khurshub.] + +[Sidenote: Fukayha.] + +Here it will be convenient to make a short digression in order that the +reader may obtain, if not a complete view, at least some glimpses of the +position and influence of women in Pre-islamic society. On the whole, +their position was high and their influence great. They were free to +choose their husbands, and could return, if ill-treated or displeased, +to their own people; in some cases they even offered themselves in +marriage and had the right of divorce. They were regarded not as slaves +and chattels, but as equals and companions. They inspired the poet to +sing and the warrior to fight. The chivalry of the Middle Ages is, +perhaps, ultimately traceable to heathen Arabia. "Knight-errantry, the +riding forth on horseback in search of adventures, the rescue of captive +maidens, the succour rendered everywhere to women in adversity--all +these were essentially Arabian ideas, as was the very name of +_chivalry_, the connection of honourable conduct with the horse-rider, +the man of noble blood, the cavalier."[174] But the nobility of the +women is not only reflected in the heroism and devotion of the men; it +stands recorded in song, in legend, and in history. FAia¹-ima, the +daughter of Khurshub, was one of three noble matrons who bore the title +_al-MunjibAit_, 'the Mothers of Heroes.' She had seven sons, three of +whom, viz., RabA-aEuro~ and aEuro~UmAira and Anas, were called 'the Perfect' +(_al-Kamala_). One day a¸¤amal b. Badr the FazAirite raided the BanAº +aEuro~Abs, the tribe to which FAia¹-ima belonged, and made her his prisoner. +As he led away the camel on which she was mounted at the time, she +cried: "Man, thy wits are wandering. By God, if thou take me captive, +and if we leave behind us this hill which is now in front of us, surely +there will never be peace between thee and the sons of ZiyAid" (ZiyAid was +the name of her husband), "because people will say what they please, and +the mere suspicion of evil is enough." "I will carry thee off," said he, +"that thou mayest herd my camels." When FAia¹-ima knew that she was +certainly his prisoner she threw herself headlong from her camel and +died; so did she fear to bring dishonour on her sons.[175] Among the +names which have become proverbial for loyalty we find those of two +women, Fukayha and Umm JamA-l. As to Fukayha, it is related that her +clansmen, having been raided by the brigand Sulayk b. Sulaka, resolved +to attack him; but since he was a famous runner, on the advice of one of +their shaykhs they waited until he had gone down to the water and +quenched his thirst, for they knew that he would then be unable to run. +Sulayk, however, seeing himself caught, made for the nearest tents and +sought refuge with Fukayha. She threw her smock over him, and stood with +drawn sword between him and his pursuers; and as they still pressed on, +she tore the veil from her hair and shouted for help. Then her brothers +came and defended Sulayk, so that his life was saved.[176] Had space +allowed, it would have been a pleasant task to make some further +extracts from the long Legend of Noble Women. I have illustrated their +keen sense of honour and loyalty, but I might equally well have chosen +examples of gracious dignity and quick intelligence and passionate +affection. Many among them had the gift of poetry, which they bestowed +especially on the dead; it is a final proof of the high character and +position of women in Pre-islamic Arabia that the hero's mother and +sisters were deemed most worthy to mourn and praise him. The praise of +living women by their lovers necessarily takes a different tone; the +physical charms of the heroine are fully described, but we seldom find +any appreciation of moral beauty. One notable exception to this rule +occurs at the beginning of an ode by ShanfarAi. The passage defies +translation. It is, to quote Sir Charles Lyall, with whose faithful and +sympathetic rendering of the ancient poetry every student of Arabic +literature should be acquainted, "the most lovely picture of womanhood +which heathen Arabia has left us, drawn by the same hand that has given +us, in the unrivalled _LAcmA(R)yah_, its highest ideal of heroic hardness +and virile strength."[177] + + + UMAYMA. + + "She charmed me, veiling bashfully her face, + Keeping with quiet looks an even pace; + Some lost thing seem to seek her downcast eyes: + Aside she bends not--softly she replies. + Ere dawn she carries forth her meal--a gift + To hungry wives in days of dearth and thrift. + No breath of blame up to her tent is borne, + While many a neighbour's is the house of scorn. + Her husband fears no gossip fraught with shame, + For pure and holy is Umayma's name. + Joy of his heart, to her he need not say + When evening brings him home--'Where passed the day?' + Slender and full in turn, of perfect height, + A very fay were she, if beauty might + Transform a child of earth into a fairy sprite!"[178] + +Only in the freedom of the desert could the character thus exquisitely +delineated bloom and ripen. These verses, taken by themselves, are a +sufficient answer to any one who would maintain that Islam has increased +the social influence of Arabian women, although in some respects it may +have raised them to a higher level of civilisation.[179] + +[Sidenote: Infanticide.] + +There is, of course, another side to all this. In a land where might was +generally right, and where + + "the simple plan + That he should take who has the power + And he should keep who can," + +was all but universally adopted, it would have been strange if the +weaker sex had not often gone to the wall. The custom which prevailed in +the _JAihiliyya_ of burying female infants alive, revolting as it appears +to us, was due partly to the frequent famines with which Arabia is +afflicted through lack of rain, and partly to a perverted sense of +honour. Fathers feared lest they should have useless mouths to feed, or +lest they should incur disgrace in consequence of their daughters being +made prisoners of war. Hence the birth of a daughter was reckoned +calamitous, as we read in the Koran: "_They attribute daughters unto +God--far be it from Him!--and for themselves they desire them not. When +a female child is announced to one of them, his face darkens wrathfully: +he hides himself from his people because of the bad news, +thinking--'Shall I keep the child to my disgrace or cover it away in the +dust?'_"[180] It was said proverbially, "The despatch of daughters is a +kindness" and "The burial of daughters is a noble deed."[181] Islam put +an end to this barbarity, which is expressly forbidden by the Koran: +"_Kill not your children in fear of impoverishment: we will provide for +them and for you: verily their killing was a great sin._"[182] Perhaps +the most touching lines in Arabian poetry are those in which a father +struggling with poverty wishes that his daughter may die before him and +thus be saved from the hard mercies of her relatives:-- + + + THE POOR MAN'S DAUGHTER + + "But for Umayma's sake I ne'er had grieved to want nor braved + Night's blackest horror to bring home the morsel that she craved. + Now my desire is length of days because I know too well + The orphan girl's hard lot, with kin unkind enforced to dwell. + I dread that some day poverty will overtake my child, + And shame befall her when exposed to every passion wild.[183] + She wishes me to live, but I must wish her dead, woe's me: + Death is the noblest wooer a helpless maid can see. + I fear an uncle may be harsh, a brother be unkind, + When I would never speak a word that rankled in her mind."[184] + +And another says:-- + + "Were not my little daughters + Like soft chicks huddling by me, + Through earth and all its waters + To win bread would I roam free. + + Our children among us going, + Our very hearts they be; + The wind upon them blowing + Would banish sleep from me."[185] + +[Sidenote: Treatment of enemies.] + +"Odi et amo": these words of the poet might serve as an epitome of +Bedouin ethics. For, if the heathen Arab was, as we have seen, a good +friend to his friends, he had in the same degree an intense and deadly +feeling of hatred towards his enemies. He who did not strike back when +struck was regarded as a coward. No honourable man could forgive an +injury or fail to avenge it. An Arab, smarting under the loss of some +camels driven off by raiders, said of his kin who refused to help him:-- + + "For all their numbers, they are good for naught, + My people, against harm however light: + They pardon wrong by evildoers wrought, + Malice with loving kindness they requite."[186] + +The last verse, which would have been high praise in the mouth of a +Christian or Mua¸Yammadan moralist, conveyed to those who heard it a +shameful reproach. The approved method of dealing with an enemy is set +forth plainly enough in the following lines:-- + + "Humble him who humbles thee, close tho' be your kindredship: + If thou canst not humble him, wait till he is in thy grip. + Friend him while thou must; strike hard when thou hast him on + the hip."[187] + +[Sidenote: Blood-revenge.] + +Above all, blood called for blood. This obligation lay heavy on the +conscience of the pagan Arabs. Vengeance, with them, was "almost a +physical necessity, which if it be not obeyed will deprive its subject +of sleep, of appetite, of health." It was a tormenting thirst which +nothing would quench except blood, a disease of honour which might be +described as madness, although it rarely prevented the sufferer from +going to work with coolness and circumspection. Vengeance was taken upon +the murderer, if possible, or else upon one of his fellow-tribesmen. +Usually this ended the matter, but in some cases it was the beginning of +a regular blood-feud in which the entire kin of both parties were +involved; as, _e.g._, the murder of Kulayb led to the Forty Years' War +between Bakr and Taghlib.[188] The slain man's next of kin might accept +a blood-wit (_diya_), commonly paid in camels--the coin of the +country--as atonement for him. If they did so, however, it was apt to be +cast in their teeth that they preferred milk (_i.e._, she-camels) to +blood.[189] The true Arab feeling is expressed in verses like these:-- + + "With the sword will I wash my shame away, + Let God's doom bring on me what it may!"[190] + +It was believed that until vengeance had been taken for the dead man, +his spirit appeared above his tomb in the shape of an owl (_hAima_ or +_a¹LadAi_), crying "_IsqAºnA-_" ("Give me to drink"). But pagan ideas of +vengeance were bound up with the Past far more than with the Future. The +shadowy after-life counted for little or nothing beside the +deeply-rooted memories of fatherly affection, filial piety, and +brotherhood in arms. + +Though liable to abuse, the rough-and-ready justice of the vendetta had +a salutary effect in restraining those who would otherwise have indulged +their lawless instincts without fear of punishment. From our point of +view, however, its interest is not so much that of a primitive +institution as of a pervading element in old Arabian life and +literature. Full, or even adequate, illustration of this topic would +carry me far beyond the limits of my plan. I have therefore selected +from the copious material preserved in the _Book of Songs_ a +characteristic story which tells how Qays b. al-Khaa¹-A-m took vengeance +on the murderers of his father and his grandfather.[191] + + [Sidenote: The story of the vengeance of Qays b. al-Khaa¹-A-m.] + + It is related on the authority of AbAº aEuro~Ubayda that aEuro~AdA- b. aEuro~Amr, the + grandfather of Qays, was slain by a man named MAilik belonging to the + BanAº aEuro~Amr b. aEuro~Amir b. RabA-aEuro~a b. aEuro~Amir b. a¹caaEuro~a¹LaaEuro~a; and his + father, Khaa¹-A-m b. aEuro~AdA-, by one of the BanAº aEuro~Abd al-Qays who were + settled in Hajar. Khaa¹-A-m died before avenging his father, aEuro~AdA-, + when Qays was but a young lad. The mother of Qays, fearing that he + would sally forth to seek vengeance for the blood of his father and + his grandfather and perish, went to a mound of dust beside the door + of their dwelling and laid stones on it, and began to say to Qays, + "This is the grave of thy father and thy grandfather;" and Qays + never doubted but that it was so. He grew up strong in the arms, and + one day he had a tussle with a youth of the BanAº aº'afar, who said + to him: "By God, thou would'st do better to turn the strength of + thine arms against the slayers of thy father and grandfather instead + of putting it forth upon me." "And who are their slayers?" "Ask thy + mother, she will tell thee." So Qays took his sword and set its hilt + on the ground and its edge between his two breasts, and said to his + mother: "Who killed my father and my grandfather?" "They died as + people die, and these are their graves in the camping-ground." "By + God, verily thou wilt tell me who slew them or I will bear with my + whole weight upon this sword until it cleaves through my back." Then + she told him, and Qays swore that he would never rest until he had + slain their slayers. "O my son," said she, "MAilik, who killed thy + grandfather, is of the same folk as KhidAish b. Zuhayr, and thy + father once bestowed a kindness on KhidAish, for which he is + grateful. Go, then, to him and take counsel with him touching thine + affair and ask him to help thee." So Qays set out immediately, and + when he came to the garden where his water-camel was watering his + date-palms, he smote the cord (of the bucket) with his sword and cut + it, so that the bucket dropped into the well. Then he took hold of + the camel's head, and loaded the beast with two sacks of dates, and + said: "Who will care for this old woman" (meaning his mother) "in my + absence? If I die, let him pay her expenses out of this garden, and + on her death it shall be his own; but if I live, my property will + return to me, and he shall have as many of its dates as he wishes to + eat." One of his folk cried, "I am for it," so Qays gave him the + garden and set forth to inquire concerning KhidAish. He was told to + look for him at Marr al-aº'ahrAin, but not finding him in his tent, + he alighted beneath a tree, in the shade of which the guests of + KhidAish used to shelter, and called to the wife of KhidAish, "Is + there any food?" Now, when she came up to him, she admired his + comeliness--for he was exceeding fair of countenance--and said: "By + God, we have no fit entertainment for thee, but only dates." He + replied, "I care not, bring out what thou hast." So she sent to him + dates in a large measure (_qubAiaEuro~_), and Qays took a single date and + ate half of it and put back the other half in the _qubAiaEuro~_, and gave + orders that the _qubAiaEuro~_ should be brought in to the wife of KhidAish; + then he departed on some business. When KhidAish returned and his + wife told him the news of Qays, he said, "This is a man who would + render his person sacred."[192] While he sat there with his wife + eating fresh ripe dates, Qays returned on camel-back; and KhidAish, + when he saw the foot of the approaching rider, said to his wife, "Is + this thy guest?" "Yes." "'Tis as though his foot were the foot of my + good friend, Khaa¹-A-m the Yathribite." Qays drew nigh, and struck + the tent-rope with the point of his spear, and begged leave to come + in. Having obtained permission, he entered to KhidAish and told his + lineage and informed him of what had passed, and asked him to help + and advise him in his affair. KhidAish bade him welcome, and recalled + the kindness which he had of his father, and said, "As to this + affair, truly I have been expecting it of thee for some time. The + slayer of thy grandfather is a cousin of mine, and I will aid thee + against him. When we are assembled in our meeting-place, I will sit + beside him and talk with him, and when I strike his thigh, do thou + spring on him and slay him." Qays himself relates: "Accompanied by + KhidAish, I approached him until I stood over his head when KhidAish + sat with him, and as soon as he struck the man's thigh I smote his + head with a sword named _Dhu aEuro(TM)l-Khura¹Layn_" (the Two-ringed). "His + folk rushed on me to slay me, but KhidAish came between us, crying, + 'Let him alone, for, by God, he has slain none but the slayer of his + grandfather.'" Then KhidAish called for one of his camels and mounted + it, and started with Qays to find the aEuro~Abdite who killed his father. + And when they were near Hajar KhidAish advised him to go and inquire + after this man, and to say to him when he discovered him: "I + encountered a brigand of thy people who robbed me of some articles, + and on asking who was the chieftain of his people I was directed to + thee. Go with me, then, that thou mayest take from him my property. + If," KhidAish continued, "he follow thee unattended, thou wilt gain + thy desire of him; but should he bid the others go with thee, laugh, + and if he ask why thou laughest, say, 'With us, the noble does not + as thou dost, but when he is called to a brigand of his people, he + goes forth alone with his whip, not with his sword; and the brigand + when he sees him gives him everything that he took, in awe of him.' + If he shall dismiss his friends, thy course is clear; but if he + shall refuse to go without them, bring him to me nevertheless, for I + hope that thou wilt slay both him and them." So KhidAish stationed + himself under the shade of a tree, while Qays went to the aEuro~Abdite + and addressed him as KhidAish had prompted; and the man's sense of + honour was touched to the quick, so that he sent away his friends + and went with Qays. And when Qays came back to KhidAish, the latter + said to him, "Choose, O Qays! Shall I help thee or shall I take thy + place?" Qays answered, "I desire neither of these alternatives, but + if he slay me, let him not slay thee!" Then he rushed upon him and + wounded him in the flank and drove his lance through the other side, + and he fell dead on the spot. When Qays had finished with him, + KhidAish said, "If we flee just now, his folk will pursue us; but let + us go somewhere not far off, for they will never think that thou + hast slain him and stayed in the neighbourhood. No; they will miss + him and follow his track, and when they find him slain they will + start to pursue us in every direction, and will only return when + they have lost hope." So those two entered some hollows of the sand, + and after staying there several days (for it happened exactly as + KhidAish had foretold), they came forth when the pursuit was over, + and did not exchange a word until they reached the abode of KhidAish. + There Qays parted from him and returned to his own people. + +[Sidenote: Song of Vengeance by TaaEuro(TM)abbaa¹-a Sharran.] + +The poems relating to blood-revenge show all that is best and much that +is less admirable in the heathen Arab--on the one hand, his courage and +resolution, his contempt of death and fear of dishonour, his +single-minded devotion to the dead as to the living, his deep regard and +tender affection for the men of his own flesh and blood; on the other +hand, his implacable temper, his perfidious cruelty and reckless +ferocity in hunting down the slayers, and his savage, well-nigh inhuman +exultation over the slain. The famous Song or Ballad of Vengeance that I +shall now attempt to render in English verse is usually attributed to +TaaEuro(TM)abbaa¹-a Sharran,[193] although some pronounce it to be a forgery by +Khalaf al-Aa¸Ymar, the reputed author of ShanfarAi's masterpiece, and +beyond doubt a marvellously skilful imitator of the ancient bards. Be +that as it may, the ballad is utterly pagan in tone and feeling. Its +extraordinary merit was detected by Goethe, who, after reading it in a +Latin translation, published a German rendering, with some fine +criticism of the poetry, in his _West-oestlicher Divan_.[194] I have +endeavoured to suggest as far as possible the metre and rhythm of the +original, since to these, in my opinion, its peculiar effect is largely +due. The metre is that known as the 'Tall' (_MadA-d_), viz.:-- + + aOEL |aOEL | + - aOEL - -|- aOEL -|- aOEL - - + +Thus the first verse runs in Arabic:-- + + _Inna biaEuro(TM)l-shiaEuro~ | bi aEuro(TM)lladhi |aEuro~inda SalaEuro~in + la-qatA-lan | damuhAº | mAi yua¹-allu._ + +Of course, Arabic prosody differs radically from English, but _mutatis +mutandis_ several couplets in the following version (_e.g._ the third, +eighth, and ninth) will be found to correspond exactly with their model. +As has been said, however, my object was merely to suggest the abrupt +metre and the heavy, emphatic cadences, so that I have been able to give +variety to the verse, and at the same time to retain that artistic +freedom without which the translator of poetry cannot hope to satisfy +either himself or any one else. + +The poet tells how he was summoned to avenge his uncle, slain by the +tribesmen of Hudhayl: he describes the dead man's heroic character, the +foray in which he fell, his former triumphs over the same enemy, and +finally the terrible vengeance taken for him.[195] + + "In the glen there a murdered man is lying-- + Not in vain for vengeance his blood is crying. + He hath left me the load to bear and departed; + I take up the load and bear it true-hearted. + I, his sister's son, the bloodshed inherit, + I whose knot none looses, stubborn of spirit;[196] + Glowering darkly, shame's deadly out-wiper, + Like the serpent spitting venom, the viper. + Hard the tidings that befell us, heart-breaking; + Little seemed thereby the anguish most aching. + Fate hath robbed me--still is Fate fierce and froward-- + Of a hero whose friend ne'er called him coward: + As the warm sun was he in wintry weather, + 'Neath the Dog-star shade and coolness together: + Spare of flank--yet this in him showed not meanness; + Open-handed, full of boldness and keenness: + Firm of purpose, cavalier unaffrighted-- + Courage rode with him and with him alighted: + In his bounty, a bursting cloud of rain-water; + Lion grim when he leaped to the slaughter. + Flowing hair, long robe his folk saw aforetime, + But a lean-haunched wolf was he in war-time. + Savours two he had, untasted by no men: + Honey to his friends and gall to his foemen. + Fear he rode nor recked what should betide him: + Save his deep-notched Yemen blade, none beside him. + + Oh, the warriors girt with swords good for slashing, + Like the levin, when they drew them, outflashing! + Through the noonday heat they fared: then, benighted, + Farther fared, till at dawning they alighted.[197] + Breaths of sleep they sipped; and then, while they nodded, + Thou didst scare them: lo, they scattered and scudded. + Vengeance wreaked we upon them, unforgiving: + Of the two clans scarce was left a soul living.[198] + + Ay, if _they_ bruised his glaive's edge 'twas in token + That by him many a time their own was broken. + Oft he made them kneel down by force and cunning-- + Kneel on jags where the foot is torn with running. + Many a morn in shelter he took them napping; + After killing was the rieving and rapine. + + They have gotten of me a roasting--I tire not + Of desiring them till me they desire not. + First, of foemen's blood my spear deeply drinketh, + Then a second time, deep in, it sinketh. + Lawful now to me is wine, long forbidden: + Sore my struggle ere the ban was o'erridden.[199] + Pour me wine, O son of aEuro~Amr! I would taste it, + Since with grief for mine uncle I am wasted. + O'er the fallen of Hudhayl stands screaming + The hyena; see the wolf's teeth gleaming! + Dawn will hear the flap of wings, will discover + Vultures treading corpses, too gorged to hover." + +[Sidenote: Honour conferred by noble ancestry.] + +All the virtues which enter into the Arabian conception of Honour were +regarded not as personal qualities inherent or acquired, but as +hereditary possessions which a man derived from his ancestors, and held +in trust that he might transmit them untarnished to his descendants. It +is the desire to uphold and emulate the fame of his forbears, rather +than the hope of winning immortality for himself, that causes the Arab +"to say the say and do the deeds of the noble." Far from sharing the +sentiment of the Scots peasant--"a man's a man for a' that"--he looks +askance at merit and renown unconsecrated by tradition. + + "The glories that have grown up with the grass + Can match not those inherited of old."[200] + +Ancestral renown (_a¸Yasab_) is sometimes likened to a strong castle +built by sires for their sons, or to a lofty mountain which defies +attack.[201] The poets are full of boastings (_mafAikhir_) and revilings +(_mathAilib_) in which they loudly proclaim the nobility of their own +ancestors, and try to blacken those of their enemy without any regard to +decorum. + + +It was my intention to add here some general remarks on Arabian poetry +as compared with that of the Hebrews, the Persians, and our own, but +since example is better than precept I will now turn directly to those +celebrated odes which are well known by the title of _MuaEuro~-allaqAit_, or +'Suspended Poems,' to all who take the slightest interest in Arabic +literature.[202] + +[Sidenote: The MuaEuro~allaqAit, or 'Suspended Poems.'] + +_MuaEuro~allaqa_ (plural, _MuaEuro~allaqAit_) "is most likely derived from the word +_aEuro~ilq_, meaning 'a precious thing or a thing held in high estimation,' +either because one 'hangs on' tenaciously to it, or because it is 'hung +up' in a place of honour, or in a conspicuous place, in a treasury or +storehouse."[203] In course of time the exact signification of +_MuaEuro~allaqa_ was forgotten, and it became necessary to find a plausible +explanation. Hence arose the legend, which frequent repetition has made +familiar, that the 'Suspended Poems' were so called from having been +hung up in the KaaEuro~ba on account of their merit; that this distinction +was awarded by the judges at the fair of aEuro~UkAiaº", near Mecca, where +poets met in rivalry and recited their choicest productions; and that +the successful compositions, before being affixed to the door of the +KaaEuro~ba, were transcribed in letters of gold upon pieces of fine Egyptian +linen.[204] Were these statements true, we should expect them to be +confirmed by some allusion in the early literature. But as a matter of +fact nothing of the kind is mentioned in the Koran or in religious +tradition, in the ancient histories of Mecca, or in such works as the +_KitAibu aEuro(TM)l-AghAinA-_, which draw their information from old and +trustworthy sources.[205] Almost the first authority who refers to the +legend is the grammarian Aa¸Ymad al-Naa¸Ya¸YAis (aEuro 949 A.D.), and +by him it is stigmatised as entirely groundless. Moreover, although it +was accepted by scholars like Reiske, Sir W. Jones, and even De Sacy, it +is incredible in itself. Hengstenberg, in the Prolegomena to his edition +of the _MuaEuro~-allaqa_ of ImruaEuro(TM)u aEuro(TM)l-Qays (Bonn, 1823) asked some pertinent +questions: Who were the judges, and how were they appointed? Why were +only these seven poems thus distinguished? His further objection, that +the art of writing was at that time a rare accomplishment, does not +carry so much weight as he attached to it, but the story is sufficiently +refuted by what we know of the character and customs of the Arabs in the +sixth century and afterwards. Is it conceivable that the proud sons of +the desert could have submitted a matter so nearly touching their tribal +honour, of which they were jealous above all things, to external +arbitration, or meekly acquiesced in the partial verdict of a court +sitting in the neighbourhood of Mecca, which would certainly have shown +scant consideration for competitors belonging to distant clans?[206] + +[Sidenote: Origin of the collection.] + +However _MuaEuro~allaqa_ is to be explained, the name is not contemporary +with the poems themselves. In all probability they were so entitled by +the person who first chose them out of innumerable others and embodied +them in a separate collection. This is generally allowed to have been +a¸¤ammAid al-RAiwiya, a famous rhapsodist who flourished in the latter +days of the Umayyad dynasty, and died about 772 A.D., in the reign of +the aEuro~AbbAisid Caliph MahdA-. What principle guided a¸¤ammAid in his choice +we do not know. NA¶ldeke conjectures that he was influenced by the fact +that all the _MuaEuro~allaqAit_ are long poems--they are sometimes called 'The +Seven Long Poems' (_al-SabaEuro~ al-a¹¬iwAil_)--for in a¸¤ammAid's time +little of the ancient Arabian poetry survived in a state even of +relative completeness. + +[Sidenote: Difficulty of translating the MuaEuro~allaqAit.] + +It must be confessed that no rendering of the _MuaEuro~allaqAit_ can furnish +European readers with a just idea of the originals, a literal version +least of all. They contain much that only a full commentary can make +intelligible, much that to modern taste is absolutely incongruous with +the poetic style. Their finest pictures of Bedouin life and manners +often appear uncouth or grotesque, because without an intimate knowledge +of the land and people it is impossible for us to see what the poet +intended to convey, or to appreciate the truth and beauty of its +expression; while the artificial framework, the narrow range of subject +as well as treatment, and the frank realism of the whole strike us at +once. In the following pages I shall give some account of the +_MuaEuro~allaqAit_ and their authors, and endeavour to bring out the +characteristic qualities of each poem by selecting suitable passages for +translation.[207] + +[Sidenote: ImruaEuro(TM)u aEuro(TM)l-Qays.] + +The oldest and most famous of the _MuaEuro~allaqAit_ is that of ImruaEuro(TM)u +aEuro(TM)l-Qays, who was descended from the ancient kings of Yemen. His +grandfather was King a¸¤Airith of Kinda, the antagonist of Mundhir III, +King of a¸¤A-ra, by whom he was defeated and slain.[208] On a¸¤Airith's +death, the confederacy which he had built up split asunder, and his sons +divided among themselves the different tribes of which it was composed. +a¸¤ujr, the poet's father, ruled for some time over the BanAº Asad in +Central Arabia, but finally they revolted and put him to death. "The +duty of avenging his murder fell upon ImruaEuro(TM)u aEuro(TM)l-Qays, who is represented +as the only capable prince of his family; and the few historical data +which we have regarding him relate to his adventures while bent upon +this vengeance."[209] They are told at considerable length in the +_KitAibu aEuro(TM)l-AghAinA-_, but need not detain us here. Suffice it to say that +his efforts to punish the rebels, who were aided by Mundhir, the +hereditary foe of his house, met with little success. He then set out +for Constantinople, where he was favourably received by the Emperor +Justinian, who desired to see the power of Kinda re-established as a +thorn in the side of his Persian rivals. The emperor appointed him +Phylarch of Palestine, but on his way thither he died at Angora (about +540 A.D.). He is said to have perished, like Nessus, from putting on a +poisoned robe sent to him as a gift by Justinian, with whose daughter he +had an intrigue. Hence he is sometimes called 'The Man of the Ulcers' +(_Dhu aEuro(TM)l-QurAºa¸Y_). + +Many fabulous traditions surround the romantic figure of ImruaEuro(TM)u +aEuro(TM)l-Qays.[210] According to one story, he was banished by his father, who +despised him for being a poet and was enraged by the scandals to which +his love adventures gave rise. ImruaEuro(TM)u aEuro(TM)l-Qays left his home and wandered +from tribe to tribe with a company of outcasts like himself, leading a +wild life, which caused him to be known as 'The Vagabond Prince' +(_al-Malik al-a¸illA-l_). When the news of his father's death reached +him he cried, "My father wasted my youth, and now that I am old he has +laid upon me the burden of blood-revenge. Wine to-day, business +to-morrow!" Seven nights he continued the carouse; then he swore not to +eat flesh, nor drink wine, nor use ointment, nor touch woman, nor wash +his head until his vengeance was accomplished. In the valley of TabAila, +north of NajrAin, there was an idol called Dhu aEuro(TM)l-Khalaa¹La much +reverenced by the heathen Arabs. ImruaEuro(TM)u aEuro(TM)l-Qays visited this oracle and +consulted it in the ordinary way, by drawing one of three arrows +entitled 'the Commanding,' 'the Forbidding,' and 'the Waiting.' He drew +the second, whereupon he broke the arrows and dashed them on the face of +the idol, exclaiming with a gross imprecation, "If _thy_ father had been +slain, thou would'st not have hindered me!" + +ImruaEuro(TM)u aEuro(TM)l-Qays is almost universally reckoned the greatest of the +Pre-islamic poets. Mua¸Yammad described him as 'their leader to +Hell-fire,' while the Caliphs aEuro~Umar and aEuro~AlA-, _odium theologicum_ +notwithstanding, extolled his genius and originality.[211] Coming to the +_MuaEuro~allaqa_ itself, European critics have vied with each other in +praising its exquisite diction and splendid images, the sweet flow of +the verse, the charm and variety of the painting, and, above all, the +feeling by which it is inspired of the joy and glory of youth. The +passage translated below is taken from the first half of the poem, in +which love is the prevailing theme:--[212] + + "Once, on the hill, she mocked at me and swore, + 'This hour I leave thee to return no more,' + Soft! if farewell is planted in thy mind, + Yet spare me, FAia¹-ima, disdain unkind. + Because my passion slays me, wilt thou part? + Because thy wish is law unto mine heart? + Nay, if thou so mislikest aught in me, + Shake loose my robe and let it fall down free. + But ah, the deadly pair, thy streaming eyes! + They pierce a heart that all in ruin lies. + + How many a noble tent hath oped its treasure + To me, and I have ta'en my fill of pleasure, + Passing the warders who with eager speed + Had slain me, if they might but hush the deed, + What time in heaven the Pleiades unfold + A belt of orient gems distinct with gold. + I entered. By the curtain there stood she, + Clad lightly as for sleep, and looked on me. + 'By God,' she cried, 'what recks thee of the cost? + I see thine ancient madness is not lost.' + I led her forth--she trailing as we go + Her broidered skirt, lest any footprint show-- + Until beyond the tents the valley sank + With curving dunes and many a pilA"d bank, + Then with both hands I drew her head to mine, + And lovingly the damsel did incline + Her slender waist and legs more plump than fine;-- + A graceful figure, a complexion bright, + A bosom like a mirror in the light; + A white pale virgin pearl such lustre keeps, + Fed with clear water in untrodden deeps. + Now she bends half away: two cheeks appear, + And such an eye as marks the frighted deer + Beside her fawn; and lo, the shapely neck + Not bare of ornament, else without a fleck; + While from her shoulders in profusion fair, + Like clusters on the palm, hangs down her coal-dark hair." + +In strange contrast with this tender and delicate idyll are the wild, +hard verses almost immediately following, in which the poet roaming +through the barren waste hears the howl of a starved wolf and hails him +as a comrade:-- + + "Each one of us what thing he finds devours: + Lean is the wretch whose living is like ours."[213] + +The noble qualities of his horse and its prowess in the chase are +described, and the poem ends with a magnificent picture of a +thunder-storm among the hills of Najd. + +[Sidenote: a¹¬arafa.] + +a¹¬arafa b. al-aEuro~Abd was a member of the great tribe of Bakr. The +particular clan to which he belonged was settled in Baa¸Yrayn on the +Persian Gulf. He early developed a talent for satire, which he exercised +upon friend and foe indifferently; and after he had squandered his +patrimony in dissolute pleasures, his family chased him away as though +he were 'a mangy camel.' At length a reconciliation was effected. He +promised to mend his ways, returned to his people, and took part, it is +said, in the War of BasAºs. In a little while his means were dissipated +once more and he was reduced to tend his brother's herds. His +_MuaEuro~allaqa_ composed at this time won for him the favour of a rich +kinsman and restored him to temporary independence. On the conclusion of +peace between Bakr and Taghlib the youthful poet turned his eyes in the +direction of a¸¤A-ra, where aEuro~Amr b. Hind had lately succeeded to the +throne (554 A.D.). He was well received by the king, who attached him, +along with his uncle, the poet Mutalammis, to the service of the +heir-apparent. But a¹¬arafa's bitter tongue was destined to cost him +dear. Fatigued and disgusted by the rigid ceremony of the court, he +improvised a satire in which he said-- + + "Would that we had instead of aEuro~Amr + A milch-ewe bleating round our tent!" + +Shortly afterwards he happened to be seated at table opposite the king's +sister. Struck with her beauty, he exclaimed-- + + "Behold, she has come back to me, + My fair gazelle whose ear-rings shine; + Had not the king been sitting here, + I would have pressed her lips to mine!" + +aEuro~Amr b. Hind was a man of violent and implacable temper. a¹¬arafa's +satire had already been reported to him, and this new impertinence added +fuel to his wrath. Sending for a¹¬arafa and Mutalammis, he granted them +leave to visit their homes, and gave to each of them a sealed letter +addressed to the governor of Baa¸Yrayn. When they had passed outside +the city the suspicions of Mutalammis were aroused. As neither he nor +his companion could read, he handed his own letter to a boy of +a¸¤A-ra[214] and learned that it contained orders to bury him alive. +Thereupon he flung the treacherous missive into the stream and implored +a¹¬arafa to do likewise. a¹¬arafa refused to break the royal seal. He +continued his journey to Baa¸Yrayn, where he was thrown into prison and +executed. + +Thus perished miserably in the flower of his youth--according to some +accounts he was not yet twenty--the passionate and eloquent a¹¬arafa. +In his _MuaEuro~allaqa_ he has drawn a spirited portrait of himself. The most +striking feature of the poem, apart from a long and, to us who are not +Bedouins, painfully tedious description of the camel, is its insistence +on sensual enjoyment as the sole business of life:-- + + "Canst thou make me immortal, O thou that blamest me so + For haunting the battle and loving the pleasures that fly? + If thou hast not the power to ward me from Death, let me go + To meet him and scatter the wealth in my hand, ere I die. + + Save only for three things in which noble youth take delight, + I care not how soon rises o'er me the coronach loud: + Wine that foams when the water is poured on it, ruddy, not bright. + Dark wine that I quaff stol'n away from the cavilling crowd; + + "And second, my charge at the cry of distress on a steed + Bow-legged like the wolf you have startled when thirsty he cowers; + And third, the day-long with a lass in her tent of goat's hair + To hear the wild rain and beguile of their slowness the hours."[215] + +Keeping, as far as possible, the chronological order, we have now to +mention two _MuaEuro~allaqas_ which, though not directly related to each +other,[216] are of the same period--the reign of aEuro~Amr b. Hind, King of +a¸¤A-ra (554-568 A.D.). Moreover, their strong mutual resemblance and their +difference from the other _MuaEuro~allaqas_, especially from typical +_qaa¹LA-das_ like those of aEuro~Antara and LabA-d, is a further reason for +linking them together. Their distinguishing mark is the abnormal space +devoted to the main subject, which leaves little room for the +subsidiary motives. + +[Sidenote: aEuro~Amr b. KulthAºm.] + +aEuro~Amr b. KulthAºm belonged to the tribe of Taghlib. His mother was LaylAi, +a daughter of the famous poet and warrior Muhalhil. That she was a woman +of heroic mould appears from the following anecdote, which records a +deed of prompt vengeance on the part of aEuro~Amr that gave rise to the +proverb, "Bolder in onset than aEuro~Amr b. KulthAºm"[217]:-- + + [Sidenote: How aEuro(TM)Amr avenged an insult to his mother.] + + One day aEuro~Amr. b. Hind, the King of a¸¤A-ra, said to his + boon-companions, "Do ye know any Arab whose mother would disdain to + serve mine?" They answered, "Yes, the mother of aEuro~Amr b. KulthAºm." + "Why so?" asked the king. "Because," said they, "her father is + Muhalhil b. RabA-aEuro~a and her uncle is Kulayb b. WAiaEuro(TM)il, the most + puissant of the Arabs, and her husband is KulthAºm b. MAilik, the + knightliest, and her son is aEuro~Amr, the chieftain of his tribe." Then + the king sent to aEuro~Amr b. KulthAºm, inviting him to pay a visit to + himself, and asking him to bring his mother, LaylAi, to visit his own + mother, Hind. So aEuro~Amr came to a¸¤A-ra with some men of Taghlib, and + LaylAi came attended by a number of their women; and while the king + entertained aEuro~Amr and his friends in a pavilion which he had caused + to be erected between a¸¤A-ra and the Euphrates, LaylAi found + quarters with Hind in a tent adjoining. Now, the king had ordered + his mother, as soon as he should call for dessert, to dismiss the + servants, and cause LaylAi to wait upon her. At the pre-arranged + signal she desired to be left alone with her guest, and said, "O + LaylAi, hand me that dish." LaylAi answered, "Let those who want + anything rise up and serve themselves." Hind repeated her demand, + and would take no denial. "O shame!" cried LaylAi. "Help! Taghlib, + help!" When aEuro~Amr heard his mother's cry the blood flew to his + cheeks. He seized a sword hanging on the wall of the pavilion--the + only weapon there--and with a single blow smote the king dead.[218] + +aEuro~Amr's _MuaEuro~allaqa_ is the work of a man who united in himself the ideal +qualities of manhood as these were understood by a race which has never +failed to value, even too highly, the display of self-reliant action and +decisive energy. And if in aEuro~Amr's poem these virtues are displayed with +an exaggerated boastfulness which offends our sense of decency and +proper reserve, it would be a grave error to conclude that all this +sound and fury signifies nothing. The Bedouin poet deems it his bounden +duty to glorify to the utmost himself, his family, and his tribe; the +Bedouin warrior is never tired of proclaiming his unshakable valour and +recounting his brilliant feats of arms: he hurls menaces and vaunts in +the same breath, but it does not follow that he is a _Miles Gloriosus_. +aEuro~Amr certainly was not: his _MuaEuro~allaqa_ leaves a vivid impression of +conscious and exultant strength. The first eight verses seem to have +been added to the poem at a very early date, for out of them arose the +legend that aEuro~Amr drank himself to death with unmixed wine. It is likely +that they were included in the original collection of the _MuaEuro~allaqAit_, +and they are worth translating for their own sake:--- + + "Up, maiden! Fetch the morning-drink and spare not + The wine of AndarA-n, + Clear wine that takes a saffron hue when water + Is mingled warm therein. + The lover tasting it forgets his passion, + His heart is eased of pain; + The stingy miser, as he lifts the goblet, + Regardeth not his gain. + + Pass round from left to right! Why let'st thou, maiden, + Me and my comrades thirst? + Yet am I, whom thou wilt not serve this morning, + Of us three not the worst! + Many a cup in Baalbec and Damascus + And QAia¹LirA-n I drained, + Howbeit we, ordained to death, shall one day + Meet death, to us ordained."[219] + +In the next passage he describes his grief at the departure of his +beloved, whom he sees in imagination arriving at her journey's end in +distant YamAima:-- + + "And oh, my love and yearning when at nightfall + I saw her camels haste, + Until sharp peaks uptowered like serried sword-blades, + And me YamAima faced! + Such grief no mother-camel feels, bemoaning + Her young one lost, nor she, + The grey-haired woman whose hard fate hath left her + Of nine sons graves thrice three."[220] + +Now the poet turns abruptly to his main theme. He addresses the King of +a¸¤A-ra, aEuro~Amr b. Hind, in terms of defiance, and warns the foes of +Taghlib that they will meet more than their match:-- + + "Father of Hind,[221] take heed and ere thou movest + Rashly against us, learn + That still our banners go down white to battle + And home blood-red return. + And many a chief bediademed, the champion + Of the outlaws of the land, + Have we o'erthrown and stripped him, while around him + Fast-reined the horses stand. + Our neighbours lopped like thorn-trees, snarls in terror + Of us the demon-hound;[222] + Never we try our hand-mill on the foemen + But surely they are ground. + We are the heirs of glory, all MaaEuro~add knows,[223] + Our lances it defend, + And when the tent-pole tumbles in the foray, + Trust us to save our friend![224] + + O aEuro~Amr, what mean'st thou? Are we, we of Taghlib, + Thy princeling's retinue? + O aEuro~Amr, what mean'st thou, rating us and hearkening + To tale-bearers untrue? + O aEuro~Amr, ere thee full many a time our spear-shaft + Has baffled foes to bow;[225] + Nipped in the vice it kicks like a wild camel + That will no touch allow-- + Like a wild camel, so it creaks in bending + And splits the bender's brow!"[226] + +The _MuaEuro~allaqa_ ends with a eulogy, superb in its extravagance, of the +poet's tribe:-- + + "Well wot, when our tents rise along their valleys, + The men of every clan + That we give death to them that durst attempt us, + To friends what food we can; + That staunchly we maintain a cause we cherish, + Camp where we choose to ride, + Nor will we aught of peace, when we are angered, + Till we be satisfied. + We keep our vassals safe and sound, but rebels + We soon force to their knees; + And if we reach a well, we drink pure water, + Others the muddy lees. + Ours is the earth and all thereon: when _we_ strike, + There needs no second blow; + Kings lay before the new-weaned boy of Taghlib + Their heads in homage low. + We are called oppressors, being none, but shortly + A true name shall it be![227] + We have so filled the earth 'tis narrow for us, + And with our ships the sea![228] + +[Sidenote: a¸¤Airith b. a¸¤illiza.] + +Less interesting is the _MuaEuro~allaqa_ of a¸¤Airith b. a¸¤illiza of Bakr. +Its inclusion among the _MuaEuro~allaqAit_ is probably due, as NA¶ldeke +suggested, to the fact that a¸¤ammAid, himself a client of Bakr, wished +to flatter his patrons by selecting a counterpart to the _MuaEuro~allaqa_ of +aEuro~Amr b. KulthAºm, which immortalised their great rivals, the BanAº +Taghlib. a¸¤Airith's poem, however, has some historical importance, as +it throws light on feuds in Northern Arabia connected with the +antagonism of the Roman and Persian Empires. Its purpose is to complain +of unjust accusations made against the BanAº Bakr by a certain group of +the BanAº Taghlib known as the ArAiqim:-- + + "Our brothers the ArAiqim let their tongues + Against us rail unmeasuredly. + The innocent with the guilty they confound: + Of guilt what boots it to be free? + They brand us patrons of the vilest deed, + Our clients in each miscreant see."[229] + +A person whom a¸¤Airith does not name was 'blackening' the BanAº Bakr +before the King of a¸¤A-ra. The poet tells him not to imagine that his +calumnies will have any lasting effect: often had Bakr been slandered by +their foes, but (he finely adds):-- + + "Maugre their hate we stand, by firm-based might + Exalted and by ancestry-- + Might which ere now hath dazzled men's eyes: thence scorn + To yield and haughty spirit have we. + On us the Days beat as on mountain dark + That soars in cloudless majesty, + Compact against the hard calamitous shocks + And buffetings of Destiny."[230] + +He appeals to the offenders not wantonly to break the peace which +ended the War of BasAºs:-- + + "Leave folly and error! If ye blind yourselves, + Just therein lies the malady. + Recall the oaths of Dhu aEuro(TM)l-MajAiz[231] for which + Hostages gave security, + Lest force or guile should break them: can caprice + Annul the parchments utterly?[232] + +[Sidenote: aEuro~Antara.] + +aEuro~Antara b. ShaddAid, whose father belonged to the tribe of aEuro~Abs, +distinguished himself in the War of DAia¸Yis.[233] In modern times it is +not as a poet that he is chiefly remembered, but as a hero of +romance--the Bedouin Achilles. Goddess-born, however, he could not be +called by any stretch of imagination. His mother was a black slave, and +he must often have been taunted with his African blood, which showed +itself in a fiery courage that gained the respect of the pure-bred but +generally less valorous Arabs. aEuro~Antara loved his cousin aEuro~Abla, and +following the Arabian custom by which cousins have the first right to a +girl's hand, he asked her in marriage. His suit was vain--the son of a +slave mother being regarded as a slave unless acknowledged by his +father--until on one occasion, while the aEuro~Absites were hotly engaged +with some raiders who had driven off their camels, aEuro~Antara refused to +join in the mAªlA(C)e, saying, "A slave does not understand how to fight; +his work is to milk the camels and bind their udders." "Charge!" cried +his father, "thou art free." Though aEuro~Antara uttered no idle boast when +he sang-- + + "On one side nobly born and of the best + Of aEuro~Abs am I: my sword makes good the rest!" + +his contemptuous references to 'jabbering barbarians,' and to 'slaves +with their ears cut off, clad in sheepskins,' are characteristic of the +man who had risen to eminence in spite of the stain on his scutcheon. He +died at a great age in a foray against the neighbouring tribe of +a¹¬ayyiaEuro(TM). His _MuaEuro~allaqa_ is famous for its stirring battle-scenes, one +of which is translated here:--[234] + + "Learn, MAilik's daughter, how + I rush into the fray, + And how I draw back only + At sharing of the prey. + + I never quit the saddle, + My strong steed nimbly bounds; + Warrior after warrior + Have covered him with wounds. + + Full-armed against me stood + One feared of fighting men: + He fled not oversoon + Nor let himself be ta'en. + + With straight hard-shafted spear + I dealt him in his side + A sudden thrust which opened + Two streaming gashes wide, + + Two gashes whence outgurgled + His life-blood: at the sound + Night-roaming ravenous wolves + Flock eagerly around. + + So with my doughty spear + I trussed his coat of mail-- + For truly, when the spear strikes, + The noblest man is frail-- + + And left him low to banquet + The wild beasts gathering there; + They have torn off his fingers, + His wrist and fingers fair!" + +[Sidenote: Zuhayr.] + +While aEuro~Antara's poem belongs to the final stages of the War of DAia¸Yis, +the _MuaEuro~allaqa_ of his contemporary, Zuhayr b. AbA- SulmAi, of the tribe +of Muzayna, celebrates an act of private munificence which brought about +the conclusion of peace. By the self-sacrificing intervention of two +chiefs of DhubyAin, Harim b. SinAin and a¸¤Airith b. aEuro~Awf, the whole sum +of blood-money to which the aEuro~Absites were entitled on account of the +greater number of those who had fallen on their side, was paid over to +them. Such an example of generous and disinterested patriotism--for +Harim and a¸¤Airith had shed no blood themselves--was a fit subject for +one of whom it was said that he never praised men but as they +deserved:-- + + Noble pair of Ghayaº" ibn Murra,[235] well ye laboured to restore + Ties of kindred hewn asunder by the bloody strokes of war. + Witness now mine oath the ancient House in Mecca's hallowed bound,[236] + Which its builders of Quraysh and Jurhum solemnly went round,[237] + That in hard or easy issue never wanting were ye found! + Peace ye gave to aEuro~Abs and DhubyAin when each fell by other's hand + And the evil fumes they pestled up between them filled the land."[238] + +At the end of his panegyric the poet, turning to the lately reconciled +tribesmen and their confederates, earnestly warns them against nursing +thoughts of vengeance:-- + + "Will ye hide from God the guilt ye dare not unto Him disclose? + Verily, what thing soever ye would hide from God, He knows. + Either it is laid up meantime in a scroll and treasured there + For the day of retribution, or avenged all unaware.[239] + War ye have known and war have tasted: not by hearsay are ye wise. + Raise no more the hideous monster! If ye let her raven, she cries + Ravenously for blood and crushes, like a mill-stone, all below, + And from her twin-conceiving womb she brings forth woe on woe."[240] + +After a somewhat obscure passage concerning the lawless deeds of a +certain a¸¤usayn b. a¸ama¸am, which had well-nigh caused a fresh +outbreak of hostilities, Zuhayr proceeds, with a natural and touching +allusion to his venerable age, to enforce the lessons of conduct and +morality suggested by the situation:-- + + "I am weary of life's burden: well a man may weary be + After eighty years, and this much now is manifest to me: + Death is like a night-blind camel stumbling on:--the smitten die + But the others age and wax in weakness whom he passes by. + He that often deals with folk in unkind fashion, underneath + They will trample him and make him feel the sharpness of their teeth. + He that hath enough and over and is niggard with his pelf + Will be hated of his people and left free to praise himself. + He alone who with fair actions ever fortifies his fame + Wins it fully: blame will find him out unless he shrinks from blame. + He that for his cistern's guarding trusts not in his own stout arm + Sees it ruined: he must harm his foe or he must suffer harm. + He that fears the bridge of Death across it finally is driven, + Though he span as with a ladder all the space 'twixt earth and heaven. + He that will not take the lance's butt-end while he has the chance + Must thereafter be contented with the spike-end of the lance. + He that keeps his word is blamed not; he whose heart repaireth straight + To the sanctuary of duty never needs to hesitate. + He that hies abroad to strangers doth account his friends his foes; + He that honours not himself lacks honour wheresoe'er he goes. + Be a man's true nature what it will, that nature is revealed + To his neighbours, let him fancy as he may that 'tis concealed."[241] + +The ripe sententious wisdom and moral earnestness of Zuhayr's poetry are +in keeping with what has been said above concerning his religious ideas +and, from another point of view, with the tradition that he used to +compose a _qaa¹LA-da_ in four months, correct it for four months, submit +it to the poets of his acquaintance during a like period, and not make +it public until a year had expired. + +Of his life there is little to tell. Probably he died before Islam, +though it is related that when he was a centenarian he met the Prophet, +who cried out on seeing him, "O God, preserve me from his demon!"[242] +The poetical gifts which he inherited from his uncle BashAima he +bequeathed to his son KaaEuro~b, author of the famous ode, _BAinat SuaEuro~Aid_. + +[Sidenote: LabA-d.] + +LabA-d b. RabA-aEuro~a, of the BanAº aEuro~Amir b. a¹caaEuro~a¹LaaEuro~a, was born in the +latter half of the sixth century, and is said to have died soon after +MuaEuro~Aiwiya's accession to the Caliphate, which took place in A.D. 661. He +is thus the youngest of the Seven Poets. On accepting Islam he abjured +poetry, saying, "God has given me the Koran in exchange for it." Like +Zuhayr, he had, even in his heathen days, a strong vein of religious +feeling, as is shown by many passages in his DA-wAin. + +LabA-d was a true Bedouin, and his _MuaEuro~allaqa_, with its charmingly fresh +pictures of desert life and scenery, must be considered one of the +finest examples of the Pre-islamic _qaa¹LA-da_ that have come down to +us. The poet owes something to his predecessors, but the greater part +seems to be drawn from his own observation. He begins in the +conventional manner by describing the almost unrecognisable vestiges of +the camping-ground of the clan to which his mistress belonged:-- + + "Waste lies the land where once alighted and did wone + The people of MinAi: RijAim and Ghawl are lone. + The camp in RayyAin's vale is marked by relics dim + Like weather-beaten script engraved on ancient stone. + Over this ruined scene, since it was desolate, + Whole years with secular and sacred months had flown. + In spring 'twas blest by showers 'neath starry influence shed, + And thunder-clouds bestowed a scant or copious boon. + Pale herbs had shot up, ostriches on either slope + Their chicks had gotten and gazelles their young had thrown; + And large-eyed wild-cows there beside the new-born calves + Reclined, while round them formed a troop the calves half-grown. + Torrents of rain had swept the dusty ruins bare, + Until, as writing freshly charactered, they shone, + Or like to curved tattoo-lines on a woman's arm, + With soot besprinkled so that every line is shown. + I stopped and asked, but what avails it that we ask + Dumb changeless things that speak a language all unknown?"[243] + +After lamenting the departure of his beloved the poet bids himself think +no more about her: he will ride swiftly away from the spot. Naturally, +he must praise his camel, and he introduces by way of comparison two +wonderful pictures of animal life. In the former the onager is described +racing at full speed over the backs of the hills when thirst and hunger +drive him with his mate far from the barren solitudes into which they +usually retire. The second paints a wild-cow, whose young calf has been +devoured by wolves, sleeping among the sand-dunes through a night of +incessant rain. At daybreak "her feet glide over the firm wet soil." For +a whole week she runs to and fro, anxiously seeking her calf, when +suddenly she hears the sound of hunters approaching and makes off in +alarm. Being unable to get within bowshot, the hunters loose their dogs, +but she turns desperately upon them, wounding one with her needle-like +horn and killing another. + +Then, once more addressing his beloved, the poet speaks complacently of +his share in the feasting and revelling, on which a noble Arab plumes +himself hardly less than on his bravery:-- + + "Know'st thou not, O NawAir, that I am wont to tie + The cords of love, yet also snap them without fear? + That I abandon places when I like them not, + Unless Death chain the soul and straiten her career? + Nay, surely, but thou know'st not I have passed in talk + Many a cool night of pleasure and convivial cheer, + And often to a booth, above which hung for sign + A banner, have resorted when old wine was dear. + For no light price I purchased many a dusky skin + Or black clay jar, and broached it that the juice ran clear; + And many a song of shrill-voiced singing-girl I paid, + And her whose fingers made sweet music to mine ear."[244] + +Continuing, he boasts of dangerous service as a spy in the enemy's +country, when he watched all day on the top of a steep crag; of his +fearless demeanour and dignified assertion of his rights in an assembly +at a¸¤A-ra, to which he came as a delegate, and of his liberality to the +poor. The closing verses are devoted, in accordance with custom, to +matters of immediate interest and to a panegyric on the virtues of the +poet's kin. + +Besides the authors of the _MuaEuro~allaqAit_ three poets may be mentioned, of +whom the two first-named are universally acknowledged to rank with the +greatest that Arabia has produced--NAibigha, AaEuro~shAi, and aEuro~Alqama. + +[Sidenote: NAibigha of DhubyAin.] + +NAibigha[245]--his proper name is ZiyAid b. MuaEuro~Aiwiya, of the tribe +DhubyAin--lived at the courts of GhassAin and a¸¤A-ra during the latter +half of the century before Islam. His chief patron was King NuaEuro~mAin b. +Mundhir AbAº QAibAºs of a¸¤A-ra. For many years he basked in the sunshine +of royal favour, enjoying every privilege that NuaEuro~mAin bestowed on his +most intimate friends. The occasion of their falling out is differently +related. According to one story, the poet described the charms of Queen +Mutajarrida, which NuaEuro~mAin had asked him to celebrate, with such charm +and liveliness as to excite her husband's suspicion; but it is said--and +NAibigha's own words make it probable--that his enemies denounced him as +the author of a scurrilous satire against NuaEuro~mAin which had been forged +by themselves. At any rate he had no choice but to quit a¸¤A-ra with all +speed, and ere long we find him in GhassAin, welcomed and honoured, as +the panegyrist of King aEuro~Amr b. a¸¤Airith and the noble house of Jafna. +But his heart was in a¸¤A-ra still. Deeply wounded by the calumnies of +which he was the victim, he never ceased to affirm his innocence and to +lament the misery of exile. The following poem, which he addressed to +NuaEuro~mAin, is at once a justification and an appeal for mercy[246]:-- + + "They brought me word, O King, thou blamedst me; + For this am I o'erwhelmed with grief and care. + I passed a sick man's night: the nurses seemed, + Spreading my couch, to have heaped up briars there. + Now (lest thou cherish in thy mind a doubt) + Invoking our last refuge, God, I swear + That he, whoever told thee I was false, + Is the more lying and faithless of the pair. + Exiled perforce, I found a strip of land + Where I could live and safely take the air: + Kings made me arbiter of their possessions, + And called me to their side and spoke me fair-- + Even as thou dost grace thy favourites + Nor deem'st a fault the gratitude they bear.[247] + O leave thine anger! Else, in view of men + A mangy camel, smeared with pitch, I were. + Seest thou not God hath given thee eminence + Before which monarchs tremble and despair? + All other kings are stars and thou a sun: + When the sun rises, lo, the heavens are bare! + A friend in trouble thou wilt not forsake; + I may have sinned: in sinning all men share. + If I am wronged, thou hast but wronged a slave, + And if thou spar'st, 'tis like thyself to spare." + +It is pleasant to record that NAibigha was finally reconciled to the +prince whom he loved, and that a¸¤A-ra again became his home. The date +of his death is unknown, but it certainly took place before Islam was +promulgated. Had the opportunity been granted to him he might have died +a Moslem: he calls himself 'a religious man' (_dhAº ummatin_),[248] and +although the tradition that he was actually a Christian lacks authority, +his long residence in Syria and aEuro~IrAiq must have made him acquainted with +the externals of Christianity and with some, at least, of its leading +ideas. + +[Sidenote: AaEuro~shAi.] + +The grave and earnest tone characteristic of NAibigha's poetry seldom +prevails in that of his younger contemporary, MaymAºn b. Qays, who is +generally known by his surname, al-AaEuro~shAi--that is, 'the man of weak +sight.' A professional troubadour, he roamed from one end of Arabia to +the other, harp in hand, singing the praises of those who rewarded him; +and such was his fame as a satirist that few ventured to withhold the +bounty which he asked. By common consent he stands in the very first +rank of Arabian poets. Abu aEuro(TM)l-Faraj, the author of the _KitAibu +aEuro(TM)l-AghAinA-_, declares him to be superior to all the rest, adding, +however, "this opinion is not held unanimously as regards AaEuro~shAi or any +other." His wandering life brought him into contact with every kind of +culture then existing in Arabia. Although he was not an avowed +Christian, his poetry shows to what an extent he was influenced by the +Bishops of NajrAin, with whom he was intimately connected, and by the +Christian merchants of a¸¤A-ra who sold him their wine. He did not rise +above the pagan level of morality. + + It is related that he set out to visit Mua¸Yammad for the purpose + of reciting to him an ode which he had composed in his honour. When + the Quraysh heard of this, they feared lest their adversary's + reputation should be increased by the panegyric of a bard so famous + and popular. Accordingly, they intercepted him on his way, and asked + whither he was bound. "To your kinsman," said he, "that I may accept + Islam." "He will forbid and make unlawful to thee certain practices + of which thou art fond." "What are these?" said AaEuro~shAi. + "Fornication," said AbAº SufyAin, "I have not abandoned it," he + replied, "but it has abandoned me. What else?" "Gambling." "Perhaps + I shall obtain from him something to compensate me for the loss of + gambling. What else?" "Usury." "I have never borrowed nor lent. What + else?" "Wine." "Oh, in that case I will drink the water I have left + stored at al-MihrAis." Seeing that AaEuro~shAi was not to be deterred, AbAº + SufyAin offered him a hundred camels on condition that he should + return to his home in YamAima and await the issue of the struggle + between Mua¸Yammad and the Quraysh. "I agree," said AaEuro~shAi. "O ye + Quraysh," cried AbAº SufyAin, "this is AaEuro~shAi, and by God, if he + becomes a follower of Mua¸Yammad, he will inflame the Arabs against + you by his poetry. Collect, therefore, a hundred camels for + him."[249] + +AaEuro~shAi excels in the description of wine and wine-parties. One who +visited ManfAºa¸Ya in YamAima, where the poet was buried, relates that +revellers used to meet at his grave and pour out beside it the last +drops that remained in their cups. As an example of his style in this +_genre_ I translate a few lines from the most celebrated of his poems, +which is included by some critics among the _MuaEuro~allaqAit_:-- + + "Many a time I hastened early to the tavern--while there ran + At my heels a ready cook, a nimble, active serving-man-- + 'Midst a gallant troop, like Indian scimitars, of mettle high; + Well they know that every mortal, shod and bare alike, must die. + Propped at ease I greet them gaily, them with myrtle-boughs I greet, + Pass among them wine that gushes from the jar's mouth bittersweet. + Emptying goblet after goblet--but the source may no man drain-- + Never cease they from carousing save to cry, 'Fill up again!' + Briskly runs the page to serve them: on his ears hang pearls: below, + Tight the girdle draws his doublet as he bustles to and fro. + 'Twas the harp, thou mightest fancy, waked the lute's responsive note, + When the loose-robed chantress touched it and sang shrill with + quavering throat. + Here and there among the party damsels fair superbly glide: + Each her long white skirt lets trail and swings a wine-skin at her + side."[250] + +[Sidenote: aEuro~Alqama.] + +Very little is known of the life of aEuro~Alqama b. aEuro~Abada, who was surnamed +_al-Faa¸Yl_ (the Stallion). His most famous poem is that which he +addressed to the GhassAinid a¸¤Airith al-AaEuro~raj after the Battle of +a¸¤alA-ma, imploring him to set free some prisoners of TamA-m--the poet's +tribe--among whom was his own brother or nephew, ShAis. The following +lines have almost become proverbial:-- + + "Of women do ye ask me? I can spy + Their ailments with a shrewd physician's eye. + The man whose head is grey or small his herds + No favour wins of them but mocking words. + Are riches known, to riches they aspire, + And youthful bloom is still their heart's desire."[251] + +[Sidenote: Elegiac poetry.] + +In view of these slighting verses it is proper to observe that the +poetry of Arabian women of the Pre-islamic period is distinctly +masculine in character. Their songs are seldom of Love, but often of +Death. Elegy (_rithAi_ or _marthiya_) was regarded as their special +province. The oldest form of elegy appears in the verses chanted on the +death of TaaEuro(TM)abbaa¹-a Sharran by his sister:-- + + "O the good knight ye left low at RakhmAin, + ThAibit son of JAibir son of SufyAin! + He filled the cup for friends and ever slew his man."[252] + +"As a rule the Arabian dirge is very simple. The poetess begins with a +description of her grief, of the tears that she cannot quench, and then +she shows how worthy to be deeply mourned was he whom death has taken +away. He is described as a pattern of the two principal Arabian virtues, +bravery and liberality, and the question is anxiously asked, 'Who will +now make high resolves, overthrow the enemy, and in time of want feed +the poor and entertain the stranger?' If the hero of the dirge died a +violent death we find in addition a burning lust of revenge, a thirst +for the slayer's blood, expressed with an intensity of feeling of which +only women are capable."[253] + +[Sidenote: KhansAi.] + +Among Arabian women who have excelled in poetry the place of honour is +due to KhansAi--her real name was TumAia¸ir--who flourished in the last +years before Islam. By far the most famous of her elegies are those in +which she bewailed her valiant brothers, MuaEuro~Aiwiya and a¹cakhr, both of +whom were struck down by sword or spear. It is impossible to translate +the poignant and vivid emotion, the energy of passion and noble +simplicity of style which distinguish the poetry of KhansAi, but here are +a few verses:-- + + Death's messenger cried aloud the loss of the generous one, + So loud cried he, by my life, that far he was heard and wide. + Then rose I, and scarce my soul could follow to meet the news, + For anguish and sore dismay and horror that a¹cakhr had died. + In my misery and despair I seemed as a drunken man, + Upstanding awhile--then soon his tottering limbs subside."[254] + + _YudhakkirunA- a¹-ulAºaEuro~u aEuro(TM)l-shamsi a¹cakhran + wa-adhkuruhAº likulli ghurAºbi shamsi._ + + "Sunrise awakes in me the sad remembrance + Of a¹cakhr, and I recall him at every sunset." + +[Sidenote: The last poets born in the Age of Paganism.] + +To the poets who have been enumerated many might be added--_e.g._, +a¸¤assAin b. ThAibit, who was 'retained' by the Prophet and did useful +work on his behalf; KaaEuro~b b. Zuhayr, author or the famous panegyric on +Mua¸Yammad beginning "_BAinat SuaEuro~Aid_" (SuaEuro~Aid has departed); Mutammim b. +Nuwayra, who, like KhansAi, mourned the loss of a brother; AbAº Mia¸Yjan, +the singer of wine, whose devotion to the forbidden beverage was +punished by the Caliph aEuro~Umar with imprisonment and exile; and +al-a¸¤ua¹-ayaEuro(TM)a (the Dwarf), who was unrivalled in satire. All these +belonged to the class of _Mukhaa¸ramAºn_, _i.e._, they were born in the +Pagan Age but died, if not Moslems, at any rate after the proclamation +of Islam. + + +[Sidenote: Collections of ancient poetry.] + +The grammarians of Baa¹Lra and KAºfa, by whom the remains of ancient +Arabian poetry were rescued from oblivion, arranged and collected their +material according to various principles. Either the poems of an +individual or those of a number of individuals belonging to the same +tribe or class were brought together--such a collection was called +_DA-wAin_, plural _DawAiwA-n_; or, again, the compiler edited a certain +number of _qaa¹LA-das_ chosen for their fame or excellence or on other +grounds, or he formed an anthology of shorter pieces or fragments, which +were arranged under different heads according to their subject-matter. + +[Sidenote: DA-wAins.] + +Among _DA-wAins_ mention may be made of _The DA-wAins of the Six Poets_, +viz. NAibigha, aEuro~Antara, a¹¬arafa, Zuhayr, aEuro~Alqama, and ImruaEuro(TM)u aEuro(TM)l-Qays, +edited with a full commentary by the Spanish philologist al-AaEuro~lam +(aEuro 1083 A.D.) and published in 1870 by Ahlwardt; and of _The Poems of the +Hudhaylites_ (_AshaEuro~Airu aEuro(TM)l-HudhaliyyA-n_) collected by al-SukkarA- +(aEuro 888 A.D.), which have been published by Kosegarten and Wellhausen. + +The chief Anthologies, taken in the order of their composition, are:-- + +[Sidenote: Anthologies. 1. The _MuaEuro~allaqAit_.] + +1. The _MuaEuro~allaqAit_, which is the title given to a collection of seven +odes by ImruaEuro(TM)u aEuro(TM)l-Qays, a¹¬arafa, Zuhayr, LabA-d, aEuro~Antara, aEuro~Amr b. +KulthAºm, and a¸¤Airith b. a¸¤illiza; to these two odes by NAibigha and +AaEuro~shAi are sometimes added. The compiler was probably a¸¤ammAid +al-RAiwiya, a famous rhapsodist of Persian descent, who flourished under +the Umayyads and died in the second half of the eighth century of our +era. As the _MuaEuro~allaqAit_ have been discussed above, we may pass on +directly to a much larger, though less celebrated, collection dating +from the same period, viz.:-- + +[Sidenote: 2. The _Mufaa¸a¸aliyyAit_.] + +2. The _Mufaa¸a¸aliyyAit_,[255] by which title it is generally known +after its compiler, Mufaa¸a¸al al-a¸abbA- (aEuro circa 786 A.D.), who +made it at the instance of the Caliph Mana¹LAºr for the instruction of +his son and successor, MahdA-. It comprises 128 odes and is extant in two +recensions, that of AnbAirA- (aEuro 916 A.D.), which derives from Ibnu +aEuro(TM)l-AaEuro~rAibA-, the stepson of Mufaa¸a¸al, and that of MarzAºqA- (aEuro 1030 +A.D.). About a third of the _Mufaa¸a¸aliyyAit_ was published in 1885 +by Thorbecke, and Sir Charles Lyall has recently edited the complete +text with Arabic commentary and English translation and notes.[256] + +All students of Arabian poetry are familiar with-- + +[Sidenote: 3. The _a¸¤amAisa_ of AbAº TammAim.] + +3. The _a¸¤amAisa_ of AbAº TammAim a¸¤abA-b b. Aws, himself a +distinguished poet, who flourished under the Caliphs MaaEuro(TM)mAºn and +MuaEuro~taa¹Lim, and died about 850 A.D. Towards the end of his life he +visited aEuro~AbdullAih b. a¹¬Aihir, the powerful governor of KhurAisAin, who +was virtually an independent sovereign. It was on this journey, as Ibn +KhallikAin relates, that AbAº TammAim composed the _a¸¤amAisa_; for on +arriving at HamadhAin (Ecbatana) the winter had set in, and as the cold +was excessively severe in that country, the snow blocked up the road and +obliged him to stop and await the thaw. During his stay he resided with +one of the most eminent men of the place, who possessed a library in +which were some collections of poems composed by the Arabs of the desert +and other authors. Having then sufficient leisure, he perused those +works and selected from them the passages out of which he formed his +_a¸¤amAisa_.[257] The work is divided into ten sections of unequal +length, the first, from which it received its name, occupying (together +with the commentary) 360 pages in Freytag's edition, while the seventh +and eighth require only thirteen pages between them. These sections or +chapters bear the following titles:-- + + I. The Chapter of Fortitude (_BAibu aEuro(TM)l-a¸¤amAisa_). + II. The Chapter of Dirges (_BAibu aEuro(TM)l-MarAithA-_). + III. The Chapter of Good Manners (_BAibu aEuro(TM)l-Adab_). + IV. The Chapter of Love-Songs (_BAibu aEuro(TM)l-NasA-b_). + V. The Chapter of Satire (_BAibu aEuro(TM)l-HijAi_). + VI. The Chapter of Guests (Hospitality) and Panegyric (_BAibu + aEuro(TM)l-Aa¸yAif wa aEuro(TM)l-MadA-h_). + VII. The Chapter of Descriptions (_BAibu aEuro(TM)l-a¹cifAit_). + VIII. The Chapter of Travel and Repose (_BAibu aEuro(TM)l-Sayr wa aEuro(TM)l-NuaEuro~Ais_). + IX. The Chapter of FacetiA| (_BAibu aEuro(TM)l-Mulaa¸Y_). + X. The Chapter of Vituperation of Women (_BAibu Madhammati + aEuro(TM)l-NisAi_). + +The contents of the _a¸¤amAisa_ include short poems complete in +themselves as well as passages extracted from longer poems; of the poets +represented, some of whom belong to the Pre-islamic and others to the +early Islamic period, comparatively few are celebrated, while many are +anonymous or only known by the verses attached to their names. If the +high level of excellence attained by these obscure singers shows, on the +one hand, that a natural genius for poetry was widely diffused and that +the art was successfully cultivated among all ranks of Arabian society, +we must not forget how much is due to the fine taste of AbAº TammAim, who, +as the commentator TibrA-zA- has remarked, "is a better poet in his +_a¸¤amAisa_ than in his poetry." + +[Sidenote: 4. The _a¸¤amAisa_ of Bua¸YturA-.] + +4. The _a¸¤amAisa_ of Bua¸YturA- (aEuro 897 A.D.), a younger contemporary of +AbAº TammAim, is inferior to its model.[258] However convenient from a +practical standpoint, the division into a great number of sections, each +illustrating a narrowly defined topic, seriously impairs the artistic +value of the work; moreover, Bua¸YturA- seems to have had a less +catholic appreciation of the beauties of poetry--he admired, it is said, +only what was in harmony with his own style and ideas. + +[Sidenote: 5. The _Jamhara_.] + +5. The _Jamharatu AshaEuro~Airi aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~Arab_, a collection of forty-nine odes, +was put together probably about 1000 A.D. by AbAº Zayd Mua¸Yammad +al-QurashA-, of whom we find no mention elsewhere. + +[Sidenote: Prose sources.] + +Apart from the _DA-wAins_ and anthologies, numerous Pre-islamic verses are +cited in biographical, philological, and other works, _e.g._, the +_KitAibu aEuro(TM)l-AghAinA-_ by Abu aEuro(TM)l-Faraj of Ia¹LfahAin (aEuro 967 _A.D._), the +_KitAibu aEuro(TM)l-AmAilA-_ by AbAº aEuro~AlA- al-QAilA- (aEuro 967 _A.D._), the _KAimil_ of +Mubarrad (aEuro 898 A.D.), and the _KhizAinatu aEuro(TM)l-Adab_ of aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-QAidir of +BaghdAid (aEuro 1682 A.D.). + +[Sidenote: The tradition of Pre-islamic poetry.] + +[Sidenote: The RAiwA-s.] + +[Sidenote: The Humanists.] + +We have seen that the oldest existing poems date from the beginning of +the sixth century of our era, whereas the art of writing did not come +into general use among the Arabs until some two hundred years +afterwards. Pre-islamic poetry, therefore, was preserved by oral +tradition alone, and the question arises, How was this possible? What +guarantee have we that songs living on men's lips for so long a period +have retained their original form, even approximately? No doubt many +verses, _e.g._, those which glorified the poet's tribe or satirised +their enemies, were constantly being recited by his kin, and in this way +short occasional poems or fragments of longer ones might be perpetuated. +Of whole _qaa¹LA-das_ like the _MuaEuro~allaqAit_, however, none or very few +would have reached us if their survival had depended solely on their +popularity. What actually saved them in the first place was an +institution resembling that of the Rhapsodists in Greece. Every +professed poet had his _RAiwA-_ (reciter), who accompanied him everywhere, +committed his poems to memory, and handed them down, as well as the +circumstances connected with them, to others. The characters of poet and +_rAiwA-_ were often combined; thus Zuhayr was the _rAiwA-_ of his stepfather, +Aws b. a¸¤ajar, while his own _rAiwA-_ was al-a¸¤ua¹-ayaEuro(TM)a. If the +tradition of poetry was at first a labour of love, it afterwards became +a lucrative business, and the _RAiwA-s_, instead of being attached to +individual poets, began to form an independent class, carrying in their +memories a prodigious stock of ancient verse and miscellaneous learning. +It is related, for example, that a¸¤ammAid once said to the Caliph WalA-d +b. YazA-d: "I can recite to you, for each letter of the alphabet, one +hundred long poems rhyming in that letter, without taking into count the +short pieces, and all that composed exclusively by poets who lived +before the promulgation of Islamism." He commenced and continued until +the Caliph, having grown fatigued, withdrew, after leaving a person in +his place to verify the assertion and hear him to the last. In that +sitting he recited two thousand nine hundred _qaa¹LA-das_ by poets who +flourished before Mua¸Yammad. WalA-d, on being informed of the fact, +ordered him a present of one hundred thousand dirhems.[259] Thus, +towards the end of the first century after the Hijra, _i.e._, about 700 +A.D., when the custom of _writing_ poetry began, there was much of +Pre-islamic origin still in circulation, although it is probable that +far more had already been irretrievably lost. Numbers of _RAiwA-s_ +perished in the wars, or passed away in the course of nature, without +leaving any one to continue their tradition. New times had brought new +interests and other ways of life. The great majority of Moslems had no +sympathy whatever with the ancient poetry, which represented in their +eyes the unregenerate spirit of heathendom. They wanted nothing beyond +the Koran and the a¸¤adA-th. But for reasons which will be stated in +another chapter the language of the Koran and the a¸¤adA-th was rapidly +becoming obsolete as a spoken idiom outside of the Arabian peninsula: +the 'perspicuous Arabic' on which Mua¸Yammad prided himself had ceased +to be fully intelligible to the Moslems settled in aEuro~IrAiq and KhurAisAin, +in Syria, and in Egypt. It was essential that the Sacred Text should be +explained, and this necessity gave birth to the sciences of Grammar and +Lexicography. The Philologists, or, as they have been aptly designated, +the Humanists of Baa¹Lra and KAºfa, where these studies were prosecuted +with peculiar zeal, naturally found their best material in the +Pre-islamic poems--a well of Arabic undefiled. At first the ancient +poetry merely formed a basis for philological research, but in process +of time a literary enthusiasm was awakened. The surviving _RAiwA-s_ were +eagerly sought out and induced to yield up their stores, the +compositions of famous poets were collected, arranged, and committed to +writing, and as the demand increased, so did the supply.[260] + +[Sidenote: Corrupt tradition of the old poetry.] + +[Sidenote: a¸¤ammAid al-RAiwiya.] + +[Sidenote: Khalaf al-Aa¸Ymar.] + +In these circumstances a certain amount of error was inevitable. Apart +from unconscious failings of memory, there can be no doubt that in many +cases the _RAiwA-s_ acted with intent to deceive. The temptation to father +their own verses, or centos which they pieced together from sources +known only to themselves, upon some poet of antiquity was all the +stronger because they ran little risk of detection. In knowledge of +poetry and in poetical talent they were generally far more than a match +for the philologists, who seldom possessed any critical ability, but +readily took whatever came to hand. The stories which are told of a¸¤ammAid +al-RAiwiya, clearly show how unscrupulous he was in his methods, though +we have reason to suppose that he was not a typical example of his +class. His contemporary, Mufaa¸a¸al al-a¸abbA-, is reported to have said +that the corruption which poetry suffered through a¸¤ammAid could never be +repaired, "for," he added, "a¸¤ammAid is a man skilled in the language and +poesy of the Arabs and in the styles and ideas of the poets, and he is +always making verses in imitation of some one and introducing them into +genuine compositions by the same author, so that the copy passes +everywhere for part of the original, and cannot be distinguished from it +except by critical scholars--and where are such to be found?"[261] This +art of forgery was brought to perfection by Khalaf al-Aa¸Ymar (aEuro about 800 +A.D.), who learned it in the school of a¸¤ammAid. If he really composed the +famous _LAimiyya_ ascribed to ShanfarAi, his own poetical endowments must +have been of the highest order. In his old age he repented and confessed +that he was the author of several poems which the scholars of Baa¹Lra and +KAºfa had accepted as genuine, but they laughed him to scorn, saying, +"What you said then seems to us more trustworthy than your present +assertion." + +[Sidenote: Other causes of corruption.] + +Besides the corruptions due to the _RAiwA-s_, others have been accumulated +by the philologists themselves. As the Koran and the a¸¤adA-th were, of +course, spoken and afterwards written in the dialect of Quraysh, to whom +Mua¸Yammad belonged, this dialect was regarded as the classical +standard;[262] consequently the variations therefrom which occurred in +the ancient poems were, for the most part, 'emended' and harmonised with +it. Many changes were made under the influence of Islam, _e.g._, 'Allah' +was probably often substituted for the pagan goddess 'al-LAit.' Moreover, +the structure of the _qaa¹LA-da_, its disconnectedness and want of logical +cohesion, favoured the omission and transposition of whole passages or +single verses. All these modes of depravation might be illustrated in +detail, but from what has been said the reader can judge for himself how +far the poems, as they now stand, are likely to have retained the form +in which they were first uttered to the wild Arabs of the Pre-islamic +Age. + +[Sidenote: Religion.] + +[Sidenote: The Fair of aEuro~UkAiaº".] + +Religion had so little influence on the lives of the Pre-islamic Arabs +that we cannot expect to find much trace of it in their poetry. They +believed vaguely in a supreme God, Allah, and more definitely in his +three daughters--al-LAit, ManAit, and al-aEuro~UzzAi--who were venerated all +over Arabia and whose intercession was graciously accepted by Allah. +There were also numerous idols enjoying high favour while they continued +to bring good luck to their worshippers. Of real piety the ordinary +Bedouin knew nothing. He felt no call to pray to his gods, although he +often found them convenient to swear by. He might invoke Allah in the +hour of need, as a drowning man will clutch at a straw; but his faith in +superstitious ceremonies was stronger. He did not take his religion too +seriously. Its practical advantages he was quick to appreciate. Not to +mention baser pleasures, it gave him rest and security during the four +sacred months, in which war was forbidden, while the institution of the +Meccan Pilgrimage enabled him to take part in a national fAªte. Commerce +went hand in hand with religion. Great fairs were held, the most famous +being that of aEuro~UkAiaº", which lasted for twenty days. These fairs were in +some sort the centre of old Arabian social, political, and literary +life. It was the only occasion on which free and fearless intercourse +was possible between the members of different clans.[263] + +Plenty of excitement was provided by poetical and oratorical +displays--not by athletic sports, as in ancient Greece and modern +England. Here rival poets declaimed their verses and submitted them to +the judgment of an acknowledged master. Nowhere else had rising talents +such an opportunity of gaining wide reputation: what aEuro~UkAiaº" said to-day +all Arabia would repeat to-morrow. At aEuro~UkAiaº", we are told, the youthful +Mua¸Yammad listened, as though spellbound, to the persuasive eloquence of +Quss b. SAiaEuro~ida, Bishop of NajrAin; and he may have contrasted the +discourse of the Christian preacher with the brilliant odes chanted by +heathen bards. + +The Bedouin view of life was thoroughly hedonistic. Love, wine, +gambling, hunting, the pleasures of song and romance, the brief, +pointed, and elegant expression of wit and wisdom--these things he knew +to be good. Beyond them he saw only the grave. + + "Roast meat and wine: the swinging ride + On a camel sure and tried, + Which her master speeds amain + O'er low dale and level plain: + Women marble-white and fair + Trailing gold-fringed raiment rare: + Opulence, luxurious ease, + With the lute's soft melodies-- + Such delights hath our brief span; + Time is Change, Time's fool is Man. + Wealth or want, great store or small, + All is one since Death's are all."[264] + +It would be a mistake to suppose that these men always, or even +generally, passed their lives in the aimless pursuit of pleasure. Some +goal they had--earthly, no doubt--such as the accumulation of wealth or +the winning of glory or the fulfilment of blood-revenge. "_God forbid_" +says one, "_that I should die while a grievous longing, as it were a +mountain, weighs on my breast!_"[265] A deeper chord is touched by +ImruaEuro(TM)u aEuro(TM)l-Qays: "_If I strove for a bare livelihood, scanty means would +suffice me and I would seek no more. But I strive for lasting renown, +and 'tis men like me that sometimes attain lasting renown. Never, while +life endures, does a man reach the summit of his ambition or cease from +toil._"[266] + +[Sidenote: Judaism and Christianity in Arabia.] + +[Sidenote: The aEuro~IbAid of a¸¤A-ra.] + +[Sidenote: aEuro~AdA- b. Zayd.] + +These are noble sentiments nobly expressed. Yet one hears the sigh of +weariness, as if the speaker were struggling against the conviction that +his cause is already lost, and would welcome the final stroke of +destiny. It was a time of wild uproar and confusion. Tribal and family +feuds filled the land, as Zuhayr says, with evil fumes. No wonder that +earnest and thoughtful minds asked themselves--What worth has our life, +what meaning? Whither does it lead? Such questions paganism could not +answer, but Arabia in the century before Mua¸Yammad was not wholly +abandoned to paganism. Jewish colonists had long been settled in the +a¸¤ijAiz. Probably the earliest settlements date from the conquest of +Palestine by Titus or Hadrian. In their new home the refugees, through +contact with a people nearly akin to themselves, became fully +Arabicised, as the few extant specimens of their poetry bear witness. +They remained Jews, however, not only in their cultivation of trade and +various industries, but also in the most vital particular--their +religion. This, and the fact that they lived in isolated communities +among the surrounding population, marked them out as the salt of the +desert. In the a¸¤ijAiz their spiritual predominance was not seriously +challenged. It was otherwise in Yemen. We may leave out of account the +legend according to which Judaism was introduced into that country from +the a¸¤ijAiz by the TubbaaEuro~ AsaEuro~ad KAimil. What is certain is that towards the +beginning of the sixth century it was firmly planted there side by side +with Christianity, and that in the person of the a¸¤imyarite monarch DhAº +NuwAis, who adopted the Jewish faith, it won a short-lived but sanguinary +triumph over its rival. But in Yemen, except among the highlanders of +NajrAin, Christianity does not appear to have flourished as it did in the +extreme north and north-east, where the Roman and Persian frontiers were +guarded by the Arab levies of GhassAin and a¸¤A-ra. We have seen that the +latter city contained a large Christian population who were called +distinctively aEuro~IbAid, _i.e._, Servants (of God). Through them the Aramaic +culture of Babylonia was transmitted to all parts of the peninsula. They +had learned the art of writing long before it was generally practised in +Arabia, as is shown by the story of a¹¬arafa and Mutalammis, and they +produced the oldest _written_ poetry in the Arabic language--a poetry +very different in character from that which forms the main subject of +this chapter. Unfortunately the bulk of it has perished, since the +rhapsodists, to whom we owe the preservation of so much Pre-islamic +verse, were devoted to the traditional models and would not burden their +memories with anything new-fashioned. The most famous of the aEuro~IbAidA- +poets is aEuro~AdA- b. Zayd, whose adventurous career as a politician has been +sketched above. He is not reckoned by Mua¸Yammadan critics among the +_Fua¸YAºl_ or poets of the first rank, because he was a townsman +(_qarawA-_). In this connection the following anecdote is instructive. +The poet al-aEuro~AjjAij (aEuro about 709 A.D.) said of his contemporaries +al-a¹¬irimmAia¸Y and al-Kumayt: "They used to ask me concerning rare +expressions in the language of poetry, and I informed them, but +afterwards I found the same expressions wrongly applied in their poems, +the reason being that they were townsmen who described what they had not +seen and misapplied it, whereas I who am a Bedouin describe what I have +seen and apply it properly."[267] aEuro~AdA- is chiefly remembered for his +wine-songs. Oriental Christianity has always been associated with the +drinking and selling of wine. Christian ideas were carried into the +heart of Arabia by aEuro~IbAidA- wine merchants, who are said to have taught +their religion to the celebrated AaEuro~shAi. aEuro~AdA- drank and was merry like +the rest, but the underlying thought, 'for to-morrow we die,' repeatedly +makes itself heard. He walks beside a cemetery, and the voices of the +dead call to him--[268] + + "Thou who seest us unto thyself shalt say, + 'Soon upon me comes the season of decay.' + Can the solid mountains evermore sustain + Time's vicissitudes and all they bring in train? + Many a traveller lighted near us and abode, + Quaffing wine wherein the purest water flowed-- + Strainers on each flagon's mouth to clear the wine, + Noble steeds that paw the earth in trappings fine! + For a while they lived in lap of luxury, + Fearing no misfortune, dallying lazily. + Then, behold, Time swept them all, like chaff, away: + Thus it is men fall to whirling Time a prey. + Thus it is Time keeps the bravest and the best + Night and day still plunged in Pleasure's fatal quest." + +It is said that the recitation of these verses induced NuaEuro~mAin al-Akbar, +one of the mythical pagan kings of a¸¤A-ra, to accept Christianity and +become an anchorite. Although the story involves an absurd anachronism, +it is _ben trovato_ in so far as it records the impression which the +graver sort of Christian poetry was likely to make on heathen minds. + +[Sidenote: Pre-Islamic poetry not exclusively pagan in sentiment.] + +The courts of a¸¤A-ra and GhassAin were well known to the wandering +minstrels of the time before Mua¸Yammad, who flocked thither in eager +search of patronage and remuneration. We may be sure that men like +NAibigha, LabA-d, and AaEuro~shAi did not remain unaffected by the culture +around them, even if it seldom entered very deeply into their lives. +That considerable traces of religious feeling are to be found in +Pre-islamic poetry admits of no denial, but the passages in question +were formerly explained as due to interpolation. This view no longer +prevails. Thanks mainly to the arguments of Von Kremer, Sir Charles +Lyall, and Wellhausen, it has come to be recognised (1) that in many +cases the above-mentioned religious feeling is not Islamic in tone; (2) +that the passages in which it occurs are not of Islamic origin; and (3) +that it is the natural and necessary result of the widely spread, though +on the whole superficial, influence of Judaism, and especially of +Christianity.[269] It shows itself not only in frequent allusions, +_e.g._, to the monk in his solitary cell, whose lamp serves to light +belated travellers on their way, and in more significant references, +such as that of Zuhayr already quoted, to the Heavenly Book in which +evil actions are enscrolled for the Day of Reckoning, but also in the +tendency to moralise, to look within, to meditate on death, and to value +the life of the individual rather than the continued existence of the +family. These things are not characteristic of old Arabian poetry, but +the fact that they do appear at times is quite in accord with the other +facts which have been stated, and justifies the conclusion that during +the sixth century religion and culture were imperceptibly extending +their sphere of influence in Arabia, leavening the pagan masses, and +gradually preparing the way for Islam. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +THE PROPHET AND THE KORAN + + +With the appearance of Mua¸Yammad the almost impenetrable veil thrown over +the preceding age is suddenly lifted and we find ourselves on the solid +ground of historical tradition. In order that the reasons for this +change may be understood, it is necessary to give some account of the +principal sources from which our knowledge of the Prophet's life and +teaching is derived. + +[Sidenote: Sources of information: I. The Koran.] + +[Sidenote: How it was preserved.] + +[Sidenote: Value of the Koran as an authority.] + +There is first, of course, the Koran,[270] consisting "exclusively of +the revelations or commands which Mua¸Yammad professed, from time to time, +to receive through Gabriel as a message direct from God; and which, +under an alleged Divine direction, he delivered to those about him. At +the time of pretended inspiration, or shortly after, each passage was +recited by Mua¸Yammad before the Companions or followers who happened to +be present, and was generally committed to writing by some one amongst +them upon palm-leaves, leather, stones, or such other rude material as +conveniently came to hand. These Divine messages continued throughout +the three-and-twenty years of his prophetical life, so that the last +portion did not appear till the year of his death. The canon was then +closed; but the contents were never, during the Prophet's lifetime, +systematically arranged, or even collected together."[271] They were +preserved, however, in fragmentary copies and, especially, by oral +recitation until the sanguinary wars which followed Mua¸Yammad's death had +greatly diminished the number of those who could repeat them by heart. +Accordingly, after the battle of YamAima (633 A.D.) aEuro~Umar b. al-Khaa¹-a¹-Aib +came to AbAº Bakr, who was then Caliph, and said: "I fear that slaughter +may wax hot among the Reciters on other battle-fields, and that much of +the Koran may be lost; so in my opinion it should be collected without +delay." AbAº Bakr agreed, and entrusted the task to Zayd b. ThAibit, one +of the Prophet's amanuenses, who collected the fragments with great +difficulty "from bits of parchment, thin white stones, leafless +palm-branches, and the bosoms of men." The manuscript thus compiled was +deposited with AbAº Bakr during the remainder of his life, then with +aEuro~Umar, on whose death it passed to his daughter a¸¤afa¹La. Afterwards, in +the Caliphate of aEuro~UthmAin, a¸¤udhayfa b. al-YamAin, observing that the Koran +as read in Syria was seriously at variance with the text current in +aEuro~IrAiq, warned the Caliph to interfere, lest the Sacred Book of the +Moslems should become a subject of dispute, like the Jewish and +Christian scriptures. In the year 651 A.D. aEuro~UthmAin ordered Zayd b. +ThAibit to prepare a Revised Version with the assistance of three +Qurayshites, saying to the latter, "If ye differ from Zayd regarding any +word of the Koran, write it in the dialect of Quraysh; for it was +revealed in their dialect."[272] This has ever since remained the final +and standard recension of the Koran. "Transcripts were multiplied and +forwarded to the chief cities in the empire, and all previously existing +copies were, by the Caliph's command, committed to the flames."[273] In +the text as it has come down to us the various readings are few and +unimportant, and its genuineness is above suspicion. We shall see, +moreover, that the Koran is an exceedingly human document, reflecting +every phase of Mua¸Yammad's personality and standing in close relation to +the outward events of his life, so that here we have materials of unique +and incontestable authority for tracing the origin and early development +of Islam--such materials as do not exist in the case of Buddhism or +Christianity or any other ancient religion. Unfortunately the +arrangement of the Koran can only be described as chaotic. No +chronological sequence is observed in the order of the SAºras (chapters), +which is determined simply by their length, the longest being placed +first.[274] Again, the chapters themselves are sometimes made up of +disconnected fragments having nothing in common except the rhyme; whence +it is often impossible to discover the original context of the words +actually spoken by the Prophet, the occasion on which they were +revealed, or the period to which they belong. In these circumstances the +Koran must be supplemented by reference to our second main source of +information, namely, Tradition. + +[Sidenote: 2. Tradition (a¸¤adA-th).] + +[Sidenote: Biographies of Mua¸Yammad.] + +[Sidenote: General collections.] + +[Sidenote: Commentaries on the Koran.] + +Already in the last years of Mua¸Yammad's life (writes Dr. Sprenger) it +was a pious custom that when two Moslems met, one should ask for news +(_a¸YadA-th_) and the other should relate a saying or anecdote of the +Prophet. After his death this custom continued, and the name _a¸¤adA-th_ +was still applied to sayings and stories which were no longer new.[275] +In the course of time an elaborate system of Tradition was built up, as +the Koran--originally the sole criterion by which Moslems were guided +alike in the greatest and smallest matters of public and private +interest--was found insufficient for the complicated needs of a rapidly +extending empire. Appeal was made to the sayings and practice (_sunna_) +of Mua¸Yammad, which now acquired "the force of law and some of the +authority of inspiration." The Prophet had no Boswell, but almost as +soon as he began to preach he was a marked man whose _obiter dicta_ +could not fail to be treasured by his Companions, and whose actions were +attentively watched. Thus, during the first century of Islam there was a +multitude of living witnesses from whom traditions were collected, +committed to memory, and orally handed down. Every tradition consists of +two parts: the text (_matn_) and the authority (_sanad_, or _isnAid_), +_e.g._, the relater says, "I was told by _A_, who was informed by _B_, +who had it from _C_, that the Prophet (God bless him!) and AbAº Bakr and +aEuro~Umar used to open prayer with the words 'Praise to God, the Lord of all +creatures.'" Written records and compilations were comparatively rare in +the early period. Ibn Isa¸YAiq (aEuro 768 A.D.) composed the oldest extant +Biography of the Prophet, which we do not possess, however, in its +original shape but only in the recension of Ibn HishAim (aEuro 833 A.D.). Two +important and excellent works of the same kind are the _KitAibu +aEuro(TM)l-MaghAizA-_ ('Book of the Wars') by WAiqidA- (aEuro 822 A.D.) and the _KitAibu +aEuro(TM)l-a¹¬abaqAit al-KabA-r_ ('The Great Book of the Classes,' _i.e._, the +different classes of Mua¸Yammad's Companions and those who came after +them) by Ibn SaaEuro~d (aEuro 844 A.D.). Of miscellaneous traditions intended to +serve the Faithful as a model and rule of life in every particular, and +arranged in chapters according to the subject-matter, the most ancient +and authoritative collections are those of BukhAirA- (aEuro 870 A.D.) and +Muslim (aEuro 874 A.D.), both of which bear the same title, viz., +_al-a¹caa¸YA-a¸Y_, 'The Genuine.' It only remains to speak of Commentaries on +the Koran. Some passages were explained by Mua¸Yammad himself, but the +real founder of Koranic Exegesis was aEuro~AbdullAih b. aEuro~AbbAis, the Prophet's +cousin. Although the writings of the early interpreters have entirely +perished, the gist of their researches is embodied in the great +commentary of a¹¬abarA- (aEuro 922 A.D.), a man of encyclopA|dic learning who +absorbed the whole mass of tradition existing in his time. Subsequent +commentaries are largely based on this colossal work, which has recently +been published at Cairo in thirty volumes. That of ZamakhsharA- (aEuro 1143 +A.D.), which is entitled the _KashshAif_, and that of Baya¸AiwA- (aEuro 1286 +A.D.) are the best known and most highly esteemed in the Mua¸Yammadan +East. A work of wider scope is the _ItqAin_ of SuyAºa¹-A- (aEuro 1505 A.D.), +which takes a general survey of the Koranic sciences, and may be +regarded as an introduction to the critical study of the Koran. + +[Sidenote: Character of Moslem tradition.] + +While every impartial student will admit the justice of Ibn Qutayba's +claim that no religion has such historical attestations as Islam--_laysa +li-ummatin mina aEuro(TM)l-umami asnAidun ka-asnAidihim_[276]--he must at the same +time cordially assent to the observation made by another Mua¸Yammadan: "In +nothing do we see pious men more given to falsehood than in Tradition" +(_lam nara aEuro(TM)l-a¹LAilia¸YA-na? fA- shayin akdhaba minhum fi aEuro(TM)l-a¸YadA-th_).[277] Of +this severe judgment the reader will find ample confirmation in the +Second Part of Goldziher's _Muhammedanische Studien_.[278] During the +first century of Islam the forging of Traditions became a recognised +political and religious weapon, of which all parties availed themselves. +Even men of the strictest piety practised this species of fraud +(_tadlA-s_), and maintained that the end justified the means. Their point +of view is well expressed in the following words which are supposed to +have been spoken by the Prophet: "You must compare the sayings +attributed to me with the Koran; what agrees therewith is from me, +whether I actually said it or no;" and again, "Whatever good saying has +been said, I myself have said it."[279] As the result of such principles +every new doctrine took the form of an Apostolic _a¸¤adA-th_; every sect +and every system defended itself by an appeal to the authority of +Mua¸Yammad. We may see how enormous was the number of false Traditions in +circulation from the fact that when BukhAirA- (aEuro 870 A.D.) drew up his +collection entitled 'The Genuine' (_al-a¹caa¸YA-a¸Y_), he limited it to some +7,000, which he picked out of 600,000. + +The credibility of Tradition, so far as it concerns the life of the +Prophet, cannot be discussed in this place.[280] The oldest and best +biography, that of Ibn Isa¸YAiq, undoubtedly contains a great deal of +fabulous matter, but his narrative appears to be honest and fairly +authentic on the whole. + + +[Sidenote: Birth of Mua¸Yammad.] + +If we accept the traditional chronology, Mua¸Yammad, son of aEuro~AbdullAih and +Amina, of the tribe of Quraysh, was born at Mecca on the 12th of RabA-aEuro~ +al-Awwal, in the Year of the Elephant (570-571 A.D.). His descent from +Qua¹Layy is shown by the following table:-- + + Qua¹Layy. + a", + aEuro~Abd ManAif. + a", + a"OEa"Euroa"Euroa"Euroa"Euroa"Euroa"Euroa"Euroa"Euroa"'a"Euroa"Euroa"Euroa"Euroa"Euroa"Euroa"Euroa"Euroa"Euroa"Euroa"Euroa" + a", a", + aEuro~Abd Shams. HAishim. + a", a", + Umayya. aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-Mua¹-a¹-alib. + a", + a"OEa"Euroa"Euroa"Euroa"Euroa"Euroa"Euroa"Euroa"Euroa"Euroa"Euroa"Euro+a"Euroa"Euroa"Euroa"Euroa"Euroa"Euroa"Euroa"Euroa"Euroa"Euroa"Euroa"Euroa"Euroa" + a", a", a", + aEuro~AbbAis. aEuro~AbdullAih. AbAº a¹¬Ailib. + a", + MUa¸¤AMMAD. + +[Sidenote: His childhood.] + +Shortly after his birth he was handed over to a Bedouin nurse--a¸¤alA-ma, a +woman of the BanAº SaaEuro~d--so that until he was five years old he breathed +the pure air and learned to speak the unadulterated language of the +desert. One marvellous event which is said to have happened to him at +this time may perhaps be founded on fact:-- + + [Sidenote: Mua¸Yammad and the two angels.] + + "He and his foster-brother" (so a¸¤alA-ma relates) "were among the + cattle behind our encampment when my son came running to us and + cried, 'My brother, the Qurayshite! two men clad in white took him + and laid him on his side and cleft his belly; and they were stirring + their hands in it.' When my husband and I went out to him we found + him standing with his face turned pale, and on our asking, 'What + ails thee, child?' he answered, 'Two men wearing white garments came + to me and laid me on my side and cleft my belly and groped for + something, I know not what.' We brought him back to our tent, and my + husband said to me, 'O a¸¤alA-ma, I fear this lad has been smitten + (_ua¹LA-ba_); so take him home to his family before it becomes + evident.' When we restored him to his mother she said, 'What has + brought thee, nurse? Thou wert so fond of him and anxious that he + should stay with thee.' I said, 'God has made him grow up, and I + have done my part. I feared that some mischance would befall him, so + I brought him back to thee as thou wishest.' 'Thy case is not thus,' + said she; 'tell me the truth,' and she gave me no peace until I told + her. Then she said, 'Art thou afraid that he is possessed by the + Devil?' I said, 'Yes.' 'Nay, by God,' she replied, 'the Devil cannot + reach him; my son hath a high destiny.'"[281] + +Other versions of the story are more explicit. The angels, it is said, +drew forth Mua¸Yammad's heart, cleansed it, and removed the black +clot--_i.e_., the taint of original sin.[282] If these inventions have +any basis at all beyond the desire to glorify the future Prophet, we +must suppose that they refer to some kind of epileptic fit. At a later +period he was subject to such attacks, which, according to the unanimous +voice of Tradition, often coincided with the revelations sent down from +heaven. + +[Sidenote: His meeting with the monk Baa¸YA-rAi.] + +aEuro~AbdullAih had died before the birth of his son, and when, in his sixth +year, Mua¸Yammad lost his mother also, the charge of the orphan was +undertaken first by his grandfather, the aged aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-Mua¹-a¹-alib, and +then by his uncle, AbAº a¹¬Ailib, a poor but honourable man, who nobly +fulfilled the duties of a guardian to the last hour of his life. +Mua¸Yammad's small patrimony was soon spent, and he was reduced to herding +sheep--a despised employment which usually fell to the lot of women or +slaves. In his twelfth year he accompanied AbAº a¹¬Ailib on a trading +expedition to Syria, in the course of which he is said to have +encountered a Christian monk called Baa¸YA-rAi, who discovered the Seal of +Prophecy between the boy's shoulders, and hailed him as the promised +apostle. Such anticipations deserve no credit whatever. The truth is +that until Mua¸Yammad assumed the prophetic rA'le he was merely an obscure +Qurayshite; and scarcely anything related of him anterior to that event +can be deemed historical except his marriage to KhadA-ja, an elderly +widow of considerable fortune, which took place when he was about +twenty-five years of age. + +[Sidenote: The a¸¤anA-fs.] + +During the next fifteen years of his life Mua¸Yammad was externally a +prosperous citizen, only distinguished from those around him by an +habitual expression of thoughtful melancholy. What was passing in his +mind may be conjectured with some probability from his first utterances +when he came forward as a preacher. It is certain, and he himself has +acknowledged, that he formerly shared the idolatry of his countrymen. +"_Did not He find thee astray and lead thee aright?_" (Kor. xciii, 7). +When and how did the process of conversion begin? These questions cannot +be answered, but it is natural to suppose that the all-important result, +on which Mua¸Yammad's biographers concentrate their attention, was +preceded by a long period of ferment and immaturity. The idea of +monotheism was represented in Arabia by the Jews, who were particularly +numerous in the a¸¤ijAiz, and by several gnostic sects of an ascetic +character--_e.g._, the a¹cAibians[283] and the RakAºsians. Furthermore, +"Islamic tradition knows of a number of religious thinkers before +Mua¸Yammad who are described as a¸¤anA-fs,"[284] and of whom the best known +are Waraqa b. Nawfal of Quraysh; Zayd b. aEuro~Amr b. Nufayl, also of +Quraysh; and Umayya b. Abi aEuro(TM)l-a¹calt of ThaqA-f. They formed no sect, as +Sprenger imagined; and more recent research has demonstrated the +baselessness of the same scholar's theory that there was in Pre-islamic +times a widely-spread religious movement which Mua¸Yammad organised, +directed, and employed for his own ends. His Arabian precursors, if they +may be so called, were merely a few isolated individuals. We are told by +Ibn Isa¸YAiq that Waraqa and Zayd, together with two other Qurayshites, +rejected idolatry and left their homes in order to seek the true +religion of Abraham, but whereas Waraqa is said to have become a +Christian, Zayd remained a pious dissenter unattached either to +Christianity or to Judaism; he abstained from idol-worship, from eating +that which had died of itself, from blood, and from the flesh of animals +offered in sacrifice to idols; he condemned the barbarous custom of +burying female infants alive, and said, "I worship the Lord of +Abraham."[285] As regards Umayya b. Abi aEuro(TM)l-a¹calt, according to the notice +of him in the _AghAinA-_, he had inspected and read the Holy Scriptures; +he wore sackcloth as a mark of devotion, held wine to be unlawful, was +inclined to disbelieve in idols, and earnestly sought the true religion. +It is said that he hoped to be sent as a prophet to the Arabs, and +therefore when Mua¸Yammad appeared he envied and bitterly opposed +him.[286] Umayya's verses, some of which have been translated in a +former chapter,[287] are chiefly on religious topics, and show many +points of resemblance with the doctrines set forth in the early SAºras of +the Koran. With one exception, all the a¸¤anA-fs whose names are recorded +belonged to the a¸¤ijAiz and the west of the Arabian peninsula. No doubt +Mua¸Yammad, with whom most of them were contemporary, came under their +influence, and he may have received his first stimulus from this +quarter.[288] While they, however, were concerned only about their own +salvation, Mua¸Yammad, starting from the same position, advanced far +beyond it. His greatness lies not so much in the sublime ideas by which +he was animated as in the tremendous force and enthusiasm of his appeal +to the universal conscience of mankind. + + +[Sidenote: Mua¸Yammad's vision.] + +In his fortieth year, it is said, Mua¸Yammad began to dream dreams and see +visions, and desire solitude above all things else. He withdrew to a +cave on Mount a¸¤irAi, near Mecca, and engaged in religious austerities +(_taa¸Yannuth_). One night in the month of Ramaa¸Ain[289] the Angel[290] +appeared to him and said, "Read!" (_iqraaEuro(TM)_). He answered, "I am no +reader" (_mAi ana bi-qAiriaEuro(TM)in_).[291] Then the Angel seized him with a +strong grasp, saying, "Read!" and, as Mua¸Yammad still refused to obey, +gripped him once more and spoke as follows:-- + + + THE SAsRA OF COAGULATED BLOOD (XCVI). + + (1) Read in the name of thy Lord[292] who created, + (2) Who created Man of blood coagulated. + (3) Read! Thy Lord is the most beneficent, + (4) Who taught by the Pen,[293] + (5) Taught that which they knew not unto men. + +On hearing these words Mua¸Yammad returned, trembling, to KhadA-ja and +cried, "Wrap me up! wrap me up!" and remained covered until the terror +passed away from him.[294] Another tradition relating to the same event +makes it clear that the revelation occurred in a dream.[295] "I awoke," +said the Prophet, "and methought it was written in my heart." If we take +into account the notions prevalent among the Arabs of that time on the +subject of inspiration,[296] it will not appear surprising that Mua¸Yammad +at first believed himself to be possessed, like a poet or soothsayer, by +one of the spirits called collectively _Jinn_. Such was his anguish of +mind that he even meditated suicide, but KhadA-ja comforted and reassured +him, and finally he gained the unalterable conviction that he was not a +prey to demoniacal influences, but a prophet divinely inspired. For some +time he received no further revelation.[297] Then suddenly, as he +afterwards related, he saw the Angel seated on a throne between earth +and heaven. Awe-stricken, he ran into his house and bade them wrap his +limbs in a warm garment (_dithAir_). While he lay thus the following +verses were revealed:-- + + + THE SAsRA OF THE ENWRAPPED (LXXIV). + + (1) O thou who enwrapped dost lie! + (2) Arise and prophesy,[298] + (3) And thy Lord magnify, + (4) And thy raiment purify, + (5) And the abomination fly![299] + +Mua¸Yammad no longer doubted that he had a divinely ordained mission to +preach in public. His feelings of relief and thankfulness are expressed +in several SAºras of this period, _e.g._-- + + + THE SAsRA OF THE MORNING (XCIII). + + (1) By the Morning bright + (2) And the softly falling Night, + (3) Thy Lord hath not forsaken thee, neither art thou hateful in + His sight. + (4) Verily, the Beginning is hard unto thee, but the End shall be + light.[300] + (5) Thou shalt be satisfied, the Lord shall thee requite. + (6) Did not He shelter thee when He found thee in orphan's plight? + (7) Did not He find thee astray and lead thee aright? + (8) Did not He find thee poor and make thee rich by His might? + (9) Wherefore, the orphan betray not, + (10) And the beggar turn away not, + (11) And tell of the bounty of thy Lord. + +[Sidenote: The first Moslems.] + +[Sidenote: Hostility of the Quraysh.] + +[Sidenote: Emigration to Abyssinia.] + +[Sidenote: Temporary reconciliation with the Quraysh.] + +According to his biographers, an interval of three years elapsed between +the sending of Mua¸Yammad and his appearance as a public preacher of the +faith that was in him. Naturally, he would first turn to his own family +and friends, but it is difficult to accept the statement that he made no +proselytes openly during so long a period. The contrary is asserted in +an ancient tradition related by al-ZuhrA- (aEuro 742 A.D.), where we read +that the Prophet summoned the people to embrace Islam[301] both in +private and public; and that those who responded to his appeal were, for +the most part, young men belonging to the poorer class.[302] He found, +however, some influential adherents. Besides KhadA-ja, who was the first +to believe, there were his cousin aEuro~AlA-, his adopted son, Zayd b. +a¸¤Airitha, and, most important of all, AbAº Bakr b. AbA- QuhAifa, a leading +merchant of the Quraysh, universally respected and beloved for his +integrity, wisdom, and kindly disposition. At the outset Mua¸Yammad seems +to have avoided everything calculated to offend the heathens, confining +himself to moral and religious generalities, so that many believed, and +the Meccan aristocrats themselves regarded him with good-humoured +toleration as a harmless oracle-monger. "Look!" they said as he passed +by, "there goes the man of the BanAº aEuro~Abd al-Mua¹-a¹-alib who tells of +heaven." But no sooner did he begin to emphasise the Unity of God, to +fulminate against idolatry, and to preach the Resurrection of the dead, +than his followers melted away in face of the bitter antagonism which +these doctrines excited amongst the Quraysh, who saw in the KaaEuro~ba and +its venerable cult the mainspring of their commercial prosperity, and +were irritated by the Prophet's declaration that their ancestors were +burning in hell-fire. The authority of AbAº a¹¬Ailib secured the personal +safety of Mua¸Yammad; of the little band who remained faithful some were +protected by the strong family feeling characteristic of old Arabian +society, but many were poor and friendless; and these, especially the +slaves, whom the levelling ideas of Islam had attracted in large +numbers, were subjected to cruel persecution.[303] Nevertheless Mua¸Yammad +continued to preach. "I will not forsake this cause" (thus he is said to +have answered AbAº a¹¬Ailib, who informed him of the threatening attitude of +the Quraysh and begged him not to lay on him a greater burden than he +could bear) "until God shall make it prevail or until I shall perish +therein--not though they should set the sun on my right hand and the +moon on my left!"[304] But progress was slow and painful: the Meccans +stood obstinately aloof, deriding both his prophetic authority and the +Divine chastisement with which he sought to terrify them. Moreover, they +used every kind of pressure short of actual violence in order to seduce +his followers, so that many recanted, and in the fifth year of his +mission he saw himself driven to the necessity of commanding a general +emigration to the Christian kingdom of Abyssinia, where the Moslems +would be received with open arms[305] and would be withdrawn from +temptation.[306] About a hundred men and women went into exile, leaving +their Prophet with a small party of staunch and devoted comrades to +persevere in a struggle that was daily becoming more difficult. In a +moment of weakness Mua¸Yammad resolved to attempt a compromise with his +countrymen. One day, it is said, the chief men of Mecca, assembled in a +group beside the KaaEuro~ba, discussed as was their wont the affairs of the +city, when Mua¸Yammad appeared and, seating himself by them in a friendly +manner, began to recite in their hearing the 53rd SAºra of the Koran. +When he came to the verses (19-20)-- + + "Do ye see Al-LAit and Al-aEuro~UzzAi, and ManAit, the third and last?" + +Satan prompted him to add:-- + + "These are the most exalted Cranes (or Swans), + And verily their intercession is to be hoped for." + +The Quraysh were surprised and delighted with this acknowledgment of +their deities; and as Mua¸Yammad wound up the SAºra with the closing +words-- + + "Wherefore bow down before God and serve Him," + +the whole assembly prostrated themselves with one accord on the ground +and worshipped.[307] But scarcely had Mua¸Yammad returned to his house +when he repented of the sin into which he had fallen. He cancelled the +idolatrous verses and revealed in their place those which now stand in +the Koran-- + + "Shall yours be the male and his the female?[308] + This were then an unjust division! + They are naught but names which ye and your fathers have named." + +[Sidenote: Mua¸Yammad's concession to the idolaters.] + +We can easily comprehend why Ibn HishAim omits all mention of this +episode from his Biography, and why the fact itself is denied by many +Moslem theologians.[309] The Prophet's friends were scandalised, his +enemies laughed him to scorn. It was probably no sudden lapse, as +tradition represents, but a calculated endeavour to come to terms with +the Quraysh; and so far from being immediately annulled, the +reconciliation seems to have lasted long enough for the news of it to +reach the emigrants in Abyssinia and induce some of them to return to +Mecca. While putting the best face on the matter, Mua¸Yammad felt keenly +both his own disgrace and the public discredit. It speaks well for his +sincerity that, as soon as he perceived any compromise with idolatry to +be impossible--to be, in fact, a surrender of the great principle by +which he was inspired--he frankly confessed his error and delusion. +Henceforth he "wages mortal strife with images in every shape"--there is +no god but Allah. + +[Sidenote: Death of KhadA-ja and AbAº a¹¬Ailib.] + +The further course of events which culminated in Mua¸Yammad's Flight to +MedA-na may be sketched in a few words. Persecution now waxed hotter than +ever, as the Prophet, rising from his temporary vacillation like a giant +refreshed, threw his whole force into the denunciation of idolatry. The +conversion of aEuro~Umar b. al-Khaa¹-a¹-Aib, the future Caliph, a man of 'blood +and iron,' gave the signal for open revolt. "The Moslems no longer +concealed their worship within their own dwellings, but with conscious +strength and defiant attitude assembled in companies about the KaaEuro~ba, +performed their rites of prayer and compassed the Holy House. Their +courage rose. Dread and uneasiness seized the Quraysh." The latter +retaliated by cutting off all relations with the HAishimites, who were +pledged to defend their kinsman, whether they recognised him as a +prophet or no. This ban or boycott secluded them in an outlying quarter +of the city, where for more than two years they endured the utmost +privations, but it only cemented their loyalty to Mua¸Yammad, and +ultimately dissensions among the Quraysh themselves caused it to be +removed. Shortly afterwards the Prophet suffered a double +bereavement--the death of his wife, KhadA-ja, was followed by that of the +noble AbAº a¹¬Ailib, who, though he never accepted Islam, stood firm to the +last in defence of his brother's son. Left alone to protect himself, +Mua¸Yammad realised that he must take some decisive step. The situation +was critical. Events had shown that he had nothing to hope and +everything to fear from the Meccan aristocracy. He had warned them again +and again of the wrath to come, yet they gave no heed. He was now +convinced that they would not and could not believe, since God in His +inscrutable wisdom had predestined them to eternal damnation. +Consequently he resolved on a bold and, according to Arab ways of +thinking, abominable expedient, namely, to abandon his fellow-tribesmen +and seek aid from strangers.[310] Having vainly appealed to the +inhabitants of a¹¬AiaEuro(TM)if, he turned to MedA-na, where, among a population +largely composed of Jews, the revolutionary ideas of Islam might more +readily take root and flourish than in the Holy City of Arabian +heathendom. This time he was not disappointed. A strong party in MedA-na +hailed him as the true Prophet, eagerly embraced his creed, and swore to +defend him at all hazards. In the spring of the year 622 A.D. the +Moslems of Mecca quietly left their homes and journeyed northward. A few +months later (September, 622) Mua¸Yammad himself, eluding the vigilance of +the Quraysh, entered MedA-na in triumph amidst the crowds and +acclamations due to a conqueror. + +[Sidenote: The _Hijra_ or Migration to Medina (622 A.D.).] + +This is the celebrated Migration or Hegira (properly _Hijra_) which +marks the end of the Barbaric Age (_al-JAihiliyya_) and the beginning of +the Mua¸Yammadan Era. It also marks a new epoch in the Prophet's history; +but before attempting to indicate the nature of the change it will be +convenient, in order that we may form a juster conception of his +character, to give some account of his early teaching and preaching as +set forth in that portion of the Koran which was revealed at Mecca. + +[Sidenote: The Koran.] + +[Sidenote: Was Mua¸Yammad poet?] + +Koran (QuraEuro(TM)Ain) is derived from the Arabic root _qaraaEuro(TM)a_, 'to read,' and +means 'reading aloud' or 'chanting.' This term may be applied either to +a single Revelation or to several recited together or, in its usual +acceptation, to the whole body of Revelations which are thought by +Moslems to be, actually and literally, the Word of God; so that in +quoting from the Koran they say _qAila aEuro(TM)llAihu_, _i.e._, 'God said.' Each +Revelation forms a separate _SAºra_ (chapter)[311] composed of verses of +varying length which have no metre but are generally rhymed. Thus, as +regards its external features, the style of the Koran is modelled upon +the _SajaEuro~_,[312] or rhymed prose, of the pagan soothsayers, but with +such freedom that it may fairly be described as original. Since it was +not in Mua¸Yammad's power to create a form that should be absolutely new, +his choice lay between _SajaEuro~_ and poetry, the only forms of elevated +style then known to the Arabs. He himself declared that he was no +poet,[313] and this is true in the sense that he may have lacked the +technical accomplishment of verse-making. It must, however, be borne in +mind that his disavowal does not refer primarily to the poetic art, but +rather to the person and character of the poets themselves. He, the +divinely inspired Prophet, could have nothing to do with men who owed +their inspiration to demons and gloried in the ideals of paganism which +he was striving to overthrow. "_And the poets do those follow who go +astray! Dost thou not see that they wander distraught in every vale? and +that they say that which they do not?_" (Kor. xxvi, 224-226). Mua¸Yammad +was not of these; although he was not so unlike them as he pretended. +His kinship with the pagan _ShAiaEuro~ir_ is clearly shown, for example, in +the 113th and 114th SAºras, which are charms against magic and +_diablerie_, as well as in the solemn imprecation calling down +destruction upon the head of his uncle, aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~UzzAi, nicknamed AbAº +Lahab (Father of Flame). + + + THE SAsRA OF ABAs LAHAB (CXI). + + (1) Perish the hands of AbAº Lahab and perish he! + (2) His wealth shall not avail him nor all he hath gotten in fee. + (3) Burned in blazing fire he shall be! + (4) And his wife, the faggot-bearer, also she. + (5) Upon her neck a cord of fibres of the palm-tree. + +If, then, we must allow that Mua¸Yammad's contemporaries had some +justification for bestowing upon him the title of poet against which he +protested so vehemently, still less can his plea be accepted by the +modern critic, whose verdict will be that the Koran is not poetical as a +whole; that it contains many pages of rhetoric and much undeniable +prose; but that, although Mua¸Yammad needed "heaven-sent moments for this +skill," in the early Meccan SAºras frequently, and fitfully elsewhere, +his genius proclaims itself by grand lyrical outbursts which could never +have been the work of a mere rhetorician. + + [Sidenote: The Meccan SAºras.] + + "Mua¸Yammad's single aim in the Meccan SAºras," says NA¶ldeke, "is to + convert the people, by means of persuasion, from their false gods to + the One God. To whatever point the discourse is directed, this + always remains the ground-thought; but instead of seeking to + convince the reason of his hearers by logical proofs, he employs the + arts of rhetoric to work upon their minds through the imagination. + Thus he glorifies God, describes His working in Nature and History, + and ridicules on the other hand the impotence of the idols. + Especially important are the descriptions of the everlasting bliss + of the pious and the torments of the wicked: these, particularly the + latter, must be regarded as one of the mightiest factors in the + propagation of Islam, through the impression which they make on the + imagination of simple men who have not been hardened, from their + youth up, by similar theological ideas. The Prophet often attacks + his heathen adversaries personally and threatens them with eternal + punishment; but while he is living among heathens alone, he seldom + assails the Jews who stand much nearer to him, and the Christians + scarcely ever."[314] + +The preposterous arrangement of the Koran, to which I have already +adverted, is mainly responsible for the opinion almost unanimously held +by European readers that it is obscure, tiresome, uninteresting; a +farrago of long-winded narratives and prosaic exhortations, quite +unworthy to be named in the same breath with the Prophetical Books of +the Old Testament. One may, indeed, peruse the greater part of the +volume, beginning with the first chapter, and find but a few passages of +genuine enthusiasm to relieve the prevailing dulness. It is in the short +SAºras placed at the end of the Koran that we must look for evidence of +Mua¸Yammad's prophetic gift. These are the earliest of all; in these the +flame of inspiration burns purely and its natural force is not abated. +The following versions, like those which have preceded, imitate the +original form as closely, I think, as is possible in English. They +cannot, of course, do more than faintly suggest the striking effect of +the sonorous Arabic when read aloud. The Koran was designed for oral +recitation, and it must be _heard_ in order to be justly appraised. + + + THE SAsRA OF THE SEVERING (LXXXII). + + (1) When the Sky shall be severA"d, + (2) And when the Stars shall be shiverA"d, + (3) And when the Seas to mingle shall be sufferA"d, + (4) And when the Graves shall be uncoverA"d-- + (5) A soul shall know that which it hath deferred or deliverA"d.[315] + (6) O Man, what beguiled thee against thy gracious Master to rebel, + (7) Who created thee and fashioned thee right and thy frame did fairly + build? + (8) He composed thee in whatever form He willed. + (9) Nay, but ye disbelieve in the Ordeal![316] + (10) Verily over you are Recorders honourable, + (11) Your deeds inscribing without fail:[317] + (12) What ye do they know well. + (13) Surely the pious in delight shall dwell, + (14) And surely the wicked shall be in Hell, + (15) Burning there on the Day of Ordeal; + (16) And evermore Hell-fire they shall feel! + (17) What shall make thee to understand what is the Day of Ordeal? + (18) Again, what shall make thee to understand what is the Day + of Ordeal?-- + (19) A Day when one soul shall not obtain anything for another soul, + but the command on that Day shall be with God alone. + + + THE SAsRA OF THE SIGNS (LXXXV). + + (1) By the Heaven in which Signs are set, + (2) By the Day that is promisA"d, + (3) By the Witness and the WitnessA"d:-- + (4) CursA"d be the Fellows of the Pit, they that spread + (5) The fire with fuel fed, + (6) When they sate by its head + (7) And saw how their contrivance against the Believers sped;[318] + (8) And they punished them not save that they believed on God, + the Almighty, the Glorified, + (9) To whom is the Kingdom of Heaven and Earth, and He + seeth every thing beside. + (10) Verily, for those who afflict believing men and women and + repent not, the torment of Gehenna and the torment of + burning is prepared. + (11) Verily, for those who believe and work righteousness are + Gardens beneath which rivers flow: this is the great + Reward. + (12) Stern is the vengeance of thy Lord. + (13) He createth the living and reviveth the dead: + (14) He doth pardon and kindly entreat: + (15) The majestic Throne is His seat: + (16) That he willeth He doeth indeed. + (17) Hath not word come to thee of the multitude + (18) Of Pharaoh, and of ThamAºd?[319] + (19) Nay, the infidels cease not from falsehood, + (20) But God encompasseth them about. + (21) Surely, it is a Sublime Koran that ye read, + (22) On a Table inviolate.[320] + + + THE SAsRA OF THE SMITING (CI). + + (1) The Smiting! What is the Smiting? + (2) And how shalt thou be made to understand what is the Smiting? + (3) The Day when Men shall be as flies scatterA"d, + (4) And the Mountains shall be as shreds of wool tatterA"d. + (5) One whose Scales are heavy, a pleasing life he shall spend, + (6) But one whose Scales are light, to the Abyss he shall descend. + (7) What that is, how shalt thou be made to comprehend? + (8) Scorching Fire without end! + + + THE SAsRA OF THE UNBELIEVERS (CIX). + + (1) Say: 'O Unbelievers, + (2) I worship not that which ye worship, + (3) And ye worship not that which I worship. + (4) Neither will I worship that which ye worship, + (5) Nor will ye worship that which I worship. + (6) Ye have your religion and I have my religion.' + +[Sidenote: The teaching of Mua¸Yammad at Mecca.] + +To summarise the cardinal doctrines preached by Mua¸Yammad during the +Meccan period:-- + +1. There is no god but God. + +2. Mua¸Yammad is the Apostle of God, and the Koran is the Word of God +revealed to His Apostle. + +3. The dead shall be raised to life at the Last Judgment, when every one +shall be judged by his actions in the present life. + +4. The pious shall enter Paradise and the wicked shall go down to Hell. + +Taking these doctrines separately, let us consider a little more in +detail how each of them is stated and by what arguments it is enforced. +The time had not yet come for drawing the sword: Mua¸Yammad repeats again +and again that he is only a warner (_nadhA-r_) invested with no authority +to compel where he cannot persuade. + +[Sidenote: The Unity of God.] + +1. The Meccans acknowledged the supreme position of Allah, but in +ordinary circumstances neglected him in favour of their idols, so that, +as Mua¸Yammad complains, "_When danger befalls you on the sea, the gods +whom ye invoke are forgotten except Him alone; yet when He brought you +safe to land, ye turned your backs on Him, for Man is ungrateful._"[321] +They were strongly attached to the cult of the KaaEuro~ba, not only by +self-interest, but also by the more respectable motives of piety towards +their ancestors and pride in their traditions. Mua¸Yammad himself regarded +Allah as Lord of the KaaEuro~ba, and called upon the Quraysh to worship him +as such (Kor. cvi, 3). When they refused to do so on the ground that +they were afraid lest the Arabs should rise against them and drive them +forth from the land, he assured them that Allah was the author of all +their prosperity (Kor. xxviii, 57). His main argument, however, is drawn +from the weakness of the idols, which cannot create even a fly, +contrasted with the wondrous manifestations of Divine power and +providence in the creation of the heavens and the earth and all living +things.[322] + +It was probably towards the close of the Meccan period that Mua¸Yammad +summarised his Unitarian ideas in the following emphatic formula:-- + + + THE SAsRA OF PURIFICATION (CXII).[323] + + (1) Say: 'God is One; + (2) God who liveth on; + (3) Without father and without son; + (4) And like to Him there is none!' + +[Sidenote: Mua¸Yammad, the Apostle of God.] + +2. We have seen that when Mua¸Yammad first appeared as a prophet he was +thought by all except a very few to be _majnAºn_, _i.e._, possessed by a +_jinnA-_, or genie, if I may use a word which will send the reader back +to his _Arabian Nights_. The heathen Arabs regarded such +persons--soothsayers, diviners, and poets--with a certain respect; and +if Mua¸Yammad's 'madness' had taken a normal course, his claim to +inspiration would have passed unchallenged. What moved the Quraysh to +oppose him was not disbelief in his inspiration--it mattered little to +them whether he was under the spell of Allah or one of the _Jinn_--but +the fact that he preached doctrines which wounded their sentiments, +threatened their institutions, and subverted the most cherished +traditions of old Arabian life. But in order successfully to resist the +propaganda for which he alleged a Divine warrant, they were obliged to +meet him on his own ground and to maintain that he was no prophet at +all, no Apostle of Allah, as he asserted, but "an insolent liar," "a +schooled madman," "an infatuated poet," and so forth; and that his +Koran, which he gave out to be the Word of Allah, was merely "old folks' +tales" (_asAia¹-A-ru aEuro(TM)l-awwalA-n_), or the invention of a poet or a sorcerer. +"Is not he," they cried, "a man like ourselves, who wishes to domineer +over us? Let him show us a miracle, that we may believe." Mua¸Yammad could +only reiterate his former assertions and warn the infidels that a +terrible punishment was in store for them either in this world or the +next. Time after time he compares himself to the ancient prophets--Noah, +Abraham, Moses, and their successors--who are represented as employing +exactly the same arguments and receiving the same answers as Mua¸Yammad; +and bids his people hearken to him lest they utterly perish like the +ungodly before them. The truth of the Koran is proved, he says, by the +Pentateuch and the Gospel, all being Revelations of the One God, and +therefore identical in substance. He is no mercenary soothsayer, he +seeks no personal advantage: his mission is solely to preach. The demand +for a miracle he could not satisfy except by pointing to his visions of +the Angel and especially to the Koran itself, every verse of which was a +distinct sign or miracle (_Aiyat_).[324] If he has forged it, why are his +adversaries unable to produce anything similar? "_Say: 'If men and +genies united to bring the like of this Koran, they could not bring the +like although they should back each other up'_" (Kor. xvii, 90). + +[Sidenote: Resurrection and Retribution.] + +3. Such notions of a future life as were current in Pre-islamic Arabia +never rose beyond vague and barbarous superstition, _e.g._, the fancy +that the dead man's tomb was haunted by his spirit in the shape of a +screeching owl.[325] No wonder, then, that the ideas of Resurrection and +Retribution, which are enforced by threats and arguments on almost every +page of the Koran, appeared to the Meccan idolaters absurdly ridiculous +and incredible. "_Does Ibn Kabsha promise us that we shall live?_" said +one of their poets. "_How can there be life for the a¹LadAi and the hAima? +Dost thou omit to ward me from death, and wilt thou revive me when my +bones are rotten?_"[326] God provided His Apostle with a ready answer to +these gibes: "_Say: 'He shall revive them who produced them at first, +for He knoweth every creation_" (Kor. xxxvi, 79). This topic is +eloquently illustrated, but Mua¸Yammad's hearers were probably less +impressed by the creative power of God as exhibited in Nature and in Man +than by the awful examples, to which reference has been made, of His +destructive power as manifested in History. To Mua¸Yammad himself, at the +outset of his mission, it seemed an appalling certainty that he must one +day stand before God and render an account; the overmastering sense of +his own responsibility goaded him to preach in the hope of saving his +countrymen, and supplied him, weak and timorous as he was, with strength +to endure calumny and persecution. As NA¶ldeke has remarked, the grandest +SAºras of the whole Koran are those in which Mua¸Yammad describes how all +Nature trembles and quakes at the approach of the Last Judgment. "It is +as though one actually saw the earth heaving, the mountains crumbling to +dust, and the stars hurled hither and thither in wild confusion."[327] +SAºras lxxxii and ci, which have been translated above, are specimens of +the true prophetic style.[328] + +[Sidenote: The Mua¸Yammadan Paradise.] + +4. There is nothing spiritual in Mua¸Yammad's pictures of Heaven and Hell. +His Paradise is simply a glorified pleasure-garden, where the pious +repose in cool shades, quaffing spicy wine and diverting themselves with +the Houris (_a¸¤Aºr_), lovely dark-eyed damsels like pearls hidden in their +shells.[329] This was admirably calculated to allure his hearers by +reminding them of one of their chief enjoyments--the gay drinking +parties which occasionally broke the monotony of Arabian life, and which +are often described in Pre-islamic poetry; indeed, it is highly probable +that Mua¸Yammad drew a good deal of his Paradise from this source. The +gross and sensual character of the Mua¸Yammadan Afterworld is commonly +thought to betray a particular weakness of the Prophet or is charged to +the Arabs in general, but as Professor Bevan has pointed out, "the real +explanation seems to be that at first the idea of a future retribution +was absolutely new both to Mua¸Yammad himself and to the public which he +addressed. Paradise and Hell had no traditional associations, and the +Arabic language furnished no religious terminology for the expression of +such ideas; if they were to be made comprehensible at all, it could only +be done by means of precise descriptions, of imagery borrowed from +earthly affairs."[330] + +[Sidenote: Prayer.] + +Mua¸Yammad was no mere visionary. Ritual observances, vigils, and other +austerities entered largely into his religion, endowing it with the +formal and ascetic character which it retains to the present day. Prayer +was introduced soon after the first Revelations: in one of the oldest +(SAºra lxxxvii, 14-15) we read, "_Prosperous is he who purifies himself +(or gives alms) and repeats the name of his Lord and prays._" Although +the five daily prayers obligatory upon every true believer are nowhere +mentioned in the Koran, the opening chapter (_SAºratu aEuro(TM)l-FAitia¸Ya_), which +answers to our Lord's Prayer, is constantly recited on these occasions, +and is seldom omitted from any act of public or private devotion. Since +the _FAitia¸Ya_ probably belongs to the latest Meccan period, it may find a +place here. + + + THE OPENING SAsRA (I). + + (1) In the name of God, the Merciful, who forgiveth aye! + (2) Praise to God, the Lord of all that be, + (3) The Merciful, who forgiveth aye, + (4) The King of Judgment Day! + (5) Thee we worship and for Thine aid we pray. + (6) Lead us in the right way, + (7) The way of those to whom thou hast been gracious, against + whom thou hast not waxed wroth, and who go not + astray! + +[Sidenote: The Night journey and Ascension of Mua¸Yammad.] + +About the same time, shortly before the Migration, Mua¸Yammad dreamed that +he was transported from the KaaEuro~ba to the Temple at Jerusalem, and thence +up to the seventh heaven. The former part of the vision is indicated in +the Koran (xvii, 1): "_Glory to him who took His servant a journey by +night from the Sacred Mosque to the Farthest Mosque, the precinct +whereof we have blessed, to show him of our signs!_" Tradition has +wondrously embellished the _MiaEuro~rAij_, by which name the Ascension of the +Prophet is generally known throughout the East; while in Persia and +Turkey it has long been a favourite theme for the mystic and the poet. +According to the popular belief, which is also held by the majority of +Moslem divines, Mua¸Yammad was transported in the body to his journey's +end, but he himself never countenanced this literal interpretation, +though it seems to have been current in Mecca, and we are told that it +caused some of his incredulous followers to abandon their faith. + +[Sidenote: Mua¸Yammad at MedA-na.] + +Possessed and inspired by the highest idea of which man is capable, +fearlessly preaching the truth revealed to him, leading almost alone +what long seemed to be a forlorn hope against the impregnable stronghold +of superstition, yet facing these tremendous odds with a calm resolution +which yielded nothing to ridicule or danger, but defied his enemies to +do their worst--Mua¸Yammad in the early part of his career presents a +spectacle of grandeur which cannot fail to win our sympathy and +admiration. At MedA-na, whither we must now return, he appears in a less +favourable light: the days of pure religious enthusiasm have passed away +for ever, and the Prophet is overshadowed by the Statesman. The +Migration was undoubtedly essential to the establishment of Islam. It +was necessary that Mua¸Yammad should cut himself off from his own people +in order that he might found a community in which not blood but religion +formed the sole bond that was recognised. This task he +accomplished with consummate sagacity and skill, though some of the +methods which he employed can only be excused by his conviction that +whatever he did was done in the name of Allah. As the supreme head of +the Moslem theocracy both in spiritual and temporal matters--for Islam +allows no distinction between Church and State--he exercised absolute +authority, and he did not hesitate to justify by Divine mandate acts of +which the heathen Arabs, cruel and treacherous as they were, might have +been ashamed to be guilty. We need not inquire how much was due to +belief in his inspiration and how much to deliberate policy. If it +revolts us to see God Almighty introduced in the rA'le of special +pleader, we ought to remember that Mua¸Yammad, being what he was, could +scarcely have considered the question from that point of view. + +[Sidenote: MedA-na predisposed to welcome Mua¸Yammad as Legislator and +Prophet.] + +The conditions prevailing at MedA-na were singularly adapted to his +design. Ever since the famous battle of BuaEuro~Aith (about 615 A.D.), in +which the BanAº Aws, with the help of their Jewish allies, the BanAº +Qurayaº"a and the BanAº Naa¸A-r, inflicted a crushing defeat upon the BanAº +Khazraj, the city had been divided into two hostile camps; and if peace +had hitherto been preserved, it was only because both factions were too +exhausted to renew the struggle. Wearied and distracted by earthly +calamities, men's minds willingly admit the consolations of religion. We +find examples of this tendency at MedA-na even before the Migration. AbAº +aEuro~Amir, whose ascetic life gained for him the title of 'The Monk' +(_al-RAihib_), is numbered among the _a¸¤anA-fs_.[331] He fought in the +ranks of the Quraysh at Ua¸Yud, and finally went to Syria, where he died +an outlaw. Another Pre-islamic monotheist of MedA-na, AbAº Qays b. AbA- +Anas, is said to have turned Moslem in his old age.[332] + + "The inhabitants of MedA-na had no material interest in idol-worship + and no sanctuary to guard. Through uninterrupted contact with the + Jews of the city and neighbourhood, as also with the Christian + tribes settled in the extreme north of Arabia on the confines of the + Byzantine Empire, they had learned, as it were instinctively, to + despise their inherited belief in idols and to respect the far + nobler and purer faith in a single God; and lastly, they had become + accustomed to the idea of a Divine revelation by means of a special + scripture of supernatural origin, like the Pentateuch and the + Gospel. From a religious standpoint paganism in MedA-na offered no + resistance to Islam: as a faith, it was dead before it was attacked; + none defended it, none mourned its disappearance. The pagan + opposition to Mua¸Yammad's work as a reformer was entirely + political, and proceeded from those who wished to preserve the + anarchy of the old heathen life, and who disliked the dictatorial + rule of Mua¸Yammad."[333] + +[Sidenote: Parties in MedA-na.] + +There were in MedA-na four principal parties, consisting of those who +either warmly supported or actively opposed the Prophet, or who adopted +a relatively neutral attitude, viz., the Emigrants (_MuhAijirAºn_), the +Helpers (_Ana¹LAir_), the Hypocrites (_MunAifiqAºn_), and the Jews (_YahAºd_). + +[Sidenote: The Emigrants.] + +The Emigrants were those Moslems who left their homes at Mecca and +accompanied the Prophet in his Migration (_Hijra_)--whence their name, +_MuhAijirAºn_--to MedA-na in the year 622. Inasmuch as they had lost +everything except the hope of victory and vengeance, he could count upon +their fanatical devotion to himself. + +[Sidenote: The Helpers.] + +The Helpers were those inhabitants of MedA-na who had accepted Islam and +pledged themselves to protect Mua¸Yammad in case of attack. Together with +the Emigrants they constituted a formidable and ever-increasing body of +true believers, the first champions of the Church militant. + + [Sidenote: The Hypocrites.] + + "Many citizens of MedA-na, however, were not so well disposed towards + Mua¸Yammad, and neither acknowledged him as a Prophet nor would + submit to him as their Ruler; but since they durst not come forward + against him openly on account of the multitude of his enthusiastic + adherents, they met him with a passive resistance which more than + once thwarted his plans, their influence was so great that he, on + his part, did not venture to take decisive measures against them, + and sometimes even found it necessary to give way."[334] + +These are the Hypocrites whom Mua¸Yammad describes in the following +verses of the Koran:-- + + + THE SAsRA OF THE HEIFER (II). + + (7) And there are those among men who say, 'We believe in God + and in the Last Day'; but they do not believe. + + (8) They would deceive God and those who do believe; but they + deceive only themselves and they do not perceive. + + (9) In their hearts is a sickness, and God has made them still more + sick, and for them is grievous woe because they lied.[335] + +Their leader, aEuro~AbdullAih b. Ubayy, an able man but of weak character, was +no match for Mua¸Yammad, whom he and his partisans only irritated, without +ever becoming really dangerous. + +[Sidenote: The Jews.] + +The Jews, on the other hand, gave the Prophet serious trouble. At first +he cherished high hopes that they would accept the new Revelation which +he brought to them, and which he maintained to be the original Word of +God as it was formerly revealed to Abraham and Moses; but when the Jews, +perceiving the absurdity of this idea, plied him with all sorts of +questions and made merry over his ignorance, Mua¸Yammad, keenly alive to +the damaging effect of the criticism to which he had exposed himself, +turned upon his tormentors, and roundly accused them of having falsified +and corrupted their Holy Books. Henceforth he pursued them with a deadly +hatred against which their political disunion rendered them helpless. A +few sought refuge in Islam; the rest were either slaughtered or driven +into exile. + +It is impossible to detail here the successive steps by which Mua¸Yammad +in the course of a few years overcame all opposition and established the +supremacy of Islam from one end of Arabia to the other. I shall notice +the outstanding events very briefly in order to make room for matters +which are more nearly connected with the subject of this History. + + +[Sidenote: Beginnings of the Moslem State.] + +Mua¸Yammad's first care was to reconcile the desperate factions within the +city and to introduce law and order among the heterogeneous elements +which have been described. "He drew up in writing a charter between the +Emigrants and the Helpers, in which charter he embodied a covenant with +the Jews, confirming them in the exercise of their religion and in the +possession of their properties, imposing upon them certain obligations, +and granting to them certain rights."[336] This remarkable document is +extant in Ibn HishAim's _Biography of Mua¸Yammad_, pp. 341-344. Its +contents have been analysed in masterly fashion by Wellhausen,[337] who +observes with justice that it was no solemn covenant, accepted and duly +ratified by representatives of the parties concerned, but merely a +decree of Mua¸Yammad based upon conditions already existing which had +developed since his arrival in MedA-na. At the same time no one can study +it without being impressed by the political genius of its author. +Ostensibly a cautious and tactful reform, it was in reality a +revolution. Mua¸Yammad durst not strike openly at the independence of the +tribes, but he destroyed it, in effect, by shifting the centre of power +from the tribe to the community; and although the community included +Jews and pagans as well as Moslems, he fully recognised, what his +opponents failed to foresee, that the Moslems were the active, and must +soon be the predominant, partners in the newly founded State. + +[Sidenote: Battle of Badr, January, 624 A.D.] + +[Sidenote: Battle of Ua¸Yud, 625 A.D.] + +[Sidenote: Submission of Mecca, 630 A.D.] + +All was now ripe for the inevitable struggle with the Quraysh, and God +revealed to His Apostle several verses of the Koran in which the +Faithful are commanded to wage a Holy War against them: "_Permission is +given to those who fight because they have been wronged,--and verily God +to help them has the might,--who have been driven forth from their homes +undeservedly, only for that they said, 'Our Lord is God'_" (xxii, +40-41). "_Kill them wherever ye find them, and drive them out from +whence they drive you out_" (ii, 187). "_Fight them that there be no +sedition and that the religion may be God's_" (ii, 189). In January, 624 +A.D., the Moslems, some three hundred strong, won a glorious victory at +Badr over a greatly superior force which had marched out from Mecca to +relieve a rich caravan that Mua¸Yammad threatened to cut off. The Quraysh +fought bravely, but were borne down by the irresistible onset of men who +had learned discipline in the mosque and looked upon death as a sure +passport to Paradise. Of the Moslems only fourteen fell; the Quraysh +lost forty-nine killed and about the same number of prisoners. But the +importance of Mua¸Yammad's success cannot be measured by the material +damage which he inflicted. Considering the momentous issues involved, we +must allow that Badr, like Marathon, is one of the greatest and most +memorable battles in all history. Here, at last, was the miracle which +the Prophet's enemies demanded of him: "_Ye have had a sign in the two +parties who met; one party fighting in the way of God, the other +misbelieving; these saw twice the same number as themselves to the +eyesight, for God aids with His help those whom He pleases. Verily in +that is a lesson for those who have perception_" (Kor. iii, 11). And +again, "_Ye slew them not, but God slew them_" (Kor. viii, 17). The +victory of Badr turned all eyes upon Mua¸Yammad. However little the Arabs +cared for his religion, they could not but respect the man who had +humbled the lords of Mecca. He was now a power in the land--"Mua¸Yammad, +King of the a¸¤ijAiz."[338] In MedA-na his cause flourished mightily. The +zealots were confirmed in their faith, the waverers convinced, the +disaffected overawed. He sustained a serious, though temporary, check in +the following year at Ua¸Yud, where a Moslem army was routed by the +Quraysh under AbAº SufyAin, but the victors were satisfied with having +taken vengeance for Badr and made no attempt to follow up their +advantage; while Mua¸Yammad, never resting on his laurels, never losing +sight of the goal, proceeded with remorseless calculation to crush his +adversaries one after the other, until in January, 630 A.D., the Meccans +themselves, seeing the futility of further resistance, opened their +gates to the Prophet and acknowledged the omnipotence of Allah. The +submission of the Holy City left Mua¸Yammad without a rival in Arabia. His +work was almost done. Deputations from the Bedouin tribes poured into +MedA-na, offering allegiance to the conqueror of the Quraysh, and +reluctantly subscribing to a religion in which they saw nothing so +agreeable as the prospect of plundering its enemies. + +[Sidenote: Death of Mua¸Yammad, 632 A.D.] + +Mua¸Yammad died, after a brief illness, on the 8th of June, 632 A.D. He +was succeeded as head of the Moslem community by his old friend and +ever-loyal supporter, AbAº Bakr, who thus became the first _KhalA-fa_, or +Caliph. It only remains to take up our survey of the Koran, which we +have carried down to the close of the Meccan period, and to indicate the +character and contents of the Revelation during the subsequent decade. + + +[Sidenote: The MedA-na SAºras.] + +The MedA-na SAºras faithfully reflect the marvellous change in Mua¸Yammad's +fortunes, which began with his flight from Mecca. He was now recognised +as the Prophet and Apostle of God, but this recognition made him an +earthly potentate and turned his religious activity into secular +channels. One who united in himself the parts of prince, legislator, +politician, diplomatist, and general may be excused if he sometimes +neglected the Divine injunction to arise and preach, or at any rate +interpreted it in a sense very different from that which he formerly +attached to it. The Revelations of this time deal, to a large extent, +with matters of legal, social, and political interest; they promulgate +religious ordinances--_e.g._, fasting, alms-giving, and +pilgrimage--expound the laws of marriage and divorce, and comment upon +the news of the day; often they serve as bulletins or manifestoes in +which Mua¸Yammad justifies what he has done, urges the Moslems to fight +and rebukes the laggards, moralises on a victory or defeat, proclaims a +truce, and says, in short, whatever the occasion seems to require. +Instead of the Meccan idolaters, his opponents in MedA-na--the Jews and +Hypocrites--have become the great rocks of offence; the Jews especially +are denounced in long passages as a stiff-necked generation who never +hearkened to their own prophets of old. However valuable historically, +the MedA-na SAºras do not attract the literary reader. In their flat and +tedious style they resemble those of the later Meccan period. Now and +again the ashes burst into flame, though such moments of splendour are +increasingly rare, as in the famous 'Throne-verse' (_Ayatu aEuro(TM)l-KursA-_):-- + + [Sidenote: The 'Throne-verse.'] + + "God, there is no god but He, the living, the self-subsistent. + Slumber takes Him not, nor sleep. His is what is in the heavens and + what is in the earth. Who is it that intercedes with Him save by His + permission? He knows what is before them and what behind them, and + they comprehend not aught of His knowledge but of what He pleases. + His throne extends over the heavens and the earth, and it tires Him + not to guard them both, for He is high and grand."[339] + +[Sidenote: The nationalisation of Islam.] + +The Islam which Mua¸Yammad brought with him to MedA-na was almost entirely +derived by oral tradition from Christianity and Judaism, and just for +this reason it made little impression on the heathen Arabs, whose +religious ideas were generally of the most primitive kind. +Notwithstanding its foreign character and the absence of anything which +appealed to Arabian national sentiment, it spread rapidly in MedA-na, +where, as we have seen, the soil was already prepared for it; but one +may well doubt whether it could have extended its sway over the +peninsula unless the course of events had determined Mua¸Yammad to +associate the strange doctrines of Islam with the ancient heathen +sanctuary at Mecca, the KaaEuro~ba, which was held in universal veneration by +the Arabs and formed the centre of a worship that raised no difficulties +in their minds. Before he had lived many months in MedA-na the Prophet +realised that his hope of converting the Jews was doomed to +disappointment. Accordingly he instructed his followers that they should +no longer turn their faces in prayer towards the Temple at Jerusalem, as +they had been accustomed to do since the Flight, but towards the KaaEuro~ba; +while, a year or two later, he incorporated in Islam the superstitious +ceremonies of the pilgrimage, which were represented as having been +originally prescribed to Abraham, the legendary founder of the KaaEuro~ba, +whose religion he professed to restore. + +[Sidenote: Antagonism of Islamic and Arabian ideals.] + +These concessions, however, were far from sufficient to reconcile the +free-living and freethinking people of the desert to a religion which +restrained their pleasures, forced them to pay taxes and perform +prayers, and stamped with the name of barbarism all the virtues they +held most dear. The teaching of Islam ran directly counter to the ideals +and traditions of heathendom, and, as Goldziher has remarked, its +originality lies not in its doctrines, which are Jewish and Christian, +but in the fact that it was Mua¸Yammad who first maintained these +doctrines with persistent energy against the Arabian view of life.[340] +While we must refer the reader to Dr. Goldziher's illuminating pages for +a full discussion of the conflict between the new Religion (_DA-n_) and +the old Virtue (_Muruwwa_), it will not be amiss to summarise the chief +points at which they clashed with each other.[341] In the first place, +the fundamental idea of Islam was foreign and unintelligible to the +Bedouins. "It was not the destruction of their idols that they opposed +so much as the spirit of devotion which it was sought to implant in +them: the determination of their whole lives by the thought of God and +of His pre-ordaining and retributive omnipotence, the prayers and fasts, +the renouncement of coveted pleasures, and the sacrifice of money and +property which was demanded of them in God's name." In spite of the +saying, _LAi dA-na illAi bi aEuro(TM)l-muruwwati_ ("There is no religion without +virtue"), the Bedouin who accepted Islam had to unlearn the greater part +of his unwritten moral code. As a pious Moslem he must return good for +evil, forgive his enemy, and find balm for his wounded feelings in the +assurance of being admitted to Paradise (Kor. iii, 128). Again, the +social organisation of the heathen Arabs was based on the tribe, whereas +that of Islam rested on the equality and fraternity of all believers. +The religious bond cancelled all distinctions of rank and pedigree; it +did away, theoretically, with clannish feuds, contests for honour, pride +of race--things that lay at the very root of Arabian chivalry. "_Lo_," +cried Mua¸Yammad, "_the noblest of you in the sight of God is he who most +doth fear Him_" (Kor. xlix, 13). Against such doctrine the conservative +and material instincts of the desert people rose in revolt; and although +they became Moslems _en masse_, the majority of them neither believed in +Islam nor knew what it meant. Often their motives were frankly +utilitarian: they expected that Islam would bring them luck; and so long +as they were sound in body, and their mares had fine foals, and their +wives bore well-formed sons, and their wealth and herds multiplied, they +said, "We have been blessed ever since we adopted this religion," and +were content; but if things went ill they blamed Islam and turned their +backs on it.[342] That these men were capable of religious zeal is amply +proved by the triumphs which they won a short time afterwards over the +disciplined armies of two mighty empires; but what chiefly inspired +them, apart from love of booty, was the conviction, born of success, +that Allah was fighting on their side. + + +We have sketched, however barely and imperfectly, the progress of Islam +from Mua¸Yammad's first appearance as a preacher to the day of his death. +In these twenty years the seeds were sown of almost every development +which occurs in the political and intellectual history of the Arabs +during the ages to come. More than any man that has ever lived, Mua¸Yammad +shaped the destinies of his people; and though they left him far behind +as they moved along the path of civilisation, they still looked back to +him for guidance and authority at each step. This is not the place to +attempt an estimate of his character, which has been so diversely +judged. Personally, I feel convinced that he was neither a shameless +impostor nor a neurotic degenerate nor a socialistic reformer, but in +the beginning, at all events, a sincere religious enthusiast, as truly +inspired as any prophet of the Old Testament. + + [Sidenote: Character of Mua¸Yammad.] + + "We find in him," writes De Goeje, "that sober understanding which + distinguished his fellow-tribesmen: dignity, tact, and equilibrium; + qualities which are seldom found in people of morbid constitution: + self-control in no small degree. Circumstances changed him from a + Prophet to a Legislator and a Ruler, but for himself he sought + nothing beyond the acknowledgment that he was Allah's Apostle, since + this acknowledgment includes the whole of Islam. He was excitable, + like every true Arab, and in the spiritual struggle which preceded + his call this quality was stimulated to an extent that alarmed even + himself; but that does not make him a visionary. He defends himself, + by the most solemn asseveration, against the charge that what he had + seen was an illusion of the senses. Why should not we believe + him?"[343] + + + + +CHAPTER V + +THE ORTHODOX CALIPHATE AND THE UMAYYAD DYNASTY + + +The Caliphate--_i.e._, the period of the Caliphs or Successors of +Mua¸Yammad--extends over six centuries and a quarter (632-1258 A.D.), +and falls into three clearly-marked divisions of very unequal length and +diverse character. + +[Sidenote: The Orthodox Caliphate (632-661 A.D.).] + +The first division begins with the election of AbAº Bakr, the first +Caliph, in 632, and comes to an end with the assassination of aEuro~AlA-, the +Prophet's son-in-law and fourth successor, in 661. These four Caliphs +are known as the Orthodox (_al-RAishidAºn_), because they trod faithfully +in the footsteps of the Prophet and ruled after his example in the holy +city of MedA-na, with the assistance of his leading Companions, who +constituted an informal Senate. + +[Sidenote: The Ummayyad Caliphate (661-750 A.D.).] + +The second division includes the Caliphs of the family of Umayya, from +the accession of MuaEuro~Aiwiya in 661 to the great battle of the ZAib in 750, +when MarwAin II, the last of his line, was defeated by the aEuro~AbbAisids, who +claimed the Caliphate as next of kin to the Prophet. According to Moslem +notions the Umayyads were kings by right, Caliphs only by courtesy. They +had, as we shall see, no spiritual title, and little enough religion of +any sort. This dynasty, which had been raised and was upheld by the +Syrian Arabs, transferred the seat of government from MedA-na to +Damascus. + +[Sidenote: The aEuro~AbbAisid Caliphate (750-1258 A.D.).] + +The third division is by far the longest and most important. Starting in +750 with the accession of Abu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~AbbAis al-SaffAih, it presents an +unbroken series of thirty-seven Caliphs of the same House, and +culminates, after the lapse of half a millennium, in the sack of +BaghdAid, their magnificent capital, by the Mongol HAºlAigAº (January, +1258). The aEuro~AbbAisids were no less despotic than the Umayyads, but in a +more enlightened fashion; for, while the latter had been purely Arab in +feeling, the aEuro~AbbAisids owed their throne to the Persian nationalists, +and were imbued with Persian ideas, which introduced a new and fruitful +element into Moslem civilisation. + +[Sidenote: Early Islamic literature.] + +From our special point of view the Orthodox and Umayyad Caliphates, +which form the subject of the present chapter, are somewhat barren. The +simple life of the pagan Arabs found full expression in their poetry. +The many-sided life of the Moslems under aEuro~AbbAisid rule may be studied in +a copious literature which exhibits all the characteristics of the age; +but of contemporary documents illustrating the intellectual history of +the early Islamic period comparatively little has been preserved, and +that little, being for the most part anti-Islamic in tendency, gives +only meagre information concerning what excites interest beyond anything +else--the religious movement, the rise of theology, and the origin of +those great parties and sects which emerge, at various stages of +development, in later literature. + +[Sidenote: Unity of Church and State.] + +Since the Moslem Church and State are essentially one, it is impossible +to treat of politics apart from religion, nor can religious phenomena be +understood without continual reference to political events. The +following brief sketch of the Orthodox Caliphate will show how +completely this unity was realised, and what far-reaching consequences +it had. + +[Sidenote: AbAº Bakr elected Caliph (June, 632 A.D.).] + +[Sidenote: Musaylima the Liar.] + +That Mua¸Yammad left no son was perhaps of less moment than his neglect +or refusal to nominate a successor. The Arabs were unfamiliar with the +hereditary descent of kingly power, while the idea had not yet dawned of +a Divine right resident in the Prophet's family. It was thoroughly in +accord with Arabian practice that the Moslem community should elect its +own leader, just as in heathen days the tribe chose its own chief. The +likeliest men--all three belonged to Quraysh--were AbAº Bakr, whose +daughter aEuro~AaEuro(TM)isha had been Mua¸Yammad's favourite wife, aEuro~Umar b. +al-Khaa¹-a¹-Aib, and aEuro~AlA-, AbAº a¹¬Ailib's son and FAia¹-ima's husband, +who was thus connected with the Prophet by blood as well as by marriage. +AbAº Bakr was the eldest, he was supported by aEuro~Umar, and on him the +choice ultimately fell, though not without an ominous ebullition of +party strife. A man of simple tastes and unassuming demeanour, he had +earned the name _al-a¹ciddA-q, _i.e._, the True, by his unquestioning +faith in the Prophet; naturally gentle and merciful, he stood firm when +the cause of Islam was at stake, and crushed with iron hand the revolt +which on the news of Mua¸Yammad's death spread like wildfire through +Arabia. False prophets arose, and the Bedouins rallied round them, eager +to throw off the burden of tithes and prayers. In the centre of the +peninsula, the BanAº a¸¤anA-fa were led to battle by Musaylima, who +imitated the early style of the Koran with ludicrous effect, if we may +judge from the sayings ascribed to him, _e.g._, "The elephant, what is +the elephant, and who shall tell you what is the elephant? He has a poor +tail, and a long trunk: and is a trifling part of the creations of thy +God." Moslem tradition calls him the Liar (_al-KadhdhAib_), and +represents him as an obscene miracle-monger, which can hardly be the +whole truth. It is possible that he got some of his doctrines from +Christianity, as Professor Margoliouth has suggested,[344] but we know +too little about them to arrive at any conclusion. After a desperate +struggle Musaylima was defeated and slain by 'the Sword of Allah,' +KhAilid b. WalA-d. The Moslem arms were everywhere victorious. Arabia +bowed in sullen submission. + +[Sidenote: Islam a world-religion.] + +[Sidenote: Conquest of Persia and Syria (633-643 A.D.).] + +[Sidenote: Moslem toleration.] + +Although Muir and other biographers of Mua¸Yammad have argued that +Islam was originally designed for the Arabs alone, and made no claim to +universal acceptance, their assertion is contradicted by the unequivocal +testimony of the Koran itself. In one of the oldest Revelations (lxviii, +51-52), we read: "_It wanteth little but that the unbelievers dash thee +to the ground with their looks_ (of anger) _when they hear the Warning_ +(_i.e._, the Koran); _and they say, 'He is assuredly mad': but it_ (the +Koran) _is no other than a_ WARNING UNTO ALL CREATURES" (_dhikrun li +aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~AilamA-n_).[345] The time had now come when this splendid dream was to +be, in large measure, fulfilled. The great wars of conquest were +inspired by the Prophet's missionary zeal and justified by his example. +Pious duty coincided with reasons of state. "It was certainly good +policy to turn the recently subdued tribes of the wilderness towards an +external aim in which they might at once satisfy their lust for booty on +a grand scale, maintain their warlike feeling, and strengthen themselves +in their attachment to the new faith."[346] The story of their +achievements cannot be set down here. Suffice it to say that within +twelve years after the Prophet's death the Persian Empire had been +reduced to a tributary province, and Syria, together with Egypt, torn +away from Byzantine rule. It must not be supposed that the followers of +Zoroaster and Christ in these countries were forcibly converted to +Islam. Thousands embraced it of free will, impelled by various motives +which we have no space to enumerate; those who clung to the religion in +which they had been brought up secured protection and toleration by +payment of a capitation-tax (_jizya_).[347] + +[Sidenote: The Caliph aEuro~Umar (634-644 A.D.).] + +The tide of foreign conquest, which had scarce begun to flow before the +death of AbAº Bakr, swept with amazing rapidity over Syria and Persia in +the Caliphate of aEuro~Umar b. al-Khaa¹-a¹-Aib (634-644), and continued to +advance, though with diminished fury, under the Prophet's third +successor, aEuro~UthmAin. We may dwell for a little on the noble figure of +aEuro~Umar, who was regarded by good Moslems in after times as an embodiment +of all the virtues which a Caliph ought to possess. Probably his +character has been idealised, but in any case the anecdotes related of +him give an admirable picture of the man and his age. Here are a few, +taken almost at random from the pages of a¹¬abarA-. + + [Sidenote: His simple manners.] + + [Sidenote: His sense of personal responsibility.] + + [Sidenote: The Caliph as a policeman.] + + [Sidenote: His strictness towards his own family.] + + [Sidenote: Instructions to his governors.] + + One said: "I saw aEuro~Umar coming to the Festival. He walked with bare + feet, using both hands (for he was ambidextrous) to draw round him a + red embroidered cloth. He towered above the people, as though he + were on horseback."[348] A client of (the Caliph) aEuro~UthmAin b. aEuro~AffAin + relates that he mounted behind his patron and they rode together to + the enclosure for the beasts which were delivered in payment of the + poor-tax. It was an exceedingly hot day and the simoom was blowing + fiercely. They saw a man clad only in a loin-cloth and a short cloak + (_ridAi_), in which he had wrapped his head, driving the camels into + the enclosure. aEuro~UthmAin said to his companion, "Who is this, think + you?" When they came up to him, behold, it was aEuro~Umar b. + al-Khaa¹-a¹-Aib. "By God," said aEuro~UthmAin, "this is _the strong, the + trusty_."[349]--aEuro~Umar used to go round the markets and recite the + Koran and judge between disputants wherever he found them.--When + KaaEuro~bu aEuro(TM)l-Aa¸YbAir, a well-known Rabbin of MedA-na, asked how he could + obtain access to the Commander of the Faithful,[350] he received + this answer: "There is no door nor curtain to be passed; he performs + the rites of prayer, then he takes his seat, and any one that wishes + may speak to him."[351] aEuro~Umar said in one of his public orations, + "By Him who sent Mua¸Yammad with the truth, were a single camel to + die of neglect on the bank of the Euphrates, I should fear lest God + should call the family of al-Khaa¹-a¹-Aib" (meaning himself) "to + account therefor."[352]--"If I live," he is reported to have said on + another occasion, "please God, I will assuredly spend a whole year + in travelling among my subjects, for I know they have wants which + are cut short ere they reach my ears: the governors do not bring the + wants of the people before me, while the people themselves do not + attain to me. So I will journey to Syria and remain there two + months, then to Mesopotamia and remain there two months, then to + Egypt and remain there two months, then to Baa¸Yrayn and remain + there two months, then to KAºfa and remain there two months, then to + Baa¹Lra and remain there two months; and by God, it will be a year + well spent!"[353]--One night he came to the house of aEuro~Abdu + aEuro(TM)l-Raa¸YmAin b. aEuro~Awf and knocked at the door, which was opened by + aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-Raa¸YmAin's wife. "Do not enter," said she, "until I go + back and sit in my place;" so he waited. Then she bade him come in, + and on his asking, "Have you anything in the house?" she fetched him + some food. Meanwhile aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-Raa¸YmAin was standing by, engaged in + prayer. "Be quick, man!" cried aEuro~Umar. aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-Raa¸YmAin immediately + pronounced the final salaam, and turning to the Caliph said: "O + Commander of the Faithful, what has brought you here at this hour?" + aEuro~Umar replied: "A party of travellers who alighted in the + neighbourhood of the market: I was afraid that the thieves of MedA-na + might fall upon them. Let us go and keep watch." So he set off with + aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-Raa¸YmAin, and when they reached the market-place they + seated themselves on some high ground and began to converse. + Presently they descried, far away, the light of a lamp. "Have not I + forbidden lamps after bedtime?"[354] exclaimed the Caliph. They went + to the spot and found a company drinking wine. "Begone," said aEuro~Umar + to aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-Raa¸YmAin; "I know him." Next morning he sent for the + culprit and said, addressing him by name, "Last night you were + drinking wine with your friends." "O Commander of the Faithful, how + did you ascertain that?" "I saw it with my own eyes." "Has not God + forbidden you to play the spy?" aEuro~Umar made no answer and pardoned + his offence.[355]--When aEuro~Umar ascended the pulpit for the purpose of + warning the people that they must not do something, he gathered his + family and said to them: "I have forbidden the people to do + so-and-so. Now, the people look at you as birds look at flesh, and I + swear by God that if I find any one of you doing this thing, I will + double the penalty against him."[356]--Whenever he appointed a + governor he used to draw up in writing a certificate of investiture, + which he caused to be witnessed by some of the Emigrants or Helpers. + It contained the following instructions: That he must not ride on + horseback, nor eat white bread, nor wear fine clothes, nor set up a + door between himself and those who had aught to ask of him.[357]--It + was aEuro~Umar's custom to go forth with his governors, on their + appointment, to bid them farewell. "I have not appointed you," he + would say, "over the people of Mua¸Yammad (God bless him and grant + him peace!) that you may drag them by their hair and scourge their + skins, but in order that you may lead them in prayer and judge + between them with right and divide (the public money) amongst them + with equity. I have not made you lords of their skin and hair. Do + not flog the Arabs lest you humiliate them, and do not keep them + long on foreign service lest you tempt them to sedition, and do not + neglect them lest you render them desperate. Confine yourselves to + the Koran, write few Traditions of Mua¸Yammad (God bless him and + grant him peace!), and I am your ally." He used to permit + retaliation against his governors. On receiving a complaint about + any one of them he confronted him with the accuser, and punished him + if his guilt were proved.[358] + +[Sidenote: The Register of aEuro~Umar.] + +It was aEuro~Umar who first made a Register (_DA-wAin_) of the Arabs in Islam +and entered them therein according to their tribes and assigned to them +their stipends. The following account of its institution is extracted +from the charming history entitled _al-FakhrA-_:-- + + In the fifteenth year of the Hijra (636 A.D.) aEuro~Umar, who was then + Caliph, seeing that the conquests proceeded without interruption and + that the treasures of the Persian monarchs had been taken as spoil, + and that load after load was being accumulated of gold and silver + and precious jewels and splendid raiment, resolved to enrich the + Moslems by distributing all this wealth amongst them; but he did not + know how he should manage it. Now there was a Persian satrap + (_marzubAin_) at MedA-na who, when he saw aEuro~Umar's bewilderment, said + to him, "O Commander of the Faithful, the Persian kings have a thing + they call a _DA-wAin_, in which is kept the whole of their revenues + and expenditures without exception; and therein those who receive + stipends are arranged in classes, so that no confusion occurs." + aEuro~Umar's attention was aroused. He bade the satrap describe it, and + on comprehending its nature, he drew up the registers and assigned + the stipends, appointing a specified allowance for every Moslem; and + he allotted fixed sums to the wives of the Apostle (on whom be God's + blessing and peace!) and to his concubines and next-of-kin, until he + exhausted the money in hand. He did not lay up a store in the + treasury. Some one came to him and said: "O Commander of the + Faithful, you should have left something to provide for + contingencies." aEuro~Umar rebuked him, saying, "The devil has put these + words into your mouth. May God preserve me from their mischief! for + it were a temptation to my successors. Come what may, I will provide + naught except obedience to God and His Apostle. That is our + provision, whereby we have gained that which we have gained." Then, + in respect of the stipends, he deemed it right that precedence + should be according to priority of conversion to Islam and of + service rendered to the Apostle on his fields of battle.[359] + + [Sidenote: The aristocracy of Islam.] + + [Sidenote: "'Tis only noble to be good."] + + Affinity to Mua¸Yammad was also considered. "By God," exclaimed + aEuro~Umar, "we have not won superiority in this world, nor do we hope + for recompense for our works from God hereafter, save through + Mua¸Yammad (God bless him and grant him peace!). He is our title to + nobility, his tribe are the noblest of the Arabs, and after them + those are the nobler that are nearer to him in blood. Truly, the + Arabs are ennobled by God's Apostle. Peradventure some of them have + many ancestors in common with him, and we ourselves are only removed + by a few forbears from his line of descent, in which we accompany + him back to Adam. Notwithstanding this, if the foreigners bring good + works and we bring none, by God, they are nearer to Mua¸Yammad on + the day of Resurrection than we. Therefore let no man regard + affinity, but let him work for that which is in God's hands to + bestow. He that is retarded by his works will not be sped by his + lineage."[360] + +It may be said of aEuro~Umar, not less appropriately than of Cromwell, that +he + + "cast the kingdoms old + Into another mould;" + +and he too justified the poet's maxim-- + + "The same arts that did gain + A power, must it maintain." + +[Sidenote: Foundation of Baa¹Lra and KAºfa (638 A.D.).] + +Under the system which he organised Arabia, purged of infidels, became a +vast recruiting-ground for the standing armies of Islam: the Arabs in +the conquered territories formed an exclusive military class, living in +great camps and supported by revenues derived from the non-Mua¸Yammadan +population. Out of such camps arose two cities destined to make their +mark in literary history--Baa¹Lra (Bassora) on the delta of the Tigris and +Euphrates, and KAºfa, which was founded about the same time on the +western branch of the latter stream, not far from a¸¤A-ra. + +[Sidenote: Death of aEuro~Umar (644 A.D.)] + +aEuro~Umar was murdered by a Persian slave named FA-rAºz while leading the +prayers in the Great Mosque. With his death the military theocracy and +the palmy days of the Patriarchal Caliphate draw to a close. The broad +lines of his character appear in the anecdotes translated above, though +many details might be added to complete the picture. Simple and frugal; +doing his duty without fear or favour; energetic even to harshness, yet +capable of tenderness towards the weak; a severe judge of others and +especially of himself, he was a born ruler and every inch a man. Looking +back on the turmoils which followed his death one is inclined to agree +with the opinion of a saintly doctor who said, five centuries +afterwards, that "the good fortune of Islam was shrouded in the +grave-clothes of aEuro~Umar b. al-Khaa¹-a¹-Aib."[361] + +[Sidenote: aEuro~UthmAin elected Caliph (644 A.D.).] + +[Sidenote: General disaffection.] + +[Sidenote: aEuro~UthmAin murdered (656 A.D.).] + +When the Meccan aristocrats accepted Islam, they only yielded to the +inevitable. They were now to have an opportunity of revenging +themselves. aEuro~UthmAin b. aEuro~AffAin, who succeeded aEuro~Umar as Caliph, belonged +to a distinguished Meccan family, the Umayyads or descendants of Umayya, +which had always taken a leading part in the opposition to Mua¸Yammad, +though aEuro~UthmAin himself was among the Prophet's first disciples. He was a +pious, well-meaning old man--an easy tool in the hands of his ambitious +kinsfolk. They soon climbed into all the most lucrative and important +offices and lived on the fat of the land, while too often their ungodly +behaviour gave point to the question whether these converts of the +eleventh hour were not still heathens at heart. Other causes contributed +to excite a general discontent. The rapid growth of luxury and +immorality in the Holy Cities as well as in the new settlements was an +eyesore to devout Moslems. The true Islamic aristocracy, the Companions +of the Prophet, headed by aEuro~AlA-, a¹¬ala¸Ya, and Zubayr, strove to undermine +the rival nobility which threatened them with destruction. The factious +soldiery were ripe for revolt against Umayyad arrogance and greed. +Rebellion broke out, and finally the aged Caliph, after enduring a siege +of several weeks, was murdered in his own house. This event marks an +epoch in the history of the Arabs. The ensuing civil wars rent the unity +of Islam from top to bottom, and the wound has never healed. + +[Sidenote: aEuro~AlA- elected Caliph (656 A.D.).] + +[Sidenote: Character of aEuro~AlA-.] + +[Sidenote: His apotheosis.] + +aEuro~AlA-, the Prophet's cousin and son-in-law, who had hitherto remained in +the background, was now made Caliph. Although the suspicion that he was +in league with the murderers may be put aside, he showed culpable +weakness in leaving aEuro~UthmAin to his fate without an effort to save him. +But aEuro~AlA- had almost every virtue except those of the ruler: energy, +decision, and foresight. He was a gallant warrior, a wise counsellor, a +true friend, and a generous foe. He excelled in poetry and in eloquence; +his verses and sayings are famous throughout the Mua¸Yammadan East, though +few of them can be considered authentic. A fine spirit worthy to be +compared with Montrose and Bayard, he had no talent for the stern +realities of statecraft, and was overmatched by unscrupulous rivals who +knew that "war is a game of deceit." Thus his career was in one sense a +failure: his authority as Caliph was never admitted, while he lived, by +the whole community. On the other hand, he has exerted, down to the +present day, a posthumous influence only second to that of Mua¸Yammad +himself. Within a century of his death he came to be regarded as the +Prophet's successor _jure divino_; as a blessed martyr, sinless and +infallible; and by some even as an incarnation of God. The aEuro~AlA- of +ShA-aEuro~ite legend is not an historical figure glorified: rather does he +symbolise, in purely mythical fashion, the religious aspirations and +political aims of a large section of the Moslem world. + + +[Sidenote: aEuro~AlA- against MuaEuro~Aiwiya.] + +[Sidenote: Battle of a¹ciffA-n (657 A.D.).] + +[Sidenote: Arbitration.] + +[Sidenote: The award.] + +[Sidenote: The KhAirijites revolt against aEuro~AlA-.] + +[Sidenote: AlA- assassinated (661 A.D.).] + +To return to our narrative. No sooner was aEuro~AlA- proclaimed Caliph by the +victorious rebels than MuaEuro~Aiwiya b. AbA- SufyAin, the governor of Syria, +raised the cry of vengeance for aEuro~UthmAin and refused to take the oath of +allegiance. As head of the Umayyad family, MuaEuro~Aiwiya might justly demand +that the murderers of his kinsman should be punished, but the contest +between him and aEuro~AlA- was virtually for the Caliphate. A great battle was +fought at a¹ciffA-n, a village on the Euphrates. aEuro~AlA- had well-nigh gained +the day when MuaEuro~Aiwiya bethought him of a stratagem. He ordered his +troops to fix Korans on the points of their lances and to shout, "Here +is the Book of God: let it decide between us!" The miserable trick +succeeded. In aEuro~AlA-'s army there were many pious fanatics to whom the +proposed arbitration by the Koran appealed with irresistible force. They +now sprang forward clamorously, threatening to betray their leader +unless he would submit his cause to the Book. Vainly did aEuro~AlA- +remonstrate with the mutineers, and warn them of the trap into which +they were driving him, and this too at the moment when victory was +within their grasp. He had no choice but to yield and name as his umpire +a man of doubtful loyalty, AbAº MAºsAi al-AshaEuro~arA-, one of the oldest +surviving Companions of the Prophet. MuaEuro~Aiwiya on his part named aEuro~Amr b. +al-aEuro~Aa¹L, whose cunning had prompted the decisive manA"uvre. When the +umpires came forth to give judgment, AbAº MAºsAi rose and in accordance +with what had been arranged at the preliminary conference pronounced +that both aEuro~AlA- and MuaEuro~Aiwiya should be deposed and that the people should +elect a proper Caliph in their stead. "Lo," said he, laying down his +sword, "even thus do I depose aEuro~AlA- b. AbA- a¹¬Ailib." Then aEuro~Amr advanced and +spoke as follows: "O people! ye have heard the judgment of my colleague. +He has called you to witness that he deposes aEuro~AlA-. Now I call you to +witness that I confirm MuaEuro~Aiwiya, even as I make fast this sword of +mine," and suiting the action to the word, he returned it to its sheath. +It is characteristic of Arabian notions of morality that this impudent +fraud was hailed by MuaEuro~Aiwiya's adherents as a diplomatic triumph which +gave him a colourable pretext for assuming the title of Caliph. Both +sides prepared to renew the struggle, but in the meanwhile aEuro~AlA- found +his hands full nearer home. A numerous party among his troops, including +the same zealots who had forced arbitration upon him, now cast him off +because he had accepted it, fell out from the ranks, and raised the +standard of revolt. These 'Outgoers,' or KhAirijites, as they were +called, maintained their theocratic principles with desperate courage, +and though often defeated took the field again and again. aEuro~AlA-'s plans +for recovering Syria were finally abandoned in 660, when he concluded +peace with MuaEuro~Aiwiya, and shortly afterwards he was struck down in the +Mosque at KAºfa, which he had made his capital, by Ibn Muljam, a +KhAirijite conspirator. + +With aEuro~AlA-'s fall our sketch of the Orthodox Caliphate may fitly end. It +was necessary to give some account of these years so vital in the +history of Islam, even at the risk of wearying the reader, who will +perhaps wish that less space were devoted to political affairs. + + +[Sidenote: The Umayyad dynasty.] + +[Sidenote: Moslem tradition hostile to the Umayyads.] + +[Sidenote: MuaEuro~Aiwiya's clemency.] + +[Sidenote: His hours of study.] + +The Umayyads came into power, but, except in Syria and Egypt, they ruled +solely by the sword. As descendants and representatives of the pagan +aristocracy, which strove with all its might to defeat Mua¸Yammad, they +were usurpers in the eyes of the Moslem community which they claimed to +lead as his successors.[362] We shall see, a little further on, how this +opposition expressed itself in two great parties: the ShA-aEuro~ites or +followers of aEuro~AlA-, and the radical sect of the KhAirijites, who have been +mentioned above; and how it was gradually reinforced by the non-Arabian +Moslems until it overwhelmed the Umayyad Government and set up the +aEuro~AbbAisids in their place. In estimating the character of the Umayyads +one must bear in mind that the epitaph on the fallen dynasty was +composed by their enemies, and can no more be considered historically +truthful than the lurid picture which Tacitus has drawn of the Emperor +Tiberius. Because they kept the revolutionary forces in check with +ruthless severity, the Umayyads pass for bloodthirsty tyrants; whereas +the best of them at any rate were strong and singularly capable rulers, +bad Moslems and good men of the world, seldom cruel, plain livers if not +high thinkers; who upon the whole stand as much above the aEuro~AbbAisids in +morality as below them in culture and intellect. MuaEuro~Aiwiya's clemency was +proverbial, though he too could be stern on occasion. When members of +the house of aEuro~AlA- came to visit him at Damascus, which was now the +capital of the Mua¸Yammadan Empire, he gave them honourable lodging and +entertainment and was anxious to do what they asked; but they (relates +the historian approvingly) used to address him in the rudest terms and +affront him in the vilest manner: sometimes he would answer them with a +jest, and another time he would feign not to hear, and he always +dismissed them with splendid presents and ample donations.[363] "I do +not employ my sword," he said, "when my whip suffices me, nor my whip +when my tongue suffices me; and were there but a single hair (of +friendship) between me and my subjects, I would not let it be +snapped."[364] After the business of the day he sought relaxation in +books. "He consecrated a third part of every night to the history of the +Arabs and their famous battles; the history of foreign peoples, their +kings, and their government; the biographies of monarchs, including +their wars and stratagems and methods of rule; and other matters +connected with Ancient History."[365] + +[Sidenote: ZiyAid ibn AbA-hi.] + +MuaEuro~Aiwiya's chief henchman was ZiyAid, the son of Sumayya (Sumayya being +the name of his mother), or, as he is generally called, ZiyAid ibn AbA-hi, +_i.e._, 'ZiyAid his father's son,' for none knew who was his sire, though +rumour pointed to AbAº SufyAin; in which case ZiyAid would have been +MuaEuro~Aiwiya's half-brother. MuaEuro~Aiwiya, instead of disavowing the scandalous +imputation, acknowledged him as such, and made him governor of Baa¹Lra, +where he ruled the Eastern provinces with a rod of iron. + +[Sidenote: YazA-d (680-683 A.D.).] + +MuaEuro~Aiwiya was a crafty diplomatist--he has been well compared to +Richelieu--whose profound knowledge of human nature enabled him to gain +over men of moderate opinions in all the parties opposed to him. Events +were soon to prove the hollowness of this outward reconciliation. YazA-d, +who succeeded his father, was the son of MaysAºn, a Bedouin woman whom +MuaEuro~Aiwiya married before he rose to be Caliph. The luxury of Damascus had +no charm for her wild spirit, and she gave utterance to her feeling of +homesickness in melancholy verse:-- + + "A tent with rustling breezes cool + Delights me more than palace high, + And more the cloak of simple wool + Than robes in which I learned to sigh. + + The crust I ate beside my tent + Was more than this fine bread to me; + The wind's voice where the hill-path went + Was more than tambourine can be. + + And more than purr of friendly cat + I love the watch-dog's bark to hear; + And more than any lubbard fat + I love a Bedouin cavalier."[366] + +[Sidenote: a¸¤usayn marches on KAºfa.] + +[Sidenote: Massacre of a¸¤usayn and his followers at KarbalAi (10th +Mua¸Yarram, 61 A.H. = 10th October, 680 A.D.).] + +MuaEuro~Aiwiya, annoyed by the contemptuous allusion to himself, took the dame +at her word. She returned to her own family, and YazA-d grew up as a +Bedouin, with the instincts and tastes which belong to the +Bedouins--love of pleasure, hatred of piety, and reckless disregard for +the laws of religion. The beginning of his reign was marked by an event +of which even now few Moslems can speak without a thrill of horror and +dismay. The facts are briefly these: In the autumn of the year 680 +a¸¤usayn, the son of aEuro~AlA-, claiming to be the rightful Caliph in virtue of +his descent from the Prophet, quitted Mecca with his whole family and a +number of devoted friends, and set out for KAºfa, where he expected the +population, which was almost entirely ShA-aEuro~ite, to rally to his cause. It +was a foolhardy adventure. The poet Farazdaq, who knew the fickle temper +of his fellow-townsmen, told a¸¤usayn that although their hearts were with +him, their swords would be with the Umayyads; but his warning was given +in vain. Meanwhile aEuro~UbaydullAih b. ZiyAid, the governor of KAºfa, having +overawed the insurgents in the city and beheaded their leader, Muslim b. +aEuro~AqA-l, who was a cousin of a¸¤usayn, sent a force of cavalry with orders +to bring the arch-rebel to a stand. Retreat was still open to him. But +his followers cried out that the blood of Muslim must be avenged, and +a¸¤usayn could not hesitate. Turning northward along the Euphrates, he +encamped at KarbalAi with his little band, which, including the women and +children, amounted to some two hundred souls. In this hopeless situation +he offered terms which might have been accepted if Shamir b. Dhi +aEuro(TM)l-Jawshan, a name for ever infamous and accursed, had not persuaded +aEuro~UbaydullAih to insist on unconditional surrender. The demand was +refused, and a¸¤usayn drew up his comrades--a handful of men and boys--for +battle against the host which surrounded them. All the harrowing details +invented by grief and passion can scarcely heighten the tragedy of the +closing scene. It would appear that the Umayyad officers themselves +shrank from the odium of a general massacre, and hoped to take the +Prophet's grandson alive. Shamir, however, had no such scruples. Chafing +at delay, he urged his soldiers to the assault. The unequal struggle was +soon over. a¸¤usayn fell, pierced by an arrow, and his brave followers +were cut down beside him to the last man. + +[Sidenote: Differing views of Mua¸Yammadan and European writers.] + +[Sidenote: The Umayyads judged by Islam.] + +[Sidenote: Character of YazA-d.] + +Mua¸Yammadan tradition, which with rare exceptions is uniformly hostile to +the Umayyad dynasty, regards a¸¤usayn as a martyr and YazA-d as his +murderer; while modern historians, for the most part, agree with Sir W. +Muir, who points out that a¸¤usayn, "having yielded himself to a +treasonable, though impotent design upon the throne, was committing an +offence that endangered society and demanded swift suppression." This +was naturally the view of the party in power, and the reader must form +his own conclusion as to how far it justifies the action which they +took. For Moslems the question is decided by the relation of the +Umayyads to Islam. Violators of its laws and spurners of its ideals, +they could never be anything but tyrants; and being tyrants, they had no +right to slay believers who rose in arms against their usurped +authority. The so-called verdict of history, when we come to examine it, +is seen to be the verdict of religion, the judgment of theocratic Islam +on Arabian Imperialism. On this ground the Umayyads are justly +condemned, but it is well to remember that in Moslem eyes the +distinction between Church and State does not exist. YazA-d was a bad +Churchman: therefore he was a wicked tyrant; the one thing involves the +other. From our unprejudiced standpoint, he was an amiable prince who +inherited his mother's poetic talent, and infinitely preferred wine, +music, and sport to the drudgery of public affairs. The Syrian Arabs, +who recognised the Umayyads as legitimate, thought highly of him: +"Jucundissimus," says a Christian writer, "et cunctis nationibus regni +ejus subditis vir gratissime habitus, qui nullam unquam, ut omnibus +moris est, sibi regalis fastigii causa gloriam appetivit, sed communis +cum omnibus civiliter vixit."[367] He deplored the fate of the women and +children of a¸¤usayn's family, treated them with every mark of respect, +and sent them to MedA-na, where their account of the tragedy added fresh +fuel to the hatred and indignation with which its authors were generally +regarded. + +The Umayyads had indeed ample cause to rue the day of KarbalAi. It gave +the ShA-aEuro~ite faction a rallying-cry--"Vengeance for a¸¤usayn!"--which was +taken up on all sides, and especially by the Persian _MawAilA-_, or +Clients, who longed for deliverance from the Arab yoke. Their +amalgamation with the ShA-aEuro~a--a few years later they flocked in thousands +to the standard of MukhtAir--was an event of the utmost historical +importance, which will be discussed when we come to speak of the +ShA-aEuro~ites in particular. + +[Sidenote: MedA-na and Mecca desecrated (682-3 A.D.).] + +[Sidenote: Rebellion of MukhtAir (685-6 A.D.).] + +The slaughter of a¸¤usayn does not complete the tale of YazA-d's +enormities. MedA-na, the Prophet's city, having expelled its Umayyad +governor, was sacked by a Syrian army, while Mecca itself, where +aEuro~AbdullAih b. Zubayr had set up as rival Caliph, was besieged, and the +KaaEuro~ba laid in ruins. These outrages, shocking to Moslem sentiment, +kindled a flame of rebellion. a¸¤usayn was avenged by MukhtAir, who seized +KAºfa and executed some three hundred of the guilty citizens, including +the miscreant Shamir. His troops defeated and slew aEuro~UbaydullAih b. ZiyAid, +but he himself was slain, not long afterwards, by MusaEuro~ab, the brother of +Ibn Zubayr, and seven thousand of his followers were massacred in cold +blood. On YazA-d's death (683) the Umayyad Empire threatened to fall to +pieces. As a contemporary poet sang-- + + "Now loathed of all men is the Fury blind + Which blazeth as a fire blown by the wind. + They are split in sects: each province hath its own + Commander of the Faithful, each its throne."[368] + +[Sidenote: Civil war renewed.] + +[Sidenote: Rivalry of Northern and Southern Arabs.] + +Fierce dissensions broke out among the Syrian Arabs, the backbone of the +dynasty. The great tribal groups of Kalb and Qays, whose coalition had +hitherto maintained the Umayyads in power, fought on opposite sides at +Marj RAihia¹- (684), the former for MarwAin and the latter for Ibn Zubayr. +MarwAin's victory secured the allegiance of Syria, but henceforth Qays +and Kalb were always at daggers drawn.[369] This was essentially a feud +between the Northern and the Southern Arabs--a feud which rapidly +extended and developed into a permanent racial enmity. They carried it +with them to the farthest ends of the world, so that, for example, after +the conquest of Spain precautions had to be taken against civil war by +providing that Northerners and Southerners should not settle in the same +districts. The literary history of this antagonism has been sketched by +Dr. Goldziher with his wonted erudition and acumen.[370] Satire was, of +course, the principal weapon of both sides. Here is a fragment by a +Northern poet which belongs to the Umayyad period:-- + + "Negroes are better, when they name their sires, + Than Qaa¸Ya¹-Ain's sons,[371] the uncircumcisA"d cowards: + A folk whom thou mayst see, at war's outflame, + More abject than a shoe to tread in baseness; + Their women free to every lecher's lust, + Their clients spoil for cavaliers and footmen."[372] + +Thus the Arab nation was again torn asunder by the old tribal +pretensions which Mua¸Yammad sought to abolish. That they ultimately +proved fatal to the Umayyads is no matter for surprise; the sorely +pressed dynasty was already tottering, its enemies were at its gates. By +good fortune it produced at this crisis an exceptionally able and +vigorous ruler, aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-Malik b. MarwAin, who not only saved his house +from destruction, but re-established its supremacy and inaugurated a +more brilliant epoch than any that had gone before. + +[Sidenote: aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-Malik and his successors.] + +[Sidenote: Reforms of aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-Malik.] + +[Sidenote: The writing of Arabic.] + +[Sidenote: a¸¤ajjAij b. YAºsuf (aEuro 714 A.D.).] + +aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-Malik succeeded his father in 685, but required seven years of +hard fighting to make good his claim to the Caliphate. When his most +formidable rival, Ibn Zubayr, had fallen in battle (692), the eastern +provinces were still overrun by rebels, who offered a desperate +resistance to the governor of aEuro~IrAiq, the iron-handed a¸¤ajjAij. But +enough of bloodshed. Peace also had her victories during the troubled +reign of aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-Malik and the calmer sway of his successors. Four of +the next five Caliphs were his own sons--WalA-d (705-715), SulaymAin +(715-717), YazA-d II (720-724), and HishAim (724-743); the fifth, aEuro~Umar +II, was the son of his brother, aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~AzA-z. For the greater part of +this time the Moslem lands enjoyed a well-earned interval of repose and +prosperity, which mitigated, though it could not undo, the frightful +devastation wrought by twenty years of almost continuous civil war. Many +reforms were introduced, some wholly political in character, while +others inspired by the same motives have, none the less, a direct +bearing on literary history. aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-Malik organised an excellent +postal service, by means of relays of horses, for the conveyance of +despatches and travellers; he substituted for the Byzantine and Persian +coins, which had hitherto been in general use, new gold and silver +pieces, on which be caused sentences from the Koran to be engraved; and +he made Arabic, instead of Greek or Persian, the official language of +financial administration. Steps were taken, moreover, to improve the +extremely defective Arabic script, and in this way to provide a sound +basis for the study and interpretation of the Koran as well as for the +collection of _a¸YadA-ths_ or sayings of the Prophet, which form an +indispensable supplement thereto. The Arabic alphabet, as it was then +written, consisted entirely of consonants, so that, to give an +illustration from English, _bnd_ might denote _band_, _bend_, _bind_, or +_bond_; _crt_ might stand for _cart_, _carat_, _curt_, and so on. To an +Arab this ambiguity mattered little; far worse confusion arose from the +circumstance that many of the consonants themselves were exactly alike: +thus, _e.g._, it was possible to read the same combination of three +letters as _bnt_, _nbt_, _byt_, _tnb_, _ntb_, _nyb_, and in various +other ways. Considering the difficulties of the Arabic language, which +are so great that a European aided by scientific grammars and +unequivocal texts will often find himself puzzled even when he has +become tolerably familiar with it, one may imagine that the Koran was +virtually a sealed book to all but a few among the crowds of foreigners +who accepted Islam after the early conquests. aEuro~AbduaEuro(TM)l-Malik's viceroy +in aEuro~IrAiq, the famous a¸¤ajjAij, who began life as a schoolmaster, +exerted himself to promote the use of vowel-marks (borrowed from the +Syriac) and of the diacritical points placed above or below similar +consonants. This extraordinary man deserves more than a passing mention. +A stern disciplinarian, who could be counted upon to do his duty without +any regard to public opinion, he was chosen by aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-Malik to besiege +Mecca, which Ibn Zubayr was holding as anti-Caliph. a¸¤ajjAij bombarded +the city, defeated the Pretender, and sent his head to Damascus. Two +years afterwards he became governor of aEuro~IrAiq. Entering the Mosque at +KAºfa, he mounted the pulpit and introduced himself to the assembled +townsmen in these memorable words:-- + +[Sidenote: His service to literature.] + + "I am he who scattereth the darkness and climbeth o'er the summits. + When I lift the turban from my face, ye will know me.[373] + +"O people of KAºfa! I see heads that are ripe for cutting, and I am the +man to do it; and methinks, I see blood between the turbans and +beards."[374] The rest of his speech was in keeping with the +commencement. He used no idle threats, as the malcontents soon found +out. Rebellion, which had been rampant before his arrival, was rapidly +extinguished. "He restored order in aEuro~IrAiq and subdued its people."[375] +For twenty years his despotic rule gave peace and security to the +Eastern world. Cruel he may have been, though the tales of his +bloodthirstiness are beyond doubt grossly exaggerated, but it should be +put to his credit that he established and maintained the settled +conditions which afford leisure for the cultivation of learning. Under +his protection the Koran and Traditions were diligently studied both in +KAºfa and Baa¹Lra, where many Companions of the Prophet had made their +home: hence arose in Baa¹Lra the science of Grammar, with which, as we +shall see in a subsequent page, the name of that city is peculiarly +associated. a¸¤ajjAij shared the literary tastes of his sovereign; he +admired the old poets and patronised the new; he was a master of terse +eloquence and plumed himself on his elegant Arabic style. The most hated +man of his time, he lives in history as the savage oppressor and butcher +of God-fearing Moslems. He served the Umayyads well and faithfully, and +when he died in 714 A.D. he left behind him nothing but his Koran, his +arms, and a few hundred pieces of silver. + + +[Sidenote: WalA-d (705-715 A.D.).] + +[Sidenote: Moslem conquests in the East.] + +[Sidenote: Conquest of Spain (711-713 A.D.).] + +It was a common saying at Damascus that under WalA-d people talked of +fine buildings, under SulaymAin of cookery and the fair sex, while in the +reign of aEuro~Umar b. aEuro~Abd al-aEuro~AzA-z the Koran and religion formed favourite +topics of conversation.[376] Of WalA-d's passion for architecture we have +a splendid monument in the Great Mosque of Damascus (originally the +Cathedral of St. John), which is the principal sight of the city to this +day. He spoke Arabic very incorrectly, and though his father rebuked +him, observing that "in order to rule the Arabs one must be proficient +in their language," he could never learn to express himself with +propriety.[377] The unbroken peace which now prevailed within the Empire +enabled WalA-d to resume the work of conquest. In the East his armies +invaded Transoxania, captured BokhAirAi and Samarcand, and pushed forward +to the Chinese frontier. Another force crossed the Indus and penetrated +as far as MAºltAin, a renowned centre of pilgrimage in the Southern +Punjaub, which fell into the hands of the Moslems after a prolonged +siege. But the most brilliant advance, and the richest in its results, +was that in the extreme West, which decided the fate of Spain. Although +the Moslems had obtained a footing in Northern Africa some thirty years +before this time, their position was always precarious, until in 709 +MAºsAi b. Nua¹Layr completely subjugated the Berbers, and extended not only +the dominion but also the faith of Islam to the Atlantic Ocean. Two +years later his freedman a¹¬Airiq crossed the straits and took possession +of the commanding height, called by the ancients Calpe, but henceforth +known as Jabal a¹¬Airiq (Gibraltar). Roderic, the last of the West Gothic +dynasty, gathered an army in defence of his kingdom, but there were +traitors in the camp, and, though he himself fought valiantly, their +defection turned the fortunes of the day. The king fled, and it was +never ascertained what became of him. a¹¬Airiq, meeting with feeble +resistance, marched rapidly on Toledo, while MAºsAi, whose jealousy was +excited by the triumphal progress of his lieutenant, now joined in the +campaign, and, storming city after city, reached the Pyrenees. The +conquest of Spain, which is told by Moslem historians with many romantic +circumstances, marks the nearest approach that the Arabs ever made to +World-Empire. Their advance on French soil was finally hurled back by +Charles the Hammer's great victory at Tours (732 A.D.). + +[Sidenote: aEuro~Umar b. aEuro~Abd al-aEuro~AzA-z (717-720 A.D.).] + +Before taking leave of the Umayyads we must not forget to mention aEuro~Umar +b. aEuro~Abd al-aEuro~AzA-z, a ruler who stands out in singular contrast with his +predecessors, and whose brief reign is regarded by many Moslems as the +sole bright spot in a century of godless and bloodstained tyranny. There +had been nothing like it since the days of his illustrious namesake and +kinsman,[378] aEuro~Umar b. al-Khaa¹-a¹-Aib, and we shall find nothing like it in +the future history of the Caliphate. Plato desired that every king +should be a philosopher: according to Mua¸Yammadan theory every Caliph +ought to be a saint. aEuro~Umar satisfied these aspirations. When he came to +the throne the following dialogue is said to have occurred between him +and one of his favourites, SAilim al-SuddA-:-- + + + aEuro~Umar: "Are you glad on account of my accession, or sorry?" + + SAilim: "I am glad for the people's sake, but sorry for yours." + + aEuro~Umar: "I fear that I have brought perdition upon my soul." + + SAilim: "If you are afraid, very good. I only fear that you may + cease to be afraid." + + aEuro~Umar: "Give me a word of counsel." + + SAilim: "Our father Adam was driven forth from Paradise because + of one sin."[379] + +Poets and orators found no favour at his court, which was thronged by +divines and men of ascetic life.[380] He warned his governors that they +must either deal justly or go. He would not allow political +considerations to interfere with his ideal of righteousness, but, as +Wellhausen points out, he had practical ends in view: his piety made him +anxious for the common weal no less than for his own salvation. Whether +he administered the State successfully is a matter of dispute. It has +been generally supposed that his financial reforms were Utopian in +character and disastrous to the Exchequer.[381] However this may be, he +showed wisdom in seeking to bridge the menacing chasm between Islam and +the Imperial house. Thus, _e.g._, he did away with the custom which had +long prevailed of cursing aEuro~AlA- from the pulpit at Friday prayers. The +policy of conciliation was tried too late, and for too short a space, to +be effective; but it was not entirely fruitless. When, on the overthrow +of the Umayyad dynasty, the tombs of the hated 'tyrants' were defiled +and their bodies disinterred, aEuro~Umar's grave alone was respected, and +MasaEuro~AºdA- (aEuro 956 A.D.) tells us that in his time it was visited by crowds +of pilgrims. + +[Sidenote: HishAim and WalA-d II.] + +The remaining Umayyads do not call for particular notice. HishAim ranks +as a statesman with MuaEuro~Aiwiya and aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-Malik: the great aEuro~AbbAisid +Caliph, Mana¹LAºr, is said to have admired and imitated his methods of +government.[382] WalA-d II was an incorrigible libertine, whose songs +celebrating the forbidden delights of wine have much merit. The eminent +poet and freethinker, Abu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~AlAi al-MaaEuro~arrA-, quotes these verses by +him[383]:-- + + [Sidenote: Verses by WalA-d II (743-4 A.D.).] + + "The ImAim WalA-d am I! In all my glory + Of trailing robes I listen to soft lays. + When proudly I sweep on towards her chamber, + I care not who inveighs. + + There's no true joy but lending ear to music, + Or wine that leaves one sunk in stupor dense. + Houris in Paradise I do not look for: + Does any man of sense?" + + +Let us now turn from the monarchs to their subjects. + +[Sidenote: Political and religious movements of the period.] + +In the first place we shall speak of the political and religious +parties, whose opposition to the Umayyad House gradually undermined its +influence and in the end brought about its fall. Some account will be +given of the ideas for which these parties fought and of the causes of +their discontent with the existing _rA(C)gime_. Secondly, a few words must +be said of the theological and more purely religious sects--the +MuaEuro~tazilites, Murjites, and a¹cAºfA-s; and, lastly, of the extant +literature, which is almost exclusively poetical, and its leading +representatives. + +[Sidenote: The Arabs of aEuro~IrAiq.] + +The opposition to the Umayyads was at first mainly a question of +politics. MuaEuro~Aiwiya's accession announced the triumph of Syria over +aEuro~IrAiq, and Damascus, instead of KAºfa, became the capital of the Empire. +As Wellhausen observes, "the most powerful risings against the Umayyads +proceeded from aEuro~IrAiq, not from any special party, but from the whole +mass of the Arabs settled there, who were united in resenting the loss +of their independence (_Selbstherrlichkeit_) and in hating those into +whose hands it had passed."[384] At the same time these feelings took a +religious colour and identified themselves with the cause of Islam. The +new government fell lamentably short of the theocratic standard by which +it was judged. Therefore it was evil, and (according to the Moslem's +conception of duty) every right-thinking man must work for its +destruction. + +Among the myriads striving for this consummation, and so far making +common cause with each other, we can distinguish four principal classes. + +[Sidenote: Parties opposed to the Umayyad government.] + +(1) The religious Moslems, or Pietists, in general, who formed a wing of +the Orthodox Party.[385] + +(2) The KhAirijites, who may be described as the Puritans and extreme +Radicals of theocracy. + +(3) The ShA-aEuro~ites, or partisans of aEuro~AlA- and his House. + +(4) The Non-Arabian Moslems, who were called _MawAilA-_ (Clients). + +[Sidenote: The Pietists.] + +It is clear that the Pietists--including divines learned in the law, +reciters of the Koran, Companions of the Prophet and their +descendants--could not but abominate the secular authority which they +were now compelled to obey. The conviction that Might, in the shape of +the tyrant and his minions, trampled on Right as represented by the +Koran and the _Sunna_ (custom of Mua¸Yammad) drove many into active +rebellion: five thousand are said to have perished in the sack of MedA-na +alone. Others again, like a¸¤asan of Baa¹Lra, filled with profound despair, +shut their eyes on the world, and gave themselves up to asceticism, a +tendency which had important consequences, as we shall see. + + +[Sidenote: The KhAirijites.] + +[Sidenote: Battle of NahrawAin (658 A.D.).] + +[Sidenote: KhAirijite risings.] + +When aEuro~AlA-, on the field of a¹ciffA-n, consented that the claims of MuaEuro~Aiwiya +and himself to the Caliphate should be decided by arbitration, a large +section of his army accused him of having betrayed his trust. He, the +duly elected Caliph--so they argued--should have maintained the dignity +of his high office inviolate at all costs. On the homeward march the +malcontents, some twelve thousand in number, broke away and encamped by +themselves at a¸¤arAºrAi, a village near KAºfa. Their cry was, "God alone can +decide" (_lAi a¸Yukma illAi lillAihi_): in these terms they protested against +the arbitration. aEuro~AlA- endeavoured to win them back, but without any +lasting success. They elected a Caliph from among themselves, and +gathered at NahrawAin, four thousand strong. On the appearance of aEuro~AlA- +with a vastly superior force many of the rebels dispersed, but the +remainder--about half--preferred to die for their faith. NahrawAin was to +the KhAirijites what KarbalAi afterwards became to the ShA-aEuro~ites, who from +this day were regarded by the former as their chief enemies. Frequent +KhAirijite risings took place during the early Umayyad period, but the +movement reached its zenith in the years of confusion which followed +YazA-d's death. The Azraqites, so called after their leader, NAifiaEuro~ b. +al-Azraq, overran aEuro~IrAiq and Southern Persia, while another sect, the +Najdites, led by Najda b. aEuro~Amir, reduced the greater part of Arabia to +submission. The insurgents held their ground for a long time against +aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-Malik, and did not cease from troubling until the rebellion +headed by ShabA-b was at last stamped out by a¸¤ajjAij in 697. + +[Sidenote: Meaning of 'KhAirijite.'] + +[Sidenote: Their political theories.] + +It has been suggested that the name _KhAirijA-_ (plural, _KhawAirij_) +refers to a passage in the Koran (iv, 101) where mention is made of +"those who go forth (_yakhruj_) from their homes as emigrants +(_muhAijiran_) to God and His Messenger"; so that 'KhAirijite' means 'one +who leaves his home among the unbelievers for God's sake,' and +corresponds to the term _MuhAijir_, which was applied to the Meccan +converts who accompanied the Prophet in his migration to MedA-na.[386] +Another name by which they are often designated is likewise Koranic in +origin, viz., _ShurAit_ (plural of _ShAirin_): literally 'Sellers'--that +is to say, those who sell their lives and goods in return for +Paradise.[387] The KhAirijites were mostly drawn from the Bedouin +soldiery who settled in Baa¹Lra and KAºfa after the Persian wars. Civil +life wrought little change in their unruly temper. Far from +acknowledging the peculiar sanctity of a Qurayshite, they desired a +chief of their own blood whom they might obey, in Bedouin fashion, as +long as he did not abuse or exceed the powers conferred upon him.[388] +The mainspring of the movement, however, was pietistic, and can be +traced, as Wellhausen has shown, to the Koran-readers who made it a +matter of conscience that aEuro~AlA- should avow his contrition for the fatal +error which their own temporary and deeply regretted infatuation had +forced him to commit. They cast off aEuro~AlA- for the same reason which led +them to strike at aEuro~Uthman: in both cases they were maintaining the cause +of God against an unjust Caliph.[389] It is important to remember these +facts in view of the cardinal KhAirijite doctrines (1) that every free +Arab was eligible as Caliph,[390] and (2) that an evil-doing Caliph must +be deposed and, if necessary, put to death. Mustawrid b. aEuro~Ullifa, the +KhAirijite 'Commander of the Faithful,' wrote to SimAik b. aEuro~Ubayd, the +governor of Ctesiphon, as follows: "We call you to the Book of God +Almighty and Glorious, and to the _Sunna_ (custom) of the Prophet--on +whom be peace!--and to the administration of AbAº Bakr and aEuro~Umar--may God +be well pleased with them!--and to renounce aEuro~UthmAin and aEuro~AlA- because +they corrupted the true religion and abandoned the authority of the +Book."[391] From this it appears that the KhAirijite programme was simply +the old Islam of equality and fraternity, which had never been fully +realised and was now irretrievably ruined. Theoretically, all devout +Moslems shared in the desire for its restoration and condemned the +existing Government no less cordially than did the KhAirijites. What +distinguished the latter party was the remorseless severity with which +they carried their principles into action. To them it was absolutely +vital that the ImAim, or head of the community, should rule in the name +and according to the will of God: those who followed any other sealed +their doom in the next world: eternal salvation hung upon the choice of +a successor to the Prophet. Moslems who refused to execrate aEuro~UthmAin and +aEuro~AlA- were the worst of infidels; it was the duty of every true believer +to take part in the Holy War against such, and to kill them, together +with their wives and children. These atrocities recoiled upon the +insurgents, who soon found themselves in danger of extermination. Milder +counsels began to prevail. Thus the IbAia¸ites (followers of aEuro~AbdullAih b. +IbAia¸) held it lawful to live amongst the Moslems and mix with them on +terms of mutual tolerance. But compromise was in truth incompatible with +the _raison d'Aªtre_ of the KhAirijites, namely, to establish the kingdom +of God upon the earth. This meant virtual anarchy: "their unbending +logic shattered every constitution which it set up." As aEuro~AlA- remarked, +"they say, 'No government' (_lAi imAira_), but there must be a government, +good or bad."[392] Nevertheless, it was a noble ideal for which they +fought in pure devotion, having, unlike the other political parties, no +worldly interests to serve. + +[Sidenote: Their religion.] + +The same fierce spirit of fanaticism moulded their religious views, +which were gloomy and austere, as befitted the chosen few in an ungodly +world. ShahrastAinA-, speaking of the original twelve thousand who +rebelled against aEuro~AlA-, describes them as 'people of fasting and prayer' +(_ahlu a¹LiyAimin wa-a¹LalAitin_).[393] The Koran ruled their lives and +possessed their imaginations, so that the history of the early Church, +the persecutions, martyrdoms, and triumphs of the Faith became a +veritable drama which was being enacted by themselves. The fear of hell +kindled in them an inquisitorial zeal for righteousness. They +scrupulously examined their own belief as well as that of their +neighbours, and woe to him that was found wanting! A single false step +involved excommunication from the pale of Islam, and though the slip +might be condoned on proof of sincere repentance, any Moslem who had +once committed a mortal sin (_kabA-ra_) was held, by the stricter +KhAirijites at least, to be inevitably damned with the infidels in +everlasting fire. + + +[Sidenote: KhAirijite poetry.] + +Much might be written, if space allowed, concerning the wars of the +KhAirijites, their most famous chiefs, the points on which they +quarrelled, and the sects into which they split. Here we can only +attempt to illustrate the general character of the movement. We have +touched on its political and religious aspects, and shall now conclude +with some reference to its literary side. The KhAirijites did not produce +a Milton or a Bunyan, but as Arabs of Bedouin stock they had a natural +gift of song, from which they could not be weaned; although, according +to the strict letter of the Koran, poetry is a devilish invention +improper for the pious Moslem to meddle with. But these are poems of a +different order from the pagan odes, and breathe a stern religious +enthusiasm that would have gladdened the Prophet's heart. Take, for +example, the following verses, which were made by a KhAirijite in +prison:--[394] + + "'Tis time, O ye Sellers, for one who hath sold himself + To God, that he should arise and saddle amain. + Fools! in the land of miscreants will ye abide, + To be hunted down, every man of you, and to be slain? + O would that I were among you, armA"d in mail, + On the back of my stout-ribbed galloping war-horse again! + And would that I were among you, fighting your foes, + That me, first of all, they might give death's beaker to drain! + It grieves me sore that ye are startled and chased + Like beasts, while I cannot draw on the wretches profane + My sword, nor see them scattered by noble knights + Who never yield an inch of the ground they gain, + But where the struggle is hottest, with keen blades hew + Their strenuous way and deem 'twere base to refrain. + Ay, it grieves me sore that ye are oppressed and wronged, + While I must drag in anguish a captive's chain." + +[Sidenote: Qaa¹-arA- b. al-FujAiaEuro(TM)a.] + +Qaa¹-arA- b. al-FujAiaEuro(TM)a, the intrepid KhAirijite leader who routed army +after army sent against him by a¸¤ajjAij, sang almost as well as he +fought. The verses rendered below are included in the _a¸¤amAisa_[395] +and cited by Ibn KhallikAin, who declares that they would make a brave +man of the greatest coward in the world. "I know of nothing on the +subject to be compared with them; they could only have proceeded from a +spirit that scorned disgrace and from a truly Arabian sentiment of +valour."[396] + + "I say to my soul dismayed-- + 'Courage! Thou canst not achieve, + With praying, an hour of life + Beyond the appointed term. + Then courage on death's dark field, + Courage! Impossible 'tis + To live for ever and aye. + Life is no hero's robe + Of honour: the dastard vile + Also doffs it at last.'" + +[Sidenote: The ShA-aEuro~ites.] + +[Sidenote: The theory of Divine Right.] + +The murder of aEuro~UthmAin broke the Moslem community, which had hitherto +been undivided, into two _shA-aEuro~as_, or parties--one for aEuro~AlA- and the +other for MuaEuro~Aiwiya. When the latter became Caliph he was no longer a +party leader, but head of the State, and his _shA-aEuro~a_ ceased to exist. +Henceforth 'the ShA-aEuro~a' _par excellence_ was the party of aEuro~AlA-, which +regarded the House of the Prophet as the legitimate heirs to the +succession. Not content, however, with upholding aEuro~AlA-, as the worthiest +of the Prophet's Companions and the duly elected Caliph, against his +rival, MuaEuro~Aiwiya, the bolder spirits took up an idea, which emerged about +this time, that the Caliphate belonged to aEuro~AlA- and his descendants by +Divine right. Such is the distinctive doctrine of the ShA-aEuro~ites to the +present day. It is generally thought to have originated in Persia, where +the SAisAinian kings used to assume the title of 'god' (PahlavA- _bagh_) +and were looked upon as successive incarnations of the Divine majesty. + + [Sidenote: Dozy's account of its origin.] + + "Although the ShA-aEuro~ites," says Dozy, "often found themselves under + the direction of Arab leaders, who utilised them in order to gain + some personal end, they were nevertheless a Persian sect at bottom; + and it is precisely here that the difference most clearly showed + itself between the Arab race, which loves liberty, and the Persian + race, accustomed to slavish submission. For the Persians, the + principle of electing the Prophet's successor was something unheard + of and incomprehensible. The only principle which they recognised + was that of inheritance, and since Mua¸Yammad left no sons, they + thought that his son-in-law aEuro~AlA- should have succeeded him, and that + the sovereignty was hereditary in his family. Consequently, all the + Caliphs except aEuro~AlA---_i.e._, AbAº Bakr, aEuro~Umar, and aEuro~UthmAin, as well + as the Umayyads--were in their eyes usurpers to whom no obedience + was due. The hatred which they felt for the Government and for Arab + rule confirmed them in this opinion; at the same time they cast + covetous looks on the wealth of their masters. Habituated, moreover, + to see in their kings the descendants of the inferior divinities, + they transferred this idolatrous veneration to aEuro~AlA- and his + posterity. Absolute obedience to the ImAim of aEuro~AlA-'s House was in + their eyes the most important duty; if that were fulfilled all the + rest might be interpreted allegorically and violated without + scruple. For them the ImAim was everything; he was God made man. A + servile submission accompanied by immorality was the basis of their + system."[397] + +[Sidenote: The SabaaEuro(TM)ites.] + +[Sidenote: Doctrine of Ibn SabAi.] + +Now, the ShA-aEuro~ite theory of Divine Right certainly harmonised with +Persian ideas, but was it also of Persian origin? On the contrary, it +seems first to have arisen among an obscure Arabian sect, the SabaaEuro(TM)ites, +whose founder, aEuro~AbdullAih b. SabAi (properly, SabaaEuro(TM)), was a native of +a¹canaEuro~Ai in Yemen, and is said to have been a Jew.[398] In aEuro~UthmAin's time +he turned Moslem and became, apparently, a travelling missionary. "He +went from place to place," says the historian, "seeking to lead the +Moslems into error."[399] We hear of him in the a¸¤ijAiz, then in Baa¹Lra and +KAºfa, then in Syria. Finally he settled in Egypt, where he preached the +doctrine of palingenesis (_rajaEuro~a_). "It is strange indeed," he +exclaimed, "that any one should believe in the return of Jesus (as +Messias), and deny the return of Mua¸Yammad, which God has announced (Kor. +xxviii, 85).[400] Furthermore, there are a thousand Prophets, every one +of whom has an executor (_waa¹LA-_), and the executor of Mua¸Yammad is +aEuro~AlA-.[401] Mua¸Yammad is the last of the Prophets, and aEuro~AlA- is the last of +the executors." Ibn SabAi, therefore, regarded AbAº Bakr, aEuro~Umar, and +aEuro~UthmAin as usurpers. He set on foot a widespread conspiracy in favour of +aEuro~AlA-, and carried on a secret correspondence with the disaffected in +various provinces of the Empire.[402] According to ShahrastAinA-, he was +banished by aEuro~AlA- for saying, "Thou art thou" (_anta anta_), _i.e._, +"Thou art God."[403] This refers to the doctrine taught by Ibn SabAi and +the extreme ShA-aEuro~ites (_GhulAit_) who derive from him, that the Divine +Spirit which dwells in every prophet and passes successively from one to +another was transfused, at Mua¸Yammad's death, into aEuro~AlA-, and from aEuro~AlA- +into his descendants who succeeded him in the ImAimate. The SabaaEuro(TM)ites +also held that the ImAim might suffer a temporary occultation (_ghayba_), +but that one day he would return and fill the earth with justice. They +believed the millennium to be near at hand, so that the number of ImAims +was at first limited to four. Thus the poet Kuthayyir (aEuro 723 A.D.) +says:-- + + "Four complete are the ImAims + aEuro~AlA- and his three good sons, + One was faithful and devout; + One, until with waving flags + Dwells on Mount Raa¸wAi, concealed: + of Quraysh, the lords of Right: + each of them a shining light. + KarbalAi hid one from sight; + his horsemen he shall lead to fight, + honey he drinks and water bright."[404] + +[Sidenote: The MahdA- or Messiah.] + +The Messianic idea is not peculiar to the ShA-aEuro~ites, but was brought into +Islam at an early period by Jewish and Christian converts, and soon +established itself as a part of Mua¸Yammadan belief. Traditions ascribed +to the Prophet began to circulate, declaring that the approach of the +Last Judgment would be heralded by a time of tumult and confusion, by +the return of Jesus, who would slay the Antichrist (_DajjAil_), and +finally by the coming of the MahdA-, _i.e._, 'the God-guided one,' who +would fill the earth with justice even as it was then filled with +violence and iniquity. This expectation of a Deliverer descended from +the Prophet runs through the whole history of the ShA-aEuro~a. As we have +seen, their supreme religious chiefs were the ImAims of aEuro~AlA-'s House, +each of whom transmitted his authority to his successor. In the course +of time disputes arose as to the succession. One sect acknowledged only +seven legitimate ImAims, while another carried the number to twelve. The +last ImAim of the 'Seveners' (_al-SabaEuro~iyya_), who are commonly called +IsmAiaEuro~A-lA-s, was Mua¸Yammad b. IsmAiaEuro~A-l, and of the 'Twelvers' +(_al-IthnAi-aEuro~ashariyya_) Mua¸Yammad b. al-a¸¤asan.[405] Both those personages +vanished mysteriously about 770 and 870 A.D., and their respective +followers, refusing to believe that they were dead, asserted that their +ImAim had withdrawn himself for a season from mortal sight, but that he +would surely return at last as the promised MahdA-. It would take a long +while to enumerate all the pretenders and fanatics who have claimed this +title.[406] Two of them founded the FAia¹-imid and Almohade dynasties, +which we shall mention elsewhere, but they generally died on the gibbet +or the battle-field. The ideal which they, so to speak, incarnated did +not perish with them. Mahdiism, the faith in a divinely appointed +revolution which will sweep away the powers of evil and usher in a +Golden Age of justice and truth such as the world has never known, is a +present and inspiring fact which deserves to be well weighed by those +who doubt the possibility of an Islamic Reformation. + +[Sidenote: ShA-aEuro~ite gatherings at KarbalAi.] + +The ShA-aEuro~a began as a political faction, but it could not remain so for +any length of time, because in Islam politics always tend to take +religious ground, just as the successful religious reformer invariably +becomes a ruler. The SabaaEuro(TM)ites furnished the ShA-aEuro~ite movement with a +theological basis; and the massacre of a¸¤usayn, followed by MukhtAir's +rebellion, supplied the indispensable element of enthusiasm. Within a +few years after the death of a¸¤usayn his grave at KarbalAi was already a +place of pilgrimage for the ShA-aEuro~ites. When the 'Penitents' +(_al-TawwAibAºn_) revolted in 684 they repaired thither and lifted their +voices simultaneously in a loud wail, and wept, and prayed God that He +would forgive them for having deserted the Prophet's grandson in his +hour of need. "O God!" exclaimed their chief, "have mercy on a¸¤usayn, the +Martyr and the son of a Martyr, the MahdA- and the son of a MahdA-, the +a¹ciddA-q and the son of a a¹ciddA-q![407] O God! we bear witness that we +follow their religion and their path, and that we are the foes of their +slayers and the friends of those who love them."[408] Here is the germ +of the _taaEuro~ziyas_, or Passion Plays, which are acted every year on the +10th of Mua¸Yarram, wherever ShA-aEuro~ites are to be found. + +[Sidenote: MukhtAir.] + +But the Moses of the ShA-aEuro~a, the man who showed them the way to victory +although he did not lead them to it, is undoubtedly MukhtAir. He came +forward in the name of aEuro~AlA-'s son, Mua¸Yammad, generally known as Ibnu +aEuro(TM)l-a¸¤anafiyya after his mother. Thus he gained the support of the Arabian +ShA-aEuro~ites, properly so called, who were devoted to aEuro~AlA- and his House, +and laid no stress upon the circumstance of descent from the Prophet, +whereas the Persian adherents of the ShA-aEuro~a made it a vital matter, and +held accordingly that only the sons of aEuro~AlA- by his wife FAia¹-ima were +fully qualified ImAims. Raising the cry of vengeance for a¸¤usayn, MukhtAir +carried this party also along with him. In 686 he found himself master +of KAºfa. Neither the result of his triumph nor the rapid overthrow of +his power concerns us here, but something must be said about the aims +and character of the movement which he headed. + + [Sidenote: The _MawAilA-_ of KAºfa.] + + "More than half the population of KAºfa was composed of _MawAilA-_ + (Clients), who monopolised handicraft, trade, and commerce. They + were mostly Persians in race and language; they had come to KAºfa as + prisoners of war and had there passed over to Islam: then they were + manumitted by their owners and received as clients into the Arab + tribes, so that they now occupied an ambiguous position + (_Zwitterstellung_), being no longer slaves, but still very + dependent on their patrons; needing their protection, bound to their + service, and forming their retinue in peace and war. In these + _MawAilA-_, who were entitled by virtue of Islam to more than the + 'dominant Arabism' allowed them, the hope now dawned of freeing + themselves from clientship and of rising to full and direct + participation in the Moslem state."[409] + +[Sidenote: MukhtAir and the _MawAilA-_.] + +[Sidenote: Persian influence on the ShA-aEuro~a.] + +MukhtAir, though himself an Arab of noble family, trusted the _MawAilA-_ +and treated them as equals, a proceeding which was bitterly resented by +the privileged class. "You have taken away our clients who are the booty +which God bestowed upon us together with this country. We emancipated +them, hoping to receive the Divine recompense and reward, but you would +not rest until you made them sharers in our booty."[410] MukhtAir was +only giving the _MawAilA-_ their due--they were Moslems and had the right, +as such, to a share in the revenues. To the haughty Arabs, however, it +appeared a monstrous thing that the despised foreigners should be placed +on the same level with themselves. Thus MukhtAir was thrown into the arms +of the _MawAilA-_, and the movement now became not so much anti-Umayyad as +anti-Arabian. Here is the turning-point in the history of the ShA-aEuro~a. Its +ranks were swelled by thousands of Persians imbued with the extreme +doctrines of the SabaaEuro(TM)ites which have been sketched above, and animated +by the intense hatred of a downtrodden people towards their conquerors +and oppressors. Consequently the ShA-aEuro~a assumed a religious and +enthusiastic character, and struck out a new path which led it farther +and farther from the orthodox creed. The doctrine of 'Interpretation' +(_TaaEuro(TM)wA-l_) opened the door to all sorts of extravagant ideas. One of the +principal ShA-aEuro~ite sects, the HAishimiyya, held that "there is an esoteric +side to everything external, a spirit to every form, a hidden meaning +(_taaEuro(TM)wA-l_) to every revelation, and to every similitude in this world a +corresponding reality in the other world; that aEuro~AlA- united in his own +person the knowledge of all mysteries and communicated it to his son +Mua¸Yammad Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-a¸¤anafiyya, who passed it on to his son AbAº HAishim; and +that the possessor of this universal knowledge is the true ImAim."[411] +So, without ceasing to be Moslems in name, the ShA-aEuro~ites transmuted Islam +into whatever shape they pleased by virtue of a mystical interpretation +based on the infallible authority of the House of Mua¸Yammad, and out of +the ruins of a political party there gradually arose a great religious +organisation in which men of the most diverse opinions could work +together for deliverance from the Umayyad yoke. The first step towards +this development was made by MukhtAir, a versatile genius who seems to +have combined the parts of political adventurer, social reformer, +prophet, and charlatan. He was crushed and his Persian allies were +decimated, but the seed which he had sown bore an abundant harvest when, +sixty years later, AbAº Muslim unfurled the black standard of the +aEuro~AbbAisids in KhurAisAin. + + +[Sidenote: The oldest theological sects.] + +Concerning the origin of the oldest theological sects in Islam, the +Murjites and the MuaEuro~tazilites, we possess too little contemporary +evidence to make a positive statement. It is probable that the latter at +any rate arose, as Von Kremer has suggested, under the influence of +Greek theologians, especially John of Damascus and his pupil, Theodore +Abucara (AbAº Qurra), the Bishop of a¸¤arrAin.[412] Christians were freely +admitted to the Umayyad court. The Christian al-Akha¹-al was +poet-laureate, while many of his co-religionists held high offices in +the Government. Moslems and Christians exchanged ideas in friendly +discussion or controversially. Armed with the hair-splitting weapons of +Byzantine theology, which they soon learned to use only too well, the +Arabs proceeded to try their edge on the dogmas of Islam. + +[Sidenote: The Murjites.] + +The leading article of the Murjite creed was this, that no one who +professed to believe in the One God could be declared an infidel, +whatever sins he might commit, until God Himself had given judgment +against him.[413] The Murjites were so called because they deferred +(_arjaaEuro(TM)a_ = to defer) their decision in such cases and left the sinner's +fate in suspense, so long as it was doubtful.[414] This principle they +applied in different ways. For example, they refused to condemn aEuro~AlA- and +aEuro~UthmAin outright, as the KhAirijites did. "Both aEuro~AlA- and aEuro~UthmAin," they +said, "were servants of God, and by God alone must they be judged; it is +not for us to pronounce either of them an infidel, notwithstanding that +they rent the Moslem people asunder."[415] On the other hand, the +Murjites equally rejected the pretensions made by the ShA-aEuro~ites on behalf +of aEuro~AlA- and by the Umayyads on behalf of MuaEuro~Aiwiya. For the most part +they maintained a neutral attitude towards the Umayyad Government: they +were passive resisters, content, as Wellhausen puts it, "to stand up for +the impersonal Law." Sometimes, however, they turned the principle of +toleration against their rulers. Thus a¸¤Airith b. Surayj and other Arabian +Murjites joined the oppressed _MawAilA-_ of KhurAisAin to whom the +Government denied those rights which they had acquired by +conversion.[416] According to the Murjite view, these Persians, having +professed Islam, should no longer be treated as tax-paying infidels. The +Murjites brought the same tolerant spirit into religion. They set faith +above works, emphasised the love and goodness of God, and held that no +Moslem would be damned everlastingly. Some, like Jahm b. a¹cafwAin, went so +far as to declare that faith (_A-mAin_) was merely an inward conviction: a +man might openly profess Christianity or Judaism or any form of unbelief +without ceasing to be a good Moslem, provided only that he acknowledged +Allah with his heart.[417] The moderate school found their most +illustrious representative in AbAº a¸¤anA-fa (aEuro 767 A.D.), and through this +great divine--whose followers to-day are counted by millions--their +liberal doctrines were diffused and perpetuated. + +[Sidenote: The MuaEuro~tazilites.] + +During the Umayyad period Baa¹Lra was the intellectual capital of Islam, +and in that city we find the first traces of a sect which maintained the +principle that thought must be free in the search for truth. The origin +of the MuaEuro~tazilites (_al-MuaEuro~tazila_), as they are generally called, +takes us back to the famous divine and ascetic, a¸¤asan of Baa¹Lra (aEuro 728 +A.D.). One day he was asked to give his opinion on a point regarding +which the Murjites and the KhAirijites held opposite views, namely, +whether those who had committed a great sin should be deemed believers +or unbelievers. While a¸¤asan was considering the question, one of his +pupils, WAia¹Lil b. aEuro~Aa¹-Ai (according to another tradition, aEuro~Amr b. aEuro~Ubayd) +replied that such persons were neither believers nor unbelievers, but +should be ranked in an intermediate state. He then turned aside and +began to explain the grounds of his assertion to a group which gathered +about him in a different part of the mosque. a¸¤asan said: "WAia¹Lil has +separated himself from us" (_iaEuro~tazala aEuro~annAi_); and on this account the +followers of WAia¹Lil were named 'MuaEuro~tazilites,' _i.e._, Schismatics. +Although the story may not be literally true, it is probably safe to +assume that the new sect originated in Baa¹Lra among the pupils of +a¸¤asan,[418] who was the life and soul of the religious movement of the +first century A.H. The MuaEuro~tazilite heresy, in its earliest form, is +connected with the doctrine of Predestination. On this subject the Koran +speaks with two voices. Mua¸Yammad was anything but a logically exact and +consistent thinker. He was guided by the impulse of the moment, and +neither he nor his hearers perceived, as later Moslems did, that the +language of the Koran is often contradictory. Thus in the present +instance texts which imply the moral responsibility of man for his +actions--_e.g._, "_Every soul is in pledge_ (with God) _for what it hath +wrought_"[419]; "_Whoso does good benefits himself, and whoso does evil +does it against himself_"[420]--stand side by side with others which +declare that God leads men aright or astray, as He pleases; that the +hearts of the wicked are sealed and their ears made deaf to the truth; +and that they are certainly doomed to perdition. This fatalistic view +prevailed in the first century of Islam, and the dogma of Predestination +was almost universally accepted. Ibn Qutayba, however, mentions the +names of twenty-seven persons who held the opinion that men's actions +are free.[421] Two among them, MaaEuro~bad al-JuhanA- and AbAº MarwAin GhaylAin, +who were put to death by aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-Malik and his son HishAim, do not +appear to have been condemned as heretics, but rather as enemies of the +Umayyad Government.[422] The real founder of the MuaEuro~tazilites was WAia¹Lil +b. aEuro~Aa¹-Ai (aEuro 748 A.D.),[423] who added a second cardinal doctrine to that +of free-will. He denied the existence of the Divine attributes--Power, +Wisdom, Life, &c.--on the ground that such qualities, if conceived as +eternal, would destroy the Unity of God. Hence the MuaEuro~tazilites called +themselves 'the partisans of Unity and Justice' (_AhluaEuro(TM)l-tawa¸YA-d +wa-aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~adl_): of Unity for the reason which has been explained, and of +Justice, because they held that God was not the author of evil and that +He would not punish His creatures except for actions within their +control. The further development of these Rationalistic ideas belongs to +the aEuro~AbbAisid period and will be discussed in a subsequent chapter. + + +[Sidenote: Growth of asceticism.] + +[Sidenote: a¸¤asan of Baa¹Lra.] + +The founder of Islam had too much human nature and common sense to +demand of his countrymen such mortifying austerities as were practised +by the Jewish Essenes and the Christian monks. His religion was not +without ascetic features, _e.g._, the Fast of Ramaa¸Ain, the prohibition +of wine, and the ordinance of the pilgrimage, but these can scarcely be +called unreasonable. On the other hand Mua¸Yammad condemned celibacy not +only by his personal example but also by precept. "There is no monkery +in Islam," he is reported to have said, and there was in fact nothing of +the kind for more than a century after his death. During this time, +however, asceticism made great strides. It was the inevitable outcome of +the Mua¸Yammadan conception of Allah, in which the attributes of mercy and +love are overshadowed by those of majesty, awe, and vengeance. The +terrors of Judgment Day so powerfully described in the Koran were +realised with an intensity of conviction which it is difficult for us to +imagine. As Goldziher has observed, an exaggerated consciousness of sin +and the dread of Divine punishment gave the first impulse to Moslem +asceticism. Thus we read that TamA-m al-DAirA-, one of the Prophet's +Companions, who was formerly a Christian, passed the whole night until +daybreak, repeating a single verse of the Koran (xlv, 20)--"_Do those +who work evil think that We shall make them even as those who believe +and do good, so that their life and death shall be equal? Ill do they +judge!_"[424] Abu aEuro(TM)l-DardAi, another of the Companions, used to say: "If +ye knew what ye shall see after death, ye would not eat food nor drink +water from appetite, and I wish that I were a tree which is lopped and +then devoured."[425] There were many who shared these views, and their +determination to renounce the world and to live solely for God was +strengthened by their disgust with a tyrannical and impious Government, +and by the almost uninterrupted spectacle of bloodshed, rapine, and +civil war. a¸¤asan of Baa¹Lra (aEuro 728)--we have already met him in connection +with the MuaEuro~tazilites--is an outstanding figure in this early ascetic +movement, which proceeded on orthodox lines.[426] Fear of God seized on +him so mightily that, in the words of his biographer, "it seemed as +though Hell-fire had been created for him alone."[427] All who looked on +his face thought that he must have been recently overtaken by some great +calamity.[428] One day a friend saw him weeping and asked him the cause. +"I weep," he replied, "for fear that I have done something unwittingly +and unintentionally, or committed some fault, or spoken some word which +is unpleasing to God: then He may have said, 'Begone, for now thou hast +no more honour in My court, and henceforth I will not receive anything +from thee.'"[429] Al-Mubarrad relates that two monks, coming from Syria, +entered Baa¹Lra and looked at a¸¤asan, whereupon one said to the other, "Let +us turn aside to visit this man, whose way of life appears like that of +the Messiah." So they went, and they found him supporting his chin on +the palm of his hand, while he was saying--"How I marvel at those who +have been ordered to lay in a stock of provisions and have been summoned +to set out on a journey, and yet the foremost of them stays for the +hindermost! Would that I knew what they are waiting for!"[430] The +following utterances are characteristic:-- + + "God hath made fasting a hippodrome (place or time of training) for + His servants, that they may race towards obedience to Him.[431] Some + come in first and win the prize, while others are left behind and + return disappointed; and by my life, if the lid were removed, the + well-doer would be diverted by his well-doing, and the evildoer by + his evil-doing, from wearing new garments or from anointing his + hair."[432] + + "You meet one of them with white skin and delicate complexion, + speeding along the path of vanity: he shaketh his hips and clappeth + his sides and saith, 'Here am I, recognise me!' Yes, we recognise + thee, and thou art hateful to God and hateful to good men."[433] + + "The bounties of God are too numerous to be acknowledged unless with + His help, and the sins of Man are too numerous for him to escape + therefrom unless God pardon them."[434] + + "The wonder is not how the lost were lost, but how the saved were + saved."[435] + + "Cleanse ye these hearts (by meditation and remembrance of God), for + they are quick to rust; and restrain ye these souls, for they desire + eagerly, and if ye restrain them not, they will drag you to an evil + end."[436] + +[Sidenote: a¸¤asan of Baa¹Lra not a genuine a¹cAºfA-.] + +The a¹cAºfA-s, concerning whom we shall say a few words presently, claim +a¸¤asan as one of themselves, and with justice in so far as he attached +importance to spiritual righteousness, and was not satisfied with merely +external acts of devotion. "A grain of genuine piety," he declared, "is +better than a thousandfold weight of fasting and prayer."[437] But +although some of his sayings which are recorded in the later biographies +lend colour to the fiction that he was a full-blown a¹cAºfA-, there can be +no doubt that his mysticism--if it deserves that name--was of the most +moderate type, entirely lacking the glow and exaltation which we find in +the saintly woman, RAibiaEuro~a al-aEuro~Adawiyya, with whom legend associates +him.[438] + + +[Sidenote: The derivation of 'a¹cAºfA-.'] + +[Sidenote: The beginnings of a¹cAºfiism.] + +The origin of the name 'a¹cAºfA-' is explained by the a¹cAºfA-s themselves in +many different ways, but of the derivations which have been proposed +only three possess any claim to consideration, viz., those which connect +it with IfI?I†IOEI, (wise) or with _a¹LafAi_ (purity) or with _a¹LAºf_ (wool).[439] +The first two are inadmissible on linguistic grounds, into which +we need not enter, though it may be remarked that the derivation +from _a¹LafAi_ is consecrated by the authority of the a¹cAºfA- Saints, and is +generally accepted in the East.[440] The reason for this preference +appears in such definitions as "The a¹cAºfA- is he who keeps his heart pure +(_a¹LAifA-_) with God,"[441] "a¹cAºfiism is 'the being chosen for purity' +(_ia¹La¹-ifAi_): whoever is thus chosen and made pure from all except God is +the true a¹cAºfA-."[442] Understood in this sense, the word had a lofty +significance which commended it to the elect. Nevertheless it can be +tracked to a quite humble source. Woollen garments were frequently worn +by men of ascetic life in the early times of Islam in order (as Ibn +KhaldAºn says) that they might distinguish themselves from those who +affected a more luxurious fashion of dress. Hence the name 'a¹cAºfA-,' which +denotes in the first instance an ascetic clad in wool (_a¹LAºf_), just as +the Capuchins owed their designation to the hood (_cappuccio_) which +they wore. According to QushayrA-, the term came into common use before +the end of the second century of the Hijra (= 815 A.D.). By this time, +however, the ascetic movement in Islam had to some extent assumed a new +character, and the meaning of 'a¹cAºfA-,' if the word already existed, must +have undergone a corresponding change. It seems to me not unlikely that +the epithet in question marks the point of departure from orthodox +asceticism and that, as JAimA- states, it was first applied to AbAº HAishim +of KAºfa (_ob._ before 800 _A.D._), who founded a monastery (_khAinaqAih_) +for a¹cAºfA-s at Ramla in Palestine. Be that as it may, the distinction +between asceticism (_zuhd_) and a¹cAºfiism--a distinction which answers, +broadly speaking, to the _via purgativa_ and the _via illuminativa_ of +Western mediA|val mysticism--begins to show itself before the close of +the Umayyad period, and rapidly develops in the early aEuro~AbbAisid age under +the influence of foreign ideas and, in particular, of Greek philosophy. +Leaving this later development to be discussed in a subsequent chapter, +we shall now briefly consider the origin of a¹cAºfiism properly so called +and the first manifestation of the peculiar tendencies on which it is +based. + + +As regards its origin, we cannot do better than quote the observations +with which Ibn KhaldAºn (aEuro 1406 A.D.) introduces the chapter on a¹cAºfiism +in the Prolegomena to his great historical work:-- + + [Sidenote: Ibn KhaldAºn's account of the origin of a¹cAºfiism.] + + "This is one of the religious sciences which were born in Islam. The + way of the a¹cAºfA-s was regarded by the ancient Moslems and their + illustrious men--the Companions of the Prophet (_al-a¹caa¸YAiba_), + the Successors (_al-TAibiaEuro~Aºn_), and the generation which came after + them--as the way of Truth and Salvation. To be assiduous in piety, + to give up all else for God's sake, to turn away from worldly gauds + and vanities, to renounce pleasure, wealth, and power, which are the + general objects of human ambition, to abandon society and to lead in + seclusion a life devoted solely to the service of God--these were + the fundamental principles of a¹cAºfiism which prevailed among the + Companions and the Moslems of old time. When, however, in the second + generation and afterwards worldly tastes became widely spread, and + men no longer shrank from such contamination, those who made piety + their aim were distinguished by the title of _a¹cAºfA-s_ or + _Mutaa¹Lawwifa_ (aspirants to a¹cAºfiism).[443] + +[Sidenote: The earliest form of a¹cAºfiism.] + +From this it is clear that a¹cAºfiism, if not originally identical with +the ascetic revolt of which, as we have seen, a¸¤asan of Baa¹Lra was +the most conspicuous representative, at any rate arose out of that +movement. It was not a speculative system, like the MuaEuro~tazilite heresy, +but a practical religion and rule of life. "We derived a¹cAºfiism," said +Junayd, "from fasting and taking leave of the world and breaking +familiar ties and renouncing what men deem good; not from disputation" +(_qA-l wa-qAil_).[444] The oldest a¹cAºfA-s were ascetics and hermits, but +they were also something more. They brought out the spiritual and +mystical element in Islam, or brought it in, if they did not find it +there already. + +[Sidenote: The difference between asceticism and a¹cAºfiism.] + +"a¹cAºfiism," says SuhrawardA-,[445] "is neither 'poverty' (_faqr_) nor +asceticism (_zuhd_), but a term which comprehends the ideas of both, +together with something besides. Without these superadded qualities a +man is not a a¹cAºfA-, though he may be an ascetic (_zAihid_) or a fakA-r +(_faqA-r_). It is said that, notwithstanding the excellence of 'poverty,' +the end thereof is only the beginning of a¹cAºfiism." A little further +on he explains the difference thus:-- + + "The fakA-r holds fast to his 'poverty' and is profoundly convinced + of its superior merit. He prefers it to riches because he longs for + the Divine recompense of which his faith assures him ... and whenever + he contemplates the everlasting reward, he abstains from the + fleeting joys of this world and embraces poverty and indigence and + fears that if he should cease to be 'poor' he will lose both the + merit and the prize. Now this is absolutely unsound according to the + doctrine of the a¹cAºfA-s, because he hopes for recompense and + renounces the world on that account, whereas the a¹cAºfA- does not + renounce it for the sake of promised rewards but, on the contrary, + for the sake of present 'states,' for he is the 'son of his + time.'...[446] The theory that 'poverty' is the foundation of + a¹cAºfiism signifies that the diverse stages of a¹cAºfiism are + reached by the road of 'poverty'; it does not imply that the a¹cAºfA- + is essentially a fakA-r." + +[Sidenote: The early a¹cAºfA-s.] + +The keynote of a¹cAºfiism is disinterested, selfless devotion, in a +word, Love. Though not wholly strange, this idea was very far from being +familiar to pious Mua¸Yammadans, who were more deeply impressed by the +power and vengeance of God than by His goodness and mercy. The Koran +generally represents Allah as a stern, unapproachable despot, requiring +utter submission to His arbitrary will, but infinitely unconcerned with +human feelings and aspirations. Such a Being could not satisfy the +religious instinct, and the whole history of a¹cAºfiism is a protest +against the unnatural divorce between God and Man which this conception +involves. Accordingly, I do not think that we need look beyond Islam for +the origin of the a¹cAºfA- doctrines, although it would be a mistake not +to recognise the part which Christian influence must have had in shaping +their early development. The speculative character with which they +gradually became imbued, and which in the course of time completely +transformed them, was more or less latent during the Umayyad period and +for nearly a century after the accession of the House of aEuro~AbbAis. The +early a¹cAºfA-s are still on orthodox ground: their relation to Islam is +not unlike that of the mediA|val Spanish mystics to the Roman Catholic +Church. They attach extraordinary value to certain points in +Mua¸Yammad's teaching and emphasise them so as to leave the others +almost a dead letter. They do not indulge in profound dialectic, but +confine themselves to matters bearing on practical theology. +Self-abandonment, rigorous self-mortification, fervid piety, and +quietism carried to the verge of apathy form the main features of their +creed. + +[Sidenote: IbrAihA-m b. Adham.] + +A full and vivid picture of early a¹cAºfiism might be drawn from the +numerous biographies in Arabic and Persian, which supply abundant +details concerning the manner of life of these Mua¸Yammadan Saints, and +faithfully record their austerities, visions, miracles, and sayings. +Here we have only space to add a few lines about the most important +members of the group--IbrAihA-m b. Adham, AbAº aEuro~AlA- ShaqA-q, Fua¸ayl b. +aEuro~IyAia¸, and RAibiaEuro~a--all of whom died between the middle and end of the +second century after the Hijra (767-815 A.D.). IbrAihA-m belonged to the +royal family of Balkh. Forty scimitars of gold and forty maces of gold +were borne in front of him and behind. One day, while hunting, he heard +a voice which cried, "Awake! wert thou created for this?" He exchanged +his splendid robes for the humble garb and felt cap of a shepherd, bade +farewell to his kingdom, and lived for nine years in a cave near +NaysAibAºr.[447] His customary prayer was, "O God, uplift me from the +shame of disobedience to the glory of submission unto Thee!" + + "O God!" he said, "Thou knowest that the Eight Paradises are little + beside the honour which Thou hast done unto me, and beside Thy love, + and beside Thy giving me intimacy with the praise of Thy name, and + beside the peace of mind which Thou hast given me when I meditate on + Thy majesty." And again: "You will not attain to righteousness until + you traverse six passes (_aEuro~aqabAit_): the first is that you shut the + door of pleasure and open the door of hardship; the second, that you + shut the door of eminence and open the door of abasement; the third, + that you shut the door of ease and open the door of affliction; the + fourth, that you shut the door of sleep and open the door of + wakefulness; the fifth, that you shut the door of riches and open + the door of poverty; and the sixth, that you shut the door of + expectation and open the door of making yourself ready for death." + +[Sidenote: ShaqA-q of Balkh.] + +[Sidenote: Fua¸ayl b. aEuro~IyAia¸.] + +[Sidenote: RAibiaEuro~a al-aEuro~Adawiyya.] + +ShaqA-q, also of Balkh, laid particular stress on the duty of leaving +one's self entirely in God's hands (_tawakkul_), a term which is +practically synonymous with passivity; _e.g._, the _mutawakkil_ must +make no effort to obtain even the barest livelihood, he must not ask for +anything, nor engage in any trade: his business is with God alone. One +of ShaqA-q's sayings was, "Nine-tenths of devotion consist in flight from +mankind, the remaining tenth in silence." Similarly, Fua¸ayl b. +aEuro~IyAia¸, a converted captain of banditti, declared that "to abstain for +men's sake from doing anything is hypocrisy, while to do anything for +men's sake is idolatry." It may be noticed as an argument against the +Indian origin of a¹cAºfiism that although the three a¹cAºfA-s who have +been mentioned were natives of KhurAisAin or Transoxania, and therefore +presumably in touch with Buddhistic ideas, no trace can be found in +their sayings of the doctrine of dying to self (_fanAi_), which plays a +great part in subsequent a¹cAºfiism, and which Von Kremer and others +have identified with _NirvAina_. We now come to a more interesting +personality, in whom the ascetic and quietistic type of a¹cAºfiism is +transfigured by emotion and begins clearly to reveal the direction of +its next advance. Every one knows that women have borne a distinguished +part in the annals of European mysticism: St. Teresa, Madame Guyon, +Catharine of Siena, and Juliana of Norwich, to mention but a few names +at random. And notwithstanding the intellectual death to which the +majority of Moslem women are condemned by their Prophet's ordinance, the +a¹cAºfA-s, like the Roman Catholics, can boast a goodly number of female +saints. The oldest of these, and by far the most renowned, is RAibiaEuro~a, +who belonged to the tribe of aEuro~AdA-, whence she is generally called RAibiaEuro~a +al-aEuro~Adawiyya. She was a native of Baa¹Lra and died at Jerusalem, +probably towards the end of the second century of Islam: her tomb was an +object of pilgrimage in the Middle Ages, as we learn from Ibn KhallikAin +(aEuro 1282 A.D.). Although the sayings and verses attributed to her by +a¹cAºfA- writers may be of doubtful authenticity, there is every reason +to suppose that they fairly represent the actual character of her +devotion, which resembled that of all feminine mystics in being inspired +by tender and ardent feeling. She was asked: "Do you love God Almighty?" +"Yes." "Do you hate the Devil?" "My love of God," she replied, "leaves +me no leisure to hate the Devil. I saw the Prophet in a dream. He said, +'O RAibiaEuro~a, do you love me?' I said, 'O Apostle of God, who does not love +thee?--but love of God hath so absorbed me that neither love nor hate of +any other thing remains in my heart.'" RAibiaEuro~a is said to have spoken the +following verses:-- + + "Two ways I love Thee: selfishly, + And next, as worthy is of Thee. + 'Tis selfish love that I do naught + Save think on Thee with every thought; + 'Tis purest love when Thou dost raise + The veil to my adoring gaze. + Not mine the praise in that or this, + Thine is the praise in both, I wis."[448] + +Whether genuine or not, these lines, with their mixture of devotion and +speculation--the author distinguishes the illuminative from the +contemplative life and manifestly regards the latter as the more +excellent way--serve to mark the end of the ascetic school of a¹cAºfiism +and the rise of a new theosophy which, under the same name and still +professing to be in full accord with the Koran and the _Sunna_, was +founded to some extent upon ideas of extraneous origin--ideas +irreconcilable with any revealed religion, and directly opposed to the +severe and majestic simplicity of the Mua¸Yammadan articles of faith. + + +[Sidenote: Umayyad literature.] + +[Sidenote: The decline of Arabian poetry not due to Mua¸Yammad.] + +[Sidenote: The Umayyad poets.] + +The opening century of Islam was not favourable to literature. At first +conquest, expansion, and organisation, then civil strife absorbed the +nation's energies; then, under the Umayyads, the old pagan spirit +asserted itself once more. Consequently the literature of this period +consists almost exclusively of poetry, which bears few marks of Islamic +influence. I need scarcely refer to the view which long prevailed in +Europe that Mua¸Yammad corrupted the taste of his countrymen by setting +up the Koran as an incomparable model of poetic style, and by condemning +the admired productions of the heathen bards and the art of poetry +itself; nor remind my readers that in the first place the Koran is not +poetical in form (so that it could not serve as a model of this kind), +and secondly, according to Mua¸Yammadan belief, is the actual Word of +God, therefore _sui generis_ and beyond imitation. Again, the poets whom +the Prophet condemned were his most dangerous opponents: he hated them +not as poets but as propagators and defenders of false ideals, and +because they ridiculed his teaching, while on the contrary he honoured +and rewarded those who employed their talents in the right way. If the +nomad minstrels and cavaliers who lived, as they sang, the free life of +the desert were never equalled by the brilliant laureates of imperial +Damascus and BaghdAid, the causes of the decline cannot be traced to +Mua¸Yammad's personal attitude, but are due to various circumstances +for which he is only responsible in so far as he founded a religious and +political system that revolutionised Arabian society. The poets of the +period with which we are now dealing follow slavishly in the footsteps +of the ancients, as though Islam had never been. Instead of celebrating +the splendid victories and heroic deeds of Moslem warriors, the bard +living in a great city still weeps over the relics of his beloved's +encampment in the wilderness, still rides away through the sandy waste +on the peerless camel, whose fine points he particularly describes; and +if he should happen to be addressing the Caliph, it is ten to one that +he will credit that august personage with all the virtues of a Bedouin +Shaykh. "Fortunately the imitation of the antique _qaa¹LA-da_, at any +rate with the greatest Umayyad poets, is to some extent only accessory +to another form of art that excites our historical interest in a high +degree: namely, the occasional poems (very numerous in almost all these +writers), which are suggested by the mood of the moment and can shed a +vivid light on contemporary history."[449] + + +[Sidenote: Music and song in the Holy Cities.] + +[Sidenote: aEuro~Umar b. AbA- RabA-aEuro~a.] + +The conquests made by the successors of the Prophet brought enormous +wealth into Mecca and MedA-na, and when the Umayyad aristocracy gained +the upper hand in aEuro~UthmAin's Caliphate, these towns developed a +voluptuous and dissolute life which broke through every restriction that +Islam had imposed. The increase of luxury produced a corresponding +refinement of the poetic art. Although music was not unknown to the +pagan Arabs, it had hitherto been cultivated chiefly by foreigners, +especially Greek and Persian singing-girls. But in the first century +after the Hijra we hear of several Arab singers,[450] natives of Mecca +and MedA-na, who set favourite passages to music: henceforth the words +and the melody are inseparably united, as we learn from the _KitAibu +aEuro(TM)l-AghAinA-_ or 'Book of Songs,' where hundreds of examples are to be +found. Amidst the gay throng of pleasure-seekers women naturally played +a prominent part, and love, which had hitherto formed in most cases +merely the conventional prelude to an ode, now began to be sung for its +own sake. In this Peninsular school, as it may be named in contrast with +the bold and masculine strain of the great Provincial poets whom we are +about to mention, the palm unquestionably belongs to aEuro~Umar b. AbA- RabA-aEuro~a +(aEuro 719 A.D.), the son of a rich Meccan merchant. He passed the best part +of his life in the pursuit of noble dames, who alone inspired him to +sing. His poetry was so seductive that it was regarded by devout Moslems +as "the greatest crime ever committed against God," and so charming +withal that aEuro~AbdullAih b. aEuro~AbbAis, the Prophet's cousin and a famous +authority on the Koran and the Traditions, could not refrain from +getting by heart some erotic verses which aEuro~Umar recited to him.[451] The +Arabs said, with truth, that the tribe of Quraysh had won distinction in +every field save poetry, but we must allow that aEuro~Umar b. AbA- RabA-aEuro~a is a +clear exception to this rule. His diction, like that of Catullus, has +all the unaffected ease of refined conversation. Here are a few lines:-- + + "Blame me no more, O comrades! but to-day + Quietly with me beside the howdahs stay. + Blame not my love for Zaynab, for to her + And hers my heart is pledged a prisoner. + Ah, can I ever think of how we met + Once at al-Khayf, and feel no fond regret? + My song of other women was but jest: + She reigns alone, eclipsing all the rest. + Hers is my love sincere, 'tis she the flame + Of passion kindles--so, a truce to blame!"[452] + +[Sidenote: Love-ballads.] + +We have no space to dwell on the minor poets of the same school, +al-aEuro~ArjA- (a kinsman of the Umayyads), al-Aa¸Ywaa¹L, and many others. +It has been pointed out by Dr. C. Brockelmann that the love-poetry of +this epoch is largely of popular origin; _e.g._, the songs attributed to +JamA-l, in which Buthayna is addressed, and to MajnAºn--the hero of +countless Persian and Turkish romances which celebrate his love for +LaylAi--are true folk-songs such as occur in the _Arabian Nights_, and +may be heard in the streets of Beyrout or on the banks of the Tigris at +the present day. Many of them are extremely beautiful. I take the +following verses from a poem which is said to have been composed by +JamA-l:-- + + "Oh, might it flower anew, that youthful prime, + And restore to us, Buthayna, the bygone time! + And might we again be blest as we wont to be, + When thy folk were nigh and grudged what thou gavest me! + + Shall I ever meet Buthayna alone again, + Each of us full of love as a cloud of rain? + Fast in her net was I when a lad, and till + This day my love is growing and waxing still. + + I have spent my lifetime, waiting for her to speak, + And the bloom of youth is faded from off my cheek; + But I will not suffer that she my suit deny, + My love remains undying, though all things die!"[453] + +[Sidenote: Poetry in the provinces.] + +The names of al-Akha¹-al, al-Farazdaq, and JarA-r stand out +pre-eminently in the list of Umayyad poets. They were men of a very +different stamp from the languishing Minnesingers and carpet-knights +who, like JamA-l, refused to battle except on the field of love. It is +noteworthy that all three were born and bred in Mesopotamia. The +motherland was exhausted; her ambitious and enterprising youth poured +into the provinces, which now become the main centres of intellectual +activity. + +[Sidenote: The _NaqAiaEuro(TM)ia¸_ of JarA-r and Farazdaq.] + +[Sidenote: General interest in poetry.] + +Farazdaq and JarA-r are intimately connected by a peculiar +rivalry--"_Arcades ambo_--_id est_, blackguards both." For many years +they engaged in a public scolding-match (_muhAijAit_), and as neither had +any scruples on the score of decency, the foulest abuse was bandied to +and fro between them--abuse, however, which is redeemed from vulgarity +by its literary excellence, and by the marvellous skill which the +satirists display in manipulating all the vituperative resources of the +Arabic language. Soon these 'Flytings' (_NaqAiaEuro(TM)ia¸_) were recited +everywhere, and each poet had thousands of enthusiastic partisans who +maintained that he was superior to his rival.[454] One day Muhallab b. +AbA- Sufra, the governor of KhurAisAin, who was marching against the +AzAiriqa, a sect of the KhAirijites, heard a great clamour and tumult in +the camp. On inquiring its cause, he found that the soldiers had been +fiercely disputing as to the comparative merits of JarA-r and Farazdaq, +and desired to submit the question to his decision. "Would you expose +me," said Muhallab, "to be torn in pieces by these two dogs? I will not +decide between them, but I will point out to you those who care not a +whit for either of them. Go to the AzAiriqa! They are Arabs who +understand poetry and judge it aright." Next day, when the armies faced +each other, an Azraqite named aEuro~AbA-da b. HilAil stepped forth from the +ranks and offered single combat. One of Muhallab's men accepted the +challenge, but before fighting he begged his adversary to inform him +which was the better poet--Farazdaq or JarA-r? "God confound you!" cried +aEuro~AbA-da, "do you ask me about poetry instead of studying the Koran and +the Sacred Law?" Then he quoted a verse by JarA-r and gave judgment in +his favour.[455] This incident affords a striking proof that the taste +for poetry, far from being confined to literary circles, was diffused +throughout the whole nation, and was cultivated even amidst the fatigues +and dangers of war. Parallel instances occur in the history of the +Athenians, the most gifted people of the West, and possibly elsewhere, +but imagine British soldiers discussing questions of that kind over the +camp-fires! + +Akha¹-al joined in the fray. His sympathies were with Farazdaq, and the +_naqAiaEuro(TM)ia¸_ which he and JarA-r composed against each other have come +down to us. All these poets, like their Post-islamic brethren generally, +were professional encomiasts, greedy, venal, and ready to revile any one +who would not purchase their praise. Some further account of them may be +interesting to the reader, especially as the anecdotes related by their +biographers throw many curious sidelights on the manners of the time. + +[Sidenote: Akha¹-al.] + +The oldest of the trio, Akha¹-al (GhiyAith b. Ghawth) of Taghlib, was a +Christian, like most of his tribe--they had long been settled in +Mesopotamia--and remained in that faith to the end of his life, though +the Caliph aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-Malik is said to have offered him a pension and +10,000 dirhems in cash if he would turn Moslem. His religion, however, +was less a matter of principle than of convenience, and to him the +supreme virtue of Christianity lay in the licence which it gave him to +drink wine as often as he pleased. The stories told of him suggest +grovelling devoutness combined with very easy morals, a phenomenon +familiar to the student of mediA|val Catholicism. It is related by one +who was touring in Syria that he found Akha¹-al confined in a church at +Damascus, and pleaded his cause with the priest. The latter stopped +beside Akha¹-al and raising the staff on which he leaned--for he was an +aged man--exclaimed: "O enemy of God, will you again defame people and +satirise them and caluminate chaste women?" while the poet humbled +himself and promised never to repeat the offence. When asked how it was +that he, who was honoured by the Caliph and feared by all, behaved so +submissively to this priest, he answered, "It is religion, it is +religion."[456] On another occasion, seeing the Bishop pass, he cried to +his wife who was then pregnant, "Run after him and touch his robe." The +poor woman only succeeded in touching the tail of the Bishop's ass, but +Akha¹-al consoled her with the remark, "He and the tail of his ass, +there's no difference!"[457] It is characteristic of the anti-Islamic +spirit which appears so strongly in the Umayyads that their chosen +laureate and champion should have been a Christian who was in truth a +lineal descendant of the pagan bards. Pious Moslems might well be +scandalised when he burst unannounced into the Caliph's presence, +sumptuously attired in silk and wearing a cross of gold which was +suspended from his neck by a golden chain, while drops of wine trickled +from his beard,[458] but their protests went unheeded at the court of +Damascus, where nobody cared whether the author of a fine verse was a +Moslem or a Christian, and where a poet was doubly welcome whose +religion enabled him to serve his masters without any regard to +Mua¸Yammadan sentiment; so that, for example, when YazA-d I wished to +take revenge on the people of MedA-na because one of their poets had +addressed amatory verses to his sister, he turned to Akha¹-al, who +branded the _Ana¹LAir_, the men who had brought about the triumph of +Islam, in the famous lines-- + + "Quraysh have borne away all the honour and glory, + And baseness alone is beneath the turbans of the Ana¹LAir."[459] + +We must remember that the poets were leaders of public opinion; their +utterances took the place of political pamphlets or of party oratory for +or against the Government of the day. On hearing Akha¹-al's ode in +praise of the Umayyad dynasty,[460] aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-Malik ordered one of his +clients to conduct the author through the streets of Damascus and to cry +out, "Here is the poet of the Commander of the Faithful! Here is the +best poet of the Arabs!"[461] No wonder that he was a favourite at court +and such an eminent personage that the great tribe of Bakr used to +invite him to act as arbitrator whenever any controversy arose among +them.[462] Despite the luxury in which he lived, his wild Bedouin nature +pined for freedom, and he frequently left the capital to visit his home +in the desert, where he not only married and divorced several wives, but +also threw himself with ardour into the feuds of his clan. We have +already noticed the part which he played in the literary duel between +JarA-r and Farazdaq. From his deathbed he sent a final injunction to +Farazdaq not to spare their common enemy. + +Akha¹-al is commended by Arabian critics for the number and excellence +of his long poems, as well as for the purity, polish, and correctness of +his style. AbAº aEuro~Ubayda put him first among the poets of Islam, while the +celebrated collector of Pre-islamic poetry, AbAº aEuro~Amr b. al-aEuro~AlAi, +declared that if Akha¹-al had lived a single day in the Pagan Age he +would not have preferred any one to him. His supremacy in panegyric was +acknowledged by Farazdaq, and he himself claims to have surpassed all +competitors in three styles, viz., panegyric, satire, and erotic poetry; +but there is more justification for the boast that his satires might be +recited _virginibus_--he does not add _puerisque_--without causing a +blush.[463] + + +[Sidenote: Farazdaq.] + +HammAim b. GhAilib, generally known as Farazdaq, belonged to the tribe of +TamA-m, and was born at Baa¹Lra towards the end of aEuro~Umar's Caliphate, +His grandfather, a¹caaEuro~a¹LaaEuro~a, won renown in Pre-islamic times by +ransoming the lives of female infants whom their parents had condemned +to die (on account of which he received the title, _Mua¸Yyi +aEuro(TM)l-MawaEuro(TM)AºdAit_, 'He who brings the buried girls to life'), and his father +was likewise imbued with the old Bedouin traditions of liberality and +honour, which were rapidly growing obsolete among the demoralised +populace of aEuro~IrAiq. Farazdaq was a _mauvais sujet_ of the type +represented by FranASec.ois Villon, reckless, dissolute, and thoroughly +unprincipled: apart from his gift of vituperation, we find nothing in +him to admire save his respect for his father's memory and his constant +devotion to the House of aEuro~AlA-, a devotion which he scorned to conceal; +so that he was cast into prison by the Caliph HishAim for reciting in his +presence a glowing panegyric on aEuro~AlA-'s grandson, Zaynu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~AbidA-n. The +tragic fate of a¸¤usayn at KarbalAi affected him deeply, and he called +on his compatriots to acquit themselves like men-- + + "If ye avenge not him, the son of the best of you, + Then fling, fling the sword away and naught but the spindle ply."[464] + +While still a young man, he was expelled from his native city in +consequence of the lampoons which he directed against a noble family of +Baa¹Lra, the BanAº Nahshal. Thereupon he fled to MedA-na, where he +plunged into gallantry and dissipation until a shameless description of +one of his intrigues again drew upon him the sentence of banishment. His +poems contain many references to his cousin NawAir, whom, by means of a +discreditable trick, he forced to marry him when she was on the point of +giving her hand to another. The pair were ever quarrelling, and at last +Farazdaq consented to an irrevocable divorce, which was witnessed by +a¸¤asan of Baa¹Lra, the famous theologian. No sooner was the act +complete than Farazdaq began to wish it undone, and he spoke the +following verses:--[465] + + "I feel repentance like al-KusaaEuro~A-,[466] + Now that NawAir has been divorced by me. + She was my Paradise which I have lost, + Like Adam when the Lord's command he crossed. + I am one who wilfully puts out his eyes, + Then dark to him the shining day doth rise!" + +'The repentance of Farazdaq,' signifying bitter regret or +disappointment, passed into a proverb. He died a few months before JarA-r +in 728 A.D., a year also made notable by the deaths of two illustrious +divines, a¸¤asan of Baa¹Lra and Ibn SA-rA-n. + + +[Sidenote: JarA-r.] + +JarA-r b. aEuro~Atiyya belonged to Kulayb, a branch of the same tribe, TamA-m, +which produced Farazdaq. He was the court-poet of a¸¤ajjAij, the dreaded +governor of aEuro~IrAiq, and eulogised his patron in such extravagant terms as +to arouse the jealousy of the Caliph aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-Malik, who consequently +received him, on his appearance at Damascus, with marked coldness and +hauteur. But when, after several repulses, he at length obtained +permission to recite a poem which he had composed in honour of the +prince, and came to the verse-- + + "Are not ye the best of those who on camel ride, + More open-handed than all in the world beside?"-- + +the Caliph sat up erect on his throne and exclaimed: "Let us be praised +like this or in silence!"[467] JarA-r's fame as a satirist stood so high +that to be worsted by him was reckoned a greater distinction than to +vanquish any one else. The blind poet, BashshAir b. Burd (aEuro 783 A.D.), +said: "I satirised JarA-r, but he considered me too young for him to +notice. Had he answered me, I should have been the finest poet in the +world."[468] The following anecdote shows that vituperation launched by +a master like JarA-r was a deadly and far-reaching weapon which degraded +its victim in the eyes of his contemporaries, however he might deserve +their esteem, and covered his family and tribe with lasting disgrace. + + There was a poet of repute, well known by the name of RAiaEuro~i aEuro(TM)l-ibil + (Camel-herd), who loudly published his opinion that Farazdaq was + superior to JarA-r, although the latter had lauded his tribe, the + BanAº Numayr, whereas Farazdaq had made verses against them. One day + JarA-r met him and expostulated with him but got no reply. RAiaEuro~A- was + riding a mule and was accompanied by his son, Jandal, who said to + his father: "Why do you halt before this dog of the BanAº Kulayb, as + though you had anything to hope or fear from him?" At the same time + he gave the mule a lash with his whip. The animal started violently + and kicked JarA-r, who was standing by, so that his cap fell to the + ground. RAiaEuro~A- took no heed and went on his way. JarA-r picked up the + cap, brushed it, and replaced it on his head. Then he exclaimed in + verse:-- + + "_O Jandal! what will say Numayr of you + When my dishonouring shaft has pierced thy sire?_" + + He returned home full of indignation, and after the evening prayer, + having called for a jar of date-wine and a lamp, he set about his + work. An old woman in the house heard him muttering, and mounted the + stairs to see what ailed him. She found him crawling naked on his + bed, by reason of that which was within him; so she ran down, crying + "He is mad," and described what she had seen to the people of the + house. "Get thee gone," they said, "we know what he is at." By + daybreak JarA-r had composed a satire of eighty verses against the + BanAº Numayr. When he finished the poem, he shouted triumphantly, + "_Allah Akbar!_" and rode away to the place where he expected to + find RAiaEuro~A- aEuro(TM)l-ibil and Farazdaq and their friends. He did not salute + RAiaEuro~A- but immediately began to recite. While he was speaking Farazdaq + and RAiaEuro~A- bowed their heads, and the rest of the company sat + listening in silent mortification. When JarA-r uttered the final + words-- + + "_Cast down thine eyes for shame! for thou art of + Numayr--no peer of KaaEuro~b nor yet KilAib_"-- + + RAiaEuro~A- rose and hastened to his lodging as fast as his mule could + carry him. "Saddle! Saddle!" he cried to his comrades; "you cannot + stay here longer, JarA-r has disgraced you all." They left Baa¹Lra + without delay to rejoin their tribe, who bitterly reproached RAiaEuro~A- + for the ignominy which he had brought upon Numayr; and hundreds of + years afterwards his name was still a byword among his people.[469] + +[Sidenote: Dhu aEuro(TM)l-Rumma.] + +Next, but next at a long interval, to the three great poets of this +epoch comes Dhu aEuro(TM)l-Rumma (GhaylAin b. aEuro~Uqba), who imitated the odes of +the desert Arabs with tiresome and monotonous fidelity. The philologists +of the following age delighted in his antique and difficult style, and +praised him far above his merits. It was said that poetry began with +ImruaEuro(TM)u aEuro(TM)l-Qays and ended with Dhu aEuro(TM)l-Rumma; which is true in the sense +that he is the last important representative of the pure Bedouin school. + + +[Sidenote: Prose writers of the Umayyad period.] + +Concerning the prose writers of the period we can make only a few +general observations, inasmuch as their works have almost entirely +perished.[470] In this branch of literature the same secular, +non-Mua¸Yammadan spirit prevailed which has been mentioned as +characteristic of the poets who flourished under the Umayyad dynasty, +and of the dynasty itself. Historical studies were encouraged and +promoted by the court of Damascus. We have referred elsewhere to aEuro~AbA-d +b. Sharya, a native of Yemen, whose business it was to dress up the old +legends and purvey them in a readable form to the public. Another +Yemenite of Persian descent, Wahb b. Munabbih, is responsible for a +great deal of the fabulous lore belonging to the domain of _AwAiaEuro(TM)il_ +(Origins) which Moslem chroniclers commonly prefix to their historical +works. There seems to have been an eager demand for narratives of the +Early Wars of Islam (_maghAizA-_). It is related that the Caliph aEuro~Abdu +aEuro(TM)l-Malik, seeing one of these books in the hands of his son, ordered it +to be burnt, and enjoined him to study the Koran instead. This anecdote +shows on the part of aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-Malik a pious feeling with which he is +seldom credited,[471] but it shows also that histories of a legendary +and popular character preceded those which were based, like the +_MaghAizA-_ of MAºsAi b. aEuro~Uqba (aEuro 758 A.D.) and Ibn Isa¸YAiq's _Biography of +the Prophet_, upon religious tradition. No work of the former class has +been preserved. The strong theological influence which asserted itself +in the second century of the Hijra was unfavourable to the development +of an Arabian prose literature on national lines. In the meantime, +however, learned doctors of divinity began to collect and write down the +_a¸¤adA-ths_. We have a solitary relic of this sort in the _KitAibu +aEuro(TM)l-Zuhd_ (Book of Asceticism) by Asad b. MAºsAi (aEuro 749 A.D.). The most +renowned traditionist of the Umayyad age is Mua¸Yammad b. Muslim b. +ShihAib al-ZuhrA- (aEuro 742 A.D.), who distinguished himself by accepting +judicial office under the tyrants; an act of complaisance to which his +more stiff-necked and conscientious brethren declined to stoop. + + +[Sidenote: The non-Arabian Moslems.] + +It was the lust of conquest even more than missionary zeal that caused +the Arabs to invade Syria and Persia and to settle on foreign soil, +where they lived as soldiers at the expense of the native population +whom they inevitably regarded as an inferior race. If the latter thought +to win respect by embracing the religion of their conquerors, they found +themselves sadly mistaken. The new converts were attached as clients +(_MawAilA-_, sing. _MawlAi_) to an Arab tribe: they could not become +Moslems on any other footing. Far from obtaining the equal rights which +they coveted, and which, according to the principles of Islam, they +should have enjoyed, the _MawAilA-_ were treated by their aristocratic +patrons with contempt, and had to submit to every kind of social +degradation, while instead of being exempted from the capitation-tax +paid by non-Moslems, they still remained liable to the ever-increasing +exactions of Government officials. And these 'Clients,' be it +remembered, were not ignorant serfs, but men whose culture was +acknowledged by the Arabs themselves--men who formed the backbone of the +influential learned class and ardently prosecuted those studies, +Divinity and Jurisprudence, which were then held in highest esteem. Here +was a situation full of danger. Against ShA-aEuro~ites and KhAirijites the +Umayyads might claim with some show of reason to represent the cause of +law and order, if not of Islam; against the bitter cry of the oppressed +_MawAilA-_ they had no argument save the sword. + + +[Sidenote: Presages of the Revolution.] + +We have referred above to the universal belief of Moslems in a Messiah +and to the extraordinary influence of that belief on their religious and +political history. No wonder that in this unhappy epoch thousands of +people, utterly disgusted with life as they found it, should have +indulged in visions of 'a good time coming,' which was expected to +coincide with the end of the first century of the Hijra. Mysterious +predictions, dark sayings attributed to Mua¸Yammad himself, prophecies +of war and deliverance floated to and fro. Men pored over apocryphal +books, and asked whether the days of confusion and slaughter +(_al-harj_), which, it is known, shall herald the appearance of the +MahdA-, had not actually begun. + +The final struggle was short and decisive. When it closed, the Umayyads +and with them the dominion of the Arabs had passed away. Alike in +politics and literature, the Persian race asserted its supremacy. We +shall now relate the story of this Revolution as briefly as possible, +leaving the results to be considered in a new chapter. + +[Sidenote: The aEuro~AbbAisids.] + +[Sidenote: aEuro~AbbAisid propaganda in KhurAisAin.] + +While the ShA-aEuro~ite missionaries (_duaEuro~Ait_, sing. _dAiaEuro~A-_) were actively +engaged in canvassing for their party, which, as we have seen, +recognised in aEuro~AlA- and his descendants the only legitimate successors to +Mua¸Yammad, another branch of the Prophet's family--the aEuro~AbbAisids--had +entered the field with the secret intention of turning the labours of +the aEuro~Alids to their own advantage. From their ancestor, aEuro~AbbAis, the +Prophet's uncle, they inherited those qualities of caution, duplicity, +and worldly wisdom which ensure success in political intrigue. +aEuro~AbdullAih, the son of aEuro~AbbAis, devoted his talents to theology and +interpretation of the Koran. He "passes for one of the strongest pillars +of religious tradition; but, in the eyes of unprejudiced European +research, he is only a crafty liar." His descendants "lived in deep +retirement in a¸¤umayma, a little place to the south of the Dead Sea, +seemingly far withdrawn from the world, but which, on account of its +proximity to the route by which Syrian pilgrims went to Mecca, afforded +opportunities for communication with the remotest lands of Islam. From +this centre they carried on the propaganda in their own behalf with the +utmost skill. They had genius enough to see that the best soil for their +efforts was the distant KhurAisAin--that is, the extensive north-eastern +provinces of the old Persian Empire."[472] These countries were +inhabited by a brave and high-spirited people who in consequence of +their intolerable sufferings under the Umayyad tyranny, the devastation +of their homes and the almost servile condition to which they had been +reduced, were eager to join in any desperate enterprise that gave them +hope of relief. Moreover, the Arabs in KhurAisAin were already to a large +extent Persianised: they had Persian wives, wore trousers, drank wine, +and kept the festivals of NawrAºz and MihrgAin; while the Persian language +was generally understood and even spoken among them.[473] Many +interesting details as to the methods of the aEuro~AbbAisid emissaries will be +found in Van Vloten's admirable work.[474] Starting from KAºfa, the +residence of the Grand Master who directed the whole agitation, they +went to and fro in the guise of merchants or pilgrims, cunningly +adapting their doctrine to the intelligence of those whom they sought to +enlist. Like the ShA-aEuro~ites, they canvassed for 'the House of the +Prophet,' an ambiguous expression which might equally well be applied to +the descendants of aEuro~AlA- or of aEuro~AbbAis, as is shown by the following +table:-- + + + HASHIM. + a", + aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-Mua¹-a¹-alib. + a", + ---------------------------------------------------- + a", a", a", + aEuro~AbdullAih. AbAº a¹¬Ailib. aEuro~AbbAis. + a", a", + Mua¸Yammad (the Prophet). aEuro~AlA- (married to FAia¹-ima, daughter of + the Prophet). + +[Sidenote: The ShA-aEuro~ites join hands with the aEuro~AbbAisids.] + +It was, of course, absolutely essential to the aEuro~AbbAisids that they +should be able to count on the support of the powerful ShA-aEuro~ite +organisation, which, ever since the abortive rebellion headed by MukhtAir +(see p. 218 _supra_) had drawn vast numbers of Persian _MawAilA-_ into its +ranks. Now, of the two main parties of the ShA-aEuro~a, viz., the HAishimites +or followers of Mua¸Yammad Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-a¸¤anafiyya, and the ImAimites, who +pinned their faith to the descendants of the Prophet through his +daughter FAia¹-ima, the former had virtually identified themselves with +the aEuro~AbbAisids, inasmuch as the ImAim AbAº HAishim, who died in 716 A.D., +bequeathed his hereditary rights to Mua¸Yammad b. aEuro~AlA-, the head of the +House of aEuro~AbbAis. It only remained to hoodwink the ImAimites. Accordingly +the aEuro~AbbAisid emissaries were instructed to carry on their propaganda in +the name of HAishim, the common ancestor of aEuro~AbbAis and aEuro~AlA-. By means of +this ruse they obtained a free hand in KhurAisAin, and made such progress +that the governor of that province, Naa¹Lr b. SayyAir, wrote to the +Umayyad Caliph, MarwAin, asking for reinforcements, and informing him +that two hundred thousand men had sworn allegiance to AbAº Muslim, the +principal aEuro~AbbAisid agent. At the foot of his letter he added these +lines:-- + + "I see the coal's red glow beneath the embers, + And 'tis about to blaze! + The rubbing of two sticks enkindles fire, + And out of words come frays. + 'Oh! is Umayya's House awake or sleeping?' + I cry in sore amaze."[475] + +We have other verses by this gallant and loyal officer in which he +implores the Arab troops stationed in KhurAisAin, who were paralysed by +tribal dissensions, to turn their swords against "a mixed rabble without +religion or nobility":-- + + "'Death to the Arabs'--that is all their creed."[476] + +[Sidenote: Declaration of war.] + +[Sidenote: AbAº Muslim.] + +These warnings, however, were of no avail, and on June 9th, A.D. 747, +AbAº Muslim displayed the black banner of the aEuro~AbbAisids at Siqadanj, near +Merv, which city he occupied a few months later. The triumphant advance +of the armies of the Revolution towards Damascus recalls the celebrated +campaign of CA|sar, when after crossing the Rubicon he marched on Rome. +Nor is AbAº Muslim, though a freedman of obscure parentage--he was +certainly no Arab--unworthy to be compared with the great patrician. "He +united," says NA¶ldeke, "with an agitator's adroitness and perfect +unscrupulosity in the choice of means the energy and clear outlook of a +general and statesman, and even of a monarch."[477] Grim, ruthless, +disdaining the pleasures of ordinary men, he possessed the faculty in +which CA|sar excelled of inspiring blind obedience and enthusiastic +devotion. To complete the parallel, we may mention here that AbAº Muslim +was treacherously murdered by Mana¹LAºr, the second Caliph of the House +which he had raised to the throne, from motives exactly resembling those +which Shakespeare has put in the mouth of Brutus-- + + "So Caesar may: + Then, lest he may, prevent. And since the quarrel + Will bear no colour for the thing he is, + Fashion it thus: that what he is, augmented, + Would run to these and these extremities; + And therefore think him as a serpent's egg + Which, hatched, would as his kind grow mischievous, + And kill him in the shell." + +[Sidenote: Accession of Abu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~AbbAis al-SaffAia¸Y.] + +The downfall of the Umayyads was hastened by the perfidy and selfishness +of the Arabs on whom they relied: the old feud between Mua¸ar and +Yemen broke out afresh, and while the Northern group remained loyal to +the dynasty, those of Yemenite stock more or less openly threw in their +lot with the Revolution. We need not attempt to trace the course of the +unequal contest. Everywhere the Arabs, disheartened and divided, fell an +easy prey to their adversaries, and all was lost when MarwAin, the last +Umayyad Caliph, sustained a crushing defeat on the River ZAib in +Babylonia (January, A.D. 750). Meanwhile Abu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~AbbAis, the head of the +rival House, had already received homage as Caliph (November, 749 A.D.). +In the inaugural address which he delivered in the great Mosque of KAºfa, +he called himself _al-SaffAia¸Y_, _i.e._, 'the Blood-shedder,'[478] and +this title has deservedly stuck to him, though it might have been +assumed with no less justice by his brother MansAºr and other members of +his family. All Umayyads were remorselessly hunted down and massacred in +cold blood--even those who surrendered only on the strength of the most +solemn pledges that they had nothing to fear. A small remnant made their +escape, or managed to find shelter until the storm of fury and +vengeance, which spared neither the dead nor the living,[479] had blown +over. One stripling, named aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-Raa¸YmAin, fled to North Africa, and +after meeting with many perilous adventures founded a new Umayyad +dynasty in Spain. + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +THE CALIPHS OF BAGHDAD + + +The annals of the aEuro~AbbAisid dynasty from the accession of SaffAia¸Y (A.D. +749) to the death of MustaaEuro~a¹Lim, and the destruction of BaghdAid by the +Mongols (A.D. 1258) make a round sum of five centuries. I propose to +sketch the history of this long period in three chapters, of which the +first will offer a general view of the more important literary and +political developments so far as is possible in the limited space at my +command; the second will be devoted to the great poets, scholars, +historians, philosophers, and scientists who flourished in this, the +Golden Age of Mua¸Yammadan literature; while in the third some account +will be given of the chief religious movements and of the trend of +religious thought. + + +[Sidenote: Political results of the Revolution.] + +The empire founded by the Caliph aEuro~Umar and administered by the Umayyads +was essentially, as the reader will have gathered, a military +organisation for the benefit of the paramount race. In theory, no doubt, +all Moslems were equal, but in fact the Arabs alone ruled--a privilege +which national pride conspired with personal interest to maintain. We +have seen how the Persian Moslems asserted their right to a share in the +government. The Revolution which enthroned the aEuro~AbbAisids marks the +beginning of a Moslem, as opposed to an Arabian, Empire. The new +dynasty, owing its rise to the people of Persia, and especially of +KhurAisAin, could exist only by establishing a balance of power between +Persians and Arabs. That this policy was not permanently successful will +surprise no one who considers the widely diverse characteristics of the +two races, but for the next fifty years the rivals worked together in +tolerable harmony, thanks to the genius of Mana¹LAºr and the +conciliatory influence of the Barmecides, by whose overthrow the +alliance was virtually dissolved. In the ensuing civil war between the +sons of HAirAºn al-RashA-d the Arabs fought on the side of AmA-n while the +Persians supported MaaEuro(TM)mAºn, and henceforth each race began to follow an +independent path. The process of separation, however, was very gradual, +and long before it was completed the religious and intellectual life of +both nationalities had become inseparably mingled in the full stream of +Moslem civilisation. + + +[Sidenote: The choice of a new capital.] + +[Sidenote: Foundation of BaghdAid.] + +The centre of this civilisation was the province of aEuro~IrAiq (Babylonia), +with its renowned metropolis, BaghdAid, 'the City of Peace' (_MadA-natu +aEuro(TM)l-SalAim_). Only here could the aEuro~AbbAisids feel themselves at home. +"Damascus, peopled by the dependants of the Omayyads, was out of the +question. On the one hand it was too far from Persia, whence the power +of the aEuro~AbbAisids was chiefly derived; on the other hand it was +dangerously near the Greek frontier, and from here, during the troublous +reigns of the last Omayyads, hostile incursions on the part of the +Christians had begun to avenge former defeats. It was also beginning to +be evident that the conquests of Islam would, in the future, lie to the +eastward towards Central Asia, rather than to the westward at the +further expense of the Byzantines. Damascus, on the highland of Syria, +lay, so to speak, dominating the Mediterranean and looking westward, but +the new capital that was to supplant it must face east, be near Persia, +and for the needs of commerce have water communication with the sea. +Hence everything pointed to a site on either the Euphrates or the +Tigris, and the aEuro~AbbAisids were not slow to make their choice."[480] +After carefully examining various sites, the Caliph Mana¹LAºr fixed on a +little Persian village, on the west bank of the Tigris, called BaghdAid, +which, being interpreted, means 'given (or 'founded') by God'; and in +A.D. 762 the walls of the new city began to rise. Mana¹LAºr laid the +first brick with his own hand, and the work was pushed forward with +astonishing rapidity under his personal direction by masons, architects, +and surveyors, whom he gathered out of different countries, so that 'the +Round City,' as he planned it, was actually finished within the short +space of four years. + + +[Sidenote: Despotic character of aEuro~AbbAisid rule.] + +[Sidenote: The Vizier.] + +The same circumstances which caused the seat of empire to be transferred +to BaghdAid brought about a corresponding change in the whole system of +government. Whereas the Umayyads had been little more than heads of a +turbulent Arabian aristocracy, their successors reverted to the old type +of Oriental despotism with which the Persians had been familiar since +the days of Darius and Xerxes. Surrounded by a strong bodyguard of +troops from KhurAisAin, on whose devotion they could rely, the aEuro~AbbAisids +ruled with absolute authority over the lives and properties or their +subjects, even as the SAisAinian monarchs had ruled before them. Persian +fashions were imitated at the court, which was thronged with the +Caliph's relatives and freedmen (not to mention his womenfolk), besides +a vast array of uniformed and decorated officials. Chief amongst these +latter stood two personages who figure prominently in the _Arabian +Nights_--the Vizier and the Executioner. The office of Vizier is +probably of Persian origin, although in Professor De Goeje's opinion the +word itself is Arabic.[481] The first who bore this title in aEuro~AbbAisid +times was AbAº Salama, the minister of SaffAia¸Y: he was called _WazA-ru +Ali Mua¸Yammadin_, 'the Vizier of Mua¸Yammad's Family.' It was the +duty of the Vizier to act as intermediary between the omnipotent +sovereign and his people, to counsel him in affairs of State, and, above +all, to keep His Majesty in good humour. He wielded enormous power, but +was exposed to every sort of intrigue, and never knew when he might be +interned in a dungeon or despatched in the twinkling of an eye by the +grim functionary presiding over the _naa¹-aEuro~_, or circular carpet of +leather, which lay beside the throne and served as a scaffold. + + +[Sidenote: Two periods of aEuro~AbbAisid history.] + +We can distinguish two periods in the history of the aEuro~AbbAisid House: one +of brilliant prosperity inaugurated by Mana¹LAºr and including the +reigns of MahdA-, HAirAºn al-RashA-d, MaaEuro(TM)mAºn, MuaEuro~tasim, and WAithiq--that is +to say, nearly a hundred years in all (754-847 A.D.); the other, more +than four times as long, commencing with Mutawakkil (847-861 A.D.)--a +period of decline rapidly sinking, after a brief interval which gave +promise of better things, into irremediable decay.[482] + +[Sidenote: Reign of Mana¹LAºr (754-775 A.D.).] + +[Sidenote: Outbreaks in Persia.] + +Cruel and treacherous, like most of his family, AbAº JaaEuro~far Mana¹LAºr was +perhaps the greatest ruler whom the aEuro~AbbAisids produced.[483] He had to +fight hard for his throne. The aEuro~Alids, who deemed themselves the true +heirs of the Prophet in virtue of their descent from FAia¹-ima, rose in +rebellion against the usurper, surprised him in an unguarded moment, and +drove him to such straits that during seven weeks he never changed his +dress except for public prayers. But once more the aEuro~Alids proved +incapable of grasping their opportunity. The leaders, Mua¸Yammad, who +was known as 'The Pure Soul' (_al-Nafs al-zakiyya_), and his brother +IbrAihA-m, fell on the battle-field. Under MahdA- and HAirAºn members of the +House of aEuro~AlA- continued to 'come out,' but with no better success. In +Eastern Persia, where strong national feelings interwove themselves with +Pre-Mua¸Yammadan religious ideas, those of Mazdak and Zoroaster in +particular, the aEuro~AbbAisids encountered a formidable opposition which +proclaimed its vigour and tenacity by the successive revolts of SinbAidh +the Magian (755-756 A.D.), UstAidhsA-s (766-768), MuqannaaEuro~, the 'Veiled +Prophet of KhurAisAin' (780-786), and BAibak the Khurramite (816-838).[484] + +[Sidenote: Mana¹LAºr's advice to MahdA-.] + +Mana¹LAºr said to his son Mahdi, "O AbAº aEuro~AbdallAih, when you sit in +company, always have divines to converse with you; for Mua¸Yammad b. +ShihAib al-ZuhrA- said, 'The word _a¸YadA-th_ (Apostolic Tradition) is +masculine: only virile men love it, and only effeminate men dislike it'; +and he spoke the truth."[485] + +[Sidenote: Mana¹LAºr and the poet.] + +On one occasion a poet came to MahdA-, who was then heir-apparent, at +Rayy, and recited a panegyric in his honour. The prince gave him 20,000 +dirhems. Thereupon the postmaster of Rayy informed Mana¹LAºr, who wrote +to his son reproaching him for such extravagance. "What you should have +done," he said, "was to let him wait a year at your door, and after that +time bestow on him 4,000 dirhems." He then caused the poet to be +arrested and brought into his presence. "You went to a heedless youth +and cajoled him?" "Yes, God save the Commander of the Faithful, I went +to a heedless, generous youth and cajoled him, and he suffered himself +to be cajoled." "Recite your eulogy of him." The poet obeyed, not +forgetting to conclude his verses with a compliment to Mana¹LAºr. +"Bravo!" cried the Caliph, "but they are not worth 20,000 dirhems. Where +is the money?" On its being produced he made him a gift of 4,000 dirhems +and confiscated the remainder.[486] + +[Sidenote: The Barmecides.] + +[Sidenote: Yaa¸YyAi b. KhAilid.] + +Notwithstanding irreconcilable parties--aEuro~Alids, Persian extremists, and +(we may add) KhAirijites--the policy of _rapprochement_ was on the whole +extraordinarily effective. In carrying it out the Caliphs received +powerful assistance from a noble and ancient Persian family, the +celebrated Barmakites or Barmecides. According to MasaEuro~AºdA-,[487] Barmak +was originally a title borne by the High Priest (_sAidin_) of the great +Magian fire-temple at Balkh. KhAilid, the son of one of these +dignitaries--whence he and his descendants were called Barmakites +(_BarAimika_)--held the most important offices of state under SaffAia¸Y +and Mana¹LAºr. Yaa¸YyAi, the son of KhAilid, was entrusted with the +education of HAirAºn al-RashA-d, and on the accession of the young prince +he was appointed Grand Vizier. "My dear father!" said the Caliph, "it is +through the blessings and the good fortune which attend you, and through +your excellent management, that I am seated on the throne;[488] so I +commit to you the direction of affairs." He then handed to him his +signet-ring. Yaa¸YyAi was distinguished (says the biographer) for +wisdom, nobleness of mind, and elegance of language.[489] Although he +took a truly Persian delight in philosophical discussion, for which +purpose freethinking scholars and eminent heretics used often to meet +in his house, he was careful to observe the outward forms of piety. It +may be said of the aEuro~AbbAisids generally that, whatever they might do or +think in private, they wore the official badge of Islam ostentatiously +on their sleeves. The following verses which Yaa¸YyAi addressed to his +son Faa¸l are very characteristic:--[490] + + "Seek glory while 'tis day, no effort spare, + And patiently the loved one's absence bear; + But when the shades of night advancing slow + O'er every vice a veil of darkness throw, + Beguile the hours with all thy heart's delight: + The day of prudent men begins at night. + Many there be, esteemed of life austere, + Who nightly enter on a strange career. + Night o'er them keeps her sable curtain drawn, + And merrily they pass from eve to dawn. + Who but a fool his pleasures would expose + To spying rivals and censorious foes?" + +[Sidenote: Fall of the Barmecides (803 A.D.).] + +For seventeen years Yaa¸YyAi and his two sons, Faa¸l and JaaEuro~far, +remained deep in HAirAºn's confidence and virtual rulers of the State +until, from motives which have been variously explained, the Caliph +resolved to rid himself of the whole family. The story is too well known +to need repetition.[491] JaaEuro~far alone was put to death: we may conclude, +therefore, that he had specially excited the Caliph's anger; and those +who ascribe the catastrophe to his romantic love-affair with HAirAºn's +sister, aEuro~AbbAisa, are probably in the right.[492] HAirAºn himself seems to +have recognised, when it was too late, how much he owed to these great +Persian barons whose tactful administration, unbounded generosity, and +munificent patronage of literature have shed immortal lustre on his +reign. Afterwards, if any persons spoke ill of the Barmecides in his +presence, he would say (quoting the verse of a¸¤ua¹-ayaEuro(TM)a):--[493] + + "O slanderers, be your sire of sire bereft![494] + Give o'er, or fill the gap which they have left." + +[Sidenote: HAirAºn al-RashA-d (786-809 A.D.).] + +HAirAºn's orthodoxy, his liberality, his victories over the Byzantine +Emperor Nicephorus, and last but not least the literary brilliance of +his reign have raised him in popular estimation far above all the other +Caliphs: he is the Charlemagne of the East, while the entrancing pages +of the _Thousand and One Nights_ have made his name a household word in +every country of Europe. Students of Moslem history will soon discover +that "the good Haroun Alraschid" was in fact a perfidious and irascible +tyrant, whose fitful amiability and real taste for music and letters +hardly entitle him to be described either as a great monarch or a good +man. We must grant, however, that he thoroughly understood the noble art +of patronage. The poets AbAº NuwAis, Abu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~AtAihiya, DiaEuro~bil, Muslim b. +WalA-d, and aEuro~AbbAis b. Aa¸Ynaf; the musician IbrAihA-m of Mosul and his son +Isa¸YAiq; the philologists AbAº aEuro~Ubayda, Aa¹LmaaEuro~A-, and KisAiaEuro(TM)A-; the +preacher Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-SammAik; and the historian WAiqidA---these are but a few +names in the galaxy of talent which he gathered around him at BaghdAid. + +[Sidenote: AmA-n and MaaEuro(TM)mAºn (809-833 A.D.).] + +The fall of the Barmecides revived the spirit of racial antagonism which +they had done their best to lay, and an open rupture was rendered +inevitable by the short-sighted policy of HAirAºn with regard to the +succession. He had two grown-up sons, AmA-n, by his wife and cousin +Zubayda, and MaaEuro(TM)mAºn, whose mother was a Persian slave. It was arranged +that the Caliphate should pass to AmA-n and after him to his brother, but +that the Empire should be divided between them. AmA-n was to receive +aEuro~IrAiq and Syria, MaaEuro(TM)mAºn the eastern provinces, where the people would +gladly welcome a ruler of their own blood. The struggle for supremacy +which began almost immediately on the death of HAirAºn was in the main one +of Persians against Arabs, and by MaaEuro(TM)mAºn's triumph the Barmecides were +amply avenged. + +[Sidenote: MaaEuro(TM)mAºn's heresies.] + +[Sidenote: Rise of independent dynasties.] + +[Sidenote: Turkish mercenaries introduced.] + +[Sidenote: Decline of the Caliphate.] + +The new Caliph was anything but orthodox. He favoured the ShA-aEuro~ite party +to such an extent that he even nominated the aEuro~Alid, aEuro~AlA- b. MAºsAi b. +JaaEuro~far al-Ria¸Ai, as heir-apparent--a step which alienated the members +of his own family and led to his being temporarily deposed. He also +adopted the opinions of the MuaEuro~tazilite sect and established an +Inquisition to enforce them. Hence the Sunnite historian, Abu +aEuro(TM)l-Maa¸YAisin, enumerates three principal heresies of which MaaEuro(TM)mAºn was +guilty: (1) His wearing of the Green (_labsu aEuro(TM)l-Khua¸ra_)[495] and +courting the aEuro~Alids and repulsing the aEuro~AbbAisids; (2) his affirming that +the Koran was created (_al-qawl bi-Khalqi aEuro(TM)l-QuraEuro(TM)Ain_); and (3) his +legalisation of the _mutaEuro~a_, a loose form of marriage prevailing amongst +the ShA-aEuro~ites.[496] We shall see in due course how keenly and with what +fruitful results MaaEuro(TM)mAºn interested himself in literature and science. +Nevertheless, it cannot escape our attention that in this splendid reign +there appear ominous signs of political decay. In 822 A.D. a¹¬Aihir, one +of MaaEuro(TM)mAºn's generals, who had been appointed governor of KhurAisAin, +omitted the customary mention of the Caliph's name from the Friday +sermon (_khua¹-ba_), thus founding the a¹¬ahirid dynasty, which, +though professing allegiance to the Caliphs, was practically +independent. a¹¬Aihir was only the first of a long series of ambitious +governors and bold adventurers who profited by the weakening authority +of the Caliphs to carve out kingdoms for themselves. Moreover, the +Moslems of aEuro~IrAiq had lost their old warlike spirit: they were fine +scholars and merchants, but poor soldiers. So it came about that +MaaEuro(TM)mAºn's successor, the Caliph MuaEuro~taa¹Lim (833-842 A.D.), took the +fatal step of surrounding himself with a PrA|torian Guard chiefly +composed of Turkish recruits from Transoxania. At the same time he +removed his court from BaghdAid sixty miles further up the Tigris to +SAimarrAi, which suddenly grew into a superb city of palaces and +barracks--an Oriental Versailles.[497] Here we may close our brief +review of the first and flourishing period of the aEuro~AbbAisid Caliphate. +During the next four centuries the Caliphs come and go faster than ever, +but for the most part their authority is precarious, if not purely +nominal. Meanwhile, in the provinces of the Empire petty dynasties +arise, only to eke out an obscure and troubled existence, or powerful +states are formed, which carry on the traditions of Mua¸Yammadan +culture, it may be through many generations, and in some measure restore +the blessings of peace and settled government to an age surfeited with +anarchy and bloodshed. Of these provincial empires we have now +principally to speak, confining our view, for the most part, to the +political outlines, and reserving the literary and religious aspects of +the period for fuller consideration elsewhere. + +[Sidenote: The Second aEuro~AbbAisid Period (847-1258 A.D.).] + +The reigns of Mutawakkil (847-861 A.D.) and his immediate successors +exhibit all the well-known features of PrA|torian rule. Enormous sums +were lavished on the Turkish soldiery, who elected and deposed the +Caliph just as they pleased, and enforced their insatiable demands by +mutiny and assassination. For a short time (869-907 A.D.) matters +improved under the able and energetic MuhtadA- and the four Caliphs who +followed him; but the Turks soon regained the upper hand. From this date +every vestige of real power is centred in the Generalissimo (_AmA-ru +aEuro(TM)l-UmarAi_) who stands at the head of the army, while the once omnipotent +Caliph must needs be satisfied with the empty honour of having his name +stamped on the coinage and celebrated in the public prayers. The +terrorism of the Turkish bodyguard was broken by the Buwayhids, a +Persian dynasty, who ruled in BaghdAid from 945 to 1055 A.D. Then the +SeljAºq supremacy began with a¹¬ughril Beg's entry into the capital and +lasted a full century until the death of Sanjar (1157 A.D.). The Mongols +who captured BaghdAid in 1258 A.D. brought the pitiable farce of the +Caliphate to an end. + + [Sidenote: Dynasties of the early aEuro~AbbAisid Age.] + + "The empire of the Caliphs at its widest," as Stanley Lane-Poole + observes in his excellent account of the Mua¸Yammadan dynasties, + "extended from the Atlantic to the Indus, and from the Caspian to + the cataracts of the Nile. So vast a dominion could not long be held + together. The first step towards its disintegration began in Spain, + where aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-Raa¸YmAin, a member of the suppressed Umayyad family, + was acknowledged as an independent sovereign in A.D. 755, and the + aEuro~AbbAisid Caliphate was renounced for ever. Thirty years later IdrA-s, + a great-grandson of the Caliph aEuro~AlA-, and therefore equally at + variance with aEuro~AbbAisids and Umayyads, founded an aEuro~Alid dynasty in + Morocco. The rest of the North African coast was practically lost to + the Caliphate when the Aghlabid governor established his authority + at QayrawAin in A.D. 800." + +[Sidenote: Dynasties of the Second Period. 872 A.D.] + +[Sidenote: The SAimAinids (874-999 A.D.).] + +Amongst the innumerable kingdoms which supplanted the decaying Caliphate +only a few of the most important can be singled out for special notice +on account of their literary or religious interest.[498] To begin with +Persia: in KhurAisAin, which was then held by the a¹¬Aihirids, fell into +the hands of YaaEuro~qAºb b. Layth the Coppersmith (_al-a¹caffAir_), founder +of the a¹caffAirids, who for thirty years stretched their sway over a +great part of Persia, until they were dispossessed by the SAimAinids. The +latter dynasty had the seat of its power in Transoxania, but during the +first half of the tenth century practically the whole of Persia +submitted to the authority of IsmAiaEuro~A-l and his famous successors, Naa¹Lr +II and NAºa¸Y I. Not only did these princes warmly encourage and foster +the development, which had already begun, of a national literature in +the Persian language--it is enough to recall here the names of RAºdagA-, +the blind minstrel and poet; DaqA-qA-, whose fragment of a Persian Epic +was afterwards incorporated by FirdawsA- in his _ShAihnAima_; and BalaEuro~amA-, +the Vizier of Mana¹LAºr I, who composed an abridgment of a¹¬abarA-'s +great history, which is one of the oldest prose works in Persian that +have come down to us--but they extended the same favour to poets and men +of learning who (though, for the most part, of Persian extraction) +preferred to use the Arabic language. Thus the celebrated Rhazes (AbAº +Bakr al-RAizA-) dedicated to the SAimAinid prince AbAº a¹cAilia¸Y Mana¹LAºr +b. IshAiq a treatise on medicine, which he entitled _al-KitAib +al-Mana¹LAºrA-_ (the Book of Mana¹LAºr) in honour of his patron. The +great physician and philosopher, AbAº aEuro~AlA- b. SA-nAi (Avicenna) relates +that, having been summoned to BukhAirAi by King NAºa¸Y, the second of that +name (976-997 A.D.), he obtained permission to visit the royal library. +"I found there," he says, "many rooms filled with books which were +arranged in cases row upon row. One room was allotted to works on Arabic +philology and poetry; another to jurisprudence, and so forth, the books +on each particular science having a room to themselves. I inspected the +catalogue of ancient Greek authors and looked for the books which I +required: I saw in this collection books of which few people have heard +even the names, and which I myself have never seen either before or +since."[499] + +[Sidenote: The Buwayhids (932-1055 A.D.).] + +The power of the SAimAinids quickly reached its zenith, and about the +middle of the tenth century they were confined to KhurAisAin and +Transoxania, while in Western Persia their place was taken by the +Buwayhids. AbAº ShujAiaEuro~ Buwayh, a chieftain of Daylam, the mountainous +province lying along the southern shores of the Caspian Sea, was one of +those soldiers of fortune whom we meet with so frequently in the history +of this period. His three sons, aEuro~AlA-, Aa¸Ymad, and a¸¤asan, embarked +on the same adventurous career with such energy and success, that in the +course of thirteen years they not only subdued the provinces of FAirs and +KhAºzistAin, but in 945 A.D. entered BaghdAid at the head of their +Daylamite troops and assumed the supreme command, receiving from the +Caliph MustakfA- the honorary titles of aEuro~ImAidu aEuro(TM)l-Dawla, MuaEuro~izzu +aEuro(TM)l-Dawla, and Ruknu aEuro(TM)l-Dawla. Among the princes of this House, who +reigned over Persia and aEuro~IrAiq during the next hundred years, the most +eminent was aEuro~Aa¸udu aEuro(TM)l-Dawla, of whom it is said by Ibn KhallikAin that +none of the Buwayhids, notwithstanding their great power and authority, +possessed so extensive an empire and held sway over so many kings and +kingdoms as he. The chief poets of the day, including MutanabbA-, visited +his court at ShA-rAiz and celebrated his praises in magnificent odes. He +also built a great hospital in BaghdAid, the BA-mAiristAin al-aEuro~Aa¸udA-, +which was long famous as a school of medicine. The Viziers of the +Buwayhid family contributed in a quite unusual degree to its literary +renown. Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~AmA-d, the Vizier of Ruknu aEuro(TM)l-Dawla, surpassed in +philology and epistolary composition all his contemporaries; hence he +was called 'the second JAia¸Yiaº",' and it was a common saying that +"the art of letter-writing began with aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-a¸¤amA-d and ended with +Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~AmA-d."[500] His friend, the a¹cAia¸Yib IsmAiaEuro~A-l b. aEuro~AbbAid, +Vizier to MuaEuro(TM)ayyidu aEuro(TM)l-Dawla and Fakhru aEuro(TM)l-Dawla, was a distinguished +savant, whose learning was only eclipsed by the liberality of his +patronage. In the latter respect SAibAºr b. ArdashA-r, the prime minister +of AbAº Naa¹Lr BahAiaEuro(TM)u aEuro(TM)l-Dawla, vied with the illustrious a¹cAia¸Yib. +He had so many encomiasts that ThaaEuro~AilibA- devotes to them a whole chapter +of the _YatA-ma_. The Academy which he founded at BaghdAid, in the Karkh +quarter, and generously endowed, was a favourite haunt of literary men, +and its members seem to have enjoyed pretty much the same privileges as +belong to the Fellows of an Oxford or Cambridge College.[501] + +Like most of their countrymen, the Buwayhids were ShA-aEuro~ites in religion. +We read in the Annals of Abu aEuro(TM)l-Maa¸YAisin under the year 341 A.H. = 952 +A.D.:-- + + [Sidenote: Zeal of the Buwayhids for ShA-aEuro~ite principles.] + + "In this year the Vizier al-MuhallabA- arrested some persons who held + the doctrine of metempsychosis (_tanAisukh_). Among them were a youth + who declared that the spirit of aEuro~AlA- b. AbA- a¹¬Ailib had passed into + his body, and a woman who claimed that the spirit of FAia¹-ima was + dwelling in her; while another man pretended to be Gabriel. On being + flogged, they excused themselves by alleging their relationship to + the Family of the Prophet, whereupon MuaEuro~izzu aEuro(TM)l-Dawla ordered them + to be set free. This he did because of his attachment to ShA-aEuro~ism. It + is well known," says the author in conclusion, "that the Buwayhids + were ShA-aEuro~ites and RAifia¸ites."[502] + +[Sidenote: The Ghaznevids (976-1186 A.D.).] + +Three dynasties contemporary with the Buwayhids have still to be +mentioned: the Ghaznevids in Afghanistan, the a¸¤amdAinids in Syria, and +the FAia¹-imids in Egypt. SabuktagA-n, the founder of the first-named +dynasty, was a Turkish slave. His son, Maa¸YmAºd, who succeeded to the +throne of Ghazna in 998 A.D., made short work of the already tottering +SAimAinids, and then sweeping far and wide over Northern India, began a +series of conquests which, before his death in 1030 A.D., reached from +Lahore to Samarcand and Ia¹LfahAin. Although the Persian and +Transoxanian provinces of his huge empire were soon torn away by the +SeljAºqs, Maa¸YmAºd's invasion of India, which was undertaken with the +object of winning that country for Islam, permanently established +Mua¸Yammadan influence, at any rate in the PanjAib. As regards their +religious views, the Turkish Ghaznevids stand in sharp contrast with the +Persian houses of SAimAin and Buwayh. It has been well said that the true +genius of the Turks lies in action, not in speculation. When Islam came +across their path, they saw that it was a simple and practical creed +such as the soldier requires; so they accepted it without further +parley. The Turks have always remained loyal to Islam, the Islam of AbAº +Bakr and aEuro~Umar, which is a very different thing from the Islam of +ShA-aEuro~ite Persia. Maa¸YmAºd proved his orthodoxy by banishing the +MuaEuro~tazilites of Rayy and burning their books together with the +philosophical and astronomical works that fell into his hands; but on +the same occasion he carried off a hundred camel-loads of presumably +harmless literature to his capital. That he had no deep enthusiasm for +letters is shown, for example, by his shabby treatment of the poet +FirdawsA-. Nevertheless, he ardently desired the glory and prestige +accruing to a sovereign whose court formed the rallying-point of all +that was best in the literary and scientific culture of the day, and +such was Ghazna in the eleventh century. Besides the brilliant group of +Persian poets, with FirdawsA- at their head, we may mention among the +Arabic-writing authors who flourished under this dynasty the historians +al-aEuro~UtbA- and al-BA-rAºnA-. + +[Sidenote: The a¸¤amdAinids (929-1003 A.D.).] + +While the Eastern Empire of Islam was passing into the hands of Persians +and Turks, we find the Arabs still holding their own in Syria and +Mesopotamia down to the end of the tenth century. These Arab and +generally nomadic dynasties were seldom of much account. The +a¸¤amdAinids of Aleppo alone deserve to be noticed here, and that +chiefly for the sake of the peerless Sayfu aEuro(TM)l-Dawla, a worthy descendant +of the tribe of Taghlib, which in the days of heathendom produced the +poet-warrior, aEuro~Amr b. KulthAºm. aEuro~AbdullAih b. a¸¤amdAin was appointed +governor of Mosul and its dependencies by the Caliph MuktafA- in 905 +A.D., and in 942 his sons a¸¤asan and aEuro~AlA- received the complimentary +titles of NAia¹Liru aEuro(TM)l-Dawla (Defender of the State) and Sayfu aEuro(TM)l-Dawla +(Sword of the State). Two years later Sayfu aEuro(TM)l-Dawla captured Aleppo and +brought the whole of Northern Syria under his dominion. During a reign +of twenty-three years he was continuously engaged in harrying the +Byzantines on the frontiers of Asia Minor, but although he gained some +glorious victories, which his laureate MutanabbA- has immortalised, the +fortune of war went in the long run steadily against him, and his +successors were unable to preserve their little kingdom from being +crushed between the Byzantines in the north and the FAia¹-timids in the +south. The a¸¤amdAinids have an especial claim on our sympathy, because +they revived for a time the fast-decaying and already almost broken +spirit of Arabian nationalism. It is this spirit that speaks with a +powerful voice in MutanabbA- and declares itself, for example, in such +verses as these:--[503] + + "Men from their kings alone their worth derive, + But Arabs ruled by aliens cannot thrive: + Boors without culture, without noble fame, + Who know not loyalty and honour's name. + Go where thou wilt, thou seest in every land + Folk driven like cattle by a servile band." + +[Sidenote: The circle of Sayfu aEuro(TM)l-Dawla.] + +The reputation which Sayfu aEuro(TM)l-Dawla's martial exploits and his repeated +triumphs over the enemies of Islam richly earned for him in the eyes of +his contemporaries was enhanced by the conspicuous energy and +munificence with which he cultivated the arts of peace. Considering the +brevity of his reign and the relatively small extent of his resources, +we may well be astonished to contemplate the unique assemblage of +literary talent then mustered in Aleppo. There was, first of all, +MutanabbA-, in the opinion of his countrymen the greatest of Moslem +poets; there was Sayfu aEuro(TM)l-Dawla's cousin, the chivalrous AbAº FirAis, +whose war-songs are relieved by many a touch of tender and true feeling; +there was Abu aEuro(TM)l-Faraj of Ia¹LfahAin, who on presenting to Sayfu +aEuro(TM)l-Dawla his _KitAibu aEuro(TM)l-AghAinA-_, one of the most celebrated and +important works in all Arabic literature, received one thousand pieces +of gold accompanied with an expression of regret that the prince was +obliged to remunerate him so inadequately; there was also the great +philosopher, AbAº Naa¹Lr al-FAirAibA-, whose modest wants were satisfied by +a daily pension of four dirhems (about two shillings) from the public +treasury. Surely this is a record not easily surpassed even in the +heyday of aEuro~AbbAisid patronage. As for the writers of less note whom Sayfu +aEuro(TM)l-Dawla attracted to Aleppo, their name is legion. Space must be found +for the poets SarA- al-RaffAi, Abu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~AbbAis al-NAimA-, and Abu aEuro(TM)l-Faraj +al-BabbaghAi for the preacher (_khaa¹-A-b_) Ibn NubAita, who would often +rouse the enthusiasm of his audience while he urged the duty of +zealously prosecuting the Holy War against Christian Byzantium; and for +the philologist Ibn KhAilawayh, whose lectures were attended by students +from all parts of the Mua¸Yammadan world. The literary renaissance +which began at this time in Syria was still making its influence felt +when ThaaEuro~AilibA- wrote his _YatA-ma_, about thirty years after the death of +Sayfu aEuro(TM)l-Dawla, and it produced in Abu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~AlAi al-MaaEuro~arrA- (born 973 +A.D.) an original and highly interesting personality, to whom we shall +return on another occasion. + + +[Sidenote: The FAia¹-imids (909-1171 A.D.).] + +[Sidenote: The IsmAiaEuro~A-lite propaganda.] + +The dynasties hitherto described were political in their origin, having +generally been founded by ambitious governors or vassals. These upstarts +made no pretensions to the nominal authority, which they left in the +hands of the Caliph even while they forced him at the sword's point to +recognise their political independence. The SAimAinids and Buwayhids, +ShA-aEuro~ites as they were, paid the same homage to the Caliph in BaghdAid as +did the Sunnite Ghaznevids. But in the beginning of the tenth century +there arose in Africa a great ShA-aEuro~ite power, that of the FAia¹-imids, +who took for themselves the title and prerogatives of the Caliphate, +which they asserted to be theirs by right Divine. This event was only +the climax of a deep-laid and skilfully organised plot--one of the most +extraordinary in all history. It had been put in train half a century +earlier by a certain aEuro~AbdullAih the son of MaymAºn, a Persian oculist +(_qaddAia¸Y_) belonging to Aa¸YwAiz. Filled with a fierce hatred of the +Arabs and with a freethinker's contempt for Islam, aEuro~AbdullAih b. MaymAºn +conceived the idea of a vast secret society which should be all things +to all men, and which, by playing on the strongest passions and tempting +the inmost weaknesses of human nature, should unite malcontents of every +description in a conspiracy to overthrow the existing _rA(C)gime_. Modern +readers may find a parallel for this romantic project in the pages of +Dumas, although the Aramis of _Twenty Years After_ is a simpleton beside +aEuro~AbdullAih. He saw that the movement, in order to succeed, must be +started on a religious basis, and he therefore identified himself with +an obscure ShA-aEuro~ite sect, the IsmAiaEuro~A-lA-s, who were so called because they +regarded Mua¸Yammad, son of IsmAiaEuro~A-l, son of JaaEuro~far al-a¹cAidiq, as the +Seventh ImAim. Under aEuro~AbdullAih the IsmAiaEuro~A-lA-s developed their mystical and +antinomian doctrines, of which an excellent account has been given by +Professor Browne in the first volume of his _Literary History of Persia_ +(p. 405 sqq.). Here we can only refer to the ingenious and fatally +insidious methods which he devised for gaining proselytes on a gigantic +scale, and with such amazing success that from this time until the +Mongol invasion--a period of almost four centuries--the IsmAiaEuro~A-lites +(FAia¹-imids, Carmathians, and Assassins) either ruled or ravaged a +great part of the Mua¸Yammadan Empire. It is unnecessary to discuss the +question whether aEuro~AbdullAih b. MaymAºn was, as Professor Browne thinks, +primarily a religious enthusiast, or whether, according to the view +commonly held, his real motives were patriotism and personal ambition. +The history of Islam shows clearly enough that the revolutionist is +nearly always disguised as a religious leader, while, on the other hand, +every founder of a militant sect is potentially the head of a state. +aEuro~AbdullAih may have been a fanatic first and a politician afterwards; +more probably he was both at once from the beginning. His plan of +operations was briefly as follows:-- + + The _dAiaEuro~A-_ or missionary charged with the task of gaining adherents + for the Hidden ImAim (see p. 216 seq.), in whose name allegiance was + demanded, would settle in some place, representing himself to be a + merchant, a¹cAºfA-, or the like. By renouncing worldly pleasures, + making a show of strict piety, and performing apparent miracles, it + was easy for him to pass as a saint with the common folk. As soon as + he was assured of his neighbours' confidence and respect, he began + to raise doubts in their minds. He would suggest difficult problems + of theology or dwell on the mysterious significance of certain + passages of the Koran. May there not be (he would ask) in religion + itself a deeper meaning than appears on the surface? Then, having + excited the curiosity of his hearers, he suddenly breaks off. When + pressed to continue his explanation, he declares that such mysteries + cannot be communicated save to those who take a binding oath of + secrecy and obedience and consent to pay a fixed sum of money in + token of their good faith. If these conditions were accepted, the + neophyte entered upon the second of the nine degrees of initiation. + He was taught that mere observance of the laws of Islam is not + pleasing to God, unless the true doctrine be received through the + ImAims who have it in keeping. These ImAims (as he next learned) are + seven in number, beginning with aEuro~AlA-; the seventh and last is + Mua¸Yammad, son of IsmAiaEuro~A-l. On reaching the fourth degree he + definitely ceased to be a Moslem, for here he was taught the + IsmAiaEuro~A-lite system of theology in which Mua¸Yammad b. IsmAiaEuro~A-l + supersedes the founder of Islam as the greatest and last of all the + Prophets. Comparatively few initiates advanced beyond this grade to + a point where every form of positive religion was allegorised away, + and only philosophy was left. "It is clear what a tremendous weapon, + or rather machine, was thus created. Each man was given the amount + of light which he could bear and which was suited to his prejudices, + and he was made to believe that the end of the whole work would be + the attaining of what he regarded as most desirable."[504] Moreover, + the ImAim Mua¸Yammad b. IsmAiaEuro~A-l having disappeared long ago, the + veneration which sought a visible object was naturally transferred + to his successor and representative on earth, viz., aEuro~AbdullAih b. + MaymAºn, who filled the same office in relation to him as Aaron to + Moses and aEuro~AlA- to Mua¸Yammad. + +About the middle of the ninth century the state of the Moslem Empire was +worse, if possible, than it had been in the latter days of Umayyad rule. +The peasantry of aEuro~IrAiq were impoverished by the desolation into which +that flourishing province was beginning to fall in consequence of the +frequent and prolonged civil wars. In 869 A.D. the negro slaves (_Zanj_) +employed in the saltpetre industry, for which Baa¹Lra was famous, took +up arms at the call of an aEuro~Alid Messiah, and during fourteen years +carried fire and sword through KhAºzistAin and the adjacent territory. We +can imagine that all this misery and discontent was a godsend to the +IsmAiaEuro~A-lites. The old cry, "A deliverer of the Prophet's House," which +served the aEuro~AbbAisids so well against the Umayyads, was now raised with +no less effect against the aEuro~AbbAisids themselves. + +[Sidenote: The FAia¹-imid dynasty founded by the MahdA- aEuro~UbayduaEuro(TM)llAih (909 +A.D.).] + +aEuro~AbdullAih b. MaymAºn died in 875 A.D., but the agitation went on, and +rapidly gathered force. One of the leading spirits was a¸¤amdAin +Qarmaa¹-, who gave his name to the Carmathian branch of the IsmAiaEuro~A-lA-s. +These Carmathians (_QarAimia¹-a_, sing. _Qirmia¹-A-_) spread over +Southern Persia and Yemen, and in the tenth century they threatened +BaghdAid, repeatedly waylaid the pilgrim-caravans, sacked Mecca and bore +away the Black Stone as a trophy; in short, established a veritable +reign of terror. We must return, however, to the main IsmAiaEuro~A-lite faction +headed by the descendants of aEuro~AbdullAih b. MaymAºn. Their emissaries +discovered a promising field of work in North Africa among the credulous +and fanatical Berbers. When all was ripe, SaaEuro~A-d b. a¸¤usayn, the +grandson of aEuro~AbdullAih b. MaymAºn, left Salamya in Syria, the centre from +which the wires had hitherto been pulled, and crossing over to Africa +appeared as the long-expected MahdA- under the name of aEuro~UbayduaEuro(TM)llAih. He +gave himself out to be a great-grandson of the ImAim Mua¸Yammad b. +IsmAiaEuro~A-l and therefore in the direct line of descent from aEuro~AlA- b. AbA- +a¹¬Ailib and FAia¹-ima the daughter of the Prophet. We need not stop to +discuss this highly questionable genealogy from which the FAia¹-imid +dynasty derives its name. In 910 A.D. aEuro~UbayduaEuro(TM)llAih entered RaqqAida in +triumph and assumed the title of Commander of the Faithful. Tunis, where +the Aghlabites had ruled since 800 A.D., was the cradle of FAia¹-imid +power, and here they built their capital, Mahdiyya, near the ancient +Thapsus. Gradually advancing eastward, they conquered Egypt and Syria as +far as Damascus (969-970 A.D.). At this time the seat of government was +removed to the newly-founded city of Cairo (_al-QAihira_), which remained +for two centuries the metropolis of the FAia¹-imid Empire.[505] + +[Sidenote: The AyyAºbids (1171-1250 A.D.).] + +The ShA-aEuro~ite Anti-Caliphs maintained themselves in Egypt until 1171 A.D., +when the famous Saladin (a¹calAia¸Yu aEuro(TM)l-DA-n b. AyyAºb) took possession +of that country and restored the Sunnite faith. He soon added Syria to +his dominions, and "the fall of Jerusalem (in 1187) roused Europe to +undertake the Third Crusade." The AyyAºbids were strictly orthodox, as +behoved the champions of Islam against Christianity. They built and +endowed many theological colleges. The a¹cAºfA- pantheist, ShihAibu aEuro(TM)l-DA-n +Yaa¸YyAi al-SuhrawardA-, was executed at Aleppo by order of Saladin's +son, Malik al-aº'Aihir, in 1191 A.D. + + +[Sidenote: The SeljAºqs (1037-1300 A.D.).] + +The two centuries preceding the extinction of the aEuro~AbbAisid Caliphate by +the Mongols witnessed the rise and decline of the SeljAºq Turks, who +"once more re-united Mua¸Yammadan Asia from the western frontier of +Afghanistan to the Mediterranean under one sovereign." SeljAºq b. TuqAiq +was a Turcoman chief. Entering Transoxania, he settled near BukhAirAi and +went over with his whole people to Islam. His descendants, a¹¬ughril +Beg and Chagar Beg, invaded KhurAisAin, annexed the western provinces of +the Ghaznevid Empire, and finally absorbed the remaining dominions of +the Buwayhids. BaghdAid was occupied by a¹¬ughril Beg in 1055 A.D. It +has been said that the SeljAºqs contributed almost nothing to culture, +but this perhaps needs some qualification. Although Alp ArslAin, who +succeeded a¹¬ughril, and his son Malik ShAih devoted their energies in +the first place to military affairs, the latter at least was an +accomplished and enlightened monarch. "He exerted himself to spread the +benefits of civilisation: he dug numerous canals, walled a great number +of cities, built bridges, and constructed _ribAia¹-s_ in the desert +places."[506] He was deeply interested in astronomy, and scientific as +well as theological studies received his patronage. Any shortcomings of +Alp ArslAin and Malik ShAih in this respect were amply repaired by their +famous minister, a¸¤asan b. aEuro~AlA-, the Niaº"Aimu aEuro(TM)l-Mulk or 'Constable +of the Empire,' to give him the title which he has made his own. Like so +many great Viziers, he was a Persian, and his achievements must not +detain us here, but it may be mentioned that he founded in BaghdAid and +NaysAibAºr the two celebrated academies which were called in his honour +al-Niaº"Aimiyya. + + +[Sidenote: Arabia and Spain.] + +We have now taken a general, though perforce an extremely curtailed and +disconnected, view of the political conditions which existed during the +aEuro~AbbAisid period in most parts of the Mua¸Yammadan Empire except Arabia +and Spain. The motherland of Islam had long sunk to the level of a minor +province: leaving the Holy Cities out of consideration, one might +compare its inglorious destiny under the Caliphate to that of Macedonia +in the empire which Alexander bequeathed to his successors, the +Ptolemies and Seleucids. As regards the political history of Spain a few +words will conveniently be said in a subsequent chapter, where the +literature produced by Spanish Moslems will demand our attention. In the +meantime we shall pass on to the characteristic literary developments of +this period, which correspond more or less closely to the historical +outlines. + + +The first thing that strikes the student of mediA|val Arabic literature +is the fact that a very large proportion of the leading writers are +non-Arabs, or at best semi-Arabs, men whose fathers or mothers were of +foreign, and especially Persian, race. They wrote in Arabic, because +down to about 1000 A.D. that language was the sole medium of literary +expression in the Mua¸Yammadan world, a monopoly which it retained in +scientific compositions until the Mongol Invasion of the thirteenth +century. I have already referred to the question whether such men as +BashshAir b. Burd, AbAº NuwAis, Ibn Qutayba, a¹¬abarA-, GhazAilA-, and +hundreds of others should be included in a literary history of the +Arabs, and have given reasons, which I need not repeat in this place, +for considering their admission to be not only desirable but fully +justified on logical grounds.[507] The absurdity of treating them as +Persians--and there is no alternative, if they are not to be reckoned as +Arabs--appears to me self-evident. + +"It is strange," says Ibn KhaldAºn, "that most of the learned among the +Moslems who have excelled in the religious or intellectual sciences are +non-Arabs (_aEuro~Ajam_) with rare exceptions; and even those savants who +claimed Arabian descent spoke a foreign language, grew up in foreign +lands, and studied under foreign masters, notwithstanding that the +community to which they belonged was Arabian and the author of its +religion an Arab." The historian proceeds to explain the cause of this +singular circumstance in an interesting passage which may be summarised +as follows:-- + + [Sidenote: Ibn KhaldAºn's explanation of the fact that learning was + chiefly cultivated by the Persian Moslems.] + + The first Moslems were entirely ignorant of art and science, all + their attention being devoted to the ordinances of the Koran, which + they "carried in their breasts," and to the practice (_sunna_) of + the Prophet. At that time the Arabs knew nothing of the way by which + learning is taught, of the art of composing books, and of the means + whereby knowledge is enregistered. Those, however, who could repeat + the Koran and relate the Traditions of Mua¸Yammad were called + Readers (_qurrAi_). This oral transmission continued until the reign + of HAirAºn al-RashA-d, when the need of securing the Traditions against + corruption or of preventing their total loss caused them to be set + down in writing; and in order to distinguish the genuine Traditions + from the spurious, every _isnAid_ (chain of witnesses) was carefully + scrutinised. Meanwhile the purity of the Arabic tongue had gradually + become impaired: hence arose the science of grammar; and the rapid + development of Law and Divinity brought it about that other + sciences, _e.g._, logic and dialectic, were professionally + cultivated in the great cities of the Mua¸Yammadan Empire. The + inhabitants of these cities were chiefly Persians, freedmen and + tradesmen, who had been long accustomed to the arts of civilisation. + Accordingly the most eminent of the early grammarians, + traditionists, and scholastic theologians, as well as of those + learned in the principles of Law and in the interpretation of the + Koran, were Persians by race or education, and the saying of the + Prophet was verified--"_If Knowledge were attached to the ends of + the sky, some amongst the Persians would have reached it._" Amidst + all this intellectual activity the Arabs, who had recently emerged + from a nomadic life, found the exercise of military and + administrative command too engrossing to give them leisure for + literary avocations which have always been disdained by a ruling + caste. They left such studies to the Persians and the mixed race + (_al-muwalladAºn_), which sprang from intermarriage of the conquerors + with the conquered. They did not entirely look down upon the men of + learning but recognised their services--since after all it was Islam + and the sciences connected with Islam that profited thereby.[508] + +Even in the Umayyad period, as we have seen, the maxim that Knowledge is +Power was strikingly illustrated by the immense social influence which +Persian divines exerted in the Mua¸Yammadan community.[509] +Nevertheless, true Arabs of the old type regarded these _MawAilA-_ and +their learning with undisguised contempt. To the great majority of +Arabs, who prided themselves on their noble lineage and were content to +know nothing beyond the glorious traditions of heathendom and the +virtues practised by their sires, all literary culture seemed petty and +degrading. Their overbearing attitude towards the _MawAilA-_, which is +admirably depicted in the first part of Goldziher's _Muhammedanische +Studien_, met with a vigorous response. Non-Arabs and Moslem pietists +alike appealed to the highest authority--the Koran; and since they +required a more definite and emphatic pronouncement than was forthcoming +from that source, they put in the mouth of the Prophet sayings like +these: "He that speaks Arabic is thereby an Arab"; "whoever of the +people of Persia accepts Islam is (as much an Arab as) one of Quraysh." +This doctrine made no impression upon the Arabian aristocracy, but with +the downfall of the Umayyads the political and social equality of the +_MawAilA-_ became an accomplished fact. Not that the Arabs were at all +disposed to abate their pretensions. They bitterly resented the favour +which the foreigners enjoyed and the influence which they exercised. The +national indignation finds a voice in many poems of the early aEuro~AbbAisid +period, _e.g._:-- + + "See how the asses which they used to ride + They have unsaddled, and sleek mules bestride! + No longer kitchen-herbs they buy and sell,[510] + But in the palace and the court they dwell; + Against us Arabs full of rage and spleen, + Hating the Prophet and the Moslem's _dA-n_."[511] + +[Sidenote: The ShuaEuro~Aºbites.] + +The side of the non-Arabs in this literary quarrel was vehemently +espoused by a party who called themselves the ShuaEuro~Aºbites +(_al-ShuaEuro~Aºbiyya_),[512] while their opponents gave them the name of +Levellers (_Ahlu aEuro(TM)l-Taswiya_), because they contended for the equality +of all Moslems without regard to distinctions of race. I must refer the +reader who seeks information concerning the history of the movement to +Goldziher's masterly study,[513] where the controversial methods adopted +by the ShuaEuro~Aºbites are set forth in ample detail. He shows how the bolder +spirits among them, not satisfied with claiming an _equal_ position, +argued that the Arabs were absolutely inferior to the Persians and other +peoples. The question was hotly debated, and many eminent writers took +part in the fray. On the ShuaEuro~Aºbite side AbAº aEuro~Ubayda, BA-rAºnA-, and +a¸¤amza of Ia¹LfahAin deserve mention. JAia¸Yiaº" and Ibn Durayd +were the most notable defenders of their own Arabian nationality, but +the 'pro-Arabs' also included several men of Persian origin, such as Ibn +Qutayba, BalAidhurA-, and ZamakhsharA-. The ShuaEuro~Aºbites directed their +attacks principally against the racial pride of the Arabs, who were fond +of boasting that they were the noblest of all mankind and spoke the +purest and richest language in the world. Consequently the Persian +genealogists and philologists lost no opportunity of bringing to light +scandalous and discreditable circumstances connected with the history of +the Arab tribes or of particular families. Arabian poetry, especially +the vituperative pieces (_mathAilib_), furnished abundant matter of this +sort, which was adduced by the ShuaEuro~Aºbites as convincing evidence that +the claims of the Arabs to superior nobility were absurd. At the same +time the national view as to the unique and incomparable excellence of +the Arabic language received some rude criticism. + +[Sidenote: Assimilation of Arabs and Persians.] + +[Sidenote: Enthusiasm for learning in the early aEuro~AbbAisid period.] + +So acute and irreconcilable were the racial differences between Arabs +and Persians that one is astonished to see how thoroughly the latter +became Arabicised in the course of a few generations. As clients +affiliated to an Arab tribe, they assumed Arabic names and sought to +disguise their foreign extraction by fair means or foul. Many provided +themselves with fictitious pedigrees, on the strength of which they +passed for Arabs. Such a pretence could have deceived nobody if it had +not been supported by a complete assimilation in language, manners, and +even to some extent in character. On the neutral ground of Mua¸Yammadan +science animosities were laid aside, and men of both races laboured +enthusiastically for the common cause. When at length, after a century +of bloody strife and engrossing political agitation, the great majority +of Moslems found themselves debarred from taking part in public affairs, +it was only natural that thousands of ardent and ambitious souls should +throw their pent-up energies into the pursuit of wealth or learning. We +are not concerned here with the marvellous development of trade under +the first aEuro~AbbAisid Caliphs, of which Von Kremer has given a full and +entertaining description in his _Culturgeschichte des Orients_. It may +be recalled, however, that many commercial terms, _e.g._, tariff, names +of fabrics (muslin, tabby, &c.), occurring in English as well as in most +European languages are of Arabic origin and were brought to Europe by +merchants from BaghdAid, Mosul, Baa¹Lra, and other cities of Western +Asia. This material expansion was accompanied by an outburst of +intellectual activity such as the East had never witnessed before. It +seemed as if all the world from the Caliph down to the humblest citizen +suddenly became students, or at least patrons, of literature. In quest +of knowledge men travelled over three continents and returned home, like +bees laden with honey, to impart the precious stores which they had +accumulated to crowds of eager disciples, and to compile with incredible +industry those works of encyclopA|dic range and erudition from which +modern Science, in the widest sense of the word, has derived far more +than is generally supposed. + +[Sidenote: Development of the Moslem sciences.] + +The Revolution which made the fortune of the aEuro~AbbAisid House was a +triumph for Islam and the party of religious reform. While under the +worldly Umayyads the studies of Law and Tradition met with no public +encouragement and were only kept alive by the pious zeal of oppressed +theologians, the new dynasty drew its strength from the Mua¸Yammadan +ideas which it professed to establish, and skilfully adapted its policy +to satisfying the ever-increasing claims of the Church. Accordingly the +Moslem sciences which arose at this time proceeded in the first instance +from the Koran and the a¸¤adA-th. The sacred books offered many +difficulties both to provincial Arabs and especially to Persians and +other Moslems of foreign extraction. For their right understanding a +knowledge of Arabic grammar and philology was essential, and this +involved the study of the ancient Pre-islamic poems which supplied the +most authentic models of Arabian speech in its original purity. The +study of these poems entailed researches into genealogy and history, +which in the course of time became independent branches of learning. +Similarly the science of Tradition was systematically developed in order +to provide Moslems with practical rules for the conduct of life in every +conceivable particular, and various schools of Law sprang into +existence. + +[Sidenote: Their classification.] + +Mua¸Yammadan writers usually distinguish the sciences which are +connected with the Koran and those which the Arabs learned from foreign +peoples. In the former class they include the Traditional or Religious +Sciences (_al-aEuro~UlAºm al-Naqliyya awi aEuro(TM)l-SharaEuro~iyya_) and the Linguistic +Sciences (_aEuro~UlAºmu aEuro(TM)l-LisAini aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~ArabA-_); in the latter the Intellectual +or Philosophical Sciences (_al-aEuro~UlAºm al-aEuro~Aqliyya awi aEuro(TM)l-a¸¤ikmiyya_), +which are sometimes called 'The Sciences of the Foreigners' (_aEuro~UlAºmu +aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~Ajam_) or 'The Ancient Sciences' (_al-aEuro~UlAºm al-QadA-ma_). + +The general scope of this division may be illustrated by the following +table:-- + + I. THE NATIVE SCIENCES. + + 1. Koranic Exegesis (_aEuro~Ilmu aEuro(TM)l-TafsA-r_). + 2. Koranic Criticism (_aEuro~Ilmu aEuro(TM)l-QirAiaEuro(TM)Ait_). + 3. The Science of Apostolic Tradition (_aEuro~Ilmu aEuro(TM)l-a¸¤adA-th_). + 4. Jurisprudence (_Fiqh_). + 5. Scholastic Theology (_aEuro~Ilmu aEuro(TM)l-KalAim_). + 6. Grammar (_Naa¸Yw_). + 7. Lexicography (_Lugha_). + 8. Rhetoric (_BayAin_). + 9. Literature (_Adab_). + + + II. THE FOREIGN SCIENCES. + + 1. Philosophy (_Falsafa_).[514] + 2. Geometry (_Handasa_).[515] + 3. Astronomy (_aEuro~Ilmu aEuro(TM)l-NujAºm_). + 4. Music (_MAºsA-qA-_). + 5. Medicine (_a¹¬ibb_). + 6. Magic and Alchemy (_al-Sia¸Yr wa-aEuro(TM)l-KA-miyAi_). + +[Sidenote: The early aEuro~AbbAisid period favourable to free-thought.] + +The religious phenomena of the Period will be discussed in a separate +chapter, and here I can only allude cursorily to their general +character. We have seen that during the whole Umayyad epoch, except in +the brief reign of aEuro~Umar b. aEuro~Abd al-aEuro~AzA-z, the professors of religion +were out of sympathy with the court, and that many of them withdrew from +all participation in public affairs. It was otherwise when the aEuro~AbbAisids +established themselves in power. Theology now dwelt in the shadow of the +throne and directed the policy of the Government. Honours were showered +on eminent jurists and divines, who frequently held official posts of +high importance and stood in the most confidential and intimate +relations to the Caliph; a classical example is the friendship of the +Cadi AbAº YAºsuf and HAirAºn al-RashA-d. The century after the Revolution +gave birth to the four great schools of Muhammadan Law, which are still +called by the names of their founders--MAilik b. Anas, AbAº a¸¤anA-fa, +ShAifiaEuro~A-, and Ahmad b. a¸¤anbal. At this time the scientific and +intellectual movement had free play. The earlier Caliphs usually +encouraged speculation so long as it threatened no danger to the +existing _rA(C)gime_. Under MaaEuro(TM)mAºn and his successors the MuaEuro~tazilite +Rationalism became the State religion, and Islam seemed to have entered +upon an era of enlightenment. Thus the first aEuro~AbbAisid period (750-847 +A.D.) with its new learning and liberal theology may well be compared to +the European Renaissance; but in the words of a celebrated Persian +poet-- + + _KhilaEuro~atA- bas fAikhir Aimad aEuro~umr aEuro~aybash kAºtahA-st._[516] + + "Life is a very splendid robe: its fault is brevity." + +[Sidenote: The triumph of orthodoxy.] + +The Caliph Mutawakkil (847-861 A.D.) signalised his accession by +declaring the MuaEuro~tazilite doctrines to be heretical and by returning to +the traditional faith. Stern measures were taken against dissenters. +Henceforth there was little room in Islam for independent thought. The +populace regarded philosophy and natural science as a species of +infidelity. Authors of works on these subjects ran a serious risk unless +they disguised their true opinions and brought the results of their +investigations into apparent conformity with the text of the Koran. +About the middle of the tenth century the reactionary spirit assumed a +dogmatic shape in the system of Abu aEuro(TM)l-a¸¤asan al-AshaEuro~arA-, the father +of Mua¸Yammadan Scholasticism, which is essentially opposed to +intellectual freedom and has maintained its petrifying influence almost +unimpaired down to the present time. + + +I could wish that this chapter were more worthy of the title which I +have chosen for it, but the foregoing pages will have served their +purpose if they have enabled my readers to form some idea of the +politics of the Period and of the broad features marking the course of +its literary and religious history. + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +POETRY, LITERATURE, AND SCIENCE IN THE aEuro~ABBASID PERIOD + +[Sidenote: The Pre-islamic poets regarded as classical.] + +Pre-Islamic poetry was the natural expression of nomad life. We might +therefore have expected that the new conditions and ideas introduced by +Islam would rapidly work a corresponding revolution in the poetical +literature of the following century. Such, however, was far from being +the case. The Umayyad poets clung tenaciously to the great models of the +Heroic Age and even took credit for their skilful imitation of the +antique odes. The early Mua¸Yammadan critics, who were philologists by +profession, held fast to the principle that Poetry in Pre-islamic times +had reached a perfection which no modern bard could hope to emulate, and +which only the lost ideals of chivalry could inspire.[517] To have been +born after Islam was in itself a proof of poetical inferiority.[518] +Linguistic considerations, of course, entered largely into this +prejudice. The old poems were studied as repositories of the pure +classical tongue and were estimated mainly from a grammarian's +standpoint. + +[Sidenote: AbAº NuwAis as a critic.] + +These ideas gained wide acceptance in literary circles and gradually +biassed the popular taste to such an extent that learned pedants could +boast, like KhalA-l b. Ahmad, the inventor of Arabic prosody, that it lay +in their power to make or mar the reputation of a rising poet as they +deemed fit. Originality being condemned in advance, those who desired +the approval of this self-constituted Academy were obliged to waste +their time and talents upon elaborate reproduction of the ancient +masterpieces, and to entertain courtiers and citizens with borrowed +pictures of Bedouin life in which neither they nor their audience took +the slightest interest. Some, it is true, recognised the absurdity of +the thing. AbAº NuwAis (aEuro _circa_ 810 A.D.) often ridicules the custom, to +which reference has been made elsewhere, of apostrophising the deserted +encampment (_aa¹-lAil_ or _a¹-ulAºl_) in the opening lines of an ode, +and pours contempt on the fashionable glorification of antiquity. In the +passage translated below he gives a description of the desert and its +people which recalls some of Dr. Johnson's sallies at the expense of +Scotland and Scotsmen:-- + + "Let the south-wind moisten with rain the desolate scene + And Time efface what once was so fresh and green! + Make the camel-rider free of a desert space + Where high-bred camels trot with unwearied pace; + Where only mimosas and thistles flourish, and where, + For hunting, wolves and hyenas are nowise rare! + Amongst the Bedouins seek not enjoyment out: + What do they enjoy? They live in hunger and drought. + Let them drink their bowls of milk and leave them alone, + To whom life's finer pleasures are all unknown."[519] + +Ibn Qutayba, who died towards the end of the ninth century A.D., was the +first critic of importance to declare that ancients and moderns should +be judged on their merits without regard to their age. He writes as +follows in the Introduction to his 'Book of Poetry and Poets' (_KitAibu +aEuro(TM)l-ShiaEuro~r wa-aEuro(TM)l-ShuaEuro~arAi_):--[520] + + [Sidenote: Ibn Qutayba on ancient and modern poets.] + + "In citing extracts from the works of the poets I have been guided + by my own choice and have refused to admire anything merely because + others thought it admirable. I have not regarded any ancient with + veneration on account of his antiquity nor any modern with contempt + on account of his being modern, but I have taken an impartial view + of both sides, giving every one his due and amply acknowledging his + merit. Some of our scholars, as I am aware, pronounce a feeble poem + to be good, because its author was an ancient, and include it among + their chosen pieces, while they call a sterling poem bad though its + only fault is that it was composed in their own time or that they + have seen its author. God, however, did not restrict learning and + poetry and rhetoric to a particular age nor appropriate them to a + particular class, but has always distributed them in common amongst + His servants, and has caused everything old to be new in its own day + and every classic work to be an upstart on its first appearance." + +[Sidenote: Revolt against classicism.] + +The inevitable reaction in favour of the new poetry and of contemporary +literature in general was hastened by various circumstances which +combined to overthrow the prevalent theory that Arabian heathendom and +the characteristic pagan virtues--honour, courage, liberality, &c.--were +alone capable of producing poetical genius. Among the chief currents of +thought tending in this direction, which are lucidly set forth in +Goldziher's essay, pp. 148 sqq., we may note (_a_) the pietistic and +theological spirit fostered by the aEuro~AbbAisid Government, and (_b_) the +influence of foreign, pre-eminently Persian, culture. As to the former, +it is manifest that devout Moslems would not be at all disposed to admit +the exclusive pretensions made on behalf of the _JAihiliyya_ or to agree +with those who exalted chivalry (_muruwwa_) above religion (_dA-n_). Were +not the language and style of the Koran incomparably excellent? Surely +the Holy Book was a more proper subject for study than heathen verses. +But if Moslems began to call Pre-islamic ideals in question, it was +especially the Persian ascendancy resulting from the triumph of the +aEuro~AbbAisid House that shook the old arrogant belief of the Arabs in the +intellectual supremacy of their race. So far from glorying in the +traditions of paganism, many people thought it grossly insulting to +mention an aEuro~AbbAisid Caliph in the same breath with heroes of the past +like a¸¤Aitim of a¹¬ayyiaEuro(TM) and Harim b. SinAin. The philosopher al-KindA- +(aEuro about 850 A.D.) rebuked a poet for venturing on such odious +comparisons. "Who are these Arabian vagabonds" (_a¹LaaEuro~AilA-ku aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~Arab_), +he asked, "and what worth have they?"[521] + +[Sidenote: Critics in favour of the modern school.] + +While Ibn Qutayba was content to urge that the modern poets should get a +fair hearing, and should be judged not chronologically or +philologically, but _A|sthetically_, some of the greatest literary +critics who came after him do not conceal their opinion that the new +poetry is superior to the old. ThaaEuro~AilibA- (aEuro 1038 A.D.) asserts that in +tenderness and elegance the Pre-islamic bards are surpassed by their +successors, and that both alike have been eclipsed by his +contemporaries. Ibn RashA-q (aEuro _circa_ 1070 A.D.), whose _aEuro~Umda_ on the +Art of Poetry is described by Ibn KhaldAºn as an epoch-making work, +thought that the superiority of the moderns would be acknowledged if +they discarded the obsolete conventions of the Ode. European readers +cannot but sympathise with him when he bids the poets draw inspiration +from nature and truth instead of relating imaginary journeys on a camel +which they never owned, through deserts which they never saw, to a +patron residing in the same city as themselves. This seems to us a very +reasonable and necessary protest, but it must be remembered that the +Bedouin _qaa¹LA-da_ was not easily adaptable to the conditions of urban +life, and needed complete remoulding rather than modification in +detail.[522] + +[Sidenote: Popularity of the modern poets.] + +"In the fifth century," says Goldziher--_i.e._, from about 1000 +A.D.--"the dogma of the unattainable perfection of the heathen poets may +be regarded as utterly demolished." Henceforth popular taste ran +strongly in the other direction, as is shown by the immense +preponderance of modern pieces in the anthologies--a favourite and +characteristic branch of Arabic literature--which were compiled during +the aEuro~AbbAisid period and afterwards, and by frequent complaints of the +neglect into which the ancient poetry had fallen. But although, for +Moslems generally, ImruaEuro(TM)u aEuro(TM)l-Qays and his fellows came to be more or +less what Chaucer is to the average Englishman, the views first +enunciated by Ibn Qutayba met with bitter opposition from the learned +class, many of whom clung obstinately to the old philological principles +of criticism, and even declined to recognise the writings of MutanabbA- +and Abu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~AlAi al-MaaEuro~arrA- as poetry, on the ground that those authors +did not observe the classical 'types' (_asAilA-b_).[523] The result of +such pedantry may be seen at the present day in thousands of +_qaa¹LA-das_, abounding in archaisms and allusions to forgotten far-off +things of merely antiquarian interest, but possessing no more claim to +consideration here than the Greek and Latin verses of British scholars +in a literary history of the Victorian Age. + + +[Sidenote: Characteristics of the new poetry.] + +Passing now to the characteristics of the new poetry which followed the +accession of the aEuro~AbbAisids, we have to bear in mind that from first to +last (with very few exceptions) it flourished under the patronage of the +court. There was no organised book trade, no wealthy publishers, so that +poets were usually dependent for their livelihood on the capricious +bounty of the Caliphs and his favourites whom they belauded. Huge sums +were paid for a successful panegyric, and the bards vied with each other +in flattery of the most extravagant description. Even in writers of real +genius this prostitution of their art gave rise to a great deal of the +false glitter and empty bombast which are often erroneously attributed +to Oriental poetry as a whole.[524] These qualities, however, are +absolutely foreign to Arabian poetry of the best period. The old +Bedouins who praised a man only for that which was in him, and drew +their images directly from nature, stand at the opposite pole to +ThaaEuro~AilibA-'s contemporaries. Under the Umayyads, as we have seen, little +change took place. It is not until after the enthronement of the +aEuro~AbbAisids, when Persians filled the chief offices at court, and when a +goodly number of poets and eminent men of learning had Persian blood in +their veins, that an unmistakably new note makes itself heard. One might +be tempted to surmise that the high-flown, bombastic, and ornate style +of which MutanabbA- is the most illustrious exponent, and which is so +marked a feature in later Mua¸Yammadan poetry, was first introduced by +the Persians and Perso-Arabs who gathered round the Caliph in BaghdAid +and celebrated the triumph of their own race in the person of a noble +Barmecide; but this would scarcely be true. The style in question is not +specially Persian; the earliest Arabic-writing poets of ArAinian descent, +like BashshAir b. Burd and AbAº NuwAis, are (so far as I can see) without a +trace of it. What the Persians brought into Arabian poetry was not a +grandiose style, but a lively and graceful fancy, elegance of diction, +depth and tenderness of feeling, and a rich store of ideas. + +The process of transformation was aided by other causes besides the +influx of Persian and Hellenistic culture: for example, by the growing +importance of Islam in public life and the diffusion of a strong +religious spirit among the community at large--a spirit which attained +its most perfect expression in the reflective and didactic poetry of Abu +aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~AtAihiya. Every change of many-coloured life is depicted in the +brilliant pages of these modern poets, where the reader may find, +according to his mood, the maddest gaiety and the shamefullest +frivolity; strains of lofty meditation mingled with a world-weary +pessimism; delicate sentiment, unforced pathos, and glowing rhetoric; +but seldom the manly self-reliance, the wild, invigorating freedom and +inimitable freshness of Bedouin song. + + +[Sidenote: Five typical poets of the aEuro~AbbAisid period.] + +It is of course impossible to do justice even to the principal aEuro~AbbAisid +poets within the limits of this chapter, but the following five may be +taken as fairly representative: Mua¹-A-aEuro~ b. IyAis, AbAº NuwAis, Abu +aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~AtAihiya, MutanabbA-, and Abu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~AlAi al-MaaEuro~arrA-. The first three were +in close touch with the court of BaghdAid, while MutanabbA- and Abu +aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~AlAi flourished under the a¸¤amdAinid dynasty which ruled in Aleppo. + + +[Sidenote: Mua¹-A-aEuro~ b. IyAis.] + +Mua¹-A-aEuro~ b. IyAis only deserves notice here as the earliest poet of the +New School. His father was a native of Palestine, but he himself was +born and educated at KAºfa. He began his career under the Umayyads, and +was devoted to the Caliph WalA-d b. YazA-d, who found in him a fellow +after his own heart, "accomplished, dissolute, an agreeable companion +and excellent wit, reckless in his effrontery and suspected in his +religion."[525] When the aEuro~AbbAisids came into power Mua¹-A-aEuro~ attached +himself to the Caliph Mana¹LAºr. Many stories are told of the debauched +life which he led in the company of _zindA-qs_, or freethinkers, a class +of men whose opinions we shall sketch in another chapter. His songs of +love and wine are distinguished by their lightness and elegance. The +best known is that in which he laments his separation from the daughter +of a _DihqAin_ (Persian landed proprietor), and invokes the two +palm-trees of a¸¤ulwAin, a town situated on the borders of the JibAil +province between HamadhAin and BaghdAid. From this poem arose the proverb, +"Faster friends than the two palm-trees of a¸¤ulwAin."[526] + + + THE YEOMAN'S DAUGHTER. + + "O ye two palms, palms of a¸¤ulwAin, + Help me weep Time's bitter dole! + Know that Time for ever parteth + Life from every living soul. + + Had ye tasted parting's anguish, + Ye would weep as I, forlorn. + Help me! Soon must ye asunder + By the same hard fate be torn. + + Many are the friends and loved ones + Whom I lost in days of yore. + Fare thee well, O yeoman's daughter!-- + Never grief like this I bore. + Her, alas, mine eyes behold not, + And on me she looks no more!" + +[Sidenote: AbAº NuwAis (aEuro _circa_ 810 A.D.).] + +By Europeans who know him only through the _Thousand and One Nights_ AbAº +NuwAis is remembered as the boon-companion and court jester of "the good +Haroun Alraschid," and as the hero of countless droll adventures and +facetious anecdotes--an Oriental Howleglass or Joe Miller. It is often +forgotten that he was a great poet who, in the opinion of those most +competent to judge, takes rank above all his contemporaries and +successors, including even MutanabbA-, and is not surpassed in poetical +genius by any ancient bard. + +a¸¤asan b. HAiniaEuro(TM) gained the familiar title of AbAº NuwAis (Father of the +lock of hair) from two locks which hung down on his shoulders. He was +born of humble parents, about the middle of the eighth century, in +Aa¸YwAiz, the capital of KhAºzistAin. That he was not a pure Arab the name +of his mother, JallabAin, clearly indicates, while the following verse +affords sufficient proof that he was not ashamed of his Persian blood:-- + + "Who are TamA-m and Qays and all their kin? + The Arabs in God's sight are nobody."[527] + +He received his education at Baa¹Lra, of which city he calls himself a +native,[528] and at KAºfa, where he studied poetry and philology under +the learned Khalaf al-Aa¸Ymar. After passing a 'Wanderjahr' among the +Arabs of the desert, as was the custom of scholars at that time, he made +his way to BaghdAid and soon eclipsed every competitor at the court of +HAirAºn the Orthodox. A man of the most abandoned character, which he took +no pains to conceal, AbAº NuwAis, by his flagrant immorality, drunkenness, +and blasphemy, excited the Caliph's anger to such a pitch that he often +threatened the culprit with death, and actually imprisoned him on +several occasions; but these fits of severity were brief. The poet +survived both HAirAºn and his son, AmA-n, who succeeded him in the +Caliphate. Age brought repentance--"the Devil was sick, the Devil a monk +would be." He addressed the following lines from prison to Faa¸l b. +al-RabA-aEuro~, whom HAirAºn appointed Grand Vizier after the fall of the +Barmecides:-- + + "Faa¸l, who hast taught and trained me up to goodness + (And goodness is but habit), thee I praise. + Now hath vice fled and virtue me revisits, + And I have turned to chaste and pious ways. + To see me, thou would'st think the saintly Baa¹Lrite, + a¸¤asan, or else QatAida, met thy gaze,[529] + So do I deck humility with leanness, + While yellow, locust-like, my cheek o'erlays. + Beads on my arm; and on my breast the Scripture, + Where hung a chain of gold in other days."[530] + +The DA-wAin of AbAº NuwAis contains poems in many different styles--_e.g._, +panegyric (_madA-a¸Y), satire (_hijAi_), songs of the chase +(a¹-ardiyyAit_), elegies (_marAithA-_), and religious poems (_zuhdiyyAit_); +but love and wine were the two motives by which his genius was most +brilliantly inspired. His wine-songs (_khamriyyAit_) are generally +acknowledged to be incomparable. Here is one of the shortest:-- + + "Thou scolder of the grape and me, + I ne'er shall win thy smile! + Because against thee I rebel, + 'Tis churlish to revile. + + Ah, breathe no more the name of wine + Until thou cease to blame, + For fear that thy foul tongue should smirch + Its fair and lovely name! + + Come, pour it out, ye gentle boys, + A vintage ten years old, + That seems as though 'twere in the cup + A lake of liquid gold. + + And when the water mingles there, + To fancy's eye are set + Pearls over shining pearls close strung + As in a carcanet."[531] + +Another poem begins-- + + "Ho! a cup, and fill it up, and tell me it is wine, + For I will never drink in shade if I can drink in shine! + Curst and poor is every hour that sober I must go, + But rich am I whene'er well drunk I stagger to and fro. + Speak, for shame, the loved one's name, let vain disguise alone: + No good there is in pleasures o'er which a veil is thrown."[532] + +AbAº NuwAis practised what he preached, and hypocrisy at any rate cannot +be laid to his charge. The moral and religious sentiments which appear +in some of his poems are not mere cant, but should rather be regarded as +the utterance of sincere though transient emotion. Usually he felt and +avowed that pleasure was the supreme business of his life, and that +religious scruples could not be permitted to stand in the way. He even +urges others not to shrink from any excess, inasmuch as the Divine mercy +is greater than all the sins of which a man is capable:-- + + "Accumulate as many sins thou canst: + The Lord is ready to relax His ire. + When the day comes, forgiveness thou wilt find + Before a mighty King and gracious Sire, + And gnaw thy fingers, all that joy regretting + Which thou didst leave thro' terror of Hell-fire!"[533] + +We must now bid farewell to AbAº NuwAis and the licentious poets +(_al-shuaEuro~arAi al-mujjAin_) who reflect so admirably the ideas and manners +prevailing in court circles and in the upper classes of society which +were chiefly influenced by the court. The scenes of luxurious +dissipation and refined debauchery which they describe show us, indeed, +that Persian culture was not an unalloyed blessing to the Arabs any more +than were the arts of Greece to the Romans; but this is only the darker +side of the picture. The works of a contemporary poet furnish evidence +of the indignation which the libertinism fashionable in high places +called forth among the mass of Moslems who had not lost faith in +morality and religion. + + +[Sidenote: Abu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~AtAihiya (748-828 A.D.).] + +Abu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~AtAihiya, unlike his great rival, came of Arab stock. He was bred +in KAºfa, and gained his livelihood as a young man by selling +earthenware. His poetical talent, however, promised so well that he set +out to present himself before the Caliph MahdA-, who richly rewarded him; +and HAirAºn al-RashA-d afterwards bestowed on him a yearly pension of +50,000 dirhems (about AL2,000), in addition to numerous +extraordinary gifts. At BaghdAid he fell in love with aEuro~Utba, a slave-girl +belonging to MahdA-, but she did not return his passion or take any +notice of the poems in which he celebrated her charms and bewailed the +sufferings that she made him endure. Despair of winning her affection +caused him, it is said, to assume the woollen garb of Mua¸Yammadan +ascetics,[534] and henceforth, instead of writing vain and amatorious +verses, he devoted his powers exclusively to those joyless meditations +on mortality which have struck a deep chord in the hearts of his +countrymen. Like Abu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~AlAi al-MaaEuro~arrA- and others who neglected the +positive precepts of Islam in favour of a moral philosophy based on +experience and reflection, Abu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~AtAihiya was accused of being a +freethinker (_zindA-q_).[535] It was alleged that in his poems he often +spoke of death but never of the Resurrection and the Judgment--a calumny +which is refuted by many passages in his DA-wAin. According to the +literary historian al-a¹cAºlA- (aEuro 946 A.D.), Abu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~AtAihiya believed in +One God who formed the universe out of two opposite elements which He +created from nothing; and held, further, that everything would be +reduced to these same elements before the final destruction of all +phenomena. Knowledge, he thought, was acquired naturally (_i.e._, +without Divine Revelation) by means of reflection, deduction, and +research.[536] He believed in the threatened retribution (_al-waaEuro~A-d_) +and in the command to abstain from commerce with the world (_taa¸YrA-mu +aEuro(TM)l-makAisib_).[537] He professed the opinions of the Butrites,[538] a +subdivision of the Zaydites, as that sect of the ShA-aEuro~a was named which +followed Zayd b. AlA- b. a¸¤usayn b. aEuro~AlA- b. AbA- a¹¬Ailib. He spoke evil +of none, and did not approve of revolt against the Government. He held +the doctrine of predestination (_jabr_).[539] + +Abu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~AtAihiya may have secretly cherished the ManichA|an views ascribed +to him in this passage, but his poems contain little or nothing that +could offend the most orthodox Moslem. The following verse, in which +Goldziher finds an allusion to Buddha,[540] is capable of a different +interpretation. It rather seems to me to exalt the man of ascetic life, +without particular reference to any individual, above all others:-- + + "If thou would'st see the noblest of mankind, + Behold a monarch in a beggar's garb."[541] + +But while the poet avoids positive heresy, it is none the less true that +much of his DA-wAin is not strictly religious in the Mua¸Yammadan sense and +may fairly be called 'philosophical.' This was enough to convict him of +infidelity and atheism in the eyes of devout theologians who looked +askance on moral teaching, however pure, that was not cast in the +dogmatic mould. The pretended cause of his imprisonment by HAirAºn +al-RashA-d--namely, that he refused to make any more love-songs--is +probably, as Goldziher has suggested, a popular version of the fact that +he persisted in writing religious poems which were supposed to have a +dangerous bias in the direction of free-thought. + +His poetry breathes a spirit of profound melancholy and hopeless +pessimism. Death and what comes after death, the frailty and misery of +man, the vanity of worldly pleasures and the duty of renouncing +them--these are the subjects on which he dwells with monotonous +reiteration, exhorting his readers to live the ascetic life and fear God +and lay up a store of good works against the Day of Reckoning. The +simplicity, ease, and naturalness of his style are justly admired. +Religious poetry, as he himself confesses, was not read at court or by +scholars who demanded rare and obscure expressions, but only by pious +folk, traditionists and divines, and especially by the vulgar, "who like +best what they can understand."[542] Abu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~AtAihiya wrote for 'the man +in the street.' Discarding conventional themes tricked out with +threadbare artifices, he appealed to common feelings and matters of +universal experience. He showed for the first and perhaps for the last +time in the history of classical Arabic literature that it was possible +to use perfectly plain and ordinary language without ceasing to be a +poet. + +Although, as has been said, the bulk of Abu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~AtAihiya's poetry is +philosophical in character, there remains much specifically Islamic +doctrine, in particular as regards the Resurrection and the Future Life. +This combination may be illustrated by the following ode, which is +considered one of the best that have been written on the subject of +religion, or, more accurately, of asceticism (_zuhd_):-- + + "Get sons for death, build houses for decay! + All, all, ye wend annihilation's way. + For whom build we, who must ourselves return + Into our native element of clay? + O Death, nor violence nor flattery thou + Dost use, but when thou com'st, escape none may. + Methinks, thou art ready to surprise mine age, + As age surprised and made my youth his prey. + What ails me, World, that every place perforce + I lodge thee in, it galleth me to stay? + And, O Time, how do I behold thee run + To spoil me? Thine own gift thou tak'st away! + O Time! inconstant, mutable art thou, + And o'er the realm of ruin is thy sway. + What ails me that no glad result it brings + Whene'er, O World, to milk thee I essay? + And when I court thee, why dost thou raise up + On all sides only trouble and dismay? + Men seek thee every wise, but thou art like + A dream; the shadow of a cloud; the day + Which hath but now departed, nevermore + To dawn again; a glittering vapour gay. + This people thou hast paid in full: their feet + Are on the stirrup--let them not delay! + But those that do good works and labour well + Hereafter shall receive the promised pay. + As if no punishment I had to fear, + A load of sin upon my neck I lay; + And while the world I love, from Truth, alas, + Still my besotted senses go astray. + I shall be asked of all my business here: + What can I plead then? What can I gainsay? + What argument allege, when I am called + To render an account on Reckoning-Day? + Dooms twain in that dread hour shall be revealed, + When I the scroll of these mine acts survey: + Either to dwell in everlasting bliss, + Or suffer torments of the damned for aye!"[543] + +I will now add a few verses culled from the DA-wAin which bring the poet's +pessimistic view of life into clearer outline, and also some examples of +those moral precepts and sententious criticisms which crowd his pages +and have contributed in no small degree to his popularity. + + "The world is like a viper soft to touch that venom spits."[544] + + "Men sit like revellers o'er their cups and drink, + From the world's hand, the circling wine of death."[545] + + "Call no man living blest for aught you see + But that for which you blessed call the dead."[546] + + + FALSE FRIENDS. + + "'Tis not the Age that moves my scorn, + But those who in the Age are born. + I cannot count the friends that broke + Their faith, tho' honied words they spoke; + In whom no aid I found, and made + The Devil welcome to their aid. + May I--so best we shall agree-- + Ne'er look on them nor they on me!"[547] + + + "If men should see a prophet begging, they would turn and scout him. + Thy friend is ever thine as long as thou canst do without him; + But he will spew thee forth, if in thy need thou come about him."[548] + + + THE WICKED WORLD. + + "'Tis only on the culprit sin recoils, + The ignorant fool against himself is armed. + Humanity are sunk in wickedness; + The best is he that leaveth us unharmed."[549] + + + "'Twas my despair of Man that gave me hope + God's grace would find me soon, I know not how."[550] + + + LIFE AND DEATH. + + "Man's life is his fair name, and not his length of years; + Man's death is his ill-fame, and not the day that nears. + Then life to thy fair name by deeds of goodness give: + So in this world two lives, O mortal, thou shalt live."[551] + + + MAXIMS AND RULES OF LIFE. + + "Mere falsehood by its face is recognised, + But Truth by parables and admonitions."[552] + + + "I keep the bond of love inviolate + Towards all humankind, for I betray + Myself, if I am false to any man."[553] + + + "Far from the safe path, hop'st thou to be saved? + Ships make no speedy voyage on dry land."[554] + + + "Strip off the world from thee and naked live, + For naked thou didst fall into the world."[555] + + + "Man guards his own and grasps his neighbours' pelf, + And he is angered when they him prevent; + But he that makes the earth his couch will sleep + No worse, if lacking silk he have content."[556] + + + "Men vaunt their noble blood, but I behold + No lineage that can vie with righteous deeds."[557] + + + "If knowledge lies in long experience, + Less than what I have borne suffices me."[558] + + + "Faith is the medicine of every grief, + Doubt only raises up a host of cares."[559] + + + "Blame me or no, 'tis my predestined state: + If I have erred, infallible is Fate."[560] + +Abu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~AtAihiya found little favour with his contemporaries, who seem to +have regarded him as a miserly hypocrite. He died, an aged man, in the +Caliphate of MaaEuro(TM)mAºn.[561] Von Kremer thinks that he had a truer genius +for poetry than AbAº NuwAis, an opinion in which I am unable to concur. +Both, however, as he points out, are distinctive types of their time. If +AbAº NuwAis presents an appalling picture of a corrupt and frivolous +society devoted to pleasure, we learn from Abu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~AtAihiya something of +the religious feelings and beliefs which pervaded the middle and lower +classes, and which led them to take a more earnest and elevated view of +life. + + +With the rapid decline and disintegration of the aEuro~AbbAisid Empire which +set in towards the middle of the ninth century, numerous petty dynasties +arose, and the hitherto unrivalled splendour of BaghdAid was challenged +by more than one provincial court. These independent or semi-independent +princes were sometimes zealous patrons of learning--it is well known, +for example, that a national Persian literature first came into being +under the auspices of the SAimAinids in KhurAisAin and the Buwayhids in +aEuro~IrAiq--but as a rule the anxious task of maintaining, or the ambition of +extending, their power left them small leisure to cultivate letters, +even if they wished to do so. None combined the arts of war and peace +more brilliantly than the a¸¤amdAinid Sayfu aEuro(TM)l-Dawla, who in 944 A.D. made +himself master of Aleppo, and founded an independent kingdom in Northern +Syria. + + [Sidenote: ThaaEuro~AilibA-'s eulogy of Sayfu aEuro(TM)l-Dawla.] + + "The a¸¤amdAinids," says ThaaEuro~AilibA-, "were kings and princes, comely of + countenance and eloquent of tongue, endowed with open-handedness and + gravity of mind. Sayfu aEuro(TM)l-Dawla is famed as the chief amongst them + all and the centre-pearl of their necklace. He was--may God be + pleased with him and grant his desires and make Paradise his + abode!--the brightest star of his age and the pillar of Islam: by + him the frontiers were guarded and the State well governed. His + attacks on the rebellious Arabs checked their fury and blunted their + teeth and tamed their stubbornness and secured his subjects against + their barbarity. His campaigns exacted vengeance from the Emperor of + the Greeks, decisively broke their hostile onset, and had an + excellent effect on Islam. His court was the goal of ambassadors, + the dayspring of liberality, the horizon-point of hope, the end of + journeys, a place where savants assembled and poets competed for the + palm. It is said that after the Caliphs no prince gathered around + him so many masters of poetry and men illustrious in literature as + he did; and to a monarch's hall, as to a market, people bring only + what is in demand. He was an accomplished scholar, a poet himself + and a lover of fine poetry; keenly susceptible to words of + praise."[562] + +Sayfu aEuro(TM)l-Dawla's cousin, AbAº FirAis al-a¸¤amdAinA-, was a gallant soldier +and a poet of some mark, who if space permitted would receive fuller +notice here.[563] He, however, though superior to the common herd of +court poets, is overshadowed by one who with all his faults--and they +are not inconsiderable--made an extraordinary impression upon his +contemporaries, and by the commanding influence of his reputation +decided what should henceforth be the standard of poetical taste in the +Mua¸Yammadan world. + +[Sidenote: MutanabbA- (915-965 A.D.).] + +Abu aEuro(TM)l-a¹¬ayyib Ahmad b. a¸¤usayn, known to fame as al-MutanabbA-, was +born and bred at KAºfa, where his father is said to have been a +water-carrier. Following the admirable custom by which young men of +promise were sent abroad to complete their education, he studied at +Damascus and visited other towns in Syria, but also passed much of his +time among the Bedouins, to whom he owed the singular knowledge and +mastery of Arabic displayed in his poems. Here he came forward as a +prophet (from which circumstance he was afterwards entitled +al-MutanabbA-, _i.e._, 'the pretender to prophecy'), and induced a great +multitude to believe in him; but ere long he was captured by LuaEuro(TM)luaEuro(TM), the +governor of a¸¤ims (Emessa), and thrown into prison. After his release +he wandered to and fro chanting the praises of all and sundry, until +fortune guided him to the court of Sayfu aEuro(TM)l-Dawla at Aleppo. For nine +years (948-957 A.D.) he stood high in the favour of that cultured +prince, whose virtues he celebrated in a series of splendid eulogies, +and with whom he lived as an intimate friend and comrade in arms. The +liberality of Sayfu aEuro(TM)l-Dawla and the ingenious impudence of the poet are +well brought out by the following anecdote:-- + + MutanabbA- on one occasion handed to his patron the copy of an ode + which he had recently composed in his honour, and retired, leaving + Sayfu aEuro(TM)l-Dawla to peruse it at leisure. The prince began to read, + and came to these lines-- + + _Aqil anil aqa¹-iaEuro~ ia¸Ymil aEuro~alli salli aaEuro~id + zid hashshi bashshi tafaa¸a¸al adni surra a¹Lili._[564] + + "_Pardon, bestow, endow, mount, raise, console, restore, + Add, laugh, rejoice, bring nigh, show favour, gladden, give!_" + + Far from being displeased by the poet's arrogance, Sayfu aEuro(TM)l-Dawla + was so charmed with his artful collocation of fourteen imperatives + in a single verse that he granted every request. Under _pardon_ he + wrote 'we pardon thee'; under _bestow_, 'let him receive such and + such a sum of money'; under _endow_, 'we endow thee with an estate,' + which he named (it was beside the gate of Aleppo); under _mount_, + 'let such and such a horse be led to him'; under _raise_, 'we do + so'; under _console_, 'we do so, be at ease'; under _restore_, 'we + restore thee to thy former place in our esteem'; under _add_, 'let + him have such and such in addition'; under _bring nigh_, 'we admit + thee to our intimacy'; under _show favour_, 'we have done so'; under + _gladden_, 'we have made thee glad'[565]; under _give_, 'this we + have already done.' MutanabbA-'s rivals envied his good fortune, and + one of them said to Sayfu aEuro(TM)l-Dawla--"Sire, you have done all that + he asked, but when he uttered the words _laugh_, _rejoice_, why did + not you answer, 'Ha, ha, ha'?" Sayfu aEuro(TM)l-Dawla laughed, and said, + "You too, shall have your wish," and ordered him a donation. + +MutanabbA- was sincerely attached to his generous master, and this +feeling inspired a purer and loftier strain than we find in the fulsome +panegyrics which he afterwards addressed to the negro KAifAºr. He seems to +have been occasionally in disgrace, but Sayfu aEuro(TM)l-Dawla could deny +nothing to a poet who paid him such magnificent compliments. Nor was he +deterred by any false modesty from praising himself: he was fully +conscious of his power and, like Arabian bards in general, he bragged +about it. Although the verbal legerdemain which is so conspicuous in his +poetry cannot be reproduced in another language, the lines translated +below may be taken as a favourable and sufficiently characteristic +specimen of his style. + + "How glows mine heart for him whose heart to me is cold, + Who liketh ill my case and me in fault doth hold! + Why should I hide a love that hath worn thin my frame? + To Sayfu aEuro(TM)l-Dawla all the world avows the same. + Tho' love of his high star unites us, would that we + According to our love might so divide the fee! + Him have I visited when sword in sheath was laid, + And I have seen him when in blood swam every blade: + Him, both in peace and war the best of all mankind, + Whose crown of excellence was still his noble mind. + + Do foes by flight escape thine onset, thou dost gain + A chequered victory, half of pleasure, half of pain. + So puissant is the fear thou strik'st them with, it stands + Instead of thee, and works more than thy warriors' hands. + Unfought the field is thine: thou need'st not further strain + To chase them from their holes in mountain or in plain. + What! 'fore thy fierce attack whene'er an army reels, + Must thy ambitious soul press hot upon their heels? + Thy task it is to rout them on the battle-ground; + No shame to thee if they in flight have safety found. + Or thinkest thou perchance that victory is sweet + Only when scimitars and necks each other greet? + + O justest of the just save in thy deeds to me! + _Thou_ art accused and thou, O Sire, must judge the plea. + Look, I implore thee, well! Let not thine eye cajoled + See fat in empty froth, in all that glisters gold![566] + What use and profit reaps a mortal of his sight, + If darkness unto him be indistinct from light? + + My deep poetic art the blind have eyes to see, + My verses ring in ears as deaf as deaf can be. + They wander far abroad while I am unaware, + But men collect them watchfully with toil and care. + Oft hath my laughing mien prolonged the insulter's sport, + Until with claw and mouth I cut his rudeness short. + Ah, when the lion bares his teeth, suspect his guile, + Nor fancy that the lion shows to you a smile. + I have slain the man that sought my heart's blood many a time, + Riding a noble mare whose back none else may climb, + Whose hind and fore-legs seem in galloping as one; + Nor hand nor foot requireth she to urge her on. + And O the days when I have swung my fine-edged glaive + Amidst a sea of death where wave was dashed on wave! + The desert knows me well, the night, the mounted men, + The battle and the sword, the paper and the pen!"[567] + +Finally an estrangement arose between MutanabbA- and Sayfu aEuro(TM)l-Dawla, in +consequence of which he fled to Egypt and attached himself to the +IkhshA-dite KAifAºr. Disappointed in his new patron, a negro who had +formerly been a slave, the poet set off for BaghdAid, and afterwards +visited the court of the Buwayhid aEuro~Aa¸udu aEuro(TM)l-Dawla at ShA-rAiz. While +travelling through Babylonia he was attacked and slain by brigands in +965 A.D. + +The popularity of MutanabbA- is shown by the numerous commentaries[568] +and critical treatises on his _DA-wAin_. By his countrymen he is generally +regarded as one of the greatest of Arabian poets, while not a few would +maintain that he ranks absolutely first. Abu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~AlAi al-MaaEuro~arrA-, himself +an illustrious poet and man of letters, confessed that he had sometimes +wished to alter a word here and there in MutanabbA-'s verses, but had +never been able to think of any improvement. "As to his poetry," says +Ibn KhallikAin, "it is perfection." European scholars, with the exception +of Von Hammer,[569] have been far from sharing this enthusiasm, as may +be seen by referring to what has been said on the subject by +Reiske,[570] De Sacy,[571] Bohlen,[572] Brockelmann,[573] and others. No +doubt, according to our canons of taste, MutanabbA- stands immeasurably +below the famous Pre-islamic bards, and in a later age must yield the +palm to AbAº NuwAis and Abu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~AtAihiya. Lovers of poetry, as the term is +understood in Europe, cannot derive much A|sthetic pleasure from his +writings, but, on the contrary, will be disgusted by the beauties hardly +less than by the faults which Arabian critics attribute to him. +Admitting, however, that only a born Oriental is able to appreciate +MutanabbA- at his full worth, let us try to realise the Oriental point of +view and put aside, as far as possible, our preconceptions of what +constitutes good poetry and good taste. Fortunately we possess abundant +materials for such an attempt in the invaluable work of ThaaEuro~AilibA-, which +has been already mentioned.[574] ThaaEuro~AilibA- (961-1038 A.D.) was nearly +contemporary with MutanabbA-. He began to write his _YatA-ma_ about thirty +years after the poet's death, and while he bears witness to the +unrivalled popularity of the _DA-wAin_ amongst all classes of society, he +observes that it was sharply criticised as well as rapturously admired. +ThaaEuro~AilibA- himself claims to hold the balance even. "Now," he says, "I +will mention the faults and blemishes which critics have found in the +poetry of MutanabbA-; for is there any one whose qualities give entire +satisfaction?-- + + _Kafa aEuro(TM)l-maraEuro(TM)a faa¸lan an tuaEuro~adda maaEuro~Aiyibuh._ + + 'Tis the height of merit in a man that his faults can be numbered. + +Then I will proceed to speak of his beauties and to set forth in due +order the original and incomparable characteristics of his style. + + The radiant stars with beauty strike our eyes + Because midst gloom opaque we see them rise." + +It was deemed of capital importance that the opening couplet +(_maa¹-laaEuro~_) of a poem should be perfect in form and meaning, and that +it should not contain anything likely to offend. ThaaEuro~AilibA- brings +forward many instances in which MutanabbA- has violated this rule by +using words of bad omen, such as 'sickness' or 'death,' or technical +terms of music and arithmetic which only perplex and irritate the hearer +instead of winning his sympathy at the outset. He complains also that +MutanabbA-'s finest thoughts and images are too often followed by low and +trivial ones: "he strings pearls and bricks together" (_jamaaEuro~a bayna +aEuro(TM)l-durrati wa-aEuro(TM)l-Aijurrati_). "While he moulds the most splendid +ornament, and threads the loveliest necklace, and weaves the most +exquisite stuff of mingled hues, and paces superbly in a garden of +roses, suddenly he will throw in a verse or two verses disfigured by +far-fetched metaphors, or by obscure language and confused thought, or +by extravagant affectation and excessive profundity, or by unbounded and +absurd exaggeration, or by vulgar and commonplace diction, or by +pedantry and grotesqueness resulting from the use of unfamiliar words." +We need not follow ThaaEuro~AilibA- in his illustration of these and other +weaknesses with which he justly reproaches MutanabbA-, since we shall be +able to form a better idea of the prevailing taste from those points +which he singles out for special praise. + +In the first place he calls attention to the poet's skill in handling +the customary erotic prelude (_nasA-b_), and particularly to his +brilliant descriptions of Bedouin women, which were celebrated all over +the East. As an example of this kind he quotes the following piece, +which "is chanted in the salons on account of the extreme beauty of its +diction, the choiceness of its sentiment, and the perfection of its +art":-- + + "Shame hitherto was wont my tears to stay, + But now by shame they will no more be stayed, + So that each bone seems through its skin to sob, + And every vein to swell the sad cascade. + She uncovered: pallor veiled her at farewell: + No veil 'twas, yet her cheeks it cast in shade. + So seemed they, while tears trickled over them, + Gold with a double row of pearls inlaid. + She loosed three sable tresses of her hair, + And thus of night four nights at once she made; + But when she lifted to the moon in heaven + Her face, two moons together I surveyed."[575] + +The critic then enumerates various beautiful and original features of +MutanabbA-'s style, _e.g._-- + +1. His consecutive arrangement of similes in brief symmetrical clauses, +thus:-- + + "She shone forth like a moon, and swayed like a moringa-bough, + And shed fragrance like ambergris, and gazed like a gazelle." + +2. The novelty of his comparisons and images, as when he indicates the +rapidity with which he returned to his patron and the shortness of his +absence in these lines:-- + + "I was merely an arrow in the air, + Which falls back, finding no refuge there." + +3. The _laus duplex_ or 'two-sided panegyric' (_al-mada¸Y, al-muwajjah_), which may be compared to a garment +having two surfaces of different colours but of equal beauty, as in the +following verse addressed to Sayfu aEuro(TM)l-Dawla:-- + + "Were all the lives thou hast ta'en possessed by thee, + Immortal thou and blest the world would be!" + +Here Sayfu aEuro(TM)l-Dawla is doubly eulogised by the mention of his triumphs +over his enemies as well as of the joy which all his friends felt in the +continuance of his life and fortune. + +4. His manner of extolling his royal patron as though he were speaking +to a friend and comrade, whereby he raises himself from the position of +an ordinary encomiast to the same level with kings. + +5. His division of ideas into parallel sentences:-- + + "We were in gladness, the Greeks in fear, + The land in bustle, the sea in confusion." + +From this summary of ThaaEuro~AilibA-'s criticism the reader will easily +perceive that the chief merits of poetry were then considered to lie in +elegant expression, subtle combination of words, fanciful imagery, witty +conceits, and a striking use of rhetorical figures. Such, indeed, are +the views which prevail to this day throughout the whole Mua¸Yammadan +world, and it is unreasonable to denounce them as false simply because +they do not square with ours. Who shall decide when nations disagree? If +Englishmen rightly claim to be the best judges of Shakespeare, and +Italians of Dante, the almost unanimous verdict of MutanabbA-'s +countrymen is surely not less authoritative--a verdict which places him +at the head of all the poets born or made in Islam. And although the +peculiar excellences indicated by ThaaEuro~AilibA- do not appeal to us, there +are few poets that leave so distinct an impression of greatness. One +might call MutanabbA- the Victor Hugo of the East, for he has the grand +style whether he soars to sublimity or sinks to fustian. In the +masculine vigour of his verse, in the sweep and splendour of his +rhetoric, in the luxuriance and reckless audacity of his imagination we +recognise qualities which inspired the oft-quoted lines of the +elegist:-- + + "Him did his mighty soul supply + With regal pomp and majesty. + A Prophet by his _diction_ known; + But in the _ideas_, all must own, + His miracles were clearly shown."[576] + +One feature of MutanabbA-'s poetry that is praised by ThaaEuro~AilibA- should +not be left unnoticed, namely, his fondness for sententious moralising +on topics connected with human life; wherefore Reiske has compared him +to Euripides. He is allowed to be a master of that proverbial philosophy +in which Orientals delight and which is characteristic of the modern +school beginning with Abu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~AtAihiya, though some of the ancients had +already cultivated it with success (cf. the verses of Zuhayr, p. 118 +_supra_). The following examples are among those cited by Bohlen (_op. +cit._, p. 86 sqq.):-- + + "When an old man cries 'Ugh!' he is not tired + Of life, but only tired of feebleness."[577] + + + "He that hath been familiar with the world + A long while, in his eye 'tis turned about + Until he sees how false what looked so fair."[578] + + + "The sage's mind still makes him miserable + In his most happy fortune, but poor fools + Find happiness even in their misery."[579] + +[Sidenote: Abu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~AlAi al-MaaEuro~arrA- (973-1057 A.D.).] + +[Sidenote: His visit to BaghdAid.] + +The sceptical and pessimistic tendencies of an age of social decay and +political anarchy are unmistakably revealed in the writings of the poet, +philosopher, and man of letters, Abu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~AlAi al-MaaEuro~arrA-, who was born in +973 A.D. at MaaEuro~arratu aEuro(TM)l-NuaEuro~mAin, a Syrian town situated about twenty +miles south of Aleppo on the caravan road to Damascus. While yet a child +he had an attack of small-pox, resulting in partial and eventually in +complete blindness, but this calamity, fatal as it might seem to +literary ambition, was repaired if not entirely made good by his +stupendous powers of memory. After being educated at home under the eye +of his father, a man of some culture and a meritorious poet, he +proceeded to Aleppo, which was still a flourishing centre of the +humanities, though it could no longer boast such a brilliant array of +poets and scholars as were attracted thither in the palmy days of Sayfu +aEuro(TM)l-Dawla. Probably Abu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~AlAi did not enter upon the career of a +professional encomiast, to which he seems at first to have inclined: he +declares in the preface to his _Saqa¹-u aEuro(TM)l-Zand_ that he never eulogised +any one with the hope of gaining a reward, but only for the sake of +practising his skill. On the termination of his 'Wanderjahre' he +returned in 993 A.D. to MaaEuro~arra, where he spent the next fifteen years +of his life, with no income beyond a small pension of thirty dA-nAirs +(which he shared with a servant), lecturing on Arabic poetry, +antiquities, and philology, the subjects to which his youthful studies +had been chiefly devoted. During this period his reputation was steadily +increasing, and at last, to adapt what Boswell wrote of Dr. Johnson on a +similar occasion, "he thought of trying his fortune in BaghdAid, the +great field of genius and exertion, where talents of every kind had the +fullest scope and the highest encouragement." Professor Margoliouth in +the Introduction to his edition of Abu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~AlAi's correspondence supplies +many interesting particulars of the literary society at BaghdAid in which +the poet moved. "As in ancient Rome, so in the great Mua¸Yammadan cities +public recitation was the mode whereby men of letters made their talents +known to their contemporaries. From very early times it had been +customary to employ the mosques for this purpose; and in Abu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~AlAi's +time poems were recited in the mosque of al-Mana¹LAºr in BaghdAid. Better +accommodation was, however, provided by the MA|cenates who took a pride +in collecting savants and _littA(C)rateurs_ in their houses."[580] Such a +MA|cenas was the SharA-f al-Raa¸A-, himself a celebrated poet, who founded +the Academy called by his name in imitation, probably, of that founded +some years before by AbAº Nasr SAibAºr b. ArdashA-r, Vizier to the Buwayhid +prince, BahAiaEuro(TM)u aEuro(TM)l-Dawla. Here Abu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~AlAi met a number of distinguished +writers and scholars who welcomed him as one of themselves. The capital +of Islam, thronged with travellers and merchants from all parts of the +East, harbouring followers of every creed and sect--Christians and Jews, +Buddhists and Zoroastrians, a¹cAibians and a¹cAºfA-s, Materialists and +Rationalists--must have seemed to the provincial almost like a new +world. It is certain that Abu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~AlAi, a curious observer who set no +bounds to his thirst for knowledge, would make the best use of such an +opportunity. The religious and philosophical ideas with which he was now +first thrown into contact gradually took root and ripened. His stay in +BaghdAid, though it lasted only a year and a half (1009-1010 A.D.), +decided the whole bent of his mind for the future. + +Whether his return to MaaEuro~arra was hastened, as he says, by want of means +and the illness of his mother, whom he tenderly loved, or by an +indignity which he suffered at the hands of an influential patron,[581] +immediately on his arrival he shut himself in his house, adopted a +vegetarian diet and other ascetic practices, and passed the rest of his +long life in comparative seclusion:-- + + "Methinks, I am thrice imprisoned--ask not me + Of news that need no telling-- + By loss of sight, confinement to my house, + And this vile body for my spirit's dwelling."[582] + +We can only conjecture the motives which brought about this sudden +change of habits and disposition. No doubt his mother's death affected +him deeply, and he may have been disappointed by his failure to obtain a +permanent footing in the capital. It is not surprising that the blind +and lonely man, looking back on his faded youth, should have felt weary +of the world and its ways, and found in melancholy contemplation of +earthly vanities ever fresh matter for the application and development +of these philosophical ideas which, as we have seen, were probably +suggested to him by his recent experiences. While in the collection of +early poems, entitled _Saqa¹-u aEuro(TM)l-Zand_ or 'The Spark of the Fire-stick' +and mainly composed before his visit to BaghdAid, he still treads the +customary path of his predecessors,[583] his poems written after that +time and generally known as the _LuzAºmiyyAit_[584] arrest attention by +their boldness and originality as well as by the sombre and earnest tone +which pervades them. This, indeed, is not the view of most Oriental +critics, who dislike the poet's irreverence and fail to appreciate the +fact that he stood considerably in advance of his age; but in Europe he +has received full justice and perhaps higher praise than he deserves. +Reiske describes him as 'Arabice callentissimum, vasti, subtilis, +sublimis et audacis ingenii';[585] Von Hammer, who ranks him as a poet +with AbAº TammAim, Bua¸YturA-, and MutanabbA-, also mentions him honourably as +a philosopher;[586] and finally Von Kremer, who made an exhaustive study +of the _LuzAºmiyyAit_ and examined their contents in a masterly +essay,[587] discovered in Abu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~AlAi, one of the greatest moralists of +all time whose profound genius anticipated much that is commonly +attributed to the so-called modern spirit of enlightenment. Here Von +Kremer's enthusiasm may have carried him too far; for the poet, as +Professor Margoliouth says, was unconscious of the value of his +suggestions, unable to follow them out, and unable to adhere to them +consistently. Although he builded better than he knew, the constructive +side of his philosophy was overshadowed by the negative and destructive +side, so that his pure and lofty morality leaves but a faint impression +which soon dies away in louder, continually recurring voices of doubt +and despair. + +Abu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~AlAi is a firm monotheist, but his belief in God amounted, as it +would seem, to little beyond a conviction that all things are governed +by inexorable Fate, whose mysteries none may fathom and from whose +omnipotence there is no escape. He denies the Resurrection of the dead, +_e.g._:-- + + "We laugh, but inept is our laughter; + We should weep and weep sore, + Who are shattered like glass, and thereafter + Re-moulded no more!"[588] + +Since Death is the ultimate goal of mankind, the sage will pray to be +delivered as speedily as possible from the miseries of life and refuse +to inflict upon others what, by no fault of his own, he is doomed to +suffer:-- + + "Amends are richly due from sire to son: + What if thy children rule o'er cities great? + That eminence estranges them the more + From thee, and causes them to wax in hate, + Beholding one who cast them into Life's + Dark labyrinth whence no wit can extricate."[589] + +There are many passages to the same effect, showing that Abu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~AlAi +regarded procreation as a sin and universal annihilation as the best +hope for humanity. He acted in accordance with his opinions, for he +never married, and he is said to have desired that the following verse +should be inscribed on his grave:-- + + "This wrong was by my father done + To me, but ne'er by me to one."[590] + +Hating the present life and weary of its burdens, yet seeing no happier +prospect than that of return to non-existence, Abu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~AlAi can scarcely +have disguised from himself what he might shrink openly to avow--that he +was at heart, not indeed an atheist, but wholly incredulous of any +Divine revelation. Religion, as he conceives it, is a product of the +human mind, in which men believe through force of habit and education, +never stopping to consider whether it is true. + + "Sometimes you may find a man skilful in his trade, perfect in + sagacity and in the use of arguments, but when he comes to religion + he is found obstinate, so does he follow the old groove. Piety is + implanted in human nature; it is deemed a sure refuge. To the + growing child that which falls from his elders' lips is a lesson + that abides with him all his life. Monks in their cloisters and + devotees in the mosques accept their creed just as a story is handed + down from him who tells it, without distinguishing between a true + interpreter and a false. If one of these had found his kin among the + Magians, he would have declared himself a Magian, or among the + a¹cAibians, he would have become nearly or quite like _them_."[591] + +Religion, then, is "a fable invented by the ancients," worthless except +to those unscrupulous persons who prey upon human folly and +superstition. Islam is neither better nor worse than any other creed:-- + + "a¸¤anA-fs are stumbling,[592] Christians all astray, + Jews wildered, Magians far on error's way. + We mortals are composed of two great schools-- + Enlightened knaves or else religious fools."[593] + +Not only does the poet emphatically reject the proud claim of Islam to +possess a monopoly of truth, but he attacks most of its dogmas in +detail. As to the Koran, Abu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~AlAi could not altogether refrain from +doubting if it was really the Word of God, but he thought so well of the +style that he accepted the challenge flung down by Mua¸Yammad and +produced a rival work (_al-Fua¹LAºl wa-aEuro(TM)l-GhAiyAit_), which appears to +have been a somewhat frivolous parody of the sacred volume, though in +the author's judgment its inferiority was simply due to the fact that it +was not yet polished by the tongues of four centuries of readers. +Another work which must have sorely offended orthodox Mua¸Yammadans is +the _RisAilatu aEuro(TM)l-GhufrAin_ (Epistle of Forgiveness).[594] Here the +Paradise of the Faithful becomes a glorified salon tenanted by various +heathen poets who have been forgiven--hence the title--and received +among the Blest. This idea is carried out with much ingenuity and in a +spirit of audacious burlesque that reminds us of Lucian. The poets are +presented in a series of imaginary conversations with a certain Shaykh +aEuro~AlA- b. Mana¹LAºr, to whom the work is addressed, reciting and +explaining their verses, quarrelling with one another, and generally +behaving as literary Bohemians. The second part contains a number of +anecdotes relating to the _zindA-qs_ or freethinkers of Islam +interspersed with quotations from their poetry and reflections on the +nature of their belief, which Abu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~AlAi condemns while expressing a +pious hope that they are not so black as they paint themselves. At this +time it may have suited him--he was over sixty--to assume the attitude +of charitable orthodoxy. Like so many wise men of the East, he practised +dissimulation as a fine art-- + + "I lift my voice to utter lies absurd, + But when I speak the truth, my hushed tones scarce are heard."[595] + +In the _LuzAºmiyyAit_, however, he often unmasks. Thus he describes as +idolatrous relics the two Pillars of the KaaEuro~ba and the Black Stone, +venerated by every Moslem, and calls the Pilgrimage itself 'a heathen's +journey' (_ria¸Ylatu jAihiliyyin_). The following sentiments do him +honour, but they would have been rank heresy at Mecca:-- + + "Praise God and pray, + Walk seventy times, not seven, the Temple round-- + And impious remain! + Devout is he alone who, when he may + Feast his desires, is found + With courage to abstain."[596] + +It is needless to give further instances of the poet's contempt for the +Mua¸Yammadan articles of faith. Considering that he assailed persons as +well as principles, and lashed with bitter invective the powerful class +of the _aEuro~UlamAi_, the clerical and legal representatives of Islam, we may +wonder that the accusation of heresy brought against him was never +pushed home and had no serious consequences. The question was warmly +argued on both sides, and though Abu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~AlAi was pronounced by the +majority to be a freethinker and materialist, he did not lack defenders +who quoted chapter and verse to prove that he was nothing of the kind. +It must be remembered that his works contain no philosophical system; +that his opinions have to be gathered from the ideas which he scatters +incoherently, and for the most part in guarded language, through a long +succession of rhymes; and that this task, already arduous enough, is +complicated by the not infrequent occurrence of sentiments which are +blamelessly orthodox and entirely contradictory to the rest. A brilliant +writer, familiar with Eastern ways of thinking, has observed that in +general the conscience of an Asiatic is composed of the following +ingredients: (1) an almost bare religious designation; (2) a more or +less lively belief in certain doctrines of the creed which he professes; +(3) a resolute opposition to many of its doctrines, even if they should +be the most essential; (4) a fund of ideas relating to completely alien +theories, which occupies more or less room; (5) a constant tendency to +get rid of these ideas and theories and to replace the old by new.[597] +Such phenomena will account for a great deal of logical inconsistency, +but we should beware of invoking them too confidently in this case. Abu +aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~AlAi with his keen intellect and unfanatical temperament was not the +man to let himself be mystified. Still lamer is the explanation offered +by some Mua¸Yammadan critics, that his thoughts were decided by the +necessities of the difficult metre in which he wrote. It is conceivable +that he may sometimes have doubted his own doubts and given Islam the +benefit, but Von Kremer's conclusion is probably near the truth, namely, +that where the poet speaks as a good Moslem, his phrases if they are not +purely conventional are introduced of set purpose to foil his pious +antagonists or to throw them off the scent. Although he was not without +religion in the larger sense of the word, unprejudiced students of the +later poems must recognise that from the orthodox standpoint he was +justly branded as an infidel. The following translations will serve to +illustrate the negative side of his philosophy:-- + + "Falsehood hath so corrupted all the world + That wrangling sects each other's gospel chide; + But were not hate Man's natural element, + Churches and mosques had risen side by side."[598] + + + "What is Religion? A maid kept close that no eye may view her; + The price of her wedding-gifts and dowry baffles the wooer. + Of all the goodly doctrine that I from the pulpit heard + My heart has never accepted so much as a single word!"[599] + + + "The pillars of this earth are four, + Which lend to human life a base; + God shaped two vessels, Time and Space, + The world and all its folk to store. + + "That which Time holds, in ignorance + It holds--why vent on it our spite? + Man is no cave-bound eremite, + But still an eager spy on Chance. + + "He trembles to be laid asleep, + Tho' worn and old and weary grown. + We laugh and weep by Fate alone, + Time moves us not to laugh or weep; + + "Yet we accuse it innocent, + Which, could it speak, might us accuse, + Our best and worst, at will to choose, + United in a sinful bent."[600] + + "'The stars' conjunction comes, divinely sent, + And lo, the veil o'er every creed is rent. + No realm is founded that escapes decay, + The firmest structure soon dissolves away.[601] + With sadness deep a thoughtful mind must scan + Religion made to serve the pelf of Man. + Fear thine own children: sparks at random flung + Consume the very tinder whence they sprung. + Evil are all men; I distinguish not + That part or this: the race entire I blot. + Trust none, however near akin, tho' he + A perfect sense of honour show to thee, + Thy self is the worst foe to be withstood: + Be on thy guard in hours of solitude." + + * * * * * + + "Desire a venerable shaykh to cite + Reason for his doctrine, he is gravelled quite. + What! shall I ripen ere a leaf is seen? + The tree bears only when 'tis clad in green."[602] + + + "How have I provoked your enmity? + Christ or Mua¸Yammad, 'tis one to me. + No rays of dawn our path illume, + We are sunk together in ceaseless gloom. + Can blind perceptions lead aright, + Or blear eyes ever have clear sight? + Well may a body racked with pain + Envy mouldering bones in vain; + Yet comes a day when the weary sword + Reposes, to its sheath restored. + Ah, who to me a frame will give + As clod or stone insensitive?-- + For when spirit is joined to flesh, the pair + Anguish of mortal sickness share. + O Wind, be still, if wind thy name, + O Flame, die out, if thou art flame!"[603] + +Pessimist and sceptic as he was, Abu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~AlAi denies more than he +affirms, but although he rejected the dogmas of positive religion, he +did not fall into utter unbelief; for he found within himself a moral +law to which he could not refuse obedience. + + "Take Reason for thy guide and do what she + Approves, the best of counsellors in sooth. + Accept no law the Pentateuch lays down: + Not there is what thou seekest--the plain truth."[604] + +He insists repeatedly that virtue is its own reward. + + "Oh, purge the good thou dost from hope of recompense + Or profit, as if thou wert one that sells his wares."[605] + +His creed is that of a philosopher and ascetic. Slay no living creature, +he says; better spare a flea than give alms. Yet he prefers active +piety, active humanity, to fasting and prayer. "The gist of his moral +teaching is to inculcate as the highest and holiest duty a conscientious +fulfilment of one's obligations with equal warmth and affection towards +all living beings."[606] + +Abu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~AlAi died in 1057 A.D., at the age of eighty-four. About ten +years before this time, the Persian poet and traveller, NAia¹Lir-i +Khusraw, passed through MaaEuro~arra on his way to Egypt. He describes Abu +aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~AlAi as the chief man in the town, very rich, revered by the +inhabitants, and surrounded by more than two hundred students who came +from all parts to attend his lectures on literature and poetry.[607] We +may set this trustworthy notice against the doleful account which Abu +aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~AlAi gives of himself in his letters and other works. If not among +the greatest Mua¸Yammadan poets, he is undoubtedly one of the most +original and attractive. After MutanabbA-, even after Abu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~AtAihiya, he +must appear strangely modern to the European reader. It is astonishing +to reflect that a spirit so unconventional, so free from dogmatic +prejudice, so rational in spite of his pessimism and deeply religious +notwithstanding his attacks on revealed religion, should have ended his +life in a Syrian country-town some years before the battle of Senlac. +Although he did not meddle with politics and held aloof from every sect, +he could truly say of himself, "I am the son of my time" (_ghadawtu aEuro(TM)bna +waqtA-_).[608] His poems leave no aspect of the age untouched, and +present a vivid picture of degeneracy and corruption, in which tyrannous +rulers, venal judges, hypocritical and unscrupulous theologians, +swindling astrologers, roving swarms of dervishes and godless +Carmathians occupy a prominent place.[609] + + +Although the reader may think that too much space has been already +devoted to poetry, I will venture by way of concluding the subject to +mention very briefly a few well-known names which cannot be altogether +omitted from a work of this kind. + +[Sidenote: AbAº TammAim and Bua¸YturA-.] + +AbAº TammAim (a¸¤abA-b b. Aws) and Bua¸YturA-, both of whom flourished in the +ninth century, were distinguished court poets of the same type as +MutanabbA-, but their reputation rests more securely on the anthologies +which they compiled under the title of _a¸¤amAisa_ (see p. 129 seq.). + +[Sidenote: Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-MuaEuro~tazz (861-908 A.D.).] + +Abu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~AbbAis aEuro~AbdullAih, the son of the Caliph al-MuaEuro~tazz, was a +versatile poet and man of letters, who showed his originality by the +works which he produced in two novel styles of composition. It has often +been remarked that the Arabs have no great epos like the Iliad or the +Persian _ShAihnAima_, but only prose narratives which, though sometimes +epical in tone, are better described as historical romances. Ibnu +aEuro(TM)l-MuaEuro~tazz could not supply the deficiency. He wrote, however, in praise +of his cousin, the Caliph MuaEuro~taa¸id, a metrical epic in miniature, +commencing with a graphic delineation of the wretched state to which the +Empire had been reduced by the rapacity and tyranny of the Turkish +mercenaries. He composed also, besides an anthology of Bacchanalian +pieces, the first important work on Poetics (_KitAibu aEuro(TM)l-BadA-aEuro~_). A sad +destiny was in store for this accomplished prince. On the death of the +Caliph MuktarA- he was called to the throne, but a few hours after his +accession he was overpowered by the partisans of Muqtadir, who strangled +him as soon as they discovered his hiding-place. Picturing the scene, +one thinks almost inevitably of Nero's dying words, _Qualis artifex +pereo!_ + + +[Sidenote: aEuro~Umar Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-FAiria¸ (1181-1235 A.D.).] + +The mystical poetry of the Arabs is far inferior, as a whole, to that of +the Persians. Fervour and passion it has in the highest degree, but it +lacks range and substance, not to speak of imaginative and speculative +power. aEuro~Umar Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-FAiria¸, though he is undoubtedly the poet of Arabian +mysticism, cannot sustain a comparison with his great Persian +contemporary, JalAiluaEuro(TM)l-DA-n RAºmA- (aEuro 1273 A.D.); he surpasses him only in +the intense glow and exquisite beauty of his diction. It will be +convenient to reserve a further account of Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-FAiria¸ for the next +chapter, where we shall discuss the development of a¹cAºfiism during this +period. + +Finally two writers claim attention who owe their reputation to single +poems--a by no means rare phenomenon in the history of Arabic +literature. One of these universally celebrated odes is the _LAimiyyatu +aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~Ajam_ (the ode rhyming in _l_ of the non-Arabs) composed in the year +1111 A.D. by a¹¬ughrAiaEuro(TM)A-; the other is the _Burda_ (Mantle Ode) of +BAºa¹LA-rA-, which I take the liberty of mentioning in this chapter, +although its author died some forty years after the Mongol Invasion. + +[Sidenote: a¹¬ughrAiaEuro(TM)A- (aEuro _circa_ 1120 A.D.).] + +a¸¤asan b. aEuro~AlA- al-a¹¬ughrAiaEuro(TM)A- was of Persian descent and a native of +Ia¹LfahAin.[610] He held the offices of _kAitib_ (secretary) and _munshA-_ or +_a¹-ughrAiaEuro(TM)A-_ (chancellor) under the great SeljAºq Sultans, MalikshAih and +Mua¸Yammad, and afterwards became Vizier to the SeljAºqid prince GhiyAithu +aEuro(TM)l-DA-n MasaEuro~Aºd[611] in Mosul. He derived the title by which he is +generally known from the royal signature (_a¹-ughrAi_) which it was his +duty to indite on all State papers over the initial _BismillAih_. The +_LAimiyyatu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~Ajam_ is so called with reference to ShanfarAi's renowned +poem, the _LAimiyyatu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~Arab_ (see p. 79 seq.), which rhymes in the +same letter; otherwise the two odes have only this in common,[612] that +whereas ShanfarAi depicts the hardships of an outlaw's life in the +desert, a¹¬ughrAiaEuro(TM)A-, writing in BaghdAid, laments the evil times on which he +has fallen, and complains that younger rivals, base and servile men, are +preferred to him, while he is left friendless and neglected in his old +age. + +[Sidenote: BAºa¹LA-rA- (aEuro _circa_ 1296 A.D.).] + +The _Qaa¹LA-datu aEuro(TM)l-Burda_ (Mantle Ode) of al-BAºa¹LA-rA-[613] is a hymn in +praise of the Prophet. Its author was born in Egypt in 1212 A.D. We know +scarcely anything concerning his life, which, as he himself declares, +was passed in writing poetry and in paying court to the great[614]; but +his biographers tell us that he supported himself by copying +manuscripts, and that he was a disciple of the eminent a¹cAºfA-, Abu +aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~AbbAis Aa¸Ymad al-MarsA-. It is said that he composed the _Burda_ while +suffering from a stroke which paralysed one half of his body. After +praying God to heal him, he began to recite the poem. Presently he fell +asleep and dreamed that he saw the Prophet, who touched his palsied side +and threw his mantle (_burda_) over him.[615] "Then," said al-BAºa¹LA-rA-, "I +awoke and found myself able to rise." However this may be, the Mantle +Ode is held in extraordinary veneration by Mua¸Yammadans. Its verses are +often learned by heart and inscribed in golden letters on the walls of +public buildings; and not only is the whole poem regarded as a charm +against evil, but some peculiar magical power is supposed to reside in +each verse separately. Although its poetical merit is no more than +respectable, the _Burda_ may be read with pleasure on account of its +smooth and elegant style, and with interest as setting forth in brief +compass the mediA|val legend of the Prophet--a legend full of prodigies +and miracles in which the historical figure of Mua¸Yammad is glorified +almost beyond recognition. + + +[Sidenote: Rhymed prose.] + +Rhymed prose (_sajaEuro~_) long retained the religious associations which it +possessed in Pre-islamic times and which were consecrated, for all +Moslems, by its use in the Koran. About the middle of the ninth century +it began to appear in the public sermons (_khua¹-ab_, sing. +_khua¹-ba_) of the Caliphs and their viceroys, and it was still further +developed by professional preachers, like Ibn NubAita (aEuro 984 A.D.), and +by official secretaries, like IbrAihA-m b. HilAil al-a¹cAibA- (aEuro 994 A.D.). +Henceforth rhyme becomes a distinctive and almost indispensable feature +of rhetorical prose. + +[Sidenote: BadA-aEuro~u aEuro(TM)l-ZamAin al-HamadhAinA- (aEuro 1007 A.D.).] + +The credit of inventing, or at any rate of making popular, a new and +remarkable form of composition in this style belongs to al-HamadhAinA- (aEuro +1007 A.D.), on whom posterity conferred the title _BadA-aEuro~u aEuro(TM)l-ZamAin_, +_i.e._, 'the Wonder of the Age.' Born in HamadhAin (Ecbatana), he left +his native town as a young man and travelled through the greater part of +Persia, living by his wits and astonishing all whom he met by his talent +for improvisation. His _MaqAimAit_ may be called a romance or literary +Bohemianism. In the _maqAima_ we find some approach to the dramatic +style, which has never been cultivated by the Semites.[616] HamadhAinA- +imagined as his hero a witty, unscrupulous vagabond journeying from +place to place and supporting himself by the presents which his +impromptu displays of rhetoric, poetry, and learning seldom failed to +draw from an admiring audience. The second character is the _rAiwA-_ or +narrator, "who should be continually meeting with the other, should +relate his adventures, and repeat his excellent compositions."[617] The +_MaqAimAit_ of HamadhAinA- became the model for this kind of writing, and +the types which he created survive unaltered in the more elaborate work +of his successors. Each _maqAima_ forms an independent whole, so that the +complete series may be regarded as a novel consisting of detached +episodes in the hero's life, a medley of prose and verse in which the +story is nothing, the style everything. + +[Sidenote: a¸¤arA-rA- (1054-1122 A.D.).] + +Less original than BadA-aEuro~u aEuro(TM)l-ZamAin, but far beyond him in variety of +learning and copiousness of language, AbAº Mua¸Yammad al-QAisim +al-a¸¤arA-rA- of Baa¹Lra produced in his _MaqAimAit_ a masterpiece which +for eight centuries "has been esteemed as, next to the Koran, the chief +treasure of the Arabic tongue." In the Preface to his work he says that +the composition of _maqAimAit_ was suggested to him by "one whose +suggestion is a command and whom it is a pleasure to obey." This was the +distinguished Persian statesman, AnAºshirwAin b. KhAilid,[618] who +afterwards served as Vizier under the Caliph Mustarshid BillAih +(1118-1135 A.D.) and SultAin MasaEuro~Aºd, the SeljAºq (1133-1152 A.D.); but at +the time when he made a¸¤arA-rA-'s acquaintance he was living in +retirement at Baa¹Lra and devoting himself to literary studies. +a¸¤arA-rA- begged to be excused on the score that his abilities were +unequal to the task, "for the lame steed cannot run like the strong +courser."[619] Finally, however, he yielded to the request of +AnAºshirwAin, and, to quote his own words-- + + "I composed, in spite of hindrances that I suffered + From dullness of capacity and dimness of intellect, + And dryness of imagination and distressing anxieties, + Fifty MaqAimAit, which contain serious language and lightsome, + And combine refinement with dignity of style, + And brilliancies with jewels of eloquence, + And beauties of literature with its rarities, + Beside verses of the Koran wherewith I adorned them, + And choice metaphors, and Arab proverbs that I interspersed, + And literary elegancies and grammatical riddles, + And decisions based on the (double) meaning of words, + And original discourses and highly-wrought orations, + And affecting exhortations as well as entertaining jests: + The whole of which I have indited as by the tongue of AbAº Zayd + of SarAºj, + The part of narrator being assigned to Harith son of HammAim + of Baa¹Lra."[620] + +a¸¤arA-rA- then proceeds to argue that his _MaqAimAit_ are not mere frivolous +stories such as strict Moslems are bound to reprobate in accordance with +a well-known passage of the Koran referring to Naa¸r b. a¸¤Airith, who +mortally offended the Prophet by amusing the Quraysh with the old +Persian legends of Rustam and IsfandiyAir (Koran, xxxi, 5-6): "_There is +one that buyeth idle tales that he may seduce men from the way of God, +without knowledge, and make it a laughing-stock: these shall suffer a +shameful punishment. And when Our signs are read to him, he turneth his +back in disdain as though he heard them not, as though there were in his +ears a deafness: give him joy of a grievous punishment!_" a¸¤arA-rA- insists +that the _Assemblies_ have a moral purpose. The ignorant and malicious, +he says, will probably condemn his work, but intelligent readers will +perceive, if they lay prejudice aside, that it is as useful and +instructive as the fables of beasts, &c.,[621] to which no one has ever +objected. That his fears of hostile criticism were not altogether +groundless is shown by the following remarks of the author of the +popular history entitled _al-FakhrA-_ (aEuro _circa_ 1300 A.D.). This +writer, after claiming that his own book is more useful than the +_a¸¤amAisa_ of AbAº TammAim, continues:-- + + [Sidenote: _MaqAimAit_ criticised as immoral.] + + "And, again, it is more profitable than the _MaqAimAit_ on which men + have set their hearts, and which they eagerly commit to memory; + because the reader derives no benefit from _MaqAimAit_ except + familiarity with elegant composition and knowledge of the rules of + verse and prose. Undoubtedly they contain maxims and ingenious + devices and experiences; but all this has a debasing effect on the + mind, for it is founded on begging and sponging and disgraceful + scheming to acquire a few paltry pence. Therefore, if they do good + in one direction, they do harm in another; and this point has been + noticed by some critics of the _MaqAimAit_ of a¸¤arA-rA- and BadA-aEuro~u + aEuro(TM)l-ZamAin."[622] + +[Sidenote: The character of AbAº Zayd.] + +Before pronouncing on the justice of this censure, we must consider for +a moment the character of AbAº Zayd, the hero of a¸¤arA-rA-'s work, whose +adventures are related by a certain a¸¤Airith b. HammAim, under which +name the author is supposed to signify himself. According to the general +tradition, a¸¤arA-rA- was one day seated with a number of savants in the +mosque of the BanAº a¸¤arAim at Baa¹Lra, when an old man entered, +footsore and travel-stained. On being asked who he was and whence he +came, he answered that his name of honour was AbAº Zayd and that he came +from SarAºj.[623] He described in eloquent and moving terms how his +native town had been plundered by the Greeks, who made his daughter a +captive and drove him forth to exile and poverty. a¸¤arA-rA- was so +struck with his wonderful powers of improvisation that on the same +evening he began to compose the _MaqAima of the BanAº a¸¤arAim_,[624] +where AbAº Zayd is introduced in his invariable character: "a crafty old +man, full of genius and learning, unscrupulous of the artifices which he +uses to effect his purpose, reckless in spending in forbidden +indulgences the money he has obtained by his wit or deceit, but with +veins of true feeling in him, and ever yielding to unfeigned emotion +when he remembers his devastated home and his captive child."[625] If an +immoral tendency has been attributed to the _Assemblies_ of a¸¤arA-rA- it +is because the author does not conceal his admiration for this +unprincipled and thoroughly disreputable scamp. AbAº Zayd, indeed, is +made so fascinating that we can easily pardon his knaveries for the sake +of the pearls of wit and wisdom which he scatters in splendid +profusion--excellent discourses, edifying sermons, and plaintive +lamentations mingled with rollicking ditties and ribald jests. Modern +readers are not likely to agree with the historian quoted above, but +although they may deem his criticism illiberal, they can hardly deny +that it has some justification. + +a¸¤arA-rA-'s rhymed prose might be freely imitated in English, but the +difficulty of rendering it in rhyme with tolerable fidelity has caused +me to abandon the attempt to produce a version of one of the +_Assemblies_ in the original form.[626] I will translate instead three +poems which are put into the mouth of AbAº Zayd. The first is a tender +elegiac strain recalling far-off days of youth and happiness in his +native land:-- + + "GhassAin is my noble kindred, SarAºj is my land of birth, + Where I dwelt in a lofty mansion of sunlike glory and worth, + A Paradise for its sweetness and beauty and pleasant mirth! + + And oh, the life that I led there abounding in all delight! + I trailed my robe on its meadows, while Time flew a careless flight, + Elate in the flower of manhood, no pleasure veiled from my sight. + + Now, if woe could kill, I had died of the troubles that haunt me here, + Or could past joy ever be ransomed, my heart's blood had not been + dear, + Since death is better than living a brute's life year after year. + + Subdued to scorn as a lion whom base hyenas torment. + But Luck is to blame, else no one had failed of his due ascent: + If she were straight, the conditions of men would never be bent."[627] + +The scene of the eleventh _Assembly_ is laid in SAiwa, a city lying +midway between HamadhAin (Ecbatana) and Rayy (Rhages). "a¸¤Airith, in a +fit of religious zeal, betakes himself to the public burial ground, for +the purpose of contemplation. He finds a funeral in progress, and when +it is over an old man, with his face muffled in a cloak, takes his stand +on a hillock, and pours forth a discourse on the certainty of death and +judgment.... He then rises into poetry and declaims a piece which is one +of the noblest productions of Arabic literature. In lofty morality, in +religious fervour, in beauty of language, in power and grace of metre, +this magnificent hymn is unsurpassed."[628] + + "Pretending sense in vain, how long, O light of brain, wilt thou heap + sin and bane, and compass error's span? + Thy conscious guilt avow! The white hairs on thy brow admonish thee, + and thou hast ears unstopt, O man! + Death's call dost thou not hear? Rings not his voice full clear? Of + parting hast no fear, to make thee sad and wise? + How long sunk in a sea of sloth and vanity wilt thou play heedlessly, + as though Death spared his prize? + Till when, far wandering from virtue, wilt thou cling to evil ways + that bring together vice in brief? + For thy Lord's anger shame thou hast none, but let maim o'ertake thy + cherished aim, then feel'st thou burning grief. + Thou hail'st with eager joy the coin of yellow die, but if a bier pass + by, feigned is thy sorry face; + Perverse and callous wight! thou scornest counsel right to follow + the false light of treachery and disgrace. + Thy pleasure thou dost crave, to sordid gain a slave, forgetting + the dark grave and what remains of dole; + Were thy true weal descried, thy lust would not misguide nor thou + be terrified by words that should console. + Not tears, blood shall thine eyes pour at the great Assize, when thou + hast no allies, no kinsman thee to save; + Straiter thy tomb shall be than needle's cavity: deep, deep thy plunge + I see as diver's 'neath the wave. + There shall thy limbs be laid, a feast for worms arrayed, till utterly + decayed are wood and bones withal, + Nor may thy soul repel that ordeal horrible, when o'er the Bridge of + Hell she must escape or fall. + Astray shall leaders go, and mighty men be low, and sages shall cry, + 'Woe like this was never yet.' + Then haste, my thoughtless friend, what thou hast marred to mend, + for life draws near its end, and still thou art in the net. + Trust not in fortune, nay, though she be soft and gay; for she will + spit one day her venom, if thou dote; + Abate thy haughty pride! lo, Death is at thy side, fastening, whate'er + betide, his fingers on thy throat. + When prosperous, refrain from arrogant disdain, nor give thy tongue + the rein: a modest tongue is best. + Comfort the child of bale and listen to his tale: repair thine actions + frail, and be for ever blest. + Feather the nest once more of those whose little store has vanished: + ne'er deplore the loss nor miser be; + With meanness bravely cope, and teach thine hand to ope, and spurn + the misanthrope, and make thy bounty free. + Lay up provision fair and leave what brings thee care: for sea + the ship prepare and dread the rising storm. + This, friend, is what I preach expressed in lucid speech. Good luck + to all and each who with my creed conform!" + +In the next _MaqAima_--that of Damascus--we find AbAº Zayd, gaily attired, +amidst casks and vats of wine, carousing and listening to the music of +lutes and singing-- + + "I ride and I ride through the waste far and wide, and I fling away + pride to be gay as the swallow; + Stem the torrent's fierce speed, tame the mettlesome steed, that + wherever I lead Youth and Pleasure may follow. + I bid gravity pack, and I strip bare my back lest liquor I lack when + the goblet is lifted: + Did I never incline to the quaffing of wine, I had ne'er been with + fine wit and eloquence gifted. + Is it wonderful, pray, that an old man should stay in a well-stored + seray by a cask overflowing? + Wine strengthens the knees, physics every disease, and from sorrow + it frees, the oblivion-bestowing! + Oh, the purest of joys is to live sans disguise unconstrained by + the ties of a grave reputation, + And the sweetest of love that the lover can prove is when fear and + hope move him to utter his passion. + Thy love then proclaim, quench the smouldering flame, for 'twill + spark out thy shame and betray thee to laughter: + Heal the wounds of thine heart and assuage thou the smart by the cups + that impart a delight men seek after; + While to hand thee the bowl damsels wait who cajole and enravish + the soul with eyes tenderly glancing, + And singers whose throats pour such high-mounting notes, when + the melody floats, iron rocks would be dancing! + Obey not the fool who forbids thee to pull beauty's rose when in + full bloom thou'rt free to possess it; + Pursue thine end still, tho' it seem past thy skill; let them say + what they will, take thy pleasure and bless it! + Get thee gone from thy sire, if he thwart thy desire; spread thy + nets nor enquire what the nets are receiving; + But be true to a friend, shun the miser and spend, ways of charity + wend, be unwearied in giving. + He that knocks enters straight at the Merciful's gate, so repent + or e'er Fate call thee forth from the living!" + +The reader may judge from these extracts whether the _Assemblies_ of +a¸¤arA-rA- are so deficient in matter as some critics have imagined. But, +of course, the celebrity of the work is mainly due to its consummate +literary form--a point on which the Arabs have always bestowed singular +attention. a¸¤arA-rA- himself was a subtle grammarian, living in +Baa¹Lra, the home of philological science;[629] and though he wrote to +please rather than to instruct, he seems to have resolved that his work +should illustrate every beauty and nicety of which the Arabic language +is capable. We Europeans can see as little merit or taste in the verbal +conceits--equivoques, paronomasias, assonances, alliterations, +&c.--with which his pages are thickly studded, as in _tours de force_ +of composition which may be read either forwards or backwards, or which +consist entirely of pointed or of unpointed letters; but our impatience +of such things should not blind us to the fact that they are intimately +connected with the genius and traditions of the Arabic tongue,[630] and +therefore stand on a very different footing from those euphuistic +extravagances which appear, for example, in English literature of the +Elizabethan age. By a¸¤arA-rA-'s countrymen the _MaqAimAit_ are prized as +an almost unique monument of their language, antiquities, and culture. +One of the author's contemporaries, the famous ZamakhsharA-, has +expressed the general verdict in pithy verse-- + + "I swear by God and His marvels, + By the pilgrims' rite and their shrine: + a¸¤arA-rA-'s _Assemblies_ are worthy + To be written in gold each line." + +[Sidenote: The religious literature of the period.] + +Concerning some of the specifically religious sciences, such as Dogmatic +Theology and Mysticism, we shall have more to say in the following +chapter, while as to the science of Apostolic Tradition (_a¸¤adA-th_) we +must refer the reader to what has been already said. All that can be +attempted here is to take a passing notice of the most eminent writers +and the most celebrated works of this epoch in the field of religion. + +[Sidenote: MAilik b. Anas (713-795 A.D.).] + +The place of honour belongs to the ImAim MAilik b. Anas of MedA-na, whose +_Muwaa¹-a¹-aaEuro(TM)_ is the first great _corpus_ of Mua¸Yammadan Law. He +was a partisan of the aEuro~Alids, and was flogged by command of the Caliph +Mana¹LAºr in consequence of his declaration that he did not consider the +oath of allegiance to the aEuro~AbbAisid dynasty to have any binding effect. + +[Sidenote: BukhAirA- and Muslim.] + +The two principal authorities for Apostolic Tradition are BukhAirA- (aEuro 870 +A.D.) and Muslim (aEuro 875 A.D.), authors of the collections entitled +_a¹caa¸YA-a¸Y_. Compilations of a narrower range, embracing only those +traditions which bear on the _Sunna_ or custom of the Prophet, are the +_Sunan_ of AbAº DAiwAºd al-SijistAinA- (aEuro 889 A.D.), the _JAimiaEuro~_ of AbAº aEuro~IsAi +Mua¸Yammad al-TirmidhA- (aEuro 892 A.D.), the _Sunan_ of al-NasAiaEuro(TM)A- (aEuro 915 +A.D.), and the _Sunan_ of Ibn MAija (aEuro 896 A.D.). These, together with the +_a¹caa¸YA-a¸Ys_ of BukhAirA- and Muslim, form the Six Canonical Books +(_al-kutub al-sitta_), which are held in the highest veneration. Amongst +the innumerable works of a similar kind produced in this period it will +suffice to mention the _Maa¹LAibA-a¸Yu aEuro(TM)l-Sunna_ by al-BaghawA- (aEuro +_circa_ 1120 A.D.). A later adaptation called _MishkAitu +aEuro(TM)l-Maa¹LAibA-a¸Y_ has been often printed, and is still extremely +popular. + +[Sidenote: MAiwardA- (aEuro 1058 A.D.).] + +[Sidenote: Arabic authorities on a¹cAºfiism.] + +[Sidenote: GhazAilA- (aEuro 1111 A.D.).] + +Omitting the great manuals of Moslem Jurisprudence, which are without +literary interest in the larger sense, we may pause for a moment at the +name of al-MAiwardA-, a ShAifiaEuro~ite lawyer, who wrote a well-known treatise +on politics--the _KitAibu aEuro(TM)l-Aa¸YkAim al-Sula¹-Ainiyya_, or 'Book of the +Principles of Government.' His standpoint is purely theoretical. Thus he +lays down that the Caliph should be elected by the body of learned, +pious, and orthodox divines, and that the people must leave the +administration of the State to the Caliph absolutely, as being its +representative. MAiwardA- lived at BaghdAid during the period of Buwayhid +ascendancy, a period described by Sir W. Muir in the following words: +"The pages of our annalists are now almost entirely occupied with the +political events of the day, in the guidance of which the Caliphs had +seldom any concern, and which therefore need no mention here."[631] +Under the aEuro~AbbAisid dynasty the mystical doctrines of the a¹cAºfA-s were +systematised and expounded. Some of the most important Arabic works of +reference on a¹cAºfiism are the _QAºtu aEuro(TM)l-QulAºb_, or 'Food of Hearts,' by +AbAº a¹¬Ailib al-MakkA- (aEuro 996 A.D.); the _KitAibu aEuro(TM)l-TaaEuro~arruf li-Madhhabi +ahli aEuro(TM)l-Taa¹Lawwuf_, or 'Book of Enquiry as to the Religion of the +a¹cAºfA-s,' by Mua¸Yammad b. Isa¸YAiq al-KalAibAidhA- (aEuro _circa_ 1000 A.D.); +the _a¹¬abaqAitu aEuro(TM)l-a¹cAºfiyya_, or 'Classes of the a¹cAºfA-s,' by AbAº +aEuro~Abd al-Raa¸YmAin al-SulamA- (aEuro 1021 A.D.); the _a¸¤ilyatu aEuro(TM)l-AwliyAi_, +or 'Adornment of the Saints,' by AbAº NuaEuro~aym al-Ia¹LfahAinA- (aEuro 1038 +A.D.); the _RisAilatu aEuro(TM)l-Qushayriyya_, or 'Qushayrite Tract,' by Abu +aEuro(TM)l-QAisim al-QushayrA- of NaysAibAºr (aEuro 1074 A.D.); the _Ia¸YyAiaEuro(TM)u aEuro~UlAºm +al-DA-n_, or 'Revivification of the Religious Sciences,' by GhazAilA- (aEuro +1111 A.D.); and the _aEuro~AwAirifu aEuro(TM)l-MaaEuro~Airif_, or 'Bounties of Knowledge,' +by ShihAibu aEuro(TM)l-DA-n AbAº a¸¤afa¹L aEuro~Umar al-SuhrawardA- (aEuro 1234 A.D.)--a +list which might easily be extended. In Dogmatic Theology there is none +to compare with AbAº a¸¤Aimid al-GhazAilA-, surnamed 'the Proof of Islam' +(_a¸¤ujjatu aEuro(TM)l-IslAim_). He is a figure of such towering importance that +some detailed account of his life and opinions must be inserted in a +book like this, which professes to illustrate the history of +Mua¸Yammadan thought. Here, however, we shall only give an outline of +his biography in order to pave the way for discussion of his +intellectual achievements and his far-reaching influence. + + [Sidenote: Life of GhazAilA- according to the _ShadharAitu aEuro(TM)l-Dhahab_.] + + "In this year (505 A.H. = 1111 A.D.) died the ImAim, who was the + Ornament of the Faith and the Proof of Islam, AbAº a¸¤Aimid + Mua¸Yammad ... of a¹¬Aºs, the ShAifiaEuro~ite. His death took place on the + 14th of the Latter JumAidAi at a¹¬AibarAin, a village near a¹¬Aºs. He + was then fifty-five years of age. GhazzAilA- is equivalent to GhazzAil, + like aEuro~Aa¹-a¹-AirA- (for aEuro~Aa¹-a¹-Air) and KhabbAizA- (for KhabbAiz), in + the dialect of the people of KhurAisAin[632]: so it is stated by the + author of the _aEuro~Ibar_.[633] Al-IsnawA- says in his + _a¹¬abaqAit_[634]:--GhazzAilA- is an ImAim by whose name breasts are + dilated and souls are revived, and in whose literary productions the + ink-horn exults and the paper quivers with joy; and at the hearing + thereof voices are hushed and heads are bowed. He was born at a¹¬Aºs + in the year 450 A.H. = 1058-1059 A.D. His father used to spin wool + (_yaghzilu aEuro(TM)l-a¹LAºf_) and sell it in his shop. On his deathbed he + committed his two sons, GhazzAilA- himself and his brother Aa¸Ymad, + to the care of a pious a¹cAºfA-, who taught them writing and educated + them until the money left him by their father was all spent. 'Then,' + says GhazzAilA-, 'we went to the college to learn divinity (_fiqh_) so + that we might gain our livelihood.' After studying there for some + time he journeyed to AbAº Naa¹Lr al-IsmAiaEuro~A-lA- in JurjAin, then to the + ImAimu aEuro(TM)l-a¸¤aramayn[635] at NaysAibAºr, under whom he studied with + such assiduity that he became the best scholastic of his + contemporaries (_a¹LAira anaº"ara ahli zamAinihi_), and he lectured + _ex cathedrAc_ in his master's lifetime, and wrote books.... And on + the death of his master he set out for the Camp[636] and presented + himself to the Niaº"Aimu aEuro(TM)l-Mulk, whose assembly was the + alighting-place of the learned and the destination of the leading + divines and savants; and there, as was due to his high merit, he + enjoyed the society of the principal doctors, and disputed with his + opponents and rebutted them in spite of their eminence. So the + Niaº"Aimu aEuro(TM)l-Mulk inclined to him and showed him great honour, and + his name flew through the world. Then, in the year '84 (1091 A.D.) + he was called to a professorship in the Niaº"Aimiyya College at + BaghdAid, where a splendid reception awaited him. His words reached + far and wide, and his influence soon exceeded that of the EmA-rs and + Viziers. But at last his lofty spirit recoiled from worldly + vanities. He gave himself up to devotion and dervishhood, and set + out, in the year '88 (1095 A.D.), for the a¸¤ijAiz.[637] On his + return from the Pilgrimage he journeyed to Damascus and made his + abode there for ten years in the minaret of the Congregational + Mosque, and composed several works, of which the _Ia¸YyAi_ is said + to be one. Then, after visiting Jerusalem and Alexandria, he + returned to his home at a¹¬Aºs, intent on writing and worship and + constant recitation of the Koran and dissemination of knowledge and + avoidance of intercourse with men. The Vizier Fakhru aEuro(TM)l-Mulk,[638] + son of the Niaº"Aimu aEuro(TM)l-Mulk, came to see him, and urged him by + every means in his power to accept a professorship in the + Niaº"Aimiyya College at NaysAibAºr.[639] GhazzAilA- consented, but after + teaching for a time, resigned the appointment and returned to end + his days in his native town." + +[Sidenote: His principal works.] + +Besides his _magnum opus_, the already-mentioned _Ia¸YyAi_, in which he +expounds theology and the ethics of religion from the standpoint of the +moderate a¹cAºfA- school, GhazAilA- wrote a great number of important +works, such as the _Munqidh mina aEuro(TM)l-a¸alAil_, or 'Deliverer from +Error,' a sort of 'Apologia pro VitAc SuAc'; the _KA-miyAiaEuro(TM)u aEuro(TM)l-SaaEuro~Aidat_, or +'Alchemy of Happiness,' which was originally written in Persian; and the +_TahAifutu aEuro(TM)l-FalAisifa_, or 'Collapse of the Philosophers,' a polemical +treatise designed to refute and destroy the doctrines of Moslem +philosophy. This work called forth a rejoinder from the celebrated Ibn +Rushd (Averroes), who died at Morocco in 1198-1199 A.D. + +[Sidenote: ShahrastAinA-'s 'Book of Religions and Sects.'] + +Here we may notice two valuable works on the history of religion, both +of which are generally known as _KitAibu aEuro(TM)l-Milal wa-aEuro(TM)l-Nia¸Yal_,[640] +that is to say, 'The Book of Religions and Sects,' by Ibn a¸¤azm of +Cordova (aEuro 1064 A.D.) and Abu aEuro(TM)l-Fata¸Y al-ShahrastAinA- (aEuro 1153 A.D.). +Ibn a¸¤azm we shall meet with again in the chapter which deals +specially with the history and literature of the Spanish Moslems. +ShahrastAinA-, as he is named after his birthplace, belonged to the +opposite extremity of the Mua¸Yammadan Empire, being a native of +KhurAisAin, the huge Eastern province bounded by the Oxus. Cureton, who +edited the Arabic text of the _KitAibu aEuro(TM)l-Milal wa-aEuro(TM)l-Nia¸Yal_ (London, +1842-1846), gives the following outline of its contents:-- + + After five introductory chapters, the author proceeds to arrange his + book into two great divisions; the one comprising the Religious, the + other the Philosophical Sects. The former of these contains an + account of the various Sects of the followers of Mua¸Yammad, and + likewise of those to whom a true revelation had been made (the _Ahlu + aEuro(TM)l-KitAib_, or 'People of the Scripture'), that is, Jews and + Christians; and of those who had a doubtful or pretended revelation + (_man lahAº shubhatu aEuro(TM)l-KitAib_), such as the Magi and the ManichA|ans. + The second division comprises an account of the philosophical + opinions of the SabA|ans (a¹cAibians), which are mainly set forth in + a very interesting dialogue between a SabA|an and an orthodox + Mua¸Yammadan; of the tenets of various Greek Philosophers and some + of the Fathers of the Christian Church; and also of the + Mua¸Yammadan doctors, more particularly of the system of Ibn SA-nAi + or Avicenna, which the author explains at considerable length. The + work terminates with an account of the tenets of the Arabs before + the commencement of Islamism, and of the religion of the people of + India. + +[Sidenote: Grammar and philology.] + +[Sidenote: The invention of Arabic grammar.] + +[Sidenote: The philogists of Baa¹Lra.] + +The science of grammar took its rise in the cities of Baa¹Lra and KAºfa, +which were founded not long after Mua¸Yammad's death, and which +remained the chief centres of Arabian life and thought outside the +peninsula until they were eclipsed by the great aEuro~AbbAisid capital. In +both towns the population consisted of Bedouin Arabs, belonging to +different tribes and speaking many different dialects, while there were +also thousands of artisans and clients who spoke Persian as their +mother-tongue, so that the classical idiom was peculiarly exposed to +corrupting influences. If the pride and delight of the Arabs in their +noble language led them to regard the maintenance of its purity as a +national duty, they were equally bound by their religious convictions to +take decisive measures for ensuring the correct pronunciation and +interpretation of that "miracle of Divine eloquence," the Arabic Koran. +To this latter motive the invention of grammar is traditionally +ascribed. The inventor is related to have been Abu aEuro(TM)l-Aswad al-DuaEuro(TM)ilA-, +who died at Baa¹Lra during the Umayyad period. "Abu aEuro(TM)l-Aswad, having +been asked where he had acquired the science of grammar, answered that +he had learned the rudiments of it from aEuro~AlA- b. AbA- a¹¬Ailib. It is said +that he never made known any of the principles which he had received +from aEuro~AlA- till ZiyAid[641] sent to him the order to compose something +which might serve as a guide to the public and enable them to understand +the Book of God. He at first asked to be excused, but on hearing a man +recite the following passage out of the Koran, _anna aEuro(TM)llAiha barA-un mina +aEuro(TM)l-mushrikA-na wa-rasAºluhu_,[642] which last word the reader pronounced +_rasAºlihi_, he exclaimed, 'I never thought that things would have come +to this.' He then returned to ZiyAid and said, 'I will do what you +ordered.'"[643] The Baa¹Lra school of grammarians which Abu aEuro(TM)l-Aswad is +said to have founded is older than the rival school of KAºfa and +surpassed it in fame. Its most prominent representatives were AbAº aEuro~Amr +b. al-aEuro~AlAi (aEuro 770 A.D.), a diligent and profound student of the Koran, +who on one occasion burned all his collections of old poetry, &c., and +abandoned himself to devotion; KhalA-l b. Aa¸Ymad, inventor of the +Arabic system of metres and author of the first Arabic lexicon (the +_KitAibu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~Ayn_), which, however, he did not live to complete; the +Persian SA-bawayhi, whose Grammar, entitled 'The Book of SA-bawayhi,' is +universally celebrated; the great Humanists al-Aa¹LmaaEuro~A- and AbAº aEuro~Ubayda +who flourished under HAirAºn al-Rashid; al-Mubarrad, about a century +later, whose best-known work, the _KAimil_, has been edited by Professor +William Wright; his contemporary al-SukkarA-, a renowned collector and +critic of old Arabian poetry; and Ibn Durayd (aEuro 934 A.D.), a +distinguished philologist, genealogist, and poet, who received a pension +from the Caliph Muqtadir in recognition of his services on behalf of +science, and whose principal works, in addition to the famous ode known +as the _Maqa¹LAºra_, are a voluminous lexicon (_al-Jamhara fi aEuro(TM)l-Lugha_) +and a treatise on the genealogies of the Arab tribes (_KitAibu +aEuro(TM)l-IshtiqAiq_). + +[Sidenote: The philogists of KAºfa.] + +Against these names the school of KAºfa can set al-KisAiaEuro(TM)A-, a Persian +savant who was entrusted by HAirAºn al-RashA-d with the education of his +sons AmA-n and MaaEuro(TM)mAºn; al-FarrAi (aEuro 822 A.D.), a pupil and compatriot of +al-KisAiaEuro(TM)A-; al-Mufaa¸a¸al al-a¸abbA-, a favourite of the Caliph +MahdA-, for whom he compiled an excellent anthology of Pre-islamic poems +(_al-Mufaa¸a¸aliyyAit_), which has already been noticed[644]; Ibnu +aEuro(TM)l-SikkA-t, whose outspoken partiality for the House of aEuro~AlA- b. AbA- +a¹¬Ailib caused him to be brutally trampled to death by the Turkish +guards of the tyrant Mutawakkil (858 A.D.); and ThaaEuro~lab, head of the +KAºfa school in his time (aEuro 904 A.D.), of whose rivalry with al-Mubarrad +many stories are told. A contemporary, AbAº Bakr b. Abi aEuro(TM)l-Azhar, said in +one of his poems:-- + + "Turn to Mubarrad or to ThaaEuro~lab, thou + That seek'st with learning to improve thy mind! + Be not a fool, like mangy camel shunned: + All human knowledge thou with them wilt find. + The science of the whole world, East and West, + In these two single doctors is combined."[645] + +Reference has been made in a former chapter to some of the earliest +Humanists, _e.g._, a¸¤ammAid al-RAiwiya (aEuro 776 A.D.) and his slightly +younger contemporary, Khalaf al-Aa¸Ymar, to their inestimable labours +in rescuing the old poetry from oblivion, and to the unscrupulous +methods which they sometimes employed.[646] Among their successors, who +flourished in the Golden Age of Islam, under the first aEuro~AbbAisids, the +place of honour belongs to AbAº aEuro~Ubayda (aEuro about 825 A.D.) and al-AsmaaEuro~A- +(aEuro about 830 A.D.). + +[Sidenote: AbAº aEuro~Ubayda.] + +[Sidenote: Aa¹LmaaEuro~A-.] + +AbAº aEuro~Ubayda MaaEuro~mar b. al-MuthannAi was of Jewish-Persian race, and +maintained in his writings the cause of the ShuaEuro~Aºbites against the Arab +national party, for which reason he is erroneously described as a +KhAirijite.[647] The rare expressions of the Arabic language, the history +of the Arabs and their conflicts were his predominant study--"neither in +heathen nor Mua¸Yammadan times," he once boasted, "have two horses met +in battle but that I possess information about them and their +riders"[648]; yet, with all his learning, he was not always able to +recite a verse without mangling it; even in reading the Koran, with the +book before his eyes, he made mistakes.[649] Our knowledge of Arabian +antiquity is drawn, to a large extent, from the traditions collected by +him which are preserved in the _KitAibu aEuro(TM)l-AghAinA-_ and elsewhere. He left +nearly two hundred works, of which a long but incomplete catalogue +occurs in the _Fihrist_ (pp. 53-54). AbAº aEuro~Ubayda was summoned by the +Caliph HAirAºn al-RashA-d to BaghdAid, where he became acquainted with +Aa¹LmaaEuro~A-. There was a standing feud between them, due in part to +difference of character[650] and in part to personal jealousies. aEuro~Abdu +aEuro(TM)l-Malik b. Qurayb al-Aa¹LmaaEuro~A- was, like his rival, a native of +Baa¹Lra. Although he may have been excelled by others of his +contemporaries in certain branches of learning, none exhibited in such +fine perfection the varied literary culture which at that time was so +highly prized and so richly rewarded. Whereas AbAº aEuro~Ubayda was dreaded +for his sharp tongue and sarcastic humour, Aa¹LmaaEuro~A- had all the +accomplishments and graces of a courtier. AbAº NuwAis, the first great +poet of the aEuro~AbbAisid period, said that Aa¹LmaaEuro~A- was a nightingale to +charm those who heard him with his melodies. In court circles, where the +talk often turned on philological matters, he was a favourite guest, and +the Caliph would send for him to decide any abstruse question connected +with literature which no one present was able to answer. Of his numerous +writings on linguistic and antiquarian themes several have come down to +us, _e.g._, 'The Book of Camels' (_KitAibu aEuro(TM)l-Ibil_), 'The Book of +Horses' (_KitAibu aEuro(TM)l-Khayl_), and 'The Book of the Making of Man' +(_KitAibu Khalqi aEuro(TM)l-InsAin_), a treatise which shows that the Arabs of the +desert had acquired a considerable knowledge of human anatomy. His work +as editor, commentator, and critic of Arabian poetry forms (it has been +said) the basis of nearly all that has since been written on the +subject. + +[Sidenote: Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-MuqaffaaEuro~ (aEuro _circa_ 760 A.D.).] + +[Sidenote: Ibn Qutayba (aEuro 899 A.D.).] + +[Sidenote: JAia¸Yiaº" (aEuro 869 A.D.).] + +[Sidenote: Ibn aEuro~Abdi Rabbihi (aEuro 940 A.D.).] + +[Sidenote: Abu aEuro(TM)l-Faraj al-Ia¹LfahAinA- (aEuro 967 A.D.).] + +[Sidenote: ThaaEuro~AilibA- (aEuro 1037 A.D.).] + +Belles-lettres (_Adab_) and literary history are represented by a whole +series of valuable works. Only a few of the most important can be +mentioned here, and that in a very summary manner. The Persian RAºzbih, +better known as aEuro~AbdullAih Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-MuqaffaaEuro~, who was put to death by +order of the Caliph Mana¹LAºr, made several translations from the +PehlevA- or Middle-Persian literature into Arabic. We possess a specimen +of his powers in the famous _Book of KalA-la and Dimna_, which is +ultimately derived from the Sanscrit _Fables of Bidpai_. The Arabic +version is one of the oldest prose works in that language, and is justly +regarded as a model of elegant style, though it has not the pungent +brevity which marks true Arabian eloquence. Ibn Qutayba, whose family +came from Merv, held for a time the office of Cadi at DA-nawar, and lived +at BaghdAid in the latter half of the ninth century. We have more than +once cited his 'Book of General Knowledge' (_KitAibu aEuro(TM)l-MaaEuro~Airif_)[651] +and his 'Book of Poetry and Poets,' (_KitAibu aEuro(TM)l-ShiaEuro~r wa-aEuro(TM)l-ShuaEuro~arAi_), +and may add here the _Adabu aEuro(TM)l-KAitib_, or 'Accomplishments of the +Secretary,'[652] a manual of stylistic, dealing with orthography, +orthoepy, lexicography, and the like; and the _aEuro~UyAºnu aEuro(TM)l-AkhbAir_, or +'Choice Histories,'[653] a work in ten chapters, each of which is +devoted to a special theme such as Government, War, Nobility, +Friendship, Women, &c. aEuro~Amr b. Baa¸Yr al-JAia¸Yiaº" of Baa¹Lra was a +celebrated freethinker, and gave his name to a sect of the MuaEuro~tazilites +(_al-JAia¸Yiaº"iyya_).[654] He composed numerous books of an anecdotal +and entertaining character. Ibn KhallikAin singles out as his finest and +most instructive works the _KitAibu aEuro(TM)l-a¸¤ayawAin_ ('Book of Animals'), +and the _KitAibu aEuro(TM)l-BayAin wa-aEuro(TM)l-TabyA-n_ ('Book of Eloquence and +Exposition'), which is a popular treatise on rhetoric. It so +happens--and the fact is not altogether fortuitous--that extremely +valuable contributions to the literary history of the Arabs were made by +two writers connected with the Umayyad House. Ibn aEuro~Abdi Rabbihi of +Cordova, who was descended from an enfranchised slave of the Spanish +Umayyad Caliph, HishAim b. aEuro~Abd al-Raa¸YmAin (788-796 A.D.), has left us +a miscellaneous anthology entitled _al-aEuro~Iqd al-FarA-d_, or 'The Unique +Necklace,' which is divided into twenty-five books, each bearing the +name of a different gem, and "contains something on every subject." +Though Abu aEuro(TM)l-Faraj aEuro~AlA-, the author of the _KitAibu aEuro(TM)l-AghAinA-_, was born +at Ia¹LfahAin, he was an Arab of the Arabs, being a member of the tribe +Quraysh and a lineal descendant of MarwAin, the last Umayyad Caliph. +Coming to BaghdAid, he bent all his energies to the study of Arabian +antiquity, and towards the end of his life found a generous patron in +al-MuhallabA-, the Vizier of the Buwayhid sovereign, MuaEuro~izzu aEuro(TM)l-Dawla. +His minor works are cast in the shade by his great 'Book of Songs.' This +may be described as a history of all the Arabian poetry that had been +set to music down to the author's time. It is based on a collection of +one hundred melodies which was made for the Caliph HAirAºn al-RashA-d, but +to these Abu aEuro(TM)l-Faraj has added many others chosen by himself. After +giving the words and the airs attached to them, he relates the lives of +the poets and musicians by whom they were composed, and takes occasion +to introduce a vast quantity of historical traditions and anecdotes, +including much ancient and modern verse. It is said that the a¹cAia¸Yib +Ibn aEuro~AbbAid,[655] when travelling, used to take thirty camel-loads of +books about with him, but on receiving the _AghAinA-_ he contented himself +with this one book and dispensed with all the rest.[656] The chief man +of letters of the next generation was AbAº MansAºr al-ThaaEuro~AilibA- (the +Furrier) of NaysAibAºr. Notwithstanding that most of his works are +unscientific compilations, designed to amuse the public rather than to +impart solid instruction, his famous anthology of recent and +contemporary poets--the _YatA-matu aEuro(TM)l-Dahr_, or 'Solitaire of the +Time'--supplies indubitable proof of his fine scholarship and critical +taste. Successive continuations of the _YatA-ma_ were written by +al-BAikharzA- (aEuro 1075 A.D.) in the _Dumyatu aEuro(TM)l-Qaa¹Lr_, or 'Statue of the +Palace'; by Abu aEuro(TM)l-MaaEuro~AilA- al-a¸¤aaº"A-rA- (aEuro 1172 A.D.) in the _ZA-natu +aEuro(TM)l-Dahr_, or 'Ornament of the Time'; and by the favourite of Saladin, +aEuro~ImAidu aEuro(TM)l-DA-n al-KAitib al-Ia¹LfahAinA- (aEuro 1201 A.D.), in the _KharA-datu +aEuro(TM)l-Qaa¹Lr_, or 'Virgin Pearl of the Palace.' From the tenth century +onward the study of philology proper began to decline, while on the +other hand those sciences which formerly grouped themselves round +philology now became independent, were cultivated with brilliant +success, and in a short time reached their zenith. + + +[Sidenote: History.] + +The elements of History are found (1) in Pre-islamic traditions and (2) +in the _a¸¤adA-th_ of the Prophet, but the idea of historical +composition on a grand scale was probably suggested to the Arabs by +Persian models such as the PehlevA- _KhudAiy-nAima_, or 'Book of Kings,' +which Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-MuqaffaaEuro~ turned into Arabic in the eighth century of our +era under the title of _Siyaru MulAºki aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~Ajam_, that is, 'The History +of the Kings of Persia.' + +Under the first head HishAim Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-KalbA- (aEuro 819 A.D.) and his father +Mua¸Yammad deserve particular mention as painstaking and trustworthy +recorders. + +[Sidenote: Histories of the Prophet and his Companions.] + +Historical traditions relating to the Prophet were put in writing at an +early date (see p. 247). The first biography of Mua¸Yammad (_SA-ratu +RasAºli aEuro(TM)llAih_), compiled by Ibn Isa¸YAiq, who died in the reign of +Mana¹LAºr (768 A.D.), has come down to us only in the recension made by +Ibn HishAim (aEuro 834 A.D.). This work as well as those of al-WAiqidA- (aEuro 823 +A.D.) and Ibn SaaEuro~d (aEuro 845 A.D.) have been already noticed. + +Other celebrated historians of the aEuro~AbbAisid period are the following. + + +[Sidenote: BalAidhurA-.] + +Aa¸Ymad b. Yaa¸YyAi al-BalAidhurA- (aEuro 892 A.D.), a Persian, wrote an +account of the early Mua¸Yammadan conquests (_KitAibu FutAºa¸Yi +aEuro(TM)l-BuldAin_), which has been edited by De Goeje, and an immense chronicle +based on genealogical principles, 'The Book of the Lineages of the +Nobles' (_KitAibu AnsAibi aEuro(TM)l-AshrAif_), of which two volumes are +extant.[657] + +[Sidenote: DA-nawarA-.] + +AbAº a¸¤AinA-fa Aa¸Ymad al-DA-nawarA- (aEuro 895 A.D.) was also of ArAinian +descent. His 'Book of Long Histories' (_KitAibu aEuro(TM)l-AkhbAir al-a¹¬iwAil_) +deals largely with the national legend of Persia, and is written +throughout from the Persian point of view. + +[Sidenote: YaaEuro~qAºbA-.] + +Ibn WAia¸ia¸Y al-YaaEuro~qAºbA-, a contemporary of DA-nawarA-, produced an +excellent compendium of universal history, which is specially valuable +because its author, being a follower of the House of aEuro~AlA-, has preserved +the ancient and unfalsified ShA-aEuro~ite tradition. His work has been edited +in two volumes by Professor Houtsma (Leyden, 1883). + + +The Annals of a¹¬abarA-, edited by De Goeje and other European scholars +(Leyden, 1879-1898), and the Golden Meadows[658] (_MurAºju aEuro(TM)l-Dhahab_) of +MasaEuro~AºdA-, which Pavet de Courteille and Barbier de Meynard published with +a French translation (Paris, 1861-1877), have been frequently cited in +the foregoing pages; and since these two authors are not only the +greatest historians of the Mua¸Yammadan East but also (excepting, +possibly, Ibn KhaldAºn) the most eminent of all who devoted themselves to +this branch of Arabic literature, we must endeavour to make the reader +more closely acquainted with them. + +[Sidenote: a¹¬abarA- (838-923 A.D.).] + +AbAº JaaEuro~far Mua¸Yammad b. JarA-r was born in 838-839 A.D. at Amul in +a¹¬abaristAin, the mountainous province lying along the south coast of +the Caspian Sea; whence the name, a¹¬abarA-, by which he is usually +known.[659] At this time aEuro~IrAiq was still the principal focus of +Mua¸Yammadan culture, so that a poet could say:-- + + "I see a man in whom the secretarial dignity is manifest, + One who displays the brilliant culture of aEuro~IrAiq."[660] + +Thither the young a¹¬abarA- came to complete his education. He travelled +by way of Rayy to BaghdAid, visited other neighbouring towns, and +extended his tour to Syria and Egypt. Although his father sent him a +yearly allowance, it did not always arrive punctually, and he himself +relates that on one occasion he procured bread by selling the sleeves of +his shirt. Fortunately, at BaghdAid he was introduced to aEuro~UbaydullAih b. +Yaa¸YyAi, the Vizier of Mutawakkil, who engaged him as tutor for his +son. How long he held this post is uncertain, but he was only +twenty-three years of age when his patron went out of office. Fifteen +years later we find him, penniless once more, in Cairo (876-877 A.D.). +He soon, however, returned to BaghdAid, where he passed the remainder of +his life in teaching and writing. Modest, unselfish, and simple in his +habits, he diffused his encyclopA|dic knowledge with an almost superhuman +industry. During forty years, it is said, he wrote forty leaves every +day. His great works are the _TaaEuro(TM)rA-khu aEuro(TM)l-Rusul wa-aEuro(TM)l-MulAºk_, or 'Annals +of the Apostles and the Kings,' and his _TafsA-r_, or 'Commentary on the +Koran.' Both, even in their present shape, are books of enormous extent, +yet it seems likely that both were originally composed on a far larger +scale and were abbreviated by the author for general use. His pupils, we +are told, flatly refused to read the first editions with him, whereupon +he exclaimed: "Enthusiasm for learning is dead!" The History of +a¹¬abarA-, from the Creation to the year 302 A.H. = 915 A.D., is +distinguished by "completeness of detail, accuracy, and the truly +stupendous learning of its author that is revealed throughout, and that +makes the Annals a vast storehouse of valuable information for the +historian as well as for the student of Islam."[661] It is arranged +chronologically, the events being tabulated under the year (of the +Mua¸Yammadan era) in which they occurred. Moreover, it has a very +peculiar form. "Each important fact is related, if possible, by an +eye-witness or contemporary, whose account came down through a series of +narrators to the author. If he has obtained more than one account of a +fact, with more or less important modifications, through several series +of narrators, he communicates them all to the reader _in extenso_. Thus +we are enabled to consider the facts from more than one point of view, +and to acquire a vivid and clear notion of them."[662] According to +modern ideas, a¹¬abarA-'s compilation is not so much a history as a +priceless collection of original documents placed side by side without +any attempt to construct a critical and continuous narrative. At first +sight one can hardly see the wood for the trees, but on closer study the +essential features gradually emerge and stand out in bold relief from +amidst the multitude of insignificant circumstances which lend freshness +and life to the whole. a¹¬abarA- suffered the common fate of standard +historians. His work was abridged and popularised, the _isnAids_ or +chains of authorities were suppressed, and the various parallel accounts +were combined by subsequent writers into a single version.[663] Of the +Annals, as it left the author's hands, no entire copy exists anywhere, +but many odd volumes are preserved in different parts of the world. The +Leyden edition is based on these scattered MSS., which luckily comprise +the whole work with the exception of a few not very serious lacunA|. + +[Sidenote: MasaEuro~AºdA- (aEuro 956 A.D.).] + +aEuro~AlA- b. a¸¤usayn, a native of BaghdAid, was called MasaEuro~AºdA- after one of +the Prophet's Companions, aEuro~AbdullAih b. MasaEuro~Aºd, to whom he traced his +descent. Although we possess only a small remnant of his voluminous +writings, no better proof can be desired of the vast and various +erudition which he gathered not from books alone, but likewise from long +travel in almost every part of Asia. Among other places, he visited +Armenia, India, Ceylon, Zanzibar, and Madagascar, and he appears to have +sailed in Chinese waters as well as in the Caspian Sea. "My journey," he +says, "resembles that of the sun, and to me the poet's verse is +applicable:-- + + "'We turn our steps toward each different clime, + Now to the Farthest East, then West once more; + Even as the sun, which stays not his advance + O'er tracts remote that no man durst explore.'"[664] + +He spent the latter years of his life chiefly in Syria and Egypt--for he +had no settled abode--compiling the great historical works,[665] of +which the _MurAºju aEuro(TM)l-Dhahab_ is an epitome. As regards the motives which +urged him to write, MasaEuro~AºdA- declares that he wished to follow the +example of scholars and sages and to leave behind him a praiseworthy +memorial and imperishable monument. He claims to have taken a wider view +than his predecessors. "One who has never quitted his hearth and home, +but is content with the knowledge which he can acquire concerning the +history of his own part of the world, is not on the same level as one +who spends his life in travel and passes his days in restless +wanderings, and draws forth all manner of curious and precious +information from its hidden mine."[666] + +[Sidenote: The _MurAºju aEuro(TM)l-Dhahab_.] + +MasaEuro~AºdA- has been named the 'the Herodotus of the Arabs,' and the +comparison is not unjust.[667] His work, although it lacks the artistic +unity which distinguishes that of the Greek historian, shows the same +eager spirit of enquiry, the same open-mindedness and disposition to +record without prejudice all the marvellous things that he had heard or +seen, the same ripe experience and large outlook on the present as on +the past. It is professedly a universal history beginning with the +Creation and ending at the Caliphate of Mua¹-A-aEuro~, in 947 A.D., but no +description can cover the immense range of topics which are discussed +and the innumerable digressions with which the author delights or +irritates his readers, as the case may be.[668] Thus, to pick a few +examples at random, we find a dissertation on tides (vol. i, p. 244); an +account of the _tinnA-n_ or sea-serpent (_ibid._, p. 267); of +pearl-fishing in the Persian Gulf (_ibid._, p. 328); and of the +rhinoceros (_ibid._, p. 385). MasaEuro~AºdA- was a keen student and critic of +religious beliefs, on which subject he wrote several books.[669] The +_MurAºju aEuro(TM)l-Dhahab_ supplies many valuable details regarding the +Mua¸Yammadan sects, and also regarding the Zoroastrians and a¹cAibians. There +is a particularly interesting report of a meeting which took place +between Aa¸Ymad b. a¹¬AºlAºn, the governor of Egypt (868-877 A.D.), and an +aged Copt, who, after giving his views as to the source of the Nile and +the construction of the Pyramids, defended his faith (Christianity) on +the ground of its manifest errors and contradictions, arguing that its +acceptance, in spite of these, by so many peoples and kings was decisive +evidence of its truth.[670] MasaEuro~AºdA-'s account of the Caliphs is chiefly +remarkable for the characteristic anecdotes in which it abounds. Instead +of putting together a methodical narrative he has thrown off a brilliant +but unequal sketch of public affairs and private manners, of social life +and literary history. Only considerations of space have prevented me +from enriching this volume with not a few pages which are as lively and +picturesque as any in Suetonius. His last work, the _KitAibu aEuro(TM)l-TanbA-h +wa-aEuro(TM)l-IshrAif_ ('Book of Admonition and Recension'),[671] was intended to +take a general survey of the field which had been more fully traversed +in his previous compositions, and also to supplement them when it seemed +necessary. + + +[Sidenote: Minor historians.] + +We must pass over the minor historians and biographers of this +period--for example, aEuro~UtbA- (aEuro 1036 A.D.), whose _KitAib al-YamA-nA-_ +celebrates the glorious reign of Sultan MahmAºd of Ghazna; Khaa¹-A-b of +BaghdAid (aEuro 1071 A.D.), who composed a history of the eminent men of that +city; aEuro~ImAidu aEuro(TM)l-DA-n of Ia¹LfahAin (aEuro 1201 A.D.), the biographer of +Saladin; Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-QiftA- (aEuro 1248 A.D.), born at Qifa¹- (Coptos) in Upper +Egypt, whose lives of the philosophers and scientists have only come +down to us in a compendium entitled _TaaEuro(TM)rA-khu aEuro(TM)l-a¸¤ukamAi_; Ibnu +aEuro(TM)l-JawzA- (aEuro 1200 A.D.), a prolific writer in almost every branch of +literature, and his grandson, YAºsuf (aEuro 1257 A.D.)--generally called +Siba¹- Ibn al-JawzA---author of the _MiraEuro(TM)Aitu aEuro(TM)l-ZamAin_, or 'Mirror of +the Time'; Ibn AbA- Ua¹LaybiaEuro~a (aEuro 1270 A.D.), whose history of +physicians, the _aEuro~UyAºnu aEuro(TM)l-AnbAi_, has been edited by A. MA1/4ller (1884); +and the Christian, Jirjis (George) al-MakA-n (aEuro 1273 A.D.), compiler of a +universal chronicle--named the _MajmAºaEuro~ al-MubAirak_--of which the second +part, from Mua¸Yammad to the end of the aEuro~AbbAisid dynasty, was rendered +into Latin by Erpenius in 1625. + + +[Sidenote: Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-AthA-r (aEuro 1234 A.D.).] + +A special notice, brief though it must be, is due to aEuro~Izzu aEuro(TM)l-DA-n Ibnu +aEuro(TM)l-AthA-r (aEuro 1234 A.D.). He was brought up at Mosul in Mesopotamia, and +after finishing his studies in BaghdAid, Jerusalem, and Syria, he +returned home and devoted himself to reading and literary composition. +Ibn KhallikAin, who knew him personally, speaks of him in the highest +terms both as a man and as a scholar. "His great work, the _KAimil_,[672] +embracing the history of the world from the earliest period to the year +628 of the Hijra (1230-1231 A.D.), merits its reputation as one of the +best productions of the kind."[673] Down to the year 302 A.H. the author +has merely abridged the Annals of a¹¬abarA- with occasional additions +from other sources. In the first volume he gives a long account of the +Pre-islamic battles (_AyyAimu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~Arab_) which is not found in the +present text of a¹¬abarA-; but De Goeje, as I learn from Professor +Bevan, thinks that this section was included in a¹¬abarA-'s original +draft and was subsequently struck out. Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-AthA-r was deeply versed +in the science of Tradition, and his _Usdu aEuro(TM)l-GhAiba_ ('Lions of the +Jungle') contains biographies of 7,500 Companions of the Prophet. + + +[Sidenote: Geographers.] + +An immense quantity of information concerning the various countries and +peoples of the aEuro~AbbAisid Empire has been preserved for us by the Moslem +geographers, who in many cases describe what they actually witnessed and +experienced in the course of their travels, although they often help +themselves liberally and without acknowledgment from the works of their +predecessors. The following list, which does not pretend to be +exhaustive, may find a place here.[674] + + +[Sidenote: Ibn KhurdAidbih.] + +1. The Persian Ibn KhurdAidbih (first half of ninth century) was +postmaster in the province of JibAil, the Media of the ancients. His +_KitAibu aEuro(TM)l-MasAilik wa-aEuro(TM)l-MamAilik_ ('Book of the Roads and Countries'), +an official guide-book, is the oldest geographical work in Arabic that +has come down to us. + +[Sidenote: Ia¹La¹-akhrA- and Ibn a¸¤awqal.] + +2. AbAº Isa¸YAiq al-FAirisA- a native of Persepolis (Ia¹La¹-akhr)--on +this account he is known as Ia¹La¹-akhrA---wrote a book called +_MasAiliku aEuro(TM)l-MamAilik_ ('Routes of the Provinces'), which was afterwards +revised and enlarged by Ibn a¸¤awqal. Both works belong to the second +half of the tenth century and contain "a careful description of each +province in turn of the Muslim Empire, with the chief cities and notable +places." + +[Sidenote: MuqaddasA-.] + +3. Al-MuqaddasA- (or al-MaqdisA-), _i.e._, 'the native of the Holy City', +was born at Jerusalem in 946 A.D. In his delightful book entitled +_Aa¸Ysanu aEuro(TM)l-TaqAisA-m fA- maaEuro~rifati aEuro(TM)l-AqAilA-m_ he has gathered up the +fruits of twenty years' travelling through the dominions of the +Caliphate. + +[Sidenote: YAiqAºt.] + +4. Omitting the Spanish Arabs, BakrA-, IdrA-sA-, and Ibn Jubayr, all of +whom flourished in the eleventh century, we come to the greatest of +Moslem geographers, YAiqAºt b. aEuro~AbdallAih (1179-1229 A.D.). A Greek by +birth, he was enslaved in his childhood and sold to a merchant of +BaghdAid. His master gave him a good education and frequently sent him on +trading expeditions to the Persian Gulf and elsewhere. After being +enfranchised in consequence of a quarrel with his benefactor, he +supported himself by copying and selling manuscripts. In 1219-1220 A.D. +he encountered the Tartars, who had invaded KhwAirizm, and "fled as naked +as when he shall be raised from the dust of the grave on the day of the +resurrection." Further details of his adventurous life are recorded in +the interesting notice by Ibn KhallikAin.[675] His great Geographical +Dictionary (_MuaEuro~jamu aEuro(TM)l-BuldAin_) has been edited in six volumes by +WA1/4stenfeld (Leipzig, 1866), and is described by Mr. Le Strange as "a +storehouse of geographical information, the value of which it would be +impossible to over-estimate." We possess a useful epitome of it, made +about a century later, viz., the _MarAia¹Lidu aEuro(TM)l-Ia¹-a¹-ilAiaEuro~_. Among +the few other extant works of YAiqAºt, attention maybe called to the +_Mushtarik_--a lexicon of places bearing the same name--and the _MuaEuro~jamu +aEuro(TM)l-UdabAi_, or 'Dictionary of LittA(C)rateurs,' which has been edited by +Professor Margoliouth for the Trustees of the Gibb Memorial Fund. + +[Sidenote: The foreign sciences.] + +[Sidenote: Translations from the Greek.] + +[Sidenote: MaaEuro(TM)mAºn's encouragement of the New Learning.] + +As regards the philosophical and exact sciences the Moslems naturally +derived their ideas and material from Greek culture, which had +established itself in Egypt, Syria, and Western Asia since the time of +Alexander's conquests. When the Syrian school of Edessa was broken up by +ecclesiastical dissensions towards the end of the fifth century of our +era, the expelled savants took refuge in Persia at the SAisAinian court, +and Khusraw AnAºshirwAin, or NAºshA-rwAin (531-578 A.D.)--the same monarch +who welcomed the Neo-platonist philosophers banished from Athens by +Justinian--founded an Academy at JundA(C)-shAipAºr in KhAºzistAin, where Greek +medicine and philosophy continued to be taught down to aEuro~AbbAisid days. +Another centre of Hellenism was the city of a¸¤arrAin in Mesopotamia. +Its inhabitants, Syrian heathens who generally appear in Mua¸Yammadan +history under the name of 'a¹cAibians,' spoke Arabic with facility and +contributed in no small degree to the diffusion of Greek wisdom. The +work of translation was done almost entirely by Syrians. In the +monasteries of Syria and Mesopotamia the writings of Aristotle, Galen, +Ptolemy, and other ancient masters were rendered with slavish fidelity, +and these Syriac versions were afterwards retranslated into Arabic. A +beginning was made under the Umayyads, who cared little for Islam but +were by no means indifferent to the claims of literature, art, and +science. An Umayyad prince, KhAilid b. YazA-d, procured the translation of +Greek and Coptic works on alchemy, and himself wrote three treatises on +that subject. The accession of the aEuro~AbbAisids gave a great impulse to +such studies, which found an enlightened patron in the Caliph Mana¹LAºr. +Works on logic and medicine were translated from the PehlevA- by Ibnu +aEuro(TM)l-MuqaffaaEuro~ (aEuro about 760 A.D.) and others. It is, however, the splendid +reign of MaaEuro(TM)mAºn (813-833 A.D.) that marks the full vigour of this +Oriental Renaissance. MaaEuro(TM)mAºn was no ordinary man. Like a true Persian, +he threw himself heart and soul into theological speculations and used +the authority of the Caliphate to enforce a liberal standard of +orthodoxy. His interest in science was no less ardent. According to a +story told in the _Fihrist_,[676] he dreamed that he saw the venerable +figure of Aristotle seated on a throne, and in consequence of this +vision he sent a deputation to the Roman Emperor (Leo the Armenian) to +obtain scientific books for translation into Arabic. The Caliph's +example was followed by private individuals. Three brothers, +Mua¸Yammad, Aa¸Ymad, and a¸¤asan, known collectively as the BanAº +MAºsAi, "drew translators from distant countries by the offer of ample +rewards[677] and thus made evident the marvels of science. Geometry, +engineering, the movements of the heavenly bodies, music, and astronomy +were the principal subjects to which they turned their attention; but +these were only a small number of their acquirements."[678] MaaEuro(TM)mAºn +installed them, with Yaa¸YyAi b. AbA- Mana¹LAºr and other scientists, in +the House of Wisdom (_Baytu aEuro(TM)l-a¸¤ikma_) at BaghdAid, an institution +which comprised a well-stocked library and an astronomical observatory. +Among the celebrated translators of the ninth century, who were +themselves conspicuous workers in the new field, we can only mention the +Christians Qusa¹-Ai b. LAºqAi and a¸¤unayn b. Isa¸YAiq, and the a¹cAibian +ThAibit b. Qurra. It does not fall within the scope of this volume to +consider in detail the achievements of the Moslems in science and +philosophy. That in some departments they made valuable additions to +existing knowledge must certainly be granted, but these discoveries +count for little in comparison with the debt which we owe to the Arabs +as pioneers of learning and bringers of light to mediA|val Europe.[679] +Meanwhile it is only possible to enumerate a few of the most eminent +philosophers and scientific men who lived during the aEuro~AbbAisid age. The +reader will observe that with rare exceptions they were of foreign +origin. + +The leading spirits in philosophy were:-- + +[Sidenote: KindA-.] + +1. YaaEuro~qAºb b. Isa¸YAiq al-KindA-, a descendant of the princely family of +Kinda (see p. 42). He was distinguished by his contemporaries with the +title _FaylasAºfu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~Arab_, 'The Philosopher of the Arabs.' He +flourished in the first half of the ninth century. + +[Sidenote: FAirAibA-.] + +2. AbAº Naa¹Lr al-FAirAibA- (aEuro 950 A.D.), of Turkish race, a native of +FAirAib in Transoxania. The later years of his life were passed at Aleppo +under the patronage of Sayfu aEuro(TM)l-Dawla. He devoted himself to the study +of Aristotle, whom Moslems agree with Dante in regarding as "il maestro +di color che sanno." + +[Sidenote: Ibn SA-nAi.] + +3. AbAº aEuro~AlA- Ibn SA-nAi (Avicenna), born of Persian parents at Kharmaythan, +near BukhAirAi, in the year 980 A.D. As a youth he displayed extraordinary +talents, so that "in the sixteenth year of his age physicians of the +highest eminence came to read medicine with him and to learn those modes +of treatment which he had discovered by his practice."[680] He was no +quiet student, like FAirAibA-, but a pleasure-loving, adventurous man of +the world who travelled from court to court, now in favour, now in +disgrace, and always writing indefatigably. His system of philosophy, in +which Aristotelian and Neo-platonic theories are combined with Persian +mysticism, was well suited to the popular taste, and in the East it +still reigns supreme. His chief works are the _ShifAi_ (Remedy) on +physics, metaphysics, &c., and a great medical encyclopA|dia entitled the +_QAinAºn_ (Canon). Avicenna died in 1037 A.D. + +4. The Spanish philosophers, Ibn BAijja (Avempace), Ibn a¹¬ufayl, and +Ibn Rushd (Averroes), all of whom flourished in the twelfth century +after Christ. + + +[Sidenote: Medicine, Astronomy, and Mathematics.] + +[Sidenote: BA-rAºnA- 973-1048 A.D.] + +The most illustrious name beside Avicenna in the history of Arabian +medicine is AbAº Bakr al-RAizA- (Rhazes), a native of Rayy, near Teheran (aEuro +923 or 932 A.D.). JAibir b. a¸¤ayyAin of Tarsus (aEuro about 780 A.D.)--the +Geber of European writers--won equal renown as an alchemist. Astronomy +went hand in hand with astrology. The reader may recognise al-FarghAinA-, +AbAº MaaEuro~shar of Balkh (aEuro 885 A.D.) and al-BattAinA-, a a¹cAibian of +a¸¤arrAin (aEuro 929 A.D.), under the names of Alfraganus, Albumaser, and +Albategnius, by which they became known in the West. AbAº aEuro~AbdallAih +al-KhwAirizmA-, who lived in the Caliphate of MaaEuro(TM)mAºn, was the first of a +long line of mathematicians. In this science, as also in Medicine and +Astronomy, we see the influence of India upon Mua¸Yammadan +civilisation--an influence, however, which, in so far as it depended on +literary sources, was more restricted and infinitely less vital than +that of Greece. Only a passing reference can be made to AbAº Raya¸YAin +al-BA-rAºnA-, a native of KhwAirizm (Khiva), whose knowledge of the +sciences, antiquities, and customs of India was such as no Moslem had +ever equalled. His two principal works, the _AthAir al-BAiqiya_, or +'Surviving Monuments,' and the _TaaEuro(TM)rA-khu aEuro(TM)l-Hind_, or 'History of +India,' have been edited and translated into English by Dr. Sachau.[681] + +[Sidenote: The _Fihrist_.] + +Some conception of the amazing intellectual activity of the Moslems +during the earlier part of the aEuro~AbbAisid period, and also of the enormous +losses which Arabic literature has suffered through the destruction of +thousands of books that are known to us by nothing beyond their titles +and the names of their authors, may be gained from the _Fihrist_, or +'Index' of Mua¸Yammad b. Isa¸YAiq b. AbA- YaaEuro~qAºb al-NadA-m al-WarrAiq +al-BaghdAidA- (aEuro 995 A.D.). Regarding the compiler we have no further +information than is conveyed in the last two epithets attached to his +name: he was a copyist of MSS., and was connected with BaghdAid either by +birth or residence; add that, according to his own statement (p. 349, l. +14 sqq.), he was at Constantinople (_DAiru aEuro(TM)l-RAºm_) in 988 A.D., the same +year in which his work was composed. He may possibly have been related +to the famous musician, Isa¸YAiq b. IbrAihA-m al-NadA-m of Mosul (aEuro 849-850 +A.D.), but this has yet to be proved. At any rate we owe to his industry +a unique conspectus of the literary history of the Arabs to the end of +the fourth century after the Flight. The _Fihrist_ (as the author +explains in his brief Preface) is "an Index of the books of all nations, +Arabs and foreigners alike, which are extant in the Arabic language and +script, on every branch of knowledge; comprising information as to their +compilers and the classes of their authors, together with the +genealogies of those persons, the dates of their birth, the length of +their lives, the times of their death, the places to which they +belonged, their merits and their faults, since the beginning of every +science that has been invented down to the present epoch: namely, the +year 377 of the Hijra." As the contents of the _Fihrist_ (which +considerably exceed the above description) have been analysed in detail +by G. FlA1/4gel (_Z.D.M.G._, vol. 13, p. 559 sqq.) and set forth in tabular +form by Professor Browne in the first volume of his _Literary History of +Persia_,[682] I need only indicate the general arrangement and scope of +the work. It is divided into ten discourses (_maqAilAit_), which are +subdivided into a varying number of sections (_funAºn_). Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-NadA-m +discusses, in the first place, the languages, scripts, and sacred books +of the Arabs and other peoples, the revelation of the Koran, the order +of its chapters, its collectors, redactors, and commentators. Passing +next to the sciences which, as we have seen, arose from study of the +Koran and primarily served as handmaids to theology, he relates the +origin of Grammar, and gives an account of the different schools of +grammarians with the treatises which they wrote. The third discourse +embraces History, Belles-Lettres, Biography, and Genealogy; the fourth +treats of Poetry, ancient and modern. Scholasticism (_KalAim_) forms the +subject of the following chapter, which contains a valuable notice of +the IsmAiaEuro~A-lA-s and their founder, aEuro~AbdullAih b. MaymAºn, as also of the +celebrated mystic, a¸¤usayn b. Mana¹LAºr al-a¸¤allAij. From these and +many other names redolent of heresy the author returns to the orthodox +schools of Law--the MAilikites, a¸¤anafites, ShAifiaEuro~ites and +aº'Aihirites; then to the jurisconsults of the ShA-aEuro~a, &c. The seventh +discourse deals with Philosophy and 'the Ancient Sciences,' under which +head we find some curious speculations concerning their origin and +introduction to the lands of Islam; a list of translators and the books +which they rendered into Arabic; an account of the Greek philosophers +from Thales to Plutarch, with the names of their works that were known +to the Moslems; and finally a literary survey of the remaining sciences, +such as Mathematics, Music, Astronomy, and Medicine. Here, by an abrupt +transition, we enter the enchanted domain of Oriental fable--the _HazAir +AfsAin_, or Thousand Tales, KalA-la and Dimna, the Book of SindbAid, and +the legends of Rustam and IsfandiyAir; works on sorcery, magic, +conjuring, amulets, talismans, and the like. European savants have long +recognised the importance of the ninth discourse,[683] which is devoted +to the doctrines and writings of the a¹cAibians and the Dualistic sects +founded by Manes, Bardesanes, Marcion, Mazdak, and other heresiarchs. +The author concludes his work with a chapter on the Alchemists +(_al-KA-miyAiaEuro(TM)Aºn_). + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +ORTHODOXY, FREE-THOUGHT, AND MYSTICISM + + +[Sidenote: The aEuro~AbbAisids and Islam.] + +[Sidenote: Influence of theologians.] + +We have already given some account of the great political revolution +which took place under the aEuro~AbbAisid dynasty, and we have now to consider +the no less vital influence of the new era in the field of religion. It +will be remembered that the House of aEuro~AbbAis came forward as champions of +Islam and of the oppressed and persecuted Faithful. Their victory was a +triumph for the Mua¸Yammadan over the National idea. "They wished, as +they said, to revive the dead Tradition of the Prophet. They brought the +experts in Sacred Law from MedA-na, which had hitherto been their home, +to BaghdAid, and always invited their approbation by taking care that +even political questions should be treated in legal form and decided in +accordance with the Koran and the Sunna. In reality, however, they used +Islam only to serve their own interest. They tamed the divines at their +court and induced them to sanction the most objectionable measures. They +made the pious Opposition harmless by leading it to victory. With the +downfall of the Umayyads it had gained its end and could now rest in +peace."[684] There is much truth in this view of the matter, but +notwithstanding the easy character of their religion, the aEuro~AbbAisid +Caliphs were sincerely devoted to the cause of Islam and zealous to +maintain its principles in public life. They regarded themselves as the +sovereign defenders of the Faith; added the Prophet's mantle +(_al-burda_) to those emblems of Umayyad royalty, the sceptre and the +seal; delighted in the pompous titles which their flatterers conferred +on them, _e.g._, 'Vicegerent of God,' 'Sultan of God upon the Earth,' +'Shadow of God,' &c.; and left no stone unturned to invest themselves +with the attributes of theocracy, and to inspire their subjects with +veneration.[685] Whereas the Umayyad monarchs ignored or crushed +Mua¸Yammadan sentiment, and seldom made any attempt to conciliate the +leading representatives of Islam, the aEuro~AbbAisids, on the other hand, not +only gathered round their throne all the most celebrated theologians of +the day, but also showed them every possible honour, listened +respectfully to their counsel, and allowed them to exert a commanding +influence on the administration of the State.[686] When MAilik b. Anas +was summoned by the Caliph HAirAºn al-RashA-d, who wished to hear him +recite traditions, MAilik replied, "People come to seek knowledge." So +HAirAºn went to MAilik's house, and leaned against the wall beside him. +MAilik said, "O Prince of the Faithful, whoever honours God, honours +knowledge." Al-RashA-d arose and seated himself at Malik's feet and spoke +to him and heard him relate a number of traditions handed down from the +Apostle of God. Then he sent for SufyAin b. aEuro~Uyayna, and SufyAin came to +him and sat in his presence and recited traditions to him. Afterwards +al-RashA-d said, "O MAilik, we humbled ourselves before thy knowledge, and +profited thereby, but SufyAin's knowledge humbled itself to us, and we +got no good from it."[687] Many instances might be given of the high +favour which theologians enjoyed at this time, and of the lively +interest with which religious topics were debated by the Caliph and his +courtiers. As the Caliphs gradually lost their temporal sovereignty, the +influence of the _aEuro~UlamAi_--the doctors of Divinity and Law--continued to +increase, so that ere long they formed a privileged class, occupying in +Islam a position not unlike that of the priesthood in mediA|val +Christendom. + + +It will be convenient to discuss the religious phenomena of the aEuro~AbbAisid +period under the following heads:-- + +I. Rationalism and Free-thought. + +II. The Orthodox Reaction and the rise of Scholastic Theology. + +III. The a¹cAºfA- Mysticism. + + +[Sidenote: Rationalism and Free-thought.] + +I. The first century of aEuro~AbbAisid rule was marked, as we have seen, by a +great intellectual agitation. All sorts of new ideas were in the air. It +was an age of discovery and awakening. In a marvellously brief space the +diverse studies of Theology, Law, Medicine, Philosophy, Mathematics, +Astronomy, and Natural Science attained their maturity, if not their +highest development. Even if some pious Moslems looked askance at the +foreign learning and its professors, an enlightened spirit generally +prevailed. People took their cue from the court, which patronised, or at +least tolerated,[688] scientific research as well as theological +speculation. + +[Sidenote: The MuaEuro~tazilites and their opponents.] + +These circumstances enabled the MuaEuro~tazilites (see p. 222 sqq.) to +propagate their liberal views without hindrance, and finally to carry +their struggle against the orthodox party to a successful issue. It was +the same conflict that divided Nominalists and Realists in the days of +Thomas Aquinas, Duns Scotus, and Occam. As often happens when momentous +principles are at stake, the whole controversy between Reason and +Revelation turned on a single question--"Is the Koran created or +uncreated?" In other terms, is it the work of God or the Word of God? +According to orthodox belief, it is uncreated and has existed with God +from all eternity, being in its present form merely a transcript of the +heavenly archetype.[689] Obviously this conception of the Koran as the +direct and literal Word of God left no room for exercise of the +understanding, but required of those who adopted it a dumb faith and a +blind fatalism. There were many to whom the sacrifice did not seem too +great. The MuaEuro~tazilites, on the contrary, asserted their intellectual +freedom. It was possible, they said, to know God and distinguish good +from evil without any Revelation at all. They admitted that the Koran +was God's work, in the sense that it was produced by a divinely inspired +Prophet, but they flatly rejected its deification. Some went so far as +to criticise the 'inimitable' style, declaring that it could be +surpassed in beauty and eloquence by the art of man.[690] + +[Sidenote: Rationalism adopted and put in force by the Caliph MaaEuro(TM)mAºn.] + +[Sidenote: Mutawakkil returns to orthodoxy.] + +The MuaEuro~tazilite controversy became a burning question in the reign of +MaaEuro(TM)mAºn (813-833 A.D.), a Caliph whose scientific enthusiasm and keen +interest in religious matters we have already mentioned. He did not +inherit the orthodoxy of his father, HAirAºn al-RashA-d; and it was +believed that he was at heart a _zindA-q_. His liberal tendencies would +have been wholly admirable if they had not been marred by excessive +intolerance towards those who held opposite views to his own. In 833 +A.D., the year of his death, he promulgated a decree which bound all +Moslems to accept the MuaEuro~tazilite doctrine as to the creation of the +Koran on pain of losing their civil rights, and at the same time he +established an inquisition (_mia¸Yna_) in order to obtain the assent of +the divines, judges, and doctors of law. Those who would not take the +test were flogged and threatened with the sword. After MaaEuro(TM)mAºn's death +the persecution still went on, although it was conducted in a more +moderate fashion. Popular feeling ran strongly against the MuaEuro~tazilites. +The most prominent figure in the orthodox camp was the ImAim Aa¸Ymad b. +a¸¤anbal, who firmly resisted the new dogma from the first. "But for +him," says the Sunnite historian, Abu aEuro(TM)l-Maa¸YAisin, "the beliefs of a +great number would have been corrupted."[691] Neither threats nor +entreaties could shake his resolution, and when he was scourged by +command of the Caliph MuaEuro~taa¹Lim, the palace was in danger of being +wrecked by an angry mob which had assembled outside to hear the result +of the trial. The MuaEuro~tazilite dogma remained officially in force until +it was abandoned by the Caliph WAithiq and once more declared heretical +by the cruel and bigoted Mutawakkil (847 A.D.). From that time to this +the victorious party have sternly suppressed every rationalistic +movement in Islam. + +[Sidenote: The end of the MuaEuro~tazilites.] + +According to Steiner, the original MuaEuro~tazilite heresy arose in the bosom +of Islam, independently of any foreign influence, but, however that may +be, its later development was largely affected by Greek philosophy. We +need not attempt to follow the recondite speculations of AbAº Hudhayl +al-aEuro~AllAif (aEuro about 840 A.D.) of his contemporaries, al-Naaº"aº"Aim, +Bishr b. al-MuaEuro~tamir, and others, and of the philosophical schools of +Baa¹Lra and BaghdAid in which the movement died away. Vainly they sought +to replace the Mua¸Yammadan idea of God as will by the Aristotelian +conception of God as law. Their efforts to purge the Koran of +anthropomorphism made no impression on the faithful, who ardently hoped +to see God in Paradise face to face. What they actually achieved was +little enough. Their weapons of logic and dialectic were turned against +them with triumphant success, and scholastic theology was founded on the +ruins of Rationalism. Indirectly, however, the MuaEuro~tazilite principles +leavened Mua¸Yammadan thought to a considerable extent and cleared the +way for other liberal movements, like the Fraternity of the _IkhwAinu +aEuro(TM)l-a¹cafAi_, which endeavoured to harmonise authority with reason, and +to construct a universal system of religious philosophy. + +[Sidenote: The IkhwAinu aEuro(TM)l-a¹cafAi.] + +These 'Brethren of Purity,'[692] as they called themselves, compiled a +great encyclopA|dic work in fifty tractates (_RasAiaEuro(TM)il_). Of the authors, +who flourished at Baa¹Lra towards the end of the tenth century, five +are known to us by name: viz., AbAº SulaymAin Mua¸Yammad b. MaaEuro~shar +al-Bayusti or al-MuqaddasA- (MaqdisA-), Abu aEuro(TM)l-a¸¤asan aEuro~AlA- b. HAirAºn +al-ZanjAinA-, AbAº Aa¸Ymad al-MihrajAinA-, al-aEuro~AwfA-, and Zayd b. RifAiaEuro~a. +"They formed a society for the pursuit of holiness, purity, and truth, +and established amongst themselves a doctrine whereby they hoped to win +the approval of God, maintaining that the Religious Law was defiled by +ignorance and adulterated by errors, and that there was no means of +cleansing and purifying it except philosophy, which united the wisdom of +faith and the profit of research. They held that a perfect result would +be reached if Greek philosophy were combined with Arabian religion. +Accordingly they composed fifty tracts on every branch of philosophy, +theoretical as well as practical, added a separate index, and entitled +them the 'Tracts of the Brethren of Purity' (_RasAiaEuro(TM)ilu IkhwAin +al-a¹cafAi_). The authors of this work concealed their names, but +circulated it among the booksellers and gave it to the public. They +filled their pages with devout phraseology, religious parables, +metaphorical expressions, and figurative turns of style."[693] Nearly +all the tracts have been translated into German by Dieterici, who has +also drawn up an epitome of the whole encyclopA|dia in his _Philosophie +der Araber im X Jahrhundert_. It would take us too long to describe the +system of the _IkhwAin_, but the reader will find an excellent account of +it in Stanley Lane-Poole's _Studies in a Mosque_, 2nd ed., p. 176 sqq. +The view has recently been put forward that the Brethren of Purity were +in some way connected with the IsmAiaEuro~A-lA- propaganda, and that their +eclectic idealism represents the highest teaching of the FAitimids, +Carmathians, and Assassins. Strong evidence in support of this theory is +supplied by a MS. of the BibliothA"que Nationale (No. 2309 in De Slane's +Catalogue), which contains, together with fragments of the _RasAiaEuro(TM)il_, a +hitherto unknown tract entitled the _JAimiaEuro~a_ or 'Summary.'[694] The +latter purports to be the essence and crown of the fifty _RasAiaEuro(TM)il_, it +is manifestly IsmAiaEuro~A-lite in character, and, assuming that it is genuine, +we may, I think, agree with the conclusions which its discoverer, M. P. +Casanova, has stated in the following passage:-- + + [Sidenote: The doctrines of the Brethren of Purity identical with + the esoteric philosophy of the IsmAiaEuro~A-lA-s.] + + "Surtout je crois Aªtre dans le vrai en affirmant que les doctrines + philosophiques des IsmaA-liens sont contenues tout entiA"res dans les + EpA(R)tres des FrA"res de la PuretA(C). Et c'est ce qui explique 'la + sA(C)duction extraordinaire que la doctrine exerASec.ait sur des hommes + sA(C)rieux.'[695] En y ajoutant la croyance en l'_imAim cachA(C)_ (_al-imAim + al-mastAºr_) qui doit apparaA(R)tre un jour pour A(C)tablir le bonheur + universel, elle rA(C)alisait la fusion de toutes les doctrines + idA(C)alistes, du messianisme et du platonisme. Tant que l'imAim restait + cachA(C), il s'y mAªlait encore une saveur de mystA"re qui attachait les + esprits les plus A(C)levA(C)s.... En tous cas, on peut affirmer que les + Carmathes et les Assassins ont A(C)tA(C) profondA(C)ment calomniA(C)s quand ils + ont A(C)tA(C) accusA(C)s par leurs adversaires d'athA(C)isme et de dA(C)bauche. Le + fetwa d'Ibn Taimiyyah, que j'ai citA(C) plus haut, prA(C)tend que leur + dernier degrA(C) dans l'initiation (_al-balAigh al-akbar_) est la + nA(C)gation mAªme du CrA(C)ateur. Mais la _djAcmiaEuro~at_ que nous avons + dA(C)couverte est, comme tout l'indique, le dernier degrA(C) de la science + des FrA"res de la PuretA(C) et des IsmaA-liens; il n'y a rien de fondA(C) + dans une telle accusation. La doctrine apparait trA"s pure, trA"s + A(C)levA(C)e, trA"s simple mAªme: je repA"te que c'est une sorte de + panthA(C)isme mA(C)caniste et esthA(C)tique qui est absolument opposA(C) au + scepticisme et au matA(C)rialisme, car il repose sur l'harmonie + gA(C)nA(C)rale de toutes les parties du monde, harmonie voulue par le + CrA(C)ateur parce qu'elle est la beautA(C) mAªme. + + "Ma conclusion sera que nous avons lA un exemple de plus dans + l'histoire d'une doctrine trA"s pure et trA"s A(C)levA(C)e en thA(C)orie, + devenue, entre les mains des fanatiques et des ambitieux, une source + d'actes monstrueux et mA(C)ritant l'infamie qui est attachA(C)e a ce nom + historique d'Assassins." + +Besides the MuaEuro~tazilites, we hear much of another class of heretics who +are commonly grouped together under the name of _ZindA-qs_. + +[Sidenote: The _ZindA-qs_.] + +"It is well known," says Goldziher,[696] "that the earliest persecution +was directed against those individuals who managed more or less adroitly +to conceal under the veil of Islam old Persian religious ideas. +Sometimes indeed they did not consider any disguise to be necessary, but +openly set up dualism and other Persian or ManichA|an doctrines, and the +practices associated therewith, against the dogma and usage of Islam. +Such persons were called _ZindA-qs_, a term which comprises different +shades of heresy and hardly admits of simple definition. Firstly, there +are the old Persian families incorporated in Islam who, following the +same path as the ShuaEuro~Aºbites, have a _national interest_ in the revival +of Persian religious ideas and traditions, and from this point of view +react against the _Arabian_ character of the Mua¸Yammadan system. Then, +on the other hand, there are freethinkers, who oppose in particular the +stubborn dogma of Islam, reject _positive religion_, and acknowledge +only the moral law. Amongst the latter there is developed a monkish +asceticism extraneous to Islam and ultimately traceable to Buddhistic +influences." + +[Sidenote: Persecution of _ZindA-qs_.] + +The aEuro~AbbAisid Government, which sought to enforce an official standard of +belief, was far less favourable to religious liberty than the Umayyads +had been. Orthodox and heretic alike fell under its ban. While MaaEuro(TM)mAºn +harried pious Sunnites, his immediate predecessors raised a hue and cry +against _ZindA-qs_. The Caliph MahdA- distinguished himself by an +organised persecution of these enemies of the faith. He appointed a +Grand Inquisitor (_a¹cAia¸Yibu aEuro(TM)l-ZanAidiqa_[697] or _aEuro~ArA-fu +aEuro(TM)l-ZanAidiqa_) to discover and hunt them down. If they would not recant +when called upon, they were put to death and crucified, and their +books[698] were cut to pieces with knives.[699] MahdA-'s example was +followed by HAidA- and HAirAºn al-RashA-d. Some of the aEuro~AbbAisids, however, +were less severe. Thus Khaa¹LA-b, Mana¹LAºr's physician, was a _ZindA-q_ +who professed Christianity,[700] and in the reign of MaaEuro(TM)mAºn it became +the mode to affect ManichA|an opinions as a mark of elegance and +refinement.[701] + +[Sidenote: BashshAir b. Burd.] + +The two main types of _zandaqa_ which have been described above are +illustrated in the contemporary poets, BashshAir b. Burd and a¹cAilia¸Y +b. aEuro~Abd al-QuddAºs. BashshAir was born stone-blind. The descendant of a +noble Persian family--though his father, Burd, was a slave--he cherished +strong national sentiments and did not attempt to conceal his sympathy +with the Persian clients (_MawAilA-_), whom he was accused of stirring up +against their Arab lords. He may also have had leanings towards +Zoroastrianism, but Professor Bevan has observed that there is no real +evidence for this statement,[702] though Zoroastrian or ManichA|an views +are probably indicated by the fact that he used to dispute with a number +of noted Moslem theologians in Baa¹Lra, _e.g._, with WAia¹Lil b. +aEuro~Aa¹-Ai, who started the MuaEuro~tazilite heresy, and aEuro~Amr b. aEuro~Ubayd. He and +a¹cAilia¸Y b. aEuro~Abd al-QuddAºs were put to death by the Caliph MahdA- in +the same year (783 A.D.). + +[Sidenote: a¹cAilia¸Y b. aEuro~Abd al-QuddAºs.] + +This a¹cAilia¸Y belonged by birth or affiliation to the Arab tribe of +Azd. Of his life we know little beyond the circumstance that he was for +some time a street-preacher at Baa¹Lra, and afterwards at Damascus. It +is possible that his public doctrine was thought dangerous, although the +preachers as a class were hand in glove with the Church and did not, +like the Lollards, denounce religious abuses.[703] His extant poetry +contains nothing heretical, but is wholly moral and didactic in +character. We have seen, however, in the case of Abu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~AtAihiya, that +Mua¸Yammadan orthodoxy was apt to connect 'the philosophic mind' with +positive unbelief; and a¹cAilia¸Y appears to have fallen a victim to +this prejudice. He was accused of being a dualist (_thanawA-_), _i.e._, a +ManichA|an. MahdA-, it is said, conducted his examination in person, and +at first let him go free, but the poet's fate was sealed by his +confession that he was the author of the following verses:-- + + "The greybeard will not leave what in the bone is bred + Until the dark tomb covers him with earth o'erspread; + For, tho' deterred awhile, he soon returns again + To his old folly, as the sick man to his pain."[704] + +[Sidenote: Abu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~AlAi al-MaaEuro~arrA- on the _ZindA-qs_.] + +Abu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~AlAi al-MaaEuro~arrA-, himself a bold and derisive critic of +Mua¸Yammadan dogmas, devotes an interesting section of his _RisAilatu +aEuro(TM)l-GhufrAin_ to the _ZindA-qs_, and says many hard things about them, +which were no doubt intended to throw dust in the eyes of a suspicious +audience. The wide scope of the term is shown by the fact that he +includes under it the pagan chiefs of Quraysh; the Umayyad Caliph WalA-d +b. YazA-d; the poets DiaEuro~bil, AbAº NuwAis, BashshAir, and a¹cAilia¸Y b. aEuro~Abd +al-QuddAºs; AbAº Muslim, who set up the aEuro~AbbAisid dynasty; the Persian +rebels, BAibak and MAizyAir; AfshA-n, who after conquering BAibak was starved +to death by the Caliph MuaEuro~taa¹Lim; the Carmathian leader al-JannAibA-; +Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-RAiwandA-, whose work entitled the _DAimigh_ was designed to +discredit the 'miraculous' style of the Koran; and a¸¤usayn b. +Mana¹LAºr al-a¸¤allAij, the a¹cAºfA- martyr. Most of these, one may +admit, fall within Abu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~AlAiaEuro(TM)s definition of the _ZindA-qs_: "they +acknowledge neither prophet nor sacred book." The name _ZindA-q_, which +is applied by JAia¸Yiaº" (aEuro 868 A.D.) to certain wandering monks,[705] +seems in the first instance to have been used of Manes (_MAinA-_) and his +followers, and is no doubt derived, as Professor Bevan has suggested, +from the _zaddA-qs_, who formed an elect class in the ManichA|an +hierarchy.[706] + +[Sidenote: The Orthodox Reaction.] + +[Sidenote: Abu aEuro(TM)l-a¸¤asan al-ashaEuro~arA-.] + +II. The official recognition of Rationalism as the State religion came +to an end on the accession of Mutawakkil in 847 A.D. The new Caliph, who +owed his throne to the Turkish PrA|torians, could not have devised a +surer means of making himself popular than by standing forward as the +avowed champion of the faith of the masses. He persecuted impartially +Jews, Christians, MuaEuro~tazilites, ShA-aEuro~ites, and a¹cAºfA-s--every one, in +short, who diverged from the narrowest Sunnite orthodoxy. The Vizier Ibn +AbA- DuaEuro(TM)Aid, who had shown especial zeal in his conduct of the MuaEuro~tazilite +Inquisition, was disgraced, and the bulk of his wealth was confiscated. +In BaghdAid the followers of Aa¸Ymad b. a¸¤anbal went from house to +house terrorising the citizens,[707] and such was their fanatical temper +that when a¹¬abarA-, the famous divine and historian, died in 923 A.D., +they would not allow his body to receive the ordinary rites of +burial.[708] Finally, in the year 935 A.D., the Caliph RAia¸A- issued an +edict denouncing them in these terms: "Ye assert that your ugly, +ill-favoured faces are in the likeness of the Lord of Creation, and that +your vile exterior resembles His, and ye speak of the hand, the fingers, +the feet, the golden shoes, and the curly hair (of God), and of His +going up to Heaven and of His coming down to Earth.... The Commander of +the Faithful swears a binding oath that unless ye refrain from your +detestable practices and perverse tenets he will lay the sword to your +necks and the fire to your dwellings."[709] Evidently the time was ripe +for a system which should reconcile the claims of tradition and reason, +avoiding the gross anthropomorphism of the extreme a¸¤anbalites on the +one side and the pure rationalism of the advanced MuaEuro~tazilites (who were +still a power to be reckoned with) on the other. It is a frequent +experience that great intellectual or religious movements rising slowly +and invisibly, in response, as it were, to some incommunicable want, +suddenly find a distinct interpreter with whose name they are henceforth +associated for ever. The man, in this case, was Abu aEuro(TM)l-a¸¤asan +al-AshaEuro~arA-. He belonged to a noble and traditionally orthodox family of +Yemenite origin. One of his ancestors was AbAº MAºsAi al-AshaEuro~arA-, who, as +the reader will recollect, played a somewhat inglorious part in the +arbitration between aEuro~AlA- and MuaEuro~Aiwiya after the battle of +a¹ciffA-n.[710] Born in 873-874 A.D. at Baa¹Lra, a city renowned for +its scientific and intellectual fertility, the young Abu aEuro(TM)l-a¸¤asan +deserted the faith of his fathers, attached himself to the freethinking +school, and until his fortieth year was the favourite pupil and intimate +friend of al-JubbAiaEuro(TM)A- (aEuro 915 A.D.), the head of the MuaEuro~tazilite party at +that time. He is said to have broken with his teacher in consequence of +a dispute as to whether God always does what is best (_aa¹Llaa¸Y_) for +His creatures. The story is related as follows by Ibn KhallikAin (De +Slane's translation, vol. ii, p. 669 seq.):-- + + [Sidenote: Story of the three brothers.] + + AshaEuro~arA- proposed to JubbAiaEuro(TM)A- the case of three brothers, one of whom + was a true believer, virtuous and pious; the second an infidel, a + debauchee and a reprobate; and the third an infant: they all died, + and AshaEuro~arA- wished to know what had become of them. To this JubbAiaEuro(TM)A- + answered: "The virtuous brother holds a high station in Paradise; + the infidel is in the depths of Hell, and the child is among those + who have obtained salvation."[711] "Suppose now," said AshaEuro~arA-, + "that the child should wish to ascend to the place occupied by his + virtuous brother, would he be allowed to do so?" "No," replied + JubbAiaEuro(TM)A-, "it would be said to him: 'Thy brother arrived at this + place through his numerous works of obedience towards God, and thou + hast no such works to set forward.'" "Suppose then," said AshaEuro~arA-, + "that the child say: 'That is not my fault; you did not let me live + long enough, neither did you give me the means of proving my + obedience.'" "In that case," answered JubbAiaEuro(TM)A-, "the Almighty would + say: 'I knew that if I had allowed thee to live, thou wouldst have + been disobedient and incurred the severe punishment (of Hell); I + therefore acted for thy advantage.'" "Well," said AshaEuro~arA-, "and + suppose the infidel brother were to say: 'O God of the universe! + since you knew what awaited him, you must have known what awaited + me; why then did you act for his advantage and not for mine?" + JubbAiaEuro(TM)A- had not a word to offer in reply. + +[Sidenote: AshaEuro~arA-'s conversion to orthodoxy.] + +Soon afterwards AshaEuro~arA- made a public recantation. One Friday, while +sitting (as his biographer relates) in the chair from which he taught in +the great mosque of Baa¹Lra, he cried out at the top of his voice: +"They who know me know who I am: as for those who do not know me I will +tell them. I am aEuro~AlA- b. IsmAiaEuro~A-l al-AshaEuro~arA-, and I used to hold that the +Koran was created, that the eyes of men shall not see God, and that we +ourselves are the authors of our evil deeds. Now I have returned to the +truth; I renounce these opinions, and I undertake to refute the +MuaEuro~tazilites and expose their infamy and turpitude."[712] + +[Sidenote: AshaEuro~arA- as the founder of Scholastic Theology.] + +These anecdotes possess little or no historical value, but illustrate +the fact that AshaEuro~arA-, having learned all that the MuaEuro~tazilites could +teach him and having thoroughly mastered their dialectic, turned against +them with deadly force the weapons which they had put in his hands. His +doctrine on the subject of free-will may serve to exemplify the method +of _KalAim_ (Disputation) by which he propped up the orthodox creed.[713] +Here, as in other instances, AshaEuro~arA- took the central path--_medio +tutissimus_--between two extremes. It was the view of the early Moslem +Church--a view justified by the Koran and the Apostolic Traditions--that +everything was determined in advance and inscribed, from all eternity, +on the Guarded Tablet (_al-Lawa¸Y al-Maa¸YfAºaº"_), so that men had no +choice but to commit the actions decreed by destiny. The MuaEuro~tazilites, +on the contrary, denied that God could be the author of evil and +insisted that men's actions were free. AshaEuro~arA-, on his part, declared +that all actions are created and predestined by God, but that men have a +certain subordinate power which enables them to acquire the actions +previously created, although it produces no effect on the actions +themselves. Human agency, therefore, was confined to this process of +acquisition (_kasb_). With regard to the anthropomorphic passages in the +Koran, AshaEuro~arA- laid down the rule that such expressions as "_The +Merciful has settled himself upon His throne_," "_Both His hands are +spread out_," &c., must be taken in their obvious sense without asking +'How?' (_bilAi kayfa_). Spitta saw in the system of AshaEuro~arA- a successful +revolt of the Arabian national spirit against the foreign ideas which +were threatening to overwhelm Islam,[714] a theory which does not agree +with the fact that most of the leading AshaEuro~arites were Persians.[715] +Von Kremer came nearer the mark when he said "AshaEuro~arA-'s victory was +simply a clerical triumph,"[716] but it was also, as Schreiner has +observed, "a victory of reflection over unthinking faith." + +The victory, however, was not soon or easily won.[717] Many of the +orthodox disliked the new Scholasticism hardly less than the old +Rationalism. Thus it is not surprising to read in the _KAimil_ of Ibnu +aEuro(TM)l-AthA-r under the year 456 A.H. = 1063-4 A.D., that Alp ArslAin's +Vizier, aEuro~AmA-du aEuro(TM)l-Mulk al-KundurA-, having obtained his master's +permission to have curses pronounced against the RAifia¸ites (ShA-aEuro~ites) +from the pulpits of KhurAisAin, included the AshaEuro~arites in the same +malediction, and that the famous AshaEuro~arite doctors, Abu aEuro(TM)l-QAisim +al-QushayrA- and the ImAimu aEuro(TM)l-a¸¤aramayn Abu aEuro(TM)l-MaaEuro~AilA- al-JuwaynA-, left +the country in consequence. The great Niaº"Aimu aEuro(TM)l-Mulk exerted himself +on behalf of the AshaEuro~arites, and the Niaº"Aimiyya College, which he +founded in BaghdAid in the year 1067 A.D., was designed to propagate +their system of theology. But the man who stamped it with the impression +of his own powerful genius, fixed its ultimate form, and established it +as the universal creed of orthodox Islam, was AbAº a¸¤Aimid al-GhazAilA- +(1058-1111 A.D.). We have already sketched the outward course of his +life, and need only recall that he lectured at BaghdAid in the +Niaº"Aimiyya College for four years (1091-1095 A.D.).[718] At the end of +that time he retired from the world as a a¹cAºfA-, and so brought to a +calm and fortunate close the long spiritual travail which he has himself +described in the _Munqidh mina aEuro(TM)l-a¸alAil_, or 'Deliverer from +Error.'[719] We must now attempt to give the reader some notion of this +work, both on account of its singular psychological interest and because +GhazAilA-'s search for religious truth exercised, as will shortly appear, +a profound and momentous influence upon the future history of +Mua¸Yammadan thought. It begins with these words:-- + + [Sidenote: GhazAilA-'s autobiography.] + + "In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate. Praise be to + God by the praise of whom every written or spoken discourse is + opened! And blessings on Mua¸Yammad, the Elect, the Prophet and + Apostle, as well as on his family and his companions who lead us + forth from error! To proceed: You have asked me, O my brother in + religion, to explain to you the hidden meanings and the ultimate + goal of the sciences, and the secret bane of the different + doctrines, and their inmost depths. You wish me to relate all that I + have endured in seeking to recover the truth from amidst the + confusion of sects with diverse ways and paths, and how I have dared + to raise myself from the abyss of blind belief in authority to the + height of discernment. You desire to know what benefits I have + derived in the first place from Scholastic Theology, and what I have + appropriated, in the second place, from the methods of the + TaaEuro~lA-mites[720] who think that truth can be attained only by + submission to the authority of an ImAim; and thirdly, my reasons for + spurning the systems of philosophy; and, lastly, why I have accepted + the tenets of a¹cAºfiism: you are anxious, in short, that I should + impart to you the essential truths which I have learned in my + repeated examination of the (religious) opinions of mankind." + +In a very interesting passage, which has been translated by Professor +Browne, GhazAilA- tells how from his youth upward he was possessed with an +intense thirst for knowledge, which impelled him to study every form of +religion and philosophy, and to question all whom he met concerning the +nature and meaning of their belief.[721] But when he tried to +distinguish the true from the false, he found no sure test. He could not +trust the evidence of his senses. The eye sees a shadow and declares it +to be without movement; or a star, and deems it no larger than a piece +of gold. If the senses thus deceive, may not the mind do likewise? +Perhaps our life is a dream full of phantom thoughts which we mistake +for realities--until the awakening comes, either in moments of ecstasy +or at death. "For two months," says GhazAilA-, "I was actually, though not +avowedly, a sceptic." Then God gave him light, so that he regained his +mental balance and was able to think soundly. He resolved that this +faculty must guide him to the truth, since blind faith once lost never +returns. Accordingly, he set himself to examine the foundations of +belief in four classes of men who were devoted to the search for truth, +namely, Scholastic Theologians, IsmAiaEuro~A-lA-s (_BAitiniyya_), Philosophers, +and a¹cAºfA-s. For a long while he had to be content with wholly negative +results. Scholasticism was, he admitted, an excellent purge against +heresy, but it could not cure the disease from which he was suffering. +As for the philosophers, all of them--Materialists (_DahriyyAºn_), +Naturalists (_a¹¬abA-aEuro~iyyAºn_), and Theists (_IlAihiyyAºn_)--"are branded +with infidelity and impiety." Here, as often in his discussion of the +philosophical schools, GhazAilA-'s religious instinct breaks out. We +cannot imagine him worshipping at the shrine of pure reason any more +than we can imagine Herbert Spencer at Lourdes. He next turned to the +TaaEuro~lA-mites (Doctrinists) or BAia¹-inites (Esoterics), who claimed that +they knew the truth, and that its unique source was the infallible ImAim. +But when he came to close quarters with these sectaries, he discovered +that they could teach him nothing, and their mysterious ImAim vanished +into space. a¹cAºfiism, therefore, was his last hope. He carefully +studied the writings of the mystics, and as he read it became clear to +him that now he was on the right path. He saw that the higher stages of +a¹cAºfiism could not be learned by study, but must be realised by actual +experience, that is, by rapture, ecstasy, and moral transformation. +After a painful struggle with himself he resolved to cast aside all his +worldly ambition and to live for God alone. In the month of Dhu +aEuro(TM)l-QaaEuro~da, 488 A.H. (November, 1095 A.D.), he left BaghdAid and wandered +forth to Syria, where he found in the a¹cAºfA- discipline of prayer, +praise, and meditation the peace which his soul desired. + +Mr. Duncan B. Macdonald, to whom we owe the best and fullest life of +GhazAilA- that has yet been written, sums up his work and influence in +Islam under four heads[722]:-- + +_First_, he led men back from scholastic labours upon theological dogmas +to living contact with, study and exegesis of, the Word and the +Traditions. + +_Second_, in his preaching and moral exhortations he re-introduced the +element of fear. + +_Third_, it was by his influence that a¹cAºfiism attained a firm and +assured position within the Church of Islam. + +_Fourth_, he brought philosophy and philosophical theology within the +range of the ordinary mind. + + [Sidenote: GhazAilA-'s work and influence.] + + "Of these four phases of al-GhazzAelAe"'s work," says Macdonald, + "the first and third are undoubtedly the most important. He made his + mark by leading Islam back to its fundamental and historical facts, + and by giving a place in its system to the emotional religious life. + But it will have been noticed that in none of the four phases was he + a pioneer. He was not a scholar who struck out a new path, but a man + of intense personality who entered on a path already trodden and + made it the common highway. We have here his character. Other men + may have been keener logicians, more learned theologians, more + gifted saints; but he, through his personal experiences, had + attained so overpowering a sense of the divine realities that the + force of his character--once combative and restless, now narrowed + and intense--swept all before it, and the Church of Islam entered on + a new era of its existence." + +[Sidenote: a¹cAºfiism in the aEuro~AbbAisid period.] + +III. We have traced the history of Mysticism in Islam from the ascetic +movement of the first century, in which it originated, to a point where +it begins to pass beyond the sphere of Mua¸Yammadan influence and to enter +on a strange track, of which the Prophet assuredly never dreamed, +although the a¹cAºfA-s constantly pretend that they alone are his true +followers. I do not think it can be maintained that a¹cAºfiism of the +theosophical and speculative type, which we have now to consider, is +merely a development of the older asceticism and quietism which have +been described in a former chapter. The difference between them is +essential and must be attributed in part, as Von Kremer saw,[723] to the +intrusion of some extraneous, non-Islamic, element. As to the nature of +this new element there are several conflicting theories, which have been +so clearly and fully stated by Professor Browne in his _Literary History +of Persia_ (vol. i, p. 418 sqq.) that I need not dwell upon them here. +Briefly it is claimed-- + +(_a_) That a¹cAºfiism owes its inspiration to Indian philosophy, and +especially to the Vedanta. + +(_b_) That the most characteristic ideas in a¹cAºfiism are of Persian +origin. + +(_c_) That these ideas are derived from Neo-platonism. + +Instead of arguing for or against any of the above theories, all of +which, in my opinion, contain a measure of truth, I propose in the +following pages to sketch the historical evolution of the a¹cAºfA- +doctrine as far as the materials at my disposal will permit. This, it +seems to me, is the only possible method by which we may hope to arrive +at a definite conclusion as to its origin. Since mysticism in all ages +and countries is fundamentally the same, however it may be modified by +its peculiar environment, and by the positive religion to which it +clings for support, we find remote and unrelated systems showing an +extraordinarily close likeness and even coinciding in many features of +verbal expression. Such resemblances can prove little or nothing unless +they are corroborated by evidence based on historical grounds. Many +writers on a¹cAºfiism have disregarded this principle; hence the +confusion which long prevailed. The first step in the right direction +was made by Adalbert Merx,[724] who derived valuable results from a +chronological examination of the sayings of the early a¹cAºfA-s. He did +not, however, carry his researches beyond AbAº SulaymAin al-DAirAinA- (aEuro 830 +A.D.), and confined his attention almost entirely to the doctrine, +which, according to my view, should be studied in connection with the +lives, character, and nationality of the men who taught it.[725] No +doubt the origin and growth of mysticism in Islam, as in all other +religions, _ultimately_ depended on general causes and conditions, not +on external circumstances. For example, the political anarchy of the +Umayyad period, the sceptical tendencies of the early aEuro~AbbAisid age, and +particularly the dry formalism of Moslem theology could not fail to +provoke counter-movements towards quietism, spiritual authority, and +emotional faith. But although a¹cAºfiism was not called into being by +any impulse from without (this is too obvious to require argument), the +influences of which I am about to speak have largely contributed to make +it what it is, and have coloured it so deeply that no student of the +history of a¹cAºfiism can afford to neglect them. + +[Sidenote: MaaEuro~rAºf al-KarkhA- (aEuro 815 A.D.).] + +Towards the end of the eighth century of our era the influence of new +ideas is discernible in the sayings of MaaEuro~rAºf al-KarkhA- (aEuro 815 A.D.), a +contemporary of Fua¸ayl b. aEuro~IyAia¸ and ShaqA-q of Balkh. He was born +in the neighbourhood of WAisia¹-, one of the great cities of +Mesopotamia, and the name of his father, FA-rAºz, or FA-rAºzAin, shows that +he had Persian blood in his veins. MaaEuro~rAºt was a client (_mawlAi_) of the +ShA-aEuro~ite ImAim, aEuro~AlA- b. MAºsAi al-Ria¸Ai, in whose presence he made +profession of Islam; for he had been brought up as a Christian (such is +the usual account), or, possibly, as a a¹cAibian. He lived during the +reign of HAirAºn al-RashA-d in the Karkh quarter of BaghdAid, where he +gained a high reputation for saintliness, so that his tomb in that city +is still an object of veneration. He is described as a God-intoxicated +man, but in this respect he is not to be compared with many who came +after him. Nevertheless, he deserves to stand at the head of the +mystical as opposed to the ascetic school of a¹cAºfA-s. He defined +a¹cAºfiism as "the apprehension of Divine realities and renunciation of +human possessions."[726] Here are a few of his sayings:-- + + "Love is not to be learned from men; it is one of God's gifts and + comes of His grace. + + "The Saints of God are known by three signs: their thought is of + God, their dwelling is with God, and their business is in God. + + "If the gnostic (_aEuro~Airif_) has no bliss, yet he himself is in every + bliss. + + "When you desire anything of God, swear to Him by me." + +From these last words, which MaaEuro~rAºf addressed to his pupil SarA- +al-Saqaa¹-A-, it is manifest that he regarded himself as being in the +most intimate communion with God. + +[Sidenote: AbAº SulaymAin al-DAirAinA- (aEuro 830 A.D.).] + +AbAº SulaymAin (aEuro 830 A.D.), the next great name in the a¹cAºfA- +biographies, was also a native of WAisia¹-, but afterwards emigrated to +Syria and settled at DAirayAi (near Damascus), whence he is called +'al-DAirAinA-.' He developed the doctrine of gnosis (_maaEuro~rifat_). Those who +are familiar with the language of European mystics--_illuminatio_, +_oculus cordis_, &c.--will easily interpret such sayings as these:-- + + "None refrains from the lusts of this world save him in whose heart + there is a light that keeps him always busied with the next world. + + "When the gnostic's spiritual eye is opened, his bodily eye is shut: + they see nothing but Him. + + "If Gnosis were to take visible form, all that looked thereon would + die at the sight of its beauty and loveliness and goodness and + grace, and every brightness would become dark beside the splendour + thereof.[727] + + + "Gnosis is nearer to silence than to speech." + +[Sidenote: Dhu aEuro(TM)l-NAºn al-MisrA- (aEuro 860 A.D.).] + +We now come to Dhu aEuro(TM)l-NAºn al-MisrA- (aEuro 860 A.D.), whom the a¹cAºfA-s +themselves consider to be the primary author of their doctrine.[728] +That he at all events was among the first of those who helped to give it +permanent shape is a fact which is amply attested by the collection of +his sayings preserved in aEuro~Aa¹-a¹-Air's _Memoirs of the Saints_ and in +other works of the same kind.[729] It is clear that the theory of +gnosis, with which he deals at great length, was the central point in +his system; and he seems to have introduced the doctrine that true +knowledge of God is attained only by means of ecstasy (_wajd_). "The man +that knows God best," he said, "is the one most lost in Him." Like +Dionysius, he refused to make any positive statements about the Deity. +"Whatever you imagine, God is the contrary of that." Divine love he +regarded as an ineffable mystery which must not be revealed to the +profane. All this is the very essence of the later a¹cAºfiism. It is +therefore desirable to ascertain the real character of Dhu aEuro(TM)l-NAºn and +the influences to which he was subjected. The following account gives a +brief summary of what I have been able to discover; fuller details will +be found in the article mentioned above. + +His name was Abu aEuro(TM)l-Faya¸ ThawbAin b. IbrAihA-m, Dhu aEuro(TM)l-NAºn (He of the +Fish) being a sobriquet referring to one of his miracles, and his father +was a native of Nubia, or of IkhmA-m in Upper Egypt. Ibn KhallikAin +describes Dhu aEuro(TM)l-NAºn as 'the nonpareil of his age' for learning, +devotion, communion with the Divinity (_a¸YAil_), and acquaintance with +literature (_adab_); adding that he was a philosopher (_a¸YakA-m_) and +spoke Arabic with elegance. The people of Egypt, among whom he lived, +looked upon him as a _zindA-q_ (freethinker), and he was brought to +BaghdAid to answer this charge, but after his death he was canonised. In +the _Fihrist_ he appears among "the philosophers who discoursed on +alchemy," and Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-Qifa¹-A- brackets him with the famous occultist +JAibir b. a¸¤ayyAin. He used to wander (as we learn from MasaEuro~AºdA-)[730] +amidst the ruined Egyptian monuments, studying the inscriptions and +endeavouring to decipher the mysterious figures which were thought to +hold the key to the lost sciences of antiquity. He also dabbled in +medicine, which, like Paracelsus, he combined with alchemy and magic. + +Let us see what light these facts throw upon the origin of the a¹cAºfA- +theosophy. Did it come to Egypt from India, Persia, or Greece? + +[Sidenote: The origin of theosophical a¹cAºfiism.] + +Considering the time, place, and circumstances in which it arose, and +having regard to the character of the man who bore a chief part in its +development, we cannot hesitate, I think, to assert that it is largely a +product of Greek speculation. MaaEuro~rAºf al-KarkhA-, AbAº SulaymAin al-DAirAinA-, +and Dhu aEuro(TM)l-NAºn al-Mia¹LrA- all three lived and died in the period (786-861 +A.D.) which begins with the accession of HAirAºn al-RashA-d and is +terminated by the death of Mutawakkil. During these seventy-five years +the stream of Hellenic culture flowed unceasingly into the Moslem world. +Innumerable works of Greek philosophers, physicians, and scientists were +translated and eagerly studied. Thus the Greeks became the teachers of +the Arabs, and the wisdom of ancient Greece formed, as has been shown in +a preceding chapter, the basis of Mua¸Yammadan science and philosophy. The +results are visible in the MuaEuro~tazilite rationalism as well as in the +system of the _IkhwAinu aEuro(TM)l-a¹cafAi_. But it was not through literature alone +that the Moslems were imbued with Hellenism. In aEuro~IrAiq, Syria, and Egypt +they found themselves on its native soil, which yielded, we may be sure, +a plentiful harvest of ideas--Neo-platonic, Gnostical, Christian, +mystical, pantheistic, and what not? In Mesopotamia, the heart of the +aEuro~AbbAisid Empire, dwelt a strange people, who were really Syrian +heathens, but who towards the beginning of the ninth century assumed the +name of a¹cAibians in order to protect themselves from the persecution with +which they were threatened by the Caliph MaaEuro(TM)mAºn. At this time, indeed, +many of them accepted Islam or Christianity, but the majority clung to +their old pagan beliefs, while the educated class continued to profess a +religious philosophy which, as it is described by ShahrastAinA- and other +Mua¸Yammadan writers, is simply the Neo-platonism of Proclus and +Iamblichus. To return to Dhu aEuro(TM)l-NAºn, it is incredible that a mystic and +natural philosopher living in the first half of the ninth century in +Egypt should have derived his doctrine directly from India. There may be +Indian elements in Neo-platonism and Gnosticism, but this possibility +does not affect my contention that the immediate source of the a¹cAºfA- +theosophy is to be sought in Greek and Syrian speculation. To define its +origin more narrowly is not, I think, practicable in the present state +of our knowledge. Merx, however, would trace it to Dionysius, the +Pseudo-Areopagite, or rather to his master, a certain "Hierotheus," whom +Frothingham has identified with the Syrian mystic, Stephen bar Sudaili +(_circa_ 500 A.D.). Dionysius was of course a Christian Neo-platonist. +His works certainly laid the foundations of mediA|val mysticism in +Europe, and they were also popular in the East at the time when a¹cAºfiism +arose. + +[Sidenote: a¹cAºfiism composed of many different elements.] + +When speaking of the various current theories as to the origin of +a¹cAºfiism, I said that in my opinion they all contained a measure of +truth. No single cause will account for a phenomenon so widely spread +and so diverse in its manifestations. a¹cAºfiism has always been thoroughly +eclectic, absorbing and transmuting whatever 'broken lights' fell across +its path, and consequently it gained adherents amongst men of the most +opposite views--theists and pantheists, MuaEuro~tazilites and Scholastics, +philosophers and divines. We have seen what it owed to Greece, but the +Perso-Indian elements are not to be ignored. Although the theory "that +it must be regarded as the reaction of the Aryan mind against a Semitic +religion imposed on it by force" is inadmissible--Dhu aEuro(TM)l-NAºn, for +example, was a Copt or Nubian--the fact remains that there was at the +time a powerful anti-Semitic reaction, which expressed itself, more or +less consciously, in a¹cAºfA-s of Persian race. Again, the literary +influence of India upon Mua¸Yammadan thought before 1000 A.D. was greatly +inferior to that of Greece, as any one can see by turning over the pages +of the _Fihrist_; but Indian religious ideas must have penetrated into +KhurAisAin and Eastern Persia at a much earlier period. + +These considerations show that the question as to the origin of a¹cAºfiism +cannot be answered in a definite and exclusive way. None of the rival +theories is completely true, nor is any of them without a partial +justification. The following words of Dr. Goldziher should be borne in +mind by all who are interested in this subject:-- + + [Sidenote: Goldziher on the character of a¹cAºfiism.] + + "a¹cAºfiism cannot be looked upon as a regularly organised sect within + Islam. Its dogmas cannot be compiled into a regular system. It + manifests itself in different shapes in different countries. We find + divergent tendencies, according to the spirit of the teaching of + distinguished theosophists who were founders of different schools, + the followers of which may be compared to Christian monastic orders. + The influence of different environments naturally affected the + development of a¹cAºfiism. Here we find mysticism, there asceticism the + prevailing thought."[731] + +The four principal foreign sources of a¹cAºfiism are undoubtedly +Christianity, Neo-platonism, Gnosticism, and Indian asceticism and +religious philosophy. I shall not attempt in this place to estimate +their comparative importance, but it should be clearly understood that +the speculative and theosophical side of a¹cAºfiism, which, as we have +seen, was first elaborated in aEuro~IrAiq, Syria, and Egypt, bears +unmistakable signs of Hellenistic influence. + + +[Sidenote: BAiyazA-d of Bisa¹-Aim.] + +The early a¹cAºfA-s are particularly interested in the theory of mystical +union (_fanAi wa-baqAi_) and often use expressions which it is easy to +associate with pantheism, yet none of them can fairly be called a +pantheist in the true sense. The step from theosophy to pantheism was +not, I think, made either by a¸¤allAij (aEuro 922 A.D.) or by the celebrated +AbAº YazA-d, in Persian BAiyazA-d (aEuro 874-75 A.D.), of Bisa¹-Aim, a town in the +province of QAºmis situated near the south-eastern corner of the Caspian +Sea. While his father, SurAºshAin, was a Zoroastrian, his master in +a¹cAºfiism seems to have been connected with Sind (Scinde), where Moslem +governors had been installed since 715 A.D. BAiyazA-d carried the +experimental doctrine of _fanAi_ (dying to self) to its utmost limit, and +his language is tinged with the peculiar poetic imagery which was +afterwards developed by the great a¹cAºfA- of KhurAisAin, AbAº SaaEuro~A-d b. Abi +aEuro(TM)l-Khayr (aEuro 1049 A.D.). I can give only a few specimens of his sayings. +Their genuineness is not above suspicion, but they serve to show that if +the theosophical basis of a¹cAºfiism is distinctively Greek, its mystical +extravagances are no less distinctively Oriental. + + "Creatures are subject to 'states' (_aa¸YwAil_), but the gnostic has no + 'state,' because his vestiges are effaced and his essence is + annihilated by the essence of another, and his traces are lost in + another's traces. + + + "I went from God to God until they cried from me in me, 'O Thou I!' + + + "Nothing is better for Man than to be without aught, having no + asceticism, no theory, no practice. When he is without all, he is + with all. + + + "Verily I am God, there is no God except me, so worship me! + + + "Glory to me! how great is my majesty! + + + "I came forth from BAiyazA-d-ness as a snake from its skin. Then I + looked. I saw that lover, beloved, and love are one, for in the + world of unification all can be one. + + + "I am the wine-drinker and the wine and the cup-bearer." + +Thus, in the course of a century, a¹cAºfiism, which at first was little +more than asceticism, became in succession mystical and theosophical, +and even ran the risk of being confused with pantheism. Henceforward the +term _Taa¹Lawwuf_ unites all these varying shades. As a rule, however, +the great a¹cAºfA-s of the third century A.H. (815-912 A.D.) keep their +antinomian enthusiasm under control. Most of them agreed with Junayd of +BaghdAid (aEuro 909 A.D.), the leading theosophist of his time, in preferring +"the path of sobriety," and in seeking to reconcile the Law (_sharA-aEuro~at_) +with the Truth (_a¸YaqA-qat_). "Our principles," said Sahl b. aEuro~AbdullAih +al-TustarA- (aEuro 896 A.D.), "are six: to hold fast by the Book of God, to +model ourselves upon the Apostle (Mua¸Yammad), to eat only what is +lawful, to refrain from hurting people even though they hurt us, to +avoid forbidden things, and to fulfil obligations without delay." To +these articles the strictest Moslem might cheerfully subscribe. +a¹cAºfiism in its ascetic, moral, and devotional aspects was a +spiritualised Islam, though it was a very different thing essentially. +While doing lip-service to the established religion, it modified the +dogmas of Islam in such a way as to deprive them of their original +significance. Thus Allah, the God of mercy and wrath, was in a certain +sense depersonalised and worshipped as the One absolutely Real +(_al-a¸¤aqq_). Here the a¹cAºfA-s betray their kinship with the +MuaEuro~tazilites, but the two sects have little in common except the Greek +philosophy.[732] It must never be forgotten that a¹cAºfiism was the +expression of a profound religious feeling--"hatred of the world and +love of the Lord."[733] "_Taa¹Lawwuf_," said Junayd, "is this: that God +should make thee die to thyself and should make thee live in Him." + +The further development of a¹cAºfiism may be indicated in a few words. + +[Sidenote: The development of a¹cAºfiism.] + +What was at first a form of religion adopted by individuals and +communicated to a small circle of companions gradually became a monastic +system, a school for saints, with rules of discipline and devotion which +the novice (_murA-d_) learned from his spiritual director (_pA-r_ or +_ustAidh_), to whose guidance he submitted himself absolutely. Already in +the third century after Mua¸Yammad it is increasingly evident that the +typical a¹cAºfA- adept of the future will no longer be a solitary ascetic +shunning the sight of men, but a great Shaykh and hierophant, who +appears on ceremonial occasions attended by a numerous train of admiring +disciples. Soon the doctrine began to be collected and embodied in +books. Some of the most notable Arabic works of reference on a¹cAºfiism +have been mentioned already. Among the oldest are the _KitAibu aEuro(TM)l-LumaaEuro~_, +by AbAº Naa¹Lr al-SarrAij (aEuro 988 A.D.) and the _QAºtu aEuro(TM)l-QulAºb_ by AbAº +a¹¬Ailib al-MakkA- (aEuro 996 A.D.). The twelfth century saw the rise of the +Dervish Orders. aEuro~AdA- al-HakkAirA- (aEuro 1163 A.D.) and aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-QAidir al-JA-lA- +(aEuro 1166 A.D.) founded the fraternities which are called aEuro~AdawA-s and +QAidirA-s, after their respective heads. These were followed in rapid +succession by the RifAiaEuro~A-s, the ShAidhilA-s, and the MevlevA-s, of whom the +last named owe their origin to the Persian poet and mystic, JalAilu +aEuro(TM)l-DA-n RAºmA- (aEuro 1273 A.D.). By this time, mainly through the influence of +GhazAilA-, a¹cAºfiism had won for itself a secure and recognised position +in the Mua¸Yammadan Church. Orthodoxy was forced to accept the popular +Saint-worship and to admit the miracles of the _AwliyAi_, although many +Moslem puritans raised their voices against the superstitious veneration +which was paid to the tombs of holy men, and against the prayers, +sacrifices, and oblations offered by the pilgrims who assembled. GhazAilA- +also gave the a¹cAºfA- doctrine a metaphysical basis. For this purpose he +availed himself of the terminology, which FAirAibA- (also a a¹cAºfA-) and +Avicenna had already borrowed from the Neo-platonists. From his time +forward we find in a¹cAºfA- writings constant allusions to the Plotinian +theories of emanation and ecstasy. + + +[Sidenote: aEuro~Umar Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-FAiria¸.] + +Mysticism was more congenial to the Persians than to the Arabs, and its +influence on Arabic literature is not to be compared with the +extraordinary spell which it has cast over the Persian mind since the +eleventh century of the Christian era to the present day. With few +exceptions, the great poets of Persia (and, we may add, of Turkey) speak +the allegorical language and use the fantastic imagery of which the +quatrains of the Persian a¹cAºfA-, AbAº SaaEuro~A-d b. Abi aEuro(TM)l-Khayr,[734] afford +almost the first literary example. The Arabs have only one mystical poet +worthy to stand beside the Persian masters. This is Sharafu aEuro(TM)l-DA-n aEuro~Umar +Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-FAiria¸, who was born in Cairo (1181 A.D.) and died there in +1235. His _DA-wAin_ was edited by his grandson aEuro~AlA-, and the following +particulars regarding the poet's life are extracted from the +biographical notice prefixed to this edition[735]:-- + + "The Shaykh aEuro~Umar Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-FAiria¸ was of middle stature; his face + was fair and comely, with a mingling of visible redness; and when he + was under the influence of music (_samAiaEuro~_) and rapture (_wajd_), and + overcome by ecstasy, it grew in beauty and brilliancy, and sweat + dropped from his body until it ran on the ground under his feet. I + never saw (so his son relates) among Arabs or foreigners a figure + equal in beauty to his, and I am the likest of all men to him in + form.... And when he walked in the city, the people used to press + round him asking his blessing and trying to kiss his hand, but he + would not allow anyone to do so, but put his hand in theirs.... + aEuro~Umar Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-FAiria¸ said: 'In the beginning of my detachment + (_tajrA-d_) from the world I used to beg permission of my father and + go up to the WAidi aEuro(TM)l-Mustaa¸aEuro~afA-n on the second mountain of + al-Muqaa¹-a¹-am. Thither I would resort and continue in this + hermit life (_sA-yAia¸Ya_) night and day; then I would return to my + father, as bound in duty to cherish his affection. My father was at + that time Lieutenant of the High Court (_khalA-fatu aEuro(TM)l-a¸Yukmi + aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~azA-z_) in QAihira and Mia¹Lr,[736] the two guarded cities, and + was one of the men most eminent for learning and affairs. He was + wont to be glad when I returned, and he frequently let me sit with + him in the chambers of the court and in the colleges of law. Then I + would long for "detachment," and beg leave to return to the life of + a wandering devotee, and thus I was doing repeatedly, until my + father was asked to fill the office of Chief Justice (_QAia¸i + aEuro(TM)l-Qua¸Ait_), but refused, and laid down the post which he held, + and retired from society, and gave himself entirely to God in the + preaching-hall (_qAiaEuro~atu aEuro(TM)l-khia¹-Aiba_) of the Mosque al-Azhar. + After his death I resumed my former detachment, and solitary + devotion, and travel in the way of Truth, but no revelation was + vouchsafed to me. One day I came to Cairo and entered the Sayfiyya + College. At the gate I found an old grocer performing an ablution + which was not prescribed. First he washed his hands, then his feet; + then he wiped his head and washed his face. "O Shaykh," I said to + him, "do you, after all these years, stand beside the gate of the + college among the Moslem divines and perform an irregular ablution?" + He looked at me and said, "O aEuro~Umar, nothing will be vouchsafed to + thee in Egypt, but only in the a¸¤ijAiz, at Mecca (may God exalt + it!); set out thither, for the time of thy illumination hath come." + Then I knew that the man was one of God's saints and that he was + disguising himself by his manner of livelihood and by pretending to + be ignorant of the irregularity of the ablution. I seated myself + before him and said to him, "O my master, how far am I from Mecca! + and I cannot find convoy or companions save in the months of + Pilgrimage." He looked at me and pointed with his hand and said, + "Here is Mecca in front of thee"; and as I looked with him, I saw + Mecca (may God exalt it!); and bidding him farewell, I set off to + seek it, and it was always in front of me until I entered it. At + that moment illumination came to me and continued without any + interruption.... I abode in a valley which was distant from Mecca + ten days' journey for a hard rider, and every day and night I would + come forth to pray the five prayers in the exalted Sanctuary, and + with me was a wild beast of huge size which accompanied me in my + going and returning, and knelt to me as a camel kneels, and said, + "Mount, O my master," but I never did so.'" + +When fifteen years had elapsed, aEuro~Umar Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-FAiria¸ returned to +Cairo. The people venerated him as a saint, and the reigning monarch, +Malik al-KAimil, wished to visit him in person, but aEuro~Umar declined to see +him, and rejected his bounty. "At most times," says the poet's son, "the +Shaykh was in a state of bewilderment, and his eyes stared fixedly. He +neither heard nor saw any one speaking to him. Now he would stand, now +sit, now repose on his side, now lie on his back wrapped up like a dead +man; and thus would he pass ten consecutive days, more or less, neither +eating nor drinking nor speaking nor stirring." In 1231 A.D. he made the +pilgrimage to Mecca, on which occasion he met his famous contemporary, +ShihAibuaEuro(TM) l-DA-n AbAº a¸¤afa¹L aEuro~Umar al-SuhrawardA-. He died four years +later, and was buried in the QarAifa cemetery at the foot of Mount +Muqaa¹-a¹-am. + +[Sidenote: The poetry of Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-FAiria¸.] + +His _DA-wAin_ of mystical odes, which were first collected and published +by his grandson, is small in extent compared with similar works in the +Persian language, but of no unusual brevity when regarded as the +production of an Arabian poet.[737] Concerning its general character +something has been said above (p. 325). The commentator, a¸¤asan +al-BAºrA-nA- (aEuro 1615 A.D.), praises the easy flow (_insijA m_) of the +versification, and declares that Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-FAiria¸ "is accustomed to play +with ideas in ever-changing forms, and to clothe them with splendid +garments."[738] His style, full of verbal subtleties, betrays the +influence of MutanabbA-.[739] The longest piece in the _DA-wAin_ is a Hymn +of Divine Love, entitled _Naaº"mu aEuro(TM)l-SulAºk_ ('Poem on the Mystic's +Progress'), and often called _al-TAiaEuro(TM)iyyatu aEuro(TM)l-KubrAi_ ('The Greater Ode +rhyming in _t_'), which has been edited with a German verse-translation +by Hammer-Purgstall (Vienna, 1854). On account of this poem the author +was accused of favouring the doctrine of _a¸YulAºl_, _i.e._, the +incarnation of God in human beings. Another celebrated ode is the +_Khamriyya_, or Hymn of Wine.[740] + +The following versions will perhaps convey to English readers some faint +impression of the fervid rapture and almost ethereal exaltation which +give the poetry of Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-FAiria¸ a unique place in Arabic +literature:-- + + "Let passion's swelling tide my senses drown! + Pity love's fuel, this long-smouldering heart, + Nor answer with a frown, + When I would fain behold Thee as Thou art, + '_Thou shall not see Me._'[741] O my soul, keep fast + The pledge thou gav'st: endure unfaltering to the last! + For Love is life, and death in love the Heaven + Where all sins are forgiven. + To those before and after and of this day, + That witnesseth my tribulation, say, + 'By me be taught, me follow, me obey, + And tell my passion's story thro' wide East and West.' + With my Beloved I alone have been + When secrets tenderer than evening airs + Passed, and the Vision blest + Was granted to my prayers, + That crowned me, else obscure, with endless fame, + The while amazed between + His beauty and His majesty + I stood in silent ecstasy, + Revealing that which o'er my spirit went and came. + Lo! in His face commingled + Is every charm and grace; + The whole of Beauty singled + Into a perfect face + Beholding Him would cry, + 'There is no God but He, and He is the most High!'"[742] + +Here are the opening verses of the _TAiaEuro(TM)iyyatu aEuro(TM)l-a¹cughrAi_, or 'The +Lesser Ode rhyming in _t_,' which is so called in order to distinguish +it from the _TAiaEuro(TM)iyyatu aEuro(TM)l-KubrAi_:-- + + "Yea, in me the Zephyr kindled longing, O my loves, for you; + Sweetly breathed the balmy Zephyr, scattering odours when it blew; + Whispering to my heart at morning secret tales of those who dwell + (How my fainting heart it gladdened!) nigh the water and the well; + Murmuring in the grassy meadows, garmented with gentleness, + Languid love-sick airs diffusing, healing me of my distress. + When the green slopes wave before thee, Zephyr, in my loved a¸¤ijAiz, + Thou, not wine that mads the others, art my rapture's only cause. + Thou the covenant eternal[743] callest back into my mind, + For but newly thou hast parted from my dear ones, happy Wind! + Driver of the dun-red camels that amidst acacias bide, + Soft and sofa-like thy saddle from the long and weary ride! + Blessings on thee, if descrying far-off TAºa¸ih at noonday, + Thou wilt cross the desert hollows where the fawns of Wajra play, + And if from aEuro~Uraya¸'s sand-hillocks bordering on stony ground + Thou wilt turn aside to a¸¤uzwAi, driver for Suwayqa bound, + And a¹¬uwayliaEuro~'s willows leaving, if to SalaEuro~ thou thence wilt ride-- + Ask, I pray thee, of a people dwelling on the mountain-side! + Halt among the clan I cherish (so may health attend thee still!) + And deliver there my greeting to the Arabs of the hill. + For the tents are basking yonder, and in one of them is She + That bestows the meeting sparely, but the parting lavishly. + All around her as a rampart edge of sword and point of lance, + Yet my glances stray towards her when on me she deigns to glance. + Girt about with double raiment--soul and heart of mine, no less-- + She is guarded from beholders, veiled by her unveiledness. + Death to me, in giving loose to my desire, she destineth; + Ah, how goodly seems the bargain, and how cheap is Love + for Death![744] + +Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-FAiria¸ came of pure Arab stock, and his poetry is thoroughly +Arabian both in form and spirit. This is not the place to speak of the +great Persian a¹cAºfA-s, but a¸¤usayn b. Mana¹LAºr al-a¸¤allAij, who was +executed in the Caliphate of Muqtadir (922 A.D.), could not have been +omitted here but for the fact that Professor Browne has already given an +admirable account of him, to which I am unable to add anything of +importance.[745] The Arabs, however, have contributed to the history of +a¹cAºfiism another memorable name--Mua¸YyiaEuro(TM)l-DA-n Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~ArabA-, whose +life falls within the final century of the aEuro~AbbAisid period, and will +therefore fitly conclude the present chapter.[746] + +[Sidenote: Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~ArabA-.] + +Mua¸Yyi aEuro(TM)l-DA-n Mua¸Yammad b. aEuro~AlA- Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~ArabA- (or Ibn aEuro~ArabA-)[747] +was born at Mursiya (Murcia) in Spain on the 17th of Ramaa¸Ain, 560 +A.H. = July 29, 1165 A.D. From 1173 to 1202 he resided in Seville. He +then set out for the East, travelling by way of Egypt to the a¸¤ijAiz, +where he stayed a long time, and after visiting BaghdAid, Mosul, and Asia +Minor, finally settled at Damascus, in which city he died (638 A.H. = +1240 A.D.). His tomb below Mount QAisiyAºn was thought to be "a piece of +the gardens of Paradise," and was called the Philosophers' Stone.[748] +It is now enclosed in a mosque which bears the name of Mua¸Yyi aEuro(TM)l-DA-n, +and a cupola rises over it.[749] We know little concerning the events of +his life, which seems to have been passed chiefly in travel and +conversation with a¹cAºfA-s and in the composition of his voluminous +writings, about three hundred in number according to his own +computation. Two of these works are especially celebrated, and have +caused Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~ArabA- to be regarded as the greatest of all +Mua¸Yammadan mystics--the _FutAºa¸YAit al-Makkiyya_, or 'Meccan +Revelations,' and the _Fua¹LAºa¹LAº aEuro(TM)l-a¸¤ikam_, or 'Bezels of +Philosophy.' The _FutAºa¸YAit_ is a huge treatise in five hundred and +sixty chapters, containing a complete system of mystical science. The +author relates that he saw Mua¸Yammad in the World of Real Ideas, +seated on a throne amidst angels, prophets, and saints, and received his +command to discourse on the Divine mysteries. At another time, while +circumambulating the KaaEuro~ba, he met a celestial spirit wearing the form +of a youth engaged in the same holy rite, who showed him the living +esoteric Temple which is concealed under the lifeless exterior, even as +the eternal substance of the Divine Ideas is hidden by the veils of +popular religion--veils through which the lofty mind must penetrate, +until, having reached the splendour within, it partakes of the Divine +nature and beholds what no mortal eye can endure to look upon. Ibnu +aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~ArabA- immediately fell into a swoon. When he came to himself he was +instructed to contemplate the visionary form and to write down the +mysteries which it would reveal to his gaze. Then the youth entered the +KaaEuro~ba with Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~ArabA-, and resuming his spiritual aspect, appeared +to him on a three-legged steed, breathed into his breast the knowledge +of all things, and once more bade him describe the heavenly form in +which all mysteries are enshrined.[750] Such is the reputed origin of +the 'Meccan Revelations,' of which the greater portion was written in +the town where inspiration descended on Mua¸Yammad six hundred years +before. The author believed, or pretended to believe, that every word of +them was dictated to him by supernatural means. The _FAºa¹LAºa¹L_, a +short work in twenty-seven chapters, each of which is named after one of +the prophets, is no less highly esteemed, and has been the subject of +numerous commentaries in Arabic, Persian, and Turkish. + +[Sidenote: The doctrine of the Perfect Man.] + +Curiously enough, Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~ArabA- combined the most extravagant mysticism +with the straitest orthodoxy. "He was a aº'Aihirite (literalist) in +religion and a BAia¹-inite (spiritualist) in his speculative +beliefs."[751] He rejected all authority (_taqlA-d_). "I am not one of +those who say, 'Ibn a¸¤azm said so-and-so, Aa¸Ymad[752] said +so-and-so, al-NuaEuro~mAin[753] said so-and-so,'" he declares in one of his +poems. But although he insisted on punctilious adherence to the letter +of the sacred law, we may suspect that his refusal to follow any human +authority, analogy, or opinion was simply the overweening presumption of +the seer who regards himself as divinely illuminated and infallible. +Many theologians were scandalised by the apparently blasphemous +expressions which occur in his writings, and taxed him with holding +heretical doctrines, _e.g._, the incarnation of God in man (_a¸YulAºl_) +and the identification of man with God (_ittia¸YAid_). Centuries passed, +but controversy continued to rage over him. He found numerous and +enthusiastic partisans, who urged that the utterances of the saints must +not be interpreted literally nor criticised at all. It was recognised, +however, that such high mysteries were unsuitable for the weaker +brethren, so that many even of those who firmly believed in his sanctity +discouraged the reading of his books. They were read nevertheless, +publicly and privately, from one end of the Mua¸Yammadan world to the +other; people copied them for the sake of obtaining the author's +blessing, and the manuscripts were eagerly bought. Among the +distinguished men who wrote in his defence we can mention here only +Majdu aEuro(TM)l-DA-n al-FA-rAºzAibAidA- (aEuro 1414 A.D.), the author of the great Arabic +lexicon entitled _al-QAimAºs_; JalAilu aEuro(TM)l-DA-n al-SuyAºa¹-A- (aEuro 1445 A.D.); +and aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-WahhAib al-ShaaEuro~rAinA- (aEuro 1565 A.D.). The fundamental principle +of his system is the Unity of Being (_waa¸Ydatu aEuro(TM)l-wujAºd_). There is no +real difference between the Essence and its attributes or, in other +words, between God and the universe. All created things subsist +eternally as ideas (_aaEuro~yAin thAibita_) in the knowledge of God, and since +being is identical with knowledge, their "creation" only means His +knowing them, or Himself, under the aspect of actuality; the universe, +in fact, is the concrete sum of the relations of the Essence as subject +to itself as object. This pantheistic monism puts on an Islamic mask in +the doctrine of "the Perfect Man" (_al-InsAin al-KAimil_), a phrase which +Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~ArabA- was the first to associate with it. The Divine +consciousness, evolving through a series of five planes +(_a¸Yaa¸arAit_), attains to complete expression in Man, the +microcosmic being who unites the creative and creaturely attributes of +the Essence and is at once the image of God and the archetype of the +universe. Only through him does God know Himself and make Himself known; +he is the eye of the world whereby God sees His own works. The daring +paradoxes of Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~ArabA-'s dialectic are illustrated by such verses +as these:-- + + He praises me (by manifesting my perfections and creating me in + His form), + And I praise Him (by manifesting His perfections and obeying Him). + How can He be independent when I help and aid Him? (because the Divine + attributes derive the possibility of manifestation from their human + correlates). + For that cause God brought me into existence, + And I know Him and bring Him into existence (in my knowledge + and contemplation of Him).[754] + +Thus it is the primary function of Man to reveal and realise his Divine +nature; and the Perfect Men, regarded individually, are the prophets and +saints. Here the doctrine--an amalgam of ManichA|an, Gnostic, +Neo-platonic and Christian speculations--attaches itself to Mua¸Yammad, +"the Seal of the prophets." According to Moslem belief, the pre-existent +Spirit or Light of Mua¸Yammad (_NAºr Mua¸YammadA-_) became incarnate in +Adam and in the whole series of prophets, of whom Mua¸Yammad is the +last. Mua¸Yammad, then, is the Logos,[755] the Mediator, the Vicegerent +of God (_KhalA-fat Allah_), the God-Man who has descended to this earthly +sphere to make manifest the glory of Him who brought the universe into +existence. + +But, of course, Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~ArabA-'s philosophy carries him far beyond the +realm of positive religion. If God is the "self" of all things sensible +and intelligible, it follows that He reveals Himself in every form of +belief in a degree proportionate to the pre-determined capacity of the +believer; the mystic alone sees that He is One in all forms, for the +mystic's heart is all-receptive: it assumes whatever form God reveals +Himself in, as wax takes the impression of the seal. + + "My heart is capable of every form, + A cloister for the monk, a fane for idols, + A pasture for gazelles, the pilgrim's KaaEuro~ba, + The Tables of the Torah, the Koran. + Love is the faith I hold: wherever turn + His camels, still the one true faith is mine."[756] + +The vast bulk of Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~ArabA-'s writings, his technical and scholastic +terminology, his recondite modes of thought, and the lack of method in +his exposition have, until recently, deterred European Orientalists from +bestowing on him the attention which he deserves.[757] In the history of +a¹cAºfiism his name marks an epoch: it is owing to him that what began +as a profoundly religious personal movement in Islam ends as an eclectic +and definitely pantheistic system of philosophy. The title of "The Grand +Master" (_al-Shaykh al-Akbar_), by which he is commonly designated, +bears witness to his supremacy in the world of Moslem mysticism from the +Mongol Invasion to the present day. In Persia and Turkey his influence +has been enormous, and through his pupil, a¹cadru aEuro(TM)l-DA-n of QA cubedniya, he +is linked with the greatest of all a¹cAºfA- poets, JalAilu aEuro(TM)l-DA-n RAºmA-, +the author of the _MathnawA-_, who died some thirty years after him. Nor +did all those who borrowed his ideas call themselves Moslems. He +inspired, amongst other mediA|val Christian writers, "the Illuminated +Doctor" Raymond Lull, and probably Dante.[758] + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +THE ARABS IN EUROPE + + +It will be remembered that before the end of the first century of the +Hijra, in the reign of the Umayyad Caliph, WalA-d b. aEuro~Abd al-Malik +(705-715 A.D.), the Moslems under a¹¬Airiq and MAºsAi b. Nua¹Layr, +crossed the Mediterranean, and having defeated Roderic the Goth in a +great battle near Cadiz, rapidly brought the whole of Spain into +subjection. The fate of the new province was long doubtful. The Berber +insurrection which raged in Africa (734-742 A.D.) spread to Spain and +threatened to exterminate the handful of Arab colonists; and no sooner +was this danger past than the victors began to rekindle the old feuds +and jealousies which they had inherited from their ancestors of Qays and +Kalb. Once more the rival factions of Syria and Yemen flew to arms, and +the land was plunged in anarchy. + +[Sidenote: aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-Raa¸YmAin, the Umayyad.] + +Meanwhile aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-Raa¸YmAin b. MuaEuro~Aiwiya, a grandson of the Caliph +HishAim, had escaped from the general massacre with which the aEuro~AbbAisids +celebrated their triumph over the House of Umayya, and after five years +of wandering adventure, accompanied only by his faithful freedman, Badr, +had reached the neighbourhood of Ceuta, where he found a precarious +shelter with the Berber tribes. Young, ambitious, and full of confidence +in his destiny, aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-Raa¸YmAin conceived the bold plan of throwing +himself into Spain and of winning a kingdom with the help of the Arabs, +amongst whom, as he well knew, there were many clients of his own +family. Accordingly in 755 A.D. he sent Badr across the sea on a secret +mission. The envoy accomplished even more than was expected of him. To +gain over the clients was easy, for aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-Raa¸YmAin was their natural +chief, and in the event of his success they would share with him the +prize. Their number, however, was comparatively small. The pretender +could not hope to achieve anything unless he were supported by one of +the great parties, Syrians or Yemenites. At this time the former, led by +the feeble governor, YAºsuf b. aEuro~Abd al-Raa¸YmAin al-FihrA-, and his cruel +but capable lieutenant, a¹cumayl b. a¸¤Aitim, held the reins of power +and were pursuing their adversaries with ruthless ferocity. The +Yemenites, therefore, hastened to range themselves on the side of aEuro~Abdu +aEuro(TM)l-Raa¸YmAin, not that they loved his cause, but inspired solely by the +prospect of taking a bloody vengeance upon the Syrians. These Spanish +Moslems belonged to the true Bedouin stock! + +A few months later aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-Raa¸YmAin landed in Spain, occupied Seville, +and, routing YAºsuf and a¹cumayl under the walls of Cordova, made +himself master of the capital. On the same evening he presided, as +Governor of Spain, over the citizens assembled for public worship in the +great Mosque (May, 756 A.D.). + +During his long reign of thirty-two years aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-Raa¸YmAin was busily +employed in defending and consolidating the empire which more than once +seemed to be on the point of slipping from his grasp. The task before +him was arduous in the extreme. On the one hand, he was confronted by +the unruly Arab aristocracy, jealous of their independence and regarding +the monarch as their common foe. Between him and them no permanent +compromise was possible, and since they could only be kept in check by +an armed force stronger than themselves, he was compelled to rely on +mercenaries, for the most part Berbers imported from Africa. Thus, by a +fatal necessity the Moslem Empire in the West gradually assumed that +despotic and PrA|torian character which we have learned to associate with +the aEuro~AbbAisid Government in the period of its decline, and the results +were in the end hardly less disastrous. The monarchy had also to reckon +with the fanaticism of its Christian subjects and with a formidable +Spanish national party eager to throw off the foreign yoke. +Extraordinary energy and tact were needed to maintain authority over +these explosive elements, and if the dynasty founded by aEuro~Abdu +aEuro(TM)l-Raa¸YmAin not only survived for two centuries and a half but gave to +Spain a more splendid era of prosperity and culture than she had ever +enjoyed, the credit is mainly due to the bold adventurer from whom even +his enemies could not withhold a tribute of admiration. One day, it is +said, the Caliph Mana¹LAºr asked his courtiers, "Who is the Falcon of +Quraysh?" They replied, "O Prince of the Faithful, that title belongs to +you who have vanquished mighty kings and have put an end to civil war." +"No," said the Caliph, "it is not I." "MuaEuro~Aiwiya, then, or aEuro~Abdu +aEuro(TM)l-Malik?" "No," said Mana¹LAºr, "the Falcon of Quraysh is aEuro~Abdu +aEuro(TM)l-Raa¸YmAin b. MuaEuro~Aiwiya, he who traversed alone the deserts of Asia and +Africa, and without an army to aid him sought his fortune in an unknown +country beyond the sea. With no weapons except judgment and resolution +he subdued his enemies, crushed the rebels, secured his frontiers, and +founded a great empire. Such a feat was never achieved by any one +before."[759] + + +[Sidenote: Islam in Spain.] + +[Sidenote: Yaa¸YyAi b. Yaa¸YyAi.] + +[Sidenote: The Revolt of the Suburb.] + +Of the Moslems in Spain the Arabs formed only a small minority, and +they, moreover, showed all the indifference towards religion and +contempt for the laws of Islam which might be expected from men imbued +with Bedouin traditions whose forbears had been devotedly attached to +the world-loving Umayyads of Damascus. It was otherwise with the Spanish +converts, the so-called 'Renegades' or _MuwalladAºn_ (Affiliati) living +as clients under protection of the Arab nobility, and with the Berbers. +These races took their adopted religion very seriously, in accordance +with the fervid and sombre temperament which has always distinguished +them. Hence among the mass of Spanish Moslems a rigorous orthodoxy +prevailed. The Berber, Yaa¸YyAi b. Yaa¸YyAi (aEuro 849 A.D.), is a typical +figure. At the age of twenty-eight years he travelled to the East and +studied under MAilik. b Anas, who dictated to him his celebrated work +known as the _Muwaa¹-a¹-aaEuro(TM)_. Yaa¸YyAi was one day at MAilik's lecture +with a number of fellow-students, when some one said, "Here comes the +elephant!" All of them ran out to see the animal, but Yaa¸YyAi did not +stir. "Why," said MAilik, "do you not go out and look at it? Such animals +are not to be seen in Spain." To this Yaa¸YyAi replied, "I left my +country for the purpose of seeing you and obtaining knowledge under your +guidance. I did not come here to see the elephant." MAilik was so pleased +with this answer that he called him the most intelligent (_aEuro~Aiqil_) of +the people of Spain. On his return to Spain Yaa¸YyAi exerted himself to +spread the doctrines of his master, and though he obstinately refused, +on religious grounds, to accept any public office, his influence and +reputation were such that, as Ibn a¸¤azm says, no Cadi was ever +appointed till Yaa¸YyAi had given his opinion and designated the person +whom he preferred.[760] Thus the MAilikite system, based on close +adherence to tradition, became the law of the land. "The Spaniards," it +is observed by a learned writer of the tenth century, "recognise only +the Koran and the _Muwaa¹-a¹-aaEuro(TM)_; if they find a follower of AbAº +a¸¤anA-fa or ShAifiaEuro~A-, they banish him from Spain, and if they meet with +a MuaEuro~tazilite or a ShA-aEuro~ite or any one of that sort, they often put him +to death."[761] Arrogant, intensely bigoted, and ambitious of power, the +Mua¸Yammadan clergy were not disposed to play a subordinate rA'le in the +State. In HishAim (788-796 A.D.), the successor of aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-Raa¸YmAin, +they had a prince after their own heart, whose piety and devotion to +their interests left nothing to be desired. a¸¤akam (796-822 A.D.) was +less complaisant. He honoured and respected the clergy, but at the same +time he let them see that he would not permit them to interfere in +political affairs. The malcontents, headed by the fiery Yaa¸YyAi b. +Yaa¸YyAi, replied with menaces and insults, and called on the populace +of Cordova--especially the 'Renegades' in the southern quarter +(_rabaa¸_) of the city--to rise against the tyrant and his insolent +soldiery. One day in Ramaa¸Ain, 198 A.H. (May, 814 A.D.), a¸¤akam +suddenly found himself cut off from the garrison and besieged in his +palace by an infuriated mob, but he did not lose courage, and, thanks to +his coolness and skilful strategy, he came safely out of the peril in +which he stood. The revolutionary suburb was burned to the ground and +those of its inhabitants who escaped massacre, some 60,000 souls, were +driven into exile. The real culprits went unpunished. a¸¤akam could not +afford further to exasperate the divines, who on their part began to +perceive that they might obtain from the prince by favour what they had +failed to wring from him by force. Being mostly Arabs or Berbers, they +had a strong claim to his consideration. Their power was soon restored, +and in the reign of aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-Raa¸YmAin II (822-852 A.D.) Yaa¸YyAi +himself, the ringleader of the mutiny, directed ecclesiastical policy +and dispensed judicial patronage as he pleased. + +[Sidenote: aEuro~Umar b. a¸¤afa¹LAºn.] + +The Revolt of the Suburb was only an episode in the long and sanguinary +struggle between the Spaniards, Moslem or Christian, on the one hand, +and the monarchy of Cordova on the other--a struggle complicated by the +rival Arab tribes, which sometimes patched up their own feuds in order +to defend themselves against the Spanish patriots, but never in any +circumstances gave their support to the detested Umayyad Government. The +hero of this war of independence was aEuro~Umar b. a¸¤afa¹LAºn. He belonged +to a noble family of West-Gothic origin which had gone over to Islam and +settled in the mountainous district north-east of Malaga. Hot-blooded, +quarrelsome, and ready to stab on the slightest provocation, the young +man soon fell into trouble. At first he took shelter in the wild +fastnesses of Ronda, where he lived as a brigand until he was captured +by the police. He then crossed the sea to Africa, but in a short time +returned to his old haunts and put himself at the head of a band of +robbers. Here he held out for two years, when, having been obliged to +surrender, he accepted the proposal of the Sultan of Cordova that he and +his companions should enlist in the Imperial army. But aEuro~Umar was +destined for greater glory than the Sultan could confer upon him. A few +contemptuous words from a superior officer touched his pride to the +quick, so one fine day he galloped off with all his men in the direction +of Ronda. They found an almost impregnable retreat in the castle of +Bobastro, which had once been a Roman fortress. From this moment, says +Dozy, aEuro~Umar b. a¸¤afa¹LAºn was no longer a brigand-chief, but leader of +the whole Spanish race in the south. The lawless and petulant free-lance +was transformed into a high-minded patriot, celebrated for the stern +justice with which he punished the least act of violence, adored by his +soldiers, and regarded by his countrymen as the champion of the national +cause. During the rest of his life (884-917 A.D.) he conducted the +guerilla with untiring energy and made himself a terror to the Arabs, +but fortune deserted him at the last, and he died--_felix opportunitate +mortis_--only a few years before complete ruin overtook his party. The +Moslem Spaniards, whose enthusiasm had been sensibly weakened by their +leader's conversion to Christianity, were the more anxious to make their +peace with the Government, since they saw plainly the hopelessness of +continuing the struggle. + +In 912 A.D. aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-Raa¸YmAin III, the Defender of the Faith +(_al-NAia¹Lir li-dA-nA- aEuro(TM)llAih_), succeeded his grandfather, the AmA-r +aEuro~AbdullAih, on the throne of Cordova. The character, genius, and +enterprise of this great monarch are strikingly depicted in the +following passage from the pen of an eloquent historian whose work, +although it was published some fifty years ago, will always be +authoritative[762]:-- + + [Sidenote: aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-Raa¸YmAin III (912-961 A.D).] + + "Amongst the Umayyad sovereigns who have ruled Spain the first place + belongs incontestably to aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-Raa¸YmAin III. What he + accomplished was almost miraculous. He had found the empire + abandoned to anarchy and civil war, rent by factions, parcelled + amongst a multitude of heterogeneous princes, exposed to incessant + attacks from the Christians of the north, and on the eve of being + swallowed up either by the LA(C)onnese or the Africans. In spite of + innumerable obstacles he had saved Spain both from herself and from + the foreign domination. He had endowed her with new life and made + her greater and stronger than she had ever been. He had given her + order and prosperity at home, consideration and respect abroad. The + public treasury, which he had found in a deplorable condition, was + now overflowing. Of the Imperial revenues, which amounted annually + to 6,245,000 pieces of gold, a third sufficed for ordinary expenses; + a third was held in reserve, and aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-Raa¸YmAin devoted the + remainder to his buildings. It was calculated that in the year 951 + he had in his coffers the enormous sum of 20,000,000 pieces of gold, + so that a traveller not without judgment in matters of finance + assures us that aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-Raa¸YmAin and the a¸¤amdAinid (NAia¹Liru + aEuro(TM)l-Dawla), who was then reigning over Mesopotamia, were the + wealthiest princes of that epoch. The state of the country was in + keeping with the prosperous condition of the treasury. Agriculture, + industry, commerce, the arts and the sciences, all flourished.... + Cordova, with its half-million inhabitants, its three thousand + mosques, its superb palaces, its hundred and thirteen thousand + houses, its three hundred bagnios, and its twenty-eight suburbs, was + inferior in extent and splendour only to BaghdAid, with which city + the Cordovans loved to compare it.... The power of aEuro~Abdu + aEuro(TM)l-Raa¸YmAin was formidable. A magnificent fleet enabled him to + dispute with the FAia¹-imids the empire of the Mediterranean, and + secured him in the possession of Ceuta, the key of Mauritania. A + numerous and well-disciplined army, perhaps the finest in the world, + gave him superiority over the Christians of the north. The proudest + sovereigns solicited his alliance. The emperor of Constantinople, + the kings of Germany, Italy, and France sent ambassadors to him. + + "Assuredly, these were brilliant results; but what excites our + astonishment and admiration when we study this glorious reign is not + so much the work as the workman: it is the might of that + comprehensive intelligence which nothing escaped, and which showed + itself no less admirable in the minutest details than in the + loftiest conceptions. This subtle and sagacious man, who + centralises, who founds the unity of the nation and of the monarchy, + who by means of his alliances establishes a sort of political + equilibrium, who in his large tolerance calls the professors of + another religion into his councils, is a modern king rather than a + mediA|val Caliph."[763] + +[Sidenote: Regency of Mana¹LAºr Ibn AbA- aEuro~Amir (976-1002 A.D.).] + +In short, aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-Raa¸YmAin III made the Spanish Moslems one people, +and formed out of Arabs and Spaniards a united Andalusian nation, which, +as we shall presently see, advanced with incredible swiftness to a +height of culture that was the envy of Europe and was not exceeded by +any contemporary State in the Mua¸Yammadan East. With his death, +however, the decline of the Umayyad dynasty began. His son, a¸¤akam II +(aEuro 976 A.D.), left as heir-apparent a boy eleven years old, HishAim II, +who received the title of Caliph while the government was carried on by +his mother Aurora and the ambitious minister Mua¸Yammad b. AbA- aEuro~Amir. +The latter was virtually monarch of Spain, and whatever may be thought +of the means by which he rose to eminence, or of his treatment of the +unfortunate Caliph whose mental faculties he deliberately stunted and +whom he condemned to a life of monkish seclusion, it is impossible to +deny that he ruled well and nobly. He was a great statesman and a great +soldier. No one could accuse him of making an idle boast when he named +himself 'Al-Mana¹LAºr' ('The Victorious'). Twice every year he was +accustomed to lead his army against the Christians, and such was the +panic which he inspired that in the course of more than fifty campaigns +he scarcely ever lost a battle. He died in 1002 A.D. A Christian monk, +recording the event in his chronicle, adds, "he was buried in Hell," but +Moslem hands engraved the following lines upon the tomb of their +champion:-- + + "His story in his relics you may trace, + As tho' he stood before you face to face. + Never will Time bring forth his peer again, + Nor one to guard, like him, the gaps of Spain."[764] + +His demise left the PrA|torians masters of the situation. Berbers and +Slaves[765] divided the kingdom between them, and amidst revolution and +civil war the Umayyad dynasty passed away (1031 A.D.). + + +[Sidenote: The Party Kings (_MulAºku aEuro(TM)l-a¹¬awAiaEuro(TM)if_).] + +It has been said with truth that the history of Spain in the eleventh +century bears a close resemblance to that of Italy in the fifteenth. The +splendid empire of aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-Raa¸YmAin III was broken up, and from its +ruins there emerged a fortuitous conglomeration of petty states governed +by successful condottieri. Of these Party Kings (_MulAºku +aEuro(TM)l-a¹¬awAiaEuro(TM)if_), as they are called by Mua¸Yammadan writers, the most +powerful were the aEuro~AbbAidids of Seville. Although it was an age of +political decay, the material prosperity of Spain had as yet suffered +little diminution, whilst in point of culture the society of this time +reached a level hitherto unequalled. Here, then, we may pause for a +moment to review the progress of literature and science during the most +fruitful period of the Moslem occupation of European soil. + + +[Sidenote: Influence of Arabic culture on the Spaniards.] + +Whilst in Asia, as we have seen, the Arab conquerors yielded to the +spell of an ancient culture infinitely superior to their own, they no +sooner crossed the Straits of Gibraltar than the rA'les were reversed. As +the invaders extended their conquests to every part of the peninsula, +thousands of Christians fell into their hands, who generally continued +to live under Moslem protection. They were well treated by the +Government, enjoyed religious liberty, and often rose to high offices in +the army or at court. Many of them became rapidly imbued with Moslem +civilisation, so that as early as the middle of the ninth century we +find Alvaro, Bishop of Cordova, complaining that his co-religionists +read the poems and romances of the Arabs, and studied the writings of +Mua¸Yammadan theologians and philosophers, not in order to refute them +but to learn how to express themselves in Arabic with correctness and +elegance. "Where," he asks, "can any one meet nowadays with a layman who +reads the Latin commentaries on the Holy Scriptures? Who studies the +Gospels, the Prophets, the Apostles? Alas, all young Christians of +conspicuous talents are acquainted only with the language and writings +of the Arabs; they read and study Arabic books with the utmost zeal, +spend immense sums of money in collecting them for their libraries, and +proclaim everywhere that this literature is admirable. On the other +hand, if you talk with them of Christian books, they reply +contemptuously that these books are not worth their notice. Alas, the +Christians have forgotten their own language, and amongst thousands of +us scarce one is to be found who can write a tolerable Latin letter to a +friend; whereas very many are capable of expressing themselves +exquisitely in Arabic and of composing poems in that tongue with even +greater skill than the Arabs themselves."[766] + +However the good bishop may have exaggerated, it is evident that +Mua¸Yammadan culture had a strong attraction for the Spanish +Christians, and equally, let us add, for the Jews, who made numerous +contributions to poetry, philosophy, and science in their native speech +as well as in the kindred Arabic idiom. The 'Renegades,' or Spanish +converts to Islam, became completely Arabicised in the course of a few +generations; and from this class sprang some of the chief ornaments of +Spanish-Arabian literature. + + +[Sidenote: The poetry of the Spanish Arabs.] + +Considered as a whole, the poetry of the Moslems in Europe shows the +same characteristics which have already been noted in the work of their +Eastern contemporaries. The paralysing conventions from which the +laureates of BaghdAid and Aleppo could not emancipate themselves remained +in full force at Cordova and Seville. Yet, just as Arabic poetry in the +East was modified by the influences of Persian culture, in Spain also +the gradual amalgamation of Aryans with Semites introduced new elements +which have left their mark on the literature of both races. Perhaps the +most interesting features of Spanish-Arabian poetry are the tenderly +romantic feeling which not infrequently appears in the love-songs, a +feeling that sometimes anticipates the attitude of mediA|val chivalry; +and in the second place an almost modern sensibility to the beauties of +nature. On account of these characteristics the poems in question appeal +to many European readers who do not easily enter into the spirit of the +_MuaEuro~allaqAit_ or the odes of MutanabbA-, and if space allowed it would be +a pleasant task to translate some of the charming lyric and descriptive +pieces which have been collected by anthologists. The omission, however, +is less grave inasmuch as Von Schack has given us a series of excellent +versions in his _Poesie und Kunst der Araber in Spanien und Sicilien_ +(2nd ed., Stuttgart, 1877). + +[Sidenote: Folk-songs.] + +"One of its marvels," says QazwA-nA-, referring to the town of Shilb +(Silves) in Portugal, "is the fact, which innumerable persons have +mentioned, that the people living there, with few exceptions, are makers +of verse and devoted to belles-lettres; and if you passed by a labourer +standing behind his plough and asked him to recite some verses, he would +at once improvise on any subject that you might demand."[767] Of such +folk-songs the _zajal_ and _muwashshaa¸Y_ were favourite types.[768] +Both forms were invented in Spain, and their structure is very similar, +consisting of several stanzas in which the rhymes are so arranged that +the master-rhyme ending each stanza and running through the whole poem +like a refrain is continually interrupted by a various succession of +subordinate rhymes, as is shown in the following scheme:-- + + _aa_ + _bbba_ + _ccca_ + _ddda._ + +Many of these songs and ballads were composed in the vulgar dialect and +without regard to the rules of classical prosody. The troubadour Ibn +QuzmAin (aEuro 1160 A.D.) first raised the _zajal_ to literary rank. Here is +an example of the _muwashshaa¸Y_:-- + + "Come, hand the precious cup to me, + And brim it high with a golden sea! + Let the old wine circle from guest to guest, + While the bubbles gleam like pearls on its breast, + So that night is of darkness dispossessed. + How it foams and twinkles in fiery glee! + 'Tis drawn from the Pleiads' cluster, perdie. + + Pass it, to music's melting sound, + Here on this flowery carpet round, + Where gentle dews refresh the ground + And bathe my limbs deliciously + In their cool and balmy fragrancy. + + Alone with me in the garden green + A singing-girl enchants the scene: + Her smile diffuses a radiant sheen. + I cast off shame, for no spy can see, + And 'Hola,' I cry, 'let us merry be!'"[769] + +[Sidenote: Verses by aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-Raa¸YmAin I.] + +True to the traditions of their family, the Spanish Umayyads loved +poetry, music, and polite literature a great deal better than the Koran. +Even the Falcon of Quraysh, aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-Raa¸YmAin I, if the famous verses +on the Palm-tree are really by him, concealed something of the softer +graces under his grim exterior. It is said that in his gardens at +Cordova there was a solitary date-palm, which had been transplanted from +Syria, and that one day aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-Raa¸YmAin, as he gazed upon it, +remembered his native land and felt the bitterness of exile and +exclaimed:-- + + "O Palm, thou art a stranger in the West, + Far from thy Orient home, like me unblest. + Weep! But thou canst not. Dumb, dejected tree, + Thou art not made to sympathise with me. + Ah, thou wouldst weep, if thou hadst tears to pour, + For thy companions on Euphrates' shore; + But yonder tall groves thou rememberest not, + As I, in hating foes, have my old friends forgot."[770] + +[Sidenote: ZiryAib the musician.] + +At the court of aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-Raa¸YmAin II (822-852 A.D.) a Persian musician +was prime favourite. This was ZiryAib, a client of the Caliph MahdA- and a +pupil of the celebrated singer, Isa¸YAiq al-Mawa¹LilA-.[771] Isa¸YAiq, +seeing in the young man a dangerous rival to himself, persuaded him to +quit BaghdAid and seek his fortune in Spain. aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-Raa¸YmAin received +him with open arms, gave him a magnificent house and princely salary, +and bestowed upon him every mark of honour imaginable. The versatile and +accomplished artist wielded a vast influence. He set the fashion in all +things appertaining to taste and manners; he fixed the toilette, +sanctioned the cuisine, and prescribed what dress should be worn in the +different seasons of the year. The kings of Spain took him as a model, +and his authority was constantly invoked and universally recognised in +that country down to the last days of Moslem rule.[772] ZiryAib was only +one of many talented and learned men who came to Spain from the East, +while the list of Spanish savants who journeyed "in quest of knowledge" +(_fA- a¹-alabi aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~ilm_) to Africa and Egypt, to the Holy Cities of +Arabia, to the great capitals of Syria and aEuro~IrAiq, to KhurAisAin, +Transoxania, and in some cases even to China, includes, as may be seen +from the perusal of MaqqarA-'s fifth chapter, nearly all the eminent +scholars and men of letters whom Moslem Spain has produced. Thus a +lively exchange of ideas was continually in movement, and so little +provincialism existed that famous Andalusian poets, like Ibn HAinA- and +Ibn ZaydAºn, are described by admiring Eastern critics as the Bua¸YturA-s +and MutanabbA-s of the West. + +[Sidenote: The Library of a¸¤akam II.] + +The tenth century of the Christian era is a fortunate and illustrious +period in Spanish history. Under aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-Raa¸YmAin III and his +successor, a¸¤akam II, the nation, hitherto torn asunder by civil war, +bent its united energies to the advancement of material and intellectual +culture. a¸¤akam was an enthusiastic bibliophile. He sent his agents in +every direction to purchase manuscripts, and collected 400,000 volumes +in his palace, which was thronged with librarians, copyists, and +bookbinders. All these books, we are told, he had himself read, and he +annotated most of them with his own hand. His munificence to scholars +knew no bounds. He made a present of 1,000 dA-nAirs to Abu aEuro(TM)l-Faraj of +Ia¹LfahAin, in order to secure the first copy that was published of the +great 'Book of Songs' (_KitAibu aEuro(TM)l-AghAinA-_), on which the author was then +engaged. Besides honouring and encouraging the learned, a¸¤akam took +measures to spread the benefits of education amongst the poorest of his +subjects. With this view he founded twenty-seven free schools in the +capital and paid the teachers out of his private purse. Whilst in +Christian Europe the rudiments of learning were confined to the clergy, +in Spain almost every one could read and write. + + [Sidenote: The University of Cordova.] + + "The University of Cordova was at that time one of the most + celebrated in the world. In the principal Mosque, where the lectures + were held, AbAº Bakr b. MuaEuro~Aiwiya, the Qurayshite, discussed the + Traditions relating to Mua¸Yammad. AbAº aEuro~AlA- al-QAilA- of BaghdAid + dictated a large and excellent miscellany which contained an immense + quantity of curious information concerning the ancient Arabs, their + proverbs, their language, and their poetry. This collection he + afterwards published under the title of _AmAilA-_, or 'Dictations.' + Grammar was taught by Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-QAºa¹-iyya, who, in the opinion of AbAº + aEuro~Ali al-QAilA-, was the leading grammarian of Spain. Other sciences + had representatives no less renowned. Accordingly the students + attending the classes were reckoned by thousands. The majority were + students of what was called _fiqh_, that is to say, theology and + law, for that science then opened the way to the most lucrative + posts."[773] + +Among the notable savants of this epoch we may mention Ibn aEuro~Abdi Rabbihi +(aEuro 940 A.D.), laureate of aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-Raa¸YmAin III and author of a +well-known anthology entitled _al-aEuro~Iqd al-FarA-d_; the poet Ibn HAinA- of +Seville (aEuro 973 A.D.), an IsmAiaEuro~A-lA- convert who addressed blasphemous +panegyrics to the FAia¹-imid Caliph MuaEuro~izz;[774] the historians of +Spain, AbAº Bakr al-RAizA- (aEuro 937 A.D.), whose family belonged to Rayy in +Persia, and Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-QAºa¹-iyya (aEuro 977 A.D.), who, as his name indicates, +was the descendant of a Gothic princess; the astronomer and +mathematician Maslama b. Aa¸Ymad of Madrid (aEuro 1007 A.D.); and the great +surgeon Abu aEuro(TM)l-QAisim al-ZahrAiwA- of Cordova, who died about the same +time, and who became known to Europe by the name of Albucasis. + + +[Sidenote: The aEuro~AbbAidids (1023-1091 A.D.).] + +[Sidenote: MuaEuro~tamid of Seville (1069-1091 A.D.).] + +The fall of the Spanish Umayyads, which took place in the first half of +the eleventh century, left Cordova a republic and a merely provincial +town; and though she might still claim to be regarded as the literary +metropolis of Spain, her ancient glories were overshadowed by the +independent dynasties which now begin to flourish in Seville, Almeria, +Badajoz, Granada, Toledo, Malaga, Valencia, and other cities. Of these +rival princedoms the most formidable in arms and the most brilliant in +its cultivation of the arts was, beyond question, the family of the +aEuro~AbbAidids, who reigned in Seville. The foundations of their power were +laid by the Cadi Abu aEuro(TM)l-QAisim Mua¸Yammad. "He acted towards the people +with such justice and moderation as drew on him the attention of every +eye and the love of every heart," so that the office of chief magistrate +was willingly conceded to him. In order to obtain the monarchy which he +coveted, the Cadi employed an audacious ruse. The last Umayyad Caliph, +HishAim II, had vanished mysteriously: it was generally supposed that, +after escaping from Cordova when that city was stormed by the Berbers +(1013 A.D.), he fled to Asia and died unknown; but many believed that he +was still alive. Twenty years after his disappearance there suddenly +arose a pretender, named Khalaf, who gave out that he was the Caliph +HishAim. The likeness between them was strong enough to make the +imposture plausible. At any rate, the Cadi had his own reasons for +abetting it. He called on the people, who were deeply attached to the +Umayyad dynasty, to rally round their legitimate sovereign. Cordova and +several other States recognised the authority of this pseudo-Caliph, +whom Abu aEuro(TM)l-QAisim used as a catspaw. His son aEuro~AbbAid, a treacherous and +bloodthirsty tyrant, but an amateur of belles-lettres, threw off the +mask and reigned under the title of al-MuaEuro~taa¸id (1042-1069 A.D.). He +in turn was succeeded by his son, al-MuaEuro~tamid, whose strange and +romantic history reminds one of a sentence frequently occurring in the +_Arabian Nights_: "Were it graven with needle-gravers upon the +eye-corners, it were a warner to whoso would be warned." He is described +as "the most liberal, the most hospitable, the most munificent, and the +most powerful of all the princes who ruled in Spain. His court was the +halting-place of travellers, the rendezvous of poets, the point to which +all hopes were directed, and the haunt of men of talent."[775] MuaEuro~tamid +himself was a poet of rare distinction. "He left," says Ibn BassAim, +"some pieces of verse beautiful as the bud when it opens to disclose the +flower; and had the like been composed by persons who made of poetry a +profession and a merchandise, they would still have been considered +charming, admirable, and singularly original."[776] Numberless anecdotes +are told of MuaEuro~tamid's luxurious life at Seville: his evening rambles +along the banks of the Guadalquivir; his parties of pleasure; his +adventures when he sallied forth in disguise, accompanied by his Vizier, +the poet Ibn aEuro~AmmAir, into the streets of the sleeping city; and his +passion for the slave-girl IaEuro~timAid, commonly known as Rumaykiyya, whom +he loved all his life with constant devotion. + +Meanwhile, however, a terrible catastrophe was approaching. The causes +which led up to it are related by Ibn KhallikAin as follows[777]:-- + + [Sidenote: The Almoravides in Spain.] + + [Sidenote: Battle of ZallAiqa (October 23, 1086 A.D.).] + + "At that time Alphonso VI, the son of Ferdinand, the sovereign of + Castile and king of the Spanish Franks, had become so powerful that + the petty Moslem princes were obliged to make peace with him and pay + him tribute. MuaEuro~tamid Ibn aEuro~AbbAid surpassed all the rest in greatness + of power and extent of empire, yet he also paid tribute to Alphonso. + After capturing Toledo (May 29, 1085 A.D.) the Christian monarch + sent him a threatening message with the demand that he should + surrender his fortresses; on which condition he might retain the + open country as his own. These words provoked MuaEuro~tamid to such a + degree that he struck the ambassador and put to death all those who + accompanied him.[778] Alphonso, who was marching on Cordova, no + sooner received intelligence of this event than he returned to + Toledo in order to provide machines for the siege of Seville. When + the Shaykhs and doctors of Islam were informed of this project they + assembled and said: 'Behold how the Moslem cities fall into the + hands of the Franks whilst our sovereigns are engaged in warfare + against each other! If things continue in this state the Franks will + subdue the entire country.' They then went to the Cadi (of Cordova), + aEuro~AbdullAih b. Mua¸Yammad b. Adham, and conferred with him on the + disasters which had befallen the Moslems and on the means by which + they might be remedied. Every person had something to say, but it + was finally resolved that they should write to AbAº YaaEuro~qAºb YAºsuf b. + TAishifA-n, the king of the _MulaththamAºn_[779] and sovereign of + Morocco, imploring his assistance. The Cadi then waited on MuaEuro~tamid, + and informed him of what had passed. MuaEuro~tamid concurred with them on + the expediency of such an application, and told the Cadi to bear the + message himself to YAºsuf b. TAishifA-n. A conference took place at + Ceuta. YAºsuf recalled from the city of Morocco the troops which he + had left there, and when all were mustered he sent them across to + Spain, and followed with a body of 10,000 men. MuaEuro~tamid, who had + also assembled an army, went to meet him; and the Moslems, on + hearing the news, hastened from every province for the purpose of + combating the infidels. Alphonso, who was then at Toledo, took the + field with 40,000 horse, exclusive of other troops which came to + join him. He wrote a long and threatening letter to YAºsuf b. + TAishifA-n, who inscribed on the back of it these words: '_What will + happen thou shalt see!_' and returned it. On reading the answer + Alphonso was filled with apprehension, and observed that this was a + man of resolution. The two armies met at ZallAiqa, near Badajoz. The + Moslems gained the victory, and Alphonso fled with a few others, + after witnessing the complete destruction of his army. This year was + adopted in Spain as the commencement of a new era, and was called + the year of ZallAiqa." + +[Sidenote: Captivity and death of MuaEuro~tamid.] + +MuaEuro~tamid soon perceived that he had "dug his own grave"--to quote the +words used by himself a few years afterwards--when he sought aid from +the perfidious Almoravide. YAºsuf could not but contrast the beauty, +riches, and magnificent resources of Spain with the barren deserts and +rude civilisation of Africa. He was not content to admire at a distance +the enchanting view which had been dangled before him. In the following +year he returned to Spain and took possession of Granada. He next +proceeded to pick a quarrel with MuaEuro~tamid. The Berber army laid siege to +Seville, and although MuaEuro~tamid displayed the utmost bravery, he was +unable to prevent the fall of his capital (September, 1091 A.D.). The +unfortunate prince was thrown into chains and transported to Morocco. +YAºsuf spared his life, but kept him a prisoner at AghmAit, where he died +in 1095 A.D. During his captivity he bewailed in touching poems the +misery of his state, the sufferings which he and his family had to +endure, and the tragic doom which suddenly deprived him of friends, +fortune, and power. "Every one loves MuaEuro~tamid," wrote an historian of +the thirteenth century, "every one pities him, and even now he is +lamented."[780] He deserved no less, for, as Dozy remarks, he was "the +last Spanish-born king (_le dernier roi indigA"ne_), who represented +worthily, nay, brilliantly, a nationality and culture which succumbed, +or barely survived, under the dominion of barbarian invaders."[781] + +[Sidenote: Ibn ZaydAºn.] + +The Age of the Tyrants, to borrow from Greek history a designation which +well describes the character of this period, yields to no other in +literary and scientific renown. Poetry was cultivated at every +Andalusian court. If Seville could point with just pride to MuaEuro~tamid and +his Vizier, Ibn aEuro~AmmAir, Cordova claimed a second pair almost equally +illustrious--Ibn ZaydAºn (1003-1071 A.D.) and WallAida, a daughter of the +Umayyad Caliph al-MustakfA-. Ibn ZaydAºn entered upon a political career +and became the confidential agent of Ibn Jahwar, the chief magistrate of +Cordova, but he fell into disgrace, probably on account of his love for +the beautiful and talented princess, who inspired those tender melodies +which have caused the poet's European biographers to link his name with +Tibullus and Petrarch. In the hope of seeing her, although he durst not +show himself openly, he lingered in al-ZahrAi, the royal suburb of +Cordova built by aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-Raa¸YmAin III. At last, after many wanderings, +he found a home at Seville, where he was cordially received by +MuaEuro~taa¸id, who treated him as an intimate friend and bestowed on him +the title of _Dhu aEuro(TM)l-WizAiratayn_.[782] The following verses, which he +addressed to WallAida, depict the lovely scenery of al-ZahrAi and may +serve to illustrate the deep feeling for nature which, as has been said, +is characteristic of Spanish-Arabian poetry in general.[783] + + "To-day my longing thoughts recall thee here; + The landscape glitters, and the sky is clear. + So feebly breathes the gentle zephyr's gale, + In pity of my grief it seems to fail. + The silvery fountains laugh, as from a girl's + Fair throat a broken necklace sheds its pearls. + Oh, 'tis a day like those of our sweet prime, + When, stealing pleasures from indulgent Time, + We played midst flowers of eye-bewitching hue, + That bent their heads beneath the drops of dew. + Alas, they see me now bereaved of sleep; + They share my passion and with me they weep. + Here in her sunny haunt the rose blooms bright, + Adding new lustre to Aurora's light; + And waked by morning beams, yet languid still, + The rival lotus doth his perfume spill. + All stirs in me the memory of that fire + Which in my tortured breast will ne'er expire. + Had death come ere we parted, it had been + The best of all days in the world, I ween; + And this poor heart, where thou art every thing, + Would not be fluttering now on passion's wing. + Ah, might the zephyr waft me tenderly, + Worn out with anguish as I am, to thee! + O treasure mine, if lover e'er possessed + A treasure! O thou dearest, queenliest! + Once, once, we paid the debt of love complete + And ran an equal race with eager feet. + How true, how blameless was the love I bore, + Thou hast forgotten; but I still adore!" + +[Sidenote: Ibn a¸¤azm (994-1064 A.D.).] + +The greatest scholar and the most original genius of Moslem Spain is AbAº +Mua¸Yammad aEuro~AlA- Ibn a¸¤azm, who was born at Cordova in 994 A.D. He +came of a 'Renegade' family, but he was so far from honouring his +Christian ancestors that he pretended to trace his descent to a Persian +freedman of YazA-d b. AbA- SufyAin, a brother of the first Umayyad Caliph, +MuaEuro~Aiwiya; and his contempt for Christianity was in proportion to his +fanatical zeal on behalf of Islam. His father, Aa¸Ymad, had filled the +office of Vizier under Mana¹LAºr Ibn AbA- aEuro~Amir, and Ibn a¸¤azm himself +plunged ardently into politics as a client--through his false +pedigree--of the Umayyad House, to which he was devotedly attached. +Before the age of thirty he became prime minister of aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-Raa¸YmAin +V (1023-1024 A.D.), but on the fall of the Umayyad Government he retired +from public life and gave himself wholly to literature. Ibn BashkuwAil, +author of a well-known biographical dictionary of Spanish celebrities +entitled _al-a¹cila fA- akhbAiri aaEuro(TM)immati aEuro(TM)l-Andalus_, speaks of him in +these terms: "Of all the natives of Spain Ibn a¸¤azm was the most +eminent by the universality and the depth of his learning in the +sciences cultivated by the Moslems; add to this his profound +acquaintance with the Arabic tongue, and his vast abilities as an +elegant writer, a poet, a biographer, and an historian; his son +possessed about 400 volumes, containing nearly 80,000 leaves, which Ibn +a¸¤azm had composed and written out."[784] It is recorded that he said, +"My only desire in seeking knowledge was to attain a high scientific +rank in this world and the next."[785] He got little encouragement from +his contemporaries. The mere fact that he belonged to the aº'Aihirite +school of theology would not have mattered, but the caustic style in +which he attacked the most venerable religious authorities of Islam +aroused such bitter hostility that he was virtually excommunicated by +the orthodox divines. People were warned against having anything to do +with him, and at Seville his writings were solemnly committed to the +flames. On this occasion he is said to have remarked-- + + "The paper ye may burn, but what the paper holds + Ye cannot burn: 'tis safe within my breast: where I + Remove, it goes with me, alights when I alight, + And in my tomb will lie."[786] + +[Sidenote: 'The Book of Religions and Sects.'] + +After being expelled from several provinces of Spain, Ibn a¸¤azm +withdrew to a village, of which he was the owner, and remained there +until his death. Of his numerous writings only a few have escaped +destruction, but fortunately we possess the most valuable of them all, +the 'Book of Religions and Sects' (_KitAibu aEuro(TM)l-Milal +wa-aEuro(TM)l-Nia¸Yal_),[787] which was recently printed in Cairo for the first +time. This work treats in controversial fashion (1) of the +non-Mua¸Yammadan religious systems, especially Judaism, Christianity, +and Zoroastrianism, and (2) of Islam and its dogmas, which are of course +regarded from the aº'Aihirite standpoint, and of the four principal +Mua¸Yammadan sects, viz., the MuaEuro~tazilites, the Murjites, the ShA-aEuro~ites, +and the KhAirijites. The author maintains that these sects owed their +rise to the Persians, who sought thus to revenge themselves upon +victorious Islam.[788] + + +[Sidenote: Literature in Spain in the eleventh century.] + +[Sidenote: Samuel Ha-Levi.] + +The following are some of the most distinguished Spanish writers of this +epoch: the historian, AbAº MarwAin Ibn a¸¤ayyAin of Cordova (aEuro 1075 A.D.), +whose chief works are a colossal history of Spain in sixty volumes +entitled _al-MatA-n_ and a smaller chronicle (_al-Muqtabis_), both of which +appear to have been almost entirely lost;[789] the jurisconsult and +poet, Abu aEuro(TM)l-WalA-d al-BAijA- (aEuro 1081 A.D.); the traditionist YAºsuf Ibn +aEuro~Abd al-Barr (aEuro 1071 A.D.); and the geographer al-BakrA-, a native of +Cordova, where he died in 1094 A.D. Finally, mention should be made of +the famous Jews, Solomon Ibn Gabirol (Avicebron) and Samuel Ha-Levi. The +former, who was born at Malaga about 1020 A.D., wrote two philosophical +works in Arabic, and his _Fons Vitae_ played an important part in the +development of mediA|val scholasticism. Samuel Ha-Levi was Vizier to +BAidA-s, the sovereign of Granada (1038-1073 A.D.). In their admiration of +his extraordinary accomplishments the Arabs all but forgot that he was a +Jew and a prince (_NaghA-d_) in Israel.[790] Samuel, on his part, when he +wrote letters of State, did not scruple to employ the usual +Mua¸Yammadan formulas, "Praise to Allah!" "May Allah bless our Prophet +Mua¸Yammad!" and to glorify Islam quite in the manner of a good Moslem. +He had a perfect mastery of Hebrew and Arabic; he knew five other +languages, and was profoundly versed in the sciences of the ancients, +particularly in astronomy. With all his learning he was a supple +diplomat and a man of the world. Yet he always preserved a dignified and +unassuming demeanour, although in his days (according to Ibnu +aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~IdhAirA-) "the Jews made themselves powerful and behaved arrogantly +towards the Moslems."[791] + + +During the whole of the twelfth, and well into the first half of the +thirteenth, century Spain was ruled by two African dynasties, the +Almoravides and the Almohades, which originated, as their names denote, +in the religious fanaticism of the Berber tribes of the Sahara. The rise +of the Almoravides is related by Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-AthA-r as follows:--[792] + + [Sidenote: Rise of the Almoravides.] + + "In this year (448 A.H. = 1056 A.D.) was the beginning of the power + of the _MulaththamAºn_.[793] These were a number of tribes descended + from a¸¤imyar, of which the most considerable were LamtAºna, JadAila, + and Lama¹-a.... Now in the above-mentioned year a man of JadAila, + named Jawhar, set out for Africa[794] on his way to the Pilgrimage, + for he loved religion and the people thereof. At QayrawAin he fell in + with a certain divine--AbAº aEuro~ImrAin al-FAisA-, as is generally + supposed--and a company of persons who were studying theology under + him. Jawhar was much pleased with what he saw of their piety, and on + his return from Mecca he begged AbAº aEuro~ImrAin to send back with him to + the desert a teacher who should instruct the ignorant Berbers in the + laws of Islam. So AbAº aEuro~ImrAin sent with him a man called aEuro~AbdullAih b. + YAisA-n al-KuzAºlA-, who was an excellent divine, and they journeyed + together until they came to the tribe of LamtAºna. Then Jawhar + dismounted from his camel and took hold of the bridle of aEuro~AbdullAih + b. YAisA-n's camel, in reverence for the law of Islam; and the men of + LamtAºna approached Jawhar and greeted him and questioned him + concerning his companion. 'This man,' he replied, 'is the bearer of + the Sunna of the Apostle of God: he has come to teach you what is + necessary in the religion of Islam.' So they bade them both welcome, + and said to aEuro~AbdullAih, 'Tell us the law of Islam,' and he explained + it to them. They answered, 'As to what you have told us of prayer + and alms-giving, that is easy; but when you say, "He that kills + shall be killed, and he that steals shall have his hand cut off, and + he that commits adultery shall be flogged or stoned," that is an + ordinance which we will not lay upon ourselves. Begone + elsewhere!'... And they came to JadAila, Jawhar's own tribe, and + aEuro~AbdullAih called on them and the neighbouring tribes to fulfil the + law, and some consented while others refused. Then, after a time, + aEuro~AbdullAih said to his followers, 'Ye must fight the enemies of the + Truth, so appoint a commander over you.' Jawhar answered, 'Thou art + our commander,' but aEuro~AbdullAih declared that he was only a + missionary, and on his advice the command was offered to AbAº Bakr b. + aEuro~Umar, the chief of LamtAºna, a man of great authority and influence. + Having prevailed upon him to act as leader, aEuro~AbdullAih began to + preach a holy war, and gave his adherents the name of Almoravides + (_al-MurAibitAºn_)."[795] + +[Sidenote: The Almoravide Empire (1056-1147 A.D.).] + +The little community rapidly increased in numbers and power. YAºsuf b. +TAishifA-n, who succeeded to the command in 1069 A.D., founded the city of +Morocco, and from this centre made new conquests in every direction, so +that ere long the Almoravides ruled over the whole of North-West Africa +from Senegal to Algeria. We have already seen how YAºsuf was invited by +the aEuro~AbbAidids to lead an army into Spain, how he defeated Alphonso VI at +ZallAiqa and, returning a few years later, this time not as an ally but +as a conqueror, took possession of Granada and Seville. The rest of +Moslem Spain was subdued without much trouble: laity and clergy alike +hailed in the Berber monarch a zealous reformer of the Faith and a +mighty bulwark against its Christian enemies. The hopeful prospect was +not realised. Spanish civilisation enervated the Berbers, but did not +refine them. Under the narrow bigotry of YAºsuf and his successors free +thought became impossible, culture and science faded away. Meanwhile the +country was afflicted by famine, brigandage, and all the disorders of a +feeble and corrupt administration. + + +[Sidenote: Ibn TAºmart.] + +The empire of the Almoravides passed into the hands of another African +dynasty, the Almohades.[796] Their founder, Mua¸Yammad Ibn TAºmart, was +a native of the mountainous district of SAºs which lies to the south-west +of Morocco. When a youth he made the Pilgrimage to Mecca (about 1108 +A.D.), and also visited BaghdAid, where he studied in the Niaº"Aimiyya +College and is said to have met the celebrated GhazAilA-. He returned home +with his head full of theology and ambitious schemes. We need not dwell +upon his career from this point until he finally proclaimed himself as +the MahdA- (1121 A.D.), nor describe the familiar methods--some of them +disreputable enough--by which he induced the Berbers to believe in him. +His doctrines, however, may be briefly stated. "In most questions," says +one of his biographers,[797] "he followed the system of Abu aEuro(TM)l-a¸¤asan +al-AshaEuro~arA-, but he agreed with the MuaEuro~tazilites in their denial of the +Divine Attributes and in a few matters besides; and he was at heart +somewhat inclined to ShA-aEuro~ism, although he gave it no countenance in +public."[798] The gist of his teaching is indicated by the name +_Muwaa¸Ya¸Yid_ (Unitarian), which he bestowed on himself, and which +his successors adopted as their dynastic title.[799] Ibn TAºmart +emphasised the Unity of God; in other words, he denounced the +anthropomorphic ideas which prevailed in Western Islam and strove to +replace them by a purely spiritual conception of the Deity. To this main +doctrine he added a second, that of the Infallible ImAim (_al-ImAim +al-MaaEuro~a¹LAºm_), and he naturally asserted that the ImAim was Mua¸Yammad +Ibn TAºmart, a descendant of aEuro~AlA- b. AbA- a¹¬Ailib. + + +[Sidenote: The Almohades (1130-1269 A.D.).] + +On the death of the MahdA- (1130 A.D.) the supreme command devolved upon +his trusted lieutenant, aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-MuaEuro(TM)min, who carried on the holy war +against the Almoravides with growing success, until in 1158 A.D. he +"united the whole coast from the frontier of Egypt to the Atlantic, +together with Moorish Spain, under his sceptre."[800] The new dynasty +was far more enlightened and favourable to culture than the Almoravides +had been. YAºsuf, the son of aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-MuaEuro(TM)min, is described as an +excellent scholar, whose mind was stored with the battles and traditions +and history of the Arabs before and after Islam. But he found his +highest pleasure in the study and patronage of philosophy. The great +Aristotelian, Ibn a¹¬ufayl, was his Vizier and court physician; and Ibn +Rushd (Averroes) received flattering honours both from him and from his +successor, YaaEuro~qAºb al-Mana¹LAºr, who loved to converse with the +philosopher on scientific topics, although in a fit of orthodoxy he +banished him for a time.[801] This curious mixture of liberality and +intolerance is characteristic of the Almohades. However they might +encourage speculation in its proper place, their law and theology were +cut according to the plain aº'Aihirite pattern. "The Koran and the +Traditions of the Prophet--or else the sword!" is a saying of the +last-mentioned sovereign, who also revived the autos-da-fA(C), which had +been prohibited by his grandfather, of MAilikite and other obnoxious +books.[802] The spirit of the Almohades is admirably reflected in Ibn +a¹¬ufayl's famous philosophical romance, named after its hero, _a¸¤ayy +ibn Yaqaº"Ain_, _i.e._, 'Alive, son of Awake,'[803] of which the +following summary is given by Mr. Duncan B. Macdonald in his excellent +_Muslim Theology_ (p. 253):-- + + [Sidenote: The story of a¸¤ayy b. Yaqaº"Ain.] + + "In it he conceives two islands, the one inhabited and the other + not. On the inhabited island we have conventional people living + conventional lives, and restrained by a conventional religion of + rewards and punishments. Two men there, SalAimAin and AsAil,[804] have + raised themselves to a higher level of self-rule. SalAimAin adapts + himself externally to the popular religion and rules the people; + AsAil, seeking to perfect himself still further in solitude, goes to + the other island. But there he finds a man, a¸¤ayy ibn Yaqaº"Ain, + who has lived alone from infancy and has gradually, by the innate + and uncorrupted powers of the mind, developed himself to the highest + philosophic level and reached the Vision of the Divine. He has + passed through all the stages of knowledge until the universe lies + clear before him, and now he finds that his philosophy thus reached, + without prophet or revelation, and the purified religion of AsAil are + one and the same. The story told by AsAil of the people of the other + island sitting in darkness stirs his soul, and he goes forth to them + as a missionary. But he soon learns that the method of Mua¸Yammad + was the true one for the great masses, and that only by sensuous + allegory and concrete things could they be reached and held. He + retires to his island again to live the solitary life." + +[Sidenote: Literature under the Almoravides and Almohades (1100-1250 +A.D.).] + +Of the writers who flourished under the Berber dynasties few are +sufficiently important to deserve mention in a work of this kind. The +philosophers, however, stand in a class by themselves. Ibn BAijja +(Avempace), Ibn Rushd (Averroes), Ibn a¹¬ufayl, and MAºsAi b. MaymAºn +(Maimonides) made their influence felt far beyond the borders of Spain: +they belong, in a sense, to Europe. We have noticed elsewhere the great +mystic, Mua¸Yyi aEuro(TM)l-DA-n Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~ArabA- (aEuro 1240 A.D.); his +fellow-townsman, Ibn SabaEuro~A-n (aEuro 1269 A.D.), a thinker of the same type, +wrote letters on philosophical subjects to Frederick II of Hohenstaufen. +Valuable works on the literary history of Spain were composed by Ibn +KhAiqAin (aEuro 1134 A.D.), Ibn BassAim (aEuro 1147 A.D.), and Ibn BashkuwAil (aEuro +1183 A.D.). The geographer IdrA-sA- (aEuro 1154 A.D.) was born at Ceuta, +studied at Cordova, and found a patron in the Sicilian monarch, Roger +II; Ibn Jubayr published an interesting account of his pilgrimage from +Granada to Mecca and of his journey back to Granada during the years +1183-1185 A.D.; Ibn Zuhr (Avenzoar), who became a Vizier under the +Almoravides, was the first of a whole family of eminent physicians; and +Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-Baya¹-Air of Malaga (aEuro 1248 A.D.), after visiting Egypt, Greece, +and Asia Minor in order to extend his knowledge of botany, compiled a +Materia Medica, which he dedicated to the Sultan of Egypt, Malik +al-KAimil. + + +[Sidenote: Reconquest of Spain by Ferdinand III.] + +[Sidenote: The Naa¹Lrids of Granada (1232-1492 A.D.).] + +We have now taken a rapid survey of the Moslem empire in Spain from its +rise in the eighth century of our era down to the last days of the +Almohades, which saw the Christian arms everywhere triumphant. By 1230 +A.D. the Almohades had been driven out of the peninsula, although they +continued to rule Africa for about forty years after this date. Amidst +the general wreck one spot remained where the Moors could find shelter. +This was Granada. Here, in 1232 A.D., Mua¸Yammad Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-Aa¸Ymar +assumed the proud title of 'Conqueror by Grace of God' (_GhAilib billAih_) +and founded the Naa¹Lrid dynasty, which held the Christians at bay +during two centuries and a half. That the little Moslem kingdom survived +so long was not due to its own strength, but rather to its almost +impregnable situation and to the dissensions of the victors. The latest +bloom of Arabic culture in Europe renewed, if it did not equal, the +glorious memories of Cordova and Seville. In this period arose the +world-renowned Alhambra, _i.e._, 'the Red Palace' (al-a¸¤amrAi) of the +Naa¹Lrid kings, and many other superb monuments of which the ruins are +still visible. We must not, however, be led away into a digression even +upon such a fascinating subject as Moorish architecture. Our information +concerning literary matters is scantier than it might have been, on +account of the vandalism practised by the Christians when they took +Granada. It is no dubious legend (like the reputed burning of the +Alexandrian Library by order of the Caliph aEuro~Umar),[805] but a +well-ascertained fact that the ruthless Archbishop Ximenez made a +bonfire of all the Arabic manuscripts on which he could lay his hands. +He wished to annihilate the record of seven centuries of Mua¸Yammadan +culture in a single day. + +The names of Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-Khaa¹-A-b and Ibn KhaldAºn represent the highest +literary accomplishment and historical comprehension of which this age +was capable. The latter, indeed, has no parallel among Oriental +historians. + +[Sidenote: Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-Khaa¹-A-b (1313-1374 A.D.).] + +LisAinu aEuro(TM)l-DA-n Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-Khaa¹-A-b[806] played a great figure in the +politics of his time, and his career affords a conspicuous example of +the intimate way in which Moslem poetry and literature are connected +with public life. "The Arabs did not share the opinion widely spread +nowadays, that poetical talent flourishes best in seclusion from the +tumult of the world, or that it dims the clearness of vision which is +required for the conduct of public affairs. On the contrary, their +princes entrusted the chief offices of State to poets, and poetry often +served as a means to obtain more brilliant results than diplomatic notes +could have procured."[807] A young man like Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-Khaa¹-A-b, who had +mastered the entire field of belles-lettres, who improvised odes and +rhyming epistles with incomparable elegance and facility, was marked out +to be the favourite of kings. He became Vizier at the Naa¹Lrid court, a +position which he held, with one brief interval of disgrace, until 1371 +A.D., when the intrigues of his enemies forced him to flee from Granada. +He sought refuge at Fez, and was honourably received by the reigning +Sultan, aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~AzA-z; but on the accession of Abu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~AbbAis in 1374 +A.D. the exiled minister was incarcerated and brought to trial on the +charge of heresy (_zandaqa_). While the inquisition was proceeding a +fanatical mob broke into the gaol and murdered him. MaqqarA- relates that +Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-Khaa¹-ib suffered from insomnia, and that most of his works +were composed during the night, for which reason he got the nickname of +_Dhu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~Umrayn_, or 'The man of two lives.'[808] He was a prolific +writer in various branches of literature, but, like so many of his +countrymen, he excelled in History. His monographs on the sovereigns and +savants of Granada (one of which includes an autobiography) supply +interesting details concerning this obscure period. + +[Sidenote: Ibn KhaldAºn (1332-1406 A.D.).] + +Some apology may be thought necessary for placing Ibn KhaldAºn, the +greatest historical thinker of Islam, in the present chapter, as though +he were a Spaniard either by birth or residence. He descended, it is true, +from a family, the BanAº KhaldAºn, which had long been settled in Spain, +first at Carmona and afterwards at Seville; but they migrated to Africa +about the middle of the thirteenth century, and Ibn KhaldAºn was born at +Tunis. Nearly the whole of his life, moreover, was passed in Africa--a +circumstance due rather to accident than to predilection; for in 1362 +A.D. he entered the service of the Sultan of Granada, AbAº aEuro~AbdallAih Ibnu +aEuro(TM)l-Aa¸Ymar, and would probably have made that city his home had not the +jealousy of his former friend, the Vizier Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-Khaa¹-A-b, decided him +to leave Spain behind. We cannot give any account of the agitated and +eventful career which he ended, as Cadi of Cairo, in 1406 A.D. Ibn +KhaldAºn lived with statesmen and kings: he was an ambassador to the +court of Pedro of Castile, and an honoured guest of the mighty +Tamerlane. The results of his ripe experience are marvellously displayed +in the Prolegomena (_Muqaddima_), which forms the first volume of a huge +general history entitled the _KitAibu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~Ibar_ ('Book of +Examples').[809] He himself has stated his idea of the historian's +function in the following words:-- + + [Sidenote: Ibn KhaldAºn as a philosophical historian.] + + "Know that the true purpose of history is to make us acquainted with + human society, _i.e._, with the civilisation of the world, and with + its natural phenomena, such as savage life, the softening of + manners, attachment to the family and the tribe, the various kinds + of superiority which one people gains over another, the kingdoms and + diverse dynasties which arise in this way, the different trades and + laborious occupations to which men devote themselves in order to + earn their livelihood, the sciences and arts; in fine, all the + manifold conditions which naturally occur in the development of + civilisation."[810] + +Ibn KhaldAºn argues that History, thus conceived, is subject to universal +laws, and in these laws he finds the only sure criterion of historical +truth. + + [Sidenote: His canons of historical criticism.] + + "The rule for distinguishing what is true from what is false in + history is based on its possibility or impossibility: that is to + say, we must examine human society (civilisation) and discriminate + between the characteristics which are essential and inherent in its + nature and those which are accidental and need not be taken into + account, recognising further those which cannot possibly belong to + it. If we do this we have a rule for separating historical truth + from error by means of a demonstrative method that admits of no + doubt.... It is a genuine touchstone whereby historians may verify + whatever they relate."[811] + +Here, indeed, the writer claims too much, and it must be allowed that he +occasionally applied his principles in a pedantic fashion, and was led +by purely _a priori_ considerations to conclusions which are not always +so warrantable as he believed. This is a very trifling matter in +comparison with the value and originality of the principles themselves. +Ibn KhaldAºn asserts, with justice, that he has discovered a new method +of writing history. No Moslem had ever taken a view at once so +comprehensive and so philosophical; none had attempted to trace the +deeply hidden causes of events, to expose the moral and spiritual forces +at work beneath the surface, or to divine the immutable laws of national +progress and decay. Ibn KhaldAºn owed little to his predecessors, +although he mentions some of them with respect. He stood far above his +age, and his own countrymen have admired rather than followed him. His +intellectual descendants are the great mediA|val and modern historians of +Europe--Machiavelli and Vico and Gibbon. + + +[Sidenote: Ibn KaldAºn's theory of historical evolution.] + +It is worth while to sketch briefly the peculiar theory of historical +development which Ibn KhaldAºn puts forward in his Prolegomena--a theory +founded on the study of actual conditions and events either past or +passing before his eyes.[812] He was struck, in the first place, with +the physical fact that in almost every part of the Mua¸Yammadan Empire +great wastes of sand or stony plateaux, arid and incapable of tillage, +wedge themselves between fertile domains of cultivated land. The former +were inhabited from time immemorial by nomad tribes, the latter by an +agricultural or industrial population; and we have seen, in the case of +Arabia, that cities like Mecca and a¸¤A-ra carried on a lively +intercourse with the Bedouins and exerted a civilising influence upon +them. In Africa the same contrast was strongly marked. It is no wonder, +therefore, that Ibn KhaldAºn divided the whole of mankind into two +classes--Nomads and Citizens. The nomadic life naturally precedes and +produces the other. Its characteristics are simplicity and purity of +manners, warlike spirit, and, above all, a loyal devotion to the +interests of the family and the tribe. As the nomads become more +civilised they settle down, form states, and make conquests. They have +now reached their highest development. Corrupted by luxury, and losing +the virtues which raised them to power, they are soon swept away by a +ruder people. Such, in bare outline, is the course of history as Ibn +KhaldAºn regards it; but we must try to give our readers some further +account of the philosophical ideas underlying his conception. He +discerns, in the life of tribes and nations alike, two dominant forces +which mould their destiny. The primitive and cardinal force he calls +_aEuro~aa¹Labiyya_, the _binding_ element in society, the feeling which +unites members of the same family, tribe, nation, or empire, and which +in its widest acceptation is equivalent to the modern term, Patriotism. +It springs up and especially flourishes among nomad peoples, where the +instinct of self-preservation awakens a keen sense of kinship and drives +men to make common cause with each other. This _aEuro~aa¹Labiyya_ is the +vital energy of States: by it they rise and grow; as it weakens they +decline; and its decay is the signal for their fall. The second of the +forces referred to is Religion. Ibn KhaldAºn hardly ascribes to religion +so much influence as we might have expected from a Moslem. He +recognises, however, that it may be the only means of producing that +solidarity without which no State can exist. Thus in the twenty-seventh +chapter of his _Muqaddima_ he lays down the proposition that "the Arabs +are incapable of founding an empire unless they are imbued with +religious enthusiasm by a prophet or a saint." + +In History he sees an endless cycle of progress and retrogression, +analogous to the phenomena of human life. Kingdoms are born, attain +maturity, and die within a definite period which rarely exceeds three +generations, _i.e._, 120 years.[813] During this time they pass through +five stages of development and decay.[814] It is noteworthy that Ibn +KhaldAºn admits the moral superiority of the Nomads. For him civilisation +necessarily involves corruption and degeneracy. If he did not believe in +the gradual advance of mankind towards some higher goal, his pessimism +was justified by the lessons of experience and by the mournful plight of +the Mua¸Yammadan world, to which his view was restricted.[815] + +[Sidenote: The fall of Granada (1492 A.D.).] + +In 1492 A.D. the last stronghold of the European Arabs opened its gates +to Ferdinand and Isabella, and "the Cross supplanted the Crescent on the +towers of Granada." The victors showed a barbarous fanaticism that was +the more abominable as it violated their solemn pledges to respect the +religion and property of the Moslems, and as it utterly reversed the +tolerant and liberal treatment which the Christians of Spain had enjoyed +under Mua¸Yammadan rule. Compelled to choose between apostasy and exile, +many preferred the latter alternative. Those who remained were subjected +to a terrible persecution, until in 1609 A.D., by order of Philip III, +the Moors were banished _en masse_ from Spanish soil. + + +[Sidenote: The Arabs in Sicily.] + +Spain was not the sole point whence Moslem culture spread itself over +the Christian lands. Sicily was conquered by the Aghlabids of Tunis +early in the ninth century, and although the island fell into the hands +of the Normans in 1071 A.D., the court of Palermo retained a +semi-Oriental character. Here in the reign of Frederick II of +Hohenstaufen (1194-1250 A.D.) might be seen "astrologers from BaghdAid +with long beards and waving robes, Jews who received princely salaries +as translators of Arabic works, Saracen dancers and dancing-girls, and +Moors who blew silver trumpets on festal occasions."[816] Both Frederick +himself and his son Manfred were enthusiastic Arabophiles, and +scandalised Christendom by their assumption of 'heathen' manners as well +as by the attention which they devoted to Moslem philosophy and science. +Under their auspices Arabic learning was communicated to the +neighbouring towns of Lower Italy. + + + + +CHAPTER X + +FROM THE MONGOL INVASION TO THE PRESENT DAY + + +[Sidenote: General characteristics of the period.] + +Before proceeding to speak of the terrible catastrophe which filled the +whole of Western Asia with ruin and desolation, I may offer a few +preliminary remarks concerning the general character of the period which +we shall briefly survey in this final chapter. It forms, one must admit, +a melancholy conclusion to a glorious history. The Caliphate, which +symbolised the supremacy of the Prophet's people, is swept away. +Mongols, Turks, Persians, all in turn build up great Mua¸Yammadan +empires, but the Arabs have lost even the shadow of a leading part and +appear only as subordinate actors on a provincial stage. The chief +centres of Arabian life, such as it is, are henceforth Syria and Egypt, +which were held by the Turkish Mamelukes until 1517 A.D., when they +passed under Ottoman rule. In North Africa the petty Berber dynasties +(a¸¤afa¹Lids, ZiyAinids, and MarA-nids) gave place in the sixteenth +century to the Ottoman Turks. Only in Spain, where the Naa¹Lrids of +Granada survived until 1492 A.D., in Morocco, where the SharA-fs +(descendants of aEuro~AlA- b. AbA- a¹¬Ailib) assumed the sovereignty in 1544 +A.D., and to some extent in Arabia itself, did the Arabs preserve their +political independence. In such circumstances it would be vain to look +for any large developments of literature and culture worthy to rank with +those of the past. This is an age of imitation and compilation. Learned +men abound, whose erudition embraces every subject under the sun. The +mass of writing shows no visible diminution, and much of it is valuable +and meritorious work. But with one or two conspicuous exceptions--_e.g._ +the historian Ibn KhaldAºn and the mystic ShaaEuro~rAinA---we cannot point to +any new departure, any fruitful ideas, any trace of original and +illuminating thought. The fifteenth and sixteenth centuries "witnessed +the rise and triumph of that wonderful movement known as the +Renaissance,... but no ripple of this great upheaval, which changed the +whole current of intellectual and moral life in the West, reached the +shores of Islam."[817] Until comparatively recent times, when Egypt and +Syria first became open to European civilisation, the Arab retained his +mediA|val outlook and habit of mind, and was in no respect more +enlightened than his forefathers who lived under the aEuro~AbbAisid Caliphate. +And since the Mongol Invasion I am afraid we must say that instead of +advancing farther along the old path he was being forced back by the +inevitable pressure of events. East of the Euphrates the Mongols did +their work of destruction so thoroughly that no seeds were left from +which a flourishing civilisation could arise; and, moreover, the Arabic +language was rapidly extinguished by the Persian. In Spain, as we have +seen, the power of the Arabs had already begun to decline; Africa was +dominated by the Berbers, a rude, unlettered race, Egypt and Syria by +the blighting military despotism of the Turks. Nowhere in the history of +this period can we discern either of the two elements which are most +productive of literary greatness: the quickening influence of a higher +culture or the inspiration of a free and vigorous national life.[818] + + +[Sidenote: The Mongol Invasion.] + +Between the middle of the eleventh century and the end of the fourteenth +the nomad tribes dwelling beyond the Oxus burst over Western Asia in +three successive waves. First came the SeljAºq Turks, then the Mongols +under ChingA-z Khan and HAºlAigAº, then the hordes, mainly Turkish, of +TA-mAºr. Regarding the SeljAºqs all that is necessary for our purpose has +been said in a former chapter. The conquests of TA-mAºr are a frightful +episode which I may be pardoned for omitting from this history, inasmuch +as their permanent results (apart from the enormous damage which they +inflicted) were inconsiderable; and although the Indian empire of the +Great Moguls, which BAibur, a descendant of TA-mAºr, established in the +first half of the sixteenth century, ran a prosperous and brilliant +course, its culture was borrowed almost exclusively from Persian models +and does not come within the scope of the present work. We shall, +therefore, confine our view to the second wave of the vast Asiatic +migration, which bore the Mongols, led by ChingA-z Khan and HAºlAigAº, from +the steppes of China and Tartary to the Mediterranean. + + +[Sidenote: ChingA-z Khan and HAºlAigAº.] + +In 1219 A.D. ChingA-z Khan, having consolidated his power in the Far +East, turned his face westward and suddenly advanced into Transoxania, +which at that time formed a province of the wide dominions of the ShAihs +of KhwAirizm (Khiva). The reigning monarch, aEuro~AlAiaEuro(TM)u aEuro(TM)l-DA-n Mua¸Yammad, +was unable to make an effective resistance; and notwithstanding that his +son, the gallant JalAilu aEuro(TM)l-DA-n, carried on a desperate guerilla for +twelve years, the invaders swarmed over KhurAisAin and Persia, massacring +the panic-stricken inhabitants wholesale and leaving a wilderness behind +them. Hitherto BaghdAid had not been seriously threatened, but on the +first day of January, 1256 A.D.--an epoch-marking date--HAºlAigAº, the +grandson of ChingA-z Khan, crossed the Oxus, with the intention of +occupying the aEuro~AbbAisid capital. I translate the following narrative from +a manuscript in my possession of the _TaaEuro(TM)rA-kh al-KhamA-s_ by DiyAirbakrA- +(aEuro 1574 A.D.):-- + + [Sidenote: HAºlAigAº before BaghdAid (1258 A.D.).] + + [Sidenote: Sack of BaghdAid.] + + In the year 654 (A.H. = 1256 A.D.) the stubborn tyrant, HAºlAigAº, the + destroyer of the nations (_MubA-du aEuro(TM)l-Umam_), set forth and took the + castle of AlamAºt from the IsmAiaEuro~A-lA-s[819] and slew them and laid + waste the lands of Rayy.... And in the year 655 there broke out at + BaghdAid a fearful riot between the SunnA-s and the ShA-aEuro~ites, which + led to great plunder and destruction of property. A number of + ShA-aEuro~ites were killed, and this so incensed and infuriated the Vizier + Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~Alqami that he encouraged the Tartars to invade aEuro~IrAiq, by + which means he hoped to take ample vengeance on the SunnA-s.[820] And + in the beginning of the year 656 the tyrant HAºlAigAº b. TAºlA- b. + ChingA-z KhAin, the Moghul, arrived at BaghdAid with his army, + including the Georgians (_al-Kurj_) and the troops of Mosul. The + DawA-dAir[821] marched out of the city and met HAºlAigAº's vanguard, + which was commanded by BAijAº.[822] The Moslems, being few, suffered + defeat; whereupon BAijAº advanced and pitched his camp to the west of + BaghdAid, while HAºlAigAº took up a position on the eastern side. Then + the Vizier Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~AlqamA- said to the Caliph MustaaEuro~a¹Lim BillAih: "I + will go to the Supreme KhAin to arrange peace." So the hound[823] + went and obtained security for himself, and on his return said to + the Caliph: "The KhAin desires to marry his daughter to your son and + to render homage to you, like the SeljAºq kings, and then to depart." + MustaaEuro~a¹Lim set out, attended by the nobles of his court and the + grandees of his time, in order to witness the contract of marriage. + The whole party were beheaded except the Caliph, who was trampled to + death. The Tartars entered BaghdAid and distributed themselves in + bands throughout the city. For thirty-four days the sword was never + sheathed. Few escaped. The slain amounted to 1,800,000 and more. + Then quarter was called.... Thus it is related in the _Duwalu + aEuro(TM)l-IslAim_.[824]... And on this wise did the Caliphate pass from + BaghdAid. As the poet sings:-- + + "_Khalati aEuro(TM)l-manAibiru wa-aEuro(TM)l-asirralu minhumAº + wa-aEuro~alayhimAº hatta aEuro(TM)l-mamAiti salAimAº._" + + "_The pulpits and the thrones are empty of them; + I bid them, till the hour of death, farewell!_" + +[Sidenote: Battle of aEuro~Ayn JAilAºt (September, 1260 A.D.).] + +[Sidenote: Arabic ceases to be the language of the whole Moslem world.] + +It seemed as if all Mua¸Yammadan Asia lay at the feet of the pagan +conqueror. Resuming his advance, HAºlAigAº occupied Mesopotamia and sacked +Aleppo. He then returned to the East, leaving his lieutenant, KetboghAi, +to complete the reduction of Syria. Meanwhile, however, an Egyptian army +under the Mameluke Sultan Muaº"affar Qua¹-uz was hastening to oppose +the invaders. On Friday, the 25th of Ramaa¸Ain, 658 A.H., a decisive +battle was fought at aEuro~Ayn JAilAºt (Goliath's Spring), west of the Jordan. +The Tartars were routed with immense slaughter, and their subsequent +attempts to wrest Syria from the Mamelukes met with no success. The +submission of Asia Minor was hardly more than nominal, but in Persia the +descendants of HAºlAigAº, the Al-KhAins, reigned over a great empire, which +the conversion of one of their number, GhAizAin (1295-1304 A.D.), restored +to Moslem rule. We are not concerned here with the further history of +the Mongols in Persia nor with that of the Persians themselves. Since +the days of HAºlAigAº the lands east and west of the Tigris are separated +by an ever-widening gulf. The two races--Persians and Arabs--to whose +co-operation the mediA|val world, from Samarcand to Seville, for a long +time owed its highest literary and scientific culture, have now finally +dissolved their partnership. It is true that the cleavage began many +centuries earlier, and before the fall of BaghdAid the Persian genius had +already expressed itself in a splendid national literature. But from +this date onward the use of Arabic by Persians is practically limited to +theological and philosophical writings. The Persian language has driven +its rival out of the field. Accordingly Egypt and Syria will now demand +the principal share of our attention, more especially as the history of +the Arabs of Granada, which properly belongs to this period, has been +related in the preceding chapter. + + +[Sidenote: The Mamelukes of Egypt (1250-1517 A.D.).] + +[Sidenote: Sultan Baybars (1260-1277 A.D.).] + +[Sidenote: The aEuro~AbbAisid Caliphs of Egypt.] + +The dynasty of the Mameluke[825] Sultans of Egypt was founded in 1250 +A.D. by Aybak, a Turkish slave, who commenced his career in the service +of the AyyAºbid, Malik a¹cAilia¸Y Najmu aEuro(TM)l-DA-n. His successors[826] held +sway in Egypt and Syria until the conquest of these countries by the +Ottomans. The Mamelukes were rough soldiers, who seldom indulged in any +useless refinement, but they had a royal taste for architecture, as the +visitor to Cairo may still see. Their administration, though disturbed +by frequent mutinies and murders, was tolerably prosperous on the whole, +and their victories over the Mongol hosts, as well as the crushing blows +which they dealt to the Crusaders, gave Islam new prestige. The ablest +of them all was Baybars, who richly deserved his title Malik +al-aº'Aihir, _i.e._, the Victorious King. His name has passed into the +legends of the people, and his warlike exploits into romances written in +the vulgar dialect which are recited by story-tellers to this day.[827] +The violent and brutal acts which he sometimes committed--for he shrank +from no crime when he suspected danger--made him a terror to the +ambitious nobles around him, but did not harm his reputation as a just +ruler. Although he held the throne in virtue of having murdered the late +monarch with his own hand, he sought to give the appearance of +legitimacy to his usurpation. He therefore recognised as Caliph a +certain Abu aEuro(TM)l-QAisim Aa¸Ymad, a pretended scion of the aEuro~AbbAisid house, +invited him to Cairo, and took the oath of allegiance to him in due +form. The Caliph on his part invested the Sultan with sovereignty over +Egypt, Syria, Arabia, and all the provinces that he might obtain by +future conquests. This Aa¸Ymad, entitled al-Mustana¹Lir, was the first +of a long series of mock Caliphs who were appointed by the Mameluke +Sultans and generally kept under close surveillance in the citadel of +Cairo. There is no authority for the statement, originally made by +Mouradgea d'Ohsson in 1787 and often repeated since, that the last of +the line bequeathed his rights of succession to the Ottoman Sultan SelA-m +I, thus enabling the Sultans of Turkey to claim the title and dignity of +Caliph.[828] + +[Sidenote: Arabic poetry after the Mongol Invasion.] + +[Sidenote: a¹cafiyyu aEuro(TM)l-DA-n al-a¸¤illA-.] + +The poets of this period are almost unknown in Europe, and until they +have been studied with due attention it would be premature to assert +that none of them rises above mediocrity. At the same time my own +impression (based, I confess, on a very desultory and imperfect +acquaintance with their work) is that the best among them are merely +elegant and accomplished artists, playing brilliantly with words and +phrases, but doing little else. No doubt extreme artificiality may +coexist with poetical genius of a high order, provided that it has +behind it MutanabbA-'s power, MaaEuro~arrA-'s earnestness, or Ibnu +aEuro(TM)l-FAiria¸'s enthusiasm. In the absence of these qualities we must be +content to admire the technical skill with which the old tunes are +varied and revived. Let us take, for example, a¹cafiyyu aEuro(TM)l-DA-n +al-a¸¤illA-, who was born at a¸¤illa, a large town on the Euphrates, in +1278 A.D., became laureate of the Urtuqid dynasty at MAiridA-n, and died +in BaghdAid about 1350. He is described as "the poet of his age +absolutely," and to judge from the extracts in KutubA-'s _FawAitu +aEuro(TM)l-WafayAit_[829] he combined subtlety of fancy with remarkable ease and +sweetness of versification. Many of his pieces, however, are _jeux +d'esprit_, like his ode to the Prophet, in which he employs 151 +rhetorical figures, or like another poem where all the nouns are +diminutives.[830] The following specimen of his work is too brief to do +him justice:-- + + "How can I have patience, and thou, mine eye's delight, + All the livelong year not one moment in my sight? + And with what can I rejoice my heart, when thou that art a joy + Unto every human heart, from me hast taken flight? + I swear by Him who made thy form the envy of the sun + (So graciously He clad thee with lovely beams of light): + The day when I behold thy beauty doth appear to me + As tho' it gleamed on Time's dull brow a constellation bright. + O thou scorner of my passion, for whose sake I count as naught + All the woe that I endure, all the injury and despite, + Come, regard the ways of God! for never He at life's last gasp + Suffereth the weight to perish even of one mite!"[831] + +[Sidenote: Popular poetry.] + +We have already referred to the folk-songs (_muwashshaa¸Y_ and _zajal_) +which originated in Spain. These simple ballads, with their novel metres +and incorrect language, were despised by the classical school, that is +to say, by nearly all Moslems with any pretensions to learning; but +their popularity was such that even the court poets occasionally +condescended to write in this style. To the _zajal_ and _muwashshaa¸Y_ +we may add the _dAºbayt_, the _mawAiliyyAi_, the _kAinwakAin_, and the +_a¸YimAiq_, which together with verse of the regular form made up the +'seven kinds of poetry' (_al-funAºn al-sabaEuro~a_). a¹cafiyyu aEuro(TM)l-DA-n +al-a¸¤illA-, who wrote a special treatise on the Arabic folk-songs, +mentions two other varieties which, he says, were invented by the people +of BaghdAid to be sung in the early dawn of Ramaa¸Ain, the Moslem +Lent.[832] It is interesting to observe that some few literary men +attempted, though in a timid fashion, to free Arabic poetry from the +benumbing academic system by which it was governed and to pour fresh +life into its veins. A notable example of this tendency is the _Hazzu +aEuro(TM)l-Qua¸YAºf_[833] by ShirbA-nA-, who wrote in 1687 A.D. Here we have a +poem in the vulgar dialect of Egypt, but what is still more curious, the +author, while satirising the uncouth manners and rude language of the +peasantry, makes a bitter attack on the learning and morals of the +Mua¸Yammadan divines.[834] For this purpose he introduces a typical +Fellah named AbAº ShAidAºf, whose rA'le corresponds to that of Piers the +Plowman in Longland's _Vision_. Down to the end of the nineteenth +century, at any rate, such isolated offshoots had not gone far to found +a living school of popular poetry. Only the future can show whether the +Arabs are capable of producing a genius who will succeed in doing for +the national folk-songs what Burns did for the Scots ballads. + +[Sidenote: Ibn KhallikAin (1211-1282 A.D.).] + +Biography and History were cultivated with ardour by the savants of +Egypt and Syria. Among the numerous compositions of this kind we can +have no hesitation in awarding the place of honour to the _WafayAitu +aEuro(TM)l-AaEuro~yAin_, or 'Obituaries of Eminent Men,' by Shamsu aEuro(TM)l-DA-n Ibn +KhallikAin, a work which has often been quoted in the foregoing pages. +The author belonged to a distinguished family descending from Yaa¸YyAi +b. KhAilid the Barmecide (see p. 259 seq.), and was born at Arbela in +1211 A.D. He received his education at Aleppo and Damascus (1229-1238) +and then proceeded to Cairo, where he finished the first draft of his +Biographical Dictionary in 1256. Five years later he was appointed by +Sultan Baybars to be Chief Cadi of Syria. He retained this high office +(with a seven years' interval, which he devoted to literary and +biographical studies) until a short time before his death. In the +Preface to the _WafayAit_ Ibn KhallikAin observes that he has adopted the +alphabetical order as more convenient than the chronological. As regards +the scope and character of his Dictionary, he says:-- + + [Sidenote: His Biographical Dictionary.] + + "I have not limited my work to the history of any one particular + class of persons, as learned men, princes, emirs, viziers, or poets; + but I have spoken of all those whose names are familiar to the + public, and about whom questions are frequently asked; I have, + however, related the facts I could ascertain respecting them in a + concise manner, lest my work should become too voluminous; I have + fixed with all possible exactness the dates of their birth and + death; I have traced up their genealogy as high as I could; I have + marked the orthography of those names which are liable to be written + incorrectly; and I have cited the traits which may best serve to + characterise each individual, such as noble actions, singular + anecdotes, verses and letters, so that the reader may derive + amusement from my work, and find it not exclusively of such a + uniform cast as would prove tiresome; for the most effectual + inducement to reading a book arises from the variety of its + style."[835] + +Ibn Khallikan might have added that he was the first Mua¸Yammadan +writer to design a Dictionary of National Biography, since none of his +predecessors had thought of comprehending the lives of eminent Moslems +of every class in a single work.[836] The merits of the book have been +fully recognised by the author's countrymen as well as by European +scholars. It is composed in simple and elegant language, it is extremely +accurate, and it contains an astonishing quantity of miscellaneous +historical and literary information, not drily catalogued but conveyed +in the most pleasing fashion by anecdotes and excerpts which illustrate +every department of Moslem life. I am inclined to agree with the opinion +of Sir William Jones, that it is the best general biography ever +written; and allowing for the difference of scale and scope, I think it +will bear comparison with a celebrated English work which it resembles +in many ways--I mean Boswell's _Johnson_.[837] + + +[Sidenote: Historians of the Mameluke period.] + +[Sidenote: MaqrA-zA-.] + +To give an adequate account of the numerous and talented historians of +the Mameluke period would require far more space than they can +reasonably claim in a review of this kind. Concerning Ibn KhaldAºn, who +held a professorship as well as the office of Cadi in Cairo under Sultan +BarqAºq (1382-1398 A.D.), we have already spoken at some length. This +extraordinary genius discovered principles and methods which might have +been expected to revolutionise historical science, but neither was he +himself capable of carrying them into effect nor, as the event proved, +did they inspire his successors to abandon the path of tradition. I +cannot imagine any more decisive symptom of the intellectual lethargy in +which Islam was now sunk, or any clearer example of the rule that even +the greatest writers struggle in vain against the spirit of their own +times. There were plenty of learned men, however, who compiled local and +universal histories. Considering the precious materials which their +industry has preserved for us, we should rather admire these diligent +and erudite authors than complain of their inability to break away from +the established mode. Perhaps the most famous among them is Taqiyyu +aEuro(TM)l-DA-n al-MaqrA-zA- (1364-1442 A.D.). A native of Cairo, he devoted +himself to Egyptian history and antiquities, on which subject he +composed several standard works, such as the _Khia¹-aa¹-_[838] and the +_SulAºk_.[839] Although he was both unconscientious and uncritical, too +often copying without acknowledgment or comment, and indulging in +wholesale plagiarism when it suited his purpose, these faults which are +characteristic of his age may easily be excused. "He has accumulated and +reduced to a certain amount of order a large quantity of information +that would but for him have passed into oblivion. He is generally +painstaking and accurate, and always resorts to contemporary evidence if +it is available. Also he has a pleasant and lucid style, and writes +without bias and apparently with distinguished impartiality."[840] Other +well-known works belonging to this epoch are the _FakhrA-_ of Ibnu +aEuro(TM)l-a¹¬iqa¹-aqAi, a delightful manual of Mua¸Yammadan politics[841] +which was written at Mosul in 1302 A.D.; the epitome of universal +history by Abu aEuro(TM)l-FidAi, Prince of a¸¤amAit (aEuro 1331); the voluminous +Chronicle of Islam by DhahabA- (aEuro 1348); the high-flown Biography of +TA-mAºr entitled _aEuro~AjAiaEuro(TM)ibu aEuro(TM)l-MaqdAºr_, or 'Marvels of Destiny,' by Ibn +aEuro~ArabshAih (aEuro 1450); and the _NujAºm al-ZAihira_ ('Resplendent Stars') by +Abu aEuro(TM)l-Maa¸YAisin b. TaghrA-birdA- (aEuro 1469), which contains the annals of +Egypt under the Moslems. The political and literary history of +Mua¸Yammadan Spain by MaqqarA- of TilimsAin (aEuro 1632) was mentioned in the +last chapter.[842] + +[Sidenote: JalAilu aEuro(TM)l-DA-n al-SuyAºa¹-A- (1445-1505 A.D.).] + +If we were asked to select a single figure who should exhibit as +completely as possible in his own person the literary tendencies of the +Alexandrian age of Arabic civilisation, our choice would assuredly fall +on JalAilu aEuro(TM)l-DA-n al-SuyAºa¹-A-, who was born at SuyAºa¹- (UsyAºa¹-) in +Upper Egypt in 1445 A.D. His family came originally from Persia, but, +like DhahabA-, Ibn TaghrA-birdA-, and many celebrated writers of this time, +he had, through his mother, an admixture of Turkish blood. At the age of +five years and seven months, when his father died, the precocious boy +had already reached the _SAºratu aEuro(TM)l-Taa¸YrA-m_ (SAºra of Forbidding), +which is the sixty-sixth chapter of the Koran, and he knew the whole +volume by heart before he was eight years old. He prosecuted his studies +under the most renowned masters in every branch of Moslem learning, and +on finishing his education held one Professorship after another at Cairo +until 1501, when he was deprived of his post in consequence of +malversation of the bursary monies in his charge. He died four years +later in the islet of Rawa¸a on the Nile, whither he had retired under +the pretence of devoting the rest of his life to God. We possess the +titles of more than five hundred separate works which he composed. This +number would be incredible but for the fact that many of them are brief +pamphlets displaying the author's curious erudition on all sorts of +abstruse subjects--_e.g._, whether the Prophet wore trousers, whether +his turban had a point, and whether his parents are in Hell or Paradise. +SuyAºa¹-A-'s indefatigable pen travelled over an immense field of +knowledge--Koran, Tradition, Law, Philosophy and History, Philology and +Rhetoric. Like some of the old Alexandrian scholars, he seems to have +taken pride in a reputation for polygraphy, and his enemies declared +that he made free with other men's books, which he used to alter +slightly and then give out as his own. SuyAºa¹-A-, on his part, laid +before the Shaykhu aEuro(TM)l-IslAim a formal accusation of plagiarism against +Qasa¹-allAinA-, an eminent contemporary divine. We are told that his +vanity and arrogance involved him in frequent quarrels, and that he was +'cut' by his learned brethren. Be this as it may, he saw what the public +wanted. His compendious and readable handbooks were famed throughout the +Moslem world, as he himself boasts, from India to Morocco, and did much +to popularise the scientific culture of the day. It will be enough to +mention here the _ItqAin_ on Koranic exegesis; the _TafsA-ru aEuro(TM)l-JalAilayn_, +or 'Commentary on the Koran by the two JalAils,' which was begun by +JalAilu aEuro(TM)l-DA-n al-Maa¸YallA- and finished by his namesake, SuyAºa¹-A-; the +_Muzhir_ (_Mizhar_), a treatise on philology; the _a¸¤usnu +aEuro(TM)l-Mua¸YAia¸ara_, a history of Old and New Cairo; and the _TaaEuro(TM)rA-khu +aEuro(TM)l-KhulafAi_, or 'History of the Caliphs.' + + +[Sidenote: Other scholars of the period.] + +To dwell longer on the literature of this period would only be to +emphasise its scholastic and unoriginal character. A passing mention, +however, is due to the encyclopA|dists NuwayrA- (aEuro 1332), author of the +_NihAiyatu aEuro(TM)l-Arab_, and Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-WardA- (aEuro 1349). a¹cafadA- (aEuro 1363) +compiled a gigantic biographical dictionary, the _WAifA- bi aEuro(TM)l-WafayAit_, +in twenty-six volumes, and the learned traditionist, Ibn a¸¤ajar of +Ascalon (aEuro 1449), has left a large number of writings, among which it +will be sufficient to name the _Ia¹LAiba fA- tamyA-z al-a¹caa¸YAiba_, or +Lives of the Companions of the Prophet.[843] We shall conclude this part +of our subject by enumerating a few celebrated works which may be +described in modern terms as standard text-books for the Schools and +Universities of Islam. Amidst the host of manuals of Theology and +Jurisprudence, with their endless array of abridgments, commentaries, +and supercommentaries, possibly the best known to European students are +those by Abu aEuro(TM)l-BarakAit al-NasafA- (aEuro 1310), aEuro~Aa¸udu aEuro(TM)l-DA-n al-AjA- (aEuro +1355), SA-dA- KhalA-l al-JundA- (aEuro 1365), TaftAizAinA- (aEuro 1389), SharA-f +al-JurjAinA- (aEuro 1413), and Mua¸Yammad b. YAºsuf al-SanAºsA- (aEuro 1486). For +Philology and Lexicography we have the _Alfiyya_, a versified grammar by +Ibn MAilik of Jaen (aEuro 1273); the _AjurrAºmiyya_ on the rudiments of +grammar, an exceedingly popular compendium by a¹canhAijA- (aEuro 1323); and +two famous Arabic dictionaries, the _LisAinu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~Arab_ by JamAilu aEuro(TM)l-DA-n +Ibn Mukarram (aEuro 1311), and the _QAimAºs_ by FA-rAºzAibAidA- (aEuro 1414). Nor, +although he was a Turk, should we leave unnoticed the great +bibliographer a¸¤AijjA- KhalA-fa (aEuro 1658), whose _Kashfu aEuro(TM)l-aº'unAºn_ +contains the titles, arranged alphabetically, of all the Arabic, +Persian, and Turkish books of which the existence was known to him. + + +[Sidenote: The 'Thousand and One Nights.'] + +The Mameluke period gave final shape to the _Alf Layla wa-Layla_, or +'Thousand and One Nights,' a work which is far more popular in Europe +than the Koran or any other masterpiece of Arabic literature. The modern +title, 'Arabian Nights,' tells only a part of the truth. MasaEuro~AºdA- (aEuro 956 +A.D.) mentions an old Persian book, the _HazAir AfsAina_ ('Thousand +Tales') which "is generally called the Thousand and One Nights; it is +the story of the King and his Vizier, and of the Vizier's daughter and +her slave-girl: ShA-rAizAid and DA-nAizAid."[844] The author of the _Fihrist_, +writing in 988 A.D., begins his chapter "concerning the Story-Tellers +and the Fabulists and the names of the books which they composed" with +the following passage (p. 304):-- + + [Sidenote: Persian origin of the 'Thousand and One Nights.'] + + [Sidenote: The _HazAir AfsAin_.] + + "The first who composed fables and made books of them and put them + by in treasuries and sometimes introduced animals as speaking them + were the Ancient Persians. Afterwards the Parthian kings, who form + the third dynasty of the kings of Persia, showed the utmost zeal in + this matter. Then in the days of the SAisAinian kings such books + became numerous and abundant, and the Arabs translated them into the + Arabic tongue, and they soon reached the hands of philologists and + rhetoricians, who corrected and embellished them and composed other + books in the same style. Now the first book ever made on this + subject was the Book of the Thousand Tales (_HazAir AfsAin_), on the + following occasion: A certain king of Persia used to marry a woman + for one night and kill her the next morning. And he wedded a wise + and clever princess, called ShahrAizAid, who began to tell him stories + and brought the tale at daybreak to a point that induced the king to + spare her life and ask her on the second night to finish her tale. + So she continued until a thousand nights had passed, and she was + blessed with a son by him.... And the king had a stewardess + (_qahramAina_) named DA-nAirzAid, who was in league with the queen. It + is also said that this book was composed for a¸¤umAinA-, the daughter + of Bahman, and there are various traditions concerning it. The + truth, if God will, is that Alexander (the Great) was the first who + heard stories by night, and he had people to make him laugh and + divert him with tales; although he did not seek amusement therein, + but only to store and preserve them (in his memory). The kings who + came after him used the 'Thousand Tales' (_HazAir AfsAin_) for this + purpose. It covers a space of one thousand nights, but contains less + than two hundred stories, because the telling of a single story + often takes several nights. I have seen the complete work more than + once, and it is indeed a vulgar, insipid book (_kitAibun ghaththun + bAiridu aEuro(TM)l-hadA-th_).[845] + + Abu aEuro~AbdallAih Mua¸Yammad b. aEuro~AbdAºs al-JahshiyAirA- (aEuro 942-943 A.D.), + the author of the 'Book of Viziers,' began to compile a book in + which he selected one thousand stories of the Arabs, the Persians, + the Greeks, and other peoples, every piece being independent and + unconnected with the rest. He gathered the story-tellers round him + and took from them the best of what they knew and were able to tell, + and he chose out of the fable and story-books whatever pleased him. + He was a skilful craftsman, so he put together from this material + 480 nights, each night an entire story of fifty pages, more or less, + but death surprised him before he completed the thousand tales as he + had intended." + +[Sidenote: Different sources of the collection.] + +Evidently, then, the _HazAir AfsAin_ was the kernel of the 'Arabian +Nights,' and it is probable that this Persian archetype included the +most finely imaginative tales in the existing collection, _e.g._, the +'Fisherman and the Genie,' 'CamaralzamAin and BudAºr,' and the 'Enchanted +Horse.' As time went on, the original stock received large additions +which may be divided into two principal groups, both Semitic in +character: the one belonging to BaghdAid and consisting mainly of +humorous anecdotes and love romances in which the famous Caliph 'Haroun +Alraschid' frequently comes on the scene; the other having its centre in +Cairo, and marked by a roguish, ironical pleasantry as well as by the +mechanic supernaturalism which is perfectly illustrated in 'Aladdin and +the Wonderful Lamp.' But, apart from these three sources, the 'Arabian +Nights' has in the course of centuries accumulated and absorbed an +immense number of Oriental folk-tales of every description, equally +various in origin and style. The oldest translation by Galland (Paris, +1704-1717) is a charming paraphrase, which in some respects is more true +to the spirit of the original than are the scholarly renderings of Lane +and Burton. + +[Sidenote: The 'Romance of aEuro~Antar.'] + +The 'Romance of aEuro~Antar' (_SA-ratu aEuro~Antar_) is traditionally ascribed to +the great philologist, Aa¹LmaaEuro~A-,[846] who flourished in the reign of +HAirAºn al-RashA-d, but this must be considered as an invention of the +professional reciters who sit in front of Oriental cafA(C)s and entertain +the public with their lively declamations.[847] According to +Brockelmann, the work in its present form apparently dates from the time +of the Crusades.[848] Its hero is the celebrated heathen poet and +warrior, aEuro~Antara b. ShaddAid, of whom we have already given an account as +author of one of the seven _MuaEuro~allaqAit_. Though the Romance exhibits all +the anachronisms and exaggerations of popular legend, it does +nevertheless portray the unchanging features of Bedouin life with +admirable fidelity and picturesqueness. Von Hammer, whose notice in the +_Mines de l'Orient_ (1802) was the means of introducing the _SA-ratu +aEuro~Antar_ to European readers, justly remarks that it cannot be translated +in full owing to its portentous length. It exists in two recensions +called respectively the Arabian (_a¸¤ijAiziyya_) and the Syrian +(_ShAimiyya_), the latter being very much curtailed.[849] + + +[Sidenote: Orthodoxy and mysticism.] + +While the decadent state of Arabic literature during all these centuries +was immediately caused by unfavourable social and political conditions, +the real source of the malady lay deeper, and must, I think, be referred +to the spiritual paralysis which had long been creeping over Islam and +which manifested itself by the complete victory of the AshaEuro~arites or +Scholastic Theologians about 1200 A.D. Philosophy and Rationalism were +henceforth as good as dead. Two parties remained in possession of the +field--the orthodox and the mystics. The former were naturally +intolerant of anything approaching to free-thought, and in their +principle of _ijmAiaEuro~_, _i.e._, the consensus of public opinion (which was +practically controlled by themselves), they found a potent weapon +against heresy. How ruthlessly they sometimes used it we may see from +the following passage in the _YawAiqA-t_ of ShaaEuro~rAinA-. After giving +instances of the persecution to which the a¹cAºfA-s of old--BAiyazA-d, DhAº +aEuro(TM)l-NAºn, and others--were subjected by their implacable enemies, the +_aEuro~UlamAi_, he goes on to speak of what had happened more recently[850]:-- + + [Sidenote: Persecution of heretics.] + + "They brought the ImAim AbAº Bakr al-NAibulusA-, notwithstanding his + merit and profound learning and rectitude in religion, from the + Maghrib to Egypt and testified that he was a heretic (_zindA-q_). The + Sultan gave orders that he should be suspended by his feet and + flayed alive. While the sentence was being carried out, he began to + recite the Koran with such an attentive and humble demeanour that he + moved the hearts of the people, and they were near making a riot. + And likewise they caused NasA-mA- to be flayed at Aleppo.[851] When he + silenced them by his arguments, they devised a plan for his + destruction, thus: They wrote the _SAºratu aEuro(TM)l-IkhlAia¹L_[852] on a + piece of paper and bribed a cobbler of shoes, saying to him, 'It + contains only love and pleasantness, so place it inside the sole of + the shoe.' Then they took that shoe and sent it from a far distance + as a gift to the Shaykh (NasA-mA-), who put it on, for he knew not. + His adversaries went to the governor of Aleppo and said: 'We have + sure information that NasA-mA- has written, _Say, God is One_, and has + placed the writing in the sole of his shoe. If you do not believe + us, send for him and see!' The governor did as they wished. On the + production of the paper, the Shaykh resigned himself to the will of + God and made no answer to the charge, knowing well that he would be + killed on that pretext. I was told by one who studied under his + disciples that all the time when he was being flayed NasA-mA- was + reciting _muwashshaa¸Ys_ in praise of the Unity of God, until he + composed five hundred verses, and that he was looking at his + executioners and smiling. And likewise they brought Shaykh Abu + aEuro(TM)l-a¸¤asan al-ShAidhilA-[853] from the West to Egypt and bore + witness that he was a heretic, but God delivered him from their + plots. And they accused Shaykh aEuro~Izzu aEuro(TM)l-DA-n b. aEuro~Abd al-SalAim[854] of + infidelity and sat in judgment over him on account of some + expressions in his _aEuro~AqA-da_ (Articles of Faith) and urged the Sultan + to punish him; afterwards, however, he was restored to favour. They + denounced Shaykh TAiju aEuro(TM)l-DA-n al-SubkA-[855] on the same charge, + asserting that he held it lawful to drink wine and that he wore at + night the badge (_ghiyAir_) of the unbelievers and the zone + (_zunnAir_)[856]; and they brought him, manacled and in chains, from + Syria to Egypt." + +This picture is too highly coloured. It must be admitted for the credit +of the _aEuro~UlamAi_, that they seldom resorted to violence. Islam was +happily spared the horrors of an organised Inquisition. On the other +hand, their authority was now so firmly established that all progress +towards moral and intellectual liberty had apparently ceased, or at any +rate only betrayed itself in spasmodic outbursts. a¹cAºfiism in some +degree represented such a movement, but the mystics shared the triumph +of Scholasticism and contributed to the reaction which ensued. No longer +an oppressed minority struggling for toleration, they found themselves +side by side with reverend doctors on a platform broad enough to +accommodate all parties, and they saw their own popular heroes turned +into Saints of the orthodox Church. The compromise did not always work +smoothly--in fact, there was continual friction--but on the whole it +seems to have borne the strain wonderfully well. If pious souls were +shocked by the lawlessness of the Dervishes, and if bigots would fain +have burned the books of Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~ArabA- and Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-FAiria¸, the +divines in general showed a disposition to suspend judgment in matters +touching holy men and to regard them as standing above human criticism. + + +As typical representatives of the religious life of this period we may +take two men belonging to widely opposite camps--Taqiyyu aEuro(TM)l-DA-n Ibn +Taymiyya and aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-WahhAib al-ShaaEuro~rAinA-. + +[Sidenote: Ibn Taymiyya (1263-1328 A.D.).] + +Ibn Taymiyya was born at a¸¤arrAin in 1263 A.D. A few years later his +father, fleeing before the Mongols, brought him to Damascus, where in +due course he received an excellent education. It is said that he never +forgot anything which he had once learned, and his knowledge of theology +and law was so extensive as almost to justify the saying, "A tradition +that Ibn Taymiyya does not recognise is no tradition." Himself a +a¸¤anbalite of the deepest dye--holding, in other words, that the Koran +must be interpreted according to its letter and not by the light of +reason--he devoted his life with rare courage to the work of religious +reform. His aim, in short, was to restore the primitive monotheism +taught by the Prophet and to purge Islam of the heresies and corruptions +which threatened to destroy it. One may imagine what a hornet's nest he +was attacking. Mystics, philosophers, and scholastic theologians, all +fell alike under the lash of his denunciation. Bowing to no authority, +but drawing his arguments from the traditions and practice of the early +Church, he expressed his convictions in the most forcible terms, without +regard to consequences. Although several times thrown into prison, he +could not be muzzled for long. The climax was reached when he lifted up +his voice against the superstitions of the popular faith--saint-worship, +pilgrimage to holy shrines, vows, offerings, and invocations. These +things, which the zealous puritan condemned as sheer idolatry, were part +of a venerable cult that was hallowed by ancient custom, and had +engrafted itself in luxuriant overgrowth upon Islam. The mass of Moslems +believed, and still believe implicitly in the saints, accept their +miracles, adore their relics, visit their tombs, and pray for their +intercession. Ibn Taymiyya even declared that it was wrong to implore +the aid of the Prophet or to make a pilgrimage to his sepulchre. It was +a vain protest. He ended his days in captivity at Damascus. The vast +crowds who attended his funeral--we are told that there were present +200,000 men and 15,000 women--bore witness to the profound respect which +was universally felt for the intrepid reformer. Oddly enough, he was +buried in the Cemetery of the a¹cAºfA-s, whose doctrines he had so +bitterly opposed, and the multitude revered his memory--as a saint! The +principles which inspired Ibn Taymiyya did not fall to the ground, +although their immediate effect was confined to a very small circle. We +shall see them reappearing victoriously in the WahhAibite movement of the +eighteenth century. + +[Sidenote: ShaaEuro~rAinA- (aEuro 1565 A.D.).] + +Notwithstanding the brilliant effort of GhazAilA- to harmonise dogmatic +theology with mysticism, it soon became clear that the two parties were +in essence irreconcilable. The orthodox clergy who held fast by the +authority of the Koran and the Traditions saw a grave danger to +themselves in the esoteric revelation which the mystics claimed to +possess; while the latter, though externally conforming to the law of +Islam, looked down with contempt on the idea that true knowledge of God +could be derived from theology, or from any source except the inner +light of heavenly inspiration. Hence the antithesis of _faqA-h_ +(theologian) and _faqA-r_ (dervish), the one class forming a powerful +official hierarchy in close alliance with the Government, whereas the +a¹cAºfA-s found their chief support among the people at large, and +especially among the poor. We need not dwell further on the natural +antagonism which has always existed between these rival corporations, +and which is a marked feature in the modern history of Islam. It will be +more instructive to spend a few moments with the last great +Mua¸Yammadan theosophist, aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-WahhAib al-ShaaEuro~rAinA-, a man who, with +all his weaknesses, was an original thinker, and exerted an influence +strongly felt to this day, as is shown by the steady demand for his +books. He was born about the beginning of the sixteenth century. +Concerning his outward life we have little information beyond the facts +that he was a weaver by trade and resided in Cairo. At this time Egypt +was a province of the Ottoman Empire. ShaaEuro~rAinA- contrasts the miserable +lot of the peasantry under the new _rA(C)gime_ with their comparative +prosperity under the Mamelukes. So terrible were the exactions of the +tax-gatherers that the fellah was forced to sell the whole produce of +his land, and sometimes even the ox which ploughed it, in order to save +himself and his family from imprisonment; and every lucrative business +was crushed by confiscation. It is not to be supposed, however, that +ShaaEuro~rAinA- gave serious attention to such sublunary matters. He lived in a +world of visions and wonderful experiences. He conversed with angels and +prophets, like his more famous predecessor, Mua¸Yyi aEuro(TM)l-DA-n Ibnu +aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~ArabA-, whose _Meccan Revelations_ he studied and epitomised. His +autobiography entitled _Laa¹-AiaEuro(TM)ifu aEuro(TM)l-Minan_ displays the hierophant in +full dress. It is a record of the singular spiritual gifts and virtues +with which he was endowed, and would rank as a masterpiece of shameless +self-laudation, did not the author repeatedly assure us that all his +extraordinary qualities are Divine blessings and are gratefully set +forth by their recipient _ad majorem Dei gloriam_. We should be treating +ShaaEuro~rAinA- very unfairly if we judged him by this work alone. The arrogant +miracle-monger was one of the most learned men of his day, and could +beat the scholastic theologians with their own weapons. Indeed, he +regarded theology (_fiqh_) as the first step towards a¹cAºfiism, and +endeavoured to show that in reality they are different aspects of the +same science. He also sought to harmonise the four great schools of law, +whose disagreement was consecrated by the well-known saying ascribed to +the Prophet: "The variance of my people is an act of Divine mercy" +(_ikhtilAifu ummatA- raa¸Ymatun_). Like the Arabian a¹cAºfA-s generally, +ShaaEuro~rAinA- kept his mysticism within narrow bounds, and declared himself +an adherent of the moderate section which follows Junayd of BaghdAid (aEuro +909-910 A.D.). For all his extravagant pretensions and childish belief +in the supernatural, he never lost touch with the Mua¸Yammadan Church. + + +In the thirteenth century Ibn Taymiyya had tried to eradicate the abuses +which obscured the simple creed of Islam. He failed, but his work was +carried on by others and was crowned, after a long interval, by the +WahhAibite Reformation.[857] + +[Sidenote: Mua¸Yammad b. aEuro~Abd al-WahhAib and his successors.] + +Mua¸Yammad b. aEuro~Abd al-WahhAib,[858] from whom its name is derived, was +born about 1720 A.D. in Najd, the Highlands of Arabia. In his youth he +visited the principal cities of the East, "as is much the practice with +his countrymen even now,"[859] and what he observed in the course of his +travels convinced him that Islam was thoroughly corrupt. Fired by the +example of Ibn Taymiyya, whose writings he copied with his own +hand,[860] Ibn aEuro~Abd al-WahhAib determined to re-establish the pure +religion of Mua¸Yammad in its primitive form. Accordingly he returned +home and retired with his family to a¸iraaEuro~iyya at the time when +Mua¸Yammad b. SaaEuro~Aºd was the chief personage of the town. This man +became his first convert and soon after married his daughter. But it was +not until the end of the eighteenth century that the WahhAibA-s, under +aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~AzA-z, son of Mua¸Yammad b. SaaEuro~Aºd, gained their first great +successes. In 1801 they sacked ImAim-a¸¤usayn,[861] a town in the +vicinity of BaghdAid, massacred five thousand persons, and destroyed the +cupola of a¸¤usayn's tomb; the veneration paid by all ShA-aEuro~ites to that +shrine being, as Burckhardt says, a sufficient cause to attract the +WahhAibA- fury against it. Two years later they made themselves masters of +the whole a¸¤ijAiz, including Mecca and MedA-na. On the death of aEuro~Abdu +aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~AzA-z, who was assassinated in the same year, his eldest son, SaaEuro~Aºd, +continued the work of conquest and brought the greater part of Arabia +under WahhAibite rule. At last, in 1811, Turkey despatched a fleet and +army to recover the Holy Cities. This task was accomplished by +Mua¸Yammad aEuro~AlA-, the Pasha of Egypt (1812-13), and after five years' +hard fighting the war ended in favour of the Turks, who in 1818 +inflicted a severe defeat on the WahhAibA-s and took their capital, +a¸iraaEuro~iyya, by storm. The sect, however, still maintains its power in +Central Arabia, and in recent times has acquired political importance. + +[Sidenote: The WahhAibite Reformation.] + +The WahhAibA-s were regarded by the Turks as infidels and authors of a new +religion. It was natural that they should appear in this light, for they +interrupted the pilgrim-caravans, demolished the domes and ornamented +tombs of the most venerable Saints (not excepting that of the Prophet +himself), and broke to pieces the Black Stone in the KaaEuro~ba. All this +they did not as innovators, but as reformers. They resembled the +Carmathians only in their acts. Burckhardt says very truly: "Not a +single new precept was to be found in the Wahaby code. Abd el WahAib took +as his sole guide the Koran and the Sunne (or the laws formed upon the +traditions of Mohammed); and the only difference between his sect and +the orthodox Turks, however improperly so termed, is, that the Wahabys +rigidly follow the same laws which the others neglect, or have ceased +altogether to observe."[862] "The WahhAibites," says Dozy, "attacked the +idolatrous worship of Mahomet; although he was in their eyes a Prophet +sent to declare the will of God, he was no less a man like others, and +his mortal shell, far from having mounted to heaven, rested in the tomb +at MedA-na. Saint-worship they combated just as strongly. They proclaimed +that all men are equal before God; that even the most virtuous and +devout cannot intercede with Him; and that, consequently, it is a sin to +invoke the Saints and to adore their relics."[863] In the same puritan +spirit they forbade the smoking of tobacco, the wearing of gaudy robes, +and praying over the rosary. "It has been stated that they likewise +prohibited the drinking of coffee; this, however, is not the fact: they +have always used it to an immoderate degree."[864] + +[Sidenote: The SanAºsA-s in Africa.] + +The WahhAibite movement has been compared with the Protestant Reformation +in Europe; but while the latter was followed by the English and French +Revolutions, the former has not yet produced any great political +results. It has borne fruit in a general religious revival throughout +the world of Islam and particularly in the mysterious SanAºsiyya +Brotherhood, whose influence is supreme in Tripoli, the Sahara, and the +whole North African Hinterland, and whose members are reckoned by +millions. Mua¸Yammad b. aEuro~AlA- b. SanAºsA-, the founder of this vast and +formidable organisation, was born at Algiers in 1791, lived for many +years at Mecca, and died at JaghbAºb in the Libyan desert, midway between +Egypt and Tripoli, in 1859. Concerning the real aims of the SanAºsA-s I +must refer the reader to an interesting paper by the Rev. E. Sell +(_Essays on Islam_, p. 127 sqq.). There is no doubt that they are +utterly opposed to all Western and modern civilisation, and seek to +regenerate Islam by establishing an independent theocratic State on the +model of that which the Prophet and his successors called into being at +MedA-na in the seventh century after Christ. + + +[Sidenote: Islam and modern civilisation.] + +Since Napoleon showed the way by his expedition to Egypt in 1798, the +Moslems in that country, as likewise in Syria and North Africa, have +come more and more under European influence.[865] The above-mentioned +Mua¸Yammad aEuro~AlA-, who founded the Khedivial dynasty, and his successors +were fully alive to the practical benefits which might be obtained from +the superior culture of the West, and although their policy in this +respect was marked by greater zeal than discretion, they did not exert +themselves altogether in vain. The introduction of the printing-press in +1821 was an epoch-making measure. If, on the one hand, the publication +of many classical works, which had well-nigh fallen into oblivion, +rekindled the enthusiasm of the Arabs for their national literature, the +cause of progress--I use the word without prejudice--has been furthered +by the numerous political, literary, and scientific journals which are +now regularly issued in every country where Arabic is spoken.[866] +Besides these ephemeral sheets, books of all sorts, old and new, have +been multiplied by the native and European presses of Cairo, BAºlAiq, and +Beyrout. The science and culture of Europe have been rendered accessible +in translations and adaptations of which the complete list would form a +volume in itself. Thus, an Arab may read in his own language the +tragedies of Racine, the comedies of MoliA"re,[867] the fables of La +Fontaine, 'Paul and Virginia,' the 'Talisman,' 'Monte Cristo' (not to +mention scores of minor romances), and even the Iliad of Homer.[868] +Parallel to this imitative activity, we see a vigorous and growing +movement away from the literary models of the past. "Neo-Arabic +literature is only to a limited extent the heir of the old 'classical' +Arabic literature, and even shows a tendency to repudiate its +inheritance entirely. Its leaders are for the most part men who have +drunk from other springs and look at the world with different eyes. Yet +the past still plays a part in their intellectual background, and there +is a section amongst them upon whom that past retains a hold scarcely +shaken by newer influences. For many decades the partisans of the 'old' +and the 'new' have engaged in a struggle for the soul of the Arabic +world, a struggle in which the victory of one side over the other is +even yet not assured. The protagonists are (to classify them roughly for +practical purposes) the European-educated classes of Egyptians and +Syrians on the one hand, and those in Egypt and the less advanced Arabic +lands whose education has followed traditional lines on the other. +Whatever the ultimate result may be, there can be no question that the +conflict has torn the Arabic world from its ancient moorings, and that +the contemporary literature of Egypt and Syria breathes in its more +recent developments a spirit foreign to the old traditions."[869] + +Hitherto Western culture has only touched the surface of Islam. Whether +it will eventually strike deeper and penetrate the inmost barriers of +that scholastic discipline and literary tradition which are so firmly +rooted in the affections of the Moslem peoples, or whether it will +always remain an exotic and highly-prized accomplishment of the +enlightened and emancipated few, but an object of scorn and detestation +to Mua¸Yammadans in general--these are questions that may not be fully +solved for centuries to come. + +Meanwhile the Past affords an ample and splendid field of study. + + "_Man lam yaaEuro~i aEuro(TM)l-taaEuro(TM)rA-kha fA- a¹LadrihA- + Lam yadri a¸Yulwa aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~ayshi min murrihi + Wa-man waaEuro~Ai akhbAira man qad maa¸Ai + Aa¸Aifa aaEuro~mAiran ilAi aEuro~umrihA-._" + + "He in whose heart no History is enscrolled + Cannot discern in life's alloy the gold. + But he that keeps the records of the Dead + Adds to his life new lives a hundredfold." + + + + +FOOTNOTES: + + +[1] H. Grimme, _Weltgeschichte in Karakterbildern: Mohammed_ (Munich, +1904), p. 6 sqq. + +[2] _Cf._ NA¶ldeke, _Die Semitischen Sprachen_ (Leipzig, 1899), or the +same scholar's article, 'Semitic Languages,' in the _EncyclopA|dia +Britannica_, 11th edition. Renan's _Histoire gA(C)nA(C)rale des langues +sA(C)mitiques_ (1855) is now antiquated. An interesting essay on the +importance of the Semites in the history of civilisation was published +by F. Hommel as an introduction to his _Semitischen VA¶lker und +Sprachen_, vol. i (Leipzig, 1883). The dates in this table are of course +only approximate. + +[3] Ibn Qutayba, _KitAibu aEuro(TM)l-MaaEuro~Airij_, ed. by WA1/4stenfeld, p. 18. + +[4] Full information concerning the genealogy of the Arabs will be found +in WA1/4stenfeld's _Genealogische Tabellen der Arabischen StA¤mme und +Familien_ with its excellent _Register_ (GA¶ttingen, 1852-1853). + +[5] The tribes a¸abba, TamA-m, Khuzayma, Hudhayl, Asad, KinAina, and +Quraysh together formed a group which is known as Khindif, and is often +distinguished from Qays aEuro~AylAin. + +[6] Goldziher, _Muhammedanische Studien_, Part I, p. 133 sqq., 177 sqq. + +[7] NA¶ldeke in _Z.D.M.G._, vol. 40, p. 177. + +[8] See Margoliouth, _Mohammed and the Rise of Islam_, p. 4. + +[9] Concerning the nature and causes of this antagonism see Goldziher, +_op. cit._, Part I, p. 78 sqq. + +[10] The word 'Arabic' is always to be understood in this sense wherever +it occurs in the following pages. + +[11] First published by Sachau in _Monatsberichte der KA¶n. Preuss. Akad. +der Wissenschaften zu Berlin_ (February, 1881), p. 169 sqq. + +[12] See De VogA1/4A(C), _Syrie Centrale, Inscriptions SA(C)mitiques_, p. 117. +Other references are given in _Z.D.M.G._, vol. 35, p. 749. + +[13] On this subject the reader may consult Goldziher. _Muhammedanische +Studien_, Part I, p. 110 sqq. + +[14] Professor Margoliouth in _F.R.A.S._ for 1905, p. 418 + +[15] NA¶ldeke, _Die Semitischen Sprachen_, p. 36 sqq. and p. 51. + +[16] _Journal Asiatique_ (March, 1835), p. 209 sqq. + +[17] Strictly speaking, the _JAihiliyya_ includes the whole time between +Adam and Mua¸Yammad, but in a narrower sense it may be used, as here, to +denote the Pre-islamic period of Arabic Literature. + +[18] _Die Namen der SA¤ugethiere bei den SA1/4dsemitischen VA¶lkern_, p. 343 +seq. + +[19] _Iramu DhAitu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~ImAid_ (Koran, lxxxix, 6). The sense of these words +is much disputed. See especially a¹¬abarA-'s explanation in his great +commentary on the Koran (O. Loth in _Z.D.M.G._, vol. 35, p. 626 sqq.). + +[20] I have abridged a¹¬abarA-, _Annals_, i, 231 sqq. _Cf._ also chapters +vii, xi, xxvi, and xlvi of the Koran. + +[21] Koran, xi, 56-57. + +[22] See Doughty's _Documents Epigraphiques recueillis dans le nord de +l'Arabie_, p. 12 sqq. + +[23] Koran, vii, 76. + +[24] Properly SabaaEuro(TM) with _hamza_, both syllables being short. + +[25] The oldest record of Saba to which a date can be assigned is found +in the Assyrian cuneiform inscriptions. We read in the Annals of King +Sargon (715 B.C.), "I received the tribute of Pharaoh, the King of +Egypt, of Shamsiyya, the Queen of Arabia, of Ithamara the SabA|an--gold, +spices, slaves, horses, and camels." Ithamara is identical with +YathaaEuro~amar, a name borne by several kings of Saba. + +[26] A. MA1/4ller, _Der Islam im Morgen und Abendland_, vol. i, p. 24 seq. + +[27] NA¶ldeke, however, declares the traditions which represent Kulayb as +leading the RabA-aEuro~a clans to battle against the combined strength of +Yemen to be entirely unhistorical (_FA1/4nf MoaEuro~allaqAit_, i, 44). + +[28] _Op. cit._, p. 94 seq. An excellent account of the progress made in +discovering and deciphering the South Arabic inscriptions down to the +year 1841 is given by RA¶diger, _Excurs ueber himjaritische Inschriften_, +in his German translation of Wellsted's _Travels in Arabia_, vol. ii, p. +368 sqq. + +[29] Seetzen's inscriptions were published in _Fundgruben des Orients_, +vol. ii (Vienna, 1811), p. 282 sqq. The one mentioned above was +afterwards deciphered and explained by Mordtmann in the _Z.D.M.G._, vol. +31, p. 89 seq. + +[30] The oldest inscriptions, however, run from left to right and from +right to left alternately (I squaredI?I...IfI"II?II.I'IOEI1/2). + +[31] _Notiz ueber die himjaritische Schrift nebst doppeltem Alphabet +derselben_ in _Zeitschrift fA1/4r die Kunde des Morgenlandes_, vol. i +(GA¶ttingen, 1837), p. 332 sqq. + +[32] See Arnaud's _Relation d'un voyage A Mareb (Saba) dans l'Arabie +mA(C)ridionale_ in the _Journal Asiatique_, 4th series, vol. v (1845), p. +211 sqq. and p. 309 sqq. + +[33] See _Rapport sur une mission archA(C)ologique dans le YA(C)men_ in the +_Journal Asiatique_, 6th series, vol. xix (1872), pp. 5-98, 129-266, +489-547. + +[34] See D. H. MA1/4ller, _Die Burgen und SchlA¶sser SA1/4darabiens_ in +_S.B.W.A._, vol. 97, p. 981 sqq. + +[35] The title _Mukarrib_ combines the significations of prince and +priest. + +[36] Goldziher, _Muhammedanische Studien_, Part I, p. 3. + +[37] See F. PrA|torius, _Unsterblichkeitsglaube und Heiligenverehrung bei +den Himyaren_ in _Z.D.M.G._, vol. 27, p. 645. Hubert Grimme has given an +interesting sketch of the religious ideas and customs of the Southern +Arabs in _Weltgeschichte in Karakterbildern: Mohammed_ (Munich, 1904), +p. 29 sqq. + +[38] _Transactions of the Society of Biblical ArchA|ology_, vol. 5, p. +409. + +[39] This table of contents is quoted by D. H. MA1/4ller (_SA1/4darabische +Studien_, p. 108, n. 2) from the title-page of the British Museum MS. of +the eighth book of the _IklA-l_. No complete copy of the work is known to +exist, but considerable portions of it are preserved in the British +Museum and in the Berlin Royal Library. + +[40] The poet aEuro~Alqama b. DhA- Jadan, whose verses are often cited in the +commentary on the 'a¸¤imyarite Ode.' + +[41] _Die Himjarische Kasideh_ herausgegeben und A1/4bersetzt von Alfred +von Kremer (Leipzig, 1865). _The Lay of the Himyarites_, by W. F. +Prideaux (Sehore, 1879). + +[42] NashwAin was a philologist of some repute. His great dictionary, the +_Shamsu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~UlAºm_, is a valuable aid to those engaged in the study of +South Arabian antiquities. It has been used by D. H. MA1/4ller to fix the +correct spelling of proper names which occur in the a¸¤imyarite Ode +(_Z.D.M.G._, vol. 29, p. 620 sqq.; _SA1/4darabische Studien_, p. 143 sqq.). + +[43] _Fihrist_, p. 89, l. 26. + +[44] _MurAºju aEuro(TM)l-Dhahab_, ed. by Barbier de Meynard, vol. iv, p. 89. + +[45] Von Kremer, _Die SA1/4darabische Sage_, p. 56. Possibly, as he +suggests (p. 115), the story may be a symbolical expression of the fact +that the SabA|ans were divided into two great tribes, a¸¤imyar and +KahlAin, the former of which held the chief power. + +[46] _Cf._ Koran xxxiv, 14 sqq. The existing ruins have been described +by Arnaud in the _Journal Asiatique_, 7th series, vol. 3 (1874), p. 3 +sqq. + +[47] I follow MasaEuro~AºdA-, _MurAºju aEuro(TM)l-Dhahab_ (ed. by Barbier de Meynard), +vol. iii, p. 378 sqq., and NuwayrA- in Reiske's _PrimA| lineA| HistoriA| +Rerum Arabicarum_, p. 166 sqq. + +[48] The story of the migration from MaaEuro(TM)rib, as related below, may have +some historical basis, but the Dam itself was not finally destroyed +until long afterwards. Inscriptions carved on the existing ruins show +that it was more or less in working order down to the middle of the +sixth century A.D. The first recorded flood took place in 447-450, and +on another occasion (in 539-542) the Dam was partially reconstructed by +Abraha, the Abyssinian viceroy of Yemen. See E. Glaser, _Zwei +Inschriften A1/4ber den Dammbruch von MAcrib_ (_Mitteilungen der +Vorderastatischen Gesellschaft_, 1897, 6). + +[49] He is said to have gained this sobriquet from his custom of tearing +to pieces (_mazaqa_) every night the robe which he had worn during the +day. + +[50] Freytag, _Arabum Proverbia_, vol. i, p. 497. + +[51] HamdAinA-, _IklA-l_, bk. viii, edited by D. H. MA1/4ller in _S.B.W.A._ +(Vienna, 1881), vol. 97, p. 1037. The verses are quoted with some +textual differences by YAiqAºt, _MuaEuro~jam al-BuldAin_, ed. by WA1/4stenfeld, +vol. iv, 387, and Ibn HishAim, p. 9. + +[52] The following inscription is engraved on one of the stone cylinders +described by Arnaud. "YathaaEuro~amar Bayyin, son of SamahaEuro~alA- YanAºf, Prince +of Saba, caused the mountain Balaq to be pierced and erected the +flood-gates (called) Raa¸Yab for convenience of irrigation." I +translate after D. H. MA1/4ller, _loc. laud._, p. 965. + +[53] The words _a¸¤imyar_ and _TubbaaEuro~_ do not occur at all in the older +inscriptions, and very seldom even in those of a more recent date. + +[54] See Koran, xviii, 82-98. + +[55] Dhu aEuro(TM)l-Qarnayn is described as "the measurer of the earth" +(_MassAia¸Yu aEuro(TM)l-ara¸_) by HamdAinA-, _JazA-ratu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~Arab_, p. 46, l. 10. +If I may step for a moment outside the province of literary history to +discuss the mythology of these verses, it seems to me more than probable +that Dhu aEuro(TM)l-Qarnayn is a personification of the SabA|an divinity aEuro~Athtar, +who represents "sweet Hesper-Phosphor, double name" (see D. H. MA1/4ller in +_S.B.W.A._, vol. 97, p. 973 seq.). The MinA|an inscriptions have "aEuro~Athtar +of the setting and aEuro~Athtar of the rising" (_ibid._, p. 1033). Moreover, +in the older inscriptions aEuro~Athtar and Almaqa are always mentioned +together; and Almaqa, which according to HamdAinA- is the name of Venus +(_al-Zuhara_), was identified by Arabian archA|ologists with BilqA-s. For +_qarn_ in the sense of 'ray' or 'beam' see Goldziher, _Abhand. zur Arab. +Philologie_, Part I, p. 114. I think there is little doubt that Dhu +aEuro(TM)l-Qarnayn and BilqA-s may be added to the examples (_ibid._, p. 111 +sqq.) of that peculiar conversion by which many heathen deities were +enabled to maintain themselves under various disguises within the pale +of Islam. + +[56] The Arabic text will be found in Von Kremer's _Altarabische +Gedichte ueber die Volkssage von Jemen_, p. 15 (No. viii, l. 6 sqq.). +a¸¤assAin b. ThAibit, the author of these lines, was contemporary with +Mua¸Yammad, to whose cause he devoted what poetical talent he possessed. +In the verses immediately preceding those translated above he claims to +be a descendant of Qaa¸Ya¹-Ain. + +[57] Von Kremer, _Die SA1/4darabische Sage_, p. vii of the Introduction. + +[58] A prose translation is given by Von Kremer, _ibid._, p. 78 sqq. The +Arabic text which he published afterwards in _Altarabische Gedichte +ueber die Volkssage von Jemen_, p. 18 sqq., is corrupt in some places +and incorrect in others. I have followed Von Kremer's interpretation +except when it seemed to me to be manifestly untenable. The reader will +have no difficulty in believing that this poem was meant to be recited +by a wandering minstrel to the hearers that gathered round him at +nightfall. It may well be the composition of one of those professional +story-tellers who flourished in the first century after the Flight, such +as aEuro~AbA-d b. Sharya (see p. 13 _supra_), or YazA-d b. RabA-aEuro~a b. Mufarrigh +(aEuro 688 A.D.), who is said to have invented the poems and romances of the +a¸¤imyarite kings (_AghAinA-_, xvii, 52). + +[59] Instead of Hinwam the original has HayyAºm, for which Von Kremer +reads AhnAºm. But see HamdAinA-, _JazA-ralu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~Arab_, p. 193, last line and +fol. + +[60] I read _al-jahdi_ for _al-jahli_. + +[61] I omit the following verses, which tell how an old woman of MedA-na +came to King AsaEuro~ad, imploring him to avenge her wrongs, and how he +gathered an innumerable army, routed his enemies, and returned to +aº'afAir in triumph. + +[62] Ibn HishAim, p. 13, l. 14 sqq. + +[63] Ibn HishAim, p. 15, l. 1 sqq. + +[64] _Ibid._, p. 17, l. 2 sqq. + +[65] Arabic text in Von Kremer's _Altarabische Gedichte ueber die +Volkssage von Jemen_, p. 20 seq.; prose translation by the same author +in _Die SA1/4darabische Sage_, p. 84 sqq. + +[66] The second half of this verse is corrupt. Von Kremer translates (in +his notes to the Arabic text, p. 26): "And bury with me the camel +stallions (_al-khA-lAin_) and the slaves (_al-ruqqAin_)." Apart, however, +from the fact that _ruqqAin_ (plural of _raqA-q_) is not mentioned by the +lexicographers, it seems highly improbable that the king would have +commanded such a barbarity. I therefore take _khA-lAin_ (plural of _khAil_) +in the meaning of 'soft stuffs of Yemen,' and read _zuqqAin_ (plural of +_ziqq_). + +[67] GhaymAin or MiqlAib, a castle near a¹canaEuro~Ai, in which the +a¸¤imyarite kings were buried. + +[68] The text and translation of this section of the _IklA-l_ have been +published by D. H. MA1/4ller in _S.B.W.A._, vols. 94 and 97 (Vienna, +1879-1880). + +[69] _AghAinA-_, xx, 8, l. 14 seq. + +[70] Koran, lxxxv, 4 sqq. + +[71] a¹¬abarA-, i, 927, l. 19 sqq. + +[72] The following narrative is abridged from a¹¬abarA-, i, 928, l. 2 +sqq. = NA¶ldeke, _Geschichte der Perser und Araber zur Zeit der +Sasaniden_, p. 192 sqq. + +[73] The reader will find a full and excellent account of these matters +in Professor Browne's _Literary History of Persia_, vol. i, pp. 178-181. + +[74] Goldziher, _Muhammedanische Studien_, Part I, p. 225. + +[75] MaydAinA-'s collection has been edited, with a Latin translation by +Freytag, in three volumes (_Arabum Proverbia_, Bonn, 1838-1843). + +[76] The _KitAibu aEuro(TM)l-AghAinA-_ has been published at BulAiq (1284-1285 A.H.) +in twenty volumes. A volume of biographies not contained in the BulAiq +text was edited by R. E. BrA1/4nnow (Leiden, 1888). + +[77] _Muqaddima_ of Ibn KhaldAºn (Beyrout, 1900), p. 554, ll. 8-10; _Les +ProlA(C)gomA"nes d' Ibn Khaldoun traduits par M. de Slane_ (Paris, 1863-68) +vol. iii, p. 331. + +[78] Published at Paris, 1847-1848, in three volumes. + +[79] These are the same Bedouin Arabs of TanAºkh who afterwards formed +part of the population of a¸¤A-ra. See p. 38 _infra_. + +[80] Ibn Qutayba in BrA1/4nnow's _Chrestomathy_, p. 29. + +[81] Properly _al-ZabbAi_, an epithet meaning 'hairy.' According to +a¹¬abarA- (i, 757) her name was NAiaEuro(TM)ila. It is odd that in the Arabic +version of the story the name Zenobia (Zaynab) should be borne by the +heroine's sister. + +[82] The above narrative is abridged from _AghAinA-_, xiv, 73, l. 20-75, +l. 25. _Cf._ a¹¬abarA-, i, 757-766; MasaEuro~AºdA-, _MurAºju aEuro(TM)l-Dhahab_ (ed. by +Barbier de Meynard), vol. iii, pp. 189-199. + +[83] Concerning a¸¤A-ra and its history the reader may consult an +admirable monograph by Dr. G. Rothstein, _Die Dynastie der Laaº-miden +in al-a¸¤A-ra_ (Berlin, 1899), where the sources of information are set +forth (p. 5 sqq.). The incidental references to contemporary events in +Syriac and Byzantine writers, who often describe what they saw with +their own eyes, are extremely valuable as a means of fixing the +chronology, which Arabian historians can only supply by conjecture, +owing to the want of a definite era during the Pre-islamic period. +Mua¸Yammadan general histories usually contain sections, more or less +mythical in character, "On the Kings of a¸¤A-ra and GhassAin." Attention +may be called in particular to the account derived from HishAim b. +Mua¸Yammad al-KalbA-, which is preserved by a¹¬abarA- and has been +translated with a masterly commentary by NA¶ldeke in his _Geschichte der +Perser und Araber zur Zeit der Sasaniden_. HishAim had access to the +archives kept in the churches of a¸¤A-ra, and claims to have extracted +therefrom many genealogical and chronological details relating to the +Lakhmite dynasty (a¹¬abarA-, i, 770, 7). + +[84] a¸¤A-ra is the Syriac _a¸YA(C)rtAi_ (sacred enclosure, monastery), +which name was applied to the originally mobile camp of the Persian +Arabs and retained as the designation of the garrison town. + +[85] SadA-r was a castle in the vicinity of a¸¤A-ra. + +[86] a¹¬abarA-, i, 853, 20 sqq. + +[87] BahrAim was educated at a¸¤A-ra under NuaEuro~mAin and Mundhir. The +Persian grandees complained that he had the manners and appearance of +the Arabs among whom he had grown up (a¹¬abarA-, i, 858, 7). + +[88] MAiaEuro(TM) al-samAi (_i.e._, Water of the sky) is said to have been the +sobriquet of Mundhir's mother, whose proper name was MAiriya or MAiwiyya. + +[89] For an account of Mazdak and his doctrines the reader may consult +NA¶ldeke's translation of a¹¬abarA-, pp. 140-144, 154, and 455-467, and +Professor Browne's _Literary History of Persia_, vol. i, pp. 168-172. + +[90] Mundhir slaughtered in cold blood some forty or fifty members of +the royal house of Kinda who had fallen into his hands. a¸¤Airith +himself was defeated and slain by Mundhir in 529. Thereafter the power +of Kinda sank, and they were gradually forced back to their original +settlements in a¸¤aa¸ramawt. + +[91] On another occasion he sacrificed four hundred Christian nuns to +the same goddess. + +[92] See p. 50 _infra_. + +[93] _AghAinA-_, xix, 86, l. 16 sqq. + +[94] _AghAinA-_, xix, 87, l. 18 sqq. + +[95] Hind was a princess of Kinda (daughter of the a¸¤Airith b. aEuro~Amr +mentioned above), whom Mundhir probably captured in one of his marauding +expeditions. She was a Christian, and founded a monastery at a¸¤A-ra. +See NA¶ldeke's translation of a¹¬abarA-, p. 172, n. 1. + +[96] _AghAinA-_, xxi, 194, l. 22. + +[97] Zayd was actually Regent of a¸¤A-ra after the death of QAibAºs, and +paved the way for Mundhir IV, whose violence had made him detested by +the people (NA¶ldeke's translation of a¹¬abarA-, p. 346, n. 1). + +[98] The Arabs called the Byzantine emperor '_Qaya¹Lar_,' _i.e._, +CA|sar, and the Persian emperor '_KisrAi_,' _i.e._, Chosroes. + +[99] My friend and colleague, Professor A. A. Bevan, writes to me that +"the story of aEuro~AdA-'s marriage with the king's daughter is based partly +on a verse in which the poet speaks of himself as connected by marriage +with the royal house (_AghAinA-_, ii, 26, l. 5), and partly on another +verse in which he mentions 'the home of Hind' (_ibid._, ii, 32, l. 1). +But this Hind was evidently a Bedouin woman, not the king's daughter." + +[100] _AghAinA-_, ii, 22, l. 3 sqq. + +[101] When Hurmuz summoned the sons of Mundhir to Ctesiphon that he +might choose a king from among them, aEuro~AdA- said to each one privately, +"If the Chosroes demands whether you can keep the Arabs in order, reply, +'All except NuaEuro~mAin.'" To NuaEuro~mAin, however, he said: "The Chosroes will +ask, 'Can you manage your brothers?' Say to him: 'If I am not strong +enough for them, I am still less able to control other folk!'" Hurmuz +was satisfied with this answer and conferred the crown upon NuaEuro~mAin. + +[102] A full account of these matters is given by a¹¬abarA-, i, +1016-1024 = NA¶ldeke's translation, pp. 314-324. + +[103] A similar description occurs in Freytag's _Arabum Proverbia_, vol. +ii. p. 589 sqq. + +[104] a¹¬abarA-, i, 1024-1029 = NA¶ldeke's translation, pp. 324-331. Ibn +Qutayba in BrA1/4nnow's _Chrestomathy_, pp. 32-33. + +[105] A town in Arabia, some distance to the north of MedA-na. + +[106] See Freytag, _Arabum Proverbia_, vol. ii, p. 611. + +[107] A celebrated Companion of the Prophet. He led the Moslem army to +the conquest of Syria, and died of the plague in 639 A.D. + +[108] Ibn Qutayba in BrA1/4nnow's _Chrestomathy_, pp. 26-28. + +[109] The following details are extracted from NA¶ldeke's monograph: _Die +GhassAcnischen FA1/4rsten aus dem Hause Gafna's_, in _Abhand. d. KA¶n. +Preuss. Akad. d. Wissenschaften_ (Berlin, 1887). + +[110] NA¶ldeke, _op. cit._, p. 20, refers to John of Ephesus, iii, 2. See +_The Third Part of the Ecclesiastical History of John, Bishop of +Ephesus_, translated by R. Payne Smith, p. 168. + +[111] IyAis b. QabA-a¹La succeeded NuaEuro~mAin III as ruler of a¸¤A-ra +(602-611 A.D.). He belonged to the tribe of a¹¬ayyiaEuro(TM). See Rothstein, +_Laaº-miden_, p. 119. + +[112] I read _yatafaa¸a¸alu_ for _yanfaa¹Lilu_. The arrangement +which the former word denotes is explained in Lane's Dictionary as "the +throwing a portion of one's garment over his left shoulder, and drawing +its extremity under his right arm, and tying the two extremities +together in a knot upon his bosom." + +[113] The _fanak_ is properly a kind of white stoat or weasel found in +Abyssinia and northern Africa, but the name is also applied by +Mua¸Yammadans to other furs. + +[114] _AghAinA-_, xvi, 15, ll. 22-30. So far as it purports to proceed +from a¸¤assAin, the passage is apocryphal, but this does not seriously +affect its value as evidence, if we consider that it is probably +compiled from the poet's _dA-wAin_ in which the GhassAinids are often +spoken of. The particular reference to Jabala b. al-Ayham is a mistake. +a¸¤assAin's acquaintance with the GhassAinids belongs to the pagan period +of his life, and he is known to have accepted Islam many years before +Jabala began to reign. + +[115] NAibigha, ed. by Derenbourg, p. 78; NA¶ldeke's _Delectus_, p. 96. +The whole poem has been translated by Sir Charles Lyall in his _Ancient +Arabian Poetry_, p. 95 sqq. + +[116] Thorbecke, _aEuro~Antarah, ein vorislamischer Dichter_, p. 14. + +[117] The following narrative is an abridgment of the history of the War +of BasAºs as related in TibrA-zA-'s commentary on the _a¸¤amAisa_ (ed. by +Freytag), pp. 420-423 and 251-255. _Cf._ NA¶ldeke's _Delectus_, p. 39 sqq. + +[118] See p. 5 _supra_. + +[119] WAiaEuro(TM)il is the common ancestor of Bakr and Taghlib. For the use of +stones (ana¹LAib) in the worship of the Pagan Arabs see Wellhausen, +_Reste Arabischen Heidentums_ (2nd ed.), p. 101 sqq. Robertson Smith, +_Lectures on the Religion of the Semites_ (London, 1894), p. 200 sqq. + +[120] _a¸¤amAisa_, 422, 14 sqq. NA¶ldeke's _Delectus_, p. 39, last line and +foll. + +[121] _a¸¤amAisa_, 423, 11 sqq. NA¶ldeke's _Delectus_, p. 41, l. 3 sqq. + +[122] _a¸¤amAisa_, 252, 8 seq. NA¶ldeke's _Delectus_, p. 44, l. 3 seq. + +[123] Hind is the mother of Bakr and Taghlib. Here the BanAº Hind (Sons +of Hind) are the Taghlibites. + +[124] _a¸¤amAisa_, 9, 17 seq. NA¶ldeke's _Delectus_, p. 45, l. 10 sqq. + +[125] _a¸¤amAisa_, 252, 14 seq. NA¶ldeke's _Delectus_, p. 46, l. 16 sqq. + +[126] _a¸¤amAisa_, 254, 6 seq. NA¶ldeke's _Delectus_, p. 47, l. 2 seq. + +[127] _a¸¤amAisa_, 96. Ibn NubAita, cited by Rasmussen, _Additamenta ad +Historiam Arabum ante Islamismum_, p. 34, remarks that before Qays no +one had ever lamented a foe slain by himself (_wa-huwa awwalu man rathAi +maqtAºlahu_). + +[128] Ibn HishAim, p. 51, l. 7 sqq. + +[129] In the account of Abraha's invasion given below I have followed +a¹¬abarA-, i, 936, 9-945, 19 = NA¶ldeke's translation, pp. 206-220. + +[130] I read _a¸YilAilak_. See Glossary to a¹¬abarA-. + +[131] a¹¬abarA-, i, 940, 13. + +[132] Another version says: "Whenever a man was struck sores and +pustules broke out on that part of his body. This was the first +appearance of the small-pox" (a¹¬abarA-, i, 945, 2 sqq.). Here we have +the historical fact--an outbreak of pestilence in the Abyssinian +army--which gave rise to the legend related above. + +[133] There is trustworthy evidence that Abraha continued to rule Yemen +for some time after his defeat. + +[134] Ibn HishAim, p. 38, l. 14 sqq. + +[135] _Ibid._, p. 40, l. 12 sqq. + +[136] See pp. 48-49 _supra_. + +[137] Full details are given by a¹¬abarA-, i, 1016-1037 = NA¶ldeke's +translation, pp. 311-345. + +[138] A poet speaks of three thousand Arabs and two thousand Persians +(a¹¬abarA-, i, 1036, 5-6). + +[139] Ibn RashA-q in SuyAºa¹-A-'s Muzhir (BulAiq, 1282 A.H.), Part II, p. +236, l. 22 sqq. I quote the translation of Sir Charles Lyall in the +Introduction to his _Ancient Arabian Poetry_, p. 17, a most admirable +work which should be placed in the hands of every one who is beginning +the study of this difficult subject. + +[140] Freytag, _Arabum Proverbia_, vol. ii, p. 494. + +[141] Numb. xxi, 17. Such well-songs are still sung in the Syrian desert +(see Enno Littmann, _Neuarabische Volkspoesie_, in _Abhand. der KA¶n. +Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften, Phil.-Hist. Klasse_, GA¶ttingen, 1901), +p. 92. In a specimen cited at p. 81 we find the words _witla yAe +dlAªwAe"na_--_i.e._, "Rise, O bucket!" several times repeated. + +[142] Goldziher, _Ueber die Vorgeschichte der HigAc-Poesie_ in his +_Abhand. zur Arab. Philologie_, Part I (Leyden, 1896), p. 26. + +[143] _Cf._ the story of Balak and Balaam, with Goldziher's remarks +thereon, _ibid._, p. 42 seq. + +[144] _Ibid._, p. 46 seq. + +[145] _Rajaz_ primarily means "a tremor (which is a symptom of disease) +in the hind-quarters of a camel." This suggested to Dr. G. Jacob his +interesting theory that the Arabian metres arose out of the +camel-driver's song (_a¸YidAi_) in harmony with the varying paces of the +animal which he rode (_Studien in arabischen Dichtern_, Heft III, p. 179 +sqq.). + +[146] The Arabic verse (_bayt_) consists of two halves or hemistichs +(_mia¹LrAiaEuro~_). It is generally convenient to use the word 'line' as a +translation of _mia¹LrAiaEuro~_, but the reader must understand that the +'line' is not, as in English poetry, an independent unit. _Rajaz_ is the +sole exception to this rule, there being here no division into +hemistichs, but each line (verse) forming an unbroken whole and rhyming +with that which precedes it. + +[147] In Arabic 'al-bayt,' the tent, which is here used figuratively for +the grave. + +[148] Ibn Qutayba, _KitAibu aEuro(TM)l-ShiaEuro~r wa-aEuro(TM)l-ShuaEuro~arAi_, p. 36, l. 3 sqq. + +[149] Already in the sixth century A.D. the poet aEuro~Antara complains that +his predecessors have left nothing new for him to say (_MuaEuro~allaqa_, v. +1). + +[150] _Ancient Arabian Poetry_, Introduction, p. xvi. + +[151] _Qaa¹LA-da_ is explained by Arabian lexicographers to mean a poem +with an artistic purpose, but they differ as to the precise sense in +which 'purpose' is to be understood. Modern critics are equally at +variance. Jacob (_Stud. in Arab. Dichtern_, Heft III, p. 203) would +derive the word from the principal motive of these poems, namely, to +gain a rich reward in return for praise and flattery. Ahlwardt +(_Bemerkungen A1/4ber die Aechtheit der alten Arab. Gedichte_, p. 24 seq.) +connects it with _qaa¹Lada, to break_, "because it consists of verses, +every one of which is divided into two halves, with a common end-rhyme: +thus the whole poem is _broken_, as it were, into two halves;" while in +the _Rajaz_ verses, as we have seen (p. 74 _supra_), there is no such +break. + +[152] _KitAibu aEuro(TM)l-ShiaEuro~r wa-aEuro(TM)l-ShuaEuro~arAi_, p. 14, l. 10 sqq. + +[153] NA¶ldeke (_FA1/4nf MoaEuro~allaqAit_, i, p. 3 sqq.) makes the curious +observation, which illustrates the highly artificial character of this +poetry, that certain animals well known to the Arabs (_e.g._, the +panther, the jerboa, and the hare) are seldom mentioned and scarcely +ever described, apparently for no reason except that they were not +included in the conventional repertory. + +[154] _Ancient Arabian Poetry_, p. 83. + +[155] Verses 3-13. I have attempted to imitate the 'Long' (_a¹¬awA-l_) +metre of the original, viz.:-- + + aOEL | aOEL | aOEL | + aOEL - - | aOEL - - - | aOEL - - | aOEL - aOEL - + +The Arabic text of the _LAimiyya_, with prose translation and commentary, +is printed in De Sacy's _Chrestomathie Arabe_ (2nd. ed.), vol. iiAº, p. +134 sqq., and vol. ii, p. 337 sqq. It has been translated into English +verse by G. Hughes (London, 1896). Other versions are mentioned by +NA¶ldeke, _BeitrA¤ge zur Kenntniss d. Poesie d. alten Araber_, p. 200. + +[156] The poet, apparently, means that his three friends are _like_ the +animals mentioned. Prof. Bevan remarks, however, that this +interpretation is doubtful, since an Arab would scarcely compare his +_friend_ to a hyena. + +[157] _a¸¤amAisa_, 242. + +[158] _a¸¤amAisa_, 41-43. This poem has been rendered in verse by Sir +Charles Lyall, _Ancient Arabian Poetry_, p. 16, and by the late Dr. A. +B. Davidson, _Biblical and Literary Essays_, p. 263. + +[159] Mahaffy, _Social Life in Greece_, p. 21. + +[160] See pp. 59-60 _supra_. + +[161] _a¸¤amAisa_, 82-83. The poet is aEuro~Amr b. MaaEuro~dA-karib, a famous +heathen knight who accepted Islam and afterwards distinguished himself +in the Persian wars. + +[162] Al-Afwah al-AwdA- in NA¶ldeke's _Delectus_, p. 4, ll. 8-10. The +poles and pegs represent lords and commons. + +[163] _a¸¤amAisa_, 122. + +[164] _Ibid._, 378. + +[165] _Cf._ the verses by al-Find, p. 58 _supra_. + +[166] _a¸¤amAisa_, 327. + +[167] ImruaEuro(TM)u aEuro(TM)l-Qays was one of the princes of Kinda, a powerful tribe +in Central Arabia. + +[168] _AghAinA-_, xix, 99. The last two lines are wanting in the poem as +there cited, but appear in the Selection from the AghAinA- published at +Beyrout in 1888, vol. ii, p. 18. + +[169] See p. 45 sqq. + +[170] _AghAinA-_, xvi, 98, ll. 5-22. + +[171] _AghAinA-_, xvi, 97, l. 5 sqq. + +[172] His _DA-wAin_ has been edited with translation and notes by F. +Schulthess (Leipzig, 1897). + +[173] _a¸¤amAisa_, 729. The hero mentioned in the first verse is aEuro~Amir +b. Ua¸Yaymir of Bahdala. On a certain occasion, when envoys from the +Arabian tribes were assembled at a¸¤A-ra, King Mundhir b. MAiaEuro(TM) al-samAi +produced two pieces of cloth of Yemen and said, "Let him whose tribe is +noblest rise up and take them." Thereupon aEuro~Amir stood forth, and +wrapping one piece round his waist and the other over his shoulders, +carried off the prize unchallenged. + +[174] Lady Anne and Mr. Wilfrid Blunt, _The Seven Golden Odes of Pagan +Arabia_, Introduction, p. 14. + +[175] _AghAinA-_ xvi, 22, ll. 10-16. + +[176] _AghAinA-_, xviii, 137, ll. 5-10. Freytag, _Arabum Proverbia_, vol. +ii, p. 834. + +[177] _Ancient Arabian Poetry_, p. 81. + +[178] _Mufaa¸a¸aliyyAit_, ed. Thorbecke, p. 23. + +[179] See Goldziher, _Muhammedanische Studien_, Part II, p. 295 sqq. + +[180] Koran, xvi, 59-61. + +[181] Freytag, _Arabum Proverbia_, vol. i, p. 229. + +[182] Koran, xvii, 33. _Cf._ lxxxi, 8-9 (a description of the Last +Judgment): "_When the girl buried alive shall be asked for what crime +she was killed._" + +[183] Literally: "And tear the veil from (her, as though she were) flesh +on a butcher's board," _i.e._, defenceless, abandoned to the +first-comer. + +[184] _a¸¤amAisa_, 140. Although these verses are not Pre-islamic, and +belong in fact to a comparatively late period of Islam, they are +sufficiently pagan in feeling to be cited in this connection. The +author, Isa¸YAiq b. Khalaf, lived under the Caliph MaaEuro(TM)mAºn (813-833 A.D.). +He survived his adopted daughter--for Umayma was his sister's child--and +wrote an elegy on her, which is preserved in the _KAimil_ of al-Mubarrad, +p. 715, l. 7 sqq., and has been translated, together with the verses now +in question, by Sir Charles Lyall, _Ancient Arabian Poetry_, p. 26. + +[185] _a¸¤amAisa_, 142. Lyall, _op. cit._, p. 28. + +[186] _a¸¤amAisa_, 7. + +[187] _a¸¤amAisa_, 321. + +[188] See p. 55 sqq. + +[189] _Cf._ RA1/4ckert's _HamAcsa_, vol. i, p. 61 seq. + +[190] _a¸¤amAisa_, 30. + +[191] _AghAinA-_, ii, 160, l. 11-162, l. 1 = p. 13 sqq. of the Beyrout +Selection. + +[192] The Bedouins consider that any one who has eaten of their food or +has touched the rope of their tent is entitled to claim their +protection. Such a person is called _dakhA-l_. See Burckhardt, _Notes on +the Bedouins and WahAibys_ (London, 1831), vol. i, p. 160 sqq. and 329 +sqq. + +[193] See p. 81 _supra_. + +[194] Stuttgart, 1819, p. 253 sqq. The other renderings in verse with +which I am acquainted are those of RA1/4ckert (_HamAcsa_, vol. i, p. 299) +and Sir Charles Lyall (_Ancient Arabian Poetry_, p. 48). I have adopted +Sir Charles Lyall's arrangement of the poem, and have closely followed +his masterly interpretation, from which I have also borrowed some turns +of phrase that could not be altered except for the worse. + +[195] The Arabic text will be found in the _HamAisa_, p. 382 sqq. + +[196] This and the following verse are generally taken to be a +description not of the poet himself, but of his nephew. The +interpretation given above does no violence to the language, and greatly +enhances the dramatic effect. + +[197] In the original this and the preceding verse are transposed. + +[198] Although the poet's uncle was killed in this onslaught, the +surprised party suffered severely. "The two clans" belonged to the great +tribe of Hudhayl, which is mentioned in the penultimate verse. + +[199] It was customary for the avenger to take a solemn vow that he +would drink no wine before accomplishing his vengeance. + +[200] _a¸¤amAisa_, 679. + +[201] _Cf._ the lines translated below from the _MuaEuro~allaqa_ of +a¸¤Airith. + +[202] The best edition of the _MuaEuro~allaqAit_ is Sir Charles Lyall's (_A +Commentary on Ten Ancient Arabic Poems_, Calcutta, 1894), which contains +in addition to the seven _MuaEuro~allaqAit_ three odes by AaEuro~shAi, NAibigha, and +aEuro~AbA-d b. al-Abraa¹L. NA¶ldeke has translated five MuaEuro~allaqas (omitting +those of ImruaEuro(TM) uaEuro(TM) l-Qays and a¹¬arafa) with a German commentary, +_Sitzungsberichte der Kais. Akad. der Wissenschaften in Wien_, +_Phil.-Histor. Klasse_, vols. 140-144 (1899-1901); this is by far the +best translation for students. No satisfactory version in English prose +has hitherto appeared, but I may call attention to the fine and +original, though somewhat free, rendering into English verse by Lady +Anne Blunt and Wilfrid Scawen Blunt (_The Seven Golden Odes of Pagan +Arabia_, London, 1903). + +[203] _Ancient Arabian Poetry_, Introduction, p. xliv. Many other +interpretations have been suggested--_e.g._, 'The Poems written down +from oral dictation' (Von Kremer), 'The richly bejewelled' (Ahlwardt), +'The Pendants,' as though they were pearls strung on a necklace (A. +MA1/4ller). + +[204] The belief that the _MuaEuro~allaqAit_ were written in letters of gold +seems to have arisen from a misunderstanding of the name _MudhhabAit_ or +_MudhahhabAit_ (_i.e._, the Gilded Poems) which is sometimes given to +them in token of their excellence, just as the Greeks gave the title +I‡IIIfI muI+- a1/4"IEuroI. to a poem falsely attributed to Pythagoras. That some of +the _MuaEuro~allaqAit_ were recited at aEuro~UkAiaº" is probable enough and is +definitely affirmed in the case of aEuro~Amr b. KulthAºm (_AghAinA-_, ix, 182). + +[205] The legend first appears in the _aEuro~Iqd al-FarA-d_ (ed. of Cairo, +1293 A.H., vol. iii, p. 116 seq.) of Ibn aEuro~Abdi Rabbihi, who died in 940 +A.D. + +[206] See the Introduction to NA¶ldeke's _BeitrA¤ge zur Kenntniss der +Poesie der alten Araber_ (Hannover, 1864), p. xvii sqq., and his article +MoaEuro~allaa¸ cubedAit' in the _EncyclopA|dia Britannica_. + +[207] It is well known that the order of the verses in the _MuaEuro~allaqAit_, +as they have come down to us, is frequently confused, and that the +number of various readings is very large. I have generally followed the +text and arrangement adopted by NA¶ldeke in his German translation. + +[208] See p. 42 _supra_. + +[209] _Ancient Arabian Poetry_, p. 105. + +[210] See the account of his life (according to the _KitAibuaEuro(TM) l-AghAinA-_) +in _Le Diwan d'AmroaEuro(TM)lkaA-s_, edited with translation and notes by Baron +MacGuckin de Slane (Paris, 1837), pp. 1-51; and in _Amrilkais, der +Dichter und KA¶nig_ by Friedrich RA1/4ckert (Stuttgart and TA1/4bingen, 1843). + +[211] That he was not, however, the inventor of the Arabian _qaa¹LA-da_ +as described above (p. 76 sqq.) appears from the fact that he mentions +in one of his verses a certain Ibn a¸¤umAim or Ibn KhidhAim who +introduced, or at least made fashionable, the prelude with which almost +every ode begins: a lament over the deserted camping-ground (Ibn +Qutayba, _K. al-ShiaEuro~r wa-aEuro(TM)l-ShuaEuro~arAi_, p. 52). + +[212] The following lines are translated from Arnold's edition of the +_MuaEuro~allaqAit_ (Leipsic, 1850), p. 9 sqq., vv. 18-35. + +[213] The native commentators are probably right in attributing this and +the three preceding verses (48-51 in Arnold's edition) to the +brigand-poet, TaaEuro(TM)abbaa¹-a Sharran. + +[214] We have already (p. 39) referred to the culture of the Christian +Arabs of a¸¤A-ra. + +[215] Vv. 54-59 (Lyall); 56-61 (Arnold). + +[216] See NA¶ldeke, _FA1/4nf MuaEuro~allaqAit_, i, p. 51 seq. According to the +traditional version (_AghAinA-_, ix, 179), a band of Taghlibites went +raiding, lost their way in the desert, and perished of thirst, having +been refused water by a sept of the BanAº Bakr. Thereupon Taghlib +appealed to King aEuro~Amr to enforce payment of the blood-money which they +claimed, and chose aEuro~Amr b. KulthAºm to plead their cause at a¸¤A-ra. So +aEuro~Amr recited his _MuaEuro~allaqa_ before the king, and was answered by +a¸¤Airith on behalf of Bakr. + +[217] Freytag, _Arabum Proverbia_, vol. ii, p. 233. + +[218] _AghAinA-_, ix, 182. + +[219] Vv. 1-8 (Arnold); in Lyall's edition the penultimate verse is +omitted. + +[220] Vv. 15-18 (Lyall); 19-22 (Arnold). + +[221] The Arabs use the term _kunya_ to denote this familiar style of +address in which a person is called, not by his own name, but 'father of +So-and-so' (either a son or, as in the present instance, a daughter). + +[222] _I.e._, even the _jinn_ (genies) stand in awe of us. + +[223] Here MaaEuro~add signifies the Arabs in general. + +[224] Vv. 20-30 (Lyall), omitting vv. 22, 27, 28. + +[225] This is a figurative way of saying that Taghlib has never been +subdued. + +[226] Vv. 46-51 (Lyall), omitting v. 48. + +[227] _I.e._, we will show our enemies that they cannot defy us with +impunity. This verse, the 93rd in Lyall's edition, is omitted by Arnold. + +[228] Vv. 94-104 (Arnold), omitting vv. 100 and 101. If the last words +are anything more than a poetic fiction, 'the sea' must refer to the +River Euphrates. + +[229] Vv. 16-18. + +[230] Vv. 23-26. + +[231] A place in the neighbourhood of Mecca. + +[232] Vv. 40-42 (Lyall); 65-67 (Arnold). + +[233] See _aEuro~Antarah, ein vorislamischer Dichter_, by H. Thorbecke +(Leipzig, 1867). + +[234] I have taken some liberties in this rendering, as the reader may +see by referring to the verses (44 and 47-52 in Lyall's edition) on +which it is based. + +[235] Ghayaº" b. Murra was a descendant of DhubyAin and the ancestor of +Harim and a¸¤Airith. + +[236] The KaaEuro~ba. + +[237] This refers to the religious circumambulation (_a¹-awAif_). + +[238] Vv. 16-19 (Lyall). + +[239] There is no reason to doubt the genuineness of this passage, which +affords evidence of the diffusion of Jewish and Christian ideas in pagan +Arabia. Ibn Qutayba observes that these verses indicate the poet's +belief in the Resurrection (_K. al-ShiaEuro~r wa-aEuro(TM)l-ShuaEuro~arAi_, p. 58, l. 12). + +[240] Vv. 27-31. + +[241] The order of these verses in Lyall's edition is as follows: 56, +57, 54, 50, 55, 53, 49, 47, 48, 52, 58. + +[242] Reference has been made above to the old Arabian belief that poets +owed their inspiration to the _jinn_ (genii), who are sometimes called +_shayAitA-n_ (satans). See Goldziher, _Abhand. zur arab. Philologie_, Part +I, pp. 1-14. + +[243] Vv. 1-10 (Lyall), omitting v. 5. + +[244] Vv. 55-60 (Lyall). + +[245] The term _nAibigha_ is applied to a poet whose genius is slow in +declaring itself but at last "jets forth vigorously and abundantly" +(_nabagha_). + +[246] _DA-wAin_, ed. by Derenbourg, p. 83; NA¶ldeke's _Delectus_, p. 96. + +[247] He means to say that NuaEuro~mAin has no reason to feel aggrieved +because he (NAibigha) is grateful to the GhassAinids for their munificent +patronage; since NuaEuro~mAin does not consider that his own favourites, in +showing gratitude to himself, are thereby guilty of treachery towards +their former patrons. + +[248] _DiwAin_, ed. by Derenbourg, p. 76, ii, 21. In another place (p. +81, vi, 6) he says, addressing his beloved:-- + + "Wadd give thee greeting! for dalliance with women is lawful to me + no more, + Since Religion has become a serious matter." + +Wadd was a god worshipped by the pagan Arabs. Derenbourg's text has +_rabbA-_, _i.e._, Allah, but see NA¶ldeke's remarks in _Z.D.M.G._, vol. +xli (1887), p. 708. + +[249] _AghAinA-_, viii, 85, last line-86, l. 10. + +[250] Lyall, _Ten Ancient Arabic Poems_, p. 146 seq., vv. 25-31. + +[251] Ahlwardt, _The Divans_, p. 106, vv. 8-10. + +[252] _a¸¤amAisa_, p. 382, l. 17. + +[253] NA¶ldeke, _BeitrA¤ge zur Kenntniss der Poesie der alten Araber_, p. +152. + +[254] NA¶ldeke, _ibid._, p. 175. + +[255] The original title is _al-MukhtAirAit_ (The Selected Odes) or +_al-IkhtiyAirAit_ (The Selections). + +[256] Oxford, 1918-21. The Indexes of personal and place-names, poetical +quotations, and selected words were prepared by Professor Bevan and +published in 1924 in the E. J. W. Gibb Memorial Series. + +[257] Ibn KhallikAin, ed. by WA1/4stenfeld, No. 350 = De Slane's +translation, vol. ii, p. 51. + +[258] See NA¶ldeke, _BeitrA¤ge_, p. 183 sqq. There would seem to be +comparatively few poems of Pre-islamic date in Bua¸YturA-'s anthology. + +[259] Ibn KhallikAin, ed. by WA1/4stenfeld, No. 204 = De Slane's +translation, vol. i, p. 470. + +[260] Many interesting details concerning the tradition of Pre-islamic +poetry by the _RAiwA-s_ and the Philologists will be found in Ahlwardt's +_Bemerkungen ueber die Aechtheit der alten Arabischen Gedichte_ +(Greifswald, 1872), which has supplied materials for the present sketch. + +[261] _AghAinA-_, v, 172, l. 16 sqq. + +[262] This view, however, is in accordance neither with the historical +facts nor with the public opinion of the Pre-islamic Arabs (see NA¶ldeke, +_Die Semitischen Sprachen_, p. 47). + +[263] See Wellhausen, _Reste Arab. Heidentums_ (2nd ed.), p. 88 seq. + +[264] _a¸¤amAisa_, 506. + +[265] _Ibid._, 237. + +[266] _DA-wAin_ of ImruaEuro(TM)u aEuro(TM)l-Qays, ed. by De Slane, p. 22 of the Arabic +text, l. 17 sqq. = No. 52, ll. 57-59 (p. 154) in Ahlwardt's _Divans of +the Six Poets_. With the last line, however, _cf._ the words of Qays b. +al-Khaa¹-A-m on accomplishing his vengeance: "_When this death comes, +there will not be found any need of my soul that I have not satisfied_" +(_a¸¤amAisa_, 87). + +[267] _AghAinA-_, ii, 18, l. 23 sqq. + +[268] _AghAinA-_, ii, 34, l. 22 sqq. + +[269] See Von Kremer, _Ueber die Gedichte des Labyd_ in _S.B.W.A._, +_Phil.-Hist. Klasse_ (Vienna, 1881), vol. 98, p. 555 sqq. Sir Charles +Lyall, _Ancient Arabian Poetry_, pp. 92 and 119. Wellhausen, _Reste +Arabischen Heidentums_ (2nd ed.), p. 224 sqq. + +[270] I prefer to retain the customary spelling instead of QuraEuro(TM)Ain, as it +is correctly transliterated by scholars. Arabic words naturalised in +English, like Koran, Caliph, Vizier, &c., require no apology. + +[271] Muir's _Life of Mahomet_, Introduction, p. 2 seq. I may as well +say at once that I entirely disagree with the view suggested in this +passage that Mua¸Yammad did not believe himself to be inspired. + +[272] The above details are taken from the _Fihrist_, ed. by G. Fluegel, +p. 24, l. 14 sqq. + +[273] Muir, _op. cit._, Introduction, p. 14. + +[274] With the exception of the Opening SAºra (_al-FAitia¸Ya_), which is +a short prayer. + +[275] Sprenger, _Ueber das Traditionswesen bei den Arabern_, _Z.D.M.G._, +vol. x, p. 2. + +[276] Quoted by Sprenger, _loc. cit._, p. 1. + +[277] Quoted by NA¶ldeke in the Introduction to his _Geschichte des +QorAcns_, p 22. + +[278] See especially pp. 28-130. + +[279] _Muhamm. Studien_, Part II, p. 48 seq. + +[280] The reader may consult Muir's Introduction to his _Life of +Mahomet_, pp. 28-87. + +[281] Ibn HishAim, p. 105, l. 9 sqq. + +[282] This legend seems to have arisen out of a literal interpretation +of Koran, xciv, 1, "_Did we not open thy breast?_"--_i.e._, give thee +comfort or enlightenment. + +[283] This name, which may signify 'Baptists,' was applied by the +heathen Arabs to Mua¸Yammad and his followers, probably in consequence +of the ceremonial ablutions which are incumbent upon every Moslem before +the five daily prayers (see Wellhausen, _Reste Arab. Heid._, p. 237). + +[284] Sir Charles Lyall, _The Words 'a¸¤anA-f' and 'Muslim,'_ _J.R.A.S._ +for 1903, p. 772. The original meaning of _a¸YanA-f_ is no longer +traceable, but it may be connected with the Hebrew _a¸YAinA(C)f_, +'profane.' In the Koran it generally refers to the religion of Abraham, +and sometimes appears to be nearly synonymous with _Muslim_. Further +information concerning the a¸¤anA-fs will be found in Sir Charles +Lyall's article cited above; Sprenger, _Das Leben und die Lehre des +Moa¸Yammed_, vol. i, pp. 45-134; Wellhausen, _Reste Arab. Heid._, p. +238 sqq.; Caetani, _Annali dell' Islam_, vol. i, pp. 181-192. + +[285] Ibn HishAim, p. 143, l. 6 sqq. + +[286] _AghAinA-_, iii, 187, l. 17 sqq. + +[287] See p. 69 _supra_. + +[288] Tradition associates him especially with Waraqa, who was a cousin +of his first wife, KhadA-ja, and is said to have hailed him as a prophet +while Mua¸Yammad himself was still hesitating (Ibn HishAim, p. 153, l. +14 sqq.). + +[289] This is the celebrated 'Night of Power' (_Laylatu aEuro(TM)l-Qadr_) +mentioned in the Koran, xcvii, 1. + +[290] The Holy Ghost (_RAºa¸YuaEuro(TM)l-Quds_), for whom in the MedA-na SAºras +Gabriel (JibrA-l) is substituted. + +[291] But another version (Ibn HishAim, p. 152, l. 9 sqq.) represents +Mua¸Yammad as replying to the Angel, "What am I to read?" (_mAi aqraaEuro(TM)u_ +or _mAi dhAi aqraaEuro(TM)u_). Professor Bevan has pointed out to me that the +tradition in this form bears a curious resemblance, which can hardly be +accidental, to the words of Isaiah xl. 6: "The voice said, Cry. And he +said, What shall I cry?" The question whether the Prophet could read and +write is discussed by NA¶ldeke (_Geschichte des QorAcns_, p. 7 sqq.), who +leaves it undecided. According to NA¶ldeke (_loc. cit._, p. 10), the +epithet _ummA-_, which is applied to Mua¸Yammad in the Koran, and is +commonly rendered by 'illiterate,' does not signify that he was ignorant +of reading and writing, but only that he was unacquainted with the +ancient Scriptures; _cf._ 'Gentile.' However this may be, it appears +that he wished to pass for illiterate, with the object of confirming the +belief in his inspiration: "_Thou_" (Mua¸Yammad) "_didst not use to +read any book before this_" (the Koran) "_nor to write it with thy right +hand; else the liars would have doubted_" (Koran, xxix, 47). + +[292] The meaning of these words (_iqraaEuro(TM) bismi rabbika_) is disputed. +Others translate, "Preach in the name of thy Lord" (NA¶ldeke), or +"Proclaim the name of thy Lord" (Hirschfeld). I see no sufficient +grounds for abandoning the traditional interpretation supported by +verses 4 and 5. Mua¸Yammad dreamed that he was commanded to read the +Word of God inscribed in the Heavenly Book which is the source of all +Revelation. + +[293] Others render, "who taught (the use of) the Pen." + +[294] This account of Mua¸Yammad's earliest vision (BukhAirA-, ed. by +Krehl, vol. iii, p. 380, l. 2 sqq.) is derived from aEuro~AaEuro(TM)isha, his +favourite wife, whom he married after the death of KhadA-ja. + +[295] Ibn HishAim, p. 152, l. 9 sqq. + +[296] See p. 72 _supra_. + +[297] This interval is known as the Fatra. + +[298] Literally, 'warn.' + +[299] 'The abomination' (_al-rujz_) probably refers to idolatry. + +[300] Literally, "The Last State shall be better for thee than the +First," referring either to Mua¸Yammad's recompense in the next world +or to the ultimate triumph of his cause in this world. + +[301] _IslAim_ is a verbal noun formed from _Aslama_, which means 'to +surrender' and, in a religious sense, 'to surrender one's self to the +will of God.' The participle, _Muslim_ (Moslem), denotes one who thus +surrenders himself. + +[302] Sprenger, _Leben des Mohammad_, vol. i, p. 356. + +[303] It must be remembered that this branch of Mua¸Yammadan tradition +derives from the pietists of the first century after the Flight, who +were profoundly dissatisfied with the reigning dynasty (the Umayyads), +and revenged themselves by painting the behaviour of the Meccan +ancestors of the Umayyads towards Mua¸Yammad in the blackest colours +possible. The facts tell another story. It is significant that hardly +any case of real persecution is mentioned in the Koran. Mua¸Yammad was +allowed to remain at Mecca and to carry on, during many years, a +religious propaganda which his fellow-citizens, with few exceptions, +regarded as detestable and dangerous. We may well wonder at the +moderation of the Quraysh, which, however, was not so much deliberate +policy as the result of their indifference to religion and of +Mua¸Yammad's failure to make appreciable headway in Mecca. + +[304] Ibn HishAim, p. 168, l. 9. sqq. + +[305] At this time Mua¸Yammad believed the doctrines of Islam and +Christianity to be essentially the same. + +[306] a¹¬abarA-, i, 1180, 8 sqq. _Cf._ Caetani, _Annali dell' Islam_, +vol. i, p. 267 sqq. + +[307] Muir, _Life of Mahomet_, vol. ii, p. 151. + +[308] We have seen (p. 91 _supra_) that the heathen Arabs disliked +female offspring, yet they called their three principal deities the +daughters of Allah. + +[309] It is related by Ibn Isa¸YAiq (a¹¬abarA-, i, 1192, 4 sqq.). In his +learned work, _Annali dell' Islam_, of which the first volume appeared +in 1905, Prince Caetani impugns the authenticity of the tradition and +criticises the narrative in detail (p. 279 sqq.), but his arguments do +not touch the main question. As Muir says, "it is hardly possible to +conceive how the tale, if not founded in truth, could ever have been +invented." + +[310] The Meccan view of Mua¸Yammad's action may be gathered from the +words uttered by AbAº Jahl on the field of Badr--"O God, bring woe upon +him who more than any of us hath severed the ties of kinship and dealt +dishonourably!" (a¹¬abarA-, i, 1322, l. 8 seq.). Alluding to the Moslems +who abandoned their native city and fled with the Prophet to MedA-na, a +Meccan poet exclaims (Ibn HishAim, p. 519, ll. 3-5):-- + + _They_ (the Quraysh slain at Badr) _fell in honour. They + did not sell their kinsmen for strangers living in a far + land and of remote lineage;_ + + _Unlike you, who have made friends of GhassAin_ (the people + of MedA-na), _taking them instead of us--O, what a shameful + deed!_ + + _Tis an impiety and a manifest crime and a cutting of all + ties of blood: your iniquity therein is discerned by men of + judgment and understanding._ + +[311] _SAºra_ is properly a row of stones or bricks in a wall. + +[312] See p. 74 _supra_. + +[313] Koran, lxix, 41. + +[314] NA¶ldeke, _Geschichte des QorAcns_, p. 56. + +[315] _I.e._, what it has done or left undone. + +[316] The Last Judgment. + +[317] Moslems believe that every man is attended by two Recording Angels +who write down his good and evil actions. + +[318] This is generally supposed to refer to the persecution of the +Christians of NajrAin by DhAº NuwAis (see p. 26 _supra_). Geiger takes it +as an allusion to the three men who were cast into the fiery furnace +(Daniel, ch. iii). + +[319] See above, p. 3. + +[320] According to Mua¸Yammadan belief, the archetype of the Koran and +of all other Revelations is written on the Guarded Table (_al-Lawa¸Y +al-Maa¸YfAºaº"_) in heaven. + +[321] Koran, xvii, 69. + +[322] See, for example, the passages translated by Lane in his +_Selections from the Kur-Ain_ (London, 1843), pp. 100-113. + +[323] _IkhlAia¹L_ means 'purifying one's self of belief in any god +except Allah.' + +[324] The Prophet's confession of his inability to perform miracles did +not deter his followers from inventing them after his death. Thus it +was said that he caused the infidels to see "the moon cloven asunder" +(Koran, liv, 1), though, as is plain from the context, these words refer +to one of the signs of the Day of Judgment. + +[325] I take this opportunity of calling the reader's attention to a +most interesting article by my friend and colleague, Professor A. A. +Bevan, entitled _The Beliefs of Early Mohammedans respecting a Future +Existence_ (_Journal of Theological Studies_, October, 1904, p. 20 +sqq.), where the whole subject is fully discussed. + +[326] ShaddAid b. al-Aswad al-LaythA-, quoted in the _RisAilatu aEuro(TM)l-GhufrAin_ +of Abu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~AlAi al-MaaEuro~arrA- (see my article in the _J.R.A.S._ for 1902, +pp. 94 and 818); _cf._ Ibn HishAim, p. 530, last line. Ibn (AbA-) Kabsha +was a nickname derisively applied to Mua¸Yammad. _a¹cadAi_ and _hAima_ +refer to the death-bird which was popularly supposed to utter its shriek +from the skull (_hAima_) of the dead, and both words may be rendered by +'soul' or 'wraith.' + +[327] NA¶ldeke, _Geschichte des QorAcns_, p. 78. + +[328] _Cf._ also Koran, xviii, 45-47; xx, 102 sqq.; xxxix, 67 sqq.; +lxix, 13-37. + +[329] The famous freethinker, Abu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~AlAi al-MaaEuro~arrA-, has cleverly +satirised Mua¸Yammadan notions on this subject in his _RisAilatu +aEuro(TM)l-GhufrAin_ (_J.R.A.S._ for October, 1900, p. 637 sqq.). + +[330] _Journal of Theological Studies_ for October, 1904, p. 22. + +[331] Ibn HishAim, p. 411, l. 6 sqq. + +[332] _Ibid._, p. 347. + +[333] L. Caetani, _Annali dell' Islam_, vol. i, p. 389. + +[334] NA¶ldeke, _Geschichte des QorAcns_, p. 122. + +[335] Translated by E. H. Palmer. + +[336] Ibn HishAim, p. 341, l. 5. + +[337] _Mua¸Yammad's Gemeindeordnung von Medina in Skizzen und +Vorarbeiten_, Heft IV, p. 67 sqq. + +[338] Ibn HishAim, p. 763, l. 12. + +[339] Koran, ii, 256, translated by E. H. Palmer. + +[340] _Muhamm. Studien_, Part I, p. 12. + +[341] See Goldziher's introductory chapter entitled _Muruwwa und DA(R)n_ +(_ibid._, pp. 1-39). + +[342] Baya¸AiwA- on Koran, xxii, 11. + +[343] _Die Berufung Mohammed's_, by M. J. de Goeje in +_NA¶ldeke-Festschrift_ (Giessen, 1906), vol. i, p. 5. + +[344] _On the _Origin and Import of the Names Muslim and a¸¤anA-f_ +(_J.R.A.S._ for 1903, p. 491) + +[345] See T. W. Arnold's _The Preaching of Islam_, p. 23 seq., where +several passages of like import are collected. + +[346] NA¶ldeke, _Sketches from Eastern History_, translated by J. S. +Black, p. 73. + +[347] See Professor Browne's _Literary History of Persia_, vol. i, p. +200 sqq. + +[348] a¹¬abarA-, i, 2729, l. 15 sqq. + +[349] _Ibid._, i, 2736, l. 5 sqq. The words in italics are quoted from +Koran, xxviii, 26, where they are applied to Moses. + +[350] aEuro~Umar was the first to assume this title (_AmA-ru aEuro(TM)l-MuaEuro(TM)minA-n_), by +which the Caliphs after him were generally addressed. + +[351] a¹¬abarA-, i, 2738, 7 sqq. + +[352] _Ibid._, i, 2739, 4 sqq. + +[353] _Ibid._, i, 2737, 4 sqq. + +[354] It is explained that aEuro~Umar prohibited lamps because rats used to +take the lighted wick and set fire to the house-roofs, which at that +time were made of palm-branches. + +[355] a¹¬abarA-, i, 2742, 13 sqq. + +[356] _Ibid._, i, 2745, 15 sqq. + +[357] _Ibid._, i, 2747, 7 sqq. + +[358] _Ibid._, i, 2740, last line and foll. + +[359] _Al-FakhrA-_, ed. by Derenbourg, p. 116, l. 1 to p. 117, l. 3. + +[360] a¹¬abarA-, i, 2751, 9 sqq. + +[361] Ibn KhallikAin (ed. by WA1/4stenfeld), No. 68, p. 96, l. 3; De Slane's +translation, vol. i, p. 152. + +[362] MuaEuro~Aiwiya himself said: "I am the first of the kings" (YaaEuro~qAºbA-, ed. +by Houtsma, vol. ii, p. 276, l. 14). + +[363] _Al-FakhrA-_, ed. by Derenbourg, p. 145. + +[364] YaaEuro~qAºbA-, vol. ii, p. 283, l. 8 seq. + +[365] MasaEuro~AºdA-, _MurAºju aEuro(TM)l-Dhahab_ (ed. by Barbier de Meynard), vol. v. +p. 77. + +[366] NA¶ldeke's _Delectus_, p. 25, l. 3 sqq., omitting l. 8. + +[367] The _Continuatio_ of Isidore of Hispalis, ASec. 27, quoted by +Wellhausen, _Das Arabische Reich und sein Sturz_, p. 105. + +[368] a¸¤amAisa, 226. The word translated 'throne' is in Arabic _mA-nbar_, +_i.e._, the pulpit from which the Caliph conducted the public prayers +and addressed the congregation. + +[369] Kalb was properly one of the Northern tribes (see Robertson +Smith's _Kinship and Marriage_, 2nd ed., p. 8 seq.--a reference which I +owe to Professor Bevan), but there is evidence that the Kalbites were +regarded as 'Yemenite' or 'Southern' Arabs at an early period of Islam. +_Cf._ Goldziher, _Muhammedanische Studien_, Part I, p. 83, l. 3 sqq. + +[370] _Muhammedanische Studien_, i, 78 sqq. + +[371] Qaa¸Ya¹-Ain is the legendary ancestor of the Southern Arabs. + +[372] _AghAinA-_, xiii, 51, cited by Goldziher, _ibid._, p. 82. + +[373] A verse of the poet Sua¸Yaym b. WathA-l. + +[374] The _KAimil_ of al-Mubarrad, ed. by W. Wright, p. 215, l. 14 sqq. + +[375] Ibn Qutayba, _KitAibu aEuro(TM)l-MaaEuro~Airif_, p. 202. + +[376] _Al-FakhrA-_, p. 173; Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-AthA-r, ed. by Tornberg, v, 5. + +[377] _Ibid._, p. 174. _Cf._ MasaEuro~Aºdi, _MurAºju aEuro(TM)l-Dhahab_, v, 412. + +[378] His mother, Umm aEuro~Aa¹Lim, was a granddaughter of aEuro~Umar I. + +[379] MasaEuro~AºdA-, _MurAºju aEuro(TM)l-Dhahab_, v, 419 seq. + +[380] Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-AthA-r, ed. by Tornberg, v, 46. _Cf._ _AgAinA-_, xx, p. 119, +l. 23. aEuro~Umar made an exception, as Professor Bevan reminds me, in favour +of the poet JarA-r. See Brockelmann's _Gesch. der Arab. Litteratur_, vol. +i, p. 57. + +[381] The exhaustive researches of Wellhausen, _Das Arabische Reich und +sein Sturz_ (pp. 169-192) have set this complicated subject in a new +light. He contends that aEuro~Umar's reform was not based on purely ideal +grounds, but was demanded by the necessities of the case, and that, so +far from introducing disorder into the finances, his measures were +designed to remedy the confusion which already existed. + +[382] MasaEuro~AºdA-, _MurAºju aEuro(TM)l-Dhahab_, v, 479. + +[383] The Arabic text and literal translation of these verses will be +found in my article on Abu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~AlAi's _RisAilatu aEuro(TM)l-GhufrAin_ (_J.R.A.S._ +for 1902, pp. 829 and 342). + +[384] Wellhausen, _Das Arabische Reich und sein Sturz_, p. 38. + +[385] _I.e._, the main body of Moslems--_SunnA-s_, followers of the +_Sunna_, as they were afterwards called--who were neither ShA-aEuro~ites nor +KhAirijites, but held (1) that the Caliph must be elected by the Moslem +community, and (2) that he must be a member of Quraysh, the Prophet's +tribe. All these parties arose out of the struggle between aEuro~AlA- and +MuaEuro~Aiwiya, and their original difference turned solely on the question of +the Caliphate. + +[386] BrA1/4nnow, _Die Charidschiten unter den ersten Omayyaden_ (Leiden, +1884), p. 28. It is by no means certain, however, that the KhAirijites +called themselves by this name. In any case, the term implies +_secession_ (_khurAºj_) from the Moslem community, and may be rendered by +'Seceder' or 'Nonconformist.' + +[387] _Cf._ Koran, ix, 112. + +[388] BrA1/4nnow, _op. cit._, p. 8. + +[389] Wellhausen, _Die religiA¶s-politischen Oppositionsparteien im alten +Islam_ (_Abhandlungen der KA¶nigl. Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften zu +GA¶ttingen_, _Phil.-Hist. Klasse_, 1901), p. 8 sqq. The writer argues +against BrA1/4nnow that the oldest KhAirijites were not true Bedouins +(_AaEuro~rAibA-_), and were, in fact, even further removed than the rest of the +military colonists of KAºfa and Baa¹Lra from their Bedouin traditions. +He points out that the extreme piety of the Readers--their constant +prayers, vigils, and repetitions of the Koran--exactly agrees with what +is related of the KhAirijites, and is described in similar language. +Moreover, among the oldest KhAirijites we find mention made of a company +clad in long cloaks (_barAinis_, pl. of _burnus_), which were at that +time a special mark of asceticism. Finally, the earliest authority (AbAº +Mikhnaf in a¹¬abarA-, i, 3330, l. 6 sqq.) regards the KhAirijites as an +offshoot from the Readers, and names individual Readers who afterwards +became rabid KhAirijites. + +[390] Later, when many non-Arab Moslems joined the KhAirijite ranks the +field of choice was extended so as to include foreigners and even +slaves. + +[391] a¹¬abarA-, ii, 40, 13 sqq. + +[392] ShahrastAinA-, ed. by Cureton, Part I, p. 88. l. 12. + +[393] _Ibid._, p. 86, l. 3 from foot. + +[394] a¹¬abarA-, ii, 36, ll. 7, 8, 11-16. + +[395] _a¸¤amAisa_, 44. + +[396] Ibn KhallikAin, ed. by WA1/4stenfeld, No. 555, p. 55, l. 4 seq.; De +Slane's translation, vol. ii, p. 523. + +[397] Dozy, _Essai sur l'histoire de l'Islamisme_ (French translation by +Victor Chauvin), p. 219 sqq. + +[398] Wellhausen thinks that the dogmatics of the ShA-aEuro~ites are derived +from Jewish rather than from Persian sources. See his account of the +SabaaEuro(TM)ites in his most instructive paper, to which I have already +referred, _Die religiA¶s-politischen Oppositionsparteien im alten Islam_ +(_Abh. der KA¶nig. Ges. der Wissenschaften zu GA¶ttingen_, _Phil.-Hist. +Klasse_, 1901), p. 89 sqq. + +[399] a¹¬abarA-, i, 2942, 2. + +[400] "_Verily, He who hath ordained the Koran for thee_ (_i.e._, for +Mua¸Yammad) _will bring thee back to a place of return_" (_i.e._, to +Mecca). The ambiguity of the word meaning 'place of return' (_maaEuro~Aid_) +gave some colour to Ibn SabAi's contention that it alluded to the return +of Mua¸Yammad at the end of the world. The descent of Jesus on earth is +reckoned by Moslems among the greater signs which will precede the +Resurrection. + +[401] This is a Jewish idea. aEuro~AlA- stands in the same relation to +Mua¸Yammad as Aaron to Moses. + +[402] a¹¬abarA-, _loc. cit._ + +[403] ShahrastAinA-, ed. by Cureton, p. 132, l. 15. + +[404] _AghAinA-_, viii, 32, l. 17 sqq. The three sons of aEuro~AlA- are a¸¤asan, +a¸¤usayn, and Mua¸Yammad Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-a¸¤anafiyya. + +[405] Concerning the origin of these sects see Professor Browne's _Lit. +Hist. of Persia_, vol. i, p. 295 seq. + +[406] See Darmesteter's interesting essay, _Le Mahdi depuis les origines +de l'Islam jusqu'A nos jours_ (Paris, 1885). The subject is treated more +scientifically by Snouck Hurgronje in his paper _Der Mahdi_, reprinted +from the _Revue coloniale internationale_ (1886). + +[407] _a¹ciddA-q_ means 'veracious.' Professor Bevan remarks that in +this root the notion of 'veracity' easily passes into that of +'endurance,' 'fortitude.' + +[408] a¹¬abarA-, ii, 546. These 'Penitents' were free Arabs of KAºfa, a +fact which, as Wellhausen has noticed, would seem to indicate that the +_taaEuro~ziya_ is Semitic in origin. + +[409] Wellhausen, _Die religiA¶s-politischen Oppositionsparteien_, p. 79. + +[410] a¹¬abarA-, ii, 650, l. 7 sqq. + +[411] ShahrastAinA-, HaarbrA1/4cker's translation, Part I, p. 169. + +[412] Von Kremer, _Culturgeschicht_. _StreifzA1/4ge_, p. 2 sqq. + +[413] The best account of the early Murjites that has hitherto appeared +is contained in a paper by Van Vloten, entitled _IrdjAc_ (_Z.D.M.G._, +vol. 45, p. 161 sqq.). The reader may also consult ShahrastAinA-, +HaarbrA1/4cker's trans., Part I, p. 156 sqq.; Goldziher, _Muhammedanische +Studien_, Part II, p. 89 sqq.; Van Vloten, _La domination Arabe_, p. 31 +seq. + +[414] Van Vloten thinks that in the name 'Murjite' (_murjiaEuro(TM)_) there is +an allusion to Koran, ix, 107: "_And others are remanded (murjawna) +until God shall decree; whether He shall punish them or take pity on +them--for God is knowing and wise._" + +[415] _Cf._ the poem of ThAibit Qua¹-na (_Z.D.M.G._, _loc. cit._, p. +162), which states the whole Murjite doctrine in popular form. The +author, who was himself a Murjite, lived in KhurAisAin during the latter +half of the first century A.H. + +[416] Van Vloten, _La domination Arabe_, p. 29 sqq. + +[417] Ibn a¸¤azm, cited in _Z.D.M.G._, vol. 45, p. 169, n. 7. Jahm (aEuro +about 747 A.D.) was a Persian, as might be inferred from the boldness of +his speculations. + +[418] a¸¤asan himself inclined for a time to the doctrine of free-will, +but afterwards gave it up (Ibn Qutayba, _KitAibu aEuro(TM)l-MaaEuro~Airif_, p. 225). He +is said to have held that everything happens by fate, except sin +(_Al-MuaEuro~tazilah_, ed. by T. W. Arnold, p. 12, l. 3 from foot). See, +however, ShahrastAinA-, HaarbrA1/4cker's trans., Part I, p. 46. + +[419] Koran, lxxiv, 41. + +[420] _Ibid._, xli, 46. + +[421] _KitAibu aEuro(TM)l-MaaEuro~Airif_, p. 301. Those who held the doctrine of +free-will were called the Qadarites (_al-Qadariyya_), from _qadar_ +(power), which may denote (1) the power of God to determine human +actions, and (2) the power of man to determine his own actions. Their +opponents asserted that men act under compulsion (_jabr_); hence they +were called the Jabarites (_al-Jabariyya_). + +[422] As regards GhaylAin see _Al-MuaEuro~tazilah_, ed. by T. W. Arnold, p. +15, l. 16 sqq. + +[423] Ibn KhallikAin, De Slane's translation, vol. iii, p. 642; +ShahrastAinA-, trans. by HaarbrA1/4cker, Part I, p. 44. + +[424] ShaaEuro~rAinA-, _LawAiqihu aEuro(TM)l-AnwAir_ (Cairo, 1299 A.H.), p. 31. + +[425] _Ibid._ + +[426] See Von Kremer, _Herrschende Ideen_, p. 52 sqq.; Goldziher, +_Materialien zur Entwickelungsgesch. des SAºfismus_ (_Vienna Oriental +Journal_, vol. 13, p. 35 sqq.). + +[427] ShaaEuro~rAinA-, _LawAiqia¸Y_, p. 38. + +[428] QushayrA-'s _RisAila_ (1287 A.H.), p. 77, l. 10. + +[429] _Tadhkiratu aEuro(TM)l-AwliyAi_ of FarA-duaEuro(TM)ddA-n aEuro~Aa¹-a¹-Air, Part I, p. 37, +l. 8 of my edition. + +[430] _KAimil_ (ed. by Wright), p. 57, l. 16. + +[431] The point of this metaphor lies in the fact that Arab horses were +put on short commons during the period of training, which usually began +forty days before the race. + +[432] _KAimil_, p. 57, last line. + +[433] _KAimil_, p. 58, l. 14. + +[434] _Ibid._, p. 67, l. 9. + +[435] _Ibid._, p. 91, l. 14. + +[436] _Ibid._, p. 120, l. 4. + +[437] QushayrA-'s _RisAila_, p. 63, last line. + +[438] It is noteworthy that QushayrA- (aEuro 1073 A.D.), one of the oldest +authorities on a¹cAºfiism, does not include a¸¤asan among the a¹cAºfA- +Shaykhs whose biographies are given in the _RisAila_ (pp. 8-35), and +hardly mentions him above half a dozen times in the course of his work. +The sayings of a¸¤asan which he cites are of the same character as +those preserved in the _KAimil_. + +[439] See NA¶ldeke's article, _'a¹cA"fAe"_,' in _Z.D.M.G._, vol. 48, +p. 45. + +[440] An allusion to _safAi_ occurs in thirteen out of the seventy +definitions of a¹cAºfA- and a¹cAºfiism (_Taa¹Lawwuf_) which are +contained in the _Tadhkiratu aEuro(TM)l-AwliyAi_, or 'Memoirs of the Saints,' of +the well-known Persian mystic, FarA-duaEuro(TM)ddA-n aEuro~Aa¹-a¹-Air (aEuro _circa_ 1230 +A.D.), whereas _a¹LAºf_ is mentioned only twice. + +[441] Said by Bishr al-a¸¤AifA- (the bare-footed), who died in 841-842 +A.D. + +[442] Said by Junayd of BaghdAid (aEuro 909-910 A.D.), one of the most +celebrated a¹cAºfA- Shaykhs. + +[443] Ibn KhaldAºn's _Muqaddima_ (Beyrout, 1900), p. 467 = vol. iii, p. +85 seq. of the French translation by De Slane. The same things are said +at greater length by SuhrawardA- in his _aEuro~AwAirifu aEuro(TM)l-MaaEuro~Airif_ (printed on +the margin of GhazAilA-'s _Ia¸YyAi_, Cairo, 1289 A.H.), vol. i, p. 172 _et +seqq._ _Cf._ also the passage from QushayrA- translated by Professor E. +G. Browne on pp. 297-298 of vol. i. of his _Literary History of Persia_. + +[444] SuhrawardA-, _loc. cit._, p. 136 seq. + +[445] _Loc. cit._, p. 145. + +[446] _I.e._, he yields himself unreservedly to the spiritual 'states' +(_aa¸YwAil_) which pass over him, according as God wills. + +[447] Possibly IbrAihA-m was one of the _Shikaftiyya_ or 'Cave-dwellers' +of KhurAisAin (_shikaft_ means 'cave' in Persian), whom the people of +Syria called _al-JAºaEuro~A-yya_, _i.e._, 'the Fasters.' See SuhrawardA-, _loc. +cit._, p. 171. + +[448] GhazAilA-, _Ia¸YyAi_ (Cairo, 1289 A.H.), vol. iv, p. 298. + +[449] Brockelmann, _Gesch. d. Arab. Litteratur_, vol. i, p. 45. + +[450] _E.g._, MaaEuro~bad, GharA-a¸, Ibn Surayj, a¹¬uways, and Ibn aEuro~AaEuro(TM)isha. + +[451] _KAimil_ of Mubarrad, p. 570 sqq. + +[452] _AghAinA-_, i, 43, l. 15 sqq.; NA¶ldeke's _Delectus_, p. 17, last +line and foll. + +[453] NA¶ldeke's _Delectus_, p. 9, l. 11 sqq., omitting l. 13. + +[454] An edition of the _NaqAiaEuro(TM)ia¸_ by Professor A. A. Bevan has been +published at Leyden. + +[455] _AghAinA-_, vii, 55, l. 12 sqq. + +[456] _AghAinA-_, vii, 182, l. 23 sqq. + +[457] _Ibid._, vii, 183, l. 6 sqq. + +[458] _Ibid._, p. 178, l. 1 seq. + +[459] _Ibid._, xiii, 148, l. 23. + +[460] _Encomium Omayadarum_, ed. by Houtsma (Leyden, 1878). + +[461] _AghAinA-_, vii, 172, l. 27 sqq. + +[462] _Ibid._, p. 179, l. 25 sqq. + +[463] _Ibid._, p. 178, l. 26 seq. + +[464] _AghAinA-_, xix, 34, l. 18. + +[465] _KAimil_ of Mubarrad, p. 70, l. 17 sqq. + +[466] Al-KusaaEuro~A- broke an excellent bow which he had made for himself. +See _The Assemblies of a¸¤arA-rA-_, trans. by Chenery, p. 351. Professor +Bevan remarks that this half-verse is an almost verbal citation from a +verse ascribed to aEuro~AdA- b. MarA-nAi of a¸¤A-ra, an enemy of aEuro~AdA- b. Zayd +the poet (_AghAinA-_, ii, 24, l. 5). + +[467] Ibn KhallikAin (ed. by WA1/4stenfeld), No. 129; De Slane's translation +vol. i, p. 298. + +[468] _AghAinA-_, iii, 23, l. 13. + +[469] _AghAinA-_, vii, 49, l. 8 sqq. + +[470] The following account is mainly derived from Goldziher's _Muhamm. +Studien_, Part II, p. 203 sqq. + +[471] _Cf._ Browne's _Lit. Hist. of Persia_, vol. i, p. 230. + +[472] NA¶ldeke, _Sketches from Eastern History_, tr. by J. S. Black, p. +108 seq. + +[473] Wellhausen, _Das Arabische Reich_, p. 307. + +[474] _Recherches sur la domination Arabe_, p. 46 sqq. + +[475] DA-nawarA-, ed. by Guirgass, p. 356. + +[476] _Ibid._, p. 360, l. 15. The whole poem has been translated by +Professor Browne in his _Literary History of Persia_, vol. i, p. 242. + +[477] _Sketches from Eastern History_, p. 111. + +[478] Professor Bevan, to whose kindness I owe the following +observations, points out that this translation of _al-SaffAia¸Y_, +although it has been generally adopted by European scholars, is very +doubtful. According to Professor De Goeje, _al-SaffAia¸Y_ means 'the +munificent' (literally, 'pouring out' gifts, &c.). In any case it is +important to notice that the name was given to certain Pre-islamic +chieftains. Thus Salama b. KhAilid, who commanded the BanAº Taghlib at the +first battle of al-KulAib (Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-AthA-r, ed. by Tornberg, vol. i, p. +406, last line), is said to have been called _al-SaffAia¸Y_ because he +'emptied out' the skin bottles (_mazAid_) of his army before a battle +(Ibn Durayd, ed. by WA1/4stenfeld, p. 203, l. 16); and we find mention of a +poet named al-SaffAia¸Y b. aEuro~Abd ManAit (_ibid._, p. 277, penult. line). + +[479] See p. 205. + +[480] G. Le Strange, _Baghdad under the Abbasid Caliphate_, p. 4 seq. + +[481] Professor De Goeje has kindly given me the following +references:--a¹¬abarA-, ii, 78, l. 10, where ZiyAid is called the _WazA-r_ +of MuaEuro~Aiwiya; Ibn SaaEuro~d, iii, 121, l. 6 (AbAº Bakr the _WazA-r_ of the +Prophet). The word occurs in Pre-islamic poetry (Ibn Qutayba, _K. +al-ShiaEuro~r wa-aEuro(TM)l-ShuaEuro~arAi_, p. 414, l. 1). Professor De Goeje adds that the +aEuro~AbbAisid Caliphs gave the name _WazA-r_ as title to the minister who was +formerly called _KAitib_ (Secretary). Thus it would seem that the Arabic +_WazA-r_ (literally 'burden-bearer'), who was at first merely a 'helper' +or 'henchman,' afterwards became the representative and successor of the +_DapA-r_ (official scribe or secretary) of the SAisAinian kings. + +[482] This division is convenient, and may be justified on general +grounds. In a strictly political sense, the period of decline begins +thirty years earlier with the Caliphate of MaaEuro(TM)mAºn (813-833 A.D.). The +historian Abu aEuro(TM)l-Maa¸YAisin (aEuro 1469 A.D.) dates the decline of the +Caliphate from the accession of MuktafA- in 902 A.D. (_al-NujAºm +al-ZAihira_, ed. by Juynboll, vol. ii, p. 134). + +[483] See NA¶ldeke's essay, _Caliph Mana¹Lur_, in his _Sketches from +Eastern History_, trans. by J. S. Black, p. 107 sqq. + +[484] Professor Browne has given an interesting account of these +ultra-ShA-aEuro~ite insurgents in his _Lit. Hist. of Persia_, vol. i, ch. ix. + +[485] a¹¬abarA-, iii, 404, l. 5 sqq. + +[486] a¹¬abarA-, iii, 406, l. 1 sqq. + +[487] _MurAºju aEuro(TM)l-Dhahab_, ed. by Barbier de Meynard, vol. iv, p. 47 seq. + +[488] When the Caliph HAidA- wished to proclaim his son JaaEuro~far +heir-apparent instead of HAirAºn, Yaa¸YyAi pointed out the danger of this +course and dissuaded him (_al-FakhrA-_, ed. by Derenbourg, p. 281). + +[489] Ibn KhallikAin, De Slane's translation, vol. iv, p. 105. + +[490] MasaEuro~AºdA-, _MurAºju aEuro(TM)l-Dhahab_, vol. vi, p. 364. + +[491] See, for example, _Haroun Alraschid_, by E. H. Palmer, in the New +Plutarch Series, p. 81 sqq. + +[492] _Cf._ A. MA1/4ller, _Der Islam_, vol. i, p. 481 seq. + +[493] Ibn KhallikAin, De Slane's translation, vol. iv, p. 112. + +[494] Literally, "No father to your father!" a common form of +imprecation. + +[495] Green was the party colour of the aEuro~Alids, black of the aEuro~AbbAisids. + +[496] _Al-NujAºm al-ZAihira_, ed. by Juynboll, vol. i, p. 631. + +[497] The court remained at SAimarrAi for fifty-six years (836-892 A.D.). +The official spelling of SAimarrAi was _Surra-man-raaEuro(TM)Ai_, which may be +freely rendered 'The Spectator's Joy.' + +[498] My account of these dynasties is necessarily of the briefest and +barest character. The reader will find copious details concerning most +of them in Professor Browne's _Literary History of Persia_: a¹caffAirids +and SAimAinids in vol. i, p. 346 sqq.; FAia¹-imids in vol. i, pp. 391-400 +and vol. ii, p. 196 sqq.; Ghaznevids in vol. ii, chap. ii; and SeljAºqs, +_ibid._, chaps. iii to v. + +[499] Ibn AbA- UsaybiaEuro~a, _a¹¬abaqAitu aEuro(TM)l-AtibbAi_, ed. by A. MA1/4ller, vol. +ii, p. 4, l. 4 sqq. Avicenna was at this time scarcely eighteen years of +age. + +[500] aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-HamA-d flourished in the latter days of the Umayyad +dynasty. See Ibn KhallikAin, De Slane's translation, vol. ii, p. 173, +MasaEuro~AºdA-, _MurAºju aEuro(TM)l-Dhahab_, vol. vi, p. 81. + +[501] See Professor Margoliouth's Introduction to the _Letters of aEuro~Abu +aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~AlAi al-MaaEuro~arrA-_, p. xxiv. + +[502] Abu aEuro(TM)l-MahAisin, _al-NujAºm al-ZAihira_, ed. by Juynboll, vol. ii, p. +333. The original RAifia¸ites were those schismatics who rejected +(_rafaa¸a_) the Caliphs AbAº Bakr and aEuro~Umar, but the term is generally +used as synonymous with ShA-aEuro~ite. + +[503] MutanabbA-, ed. by Dieterici, p. 148, last line and foll. + +[504] D. B. Macdonald, _Muslim Theology_, p. 43 seq. + +[505] I regret that lack of space compels me to omit the further history +of the FAia¹-imids. Readers who desire information on this subject may +consult Stanley Lane-Poole's _History of Egypt in the Middle Ages_; +WA1/4stenfeld's _Geschichte der Faa¹-imiden-Chalifen_ (GA¶ttingen, 1881); +and Professor Browne's _Lit. Hist. of Persia_, vol. ii, p. 196 sqq. + +[506] Ibn KhallikAin, De Slane's translation, vol. iv, p. 441. + +[507] See the Introduction. + +[508] Ibn KhaldAºn, _Muqaddima_ (Beyrout, 1900), p. 543 seq.--De Slane, +_Prolegomena_, vol. iii, p. 296 sqq. + +[509] _Cf._ Goldziher, _Muhamm. Studien_, Part I, p. 114 seq. + +[510] Read _mashAirAitA- aEuro(TM)l-buqAºl_ (beds of vegetables), not _mushAirAit_ as +my rendering implies. The change makes little difference to the sense, +but _mashAirat_, being an Aramaic word, is peculiarly appropriate here. + +[511] _AghAinA-_, xii, 177, l. 5 sqq; Von Kremer, _Culturgesch. +StreifzA1/4ge_, p. 32. These lines are aimed, as has been remarked by S. +Khuda Bukhsh (_Contributions to the History of Islamic Civilisation_, +Calcutta, 1905, p. 92), against NabatA|ans who falsely claimed to be +Persians. + +[512] The name is derived from Koran, xlix, 13: "_O Men, We have created +you of a male and a female and have made you into peoples_ (shuaEuro~Aºban) +_and tribes, that ye might know one another. Verily the noblest of you +in the sight of God are they that do most fear Him._" Thus the +designation 'ShuaEuro~Aºbite' emphasises the fact that according to +Mua¸Yammad's teaching the Arab Moslems are no better than their +non-Arab brethren. + +[513] _Muhamm. Studien_, Part I, p. 147 sqq. + +[514] The term _Falsafa_ properly includes Logic, Metaphysics, +Mathematics, Medicine, and the Natural Sciences. + +[515] Here we might add the various branches of Mathematics, such as +Arithmetic, Algebra, Mechanics, &c. + +[516] aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-Raa¸Yman JAimA- (aEuro 1492 A.D.). + +[517] I am deeply indebted in the following pages to Goldziher's essay +entitled _Alte und Neue Poesie im Urtheile der Arabischen Kritiker_ in +his _Abhand. zur Arab. Philologie_, Part I, pp. 122-174. + +[518] _Cf._ the remark made by AbAº aEuro~Amr b. al-aEuro~AlAi about the poet +Akha¹-al (p. 242 _supra_). + +[519] _Diwan des Abu Nowas, Die Weinlieder_, ed. by Ahlwardt, No. 10, +vv. 1-5. + +[520] Ed. by De Goeje, p. 5, ll. 5-15. + +[521] _Cf._ the story told of AbAº TammAim by Ibn KhallikAin (De Slane's +translation, vol. i, p. 350 seq.). + +[522] See NA¶ldeke, _BeitrA¤ge_, p. 4. + +[523] Ibn KhaldAºn, _Muqaddima_ (Beyrout, 1900), p. 573, l. 21 seq.; +_Prolegomena_ of Ibn K., translated by De Slane, vol. iii, p. 380. + +[524] See Professor Browne's _Literary History of Persia_, vol. ii, p. +14 sqq. + +[525] _AghAinA-_, xii, 80, l. 3. + +[526] Freytag, _Arabum Proverbia_, vol. i, p. 46 seq., where the reader +will find the Arabic text of the verses translated here. RA1/4ckert has +given a German rendering of the same verses in his _HamAcsa_, vol. i, p. +311. A fuller text of the poem occurs in _AghAinA-_, xii, 107 seq. + +[527] _DA-wAin_, ed. by Ahlwardt, _Die Weinlieder_, No. 26, v. 4. + +[528] Ibn Qutayba, _K. al-ShiaEuro~r wa-aEuro(TM)l-ShuaEuro~arAi_, p. 502, l. 13. + +[529] For the famous ascetic, a¸¤asan of Baa¹Lra, see pp. 225-227. +QatAida was a learned divine, also of Baa¹Lra and contemporary with +a¸¤asan. He died in 735 A.D. + +[530] These verses are quoted by Ibn Qutayba, _op. cit._, p. 507 seq. +'The Scripture' (_al-maa¹La¸Yaf_) is of course the Koran. + +[531] _Die Weinlieder_, ed. by Ahlwardt, No. 47. + +[532] _Ibid._, No. 29, vv. 1-3. + +[533] Ibn KhallikAin, ed. by WA1/4stenfeld, No. 169, p. 100; De Slane's +translation, vol. i, p. 393. + +[534] _Cf._ _DA-wAin_ (ed. of Beyrout, 1886), p. 279, l. 9, where he +reproaches one of his former friends who deserted him because, in his +own words, "I adopted the garb of a dervish" (_a¹Lirtu fi ziyyi +miskA-ni_). Others attribute his conversion to disgust with the +immorality and profanity of the court-poets amongst whom he lived. + +[535] Possibly he alludes to these aspersions in the verse (_ibid._, p. +153, l. 10): "_Men have become corrupted, and if they see any one who is +sound in his religion, they call him a heretic_" (_mubtadiaEuro~_). + +[536] Abu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~AtAihiya declares that knowledge is derived from three +sources, logical reasoning (_qiyAis_), examination (_aEuro~iyAir_), and oral +tradition (_samAiaEuro~_). See his _DA-wAin_, p. 158, l. 11. + +[537] _Cf._ _MAinA-, seine Lehre und seine Schriften_, by G. FlA1/4gel, p. +281, l. 3 sqq. Abu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~AtAihiya did not take this extreme view (_DA-wAin_, +p. 270, l. 3 seq.). + +[538] See ShahrastAinA-, HaarbrA1/4cker's translation, Part I, p. 181 sqq. It +appears highly improbable that Abu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~AtAihiya was a ShA-aEuro~ite. _Cf._ the +verses (_DA-wAin_, p. 104, l. 13 seq.), where, speaking of the prophets +and the holy men of ancient Islam, he says:-- + + "_Reckon first among them AbAº Bakr, the veracious, + And exclaim 'O aEuro~Umar!' in the second place of honour. + And reckon the father of a¸¤asan after aEuro~UthmAin, + For the merit of them both is recited and celebrated._" + +[539] _AghAinA-_, iii, 128, l. 6 sqq. + +[540] _Transactions of the Ninth Congress of Orientalists_, vol. ii. p. +114. + +[541] _DA-wAin_, p. 274, l. 10. _Cf._ the verse (p. 199, penultimate +line):-- + + "_When I gained contentment, I did not cease (thereafter) + To be a king, regarding riches as poverty._" + +The ascetic "lives the life of a king" (_ibid._, p. 187, l. 5). +Contented men are the noblest of all (p. 148, l. 2). So the great +Persian mystic, JalAilu aEuro(TM)l-DA-n RAºmA-, says in reference to the perfect +a¹cAºfA- (_DA-vAin-i Shams-i TabrA-z_, No. viii, v. 3 in my edition): +_Mard-i khudAi shAih buvad zA-r-i dalq_, "the man of God is a king 'neath +dervish-cloak;" and eminent spiritualists are frequently described as +"kings of the (mystic) path." I do not deny, however, that this metaphor +may have been originally suggested by the story of Buddha. + +[542] _DA-wAin_, p. 25, l. 3 sqq. Abu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~AtAihiya took credit to himself +for introducing 'the language of the market-place' into his poetry +(_ibid._ p. 12, l. 3 seq.). + +[543] _DA-wAin_ (Beyrout, 1886), p. 23, l. 13 et seqq. + +[544] _Ibid._, p. 51, l. 2. + +[545] _Ibid._, p. 132, l. 3. + +[546] _Ibid._, p. 46, l. 16. + +[547] _DA-wAin_, p. 260, l. 11 _et seqq._ + +[548] _Ibid._, p. 295, l. 14 _et seqq._ + +[549] _Ibid._, p. 287, l. 10 seq. + +[550] _Ibid._, p. 119, l. 11. + +[551] _Ibid._, p. 259, penultimate line _et seq._ + +[552] _Ibid._, p. 115, l. 4. + +[553] _DA-wAin_, p. 51, l. 10. + +[554] _Ibid._, p. 133, l. 5. + +[555] _Ibid._, p. 74, l. 4. + +[556] _Ibid._, p. 149, l. 12 seq. + +[557] _Ibid._, p. 195, l. 9. _Cf._ p. 243, l. 4 seq. + +[558] _Ibid._, p. 274, l. 6. + +[559] _Ibid._, p. 262, l. 4. + +[560] _Ibid._, p. 346, l. 11. _Cf._ p. 102, l. 11; p. 262, l. 1 seq.; p. +267, l. 7. This verse is taken from Abu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~AtAihiya's famous didactic +poem composed in rhyming couplets, which is said to have contained 4,000 +sentences of morality. Several of these have been translated by Von +Kremer in his _Culturgeschichte des Orients_, vol. ii, p. 374 sqq. + +[561] In one of his poems (_DA-wAin_, p. 160, l. 11), he says that he has +lived ninety years, but if this is not a mere exaggeration, it needs to +be corrected. The words for 'seventy' and 'ninety' are easily confused +in Arabic writing. + +[562] ThaaEuro~AilibA-, _Yatimatu aEuro(TM)l-Dahr_ (Damascus, 1304 A.H.), vol. i, p. 8 +seq. + +[563] See Von Kremer's _Culturgeschichte_, vol. ii, p. 381 sqq.; +Ahlwardt, _Poesie und Poetik der Araber_, p. 37 sqq.; R. Dvorak, _AbAº +FirAis, ein arabischer Dichter und Held_ (Leyden, 1895). + +[564] MutanabbA-, ed. by Dieterici, p. 493. WAia¸YidA- gives the whole +story in his commentary on this verse. + +[565] MutanabbA-, it is said, explained to Sayfu aEuro(TM)l-Dawla that by _surra_ +(gladden) he meant _surriyya_; whereupon the good-humoured prince +presented him with a slave-girl. + +[566] Literally, "Do not imagine fat in one whose (apparent) fat is +(really) a tumour." + +[567] _DA-wAin_, ed. by Dieterici, pp. 481-484. + +[568] The most esteemed commentary is that of WAia¸YidA- (aEuro 1075 A.D.), +which has been published by Fr. Dieterici in his edition of MutanabbA- +(Berlin, 1858-1861). + +[569] _Motenebbi, der grA¶sste arabische Dichter_ (Vienna, 1824). + +[570] _AbulfedA| Annales Muslemici_ (HafniA|, 1789, &c.), vol. ii, p. 774. +_Cf._ his notes on a¹¬arafa's _MuaEuro~allaqa_, of which he published an +edition in 1742. + +[571] _Chrestomathie Arabe_ (2nd edition), vol. iii, p. 27 sqq. _Journal +des Savans_, January, 1825, p. 24 sqq. + +[572] _Commentatio de Motenabbio_ (Bonn, 1824). + +[573] _Geschichte der Arabischen Litteratur_ (Weimar, 1898, &c.), vol. +i, p. 86. + +[574] I have made free use of Dieterici's excellent work entitled +_Mutanabbi und Seifuddaula aus der Edelperle des TsaAclibi_ (Leipzig, +1847), which contains on pp. 49-74 an abstract of ThaaEuro~AilibA-'s criticism +in the fifth chapter of the First Part of the _YatA-ma_. + +[575] MutanabbA-, ed. by Dieterici, p. 182, vv. 3-9, omitting v. 5. + +[576] The author of these lines, which are quoted by Ibn KhallikAin in +his article on MutanabbA-, is Abu aEuro(TM)l-QAisim b. al-Muaº"affar b. aEuro~AlA- +al-a¹¬abasA-. + +[577] MutanabbA-, ed. by Dieterici, p. 581, v. 27. + +[578] _Ibid._, p. 472, v. 5. + +[579] MutanabbA-, ed. by Dieterici, p. 341, v. 8. + +[580] Margoliouth's Introduction to the _Letters of Abu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~AlAi_, p. +xxii. + +[581] _Ibid._, p. xxvii seq. + +[582] _LuzAºmiyyAit_ (Cairo, 1891), vol. i, p. 201. + +[583] _I.e._, his predecessors of the modern school. Like MutanabbA-, he +ridicules the conventional types (_asAilA-b_) in which the old poetry is +cast _Cf._ Goldziher, _Abhand. zur Arab. Philologie_, Part I, p. 146 seq. + +[584] The proper title is _LuzAºmu mAi lAi yalzam_, referring to a +technical difficulty which the poet unnecessarily imposed on himself +with regard to the rhyme. + +[585] _AbulfedA| Annales Muslemici_, ed. by Adler (1789-1794), vol. iii, +p. 677. + +[586] _Literaturgesch. der Araber_, vol. vi, p. 900 sqq. + +[587] _Sitzungsberichte der Philosophisch-Historischen Classe der +Kaiserlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften_, vol. cxvii, 6th Abhandlung +(Vienna, 1889). Select passages admirably rendered by Von Kremer into +German verse will be found in the _Z.D.M.G._, vol. 29, pp. 304-312; vol. +30, pp. 40-52; vol. 31, pp. 471-483; vol. 38, pp. 499-529. + +[588] _Z.D.M.G._, vol. 38, p. 507; Margoliouth, _op. cit._, p. 131, l. +15 of the Arabic text. + +[589] _Z.D.M.G._, vol. 29, p. 308. + +[590] Margoliouth, _op. cit._, p. 133 of the Arabic text. + +[591] This passage occurs in Abu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~AlAi's _RisAilatu aEuro(TM)l-GhufrAin_ (see +_infra_), _J.R.A.S._ for 1902, p. 351. _Cf._ the verses translated by +Von Kremer in his essay on Abu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~AlAi, p. 23. + +[592] For the term 'a¸¤anA-f' see p. 149 _supra_. Here it is synonymous +with 'Muslim.' + +[593] _Z.D.M.G._, vol. 38, p. 513. + +[594] This work, of which only two copies exist in Europe--one at +Constantinople and another in my collection--has been described and +partially translated in the _J.R.A.S._ for 1900, pp. 637-720, and for +1902, pp. 75-101, 337-362, and 813-847. + +[595] Margoliouth, _op. cit._, p. 132, last line of the Arabic text. + +[596] _Z.D.M.G._, vol. 31, p. 483. + +[597] De Gobineau, _Les religions et les philosophies dans l'Asie +centrale_, p. 11 seq. + +[598] _Z.D.M.G._, vol. 31, p. 477. + +[599] _Ibid._, vol. 29, p. 311. + +[600] _Z.D.M.G._ vol. 38, p. 522. + +[601] According to De Goeje, _MA(C)moires sur les Carmathes du Bahrain_, p. +197, n. 1, these lines refer to a prophecy made by the Carmathians that +the conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter, which took place in 1047 A.D. +would herald the final triumph of the FAia¹-imids over the aEuro~AbbAisids. + +[602] _Z.D.M.G._, vol. 38, p. 504. + +[603] _Z.D.M.G._, vol. 31, p. 474. + +[604] _LuzAºmiyyAit_ (Cairo, 1891), i, 394. + +[605] _Ibid._, i, 312. + +[606] Von Kremer, _op. cit._, p. 38. + +[607] _Safar-nAima_, ed. by Schefer, p. 10 seq. = pp. 35-36 of the +translation. + +[608] _LuzAºmiyyAit_, ii, 280. The phrase does not mean "I am the child of +my age," but "I live in the present," forgetful of the past and careless +what the future may bring. + +[609] See Von Kremer, _op. cit._, p. 46 sqq. + +[610] See the article on a¹¬ughrAiaEuro(TM)A- in Ibn KhallikAin, De Slane's +translation, vol. i, p. 462. + +[611] _Ibid._, vol. iii, p. 355. + +[612] The spirit of fortitude and patience (_a¸YamAisa_) is exhibited by +both poets, but in a very different manner. ShanfarAi describes a man of +heroic nature. a¹¬ughrAiaEuro(TM)A- wraps himself in his virtue and moralises +like a Mua¸Yammadan Horace. a¹cafadA-, however, says in his commentary +on a¹¬ughrAiaEuro(TM)A-'s ode (I translate from a MS. copy in my possession): "It +is named _LAimiyyatu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~Ajam_ by way of comparing it with the _LAimiyyatu +aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~Arab_, because it resembles the latter in its wise sentences and +maxims." + +[613] _I.e._, the native of AbAºa¹Lir (BAºa¹LA-r), a village in Egypt. + +[614] The _Burda_, ed. by C. A. Ralfs (Vienna, 1860), verse 140; _La +Bordah traduite et commentA(C)e par RenA(C) Basset_ (Paris, 1894), verse 151. + +[615] This appears to be a reminiscence of the fact that Mua¸Yammad +gave his own mantle as a gift to KaaEuro~b b. Zuhayr, when that poet recited +his famous ode, _BAinat SuaEuro~Aid_ (see p. 127 _supra_). + +[616] _MaqAima_ (plural, _maqAimAit_) is properly 'a place of standing'; +hence, an assembly where people stand listening to the speaker, and in +particular, an assembly for literary discussion. At an early period +reports of such conversations and discussions received the name of +_maqAimAit_ (see Brockelmann, _Gesch. der Arab. Litteratur_, vol. i, p. +94). The word in its literary sense is usually translated by 'assembly,' +or by the French '_sA(C)ance_.' + +[617] _The Assemblies of al-a¸¤arA-rA-_, translated from the Arabic, with +an introduction and notes by T. Chenery (1867), vol. i, p. 19. This +excellent work contains a fund of information on diverse matters +connected with Arabian history and literature. Owing to the author's +death it was left unfinished, but a second volume (including +_Assemblies_ 27-50) by F. Steingass appeared in 1898. + +[618] A full account of his career will be found in the Preface to +Houtsma's _Recueil de textes relatifs A l'histoire des Seldjoucides_, +vol. ii. p. 11 sqq. _Cf._ Browne's _Lit. Hist. of Persia_, vol. ii, p. +360. + +[619] This is a graceful, but probably insincere, tribute to the +superior genius of HamadhAinA-. + +[620] The above passage is taken, with some modification, from the +version of a¸¤arA-rA- published in 1850 by Theodore Preston, Fellow of +Trinity College, Cambridge, who was afterwards Lord Almoner's Professor +of Arabic (1855-1871). + +[621] Moslems had long been familiar with the fables of Bidpai, which +were translated from the PehlevA- into Arabic by Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-MuqaffaaEuro~ (aEuro +_circa_ 760 A.D.). + +[622] _Al-FakhrA-_, ed. by Derenbourg, p. 18, l. 4 sqq. + +[623] A town in Mesopotamia, not far from Edessa. It was taken by the +Crusaders in 1101 A.D. (Abu aEuro(TM)l-FidAi, ed. by Reiske, vol. iii, p. 332). + +[624] The 48th _MaqAima_ of the series as finally arranged. + +[625] Chenery, _op. cit._, p. 23. + +[626] This has been done with extraordinary skill by the German poet, +Friedrich RA1/4ckert (_Die Verwandlungen des Abu Seid von Serug_, 2nd ed. +1837), whose work, however, is not in any sense a translation. + +[627] A literal translation of these verses, which occur in the sixth +_Assembly_, is given by Chenery, _op. cit._, p. 138. + +[628] _Ibid._, p. 163. + +[629] Two grammatical treatises by a¸¤arA-rA- have come down to us. In +one of these, entitled _Durratu aEuro(TM)l-GhawwAia¹L_ ('The Pearl of the +Diver') and edited by Thorbecke (Leipzig, 1871), he discusses the +solecisms which people of education are wont to commit. + +[630] See Chenery, _op. cit._, pp. 83-97. + +[631] _The Caliphate, its Rise, Decline, and Fall_, p. 573. + +[632] Another example is aEuro~Umar al-KhayyAimA- for aEuro~Umar KhayyAim. The +spelling GhazzAilA- (with a double _z_) was in general use when Ibn +KhallikAin wrote his Biographical Dictionary in 1256 A.D. (see De Slane's +translation, vol. i, p. 80), but according to SamaEuro~AinA- the name is +derived from GhazAila, a village near a¹¬Aºs; in which case GhazAilA- is +the correct form of the _nisba_. I have adopted 'GhazalA-' in deference +to SamaEuro~AinA-'s authority, but those who write 'GhazzAilA-' can at least +claim that they err in very good company. + +[633] Shamsu aEuro(TM)l-DA-n al-DhahabA- (aEuro 1348 A.D.). + +[634] aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-Raa¸YA-m al-IsnawA- (aEuro 1370 A.D.), author of a +biographical work on the ShAifiaEuro~ite doctors. See Brockelmann, _Gesch. der +Arab. Litt._, vol. ii, p. 90. + +[635] Abu aEuro(TM)l-MaaEuro~AilA- al-JuwaynA-, a famous theologian of NaysAibAºr (aEuro 1085 +A.D.), received this title, which means 'ImAim of the Two Sanctuaries,' +because he taught for several years at Mecca and MedA-na. + +[636] _I.e._, the camp-court of the SeljAºq monarch MalikshAih, son of Alp +ArslAin. + +[637] According to his own account in the _Munqidh_, GhazAilA- on leaving +BaghdAid went first to Damascus, then to Jerusalem, and then to Mecca. +The statement that he remained ten years at Damascus is inaccurate. + +[638] The MS. has Fakhru aEuro(TM)l-DA-n. + +[639] GhazAilA-'s return to public life took place in 1106 A.D. + +[640] The correct title of Ibn a¸¤azm's work is uncertain. In the Cairo +ed. (1321 A.H.) it is called _KitAibu aEuro(TM)l-Fia¹Lal fi aEuro(TM)l-Milal wa aEuro(TM)l-AhwAi +wa aEuro(TM)l-Nia¸Yal_. + +[641] See p. 195 _supra_. + +[642] Kor. ix, 3. The translation runs ("This is a declaration) _that +God is clear of the idolaters, and His Apostle likewise_." With the +reading _rasAºlihi_ it means that God is clear of the idolaters and also +of His Apostle. + +[643] Ibn Khallikan, De Slane's translation, vol. i, p. 663. + +[644] See p. 128. + +[645] Ibn KhallikAin, No. 608; De Slane's translation, vol. iii, p. 31. + +[646] See pp. 131-134, _supra_. + +[647] Goldziher, _Muhammedanische Studien_, Part I, p. 197. + +[648] _Ibid._, p. 195. + +[649] Ibn Qutayba, _KitAibu aEuro(TM)l-MaaEuro~Airif_, p. 269. + +[650] While AbAº aEuro~Ubayda was notorious for his freethinking +proclivities, Aa¹LmaaEuro~A- had a strong vein of pietism. See Goldziher, +_loc. cit._, p. 199 and _Abh. zur Arab. Philologie_, Part I, p. 136. + +[651] Professor Browne has given a _rA(C)sumA(C)_ of the contents in his _Lit. +Hist. of Persia_, vol. i, p. 387 seq. + +[652] Ed. by Max GrA1/4nert (Leyden, 1900). + +[653] Vol. i ed. by C. Brockelmann (Weimar and Strassburg, 1898-1908). + +[654] The epithet _jAia¸Yiaº"_ means 'goggle-eyed.' + +[655] See p. 267. + +[656] Ibn KhallikAin, De Slane's translation, vol. ii, p. 250. + +[657] One of these, the eleventh of the complete work, has been edited +by Ahlwardt: _Anonyme Arabische Chronik_ (Greifswald, 1883). It covers +part of the reign of the Umayyad Caliph, aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-Malik (685-705 A.D.). + +[658] The French title is _Les Prairies d'Or_. Brockelmann, in his +shorter _Hist. of Arabic Literature_ (Leipzig, 1901), p. 110, states +that the correct translation of _MurAºju aEuro(TM)l-Dhahab_ is 'GoldwA¤schen.' + +[659] Concerning a¹¬abarA- and his work the reader should consult De +Goeje's Introduction (published in the supplementary volume containing +the Glossary) to the Leyden edition, and his excellent article on +a¹¬abarA- and early Arab Historians in the _EncyclopA|dia Britannica_. + +[660] Abu aEuro(TM)l-Maa¸YAisin, ed. by Juynboll, vol. i, p. 608. + +[661] _Selection from the Annals of TabarA-_, ed. by M. J. de Goeje +(Leyden, 1902), p. xi. + +[662] De Goeje's Introduction to a¹¬abarA-, p. xxvii. + +[663] Al-BalaEuro~amA-, the Vizier of Mana¹LAºr I, the SAimAinid, made in 963 +A.D. a Persian epitome of which a French translation by Dubeux and +Zotenberg was published in 1867-1874. + +[664] _MurAºju aEuro(TM)l-Dhahab_, ed. by Barbier de Meynard, vol. i, p. 5 seq. + +[665] The _AkhbAiru aEuro(TM)l-ZamAin_ in thirty volumes (one volume is extant at +Vienna) and the _KitAib al-Awsaa¹-_. + +[666] _MurAºju aEuro(TM)l-Dhahab_, p. 9 seq. + +[667] It may be noted as a coincidence that Ibn KhaldAºn calls MasaEuro~AºdA- +_imAiman lil-muaEuro(TM)arrikhA-n_, "an ImAim for all the historians," which +resembles, though it does not exactly correspond to, "the Father of +History." + +[668] MasaEuro~AºdA- gives a summary of the contents of his historical and +religious works in the Preface to the _TanbA-h wa-aEuro(TM)l-IshrAif_, ed. by De +Goeje, p. 2 sqq. A translation of this passage by De Sacy will be found +in Barbier de Meynard's edition of the _MurAºju aEuro(TM)l-Dhahab_, vol. ix, p. +302 sqq. + +[669] See _MurAºj_, vol. i, p. 201, and vol. iii, p. 268. + +[670] _Ibid._, vol. ii, p. 372 sqq. + +[671] De Sacy renders the title by 'Le Livre de l'Indication et de +l'Admonition ou l'Indicateur et le Moniteur'; but see De Goeje's edition +of the text (Leyden, 1894), p. xxvii. + +[672] The full title is _KitAibu aEuro(TM)l-KAimil fi aEuro(TM)l-TaaEuro(TM)rA-kh_, or 'The Perfect +Book of Chronicles.' It has been edited by Tornberg in fourteen volumes +(Leyden, 1851-1876). + +[673] Ibn KhallikAin, De Slane's translation, vol. ii, p. 289. + +[674] An excellent account of the Arab geographers is given by Guy Le +Strange in the Introduction to his _Palestine under the Moslems_ +(London, 1890). De Goeje has edited the works of Ibn KhurdAidbih, +Ia¹La¹-akhrA-, Ibn a¸¤awqal, and MuqaddasA- in the _Bibliotheca +Geographorum Arabicorum_ (Leyden, 1870, &c.) + +[675] De Slane's translation, vol. iv, p. 9 sqq. + +[676] P. 243. + +[677] The translators employed by the BanAº MAºsAi were paid at the rate of +about 500 dA-nAirs a month (_ibid._, p. 43, l. 18 sqq.). + +[678] _Ibid._, p. 271; Ibn KhallikAin, De Slane's translation, vol. iii, +p. 315. + +[679] A chapter at least would be required in order to set forth +adequately the chief material and intellectual benefits which European +civilisation has derived from the Arabs. The reader may consult Von +Kremer's _Culturgeschichte des Orients_, vol. ii, chapters 7 and 9; +Diercks, _Die Araber im Mittelalter_ (Leipzig, 1882); SA(C)dillot, +_Histoire gA(C)nA(C)rale des Arabes_; Schack, _Poesie und Kunst der Araber in +Spanien und Sicilien_; Munk, _MA(C)langes de Philosophie Juive et Arabe_; +De Lacy O'Leary, _Arabic Thought and its Place in History_ (1922); and +Campbell, _Arabian Medicine and its Influence on the Middle Ages_ +(1926). A volume entitled _The Legacy of the Islamic World_, ed. by Sir +T. W. Arnold and Professor A. Guillaume, is in course of publication. + +[680] Ibn KhallikAin, De Slane's translation, vol. i, p. 440. + +[681] _The Chronology of Ancient Nations_ (London, 1879) and Alberuni's +_India_ (London, 1888). + +[682] P. 384 sqq. + +[683] The passages concerning the a¹cAibians were edited and translated, +with copious annotations, by Chwolsohn in his _Ssabier und Ssabismus_ +(St. Petersburg, 1856), vol. ii, p. 1-365, while FlA1/4gel made similar use +of the ManichA|an portion in _Mani, seine Lehre und seine Schriften_ +(Leipzig, 1862). + +[684] Wellhausen, _Das Arabische Reich_, p. 350 seq. + +[685] See Goldziher, _Muhamm. Studien_, Part II, p. 53 sqq. + +[686] _Ibid._, p. 70 seq. + +[687] _Fragmenta Historicorum Arabicorum_, ed. by De Goeje and De Jong, +p. 298. + +[688] There are, of course, some partial exceptions to this rule, +_e.g._, MahdA- and HAirAºn al-RashA-d. + +[689] See p. 163, note. + +[690] Several freethinkers of this period attempted to rival the Koran +with their own compositions. See Goldziher, _Muhamm. Studien_, Part II, +p. 401 seq. + +[691] _Al-NujAºm al-ZAihira_, ed. by Juynboll, vol. i, p. 639. + +[692] This is the literal translation of _IkhwAinu aEuro(TM)l-SafAi_, but +according to Arabic idiom 'brother of purity' (_akhu aEuro(TM)l-a¹LafAi_) simply +means 'one who is pure or sincere,' as has been shown by Goldziher, +_Muhamm. Studien_, Part I, p. 9, note. The term does not imply any sort +of brotherhood. + +[693] Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-Qifa¹-A-, _TaaEuro(TM) rA-khu aEuro(TM)l-a¸¤ukamAi_ (ed. by Lippert), p. +83, l. 17 sqq. + +[694] _Notice sur un manuscrit de la secte des Assassins_, by P. +Casanova in the _Journal Asiatique_ for 1898, p 151 sqq. + +[695] De Goeje, _MA(C)moire sur les Carmathes_, p. 172. + +[696] _a¹cAclia¸Y b. aEuro~Abd al-QuddA"s und das ZindA(R)a¸ cubedthum wA¤hrend der +Regierung des Chalifen al-MahdA- in Transactions of the Ninth Congress of +Orientalists_, vol. ii, p. 105 seq. + +[697] a¹¬abarA-, iii, 522, 1. + +[698] _I.e._ the sacred books of the ManichA|ans, which were often +splendidly illuminated. See Von Kremer, _Culturgesch. StreifzA1/4ge_, p. +39. + +[699] _Cf._ a¹¬abarA-, iii, 499, 8 sqq. + +[700] _Ibid._, iii, 422, 19 sqq. + +[701] _Cf._ the saying "_Aaº"rafu mina aEuro(TM)l-ZindA-q_" (Freytag, _Arabum +Proverbia_, vol. i, p. 214). + +[702] As Professor Bevan points out, it is based solely on the +well-known verse (_AghAinA-_, iii, 24, l. 11), which has come down to us +without the context:-- + + "_Earth is dark and Fire is bright, + And Fire has been worshipped ever since Fire existed._" + +[703] These popular preachers (_qua¹La¹LAia¹L_) are admirably +described by Goldziher, _Muhamm. Studien_, Part II, p. 161 sqq. + +[704] The Arabic text of these verses will be found in Goldziher's +monograph, p. 122, ll. 6-7. + +[705] See a passage from the _KitAibu aEuro(TM)l-a¸¤ayawAin_, cited by Baron V. +Rosen in _Zapiski_, vol. vi, p. 337, and rendered into English in my +_Translations from Eastern Poetry and Prose_, p. 53. Probably these +monks were ManichA|ans, not Buddhists. + +[706] _ZaddA-q_ is an Aramaic word meaning 'righteous.' Its etymological +equivalent in Arabic is _siddA-q_, which has a different meaning, namely, +'veracious.' _ZaddA-q_ passed into Persian in the form _ZandA-k_, which +was used by the Persians before Islam, and _ZindA-q_ is the Arabicised +form of the latter word. For some of these observations I am indebted to +Professor Bevan. Further details concerning the derivation and meaning +of _ZindA-q_ are given in Professor Browne's _Literary Hist. of Persia_ +(vol. i, p. 159 sqq.), where the reader will also find a lucid account +of the ManichA|an doctrines. + +[707] Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-AthA-r, vol. viii, p. 229 seq. (anno 323 A.H. = 934-935 +A.D.). + +[708] _Ibid._, p. 98. + +[709] _Ibid._, p. 230 seq. + +[710] See p. 192. + +[711] _I.e._, he is saved from Hell but excluded from Paradise. + +[712] Ibn KhallikAin, ed. by WA1/4stenfeld, No. 440; De Slane's translation, +vol. ii, p. 228. + +[713] The clearest statement of AshaEuro~arA-'s doctrine with which I am +acquainted is contained in the Creed published by Spitta, _Zur +Geschichte Abu aEuro(TM)l-a¸¤asan al-AshaEuro~arA-'s_ (Leipzig, 1876), p. 133, l. 9 +sqq.; German translation, p. 95 sqq. It has been translated into English +by D. B. Macdonald in his _Muslim Theology_, p. 293 and foll. + +[714] _Op. cit._, p. 7 seq. + +[715] Schreiner, _Zur Geschichte des AshaEuro~aritenthums_ in the _Proceedings +of the Eighth International Congress of Orientalists_ (1889), p. 5 of +the _tirage A part_. + +[716] _Z.D.M.G._, vol. 31, p. 167. + +[717] See Goldziher in _Z.D.M.G._, vol. 41, p. 63 seq., whence the +following details are derived. + +[718] See p. 339 seq. + +[719] I have used the Cairo edition of 1309 A.H. A French translation by +Barbier de Meynard was published in the _Journal Asiatique_ (January, +1877), pp. 9-93. + +[720] These are the IsmAiaEuro~A-lA-s or BAia¹-inA-s (including the Carmathians +and Assassins). See p. 271 sqq. + +[721] _A Literary History of Persia_, vol. ii, p. 295 seq. + +[722] _The Life of al-GhazzAelAe"_ in the _Journal of the American +Oriental Society_, vol. xx (1899), p. 122 sqq. + +[723] _Herrschende Ideen_, p. 67. + +[724] _Idee und Grundlinien einer allgemeiner Geschichte der Mystik_, an +academic oration delivered on November 22, 1892, and published at +Heidelberg in 1893. + +[725] The following sketch is founded on my paper, _An Historical +Enquiry concerning the Origin and Development of a¹cAºfiism_ +(_J.R.A.S._, April, 1906, p. 303 sqq.). + +[726] This, so far as I know, is the oldest extant definition of +a¹cAºfiism. + +[727] It is impossible not to recognise the influence of Greek +philosophy in this conception of Truth as Beauty. + +[728] JAimA- says (_NafahAitu aEuro(TM)l-Uns_, ed. by Nassau Lees, p. 36): "He is +the head of this sect: they all descend from, and are related to, him." + +[729] See aEuro~Aa¹-a¹-Air's _Tadhkiratu aEuro(TM)l-AwliyAi_, ed. by Nicholson, Part +I, p. 114; JAimA-'s _Nafaa¸YAit_, p. 35; Ibn KhallikAin, De Slane's +translation, vol. i, p. 291. + +[730] _MurAºju aEuro(TM)l-Dhahab_, vol. ii, p. 401 seq. + +[731] The _Influence of Buddhism upon Islam_, by I. Goldziher (Budapest, +1903). As this essay is written in Hungarian, I have not been able to +consult it at first hand, but have used the excellent translation by Mr. +T. Duka, which appeared in the _J.R.A.S._ for January, 1904, pp. +125-141. + +[732] It was recognised by the a¹cAºfA-s themselves that in some points +their doctrine was apparently based on MuaEuro~tazilite principles. See +ShaaEuro~rAinA-, _LawAiqia¸Yu aEuro(TM)l-AnwAir_ (Cairo, 1299 A.H.), p. 14, l. 21 sqq. + +[733] This definition is by Abu aEuro(TM)l-a¸¤usayn al-NAºrA- (aEuro 907-908 A.D.). + +[734] See Professor Browne's _Lit. Hist. of Persia_, vol. ii, p. 261 +sqq. + +[735] The _DA-wAin of aEuro~Umar Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-FAiria¸_, ed. by Rushayyid +al-Daa¸YdAia¸Y (Marseilles, 1853). + +[736] _I.e._, New and Old Cairo. + +[737] The _DA-wAin_, excluding the _TAiaEuro(TM)iyyatu aEuro(TM)l-KubrAi_, has been edited +by Rushayyid al-Daa¸YdAia¸Y (Marseilles, 1853). + +[738] _DA-wAin_, p. 219, l. 14 and p. 213, l. 18. + +[739] Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-FAiria¸, like MutanabbA-, shows a marked fondness for +diminutives. As he observes (_DA-wAin_, p. 552):-- + + _mAi qultu a¸YubayyibA- mina aEuro(TM)l-taa¸YqA-ri + bal yaaEuro~dhubu aEuro(TM)smu aEuro(TM)l-shakha¹Li bi-aEuro(TM)l-taa¹LghA-ri._ + + "_Not in contempt I say 'my darling.' No! + By 'diminution' names do sweeter grow._" + +[740] _DA¬wA n_, p. 472 sqq. A French rendering will be found at p. 41 of +Grangeret de Lagrange's _Anthologie Arabe_ (Paris, 1828). + +[741] The words of God to Moses (Kor. vii, 139). + +[742] _DA-wAin_, p. 257 sqq. + +[743] This refers to Kor. vii, 171. God drew forth from the loins of +Adam all future generations of men and addressed them, saying, "_Am not +I your Lord?_" They answered, "_Yes_," and thus, according to the +a¹cAºfA- interpretation, pledged themselves to love God for evermore. + +[744] _DA-wAin_, p. 142 sqq. + +[745] See _A Literary History of Persia_, vol. i, p. 428 sqq. But during +the last twenty years a great deal of new light has been thrown upon the +character and doctrines of a¸¤allAij. See Appendix. + +[746] The best-known biography of Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~ArabA- occurs in MaqqarA-'s +_Nafa¸Yu aEuro(TM)l-a¹¬A-b_, ed. by Dozy and others, vol. i, pp. 567-583. Much +additional information is contained in a lengthy article, which I have +extracted from a valuable MS. in my collection, the _ShadharAitu +aEuro(TM)l-Dhahab_, and published in the _J.R.A.S._ for 1906, pp. 806-824. _Cf._ +also Von Kremer's _Herrschende Ideen_, pp. 102-109. + +[747] Mua¸Yyi aEuro(TM)l-DA-n means 'Reviver of Religion.' In the West he was +called Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~ArabA-, but the Moslems of the East left out the definite +article (_al_) in order to distinguish him from the Cadi AbAº Bakr Ibnu +aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~ArabA- of Seville (aEuro 1151 A.D.). + +[748] _Al-KibrA-t al-aa¸Ymar_ (literally, 'the red sulphur'). + +[749] See Von Kremer, _op. cit._, p. 108 seq. + +[750] The above particulars are derived from an abstract of the +_FutAºa¸YAit_ made by aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-WahhAib al-ShaaEuro~rAinA- (aEuro 1565 A.D.), of which +Fleischer has given a full description in the _Catalogue of Manuscripts +in the Leipzig Univ. Library_ (1838), pp. 490-495. + +[751] MaqqarA-, i, 569, 11. + +[752] Aa¸Ymad b. a¸¤anbal. + +[753] AbAº a¸¤anA-fa. + +[754] _Fua¹LAºa¹Lu aEuro(TM)l-a¸¤ikam_ (Cairo, A.H. 1321), p. 78. The words +within brackets belong to the commentary of aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-RazzAiq al-KAishAinA- +which accompanies the text. + +[755] Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~ArabA- uses the term "Idea of ideas" (_a¸¤aqA-qatu +aEuro(TM)l-a¸YaqAiaEuro(TM)iq_) as equivalent to I"a1/2¹I cubedI?I, I muI1/2I'I¹a1/2+-I¸I muI"I?I,, while "the +Idea of Mua¸Yammad" (_al-a¸¤aqA-qatu aEuro(TM)l-Mua¸Yammadiyya_) corresponds +to I"a1/2¹I cubedI?I, IEuroII?I†I?II¹Iºa1/2¹I,. + +[756] The Arabic text of these verses will be found in the collection of +Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~ArabA-'s mystical odes, entitled _TarjumAinu aEuro(TM)l-AshwAiq_, which I +have edited (Oriental Translation Fund, New Series, vol. xx, p. 19, vv. +13-15). + +[757] Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~ArabA- has been studied by Asin Palacios, Professor of +Arabic at Madrid, whose books are written in Spanish, and H. S. Nyberg +(_Kleinere Schriften des Ibn al-aEuro~ArabA-_, Leiden, 1919). A general view +may be obtained from my _Studies in Islamic Mysticism_, pp. 77-142 and +pp. 149-161. + +[758] See Asin Palacios, _Islam and the Divine Comedy_, London, 1926. + +[759] Abridged from Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~IdhAirA-, _al-BayAin al-Mughrib_, ed. by Dozy, +vol. ii, p. 61 seq. + +[760] Ibn KhallikAin, ed. by WA1/4stenfeld, No. 802; De Slane's translation, +vol. iv, p. 29 sqq. + +[761] MuqaddasA- (ed. by De Goeje), p. 236, cited by Goldziher, _Die +ZAchiriten_, p. 114. + +[762] Dozy, _Histoire des Musulmans d'Espagne_ (Leyden, 1861), vol. iii, +p. 90 sqq. + +[763] aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-Raa¸YmAin III was the first of his line to assume this +title. + +[764] MaqqarA-, vol. i, p. 259. As MaqqarA-'s work is our principal +authority for the literary history of Moslem Spain, I may conveniently +give some account of it in this place. The author, Aa¸Ymad b. +Mua¸Yammad al-TilimsAinA- al-MaqqarA- (aEuro 1632 A.D.) wrote a biography of +Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-Khaa¹-A-b, the famous Vizier of Granada, to which he prefixed a +long and discursive introduction in eight chapters: (1) Description of +Spain; (2) Conquest of Spain by the Arabs; (3) History of the Spanish +dynasties; (4) Cordova; (5) Spanish-Arabian scholars who travelled in +the East; (6) Orientals who visited Spain; (7) Miscellaneous extracts, +anecdotes, poetical citations, &c., bearing on the literary history of +Spain; (8) Reconquest of Spain by the Christians and expulsion of the +Arabs. The whole work is entitled _Nafa¸Yu aEuro(TM)l-a¹¬A-b min ghua¹LnA- +aEuro(TM)l-Andalusi aEuro(TM)l-raa¹-A-b wa-dhikri wazA-rihAi LisAini aEuro(TM)l-DA-n Ibni +aEuro(TM)l-Khaa¹-A-b_. The introduction, which contains a fund of curious and +valuable information--"a library in little"--has been edited by Dozy and +other European Arabists under the title of _Analectes sur l'Histoire et +la LittA(C)rature des Arabes d'Espagne_ (Leyden, 1855-1861). + +[765] The name of Slaves (_a¹caqAiliba_) was originally applied to +prisoners of war, belonging to various northern races, who were sold to +the Arabs of Spain, but the term was soon widened so as to include all +foreign slaves serving in the harem or the army, without regard to their +nationality. Like the Mamelukes and Janissaries, they formed a +privileged corps under the patronage of the palace, and since the reign +of aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-Raa¸YmAin III their number and influence had steadily +increased. _Cf._ Dozy, _Hist. des Mus. d'Espagne_, vol. iii, p. 58 sqq. + +[766] Dozy, _op. cit._, vol. ii, p. 103 seq. + +[767] QazwA-nA-, _AthAiru aEuro(TM)l-BilAid_, ed. by WA1/4stenfeld, p. 364, l. 5 sqq. + +[768] See Schack, _op. cit._, vol. ii, p. 46 sqq. + +[769] The Arabic original occurs in the 11th chapter of the _a¸¤albatu +aEuro(TM)l-Kumayt_, a collection of poems on wine and drinking by Mua¸Yammad b. +a¸¤asan al-NawAijA- (aEuro 1455 A.D.), and is also printed in the _Anthologie +Arabe_ of Grangeret de Lagrange, p. 202. + +[770] _Al-a¸¤ullat al-SiyarAi_ of Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-AbbAir, ed. by Dozy, p. 34. In +the last line instead of "foes" the original has "the sons of aEuro~AbbAis." +Other verses addressed by aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-Raa¸YmAin to this palm-tree are cited +by MaqqarA-, vol. ii, p. 37. + +[771] Full details concerning ZiryAib will be found in MaqqarA-, vol. ii, +p. 83 sqq. _Cf._ Dozy, _Hist. des Mus. d'Espagne_, vol. ii, p. 89 sqq. + +[772] MaqqarA-, _loc. cit._, p. 87, l. 10 sqq. + +[773] Dozy, _Histoire des Musulmans d'Espagne_, vol. iii, p. 107 sqq. + +[774] See the verses cited by Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-AthA-r, vol. viii, p. 457. + +[775] Ibn KhallikAin, No. 697, De Slane's translation, vol. iii, p. 186. + +[776] Ibn KhallikAin, _loc. cit._ + +[777] _Loc. cit._, p. 189. For the sake of clearness I have slightly +abridged and otherwise remodelled De Slane's translation of this +passage. + +[778] A somewhat different version of these events is given by Dozy, +_Histoire des Musulmans d'Espagne_, vol. iv, p. 189 sqq. + +[779] The term _MulaththamAºn_, which means literally 'wearers of the +_lithAim_' (a veil covering the lower part of the face), is applied to +the Berber tribes of the Sahara, the so-called Almoravides +(_al-MurAibia¹-Aºn_), who at this time ruled over Northern Africa. + +[780] Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-AbbAir (Dozy, _Loci de Abbadidis_, vol. ii, p. 63). + +[781] _Histoire des Musulmans d'Espagne_, vol. iv, p. 287. + +[782] _I.e._, 'holder of the two vizierships'--that of the sword and +that of the pen. See De Slane's translation of Ibn KhallikAin, vol. iii, +p. 130, n. 1. + +[783] The Arabic text of this poem, which occurs in the _QalAiaEuro(TM)idu +aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~IqyAin_ of Ibn KhAiqAin, will be found on pp. 24-25 of Weyers's +_Specimen criticum exhibens locos Ibn Khacanis de Ibn Zeidouno_ (Leyden, +31). + +[784] Cited by Ibn KhallikAin in his article on Ibn a¸¤azm (De Slane's +translation, vol. ii, p. 268). + +[785] MaqqarA-, vol. i, p. 511, l. 21. + +[786] MaqqarA-, _loc. cit._ p. 515, l. 5 seq. + +[787] See p. 341, note 1[640]. + +[788] The contents of the _KitAibu aEuro(TM)l-Milal wa-aEuro(TM)l-Nia¸Yal_ are fully +summarised by Dozy in the Leyden Catalogue, vol. iv, pp. 230-237. _Cf._ +also _Zur Komposition von Ibn a¸¤azm's Milal waaEuro(TM)n-Nia¸Yal_, by Israel +Friedlaender in the _NA¶ldeke-Festschrift_ (Giessen, 1906), vol. i, p. +267 sqq. + +[789] So far as I am aware, the report that copies are preserved in the +great mosque at Tunis has not been confirmed. + +[790] His Arabic name is IsmAiaEuro~A-l b. NaghdAila. See the Introduction to +Dozy's ed. of Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~IdhAirA-, p. 84, n. 1. + +[791] An interesting notice of Samuel Ha-Levi is given by Dozy in his +_Hist. des Mus. d'Espagne_, vol. iv, p. 27 sqq. + +[792] _KAimil_ of Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-AthA-r, ed. by Tornberg, vol. ix, p. 425 sqq. +The following narrative (which has been condensed as far as possible) +differs in some essential particulars from the accounts given by Ibn +KhaldAºn (_History of the Berbers_, De Slane's translation, vol. ii, p. +64 sqq.) and by Ibn AbA- ZaraEuro~ (Tornberg, _Annales Regum MauritaniA|_, p. +100 sqq. of the Latin version). _Cf._ A. MA1/4ller, _Der Islam_, vol. ii, +p. 611 sqq. + +[793] See note on p. 423. + +[794] The province of Tunis. + +[795] _MurAibia¹-_ is literally 'one who lives in a _ribAia¹-_,' _i.e._, +a guardhouse or military post on the frontier. Such buildings were often +occupied, in addition to the garrison proper, by individuals who, from +pious motives, wished to take part in the holy war (_jihAid_) against the +unbelievers. The word _murAibia¹-_, therefore, gradually got an +exclusively religious signification, 'devotee' or 'saint,' which appears +in its modern form, _marabout_. As applied to the original Almoravides, +it still retains a distinctly military flavour. + +[796] See Goldziher's article _Materialien zur Kenntniss der +Almohadenbewegung in Nordafrika_ (_Z.D.M.G._, vol. 41, p. 30 sqq.). + +[797] aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-WAia¸Yid, _History of the Almohades_, ed. by Dozy, p. +135, l. 1 sqq. + +[798] The Berbers at this time were Sunnite and anti-FAia¹-imid. + +[799] Almohade is the Spanish form of _al-Muwaa¸Ya¸Yid_. + +[800] Stanley Lane-Poole, _The Mohammadan Dynasties_, p. 46. + +[801] Renan, _AverroA"s et l'AverroA-sme_, p. 12 sqq. + +[802] See a passage from aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-WAihid's _History of the Almohades_ (p. +201, l. 19 sqq.), which is translated in Goldziher's _aº'Achiriten_, p. +174. + +[803] The Arabic text, with a Latin version by E. Pocock, was published +in 1671, and again in 1700, under the title _Philosophus Autodidactus_. +An English translation by Simon Ockley appeared in 1708, and has been +several times reprinted. + +[804] The true form of this name is AbsAil, as in JAimA-'s celebrated poem. +_Cf._ De Boer, _The History of Philosophy in Islam_, translated by E. R. +Jones, p. 144. + +[805] JurjA- ZaydAin, however, is disposed to regard the story as being +not without foundation. See his interesting discussion of the evidence +in his _TaaEuro~rA-khu aEuro(TM)l-Tamaddun al-IslAimi_ ('History of Islamic +Civilisation'), Part III, pp. 40-46. + +[806] The life of Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-Khaa¹-ib has been written by his friend and +contemporary, Ibn KhaldAºn (_Hist. of the Berbers_, translated by De +Slane, vol. iv. p. 390 sqq.), and forms the main subject of MaqqarA-'s +_Nafa¸Yu aEuro(TM)l-a¹¬A-b_ (vols. iii and iv of the BulAiq edition). + +[807] Schack, _op. cit._, vol. i, p. 312 seq. + +[808] Cited in the _ShadharAitu aEuro(TM)l-Dhahab_, a MS. in my collection. See +_J.R.A.S._ for 1899, p. 911 seq., and for 1906, p. 797. + +[809] The Arabic text of the Prolegomena has been published by +QuatremA"re in _Notices et extraits des manuscrits de la BibliothA"que +ImpA(C)riale_, vols. 16-18, and at Beyrout (1879, 1886, and 1900). A French +translation by De Slane appeared in _Not. et Extraits_, vols. 19-21. + +[810] _Muqaddima_ (Beyrout ed. of 1900), p. 35, l. 5 sqq. = Prolegomena +translated by De Slane, vol. i, p. 71. + +[811] _Muqaddima_, p. 37, l. 4 fr. foot = De Slane's translation, vol. +i, p. 77. + +[812] Von Kremer has discussed Ibn KhaldAºn's ideas more fully than is +possible here in an admirably sympathetic article, _Ibn Chaldun und +seine Culturgeschichte der islamischen Reiche_, contributed to the +_Sitz. der Kais. Akad. der Wissenschaften_, vol. 93 (Vienna, 1879). I +have profited by many of his observations, and desire to make the +warmest acknowledgment of my debt to him in this as in countless other +instances. + +[813] _Muqaddima_, Beyrout ed., p. 170 = De Slane's translation, vol. i, +p. 347 sqq. + +[814] _Muqaddima_, p. 175 = De Slane's translation, vol. i, p. 356 sqq. + +[815] An excellent appreciation of Ibn KhaldAºn as a scientific historian +will be found in Robert Flint's _History of the Philosophy of History_, +vol. i, pp. 157-171. + +[816] Schack, _op. cit._, vol. ii, p. 151. + +[817] E. J. W. Gibb, _A History of Ottoman Poetry_, vol. ii, p. 5. + +[818] The nineteenth century should have been excepted, so far as the +influence of modern civilisation has reacted on Arabic literature. + +[819] These IsmAilaEuro~A-lA-s are the so-called Assassins, the terrible sect +organised by a¸¤asan b. a¹cabbAia¸Y (see Professor Browne's _Literary +History of Persia_, vol. ii, p. 201 sqq.), and finally exterminated by +HAºlAigAº. They had many fortresses, of which AlamAºt was the most famous, +in the JibAil province, near QazwA-n. + +[820] The reader must be warned that this and the following account of +the treacherous dealings of Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~AlqamA- are entirely contradicted by +ShA-aEuro~ite historians. For example, the author of _al-FakhrA-_ (ed. by +Derenbourg, p. 452) represents the Vizier as a far-seeing patriot who +vainly strove to awaken his feeble-minded master to the gravity of the +situation. + +[821] Concerning the various functions of the DawA-dAir (literally +Inkstand-holder) or DawAidAir, as the word is more correctly written, see +QuatremA"re, _Histoire des Sultans Mamlouks_, vol. i, p. 118, n. 2. + +[822] The MS. writes YAijAºnas. + +[823] _Al-kalb_, the Arabic equivalent of the Persian _sag_ (dog), an +animal which Moslems regard as unclean. + +[824] By Shamsu aEuro(TM)l-DA-n al-DhahabA- (aEuro 1348 A.D.). + +[825] Mameluke (MamlAºk) means 'slave.' The term was applied to the +mercenary troops, Turks and Kurds for the most part, who composed the +bodyguard of the AyyAºbid princes. + +[826] There are two Mameluke dynasties, called respectively Baa¸YrA- +(River) Mamelukes and BurjA- (Tower) Mamelukes. The former reigned from +1250 to 1390, the latter from 1382 to 1517. + +[827] See Lane, _The Modern Egyptians_, ch. xxii. + +[828] See Sir T. W. Arnold, _The Caliphate_, p. 146. + +[829] Ed. of BulAiq (1283 A.H.), pp. 356-366. + +[830] _Ibid._, p. 358. + +[831] These verses are cited in the _a¸¤adA-qatu aEuro(TM)l-AfrAia¸Y_ (see +Brockelmann's _Gesch. d. Arab. Litt._, ii, 502), Calcutta, 1229 A.H., p. +280. In the final couplet there is an allusion to Kor. iv, 44: "_Verily +God will not wrong any one even the weight of an ant_" (mithqAila +dharratin). + +[832] Hartmann, _Das Muwa[vs][vs]aa¸Y_ (Weimar, 1897), p. 218. + +[833] Literally, 'The Shaking of the Skull-caps,' in allusion to the +peasants' dance. + +[834] See Vollers, _BeitrA¤ge zur Kenntniss der lebenden arabischen +Sprache in Aegypten_, _Z.D.M.G._, vol. 41 (1887), p. 370. + +[835] Ibn KhallikAin, De Slane's translation, vol. i, p. 3. + +[836] It should be pointed out that the _WafayAit_ is very far from being +exhaustive. The total number of articles only amounts to 865. Besides +the Caliphs, the Companions of the Prophet, and those of the next +generation (_TAibiaEuro~Aºn_), the author omitted many persons of note because +he was unable to discover the date of their death. A useful supplement +and continuation of the _WafayAit_ was compiled by al-KutubA- (aEuro 1363 +A.D.) under the title _FawAitu aEuro(TM)l-WafayAit_. + +[837] The Arabic text of the _WafayAit_ has been edited with variants and +indices by WA1/4stenfeld (GA¶ttingen, 1835-1850). There is an excellent +English translation by Baron MacGuckin de Slane in four volumes +(1842-1871). + +[838] The full title is _al-MawAiaEuro~iaº" wa-aEuro(TM)l-laEuro~tibAir fA- dhikri +aEuro(TM)l-Khia¹-aa¹- wa-aEuro(TM)l-AthAir_. It was printed at BulAiq in 1270 A.H. + +[839] _Al-SulAºk li-maaEuro~rifati Duwali aEuro(TM)l-MulAºk_, a history of the AyyAºbids +and Mamelukes. The portion relating to the latter dynasty is accessible +in the excellent French version by QuatremA"re (_Histoire des Sultans +Mamlouks de l'A%gypte_, Paris, 1845). + +[840] A. R. Guest, _A List of Writers, Books, and other Authorities +mentioned by El MaqrA-zA- in his Khia¹-aa¹-_, _J.R.A.S._ for 1902, p. +106. + +[841] The _FakhrA-_ has been edited by Ahlwardt (1860) and Derenbourg +(1895). The simplicity of its style and the varied interest of its +contents have made it deservedly popular. Leaving the Koran out of +account, I do not know any book that is better fitted to serve as an +introduction to Arabic literature. + +[842] See p. 413, n. 1. + +[843] _A Biographical Dictionary of Persons who knew Mohammad_, ed. by +Sprenger and others (Calcutta, 1856-1873). + +[844] _MurAºju aEuro(TM)l-Dhahab_, ed. by Barbier de Meynard, vol. iv. p. 90. The +names ShA-rAizAid and DA-nAizAid are obviously Persian. Probably the former is +a corruption of ChihrAizAid, meaning 'of noble race,' while DA-nAizAid +signifies 'of noble religion.' My readers will easily recognise the +familiar Scheherazade and Dinarzade. + +[845] Strange as it may seem, this criticism represents the view of +nearly all Moslem scholars who have read the 'Arabian Nights.' + +[846] Many episodes are related on the authority of Aa¹LmaaEuro~A-, AbAº +aEuro~Ubayda, and Wahb b. Munabbih. + +[847] Those who recite the _SA-ratu aEuro~Antar_ are named _aEuro~AnAitira_, sing. +_aEuro~Antari_. See Lane's _Modern Egyptians_, ch. xxiii. + +[848] That it was extant in some shape before 1150 A.D. seems to be +beyond doubt. _Cf._ the _Journal Asiatique_ for 1838, p. 383; +WA1/4stenfeld, _Gesch. der Arab. Aerzte_, No. 172. + +[849] _Antar, a Bedoueen Romance_, translated from the Arabic by Terrick +Hamilton (London, 1820), vol. i, p. xxiii seq. See, however, FlA1/4gel's +Catalogue of the Kais. KA¶n. Bibl. at Vienna, vol. ii, p. 6. Further +details concerning the 'Romance of aEuro~Antar' will be found in Thorbecke's +_aEuro~Antarah_ (Leipzig, 1867), p. 31 sqq. The whole work has been published +at Cairo in thirty-two volumes. + +[850] ShaaEuro~rAinA-, _YawAiqA-t_ (ed. of Cairo, 1277 A.H.), p. 18. + +[851] In 1417 A.D. The reader will find a full and most interesting +account of NasA-mA-, who is equally remarkable as a Turkish poet and as a +mystic belonging to the sect of the a¸¤urAºfA-s, in Mr. E. J. W. Gibb's +_History of Ottoman Poetry_, vol. i, pp. 343-368. It is highly +improbable that the story related here gives the true ground on which he +was condemned: his pantheistic utterances afford a sufficient +explanation, and the Turkish biographer, Laa¹-A-fA-, specifies the verse +which cost him his life. I may add that the author of the _ShadharAitu +aEuro(TM)l-Dhahab_ calls him NasA-mu aEuro(TM)l-DA-n of TabrA-z (he is generally said to be +a native of NasA-m in the district of BaghdAid), and observes that he +resided in Aleppo, where his followers were numerous and his heretical +doctrines widely disseminated. + +[852] The 112th chapter of the Koran. See p. 164. + +[853] Founder of the ShAidhiliyya Order of Dervishes. He died in 1258 +A.D. + +[854] A distinguished jurist and scholar who received the honorary +title, 'Sultan of the Divines.' He died at Cairo in 1262 A.D. + +[855] An eminent canon lawyer (aEuro 1370 A.D.). + +[856] It was the custom of the Zoroastrians (and, according to Moslem +belief, of the Christians and other infidels) to wear a girdle round the +waist. + +[857] See _Materials for a History of the Wahabys_, by J. L. Burckhardt, +published in the second volume of his _Notes on the Bedouins and +Wahabys_ (London, 1831). Burckhardt was in Arabia while the Turks were +engaged in re-conquering the a¸¤ijAiz from the WahhAibA-s. His graphic and +highly interesting narrative has been summarised by Dozy, _Essai sur +l'histoire de l'Islamisme_, ch. 13. + +[858] Following Burckhardt's example, most European writers call him +simply aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-WahhAib. + +[859] Burckhardt, _op. cit._, vol. ii, p. 96. + +[860] MSS. of Ibn Taymiyya copied by Ibn aEuro~Abd al-WahhAib are extant +(Goldziher in _Z.D.M.G._, vol. 52, p. 156). + +[861] This is the place usually called KarbalAi or Mashhad a¸¤usayn. + +[862] _Op. cit._, vol. ii, p. 112. + +[863] _Essai sur l'histoire de l'Islamisme_, p. 416. + +[864] Burckhardt, _loc. laud._, p. 115. + +[865] I cannot enter into details on this subject. A review of modern +Arabic literature is given by Brockelmann, _Gesch. der Arab. Litt._, +vol. ii, pp. 469-511, and by Huart, _Arabic Literature_, pp. 411-443. + +[866] See M. Hartmann, _The Arabic Press of Egypt_ (London, 1899). + +[867] Brockelmann, _loc. cit._, p. 476. + +[868] Translated into Arabic verse by SulaymAin al-BistAinA- (Cairo, 1904). +See Professor Margoliouth's interesting notice of this work in the +_J.R.A.S._ for 1905, p. 417 sqq. + +[869] H. A. R. Gibb, _Studies in contemporary Arabic literature_, +Bulletin of the School of Oriental Studies, vol. iv, pt. 4, p. 746; cf. +also vol. v, pt. 2, p. 311 foll. Mr Gibb has given references to the +chief works on the subject, but for the sake of those who do not read +Arabic or Russian it may be hoped that he will continue and complete his +own survey, to which there is nothing _simile aut secundum_ in English. + + + + +APPENDIX + + +P. xxii, l. 2. Arabic begins to appear in North Arabian inscriptions +in the third century A.D. Perhaps the oldest yet discovered +is one, of which the probable date is 268 A.D., published by Jaussen +and Savignac (_Mission archA(C)ologique en l'Arabie_, vol. i, p. 172). +Though it is written in Aramaic characters, nearly all the words +are Arabic, as may be seen from the transcription given by Professor +Horovitz in _Islamic Culture_ (Hyderabad, Deccan), April +1929, vol. iii, No. 2, p. 169, note 2. + +P. 4 foll. Concerning the Sabaeans and the South Arabic inscriptions a +great deal of valuable information will be found in the article _SabaaEuro(TM)_ +by J. Tkatsch in the _EncyclopA|dia of Islam_. The writer points out the +special importance of the epigraphic discoveries of E. Glaser, who, in +the course of four journeys (1882-94), collected over 2000 inscriptions. +See also D. Nielsen, _Handbuch der altarabischen Altertumskunde_, vol. i +(Copenhagen and Paris, 1927). + +P. 13, note 2. Excerpts from the _Shamsu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~UlAºm_ relating +to South Arabia have been edited by Dr aEuro~AzA-muaEuro(TM)ddA-n Aa¸Ymad +(E. J. W. Gibb Memorial Series, vol. xxiv). + +P. 26 foll. For contemporary and later Christian accounts of +the martyrdom of the Christians of NajrAin, see the fragmentary +_Book of the Himyarites_ (Syriac text and English translation), ed. +by A. Moberg in 1924, and cf. Tor Andrae, _Der Ursprung des +Islams und das Christentum_ (Uppsala, 1926), pp. 10-13. + +P. 31. The collection of Arabic proverbs, entitled _KitAibu +aEuro(TM)l-FAikhir_, by Mufaa¸a¸al b. Salama of KAºfa, is now available in +the excellent edition of Mr C. A. Storey (Leyden, 1915). + +P. 32, note 1. An edition of the _AghAinA-_ with critical notes is +in course of publication at Cairo. + +P. 52, l. 9 foll. The battle mentioned here cannot be the battle +of aEuro~Ayn UbAigh, which took place between a¸¤Airith, the son of +a¸¤Airith b. Jabala, and Mundhir IV of a¸¤A-ra about 583 A.D. (Guidi, +_L'Arabie antA(C)islamique_, p. 27). + +P. 127, l. 16. The ode _BAinat SuaEuro~Aid_ is rendered into English in +my _Translations of Eastern Poetry and Prose_, pp. 19-23. + +P. 133. As regards the authenticity of the Pre-islamic poems +which have come down to us, the observations of one of the +greatest authorities on the subject, the late Sir Charles J. Lyall, +seem to me to be eminently judicious (Introduction to the +_Mufaa¸a¸alAe"yAet_, vol. ii, pp. xvi-xxvi). He concludes that +"upon the whole, the impression which a close study of these ancient +relics gives is that we must take them, generally speaking, as the +production of the men whose names they bear." All that can be urged +against this view has been said with his usual learning by Professor +Margoliouth (_The Origins of Arabic Poetry_, _J.R.A.S._, 1925, p. 417 +foll.). + +P. 145, l. 2. The oldest extant commentary on the Koran is that of +BukhAirA- in ch. 65 of the _a¹caa¸YA-a¸Y_, ed. Krehl, vol. iii, pp. +193-390. + +P. 146, note 2. Recent investigators (Caetani and Lammens) +are far more sceptical. Cf. Snouck Hurgronje, _Mohammedanism_, +p. 22 foll. + +P. 152, note 5. As suggested by Mr Richard Bell (_The Origin +of Islam in its Christian environment_, p. 88), the word _rujz_ is in +all likelihood identical with the Syriac _rugza_, wrath, so that this +verse of the Koran means, "Flee from the wrath to come." + +P. 170, l. 2 foll. This is one of the passages I should have liked +to omit. Even in its present form, it maintains a standpoint +which I have long regarded as mistaken. + +P. 184, l. 4 foll. Professor Snouck Hurgronje (_Mohammedanism_, +p. 44) asks, "Was Mohammed conscious of the universality of his +mission?" and decides that he was not. I now agree that "in +the beginning he conceived his work as merely the Arabian part +of a universal task"--in which case _dhikrun li aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~AilamA-n_ in the +passage quoted will mean "a warning to all the people (of Mecca +or Arabia)." But similar expressions in SAºras of the Medina +period carry, I think, a wider significance. The conception of +Islam as a world-religion is implied in Mohammed's later belief--he +only came to it gradually--that the Jewish and Christian +scriptures are corrupt and that the Koran alone represents the +original Faith which had been preached in turn by all the +prophets before him. And having arrived at that conviction, +he was not the man to leave others to act upon it. + +P. 223, l. 9. In an article which appeared in the _Rivista degli studi +orientali_, 1916, p. 429 foll., Professor C. A. Nallino has shown that +this account of the origin of the name "MuaEuro~tazilite" is erroneous. The +word, as MasaEuro~AºdA- says (_MurAºju aEuro(TM)l-Dhahab_, vol. vi, p. 22, and vol. vii, +p. 234), is derived from _iaEuro~tizAil_, _i.e._ the doctrine that anyone who +commits a capital sin has thereby withdrawn himself (_iaEuro~tazala_) from +the true believers and taken a position (described as _fisq_, impiety) +midway between them and the infidels. According to the Murjites, such a +person was still a true believer, while their opponents, the WaaEuro~A-dites, +and also the KhAirijites, held him to be an unbeliever. + +P. 225, l. 1. The a¸¤adA-th, "No monkery (_rahbAiniyya_) in Islam," +probably dates from the third century of the Hijra. According +to the usual interpretation of Koran, LVII, 27, the _rahbAiniyya_ +practised by Christian ascetics is condemned as an innovation +not authorised by divine ordinance; but Professor Massignon +(_Essai sur les origines du lexique technique de la mystique musulmane_, +p. 123 foll.) shows that by some of the early Moslem commentators +and also by the a¹cAºfA-s of the third century A.H. this verse of the +Koran was taken as justifying and commending those Christians +who devoted themselves to the ascetic life, except in so far as they +had neglected to fulfil its obligations. + +P. 225, l. 6 from foot. For the life and doctrines of a¸¤asan of +Baa¹Lra, see Massignon, _op. cit._, p. 152 foll. + +P. 228 foll. It can now be stated with certainty that the name "a¹cAºfA-" +originated in KAºfa in the second century A.H. and was at first confined +to the mystics of aEuro~IrAiq. Hence the earliest development of a¹cAºfiism, +properly so called, took place in a hotbed of ShA-aEuro~ite and Hellenistic +(Christian and Gnostic) ideas. + +P. 233, l. 4 from foot. In _RAebiaEuro~a the Mystic_ (Cambridge, 1928) Miss +Margaret Smith has given a scholarly and sympathetic account of the +life, legend, and teaching of this celebrated woman-saint. The statement +that she died and was buried at Jerusalem is incorrect. Moslem writers +have confused her with an earlier saint of the same name, RAibiaEuro~a bint +IsmAiaEuro~A-l (aEuro 135). + +P. 313 foll. The text and translation of 332 extracts from the +_LuzAºmiyyAit_ will be found in ch. ii of my _Studies in Islamic Poetry_, +pp. 43-289. + +P. 318, l. 12. Since there is no warrant for the antithesis of +"knaves" and "fools," these verses are more faithfully rendered +(_op. cit._, p. 167): + + They all err--Moslems, Christians, Jews, and Magians; + Two make Humanity's universal sect: + One man intelligent without religion, + And one religious without intellect. + +P. 318, l. 7 from foot. _Al-Fua¹LAºl wa aEuro(TM)l-GhAiyAit_. No copy of +this work was known before 1919, when the discovery of the first +part of it was announced (_J.R.A.S._, 1919, p. 449). + +P. 318, note 2. An edition of the _RisAilatu aEuro(TM)l-GhufrAin_ by Shaykh +IbrAihA-m al-YAiziji was published at Cairo in 1907. + +P. 319, l. 6. The epistle of aEuro~AlA- b. Mana¹LAºr al-a¸¤alabA- (Ibnu +aEuro(TM)l-QAiria¸Y), to which the _RisAilatu aEuro(TM)l-GhufrAin_ is the reply, has been +published in _RasAiaEuro(TM)ilu aEuro(TM)l-BulaghAi_, ed. Mua¸Yammad Kurd aEuro~AlA- +(Cairo, 1913). + +P. 332, note 2. For rhymed prose renderings of the 11th and +12th _MaqAimas_, see _Translations of Eastern Poetry and Prose_, +pp. 116-124. + +P. 367, l. 7 from foot. New light has recently been thrown +upon the character of the MuaEuro~tazilite movement by the publication +of the MuaEuro~tazilite al-KhayyAia¹-'s _KitAibu aEuro(TM)l-Intia¹LAir_ (ed. H. S. +Nyberg, Cairo, 1926), a third (ninth) century polemical work +directed against the ShA-aEuro~ite freethinker Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-RAiwandA- (cf. p. 375 +_supra_). It is now evident that this "heretical" sect played an +active part as champions of Islam, not only in the early controversies +which arose between Moslems and Christians in Syria but +also against the more dangerous attacks which proceeded in the +first hundred years of the aEuro~AbbAisid period from the ManichA|ans +and other "_zanAidiqa_" in Persia and especially in aEuro~IrAiq (cf. +I. Guidi, _La Lotta tra l'Islam e il Manicheismo_ (Rome, 1927)). +In order to meet these adversaries on equal terms, the MuaEuro~tazilites +made themselves acquainted with Greek philosophy and logic, +and thus laid the foundations of an Islamic scholasticism. Cf. +H. H. Schaeder, _Der Orient und die Griechische Erbe_ in W. Jaeger's +_Die Antike_, vol. iv, p. 261 foll. + +P. 370, I. 3 foll. From what has been said in the preceding note it +follows that this view of the relation between the MuaEuro~tazilites and the +_IkhwAinu aEuro(TM)l-a¹cafAi_ requires considerable modification. Although, in +contrast to their orthodox opponents, the MuaEuro~tazilites may be described +as "rationalists" and "liberal theologians," their principles were +entirely opposed to the anti-Islamic eclecticism of the _IkhwAin_. + +P. 375, note 2. Professor Schaeder thinks that Middle Persian +_zandA-k_ has nothing to do with the Aramaic _zaddA-q_ (_Z.D.M.G._, +vol. 82, Heft 3-4, p. lxxx). + +Pp. 383-393. During the last twenty years our knowledge of early +a¹cAºfiism has increased, chiefly through the profound researches of +Professor Massignon, to such an extent as to render the account given in +these pages altogether inadequate. The subject being one of great +difficulty and unsuitable for detailed exposition in a book of this +kind, I must content myself with a few illustrative remarks and +references, which will enable the student to obtain further information. + +P. 383. Massignon's view is that a¹cAºfiism (down to the fourth century +A.H.) owed little to foreign influences and was fundamentally Islamic, a +product of intensive study of the Koran and of inward meditation on its +meaning and essential nature. There is great force in his argument, +though I cannot help believing that the development of mysticism, like +that of other contemporary branches of Moslem thought, must have +been vitally affected by contact with the ancient Hellenistic +culture of the SAisAinian and Byzantine empires on its native +soil. Cf. A. J. Wensinck, _The Book of the Dove_ (Leyden, +1919) and _Mystic Treatises by Isaac of Niniveh_ (Amsterdam, +1923). + +P. 384, l. 1. The identity of third-century a¹cAºfiism with the +doctrines of the Vedanta is maintained by M. Horten (_Indische +StrA¶mungen in der Islamischen Mystik_, Heidelberg, 1927-8). Few, +however, would admit this. The conversion of a¹cAºfiism into a +monistic philosophy was the work of Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~ArabA- (1165-1240 +A.D.). See p. 402 foll. + +P. 384, l. 5. The so-called "Theology of Aristotle," translated +from Syriac into Arabic about 830 A.D., is mainly an abstract of +the _Enneads_ of Plotinus. There is an edition with German translation +by Dieterici. + +P. 385, l. 11. All previous accounts of the development of +mystical doctrines in Islam during the first three centuries after +the Hijra have been superseded by Massignon's intimate analysis +(_Essai_, chs. iv and v, pp. 116-286), which includes biographies of +the eminent a¹cAºfA-s of that period and is based upon an amazingly +wide knowledge of original and mostly unpublished sources of +information. A useful summary of these two chapters is given +by Father Joseph MarA(C)chal in his _Studies in the Psychology of the +Mystics_, tr. Thorold (1927), pp. 241-9. + +P. 386, l. 6 from foot. For Dhu aEuro(TM)l-NAºn, see Massignon, _op. cit._, +p. 184 foll. + +P. 389, l. 12. _The Book of the Holy Hierotheos_ has recently been +edited in Syriac for the first time, with English translation, by +F. S. Marsh (Text and Translation Society, 1927). + +P. 391. For BAiyazA-d of Bisa¹-Aim, see Massignon, _op. cit._, p. 243 +foll. The oldest complete Arabic version of his "Ascension" +(_MiaEuro~rAij_)--a spiritual dream-experience--has been edited and +translated into English in _Islamica_, vol. ii, fasc. 3, p. 402 foll. + +P. 396, l. 8. See my essay on the Odes of Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-FAiria¸ (_Studies +in Islamic Mysticism_, pp. 162-266), which comprises translations +of the _Khamriyya_ and three-fourths of the _TAiaEuro(TM)iyyatu aEuro(TM)l-KubrAi_. + +P. 399, note 1. With a¸¤allAij, thanks to the monumental work +of Massignon (_La Passion d'al-a¸¤allAij_, 2 vols., Paris, 1922), we +are now better acquainted than with any other Moslem mystic. +His doctrine exhibits some remarkable affinities with Christianity +and bears no traces of the pantheism attributed to him by later +a¹cAºfA-s as well as by Von Kremer and subsequent European writers. +Cf. the summary given by Father Joseph MarA(C)chal, _op. cit._, pp. +249-281, and _The Idea of Personality in a¹cAºfism_ (Cambridge, 1922), +pp. 26-37. + +P. 402, l. 9. For Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~ArabA-'s theory of the Perfect Man, +see Tor Andrae, _Die Person Muhammeds_, p. 339 foll., and for the +same theory as expounded by aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-KarA-m al-JA-lA- (aEuro circ. +1410 A.D.), a follower of Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~ArabA-, in his famous treatise +entitled _al-InsAin al-KAimil_, cf. _Studies in Islamic Mysticism_, pp. +77-142. + +P. 456, l. 1 foll. Here, though he is out of place in such an academic +company, mention should have been made of Ibn Baa¹-a¹-Aºa¹-a of +Tangier (aEuro 1377), whose frank and entertaining story of his almost +world-wide travels, entitled _Tua¸Yfatu aEuro(TM)l-Nuaº"aº"Air_, is described +by its latest translator, Mr H. A. R. Gibb, as "an authority for the +social and cultural history of post-Mongol Islam." + +P. 465, last line. For a summary of the doctrines and history +of the WahhAibA-s, see the article _WahhAebAe"s_ by Professor D. S. +Margoliouth in Hastings' _EncyclopA|dia of Religion and Ethics_. + +P. 469. _La littA(C)rature arabe au xix^e siA"cle_, by L. Cheikho (Beyrouth, +1908-10), which deals chiefly with the literature produced by the +Christian Arabs of Syria, deserves mention as one of the few works on +the subject written in a European language. The influence of Western +ideas on Moslem theology may be studied in the _RisAilatu aEuro(TM)l-taua¸YA-d_ +of the great Egyptian divine, Mua¸Yammad aEuro~Abduh (1842-1905), which has +been translated into French by B. Michel and Mustapha aEuro~Abd el Razik +(Paris, 1925). + + + + +BIBLIOGRAPHY OF WORKS BY +EUROPEAN AUTHORS + + +The following list is intended to give students of Arabic as well +as those who cannot read that language the means of obtaining +further information concerning the various topics which fall within +the scope of a work such as this. Since anything approaching to a +complete bibliography is out of the question, I have mentioned only +a few of the most important translations from Arabic into English, +French, German, and Latin; and I have omitted (1) monographs on +particular Arabic writers, whose names, together with the principal +European works relating to them, will be found in Brockelmann's +great History of Arabic Literature, and (2) a large number of books +and articles which appeal to specialists rather than to students. +Additional information is supplied by E. G. Browne in his _Literary +History of Persia_, vol. i, pp. 481-496, and D. B. Macdonald in his +_Development of Muslim Theology, etc._ (London, 1903), pp. 358-367, +while the Appendix to H. A. R. Gibb's _Arabic Literature_ (Oxford +University Press, 1926) contains a well-chosen list of books of +reference and translations. Those who require more detailed +references may consult the _Bibliographie des ouvrages arabes ou +relatifs aux Arabes publ. dans l'Europe chrA(C)tienne de 1810 A 1885_, +by V. Chauvin (LiA"ge, 1892-1903), the _Orientalische Bibliographie_, +edited by A. MA1/4ller, E. Kuhn, and L. Scherman (Berlin, 1887--), +the _Handbuch der Islam-Litteratur_, by D. G. PfannmA1/4ller (Berlin +and Leipzig, 1923), and the _Catalogue of the Arabic Books in the +British Museum_, by A. G. Ellis, 2 vols. (London, 1894-1902) with +the _Supplementary Catalogue_, by A. S. Fulton and A. G. Ellis +(London, 1926). + +As a rule, titles of monographs and works of a specialistic +character which have been already given in the footnotes are not +repeated in the Bibliography. + + + I + + PHILOLOGY. + + 1. _Die Semitischen Sprachen_, by Th. NA¶ldeke (2nd ed. Leipzig, + 1899). + + An improved and enlarged reprint of the German original + of his article, 'Semitic Languages,' in the _EncyclopA|dia + Britannica_ (9th edition). + + 2. _A Grammar of the Arabic Language_, by W. Wright, 3rd ed., + revised by W. Robertson Smith and M. J. de Goeje, 2 vols. + (Cambridge, 1896-98). + + The best Arabic grammar for advanced students. Beginners may + prefer to use the abridgment by F. du Pre Thornton, + _Elementary Arabic: a Grammar_ (Cambridge University Press, + 1905). + + 3. _Arabic-English Lexicon_, by E. W. Lane, 8 parts (London, + 1863-93). + + This monumental work is unfortunately incomplete. Among other + lexica those of Freytag (Arabic and Latin, 4 vols., Halle, + 1830-37), A. de Biberstein Kazimirski (Arabic and French, 2 + vols., Paris, 1846-60, and 4 vols., Cairo, 1875), and Dozy's + _SupplA(C)ment aux Dictionnaires arabes_, 2 vols. (Leyden, 1881), + deserve special notice. Smaller dictionaries, sufficient for + ordinary purposes, have been compiled by Belot (_Dictionnaire + arabe-franASec.ais_, Beyrout, 1928), and Wortabet and Porter + (_Arabic-English Dictionary_, 3rd ed., Beyrout, 1913). + + 4. _Abhandlungen zur Arabischen Philologie_, by Ignaz Goldziher, + Part I (Leyden, 1896). + + Contains masterly studies on the origins of Arabic Poetry and + other matters connected with literary history. + + 5. _Die Rhetorik der Araber_, by A. F. Mehren (Copenhagen, 1853). + + + II + + GENERAL WORKS ON ARABIAN HISTORY, BIOGRAPHY, + GEOGRAPHY, LITERATURE, ETC. + + 6. _The EncyclopA|dia of Islam_ (Leyden, 1913--). + + A great number of Orientalists have contributed to this + invaluable work, of which the first half (A-L) is now + completed. + + 7. _Chronique de a¹¬abarA-, traduite sur la version persane de... + _BelaEuro~amA-_, by H. Zotenberg, 4 vols. (Paris, 1867-74). + + 8. The _MurAºju aEuro(TM)l-Dhahab_ of MasaEuro~AºdA- (_MaASec.oudi: Les Prairies d'Or_), + Arabic text with French translation by Barbier de Meynard and + Pavet de Courteille, 9 vols. (Paris, 1861-77). + + The works of a¹¬abarA- and MasaEuro~AºdA- are the most ancient and + celebrated Universal Histories in the Arabic language. + + 9. _AbulfedA| Annales Muslemici arabice et latine_, by J. J. Reiske, + 5 vols. (HafniA|, 1789-94). + + 10. _Der Islam im Morgen- und Abendland_, by August MA1/4ller, + 2 vols. (Berlin, 1885-87). + + 11. _Histoire des Arabes_, by C. Huart, 2 vols. (Paris, 1912). + + 12. _A Short History of the Saracens_, by Syed Ameer Ali (London, + 1921). + + 13. _Essai sur l'histoire de l'Islamisme_, by R. Dozy, translated from + the Dutch by Victor Chauvin (Leyden and Paris, 1879). + + 14. _The Preaching of Islam, a History of the Propagation of the + Muslim Faith_, by T. W. Arnold (2nd ed., London, 1913). + + 15. _Sketches from Eastern History_, by Th. NA¶ldeke, translated by + J. S. Black (London, 1892). + + 16. _The Mohammadan Dynasties_, by Stanley Lane-Poole (London, + 1894). + + Indispensable to the student of Moslem history. + + 17. _Genealogische Tabellen der Arabischen StA¤mme und Familien mit + historischen und geographischen Bemerkungen in einem + alphabetischen Register_, by F. WA1/4stenfeld (GA¶ttingen, + 1852-53). + + 18. _Ibn KhallikAin's Biographical Dictionary_, translated from the + Arabic by Baron MacGuckin de Slane, 4 vols. (Oriental + Translation Fund, 1842-71). + + One of the most characteristic, instructive, and interesting + books in Arabic literature. + + 19. _GA(C)ographie d'AboulfA(C)da, traduite de l'arabe_, by Reinaud and + Guyard, 2 vols. (Paris, 1848-83). + + 20. _Travels in Arabia Deserta_, by C. M. Doughty, 2 vols. (Cambridge, + 1888). + + Gives a true and vivid picture of Bedouin life and manners. + + 21. _Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to al-Madinah and Meccah_, + by Sir R. F. Burton, 2 vols. (London, 1898). + + 22. _The Penetration of Arabia: a record of the development of + Western knowledge concerning the Arabian Peninsula_, by D. G. + Hogarth (London, 1905). + + 23. a¸¤AijjA- KhalA-fa, _Lexicon bibliographicum et encyclopA|dicum_, + Arabic text and Latin translation, by G. FlA1/4gel, 7 vols. + (Leipzig and London, 1835-58). + + 24. _Die Geschichtschreiber der Araber und ihre Werke_ (aus dem + xxviii. und xxix. Bande der Abhand. d. KA¶nigl. Ges. d. Wiss. + zu GA¶ttingen), by F. WA1/4stenfeld (GA¶ttingen, 1882). + + 25. _Litteraturgeschichte der Araber bis zum Ende des 12. Jahrhunderts + der Hidschret_, by J. von Hammer-Purgstall, 7 vols. (Vienna, + 1850-56). + + A work of immense extent, but unscientific and extremely + inaccurate. + + 26. _Geschichte der Arabischen Litteratur_, by Carl Brockelmann, + 2 vols. (Weimar, 1898-1902). + + Invaluable for bibliography and biography. + + 27. _A Literary History of Persia_, by E. G. Browne, vol. i from the + earliest times to FirdawsA- (London, 1902), and vol. ii down to + the Mongol Invasion (London, 1906). + + The first volume in particular of this well-known work + contains much information concerning the literary history of + the Arabs. + + 28. _A History of Arabic Literature_, by Clement Huart (London, + 1903). + + The student will find this manual useful for purposes of + reference. + + 29. _Arabic Literature: an Introduction_, by H. A. R. Gibb (London, + 1926). + + A trustworthy outline of the subject. + + 30. _Arabum Proverbia_, Arabic text with Latin translation, by + G. W. Freytag, 3 vols. (Bonn, 1838-43). + + 31. _Arabic Proverbs_, by J. L. Burckhardt (2nd ed., London, 1875). + + + III + + PRE-ISLAMIC HISTORY, LITERATURE, AND RELIGION. + + 32. _Essai sur l'histoire des Arabes avant l'Islamisme_, by A. P. + Caussin de Perceval, 3 vols. (Paris, 1847-48). + + Affords an excellent survey of Pre-islamic legend and + tradition. + + 33. _Geschichte der Perser und Araber zur Zeit der Sasaniden_, + translated from the Annals of a¹¬abarA-, by Th. NA¶ldeke + (Leyden, 1879). + + The ample commentary accompanying the translation is valuable + and important in the highest degree. + + 34. _FA1/4nf MoaEuro~allaqAit A1/4bersetzt und erklA¤rt_, by Th. NA¶ldeke (Vienna, + 1899-1901). + + The omitted _MuaEuro~allaqas_ are those of ImruaEuro(TM)u aEuro(TM)l-Qays and + Tarafa. + + 35. _The Seven Golden Odes of Pagan Arabia_, translated from the + original Arabic by Lady Anne Blunt and done into English verse + by Wilfrid Scawen Blunt (London, 1903). + + 36. _HamAcsa oder die A¤ltesten arabischen Volkslieder A1/4bersetzt und + erlA¤utert_, by Friedrich RA1/4ckert, 2 vols. (Stuttgart, 1846). + + Masterly verse-translations of the old Arabian poetry. + + 37. _Translations of ancient Arabian poetry, chiefly Pre-islamic_, + with an introduction and notes, by C. J. Lyall (London, 1885). + + 38. _BeitrA¤ge zur Kenntniss der Poesie der alten Araber_, by Th. + NA¶ldeke (Hannover, 1864). + + 39. _Studien in arabischen Dichtern_, Heft iii, _Altarabisches + Beduinenleben nach den Quellen geschildert_, by G. Jacob + (Berlin, 1897). + + 40. _Kinship and Marriage in Early Arabia_, by W. Robertson + Smith (2nd ed., London, 1903). + + 41. _Lectures on the Religion of the Semites_, First Series, by W. + Robertson Smith, 3rd ed., revised by S. A. Cook (London, + 1927). + + 42. _Reste Arabischen Heidentums_, by J. Wellhausen (2nd ed., + Berlin, 1897). + + + IV + + MUa¸¤AMMAD AND THE KORAN. + + 43. _Das Leben Mohammed's_, translated from the Arabic biography + of Ibn HishAim by G. Weil, 2 vols. (Stuttgart, 1864). + + 44. _Muhammed in Medina_, by J. Wellhausen (Berlin, 1882). + + An abridged translation of WAiqidA-'s work on Mua¸Yammad's + Campaigns. + + 45. _Das Leben und die Lehre des Moa¸Yammad_, by A. Sprenger, + 3 vols. (Berlin, 1861-65). + + 46. _Life of Mahomet_, by Sir W. Muir, ed. by T. H. Weir (Edinburgh, + 1923). + + 47. _Das Leben Muhammed's nach den Quellen populA¤r dargestellt_, + by Th. NA¶ldeke (Hannover, 1863). + + 48. _The Spirit of Islam_, by Syed Ameer Ali (London, 1922). + + 49. _Mohammed_, by H. Grimme, 2 vols. (MA1/4nster, 1892-95). + + 50. _Die weltgeschichtliche Bedeutung Arabiens: Mohammed_, by + H. Grimme (Munich, 1904). + + 51. _Mohammed and the Rise of Islam_, by D. S. Margoliouth in + 'Heroes of the Nations' Series (London and New York, 1905). + + 52. _Mohammed and Islam_, by A. A. Bevan in _The Cambridge + MediA|val History_, vol. ii, ch. 10 (Cambridge, 1913). + + 53. _Die Person Muhammeds in Lehre und Glauben seiner Gemeinde_, + by Tor Andrae (Uppsala, 1918). + + 54. _The origin of Islam in its Christian environment_, by R. Bell + (London, 1926). + + 55. _Annali dell' IslAem_, by Leone Caetani, Principe di Teano, vol. i + (Milan, 1905). + + Besides a very full and readable historical introduction this + magnificent work contains a detailed account of Mua¸Yammad's + life during the first six years after the Hijra (622-628 + A.D.). + + 56. _The Koran_, translated into English with notes and a preliminary + discourse, by G. Sale (London, 1734). + + Sale's translation, which has been frequently reprinted, is + still serviceable. Mention may also be made of the English + versions by J. M. Rodwell (London and Hertford, 1861) and by + E. H. Palmer (the best from a literary point of view) in vols. + vi and ix of 'The Sacred Books of the East' (Oxford, 1880); + reprinted in _The World's Classics_, vol. 328. + + 57. _Geschichte des QorAcns_, by Th. NA¶ldeke, 2nd ed., revised by + F. Schwally (Leipzig, 1909-19). + + _Cf._ NA¶ldeke's essay, 'The Koran,' in _Sketches from Eastern + History_, pp. 21-59, or his article in the _EncyclopA|dia + Britannica_ (11th ed.). + + 58. _The Teaching of the QuraEuro(TM)Aen_, by H. W. Stanton (London, 1920). + + + V + + THE HISTORY OF THE CALIPHATE. + + 59. _The Caliphate_, by T. W. Arnold (Oxford, 1924). + + 60. _Geschichte der Chalifen_, by G. Weil, 3 vols. (Mannheim, + 1846-51). + + Completed by the same author's _Geschichte des + Abbasiden-Chalifats in Egypten_, 2 vols. (Stuttgart, 1860-62). + + 61. _Annals of the Early Caliphate_, by Sir W. Muir (London, 1883). + + 62. _The Caliphate, its rise, decline, and fall_, by Sir W. Muir + (2nd ed., London, 1924). + + 63. _The Arab Conquest of Egypt and the last thirty years of Roman + dominion_, by A. J. Butler (London, 1902). + + 64. _Das Arabische Reich und sein Sturz_, by J. Wellhausen (Berlin, + 1902). + + An excellent history of the Umayyad dynasty based on the + Annals of TabarA-. + + 65. _The Eclipse of the Abbasid Caliphate_, by H. F. Amedroz and + D. S. Margoliouth, 7 vols. (Oxford, 1920-1). + + Arabic texts and translations valuable for the history of the + fourth century A.H. + + 66. _The life and times of aEuro~AlA- b. aEuro~AsAi, the Good Vizier_, by H. Bowen + (Cambridge, 1928). + + 67. _Geschichte der Fatimiden-Chalifen, nach arabischen Quellen_, by + F. WA1/4stenfeld (GA¶ttingen, 1881). + + + VI + + THE HISTORY OF MOSLEM CIVILISATION. + + 68. _ProlA(C)gomA"nes d'Ibn Khaldoun_, a French translation of the + _Muqaddima_ or Introduction prefixed by Ibn KhaldAºn to his + Universal History, by Baron MacGuckin de Slane, 3 vols. (in + _Notices et Extraits des Manuscrits de la BibliothA"que + ImpA(C)riale_, vols. xix-xxi, Paris, 1863-68). + + 69. _Culturgeschichte des Orients unter den Chalifen_, by A. von + Kremer, 2 vols. (Vienna, 1875-77). + + 70. _Culturgeschichtliche StreifzA1/4ge auf dem Gebiete des Islams_, by + A. von Kremer (Leipzig, 1873). + + This work has been translated into English by S. Khuda Bukhsh + in his _Contributions to the History of Islamic Civilization_ + (Calcutta, 1905; 2nd ed., 1929). + + 71. _Geschichte der herrschenden Ideen des Islams_, by A. von Kremer + (Leipzig, 1868). + + A celebrated and most illuminating book. + + 72. _La civilisation des Arabes_, by G. Le Bon (Paris, 1884). + + 73. _Muhammedanische Studien_, by Ignaz Goldziher (Halle, + 1888-90). + + This book, which has frequently been cited in the foregoing + pages, should be read by every serious student of Moslem + civilisation. + + 74. _Islamstudien_, vol. i, by C. H. Becker (Leipzig, 1924). + + 75. _Umayyads and aEuro~AbbAisids_, being the Fourth Part of Jurji + ZaydAin's _History of Islamic Civilisation_, translated by D. + S. Margoliouth (E. J. W. Gibb Memorial, vol. iv, 1907). + + 76. _Die Renaissance des Islams_, by A. Mez (Heidelberg, 1922). + + 77. _Baghdad during the Abbasid Caliphate_, by G. le Strange + (Oxford, 1900). + + 78. _A Baghdad Chronicle_, by R. Levy (Cambridge, 1929). + + 79. _The Lands of the Eastern Caliphate_, by G. le Strange (Cambridge, + 1905). + + 80. _Palestine under the Moslems_, by G. le Strange (London, 1890). + + 81. _Painting in Islam_, by T. W. Arnold (Oxford, 1928). + + 82. _Moslem Architecture_, by G. T. Rivoira, translated by G. M. + Rushforth (Oxford, 1919). + + 83. _Arabian Society in the Middle Ages_, by E. W. Lane, edited by + Stanley Lane-Poole (London, 1883). + + 84. _Die Araber im Mittelalter und ihr Einfluss auf die Cultur + Europa's_, by G. Diercks (2nd ed., Leipzig, 1882). + + 85. _An account of the Manners and Customs of the Modern Egyptians_, + by E. W. Lane (5th ed., London, 1871). + + + VII + + MUa¸¤AMMADAN RELIGION, THEOLOGY, JURISPRUDENCE, + PHILOSOPHY, AND MYSTICISM. + + 86. _Development of Muslim Theology, Jurisprudence, and Constitutional + Theory_, by Duncan B. Macdonald (London, 1903). + + The best general sketch of the subject. + + 87. _Asch-SchahrastAcni's Religionspartheien und Philosophen-Schulen_, + translated by T. HaarbrA1/4cker (Halle, 1850-51). + + 88. _The Traditions of Islam_, by A. Guillaume (Oxford, 1924). + + See also No. 73, Pt. ii. + + 89. _Les traditions islamiques trad. de l'arabe_, by O. Houdas and + W. MarASec.ais (Paris, 1903-14). + + A translation of the celebrated collection of Traditions by + BukhAirA-. + + 90. _A Handbook of early Muhammadan Tradition_, by A. J. + Wensinck (Leyden, 1927). + + 91. _Mohammedanism_, by C. Snouck Hurgronje (American lectures + on the history of religions, 1916). + + 92. _Vorlesungen A1/4ber den Islam_, by I. Goldziher (Heidelberg, + 1910; 2nd ed., 1925). + + 93. _The Early Development of Mohammedanism_, by D. S. Margoliouth + (London, 1914; re-issued, 1927). + + 94. _L'Islam, croyances et institutions_, by H. Lammens (Beyrout, + 1926); translation by E. Denison Ross (London, 1929). + + 95. _The Islamic Faith_, by T. W. Arnold (Benn's Sixpenny Library, + No. 42). + + 96. _The History of Philosophy in Islam_, by T. J. de Boer, translated + by E. R. Jones (London, 1903). + + 97. _Die Mutaziliten oder die Freidenker im Islam_, by H. Steiner + (Leipzig, 1865). + + 98. _Die Philosophie der Araber im X. Jahrhundert n. Chr. aus den + Schriften der lautern BrA1/4der herausgegeben_, by F. Dieterici + (Berlin and Leipzig, 1861-79). + + 99. _Averroes et l'Averroisme_, by E. Renan (Paris, 1861). + + 100. _MA(C)langes de Philosophie Juive et Arabe_, by S. Munk (Paris, + 1859). + + 101. _Fragments, relatifs A la doctrine des IsmaA(C)lA(R)s_, by S. Guyard + (Paris, 1874). + + 102. _ExposA(C) de la Religion des Druzes_, by Silvestre de Sacy, 2 vols. + (Paris, 1838). + + 103. _The Mystics of Islam_, by R. A. Nicholson (London, 1914). + + 104. _The Religious Attitude and Life in Islam_, by D. B. Macdonald + (Chicago, 1909). + + 105. _Essai sur les origines du lexique technique de la mystique + musulmane_, by L. Massignon (Paris, 1922). + + 106. _La Passion d'al-HallAij_, by L. Massignon, 2 vols. (Paris, 1922). + + 107. _Al-a¸ squareduschairA(R)s Darstellung des a¹cA"fA(R)tums_, by Richard + Hartmann (Berlin, 1914). + + 108. _Kleinere Schriften des Ibn al-aEuro~ArabAe"_, by H. S. Nyberg + (Leiden, 1919). + + 109. _Studies in Islamic Mysticism_, by R. A. Nicholson (Cambridge, + 1921). + + 110. _The Idea of Personality in a¹cAºfism_, by R. A. Nicholson + (Cambridge, 1923). + + 111. _The Dervishes or Oriental Spiritualism_, by John P. Brown, + ed. by H. A. Rose (London, 1927). + + 112. _Les ConfrA(C)ries religieuses musulmanes_, by O. Depont and + X. Coppolani (Algiers, 1897). + + + VIII + + THE HISTORY AND LITERATURE OF THE MOORS. + + 113. _Histoire des Musulmans d'Espagne jusqu'A la conquAªte de + l'Andalusie par les Almoravides_ (711-1110 A.D.), by R. Dozy, + 4 vols. (Leyden, 1861). Translated into English under the + title _Spanish Islam_ by F. G. Stokes (London, 1913). + + 114. _History of the Moorish Empire in Europe_, by S. P. Scott, + 3 vols. (New York, 1904). + + 115. _The Moriscos of Spain, their conversion and expulsion_, by + H. C. Lea (Philadelphia, 1901). + + 116. _History of the Mohammedan dynasties of Spain_, translated + from the _Nafa¸Y al-a¹¬A-b_ of MaqqarA- by Pascual de Gayangos, 2 + vols. (London, Oriental Translation Fund, 1840-43). + + 117. _The History of the Almohades_, by aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-WAia¸Yid + al-MarrAikoshA-, translated by E. Fagnan (Algiers, 1893). + + 118. _Recherches sur l'histoire et la littA(C)rature de l'Espagne pendant + le moyen Acge_, by R. Dozy, 2 vols. (3rd ed., Leyden, 1881). + + 119. _Poesie und Kunst der Araber in Spanien und Sicilien_, by + A. F. von Schack, 2 vols. (2nd ed., Stuttgart, 1877). + + 120. _Moorish remains in Spain_, by A. F. Calvert (London, 1905). + + 121. _Storia dei musulmani di Sicilia_, by M. Amari (Firenze, + 1854-72). A revised edition is in course of publication. + + + + IX + + THE HISTORY OF THE ARABS FROM THE MONGOL + INVASION IN THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY TO THE + PRESENT DAY. + + 122. _Histoire des Sultans Mamlouks de l'A%gypte, A(C)crite en arabe par + Taki-eddin Ahmed Makrizi, traduite en franASec.ais ... par_ M. + QuatremA"re, 2 vols. (Oriental Translation Fund, 1845). + + 123. _The Mameluke or Slave dynasty of Egypt_, by Sir W. Muir + (London, 1896). + + 124. _Histoire de Bagdad depuis la domination des Khans mongols + jusqu'au massacre des Mamlouks_, by C. Huart (Paris, 1901). + + 125. _History of the Egyptian revolution from the period of the + Mamelukes to the death of Mohammed Ali_, by A. A. Paton, + 2 vols. (London, 1870). + + 126. _The Shaikhs of Morocco in the XVI^h century_, by T. H. Weir + (Edinburgh, 1904). + + 127. _The Arabic Press of Egypt_, by M. Hartmann (London, 1899). + + 128. _Neuarabische Volkspoesie gesammelt und uebersetzt_, by Enno + Littmann (Berlin, 1902). + + + + +INDEX + +In the following Index it has been found necessary to omit the accents +indicating the long vowels, and the dots which are used in the text to +distinguish letters of similar pronunciation. On the other hand, the +definite article _al_ has been prefixed throughout to those Arabic names +which it properly precedes; it is sometimes written in full, but is +generally denoted by a hyphen, _e.g._ -aEuro~Abbas for al-aEuro~Abbas. Names of +books, as well as Oriental words and technical terms explained in the +text, are printed in italics. Where a number of references occur under +one heading, the more important are, as a rule, shown by means of +thicker type. + + + A + + Aaron, 215, 273 + + aEuro~Abbad, 421 + + aEuro~Abbadid dynasty, the, 414, 421-424, 431 + + -aEuro~Abbas, 146, 249, 250, 251 + + -aEuro~Abbas b. -Ahnaf (poet), 261 + + aEuro~AbbAisa, 261 + + aEuro~Abbasid history, two periods of, 257 + + aEuro~Abbasid propaganda, the, 249-251 + + aEuro~Abbasids, the, xxviii, xxix, xxx, 65, 181, 182, 193, 194, 220, + +249-253+, +254-284+, 287-291, +365-367+, 373 + + aEuro~Abdullah, father of the Prophet, xxvii, 146, 148, 250 + + aEuro~Abdullah, brother of Durayd b. -Simma, 83 + + aEuro~Abdullah, the Amir (Spanish Umayyad), 411 + + aEuro~Abdullah b. -aEuro~Abbas, 145, 237, 249 + + aEuro~Abdullah b. Hamdan, 269 + + aEuro~Abdullah b. Ibad, 211 + + aEuro~Abdullah b. MasaEuro~ud, 352 + + aEuro~Abdullah b. Maymun al-Qaddah, 271-274, 363 + + aEuro~Abdullah. b. Muhammad b. Adham, 423 + + aEuro~Abdullah b. -MuaEuro~tazz. See _Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-MuaEuro~tazz_ + + aEuro~Abdullah b. Saba, 215, 216 + + aEuro~Abdullah b. Tahir, 129 + + aEuro~Abdullah b. Ubayy, 172 + + aEuro~Abdullah b. Yasin al-Kuzuli, +430+ + + Abdullah b. -Zubayr, 198, 199, 200, 202 + + aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~Aziz (Marinid), 436 + + aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~Aziz, brother of aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-Malik, 200 + + aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~Aziz, son of Muhammad b. SaaEuro~ud, 466 + + aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-Ghani al-Nabulusi, 402 + + aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-Hamid, 267 + + aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-Malik (Umayyad Caliph), +200-202+, 206, 209, 224, 240, 242, + 244, 247, 349, 407 + + aEuro~Abd Manaf, 146 + + aEuro~Abdu, aEuro(TM)l-MuaEuro(TM)min (Almohade), 432 + + aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-Muttalib, 66-68, 146, 148, 154, 250 + + aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-Qadir al-Baghdadi, 131 + + aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-Qadir al-Jili, 393 + + aEuro~Abd al-Qays (tribe), 94 + + aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-Rahman I, the Umayyad, 253, 264, +405-407+, 417, 418 + + aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-Rahman II (Spanish Umayyad), 409, 418 + + aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-Rahman III (Spanish Umayyad), +411-412+, 420, 425 + + aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-Rahman V (Spanish Umayyad), 426 + + aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-Rahman b. aEuro~Awf, 186 + + aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-Razzaq-Kashani, 402 + + aEuro~Abd Shams, 146 + + aEuro~Abd Shams Saba, 14 + + aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~Uzza, 159 + + aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-Wahhab, founder of the Wahhabite sect. See _Muhammad b. + aEuro~Abd al-Wahhab_. + + aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-Wahhab al-ShaaEuro~rani. See _-ShaaEuro~rani_ + + aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-Wahid of Morocco (historian), 431, 433 + + aEuro~Abid b. -Abras (poet), 39, 44, 86, 101 + + aEuro~Abid b. Sharya, 13, 19, 247 + + aEuro~Abida b. Hilal, 239 + + aEuro~Abir, xviii + + aEuro~Abla, 115 + + -Ablaq, (name of a castle), 84 + + Ablutions, the ceremonial, incumbent on Moslems, 149 + + -Abna, 29 + + Abraha, 6, 15, +28+, +65-8+ + + Abraham, xviii, 22, 62, 63, 66, 149, 150, 165, 172, 177 + + Abraham, the religion of, 62, 149, 177 + + aEuro~Abs (tribe), xix, 61, 88, 114-117 + + Absal, 433 + + Abu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~Abbas (Marinid), 436 + + Abu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~Abbas Ahmad al-Marsi, 327 + + Abu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~Abbas al-Nami (poet), 270 + + Abu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~Abbas-Saffah, 182, 253. + See _-Saffah_ + + Abu aEuro~Abdallah Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-Ahmar (Nasrid), 437 + + Abu aEuro~Abd al-Rahman al-Sulami, 338 + + Abu Ahmad al-Mihrajani, 370 + + Abu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~Ala al-MaaEuro~arri, 166, 167, 206, 271, 289, 291, 296, 308, + +313-324+, 375, 448 + + Abu aEuro~Ali al-Qali, 131, 420 + + Abu aEuro~Ali b. Sina, 265. + See _Ibn Sina_ + + Abu aEuro~Amir, the Monk, 170 + + Abu aEuro~Amr b. al-aEuro~Ala, 242, 285, +343+ + + Abu aEuro(TM)l-Aswad al-DuaEuro(TM)ili, 342, 343 + + Abu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~Atahiya (poet), 261, 291, +296-303+, 308, 312, 324, 374 + + Abu Ayman (title), 14 + + Abu Bakr (Caliph), xxvii, 142, 153, 175, 180, +183+, 185, 210, 214, + 215, 257, 268, 297 + + Abu Bakr b. Abi aEuro(TM)l-Azhar, 344 + + Abu Bakr Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~Arabi of Seville, 399 + + Abu Bakr b. MuaEuro~awiya, 420 + + Abu Bakr al-Nabulusi, 460 + + Abu Bakr al-Razi (physician), 265. + See _-Razi_ + + Abu Bakr b. aEuro~Umar, 430 + + Abu aEuro(TM)l-Darda, 225 + + Abu Dawud al-Sijistani, 337 + + Abu aEuro(TM)l-Faraj of Isfanan, 32, 123, 131, 270, +347+, 419. + See _Kitabu aEuro(TM)l-Aghani_ + + Abu aEuro(TM)l-Faraj al-BabbaghAi (poet), 270 + + Abu aEuro(TM)l-Fida (historian), 308, 316, 331, +454+ + + Abu Firas al-Hamdani (poet), 270, 304 + + Abu Ghubshan, 65 + + Abu Hanifa, 222, 284, 402, 408 + + Abu aEuro(TM)l-Hasan aEuro~Ali b. Harun al-Zanjani, 370 + + Abu aEuro(TM)l-Hasan al-AshaEuro~ari, 284. + See _-AshaEuro~ari_ + + Abu Hashim, the Imam, 220, 251 + + Abu Hashim, the Sufi, 229 + + Abu Hudhayl -aEuro~Allaf, 369 + + Abu aEuro(TM)l-Husayn al-Nuri, 392 + + Abu aEuro~Imran al-Fasi, 429 + + Abu Ishaq al-Farisi. See _-Istakhri_ + + Abu JaaEuro~far -Mansur, 258. + See _-Mansur, the Caliph_ + + Abu Jahl, 158 + + Abu Karib, the TubbaaEuro~, 12, 19. + See _AsaEuro~ad Kamil_ + + Abu Lahab, 159, 160 + + Abu aEuro(TM)l-Mahasin b. Taghribirdi (historian), 257, 262, 267, 268, 350, + 369, +454+ + + Abu Marwan GhaylAin, 224 + + Abu MaaEuro~shar, 361 + + Abu Mihjan (poet), 127 + + Abu Mikhnaf, 210 + + Abu Musa al-AshaEuro~ari, 192, 377 + + Abu Muslim, 220, +251-252+, 375 + + Abu Nasr al-IsmaaEuro~ili, 339 + + Abu Nasr al-Sarraj, 393 + + Abu NuaEuro~aym al-Isfahani, 338 + + Abu Nuwas (poet), 261, 277, +286+, 290, 291, _292-296_, 303, 308, 345, + 375 + + Abu Qabus, _kunya_ of -NuaEuro(TM)man III, 45 + + Abu aEuro(TM)l-Qasim Ahmad. See _-Mustansir_ + + Abu aEuro(TM)l-Qasim Muhammad, the Cadi, 421 + + Abu aEuro(TM)l-Qasim b. -Muzaffar, 312 + + Abu aEuro(TM)l-Qasim al-Zahrawi, 420 + + Abu Qays b. Abi Anas, 170 + + Abu Qurra, 221 + + Abu SaaEuro(TM)id b. Abi aEuro(TM)l-Khayr, 391, 394 + + Abu Salama, 257 + + Abu Salih Mansur b. Ishaq (Samanid), 265 + + Abu aEuro(TM)l-Salt b. Abi RabiaEuro(TM)a, 69 + + Abu Shaduf, 450 + + Abu Shamir the Younger, 50 + + Abu Shamir, _kunya_ of -Harith b. aEuro(TM)Amr Muharriq, 50 + + Abu ShujaaEuro(TM) Buwayh, 266 + + Abu Sufyan, 124, 175, 195 + + Abu Sulayman al-Darani, 384, 386, 388 + + Abu Sulayman Muhammad b. MaaEuro~shar al-Bayusti, 370 + + Abu Talib, uncle of the Prophet, 146, 148, 154, 157, 183, 250 + + Abu Talib al-Makki, 338, 393 + + Abu Tammam, author of the _Hamasa_, 79, _129-130_, 288, 316, 324, 331. + See _-Hamasa_ + + Abu aEuro(TM)Ubayda (philologist), 94, 242, 261, 280, 343, _344_, _345_, 459 + + Abu aEuro~Ubayda b. al-Jarrah, 51 + + Abu aEuro(TM)l-Walid al-Baji, 428 + + Abu Yazid al-Bistami, 391. + See _Bayazid of Bistam_ + + Abu Yusuf, the Cadi, 283 + + Abu Zayd of Saruj, 330, 331, 332, 335 + + Abu Zayd Muhammad al-Qurashi, 130 + + Abusir, 326 + + Abyssinia, 53, 155, 156 + + Abyssinians, the, xxi; + in -Yemen, 5, 6, 26-29; + invade the Hijaz, 66-68 + + Academy of Junde-shapur, the, 358 + + Academy of Sabur, the, 267, 314 + + aEuro~Ad (people), +1+, +2+, 3 + + _adab_, 283, 346 + + _Adabu aEuro(TM)l-Katib_, 346 + + Adam, xxvi, 62, 63, 244, 398 + + aEuro~Adana (river), 15 + + aEuro~Adawi dervishes, the, 393 + + Adharbayjan, 17 + + aEuro~Adi (tribe), 233 + + aEuro~Adi b. aEuro~Amr, 94 + + aEuro~Adi al-Hakkari, 393 + + aEuro~Adi b. Marina, 244 + + aEuro~Adi b. Nasr, 35 + + aEuro~Adi b. Zayd, 40, +45-48+, 49, +138+, 244 + + aEuro~Adiya, 85 + + Adler, 316 + + aEuro~AdnAin, xviii, xix, xx, 64 + + aEuro~Adudu aEuro(TM)l-Dawla (Buwayhid), 266, 307 + + A†lius Gallus, 9 + + A†thiopic language, the, xvi, xxi + + Afghanistan, 268, 275 + + Africa, xv, xvi + + Africa, North, 53, 203, 253, 271, 274, 405, 419, 423, 424, 429, 430, + 434, 437, 439, 442, 443, 468 + + Afshin, 375 + + -Afwah al-Awdi (poet), 83 + + _-Aghani._ See _Kitabu aEuro(TM)l-Agfhani_ + + Aghlabid dynasty, the, 264, 274, 441 + + Aghmat, 424 + + -Ahlaf, at -Hira, 38 + + Ahlu aEuro(TM)l-Kitab, 341 + + Ahlu aEuro(TM)l-Taswiya, 280. + See _ShuaEuro~ubites, the_ + + Ahlu aEuro(TM)l-tawhid wa-aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~adl, a name given to the MuaEuro~tazilites, 224 + + Ahlwardt, W., 76, 101, 125, 128,133, 136, 286, 293, 294, 304, 349, 454 + + Ahmad (Buwayhid), 266 + + Ahmad, brother of Ghazali, 339 + + Ahmad, father of Ibn Hazm, 426 + + Ahmad b. Hanbal, 284, 369, 376, 402 + + Ahmad al-Nahhas, 102 + + Ahmad b. Tulun, 354 + + Ahmar of Thamud, 3 + + Ahnum, 19 + + Ahqafu aEuro(TM)l-Raml (desert), 1 + + _Ahsanu aEuro(TM)l-Taqasim fi maaEuro~rifati aEuro(TM)l-Aqalim_, 357 + + _ahwal_, mystical term, 231, 391 + + -Ahwas (poet), 237 + + -Ahwaz, 271, 293 + + AaEuro~isha, 151, 183 + + _aEuro~Aja aEuro(TM)ibu aEuro(TM)l-Maqdur_, 454 + + -aEuro~Ajam (the non-Arabs), 277. + See _-Mawali_ + + -aEuro~Ajjaj (poet), 138 + + _-Ajurrumiyya_, 456 + + Akbar (Mogul Emperor), xxx + + _Akhbaru aEuro(TM)l-Zaman_, 353 + + -Akhtal (poet), 221, 238, +239-242+, 285 + + _akhu aEuro(TM)l-safa_, 370 + + Akilu aEuro(TM)l-Murar (surname), 42 + + -AaEuro~lam (philologist), 128 + + Alamut, 445 + + aEuro~AlaaEuro(TM)u aEuro(TM)l-Din Muhammad Khwarizmshah, 444 + + Albategnius, 361 + + Albucasis, 420 + + Albumaser, 361 + + Alchemists, the, 361, 387 + + Alchemy, works on, translated into Arabic, 358 + + Aleppo, 269, 270, 275, 291, 303, 305, 313, 360, 415, 446, 451, 460, + 461 + + Alexander the Great, 17, 276, 358, 457 + + Alexandria, 340 + + Alexandrian Library, the, 435 + + _Alf Layla wa-Layla_, 456, 459. + See _Thousand Nights and a Night_ and _Arabian Nights_ + + _-Alfiyya_, 456 + + Alfraganus, 361 + + Algeria, 430 + + Algiers, 468 + + Alhambra, the, 435 + + aEuro~Ali (Buwayhid), 266 + + aEuro~Ali, grandson of aEuro~Umar Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-Farid, 394 + + aEuro~Ali b. Abi Talib, the Prophet's son-in-law, xxvii, xxviii, 105, 153, + 181, 183, +190-193+, 194, 196, 205, 207-211, +213-218+, 220-222, + 243, 249, 250, 251, 264, 267, 273, 274, 342, 343, 349, 377, 432, 442 + + aEuro~Ali b. Abi Talib, public cursing of, 205 + + aEuro~Ali b. -Mansur, Shaykh, 319 + + aEuro~Ali b. Musa b. JaaEuro~far al-Rida, 262, 385 + + aEuro~Alids, the, 258, 259, 337. + See _aEuro~Ali b. Abi Talib_ and _ShiaEuro~ites, the_ + + Allah, 62, 134, 135, 164, 231, 392 + + Allah, the Muhammadan conception of, 225, 231 + + Almaqa, 18 + + Almeria, 421 + + Almohades, the, 217, 429, +431-434+ + + Almoravides, the, 423, 429-431 + + Alp Arslan (Seljuq), 275, 276, 340, 379 + + Alphabet, the South Arabic, 6, 8, 12 + + Alphonso VI of Castile, 422, 423, 431 + + aEuro~Alqama b. aEuro~Abada (poet), 121, +125+, 128 + + aEuro~Alqama b. Dhi Jadan (poet), 12 + + Alvaro, Bishop of Cordova, 414 + + Amaj, 22 + + -Amali, 420. + See _Kitabu aEuro(TM)l-Amali_ + + -Amaliq (Amalekites), 2, +3+, 63 + + aEuro~Amidu aEuro(TM)l-Mulk al-Kunduri, 379 + + -Amin, the Caliph, 255, +262+, 293, 343 + + Amina, mother of the Prophet, 146 + + aEuro~Amir b. SaaEuro~saaEuro~a (tribe), 119 + + aEuro~Amir b. Uhaymir, 87 + + Amiru aEuro(TM)l-MuaEuro~minin (Commander of the Faithful), 185 + + Amiru aEuro(TM)l-Umara (title), 264 + + aEuro~Amr, the TubbaaEuro~ 25, 26 + + aEuro~Amr b. aEuro~Adi b. Nasr, 35, 36, 37, 40 + + aEuro~Amr b. Amir (tribe), 94 + + aEuro~Amr b. aEuro~Amir MaaEuro(TM) al-Sama al-Muzayqiya, 15, 16, 49 + + aEuro~Amr b. -aEuro~As, 192 + + aEuro~Amr b. -Harith (Ghassanid), 50, 54, 122 + + aEuro~Amr b. Hind (Lakhmite), 44, 107, 108, 109, 112 + + aEuro~Amr b. Kulthum (poet), 44, 82, 102, +109-113+, 128, 269 + + aEuro~Amr b. Luhayy, 63, 64 + + aEuro~Amr b. MaaEuro~dikarib, 82 + + aEuro~Amr b. MasaEuro~ud, 43 + + aEuro~Amr b. aEuro~Ubayd, 223, 374 + + aEuro~Amr b. Zarib, 35 + + Amul, 350 + + Anas, 88 + + _aEuro~anatira_, 459 + + aEuro~Anaza (tribe), xix + + -Anbar, 38 + + -Anbari (philologist), 128 + + -Anbat, xxv. + See _NabatA|ans, the_ + + Ancient Sciences, the, 282 + + -Andarin, 111 + + Angels, the Recording, 161 + + Angora, 104 + + -Ansar (the Helpers), 171, 241 + + _aEuro~Antar, the Romance of_, 34, 459 + + aEuro~Antara (poet), 76, 109, +114-116+, 128, 459 + + _aEuro~antari_, 459 + + Anthologies of Arabic poetry, 128-130, 289, 325, 343, 347, 348, 417 + + Anthropomorphism, 369, 376, 379, 432 + + Antioch, 43 + + Anushirwan (Sasanian king). See _Nushirwan_ + + Anushirwan b. Khalid, 329 + + Aphrodite, 43 + + _-aEuro~Aqida_, by aEuro~Izzu aEuro(TM)l-Din b. aEuro~Abd al-Salam, 461 + + aEuro~Aqil, 35 + + Arab horses, the training of, 226 + + Arab singers in the first century A.H., 236 + + _aaEuro~rabi_ (Bedouin), 210 + + Arabia, in the aEuro~Abbasid period, 276 + + Arabia Felix, xvii, 4. + See _-Yemen_ + + Arabian History, three periods of, xxvi + + _Arabian Nights, the_, 238, 256, 261, 292, 421, +456-459+ + + Arabic language, the, xvi, xvii, xxi-xxv, 6, 77, 201, 203, 239, 265, + 277-280, 336, 342, 344 + + Arabic literature, largely the work of non-Arabs, xxx, xxxi, 276-278 + + Arabic Press, the, 469 + + Arabic writing, 201; + oldest specimens of, xxi, xxii + + Arabs, the Ishmaelite, xviii + + Arabs of Khurasan, the, thoroughly Persianised, 250 + + Arabs, the Northern. See _Arabs, the Ishmaelite_ + + Arabs, the Northern and Southern, racial enmity between, xx, 199, 200, + 252, 405, 406 + + Arabs, the Southern, xvii, xviii, xx, 4. + See _Arabs, the Yemenite_ + + Arabs, the Yemenite, xvii, xviii, xx, 38, 55, 199, 252, 405, 406. + See _SabA|ans, the_; + _Himyarites, the_ + + Arabs, the Yoqtanid, xviii. + See _Arabs, the Yemenite_ + + AramA|ans, the, xv, xxv + + Aramaic language, the, xvi, xxv, 279, 375 + + -Araqim, 113, 114 + + Arbela, 451 + + Ardashir Babakan, founder of the Sasanian dynasty, 34, 38 + + a1/4^Ia1/2 cubedI¸I+-I, I"I?a?| I"I+-I squareda1/2+-I"I+-, 51 + + Arhakim, 11 + + _aEuro~arif_ (gnostic), 386 + + aEuro~Arifu aEuro(TM)l-Zanadiqa, 373 + + Aristocracy of Islam, the, 188, 190 + + Aristotle, 358, 359, 360 + + -aEuro~Arji (poet), 237 + + Armenia, xv, 352 + + Arnaud, Th., 9, 15, 17 + + Arnold. F. A., 105, 107, 109, 111, 113, 114 + + Arnold, T. W., 184, 223, 224, 360, 448 + + Arsacids, the, 21, 38 + + Aryat, 27, 28 + + -aEuro~Asa (name of a mare), 36 + + _aEuro~asabiyya_, 440 + + Asad (tribe), xix, 104 + + Asad Kamil, the TubbaaEuro~, 12, +19-23+, 25, 26, 137 + + Asad b. Musa, 247 + + Asal, 433 + + _asalib_, 289, 315 + + Ascalon, 456 + + Ascension of the Prophet, the, 169, 403 + + Asd (tribe), 19 + + -AaEuro~sha (poet), 16, 101, 121, +123-125+, 128, 138, 139 + + -AshaEuro~ari (Abu aEuro(TM)l-Hasan), 284, +376-379+, 431 + + AshaEuro~arites, the, 379, 380, 460 + + _AshaEuro~aru aEuro(TM)l-Hudhaliyyin_, 128 + + -Ashram (surname of Abraha), 28 + + Asia, xv, 275, 352, 414 + + Asia, Central, 255 + + Asia Minor, 269, 399, 434, 446 + + Asia, Western, xvi, xxix, 358, 442, 444, 446 + + Asin Palacios, 404 + + _aslama_, 153 + + -AsmaaEuro~i (philologist), 261, 343, 344, +345+, 459 + + Assassins, the, 272, 371, 372, 381, 445 + + Assyrian language, the, xvi + + Assyrians, the, xv + + Astrologers and Astronomers, 361 + + Astronomy, 276, 283 + + Aswad b. -Mundhir, 47 + + _-Athar al-Baqiya_, 361 + + _Atharu aEuro(TM)l-Bilad_, 416 + + Athens, 240, 358 + + aEuro~Athtar, aEuro~Athtor (SabA|an divinity), 11, 18 + + _Atlal_, 286 + + aEuro~Attar (Persian mystic). See _FariduaEuro(TM)ddin aEuro~Attar_ + + aEuro~Atwada, 28 + + Aurelian, 34 + + Aurora, 412 + + Avempace. See _Ibn Bajja_ + + Avenzoar, 434 + + Averroes. See _Ibn Rushd_ + + Avicenna. See _Ibn Sina_ + + _awaaEuro(TM)il_ (origins), 247 + + _aEuro~Awarifu aEuro(TM)l-MaaEuro~arif_, 230, 338 + + -aEuro~Awfi, 370 + + _awliya_ (saints), 393 + + Awrangzib (Mogul Emperor), xxx + + Aws (tribe), 170 + + Aws b. Hajar (poet), 131 + + Awwam DhAº aEuro~Iran Alu, 11 + + _aaEuro~yan thabita_, 402 + + _ayat_ (verse of the Koran, sign, miracle), 166 + + Ayatu aEuro(TM)l-Kursi (the Throne-verse), 176 + + Aybak, 447 + + -Ayham b. -Harith (Ghassanid), 50 + + aEuro~Ayn Jalut, battle of, 446 + + aEuro~Ayn Ubagh, battle of, 52 + + _ayyamu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~Arab_, 55, 356 + + Ayyubid dynasty, the, 275, 447, 453 + + Azd (tribe), 79, 374 + + -Azhar, the mosque, 395 + + Azraqites (-Azariqa), the, 208, 239 + + + B + + Baalbec, 111 + + Bab al-Mandab, 5 + + Babak, 258, 375 + + Babur (Mogul Emperor), xxix, 444 + + Babylon, xxv, 38 + + Babylonia, 34, 38, 138, 253, 255, 307. + See _-aEuro~Iraq_ + + Babylonian and Assyrian inscriptions, the, xvi, xxv + + Babylonians, the, xv + + Badajoz, 421, 423 + + Badis, 428 + + BadiaEuro~u aEuro(TM)l-Zaman ai-HamadhAinA-, 328, 329, 331 + + Badr, battle of, 158, 174, 175 + + Badr, freedman of aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-Rahman the Umayyad, 405, 406 + + -Baghawi, 337 + + Baghdad, xxviii, xxix, 131, 182, 254, +255-256+, 290-293, 303, 307, + 313, +314+, 315, 326, 338, 340, 345, 346, 347, 350, 351, 352, 355, + 357, 359, 362, 365, 369, 376, 380, 382, 385, 387, 392, 399, 412, + 415, 418, 431, 441, +444-446+, 447, 449, 450, 458, 461, 465, 466 + + Baghdad, history of its eminent men, by -Khatib, 355 + + BahaaEuro(TM)u aEuro(TM)l-Dawia (Buwayhid), 267, 314 + + Bahdala (tribe), 87 + + Bahira, the monk, 148 + + Bahman (Sasanian), 457 + + Bahram Gor (Sasanian), 40, 41 + + -Bahrayn (province), 107, 108, 186 + + Bahri Mamelukes, the, 447 + + Baju, 445 + + -Bakharzi, 348 + + Bakil (tribe), 12 + + Bakr (tribe), xix, 55-60, 61, 69, 70, 76, 93, 107, 109, 113, 114, 242 + + -Bakri (geographer), 357, 428 + + Balaam, 73 + + -Baladhuri (historian), 280, 349 + + _-balagh al-akbar_, 371 + + Balak, 73 + + -BalaEuro~ami, 265, 352 + + Balaq (mountain), 17 + + Balkh, 232, 233, 259, 361, 385 + + -Balqa, 63 + + _Banat SuaEuro~ad_, the opening words of an ode, 119, 127, 327 + + Banu aEuro(TM)l-Ahrar, 29 + + Banu Hind, 58 + + Banu Khaldun, 437 + + Banu Musa, 359 + + Banu Nahshal, 243 + + Baptists, name given to the early Moslems, 149 + + _baqa_, mystical term, 390 + + Baqqa, 36 + + -Baramika, 259. + See _Barmecides, the_ + + Barbier de Meynard, 13, 15, 37, 195, 259, 350, 352, 353, 380, 457 + + Bardesanes, 364 + + Barmak, 259 + + Barmakites, the. See _Barmecides, the_ + + Barmecides, the, 255, +259-261+, 262, 293 + + Barquq, Sultan (Mameluke), 452 + + Bashama, 119 + + Bashshar b. Burd, 245, 277, 290, +373-374+, 375 + + _-basit_ (metre), 75 + + -Basra, xxiv, 127, 133, 134, 186, +189+, 195, 202, 209, 210, 215, 222, + 223, 225, 226, 233, 242, 243, 246, 273, 281, 293, 294, 329, 331, + 336, 341, 342, +343+, 345, 346, 369, 370, 374, 377, 378 + + Basset, R., 327 + + -Basus, 56 + + -Basus, the War of, +55-60+, 61, 76, 107, 114 + + -Batiniyya (Batinites), 381, 382, 402. + See _IsmaaEuro~ilis, the_ + + -Battani, 361 + + _-bayan_, 283 + + _-Bayan al-Mughrib_, 407 + + Bayard, 191 + + Bayazid of Bistam, 391, 460. + See _Abu Yazid al-Bistami_ + + Baybars, Sultan (Mameluke), 447, 448 + + -Baydawi, 145, 179 + + _bayt_ (verse), 74, 77 + + Baytu aEuro(TM)l-Hikma, at Baghdad, 359 + + -Bazbaz, 60 + + Bedouin view of life, the, 136 + + Bedouin warfare, character of, 54, 55 + + Bedouin women, Mutanabbi's descriptions of, 310 + + Benu Marthadim, 11 + + Berber insurrection in Africa, 405 + + Berbers, the, 204, 274, 405-409, 413, 420, 423, 424, 429-432, 442, 443 + + Berbers, used as mercenaries, 407 + + Berlin Royal Library, 8, 12 + + Bevan, Prof. A. A., 46, 80, 129, 151, 166, 168, 199, 205, 239, 244, + 253, 356, 373, 374, 375 + + Beyrout, 238, 469 + + _Bibliographical Dictionary_, by Hajji Khalifa, 456 + + _Bibliotheca Geographorum Arabicorum_, 356 + + _Bidpai, the Fables of_, 330, 346 + + Bilqis, 18 + + -Bimaristan al-aEuro~Adudi, 266 + + Biographies of poets, 346, 347, 348 + + Birnam Wood, 25 + + -Biruni (Abu Rayhan), 269, 280, +361+ + + Bishr b. Abi Khazim (poet), 86 + + Bishr al-Hafi, 228 + + Bishr b. -MuaEuro~tamir, 369 + + Bistam, 391 + + Blick, J. S., 184, 249, 258 + + Black, the colour of the aEuro~Abbasids, 220, 262 + + Black Stone in the KaaEuro~ba, the, 63, 274, 319, 467 + + Blunt, Lady Anne, 88, 101 + + Blunt, Wilfrid, 88, 101 + + Bobastro, 410 + + Boer, T. J. de, 433 + + Bohlen, 308, 312 + + Bokhara, 203, 265, 275, 360 + + _Book of Examples, the_, by Ibn Khaldun, 437 + + _Book of Sibawayhi, the_, 343 + + _Book of the Thousand Tales, the._ See _Hazar Afsan_ + + _Book of Viziers, the_, 458 + + Books, the Six Canonical, 337 + + Boswell, 144, 313, 452 + + Brethren of Purity, the, 370-372 + + British Museum, the, 12, 402 + + Brockelmann, C., 205, 236, 237, 308, 328, 339, 346, 349, 449, 459, + 468, 469 + + Browne, Prof. E. G., 29, 42, 185, 217, 218, 230, 247, 251, 258, 265, + 272, 275, 290, 329, 346, 362, 375, 381, 383, 394, 399, 445 + + BrA1/4nnow, R. E., 32, 35, 49, 51, 209, 210 + + Brutus, 252 + + BuaEuro~ath, battle of, 170 + + Buddha, 297, 298 + + Buddhism, 373, 375, 390, 391. + See _Nirvana_ + + -Buhturi (poet), 130, 316, 324 + + Bujayr b. aEuro~Amr, 58 + + Bukhara. See _Bokhara_ + + -Bukhari, 144, 146, 151, 337 + + Bulaq, 469 + + Bunyan, 212 + + Burckhardt, 95, 465, 466, 467 + + Burd, 373 + + _-Burda_, 326, 327 + + _-burda_ (the Prophet's mantle), 327, 366 + + Burji Mamelukes, the, 447 + + Burns, Robert, 450 + + _burnus_, the, a mark of asceticism, 210 + + Burton, Sir Richard, 459 + + Busir, 326 + + -Busiri (poet), 326, 327 + + Buthayna, 238 + + Butrites, the, a ShiaEuro~ite sect, 297 + + Buwayhid dynasty, the, 264, +266-268+, 271, 275, 303, 338 + + Byzantine Empire, the, 3, 29, 46, 171, 255, 261, 269, 359 + + + C + + Cadiz, 405 + + CA|sar, 252 + + CA|tani, Prince, 149, 155, 156, 171 + + Cairo, 275, 350, 394, 395, 437, 447, 448, 451, 452, 453, 454, 455, + 458, 461, 464, 469 + + Caliph, the, must belong to Quraysh, 207 + + Caliph, name of the, mentioned in the Friday sermon, 263, 264; + stamped on the coinage, 264; + title of, assumed by the Fatimids, 271; + by the Umayyads of Spain, 412 + + Caliphs, the, -MasaEuro~udi's account of, 354 + + Caliphs, the aEuro~Abbasid. See _aEuro~Abbasids, the_ + + Caliphs, the Orthodox, xxiii, xxvii, 181-193 + + Caliphs, the Umayyad. See _Umayyad dynasty, the_ + + Calpe, 204 + + Campbell, D., 360 + + Canaanites, the, 3 + + Canonical Books, the Six, 337 + + Capuchins, the, 228 + + Carmathians, the, 272, +274+, 322, 324, 371, 375, 381, 467. + See _Fatimid dynasty_; _IsmaaEuro~ilis_ + + Carmona, 437 + + Casanova, P., 371 + + Caspian Sea, the, xxviii, 21, 264, 266, 350, 352, 391 + + Castile, 422, 437 + + Castles of -Yemen, the, 24 + + Catharine of Siena, 233 + + Cathay, xxv + + Caussin de Perceval, 32 + + Cave-dwellers of Khurasan, the, 232 + + Celibacy condemned by Muhammad, 224 + + Cemetery of the Sufis, the, at Damascus, 463 + + Ceuta, 405, 412, 423, 434 + + Ceylon, 352 + + Chagar Beg, 275 + + Charles the Hammer, 204 + + Charter, the, drawn up by Muhammad for the people of Medina, 173 + + Chaucer, 289 + + Chauvin, Victor, 214 + + Chenery, T., 244, 328, 332, 333, 336 + + Chihrazad, 457 + + China, 203, 352, 419, 444 + + Chingiz Khan, 444 + + Christian poets who wrote in Arabic, 138, 139 + + Christianity in Arabia, 117, 137-140; + in GhassAin, 51, 54, 123; + at -Hira, 39, 41, 43, 44, 46, 49, 123, 124, 138; + in Najran, 26, 27, 124, 137; + in Moslem Spain, 407, 411, 412, 413, +414-415+, 431, 435, 441 + + Christianity, influence of, on Muhammadan culture, xxii, 176, 177, + 216, 221, 231, 389, 390 + + Christians, Monophysite, 51 + + Christians, supposed by Moslems to wear a girdle, 461 + + Christians at the Umayyad court, 221, 240, 241 + + _Chronology of Ancient Nations, the_, by -Biruni, 361 + + Church and State, regarded as one by Moslems, 170, 182, 197 + + Chwolsohn, 363 + + Classicism, revolt against, 287-289 + + Cleopatra, 34 + + Coinage, Arabic, introduced by aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-Malik, 201 + + Commercial terms derived from Arabic, 281 + + Companions of the Prophet, biographies of the, 144, 356, 456 + + Confession of faith, the Muhammadan, 403 + + Conquests, the early Muhammadan, work on the, 349 + + Constantinople, xxix, 29, 45, 52, 84, 104, 318, 362, 412 + + Cordova, 131, 341, 347, 406-411, +412+, 413-415, 418, 420-426, 428, + 434, 435 + + Cordova, the University of, 420 + + Courage, Arabian, the nature of, 82 + + Criticism of Ancient and Modern Poets, 283-289 + + Cromwell, 189 + + Crusade, the Third, 275 + + Crusaders, the, 331, 447 + + Cruttenden, 8 + + Ctesiphon, 47, 48, 210. + See _-MadaaEuro(TM)in_ + + Cureton, 211, 216, 341 + + + D + + Dabba (tribe), xix + + -Dahab al-aEuro~Ijli, 44 + + Dahis (name of a horse), 61 + + Dahis and -GhabrAi, the War of, 61, 62, 114, 116 + + _-dahriyyun_, 381 + + _daaEuro~i_ (missionary), 249, 272 + + -DajaaEuro~ima, 50 + + -Dajjal (the Antichrist), 216 + + _dakhil_, 95 + + Damascus, xxi, xxviii, 13, 46, 51, 53, 54, 111, 181, 104, 195, 202, + 203, 207, 235, 240, 241, 242, 244, 247, 252, 255, 274, 304, 313, + 335, 340, 374, 386, 399, 408, 451, 462, 463 + + _-Damigh_, 375 + + Daniel, 162 + + Dante, 360, 404 + + _dapir_ (Secretary), 257 + + Daqiqi, Persian poet, 265 + + Daraya, 386 + + Darius, 256 + + Darmesteter, J., 217 + + Daru aEuro(TM)l-Rum (Constantinople), 362 + + Daughters, the birth of, regarded as a misfortune, 91, 156 + + Daughters of Allah, the, 135, 156 + + Davidson, A. B., 82 + + _dawidar_ (_dawadar_), 445 + + Daws Dhu ThaaEuro~laban, 27 + + -Daylam, 266 + + Dead Sea, the, 249 + + Decline of the Caliphate, 257, 263 + + Derenbourg, H., 54, 122, 123, 194, 260, 331, 445, 454 + + Dervish orders, the, 393 + + Desecration of the tombs of the Umayyad Caliphs, 205 + + -Dhahabi (Shamsu aEuro(TM)l-Din), historian, 339, 446, 454 + + DhamaraEuro~ali Dhirrih, 10 + + Dhu aEuro(TM)l-Khalasa, name of an idol, 105 + + Dhu aEuro(TM)l-Khursayn (name of a sword), 96 + + Dhu aEuro(TM)l-Majaz, 114 + + Dhu Nafar, 66, 67 + + Dhu aEuro(TM)l-Nun al-Misri, 386-388, 389, 460 + + Dhu aEuro(TM)l-Nusur (surname), 2 + + Dhu Nuwas, 12, +26-27+, 137, 162 + + Dhu Qar, battle of, 69, 70 + + Dhu l-Qarnayn, 17, 18 + + Dhu aEuro(TM)l-Quruh (title), 104 + + Dhu RuaEuro~ayn, 25, 26 + + Dhu aEuro(TM)l-Rumma (poet), 246 + + Dhu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~Umrayn, nickname of Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-Khatib, 436 + + Dhu aEuro(TM)l-Wizaratayn (title), 425 + + Dhubyan (tribe), xix, 61, 62, 116, 117, 121 + + Diacritical points in Arabic script, 201 + + DiaEuro~bil (poet), 261, 375 + + Dictionaries, Arabic, 343, 403, 456 + + Didactic poem by Abu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~Atahiya, 300 + + Diercks, 360 + + Dieterici, F., 270, 305, 307, 308, 310, 312, 313, 371 + + _dihqan_, 291 + + Diminutives, 396, 449 + + _din_ (religion), 178, 287 + + Dinarzad, 457 + + Dinarzade, 457 + + -Dinawar, 346 + + -Dinawari (historian), 251, 349 + + Dinazad, 457 + + Diodorus Siculus, 3 + + Dionysius the Areopagite, 387, 389 + + -DiraaEuro~iyya, 466 + + Dirge, the Arabian, 126 + + _dithar_, 152 + + _Divan-i Shams-i Tabriz_, 298 + + Divine Right, the ShiaEuro~ite theory of, 214, 271 + + _diwan_ (collection of poems), 127, 128 + + Diwan (Register) of aEuro~Umar, the, 187, 188 + + _Diwans of the Six Poets, the_, 128 + + _diya_ (blood-wit), 93 + + -DiyAirbakri (historian), 445 + + Dog, the, regarded by Moslems as unclean, 445 + + Doughty, E. M., 3 + + Dozy, 214, 399, 407, 410, 411, 413, 414, 415, 420, 422, 424, 428, 429, + 431, 465, 467 + + Drama, the, not cultivated by the Semites, 328 + + Drinking parties described in Pre-islamic poetry, 124, 125, 167 + + Droit du seigneur, le, 4 + + _dubayt_ (a species of verse), 450 + + Dubeux, 352 + + Duka, T., 390 + + Dumas, 272 + + _Dumyatu aEuro(TM)l-Qasr_, 348 + + Duns Scotus, 367 + + Durayd b. -Simma, 83 + + Durayd b. Zayd b. Nahd, 75 + + _Durratu aEuro(TM)l-Ghawwas_, 336 + + _Duwalu aEuro(TM)l-Islam_, 446 + + Dvorak, R., 304 + + Dyke of MaaEuro(TM)rib, the, 2, 5, +14-17+, 50, 63 + + Dynasties of the aEuro~Abbasid period, 264-276 + + + E + + Eber, xviii + + Ecbatana, 129, 328. + See _Hamadhan_ + + Ecstasy, 387, 393, 394 + + Edessa, 331, 358 + + Egypt, xxiv, xxix, xxx, 4, 5, 132, 184, 186, 193, 215, 268, 274, 275, + 307, 323, 326, 327, 350, 354, 355, 358, 387-390, 399, 419, 432, + 434, 442, 443, 447, 448, 450, 451, 454, 460, 461, 464, 466, 468 + + Egypt, conquest of, by the Moslems, 184 + + _Egypt, History of_, by Ibn Taghribirdi, 454 + + Eichhorn, xv + + Elegiac poetry, 126, 127 + + _Elephant, the Sura of the_, 68 + + Elephant, the year of the, 28, 66, 146 + + Eloquence, Arabian, 346, 347 + + Emanation, Plotinus's theory of, 393 + + Emessa, 304 + + Emigrants, the. See _-Muhajirun_ + + Encomium of the Umayyad dynasty, by -Akhtal, 242 + + Epic poetry not cultivated by the Arabs, 325 + + Equality of Arabs and non-Arabs maintained by the ShuaEuro~ubites, 279, 280 + + Equites Thamudeni, 3 + + Erotic prelude, the. See _nasib_ + + Erpenius, 355 + + Essenes, the, 224 + + Euphrates, the, xv, 33, 36, 37, 38, 41, 53, 110, 113, 186, 189, 192, + 196, 256, 418, 443, 449 + + Euting, Julius, 9 + + + F + + Fables of beasts, considered useful and instructive, 330 + + -Fadl, the Barmecide, 260 + + -Fadl b. al-RabiaEuro~, 293 + + -Fahl (surname), 125 + + Fahm (tribe), 81 + + Fairs, the old Arabian, 135 + + _-Fakhri_, 187, 188, 194, 203, 260, 331, 445, +454+ + + Fakhru aEuro(TM)l-Dawla (Buwayhid), 267 + + Fakhru aEuro(TM)l-Mulk, 340 + + Falcon of Quraysh, the, 407, 417 + + _-falsafa_ (Philosophy), 283 + + _fana_ (dying to self), 233, 390, 391 + + _fanak_, 53 + + _faqih_, 464 + + _faqir_ (fakir), 230, 464 + + _faqr_ (poverty), 230 + + Farab, 360 + + -FarAibi (Abu Nasr), 270, +360+, 393 + + -Farazdaq (poet), 196, 238, 239, 240, +242-244+, 245, 246 + + -Farghani, 361 + + FariduaEuro(TM)ddin aEuro~Attar, 226, 228, 386 + + -Farqadan (name of two stars), 35 + + -Farra, 343 + + Farrukh-mahan, 45 + + Fars (province), 266 + + Fathers, the Christian, 341 + + _-Fatiha_, 143 + + Fatima, daughter of -Khurshub, 88 + + Fatima, daughter of the Prophet, 183, 218, 250, 251, 258, 267, 274 + + Fatima (mother of Qusayy), 64 + + Fatima, a woman loved by ImruaEuro(TM)u aEuro(TM)l-Qays, 106 + + Fatimid dynasty, the, 217, 265, 268, 269, +271-275+, 322, 371, 412 + + -Fatra, 152 + + _Fawatu aEuro(TM)l-Wafayat_, 449, 452 + + Fayiasufu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~Arab (title), 360. + See _-Kindi_ + + Faymiyun (Phemion), 26 + + Ferdinand I of Castile, 422 + + Ferdinand III of Castile, 434 + + Ferdinand V of Castile, 441 + + Fez, 436 + + Fihr (tribe), xix + + _-Fihrist_, 13, 142, 345, 359, +361-364+, 387, 457 + + -Find, 58, 60, 84 + + _-fiqh_ (Jurisprudence), 283; + denoting law and theology, 339, 420, 465 + + Firdawsi, Persian poet, 265, 269 + + Firuz (Firuzan), father of MaaEuro~ruf al-Karkhi, 385 + + Firuz, a Persian slave, 189 + + -FA-rAºzAibAidA- (Majdu aEuro(TM)l-Din), 403, 456 + + Fleischer, 400, 404 + + Flint, Robert, 441 + + Fluegel, G., 142, 297, 362, 364, 459 + + Folk-songs, Arabic, 238, 416-417, 449-450 + + _Fons VitA|_, 428 + + Foreigners, Sciences of the, 282, 283 + + Forgery of Apostolic Traditions, 145, 146, 279 + + Forgery of Pre-islamic poems, 133, 134 + + France, 9, 412, 469 + + Frederick II of Hohenstaufen, 434, 441 + + Free schools, founded by Hakam II, 419 + + Free-thought in Islam, 283, 284, 298, 345, 460. + See _MuaEuro~tazilites_ and _Zindiqs_ + + Free-will, the doctrine of, 223, 224 + + Freytag, G. W., 16, 31, 48, 50, 55, 73, 89, 91, 109, 129, 292, 373 + + Friedlaender, I., 428 + + Frothingham, 389 + + -Fudayl b. aEuro~Iyad, 232, 233, 385 + + _-fuhul_, 138 + + Fukayha, 89 + + _-funAºn al-sabaEuro~a_ (the seven kinds of poetry), 450 + + Fuqaym (tribe), 28 + + _-Fusul wa-aEuro(TM)l-Ghayat_, 318 + + _Fususu aEuro(TM)l-Hikam_, 400, 401, 402 + + _-Futuhat al-Makkiyya_, 400, 464 + + Future life, Pre-islamic notions of the, 166 + + + G + + Gabriel, 63, 141, 150, 267 + + Galen, 358 + + Galland, 458 + + Gallienus, 33 + + Gaulonitis, the, 53 + + Gaza, 5 + + Geber, 361 + + Geiger, 162 + + Genealogy, Muhammadan, xx + + Genealogy, treatise on, by Ibn Durayd, 343 + + _Genesis, Book of_, xv + + Geographers, the Moslem, 356, 357 + + George -Makin, 355 + + Georgians, the, 445 + + Germany, 8, 412 + + Gesenius, 8 + + -GhabrAi (name of a mare), 61 + + -Gharid, 236 + + -Ghariyyan, 43 + + GhassAin, xxii, 33, 37, 38, 42, 43, 121, 122, 138, 139, 158, 332 + + Ghassanid court, the, described by Hassan b. Thabit, 53 + + Ghassanids, the, 33, +49-54+, 122 + + Ghatafan (tribe), xix, 61 + + -Ghawl, 119 + + _ghayba_ (occultation), 216 + + Ghayman (castle), 24 + + Ghayz b. Murra, 117 + + Ghazala, 339 + + -Ghazali, 230, 234, 277, +338-341+, +380-383+, 393, 431, 463 + + Ghazan, 446 + + Ghaziyya (tribe), 83 + + Ghazna, 268-269, 355 + + Ghaznevid dynasty, the, 265, +268-269+, 271, 275 + + _ghiyar_, 461 + + Ghiyathu aEuro(TM)l-Din MasaEuro~ud (Seljuq), 326, 329 + + _-Ghulat_ (the extreme ShiaEuro~ites), 216 + + GhumdAin (castle), 24 + + Gibb, E. J. W., 443, 460 + + Gibb, H. A. R., 470 + + Gibbon, 439 + + Gibraltar (Jabal Tariq), 204, 414 + + Glaser, E., 9, 15 + + Gnosis, the Sufi doctrine of, 386, 387 + + Gnosticism, 389, 390 + + Gobineau, Comte de, 320 + + Goeje, M. J. de, 179, 180, 253, 256, 257, 287, 322, 349, 350, 351, + 353, 354, 356, 366, 371, 409 + + Goethe, 97 + + Gog and Magog, 18 + + _Golden Meadows, the._ See _Muruju aEuro(TM)l-Dhahab_ and -MasaEuro~udi + + Goldziher, Ignaz, xx, xxii, 10, 18, 30, 73, 90, 119, 145, 177, 178, + 199, 200, 221, 225, 246, 278, 279, 280, 285, 287, 289, 297, 298, + 315, 344, 345, 366, 368, 370, 372, 374, 379, 390, 409, 431, 433, 466 + + Gospel, the, 165, 171 + + Grammar, Arabic, the origin of, 202, 278, 282, 341-343, 363 + + Grammars, Arabic, 343, 456 + + Granada, 421, 424, 428, 431, 434, +435-437+, 441, 442, 447 + + Gray, T., 77 + + Greece, 131, 296, 361, 434 + + Greece, the influence of, on Muhammadan thought, 220, 221, 229, 266, + +358-361+, 363, 369, 370, 386, 388 + + Greek Philosophers, the, 341, 363 + + Green, the colour of the aEuro~Alids, 262 + + Grimme, H., xv, 10 + + GrA1/4nert, M., 346 + + Guadalquivir, the, 422 + + Guest, A. R., 453 + + Guillaume, A., 360 + + Guirgass, 251 + + Guyon, Madame, 233 + + + H + + HaarbrA1/4cker, 220, 221, 223, 224, 297 + + Habib b. Aws. See _Abu Tammam_ + + _hadarat_, mystical term, 402 + + -Hadi, the Caliph, 260, 373 + + _Hadiqatu aEuro(TM)l-Afrah_, 449 + + _-hadith_ (Traditions of the Prophet), 132, 134, +143-146+, 201, 247, + 258, 348. See _Traditions of the Prophet_ + + Hadramawt (province), 1, 5, 42 + + Hadrian, 137 + + Hafsa, 142 + + Hafsid dynasty, the, 442 + + Hagar. See _Hajar, wife of Abraham_ + + Hajar (in -Bahrayn), 94, 96 + + Hajar, wife of Abraham, xviii, 63 + + -Hajjaj b. Yusuf, 200, +201-203+, 209, 213, 244 + + Hajji Khalifa, 456 + + -Hakam I (Spanish Umayyad), 409 + + -Hakam II (Spanish Umayyad), 412, 419 + + _hakim_ (philosopher), 387 + + _hal_, mystical term, 387 + + _Halbatu aEuro(TM)l-Kumayt_, 417 + + HalA(C)vy, Joseph, 9 + + Halila, 56 + + Halima, daughter of -Harith al-AaEuro~raj, 50 + + Halima, the battle of, 43, 50, 51, 125 + + Halima, the Prophet's nurse, 147 + + -Hallaj. See _-Husayn b. Mansur_ + + Halle, 8 + + Ham, xv + + _hama_ (owl or wraith), 94, 166 + + Hamadhan (Ecbatana), 129, 292, 328, 333 + + -HamadhAinA-, 328. + See _BadiaEuro~u aEuro(TM)l-Zaman_ + + Hamal b. Badr, 61, 88 + + _-Hamasa_, of Abu Tammam, 55, 57-61, 79, 81, 82, 83, 84, 87, 92, 93, + 98, 100, 126, +129-130+, 136, 137, 199, 213, 324, 331 + + _-Hamasa_, of -Buhturi, 130, 324 + + _hamasa_ (fortitude), 79, 326 + + Hamat, 454 + + -HamaysaaEuro~ b. Himyar, 12 + + Hamdan, 19 + + Hamdan Qarmat, 274 + + -Hamdani (geographer), 6, 11, 12, 13, 17, 18, 20, 24 + + Hamdanid dynasty, the, 268, +269-271+, 291, 303 + + Hamilton, Terrick, 459 + + Hammad al-Rawiya, 103, 113, 128, +132-134+, 344 + + Hammer, J. von, 308, 316, 396, 459 + + Hamza of Isfahan (historian), 14, 280 + + Hanbalites, the, 376, 462 + + _handasa_ (geometry), 283 + + HaniaEuro(TM), a chieftain of Bakr, 69 + + Hanifa (tribe), 183 + + Hanifs, the, 69, +149+, +150+, 170, 318 + + Hanzala of TayyiaEuro(TM), 44 + + _haqiqat_, mystical term, 392 + + _haqiqatu aEuro(TM)l-haqaaEuro(TM)iq_, mystical term, 403 + + _-haqiqatu aEuro(TM)l-Muhammadiyya_, mystical term, 403 + + _-haqq_, mystical term, 392 + + Haram (tribe), 331 + + Harim b. Sinan, 61, 116, 117, 288 + + -Hariri, author of the _Maqamat_, 329-336 + + -Harith al-Akbar. See _-Harith b. aEuro~Amr Muharriq_ + + -Harith b. aEuro~Amr (Kindite), 42, 44, 103, 104 + + -Harith b. aEuro~Amr Muharriq (Ghassanid), 50 + + -Harith al-AaEuro~raj (Ghassanid), 43, 50, 54, 125. + See _-Harith b. Jabala_ + + -Harith b. aEuro~Awf, 61, 116, 117 + + -Harith b. Hammam, 330, 331, 333 + + -Harith b. Hilliza (poet), 44, 100, 109, 113-114, 128 + + -Harith b. Jabala (Ghassanid), 43, 50, +51+, +52+. + See _-Harith al-AaEuro~raj_ + + -Harith al-RaaEuro(TM)ish, 17 + + -Harith b. Surayj, 222 + + -Harith b. aEuro~Ubad, 58, 50 + + -Harith the Younger (Ghassanid), 50 + + -Harith b. Zalim, 85 + + _-harj_, 249 + + Harran, 221, 358, 361, 462 + + Harran, the bilingual inscription of, xxii + + Hartmann, M., 450, 468 + + Harun al-Rashid, the Caliph, xxix, 255, 258, 259, +260-261+, 262, 277, + 283, 292, 293, 296, 298, 343, 345, 347, 366, 367, 368, 373, 385, + 388, 458, 459 + + Harura, 208 + + Harwat, 11 + + _hasab_, 100 + + Hasan (Buwayhid), 266 + + -Hasan of -Basra, 208, 222, 223, +225-227+, 230, 243, 244, 294 + + -Hasan b. Ahmad al-Hamdani, 11. + See _-Hamdani_ + + -Hasan b. aEuro~Ali, the Nizamu aEuro(TM)l-Mulk, 276. + See _Nizamu aEuro(TM)l-Mulk_ + + -Hasan b. aEuro~Ali b. Abi Talib, 216, 297 + + -Hasan al-Burini, 396 + + -Hasan b. -Sabbah, 445 + + Hashid (tribe), 12 + + Hashim, 65, 146, 250 + + -Hashimiyya (ShiaEuro~ite sect), 220, 251 + + Hassan b. Thabit (poet), 18, 52, 53, 54, 127 + + Hassan (son of AsaEuro~ad Kamil), the TubbaaEuro~, 19, 23, 25 + + Hatim of TayyiaEuro(TM), +85-87+, 288 + + Hawazin (tribe), xix + + _Hayy b. Yaqzan_, 433 + + Hayyum, 19 + + _Hazar Afsan_ (_Hazar Afsana_), 363, 457-458 + + -Haziri (Abu aEuro(TM)l-MaaEuro~ali), 348 + + _Hazzu aEuro(TM)l-Quhuf_, 450 + + Hebrew language, the, xvi + + Hebrews, the, xv + + Hellespont, the, xxix + + Helpers, the. See _-Ansar_ + + Hengstenberg, 102 + + Heraclius, 52 + + Heresies of the Caliph -MaaEuro(TM)mun, 262 + + Herodotus, 353 + + Hierotheus, 389 + + hija (satire), 73, 294 + + -Hijaz, xvii, 3, 21, +62+, 63, 64, 69, 137, 149, 150, 215, 340, 395, + 398, 399, 465, 466 + + -Hijr, the inscriptions of, xxi, 3 + + -Hijra (Hegira), xxv, 158, 171 + + -Hilla, 449 + + _Hilyatu aEuro(TM)l-Awliya,_ 338 + + _himaq_ (a species of verse), 450 + + Hims, 304 + + Himyar (person), 14 + + Himyar (people), xxv, 1, 6, 10, 17, 24, 25, 26, 429 + + Himyarite kings, the, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 17-27. + See _TubbaaEuro~s, the_ + + Himyarite language, the, xvi, xvii, xxi, 6-11 + + _Himyarite Ode, the_, 12, 13 + + Himyarites, the, xviii, xx, xxi, 4, +5+, +6+, 7, 12, 17, 23, 26 + + Hind, mother of Bakr and Taghlib, 58 + + Hind (a Bedouin woman), 46 + + Hind, daughter of -NuaEuro~man III, 46, 47 + + Hind, wife of -Mundhir III, 44, 45, 110 + + Hinwam (hill), 20 + + -Hira, xxii, xxiii, 29, 33, 34, +37-49+, 51, 52, 53, 54, 60, 69, 70, + 85, 87, 103, 107, 108, 109, 110, 112, 114, 121, 122, 124, 138, + 139, 189, 244, 439 + + Hira, Mount, 150 + + Hirran, 11 + + Hirschfeld, H., 151 + + Hisham (Umayyad Caliph), 200, 206, 224, 243 + + Hisham I (Spanish Umayyad), 347, 409 + + Hisham II (Spanish Umayyad), 412, 421 + + Hisham b. Muhammad al-Kalbi, 38, 39, 40, 348 + + Hisn Ghurab, 8 + + Historians, Arab, +11-14+, 144, 247, +348-356+, 420, 428, 435-440, + +452-454+ + + Historical studies encouraged by the Umayyads, 247 + + History, the true purpose of, 437; + subject to universal laws, 438; + evolution of, 439, 440 + + _History of the Berbers_, by Ibn Khaldun, 429, 435 + + _History of the Caliphs_, by -Suyuti, 455 + + _History of Islamic Civilisation_, by Jurji Zaydan, 435 + + _History of Old and New Cairo_, by -Suyuti, 455 + + Holy Ghost, the, 150 + + Holy War, the, enjoined by the Koran, 174 + + Homer, the Iliad of, translated into Arabic verse, 469 + + HomeritA|, the, 5 + + Hommel, F., xv, 1 + + Honour, Pre-islamic conception of, 82-100 + + Horace, 326 + + Hospitality, the Bedouin ideal of, 85 + + House of the Prophet, the, 250. + See aEuro~_Ali b. Abi Talib_; _aEuro~Alids_; _ShiaEuro~ites_. + + Houtsma, Th., 193, 242, 329, 349 + + Huart, C., 468 + + Hubal (name of an idol), +64+ + + Hubba, 64 + + Hud (prophet), 2 + + Hudhalites (Hudhaylites), 22, 128. + See _Hudhayl_ + + Hudhayla b. Badr, 61 + + Hudhayta b. al-Yaman, 142 + + Hudhayl (tribe), xix, 64, 98, 99, 100 + + Hughes, G., 80 + + Hujr (Kindite), 42 + + Hujr, father of ImruaEuro(TM)u aEuro(TM)l-Qays, 104 + + Hulagu, xxix, 182, 444-446 + + Hulayl b. Hubshiyya, 64 + + _-Hullat al-Siyara_, 418 + + Hulton, 8 + + _hulul_ (incarnation), 396, 402 + + Hulwan, 292 + + Humani, 457 + + -Humayma, 249 + + Hunayn b. Ishaq, 359 + + _hur_ (houris), 167 + + Hurmuz (Sasanian), 47 + + Hurufis, the, 460 + + -Husayn, son of aEuro~Ali b. Abi Talib, +196+, +197+, 198, 216, 218, 243, + 466 + + -Husayn b. Damdam, 117 + + -Husayn b. Mansur -Hallaj, 363, 375, 399 + + _Husnu aEuro(TM)l-Muhadara_, 455 + + -HutayaEuro(TM)a (poet), 127, 131, 261 + + Huzwa, 398 + + Hypocrites, the. See _-Munafiqun_ + + + I + + Iamblichus, 389 + + aEuro~Ibad, the, of -Hira, 38, 39, 138 + + Ibadites (a Kharijite sect), the, 211 + + _-aEuro~Ibar_, by -Dhahabi, 339 + + Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-Abbar, 418, 424 + + Ibn aEuro~Abdi Rabbihi, 102, +347+, +420+ + + Ibn Abi DuaEuro(TM)ad, 376 + + Ibn Abi UsaybiaEuro~a, 266, 355 + + Ibn Abi YaaEuro~qub al-Nadim, 362 + + Ibn Abi ZaraEuro~, 429 + + Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-Ahmar (Nasrid), 435 + + Ibn aEuro~AaEuro(TM)isha, 236 + + Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~Alqami, 445 + + Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~Amid, 267 + + Ibn aEuro~Ammar (poet), 422, 424 + + Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~Arabi. See _Muhyi aEuro(TM)l-Din Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~Arabi_ + + Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~Arabi, the Cadi, of Seville, 399 + + Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-AaEuro~rabi (philologist), 128 + + Ibn aEuro~Arabshah, 454 + + Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-Athir, 203, 205, 253, +355-356+, 376, 379, 420, 429 + + Ibn Bajja, 361, 434 + + Ibn Bashkuwal, 426, 434 + + Ibn Bassam, 422, 434 + + Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-Baytar, 434 + + Ibn Durayd, 253, 280, +343+ + + Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-Farid. See _aEuro~Umar Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-Farid_ + + Ibn Hajar, 456 + + Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-Hanafiyya. See _Muhammad Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-Hanafiyya_ + + Ibn Hani (poet), 419, 420 + + Ibn Hawqal, 356 + + Ibn Hayyan, 428 + + Ibn Hazm, 222, 341, 402, +423-428+ + + Ibn Hisham, 17, 22, 23, 63, 64, 69, +144+, 147, 150, 151, 152, 154, + 156, 158, 166, 170, 173, 175, +349+ + + Ibn Humam, 105 + + Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~Idhari, 407, 428, 429 + + Ibn Ishaq, 69, +144+, 146, 149, 156, 247, +349+ + + Ibn Jahwar, 424 + + Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-Jawzi, 355 + + Ibn Jubayr, 357, 434 + + Ibn Kabsha, nickname of Muhammad, 166 + + Ibn Khalawayh, 271 + + Ibn Khaldun, 32, 228, 229, 277, 278, 288, 289, 350, 353, 429, 435, + +437-440+, 443, 452 + + Ibn Khallikan, 129, 132, 190, 213, 224, 234, 245, 261, 266, 267, 276, + 288, 295, 308, 312, 326, 343, 344, 346, 348, 355, 357, 359, 360, + 377, 378, 387, 408, 422, 425, 427, +451-452+ + + Ibn Khaqan, 425, 434 + + Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-Khatib, the Vizier, 413, 435, 436, 437 + + Ibn Khidham, 105 + + Ibn Khurdadbih, 356 + + Ibn Maja, 337 + + Ibn Malik of Jaen, 456 + + Ibn Mukarram (Jamalu aEuro(TM)l-Din), 456 + + Ibn Muljam, 193 + + Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-MuqaffaaEuro~, 330, +346+, 348, 358 + + Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-MuaEuro~tazz (poet), 325 + + Ibn Nubata (man of letters), 61 + + Ibn Nubata, the preacher, 271, 328 + + Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-Qifti, 355, 370, 387 + + Ibn Qutayba, xviii, 35, 49, 50, 51, 75, 77, 105, 117, 145, 202, 223, + 257, 277, 280, +286+, +287+, 288, 289, 293, 294, 345, +346+ + + Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-Qutiyya, 420 + + Ibn Quzman, 417 + + Ibn Rashiq, 71, 288 + + Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-Rawandi, 375 + + Ibn Rushd, 341, 361, 432, 434 + + Ibn SabaEuro~in, 434 + + Ibn SaaEuro~d, 144, 256, 349 + + Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-Sammak, 261 + + Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-Sikkit, 343 + + Ibn Sina (Avicenna), 265, 266, 341, +360+, +361+, 393 + + Ibn Sirin, 244 + + Ibn Surayj, 236 + + Ibn Taymiyya, 371, +462+, +463+, 465, 466 + + Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-Tiqtaqa, 454 + + Ibn Tufayt, 361, 432, 433, 434 + + Ibn Tumart, 431-432 + + Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-Wahshiyya, xxv + + Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-Wardi, 455 + + Ibn Zaydun (poet), 419, 424-426 + + Ibn Zuhr, 434 + + Ibrahim (Abraham), xviii, 63. + See _Abraham_ + + Ibrahim (aEuro~Alid), 258 + + Ibrahim b. Adham, 232 + + Ibrahim b. Hilal al-Sabi, 328 + + Ibrahim of Mosul, 261 + + Idol-worship at Mecca, 62-64 + + Idris, 264 + + -Idrisi (geographer), 357, 434 + + Idrisid dynasty, the, 264 + + _IhyaaEuro(TM)u Ulum al-Din_, 230, 234, 338, 340 + + -Iji (Adudu aEuro(TM)l-Din), 456 + + _ijmaaEuro~_, 460 + + _ikhlas_, 164 + + Ikhmim, 387 + + _-Ikhtiyarat_, 128 + + IkhwAinu aEuro(TM)l-Safa, 370-372, 388 + + _-Iklil_, 6, 12, 13, 24 + + _-ilahiyyun_, 382 + + _Iliad, the_, xxii, 325, 469 + + Il-Khans, the, xxix, 446 + + Il-Makah, 11 + + _aEuro~ilmu aEuro(TM)l-hadith_ (Science of Apostolic Tradition), 283 + + _aEuro~ilmu aEuro(TM)l-kalam_ (Scholastic Theology), 283 + + _aEuro~ilmu aEuro(TM)l-nujum_ (Astronomy), 283 + + _aEuro~ilmu aEuro(TM)l-qiraaEuro(TM)at_ (Koranic Criticism), 283 + + _aEuro~ilmu aEuro(TM)l-tafsir_ (Koranic Exegesis), 283 + + _aEuro~ilq_, 101 + + aEuro~Imadu aEuro(TM)l-Dawla (Buwayhid), 266 + + aEuro~Imadu aEuro(TM)l-Din al-Katib al-Isfahani, 348, 355 + + Imam (head of the religious community), 210 + + Imam, the Hidden, 216-217, 371; + the Infallible, 220, 432 + + Imam-Husayn, a town near Baghdad, 466. + See _Karbala_ + + _-imam al-maaEuro~sum_, 432 + + Imamites, the, 251 + + Imams, the Seven, 217, 273 + + Imams, the ShiaEuro~ite, 214-220 + + Imams, the Twelve, 217 + + Imamu aEuro(TM)l-Haramayn, 339, 379 + + _iman_ (faith), 222 + + ImruaEuro(TM)u aEuro(TM)l-Qays (poet), 42, 84, 85, 101, 102, +103-107+, 128, 136, 246, + 289 + + India, 4, 17, 268, 341, 352, 361, 389 + + +India, History of+, by -Biruni, 361 + + India, the influence of, on Moslem civilisation, 361, 389, 390 + + India, Moslem conquests in, 203, 268 + + Indian religion, described by -Shahrastani, 341 + + Indus, the, xxiv, 203, 264 + + Infanticide, practised by the pagan Arabs, 149, 243 + + Initiation, the IsmaaEuro~ilite degrees of, 273 + + Inquisition (_mihna_) established by -MaaEuro(TM)mun, 368, 369 + + _-Insan al-Kamil_, the Perfect Man, 402 + + Inscriptions, the Babylonian and Assyrian, xxv, 4 + + Inscriptions, Himyarite. See _Inscriptions, South Arabic_ + + Inscriptions, NabatA|an, xxv, 3 + + Inscriptions, South Arabic, xvi, xxi, xxvi, +6-11+ + + Inspiration, views of the heathen Arabs regarding, 72, 73, 152, 165 + + Intellectual and Philosophical Sciences, the, 282 + + Ionia, the dialect of, xxiii + + _-aEuro~Iqd al-FarA-d_, 102, 131, +347+, 420 + + Iram, 1 + + -aEuro~Iraq, 34, 38, 42, 123, 132, 142, 201, 202, 207, 208, 243, 244, 255, + 262, 266, 273, 303, _350_, 419, 445. See _Babylonia_ + + _-Isaba fi tamyiz al-Sahaba_, 456 + + Isabella of Castile, 441 + + Isaiah, 151 + + Isfahan, 14, 131, 268, 280, 326, 347, 355, 419 + + Isfandiyar, 330, 363 + + Ishaq b. Ibrahim al-Mawsili, 261, 362, 418 + + Ishaq b. Khalaf, 92 + + Ishmael. See _IsmaaEuro~il_ + + Isidore of Hispalis, 198 + + Islam, meaning of, 153; + cardinal doctrines of, 163-168; + formal and ascetic character of, 168, 224; + derived from Christianity and Judaism, 176, 177; + pagan elements in, 177; + opposed to the ideals of heathendom, 177, 178; + identified with the religion of Abraham, 62, 177; + a world-religion, 184 + + IsmaaEuro~il (Ishmael), xviii, 63, 64 + + IsmaaEuro~il (Samanid), 265 + + IsmaaEuro~il b. aEuro~Abbad, 267. + See _-Sahib IsmaaEuro~il b. aEuro~Abbad_ + + IsmaaEuro~il b. Naghdala, 428 + + IsmaaEuro~ilis, the, 217, +272-274+, 363, +371+, +372+, 381, 420, 445 + + +isnad+, 144, 278, 352 + + -Isnawi, 339 + + Israel, 73 + + Istakhr, 356 + + -Istakhri, 356 + + _istifa_, 228 + + Italy, 412, 414, 441 + + Ithamara (SabA|an king), 4 + + -Ithna -aEuro~ashariyya (the Twelvers), 217 + + IaEuro~timad, name of a slave-girl, 422 + + _-Itqan_, 145, 455 + + _ittihad_, 402 + + _aEuro~iyar_, 297 + + Iyas b. Qabisa, 53 + + aEuro~Izzu aEuro(TM)l-Din b. aEuro~Abd al-Salam, 461 + + + J + + Jabal Tariq (Gibraltar), 204 + + Jabala b. -Ayham (Ghassanid), 50, 51, 52, 53, 54 + + -Jabariyya (the Predestinarians), 224 + + Jabir b. Hayyan, 361, 387 + + _jabr_ (compulsion), 224, 297 + + Jacob, G., 74, 76 + + Jadala (tribe), 429 + + Jadhima al-Abrash, 34, 35, 36, 40 + + Jadis (tribe), 4, 25 + + Jaen, 456 + + JaaEuro~far, the Barmecide, 260 + + JaaEuro~far, son of the Caliph -Hadi, 260 + + Jafna, founder of the Ghassanid dynasty, 50 + + Jafnites, the. See _Ghassanids, the_ + + Jaghbub, 468 + + Jahdar b. DubayaEuro~a, 59 + + _-jahiliyya_ (the Age of Barbarism), xxvi, +30+, 31, 34, 71, 90, 158, + 287 + + -Jahiz, 267, 280, +346-347+, 375 + + _jahiz_, 346 + + -Jahiziyya (MuaEuro~tazilite sect), 346 + + _jahl_, meaning 'barbarism', 30 + + Jahm b. Safwan, 222 + + -Jahshiyari (Abu aEuro~Abdallah Muhammad b. aEuro~Abdus), 458 + + Jalalu aEuro(TM)l-Din Khwarizmshah, 444 + + Jalalu aEuro(TM)l-Din al-Mahalli, 455 + + Jalalu aEuro(TM)l-Din Rumi, Persian poet, 298, 393, 404 + + Jallaban, 293 + + _-Jamhara fi aEuro(TM)l-Lugha_, 343 + + _Jamharatu AshaEuro~ari aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~Arab_, 130 + + -Jami (aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-Rahman), Persian poet, 229, 284, 386, 433 + + _-JamiaEuro~_, by -Tirmidhi, 337 + + _-JamiaEuro~a_, 371 + + Jamil, 238 + + Jandal, 245 + + Janissaries, the, 413 + + -Jannabi, 375 + + -Jaradatan (name of two singing girls), 2 + + Jarir (poet), 205, 238, 239, 240, 242, +244-246+ + + Jassas b. Murra, 56, 57 + + -Jawf, 9 + + Jawhar, 429 + + -Jawlan, 54 + + Jerusalem, 169, 177, 233, 275, 340, 355, 357 + + Jesus, 215, 216 + + Jews, the, 341. + See _Judaism_ + + -Jibal (province), 292, 356, 445 + + Jibril (Gabriel), 150 + + _jihad_, 430 + + Jinn, the, 72, 112, 119, 152, 165 + + _jinni_ (genie), 165 + + Jirjis -Makin (historian), 355 + + John of Damascus, 221 + + John of Ephesus, 52 + + Johnson, Dr., 286, 313 + + Joktan, xviii + + Jones, E. R., 433 + + Jones, Sir William, 102, 452 + + Jong, P. de, 366 + + Jordan, the, 446 + + -JubbaaEuro(TM)i, 377, 378 + + Judaism, established in -Yemen, 23, 137; + zealously fostered by Dhu Nuwas, 26; + in Arabia, 137-140, 149, 158, 170-172, 173, 176, 177; + in Spain, 415, 428, 429; + in Sicily, 441 + + Judaism, influence of, on Muhammadan thought, 176, 177, 215, 216 + + _-juaEuro~iyya_ (the Fasters), 232 + + Juliana of Norwich, 233 + + Junayd of Baghdad, 228, 230, 392, 465 + + Junde-shapur, 358 + + Jurhum (tribe), xviii, 63, 117 + + Jurjan, 339 + + Jurji Zaydan, 435 + + Justinian, 43, 51, 104, 358 + + Justinus (Byzantine Emperor), 27, 52 + + -Juwayni (Abu aEuro(TM)l-MaaEuro~ali), 339, 379 + + Juynboll, 257, 262, 268, 350, 369 + + + K + + KaaEuro~b (tribe), 246 + + KaaEuro~b b. Zuhayr (poet), 119, 127, 327 + + -KaaEuro~ba, +63+, +64+, +65+, +67+, 101, 117, 154, 155, 157, 164, 169, + 177, 198, 319, 400, 403, 467 + + KaaEuro~bu aEuro(TM)l-Ahbar, 185 + + -Kadhdhab (title of Musaylima), 183 + + Kafur (Ikhshidite), 306, 307 + + Kahlan, 14 + + -Kalabadhi, 338 + + _-kalam_ (Scholasticism), 363, 378 + + Kalb (tribe), 199, 405 + + _kalb_, 445 + + _Kalila and Dimna, the Book of_, 346, 363 + + -Kamala (title), 88 + + _-kamil_ (metre), 75 + + _-Kamil_ of Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-Athir, 355, 379, 429. + See _Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-Athir_ + + _-Kamil_ of -Mubarrad, 92, 131, 202, 226, 227, 237, 244, 343 + + _kanwakan_ (a species of verse), 450 + + Karbala, 196, 198, 208, 216, 218, 243, 466 + + KaribaaEuro(TM)il Watar, 10 + + -Karkh, a quarter of Baghdad, 267, 385 + + _kasb_, 379 + + _Kashfu aEuro(TM)l-Zunun_, 456 + + _-Kashshaf_, 145 + + _katib_ (secretary), 257, 326 + + Kawadh (Sasanian), 42 + + Kerbogha, 446 + + Khadija, 148, 150, 151, 152, 153, 157 + + _-khafif_ (metre), 75 + + Khalaf, 421 + + Khalaf al-Ahmar, 97, 134, 293, 344 + + Khalid b. -Mudallil, 43 + + Khalid b. -Walid, 184 + + Khalid b. Yazid, 358 + + _khalifa_ (Caliph), xxvii, 175 + + -Khalil b. Ahmad, 75, 285, +343+ + + Khamir (village), 19 + + _-Khamriyya_, by Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-Farid, 396 + + _khamriyyat_, 294 + + _khanaqah_ (monastery), 229 + + -Khansa (poetess), 126, 127 + + _Kharidatu aEuro(TM)l-Qasr_, 348 + + _khariji_ (Kharijite), 209 + + Kharijites, the, 193, 207, +208-213+, 221, 222, 239, 248, 259, 428 + + Kharmaythan, 360 + + -Khasib, 373 + + _khatib_, 271 + + -Khatib, of Baghdad, 355 + + -Khatim b.aEuro~Adi, 94, 96 + + -Khawarij. See _Kharijites, the_ + + -Khawarnaq (castle), 40, 41 + + -Khaybar, 50 + + -Khayf, 237 + + Khazaza, battle of, 5 + + -Khazraj (tribe), 170 + + Khedivial dynasty, the, 468 + + Khidash b. Zuhayr, 95, 96 + + Khindif, xix + + _-Khitat_, by -Maqrizi, 453 + + Khiva, 361, 444 + + _Khizanatu aEuro(TM)l-Adab_, 131 + + Khuda Bukhsh, S., 279 + + _Khuday-nama_, 348 + + Khulafa al-Rashidun, xxvii. + See _Caliphs, the Orthodox_ + + Khurasan, xxviii, 129, 132, 220, 221, 232, 233, 239, +249+, +250+, + 251, 254, 256, 258, 263, 265, 266, 275, 303, 339, 341, 379, 390, + 391, 419, 444 + + Khurasan, dialect of, 339 + + _khuruj_ (secession), 209 + + Khusraw Parwez. See _Parwez_ + + _khutba_, 263, 328 + + KhuzaaEuro~a (tribe), 63, 64, 65 + + Khuzayma (tribe), xix + + Khuzistan, 266, 274, 293, 358 + + Khwarizm, 357, 361, 444 + + -Khwarizmi (Abu aEuro~Abdallah), 361 + + _-kibrit al-ahmar_, 399 + + Kilab (tribe), 246 + + Kilab b. Murra, 64 + + _-kimiya_ (the Philosophers' Stone), 401 + + _KimiyaaEuro(TM)u aEuro(TM)l-SaaEuro~adat_, 340 + + _-kimiyaaEuro(TM)un_ (the Alchemists), 364 + + Kinana (tribe), xix, 64 + + Kinda (tribe), xviii, 42, 43, 69, 85, 103, 104, 360 + + -KA-ndi, 288, 360 + + -KisaaEuro(TM)i (philologist), 261, 343 + + Kisra (title), 45 + + _Kitabu aEuro(TM)l-Aghani_ (the Book of Songs), 19, 26, 31, +32+, 37, 43, 44, + 46, 47, 53, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 94, 102, 104, 109, 110, 123, 124, + 131, 134, 138, 139, 150, 200, 205, 216, 236, 237, 239, 241, 242, + 243, 244, 245, +270+, 279, 291, 292, 297, 345, +347+, 374, +419+ + + Kitabu aEuro(TM)l-Ahkam al-Sultaniyya_, 338 + + Kitabu aEuro(TM)l-Akhbar al-Tiwal_, 349 + + _Kitabu aEuro(TM)l-Amali_, 131 + + _Kitabu Ansabi aEuro(TM)l-Ashraf_, 349 + + _-Kitab al-Awsat_, 353 + + _Kitabu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~Ayn_, 343 + + _Kitabu aEuro(TM)l-BadiaEuro~_, 325 + + _Kitabu aEuro(TM)l-Bayan wa-aEuro(TM)l-Tabyin_, 347 + + _Kitabu aEuro(TM)l-Falahat al-Nabatiyya_, xxv + + _Kitabu Futuhi aEuro(TM)l-Buldan_, 349 + + _Kitabu aEuro(TM)l-Hayawan_, 346, 375 + + _Kitabu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~Ibar_, by Dhahabi, 339 + + _Kitabu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~Ibar_, by Ibn Khaldun, 437 + + _Kitabu, aEuro(TM)l-Ibil_, 345 + + _Kitabu aEuro(TM)l-Ishtiqaq_, 343 + + _Kitabu aEuro(TM)l-Kamil fi aEuro(TM)l-TaaEuro(TM)rikh_, 355. + See _-Kamil of Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-Athir_ + + _Kitabu Khalq al-Insan_, 345 + + _Kitabu aEuro(TM)l-Khayl_, 345 + + _Kitabu aEuro(TM)l-LumaaEuro~_, 393 + + _Kitabu aEuro(TM)l-MaaEuro~arif_, xviii, 202, 223, 224, 345, +346+ + + _Kitabu aEuro(TM)l-Maghazi_, by Musa b. aEuro~Uqba, 247 + + _Kitabu aEuro(TM)l-Maghazi_, by -Waqidi, 144 + + _-Kitab al-Mansuri_, 265 + + _Kitabu aEuro(TM)l-Masalik wa-aEuro(TM)l-Mamalik_, 356 + + _Kitabu aEuro(TM)l-Milal wa-aEuro(TM)l-Nihal_, by Ibn Hazm, 341, 427, 428 + + _Kitabu aEuro(TM)l-Milal wa-aEuro(TM)l-Nihal_, by -Shahrastani, 341. + See _-Shahrastani_ + + _Kitabu aEuro(TM)l-Muluk wa-akhbar al-Madin_, 13 + + _Kitabu aEuro(TM)l-ShiaEuro~r wa-aEuro(TM)l-ShuaEuro~ara_, 75, 78, 105, 117, 257, 293, 346 + + _Kitabu aEuro(TM)l-TaaEuro~arruf li-Madhhabi ahli aEuro(TM)l-Tasawwuf_, 338 + + _Kitabu aEuro(TM)l-Tabaqat al-Kabir_, 144 + + _Kitabu aEuro(TM)l-Tanbih wa-aEuro(TM)l-Ishraf_, 353, 354 + + _-Kitab al-Yamini_, 355 + + _Kitabu aEuro(TM)l-Zuhd_, 247 + + _Koran, the_, xvii, xx, xxii-xxv, xxvi, xxvii, 1, 2, 3, 15, 17, 18, + 27, 68, 74, 91, 102, 119, 132, 134, +141-143+, 144-152, 154-156, + 158, +159-168+, 169, 172, 174, +175+, +176+, 178, 179, 183, 184, + 185, 187, 192, 201, 203, 207-212, 215, 221, 223, 225, 231, 234, + +235+, 237, 247, 249, 273, 277, 278, 279, 282, 284, 287, 294, 318, + 327, 329, 330, 342, 343, 344, 363, 365, 368, 369, 375, 378, 379, + 397, 398, 403, 408, 417, 433, 449, 454, 455, 460, 461, 462, 463, + 467 + + _Koran, the_, derivation of, 159; + collection of, 142; + historical value of, 143; + arrangement of, 143, 161; + style of, 159, 318, 368; + not poetical as a whole, 160; + held by Moslems to be the literal Word of God, 159, 235; + heavenly archetype of, 151, 163, 368; + revelation of, 150-152, 159; + designed for oral recitation, 161; + commentaries on, 144, 145, 351, 455; + imitations of, 318, 368, 375; + dispute as to whether it was created or not, 262, 368, 369 + + Koran-readers (_-qurra_), the, 209, 210, 277 + + Kosegarten, 128 + + Krehl, L., 151, 360 + + Kremer, Alfred von, 13, 14, 18, 19, 23, 24, 101, 139, 140, 220, 221, + 225, 233, 279, 281, 302, 304, 316, 318, 321, 323, 324, 360, 373, + 379, 383, 399, 439 + + -Kufa, xxiv, 38, 70, 127, 133, 134, 186, +189+, 193, 196, 198, 202, + 207-210, 215, 218, 219, 229, 250, 253, 291, 293, 296, 304, 342, + +343+, 344 + + -Kulab, battle of, 253 + + Kulayb (tribe), 244, 245 + + Kulayb b. RabiaEuro~a, 5, 55, 56, 57, 76, 93 + + Kulayb b. WaaEuro(TM)il, 110. + See _Kulayb b. RabiaEuro~a_ + + Kulthum b. Malik, 110 + + -Kumayt (poet), 138 + + _kunya_ (name of honour), 45, 50, 112 + + -KusaaEuro~i, 244 + + Kuthayyir (poet), 216 + + _-kutub al-sitta_ (the Six Books), 337 + + -Kutubi, 449, 452 + + + L + + La Fontaine, 469 + + Labid (poet), 50, 109, +119-121+, 128, 139, 140 + + Lagrange, Grangeret de, 396, 417 + + Lahore, 268 + + Lakhmites, the, of -Hira, 33, 38, +39-49+, 54, 69 + + Lamis (name of a woman), 82 + + _Lamiyyatu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~Ajam_, 326 + + _Lamiyyatu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~Arab_, +79+, +80+, 89, 134, 326 + + Lamta (tribe), 429 + + Lamtuna (tribe), 429 + + Lane, E. W., 53, 164, 448, 459 + + Lane-Poole, Stanley, 264, 275, 371, 432 + + -Lat (goddess), 135, 155 + + _LataaEuro(TM)ifu aEuro(TM)l-Minan_, 464 + + Latifi (Turkish biographer), 460 + + Laus duplex (rhetorical figure), 311 + + Law, Muhammadan, the schools of, 283, 284, 363, 465; + the first corpus of, 337 + + _Lawaqihu aEuro(TM)l-Anwar_, 225, 226, 392 + + -Lawh al-Mahfuz, 163, 378 + + Layla, mother of aEuro~Amr b. Kulthum, 44, 109, 110 + + Layla, the beloved of -Majnun, 238 + + Le Strange, G., 256, 356, 357 + + Learning, Moslem enthusiasm for, 281 + + Lees, Nassau, 386 + + Leo the Armenian, 359 + + Letter-writing, the art of, 267 + + Lexicon, the first Arabic, 343 + + Library of Nuh II, the Samanid, 265, 266; + of Hakam II, the Spanish Umayyad, 419 + + Linguistic Sciences, the, 282 + + Lippert, 370 + + _Lisanu aEuro(TM)l-Arab_, 456 + + Lisanu aEuro(TM)l-Din Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-Khatib. See _Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-Khatib_ + + Literary culture despised by the Arabs, 278 + + _litham_, 423 + + Littmann, Enno, 73 + + Logos, the, 403 + + Lollards, the, 374 + + Longland, 450 + + Loth, O., 1 + + Lourdes, 382 + + Love, Divine, the keynote of Sufiism, 231; + two kinds of, 234; + an ineffable mystery, 387; + hymn of, 396; + in Sufi poetry, 234, 397, 398, 402, 403 + + Loyalty, as understood by the heathen Arabs, 83-85 + + Lucian, 319 + + _-lugha_ (Lexicography), 283 + + Luhayy, 63 + + Lull, Raymond, 404 + + LuaEuro(TM)luaEuro(TM), 304 + + Luqman b. aEuro~Ad (king), 2, 14 + + _-Luzumiyyat_, 315, 316, 319, 323, 324 + + _Luzumu ma la yalzam_, 315. + See _-Luzumiyyat_ + + Lyall, Sir Charles, 32, 54, 71, 75, 82, 89, 92, 97, 101, 109, 111, + 112, 113, 114, 115, 117, 118, 120, 121, 125, 129, 139, 140, 149 + + + M + + MaaEuro(TM) al-Sama (surname), 41 + + MaaEuro(TM)ab, 63 + + _maaEuro~ad_ (place of return), 215 + + MaaEuro~add, xix, xx, 112 + + MaaEuro~arratu aEuro(TM)l-NuaEuro~man, 313, 314, 323 + + -MaaEuro~arri (Abu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~Ala), 448. + See _Abu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~Ala al-MaaEuro~arri_ + + MaaEuro~bad (singer), 236 + + MaaEuro~bad al-Juhani, 224 + + _Macbeth_, Arabian parallel to an incident in, 25 + + Macdonald, D. B., 273, 378, 382, 433 + + Macedonia, 276 + + Machiavelli, 439 + + Macoraba, 5, 62 + + Madagascar, 352 + + -MadaaEuro(TM)in (Ctesiphon), 29, 33, 46, 47, 48. + See _Ctesiphon_ + + MadaaEuro(TM)in Salih, 3 + + _-madh al-muwajjah_, 311 + + _-madid_ (metre), 98 + + _madih_ (panegyric), 78, 294 + + Madinatu aEuro(TM)l-Salam, 255. + See _Baghdad_ + + Madrid, 420 + + _mafakhir_, 100 + + _maghazi_, 247 + + -Maghrib, 460 + + Magi (Magians), the. See _Zoroastrians, the_ + + Magian fire-temple at Balkh, the, 259 + + Mahaffy, J. P., 82 + + Mahdi, the, +216+, +217+, 248, 249, 274, 431 + + -Mahdi, the Caliph, 103, 128, 257, 258, 296, 343, 367, 373, 374, 418 + + -Mahdiyya, 274 + + Mahmud (Ghaznevid), 268-269, 355 + + Mahra, dialect of, xxi + + Maimonides, 434 + + Majdu aEuro(TM)l-Din al-FA-rAºzAibAidA-. See _-FA-rAºzAibAidA-_ + + _-MajmuaEuro~ al-Mubarak_, 355 + + -Majnun, 238 + + _majnun_, 165 + + Malaga, 410, 421, 428, 434 + + Malik (boon companion of Jadhima), 35 + + Malik (brother of Qays b. Zuhayr), 61 + + Malik the Azdite, 34 + + Malik, the slayer of -Khatim b. aEuro~Adi, 94, 95 + + Malik b. Anas, 284, +337+, +366+, 408 + + -Malik al-Dillil (title of ImruaEuro(TM)u aEuro(TM)l-Qays), 104 + + -Malik al-Kamil (Ayyubid), 395, 434 + + -Malik al-Salih NajmuaEuro(TM)l-Din (Ayyubid), 447 + + Malik Shah (Seljuq), 275, 276, 326, 340 + + -Malik al-Zahir (Ayyubid), 275 + + -Malik al-Zahir Baybars. See _Baybars, Sultan_ + + Malikite books burned by the Almohades, 433 + + Malikite school of Law, the, 408 + + Mameluke dynasty, the, xxix, 442, 446, +447+, +448+, 453, 464 + + Mamelukes, the, 413 + + _mamluk_, 447 + + -MaaEuro(TM)mun, the Caliph, 92, 129, 255, 257, +262+, +283+, 284, 302, 343, + +358-359+, 361, +368+, 369, 373, 388 + + Manat (goddess), 135, 155 + + Mandeville, Sir John, xxv + + Manfred, 441 + + -Manfuha, 124 + + Mani (Manes), 364, 375 + + ManichA|ans, the, 218, 297, 341, 372-375. + See _Zindiqs, the_ + + -Mansur, the Caliph, 128, 206, 252, 253, 255, 257, +258-259+, 291, + 314, 337, 346, 349, 358, 373, 407 + + Mansur I (Samanid), 265, 352 + + -Mansur Ibn Abi aEuro~Amir, 412, 413, 426 + + _Mantle Ode (-Burda), the_, 326, 327 + + _maqama_, 328 + + _-Maqamat_, of BadiaEuro~u aEuro(TM)l-Zaman al- Hamadhani, 328, 329 + + _-Maqamat_, of -Hariri, 329-336 + + Maqamu Ibrahim, 63 + + -Maqdisi. See _-Muqaddasi_ + + -Maqqari, 399, 401, +413+, 418, 419, 427, 436, 454 + + -Maqrizi (Taqiyyu aEuro(TM)l-Din), 453 + + _-Maqsura_, 343 + + Marabout, modern form of _murabit_, 430 + + _Marasidu aEuro(TM)l-IttilaaEuro~_, 357 + + _marathi_, 294 + + Marathon, battle of, 174 + + Marcion, 364 + + Margoliouth, Prof. D. S., xxiv, 183, 267, 314, 316, 317, 319, 357, 469 + + Mariaba, 5 + + MaaEuro(TM)rib, 2, 5, 9, 14, 15, 16, 17, 50. + See _Dyke of MaaEuro(TM)rib_ + + Maridin, 449 + + _maaEuro~rifat_ (gnosis), 386 + + Marinid dynasty, the, 442 + + Mariya, mother of -Mundhir III, 41 + + Mariya (name of a handmaiden), 46, 47 + + Mariya of the Ear-rings, 50 + + Marj Rahit, battle of, 199 + + Marr al-Zahran, 95 + + Marriage, a loose form of, prevailing among the ShiaEuro~ites, 262 + + MaaEuro~ruf al-Karkhi, 385, 386, 388 + + Marwan I (Umayyad Caliph), 199 + + Marwan II (Umayyad Caliph), 181, 251, 253, 347 + + -Marzuqi (philologist), 128 + + _Masabihu aEuro(TM)l-Sunna_, 337 + + _Masaliku aEuro(TM)l-Mamalik_, 356 + + _-mashaf_, 294 + + Mashhad -Husayn, 466 + + Maslama b. Ahmad, 420 + + Masruq, 28 + + MasaEuro~ud, Sultan, 329. + See _Ghiyathu aEuro(TM)l-Din MasaEuro~ud_ + + -MasaEuro~udi, 13, 15, 37, 195, 203, 205, 206, 259, 260, 267, 349, + +352-354+, 387, 456 + + _Materia Medica_, by Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-Baytar, 434 + + _mathalib_, 100, 280 + + _Mathnawi, the_, by Jalalu aEuro(TM)l-Din Rumi, 404 + + _-Matin_, 428 + + _matlaaEuro~_, 309 + + _matn_, 144 + + Mauritania, 412 + + _-MawaaEuro~iz wa aEuro(TM)l-IaEuro~tibar fi dhikri aEuro(TM)l-Khitat wa aEuro(TM)l-Athar_, 453 + + -Mawali (the Clients), 198, 207, +219+, 222, +248+, 250, +278+, + +279+, 373 + + -Mawali (the Clients), coalesce with the ShiaEuro~ites, 198, 219, 220, + 250; + treated with contempt by the Arabs, 219, 248, 278, 279; + their culture, 248; + their influence, 278, 279 + + _mawaliyya_, a species of verse, 450 + + -Mawardi, 337, 338 + + Mawiyya, mother of -Mundhir III, 41 + + Mawiyya, wife of Hatim of TayyiaEuro(TM), 87 + + -Maydani, 31. + See _Proverbs, Arabic_ + + Maymun b. Qays. See _-AaEuro~sha_ + + Maysun, 195 + + Mazdak, 42, 258, 364 + + Mazyar, 375 + + Mecca, xviii, xxiii, xxvi, xxvii, 2, 3, 5, 6, 22, 28, 53, +62+, 63, + 64, 65-68, 101, 102, 114, 117, 146, 150, 154-156, 158, 169, 171, + 174, 175, 196, 198, 202, 236, 249, 274, 319, 339, 340, 395, 396, + 429, 431, 434, 439, 466, 468 + + Mecca, Pre-islamic history of, 62; + attacked by the Abyssinians, 66-69; + submits to the Prophet, 64, 175 + + Mecca, the dialect of, xxiii + + _Meccan Revelations, the_, 464. + See _Futuhat al-Makkiyya_ + + Meccan _Suras_ of the Koran, the, 160-168 + + Media, 356 + + Medina (-Madina), xxvi, xxvii, 3, 21, 22, 49, 50, 52, 62, 71, 84, + 150, 157, 158, 169, 170, 171, 173, 175, 176, 177, 181, 185, 186, + 188, 198, 208, 209, 236, 241, 243, 337, 339, 365, 466, 468 + + Medina, _Suras_ of the Koran revealed at, 175, 176 + + Mediterranean Sea, the, 5, 255, 275, 404, 412, 444 + + Merv, 252, 346 + + Merx, A., 384, 389 + + Mesopotamia, 35, 186, 238, 240, 269, 355, 358, 385, 388, 411, 446 + + Messiah, Moslem beliefs regarding the, 215-217, 248, 249. + See _Mahdi, the_ + + Metempsychosis, the doctrine of, 267 + + Metres, the Arabian, 74, 75 + + Mevlevi dervish order, the, 393 + + _mihna_, 368 + + -Mihras, 124 + + Mihrgan, Persian festival, 250 + + Milton, 212 + + Mina, 119 + + MinA|an language, the, xxi + + MinA|ans, the, 7 + + _minbar_ (pulpit), 199 + + Minqar, 57 + + Miqlab (castle), 24 + + Miracles demanded by the Quraysh from Muhammad, 165; + falsely attributed to Muhammad, 166 + + _-MiaEuro~raj_ (the Ascension of the Prophet), 169, 403 + + _MiraEuro(TM)atu aEuro(TM)l-Zaman_, 355 + + _Mishkatu aEuro(TM)l-Masabih_, 337 + + _Misr_ (Old Cairo), 394 + + _misraaEuro~_ (hemistich), 74 + + _-Mishar_, 455. + See _-Muzhir_ + + Moguls, the Great, xxix, 444 + + Moliere, 469 + + Monasticism, alien to Islam, 225 + + Mongol Invasion, the, xxiv, xxix, xxx, 272, 277, 326, 443, +444-446+ + + Mongols, the, 254, 264, 275, 442, 443, 462. + See _Mongol Invasion, the_ + + _Monte Cristo_, 469 + + Montrose, 191 + + Mordtmann, 9 + + Morocco, 264, 341, 423, 424, 430, 431, 442 + + Moses, 165, 172, 185, 215, 273, 397 + + Moslem, meaning of, 153 + + Moslems, the first, 153 + + Moslems, the non-Arabian. See _-Mawali_ + + Mosul (-Mawsil), 261, 269, 281, 326, 355, 362, 399, 445, 454 + + _-MuaEuro~allaqat_, 77, 82, +101-121+, 128, 131, 416, 459 + + MuaEuro~awiya b. Abi Sufyan (Caliph), xxviii, 13, 119, 181, 191, 192, 193, + +194-195+, 196, 206, 207, 208, 213, 214, 222, 256, 377, 407, 426 + + MuaEuro~awiya b. Bakr (Amalekite prince), 2 + + MuaEuro~awiya, brother of -Khansa, 126 + + MuaEuro(TM)ayyidu aEuro(TM)l-Dawla (Buwayhid), 267 + + -Mubarrad (philologist), 92, 131, 202, 226, 237, 244, +343+, +344+ + + Mudar b. Nizar, xix, 252 + + Mudar, the tribes descended from, xix + + _-Mudhhabat, -Mudhahhabat_, 101 + + -Mutaddal al-Dabbi (philologist), +128+, 133, +343+ + + Mufaddal b. Salama, 31 + + _-Mufaddaliyyat_, 90, +128+, 343 + + -Mughammas, 69 + + _muhajat_ (scolding-match), 238 + + -Muhajirun (the Emigrants), 171, 209 + + Muhalhil b. RabiaEuro~a, 58, 76, 109, 110 + + -Muhallab b. Abi Sufra, 239 + + -Muhallabi, the Vizier, 267, 347 + + Muhammad, the Prophet, xxiii, xxvi-xxviii, 3, 10, 15, 18, 27, 30, 51, + 62, 64, 65, 66, 69, 70, 71, 74, 86, 87, 105, 124, 132, 134, 135, + 137, 139, +141-180+, 181-183, 186-188, 190-193, 201, 202, 207-209, + 213-218, 223, 224, 229, 231, 233, +235+, 237, 249, 250, 251, 257, + 258, 267, 273, 274, 277, 278, 279, 280, 318, 327, 330, 341, 342, + 348, 349, 355, 356, 380, 383, 392, 400, 403, 420, 428, 433, 449, + 455, 462, 463, 465, +467+ + + Muhammad, question whether he could read and write, 151; + his attitude towards the heathen poets, 159, 212, 235; + his aim in the Meccan _Suras_, 160; + his death, 175; + his character, 179, 180; + biographies of, 144, 146, 247, 349; + poems in honour of, 124, 127, 326, 327, 449; + mediA|val legend of, 327; + identified with the Logos, 403; + pilgrimage to the tomb of, 463; + his tomb demolished by the Wahhabis, 467 + + Muhammad (aEuro~Alid), 258 + + Muhammad (Seljuq), 326 + + Muhammad b. aEuro~Abd al-Wahhab, 465-467 + + Muhammad b. aEuro~Ali (aEuro~Abbasid), 251 + + Muhammad aEuro~Ali Pasha, 466, 468 + + Muhammad b. aEuro~Ali b. -Sanusi, 468 + + Muhammad Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-Hanafiyya, 216, 218, 220 + + Muhammad b. -Hasan, the Imam, 217 + + Muhammad b. IsmaaEuro~il, the Imam, 217, 272-274 + + Muhammad al-Kalbi, 348 + + Muhammad b. SaaEuro~ud, 466 + + -Muhtadi, the Caliph, 264 + + Muhyi aEuro(TM)l-Din Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~Arabi, +399-404+, 434, 462 + + Muhyi aEuro(TM)l-MawaEuro(TM)udat (title), 243 + + Muir, Sir W., 142, 143, 146, 156, 184, 197, 338 + + -MuaEuro~izz (Fatimid Caliph), 420 + + MuaEuro~izzu aEuro(TM)l-Dawla (Buwayhid), 266, 267, 347 + + -MujammiaEuro~ (title), 65 + + _MuaEuro~jamu aEuro(TM)l-Buldan_, 17, 357 + + _MuaEuro~jamu aEuro(TM)l-Udaba_, 357 + + Mukarrib (title), 10 + + -Mukhadramun (a class of poets), 127 + + -Mukhtar, 198, +218-220+, 250 + + _-Mukhtarat_, 128 + + -Muktafi, the Caliph, 257, 269, 325 + + -Mulaththamun, 423 + + MA1/4ller, A., 5, 101, 261, 266, 355, 429 + + MA1/4ller, D. H., 9, 10, 12, 13, 17, 18, 24 + + Multan, 203 + + Muluku aEuro(TM)l-TawaaEuro(TM)if (the Party Kings of Spain), 414 + + -Munafiqun (the Hypocrites), 171, 172, 176 + + -Munakhkhal (poet), 49 + + -Mundhir I (Lakhmite), 41 + + -Mundhir III (Lakhmite), +41-44+, 45, 50, 51, 60, 87, 103, 104 + + -Mundhir IV (Lakhmite), 45, 47 + + -Mundhir b. -Harith (Ghassanid), 50, 52 + + -Mundhir b. MaaEuro(TM) al-sama, 50, 51. + See _-Mundhir III_ + + -Munjibat (title), 88 + + Munk, S., 360 + + _-Munqidh mina aEuro(TM)l-Dalal_, 340, 380 + + _munshi_, 326 + + -Muqaddasi (geographer), 356, 357, 409 + + _-Muqaddima_, of Ibn Khaldun, 32, 229, 278, 289, +437-440+. + See _Ibn Khaldun_ + + -MuqannaaEuro~, 258 + + -Muqattam, Mt., 394, 396 + + _-Muqtabis_, 428 + + -Muqtadir, the Caliph, 325, 343, 399 + + _-murabit_, 430 + + -Murabitun, 433. + See _Almoravides, the_ + + _murid_, 392 + + _murjiaEuro(TM)_ (Murjite), 221 + + Murjites, the, 206, 220, +221-222+, 428 + + Murra, 56, 57, 58 + + Mursiya (Murcia), 399 + + _Muruju aEuro(TM)l-Dhahab_, 13, 15, 37, 195, 203, 205, 206, 259, 260, 267, + +349+, +353+, +354+, 387, 457 + + _muruwwa_ (virtue), 72, 82, 178, 287 + + Musa b. Maymun (Maimonides), 434 + + Musa b. Nusayr, 203, 204, 405 + + Musa b. aEuro~Uqba, 247 + + MusaEuro~ab, 199 + + Musaylima, 183 + + _-Mushtarik_, 357 + + Music in Pre-Isiamic Arabia, 236 + + Musicians, Arab, 236 + + _-musiqi_ (Music), 283 + + Muslim (Moslem), meaning of, 153 + + Muslim (author of _-Sahih_), 144, 337 + + Muslim b. aEuro~Aqil, 196 + + Muslim b. -Walid (poet), 261 + + _musnad_ (inscriptions), 6 + + -Mustakfi (Spanish Umayyad), 424 + + -Mustakfi, aEuro~Abbasid Caliph, 266 + + -Mustansir (aEuro~Abbasid), 448 + + -Mustarshid Billah, the Caliph, 329 + + -MustaaEuro~sim, the Caliph, 254, 445 + + -Mustawrid b. aEuro~Ullifa, 210 + + _-mutaEuro~a_, 262 + + -MuaEuro~tadid (aEuro~Abbadid), 421, 425 + + -MuaEuro~tadid (aEuro~Abbasid Caliph), 325 + + -MuaEuro~tamid (aEuro~Abbadid), 421-424 + + -Mutajarrida, 49, 122 + + -Mutalammis (poet), 107, 108, 138 + + Mutammim b. Nuwayra, 127 + + -Mutanabbi (poet), 266, 269, +270+, 289, 290, 291, 292, +304-313+, + 315, 316, 324, 396, 416, 448 + + _mutasawwifa_ (aspirants to Sufiism), 229 + + -MuaEuro~tasim, the Caliph, 129, 257, 263, 369, 375 + + -Mutawakkil, the Caliph, 257, 264, 284, 344, 350, 369, +375+, +376+, + 388 + + _mutawakkil_, 233 + + MuaEuro~tazilites, the, 206, 220, +222-224+, 225, 230, 262, 268, 284, 346, + +367-370+, 376, 377, 378, 392, 409, 428, 431 + + -MuaEuro~tazz, the Caliph, 325 + + -MutiaEuro~, the Caliph, 353 + + MutiaEuro~ b. Iyas (poet), 291, 292 + + _muwahhid_, 432 + + -Muwalladun, 278, 408 + + _muwashshah_, verse-form, 416, 417, 449 + + _-MuwattaaEuro(TM)_, 337, 408, 409 + + Muzaffar Qutuz (Mameluke), 446 + + Muzayna (tribe), 116 + + -Muzayqiya (surname), 15 + + _-Muzhir_, 71, 455 + + Mystical poetry of the Arabs, the, 325, 396-398, 403 + + Mysticism. See _Sufiism_ + + + N + + -Nabat, the NabatA|ans, xxv, 279 + + NabatA|an, Moslem use of the term, xxv + + _NabatA|an Agriculture, the Book of_, xxv + + NabatA|an inscriptions, xxv, 3 + + -Nabigha al-Dhubyam (poet), 39, 49, 50, +54+, 86, 101, +121-123+, 128, + 139 + + _nadhir_ (warner), 164 + + Nadir (tribe), 170 + + -Nadr b. -Harith, 330 + + _Nafahatu aEuro(TM)l'Uns_, by Jami, 386 + + _Nafhu aEuro(TM)l-Tib_, by -Maqqari, 399, 413, 436 + + NafiaEuro~ b. -Azraq, 208 + + -Nafs al-zakiyya (title), 258 + + -Nahhas (philologist), 102 + + -Nahrawan, battle of, 208 + + _-nahw_ (grammar), 283 + + NaaEuro(TM)ila, 35 + + -Najaf, 40 + + -Najashi (the Negus), 26, 27, 28 + + Najd, xvii, 62, 107, 466 + + Najda b. aEuro~Amir, 209 + + Najdites (a Kharijite sect), the, 208 + + Najran, 26, 27, 105, 124, 136, 137, 162 + + NaaEuro~man, 11 + + Namir (tribe), xix + + Napoleon, 468 + + _-NaqaaEuro(TM)id_, of -Akhtal and Jarir, 240 + + _-NaqaaEuro(TM)id_, of Jarir and -Farazdaq, 239 + + Naqb al-Hajar, 8 + + -Nasafi (Abu aEuro(TM)l-Barakat), 456 + + -NasaaEuro(TM)i, 337 + + Nashwan b. SaaEuro~id al-Himyari, 12, 13 + + _nasib_ (erotic prelude), 77, 310 + + Nasim, a place near Baghdad, 461 + + -Nasimi (the Hurufi poet), 460, 461 + + Nasir-i Khusraw, Persian poet, 323 + + Nasiru aEuro(TM)l-Dawla (Hamdanid), 269, 411 + + Nasr b. Sayyar, 251 + + Nasr II (Samanid), 265 + + Nasrid dynasty of Granada, the, 435, 442 + + _nataEuro~_, 257 + + -Nawaji (Muhammad b. -Hasan), 417 + + Nawar, wife of -Farazdaq, 243, 244 + + Nawar, the beloved of Labid, 121 + + Nawruz, Persian festival, 250 + + Naysabur, 232, 276, 338, 339, 340, 348 + + _Nazmu aEuro(TM)l-Suluk_, 396 + + -Nazzam, 369 + + Neo-platonism, 360, 384, 389, 390 + + Neo-platonist philosophers welcomed by Nushirwan, 358 + + Nero, 325 + + Nessus, 104 + + Nicephorus, 261 + + Niebuhr, Carsten, 7 + + Night journey of Muhammad, the, 169, 403 + + Night of Power, the, 150 + + _Nihayatu aEuro(TM)l-ArAib_, 455 + + Nile, the, xxviii, 264, 354, 455 + + Nirvana, 233, 391 + + -Nizamiyya College, at Baghdad, 276, 340, 380, 431 + + -Nizamiyya College, at Naysabur, 276, 340 + + Nizamu aEuro(TM)l-Mulk, 276, 340, 379 + + Nizar, xix + + Noah, xv, xviii, 165 + + NA¶ldeke, Th., xv, xx, xxxiii, xxv, 5, 27, 29, 38, 42, 44, 45, 48, 49, + 51, 52, 54, 55, 57-60, 66, 70, 78, 80, 83, 101, 102, 103, 109, 113, + 122, 123, 126, 127, 130, 134, 145, 151, 160, 167, 172, 184, 195, + 228, 237, 238, 249, 252, 258, 288 + + Nomadic life, characteristics of, 439, 440 + + Nominalists, 367 + + Normans, the, 441 + + Nubia, 387 + + Nuh I (Samanid), 265 + + Nuh II (Samanid), 265 + + _-Nujum al-ZAihira_, 257, 262, 268, 369, +454+ + + -NuaEuro~man I (Lakhmite), 40, 41, 139 + + -NuaEuro~man III (Lakhmite), +45-49+, 50, 53, 54, 69, 86, 121, 122 + + -NuaEuro~man al-Akbar. See _NuaEuro~man I_ + + -NuaEuro~man al-AaEuro~war (Lakhmite). See _-NuaEuro~man I_ + + -NuaEuro~man b. -Mundhir Abu Qabus. See _-NuaEuro~man III_ + + Numayr (tribe), 245, 246 + + -Nuri (Abu aEuro(TM)l-Husayn), 392 + + Nushirwan (Sasanian king), 29, 42, 45, 358 + + -Nuwayri, 15, 455 + + Nyberg, H. S., 404 + + + O + + Occam, 367 + + Ockley, Simon, 433 + + Ode, the Arabian, 76-78. + See _qasida_ + + Odenathus, 33, 35 + + _Odyssey, the_, xxii + + O'Leary, De Lacy, 360 + + Ordeal of fire, the, 23 + + Orthodox Caliphs, the, xxiii, xxvii, 181-193 + + Orthodox Reaction, the, 284, 376. + See _-AshaEuro~ari_ + + Osiander, 9 + + Ottoman Turks, the, xxix, 442, 447, 464-467 + + Oxus, the, xxviii, 341, 444 + + + P + + Pahlavi (Pehlevi) language, the, 214, 330, 346, 348, 358 + + Palermo, 441 + + Palestine, 52, 104, 137, 229 + + Palmer, E. H., 172, 176, 260 + + Palms, the Feast of, 54 + + Palm-tree, verses on the, by aEuro~Abd al-Rahman I, 418 + + Palm-trees of Hulwan, the two, 292 + + Palmyra, 33, 53 + + Panegyric, two-sided (rhetorical figure), 311 + + Panjab (Punjaub), the, 203, 268 + + Pantheism, 231, 233, 234, 275, 372, +390+, +391+, 394, +402+, +403+, + 460 + + Paracelsus, 388 + + Paradise, the Muhammadan, burlesqued by AbuaEuro(TM)l -aEuro~Ala al-MaaEuro~arri, 318, + 319 + + Parthian kings, the, 457 + + Parwez, son of Hurmuz (Sasanian), 48, 69 + + Passion Play, the, 218 + + _Paul and Virginia_, 469 + + Pavet de Courteille, 349 + + Pearl-fishing in the Persian Gulf, 354 + + Pedro of Castile, 437 + + Penitents, the (a name given to certain ShiaEuro~ite insurgents), 218 + + Pentateuch, the, 165, 171, 323 + + Perfect Man, doctrine of the, 402 + + Persecution of the early Moslems, 154, 155, 157; + of heretics, 224, 368, 369, 372-375, 376, 436, 460, 461 + + Persepolis, 356 + + Persia, xxiv, xxvii, xxix, 21, 29, 33, 34, 38, 41, 42, 48, 113, 169, + 182, 184, 185, 188, 208, 214, 247, 255, 258, 265, 266, 274, 279, + 328, 348, 349, 390, 394, 404, 444, 446, 454, 457 + + Persia, the Moslem conquest of, 184 + + Persia, the national legend of, 349 + + Persian divines, influence of the, 278 + + Persian Gulf, the, 4, 107, 354, 357 + + Persian influence on Arabic civilisation and literature, xxviii, + xxix, 182, 250, 256, 265, 267, +276-281+, 287, 288, 290, 295, 418 + + Persian influence on the ShiaEuro~a, 214, 219 + + _Persian Kings, History of the_, translated by Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-MuqaffaaEuro~, 348 + + Persian literature, fostered by the Samanids and Buwayhids, 265, 303 + + Persian Moslems who wrote in Arabic, xxx, xxxi, 276-278 + + Persians, the, rapidly became Arabicised, 280, 281 + + Persians, the, in -Yemen, 29 + + Petra, xxv, 5 + + Petrarch, 425 + + Pharaoh, 162, 403 + + Pharaohs, the, 4, 5 + + Philip III, 441 + + Philistines, the, 3 + + Philologists, the Arab, xxiv, 32, 127, 128, 133, 246, +341-348+ + + Philosophers, the Greeks 341, 363 + + Philosophers, the Moslem, 360, 361, 381, 382, 432-434 + + _Philosophers and scientists, Lives of the_, by Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-Qifti, 355 + + _Philosophus Autodidactus_, 433 + + PhA"nician language, the, xvi + + PhA"nicians, the, xv + + _Physicians, History of the_, by Ibn Abi UsaybiaEuro~a, 266, 355 + + Piers the Plowman, 450 + + Pietists, the, 207, 208 + + Pilgrimage to Mecca, the, 63, 65, 135, 136, 319 + + Pilgrimage, of the ShiaEuro~ites, to the tomb of -Husayn at Karbala, 218, + 466 + + _pir_ (Persian word), 392 + + Plato, 204 + + Plutarch, 363 + + Pocock, E., 433 + + _Poems of the Hudhaylites, the_, 128 + + Poems, the Pre-islamic, xxii, xxiii, 30, 31, +71-140+, 282, 285-289, + 290; + chief collections of, 127-131; + the tradition of, 131-134; + first put into writing, 132 + + _Poems, the Suspended._ See _-MuaEuro~allaqat_ + + Poetics, work on, by Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-MuaEuro~tazz, 325 + + Poetry, Arabian, the origins of, 72-75; + the decline of, not due to Muhammad, 235; + in the Umayyad period, 235-246; + in the aEuro~Abbasid period, 285-336; + in Spain, 415-417, 425, 426; + after the Mongol Invasion, 448-450 + + Poetry, conventions of the Ancient, criticised, 286, 288, 315 + + Poetry, Muhammadan views regarding the merits of, 308-312; + intimately connected with public life, 436; + seven kinds of, 450 + + Poetry, the oldest written Arabic, 138 + + _Poetry and Poets, Book of_, by Ibn Qutayba. See _Kitabu aEuro(TM)l-ShiaEuro~r + wa-aEuro(TM)l-ShuaEuro~ara_ + + Poets, the Modern, 289-336; + judged on their merits by Ibn Qutayba, 287; + pronounced superior to the Ancients, 288, 289 + + Poets, the Pre-islamic, character and position of, 71-73; + regarded as classical, xxiii, 72, 285, 286 + + Politics, treatise on, by -Mawardi, 337, 338 + + Portugal, 416 + + Postal service, organised by aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-Malik, 201 + + Postmaster, the office of, 45 + + PrA|torius, F., 10 + + Prayers, the five daily, 149, 168 + + Predestination, 157, 223, 224, 378, 379 + + Preston, Theodore, 330 + + Prideaux, W. F., 11, 13 + + Primitive races in Arabia, 1-4 + + Proclus, 389 + + Procreation, considered sinful, 317 + + Prophecy, a, made by the Carmathians, 322 + + Prose, Arabic, the beginnings of, 31 + + Proverbs, Arabic, 3, 16, +31+, 50, 84, 91, 109, 244, 292, 373 + + Ptolemies, the, 276 + + Ptolemy (geographer), 3, 358 + + Public recitation of literary works, 314 + + Pyramids, the, 354 + + Pyrenees, the, xxviii, 204 + + Pythagoras, 102 + + + Q + + Qabus (Lakhmite), 44, 45, 52 + + _qadar_ (power), 224 + + -Qadariyya (the upholders of free-will), 224 + + _qaddah_ (oculist), 271 + + _qadA- aEuro(TM)l-qudat_ (Chief Justice), 395 + + Qadiri dervish order, the, 393 + + -Qahira, 275, 394. + See _Cairo qahramana_, 457 + + Qahtan, xviii, 12, 14, 18, 200 + + _QalaaEuro(TM)idu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~Iqyan_, 425 + + _-Qamus_, 403, 456 + + _-Qanun_, 361 + + _qaraaEuro(TM)a_, 159 + + -Qarafa cemetery, 396 + + -Qaramita, 274. + See _Carmathians, the_ + + _qarawi_, 138 + + _qarn_, meaning 'ray', 18 + + _qasida_ (ode), 76-78, 105, 288 + + _qasida_ (ode), form of the, 76, 77; + contents and divisions of the, 77, 78; + loose structure of the, 134; + unsuitable to the conditions of urban life, 288 + + _Qasidatu aEuro(TM)l-Burda_. See _-Burda_ + + _Qasidatu aEuro(TM)l-Himyariyya,_ 12 + + Qasir, 36, 37 + + Qasirin, 111 + + Qasiyun, Mt., 399 + + -Qastallani, 455 + + Qatada, 294 + + Qatari b. -FuiaaEuro(TM)a, 213 + + -Qayrawan, 264, 429 + + Qays aEuro~Aylan (tribe), xix, 199, 293, 405 + + Qays b. -Khatim, 94-97, 137 + + Qays b. Zuhayr, 61, 62 + + Qaysar (title), 45 + + Qazwin, 445 + + -Qazwini (geographer), 416 + + Qift, 355 + + _qiyas_, 297 + + Qoniya, 404 + + QuatremA"re, M., xxv, 437, 445, 453 + + Qudar the Red, 3 + + Qumis (province), 391 + + _-QuraEuro(TM)an_, 159. + See _Koran, the_ + + Quraysh (tribe), xix, xxiii, xxvii, 22, +64+, 65-68, 117, 124, 134, + 142, 146, 153-158, 164, 165, 170, 174, 175, 183, 207, 216, +237+, + 241, 279, 330, 347, 375, 407, 417 + + Quraysh, the dialect of, xxiii, 142; + regarded as the classical standard, xxiii, 134 + + Qurayza (tribe), 21, 170 + + _qurra_ (Readers of the Koran), 277. + See _Koran-readers, the_ + + Qusayy, 64, 65, 146 + + -Qushayri, 226, 227, 228, 230, +338+, 379 + + Quss b. SaaEuro~ida, 136 + + _qussas_, 374 + + Qusta b. Luqa, 359 + + _Qutu aEuro(TM)l-Qulub_, 338, 393 + + + R + + _rabad_, 409 + + RabiaEuro~, son of Fatima, the daughter of -Khurshub, 88 + + RabiaEuro~a al-aEuro~Adawiyya, 227, 232, +233-234+ + + RabiaEuro~a b. Nizar, xix, 5 + + RabiaEuro~a (b. Nizar), the descendants of, xix + + Racine, 469 + + -Radi, the Caliph, 376 + + Radwa, Mount, 216 + + Rafidites, the, 268. + See _ShiaEuro~ites, the_ + + RaaEuro~i aEuro(TM)l-ibil (poet), 245, 246 + + _rajaEuro~a_ (palingenesis), 215 + + _-rajaz_ (metre), 74, 75, 76, 77 + + Rakhman, 126 + + Rakusians, the, 149 + + Ralfs, C. A., 327 + + Ramadan, the Fast of, 224, 450 + + Ramla, 229 + + Raqqada, 274 + + _RasaaEuro(TM)ilu Ikhwan al-Safa_, 370, 371 + + Rasmussen, 61 + + Rationalism. See _MuaEuro~tazilites_ and _Free-thought_ + + -Rawda, island on the Nile, 455 + + _rawi_ (reciter), 131 + + Rawis, the, 131-134 + + Raydan, 10 + + -Rayy, 258, 259, 268, 333, 350, 361, 420, 445 + + -Rayyan, 120 + + -Razi (Abu Bakr), physician, 361. + See _Abu Bakr al-Razi_ + + -Razi (Abu Bakr), historian, 420 + + Reading and writing despised by the pagan Arabs, 39 + + Realists, 368 + + Red Sea, the, 4, 5, 62 + + Reformation, the, 468 + + Reforms of aEuro~Abdu aEuro(TM)l-Malik, 201; + of aEuro~Umar b. aEuro~Abd al-aEuro~Aziz, 205 + + Register of aEuro~Umar, the, 187, 188 + + Reiske, 15, 102, 308, 312, 316, 331 + + Religion, conceived as a product of the human mind, 317 + + Religion of the SabA|ans and Himyarites, 10, 11; + of the Pagan Arabs, 56, 135-140, 164, 166; + associated with commerce, 135, 154 + + Religions and Sects, Book of, by -Shahrastam, 341; + by Ibn Hazm, 341. + See _Kitabu aEuro(TM)l-Milal wa-aEuro(TM)l-Nihal_ + + Religious ideas in Pre-islamic poetry, 117, 119, 123, 124, 135-140 + + Religious literature in the aEuro~Abbasid period, 337-341 + + Religious poetry, 298-302 + + Renaissance, the, 443 + + Renan, xv, 432 + + Renegades, the, 408, 415, 426 + + Resurrection, the, 166, 215, 297, 299, 316 + + Revenge, views of the Arabs concerning, 93, 94; + poems relating to, 97 + + Rhages. See _-Rayy_ + + Rhapsodists, the, 131 + + Rhazes, 265, 361. + See _Abu Bakr al-Razi_ + + Rhetoric, treatise on, by -Jahiz, 347 + + Rhinoceros, the, 354 + + Rhymed Prose. See _sajaEuro~_ + + Ribah b. Murra, 25 + + _ribat_, 276, 430 + + Richelieu, 195 + + RifaaEuro~i dervish order, the, 393 + + -Rijam, 119 + + _Risalatu aEuro(TM)l-Ghufran_, 166, 167, 206, +318+, +319+, +375+ + + _-Risalat al-Qushayriyya_, 226, 227, 338 + + Roderic, 204, 405 + + RA¶diger, Emil, 8 + + Roger II of Sicily, 434 + + Rome, 33, 34, 41, 43, 50, 52, 113, 252, 314. + See _Byzantine Empire, the_ + + Ronda, 410 + + Rosary, use of the, prohibited, 467 + + Rosen, Baron V., 375 + + Rothstein, Dr. G., 37, 53 + + -RubaEuro~ al-Khali, xvii + + Rubicon, the, 252 + + RA1/4ckert, Friedrich, 93, 97, 104, 292, 332 + + Rudagi, Persian poet, 265 + + Ruhu aEuro(TM)l-Quds (the Holy Ghost), 150 + + _-rujz_, 152 + + Ruknu aEuro(TM)l-Dawla (Buwayhid), 266, 267 + + -Rumaykiyya, 422 + + Rushayyid al-Dahdah, 394, 396 + + Rustam, 330, 363 + + Ruzbih, 346. + See _Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-MuqaffaaEuro~_ + + + S + + -SaaEuro~b Dhu aEuro(TM)l-Qarnayn, 17 + + _-SabaEuro~ al-Tiwal_ (the Seven Long Poems), 103 + + Saba (Sheba), xxv, 1, +4+, +5+, 6, 10, 16, 17. + See _SabA|ans, the_ + + Saba (person), 14 + + SabA|an language, the, xvi. + See _South Arabic language, the_ + + SabA|ans, the, xv, xvii, xviii, xx, xxi, 1, +4+, +5+, 7, 14, 17 + + SabaaEuro(TM)ites, the, a ShiaEuro~ite sect, 215, 216, 217, 219 + + Sabians, the, 149, 341, 354, 358, 363, 364, 388 + + -SabaEuro~iyya (the Seveners), 217 + + Sabota, 5 + + Sabuktagin, 268 + + Sabur I, 33 + + Sabur b. Ardashir, 267, 314 + + Sachau, E., xxii, 361 + + Sacy, Silvestre de, 8, 80, 102, 353, 354 + + SaaEuro~d (client of Jassas b. Murra), 56, 57 + + SaaEuro~d (tribe), 147 + + SaaEuro~d b. Malik b. DubayaEuro~a, 57 + + _sada_ (owl or wraith), 94, 166 + + SaaEuro~d-ilah, 11 + + _sadin_, 259 + + -Sadir (castle), 41 + + Sadru aEuro(TM)l-Din of Qoniya, 404 + + _safa_ (purity), 228, 370 + + Safa, the inscriptions of, xxi + + -Safadi, 326, 456 + + _Safar-Nama_, 324 + + Safawid dynasty, the, xxix + + -Saffah, 253, 254, 257, 259 + + -Saffah b. aEuro~Abd Manat, 253 + + -Saffah, meaning of the title, 253 + + -Saffar (title), 265 + + Saffarid dynasty, the, 265 + + _safi_ (pure), 228 + + Safiyyu aEuro(TM)l-Din al-Hilli (poet), 449, 450 + + _sag_ (Persian word), 445 + + -Sahaba (the Companions of the Prophet), 229 + + Sahara, the, 423, 429, 468 + + -Sahib IsmaaEuro~il b. aEuro~Abbad, 267, 347 + + Sahibu aEuro(TM)l-Zanadiqa (title), 373 + + _-Sahih_, of -Bukhari, 144, 146, 337 + + _-Sahih_, of Muslim, 144, 337 + + Sahl b. aEuro~Abdallah al-Tustari, 392 + + SaaEuro~id b. -Husayn, 274 + + St. John, the Cathedral of, 203 + + St. Thomas, the Church of, at -Hira, 46 + + Saints, female, 233 + + Saints, the Moslem, 386, 393, 395, 402, 403, 463, 467 + + _saj_ (rhymed prose), 74, 75, 159, 327, 328 + + Sakhr, brother of -Khansa, 126, 127 + + SalaEuro~, 398 + + Saladin, 275, 348, 355 + + Salahu aEuro(TM)l-Din b. Ayyub, 275. + See _Saladin_ + + Salama b. Khalid, 253 + + Salaman, 433 + + Salaman (tribe), 79 + + Salamya, 274 + + Salih (prophet), 3 + + Salih (tribe), 50 + + Salih b. aEuro~Abd al-Quddus, 372-375 + + Salim al-Suddi, 204 + + Saltpetre industry, the, at -Basra, 273 + + Sam b. Nuh, xviii. See _Shem, the son of Noah_ + + _samaaEuro~_ (oral tradition), 297 + + _samaaEuro~_ (religious music), 394 + + SamahaEuro~ali Yanuf, 10, 17 + + -SamaEuro~ani 339 + + Samanid dynasty, the, +265+, +266+, 268, 271, 303 + + Samarcand, 203, 268, 447 + + Samarra, 263 + + -SamawaEuro(TM)al b. aEuro~Adiya, 84, 85 + + Samuel Ha-Levi, 428, 429 + + SanaEuro~a, 8, 9, 17, 24, 28, 66, 215 + + _sanad_, 144 + + -Sanhaji, 456 + + Sanjar (Seljuq), 264 + + -Sanusi (Muhammad b. Yusuf), 456 + + Sanusiyya Brotherhood, the, 468 + + -Saqaliba, 413 + + _Saqtu aEuro(TM)l-Zand_, 313, 315 + + Sarabi (name of a she-camel), 56 + + Sargon, King, 4 + + Sari al-Raffa (poet), 270 + + Sari al-Saqati, 386 + + Saruj, 330, 331, 332 + + SaaEuro~saaEuro~a, 242 + + Sasanian dynasty, the, 34, 38, 40, 41, 42, 214, 256, 358, 457 + + Sasanian kings, the, regarded as divine, 214 + + Satire, 73, 200, 245, 246 + + Saturn and Jupiter, conjunction of, 322 + + SaaEuro~ud b. aEuro~Abd al-aEuro~Aziz b. Muhammad b. SaaEuro~ud, 466 + + Sawa, 333 + + Sayf b. Dhi Yazan, 29 + + -Sayfiyya College, the, in Cairo, 395 + + Sayfu aEuro(TM)l-Dawla (Hamdanid), +269-271+, +303-307+, 311, 313, 360 + + Saylu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~Arim, 14 + + Schack, A. F. von, 360, 416, 436, 441 + + Schefer, C., 324 + + Scheherazade, 457 + + Scholasticism, Muhammadan, 284, 363, 460. + See _-AshaEuro~ari_; _AshaEuro~arites_; _Orthodox Reaction_ + + Schreiner, 379 + + Schulthess, F., 87 + + Sciences, the Foreign, 282, 283, 358-364 + + Sciences, the Moslem, development and classification of, +282+, +283+ + + Scripture, People of the, 341 + + Sea-serpent, the, 354 + + SA(C)dillot, 360 + + Seetzen, Ulrich Jasper, 8 + + Seleucids, the, 276 + + Self, dying to (fana), the Sufi doctrine of, 233 + + Selim I (Ottoman Sultan), 448 + + Seljuq dynasty, the, 264, 265, 268, +275+, +276+, 326, 445 + + Seljuq b. Tuqaq, 275 + + Seljuq Turks, the, 275, 444 + + Sell, Rev. E., 468 + + Semites, the, xv, xvi, 1, 328 + + Semitic languages, the, xv, xvi + + Senegal, 430 + + Seville, 399, 406, 416, 420, 421, 422, 424, 425, 427, 431, 435, 437, + 447 + + Shabib, 209 + + Shabwat, 5 + + Shaddad (king), 1 + + Shaddad b. -Aswad al-Laythi, 166 + + _Shadharatu aEuro(TM)l-Dhahab_, 339, 399, 436, 460 + + -Shadhili (Abu aEuro(TM)l-Hasan), 461 + + Shadhili order of dervishes, 393, 461 + + -ShafiaEuro~i, 284, 409 + + ShafiaEuro~ite doctors, biographical work on the, 339 + + _Shahnama, the_, by Firdawsi, 265, 325 + + -Shahrastani, 211, 216, 220, 221, 223, 224, 297, +341+, 388 + + Shahrazad, 457 + + _shaaEuro~ir_ (poet), 72, 73 + + Shakespeare, 252 + + Shamir b. Dhi aEuro(TM)l-Jawshan, 196, 197, 198 + + Shams (name of a god), 11 + + Shams b. Malik, 81 + + Shamsiyya, Queen of Arabia, 4 + + _Shamsu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~Ulum_, 13 + + -Shanfara, +79-81+, 89, 97, 134, 326 + + Shaqiq (Abu aEuro~Ali), of Balkh, 232, 233, 385 + + Sharahil (Sharahbil), 18 + + -ShaaEuro~rani, 225, 226, 392, 400, 403, 443, 460, 462, +464-465+ + + _shariaEuro~at_, 392 + + -Sharif al-Jurjani, 456 + + -Sharif al-Radi (poet), 314 + + Sharifs, of Morocco, the, 442 + + Sharik b. aEuro~Amr, 44 + + Shas, 125 + + Shayban (clan of Bakr), 58 + + -Shaykh al-Akbar, 404. + See _Muhyi aEuro(TM)l-Din Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~Arabi_ + + Sheba, 4 + + Sheba, the Queen of, 18 + + Shem, the son of Noah, xv, xviii + + _shiaEuro~a_ (party), 213 + + ShiaEuro~a, the, 213. + See _ShiaEuro~ites, the_ + + _-Shifa_, 361 + + Shihabu aEuro(TM)l-Din al-Suhrawardi. See _-Suhrawardi_ + + -Shihr, dialect of, xxi + + ShiaEuro~ites, the, xxviii. 207, 208, +213-220+, 222, 248, 249, 250, 262, + 267, 268, 271-275, 297, 379, 409, 428, 432, 445, 466 + + _shikaft_ (Persian word), 232 + + _-shikaftiyya_ (the Cave-dwellers), 232 + + Shilb, 416 + + Shiraz, 266, 307 + + Shirazad, 457 + + -Shirbini, 450 + + _-shurat_ (the Sellers), 209 + + ShuaEuro~ubites, the, 279-280, 344, 372 + + Sibawayhi, 343 + + Sibt Ibn al-Jawzi, 355 + + Sicily, xvi, 52, 441 + + _siddiq_, meaning of, 218, 375 + + -Siddiq (title of Abu Bakr), 183 + + Sidi Khalil al-Jundi, 456 + + _Sifatu Jazirat al-aEuro~Arab_, 12, 18, 20 + + Siffin, battle of, 192, 208, 377 + + _-sihr wa-aEuro(TM)l-kimiya_ (Magic and Alchemy), 283 + + _-Sila fi akhbari aaEuro(TM)immati aEuro(TM)l-Andalus_, 426 + + Silves, 416 + + Simak b. aEuro~Ubayd, 210 + + Sinbadh the Magian, 258 + + _Sindbad, the Book of_, 363 + + Sinimmar, 40 + + Siqadanj, 252 + + _Siratu aEuro~Antar_, 459 + + _Siratu Rasuli aEuro(TM)llah_, 349 + + _siyaha_, 394 + + _Siyaru Muluk al-aEuro~Ajam_, 348 + + Slane, Baron MacGuckin de, 32, 104, 129, 132, 136, 190, 213, 224, 229, + 245, 261, 267, 278, 288, 289, 295, 326, 343, 344, 348, 355, 357, + 359, 360, 371, 377, 378, 387, 408, 422, 425, 427, 429, 435, 437, + 438, 440, 451 + + Slaves, the, 413 + + Smith, R. Payne, 52 + + Smith, W. Robertson, 56, 199 + + Snouck Hurgronje, 217 + + Socotra, dialect of, xxi + + Solecisms, work on, by -Hariri, 336 + + Solomon, xvii + + Solomon Ibn Gabirol, 428 + + Soothsayers, Arabian, 72, 74, 152, 159, 165 + + South Arabic inscriptions, the. See _Inscriptions, South Arabic_ + + South Arabic language, the, xvi, xxi, 6-11 + + Spain, xvi, xxx, 199, 203, 204, 253, 264, 276, 399, +405-441+, 442, + 443, 449, 454 + + Spain, the Moslem conquest of, 203, 204, 405 + + Spencer, Herbert, 382 + + Spitta, 378 + + Sprenger, A., 143, 145, 149, 153, 456 + + Steiner, 369 + + Steingass, F., 328 + + Stephen bar Sudaili, 389 + + Stones, the worship of, in pagan Arabia, 56 + + Stories, frivolous, reprobated by strict Moslems, 330 + + Street-preachers, 374 + + Stylistic, manual of, by Ibn Qutayba, 346 + + -Subki (Taju aEuro(TM)l-Din), 461 + + Suetonius, 354 + + _suf_ (wool), 228 + + Sufi, derivation of, 227, 228; + meaning of, 228, 229, 230 + + Sufiism, +227-235+, 382, +383-404+, 460, 462, 463-465 + + Sufiism, Arabic works of reference on, 338 + + Sufiism, origins of, 228-231, 388-389; + distinguished from asceticism, 229, 230, 231; + the keynote of, 231; + argument against the Indian origin of, 233; + composed of many different elements, 389, 390; + different schools of, 390; + foreign sources of, 390; + principles of, 392; + definitions of, 228, 385, 392 + + Sufis, the, 206, 327, 339, 381, 460-465. + See _Sufiism_ + + Sufyan b. aEuro~Uyayna, 366 + + Suhaym b. Wathil (poet), 202 + + -Suhrawardi (Shihabu aEuro(TM)l-Din Abu Hafs aEuro~Umar), 230, 232, 338, 396 + + -Suhrawardi (Shihabu aEuro(TM)l-Din Yahya), 275 + + -Sukkari, 128, 343 + + -Sulayk b. -Sulaka, 89 + + Sulaym (tribe), xix + + Sulayma, 34 + + Sulayman (Umayyad Caliph), 200, 203 + + Sulayman al-Bistani, 469 + + -Suli, 297 + + _-Suluk li-maaEuro~rifati Duwali aEuro(TM)l-Muluk_, 453 + + -Sumayl b. Hatim, 406 + + Sumayya, 195 + + _-Sunan_, of Abu Dawud al-Sijistani, 337 + + _-Sunan_, of Ibn Maja, 337 + + _-Sunan_, of, -NasaaEuro(TM)i, 337 + + _-sunna_, 144, 234 + + _-sunna_, collections of traditions bearing on, 337 + + Sunnis, the, 207 + + Sunnis and ShiaEuro~ites. not between the, 445 + + _sura_, 143, 159 + + _Sura of Abu Lahab, the_, 160 + + _Sura of Coagulated Blood, the_, 151 + + _Sura of the Elephant, the_, 68 + + _Sura of the Enwrapped, the_, 152 + + _Sura of the Morning, the_, 152 + + _Sura, the Opening_, 143, 168 + + _Sura of Purification, the_, 164. + See _Suratu aEuro(TM)l-Ikhlas_ + + _Sura of the Severing, the_, 161 + + _Sura of the Signs, the_, 162 + + _Sura of the Smiting, the_, 163 + + _Sura of the Unbelievers, the_, 163 + + _Suratu aEuro(TM)l-Fatiha_ (the opening chapter of the Koran), 168. + See _Sura, the Opening_ + + _Suratu aEuro(TM)l-Ikhlas_, 461. + See _Sura of Purification, the_ + + _Suratu aEuro(TM)l-Tahrim_, 454 + + Surra-man-raaEuro(TM)a, 263 + + Surushan, 391 + + -Sus, 431 + + Suwayqa, 398 + + Suyut, 454 + + -Suyuti (Jalalu aEuro(TM)l-Din), 55, 71, 145, 403, +454+, +455+ + + Syria, xxiv, xxvii-xxx, 3, 5, 26, 33, 35, 43, 46, 49, 50, 51, 52, 54, + 63, 73, 84, 123, 132, 142, 148, 170, 184, 185, 186, 191, 193, 199, + 207, 215, 232, 240, 247, 255, 262, 268, 269, 271, 274, 275, 303, + 304, 350, 355, 358, 382, 386, 388, 390, 405, 418, 419, 442, 443, + 446, 448, 451, 461, 468 + + Syria, conquest of, by the Moslems, 184 + + + T + + TaaEuro(TM)abbata Sharran (poet), 79, +81+, +97+, 107, 126 + + Tabala, 105 + + _Tabaqatu 'l-Atibba_, 266 + + _Tabaqatu aEuro(TM)l-Sufiyya_, 338 + + Tabaran, 339 + + -Tabari, 1, 27, 35, 37, 38, 41, 42, 44, 45, 48, 49, 66-68, 70, +145+, + 155, 156, 158, 185, 186, 187, 189, 210, 212, 215, 218, 219, 256, + 258, 259, 265, 277, +349+, +352+, 355, 356, 373, 376 + + -Tabari's _Annals_, abridgment of, by -BalaEuro~ami, 265, 352 + + Tabaristan, 350 + + _tabiaEuro~iyyun_, 381 + + -TabiaEuro~un (the Successors), 229 + + Table, the Guarded, 163 + + Tabriz, 461 + + Tacitus, 194 + + _Tadhkiratu aEuro(TM)l-Awliya_, by FariduaEuro(TM)ddin aEuro~Attar, 226, 228, 387 + + _tadlis_, 145 + + _Tafsiru aEuro(TM)l-Jalalayn_, 455 + + _Tafsiru aEuro(TM)l-QuraEuro~an_, by -Tabari, 1, 145, 351 + + -Taftazani, 456 + + Taghlib (tribe), xix, 44, 55-60, 61, 76, 93, 107, 109, 110, 112, 113, + 240, 253, 269 + + _Tahafutu aEuro(TM)l-Falasifa_, 341 + + Tahir, 262, 263 + + Tahirid dynasty, the, 263, 265 + + _tahrimu aEuro(TM)l-makasib_, 297 + + TaaEuro(TM)if, 158 + + _-TaaEuro(TM)iyyatu aEuro(TM)l-Kubra_, 396, 397, 402 + + _-Taiyyatu aEuro(TM)l-Sughra_, 397 + + _tajrid_, 394 + + Talha, 190 + + TaaEuro~limites, the, 381, 382 + + _Talisman, the_, 469 + + Tamerlane, 437. + See _Timur_ + + Tamim (tribe), xix, 125, 242, 293 + + Tamim al-Dari, 225 + + _tanasukh_ (metempsychosis), 267 + + Tanukh (tribe), xviii, 34, 38 + + _taqlid_, 402 + + Tarafa (poet), 44, 101, +107-109+, 128, 138, 308 + + _tardiyyat_, 294 + + _TaaEuro(TM)rikhu aEuro(TM)l-Hind_, 361 + + _TaaEuro(TM)rikhu aEuro(TM)l-Hukama_, 355, 370 + + _TaaEuro(TM)rikhu aEuro(TM)l-Khamis_, 445 + + _Ta'rikhu aEuro(TM)l-Khulafa_, 455 + + _Ta'rikhu aEuro(TM)l-Rusul wa-aEuro(TM)l-Muluk_, 351 + + _Ta'rikhu aEuro(TM)l-Tamaddun al-Islami_, 435 + + Tariq, 204, 405 + + _Tarjumanu aEuro(TM)l-Ashwaq_, 403 + + Tarsus, 361 + + Tartary, 444 + + _tasawwuf_ (Sufiism), 228 + + Tasm (tribe), 4, 25 + + _tawaf_, 117 + + _tawakkut_, 233 + + _tawhid_, 401 + + _taaEuro(TM)wil_ (Interpretation), the doctrine of, 220 + + _-tawil_ (metre), 75, 80 + + -Tawwabun (the Penitents), 218 + + Tayma, 84 + + TayyiaEuro(TM) (tribe), xviii, 44, 53, 115 + + _taaEuro~ziya_ (Passion Play), 218 + + Teheran, 361 + + Temple, the, at Jerusalem, 169, 177 + + Tennyson, 79 + + Teresa, St., 233 + + Testament, the Old, 161, 179 + + -ThaaEuro~alibi, 267, 271, 288, 290, 303, 304, +308-312+, +348+ + + Thabit b. Jabir b. Sutyan, 81, 126. + See _TaaEuro(TM)abbata Sharran_ + + Thabit b. Qurra, 359 + + Thabit Qutna, 221 + + ThaaEuro~lab, 344 + + Thales, 363 + + Thamud, x, +3+, 162 + + _thanawi_, 374 + + Thapsus, 274 + + Thaqif (tribe), 69 + + Theodore Abucara, 221 + + Theologians, influence of, in the aEuro~Abbasid period, 247, 283, 366, 367 + + Thoma (St. Thomas), 46 + + Thomas Aquinas, 367 + + Thorbecke, H., 55, 90, 114, 129, 336, 459 + + _Thousand and One Nights, the_, 34, 456-459. + See _Arabian Nights, the_ + + _-tibb_ (medicine), 283 + + Tiberius, 194 + + -Tibrizi (commentator), 55, 130 + + Tibullus, 425 + + Tides, a dissertation on, 354 + + Tigris, the, 189, 238, 256, 446 + + -Tihama, 62 + + Tihama, the, of Mecca, 3 + + Tilimsan, 454 + + Timur, xxix, 444, 454. + See _Tamerlane_ + + Timur, biography of, by Ibn aEuro~Arabshah, 454 + + _tinnin_, 354 + + -Tirimmah (poet), 138 + + -Tirmidhi (Abu aEuro~Isa Muhammad), 337 + + Titus, 137 + + Tobacco, the smoking of, prohibited, 467 + + Toledo, 204, 421-423 + + Toleration, of Moslems towards Zoroastrians, 184; + towards Christians, 184, 414, 441 + + Torah, the, 403. + See _Pentateuch_ + + Tornberg, 203, 205, 253, 355, 429 + + Tours, battle of, 204 + + Trade between India and Arabia, 4, 5 + + Trade, expansion of, in the aEuro~Abbasid period, 281 + + Traditional or Religious Sciences, the, 282 + + Traditions, the Apostolic, collections of, 144, 247, 337 + + Traditions of the Prophet, +143-146+, 237, 277, 278, 279, 282, 337, + 356, 378, 462, 463, 464, 465, 467 + + Trajan, xxv + + Translations into Arabic, from Pehlevi, 330, 346, 348, 358; + from Greek, 358, 359, 469; + from Coptic, 358; + from English and French, 469 + + Translators of scientific books into Arabic, the, 358, 359, 363 + + Transoxania, 203, 233, 263, 265, 266, 275, 360, 419, 444 + + Transoxania, conquest of, by the Moslems, 203 + + Tribal constitution, the, 83 + + Tribes, the Arab, xix, xx + + Tripoli, 468 + + TubbaaEuro~s, the (Himyarite kings), 5, 14, +17-26+, 42 + + Tudih, 398 + + _tughra_, 326 + + _tughraaEuro(TM)i_ (chancellor), 326 + + -TughraaEuro(TM)i (poet), 326 + + Tughril Beg, 264, 275 + + _tului_, 286 + + Tumadir, 126 + + Tunis, 274, 428, 437, 441 + + Turkey, xvi, 169, 394, 404, 448, 466 + + Turkey, the Sultans of, 448 + + Turks, the, 263, 264, 268, 325, 343. + See _Ottoman Turks_; _Seljuq Turks_ + + Tus, 339, 340 + + TuwayliaEuro~, 398 + + Tuways, 236 + + _Twenty Years After_, by Dumas, 272 + + + U + + aEuro~UbayduaEuro(TM)llah, the Mahdi, 274 + + aEuro~UbayduaEuro(TM)llah b. Yahya, 350 + + aEuro~UbayduaEuro(TM)llah b. Ziyad, 196, 198 + + Udhayna (Odenathus), 33, 35 + + Uhud, battle of, 170, 175 + + aEuro~Ukaz, the fair of, 101, 102, 135 + + -aEuro~Ulama, 320, 367, 460, 461 + + Ultra-ShiaEuro~ites, the, 258. + See _-Ghulat_ + + aEuro~Uman (province), 4, 62 + + aEuro~Umar b. aEuro~Abd al-aEuro~Aziz (Umayyad Caliph), 200, 203, +204-206+, 283 + + aEuro~Umar b. Abi RabiaEuro~a (poet), 237 + + aEuro~Umar Ibnu aEuro(TM)l-Farid (poet), +325+, +394-398+, 402, 448, 462 + + aEuro~Umar b. Hatsun, 410 + + aEuro~Umar b. al-Khattab (Caliph), xxvii, 51, 105, 127, 142, 157, 183, + +185-190+, 204, 210, 214, 215, 242, 254, 268, 297, 435 + + aEuro~Umar Khayyam, 339 + + aEuro~Umara, 88 + + Umayma (name of a woman), 90, 91, 92 + + Umayya, ancestor of the Umayyads, 65, 146, 181, 190 + + Umayya b. Abi aEuro(TM)l-Salt (poet), 69, +149-150+ + + Umayyad dynasty, the, xxviii, 65, 154, 181, 190, +193-206+, 214, 222, + 264, 273, 274, 278, 279, 282, 283, 347, 358, 366, 373, 408 + + Umayyad literature, 235-247 + + Umayyads (descendants of Umayya), the, 190, 191. + See _Umayyad dynasty, the_ + + Umayyads, Moslem prejudice against the, 154, 193, 194, 197, 207 + + Umayyads of Spain, the, 253, 264, 347, +405-414+ + + _-aEuro~Umda_, by Ibn Rashiq, 288 + + Umm aEuro~Asim, 204 + + Umm Jamil, 89 + + Unays, 67 + + -aEuro~Urayd, 398 + + Urtuqid dynasty, the, 449 + + _Usdu aEuro(TM)l-Ghaba_, 356 + + aEuro~Usfan, 22 + + _ustadh_, 392 + + Ustadhsis, 258 + + Usyut, 454 + + aEuro~Utba, a slave-girl, 296 + + -aEuro~Utbi (historian), 269, 354 + + aEuro~Uthman b. aEuro~Affan, Caliph, xxvii, 142, 185, +190+, 191, 210, 211, + 213, 214, 215, 221, 236, 297 + + _aEuro~Uyunu aEuro(TM)l-Akhbar_, 346 + + _aEuro~Uyunu aEuro(TM)l-Anba fi Tabaqat al-Atibba_, 355. + See _Tabaqatu aEuro(TM)l-Atibba_ + + -aEuro~Uzza (goddess), 43, 135, 155 + + + V + + Valencia, 421 + + Valerian, 33 + + Van Vloten, 221, 222, 250 + + Vedanta, the, 384 + + Venus, 18 + + Vico, 439 + + Victor Hugo, 312 + + Villon, 243 + + Vizier, the office of, 256, 257. + See _wazir_ + + Viziers of the Buwayhid dynasty, the, 267 + + VoguA(C), C. J. M. de, xxii + + Vollers, 450 + + Vowel-marks in Arabic script, 201 + + + W + + Wadd, name of a god, 123 + + Wadi aEuro(TM)l-MustadaEuro~afin, 394 + + _Wafayatu aEuro(TM)l-AaEuro~yan_, 451, 452. + See _Ibn Khallikan_ + + _-Wafi bi aEuro(TM)l-Wafayat_, 456 + + _-wafir_ (metre), 75 + + Wahb b. Munabbih, 247, 459 + + _wahdatu aEuro(TM)l-wujud_, monism, 402 + + Wahhabis, the, 463, 465-468 + + Wahhabite Reformation, the, 465-468 + + -Wahidi (commentator), 305, 307 + + _-waaEuro~id_, 297 + + WaaEuro(TM)il, xix, 56, 57 + + _wajd_, mystical term, 387, 394 + + Wajra, 398 + + -Walid b. aEuro~Abd al-Malik (Umayyad Caliph), 200, +203+, 405 + + -Walid b. Yazid (Umayyad Caliph), 132, +206+, 291, 375 + + Wallada, 424, 425 + + -Waqidi (historian), 144, 261, 349 + + Waraqa b. Nawfal, 149, 150 + + _wasi_ (executor), 215 + + Wasil b. aEuro~Ata, 223, 224, 374 + + Wasit, 385, 386 + + Water-diviners, honoured by the pagan Arabs, 73 + + -Wathiq, the Caliph, 257, 369 + + _wazir_, an Arabic word, 256. + See _Vizier_ + + Wellhausen, J., 56, 128, 135, 139, 140, 149, 173, 198, 205, 207, 209, + 210, 215, 218, 219, 222, 250, 365 + + Well-songs, 73 + + Wellsted, J. R., 8 + + West Gothic dynasty in Spain, the, 204 + + Weyers, 425 + + Wine-songs, 124, 125, 138, 206, 325, 417 + + Witches, Ballad of the Three, 19 + + Women famed as poets, 89, 126, 127; + as Sufis, 233 + + Women, position of, in Pre-islamic times, 87-92 + + Woollen garments, a sign of asceticism, 228, 296 + + Wright, W., 202, 226, 343 + + Writing, Arabic, the oldest specimens of, xxi + + Writing, the art of, in Pre-islamic times, xxii, 31, 102, 131, 138 + + WA1/4stenfeld, F., xviii, 17, 129, 132, 190, 213, 245, 253, 275, 295, + 357, 378, 408, 416, 452, 459 + + + X + + Xerxes, 256 + + Ximenez, Archbishop, 435 + + + Y + + -Yahud (the Jews), 171 + + Yahya b. Abi Mansur, 359 + + Yahya b. Khalid, 259, 260, 451 + + Yahya b. Yahya, the Berber, 408, 409 + + Yaksum, 28 + + -Yamama, 25, 111, 124 + + -Yamama, battle of, xxii, 142 + + YaaEuro~qub b. -Layth, 265 + + YaaEuro~qub al-Mansur (Almohade), 432 + + -YaaEuro~qubi (Ibn Wadih), historian, 193, 194, 349 + + Yaqut, 17, 357 + + YaaEuro~rub, 14 + + YathaaEuro~amar (SabA|an king), 4 + + YathaaEuro~amar Bayyin, 10, 17 + + Yathrib, 62. + See _Medina_ + + Yathrippa, 62 + + _-Yatima._ See _Yatimatu aEuro(TM)l-Dahr_ + + _Yatimatu aEuro(TM)l-Dahr_, 267, 271, 304, +308+, +348+ + + _-Yawaqit_, by -ShaaEuro~rani, 403, 460 + + Yazdigird I (Sasanian), 40, 41 + + Yazid b. aEuro~Abd al-Malik (Umayyad Caliph), 200 + + Yazid b. Abi Sufyan, 426 + + Yazid b. MuaEuro~awiya (Umayyad Caliph), +195-199+, 208, 241 + + Yazid b. RabiaEuro~a b. Mufarrigh, 19 + + -Yemen (-Yaman), xvii, 2, 5, 7, 11, 12, 15, 17, 22, 23, 24, 26, 27, + 28, 29, 42, 49, 65, 68, 87, 99, 103, 137, 215, 247, 252, 274, 405 + + Yoqtan, xviii + + Yoqtanids, the, xviii, 4. + See _Arabs, the Yemenite_ + + Yusuf b. aEuro~Abd al-Barr, 428 + + Yusuf b. aEuro~Abd al-MuaEuro(TM)min (Almohade), 432 + + Yusuf b. aEuro~Abd al-Rahman al-Fihri, 406 + + Yusuf b. Tashifin (Almoravide), 423, 430, 431 + + + Z + + Zab, battle of the, 181, 253 + + Zabad, the trilingual inscription of, xxii + + -Zabba, 35, 36, 37. + See _Zenobia_ + + Zabdai, 34 + + _zaddiq_, 375 + + Zafar (town in -Yemen), 7, 8, 17, 19, 21 + + Zafar (tribe), 94 + + _zahid_ (ascetic), 230 + + Zahirites, the, 402, 427, 433 + + -Zahra, suburb of Cordova, 425 + + _zajal_, verse-form, 416, 417, 449 + + Zallaqa, battle of, 423, 431 + + -Zamakhshari, 145, 280, 336 + + _zandik_, 375 + + -Zanj, 273 + + Zanzibar, 352 + + _Zapiski_, 375 + + Zarifa, 15 + + ZarqaaEuro(TM)u aEuro(TM)l-Yamama, 25 + + Zayd, son of aEuro~Adi b. Zayd, 48 + + Zayd b. aEuro~Ali b. -Husayn, 297 + + Zayd b. aEuro~Amr b. Nufayl, 149 + + Zayd b. Hammad, 45 + + Zayd b. Haritha, 153 + + Zayd b. Kilab b. Murra, 64. + See _Qusayy_ + + Zayd b. RifaaEuro~a, 370 + + Zayd b. Thabit, 142 + + Zaydites, the, 297 + + Zaynab (Zenobia), 35, 36 + + Zaynab, an Arab woman, 237 + + Zaynu aEuro(TM)l-aEuro~Abidin, 243 + + Zenobia, 33, 34, 35 + + _Zinatu aEuro(TM)l-Dahr_, 348 + + Zindiqs, the, 291, 296, 319, 368, +372-375+, 387, 460 + + Ziryab (musician), 418 + + Ziyad, husband of Fatima, the daughter of -Khurshub, 88 + + Ziyad ibn Abihi, 195, 256, 342 + + Ziyad b. MuaEuro~awiya. See _-Nabigha al-Dhubvani_ + + Ziyanid dynasty, the, 442 + + Zone, the, worn by Zoroastrians, 461 + + Zoroaster, 184, 258 + + Zoroastrians, the, 184, 341, 354, 373, 461 + + Zotenberg, H., 352 + + Zubayda, wife of Harun al-Rashid, 262 + + -Zubayr, 190 + + -Zuhara, 18 + + Zuhayr b. Abi Sulma (poet), 62, +116-119+, 128, 131, 137, 140, 312 + + _zuhd_ (asceticism), 229, 230. 299 + + _zuhdiyyat_, 294 + + Zuhra b. Kilab b. Murra, 64 + + -Zuhri (Muhammad b. Muslim b. Shihab), 153, 247, 258 + + _zunnAir_, 461 + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of A Literary History of the Arabs, by +Reynold Nicholson + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A LITERARY HISTORY OF THE ARABS *** + +***** This file should be named 37985.txt or 37985.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/3/7/9/8/37985/ + +Produced by Fritz Ohrenschall, Turgut Dincer, Sania Ali +Mirza and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at +http://www.pgdp.net + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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