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tion of Traditionists with the past: he filled the earth with the certificates which he gave to those who heard him deliver Traditions, and with the licences to teach, which he had granted to his disciples. He lived to so advanced an age that he remained without a rival, and his conduct was uniformly marked by piety and virtue. He was born in the month of Zû 'l-Hijja, A. H. 516 (February, A. D. 1123), and he died at Baghdad on the afternoon of Tuesday, the 9th of Rajab, A. H. 607 (December, A.D. 1240). The next morning, he was interred in the cemetery at the Harb Gate.- Tabarzad is the name of a sort of sugar (sugarcandy.

AS-SHARAF IBN AL-FARID.

Abû Hafs, surnamed also Abù 'l-Kasim, Omar Ibn Abi 'l-Hasan Ali Ibn Murshid Ibn Ali, generally known by the appellation of Ibn al-Fàrid and distinguished by the honorary title of as-Sharaf (1), drew his descent from a family which inhabited Hamàt, but he himself was born in Egypt, which was also the country of his residence, and that of his death. In his poetical works, of which the collection forms a thin volume, he displays a cast of style and thought which charms the reader by its grace and beauty, whilst their whole tenour is in accordance with the mystic ideas of the Sûfis (2). He has composed also a kasida of about six hundred verses, wherein he sets forth the doctrines and adopts the technical language of that sect. With what elegance has he said, in one of his long

poems:

How welcome the favour which I never deserved: these words of one announcing deliverance after despair: "To thee I bear good tidings, therefore cast off thy covering! "thou art remembered there (above), notwithstanding thy imperfections (3).

In another of his kasidas he says:

I am always envied on account of (the favours I receive from) thee; put not then an end to my watchfulness by the speedy visit of thy image fleeting (towards me whilst I sleep) (4). Ask the stars of the night if sleep has ever visited my eyelids! and how could it visit a person with whom it is not acquainted?

He says again in the same piece :

Whilst the admirers of his beauty are extolling it in every style of description, time is spent out, and yet some of his charms remain to be described (5).

He has left also some distichs, mawalias (6), and enigmas (7). I am told that he was a most holy and virtuous man, and that he led a life of continual self-abnegation. During some time, motives of devotion kept him a resident at Mekka: may God increase it in honour! He was a most pleasing companion, and the charms of his society were highly extolled. I have been informed by one of his disciples, that, one day, whilst he was alone, he happened to sing the following verse, composed by al-Hariri, the author of the Makamat :

Who is he who never wrought evil, and who possesses excellent qualities only?

And he heard a voice repeat these words, but could not discover by whom they were uttered:

Muhammad, the director; upon whom Gabriel descended.

Some of his disciples recited to me the following mawalia of his, composed on a youth who followed the trade of a butcher; it is very ingeniously done; and I have not seen it in the collection of his works (8):

I said to a butcher: I love you, yet you cut me to pieces and slay me. That, replied he, is my trade, and yet you blame me! He then bent towards me and kissed my foot to subjugate me; he wanted to kill me, and blew me (enchanted me) that he might skin me.

I have transcribed it according to their system (of pronunciation), as they have totally neglected the motions (final vowels) and the rules of orthography; nay more, they have committed faults of pronunciation; or rather, the greater part of it is faulty: the reader is therefore requested to withhold his blame (9). Ibn al-Farid relates that he composed the two following verses in his sleep:

I swear by the reality of my love for thee and by the respect due to (me for my) digni– 334 fied patience (under suffering), that my eyes never looked on any but thee, and that I never felt love for any other friend!

This poet was born at Cairo, on the 4th of Zû 'l-Kaada, A. H. 576 (March,

A. D. 1181), and he died in the same city, on Tuesday, the 2nd of the first Jumada, A. H. 632 (January, A. D. 1235). The next morning, he was interred at the foot of Mount Mukattam.-Al-Farid is the name given to the person who draws up contracts (furûd) for women in their dealings with men (10).

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(1) As-Sharaf is the equivalent of Sharaf ad-din (nobleness of religion). In surnames formed of the word ad-din preceded by a noun or an adjective, ad-din may be suppressed. In this case, the article is generally added to the preceding word. See M. de Sacy's Chrestomathie, tom. I. p. 448.

(2) Literally: He follows the direction of the path of the fakirs.

(3) The piece from which these lines are taken has been published by M. Grangeret de Lagrange in his Anthologie arabe. Respecting these verses, a curious anecdote is related by the commentator, and will be found page 130 of M. de Lagrange's work.

(4) He means to say: I always keep awake in expectation of thy visits; oblige me not to forego my watchfulness, for then, in my dreams, I should see thy image only, sent by thyself to visit me, and not see thyself. See my Introduction to vol. I. p. xxxvi. For the meaning of the very obscure verses cited by Ibn Khallikân in this article, I have consulted Ibn al-Farid's commentators and chosen the most probable of the various interpretations which they give.

(5) It is almost unnecessary to observe that, in all these verses, the beloved is the Divinity.

(6) See vol. I. Introduction, page xxxv.

(7) Some of these enigmas are given by M. de Sacy in his Chrestomathie, and others by M. Grangeret de Lagrange in his Anthologie arabe.

(8) Were it not for the curiosity of these verses, which are in vulgar Arabic, I should have abstained from translating them.

(9) Ibn Khallikan writes:

hichینینی and تشرحی where I have printed یربختی and تشرختی

ير

is مل الجزار is for الجزر

,

or, as he writes it

لجزار و قلت is for قلتو .last words give the true reading باس for بش and ال for

;

(10) Farid is therefore the active participle of the verb farada, and must be pronounced with an i, not with an a, as Ibn Khallikân states in his autograph; most probably through inattention. Indeed, the form

فاعل

as a participle or adjective does not exist in Arabic, as far as I can discover, and we find in the notice on Ibn al-Farid, prefixed to the commentary on his works, some verses in which his name al-Farid is made to rhyme with al-Adrid, al-Ghâmid, and other active participles. For further information respecting Ibn al-Fârid, see M. de Sacy's Chrestomathie, tom. II., M. Grangeret de Lagrange's Anthologie arabe, and the Catalogus MSS.orient. Bibl. Bodl.

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TAKI AD-DIN OMAR, PRINCE OF HAMAT.

He

Abu Said Omar, the son of Nûr ad-Dawlat Shahanshah (vol. I. p. 645), the son of Aiyûb (vol. I. p. 243), was lord of Hamât, and bore the surnames of al-Malik al-Muzaffar (the victorious prince), Taki ad-din (pious in religion). His father, Shahanshah, was brother to the sultan Salah ed-din. Taki ad-din Omar was brave and intrepid, successful in his wars, victorious in his engagements, renowned for his conflicts with the Franks (1), and his glorious deeds in battle are signalized by history. In all the various works of piety, he displayed every excellence, and of these we need only mention one: the founding of the college at Old Cairo, which bears the name of Manâzil al-Izz (2), and which is said to have been previously his own place of residence. For the support of this establishment, he erected a large property into a wakf (3). The city and province of al-Faiyum were held by him in fief, and he founded there two colleges, one for the Shafites, and the other for the Malikites: on these also he settled large wakfs. Another college was erected by him in the city of Edessa. He was also sovereign of the Eastern provinces (Mesopotamia). In his conduct towards the learned (in the law), the Súfis (fakirs), and the men of holy life, he manifested great beneficence. acted at one period as viceroy of Egypt, during the absence of his uncle Salah addiu; the circumstance which led to his appointment was the following: Al-Malik al-Aadil held the government of Egypt as lieutenant to his brother, Salâh ad-din ; but, in the month of Rajab, A. H. 579 (Oct.-Nov., A. D. 1183), that prince, who was then besieging al-Karak (4), required his presence with that of the troops under his orders, and Taki ad-dîn, being sent to Egypt to replace him, arrived there towards the middle of the month of Shaaban. He was afterwards recalled to Syria by Salah ad-din, who appointed his own son al-Malik al-Aziz (vol. II. p. 195) to the viceroyalty of Egypt. Taki ad-din's feelings were so deeply hurt at this proceeding, that he resolved to go forth into Maghrib and conquer that country; but this project was strongly opposed by his friends, and he finally acceded to the request of his uncle, Salâh ad-dîn, who had invited him to come and serve under him. The sultan went forth as far as Marj as-Suffar (5) to receive him, and they met there on the 23rd of Shaabân, A. H. 582 (Nov., A. D. 1186). Salah ad-din derived great pleasure from the sight of his nephew.

and bestowed on him the city of Hamât. Taki ad-din proceeded thither, and marched afterwards into the province of Khalât, with the intention of taking the castle of Manâzgird. The siege had continued for some time, when he died on Friday, the 19th of Ramadan, A. H. 587 (October, A. D. 1191). This statement has been contradicted, however, by persons who declare that he died at a place between Khalat and Maiyàfàrikîn. His body was transported to Hamat for interment. His son, al-Malik al-Mansûr (the victorious prince) Nâsir ad-din (the champion of the faith) Abû 'l-Maâli Muhammad, was appointed his successor. This prince died at Hamât, on Monday, the 22nd of Zù 'l-Kaada, A. H. 617 (January, A. D. 1221) (6).

(1) In the printed text read a. Taki ad-din particularly signalized himself at the battle of Tiberias in A. H. 583, when the Christian army was almost exterminated.

(2) The palace called Manâzil al-Izz was built on the bank of the Nile by the mother of the khalif al-Aziz billah, and served the Fatimide khalifs as a place of recreation (nuzha).—(Al-Makrizi's Khitat.)

(3) See vol. I. page 49, note (7).

(4) See M. Reinaud's Extraits relatifs aux Croisades, pp. 187 and 189.

(5) Marj as-Suffar lies at a short distance from Damascus.

(6) This Muhammad was the paternal grandfather of the geographer and historian, Abû 'l-Fedå.

ABU ISHAK AS-SABII.

Abû Ishak Omar Ibn Abd Allah Ibn Ali Ibn Ahmad Ibn Zi Yahmud Ibn asSabi, surnamed as-Sabii, was a member of the tribe of Hamdân, a native of Kusa, and one of the principal Tâbîs, having seen Ali, Ibn Abbâs, Ibn Omar, and others of the Prophet's companions. Traditions were handed down on his authority by 555 al-Aamash (vol. I. p. 587), Shôba (vol. I. p. 493, note (8)), ath-Thauri (vol. I. p. 576), and others; and a great quantity of traditional information was communicated by him to his disciples. He was born three years before the khalif Othmân's death (1), and he died A. H. 127 (A. D. 744-5); others say, 128 or 129; but Yahya Ibn Màin (2) and al-Madâini (3) mention that his death took place in A. H. 132.-Sabit means descended from Sabi, who himself drew his origin from

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