Jarrah (4) as having been composed by Muhammad al-Baidak an-Nasibi on Amr Ibn Masada, who had been complaining of his health :

"Abu 'l-Fadl," said they, "is ill."-I answered: "I would lay down my life to "save him from every danger. O that I had his illness; he the reward of those who suffer, and I no reward whatever!"

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Ibrahim Ibn al-Abbas as-Sûli having fallen into distress for want of employment, Amr Ibn Masâda, who was his friend, sent him a sum of money. Ibrahim then wrote to him these lines:

Till the end of my life I shall be thankful to Amr for kindness so freely granted and yet so great! He is one who never refuses money to his friend, and never utters a complaint at his failings. He saw my poverty, though I essayed to conceal it; and it hurt his eyes till it was removed.

The following anecdote is given by Ahmad Ibn Yûsuf al-Kâtib (5): "I one day "went in where al-Màmûn was, and found him with a letter in his hand. He

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kept looking at it for a long time, and I remained observing him. He then "said: 'O Ahmad! I perceive that my conduct maketh thee reflect! It is true,' “I replied,' and may God avert from the Commander of the faithful every cause "of trouble and protect him against every danger!' He answered: There "is nothing in the letter to trouble me, but I found in it a passage which "struck me by its similarity to an observation which I heard (the khalif) ar“Rashid make : speaking of eloquence, he defined it to be distance from pro'lixity, closeness to the thought intended, and the expressing of it in few 345 ❝ words. I did not think it possible for any person to attain such a degree of perfection, till I read this letter!' He then handed it to me, saying: 'It is "addressed to me from Amr Ibn Masàda!' I read it and its contents were "these From the under-signed to the Commander of the faithful. Those "of his generals and troops who are under me show such submission as a troop "can show whose pay is in arrear, and such obedience as that of brave men "whose stipends are withheld. By this, they are disorganised and ruined.' "When I had perused the letter, he said: "The admiration which it excited in me induced me to give orders that the troops under his command should re"ceive a donation equal to seven months' pay. And I am considering how to recompense a writer in a manner befitting one who holds such a rank in his ""profession!""

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(1) Abu Abd Allah Thâbit Ibn Yahya Ibn Yasâr ar-Râzi, surnamed Ibn Abbåd, was one of al-Mâmûn's vizirs. As a katib he displayed the highest abilities, but was very precipitate and passionate.—(MS. No. 893, fol. 202.)

(2) About two millions of pounds sterling.

(3) The original text may also signify concedisti diffissionem vetulæ; but this is so poor a quibble, that I suspect allusion is made to some proverbial saying, with which I am not acquainted.

(4) See vol. I. page 25, note (6).

(5) See vol. I. page 271, note (12).

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IBN BANA.

Amr Ibn Muhammad Ibn Sulaimân Ibn Rashid, generally known by the appellation of Ibn Bàna, was a mawla to Yûsuf Ibn Omar ath-Thakafi and a singer of the very highest talent. Abû 'l-Faraj al-Ispahâni mentions him in the Kitab al-Aghani and says: "His father was at the head of one of the government offices " and held a distinguished rank among the katibs. He (himself) was an excellent "singer and a good poet. He left a work on the Aghâni, or popular songs. His haughtiness and pride were excessive, and, although afflicted with leprosy, "the khalifs included him in the number of their boon companions and singers." He died A. H. 278 (A. D. 891-2), at Sarra man râa. The khalif al-Mutawakkil admitted him into his closest intimacy and familiarity. Ibn Bâna learned his art from Ishak Ibn Ibrahim al-Mausili (vol. I. p. 183) and other eminent masters. The work which he composed on singing is a sufficient proof of his abilities. Baghdad was the place of his residence, but he occasionally visited Sarra man ràa. -His mother, Bâna, was the daughter of Rûh, the secretary to Salama al-Wasif. In the life of Tahir Ibn al-Husain (vol. I. p. 652) we have given two satirical lines of his, directed against that prince.

IBN AL-MUSALAYA.

The katib Abu Saad al-Alâ Ibn al-Hasan Ibn Wahb Ibn al-Mûsalàyà, surnamed Amin ad-Dawlat (the trusty servant of the state), was a native of Baghdad and mûnshi (drawer up of state papers) to the khalifate. He had been originally a Christian, but made his profession of Islamism to the khalif al-Muktadi billah and proved himself a sincere convert. He composed a number of elegant epistles and some good poems, which have been collected and form two volumes, one of prose and one of verse. His talents were of the highest order. In the year 432 (A. D. 1040-1) he entered into the service of the khalif al-Kâim, as writer in the chancery office. Some time before his death, he lost his sight. He died on the 19th of the first Jumada, A H. 497 (February, A. D. 1104). He had a sister's son, called Abu Nasr Hibat Allah Ibn Sahib al-Khair al-Hasan Ibn Ali, and surnamed Tàj ar-Ruwasà (crown of the chiefs), who was a kâtib and a man of abilities, possessing a knowledge of the belles lettres and a talent for eloquence. He also wrote a beautiful hand, and composed some good epistles which bear a high reputation and have been collected into a volume. He died at Baghdad, after a five days' illness, on the eve of Monday, the 11th of the first Jumàda, A. H. 498 (January, A. D. 1105), aged seventy years; and was interred at the Abrez Gate. He became a Moslim at the same time as his uncle (cousin (?)); this occurred, A. H. 484 (A. D. 1091-2).—Mûsalâyâ is a name used among Christians (4).

(1) Mûsalaya or Músaloiyo signifies in Syriac native of Mosul.

IBN AS-SAWADI.

Abû 'l-Faraj al-Alà Ibn Ali Ibn Muhammad Ibn Ali Ibn Ahmad Ibn Abd 546 Allah, a native of Wàsit and surnamed Ibn as-Sawàdi, was a kâtib and a poet. In the art of verse he displayed a great natural talent, combined with a subtle wit and some licentiousness of humour. His family was one of the first in the city,

and had been noted for producing able kâtibs and men of talent. In one of his pieces which are all very fine, he says:

I complain to thee of thy own disdain, and, blinded by love, I imagine thou wilt grant me justice. I avoid thee, lest it should be seen that thou avoidest me; for then my jealous foes would receive some satisfaction.

I strive to conceal the love I bear you from those who might reproach (me with folly); I should not wish them to see what pains you cause me, for that would give them satisfaction.

I met this last verse before I knew those of Ibn as-Sawàdi, and, being pleased with the idea, I versified it in the following couplet :

(Fair maid,) wand of the sands! thy stature is pliant; the days of thy kindness are, for me, days of rejoicing. If I conceal my grief when shunned by thee, 'tis done to prevent my envious rivals from exulting.

Imâd ad-din mentions, in the Kharida, that Ibn as-Sawâdi recited to him the following line of his own composing :

I swear by the (sacred victims) contained in the Musalla (1) and those within the ample valley of Mina (2), that for thee my heart yearns with love!

There are three verses in all, but, as I think this the best, I abstain from giving the others.—Abû 'l-Kâsim Hibat Allah Ibn al-Fadl, surnamed Ibn al-Kattân, a person whose life we shall give, directed against the kâdi al-Kûdat az-Zainabi (3) a satirical poem, rhyming in k and beginning thus:

Brother! the condition (of my existence) is too strong (to be resisted); I cannot refrain from exposing vice.

It is a long poem, consisting of one hundred and eighteen verses, and, having been transmitted orally from one person to another, it obtained great publicity. When az-Zainabi heard it, he sent for Ibn al-Fadl and clapped him into prison after boxing his ears. The poet subsequently recovered his liberty, and it happened that, towards the same period, Ibn as-Sawâdi arrived at Baghdad and recited a panegyric on the kadi in his presence. As the recompense which he

expected did not make its appearance, he went frequently to the kadi's assemblies, but could obtain nothing. He then met Ibn al-Fadl and acquainted him with the circumstance, adding that he intended going down to Wàsit, his native place, and composing a satire on him. On this Ibn al-Fadl wrote to Abu 'l-Fath, a friend of az-Zainabi's, a piece of verse in which was the following passage:

Abû 'l-Fath! when the heart boils, satire abounds. Rhymes will then assail the victim, and Satan himself will back them. Beware of the verses, rhyming in k, of one who is going down the river and whose ears you and your friends can never hope to box.

These verses came to az-Zainabi's knowledge, and he immediately sent a present to Ibn as-Sawâdi and calmed him. This poet was born at Wàsit on the eve of Wednesday, the 15th of the first Rabi, A. H. 482 (May, A. D.1089), and he died at the same place, A.H. 556 (A.D. 1161).—Sawâdi means belonging to the 547 Sawad (or cultivated plains) of Iråk. This region was so called because the Arabs of the desert, when they first saw the verdure of the trees, exclaimed: "What "is that sawad (dark thing)?” and this ever afterwards continued to be its name.

(1) The meaning of this word is explained in vol. I. p. 603.

(2) Mîna is the name of the valley near Mekka where the pilgrims offer up sacrifice.

(3) Abû Tâlib al-Husain Ibn Muhammad Ibn Ali Ibn al-Hasan az-Zainabi, an eminent imam, the chief doctor and principal kadi of the Hanifite sect at Baghdad, was born A. H. 420 (A. D. 1029). Having studied the Koran, the Traditions and jurisprudence, he became mufti, professor, and chief of the sect. He received the honorary title of Nûr al-Huda (light of the direction), and was frequently employed by the khalif as his envoy to the neighbouring princes. He held also the posts of nakib, or chief, of the descendants of Ali and of those of al-Abbas. He died on the 21st of Safar, A. H. 512 (June, A. D. 1118), and was interred in the funeral chapel of Abu Hanifa.—(Nujûm.)

THE KADI IYAD.

The kadi Abu 'l-Fadl Iyâd Ibn Mûsa Ibn Iyâd Ibn Amr Ibn Mûsa Ibn Iyad Ibn Muhammad Ibn Mûsa Ibn Iyâd al-Yahsubi was a native of Ceuta (as-Sibti) and the first authority of his time in the Traditions, the sciences connected with them, grammar, philology, and the sayings, feats and genealogies of the Arabs of the

VOL. II.

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