of) the eagle. I encouraged my hopes with the sight of a king who, for me, would replace mankind, of a palace which, for me, would be the world, and of a day of meeting which, to me, would be worth an eternity (1).

The 583

Such verses, I must say, do really deserve the name of lawful magic. idea here expressed has been wrought up by Abû Bakr Ahmad al-Arrâjani (vol. I. p. 134) into this form :

Know that he whom I went to praise is a man without defects. How often, at eve, has the recital of his virtues been suspended, like handsome ear-rings, to the ears of listeners. I saw him, and, for me, he was the human race; eternity was in that hour, and the world in that abode.

But how far above the earth are the Pleiads! al-Mutanabbi has expressed the very same idea in the last hemistich of a single verse; he says:

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(Thy dwelling-place) is the sole object of my journey; a sight of thee is all I wish for; thy dwelling is the world, and thou art all created beings.

He has not, indeed, completed the thought, neither has his verse the beauty of as-Salâmi's, because he omitted the day worth an eternity. Let us return to Adud ad-Dawlat: this prince once received a letter from Abû Mansûr Iftikin the Turk, governor of Damascus, containing the following communication: "Syria is free (from the presence of foreign troops), it is now within our grasp, and "the rule of the monarch of Egypt has ceased therein; aid me therefore with money and soldiers, so that I may attack those people even in the seat of their power." To this, he replied by a note of which (every two words) were similar in their written form, so that it could not be read until the vowels and diacritical points were added; it ran thus: "Thy power has misled thee, and the result of "that undertaking would be thy disgrace; fear therefore the dishonour which "may attend it. By this, perhaps, thou mayest be guided." In the composition of this letter he has displayed the utmost ingenuity. Iftikin was originally a mawla to Moizz ad Dawlat Ibn Buwaih, and afterwards obtained dominion over Damascus he marched in person against al-Azîz al-Obaidi, the sovereign of Egypt, and a sanguinary conflict ensued; the troops of Iftikin were routed, and he himself was intercepted in his flight by Daghfal Ibn al-Jarrah al-Badawi (2) who passed a rope about his neck and led him to al-Aziz. That prince set him

at liberty and treated him with great kindness. Iftikìn survived his defeat but a short time, and died (in Egypt) on Tuesday, the 7th of Rajab, A. H. 372 (December, A. D. 982).—Adud ad-Dawlat left some pieces of poetry, and the following passage is quoted from one of his kasidas by ath-Thaalibi, in the Yatima; this writer says: "I selected it from that kasida which contains an unequalled

، We drink not wine unless the rain (keep us at home); and in the morning only, we hearken to the song of the maidens, perfect in beauty, stealing away the reason whilst they sing (3) to the double-corded lyre; they bring forth the goblet from its shrine, and pour out the liquor to him who surpasses all mankind-the arm of the empire (Adud ad-Dawlat) the son of its pillar (Rukn ad-Daolat), the king of kings, the vanquisher of 'fate.'"

It is related that when Adud ad-Dawlat was on the point of death, the only words which he could pronounce were the following, and these he did not speak, but chant: "Nought has availed my wealth! my power has expired!" has expired!" It is said that he died very soon after. He was carried off by an epileptic attack on Monday, the 8th of Shawwal, A. H. 372 (March, A. D. 983) at Baghdad, and his body was interred in the palace, till removed to Kûfa, where it was deposited in the Mash'had of Ali Ibn Abi Talib. Adud ad-Dawlat died at the age of forty-seven years, eleven months and three days. The Adudian Hospital (al-Bîmâristân alAdudi) situated on the west side (of the river Tigris) was so called after him: he 584 spent an immense sum on this establishment which, for excellent arrangements, has not its equal in the world. He completed its erection in the year 368 (A. D. 978) and provided it with more furniture and utensils than could possibly be described. It was he who brought to light the tomb of Ali Ibn Abi Talib, at Kûfa, and erected over it the Mash'had, or funeral chapel, which is still subsisting. He spent a large sum on this building, and left directions that he should be buried in it. A great difference of opinion prevails respecting the tomb (discovered by Adud ad-Dawlat); some consider it to be the tomb of al-Moghaira Ibn Shôba ath-Thakafi (4), and pretend that the place of Ali's tomb is not known; but the truth, I am inclined to believe, is, that Ali was buried in the government palace (Kasr al-Imara) at Kûfa.-Shib Bawwân (the valley of Bawwán) is a spot near Shîrâz, abounding in trees and water. so called after Bawwan, the son of Iran, the son of al-Aswad, the son of Sem,

It was

the son of Noah. Abu Bakr al-Khowarezmi states that there are four delightful spots in the world: the Ghûta of Damascus, the river al-Obolla (5), the valley of Bawwân, and the Soghd of Samarkand, but the Ghúta of Damascus, says he, surpasses the others.

(1) In vol. I. p. 14, this verse has been mistranslated.

(2) See Abulfedæ Annales, tom. II. p 321 et seq.

(3) The MSS. and the printed text have, but I read ☺leli.

(4) Abu Isa (or Abû Muhammad) al-Moghaira Ibn Shôba Ibn Aâmir, well known as one of Muhammad's companions, bore so high a reputation for sagacity that he was surnamed Moghaira tar-Rai (Moghaira of foresight). He contracted, it is said, seventy marriages; a number which his readiness in divorcing his wives easily accounts for. He died A. H. 50 (A D. 670–1).—(Nujûm.) The Khatib says, in his abridged history of Baghdad (MS. No. 634, fol. 9), that al-Moghaira accompanied Muhammad to al-Hudaibiya (A. H. 6) and was with him in the rest of his expeditions; he made the campaigns of Iråk against the Persians, and then governed Basra, as the khalif Omar's lieutenant, for about two years. Moawia entrusted him with the government of Kûfa in A. H. 41 (al-Bahr az-Zakhir, MS. No. 659 A), and he died in that city.

(5) The Nahr, or river of al-Obolla, was the name given to a canal branching off the Tigris and falling into the canal of al-Makil near Basra.

AL-KASIM IBN MUHAMMAD.

The genealogy of Abû Muhammad al-Kàsim Ibn Muhammad Ibn Abi Bakr is so well known that we need not retrace it here (1). He was one of the most eminent of the Tâbis, and of the seven great jurisconsults of Medina (vol. I. 264). In real merit he surpassed all his contemporaries. He handed down Traditions from a great number of Muhammad's companions, and Traditions were received from him and taught to others by many of the principal Tâbis. "I never met any one," said Yahya Ibn Said (2), "whom I could pronounce superior in "merit to al Kâsim Ibn Muhammad." (The imâm) Mâlik pronounced al-Kàsim one of the (great) jurisconsults of the Moslim people. The following anecdote is related by Muhammad Ibn Ishak (3): A man went to al-Kasim and asked him "whether he or Sålim (vol. I. p. 552) was the most learned in the law; and "he

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he replied: Such, with the blessing of God, is Sàlim.' He made this reply "to avoid telling a falsehood by saying that Sâlim was more learned than him

"self, and to avoid extolling his own merits by declaring himself more learned "than Sâlim; and yet he was really the more learned of the two." In making his prostrations during prayer, he used to implore God to pardon his father's criminal conduct towards Othman (4). We have stated in the life of Ali Zain al-Aâbidîn (vol. II. p. 210) that he, al-Kâsim and Sâlim Ibn Muhammad were cousins by the mothers' side, and that their mothers were daughters to Yazdegird, the last of the Persian kings. Al-Kasim died at Kudaid, A. H. 101 (A. D. 719-20) or 102; others say A. H. 108 or 112. On his death-bed he said: "Shroud me in the clothes which I always wore at prayers; my shirt, my izâr, "and my rida (5)." To this his daughter replied: "My dear father, shall we not add two suits more?" and he answered: "Abu Bakr was thus "shrouded, but the living have more need for new clothes than the dead (6)." He died at the age of seventy or seventy-two years.- Kudaid is a halting place for caravans between Mekka and Medina.

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(1) See page 98, note (1), of this volume.

(2) Abû Said Yahya Ibn Said Ibn Kais, a member of the tribe of Najjar, a native of Medina and one of the Tabis, received Traditions from Anas Ibn Mâlik, amongst others, and taught them to Mâlik, al-Laith Ibn Saad, and other celebrated imâms. Abû Jaafar al-Mansûr appointed him kâdi of al-Hâshimiya in Irak, and he died there A.H. 143 (A. D. 760-1).—(Tab. al-Muhaddithin. Siar as-Salaf.)

(3) His life is given by Ibn Khallikân.

(4) Muhammad the son of Abu Bakr was accessory to the murder of Othmân. See Abû 'l-Fedâ's Annals, year 35.

(5) See vol. I. page 4, note (4).

(6) These were Abu Bakr's words when a similar question was made to him. He asked to be buried in his old clothes. See Kosegarten's Taberistanensis Annales, tom. II. p. 141

ABU OBAID AL-KASIM IBN SALLAM.

Sallam, the father of Abû Obaid al-Kàsim Ibn Sallâm, was a Greek slave be385 longing to an inhabitant of Herât. His son Abû Obaid made the Traditions, philology, and jurisprudence the objects of his studies, and was distinguished for piety, virtuous conduct, orthodox principles and eminent talent. "Abû Obaid,” said

the kadi Ahmad Ibn Kàmil (1)

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"was conspicuous for piety and learning, a doctor "versed in the various branches of Islamic science, such as the Koran readings, "jurisprudence, grammar, and history, and a correct transmitter of poems and "narrations preserved by oral tradition. Never, to my knowledge, has any person impeached the sincerity of his faith."-"Abů Obaid," said Ibrahim alHarbi (vol. I. p. 46), "was like a mountain into which the breath of life had “been breathed, so that it produced every thing well." He exercised the functions of kadi in the city of Tarasûs (Tarsus) during eighteen years. The traditional knowledge which he handed down was received by him from Abù Zaid al-Ansâri (v. I. p. 570), al-Asmài (v. II. p. 123), Abû Obaida, Ibn al-Aaràbi (2, al-Kisài (v. II. p. 237), al-Farrâ (3), and many others. Of his own productions (kutub musannafa) upwards of twenty, relating to the Korân, the Traditions and the obscure expressions occurring in the Traditions, were delivered down orally. He composed works entitled: al-Gharib al-Musannaf (original collection of rare expressions); al-Amthål (proverbs); Maâni as-Shir (the ideas recurring in poetry), and a number of other instructive treatises: it is said that he was the first who composed a book on the obscure expressions occurring in the Traditions (Gharib al-Hadith). He attached himself, for some time, to Abd Allah Ibn Tahir (v. II. p. 49), and, when he wrote out his Gharib, he presented it to this emir (4), who expressed his satisfaction and said: "A mind which led its master to compose a book like this deserves to be dispensed from the necessity of searching "for him the means of subsistence." He then settled on him a monthly pension of ten thousand dirhems (5). Muhammad Ibn Wahb al-Masùdi (6) said: "I heard Abû Obaid relate as follows: 'I was forty years composing this "work, and whenever I happened to receive a useful hint from the mouths of "men, I wrote it down in its proper place in this book, and I was unable to

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sleep that night, through joy at having procured such a piece of information. "Now, one of you (scholars) will come to me for four or five months, and then say I have remained here very long.""" Almighty God," said Hilâl Ibn al-Alâ ar-Rakki (7), “bestowed, out of his bounty, four men on this (Moslim) people at different times: he gave them as-Shâfi, who founded a system of jurisprudence on the Traditions; Ahmad Ibn Hanbal (vol. I. p. 44), who showed "such firmness under persecution that, without his example, the people had relapsed into infidelity; Yahya Ibn Mâin (8, who, from among the genuine Tra

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