[96] This notion of the seven heavens appears to have been taken from the "seven spheres;" the first of which is that of the Moon; the second, of Mercury; the third, of Venus; the fourth, of the Sun; the fifth, of Mars; the sixth, of Jupiter; and the seventh, of Saturn; each of which orbs was supposed to revolve round the earth in its proper sphere. So also the idea of the seven earths seems to have been taken from the division of the earth into seven climates; a division which has been adopted by several Arab geographers. [97] Ḳur. lxv. 12, and Moḥammad's answers to ´Abd-Allah Ibn-Selám, quoted by Ibn-El-Wardee (MS.); and Mekḥool, quoted by the same author; and Mishkát el-Maṣábeeḥ, ii. 652, 653. [98] Ibn-Esh-Shiḥneh (MS.). [99] In another MS. of the same author, "yellow." [100] In his Khiṭaṭ (MS.). [101] Ḳur. xiii. 3, and several other places. [102] Ḳur. ii. 20, and lxxviii. 6. [103] Ḳur. lxxi. 18. [104] Mekḥool, quoted by Ibn-El-Wardee. [105] Wahb Ibn-Munebbih, quoted by El-Maḳreezee in his Khiṭaṭ. [106] Ibn-El-Wardee, however, says that its name is derived from its terrors and difficulties. [107] [Cp. Lane's Selections from the Ḳur-án, 128 ff., 2nd ed. 1879.] [108] History of El-Khiḍr in the Mir-át ez-Zemán. [109] El-Ḳazweenee. [110] Moḥammad's answers to ´Abd-Allah Ibn-Selám, quoted by Ibn-El-Wardee. [111] El-Ḳazweenee. [112] Ḳur. ii. 22, and lxvi. 6. [113] Mir-át ez-Zemán. [114] Tradition from the Prophet, recorded by Ibn-´Abbás, and quoted by Ibn-El-Wardee; and by El-Isḥáḳee, in describing an earthquake that happened in his lifetime. See also the next note. [115] In Ibn-Esh-Shiḥneh, "Kuyoothán;" the orthography of this word is doubtful, as the vowel-points are not written. As the tradition is related in Ibn-El-Wardee, this bull takes a breath twice in the course of every day (or twenty-four hours): when he exhales, the sea flows; and when he inhales, it ebbs. But it must not be imagined that none of the Arabs has any notion of the true theory of the tides: the more learned among them explain this phenomenon by the influence of the moon. Many of the Arabs attribute earthquakes to the shaking of this bull. [116] In Ibn-El-Wardee, a quantity of sand is introduced between the bull and the fish. [117] Ed-Demeeree, on the authority of Wahb Ibn-Munebbih, quoted by El-Isḥáḳee, 1. 1. [118] Ibn-El-Wardee. [119] [The other stages are Laẓà, El-Ḥuṭameh, Sa´eer, Saḳar, Jeheem, and Ḥáwiyeh. [120] Ḳur. xxxix. 67. [121] Ḳur. xiv. 49. [122] Ḳur. lxxxix. 24. CHAPTER VI. LITERATURE. Perhaps there are no people in the world who are such enthusiastic admirers of literature, and so excited by romantic tales, as the Arabs. Eloquence, with them, is lawful magic: it exercises over their minds an irresistible influence. "I swear by God," said their Prophet, "verily abuse of infidels in verse is worse to them than arrows."[123]