The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night — Volume 02 (of 10)
General
The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night — Volume 02 (of 10)
Fairy tales; Tales -- Arab countries
[FN#360] Arab. "Músá": the Egyptian word was "Mesu," the "child" or the "boy"
(brought up in the palace?), and the Hebrews made it "Mosheh" or "one drawn out
of the water;" "Mu" in Egypt being water, the Arab "Ma"; whence probably the
moderns have derived the dim. "Moyeh ," vulg. Egyptian for water.
[FN#361] Koran, chaps. xxviii.: Shu'ayb is our Jethro: Koran, chaps. vii. and
xi. Mr. Rodwell suggests (p. 101) that the name has been altered from Hobab
(Numb. x. 29).
[FN#362] Arab. "Taub" (Saub), the long shirt popularly written in English Tobe
and pronounced so by Egyptians. It is worn by both sexes (Lane, M. E. chaps. i.
"Tob") in Egypt, and extends into the heart of Moslem Africa: I can compare it
with nothing but a long nightgown dyed a dirty yellow by safflower and about as
picturesque as a carter's smock-frock.
[FN#363] There is nothing of this in the Koran; and it is a most unhappy
addition, as Moses utterly and pretentiously ignored a "next world."
[FN#364] Koran xxviii. 22-27. Mohammed evidently confounded the contract
between Laban and Jacob. (Gen. xxix. 15-39.)
[FN#365] So says Al-Hariri (Ass. of Sasan), "The neighbour before the house and
the traveller before the journey." In certain cities the neighbourhood is the
real detective police, noting every action and abating scandals (such as
orgies, etc.) with a strong hand and with the full consent of public opinion
and of the authorities. This loving the neighbour shows evident signs of being
borrowed from Christianity.
[FN#366] Al-Asamm a theologian of Balkh, ninth century (A.D.).
[FN#367] The founder of the Senior School, for which see Sale Prel.
Disc. sect. viii.
[FN#368] Thus serving the Lord by sinning against his own body.
[FN#369] An Egyptian doctor of the law (ninth century).
[FN#370] Koran lxxvii. 35, 36. This is one of the earliest and most poetical
chapters of the book.
[FN#371] Abu Hanifah was scourged for refusing to take office and was put to
death in prison, it is said by poison (A.H. 150=A.D. 767), for a judicial
sentence authorising rebellion against the second Abbaside, Al-Mansur, surnamed
Abu'l-Dawánik (Father of Pence) for his exceeding avarice.
[FN#372] "Lá rayba fí-hi" says the Koran (ii. 1) of itself; and the saying is
popularly applied to all things of the Faith.
[FN#373] Arab. "Rivál al-Ghayb," somewhat like the "Himalayan Brothers" of
modern superstition. See Herklots (Qanoon-e-Islam) for a long and careful
description of these "Mardán-i-Ghayb" (Pers.), a "class of people mounted on
clouds," invisible, but moving in a circular orbit round the world, and
suggesting the Hindu "Lokapálas." They should not be in front of the traveller
nor on his right, but either behind or on his left hand. Hence tables, memorial
couplets and hemistichs are required to ascertain the station, without which
precaution journeys are apt to end badly.
[FN#374] A sweetmeat before noticed.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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