Dishonored did the sparkling goblet stand,
Unless received from gentle Abra’s hand; ...
Nor could my soul approve the music’s tone,
Till all was hushed, and Abra sung alone.
Al Beidâwi, Jallâlo´ddin, and Abulfeda, give Amīna, daughter of Jerâda, king of Tyre, as his favorite concubine.
Solomon Kills His Horses. Solomon bought a thousand horses, and went to examine them. The examination took him the whole day, so that he omitted the prayers which he ought to have repeated. This neglect came into his mind at sunset, and, by way of atonement, he slew all the horses except a hundred of the best “as an offering to God;” and God, to make him amends for his loss, gave him the dominion of the winds. Mahomet refers to this in the following passage:--
When the horses, standing on three feet, and touching the ground with the edge of the fourth foot, swift in the course, were set in parade before him [Solomon] in the evening, he said, “Verily I have loved the love of earthly good above the remembrance of my Lord; and I have spent the time in viewing these horses till the sun is hidden by the veil of night. Bring the horses back unto me.” And when they were brought back, he began to cut off their legs and their necks.--Al Korân, xxxvii.
Solomon’s Mode of Travelling. Solomon had a carpet of green silk, on which his throne was placed. This carpet was large enough for all his army to stand on. When his soldiers had stationed themselves on his right hand, and the spirits on his left, Solomon commanded the winds to convey him whither he listed. Whereupon the winds buoyed up the carpet, and transported it to the place the king wished to go to, and while passing thus through the air, the birds of heaven hovered overhead forming a canopy with their wings to ward off the heat of the sun. Mahomet takes this legend as an historic fact, for he says in reference to it:
Unto Solomon We subjected the strong wind, and it ran at his command to the land whereon We had bestowed our blessing.--Al Korân, xxi.
And again: