[3] A sheba is a piece of forked wood which is fixed on the neck by way of punishment, and in this position is very painful.
[4] When religious Sheikhs go out to preach, they are generally preceded by men bearing flags, on which texts from the Kuran are inscribed.
[5] Favourites of God. The expression occurs in the Kuran in the following verse: "Are not the favourites of God those on whom no fear shall come, nor shall they be put to grief?" (Surah x. 63).
[6] The Mahdi is supposed to come from Jebel Masa in North Africa; but the astute Mohammed Ahmed did not hesitate to call Jebel Gedir, which was to be his destination in Kordofan, by this name, and thus fulfil one of the principal conditions of a "Mahdi."
[7] That is, the "Helpers,"—a term given by the Prophet Mohammed to the early converts of El Medina.
[8] One of the most solemn forms of administering an oath is for the person taking the oath to say, "I impose upon myself divorcement."
[9] More familiarly, "He who fights and runs away, lives to fight another day."
[10] According to Mohammed Ibn Taher, "fai" is booty taken from a country which submits to Islam without resistance, as distinguished from "Ghanima," or plunder. The Mahdi adopted the "Ghanima" principle entirely.
[11] Major Kitchener, now Sir Herbert Kitchener, the Sirdar of the Egyptian Army.
[12] On my return to Cairo in 1895, I learnt that the full text of the letters to which I have referred, had reached the British authorities, and had been published in General Gordon's Journal.