[186] Joseph, the son of Jacob the Hebrew patriarch.—A most dutiful little speech this: O the hypocritical young creature!
[187] Although Muhammed strictly prohibited the drinking of wine, even more potent liquors are indulged in by many Muslims, especially those of the shi’ah persuasion. The more strict súnís create for themselves a “paradise of fools” with narcotics, such as bang and other preparations of which opium is the principal ingredient, satisfying their “consciences” with the quibble that the holy Prophet does not forbid its use in express terms—an omission which is probably due to his ignorance of such deleterious drugs. The old pagan Arabs were inordinate wine-bibbers, as we learn from their poetry, and sanguinary fights were a frequent result between rival factions when they assembled from different districts at Makka. Muhammed at first attempted, by a “revelation” in the Kurán, to restrain this propensity within reasonable bounds, and finding this of no effect prohibited wine altogether. It seems to have been a very ancient custom among Asiatics to drink wine in the early morning, and in the Mu’allaka poems, which were suspended in the Temple at Makka before the advent of Muhammed, the “morning draught” is frequently mentioned, with evident gusto. The prophet Isaiah exclaims: “Woe unto those that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; that continue till night, till wine inflame them!”—ch. v, 11.
[188] See the note on p. 8.
[189] Nau Ratn: “the Nine Gems,” an ornament worn on the arm, which indicates the only gems that are esteemed as precious. They are: the diamond, ruby, emerald, sapphire, topaz, pearl, coral, hyacinth, carbuncle. The inferior gems, such as agate, bloodstone, etc., are mostly used for signet-rings.—There is a collection of tales, in the Urdú, entitled Nauratan, compiled by Mahjúr, and published at Lucknow in the year 1811. It consists of nine stories (hence the title, “Nine Jewels”), which all turn on the deceits (charítr) and tricks of women and are mostly taken from the Book of Sindibád.
[190] Frequent allusion is made in the Arabian Nights and in Eastern amatory poetry to this singular kind of caress.
[191] The henna of the Persians—see note on page [11]. Mehndí is the Lawsonia alba of botanists, and the water distilled from its flowers is used as a perfume.
[192] Indra, in the Hindú mythology, is the god of thunder—a personification of the sky. His paradise is Swerga, the capital of which is Armaràvati, or Amarnagar in Urdú.
[193] He could not, therefore, have been one of the “immortals,” but of a race like the jinn or the parís, who are subject to death, though their existence is prolonged greatly beyond that of mere human beings.
[194] This is quite after the manner of Asiatic despots—and the deity Indra is here nothing better—and at once recalls a similar incident, which cost a good man his head: when the daughter of Herodias danced before King Herod, he was so charmed with that young light-skirt’s performance that he said to her: “Ask whatsoever thou wilt, and I will give it thee” (Mark vi, 22).
[195] This transformation will remind readers of the tale of the young King of the Ebony Isles in the Arabian Nights.—The deities of the Hindú mythology are frequently represented as condemning inferior celestials who have offended them to be re-born on the earth, in the form of a human being, or as some beast, bird, or reptile, so to remain for a certain period. But this punishment of Bakáwalí is more in accordance with Muslim ideas.