[536]. Arab. “Kayyimah,” the fem. of “Kayyim,” misprinted “Kayim” in vol. ii. [93].
[537]. i.e. hadst thou not disclosed thyself. He has one great merit in a coward of not being ashamed for his cowardice; and this is a characteristic of the modern Egyptian, whose proverb is, “He ran away, Allah shame him! is better than, He was slain, Allah bless him!”
[538]. Arab. “Ahjar al-Kassárín” nor forgotten. In those days ships anchored in the Eastern port of Alexandria which is now wholly abandoned on account of the rocky bottom and the dangerous “Levanter,” which as the Gibraltar proverb says
Makes the stones canter.
[539]. Arab. “Hakk” = rights, a word much and variously used. To express the possessive “mine” a Badawi says “Hakki” (pron. Haggi) and “Lílí;” a Syrian “Shítí” for Shayyati, my little thing or “taba’i” my dependent; an Egyptian “Bitá’i” my portion and a Maghribi “M’tá’i” and “diyyáli” (di allazí lí = this that is to me). Thus “mine” becomes a shibboleth.
[540]. i.e. The “Good for nothing,” the, “Bad’un;” not some forgotten ruffian of the day, but the hero of a tale antedating The Nights in their present form. See Terminal Essay, s. ii.
[541]. i.e. Hoping to catch Nur al-Din.
[542]. Arab. “Sawwáhún” = the Wanderers, Pilgrims, wandering Arabs, whose religion, Al-Islam, so styled by its Christian opponents. And yet the new creed was at once accepted by whole regions of Christians, and Mauritania, which had rejected Roman paganism and Gothic Christianity. This was e.g. Syria and the so-called “Holy Land,” not because, as is fondly asserted by Christians, Al-Islam was forced upon them by the sword, but on account of its fulfilling a need, its supplying a higher belief, unity as opposed to plurality, and its preaching a more manly attitude of mind and a more sensible rule of conduct. Arabic still preserves a host of words special to the Christian creed; and many of them have been adopted by Moslems but with changes of signification.
[543]. i.e. of things commanded and things prohibited. The writer is thinking of the Koran in which there are not a few abrogated injunctions.
[544]. See below for the allusion.