[FN#47] Alluding, for the sake of metaphor, to the months of purification which, according to the Muslim ceremonial law, must be accomplished by a divorced woman, before she can marry again.
[FN#48] A divorce three times pronounced cannot be revoked.
[FN#49] Fabulous peoples mentioned in the Koran.
[FN#50] Said to be so called, because they attract sparrows (asafir), but it seems to me more probable that the name denotes the colour of the fruit and is derived from usfur, safflower.
[FN#51] Koran, xxxiii. 38.
[FN#52] Met. anus.
[FN#53] Met. cunnus.
[FN#54] Kibleh, the point of the compass to which one turns in prayer. Mecca is the Kibleh of the Muslims, even as Jerusalem that of the Jews and Christians. The meaning of the text is obvious.
[FN#55] i.e. of God.—Koran, li. 9.
[FN#56] The word (futouh) translated "openings" may also be rendered "victories" or "benefits."