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(a.), from raṣada, “to wait on the road, to watch, to lie in wait”, originally any place where a watch was kept, for example, a custom-house, then (with or without al-kawākib) an observatory. Al-raṣad is also used in the latter sense. “To consult the stars for any one” is raṣada li-fulān in, to take astronomical measurements with instruments is ḳāsa (cf. ḳiyās = ascertaining latitude and longitude and miḳyās = gnomon). The Arab observatories had their models and predecessors in the Persian, Indian, Greek and Babylonian observatories. Very little is known about the …

(a.), the ass. Tame ( al-ahlī) and wild ( al-waḥs̲h̲ī, al-faraʿ) are distinguished. Some of the tame asses are beasts of burden, others are ridden; many of the latter are very swift. The ass can find its way again by a road even though it has only traversed it once before; its hearing is keen and it suffers little from disease. The ass is of special importance in Persia, Syria and Egypt. Many Arabs will not ride an ass out of pride, and it is not considered proper to mention the ass by its real name in go…

, the locust. According to Damīrī there are large and small, red, yellow and white varieties; the females of the yellow are black. Ḳazwīnī distinguishes flying ( al-fāris) and hopping ( al-rād̲j̲il). They have the head of a horse, the eyes of an elephant, the neck of a bull, the horns of a mountain antelope, the breast of a lion, the body of a scorpion, the pinions of an eagle, the legs of a camel, the feet of an ostrich and the tail of a scorpion. They have six ¶ legs, two in front, two in the middle and two behind, on the latter of which are saws. Locusts follow a leader and assem…

, the censer, from d̲j̲amra, “glowing coal”, the Arabic name for the constellation of the Altar which lies south of the Scorpion (θυτήριον in Aratus, ara in Cicero, Manilius etc.) or censer (θυμιατήριον in Ptolemy, turibulum in Geminus). (J. Ruska) Bibliography al-Ḳazwīnī, ed. Wüstenfeld, i. 41 L. Ideler, Untersuchungen über den Ursprung und die Bedeutung der Sternnamen, Berlin 1809, p. 280 A. Hauber, Planetenkinderbilder und Sternbilder, Strassburg 1916, p. 193-199.

, the two lucky stars, Jupiter and Venus in contrast to the two unlucky stars ( maḥsān), Saturn and Mars. Jupiter is called the great good fortune, al-Saʿd al-akbar; whoever is born under his rule will be among the happy ones in the future life and distinguished for devoutness, fear of God, uprightness and continence. Venus is called the little good fortune, al-Saʿd al-aṣg̲h̲ar; whoever is born under Venus may expect good fortune and success in this life, in all worldly pleasures, such as food and drink and especially in all love and matrimonial affairs. (J. Ruska) Bibliography for the Greek…

(a.), the snake. When God sent the serpent on the earth, it fell on the land of Sid̲j̲istān, so that to this day there are still most snakes there. The land would be uninhabitable if large numbers were not devoured by the ʿirbadd, a large snake. There are many kinds of snake. The most notable is al-aṣala or al-ṣill; it is exceedingly large and has a human face; it said to retain the same appearance for thousands of years and can slay a man by looking at him. The kind called al-mukallala by Damīrī and al-malik by Ḳazwīnī, which has a little crown on its head, is most deadly. It burns up al…

, the son of At̲h̲(a)rī or Sāriya, a celebrated astrologer, who along with Nawbak̲h̲t fixed the day and hour for the foundation of Bag̲h̲dād by order of al-Manṣūr. According to the Fihrist, he was a Jew whose original name was Mīs̲h̲ā (a corruption of Manas̲h̲s̲h̲ī, i. e. Manasse?); whether he later adopted Islām and for this reason took the name Mās̲h̲āʾallāh is not recorded. The date of his birth is unknown, but it can hardly be later than 112 (730). He is said to have died in 200 (815). In numerous works Mās̲h̲āʾallāh covered the whole field of astrology, and also the making and …

, silver. It is nearest to gold in composition and would have become gold, if it had not been affected by cold during its formation in the interior of the earth; it is cold and dry in equal proportions. It cannot be alloyed with copper and raṣāṣ (lead or tin) but is easily separated from them. It is consumed by fire if long exposed to its action and is also decomposed in the earth in course of time. If it is affected by quick-silver vapour, it becomes brittle and breaks under the hammer. Sulphur vapour blackens it and if sulphur is thrown o…

, the (water-)snake, Arabie name of the long constellation of the Hydra, which lies in the southern heavens near the ecliptic, between the constellations of the Scales, Virgin, Lion and Crab on the one side and runs from the Centaur to Prokyon on the other. According to al-Ḳazwīnī 25 stars belong to the figure and two lie outside it. The head of the water-snake is on the southern pincers of the Crab between Prokyon ( al-S̲h̲iʿrā al-d̲j̲umaisāʾ, “Sinus the blear-eyed”) and Regulus ( Ḳalb al-Asad, “heart of the Lion”). Tbe snake twists a little southwards from these two stars and…

, the henna shrub, Lawsonia inermis L., a tall slender shrub, reaching a height of 9—12 feet, occasionally becoming practically a tree, belonging to the family of Hythrariaceae, with white clustered flowers yielding a pleasant odour and smooth, entire leaves; it is grown in congenial soil all over North Africa, Persia and India. The flowers are used to prepare fragrant essences and oils. With the powder made from the dried leaves the nails, the palms of the hands and the soles of the feet are dyed orange yellow throughout the east, in Persia also …

, mathematician, physician and philosopher, one of the greatest figures among the promoters of Arab learning in the third (ninth) century. Born in 836 (826?) at Ḥarrān, the ancient seat of the worship of the planets, he belonged to a prominent family settled there, which produced a long series of scholars. The later names in his genealogy (T̲h̲ābit b. Ḳurra b. Zahrūn [Marwān?] b. T̲h̲ābit b. Karāyā b. Mārīnūs b. Mālāg̲h̲riyūs [ΜελέαγροΣ]) take us back to a time when the Greek character of the li…

(a.) is in the first place barley flour, then also wheat flour and flour made of dried fruits, then a soup made from flour with water or a paste to which honey, oil or pomegranate syrup etc. is added. The effects of such flour dishes are discussed by al-Rāzī in his work on diet. — To revenge the battle of Badr, Abū Sufyān in Ḏh̲u ’l-Ḥid̲j̲d̲j̲a, 2 a. h., rode with a body of horsemen towards Medīna. Near the town there was some trifling skirmishing and Abū Sufyān fled as soon as Muḥammad and his followers approached. The Mekkans in their flight threw away their provisions, mainly sawīḳ, which were pic…

, constellation of good fortune, a common name in Arab astronomy for small groups of stars. They are all in the three adjoining constellations of Pegasus, Aquarius and Capricorn and usually consist of two, sometimes of three or four stars of low magnitude. Four groups form four successive stations of the moon, namely 22. Saʿd al-d̲h̲ābih = αβ in Capricorn, 23. Saʿd bulaʿ = μ ν ε in Aquarius, 24. Saʿd al-suʿūd = β ξ in Aquarius and 25. Saʿd al-ak̲h̲biya = γ ζ π η in Aquarius. A farther four belong to Pegasus: saʿd ¶ al-bahāʾim (θ ν), saʿd al-humām (ζ ξ), saʿd al-nāziʿ (λ μ) and saʿd al-maṭar (η ο). Lastly s…

, fishes. There are numerous kinds, some so long that one cannot see both ends at the same time — a ship had once to wait four months till one of these monsters had passed — but others are so small that one can hardly see them. They breathe water through the covers of their gills and do not require air in order to live: air is injurious to them all except flying-fish They are very voracious on account of the coldness of their temperament and because in them the stomach is very near the mouih. Li…

, Pisces; the more accurate name for the last sign of the Zodiac which is usually called al-Ḥūt, the fish It consists of 38 stars of which 34 belong to the constellation and four lie outside of it ( k̲h̲ārid̲j̲uhā). The two fishes are, according to the usual view, connected by a band twisted between their tails, σύνδεσμοΣ ὑπουραĩοΣ. This is called al-Ras̲h̲āʾ or is described as a thread, k̲h̲aiṭ, which connects the two fishes in its windings ( alā taʿrīd̲j̲). (J. Ruska) Bibliography al-Ḳazwīnī, ʿAd̲j̲āʾb al-Mak̲h̲lūḳāt, ed. Wüstenfeld, i. 38 transl. H. Ethé, p. 79 L. Ideler, Untersuchungen ü…

, flies, gnats, etc. There are numerous kinds; they are produced in putrescent substances, particularly the dung of animals. They have no eyelids on account of the smallness of their eyes but in compensation they have two hands with which they may constantly be seen washing their eyes. They also have a proboscis, which they stretch out when they want to lick blood and withdraw when they have sucked it all up. They hum and buzz like a reed which is blown into. They are unable to run as they have …

(a.), ambergris ( ambre gris, ambra grisea to distinguish it from ambre jaune = amber), a substance of sweet musk-like smell, easily fusible ¶ and burning with a bright flame; highly valued in the East as a perfume and as a medecine. It is found floating on the water in tropical seas, (spec, gravity 0.78—0.93), or on the shore, some-times in large lumps. Ambergris probably is a morbid secretion of the gale-bladder of the sperm-whale in whose intestines it is found. Ḳazwinī mentions is together with sulphur, asphalt, m…

(a.), the blood-red Anemone hortensis or A. conoraria, which is a native of the Mediterranean lands and nearer Asia. According to al-Ḳazwīnī, al-ʿAd̲j̲āʾib al-Mak̲h̲lūḳāt, i. 288, it is also called Ḵh̲add al-ʿAd̲h̲rāʾ, “the virgin’s cheek”, and Persian Lālah (cf. Vuller’s, Lex., ii. 1074: “any wild flower and especially the tulip and anemone”). It opens by day and closes at night and turns towards the sun. Nuʿmān b. al-Mund̲h̲ir (reigned 482-489 a. d.) is said to have said as he passed a spot covered with anemones: “any one who pulls up one of these, will have his …

, Arab, al-iksīr, also iksīr al-falāsifa, the secret means by which the alchemists believed base metals could be transmuted into silver and gold; synonymous with “the philosopher’s stone”. Although it has not yet been found in the older Greek alchemical works, it can hardly be doubted that the word is derived from the Greek ξήριον “powder for wounds”. It is frequently mentioned in the writings of Ḏj̲ābir b. Ḥaiyān edited by Berthelot. It enters the metals and permeates them like poison in a body; a s…

, Abū Bakr, chief of the stables and chief veterinary surgeon to Sulṭān al-Nāṣir b. Ḳalāūn, died 741 (1340) author of the Kāmil al-Ṣināʿatain al-Baiṭara wal-Zarṭaḳa (or Kās̲h̲if al-Wail fī Maʿrifat Amrāḍ al-Ḵh̲ail), which is called al-Nāṣirī in honour of the Sulṭān and is usually quoted by this name. M. Perron has translated it with a full introduction in a volume entitled: Le Nāċéri: la perfection des deux arts ou traité complet d’hippologie et d’hippiatrie arabes, trad, de l’arabe d’Abou Bekr Ibn Bedr. The first volume appeared in 1852, it is introductory and contains a wea…

, a drug highly esteemed in the east, consisting of pebble-like accretions, which are formed in the nodes of Bambusa arundinaria Wild. The substance is obtained, according to Ḳazwīnī (ii. 82) or Ibn Muhalhil, by burning the reed and from ancient times it has always been a valuable article of commerce which the Greeks called τάβασιΣ. (J. Ruska) Bibliography E. O. von Lippmann, Geschichte des Zuckers, Leipzig 1890, p. 76—80 B. Laufer, Sino-Iranica, Chicago 1919, p. 350—352 E. Wiedemann, Beitr., xl., p. 187 Ibn al-Baiṭār, transl. Leclerc, N. E., xxv. 1, 399—401 Seligmann, Abu Mansur Mwwaff…

, Arab, al-fīrūzad̲j̲, the turquoise, a well-known precious stone of a bright green or “mountain green”. to skyblue colour with a gloss like wax; in composition it is a hydrated clay phosphate with a small but essential proportion of copper and iron. The colour is not permanent in all stones, and is said to be particularly affected by perspiration. It is almost always cut as an ornament en cabochon i. e. with a convex upper surface; only stones with an inscription are given a flat upper surface. T…

soap (cf. English soap), has penetrated through Latin sapo and Greek σαπών as a loanword to the East also. According to Pauly-Wissowa, ( Realenz. d. klass. Altert., second series, iii. 1112, the ancients were not acquainted with our soap; in Pliny sapo means a hair-dye ( rutilandis capillis) and also medical salves; for cleansing purposes certain poor earths were used, which were sometimes perfumed. There can, however, be no doubt that soap came into use in the middle ages along with other lathery lotions and in addition to its uses for clea…

(a.), “the gnome’s lamp” or according to Idrīsī, “the glow-worm’s lamp”, (for other meanings of ḳuṭrub see Lane, vii. 2543), the name for the mandragora ( mandragora officinalis, l.), one of the Solanaceae indigenous to the whole Mediterranean area, with a turnipshaped root often in two parts, thickly covered with root-fibres, bearing a clump of large, eggshaped, sinuate leaves, between which grow the axillary petiolated bell-shaped flowers. The fruit is a reddish yellow berry about the size of a cherry which from ancient time…

, the teak tree, tectona grandis, a large tree belonging to the verbenaceae with broad lancet-like leaves, “like the shields of the Dailam”. It is found principally in the drier parts of Further India, in Burma, Siam and Java and, according to Arabic sources, also in East Africa (Zand̲j̲). The dark coloured hard wood resists, as no other does, the effects of sea-water and has therefore from ancient times been the best wood for shipbuilding. Nor is it attacked by insects. The main markets for it were …

, the Twins, the constellation Gemini. According to al-Ḳazwīnī, it contains 18 stars and seven which do not belong to the figure, and represents two men with their heads to the N. E. and their feet to the S. W. The two bright stars in the head are also called al-Dhirāʿ al-mabsūṭa, the outstretched arm, and form the seventh station of the moon; the two at the feet of the second twin form the station of the moon called al-Hanʿa. The whole constellation is also called al-Ḏj̲awzā, like Orion; hence the name Ras algeuse for the star β (Pollux). In Ptolemy the stars now known as Castor…

, the ear (of corn), the usual name for the constellation of the Virgin ( al-ʿAd̲h̲rā ʾ) from its most brilliant star, the ear of corn in the hand of the Virgin which is still called Spica. According to al-Ḳazwīnī, the constellation consists of 26 stars with a further six lying outside the figure. The head of the Virgin lies south of al-Ṣarfā (β Leonis); the feet are pointed towards the two pans of the Scales. The brightest star is also called either Sunbula or al-Simāk al-aʿzal, the unarmed Simāk, in contrast to al-Simāk al-rāmiḥ, Simāk with the lance ( Aramech on the star-maps). (J. Ruska) Bibliog…

, capital of the province of Lūristān with 6,000 inhabitants, situated in 33° 32′ N. Lat. and 48° 15′ East Long. (Greenwich) about 4700 feet above the sea-level between Iṣfahān and Kirmāns̲h̲āh on the river of the same name. On an isolated ridge of rock between the town and the river lie the ruins of a castle Dīz-i Siyāh, “black castle”, in the middle ages the residence of the governor, with annexes called Falak al-Aflāk which at the beginning of the xixth century were the residence of the governor of Lūristān. At the foot of the old castle is the modern residency, built abo…

, the tortoise, or turtle. Land (tortoise) and sea (turtle) varieties are distinguished as al-barrī and al-baḥrī. Al-Damīrī and al-Ḳazwīnī give practically the same fables about their habits. The turtle attains the size of an island. As it cannot hatch its eggs on account of the hardness and coldness of the shell on its belly, it looks after the eggs until God allows the young ones to come out. If the eggs fall into water, turtles are born from them. Magical qualities are attributed to them by the Kitāb al-Ḵh̲awāṣṣ of Balīnās and healing properties are mentioned by al-Ḳazwīnī and al…

(a.), donkey (fem, atān and ḥimāra ). The Arabs make a distinction between the domestic donkey ( ahlī ) and the wild donkey ( waḥs̲h̲ī , faraʾ , ʿayr al-ʿāna ). Domestic donkeys are used to turn mills, as beasts of burden and as mounts, but although the Prophet is said to have owned one, named Yaʿfūr, and although the animal has been esteemed by famous persons, it is not ridden by Arabs of high rank, who even employ a formula of apology ( ḥas̲h̲ā-kum , aʿazza-kum Allāh , etc.) when they utter its name. The zoological works provide details of its characteristic…

Abū Bakr b. Badr , with the by-name al-Bayṭār al-Nāṣirī , was grand master and chief veterinary surgeon of the stables of the Mamlūk sultan of Egypt al-Nāṣir, Nāṣir al-Dīn Muḥammad b. Ḳalāwūn (who ruled in 693/1294, from 698/1299 to 708/1309-10 and from 709/1310 to 741/1341). It was at This ruler’s request that Ibn al-Mund̲h̲ir wrote, in about 740/1339-40, his treatise on hippology entitled Kās̲h̲if hamm al-wayl fī maʿrifat amrāḍ al-k̲h̲ayl , a compilation from earlier sources and in particular from the Kāmil al-ṣināʿatayn ( al-bayṭara wa ’l-zarṭafa ) of a cer…

, the turquoise, a well-known precious stone of a bright green or “mountain green” to sky-blue colour with a gloss like wax; in composition it is a hydrated clay phosphate with a small but essential proportion of copper and iron. The colour is not permanent in all stones, and is said to be particularly affected by perspiration. It is almost always cut as an ornament en cabochon, i.e., with a convex upper surface; only stones with an inscription are given a flat upper surface. The provenance of serviceable stones is limited to a few places whose history may be t…

, iron. According to the Sūrat al-Ḥadīd (LVII, 25) God sent iron down to earth for the detriment and advantage of man, for weapons and tools are alike made from it. According to the belief of the Ṣābians, it is allotted to Mars. It is the hardest and strongest of metals and the most capable of resisting the effects of fire, but it is the quickest to rust. It is corroded by acids; for example, with the fresh rind of a pomegranate it forms a black fluid, with vinegar a red fluid and with salt a yellow. Collyrium ( al-kuḥl ) burns it and arsenic makes it smooth and white. Ḳa…

(a.), butter, made from cows’, goats’ and ewes’ milk, heated over the fire to extract its impurities, and hence called clarified butter (as distinct from zubd which is butter made from churned milk). Mediaeval dietetic texts state a preference for clarified butter made from cows’ milk over goats’ milk. Its medicinal benefits were as an antidote against poisons and snake bites, if ingested alone or mixed with honey, and as an ointment for the cure of boils and abscesses, including haemorrhoids. Samn was also used in the kitchen and, according to the anonymous Kanz al-fawāʾid …

(a,), ambergris ( ambre gris, ambra grisea, to distinguish it from ambre jaune = amber ), a substance of sweet musk-like smell, easily fusible and burning with a bright flame; highly valued in the East as a perfume and as a medicine. It is found floating on the water in tropical seas, (spec, gravity 0.78-0.93), or on the shore, sometimes in large lumps. Ambergris probably is a morbid secretion of the gall-bladder of the sperm-whale in whose intestines it is found. Ḳazwinī mentions it amon…

, also tilsim , tilism , tilasm , etc. from the Greek τέλεσμα, a talisman, i.e. an inscription with ¶ astrological and other magic signs or an object covered with such inscriptions, especially also with figures from the zodiacal circle or the constellations and animals which were used as magic charms to protect and avert the evil eye. The Greek name is evidence of its origin in the late Hellenistic period and gnostic ideas are obviously reflected in the widespread use of such charms. The sage Balīnās or Balīnūs [ q.v.], i.e. Apollonius of Tyana ( fl. 1st century A.D.), is said to have been…

, S̲h̲araf al-Dīh Abu ’l-ʿAbbās Aḥmad b. Yūsuf al-Ḳaysī, Egyptian scholar and man-of-letters (580-651/1184-1253). Al-Tīfās̲h̲ī is the author of a few works on sexual hygiene, the most well-known and quite representative being the Kitāb Rud̲j̲ūʿ al-s̲h̲ayk̲h̲ ilā ṣibāh fi ’l-ḳūwa ʿalā ’l-bāh (tr. into English by an anonymous writer under the tide The old man young again, Paris 1898) which is divided into two parts. The first part deals with the physiology of the sexual organs and beneficial and noxious aspects of sexual intercourse, provides a large n…

(a.) “snake”, generic name of the ophidians, embracing all kinds of reptiles ( mā yansāḥ ) from the most poisonous to the most harmless, the viper ( afʿā ) appearing to be the most clearly distinguished species among them. Terms such as ḥanas̲h̲ , aym , t̲h̲uʿbān , aswad , raḳs̲h̲āʾ , ṣill , etc. are given in classical Arabic to species which are not always easily identifiable from the descriptions in the early zoological works, there being a certain amount of confusion in this field; and present-day terminology is still far …

(a.), measurement, means of measuring, any simple measuring instrument; in Egypt the name of the Nilometer, i.e. the gauge in which the annual rise of the river can be measured. Originally the rising of the Nile was measured by the gauge ( al-raṣāṣa ). According to Ibn ʿAbd al-Ḥakam, al-Ḳuḍāʿī, and others, Joseph, the son of Jacob, built the first Nilometer at Memphis; at a later date, the “aged Dalūka” built Nilometers in Ak̲h̲mīm and Anṣinā (Antinoë). These were the Nilometers in use throughout the Hellenistic per…

, Ballūr (il n’est pas établi que ce mot vienne du grec βήρυλλοζ, v. Dozy, I, 110), cristal de roche. D’après la Pétrologie d’Aristote, cette pierre est une espèce de verre, mais plus dure et plus compacte. C’est la plus belle, la plus pure, la plus translucide espèce de verre naturel, et elle se présente aussi avec les couleurs du yāḳūt; on doit entendre par cristal de roche «couleur poussière» la topaze fumée. Il peut être coloré artificiellement; il concentre les rayons solaires, de sorte qu’un chiffon noir, un flocon de coton ou de laine peut prendre…

(a.), mesurage, mesure, instrument de mesure quelconque; en Egypte, nom du Nilomètre, c’est-à-dire de la colonne graduée permettant de mesurer la crue annuelle du fleuve. A l’origine, la crue du Nil était mesurée au moyen de la sonde ( al-raṣāṣa). D’après Ibn ʿAbd al-Ḥakam, al-Ḳuḍāʿī et d’autres, Joseph, le fils de Jacob, construisit le premier Nilomètre à Memphis; par la suite, «Dalūka la vieille» en construisit à Ak̲h̲mīm et à Anṣinā (Antinoë); ces Nilomètres restèrent en usage pendant toute la période hellénistique jusqu’à la conq…

(fréquemment considéré comme un nom déterminé par l’article: al-mās, mais correctement al-almās d’après Ibn al-At̲h̲īr dans LA, VIII, 97, al- appartenant à la racine comme dans Ilyās) est une corruption de la forme grecque άδάμαΣ (loc. cit.: « wa-laysat bi-ʿarabiyya») et désigne le diamant. D’après le pseudo-aristotélicien Kitāb al-Aḥd̲j̲ār, qui, sur la base de sources grecques apparentées, s’accorde pour le principal avec les données de Pline, le diamant coupe tout corps solide, excepté le plomb par lequel il est lui-même détruit. Sur la fro…

, également tilsm, tilisim, tilasm, du grec τέλεσμα talisman, c.-à-d. inscription pourvue de signes astrologiques et autres signes magiques ou objet recouvert d’inscriptions de ce genre, en particulier aussi la reproduction de figures du zodiaque, ou des planètes ou de figures d’animaux qui servent comme procédés magiques de préservation et de protection. La dénomination grecque de l’objet est une preuve de son origine, qui remonte à l’hellénisme tardif et ce sont visiblement des conceptions gnostiq…

(A.; du persan pīl), éléphant. Le mot apparaît dans le titre et le premier verset de la sourate CV qui fait allusion à l’expédition d’Abraha [ q.v.], mais les Arabes ne connaissaient guère cet animal qui vit dans l’Inde et en Afrique, au point que, vers la fin du IIe/début du VIIIe siècle, le passage à Baṣra d’une troupe d’éléphants est un objet de curiosité pour la population (voir al-Nawawī, Tahd̲h̲īb, 738). Il en est déjà question dans Kalīla wa-Dimna (trad. A. Miquel, Paris 1957, 53), mais le premier auteur arabe à s’y intéresser vraiment et à se livrer à une enquête p…

, turquoise, pierre précieuse renommée allant du vert clair ou «cendre verte» au bleu ciel, avec un lustre semblable à celui de la cire, et composée d’un phosphate — contenant une quantité minime, mais essentielle, de cuivre et de fer. La couleur n’est point persistante dans toutes les pierres, et elle serait particulièrement attaquée par la sueur. Elle est presque toujours taillée, comme ornement, en cabochon, c’est-à-dire avec une surface convexe; seules les pierres qui portent une inscription…

(a.) «serpent», nom générique des ophidiens s’appliquant à toutes sortes de reptiles ( mā yansāḥ) des plus venimeux aux plus inoffensifs, la vipère ( apʿā) paraissant en être l’espèce la mieux différenciée. Des termes tels que ḥanas̲h̲, aym, t̲h̲uʿbān, aswad, raḳs̲h̲āʾ, sill, etc. désignent en arabe ¶ classique des espèces qui De sont pas toujours aisément identifiables d’après les descriptions figurant dans les anciens ouvrages de zoologie, car une certaine confusion règne dans ce domaine; la terminologie actuelle est encore loin d’être pr…

(A.), âne (fém. atān et ḥimāra). Les Arabes distinguent l’âne domestique ( ahlī) et l’âne sauvage ( waḥs̲h̲ī, faraʾ, ʿayr al-ʿāna). Les ânes domestiques servent à faire tourner les moulins et sont utilisés comme bêtes de somme et montures, mais, bien que le Prophète en ait possédé un, nommé Yaʿfūr, et que des personnages célèbres aient apprécié son allure, les Arabes de qualité ne montent pas cet animal et emploient même une formule d’excuse ( ḥās̲h̲ā -kum, aʿazza-kum Allāh, etc.) quand ils prononcent son nom. Les ouvrages de zoologie fournissent des détails sur ses carac…

, Abū Bakr ibn Badr, surnommé al-Bayṭār al-Nāṣirī, fut grand maître et vétérinaire en chef des écuries du sultan mamlūk d’Égypte al-Nāṣir, Nāṣir al-dīn Muḥammad b. Ḳalāwūn (qui détint le pouvoir en 693/1294,698-708/1299-1309-10 et 709-41/1310-41). C’est sur la demande de ce prince qu’Ibn al-Mund̲h̲ir rédigea, vers 740/1339-40, son traité d’hippologie intitulé Kās̲h̲if hamm al-wayl fī maʿrifat amrāḍ al-k̲h̲ayl, somme compilée de sources antérieures et notamment du Kāmil al-ṣināʿatayn (al-bayṭara wa-l-zarṭafa) d’un certain Ibn Ak̲h̲ī Ḥizām ou Ibn Abī Ḵh̲azzām du IIIe/IXe ou d…

, perle. L’antique légende de son origine se trouve tout au long dans les auteurs arabes, d’abord dans le Lapidaire d’Aristote, puis, avec des variantes, chez les Ik̲h̲wān al-Ṣafāʾ et chez les cosmographes postérieurs. D’après cette légende, l’Aṣṭārūs (ὀστρεῖoν) s’élève des profondeurs de la mer sillonnée par les navires et va trouver Okeanos. Mais voilà que les vents soulèvent un embrun, et la coquille s’ouvre pour en recevoir quelques gouttes. Lorsqu’elle les a recueillies, elle se retire dans…

(a.), fer. D’après la Sūrat al-Ḥadīd (VII, 25), Dieu a envoyé le fer sur la terre pour le mal et le bien des hommes, car on en fait des armes et des outils. D’après la croyance des Sabéens [voir Ṣābiʾa], il est consacré à Mars. C’est le plus dur et le plus solide des métaux, et c’est le plus résistant à l’action du feu, mais c’est celui qui s’oxyde le plus facilement. Il est attaqué par les acides; en effet, avec l’écorce fraîche de la grenade, il donne un liquide noir (observation du fer attaqué par l’acide tannique); avec le vinaig…