tributed amongst the pious." And the Hâfiz, ibnAsâkir,* says, "The Syrians considered el-Walîd as the best of their Khalifahs. He built the mosque at Damascus; and he set apart a sufficiency for lepers, and said to cripples and to the blind, "Do not beg from other people, and I will give to each a servant or a guide.''

And it is recorded that the sum total of what elWalîd laid out in building the mosque of el-'Ummawy was four hundred chests, each chest containing eightand-forty thousand dinârs; and six hundred chains of gold for the lamps. [But the building would not have been completed had not his brother Sulaimân, when he reigned over the Khalifate, done many good deeds, and left behind him traces of excellence.] And yet, after all this, it is recorded by 'Omar-ibn-'Abd-elAzîz † that when el-Walîd was wrapt in his windingsheet his hands were chained to his neck.‡

* Abu-'l-Kâsim-'Aly, commonly known by his surname of ibnAsâkir, was the chief Hafiz, or Traditionist, of the age in which he lived. He was born A.H. 499, and died A.H. 571 (A.D. 1176). + First cousin to el-Walîd and Sulaimân, and successor to the latter in the Khalîfate, A.H. 99 (A.D. 718).

That is, that in spite of all his good deeds he chose to appear as a criminal at the Day of Resurrection.

NOTE TO ABOVE.

El-Walid was proclaimed Khalifah the same day that his father died, A.H. 85. He died A.H. 96 (A.D. 715), and was buried at Damascus, having reigned nine years and eight months. Historians differ much in their accounts of his character; those of Syria represent him as the greatest prince of the house of 'Omeyyah, whereas Persian and other Muslim writers describe him as naturally cruel and violent, and subject to intemperate fits of passion. He is said to have had some skill in architecture, and expended large sums upon public buildings. El-Makîn's estimate of the sum laid out upon the mosque at Damascus, is, however, considerably less than that of the historian quoted in the text. The former reckons it at four hundred chests, each containing fourteen thousand, instead of fortyeight thousand, dinârs.

THE REIGN OF SULAIMÂN-IBN-'ABD-EL

A

MÁLIK-IBN-MARWÂN.

MONG his other good deeds, it is related that a

man came before him and cried, "O Commander of the Faithful! I adjure thee by Allâh, and the Izhân (notification)!" "As to 'I adjure thee by Allâh!" said Sulaimân, "verily we understand that, but what dost thou mean by the Izhân (notification)?" The man replied, "These are the words of the Most High: The Muazh-zhin (crier) will proclaim amongst them that the curse of God is upon oppressors.' "What is thy wrong?" asked Sulaimân. The man answered, “Thy vicegerent So-and-so has taken Suchand-such a village away from me by force."

Then Sulaimân descended from his throne, and turned back the carpet, and laying his cheek upon the ground, said, “By Allâh! I will not lift up my

* El-Kurân, Sûr. vii., V. 42. The Muazh-zhin, or “crier,” is supposed by some to allude to the angel Isrâfil.

cheek from the earth until he has been written to and ordered to restore the village." So the scribes wrote, and he remained with his cheek laid upon the ground that he might hear the words of the Lord who created him and surrounded him with good things, fearing the curse of God, and banishment from His presence.

It is said that he released from the prison of el-Hajjâj three hundred thousand souls, between men and women. * But he honoured the family of elHajjâj. And he chose for his wazîr and councillor 'Omar, the son of his uncle 'Abd-el-Azîz.

Ibn-Khalikân in his biography states that Sulaimân's appetite was enormous: he ate about a hundred Syrian ratls every day.t

Muhammad-ibn-Sirîn‡ says that Sulai mân opened

* The figures here given seem truly incredible. But it is also computed by Arabian historians, that el-Hajjâj killed a hundred and twenty thousand men, besides those who fell in war; and suffered fifty thousand men and thirty thousand women to perish in prison.

+ I believe the Syrian ratl here mentioned was the same as the present Egyptian ratl. The latter weighs from 1 lb. 2 oz. 5 dwt. to about 1 lb. 2 oz. 8 dwt. Troy.

Abu-Bekr-Muhammad-ibn-Sirîn was a native of el-Básrah. His father was an enfranchised slave, and he himself was one of the jurisconsults by whose opinion the people of el-Básrah were guided. He was famed for his piety, and his knowledge of the Traditions. He was born A. H. 33, and died A. H. 110 (A.D. 729).

his reign with well-doing, and sealed it with welldoing. He opened it well by establishing the earliest hour for prayer, and he sealed it well by appointing 'Omar-ibn-'Abd-el-Azîz as his successor.

NOTE TO ABOVE.

Sulaimân-ibn-'Abd-el-Málik-ibn-Marwân succeeded his brother el-Walid A.H. 96. He died at Marj-Dabek, in the district of Kinnafrîn, A.H. 99 (A.D. 718). He possessed quick parts and surprising eloquence, and endeared himself to his subjects by his mild and merciful disposition. They surnamed him Miftah-el-Khair, The Key of Goodness, on account of his clemency and the multitude of prisoners whom he released.