any person who would tell me about it. At times it so happens that the
name of a thing follows from an object which is not found in it. And
island is so situated in the Black Sea within the circumference of islands.
It is in Zabij and lies in the direction of Javah (Java) and Diwah. 45 It is
called the Ruby Island, although no ruby is mined there. It is so called
because the faces of the women of this island are extremely beautiful.
The same thing is true of the women of Ghubb al-Qamar, so called because it is rounded in shape and it is subject to high and low tides.
The word, Ghubb, denotes a place at which the sea overflows the
land. Ships tend to avoid such places as the water here is shallow. Jazr
is the place where the water from the sea flows and recedes, and the
mouth for the entry of the water is wide. Some have called Jazr to be
the opposite of Ghubb and have said that Jazr is that neck-like projection of the land which intrudes into the sea. But this is erroneous.
One jeweller has narrated that the king of this island had sent to
Hajjaj bin Yusuf, women who were born Muslims but whose parents had
died. They were, therefore, orphans. The Rajah (of this island) wished
to obtain the good wishes of Hajjaj. (The ship carrying these women)
was pirated by the Mayds, who were pirates from Daibal, operating
pirate-ships. (The bawarij in the language of these people are called the
birah, that is, boats). The women were abducted. One of the women
belonging to the tribe of Bani Yarbu' cried: "O Hajjaj! O Hajjaj!" When
he heard about her agonised cry he replied "Yes."' In much the same
way, the widows (of Muslims) from the frontier (of the 'Abbasid Caliphate during the 'Abbasid — Byzantine war) had called out to Mu'tasim,
and the 'Abbaside Caliph had cried back: "Here I come.'' Hajjaj wrote to
Dahir bin Chach to return the women. Dahir ignored the request and instead wrote back: "T cannot retrieve them from the pirates." Hajjaj sent
Muhammad bin Qasim bin Mubinnah 46 to the frontiers of the Umayyid
Caliphate which borders on the frontiers of Sind. At that time he was
only seventeen. Muhammad bin Qasim wrote to Hajjaj that he could not
find any vinegar, whereupon Hajjaj had corded cotton dipped in old and
sharp vinegar and dried under shade till all the vinegar was absorbed.
When ready, Hajjaj sent it to Muhammad bin Qasim with the instructions
that it should be dipped in water and cooked. Muhammad bin Qasim
fought and killed Dahir and occupied Sind. The capital of Sind was
Bamhanava. 47 The Persians called it Bamanabad. The astronomical
table of Arkand calls it Brahmanabad. When Muhammad bin Qasim
entered the city as the conqueror, he said: Nasratu (I have been graced
with victory). The name of the city, therefore, became Mansurah. Then
he turned towards Multan and subjugated it. When he made his triumphant entry here, he said: Umritu (I have prospered). The city, therefore, gained the appellation of Ma'murah. But this name did not gain the
