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strung on the thread for spacing.
Abu Bakr Farisi says: The date-tree's sapling resembles it, it is the shell alone that yields
lu'lu and fa rid. Heaviness in the pearl is to be appreciated for two reasons: first, since it bears witness to a body that is compact and organised; and,
second, because it argues for a bony body, as the heaviness of the pearl
would be in proportion to the body. A poet thus says:
He smiles with teeth like the rope of pearls which has been threaded
by one desiring perfection. They accused him of having large teeth, to which I said: ''The larger (the pearls), more precious they would be."_ Ibn al-Rumi says:
When thou becamest heavy in the balance, thy pan came down, and
the smaller people went up.
When the pearl is heavy, it is set on the upper part of the crown.
Ibn al-Mu'tazz says:
The pearl reposes in the bottom of the sea, and the dross remains upwards within the froth of the sea.
And yet in a blackish state it is picked out of the green.abyss of the
sea. Later it is studded on the crowns of magnificent and great kings. A poet belonging to the tribe of Rabi', satirising Banu Qahtan, writes in a
rejoinder to Abu Nuwas:
The beginning and the end of esteem for the pearl, in whose quest
divers go on board the boats. If they do happen to find a pearl that
shines a star, there will be no buyer for it among Banu Qahtan, and
(the members of the tribe) will become sad.
It will then be brought before one of our kings who does not care
much for wealth and is generous.
When he has purchased it for a high price, he will have it set in the
necklace of his best steed.
'Ubayd Allah bin 'Abd Allah bin Tahir has distinguished between the
twin pearls belonging to the same shell:
Sometimes two pearls are found in the same shell and it is the jeweller alone who is aware of the price of pearls. The price of one is beyond all estimate, while the other is less costly than even the shell.
Durr Yatimah was brought before Hisham bin 'Abd al-Malik. His wife
'Abdah bint Abd Allah bin Yazid bin Mu'awiyah was sitting beside him.
She was so fat that she had to be supported when she wanted to get up.
Hisham said to her that, if she was able to get up without any support,
she could have the pearl. She made every effort to get up, but hardly
had she got up than she fell down on her face, and blood began to gush
out from her nose. Hisham washed her face and gave her the pearl. It is
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