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Upon his forehead you will see the royal counters. He is very quiet
and the lustre of his teeth is very much there.
Abu Nuwas says: The greatness of the Rabi tribe is as the greatness of l/5th compared
to 1/1 Oth. In Makkan days they overcame a great ordeal. They
secured the counters of the Caliphate, priceless and without peer.
The Khusraws had a kind of rosary having twenty one pearls. Hamzah has given its name as the lashk-i-shumarah. The number of the pearls
in the rosary corresponded to the chapters (lashk) of the Avestd. These were joined to each other without any space in between, and the king swirled them in the morning as a practice. Mamun al-Rashid cherished a great love for Wathiq. He used to take
the latter along with him on journeys and keep him close to himself on the mount. One night the camel-driver began to chant a ballad. Mamun felt afraid lest Wathiq should wake up. He could not call out to the driver also for the same reason. He then broke the thread of his rosary and began to pelt the driver with the pearls. The attention of the driver was at last drawn. Mamun made a sign asking him to be quiet. In the morning he told one of his private attendants where he had dropped the pearls. They were recovered, but on that night they functioned as stones. We have not been able to ascertain much about a rosary which belonged to Umm Ja'far Zubaydah. But this much has been mentioned
that one day she and Harun had a discourse about the piety and theological learning of 'Umarah bin Hamzah bin Maymun. Zubaydah's contention was that the smell of money and wealth is liable to make even the staunchest piety to waver. She asked the Caliph to call him and make him a gift of her rosary, which was priced at 50,000 dinars, if he refused to accept the rosary, she would be convinced of his piety. Harun sent for him and engaged him in a discourse upon some important subject. He then offered him the rosary which 'Umarah, having thanked him. placed on the same spot. Zubaydah thought he had forgotten to take it with him. She despatched a messenger along with the rosary. 'Umarah said to the messenger: "If thou speakest the truth, let the rosary be thine." The messenger returned and said to Zubaydah that the rosary had been made over as a gift to him. Zubaydah gave a thousand dinars to the messenger and took it back. If the story concerns the rosary, it must have been of ruby or of good pearls. Another version which also figures 'Umarah, has Saffah and Umm Salmah Makhzumiah as the main characters. He expressed pride over his race and cited 'Umarah as an ideal slave. However, this story also pertains to 'Umarah, although it mentions a different Caliph and his spouse. Jewellers have the following incident to relate too. When Qutaybah
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