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It is said that yashm and a species of this stone are called hajar alghalbdi, and the Turks employ it for decorating their saddles, swords
and belts, so that they may vanquish their enemies. Others, following them, had rings and clasps of knives made from it. In the Kitab at-Nukhab it has been said that yashm is the hajar alghalbali and the Turks use it so that they might overwhelm the enemies
and so as to avoid pain resulting from heavy victuals, e.g., vermicelli, unleavened bread, roasted meat and meat balls. Nasr describing its characteristics says:
It is harder than turquoise. Its colour is milky. Floods bring it down
to a valley of Turkistan, called Su. It is cut by means of the diamond
and belts and rings are made from it.
Turks believe yashm to avert the evil eye. It is also said to remove
the after-effects of clouds and lightning. As far as the evil eye is concerned, this is idle talk. But as far the lightning is concerned, I saw a man who claimed this property for yashm spread a thin piece of cloth upon the surface of yashm and placed a burning ember over it but it not burn the cloth. However, this is not particular to yashm. Iron mirrors achieve the same effect, but they do not avert lightning; in fact, lightning melts them. In the books upon medicine is described a stone known as yashb. 109
It is said to be good for stomach aches and is for this reason hung from the neck. These books also say that some ray-like pattern is drawn upon it. Galen says he experimented upon a yashb stone that had no pattern upon it. He found that it was good for stomach pains. This drawing was of a python. We have already described it in connexion with jamast. Ibn Masah writes that it is yellowish and the yashm brought from
Khutan is labaiii-white. From this one gets the impression that yashm is something else than yashb, but later the belief grows that it is the same which we have described in the beginning under yashm, viz., that the Turks use it as a corrective for indigestion, especially as the people of Tirmiz call it yashb and the people of Bukhara alshab and ashb. They also say it is a white Chinese stone, which they occasionally call bash. Some say that bash is not yashm but a similar stone. It is softer than yashm, so soft, in fact, that even the teeth can affect it. Yashm cannot be ground by the teeth. Both are used as stomachic. SABAJ
It does not belong to the species of stones that are rated precious.
Indeed its beads are considered to be so worthless that they are hung from the necks of donkeys. Ric.h people have bodkins for collyria made from it, as it does not become rusty. It should be used in eyes that have |
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