pecially if the latter is free from blemishes and bubbles. But it is softer
than the crystal and, being more profusely available, is rated lower. Its
transparent vessels, which are wholly transparent and show what is inside, are preferred, Bukayr al-Sami says;
if a bowl of fine gold hides the defects of our wine, then surely a
goblet of glass is better.
Sari says:
It is a greater tale-bearer than the goblet of glass. What is inside him
appears clearly although it be inside him.
And again:
My secret is as evident to thee, as in glass transparency and purity are
self-evident.
In our discussion of qawariri fiddiyah (silver goblets) we have already stated that what is implied are the characteristics of glass — not the
properties of silver. Fiddah (silver) has been described only because
people are familiar with it. By biyad God has implied the absence of any
colour, and not milky-white colour. When poets call a goblet white, they
mean that it is transparent, and not white. Then they advanced a few
steps further, and began to compare goblets with pearls and skins of the
pearl. Obviously, inasmuch as the apparent meaning of the word is concerned, they went astray from the theme and forfeited the chief purport
of the image — the superiority and the transparency of the goblet. If a
goblet is like pearls, nothing inside would be visible, and, if any one
should peep into it, he would only see the wine. All their similes would
come to naught. They might praise the glitter, colour and bubbles of
the wine, but, if it is contained within the cavity of the pearl, it would be
hidden from the eyes and would be one for the blind and the seeing.
'Ali bin Tsa writes in his Tafsir (exegesis)— and he has been seconded
by Abu Muhammad Suqabadi — that "clear silver-like crystal is superior to
jacynth and pearl, and, since they both are superior to gold, such silver
would be superior to gold." This is mere quibbling and achieves nothing,
neither in actuality nor in theory. Never has silver been rated higher
than gold under any circumstance. How then can a special kind of silver
be regarded as superior to gold?
This is nothing but the figment of imagination visualising a certain
situation even though it may not have any basis or existence in actual
fact. Every white and resplendent object is like silver. But a white object
has never been seen to have been characterised by transparency. Even
milk is not transparent, except if it congeals and the coagulated white
portion is separated from it.
As a matter of fact, when we denote a thing to be white, we often
mean that it is colourless and free from all kinds of colours. The poet,
'Antarah, thus says:
