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When the new and fresh clouds poured rain upon the garden, it made
every pond dirham-like.
The poet has not implied in the above couplet that the rain generated the
colour of dirliam since rain falls and flows. Ponds do not become rounded
like dirliam, but rather that they became clear and transparent, and the
image of the dirliam has been evoked, in that it is minted from silver. On
this analogy they (the exegetes in their interpretation of the verse ha
atinahunua al-yaqnt wa'l marjan) have taken to imply the whiteness of
the coral and the transparency of ruby. It is actually the reddishness of
the ruby that is implied, since we find the crystal and glass to be more
transparent than ruby. (God has evoked this image, as houris have the
reddishness of ruby together with the whitishness of the coral.) It is not
considered desirable for beauty to be devoid of reddishness. This is why
the people of Arabia say: Al-husn ahmar (beauty is reddish). Therefore,
we hear Bashshar bin Burd saying:
Put on an elegant dress, and wear clothes that have been dyed yellow.
And, when thou appearest in our presence, don the veil of beauty,
since beauty is red.
And he further says:
From the (countenance) of (these) white (damsels) spills redness
which charms the eye. Verily, beauty is reddish.
Dioscorides says:
In Palestine a certain grass is called hashish at al-zujaj (glass-grass),
since it acts as a detergent for the impurities sticking to bottles. It is
agitated together with water in bottles.
Hamzah says:
There is a village known as Fahrud among the villages of Qashan, in
the region of Isfahan, There is a grass there which becomes converted
into transparent glass. I was given pieces of it. It was in the form of
plants of different shapes and the people of the area employ it in
different medicines.
Hamzah has not mentioned any medicine, although those who have
knowledge about the coral-root should not find this to be an object of
wonder.
MINA
Mina is a kind of glass, but it is compact and heavier. Lead is heavier
than mina. Experts regard a mixture of mina as the original kind, while
some regard it as being compounded from marwah (flint-stone). It is a
very white stone which sparks off fire. It is brought from valleys. If
the flint-stone is not available, hajar al-zannud is used as a substitute.
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