Part 2 (1/2)

[2] _Sayyid_, 'lord', 'chief, the cla.s.s of Musalmans who claim descent from Fatimah, daughter of the Prophet, and 'Ali, his cousin-german and adopted son; they are divided into two branches descended from Hasan and Husain, sons of 'Ali and Fatimah.

[3] _Mir_, a contraction of _Amir_, 'lord'.

[4] _Koran, Qur'an_.

[5] 'They who swallow down usury shall arise in the resurrection only as he ariseth whom Satan hath infected by his touch' (_Koran_, ii.

276). But this is rather theory than practice, and many ingenious methods are adopted to avoid the prohibition.

[6] _Begam_, feminine of _Beg_, 'lord', used to denote a Sayyid lady, like Khanam among Pathans.

[7] Here, as elsewhere, _zenanah, zananah_, Persian _zan_, 'woman'.

[8] This is incorrect. The Koran has been translated into various languages, but the translation is always interlineary with the original text. In Central Asia the Musalman conquerors allowed the Koran to be recited in Persian, instead of Arabic, in order that it might be intelligible to all (Arnold, _The Preaching of Islam_, 183).

[9] _Jali_.

[10] _Kurti_, a loose, long-sleeved jacket of muslin or net, among rich women embroidered on the neck and shoulders with gold, and draped down to the ankles in full, loose folds. It is made of red or other light-coloured fabrics for girls and married women; dark blue, bronze, or white for old ladies; bronze or black for widows.

[11] _Khan_, 'lord', 'prince', specially applied to persons of Mughal or Pathan descent.

[12] _Bahadur_, 'champion', a Mongol term; see Yule, _Hobson-Jobson_[2], 48 ff.

[13] _Nawab_, 'a deputy, delegate': the Anglo-Indian Nabob (ibid., 610 ff.).

[14] _Muharram_, 'that which is forbidden', the first month of the Musalman year, the first ten days of which are occupied with this mourning festival.

[15] By his wife Ja'dah, who was suborned to commit the deed by Yazid.

[16] Yazid, son of Mu'awiyah, the second Caliph of the house of Umaiyah, who reigned from A.D. 679 to 683. Gibbon (_Decline and Fall_, ed. W. Smith, vi. 278) calls him 'a feeble and dissolute youth'.

[17] Kerbala, Karbala, a city of Iraq, 50 miles south-west of Baghdad, and about 6 miles from the Euphrates.

[18] Syria.

[19] _Sunni_, Ahlu's-Sunnah, 'one of the Path', a traditionalist. The Sunnis accept the first four Caliphs, Abu Bakr, 'Umar, 'Usman, 'Ali, as the rightful successors of Muhammad, and follow the six authentic books of the traditions. The s.h.i.+'ahs, 'followers' of 'Ali, maintain that he was the first legitimate Imam or Caliph, i.e. successor of the Prophet. For a full account of the martyrdom of Husain see Simon Ockley, _History of the Saracens_ (1848), 287 ff.; Sir L. Pelly, _The Miracle Play of Hasan and Husain_ (1879), Preface, v ff.

[20] _Imam._

[21] Muslim.

[22] _Qazi_, a Muhammadan law officer.

[23] _Karwan_, a caravan.

[24] al-Hurr.

[25] This term is obscure. Jaffur Shurreef (_Qanoon-e-Islam_, 107) says the plain of the martyrdom was called 'Mareea'. For 'Hurth' Prof. E.G.

Browne suggests _hirth_, 'a ploughed field', or _ard_, 'land'. Sir C.