XIV INTRODUCTION 



The Peophet and Horses, — "The Arabs honoured horses even 

 before Islam; but when the Prophet testified to the nobility of 

 horses, to cherish them became part of the Arab religion. It is 

 said that, when the tribes of Yemen first embraced Islam, they 

 sent to the Prophet, as a present, five noted mares of pure breed 

 and of varied strains. The Prophet left his tent and went out to 

 meet them,^ and stroking them said, 'A Blessing on you, oh 

 Daughters of the Wind,' adding that whoever kept a horse for the 

 service of God would be counted equal to one who gives alms day 

 and night in public ^ and by stealth." 



The Prophet Rode Races. — Keeping a horse has no special 

 religious merit, unless the horse is kept for a jihad or for some 

 religious purpose. 



Horse-racing is not forbidden by Muslim law. Riders may 

 bet, though not the onlookers. The Prophet himself rode races. 



The Zinat^ 'l-Khayl. — Munshi Muhammad Mahdi, a noted 

 horseman and salotri, and the author of the " Zlnaf^ 'l-Khayl," 

 a very popular Urdu work written in A.H. 1257 { = A.D. 1841) 

 to which reference is frequently made in the following pages, tells 

 us that while compiling his work he consulted treatises by the 

 following authorities : Yusuf i of Delhi ; Rangln ; Nizam'^ 'd-Din 

 of Iran; Haji *Abd" 'llah Wahhab of Bukhara; Nakul of India; 

 Hashimi of Isfahan; and Safi. He also consulted the Aswa- 

 Darpan, besides other works by unknown and unnamed authors. 



The War-horse. — He writes : " That horse is fit for war that 

 has its eyes black, fine, and alert like the eyes of the gazelle ; its 

 lips and nostrils fine and thin ; its ears small and close together ; ^ 

 its forehead flat ; and its tongue long : it should hold its head and 

 neck aloft with the pride of the peacock, and should walk with the 

 proud gait of a bride : its head should be small, its chest broad, 

 its quarters large, its teeth even and good to look upon, its mouth 

 deep, its nostrils open,^ its fore-arm strong, its body elegant in 



1 Istiqbdl. 



2 In certain cases, giving alms in public is considered praiseworthy ; 

 for instance, in coming forward with subscriptions to induce others 

 to give. 



^ Mile nazdik, may mean either " set on high up on the head (and 

 consequently close together)," or " curved so that the tips come close 

 together, when the ears are pricked." 



* Wide open nostrils indicate large lungs. 



