104 Extracts from the Persian History of Sindh. [Feb. 



telling the destinies of others, are you acquainted with your own ?" She 

 said " Yes ; and it is foretold that I shall become the wife of a native of 

 Sindhy and you are the man." C hot ah, finding his secret revealed, no 

 longer continued his stolen visits, but making the girl's parents ac- 

 quainted with his passion, was lawfully married to her, and returned to 

 '■Brdhmandbdd, where he employed himself in trying to persuade 

 Dilu' Ra'i, to abandon his evil courses, but without effect. The 

 beauty of Chotah's wife (Fatimeh), reaching the ears of the tyrant, 

 he determined to possess her and for this purpose sought an opportuni- 

 ty whilst his brother was from home to visit his wife. Chotah being 

 informed of this, returned quickly and taking Fatimeh with him de- 

 parted from the city, after venting maledictions upon it, and the tyrant 

 who ruled there, prophecying that the place, and all who inhabited it, 

 would be overthrown. Many believed his predictions, and fled; three 

 nights afterwards, it was, with all its inhabitants, swallowed up ; one single 

 minaret alone remains as a warning to the rest of mankind. 



Worship of Idols. 

 Bin Ca'sim after the taking of Alor* entered the city, where he 

 observed a number of people prostrating themselves before a temple. On 

 inquiring, he found that they were worshipping idols ; he entered the 

 temple, where he saw the figure of a man on horseback so perfect, that 

 he drew his sword to defend himself, but the bystanders told him to 

 sheathe it again, as the figure he saw was not a man, but the resemblance 

 of one and an object of adoration. Upon this, Bin Ca'sim advanced to the 

 figure, and the better to prove to these people the absurdity of their reli* 

 gion, drew one of the gauntletsf from the hands of the idol, and 

 observing to the idolators that their divinity had now only one gauntlet 

 left, desired them to inquire of him, what had become of the other? 

 to which they replied, " How should the inanimate idol be able to answer 

 a question; what can he understand of such things?" Then said Bin 

 Ca'sim, "what strange sort of god do you worship, who so far from 

 being acquainted with the state of others, is not even able to answer a 

 question concerning his own." The unbelievers were ashamed at the 

 rebuke. 



*93 H. 711 A. D. 



t Literally, the word is ^IJU*^ dastwdn, gauntlet or glove, probably more cor- 

 rect as an ornament of some kind, than a glove. 



