660 Ibn QotayLah? s Adah al KdtW on Arabic Astronomy. [Dec. 



perhaps of the names of the signs of the Zodiac, with which the Arahs 

 were probably acquainted long before Muhammed. 



The object of Ibn Qotaybah's* book called the Writer's Manual, 

 ^3^il c-^t or according to others wtlxJiwi,}!, is merely to explain 

 the words and terms which occur in the poems, proverbs, &c. of 

 ancient Bedouin poets, we can not therefore expect complete explana- 

 tions. To supply what I can, I have added some extracts from the 

 Mahdhij al Fikr of Wat-wat ^j^y of which I believe, there is no copy 

 in Europe, the extracts from this book however must be received with 

 some caution, for the author is not always critical, and the MSS. not 

 always correct ; but the extracts from Ibn Qotaybah may be completely 

 relied upon, and they will be found copied under the respective heads 

 in the Qamiis and CiMA and translated in Freytag's Diet. Arab. Lat. 



Jj^ fyU/o *U A^J\ * [jjy] j Ja.^ jx &JUI J15 *U* ^\s^ } ) j 



cX* 5) ^ ^h yd) j I ysr 1 ! ^ .yJ) ^ J,^^) lib ^ U*«) ^ sduUiw* ^ jjj 



l^Le Jj-w <*1jJ (J-^ ^^) Jv^ $jL* ^yJuz j 2U;Uj **£.'! Jj^ j 



* Died A. II. 276. 



