1848.] Ibn Qotuybah's Adah al Katffi on Arabic Astronomy. 669* 



means to say our father is a star in nobility and height of position. 

 " What do you know of the meaning of £ariq ? it is a bright star." 



The moon is called qamar because she is white ; aqmar means white ; 

 you say of the night it is qamra if it is light. There are two dawns, 

 the first is also called the tail of the wolf, it is the false dawn and 

 resemble a wolf's tail, because it is narrow and does not spread ; the 

 second is the true dawn which spreads, this is the red of the morning. 

 The sun is called glowing for he glows like fire. The morning is hence 

 called the morning of the glowing, (i. e. sun.) The highest part of the 

 sun, which first rises above the horizon is called the horn of the sun. 

 His sides are called hawajib ; iyah is the light of the sun ; halah means 

 the halo of the moon. 



There are four cardinal winds : the north wind which comes from 

 Sham (left) ; or from the right if you are in the 'Iraq and place your 

 face towards the qiblah. If the north wind is hot in summer it is 

 called trying. The opposite wind is called south wind. The east wind 

 comes from whence the sun rises, and the west wind comes from the 

 opposite direction. A wind which comes from between two cardinal 

 points is called decimating. 



A large star is called dorriyy without a hamzah (pearly). Abu Mu- 

 hammed says if you pronounce the word dorriyy with a hamzah and 

 say doriy, it means a star which rises over you. 



By thejady (polar star) through which you ascertain where the 

 qiblah is, the jady of the ursa minor is meant. The ursa minor is close 

 to the ursa major and resembles it ; four stars are called na'gh (bier) 

 and the other three are called banat (daughters). The first two of the 

 four are called farqadan (the two calves), the last of the banat is called 

 jady (polar star, literally, he-goat). — Soha is an obscure star in the 

 larger Bear on which people exercise their eyesight, and hence the say- 

 ing : I show her the soha (talks on subtilities) and she shows me the 

 moon. Fakka (languor) is a round constellation (Corona borealis) 

 behind the Arcturus the common people ('ammah, and not ghilmah, 

 as Freytag seems to have read) call it the poor man's cup. Before 

 Arcturus is the simak ramih, (i. e. the simak armed with a spear ;) it is 

 called armed with a spear because there is a star before it which is 

 called spear. The unarmed simak (Spica virginis) is between the 

 southern and northern stars. The setting vulture consists of three 



