Volume 1

Rambles and recollections of an Indian official / [Sir William Henry Sleeman].

  • William Henry Sleeman
Date:
1893
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Rambles and recollections of an Indian official / [Sir William Henry Sleeman]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    Ayesha, the widow of Muhammad, said, “ ‘ I heard his majesty say, ‘‘ the angels come down to the region next the world, and mention the works that have been pre-ordained in heaven ; and the devils, who descend to the lowest region, listen to what the angels say, and hear the orders predestined in heaven, and carry them to fortune-tellers ; therefore, they tell a hundred lies with it from them- selves.” “ Ibn Abbas said, ‘ a man of his majesty’s friends informed me, that whilst his majesty’s friends were sitting with him one night, a very bright star shot; and his high- ness said, “ what did you say in the days of ignorance when a star shot like this ? ” They said, “ God and his messenger know best; we used to say, a great man was born to-night, and a great man died.”^ Then his majesty said, “ you mistook, because the shootings of these stars are neither for the life nor death of any person ; but when our cherisher orders a work, the bearers of the imperial throne sing hallelujahs ; and the inhabitants of the regions who are near the bearers repeat it, till it reaches the lowest regions. After the angels which are near the bearers of the imperial Authentic Traditions regarding the Actions and Sayings of Muhammed ; exhibiting the Origin of the Manners and Customs; the Civil, Religious, and Military Policy of the Muslemans.” Translated from the original Arabic by Captain A. N. Matthews, Bengal Artillery. Two vols. T 5 Calcutta, 1809-1810. This valuable work was published by subscription, and is now very scarce. A line copy is in the India Office Library. The first volume is dated 1809 ; the second, 1810. ^ Book xxi, chapter iii, part i; vol. ii, p. 384. The quotations as given by the author are inexact. The editor has substituted correct extracts from Matthews’ text. Matthews spells the name of the pro- phet’s widow as Aayeshah. 2 In Sparta, the Ephoroi, once every nine years, watched the sky during a whole cloudless, moonless night, in profound silence ; and, if they saw a shooting star, it was understood to indicate that the kings of Sparta had disobeyed the gods, and their authority was, in con- sequence, suspended till they had been purified by an oracle from Delphi or Olympia. [W. H. S.] This statement rests on the authority of Plutarch, ii.
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