IV. BA. Lxvi. OF THE SUDAN 45
between me and thee on the Day of Resurrection. Verily, few on that
day shall have wherewithal to lean upon." 'Abdulla was known in conse-
quence as "Dhu Mikhsara" ("He of the Staff"). He lived at A'raf near Medina and was once summoned by Muhammad to Medina and stayed
there all night in the mosque: this night was known thenceforth as "The night of el Guhani." He died in 54 a.h. and left four sons, 'Atia, 'Amr,
Damra, and 'Abdulla.
Muir also mentions (pp. 337-8) that in 627 a.d. he assassinated the Jewish chief Abu el Hukayk, and in 628 a.d. his successor also.
For the connection between him and Dhubian, the ancestor of the Guhayna of the Sudan, see note to D i, lxxxvi.
Lix Cp. B I, vi; B 3, 11; D I, lxxxix, etc.
All the Guhayna group of nisbas say Dhubian had ten sons, and the
names vary but little. "Shatir" is sometimes {e.g. AB) written Shatir: for "Gudham" MS. 2 gives "Guzam": "Sufian Afzar" is a fake, two men being combined into one. "Afzar" is a reminiscence of Fezara the son of the Dhubian of para. Lvi. The variations in the details of this and following paragraphs will be seen by reference to the trees.
Lxii-Lxv AB (cxLi, cxLii) speaks of "Sultan who was ancestor of seven tribes," and continues, "I have omitted mention of them for fear of pro-
lixity, but whoever wishes to know them should refer to the manuscript
copied from The Noble Gift and Rare Excellence by el Imam el Shafa'i, from which he [sc. the copyist] copied them: you will find this complete." Now the author of AB (only in the original MS. of 1853) has actually written the seven descendants of Sultan and crossed them out: they are, however, still legible and are inserted in the tree of AB (q.v.).
As regards the title of the work of el Shafa'i quoted, the two nouns as written in the original MS. of AB would not be clearly legible, though the adjectives are so, were it not for the aid of the B i nisba, which (assuming
its correctness) gives the whole title, viz. "J?/ Nafhat el Sherifa wa '/ Turf a
7 Munifa {q.v. B 1,1). The copy of AB made for the author's son in 1910 gives only ^j.]a)\^ djujJ:J\ Aia^jJI. Cp. also B 3, 1. Or " Tuhfat" instead of "Nafhat" may perhaps be correct.
If by "el Shafa'i" is meant the Imam Abu 'Abdulla Muhammad Idris el Shafa'i it may be noted that the Fihrist (988 a.d.) quotes the names of
109 works by him, of which four or five only survive, and the title quoted is not among them.
MS. I gives "Fadin," MS. 2 "Fadni," and later "Fadin." MS. 3 omits "(or Hamayl)" — so spelt in MS. 2. In para. Lxv MS. 3 has omitted a line thus making the Daudia descen-
dants of Mashaykh.
Lxvi AB (para, cliii) says " From Muhammad are descended the Meza- NIYYUN, who are proteges to 'Amir (j-«U ^Jl oj-oj ^<r*5), and the Laha- WIYYUN (reading ,j>*j^aJUl for O-*:!>*-'^0. who are proteges to 'Amira (5j-«U j,3t dj-dj^j), and the Zumaylat."
The exact meaning of <>^-«cu is obscure, but I think it is represented
by ''proteges" or "clientes" i.e. not descendants but adherents. 'Amir