Page:The Northern Ḥeǧâz (1926).djvu/333

 Abu Hurejra, the Prophet designated with the word as-Sunbuk that part of Ḥesma’ belonging to the Ǧuḏâm. In the opinion of several Arabic writers, Allâh, at the request of the Believers in Ḥesma’, caused springs to gush forth at Iram, al-Bedîʻa, Naʻmân, and ʻAlalân.—

From the southern extremity of the region of Ḥesma’ to the actual Wâdi al-Ḳura’ it is over two hundred kilometers, but to the beginning of Wâdi al-Ǧizel, which is likewise reckoned as tributary to Wâdi al-Ḳura’, it is only seventy kilometers. Jâḳût includes this region in Syria, because Tebûk, and accordingly also the greater part of Ḥesma’, used to belong to the political area of Ṣoṛar Ṣoṛar being at the southern end of the Dead Sea. From Tebûk the peaks of Ḥesma’ rise up to the west and northwest; Šarôra’, however, is seen not to the east, as stated by Jâḳût, but to the northeast. According to Ibn as-Sikkît, it would seem that the eastern edge of al-ʻAraba opposite the harbor of Ajla belonged to Ḥesma’, while the western belonged to the desert of Tîh beni Isrâʻîl.

The Ḥarra Nuhejl, which Ibn as-Sikkît mentions, is unknown to me. Wüstenfeld writes in a note (Jâḳût, Muʻǧam, Vol. 5, p. 152) that Nuhejl nowhere occurs in Arabic literature and that it should probably be Nihja, which is referred to by the poet al-Mutanabbi on his journey from Egypt to Irak (ʻErâḳ). Al-Mutanabbi, however, nowhere mentions Nihja on this journey but refers to it in describing the expedition of Sejfaddawle against the nomads; and this Nihja is not situated in the proximity of the region of Ḥesma’ but to the southwest of Tudmor (Palmyra). The encampments of the Beni ʻUḏra were in the neighborhood of al-Ḥeǧr and thus on the eastern edge of Ḥarrat al-ʻAwêreẓ and Ḥarrat ar-Rḥa’, so that we should locate the volcanic territory of Nuhejl in the eastern lava spurs to the northwest of al-Ḥeǧr, somewhere near the lava lake of Sâlûm. There we meet with the name Mhejr, which recalls Nḫejl (Nhejr), for n at the beginning of a word is often interchanged with m, l at the end of a word being interchanged with r.

The natives of Ḥesma’ are acquainted with the lîn species of palm. This species is said to flourish particularly well in the oasis of Šarma’. Clouds of dust, or rather of sand, can be observed in the region of Ḥesma’ almost every other day. They cover the whole country, so that even on a clear day it is impossible to see beyond fifty meters. These clouds of sand are a proof of considerable erosion and of the violent winds blowing through Ḥesma’. In consequence of erosion, the rocky soil of Ḥesma’ had been rendered as smooth as a horse’s hoof, and that is why the commentators on the oral tradition call it as-Sunbuk (fore part of a horse’s hoof).

On Mount Iram, or the modern Ramm, grapevines and pine trees would thrive even now, but I have never seen any pine trees to the south of ʻAmmân. The spring of al-Bedîʻa mentioned by Ibn as-Sikkît is identical with the oasis of al-Bedîʻ, which, however, is situated about thirty kilometers east of the southwestern extremity of Ḥesma’ proper. The well of Naʻmân I locate in the modern an-Naʻemi on the south-western border of Ḥesma’, while ʻAlalân is probably the famous camping place of ʻAlaḳân provided with the water of al-ʻElli, a name which recalls ʻAlalân.