'History of the imâms and seyyids of 'Omân by Salîl-ibn-Razîk, from A.D. 661-1856; translated from the original Arabic, and edited with notes, appendices, and an introduction, continuing the history down to 1870, by George Percy Badger, F.R.G.S., late chaplain in the Presidency of Bombay.' [‎95] (256/612)

THE IMAMS OF 'OMAN.
95
Mahrali. Ou returning to er-Rastak the Imam made in
quiries about the Arab, and was informed that he belonged
to the ez-Zafity, and had laden his camel with two baskets
of dates. The Imam then dispatched one of his soldiers
with the value of the dates, and directed that if he did not
find the man he was to ask for his relations and give them
the money; also to tell them that they would find the dates
at a place which he indicated. The messenger accordingly
departed, and not finding the man he inquired of his rela
tives where he was, but they had heard nothing of him since
he had started on his journey. The soldier then told them
the whole story and gave them the money, whereupon they
set out and found the two baskets of dates in the spot which
had been named to them. This act on the part of the
Imam led them to extol him exceedingly. Following the
footprints of their kinsman's camel they discovered him
hiding among* the Benu-Mdhrah, from whence he accom
panied them to their home.
The following is another illustration of the awe which
this Imam inspired :—There was a merchant of Yemen who
used to come to er-Rastak every year with goods, such as
Wars 1 and other articles, and sojourned there, buying and
selling, till the opening of the monsoon, when he generally
carried his profits to Maskat, from w r hence he sailed to
1 Wars, sometimes called "bastard saffron, is a dull red, sand-like
powder, tlie product of a shrub resembling the Sesame. 1 was informed
at Aden that the plant grows to five feet in height and bears clusters of
round seeds which are covered with pollen, which when removed by
rubbing or shaking the seed-clusters together forms the 11 ars. 1 lie
shrub is a native of the interior of Yemen, where the liars is used by
females to impart a light yellow tinge to the skin. It is exported to
'Oman and the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , where it is largely used with the same
object. Much of it goes to Surat, in India, where they use it to dye
silks. The Arabs also use it as an internal remedy in leprosy, and exter
nally as a lotion to remove freckles. An inferior kind of liars is brought
to the Aden market from Hurrur, in Africa. Niebuhr describes '■ liars
as " une herbe qui teint en jaune et dont on transporte quantite de
Mulcha dans COman." Description de VArabic, p.