Note 282 — THE BOOK OF THE MESNEVĪ (continued 3)

Hātim Tāyī is the proverbial prince of Arabian generosity. Many anecdotes are current respecting him. His full name was Hātim, son of ‘Abdu-’llāh, son of Sa’d, of the tribe of Tayyi’. For instances of his generosity, as handed down by tradition from a time shortly prior to the promulgation of Islām, see Mr. Clouston’s “Arabian Poetry for English Readers,” p. 406; London, 1881; Trübner & Co., Ludgate Hill. But Hātim lived and died before the Caliphs ruled. He, too, was a poet.