after a young woman of the Beni ʻOḳba tribe. She is said to have been a renowned beauty, who was married as a girl to the chief, a relative of hers. After having been married for two years she had not yet presented her husband with a boy or a girl. At Allâh’s injunction, she came one day to
Fig. 26—From Riǧm al-Faẓḥ looking northeast. look for fuel in Wâdi al-Jitm. She was accompanied by another woman but lost sight of this companion. After shouting had failed to attract the attention of the missing woman, the chief’s wife leaped upon a huge boulder but missed her footing and slid down. Lo and behold! after due time, she gave birth to a strong, healthy boy. Since then the childless women of the neighboring tribes have made pilgrimages to the boulder of al-ʻOḳbijje, where they climb over its surface: if Allâh wills it they obtain children and if Allâh wills not they obtain no children.
RIǦM AL-FAẒḤ TO AL-ʻAḲABA
At 9.15 A. M., to the east of Riǧm al-Faẓḥ, we perceived a few yellowish rimṯ bushes (Fig. 26), beside which we
