'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.' [‎163] (324/612)

ahmed-bin-sa'id.
163
and to remit the sentence of imprisonment. This the Imam
refused, declaring that the culprit should be kept in prison for
a whole year. At the expiration of that period the Imam re
leased him, and degraded him from his rank of Amir. The
man continued to reside at er-Rastak in a very forlorn con
dition. Several persons have attested the authenticity of
the foregoing narrative.
I subjoin the following as another instance of this Imam's
kindly disposition :—Whenever he went from er-Rastak to
Maskat he ordered a large quantity of sweetmeats to be
prepared, which were packed in parcels and laden on camels.
On reaching Naj'iman-Barkah, the children of the poor from
Hai-'Asim to el-Hufry used to come to him, and he distri
buted a parcel to each. When they were leaving he used
to say : Now go away, and the blessing of God rest upon
you;" which, of course, led them to extol his bounty. Dur
ing his two days' stay at Naaman, the people from es-Sib to
el-Masnaah were in the habit of coming to pay their respects
to him. He always received them most courteously, asked
what he could do for them, and whether any one op
pressed them. Travelling on towards Maskat, he generally
spent a night at Iliwa, and in going from thence to el-Mat-
rah the poor and needy of his subjects used to come to him
from the extremity of Sih-el-Harmel to the commencement
of the mountains of el-Matrah. On these occasions he
ordered his soldiers to march slowly, so that the people might
have the opportunity of saluting him and he of returning
their salutations. At el-Mdtrah he occupied the Beit-ed-
Dakkah, and the first to pay their respects to him were the
heads of the principal people there, namely, the Benu-IIasan,
then followed the Luwatiyah/.then the Benu-Zarraf. After
1 Called also LUtiydn. They are the same as the Khojas or Khwajas
of Persia and Sind. There is a large population of this sect at Maskat
and the adjacent places on the coast, many of whom have been settled
there for centuries, and have become naturalized; others are under