One day, al-Nu‘man sallied forth after a rainstorm. On meeting with a mounted Arab on his camel, he hailed him, and the Arab obeyed his summons. "How is the land that you have left behind you?" Al-Nu‘man said.
"Wide and spacious," said the Arab. "With easy lowlands, rugged hills and mountains firmly rooted, it is a capable sustainer of all that sits on it."
"My question to you was about the skies," Al-Nu‘man said.
"High and free-standing is its sky," the Arab said, "without the aid of poles or tent-cords. Its day and night are clearly separated, and its sun and moon follow each other in succession."
"That's not what I’m asking you about!" Al-Nu‘man said.
"Then say what’s on your mind," the Arab said.
"Has there been rainfall, and if so can you describe it?"
"Yes," the Arab said. "The rain installed itself over our land for three long stretches. It soaked the ground, left it swampy and then left it ankle-deep. When I went forth and surveyed the land, I found no part as far as Tish'ār that was spared. On every side, the clouds boomed out to each other, and heavily the flow drave on, erasing landmarks and filling hollows, and uprooting trees. All settled folk kept to their shelters, and no traveler could make a move until the sky quit harrying us with its blessings. When solid land had re-emerged, and pathways through the fields could be descried, I came out to observe the sky and every quarter of its rim. No refuge could I find except for caverns in the hills, for a jarr al-dabu'* had been disgorged: the lowlands were like seas of slapping waves, the rugged hills were wrapped in flotsam, and carcasses of wild animals were flung in all directions. And I have not ceased treading the sky’s residue and wading its waters until I reached your land."
*Abu Bakr said: The meaning of jārr al-dabu‘ "The Hyena Driver" is that it forces the hyena out of its underground lair.
From The Book of the Description of Rain and Clouds by Ibn Durayd
