Lane's Arabic-English Lexicon

سُهَيْلٌ

Root: سهل

Full Definition

سُهَيْلٌ A certain star [well known; namely, Canopus]; not seen in Khurásán, but seen in El-'Irák; as Ibn-Kunáseh says, seen in El-Hijáz and in all the land of the Arabs, but not seen in the land of Armenia; and between the sight thereof by the people of ElHijáz and the sight thereof by the people of El- 'Irák are twenty days: it is said that سهيل was a tyrannical collector of the tithes on the road to El-Yemen, and God transformed him into a star: [it rose aurorally, in Central Arabia, about the commencement of the ear of the Flight, on the 4th of August, O. S.: the place where it rises, in that latitude, is S. 29 degrees E.; and the place where it sets, in the same latitude, S. 29 degrees W.: (see 10 in art. حب: and see جَنُوبٌ:)] at the time of its [auroral] rising, the fruits ripen, and the قَيْظ [q. v., here meaning the greatest heat,] ends. [بَالَ سُهَيْلٌ, which is a prov., and the saying of a poet, بَالَ سُهَيْلٌ فِى الفَضِيخِ فَفَسَدْ have been expl. in art. بول.] 'Omar Ibn-'AbdAllah Ibn-Abee-Rabeea says respecting Suheyl Ibn-'Abd-Er-Rahmán Ibn-'Owf, and his taking in marriage Eth-Thureiyà El-'Ableeyeh of the Benoo-Umeiyeh, deeming their coming together to be a strange thing by likening them to the stars named Eth-Thureiyà and Suheyl, أَيُّهَا المُنْكِحُ الثُّرَيَّا سُهَيْلًا عَمْرَكَ ٱللّٰهَ كَيْفَ يَلْتَقِيَانِ هِىَ شَامِيَّةٌ إِذَا مَا ٱسْتَقَلَّتْ وَسُهَيْلٌ إِذَا ٱسْتَقَلَّ يَمَانِى [O thou marrier of Eth-Thureiyà to Suheyl, by thine acknowledgment of the everlasting existence of God, tell me, how can they meet together? She is of the northern region when she rises, and Suheyl, when he rises, is of the southern region]. (Har p. 276. [But I have substituted ٱللّٰهَ for اللّٰهُ, and يَمَانِى for يَمَانٍ. See also the notice of the poet above named in the work of Ibn-Khillikán: and De Sacy's Anthol. Gramm. Arabe, p. 139.]) [Freytag states that قَدَمَا سُهَيْلٍ is the name of Two stars which are behind Canopus; on the authority of Meyd: and also mentions the name of سهيل الشام, and سهيل الفرد, as given to Certain stars in the constellation Anguis; adding that Canopus is distinguished from سهيل الشام by the name of سهيل اليمن.] The name of أُخْتَاسُهَيْلٍ [The two sisters of Canopus] is applied to الشِّعْرَى العَبُورُ [or Sirius] and الشِّعْرَى الغُمَيْصَآءُ [or Procyon], together. (S and K in art. شعر.) [See also حَضَارِ and الوَزْنُ.]


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