Folio 4a

…a shepherd appeared, took the purse and vanished without a trace. After him a bent old man, laden with firewood, came to the spring; he set down his load and lay down to rest. The horseman came back to that place, searched for the purse and found an old man asleep. He woke him, demanded the purse and began to torment him; in the end he killed him with violent blows and went away.*1

The prophet Moses was watching this from the top of the mountain. «O Lord,» he said, «where is justice? An innocent man who had nothing to do with the matter is killed without right.»

God Most High revealed to him and said: «O Moses, in this I have a hidden wisdom. The old man who was killed had killed the horseman's father; lawful retaliation has found its mark. And the horseman's father owed that shepherd's father a debt equal to the dirhams in the purse; the right has reached its owner, and so both of them have been saved from the punishment of the hereafter.

I am the Wise and the Just; injustice and oppression in My judgement do not befit My divinity.» The prophet Moses turned back in wonder. From this account it is understood that by hearing, seeing, reflecting and looking attentively one can come to know wondrous wisdoms.

Our master Muhammad ibn Ali al-Qazwini — may God have mercy on him — set down in writing, briefly and concisely, with a pen that scatters pearls, what he had learned of the wonders of things by deep reflection and attentive looking, and compiled it into a book. That work of eloquence became famous among people under the name Aja'ib al-Makhluqat (The Wonders of Creation).*2

Among later authors, our master al-Damiri al-Halabi chose to set out the truths at length and in detail; he strove to prove his claims mostly with the evidence of the noble hadith, and made every effort to adorn his discourse by adding stories and reports. So that the name would match the contents, he gave his book the name Hayat al-Hayawan (The Life of Animals).*3

Since I, this most worthless servant and humblest slave, have been honoured to study those two fine and exalted books at all hours, and have become acquainted with their heart-gladdening contents…