Where now are the recorded reports? Where are the stars and the gaudy falsehood they decked them with? (1)
Mere conjecture and patch-work tales—
no true spear-shaft of nabʿ wood among them when they are counted, nor even of gharab. (2)
Ahmad ibn Abi Duʿad relates: “Al-Muʿtaṣim would stretch out his forearm to me and say, ‘Bite it with all the strength you possess.’ I would answer, ‘My heart will not allow it.’ He would insist, ‘It will not hurt me.’ When I tried, I discovered that even spear-points could make no impression on that arm, let alone human teeth.
“He once grasped a tyrannical soldier; I heard the crack of the man’s bones, and when al-Muʿtaṣim let go the soldier dropped to the ground.” (3)
Ibn Abi Duʿad, whenever he spoke of al-Muʿtaṣim, was lavish in praise. He said, “I used to ride beside him on campaign,” and went on to describe the vast breadth of the caliph’s gracious character. (4)
= By the phrase "shuhb al-rimah" he is referring to the tips of the spears, and by "al-sab‘atu al-shuhb" he means the seven heavenly bodies, Saturn being the highest and the moon the lowest.
The word "lami‘ah" (shining) is in the accusative as a circumstantial qualifier of "shuhb al-rimah."
Al-khamīsān denotes two armies.
(1) The primary sense of zukhruf is anything in this world that delights you, though it is often restricted to gold. A polished but fabricated statement is likewise called zukhruf because its elegance is meant to deceive.
(2) Al-takharus means lying and inventing statements.
"Mulaffaqah" indicates items patched together, not of a single type.
"Al-nab‘" is a hard tree that grows on mountain tops and from which bows are made. When a man is praised for toughness and endurance he is likened to al-nab‘, meaning he is solid and cannot be broken. Their proverb says: "Al-nab‘ strikes against its fellow," used of strong people who meet their equals in strength.
"Al-gharb" is a tree that grows along rivers and has little strength.
The author is saying that these hadiths are neither strong nor weak—in other words they carry no weight—just as one says, "It is neither vinegar nor wine," meaning it is virtually non-existent, containing neither good nor evil.
(3) Tarikh Baghdad 3/346; al-Wafi bi-l-wafayat 5/140; Fawat al-wafayat 4/49. These sources relate that the soldier in question seized a woman’s son; he was ordered to return the child, refused, and was consequently arrested.
(4) For the description of him, see Tarikh Baghdad 3/345.