“Harb (war).” He said, “Sit down.” Another man stood up, and he asked, “What is your name?” He replied, “Yaʿīsh (he lives).” He said, “Milk it” (1).

He disliked places with offensive names and disliked passing through them. On one of his military expeditions, he came upon two mountains and asked their names. They replied, “Fādih and Mukhriʾ” (2). He turned away from them and did not pass between them.

Since names and the things they designate share the same connection, correspondence, and affinity as the outward forms of things and their realities, and as souls and bodies, the mind passes from either to the other. Thus, Iyās ibn Muʿāwiyah (3) and others would see someone and say, “His name ought to be such-and-such,” and would hardly ever be wrong. The reverse is to pass from a name to the person it designates. For example, Umar ibn al-Khattāb asked a man his name. He replied, “Jamrah (ember).” Umar asked, “And your father’s name?” He replied, “Shihāb (flame)” (4). He asked, “Where is your home?” He replied, “In Harrat al-Nār.” Umar said: