If it is objected, “This land is called mawāt only because it is capable of receiving life—that is, because it can be brought to life through cultivation,” we answer: This in fact shows that “life” is broader than animal life, and that an inanimate object may be described as living whenever it is fit for planting and building.

Khars (muteness) is the opposite of speech. The Arabs say, “milk that is akhras,” meaning curdled milk that makes no sound in the vessel; “a kharsāʾ cloud,” one without thunder or lightning; “a khars mountain-peak,” when no echo is heard from it. They also say, “a kharsāʾ battalion.” Abū ʿUbayd explains that it is a force whose many coats of mail have muffled all clanking.

Still stronger are ṣamt and sukūt (silence and stillness), for these are attributed to someone capable of speech when he deliberately refrains from it, whereas khars denotes inability to speak. Yet the Arabs say, “He owns neither ṣāmit nor nātiq.” The ṣāmit (“silent”) is gold and silver, while the nātiq (“speaking”) is camels and sheep. “Silent” milk is its curdled form, and aṣ-ṣamūt is a mail-coat that, when cast, makes no sound.

They likewise say, “a dumb beast,” “a kharsāʾ beast,” for an animal that does not—and customarily cannot—speak; and included in this usage is the Prophet’s saying, peace and blessings be upon him: