Section

As for ‘abqarī, Abū ‘Ubaydah said: “Every kind of carpet is called ‘abqarī.” He added: “They hold that it is a land where carpets are woven with decorative patterns.” Al-Layth said: “‘Abqar is a place in the desert inhabited by many jinn. People say, ‘He is like one of the jinn of ‘Abqar.’”

Commenting on the Prophet’s statement, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, concerning ‘Umar, “I have never seen a man of such excellence work as he did,” Abū ‘Ubaydah said: “The expression is said to derive from ‘Abqar, a land inhabited by jinn. It thus became a proverbial description of anything associated with exceptional excellence.” He quoted Zuhayr:

Upon it appear jinn of ‘Abqar,
Fit one day to be enlisted and employed.

Abū al-Hasan al-Wāhidī said: “This is the correct explanation of ‘abqarī. When the Arabs wish to describe something in superlative terms, they attribute it to the jinn or liken it to them. An example is the verse of Labīd:

Jinn of death, their feet firmly planted.

Another poet said, describing a woman:

A jinn-woman, with jinn to teach her
To shoot at hearts with a bow that has no string.

They attribute every wondrous quality to the jinn and believe them capable of every wondrous deed. Since ‘Abqar was known as their dwelling place, they attributed to it anything they described in superlative terms, meaning that it was the work of their hands. This is the original usage; ‘abqarī then became an adjective for anything described as exceptionally fine.

Zuhayr’s verse supports our explanation, for he traces the jinn to ‘Abqar. Moreover, we find many things besides carpets and fabrics attributed to ‘Abqar, as in the description of ‘Umar as ‘a man of exceptional excellence.’ Salamah narrated that al-Farrā’ said: ‘Among men, ‘abqarī means a man of sound judgment; among animals and jewels, it denotes the finest.’ Thus, if ‘Abqar had been associated exclusively