Not always wealth, not always force
A splendid destiny commands;
The lordly vulture gnaws the corse
That rots upon yon barren sands.
Nor want, nor weakness still conspires
To bind us to a sordid state;
The fly that with a touch expires
Sips honey from the royal plate.
_Imam Shafay Mohammed Ben Idris_.
[10] Shafay, the founder of one of the four orthodox sects into
which the Mohammedans are divided, was a disciple of Malek Ben
Ans, and master to Ahmed Ebn Hanbal; each of whom, like himself,
founded a sect which is still denominated from the name of its
author. The fourth sect is that of Abou Hanifah. This differs
in tenets considerably from the three others, for whilst the
Malekites, the Shafaites, and the Hanbalites are invariably
bigoted to tradition in their interpretations of the Koran, the
Hanifites consider themselves as at liberty in any difficulty to
make use of their own reason.