The Dab'ah (hyena) of this tale is unlike other hyenas. It is enormous, hideous in appearance and, despite the wildness for which hyenas are known, calm and obedient, moving only at the command of its rider. It is said that in one of Sharjah’s old neighbourhoods there was an enormous hyena owned by a sorcerer. Although the creature was a wild predator, this particular Dab'ah was calm and obedient. It harmed only those who offended the sorcerer and only at his command. It neither drank nor ate ordinary food, and people explained this by saying that the sorcerer sent it every evening to an unknown place where it fed on the bodies of the dead. The sorcerer who owned the Dab'ah was regarded as the greatest and chief sorcerer of his time. Other sorcerers would not act without first seeking his permission and advice. They called him “Sheikh Al Sahhar,” the Sheikh of the Sorcerers, and came to him at known times each year to offer gifts and show their loyalty and obedience. Narrators say that Sheikh Al Sahhar would go out every day during the intense midday heat and ride his frightening hyena dabbari, meaning backwards: his face toward the animal’s rear and his back toward its head. Although the sight might appear comical, no one dared laugh at or mock him, for anyone who did so feared for their safety. He travelled proudly through houses, lanes and shops while no one dared utter a word. He himself looked frightening, with bulging eyes and an ugly face, carrying a stick with which he waved at people passing in the streets as though displaying his skills and power. After this daily display he returned home, repeating the same routine every day. The sorcerer and especially his terrifying Dab'ah became widely known. Most people agreed that the creature was the source of his power. It was said that subduing such a Dab'ah was the basis of a sorcerer’s supremacy because it was among the fiercest mounts of the jinn. Whoever succeeded in taming it gained the favour of the chief of the jinn, who granted extraordinary powers and terrifying abilities. According to the story, the sorcerer achieved this and was also able to obtain solemn covenants from the jinn to assist him in whatever he wished and make difficult matters easier for him.