Horse creation story from the South Wind from the Nasiri
My quick translation of this creation story from the Nasiri book, which took it from a much earlier account by VIIIth century chronicler Wahab Ibn Munabbih; the translation can be improved, but this is a good start:
From Wahab ibn Munabbih, who said: “I was told that when God Most Glorified and Most High wanted to create the horse, he said to the south wind: I am creating a creature from you, to make it a [source of] strength for my friends, disgrace for my enemies, and beauty (jamal, unsure in this context) for the people of my obedience. So he grasped a fistful of the wind, created a horse out of it, and said: I have called you ‘horse’ and I made you Arab; goodness is tied to your forelocks, spoils are to be won on your back, and extinction (fana, but unsure) is with you wherever you are. I favor you over other creatures, and I made you their master; I made you fly without wings; you are for seeking and you are for escaping; and I will have you carry men who will glorify me, so glorify me with them; [men] who will praise me, so praise me with them; so when the horse neighed, He said: I have [just] blessed you; instil fear in the unbelievers with your neigh; fill their ears, scare their hearts and break their necks with it.”
This quote occurs in al-Thaalabi who cites Ali ibn Abi Talib as a source, in a slightly modified version, where the south wind and the angels talk as well.
Ibn Abbas is also cited as source for a similar quote somewhere else. This makes sense, as Ibn Abbas was the teacher of Wahab ibn Munabbih.
This has always been one of my favourite creation stories. The line about flight without wings is never far from my mind when I see a horse galloping at liberty, more airborne than earthbound.