went to his own house and laying hands on all that his family and
household possessed, put it into the public treasury. So the
Ommiades[FN#51] betook themselves for aid to his father's sister,
Fatimeh, daughter of Merwan, and she sent to Omar, saying, 'I
must needs speak with thee.' So she came to him by night, and
when he had made her alight from her beast and sit down, he said
to her, 'O aunt, it is for thee to speak first, since it is at
thine instance that we meet; tell me, therefore, what thou
wouldst with me.' 'O Commander of the Faithful,' replied she, 'it
is thine to speak first, for thy judgment perceives that which is
hidden from the senses.' Then said the Khalif, 'Of a verity God
sent Mohammed as a mercy to some and a punishment to others; and
He chose out for him what was with him and withdrew him to
Himself, leaving the people a river, whereof the thirsty of them
might drink. After him he made Abou Bekr the Truth-teller Khalif
and he left the river in its pristine state, doing what was
pleasing to God. Then arose Omar and worked a work and furnished
forth a strife, of which none might do the like When Othman came,
he diverted a stream from the river, and Muawiyeh in his turn
sundered several streams from it. In like manner, Yezid and the
sons of Merwan, Abdulmelik and Welid and Suleiman[FN#52], ceased
not to take from the river and dry up the main stream, till the
commandment devolved upon me, and now I am minded to restore
the river to its normal condition.' When Fatimeh heard this,
she said, 'I came, wishing only to speak and confer with thee,
but if this be thy word, I have nothing to say to thee.' Then
she returned to the Ommiades and said to them, 'See what you
have brought on you by allying yourselves with Omar ben
Khettab.' [FN#53] When Omar was on his deathbed, he gathered his
children round him, and Meslemeh[FN#54] ben Abdulmelik said to
him, 'O Commander of the Faithful, wilt thou leave thy children
beggars and thou their protector? None can hinder thee from
giving them in thy lifetime what will suffice them out of the
treasury; and this indeed were better than leaving it to revert
to him who shall come after thee.' Omar gave him a look of wrath
and wonder and replied, 'O Meslemeh, I have defended them all the
days of my life, and shall I make them miserable after my death?
My sons are like other men, either obedient to God the Most High
or disobedient: if the former, God will prosper them, and if the
latter, I will not help them in their disobedience. Know, O
Meslemeh, that I was present, even as thou, when such an one of
the sons of Merwan was buried, and I fell asleep by him and saw
him in a dream given over to one of the punishments of God, to
whom belong might and majesty. This terrified me and made me
tremble, and I vowed to God that, if ever I came to the throne, I
would not do as the dead man had done. This vow I have striven to
fulfil all the days of my life, and I hope to be received into
the mercy of my Lord.' Quoth Meslemeh, 'A certain man died and I
was present at his funeral. I fell asleep and meseemed I saw him,
as in a dream, clad in white clothes and walking in a garden full
of running waters. He came up to me and said, "O Meslemeh, it is
for the like of this that governors (or men who bear rule) should
work."' Many are the instances of this kind, and quoth one of the
men of authority, 'I used to milk the ewes in the Khalifate of
Omar ben Abdulaziz, and one day, I met a shepherd, among whose
sheep were wolves. I thought them to be dogs, for I had never
before seen wolves; so I said to the shepherd, "What dost thou
with these dogs?" "They are not dogs, but wolves," replied he.
Quoth I, "Can wolves be with sheep and not hurt them?" "When the
head is whole," replied he, "the body is whole also."' Omar ben
Abdulaziz preached once from a mud pulpit, and after praising and
glorifying God the Most High, said three words and spoke as
follows, 'O folk, make clean your hearts, that your outward lives
may be clean to your brethren, and abstain from the things of the
world. Know that from Adam to this present, there is no one man
alive among the dead. Dead are Abdulmelik and those who forewent
him, and Omar also will die, and those who come after him.' Quoth
Meslemeh (to this same Omar, when he was dying), 'O Commander of
the Faithful, shall we set a pillow behind thee, that thou mayest
lean on it a little?' But Omar answered, 'I fear lest it be a
fault about my neck on the Day of Resurrection.' Then he gasped
for breath and fell back in a swoon; whereupon Fatimeh cried out,
saying, 'Ho, Meryem! Ho, Muzahim! Ho, such an one! Look to this
man!' And she began to pour water on him, weeping, till he
revived, and seeing her in tears, said to her, 'O Fatimeh, why
dost thou weep?' 'O Commander of the Faithful,' replied she, 'I
saw thee lying prostrate before us and thought of thy prostration
before God the Most High in death and of thy departure from the
world and separation from us. This is what made me weep.'
'Enough, O Fatimeh,' answered he; 'indeed thou exceedest.' Then
he would have risen, but fell down, and Fatimeh strained him to
her, saying, 'Thou art to me as my father and my mother, O
Commander of the Faithful! We cannot speak to thee, all of
us.'[FN#55] Again (continued Nuzhet ez Zeman), Omar ben Abdulaziz
wrote to the people of the festival at Mecca, as follows, 'I call
God to witness, in the Holy Month, in the Holy City and on the
day of the Great Pilgrimage, that I am innocent of your
oppression and of the wickedness of him that doth you wrong, in
that I have neither commanded this nor purposed it, neither hath
any report of aught thereof reached me (till now) nor have I had
knowledge of it; and I trust therefore that God will pardon it to
me. None hath authority from me to do oppression, for I shall
assuredly be questioned (at the Last Day) concerning every one
who hath been wrongfully entreated. So if any one of my officers
swerve from the right and act without law or authority,[FN#56] ye
owe him no obedience, till he return to the right way.' He said
also (may God accept of him), 'I do not wish to be relieved from
death, for that it is the supreme thing for which the true
believer is rewarded.' Quoth one of authority, 'I went one day to
the Commander of the Faithful, Omar ben Abdulaziz, who was then
Khalif, and saw before him twelve dirhems, which he bade take to
the treasury. So I said to him, "O Commander of the Faithful,
thou impoverishest thy children and reducest them to beggary,
leaving nothing for them. Thou wouldst do well to appoint
somewhat by will to them and to those who are poor of the people
of thy house." "Draw near to me," answered he. So I drew near to
him and he said, "As for thy saying, 'Thou beggarest thy
children; provide for them and for the poor of thy household,' it
is without reason, for God will replace me to my children and to
those who are poor of the people of my house, and He will be
their guardian. Verily, they are like other men; he who fears
God, God will provide him a happy issue, and he that is addicted
to sin, I will not uphold him in his disobedience." Then he
called his sons before him, and they were twelve in number. When
he beheld them, his eyes filled with tears and he said to them,
"Your father is between two things; either ye will be rich and he
will enter the fire, or ye will be poor and he enter Paradise;
and your father's entry into Paradise is liefer to him than that
ye should be rich. So go, God be your helper, for to Him I commit
your affair."' Quoth Khalid ben Sefwan,[FN#57] 'Yusuf ben
Omar[FN#58] accompanied me to Hisham ben Abdulmelik,[FN#59] and I
met him as he came forth with his kinsmen and attendants. He
alighted and a tent was pitched for him. When the people had
taken their seats, I came up to the side of the carpet (on which
the Khalif was reclining) and waiting till my eyes met his,
bespoke him thus, "May God fulfil His bounty to thee, O Commander
of the Faithful, and direct into the right way the affairs He
hath committed to thy charge, and may no harm mingle with thy
cheer! O Commander of the Faithful, I have an admonition for
thee, which I have gleaned from the history of the kings of time
past!" At this, he sat up and said to me, "O son of Sefwan, say
what is in thy mind." "O Commander of the Faithful," quoth I,
"one of the kings before thee went forth, in a time before thy
time, to this very country and said to his companions, 'Saw ye
ever any in the like of my state or to whom hath been given even
as it hath been given unto me?' Now there was with him one of
those who survive to bear testimony to the Faith and are
upholders of the Truth and walkers in its highway, and he said,
'O King, thou askest of a grave matter. Wilt thou give me leave
to answer?' 'Yes,' replied the King, and the other said, 'Dost
thou judge thy present state to be temporary or enduring?' 'It is
a temporary thing,' replied the King. 'Why then,' asked the man,
'do I see thee exult in that which thou wilt enjoy but a little
while and whereof thou wilt be questioned at length and for the
rendering an account whereof thou wilt be as a pledge?' 'Whither
shall I flee,' asked the King, 'and where is that I must seek?'
'Abide in thy kingship,' replied the other, 'and apply thyself to
obey the commandments of God the Most High; or else don thy
worn-out clothes and devote thyself to the service of thy Lord,
till thine appointed hour come to thee.' Then he left him,
saying, 'I will come to thee again at daybreak.' So he knocked at
his door at dawn and found that the King had put off his crown
and resolved to become an anchorite, for the stress of his
exhortation." When Hisham heard this, he wept till his beard was
drenched and putting off his rich apparel, shut himself up in his
palace. Then the grandees and courtiers came to me and said,
"What is this thou hast done with the Commander of the Faithful?
Thou hast marred his cheer and troubled his life!"' "But
(continued Nuzhet ez Zeman, addressing herself to Sherkan) how
many admonitory instances are there not that bear upon this
branch of the subject! Indeed, it is beyond my power to report
all that pertains to this head in one sitting; but, with length
of days, O King of the age, all will be well."
Then said the Cadis, "O King, of a truth this damsel is the
wonder of the time and the unique pearl of the age! Never in all
our lives heard we the like." And they called down blessings on
Sherkan and went away. Then said he to his attendants, "Prepare
the wedding festivities and make ready food of all kinds." So
they addressed themselves to do his bidding, and he bade the
wives of the amirs and viziers and grandees depart not until the
time of the wedding banquet and of the unveiling of the bride.
Hardly was the time of afternoon-prayer come, when the tables
were spread with roast meats and geese and fowls and all that the
heart can desire or that can delight the eye; and all the people
ate till they were satisfied. Moreover, the King had sent for all
the singing-women of Damascus and they were present, together
with all the slave-girls of the King and the notables who knew
how to sing. When the evening came and it grew dark, they lighted
flambeaux, right and left, from the gate of the citadel to that
of the palace, and the amirs and viziers and grandees defiled
before King Sherkan, whilst the singers and the tire-women took
Nuzhet ez Zeman, to dress and adorn her, but found she needed no
adorning. Meantime King Sherkan went to the bath and coming out,
sat down on his bed of estate, whilst they unveiled the bride
before him in seven different dresses; after which they eased her
of the weight of her dresses and ornaments and gave such
injunctions as are usually given to girls on their wedding-night.
Then Sherkan went in to her and took her maidenhead; and she at
once conceived by him, whereat he rejoiced with an exceeding joy
and commanded the sages to record the date of her conception. On
the morrow, he went forth and seated himself on his throne, and
the grandees came in to him and gave him joy. Then he called his
private secretary and bade him write to his father, King Omar ben
Ennuman, a letter to the following effect: "Know that I have
bought me a damsel, who excels in learning and accomplishment and
is mistress of all kinds of knowledge. I have set her free and
married her and she has conceived by me. And needs must I send
her to Baghdad to visit my brother Zoulmekan and my sister Nuzhet
ez Zeman." And he went on to praise her wit and salute his
brother and sister, together with the Vizier Dendan and all the
amirs. Then he sealed the letter and despatched it to his father
by a courier, who was absent a whole month, after which time he
returned with the old King's answer. Sherkan took it and read as
follows, after the usual preamble, "In the name of God," etc.,
"This is from the afflicted and distraught, him who hath lost his
children and is (as it were) an exile from his native land, King
Omar ben Ennuman, to his son Sherkan. Know that, since thy
departure from me, the place is become contracted upon me, so
that I can no longer have patience nor keep my secret: and the
reason of this is as follows. It chanced that Zoulmekan sought my
leave to go on the pilgrimage, but I, fearing for him the shifts
of fortune, forbade him therefrom until the next year or the year
after. Soon after this, I went out to hunt and was absent a whole
month. When I returned, I found that thy brother and sister had
taken somewhat of money and set out by stealth with the caravan
of pilgrims. When I knew this, the wide world became strait on
me, O my son; but I awaited the return of the caravan, hoping
that they would return with it. Accordingly, when the caravan
came back, I questioned the pilgrims of them, but they could give
me no news of them; so I put on mourning apparel for them, being
heavy at heart and sleepless and drowned in the tears of my
eyes." Then followed these verses:
Their image is never absent a breathing-while from my breast, I
have made it within my bosom the place of the honoured
guest,
But that I look for their coming, I would not live for an hour,
And but that I see them in dreams, I ne'er should lie down
to rest.
The letter went on (after the usual salutations to Sherkan and
those of his court), "Do not thou therefore neglect to seek news
of them, for indeed this is a dishonour to us." When Sherkan read
the letter, he mourned for his father, but rejoiced in the loss
of his brother and sister. Now Nuzhet ez Zeman knew not that he
was her brother nor he that she was his sister, although he paid
her frequent visits, both by day and by night, till the months of
her pregnancy were accomplished and she sat down on the stool of
delivery. God made the delivery easy to her and she gave birth to
a daughter, whereupon she sent for Sherkan and said to him, "This
is thy daughter: name her as thou wilt." Quoth he, "Folk use to
name their children on the seventh day." Then he bent down to
kiss the child and saw, hung about her neck, a jewel, which he
knew at once for one of those that the princess Abrizeh had
brought from the land of the Greeks. At this sight, his senses
fled, his eyes rolled and wrath seized on him, and he looked at
Nuzhet ez Zeman and said to her, "O damsel, whence hadst thou
this jewel?" When she heard this, she replied, "I am thy lady and
the lady of all in thy palace. Art thou not ashamed to say to me,
'O damsel'?[FN#60] Indeed, I am a queen, the daughter of a king;
and now concealment shall cease and the truth be made known. I am
Nuzhet ez Zeman, daughter of King Omar ben Ennuman." When Sherkan
heard this, he was seized with trembling and bowed his head
towards the earth, whilst his heart throbbed and his colour
paled, for he knew that she was his sister by the same father.
Then he lost his senses; and when he revived, he abode in
amazement, but did not discover himself to her and said to her,
"O my lady, art thou indeed the daughter of King Omar ben
Ennuman?" "Yes," replied she; and he said, "Tell me how thou
camest to leave thy father and be sold for a slave." So she told
him all that had befallen her, from first to last, how she had
left her brother sick in Jerusalem and how the Bedouin had lured
her away and sold her to the merchant. When Sherkan heard this
all was certified that she was indeed his sister, he said to
himself, "How can I have my sister to wife? By Allah, I must
marry her to one of my chamberlains; and if the thing get wind, I
will avouch that I divorced her before consummation and married
her to my chief chamberlain." Then he raised his head and said,
"O Nuzhet ez Zeman, thou art my very sister; for I am Sherkan,
son of King Omar ben Ennuman, and may God forgive us the sin into
which we have fallen!" She looked at him and seeing that he spoke
the truth, became as one bereft of reason and wept and buffeted
her face, exclaiming, "There is no power and no virtue but in
God! Verily we have fallen into grievous sin! What shall I do and
what answer shall I make my father and my mother, when they say
to me, 'Whence hadst thou thy daughter'?" Quoth Sherkan, "I
purpose to marry thee to my chief chamberlain and let thee bring
up my daughter in his house, that none may know thee to be my
sister. This that hath befallen us was ordained of God for a
purpose of His own, and there is no way to cover ourselves but by
thy marriage with the chamberlain, ere any know." Then he fell to
comforting her and kissing her head, and she said to him, "What
wilt thou call the child?" "Call her Kuzia Fekan,"[FN#61] replied
he. Then he gave her in marriage to the chief chamberlain, and
they reared the child in his house, on the laps of the slave-girls,
till, one day, there came to King Sherkan a courier
from his father, with a letter to the following purport, "In the
name of God, etc. Know, O puissant King, that I am sore afflicted
for the loss of my children: sleep fails me and wakefulness is
ever present with me. I send thee this letter that thou mayst
make ready the tribute of Syria and send it to us, together with
the damsel whom thou hast bought and taken to wife; for I long to
see her and hear her discourse; because there has come to us from
the land of the Greeks a devout old woman, with five damsels,
high-bosomed maids, endowed with knowledge and accomplishments
and all fashions of learning that befit mortals; and indeed the
tongue fails to describe this old woman and her companions. As
soon as I saw the damsels, I loved them and wished to have them
in my palace and at my commandment, for none of the kings
possesses the like of them; so I asked the old woman their price,
and she replied, 'I will not sell them but for the tribute of
Damascus.' And by Allah, this is but little for them, for each
one of them is worth the whole price. So I agreed to this and
took them into my palace, and they remain in my possession.
Wherefore do thou expedite the tribute to us, that the old woman
may return to her own country; and send us the damsel, that she
may strive with them before the doctors; and if she overcome
them, I will send her back to thee with the year's revenue of
Baghdad." When Sherkan read this letter, he went in to his
brother-in-law and said to him, "Call the damsel to whom I
married thee." So she came, and he showed her the letter and said
to her, "O my sister, what answer wouldst thou have me make to
this letter?" "It is for thee to judge," replied she. Then she
recalled her people and her native land and yearned after them;
so she said to him, "Send me and my husband the Chamberlain to
Baghdad, that I may tell my father how the Bedouin seized me and
sold me to the merchant, and how thou boughtest me of him and
gavest me in marriage to the Chamberlain, after setting me free."
"Be it so," replied Sherkan. Then he made ready the tribute in
haste and gave it to the Chamberlain, bidding him make ready for
Baghdad, and furnished him with camels and mules and two
travelling litters, one for himself and the other for the
princess. Moreover, he wrote a letter to his father and committed
it to the Chamberlain. Then he took leave of his sister, after he
had taken the jewel from her and hung it round his daughter's
neck by a chain of fine gold; and she and her husband set out for
Baghdad the same night. Now their caravan was the very one to
which Zoulmekan and his friend the stoker had joined themselves,
as before related, having waited till the Chamberlain passed
them, riding on a dromedary, with his footmen around him. Then
Zoulmekan mounted the stoker's ass and said to the latter, "Do
thou mount with me." But he said, "Not so: I will be thy
servant." Quoth Zoulmekan, "Needs must thou ride awhile." "It is
well," replied the stoker; "I will ride when I grow tired." Then
said Zoulmekan, "O my brother, thou shalt see how I will do with
thee, when I come to my own people." So they journeyed on till
the sun rose, and when it was the hour of the noonday rest, the
Chamberlain called a halt, and they alighted and rested and
watered their camels. Then he gave the signal for departure and
they journeyed for five days, till they came to the city of
Hemah, where they made a three days' halt; then set out again and
fared on, till they reached the province of Diarbekir. Here there
blew on them the breezes of Baghdad, and Zoulmekan bethought him
of his father and mother and his native land and how he was
returning to his father without his sister: so he wept and sighed
and complained, and his regrets increased on him, and he repeated
the following verses:
How long wilt thou delay from me, beloved one? I wait: And yet
there comes no messenger with tidings of thy fate.
Alack, the time of love-delight and peace was brief indeed! Ah,
that the days of parting thus would of their length abate!
Take thou my hand and put aside my mantle and thou'lt find My
body wasted sore; and yet I hide my sad estate.
And if thou bid me be consoled for thee, "By God," I say, "I'll
ne'er forget thee till the Day that calls up small and
great!"
"Leave this weeping and lamenting," said the stoker, "for we are
near the Chamberlain's tent." Quoth Zoulmekan, "Needs must I
recite somewhat of verse, so haply it may allay the fire of my
heart." "God on thee," cried the stoker, "leave this lamentation,
till thou come to thine own country; then do what thou wilt, and
I will be with thee, wherever thou art." "By Allah," replied
Zoulmekan, "I cannot forbear from this!" Then he set his face
towards Baghdad and began to repeat verses. Now the moon was
shining brightly and shedding her light on the place, and Nuzhet
ez Zeman could not sleep that night, but was wakeful and called
to mind her brother and wept. Presently, she heard Zoulmekan
weeping and repeating the following verses:
The southern lightning gleams in the air And rouses in me the old
despair,
The grief for a dear one, loved and lost, Who filled me the cup
of joy whilere.
It minds me of her who fled away And left me friendless and sick
and bare.
O soft-shining lightnings, tell me true, Are the days of
happiness past fore'er?
Chide not, O blamer of me, for God Hath cursed me with two things
hard to bear,
A friend who left me to pine alone, And a fortune whose smile was
but a snare.
The sweet of my life was gone for aye, When fortune against me
did declare;
She brimmed me a cup of grief unmixed, And I must drink it and
never spare.
Or ever our meeting 'tide, sweetheart, Methinks I shall die of
sheer despair,
I prithee, fortune, bring back the days When we were a happy
childish pair;
The days, when we from the shafts of fate, That since have
pierced us, in safety were!
Ah, who shall succour the exiled wretch, Who passes the night in
dread and care,
And the day in mourning for her whose name, Delight of the
Age[FN#62], bespoke her fair?
The hands of the baseborn sons of shame Have doomed us the wede
of woe to wear.