intercession of the Apostle (Pilgrimage ii. 76–77). The Shi ahs place
Ali next in dignity to Mohammed and there is a sect (Ali-Iláhi) which
believes him to be an Avatar or incarnation of the Deity. For the
latter the curious reader will consult the “Dabistan,” ii. 451. The
Koran by its many contradictions seems to show that Mohammed never
could make up his own mind on the subject, thinking himself at times
an intercessor and then sharply denying all intercession.
Footnote 448:
Arab. “Kanjifah” = a pack of cards; corrupted from the Persian
“Ganjífah.” We know little concerning the date or origin of this game
in the East, where the packs are quite unlike ours.
Footnote 449:
It is interesting to compare this account with the pseudo Ovid and
with Tale clxvi. in Gesta “Of the game of Schaci.” Its Schacarium is
the chess-board. Rochus (roccus, etc.) is not from the Germ. Rock (a
coat) but from Rukh (Pers. a hero, a knight-errant); Alphinus (Ital.
Alfino) is Al-Firzán (Pers. science, wise).
Footnote 450:
Arab. “Baydak” or “Bayzak”; a corruption of the Persian “Piyádah” = a
footman, peon, pawn; and proving whence the Arabs derived the game.
The Persians are the readiest backgammon-players known to me, better
even than the Greeks; they throw the dice from the hand and continue
foully abusing the fathers and mothers of the “bones” whilst the game
lasts. It is often played in the intervals of dinner by the higher
classes in Persia.
Footnote 451:
Metaphor from loading camels and mules. To “eat” a piece is to take
it.
Footnote 452:
Arab. “Bilábil”; a plural of “Bulbul” with a double entendre balábil
(plur. of ballalah) = heart’s troubles, and “balá, bul” = a calamity,
nay, etc.
THE ANGEL OF DEATH WITH THE PROUD KING AND THE DEVOUT MAN.
It is related, O auspicious King, that one of the olden monarchs was
once minded to ride out in state with the officers of his realm and the
Grandees of his retinue and display to the folk the marvels of his
magnificence. So he ordered his Lords and Emirs equip them therefor and
commanded his keeper of the wardrobe to bring him of the richest of
raiment, such as befitted the King in his state; and he bade them bring
his steeds[453] of the finest breeds and pedigrees every man heeds;
which being done, he chose out of the raiment what rejoiced him most and
of the horses that which he deemed best; and, donning the clothes,
together with a collar set with margarites and rubies and all manner
jewels, mounted and set forth in state, making his destrier prance and
curvet among his troops and glorying in his pride and despotic power.
And Iblis came to him and, laying his hand upon his nose, blew into his
nostrils the breath of hauteur and conceit, so that he magnified and
glorified himself and said in his heart, “Who among men is like unto
me?” And he became so puffed up with arrogance and self-sufficiency, and
so taken up with the thought of his own splendour and magnificence, that
he would not vouchsafe a glance to any man. Presently, there stood
before him one clad in tattered clothes and saluted him, but he returned
not his salam; whereupon the stranger laid hold of his horse’s bridle.
“Lift thy hand,” cried the King, “thou knowest not whose bridle-rein it
is whereof thou takest hold.” Quoth the other, “I have a need of thee.”
Quoth the King, “Wait till I alight and then name thy need.” Rejoined
the stranger, “It is a secret and I will not tell it but in thine ear.”
So the King bowed his head to him and he said, “I am the Angel of Death
and I purpose to take thy soul.” Replied the King, “Have patience with
me a little, whilst I return to my house and take leave of my people and
children and neighbours and wife.” “By no means so,” answered the Angel;
“thou shalt never return nor look on them again, for the fated term of
thy life is past.” So saying, he took the soul of the King (who fell off
his horse’s back dead) and departed thence. Presently the Death Angel
met a devout man, of whom Almighty Allah had accepted, and saluted him.
He returned the salute, and the Angel said to him, “O pious man, I have
a need of thee which must be kept secret.” “Tell it in my ear,” quoth
the devotee; and quoth the other, “I am the Angel of Death.” Replied the
man, “Welcome to thee! and praised be Allah for thy coming! I am aweary
of awaiting thine arrival; for indeed long hath been thine absence from
the lover which longeth for thee.” Said the Angel, “If thou have any
business, make an end of it;” but the other answered, saying, “There is
nothing so urgent to me as the meeting with my Lord, to whom be honour
and glory!” And the Angel said “How wouldst thou fain have me take thy
soul? I am bidden to take it as thou willest and choosest.” He replied,
“Tarry till I make the Wuzu-ablution and pray; and, when I prostrate
myself, then take my soul while my body is on the ground.”[454] Quoth
the Angel, “Verily, my Lord (be He extolled and exalted!) commanded me
not to take thy soul but with thy consent and as thou shouldst wish; so
I will do thy will.” Then the devout man made the minor ablution[455]
and prayed: and the Angel of Death took his soul in the act of
prostration and Almighty Allah transported it to the place of mercy and
acceptance and forgiveness. And they tell another tale of
-----
Footnote 453:
The popular English idea of the Arab horse is founded upon utter
unfact. Book after book tells us, “There are three distinct breeds of
Arabians—the _Attechi_, a very superior breed; the _Kadishi_, mixed
with these and of little value; and the _Kochlani_, highly prized and
very difficult to procure.” “Attechi” may be At-Tází (the Arab horse,
or hound) or some confusion with “At” (Turk.) a horse. “Kadish”
(Gadish or Kidish) is a nag; a gelding, a hackney, a “pacer”
(generally called “Rahwán”). “Kochlani” is evidently “Kohláni,” the
Kohl-eyed, because the skin round the orbits is dark as if powdered.
This is the true blue blood; and the bluest of all is “Kohláni
al-Ajúz” (of the old woman) a name thus accounted for. An Arab mare
dropped a filly when in flight; her rider perforce gallopped on and
presently saw the foal appear in camp, when it was given to an old
woman for nursing and grew up to be famous. The home of the Arab horse
is the vast plateau of Al-Najd: the Tahámah or lower maritime regions
of Arabia, like Malabar, will not breed good beasts. The pure blood
all descends from five collateral lines called Al-Khamsah (the
Cinque). Literary and pedantic Arabs derive them from the mares of
Mohammed a native of the dry and rocky region, Al-Hijaz, whither
horses are all imported. Others go back (with the Koran, chapt.
xxviii.) to Solomon, possibly Salmán, a patriarch fourth in descent
from Ishmael and some 600 years older than the Hebrew King. The Badawi
derive the five from Rabí’at al-Faras (R. of the mare) fourth in
descent from Adnán, the fount of Arab genealogy. But they differ about
the names: those generally given are Kahilan (Kohaylat), Sakláwi
(which the Badawin pronounce Sagláwi), Abayán, and Hamdáni; others
substitute Manákhi (the long-maned), Tanís and Jalfún. These require
no certificate amongst Arabs; for strangers a simple statement is
considered enough. The Badawin despise all half-breeds (Arab sires and
country mares), Syrian, Turkish, Kurdish and Egyptian. They call these
(first mentioned in the reign of Ahmes, B.C. 1600) the “sons of
horses”; as opposed to “sons of mares,” or thorough-breds. Nor do they
believe in city-bred animals. I have great doubts concerning our old
English sires, such as the Darley Arabian which looks like a Kurdish
half-bred, the descendant of those Cappadocians so much prized by the
Romans: in Syria I rode a “Harfúshí” (Kurd) the very image of it.
There is no difficulty in buying Arab stallions except the price. Of
course the tribe does not like to part with what may benefit the
members generally; but offers of £500 to £1,000 would overcome men’s
scruples. It is different with mares, which are almost always the
joint property of several owners. The people too dislike to see a hat
on a thorough-bred mare: “What hast thou done that thou art ridden by
that ill-omened Kafir?” the Badawin used to mutter when they saw a
highly respectable missionary at Damascus mounting a fine Ruwalá mare.
The feeling easily explains the many wars about horses occurring in
Arab annals, _e.g._ about Dáhis and Ghabrá. (C. de Perceval, _Essai_,
vol. ii.)
Footnote 454:
The stricter kind of Eastern Jew prefers to die on the floor not in
bed, as was the case with the late Mr. Emmanuel Deutsch, who in his
well-known article on the Talmud had the courage to speak of “Our
Saviour.” But as a rule the Israelite, though he mostly appears as a
Deist, a Unitarian, has a fund of fanatical feelings which crop up in
old age and near death. The “converts” in Syria and elsewhere, whose
Judaism is intensified by “conversion,” when offers are made to them
by the missionaries repair to the Khákhám (scribe) and, after abundant
wrangling determine upon a _modus vivendi_. They are to pay a
proportion of their wages, to keep careful watch in the cause of
Israel and to die orthodox. In Istria there is a legend of a Jew Prior
in a convent who was not discovered till he announced himself most
unpleasantly on his death-bed. For a contrary reason to Jewish
humility the Roman Emperors preferred to die standing.
Footnote 455:
He wished to die in a state of ceremonial purity; as has before been
mentioned.
THE ANGEL OF DEATH AND THE RICH KING.
A certain King had heaped up coin beyond count and gathered store of all
precious things, which Allah the Most Highest hath created. So, in order
that he might take his pleasure whenas he should find leisure to enjoy
all this abounding wealth he had collected, he built him a palace wide
and lofty such as besitteth and beseemeth Kings; and set thereto strong
doors and appointed, for its service and its guard, servants and
soldiers and doorkeepers to watch and ward. One day, he bade the cooks
dress him somewhat of the goodliest of food and assembled his household
and retainers and boon-companions and servants to eat with him, and
partake of his bounty. Then he sat down upon the sofa of his kingship
and dominion; and, propping his elbow upon the cushion, addressed
himself, saying, “O soul, thou hast gathered together all the wealth of
the world; so now take thy leisure therein and eat of this good at thine
ease, in long life and prosperity ever rife!”——And Shahrazad perceived
the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
Now when it was the Four Hundred and Sixty-third Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that hardly had the
King made an end of saying to himself, “Eat of this weal at thine ease,
in long life and prosperity ever rife!” when a man clad in tattered
raiment, with an asker’s wallet hanging at his neck, as he were one who
came to beg food, knocked with the door-ring a knock so loud and
terrible that the whole palace shook as with quake of earth and the
King’s throne trembled. The servants were affrighted and rushed to the
door, and when they saw the man who had knocked they cried out at him,
saying, “Woe to thee! what manner of unmannerly fashion be this? Wait
till the King eateth and we will then give thee of what is left.” Quoth
he, “Tell your lord to come out and speak with me, for I have of him a
pressing need and a matter to heed.” They cried, “Away, fool! who art
thou that we should bid our lord come forth to thee?” But he said, “Tell
him of this.” So they went in and told the King, who said, “Did ye not
rebuke him and draw upon him and threaten him!” Now as he spoke, behold,
there came another knock at the gate, louder than the first knock,
whereupon the servants sprang at the stranger with staves and weapons,
to fall upon him and slay him; but he shouted at them, saying, “Bide in
your steads, for I am the Angel of Death.” Hereat their hearts quaked
and their wits forsook them; their understandings were in confusion,
their side-muscles quivered in perturbation and their limbs lost the
power of motion. Then said the King to them, “Tell him to take a
substitute[456] in my place and one to relieve me in this case.” But the
Angel answered, saying, “I will take no substitute, and I come not but
on thine account, to cause separation between thee and the goods thou
hast gathered together and the riches thou hast heaped up and
entreasured.” When the King heard this, he wept and groaned, saying,
“Allah curse the treasure which hath deluded and undone me and diverted
me from the service of my Lord! I deemed it would profit me, but to-day
it is a regret for me and a calamity to me, and behold, I go forth,
empty-handed of it, and leave it to my foes.” Thereupon Allah caused the
Treasure to speak out and it said, “Wherefore cursest thou me?[457]
Curse thyself, for Allah created both me and eke thyself of the dust and
appointed me to be in thine hand, that thou mightest provide thee with
me a viaticum for the next world and give alms with me to the poor and
the needy and the sick; and build mosques and hospices and bridges and
aqueducts, so might I be an aidance unto thee in the world to come. But
thou didst garner me and hoard me up and on thine own vanities bestowest
me, neither gavest thou thanks for me, as was due, but wast ungrateful
to me; and now thou must leave me to thy foes and thou hast naught save
thy regretting and thy repenting. But what is my sin, that thou
shouldest revile me?” Then the Angel of Death took the King’s soul as he
sat on his throne before he ate of the food, and he fell down dead.
Quoth Allah Almighty, “While they were rejoicing for that which had been
given them, we suddenly laid hold on them; and, behold, they were seized
with despair.”[458] And they tell another tale of
-----
Footnote 456:
Arab. “Badal”: in Sind (not to speak of other places) it was customary
to hire a pauper “badal” to be hanged in stead of a rich man. Sir
Charles Napier signed many a death-warrant before he ever heard of the
practice.
Footnote 457:
Arab. “La’an” = curse. The word is in every mouth though strongly
forbidden by religion. Even of the enemies of Al-Islam the learned
say, “Ila’an Yezíd wa lá tazíd” = curse Yezid but do not exceed
(_i.e._ refrain from cursing the others). This, however, is in the
Shafi’í school and the Hanafís do not allow it (Pilgrimage i. 198).
Hence the Moslem when scrupulous uses na’al (shoe) for la’an (curse)
as Ina’al abúk (for Ila’an abu’-k) or, _drat_ (instead of _damn_) your
father. Men must hold Supreme Intelligence to be of feeble kind if put
off by such miserable pretences.
Footnote 458:
Koran vi. 44, speaking of the Infidels. It is a most unamiable
chapter, with such assertions as “Allah leadeth into error whom He
pleaseth,” etc.
THE ANGEL OF DEATH AND THE KING OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL.
There was a puissant despot among the Kings of the Banú Isráíl, who sat
one day upon the throne of his kingship, when he saw come in to him, by
the gate of the hall, a man of forbidding aspect and horrible presence.
The King was affrighted at his sudden intrusion and his look terrified
him; so he sprang up before him and said, “Who art thou, O man? Who gave
thee leave to come in to me and who invited thee to enter my house?”
Quoth the stranger, “Verily the Lord of the House sent me to thee, nor
can any doorkeeper exclude me, nor need I leave to come in to Kings; for
I reck not of a Sultan’s majesty neither of the multitude of his guards.
I am he from whom no tyrant is at rest, nor can any man escape from my
grasp: I am the Destroyer of delights and the Sunderer of societies.”
Now when the King heard this a palsy crept over him[459] and he fell on
his face in a swoon; but presently coming to himself, he asked, “Art
thou then the Angel of Death?”; and the stranger answered, “Yes.” “I
conjure thee, by Allah,” quoth the King, “grant me one single day’s
respite, that I may pray pardon of my sins and ask absolution of my Lord
and restore to their rightful owners the monies which are in my
treasures, so I may not be burdened with the woe of a reckoning nor with
the misery of punishment therefor.” Replied the Angel, “Well-away!
well-away! this may be in no way.”——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of
day and ceased to say her permitted say.
Now when it was the Four Hundred and Sixty-fourth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that quoth the
Death-messenger to the King, “Well-away, well-away! this may be in no
way. How can I grant thee a reprieve when the days of thy life are
counted and thy breaths numbered and thy moments fixed and written?”
“Grant me an hour,” asked the King; but the Angel answered saying, “The
hour was in the account and hath sped, and thou unheeding aught; and
hath fled, and thou taking no thought: and now thy breathings are
accomplished, and there remaineth to thee but one breath.” Quoth the
King, “Who will be with me when I am transported to my tomb?” Quoth the
Angel, “Naught will be with thee but thy works good or evil.” “I have no
works,” said the King; and the Angel, “Doubtless thy long home will be
in hell-fire and thy doom the wrath of the Almighty.” Then he seized the
soul of the King, and he fell off his throne and dropped on the earth
dead. And there arose a mighty weeping and wailing and clamour of
keening for him among the people of his court, and had they known that
to which he went of the wrath of his Lord, their weeping for him had
been sorer and their wailing louder and more abounding. And a story is
told of
-----
Footnote 459:
Alluding to the “formication” which accompanies a stroke of paralysis.
ISKANDAR ZU AL-KARNAYN[460] AND A CERTAIN TRIBE OF POOR FOLK.
It is related that Iskandar Zu al-Karnayn[461] once came, in his
journeyings, upon a tribe of small folk, who owned naught of the weals
of the world and who dug their graves over against the doors of their
houses and were wont at all times to visit them and sweep the earth from
them and keep them clean and pray at them and worship Almighty Allah at
them; and they had no meat save grasses and the growth of the ground. So
Iskandar sent a man to summon their King, but he refused to come,
saying, “I have no need of him.” Thereupon Iskandar went to him and
said, “How is it with you and what manner of men are ye?; for I see with
you forsooth naught of gold or silver, nor find I with you aught of the
weals of the world.” Answered the King, “None hath his fill of the weals
of the world.” Iskandar then asked “Why do you dig your graves before
your house-doors?”; and the King answered, “That they may be the
prospective of our eye-glances; so we may look on them and ever renew
talk and thought of death, neither forget the world to come; and on this
wise the love of the world be banished from our hearts and we be not
thereby distracted from the service of our Lord, the Almighty.” Quoth
Iskandar, “Why do ye eat grasses?”; and the other replied, “Because we
abhor to make our bellies the tombs of animals and because the pleasure
of eating outstrippeth not the gullet.” Then putting forth his hand he
brought out a skull of a son of Adam and, laying it before Iskandar,
said, “O Zu al-Karnayn, Lord of the Two Horns, knowest thou who owned
this skull?” Quoth he, “Nay;” and quoth the other, “He who owned this
skull was a King of the Kings of the world, who dealt tyrannously with
his subjects, specially wronging the weak and wasting his time in
heaping up the rubbish of this world, till Allah took his sprite and
made the fire his abiding-site; and this is his head.” He then put forth
his hand and produced another skull and, laying it before Iskandar, said
to him, “Knowest thou this?” “No,” answered the conqueror; and the other
rejoined, “This is the skull of another King, who dealt justly by his
lieges and was kindly solicitous for the folk of his realm and his
dominions, till Allah took his soul and lodged him in His Garden and
made high his degree in Heaven.” Then laying his hands on Iskandar’s
head he said, “Would I knew which of these two art thou.” Whereupon
Iskandar wept with sore weeping and straining the King to his bosom
cried, “If thou be minded to company with me, I will commit to thee as
Wazir the government of my affairs and share with thee my kingdom.”
Cried the other, “Well-away, well-away! I have no mind to this.” “And
why so?” asked Iskandar, and the King answered, “Because all men are thy
foes by reason of the wealth and the worlds thou hast won: while all men
are my true friends, because of my contentment and pauperdom, for that I
possess nothing, neither covet aught of the goods of life; I have no
desire to them nor wish for them, neither reck I aught save
contentment.” So Iskandar pressed him to his breast and kissed him
between the eyes and went his way.[462] And among the tales they tell is
one concerning
-----
Footnote 460:
Pronounce Zool Karnayn.
Footnote 461:
_i.e._ the Koranic and our mediæval Alexander, Lord of the two Horns
(East and West) much “Matagrobolized” and very different from him of
Macedon. The title is variously explained, from two protuberances on
his head or helm, from two long locks and, possibly, from the
ram-horns of Jupiter Ammon. The anecdote in the text seems suggested
by the famous interview (probably a _canard_) with Diogenes: see in
the Gesta, Tale cxlvi. “The answer of Diomedes the Pirate to
Alexander.” Iskandar was originally called Marzbán (Lord of the
Marches), son of Marzabah; and, though descended from Yunán, son of
Japhet, the eponymus of the Greeks, was born obscure, the son of an
old woman. According to the Persians he was the son of the Elder Dáráb
(Darius Codomannus of the Kayanian or Second dynasty), by a daughter
of Philip of Macedon; and was brought up by his grandfather. When
Abraham and Isaac had rebuilt the Ka’abah they foregathered with him
and Allah sent him forth against the four quarters of the earth to
convert men to the faith of the Friend or to cut their throats; thus
he became one of the four world-conquerors with Nimrod, Solomon, Bukht
al-Nasr (Nabochodonosor); and he lived down two generations of men.
His Wazir was Aristú (the Greek Aristotle) and he carried a couple of
flags, white and black, which made day and night for him and
facilitated his conquests. At the end of Persia, where he was invited
by the people, on account of the cruelty of his half brother Darab
II., he came upon two huge mountains on the same line, behind which
dwelt a host of abominable pygmies, two spans high, with curious eyes,
ears which served as mattresses and coverlets, huge fanged mouths,
lions’ claws and hairy hind quarters. They ate men, destroyed
everything, copulated in public and had swarms of children. These were
Yájúj and Májúj (Gog and Magog) descendants of Japhet. Sikandar built
against them the famous wall with stones cemented and riveted by iron
and copper. The “Great Wall” of China, the famous bulwark against the
Tartars dates from B.C. 320; (Alexander of Macedon died B.C. 324) and
as the Arabs knew Canton well before Mohammed’s day, they may have
built their romance upon it. The Guebres consigned Sikandar to hell
for burning the Nusks or sections of the Zendavesta.
Footnote 462:
These terrific preachments to Eastern despots (who utterly ignore
them) are a staple produce of Oriental tale-literature and form the
chiaro-oscuro, as it were, of a picture whose lights are brilliant
touches of profanity and indelicate humour. It certainly has the charm
of contrast. Much of the above is taken from the Sikandar-nameh
(Alexander Book) of the great Persian poet, Nizámi, who flourished
A.H. 515–597, between the days of Firdausi (ob. A.D. 1021) and Sa’adi
(ob. A.D. 1291). In that romance Sikandar builds, “where the sun goes
down,” a castle of glittering stone which kills men by causing
excessive laughter and surrounds it with yellow earth like gold. Hence
the City of Brass. He also converts, instead of being converted by,
the savages of the text. He finds a stone of special excellence which
he calls Almás (diamond); and he obtains it from the Valley of
Serpents by throwing down flesh to the eagles. Lastly he is
accompanied by “Bilínás” or “Bilínús,” who is apparently Apollonius of
Tyana.
THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF KING ANUSHIRWAN.[463]