There lived once, in the city of Cairo, a merchant by name
Hassan the Jeweller of Baghdad, who had great store of wealth
in money and jewels and lands and houses beyond count. God
had blessed him with a son of perfect beauty and elegance,
rosy-cheeked, fair of face and well-shaped, whom he named Ali
of Cairo and taught the Koran and science and elocution and the
other branches of polite letters, till he became proficient
in all manner of knowledge and was under his father's hand
in trade. After awhile, Hassan fell sick and his sickness
increased upon him, till he made sure of death and calling his
son to him, said, 'O my son, verily this world passeth away;
but the next endureth for ever. Every soul must taste of death;
and now, O my son, my last hour is at hand and I desire to lay
on thee an injunction, which if thou observe, thou shalt abide
in peace and prosperity, till thou meet God the Most High; but
if thou follow it not, there shall befall thee weariness galore
and thou wilt repent of having transgressed my admonitions.' 'O
my father,' replied Ali, 'how shall I do other than hearken to
thee and do after thine enjoinder, seeing that I am bounden by
the law of God to obey thee and give ear to thy word?' 'O my
son,' rejoined his father, 'I leave thee lands and houses
and goods and wealth past count; wert thou each day to spend
thereof five hundred dinars, thou wouldst miss nought of it.
But, O my son, look that thou live in the fear of God and
follow His Chosen One (whom may He bless and preserve) in
what he is reported to have enjoined and forbidden in his
traditions. Be thou assiduous in good works and the practice of
beneficence and in consorting with men of worth and piety and
learning; and look that thou have a care for the poor and needy
and shun avarice and meanness and the converse of the wicked or
those of doubtful character. Look kindly upon thy servants and
family, and also upon thy wife, for she is of the daughters
of the notables and is with child by thee; belike God will
vouchsafe thee virtuous offspring by her.' And he went on to
exhort him thus, weeping and saying, 'O my son, I beseech God
the Bountiful, the Lord of the Empyrean, to deliver thee from
all straits that may betide thee and grant thee His speedy
relief!'
His son wept sore and said, 'O my father, I am consumed by thy
words, for they are as the words of one that saith farewell.'
'Yes, O my son,' replied the merchant, 'I am ware of my
condition: forget thou not my enjoinder.' Then he fell to
repeating the professions of the Faith and reciting [verses of
the Koran], until the appointed hour arrived, when he said,
'Draw near unto me, O my son.' So Ali drew near and he kissed
him; then he sighed and his soul departed his body and he went
to the mercy of God the Most High. Therewith great grief fell
upon Ali; the noise of lamentation arose in his house and his
father's friends flocked to him. Then he betook himself to
preparing him for burial and made him a splendid funeral. They
bore him to the place of prayer and prayed over him, then to
the cemetery, where they buried him and recited over him what
was fitting of the Koran; after which they returned to the
house and condoled with the dead man's son and went each his
own way. Moreover, Ali prayed the Friday prayers for his father
and let make recitations of the whole Koran for the [accustomed]
space of forty days, during which time he abode in the house
and went not forth, save to the place of prayer; and every
Friday he visited his father's tomb.
He ceased not from his prayers and devotions, till, at last,
his fellows of the sons of the merchants came in to him one
day and saluting him, said, 'How long wilt thou keep up this
thy mourning and neglect thy business and the company of
thy friends? Verily, this is a fashion that will bring thee
weariness, and thy body will suffer greatly for it.' Now,
when they came in to him, Iblis the accursed was with them,
prompting them, and they went on to press him to accompany them
to the bazaar, whilst Iblis incited him to consent to them,
till he yielded and went forth the house with them, that the
will of God (blessed and exalted be He) might be fulfilled.
'Mount thy mule,' quoth they, 'and ride with us to such a
garden, that we may divert us there and that thy grief and
melancholy may depart from thee.' So he mounted and taking his
slave, went with them to the garden in question, where they
entered, and one of them went and making ready the morning-
meal, brought it to them there. So they ate and made merry and
sat, talking, till the end of the day, when they mounted and
returned each to his own lodging, where they passed the night.
On the morrow, they said to Ali, 'Come with us.' 'Whither?'
asked he, and they answered, 'To such a garden; for it is
finer than the first and more pleasant.' So he went with them
to the garden, and one of them, going away, made ready the
morning-meal and brought it to them, together with strong wine;
and Ali said, 'What is this?' Quoth they, 'This is what dispels
grief and unveils gladness.' And they went on to commend it to
him, till they prevailed upon him and he drank with them. Then
they sat, drinking and talking, till the end of the day, when
each returned home.
As for Ali, he was giddy with wine and went in, in this plight,
to his wife, who said to him, 'What ails thee?' Quoth he, 'We
were making merry to-day, when one of my companions brought us
liquor; so my friends drank and I with them, and this giddiness
came upon me.' 'O my lord,' said she, 'hast thou forgotten thy
fathers injunction and done that from which he forbade thee, in
consorting with lewd folk?' 'These are of the sons of the
merchants,' answered he; 'they are no lewd folk, only lovers of
mirth and good cheer.' And he continued to lead this life with
his friends, day after day, going from place to place and
feasting and drinking with them, till they said to him, 'Our
turns are ended, and now it is thy turn.' 'Welcome and fair
welcome!' answered he; so, on the morrow, he made ready all
that the case called for of meat and drink, double what they
had provided, and taking cooks and tent-pitchers and coffee-
makers, repaired with the others to Er Rauzeh[FN#197] and
the Nilometer, where they abode a whole month, eating and
drinking and hearing music and making merry. At the end of the
month, Ali found that he had spent a great sum of money; but
Satan the Accursed deluded him and said to him, 'Though thou
shouldst spend every day a like sum, yet would not thy wealth
fail.' So he took no account of expense and continued this way
of life three years, whilst his wife remonstrated with him and
reminded him of his father's injunctions; but he hearkened not
to her, till he had spent all his ready money, when he fell to
selling his jewels and spending their price, till they were all
gone. Then he sold his houses and lands and farms and gardens,
one after another, till they were all gone and he had nothing
left but the house in which he lived. So he tore out the marble
and wood-work and sold it and spent of its price, till he had
made an end of this also, when he bethought himself and finding
that he had nothing left to spend, sold the house itself and
spent the purchase-money.
Presently, the man who had bought the house came to him and
said, 'Look thyself out a lodging, for I have need of my
house.' So he bethought himself and considering that he had
nothing requiring a house, except his wife, who had borne him a
son and daughter,--for he had not a servant left,--hired a room
in one of the mean lodging houses and there took up his abode,
after having lived in honour and luxury, with many servants and
much wealth, and came to lack of one day's bread. Quoth his
wife, 'I warned thee of this and exhorted thee to obey thy
father's injunction, and thou wouldst not hearken to me; but
there is no power and no virtue save in God the Most High, the
Supreme! Whence shall the little ones eat? Arise, go round to
thy friends, the sons of the merchants: it may be they will
give thee somewhat on which we may live this day.' So he went
the round of his friends, one by one; but they all hid their
faces from him and gave him nothing but injurious and revolting
words; and he returned to his wife and said to her, 'They have
given me nothing.' Thereupon she went out to beg of her
neighbours wherewithal to sustain themselves and came to a
woman, whom she had known in former days. When she came in to
her and she saw her plight, she rose and receiving her kindly,
wept and said, 'What hath befallen thee?' So she told her of
her husband's conduct, and the other said, 'Welcome and fair
welcome! Whatever thou needest, seek it of me, without price.'
'May God abundantly requite thee!' answered she. Then her
friend gave her as much victual as would suffice herself and
her family a whole month, and she took it and returned to her
lodging. When her husband saw her, he wept and said, 'Whence
hadst thou that?' 'I got it of such a woman,' answered she;
'for, when I told her what had befallen us, she failed me not
in aught, but said, "Seek of me all thou needest."' 'Since thou
hast this,' rejoined her husband, 'I will betake myself to a
place I have in my mind; peradventure God the Most High will
bring us relief.'
So saying, he took leave of her and kissing the children, went
out, not knowing whither he should go, and walked on till he
came to Boulac,[FN#198] where he saw a ship about to sail for
Damietta. Here he met a man, between whom and his father there
had been friendship; and he saluted him and said to him,
'Whither away?' 'To Damietta,' replied Ali; 'I have friends
there, whom I would fain enquire after and visit and return.'
The man took him home and entreated him hospitably, then,
furnishing him with victual [for the voyage] and giving him
somewhat of money, embarked him on board the vessel bound for
Damietta. When they reached that place, Ali landed, not knowing
where to go, but, as he was walking along, a merchant saw him
and had pity on him. So he carried him to his house, where he
abode awhile, till he said in himself, 'How long shall this
sojourning in other folks' houses last?' Then he left the
merchant's house and went down to the quay, where he saw a ship
ready to sail for Syria. His host provided him with victual and
embarked him in the ship; and it set sail and arrived, in due
course, at the coast of Syria, where he landed and journeyed
till he entered Damascus. As he walked about the town, a
benevolent man saw him and took him to his house, where he
abode awhile, till, one day, going abroad, he saw a caravan
about to start for Baghdad and bethought himself to journey
thither with it. So he returned to his host and taking leave of
him, set out with the caravan.
Now God (blessed and exalted be He) inclined to him the heart
of one of the merchants, so that he took him with him, and Ali
ate and drank with him, till they came within one day's journey
of Baghdad, where a company of highwaymen fell upon the caravan
and took all they had. But few of the merchants escaped and
these made each for a [separate] place of refuge. As for Ali,
he made for Baghdad, where he arrived at sundown, as the
gatekeepers were about to shut the gates, and said to them
'Let me in with you.' So they admitted him and asked him
whence he came and whither he was bound. 'I am a man from
the city of Cairo,' replied he, 'and have with me mules laden
with merchandise and slaves and servants. I forewent them, to
look me out a place wherein to deposit my goods; but as I rode
along on my mule, there fell upon me a company of highway robbers,
who took my mule and gear; nor did I escape from them but at
the last gasp.' The warders entreated him hospitably and bade
him welcome, saying, 'Abide with us this night, and in the
morning we will look thee out a place befitting thee.' Then he
sought in his pocket and finding a dinar remaining of those he
had gotten of the merchant at Boulac, gave it to one of the
gatekeepers, saying, 'Take this and change it and bring us
something to eat.' The man took it and went to the market,
where he changed it and brought Ali bread and cooked meat. So
he ate, he and the gatekeepers, and he lay the night with them.
On the morrow, one of the warders carried him to a merchant of
the town, to whom he told the same story, and he believed him,
deeming that he was a merchant and had with him loads of
merchandise. So he took him up into his shop and entreated him
with honour. Moreover, he sent to his house for a splendid suit
of his own apparel for him and carried him to the bath. So,
[quoth Ali], I went with him to the bath, and when we came out,
he brought me to his house, where he caused set the morning-meal
before us, and we ate and made merry.
Then said he to one of his slaves, "Harkye, Mesoud, take this
thy lord and show him the two houses in such a place. Whichever
pleases him of them, give him the key of it and come back." So
I went with the slave, till we came to a place where stood
three houses, side by side, new and shut up. He opened the
first and the second, and I looked at them; after which he said
to me, "Of which of them shall I give thee the key?" "To whom
does yon large house belong?" asked I. "To us," answered he;
and I said, "Open it, that I may view it." Quoth he, "Thou hast
no call to it." "Wherefore?" asked I; and he, "Because it is
haunted, and none lodges there but in the morning he is a dead
man; nor do we use to open the door, to take out the corpse,
but mount the roof of one of the other two houses and take it
up thence. For this reason, my master has abandoned the house
and says, 'I will never again give it to any one.'" Quoth I,
"Open it, that I may view it;" and I said in myself, "This is
what I seek. I will pass the night there and in the morning be
a dead man and be at peace from this miserable plight of mine."
So he opened it and I entered and found it a splendid house,
without its like; and I said to the slave, "I will have none
other than this house; give me the key." But he answered, "I
will not give thee this key till I consult my master," and
going to the latter, said to him, "The Egyptian merchant saith,
'I will lodge in none but the great house.'"
When the merchant heard this, he rose and coming to Ali, said
to him, 'O my lord, thou hast no need of this house.' But he
replied, 'I will lodge in none other than this; for I care
nothing for this saying.'[FN#199] 'Then,' said the other,
'write me an acknowledgment that, if aught happen to thee, I am
not responsible.' 'So be it,' answered Ali; whereupon the
merchant fetched an assessor from the Cadi's court and taking
of him the prescribed acknowledgment, delivered him the key,
which he took and entered the house. The merchant sent him
bedding by a slave, who spread it for him on the bench behind
the door and went away. Presently Ali went into the inner court
and seeing there a well with a bucket, let down the latter and
drew water, with which he made the ablution and prayed the
obligatory prayers. Then he sat awhile, till the merchant's
slave brought him the evening meal from his master's house,
together with a lamp, a candle and candlestick, a basin and
ewer and a gugglet; after which he left him and returned home.
Ali lighted the candle and supped at his ease and prayed the
evening prayer; after which he said to himself, 'Let us take
the bed and go upstairs and sleep there, rather than here.' So
he took the bed and carried it upstairs, where he found a
splendid saloon, with gilded ceiling and walls and floor of
variegated marble. He spread his bed there and sitting down,
began to recite somewhat of the sublime Koran, when suddenly he
heard one calling to him and saying, 'O Ali, O son of Hassan,
shall I send thee down the gold?' And he answered, 'Send away.'
Hardly had he spoken, when pieces of gold began to rain down on
him, like [pebbles from] a mangonel, nor stinted till the
saloon was full. Then said the voice, 'Set me free, that I may
go my way; for I have made an end of my service and have
delivered unto thee that which was committed to me for thee.'
Quoth Ali, 'I adjure thee by the Most High God to tell me the
history of this gold.' 'This is a treasure that was enchanted
to thee of old time,' replied the voice; 'and to every one, who
entered the house, we used to come and say to him, "O Ali, O
son of Hassan, shall we send down the gold?" Whereat he would
be affrighted and cry out, and we would come down to him and
break his neck and go away. But, when thou camest and we
accosted thee by thy name and that of thy father, saying,
"Shall we send thee down the gold?" and thou madest answer,
saying, "Send away," we knew thee for the owner of it and sent
it down. Moreover, there is yet another treasure for thee in
the land of Yemen, whither thou wouldst do well to journey and
fetch it. And now I would have thee set me free, that I may go
my way.' 'By Allah,' said Ali, 'I will not set thee free, till
thou bring me hither the treasure from Yemen!' Quoth the voice,
'If I bring it thee, wilt thou release me and the servant of
the other treasure also?' 'Yes,' replied Ali; and the genie
said, 'Swear to me.' So he swore to him, and he was about to go
away, when Ali said to him, 'I have one other service to ask of
thee.' 'What is that?' asked the genie. Quoth Ali, 'I have a
wife and children at Cairo, in such a place; thou must fetch
them to me, at their ease and without hurt.' 'I will bring them
to thee in state,' answered the genie, 'in a litter, with a
train of slaves and servants, together with the treasure from
Yemen, if it be the will of God the Most High.' Then he took of
him leave of absence for three days, at the end of which time
all this should be with him, and departed.
When it was morning, Ali went round about the saloon, seeking a
place wherein to lay the gold, and saw in the wall of the dais
a marble panel, with a knob in it. So he pressed the knob and
the panel slid back and discovered a door, which he opened and
entering, found a great closet, full of linen bags. So he took
out the bags and fell to filling them with gold and replacing
them in the closet, till he had transported thither the whole
treasure, whereupon he shut the door and pressing the knob, the
panel returned to its place. Then he went down and seated
himself on the bench behind the door. Presently, there came a
knock at the door; so he opened it and found the merchant's
slave, who, seeing him, returned in haste to his master with
the good tidings, saying, 'O my lord, the merchant, who is
lodged in the haunted house, is alive and well and sits on the
bench behind the door.' When the merchant heard this, he rose
joyfully and went to the house, taking breakfast with him; and
when he saw Ali, he embraced him and kissed him between the
eyes, saying, 'How hath God dealt with thee?' 'Right well,'
answered Ali. 'I slept upstairs in the marble saloon.' Quoth
the merchant, 'Did aught come to thee or didst thou see aught?'
'No,' replied Ali; 'I recited some little of the Koran and
slept till morning, when I arose and after making the ablution
and praying, came down and seated myself on the bench behind
the door.' 'Praised be God for safety!' exclaimed the merchant,
then left him and presently sent him slaves and servants, black
and white and male and female, with furniture. They swept the
house from top to bottom and furnished it magnificently, after
which three black slaves and the like number of white and four
slave-girls abode with him, to serve him, and the rest returned
to their master's house. When the merchants heard of him, they
sent him presents of all manner of things of price, even to
meat and drink and clothes, and took him with them in the
market, saying, 'When will thy baggage arrive?' And he answered,
'After three days it will come.'
Accordingly, when the three days had elapsed, the servant of
the first treasure came to him and said, 'Go forth and meet thy
harem, together with the treasure I have brought thee from
Yemen, part of which is by way of costly merchandise; but the
slaves, black and white, and the horses and camels and mules
are all of the Jinn. (Now the genie, when he betook himself to
Cairo, found Ali's wife and children in sore straits for
nakedness and hunger; so he carried them forth of the town in a
travelling-litter and clad them in sumptuous raiment of that
which was in the treasure of Yemen.) When Ali heard this, he
rose and repairing to the merchants, said to them, 'Come, go
forth the city with me, to meet the caravan, with my merchandise,
and honour me with the presence of your harems, to meet my
harem.' 'We hear and obey,' answered they and sending for
their harems, went forth all together and alighted in one
of the gardens without the city. As they sat talking, behold, a
cloud of dust arose out of the heart of the desert, and they
came out to see what it was. Presently, it lifted and discovered
mules and muleteers and tent-pitchers and linkmen, who came on,
singing and dancing, till they reached the garden, when the
chief of the muleteers came up to Ali and kissing his hand,
said to him, 'O my lord, we have been long on the way, for
we thought to enter some days ago; but we were in fear of
the highway-robbers, so abode in our station four days, till
God the Most High rid us of them.'
Then the merchants mounted their mules and rode forward with
the caravan, wondering at the [number of] mules laden with
chests, whilst their harems followed them, with Ali's harem,
marvelling at the richness of the apparel of his wife and
children and saying to each other, 'Verily, the King of Baghdad
hath no such raiment, no, nor any other of the kings or
merchants or notables.' So they entered Baghdad in great state
and rode on till they came to Ali's house, where they alighted
and brought the mules and their burdens into the midst of the
courtyard. Then they unloaded them and laid up the goods in the
storehouses, whilst the merchants' wives went up with Ali's
family to the saloon, which they found as it were a luxuriant
garden, spread with magnificent furniture. They sat in mirth
and good cheer till noon, when they brought them up the noon
meal, of all manner meats and sweetmeats of the best; and
they ate and drank costly sherbets and perfumed themselves
thereafter with rose-water and scented woods. Then they took
leave and departed, men and women. When the merchants returned
home, they all sent presents to Ali, according to their
conditions; and their wives likewise sent presents to his wife,
so that there came to them great plenty of slaves, black and
white and male and female, and store of all manner goods, such
as grain and sugar and so forth, beyond count. As for the
landlord of the house, he abode with Ali and quitted him not,
but said to him, 'Let the slaves and servants take the mules
and the other cattle into one of my other houses, to rest.'
Quoth Ali, 'They set out again to-night for such a place.' Then
he gave them leave to go forth the city, that they might set
out on their journey at nightfall; whereupon they took leave of
him forthright and departing the city, flew off through the air
to their several abodes.
Ali and the merchant sat together till a third of the night
was past, when the latter returned to his own house and Ali
went up to his wife and children and greeted them, saying,
'What hath befallen you all this time?' So she told him what
they had suffered of hunger and nakedness and toil, and he
said, 'Praised be God for safety! How did ye come?' 'O my lord,'
answered she, 'I was asleep, with my children, yesternight,
when suddenly one raised us from the ground and carried us
through the air, without doing us any hurt, nor did he give
over flying with us, till he set us down in a place as it were
a Bedouin camping-place, where we saw laden mules and a litter
borne upon two great mules, and round them servants, boys and
men. So I said to them, "Who are ye and what are these loads
and where are we?" And they answered, "We are the servants of
the merchant Ali ibn Hassan of Cairo, who has sent us to fetch
you to him at Baghdad." Quoth I, "Is it far or near, hence to
Baghdad?" "Near," answered they; "there lies but the darkness
of the night between us and the city." Then they mounted us in
the litter, and on the morrow, we found ourselves with thee,
without having suffered any hurt. 'Who gave you these clothes?'
asked he, and she said, 'The chief of the caravan opened one of
the chests on the mules and taking out the clothes, clad me and
the children each in a suit; after which he locked the chest
and gave me the key, saying, "Take care of it, till thou give
it to thy husband." And here it is, safe.' So saying, she gave
him the key, and he said, 'Dost thou know the chest?' 'Yes,'
answered she. So he took her down to the magazine and she
pointed it out, whereupon he put the key in the lock and opened
the chest, in which he found much raiment and the keys of all
the other chests. So he took them out and fell to opening the
other chests, one after another, and feasting his eyes upon the
jewels and precious metals they contained, whose like was not
found with any of the kings; after which he locked them again
and took the keys, saying to his wife, 'This is of the bounty
of God the Most High.'
Then he returned with her to the saloon and bringing her to the
secret panel, pressed the knob and opened the door of the
closet into which he entered with her and showed her the gold
he had laid up there. Quoth she, 'Whence hadst thou all this?'
'It came to me by the grace of my Lord,' answered he and told
her all that had befallen him, from first to last. 'O my lord,'
said she, 'all this comes of the blessing of thy father's
prayers, whenas he prayed for thee, before his death, saying,
"I beseech God to cast thee into no strait, except He bring
thee speedy deliverance [therefrom]!" So praised be God the
Most High for that He hath brought thee relief and hath
requited thee with more than thou didst lose! But God on thee,
O my lord, return not to thy sometime fashion and companying
with folk of lewd life; but look thou fear God the Most High,
both in public and private!' And she went on to admonish him.
Quoth he, 'I accept thine admonition and beg God the Most High
to remove the wicked from us and stablish us in His obedience
and in the observance of the law of His Prophet, on whom be
peace and salvation!'
Ali and his wife and children were now in all delight of life and
gladness; and he opened him a shop in the merchants' bazaar and
stocking it with jewels and precious metals, sat therein with
his children and servants. He soon became the most considerable
of the merchants of Baghdad, and his report reached the King of
that city, who sent a messenger to command his attendance. So
he took four trays of red gold and filling them with jewels and
precious metals, such as no king possessed, went up to the
palace and presenting himself before the prince, kissed the
earth before him and wished him continuance of glory and
prosperity, in the best words he could command. 'O merchant,'
said the King, 'thou honourest our city with thy presence;'
and Ali rejoined, saying, 'O King of the age, thy slave hath
brought thee a present and hopes for acceptance thereof from
thy favour.' So saying, he laid the four trays before the King,
who uncovered them and seeing that they contained jewels,
whose like he possessed not and whose worth equalled treasuries
of money, said, 'O merchant, thy present is accepted, and so
God please, we will requite thee with its like.' And Ali kissed
his hands and went away. Then the King called his grandees
and said to them, 'How many kings have sought my daughter in
marriage?' 'Many,' answered they. 'Hath any of them given me
the like of this gift?' asked he. 'Not one,' replied they;
'for that none of them hath its like;' and he said, 'I have
consulted God the Most High,[FN#200] as to marrying my daughter
to this merchant. What say ye?' 'Be it as thou deemest,'
answered they. Then he bade the eunuch carry the four trays
into his harem and going in to his wife, laid them before
her. She uncovered them and seeing therein that whose like
she possessed not,--no, nor a fraction thereof,--said to him,
'Of which of the kings hadst thou these? Peradventure of
one of those that seek our daughter in marriage?' 'Not so,'
answered he, 'I had them of an Egyptian merchant, who is lately
come to our city. I heard tell of him and sent to command him
to us, thinking to make his acquaintance, so haply we might
find with him somewhat of jewels and buy them of him for our
daughter's equipment. He obeyed the summons and brought us
these four trays, as a present, and I saw him to be a handsome
and elegant young man[FN#201] of dignified aspect and accomplished
wit, well-nigh as he were of the sons of the kings. Wherefore my
heart inclined to him and I rejoiced in him and thought to marry
my daughter to him.' Then he told her what had passed between
himself and his grandees on the subject and added, 'But what
sayst thou?' 'O King of the age,' answered she, 'the affair
is in God's hand, and thine, and what God willeth shall come
to pass.' 'If it be His will,' rejoined the King, 'I will marry
her to none other than this young man.'
So, on the morrow, he went out to his Divan and sending for Ali
and the rest of the merchants of Baghdad, bade them be seated.
Then he summoned the Cadi of the Divan and said to him, 'O
Cadi, draw up the contract of marriage between my daughter and
the merchant Ali of Cairo.' But the latter said, 'Thy pardon, O
our lord the Sultan! It befits not that a merchant, such as I,
be the King's son-in-law.' Quoth the King, 'It is my will to
bestow this favour upon thee, as well as the Vizierate.' And he
invested him forthwith in the Vizier's habit. Then Ali sat down
in the seat of the Vizierate and said, 'O King of the age, thou
hast bestowed on me this; and indeed I am honoured by thy
bounties; but hear one word from me.' 'Say on,' answered the
King, 'and fear not.' Quoth Ali, 'Since it is thine august will
to marry thy daughter, thou wouldst do better to marry her to
my son.' 'Hast thou then a son?' asked the King; and Ali
replied, 'Yes.' 'Send for him forthright,' said the King;
whereupon, 'I hear and obey,' answered Ali and sent a servant
to fetch his son, who came and kissing the ground before the
King, stood in an attitude of respect. The King looked at him
and seeing him to be yet comelier than his daughter and
goodlier than she in symmetry and brightness and perfection,
said to him, 'O my son, what is thy name?' 'O our lord the
Sultan,' replied the young man, who was then fourteen years
old, 'my name is Hassan.' Then the Sultan said to the Cadi,
'Write the contract of marriage between my daughter Husn el
Wujoud and Hassan, son of the merchant Ali of Cairo.' So he
wrote the contract of marriage between them, and the affair was
ended on the goodliest wise; after which all in the Divan went
their ways and the merchants escorted the Vizier Ali to his
house, where they gave him joy of his advancement and departed.
Then he went in to his wife, who, seeing him clad in the
Vizier's habit, exclaimed, 'What is this?' So he told her all
that had passed, and she rejoiced therein with an exceeding
joy.
On the morrow, he went up to the Divan, where the King received
him with especial favour and seating him beside himself, said
to him, 'O Vizier, we purpose to celebrate the wedding festivities
and bring thy son in to our daughter.' 'O our lord the Sultan,'
replied Ali, 'that thou deemest good is good.' So the Sultan
gave orders for the festivities, and they decorated the city
and held high festival thirty days, in all cheer and gladness;
at the end of which time, the Vizier Ali's son Hassan went
in to the princess and enjoyed her beauty and grace. When
the queen saw her daughter's husband, she conceived a warm
affection for him, and in like manner she rejoiced greatly in
his mother. Then the King bade build his son-in-law a palace
beside his own; so they built him with all speed a splendid
palace, in which he took up his abode; and his mother used to
abide with her son some days and then return to her own house.
After awhile, the queen said to her husband, 'O King of the
age, Hassan's mother cannot take up her abode with her son and
leave the Vizier; neither can she abide with her husband and
leave her son.' 'Thou sayst sooth,' replied the King and bade
build a third palace beside the two others, which being done in
a few days, he caused remove thither the Vizier's goods, and
the latter and his wife took up their abode there. Now the
three palaces communicated with one another, so that, when the
King had a mind to speak with the Vizier by night, he would go
to him or send to fetch him; and so with Hassan and his father
and mother.
They dwelt thus in the greatest happiness and contentment awhile,
till the King fell ill and his sickness increased on him. So he
summoned the grandees of his realm and said to them, 'There is
come upon me a sore sickness, peradventure a mortal one, and I
have therefore summoned you to consult you respecting a certain
matter, on which I would have you counsel me as you deem well.'
'What is the matter of which thou wouldst take counsel with us,
O King?' asked they; and he answered, 'I am old and sickly and
I fear for the realm, after me, from the enemies; so I would
have you all agree upon some one, that I may proclaim him king
in my lifetime and so ye may be at ease.' Whereupon quoth they
all, 'We all approve of thy son-in-law Hassan, son of the
Vizier Ali; for we have seen the perfectness of his wit and
understanding, and he knows the rank of all, great and small.
'Are ye indeed agreed upon this?' asked the King, and they
answered, 'Yes.' 'Peradventure,' quoth he, 'ye say this to my
face, of respect for me; but, behind my back, ye will say
otherwise.' But they all answered, saying, 'By Allah, our word,
in public and in private, is one, varying not; and we accept
him frankly and with all our hearts.' 'Since the case is thus,'
said the King, 'bring the Cadi of the Holy Law and all the
chamberlains and captains and officers of state before me
to-morrow, and we will settle the affair on the goodliest
wise.' 'We hear and obey,' answered they and withdrawing,
notified all the doctors of the law and the chief Amirs.
So, on the morrow, they came up to the Divan and saluted the
King, who said to them, 'O Amirs of Baghdad, whom will ye have
to be king over you after me, that I may invest him in my
lifetime, in the presence of you all?' Quoth they all, 'We are
agreed upon thy daughter's husband, Hassan, son of the Vizier
Ali.' 'If it be so,' said the King, 'go all of you and bring
him before me.' So they all arose and repairing to Hassan's
palace, said to him, 'Come with us to the King.' 'Wherefore?'
asked he, and they answered, 'For a thing that will advantage
both us and thee.' So he went in with them to the King and
kissed the ground before the latter, who bade him be seated and
said to him, 'O Hassan, all the Amirs have approved of thee and
agreed to make thee king over them after me; and it is my
purpose to proclaim thee, whilst I yet live, and so make an end
of the business.' But Hassan arose and kissing the earth once
more before the King, said to him, 'O our lord the King, among
the Amirs there be [many] who are older than I and greater of
worth; hold me quit therefore of this thing.' Quoth all the
Amirs, 'We consent not but that thou be king over us.' Then
said Hassan, 'My father is older than I, and he and I are one
thing; and it befits not to advance me over him.' But Ali
said, 'I will consent to nothing but what is pleasing to my
brethren; and they have all chosen and agreed upon thee.
Wherefore gainsay thou not the King's commandment and that
of thy brethren.' And Hassan hung his head in abashment before
the King and his father. Then said the King to the Amirs, 'Do
ye all accept of him?' 'We do,' answered they and recited
thereupon seven Fatihehs.'[FN#202] So the King said to the
Cadi, 'Draw up a legal act testifying of these Amirs that they
are agreed to make my daughter's husband Hassan king over
them.' So the Cadi wrote the act and made it executory,[FN#203]
after they had all taken the oath of fealty to Hassan. Then the
King invested him with the insignia of royalty and bade him
take his seat on the throne; whereupon they all arose and
kissed King Hassan's hands and did homage to him.
The new king dispensed justice among the people that day, in
right royal fashion, and invested the grandees of the realm in
splendid robes of honour. When the Divan broke up, he went in
to his father-and-law and kissed his hands; and the old King
said to him, 'O my son, look thou govern the people in the fear
of God.' 'O my father,' replied Hassan, 'through thy prayers
for me, the grace of God will come to me.' Then he entered his
own palace and was met by his wife and her mother and their
attendants, who kissed his hands and gave him joy of his
advancement, saying, 'This is a blessed day.' Then he went in
to his father and mother, who rejoiced with an exceeding joy in
that which God had vouchsafed him of his advancement to the
kingship, and his father exhorted him to the fear of God and to
affectionate solicitude in his dealings with his subjects. He
passed the night in joy and gladness, and on the morrow, having
prayed the appointed prayers, concluding with the customary
recitation of part of the Koran, he repaired to the Divan,
whither came all his officers and dignitaries. He passed the
day in dispensing justice among his subjects, enjoining to
beneficence and forbidding from iniquity and appointing and
displacing, till nightfall, when the Divan broke up, after the
goodliest fashion, and all present withdrew and went each his
own way. Then he arose and went in to the palace, where he
found his father-in-law's sickness grown heavy upon him and
said to him, 'May no hurt befall thee!' At this the old King
opened his eyes and said, 'O Hassan!' 'At thy service, O my
lord,' replied the young man. Quoth the old King, 'My last hour
is at hand: be careful of thy wife and her mother and look
thou fear God and honour thy parents, being still in awe of
the majesty of the Requiting King and remembering that He
commandeth to justice and beneficence.' And Hassan replied,
'I hear and obey.'
The old King lingered three days after this and was then
received into the mercy of God the Most High. They paid him
the last offices and buried him and held over him readings and
recitations of the Koran, to the end of the [customary] forty
days. And King Hassan, son of the Vizier, reigned in his stead,
and his subjects rejoiced in him and all his days were gladness.
Moreover, his father ceased not to be his chief Vizier on his
right hand, and he took to himself another Vizier, to be at his
left hand. His reign was a prosperous one and he abode long
King in Baghdad. God blessed him, by the old King's daughter,
with three sons, who inherited the kingdom after him; and they
abode in the enjoyment of all delight and solace of life, till
there came to them the Destroyer of Delights and the Sunderer
of Companies. And glory be to Him who is eternal and in whose
hand are annulment and confirmation!
THE PILGRIM AND THE OLD WOMAN WHO DWELT
IN THE DESERT.
A man of the pilgrims once slept a long sleep and awaking,
found no trace of the caravan. So he arose and walked on, but
lost his way and presently came to a tent, at whose door he saw
an old woman and a dog by her, asleep. He went up to the tent
and saluting the old woman, sought of her food. 'Go to yonder
valley,' said she, 'and catch thy sufficiency of serpents, that
I may broil of them for thee and give thee to eat.' 'I dare not
catch serpents,' answered the pilgrim; 'nor did I ever eat
them.' Quoth the old woman, 'I will go with thee and catch
them; fear not.' So she went with him, followed by the dog, to
the valley, and catching a sufficient number of serpents,
proceeded to broil them. He saw nothing for it but to eat, for
fear of hunger and exhaustion; so he ate of the serpents.
Then he was athirst and asked for water to drink. 'Go to the
spring and drink,' answered she. So he went to the spring and
found the water thereof bitter; yet needs must he drink of it,
for all its bitterness, because of the violence of his thirst.
Then he returned to the old woman and said to her, 'O old
woman, I marvel at thy choosing to abide in this place and
putting up with such meat and drink!' 'And how is it then in
thy country?' asked she. 'In my country,' answered he, 'are
wide and spacious houses and ripe and delicious fruits and
sweet and abundant waters and goodly viands and fat meats and
plentiful flocks and all things pleasant and all the goods of
life, the like whereof are not, save in the Paradise that God
the Most High hath promised to His pious servants.' 'All this,'
replied she, 'have I heard: but tell me, have you a Sultan who
ruleth over you and is tyrannical in his rule and under whose
hand you are, who, if one of you commit a fault, taketh his
goods and undoth him and who, when he will, turneth you out of
your houses and uprooteth you, stock and branch?' 'Indeed, that
may be,' answered the man. 'Then, by Allah,' rejoined she,
'these your delicious viands and dainty life and pleasant
estate, with tyranny and oppression, are but a corroding
poison, in comparison wherewith, our food and fashion, with
freedom and safety, are a healthful medicine. Hast thou not
heard that the best of all boons, after the true Faith, are
health and security?'
Now these[FN#204] [quoth he who tells the tale] may be by the
just rule of the Sultan, the Vicar of God in His earth, and the
goodness of his policy. The Sultan of times past needed but
little awfulness, for that, when the people saw him, they
feared him; but the Sultan of these days hath need of the most
accomplished policy and the utmost majesty, for that men are
not as men of time past and this our age is one of folk
depraved and greatly calamitous, noted for folly and hardness
of heart and inclined to hatred and enmity. If, therefore, the
Sultan that is set over them be (which God the Most High
forfend) weak or lack of policy and majesty, without doubt,
this will be the cause of the ruin of the land. Quoth the
proverb, 'A hundred years of the Sultan's tyranny, rather than
one of the tyranny of the people, one over another.' When the
people oppress one another, God setteth over them a tyrannical
Sultan and a despotic King. Thus it is told in history that
there was, one day, presented to El Hejjaj ben Yousuf[FN#205] a
docket, in which was written, 'Fear God and oppress not His
servants with all manner of oppression.' When he read this, he
mounted the pulpit, (for he was ready of speech,) and said, 'O
folk' God the Most High hath set me over you, by reason of your
[evil] deeds; and though I die, yet will ye not be delivered
from oppression, with your evil deeds; for God the Most High
hath created many like unto me. If it be not I, it will be a
more fertile than I in mischief and a mightier in oppression
and a more strenuous in violence, even as saith the poet:
For no hand is there but the hand of God is over it And no
oppressor but shall be with worse than he oppress.
Tyranny is feared: but justice is the best of all things. We
beg God to better our case.'