CHAPTER I

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KHALED: A TALE OF ARABIA

[Illustration: M. M. & Co.]

KHALED

A Tale of Arabia

BY F. MARION CRAWFORD

+London+

MACMILLAN AND CO., LIMITED

NEW YORK: THE MACMILLAN COMPANY

1901

_All rights reserved_

COPYRIGHT

1891

BY

F. MARION CRAWFORD

_First Edition (2 Vols. Globe 8vo) May 1891.

Second Edition (1 Vol. Crown 8vo) November

1891, 1892 Re-issue 1901_

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER I 1

CHAPTER II 22

CHAPTER III 43

CHAPTER IV 64

CHAPTER V 86

CHAPTER VI 107

CHAPTER VII 128

CHAPTER VIII 150

CHAPTER IX 171

CHAPTER X 192

CHAPTER XI 213

CHAPTER XII 235

CHAPTER I

Khaled stood in the third heaven, which is the heaven of precious

stones, and of Asrael, the angel of Death. In the midst of the light

shed by the fruit of the trees Asrael himself is sitting, and will sit

until the day of the resurrection from the dead, writing in his book the

names of those who are to be born, and blotting out the names of those

who have lived their years and must die. Each of the trees has seventy

thousand branches, each branch bears seventy thousand fruits, each fruit

is composed of seventy thousand diamonds, rubies, emeralds, carbuncles,

jacinths, and other precious stones. The stature and proportions of

Asrael are so great that his eyes are seventy thousand days' journey

apart, the one from the other.

Khaled stood motionless during ten months and thirteen days, waiting

until Asrael should rest from his writing and look towards him. Then

came the holy night called Al Kadr, the night of peace in which the

Koran came down from heaven. Asrael paused, and raising his eyes from

the scroll saw Khaled standing before him.

Asrael knew Khaled, who was one of the genii converted to the faith on

hearing Mohammed read the Koran by night in the valley Al Nakhlah. He

wondered, however, when he saw him standing in his presence; for the

genii are not allowed to pass even the gate of the first heaven, in

which the stars hang by chains of gold, each star being inhabited by an

angel who guards the entrance against the approach of devils.

Asrael looked at Khaled in displeasure, therefore, supposing that he had

eluded the heavenly sentinels and concealed an evil purpose. But Khaled

inclined himself respectfully.

'There is no Allah but Allah. Mohammed is the prophet of Allah,' he

said, thus declaring himself to be of the Moslem genii, who are upright

and are true believers.

'How camest thou hither?' asked Asrael.

'By the will of Allah, who sent his angel with me to the gate,' Khaled

answered. 'I am come hither that thou mayest write down my name in the

book of life and death, that I may be a man on earth, and after an

appointed time thou shalt blot it out again and I shall die.'

Asrael gazed at him and knew that this was the will of Allah, for the

angels are thus immediately made conscious of the divine commands. He

took up his pen to write, but before he had traced the first letter he

paused.

'This is the night Al Kadr,' he said. 'If thou wilt, tell me therefore

thy story, for I am now at leisure to hear it.'

'Thou knowest that I am of the upright genii,' Khaled answered, 'and I

am well disposed towards men. In the city of Riad, in Arabia, there

rules a powerful king, the Sultan of the kingdom of Nejed, blessed in

all things save that he has no son to inherit his vast dominions. One

daughter only has been born to him in his old age, of such marvellous

beauty that even the Black Eyed Virgins enclosed in the fruit of the

tree Sedrat, who wait for the coming of the faithful, would seem but

mortal women beside her. Her eyes are as the deep water in the wells of

Zobeideh when it is night and the stars are reflected therein. Her hair

is finer than silk, red with henna, and abundant as the foliage of the

young cypress tree. Her face is as fair as the kernels of young almonds,

and her mouth is sweeter than the mellow date and more fragrant than

'Ood mingled with ambergris. She possesses moreover all the virtues

which become women, for she is as modest as she is beautiful and as

charitable as she is modest. From all parts of Arabia and Egypt, and

from Syria and from Persia, and even from Samarkand, from Afghanistan,

and from India princes and kings' sons continually come to ask her in

marriage, for the fame of her beauty and of her virtues is as wide as

the world. But her father, desiring only her happiness, leaves the

choice of a husband to herself, and for a long time she refused all her

suitors. For there is in the palace at Riad a certain secret chamber

from which she can observe all those who come and hear their

conversation and see the gifts which they bring with them.

'At last there came as a suitor an unbeliever, a prince of an island by

the shores of India, beautiful as the moon, whose speech was honey, and

who surpassed all the suitors in riches and in the magnificence of the

presents he brought. For he came bearing with him a hundred pounds'

weight of pure gold, and five hundred ounces of ambergris, and a great

weight of musk and aloes and sandal wood, and rich garments without

number, and many woven shawls of Kashmir, of which the least splendid

was valued at a thousand sherifs of gold. An innumerable retinue

accompanied him, and twenty elephants, and horses without number,

besides camels.

'The Sultan's daughter beheld this beautiful prince from her secret

hiding-place, and all that he had brought with him. The Sultan received

him with kindness and hospitality, but assured him that unless he would

renounce idolatry and embrace the true faith he could not hope to

succeed in his purpose. Thereupon he was much cast down, and soon

afterwards, having received magnificent gifts in his turn, he would have

departed on his way, disappointed and heavy at heart. But Zehowah sent

for her father and entreated him to bid the young prince remain. "For it

is not impossible," she said, "that he may yet be converted to the true

faith. And have I the right to refuse to sacrifice my freedom when the

sacrifice may be the means of converting an idolater to the right way?

And if I marry him and go with him to his kingdom, shall we not make

true believers of all his subjects, so that I shall deserve to be called

the mother of the faithful like Ayesha, beloved by the Prophet, upon

whom be peace?" The Sultan found it hard to oppose this argument which

was founded upon virtue and edified in righteousness. He therefore

entreated the Indian prince to remain and to profess Islam, promising

the hand of Zehowah when he should be converted.

'Then I heard the prince taking secret counsel with a certain old man

who was with him, who shaved his face and wore white clothing and ate

food which he prepared for himself alone. The prince told all, and then

the old man counselled him in this way. "Speak whatsoever words they

require of thee," he said, "for words are but garments wherewith to make

the nakedness of truth modest and agreeable. And take the woman, and by

and by, when we are returned to our own land, if she consent to worship

thy gods, it is good; and if not, it is yet good, for thou shalt possess

her as thy wife, and her unbelief shall be of consequence only to her

own soul, but thy soul shall not be retarded in its progress." And the

young prince was pleased, and promised to do as his counsellor advised

him.

'So I saw that he was false and that Zehowah's righteousness would be

but the means to her sorrow if she were allowed to persist. Therefore in

the night, when all were asleep in the palace, I entered into the room

where the prince was lying, and I took him in my arms and flew with him

to the midst of the Red Desert, and there I slew him and buried him in

the sand, for I saw that he was a liar and had determined to be a

hypocrite.

'But Allah immediately sent an angel to destroy me because I had put to

death a man who was about to become a believer, thereby killing his soul

also, since he had not yet made profession of the faith. But I stood up

and defended myself, saying that I had slain a hypocrite who had planned

in his heart to carry away the daughter of a Moslem. Then the angel

asked the truth of the prince's soul, which was sitting upon the red

sand that covered the body. The soul answered, weeping, and said: "These

are true words, and I am fuel for hell." "Have I then deserved death?"

I asked. "I have killed an unbeliever." The angel answered that I had

deserved life; and he would have left me and returned to paradise, but I

would not let him go, and I besought him to entreat Allah that I might

be allowed to live the life of a mortal man upon earth. "For," I said,

"thou sayest that I deserve life. But even if thou destroy me not now I

am only one of the genii, who shall all die at the first blast of the

trumpet before the resurrection of the dead. Obtain for me therefore

that I may have a soul and live a few years, and if I do good I shall

then be with the faithful in paradise; and if not, I shall be bound with

red-hot chains and burn everlastingly like a sinful man." The angel

promised to intercede for me and departed. So I sat down upon the mound

of red sand beside the soul of the Indian prince, to wait for the

angel's coming again.

'Then the soul reproached me angrily. "But for thee," it said, "I should

have married Zehowah and returned to my own people, and although I

purposed to be a hypocrite, yet in time Zehowah might have convinced me

and I should have believed in my heart. For I now see that there is no

Allah but Allah, and that Mohammed is the prophet of Allah. And I should

perhaps have died full of years, a good Moslem, and should have entered

paradise. Therefore I pray Allah that this may be remembered in thy

condemnation." At these words I was very angry and reviled the soul,

scoffing at it. "No doubt Allah will hear thy prayer," I answered, "and

will hear also at the same time thy lies. And as for Zehowah, thinkest

thou that she would have loved thee, even if she had married thee? I

tell thee that her soul rejoices only in the light of the faith, and

that although she might have married thee, she would have done so in the

hope of turning thy people from the worship of false gods and not for

love of thee. For she will never love any man." When I had said this the

soul groaned aloud and then remained silent.

'In a little while the angel came back, and I saw that his face was no

longer clouded with anger. "Hear the judgment of Allah," he said.

"Inasmuch as thou tookest the law upon thyself, which belonged to Allah

alone, thou deservest to die. But in so far as thou hast indeed slain a

hypocrite and an unbeliever thou hast earned life. Allah is just,

merciful and forgiving. It is not meet that in thy lot there should be

nothing but reward or nothing but punishment. Therefore thou shalt not

yet receive a soul. Go hence to the third heaven and when the angel

Asrael shall be at leisure he will write thy name in the book of the

living. Then thou shalt return hither and go into the city of Riad

bearing gifts. And Zehowah will accept thee in marriage, though she love

thee not, for Allah commands that it be so. But if in the course of

time this virtuous woman be moved to love, and say to thee, 'Khaled, I

love thee,' then at that moment thou shalt receive an immortal soul, and

if thy deeds be good thy soul shall enter paradise with the believers,

but if not, thou shalt burn. Thus saith Allah. Thus art thou rewarded,

indeed, but wisely and temperately, since thou hast not obtained life

directly, but only the hope of life." Then the angel departed again,

leading the way.

'But the soul mocked me. "Thou that sayest of Zehowah that she will

never love any man, thou art fallen into thine own trap," it cried. "For

now, if she love thee not thou must perish. Truly, Allah heard my

prayer." But I was filled with thankfulness and departed after the

angel, leaving the soul sitting alone upon the red sand.

'Thus have I told thee my history, O Asrael. And now I pray thee to

write my name in the book of the living that I may fulfil the command of

Allah and go my way to the city of Riad.'

Then Asrael again took up his pen to write in the book.

'Now thou art become a living man, though thou hast as yet no soul,' he

said. 'And thou art subject to death by the sword and by sickness and by

all those evils which spring up in the path of the living. And the day

of thy death is already known to Allah who knows all things. But he is

merciful and will doubtless grant thee a term of years in which to make

thy trial. Nevertheless be swift in thy journey and speedy in all thou

doest, for though mortal man may live for ever hereafter in glory, his

years on earth are but as the breath which springs up in the desert

towards evening and is gone before the stars appear.'

Khaled made a salutation before Asrael and went out of the third heaven,

and passed through the second which is of burnished steel, and through

the first in which the stars hang by golden chains, where Adam waits for

the day of the resurrection, and at the gate he found the angel who had

led him, and who now lifted him in his arms and bore him back to the Red

Desert; for as he was now a mortal man he could no longer move through

the air like the genii between the outer gate of heaven and the earth.

Nor could he any longer see the soul of the Indian prince sitting upon

the sand, though it was still there. But the angel was visible to him.

So they stood together, and the angel spoke to him.

'Thou art now a mortal man,' he said, 'and subject to time as to death.

To thee it seems but a moment since we went up together to the gate, and

yet thou wast standing ten months and thirteen days before Asrael, and

of the body of the man whom thou slewest only the bones remain.'

So saying the angel blew upon the red sand and Khaled saw the white

bones of the prince in the place where he had laid his body. So he was

first made conscious of time.

'Nearly a year has passed, and though Allah be very merciful to thee,

yet he will assuredly not suffer thee to live beyond the time of other

men. Make haste therefore and depart upon thine errand. Yet because thou

art come into the world a grown man, having neither father nor mother

nor inheritance, I will give thee what is most necessary for thy

journey.'

Then the angel took a handful of leaves from a ghada bush close by and

gave them to Khaled, and as he gave them they were changed into a rich

garment, and into linen, and into a shawl with which to make a turban,

and shoes of red leather.

'Clothe thyself with these,' said the angel.

He broke a twig from the bush and placed it in Khaled's hand.

Immediately it became a sabre of Damascus steel, in a sheath of leather

with a belt.

'Take this sword, which is of such fine temper that it will cleave

through an iron headpiece and a shirt of mail. But remember that it is

not a sword made by magic. Let thy magic reside in thy arm, wield it for

the faith, and put thy trust in Allah.'

Afterwards the angel took up a locust that was asleep on the sand

waiting for the warmth of the morning sun. The angel held the locust up

before Khaled, and then let it fall. But as it fell it became at once a

beautiful bay mare with round black eyes wide apart and an arching tail

which swept down to the sand like a river of silk.

'Take this mare,' said the angel; 'she is of the pure breed of Nejed and

as swift as the wind, but mortal like thyself.'

'But how shall I ride her without saddle or bridle?' asked Khaled.

'That is true,' answered the angel.

He laid leaves of the ghada upon the mare's back and they became a

saddle, and placed a twig in her mouth and it turned into a bit and

bridle.

Khaled thanked the angel and mounted.

'Farewell and prosper, and put thy trust in Allah, and forget not the

day of judgment,' the angel said, and immediately returned to paradise.

So Khaled was left alone in the Red Desert, a living man obliged to

shift for himself, liable to suffer hunger and thirst or to be slain by

robbers, with no worldly possessions but his sword, his bay mare, and

the clothes on his back. He knew moreover that he was more than two

hundred miles from the city of Riad, and he knew that he could not

accomplish this journey in less than four days. For when he was one of

the genii he had often watched men toiling through desert on foot, and

on camels and on horses, and had laughed with his companions at the slow

progress they made. But now it was no laughing matter, for he had

forgotten to ask the angel for dates and water, or even for a few

handfuls of barley meal.

He turned the mare's head westward of the Goat, in which is the polar

star, for he remembered that when he had carried away the Indian prince

he had flown toward the south-east, and as he began to gallop over the

dark sand he laughed to himself.

'What poor things are men and their horses,' he said. 'To destroy me,

this mare need only stumble and lame herself, and we shall both die of

hunger and thirst in the desert.'

This reflection made him at first urge the mare to her greatest speed,

for he thought that the sooner he should be out of the desert and among

the villages beyond, the present danger would be passed. But presently

he bethought him that the mare would be more likely to stumble and hurt

herself in the dark if she were galloping than if she were moving at a

moderate pace. He therefore drew bridle and patted her neck and made her

walk slowly and cautiously forward.

But this did not please him either, after a time, for he remembered that

if he rode too slowly he must die of hunger before reaching the end of

his journey.

'Truly,' he said, 'one must learn what it is to be a man, in order to

understand the uses of moderation. Gallop not lest thy horse fall and

thou perish! Nor delay walking slowly by the road, lest thou die of

thirst and hunger! Yet thou art not safe, for Al Walid died from

treading upon an arrow, and Oda ibn Kais perished by perpetual sneezing.

Allah is just and merciful! I will let the mare go at her own pace, for

the end of all things is known.'

The mare, being left to herself, began to canter and carried Khaled

onward all night without changing her gait.

'Nevertheless,' thought Khaled, 'if we are not soon out of the desert we

shall suffer thirst during the day as well as hunger.'

When there was enough daylight to distinguish a black thread from a

white, Khaled looked before him and saw that there was nothing but red

sand in hillocks and ridges, with ghada bushes here and there. But still

the mare cantered on and did not seem tired. Soon the sun rose and it

grew very hot, for the air was quite still and it was summer time.

Khaled looked always before him and at last he saw a white patch in the

distance and he knew that there must be water near it. For the water of

the Red Desert whitens the sand. He therefore rode on cheerfully, for he

was now thirsty, and the mare quickened her pace, for she also knew

that she was near a drinking-place. But as they came close to the spot

Khaled remembered that the preceding night had been Al Kadr, which falls

between the seventh and eighth latter days of the month Ramadhan, during

which the true believers neither eat nor drink so long as there is light

enough to distinguish a white thread from a black one. So, when they

reached the well, he let his mare drink her fill, and he took off the

saddle and bridle and let her loose, after which he sat down with his

head in the shade of a ghada bush to rest himself.

'Allah is merciful,' he said; 'the night will come, and then I will

drink.' For he dared not ride farther, for fear of not finding water

again.

Then again he was disturbed, for he had nothing to eat, and he thought

that if he waited until night he would be hungry as well as thirsty. But

presently he saw the mare trying to catch the locusts that flew about.

She could only catch one or two, because it was now hot and they were

able to fly quickly.

'When the night comes,' he said, 'the locusts will lie on the ground and

cling to the bushes, being stiff with the cold, and then I will eat my

fill, and drink also.'

Soon afterwards he fell asleep, being weary, and when he awoke it was

night again and the stars were shining overhead. Khaled rose hastily and

drank at the well and made ablutions and prayed, prostrating himself

towards the Kebla. He remembered that he had slept a long time, and that

he had not performed his devotions for a day and a night, so that he

repeated them five times, to atone for the omission.

The mare was eating the locusts that now lay in great black patches on

the sand unable to move and save themselves. Khaled threw his cloak over

a great number of them and gathered them together. Then he kindled a

fire of ghada by striking sparks from the blade of his sword, and when

he had made a bed of coals he roasted the locusts after pulling off

their legs, and ate his fill. While he was doing this he was much

disturbed in mind.

'I have only just begun to live as a man,' he thought. 'Did I not stand

ten months and thirteen days in the third heaven, unconscious of the

passing of time? Who shall tell me whether I have not slept another ten

months or more under this bush, like the companions of Al Rakim?'

So, when he had done eating and had drunk again from the well, and had

made the mare drink, he saddled her quickly and mounted, and cantered on

through the night, guiding his course by the stars. On the following day

he again found a well, but much later than before, and he suffered much

from thirst as he watched his mare dip her black lips into the pool.

Nevertheless he would not break his fast, for he was resolved to be a

true believer in practice as well as in belief. So he fell asleep and

awoke when it was night again, and ate and drank. In this way he

journeyed several days until he began to see the hill country which

borders the desert towards Riad, and he understood that he had been much

farther away than he had imagined. But he reflected that Allah had

doubtless intended to try his constancy by imposing upon him the journey

through the desert during the days of fasting. But at last, he awoke one

day just at sunset, instead of sleeping until the night. He had been

travelling up the first slopes where the ground, though barren, is

harder than in the desert, and had lain down in a hollow by an abundant

spring. He rose now and made ablutions and prayed, as usual, towards

Mecca; that is to say, being where he was, he turned his face to the

west as the sun was setting. When he had finished he stood some minutes

watching the red light over the desert below him, and then he was

suddenly aware that the new moon was hanging just above the diminishing

fire of the evening, and he knew that the fast of Ramadhan was over and

that the feast of Bairam had begun. Thereat he was glad, and determined

to take an unusual number of locusts for his evening meal.

But when he looked about he saw that there were no locusts in the place,

though there was grass, which his mare was eating. Then he looked

everywhere near the well to see whether some traveller had not perhaps

dropped a few dates or a little barley by accident, but there was

nothing.

'Doubtless,' he said, 'Allah wishes to show me that greediness is a sin

even on the day of feasting.'

He drank as much of the water as he could in order to stay his hunger as

well as assuage his thirst, and then he saddled the mare and rode up out

of the hollow towards the hill country. Towards the middle of the night

he came to a small village where all the people were celebrating the

feast, having killed a young camel and several sheep. Seeing that he was

a traveller they bade him be welcome, and he sat down among them and ate

his fill of meat, praising Allah. And corn was given to his mare, so

that the dumb animal also kept the feast.

'Truly,' said the people, 'thy mare is a daughter of Al Borak, the

heavenly steed called "the Lightning," upon which the nocturnal journey

was accomplished by the Prophet, upon whom be peace.'

They said this not because they divined that the mare had been given to

Khaled by an angel, but because they saw by her beauty that she must be

swift as the wind. For she had a large head, with bony cheeks, and a

full forehead and round black eyes wide apart, with smooth black skin

about them, and a pointed nose, and the under lip was like that of a

camel, projecting a little. And she was neither too long nor too short,

having straight legs like steel, and small feet and round hoofs, neither

overgrown in idleness nor overworn with much work. And her tail lay flat

and long and smooth when she was standing still but arched like the

plume of an ostrich when she moved. Her coat was bright bay, glossy and

smooth and without any white markings. By all these signs, which belong

to the purest blood, the people of the village knew that she was of the

fleetest reared in Arabia. And Khaled was glad that the people admired

her, since she was the chief of his few possessions, which indeed were

not many.

He did not know beforehand what he should do, nor what he should say

when in the presence of the Sultan of Nejed, still less how he could

venture to ask Zehowah in marriage, having no gifts to offer and not

being himself a prince. Before he had become a man it would have been

easy for him to find treasures in the earth such as men had never seen,

for, like all the genii, he had been acquainted with the most deeply

hidden mines and with all places where men had hidden wealth in old

times. But this knowledge does not belong to the intelligence becoming

mortals, but rather to the faculty of seeing through solid substance

which is exercised by the spirits of the air, and in his present state

it was taken from him, together with all possibility of communicating

with his former companions. He had nothing but his mare and his sword

and the garments he wore, and though the mare was indeed a gift for a

king he did not know whether he was meant to offer it to any one, seeing

that it had been given him by an angel.

Nevertheless he did not lose heart, for the celestial messenger had told

him that by the will of Allah he should marry Zehowah, and Allah was

certainly able to give him a king's daughter in marriage without the aid

of gifts, of gold, of musk, of 'Ood, of aloes or of pearls.

He rose, therefore, when he had eaten enough and had rested himself and

his mare, and after thanking the people of the village for their

entertainment he rode on his way. He passed through a hill country,

sometimes fertile and sometimes stony and deserted, but he found water

by the way and such food as he needed; and accomplished the remainder of

the journey without hindrance.

On the morning of the second day he came to a halting-place from which

he could see the city of Riad, and he was astonished at the size and

magnificence of the Sultan's palace, which was visible above the walls

of the fortification. Yet he was aware that he had seen all this before

as in a dream not altogether forgotten when a man wakes at dawn after a

long and restless night.

He gazed awhile, after he had made his ablutions, and then calling to

his mare to come to him, he mounted and rode through the southern gate

into the heart of the city.