palmer-man drank the bitter draught for stress of thirst, he returned
and said "I marvel, O ancient dame, at thy choosing to sojourn in this
place and thy putting up with such meat and drink!" She asked, "And how
is it then in thy country?"; whereto he answered, "In my country are
houses wide and spacious and fruits ripe and delicious and waters sweet
and viands savorous and of goodly use and meats fat and full of juice
and flocks innumerous and all things pleasant and all the goods of
life, the like whereof are not, save in the Paradise which Allah the
Omnipotent hath promised to His servants pious." Replied she, "All this
have I heard: but tell me, have ye a Sultan who ruleth over you and is
tyrannical in his rule and under whose hand you are; one who, if any of
you commit an offence, taketh his goods and ruineth him and who, whenas
he will, turneth you out of house and home and uprooteth you, stock and
branch?" Replied the man, "Indeed that may be;" and she rejoined, "If
so, by Allah, these your delicious food and life of daintyhood and
gifts however good, with tyranny and oppression, are but a searching
poison, while our coarse meat which in freedom and safety we eat is a
healthful medicine. Hast thou not heard that the best of boons, after
Al-Islam, the true Faith, are sanity and security?"[FN#279] "Now such
boons (quoth he who telleth the tale) may be by the just rule of the
Sultan, Vice-regent of Allah on His earth, and the goodness of his
polity. The Sultan of time past needed but little awfulness, for when
the lieges saw him, they feared him; but the Sultan of these days hath
need of the most accomplished polity and the utmost majesty, because
men are not as men of by-gone time and this our age is one of folk
opprobrious, and is greatly calamitous, noted for folly and hardness of
heart and inclined to hate and enmity. If, therefore, the Sultan (which
Almighty Allah forfend!) be weak or wanting in polity and majesty, this
will be the assured cause of his country's ruin. Quoth the proverb, 'An
hundred years of the Sultan's tyranny, but not one year of the people's
tyranny one over other.' When the lieges oppress one another, Allah
setteth over them a tyrannical Sultan and a terrible King. Thus it is
told in history that one day there was sent to Al-Hajjαj bin Yϊsuf a
slip of paper, whereon was written, 'Fear Allah and oppress not His
servants with all manner of oppression.' When he read this, he mounted
the pulpit (for he was eloquent and ever ready of speech), and said, 'O
folk, Allah Almighty hath made me ruler over you, by reason of your
frowardness;'"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to
say her permitted say.
When it was the Four Hundred and Thirty-sixth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Hajjaj
Yousuf-son read the paper he mounted the pulpit and said, "O folk,
Allah Almighty hath made me ruler over you by reason of your
frowardness; and indeed, though I die yet will ye not be delivered from
oppression, with these your ill deeds; for the Almighty hath created
like unto me many an one. If it be not I, 'twill be one more
mischievous than I and a mightier in oppression and a more merciless in
his majesty; even as saith the poet:[FN#280]—
'For not a deed the hand can try
Save 'neath the hand of God on high,
Nor tyrant harsh work tyranny
Uncrushed by tyrant harsh as he.'
Tyranny is feared: but justice is the best of all things. We beg
Allah to better our case!" And among tales is that of
ABU AL-HUSN AND HIS SLAVE-GIRL TAWADDUD.[FN#281]
There was once in Baghdad a man of consequence and rich in monies and
immoveables, who was one of the chiefs of the merchants; and Allah had
largely endowed him with worldly goods, but had not vouchsafed him what
he longed for of offspring; and there passed over him a long space of
time, without his being blessed with issue, male or female. His years
waxed great; his bones became wasted and his back bent; weakness and
weariness grew upon him, and he feared the loss of his wealth and
possessions, seeing he had no child whom he might make his heir and by
whom his name should be remembered. So he betook himself with
supplication to Almighty Allah, fasting by day and praying through the
night. Moreover, he vowed many vows to the Living, the Eternal; and
visited the pious and was constant in supplication to the Most Highest,
till He gave ear to him and accepted his prayer and took pity on his
straining and complaining; so that, before many days were past, he knew
carnally one of his women and she conceived by him the same night. In
due time she finished her months and, casting her burden, bore a male
child as he were a slice of the moon; whereupon the merchant fulfilled
his vows in his gratitude to Allah, (to whom be honour and glory!) and
gave alms and clothed the widow and the orphan. On the seventh night
after the boy's birth, he named him Abu al-Husn,[FN#282] and the
wet-nurses suckled him and the dry-nurses dandled him and the servants
and the slaves carried him and handled him, till he shot up and grew
tall and throve greatly and learnt the Sublime Koran and the ordinances
of Al-Islam and the Canons of the True Faith; and calligraphy and
poetry and mathematics and archery. On this wise he became the
union-pearl of his age and the goodliest of the folk of his time and
his day; fair of face and of tongue fluent, carrying himself with a
light and graceful gait and glorying in his stature proportionate and
amorous graces which were to many a bait: and his cheeks were red and
flower-white was his forehead and his side face waxed brown with tender
down, even as saith one, describing him,
"The spring of the down on cheeks right clearly shows: * And how
when the Spring is gone shall last the rose?
Dost thou not see that the growth upon his cheek * Is violet-
bloom that from its leaves outgrows."
He abode awhile in ease and happiness with his father, who rejoiced and
delighted in him, till he came to man's estate, when the merchant one
day made him sit down before him and said, "O my son, the appointed
term draweth near; my hour of death is at hand and it remaineth but to
meet Allah (to whom belong Majesty and Might!). I leave thee what shall
suffice thee, even to thy son's son, of monies and mansions, farms and
gardens; wherefore, fear thou Almighty Allah, O my son, in dealing with
that which I bequeath to thee and follow none but those who will help
thee to the Divine favour." Not long after, he sickened and died; so
his son ordered his funeral,[FN#283] after the goodliest wise, and
burying him, returned to his house and sat mourning for him many days
and nights. But behold, certain of his friends came in to him and said
to him, "Whoso leaveth a son like thee is not dead; indeed, what is
past is past and fled and mourning beseemeth none but the young maid
and the wife cloistered." And they ceased not from him till they
wrought on him to enter the Hammam and break off his mourning.—And
Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted
say.
When it was the Four Hundred and Thirty-seventh Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Abu al-Husn
was visited by his friends and taken to the Hamman and persuaded to
break off his mourning, he presently forgot his father's charge, and
his head was turned by his riches; he thought fortune would always wone
with him as it was, and that wealth would ever wax and never wane. So
he ate and drank and made merry and took his pleasure and gave gifts of
gear and coin and was profuse with gold and addrest himself up to
eating fowls and breaking the seals of wine-flasks and listening to the
giggle of the daughter of the vine, as she gurgled from the flagon and
enjoying the jingle of the singing-girls; nor did he give over this way
of life, till his wealth was wasted and the case worsened and all his
goods went from him and he bit his hands[FN#284] in bitter penitence.
For of a truth he had nothing left, after that which he had squandered,
but a concubine, a slave-girl whom his father had bequeathed to him
with the rest of his estate: and she had no equal in beauty and
loveliness and brightness and liveliness and symmetric stature and
perfect grace. She was past mistress in every manner of arts and
accomplishments and endowed with many excellences, surpassing all the
folk of her age and time. She was grown more notorious than a
way-mark,[FN#285] for her seductive genius, and outdid the fair both in
theory and practice, and she was noted for her swimming gait, flexile
and delicate, albeit she was full five feet in height and by all the
boons of fortune deckt and dight, with strait arched brows twain, as
they were the crescent moon of Sha'abαn,[FN#286] and eyes like
gazelles' eyne; and nose like the edge of scymitar fine and cheeks like
anemones of blood-red shine; and mouth like Solomon's seal and sign and
teeth like necklaces of pearls in line; and navel holding an ounce of
oil of benzoin and waist more slender than his body whom love hath
wasted and whom concealment hath made sick with pine and hind parts
heavier than two hills of sand; briefly she was a volume of charms
after his saying who saith,
"Her fair shape ravisheth, if face to face she did appear, * And
if she turn, for severance from her she slayeth sheer.
Sun-like, full-moon-like, sapling-like, unto her character *
Estrangement no wise appertains nor cruelty austere.
Under the bosom of her shift the garths of Eden are * And the
full-moon revolveth still upon her neck-rings'
sphere."[FN#287]
She seemed a full moon rising and a gazelle browsing, a girl of nine
plus five[FN#288] shaming the moon and sun, even as saith of her the
sayer eloquent and ingenious,
"Semblance of full-moon Heaven bore, * When five and five are
conjoined by four;
'Tis not my sin if she made of me * Its like when it riseth
horizon o'er."[FN#289]
Clean of skin, odoriferous of breath, it seemed as if she were of fire
fashioned and of crystal moulded; rose-red was the cheek of her and
perfect the shape and form of her; even as one saith of her, describing
her,
"Scented with sandal[FN#290] and musk, right proudly doth she go,
* With gold and silver and rose and saffron-colour aglow.
A flower in a garden she is, a pearl in an ouch of gold * Or an
image in chapel[FN#291] set for worship of high and low.
Slender and shapely she is; vivacity bids her arise, * But the
weight of her hips says, 'Sit, or softly and slowly go.'
Whenas her favours I seek and sue for my heart's desire, * 'Be
gracious,' her beauty says; but her coquetry answers, 'No.'
Glory to Him who made beauty her portion, and that * Of her lover
to be the prate of the censurers, heigho!"[FN#292]
She captivated all who saw her, with the excellence of her beauty and
the sweetness of her smile,[FN#293] and shot them down with the shafts
she launched from her eyes; and withal she was eloquent of speech and
excellently skilled in verse. Now when Abu al-Husn had squandered all
his gold, and his ill-plight all could behold, and there remained to
him naught save this slave-girl, he abode three days without tasting
meat or taking rest in sleep, and the handmaid said to him, "O my lord,
carry me to the Commander of the Faithful, Harun al-Rashid,"—And
Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted
say.
When it was the Four Hundred and Thirty-eighth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that quoth the
slave-girl to her master, "O my lord, carry me to Harun al-Rashid,
fifth of the sons of Abbas, and seek of him to my price ten thousand
dinars. If he deem me dear, say to him: 'O Prince of True Believers, my
handmaid is worth more than this: do but prove her, and her value will
be magnified in thine eyes; for this slave-girl hath not her equal, and
she were unfit to any but thou.'" And she added, "Beware, O my lord, of
selling me at less than the sum I have named; indeed 'tis but little
for the like of me." Now her owner knew not her worth nor that she had
no equal in her day; but he carried her to the Caliph and set her in
the presence and repeated what she had bidden him say. The Caliph asked
her, "What is thy name?"; to which she answered, "My name is
Tawaddud."[FN#294] He then enquired, "O Tawaddud, in what branches of
knowledge dost thou excel?"; and she replied, "O my lord, I am versed
in syntax and poetry and jurisprudence and exegesis and philosophy; and
I am skilled in music and the knowledge of the Divine ordinances and in
arithmetic and geodesy and geometry and the fables of the ancients. I
know the Sublime Koran by heart and have read it according to the
seven, the ten and the fourteen modes. I know the number of its
chapters and versets and sections and words; and its halves and fourths
and eighths and tenths; the number of prostrations which occur in it
and the sum total of its letters; and I know what there is in it of
abrogating and abrogated[FN#295]; also what parts of it were revealed
at Al-Medinah and what at Meccah and the cause of the different
revelations. I know the Holy Traditions of the Apostle's sayings,
historical and legendary, the established and those whose ascription is
doubtful; and I have studied the exact sciences, geometry and
philosophy and medicine and logic and rhetoric and composition; and I
have learnt many things by rote and am passionately fond of poetry. I
can play the lute and know its gamut and notes and notation and the
crescendo and diminuendo. If I sing and dance, I seduce, and if I dress
and scent myself, I slay. In fine, I have reached a pitch of perfection
such as can be estimated only by those of them who are firmly rooted in
knowledge."[FN#296] Now when the Caliph heard these words spoken by one
so young, he wondered at her eloquence, and turning to Abu al-Husn,
said, "I will summon those who shall discuss with her all she claimeth
to know; if she answer correctly, I will give thee the price thou
askest for her and more; and if not, thou art fitter to have her than
I." "With gladness and goodly gree, O Commander of the Faithful,"
replied Abu al-Husn. So the Caliph wrote to the Viceroy of Bassorah, to
send him Ibrahim bin Siyyαr the prosodist, who was the first man of his
day in argument and eloquence and poetry and logic, and bade him bring
with him readers of the Koran and learned doctors of the law and
physicians and astrologers and scientists and mathematicians and
philosophers; and Ibrahim was more learned than all. In a little while
they arrived at the palace of the Caliphate, knowing not what was to
do, and the Caliph sent for them to his sitting-chamber and ordered
them to be seated. So they sat down and he bade bring the damsel
Tawaddud who came and unveiling, showed herself, as she were a
sparkling star.[FN#297] The Caliph set her a stool of gold; and she
saluted, and speaking with an eloquent tongue, said, "O Commander of
the Faithful, bid the Olema and the doctors of law and leaches and
astrologers and scientists and mathematicians and all here present
contend with me in argument." So he said to them, "I desire of you that
ye dispute with this damsel on the things of her faith, and stultify
her argument in all she advanceth;" and they answered, saying, "We hear
and we obey Allah and thee, O Commander of the Faithful." Upon this
Tawaddud bowed her head and said, "Which of you is the doctor of the
law, the scholar, versed in the readings of the Koran and in the
Traditions?" Quoth one of them, "I am the man thou seekest." Quoth she,
"Then ask me of what thou wilt." Said the doctor, "Hast thou read the
precious book of Allah and dost thou know its cancelling and cancelled
parts and hast thou meditated its versets and its letters?" "Yes,"
answered she. "Then," said he, "I will proceed to question thee of the
obligations and the immutable ordinances: so tell me of these, O
damsel, and who is thy Lord, who thy prophet, who thy Guide, what is
thy point of fronting in prayer, and who be thy brethren? Also what thy
spiritual path and what thy highway?" Whereto she replied, "Allah is my
Lord, and Mohammed (whom Allah save and assain!) my prophet, and the
Koran is my guide and the Ka'abah my fronting; and the True-believers
are my brethren. The practice of good is my path and the Sunnah my
highway." The Caliph again marvelled at her words so eloquently spoken
by one so young; and the doctor pursued, "O damsel, with what do we
know Almighty Allah?" Said she, "With the understanding." Said he, "And
what is the understanding?" Quoth she, "It is of two kinds, natural and
acquired."—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying
her permitted say.
When it was the Four Hundred and Thirty-ninth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the damsel
continued, "The understanding is of two kinds, natural and acquired.
The natural is that which Allah (to whom be honour and glory!) created
for the right direction of His servants after His will; and the
acquired is that which men accomplish by dint of study and fair
knowledge." He rejoined, "Thou hast answered well." Q "Where is the
seat of the understanding?"—"Allah casteth it in the heart whence its
lustrous beams ascend to the brain and there become fixed." Q "How
knowest thou the Prophet of Allah?" "By the reading of Allah's Holy
Book and by signs and proofs and portents and miracles!" Q "What are
the obligations and the immutable ordinances?" "The obligations are
five. (1) Testification that there is no ilαh[FN#298] but Allah, no god
but the God alone and One, which for partner hath none, and that
Mohammed is His servant and His apostle. (2) The standing in
prayers.[FN#299] (3) The payment of the poor-rate. (4) Fasting Ramazan.
(5) The Pilgrimage to Allah's Holy House for all to whom the journey is
possible. The immutable ordinances are four; to wit, night and day and
sun and moon, the which build up life and hope; nor any son of Adam
wotteth if they will be destroyed on the Day of Judgment." Q "What are
the obligatory observances of the Faith?" "They are five, prayer,
almsgiving, fasting, pilgrimage, fighting for the Faith and abstinence
from the forbidden." Q "Why dost thou stand up to pray?" "To express
the devout intent of the slave acknowledging the Deity." Q "What are
the obligatory conditions which precede standing in prayer?"
"Purification, covering the shame, avoidance of soiled clothes,
standing on a clean place, fronting the Ka'abah, an upright posture,
the intent[FN#300] and the pronouncing 'Allaho Akbar' of
prohibition."[FN#301] Q "With what shouldest thou go forth from thy
house to pray?" "With the intent of worship mentally pronounced." Q
"With what intent shouldest thou enter the mosque?" "With an intent of
service." Q "Why do we front the Kiblah[FN#302]?" "In obedience to
three Divine orders and one Traditional ordinance." Q "What are the
beginning, the consecration and the end of prayer?" "Purification
beginneth prayer, saying the Allaho Akbar of prohibition consecrateth,
and the salutation endeth prayer." Q "What deserveth he who neglecteth
prayer?" "It is reported, among the authentic Traditions of the
Prophet, that he said, 'Whoso neglecteth prayer wilfully and purposely
hath no part in Al-Islam.'"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and
ceased to say her permitted say.
When it was the Four Hundred and Fortieth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that after the damsel
had repeated the words of that Holy Tradition the doctor cried, "Thou
hast replied aright: now say me, what is prayer?" "Prayer is communion
between the slave and his lord, and in it are ten virtues: (1) it
illumineth the heart; (2) it maketh the face shine; (3) it pleaseth the
Compassionate One; (4) it angereth Satan; (5) it conjureth calamity;
(6) it wardeth off the mischief of enemies; (7) it multiplieth mercy;
(8) it forfendeth vengeance and punishment; (9) it bringeth the slave
nigh unto his lord; and (10) it restraineth from lewdness and
frowardness. Hence it is one of the absolute requisites and obligatory
ordinances and the pillar of the Faith." Q "What is the key of prayer?"
"Wuzd or the lesser ablution."[FN#303] Q "What is the key to the lesser
ablution?" "Intention and naming the Almighty." Q "What is the key of
naming the Almighty?" "Assured faith." Q "What is the key of faith?"
"Trust in the Lord." Q "What is the key of trust in the Lord?" "Hope."
Q "What is the key of hope?" "Obedience." Q "What is the key of
obedience?" "The confession of the Unity and the acknowledgment of the
divinity of Allah." Q "What are the Divine ordinances of Wuzu, the
minor ablution?" "They are six, according to the canon of the Imam
al-Shαfi'ν Mohammed bin Idris (of whom Allah accept!): (1) intent while
washing the face; (2) washing the face; (3) washing the hands and
forearms; (4) wiping part of the head; (5) washing the feet and heels;
and (6) observing due order.[FN#304] And the traditional statutes are
ten: (1) nomination; (2) and washing the hands before putting them into
the water-pot; (3) and mouth-rinsing; (4) and snuffing;[FN#305] (5) and
wiping the whole head; (6) and wetting the ears within and without with
fresh water; (7) and separating a thick beard; (8) and separating the
fingers and toes;[FN#306] (9) and washing the right foot before the
left and (10) doing each of these thrice and all in unbroken order.
When the minor ablution is ended, the worshipper should say, I testify
that there is no god but the God, the One, which for partner hath none,
and I testify that Mohammed is His servant and His apostle. O my Allah,
make me of those who repent and in purity are permanent! Glory to Thee,
O my God, and in Thy praise I bear witness, that there is no god save
Thou! I crave pardon of Thee and I repent to Thee! For it is reported,
in the Holy Traditions, that the Prophet (whom Allah bless and
preserve!) said of this prayer, 'Whoso endeth every ablution with this
prayer, the eight gates of Paradise are open to him; he shall enter at
which he pleaseth.'" Q "When a man purposeth ablution, what betideth
him from the angels and the devils?" "When a man prepareth for
ablution, the angels come and stand on his right and the devils on his
left hand.[FN#307] If he name Almighty Allah at the beginning of the
ablution, the devils flee from him and the angels hover over him with a
pavilion of light, having four ropes, to each an angel glorifying Allah
and craving pardon for him, so long as he remaineth silent or calleth
upon the name of Allah. But if he omit to begin washing with naming
Allah (to whom belong might and majesty!), neither remain silent, the
devils take command of him; and the angels depart from him and Satan
whispereth evil thoughts unto him, till he fall into doubt and come
short in his ablution. For (quoth he on whom be blessing and peace!),
'A perfect ablution driveth away Satan and assureth against the tyranny
of the Sultan'; and again quoth he, 'If calamity befal one who is not
pure by ablution; verily and assuredly let him blame none but
himself.'" Q "What should a man do when he awaketh from sleep?" "He
should wash his hands thrice, before putting them into the water
vessel." Q "What are the Koranic and traditional orders anent Ghusl,
the complete ablution[FN#308]?" "The divine ordinances are intent and
'crowning'[FN#309] the whole body with water, that is, the liquid shall
come at every part of the hair and skin. Now the traditional ordinances
are the minor ablution as preliminary; rubbing the body; separating the
hair and deferring in words[FN#310] the washing of the feet till the
end of the ablution."—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and
ceased saying her permitted say.
When it was the Four Hundred and Forty-first Night,