this wise: "And we fared on till we fell in with the folk who had shown
me the way to her. So I said to them, 'Point me out a path which shall
lead me to my home,' and they did accordingly, and brought us a-foot to
the sea-shore and set us aboard a vessel which sailed on before us with
a fair wind, till we reached Bassorah-city. And when we entered the
house of my father-in-law and her people saw my wife, they rejoiced
with exceeding joy. Then I fumigated the vulture with musk and lo! the
Ifrits flocked to me from all sides, saying, 'At thy service what wilt
thou have us do?' So I bade them transport all that was in the City of
Brass of monies and noble metals and stones of price to my house in
Bassorah, which they did; and I then ordered them to bring me the ape.
They brought him before me, abject and contemptible, and I said to him,
'O accursed, why hast thou dealt thus perfidiously with me?' Then I com
mended the Ifrits to shut him in a brazen vessel[FN#245] so they put
him in a brazen cucurbite and sealed it with lead. But I abode with my
wife in joy and delight; and now, O Commander of the Faithful, I have
under my hand precious things in such measure and rare jewels and other
treasure and monies on such wise as neither reckoning may express nor
may limits comprise; and, if thou lust after wealth or aught else, I
will command the Jinn at once to do thy desire. But all this is of the
bounty of Almighty Allah." Thereupon the Commander of the Faithful
wondered greatly and bestowed on him imperial gifts, in exchange for
his presents, and entreated him with the favour he deserved. And men
also tell the tale of the
GENEROUS DEALING OF YAHYA BIN KHALID THE BARMECIDE WITH MANSUR.
It is told that Harun al-Rashid, in the days before he became jealous
of the Barmecides, sent once for one of his guards, Salih by name, and
said to him, "O Sбlih, go to Mansъr[FN#246] and say to him: 'Thou owest
us a thousand thousand dirhams and we require of thee immediate payment
of this amount.' And I command thee, O Salih, unless he pay it between
this hour and sundown, sever his head from his body and bring it to
me." "To hear is to obey," answered Salih and, going to Mansur,
acquainted him with what the Caliph had said, whereupon quoth he, "I am
a lost man, by Allah; for all my estate and all my hand owneth, if sold
for their utmost value, would not fetch a price of more than an hundred
thousand dirhams. Whence then, O Salih, shall I get the other nine
hundred thousand?" Salih replied, "Contrive how thou mayst speedily
acquit thyself, else thou art a dead man; for I cannot grant thee an
eye-twinkling of delay after the time appointed me by the Caliph; nor
can I fail of aught which the Prince of True Believers hath enjoined on
me. Hasten, therefore, to devise some means of saving thyself ere the
time expire." Quoth Mansur, "O Salih, I beg thee of thy favour to bring
me to my house, that I may take leave of my children and family and
give my kinsfolk my last injunctions." Now Salih relateth: "So I went
with him to his house where he fell to bidding his family farewell, and
the house was filled with a clamour of weeping and lamentations and
calling for help on Almighty Allah. Thereupon I said to him, 'I have
bethought me that Allah may haply vouchsafe thee relief at the hands of
the Barmecides. Come, let us go to the house of Yбhyб bin Khбlid.' So
we went to Yahya's house, and Mansur told him his case, whereat he was
sore concerned and bowed him groundwards for a while, then raising his
head, he called his treasurer and said to him, 'How much have we in our
treasury?' 'A matter of five thousand dirhams,' answered the treasurer,
and Yahya bade him bring them and sent a messenger to his son, Al-Fazl,
saying, 'I am offered for sale a splendid estate which may never be
laid waste; so send me somewhat of money.' Al-Fazl sent him a thousand
thousand dirhams, and he despatched a mes senger with a like message to
his son Ja'afar, saying, 'We have a matter of much moment and for it we
want money;' whereupon Ja'afar at once sent him a thousand thousand
dirhams; nor did Yahya leave sending to his kinsmen of the Barmecides,
till he had collected from them a great sum of money for Mansur. But
Salih and the debtor knew not of this; and Mansur said to Yahya, 'O my
lord, I have laid hold upon thy skirt, for I know not whither to look
for the money but to thee, in accordance with thy wonted generosity; so
discharge thou the rest of my debt for me and make me thy freed slave.'
Thereupon Yahya hung down his head and wept; then he said to a page,
'Harkye, boy, the Commander of the Faithful gave our slave- girl
Danбnнr a jewel of great price: go thou to her and bid her send it to
us.' The page went out and presently returned with the jewel, whereupon
quoth Yahya, 'O Mansur, I bought this jewel of the merchant for the
Commander of the Faithful, at a price of two hundred thousand
dinars,[FN#247] and he gave it to our slave-girl Dananir, the
lute-player; and when he sees it with thee, he will know it and spare
thy blood and do thee honour for our sake; and now, O Mansur, verily
thy money is complete.' (Salih continued) So I took the money and the
jewel and carried them to al-Rashid together with Mansur, but on the
way I heard him repeat this couplet, applying it to his own case,
‘'Twas not of love that fared my feet to them; * 'Twas that I feared me
lest they shoot their shafts!'
Now when I heard this, I marvelled at his evil nature and his depravity
and mischief-making and his ignoble birth and provenance and, turning
upon him, I said, 'There is none on the face of the earth better or
more righteous than the Barmecides, nor any baser nor more wrongous
than thou; for they bought thee off from death and delivered thee from
destruction, giving thee what should save thee; yet thou thankest them
not nor praises" them, neither acquittest thee after the manner of the
noble; nay, thou meetest their benevolence with this speech.' Then I
went to Al-Rashid and acquainted him with all that had passed" And
Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted
say.
When it was the Three Hundred and Sixth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Salih con tinued:
"So I acquainted the Commander of the Faithful with all that passed and
Al-Rashid marvelled at the generosity and benevolence of Yahya and the
vileness and ingratitude of Mansur, and bade restore the jewel to
Yahya, saying, 'Whatso we have given it befitteth us not to take
again.' After that Salih returned to Yahya and acquainted him with the
tale of Mansur and his ill-conduct; whereupon replied he, 'O Salih,
when a man is in want, sick at heart and sad of thought, he is not to
be blamed for aught that falleth from him; for it cometh not from the
heart;' and on this wise he took to seeking excuse for Mansur. But
Salih wept and exclaimed, 'Never shall the revolving heavens bring
forth into being the like of thee, O Yahya! Alas, and well- away, that
one of such noble nature and generosity should be laid in the dust!'
And he repeated these two couplets,
'Haste to do kindness thou cost intend; * Thou canst not always
on boons expend:
How many from bounty themselves withheld, * Till means of bounty
had come to end!'"
And men tell another tale of the
GENEROUS DEALING OF YAHYA SON OF KHБLID WITH A MAN WHO FORGED A LETTER
IN HIS NAME.
There was between Yбhyб bin Khбlid and Abdullah bin Mбlik al-
Khuzб'i,[FN#248] an enmity which they kept secret; the reason of the
hatred being that Harun al-Rashid loved Abdullah with exceeding love,
so that Yahya and his sons were wont to say that he had bewitched the
Commander of the Faithful. And thus they abode a long while, with
rancour in their hearts, till it fell out that the Caliph invested
Abdullah with the government of Armenia[FN#249] and despatched him
thither. Now soon after he had settled himself in his seat of
government, there came to him one of the people of Irak, a man of good
breeding and excellent parts and abundant cleverness; but he had lost
his money and wasted his wealth and his estate was come to ill case; so
he forged a letter to Abdullah bin Malik in the name of Yahya bin
Khбlid and set out therewith for Armenia. Now when he came to the
Governor's gate, he gave the letter to one of the Chamberlains, who
took it and carried it to his master. Abdullah opened it and read it
and, considering it attentively, knew it to be forged; so he sent for
the man, who presented himself before him and called down blessings
upon him and praised him and those of his court. Quoth Abdullah to him,
"What moved thee to weary thyself on this wise and bring me a forged
letter? But be of good heart; for we will not disappoint thy travail."
Replied the other, "Allah prolong the life of our lord the Wazir! If my
coming annoy thee, cast not about for a pretext to repel me, for
Allah's earth is wide and He who giveth daily bread still liveth.
Indeed, the letter I bring thee from Yahya bin Khalid is true and no
forgery." Quoth Abdullah, "I will write a letter to my agent[FN#250] at
Baghdad and command him enquire concerning this same letter. If it be
true, as thou sayest, and genuine and not forged by thee, I will bestow
on thee the Emirship of one of my cities; or, if thou prefer a present,
I will give thee two hundred thousand dirhams, besides horses and
camels of price and a robe of honour. But, if the letter prove a
forgery, I will order thou be beaten with two hundred blows of a stick
and thy beard be shaven." So Abdullah bade confine him in a chamber and
furnish him therein with all he needed, till his case should be made
manifest. Then he despatched a letter to his agent at Baghdad, to the
following effect: "There is come to me a man with a letter purporting
to be from Yahya bin Khбlid. Now I have my suspicions of this letter:
therefore delay thou not in the matter, but go thyself and look
carefully into the case and let me have an answer with all speed, in
order that we may know what is true and what is untrue." When the
letter reached Baghdad, the agent mounted at once,—And Shahrazad
perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
When it was the Three Hundred and Seventh Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the agent of
Abdullah, son of Malik al-Khuza'i, on receipt of the letter at Baghdad,
mounted at once and repaired to the house of Yahya bin Khбlid, whom he
found sitting with his officers and boon- companions. After the usual
salute he gave him the letter and Yahya read it and said to the agent,
"Come back to me tomorrow for my written answer." Now when the agent
had gone away, Yahya turned to his companions and said, "What doth he
deserve who forgeth a letter in my name and carrieth it to my foe?"
They answered all and each, saying this and that, and every one
proposing some kind of punishment; but Yahya said, "Ye err in that ye
say and this your counsel is of the baseness of your spirits and the
meanness of your minds. Ye all know the close favour of Abdullah with
the Caliph and ye weet of what is between him and us of anger and
enmity; and now Almighty Allah hath made this man the means of
reconciliation between us; and hath fitted him for such purpose and
hath appointed him to quench the fire of ire in our hearts, which hath
been growing these twenty years; and by his means our differences shall
be adjusted. Wherefore it behoveth me to requite such man by verifying
his assertion and amending his estate; so I will write him a letter to
Abdullah son of Malik, praying that he may use him with increase of
honour and continue to him his liberality." Now when his companions
heard what he said, they called down blessings on him and marvelled at
his generosity and the greatness of his magnanimity. Then he called for
paper and ink and wrote Abdullah a letter in his own hand, to the
following effect: "In the name of Allah, the Compassionating' the
Compassionate! Of a truth thy letter hath reached me (Allah give thee
long life!) and I am glad to hear of thy safety and am pleased to be
assured of thine immunity and prosperity. It was thy thought that a
certain worthy man had forged a letter in my name and that he was not
the bearer of any message from the same; but the case is not so, for
the letter I myself wrote, and it was no forgery; and I hope, of thy
courtesy and consideration and the nobility of thy nature, that thou
wilt gratify this generous and excellent man of his hope and wish, and
honour him with the honour he deserveth and bring him to his desire and
make him the special-object of thy favour and munificence. Whatso thou
dost with him, it is to me that thou dost the kindness, and I am
thankful to thee accordingly." Then he superscribed the letter and
after sealing it, delivered it to the agent, who despatched it to
Abdullah. Now when the Governor read it, he was charmed with its
contents, and sending for the man, said to him, "Whichever of the two
promised boons is the more acceptable to thee that will I give thee."
The man replied, "The money gift were more acceptable to me than aught
else," whereupon Abdullah ordered him two hundred thousand dirhams and
ten Arab horses, five with housings of silk and other five with richly
ornamented saddles, used in state processions; besides twenty chests of
clothes and ten mounted white slaves and a proportionate quantity of
jewels of price. Moreover, he bestowed on him a dress of honour and
sent him to Baghdad in great splendour. So when he came thither, he
repaired to the door of Yahya's house, before he went to his own folk,
and craved permission to enter and have audience. The Chamberlain went
in to Yahya and said to him, "O my lord, there is one at the door who
craveth speech of thee; and he is a man of apparent wealth, courteous
in manner, comely of aspect and attended by many servants." Then Yahya
bade admit him; and, when he entered and kissed the ground before him,
Yahya asked him, "Who art thou?" He answered, "Hear me, O my lord, I am
he who was done dead by the tyranny of fortune, but thou didst raise me
to life again from the grave of calamities and exalt me to the paradise
of my desires. I am the man who forged a letter in thy name and carried
it to Abdullah bin Malik al-Khuza'i." Yahya asked, "How hath he dealt
with thee and what did he give thee?"; and the man answered, "He hath
given me, thanks to thy hand and thy great liberality and benevolence
and to thy comprehensive kindness and lofty magnanimity and thine
all-embracing generosity, that which hath made me a wealthy man and he
hath distinguished me with his gifts and favours. And now I have
brought all that he gave me and here it is at thy door; for it is thine
to decide and the command is in thy hand." Rejoined Yahya, "Thou hast
done me better service than I did thee and I owe thee a heavy debt of
gratitude and every gift the white hand[FN#251] can give, for that thou
hast changed into love and amity the hate and enmity that were between
me and a man whom I respect and esteem. Wherefore I will give thee the
like of what Abdullah bin Malik gave thee." Then he ordered him money
and horses and chests of apparel, such as Abdullah had given him; and
thus that man's fortune was restored to him by the munificence of these
two generous ones. And folk also relate the tale of the
CALIPH AL-MAAMUN AND THE STRANGE SCHOLAR.
It is said of Al-Maamun that, among the Caliphs of the house of Abbas,
there was none more accomplished in all branches of knowledge than he.
Now on two days in each week, he was wont to preside at conferences of
the learned, when the lawyers and theologians disputed in his presence,
each sitting in his several-rank and room. One day as he sat thus,
there came into the assembly a stranger, clad in ragged white clothes,
who took seat in an obscure place behind the doctors of the law. Then
the assembly began to speak and debate difficult questions, it being
the custom that the various propositions should be submitted to each in
turn, and that whoso bethought him of some subtle addition or rare
conceit, should make mention of it. So the question went round till it
came to the strange man, who spake in his turn and made a goodlier
answer than any of the doctors' replies; and the Caliph approved his
speech.——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her
permitted say.
When it was the Three Hundred and Eighth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Caliph
Al-Maamun approved his speech and ordered him to come up from his low
place to a high stead. Now when the second question came to him, he
made a still more notable answer, and Al-Maamun ordered him to be
preferred to a yet higher seat; and when the third question reached
him, he made answer more justly and appropriately than on the two
previous occasions, and Al-Maamun bade him come up and sit near
himself. Presently the discussion ended when water was brought and they
washed their hands after which food was set on and they ate; and the
doctors arose and withdrew; but Al-Maamun forbade the stranger to
depart with them and, calling him to himself, treated him with
especial-favour and promised him honour and profit. Thereupon they made
ready the sйance of wassail; the fair-faced cup-companions came and the
pure wine[FN#252] went round amongst them, till the cup came to the
stranger, who rose to his feet and spake thus, "If the Commander of the
Faithful permit me, I will say one word." Answered the Caliph, "Say
what thou wilt." Quoth the man "Verily the Exalted Intelligence (whose
eminence Allah increase!) knoweth that his slave was this day, in the
august assembly, one of the unknown folk and of the meanest of the
company; and the Commander of the Faithful raised his rank and brought
him near to himself, little as were the wit and wisdom he displayed,
preferring him above the rest and advancing him to a station and a
degree where to his thought aspired not. But now he is minded to part
him from that small portion of intellect which raised him high from his
lowness and made him great after his littleness. Heaven forfend and
forbid that the Commander of the Faithful should envy his slave what
little he hath of understanding and worth and renown! Now, if his slave
should drink wine, his reason would depart far from him and ignorance
draw near to him and steal-away his good breeding, so would he revert
to that low and contemptible degree, whence he sprang, and become
ridiculous and despicable in the eyes of the folk. I hope, therefore,
that the August Intelligence, of his power and bounty and
royal-generosity and magnanimity, will not despoil his slave of this
jewel." When the Caliph Al-Maamun heard his speech, he praised him and
thanked him and making him sit down again in his place, showed him high
honour and ordered him a present of an hundred thousand silver pieces.
Moreover he mounted him upon a horse and gave him rich apparel; and in
every assembly he was wont to exalt him and show him favour over all
the other doctors of law and religion till he became the highest of
them all in rank. And Allah is All knowing.[FN#253] Men also tell a
tale of
ALI SHAR[FN#254] AND ZUMURRUD.
There lived once in the days of yore and the good old times long gone
before, in the land of Khorasan, a merchant called Majd al-Dнn, who had
great wealth and many slaves and servants, white and black, young and
old; but he had not been blessed with a child until he reached the age
of threescore, when Almighty Allah vouchsafed him a son, whom he named
Alн Shбr. The boy grew up like the moon on the night of fulness; and
when he came to man's estate and was endowed with all kinds of
perfections, his father fell sick of a death-malady and, calling his
son to him, said, "O my son, the fated hour of my decease is at hand,
and I desire to give thee my last injunctions." He asked, "And what are
they, O my father?"; and he answered, "O my son, I charge thee, be not
over-familiar with any[FN#255] and eschew what leadeth to evil and
mischief. Beware lest thou sit in company with the wicked; for he is
like the blacksmith; if his fire burn thee not, his smoke shall bother
thee: and how excellent is the saying of the poet,[FN#256]
'In thy whole world there is not one,
Whose friendship thou may'st count upon,
Nor plighted faith that will stand true,
When times go hard, and hopes are few.
Then live apart and dwell alone,
Nor make a prop of any one,
I've given a gift in that I've said,
Will stand thy friend in every stead:'
And what another saith,
'Men are a hidden malady; * Rely not on the sham in them:
For perfidy and treachery * Thou'lt find, if thou examine them.'
And yet a third saith,
'Converse with men hath scanty weal, except * To while away the
time in chat and prate:
Then shun their intimacy, save it be * To win thee lore, or
better thine estate.'
And a fourth saith,
'If a sharp-witted wight e'er tried mankind, * I've eaten that
which only tasted he:[FN#257]
Their amity proved naught but wile and guile, * Their faith I
found was but hypocrisy.'"
Quoth Ali, "O my father, I have heard thee and I will obey thee what
more shall I do?" Quoth he, "Do good whereas thou art able; be ever
kind and courteous to men and regard as riches every occasion of doing
a good turn; for a design is not always easily carried out; and how
well saith the poet,
"Tis not at every time and tide unstable, * We can do kindly acts
and charitable:
When thou art able hasten thee to act, * Lest thine endeavour
prove anon unable!'"
Said Ali, "I have heard thee and I will obey thee."—And Shahrazad
perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
When it was the Three Hundred and Ninth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the youth
replied, "I have heard thee and I will obey thee; what more?" And his
sire continued, "Be thou, O my son, mindful of Allah, so shall He be
mindful of thee. Ward thy wealth and waste it not; for an thou do, thou
wilt come to want the least of mankind. Know that the measure of a
man's worth is according to that which his right hand hendeth: and how
well saith the poet,[FN#258]
'When fails my wealth no friend will deign befriend, * And when
it waxeth all men friendship show:
How many a foe for wealth became my friend, * Wealth lost, how
many a friend became a foe!'"
Asked Ali, "What more?" And Majd al-Din answered, "O my son, take
counsel of those who are older than thou and hasten not to do thy
heart's desire. Have compassion on those who are below thee, so shall
those who are above thee have compassion on thee; and oppress none,
lest Allah empower one who shall oppress thee. How well saith the poet,
'Add other wit to thy wit, counsel craving, * For man's true
course hides not from minds of two
Man is a mirror which but shows his face, * And by two mirrors he
his back shall view.'
And as saith another,[FN#259]
'Act on sure grounds, nor hurry fast,
To gain the purpose that thou hast
And be thou kindly to all men
So kindly thou'lt be called again;
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.'
And as saith yet another,[FN#260]
'Tyrannize not, if thou hast the power to do so; for the
tyrannical-is in danger of revenges.
Thine eye will sleep while the oppressed, wakeful, will call down
curses on thee, and God's eye sleepeth not.'
Beware of wine-bibbing, for drink is the root of all evil: it doeth
away the reason and bringeth to contempt whoso useth it; and how well
saith the poet,
'By Allah, wine shall not disturb me, while my soul * Join body,
nor while speech the words of me explain:
No day will I be thralled to wine-skin cooled by breeze[FN#261] *
Nor choose a friend save those who are of cups unfair.'
This, then, is my charge to thee; bear it before thine eyes, and Allah
stand to thee in my stead." Then he swooned away and kept silent
awhile; and, when he came to himself, he besought pardon of Allah and
pronounced the profession of the Faith, and was admitted to the mercy
of the Almighty. So his son wept and lamented for him and presently
made proper preparation for his burial; great and small walked in his
funeral-procession and Koran readers recited Holy Writ about his bier;
nor did Ali Shar omit aught of what was due to the dead. Then they
prayed over him and committed him to the dust and wrote these two
couplets upon his tomb,
'Thou west create of dust and cam'st to life, * And learned'st in
eloquence to place thy trust;
Anon, to dust returning, thou becamest * A corpse, as though
ne'er taken from the dust."