[Illustration]
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[Illustration: ’لا]
“TO THE PURE ALL THINGS ARE PURE.”
(Puris omnia pura)
—_Arab Proverb._
“Niuna corrotta mente intese mai sanamente parole.”
—“_Decameron_”—_conclusion_.
“Erubuit, posuitque meum Lucretia librum
Sed coram Bruto. Brute! recede, leget.”
—_Martial._
“Mieulx est de ris que de larmes escripre,
Pour ce que rire est le propre des hommes.”
—RABELAIS.
“The pleasure we derive from perusing the Thousand-and-One Stories makes
us regret that we possess only a comparatively small part of these truly
enchanting fictions.”
—CRICHTON’S “_History of Arabia_.”
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_A PLAIN AND LITERAL TRANSLATION OF THE ARABIAN NIGHTS ENTERTAINMENTS.
NOW ENTITULED_
_THE BOOK OF THE_
Thousand Nights and a Night
_WITH INTRODUCTION EXPLANATORY NOTES ON THE MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF
MOSLEM MEN AND A TERMINAL ESSAY UPON THE HISTORY OF THE NIGHTS_
VOLUME VII.
BY
RICHARD F. BURTON
[Illustration]
PRINTED BY THE BURTON CLUB FOR PRIVATE SUBSCRIBERS ONLY
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Shammar Edition
Limited to one thousand numbered sets, of which this is
Number _547_
PRINTED IN U. S. A.
I INSCRIBE THESE PAGES
TO
AN OLD AND VALUED FRIEND,
JOHN W. LARKING
(WHILOME OF ALEXANDRIA),
IN WHOSE HOSPITABLE HOME (“THE SYCAMORES”) I MADE MY FINAL
PREPARATIONS FOR A PILGRIMAGE TO MECCAH
AND EL-MEDINAH.
R. F. BURTON.
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CONTENTS OF THE SEVENTH VOLUME.
PAGE
CONTINUATION OF THE HISTORY OF GHARIB AND HIS BROTHER AJIB 1
OTBAH AND RAYYA 91
HIND DAUGHTER OF AL-NU’MAN AND AL-HAJJAJ 96
KHUZAYMAH BIN BISHR AND IKRIMAH AL-FAYYAZ 99
YUNUS THE SCRIBE AND THE CALIPH WALID BIN SAHL 104
HARUN AL-RASHID AND THE ARAB GIRL 108
AL-ASMA’I AND THE THREE GIRLS OF BASSORAH 110
IBRAHIM OF MOSUL AND THE DEVIL 113
(_Lane, Vol. I. page 223._)
THE LOVERS OF THE BANU UZRAH 117
THE BADAWI AND HIS WIFE 124
(_Lane, Vol. I. 521._)
THE LOVERS OF BASSORAH 130
ISHAK OF MOSUL AND HIS MISTRESS AND THE DEVIL 136
THE LOVERS OF AL-MEDINAH 139
(_Lane, Another Anecdote of Two Lovers, III. 252._)
AL-MALIK AL-NASIR AND HIS WAZIR 142
THE ROGUERIES OF DALILAH THE CRAFTY AND HER DAUGHTER ZAYNAB THE
CONEY-CATCHER 144
(_Lane omits._)
THE ADVENTURES OF MERCURY ALI OF CAIRO 172
(_Lane omits._)
ARDASHIR AND HAYAT AL-NUFUS 209
(_Lane omits._)
JULNAR THE SEA-BORN AND HER SON KING BADR BASIM OF PERSIA 264
(_Lane, III. 255, The Story of Jullanar of the Sea._)
KING MOHAMMED BIN SABAIK AND THE MERCHANT HASAN 308
(_Lane, III. 373, Notes to Chapt. xxiv._)
_a._ STORY OF PRINCE SAYF AL-MULUK AND THE PRINCESS BADI’A
AL-JAMAL 314
(_Lane, III. 308, The Story of Seif El-Mulook and Badeea El-Jamal, with
the Introduction transferred to a note, p. 372._)
Now when it was the Six Hundred and Thirty-seventh Night,
Shahrazad continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Sa’adan
having broken into the palace of King Jamak and pounded to pieces those
therein, the survivors cried out, “Quarter! Quarter!”; and Sa’adan said
to them, “Pinion your King!” So they bound Jamak and took him up, and
Sa’adan drove them before him like sheep and brought them to Gharib’s
presence, after the most part of the citizens had perished by the
enemy’s swords. When the King of Babel came to himself, he found himself
bound and heard Sa’adan say, “I will sup to-night off this King Jamak:”
whereupon he turned to Gharib and cried to him, “I throw myself on thy
mercy.” Replied Gharib, “Become a Moslem, and thou shalt be safe from
the Ghul and from the vengeance of the Living One who ceaseth not.” So
Jamak professed Al-Islam with heart and tongue and Gharib bade loose his
bonds. Then he expounded The Faith to his people and they all became
True Believers; after which Jamak returned to the city and despatched
thence provaunt and henchmen to Gharib; and wine to the camp before
Babel where they passed the night. On the morrow, Gharib gave the signal
for the march and they fared on till they came to Mayyáfárikín,[1] which
they found empty, for its people had heard what had befallen Babel and
had fled to Cufa-city and told Ajib. When he heard the news, his
Doom-day appeared to him and he assembled his braves and informing them
of the enemy’s approach ordered them make ready to do battle with his
brother’s host; after which he numbered them and found them thirty
thousand horse and ten thousand foot.[2] So, needing more, he levied
other fifty thousand men, cavalry and infantry, and taking horse amid a
mighty host, rode forwards, till he came upon his brother’s army
encamped before Mosul and pitched his tents in face of their lines. Then
Gharib wrote a writ and said to his officers, “Which of you will carry
this letter to Ajib?” Whereupon Sahim sprang to his feet and cried, “O
King of the Age, I will bear thy missive and bring thee back an answer.”
So Gharib gave him the epistle and he repaired to the pavilion of Ajib
who, when informed of his coming, said, “Admit him!” and when he stood
in the presence asked him, “Whence comest thou?” Answered Sahim, “From
the King of the Arabs and the Persians, son-in-law of Chosroë, King of
the world, who sendeth thee a writ; so do thou return him a reply.”
Quoth Ajib, “Give me the letter;” accordingly Sahim gave it to him and
he tore it open and found therein:—“In the name of Allah the
Compassionating, the Compassionate! Peace on Abraham the Friend await!
But afterwards. As soon as this letter shall come to thy hand, do thou
confess the Unity of the Bountiful King, Causer of causes and Mover of
the clouds;[3] and leave worshipping idols. An thou do this thing, thou
art my brother and ruler over us and I will pardon thee the deaths of my
father and mother, nor will I reproach thee with what thou hast done.
But an thou obey not my bidding, behold, I will hasten to thee and cut
off thy head and lay waste thy dominions. Verily, I give thee good
counsel, and the Peace be on those who pace the path of salvation and
obey the Most High King!” When Ajib read these words and knew the threat
they contained, his eyes sank into the crown of his head and he gnashed
his teeth and flew into a furious rage. Then he tore the letter in
pieces and threw it away, which vexed Sahim and he cried out upon Ajib,
saying, “Allah wither thy hand for the deed thou hast done!” With this
Ajib cried out to his men, saying, “Seize yonder hound and hew him in
pieces with your hangers.”[4] So they ran at Sahim; but he bared blade
and fell upon them and slew of them more than fifty braves; after which
he cut his way out, though bathed in blood, and won back to Gharib, who
said, “What is this case, O Sahim?” And he told him what had passed,
whereat he grew livid for rage and crying “Allaho Akbar—God is most
great!”—bade the battle-drums beat. So the fighting-men donned their
hauberks and coats of strait-woven mail and baldrick’d themselves with
their swords; the footmen drew out in battle-array, whilst the horsemen
mounted their prancing horses and dancing camels and levelled their long
lances, and the champions rushed into the field. Ajib and his men also
took horse and host charged down upon host.——And Shahrazad perceived the
dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
Now when it was the Six Hundred and Thirty-eighth Night,
She pursued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Gharib and
his merry men took horse, Ajib and his troops also mounted and host
charged down upon host. Then ruled the Kazi of Battle, in whose
ordinance is no wrong, for a seal is on his lips and he speaketh not;
and the blood railed in rills and purfled earth with curious embroidery;
heads grew gray and hotter waxed battle and fiercer. Feet slipped and
stood firm the valiant and pushed forwards, whilst turned the
faint-heart and fled, nor did they leave fighting till the day darkened
and the night starkened. Then clashed the cymbals of retreat and the two
hosts drew apart each from other, and returned to their tents, where
they nighted. Next morning, as soon as it was day, the cymbals beat to
battle and derring-do, and the warriors donned their harness of fight
and baldrick’d[5] their blades the brightest bright and with the brown
lance bedight mounted doughty steed every knight and cried out, saying,
“This day no flight!” And the two hosts drew out in battle array, like
the surging sea. The first to open the chapter[6] of war was Sahim, who
drave his destrier between the two lines and played with swords and
spears and turned over all the Capitula of combat till men of choicest
wits were confounded. Then he cried out, saying, “Who is for fighting?
Who is for jousting? Let no sluggard come out or weakling!” Whereupon
there rushed at him a horseman of the Kafirs, as he were a flame of
fire; but Sahim let him not stand long before him ere he overthrew him
with a thrust. Then a second came forth and he slew him also, and a
third and he tare him in twain, and a fourth and he did him to death;
nor did they cease sallying out to him and he left not slaying them,
till it was noon, by which time he had laid low two hundred braves. Then
Ajib cried to his men, “Charge once more,” and sturdy host on sturdy
host down bore and great was the clash of arms and battle-roar. The
shining swords out rang; the blood in streams ran and footman rushed
upon footman; Death showed in van and horse-hoof was shodden with skull
of man; nor did they cease from sore smiting till waned the day and the
night came on in black array, when they drew apart and, returning to
their tents, passed the night there. As soon as morning morrowed the two
hosts mounted and sought the field of fight; and the Moslems looked for
Gharib to back steed and ride under the standards as was his wont, but
he came not. So Sahim sent to his brother’s pavilion a slave who,
finding him not, asked the tent-pitchers,[7] but they answered, “We know
naught of him.” Whereat he was greatly concerned and went forth and told
the troops, who refrained from battle, saying, “An Gharib be absent, his
foe will destroy us.” Now there was for Gharib’s absence a cause strange
but true which we will set out in order due. And it was thus. When Ajib
returned to his camp on the preceding night, he called one of his
guardsmen by name Sayyár and said to him, “O Sayyar, I have not
treasured thee save for a day like this; and now I bid thee enter among
Gharib’s host and, pushing into the marquee of their lord, bring him
hither to me and prove how wily thy cunning be.” And Sayyar said, “I
hear and I obey.” So he repaired to the enemy’s camp and stealing into
Gharib’s pavilion, under the darkness of the night, when all the men had
gone to their places of rest, stood up as though he were a slave to
serve Gharib, who presently, being athirst, called to him for water. So
he brought him a pitcher of water, drugged with Bhang, and Gharib could
not fulfil his need ere he fell down with head distancing heels,
whereupon Sayyar wrapped him in his cloak and carrying him to Ajib’s
tent, threw him down at his feet. Quoth Ajib, “O Sayyar, what is this?”
Quoth he, “This be thy brother Gharib;” whereat Ajib rejoiced and said,
“The blessings of the Idols light upon thee! Loose him and wake him.” So
they made him sniff up vinegar and he came to himself and opened his
eyes; then, finding himself bound and in a tent other than his own,
exclaimed, “There is no Majesty and there is no Might save in Allah, the
Glorious, the Great!” Thereupon Ajib cried out at him, saying, “Dost
thou draw on me, O dog, and seek to slay me and take on me thy
blood-wreak of thy father and thy mother? I will send thee this very day
to them and rid the world of thee.” Replied Gharib, “Kafir hound! soon
shalt thou see against whom the wheels of fate shall revolve and who
shall be overthrown by the wrath of the Almighty King, Who wotteth what
is in hearts and Who shall leave thee in Gehenna tormented and
confounded! Have ruth on thyself and say with me:—There is no god but
_the_ God and Abraham is the Friend of God!” When Ajib heard Gharib’s
words, he snarked and snorted and railed at his god, the stone, and
called for the sworder and the leather-rug of blood; but his Wazir, who
was at heart a Moslem though outwardly a Miscreant, rose and kissing
ground before him, said, “Patience, O King, deal not hastily, but wait
till we know the conquered from the conqueror. If we prove the victors,
we shall have power to kill him and, if we be beaten, his being alive in
our hands will be a strength to us.” And the Emirs said, “The Minister
speaketh sooth!”——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased
saying her permitted say.
Now when it was the Six Hundred and Thirty-ninth Night,
She continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Ajib
purposed to slay Gharib, the Wazir rose and said, “Deal not hastily, for
we have always power to kill him!” So Ajib bade lay his brother Gharib
in irons and chain him up in his own tent and set a thousand stout
warriors to guard him. Meanwhile Gharib’s host, when they awoke that
morning and found not their King, were as sheep sans a shepherd; but
Sa’adan the Ghul cried out at them, saying, “O folk, don your war-gear
and trust to your Lord to defend you!” So Arabs and Ajams mounted horse,
after clothing themselves in hauberks of iron and shirting themselves in
straight-knit mail, and sallied forth to the field, the Chiefs and the
colours moving in van. Then dashed out the Ghul of the Mountain, with a
club on his shoulder, two hundred pounds in weight, and wheeled and
careered, saying, “Ho, worshippers of idols, come ye out and renown it
this day, for ’tis a day of onslaught! Whoso knoweth me hath enough of
my mischief and whoso knoweth me not, I will make myself known to him. I
am Sa’adan, servant of King Gharib. Who is for jousting? Who is for
fighting? Let no faint-heart come forth to me to-day or weakling.” And
there rushed upon him a Champion of the Infidels, as he were a flame of
fire, and drove at him, but Sa’adan charged home at him and dealt him
with his club a blow which broke his ribs and cast him lifeless to the
earth. Then he called out to his sons and slaves, saying, “Light the
bonfire, and whoso falleth of the Kafirs do ye dress him and roast him
well in the flame, then bring him to me that I may break my fast on
him!” So they kindled a fire midmost the plain and laid thereon the
slain, till he was cooked, when they brought him to Sa’adan, who gnawed
his flesh and crunched his bones. When the Miscreants saw the
Mountain-Ghul do this deed they were affrighted with sore affright, but
Ajib cried out to his men, saying, “Out on you! Fall upon the Ogre and
hew him in hunks with your scymitars!” So twenty thousand men ran at
Sa’adan, whilst the footmen circled round him and rained upon him darts
and shafts so that he was wounded in four-and-twenty places, and his
blood ran down upon the earth, and he was alone. Then the host of the
Moslems drave at the heathenry, calling for help upon the Lord of the
three Worlds, and they ceased not from fight and fray till the day came
to an end, when they drew apart. But the Infidels had captured Sa’adan,
as he were a drunken man for loss of blood; and they bound him fast and
set him by Gharib who, seeing the Ghul a prisoner, said, “There is no
Majesty and there is no Might save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great! O
Sa’adan, what case is this?” “O my lord,” replied Sa’adan, “it is Allah
(extolled and exalted be He!) who ordaineth joy and annoy and there is
no help but this and that betide.” And Gharib rejoined, “Thou speakest
sooth, O Sa’adan!” But Ajib passed the night in joy and he said to his
men, “Mount ye on the morrow and fall upon the Moslems so shall not one
of them be left alive.” And they replied, “Hearkening and obedience!”
This is how it fared with them; but as regards the Moslems, they passed
the night, dejected and weeping for their King and Sa’adan; but Sahim
said to them, “O folk, be not concerned, for the aidance of Almighty
Allah is nigh.” Then he waited till midnight, when he assumed the garb
of a tent-pitcher; and, repairing to Ajib’s camp, made his way between
the tents and pavilions till he came to the King’s marquee, where he saw
him seated on his throne surrounded by his Princes. So he entered and
going up to the candles which burnt in the tent, snuffed them and
sprinkled levigated henbane on the wicks; after which he withdrew and
waited without the marquee, till the smoke of the burning henbane
reached Ajib and his Princes and they fell to the ground like dead men.
Then he left them and went to the prison tent, where he found Gharib and
Sa’adan, guarded by a thousand braves, who were overcome with sleep. So
he cried out at the guards, saying, “Woe to you! Sleep not; but watch
your prisoners and light the cressets.” Presently he filled a cresset
with firewood, on which he strewed henbane, and lighting it, went round
about the tent with it, till the smoke entered the nostrils of the
guards, and they all fell asleep drowned by the drug; when he entered
the tent and finding Gharib and Sa’adan also insensible he aroused them
by making them smell and sniff at a sponge full of vinegar he had with
him. Thereupon he loosed their bonds and collars, and when they saw him,
they blessed him and rejoiced in him. After this they went forth and
took all the arms of the guards and Sahim said to them, “Go to your own
camp;” while he re-entered Ajib’s pavilion and, wrapping him in his
cloak, lifted him up and made for the Moslem encampment. And the Lord,
the Compassionate, protected him, so that he reached Gharib’s tent in
safety and unrolled the cloak before him. Gharib looked at its contents
and seeing his brother Ajib bound, cried out, “Allaho Akbar—God is Most
Great! Aidance! Victory!” And he blessed Sahim and bade him arouse Ajib.
So he made him smell the vinegar mixed with incense, and he opened his
eyes and, finding himself bound and shackled, hung down his head
earthwards.——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say
her permitted say.
Now when it was the Six Hundred and Fortieth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that after Sahim had
aroused Ajib, whom he had made insensible with henbane and had brought
to his brother Gharib, the captive opened his eyes and, feeling himself
bound and shackled, hung down his head earthwards. Thereupon cried
Sahim, “O Accursed, lift thy head!” So he raised his eyes and found
himself amongst Arabs and Ajams and saw his brother seated on the throne
of his estate and the place of his power, wherefore he was silent and
spake not. Then Gharib cried out and said, “Strip me this hound!” So
they stripped him and came down upon him with whips, till they weakened
his body and subdued his pride, after which Gharib set over him a guard
of an hundred knights. And when this fraternal correction had been
administered they heard shouts of, “There is no God but _the_ God!” and
“God is Most Great!” from the camp of the Kafirs. Now the cause of this
was that, ten days after his nephew King Al-Damigh, Gharib’s uncle, had
set out from Al-Jazirah, with twenty thousand horse, and on nearing the
field of battle, had despatched one of his scouts to get news. The man
was absent a whole day, at the end of which time he returned and told
Al-Damigh all that had happened to Gharib with his brother. So he waited
till the night, when he fell upon the Infidels, crying out, “Allaho
Akbar!” and put them to the edge of the biting scymitar. When Gharib
heard the Takbir,[8] he said to Sahim, “Go find out the cause of these
shouts and war-cries.” So Sahim repaired to the field of battle and
questioned the slaves and camp followers, who told him that King
Al-Damigh had come up with twenty thousand men and had fallen upon the
idolaters by night, saying, “By the virtue of Abraham the Friend, I will
not forsake my brother’s son, but will play a brave man’s part and beat
back the host of Miscreants and please the Omnipotent King!” So Sahim
returned and told his uncle’s derring-do to Gharib, who cried out to his
men, saying. “Don your arms and mount your steeds and let us succour my
father’s brother!” So they took horse and fell upon the Infidels and put
them to the edge of the sharp sword. By the morning they had killed nigh
fifty thousand of the Kafirs and made other thirty thousand prisoners,
and the rest of Ajib’s army dispersed over the length and breadth of
earth. Then the Moslems returned in victory and triumph, and Gharib rode
out to meet his uncle, whom he saluted and thanked for his help. Quoth
Al-Damigh, “I wonder if that dog Ajib fell in this day’s affair.” Quoth
Gharib, “O uncle, be of good cheer and keep thine eyes cool and clear:
know that he is with me in chains.” When Al-Damigh heard this he
rejoiced with exceeding joy and the two kings dismounted and entered the
pavilion, but found no Ajib there; whereupon Gharib exclaimed, “O glory
of Abraham, the Friend (with whom be peace!),” adding, “Alas, what an
ill end is this to a glorious day!” and he cried out to the
tent-pitchers, saying, “Woe to you! Where is my enemy who oweth me so
much?” Quoth they, “When thou mountedst and we went with thee, thou
didst not bid us guard him;” and Gharib exclaimed, “There is no Majesty
and there is no Might save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great!” But
Al-Damigh said to him, “Hasten not nor be concerned, for where can he
go, and we in pursuit of him?” Now the manner of Ajib’s escape was in
this wise. His page Sayyar had been ambushed in the camp and when he saw
Gharib mount and ride forth, leaving none to guard his enemy Ajib, he
could hardly credit his eyes. So he waited awhile and presently crept to
the tent and taking Ajib, who was senseless for the pain of the
bastinado, on his back, made off with him into the open country and
fared on at the top of his speed from early night to the next day, till
he came to a spring of water, under an apple tree. There he set down
Ajib from his back and washed his face, whereupon he opened his eyes and
seeing Sayyar, said to him, “O Sayyar, carry me to Cufa that I may
recover there and levy horsemen and soldiers wherewith to overthrow my
foe: and know, O Sayyar, that I am anhungered.” So Sayyar sprang up and
going out to the desert caught an ostrich-poult and brought it to his
lord. Then he gathered fuel and deftly using the fire-sticks kindled a
fire, by which he roasted the bird which he had hallal’d[9] and fed Ajib
with its flesh and gave him to drink of the water of the spring, till
his strength returned to him, after which he went to one of the Badawi
tribal encampments, and stealing thence a steed mounted Ajib upon it and
journeyed on with him for many days till they drew near the city of
Cufa. The Viceroy of the capital came out to meet and salute the King,
whom he found weak with the beating his brother had inflicted upon him;
and Ajib entered the city and called his physicians. When they answered
his summons, he bade them heal him in less than ten days’ time: they
said, “We hear and we obey,” and they tended him till he became whole of
the sickness that was upon him and of the punishment. Then he commanded
his Wazirs to write letters to all his Nabobs and vassals, and he
indited one-and-twenty writs and despatched them to the governors, who
assembled their troops and set out for Cufa by forced marches.——And
Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
Now when it was the Six Hundred and Forty-first Night,
She continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Ajib sent
orders to assemble the troops, who marched forthright to Cufa.
Meanwhile, Gharib, being troubled for Ajib’s escape, despatched in quest
of him a thousand braves, who dispersed on all sides and sought him a
day and a night, but found no trace of him; so they returned and told
Gharib, who called for his brother Sahim, but found him not; whereat he
was sore concerned, fearing for him from the shifts of Fortune. And lo!
Sahim entered and kissed ground before Gharib, who rose, when he saw
him, and asked, “Where hast thou been, O Sahim?” He answered, “O King, I
have been to Cufa and there I find that the dog Ajib hath made his way
to his capital and is healed of his hurts: eke, he hath written letters
to his vassals and sent them to his Nabobs who have brought him troops.”
When Gharib heard this, he gave the command to march; so they struck
tents and fared for Cufa. When they came in sight of the city, they
found it compassed about with a host like the surging main, having
neither beginning nor end. So Gharib with his troops encamped in face of
the Kafirs and set up his standards, and darkness fell down upon the two
hosts, whereupon they lighted camp-fires and kept watch till daybreak.
Then King Gharib rose and making the Wuzu-ablution, prayed a two-bow
prayer according to the rite of our father Abraham the Friend (on whom
be the Peace!); after which he commanded the battle-drums to sound the
point of war. Accordingly, the kettle-drums beat to combat and the
standards fluttered whilst the fighting men armour donned and their
horses mounted and themselves displayed and to plain fared. Now the
first to open the gate of war was King Al-Damigh, who urged his charger
between the two opposing armies and displayed himself and played with
the swords and the spears, till both hosts were confounded and at him
marvelled, after which he cried out, saying, “Who is for jousting? Let
no sluggard come out to me or weakling; for I am Al-Damigh, the King,
brother of Kundamir the King.” Then there rushed forth a horseman of the
Kafirs, as he were a flame of fire, and drave at Al-Damigh, without word
said; but the King received him with a lance-thrust in the breast so
dour that the point issued from between his shoulders and Allah hurried
his soul to the fire, the abiding-place dire. Then came forth a second
he slew, and a third he slew likewise, and they ceased not to come out
to him and he to slay them, till he had made an end of six-and-seventy
fighting men. Hereupon the Miscreants and men of might hung back and
would not encounter him; but Ajib cried out to his men and said, “Fie on
you, O folk! if ye all go forth to him, one by one, he will not leave
any of you, sitting or standing. Charge on him all at once and cleanse
of them our earthly wone and strew their heads for your horses’ hoofs
like a plain of stone!” So they waved the awe-striking flag and host was
heaped upon host; blood rained in streams upon earth and railed and the
Judge of battle ruled, in whose ordinance is no unright. The fearless
stood firm on feet in the stead of fight, whilst the faint-heart gave
back and took to flight thinking the day would never come to an end nor
the curtains of gloom would be drawn by the hand of Night; and they
ceased not to battle with swords and to smite till light darkened and
murk starkened. Then the kettle-drums of the Infidels beat the retreat,
but Gharib, refusing to stay his arms, drave at the Paynimry, and the
Believers in Unity, the Moslems, followed him. How many heads and hands
they shore, how many necks and sinews they tore, how many knees and
spines they mashed and how many grown men and youths they to death
bashed! With the first gleam of morning grey the Infidels broke and fled
away, in disorder and disarray; and the Moslems followed them till
middle-day and took over twenty thousand of them, whom they brought to
their tents in bonds to stay. Then Gharib sat down before the gate of
Cufa and commanded a herald to proclaim pardon and protection for every
wight who should leave the worship to idols dight and profess the unity
of His All-might the Creator of mankind and of light and night. So was
made proclamation as he bade in the streets of Cufa and all that were
therein embraced the True Faith, great and small; then they issued forth
in a body and renewed their Islam before King Gharib, who rejoiced in
them with exceeding joy and his breast broadened and he threw off all
annoy. Presently he enquired of Mardas and his daughter Mahdiyah, and,
being told that he had taken up his abode behind the Red Mountain, he
called Sahim and said to him, “Find out for me what is become of thy
father.” Sahim mounted steed without stay or delay and set his
berry-brown spear in rest and fared on in quest till he reached the Red
Mountain, where he sought for his father, yet found no trace of him nor
of his tribe; however, he saw in their stead an elder of the Arabs, a
very old man, broken with excess of years, and asked him of the folk and
whither they were gone. Replied he, “O my son, when Mardas heard of
Gharib’s descent upon Cufa he feared with great fear and, taking his
daughter and his folk, set out with his handmaids and negroes into the
wild and wold, and I wot not whither he went.” So Sahim, hearing the
Shaykh’s words, returned to Gharib and told him thereof, whereat he was
greatly concerned. Then he sat down on his father’s throne and, opening
his treasuries, distributed largesse to each and every of his braves.
And he took up his abode in Cufa and sent out spies to get news of Ajib.
He also summoned the Grandees of the realm, who came and did him homage;
as also did the citizens and he bestowed on them sumptuous robes of
honour and commended the Ryots to their care.——And Shahrazad perceived
the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
Now when it was the Six Hundred and Forty-second Night,
She pursued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Gharib, after
giving robes of honour to the citizens of Cufa and commending the Ryots
to their care, went out on a day of the days to hunt, with an hundred
horse, and fared on till he came to a Wady, abounding in trees and
fruits and rich in rills and birds. It was a pasturing-place for roes
and gazelles, to the spirit a delight whose scents reposed from the
languor of fight. They encamped in the valley, for the day was clear and
bright, and there passed the night. On the morrow, Gharib made the
Wuzu-ablution and prayed the two-bow dawn-prayer, offering up praise and
thanks to Almighty Allah; when, lo and behold! there arose a clamour and
confusion in the meadows, and he bade Sahim go see what was to do. So
Sahim mounted forthright and rode till he espied goods being plundered
and horses haltered and women carried off and children crying out.
Whereupon he questioned one of the shepherds, saying, “What be all
this?”; and they replied, “This is the Harim of Mardas, Chief of the
Banu Kahtan, and his good and that of his clan; for yesterday Jamrkan
slew Mardas and made prize of his women and children and household stuff
and all the belonging of his tribe. It is his wont to go a-raiding and
to cut off highways and waylay wayfarers and he is a furious tyrant;
neither Arabs nor Kings can prevail against him and he is the scourge
and curse of the country.” Now when Sahim heard these news of his sire’s
slaughter and the looting of his Harim and property, he returned to
Gharib and told him the case, wherefore fire was added to his fire and
his spirit chafed to wipe out his shame and his blood-wit to claim: so
he rode with his men after the robbers till he overtook them and fell
upon them, crying out and saying, “Almighty Allah upon the rebel, the
traitor, the infidel!” and he slew in a single charge one-and-twenty
fighting-men. Then he halted in mid-field, with no coward’s heart, and
cried out, “Where is Jamrkan? Let him come out to me, that I may make
him quaff the cup of disgrace and rid of him earth’s face!” Hardly had
he made an end of speaking, when forth rushed Jamrkan, as he were a
calamity of calamities or a piece of a mountain, cased in steel. He was
a mighty huge[10] Amalekite; and he drave at Gharib without speech or
salute, like the fierce tyrant he was. And he was armed with a mace of
China steel, so heavy, so potent, that had he smitten a hill he had
smashed it. Now when he charged, Gharib met him like a hungry lion, and
the brigand aimed a blow at his head with his mace; but he evaded it and
it smote the earth and sank therein half a cubit deep. Then Gharib took
his battle flail and smiting Jamrkan on the wrist, crushed his fingers
and the mace dropped from his grasp; whereupon Gharib bent down from his
seat in selle and snatching it up, swiftlier than the blinding leven,
smote him therewith full on the flat of the ribs, and he fell to the
earth like a long-stemmed palm-tree. So Sahim took him and pinioning
him, haled him off with a rope, and Gharib’s horsemen fell on those of
Jamrkan and slew fifty of them: the rest fled; nor did they cease flying
till they reached their tribal camp and raised their voices in clamour;
whereupon all who were in the Castle came out to meet them and asked the
news. They told the tribe what had passed; and, when they heard that
their chief was a prisoner, they set out for the valley vying one with
other in their haste to deliver him. Now when King Gharib had captured
Jamrkan and had seen his braves take flight, he dismounted and called
for Jamrkan, who humbled himself before him, saying, “I am under thy
protection, O champion of the Age!” Replied Gharib, “O dog of the Arabs,
dost thou cut the road for the servants of Almighty Allah, and fearest
thou not the Lord of the Worlds?” “O my master,” asked Jamrkan, “and who
is the Lord of the Worlds?” “O dog,” answered Gharib, “and what calamity
dost thou worship?” He said, “O my lord, I worship a god made of
dates[11] kneaded with butter and honey, and at times I eat him and make
me another.” When Gharib heard this, he laughed till he fell backwards
and said, “O miserable, there is none worship-worth save Almighty Allah,
who created thee and created all things and provideth all creatures with
daily bread, from whom nothing is hid and He over all things is
Omnipotent.” Quoth Jamrkan, “And where is this great god, that I may
worship him?” Quoth Gharib, “O fellow, know that this god’s name is
Allah—_the_ God—and it is He who fashioned the heavens and the earth and
garred the trees to grow and the waters to flow. He created wild beasts
and birds and Paradise and Hell-fire and veileth Himself from all eyes
seeing and of none being seen. He, and He only, is the Dweller on high.
Extolled be His perfection! There is no god but He!” When Jamrkan heard
these words, the ears of his heart were opened; his skin shuddered with
horripilation and he said, “O my lord, what shall I say that I may
become of you and that this mighty Lord may accept of me?” Replied
Gharib, “Say:—There is no god but _the_ God and Abraham the Friend is
the Apostle of God!” So he pronounced the profession of the Faith and
was written of the people of felicity. Then quoth Gharib, “Say me, hast
thou tasted the sweetness of Al-Islam?”; and quoth the other, “Yes;”
whereupon Gharib cried, “Loose his bonds!” So they unbound him and he
kissed ground before Gharib and his feet. Now whilst this was going on,
behold, they espied a great cloud of dust that towered till it walled
the wold.——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her
permitted say.
Now when it was the Six Hundred and Forty-third Night,
She pursued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Jamrkan
islamised and kissed the ground between the hands of Gharib; and, as
they were thus, behold, a great cloud of dust towered till it walled the
wold and Gharib said to Sahim, “Go and see for us what it be.” So he
went forth, like a bird in full flight, and presently returned, saying,
“O King of the Age, this dust is of the Banu Amir, the comrades of
Jamrkan.” Whereupon quoth Gharib to the new Moslem, “Ride out to thy
people and offer to them Al-Islam: an they profess, they shall be saved;
but, an they refuse, we will put them to the sword.” So Jamrkan mounted
and driving steed towards his tribesmen, cried out to them; and they
knew him and dismounting, came up to him on foot and said, “We rejoice
in thy safety, O our lord!” Said he, “O folk, whoso obeyeth me shall be
saved; but whoso gainsayeth me, I will cut him in twain with this
scymitar.” And they made answer, saying, “Command us what thou wilt, for
we will not oppose thy commandment.” Quoth he, “Then say with me:—There
is no god but _the_ God and Abraham is the Friend of God!” They asked,
“O our lord, whence haddest thou these words?” And he told them what had
befallen him with Gharib, adding, “O folk, know ye not that I am your
chief in battle-plain and where men of cut and thrust are fain; and yet
a man single-handed me to prisoner hath ta’en and made me the cup of
shame and disgrace to drain?” When they heard his speech, they spoke the
word of Unity and Jamrkan led them to Gharib, at whose hands they
renewed their profession of Al-Islam and wished him glory and victory,
after they had kissed the earth before him. Gharib rejoiced in them and
said to them, “O folk, return to your people and expound Al-Islam to
them;” but all replied, “O our lord, we will never leave thee, whilst we
live; but we will go and fetch our families and return to thee.” And
Gharib said, “Go, and join me at the city of Cufa.” So Jamrkan and his
comrades returned to their tribal camp and offered Al-Islam to their
women and children, who all to a soul embraced the True Faith, after
which they dismantled their abodes and struck their tents and set out
for Cufa driving before them their steeds, camels and sheep. During this
time Gharib returned to Cufa, where the horsemen met him in state. He
entered his palace and sat down on his sire’s throne with his champions
ranged on either hand. Then the spies came forwards, and informed him
that his brother Ajib had made his escape and had taken refuge with
Jaland[12] bin Karkar, lord of the city of Oman and land of Al-Yaman;
whereupon Gharib cried aloud to his host, “O men, make you ready to
march in three days.” Then he expounded Al-Islam to the thirty thousand
men he had captured in the first affair and exhorted them to profess and
take service with him. Twenty thousand embraced the Faith, but the rest
refused and he slew them. Then came forward Jamrkan and his tribe and
kissed the ground before Gharib, who bestowed on him a splendid robe of
honour and made him captain of his vanguard, saying, “O Jamrkan, mount
with the Chiefs of thy kith and kin and twenty thousand horse and fare
on before us to the land of Jaland bin Karkar.” “Hearkening and
obedience,” answered Jamrkan and, leaving the women and children of the
tribe in Cufa, he set forward. Then Gharib passed in review the Harim of
Mardas and his eye lit upon Mahdiyah, who was among the women, wherewith
he fell down fainting. They sprinkled rose-water on his face, till he
came to himself, when he embraced Mahdiyah and carried her into a
sitting-chamber, where he sat with her; and they twain lay together that
night without fornication. Next morning he went out and sitting down on
the throne of his kingship, robed his uncle Al-Damigh with a robe of
honour; and appointed him his viceroy over all Al-Irak, commending
Mahdiyah to his care, till he should return from his expedition against
Ajib; and, when the order was accepted, he set out for the land of
Al-Yaman and the City of Oman with twenty thousand horse and ten
thousand foot. Now, when Ajib and his defeated army drew in sight of
Oman, King Jaland saw the dust of their approach and sent to find out
its meaning scouts who returned and said, “Verily this is the dust of
one hight Ajib, lord of Al-Irak.” And Jaland wondered at his coming to
his country and, when assured of the tidings, he said to his officers,
“Fare ye forth and meet him.” So they went out and met him and pitched
tents for him at the city-gate; and Ajib entered in to Jaland,
weeping-eyed and heavy-hearted. Now Jaland’s wife was the daughter of
Ajib’s paternal uncle and he had children by her; so, when he saw his
kinsman in this plight, he asked for the truth of what ailed him and
Ajib told him all that had befallen him, first and last, from his
brother and said, “O King, Gharib biddeth the folk worship the Lord of
the Heavens and forbiddeth them from the service of simulacres and other
of the gods.” When Jaland heard these words he raged and revolted and
said, “By the virtue of the Sun, Lord of Life and Light, I will not
leave one of thy brother’s folk in existence! But where didst thou quit
them and how many men are they?” Answered Ajib, “I left them in Cufa and
they be fifty thousand horse.” Whereupon Jaland called his Wazir
Jawámard,[13] saying, “Take thee seventy thousand horse and fare to Cufa
and bring me the Moslems alive, that I may torture them with all manner
of tortures.” So Jawamard departed with his host and fared through the
first day and the second till the seventh day, when he came to a Wady
abounding in trees and rills and fruits. Here he called a halt——And
Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
Now when it was the Six Hundred and Forty-fourth Night,
She pursued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Jaland
sent Jawamard with his army to Cufa, they came upon a Wady abounding in
trees and rills where a halt was called and they rested till the middle
of the night, when the Wazir gave the signal for departure and mounting,
rode on before them till hard upon dawn, at which time he descended into
a well-wooded valley, whose flowers were fragrant and whose birds
warbled on boughs, as they swayed gracefully to and fro, and Satan blew
into his sides and puffed him up with pride and he improvised these
couplets and cried:—
I plunge with my braves in the seething sea; ✿ Seize the foe in my
strength and my valiancy;
And the doughtiest knights wot me well to be ✿ Friend to friend and
fierce foe to mine enemy.
I will load Gharib with the captive’s chains ✿ Right soon, and return in
all joy and glee;
For I’ve donned my mail and my weapons wield ✿ And on all sides charge
at the chivalry.[14]
Hardly had Jawamard made an end of his verses when there came out upon
him from among the trees a horseman of terrible mien covered and clad in
steely sheen, who cried out to him, saying, “Stand, O riff-raff of the
Arabs! Doff thy dress and ground thine arms-gear and dismount thy
destrier and be off with thy life!” When Jawamard heard this, the light
in his eyes became darkest night and he drew his sabre and drove at
Jamrkan, for he it was, saying, “O thief of the Arabs, wilt thou cut the
road for me, who am captain of the host of Jaland bin Karkar and am come
to bring Gharib and his men in bond?” When Jamrkan heard these words, he
said, “How cooling is this to my heart and liver!” And he made at
Jawamard versifying in these couplets:—
I’m the noted knight in the field of fight, ✿ Whose sabre and spear
every foe affright!
Jamrkan am I, to my foes a fear, ✿ With a lance-lunge known unto every
knight:
Gharib is my lord, nay my pontiff, my prince, ✿ Where the two hosts dash
very lion of might:
An Imam of the Faith, pious, striking awe ✿ On the plain where his foes
like the fawn take flight;
Whose voice bids folk to the faith of the Friend, ✿ False, doubling
idols and gods despite!
Now Jamrkan had fared on with his tribesmen ten days’ journey from
Cufa-city and called a halt on the eleventh day till midnight, when he
ordered a march and rode on devancing them till he descended into the
valley aforesaid and heard Jawamard reciting his verses. So he drave at
him as the driving of a ravening lion, and smiting him with his sword,
clove him in twain and waited till his captains came up, when he told
them what had passed and said to them, “Take each of you five thousand
men and disperse round about the Wady, whilst I and the Banu Amir fall
upon the enemy’s van, shouting, Allaho Akbar—God is Most Great! When ye
hear my slogan, do ye charge them, crying like me upon the Lord, and
smite them with the sword.” “We hear and we obey,” answered they and
turning back to their braves did his bidding and spread themselves about
the sides of the valley in the twilight forerunning the dawn. Presently,
lo and behold! up came the army of Al-Yaman, like a flock of sheep,
filling plain and steep, and Jamrkan and the Banu Amir fell upon them,
shouting, “Allaho Akbar!” till all heard it, Moslems and Miscreants.
Whereupon the True Believers ambushed in the valley answered from every
side and the hills and mountains responsive cried and all things
replied, green and dried, saying, “God is Most Great! Aidance and
Victory to us from on High! Shame to the Miscreants who His name deny!”
And the Kafirs were confounded and smote one another with sabres keen
whilst the True Believers and pious fell upon them like flames of fiery
sheen and naught was seen but heads flying and blood jetting and
faint-hearts hieing. By the time they could see one another’s faces,
two-thirds of the Infidels had perished and Allah hastened their souls
to the fire and abiding-place dire. The rest fled and to the deserts
sped whilst the Moslems pursued them to slay and take captives till
middle-day, when they returned in triumph with seven thousand prisoners;
and but six-and-twenty thousand of the Infidels escaped and the most of
them wounded. Then the Moslems collected the horses and arms, the loads
and tents of the enemy and despatched them to Cufa with an escort of a
thousand horse;——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased
saying her permitted say.
Now when it was the Six Hundred and Forty-fifth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Jamrkan in his
battle with Jawamard slew him and slew his men; and, after taking many
prisoners and much money and many horses and loads, sent them with an
escort of a thousand riders, to Cufa city. Then he and the army of
Al-Islam dismounted and expounded The saving Faith to the prisoners, who
made profession with heart and tongue; whereupon they released them from
bonds and embraced them and rejoiced in them. Then Jamrkan made his
troops, who had swelled to a mighty many, rest a day and a night and
marched with the dawn, intending to attack Jaland bin Karkar in the city
of Oman; whilst the thousand horse fared back to Cufa with the loot.
When they reached the city, they went in to King Gharib and told him
what had passed, whereat he rejoiced and gave them joy and, turning to
the Ghul of the Mountain, said, “Take horse with twenty thousand and
follow Jamrkan.” So Sa’adan and his sons mounted and set out, amid
twenty thousand horse for Oman. Meanwhile, the fugitives of the defeated
Kafirs reached Oman and went in to Jaland, weeping and crying, “Woe!”
and “Ruin!” whereat he was confounded and said to them, “What calamity
hath befallen you?” So they told him what had happened and he said, “Woe
to you! How many men were they?” They replied, “O King, there were
twenty standards, under each a thousand men.” When Jaland heard these
words he said, “May the sun pour no blessing on you! Fie upon you! What,
shall twenty thousand overcome you, and you seventy thousand horse and
Jawamard able to withstand three thousand in field of fight?” Then, in
the excess of his rage and mortification, he bared his blade and cried
out to those who were present, saying, “Fall on them!” So the courtiers
drew their swords upon the fugitives and annihilated them to the last
man and cast them to the dogs. Then Jaland cried aloud to his son,
saying, “Take an hundred thousand horse and go to Al-Irak and lay it
waste altogether.” Now this son’s name was Kúraján and there was no
doughtier knight in all the force; for he could charge single-handed
three thousand riders. So he and his host made haste to equip themselves
and marched in battle-array, rank following rank, with the Prince at
their head, glorying in himself and improvising these couplets:—
I’m Al-Kurajan, and my name is known ✿ To beat all who in wold or in
city wone!
How many a soldier my sword at will ✿ Struck down like a cow on the
ground bestrown?
How many a soldier I’ve forced to fly ✿ And have rolled their heads as a
ball is thrown?
Now I’ll drive and harry the land Irak[15] ✿ And like rain I’ll shower
the blood of fone;
And lay hands on Gharib and his men, whose doom ✿ To the wise a warning
shall soon be shown!