Caliph Mu’áwiyah was sitting one day in his palace[FN#142] at Damascus,
in a room whose windows were open on all four sides, that the breeze
might enter from every quarter. Now it was a day of excessive heat,
with no breeze from the hills stirring, and the middle of the day, when
the heat was at its height, and the Caliph saw a man coming along,
scorched by the heat of the ground and limping, as he fared on
barefoot. Mu’awiyah considered him awhile and said to his courtiers,
“Hath Allah (may He be extolled and exalted!) created any miserabler
than he who need must hie abroad at such an hour and in such sultry
tide as this?” Quoth one of them, “Haply he seeketh the Commander of
the Faithful;” and quoth the Caliph, “By Allah, if he seek me, I will
assuredly give to him, and if he be wronged, I will certainly succour
him. Ho, boy! Stand at the door, and if yonder wild Arab seek to come
in to me, forbid him not therefrom.” So the page went out and presently
the Arab came up to him and he said, “What dost thou want?” Answered
the other, “I want the Commander of the Faithful,” and the page said,
“Enter.” So he entered and saluted the Caliph,——And Shahrazad perceived
the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
When it was the Six Hundred and Ninety-second Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the page
allowed him to enter, the Badawi saluted the Caliph, who said to him,
“Who art thou?” Replied the Arab, “I am a man of the Banú
Tamím.”[FN#143] “And what bringeth thee here at this season?” asked
Mu’awiyah; and the Arab answered, “I come to thee, complaining and thy
protection imploring.” “Against whom?” “Against Marwan bin
al-Hakam,[FN#144] thy deputy,” replied he, and began reciting,
“Mu’áwiyah,[FN#145] thou gen’rous lord, and best of men that be;
* And oh, thou lord of learning, grace and fair humanity,
Thee-wards I come because my way of life is strait to me: * O
help! and let me not despair thine equity to see.
Deign thou redress the wrong that dealt the tyrant whim of him *
Who better had my life destroyed than made such wrong to
dree.
He robbed me of my wife Su’ad and proved him worst of foes, *
Stealing mine honour ’mid my folk with foul iniquity;
And went about to take my life before th’ appointed day * Hath
dawned which Allah made my lot by destiny’s decree.”
Now when Mu’awiyah heard him recite these verses, with the fire
flashing from his mouth, he said to him, “Welcome and fair welcome, O
brother of the Arabs! Tell me thy tale and acquaint me with thy case.”
Replied the Arab, “O Commander of the Faithful, I had a wife whom I
loved passing dear with love none came near; and she was the coolth of
mine eyes and the joy of my heart; and I had a herd of camels, whose
produce enabled me to maintain my condition; but there came upon us a
bad year which killed off hoof and horn and left me naught. When what
was in my hand failed me and wealth fell from me and I lapsed into evil
case, I at once became abject and a burden to those who erewhile wished
to visit me; and when her father knew it, he took her from me and
abjured me and drove me forth without ruth. So I repaired to thy
deputy, Marwan bin al-Hakam, and asked his aid. He summoned her sire
and questioned him of my case, when he denied any knowledge of me.
Quoth I, ‘Allah assain the Emir! An it please him to send for the woman
and question her of her father’s saying, the truth will appear.’ So he
sent for her and brought her; but no sooner had he set eyes on her than
he fell in love with her; so, becoming my rival, he denied me succour
and was wroth with me, and sent me to prison, where I became as I had
fallen from heaven and the wind had cast me down in a far land. Then
said Marwan to her father, ‘Wilt thou give her to me to wife, on a
present settlement of a thousand dinars and a contingent dowry of ten
thousand dirhams,[FN#146] and I will engage to free her from yonder
wild Arab!’ Her father was seduced by the bribe and agreed to the
bargain; whereupon Marwan sent for me and looking at me like an angry
lion, said to me, ‘O Arab, divorce Su’ad.’ I replied, ‘I will not put
her away;’ but he set on me a company of his servants, who tortured me
with all manner of tortures, till I found no help for it but to divorce
her. I did so and he sent me back to prison, where I abode till the
days of her purification were accomplished, when he married her and let
me go. So now I come hither in thee hoping and thy succour imploring
and myself on thy protection throwing.” And he spoke these couplets,
“Within my heart is fire * Whichever flameth higher;
Within my frame are pains * For skill of leach too dire.
Live coals in vitals burn * And sparks from coal up spire:
Tears flood mine eyes and down * Coursing my cheek ne’er tire:
Only God’s aid and thine * I crave for my desire!”
Then he was convulsed,[FN#147] and his teeth chattered and he fell down
in a fit, squirming like a scotched snake. When Mu’awiyah heard his
story and his verse, he said, “Marwan bin al-Hakam hath transgressed
against the laws of the Faith and hath violated the Harim of True
Believers!”——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying
her permitted say.
When it was the Six Hundred and Ninety-third Night,
She continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the
Caliph Mu’awiyah heard the wild Arab’s words, he said, “The son of
Al-Hakam hath indeed transgressed against the laws of the Faith and
hath violated the Harim of True Believers,” presently adding, “O Arab,
thou comest to me with a story, the like whereof I never heard!” Then
he called for inkcase and paper and wrote to Marwan as follows, “Verily
it hath reached me that thou transgresseth the laws of the Faith with
regard to thy lieges. Now it behoveth the Wali who governeth the folk
to keep his eyes from their lusts and stay his flesh from its
delights.” And after he wrote many words, which (quoth he who told me
the tale) I omit, for brevity’s sake, and amongst them these couplets:—
Thou wast invested (woe to thee!)[FN#148] with rule for thee
unfit; * Crave thou of Allah pardon for thy foul adultery.
Th’ unhappy youth to us is come complaining ’mid his groans * And
asks redress for parting-grief and saddened me through
thee.
An oath have I to Allah sworn shall never be forsworn; * Nay,
for I’ll do what Faith and Creed command me to decree.
An thou dare cross me in whate’er to thee I now indite * I of
thy flesh assuredly will make the vulture free.
Divorce Su’ad, equip her well, and in the hottest haste * With
Al-Kumayt and Ziban’s son, hight Nasr, send to me.
Then he folded the letter and, sealing it with his seal, delivered it
to Al-Kumayt[FN#149] and Nasr bin Zibán (whom he was wont to employ on
weighty matters, because of their trustiness) who took the missive and
carried it to Al-Medinah, where they went in to Marwan and saluting him
delivered to him the writ and told him how the case stood. He read the
letter and fell a-weeping; but he went in to Su’ad (as ’twas not in his
power to refuse obedience to the Caliph) and, acquainting her with the
case, divorced her in the presence of Al-Kumayt and Nasr; after which
he equipped her and delivered her to them, together with a letter to
the Caliph wherein he versified as follows,
“Hurry not, Prince of Faithful Men! with best of grace thy vow
* I will accomplish as ’twas vowed and with the gladdest
gree.
I sinned not adulterous sin when loved her I, then how * Canst
charge me with advowtrous deed or any villainy?
Soon comes to thee that splendid sun which hath no living peer
* On earth, nor aught in mortal men or Jinns her like
shalt see.”
This he sealed with his own signet and gave to the messengers who
returned with Su’ad to Damascus and delivered to Mu’awiyah the letter,
and when he had read it he cried, “Verily, he hath obeyed handsomely,
but he exceedeth in his praise of the woman.” Then he called for her
and saw beauty such as he had never seen, for comeliness and
loveliness, stature and symmetrical grace; moreover, he talked with her
and found her fluent of speech and choice in words. Quoth he, “Bring me
the Arab.” So they fetched the man, who came, sore disordered for
shifts and changes of fortune, and Mu’awiyah said to him, “O Arab, an
thou wilt freely give her up to me, I will bestow upon thee in her
stead three slave-girls, high-bosomed maids like moons, with each a
thousand dinars; and I will assign thee on the Treasury such an annual
sum as shall content thee and enrich thee.” When the Arab heard this,
he groaned one groan and swooned away, so that Mu’awiyah thought he was
dead; and, as soon as he revived, the Caliph said to him, “What aileth
thee?” The Arab answered, “With heavy heart and in sore need have I
appealed to thee from the injustice of Marwan bin al-Hakam; but to whom
shall I appeal from thine injustice?” And he versified in these
couplets,
“Make me not (Allah save the Caliph!) one of the betrayed *
Who from the fiery sands to fire must sue for help and
aid:
Deign thou restore Su’ád to this afflicted heart distraught, *
Which every morn and eve by sorest sorrow is waylaid:
Loose thou my bonds and grudge me not and give her back to me;
* And if thou do so ne’er thou shalt for lack of thanks
upbraid!”
Then said he, “By Allah, O Commander of the Faithful, wert thou to give
me all the riches contained in the Caliphate, yet would I not take them
without Su’ad.” And he recited this couplet,
“I love Su’ád and unto all but hers my love is dead, * Each morn I feel
her love to me is drink and daily bread.”
Quoth the Caliph, “Thou confessest to having divorced her and Marwan
owned the like; so now we will give her free choice. An she choose
other than thee, we will marry her to him, and if she choose thee, we
will restore her to thee.” Replied the Arab, “Do so.” So Mu’awiyah said
to her, “What sayest thou, O Su’ad? Which dost thou choose; the
Commander of the Faithful, with his honour and glory and dominion and
palaces and treasures and all else thou seest at this command, or
Marwin bin al-Hakam with his violence and tyranny, or this Arab, with
his hunger and poverty?” So she improvised these couplets,
“This one, whom hunger plagues, and rags unfold, * Dearer than
tribe and kith and kin I hold;
Than crownèd head, or deputy Marwán, * Or all who boast of
silver coins and gold.”
Then said she, “By Allah, O Commander of the Faithful, I will not
forsake him for the shifts of Fortune or the perfidies of Fate, there
being between us old companionship we may not forget, and love beyond
stay and let; and indeed ’tis but just that I bear with him in his
adversity, even as I shared with him in prosperity.” The Caliph
marvelled at her wit and love and constancy and, ordering her ten
thousand dirhams, delivered her to the Arab, who took his wife and went
away.[FN#150] And they likewise tell a tale of