a counter-question.
ALI THE PERSIAN.
It is said that the Caliph Harun al-Rashid, being restless one night,
sent for his Wazir and said to him, “O Ja’afar, I am sore wakeful and
heavy-hearted this night, and I desire of thee what may solace my spirit
and cause my breast to broaden with amusement.” Quoth Ja’afar, “O
Commander of the Faithful, I have a friend, by name Ali the Persian, who
hath store of tales and pleasant stories, such as lighten the heart and
make care depart.” Quoth the Caliph, “Fetch him to me,” and quoth
Ja’afar, “Hearkening and obedience;” and, going out from before him,
sent to seek Ali the Persian and when he came said to him, “Answer the
summons of the Commander of the Faithful.” “To hear is to obey,”
answered Ali;——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say
her permitted say.
Now when it was the Two Hundred and Ninety-fifth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Persian
replied, “To hear is to obey;” and at once followed the Wazir into the
presence of the Caliph who bade him be seated and said to him, “O Ali,
my heart is heavy within me this night and it hath come to my ear that
thou hast great store of tales and anecdotes; so I desire of thee that
thou let me hear what will relieve my despondency and brighten my
melancholy.” Said he, “O Commander of the Faithful, shall I tell thee
what I have seen with my eyes or what I have heard with my ears?” He
replied, “An thou have seen aught worth the telling, let me hear that.”
Replied Ali:—Hearkening and obedience. Know thou, O Commander of the
Faithful, that some years ago I left this my native city of Baghdad on a
journey, having with me a lad who carried a light leathern bag.
Presently we came to a certain city, where, as I was buying and selling
behold, a rascally Kurd fell on me and seized my wallet perforce,
saying, “This is my bag, and all which is in it is my property.”
Thereupon, I cried aloud “Ho Moslems,[211] one and all, deliver me from
the hand of the vilest of oppressors!” But the folk said, “Come, both of
you, to the Kazi and abide ye by his judgement with joint consent.” So I
agreed to submit myself to such decision and we both presented ourselves
before the Kazi, who said, “What bringeth you hither and what is your
case and your quarrel?” Quoth I, “We are men at difference, who appeal
to thee and make complaint and submit ourselves to thy judgement.” Asked
the Kazi, “Which of you is the complainant?”; so the Kurd came
forward[212] and said, “Allah preserve our lord the Kazi! Verily, this
bag is my bag and all that is in it is my swag. It was lost from me and
I found it with this man mine enemy.” The Kazi asked, “When didst thou
lose it?”; and the Kurd answered, “But yesterday, and I passed a
sleepless night by reason of its loss.” “And it be thy bag,” quoth the
Kazi, “tell me what is in it.” Quoth the Kurd, “There were in my bag two
silver styles for eye-powder and antimony for the eyes and a kerchief
for the hands, wherein I had laid two gilt cups and two candlesticks.
Moreover it contained two tents and two platters and two spoons and a
cushion and two leather rugs and two ewers and a brass tray and two
basins and a cooking-pot and two water-jars and a ladle and a
sacking-needle and a she-cat and two bitches and a wooden trencher and
two sacks and two saddles and a gown and two fur pelisses and a cow and
two calves and a she-goat and two sheep and an ewe and two lambs and two
green pavilions and a camel and two she-camels and a lioness and two
lions and a she-bear and two jackals and a mattrass and two sofas and an
upper chamber and two saloons and a portico and two sitting-rooms and a
kitchen with two doors and a company of Kurds who will bear witness that
the bag is my bag.” Then said the Kazi to me, “And thou, sirrah, what
sayest thou?” So I came forward, O commander of the Faithful (and indeed
the Kurd’s speech had bewildered me) and said, “Allah advance our lord
the Kazi! Verily, there was naught in this my wallet, save a little
ruined tenement and another without a door and a dog-house and a boys’
school and youths playing dice and tents and tent-ropes and the cities
of Bassorah and Baghdad and the palace of Shaddad bin Ad and an
ironsmith’s forge and a fishing-net and cudgels and pickets and girls
and boys and a thousand pimps who will testify that the bag is my bag.”
Now when the Kurd heard my words, he wept and wailed and said, “O my
lord the Kazi, this my bag is known and what is in it is a matter of
renown; for in this bag there be castles and citadels and cranes and
beasts of prey and men playing chess and draughts. Furthermore, in this
my bag is a brood-mare and two colts and a stallion and two blood-steeds
and two long lances; and it containeth eke a lion and two hares and a
city and two villages and a whore and two sharking panders and an
hermaphrodite and two gallows-birds and a blind man and two wights with
good sight and a limping cripple and two lameters and a Christian
ecclesiastic and two deacons and a patriarch and two monks and a Kazi
and two assessors, who will be evidence that the bag is my bag.” Quoth
the Kazi to me, “And what sayst thou, O Ali?” So, O Commander of the
Faithful, being filled with rage, I came forward and said, “Allah keep
our lord the Kazi!”——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased
saying her permitted say.
Now when it was the Two Hundred and Ninety-sixth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Persian
continued:—So being filled with rage, O Commander of the Faithful, I
came forward and said, “Allah keep our lord the Kazi! I had in this my
wallet a coat of mail and a broadsword and armouries and a thousand
fighting rams and a sheep-fold with its pasturage and a thousand barking
dogs and gardens and vines and flowers and sweet smelling herbs and figs
and apples and statues and pictures and flagons and goblets and
fair-faced slave-girls and singing-women and marriage-feasts and tumult
and clamour and great tracts of land and brothers of success, which were
robbers, and a company of daybreak-raiders with swords and spears and
bows and arrows and true friends and dear ones and intimates and
comrades and men imprisoned for punishment and cup-companions and a drum
and flutes and flags and banners and boys and girls and brides (in all
their wedding bravery), and singing-girls and five Abyssinian women and
three Hindi maidens and four damsels of Al-Medinah and a score of Greek
girls and eighty Kurdish dames and seventy Georgian ladies and Tigris
and Euphrates and a fowling net and a flint and steel and many-columned
Iram and a thousand rogues and pimps and horse-courses and stables and
mosques and baths and a builder and a carpenter and a plank and a nail
and a black slave with his flageolet and a captain and a caravan-leader
and towns and cities and an hundred thousand dinars and Cufa and
Anbár[213] and twenty chests full of stuffs and twenty store-houses for
victual and Gaza and Askalon and from Damietta to Al-Sawán[214]; and the
palace of Kisra Anushirwán and the kingdom of Solomon and from Wadi
Nu’umán to the land of Khorasán and Balkh and Ispahán and from India to
the Sudán. Therein also (may Allah prolong the life of our lord the
Kazi!) are doublets and cloths and a thousand sharp razors to shave off
the Kazi’s beard, except he fear my resentment and adjudge the bag to be
my bag.” Now when the Kazi heard what I and the Kurd avouched, he was
confounded and said, “I see ye twain be none other than two pestilent
fellows, atheistical villains who make sport of Kazis and magistrates
and stand not in fear of reproach. Never did tongue tell nor ear hear
aught more extraordinary than that which ye pretend. By Allah, from
China to Shajarat Umm Ghaylán, nor from Fars to Sudan nor from Wadi
Nu’uman to Khorasan, was ever heard the like of what ye avouch or
credited the like of what ye affirm. Say, fellows, be this bag a
bottomless sea or the Day of Resurrection that shall gather together the
just and unjust?” Then the Kazi bade them open the bag; so I opened it
and behold, there was in it bread and a lemon and cheese and olives. So
I threw the bag down before the Kurd and ganged my gait. Now when the
Caliph heard this tale from Ali the Persian, he laughed till he fell on
his back and made him a handsome present.[215] And men also relate a
-----
Footnote 211:
This “Cry of Haro” often occurs throughout The Nights. In real life it
is sure to collect a crowd, especially if an Infidel (non-Moslem) be
its cause.
Footnote 212:
In the East a cunning fellow always makes himself the claimant or
complainant.
Footnote 213:
On the Euphrates some 40 miles west of Baghdad. The word is written
“Anbár” and pronounced “Ambár” as usual with the “n” before “b”; the
case of the Greek double Gamma.
Footnote 214:
Syene on the Nile.
Footnote 215:
The tale is in the richest Rabelaisian humour; and the requisitions of
the “Saj’a” (rhymed prose) in places explain the grotesque
combinations. It is difficult to divine why Lane omits it; probably he
held a hearty laugh not respectable.
TALE OF HARUN AL-RASHID AND THE SLAVE-GIRL AND THE IMAM ABU YUSUF.
It is said that Ja’afar the Barmecide was one night carousing with
Al-Rashid, who said, “O Ja’afar, it hath reached me that thou hast
bought such and such a slave-girl. Now I have long sought her for she is
passing fair; and my heart is taken up with love of her, so do thou sell
her to me.” He replied, “I will not sell her, O Commander of the
Faithful.” Quoth he, “Then give her to me.” Quoth the other, “Nor will I
give her.” Then Al-Rashid exclaimed, “Be Zubaydah triply divorced an
thou shall not either sell or give her to me!” Then Ja’afar, exclaimed,
“Be my wife triply divorced an I either sell or give her to thee!” After
awhile they recovered from their tipsiness and were aware of having
fallen into a grave dilemma, but knew not by what device to extricate
themselves. Then said Al-Rashid, “None can help us in this strait but
Abú Yúsuf.”[216] So they sent for him, and this was in the middle of the
night; and when the messenger reached him, he arose in alarm, saying to
himself, “I should not be sent for at this tide and time, save by reason
of some question of moment to Al-Islam.” So he went out in haste and
mounted his she-mule, saying to his servant, “Take the mule’s nose-bag
with thee; it may be she hath not finished her feed; and when we come to
the Caliph’s palace, put the bag on her, that she may eat what is left
of her fodder, during the last of the night.” And the man replied, “I
hear and obey.” Now when the Imam was admitted to the presence,
Al-Rashid rose to receive him and seated him on the couch beside himself
(where he was wont to seat none save the Kazi), and said to him, “We
have not sent for thee at this untimely time and tide save to advise us
upon a grave matter, which is such and such and wherewith we know not
how to deal.” And he expounded to him the case. Abu Yusuf answered, “O
Commander of the Faithful, this is the easiest of things.” Then he
turned to Ja’afar and said, “O Ja’afar, sell half of her to the
Commander of the Faithful and give him the other half; so shall ye both
be quit of your oaths.” The Caliph was delighted with this and both did
as he prescribed. Then said Al-Rashid, “Bring me the girl at once,”—
—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted
say.
Now when it was the Two Hundred and Ninety-seventh Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Caliph Harun
al-Rashid commanded, “Bring me the girl at once, for I long for her
exceedingly.” So they brought her and the Caliph said to Abu Yusuf, “I
have a mind to have her forthright; for I cannot bear to abstain from
her during the prescribed period of purification; now how is this to be
done?” Abu Yusuf replied, “Bring me one of thine own male slaves who
hath never been manumitted.” So they brought one and Abu Yusuf said,
“Give me leave to marry her to him; then let him divorce her before
consummation; and thus shall it be lawful for thee to lie with her
before purification.” This second expedient pleased the Caliph yet more
than the first; he sent for the Mameluke and, whenas he came, said to
the Kazi, “I authorise thee to marry her to him.” So the Imam proposed
the marriage to the slave, who accepted it and performed the ceremony;
after which he said to the slave, “Divorce her, and thou shalt have an
hundred dinars.” But he replied, “I won’t do this;” and the Imam went on
to increase his offer, and the slave to refuse till he bid him a
thousand dinars. Then the man asked him, “Doth it rest with me to
divorce her, or with thee or with the Commander of the Faithful?” He
answered, “It is in thy hand.” “Then by Allah,” quoth the slave, “I will
never do it; no, never!” Hearing these words the Caliph was exceeding
wroth and said to the Imam, “What is to be done, O Abu Yusuf?” Replied
he, “Be not concerned, O Commander of the Faithful; the thing is easy.
Make this slave the damsel’s chattel.” Quoth Al-Rashid, “I give him to
her;” and the Imam said to the girl, “Say:—I accept.” So she said, “I
accept;” whereon quoth Abu Yusuf, “I pronounce separation from bed and
board and divorce between them, for that he hath become her property,
and so the marriage is annulled.” With this, Al-Rashid rose to his feet
and exclaimed, “It is the like of thee that shall be Kazi in my time.”
Then he called for sundry trays of gold and emptied them before Abu
Yusuf, to whom he said, “Hast thou wherein to put this?” The Imam
bethought him of the mule’s nose-bag; so he sent for it and, filling it
with gold, took it and went home. And on the morrow, he said to his
friends, “There is no easier nor shorter road to the goods of this world
and the next, than that of religious learning; for, see, I have gotten
all this money by answering two or three questions.” So consider thou, O
polite reader,[217] the pleasantness of this anecdote, for it compriseth
divers goodly features, amongst which are the complaisance of Ja’afar to
Al-Rashid, and the wisdom of the Caliph who chose such a Kazi and the
excellent learning of Abu Yusuf, may Almighty Allah have mercy on their
souls one and all! And they also tell the
-----
Footnote 216:
A lawyer of the eighth century, one of the chief pupils of the Imam
Abu Hanifah, and Kazi of Baghdad under the third, fourth and fifth
Abbasides. The tale is told in the quasi-historical Persian work
“Nigáristán” (The Picture-gallery), and is repeated by Richardson,
Diss. 7, xiii. None seem to have remarked that the distinguished
legist, Abu Yusuf, was on this occasion a law-breaker; the Kazi’s duty
being to carry out the code, not to break it by the tricks of a
cunning attorney. In Harun’s day, however, some regard was paid to
justice; not under his successors, one of whom, Al-Muktadir bi’lláh
(A.H. 295 = 907), made the damsel Yamika President of the Diwán
al-Mazálim (Court of the Wronged), a tribunal which took cognizance of
tyranny and oppression in high places.
Footnote 217:
Here the writer evidently forgets that Shahrazad is telling the story
to the King, as Boccaccio (ii. 7) forgets that Pamfilo is speaking.
Such inconsequences are common in Eastern story-books and a
goody-goody sentiment is always heartily received as in an English
theatre.
TALE OF THE LOVER WHO FEIGNED HIMSELF A THIEF.
When Khálid ibn Abdallah al-Kasri[218] was Emir of Bassorah, there came
to him one day a company of men dragging a youth of exceeding beauty and
lofty bearing and perfumed attire; whose aspect expressed good breeding,
abundant wit and dignity of the gravest. They brought him before the
Governor, who asked what it was and they replied, “This fellow is a
thief, whom we caught last night in our dwelling-house.” Whereupon
Khalid looked at him and was pleased with his well-favouredness and
elegant aspect; so he said to the others, “Loose him,” and going up to
the young man, asked what he had to say for himself. He replied, “Verily
the folk have spoken truly and the case is as they have said.” Quoth
Khalid, “And what moved thee to this and thou so noble of port and
comely of mien?” Quoth the other “The lust after worldly good, and the
ordinance of Allah (extolled and exalted be He!).” Rejoined Khalid, “Be
thy mother bereaved of thee![219] Hadst thou not, in thy fair face and
sound sense and good breeding, what should restrain thee from thieving?”
Answered the young man, “O Emir, leave this talk and proceed to what
Almighty Allah hath ordained; this is what my hands have earned, and,
‘God is not unjust towards mankind.’”[220] So Khalid was silent awhile
considering the matter; then he bade the young man draw near him and
said, “Verily, thy confession before witnesses perplexeth me, for I
cannot believe thee to be a thief: haply thou hast some story that is
other than one of theft; and if so tell it me.” Replied the youth, “O
Emir, imagine naught other than what I have confessed to in thy
presence; for I have no tale to tell save that verily I entered these
folks’ house and stole what I could lay hands on, and they caught me and
took the stuff from me and carried me before thee.” Then Khalid bade
clap him in gaol and commanded a crier to cry throughout Bassorah, “O
yes! O yes! Whoso be minded to look upon the punishment of such an one,
the thief, and the cutting-off of his hand, let him be present to-morrow
morning at such a place!” Now when the young man found himself in
prison, with irons on his feet, he sighed heavily and with tears
streaming from his eyes extemporised these couplets:—
When Khálid menaced off to strike my hand ✿ If I refuse to tell him of
her case;
Quoth I, “Far, far fro’ me that I should tell ✿ A love, which ever shall
my heart engrace;
Loss of my hand for sin I have confessed ✿ To me were easier than to
shame her face.”
The warders heard him and went and told Khalid who, when it was dark
night, sent for the youth and conversed with him. He found him clever
and well-bred, intelligent, lively and a pleasant companion; so he
ordered him food and he ate. Then after an hour’s talk said Khalid, “I
know indeed thou hast a story to tell that is no thief’s; so when the
Kazi shall come to-morrow morning and shall question thee about this
robbery, do thou deny the charge of theft and avouch what may avert the
pain and penalty of cutting off thy hand; for the Apostle (whom Allah
bless and keep!) saith:—In cases of doubt, eschew punishment.” Then he
sent him back to prison——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and
ceased saying her permitted say.
Now when it was the Two Hundred and Ninety-eighth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Khalid, after
conversing with the youth, sent him back to prison, where he passed the
night. And when morning dawned the folk assembled to see his hand cut
off, nor was there a soul in Bassorah, man or woman, but was present to
look upon the punishment of that handsome youth. Then Khalid mounted in
company of the notables of the city and others; and, summoning all four
Kazis, sent for the young man, who came hobbling and stumbling in his
fetters. There was none saw him but wept over him and the women all
lifted up their voices in lamentation as for the dead. Then the Kazi
bade silence the women and said to the prisoner, “These folk avouch that
thou didst enter their dwelling-house and steal their goods: belike thou
stolest less than a quarter dinar[221]?” Replied he, “Nay, I stole that
and more.” “Peradventure,” rejoined the Kazi, “thou art partner with the
folk in some of the goods?” Quoth the young man; “Not so: it was all
theirs, and I had no right in it.” At this the Khalid was wroth and rose
and smote him on the face with his whip, applying to his own case this
couplet:—
Man wills his wish to him accorded be; ✿ But Allah naught accords save
what He wills.
Then he called for the butcher to do the work, who came and drew forth
his knife and taking the prisoner’s hand set the blade to it, when,
behold, a damsel pressed through the crowd of women clad in tattered
clothes,[222] and cried out and threw herself on the young man. Then she
unveiled and showed a face like the moon; whereupon the people raised a
mighty clamour and there was like to have been a riot amongst them and a
violent scene. But she cried out her loudest, saying, “I conjure thee,
by Allah, O Emir, hasten not to cut off this man’s hand, till thou have
read what is in this scroll!” So saying, she gave him a scroll, and
Khalid took it and opened it and read therein these couplets:—
“Ah Khalid! this one is a slave of love distraught, ✿ And these bowed
eyelashes sent shaft that caused his grief:
Shot him an arrow sped by eyes of mine, for he, ✿ Wedded to burning
love, of ills hath no relief:
He hath avowed a deed he never did, the while ✿ Deeming this better than
disgrace of lover lief:
Bear then, I pray, with this distracted lover mine ✿ Whose noble nature
falsely calls himself a thief!”
When Khalid had read these lines; he withdrew himself from the people
and summoned the girl and questioned her; and she told him that the
young man was her lover and she his mistress; and that thinking to visit
her he came to the dwelling of her people and threw a stone into the
house, to warn her of his coming. Her father and brothers heard the
noise of the stone and sallied out on him; but he, hearing them coming,
caught up all the household stuff and made himself appear a robber to
cover his mistress’s honour. “Now when they saw him they seized him
(continued she), crying:—A thief! and brought him before thee, whereupon
he confessed to the robbery and persisted in his confession, that he
might spare me disgrace; and this he did, making himself a thief, of the
exceeding nobility and generosity of his nature.” Khalid answered, “He
is indeed worthy to have his desire;” and, calling the young man to him,
kissed him between the eyes. Then he sent for the girl’s father and
bespoke him, saying, “O Shaykh, we thought to carry out the law of
mutilation in the case of this young man; but Allah (to whom be Honour
and Glory!) hath preserved us from this, and I now adjudge him the sum
of ten thousand dirhams, for that he would have given his hand for the
preservation of thine honour and that of thy daughter and for the
sparing of shame to you both. Moreover, I adjudge other ten thousand
dirhams to thy daughter, for that she made known to me the truth of the
case; and I ask thy leave to marry her to him.” Rejoined the old man, “O
Emir, thou hast my consent.” So Khalid praised Allah and thanked Him and
improved the occasion by preaching a goodly sermon and a prayerful;——And
Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
Now when it was the Two Hundred and Ninety-ninth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Khalid praised
Allah and thanked Him and improved the occasion by preaching a goodly
sermon and a prayerful; after which he said to the young man, “I give
thee to wife the damsel, such an one here present, with her own
permission and her father’s consent; and her wedding settlement shall be
this money, to wit, ten thousand dirhams.” “I accept this marriage at
thy hands,” replied the youth; and Khalid bade them carry the money on
brass trays in procession to the young man’s house, whilst the people
dispersed, fully satisfied. “And surely (quoth he who tells the
tale[223]) never saw I a rarer day than this, for that it began with
tears and annoy; and it ended with smiles and joy.” And in contrast of
this story is this piteous tale of
-----
Footnote 218:
In the Mac. Edit. (ii. 182) “Al-Kushayri.” Al-Kasri was Governor of
the two Iraks (_i.e._ Bassorah and Cufa) in the reign of Al-Hisham,
tenth Ommiade (A.D. 723-741).
Footnote 219:
Arab. “Thakalata-k Ummak!” This is not so much a curse as a playful
phrase, like “Confound the fellow.” So “Kátala-k Allah” (Allah slay
thee) and “Lá abá lak” (thou hast no father or mother). These words
are even complimentary on occasions, as a good shot or a fine
recitation, meaning that the praised far excels the rest of his tribe.
Footnote 220:
Koran, iii. 178.
Footnote 221:
Arab. “Al-Nisáb” = the minimum sum (about half-a-crown) for which
mutilation of the hand is prescribed by religious law. The punishment
was truly barbarous, it chastised a rogue by means which prevented
hard honest labour for the rest of his life.
Footnote 222:
To show her grief.