Abú Sa’íd Abd al-Malik bin Kurayb, surnamed Al-Asma’i from his
grandfather, flor. A.H. 122-306 (= 739-830) and wrote amongst a host
of compositions the well-known Romance of Antar. See in D’Herbelot the
right royal directions given to him by Harun al-Rashid.
JA’AFAR THE BARMECIDE AND THE BEAN-SELLER.
When Harun al-Rashid crucified Ja’afar the Barmecide[224] he commanded
that all who wept or made moan for him should also be crucified; so the
folk abstained from that. Now it chanced that a wild Arab, who dwelt in
a distant wold, used every year to bring to the aforesaid Ja’afar an
ode[225] in his honour, for which he rewarded him with a thousand
dinars; and the Badawi took them and, returning to his own country,
lived upon them, he and his family, for the rest of the year.
Accordingly, he came with his ode at the wonted time and, finding that
Ja’afar had been crucified, betook himself to the place where his body
was hanging, and there made his camel kneel down and wept with sore
weeping and mourned with grievous mourning; and he recited his ode and
fell asleep. Presently Ja’afar the Barmecide appeared to him in a vision
and said, “Verily thou hast wearied thyself to come to us and findest us
as thou seest; but go to Bassorah and ask for a man there whose name is
such and such, one of the merchants of the town, and say to
him:—Ja’afar, the Barmecide, saluteth thee and biddeth thee give me a
thousand dinars, by the token of the bean.” Now when the wild Arab
awoke, he repaired to Bassorah, where he sought out the merchant and
found him and repeated to him what Ja’afar had said in the dream;
whereupon he wept with weeping so sore that he was like to depart the
world. Then he welcomed the Badawi and seated him by his side and made
his stay pleasant and entertained him three days as an honoured guest;
and when he was minded to depart he gave him a thousand and five hundred
dinars, saying, “The thousand are what is commanded to thee, and the
five hundred are a gift from me to thee; and every year thou shalt have
of me a thousand gold pieces.” Now when the Arab was about to take
leave, he said to the merchant, “Allah upon thee, tell me the story of
the bean, that I may know the origin of all this.” He answered:—In the
early part of my life I was poor and hawked hot beans[226] about the
streets of Baghdad to keep me alive. So I went out one raw and rainy
day, without clothes enough on my body to protect me from the weather;
now shivering for excess of cold and now stumbling into the pools of
rain-water, and altogether in so piteous a plight as would make me
shudder with goose-skin to look upon. But it chanced that Ja’afar that
day was seated with his officers and his concubines, in an upper chamber
overlooking the street when his eyes fell on me; so he took pity on my
case and, sending one of his dependents to fetch me to him, said as soon
as he saw me, “Sell thy beans to my people.” So I began to mete out the
beans with a measure I had by me; and each who took a measure of beans
filled the measure with gold pieces till all my store was gone and my
basket was clean empty. Then I gathered together the gold I had gotten,
and Ja’afar said to me, “Hast thou any beans left?” “I know not,”
answered I, and then sought in the basket, but found only one bean. So
Ja’afar took from me the single bean and, splitting it in twain, kept
one half himself and gave the other to one of his concubines, saying,
“For how much wilt thou buy this half bean?” She replied, “For the tale
of all this gold twice-told;” whereat I was confounded and said to
myself, “This is impossible.” But, as I stood wondering, behold, she
gave an order to one of her handmaids and the girl brought me the sum of
the collected monies twice-told. Then said Ja’afar, “And I will buy the
half I have by me for double the sum of the whole,” presently adding,
“Now take the price of thy bean.” And he gave an order to one of his
servants, who gathered together the whole of the money and laid it in my
basket; and I took it and went my ways. Then I betook myself to
Bassorah, where I traded with the monies and Allah prospered me amply,
to Him be the praise and the thanks! So, if I give thee every year a
thousand dinars of the bounty of Ja’afar, it will in no wise injure me.
Consider then the munificence of Ja’afar’s nature and how he was praised
both alive and dead, the mercy of Allah Almighty be upon him! And men
also recount the tale of
-----
Footnote 224:
There are many accounts of his death; but it is generally held that he
was first beheaded. The story in the text is also variously told and
the Persian “Nigáristán” adds some unpleasant comments upon the House
of Abbas. The Persians, for reasons which will be explained in the
terminal Essay, show the greatest sympathy with the Barmecides; and
abominate the Abbasides even more than the latter detested the
Ommiades.
Footnote 225:
Not written, as the European reader would suppose.
Footnote 226:
Arab. “Fúl al-hárr” = beans like horsebeans soaked and boiled as
opposed to the “Fúl Mudammas” (esp. of Egypt) = unshelled beans
steamed and boiled all night and eaten with linseed oil as “kitchen”
or relish. Lane (M. E., chapt. v.) calls them after the debased
Cairene pronunciation, Mudemmes. A legend says that, before the days
of Pharaoh (always he of Moses), the Egyptians lived on pistachios
which made them a witty, lively race. But the tyrant remarking that
the domestic ass, which eats beans, is degenerate from the wild ass,
uprooted the pistachio-trees and compelled the lieges to feed on beans
which made them a heavy, gross, cowardly people fit only for burdens.
Badawis deride “bean-eaters” although they do not loathe the pulse
like onions. The principal result of a bean diet is an extraordinary
development of flatulence both in stomach and intestines: hence,
possibly, Pythagoras who had studied ceremonial purity in Egypt,
forbade the use, unless he referred to venery or political business. I
was once sitting in the Greek quarter of Cairo dressed as a Moslem
when arose a prodigious hubbub of lads and boys, surrounding a couple
of Fellahs. These men had been working in the fields about a mile east
of Cairo; and, when returning home, one had said to the other, “If
thou wilt carry the hoes I will break wind once for every step we
take.” He was as good as his word and when they were to part he cried,
“And now for thy bakhshish!” which consisted of a volley of fifty,
greatly to the delight of the boys.
ABU MOHAMMED HIGHT LAZYBONES.
It is told that Harun al-Rashid was sitting one day on the throne of the
Caliphate, when there came in to him a youth of his eunuchry, bearing a
crown of red gold, set with pearls and rubies and all manner of other
gems and jewels, such as money might not buy; and, bussing the ground
between his hands, said, “O Commander of the Faithful, the Lady Zubaydah
kisseth the earth before thee”——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day
and ceased to say her permitted say. Whereupon quoth her sister
Dunyazad, “How pleasant is thy tale and profitable; and how sweet is thy
speech and how delectable!” “And where is this,” replied Shahrazad,
“compared with what I shall tell you next night an I live and the King
grant me leave!” Thereupon quoth the King to himself, “By Allah, I will
not slay her until I hear the end of her tale.”
Now when it was the Three Hundredth Night,
Quoth Dunyazad, “Favour us, O my sister, with thy tale,” and she
replied, “With joy and good will, if the King accord me leave;”
whereupon the King said, “Tell thy tale, O Shahrazad.” So she
pursued:—It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the youth said to
the Caliph, “The Lady Zubaydah kisseth the earth before thee and saith
to thee, Thou knowest she hath bidden make this crown, which lacketh a
great jewel for its dome-top; and she hath made search among her
treasures, but cannot find a jewel of size to suit her mind.” Quoth the
Caliph to his Chamberlains and Viceregents, “Make search for a great
jewel, such as Zubaydah desireth.” So they sought, but found nothing
befitting her and told the Caliph who, vexed and annoyed thereat,
exclaimed, “How am I Caliph and King of the Kings of the earth and
cannot find so small a matter as a jewel? Woe to you! Ask of the
merchants.” So they enquired of the traders, who replied, “Our lord the
Caliph will not find a jewel such as he requireth save with a man of
Bassorah, by name Abú Mohammed hight Lazybones.” Thereupon they
acquainted the Caliph with this and he bade his Wazir Ja’afar send a
note to the Emir Mohammed al-Zubaydí, Governor of Bassorah, commanding
him to equip Abu Mohammed Lazybones and bring him into the presence of
the Commander of the Faithful. The Minister accordingly wrote a note to
that effect and despatched it by Masrur, who set out forthright for the
city of Bassorah, and went in to the Emir Mohammed al-Zubaydi, who
rejoiced in him and treated him with the highmost honour. Then Masrur
read him the mandate of the Prince of True Believers, Harun al-Rashid,
to which he replied, “I hear and I obey,” and forthwith despatched him,
with a company of his followers, to Abu Mohammed’s house. When they
reached it, they knocked at the door, whereupon a page came out and
Masrur said to him, “Tell thy lord, The Commander of the Faithful
summoneth thee.” The servant went in and told his master, who came out
and found Masrur, the Caliph’s Chamberlain, and a company of the
Governor’s men at the door. So he kissed ground before Masrur and said,
“I hear and obey the summons of the Commander of the Faithful; but first
enter ye my house.” They replied, “We cannot do that, save in haste;
even as the Prince of True Believers commanded us, for he awaiteth thy
coming.” But he said, “Have patience with me a little, till I set my
affairs in order.” So after much pressure and abundant persuasion, they
entered the house with him and found the vestibule hung with curtains of
azure brocade, purfled with red gold, and Abu Mohammed Lazybones bade
one of his servants carry Masrur to the private Hammam. Now this bath
was in the house and Masrur found its walls and floors of rare and
precious marbles, wrought with gold and silver, and its waters mingled
with rose-water. Then the servants served Masrur and his company with
the perfection of service; and, on their going forth of the Hammam, clad
them in robes of honour, brocade-work interwoven with gold. And after
leaving the bath Masrur and his men went in to Abu Mohammed Lazybones
and found him seated in his upper chamber; and over his head hung
curtains of gold-brocade, wrought with pearls and jewels, and the
pavilion was spread with cushions, embroidered in red gold. Now the
owner was sitting softly upon a quilted cloth covering a settee inlaid
with stones of price; and, when he saw Masrur, he went forward to meet
him and bidding him welcome, seated him by his side. Then he called for
the food-trays; so they brought them, and when Masrur saw the tables, he
exclaimed, “By Allah, never did I behold the like of these appointments
in the palace of the Commander of the Faithful!” For indeed the trays
contained every manner of meat all served in dishes of gilded
porcelain.[227] So we ate and drank and made merry till the end of the
day (quoth Masrur) when the host gave to each and every of us five
thousand dinars; and on the morrow he clad us in dresses of honour of
green and gold and entreated us with the utmost worship. Then said
Masrur to him, “We can tarry no longer for fear of the Caliph’s
displeasure.” Answered Abu Mohammed Lazybones, “O my lord, have patience
with us till the morrow, that we may equip ourselves, and we will then
depart with you.” So they tarried with him that day and slept the night;
and next morning Abu Mohammed’s servants saddled him a she-mule with
selle and trappings of gold, set with all manner of pearls and stones of
price; whereupon quoth Masrur to himself, “I wonder when Abu Mohammed
shall present himself in such equipage, if the Caliph will ask him how
he came by all this wealth.” Thereupon they took leave of Al-Zubaydi
and, setting out from Bassorah, fared on, without ceasing to fare till
they reached Baghdad-city and presented themselves before the Caliph,
who bade Abu Mohammed be seated. He sat down and addressed the Caliph in
courtly phrase, saying, “O Commander of the Faithful, I have brought
with me an humble offering by way of homage: have I thy gracious
permission to produce it?” Al-Rashid replied, “There is no harm in
that,”[228] whereupon Abu Mohammed bade his men bring in a chest, from
which he took a number of rarities, and amongst the rest, trees of gold
with leaves of white emerald,[229] and fruits of pigeon-blood rubies and
topazes and new pearls and bright. And as the Caliph was struck with
admiration he fetched a second chest and brought out of it a tent of
brocade, crowned with pearls and jacinths and emeralds and jaspers and
other precious stones; its poles were of freshly-cut Hindi aloes-wood,
and its skirts were set with the greenest smaragds. Thereon were
depicted all manner of animals such as beasts and birds, spangled with
precious stones, rubies, emeralds, chrysolites and balasses and every
kind of precious metal. Now when Al-Rashid saw these things, he rejoiced
with exceeding joy and Abu Mohammed Lazybones said to him, “O Commander
of the Faithful, deem not that I have brought these to thee, fearing
aught or coveting anything; but I knew myself to be but a man of the
people and that such things befitted none save the Commander of the
Faithful. And now, with thy leave, I will show thee, for thy diversion,
something of what I can do.” Al-Rashid replied, “Do what thou wilt, that
we may see.” “To hear is to obey,” said Abu Mohammed and, moving his
lips, beckoned the palace battlements,[230] whereupon they inclined to
him; then he made another sign to them, and they returned to their
place. Presently he made a sign with his eye, and there appeared before
him closets with closed doors, to which he spoke, and lo! the voices of
birds answered him from within. The Caliph marvelled with passing marvel
at this and said to him, “How camest thou by all this, seeing that thou
art known only as Abu Mohammed Lazybones, and they tell me that thy
father was a cupper, serving in a public Hammam, who left thee nothing?”
Whereupon he answered, Listen to my story——And Shahrazad perceived the
dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
Now when it was the Three Hundred and First Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Abu Mohammed
Lazybones thus spake to the Caliph:—O Prince of True Believers, listen
to my story, for it is a marvellous and its particulars are wondrous;
were it graven with graver-needles upon the eye-corners it were a warner
to whoso would be warned. Quoth Al-Rashid, “Let us hear all thou hast to
say, O Abu Mohammed!” So he began:—Know then, O Commander of the
Faithful (Allah prolong to thee glory and dominion!), the report of the
folk, that I am known as the Lazybones and that my father left me
nothing, is true; for he was, as thou hast said, nothing but a
barber-cupper in a Hammam. And I throughout my youth was the idlest
wight on the face of the earth; indeed, so great was my sluggishness
that, if I lay at full length in the sultry season and the sun came
round upon me, I was too lazy to rise and remove from the sun to the
shade. And thus I abode till I reached my fifteenth year, when my father
deceased in the mercy of Allah Almighty and left me nothing. However, my
mother used to go out a-charing and feed me and give me to drink, whilst
I lay on my side. Now it came to pass that one day she came in to me
with five silver dirhams, and said to me, “O my son, I hear that Shaykh
Abú al-Muzaffar[231] is about to go a voyage to China.” (Now this Shaykh
was a good and charitable man who loved the poor.) “So come, O my son,
take these five silver bits; and let us both carry them to him and beg
him to buy thee therewith somewhat from the land of China; so haply thou
mayst make a profit of it by the bounty of Allah, whose name be
exalted!” I was too idle to move for her; but she swore by the Almighty
that, except I rose and went with her, she would bring me neither meat
nor drink nor come in to me, but would leave me to die of hunger and
thirst. Now when I heard her words, O Commander of the Faithful, I knew
she would do as she threatened for her knowledge of my sluggishness; so
I said to her, “Help me to sit up.” She did so, and I wept the while and
said to her, “Bring me my shoes.” Accordingly, she brought them and I
said, “Put them on my feet.” She put them on my feet and I said, “Lift
me up off the ground.” So she lifted me up and I said, “Support me, that
I may walk.” So she supported me and I continued to fare a-foot, at
times stumbling over my skirts, till we came to the river-bank, where we
saluted the Shaykh and I said to him, “O my uncle, art thou Abu
al-Muzaffar?” “At thy service,” answered he, and I, “Take these dirhams
and with them buy me somewhat from the land of China: haply Allah may
vouchsafe me a profit of it.” Quoth the Shaykh to his companions, “Do ye
know this youth?” They answered, “Yes, he is known as Abu Mohammed
Lazybones, and we never saw him stir from his house till this moment.”
Then said he to me, “O my son, give me the silver with the blessing of
Almighty Allah!” So he took the money, saying, “Bismillah—in the name of
Allah!”—and I returned home with my mother. Presently Shaykh Abu
al-Muzaffar set sail, with a company of merchants, and stayed not till
they reached the land of China, where he and his bought and sold; and,
having won what they wished, set out on their homeward voyage. When they
had been three days at sea, the Shaykh said to his company, “Stay the
vessel!” They asked, “What dost thou want?” and he answered, “Know that
I have forgotten the commission wherewith Abu Mohammed Lazybones charged
me; so let us turn back that we may lay out his money on somewhat
whereby he may profit.” They cried, “We conjure thee, by Allah Almighty
turn not back with us; for we have traversed a long distance and a sore,
and while so doing we have endured sad hardship and many terrors.” Quoth
he, “There is no help for it but we return;” and they said, “Take from
us double the profit of the five dirhams, and turn us not back.” He
agreed to this and they collected for him an ample sum of money.
Thereupon they sailed on, till they came to an island wherein was much
people; when they moored thereto and the merchants went ashore, to buy
thence a stock of precious metals and pearls and jewels and so forth.
Presently Abu al-Muzaffar saw a man seated, with many apes before him,
and amongst them one whose hair had been plucked off; and as often as
their owner’s attention was diverted from them, the other apes fell upon
the plucked one and beat him and threw him on their master; whereupon
the man rose and bashed them and bound them and punished them for this;
and all the apes were wroth with the plucked ape on this account and
tunded him the more. When Shaykh Abu al-Muzaffar saw this, he felt for
and took compassion upon the plucked ape and said to his master, “Wilt
thou sell me yonder monkey?” Replied the man, “Buy,” and Abu al-Muzaffar
rejoined, “I have with me five dirhams, belonging to an orphan lad. Wilt
thou sell it me for that sum?” Answered the monkey-merchant, “It is a
bargain; and Allah give thee a blessing of him!” So he made over the
beast and received his money; and the Shaykh’s slaves took the ape and
tied him up in the ship. Then they loosed sail and made for another
island, where they cast anchor; and there came down divers, who plunged
for precious stones, pearls and other gems; so the merchants hired them
to dive for money and they dived. Now when the ape saw them doing this,
he loosed himself from his bonds and, jumping off the ship’s side,
plunged with them, whereupon quoth Abu al-Muzaffar, “There is no Majesty
and there is no Might, save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great! The
monkey is lost to us with the luck of the poor fellow for whom we bought
him.” And they despaired of him; but, after a while, the company of
divers rose to the surface, and behold, among them was the ape, with his
hands full of jewels of price, which he threw down before Abu
al-Muzaffar. The Shaykh marvelled at this and said, “There is much
mystery in this monkey!” Then they cast off and sailed till they came to
a third island, called the Isle of the Zunúj,[232] who are a people of
the blacks, which eat the flesh of the sons of Adam. When the blacks saw
them, they boarded them in dug-outs[233] and, taking all in the vessel,
pinioned them and carried them to their King, who bade slaughter certain
of the merchants. So they slaughtered them by cutting their throats and
ate their flesh; and the rest of the traders passed the night in bonds
and were in sore concern. But when it was midnight, the ape arose and
going up to Abu al-Muzaffar, loosed his bonds; and, as the others saw
him free, they said, “Allah grant our deliverance may be at thy hands, O
Abu al-Muzaffar!” But he replied, “Know, that he who delivered me, by
leave of Allah Almighty, was none other than this monkey”——And Shahrazad
perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
Now when it was the Three Hundred and Second Night,