of mixed metal, not of copper.
[Illustration]
GENEROUS DEALING OF YAHYA BIN KHALID THE BARMECIDE WITH MANSUR.
It is told that Harun al-Rashid, in the days before he became jealous of
the Barmecides, sent once for one of his guards, Sálih by name, and said
to him, “O Salih, go to Mansúr[246] and say to him:—Thou owest us a
thousand thousand dirhams and we require of thee immediate payment of
this amount. And I command thee, O Salih, unless he pay it between this
hour and sundown, sever his head from his body and bring it to me.” “To
hear is to obey,” answered Salih and, going to Mansur, acquainted him
with what the Caliph had said; whereupon quoth he, “I am a lost man, by
Allah; for all my estate and all my hand owneth, if sold for their
utmost value, would not fetch a price of more than an hundred thousand
dirhams. Whence then, O Salih, shall I get the other nine hundred
thousand?” Salih replied, “Contrive how thou mayst speedily acquit
thyself, else thou art a dead man; for I cannot grant thee an
eye-twinkling of delay after the time appointed me by the Caliph; nor
can I fail of aught which the Prince of True Believers hath enjoined on
me. Hasten, therefore, to devise some means of saving thyself ere the
time expire.” Quoth Mansur, “O Salih, I beg thee of thy favour to bring
me to my house, that I may take leave of my children and family and give
my kinsfolk my last injunctions.” Now Salih relateth:—So I went with him
to his house where he fell to bidding his family farewell, and the house
was filled with a clamour of weeping and lamentations and calling for
help on Almighty Allah. Thereupon I said to him, “I have bethought me
that Allah may haply vouchsafe thee relief at the hands of the
Barmecides. Come, let us go to the house of Yáhyá bin Khálid.” So we
went to Yahya’s house, and Mansur told him his case, whereat he was sore
concerned and bowed him groundwards for a while; then raising his head,
he called his treasurer and said to him, “How much have we in our
treasury?” “A matter of five thousand dirhams,” answered the treasurer,
and Yahya bade him bring them and sent a messenger to his son, Al-Fazl,
saying, “I am offered for sale a splendid estate which may never be laid
waste; so send me somewhat of money.” Al-Fazl sent him a thousand
thousand dirhams, and he despatched a messenger with a like message to
his son Ja’afar, saying, “We have a matter of much moment and for it we
want money;” whereupon Ja’afar at once sent him a thousand thousand
dirhams; nor did Yahya leave sending to his kinsmen of the Barmecides,
till he had collected from them a great sum of money for Mansur. But
Salih and the debtor knew not of this; and Mansur said to Yahya, “O my
lord, I have laid hold upon thy skirt, for I know not whither to look
for the money but to thee, in accordance with thy wonted generosity; so
discharge thou the rest of my debt for me and make me thy freed slave.”
Thereupon Yahya hung down his head and wept; then he said to a page,
“Harkye, boy, the Commander of the Faithful gave our slave-girl Danánír
a jewel of great price: go thou to her and bid her send it to us.” The
page went out and presently returned with the jewel, whereupon quoth
Yahya, “O Mansur, I bought this jewel of the merchant for the Commander
of the Faithful, at a price of two hundred thousand dinars,[247] and he
gave it to our slave-girl Dananir, the lute-player; and when he sees it
with thee, he will know it and spare thy blood and do thee honour for
our sake; and now, O Mansur, verily thy money is complete.” (Salih
continued) So I took the money and the jewel and carried them to
Al-Rashid together with Mansur, but on the way I heard him repeat this
couplet, applying it to his own case:—
‘Twas not of love that fared my feet to them; ✿ ‘Twas that I feared me
lest they shoot their shafts!
Now when I heard this, I marvelled at his evil nature and his depravity
and mischief-making and his ignoble birth and provenance and, turning
upon him, I said, “There is none on the face of the earth better or more
righteous than the Barmecides, nor any baser nor more wrongous than
thou; for they bought thee off from death and delivered thee from
destruction, giving thee what should save thee; yet thou thankest them
not nor praisest them, neither acquittest thee after the manner of the
noble; nay, thou meetest their benevolence with this speech.” Then I
went to Al-Rashid and acquainted him with all that had passed——And
Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
Now when it was the Three Hundred and Sixth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Salih
continued:—So I acquainted the Commander of the Faithful with all that
passed and Al-Rashid marvelled at the generosity and benevolence of
Yahya and the vileness and ingratitude of Mansur and bade restore the
jewel to Yahya, saying, “Whatso we have given it befitteth us not to
take again.” After that Salih returned to Yahya, and acquainted him with
the tale of Mansur and his ill-conduct; whereupon replied he, “O Salih,
when a man is in want, sick at heart and sad of thought, he is not to be
blamed for aught that falleth from him; for it cometh not from the
heart;” and on this wise he took to seeking excuse for Mansur. But Salih
wept and exclaimed, “Never shall the revolving heavens bring forth into
being the like of thee, O Yahya! Alas, and well-away, that one of such
noble nature and generosity should be laid in the dust!” And he repeated
these two couplets:—
Haste to do kindness thou dost intend; ✿ Thou canst not always on boons
expend:
How many from bounty themselves withheld, ✿ Till means of bounty had
come to end!
And men tell another tale of the
-----
Footnote 246:
Mansur al-Nimrí, a poet of the time and a protégé of Yahya’s son,
Al-Fazl.
Footnote 247:
This was at least four times Mansur’s debt.
GENEROUS DEALING OF YAHYA SON OF KHALID WITH A MAN WHO FORGED A LETTER
IN HIS NAME.
There was between Yahyá bin Khálid and Abdullah bin Málik
al-Khuzá’i[248] an enmity which they kept secret; the reason of the
hatred being that Harun al-Rashid loved Abdullah with exceeding love, so
that Yahya and his sons were wont to say that he had bewitched the
Commander of the Faithful. And thus they abode a long while, with
rancour in their hearts, till it fell out that the Caliph invested
Abdullah with the government of Armenia[249] and despatched him thither.
Now soon after he had settled himself in his seat of government, there
came to him one of the people of Irak, a man of good breeding and
excellent parts and abundant cleverness; but he had lost his money and
wasted his wealth and his estate was come to ill case; so he forged a
letter to Abdullah bin Malik in the name of Yahya bin Khalid and set out
therewith for Armenia. Now when he came to the Governor’s gate, he gave
the letter to one of the Chamberlains, who took it and carried it to his
master. Abdullah opened it and read it and, considering it attentively,
knew it to be forged; so he sent for the man, who presented himself
before him and called down blessings upon him and praised him and those
of his court. Quoth Abdullah to him, “What moved thee to weary thyself
on this wise and bring me a forged letter? But be of good heart; for we
will not disappoint thy travail.” Replied the other, “Allah prolong the
life of our lord the Wazir! If my coming annoy thee, cast not about for
a pretext to repel me, for Allah’s earth is wide and He who giveth daily
bread still liveth. Indeed, the letter I bring thee from Yahya bin
Khalid is true and no forgery.” Quoth Abdullah, “I will write a letter
to my agent[250] at Baghdad and command him enquire concerning this same
letter. If it be true, as thou sayest, and genuine and not forged by
thee, I will bestow on thee the Emir-ship of one of my cities; or, if
thou prefer a present, I will give thee two hundred thousand dirhams,
besides horses and camels of price and a robe of honour. But, if the
letter prove a forgery, I will order thou be beaten with two hundred
blows of a stick and thy beard be shaven.” So Abdullah bade confine him
in a chamber and furnish him therein with all he needed, till his case
should be made manifest. Then he despatched a letter to his agent at
Baghdad, to the following effect:—“There is come to me a man with a
letter purporting to be from Yahya bin Khalid. Now I have my suspicions
of this letter: therefore delay thou not in the matter, but go thyself
and look carefully into the case and let me have an answer with all
speed, in order that we may know what is true and what is untrue.” When
the letter reached Baghdad, the agent mounted at once——And Shahrazad
perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
Now when it was the Three Hundred and Seventh Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the agent of
Abdullah son of Malik al-Khuza’i, on receipt of the letter at Baghdad,
mounted at once and repaired to the house of Yahya bin Khalid, whom he
found sitting with his officers and boon-companions. After the usual
salute he gave him the letter and Yahya read it and said to the agent,
“Come back to me to-morrow for my written answer.” Now when the agent
had gone away, Yahya turned to his companions and said, “What doth he
deserve who forgeth a letter in my name and carrieth it to my foe?” They
answered all and each, saying this and that, and every one proposing
some kind of punishment; but Yahya said, “Ye err in that ye say and this
your counsel is of the baseness of your spirits and the meanness of your
minds. Ye all know the close favour of Abdullah with the Caliph and ye
weet of what is between him and us of anger and enmity; and now Almighty
Allah hath made this man the means of reconciliation between us; and
hath fitted him for such purpose and hath appointed him to quench the
fire of ire in our hearts, which hath been growing these twenty years;
and by his means our differences shall be adjusted. Wherefore it
behoveth me to requite such man by verifying his assertion and amending
his estate; so I will write him a letter to Abdullah son of Malik,
praying that he may use him with increase of honour and continue to him
his liberality.” Now when his companions heard what he said, they called
down blessings on him and marvelled at his generosity and the greatness
of his magnanimity. Then he called for paper and ink and wrote Abdullah
a letter in his own hand, to the following effect:—“In the name of
Allah, the Compassionating, the Compassionate! Of a truth thy letter
hath reached me (Allah give thee long life!) and I am glad to hear of
thy safety and am pleased to be assured of thine immunity and
prosperity. It was thy thought that a certain worthy man had forged a
letter in my name and that he was not the bearer of any message from the
same; but the case is not so, for the letter I myself wrote, and it was
no forgery; and I hope, of thy courtesy and consideration and the
nobility of thy nature, that thou wilt gratify this generous and
excellent man of his hope and wish, and honour him with the honour he
deserveth and bring him to his desire and make him the special object of
thy favour and munificence. Whatso thou dost with him, it is to me that
thou dost the kindness, and I am thankful to thee accordingly.” Then he
superscribed the letter and after sealing it, delivered it to the agent,
who despatched it to Abdullah. Now when the Governor read it, he was
charmed with its contents, and sending for the man, said to him,
“Whichever of the two promised boons is the more acceptable to thee that
will I give thee.” The man replied, “The money gift were more acceptable
to me than aught else,” whereupon Abdullah ordered him two hundred
thousand dirhams and ten Arab horses, five with housings of silk and
other five with richly ornamented saddles, used in state processions;
besides twenty chests of clothes and ten mounted white slaves and a
proportionate quantity of jewels of price. Moreover, he bestowed on him
a dress of honour and sent him to Baghdad in great splendour. So when he
came thither, he repaired to the door of Yahya’s house, before he went
to his own folk, and craved permission to enter and have audience. The
Chamberlain went in to Yahya and said to him, “O my lord, there is one
at the door who craveth speech of thee; and he is a man of apparent
wealth, courteous in manner, comely of aspect and attended by many
servants.” Then Yahya bade admit him; and, when he entered and kissed
the ground before him, Yahya asked him, “Who art thou?” He answered,
“Hear me, O my lord, I am he who was done dead by the tyranny of
fortune, but thou didst raise me to life again from the grave of
calamities and exalt me to the paradise of my desires. I am the man who
forged a letter in thy name and carried it to Abdullah bin Malik
al-Khuza’i.” Yahya asked, “How hath he dealt with thee and what did he
give thee?”; and the man answered, “He hath given me, thanks to thy hand
and thy great liberality and benevolence and to thy comprehensive
kindness and lofty magnanimity and thine all-embracing generosity, that
which hath made me a wealthy man and he hath distinguished me with his
gifts and favours. And now I have brought all that he gave me and here
it is at thy door; for it is thine to decide and the command is in thy
hand.” Rejoined Yahya, “Thou hast done me better service than I did thee
and I owe thee a heavy debt of gratitude and every gift the white
hand[251] can give, for that thou hast changed into love and amity the
hate and enmity that were between me and a man whom I respect and
esteem. Wherefore I will give thee the like of what Abdullah bin Malik
gave thee.” Then he ordered him money and horses and chests of apparel,
such as Abdullah had given him; and thus that man’s fortune was restored
to him by the munificence of these two generous ones. And folk also
relate the tale of the
-----
Footnote 248:
Intendant of the Palace to Harun al-Rashid. The Bres. Edit. (vii. 254)
begins, “They tell that there arose full enmity between Ja’afar
Barmecide and a Sahib of Misr” (Wazir or Governor of Egypt). Lane (ii.
429) quotes to this purpose amongst Arab historians Fakhr al-Dín (De
Sacy’s Chrestomathie Arabe i., p. 26, edit. ii.).
Footnote 249:
Arab. “Armaníyah” which Egyptians call after their mincing fashion
“Irminiyeh:” hence “Ermine” (Mus Ponticus). Armaniyah was much more
extensive than our Armenia, now degraded to a mere province of Turkey,
and the term is understood to include the whole of the old Parthian
Empire.
Footnote 250:
Even now each Pasha-governor must keep a “Wakíl” in Constantinople to
intrigue and bribe for him at head-quarters.
Footnote 251:
The symbol of generosity, of unasked liberality, the “black hand”
being that of niggardness.
CALIPH AL-MAAMUN AND THE STRANGE SCHOLAR
It is said of Al-Maamun that, among the Caliphs of the house of Abbas,
there was none more accomplished in all branches of knowledge than he.
Now on two days in each week, he was wont to preside at conferences of
the learned, when the lawyers and theologians disputed in his presence,
each sitting in his several rank and room. One day as he sat thus, there
came into the assembly a stranger, clad in ragged white clothes, who
took seat in an obscure place behind the doctors of the law. Then the
assembly began to speak and debate difficult questions, it being the
custom that the various propositions should be submitted to each in
turn, and that whoso bethought him of some subtle addition or rare
conceit, should make mention of it. So the question went round till it
came to the strange man, who spake in his turn and made a goodlier
answer than any of the doctors’ replies; and the Caliph approved his
speech.——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her
permitted say.
Now when it was the Three Hundred and Eighth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Caliph
Al-Maamun approved his speech and ordered him to come up from his low
place to a high stead. Now when the second question came to him, he made
a still more notable answer, and Al-Maamun ordered him to be preferred
to a yet higher seat; and when the third question reached him, he made
answer more justly and appropriately than on the two previous occasions,
and Al-Maamun bade him come up and sit near himself. Presently the
discussion ended when water was brought and they washed their hands;
after which food was set on and they ate; and the doctors arose and
withdrew; but Al-Maamun forbade the stranger to depart with them and,
calling him to himself, treated him with especial favour and promised
him honour and profit. Thereupon they made ready the séance of wassail;
the fair-faced cup-companions came and the pure wine[252] went round
amongst them, till the cup came to the stranger, who rose to his feet
and spake thus, “If the Commander of the Faithful permit me, I will say
one word.” Answered the Caliph, “Say what thou wilt.” Quoth the man,
“Verily the Exalted Intelligence (whose eminence Allah increase!)
knoweth that his slave was this day, in the august assembly, one of the
unknown folk and of the meanest of the company; and the Commander of the
Faithful raised his rank and brought him near to himself, little as were
the wit and wisdom he displayed, preferring him above the rest and
advancing him to a station and a degree whereto his thought aspired not.
But now he is minded to part him from that small portion of intellect
which raised him high from his lowness and made him great after his
littleness. Heaven forfend and forbid that the Commander of the Faithful
should envy his slave what little he hath of understanding and worth and
renown! Now, if his slave should drink wine, his reason would depart far
from him and ignorance draw near to him and steal away his good
breeding; so would he revert to that low and contemptible degree, whence
he sprang, and become ridiculous and despicable in the eyes of the folk.
I hope, therefore, that the August Intelligence, of his power and bounty
and royal generosity and magnanimity, will not despoil his slave of this
jewel.” When the Caliph Al-Maamun heard his speech, he praised him and
thanked him and making him sit down again in his place, showed him high
honour and ordered him a present of an hundred thousand silver pieces.
Moreover he mounted him upon a horse and gave him rich apparel; and in
every assembly he was wont to exalt him and show him favour over all the
other doctors of law and religion till he became the highest of them all
in rank. And Allah is All-knowing.[253] Men also tell a tale of
-----
Footnote 252:
Arab. “Ráh” = pure (and old) wine. Arabs, like our classics, usually
drank their wine tempered. So Imr al-Kays in his Mu’allakah says,
“Bring the well-tempered wine, that seems to be saffron-tinctured;
and, when water-mixed, o’erbrims the cup.” (v. 2).
Footnote 253:
There is nothing that Orientals relish more than these “goody-goody”
preachments; but they read and forget them as readily as Westerns.
ALI SHAR[254] AND ZUMURRUD.
There lived once in the days of yore and the good old times long gone
before, in the land of Khorasan, a merchant called Majd al-Dín, who had
great wealth and many slaves and servants, white and black, young and
old; but he had not been blessed with a child until he reached the age
of threescore, when Almighty Allah vouchsafed him a son, whom he named
Alí Shár. The boy grew up like the moon on the night of fulness; and
when he came to man’s estate and was endowed with all kinds of
perfections, his father fell sick of a death-malady and, calling his son
to him, said, “O my son, the fated hour of my decease is at hand, and I
desire to give thee my last injunctions.” He asked, “And what are they,
O my father?”; and he answered, “O my son, I charge thee, be not
over-familiar with any[255] and eschew what leadeth to evil and
mischief. Beware lest thou sit in company with the wicked; for he is
like the blacksmith; if his fire burn thee not, his smoke shall bother
thee: and how excellent is the saying of the poet:[256]—
In thy whole world there is not one,
Whose friendship thou may’st count upon,
Nor plighted faith that will stand true,
When times go hard, and hopes are few.
Then live apart and dwell alone,
Nor make a prop of any one,
I’ve given a gift in that I’ve said,
Will stand thy friend in every stead.”
And what another saith:—
Men are a hidden malady; ✿ Rely not on the sham in them:
For perfidy and treachery ✿ Thou’lt find, if thou examine them.
And yet a third saith:—
Cònverse with men hath scanty weal, except ✿ To while away the time in
chat and prate:
Then shun their intimacy, save it be ✿ To win thee lore, or better thine
estate.
And a fourth saith:—
If a sharp-witted wight e’er tried mankind, ✿ I’ve eaten that which only
tasted he:[257]
Their amity proved naught but wile and guile, ✿ Their faith I found was
but hypocrisy.
Quoth Ali, “O my father, I have heard thee and I will obey thee; what
more shall I do?” Quoth he, “Do good whenas thou art able; be ever kind
and courteous to men and regard as riches every occasion of doing a good
turn; for a design is not always easily carried out”; and how well saith
the poet:—
‘Tis not at every time and tide unstable, ✿ We can do kindly acts and
charitable:
When thou art able hasten thee to act, ✿ Lest thine endeavour prove anon
unable!
Said Ali, “I have heard thee and I will obey thee.”——And Shahrazad
perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
Now when it was the Three Hundred and Ninth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the youth replied,
“I have heard thee and I will obey thee; what more?” And his sire
continued, “Be thou, O my son, mindful of Allah, so shall He be mindful
of thee. Ward thy wealth and waste it not; for an thou do, thou wilt
come to want the least of mankind. Know that the measure of a man’s
worth is according to that which his right hand hendeth”: and how well
saith the poet:[258]—
When fails my wealth no friend will deign befriend, ✿ And when it waxeth
all men friendship show:
How many a foe for wealth became my friend, ✿ Wealth lost, how many a
friend became a foe!
Asked Ali, “What more?” And Majd al-Din answered, “O my son, take
counsel of those who are older than thou and hasten not to do thy
heart’s desire. Have compassion on those who are below thee, so shall
those who are above thee have compassion on thee; and oppress none, lest
Allah empower one who shall oppress thee. How well saith the poet:—
Add other wit to thy wit, counsel craving, ✿ For man’s true course hides
not from minds of two:
Man is a mirror which but shows his face, ✿ And by two mirrors he his
back shall view.
And as saith another:[259]—
Act on sure grounds, nor hurry fast,
To gain the purpose that thou hast
And be thou kindly to all men
So kindly thou’lt be called again;
For not a deed the hand can try,
Save ‘neath the hand of God on high,
Nor tyrant harsh work tyranny,
Uncrushed by tyrant harsh as he.
And as saith yet another:[260]—
Tyrannize not, if thou hast the power to do so; for the tyrannical is in
danger of revenges.
Thine eye will sleep while the oppressed, wakeful, will call down curses
on thee, and God’s eye sleepeth not.
Beware of wine-bibbing, for drink is the root of all evil: it doeth away
the reason and bringeth to contempt whoso useth it; and how well saith
the poet:—
By Allah, wine shall not disturb me, while my soul ✿ Join body, nor
while speech the words of me explain:
No day will I be thralled to wine-skin cooled by breeze[261] ✿ Nor
choose a friend save those who are of cups unfain.
This, then, is my charge to thee; bear it before thine eyes, and Allah
stand to thee in my stead.” Then he swooned away and kept silent awhile;
and, when he came to himself, he besought pardon of Allah and pronounced
the profession of the Faith, and was admitted to the mercy of the
Almighty. So his son wept and lamented for him and presently made proper
preparation for his burial; great and small walked in his funeral
procession and Koran-readers recited Holy Writ about his bier; nor did
Ali Shar omit aught of what was due to the dead. Then they prayed over
him and committed him to the dust and wrote these two couplets upon his
tomb:—
Thou wast create of dust and cam’st to life, ✿ And learned’st in
eloquence to place thy trust;
Anon, to dust returning, thou becamest ✿ A corpse, as though ne’er taken
from the dust.