The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night Volume V Part 27

And they ceased not to be in all solace and delight of life, till there came to them the Destroyer of delights and the Sunderer of societies. And a tale is told by Sidi Ibrahim bin Al-Khawwas[FN#489](on whom be the mercy of Allah!) concerning himself and

THE CHRISTIAN KING'S DAUGHTER AND THE MOSLEM.

"My spirit urged me, once upon a time, to go forth into the country of the Infidels; and I strove with it and struggled to put away from me this inclination; but it would not be rejected.

So I fared forth and journeyed about the land of the Unbelievers and traversed it in all its parts; for divine grace enveloped me and heavenly protection encompa.s.sed me, so that I met not a single Nazarene but he turned away his eyes and drew off from me, till I came to a certain great city at whose gate I found a gathering of black slaves, clad in armour and bearing iron maces in their hands. When they saw me, they rose to their feet and asked me, 'Art thou a leach?'; and I answered, 'Yes.' Quoth they, 'Come speak to our King,' and carried me before their ruler, who was a handsome personage of majestic presence. When I stood before him, he looked at me and said, 'Art a physician, thou?'

'Yes,' quoth I; and quoth he to his officers, 'Carry him to her, and acquaint him with the condition before he enter.' So they took me out and said to me, 'Know that the King hath a daughter, and she is stricken with a sore disease, which no doctor hath been able to cure: and no leach goeth in to her and treateth, without healing her, but the King putteth him to death. So bethink thee what thou seest fitting to do.' I replied, 'The King drove me to her; so carry me to her.' Thereupon they brought me to her door and knocked; and behold, I heard her cry out from within, saying, 'Admit to me the physician, lord of the wondrous secret!' And she began reciting,

'Open the door! the leach now draweth near; * And in my soul a wondrous secret speer: How many of the near far distant are![FN#490] * How many distant far are nearest near!

I was in strangerhood amidst you all: * But willed the Truth[FN#491] my solace should appear.

Joined us the potent bonds of Faith and Creed; * We met as dearest fere greets dearest fere: He sued for interview whenas pursued * The spy, and blamed us envy's jibe and jeer: Then leave your chiding and from blame desist, * For fie upon you! not a word I'll hear.

I care for naught that disappears and fleets; * My care's for Things nor fleet nor disappear.'

And lo! a Shaykh, a very old man, opened the door in haste and said to me, 'Enter.' So I entered and found myself in a chamber strewn with sweet-scented herbs and with a curtain drawn across one corner, from behind which came a sound of groaning and grame, weak as from an emaciated frame. I sat down before the curtain and was about to offer my salam when I bethought me of his words (whom Allah save and a.s.sain!), 'Accost not a Jew nor a Christian with the salam salutation;[FN#492] and, when ye meet them in the way, constrain them to the straitest part thereof.' So I withheld my salutation, but she cried out from behind the curtain, saying, 'Where is the salutation of Unity and Indivisibility, O Khawwas?'

I was astonished at her speech and asked, 'How knowest thou me?'; whereto she answered, 'When the heart and thoughts are whole, the tongue speaketh eloquently from the secret recesses of the soul.

I begged Him yesterday to send me one of His saints, at whose hands I might have deliverance, and behold, it was cried to me from the dark places of my house, 'Grieve not; for we soon will send thee Ibrahim the Basket-maker.' Then I asked her, 'What of thee?' and she answered, 'It is now four years since there appeared to me the Manifest Truth, and He is the Relator and the Ally, and the Uniter and the Sitter-by; whereupon my folk looked askance upon me with an evil eye and taxed me with insanity and suspected me of depravity, and there came not in to me doctor but terrified me, nor visitor but confounded me.' Quoth I, 'And who led thee to the knowledge of what thou wottest?' Quoth she, 'The manifest signs and visible portents of Allah; and, when the path is patent to thee, thou espiest with thine own eyes both proof and prover.' Now whilst we were talking, behold, in came the old man appointed to guard her and said, 'What doth thy doctor?'; and she replied, 'He knoweth the hurt and hath hit upon the healing.'"--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.

When it was the Four Hundred and Seventy-eighth Night,

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "when the Shaykh, her guardian, went in to her he said, 'What doth thy doctor?'; and she replied, 'He knoweth the hurt and hath hit upon the healing.' Hereupon he manifested joy and gladness and accosted me with a cheerful countenance, then went and told the King, who enjoined to treat me with all honour and regard. So I visited her daily for seven days, at the end of which time she said to me, 'O Abu Ishak, when shall be our flight to the land of Al-Islam?' 'How canst thou go forth,' replied I, 'and who would dare to aid thee?' Rejoined she, 'He who sent thee to me, driving thee as it were;' and I observed, 'Thou sayest sooth.' So when the morrow dawned, we fared forth by the city-gate and all eyes were veiled from us, by commandment of Him who when He desireth aught, saith to it, 'Be,' and it becometh;[FN#493] so that I journeyed with her in safety to Meccah, where she made a home hard by the Holy House of Allah and lived seven years; till the appointed day of her death. The earth of Meccah was her tomb, and never saw I any more steadfast in prayer and fasting than she; Allah send down upon her His mercies and have compa.s.sion on him who saith,

'When they to me had brought the leach (and surely showed *

The signs of flowing tears and pining malady), The face-veil he withdrew from me, and 'neath it naught *

Save breath of one unsouled, unbodied, could he see.

Quoth he, 'This be a sickness Love alone shall cure; *

Love hath a secret from all guess of man wide free.'

Quoth they, 'An folk ignore what here there be with him *

Nature of ill and eke its symptomology, How then shall medicine work a cure?' At this quoth I *

'Leave me alone; I have no guessing specialty.'"

And they tell a tale of

THE PROPHET AND THE JUSTICE OF PROVIDENCE.

A certain Prophet[FN#494] made his home for wors.h.i.+p on a lofty mountain, at whose foot was a spring of running water, and he was wont to sit by day on the summit, that no man might see him, calling upon the name of Allah the Most Highest and watching those who frequented the spring. One day, as he sat looking upon the fountain, behold, he espied a horseman who came up and dismounted thereby and taking a bag from his neck, set it down beside him, after which he drank of the water and rested awhile, then he rode away, leaving behind him the bag which contained gold pieces. Presently up came another man to drink of the spring, who saw the bag and finding it full of money took it up; then, after satisfying his thirst, he made off with it in safety.

A little after came a woodcutter wight with a heavy load of fuel on his back, and sat down by the spring to drink, when lo! back came the first horseman in great trouble and asked him, "Where is the bag which was here?" and when he answered, "I know nothing of it," the rider drew his sword and smote him and slew him. Then he searched his clothes, but found naught; so he left him and wended his ways. Now when the Prophet saw this, he said, "O Lord, one man hath taken a thousand dinars and another man hath been slain unjustly." But Allah answered him, saying, "Busy thyself with thy devotions, for the ordinance of the universe is none of thine affair. The father of this horseman had violently despoiled of a thousand dinars the father of the second horseman; so I gave the son possession of his sire's money. As for the woodcutter, he had slain the horseman's father, wherefore I enabled the son to obtain retribution for himself." Then cried the Prophet, "There is none other G.o.d than Thou! Glory be to Thee only! Verily, Thou art the Knower of Secrets."[FN#495]--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.

When it was the Four Hundred and Seventy-ninth Night,

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the Prophet was bidden by inspiration of Allah to busy himself with his devotions and learned the truth of the case, he cried, "There is none other G.o.d but Thou! Glory be to Thee only! Verily, Thou and Thou alone wottest hidden things." Furthermore, one of the poets hath made these verses on the matter,

"The Prophet saw whatever eyes could see, * And fain of other things enquired he; And, when his eyes saw things misunderstood, * Quoth he, 'O Lord, this slain from sin was free.

This one hath won him wealth withouten work; * Albe appeared he garbed in penury.

And that in joy of life was slain, although * O man's Creator free of sin he be.'

G.o.d answered ''Twas his father's good thou saw'st * Him take; by heirs.h.i.+p not by roguery; Yon woodman too that horseman's sire had slain; * Whose son avenged him with just victory: Put off, O slave of Me, this thought for I * In men have set mysterious secrecy!

Bow to Our Law and humble thee, and learn * For good and evil issues Our decree.'"[FN#496]

And a certain pious man hath told us the tale of

THE FERRYMAN OF THE NILE AND THE HERMIT.

"I was once a ferryman on the Nile and used to ply between the eastern and the western banks. Now one day, as I sat in my boat, there came up to me an old man of a bright and beaming countenance, who saluted me and I returned his greeting; and he said to me, 'Wilt thou ferry me over for the love of Allah Almighty?' I answered, 'Yes,' and he continued, 'Wilt thou moreover give me food for Allah's sake?'; to which again I answered, 'With all my heart.' So he entered the boat and I rowed him over to the eastern side, remarking that he was clad in a patched gown and carried a gourd-bottle and a staff. When he was about to land, he said to me, 'I desire to lay on thee a heavy trust.' Quoth I, 'What is it?' Quoth he, 'It hath been revealed to me that my end is nearhand and that to-morrow about noon thou wilt come and find me dead under yonder tree. Wash me and wrap me in the shroud thou wilt see under my head and after thou hast prayed over me, bury me in this sandy ground and take my gown and gourd and staff, which do thou deliver to one who shall come and demand them of thee.' I marvelled at his words, and I slept there. On the morrow I awaited till noon the event he had announced, and then I forgot what he had said till near the hour of afternoon-prayer, when I remembered it and hastening to the appointed place, found him under the tree, dead, with a new shroud under his head, exhaling a fragrance of musk. So I washed him and shrouded him and prayed over him, then dug a hole in the sand and buried him, after I had taken his ragged gown and bottle and staff, with which I crossed the Nile to the western side and there nighted. As soon as morning dawned and the city gate opened, I sighted a young man known to me as a loose fellow, clad in fine clothes and his hands stained with Henna, who said to me, 'Art thou not such an one?' 'Yes,' answered I; and he said, 'Give me the trust.' Quoth I, 'What is that?' Quoth he, 'The gown, the gourd and the staff.' I asked him, 'Who told thee of them?' and he answered, 'I know nothing save that I spent yesternight at the wedding of one of my friends singing and carousing till daylight, when I lay me down to sleep and take my rest; and behold, there stood by me a personage who said, 'Verily Allah Almighty hath taken such a saint to Himself and hath appointed thee to fill his place; so go thou to a certain person (naming the ferryman), and take of him the dead man's gown and bottle and staff, for he left them with him for thee.' So I brought them out and gave them to him; whereupon he doffed his clothes and, donning the gown, went his way and left me.[FN#497] And when the glooms closed around me, I fell a-weeping; but, that night, while sleeping I saw the Lord of Holiness (glorified and exalted be He!) in a dream saying, 'O my servant, is it grievous to thee that I have granted to one of My servants to return to Me? Indeed, this is of My bounty, that I vouchsafe to whom I will, for I over all things am Almighty.' So I repeated these couplets,

'Lover with loved[FN#498] loseth will and aim! * All choice (an couldst thou know) were sinful shame.

Or grant He favour and with union grace, * Or from thee turn away, He hath no blame.

An from such turning thou no joy enjoy * Depart! the place for thee no place became.

Or canst His near discern not from His far? * Then Love's in vain and thou'rt a-rear and lame.

If pine for Thee afflict my sprite, or men * Hale me to death, the rein Thy hand shall claim!

So turn Thee to or fro, to me 'tis one; * What Thou ordainest none shall dare defame: My love hath naught of aim but Thine approof * And if Thou say we part I say the same.'"

And of the tales they tell is one concerning

THE ISLAND KING AND THE PIOUS ISRAELITE.

There was once a notable of the Children of Israel, a man of wealth who had a pious and blessed son. When his last hour drew nigh, his son sat down at his head and said to him, "O my lord, give me an injunction." Quoth the father, "O dear son, I charge thee, swear not by Allah or truly or falsely." Then he died and certain lewd fellows of the Children of Israel heard of the charge he had laid on his son and began coming to the latter and saying, "Thy father had such and such monies of mine, and thou knowest it; so give me what was entrusted to him or else make oath that there was no trust." The good son would not disobey his sire's injunction, so gave them all they claimed; and they ceased not to deal thus with him, till his wealth was spent and he fell into straitest predicament. Now the young man had a pious and blessed wife, who had borne him two little sons; so he said to her, "The folk have multiplied their demands on me and, while I had the wherewithal to free myself of debt, I rendered it freely; but naught is now left us, and if others make demands upon me, we shall be in absolute distress, I and thou; our best way were to save ourselves by fleeing to some place, where none knoweth us, and earn our bread among the lower of the folk." Accordingly, he took s.h.i.+p with her and his two children, knowing not whither he should wend; but, "When Allah judgeth, there is none to reverse His judgment;"[FN#499] and quoth the tongue of the case,

"O flier from thy home when foes affright! * Whom led to weal and happiness such flight, Grudge not this exile when he flees abroad * Where he on wealth and welfare may alight.

An pearls for ever did abide in sh.e.l.l, * The kingly crown they ne'er had deckt and dight."

The s.h.i.+p was wrecked, yet the man saved himself on a plank and his wife and children also saved themselves, but on other planks.

The waves separated them and the wife was cast up in one country and one of the boys in another. The second son was picked up by a s.h.i.+p, and the surges threw the father on a desert island, where he landed and made the Wuzu-ablution. Then he called the prayer-call,--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.

When it was the Four Hundred and Eightieth Night,

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the man landed upon the island, he made the Wuzu-ablution to free himself from the impurities of the sea and called the call to prayer and stood up to his devotions, when, behold, there came forth of the sea, creatures of various kinds and prayed with him.

When he had finished, he went up to a tree and stayed his hunger with its fruits; after which he found a spring of water and drank thereof and praised Allah, to whom be honour and glory! He abode thus three days and whenever he stood up to pray, the sea-creatures came out and prayed in the same manner as he prayed. Now after the third day, he heard a voice crying aloud and saying, "O thou just man, and pious, who didst so honour thy father and revere the decrees of thy Lord, grieve not, for Allah (be He extolled and exalted!) shall restore to thee all which left thy hand. In this isle are h.o.a.rds and monies and things of price which the Almighty willeth thou shalt inherit, and they are in such a part of this place. So bring thou them to light; and verily, we will send s.h.i.+ps unto thee; and do thou bestow charity on the folk and bid them to thee." So he sought out that place, and the Lord discovered to him the treasures in question. Then s.h.i.+ps began resorting to him, and he gave abundant largesse to the crews, saying to them, "Be sure ye direct the folk unto me and I will give them such and such a thing and appoint to them this and that." Accordingly, there came folk from all parts and places, nor had ten years pa.s.sed over him ere the island was peopled and the man became its King.[FN#500] No one came to him but he entreated him with munificence, and his name was noised abroad, through the length and breadth of the earth. Now his elder son had fallen into the hands of a man who reared him and taught him polite accomplishments; and, in like manner, the younger was adopted by one who gave him a good education and brought him up in the ways of merchants. The wife also happened upon a trader who entrusted to her his property and made a covenant with her that he would not deal dishonestly by her, but would aid her to obey Allah (to whom belong Majesty and Might!); and he used to make her the companion of his voyages and his travels. Now the elder son heard the report of the King and resolved to visit him, without knowing who he was; so he went to him and was well received by the King, who made him his secretary. Presently the other son heard of the King's piety and justice and was also taken into his service as a steward. Then the brothers abode awhile, neither knowing the other, till it chanced that the merchant, in whose home was their mother, also hearing of the King's righteous and generous dealing with the lieges, freighted a s.h.i.+p with rich stuffs and other excellent produce of the land, and taking the woman with him, set sail for the island. He made it in due course and landing, presented himself with his gift before the King; who rejoiced therein with exceeding joy and ordered him a splendid return-present. Now, there were, among the gifts, certain aromatic roots of which he would have the merchant acquaint him with the names and uses; so he said to him, "Abide with us this night."--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.

When it was the Four Hundred and Eighty-first Night,

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the King said, "Abide with us this night," the merchant replied, "We have in the s.h.i.+p one to whom I have promised to entrust the care of her to none save myself; and the same is a holy woman whose prayers have brought me weal and I have felt the blessing of her counsels." Rejoined the King, "I will send her some trusty men, who shall pa.s.s the night in the s.h.i.+p and guard her and all that is with her." The merchant agreed to this and abode with the King, who called his secretary and steward and said to them, "Go and pa.s.s the night in this man's s.h.i.+p and keep it safe, Inshallah!" So they went up into the s.h.i.+p and seating themselves, this on the p.o.o.p and that on the bow, pa.s.sed a part of the night in repeating the names of Allah (to whom belong Majesty and Might!). Then quoth one to the other, "Ho, such an one! The King bade us keep watch and I fear lest sleep overtake us; so, come, let us discourse of stories of fortune and of the good we have seen and the trials of life." Quoth the other, "O my brother, as for my trials Fate parted me from my mother and a brother of mine, whose name was even as thine; and the cause of our parting was this. My father took s.h.i.+p with us from such a place, and the winds rose against us and were contrary, so that the s.h.i.+p was wrecked and Allah broke our fair companions.h.i.+p." Hearing this the first asked, "What was the name of thy mother, O my brother?"; and the second answered, "So and so." Thereat brother threw himself upon brother saying, "By Allah, thou art my very brother!" And each fell to telling the other what had befallen him in his youth, whilst the mother heard all they said, but held her peace and in patience possessed her soul. Now when it was morning, one said to the other, "Come, brother, let us go to my lodging and talk there;" and the other said, "'Tis well." So they went away and presently, the merchant came back and finding the woman in great trouble, said to her, "What hath befallen thee and why this concern?" Quoth she, "Thou sentest to me yesternight men who tempted me to evil, and I have been in sore annoy with them."