One Thousand and One Nights

by Richard Burton

  But, when it was dark night, a passer-by, making for a neighbouring hamlet, heard her groaning and pulling her out of the pit, carried her home to his wife, who dressed her wounds and tended her till she recovered. The peasant’s wife had a child, which she gave to the woman to nurse, and the latter used to lodge with the child in another house by night. Now a certain thief saw her and lusted after her. So he sent to her, to require her of love, but she denied herself to him; wherefore he resolved to kill her and making his way into her chamber by night, whilst she slept, thought to strike at her with a knife; but it smote the child and killed it; which when he knew, fear overtook him and he went forth the house and God preserved her from him.

  When she awoke in the morning, she found the child by her side slain; and presently his mother came and seeing the boy dead, said to her, ‘It was thou didst murder him.’ Therewith she beat her grievously and would have killed her; but her husband interposed and delivered the woman, who fled forth for her life, knowing not whither she should go. Presently, she came to a village, where she saw a crowd of people collected about the trunk of a tree, on which was a man crucified, but still in the chains of life. She asked what he had done and they said, ‘He hath committed a crime, which nothing can expiate but death or the payment of such a fine by way of alms.’ Now she had with her somewhat of money, so she said to them, ‘Take the money and let him go.’ Accordingly, they set him free and he repented at her hands and vowed to serve her, for the love of God the Most High, till death should release him. Then he built her a hermitage and lodged her therein; moreover, he betook himself to woodcutting and brought her her daily bread. As for her, she was instant in the service of God, so that there came no sick man or demoniac to her, but she prayed for him and he was straightway made whole.

  Now it befell, by the ordinance of God the Most High, that He sent down upon her husband’s brother a cancer in the face and smote the villager’s wife with leprosy and afflicted the murderer of the boy with paralysis. When the Cadi returned home from his pilgrimage, he asked his brother of his wife, and he told him that she was dead, whereat he mourned sore and accounted her with God. After awhile, the folk heard of the pious recluse and flocked to her cell from all parts of the length and breadth of the earth. And the Cadi said to his brother, ‘O my brother, wilt thou not seek out yonder pious woman? It may be God shall appoint thee healing at her hands.’ ‘O my brother,’ replied he, ‘carry me to her.’ Moreover, the husband of the leprous woman heard of the pious woman and carried his wife to her, as did also the paralytic’s family; and they all met at the door of her cell, where they waited, till her servant came, and begged him to ask leave of her to admit them; and he did so.

  Now she had a place wherefrom she could look out upon those who came to her, without their seeing her, and thence she saw them all and recognized them. So, when her servant came in to her, she veiled herself and went out and stood in the door, looking at them; but they knew her not. Then said she to them, ‘O folk, ye shall not be rid of what is with you, till ye confess your sins; for, when the creature confesses his sins, God relenteth towards him and granteth him that for which he resorteth to Him.’ Quoth the Cadi to his brother, ‘O my brother, repent to God and persist not in thy frowardness, for it will be the more helpful to thy relief.’ And the tongue of the case spoke as follows:

  Behold, oppressor and oppressed assembled are to-day, And God the secret hath unveiled, till now that hidden lay.

  This is a case in which, indeed, the sinners are brought low And God exalteth those that be assiduous in His way.

  Yea, and our Master and our Lord discovereth the truth, Whether the sinner froward be or bow him to obey.

  Woe unto those who strive with God and answer Him, as ‘twere They knew not what He doth prepare for those that Him gainsay!

  O thou that power and glory seek’st, know, only in the fear Of God true glory lies; so cleave thou fast to Allah aye.

  Then said the brother, ‘Now will I tell the truth. I did thus and thus with thy wife;’ and he confessed the whole matter, adding, ‘And this is my sin.’ Quoth the leprous woman, ‘As for me, I had a woman with me and imputed to her [a crime,] of which I knew [her] not [to be guilty], and beat her grievously; and this is my offence.’ And the paralytic said, ‘And I went in to a woman to kill her, after I had solicited her to commit adultery and she had refused; and I slew [instead] a boy that lay beside her; and this is my offence.’ Then said the pious woman, ‘O my God, even as Thou hast made them to feel the misery of disobedience, so show Thou them [now] the excellence of obedience, for Thou canst all things!’ And God (to whom belong might and majesty) made them whole. Then the Cadi fell a-looking on the pious woman and considering her straitly, till she asked him why he did thus and he said, ‘I had a wife, were she not dead, I had said that thou wast she.’ With this, she made herself known to him and they both betook themselves to rendering thanks to God (to whom belong might and majesty) for that which He had vouchsafed them of the reunion of their loves; but the brother and the thief and the villager’s wife began to implore her forgiveness. So she forgave them, and they all worshipped God in that place, and were assiduous in her service, till Death sundered them.

  John Payne’s translation: detailed table of contents

  THE SHIPWRECKED WOMAN AND HER CHILD.

  (Quoth one of the Seyyids ) I was going round about the Kaabeh one dark night, when I heard a plaintive voice, speaking from a contrite heart and saying, ‘O Bountiful One, Thy past favours! Indeed, my heart is constant to the covenant.’ When I heard this, my heart fluttered, so that I was nigh upon death, but I followed the voice and found that it came from a woman, to whom I said, ‘Peace be on thee, O handmaid of God!’ ‘And on thee be peace,’ answered she, ‘and the mercy of God and His blessings!’ Quoth I, ‘I conjure thee, by the Most Great God, tell me what is the covenant to which thy heart is constant.’ ‘But that thou adjurest me by the Almighty,’ replied she, ‘I would not tell thee my secret. See what is before me.’ So I looked and saw a child lying asleep before her and breathing heavily in his slumber. ‘Know,’ said she, ‘that I set forth, being big with this child, to make the pilgrimage to this [Holy] House and took passage in a ship; but the waves rose against us and the winds were contrary and the ship broke up under us. I saved myself on a plank, and in this situation, I gave birth to the child.

  ‘As I sat on the plank, with the boy on my lap and the waves beating upon me, there swam up to me one of the sailors, who climbed on to the plank and said to me, ‘By Allah, I desired thee, whilst thou was yet in the ship, and now I have come at thee. So yield thyself to me, or I will throw thee into the sea.’ ‘Out on thee!’ cried I. ‘Hast thou no thought of that which thou hast seen, and is it no warning to thee?’ Quoth he, ‘I have seen the like of this many a time and come off safe and reck not.’ ‘O fellow,’ rejoined I, ‘we are now in a strait whence we hope to be delivered by obedience and not by disobedience [of God’s commandments].’ But he was instant with me, and I feared him and thought to put him off; so I said to him, ‘Wait till the child sleeps.’ And he took the child off my lap and threw him into the sea. When I saw this, my heart throbbed and anguish was sore upon me; but I raised my eyes to heaven and said, ‘O Thou that intervenest between a man and his heart, intervene between me and this wild beast!’ And by Allah, hardly had I spoken when a beast rose out of the sea and snatched him off the plank. When I found myself alone, my affliction redoubled and my grief and longing for my child, and I recited the following verses:

  The solace of my eyes, my child, my dear, Is lost, and I am racked with pain and fear;

  I see my body wrecked, and all my heart On coals of love and dole is wasting sheer.

  No help is there for me in this my need, Save at Thy hands on whom my hope I rear.

  Thou, O my Lord, hast seen my sore distress, For loss of him, my child, my suckling dear.

  Take ruth on us and give him back to me! Thou art my stay: incline to me Thine
ear.

  In this condition I abode a day and a night, and on the morrow I caught sight of the sails of a ship shining afar off, nor did the winds cease to drive me and the waves to bear me on, till I reached the vessel whose sails I had seen. The sailors took me up into the ship, and I looked and behold, my child amongst them. So I threw myself upon him and said, ‘O folk, this is my child: how came ye by him?’ ‘As we were sailing along [yesterday],’ quoth they, ‘the ship suddenly stood still in the sea and behold, [that which stayed us was] a [sea] beast, as it were a great city, and this child on its back, sucking his thumbs; so we took him up into the ship.’ When I heard this, I told them all that had befallen me and returned thanks to my Lord and vowed to Him that I would never stir from His House nor swerve from His service [whilst I lived]; and since then, I have never required of Him aught but He hath given it me.’

  When she had made an end of her story (adds the Seyyid), I put my hand to my alms-pouch and would have given to her, but she exclaimed, ‘Away, idle man! Have I not told thee of His bounties and the graciousness of His dealings [with me] and shall I take an alms from other than His hand?’ And I could not prevail with her to take aught of me; so I left her and went away, reciting the following verses:

  How many secret favours are there not in God! His mysteries elude the most enlightened sight.

  How often by His grace doth ease come after stress, How oft the broken heart is solaced by His might!

  How often in the morn is one oppressed by care, Yet gladness follows on the coming of the night!

  If things go hard with thee, trust in the Most High God, The ever-living One that is in Heaven’s height.

  Claim thou the Prophet’s voice to intercede for thee: Through him each faithful soul shall have his heart’s delight.

  And she ceased not from the service of her Lord, cleaving unto His [Holy] House, till death came to her.

  John Payne’s translation: detailed table of contents

  THE PIOUS BLACK SLAVE.

  (Quoth Malik ben Dinar, on whom God have mercy), We were once afflicted with drought at Bassora and went forth repeatedly to pray for rain, but saw no sign of our prayers being answered. So I went, I and Itaa es Selemi and Thabit el Benani and Neja el Bekkaa and Mohammed ben Wasi and Eyoub es Sukhtiyani and Hebib el Farsi and Hassan ben Abou Sinan and Otbeh el Ghulam and Salih el Muzeni, till we reached the place of prayer, when the boys came out of the schools and we offered up prayers for rain, but could see no sign of acceptance. So about mid-day the people went away and I and Thabit el Benani abode till nightfall, when we saw a black of comely visage, slender-shanked and big-bellied, come up, clad in a pair of woollen drawers; if all he wore had been priced, it would not have fetched a couple of dirhems. He fetched water and made the ablution, then, going up to the prayer-niche, prayed two inclinations deftly, his standing and bowing and prostration being [well-nigh] simultaneous. Then he raised his eyes to heaven and said, ‘O my God and my Master and my Lord, how long wilt thou reject the prayers of Thy servants in that which offereth no hurt to Thy sovereignty? Is that which is with Thee expended or are the treasuries of Thy kingdom exhausted? I conjure Thee, by Thy love to me, to pour out upon us Thy rain-clouds forthwith!’

  Hardly had he made an end of speaking, when the sky clouded over and there came a rain, as of the emptying of waterskins. When we left the oratory, we were up to our knees in water, and we were lost in wonder at the black. So I accosted him and said to him, ‘Out on thee, O black, art thou not ashamed of what thou saidst?’ ‘How so?’ asked he. ‘Didst thou not adjure God by His love for thee?’ said I. ‘What giveth thee to know that He loveth thee?’ ‘Away from me,’ replied he, ‘O thou that art distracted [by the love of the world] from [the care of] thine own soul! Where was I, when He gave me strength to identify myself with Him and of His special favour vouchsafed unto me the knowledge of Him? How deemest thou that He aided me thus except of His love to me? Verily, His love to me is after the measure of my love to Him.’ Quoth I, ‘Tarry awhile with me, may God have mercy on thee!’ But he said, ‘I am a slave and the Book of God enjoins me to obey my lesser master.’ So he went away and we followed him afar off, till we saw him enter a slave-dealer’s house.

  Now the first half of the night was passed and the last half was long upon us, so we went away; but next morning, we repaired to the slave-dealer and said to him, ‘Hast thou a boy to sell us for service?’ ‘Yes,’ answered he, ‘I have nigh upon a hundred boys, and they are all for sale.’ Then he showed us slave after slave, till he had shown us threescore and ten; but my friend was not amongst them, and the dealer said, ‘These are all I have.’ But, as we were going away, we espied a ruinous hut behind his house and going in, saw the black standing there. ‘It is he, by the Lord of the Kaabeh!’ cried I and turning back to the dealer, said to him, ‘Sell me yonder slave.’ ‘O Abou Yehya,’ replied he, ‘this is a plaguy, morose, unprofitable fellow, who hath no concern by night but weeping and by day but repentance.’ ‘It is for that I want him,’ said I. So the dealer called him, and he came out, feigning drowsiness. Quoth his master, ‘Take him at thine own price, so thou hold me quit of all his faults.’ So I bought him for twenty dinars and said, ‘What is his name?’ ‘Maimoun,’ answered the dealer; and I took him by the hand and went out with him, intending for my house; but he turned to me and said, ‘O my lesser lord, why didst thou buy me? By Allah, I am not fit for the service of the creature!’ ‘On my head be it,’ replied I; ‘I bought thee that I might serve thee myself.’ ‘Why so?’ asked he, and I said, ‘Wast thou not in company with us yesterday in the place of prayer?’ ‘And didst thou hear me?’ quoth he; and I answered, ‘It was I accosted thee yesterday and spoke with thee.’

  Then we went on till we came to a mosque, where he entered and prayed a two-bow prayer; after which he said, ‘O my God and my Master and my Lord, the secret that was between Thee and me Thou hast discovered unto men and hast betrayed me therein among Thy creatures. How then shall life be sweet to me, now that others than Thou have happened upon that which is between Thee and me? I conjure Thee to take my soul to Thee forthright.’ So saying, he prostrated himself, and I waited awhile till, seeing that he did not raise his head, I went up to him and moved him and found that he was indeed dead, the mercy of God the Most High be upon him! I laid him out and looked at him, and behold, he was smiling. More-over, whiteness had gotten the better of blackness in his face, and it was radiant with light.

  As we wondered at his affair, the door opened and a young man came in to us and said, ‘Peace be on you! May God make great our reward and yours for our brother Maimoun! Here is his shroud: wrap him in it.’ So saying, he gave us two robes, never had we seen their like, and we shrouded him therein. And now his tomb is a place whither the folk resort to pray for rain and ask favours of God; and how excellently well saith the poet on this subject:

  The pleasaunce of the just is in a garden of the skies, About whose gates God’s doorkeepers hold ever watch and ward.

  Behold, there drink they of old wine, and mingled therewithal Tesnim, that is, the wine of close communion with the Lord.

  The secret of their hearts is safe from other than God’s sight; For that their sprights with His are blent in one supreme accord.John Payne’s translation: detailed table of contents

  THE DEVOUT PLATTER-MAKER AND HIS WIFE.

  There was once among the children of Israel a worthy man, who was strenuous in the service of his Lord and abstained from the things of this world and had put them away from his heart. He had a wife who helped him in his endeavour and was still obedient to him. They earned their living by making platters and fans, at which they wrought all day, and at nightfall the man went out into the streets and highways, to sell what they had made. They were wont to fast continually, and one morning, they arose, fasting, and wrought at their trade till the end of the day, when the man went forth, according to custom, to seek purchasers for his wares, and fared on, till he came to the door of the house of a
certain man of wealth and condition.

  Now the platter-maker was fair of face and comely of aspect, and the wife of the master of the house, who was then absent, saw him and fell in love with him and her heart inclined to him with an exceeding inclination; so she called her handmaid and said to her, ‘Make shift to bring yonder man to me.’ Accordingly the maid went out to him and said, ‘Come in; my lady hath a mind to buy some of thy wares, after she hath tried them and looked at them.’ The man thought she spoke truly and seeing no harm in this, entered and sat down, as she bade him. The maid shut the door upon him, whereupon her mistress, came out and taking him by the gown, drew him into her chamber and said to him, ‘How long shall I seek of thee [a lover’s] privacy? Verily, my patience is at an end on thine account. See now, the place is perfumed and food ready and the master of the house is absent this night, and I give myself to thee, I whose favours kings and captains and men of fortune have sought this long while, but I have hearkened to none of them.’ And she went on talking thus to him, whilst he raised not his eyes from the ground, for shame before God and fear of the pains of His punishment, even as saith the poet:

  ’Twas shamefastness, I trow, and nothing else, that came ‘Twixt me and dalliance with many a noble dame.

  The antidote it was to them, and should it pass, I’m lost; for antidote was none but very shame.

  He strove to free himself from her, but could not; so he said to her, ‘I want one thing of thee.’ ‘What is that?’ asked she, and he answered, ‘I wish for pure water and that I may carry it to the highest place of thy house and do an occasion therewith and cleanse myself of a defilement, which I may not discover to thee.’ Quoth she, ‘The house is spacious and hath closets and privy places and lavatories at command.’ But he replied, ‘I want nothing but to be at a height.’ So she said to her handmaid, ‘Carry him up up to the belvedere at the top of the house.’ Accordingly the maid took him up thither and giving him a vessel of water, went away and left him.