The Advice of Mwana Kupona Upon the Wifely Duty trans. Alice Werner.
The following Utendi, like others, begins with a number of verses extolling the limitless power and glory of God and of His Prophet. The Prophet is discoursing to his companions in the mosque about the path of righteousness and the horrors of hell. He hears a feeble voice greeting him and singing his praises.
THE UTENDI OF THE CAMEL AND THE GAZELLE
When the beloved, the Lord of Arabia, heard the voice calling his praises, he lifted his head. The eyes of the trusted Prophet scanned the mosque to see who was calling. He cast his eyes around inside the mosque; but he saw no one calling.
The Prophet said to Sheikh Ali, Go and find out whose voice is calling. When you have found out whose is the greeting, do not delay, but come back at once.
Haidar went at once and when he arrived, he found a camel. When he came to the entrance of the mosque, there he saw a camel standing and weeping. Her flesh was wasted and her bones stuck out from long stress and weariness. Her body was shrunken and her two eyes poured a flood of tears in a spate.
Ali spoke and asked the beast, “Was it you calling to Muhammad the chosen? Was it you who used human speech and gave the Prophet the greeting that he has received?”
The camel said, “Yes, son of Hashim. It is I that was greeting Muhammad of the Qureish.”
Then Ali said to the camel, “Tell me your need and what is your purpose. What is it that you want? Tell me, and when I understand, I will inform the trusted one, who can remove trouble.”
The camel said, “My need is the Hashemite, the prince of the coast, the great one of the land beyond. I want him to appear, the receiver of secrets, Muhammad the purified, who shines like a lamp. I want the chosen one, the famous, the renowned, who knows and can make clear.”
Ali went quickly to his wife’s father and told him what had been said and the message, saying, “Sir, this greeting comes to you from a camel; do not imagine that it is from a man. She wants to come before you from where she is and to meet you face to face. I must also tell you that this camel is worn out; her flesh is wasted and she is very thin. Her muscles stand out, her skin is wrinkled, only her bones are left and she can hardly walk. From her two eyes flow tears like the water of the sea or of the rains. Her tears flow so that it is sad to look on her.”
When Sheikh Ali had spoken and the Prophet had heard him, they went immediately to the place where the camel was. The Prophet asked and said to the camel, “Will you not tell me your trouble and why you are here? Tell me what ails you and why you come to me. Do not be afraid, nor fear to tell me what you want.”
The camel spoke in clear language – this extraordinary animal. She said first, “O Intercessor of the people, intercede for me today. I, Muhammad, am a camel belonging to Abu Masud, an infidel. My master, I tell you, is a rebel against God, an unbeliever, who does not believe in the Almighty nor take refuge with the Lord God. He has made use of me for a long time and up to my arrival here I am still in his service.
Then, when I came here, he loaded me grievously; there is no mercy in him nor consideration for me. He loaded me, Sir, with an unreasonable burden, a load of such weight that I was not strong enough for it. Young as I was and in my condition, I found it too heavy; I was charged with the burden of two camels. With this great load I ran fast, and in the contest of the camels I was not the last. Among a thousand camels I was the fastest; I came out ahead of them and was their leader. I would not appear to be smaller than the other camels and even now I cannot bear to be among the last.
But yesterday he put upon me an impossible load that I could not carry. I was so tired and worn out that I could go no further, and I fell under it with him watching. Ten times, Sir, no less, my face met the sand. The tenth time, Sir, I could not get up again, and, as I knelt, the infidel beat me. He went on beating me like a stubborn ox until he nearly broke my heart. I struggled on and O my Lord, how brutally he treated me. I went sadly on until I reached home and he off-loaded me and tied me up. He tied me, Sir, wickedly tight; he intended to tie me without mercy. He and his brothers, Sir, went on to jeer at me and to say harsh things in my hearing. Before his brothers he said, “My friends, this camel has annoyed me. She is thin, she has no fat, nor flesh nor strength, and she cannot carry a heavy load. Tomorrow morning I will slaughter her and sell the meat and buy a better camel that is of some use.”
I pray you, my Lord, Prince Ahmad, blessed of the Loving and receiver of His grace, Blessings be on you, child of Mecca, grant me, I beg you, my desire. I am a creature, your slave under the power of the Lord, who has given it to you to intercede.”
When the Prophet heard what the camel said his heart could not bear it; he fell down and wept. The tears of the Prophet, the Lord of Arabia, flowed like rain, pouring down his beard, and his heart was torn with compassion for the camel. The Companions too wept bitterly, when they saw how the Meccan was weeping. The Companions wept in all the corners of the mosque and their hearts were filled with sorrow.
Then the Prophet, the chosen, said to the beast, “Be patient for a while and I will speak further with you. Give praise and thanks to the One, the Living God for the great glory of deliverance that will come to you. Go and wait for me in the plain of the bani Hajar. I, the foreteller, am coming; do not doubt that I shall come.”
So the camel went quickly to the plain and there she stopped to wait for him. And he, the beloved, the covered, went with the Companions to the entrance of the tent of the Arab.
The cruel Arab defied and abused the Prophet, who expressed the wish to buy the exhausted camel. The infidel refused, and added, “It is true that I shut up the camel. But how did you find out?”
“In fact your camel came to us and told us all about you.”
The man said, “This is even more of a marvel than the first. A camel is a brute beast; how can it speak in human language for people to understand? A camel is an animal; how can it use its tongue to speak intelligibly?”
“You shall find out for certain what is going on. Let you and me go where the camel is. Let us go together and you shall see for yourself and hear what she says.”
So the Beloved and the Companions and this person went together.
On their way, all going together, they saw more wonderful and surprising things. They looked up and they saw a pen with a gazelle shut in it, tied fast to the gate with an iron collar.
When the gazelle saw the Foreteller, she bowed down and made obeisance to him. Then she spoke in clear speech and all who were there heard her. She said, “Greetings to you, Hashemite, first of the great ones, and to all the Companions; greetings to you, the Dedicated, the Perfection of Light, the equal of the moon, the rival of the sun; greetings to you, Prophet, Apostle of the Almighty, the first created, the seal of the prophets.”
When the gazelle had ended, she said to the Prophet, “I have a boon that I ask you to grant me.”
Muhammad asked her to tell him her need, leaving nothing out nor fearing to tell all.
Then the gazelle said to the trusted one, “I was in the forest with the babies that I had borne; but then trouble came upon me and it is now four days since I left my children and they are still in the forest. It is now four days since I bore them and was parted from them. They have no food and have not found my udder. When I was delivered of them, I went straight to the forest to feed them and to find the best pasture, and there I was captured. I was in the pasture when I fell into the trap of a terrible enemy, a worshipper of false gods. When this cruel man took me, he robbed me of everything, and now, O Prophet, it is four days since this disaster overtook me. I am very unhappy; I have babies, you understand, and for four whole days they have been crying in the forest. I have been in great distress, I have had a terrible struggle and my heart cries for death. Morning and evening I am cut to the heart and I can see no way out at all. I would rather my master took my life to end my sorrow and dry my tears. I weep for my babies, because I cannot see them; do n
ot imagine, Sir, that I weep for myself. My capture, man of Mecca, made me miserable, and putting me here fills me with sorrow. It were better to cut my throat and still my heart and end my longing for my babies.
“See, Prophet, how I am overcome with worry and distress and to what a state I am reduced. As I have told you, I have no skin or flesh and I stagger as I walk.”
So distressed was the Prophet by her story that he fell on his face and wept floods of tears. The gazelle’s owner greeted him with contempt and refused to sell the gazelle.
The wicked fellow answered Muhammad, “Your request is impossible and cannot be considered. If I had at my house all the buck in the world, I would not give you a single one, if you asked for it. I will not sell this perfect gazelle. I want to have nothing to do with the Prophet and to do nothing for you.”
When she heard this, the gazelle said, “Muhammad, try harder to recover my rights. Tell this unbeliever to loose my bonds and to let me find my babies and give them suck. Tell him to let me go free, my Lord, and I will go and come back. For you, Prophet, if I go, I will return.”
The Prophet asked the man, “Are you not touched by your gazelle’s own words?”
The false enemy of God replied, “Go and do your magic in your own house of tricks.” Then he said to Muhammad, “Release the gazelle; but the Prophet is her surety.”
Muhammad said, “I am surety for her.” Then he went and released her, and he said to the gazelle, “Go, and return with the speed of an arrow. Just as an arrow leaves the bow, so come back to me here where I am.”
The gazelle returned to her fawns in the forest, who entreated her to return without delay to the Prophet in order to redeem his pledge. This she did. Seeing this miracle, her owner acknowledged the Prophet as the Chosen One and released the gazelle. The Prophet and the wicked Arab went on to find the ill-treated camel, who repeated her complaint.
When the man heard what the camel had to say, he answered, saying to Muhammad, “Now I admit, and myself am witness that God is One, and that you are his Prophet. You are the true Prophet and what you say is true, and I too will bear witness to this. The word of the Lord that he has caused to be written, I will place in my heart and speak with my tongue. Listen while I testify that God is One and at the same time that Muhammad is his Prophet. The Word of the Lord: I certify that there is no God but God, and I certify that Muhammad is the Prophet of God.” Then he said to the Prophet, “The camel’s complaint leaves it free. Hear, O Prophet, as for this beast, I give it its freedom to go where it will.”
So the Arab became a Muslim and released the camel and his wife and his children accompanied him. They became followers of God in virtue and piety and lived holy lives. They diligently recited the prayers; they died well and Paradise received them.
And the camel – the Prophet favoured her and gave her the grazing grounds of the Bani Hajjar to dwell in. The camel lived in this grazing ground until old age overtook her. Every Friday she would go to the Hashemite, the Prophet, to visit him. She went gladly to Muhammad the generous and gave him her greetings, and Muhammad received them. She never missed, but went every Friday, until the time came for the Prophet to leave the world. Then the days were confused and Friday was delayed. The camel started to visit the Prophet; but when she came to the mosque, she found all in confusion. She looked at the mosque and did not see the trusted one, but only Hasan’s father and all the Companions. All the Companions were at the mosque weeping bitterly together. They wept with cries and groans, believing that the last day had come.
When the camel came and understood about the death, she too wept and was full of sorrow. She continued to weep and to show sincerely how much she was distressed by the death of the Prophet. She came to the tomb; she betook herself to the grave and knelt on the stones. She rubbed herself on the tomb and the Companions and the Faithful watched her. She remained at the grave, mourning for the trusted one. Then her spirit found peace and the camel died.
On the death of the camel the Companions were grieved and each one arose to go to her. On her death, when the breath left her body, the Companions came and buried the camel. The Companions thought about her and repeated the story of her good deeds, making mention of the Prophet and repeating “God is Great.”
Tendi J. W. T. Allen.
The bush-strangled ruins of once magnificient courts and mansions on Pate Island in the Lamu archipelago inspired the sombre Al-Inkishafi of Sayyid Abdulla bin Ali bin Nasir. The poem was written between 1810 and 1820; the translation from which these extracts have been taken is by James de Vere Allen.
How many wealthy men have we not seen
Who in their splendour shone like the sun itself,
Strong in their great hoards of ivory,
Powerful in stocks of silver and of gold?
To them the whole world bowed down in homage,
For them the Road of Life was broad and straight.
They went their ways in arrogance, unafraid,
Heads high in air, their eyes screwed up in scorn.
They swung their arms and tossed their haughty heads,
Retainers went behind them and before.
Wherever they went they took the seat of honour
And many bodyguards surrounded them.
Their lighted mansions glowed with lamps of brass
And crystal, till night seemed like very day;
And in their halls dwelt Beauty everywhere
And Veneration stalked them all their days.
Their homes were set with Chinese porcelain
And every cup and goblet was engraved
While, placed amidst the glittering ornaments,
Great crystal pitchers gleamed all luminous.
The rails from which they hung the rich brocade
Were made – I swear by God, Source of all Wealth –
Of teak and ebony, row upon row of them,
Rank upon rank with fabrics hung displayed.
The men’s halls hummed with chatter, while within
The women’s quarters laughter echoed loud.
The noise of talk and merriment of slaves
Rang out, and cheerful shouts of workmen rose.
And when they went to rest, they had massage
And fans and gay-robed women for their ease
And music-makers, playing and singing songs
Ceaselessly till they slept. And when they slept
It was on exquisite beds of finest timber
Carefully chosen, with soft mattresses
With pillows of green cloth at head and foot.
Embroidered with silver thread and fine-spun gold.
Fabric was draped on canopies above
To shelter them. Their limbs were sprinkled over
With rosewater, and their bodies anointed
With attar and sandalwood and incense-smoke.
And yet, for all their wealth and proud grandeur
They took, with Death’s great Caravan, their leave
And journeyed to the mansions of the grave
And crumbled like blowing sand, and came to dust.
So sleep they now, in a city of a finger’s span.
No curtains there, no cushions nor silk couch.
Their bodies are broken, mutilated all
And crushed by the merciless constraint of tombs.
Their cheekbones have caved in and decomposed,
And pus and blood ooze through their parted lips;
Maggots infest their nostrils and their throats
And the beauty of their countenances is transformed.
They have become food for insects and for worms,
Termites and ants devour and bore them through.
Their bodies are eroded. Venomous snakes
And scorpions coil in the cavities.
Their lighted mansions echo emptily;
High in the painted rafters flutter bats.
There are no murmurings, no happy shouts,
And on carved bedsteads spid
ers spin their webs.
Where once in wall-niches the porcelain stood
Are now the ragged nests of wild birds.
Owls hoot in the solitude of the ruined halls
And quail and gamebirds scuttle and cry below.
On painted curtain-rails now vultures perch,
And young doves pout and coo between themselves
Or start, and flap their wings, and whirr away.
Swallows build their nests, and wood-pigeons.
Cockroaches rustle in the empty courts.
Where once men gathered, now the crickets shrill.
The chatter in the ante-rooms has ceased
And there remains only dirt and foul decay.
The courtyards now are choked with weeds and thorns,
Bushes are canopied over with wild vines.
Men fear today to pass these yawning doors
For inside Silence and Darkness reign supreme.
If you believe me not, and say I lie,
Then go yourself and peer about those halls.
Call out. Your echo will come back, naught else,
For human voices can be heard no more.
* * *
My soul, all mortal men are thus: for all
The Pen of God has signed an equal Writ;
And it is certain you will be as they
Unless you have and hold to your true faith.
O soul, beware, be not a firebrand,
Abandon false pride, hold to truth and right.
Your friends are saved – make sure to save yourself
Or else the Fires of Hell will eat you up.
Know you, the day will come when over all
The World there will be change: the Seven Heavens
Will be moved from their place. The Sun and Moon
Will tumble from the sky. And for us men
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