On her hand there was what my hand cannot reach –
A pattern painted on a wrist that weakened me.
Fearing lest the arrows of her eyes might harm this hand,
She clothed it with a covering of chain mail.
An ignorant doctor felt my pulse. I said:
‘The pain is in my heart, so leave my hand alone.’
She asked a phantom that had visited me and left:
‘By God, describe him; do not fall short or exaggerate.’
The phantom said: ‘I told him as I left, though you may die of thirst,
“Don’t try to come to water. It is not for you.” ’
She rained narcissus pearls, watering the rose,
And using hailstones to bite the jujubes.
After finishing this poem, he said: ‘Abu’l-Hasan, I have been struck by a misfortune from which I thought that I was secure, and nothing can give me more relief than death.’ ‘Be patient,’ replied Abu’l-Hasan, ‘for God may bring you a cure.’ He then left ‘Ali and went back to open up his shop.
He had not been sitting there long when the slave girl arrived. They exchanged greetings, and when he looked at her he could see that her heart was fluttering; she was distressed and showing obvious traces of sorrow. After welcoming her, he asked after Shams al-Nahar. ‘I shall tell you about her,’ said the girl, ‘but first, how is ‘Ali?’ Abu’l-Hasan told her the whole story of what had happened to ‘Ali and she expressed her sorrow and grief, sighing and exclaiming in wonder at his plight, before saying: ‘The case of my mistress is even more remarkable. When you went off, I returned with my heart palpitating in fear for you both, as I could hardly believe that you had escaped. When I got back, I found my mistress stretched out in the pavilion, neither speaking nor replying to anyone. The Commander of the Faithful was sitting by her head, but he could find no one to tell him about her and he did not know what was wrong. She remained unconscious until midnight and when she recovered, the Commander of the Faithful asked her what the matter was and what had come over her. When she heard his question, she kissed his feet and said: “Commander of the Faithful, may I be your ransom, I was attacked by a disorder which produced a burning sensation in my body and the pain caused me to faint, after which I don’t know what happened.” The caliph asked what food she had eaten that day and she told him that she had breakfasted on something that she had never eaten before. She then gave the impression of having recovered her strength and called for something to drink. After having taken it, she told the caliph to relax again. He sat down on his couch in the pavilion and everything there returned to order.
‘I went up to Shams al-Nahar, and when she asked me about the two of you, I told her what I had done with you and I recited to her the verses that ‘Ali had spoken when we were saying goodbye. This led her to weep secretly but she stayed silent. After the Commander of the Faithful had taken his seat, he ordered a slave girl to sing, and she chanted these lines:
I swear life has no sweetness now that you have gone.
Would that I knew how you are after leaving me.
If it is my absence that has made you weep,
It is right that my tears should now be of my blood.
‘When my mistress heard these lines, she fell on to the sofa in a swoon…’
Morning now dawned and Shahrazad broke off from what she had been allowed to say. Then, when it was the hundred and fifty-seventh night, SHE CONTINUED:
I have heard, O fortunate king, that the slave girl told Abu’l-Hasan: ‘When my mistress heard these lines, she fell on to the sofa in a swoon. I took her hand and sprinkled rosewater on her face. Then, when she had recovered, I said: “My lady, don’t expose yourself and everyone else in the palace to shame. I implore you by the life of your beloved, show patience.” “Is there anything here worse than death?” she replied. “But it is death that I seek, as this will bring me rest.” While we were talking, a girl sang the following lines:
They say: “Patience may lead to rest.”
I say: “But where is patience, now my love has gone?”
When I embraced him, he confirmed our bond
By cutting patience’s ties.
‘At the end of the song, Shams al-Nahar fainted again, and, on seeing this, the caliph hurried up to her. He gave orders that the drinks were to be removed and that the slave girls should return to their own apartments. He himself stayed with her until morning, when he summoned doctors and physicians and instructed them to treat her, without having any idea that what she was suffering from was love. I stayed with her until I thought that she was better, and it was this that kept me from coming to you. I have left her with a number of her confidantes who are concerned about her, as she told me to come to you to get news of ‘Ali.’
Abu’l-Hasan was astonished when he heard this account and he said: ‘By God, I have told you all that there is to say about ‘Ali, so go back, greet your mistress and do what you can to urge her to be patient. Tell her to keep her secret and say that I know her affair is a difficult one which needs careful planning.’ The girl thanked him, took her leave and went back to Shams al-Nahar.
So much for her, but as for Abu’l-Hasan, he stayed in his shop until evening and then, when the day was over, he got up, locked up and left. He went to ‘Ali’s house, where he knocked on the door and was admitted by a servant who came out to meet him. When he entered, ‘Ali smiled at him in delight. ‘Abu’l-Hasan,’ he said, ‘your absence today has distressed me, since for the rest of my life I shall be dependent on you.’ ‘Don’t talk like that,’ replied Abu’l-Hasan. ‘Were I able to cure you, I would do it for you before you asked, and if I could, I would ransom you with my life. Shams al-Nahar’s slave girl arrived today and told me that what had stopped her from coming was the fact that the caliph had been sitting with her mistress. She told me all about her mistress,’ and he then passed on to ‘Ali everything that the girl had told him. ‘Ali himself was grief-stricken and, bursting into tears, he turned to Abu’l-Hasan and said: ‘Brother, I implore you in God’s Name to help me in my trouble and to tell me what to do. Do please stay the night with me so that I may enjoy your company.’ Abu’l-Hasan agreed to this, and the two of them spent the time talking to one another.
When it was dark, ‘Ali sighed, wept and complained and through his tears he recited these lines:
Your image is in my eye; your name is on my lips;
You dwell in my heart, so how can you be gone?
My only grief is for a life that ends
Before we have enjoyed our share of union.
From another poet he quoted:
The sword of her glance broke through my covering;
The lance of her figure pierced the armour of my self-control.
Beneath the musk of her beauty spot she showed
The camphor of dawn breaking through the night of ambergris.
She was alarmed, biting the carnelian with pearls,
Each of which rests within a pool of sugar.
She sighed in her emotion, hand on breast,
And I saw what I had never seen before –
Pens of coral writing with ambergris
Five lines upon a crystal page.
You who carry a real sword, beware
The shattering blow of her eyelids when she looks,
And, spearsmen, guard against her thrust
If she attacks you with her figure’s lance.
When he had finished these lines, ‘Ali gave a great cry and fell down fainting, leading Abu’l-Hasan to think that he was dead. He remained unconscious until daybreak, when he recovered. He then talked with Abu’l-Hasan, who stayed sitting with him until morning was advanced, when he left to open his shop. After that, the slave girl came and stood there, and when he saw her, they exchanged greetings and she brought him greetings from her mistress. She then asked about ‘Ali. ‘My good girl,’ Abu’l-Hasan replied, ‘don’t ask me how he is or about the violence of his passion. He cannot sleep at night
or rest by day. Sleeplessness has emaciated him; he is overwhelmed by sorrow and his condition is not one that would give pleasure to a friend.’ ‘My mistress sends her greetings to you and to him,’ the girl said, ‘and she has written him a note. Her own plight is worse than his, and when she handed the note over to me, she told me to be sure to obey her instructions and to bring back an answer. I have the note with me and I wonder if you would go with me to him so that we can get a reply.’ ‘Willingly,’ Abu’l-Hasan replied and, after locking up the shop, he went off with the girl by a different way.
The two of them walked on until they reached ‘Ali’s house, where he left her standing by the door while he went in.
Morning now dawned and Shahrazad broke off from what she had been allowed to say. Then, when it was the hundred and fifty-eighth night, SHE CONTINUED:
I have heard, O fortunate king, that the two of them walked on until they reached ‘Ali’s house, where Abu’l-Hasan left her standing by the door while he went in. ‘Ali was delighted to see him and Abu’l-Hasan told him: ‘The reason that I am here is that a friend has sent his slave girl to you with a note in which he greets you and says that the reason he has kept away from you is that something has happened to him that serves to excuse him. The girl is standing at the door, so will you allow her to come in?’ ‘Bring her in,’ said ‘Ali, and Abu’l-Hasan winked at him to let him know that this was Shams al-Nahar’s slave girl. ‘Ali understood what he meant and when he saw the girl he became joyfully excited and he gestured to her, as if to say: ‘How is your master – may God grant him health?’ ‘He is well,’ she replied, and then she took out the note and passed it to him. He took it and kissed it and, after he had opened it and read it, he passed it to Abu’l-Hasan, who found the following lines written in it:
‘The messenger will bring you news;
You cannot see me, so content yourself with this.
You have left behind one passionately in love,
Whose eyes cannot be closed in sleep.
I struggle with patience in my suffering,
But no created being can ward off blows of fate.
Take comfort, for my heart will not forget,
Nor will your image ever be absent from my sight.
See what has happened to your wasted form
And use this to deduce my fate.
I have written you a letter without my fingers and spoken to you without my tongue. To explain my condition – sleep has deserted my eyes and care does not leave my heart. It is as though I have never known health, never abandoned distress, never seen a beautiful sight or passed a pleasant life. It is as though I have been created out of longing and out of the pain and distress of passion. For me, one sickness follows another. My passion is doubled and my longing multiplied. The ardour of love is stirred up in my heart and I am as the poet has described:
The heart is constricted and cares spread abroad;
The eye is sleepless and the body worn away.
Patience has left; I am for ever forsaken;
With deranged wits, I am robbed of my heart.
Know that complaints cannot extinguish the fire of distress but they serve to distract those who are made sick by longing and destroyed by separation. I console myself by speaking the word “union”, and how excellent are the lines of the poet:
Were there no anger nor approval in love,
Where would be the sweetness of messages and letters?’
When Abu’l-Hasan had read this, the words stirred up a turmoil of emotions and their meaning struck home to his vitals. He passed the note back to the girl, and when she had taken it, ‘Ali said to her: ‘Take my greetings to your mistress. Tell her of the strength of my passion and say that love for her is mixed with my flesh and my bones. Say to her that I need someone to save me from the sea of destruction and to rescue me from this confusion. Time has afflicted me with its calamities. Is there anyone to save me from the ill fortune that it brings?’ He then burst into tears and the girl wept with him. She then took her leave and went out with Abu’l-Hasan, to whom she said goodbye before going on her way.
As for Abu’l-Hasan, he went off, opened up his shop and took his usual place there.
Morning now dawned and Shahrazad broke off from what she had been allowed to say. Then, when it was the hundred and fifty-ninth night, SHE CONTINUED:
I have heard, O fortunate king, that Abu’l-Hasan said goodbye to the girl and went to open his shop, where he sat as usual. But when he had settled down, he found himself depressed and gloomy. He was at a loss to know what to do and he remained wracked by care for the rest of the day and the following night. The next day, he went to ‘Ali and sat with him until everyone else had left. He then asked him how he was, to which ‘Ali replied by complaining of his passionate love and reciting these lines:
Others before me have complained of love.
The remoteness of the beloved has prompted fears
That terrify the living and the dead,
But I have never seen or heard
Of a love such as lies buried in my heart.
From another poet he quoted:
My love for you has caused more suffering
Than mad Qais felt for Lubna, but I have not gone
Hunting the wild beasts as he did,
For madness here has many forms.
Abu’l-Hasan said: ‘I have never seen or heard of a lover like you. What is all this passion and bodily weakness, when you love one who returns your love? How would it be if your beloved was a contrary girl who tricked you and if your affair was exposed?’ According to Abu’l-Hasan’s account, ‘Ali was struck by what he had said and took it seriously, thanking him for saying it. Abu’l-Hasan went on to say that he had a friend who was the only one to know about him and ‘Ali and about their close association. He used to come and ask Abu’l-Hasan about him, and soon after this he asked him about the slave girl. Abu’l-Hasan told him deceptively: ‘She invited ‘Ali to visit her and their affair reached its climax. This is as far as it has got, but I have thought of a plan for myself which I want to submit to you.’ ‘What is it?’ asked the friend. ‘You must know, brother,’ said Abu’l-Hasan, ‘that I am a man well known for his many dealings in relationships between men and women. I’m afraid that if the affair between these two is discovered, it may lead to my ruin, the confiscation of my wealth and loss of my honour together with that of my family. What I propose to do is to collect all my money, make my preparations and then set out for Basra, where I shall stay without anyone’s knowledge until I see what happens to ‘Ali and the girl. They are deeply in love and are exchanging notes using a slave girl as a go-between. She is keeping their secret for the moment, but I’m afraid that she may become discontented and give it away to someone. Were word to spread, it might lead to my ruin and destruction, for in men’s eyes I would have no excuse.’
‘This is a serious matter you have told me about,’ said his friend, ‘enough to cause fear to a wise and experienced man. May God protect you from the evil that you fear and save you from the result you dread. Your plan, however, is a good one.’ So Abu’l-Hasan went off to his house and started to put his affairs in order and make preparations for his journey to Basra. After three days, he had done all this and he then set out. Three days later, his friend came to visit him and, not finding him there, he asked one of his neighbours where he was. ‘He left for Basra three days ago,’ the man said. ‘He had had some dealings with the Basran merchants and he went there to look for those who owe him money, but he’ll be back soon.’ His friend was taken aback, not knowing where to go, and he said to himself: ‘I wish I had not left him.’
He then thought of a way to approach ‘Ali and, after going to the latter’s house, he told one of his servants to ask his master’s permission for him to come in to greet him. The servant did this and returned to say permission had been granted. The man entered and finding ‘Ali lying back on a pillow, he greeted him. ‘Ali returned the greeting and welcomed him, afte
r which the man apologized for not having been to see him before, adding: ‘I am on friendly terms with Abu’l-Hasan. I was in the habit of entrusting him with my secrets and I used to spend all my time with him. For three days, however, I was away on business with a group of friends, and when I went to see him, I found his shop locked up. When I asked about him, his neighbours told me that he had gone to Basra. I don’t know any truer friend of his than you, so, for God’s sake, tell me about him.’
When ‘Ali heard this, he changed colour and became agitated. ‘This is the first that I have heard of his journey,’ he said, ‘and if what you say is true, things will be difficult for me.’ He then recited:
I used to weep for my lost joy,
While all my friends were still with me.
Now that Time parted us today,
It is for those friends that I weep.
He bent his head down towards the ground in thought. Then, after a time he looked up at one of his servants and told him to go to Abu’l-Hasan’s house and to ask whether he was there or on a journey. ‘If you are told that he is on a journey,’ he added, ‘ask where he has gone.’ The servant left and came back an hour later, going to his master and saying: ‘When I asked about Abu’l-Hasan, his household told me that he had started out for Basra. I found a slave girl standing by the door and, although I didn’t recognize her, she knew me and asked if I was the servant of ‘Ali ibn Bakkar. When I said that I was, she said: “I have a letter for him from his dearest love.” She came back with me and is now at the door.’ ‘Ali told him to bring her in, which he did, and Abu’l-Hasan’s friend looked at her and saw that she was a graceful girl.
The Arabian Nights: Tales of 1,001 Nights: Volume 1 Page 88