The child was provided with nurses, wet and dry, and brought up cosseted in luxury until he was fifteen years old. He was outstandingly handsome, well formed and shapely, and such was his father’s love for him that he could not bear to be parted from him, by night or by day. His father complained to one of his viziers about this excessive love, saying: ‘Vizier, I am afraid for my son, Qamar al-Zaman, lest Time bring misfortunes upon him, and I want to see him married during my lifetime.’ ‘Marriage is an honourable state,’ replied the vizier, ‘and it is right that while you live you should arrange for him to wed before you entrust him with authority.’ On the king’s orders, Qamar al-Zaman was brought in, bowing his head towards the ground out of respect for his father. ‘Qamar al-Zaman,’ said the king, ‘I want to see you married, so that I can arrange your wedding celebrations while I am still alive.’ ‘Father,’ replied the prince, ‘I have no wish to marry and no inclination towards women. I have found much that has been written and said about their guile and treachery. One poet has written:
Ask me about women, for here I am
A doctor who knows their circumstances.
A man with white hair or one short of cash
Has no share left in their affection.
Another poet has said:
Disobey women, for that is true obedience to God;
The young man led by women will not prosper.
They will stop him from perfecting his virtues,
Even were he to spend a thousand years in study.’
When he had finished, he went on: ‘Father, to marry is something that I shall never do, even if this costs me my life.’ When the king heard what his son had to say, the light turned to darkness in his eyes and he was greatly distressed…
Morning now dawned and Shahrazad broke off from what she had been allowed to say. Then, when it was the hundred and seventy-first night, SHE CONTINUED:
I have heard, O fortunate king, that when the king heard what his son had to say, the light turned to darkness in his eyes and he was greatly distressed by his son’s lack of obedience to him over the matter of his marriage. Because he loved him so dearly, however, he was unwilling to repeat his demand. Rather than angering him, he went up to him, showed him honour and treated him gently in such a way as to inspire affection.
While this was going on, Qamar al-Zaman was every day becoming more handsome, more graceful and more charming. King Shahriman waited patiently for his son to finish another full year, at the end of which he found that his eloquence and elegance had reached completion: his handsome form ravished the senses of all mankind; every breeze carried news of his grace; while his beauty was a seduction for lovers and a garden of perfection for the desirous. His speech was sweet; his face put the full moon to shame; the symmetry of his form, his elegance and charm made him resemble the branch of a ban tree or a bamboo shoot; his cheek might serve in place of a rose or a red anemone; and with his graceful qualities he was as the poet has described:
When he appeared, people said: ‘Blessed be God;
Great is the Lord Who fashioned and formed him.
He is the king of all the lovely ones,
And they are all his subjects now.
His saliva holds melted honey and his teeth form pearls.
He is perfect and unique in loveliness,
In which he leads all of mankind astray.
Beauty has written on his cheek:
“No one is beautiful but he.” ’
After another full year, his father summoned him and asked if he was prepared to listen to him. Out of awe and respect for his father he fell on the ground before him, saying: ‘Father, how can I not listen to you when God has commanded me to be obedient and not disobey you?’ ‘My son,’ said the king, ‘know that I want to see you married so that I can arrange for your wedding during my lifetime, after which, before my death, I shall make you ruler over my kingdom.’ When Qamar al-Zaman heard that, he bowed his head for a time and then said: ‘Father, this is something that I shall never do, even if it costs me my life. I know that it is true that Almighty God has placed upon me an obligation to obey you. In God’s Name, then, I ask you not to impose the duty of marriage on me, and do not think that I shall ever get married as long as I live. I have read books written both by old writers and their successors and studied the seductions, disasters and endless wiles to which they were subjected by women, as well as the calamities with which they were afflicted. How excellent are the poet’s lines:
Whoever is tricked by harlots can find no escape.
He may construct a thousand forts of lead,
But this will do no good, nor will his castles help.
Women show treachery to all, both near or far,
With their dyed fingers and their plaited hair.
Their eyelids may be dark with kohl,
But men choke on the draughts they pour.
Another poet has expressed it well in the lines:
Even if women are called on to be chaste,
They are carrion picked over by hovering vultures.
One night they may tell you their secrets;
Next day another owns their legs and wrists.
They are an inn where you spend the night and go,
Your place then taken by one you do not know.’
When the king heard what his son had to say and understood the point of the lines, he returned no answer because of the strength of his affection. Rather he showed him increased favours and the assembly was immediately dismissed. When this had been done, the king summoned his vizier for a private meeting. ‘Vizier,’ he said, ‘tell me what I should do about the matter of my son’s marriage.’
Morning now dawned and Shahrazad broke off from what she had been allowed to say. Then, when it was the hundred and seventy-second night, SHE CONTINUED:
I have heard, O fortunate king, that the king summoned his vizier for a private meeting. ‘Vizier,’ he said, ‘tell me what I should do about the matter of my son’s marriage. I asked for your advice about arranging for him to marry, and it was you who suggested that this should be done before I put him in charge of the kingdom. I have talked to him about marriage several times, but he has disobeyed me. So tell me what to do.’ ‘King,’ said the vizier, ‘wait for another year and when you next want to talk to him about this, don’t do it in private but in a court session when all the emirs and viziers are present with your soldiers standing by. When they are all there, then send for your son, and when he comes, tell him in the presence of the viziers, state officials and commanders that you want him to marry. He is bound to feel abashed in those circumstances and will not be able to disobey you while they are there.’
The king was delighted by what the vizier had said, thinking that the advice was good and rewarding him with a splendid robe of honour. He gave Qamar al-Zaman a year’s grace, during every day of which he grew more handsome, splendid and perfect. When he was almost twenty years old, God had clothed him in the robe of beauty and crowned him with perfection. His eyes were more bewitching than Harut’s and the coquetry of his glance more seductive than Taghut’s. His cheeks gleamed red; his eyelids put sharp swords to shame; the whiteness of his forehead resembled the gleaming moon; while his black hair was like the dark of night. His waist was more slender than the thread of a girdle; his buttocks were heavier than sand dunes, causing his sides to quiver and his waist to complain. His beauties bewildered mankind, and he was as one of the poets has described:
I would swear by his cheek and by his laughing mouth,
By the arrows that he scatters through his magic,
The softness of his sides and his sharp glance,
The whiteness of his forehead and the blackness of his hair.
I swear by his eyebrow which drives sleep from my eyes,
And overwhelms me when he forbids or commands,
By the scorpion locks that curl above his temples,
Seeking to murder lovers when he deserts them,
By the rose
s of his cheeks, the myrtle of his down,
The carnelian of his smiling mouth and by his pearly teeth.
I swear by the sweetness of his scent and the liquid of his mouth,
That puts to shame the grapes that are pressed for wine,
By buttocks that quiver whether he moves or stays still,
By his slender waist and by his generous hand,
His truthful tongue, his noble lineage and his exalted rank.
Musk is the residue of his cheek’s mole,
And from him is the scent of perfume spread.
The shining sun is his inferior,
And the crescent moon a clipping of his fingernail.
King Shahriman followed the vizier’s advice for another year, until the arrival of a festival.
Morning now dawned and Shahrazad broke off from what she had been allowed to say. Then, when it was the hundred and seventy-third night, SHE CONTINUED:
I have heard, O fortunate king, that Shahriman followed the vizier’s advice for another year, until the arrival of a festival. This was a court occasion, when the emirs, viziers, court officials, soldiers and commanders filled the king’s audience chamber. Qamar al-Zaman was summoned and when he came he kissed the ground thrice in front of his father and then stood before him with his hands folded behind his back. ‘Know, my son,’ said the king, ‘that I have summoned you here on this occasion before this assembly, attended, as it is, by all the state officials, for the purpose of giving you an order, which you must not disobey. My order is that you marry. I want to marry you to a royal princess and to arrange for your wedding celebrations before I die.’
When Qamar al-Zaman heard what the king said, he bent his head towards the ground for a while and then, raising it again, he looked at his father. Juvenile folly and youthful ignorance led him to say: ‘I shall never marry, even if I die for it. You are an old man and feeble-witted. Did you not ask me twice before to marry and I refused?’ He then spread out his hands, tucked up his sleeves as he stood before his father, and in his angry and agitated state, he poured out a flood of words. His father was ashamed and embarrassed that this had happened in the presence of the state officials and the soldiers who were there for the festival. In an outburst of regal energy, he shouted at his son, terrifying him, and he then called to the mamluks who were standing before him. ‘Seize him,’ he cried, and they rushed up to take hold of the prince, whom they then brought to his father. He ordered them to pinion him, which they did, and he was brought, hanging his head in fear, with his forehead and face beaded with sweat. He was deeply ashamed. His father poured abuse on him and said: ‘Damn you, you bastard, you child of fornication, how dare you answer me like this in the presence of my men? Until now, no one has taught you manners…’
Morning now dawned and Shahrazad broke off from what she had been allowed to say. Then, when it was the hundred and seventy-fourth night, SHE CONTINUED:
I have heard, O fortunate king, that Shahriman said to his son: ‘How dare you answer me like this in the presence of my men? Until now, no one has taught you manners. Do you not realize that even if a common man had done this, it would have been disgraceful?’
He ordered the mamluks to unfetter the prince but to confine him in one of the towers of the palace. They took him to an ancient tower with a ruined hall in which there was an old and dilapidated well. They cleaned out the hall, sweeping the flagstones, and they set a couch for the prince on which they spread a mattress and a rug. They gave him a pillow and brought a large lantern, as well as a candle, since even in daylight the place was dark. Then they brought him in and posted a eunuch at the door. Qamar al-Zaman threw himself on the couch, broken-spirited and sad. He was full of self-reproach and he repented of how he had treated his father at a time when repentance was of no use. ‘May God curse marriage,’ he said, ‘and curse girls and treacherous women. I wish that I had listened to my father and married, as that would have been better for me than this prison.’
So much for Qamar al-Zaman, but as for his father, he remained seated on his royal throne until evening. Then he had a private meeting with the vizier to whom he said: ‘Vizier, it is you who, through your advice, caused this whole quarrel between me and my son, so what do you advise me to do now?’ ‘O king,’ replied the vizier, ‘leave your son in prison for fifteen days before having him brought to you. If you then order him to marry, he will not disobey you.’
Morning now dawned and Shahrazad broke off from what she had been allowed to say. Then, when it was the hundred and seventy-fifth night, SHE CONTINUED:
I have heard, O fortunate king, that the vizier told the king: ‘Leave your son in prison for fifteen days, and then have him brought to you. If you then order him to marry, he will not disobey you.’ The king accepted this advice, but spent the night in a state of concern for his only son, whom he loved dearly. He had been in the habit of never falling asleep without putting his arm under his son’s neck, and so that night, in his disturbed state, he started to twist from side to side as though he were lying on burning branches. Such was his anxiety that all night long he could not sleep. His eyes filled with tears as he recited the lines:
My night was long as the slanderers slept.
It is enough for you to have a heart terrified by parting.
After a long night of care, I say:
‘Light of dawn, are you never to return?’
From another poet, he quoted:
When I saw that his eyes could not detect the Pleaides,
That the Pole Star had poured sleep over him
And that the stars of the Bear were dressed in mourning,
I knew that day would never dawn for him again.
So much for King Shahriman, but as for Qamar al-Zaman, when night fell, the eunuch brought him the lamp and lit a candle which he put in a candlestick. He also produced some food. Qamar al-Zaman ate a little, but started to reproach himself for the unmannerly way in which he had treated his father. ‘Don’t you know,’ he said to himself, ‘that a man is dependent on his tongue and that it is his tongue which plunges him into danger?’ His eyes filled with tears and he wept broken-heartedly for what he had done, repenting to the full of how he had treated his father and reciting:
A man dies through a slip of his tongue,
And not through a slip of the foot.
A slip of the tongue costs him his head,
While the other can be cured at leisure.
After he had finished eating, he wanted to wash his hands, and this the mamluk did for him. He then got up, performed the ritual ablution and, after having completed the sunset and the evening prayers, he sat down…
Morning now dawned and Shahrazad broke off from what she had been allowed to say. Then, when it was the hundred and seventy-sixth night, SHE CONTINUED:
I have heard, O fortunate king, that when the prince had performed the sunset and the evening prayers, he sat down on the couch and recited from the Quran the suras of ‘The Cow’, ‘The Family of ‘Imran’, ‘Ya Sin’, ‘The Merciful’, ‘Blessed is the King’, ‘Al-Ikhlas’* and the two Talismans. He ended with an invocation of blessing, seeking God’s protection and taking refuge with Him. He then lay down to sleep on a mattress covered on both sides with Ma‘dani satin and filled with Iraqi silk, while under his head was a pillow stuffed with ostrich feathers. Before doing this, he undressed, taking off his outer clothes and his drawers, leaving himself in a fine waxed shirt, while on his head there was a blue covering from Marv. He looked that night like a fourteen-day moon and, covered with a silk sheet, he slept with a lighted lantern at his feet and a lighted candle at his head.
He remained asleep for the first third of the night, not knowing what lay hidden for him in the future and what God, the Knower of the unseen, had decreed for him. As fate and destiny had ordained, that ancient tower and the hall had long been left deserted. In the hall was a well of Roman workmanship, in which lived a jinniya, of the stock of Iblis the damned, whose name was Maimuna and who was
the daughter of al-Dimriyat, one of the famous kings of the jinn.
Morning now dawned and Shahrazad broke off from what she had been allowed to say. Then, when it was the hundred and seventy-seventh night, SHE CONTINUED:
I have heard, O fortunate king, that the jinniya’s name was Maimuna and that she was the daughter of al-Dimriyat, one of the famous kings of the jinn. When Qamar al-Zaman had been asleep for the first part of the night, this Maimuna came out of her well on her way to overhear what the angels were saying in heaven. When she reached the top of the well, she noticed that, unusually, there was a light in the tower. She had been there for very many years and she told herself that this was not something that she had ever seen before. Filled with astonishment and realizing that there must be a reason for it, she went towards the light. On finding that it was coming from the hall, she entered and found the eunuch asleep by the door. Then, in the hall, she discovered that a couch had been placed on which lay a sleeping man with a lighted candle at his head and a lighted lamp at his feet. She was surprised to see the light and little by little she moved forwards towards it. Then, folding her wings, she stood beside the couch and removed the sheet from Qamar al-Zaman’s face.
When she looked at him, she stayed for a time, amazed by his beauty and grace, finding the candlelight dimmed by the radiance of his face. Sleep flirted amorously with his eyes and their black pupils; his cheeks were red, his eyelids languorous and his eyebrows curved, while from him spread a sweet scent of musk. He was as the poet described:
I kissed him, and those twin seductions,
The Arabian Nights: Tales of 1,001 Nights: Volume 1 Page 92