The Arabian Nights: Tales of 1,001 Nights: Volume 1

by Penguin; Robert Irwin; Malcolm Lyons; Ursula Lyons

  Ni‘ma came out and heard what they were saying. He laughed and told the old woman to follow him into the house. She did this and came into the presence of Nu‘m, whom she greeted with the greatest courtesy. Looking at her, she was amazed and astonished by her great beauty and she said: ‘My lady, God has matched you in beauty with your master and I ask Him to protect you.’ She then took up her stance in the prayer niche and began to perform rak‘as and prostrations, reciting her prayers, until the day had ended and the darkness of night had arrived. ‘Mother,’ said Nu‘m, ‘rest your feet for a little.’ ‘Lady,’ she replied, ‘those who seek the world to come must put up with weariness in this one. Those who do not do this fail to reach the dwellings of the righteous in the next world.’ Nu‘m brought her food and said: ‘Eat of my food and pray God to grant me forgiveness and mercy.’ ‘I am fasting, lady,’ said the woman, ‘but you are a young girl and it is right for you to eat, drink and enjoy yourself. God will pardon you, for He said, Almighty is He: “All will be punished except for those who repent, believe and do good deeds.” ’*

  Nu‘m sat talking with the old woman for some time and she then told Ni‘ma: ‘Do your best to get this old woman to stay with us for a while, as the marks of asceticism are on her face.’ He replied: ‘I shall let her have a room where she can go to worship, and I shan’t let anyone else go in to interrupt her. It may be that God, the Glorious, the Exalted, will favour us because of the blessing that she brings and grant that we may never be separated.’ The old woman spent the night in prayer and Quranic recitation until the morning. Then she went to Ni‘ma and Nu‘m, wished them good morning and said: ‘I leave you to the care of God.’ ‘Where are you going, mother?’ asked Nu‘m. ‘My master has told me to give you a room to yourself where you can devote yourself to worship and prayer.’ ‘May God preserve him,’ said the old woman, ‘and continue to grant His favours to you both. I should like you to tell the doorkeeper not to stop me coming in to see you both. If God Almighty wills it, I shall visit the holy shrines, and after my prayers and devotions I shall call down blessings on you every day and night.’

  She then went off, leaving Nu‘m to weep at her departure, as she did not know why she had come. As for the old woman, she went to al-Hajjaj, and when she got to him he asked for her news. ‘I’ve seen the girl,’ she said, ‘and I know from looking at her that no woman in this age of ours has given birth to a more beautiful daughter.’ ‘If you do what I have told you to,’ said al-Hajjaj, ‘I shall give you a huge reward.’ ‘I want you to allow me a full month’s delay,’ she told him, and he granted her request. She then went back again and again to the house of Ni‘ma and Nu‘m…

  Morning now dawned and Shahrazad broke off from what she had been allowed to say. Then, when it was the two hundred and thirty-ninth night, SHE CONTINUED:

  I have heard, O fortunate king, that she then went back again and again to the house of Ni‘ma and Nu‘m, and they continued to show her more and more honour, as she would come to them both in the evening and the morning, and everyone in the house used to welcome her. Then one day, when she was alone with Nu‘m, she said: ‘By God, lady, I pray for you when I go to the holy shrines and I wish that you were with me, so that you could see the shaikhs who come there and they would call down on you whatever blessings you choose.’ ‘For the sake of God, mother,’ said Nu‘m, ‘take me with you.’ ‘I shall, if you get permission from your mother-in-law,’ replied the old woman. So Nu‘m said to her mother-in-law: ‘Lady, please ask my master to let me go out one day with this old woman in order to pray with the faqirs in the holy shrines.’ When Ni‘ma arrived and sat down, the old woman came up to him and kissed his hands. He told her to stop, and after blessing him she left the house.

  The next day she came when he was not in the house, and going up to Nu‘m, she said: ‘We prayed for you yesterday. If you get up immediately, you can come and look around before your husband returns.’ Nu‘m said to her mother-in-law: ‘Please, for the sake of God, allow me to go out with this good woman so that I can enjoy the sight of God’s saints in the holy places and get back quickly before my husband comes.’ Her mother-in-law said: ‘I am afraid he may find out about it.’ ‘By God,’ said the old woman, ‘I shall not let her sit down on the ground. She can look as she stands, and she will not be long.’

  Having tricked Nu‘m, she took her off to al-Hajjaj’s palace, where she put her in a room and told al-Hajjaj of her arrival. He came to look at her and saw that she was the loveliest of all the people of her age and never before had he seen her like. When Nu‘m saw him, she veiled her face from him, but he did not leave until he had summoned his chamberlain and ordered him to take her on a fast camel with an escort of fifty riders to Damascus, where he was to hand her over to the Commander of the Faithful, ‘Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan. He wrote a letter for the chamberlain, telling him to give it to ‘Abd al-Malik and to return quickly with his reply. The chamberlain hurried to mount Nu‘m on a camel and to leave with her on his journey, while, for her part, she shed tears at being parted from her husband.

  When they reached Damascus, the chamberlain asked leave to enter the presence of the Commander of the Faithful. This was granted and the chamberlain went in and told ‘Abd al-Malik about Nu‘m, who was put in a room of her own. The caliph then went to his harem and told his wife: ‘Al-Hajjaj has bought a slave girl for me from one of the princesses of Kufa for ten thousand dinars. He has sent me a letter and the girl has come with it.’ His wife said…

  Morning now dawned and Shahrazad broke off from what she had been allowed to say. Then, when it was the two hundred and fortieth night, SHE CONTINUED:

  I have heard, O fortunate king, that when the caliph told his wife about the girl, she said: ‘May God increase His favour to you.’ His sister then went to visit Nu‘m and when she saw her, she said: ‘Whoever has you in his house is not going to be disappointed, even if you cost a hundred thousand dinars.’ ‘Lady of the beautiful face,’ said Nu‘m, ‘which king owns this palace and what city is this?’ ‘This is Damascus,’ replied the other, ‘and the palace belongs to my brother, the Commander of the Faithful, ‘Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan.’ Then she added: ‘It seems that you didn’t know this.’ ‘By God, lady,’ said Nu‘m, ‘I know nothing about it.’ ‘But didn’t the man who sold you and took the price for you not tell you that it was the caliph who had bought you?’ asked her visitor. When she heard this, Nu‘m shed tears and said to herself that she had been tricked, but she added: ‘If I speak out, no one will believe me. It is better to stay silent and endure patiently in the hopes that God may send me quick relief.’ She bent her head in shame and her cheeks were already red from the effects of the journey and the sun.

  The caliph’s sister left her that day but came back on the next, with clothes and jewelled necklaces. After she had dressed Nu‘m, the caliph came in and sat by her side. ‘Look at this girl,’ said his sister, ‘in whom God has shown the perfection of beauty and loveliness.’ The caliph then told her to unveil, but she refused. Although he was unable to see her face, the sight of her wrists caused love of her to enter his heart. He told his sister that he would not sleep with her for two days so that the two of them might become friends first. He then got up and left. Nu‘m thought over her situation and was overcome by sorrow at having parted from her husband. When night came, she fell sick of a fever, neither eating nor drinking, until her face altered and her beauty faded. The caliph was distressed to hear about this, but although he fetched in clever doctors, no one could find a cure for her.

  So much for her, but as for Ni‘ma, her husband, when he came home, he sat on the bed and called ‘Nu‘m’, but there was no reply. He got up quickly and called out, but nobody came to him and all the slave girls in the house had hidden away for fear of him. He went to his mother and found her sitting with her hand to her cheek. When he asked where Nu‘m was, she told him: ‘With someone who has a better right than I have to be entrusted with her, and that is the pious old wo
man. Nu‘m went out with her to meet the faqirs and then come back.’ ‘How long has she been in the habit of doing that and when did she go out?’ he asked. ‘Early in the morning,’ his mother replied. ‘How could you have allowed her to do that?’ he asked, and she said: ‘It was she who suggested it to me.’ ‘There is no might and no power except with God, the Exalted, the Omnipotent,’ he quoted, and after leaving the house in a daze, he approached the chief of police. ‘Did you take my slave girl from my house by a trick?’ he asked, adding: ‘I shall most certainly complain of you to the Commander of the Faithful.’

  The police chief asked who had taken her, to which he replied that it was an old woman of such-and-such a description, wearing wool and carrying in her hand a rosary on which were thousands of beads. ‘Lead me to her,’ replied the police chief, ‘and I’ll rescue your slave girl for you.’ ‘Who knows the old woman?’ asked Ni‘ma. ‘No one knows the unseen except God, the Glorious, the Exalted,’ said the police chief, although he knew that the woman was al-Hajjaj’s procuress. ‘It is up to you to find my slave girl, and al-Hajjaj will judge between you and me.’ ‘Go to anyone you want,’ said the police chief, and so Ni‘ma went to al-Hajjaj’s palace, his own father being one of the leading citizens of Kufa.

  When he had arrived there, al-Hajjaj’s chamberlain approached his master and told him of the affair. ‘Bring him to me,’ said al-Hajjaj, and when Ni‘ma stood before him he asked him what the matter was. When Ni‘ma had told his story, al-Hajjaj said: ‘Bring the police chief here and I shall order him to look for the old woman.’ In fact, he knew that the police chief knew the woman, but when this man came before him, he said: ‘I want you to search for the slave girl of Ni‘ma ibn al-Rabi‘.’ ‘No one knows the unseen except Almighty God,’ the man said, but al-Hajjaj told him that he must send out riders to search for the girl on the roads and in the towns.

  Nights 241 to 260

  Morning now dawned and Shahrazad broke off from what she had been allowed to say. Then, when it was the two hundred and forty-first night, SHE CONTINUED:

  I have heard, O fortunate king, that al-Hajjaj told the police chief to send out riders to search for the girl in the towns and on the roads. Then he turned to Ni‘ma and said: ‘If your slave girl does not come back, I shall give you ten from my own house and ten from that of the chief of police.’ He ordered the man to go off to start the search, which he did, leaving Ni‘ma overcome by grief and despairing of his life. He was then fourteen years old and had no down on his cheeks. He started to weep and moan, shutting himself away from his household, and he and his mother kept on weeping until it was morning. Then his father came and said: ‘My son, al-Hajjaj has taken the girl by trickery, but God can bring relief at any time.’

  Ni‘ma’s sorrows increased; he did not know what he was saying and he couldn’t recognize those who came to see him. He remained ill for three months and, as his condition worsened, his father despaired of him, while the doctors who visited him said that the only thing to cure him would be the return of Nu‘m. One day, as his father was sitting there, he heard of a clever Persian doctor, who was described as an expert in medicine, astrology and divination. This man was summoned by al-Rabi‘, who, when he came, sat him by his side, showed him favour and asked him to look at the condition of his son. ‘Give me your hand,’ he said to Ni‘ma, and when he did, the Persian felt his pulse and looked at his face. Then he laughed and, turning to his father, he said: ‘The only thing wrong with your son is a disease of the heart.’ ‘You are right, doctor,’ said al-Rabi‘, ‘so use your knowledge to look at his case; tell me all about it and hide nothing from me.’ ‘He is attached to a slave girl,’ the Persian said, ‘who is either in Basra or in Damascus, and he won’t be cured until he is reunited with her.’ ‘If you can bring this about,’ said al-Rabi‘, ‘I shall give you a reward that will delight you, and you will pass all your life in wealth and luxury.’ ‘This is an easy matter which won’t take long,’ claimed the Persian, and, turning to Ni‘ma, he said: ‘It is all right; take heart, be cheerful and console yourself.’

  He then asked al-Rabi‘ for four thousand dinars, which al-Rabi‘ produced and handed over to him. After that the Persian said: ‘I want your son to come with me to Damascus and, if God Almighty wills it, I shall not come back without the girl.’ Next he turned to the young man and asked him his name. When he was told that it was Ni‘ma, he said: ‘Sit up, Ni‘ma; you are under the protection of Almighty God, and God will reunite you with your slave girl.’ Ni‘ma sat up and the Persian repeated: ‘Be of good heart. We are leaving today, so you have to eat, drink and be cheerful in order to fortify yourself for the journey.’ He then started to get ready everything that he might need in the way of treasures, taking from al-Rabi‘ a total of ten thousand dinars, as well as horses, camels and whatever else he needed in order to transport the baggage. Ni‘ma then said goodbye to his father and mother and left for Aleppo with the doctor. He found no news of Nu‘m and so the two of them went on to Damascus, where they stayed for three days.

  The Persian then took over a shop, filling its shelves with delicate porcelain and drapery, and embellishing them with gold and valuable pieces. In front of him he placed bottles containing ointments and potions of all kinds, surrounded by crystal goblets, and also in front of him was a divination table and an astrolabe. He put on the robes of a doctor and made Ni‘ma stand in front of him, wearing a shirt and mantle of silk with, around his waist, a silken wrapper embroidered with gold. The Persian told him: ‘Ni‘ma, from today you are my son, so only address me as “father”, and I shall call you “son”.’ ‘To hear is to obey,’ replied Ni‘ma.

  The people of Damascus came to the Persian’s shop, to look at the handsome Ni‘ma, the beauty of the shop itself and the goods that it contained. The Persian spoke to Ni‘ma in Persian and Ni‘ma would reply in the same language, with which he was familiar, as was the custom among the sons of dignitaries. The fame of the Persian spread among the townspeople. They started to describe their ailments to him and he would give them medicines. They would also bring him flasks containing the urine of the sick and, after looking at them, he would identify the illness of the owner of each, and the patient would confirm that what the doctor said was true. As he attended to the people’s needs, they flocked to him and his reputation spread throughout the city and in the houses of the great.

  One day, while he was sitting in his shop, an old woman arrived, riding on a donkey whose saddle cloth was made of brocade studded with gems. She stopped at the shop, reining in the donkey, and, gesturing to the Persian, she told him: ‘Take my hand.’ When he did, she dismounted and asked him: ‘Are you the Persian doctor from Iraq?’ He told her that he was and she produced a flask, saying that she had a sick daughter. The Persian looked at its contents and then said: ‘What is the girl’s name, lady, so that I may work out her horoscope and find out what time will be propitious for her to take the medicine.’ The old woman answered that the girl’s name was Nu‘m.

  Morning now dawned and Shahrazad broke off from what she had been allowed to say. Then, when it was the two hundred and forty-second night, SHE CONTINUED:

  I have heard, O fortunate king, that when the Persian heard the name Nu‘m he started to make his calculations, jotting notes on his hands, but he then said: ‘Lady, I cannot prescribe medicine for her until I know what land she comes from, because of the change of climate. You have to tell me where she was brought up and how old she is.’ ‘She is fourteen,’ said the old woman, ‘and she was brought up in Kufa in Iraq.’ ‘For how many months has she been here?’ he asked. ‘Only a few,’ was the reply. On hearing this and recognizing the girl’s name, Ni‘ma fainted, while the Persian told the woman that such-and-such a medicine would suit her daughter. ‘Pack up what you want and give me what you have prescribed with the blessing of Almighty God,’ she said, putting down ten dinars on the counter. The Persian turned to Ni‘ma and told him to prepare the ingredients for the medicine. The old
woman, looking at him, exclaimed: ‘God be my refuge! You look just like her.’ She then asked the Persian whether this was his mamluk or his son, to which he replied that he was his son. Ni‘ma picked up the drugs, which he put in a box, and, taking a piece of paper, he wrote the lines:

  If Nu‘m grants me the favour of a glance,

  Then Su‘da brings no happiness

  Or Juml any favour to match their names.