He invited the visitors into his house and they said: ‘This can only be a quick visit if we are to follow the caliph’s instructions, as he is waiting for you to come.’ ‘Then wait a short time for me to get ready,’ said Abu Muhammad. After he had done his best to persuade them, they went in with him and in the entrance hall they found hangings of blue brocade embroidered with red gold. Abu Muhammad told a number of his servants to take Masrur to the bath in his house, and when they did this Masrur discovered remarkable walls and marble slabs adorned with gold and silver, while the water was mixed with rosewater. A crowd of servants surrounded him and his companions, attending to all their needs, and when they left the bath, they were dressed in robes of brocade embroidered with gold. When they went back into the house they found Abu Muhammad seated in his upper room underneath hangings of gold brocade set with pearls and other precious stones. The room itself was furnished with couches adorned with red gold, while he himself sat on a covering laid over a throne set with gems.
When Masrur entered, Abu Muhammad came to meet him, greeted him and sat him down beside him. He ordered a table of food to be brought, and when Masrur saw it, he exclaimed: ‘By God, I have never seen anything to equal this in the caliph’s palace!’ There was food of every kind there, all set out on gilded china. Masrur reported that they ate, drank and enjoyed themselves until the end of the day and Abu Muhammad then presented each of them with five thousand dinars, while the next day he gave them green robes embroidered with gold and showed them the greatest deference. Masrur told him that they couldn’t stay any longer for fear of the caliph, but Abu Muhammad said: ‘Master, let me wait until tomorrow so that I can make my preparations to go with you.’
They stayed there that day and on the following morning Abu Muhammad’s servants saddled his mule with a saddle of gold studded with all kinds of pearls and jewels. ‘I wonder,’ said Masrur to himself, ‘if, when Abu Muhammad comes before him in all this pomp, the caliph will ask how he came to be so wealthy.’ They then said goodbye to al-Zubaidi and left Basra, travelling on until they reached Baghdad. When they entered the caliph’s presence and stood before him, Abu Muhammad was invited to sit, and when he had done so he addressed the caliph courteously, saying: ‘Commander of the Faithful, by way of presenting my services to you, I have brought you a gift, if you will allow me to fetch it.’ When the caliph agreed to this, Abu Muhammad produced a chest, and after opening it he brought out presents. Among them were trees of gold with leaves of polished emeralds and fruits of rubies, topazes and gleaming pearls, which filled the caliph with astonishment. Abu Muhammad then opened another chest and took out a tent of brocade, adorned with pearls, rubies, emeralds, chrysolites and various other gems. Its supports were made from fresh Indian aloes wood; its fringes were set with emeralds; and on it were pictures, every one representing living creatures of all sorts, both birds and beasts, and these in turn were set with rubies, emeralds, chrysolites and hyacinths, as well as precious stones of all kinds.
Al-Rashid was delighted to see all this and Abu Muhammad said: ‘You should not think, Commander of the Faithful, that I have brought you this because I was influenced by fear or desire. I see myself as a common man, and this treasure is suitable for no one but the caliph. If you permit me, I shall show you some of my powers.’ ‘Do as you wish and let us see,’ said al-Rashid. ‘To hear is to obey,’ replied Abu Muhammad. He moved his lips and pointed towards the battlements of the palace, which bent down towards him and then after a second gesture went back to their place. At a wink from him, closets appeared with bolted doors, and when he spoke to them he was answered by birdsong.
All this astonished al-Rashid, who said: ‘From where have you got all this, you who are known as Abu Muhammad the sluggard? I am told that your father was a barber surgeon working in the baths who left you nothing.’ ‘Listen to my story, Commander of the Faithful,’ said Abu Muhammad…
Morning now dawned and Shahrazad broke off from what she had been allowed to say. Then, when it was the three hundred and first night, SHE CONTINUED:
I have heard, O fortunate king, that Abu Muhammad said: ‘Listen to my story, Commander of the Faithful, for it is so strange and wonderful that, were it written with needles on the inner corners of the eye, it would serve as a warning to those who take heed.’ The caliph told him to explain and HE CONTINUED:
Commander of the Faithful, may God prolong your glory and power, when people say that I am known as ‘the sluggard’ and that my father left me nothing, this is true. My father, as you said, was indeed a barber surgeon, working in the baths, while I in my youth was the idlest person on the face of the earth. So ingrained was this idleness of mine that if I was sleeping on a hot day and the sun began to shine down on me, I would be too lazy to get up and move into the shade. This went on until I was fifteen years old and then my father died and was received into the mercy of Almighty God. He left me nothing, but my mother used to act as a servant and she would fetch me food and drink as I lay on my side. One day, she came to me with five silver dirhams and told me that the shaikh Abu’l-Muzaffar was intending to go on a journey to China, he being a good man who loved the poor. ‘My son,’ she said, ‘take these five dirhams and come with me to ask him to use the money to buy you something from China from which, by the grace of Almighty God, you might make a profit.’ I was too lazy to get up and go with her, but she swore by God that if I didn’t, she would not bring me food or drink or come in to see me but would leave me to die of hunger and thirst.
When I heard that, Commander of the Faithful, I realized that she was doing this because she knew how lazy I was. So I said: ‘Help me to sit up,’ which she did, while I shed tears. Then I said: ‘Bring me my shoes,’ and when she had brought them, I asked her to put them on my feet, which she did. I told her to lift me up from the ground, and when she had done that, I told her to support me as I walked. Leaning on her and stumbling over the skirts of my robe, I walked until we got to the river bank, where we greeted the shaikh. ‘Uncle,’ I said to him, ‘are you Abu’l-Muzaffar?’ ‘At your service,’ he replied. ‘Then take these dirhams,’ I told him, ‘and use them to buy me something from China, from which God may allow me a profit.’ ‘Do you recognize this young man?’ he asked his companions. ‘Yes,’ they said. ‘He is known as Abu Muhammad the sluggard, and this is the only time we have ever known him to leave his own house.’ ‘Hand over the dirhams, my boy,’ said the shaikh, ‘and may Almighty God add His blessing.’ He took the money from me, saying: ‘In the Name of God.’
After this I went back home with my mother and Abu’l-Muzaffar set off on his journey, accompanied by a number of merchants, eventually reaching China. Here he traded and then he and his companions set off for home, having finished all that they wanted to do. After he had sailed for three days, he told the others to halt, and when they asked him why, he said: ‘I forgot the errand that I was supposed to run for Abu Muhammad the sluggard, so come back with me so that we can buy something for his advantage.’ They said: ‘For God’s sake, don’t make us go back. We have travelled a very long way and faced great perils and extreme hardship.’ When he insisted, they offered him twice the profit that could be made on five dirhams if he would change his mind. He agreed to this and they collected a large sum of money for him.
They then sailed on until they came in sight of a populous island, where they anchored, and the merchants landed to buy up minerals, jewels, pearls and so forth. Abu’l-Muzaffar caught sight of a man sitting with a large group of monkeys in front of him, among whom was one who had had some of its hair pulled out. When their master’s attention wandered, the others would lay hold of that particular monkey, strike it and throw it at their master, after which he would get up, beat them, tie them up and punish them, leading them all to become angry with the other monkey and to strike it again. When he saw it, Abu’l-Muzaffar was sorry for it and pitied it, so he asked its owner whether he would sell it to him. ‘Try buying it,’ the man said, and Abu’l-Muzaf
far told him: ‘I have five dirhams belonging to an orphan. Will you take these for it?’ ‘Certainly, God bless you,’ the man answered, and Abu’l-Muzaffar took it and handed over the money. His servants took it to the ship and tied it up, after which they weighed anchor and sailed to another island, where they anchored.
Here there were divers who would dive for precious stones, pearls, jewels and so on. The merchants paid them a fee for this, and when the monkey saw them diving he freed himself from his bonds, jumped off the side of the ship and dived with them. ‘There is no might and no power except with God, the All-Highest, the Almighty!’ exclaimed Abu’l-Muzaffar. ‘I’ve lost the monkey thanks to the ill luck of the poor fellow for whom we got it,’ and he and the others despaired of ever seeing it again. At that point a number of divers broke surface and there they could see the monkey coming up with them, holding in his hands valuable jewels, which it threw down before Abu’l-Muzaffar. He was astonished and said: ‘There must be some great mystery attached to this monkey.’
They again weighed anchor and sailed on to what was known as the Island of the Zanj, a race of cannibal blacks. When these people saw the ship, they sailed out to it in canoes and captured everyone on board. They tied them up and brought them to their king, who ordered that a number of the merchants be killed. Their throats were cut and their flesh was eaten, after which the remainder were left for the night tied up and in great distress. After night had fallen, however, the monkey came to Abu’l-Muzaffar and untied his bonds. When the others saw that he was free, they said: ‘It may be that God will save us through Abu’l-Muzaffar.’ He told them: ‘Know that, by the will of Almighty God, I was freed only by this monkey…’
Morning now dawned and Shahrazad broke off from what she had been allowed to say. Then, when it was the three hundred and second night, SHE CONTINUED:
I have heard, O fortunate king, that ABU MUHAMMAD WENT ON:
Abu’l-Muzaffar told the others: ‘By the will of Almighty God, I have been freed by this monkey, for which I shall pay him a thousand dinars.’ They said: ‘We too shall each pay him a thousand dinars if he rescues us.’ At that, the monkey went to them and started to free them, one after the other, until he had released them all. They then went off to their ship, which they found to be intact. Nothing had been taken from it and so they weighed anchor and sailed off. It was then that Abu’l-Muzaffar told them to pay what they had promised to the monkey and, obediently, each of them handed over a thousand dinars, while Abu’l-Muzaffar produced a thousand dinars of his own. As a result, a huge sum of money was collected for the monkey.
They now sailed on until they reached the city of Basra, where their friends met them as they disembarked. ‘Where is Abu Muhammad the sluggard?’ asked Abu’l-Muzaffar. My mother heard of this, and she came to me while I was sleeping to tell me that Abu’l-Muzaffar had arrived back in the city. ‘Get up,’ she told me. ‘Go and greet him and ask him what he has brought for you, as maybe Almighty God has opened up some opportunity for you.’ ‘Lift me up from the ground,’ I told her, ‘and support me, so that I can go down to the river bank.’ Then I walked off, stumbling over the skirts of my robe, until I came to the shaikh Abu’l-Muzaffar, and when he saw me he exclaimed: ‘Welcome to the man whose dirhams saved my life and the lives of these merchants, through the will of Almighty God!’ He then told me: ‘Take this monkey which I have bought for you. Go off with him to your house and then wait until I come to you.’
I took the monkey off with me, saying to myself: ‘By God, this is a valuable piece of merchandise.’ When I got home I said to my mother: ‘Whenever I sleep, you tell me to get up in order to buy and sell, so look and see for yourself this piece of merchandise.’ I sat down, and while I was seated Abu’l-Muzaffar’s slaves came to me and asked if I was Abu Muhammad the sluggard. When I said that I was, in came Abu’l-Muzaffar himself, following behind them. I got up to meet him, and after I had kissed his hands he told me to go with him to his house. ‘To hear is to obey,’ I said, and I went with him until I had got to his house. Then he told his slaves to fetch the money, which they did, and he said: ‘My son, God has provided you with all this money as profit on your five dirhams.’ The slaves lifted it in boxes on their heads and, after giving me the keys of the boxes, Abu’l-Muzaffar told me to lead the slaves to my house, telling me that all that wealth was mine.
When I came to my mother, she was delighted and said: ‘My son, as God has provided you with all this money, give up your idle ways and go and trade in the market.’ So I stopped being idle and opened a shop, in which the monkey would sit with me on my seat, eating when I ate and drinking with me. Every day, however, he would go off from early morning until noon, and then he would come back with a purse containing a thousand dinars, which he would put down beside me before taking his seat. He kept on doing this for a considerable time until I had collected a large sum of money with which I bought property and estates, planted orchards and acquired mamluks, black slaves and servant girls.
One day, I happened to be sitting with the monkey when suddenly he looked to the right and left, and while I was wondering what that might mean, through God’s permission he spoke with a clear voice and said: ‘Abu Muhammad.’ When I heard him speak I was terrified, but he told me: ‘Don’t be afraid and I shall tell you about myself. I am a marid of the jinn. I came to you because you were so poor, while now you don’t even know how much money you have. I now need you for something which will be to your advantage.’ I asked him what that might be and he said: ‘I want to marry you to a girl like a full moon.’ ‘How?’ I asked. He said: ‘Tomorrow, put on your finest robes, mount your mule with the golden saddle, go to the market of the forage sellers and ask for the shop of the sharif. When you sit with him, tell him that you have come to ask for his daughter’s hand in marriage. If he then says that you haven’t any money, reputation or good family, give him a thousand dinars, and if he asks for more, give it to him and tempt him with money.’ I agreed, saying that, God Almighty willing, I would do that the next day.
The next day, I put on the most splendid of my robes and mounted the mule with the golden saddle, after which I went to the market of the forage sellers and asked for the shop of the sharif. I found him sitting there and so I dismounted, greeted him and sat with him…
Morning now dawned and Shahrazad broke off from what she had been allowed to say. Then, when it was the three hundred and third night, SHE CONTINUED:
I have heard, O fortunate king, that ABU MUHAMMAD SAID:
I dismounted, greeted him and sat with him, having with me ten black slaves and mamluks. ‘Perhaps you have some need that I may be able to fulfil,’ the sharif said to me. ‘Yes,’ I said, ‘I do need something,’ and when he asked me what this was, I told him that I had come to ask for his daughter’s hand in marriage. ‘You have no money, reputation or good family,’ he told me, at which I brought out a purse containing a thousand dinars of red gold and said: ‘This is my reputation and my lineage. The Prophet, may God bless him and give him peace, said: “Money is an excellent reputation,” and how admirable are the lines of the poet:
If someone owns two dirhams, his lips have learned
And can speak words of every kind.
His companions come to listen to him and you see
Him moving haughtily among the crowds.
Were it not for the dirhams, in which he takes such pride,
You would find him in the worst of states among the people.
If a rich man says something wrong, the people say:
“You may be right, and what you say is not impossible,”
But if a poor man speaks the truth, they say:
“You are a liar; what you say is wrong.”
Money invests a man with dignity and beauty in all lands.
Money is the tongue of those who seek eloquence,
And the weapon of whoever wants to fight.’
After the sharif had listened to what I had to say and had understood the point o
f my lines, he looked down at the ground for a while and then raised his head and said: ‘If this has to be, I want another three thousand dinars from you.’ ‘To hear is to obey,’ I answered, and I then sent one of the mamluks to my house. When this man had returned with the money that the sharif had demanded, and he had seen it, he left his shop, telling his servants to lock it up, and after he had invited his friends from the market to come to his house he wrote a marriage contract for me and his daughter, telling me that he would bring me in to her after ten days.
I went back home in a state of delight, and when I was alone with the monkey I told him what had happened to me and he congratulated me. Then, when the time set by the sharif came near, the monkey said to me: ‘I want you to do something for me, and if you do, then you can have whatever you want from me.’ I asked him what this was and he told me: ‘At the top end of the room in which you will sleep with the sharif’s daughter there is a cupboard whose door is fastened with a brass ring. The keys are under the ring. Take them and open the door, and you will then find an iron chest at whose four corners are four talismanic flags. In the middle of it there is a basin full of money, while beside it there are eleven snakes. In the basin a white cock is tied up and beside the chest is a knife. Take this knife and cut the cock’s throat; then cut the flags in pieces and overturn the chest. After that you can come out and deflower your bride. This is what I want you to do.’ ‘To hear is to obey,’ I replied.
The Arabian Nights: Tales of 1,001 Nights Page 4