The Arabian Nights: Tales of 1,001 Nights

by vol 02 (tr Malcolm C

  Nights 395 to 414

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

  I have heard, O fortunate king, that when Ja‘far asked the old man where he had come from, he said: ‘From Basra.’ ‘Where are you going?’ asked Ja‘far. ‘To Baghdad,’ replied the man, and when Ja‘far then asked him what he was going to do there, he said that he was going to look for medicine for his eyes. Harun told Ja‘far to make fun of him and, although Ja‘far said: ‘If I do that, I shall hear something from him that I shall dislike,’ Harun insisted. So Ja‘far said: ‘If I prescribe something to help you, how will you reward me?’ The man answered: ‘Almighty God will give you a better reward than I can.’

  Ja‘far then said: ‘Listen to me and I’ll prescribe you something that I shall not prescribe to anyone else.’ ‘What is it?’ the man asked. Ja‘far said: ‘Take three ounces of the breath of the wind, three of the rays of the sun, three of moonshine and three of lamplight. Mix them all together and put them out in the wind for three months. After that, transfer them to a mortar with no bottom and pound them for three months. Then place them in a cracked bowl and leave this for three months in the wind. You must then use three dirhams’ weight of the medicine every day before you go to sleep, and if you go on doing this for three months you will be cured, God willing.’

  When the old man heard what Ja‘far said, he stretched himself out over his donkey and gave vent to a disgusting fart. ‘Take this in return for the medicine you have prescribed,’ he said. ‘If I use it and God cures me, I shall give you a slave girl whose services to you in your lifetime will end your days, and when you are dead and God has hurried away your soul to hellfire, she will smear your face with her excrement in her sorrow for you and, weeping and wailing over you, she will exclaim: “White-beard, what a fool you were!” ’ Harun fell over laughing and ordered the man to be given three thousand dirhams.

  Al-Sharif Husain ibn Rayyan reported that the caliph ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab was sitting one day to judge and arbitrate among his subjects, and with him were his senior companions, men of sound judgement. As he was seated there, a handsome and well-dressed young man was brought in by two other handsome young men, who dragged him by the collar and brought him in front of the caliph. After looking at the two of them and at their prisoner, ‘Umar told them to release him and then made him come closer. He then asked the two why they had brought in the young man, and they said: ‘Commander of the Faithful, we are full brothers and sincere followers of the true faith. We had an elderly father, a provident man, well respected among the tribes, free of all vices and known for his good qualities. He brought us up when we were young and treated us generously when we grew up.’

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

  I have heard, O fortunate king, that the two young men told the caliph: ‘Our father was well respected among the tribes, free of all vices and known for his good qualities. He brought us up when we were young and treated us generously when we grew up. In him were collected virtues and distinctions just as the poet has put it:

  They asked: “Is Abu’l-Saqr from Shaiban?” I said:

  “No, by God, Shaiban derives from him.”

  How many a father owes fame to a noble son,

  As the fame of ‘Adnan rests on God’s Apostle.

  One day, he had gone out to an orchard of his to enjoy the sight of its trees and to pick the ripe fruit when this young man killed him unjustly, and we ask you to allow us to retaliate on him for his crime in accordance with God’s command.’ ‘Umar cast a terrifying glance at the young man and said: ‘You have listened to the account given by these two. What have you got to say by way of an answer?’

  The youth was steadfast and ready of tongue. He cast aside dismay and apprehension, smiled and greeted the caliph in eloquent terms with courtesy, before continuing: ‘Commander of the Faithful, I have listened to their accusation; they are right in what they have told you about what took place, and the commandment of God cannot be gainsaid, but I shall tell you my story and it will be for you to judge. You must know I come from the purest Arab stock, they being the noblest race under the heavens. I was reared in Bedouin camps, but when my clan fell on hard times I moved to the outskirts of this town with my family, together with their possessions and their children. I was following a track leading between the orchards with some excellent she-camels of mine, by which I set great store. Among them was a handsome stallion of excellent breeding, which had proved to be very prolific and which was walking with them like a crowned king. One of the she-camels bolted across to the orchard owned by these men’s father, where trees were showing above the wall. It began to graze on these, but I had driven it away when an old man appeared through a gap on the wall, breathing fire in the heat of his anger. He had a stone in his right hand and was swaying like a lion about to spring. He struck my stallion with the stone, hitting a fatal spot so that it fell dead. When I saw it lying there beside me, I felt coals of rage blazing in my heart and so I took the same stone that he had used and struck him a mortal blow, bringing him to an evil end, for killers are themselves killed. When the stone hit him he gave a loud and distressing cry, and although I hurried away, these two ran after me, seized me and brought me before you.’

  ‘Umar, may God Almighty be pleased with him, said: ‘You have confessed to your crime; you cannot be allowed to go free as the law of retaliation must be applied “and there is no time to find refuge”.’* ‘The imam’s judgement must be obeyed,’ said the young man, ‘and I am content to accept the ruling of the law of Islam. I have, however, a young brother to whom his old father before his death made over a large sum of gold. He entrusted this to me, calling God to witness that it belonged to my brother and that I was to do everything I could to guard it for him. So I took it and buried it and I am the only person who knows where it is. If you condemn me to be killed here and now, the money will be lost. You will be responsible for the loss and my young brother will bring a case against you for it on the day when God will judge between his people. But if you grant me a three-day delay, I will appoint someone to take charge of my brother’s affairs and I guarantee faithfully to return. I have someone who will stand surety for this.’

  ‘Umar bent his head towards the ground and then looked up at the people standing there and asked who would stand surety for the young man’s return. The young man, after studying their faces, singled out Abu Dharr and, pointing to him, he said: ‘This man will be my guarantor.’

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

  I have heard, O fortunate king, that the young man pointed to Abu Dharr and said: ‘This man will be my guarantor.’ ‘Did you hear that, Abu Dharr?’ asked ‘Umar. ‘Will you give me a guarantee that he will come back?’ Abu Dharr agreed to stand surety for three days and ‘Umar accepted his offer and allowed the young man to leave. When the three-day period was almost up or at an end, he had still not presented himself to ‘Umar, who was sitting surrounded by his companions like a moon among stars. The two accusers were waiting there, together with Abu Dharr, and they asked him: ‘Where is our adversary? How can you think that he will come back, now that he has escaped? But we are not going to move from here until you produce him for us so that we can take our revenge on him.’ ‘I swear by the truth of God, the Omniscient,’ said Abu Dharr, ‘that if he fails to come at the end of the three days I shall keep my word and surrender myself to the caliph.’ ‘Umar, may God be pleased with him, said: ‘By God, if he does not come in time, then I shall deal with Abu Dharr in accordance with the dictates of Islamic law.’

  There was a great clamour as those present wept and groaned. The senior companions of the Prophet suggested to the
accusers that they should win praise by accepting blood money, but they refused to take anything except their revenge. Then, while the people were in a ferment, crying out in grief for Abu Dharr, up came the young man. He stood before the caliph and greeted him courteously, with his face shining and pearled with sweat, and he said: ‘I have handed my young brother over to his maternal uncles and have told them all about his affairs, including where his money is buried. Then I rushed through the heat of the day in order to keep my word like a noble man.’

  The people were astonished at how faithfully he had kept his promise and how courageously he had come forward to face death. One of them exclaimed to him: ‘How noble you are, young man, and how faithfully you keep your word.’ He replied: ‘Don’t you know that when death comes, no one can escape it? I kept my promise lest it be said that there is no more fidelity among mankind.’ Abu Dharr then said: ‘By God, Commander of the Faithful, I stood as guarantor for this young man although I didn’t know from what tribe he came and had never seen him before that day, but when he turned away from the others and singled me out, saying: “This man will stand surety for me,” I didn’t think it proper to refuse him. Generosity did not allow me to dash his hopes where it would do me no harm to agree, lest it be said that there is no more graciousness among mankind.’ At that, the two accusers said: ‘Commander of the Faithful, we forgive this young man for our father’s blood now that he has changed sadness into cheerfulness, lest it be said that there is no more kindliness among mankind.’

  ‘Umar was delighted that the young man had been pardoned and at the faithfulness with which he had kept his word. He was particularly impressed by the chivalry shown by Abu Dharr, and he approved of the readiness shown by the two accusers to act with generosity. He praised and thanked them, quoting:

  God repays those who do good among mankind,

  And no good deed done in His Name is wasted.

  He offered to pay them the blood money due for their father from the public treasury, but they said: ‘We forgave the killer for the sake of God, the Generous, the Exalted, and whoever acts for this reason does not follow up his good deed with reproaches or the infliction of harm.’

  A story is told that when al-Ma’mun, the son of Harun al-Rashid, came to Egypt, the guarded land, he wanted to destroy the Pyramids in order to take the treasures that they contained, but in spite of the efforts that he made in that attempt and the money he spent, he failed…

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

  I have heard, O fortunate king, that in spite of the efforts that the caliph made and the huge amounts of money that he spent in an attempt to destroy the Pyramids, he failed, and all he was able to do was to open up a small hole. It is said that in this hole he found exactly the same amount of money that he had spent, neither more nor less. This astonished him and he took the money and abandoned his intention.

  There are three Pyramids, and they are among the wonders of the world. There is nothing on the face of the earth so well built, so perfectly designed or so lofty. They have been built with huge rocks, into each side of which the builders drilled holes in which they set up iron bars. They would then drill into a second stone and set it down on the first, filling the space above the bars with molten lead. This was done with engineering exactitude until the whole building was complete. Each Pyramid was a hundred cubits high, using the cubit measure employed at that time, with all four sides sloping from top to bottom over a length of three hundred cubits.

  According to the ancients, the western Pyramid contains thirty treasure chambers constructed of coloured granite and filled with precious stones, heaped-up wealth, strange statues and implements, as well as magnificent weapons, all coated with a wonderful salve which will keep them from rusting until the Day of Judgement. There is glass there which can be bent but will not break, as well as types of compound drugs and various artificially produced liquids. In the second Pyramid the annals of the priests are written on granite tablets, one for each priest, containing a record of the wonders produced by his skill and of his deeds, while on the walls are pictures of people who look like idols and who are practising handicrafts of all kinds while seated on benches. Each Pyramid has a guardian who continues throughout the years to protect it from the ravages of time.

  The wonders of the Pyramids have bemused men of intelligence and insight. Many poems have been written to describe them, although little advantage can be got from the descriptions. Among them are the lines:

  When kings want their ambitions mentioned

  After their deaths, the tongues of buildings tell of them.

  Do you not see that the Pyramids have remained

  Unchanged by Time’s disasters?

  Another poet said:

  Look at the Pyramids and listen to the tale

  They tell of Time, the treacherous,

  Could they but speak, it would be to tell us

  From start to finish all that it has done.

  Another poet said:

  My two companions, is there beneath the sky a building

  To rival in its excellence the Pyramids?

  Time itself fears them, while all else

  Upon the face of earth fears Time.

  My eyes feast on the splendour of their building,

  But thoughts can take no pleasure in their purpose.

  Another poet said:

  Where is the builder of the Pyramids?

  What were his people, his age and his fate?

  Monuments outlast their builders for a time,

  Then ruin overtakes them and they fall.

  A story is told that a thief, who had repented sincerely to Almighty God, opened a shop in which he sold materials. It happened that, after some time had passed, one day after he had shut up his shop and gone home, a wily man came there dressed up to look like him. This was at night, and this man took some keys from his sleeve and told the market guard to light him a candle. The guard took the candle that he was given and went off to light it.

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

  I have heard, O fortunate king, that the guard took the candle that he was given and went off to light it. The thief then opened the shop and lit another candle that he had with him, so that when the guard came back the thief was discovered sitting in the shop studying the account book that he was holding and counting on his fingers. He stayed like that until dawn was breaking, when he told the guard to fetch him a camel driver with his camel to carry off some of his goods. When they came, the thief took four bundles of materials and gave them to the camel driver, who loaded them on his camel. The thief then shut up the shop, gave the guard two dirhams and went after the camel driver, leaving the guard believing that he was the owner.

  In the light of morning, the owner of the shop arrived and the guard started to call down blessings on him because of the gift of the dirhams, while the owner was taken by surprise as he had no idea what the man was talking about. Then, when he opened his shop, he found the guttering candle and the account book thrown down on the floor, and, on further inspection, he discovered that four bales of materials were missing. He asked the guard what had happened, and the man told him of the events of the night and how a camel driver had been hired to carry the bales. ‘Bring me the man who loaded these up with you at dawn,’ said the owner. ‘To hear is to obey,’ said the guard, and he fetched the man. The owner asked him where he had taken those bales and he said: ‘To such-and-such a wharf, and I put them in So-and-So’s boat.’ ‘Come there with me,’ the owner said, and when they arrived, the camel driver said: ‘This is the boat and here is the boatman.’ The owner then asked the boatman where he had taken ‘the merchant’ and his goods. ‘To such-and-such a place,’ the man replied, adding: ‘And he then fetched a camel driver who load
ed the bales on his camel and went off I don’t know where.’ The owner told him to fetch that particular camel driver, who, on being asked, told him that he had taken ‘the merchant’ and his goods from the boat to such-and-such a place. ‘Come there with me and show me,’ said the owner, and the camel driver took him to a place far removed from the river bank, pointing out the khan where the goods had been deposited and showing him ‘the merchant’s’ storeroom. The owner went up, opened it and found the four bales intact and with nothing missing. The thief had put his cloak on top of the materials and when everything had been loaded on the camel the owner gave that to the camel driver as well. He then shut up the storeroom and went with the driver, but the thief followed them until the goods had been loaded on to the boat. Then he confronted the owner and said: ‘Brother, may God preserve you, you have recovered your goods and nothing is missing. So give me back my cloak.’ The owner laughed and returned the cloak without causing any trouble for the thief, after which each went on his way.

  A story is told that the Commander of the Faithful Harun al-Rashid was very restless one night. He told his vizier, Ja‘far ibn Yahya the Barmecide: ‘I cannot sleep tonight; I am low-spirited and I don’t know what to do.’ Masrur, the caliph’s eunuch, who was standing in front of him, laughed and the caliph said: ‘What are you laughing at? Are you making fun of me or have you gone mad?’ ‘No, by God, Commander of the Faithful,’ said Masrur.

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

  I have heard, O fortunate king, that the caliph said to Masrur, the executioner: ‘Are you making fun of me or have you gone mad?’ ‘No, by God, Commander of the Faithful,’ said Masrur. ‘I swear by your relationship to the Prince of the Apostles that I didn’t mean to do that. The fact is that yesterday I went for a walk outside the palace, and when I got to the bank of the Tigris I saw a group of people who had collected there. I stopped and found a man called Ibn al-Qaribi, who was making them laugh. I happened to remember just now something that he said, and I was overcome by laughter. I ask your pardon, Commander of the Faithful.’ ‘Bring him here to me now,’ said the caliph.