‘Good,’ he said, ‘and now tell me about the prayers performed at the two festivals.’ ‘These traditionally comprise two rak‘as with no summons to prayer, when the worshipper does not rise. He says: “Prayer brings the people together,” and in the first prayer he recites the formula “God is greater” seven times, in addition to its use as an introduction, while in the second, according to the doctrine of the imam al-Shafi‘i, may God Almighty have mercy on him, it is repeated five times in addition to its use as a signal for the worshippers to rise. This is followed by the confession of faith.’
Morning now dawned and Shahrazad broke off from what she had been allowed to say. Then, when it was the four hundred and forty-second night, SHE CONTINUED:
I have heard, O fortunate king, that the girl told the scholar about the prayers to be performed at the two festivals. ‘Good,’ he said, ‘and now tell me about the prayers to be used during eclipses of the sun and the moon.’ ‘These comprise two rak‘as without a summons to prayer or standing on the part of the worshipper. In each rak‘a, he bends and straightens up twice, prostrates himself twice, then sits, recites the confession of faith and pronounces the formula of peace.’ ‘Well done,’ he said, ‘and now tell me about the prayer for rain.’ She replied: ‘It comprises two rak‘as, with no call to prayer and no standing. The worshipper utters the confession of faith and the formula of peace and the preacher substitutes a prayer for God’s mercy in place of the formula “God is greater” in the sermons of the two feasts. He turns his cloak upside down and produces prayers of intercession.’
‘Well done,’ he said. ‘Now tell me about the witr prayers.’ ‘These must comprise a minimum of one rak‘a and a maximum of eleven.’ ‘Good,’ he replied, ‘and now tell me about the forenoon prayer.’ ‘This has a minimum of two rak‘as and a maximum of twelve.’ ‘Good,’ he said, ‘and what about the prayer of seclusion?’ ‘This is a matter of tradition,’ she said, and when he asked about its conditions, she said: ‘Intention, the fact that the worshipper must not leave the mosque except for some need, sexual abstinence, fasting and silence.’ ‘Good,’ he said, ‘and now tell me about the obligations of the pilgrimage.’ ‘The pilgrimage is obligatory on those who have reached maturity, who are in possession of their senses, are Muslims and are able to make the journey. It is obligatory once in a lifetime before death.’ ‘What are the precepts governing the pilgrimage?’ he asked. ‘The adoption of the pilgrim dress,’ she replied, ‘together with the halt at ‘Arafat, the circumambulation of the Ka‘ba, running the prescribed course and shaving or shortening the hair.’ ‘What are the precepts governing the ‘umra?’ he asked, and she said: ‘Adherence to what is prohibited, the circumambulation and the running.’ ‘And what precepts apply to what is prohibited?’ he asked. She said: ‘They must not wear anything that has been sewn; they must not use perfume and they must give up shaving their heads, cutting their nails, killing game and indulging in sexual intercourse.’
‘What are the traditional rites of the pilgrimage?’ he asked. She said: ‘The use of the words “here am I”, the circumambulation of the Ka‘ba when the pilgrim arrives and before he leaves, passing the night at al-Muzdalifa and Mina, and the stoning.’ ‘Well done,’ he said. ‘So tell me about the holy war and its fundamentals.’ She replied: ‘Its fundamentals comprise an invasion by the unbelievers, the presence of the imam, preparation, and steadiness in the face of the enemy. As for what is covered by tradition, this is the encouragement to fight as is found in the Quran: “Prophet, encourage the Muslims to fight.” ’*
‘Good,’ he said, ‘and now tell me about the precepts governing trade and what is laid down by tradition.’ ‘The precepts,’ she said, ‘comprise the willingness to sell and the acceptance of the offer, and that what is sold is the property of the vendor, is in usable condition and is capable of being handed over. The last precept is that interest must not be charged. What is covered by tradition is the right to cancel the sale and to exercise the power of choice before the seller and the buyer part from each other, as the Prophet, may God bless him and give him peace, said: “The parties to a sale have the right of free choice while they are still together.” ’ ‘Good,’ he replied, ‘and now tell me what cannot be sold for what.’ She said: ‘On this point I know an authentic tradition reported by Nafi‘ of the Apostle of God, may God bless him and give him peace, according to which he forbade the sale of dry for fresh dates, fresh for dry figs, dried for fresh meat and fresh for clarified butter. So where foodstuffs are of the same kind, it is not permissible to barter one for another.’
Listening to what she had to say, her interrogator recognized that she was sharp-witted, intelligent and astute, while in addition she had a grasp of jurisprudence, the traditions of the Prophet, and Quranic interpretation. He told himself that he would have to try to manoeuvre her into a position in which he could get the upper hand over her in the presence of the caliph. So he asked her the meaning of the word wudu’ (ritual ablution), to which she replied: ‘It means cleanness and freedom from impurities.’ He then asked the basic meaning of salat (prayer) and she said: ‘It is to invoke good.’ He asked about ghusl (the major ritual ablution) and she told him that it meant ‘purification’. Then he asked the meaning of al-sawm (fasting) and she said that it meant ‘restraint’; and when he asked about zakat (the alms tax), she said that it meant ‘increase’. When he asked about al-hajj (pilgrimage), she said that it meant ‘to go towards’, and then when he asked about jihad (the holy war), she said that it meant ‘to ward off’.
After this, her interrogator had nothing left to say…
Morning now dawned and Shahrazad broke off from what she had been allowed to say. Then, when it was the four hundred and forty-third night, SHE CONTINUED:
I have heard, O fortunate king, that when the scholar had nothing left to say he rose to his feet and said: ‘Commander of the Faithful, I testify that this girl knows more about Islamic jurisprudence than I do.’ She then said: ‘I will put a question to you, and if you are a man of learning, give me a quick answer.’ ‘Ask your question,’ he said, and when she asked: ‘What are the arrows of religion?’ he told her: ‘There are ten of these. The first is the confession of faith, which covers religious belief. The second is prayer, which is a matter of natural constitution; the third is the alms tax, a matter of purification; the fourth is fasting, which is a shield; the fifth is the pilgrimage, which is the law of Islam; the sixth is the holy war, which is a general obligation; the seventh and eighth are to command what is good and to forbid what is bad, these being matters of self-respect; the ninth is association, that is, companionship; while the tenth is the pursuit of learning, which is the commendable path.’
‘That is good,’ she told him, ‘but there remains one question: what are the principles of Islam?’ ‘There are four of these,’ he replied. ‘Sound faith, sincerity of intent, keeping within the bounds of law and keeping one’s word.’ ‘I have one more question,’ she told him. ‘If you answer it, well and good, but otherwise, I shall take your robe from you.’ ‘Continue,’ he told her, and she asked: ‘What are the branches of Islam?’ He stayed silent for a time and gave no answer. ‘Take off your clothes,’ she told him, ‘and I shall explain the branches to you.’ ‘Explain, then,’ said the caliph, ‘and I will have his robe removed for you.’ ‘There are twenty-two of these branches,’ she said. ‘They comprise adherence to the glorious Quran; following the example of the Apostle of God, may God bless him and give him peace; refraining from doing harm; eating permitted food and avoiding what is forbidden; returning what has been wrongfully seized to its owners; repentance; an understanding of religion; love for Abraham, the Friend of God, and for the followers of the divine revelation; belief in God’s messengers; fear of apostasy; preparation for death; the force of certitude; forgiveness from a position of power; a show of strength from a position of weakness; endurance of misfortunes; a knowledge of God; a knowledge of what was brought by His Prophet, may God b
less him and give him peace; opposing Iblis, the damned; fighting against and opposing one’s own desires; and sincerity shown towards God.’
When the caliph heard this, he ordered that the robe and the shawl of the faqih be removed. He took them off and left the caliph’s presence, defeated and ashamed. Another man then stood up and said to the girl: ‘Listen to a few questions that I have to put to you.’ ‘Continue,’ she told him, and he asked: ‘On what terms can payment properly be made in advance?’ She said: ‘The sum must be fixed, the class of goods must be fixed and the delivery date must be fixed.’ ‘Good,’ he said, ‘and what are the principles and traditions that apply to eating?’ She said: ‘The principles comprise an acknowledgement that it is God Almighty Who has supplied the food and the drink, and gratitude to Him for that.’ ‘What is gratitude?’ he asked. ‘It is shown when God’s servant spends all that God’s generosity provides for him on the purposes for which he was created.’ ‘What traditions apply to eating?’ he asked. She said: ‘The invocation of the Name of God, washing the hands, sitting with the weight on the left hip, eating with three fingers and eating what is next to you.’ ‘Well done,’ he said, ‘so tell me about good table manners.’ She replied: ‘You must take small mouthfuls and not look too often at whoever is sitting with you.’
Morning now dawned and Shahrazad broke off from what she had been allowed to say. Then, when it was the four hundred and forty-fourth night, SHE CONTINUED:
I have heard, O fortunate king, that the girl was asked about good table manners and replied. ‘Good,’ said the faqih, ‘and so now tell me about heartfelt beliefs and their opposites.’ ‘There are three of these,’ she answered. ‘The first is the belief of faith, and its opposite is the avoidance of unbelief. The second is belief in the sunna, and its opposite is the avoidance of heresy. Third comes belief in obedience to God, and its opposite is the avoidance of disobedience.’ ‘Good,’ he said. ‘Tell me now about the conditions governing the ritual ablution.’ ‘It can only be performed by a Muslim,’ she said, ‘and one who has the power of discrimination. The water must be clean and there should be no obstacles whether physical or imposed by Islamic law.’
‘Good,’ he said, ‘and now tell me about faith.’ ‘This is divided into nine parts,’ she said. ‘Faith in the object of worship, faith in the relationship of the worshipper to the worshipped, faith in the particularity of God, faith in the “two handfuls”,* faith in destiny, faith in the abrogating verses and faith in the abrogated. It is belief in God and His angels and apostles, and belief in destined fate, whether this be good or bad, sweet or bitter.’ ‘Good,’ he said, ‘and now tell me what three things interdict three other things.’ ‘Certainly,’ she said. ‘It is reported that Sufyan al-Thauri said: “Three things remove three other things. To despise the pious removes the chance of Paradise, to despise kings leads to loss of life, and to despise what one is spending leads to loss of wealth.” ’
‘Good,’ he said, ‘so now tell me of the keys to the heavens and how many gates they have.’ She replied: ‘Almighty God has said: “The heavens shall be opened and be full of gates”,* while the Prophet, may God bless him and give him peace, said: “No one knows how many gates there are in the heavens apart from their Creator.” Every single son of man has two gates there, one through which his daily bread is sent down to him and one through which his actions ascend. The gate of his daily bread is not closed until his life span ends, and the gate of his deeds is not closed until his soul rises to heaven.’
‘Good,’ he said, ‘and now tell me about something, about half of something and about nothing.’ She replied: ‘“Something” is a Muslim, “half of something” is a hypocritical Muslim and “nothing” is an unbeliever.’ ‘Good,’ he said, ‘and now tell me about hearts.’ She replied: ‘There is the sound heart, the sick heart, the penitent heart, the devoted heart and the luminous heart. The sound heart was that of Abraham, the Friend of God; the sick heart is that of the unbeliever; the penitent heart is that of the pious man who fears God, and the devoted heart is that of our master Muhammad, may God bless him and grant him peace, while the luminous heart belongs to his followers. There are three types of heart belonging to scholars, one attached to this world, another to the next, and the third to the Lord. There is another triple division in which one heart is left in suspense, this being the heart of the unbeliever, another is reduced to nothing, this being the heart of the hypocrite, and the third is the steadfast heart, which is that of the Muslim. Another division lists one heart dilated by the light of faith, a heart wounded by the fear of separation, and another apprehensive of being abandoned.’ ‘Good,’ he said.
Morning now dawned and Shahrazad broke off from what she had been allowed to say. Then, when it was the four hundred and forty-fifth night, SHE CONTINUED:
I have heard, O fortunate king, that the second faqih questioned the girl and approved of her replies. At this point, Tawaddud said: ‘Commander of the Faithful, this faqih has tired himself out asking questions and now I have two for him. If he answers them, well and good, and if not, I shall take his robe and he can leave in peace.’ The faqih told her to ask what she wanted and, in reply, she asked him about faith. ‘Faith,’ he replied, ‘is acknowledged by the tongue, believed by the heart and acted on by the limbs of our body. The Prophet, may God bless him and give him peace, said: “No Muslim has complete faith until he possesses these five qualities in perfection: reliance on God, the entrusting of his affairs to God, surrendering to God’s commands, acceptance of God’s decrees and the devoting of all that he does to God. Whoever loves God, gives for the sake of God and withholds for His sake has perfect faith.” ’
She said: ‘Tell me, what is the precept of precepts, the precept that initiates all others, the precept needed by all others, the precept that embraces all others, the traditional point that is found in every precept, and the traditional point that completes every precept?’ The faqih stayed silent, making no reply, and so the caliph ordered Tawaddud to explain the answers, while telling the faqih to strip off his robe and give it to her. She said to him: ‘The precept of precepts is the knowledge of Almighty God; the precept that initiates all others is the confession of faith that there is no god but God and Muhammad is the Apostle of God. The precept needed by all others is ritual ablution; the all-embracing precept is the cleansing of impurity; the traditional point found in every precept is the wiping between fingers and toes and the combing of thick beards. The traditional point that completes the precepts is circumcision.’
When it was clear that the faqih had failed, he got to his feet and said: ‘Commander of the Faithful, I testify that this girl knows more than I do about Islamic jurisprudence together with other subjects.’ He took off his robe and left as a beaten man. Tawaddud next turned to the remaining scholars present and asked which of them was the Quran reciter who knew its seven readings, together with grammar and philology. The expert got to his feet and came to sit in front of her. ‘Have you read God’s book,’ he asked, ‘and reached a sound knowledge of its verses, the abrogatory and the abrogated, the unequivocal and the ambiguous, the Meccan and the Medinan? Have you grasped their interpretation and the transmission and origins of the readings?’ ‘Yes,’ she said, at which he went on: ‘Tell me, then, how many suras are there in the Quran, into how many sections of ten verses can it be divided, how many letters does it contain and how many acts of prostration, how many prophets are mentioned, how many suras are Medinan and how many are Meccan and how many winged creatures are mentioned?’ She replied: ‘Sir, in the Quran there are one hundred and fourteen suras, of which seventy are Meccan and forty-four Medinan. As for the tenths into which it can be divided, there are six hundred and twenty-one of these; there are six thousand, two hundred and thirty-six verses, seventy-nine thousand, four hundred and thirty-nine words and three hundred and twenty-three thousand, six hundred and seventy letters, each of which brings ten blessings to the reciter. There are fourteen prostrations.’
Morning now dawned and Shahrazad broke off from what she had been allowed to say. Then, when it was the four hundred and forty-sixth night, SHE CONTINUED:
I have heard, O fortunate king, that the girl replied to the Quran reciter’s questions. She went on: ‘Twenty-five prophets are named in the Quran: Adam, Noah, Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, Lot, Joseph, Elisha, Jonah, Salih, Hud, Shu‘aib, David, Solomon, Dhu’l-Kifl, Idris, Elias, John the Baptist, Zakarias, Job, Moses, Aaron, Jesus and Muhammad (may God bless him and give him peace). As for winged creatures, there are nine of these.’ When he asked what they were, she told him: ‘Gnats, bees, flies, ants, the hoopoe, crows, locusts, the ababil,* and the bird of Jesus, on whom be peace, which is the bat.’
‘Good,’ he said, ‘and now tell me which sura in the Quran is the most excellent?’ ‘The sura of the Cow,’ she said. ‘And which verse is the greatest?’ ‘The Throne verse, whose fifty words each produce fifty blessings.’ ‘Which verse contains nine signs?’ ‘God’s words: “In the creation of heaven and earth, in the sequence of night and day, in the ship that sails on the sea, carrying what is useful to mankind”† – and so on to the end of the verse.’ ‘Good,’ he said, ‘and which verse is the most just?’ She replied: ‘God’s words: “God orders justice, the doing of good, and giving to relatives, while He prohibits wickedness, evil-doing and wrong.” ’‡ ‘Which verse is the most covetous?’ ‘God’s words: “Does each one of you desire to enter the garden of Paradise?” ’§ ‘Which gives the most hope?’ ‘God’s words: “Say: O my servants who have transgressed against your own souls, do not despair of God’s mercy, as God forgives all sins, and He is the Forgiving, the Merciful.” ’* ‘Good,’ he said, ‘so tell me which reading you employ.’ ‘That of the inhabitants of Paradise,’ she said, ‘which is the reading of Nafi‘.’
The Arabian Nights: Tales of 1,001 Nights Page 37