The Arabian Nights: Tales of 1,001 Nights

by vol 02 (tr Malcolm C

  How many once alighted in these halls, only to leave,

  And Time’s disasters struck others as well!

  What they had hoarded was divided up;

  They left it for others to enjoy and went on their way.

  What blessings they once had! How much they ate!

  But they themselves are eaten in the earth.

  Musa wept bitterly and the world lost its colour for him, but he exclaimed: ‘We have been created for some great purpose!’ When he and his companions examined the palace further, they discovered that it was entirely empty of inhabitants, its rooms and courts desolate and deserted. In its centre was a lofty dome towering into the sky, which was surrounded by four hundred graves. When Musa approached them, he noticed that among them was a marble tomb on which the following lines were inscribed:

  How often have I stood in battle and brought death!

  How many things have I been witness to!

  How much I ate and how much wine I drank!

  How often have I heard the singing girls!

  How often have I ordered and forbade!

  How many stubborn fortresses you see

  That I besieged and sacked,

  Taking their lovely women as my spoils!

  But in my folly I was led to sin,

  To satisfy desire with transient things.

  So hold a reckoning with yourself, young man,

  Before you have to drink the cup of death,

  For soon earth will be sprinkled over you,

  As you lie lifeless in your grave.

  After shedding tears with his companions, Musa approached the tomb and discovered that it had eight doors of sandalwood with golden nails, ornamented with silver stars and studded with all kinds of precious stones. Over the first door these lines were inscribed:

  What I left, I did not leave from generosity;

  This was decreed by fate, which governs us.

  For long I lived in happiness; men envied me;

  I was a savage lion in my den, never at rest.

  I would not give away a single mustard seed,

  Such was my greed, even were I burned alive,

  Until I fell victim to the fate

  Decreed for me by God, the Omnipotent.

  When He decreed that I was soon to die,

  However much I spent, it would not ward off death.

  The troops that I had mustered could not help,

  Nor did a friend or neighbour rescue me.

  In life’s long journey I had tired myself,

  In good fortune and bad, shadowed by death.

  Another will have your goods before day breaks,

  And men will come to bear your corpse and dig your grave.

  On Judgement Day you will face God, alone,

  Laden and burdened with your guilt and sin.

  Do not be tricked by this world’s finery.

  Look at family and at neighbours, how it treated them.

  On hearing this, Musa wept so bitterly that he lost consciousness, but when he had recovered he went inside the dome and there he found a long grave of formidable proportions, above which was a tablet of Chinese iron. The shaikh ‘Abd al-Samad came up and read out the following message that was inscribed on it: ‘In the Name of God, the Everlasting, Who exists for all eternity; in the Name of God, Who neither begets nor was begotten and Who has no peer; in the Name of God, the Glorious, the Omnipotent; in the Name of the Living and Immortal God…’

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

  I have heard, O fortunate king, that when ‘Abd al-Samad had read out the message that I have quoted, he saw written after it on the tablet: ‘You who have reached this place, take note from what you see of the changes and chances of Time. Do not be deceived by this world and its finery, its falseness, its calumnies and its delusive ornaments. It is a guileful and treacherous flatterer, whose goods are borrowed and which takes back what is lent from the borrower. It is like the elusive dream of a sleeper, or a desert mirage which the thirsty man takes to be water, and Satan embellishes it for man until the hour of his death. Since this is what the world is like, neither trust it nor turn towards it, for it betrays all who rely on it and depend on it in their affairs. Do not fall into its snare or clutch at its skirts. I owned four thousand bay stallions and a palace; I married a thousand princesses, swelling-breasted virgins like moons, and I had a thousand sons like grim lions; for a thousand years I lived a life of happiness and pleasure; no other king on earth was able to match the wealth that I collected and I thought that my good fortune would last and never wane. Then the destroyer of delights and the parter of companions came upon me unawares, this being death, which turns habitations to desolation and destroys old and young, babies, children and their mothers. We lived at ease here in this palace until we were visited by the fate decreed for us by the Lord of creation, the Master of earth and sky, and the punishment of God, the clear Truth, came upon us. Two of us died every day until very many had perished, and when I saw that destruction had made its way into our lands and had visited us, drowning us in the ocean of death, I summoned a scribe and ordered him to write down these lines with their admonitions, and to inscribe them in exact series on these doors, tablets and tombs. I had an army of a million hardy riders with lances, chain mail, swords of iron and strong arms. I ordered them to put on their long coats of mail, gird on their sharp swords, hold their formidable lances firmly raised and mount their horses. Then, when the judgement of God, the Lord of creation, the Lord of heaven and earth, came upon us, I asked them if they could ward off the fate sent us by the Omnipotent King. They said that they could not, and added: “How can we fight against One to Whom no chamberlain denies access, the Lord of the door that has no doorkeeper?” So I told them to bring out my wealth, which was stored in a thousand pits, each holding a thousand qintars of red gold, and the same amount of white silver, together with pearls and other jewels and treasures, such as no other king in the world possessed. When they had done that and had placed it all before me, I asked: “Can you save me by using all this to buy me one single extra day of life?” They could not and they resigned themselves to the decree of fate, while I myself had to endure the misfortune that God had decreed for me. My life was taken from me and I was left in my grave. If you ask my name, I was Kush ibn Shaddad, son of ‘Ad the great.’

  On the tablet were also inscribed these lines:

  If you remember me after so long,

  After Time’s changes and its happenings,

  I am the son of Shaddad, who ruled mankind,

  The king of every quarter of the earth.

  All the recalcitrant bowed down to me,

  From Syria to Egypt to Adnan.

  For in my glory I subdued all kings;

  The people of the earth feared my authority.

  The tribes and serried armies were in my power,

  While all the lands and peoples lived in fear.

  When I was mounted, I saw that my hosts,

  On neighing horses, were a million men.

  No one could count the riches that I had;

  I stored them up to ward off fate’s assault,

  And I had planned to use the whole of this

  As ransom for my life and to postpone my death,

  But God decreed that His will should be done,

  And I was left alone without a friend,

  For death that parts us all visited me,

  And I was moved from power to lowliness.

  I was confronted by all those past deeds

  For which I had to answer as a sinner.

  You who are on the edge of death, take care

  And guard against fate’s blows, may God guide you.

  When he saw how that people had been destroyed, Musa wept until he fainted. Later, as he and his companions were walking around in the palace and examining its rooms and its pleasure grounds,
they came across a table standing on four marble legs which was inscribed with the words: ‘At this table ate a thousand one-eyed kings and a thousand kings whose eyes were sound. All of them have departed this life and lie buried in their graves.’ Musa noted down all these inscriptions before leaving the palace, from which he took nothing but that table.

  He and his men then rode off with ‘Abd al-Samad in front, guiding them. They had travelled all that day, then a second day and then a third, when they came in sight of a high hill, on whose crest, as they looked, they could see a rider made of brass carrying a broad-headed spear which gleamed almost blindingly. On this statue there was an inscription that read: ‘You who come to me, if you do not know the road to the City of Brass, rub the rider’s hand. It will turn and you must take whichever direction it points to when it stops; go freely and without fear, for it will lead you to the city.’

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

  I have heard, O fortunate king, that accordingly the emir rubbed the statue’s hand, which turned like lightning and pointed to a different direction from the one that he and his party were taking. So they set off on what turned out to be the right way, and they followed it night and day until they had covered a long distance. Then one day, in the course of their journey, they caught sight of a pillar of black stone in which stood a figure sunk up to its armpits. This had two huge wings and four hands, one pair like those of a man and a second pair with claws like a lion’s paws. The hair on its head was like horses’ tails; it had two eyes like burning coals and in the middle of its forehead a third eye like that of a lynx, from which flashed sparks of fire. The figure itself was black and tall and it was crying out: ‘Praise be to God, Who has decreed that I must endure the great affliction of this painful punishment until the Day of Resurrection.’ Musa’s men were scared out of their wits by this sight and turned back in flight. Musa himself asked ‘Abd al-Samad what the figure was, and when he said that he didn’t know, Musa told him to go up to it and investigate in the hope of finding out more about it. ‘Abd al-Samad said that he was afraid, but Musa told him: ‘There is no need to fear as he cannot reach you or anyone else, placed as he is.’ So ‘Abd al-Samad approached and asked the figure: ‘What is your name and what are you? What placed you here like this?’ It replied: ‘I am an ‘ifrit of the jinn. My name is Dahish, son of al-A’mash, and I am kept confined here by the might and power of God to undergo torment for such time as He pleases.’

  Musa then told the shaikh to ask him why he was imprisoned in the pillar, and when he did, THE ‘IFRIT SAID:

  My story is a strange one. One of the children of Iblis had an idol made of red carnelian, which was entrusted to my care and which was worshipped by a great and important sea king, the leader of an army of a million jinn, whose swords were at his disposal and who would answer his summons however difficult matters might be. These jinn, his servants, were under my command and obedient to my orders, and they all rebelled against the authority of Solomon, son of David. As for me, I would enter into the middle of the statue and from it give my commands and prohibitions, and, as it happened, the king’s daughter loved it, frequently prostrating herself before it and worshipping it wholeheartedly. She was the loveliest lady of her time, beautiful and graceful, and radiantly perfect. Solomon heard about her and sent a message to her father saying: ‘Give me your daughter in marriage; smash your idol of carnelian and bear witness that there is no god but God and that Solomon is His prophet. If you do that, we shall share alike in both profits and obligations, but if you refuse, I shall bring against you armies you cannot resist. You will have to prepare to answer to God when you have donned your shroud, for my armies will fill every open space and leave you as a figure of the dead past.’

  When Solomon’s messenger arrived, the king showed excessive insolence in his self-esteem and pride. He asked his viziers what they had to say about the message, Solomon’s request for the hand of the princess and his demand that the king destroy the carnelian idol and adopt his religion. They answered: ‘Great king, how can Solomon attack you when you are in the middle of this great sea? Even if he moves against you, he will not be able to defeat you, as the marids will fight for you. If you ask for help from the idol that you worship, it will aid you and bring you victory. The best thing to do is to consult your lord’ – by which they meant the idol – ‘and listen to its reply. If it advises you to fight Solomon, then do so, but otherwise, do not fight.’ On hearing that, the king went immediately to the idol, offering sacrifices and killing sacrificial victims. He prostrated himself before it, shed tears and recited these lines:

  My Lord, I know your power, but here is Solomon, who wants you smashed.

  My Lord, I seek your aid. Command me and I shall obey.

  The ‘ifrit, half buried in the pillar, then told ‘Abd al-Samad and his listening companions: ‘In my ignorance and folly, caring nothing for Solomon, I entered the idol and began to recite:

  I have no fear of him, I the omniscient.

  If he wants to fight me I shall march on him and snatch away his soul.

  When the king heard my answer his confidence was strengthened and he decided to give battle. Solomon’s envoy was met with a painful beating when he arrived, and repulsed ignominiously with a threatening message: “You are guilty of wishful thinking. Are you threatening me with vain words? Either come to me or I shall come to you.”

  ‘When Solomon’s messenger returned to tell him everything that had happened, Solomon became furiously angry and even more determined. He collected armies of jinn, men, beasts, birds and venomous reptiles. He ordered his vizier al-Dimriyat, the king of the jinn, to gather together marids, and al-Dimriyat mustered six hundred thousand devils, while at his command Asaf ibn Barkhiya collected a force of a million or more men. He provided equipment and arms, after which he and the jinn and men mounted on his flying carpet with the birds flying overhead and the beasts following below. When he reached his destination he encircled the sea king’s island, filling the ground with his forces.’

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

  I have heard, O fortunate king, that THE ‘IFRIT SAID:

  When Solomon surrounded the island with his armies, he sent a message to the king saying: ‘I have now come, so either defend yourself against my attack or enter my service, acknowledging that I am God’s messenger, breaking your idol, worshipping the One God, the object of all worship, and giving me your daughter in lawful wedlock. Then you and your people must recite the formula: “I confess that there is no god but God and that Solomon is the prophet of God.” If you say that, then you are assured of safety, while if you refuse it will not help you to try to shelter yourself from my attack in this island. God, the Blessed and Exalted, has commanded the wind to obey me and to carry me to you on this carpet. I shall make an example of you and your punishment will be a lesson to others.’

  When Solomon’s messenger brought his master’s message to the king, the king replied: ‘This demand cannot be met, so tell him that I am coming out against him.’ The messenger went back to Solomon and gave him this reply, after which the king summoned the people of his land and collected a million jinn from among those who were subject to him, to whom he added the marids and devils from the islands and mountain tops. He equipped his armies, opening his armouries and distributing weapons. As for God’s prophet Solomon, he drew up his armies, ordering the wild beasts to divide in two, with one half taking up their station on the right of the men and the other on their left. The birds were to patrol the islands, and when the attack was launched they were to peck out the eyes of their enemies with their beaks and strike at their faces with their wings, while the wild beasts were to savage their horses. ‘To hear is to obey,’ they all replied, ‘for we owe obedience to G
od and to you, prophet of God.’

  Solomon then set up for himself a marble throne studded with gems and plated with red gold, seating his vizier Asaf ibn Barkhiya on his right, together with the human kings, and his other vizier al-Dimriyat, with the kings of the jinn, on his left. In front of him were the beasts, together with the vipers and the other snakes. They then launched a concerted attack on us and fought against us for two days over a wide battlefield. On the third day, disaster overtook us and God’s judgement came upon us. I was the first to come out against Solomon with my troops, and I told them to hold their positions while I went out to challenge al-Dimriyat. He came to meet me like a huge mountain with blazing flames and billowing smoke, and as he came, he shot at me with a fiery meteor, and this bolt of his proved stronger than my fire. So loudly did he bellow that it seemed to me that the sky had fallen in on me, and the mountains shook at the sound of his voice. At his command, his force then launched a single charge against us; each side shouted against the other; fire and smoke rose high; hearts were almost splitting and the fight became furious. The birds were attacking us from the air and the beasts were fighting on the ground. I continued my duel with al-Dimriyat until we had tired each other out, but then I weakened and my companions and my troops deserted me as the tribes of my marids were routed. At that, Solomon, God’s prophet, called out: ‘Seize this great tyrant, ill-omened and miserable as he is!’ Men attacked men and jinn fought jinn; our king was defeated, while the spoils fell to Solomon as his troops charged ours, with the wild beasts spreading around us to right and left and the birds overhead tearing out eyes, sometimes with their talons and sometimes with their beaks, using their wings to strike at men’s faces. The beasts savaged the horses and tore at the men until most of us were stretched on the ground like fallen palm trunks. I myself flew away from al-Dimriyat, but he pursued me over the distance of a three-month journey until I fell into the plight in which you see me.