The Arabian Nights: Tales of 1,001 Nights

by vol 02 (tr Malcolm C

  Musa’s men began to take what suited them, each one carrying off as much as he could, but as they were about to leave, in the middle of the palace they caught sight of a teak door inlaid with ivory and ebony and plated with gleaming gold. An embroidered silk curtain hung over it, and it had locks of white silver which had to be opened by a trick, as there was no key. ‘Abd al-Samad came forward and, thanks to his knowledge and proficiency, together with his courage, he managed to open them. The others then entered a marble hall whose sides were covered with hangings on which were pictured birds and beasts that astonished everyone who looked at them, as they were worked in gold and white silver, with eyes of pearls and sapphires. Next they came to a court, the artistry of whose construction won the admiration of Musa and ‘Abd al-Samad, and when they passed through it, they found another made of polished marble set with gems. Its floor looked like flowing water, and as it gave the impression that whoever tried to pass through it would slip, Musa told ‘Abd al-Samad to scatter something on it that would allow them to walk over it.

  When he had contrived to do this, the others went through and discovered a great dome built of stones coated with red gold, more beautiful than anything any of them had ever seen. In the middle of this was a large marble shrine around whose sides were ornamented windows with a grating of emeralds, more precious than any king could afford. Within was a canopy of brocade set over pillars of red gold, and inside this were birds whose feet were green emeralds and under each of them was a net of brilliant pearls spread above a fountain. Placed at the side of this fountain was a couch adorned with pearls, gems and sapphires, and on this lay a girl like a radiant sun, lovelier than anyone they had ever seen. She was wearing a dress decked with fine pearls; on her head was a crown of red gold and a jewelled band, while a jewelled necklace, with gems sparkling from its centre, encircled her throat, and on her forehead were two jewels that shone like the sun. She seemed to be watching the newcomers, and looking from right to left.

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

  I have heard, O fortunate king, that when Musa saw her he was amazed and taken aback by her beauty, the redness of her cheeks and the blackness of her hair, while those who looked at her thought that she could not be a corpse but must be alive. They greeted her, but Talib called down a blessing on the emir and said: ‘Please understand that she is dead and lifeless, so is unable to return your greeting.’ He went on to point out: ‘She is no more than an artfully preserved shell. Her eyes were removed after death and given a backing of quicksilver before being put back in place. As they gleam, it seems as though the eyelashes are moving them and so they appear to be twinkling to those who look at her, while, in fact, she is dead.’ ‘Glory to God,’ exclaimed Musa, ‘Who has subjected his servants to death!’

  The couch on which the girl lay had steps leading up to it and on these were two slaves, one white and the other black, one holding a steel mace and the other a jewelled sword that was blindingly bright. Between them was a golden tablet on which could be read the words: ‘In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful: praise be to God, Who created man, the Lord of lords, the Cause of causes. In the Name of God, the Everlasting, the Eternal; in the Name of God, the Master of destiny and fate: son of man, how long will you continue to hope in your ignorance, forgetting that you must come to your end? Do you not know that death has summoned you and is coming quickly to take your life? Be prepared to leave and take provisions from this world, which you are soon to abandon. Where is Adam, the father of mankind? Where is Noah and where are his descendants? Where are the kings, the Chosroes and the Caesars? Where are the lords of India and Iraq? Where are those who ruled all the regions of the world? Where are the Amalekites and where are the mighty monarchs? Their palaces stand empty and they have left their families and their lands. Where are the kings of the Persians and the Arabs? They all died and are now dried bones, and all the lords of rank are gone. Where are Qarun and Haman? Where is Shaddad, son of ‘Ad? Where are Kanan and Dhu’l-Autad? He who cuts off lives has cut off theirs and left their places desolate. Did they make provision for the Day of Resurrection and prepare to answer to the Lord of mankind? O man, if you do not know me, I shall tell you my name and my lineage, for I am Tarmazayan, daughter of the Amalekite kings, who acted with justice in the lands. My own kingdom was greater than any other ruler had ever possessed. I was just in my judgements, treating my subjects with fairness, and was generous with my gifts, freeing slaves, both male and female. I long enjoyed a life of pleasure and ease until fate struck and I was overwhelmed by disasters. For seven consecutive years, no drop of rain fell and no grass grew on the surface of the land. We ate the provisions that we had, and then we turned to our beasts and ate them until there was nothing left. I had all our money brought to me, and, having weighed it out, I sent it off with reliable men who toured the regions, visiting every single town in their search for food, but without success. After a long absence, they returned to us, bringing back the money. We then brought out all our goods and treasures, closed the gates of the city’s forts and surrendered ourselves to our Lord’s decree, entrusting our affairs to Him. Then, as you see, we all died, leaving behind our buildings and our treasures. This is our story, and of the reality of our power only the traces remain.’

  At the bottom of the tablet, Musa and his men saw the following lines written:

  Sons of Adam, do not be mocked by hope;

  Whatever you store up, you will have to leave.

  I see you covet this world and its finery,

  And it was for this that generations before you strove.

  They gathered wealth lawfully and unlawfully,

  But when their time had come, fate could not be turned back.

  They led huge armies and they gathered wealth,

  But on their last journey, wealth and buildings were left behind.

  They were laid down in narrow graves,

  Where they stay to account for what they did.

  They are like a caravan that unsaddled

  One dark night where there were no guest provisions.

  The caravan master called out to them:

  ‘You cannot stay here, so load up again.’

  They were all afraid and terrified,

  And neither halting nor moving on could they find cheer.

  Send on provisions of good deeds to cheer you in the world to come;

  It is only in the fear of God that we should act.

  As Musa wept, ‘Abd al-Samad continued to read: ‘By God, piety is our chief duty; through it we achieve our goals and it is our firm support. Death is the clearest truth, the certain promise and the end to which we must return. Learn your lesson from those who have preceded you to the grave and outstripped you on their way to the next world. Do you not see that your grey hairs have summoned you to the grave, bringing you news of your death? Be alert, since you must be judged, but you are hard of heart and misled regarding your Lord. Where are the peoples that have gone before and serve as a lesson for those who can learn? Where are the kings of China, the masters of might and power? Where is ‘Ad, son of Shaddad, and the buildings he raised up? Where is Nimrod, the mighty tyrant? Where is Pharaoh, who refused to believe his God? They were overwhelmed by death, which spared neither young nor old, female nor male. They were cut off by fate, which severs lives and causes night to succeed day. You who come to this place and see us should learn not to be deceived by this world and its vanities, for it is treacherous and full of wiles, a place of perdition and deception. Blessed is the man who is mindful of his sins, fears his Lord, is just in his dealings and makes provision in advance for the Day of Judgement. You whom God has enabled to enter our city, take what you can of our wealth, but do not touch anything that has been placed on my body to cover my nakedness and to equip me on my journey from this world. Fear God and do not remove any of this lest it bring abo
ut your death. This is my advice and the charge that I lay on you. Farewell, and I pray that God may save you from misfortunes and from sickness.’

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

  I have heard, O fortunate king, that when Musa heard this he wept so bitterly that he fainted, and later, when he had recovered, he wrote an account of it all in order to learn from what he had seen. He then told his men to fetch their saddlebags and to fill them with the money, the utensils, the treasures and the jewels that were there. Talib said to him: ‘Are we going to leave this girl with what is covering her? There is not and has never been anything like it; it is worth more than all the money you can take and will be the best gift with which to win the favour of the Commander of the Faithful.’ ‘Didn’t you listen to the instructions on her tablet?’ asked Musa. ‘She charged us to leave this, and we are not a people who break faith.’ Talib repeated: ‘Are we to leave this treasure and these jewels just because of these words? What can she do with them, now that she is dead? These are worldly decorations to adorn the living, while a cotton robe will do to cover the girl, and we have a better right to the rest.’ He then approached the stair and walked up the steps until he had reached a point between the two pillars and the two guards. At that, one of them struck him in the back while the other cut off his head with a blow from his sword, and he fell dead. ‘May God not pity your fall!’ exclaimed Musa. ‘There is wealth in plenty here, but avarice exposes the greedy to reproach.’

  He ordered the soldiers to come in and they then loaded their camels with riches and precious stones, after which they were told to shut the gate, leaving it as it had been when they came. Their route then took them along the coast until they came to a high mountain overlooking the sea in which there were many caves inhabited by a black race who wore leather loincloths, with leather burnouses covering their heads, speaking an incomprehensible language. When they saw Musa’s men they ran off to the caves, their women and children standing at the entrances. Musa asked ‘Abd al-Samad who they were and was told by him that these were the ones for whom the caliph was looking. So the Arabs dismounted and pitched their camp, unloading their treasure. Before they had settled there, the king of the blacks came down from the mountain and approached them. He knew Arabic, and when he reached Musa they exchanged greetings and Musa treated him with respect. The king then asked him whether he and his men were humans or jinn, to which Musa replied: ‘We are humans, but because you live alone here on this mountain cut off from mankind and because of your huge size, you must be jinn.’ ‘No,’ the king corrected him, ‘we are human, descendants of Ham, the son of Noah, on whom be peace, and the name of the sea here is al-Karkar.’ ‘How do you know about religion,’ asked Musa, ‘when no prophet has brought you the divine revelation in a land like this?’ ‘You must know, emir,’ answered the king, ‘that from the sea here a figure appears to us whose radiance illumines the horizons and who calls out in a voice that all can hear, near and far alike: “Children of Ham, humble yourselves before the One Who sees but is not seen, and recite: ‘There is no god but God, and Muhammad is the Prophet of God.’ I am Abu’l-‘Abbas al-Khidr.” Before that we used to worship one of our own number, but al-Khidr summoned us to the worship of the Lord of mankind, and he taught us words which we repeat.’ When Musa asked him what these were, he said: ‘They are these: “There is no god but God alone, Who has no partner. His is the kingdom and the praise; He gives life and death and His power extends over all things.” These are the words that we use in our worship, and they are the only ones we know. Every Friday night we see a radiance that extends over the surface of the land and we hear a voice that calls out: “Glorious and holy God, Lord of the angels and the spirit! His will is done and what He does not will does not come about. Every good thing comes through His favour and there is no might and no power except with Him, the Exalted, the Omnipotent.” ’

  Musa told him: ‘We are companions of the ruler of Islam, ‘Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan, and we have come because of the brass bottles that you have in your sea in which marids were imprisoned by Solomon, son of David. He has told us to fetch him some of these so that he may look at them and inspect them.’ The king willingly agreed to help and, while he entertained Musa with a meal of fish, he ordered his divers to bring some of Solomon’s bottles from the sea. They fetched twelve of these to the delight of Musa, ‘Abd al-Samad and their men, as their mission for the caliph was now accomplished. Musa presented the king with a great many splendid gifts, while for his part he gave Musa some extraordinary sea creatures that looked like humans, telling him that the guest provision for the three days of his stay would consist of their flesh. ‘We must take some of them back with us to show to the Commander of the Faithful,’ Musa told him, ‘as this will appeal to him even more than Solomon’s bottles.’

  He and his men then took their leave and travelled on until they got to Damascus, where they entered the caliph’s presence. Musa told him everything that they had seen, and described the poems, information and admonitions that they had collected, as well as reporting Talib’s death. ‘I wish that I had been with you,’ said the caliph, ‘so as to have seen what you saw.’ He then took the bottles, opening them one after the other, marvelling at the marids who came out, each repeating: ‘I repent, prophet of God, and I shall never be disobedient again.’ As for the mermaids, on whose flesh the king of the blacks had entertained them, wooden troughs were made for them which were filled with water and into which they were put, but the heat was too much for them and they died. The caliph then collected the treasure and distributed it among the Muslims…

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

  I have heard, O fortunate king, that when ‘Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan, the Commander of the Faithful, saw the bottles and their contents, he was filled with astonishment. He then ordered the treasure to be collected and distributed among the Muslims, remarking that God had never given to anyone else the like of what he had given to Solomon, son of David. Musa then asked that his son be allowed to take over his governorship, while he himself went to Jerusalem the Noble in order to worship God. The caliph duly appointed his son, and Musa set off for Jerusalem, where he later died.

  This is the end of the complete account of the City of Brass as it reached us. God knows better.

  We have also heard that in former times there was a king who had a large army and many auxiliaries, a man of importance and wealth, but one who throughout his long life had never fathered a son. This disturbed him and so he prayed to God in the name of the Prophet, may God bless him and give him peace, invoking the glory of the prophets, saints and martyrs among His servants who were near to Him, and asking that he be given a son to console him and to inherit the kingdom after his death. He then got up immediately, went to his private chamber and sent for his wife, with whom he lay. By the permission of Almighty God, she conceived, and when the time of her pregnancy had been completed, she gave birth to a boy whose face was like the full moon on its fourteenth night. When this boy was five years old he was entrusted to one of the king’s servants, a wise and skilled philosopher by the name of Sindbad, and when he was ten Sindbad instructed him in philosophy and philology until no one then living could match him in debate on matters of learning, philology and understanding. On hearing that, his father provided him with a number of Arab champions to teach him horsemanship. The boy excelled in this, exercising himself in the arts of war on the practice ground until he surpassed his peers and all others living at that time.

  One day, when Sindbad the wise was studying the stars, he saw that, according to the prince’s horoscope, if in the next seven days he spoke a single word, this would bring about his death. He went to the king and told him about this, and when the king asked him what should be done, he sugges
ted that the prince be put in a room where he could be entertained by listening to musical instruments, and there he should stay until the seven days were up. The king sent to one of his favourite singing girls, the most beautiful of them all, and told her to take the prince to her quarters and to keep him there with her, not letting him come to the palace for seven days. She took him by the hand and sat him down in her pavilion, where there were forty rooms, in each of which were ten slave girls. Every one of these had with her a musical instrument and when any one of them began to play, the whole pavilion would dance with delight to the notes. Around it was a running stream whose banks were planted with fruit trees and scented herbs.

  The prince was an indescribably handsome and graceful boy, and when he had spent a single night there, his father’s favourite concubine fell in love at the sight of him. She could not restrain herself and threw herself on him, but he said: ‘God willing, when I leave here and see my father I shall tell him what you did and he will kill you.’ So the girl went to the king and fell down before him, weeping and wailing. He asked her: ‘What is the matter? How is your master? Is he not well?’ ‘Sir,’ she said, ‘the prince tried to seduce me and then wanted to kill me, but I kept him off and then ran away from him, and I am never going to go back to him or to the pavilion.’