The Arabian Nights: Tales of 1,001 Nights: Volume 2

by Penguin; Robert Irwin; Malcolm Lyons; Ursula Lyons

  When this snake came near Karim, it greeted him, speaking clearly, and he returned its greeting. It was then carried from its tray to a chair by one of the other snakes, after which it called out to the rest in their own language. They all came down from their chairs and called down blessings on it until it gestured to them to sit, which they did. It then spoke to Karim and said: ‘Have no fear, young man. I am the queen of the snakes and their ruler.’ This calmed him, and at their queen’s command the others brought him food in the form of apples, grapes, pomegranates, pistachios, hazelnuts, walnuts, almonds and bananas, all of which they put down in front of him. The queen then formally welcomed him and asked his name. ‘Hasib Karim al-Din,’ he told her at which she said: ‘Eat from these fruits, Karim, for this is our only food. Do not fear us.’ On hearing this, he ate his fill, giving praise to Almighty God, and when he had had enough, the rest was removed from in front of him.

  The queen now asked him where he came from, how he had got to them and what had happened to him. So he told her about his father, his birth and of how, when he was five years old, his mother had placed him in a school where he had learned nothing. He described how she had then apprenticed him to a trade, buying him a donkey, and how he had become a woodcutter. He explained how he had found the honey pit, where his fellow woodcutters had abandoned him and left, and how he had killed the scorpion that fell down on him, prompting him to widen the crack from which it had fallen. He had passed through this and found the iron door, which he had opened, and it was after this that he had reached the queen. ‘This is my story from beginning to end,’ he told her. ‘Nothing but good shall come to you,’ she said…

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

  I have heard, O fortunate king, that when the snake queen had listened to Karim’s story from beginning to end, she said: ‘Nothing but good shall come to you, but I want you to sit here with me for a time so that I can tell you my own story and let you know the marvellous things that have happened to me.’ ‘To hear your commands is to obey them,’ he replied. THE QUEEN SAID:

  Know then, Karim, that in the city of Cairo there was an Israelite king who had a son named Buluqiya. The king was a learned and a pious man, bent from poring over his books, and when he fell ill and was close to death, the principal officers of his state came to pay their respects to him. They greeted him and sat with him and he said: ‘Know that I am soon to leave this world for the next, and the only thing that I ask you to do is to look after my son.’ He then repeated the formula ‘I bear witness that there is no god but God’, after which he gave a groan and departed from this world, may God have mercy on him.

  The courtiers laid out his corpse and washed it, after which they gave him a magnificent funeral. His son, Buluqiya, who now became ruler, treated his subjects with justice and in his time the people were at rest. One day, he happened to open his father’s treasuries in order to see what was there. In one of them he came across what appeared to be a door, and when he opened this and went in he found himself in a small chamber where there was a white marble pillar with an ebony box placed on its top. Buluqiya took it and opened it, only to find inside it another box, this one made of gold. When he opened it, he discovered in it a book and, opening this, he found on reading it a description of Muhammad, may God bless him and give him peace. According to the book, Muhammad’s mission would take place in the final age of the world and he was the lord of all generations, first and last.

  When Buluqiya read this and acquainted himself with the characteristics of our master, Muhammad, may God bless him and give him peace, his heart became filled with love for him. He collected the leaders of the Israelites, that is, the priests, the men of learning and the monks, and showed them the book, reading it out to them. ‘My people,’ he said, ‘I must remove my father’s body from his grave and burn it.’ When they asked why, he said: ‘This is because he hid this book away and never showed it to me. He got its material from the Torah and the writings of Abraham, but he put it away in one of his treasuries, without letting anyone see it.’ ‘Your majesty,’ objected the Israelites, ‘your father is dead and buried. His affairs are in the hands of God, so you should not remove him from his grave.’

  When Buluqiya heard what they said, he realized that they would not allow him to dig up his father and so he went to his mother and said: ‘Mother, in my father’s treasuries I have discovered a book containing a description of Muhammad, may God bless him and give him peace. He is God’s Prophet, who will be sent by God in the last age of the world. My heart has been filled with love for him and I intend to wander through the countries of the world until I meet him, for unless I do, I shall die of love.’

  He then stripped off his clothes and put on a woollen cloak and boots. ‘Don’t forget to pray for me, mother,’ he said, and she shed tears and replied: ‘What will happen to us when you have gone?’ ‘I cannot stay,’ he told her, ‘and I commit my affairs and yours to Almighty God.’ He left as a wanderer, making for Syria, without any of his people knowing about this, and he travelled on until he got to the coast. There he found a ship, on which he joined other passengers, and this took them to an island on which he disembarked with the others. He then went off by himself and sat under a tree, where he fell asleep. On waking up he went back to the ship, only to find that it had already weighed anchor.

  On the island he then discovered snakes as big as camels or as palm trees, who were reciting the Name of God, Great and Glorious, and calling down blessings on Muhammad, may God bless him and give him peace, repeating: ‘There is no god but God,’ and praising Him. Buluqiya was astonished to see this…

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

  I have heard, O fortunate king, that THE QUEEN OF THE SNAKES SAID:

  Buluqiya was astonished to see the way in which the snakes were praising and worshipping God. When the snakes saw Buluqiya, they gathered round him and one of them asked him who he was, where he had come from, where he was going and what was his name. ‘My name is Buluqiya,’ he replied. ‘I am an Israelite and I have left my country to search for Muhammad because of my passionate love for him, may God bless him and give him peace. Who are you, you noble creatures?’ ‘We are among the inhabitants of hell, created by Almighty God as a scourge for the unbelievers,’ they told him. Buluqiya asked what brought them to the island and they said: ‘Know that, because of its boiling heat, hell draws breath twice a year, once in the winter and once in the summer, and that great heat is caused by the intensity of hellfire. When it exhales, we are driven out, and then, as it breathes in, we are drawn back to it.’ Buluqiya then asked if there were any larger snakes in hell, and they said: ‘It is only because we are so small that we are forced out. If the largest of us crawled into the nostril of any of the other snakes in hell, they would not notice.’ ‘You were calling on the Name of God,’ said Buluqiya, ‘and invoking blessings on Muhammad, but how do you come to know about Muhammad, may God bless him and give him peace?’ They told him: ‘Muhammad’s name is inscribed on the gate of Paradise. Were it not for him, God would not have created his creatures, Paradise or hell, the heavens or the earth. It was only for his sake that God brought into being all that exists, everywhere linking His own Name to that of Muhammad, and it is because of this that we love him.’

  When he heard the snakes say this, Buluqiya’s own passionate love for Muhammad increased, together with his longing for him. He took his leave of the snakes and went to the shore of the island, where he found a boat anchored. He joined the others who were on board and it took them to another island, where he landed. After walking for a time he came across snakes, big and small, in such quantities as only Almighty God could number. Among them was a white snake, brighter than crystal, sitting on a golden tray which was carried on
the back of another snake as big as an elephant. This was the queen of the snakes, Karim, and I am she.

  ‘What did you say to Buluqiya?’ asked Karim. THE QUEEN REPLIED:

  When I saw him, I greeted him and he returned my greeting. I asked him who he was, where he had come from, where he was going and what was his name. He told me: ‘I am an Israelite named Buluqiya. I am travelling in search of Muhammad, out of love for him, may God bless him and give him peace, for I have seen his description in the revealed scriptures.’ He then asked me about myself, what I was and what was my position, as well as about the snakes that surrounded me. I said: ‘I am the queen of the snakes, and when you meet Muhammad, greet him from me.’ He then took his leave and went back on board the ship, after which he continued on his travels until he reached Jerusalem.

  In Jerusalem there was a man who had mastered all branches of knowledge and was an expert in geometry, astronomy, mathematics, natural magic and occult lore; he used to study the Torah, the New Testament, the Psalms of David and the writings of Abraham. His name was ‘Affan, and he had discovered in one of his books that whoever wore the signet ring of our master Solomon would command the obedience of men and jinn, birds and beasts and all created creatures. He had found it recorded that when Solomon died his body was placed in a coffin and taken across seven seas with his ring still on his finger, as no man and no jinn could remove it, and no ship could sail to where it had been taken.

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

  I have heard, O fortunate king, that ‘Affan had found in one of his books that no man and no jinn could remove the signet ring from the finger of our lord Solomon, and that no ship could sail on the seven seas across which his coffin had been taken. In another book he had found that there was a certain herb which, if squeezed, would produce a juice that could be rubbed on the feet to allow its user to walk dry-shod over any sea created by Almighty God, but no one could reach this herb unless he was accompanied by the queen of the snakes.

  When Buluqiya got to Jerusalem he sat worshipping Almighty God, and while he was doing so ‘Affan came up and they exchanged greetings. ‘Affan saw that, as Buluqiya worshipped, he was reading from the Torah, and ‘Affan asked his name, where he came from and where he was going. Buluqiya gave his name and said: ‘I have come from Cairo, and I left on my travels in search of Muhammad, may God bless him and give him peace.’ ‘Come with me to my house,’ said ‘Affan, ‘so that I may entertain you.’ ‘To hear is to obey,’ said Buluqiya, and ‘Affan took him home and treated him with the greatest hospitality. He then asked him for his story, saying: ‘Where did you learn of Muhammad, so that you were inspired by love to set out in search of him? Who showed you the way?’ Buluqiya told him the whole story from beginning to end, and when ‘Affan heard this he was so amazed that he almost lost his wits. Then he said: ‘Take me to the snake queen and I will take you to Muhammad. The time of his mission is still far off, but if we can get the snake queen and put her in a cage we can then go with her to the herbs on the mountains. If she is with us, through the power of Almighty God each of them will speak and tell us what use it is. For I have found in my books that there is one herb whose juice, when squeezed over the feet, will enable its user to walk dry-shod over any of God’s seas. If we take the queen she will guide us to it and when we have found it, crushed it and extracted its juice, we can let her go. After that we can rub the juice on our feet, cross the seven seas to the tomb of our master, Solomon, and take the ring from his finger. Then we can reach our goal by exercising his authority; we can enter the Sea of Darkness and drink the water of life. God will allow us to live until the end of time and we shall meet Muhammad, may God bless him and give him peace.’

  On hearing this, Buluqiya agreed to show ‘Affan where the queen was to be found and to bring him to her. ‘Affan made an iron cage and took with him two drinking bowls, one filled with wine and the other with milk. He and Buluqiya sailed for a number of days and nights until they reached the queen’s island, where they landed. After they had walked some way, ‘Affan put the cage down and set a trap in it in which he placed the two bowls. The two men then hid themselves for a time at some distance from the cage. The queen came up to it and when she was close to the bowls she looked at them for some time. When she smelt the milk, she left her tray and came down from the back of the snake on which she was riding. She went into the cage and came to the bowl of wine, from which she drank, but when she did so she felt dizzy and fell asleep.

  ‘Affan saw that and went up to the cage, which he shut, trapping the queen inside it. He then went off with her, accompanied by Buluqiya. When the queen recovered her senses she found herself in an iron cage carried on the head of a man beside whom walked Buluqiya. ‘Is this how you reward one who does no harm to the children of Adam?’ she asked when she recognized him, and Buluqiya answered: ‘Have no fear of us, queen of the snakes, for we are not going to hurt you. We want you to show us a certain herb whose juice, when squeezed and rubbed on the feet, will allow its user to walk dry-shod over any of God’s seas. When we have found this we shall take it and then bring you back to your own place and let you go free.’

  ‘Affan and Buluqiya then walked on with the queen to the mountains where the herbs grew. As they took her around them, each herb spoke by permission of Almighty God and told of its useful properties. While they were walking, with the herbs to their right and left telling them their uses, suddenly one of these spoke and said: ‘Anyone who takes me, squeezes out my juice and rubs it on his feet will be able to cross any of God’s seas dry-shod.’ When ‘Affan heard this, he put the cage down from his head and the two of them picked enough of the herb for both of them to use. They squeezed it and pressed out its juice into two glass bottles which they kept with them, and rubbed what was left over on their feet.

  They then took the queen of the snakes and after they had travelled for a number of nights and days they got back to her island, where ‘Affan opened the door of the cage. When she had come out, she asked them what they intended to do with the juice and they told her that they were going to smear it over their feet so that they could cross the seven seas to Solomon’s grave and then take the ring from his finger. ‘That is something you will never be able to do!’ she exclaimed, and when they asked her why, she said: ‘Almighty God gave that ring as a particular favour to Solomon, because he said: “My Lord, grant me a kingdom that cannot pass to any other after me, for You are the Generous Giver.”* As a result, it can never belong to the two of you.’ Then she added: ‘Had you taken one of the other herbs that were there – one which preserves the lives of all who eat it until the Last Trump – that would have done you more good than the one you picked, as this is not going to bring you what you want.’ When they heard that, they were filled with bitter regret and went off on their way.

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

  I have heard, O fortunate king, that when ‘Affan and Buluqiya heard what the queen said, they were filled with bitter regret and went off on their way.

  So much for them, but as for the queen, when she returned to her subjects she found that their affairs were in disarray, with the strong having grown weak and the weak having died. When they saw her, they gathered around joyfully, asking what had happened to her and where she had been, and she told them of her encounter with ‘Affan and Buluqiya. She then collected them all together and set off with them to Mount Qaf, where she was in the habit of spending the winter, while in the summer she would go to the place where Karim had seen her.

  When she had finished telling her story to Karim, he was filled with astonishment. Then he asked her if she would be good enough to tell one of her attendants to take him back to the surface so that he could go home to his family. ‘You cannot leave us until wi
nter sets in, Karim,’ she replied, ‘and you will have to go with us to Mount Qaf, where you can enjoy looking at the hills, sands and trees, at the birds that sing the praises of the One Omnipotent God, and at the marids, ‘ifrits and jinn, whose numbers are known only to God.’

  Karim was saddened and distressed by this, but he said to the queen: ‘Tell me about ‘Affan and Buluqiya and what happened to them after they left you and went off. Did they or did they not cross the seven seas and reach the grave of our master Solomon, and if they did, were they able to take his ring or not?’ SHE SAID:

  Know that after they left me, they rubbed the juice on their feet and walked on the surface of the sea, admiring its wonders. They went on from sea to sea until, when they had crossed all seven, they caught sight of a huge mountain towering into the sky made of green emerald; it contained a spring of running water and all its soil was musk. When they got there, they were filled with joy and they said: ‘We have reached our goal.’ They walked on to another high peak, on which from afar they could see a cave and over it a huge dome with radiance streaming from it. They went towards this cave, and when they reached it they entered and in it they discovered a golden throne studded with gems of all kinds, around which were set chairs in such numbers as only God could count. On this throne they saw Solomon asleep, wearing a robe of green silk embroidered with gold and studded with precious stones. His right hand lay on his breast; the ring was on his finger and its radiance outshone the light of the jewels with which the place was adorned.

  ‘Affan taught Buluqiya a number of magical formulae and incantations, telling him to recite these without a break until he himself had taken the ring. He then advanced towards the throne, but when he had got near it, a huge snake came out from beneath it, with sparks shooting from its mouth, hissing so loudly that the whole place quivered. It spoke to ‘Affan and said: ‘If you do not go back, you will die,’ but ‘Affan was busying himself with his magic and was not to be deterred by the snake. It then blew a huge blast of air at him which almost burned the place down, and it cursed him and said: ‘Unless you go back, I shall consume you with fire.’ On hearing this, Buluqiya left the cave, but ‘Affan, far from being alarmed, advanced towards Solomon and stretched out his hand. He had touched the ring and was about to draw it from Solomon’s finger when the snake destroyed him with a blast of fire, reducing him to a pile of ashes.