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

by Penguin; Robert Irwin; Malcolm Lyons; Ursula Lyons

  ‘Ali then left full of happiness, but on his way to Ahmad’s headquarters with what he had been given he came across a sweet seller who was clapping his hands together and exclaiming: ‘There is no might and no power except with God, the Exalted, the Almighty. Hard work has become forbidden and nothing prospers except fraud. I ask you in God’s Name to taste this sweet.’ ‘Ali ate a piece of it and was promptly drugged by the banj that it contained. The man took the robe, the rod and the chains and put them inside his sweetmeat box, which he then carried away together with the tray of sweets. As he went, however, a qadi shouted at him: ‘Come here!’ He stopped and put down the box, with the tray on top of it, and asked the qadi what he wanted. ‘Sweetmeats and sugared nuts,’ the qadi told him, but when he took some of each of these in his hand the qadi said: ‘These are adulterated,’ after which he himself brought out a sweet from his pocket and said to the man: ‘See how well made this is. Taste it, and then try to make another like it.’ The sweet seller took it and ate, only to be drugged by the banj that was in it. The qadi took his paraphernalia, together with the robe and the other things, put the man in a sack and carried everything back to Ahmad’s headquarters.

  The ‘qadi’ was, in fact, Hasan Shuman and this had happened because, when ‘Ali had undertaken to fetch the robe and had gone to get it, Ahmad al-Danaf and his band had heard no news of him and as a result he had told them to go and search for him. They looked for him throughout the city and it was then that Hasan Shuman, disguised as a qadi, met the sweet seller and recognized him as Ahmad al-Laqit. Having drugged him, he took him off to his quarters, taking the robe with him. Meanwhile, as the forty men of his band were searching the streets, ‘Ali Kitf al-Jamal had caught sight of a crowd of people and had gone off to join them. He found that they were standing round the drugged ‘Ali al-Zaibaq, who was lying unconscious. He revived him and told him to pull himself together, at which ‘Ali, finding himself in the middle of a crowd, said: ‘Where am I?’ ‘Ali Kitf al-Jamal and his companions told him: ‘We saw you lying here drugged, but we didn’t know who had done this to you.’ ‘It was a sweet seller who did it,’ ‘Ali said, ‘and he has gone off with my things, but where to?’ ‘We haven’t seen anyone,’ the others told him, ‘but come back home with us.’

  They set off to their base and when they went in they found Ahmad al-Danaf, who greeted them before asking ‘Ali the Cairene whether he had brought the robe. ‘I got it,’ ‘Ali said, ‘and the other things too, as well as the Jew’s head, but I then came across a sweet seller who drugged me and took them from me.’ He told Ahmad everything that had happened to him, adding: ‘Were I to see that sweet seller again, I’d pay him back for this.’ At that point, Hasan Shuman came out of a side room and he too asked ‘Ali about the robe and was given the same answer: ‘I brought it together with the Jew’s head, but a sweet seller whom I met drugged me and took both it and the other things as well. I don’t know where he went, but if I could find where he is I would do him an injury.’ He then asked Hasan: ‘Do you know where he went?’ and Hasan said: ‘I know where he is now.’ He then opened the door of the side room and there ‘Ali saw the sweet seller lying drugged. He revived him and when the man opened his eyes he found himself in the presence of ‘Ali the Cairene and Ahmad al-Danaf, together with his forty followers. The man jumped up, saying: ‘Where am I and who has laid hands on me?’ ‘I did that,’ said Hasan, and ‘Ali exclaimed: ‘You sly fellow, is this what you get up to?’ He was about to cut the man’s throat when Hasan stopped him, saying: ‘This is a relative of yours by marriage.’ ‘How is that?’ ‘Ali asked, and Hasan told him: ‘He is Ahmad al-Laqit, the son of Zainab’s sister.’

  ‘Ali now asked Ahmad why he had drugged him, and he said: ‘My grandmother, Dalila the wily, told me to do it because Zuraiq the fishmonger had met her and told her that ‘Ali the Cairene was so skilled a trickster that he was certain to kill the Jew and get the robe. So she got hold of me and asked me whether I could recognize ‘Ali. I said that I could as I had directed him to Ahmad al-Danaf’s headquarters, and she then told me to prepare a trap for him, so that if he came with the goods I could play a trick on him and take them from him. I went round the streets until I came across a sweet seller, and for ten dinars I got his clothes, his sweets and his equipment, after which you know what happened.’

  ‘Ali told him: ‘Go to your grandmother and to Zuraiq the fishmonger and tell them that I have brought the goods, together with the Jew’s head, and tell them to meet me tomorrow at the caliph’s court where I shall pay over Zainab’s bride price.’ Ahmad al-Danaf was delighted and exclaimed: ‘Your training was not wasted, ‘Ali!’ The next morning, ‘Ali took the robe, the tray, the rod and the golden chains, with the Jew’s head mounted on a spear. When he arrived at court with his mentor and his young men, they kissed the ground in front of the caliph…

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

  I have heard, O fortunate king, that when ‘Ali arrived at the caliph’s court with his uncle, Ahmad al-Danaf, and his young men, they kissed the ground in front of the caliph, who turned to see a young man of unsurpassed bravery. In reply to the caliph’s question, Ahmad told him: ‘Commander of the Faithful, this is ‘Ali al-Zaibaq of Cairo, leader of the young men there, and the first of my pupils.’ When the caliph looked at him he felt affection for him, as the signs of courage on ‘Ali’s face testified in his favour rather than against him. At this point ‘Ali threw down the Jew’s head in front of him, saying: ‘May all your enemies end like this, Commander of the Faithful.’ ‘Whose head is it?’ the caliph asked, and ‘Ali told him: ‘It is the head of ‘Adhra the Jew.’ ‘Who killed him?’ the caliph asked, after which ‘Ali told him the whole story from beginning to end. ‘I did not think that you could kill him, as he was a sorcerer,’ the caliph said, and ‘Ali replied: ‘It was my Lord Who enabled me to do this, Commander of the Faithful.’

  The caliph now sent the wali to the castle, where he discovered the Jew’s headless body, which he brought in a coffin to the caliph. On the caliph’s orders it was burned, and it was then that Qamar arrived and kissed the ground before him. She told him who she was and that she had accepted Islam, after which she renewed her conversion in his presence and asked him to arrange her marriage to ‘Ali, nominating him as her guardian. The caliph granted him ‘Adhra’s castle, with its contents, and allowed him to make a wish. ‘I would like to stand on your carpet and eat from your table,’ ‘Ali told him. ‘Have you any followers?’ the caliph then asked, and when ‘Ali told him that he had forty lads, but that they were in Cairo, the caliph said: ‘Send and fetch them.’ He went on to ask whether ‘Ali had a base, and when he said no, Hasan Shuman said: ‘I shall give him mine, Commander of the Faithful.’ ‘Keep it for yourself,’ the caliph told him, and he ordered his treasurer to give ten thousand dinars to his architect to build ‘Ali a house with four halls and forty rooms for his followers.

  ‘Do you have any other need that I can satisfy for you?’ the caliph asked, and ‘Ali replied: ‘King of the age, would you approach Dalila the wily on my behalf to ask her to let me marry her daughter Zainab, accepting as a bride price the robe and the other trappings of Qamar, the daughter of the Jew?’ Dalila accepted the caliph’s approach and took the tray, the robe, the rod and the golden chains. The marriage contract was drawn up, and this was also done for the daughter of the secondhand dealer, her slave girl and for Qamar. The caliph assigned ‘Ali a salary, a free meal every morning and evening, allowances, fodder and other favours.

  After a thirty-day feast, ‘Ali sent a message to his followers in Cairo to tell them of the honours that the caliph had showered on him. He added: ‘You must come to celebrate with me as I have married four girls.’ It was not long before they had all arrived to attend the wedding feast. ‘Ali lodged them in his new house and treated them with the greatest liberality, as wel
l as presenting them to the caliph, who gave them robes of honour. Zainab’s attendants displayed her to ‘Ali in Qamar’s robe, after which he lay with her and discovered her to be an unpierced pearl and a filly whom no one else had mounted. Later he lay with the other three girls, finding them to be perfect in all points of beauty.

  As he was talking with the caliph one night, the caliph asked him to tell him the full story of his adventures from start to finish, and when he had detailed all that had happened to him with Dalila, Zainab and Zuraiq, the caliph ordered that the story be written down and stored in his treasury. A full account was written and it became one of the epics of the followers of Muhammad, the best of men. They all then remained enjoying the easiest and pleasantest of lives until they were visited by the destroyer of delights and the parter of companions. The Blessed and Exalted God knows better.

  A story is also told, O fortunate king, that in the city of Shiraz there was a great king whose name was al-Saif al-A‘zam Shah. He was a childless old man and so he gathered together wise men and doctors and told them: ‘I am old and you know my position, the state of my kingdom and how it is governed. I am afraid of what will happen to my subjects when I am dead, as I have no son yet.’ ‘We shall prepare some drugs to help you, if Almighty God wills it,’ they told him, and when he took what they produced and lay with his wife, she conceived with the permission of Almighty God, Who says to something: ‘Be’ and it is. When the months of her pregnancy had been completed, she gave birth to a boy as beautiful as the moon who was given the name Ardashir. He grew up studying science and literature until he reached the age of fifteen.

  In Iraq there was a king called ‘Abd al-Qadir who had a daughter as beautiful as the full moon when it rises, named Hayat al-Nufus. This girl had such a hatred of men that no one could mention them in her presence and, although sovereign kings had asked her father for her hand in marriage, when one of them approached her, she would always say: ‘I shall never marry and if you force me to do that, I shall kill myself.’ Prince Ardashir heard about her and told his father that he would like to marry her. The king was sympathetic when he saw that his son was in love, and every day he would promise to get Hayat al-Nufus for him as a wife. He sent his vizier off to ask her father for her hand, but the request was refused. When the vizier got back and told his master of his failure, the latter was furiously angry and exclaimed: ‘Does someone in my position send a request to a king to have it refused?’ He ordered a herald to proclaim that his troops were to bring out their tents and equip themselves as best they could, even if they had to borrow the money for their expenses. ‘I shall not draw back,’ he said, ‘until I have ravaged the lands of King ‘Abd al-Qadir, killed his men, removed all traces of him and plundered his wealth.’

  When Ardashir came to hear of this, he rose from his bed and went to his father. After kissing the ground before him, he said: ‘Great king, do not put yourself to any trouble over this…’

  Many of the Arabic terms used in the translation are to be found in The Oxford English Dictionary, including ‘dinar’, ‘Ghazi’ and ‘jinn’. Of these the commonest – ‘emir’ and ‘vizier’, for instance – are not entered in italics in the text and, in general, are not glossed here. Equivalents are not given for coins or units of measure as these have varied throughout the Muslim world in accordance with time and place. The prefix ‘al-’ (equivalent to ‘the’) is discounted in the alphabetical listing; hence ‘al-Mansur’ is entered under ‘M’. Please note that only the most significant terms and figures, or ones mentioned repeatedly, are covered here.

  al-‘Abbas see ‘Abbasids.

  ‘Abbasids the dynasty of Sunni Muslim caliphs who reigned in Baghdad, and for a while in Samarra, over the heartlands of Islam, from 750 until 1258. They took their name from al-‘Abbas (d. 653), uncle of the Prophet. From the late ninth century onwards, ‘Abbasid rule was nominal as the caliphs were dominated by military protectors.

  ‘Abd Allah ibn Abi Qilaba the discoverer of the legendary city of Iram.

  ‘Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan the fifth of the Umaiyad caliphs (r. 685–705).

  ‘Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani (c.1077–1166) a Sufi writer and saint.

  Abu Bakr al-Siddiq after the death of the Prophet, Abu Bakr was the first to become caliph (r. 632–4). He was famed for his austere piety.

  Abu Hanifa (699–767) a theologian and jurist; founder of the Hanafi school of Sunni religious law.

  Abu Hazim an eighth-century preacher and ascetic.

  Abu Ja‘far al-Mansur see al-Mansur.

  Abu Muhammad al-Battal a legendary hero of popular tales, in which he plays the part of a master of wiles.

  Abu Murra literally, ‘the father of bitterness’, meaning the devil.

  Abu Nuwas Abu Nuwas al-Hasan ibn Hani (c.755–c.813), a famous, or notorious, poet of the ‘Abbasid period, best known for his poems devoted to love, wine and hunting.

  Abu Tammam (c.805–45) a poet and anthologist of the ‘Abbasid period.

  ‘Ad the race of ‘Ad were a pre-Islamic tribe who rejected the prophet Hud and who consequently were punished by God for their impiety and arrogance.

  ‘Adi ibn Zaid (d. c.600) a Christian poet in Hira.

  Ahmad ibn Hanbal (780–855)a hadith scholar (student of traditions concerning the Prophet) and a legal authority; founder of the Hanbali school of Sunni religious law.

  al-Ahnaf al-Ahnaf Abu Bakr ibn Qais, a shaikh of the tribe of Tamim. A leading general in the Arab conquests of Iran and Central Asia in the seventh century, he also had many wise sayings attributed to him.

  ‘A’isha (d. 687) the third and favourite wife of the Prophet.

  ‘Ali ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib, cousin of the Prophet and his son-in-law by virtue of his marriage to Fatima. In 656, he became the fourth caliph and in 661 he was assassinated.

  ‘Ali Zain al-‘Abidin Zain al-‘Abidin meaning ‘Ornament of the Believers’ (d. 712), the son of Husain and grandson of the caliph ‘Ali, he was recognized as one of the Shi‘i imams.

  alif the first letter of the Arabic alphabet. It takes the shape of a slender vertical line.

  Allahu akbar! ‘God is the greatest!’ A frequently used exclamation of astonishment or pleasure.

  aloe aloe was imported from the Orient and the juice of its leaves was used for making a bitter purgative drug.

  aloes wood the heartwood of a South-east Asian tree, it is one of the most precious woods, being chiefly prized for its pleasant scent.

  al-Amin Muhammad al-Amin ibn Zubaida (d. 813), the son of Harun al-Rashid, succeeding him as caliph and reigning 809–13. He had a reputation as an indolent pleasure lover.

  al-Anbari Abu Bakr ibn Muhammad al-Anbari (855–940), hadith scholar and philologist.

  ‘Antar ‘Antar ibn Shaddad, legendary warrior and poet of the pre-Islamic period who became the hero of a medieval heroic saga bearing his name.

  ardabb a dry measure.

  Ardashir the name of several pre-Islamic Sasanian kings of Persia. A great deal of early Persian wisdom literature was attributed to Ardashir I (d. 241) and there were many legends about his early years and his reign.

  al-Asma‘i (740–828?) an expert on the Arabic language and compiler of a famous anthology of Arabic poetry. Harun al-Rashid brought him from Basra to Baghdad in order to tutor his two sons, al-Amin and al-Ma’mun.

  ‘Atiya see Jarir ibn ‘Atiya.

  ‘aun a powerful jinni.

  Avicenna the Western version of the Arab name Ibn Sina (980–1037), a Persian physician and philosopher, the most eminent of his time, whose most famous works include The Book of Healing and The Canon of Medicine.

  balila stewed maize or wheat.

  ban tree Oriental willow.

  banj frequently used as a generic term referring to a narcotic or knock-out drug, but sometimes the word specifically refers to henbane.

  banu literally, ‘sons of’, a term used to identify tribes or clans, e.g. the Banu Quraish.

  Barmecides see Harun al-Rashid,
Ja‘far.

  Bilal an Ethiopian contemporary of the Prophet and early convert to Islam. The Prophet appointed him to be the first muezzin.

  Bishr al-Hafi al-Hafi meaning ‘the man who walks barefoot’ (767–841), a famous Sufi.

  bulbul Eastern song thrush.

  Chosroe in Persian ‘Khusraw’, in Arabic ‘Kisra’ – the name of several pre-Islamic Sasanian kings of Persia, including Chosroe Anurshirwan – ‘the blessed’ (r. 531–79).

  Dailamis Dailam is a mountainous region to the south of the Caspian Sea whose men were celebrated as warriors.

  daniq a medieval Islamic coin equivalent to a sixth of a dirham.

  dhikr a religious recitation, particularly a Sufi practice.

  dhimmi a non-Muslim subject, usually a Christian or a Jew, living under Muslim rule.

  Di‘bil al-Khuza‘i (765–860) a poet and philologist who lived in Iraq and who was famous for his satirical and invective poetry.

  dinar a gold coin. It can also be a measure of weight.

  dirham a silver coin, approximately a twentieth of a dinar.

  diwan council of state, council hall or reception room.

  fals plural flus, a low-value copper coin.

  faqih a jurisprudent, an expert in Islamic law.

  faqir literally, ‘a poor man’, the term also is used to refer to a Sufi or Muslim ascetic.

  al-Fath ibn Khaqan (d. 861) the caliph al-Mutawwakil’s adoptive brother, chief scribe and general.

  Fatiha literally, the ‘opening’; the first sura (chapter) of the Quran.

  Fatima (d. 633) daughter of the Prophet. She married ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib. The Fatimid caliphs of Egypt, whose dynasty lasted from 909 to 1171, claimed descent from her.

  fidda silver, a small silver coin.

  flus see fals.

  ghazi a holy warrior, a slayer of infidels or participant on a raiding expedition.

  ghul a cannibalistic monster. A ghula is a female ghul.