The Arabian Nights (New Deluxe Edition)

by Muhsin Mahdi

  3. One of the two great rivers that cross Iraq from north to south, the other being the Euphrates.

  [The Story of the Two Viziers, Nur al-Din Ali al-Misri and Badr al-Din Hasan al-Basri]4

  I HEARD, O Commander of the Faithful, that a long time ago there lived in the province of Egypt a just, trusted, kind, generous, courageous, and powerful king, who associated with the learned and loved the poor. He had a wise, experienced, and influential vizier who was careful, cautious, and skilled in the affairs of state. This vizier, who was a very old man, had two sons who were like two moons or two lovely deer in their perfect elegance, beauty, and grace. The elder was called Shams al-Din Muhammad, the younger, Nur al-Din Ali. The younger surpassed his brother in beauty; indeed in his day God had created none more beautiful. One day as it had been foreordained, their father the vizier died, and the king mourned him and summoned the two sons, bestowed on them robes of honor and other favors and said, “You shall take your father’s place and be joint viziers of Egypt.” They kissed the ground before him and withdrew and for a full month they performed the ceremonial mourning for their father. Then they assumed their position, taking turns, each performing his duty for a week at a time, and each accompanying the king on one journey at a time. The two lived in the same house and their word was one.

  It happened that one night, before the elder brother was to set out on a journey with the king the next morning, the two brothers sat chatting. The elder brother said, “Brother, I wish that you and I would marry two sisters, draw our marriage contracts on the same day, and go in to our wives on the same night.” Nur al-Din replied, “Brother, do as you wish, for this is an excellent idea, but let us wait until you come back from your journey, and with God’s blessing we shall seek two girls in marriage.” The elder brother said to Nur al-Din, “Tell me, brother, if you and I perform our wedding on the same day and consummate our marriage on the same night and if your wife and mine conceive on our wedding night and at the end of their pregnancy give birth on the same day and if your wife gives birth to a boy and my wife to a girl, tell me, will you marry your son to my daughter?” Nur al-Din replied, “Yes, brother Shams al-Din,” adding, “But what dowry will you require from my son for your daughter?” The elder brother replied, “I will take at least three thousand dinars, three orchards, and three farms in addition to an amount specified in the contract.” Nur al-Din replied, “Brother Shams al-Din, why such an excessive dowry? Are we not brothers, and is not each of us a vizier who knows his obligations? It behooves you to offer your daughter to my son without a dowry, for the male is worthier than the female. But you treat me like the man who said to another who came to ask for help ‘Very well, I will help you, but wait till tomorrow,’ prompting the other to repeat the following verses:

  When one postpones the favor for a day,

  The wise man knows that he has answered, ‘Nay.’”

  Shams al-Din said, “Enough of your comments. Damn you for comparing your son to my daughter and thinking that he is worthier than she; by God, you lack understanding and wisdom. You say that we are partners in the vizierate, without realizing that I let you share it with me, only in order to spare your feelings by letting you assist me. By God, I will never marry my daughter to your son, not even for her weight in gold. I will never marry her to your son and have him for a son-in-law, not even if I have to suffer death.” When Nur al-Din heard his brother’s words, he became very angry and asked, “Will you indeed not marry your daughter to my son?” Shams al-Din replied, “No, I will never consent to that, for he is not worth even a paring of her nail. Were I not on the eve of a journey, I would make an example of you, but when I come back, I will show you how I will vindicate my honor.” Nur al-Din’s anger grew so great that he was beside himself with rage, but he hid what he felt, while the brother sulked, and the two spent the night far apart, each full of wrath against the other.

  As soon as it was morning, the king went to the pyramids, accompanied by the Vizier Shams al-Din, whose turn it was to go with him. When Shams al-Din departed, Nur al-Din got up, still full of anger, opened his treasure chamber and, taking gold only, filled a small saddlebag. He recalled how his brother had scolded him and insulted him, and he recited the following verses:

  Travel, and new friends will succeed the friends you lost,

  And toil, for life’s sweets do through toil come.

  To stay wins you no honor nor from exile saves;

  Set out to roam the world and leave your home.

  When water stands, it stagnant turns and stinks

  But tastes so sweet when it does flow and run.

  And if the sun stood in its orbit still,

  Both Arabs and barbarians would tire of the sun,

  And if the full moon did not wane and set,

  No watchful eyes would the moon’s rising mark.

  If in the lair the lion stayed, in the bow the dart,

  Neither would catch the prey, or hit the mark.

  Deep in the mine, gold dust is merely dust,

  And in its native ground, fuel aloewood.

  Gold, when extracted, grows much in demand.

  And when exported, aloe fetches gold.

  When he finished reciting these verses, he ordered one of his pages to saddle his Arabian she-mule, with her sturdy saddle and saddlecloth. She was a particularly fine riding animal, with dappled gray skin, ears like sharp reed pens, and legs like pillars. He ordered the page to saddle her with all her trappings, to place the saddlebags on her back, and to cover them with a soft seat of silk carpeting. Then he said to his pages and slaves, “I am leaving the city on an excursion in the vicinity of Qalyubiya to divert myself for a night or two, for I have been very depressed lately. Let none of you follow me.” Then he took some provisions, mounted the she-mule, and leaving Cairo,5 entered the desert. At midday, he reached a town called Bilbis, where he dismounted to rest and have something to eat. Then he took some food for himself and forage for his she-mule and left the town and, spurring his she-mule, fared forth in the desert. By nightfall, he reached the town of al-Sa’idiya, where he dismounted to spend the night at the post station. He walked the she-mule seven or eight times, then gave her some fodder to eat, and after he himself ate some food, he spread the carpet he had used for a seat and, placing the saddlebags under his head, lay down, still seething with anger, saying to himself, “By God, I will ride on even if I wander as far as Baghdad.” In the morning, he resumed his journey and, chancing to meet a courier, O Commander of the Faithful, he accompanied him on his she-mule, stopping whenever the courier stopped and riding whenever he rode, until God granted him safe passage and he reached the city of Basra.

  It happened that as he approached the outskirts of the city, the vizier of Basra was also traveling on the same road, and when the vizier overtook him and saw that he was a handsome and well-mannered young man, he drew near him, greeted him, and inquired about his situation. Nur al-Din Ali told the vizier about himself and said, “I quarreled with my family and pledged myself not to go back until I visit all the countries of the world, even if I perish and meet my end before I achieve my aim.” When the vizier of Basra heard his words, he said to him, “O my son, do not go any further, for most of the regions are waste, and I fear for your safety. “Then he took Nur al-Din Ali home with him and treated him with kindness and generosity, for he was beginning to feel a great affection for him. Then the vizier said to him, “O my son, I am a very old man whom God has never blessed with a son, but I have a daughter who is your equal in beauty. Many wealthy and eminent men have asked for her hand, but I have rejected them all, but since I have affection for you, will you accept my daughter as your wife and maid and be a husband to her? If you marry her, I will go to the king and tell him that you are like a son to me and I will advance your cause and make you vizier in my place, so that I may be able to stay at home and rest. For by God, son, I am advanced in years and I am weary and worn out. You shall be a son to me and shall have control ove
r my possessions and over the vizierate in the province of Basra.” When Nur al-Din heard the vizier’s words, he bowed his head a while, then finally looked up and said, “I hear and obey.” The vizier was overjoyed, and he bade his servants prepare food and sweets and decorate the large hall used for wedding feasts, and they at once did as he bade. Then he gathered his friends and invited the prominent and the wealthy men of Basra, and when they were all assembled, he said, “I have a brother who is the vizier of Egypt. He has been blessed with a son and I, as you know, have been blessed with a daughter. When his son and my daughter reached the age of marriage, he sent his son to me, and now I would like to draw their marriage contract, so that he may consummate his marriage here. After the wedding, I shall prepare him for the journey and send him back with his wife.” They replied, “This is an excellent idea and a happy and praiseworthy plan. May God crown your good fortune with happiness and may He keep your course blameless.”

  But morning overtook Shahrazad, and she lapsed into silence.

  THE SEVENTY-THIRD NIGHT

  The following night Shahrazad said:

  I heard, O happy King, that Ja’far said to the caliph:

  The prominent men of Basra said, “May God keep your course blameless.” Then the witnesses arrived, and the servants brought the tables and laid out the banquet, and the guests ate until they were satisfied, and when the sweets were offered, they enjoyed their fill. Then the servants cleared the tables, and the witnesses came forward and signed the marriage contract, and when the incense rose, the guests departed.

  Then the vizier ordered his servants to take Nur al-Din Ali al-Misri to the bath and sent him a full attire worthy of a king, as well as towels, incense, and whatever he needed. A little later, Nur al-Din came back from the bath, looking like the full moon or the rising sun, like him of whom the poet said:

  The scent is musk, the cheek a rose,

  The teeth are pearls, the mouth is wine,

  The frame a bough, the hip a barge,

  The hair is night, the face a moon divine.

  He went in to his father-in-law and kissed his hand, and the vizier stood up to greet him, treated him with respect, and seated him beside him. Then turning to him, he asked, “Son, I would like you to tell me why you left your family, and how it is that they allowed you to depart. Hide nothing from me and tell me the truth, for it is said:

  Be truthful, even though the truth

  May torment you with hellish fire,

  And please the Lord and not his slaves,

  In order to avoid His ire.

  I wish to take you to the king and let you have my position.” When Nur al-Din heard what his father-in-law said, he replied, “O great Vizier and mighty lord, I am not of humble origin, nor did I leave my family with their consent. My father was a vizier.” And he told him about what happened after his father died and about the dispute between himself and his brother (but there is no point in repeating the story), adding “Finally, you were kind and gracious to me and you married me to your daughter. This is my story.” When the vizier heard Nur al-Din’s story, he was amazed and said with a smile, “My son, you quarreled even before getting married and having children! Now, son, go in to your wife, and tomorrow I shall take you to the king and acquaint him with our case, and I hope that God will grant you every blessing.”

  It so chanced, as God had willed and ordained, that on the very same night on which Nur al-Din consummated his marriage in Basra, his brother Shams al-Din Muhammad consummated his own marriage to a girl in Egypt. This is how it came about.

  It is related that Ja’far said to the caliph:

  I heard that at the time Nur al-Din set out from Egypt, his elder brother Shams al-Din journeyed with the king of Egypt, and they were absent for a month. When they returned, the king went to his palace, while Shams al-Din went home, and when he looked for his brother and could not find him, he asked his servants and was told, “O our lord, no sooner had the sun risen on the very morning you set out on your journey than he was already far away. He said that he would stay away for a night or two, but we have not heard from him ever since.” When he heard what they said, he felt very sorry to lose his brother and said to himself, “He must have run away, and I must pursue him even to the remotest corners of the land.” Then he sent couriers after Nur al-Din, who had already reached Basra. When the couriers reached Aleppo but heard no news about Nur al-Din, and returned empty-handed, Shams al-Din despaired of finding him and said to himself, “There is no power and no strength, save in God, the Almighty, the Magnificent. I went too far in quarreling with him over the marriage.”

  Some time later, the Almighty God willed that Shams al-Din should seek in marriage the daughter of one of the merchants of Cairo, that he should draw up the marriage contract on the very same day that his brother drew up his in Basra and that he should consummate his marriage on the very same night that his brother consummated his own with the vizier’s daughter in Basra. So the Almighty and Glorious God, in order that his decree over his creatures be fulfilled, for a purpose of his own, let it come to pass, O Commander of the Faithful, that these two brothers drew up their marriage contracts on the very same day and consummated their marriages on the very same night, one in Cairo and the other in Basra. Subsequently, the wife of Shams al-Din Muhammed, the vizier of Egypt, gave birth to a girl, and the wife of Nur al-Din Ali al-Misri, the vizier of Basra, gave birth to a boy, a boy who put to shame both the moon and sun. He had a neck as white as marble, a radiant brow, and rosy cheeks, and on the right cheek, he had a mole like a disc of ambergris. He was like one of whom the poet said:

  Here is a slender youth whose hair and face

  All mortals envelope with light and gloom.

  Mark on his cheek the mark of charm and grace,

  A dark spot on a red anemone.

  That child, who had a figure as slender as a bough, was endowed by God with beauty, charm, and perfect grace, so that he captured the heart with his loveliness and captivated the mind with his perfection. He was so faultless in character and looks that the deer stole from him their necks and eyes and every other grace. He was like him of whom the poet said:

  With him to make compare Beauty they brought,

  But Beauty hung his head in abject shame.

  They said, “O Beauty, have you seen his like?”

  Beauty replied, “I have ne’er seen the same,”

  Nur al-Din Ali named him Badr al-Din Hasan, and his grandfather the vizier of Basra rejoiced in him and gave banquets in his honor and distributed presents worthy of kings.

  One day, the vizier took Nur al-Din Ali, the vizier of Egypt, with him and went up to the king. When Nur al-Din entered before the king, he kissed the ground before him and repeated the following verses, for he was a cultivated, intelligent, generous, and gentle man:

  May you long live in glory, night and day,

  And may eternal bliss attend your way.

  The king thanked Nur al-Din for the compliment and asked his vizier, “Who is this young man with you?” and the vizier repeated Nur al-Din’s story from beginning to end, adding, “O King, I would like my lord Nur al-Din to take my place as vizier, for he is an eloquent man, and I your slave have become a very old man, weak in body and mind. As a favor, in consideration of my service to your Majesty, I beg you to appoint him vizier in my place, for he is more qualified than I,” and he kissed the ground before the king. When the king looked at Nur al-Din, the vizier of Egypt, and scrutinized him, he was pleased with him and took a liking to him. So he granted the vizier’s request, bestowed on Nur al-Din a full robe of honor, presented him with one of his best she-mules, and allotted him stipends and allowances. Then Nur al-Din and his father-in-law went home, feeling happy and saying to each other, “The newborn Hasan has brought us good fortune.”

  The next day Nur al-Din went up to the king and, sitting in the vizier’s seat, carried out all the usual duties of viziers, signing, instructing, judging, and granting, for nothing w
as beyond him. And the king took him into favor. Then Nur al-Din Ali al-Misri went home, happy and pleased with his position as vizier and with the powers and favors the king had bestowed on him.

  The days and nights went by, and he continued to raise and rejoice in his son Badr al-Din Hasan, who grew and thrived, becoming ever more beautiful and charming. When the boy was four years old, his grandfather the old vizier, his mother’s father, fell ill and willed all his wealth to him, and when the grandfather died, they mourned him and gave banquets for a whole month. Nur al-Din continued to be the vizier of Basra, as his son Badr al-Din continued to grow and thrive. When he was seven years old, Nur al-Din entered him in a school and charged the tutor to take care of him, saying, “Take care of this boy and give him a good education and teach him good manners.” At school everybody was as pleased with Badr al-Din as could be, for he was intelligent, perceptive, sensible, well-mannered, and articulate, and for two full years, under his tutor’s guidance, he continued to read and learn.

  But morning overtook Shahrazad, and she lapsed into silence.

  THE SEVENTY-FOURTH NIGHT

  The following night Shahrazad said:

  I heard, O King, that Ja’far said to the caliph:

  By the time Badr al-Din was twelve years old, he had learned to read and write the Arabic language, as well as calligraphy, mathematics, and jurisprudence; furthermore, the Almighty God had bestowed on his fine figure the robe of beauty, charm, and perfect grace, so that he was like the one of whom the poet eloquently said:

  In perfect beauty he vies with the moon,