The Arabian Nights (New Deluxe Edition)

by Muhsin Mahdi

  Necessity compels us to resort

  Sometimes to ways that decent men oppose.

  No man forces himself to do a thing,

  Except what is dictated by the cause.”

  Then Nur al-Din rose and took Anis al-Jalis with him, with his tears running profusely over his cheeks, as if to say:

  Stay and give me a final look before we part,

  So that I may console my heart, which wastes away.

  But if you deem this burdensome, I’d rather die

  Of love than on you such a burden lay.

  When Nur al-Din entered the market with Anis al-Jalis, he delivered her one of the brokers, saying to him, “Haj Hasan, you should know the value of the girl you are going to auction. The broker replied, “O my lord Nur al-Din, your interest is protected,” adding, “Isn’t she Anis al-Jalis, whom your father bought some time ago for ten thousand dinars?” Nur al-Din replied, “Yes, she is.” Then the broker looked around and, seeing that many merchants were still absent, waited until the market began to get very active and all kinds of girls were sold, Nubians, Europeans, Greeks, Circassians, Turks, Tartars, and others. When the broker saw that the market was very active, he rose and, going up to the merchants, cried out, “O merchants …”

  But morning overtook Shahrazad, and she lapsed into silence. Then Dinarzad said to her sister, “What a strange and entertaining story!” Shahrazad replied, “What is this compared with what I shall tell you tomorrow night if the king spares me and lets me live! It will be even stranger.”

  THE TWO HUNDRED AND TENTH NIGHT

  The following night Shahrazad replied, “Very well,” and said:

  I heard, O happy King, that the broker cried out, “O merchants, O men of wealth, not every round thing a walnut nor every long thing a banana; not every red thing meat nor every white thing fat. O merchants, I have here this unique pearl. What will you pay for her and what is your opening bid?” One of them cried out, “Four thousand dinars,” and the broker opened the bidding at four thousand dinars, but while he was calling for bids, the Vizier al-Mu’in ibn-Sawi happened to pass through the market and, seeing Nur al-Din standing in a corner, said to himself, “I wonder what ibn-Khaqan is doing here. Has this good-for-nothing anything left to buy girls with?” Then he looked around and, seeing the broker in the middle of the market, surrounded by the merchants, said to himself, “If I am not mistaken, I think that Nur al-Din has become penniless and has brought Anis al-Jalis down to the market to auction her off. O how soothing to my heart!” Then he called the broker, who came and kissed the ground before him, and he said to him, “Broker, show me the girl you are selling.” The broker, who dared not cross him, replied, “Yes, my lord, here she is, look at her,” and he showed him Anis al-Jalis, who pleased him very much. He said to the broker, “Hasan, what is the bid on her?” The broker replied, “My lord, I have an opening bid of four thousand dinars.” Al-Mu’in said, “I too bid four thousand dinars.” When the merchants heard this, they dared not bid against him, knowing his tyranny and treachery. The vizier looked at the broker and said, “Damn it, what are you waiting for? Go to Nur al-Din Ali and offer him four thousand dinars for her.” The broker went to Nur al-Din and said to him, “My lord, your girl is about to be sold for nothing.” Nur al-Din asked, “How so?” The broker replied, “I opened the bidding at four thousand dinars, when that unfair tyrant al-Mu’in ibn-Sawi passed through the market, and when he saw the girl, she pleased him and he said to me, ‘Go and offer four thousand dinars for her.’ I am sure, my lord, that he knows that she belongs to you, and if he would pay you at once, it would still be all right, but knowing how unfair he is, he will give you a written note on some of his agents; then he will send someone to tell them to procrastinate and give you nothing at this time, and whenever you go to them to ask for your money, they will say to you, ‘Very well, but come back tomorrow.’ They will do this to you day after day until, being as self-respecting as you are, you will angrily snatch the note and tear it up and lose the money for the girl.” When Nur al-Din heard the broker’s words, he looked at him and asked, “What is to be done?” The broker replied, “My lord, I will give you a piece of advice that, if you follow, will be more to your advantage.” Nur al-Din asked, “What is it?” The broker replied, “When I stand in the middle of the market, come to me at once and, taking the girl from my hand, slap her and say, ‘O slut, see how I have fulfilled my pledge and brought you down to the market to sell you at auction, just as I had sworn that I would.’ If you do this, the vizier, as well as the merchants, will be fooled and will believe that you brought the girl to the market only to fulfill a pledge.” Nur al-Din replied, “This is good advice.”

  Then the broker left him and, returning to his place in the middle of the market, took Anis al-Jalis by the hand and, turning to al-Mu’in ibn-Sawi, said, “My lord, here comes her owner,” as Nur al-Din came up to the broker and, snatching the girl from him, slapped her..

  But morning overtook Shahrazad, and she lapsed into silence. Then Dinarzad said to her sister, “What a strange and entertaining story!” Shahrazad replied, “What is this compared with what I shall tell you tomorrow night if the king spares me and lets me live!”

  THE TWO HUNDRED AND ELEVENTH NIGHT

  The following night Shahrazad replied, “Very well” and said:

  I heard, O happy King, that Nur al-Din slapped Anis al-Jalis and said, “Damn you, see how I have brought you down to the market as I had sworn. Go back home and see to it that you don’t repeat your bad habit. Woe to you, do I need your price to sell you? The furniture of my house would fetch many times your value, if I sold it.” When the vizier heard this, he turned to Nur al-Din and said, “Damn you, have you anything left to sell for a single dinar or dirham?” and he advanced to hit him. Nur al-Din turned to the merchants, brokers, and shopkeepers, all of whom loved him, and said to them, “Were it not for you, I would kill him.” They all responded with the same signal, meaning, “Do with him what you wish, for none of us will step between you.” Nur al-Din, who was a stout young man, seized the vizier and, pulling him off his saddle, threw him to the ground and into a mudhole that happened to be there, and fell on him, slapping him and boxing him, with blows, one of which landed on his teeth and filled his mouth with blood. The vizier had with him ten Mamluks,4 who, seeing their master treated in this fashion, grabbed the hilts of their swords and were about to draw them, attack Nur al-Din, and cut him to pieces. But the merchants and bystanders interposed and said to them, “One is a vizier and the other a vizier’s son, and if by chance they make peace one day, you will be hated by both, or if by chance your master receives a blow, you will all die the worst of deaths. You will do wisely not to interfere.”

  When Nur al-Din finished beating the vizier, he took Anis al-Jalis and went home, and when the vizier finally got up, he was in three colors, the white of his clothes, the black of the mud, and the red of his blood. When he saw himself in this plight, he put a halter around his neck, held a bundle of grass in each hand, and began to run until he stood below the wall of the palace of King Muhammad ibn-Sulaiman al-Zainabi and cried out, “O King of the age, I am a man aggrieved.” When the king heard the cry, he said, “Bring me the fellow who is shouting.” When they brought him in and the king saw that it was his grand vizier, he asked him, “O Vizier, who has done this to you?” The vizier wept before the king and recited the following verses:

  Shall bad fortune oppress me while you live?

  Shall wolves eat me while you stand, a lion strong and proud?

  Shall every thirsty man drink from your store,

  While I go thirsty, O rain-laden cloud?

  Then he said, “My lord, all who care for your welfare and serve you fare this way.” The king said, “Damn it, hurry and tell me how this happened and who mistreated you in this way; your sanctity is my sanctity.” The vizier said, “My lord, I went today to the slave market to buy a cook, when I saw there a slave-girl whose beauty none has seen
before and decided to buy her for my lord the king. When I asked the broker about her and about her owner, he replied that she belonged to Nur al-Din Ali ibn-Khaqan. Some time ago, my lord the king had given his father the vizier ten thousand dinars to buy a girl for my lord, but when the father bought her, she pleased him and he begrudged my lord the king and gave her to his son. When he died, his son sold everything until he had nothing left, and when he found himself penniless, he took her down to the market and gave her to a broker to sell. The broker started the auction, and the merchants bid against each other until the bidding reached four thousand dinars. At that point I said to Nur al-Din, ‘O my son, take the four thousand dinars from me and let me buy this slave-girl for our lord the king, for he deserves her more than anyone else, especially since it was his money that had paid for her in the first place.’ When he heard this, he looked at me and said …

  But morning overtook Shahrazad, and she lapsed into silence. Then Dinarzad said to her sister, “What a strange and entertaining story!” Shahrazad replied, “What is this compared with what I shall tell you tomorrow night if the king spares me and lets me live!”

  THE TWO HUNDRED AND TWELFTH NIGHT

  The following night Shahrazad said:

  I heard, O happy King, that the vizier al-Mu’in ibn-Sawi said to the king, “Nur al-Din looked at me and said, ‘Wretched old man, I will sell her to a Christian or a Jew rather than to you.’ I replied, ‘Is this how you reward our lord the king for helping your father and myself thrive under his blessing?’ When he heard me say this, he rose and, pulling me off my horse, began to beat me until he left me in this condition. All this happened to me solely because I strove to be true to you.” Then the vizier threw himself on the ground and lay there, weeping, trembling, and pretending to swoon. When the king saw the vizier’s condition and heard his story, the veins of his eyes bulged with anger, and he turned to the officers of state and, seeing forty armed guards standing on duty, said to them, “Go down to ibn-Khaqan’s house and sack it and raze it; then bind him and drag him with the girl on their faces until you bring them to me.” They replied, “We hear and obey,” and they put on their outfits, preparing to go to Nur al-Din’s house.

  It happened that one of those present was one of the king’s chamberlains, who was called ‘Alam al-Din Sanjar. He had earlier been one of the Mamluks of Fadl al-Din ibn-Khaqan but had subsequently left his service for that of the king, who had advanced him and made him a chamberlain. When he saw the enemies intent on killing his master’s son, he could not stand it; so he withdrew from the king’s presence and, mounting his horse, rode until he came to Nur al-Din’s house and knocked at the door. Nur al-Din came out to see who was there and, finding that it was the chamberlain Sanjar, greeted him. But the chamberlain replied, “This is no time for greetings. As the poet says:

  If you suffer injustice, save yourself

  And leave the house behind to mourn its builder.

  Your country you’ll replace by another,

  But for yourself you’ll find no other self.

  Nor with a mission trust another man,

  For none is as loyal as you yourself.

  And did the lion not struggle by himself,

  He would not prowl with such a mighty mane.”

  Nur al-Din asked him, “‘Alam al-Din, what is the matter?” ‘Alam al-Din replied, “My lord Nur al-Din, rise and flee for your lives, you and the girl, for the vizier al-Mu’in ibn-Sawi has set a trap for you, and if you don’t move quickly, you will fall into it. At this very moment the king has dispatched forty armed men to sack your house, bind you and the slave-girl, and bring you before him. I advise you to rise at once and flee with the girl, before they overtake you.” Then ‘Alam al-Din put his hand in his pouch and, finding there forty dinars, took them and gave them to Nur al-Din, saying, “My lord, take this money for your journey. If I had had more, I would have given it to you, but this is no time for self reproach.”

  Nur al-Din went to Anis al-Jalis and told her what had happened, and her hands began to shake. Then the two of them fled at once, and God granted them cover until they came out of the city gate and reached the riverbank, where they saw a large ship with the captain standing on the middle, ready to sail.

  But morning overtook Shahrazad, and she lapsed into silence. Then Dinarzad said to her sister, “What a strange and entertaining story!” Shahrazad replied, “What is this compared with what I shall tell you tomorrow night if the king spares me and lets me live!”

  THE TWO HUNDRED AND THIRTEENTH NIGHT

  The following night Shahrazad said:

  I heard, O happy King, that Nur al-Din saw the captain standing on the middle of the ship and heard him saying, “O merchants, has any one of you anything else to do in the city? Think whether you have forgotten anything.” Everyone replied, “O Captain, we have nothing left to do.” Then Nur al-Din got on board with Anis al-Jalis and asked, “Where are you heading?” and when they replied, “Baghdad,” he said, “Very well.” Then the boat sailed and flew, as if the sails were wings, as the poet says:

  Look at a ship that’s ravishing in sight,

  As she speeds like the lightning in her course,

  Or like a thirsty bird that swoops from high

  Down to the water with determined force.

  Meanwhile the Mamluks, whom the king had dispatched, came to Nur al-Din’s house and, forcing the door open, searched the whole place for him and Anis al-Jalis, but found neither trace nor news of them. After they demolished the house, they returned to the king and told him what they had done. The king said, “Search for him everywhere, and wherever you find him, bring him to me.” They replied, “We hear and obey.” Then he bestowed on the vizier a robe of honor and sent him home with comforting words, saying, “None shall avenge you but I.” Then the king issued a proclamation against Nur al-Din, and the criers proclaimed throughout the city, “O ye people, it is the will of King Muhammad ibn-Sulaiman al-Zainabi that whoever brings the vizier’s son Nur al-Din Ali to him shall receive a robe of honor and one thousand dinars. He who hides him or looks the other way knows what will happen to him.”

  In the meantime Nur al-Din and Anis al-Jalis sailed on before a fair wind, and God granted them safe passage, and they reached the city of Peace, Baghdad. The captain said to him, “O my lord, congratulations on your safe arrival. This city, which is teeming with people and full of life, is fair and peaceful. Winter has departed with its frost and spring has arrived with its roses; and now the streams are flowing, the flowers blooming, and the birds singing. It is like the city of which the poet said:

  Behold a peaceful city, free from fear,

  Whose wonders make it a gorgeous Heaven appear.”

  Nur al-Din gave the captain five dinars, then disembarked with Anis al-Jalis.

  Then they wandered about until God led them to an alley surrounded by gardens. It was well-swept and watered, with long benches, hanging cooling pots full of cold water, and a hanging trellis, which ran the whole length of the alley and led to a garden gate, which was shut. Nur al-Din said, “O Anis al-Jalis, this is a nice place.” She replied, “O my lord, for God’s sake, let us sit down on this bench and rest for a while.” So they sat on the bench, after they drank some water and washed their hands and faces, and as they were caressed by the breeze and heard the sounds that rose from the garden, the warbling of the birds, the cooing of the doves in the trees, and the murmur of the water in the streams, they began to feel drowsy and fell asleep.

  That garden had no equal in all of Baghdad, for it belonged to the caliph Harun al-Rashid and was called the Garden of Delight, and in it there stood a palace called the Palace of Statues, to which he came whenever he was depressed. The palace was surrounded by eighty windows and eighty hanging lamps, each pair flanking a candelabra holding a large candle. When the caliph entered the palace, he used to order all the windows opened and the lamps and candelabras lighted and order Ishak al-Nadim5 to sing for him, while he sat surrounde
d by concubines of all races until his care left him and he felt merry.

  The keeper of the garden was an old man called Shaikh Ibrahim, a man for whom the caliph felt a great affection. Whenever Shaikh Ibrahim went out on some business in the city, he would find a group of pleasure-seekers and their whores congregating at the garden gate, and this used to pain him and make him angry. But he waited patiently until one day the caliph …

  But morning overtook Shahrazad, and she lapsed into silence. Then Dinarzad said to her sister, “What a strange and entertaining story!” Shahrazad replied, “What is this compared with what I shall tell you tomorrow night if the king spares me and lets me live!”

  THE TWO HUNDRED AND FOURTEENTH NIGHT

  The following night Shahrazad said:

  I heard, O happy King, that Ibrahim, the keeper of the garden, waited patiently until one day the caliph came and he informed him about the situation. The caliph said to him, “Whomever you find at the garden gate, do with him as you wish.” It happened that Shaikh Ibrahim went out on some business in the city on the very day of Nur al-Din’s arrival, and when he finished and returned, he found two people covered with a cloak and sleeping on a bench, beside the gate. He said to himself, “By God, this is fine! Don’t these two know that the caliph has given me permission to kill anyone I catch here? I will make an example of them so that none may come near the gate in the future.” He went into the garden and, cutting a palm stick, came out and raised his arm until his armpit showed, and he was about to fall on them with heavy blows, when he considered and said to himself, “Ibrahim, you are about to beat these two, who may be strangers or travelers whom fate has brought here. Let me uncover their faces and find out who they may be.” He threw away the stick and, stepping closer, uncovered their faces and saw that they were as bright as two shining moons, just like those of whom the poet said: