The narrator tells that when Amir entered the fortieth chamber he saw thousands of devs, jinns, and perizads languishing in captivity. All of them made obeisance to Amir and said, “O Quake of Qaf, have mercy on our circumstances and release us from this captivity!” Amir asked them, “How did you recognize that I was the Quake of Qaf?” They replied, “There are many here in this prison who were incarcerated by Prophet Suleiman himself, and he once stated that a human titled the Quake of Qaf would come someday to release those incarcerated here. We beseech you in the name of God to secure our release!”
Amir took pity on them and cut their chains and fetters and freed them from the prison. All of them kissed Amir’s feet and went home after taking his leave. Suddenly Amir heard the sound of a horse’s hooves and when he went to investigate, he saw a red colt with roseatte patches on his whole body, running about. When he caught sight of Amir he began prancing about and racing from one end of the chamber to the other. Then the colt rushed toward Amir and stepped on his foot. Although he was clad in armor, Amir felt severe pain from the horse’s weight and rushed after the colt in anger. The colt entered a building and Amir followed in pursuit without a second thought. Because inside the building was utter darkness, Amir took out the shabchiragh jewel to illuminate his path.
He had hardly taken a few steps when he heard a voice call out, “I cannot bear my misery any longer, O my master! Come quickly to our rescue and release us from this hardship.” When Amir stepped closer, he saw Arnais Dev and Laneesa sitting there, weeping and wailing in a most terrible state. Amir said to them, “I will come and rescue you after I have killed the colt that ran away after kicking me.” Arnais and Laneesa said, “O Sahibqiran! He is our son! He committed that misdemeanor because he did not know who you were. Please pardon him.” Amir was surprised by this and asked Arnais, “You are a dev yourself and your wife a peri. How did you beget a horse for a child?” They narrated the whole story of how Arnais had coupled with Laneesa in the form of a horse and said, “We have named our son Ashqar!” Arnais then called Ashqar, made him bow to Amir and kiss his feet, and secured pardon for him for offending Amir. Amir released them from their prison and said to them, “Wait for me here while I go and discover the other wonders of this place to see what else it has to offer.”
A little farther along Amir found a building in which two perizads were hanging upside down and hitting their heads in misery. Amir took pity on them, too, and freed them. When Amir went onward he saw his wives, Rehan Peri and Qamar Chehra, sitting clad in chains and looking dejected and forlorn. Tears came to Hamza’s eyes to see them in that state. Upon seeing Amir they, too, began crying inconsolably. Amir brought them out of the chamber along with Arnais and Laneesa. That night he slept with Rehan Peri and Qamar Chehra in Aasman Peri’s bed and ravished them both to his heart’s delight. As God had willed, the same night both Qamar Chehra and Rehan Peri were impregnated with Amir’s seed.
In the morning Amir sent the two perizads away and they returned to their homes. Then Amir asked Arnais, “Can you now take me to my world?” Arnais answered, “I am at your service!” Amir sat with the two boys on the throne and both Arnais and Laneesa bore it heavenward and rose as high as the lights of the heavens. When a few hours remained until the end of day, they descended by the banks of a river. Amir saw a shining and luminous building. He discovered that this was the Shish-Mahal9 of Prophet Suleiman. In the evening, the palace lit up by itself, becoming so resplendent that a hundred thousand lamps would have proved insufficient for the task. When a few hours remained until the end of night Amir and the boys fell asleep, and Arnais closeted himself with Laneesa. Ashqar, however, went outdoors for a romp in the forest, preferring this to sleep.
Now a few words about Aasman Peri. After she had performed all the rituals and completed the forty days of mourning, she gave leave to the kings and princes of Qaf to depart, conferring on each a robe of honor and a gift according to his station. Then she headed for Gulistan-e Irum. In the middle of her journey Salasal Perizad presented himself before her and stated that the Quake of Qaf had released the prisoners of Zandan-e Suleimani and let them out of the prison. Aasman Peri responded to this news, “The prophecy made by Prophet Suleiman has been fulfilled! It was well that Amir did this!” Salasal Perizad then said, “Amir showed the same kindness to Arnais and Laneesa and released them as well.” Aasman Peri replied, “It is well that he did that, too.” Salasal Perizad next said, “Amir freed Rehan Peri and Qamar Chehra as well.” Then Aasman Peri said, “He did wrong in setting free my rivals! Tell me, what happened afterward?” Salasal Perizad admitted, “That was all I witnessed before I left. I do not know what else transpired afterward.” While they were having this conversation, another peri presented herself and added, “The Sahibqiran slept with Rehan Peri and Qamar Chehra in your bed and passed the whole night in pleasure-seeking with them. In the morning he sent them away and then departed for his world with Arnais and Laneesa carrying his throne.”
Aasman Peri came into a towering rage upon hearing this and said, “I had resolved myself to send the Sahibqiran back to his world. Why should the Sahibqiran have slept with my rivals in my marriage bed if not to pour scorn on me and make me jealous? You will see how I repay the Sahibqiran for this deed and what terrors and calamities I unleash on his head!” With these words, she mounted a throne and took her intrepid army in search of Amir Hamza. Upon approaching the Shish-Mahal, she discovered that Amir was inside. As fate would have it, she found Arnais and Laneesa sleeping together in the very first chamber that she entered. Aasman Peri drew her sword and decapitated both of them with just one stroke.
Then she took the same bloodied sword to Amir’s bedside and raised it over his head, resolved to murder him as well. But Quraisha, who had accompanied her, snatched the sword from her and said, “My hands are bound because you are my mother; otherwise I would draw my dagger this instant and disembowel you, putting an end to your life. How do you dare even think of harming my father while I still live and before my eyes, let alone kill him?” Then Aasman Peri withdrew from her plans, and after leaving a note at Amir’s bedside, flew off to Gulistan-e Irum.
When it was morning, Ashqar returned from the forest and set to screaming and howling upon finding his parents murdered. His cries woke Amir, who soon encountered Arnais and Laneesa lying murdered and beheaded on the floor. Amir grieved for them immensely and said to Ashqar, “If I can discover the identity of the murderer, I shall avenge your parents’ death. Cry no more and consider me now in the place of your mother and father.”
Then Amir saw a note at his bedside, in which was written:
I had resolved this time to send you back to your world and fulfill my promise to you, but it seems that you were not fated—either now or ever—to partake of food and water anywhere except Qaf. I do not approve of the two deeds you committed: You slept in my bed with my rivals, and then you tried to depart for your world without my knowledge. I wanted to murder you for your first offense like I murdered Arnais and Laneesa, but Quraisha intervened and I was unable to carry out my plan. In retribution for your second deed, however, I murdered Arnais and Laneesa. Now I will see how you return to your world. I would like to see who even dares to utter a word about conducting you to your world.
Amir was terribly shaken by the words in the note. He buried Arnais and Laneesa and sojourned in that place for seven days. On the eighth day, Amir said with tearful eyes, “How will I return now to my world and find release from Aasman Peri’s clutches?” Upon hearing this, Ashqar said, “Do not grieve any longer, for I will take you to your world and will not fear Aasman Peri in the least. Climb on my back and be prepared to depart!” Amir asked, “What will become of the boys?” Ashqar answered, “Put them on my back as well.”
Amir made two panniers and put Khvaja Aashob and Khvaja Bahlol in them on either side of his saddle. Then Amir took his seat and Ashqar took off carrying them all on his back. It is said that Ashqar took Amir toward his des
tination with lightning speed, bridging a thousands farsangs a day. Ashqar flew over the sea and when he landed and felt earth beneath his feet again, he sped faster than the wind’s own charger.
A few hours still remained to the end of day when Amir reached the slope of the Koh-e Noor mountain and dismounted there with the boys. He soon saw the prophets Khizr and Ilyas coming toward them. They said to Amir, “It is certain that this time you will return to your world. Come with us, for our mother, Bibi Asifa Ba-Safa, has sent for you so that she might give you her leave to depart to your world.” Amir and the boys climbed the mountain and saw a dome at the top. Flashes of light moved between the dome and the sky and lit up every inch of the mountain. When they went inside the dome, they beheld an old woman of luminous aspect sitting on a mat, prayer beads in hand, absorbed in worship of God. Her venerated presence struck awe in Amir’s heart, and he greeted her with extreme reverence. Bibi Asifa pressed Amir’s head to her bosom and said, “My child, I have been most desirous of seeing you. You shall soon return to your world.” With this, she gave Amir a piece of rope that was no longer than a yard and quarter in length and said to him, “Give this lasso to Amar as a gift from me and tell him that I have made it with my own hands. If he so wishes he will be able to catch a dev with it and when he recites a benediction for Prophet Muhammad (praise be unto Him!) and blows on it, it will increase a thousand yards in length.”
After that she said to Amir, “Tonight you will be our guest here.” In the morning, when Amir had finished with his prayers, the holy Khizr said to him, “You will have to shoe your horse, otherwise he will not be able to cross the desert of Qaf or journey across the length of that harsh expanse.” Khizr then clipped Ashqar’s wings and made shoes of them, which he nailed to Ashqar’s hooves. Amir said, “O holy one! How long will these shoes made of wings last?” Khizr answered, “They will last for the length of your life and won’t come off. When the last wing falls from Ashqar’s hooves, you should understand that your time has come to depart from this world to the Future State.” Then he gave Amir a saddle and said, “Put this on Ashqar’s back. It was made for Sikander himself.” Amir then saddled Ashqar, expressed his gratitude to Khizr, and prepared to depart.
Now let me say a few words about Aasman Peri to keep you abreast of her news. Several days after she returned to Gulistan-e Irum from the Shish-Mahal, she donned a crimson dress, sat on the throne, and said to Abdur Rahman, “Give me some news of Hamza. Tell me how he is keeping himself.” When Khvaja Abdur Rahman gave her Hamza’s news, Aasman Peri became crimson with rage. She said, “How dare Bibi Asifa Ba-Safa, who is my subject, send my husband off to the world of humans against my wishes? Send for my throne this instant!”
Aasman Peri immediately mounted it and arrived swiftly as the wind to lay siege to the Koh-e Noor, where she ordered the devs to set up a cordon around it. Then with drawn sword, Aasman Peri went before Bibi Asifa Ba-Safa and said, “O Bibi, have you lost all regard for me that you decided to send my husband off to his world? Are you not aware that my terror has been impressed on every heart?” Upon hearing her harsh words, Bibi Asifa Ba-Safa said, “Watch your mouth, you wretch! Do not take it into your head that you have any power over me! I wish that your body would catch fire!”
The moment Bibi Asifa Ba-Safa said these words, a flame sprang up from Aasman Peri’s body and it soon appeared as if her whole body had become a pyre. As she burned she cried, “Mercy! Mercy!” Abdur Rahman rushed to Quraisha and said to her, “Any moment now Aasman Peri will fully combust and you will be left without even the memory of her face to recall in dreams. Go and plead with Amir and prostrate yourself at his feet so that he may intercede with Bibi Asifa Ba-Safa for Aasman Peri.” Quraisha rushed and threw herself at Amir’s feet, whereupon Amir solicited Bibi Asifa’s forgiveness for Aasman Peri. At Amir’s request Bibi Asifa sprinkled Aasman Peri with her ablution waters, which immediately put out the fire, and thus Aasman Peri was saved. She swooned and fell unconscious to the floor, and the perizads carried her away to Gulistan-e Irum on her throne.
Amir stayed there that night as Bibi Asifa’s guest. In the morning, she said to Prophet Khizr, “Take Amir to the Darya-e Khunkhar this instant.” Amir took his leave of Bibi Asifa, placed the boys in the panniers on either side of Ashqar, and departed with the holy Khizr. They had gone some fourteen or fifteen kos when they came upon a sea whose other end could not be seen even with the eye of imagination. The holy Khizr said to Amir Hamza, “This is the Darya-e Khunkhar. All of you must close your eyes now and refrain from looking at its turbulent waters.” Amir Hamza and the boys closed their eyes. The holy Khizr took seven steps forward and said, “Now you may open your eyes!” Amir opened his eyes and saw that the Darya-e Khunkhar was behind them and the holy Khizr, their kindly guide, had disappeared.
The narrator of the dastan tells that Amir went onward from there for forty days, and on the forty-first day he arrived at the banks of the Caspian Sea. Amir headed along its shores and on the tenth day saw a fort. The king, Samrat Shah Gao-Sar, was very pleased to hear of the arrival of the Quake of Qaf and came out of the fort to welcome Amir Hamza. At the feast given in his honor, Amir asked Samrat Gao-Sar, “Can you help me ford the sea?” He answered, “I will help you ford the sea provided you marry my daughter, Arvana.” Amir declined, but the boys said to Samrat Shah, “Make arrangements for the wedding and leave it to us to persuade Amir and get his consent.” Then Samrat Shah made preparations according to his custom and gave leave to his attendants to put together his daughter’s dowry. The boys finally prevailed on Amir to marry Samrat Shah’s daughter.
The night of their nuptials, when they went to bed, Arvana tried to hold Amir Hamza in her arms and kiss him and take her pleasure of him. Amir Hamza slapped her face so hard that her front teeth fell out. She went crying to her father who sent for the two boys and asked them, “Why did the Quake of Qaf behave in this manner toward my daughter?” The boys answered, “It is the custom of our land that on the wedding night a man knocks out his wife’s teeth. Also, humans do not bed their wives until they have forded a full half of the sea’s length.”
Because Samrat was from the race of the devs himself, he believed that they spoke the truth. He immediately sent for a ship and provisioned it for the journey. The two boys returned to Amir Hamza and told him all that had happened. Amir could not help but laugh at the boys’ antics and accompanied them aboard. When half the sea had been forded, Arvana wished to take Amir to bed again and expressed her desire for him. Amir Hamza tied her arms and legs and threw her overboard, drowning her and sending that poor creature to the depths of the sea of God’s mercy. Afterward, he said to the skipper, “Speed the ship and take us to the other shore, or else I will kill every single one of you!” Terrorized by Amir’s threats, the skipper obeyed him. The crew hoisted the sails and carried Amir across the ocean before long.
OF THE KING OF AYYARS AND THE PEERLESS DAGGER THROWER KHVAJA AMAR AYYAR
Honey-tongued narrators have said that when eighteen months had passed that Amar had been living in the castle of Devdad, he asked King Antar Devdadi if he knew of another castle where he and his camp could pass a few days in peace. The king told him about the fortress of Talva-Bahar, which was situated on a mountaintop and was surrounded by water on three sides. Using another tunnel that led out from the castle, Amar and his men arrived near Talva-Bahar.
Amar hid four hundred warriors inside wooden chests and, disguising himself as a merchant and two other ayyars as girls, he loaded the wooden chests on camels and arrived at the fortress. When the news of the merchant’s arrival reached King Jamshed Shah of Talva-Bahar, he sent his vizier Haman to find out what merchandise he had brought.
Amar had acquired details about Haman’s family and easily fooled him by pretending to be his long-lost uncle. Homan brought Amar inside the fortress along with all the wooden chests.
Amar sent the ayyars dressed as girls to Homan along with other gifts. Haman presented those d
isguised ayyars to the king who appointed them as his cupbearers. Before long they rendered the king unconscious with drugged wine. Amar then let his warriors out of the chests who began slaughtering the dwellers of the fortress. The populace received reprieve by converting to the True Faith. King Jamshed and vizier Haman were also ennobled by converting to the True Faith.
When Hurmuz and Faramurz received news of Amar taking the fortress of Talva Bahar, they moved their army near it and sent the news to Naushervan.
Upon receiving the message from the princes Naushervan bitterly lamented that Amar’s menace had not been eliminated. Bakhtak told the emperor that it was on account of the emperor’s reliance on Buzurjmehr’s advice that he had always met with reverses and that Hamza had died long ago but Buzurjmehr falsely maintained that he was still alive. Bakhtak told the emperor that his skills in geomancy were superior to Buzurjmehr’s and offered to be tested in a competition between the two. Buzurjmehr accepted the wager: the loser would be given into the power of the winner to do with him as the winner pleased. It was decided that a gravid cow would be brought before them and each of them would foretell the color of the unborn calf.
The Adventures of Amir Hamza Page 40