Classical Arabic Stories

by Salma Khadra Jayyusi

  “Ten camels,” they answered.

  “Return to your country,” she told them, “and bring forward this boy intended for sacrifice, and bring with him ten camels. Then cast the arrows on him and on the camels. If a camel’s arrow comes, then slaughter it; and if it comes on your son, then add ten camels more till your god accepts the price offered.”

  The group returned to Mecca, telling ʿAbd al-Muttalib:

  “You have a good example in Ibrahim, for you know how he had meant to sacrifice his son Ismaʿil. You are the master of Ismaʿil’s progeny. Therefore offer your money in place of your son.”

  In the morning, ʿAbd al-Muttalib brought ʿAbd Allah and ten camels, then called the dealer of the [lots for the] sacrifice and told him: “Cast, but do not be hasty.”

  The arrow came on ʿAbd Allah. ʿAbd al-Muttalib made them twenty, and again the arrow came on ʿAbd Allah; then he made them thirty—then forty—and, each time the arrow came on ʿAbd Allah. [Still] he increased the camels by ten, till they were a hundred camels. Then he cast the arrows and it came on the camels.

  “The god is great!” ʿAbd Allah exclaimed. And the men of Quraish did the same. “Your god is satisfied,” they told ʿAbd al-Muttalib, “and your son is safe.”

  “No,” ʿAbd al-Muttalib said. “No, by the god, this shall not be till I have tried this three times.”

  He cast a second time, and the arrow came on the camels, and then he tried a third time, and again the arrow came on the camels. So ʿAbd al-Muttalib knew he had won his god’s acceptance in redeeming his son.

  A hundred camels, of the best breed ʿAbd al-Muttalib owned, were brought forward and sacrificed, then left in the place of slaughter for anyone to take. And ʿAbd al-Muttalib returned home, joyful his son was redeemed.

  From Bulough al-Arab fi Ma‘rifat Ahwal al-‘Arab (Attaining the Goal in Knowing the Life of the Arabs) by Mahmoud Shukri ’l-Alusi; in Qisas al-ʿArab (Stories of the Arabs), vol. 1.

  1. ‘Abd al-Muttalib was the grandfather of Prophet Muhammad and brought him up after the Prophet’s father, ʿAbd Allah, died before he was born.

  2. At al-Safa and Marwa, near the Kaʿba, where sacrifices were offered.

  3. Abu Talib was ʿAbd Allah’s full brother and the uncle who took over the task of the Prophet’s upbringing when the grandfather died. He was also the father of ʿAli, the Prophet’s cousin and son-in-law, who became the fourth Orthodox Caliph, ruling from 35 / 656 to 40 / 661.

  3

  Faithfulness and Sense of Honor

  Once, it is said, al-Nuʿman ibn al-Mundhir1 went out hunting on his mare called al-Yahmoum [the black]. The mare took him astray in the open country, and, unable to control it, he was separated from his companions. Then the rains assailed him and he sought out a shelter, finding a house in which there was a man called Hanzala, from the tribe of Tayʾ, along with his wife.

  “May I take shelter here?” al-Nuʿman asked.

  Hanzala agreed, and came out to him and helped him dismount. Hanzala, who did not know al-Nuʿman, had only one goat.

  “This man,” he told his wife, “is, I see, of dignified bearing. He may be some noble, important personage. What are we to do?”

  “I have some flour,” his wife said, “which I have stored. Slaughter the goat, and I shall make bread with the flour.”

  The woman baked, and the Taʾi man milked the goat, then slaughtered it, made a madira broth2 and gave al-Nuʿman meat to eat and milk to drink. Then he sat conversing with al-Nuʿman for the rest of the evening.

  In the morning, al-Nuʿman put on his clothes, mounted his mare, then said:

  “O man from Tayʾ! Seek your reward from me, I am King al-Nuʿman.”

  “I shall do so, God willing,” answered the man.

  Al-Nuʿman was able to rejoin his group of riders, and they all returned to al-Hira. As for the Taʾi, he remained there for some time, till he became afflicted by disaster and by toil, and fell on evil days.

  “Why not go to the king?” his wife said. “He will be generous to you.”

  When the man came to al-Hira, it chanced to be the day of al-Nuʿman’s doom.3 Al-Nuʿman was standing all armed with his horsemen. When he saw Hanzala, he recognized him and was greatly disquieted.

  “Are you not,” he asked, “the Taʾi who was my host?”

  “Yes,” Hanzala answered.

  “And could you not,” al-Nuʿman said, “have come on some other day?”

  “Your Majesty,” Hanzala said, “how could I have known of this day?”

  “Even if the man were [my son] Qabous himself,” came the reply, “there

  would be no other course but to kill him. So, ask whatever worldly things you wish, for you are doomed.”

  “Your Majesty,” Hanzala answered, “what will I do with worldly things when I am no more?”

  “There is no other way,” al-Nuʿman said.

  “Then,” Hanzala said, “I ask you to delay my sentence till I have gone to my family and settled their affairs, arranging for their livelihood. Then I will return to you.”

  “Find me a guarantor, then,” al-Nuʿman said, “so I know you will return.”

  The Taʾi turned to Sharik ibn ʿAmr, al-Nuʿman’s companion, who was standing next to al-Nuʿman, and called on him to be his warranty. Sharik, though, would not do it. But a man from the tribe of Kalb, called Qurad ibn Ajdaʿ, said to al-Nuʿman: “I will be his guarantor, Your Majesty.” With that al-Nuʿman ordered that the Taʾi be given five hundred she-camels, and the Taʾi went to his tribe, agreeing to return in one year to the day.

  When the year had passed, and just one day remained, al-Nuʿman said to Qurad: “You will surely die tomorrow.”

  In the morning, al-Nuʿman rode out with his horsemen and foot soldiers, fully armed as usual, till he came to the two tall buildings called al-Ghariyyan, where doomed men were killed. Al-Nuʿman stood between the two buildings, bringing Qurad with him. But his ministers said: “You have no right to kill him before the day is over.” So he left him, though his wish was to kill him so that the Taʾi could escape the punishment.

  No sooner had the sun begun to set, with Qurad standing on the leather [execution] mat and the executioner standing beside him, than the man’s wife came keening to him; and, as they stood in this fashion, a man was seen far off.

  “You cannot kill him,” people said then, “before this man reaches us, and you know who he is.”

  So he held back the order till the man reached them; and it was indeed the Taʾi.

  Al-Nuʿman, distressed that the Taʾi had come, asked him:

  “What made you return after you escaped death the first time?”

  “Faithfulness to my promise,” the Taʾi said.

  “And what,” al-Nuʿman asked, “inspires you to such faithfulness?”

  “My religion,” Hanzala replied.

  “And what is your religion?” al-Nuʿman asked.

  “The Christian religion,” Hanzala replied.

  “Tell us of this,” al-Nuʿman commanded.

  The man told him, and al-Nuʿman [thereupon] embraced the Christian religion with all the people of al-Hira, killing no more people from that day on, and commanding, too, that al-Ghariyyan should be torn down. He pardoned the Taʾi, marveling, and saying:

  “By God, I do not know who is the more faithful, he who escaped being killed yet returned, or he who stood as his guarantor. By God, I will not be the meanest in spirit of the three of us.”

  From Amthal al-Maidani (The Maidani Proverbs) by Abu ʾl-Fadl Ahmad al-Maidani; al-Mustatraf fi Kulli Fannin Mustazraf (The Exquisite in Every Appealing Art) by Shihab al-Din al-Abshihi; Kitab al-Aghani (Book of Songs) by Abu ʾl-Faraj al-Asfahani: Muʿjam al-Buldan (Dictionary of Countries) by Yaqut al-Hamawi; Al-Mahasin wa ʾl-Addad (Merits and Their Opposites) by al-Jahiz; Bulough al-Arab fi Maʿrifat Ahwal al-ʿArab (Attaining the Goal in Knowing the Life of the Arabs) by Mahmoud Shukri ʾl-Alusi; Al-Mahasin wa ʾl-Masawiʾ (Merits and Faults) by Ibrahim ibn Muhammad al-Bayh
aqi; in Qisas al-ʿArab (Stories of the Arabs), vol. 1.

  Editor’s Note: Qisas al-ʿArab is a four-volume anthology of the old Arabic stories prepared by Ahmad Jad al-Mawla, Muhammad ʿAbd al-Fadl Ibrahim, and Muhammad al-Bijjawi, who have collected rich material from major Arab story compendia in classical times. Among the many classical books they have consulted are the list attached to the above translated story. I felt it would be helpful to mention their titles and authors for the benefit of students of Arabic doing further studies on the subject, because they are basic reference books. No page numbers and other details are displayed here because most of them are available in two or more editions that differ in date, place of publication, size, and pagination, having been printed in various Eastern and North African Muslim countries. This anthology will also give further references for the classical Arabic stories.

  1. Al-Nuʿman was a pre-Islamic king of al-Hira, in the north of the Arabian Peninsula. He died in 616, just a few years before the advent of Islam.

  2. Madira is a broth made by cooking meat in pure milk until the meat is cooked and the liquid thick.

  3. While still a pagan, al-Nuʿman had two kinds of days, one of “bliss” and the other of “doom,” on which he would kill the first man he saw.

  4

  Al-Nuʿman’s Outfit

  ʿAmr ibn al-ʿAlaaʾ said:

  Al-Nuʿman sat one day clothed in an outfit studded with jewels, the like of which had never been seen. He gave audience to the Arabs, among whom was Aws ibn Haritha,1 and those present gazed long and hard on the clothing.

  “Never,” each said to his friend, “have I seen an outfit to match this one, nor have I heard that any king was ever able to possess one like it.”

  Aws ibn Haritha, though, sat with his head bowed, not looking at it.

  “I have seen,” al-Nuʿman said to him, “how all those who entered admired this outfit and spoke of it to their friends—all except you. I have not seen you admire it or even look at it.”

  “May God send you happiness,” Aws replied, “an outfit is pleasing in the hands of a merchant. But when it is on a king, and his face is radiant through it, then it is on him that my gaze will be.” The king found the answer good.

  As they left, al-Nuʿman told them:

  “Gather here tomorrow, for I am presenting this outfit to the master of the Arabs.”

  The Arabs left, each supposing he was the one on whom it would be bestowed. Next morning, they donned the best clothes they had, and put on their best swords, and rode their finest horses, and came to al-Nuʿman. Aws, though, was not among them.

  “Why,” the group asked him, “don’t you come with us to the king’s assembly? It may be you are the one on whom the outfit will be bestowed.”

  “If,” Aws replied, “I am the master of my own tribe, then I am not, it seems to me, the master of the Arabs. If I go, and do not receive it, I shall leave feeling diminished. And if I were indeed the one meant to be singled out for it, then my rank would be known [in any case].”

  Al-Nuʿman gazed at all the faces, but did not find the face of Aws ibn Haritha. He summoned some of his special aides, telling them: “Go and bring news of Aws.”

  Al-Nuʿman’s messenger went, made inquiry of some of Aws’s friends, and was given news of him that he brought back to al-Nuʿman. Al-Nuʿman then sent him a messenger, saying: “Come in peace, free of all fear.” So Aws came, dressed in the same clothes he had worn the day before. The other Arabs had been overjoyed at his absence, fearing he would be the one chosen for the outfit.

  When he had taken his place in the assembly, al-Nuʿman said:

  “I see you have not changed your clothes today. So here, put on this outfit to make your person more handsome.”

  With that he took off his clothing and gave it to Aws to wear. The other Arabs, though, were filled with rancor and envy.

  “We have no remedy for this,” they said, “except to ask one of the poets to satirize him harshly, for only through poetry can his status be diminished.”

  They gathered together five hundred she-camels and went to the poet al-Hutaiʿa.

  “Take all of these,” they told him, “and satirize Aws ibn Haritha for us.”

  Al-Hutaiʿa was the most famous Arab poet of his time, and the most skilled in satire. But he said:

  “How can I satirize a man of great and undisputed lineage, of boundless generosity, a judge whose opinion is never at fault, so brave that his guest is never ill treated, full of charity? All I see in my house is from his bounty.”

  Another poet, Bishr ibn Abi Khazim, heard of the matter and coveted the reward. He took the five hundred she-camels and satirized Aws, making reference to his mother, Suʿda. When Aws heard of this, he pursued him, and Bishr fled, leaving behind his she-camels, which were brought to Aws. Aws took them, then went in strong pursuit of him once more.

  As for Bishr, he wandered among the many tribes of the Arabs, seeking someone who would protect him from Aws. Everyone he sought, however, told him:

  “I would protect you from any except Aws ibn Haritha. From him I cannot give you refuge.”

  Aws had sent many scouts in search of him, and at last Bishr was captured and brought to Aws. When the man stood before him, Aws said:

  “Woe to you! You satirize my mother, when our age has none to match her?”

  “So it was,” Bishr said.

  “I shall kill you,” Aws said, “in such a way as to restore Suʿda’s name.”

  With that Aws went in to see his mother, Suʿda.

  “I have,” he told her, “brought you the poet who satirized you, and I have decided to kill him in a way that will restore your name.”

  “But surely, son,” she said, “there is a better course?”

  “And what is that?” he asked.

  “He has,” she said, “found no one who will give him refuge from you, and we are a people who see no harm in doing good. Set him free, I entreat you, and return his camels to him. And give him bounty from your wealth and equally from mine, and send him back safe and sound to his tribe; for they have despaired of his return.”

  Aws went out and asked Bishr:

  “What do you suppose I am going to do with you?”

  “You are surely going to kill me,” Bishr said.

  “And is that what you deserve?” Aws asked.

  “Yes,” came the answer.

  “Suʿda,” Aws said, “whom you satirized, has advised such and such.”

  With that he ordered Bishr should be freed from the rope with which he was bound. Then he told him:

  “Go now to your people, safe and sound, and take with you what you have been given.”

  Bishr raised his hand to the sky.

  “God,” he said, “You are my Witness that I shall never again recite any poetry except in praise of Aws!”

  From Al-Mukhtar min Nawadir al-Akhbar (Selections from Rare Anecdotes) by Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Maqqari; in Qisas al-ʿArab (Stories of the Arabs), vol. 1.

  1. Aws ibn Haritha was one of the most important fathers of the pre-Islamic Arabs.

  5

  A Lowly Man Gains a Wife

  Aman from the Asad tribe recounted a story, as follows:

  Some of my camels had lost their way, and I sought them among the Qudaʿa tribe. When night fell, I found myself close to a house that had a hospitable air. I called, and a woman of shining beauty, like the sun, came out.

  “Come down,” she said. “You’re welcome.”

  She had me sit by a fire to warm myself and brought me a platter of food, sitting to talk with me as I ate. After this a herd of many camels came toward the house, and a man with them. She went to him, along with a little boy she had been playing with, and he took hold of the boy and began kissing him. So ugly was this man I supposed he must be a slave, till he sat down beside her and asked:

  “Where has our guest come from?”

  “From Asad,” she replied.

  I realized then he must be her husband, and
I started reflecting on how different they looked.

  “You seem,” he said, noticing this, “to be wondering about us.”

  “I am indeed,” I replied.

  “I’ll tell you,” he said, “how she came to be my wife.”

  “Yes,” I said. “I’d be most interested to hear.”

  You should know (he began) that I was the youngest of seven brothers—and to look at me you would have thought I was their slave. They’d send me off to see to their grazing, and one day a camel strayed.

  “Go and find it,” they told me.

  “That’s not fair on me,” I replied.

  “Go and do it, you cursed boy,” my father said, “or I’ll make this day your last.” And with that he threatened to beat me.

  So off I went in the most wretched state, cold and hungry. That evening I encountered an old woman who seemed affluent and highborn, and alongside her was this young woman. The young woman began to mock me.

  “Why don’t you come in,” she said, “when we’ve all finished sleeping? I’d like to talk to you. I’ve never seen a finer-looking lad!”

  “Leave me be,” I said.

  Her father came with seven brothers, and they all slept close by the tent. Warm and full from the food I’d had, I felt tempted and went into the tent.

  She sensed my presence there.

  “Who’s that?” she called.

  “It’s me,” I replied. “The guest.”

  “Out with you!” she cried. “May God never greet you!”

  I left in a panic. Their dog came up, making to bite me, and I was holding him off with my stick. Then he got his teeth into the woollen cloak I was wearing, and we struggled together till, at last, we fell into a dry hole. The young woman came out to see what had happened.

  “I would have liked to make this your grave,” she said. “Only I’m afraid of the consequences.” And with that she threw me a rope.

  “Come on out,” she said.

  As I reached the top of the hole, it collapsed under her feet and we both fell down in. Next morning the others missed her, and, unable to find her, they came with swords and stones, meaning to kill us. Her father, though, said: “I know my daughter. She’s above suspicion.”