Tales of the Marvellous and News of the Strange (Hardcover Classics)

by Malcolm C (Tr Lyons

  ‘By God,’ said the dealer, ‘I know of no one in all Fustat who knows more than she does, as she has a perfect mastery of all branches of learning and culture.’ The Syrian then questioned her, asking her what she knew and at what she was proficient. She said: ‘I know the Qur’an by heart and can recite its various readings; I have a knowledge of the stars and of arithmetic; I can play chess and backgammon and I can accompany my singing on a variety of instruments. I am familiar with all of this.’ The Syrian told her to recite a passage from the Qur’an and she started with the fatiha, reciting it in so heart-rending a voice that he almost fainted through humility. The dealer swore that nowhere in the east or the west could he hear a better reading.

  Tuhfa then took a lute in her lap and, after striking a number of different modes, she produced these lines:

  Our dwellings may be far apart,

  So that I cannot visit you,

  But still this love of mine remains the same,

  And God forbid that it should ever change.

  When the Syrian heard this he again almost fainted with joy and delight at the sweetness of her singing. ‘By God,’ he exclaimed to the dealer, ‘this girl is invaluable, and nowhere in the market is there anyone like her.’ He then asked the dealer to name a price, to which he answered: ‘Eight thousand dinars, and she is worth more than that.’ On hearing this the man realized that it was true and he was sure that his friend would buy her on sight for five thousand dinars and think it cheap, for he knew that her real worth was ten thousand. ‘I’ll take her from you for a thousand dinars,’ he said, paying him a hundred dinars for himself.

  So delighted was the dealer that he forgot that Talha, her master, had specified a conditional sale for a period of three days. The buyer joyfully took Tuhfa off straight away, as he was afraid that she might be removed from him by force or someone might hear of her whom he could not turn away.

  [Wehr, the editor of the Arabic text, notes an obvious lacuna in the text covering the journey from Fustat to Damascus and her transfer to her new master.] He hired a place for her, thinking in his heart that she would soon forget the past, and he set aside for her the best and cleanest apartment in the house, to which he fetched a carpet and such utensils as would suit her. He brought her fine clothes, ornaments and expensive jewels and he gave her a number of maid-servants, before leaving her for a time to recover from the tiredness caused by the journey.

  It was then that he called for her and when she came he questioned her to discover what she knew. He was filled with admiration at the abundance of culture and outstanding learning that he saw in her and he presented her with a magnificent robe of honour and a great amount of money. He told her to go back to her room, where he would spend the night with her, an announcement which she greeted with tears and sobs. He was surprised to be told of this and said that she was bound to forget, not knowing that this was an expression of her great love for her master Talha.

  That night her new master came joyfully to her room, filled with desire for her, and she greeted him with the best of welcomes, making a show of patience. When he had sat down he ordered food to be brought and when they had both eaten he followed this with wine to make her feel at ease. After he had drunk to her lovely face and perfect beauty, he asked her to sing. At first she refused and made excuses but when he pressed her politely she agreed. Taking the lute, she put it in her lap, then tuned it and began to sing so beautifully as to rob the Damascene of his wits:

  I feel love’s pain on every side;

  It changes me and robs me of my youth.

  My love for Talha drowns me in its sea,

  And it is this that brings me deep distress.

  Never shall I forget him – this I swear –

  Until my corpse lies shrouded in the earth.

  When she had finished, she gave a great cry and fainted. The sight of this disturbed and distressed her master, who went up to comfort her, but she wept so bitterly that she fainted again. He felt sorry for her and asked her to tell him her story and who had been her master and who it was she loved. She said: ‘I was brought up from childhood with my master, whose father was Malik, the qadi of Fustat. It was he who had bought me when I was a child and he reared me with his son Talha until neither of us could bear to be parted from the other even for the blink of an eye.’

  She went on to tell him about herself and Talha from beginning to end, how he had gone from riches to poverty, how he had squandered all his goods, how the two of them had spent three days without eating and how she had advised him to sell her, thinking that she would be bought by someone from Fustat, who would not take her away. She would have been able to look at Talha and hear about him at all times, but God, the Great and Glorious, had decreed that they should be parted. ‘By God,’ she said, ‘you will find no use in me nor will anyone else after Talha, and I know of no one who suffers a worse fate than mine during his life.’

  She shed more tears, and when the Damascene had heard about her and Talha he felt pity for them and sympathized with her in her grief. ‘Tuhfa,’ he said, ‘if this is the case and you have shown such loyalty to your master, I call on God and His angels to witness that I give you back to him as a present. Do not suppose that I am merely saying this to comfort and calm you for, by God, I have never gone back on my word.’

  On hearing his promise, Tuhfa jumped up, kissed his hands and his feet, giving him the most heartfelt thanks and saying: ‘Master, how good and generous you have been! I am your slave, and so do with us what befits a man like you.’ He told her that she could be happy, as God had decreed that she should be reunited with her master and that, if He so willed it, he would soon be with her. She took heart, believing in his promise, and, after they had drunk, she took up the lute and went on singing to him as he drank and poured wine for her until he had made her drunk. He then took his leave and left her in her room while he went off to his bed.

  For Tuhfa the pain of love and longing for her master was partially relieved as she was sure that she was going to meet him, and this calmed her dismay. After that the Damascene used to come to her room every night and drink with her while listening to her singing, choosing the songs and leaving after he had had enough to drink. That went on until he had made all necessary preparations for a journey to Egypt, as she kept on reminding him of his promise and he kept on comforting her.

  So much for Tuhfa, but as for Talha, for the three days that he had stipulated he stayed tearful and distressed, trying but failing to endure, and finding himself unable to forget her. He then went to the slave-dealer to ask what he had done with her, and the man produced a purse with the thousand dinars that was the purchase price. ‘I did my best for you on this,’ he told Talha, ‘as I owe you a favour, God bless you.’ ‘What is this?’ asked Talha, looking at the purse. ‘The price for the girl,’ said the dealer, and Talha, who had almost fainted, said: ‘Give her back to me,’ but the man said: ‘When I sold her I forgot you had made a condition.’

  Talha now slapped his face, rubbed his cheeks in the dust and cried out at the top of his voice while people gathered around. He almost died and was losing his wits, but the dealer told him not to take it so hard. ‘I forgot about the condition when I sold her,’ he said, ‘and it was only afterwards that I remembered, but the buyer had gone.’ When Talha learned that Tuhfa had been sold and taken away, he realized that the condition would no longer be valid and after what had happened there was no way in which he could get her back. He fell to the ground in a faint and when he recovered he struck at his head and his cheeks.

  A crowd gathered around, expressing pity for him but blaming him for what he was doing. They then turned against the slave-dealer, crowding in and turning their blame on him. He was afraid that he might find himself in difficulties with the sultan and when an opportunity came he made off. Talha for his part kept asking where the merchant who had bought Tuhfa had gone, hoping to enlist his sympathy to get her back from her new master in pity for what he had done to hi
mself. When he asked the slave-dealer about the merchant he was told that the man had taken her off immediately after the sale. The dealer himself was then told that this man had not bought her for himself but for a Damascene named Muhammad son of Salih, a most generous man, full of good deeds. He went back and passed on his news to Talha, who was not in his right mind and who tore his tattered clothes and poured dust on his head. He left the money with the dealer and in his grief he started to wander through the streets, sobbing and weeping. Some people pitied him, but others were scornful and kept asking him what was wrong and abusing him. This went on so long, with children following him and shouting abuse again and again, until he was taken to the hospital as a certifiable lunatic and put in chains.

  For six months he stayed there in this wretched state until one day the qadi of Fustat happened to pass the hospital. People complained to him that the man in charge was not looking after the patients or the lunatics properly and was taking its money for himself. The qadi, intending to investigate, dismounted and went in to see what things were like. His eyes fell on Talha, whom he recognized and addressed by name, at first getting no answer from him. The qadi had been one of his father’s greatest friends and he asked Talha what had brought him to this. At that point Talha said: ‘Master, the common people mistreated and afflicted me, taking me and throwing me in here six months ago.’

  The qadi shed tears of pity and ordered him to be taken to the baths, sending him one of his own robes of honour and his riding beast. When he had been cleaned up in the baths, he came out, put on the robe, mounted the beast and went to the qadi’s house. He was taken in and brought up to the qadi, who gave him food and drink until he recovered, forgetting his distress and sufferings. It was then that the qadi asked him for his story, saying: ‘How did you lose what your father left you, and what happened to your slave girl Tuhfa, for I knew that you were very fond of her?’ On hearing Tuhfa’s name Talha was choked by tears, but, after having wept and sobbed noisily, he started to tell his story to the qadi from beginning to end.

  The qadi wept out of pity for him and summoned the slave-dealer, whom he reproached for what he had done and from whom he took the gold. He then said to Talha: ‘Would you like to hear how I think that, God willing, you may be reunited with Tuhfa?’ Talha asked about this, and the qadi said: ‘I shall give you some of my own money over and above what you have yourself, and I shall use it all to buy goods that you can take to Damascus. I shall then write you a letter addressed to the ‘udul and the leading men of the city, asking them to help you buy back your slave girl. I hope that you may succeed and, if you do, come back here and I shall appoint you to a suitable post. I shall be there to help you, and you will also have what I hope will be a profit from your trading.’

  Talha thanked the qadi, who then spent fifteen hundred dinars on buying goods suitable for Damascus, and he wrote a letter to its qadi and the ‘udul, asking them to look after him and help him. He also got for him a letter from ‘Abd al-‘Aziz, the ruler of Egypt, to his brother ‘Abd al-Malik son of Marwan. Talha was then sent off to Tanis, where he loaded his goods on a ship that was due to sail in the direction of Damascus. Two days off Tyre, however, it was wrecked, leaving Talha naked, penniless and sadder than before. He decided to make for Damascus, hoping to find employment as a servant so that he might be able to buy back Tuhfa.

  When he got there he was a changed man, in the grip of misery and care, but when he saw the city from the outside it filled him with wonder and he sat down to rest before going in. He had with him some pieces of dry bread, salt and groats that someone had given him and he took these out as he sat by a stream in the shade of a tree. He broke the bread and left it on a stone as he crushed what salt he had and sprinkled it on top. He was about to eat when up came a rider on an Arab mare, dressed as a king and galloping in pursuit of a gazelle. After he had hunted it down he made for the shade of Talha’s tree as he was tired. He dismounted, took off his boots and gaiters and, after washing his hands, feet and face, he was about to stretch out on his back in the shade when Talha, who was embarrassed, called out: ‘Come here, master, the food is ready!’ at which the rider turned to look at him.

  This turned out to be ‘Abd al-Malik son of Marwan, and Talha’s invitation prompted his admiration. He said to himself: ‘This man apparently comes from a good background, and courtesy demands that I should not treat him with haughtiness, for if I don’t accept, that will seem to be mockery and a show of pride on my part.’ He got up and sat with Talha, accepting some of the bread and salt, while Talha talked animatedly to him. He then asked Talha where he came from and when Talha had told him he was from Egypt he went on to ask for his name. When Talha told him, ‘Abd al-Malik asked if he was the son of the qadi. ‘I am,’ said Talha, at which ‘Abd al-Malik asked: ‘How can you be Talha son of Malik when you are dressed like this?’ ‘A proper question,’ said Talha, ‘but things happen as God decrees and wills.’ ‘What has brought you to so wretched a state?’ ‘Abd al-Malik went on and when Talha burst into tears he pitied him and urged him to show endurance before repeating the question.

  Talha now told him the whole story from start to finish, how he lost his money, approached the slave-dealer and sold Tuhfa. ‘So she is the only reason that you came here,’ said ‘Abd al-Malik, adding: ‘and who was it who bought her?’ ‘It was a Damascus merchant who bought her for another Damascene named Muhammad son of Salih,’ said Talha. ‘Abd al-Malik knew the man, and he told Talha to finish his remarkable story. Talha said: ‘When I knew that Tuhfa had been passed to someone else and there was no way in which I could get to her, I lost my wits and became mad. I was thrown into hospital and stayed there for six months, suffering the bitterness of a wretched life. Then, in accordance with the will of God, the Great and Glorious, it happened that the qadi of Fustat wanted to inspect the hospital and when he caught sight of me he recognized me and brought me out. He was good to me and gave me a large amount of money as well as advising me to come here and writing a letter for me to the qadi and the ‘uduls. He also got me a letter from the emir to the caliph, may God prolong his life, asking for help with Muhammad son of Salih, in the hope that he might restore Tuhfa to me. Then my ship was wrecked at sea, and I lost all my goods. I emerged in the state that you see and made for Damascus, hoping to make the acquaintance of Tuhfa’s new master and be accepted by him as a servant. Were I to be taken on as a groom I might catch sight of her some day and hear about her before I give up the ghost. This is the true account of what happened.’

  At this point he was choked by tears, as he heaved deep sighs and wept. ‘Abd al-Malik was filled with pity, but just then chamberlains rode up, dismounted in front of him and greeted him, while the emirs presented their respects. Talha realized that this must be ‘Abd al-Malik himself and he jumped to his feet and started to present excuses for having invited him to eat. ‘There was nothing wrong with that,’ ‘Abd al-Malik assured him. ‘I listened to your story and I gladly acknowledge that I am in your debt for the salt of yours that I ate. I swear by Almighty God to see that you get back both your slave girl and your riches. This I guarantee.’

  ‘Abd al-Malik ordered Talha to be taken to the baths, and one of his chief officials took him off, bringing with him a bundle of clothes suitable for a man of his rank. He mounted him on a sturdy beast and provided him with a fine house. ‘Abd al-Malik left him to recover from his tiredness and then summoned him together with the court officials. He sent for Muhammad son of Salih, only to be saddened by the news from his family that he had left for Egypt.

  At his court there was a bitter enemy of Muhammad’s who was intensely jealous of him. This man said: ‘Commander of the Faithful, this is an impossible lie on his part, and he must have told his family to turn away your messenger so that he should not be summoned to your court. I saw him a few days ago, and no one has left for Egypt in this period. I can produce a witness who saw him leaving the baths.’ When he heard this ‘Abd al-Malik was furiously angry
with Muhammad and gave immediate orders for his house to be plundered and for all the women there to be brought before Talha so that he could take back his slave girl Tuhfa as he had been promised, with the caliph’s guarantee.

  Five hundred servants were sent to the house, but by the time they had got to the street in which it was, news that the caliph had ordered it to be plundered had preceded them. All the women and servants were frightened as they did not know what this was all about and so they rushed out and hid with neighbours. Tuhfa, seeing this, was terrified and went up to the roof of the house, over the boundary wall and then down into the next-door house. This belonged to a weaver, from whom she asked help and who hid her. Muhammad’s house was plundered with everything in it being seized, and all the women taken to the caliph. He ordered them to be shown to Talha so that if he saw Tuhfa he could take her, but amongst all of them Tuhfa was not to be found.

  ‘Abd al-Malik was saddened and he regretted having had Muhammad’s house plundered but said: ‘Nothing can counter the actions of Fate.’ He then told Talha: ‘You know what we have done and how we have brought down disaster on Muhhamad son of Salih in order to put your affairs in order and to reunite you with your slave girl. Now we shall present you with ten virgins in order to make up for her.’ ‘Commander of the Faithful,’ he replied, ‘I have no need of any other girl but my own,’ and he burst into tears. ‘So what do you want me to do with you?’ the caliph asked, and Talha replied: ‘Send me back home and give me some suitable employment.’ The caliph offered him the post of qadi that his father had held, but he declined out of respect for the current holder, who had treated him so well. He was then offered a post in the administration, which he accepted, and he was handed a letter of appointment as overseer of Egyptian taxes and sent off to Egypt with a large gift of money. He was met by the emir, ‘Abd al-‘Aziz son of Marwan, the qadi and the leading citizens and, on entering the city, he dismounted at a house that had been prepared for him. The qadi asked him about his journey and what had happened to him after they had parted, to which Talha replied with the full story from start to finish. This astonished the qadi, who praised God for having brought it to a happy ending. For a month Talha acted as overseer of the tax-gatherers of Egypt.