The Theocrat: A Modern Arabic Novel (Modern Arabic Literature)

by Bensalem Himmich

  “How can that be done, lady of wise counsel?” they all asked.

  “We don’t want to spill the blood of innocent people and those followers who’ve been duped,” she replied. “What we need to do is to infiltrate into the ranks of devotees someone skilled in the crafts of disguise and deceit, someone who can make a big show of loyalty and devotion to the cause. Then, once he’s gained everyone’s confidence, he can choose the appropriate moment to kill al-Druzi and bring us his head.”

  It was only a single month after the members of the group had listened to Sitt al-Mulk’s idea and unanimously supported it that the Kutami cavalier who had been selected for the task returned to Egypt with the heads of al-Druzi and three of his major supporters and confidants. Those in the know about the scheme were overjoyed and wished Sitt al-Mulk still further successes of this kind.

  When the severed heads were displayed in public, the Caliph al-Zahir started prodding them with his bamboo cane, and members of the group spat on them. Sitt al-Mulk on the other hand refused to have them anywhere near her or even look at them. Instead she had them quickly stored away in the repository for heretics” heads, then spent many hours locked away in her room, weeping bitter tears for the action she had been forced to take against al-Druzi—all of it, by God, in spite of herself! She spent many, many hours weeping over her own inability to solve a paradox, one that revealed itself to her in all its horrifying complexity: in order to stem the hemorrhage, yet more blood had to be spilled. The only thing that managed to dispel this vision was her joyous conviction that all factors pointing to yet another bloody episode had actually ceased to exist in view of the impossibility of al-Hakim rising from the ashes. Any such fears would result in the erasure of any idea of an honorable peace with the Byzantine emperor Basil II, who had announced himself willing to renounce all aid to enemies of (he Fatimid state in return for a restoration to Egyptian Christians of those rights and freedoms that they were entitled to enjoy under the code of Islamic law.

  On that notable day when al-Hakim’s “smoke” finally dissipated and no trace of it remained, spring announced its arrival in the Fatimid domains in a spectacular and beautiful form that Egyptians had never witnessed before. The Nile was in full flood, bursting with life and reflecting the light of the clear blue sky. At its zenith the sun bathed land and people in a compassionate warmth. The moon lit up streets and roofs, providing lovers with a plentiful glow. The desert donated to these nuptials of nature a gentle breeze whose scented wafts were welcomed by everyone.

  During this season Sitt al-Mulk came to have a powerful sense of well-being that she had never experienced before. She used to spend a lot of time walking alone in her palace gardens, where bushes, roses, and trees were garlanded with beautiful scented flowers, and where birds and butterflies filled the air with song and color. In sum, Sitt al-Mulk, like everyone else who had become inured to terror and grief, could hardly believe her own eyes or tolerate the presence of so much beauty. In such circumstances what she needed most was a continuous series of private communions with nature, unsullied by talk of politics or blood.

  One spring evening when the sun had almost set, Sitt al-Mulk was sitting in the most beautiful part of her gardens and communing with nature. Her eyes glowed and her complexion shone with sheer emotion; a gentle, scented breeze was toying with her hair and every part of her body. At that moment she closed her eyes and surrendered to a strange, God-inspired sleep. No sooner had she fallen into its embrace that a group of naked and barefoot poets appeared, each of them reading from his own poetry and demanding from her body a touch or a kiss in exchange. They all fell silent and receded when the master poet among them appeared and recited the following line: O love of my life, have pity; for love of you I burn on fire.

  Then the master of masters burst on the scene to recite his line of love: For love of you letters within my heart have been titled with tears and sleeplessness.

  Lastly there arrived a thin poet. With great merriment he sang a poem fragment to the accompaniment of a chorus of transvestites who repeated the chorus while pinching anyone who objected:

  My fault in loving you I cannot, cannot see!

  That my goal is to please you That seems good, so good to me!

  If you choose to torture me, I care not, care not!

  The poets kept topping each other’s efforts in both poetry and drinking till they were all equally drunk and rowdy. They then started hugging and kissing each other, exchanging victory medals, and prancing around singing over and over again, “That seems good, so good to me!”

  The way the poets were making a huge row around Sitt al-Mulk and fighting each other to get hold of her only came to an end with the rapid arrival of the senior officials and generals of the state: Ibn Dawwas, Khatir al-Mulk, and al-Druzi. They rudely drove the poets away and started to strip Sitt al-Mulk of her clothes, touching, grabbing, fondling, and kissing her body as they did so. Having decided to have sex with her, they all wanted to go first, whereupon they all started cursing and swearing at each other. They tried casting lots, but nobody won. Then they took up their swords and started fighting. The winner was al-Husayn ibn Dawwas, the Kutami chief. No sooner had he recovered his breath and savored the moment of victory than he started taking his clothes off and preparing to leap on top of Sitt al-Mulk’s naked body and rape her as an act of revenge. He mounted her and started pressing down, but she kept resisting and calling out for help. Almost at once Nasim, the Security Chief, arrived on the scene along with Ibn Miskin, the Chief Lancer, and a contingent of slaves. They pulled Ibn Dawwas off their mistress and dealt him a series of deadly blows. The slaves then did obeisance to her and approached her on their knees. They too leapt on top of her in a crushing mass: one of them was kissing her limbs, another was squeezing her breasts, and still another was rubbing self against her—all with devout blessings. All Ibn Miskin could do was to take spears to them and leave them either dead or wounded. When Nasim noticed signs of lechery in Ibn Miskin’s expression as well, he grabbed his spear and killed him….

  Now only Nasim and Sitt al-Mulk remained in this place now crammed with the dead and dying. Night was bidding adieu to its last shadows, and only the groans of the dying disturbed the quiet of an elemental silence. Within this final circle of Sitt al-Mulk’s dream Nasim stood in front of her and stripped.

  “The keeper of all secrets, my lady, the victor in every battle, and yet a eunuch! As you can see, I am unable to serve you. Being myself at the point of death, I can no longer conceal from you the degree of my love and passion for you. You are the one I adore, my cause and my guide in this life and on the Day of Resurrection. It is this secret burning inside my heart that has impelled me to do away with all your lovers, one after the other, and to rescue you from all those who shared knowledge of the way you arranged al-Hakim’s murder. Now you must kill my secret by killing me. Otherwise I shall reveal your secret and then kill myself.”

  Sitt al-Mulk did not utter a word. Her stomach was upset, her heart was palpitating, and she had difficulty breathing, as though she too were suffering death agonies. Faced with such a determined silence Nasim approached her and emptied a vial of poison into her mouth and another one into his own. He lay down beside her, suckling from her breasts and awaiting the advent of the angel of death.

  Next morning, the seventh day of spring in A.H. 414, Sitt al-Mulk’s dead body was discovered, locked in its eternal slumber and looking like one of the houris of paradise. Her hair had turned white, and lines had begun to appear on her face, lending her visage an even greater nobility and radiance.

  In accordance with Sitt al-Mulk’s own wishes, her funeral in the caliphal cemetery was a modest affair. A huge crowd walked behind the coffin, and the feelings of grief and loss surpassed even those normally felt by the Shi’a community on the Day of Ashura. After burying the sultana in her final resting-place, Egyptians spent an entire week walking around barefoot, wearing only dark clothes, and only eating barley bread, b
lack lentils, cheese, and salted foods. They closed their shops and thronged to the Azhar mosque and other places of worship where they all prayed to God for mercy on the dead woman.

  During that very same week a disturbed young man could be seen walking around the cemeteries and quarters of Cairo. He was of olive complexion and had a mole on his cheek and brilliantly white teeth. He kept wandering about chanting;

  Where can I find the burned book?

  Whither has the stony night banished the maiden of sunrise?”

  Just one year after Sitt al-Mulk’s death, the Egyptians, now ruled by al-Zahir Li-I’zaz Din Allah, set about ridding themselves of all their suppressed anxieties and erasing for ever their fears and constraints. In so doing they exceeded all limits. The young caliph was extremely fond of food, drink, promenades, and songs, and so it was easy for the people to draw him into their activities. For example, on the third day of the Christian feast of Easter, Muslims and Christians gathered at the Miqass Bridge. Tents had been set up, and a huge crowd spent the entire day playing and indulging in all kinds of debauchery. Men and women commingled as they got progressively more and more drunk, so much so that women had to be carried home in baskets. This was a day of wholesale debauchery.26

  In the year A.H. 418 al-Zahir started drinking wine and allowed the people to do likewise, to listen to singing, to drink beer, eat mulukhiyya and various types of fish. People spent a lot of time on amusements.27

  Al-Zahir died in the second half of Sha’ban in A.H. 427, a few days short of his thirty-second birthday. His caliphate had lasted for fifteen years, eight months, and a few days. He loved entertainments and was very fond of singing. In his time people in Egypt were very chic and hired singers and dancers. The whole thing reached unprecedented proportions.28”

  Notes

  1. Ibn Taghribirdi, Bright Stars, Vol. 4, p. 186.

  2. Ibid., p. 196.

  3. Al-Maqrizi,, Homily for the Devout, Vol. 2, p. 35.

  4. Ibn Taghribirdi, Bright Stars, p. 202. Ibn Taghribirdi mentions that in this same year, “Al-Husayn ibn Ahmad ibn al-Hajjaj Abu ‘Abdallah, the poet, died. Me grew up among the workers and writers in Baghdad and served as morals supervisor for ‘Izz al-Dawlah Bakhtiyar the Buyid. However he ignored his position in order to devote himself more to poetry, folly, and debauchery. I said: This very same Ibn al-Hajjaj was proverbial for his frivolities, jests, and lampoons. The majority of his poetry is comic and sarcastic verse, often obscene. Here is an example: “Heaven help me/with her cunt and my cock/they’ve both demanded sex/but it’s enough to chop off my erection.” [p. 205]

  5. Ibn Kathir, The Beginning and the Ending, Vol. 12, p. 10.

  6. As reported by ‘Abdallah ‘Inan, Al-Hakim bi-Amr Illah and the Secrets of the Fatimid Cause, p. 128 (based on the church manuscript, Siyar al-bi’ah ai-muqaddasa (Biographies of the Sacred Space), n.p.

  7. Al-Maqrizi, Homily for the Devout, p. 55.

  8. Mentioned (with an incorrect date) in Ibn Khaldun, Book of Exemplary Lessons, Vol. 4, p. 76.

  9. Al-Maqrizi, Homily for the Devout, p. 97.

  10. Ibid., p. 77.

  11. Ibn Taghribirdi, Bright Stars, pp. 222–23.

  12. Ibid., p. 232.

  13. Al-Qalqashandi, Morning for the Night-Blind, Vol. 10, pp. 444–45.

  14. Ibid., p. 443.

  15. Ibn al-Athir, The Complete Work on History, Vol. 7, p. 236.

  16. Al-Maqrizi, Homily for the Devout, p. 64,

  17. Ibid., p. 66.

  18. Ibn Taghribirdi, Bright Stars, p. 216.

  19. Ibid., p. 217.

  20. Ibid., pp. 229–30.

  21. Al-Maqrizi, Homily for the Devout, pp. 54–55. It seems likely that al-Maqrizi is copying the information from al-Misbahi whose history has not come down to us.

  22. Al-Kirmani, “Cheerful News,” p. 55.

  23. Ibn Taghribirdi, Bright Stars, pp. 181–82

  24. Al-Maqrizi, Homily for the Devout, p. 15.

  25. Ibn Taghribirdi, Bright Stars, p. 187.

  26. Al-Maqrizi, Homily for the Devout, p. 137.

  27. Ibid., p. 29; al-Maqrizi, Lessons and Reports, Vol. I, p. 354.

  28. Al-Maqrizi, Khitat, Lessons and Reports, Vol. I, p. 355.

  Bibliography

  Al-Antaki, Yahya ibn Said. Silat tarikh Utika (Appendix to the History of Eutychius).

  Al-Dhahabi, al-Hafiz. Tarikh al-Islam (History of Islam). Cairo: n.p. 1985.

  Ibn al-’Amid, al-Makin. Tarikh al-Muslimin (History of the Muslims).

  Ibn al-Athir, al-Kamil fi ai-tarikh (The Complete Work on History), Vol. 7. Beirut: Dar al-Kitab al-’Arabi, n.d.

  Ibn Iyas, Bada ’I‘ al-zuhur fi waqa ’i‘ al-duhur (Bright Flowers Concerning the Events of the Ages). Cairo: Dar Ihya’ al-Kutub al-’Arabiyyah, 1984.

  Ibn Kathir. al-Bidaya wa-l-nihaya (The Beginning and the Ending). Vol. 12. Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-’Ilmiyyah, 1987.

  Ibn Khaldun. Kitab al-‘Ibar (Book of Exemplary lessons). Vol. 4. Beirut: Dar al-Fikr, 1981.

  Ibn Khallikan. Kitab wafayat al-a’yan (Book on the Deaths of Important People). Karachi: Pakistan Historical Society, 1961.

  Ibn al-Qalanisi. Dhayl tarikh Dimashq (Afterword to the History of Damascus). Damascus: Dar Hassan. 1983.

  Ibn al-Sabi. Kitab tarikh—Takmilat kitab Thabit ibn Sinan (Book of History—Completion of Thabit Ibn Sinan’s Book of History).

  Ibn Taghribirdi. al-Nujum al-zahira ft muluk Misr wa-t-Qahira (Bright Stars Concerning the Rulers of Egypt and Cairo). Vol.4. Cairo: Dar al-Kutub al-Misriyyah, 1933.

  ‘Inan, ‘Abdallah. al-Hakim bi-Amr Illah wa-asrar al-da ‘wa al-fatimiya (Al-Hakim bi-Amr Illah and the Secrets of the Fatimid Cause). Cairo: 1959.

  Al-Kirmani. “Risala: Mabasim al-bisharat bi-l-Imam al-Hakim bi-Amr lllah,” (Essay: Cheerful News Regarding the Imam. al-Hakim bi-Amr Illah) in Muhammad Kamil Husayn, Ta’ifat al-Duruz. Cairo: Dar al-Ma’arif, 1962.

  Al-Maqrizi. Itti‘az al-hunafa ‘bi-akhbar al-a ‘imma al-fatimiyin al-khulafa’ (Homily for the Devout Concerning Reports on the Fatimid Imams and Caliphs). Vol. 2. Cairo, 1972.

  ______. al-Mawa ‘iz wa-l-ikhtibar fi dhikr al-khitat wa-l-athar (Lessons and Reports Concerning Cairo Quarters and Monuments). Cairo: French Institute for Archaeology, 1911.

  Al-Qalqashandi. Subh al-a ‘sha fi sina ‘at-insha’ (Morning for the Night-Blind Concerning the Craft of Composition), Vol. 10. Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-’Ilmiyyah, 1986.

  Sibt ibn al-Jawzi. Mir’ at al-zaman fi tarikh al-’yan (Mirror of the Times Concerning the History of Notables). Beirut: Dar al-Shuruq, 1985

  Al-Wazir Jamal al-din. Akhbar al-dawla al-munqati’ah (Reports on the Interrupted Regime).

  Glossary

  Dates in the glossary are given in their Islamic (Hijra) form followed by their Gregorian equivalent

  ‘Alawite: a Shi’ite sect whose name is based initially on that of ‘Ali, the Prophet Muhammad’s cousin and son-in-law, who is the foundational figure in the ‘Shi’at ‘Ali’ or Shi’a; more specifically the group is named after ‘Ali al-Hadi (d. 254/868), the tenth of the Shi’ite Imams. The group, also known as ‘Nusayris.’ supported the notion of the divine nature of the Shi’ite Imam.

  Canal: the khalij, a canal that extended North-East from the River Nile and was a prominent landmark of the city of Cairo until it was filled in during the nineteenth century. It is now Port Said Street.

  Coptic festivals: Nawruz is the Coptic New Year’s Day festival, celebrated in September; Pentecost is the traditional Christian celebration of the fifty days following the festival of Easter, culminating with Pentecost Sunday which celebrates the descent of the Holy Spirit.

  Dar al-Hikmah: the most famous ‘Dar al-Hikmah’ (House of Wisdom) was a library founded by the ‘Abbasid Caliph, al-Ma’mun (d. 217/833), From historical accounts, it would appear that al-Hakim bi-Amr Illah established a similar institution in Cairo.

  Fatimid festivals: the ceremonies involving the opening of the khalij (see Canal) and the N
ile flood were connected with the River Nile and the importance of its annual flood to the economy of the region {that is, before the construction of the Aswan High Dam, which now controls the river’s flow further south). Both are described in detail in Edward Lane’s renowned account. Manners and Customs of the Modern Egyptians (1863).

  Kiswa: a black, brocaded carpet used to cover the Ka’ba in Mecca. Traditionally made in Egypt, it was transported to Mecca as part of the pilgrimage caravan.

  Maliki School: one of the four major ‘schools’ (Ar. madhhab) of Islamic law, named after its founder, Malik ibn Anas (d. 179/796).

  Mulukhiya: a favorite Egyptian dish to this day; a thick soup made from a herb usually known in English as ‘Jews’ mallow.’

  Smoke Verse: Qur’an (8:26); “So be on watch for a day on which the heavens will bring a clear smoke.”

  Umm ‘Amr’s donkey: an ancient Arab proverb dating from pre-Islamic times. Umm ‘Amr was a woman with a curse on her, who was expelled from her tribe and rode off on her donkey. The proverb relates that “she never came back, nor did her donkey.” The donkey is therefore a metaphor for any undesirable person or entity who suffers a similar fate,

  Qur’anic References

  A little enjoyment, and then they will face a dire punishment. (16:117)

  Every soul tastes death. You will receive your rewards on the Day of Resurrection. (3:185)

  I am the Mount, the inscribed Book, the inhabited House. (52:4)

  O people, a simile is being invoked here, so pay attention. The people to whom you pray in place of God could never create so much as a fly even though they all combined their efforts. If that fly were to rob them of something, they could never retrieve it: seeker and sought are simply too weak. They have not given God his true value; indeed God is powerful and mighty. (22:73)

  Over every knowledgeable person is One who knows, (12:76)

  O you who believe, you are responsible for yourselves. Anyone who goes astray cannot hurt you if you offer him guidance. God is the point of reference for you all. It is He who will inform you of what you are doing. (5:105)