by The Tale of Princess Fatima, Warrior Woman- The Arabic Epic of Dhat al-Himma (retail) (epub)
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The Byzantine emperor sat on his throne, thinking, If only we still had ʿUqba. He would have come up with a scheme to find those missing enemy fighters. One of his commanders approached the throne and introduced himself: “Your Majesty, I knew ʿUqba well. He used to talk to me, and I learned a great deal from him. In this situation, I think he would drive them out with fire.”
“The cave goes deep into the mountain.”
“Your Majesty, you can pour oil into jars and light it. Then carry the jars suspended in front of you as you walk into the cave. Either they will surrender to you, or you can burn their bones.”
“Come, let’s do it! My heart burns to put an end to them.”
The emperor traveled with a troop of soldiers to the mountain cave, where a party of soldiers prepared the fire as instructed. They moved all the way to the back of the cave and found no one, dead or alive, so they returned to the mouth of the cave and informed the emperor.
“Hmm, they could not have escaped: there was still some snow in front of the cave. But maybe they died inside it, and some animals removed them. . . .”
The emperor and his troops returned to Constantinople.
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When the amirs began to feel pangs of hunger and thirst, they managed to wait an additional three days before growing desperate. One said, “This is truly one of the worst ways to die. If only we had not entered this cave, we could have died in battle and taken some of the enemy with us!”
Another spoke to the emptiness, “O keeper of the lamp, please help us as you are able.” Nothing happened.
Princess Fatima said, “Relief comes at the last moment.”
Mazbahun replied, “I don’t think there is any chance of relief for us until the Last Day.”
“Each of you make a vow to God. What would you be willing to do in order to be released from this cave?” asked Princess Fatima.
One said, “I would fast regularly, forever.”
Another said, “I would go on hajj every year.”
“Every time I earned something, I would give part of it to charity.”
“I would fight harder.”
Princess Fatima looked closer at the ceiling, illuminated by the lamp, and found a little window no larger than a hand through which fresh air entered. “Had we not had fresh air from here, we would not have survived this long. It must lead somewhere. If we widen this window with our swords, maybe we can escape!”
“How can we reach it? If we were not so hungry and thirsty, maybe we could have come up with a great plan. But now we can hardly focus or stand straight, let alone hold the weight of one another!”
“I have an idea,” replied the amira. “Move the body from the bed. Then we’ll take the bed apart and turn it into a ladder.”
The amirs were impressed and promptly lifted the body, gently laying it aside. The bed was made of pieces of iron and chain links. As they were taking it apart, they found a hollow in one of its legs. Within the hollow, there was a golden tablet inscribed with names and symbols that no one could decipher in the dim light.
One of the amirs climbed onto the shoulders of Mazbahun to read the tablet closer to the lamp. “ ‘To the one who enters this place: I was accomplished in reading the stars, and was a student of Hippocrates.4 I am a believer in the One God, and in the message of the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings upon him. People of knowledge accumulate neither gold nor silver, nor any other precious metals. I saved up naught but wisdom. The signs indicated to me that a group of believers would come to this place on a noble mission, in need of refuge. I prepared food to sustain you for a month. I secured the services of the jinn, and entrusted to them the keeping of the lamp. And I instructed them to obey you. If you rub this tablet, its keeper will appear to you, and you may ask the jinni for whatever you wish.’ ”
ʿAbdelwahhab took the tablet and rubbed it, and there appeared a being who said, “Labayk labayk ha ana bayn idayk! Here I am, here I am, at your service! Tell me what you wish.”
“I would like for you to tell me how our army fares and what has happened to them,” said ʿAbdelwahhab.
“They are currently in dire straits. If they do not receive relief soon, they will perish.” The keeper of the tablet related to them the details, explaining how the Byzantine emperor had exhorted his soldiers to crush the Muslim army, raining down stones on them.
“And you, keeper of the tablet, is there only one of you?”
“Yes, but I have many who look to me for leadership. If I asked, they would carry out my orders.”
“I ask you to direct them to take us to Constantinople, placing us within the city, and then to rain down stones, fire, and smoke on the Rum soldiers.” The jinn did as ʿAbdelwahhab instructed, carrying the amirs within the city gates. Then they spread out, pelting the Rum soldiers outside with stones, fire, and smoke.
When the emperor went to enter his city, he was greeted by the long-missing amirs. They captured him and those with him before opening the gates, and the captives were utterly speechless, unable even to form a question.
When the caliph arrived at the city gate, he found it closed and saw no one positioned on the towers above. “It must be abandoned, containing only elders and children,” he mused. Al-Battal warned him that it could be a trick and moved to enter first. ʿAbdelwahhab had sighted them from the top of the palace, and he and Princess Fatima descended to meet them, leaving the rest of their party upstairs. Princess Fatima had her face covered, as was her habit in battle dress. When she saw swords drawn at her, she said laughingly, “What’s this, are we fighting one another now?” and she dropped the scarf from her face. Those out in front were so startled that they cried out. Those farther back moved forward to learn the source of the surprise. Among them was the caliph, and he watched in concern as a messenger came back to relay the news.
When he saw them, the caliph screamed and rushed to exchange warm embraces with ʿAbdelwahhab and Princess Fatima. He urged them to mount and to ride next to him, and together they rode into Constantinople, with him asking them, in wonder, what happened. They told him everything. When they got to the part about the discovery of the tablet and its keeper, the caliph said, “Praise God who turns misfortune on its head! Our victory today is at your hands, not for the first time!”
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The caliph granted ʿAbdelwahhab a new position of leadership: “Due to your intelligence and insight, I want you where you can decide matters before they ever reach the ruler. Keep firm in your principles, always saving the wronged from their oppressors. May justice prevail: Allah orders justice and good conduct.”5
ʿAbdelwahhab bowed in obedience to his sovereign and in humility to the task before him. “Commander of the Faithful, when we were trapped in the cave, each of us made a vow for what we would do if we were released. Dhat al-Himma and I vowed to go on hajj every year. When the time comes, my mother and I intend to be there.”
“So be it. Keep us in your prayers.”
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During hajj in Mecca one year, Princess Fatima grew ill. Several days later, she passed away into the mercy of God. Many people came to the prayer service to honor her, and she was buried near the Bab al-Maʿla city gate. In her memory, her son distributed a great deal of wealth to the less fortunate. He passed away mere months after his mother. When the news reached the caliph, he mourned the loss of Dhat al-Himma and her son and conducted a memorial prayer in their honor.
Notes
PRINCIPAL CHARACTERS
1. Alternative spelling and pronunciation: Junduba.
2. Alternative spelling and pronunciation: Suhsah.
3. In the original text, Fatima’s cousin is named Harith. I use the name Walid (from a minor character in an untranslated part of this epic) instead to avoid
confusion between multiple characters with the same name. It is important to note here the practice of marriage among first cousins. Although it is socially stigmatized in the contemporary United States and in other countries, cousin marriage is considered ideal and actively encouraged in many cultures. The marriage ideal in traditional Arab culture was the union of paternal cousins. This was a way of consolidating family power and wealth, ensuring protection and provision for loved ones. The practice appears many times in this epic.
4. In the original text, Fatima’s master is named Harith. I use the name Ahmed (from a minor character in an untranslated part of this epic) instead to avoid confusion between this character and Fatima’s great-great-grandfather of the same name.
5. Shumadris: This spelling is adopted from Remke Kruk (in “The Bold and the Beautiful: Women and ‘fitna’ in the Sīrat Dhāt al-Himma: The Story of Nūrā,” in Women in the Medieval Islamic World: Power, Patronage, and Piety, ed. Gavin R. G. Hambly [New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1998], 103). Lyons renders the name “Shumdaris.”
ANCESTORS: THE OPENING EPISODE OF THE EPIC
1. Maqānibī, Sīrat al-amīra Dhāt al-Himma . . . , 1:7–18.
2. The caliph ʿAbd al-Malik bin Marwan was the fifth caliph of the Umayyad dynasty, which ruled from Damascus. This is the name given in the text. The translator has decided not to change the rulers’ names from those chosen by the storyteller, even when the names do not seem entirely historically accurate.
Caliphate: The term caliph refers to the political authority figure of the Sunni Muslim community from the seventh to thirteenth centuries. It has historical roots in religious authority (from the early seventh century), but the caliphate in the period of this epic refers specifically to two political dynasties: the Umayyads (who reigned from 661 to 750 from Damascus) and the Abbasids (who reigned from 750 to 1258 from Baghdad).
3. Shaykh: In this book, shaykh (also spelled sheikh elsewhere) means a mature man, in terms of both years and behavior.
4. “The Victorious” and “the Almighty Sovereign” here are epithets for God. There are ninety-nine traditional Arabic names of Allah/God (with some variation on which names are included, which is not a problem because the number ninety-nine simply represents infinity). Each name signifies a divine attribute. Other names that appear in this translation include “the Compassionate,” “the Powerful,” and “the Knowing.” See also note 4 on page 164.
5. Some variants and interpretations include a bird here instead of a cloud of locusts. In either case, it is a miracle of nature providing protection to the infant.
JUNDABA’S CHILDHOOD AND FIRST ADVENTURE
1. Maqānibī, Sīrat al-amīra Dhāt al-Himma . . . , 1:18–25.
THE ROMANCE OF LAYLA AND SAHSAH
1. Maqānibī, Sīrat al-amīra Dhāt al-Himma . . . , 1:96–269. Many features of this episode will remind those familiar with Arabic and Persian literature of the story of Layla and Majnun.
2. Maqānibī, Sīrat al-amīra Dhāt al-Himma . . . , 1:103. Or: “patience is most becoming,” al-sabr ajmal. The phrase recalls “patience is most fitting,” fa-sabrun jamilun, from Quran 12:18.
3. In a discussion of the epic hero ʿAntar, literary scholar James E. Montgomery describes the expensive kit of equipment used by elite warriors in pre-Islamic Arabian tribal contexts. It consisted of a horse or camel, and possibly horse armor; body armor (helmet and coat of mail, either tunic- or foot-length, made of iron); two types of swords: Yemeni (long) and Indian (curved); shield; lance; short spear for hand-to-hand combat; dagger; and possibly a bow and arrow. From the BBC program on Antarah ibn Shaddad, available online at https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0002r5v.
4. Ayat: verses of the Quran.
5. ʿAntar: the eponymous hero of Sirat ʿAntar, the most famous Arabic epic.
ʿAli: the cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad.
FATIMA UPROOTED
1. Maqānibī, Sīrat al-amīra Dhāt al-Himma . . . , 1:502–22.
2. Marzuq seems to be Black in later episodes. In this Beirut printing, his mother Suʿda is reported as Turkish. In the Cairo printing, she is Black. Discrepancies between printings and between other manuscript renditions is an area for future research.
3. Amira: “Princess,” “Commander,” or “Warrior Woman.”
Dhat al-Himma: “The Valorous,” also shortened to Delhimma, “Valor.”
4. Quran 2:156.
THE SORRY AFFAIR OF FATIMA’S MARRIAGE
1. Maqānibī, Sīrat al-amīra Dhāt al-Himma . . . , 1:524–63.
2. The Bani Umayya are more commonly known in English as the Umayyads. I have retained the original wording because it is more consistent with the other family names in this saga (Bani Kilab, Bani Tayy, etc.). This terminology fits with the communal, desert-based social ethos of the early part of the epic. The text names Marwan’s father as Sulayman bin ʿAbd al-Malik bin Marwan (p. 535). The historical man of this name ruled from 715 to 717 (too early to fit the historical narrative), and, despite what is suggested by his name, Sulayman was not succeeded by a Marwan. The translator has chosen to eliminate the father’s name from the story and to interpret Marwan here as Marwan ibn Muhammad, who ruled from 744 to 750 and was indeed the final ruler in the Umayyad dynasty. The time elapsed between the ruler mentioned in the Opening Episode (who ruled until 705) and this Marwan still does not seem sufficient for the generations narrated in the epic, but perhaps Fatima’s ancestors did not live very long. More importantly, the genre of epic need not be completely historically accurate.
3. This period (680–692) has come to be known as the Second Fitna or the Second Islamic Civil War.
4. “The Merciful” here is one of ninety-nine traditional Arabic names of Allah/God. Each name represents a divine attribute. Other names that appear in this translation include “the Compassionate,” “the Powerful,” and “the Knowing.” See also note 4 on page 162.
5. Quran 4:59. Throughout this translation, I have relied most heavily on the Sahih International Version (see quran.com) for Quranic quotations.
ARAB-BYZANTINE ENCOUNTERS
1. Maqānibī, Sīrat al-amīra Dhāt al-Himma . . . , 1:563–86.
2. The Rum (pronounced “room”) are the Greek Orthodox Christians living within the Byzantine Empire in Anatolia (present-day Turkey). Their central political and religious authority is located in the capital city of Constantinople.
3. The name here rendered as “Emperor Leo” is malak Lawun, “King Lawun” in the Arabic text. The Leonid dynasty ruled from 457 to 518, but the narrator probably did not choose this name in the interest of historical accuracy.
4. This tale of the building and naming of the city of Malatya is not necessarily historically accurate. Today Malatya is a city in eastern Turkey, the capital of the Malatya province, and is renowned for its apricots. It has been inhabited for thousands of years. The center of the city shifted twice, once during the Byzantine period, and again in the nineteenth century. The city site from the Byzantine period is also called Battal Gazi, named for an epic hero, styled on the historical eighth-century Umayyad leader ʿAbdullah Al-Battal (who appears later in this book).
5. Amida (Arabic Āmid): An ancient city in Mesopotamia, built along the Tigris River. Present-day Diyarbakir, Turkey.
6. Nusaybin (Arabic Nuṣaybīn): A town northwest of Aleppo. Present-day Turkey.
7. Qatif spears (Arabic al-ramah al-khattiyya): Spears made in Qatif, Saudi Arabia. Historically renowned as the most famous spears among Arabs.
8. Lyons, The Arabian Epic, 3:323 translates zayt, “oil,” here as “naptha,” a flammable oil. The Arabic word just means “oil,” but it becomes clear that this oil is most notable for its flammable qualities.
9. Furusiyya, which I have reduced here to “competence,” I interpret in this context to include all of the following: a) chivalry, a sense of ethics and responsibility, b) eques
trian skills and horse sense, c) martial arts and fighting skills, and d) battle strategy.
TRIALS OF MOTHERHOOD
1. Maqānibī, Sīrat al-amīra Dhāt al-Himma . . . , 1:586–626.
2. I am indebted here to Rachel Schine, who translated four lines of this poem in her article, “Conceiving the Pre-Modern Black-Arab Hero,” 313. She has also written about the conflation of Blackness and servility in premodern Arabic literature (see Introduction for more details).
3. Himma: ambition, resolve, perseverance, valor.
4. I relied on Rachel Schine’s article for the term physiognomists. The original text offers no explanation of their role. Physiognomy, the art/science of discerning character from facial features, was common at the time. See Schine, “Conceiving the Pre-Modern Black-Arab Hero,” 316, for a more literal translation of their judgment, considered within its sociohistorical context. Schine discusses the pseudoscientific idea, common in many cultures of the time, that sexual fantasies or psycho-emotional fixations during intercourse could “imprint,” “impressing a birthmark or defect on a child.” Schine, “Conceiving the Pre-Modern Black-Arab Hero,” 318.
5. Schine suggests in her article that this sentence could be read as “certain thoughts entered his head, and they changed his son’s coloring” (during the sexual act). I have opted for the alternative—that suspicions entered his head because of his son’s coloring. Both readings are interesting, and the ambiguity may reflect different versions in oral accounts, but I have retained the safer reading here.
