The Arabian Nights: Tales of 1,001 Nights: Volume 2

by Penguin; Robert Irwin; Malcolm Lyons; Ursula Lyons

  Al-Ma’mun was astonished by the man’s generosity, and he praised him and exclaimed: ‘I have never heard of anyone to equal him!’ He then told Ibrahim ibn al-Mahdi to fetch him so that he could see him for himself. When the man came and was asked to speak, the caliph was so impressed by his wit and culture that he made him one of his intimates.

  God is the Giver, the Bestower.

  A story is told that a certain king warned his subjects that if any of them gave any alms, their hands would be cut off. As a result of this, charitable giving came to a halt and no one was able to give anything to anyone. One day, however, a starving beggar approached a woman and asked her for alms.

  Morning now dawned and Shahrazad broke off from what she had been allowed to say. Then, when it was the three hundred and forty-eighth night, SHE CONTINUED:

  I have heard, O fortunate king, that the beggar asked the woman for alms. ‘How can I give you anything,’ she said, ‘when the king cuts off the hands of everyone who gives alms?’ But he repeated: ‘In the Name of Almighty God, I ask you for charity.’ When she heard him invoke the Name of God, her heart was softened and she gave him two loaves. News of this reached the king, who had her brought before him and then had her hands cut off, after which she went back to her house.

  Sometime later the king said to his mother: ‘I want to marry, so find me a beautiful wife.’ His mother told him: ‘Among my slave girls there is one of unsurpassed beauty, but she does have one serious defect.’ ‘What is that?’ he asked, and his mother told him that the girl’s hands had been cut off. In spite of that, he said that he wanted to look at her, and when she had been fetched he was charmed by her appearance, married her and slept with her.

  This woman turned out to be the one who had lost her hands for having given two loaves to the beggar. When the king married her, her fellow wives envied her and so they wrote to him, accusing her of being an adulteress who had given birth to a son. The king sent word to his mother, telling her to take her out and abandon her in the desert, before returning. When his mother did this, the woman began to weep, bitterly lamenting her fate, and as she walked with the child on her shoulder she passed by a stream. She knelt down to drink, since the walk, together with her weariness and sorrow, had made her extremely thirsty, but as she bent her head, the baby fell into the water. While she was in floods of tears, two men passed by and asked her why she was crying. ‘I was carrying my baby on my shoulder,’ she told them, ‘and he has fallen into the water.’ ‘Would you like us to fetch him out for you?’ they asked, and when she said yes, they called on Almighty God and out came the child safe and sound. ‘And would you like God to restore your hands as they were before?’ they asked. ‘Yes,’ she replied, and when they had called on God, the Glorious, the Almighty, her hands were restored and were better than before. The men then asked her if she knew who they were, to which she answered: ‘God knows better.’ ‘We are the two loaves you gave to the beggar,’ they told her, ‘the gift that caused you to lose your hands. So give praise to Almighty God, Who has restored them to you and given you back your son.’ This she did.

  A story is told that among the Israelites there was a pious man whose household used to spin cotton. Every day he would sell the spun thread, buy more cotton and use the profit left over to buy food for his family to eat that day. One day, however, when he had gone out and sold his yarn, he met a friend of his who complained to him that he was in need, and so the man gave him what he had earned and went back home with no cotton and no food. ‘Where is the cotton and the food?’ his household asked him, and he told them: ‘So-and-So met me and complained to me of his circumstances, so I handed him the price that I had got for the yarn.’ ‘So what are we going to do,’ they asked him, ‘as we have nothing to sell?’

  They did have a broken bowl and a jar, but although the man took these to the market, no one would buy them from him. As he was standing there, someone passed him carrying a fish…

  Morning now dawned and Shahrazad broke off from what she had been allowed to say. Then, when it was the three hundred and forty-ninth night, SHE CONTINUED:

  I have heard, O fortunate king, that the man took the bowl and the jar to the market, but no one would buy them from him. As he was standing there, someone passed him carrying a fish, but as this was bloated and stinking it had found no buyer. Its owner said to the Israelite: ‘Will you exchange what you cannot sell for what I cannot sell?’ ‘Yes,’ he replied, and after handing over the bowl and the jar, he took the fish back to his household. ‘What are we to do with it?’ they asked. ‘We shall broil it and eat it,’ he told them, ‘and it may be that Almighty God will make some provision for us.’ They then took the fish, slit open its belly and in it they found a pearl. They told this to the Israelite and he said: ‘Look to see whether it has been pierced, for if so it belongs to someone, but otherwise it is something that Almighty God has provided for us.’ In fact, it turned out to be unpierced and so the next morning the Israelite took it to a friend of his who knew about jewellery. When the man asked where it had come from, the Israelite said that it was a gift from God. ‘It is worth a thousand dirhams,’ said his friend, ‘and I will give you that, but you should go to So-and-So, who is not only wealthier than I am but also more knowledgeable.’ So the man took the pearl to this expert, who told him that it was worth seventy thousand dirhams and no more. The money was paid over and porters were summoned to carry it to his house door. A beggar then came up and said: ‘Give me some of what Almighty God has given to you.’ The Israelite said: ‘Yesterday I was like you, so take half of this,’ and he then divided the money. Each of them took his half, but at that point the ‘beggar’ said: ‘Keep the money and may God’s blessing accompany it. I have been sent to you as a messenger from your Lord, to test you.’ ‘Glory and thanks be to God!’ exclaimed the Israelite, and he and his household enjoyed the most luxurious of lives until they died.

  A story is told that ABU’L-HASSAN AL-ZIYADI SAID:

  There was a time when I found myself in extremely straitened circumstances, so much so that the greengrocer, the baker and the other tradesmen were pressing me for payment and in my distress I could see no way out. While I was in this state and had no idea what to do, a servant of mine came in to tell me that at the door was a pilgrim who wanted to see me. I told my man to let him in and when the visitor entered, it turned out that he came from Khurasan. We exchanged greetings, after which he asked me whether I was Abu’l-Hassan al-Ziyadi. I told him that I was and asked him what he wanted. He said: ‘I am a stranger here and I want to go on the pilgrimage to Mecca, but I have with me a quantity of money which I find too heavy to carry. I want to deposit these ten thousand dirhams with you until I come back after the pilgrimage. When the pilgrim caravan returns, if you do not see me, you will know that I am dead and the money will then be a gift from me to you, whereas if I come back, it is mine.’

  I told him that, God willing, I would do what he asked. He then produced a bag, and after telling my servant to fetch a pair of scales, he weighed it, handed it over to me and then went off on his way.

  I fetched the tradesmen and paid off my debts…

  Morning now dawned and Shahrazad broke off from what she had been allowed to say. Then, when it was the three hundred and fiftieth night, SHE CONTINUED:

  I have heard, O fortunate king, that ABU’L-HASSAN AL-ZIYADI SAID:

  I fetched the tradesmen and paid off my debts, after which I spent the money lavishly, telling myself that, if the man were to return, God would provide me with some way out of the difficulty. A day later, however, my servant came back to tell me: ‘Your Khurasanian friend is at the door.’ I gave him leave to enter, and when he did, he told me: ‘I had meant to go on the pilgrimage, but I then heard that my father had died and I made up my mind to go home. So give me back the money that I left with you yesterday.’

  No one has ever been as worried as I was when I heard this, and I was so taken aback that I could make no reply. If I deni
ed that he had given me the money and he made me swear to this, I would be disgraced in the next world, while if I told him that I had spent it, he would raise an outcry and expose me. So I said: ‘God bless you, this house of mine is not a strong enough place in which to keep so much money. When I took your bag, I sent it off to the man who has it with him now. So come back tomorrow to fetch it, if God Almighty wills.’ The Khurasanian went off, and as for me, I spent the night in a state of confusion because of his return. I could not sleep or close my eyes. I got up and told my servant to saddle my mule, but he said: ‘It’s still dark and the night is only just starting.’ I went back to bed, but as I still couldn’t sleep, I kept on waking up my servant and he kept on refusing to get up until dawn broke.

  He then saddled the mule for me and I rode off with no notion of where I was going. I let the reins lie on the mule’s shoulders, and while I was preoccupied with my cares and anxieties it went on eastwards from Baghdad. On my route I caught sight of a group of people and turned out of their way to avoid them, but when they saw that I was wearing a tailasan, they quickly followed me and then asked me: ‘Do you know the house of Abu’l-Hassan al-Ziyadi?’ When I told them that I was Abu’l-Hassan, they told me that the caliph wanted to see me. I went with them, and when I came into the presence of al-Ma’mun he asked me who I was and I told him that I was one of the companions of the qadi Abu Yusuf, a faqih and a student of the traditions of the Prophet. ‘What is your name?’ he asked, and I told him that it was Abu’l-Hassan al-Ziyadi. ‘Tell me your story,’ he ordered, and when I explained to him what had happened to me, he burst into tears and said: ‘Damn you, it was because of you that the Prophet of God, may God bless him and give him peace, kept me awake all last night. I had fallen asleep at the start of the night, but I heard him say: “Help Abu’l-Hassan al-Ziyadi,” and I woke up. I did not know who you were and so I fell asleep again, but again he came to me and said: “Damn you, help Abu’l-Hassan al-Ziyadi.” As I did not know you, I fell asleep once more but again the Prophet came and repeated what he had said. After that, I did not dare to sleep and I had to spend the rest of the night awake. I roused my people and sent them out in every direction to look for you.’

  Al-Ma’mun then presented me with ten thousand dirhams, telling me that these were for the Khurasanian, and then he gave me another ten thousand to use for my own purposes and to set my affairs in order. Finally, he gave me thirty thousand with which to equip myself and he told me to come to him the next day that he rode out in a state procession, when he would give me an official appointment. I left, taking the money with me, and went back home. When I had performed the morning prayer, the Khurasanian arrived. I took him into the house and brought out a bag of money, telling him that it was his. He said: ‘This is not the money I left with you.’ ‘That is right,’ I said, and when he asked the reason for this I told him the story. He burst into tears and said: ‘By God, had you told me the truth to start with, I would not have asked you to return my deposit, and now I swear that I shall accept none of it…’

  Morning now dawned and Shahrazad broke off from what she had been allowed to say. Then, when it was the three hundred and fifty-first night, SHE CONTINUED:

  I have heard, O fortunate king, that ABU’L-HASSAN AL-ZIYADI SAID:

  The Khurasanian told me: ‘By God, had you told me the truth to start with, I would not have asked you to return my deposit, and now I swear that I shall accept none of it and I have no further claim on you for it.’ He then left me.

  I set my affairs in order and on the procession day I went to al-Ma’mun’s door. He was seated when I entered his presence and, after calling me to come up to him, he produced a document for me from beneath his prayer mat appointing me as qadi in the holy city of Medina with unlimited jurisdiction on the west side starting from Bab al-Salam and a monthly salary of such-and-such an amount. He adjured me to fear God, the Great and Glorious, and to bear in mind the concern that the Prophet of God, may God bless him and give him peace, had shown for me. The people present were astonished by what he said and, when they asked me what he meant, I told them the story from start to finish and it became widely known.

  Abu’l-Hassan remained as qadi in the holy city of Medina until he died during the reign of al-Ma’mun, may God have mercy on him.

  A story is told of a man who lost all his considerable wealth and became destitute. His wife advised him to approach one of his friends to see whether he could help to restore his fortunes. He went to the man who, on being told of his desperate position, lent him five hundred dinars with which to start trading. At the start of his career he had been a jeweller and so, taking the money, he went to the jewellers’ market, where he opened a shop in which to trade.

  When he took his seat in the shop three men approached him and asked him about his father. When the man told him that he was dead, they asked whether he had left children. ‘The servant who sits before you,’ the man replied and they said: ‘Who can confirm that you are his son?’ ‘The market traders,’ he replied. ‘Collect them for us so that they may bear witness to the fact that you are his son.’ When this had been done the three produced a saddlebag containing thirty thousand dinars, together with gems and precious metal, telling him that this had belonged to his father and had been left in their trust. They then left and a woman came up and wanted to buy one of the gems from the bag. It was worth five hundred dinars, but she offered three thousand and he sold it to her. He then got up and carried the five hundred dinars that he had borrowed back to his friend, telling him to take them as God had opened the road to prosperity for him. ‘I gave you the money,’ said his friend, ‘leaving it at the disposal of God. Take it, and take this note but don’t read it until you are back in your house. Then act on it.’ The man went home with the money and the note, and when he opened it he found in it the following lines:

  The three who came to you were relatives of mine,

  My father, his brother and my mother’s brother, Salih ibn ‘Ali.

  It was to my mother that you sold the gem for cash;

  The cash and the jewels were sent by me.

  In doing this I did not want to lessen you

  But to spare you the distress of embarrassment.

  A story is told that there was once a very wealthy Baghdadi who spent his money until his circumstances altered and he became reduced to penury, earning his daily bread only with the greatest of difficulty. One night he fell asleep, sad and oppressed, and in a dream a voice spoke to him saying: ‘What God has provided for you is in Cairo. Follow and go to it.’ So he set out for Cairo, and when he arrived there it was evening and so he went to sleep in a mosque. This happened to be near a house, and as God Almighty had decreed, a number of robbers entered the mosque and went on from it to the house. Their movements aroused the household, who raised the alarm, at which the wali and his men came to their rescue. The robbers fled, but when the wali went into the mosque they found the Baghdadi asleep. He was seized and given so severe a beating that he nearly died. He was then imprisoned and after three days the wali had him brought before him and asked him where he came from. On being told that he was from Baghdad the wali asked him what he was doing and why he had come to Cairo. The man told him what he had heard in his dream and added: ‘When I got here I found that what God had provided for me was the beating that I got from you.’

  The wali laughed so heartily that his back teeth could be seen, and then he said: ‘You foolish fellow, thrice in a dream I heard a voice telling me that in such-and-such a quarter of Baghdad there is a house of such-and-such a description where at the bottom end of a garden court there is a fountain beneath which is a huge sum of money. The voice told me to go to Baghdad to fetch the money, but I did not go whereas you in your folly went from one place to another because of some foolish dream that you saw.’ He then gave the Baghdadi some money to help him to get back home.

  Morning now dawned and Shahrazad broke off from what she had been allowed to say. Then, when it
was the three hundred and fifty-second night, SHE CONTINUED:

  I have heard, O fortunate king, that the wali gave the Baghdadi some money to help him to get back home. The man took this and went back. As it happened, it had been his own house that the wali had described, and when the man dug beneath the fountain, he found a great treasure, and God granted him fortune. This was a remarkable coincidence.

  The story is told that in the palace of al-Mutawakkil ‘ala’llah, the Commander of the Faithful, there were four hundred concubines, two hundred being Rumis and two hundred either half-breeds or Abyssinians. ‘Ubaid ibn Tahir had given him another four hundred, half of whom were white and the other half Abyssinians and half-breeds. Among these latter was a Basran named Mahbuba, a girl of radiant beauty and grace, as well as wit and coquetry. She could play the lute, she was an excellent singer and she could compose poetry, as well as writing a calligraphic hand. Al-Mutawakkil was so infatuated by her that he could not bear to be parted from her for a single hour. When she saw how fond he was of her, she grew proud and became ungrateful for his favours, causing him to leave her in anger and to give orders that no one in the palace should speak to her.