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

by Penguin; Robert Irwin; Malcolm Lyons; Ursula Lyons

  So much for Gharib and Sahim, but as for the Muslims, they had mounted and ridden out with their leaders to pay their respects to Gharib in his palace, but the servants told them that the king and his brother had ridden away at dawn. So the leaders remounted and set off for the valleys and mountains, following the trail until they came to the Valley of the Springs, and there they found the equipment belonging to Gharib and Sahim lying on the ground and their horses grazing. ‘By the glory of Abraham, the Friend of God!’ they exclaimed. ‘It was from here that the king went missing.’ Then they scattered and spent three days investigating the valley and its mountains, but without finding any news. They began a period of mourning, but they also summoned scouts and told them to disperse through cities, fortresses and castles to look for news of Gharib. ‘To hear is to obey,’ the scouts replied, and so they split up, each making for a different region.

  Word reached ‘Ajib through his spies that his brother was lost and that nothing had been heard of him. He welcomed the news delightedly, and went to King Ya‘rub ibn Qahtan, with whom he had taken refuge. This king now provided him with a force of two hundred thousand giant riders, with whom he marched off against the city of Oman. Al-Jamraqan and Sa‘dan came out to fight, but after the Muslims had lost many men, they retreated into the city, shut the gates and strengthened the walls. It was at this point that al-Kailajan and al-Qurajan, the two marids, arrived to find the Muslims besieged. They waited until nightfall when they attacked the unbelievers with their two sharp jinn swords, each twelve cubits long, which would shatter any rock that they struck. As they charged, they cried: ‘God is greater! Victory and triumph; may God abandon those who do not believe in the religion of Abraham, the Friend of God!’ In the fury of their attack, with fire coming from their mouths and their nostrils, they killed great numbers of the unbelievers, who came out of their tents and, on seeing the astonishing things that were happening, shuddered and were driven out of their minds in their confusion. Then they caught up their weapons and began to attack one another, as the marids scythed through their necks, calling out: ‘God is greater! We are the servants of King Gharib, the friend of Mar‘ash, king of the jinn!’ and they continued to strike with their swords until midnight. To the unbelievers it seemed as though all the mountains were full of ‘ifrits, and so they loaded their tents, baggage and possessions on camels in order to leave, the first to flee being ‘Ajib.

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

  I have heard, O fortunate king, that the infidels tried to leave, with ‘Ajib being the first to flee. The Muslims were astonished by what had happened to the unbelievers and gathered together in fear of being attacked by the tribes of the jinn, while the two marids continued to pursue the fugitives until they had been scattered throughout the deserts. Only fifty thousand of the original two hundred thousand escaped to make their way home, defeated and wounded. Meanwhile the marids had told the Muslims: ‘King Gharib, your lord, and his brother send you greetings. They are being entertained by Mar‘ash, king of the jinn, but they will soon be with you.’ The Muslims were overjoyed to hear that Gharib was well and they exclaimed: ‘May God reward you for your good news, you noble spirits!’ The marids returned and, on entering the palace, they found Gharib and Mar‘ash sitting together and told them what had happened and what they had done. ‘May God reward you,’ they both replied, and Gharib was relieved of his anxiety.

  Mar‘ash then said: ‘Brother, I want to show you our country and to let you see the city of Japheth, the son of Noah, upon whom be peace.’ ‘Do as you want,’ replied Gharib, and Mar‘ash called for horses. He mounted with Gharib and Sahim and, escorted by a thousand marids, they moved off like a segment cut lengthways from a mountain, travelling on, enjoying a view over valleys and mountains, until they came to Japheth’s city, where the inhabitants, great and small, came out to meet Mar‘ash. He entered in a great procession and then went up to Japheth’s palace, where he took his seat on the royal throne of marble latticed with gold bars set at the top of ten steps and spread with all sorts of coloured silks. He addressed the townspeople as they stood before him and asked: ‘Children of Japheth, son of Noah, what did your fathers and your fathers’ fathers worship?’ They told him: ‘We found them worshipping fire and so we followed their example, but you know better about that.’ ‘O people,’ he said, ‘I have found that fire is merely one of the creations of Almighty God, Who created all things. When I realized that, I surrendered myself to the One Omnipotent God, the Creator of night and day and of the celestial sphere, Who sees but cannot be seen, the Kind and Omniscient. Accept Islam so that you may be saved from the anger of the Omnipotent and from the punishment of hellfire in the world to come.’

  When they had all accepted this with hearts and tongues, Mar‘ash took Gharib by the hand and showed him round Japheth’s palace, with all its marvels. He went to the armoury to let him see Japheth’s weapons, and Gharib, looking at a sword that hung on a golden peg, asked him to whom it belonged. Mar‘ash told him: ‘This was the sword of Japheth, Noah’s son, which he used to fight against both men and jinn. It was forged by Jardum the wise, who inscribed on its back Great Names of God, and were it to strike a mountain, the mountain would be destroyed. Its name is al-Mahiq, and it kills anyone, man or jinn, on whom it falls.’ When Gharib heard of its excellences, he said that he wanted to inspect it, and when Mar‘ash told him to do what he wanted, he reached out and drew it from its sheath, as it gleamed and sparkled, with death creeping along its edge. It was twelve spans in length and three in breadth. Gharib wanted to take it, and Mar‘ash said that, if he could deliver a blow with it, he could have it. Gharib agreed to this and took it in his hand, in which, to the astonishment of everyone present, both men and jinn, it became as light as a stick. ‘Well done, prince of riders!’ they exclaimed. ‘Keep your hand on this treasure for which the kings of the earth long in vain,’ Mar‘ash told him, ‘and mount so that I may show you more.’

  Gharib and Mar‘ash both mounted, and men and jinn alike walked in their train…

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

  I have heard, O fortunate king, that when Gharib and Mar‘ash rode out of the city of Japheth, men and jinn walked in their train between empty palaces and houses and gilded streets and gates. When they had gone out of the city gates, they looked around gardens with fruit trees and running streams, where birds were singing to the glory of the Almighty and Eternal God. They continued their tour until evening, when they went back to spend the night in Japheth’s palace. On their arrival food was brought to them, and when they had eaten, Gharib turned to Mar‘ash and said: ‘O king, I wish to go back to my people and my troops as I don’t know how they are doing without me.’ ‘Brother,’ said Mar‘ash when he heard this, ‘I don’t want to lose you and I shall not let you go for an entire month, so that I may enjoy your company to the full.’ Gharib could not disobey him and so stayed for a month in Japheth’s city. Then, at the end of a meal, Mar‘ash presented him with rare gifts, precious stones, jewels, emeralds, hyacinth gems, diamonds and ingots of gold and silver, as well as musk, ambergris and pieces of silk interwoven with gold. He gave two robes of ornamented gold brocade to Gharib and Sahim, and for Gharib a crown had been made of inestimable value, set with pearls and gems. All of this was packed into bags and Mar‘ash summoned five hundred marids and told them to be ready to leave the next day in order to escort Gharib and Sahim back to their own lands. ‘To hear is to obey,’ they said, and they all passed the night with the intention of setting out on this journey. At dawn, however, the land was filled with the noise of horses, drums and trumpets.

  The newcomers were seventy thousand marids who could both fly and dive under water. They were commanded by a king named Barqan and there was a great and stran
ge reason for his arrival which I shall tell in due course by way of entertainment. This Barqan was the lord of the Carnelian City and the Golden Palace, and he ruled over five towers, each containing five hundred thousand marids. He and his people worshipped fire rather than the Omnipotent King, and he himself was Mar‘ash’s cousin. Among Mar‘ash’s people there was an infidel marid who had falsely pretended to accept Islam and had then slipped away from the rest and had gone to the Carnelian Valley, where he went to Barqan’s palace. He kissed the ground before the king and prayed for the continuance of his glory and good fortune before telling him that Mar‘ash had been converted to Islam. When Barqan heard the full account of this he snorted, roared and cursed the sun and moon, as well as the fire with its sparks. ‘By the truth of my religion,’ he swore, ‘I shall kill my cousin and his people, together with this human, leaving no single one of them alive.’ He summoned the jinn clans and chose seventy thousand marids, and travelled with them to the city of Jabarsa, which he surrounded, as we have already told. He himself dismounted in front of the city gate, where he pitched his tent.

  Mar‘ash called a marid and told him to go out and discover what the newcomers wanted before coming back quickly. This scout went to Barqan’s camp, where the marids hurried up to him and asked him who he was and then, when he told them that he was a messenger from Mar‘ash, they brought him before Barqan. He prostrated himself and said: ‘My master has sent me to you to find out why you have come.’ ‘Go back to him,’ Barqan said, ‘and tell him that his cousin Barqan has come to greet him.’

  Nights 655 to 674

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

  I have heard, O fortunate king, that Mar‘ash’s messenger came to Barqan and said: ‘My master has sent me to you to find out why you have come.’ ‘Go back to him,’ said Barqan, ‘and tell him that his cousin Barqan has come to greet him.’ The message was taken back to Mar‘ash, who said to Gharib: ‘Sit where you are until I greet my cousin and then come back to you.’ He mounted and rode out to Barqan’s camp, but this was a trick on Barqan’s part in order to seize him when he came, for he had stationed his marids all around and told them: ‘When you see me embrace him, take hold of him and bind him.’ ‘To hear is to obey,’ they replied. When Mar‘ash came and entered Barqan’s pavilion, Barqan rose to meet him, but as they embraced, the marids rushed at him and tied him up. ‘What is this?’ Mar‘ash said, looking at Barqan, and Barqan replied: ‘Jinn dog, are you abandoning your faith and the faith of your fathers and your forefathers to adopt a religion that you do not know?’ ‘Cousin,’ Mar‘ash replied, ‘I have found that the religion of Abraham, the Friend of God, is the true faith and every other one is false.’ ‘Who told you that?’ Barqan asked. ‘Gharib, the king of Iraq,’ Mar‘ash told him, ‘whom I have with me as a most honoured guest.’ At this, Barqan swore: ‘By the truth of fire, light, shade and heat, I shall kill you both,’ after which he imprisoned Mar‘ash.

  When Mar‘ash’s servant saw what had happened to his master, he fled back to the city and brought the news to Mar‘ash’s clan. They cried out and mounted their horses. Gharib asked what was happening, and when they told him, he shouted to Sahim: ‘Saddle me one of the two horses that Mar‘ash gave me.’ ‘Are you going to fight against the jinn, brother?’ Sahim asked, and Gharib replied: ‘Yes, with the sword of Japheth, and I shall ask for help from the Lord of Abraham, the Friend of God, for He is Master and Creator of all things.’ When Sahim had saddled him one of the jinn horses, a roan as big as a castle, he armed himself and rode out with the mail-clad clans of the jinn, while Barqan came out with his own followers. The battle ranks formed up and the first to challenge was Gharib, who rode to the battlefield drawing Japheth’s sword. Its brilliant light dazzled the eyes of all the jinn, filling their hearts with fear, and Gharib astonished them as he brandished it, calling out: ‘God is greater! I am Gharib, king of Iraq, and there is no religion but that of Abraham, the Friend of God.’ When Barqan heard this, he exclaimed: ‘This is the man who led my cousin to abandon and change his religion! I swear by the truth of my own faith that I shall never again sit on my throne until I have cut off his head and ended his life, after which I shall return my cousin and his people to their old beliefs, killing anyone who disobeys me.’

  He mounted on an elephant, white as paper, like a lofty tower. He shouted at the beast and plunged an iron goad into its flesh, at which it trumpeted and carried him to the battlefield, where he rode up to Gharib. ‘Human dog,’ he cried, ‘what took you to our land to corrupt my cousin and his people and cause them to change their religion? Know that this is your last day in this world.’ When Gharib heard this, he said: ‘Be off with you, least of the jinn,’ and at that Barqan drew out a javelin, shook it and aimed it at Gharib. When the blow missed he threw a second javelin, but Gharib snatched it out of the air, shook it and then hurled it at the elephant. It pierced the beast from one side to the other and it fell down dead, while Barqan was flung off and lay like a lofty palm tree. Gharib gave him no chance to move but struck him on the neck with the flat of Japheth’s sword, and as he lay unconscious the marids rushed up and bound him. When his people saw this, they charged in an attempt to free him, but Gharib and the Muslim jinn attacked in their turn. Gharib’s feats with his talismanic sword were enough to cure the sick and to win the approval of God, Who answers prayer. Every blow he struck cut through his enemy, whose soul was instantly reduced to ashes in hellfire. The Muslim jinn shot fiery arrows at the infidels and as the smoke spread, Gharib wheeled right and left, scattering them in front of him. Flanked by al-Kailajan and al-Qurajan, he made his way to Barqan’s pavilion, where he shouted to the two of them to release their master, which they did, breaking his fetters.

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

  I have heard, O fortunate king, that when Gharib called to al-Kailajan and al-Qurajan to release their master, they did so, breaking his fetters. Mar‘ash then told the marids to fetch him his arms and armour as well as his flying horse. He had two of these, one of which he had given to Gharib, while the other he kept for himself. They brought the horse to him, and after he had armed himself, he charged with Gharib, both their horses soaring through the air, with their troops behind them. The two of them were calling out: ‘God is greater!’ until the earth, the mountains, the valleys and the hills re-echoed the cry. They killed huge numbers of the infidel devils, more than thirty thousand of them, before they turned back to Japheth’s city, where they took their seats on their royal thrones.

  They then ordered Barqan to be fetched, but he was nowhere to be found. The reason for this was that, after having captured him, Gharib and Mar‘ash had been too busy fighting to think about him and as a result one of his ‘ifrit servants got to him first, freed him and set off back with him to his people, but when this ‘ifrit discovered that some of these were dead and others in flight, he flew off with the king and set him down in the Golden Palace of the Carnelian City. Here the king sat down on his royal throne and the survivors of the slaughter came to him and congratulated him on his safe return, but he said: ‘Where is there safety? My army has been slaughtered; I was captured and they have destroyed the respect in which I was held among the tribes of the jinn.’ ‘Your majesty,’ they told him, ‘kings are always both inflicting and suffering disasters,’ but he said: ‘I have to avenge myself and clear away my shame, or else I shall be an object of contempt among the jinn.’ So he wrote letters and sent them to the jinn of the fortresses, who came in obedience to his summons. When he inspected them, he discovered that they totalled three hundred and twenty thousand giant marids and devils. They asked what he wanted and he told them to prepare for a journey in three days’ time. ‘To hear is to obey,’ they replied.

  So much for King Barqan,
but as for Mar‘ash, when he returned and failed to find Barqan, he was upset and said: ‘Had we left a hundred marids to guard him, he would not have got away, but where can he go to escape us?’ He then said to Gharib: ‘Brother, Barqan is treacherous and will not fail to look for vengeance. He will certainly collect his clans and come against us, and so I propose to attack him while he is still weakened by his defeat.’ Gharib agreed that there was no fault to be found in this sound plan, and Mar‘ash went on to say: ‘Allow the marids to take you to your own country and leave me to fight against the unbelievers so that my burden of sin may be lightened.’ ‘No!’ exclaimed Gharib. ‘I swear by the truth of the Merciful and Generous God, the Shelterer, I will not leave these lands until I have destroyed all the infidel jinn, whose souls God will hurry to hellfire, an evil resting place, and the only ones to escape will be those who worship the One Omnipotent God. Sahim, however, should be sent back to Oman to be cured’ – for he had fallen ill.