The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, Volume 4

R >> Richard F. Burton >> The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, Volume 4

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TALE OF HARUN AL-RASHID AND THE SLAVE-GIRL
AND THE IMAM ABU YUSUF.

It is said that Ja'afar the Barmecide was one night carousing
with Al Rashid, who said, "O Ja'afar, it hath reached me that
thou hast bought such and such a slave-girl. Now I have long
sought her for she is passing fair; and my heart is taken up with
love of her, so do thou sell her to me." He replied, "I will not
sell her, O Commander of the Faithful." Quoth he, "Then give her
to me." Quoth the other, "Nor will I give her." Then Al-Rashid
exclaimed, "Be Zubaydah triply divorced an thou shall not either
sell or give her to me!" Then Ja'afar exclaimed, "Be my wife
triply divorced an I either sell or give her to thee!" After
awhile they recovered from their tipsiness and were aware of
having fallen into a grave dilemma, but knew not by what device
to extricate themselves. Then said Al-Rashid, "None can help us
in this strait but Abu Yusuf."[FN#216] So they sent for him, and
this was in the middle of the night; and when the messenger
reached him, he arose in alarm, saying to himself, "I should not
be sent for at this tide and time, save by reason of some
question of moment to Al-Islam." So he went out in haste and
mounted his she-mule, saying to his servant, "Take the mule's
nose-bag with thee; it may be she hath not finished her feed; and
when we come to the Caliph's palace, put the bag on her, that she
may eat what is left of her fodder, during the last of the
night." And the man replied, "I hear and obey." Now when the Imam
was admitted to the presence, Al-Rashid rose to receive him and
seated him on the couch beside himself (where he was wont to seat
none save the Kazi), and said to him, "We have not sent for thee
at this untimely time and tide save to advise us upon a grave
matter, which is such and such and wherewith we know not how to
deal." And he expounded to him the case. Abu Yusuf answered, "O
Commander of the Faithful, this is the easiest of things." Then
he turned to Ja'afar and said, "O Ja'afar, sell half of her to
the Commander of the Faithful and give him the other half; so
shall ye both be quit of your oaths." The Caliph was delighted
with this and both did as he prescribed. Then said Al-Rashid,
"Bring me the girl at once,"--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of
day and ceased to say her permitted say.

When it was the Two Hundred and Ninety-seventh Night,

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Caliph
Harun al-Rashid commanded, "Bring me the girl at once, for I long
for her exceedingly." So they brought her and the Caliph said to
Abu Yusuf, I have a mind to have her forthright, for I cannot
bear to abstain from her during the prescribed period of
purification; now how is this to be done?" Abu Yusuf replied,
"Bring me one of thine own male slaves who hath never been
manumitted." So they brought one and Abu Yusuf said, "Give me
leave to marry her to him; then let him divorce her before
consummation; and thus shall it be lawful for thee to lie with
her before purification." This second expedient pleased the
Caliph yet more than the first; he sent for the Mameluke and,
whenas he came, said to the Kazi "I authorise thee to marry her
to him." So the Imam proposed the marriage to the slave, who
accepted it, and performed the ceremony; after which he said to
the slave, "Divorce her, and thou shalt have an hundred dinars."
But he replied, "I won't do this;" and the Imam went on to
increase his offer, and the slave to refuse till he bid him a
thousand dinars. Then the man asked him, "Doth it rest with me to
divorce her, or with thee or with the Commander of the Faithful?"
He answered, "It is in thy hand." "Then by Allah," quoth the
slave, "I will never do it; no, never!" Hearing these words the
Caliph was exceeding wroth and said to the Imam, "What is to be
done, O Abu Yusuf?" Replied he, "Be not concerned, O Commander of
the Faithful; the thing is easy. Make this slave the damsel's
chattel." Quoth Al-Rashid, "I give him to her;" and the Imam said
to the girl, "Say: I accept." So she said, I accept;" whereon
quoth Abu Yusuf, "I pronounce separation from bed and board and
divorce between them, for that he hath become her property, and
so the marriage is annulled." With this, Al-Rashid rose to his
feet and exclaimed, "It is the like of thee that shall be Kazi in
my time." Then he called for sundry trays of gold and emptied
them before Abu Yusuf, to whom he said, "Hast thou wherein to put
this?" The Imam bethought him of the mule's nose-bag; so he sent
for it and, filling it with gold, took it and went home. And on
the morrow, he said to his friends, "There is no easier nor
shorter road to the goods of this world and the next, than that
of religious learning; for, see, I have gotten all this money by
answering two or three questions." So consider thou, O polite
reader,[FN#217] the pleasantness of this anecdote, for it
compriseth divers goodly features, amongst which are the
complaisance of Ja'afar to Al Rashid, and the wisdom of the
Caliph who chose such a Kazi and the excellent learning of Abu
Yusuf, may Almighty Allah have mercy on their souls one and all!
And they also tell the

TALE OF THE LOVER WHO FEIGNED HIMSELF A
THIEF.

When Khalid bin Abdallah al-Kasri[FN#218] was Emir of Bassorah,
there came to him one day a company of men dragging a youth of
exceeding beauty and lofty bearing and perfumed attire; whose
aspect expressed good breeding, abundant wit and dignity of the
gravest. They brought him before the Governor, who asked what it
was and they replied, "This fellow is a thief, whom we caught
last night in our dwelling-house." Whereupon Khalid looked at him
and was pleased with his well-favouredness and elegant aspect; so
he said to the others, "Loose him," and going up to the young
man, asked what he had to say for himself. He replied, "Verily
the folk have spoken truly and the case is as they have said."
Quoth Khalid, "And what moved thee to this and thou so noble of
port and comely of mien?" Quoth the other "The lust after worldly
goods, and the ordinance of Allah (extolled exalted be He!)."
Rejoined Khalid, "Be thy mother bereaved of thee![FN#219] Hadst
thou not, in thy fair face and sound sense and good breeding,
what should restrain thee from thieving?" Answered the young man,
"O Emir, leave this talk and proceed to what Almighty Allah hath
ordained; this is what my hands have earned, and, 'God is not
unjust towards mankind.'"[FN#220] So Khalid was silent awhile
considering the matter then he bade the young man draw near him
and said, "Verily, thy confession before witnesses perplexeth me,
for I cannot believe thee to be a thief: haply thou hast some
story that is other than one of theft; and if so tell it me."
Replied the youth "O Emir, imagine naught other than what I have
confessed to in thy presence; for I have no tale to tell save
that verily I entered these folks' house and stole what I could
lay hands on and they caught me and took the stuff from me and
carried me before thee." Then Khalid bade clap him in gaol and
commended a crier to cry throughout Bassorah, "O yes! O yes!
Whoso be minded to look upon the punishment of such an one, the
thief, and the cutting-off of his hand, let him be present to-
morrow morning at such a place!" Now when the young man found
himself in prison, with irons on his feet, he sighed heavily and
with tears streaming from his eyes extemporized these couplets,

"When Khalid menaced off to strike my hand * If I refuse to tell
him of her case;
Quoth I, 'Far, far fro' me that I should tell * A love, which
ever shall my heart engrace;
Loss of my hand for sin I have confessed * To me were easier than
to shame her face.'"

The warders heard him and went and told Khalid who, when it was
dark night, sent for the youth and conversed with him. He found
him clever and well-bred, intelligent, lively and a pleasant
companion; so he ordered him food and he ate. Then after an
hour's talk said Khalid, "I know indeed thou hast a story to tell
that is no thief's; so when the Kazi shall come to-morrow morning
and shall question thee about this robbery, do thou deny the
charge of theft and avouch what may avert the pain and penalty of
cutting off thy hand; for the Apostle (whom Allah bless and
keep!) saith, 'In cases of doubt, eschew punishment.'" Then he
sent him back to prison,--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day
and ceased saying her permitted say.

When it was the Two Hundred and Ninety-eighth Night,

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Khalid,
after conversing with the youth, sent him back to prison, where
he passed the night. And when morning dawned the folk assembled
to see his hand cut off, nor was there a soul in Bassorah, man or
woman, but was present to look upon the punishment of that
handsome youth. Then Khalid mounted in company of the notables of
the city and others; and, summoning all four Kazis, sent for the
young man, who came hobbling and stumbling in his fetters. There
was none saw him but wept over him and the women all lifted up
their voices in lamentation as for the dead. Then the Kazi bade
silence the women and said to the prisoner, "These folk avouch
that thou didst enter their dwelling-house and steal their goods:
belike thou stolest less than a quarter dinar[FN#221]?" Replied
he, "Nay, I stole that and more." "Peradventure," rejoined the
Kazi "thou art partner with the folk in some of the goods?" Quoth
the young man; "Not so: it was all theirs, and I had no right in
it." At this the Khalid was wroth and rose and smote him on the
face with his whip, applying to his own case this couplet,

"Man wills his wish to him accorded be; * But Allah naught
accords save what He wills."

Then he called for the butcher to do the work, who came and drew
forth his knife and taking the prisoner's hand set the blade to
it, when, behold, a damsel pressed through the crowd of women,
clad in tattered clothes,[FN#222] and cried out and threw herself
on the young man. Then she unveiled and showed a face like the
moon whereupon the people raised a mighty clamour and there was
like to have been a riot amongst them and a violent scene. But
she cried out her loudest, saying, "I conjure thee, by Allah, O
Emir, hasten not to cut off this man's hand, till thou have read
what is in this scroll!" So saying, she gave him a scroll, and
Khalid took it and opened it and read therein these couplets,

"Ah Khalid! this one is a slave of love distraught, * And these
bowed eye-lashes sent shaft that caused his grief:
Shot him an arrow sped by eyes of mine, for he, * Wedded to
burning love of ills hath no relief:
He hath avowed a deed he never did, the while * Deeming this
better than disgrace of lover fief:
Bear then, I pray, with this distracted lover mine * Whose noble
nature falsely calls himself a thief!"

When Khalid had read these lines he withdrew himself from the
people and summoned the girl and questioned her; and she told him
that the young man was her lover and she his mistress; and that
thinking to visit her he came to the dwelling of her people and
threw a stone into the house, to warn her of his coming. Her
father and brothers heard the noise of the stone and sallied out
on him; but he, hearing them coming, caught up all the household
stuff and made himself appear a robber to cover his mistress's
honour. "Now when they saw him they seized him (continued she),
crying:--A thief! and brought him before thee, whereupon he
confessed to the robbery and persisted in his confession, that he
might spare me disgrace; and this he did, making himself a thief,
of the exceeding nobility and generosity of his nature." Khalid
answered, "He is indeed worthy to have his desire;" and, calling
the young man to him, kissed him between the eyes. Then he sent
for the girl's father and bespoke him, saying, "O Shaykh, we
thought to carry out the law of mutilation in the case of this
young man; but Allah (to whom be Honour and Glory!) hath
preserved us from this, and I now adjudge him the sum of ten
thousand dirhams, for that he would have given his hand for the
preservation of thine honour and that of thy daughter and for the
sparing of shame to you both. Moreover, I adjudge other ten
thousand dirhams to thy daughter, for that she made known to me
the truth of the case; and I ask thy leave to marry her to him."
Rejoined the old man, "O Emir, thou hast my consent." So Khalid
praised Allah and thanked Him and improved the occasion by
preaching a goodly sermon and a prayerful;--And Shahrazad
perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.

When it was the Two Hundred and Ninety-ninth Night,

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Khalid
praised Allah and thanked Him and improved the occasion by
preaching a goodly sermon and a prayerful; after which he said to
the young man, "I give thee to wife the damsel, such an one here
present, with her own permission and her father's consent; and
her wedding settlement shall be this money, to wit, ten thousand
dirhams." "I accept this marriage at thy hands," replied the
youth; and Khalid bade them carry the money on brass trays in
procession to the young man's house, whilst the people dispersed,
fully satisfied. "And surely (quoth he who tells the
tale[FN#223]) never saw I a rarer day than this, for that it
began with tears and annoy; and it ended with smiles and joy."
And in contrast of this story is this piteous tale of

JA'AFAR THE BARMECIDE AND THE BEAN SELLER.

When Harun al-Rashid crucified Ja'afar the Barmecide[FN#224] he
commended that all who wept or made moan for him should also be
crucified; so the folk abstained from that. Now it chanced that a
wild Arab, who dwelt in a distant word, used every year to bring
to the aforesaid Ja'afar an ode[FN#225] in his honour, for which
he rewarded him with a thousand dinars; and the Badawi took them
and, returning to his own country, lived upon them, he and his
family, for the rest of the year. Accordingly, he came with his
ode at the wonted time and, finding that Ja'afar had been
crucified, betook himself to the place where his body was
hanging, and there made his camel kneel down and wept with sore
weeping and mourned with grievous mourning; and he recited his
ode and fell asleep. Presently Ja'afar the Barmecide appeared to
him in a vision and said, "Verily thou hast wearied thyself to
come to us and findest us as thou seest; but go to Bassorah and
ask for a man there whose name is such and such, one of the
merchants of the town, and say to him, 'Ja'afar, the Barmecide,
saluteth thee and biddeth thee give me a thousand dinars, by the
token of the bean.'" Now when the wild Arab awoke, he repaired to
Bassorah, where he sought out the merchant and found him and
repeated to him what Ja'afar had said in the dream; whereupon he
wept with weeping so sore that he was like to depart the world.
Then he welcomed the Badawi and seated him by his side and made
his stay pleasant and entertained him three days as an honoured
guest; and when he was minded to depart he gave him a thousand
and five hundred dinars, saying, "The thousand are what is
commanded to thee, and the five hundred are a gift from me to
thee; and every year thou shalt have of me a thousand gold
pieces." Now when the Arab was about to take leave, he said to
the merchant, "Allah upon thee, tell me the story of the bean,
that I may know the origin of all this." He answered: "In the
early part of my life I was poor and hawked hot beans[FN#226]
about the streets of Baghdad to keep me alive. So I went out one
raw and rainy day, without clothes enough on my body to protect
me from the weather; now shivering for excess of cold and now
stumbling into the pools of rain-water, and altogether in so
piteous a plight as would make one shudder with goose-skin to
look upon. But it chanced that Ja'afar that day was seated with
his officers and his concubines, in an upper chamber overlooking
the street when his eyes fell on me; so he took pity on my case
and, sending one of his dependents to fetch me to him, said as
soon as he saw me, 'Sell thy beans to my people.' So I began to
mete out the beans with a measure I had by me; and each who took
a measure of beans filled the measure with gold pieces till all
my store was gone and my basket was clean empty. Then I gathered
together the gold I had gotten, and Ja'afar said to me, 'Hast
thou any beans left?' 'I know not,' answered I, and then sought
in the basket, but found only one bean. So Ja'afar took from me
the single bean and, splitting it in twain, kept one half himself
and gave the other to one of his concubines, saying, 'For how
much wilt thou buy this half bean?' She replied, 'For the tale of
all this gold twice-told;' whereat I was confounded and said to
myself, 'This is impossible.' But, as I stood wondering, behold,
she gave an order to one of her hand-maids and the girl brought
me the sum of the collected monies twice-told. Then said Ja'afar,
'And I will buy the half I have by me for double the sum of the
whole,' presently adding, 'Now take the price of thy bean.' And
he gave an order to one of his servants, who gathered together
the whole of the money and laid it in my basket; and I took it
and went my ways. Then I betook myself to Bassorah, where I
traded with the monies and Allah prospered me amply, to Him be
the praise and the thanks! So, if I give thee every year a
thousand dinars of the bounty of Ja'afar, it will in no wise
injure me. Consider then the munificence of Ja'afar's nature and
how he was praised both alive and dead, the mercy of Allah
Almighty be upon him! And men also recount the tale of

ABU MOHAMMED HIGHT LAZYBONES.

It is told that Harun al-Rashid was sitting one day on the throne
of the Caliphate, when there came in to him a youth of his
eunuchry, bearing a crown of red gold, set with pearls and rubies
and all manner of other gems and jewels, such as money might not
buy; and, bussing the ground between his hands, said, "O
Commander of the Faithful, the Lady Zubaydah kisseth the earth
before thee"--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased
to say her permitted say. Whereupon quoth her sister Dunyazad,
"How pleasant is thy tale and profitable; and how sweet is thy
speech and how delectable!" "And where is this," replied
Shahrazad, "compared with what I shall tell you next night an I
live and the King grant me leave!" Thereupon quoth the King to
himself, "By Allah, I will not slay her until I hear the end of
her tale."

When it was the Three Hundredth Night,

Quoth Dunyazad, "favour us, O my sister, with thy tale," and she
replied, 'With joy and good will, if the King accord me leave;"
whereupon the King said, "Tell thy tale, O Shahrazad." So she
pursued: It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the youth
said to the Caliph, "The Lady Zubaydah kisseth the earth before
thee and saith to thee, Thou knowest she hath bidden make this
crown, which lacketh a great jewel for its dome-top; and she hath
made search among her treasures, but cannot find a jewel of size
to suit her mind." Quoth the Caliph to his Chamberlains and
Viceregents, Make search for a great jewel, such as Zubaydah
desireth." So they sought, but found nothing befitting her and
told the Caliph who, vexed and annoyed thereat, exclaimed, "How
am I Caliph and King of the Kings of the earth and cannot find so
small a matter as a jewel? Woe to you! Ask of the merchants." So
they enquired of the traders, who replied, "Our lord the Caliph
will not find a jewel such as he requireth save with a man of
Bassorah, by name Abu Mohammed highs Lazybones." Thereupon they
acquainted the Caliph with this and he bade his Wazir Ja'afar
send a note to the Emir Mohammed al-Zubaydi, Governor of
Bassorah, commanding him to equip Abu Mohammed Lazybones and
bring him into the presence of the Commander of the Faithful. The
Minister accordingly wrote a note to that effect and despatched
it by Masrur, who set out forthright for the city of Bassorah,
and went in to the Emir Mohammed al-Zubaydi, who rejoiced in him
and treated him with the high-most honour. Then Masrur read him
the mandate of the Prince of True Believers, Harun al-Rashid, to
which he replied, "I hear and I obey," and forthwith despatched
him, with a company of his followers, to Abu Mohammed's house.
When they reached it, they knocked at the door, whereupon a page
came out and Masrur said to him, "Tell thy lord, The Commander of
the Faithful summoneth thee." The servant went in and told his
master, who came out and found Masrur, the Caliph's Chamberlain,
and a company of the Governor's men at the door. So he kissed
ground before Masrur and said, "I hear and obey the summons of
the Commander of the Faithful; but first enter ye my house." They
replied, "We cannot do that, save in haste; even as the Prince of
True Believers commanded us, for he awaiteth thy coming." But he
said, "Have patience with me a little, till I set my affairs in
order." So after much pressure and abundant persuasion, they
entered the house with him and found the vestibule hung with
curtains of azure brocade, purfled with red gold, and Abu
Mohammed Lazybones bade one of his servants carry Masrur to the
private Hammam. Now this bath was in the house and Masrur found
its walls and floors of rare and precious marbles, wrought with
gold and silver, and its waters mingled with rose-water. Then the
servants served Masrur and his company with the perfection of
service; and, on their going forth of the Hammam, clad them in
robes of honour, brocade-work interwoven with gold. And after
leaving the bath Masrur and his men went in to Abu Mohammed
Lazybones and found him seated in his upper chamber; and over his
head hung curtains of gold-brocade, wrought with pearls and
jewels, and the pavilion was spread with cushions, embroidered in
red gold. Now the owner was sitting softly upon a quilted cloth
covering a settee inlaid with stones of price; and, when he saw
Masrur, he went forward to meet him and bidding him welcome,
seated him by his side. Then he called for the food-trays; so
they brought them, and when Masrur saw the tables, he exclaimed,
"By Allah, never did I behold the like of these appointments in
the palace of the Commander of the Faithful!" For indeed the
trays contained every manner of meat all served in dishes of
gilded porcelain.[FN#227] "So we ate and drank and made merry
till the end of the day (quoth Masrur) when the host gave to each
and every of us five thousand dinars, and on the morrow he clad
us in dresses of honour of green and gold and entreated us with
the utmost worship." Then said Masrur to him, "We can tarry no
longer for fear of the Caliph's displeasure." Answered Abu
Mohammed Lazybones, "O my lord, have patience with us till the
morrow, that we may equip ourselves, and we will then depart with
you." So they tarried with him that day and slept the night; and
next morning Abu Mohammed's servants saddled him a she mule with
selle and trappings of gold, set with all manner of pearls and
stones of price; whereupon quoth Masrur to himself, "I wonder,
when Abu Mohammed shall present himself in such equipage, if the
Caliph will ask him how he came by all this wealth." Thereupon
they took leave of Al-Zubaydi and, setting out from Bassorah,
fared on, without ceasing to fare till they reached Baghdad-city
and presented themselves before the Caliph, who bade Abu Mohammed
be seated. He sat down and addressed the Caliph in courtly
phrase, saying, "O Commander of the Faithful, I have brought with
me an humble offering by way of homage: have I thy gracious
permission to produce it?" Al-Rashid replied, "There is no harm
in that,"[FN#228] whereupon Abu Mohammed bade his men bring in a
chest, from which he took a number of rarities, and amongst the
rest, trees of gold with leaves of white emeraid,[FN#229] and
fruits of pigeon blood rubies and topazes and new pearls and
bright. And as the Caliph was struck with admiration he fetched a
second chest and brought out of it a tent of brocade, crowned
with pearls and jacinths and emeralds and jaspers and other
precious stones; its poles were of freshly cut Hindi aloes-wood,
and its skirts were set with the greenest smaragds. Thereon were
depicted all manner of animals such as beasts and birds, spangled
with precious stones, rubies, emeralds, chrysolites and balasses
and every kind of precious metal. Now when Al-Rashid saw these
things, he rejoiced with exceeding joy and Abu Mohammed Lazybones
said to him, "O Commander of the Faithful, deem not that I have
brought these to thee, fearing aught or coveting anything; but I
knew myself to be but a man of the people and that such things
befitted none save the Commander of the Faithful. And now, with
thy leave, I will show thee, for thy diversion, something of what
I can do." Al-Rashid replied, "Do what thou wilt, that we may
see." "To hear is to obey," said Abu Mohammed and, moving his
lips, beckoned the palace battlements,[FN#230] whereupon they
inclined to him; then he made another sign to them, and they
returned to their place. Presently he made a sign with his eye,
and there appeared before him closets with closed doors, to which
he spoke, and lo! the voices of birds answered him from within.
The Caliph marvelled with passing marvel at this and said to him,
"How camest thou by all this, seeing that thou art known only as
Abu Mohammed Lazybones, and they tell me that thy father was a
cupper serving in a public Hammam, who left thee nothing?"
Whereupon he answered, "Listen to my story" And Shahrazed
perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.

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