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
Pages:
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 | 5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
12 |
13 |
14 |
15 |
16 |
17 |
18 |
19 |
20 |
21 |
22 |
23 |
24 |
25 |
26 |
27 |
28
"I love a fawn with gentle white black eyes, * Whose walk the
willow-wand with envy kills:
Forbidding me he bids for rival-mine, * 'Tis Allah's grace who
grants to whom He wills!"
And when he heard her chant these lines he ended his recitation
of the chapter, and began also to sing and repeated the following
couplet,
"My Salam to the Fawn in the garments concealed, * And to roses
in gardens of cheek revealed."
The lady rose up when she heard this, her inclination for him
redoubled and she lifted the curtain; and Ala al-Din, seeing her,
recited these two couplets,
"She shineth forth, a moon, and bends, a willow wand, * And
breathes out ambergris, and gazes, a gazelle.
Meseems as if grief loved my heart and when from her *
Estrangement I abide possession to it fell."[FN#59]
Thereupon she came forward, swinging her haunches and gracefully
swaying a shape the handiwork of Him whose boons are hidden; and
each of them stole one glance of the eyes that cost them a
thousand sighs. And when the shafts of the two regards which met
rankled in his heart, he repeated these two couplets,
"She 'spied the moon of Heaven, reminding me * Of nights when met
we in the meadows li'en:
True, both saw moons, but sooth to say, it was * Her very eyes I
saw, and she my eyne."
And when she drew near him, and there remained but two paces
between them, he recited these two couplets,
"She spread three tresses of unplaited hair * One night, and
showed me nights not one but four;
And faced the moon of Heaven with her brow, * And showed me two-
fold moons in single hour."
And as she was hard by him he said to her, "Keep away from me,
lest thou infect me." Whereupon she uncovered her wrist[FN#60] to
him, and he saw that it was cleft, as it were in two halves, by
its veins and sinews and its whiteness was as the whiteness of
virgin silver. Then said she, "Keep away from me, thou! for thou
art stricken with leprosy, and maybe thou wilt infect me." He
asked, "Who told thee I was a leper?" and she answered, "The old
woman so told me." Quoth he, "'Twas she told me also that thou
wast afflicted with white scurvy;" and so saying, he bared his
forearms and showed her that his skin was also like virgin
silver. Thereupon she pressed him to her bosom and he pressed her
to his bosom and the twain embraced with closest embrace, then
she took him and, lying down on her back, let down her petticoat
trousers, and in an instant that which his father had left him
rose up in rebellion against him and he said, "Go it, O Shayth
Zachary[FN#61] of shaggery, O father of veins!"; and putting both
hands to her flanks, he set the sugar-stick[FN#62] to the mouth
of the cleft and thrust on till he came to the wicket called
"Pecten." His passage was by the Gate of Victories[FN#63] and
therefrom he entered the Monday market, and those of Tuesday and
Wednesday and Thursday,[FN#64] and, finding the carpet after the
measure of the dais floor,[FN#65] he plied the box within its
cover till he came to the end of it. And when morning dawned he
cried to her, "Alas for delight which is not fulfilled! The
raven[FN#66] taketh it and flieth away!" She asked, "What meaneth
this saying?"; and he answered, "O my lady, I have but this hour
to abide with thee." Quoth she "Who saith so?" and quoth he, "Thy
father made me give him a written bond to pay ten thousand dinars
to thy wedding-settlement; and, except I pay it this very day,
they will imprison me for debt in the Kazi's house; and now my
hand lacketh one-half dirham of the sum." She asked, "O my lord,
is the marriage-bond in thy hand or in theirs?"; and he answered,
"O my lady, in mine, but I have nothing." She rejoined, "The
matter is easy; fear thou nothing. Take these hundred dinars: an
I had more, I would give thee what thou lackest; but of a truth
my father, of his love for my cousin, hath transported all his
goods, even to my jewellery from my lodging to his. But when they
send thee a serjeant of the Ecclesiastical Court,"--And Shahrazad
perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
When it was the Two Hundred and Fifty-seventh Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the young
lady rejoined to Ala al-Din, "And when they send thee at an early
hour a serjeant of the Ecclesiastical-Court, and the Kazi and my
father bid thee divorce me, do thou reply, By what law is it
lawful and right that I should marry at nightfall and divorce in
the morning? Then kiss the Kazi's hand and give him a present,
and in like manner kiss the Assessors' hands and give each of
them ten gold pieces. So they will all speak with thee, and if
they ask thee, 'Why dost thou not divorce her and take the
thousand dinars and the mule and suit of clothes, according to
contract duly contracted?' do thou answer, 'Every hair of her
head is worth a thousand ducats to me and I will never put her
away, neither will I take a suit of clothes nor aught else.' And
if the Kazi say to thee, 'Then pay down the marriage-settlement,'
do thou reply, 'I am short of cash at this present;' whereupon he
and the Assessors will deal in friendly fashion with thee and
allow thee time to pay." Now whilst they were talking, behold,
the Kazi's officer knocked at the door; so Ala al-Din went down
and the man said to him, "Come, speak the Efendi,[FN#67] for thy
fatherinlaw summoneth thee." So Ala al-Din gave him five dinars
and said to him, "O Summoner, by what law am I bound to marry at
nightfall and divorce next morning?" The serjeant answered, "By
no law of ours at all, at all; and if thou be ignorant of the
religious law, I will act as thine advocate." Then they went to
the divorce court and the Kazi said to Ala al-Din, "Why dost thou
not put away the woman and take what falleth to thee by the
contract?" Hearing this he went up to the Kazi; and, kissing his
hand, put fifty dinars in it and said, "O our lord the Kazi, by
what law is it lawful and right that I should marry at nightfall
and divorce in the morning in my own despite?" The Kazi,
answered, "Divorce as a compulsion and by force is sanctioned by
no school of the Moslems." Then said the young lady's father, "If
thou wilt not divorce, pay me the ten thousand dinars, her
marriage-settlement." Quoth Ala al-Din, "Give me a delay of three
days;" but the Kazi, said, "Three days is not time enough; he
shall give thee ten." So they agreed to this and bound him after
ten days either to pay the dowry or to divorce her. And after
consenting he left them and taking meat and rice and clarified
butter[FN#68] and what else of food he needed, returned to the
house and told the young woman all that had passed; whereupon she
said, "'Twixt night and day, wonders may display; and Allah bless
him for his say:--
'Be mild when rage shall come to afflict thy soul; * Be patient
when calamity breeds ire;
Lookye, the Nights are big with child by Time, * Whose pregnancy
bears wondrous things and dire.'"
Then she rose and made ready food and brought the tray, and they
two ate and drank and were merry and mirthful. Presently Ala
al-Din besought her to let him hear a little music; so she took
the lute and played a melody that had made the hardest stone
dance for glee, and the strings cried out in present ecstacy, "O
Loving One!'';[FN#69] after which she passed from the adagio into
the presto and a livelier measure. As they thus spent their
leisure in joy and jollity and mirth and merriment, behold, there
came a knocking at the door and she said to him; "Go see who is
at the door." So he went down and opened it and finding four
Dervishes standing without, said to them, "What want ye?" They
replied, "O my lord, we are foreign and wandering religious
mendicants, the viands of whose souls are music and dainty verse,
and we would fain take our pleasure with thee this night till
morning cloth appear, when we will wend our way, and with
Almighty Allah be thy reward; for we adore music and there is not
one of us but knoweth by heart store of odes and songs and
ritornellos."[FN#70] He answered, "There is one I must consult;"
and he returned and told Zubaydah who said, "Open the door to
them." So he brought them up and made them sit down and welcomed
them; then he fetched them food, but they would not eat and said,
"O our lord, our meat is to repeat Allah's name in our hearts and
to hear music with our ears: and bless him who saith,
'Our aim is only converse to enjoy, * And eating joyeth only
cattle-kind.'[FN#71]
And just now we heard pleasant music in thy house, but when we
entered, it ceased; and fain would we know whether the player was
a slave-girl, white or black, or a maiden of good family." He
answered, "It was this my wife," and told them all that had
befallen him, adding, "Verily my father-in-law hath bound me to
pay a marriage-settlement of ten thousand dinars for her, and
they have given me ten days' time." Said one of the Dervishes,
"Have no care and think of naught but good; for I am Shaykh of
the Convent and have forty Dervishes under my orders. I will
presently collect from them the ten thousand dinars and thou
shalt pay thy father-in-law the wedding settlement. But now bid
thy wife make us music that we may be gladdened and pleasured;
for to some folk music is meat, to others medicine and to others
refreshing as a fan." Now these four Dervishes were none other
than the Caliph Harun al-Rashid, his Wazir Ja'afar the Barmecide,
Abu al-Nowas al-Hasan son of Hani[FN#72] and Masrur the sworder;
and the reason of their coming to the house was that the Caliph,
being heavy at heart, had summoned his Minister and said, "O
Wazir! it is our will to go down to the city and pace its
streets, for my breast is sore straitened." So they all four
donned dervish dress and went down and walked about, till they
came to that house where, hearing music, they were minded to know
the cause. They spent the night in joyance and harmony and
telling tale after tale until morning dawned, when the Caliph
laid an hundred gold pieces under the prayer-carpet and all
taking leave of Ala al-Din, went their way. Now when Zubaydah
lifted the carpet she found beneath it the hundred dinars and she
said to her husband, "Take these hundred dinars which I have
found under the prayer-carpet; assuredly the Dervishes when about
to leave us laid them there, without our knowledge." So Ala
al-Din took the money and, repairing to the market, bought
therewith meat and rice and clarified butter and all they
required. And when it was night, he lit the wax-candles and said
to his wife, "The mendicants, it is true, have not brought the
ten thousand dinars which they promised me; but indeed they are
poor men." As they were talking, behold, the Dervishes knocked at
the door and she said, "Go down and open to them." So he did her
bidding and bringing them up, said to them, "Have you brought me
the ten thousand dinars you promised me?" They answered, "We have
not been able to collect aught thereof as yet; but fear nothing:
Inshallah, tomorrow we will compound for thee some
alchemical-cookery. But now bid thy wife play us her very best
pieces and gladden our hearts for we love music." So she took her
lute and made them such melody that had caused the hardest rocks
to dance with glee; and they passed the night in mirth and
merriment, converse and good cheer, till morn appeared with its
sheen and shone, when the Caliph laid an hundred gold pieces
under the prayer-carpet and all, after taking leave of Ala
al-Din, went their way. And they ceased not to visit him thus
every night for nine nights; and each morning the Caliph put an
hundred dinars under the prayer carpet, till the tenth night,
when they came not. Now the reason of their failure to come was
that the Caliph had sent to a great merchant, saying to him,
"Bring me fifty loads of stuffs, such as come from Cairo,"--And
Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her
permitted say.
When it was the Two Hundred and Fifty-eighth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Prince
of True Believers said to that merchant, "Bring me fifty loads of
stuffs such as come from Cairo, and let each one be worth a
thousand dinars, and write on each bale its price; and bring me
also a male Abyssinian slave." The merchant did the bidding of
the Caliph who committed to the slave a basin and ewer of gold
and other presents, together with the fifty loads; and wrote a
letter to Ala al-Din as from his father Shams al-Din and said to
him, "Take these bales and what else is with them, and go to such
and such a quarter wherein dwelleth the Provost of the merchants
and say, 'Where be Ala al-Din Abu al Shamat?' till folk direct
thee to his quarter and his house." So the slave took the letter
and the goods and what else and fared forth on his errand. Such
was his case; but as regards Zubaydah's cousin and first husband,
he went to her father and said to him, "Come let us go to Ala
al-Din and make him divorce the daughter of my uncle." So they
set out both together and, when they came to the street in which
the house stood, they found fifty he mules laden with bales of
stuffs, and a blackamoor riding on a she mule. So they said to
him, "Whose loads are these?" He replied, "They belong to my lord
Ala al-Din Abu al-Shamat; for his father equipped him with
merchandise and sent him on a journey to Baghdad-city; but the
wild Arabs came forth against him and took his money and goods
and all he had. So when the ill news reached his father, he
despatched me to him with these loads, in lieu of those he had
lost; besides a mule laden with fifty thousand dinars, a parcel
of clothes worth a power of money, a robe of sables[FN#73] and a
basin and ewer of gold." Whereupon the lady's father said, "He
whom thou seekest is my son-in-law and I will show thee his
house." Meanwhile Ala al-Din was sitting at home in huge concern,
when lo! one knocked at the door and he said, "O Zubaydah, Allah
is all-knowing! but I fear thy father hath sent me an officer
from the Kazi or the Chief of Police." Quoth she, "Go down and
see what it is." So he went down; and, opening the door, found
his father-in-law, the Provost of the merchants with an
Abyssinian slave, dusky complexioned and pleasant of favour,
riding on a mule. When the slave saw him he dismounted and kissed
his hands, and Ala al-Din said, "What dost thou want?" He
replied, "I am the slave of my lord Ala al-Din Abu al-Shamat, son
of Shams al-Din, Consul of the merchants for the land of Egypt,
who hath sent me to him with this charge." Then he gave him the
letter and Ala al-Din opening it found written what
followeth:[FN#74]
"Ho thou my letter! when my friend shall see thee, * Kiss thou
the ground and buss his sandal-shoon:
Look thou hie softly and thou hasten not, * My life and rest are
in those hands so boon.
"After hearty salutations and congratulations and high estimation
from Shams al-Din to his son, Abu al-Shamat. Know, O my son, that
news hath reached me of the slaughter of thy men and the plunder
of thy monies and goods; so I send thee herewith fifty loads of
Egyptian stuffs, together with a suit of clothes and a robe of
sables and a basin and ewer of gold. Fear thou no evil, and the
goods thou hast lost were the ransom of thy life; so regret them
not and may no further grief befall thee. Thy mother and the
people of the house are doing well in health and happiness and
all greet thee with abundant greetings. Moreover, O my son, it
hath reached me that they have married thee, by way of
intermediary, to the lady Zubaydah the lutist and they have
imposed on thee a marriage-settlement of ten thousand dinars;
wherefore I send thee also fifty thousand dinars by the slave
Salim."[FN#75] Now when Ala al-Din had made an end of reading the
letter, he took possession of the loads and, turning to the
Provost, said to him, "O my father-in-law, take the ten thousand
dinars, the marriage-settlement of thy daughter Zubaydah, and
take also the loads of goods and dispose of them, and thine be
the profit; only return me the cost price." He answered, "Nay, by
Allah, I will take nothing; and, as for thy wife's settlement, do
thou settle the matter with her." Then, after the goods had been
brought in, they went to Zuhaydah and she said to her sire, "O my
father, whose loads be these?" He said, "These belong to thy
husband, Ala al-Din: his father hath sent them to him instead of
those whereof the wild Arabs spoiled him. Moreover, he hath sent
him fifty thousand dinars with a parcel of clothes, a robe of
sables, a she mule for riding and a basin and ewer of gold. As
for the marriage-settlement that is for thy recking." Thereupon
Ala al-Din rose and, opening the money box, gave her her
settlement and the lady's cousin said, "O my uncle, let him
divorce to me my wife;" but the old man replied, "This may never
be now; for the marriage tie is in his hand." Thereupon the young
man went out, sore afflicted and sadly vexed and, returning home,
fell sick, for his heart had received its death blow; so he
presently died. But as for Ala al-Din, after receiving his goods
he went to the bazar and buying what meats and drinks he needed,
made a banquet as usual--against the night, saying to Zubaydah,
"See these lying Dervishes; they promised us and broke their
promises." Quoth she, "Thou art the son of a Consul of the
merchants, yet was thy hand short of half a dirham; how then
should it be with poor Dervishes?" Quoth he, "Almighty Allah hath
enabled us to do without them; but if they come to us never again
will I open the door to them." She asked, "Why so, whenas their
coming footsteps brought us good luck; and, moreover, they put an
hundred dinars under the prayer carpet for us every night?
Perforce must thou open the door to them an they come." So when
day departed with its light and in gloom came night, they lighted
the wax candles and he said to her, "Rise, Zubaydah, make us
music;" and behold, at this moment some one knocked at the door,
and she said, "Go and look who is at the door." So he went down
and opened it and seeing the Dervishes, said, "Oh, fair welcome
to the liars! Come up." Accordingly they went up with him and he
seated them and brought them the tray of food; and they ate and
drank and became merry and mirthful, and presently said to him,
"O my lord, our hearts have been troubled for thee: what hath
passed between thee and thy father-in-law?" He answered, "Allah
compensated us beyond and above our desire." Rejoined they, "By
Allah, we were in fear for thee".--And Shahrazad perceived the
dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
When it was the Two Hundred and and Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the
Dervishes thus addressed Ala al-Din, "By Allah, we were in fear
for thee and naught kept us from thee but our lack of cash and
coin." Quoth he, "Speedy relief hath come to me from my Lord; for
my father hath sent me fifty thousand dinars and fifty loads of
stuffs, each load worth a thousand dinars; besides a riding-mule,
a robe of sables, an Abyssinian slave and a basin and ewer of
gold. Moreover, I have made my peace with my father-in-law and my
wife hath become my lawful wife by my paying her settlement; so
laud to Allah for that!" Presently the Caliph rose to do a
necessity; whereupon Ja'afar bent him towards Ala al-Din and
said, "Look to thy manners, for thou art in the presence of the
Commander of the Faithful " Asked he, "How have I failed in good
breeding before the Commander of the Faithful, and which of you
is he?" Quoth Ja'afar, "He who went out but now to make water is
the Commander of the Faithful, Harun al-Rashid, and I am the
Wazir Ja'afar; and this is Masrur the executioner and this other
is Abu Nowas Hasan bin Hani.. And now, O Ala al-Din, use thy
reason and bethink thee how many days' journey it is between
Cairo and Baghdad." He replied, "Five and forty days' journey;"
and Ja'afar rejoined, "Thy baggage was stolen only ten days ago;
so how could the news have reached thy father, and how could he
pack thee up other goods and send them to thee five-and-forty
days' journey in ten days' time?" Quoth Ala al-Din, "O my lord
and whence then came they?" "From the Commander of the Faithful,"
replied Ja'afar, "of his great affection for thee." As they were
speaking, lo! the Caliph entered and Ala al-Din rising, kissed
the ground before him and said, "Allah keep thee, O Prince of the
Faithful, and give thee long life; and may the lieges never lack
thy bounty and beneficence!" Replied the Caliph, "O Ala al-Din,
let Zubaydah play us an air, by way of house-warming[FN#76] for
thy deliverance." Thereupon she played him on the lute so rare a
melody that the very stones shook for glee, and the strings cried
out for present ecstasy, "O Loving One!" They spent the night
after the merriest fashion, and in the morning the Caliph said to
Ala al-Din, "Come to the Divan to-morrow." He answered,
"Hearkening and obedience, O Commander of the Faithful; so Allah
will and thou be well and in good case!" On the morrow he took
ten trays and, putting on each a costly present, went up with
them to the palace; and the Caliph was sitting on the throne
when, behold, Ala al-Din appeared at the door of the Divan,
repeating these two couplets,
"Honour and Glory wait on thee each morn! * Thine enviers' noses
in the dust be set!
Ne'er cease thy days to be as white as snow; * Thy foeman's days
to be as black as jet!"
"Welcome, O Ala Al-Din!" said the Caliph, and he replied, "O
Commander of the Faithful, the Prophet (whom Allah bless and
assain!)[FN#77] was wont to accept presents; and these ten trays,
with what is on them, are my offering to thee." The Caliph
accepted his gift and, ordering him a robe of honour, made him
Provost of the merchants and gave him a seat in the Divan. And as
he was sitting behold, his father-in-law came in and, seeing Ala
al-Din seated in his place and clad in a robe of honour, said to
the Caliph, "O King of the age, why is this man sitting in my
place and wearing this robe of honour?" Quoth the Caliph, "I have
made him Provost of the merchants, for offices are by investiture
and not in perpetuity, and thou art deposed." Answered the
merchant, "Thou hast done well, O Commander of the Faithful, for
he is ours and one of us. Allah make the best of us the managers
of our affairs! How many a little one hath become great!" Then
the Caliph wrote Ala al-Din a Firman[FN#78] of investiture and
gave it to the Governor who gave it to the crier,[FN#79] and the
crier made proclamation in the Divan saying, "None is Provost of
the merchants but Ala al-Din Abu al-Shamat, and his word is to be
heard, and he must be obeyed with due respect paid, and he
meriteth homage and honour and high degree!" Moreover, when the
Divan broke up, the Governor went down with the crier before Ala
Al-Din!" and the crier repeated the proclamation and they carried
Ala al-Din through the thoroughfares of Baghdad, making
proclamation of his dignity. Next day, Ala al-Din opened a shop
for his slave Salim and set him therein, to buy and sell, whilst
he himself rode to the palace and took his place in the Caliph's
Divan.--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying
her permitted say.
When it was the Two Hundred and Sixtieth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Ala al-Din
rode to the palace and took his place in the Caliph's Divan. Now
it came to pass one day, when he sat in his stead as was his
wont, behold, one said to the Caliph, "O Commander of the
Faithful, may thy head survive such an one the cup-companion!;
for he is gone to the mercy of Almighty Allah, but be thy life
prolonged!"[FN#80] Quoth the Caliph, "Where is Ala al-Din Abu
al-al-Shamat?" So he went up to the Commander of the Faithful,
who at once clad him in a splendid dress of honour and made him
his boon-companion; appointing him a monthly pay and allowance of
a thousand dinars. He continued to keep him company till, one
day, as he sat in the Divan, according to his custom attending
upon the Caliph, lo and behold! an Emir came up with sword and
shield in hand and said, "O Commander of the Faithful, may thy
head long outlive the Head of the Sixty, for he is dead this
day;" whereupon the Caliph ordered Ala al-Din a dress of honour
and made him Chief of the Sixty, in place of the other who had
neither wife nor son nor daughter. So Ala al-Din laid hands on
his estate and the Caliph said to him, "Bury him in the earth and
take all he hath left of wealth and slaves and handmaids."[FN#81]
Then he shook the handkerchief[FN#82] and dismissed the Divan,
whereupon Ala al-Din went forth, attended by Ahmad al-Danaf,
captain of the right, and Hasan Shuman, captain of the left,
riding at his either stirrup, each with his forty men.[FN#83]
Presently, he turned to Hasan Shuman and his men and said to
them, "Plead ye for me with the Captain Ahmad al-Danaf that he
please to accept me as his son by covenant before Allah." And
Ahmad assented, saying, "I and my forty men will go before thee
to the Divan every morning." Now after this Ala al-Din continued
in the Caliph's service many days; till one day it chanced that
he left the Divan and returning home, dismissed Ahmad al-Danaf
and his men and sat down with his wife Zubaydab, the lute-player,
who lighted the wax candles and went out of the room upon an
occasion. Suddenly he heard a loud shriek; so he rose up and
running in haste to see what was the matter, found that it was
his wife who had cried out. She was lying at full length on the
ground and, when he put his hand to her breast, he found her
dead. Now her father's house faced that of Ala al-Din, and he,
hearing the shriek, came in and said, "What is the matter, O my
lord Ala al-Din?" He replied, "O my father, may thy head outlive
thy daughter Zubaydah! But, O my father, honour to the dead is
burying them." So when the morning dawned, they buried her in the
earth and her husband and father condoled with and mutually
consoled each other. Thus far concerning her; but as regards Ala
al-Din he donned mourning dress and declined the Divan, abiding
tearful-eyed and heavy-hearted at home. After a while, the Caliph
said to Ja'afar, "O Watir, what is the cause of Ala al-Din's
absence from the Divan?" The Minister answered, "O Commander of
the Faithful, he is in mourning for his wife Zubaydah; and is
occupied in receiving those who come to console him;" and the
Caliph said, "It behoveth us to pay him a visit of condolence."
"I hear and I obey," replied Ja'afar. So they took horse, the
Caliph and the Minister and a few attendants, and rode to Ala
al-Din's house and, as he was sitting at home, behold, the party
came in upon him; whereupon he rose to receive them and kissed
the ground before the Caliph, who said to him, "Allah make good
thy loss to thee!" Answered Ala Al-Din, "May Allah preserve thee
to us, O Commander of the Faithful!" Then said the Caliph, "O Ala
al-Din, why hast thou absented thyself from the Divan?" And he
replied, "Because of my mourning for my wife, Zubaydah, O
Commander of the Faithful." The Caliph rejoined, "Put away grief
from thee: verily she is dead and gone to the mercy of Almighty
Allah and mourning will avail thee nothing; no, nothing." But Ala
al-Din said "O Commander of the Faithful, I shall never leave
mourning for her till I die and they bury me by her side." Quoth
the Caliph, "In Allah is compensation for every decease, and
neither device nor riches can deliver from death; and divinely
gifted was he who said,
Pages:
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 | 5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
12 |
13 |
14 |
15 |
16 |
17 |
18 |
19 |
20 |
21 |
22 |
23 |
24 |
25 |
26 |
27 |
28