ABU AL-HUSN AND HIS SLAVE-GIRL
TAWADDUD.[FN#281]
There was once in Baghdad a man of consequence and rich in monies
and immoveables, who was one of the chiefs of the merchants; and
Allah had largely endowed him with worldly goods, but had not
vouchsafed him what he longed for of offspring; and there passed
over him a long space of time, without his being blessed with
issue, male or female. His years waxed great; his bones became
wasted and his back bent; weakness and weariness grew upon him,
and he feared the loss of his wealth and possessions, seeing he
had no child whom he might make his heir and by whom his name
should be remembered. So he betook himself with supplication to
Almighty Allah, fasting by day and praying through the night.
Moreover, he vowed many vows to the Living, the Eternal; and
visited the pious and was constant in supplication to the Most
Highest, till He gave ear to him and accepted his prayer and took
pity on his straining and complaining; so that, before many days
were past, he knew carnally one of his women and she conceived by
him the same night. In due time she finished her months and,
casting her burden, bore a male child as he were a slice of the
moon; whereupon the merchant fulfilled his vows in his gratitude
to Allah, (to whom be honour and glory!) and gave alms and
clothed the widow and the orphan. On the seventh night after the
boy's birth, he named him Abu al-Husn,[FN#282] and the wet-nurses
suckled him and the dry-nurses dandled him and the servants and
the slaves carried him and handled him, till he shot up and grew
tall and throve greatly and learnt the Sublime Koran and the
ordinances of Al-Islam and the Canons of the True Faith; and
calligraphy and poetry and mathematics and archery. On this wise
he became the union-pearl of his age and the goodliest of the
folk of his time and his day; fair of face and of tongue fluent,
carrying himself with a light and graceful gait and glorying in
his stature proportionate and amorous graces which were to many a
bait: and his cheeks were red and flower-white was his forehead
and his side face waxed brown with tender down, even as saith
one, describing him,
"The spring of the down on cheeks right clearly shows: * And how
when the Spring is gone shall last the rose?
Dost thou not see that the growth upon his cheek * Is violet-
bloom that from its leaves outgrows."
He abode awhile in ease and happiness with his father, who
rejoiced and delighted in him, till he came to man's estate, when
the merchant one day made him sit down before him and said, "O my
son, the appointed term draweth near; my hour of death is at hand
and it remaineth but to meet Allah (to whom belong Majesty and
Might!). I leave thee what shall suffice thee, even to thy son's
son, of monies and mansions, farms and gardens; wherefore, fear
thou Almighty Allah, O my son, in dealing with that which I
bequeath to thee and follow none but those who will help thee to
the Divine favour." Not long after, he sickened and died; so his
son ordered his funeral,[FN#283] after the goodliest wise, and
burying him, returned to his house and sat mourning for him many
days and nights. But behold, certain of his friends came in to
him and said to him, "Whoso leaveth a son like thee is not dead;
indeed, what is past is past and fled and mourning beseemeth none
but the young maid and the wife cloistered." And they ceased not
from him till they wrought on him to enter the Hammam and break
off his mourning.--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and
ceased saying her permitted say.
When it was the Four Hundred and Thirty-seventh Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Abu
al-Husn was visited by his friends and taken to the Hamman and
persuaded to break off his mourning, he presently forgot his
father's charge, and his head was turned by his riches; he
thought fortune would always wone with him as it was, and that
wealth would ever wax and never wane. So he ate and drank and
made merry and took his pleasure and gave gifts of gear and coin
and was profuse with gold and addrest himself up to eating fowls
and breaking the seals of wine-flasks and listening to the giggle
of the daughter of the vine, as she gurgled from the flagon and
enjoying the jingle of the singing-girls; nor did he give over
this way of life, till his wealth was wasted and the case
worsened and all his goods went from him and he bit his
hands[FN#284] in bitter penitence. For of a truth he had nothing
left, after that which he had squandered, but a concubine, a
slave-girl whom his father had bequeathed to him with the rest of
his estate: and she had no equal in beauty and loveliness and
brightness and liveliness and symmetric stature and perfect
grace. She was past mistress in every manner of arts and
accomplishments and endowed with many excellences, surpassing all
the folk of her age and time. She was grown more notorious than a
way-mark,[FN#285] for her seductive genius, and outdid the fair
both in theory and practice, and she was noted for her swimming
gait, flexile and delicate, albeit she was full five feet in
height and by all the boons of fortune deckt and dight, with
strait arched brows twain, as they were the crescent moon of
Sha'abán,[FN#286] and eyes like gazelles' eyne; and nose like the
edge of scymitar fine and cheeks like anemones of blood-red
shine; and mouth like Solomon's seal and sign and teeth like
necklaces of pearls in line; and navel holding an ounce of oil of
benzoin and waist more slender than his body whom love hath
wasted and whom concealment hath made sick with pine and hind
parts heavier than two hills of sand; briefly she was a volume of
charms after his saying who saith,
"Her fair shape ravisheth, if face to face she did appear, * And
if she turn, for severance from her she slayeth sheer.
Sun-like, full-moon-like, sapling-like, unto her character *
Estrangement no wise appertains nor cruelty austere.
Under the bosom of her shift the garths of Eden are * And the
full-moon revolveth still upon her neck-rings'
sphere."[FN#287]
She seemed a full moon rising and a gazelle browsing, a girl of
nine plus five[FN#288] shaming the moon and sun, even as saith of
her the sayer eloquent and ingenious,
"Semblance of full-moon Heaven bore, * When five and five are
conjoined by four;
'Tis not my sin if she made of me * Its like when it riseth
horizon o'er."[FN#289]
Clean of skin, odoriferous of breath, it seemed as if she were of
fire fashioned and of crystal moulded; rose-red was the cheek of
her and perfect the shape and form of her; even as one saith of
her, describing her,
"Scented with sandal[FN#290] and musk, right proudly doth she go,
* With gold and silver and rose and saffron-colour aglow.
A flower in a garden she is, a pearl in an ouch of gold * Or an
image in chapel[FN#291] set for worship of high and low.
Slender and shapely she is; vivacity bids her arise, * But the
weight of her hips says, 'Sit, or softly and slowly go.'
Whenas her favours I seek and sue for my heart's desire, * 'Be
gracious,' her beauty says; but her coquetry answers, 'No.'
Glory to Him who made beauty her portion, and that * Of her lover
to be the prate of the censurers, heigho!"[FN#292]
She captivated all who saw her, with the excellence of her beauty
and the sweetness of her smile,[FN#293] and shot them down with
the shafts she launched from her eyes; and withal she was
eloquent of speech and excellently skilled in verse. Now when Abu
al-Husn had squandered all his gold, and his ill-plight all could
behold, and there remained to him naught save this slave-girl, he
abode three days without tasting meat or taking rest in sleep,
and the handmaid said to him, "O my lord, carry me to the
Commander of the Faithful, Harun al-Rashid,"--And Shahrazad
perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
When it was the Four Hundred and Thirty-eighth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that quoth the
slave-girl to her master, "O my lord, carry me to Harun
al-Rashid, fifth of the sons of Abbas, and seek of him to my
price ten thousand dinars. If he deem me dear, say to him: 'O
Prince of True Believers, my handmaid is worth more than this: do
but prove her, and her value will be magnified in thine eyes; for
this slave-girl hath not her equal, and she were unfit to any but
thou.'" And she added, "Beware, O my lord, of selling me at less
than the sum I have named; indeed 'tis but little for the like of
me." Now her owner knew not her worth nor that she had no equal
in her day; but he carried her to the Caliph and set her in the
presence and repeated what she had bidden him say. The Caliph
asked her, "What is thy name?"; to which she answered, "My name
is Tawaddud."[FN#294] He then enquired, "O Tawaddud, in what
branches of knowledge dost thou excel?"; and she replied, "O my
lord, I am versed in syntax and poetry and jurisprudence and
exegesis and philosophy; and I am skilled in music and the
knowledge of the Divine ordinances and in arithmetic and geodesy
and geometry and the fables of the ancients. I know the Sublime
Koran by heart and have read it according to the seven, the ten
and the fourteen modes. I know the number of its chapters and
versets and sections and words; and its halves and fourths and
eighths and tenths; the number of prostrations which occur in it
and the sum total of its letters; and I know what there is in it
of abrogating and abrogated[FN#295]; also what parts of it were
revealed at Al-Medinah and what at Meccah and the cause of the
different revelations. I know the Holy Traditions of the
Apostle's sayings, historical and legendary, the established and
those whose ascription is doubtful; and I have studied the exact
sciences, geometry and philosophy and medicine and logic and
rhetoric and composition; and I have learnt many things by rote
and am passionately fond of poetry. I can play the lute and know
its gamut and notes and notation and the crescendo and
diminuendo. If I sing and dance, I seduce, and if I dress and
scent myself, I slay. In fine, I have reached a pitch of
perfection such as can be estimated only by those of them who are
firmly rooted in knowledge."[FN#296] Now when the Caliph heard
these words spoken by one so young, he wondered at her eloquence,
and turning to Abu al-Husn, said, "I will summon those who shall
discuss with her all she claimeth to know; if she answer
correctly, I will give thee the price thou askest for her and
more; and if not, thou art fitter to have her than I." "With
gladness and goodly gree, O Commander of the Faithful," replied
Abu al-Husn. So the Caliph wrote to the Viceroy of Bassorah, to
send him Ibrahim bin Siyyár the prosodist, who was the first man
of his day in argument and eloquence and poetry and logic, and
bade him bring with him readers of the Koran and learned doctors
of the law and physicians and astrologers and scientists and
mathematicians and philosophers; and Ibrahim was more learned
than all. In a little while they arrived at the palace of the
Caliphate, knowing not what was to do, and the Caliph sent for
them to his sitting-chamber and ordered them to be seated. So
they sat down and he bade bring the damsel Tawaddud who came and
unveiling, showed herself, as she were a sparkling star.[FN#297]
The Caliph set her a stool of gold; and she saluted, and speaking
with an eloquent tongue, said, "O Commander of the Faithful, bid
the Olema and the doctors of law and leaches and astrologers and
scientists and mathematicians and all here present contend with
me in argument." So he said to them, "I desire of you that ye
dispute with this damsel on the things of her faith, and stultify
her argument in all she advanceth;" and they answered, saying,
"We hear and we obey Allah and thee, O Commander of the
Faithful." Upon this Tawaddud bowed her head and said, "Which of
you is the doctor of the law, the scholar, versed in the readings
of the Koran and in the Traditions?" Quoth one of them, "I am the
man thou seekest." Quoth she, "Then ask me of what thou wilt."
Said the doctor, "Hast thou read the precious book of Allah and
dost thou know its cancelling and cancelled parts and hast thou
meditated its versets and its letters?" "Yes," answered she.
"Then," said he, "I will proceed to question thee of the
obligations and the immutable ordinances: so tell me of these, O
damsel, and who is thy Lord, who thy prophet, who thy Guide, what
is thy point of fronting in prayer, and who be thy brethren? Also
what thy spiritual path and what thy highway?" Whereto she
replied, "Allah is my Lord, and Mohammed (whom Allah save and
assain!) my prophet, and the Koran is my guide and the Ka'abah my
fronting; and the True-believers are my brethren. The practice of
good is my path and the Sunnah my highway." The Caliph again
marvelled at her words so eloquently spoken by one so young; and
the doctor pursued, "O damsel, with what do we know Almighty
Allah?" Said she, "With the understanding." Said he, "And what is
the understanding?" Quoth she, "It is of two kinds, natural and
acquired."--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased
saying her permitted say.
When it was the Four Hundred and Thirty-ninth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the damsel
continued, "The understanding is of two kinds, natural and
acquired. The natural is that which Allah (to whom be honour and
glory!) created for the right direction of His servants after His
will; and the acquired is that which men accomplish by dint of
study and fair knowledge." He rejoined, "Thou hast answered
well." Q "Where is the seat of the understanding?"--"Allah
casteth it in the heart whence its lustrous beams ascend to the
brain and there become fixed." Q "How knowest thou the Prophet of
Allah?" "By the reading of Allah's Holy Book and by signs and
proofs and portents and miracles!" Q "What are the obligations
and the immutable ordinances?" "The obligations are five. (1)
Testification that there is no iláh[FN#298] but Allah, no god but
the God alone and One, which for partner hath none, and that
Mohammed is His servant and His apostle. (2) The standing in
prayers.[FN#299] (3) The payment of the poor-rate. (4) Fasting
Ramazan. (5) The Pilgrimage to Allah's Holy House for all to whom
the journey is possible. The immutable ordinances are four; to
wit, night and day and sun and moon, the which build up life and
hope; nor any son of Adam wotteth if they will be destroyed on
the Day of Judgment." Q "What are the obligatory observances of
the Faith?" "They are five, prayer, almsgiving, fasting,
pilgrimage, fighting for the Faith and abstinence from the
forbidden." Q "Why dost thou stand up to pray?" "To express the
devout intent of the slave acknowledging the Deity." Q "What are
the obligatory conditions which precede standing in prayer?"
"Purification, covering the shame, avoidance of soiled clothes,
standing on a clean place, fronting the Ka'abah, an upright
posture, the intent[FN#300] and the pronouncing 'Allaho Akbar' of
prohibition."[FN#301] Q "With what shouldest thou go forth from
thy house to pray?" "With the intent of worship mentally
pronounced." Q "With what intent shouldest thou enter the
mosque?" "With an intent of service." Q "Why do we front the
Kiblah[FN#302]?" "In obedience to three Divine orders and one
Traditional ordinance." Q "What are the beginning, the
consecration and the end of prayer?" "Purification beginneth
prayer, saying the Allaho Akbar of prohibition consecrateth, and
the salutation endeth prayer." Q "What deserveth he who
neglecteth prayer?" "It is reported, among the authentic
Traditions of the Prophet, that he said, 'Whoso neglecteth prayer
wilfully and purposely hath no part in Al-Islam.'"--And Shahrazad
perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
When it was the Four Hundred and Fortieth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that after the
damsel had repeated the words of that Holy Tradition the doctor
cried, "Thou hast replied aright: now say me, what is prayer?"
"Prayer is communion between the slave and his lord, and in it
are ten virtues: (1) it illumineth the heart; (2) it maketh the
face shine; (3) it pleaseth the Compassionate One; (4) it
angereth Satan; (5) it conjureth calamity; (6) it wardeth off the
mischief of enemies; (7) it multiplieth mercy; (8) it forfendeth
vengeance and punishment; (9) it bringeth the slave nigh unto his
lord; and (10) it restraineth from lewdness and frowardness.
Hence it is one of the absolute requisites and obligatory
ordinances and the pillar of the Faith." Q "What is the key of
prayer?" "Wuzd or the lesser ablution."[FN#303] Q "What is the
key to the lesser ablution?" "Intention and naming the Almighty."
Q "What is the key of naming the Almighty?" "Assured faith." Q
"What is the key of faith?" "Trust in the Lord." Q "What is the
key of trust in the Lord?" "Hope." Q "What is the key of hope?"
"Obedience." Q "What is the key of obedience?" "The confession of
the Unity and the acknowledgment of the divinity of Allah." Q
"What are the Divine ordinances of Wuzu, the minor ablution?"
"They are six, according to the canon of the Imam al-Sháfi'í
Mohammed bin Idris (of whom Allah accept!): (1) intent while
washing the face; (2) washing the face; (3) washing the hands and
forearms; (4) wiping part of the head; (5) washing the feet and
heels; and (6) observing due order.[FN#304] And the traditional
statutes are ten: (1) nomination; (2) and washing the hands
before putting them into the water-pot; (3) and mouth-rinsing;
(4) and snuffing;[FN#305] (5) and wiping the whole head; (6) and
wetting the ears within and without with fresh water; (7) and
separating a thick beard; (8) and separating the fingers and
toes;[FN#306] (9) and washing the right foot before the left and
(10) doing each of these thrice and all in unbroken order. When
the minor ablution is ended, the worshipper should say, I testify
that there is no god but the God, the One, which for partner hath
none, and I testify that Mohammed is His servant and His apostle.
O my Allah, make me of those who repent and in purity are
permanent! Glory to Thee, O my God, and in Thy praise I bear
witness, that there is no god save Thou! I crave pardon of Thee
and I repent to Thee! For it is reported, in the Holy Traditions,
that the Prophet (whom Allah bless and preserve!) said of this
prayer, 'Whoso endeth every ablution with this prayer, the eight
gates of Paradise are open to him; he shall enter at which he
pleaseth.'" Q "When a man purposeth ablution, what betideth him
from the angels and the devils?" "When a man prepareth for
ablution, the angels come and stand on his right and the devils
on his left hand.[FN#307] If he name Almighty Allah at the
beginning of the ablution, the devils flee from him and the
angels hover over him with a pavilion of light, having four
ropes, to each an angel glorifying Allah and craving pardon for
him, so long as he remaineth silent or calleth upon the name of
Allah. But if he omit to begin washing with naming Allah (to whom
belong might and majesty!), neither remain silent, the devils
take command of him; and the angels depart from him and Satan
whispereth evil thoughts unto him, till he fall into doubt and
come short in his ablution. For (quoth he on whom be blessing and
peace!), 'A perfect ablution driveth away Satan and assureth
against the tyranny of the Sultan'; and again quoth he, 'If
calamity befal one who is not pure by ablution; verily and
assuredly let him blame none but himself.'" Q "What should a man
do when he awaketh from sleep?" "He should wash his hands thrice,
before putting them into the water vessel." Q "What are the
Koranic and traditional orders anent Ghusl, the complete
ablution[FN#308]?" "The divine ordinances are intent and
'crowning'[FN#309] the whole body with water, that is, the liquid
shall come at every part of the hair and skin. Now the
traditional ordinances are the minor ablution as preliminary;
rubbing the body; separating the hair and deferring in
words[FN#310] the washing of the feet till the end of the
ablution."--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased
saying her permitted say.
When it was the Four Hundred and Forty-first Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the
damsel had recounted to the doctor what were the divine and
traditional orders anent Ghusl or total ablution, quoth he, "Thou
hast replied aright: now tell me what are the occasions for
Tayammum, or making the ablution with sand and dust; and what are
the ordinances thereof, divine and human?" "The reasons are
seven, viz.: want of water; fear lest water lack; need thereto;
going astray on a march; sickness; having broken bones in splints
and having open wounds.[FN#311] As for its ordinances, the divine
number four, viz., intent, dust, clapping it to the face and
clapping it upon the hands; and the human number two, nomination
and preferring the right before the left hand." Q "What are the
conditions, the pillars or essentials, and the traditional
statutes of prayer?" "The conditions are five: (1) purification
of the members; (2) covering of the privy parts; (3) observing
the proper hours, either of certainty or to the best of one's
belief; (4) fronting the Kiblah; and (5) standing on a clean
place. The pillars or essentials number twelve: (1) intent; (2)
the Takbír or magnification of prohibition; (3) standing when
able to stand[FN#312]; (4) repeating the Fatihah or opening
chapter of the Koran and saying, 'In the name of Allah, the
Compassionating, the Compassionate!' with a verse thereof
according to the canon of the Imam Al-Shafi'i; (5) bowing the
body and keeping it bowed; (6) returning to the upright posture
and so remaining for the time requisite; (7) prostration and
permanence therein; (8) sitting between two prostrations and
permanence therein; (9) repeating the latter profession of the
Faith and sitting up therefor; (10) invoking benediction on the
Prophet (whom Allah bless and preserve!) (11) the first
Salutation,[FN#313] and (12) the intent of making an end of
prayer expressed in words. But the traditional statutes are the
call to prayer; the standing posture; raising the hands (to
either side of the face) whilst pronouncing the prohibition;
uttering the magnification before reciting the Fatihah; seeking
refuge with Allah[FN#314]; saying, 'Amen'; repeating the chapter
of the Koran after the Fatihah, repeating the magnifications
during change of posture; saying, 'May Allah hear him who
praiseth Him! and O our Lord, to Thee be the praise!'; praying
aloud in the proper place[FN#315] and praying under the breath
prayers so prescribed; the first profession of unity and sitting
up thereto; blessing the Prophet therein; blessing his family in
the latter profession and the second Salutation." Q "On what is
the Zakát or obligatory poor-rate taxable?" "On gold and silver
and camels and oxen and sheep and wheat and barley and holcus and
millet and beans and vetches and rice and raisins and dates." Q
"What is the Zakát or poor-rate on gold?" "Below twenty miskals
or dinars, nothing; but on that amount half a dinar for every
score and so on proportionally.[FN#316]" Q "On silver?" "Under
two hundred dirhams nothing, then five dirhams on every two
hundred and so forth." Q "On camels?" "For every five, an ewe, or
for every twenty-five a pregnant camel." Q "On sheep?" "An ewe
for every forty head," Q "What are the ordinances of the Ramazan
Fast?" "The Koranic are intent; abstinence from eating, drinking
and carnal copulation, and the stoppage of vomiting. It is
incumbent on all who submit to the Law, save women in their
courses and forty days after childbirth; and it becomes
obligatory on sight of the new moon or on news of its appearance,
brought by a trustworthy person and commending itself as truth to
the hearer's heart; and among its requisites is that the intent
be pronounced at nightfall. The traditional ordinances of fasting
are, hastening to break the fast at sundown; deferring the
fore-dawn meal,[FN#317] and abstaining from speech, save for good
works and for calling on the name of Allah and reciting the
Koran." Q "What things vitiate not the fast?" "The use of
unguents and eye-powders and the dust of the road and the
undesigned swallowing of saliva and the emission of seed in
nocturnal pollution or at the sight of a strange woman and
blooding and cupping; none of these things vitiates the fast." Q
"What are the prayers of the two great annual Festivals?" "Two
one-bow prayers, which be a traditional ordinance, without call
to prayer or standing up to pronounce the call;[FN#318] but let
the Moslem say, 'Prayer is a collector of all folk!'[FN#319] and
pronounce 'Allaho Akbar' seven times in the first prayer, besides
the Takbir of prohibition; and, in the second, five times,
besides the magnification of rising up (according to the doctrine
of the Imam Al-Shafi'i, on whom Allah have mercy!) and make the
profession of the Faith."--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of
day and ceased to say her permitted say.
When it was the Four Hundred and Forty-second Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the
damsel had answered the doctor anent the Festival-prayers, quoth
he, "Thou hast replied aright: now tell me what are the prayers
prescribed on the occasion of an eclipse of the sun or moon?"
"Two one-bow prayers without call to prayer or standing thereto
by the worshipper, who shall make in each two-bow prayer double
standing up and double inclinations and two-fold prostrations,
then sit and testify and salute." Q "What is the ritual of prayer
for rain?" "Two one-bow prayers without call to prayer or
standing thereto; then shall the Moslem make the profession and
salute. Moreover the Imam shall deliver an exhortation and ask
pardon of Allah, in place of the magnification, as in the two
sermons of the Festivals and turn his mantle upper edge downwards
and pray and supplicate." Q "What are the Witr, the additional or
occasional prayers?" "The least is a one-bow prayer and the most
eleven." Q "What is the forenoon prayer?" "At least, two one-bow
prayers and at most, twelve." Q "What hast thou to say of the
I'itikáf or retreat[FN#320]?" "It is a matter of traditional
ordinance." Q "What are its conditions?" "(1) intent; (2) not
leaving the mosque save of necessity; (3) not having to do with a
woman; (4) fasting; and (5) abstaining from speech." Q "Under
what conditions is the Hajj or Pilgrimage[FN#321] obligatory?"
"Manhood, and understanding and being a Moslem and
practicability; in which case it is obligatory on all, once
before death." Q "What are the Koranic statutes of the
Pilgrimage?" "(1) The Ihrám or pilgrim's habit; (2) the standing
at Arafat; (3) circumambulating the Ka'abah; (4) running between
Safá and Marwah[FN#322]; and (5) shaving or clipping the hair." Q
"What are the Koranic statutes of the 'Umrah[FN#323] or lesser
pilgrimage?" "Assuming the pilgrim's habit and compassing and
running." Q "What are the Koranic ordinances of the assumption of
the pilgrim's habit?"[FN#324] "Doffing sewn garments, forswearing
perfume and ceasing to shave the head or pare the nails, and
avoiding the killing of game, and eschewing carnal copulation." Q
"What are the traditional statutes of the pilgrimage?" "(1) The
crying out 'Labbay'ka, Adsum, Here am I, O our Lord, here am
I!'[FN#325]4 (2) the Ka'abah-circuitings[FN#326] of arrival and
departure; (3) the passing the night at the Mosque of Muzdalifah
and in the valley of Mina, and (4) the lapidation.[FN#327]" Q
"What is the Jihád or Holy War and its essentials?" "Its
essentials are: (1) the descent of the Infidels upon us; (2) the
presence of the Imam; (3) a state of preparation; and (4)
firmness in meeting the foe. Its traditional ordinance is incital
to battle, in that the Most High hath said, 'O thou my Prophet,
incite the faithful to fight!'[FN#328]" Q "What are the
ordinances of buying and selling?" "The Koranic are: (1) offer
and acceptance and (2) if the thing sold be a white slave, by
whom one profiteth, all possible endeavour to convert him to
Al-Islam; and (3) to abstain from usury; the traditional are:
making void[FN#329] and option before not after separating,
according to his saying (whom Allah bless and preserve!), 'The
parties to a sale shall have the option of cancelling or altering
terms whilst they are yet unseparated.'", Q "What is it forbidden
to sell for what?" "On this point I mind me of an authentic
tradition, reported by Náf'i[FN#330] of the Apostle of Allah,
that he forbade the barter of dried dates for fresh and fresh
figs for dry and jerked for fresh meat and cream for clarified
butter; in fine, all eatables of one and the same kind, it is
unlawful to buy or barter some for other some.[FN#331]" Now when
the doctor of law heard her words and knew that she was wit-keen,
penetrative, ingenious and learned in jurisprudence and the
Traditions and the interpretation of the Koran and what not else,
he said in his mind, "Needs must I manoeuvre with her, that I may
overcome her in the assembly of the Commander of the Faithful."
So he said to her, "O damsel, what is the lexicographical meaning
of Wuzu?" And she answered, "Philologically it signifieth
cleanliness and freedom from impurities." Q "And of Salát or
prayer?" "An invocation of good" Q "And of Ghusl?"
"Purification." Q "And of Saum or fasting?" "Abstention." Q "And
of Zakát?" "Increase. Q "And of Hajj or pilgrimage?"
"Visitation." Q "And of Jihád?" "Repelling." With this the
doctor's arguments were cut off,--And Shahrazad perceived the
dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
When it was the Four Hundred and Forty-third Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the
doctor's arguments were cut off, he rose to his feet and said,
"Bear witness against me, O Commander of the Faithful, that this
damsel is more learned in the Law than I am." Quoth she, "I will
ask thee somewhat, which do thou answer me speedily, an thou be
indeed a learned man." Quoth he, "Say on;" and she said, "What
are the arrows of the Faith?" Answered he, "They number ten: (1)
Testification, that is, religion; (2) Prayer, that is, the
covenant; (3) Alms, that is, purification; (4) Fasting, that is,
defensive armour; (5) Pilgrimage, that is, the Law; (6) Fighting
for the Faith, that is, a general duty; (7) Bidding to
beneficence and (8) Forbidding from frowardness, both of which
are a man's honour; (9) Commune,[FN#332] that is, sociableness of
the Faithful; and (10) Seeking knowledge, that is, the
praiseworthy path." She rejoined, "Thou hast replied aright and
now remaineth but one question, 'What be the roots or
fundamentals of Al-Islam?'" He said "They are four: sincerity of
belief, truth of intent, observance of the lawful limit and
keeping the covenant." Then said she, "I have one more question
to ask thee, which if thou answer, it is well; else, I will take
thy clothes." Quoth he, "Speak, O damsel;" and she said, "What
are the branches or superstructure of Al-Islam?" But he was
silent awhile and made no reply: so she cried "Doff thy clothes
and I will expound them to thee." Quoth the Caliph "Expound them,
and I will make him put off his clothes for thee." She said,
"There are two-and-twenty branches: (1) holding fast to the Book
of Allah the Most Highest; (2) taking example by His Apostle
(whom Allah bless and preserve!); (3) abstaining from evil doing;
(4) eating what is lawful and (5) avoiding what is unlawful; (6)
restitution of things wrongfully taken; (7) repentance; (8)
knowledge of the Law; (9) love of the Friend,[FN#333] (10) and of
the followers of the true Revelation; (11) belief in the apostles
of Al-Islam; (12) fear of apostacy; (13) preparation for
departing this life; (14) force of conviction; (15) mercy on all
possible occasions; (16) strength in time of weakness; (17)
patience under trials; (18) knowledge of Allah Almighty and (19)
of what His Prophet hath made known to us; (20) thwarting Iblis
the accursed; (21) striving earnestly against the lusts of the
soul and warring them down, and (22) devotion to the one God."
Now when the Commander of the Faithful heard her words, he bade
the professor put off his clothes and hooded turband; and so did
that doctor and went forth, beaten and confounded, from the
Caliph's presence. Thereupon another man stood up and said to
her, "O damsel, hear a few questions from me." Quoth she, "Say
on;' and he asked, "What are the conditions of purchase by
advance?" whereto she answered, "That the price be fixed, the
kind be fixed and the period of delivery be fixed and known." Q
"What are the Koranic and the traditional canons of eating?" "The
confession that Allah Almighty provideth the eater and giveth him
meat and drink, with thanksgiving to Him therefor." Q "What is
thanksgiving?" "The use by the creature of that which the Creator
vouchsafeth to him, according as it was created for the
creature." Q "What are the traditional canons of eating?" "The
Bismillah[FN#334] and washing both hands; sitting on the left of
the hind part; eating with three fingers, and eating of that
which hath been duly masticated.[FN#335]" Q "What are good
manners in eating?" "Taking small mouthfuls and looking little at
one's table-companion."--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day
and ceased to say her permitted say.
When it was the Four Hundred and Forty-fourth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the
damsel had answered concerning good manners in eating, the doctor
who was trying her, rejoined, "Thou hast replied aright. Now tell
me what are the stays of the heart and their supports?"[FN#336]
"The stays and supports both number three: (1) holding fast to
the Faith, the support whereof is the shunning of infidelity; (2)
holding fast to the Traditional Law, and its support the shunning
of innovation; and (3) holding fast to obedience, and its support
the shunning of disobedience." Q "What are the conditions of
Wuzu?" "(1) being a Moslem; (2) discernment of good and evil; (3)
purity of the water, and (4) absence of material or religious
impediments." Q "What is belief?" "It is divided into nine parts:
(1) belief in the One worshipped; (2) belief in the condition of
slavery of the worshipper; (3) belief in the personality of the
Deity; (4) belief in the Two Handfuls;[FN#337] (5) belief in
Providence which allotteth to man his lot; (6) belief in the
Abrogating and (7) in the Abrogated; (8) belief in Allah, His
angels and apostles; and (9) in fore-ordained Fate, general and
individual, its good and ill, its sweet and bitter." Q "What
three things do away other three?" "It is told of Sufyán
al-Saurí[FN#338] that he said, 'Three things do away with other
three. Making light of the pious doth away the future life;
making light of Kings doth away this life; and, making light of
expenditure doth away wealth.'" Q "What are the keys of the
heavens, and how many gates have they.?" "Quoth Almighty Allah,
'And the heaven shall be opened and be full of portals;'[FN#339]
and quoth he whom Allah bless and preserve!, 'None knoweth the
number of the gates of heavens, save He who created the heavens,
and there is no son of Adam but hath two gates allotted to him in
the heavens, one whereby his daily bread descendeth and another
wherethrough his works ascend. The first gate is not closed, save
when his term of life cometh to an end, nor the gate of works,
good and evil, till his soul ascend for judgment.'" Q "Tell me of
a thing and a half thing and a no-thing." "The thing is the
Moslem; the half thing the hypocrite,[FN#340] and the no-thing
the miscreant." Q "Tell me of various kinds of hearts." "There is
the whole heart, the sick heart, the contrite heart, the vowed
heart and the enlightened heart. Now the whole heart is that of
Abraham, the Friend of Allah; the sick heart is that of the
Unbeliever in Al-Islam; the contrite heart is that of the pious
who fear the Lord; the vowed heart is that of our Lord Mohammed
(whom Allah bless and keep!) and the illuminated heart is that of
his followers. Furthermore, the hearts of learned Olema are of
three kinds, the heart which is in love with this world; the
heart which loveth the next world, and the heart which loveth its
Lord; and it is said that hearts are three, the suspended, that
of the infidel; the non-existent, that of the hypocrite; and the
constant, that of the True-believer. Moreover, it is said that
the firm heart is of three kinds, viz., the heart dilated with
light and faith, the heart wounded with fear of estrangement, and
the heart which feareth to be forsaken of its Supreme
Friend."--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased
saying her permitted say.
When it was the Four Hundred and Forty-fifth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the
second doctor declared. "Thou hast said well," quoth she to the
Caliph, "O Commander of the Faithful, he hath questioned me, till
he is weary, and now I will ask of him two questions. If he
answer them both, it is well; and if not, I will take his clothes
and he shall wend in peace." Quoth the doctor, "Ask me what thou
wilt," and she said, "What sayest thou religion is?" Answered he,
"Religion is confession of Faith with the tongue and conviction
with the heart and correspondent action with the members. He
(upon whom be blessings and peace!) hath said, 'The believer is
not perfect in belief, except he perfect himself in five
qualities, namely: trust in Allah,[FN#341] committal of his
affair to Allah, submission to the commands of Allah,
acquiescence in the decrees of Allah; and that all he doth be
done for sake of Allah; so is he of those who are acceptable to
the Deity, and who give to Him and withhold for Him; and such man
is perfect in belief.'" Then said she, "What is the Divine
ordinance of ordinances and the ordinance which is the initiator
of all ordinances and that of which all others stand in need and
that which comprehendeth all others; and what is the traditional
ordinance that entereth into the Koranic, and the prophetic
practice whereby the Divine is completed?" But he was silent and
made no reply; whereupon the Caliph bade her expound and ordered
him to doff his clothes and give them to her. Said she, "O
doctor, the Koranic ordinance of ordinances is the knowledge of
Allah Almighty; that, which is the initiative of all others, is
the testifying there is no god but the God and Mohammed is the
Apostle of God; that, of which all others have need, is the
Wuzu-ablution; that, which compriseth all others, is the
Ghusl-ablution from defilement[FN#342]; the Traditional ordinance
that entereth into the Koranic, is the separation of the fingers
and the thick beard;[FN#343] and that, wherewith all Koranic
ordinances are completed, is circumcision."[FN#344] Therewith was
made manifest the defeat of the doctor, who rose to his feet and
said, "I call Allah to witness, O Commander of the Faithful, that
this damsel is more learned than I in theology and what
pertaineth to the Law." So saying, he put off his clothes and
went away ignominiously worsted. Then she turned to the rest of
the learned men present and said, "O masters, which of you is the
Koranist, the reader and reciter of the Koran, versed in the
seven readings and in syntax and in lexicography?" Thereupon a
professor arose and, seating himself before her, said "Hast thou
read the Book of Almighty Allah and made thyself thoroughly
acquainted with its signs, that is its verses, and its abrogating
parts and abrogated portions, its unequivocal commands and its
ambiguous; and the difference of its revelations, Meccan and
Medinan? Dost thou understand its interpretation and hast thou
studied it, according to the various traditions and origins?"
"Yes," answered she; and he said, "What then is the number of its
chapters, how many are the decades and versets, how many words
and how many letters and how many acts of prostration and how
many prophets and how many chapters are Medinan and how many are
Meccan and how many birds are mentioned in it?" Replied she, "O
my lord, its chapters are an hundred and fourteen, whereof
seventy were revealed at Meccah and forty-four at Al-Medinah; and
it containeth six hundred and twenty-one decades; six thousand
three hundred and thirty-six versets;[FN#345] seventy-nine
thousand four hundred and thirty-nine words and three hundred and
twenty-three thousand and six hundred and seventy letters; and to
the reader thereof, for every letter, are given ten benefits. The
acts of prostration it compriseth are fourteen."--And Shahrazad
perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
When it was the Four Hundred and Forty-sixth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the
professor of Koranic exegesis questioned the damsel, she
continued, "As regards the Prophets named in the Book there be
five-and-twenty, to wit, Adam, Noah,[FN#346] Abraham, Ishmael,
Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Lot, Elisha, Jonah, Salih,[FN#347] or
Heber, Húd,[FN#348] Shua'yb or Jethro,[FN#349] David, Solomon,
Zú'l-kafl or Joshua, Idrís, Elias, Yahyá or John the Baptist,
Zacharias, Job, Moses, Aaron, Jesus and Mohammed,[FN#350] the
peace of Allah and His blessing be on them all! Moreover, nine
flying things are mentioned in the Koran, namely, the gnat, the
bee, the fly, the ant, the hoopoe, the crow, the locust, the
swallow and the bird of Jesus[FN#351] (on whom be peace!), to
wit, the bat." Q "Which is the most excellent chapter of the
Koran?" "That of The Cow.[FN#352]" Q "Which is the most
magnificent verse?" "That of the Throne; it hath fifty words,
bearing in each fifty blessings." Q "What sign or verse hath in
it nine signs or wonders?" "That in which quoth Allah Almighty,
'Verily, in the creation of the Heaven and the Earth: and in the
vicissitude of night, and day; and in the ship which saileth
through the sea laden with what is profitable for mankind; and in
the rain-water which God sendeth down from Heaven, quickening
thereby the dead ground and replenishing the same with all sorts
of cattle; and in the change of winds and in the clouds that are
compelled to do service between the Heaven and the
Earth;[FN#353]--are signs to people of understanding.'" Q "Which
verse is the most just?" "That in which Allah saith, 'Verily,
Allah enjoineth justice and the doing of good, and the giving
unto kindred what shall be necessary; and He forbiddeth
wickedness and iniquity and oppression'"[FN#354] Q "Which is the
most greedy?" "That in which quoth Allah, 'Is it that every man
of them greedeth to enter the Garden of Delight?'"[FN#355] Q
"Which is the most hopeful?" "That in which quoth Almighty Allah,
'Say: O my servants who have transgressed against your own souls,
despair not of the mercy of Allah; seeing, that Allah forgiveth
all sins; aye Gracious, Merciful is He.'"[FN#356] Q "By what
school of intonation dost thou read?" "By that of the people of
Paradise, to wit, the version of Náf'i." Q "In which verse doth
Allah make prophets lie?"[FN#357] "In that wherein He saith,
'They (the brothers of Joseph) brought his inner garment stained
with false blood.'"[FN#358] Q "In which doth He make unbelievers
speak the truth?" "In that wherein He saith, 'The Jews say, 'The
Christians are grounded on nothing,' and the Christians say, 'The
Jews are grounded on nothing'; and yet they both read the
Scriptures;'[FN#359] and, so saying, all say sooth." Q "In which
doth God speak in his own person?" "In that in which he saith, 'I
have not created Genii and men for any other end than that they
should serve me.'"[FN#360] Q "In which verse do the angels
speak?" "In that which saith, 'But we celebrate Thy praise and
extol Thy holiness.'"[FN#361] Q "What sayest thou of the
formula:--I seek refuge with Allah from Satan the Stoned?" "It is
obligatory by commandment of Allah on all before reading the
Koran, as appeareth by His saying, 'When thou readest the Koran,
seek refuge with Allah from Satan the Stoned.'"[FN#362] Q "What
signify the words 'seeking refuge'[FN#363] and what are the
variants of the formula?" "Some say, 'I take refuge with Allah
the All-hearing and All-knowing,' and others, 'With Allah the
Strong;' but the best is that whereof the Sublime Koran speaketh
and the Traditions perpetuate. And he (whom Allah bless and
keep!) was used to ejaculate, 'I seek refuge with Allah from
Satan the Stoned.' And quoth a Tradition, reported by Naf'i on
the authority of his adopted father, 'The apostle of Allah, was
wont when he rose in the night to pray, to say aloud, 'Allaho
Akbar'; God is Most Great, with all Majesty! Praise be to Allah
abundantly! Glory to Allah morn and even be!' Then would he say,
'I seek refuge with Allah from Satan the Stoned and from the
delusions of the Devils and their evil suggestions.' And it is
told of Ibn Abbas[FN#364] (of whom Allah accept!) that he said,
'The first time Gabriel came down to the Prophet with revelation
he taught him the 'seeking refuge,' saying, 'O Mohammed, say, I
seek refuge with Allah the All-hearing and All-knowing;' then
say, 'In the name of Allah the Compassionating, the
Compassionate!' Read, in the name of thy Lord who
created;--created man of blood-clots."[FN#365] Now when the
Koranist heard her words he marvelled at her expressions, her
eloquence, her learning, her excellence, and said, "O damsel,
what sayst thou of the verse 'In the name of Allah, the
Compassionating, the Compassionate'? Is it one of the verses of
the Koran?" "Yes; it is a verset of 'The Ant'[FN#366] occurring
also at the head of the first and between every two following
chapters; and there is much difference of opinion, respecting
this, among the learned."--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of
day and ceased saying her permitted say.
When it was the Four Hundred and Forty-seventh Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the
damsel had told the professor concerning the difference of
opinion among the learned touching the "Basmalah," he said, "Thou
hast replied aright: now tell me why is not the formula written
at the head of the chapter of Immunity[FN#367]?"; and she
answered, "When this chapter was revealed from on high for the
dissolution of the alliance between the Prophet and the
idolaters, He (whom Allah bless and preserve!) sent Ali[FN#368]
ibn Abí Tálib (whose face Allah honour!) therewith, and he read
the chapter to them, but did not read the Basmalah."[FN#369] Q
"What of the excellence of the formula and its blessing?" "It is
told of the Prophet that he said, 'Never is the Basmalah
pronounced over aught, but there is a blessing in it;' and it is
reported, on authority of Him (whom Allah bless and preserve!)
that the Lord of Glory swore by His glory that never should the
Basmalah be pronounced over a sick person, but he should be
healed of his sickness. Moreover, it is said that, when Allah
created the empyrean, it was agitated with an exceeding
agitation; but He wrote on it, 'Bismillah' and its agitation
subsided. When the formula first descended from heaven to the
Prophet, he said, 'I am safe from three things, earthquake and
metamorphosis and drowning; and indeed its boons are great and
its blessings too many to enumerate. It is told of Allah's
Apostle that he said, 'There will be brought on the Judgment-day
a man with whom He shall reckon and finding no good deed to his
account, shall order him to the Fire; but the man will cry, 'O my
God, Thou hast not dealt justly by me!' Then shall Allah (to whom
be honour and glory!) say, 'How so?' and the man shall answer, O
Lord, for that Thou callest Thyself the Compassionating, the
Compassionate, yet wilt Thou punish me with the Fire!' And Allah
(magnified be His Majesty!) shall reply, 'I did indeed name
myself the Compassionating, the Compassionate. Carry My servant
to Paradise, of My mercy, for I am the most Merciful of the
mercifuls!'" Q "What was the origin of the use of the Basmalah?"
"When Allah sent down from Heaven the Koran, they wrote, 'In Thy
name, O my God!'; when Allah revealed the words, 'Say: Call upon
Allah, or call upon the Compassionating, what days ye pray, for
hath He the most excellent names,'[FN#370] they wrote, 'In the
name of Allah, the Compassionating, the Compassionate; and, when
He revealed the words, 'Your God is one God, there is no God but
He, the Compassionating, the Compassionate,'[FN#371] they wrote,
'In the name of Allah, the Compassionating, the Compassionate!'"
Now when the Koranist heard her reply, he hung down his head and
said to himself, "This be a marvel of marvels! How hath this
slave-girl expounded the origin of the Basmalah? But, by Allah,
needs must I go a bout with her and haply defeat her." So he
asked, "Did Allah reveal the Koran all at once or at times
manifold?" She answered, "Gabriel the Faithful (on whom be
peace!) descended with it from the Lord of the Worlds upon His
Prophet Mohammed, Prince of the Apostles and Seal of the
Prophets, by detached versets: bidding and forbidding,
covenanting and comminating, and containing advices and instances
in the course of twenty years as occasion called for it." Q
"Which chapter was first revealed?" "According to Ibn Abbas, that
entituled 'Congealed Blood':[FN#372] and, according to Jábir bin
Abdillah,[FN#373] that called 'The Covered' which preceded all
others.[FN#374]" Q "Which verset was the last revealed?" "That of
'Usury',[FN#375] and it is also said, the verse, 'When there
cometh Allah's succour and victory.'"[FN#376]--And Shahrazad
perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
When it was the Four Hundred and Forty-eighth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the
damsel told the Koranist which was the last verse he said, "Thou
hast replied aright; now tell me the names of the Companions who
collected the Koran, in the lifetime of the Apostle of Allah."
And she answered "They were four, Ubay ibn Ka'ab, Zayd ibn Sábit,
Abú Obaydah 'Aamir bin Jarráh, and Othmán bin Affán[FN#377]
(Allah accept of them one and all!)" Q "Who are the readers, from
whom the accepted reading of the Koran is taken?" "They number
four, Abdallah bin Mas'úd, Ubay bin Ka'ab, Ma'az bin Jabal and
Sálim bin Abdillah." Q "What sayest thou of the words of the Most
High, 'That which is sacrificed to stones'"?[FN#378] "The stones
are idols, which are set up and worshipped, instead of Allah the
Most High, and from this we seek refuge with Allah." Q "What
sayest thou of the words of the Most High 'Thou knowest what is
in my soul, and I know not what is in Thy soul'"?[FN#379] "They
mean, 'Thou knowest the truth of me and what is in me, and I know
not what is in Thee;' and the proof of this are His
words,[FN#380] 'Thou art He who wottest the hidden things'; and
it is said, also, 'Thou knowest my essence, but I know not Thine
essence.'" Q "What sayst thou of the words of the Most High, 'O
true believers, forbid not yourselves the good things which Allah
hath allowed you?'"[FN#381] "My Shaykh (on whom Allah have
mercy!) told me that the Companion Al-Zahhák related: 'There was
a people of the True-believers who said, 'We will dock our
members masculine and don sackcloth;' whereupon this verse was
revealed. But Al-Kutádah declareth that it was revealed on
account of sundry Companions of the Apostle of Allah, namely, Ali
ibn Abí Tálib and Othmán bin Musa'ab and others, who said, 'We
will geld ourselves and don hair cloth and make us monks.'" Q
"What sayest thou of the words of the Most Highest, 'And Allah
took Abraham for His friend'"?[FN#382] "The friend of Allah is
the needy, the poor, and (according to another saying) he is the
lover, he who is detached from the world in the love of Allah
Almighty and in whose attachment there is no falling away." Now
when the Koranist[FN#383] saw her pass on in speech with the
passage of the clouds and that she stayed not in reply, he rose
to his feet and said, "I take Allah to witness, O Commander of
the Faithful, that this damsel is more learned than I in Koranic
exegesis and what pertaineth thereto." Then said she, "I will ask
thee one question, which if thou answer it is well; but if thou
answer not, I will strip off thy clothes." Quoth the Commander of
the Faithful, "Ask on," and she enquired, "Which verset of the
Koran hath in it three-and-twenty Káfs, which sixteen Míms, which
an hundred and forty 'Ayns[FN#384] and which section[FN#385]
lacketh the formula, 'To Whom belong glory and glorification and
majesty[FN#386]?'" The Koranist could not reply, and she said to
him, "Put off thy clothes." So he doffed them, and she continued,
"O Commander of the Faithful, the verset of the sixteen Mims is
in the chapter Húd and is the saying of the Most High, 'It was
said, O Noah, go down in peace from us, and blessing upon
thee!'[FN#387] that of the three-and-twenty Kafs is the verse
called of the Faith, in the chapter of The Cow; that of the
hundred and forty Ayns is in the chapter of Al-A'aráf,[FN#388]
where the Lord saith, 'And Moses chose seventy men of his tribe
to attend our appointed time;[FN#389] to each man a pair of
eyes.'[FN#390] And the lesson, which lacketh the formula, 'To
Whom be glory and glorification,' is that which comprises the
chapters, The Hour draweth nigh and the Moon shall be cloven in
twain[FN#391]; The Compassionate and The Event."[FN#392]
Thereupon the professor departed in confusion.--And Shahrazad
perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
When it was the Four Hundred and Forty-ninth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the
damsel defeated the Koranist and took off his clothes and sent
him away confused, then came forward the skilled physician and
said to her, "We are free of theology and come now to physiology.
Tell me, therefore, how is man made; how many veins, bones and
vertebrae are there in his body; which is the first and chief
vein and why Adam was named Adam?" She replied, "Adam was called
Adam, because of his udmah, that is, the wheaten colour of his
complexion and also (it is said) because he was created of the
adim of the earth, that is to say, of the surface-soil. His
breast was made of the earth of the Ka'abah, his head of earth
from the East and his legs of earth from the West. There were
created for him seven doors in his head, viz., the eyes, the
ears, the nostrils and the mouth, and two passages, before and
behind. The eyes were made the seat of the sight-sense, the ears
the seat of the hearing-sense, the nostrils the seat of the
smell-sense, the mouth the seat of the taste-sense and the tongue
to utter what is in the heart of man.[FN#393] Now Adam was made
of a compound of the four elements, which be water, earth, fire
and air. The yellow bile is the humour of fire, being hot-dry;
the black bile that of earth, being cold-dry; the phlegm that of
water, being cold-moist, and the blood that of air, being
hot-moist.[FN#394] There were made in man three hundred and sixty
veins, two hundred and forty-nine bones, and three souls[FN#395]
or spirits, the animal, the rational and the natural, to each of
which is allotted its proper function. Moreover, Allah made him a
heart and spleen and lungs and six intestines and a liver and two
kidneys and buttocks and brain and bones and skin and five
senses; hearing, seeing, smell, taste, touch. The heart He set on
the left side of the breast and made the stomach the guide and
governor thereof. He appointed the lungs for a fan to the heart
and stablished the liver on the right side, opposite thereto.
Moreover, He made, besides this, the diaphragm and the viscera
and set up the bones of the breast and latticed them with the
ribs." Q "How many ventricles are there in a man's head?" "Three,
which contain five faculties, styled the intrinsic senses, to
wit, common sense, imagination, the thinking faculty, perception
and memory." Q "Describe to me the configuration of the
bones."--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to
say her permitted say.
When it was the Four Hundred and Fiftieth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the
physicist said to her, "Describe to me the configuration of the
bones," she replied, "Man's frame consists of two hundred and
forty bones, which are divided into three parts, the head, the
trunk and the extremities. The head is divided into calvarium and
face. The skull is constructed of eight bones, and to it are
attached the four osselets of the ear. The face is furnished with
an upper jaw of eleven bones and a lower jaw of one; and to these
are added the teeth two-and-thirty in number, and the os
hyoides.[FN#396] The trunk is divided into spinal column, breast
and basin. The spinal column is made up of four-and-twenty bones,
called Fikár or vertebræ; the breast, of the breastbone and the
ribs, which are four-and-twenty in number, twelve on each side;
and the basin of the hips, the sacrum[FN#397] and os coccygis.
The extremities divided into upper and lower, arms and legs. The
arms are again divided: firstly into shoulder, comprising
shoulder blades and collar bone; secondly into the upper arm
which is one bone; thirdly into fore-arm, composed of two bones,
the radius and the ulna; and fourthly into the hand, consisting
of the wrist, the metacarpus of five and the fingers, which
number five, of three bones each, called the phalanges, except
the thumb, which hath but two. The lower extremities are divided:
firstly into thigh, which is one bone; secondly into leg,
composed of three bones, the tibia, the fibula and the patella;
and thirdly into the foot, divided, like the hand, into tarsus,
metatarsus and toes; and is composed of seven bones, ranged in
two rows, two in one and five in the other; and the metatarsus is
composed of five bones and the toes number five, each of three
phalanges except the big toe which hath only two." Q "Which is
the root of the veins?" "The aorta, from which they ramify, and
they are many, none knoweth the tale of them save He who created
them; but I repeat, it is said that they number three hundred and
sixty.[FN#398] Moreover, Allah hath appointed the tongue as
interpreter for the thought, the eyes to serve as lanterns, the
nostrils to smell with, and the hands for prehensors. The liver
is the seat of pity, the spleen of laughter[FN#399] and the
kidneys of craft; the lungs are ventilators, the stomach the
store-house, and the heart the prop and pillar of the body. When
the heart is sound, the whole body is sound, and when the heart
is corrupt, the whole body is corrupt." Q "What are the outward
signs and symptoms evidencing disease in the members of the body,
both external and internal?" "A physician, who is a man of
understanding, looketh into the state of the body and is guided
by the feel of the hands,[FN#400] according as they are firm or
flabby, hot or cool, moist or dry. Internal disorders are also
indicated by external symptoms, such as yellowness of the white
of the eyes, which denoteth jaundice, and bending of the back,
which denoteth disease of the lungs." And Shahrazad perceived the
dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
When it was the Four Hundred and Fifty-first Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the
damsel had described to the doctor the outer signs and symptoms
quoth he, "Thou hast replied aright! now what are the internal
symptoms of disease?" "The science of the diagnosis of disease by
internal symptoms is founded upon six canons: (1) the patient's
actions; (2) what is evacuated from his body; (3) the nature of
the pain; and (4) the site thereof; (5) swelling; and (6) the
effluvia given off his person." Q "How cometh hurt to the head?"
"By the ingestion of food upon food, before the first be
digested, and by fullness upon fullness; this it is that wasteth
peoples. He who would live long, let him be early with the
morning-meal and not late with the evening-meal; let him be
sparing of commerce with women and chary of such depletory
measures as cupping and blood-letting; and let him make of his
belly three parts, one for food, one for drink and the third for
air; for that a man's intestines are eighteen spans in length and
it befitteth that he appoint six for meat, six for drink, and six
for breath. If he walk, let him go gently; it will be wholesomer
for him and better for his body and more in accordance with the
saying of the Almighty, 'Walk not proudly on the earth.'"[FN#401]
Q "What are the symptoms of yellow bile and what is to be feared
therefrom?" "The symptoms are sallow complexion and bitter taste
in the mouth with dryness; failure of the appetite, venereal and
other, and rapid pulse; and the patient hath to fear high fever
and delirium and eruptions and jaundice and tumour and ulcers of
the bowels and excessive thirst." Q "What are the symptoms of
black bile and what hath the patient to fear from it, an it get
the mastery of the body?" "The symptoms are false appetite and
great mental disquiet and cark and care; and it behoveth that it
be evacuated, else it will generate melancholia[FN#402] and
leprosy and cancer and disease of the spleen and ulceration of
the bowels." Q "Into how many branches is the art of medicine
divided?" "Into two: the art of diagnosing diseases, and that of
restoring the diseased body to health." Q "When is the drinking
of medicine more efficacious than otherwhen?" "When the sap runs
in the wood and the grape thickens in the cluster and the two
auspicious planets, Jupiter and Venus, are in the ascendant; then
setteth in the proper season for drinking of drugs and doing away
of disease." Q "What time is it, when, if a man drink water from
a new vessel, the drink is sweeter and lighter or more digestible
to him than at another time, and there ascendeth to him a
pleasant fragrance and a penetrating?" "When he waiteth awhile
after eating, as quoth the poet,
'Drink not upon thy food in haste but wait awhile; * Else thou
with halter shalt thy frame to sickness lead:
And patient bear a little thirst from food, then drink; * And
thus, O brother, haply thou shalt win thy need.[FN#403]'"
Q "What food is it that giveth not rise to ailments?" "That which
is not eaten but after hunger, and when it is eaten, the ribs are
not filled with it, even as saith Jálínús or Galen the physician,
'Whoso will take in food, let him go slowly and he shall not go
wrongly.' And to conclude with His saying (on whom be blessing
and peace!), 'The stomach is the house of disease, and diet is
the head of healing; for the origin of all sickness is
indigestion, that is to say, corruption of the meat'"--And
Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her
permitted say.
When it was the Four Hundred and Fifty-second Night,
She continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when
the damsel said to the doctor, "'The stomach is the house of
disease and diet is the head of healing; for the origin of all
sickness is indigestion, that is to say, corruption of the meat
in the stomach;'" he rejoined, "Thou hast replied aright! what
sayest thou of the Hammam?" "Let not the full man enter it. Quoth
the Prophet, 'The bath is the blessing of the house, for that it
cleanseth the body and calleth to mind the Fire.'" Q "What
Hammams are best for bathing in?" "Those whose waters are sweet
and whose space is ample and which are kept well aired; their
atmosphere representing the four seasons--autumn and summer and
winter and spring." Q "What kind of food is the most profitable?"
"That which women make and which hath not cost overmuch trouble
and which is readily digested. The most excellent of food is
brewis[FN#404] or bread sopped in broth; according to the saying
of the Prophet, 'Brewis excelleth other food, even as Ayishah
excelleth other women.'" Q "What kind of kitchen, or seasoning,
is most profitable?" "'Flesh meat' (quoth the Prophet) 'is the
most excellent of kitchen; for that it is the delight of this
world and the next world.'" Q "What kind of meat is the most
profitable?" "Mutton; but jerked meat is to be avoided, for there
is no profit in it." Q "What of fruits?" "Eat them in their prime
and quit them when their season is past." Q "What sayest thou of
drinking water?" "Drink it not in large quantities nor swallow it
by gulps, or it will give thee head-ache and cause divers kinds
of harm; neither drink it immediately after leaving the Hammam
nor after carnal copulation or eating (except it be after the
lapse of fifteen minutes for a young man and forty for an old
man), nor after waking from sleep." Q "What of drinking fermented
liquors?" "Doth not the prohibition suffice thee in the Book of
Almighty Allah, where He saith, 'Verily, wine and lots and
images, and the divining arrows are an abomination, of Satan's
work; therefore avoid them, that ye may prosper'?[FN#405] And
again, 'They will ask thee concerning wine and lots': Answer, 'In
both there is great sin and also some things of use unto men: but
their sinfulness is greater than their use.'[FN#406] Hence quoth
the poet,
'O bibber of liquor, art not ashamed * To drink what Allah
forbade thee drain?
Put it far from thee and approach it not; * It holds what Allah
forbade as bane.'
And quoth another to the same purport,
'I drank the sin till my reason fled: * Ill drink that reason to
loss misled!'
As for the advantages that be therein, it disperseth stone and
gravel from the kidneys and strengtheneth the viscera and
banisheth care, and moveth to generosity and preserveth health
and digestion; it conserveth the body, expelleth disease from the
joints, purifieth the frame of corrupt humours, engendereth
cheerfulness, gladdeneth the heart of man and keepeth up the
natural heat: it contracteth the bladder, enforceth the liver and
removeth obstructions, reddeneth the cheeks, cleareth away
maggots from the brain and deferreth grey hairs. In short, had
not Allah (to whom be honour and glory!) forbidden it,[FN#407]
there were not on the face of the earth aught fit to stand in its
stead. As for gambling by lots, it is a game of hazard such as
diceing, not of skill." Q "What wine is best?" "That which is
pressed from white grapes and kept eighty days or more after
fermentation: it resembleth not water and indeed there is nothing
on the surface of the earth like unto it." Q "What sayest thou of
cupping?" "It is for him who is over full of blood and who hath
no defect therein; and whoso would be cupped, let it be during
the wane of the moon, on a day without cloud, wind or rain and on
the seventeenth of the month. If it fall on a Tuesday, it will be
the more efficacious, and nothing is more salutary for the brain
and eyes and for clearing the intellect than cupping."--And
Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her
permitted say.
When it was the Four Hundred and Fifty-third Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the
damsel enumerated the benefits of cupping, quoth the doctor,
"What is the best time for cupping?" "One should be cupped 'on
the spittle,' that is, in the morning before eating, for this
fortifieth the wit and the memory. It is reported of the Prophet
that, when anyone complained to him of a pain in the head or
legs, he would bid him be cupped and after cupping not eat salt
food, fasting, for it engendereth scurvy; neither eat sour things
as curded milk[FN#408] immediately after cupping." Q "When is
cupping to be avoided?" "On Sabbaths or Saturdays and Wednesdays;
and let him who is cupped on these days blame none but himself.
Moreover, one should not be cupped in very hot weather nor in
very cold weather; and the best season for cupping is
springtide." Quoth the doctor, "Now tell me of carnal
copulation." Hereupon Tawaddud hung her head, for shame and
confusion before the Caliph's majesty; then said, "By Allah, O
Commander of the Faithful, it is not that I am at fault, but that
I am ashamed; though, indeed, the answer is on the edge of my
tongue." Said the Caliph; "Speak, O damsel," whereupon said she,
"Copulation hath in it many and exceeding virtues and
praiseworthy qualities, amongst which are, that it lighteneth a
body full of black bile and calmeth the heat of love and induceth
affection and dilateth the heart and dispelleth the sadness of
solitude; and the excess of it is more harmful in summer and
autumn than in spring and winter." Q "What are its good effects?"
"It banisheth trouble and disquiet, calmeth love and wrath and is
good for ulcers, especially in a cold and dry humour; on the
other hand excess of it weakeneth the sight and engendereth pains
in the legs and head and back: and beware, beware of carnal
connection with old women, for they are deadly. Quoth the Iman
Ali[FN#409] (whose face Allah honour!), 'Four things kill and
ruin the body: entering the Hammam on a full stomach; eating salt
food; copulation on a plethora of blood and lying with an ailing
woman; for she will weaken thy strength and infect thy frame with
sickness; and an old woman is deadly poison.' And quoth one of
them, 'Beware of taking an old woman to wife, though she be
richer in hoards than Kárún'"[FN#410] Q "What is the best
copulation?" "If the woman be tender of years, comely of shape,
fair of face, swelling of breast and of noble race, she will add
to thee strength and health of body; and let her be even as saith
a certain poet describing her,
'Seeing thy looks wots she what thou desir'st, * By inspiration;
wants nor word nor sign;
And, when thou dost behold her rarest grace, * The charms of
every garden canst decline.'
Q "At what time is copulation good?" "If by night, after food
digested and if by day, after the morning meal." Q "What are the
most excellent fruits?" "Pomegranate and citron." Q "Which is the
most excellent of vegetables?" "Endive.[FN#411]" Q "Which of
sweet-scented flowers?" "Rose and Violet." Q "How is the seed of
man secreted?" "There is in man a vein which feedeth all the
other veins. Now water is collected from the three hundred and
sixty veins and, in the form of red blood, entereth the left
testicle, where it is decocted, by the heat of temperament
inherent in the son of Adam, into a thick, white liquid, whose
odour is as that of the palm-spathe." Q "What flying thing is it
that emitteth seed and menstruateth?" "The flitter-mouse,[FN#412]
that is the bat." Q "What is that which, when confined and shut
out from the air liveth, and when let out to smell the air
dieth?" "The fish." Q "What serpent layeth eggs?" "The Su'ban or
dragon.[FN#413]" With this the physician waxed weary with much
questioning, and held his peace, when Tawaddud said to the
Caliph, "O Commander of the Faithful, he hath questioned me till
he is tired out and now I will ask him one question, which if he
answer not, I will take his clothes as lawful prize."--And
Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her
permitted say.
When it was the Four Hundred and Fifty-fourth Night,
She continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when
the damsel said to the Commander of the Faithful, "Verily he hath
questioned me till he is tired out, and now I will ask him one
question, which if he answer not I will take his clothes as
lawful prize," the Caliph cried, "Ask on." So quoth she to the
physician, "What is that thing which resembleth the earth in
roundness, whose resting-place and whose spine are hidden from
men's eyes; little of price and estimation; narrow of chest and
shackled as to throat though it be nor runaway slave nor
pestilent thief; thrust through and through, though not in fray,
and wounded, though not in fight: time eateth its vigour and
water wasteth it away; now it is beaten without blemish, and then
made to serve without stint; united after separation; submissive,
but not to him who caresseth it; pregnant without child in belly;
drooping, yet not leaning on its side; becoming dirty yet
purifying itself; cleaving to its fere, yet changing; copulating
without a yard, wrestling without arms: resting and taking its
ease; bitten, yet not crying out: now more complaisant than a
cup-companion and then more troublesome than summer-heat; leaving
its mate by night and embracing her by day and having its abode
in the corners of the mansions of the noble?" The physician was
silent awhile in perplexity and his colour changed and he bowed
his head and made no reply; whereupon she said to him, "Ho, sir
doctor, speak or doff thy dress." At this, he rose and said, "O
Commander of the Faithful, bear witness against me that this
damsel is more learned than I in medicine and what else, and that
I cannot cope with her." And he put off his clothes and fled
forth. Quoth the Caliph to Tawaddud, "Ree us thy riddle," and she
replied, "O Commander of the Faithful, it is the button and the
button-loop.[FN#414]"--Then she undertook the astronomers and
said, "Let him of you who is an astronomer rise and come
forward." So the astronomer advanced and sat down before her;
and, when she saw him, she laughed and said, "Art thou the
astronomer, the mathematician, the scribe?" "Yes," answered he.
Quoth she, "Ask of what thou wilt; success resteth with Allah."
So he said, "Tell me of the sun and its rising and setting." And
she replied: "Know that the sun riseth from the shadows in the
Eastern hemisphere and setteth in the shadows of the Western, and
each hemisphere compriseth one hundred and eighty degrees. Quoth
Allah Almighty, 'I swear by the Lord of the East and of the
West.'[FN#415] And again, 'He it is who hath ordained the sun to
shine by day, and the moon for a light by night; and hath
appointed her station that ye might know the number of years and
the computation of time.'[FN#416] The moon is Sultan of the night
and the sun Sultan of the day, and they vie with each other in
their courses and follow without overtaking each other. Quoth
Almighty Allah, 'It is not expedient that the sun overtake the
moon in her course; neither doth the night outstrip the day, but
each of these luminaries moveth in a peculiar orbit.'"[FN#417] Q
"When the day cometh, what becometh of the night; and what of the
day, when the night cometh?" "He causeth the night to enter in
upon the day, and He causeth the day to enter in upon the
night."[FN#418] Q "Enumerate to me the mansions of the
moon?"[FN#419] "They number eight-and-twenty, to wit, Sharatán,
Butayn, Surayá, Dabarán, Hak'ah, Han'ah, Zirá'a, Nasrah, Tarf,
Jabhah, Zubrah, Sarfah, 'Awwá, Simák, Ghafar, Zubání, Iklíl,
Kalb, Shaulah, Na'am, Baldah, Sa'ad al-Zábih, Sa'ad al-Bul'a,
Sa'ad al-Su'úd, Sa'ad al-Akhbiyah, Fargh the Former and Fargh the
Latter; and Risháa. They are disposed in the order of the letters
of the Abjad-hawwaz or older alphabet,[FN#420] according to their
numerical power, and in them are secret virtues which none
knoweth save Allah (extolled and exalted be He!) and the
stablished in science. They are divided among the twelve Signs of
the Zodiac, two Mansions and a third of a Mansion to each Sign.
Thus Sharatan, Butayn and one-third of Suráyá, belong to Aries,
the other two-thirds of Suráyá, Dabaran and two-thirds of Hak'ah
to Taurus, the other third of Hak'ah, Han'ah and Zira'a to
Gemini; Nasrah, Tarf and a third of Jabhah to Cancer, the other
two-thirds of Jabhah, Zubrah and two-thirds of Sarfah to Leo; the
other third of Sarfah, 'Awwá and Simák to Virgo; Ghafar, Zubáni
and one-third of Iklíl to Libra; the other two-thirds of Iklil,
Kalb and two-thirds of Shaulah to Scorpio; the other third of
Shaulah, Na'áim and Baldah to Sagittarius; Sa'ad al-Zábih, Sa'ad
al-Bul'a and one-third of Sa'ad al-Su'ud to Capricorn, the other
two-thirds of Sa'ad al-Su'dd, Sa'ad al-Akhbiyah and two-thirds of
Fargh the Former to Aquarius, the other third of Fargh the
Former, Fargh the Latter and Risháa to Pisces."--And Shahrazad
perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
When it was the Four Hundred and Fifty-fifth Night,
She said, it hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the
damsel enumerated the Mansions and distributed them into their
Signs, the astronomer said, "Thou hast replied aright; now tell
me of the planets and their natures, also of their sojourn in the
Zodiacal Signs, their aspects, auspicious and sinister, their
houses, ascendants and descendants. She answered, "The sitting is
narrow for so large a matter, but I will say as much as I can.
Now the planets number seven; which are, the Sun, the Moon,
Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn. The Sun, hot-dry, sinister
in conjunction, favourable in opposition, abideth thirty days in
each Sign. The Moon, cold-moist and favourable of aspect,
tarrieth in each Sign two days and a third of another day.
Mercury is of a mixed nature, favourable in conjunction with the
favourable, and sinister in conjunction with the sinister
aspects, and abideth in each sign seventeen days and a half day.
Venus, temperate and favourable, abideth in each sign
five-and-twenty days. Mars is sinister and woneth in each sign
ten months. Jupiter is auspicious and abideth in each sign a
year. Saturn, cold-dry and sinister, tarrieth in each sign thirty
months. The house of the Sun is Leo, her ascendant is Aries, and
her descendant Aquarius. The Moon's house is Cancer, his
ascendant Taurus, his descendant Scorpio and his sinister aspect
Capricorn. Saturn's house is Capricorn-Aquarius, his ascendant
Libra, his descendant Aries and his sinister aspects Cancer and
Leo. Jupiter's house is Pisces-Sagittarius, his ascendant Cancer,
his descendant Capricorn and his sinister aspects Gemini and Leo.
Venus's house is Taurus, her ascendant Pisces, her descendant
Libra, and her sinister aspects Aries and Scorpio. Mercury's
house is Gemini-Virgo, his ascendant Virgo, his descendant
Pisces, and his sinister aspect Taurus. Mars' house is
Aries-Scorpio, his ascendant Capricorn, his descendant Cancer and
his sinister aspect Libra." Now when the astronomer saw her
acuteness and comprehensive learning and heard her fair answers,
he bethought him for a sleight to confound her before the
Commander of the Faithful, and said to her, "O damsel, tell me,
will rain fall this month?" At this she bowed her head and
pondered so long, that the Caliph thought her at a loss for an
answer and the astronomer said to her, "Why dost thou not speak?"
Quoth she, "I will not speak except the Commander of the Faithful
give me leave." So the Caliph laughed and said, "How so?" Cried
she "I would have thee give me a sword, that I may strike off his
head, for he is an Infidel, an Agnostic, an Atheist.[FN#421]" At
this, loud laughed the Caliph and those about him laughed, and
she continued "O astronomer, there are five things that none
knoweth save Allah Almighty;" and she repeated the verset; "'Aye!
Allah!--with Him is the knowledge of the hour and He causeth the
rain to descend at His own appointed time --and He knoweth what
is in the wombs of females--but no soul knoweth what it shall
have gotten on the morrow; neither wotteth any soul in what land
it shall die: Verily Allah is knowing, informed of all.'"[FN#422]
Quoth the astronomer, "Thou hast said well, and I, by Allah,
thought only to try thee." Rejoined she, "Know that the
almanack-makers have certain signs and tokens, referring to the
planets and constellations relative to the coming in of the year;
and folk have learned something by experience." Q "What be that?"
"Each day hath a planet that ruleth it: so if the first day in
the year fall on First Day (Sunday) that day is the Sun's and
this portendeth (though Allah alone is All-knowing!) oppression
of kings and sultans and governors and much miasma and lack of
rain; and that people will be in great tumult and the grain-crop
will be good, except lentils, which will perish, and the vines
will rot and flax will be dear and wheat cheap from the beginning
of Túbah to the end of Barmahát.[FN#423] And, in this year there
will be much fighting among kings, and there shall be great
plenty of good in this year, but Allah is All-knowing!" Q "What
if the first day fall on Second Day (Monday)?" "That day
belongeth to the Moon and portendeth righteousness in
administrators and officials and that it will be a year of much
rain and grain-crops will be good, but linseed will decay and
wheat will be cheap in the month Kiyáhk;[FN#424] also the plague
will rage and the sheep and goats will die, grapes will be
plentiful and honey scarce and cotton cheap; and Allah is
omniscient!"--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased
to say her permitted say.
When it was the Four Hundred and Fifty-sixth Night,
She said, it hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the
damsel ended her notice of Second Day the astronomer said to her
"Now tell me what will occur if New Year's day fall on Third Day
(Tuesday)." She replied, "That is Mars' day and portendeth death
of great men and much destruction and deluge of blood and
dearness of grain; lack of rain and scarcity of fish, which will
anon be in excess and anon fail. Lentils and honey in this year
will be cheap and linseed dear and only barley will thrive, to
the exception of all other cereals: great will be the fighting
among kings and death will be in the blood and there will be much
mortality among asses." Q "What if it fall on Fourth Day?" "That
is Mercury's day and portendeth great tumult among the folk and
much enmity and, though rains be moderate, rotting of some of the
green crops; also that there will be sore mortality among cattle
and young children and much fighting by sea; that wheat will be
dear from Barmúdah to Misra[FN#425] and other grains cheap;
thunder and lightning will abound and honey will be dear, palm-
trees will thrive and bear abundantly and flax and cotton will be
plentiful, while radishes and onions will be dear; but Allah is
All-knowing!" Q "What if it fall on Fifth Day?" "That is
Jupiter's day and portendeth equity in Wazirs and righteousness
in Kazis and Fakirs and the Ministers of religion; and that good
will be plentiful: rains and fruit and trees and grain will
abound, and flax, cotton, honey, grapes and fish be cheap; and
Allah is Omniscient!" Q "What if it fall on Meeting Day or
Friday?" "That day appertaineth to Venus and portendeth
oppression in the chiefs of the Jinn and talk of forgery and
back-biting; there will be much dew; the autumn crops will be
good in the land and there will be cheapness in one town and not
in another: ungraciousness will be rife by land and sea; linseed
will be dear, also wheat, in Hátúr, but cheap in Amshír; honey
will be dear and grapes and water-melons will rot; and Allah is
Omniscient!" Q "What if it fall on the Sabbath (Saturday)?" "That
is Saturn's day and portendeth the preferment of slaves and
Greeks and those in whom there is no good, neither in their
neighbourhood; there will be great drought and dearth; clouds
will abound and death will be rife among the sons of Adam and woe
to the people of Egypt and Syria from the oppression of the
Sultan and failure of blessing upon the green crops and rotting
of grain; and Allah is All-knowing!"[FN#426] Now with this, the
astronomer hung his head very low, and she said to him, "O
astronomer, I will ask thee one question, which if thou answer
not, I will take thy clothes." "Ask," replied he. Quoth she,
"Where is Saturn's dwelling-place?"; and he answered, "In the
seventh heaven." Q "And that of Jupiter?" "In the sixth heaven."
Q "And that of Mars?" "In the fifth heaven." Q "And that of the
Sun?" "In the fourth heaven." Q "And that of Venus?" "In the
third heaven." Q "And that of Mercury?" "In the second heaven." Q
"And that of the Moon?" "In the first heaven." Quoth she, "Well
answered; but I have one more question to ask thee;" and quoth
he, "Ask!" Accordingly she said, "Now tell me concerning the
stars, into how many parts are they divided." But he was silent
and answered nothing; and she cried to him, "Put off thy
clothes." So he doffed them and she took them; after which the
Caliph said to her, "Tell us the answer to thy question." She
replied: "O Commander of the Faithful, the stars are divided into
three parts, whereof one-third is hung in the sky of the
earth,[FN#427] as it were lamps, to give light to the earth, and
a part is used to shoot the demons withal, when they draw near by
stealth to listen to the talk in heaven. Quoth Allah Almighty,
'Verily, we have dight the sky of the earth with the adornment of
the stars; and have appointed them for projectiles against every
rebellious Satan.'[FN#428] And the third part is hung in air to
illuminate the seas and give light to what is therein." Quoth the
astronomer, "I have one more question to ask, which if she
answer, I will avow myself beaten." "Say on," answered she.--And
Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her
permitted say.
When it was the Four Hundred and Fifty-seventh Night,
She continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the
astronomer said, "Now tell me what four contraries are based upon
other four contraries?" Replied she, "The four qualities of
Caloric and Frigoric, Humidity and Siccity; for of heat Allah
created fire, whose nature is hot-dry; of dryness, earth, which
is cold-dry; of cold, water which is cold-wet; of moisture, air,
which is hot-wet. Moreover, He created twelve Signs of the
Zodiac, Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra,
Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces; and
appointed them of the four humours; three fiery, Aries, Leo, and
Sagittarius; three earthly, Taurus, Virgo, and Capricorn; three
airy, Gemini, Libra and Aquarius; and three watery, Cancer,
Scorpio and Pisces." Hereupon the astronomer rose, and saying,
"Bear witness against me that she is more learned than I," away
he went beaten. Then quoth the Caliph, "Where is the
philosopher[FN#429]?"; at which one rose hastily and came forward
and said to Tawaddud, "What is Time and what be its limits, and
its days, and what things bringeth it?" Replied she, "Time is a
term applied to the hours of the night and day, which are but the
measures of the courses of the sun and moon in their several
heavens, even as Allah Almighty telleth us when he saith, 'A sign
to them also is the Night, from which we strip off the day, and
lo! they are plunged in darkness, and the Sun runneth to her
place of rest; this is the ordinance of the Sublime, the
All-knowing.'"[FN#430] Q "How cometh unbelief to the son of
Adam?" "It is reported of the Apostle (whom Allah bless and
preserve!) that he said, 'Unbelief in a man runneth as the blood
runneth in his veins, when he revileth the world and Time and
night and the Hour.' And again, 'Let none of you revile Time, for
Time is God; neither revile the world, for she saith, 'May Allah
not aid him who revileth me!;' neither revile the hour, for, 'The
Hour is surely coming, there is no doubt thereof';[FN#431]
neither revile the earth, for it is a portent, according to the
saying of the Most High, 'Out of the ground have we created you,
and into the same will we cause you to return, and we will bring
you forth yet thence another time.'"[FN#432] Q "What are the five
that ate and drank, yet came not out of loins nor womb?" "Adam
and Simeon[FN#433] and Salih's she-camel[FN#434] and Ishmael's
ram and the bird that Abu Bakr the Truth-teller saw in the
cave.[FN#435]" Q "Tell me of five that are in Paradise and are
neither humans, Jinns nor angels?" "Jacob's wolf and the Seven
Sleepers' dog and Esdras's ass and Salih's camel and Duldul the
mule of the Prophet (upon whom be blessings and peace!)." Q "What
man prayed a prayer neither on earth nor in heaven?" "Solomon,
when he prayed on his carpet, borne by the wind." Q "Ree me this
riddle:--A man once looked at a handmaid during dawn-prayer, and
she was unlawful to him; but, at noonday she became lawful to
him: by mid-afternoon,, she was again unlawful, but at sundown,
she was lawful to him: at supper time she was a third time
unlawful, but by daybreak, she became once more lawful to him."
"This was a man who looked at another's slave-girl in the
morning, and she was then unlawful to him; but at midday he
bought her, and she became lawful to him: at mid-afternoon he
freed her, and she became unlawful to him; but at sundown he
married her and she was again lawful to him. At nightfall he
divorced her and she was then a third time unlawful to him; but,
next morning at daybreak, he took her back, and she became once
more lawful to him." Q "Tell me what tomb went about with him
that lay buried therein?" "Jonah's whale, when it had swallowed
him." Q "What spot of lowland is it, upon which the sun shone
once, but will never again shine till Judgment-Day?" "The bottom
of the Red Sea, when Moses smote it with his staff, and the sea
clave asunder in twelve places, according to the number of the
tribes;[FN#436] then the sun shone on the bottom and will do so
nevermore until Judgment-Day." And Shahrazad perceived the dawn
of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
When it was the Four Hundred and Fifty-eighth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the
philosopher then addressed the damsel saying, "What was the first
skirt that trailed over the face of the earth?" She replied,
"That of Hagar, out of shame before Sarah; and it became a custom
among the Arabs." Q "What is that which breatheth without life?"
"Quoth Almighty Allah, 'By the morning when it
breatheth!'"[FN#437] Q "Ree me this riddle:--A number of pigeons
came to a high tree and lighted, some on the tree and others
under it. Said those on the tree to those on the ground, 'If one
of you come up to us, ye will be a third part of us all in
number; and if one of us descend to you, we shall be like unto
you in number,' How many pigeons were there in all?" "Twelve:
seven alighted on the tree and five beneath; and, if one go up,
those above would be eight to four; and, if one go down, both
would be six and Allah is all-knowing."[FN#438] With this the
philosopher put off his clothes and fled: whereupon the next
contest took place, for she turned to the Olema present and said,
"Which of you is the rhetorician that can discourse of all arts
and sciences?" There came forward a sage hight Ibrahim bin Siyyár
and said to her, "Think me not like the rest." Quoth she, "It is
the more assured to me that thou wilt be beaten, for that thou
art a boaster; and Allah will help me to victory over thee, that
I may strip thee of thy clothes. So, if thou sentest one to fetch
thee wherewithal to cover thyself, 'twould be well for thee."
Cried he, "By Allah, I will assuredly conquer thee and make thee
a byword among the peoples, generation after generation!"
Rejoined she, "Do penance in advance for thy broken oath." Then
he asked, "What five things did Allah create before he made
man?"; and she answered, "Water and earth and light and darkness
and the fruits of the earth." Q "What did Allah create with the
hand of omnipotence?" "The 'Arsh, throne of God or the empyreal
heaven and the tree Túbá[FN#439] and Adam and the garden of Eden;
these Allah created with the hand of His omnipotence; but to all
other created things He said, 'Be,'--and they were." Q "Who is
thy father in Al-Islam?" "Mohammed, whom Allah bless and
preserve!" Q "Who was the father in Al-Islam of Mohammed?"
"Abraham, the Friend of God." Q "What is the Faith of Al-Islam?"
"The professing that there is no god but the God and that
Mohammed is the apostle of God." Q "What is thy first and thy
last?" "My first is man's seed in the shape of foul water and my
last filthy carrion: the first of me is dust and the last of me
is dust. Quoth the poet,
'Of dust was I created, and man did I become, * In question ever
ready and aye fluent in reply,
Then, I unto the dust return'd, became of it again, * For that,
in very deed, of dust at first create was I.'"
He continued, "What thing was it, whose first state was wood and
its last life?" "Moses' staff,[FN#440] when he cast it on the
valley-ground and it became, by permission of Allah, a writhing
serpent." Q "What is the meaning of the word of the Lord, 'And I
have other occasion for it?'"[FN#441] "He, Moses, was wont to
plant his staff in the ground, and it would flower and fruit and
shade him from the heat and from the cold. Moreover, it would
carry him when he was weary, and whilst he slept, guard his sheep
from lions and wild beasts." Q "What woman was born of a man
alone and what man of a woman alone?" "Eve of Adam and Jesus of
Mary.[FN#442]" Q "Tell me of the four fires, what fire eateth and
drinketh; what fire eateth but drinketh not; what fire drinketh
but eateth not and what other neither eateth nor drinketh?" "The
fire of the world eateth but drinketh not; the fire which eateth
and drinketh is Hell-fire; the fire of the sun drinketh but
eateth not, and the fire of the moon neither eateth nor
drinketh." Q "Which is the open door and which the shut?" "The
Traditional Ordinances are the open door, the Koranic the shut
door." Q "Of what doth the poet speak, when he saith,
'And dweller in the tomb whose food is at his head, * When he
eateth of that meat, of words he waxeth fain:
He riseth and he walketh and he talketh without tongue; * And
returneth to the tomb where his kith and kin are lain.
No living wight is he, yet, in honour he abides; * Nor dead yet
he deserveth that Allah him assain.'"
She replied, "The reed-pen."[FN#443] Quoth he "What doth the poet
refer to in these verses,
'Two vests in one; blood flowing easiest wise; * Rosy red ears
and mouth wide open lies;
It hath a cock-like form, its belly pecks * And, if you price it,
half a dirham buys.'"
She replied, "The ink-case." Quoth he, "And in these,
'Ho say to men of wisdom, wit and lore * To sapient, reverend,
clever counsellor:
Tell me what was't you saw that bird bring forth * When wandering
Arab-land and Ajam o'er?
No flesh it beareth and it hath no blood, * Nor down nor any
feathers e'er it wore.
'Tis eaten cooked and eke 'tis eaten cold; * 'Tis eaten buried
'neath the flames that roar:
It showeth twofold colours, silver white * And yellow brighter
than pure golden ore:
'Tis not seen living or we count it dead: * So ree my riddle rich
in marvel-store!'"
She replied, "Thou makest longsome the questioning anent an egg
worth a mite." Q "And this?,
'I waved to and fro and he waved to and fro, * With a motion so
pleasant, now fast and now slow;
And at last he sunk down on my bosom of snow; * 'Your lover
friend?'"
"No friend, my fan;"[FN#444] said she. Q "How many words did
Allah speak to Moses?" "It is related of the Apostle that he
said, 'God spoke to Moses fifteen hundred and fifteen words.'" Q
"Tell me of fourteen things that speak to the Lord of the
Worlds?" "The seven heavens and the seven earths, when they say,
'We come obedient to Thy command.'"[FN#445]--And Shahrazad
perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
When it was the Four Hundred and Fifty-ninth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the
damsel made the answer, the philosopher continued, "Tell me of
Adam and how he was first created?" and she said, "Allah created
Adam of clay: the clay He made of foam and the foam of the sea,
the sea of darkness, darkness of light, light of a fish, the fish
of a rock, the rock of a ruby, the ruby of water, and the water
He created by His Omnipotence according to His saying (exalted be
His name!), 'His commandment when He willeth aught, is but to
say, BE,--and IT IS.'"[FN#446] Q "What is meant by the poet in
these verses,
'And eater lacking mouth and even maw; * Yet trees and beasts to
it are daily bread:
Well fed it thrives and shows a lively life, * But give it water
and you do it dead?'"
"This," quoth she, "is Fire." "And in these;" he asked,
"Two lovers barred from every joy and bliss, * Who through the
livelong night embracing lie:
They guard the folk from all calamities, * But with the rising
sun apart they fly?"
She answered, "The leaves of a door." Quoth he, "Tell me of the
gates of Gehenna?" Quoth she, "They are seven in number and their
names are comprised in these two couplets,
'Jahannam, next Lazá, and third Hatím; * Then count Sa'ír and
Sakar eke, five-fold,
Sixth comes Jahím and Háwiyah the seventh; * Here are seven Hells
in four lines briefly told.'"
Quoth he "To what doth the poet refer when he saith,
'She wears a pair of ringlets long let down * Behind her, as she
comes and goes at speed,
And eye that never tastes of sleep nor sheds * A tear, for ne'er
a drop it hath at need;
That never all its life wore stitch of clothes; * Yet robes
mankind in every-mode of weed?'"
Quoth she, "A needle." Q "What is the length and what the breadth
of the bridge Al-Sirát?" "Its length is three thousand years'
journey, a thousand in descent and a thousand in ascent and a
thousand level: it is sharper than a sword and finer than a
hair."--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say
her permitted say.
When it was the Four Hundred and Sixtieth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the
damsel had described to him Al-Sirat, the philosopher said,
"Inform me how many intercessions with Allah hath the Prophet for
each soul?"[FN#447] "Three." Q "Was Abu Bakr the first who
embraced Al-Islam?" "Yes." Q "Yet Ali became a Moslem before
him?" "Ali came to the Prophet, when he was a boy of seven years
old, for Allah vouchsafed him knowledge of the way of salvation
in his tender youth, so that he never prostrated himself to
idols." Quoth he, "Tell me which is the more excellent, Ali or
Abbás?" Now she knew that, in propounding this question, Ibrahim
was laying a trap for her; for if she said, "Ali is more
excellent than Abbas," she would lack excuse with the Caliph for
undervaluing his ancestor; so she bowed her head awhile, now
reddening, then paling, and lastly said, "Thou askest me of two
excellent men, each having his own excellence. Let us return to
what we were about." When the Caliph Harun al-Rashid heard her,
he stood up and said, "Thou hast spoken well, by the Lord of the
Ka'abah, O Tawaddud!" Then quoth Ibrahim the rhetorician, "What
meaneth the poet when he saith,
'Slim-wasted one, whose taste is sweetest-sweet, * Likest a lance
whereon no head we scan:
And all the lieges find it work them weal, * Eaten of afternoon
in Ramazan.'"
She answered, "The sugar-cane;" and he said, "Tell me of many
things." Asked she, "What are they?" and he said, "What is
sweeter than honey; what is sharper than the sword; what is
swifter than poison; what is the delight of a moment and what the
contentment of three days; what is the pleasantest of days; what
is the joy of a week; what is that debt the worst debtor denieth
not; what is the prison of the tomb; what is the joy of the
heart; what is the snare of the soul; what is death-in-life; what
is the disease that may not be healed; what is the shame that may
not be wiped off; what is the beast that woneth not in cultivated
fields, but lodgeth in waste places and hateth the sons of Adam
and hath in him somewhat of the make of seven strong and violent
beasts?" Quoth she, "Hear what I shall say in reply; then put off
thy clothes, that I may explain to thee;" and the Caliph said,
"Expound, and he shall doff his clothes." So she said, "Now that,
which is sweeter than honey, is the love of pious children to
their two parents; that, which is sharper than the sword, is the
tongue; that, which is swifter than poison, is the Envier's eye;
the delight of a moment is carnal copulation and the contentment
of three days is the depilatory for women; the pleasantest of
days is that of profit on merchandise; the joy of a week is the
bride; the debt, which the worst debtor denieth not, is death;
the prison of the tomb is a bad son; the joy of the heart is a
woman obedient to her husband (and it is said also that, when
fleshmeat descendeth upon the heart, it rejoiceth therein); the
snare of the soul is a disobedient slave; death-in-life is
poverty; the disease that may not be healed is an ill-nature, and
the shame that may not be wiped away is an ill daughter; lastly,
the beast that woneth not in cultivated fields, but lodgeth in
waste places and hateth the sons of Adam and hath in him somewhat
of the make of seven strong and violent beasts, is the locust,
whose head is as the head of a horse, its neck as the neck of the
bull, its wings as the wings of the vulture, its feet as the feet
of the camel, its tail as the tail of the serpent, its belly as
the belly of the scorpion and its horns as the horns of the
gazelle." The Caliph was astounded at her quickness and
understanding, and said to the rhetorician, "Doff thy clothes."
So he rose up and cried, "I call all who are present in this
assembly to witness that she is more learned than I and every
other learned man." And he put off his clothes and gave them to
her, saying, "Take them and may Allah not bless them to thee!" So
the Caliph ordered him fresh clothes and said, "O Tawaddud, there
is one thing left of that for which thou didst engage, namely,
chess." And he sent for experts of chess and cards[FN#448] and
trictrac. The chess-player sat down before her, and they set the
pieces, and he moved and she moved; but, every move he made she
speedily countered,--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and
ceased saying her permitted say.
When it was the Four Hundred and Sixty-first Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the
damsel was playing chess with the expert in presence of the
Commander of the Faithful, Harun al-Rashid, whatever move he made
was speedily countered by her, till she beat him and he found
himself checkmated. Quoth he, "I did but lead thee on, that thou
mightest think thyself skilful: but set up again, and thou shalt
see." So they placed the pieces a second time, when he said in
himself, "Open thine eyes or she will beat thee." And he fell to
moving no piece, save after calculation, and ceased not to play,
till she said, "Thy King is dead!--Checkmate." When he saw this
he was confounded at her quickness and understanding; but she
laughed and said, "O professor, I will make a wager with thee on
this third game. I will give thee the queen and the right-hand
castle and the left-hand knight; if thou beat me, take my
clothes, and if I beat thee, I will take thy clothes." Replied
he, "I agree to this;" and they replaced the pieces, she removing
queen, castle and knight.[FN#449] Then said she, "Move, O
master." So he moved, saying to himself, "I cannot but beat her,
with such odds," and planned a combination; but, behold, she
moved on, little by little, till she made one of her
pawns[FN#450] a queen and pushing up to him pawns and other
pieces, to take off his attention, set one in his way and tempted
him to take it. Accordingly, he took it and she said to him, "The
measure is meted and the loads equally balanced.[FN#451] Eat till
thou are over-full; naught shall be thy ruin, O son of Adam, save
thy greed. Knowest thou not that I did but tempt thee, that I
might finesse thee? See: this is check-mate!" adding, "So doff
off thy clothes." Quoth he, "Leave me my bag-trousers, so Allah
repay thee;" and he swore by Allah that he would contend with
none, so long as Tawaddud abode in the realm of Baghdad. Then he
stripped off his clothes and gave them to her and went away.
Thereupon came the backgammon-player, and she said to him, "If I
beat thee, this day, what wilt thou give me?" Quoth he, "I will
give thee ten suits of brocade of Constantinople, figured with
gold, and ten suits of velvet and a thousand gold pieces; and if
I beat thee, I ask nothing but that thou write me an
acknowledgment of my victory." Quoth she, "To it, then, and do
thy best." So they played, and he lost and went away, chattering
in Frankish jargon and saying, "By the bounty of the Commander of
the Faithful, there is not her like in all the regions of the
world!" Then the Caliph summoned players on instruments of music
and asked her, "Dost thou know aught of music?"; when she
answered, "Even so!" He bade bring a worn lute, polished by use,
whose owner forlorn and lone was by parting trodden down; and of
which quoth one, describing it
"Allah watered a land, and upsprang a tree * Struck root deep
down, and raised head a-sky:
The birds o'ersang it when green its wood; * And the Fair
o'ersing now the wood is dry."
So they brought the lute in a bag of red satin, with tassels of
saffron-coloured silk: and she opened the bag, and took it out
and behold on it was graven,
"Oft hath a tender bough made lute for maid, * whose swift sweet
lays at feast men's hearts invade:
She sings; it follows on her song, as though * The
Bulbuls[FN#452] taught her all the modes she played."
She laid her lute in her lap and with bosom inclining over it,
bent to it with the bending of a mother who suckleth her child;
then she preluded in twelve different modes, till the whole
assembly was agitated with delight, like a waving sea, and she
sang the following,
"Cut short this strangeness, leave unruth of you; * My heart
shall love you aye, by youth of you!
Have ruth on one who sighs and weeps and moans, * Pining and
yearning for the troth of you."
The Caliph was ravished and exclaimed, "Allah bless thee and be
merciful to him who taught thee!": whereupon she rose and kissed
the ground before him. Then he sent for money and paid her master
Abu al-Husn an hundred thousand gold pieces to her price; after
which he said to her, "O Tawaddud, ask a boon of me!" Replied
she, "I ask of thee that thou restore me to my lord who sold me."
"'Tis well," answered the Caliph and restored her to her master
and gave her five thousand dinars for herself. Moreover, he
appointed Abu al-Husn one of his cup-companions for a
permanence,--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased
to say her permitted say.
When it was the Four Hundred and Sixty-second Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Caliph
gave the damsel five thousand dinars for herself and restored her
to her master whom he appointed one of his cup-companions for a
permanence and assigned him a monthly stipend of a thousand
dinars so long as he should live; and he abode with the damsel
Tawaddud in all solace and delight of life. Marvel then, O King,
at the eloquence of this damsel and the hugeness of her learning
and understanding and her perfect excellence in all branches of
art and science; and consider the generosity of the Commander of
the Faithful, Harun al-Rashid, in that he gave her master this
money and said to her, "Ask a boon of me;" and she besought him
to restore her to her lord. So he restored her to him and gave
her five thousand dinars for herself and made him one of his
boon-companions. Where is such generosity to be found after the
Abbaside Caliphs?--May Allah Almighty have mercy upon them, one
and all! And they tell a tale of
