A plain and literal translation of the Arabian nights entertainments, now entituled The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, Volume 2 (of 17)

Now when it was the Sixty-third Night,

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Nuzhat al-Zaman continued, "Know, O King, that Mu'aykib was intendant of the public treasury during the Caliphate of Omar bin Al-Khattab; and it so befel him that he saw Omar's son and gave him a dirham out of the treasury. Thereupon, quoth Mu'aykib, I returned to my own house, and while I was sitting there behold, a messenger came to me from Omar and I was afraid and went to him, and when I came into his presence, in his hand was the dirham I had given his son. He said to me, Woe to thee, Mu'aykib! I have found somewhat concerning thy soul. I asked, And what is that?; and he answered, It is that thou hast shown thyself a foe to the followers of Mohammed (on whom be peace and salvation!) in the matter of this dirham, and thou wilt have to account for it on Resurrection Day.273 And Omar also wrote a letter to Abú Músá al-Ashári274 as follows: – When these presents reach thee, give the people what is theirs and remit to me the rest. And he did so. Now when Othmán succeeded to the Caliphate, he wrote a like letter to Abu Musa, who did his bidding and sent him the tribute accordingly, and with it came Ziyád.275 And when Ziyad laid the tribute before Othman, the Caliph's son came in and took a dirham, whereupon Ziyad shed tears. Othman asked Why weepest thou?; and Ziyad answered, I once brought Omar bin Al-Khattab the like of this and his son took a dirham, whereupon Omar bade snatch it from his hand. Now thy son hath taken of the tribute, yet I have seen none say aught to him or snatch the money from him. Then Othman276 cried, And where wilt thou find the like of Omar? Again Zayd bin Aslam relates of his father that he said: – I went out one night with Omar till we approached a blazing fire. Quoth Omar, O Aslam, I think these must be travellers who are suffering from the cold. Come, let us join them. So we walked on till we came to them and behold! we found a woman who had lighted a fire under a cauldron and by her side were two children, both a-wailing. Said Omar, Peace be with you, O folk of light (for it was repugnant to him to say 'folk of fire'),277 what aileth you? Said she, The cold and the night trouble us. He asked, What aileth these little people that they weep?; and she answered, They are hungry. He enquired, And what is in this cauldron?; and she replied, It is what I quiet them withal, and Allah will question Omar bin Al-Khattab of them, on the Day of Doom. He said, And what should Omar know of their case? Why then, rejoined she, should he manage people's affairs and yet be unmindful of them? Thereupon Omar turned to me (continued Aslam) and cried, Come with us! So we set off running till we reached the pay-department of his treasury, where he took out a sack containing flour and a pot holding fat and said to me, Load these on my back! Quoth I, O Commander of the Faithful, I will carry them for thee. He rejoined, Wilt thou bear my load for me on the Day of Resurrection? So I put the things on his back, and we set off, running, till we threw down the sack hard by her. Then he took out some of the flour and put it in the cauldron; and, saying to the woman, Leave it to me, he began blowing the fire under the cauldron. Now he was a long-bearded man278 and I saw the smoke issuing from between the hairs of his beard till the flour was cooked, when he took some of the fat and threw it in and said to the woman, Feed them while I cool it for them. So they fell to eating till they had eaten their fill, and he left the rest with her. Then he turned to me and said, O Aslam, I see it was indeed hunger made them weep; and I am glad I did not go away ere I found out the cause of the light I saw." – And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.

Now when it was the Sixty-fourth Night,

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Nuzhat al-Zaman continued, "It is related that Omar passed by a flock of sheep, kept by a Mameluke, and asked him to sell him a sheep. He answered, They are not mine. Thou art the man I sought, said Omar, and bought him and freed him; whereupon the slave exclaimed, O Allah, as thou hast bestowed on me the lesser emancipation; so vouchsafe me the greater!279 It is also said that Omar bin Al-Khattab was wont to give his servants sweet milk and himself eat coarse fare, and to clothe them softly and himself wear rough garments. He rendered unto all men their due, and exceeded in his giving to them. He once gave a man four thousand dirhams and added thereto a thousand, wherefore it was said to him, Why dost thou not increase to thy son as thou increasest to this man? He answered, This man's father stood firm at the battle-day of Ohod.280 Al-Hasan relates that Omar once came back from foray with much money, and that Hafsah281 approached him and said, O Commander of the Faithful, the due of kinship! O Hafsah! replied he, verily Allah hath enjoined us to satisfy the dues of kinship, but not with the monies of the True Believers. Indeed, thou pleasest thy family, but thou angerest thy father. And she went away trailing her skirts.282 The son of Omar said, I implored the Lord to show me my father one year after his death, till at last I saw him wiping the sweat from his brow and asked him, How is it with thee, O my father? He answered, But for my Lord's mercy thy father surely had perished." Then said Nuzhat al-Zaman, "Hear, O auspicious King, the second division of the first chapter of the instances of the followers of the Apostle and other holy men. Saith Al-Hasan al-Basrí,283 Not a soul of the sons of Adam goeth forth of the world without regretting three things, failure to enjoy what he hath amassed, failure to compass what he hoped, failure to provide himself with sufficient viaticum for that whereto he goeth.284 It was said to Sufyan,285 Can a man be a religious and yet possess wealth? He replied, Yes, so he be patient when grieved and be thankful when he hath received. Abdullah bin Shaddád, being about to die, sent for his son Mohammed and admonished him, saying, O my son, I see the Summoner of Death summoning me, and so I charge thee to fear Allah both in public and private, to praise Allah and to be soothfast in thy speech, for such praise bringeth increase of prosperity, and piety in itself is the best of provision for the next world; even as saith one of the poets: —

I see not happiness lies in gathering gold; ✿ The man most pious is man happiest:In truth the fear of God is best of stores, ✿ And God shall make the pious choicely blest."

Then quoth Nuzhat al-Zaman, "Let the King also give ear to these notes from the second section of the first chapter." He asked her what be they?; and she answered, "When Omar bin Abd al-Aziz286 succeeded to the Caliphate, he went to his household and laying hands on all that was in their hold, put it into the public treasury. So the Banu Umayyah flew for aid to his father's sister, Fátimah, daughter of Marwán, and she sent to him saying, I must needs speak to thee. So she came to him by night and, when he had made her alight from her beast and sit down, he said to her, O aunt, it is for thee to speak first, since thou hast something to ask: tell me then what thou wouldst with me. Replied she, O Commander of the Faithful, it is thine to speak first, for thy judgment perceiveth that which is hidden from the intelligence of others. Then said Omar, Of a verity Allah Almighty sent Mohammed as a blessing to some and a bane to others; and He elected for him those with him, and commissioned him as His Apostle and took him to Himself," – And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.

Now when it was the Sixty-fifth Night,

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Nuzhat al-Zaman continued thus, "Said Omar, Verily Allah commissioned as His Apostle Mohammed (upon whom be the benediction of Allah and His salvation!), for a blessing to some and a bane to others; and He elected for him those with him and took him to Himself, leaving the people a stream whereof they might drink. After him Abu Bakr287 the Truth-teller became Caliph and he left the river as it was, doing what was pleasing to Allah. Then arose Omar and worked a work and strove in holy war and strife whereof none might do the like. But when Othman arose to power he diverted a streamlet from the stream, and Mu'awiyah in his turn diverted from it several streamlets; and without ceasing in like manner, Yezid and the Banu Marwán such as Abd al-Malik and Walíd and Sulaymán288 drew away water from the stream, and the main course dried up, till rule devolved upon me, and now I am minded to restore the stream to its normal condition. When Fatimah heard this, she said, I came wishing only to speak and confer with thee, but if this be thy word, I have nothing to say to thee. Then she returned to the Ommiades and said to them, Now take ye the consequences of your act when ye allied yourselves by marriage with Omar bin Al-Khattab289." And it is also said that when Omar was about to die, he gathered his children round him, and Maslamah290 bin Abd al-Malik said to him, O Prince of the Faithful, how wilt thou leave thy children paupers and thou their protector? None can hinder thee in thy lifetime from giving them what will suffice them out of the treasury; and this indeed were better than leaving the good work to him who shall rule after thee. Omar looked at him with a look of wrath and wonder and presently replied, O Maslamah, I have defended them from this sin all the days of my life, and shall I make them miserable after my death? Of a truth my sons are like other men, either obedient to Almighty Allah who will prosper them, or disobedient and I will not help them in their disobedience. Know, O Maslamah, that I was present, even as thou, when such an one of the sons of Marwán was buried, and I fell asleep by him and saw him in a dream given over to one of the punishments of Allah, to whom belong Honour and Glory! This terrified me and made me tremble, and I vowed to Allah, that if ever I came to power, I would not do such deeds as the dead man had done. I have striven to fulfil this vow all the length of my life and I hope to die in the mercy of my Lord. Quoth Maslamah: – A certain man died and I was present at his burial, and when all was over I fell asleep and I saw him as a sleeper seeth a dream, walking in a garden of flowing waters clad in white clothes. He came up to me and said: O Maslamah, it is for the like of this that rulers should rule. Many are the instances of this kind, and quoth one of the men of authority, I used to milk the ewes in the Caliphate of Omar bin Abd al-Aziz, and one day I met a shepherd, among whose sheep I saw a wolf or wolves. I thought them to be dogs, for I had never before seen wolves; so I asked, What dost thou with these dogs? They are not dogs, but wolves, answered the shepherd. Quoth I, Can wolves be with sheep and not hurt them? Quoth he, When the head is whole, the body is whole.291 Omar bin Abd al-Aziz once preached from a pulpit of clay and, after praising and glorifying Allah Almighty, said three words as follows, O folk, make clean your inmost hearts, that your outward lives may be clean to your brethren, and abstain ye from the things of the world. Know that between us and Adam there is no one man alive among the dead. Dead are Abd al-Malik and those who forewent him, and Omar also shall die and those who forewent him. Asked Maslamah, O Commander of the Faithful, an we set a pillow behind thee, wilt thou lean on it a little while? But Omar answered, I fear lest it be a fault about my neck on Resurrection Day. Then he gasped with the death rattle and fell back in a faint; whereupon Fatimah cried out, saying, Ho, Maryam! Ho, Muzáhim!292 Ho, such an one! Look to this man! And she began to pour water on him weeping, till he revived from his swoon; and, seeing her in tears said to her, What causeth thee to weep, O Fatimah? She replied, O Commander of the Faithful, I saw thee lying prostrate before us and thought of thy prostration in death before Almighty Allah, of thy departure from the world and of thy separation from us. This is what made me weep. Answered he, Enough, O Fatimah, for indeed thou exceedest. Then he would have risen, but fell down and Fatimah strained him to her and said, "Thou art to me as my father and my mother, O Commander of the Faithful! We cannot speak to thee, all of us." Then quoth Nuzhat al-Zaman to her brother Sharrkan and the four Kazis, "Here endeth the second section of the first chapter." – And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.

Now when it was the Sixty-sixth Night,

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Nuzhat al-Zaman said to her brother Sharrkan and the four Kazis, "Here endeth the second section of the first chapter. And it so happened that Omar bin Abd al-Aziz wrote to the people of the festival at Meccah as follows: – I call Allah to witness, in the Holy Month, in the Holy City and on the day of the Greater Pilgrimage,293 that I am innocent of your oppression and of his wrongs that doth wrong you, in that I have neither commanded this nor purposed it, neither hath any report of aught thereof hitherto reached me, nor have I compassed any knowledge thereof; and I trust that a cause for pardon will be found in that none hath authority from me to oppress any man, for I shall assuredly be questioned concerning every one opprest. And if any of my officers swerve from the right and act otherwise than the Holy Book and the Traditions of the Apostle do authorise, obey him not so that he may return to the way of righteousness. He said also (Allah accept of him!), I do not wish to be relieved from death, because it is the supreme thing for which the True Believer is rewarded. Quoth one of authority, I went to the Prince of the Faithful, Omar bin Abd al-Aziz, who was then Caliph, and saw before him twelve dirhams, which he ordered for deposit in the public treasury. So I said to him, O Commander of the Faithful, thou impoverishest thy children and reducest them to beggary having nothing whereon to live. An thou wouldst appoint somewhat by will to them and to those who are poor of the people of thy house, it were well. Draw near to me, answered he: so I drew near to him and he said, Now as for thy saying, Thou beggarest thy children; provide for them and for the poor of thy household, it is without reason; for Allah of a truth will replace me to my children and to the poor of my house, and He will be their guardian. Verily, they are like other men; he who feareth Allah, right soon will Allah provide for him a happy issue, and he that is addicted to sins, I will not uphold him in his sin against Allah. Then he summoned his sons who numbered twelve, and when he beheld them his eyes dropped tears and presently he said to them, Your Father is between two things; either ye will be well to do, and your parent will enter the fire, or ye will be poor and your parent will enter Paradise; and your father's entry into Paradise is liefer to him than that ye should be well to do.294 So arise and go, Allah be your helper, for to Him I commit your affair! Khálid bin Safwán295 said, Yúsuf bin Omar296 accompanied me to Hishám bin Abd al-Malik,297 and as I met him he was coming forth with his kinsmen and attendants. He alighted and a tent was pitched for him. When the people had taken their seats, I came up to the side of the carpet whereon he sat reclining and looked at him; and, waiting till my eyes met his eyes, bespoke him thus, May Allah fulfil His bounty to thee, O Commander of the Faithful, I have an admonition for thee, which hath come down to us from the history of the Kings preceding thee! At this, he sat up whenas he had been reclining and said to me, Bring what thou hast, O son of Safwan! Quoth I, O Commander of the Faithful, one of the Kings before thee went forth in a time before this thy time, to this very country and said to his companions, Saw ye ever any state like mine and say me, hath such case been given to any man even as it hath been given unto me? Now there was with him a man of those who survive to bear testimony to Truth; upholders of the Right and wayfarers in its highway, and he said to him, O King, thou askest of a grave matter. Wilt thou give me leave to answer? Yes, replied the King, and the other said, Dost thou judge thy present state to be short-lasting or everlasting? It is temporary, replied the King. How then, rejoined the man, do I see thee exulting in that which thou wilt enjoy but a little while and whereof thou wilt be questioned for a long while, and for the rendering an account whereof thou shalt be as a pledge which is pawned? Quoth the King, Whither shall I flee and what must I seek for me? That thou abide in thy kingship, replied the other, or else robe thee in rags298 and apply thyself to obey Almighty Allah thy Lord until thine appointed hour. I will come to thee again at daybreak. Khalid bin Safwan further relates that the man knocked at the door at dawn and behold, the King had put off his crown and resolved to become an anchorite, for the stress of his exhortation. When Hishám bin Abd al-Malik heard this, he wept till his beard was wet; and, bidding his rich apparel be put off, shut himself up in his palace. Then the grandees and dependants came to Khalid and said, What is this thou hast done with the Commander of the Faithful? Thou hast troubled his pleasure and disturbed his life!" Then quoth Nuzhat al-Zaman, addressing herself to Sharrkan, "How many instances of admonition are there not in this chapter! Of a truth I cannot report all appertaining to this head in a single sitting" – And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.

Now when it was the Sixty-seventh Night,

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Nuzhat al-Zaman continued, speaking to Sharrkan, "Know, O King, that in this chapter be so many instances of admonition that of a truth I cannot report all appertaining to this head in a single sitting but, with length of days, O King of the age, all will be well." Then said the Kazis, "O King, of a truth this damsel is the wonder of the world, and of our age the unique pearl! Never heard we her like in the length of time or in the length of our lives." And they called down blessings on the King and went away. Then Sharrkan turned to his attendants and said, "Begin ye to prepare the marriage festival and make ready food of all kinds." So they forthright did his bidding as regards the viands, and he commanded the wives of the Emirs and Wazirs and Grandees depart not until the time of the wedding-banquet and of the unveiling of the bride. Hardly came the period of afternoon-prayer when the tables were spread with whatso heart can desire or eye can delight in of roast meats and geese and fowls; and the subjects ate till they were satisfied. Moreover, Sharrkan had sent for all the singing-women of Damascus and they were present, together with every slave-girl of the King and of the notables who knew how to sing. And they went up to the palace in one body. When the evening came and darkness starkened they lighted candles, right and left, from the gate of the citadel to that of the palace; and the Emirs and Wazirs and Grandees marched past before King Sharrkan, whilst the singers and the tire-women took the damsel to dress and adorn her, but found she needed no adornment. Meantime King Sharrkan went to the Hammam and coming out, sat down on his seat of estate, whilst they paraded the bride before him in seven different dresses: after which they eased her of the weight of her raiment and ornaments and gave such injunctions as are enjoined upon virgins on their wedding-nights. Then Sharrkan went in unto her and took her maidenhead;299 and she at once conceived by him and, when she announced it, he rejoiced with exceeding joy and commanded the savants to record the date of her conception. On the morrow he went forth and seated himself on his throne, and the high officers came in to him and gave him joy. Then he called his private secretary and bade him write a letter to his father, King Omar bin al-Nu'uman, saying that he had bought him a damsel, who excels in learning and good breeding and who is mistress of all kinds of knowledge. Moreover he wrote, "There is no help but that I send her to Baghdad to visit my brother Zau al-Makan and my sister Nuzhat al-Zaman. I have set her free and married her and she hath conceived by me." And he went on to praise her wit and salute his brother and sister together with the Wazir Dandan and all the Emirs. Then he sealed the letter and despatched it to his father by a post-courier who was absent a whole month, after which time he returned with the answer and presented it in the presence. Sharrkan took it and read as follows, "After the usual Bismillah, this is from the afflicted distracted man, from him who hath lost his children and home by bane and ban, King Omar bin al-Nu'uman, to his son Sharrkan. Know that, since thy departure from me, the place is become contracted upon me, so that no longer I have power of patience nor can I keep my secret: and the cause thereof is as follows. It chanced that when I went forth to hunt and course Zau al-Makan sought my leave to fare Hijaz-wards, but I, fearing for him the shifts of fortune, forbade him therefrom until the next year or the year after. My absence while sporting and hunting endured for a whole month" – And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.

Now when it was the Sixty-eighth Night,

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that King Omar bin al-Nu'uman wrote in his letter, "My absence while sporting and hunting endured for a whole month, and when I returned I found that thy brother and sister had taken somewhat of money and had set out with the pilgrim-caravan for pilgrimage by stealth. When I knew this, the wide world narrowed on me, O my son! but I awaited the return of the caravan, hoping that haply they would come back with it. Accordingly, when the palmers appeared I asked concerning the twain, but they could give me no news of them; so I donned mourning for them, being heavy at heart, and in sleep I have no part and I am drowned in the tears of my eyes." Then he wrote in verse: —

That pair in image quits me not one single hour, ✿ Whom in my heart's most honourable place I keep:Sans hope of their return I would not live one hour, ✿ Without my dreams of them I ne'er would stretch me in sleep.

The letter went on, "And after the usual salutations to thee and thine, I command thee neglect no manner of seeking news of them, for indeed this is a shame to us." When Sharrkan read the letter, he felt grief for his father and joy for the loss of his brother and sister. Then he took the missive and went in with it to Nuzhat al-Zaman who knew not that he was her brother, nor he that she was his sister, albeit he often visited her both by night and by day, till the months were accomplished and she sat down on the stool of delivery. Allah made the child-birth easy to her and she bare a daughter, whereupon she sent for Sharrkan and seeing him she said to him, "This is thy daughter: name her as thou wilt." Quoth he, "It is usual to name children on the seventh day after birth."300 Then he bent over the child to kiss it and he saw, hung about its neck, a jewel, which he knew at once for one of those which Princess Abrizah had brought from the land of the Greeks. Now when he saw the jewel hanging from his babe's neck he recognised it right well, his senses fled and wrath seized on him; his eyes rolled in rage and he looked at Nuzhat al-Zaman and said to her, "Whence hadst thou this jewel, O slave girl?" When she heard this from Sharrkan she replied, "I am thy lady, and the lady of all in thy palace! Art thou not ashamed to say to me, Slave-girl? I am a Queen, daughter of King Omar bin al-Nu'uman." Hearing this, he was seized with trembling and hung his head earthwards, – And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.

Now when it was the Sixty-ninth Night,

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious king, that when Sharrkan heard these words, his heart fluttered and his colour waxed yellow and he was seized with trembling and he hung his head earthwards, for he knew that she was his sister by the same father. Then he lost his senses; and, when he revived, he abode in amazement, but did not discover his identity to her and asked, "O my lady, say, art thou in sooth the daughter of King Omar bin al-Nu'uman?" "Yes," answered she; and he continued, "Tell me the cause of thy leaving thy sire and of thy being sold for a slave." So she related to him all that had befallen her from beginning to end, how she had left her brother sick in the Sanctified City, Jerusalem, and how the Badawi had kidnapped her and had sold her to the trader. When Sharrkan heard this, he was certified of her being his sister on the sword-side and said to himself, "How can I have my sister to wife? By Allah, needs must I marry her to one of my chamberlains; and, if the thing get wind, I will declare that I divorced her before consummation and married her to my Chief Chamberlain." Then he raised his head and sighing said, "O Nuzhat al-Zaman, thou art my very sister and I cry: – I take refuge with Allah from this sin whereinto we have fallen, for I am Sharrkan, son of Omar bin al-Nu'uman." She looked at him and knew he spoke the truth; and, becoming as one demented, she wept and buffetted her face, exclaiming, "There is no Majesty and there is no Might save in Allah! Verily have we fallen into mortal sin!301 What shall I do and what shall I say to my father and my mother when they ask me, Whence hadst thou thy daughter?" Quoth Sharrkan, "It were meetest that I marry thee to my Chamberlain and let thee bring up my daughter in his house, that none may know thou be my sister. This hath befallen us from Almighty Allah for a purpose of his own, and nothing shall cover us but thy marriage with this Chamberlain, ere any know." Then he fell to comforting her and kissing her head and she asked him, "What wilt thou call the girl?" "Call her Kuzia-Fakan,"302 answered he. Then he gave the mother in marriage to the Chief Chamberlain, and transferred her to his house with the child, which they reared on the laps of the slave-girls, and fed with milk and dosed with powders. Now all this occurred whilst the brother, Zau al-Makan, still tarried with the Fireman at Damascus. One day there came to King Sharrkan a courier from his father, with a letter which he took and read and found therein, "After the Bismillah know, O beloved King, that I am afflicted with sore affliction for the loss of my children: sleep ever faileth me and wakefulness ever assaileth me. I send thee this letter that, as soon as thou receivest it, thou make ready the monies and the tribute, and send them to us, together with the damsel whom thou hast bought and taken to wife; for I long to see her and hear her discourse; more especially because there hath come to us from Roum-land an old woman of saintly bearing and with her be five damsels, high-bosomed virgins, endowed with knowledge and good-breeding and all arts and sciences befitting mortals to know; and indeed tongue faileth me to describe this old woman and these who with her wend; for of a truth they are compendiums of perfections in learning and accomplishments. As soon as I saw them I loved them, and I wished to have them in my palace and in the compass of my hand; for none of the Kings owneth the like of them; so I asked the old woman their price and she answered: – I will not sell them but for the tribute of Damascus. And I, by Allah, did not hold this price exorbitant, indeed it is but little, for each one of them is worth the whole valuation. So I agreed to that and took them into my palace, and they remain in my possession. Wherefore do thou forward the tribute to us that the woman may return to her own country; and send to us the damsel to the end that she may dispute with them before the doctors; and, if she prevail over them, I will return her to thee accompanied by the tribute of Baghdad." – And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.