A plain and literal translation of the Arabian nights entertainments, now entituled The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, Volume 4 (of 17). Richard Francis Burton
“Avaunt, O foulest of Arabs!” and one of them smote him with a sword upon the shoulder, that it issued shining from the tendons of the throat, and he also fell down dead. (And all this while Ala al-Din stood looking on.) Then the Badawin surrounded and charged the caravan from every side and slew all Ala al-Din’s company without sparing a man: after which they loaded the mules with the spoil and made off. Quoth Ala al-Din to himself, “Nothing will slay thee save thy mule and thy dress!”; so he arose and put off his gown and threw it over the back of a mule, remaining in his shirt and bag-trousers only; after which he looked towards the tent-door and, seeing there a pool of gore flowing from the slaughtered, wallowed in it with his remaining clothes till he was as a slain man drowned in his own blood. Thus it fared with him; but as regards the Shaykh of the wild Arabs, Ajlan, he said to his banditti, “O Arabs, was this caravan bound from Egypt for Baghdad or from Baghdad for Egypt?” – And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King that when the Badawi asked his banditti, “O Arabs, was this caravan bound from Egypt for Baghdad or from Baghdad for Egypt?”; they answered, “’Twas bound from Egypt for Baghdad;” and he said, “Return ye to the slain, for methinks the owner of this caravan is not dead.” So they turned back to the slain and fell to prodding and slashing them with lance and sword till they came to Ala al-Din, who had thrown himself down among the corpses. And when they came to him, quoth they, “Thou dost but feign thyself dead, but we will make an end of thee,” and one of the Badawin levelled his javelin and would have plunged it into his breast when he cried out, “Save me, O my lord Abd al-Kadir, O Saint of Gilan!” and behold, he saw a hand turn the lance away from his breast to that of Kamal al-Din the cameleer, so that it pierced him and spared himself.49 Then the Arabs made off; and, when Ala al-Din saw that the birds were flown with their god-send, he sat up and finding no one, rose and set off running; but, behold Abu Náib the Badawi looked back and said to his troop, “I see somewhat moving afar off, O Arabs!” So one of the bandits turned back and, spying Ala al-Din running, called out to him, saying, “Flight shall not forward thee and we after thee;” and he smote his mare with his heel and she hastened after him. Then Ala al-Din seeing before him a watering tank and a cistern beside it, climbed up into a niche in the cistern and, stretching himself at full length, feigned to be asleep and said, “O gracious Protector, cover me with the veil of Thy protection which may not be torn away!” And lo! the Badawi came up to the cistern and, standing in his stirrup-irons put out his hand to lay hold of Ala al-Din; but he said, “O my lady Nafísah50! Now is thy time!” And behold, a scorpion stung the Badawi in the palm and he cried out, saying, “Help, O Arabs! I am stung;” and he alighted from his mare’s back. So his comrades came up to him and mounted him again, asking, “What hath befallen thee?” whereto he answered, “A young scorpion51 stung me.” So they departed, with the caravan. Such was their case; but as regards Ala al-Din, he tarried in the niche, and Mahmud of Balkh bade load his beasts and fared forwards till he came to the Lion’s Copse where he found Ala al-Din’s attendants all lying slain. At this he rejoiced and went on till he reached the cistern and the reservoir. Now his mule was athirst and turned aside to drink, but she saw Ala al-Din’s shadow in the water and shied and started; whereupon Mahmud raised his eyes and, seeing Ala al-Din lying in the niche, stripped to his shirt and bag-trousers, said to him, “What man this deed to thee hath dight and left thee in this evil plight?” Answered Ala al-Din, “The Arabs,” and Mahmud said, “O my son, the mules and the baggage were thy ransom; so do thou comfort thyself with his saying who said: —
If thereby man can save his head from death, ✿ His good is worth him but a slice of nail!
But now, O my son, come down and fear no hurt.” Thereupon he descended from the cistern-niche and Mahmud mounted him on a mule, and they fared on till they reached Baghdad, where he brought him to his own house and carried him to the bath, saying to him, “The goods and money were the ransom of thy life, O my son; but, if thou wilt hearken to me, I will give thee the worth of that thou hast lost, twice told.” When he came out of the bath, Mahmud carried him into a saloon decorated with gold with four raised floors, and bade them bring a tray with all manner of meats. So they ate and drank and Mahmud bent towards Ala al-Din to snatch a kiss from him; but he received it upon the palm of his hand and said, “What, dost thou persist in thy evil designs upon me? Did I not tell thee that, were I wont to sell this merchandise to other than thee for gold, I would sell it thee for silver?” Quoth Mahmud, “I will give thee neither merchandise nor mule nor clothes save at this price; for I am gone mad for love of thee, and bless him who said: —
Told us, ascribing to his Shaykhs, our Shaykh ✿ Abú Bilál, these words they wont to utter:52
Unhealed the lover wones of love desire, ✿ By kiss and clip; his only cure’s to futter!”
Ala al-Din replied, “Of a truth this may never be, take back thy dress and thy mule and open the door that I may go out.” So he opened the door, and Ala al-Din fared forth and walked on, with the dogs barking at his heels, and he went forwards through the dark when behold, he saw the door of a mosque standing open and, entering the vestibule, there took shelter and concealment; and suddenly a light approached him and on examining it he saw that it came from a pair of lanthorns borne by two slaves before two merchants. Now one was an old man of comely face and the other a youth; and he heard the younger say to the elder, “O my uncle, I conjure thee by Allah, give me back my cousin!” The old man replied, “Did I not forbid thee, many a time, when the oath of divorce was always in thy mouth, as it were Holy Writ?” Then he turned to his right and, seeing Ala al-Din as he were a slice of the full moon, said to him, “Peace be with thee! who art thou, O my son?” Quoth he, returning the salutation of peace, “I am Ala al-Din, son of Shams al-Din, Consul of the merchants for Egypt. I besought my father for merchandise; so he packed me fifty loads of stuffs and goods,” – And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Ala al-Din continued, “So he packed me fifty loads of goods and gave me ten thousand dinars, wherewith I set out for Baghdad; but when I reached the Lion’s Copse, the wild Arabs came out against me and took all my goods and monies. So I entered the city knowing not where to pass the night and, seeing this place, I took shelter here.” Quoth the old man, “O my son, what sayest thou to my giving thee a thousand dinars and a suit of clothes and a mule worth other two thousand?” Ala al-Din asked, “To what end wilt thou give me these things, O my uncle?” and the other answered, “This young man who accompanieth me, is the son of my brother and an only son; and I have a daughter called Zubaydah53 the lutist, an only child who is a model of beauty and loveliness, so I married her to him. Now he loveth her, but she loatheth him; and when he chanced to take an oath of triple divorcement and broke it, forthright she left him. Whereupon he egged on all the folk to intercede with me to restore her to him; but I told him that this could not lawfully be save by an intermediate marriage, and we have agreed to make some stranger the intermediary54 in order that none may taunt and shame him with this affair. So, as thou art a stranger, come with us and we will marry thee to her; thou shalt lie with her to-night and on the morrow divorce her and we will give thee what I said.” Quoth Ala al-Din to himself, “By Allah, to bide the night with a bride on a bed in a house is far better than sleeping in the streets and vestibules!” So he went with them to the Kazi whose heart, as soon as he saw Ala al-Din, was moved to love him, and who said to the old man, “What is your will?” He replied, “We wish to make this young man an intermediary husband for my daughter; but we will write a bond against him binding him to pay down by way of marriage-settlement ten thousand gold pieces. Now if after passing the night with her he divorce her in the morning, we will give him a mule and dress each worth a thousand dinars, and a third thousand of ready money; but if he divorce her not, he shall pay down the ten thousand dinars according to contract.” So they agreed to
These “Kirámát” or Saints’ miracles, which Spiritualists will readily accept, are recorded in vast numbers. Most men have half a dozen to tell, each of his “Pír” or patron, including the Istidráj or prodigy of chastisement (Dabistan, iii. 274).
Great-grand-daughter of the Imam Hasan, buried in Cairo and famed for “Kirámát.” Her father, governor of Al-Medinah, was imprisoned by Al-Mansur and restored to power by Al-Mahdi. She was married to a son of the Imam Ja’afar al-Sadik and lived a life of devotion in Cairo, dying in A.H. 218 = 824. The corpse of the Imam al-Shafi’i was carried to her house, now her mosque and mausoleum: it stood in the Darb al-Sabúa which formerly divided Old from New Cairo and is now one of the latter’s suburbs. Lane (M. E. chapt. x.) gives her name but little more. The mention of her shows that the writer of the tale or the copyist was a Cairene: Abd al-Kadir is world-known: not so the “Sitt.”
Arab. “Farkh akrab” for Ukayrib, a vulgarism.
The usual Egyptian irreverence: he relates his abomination as if it were a Hadis or Tradition of the Prophet with due ascription.
A popular name, dim. of Zubdah, cream, fresh butter, “creamkin.”
Arab. “Mustahall,” “Mustahill” and vulg. “Muhallil” (= one who renders lawful). It means a man hired for the purpose who marries