Classical Arabic Stories Read online

  “ ‘Once, it is said, a fox called Zalim [meaning “oppressor”] had a burrow in which he lived, and that pleased him. One day he went out in search of food and returned to find that a snake had taken the burrow as a hole for itself. He waited for it to come out, but it did not do so, and he realized it had taken the burrow as its home. Since he could not live with the snake, he went in search of a refuge for himself and found, at last, a good-looking burrow in a well-fortified spot with dense trees and flowing water. He liked this burrow, and he was told, on inquiry, that it belonged to another fox called Mufawwad, who had inherited it from his father. Zalim called to him, and the other came out to meet him, welcoming him and inviting him to enter his burrow. When asked about his affairs, Zalim told him of the snake, and Mufawwad felt a deep compassion for him. “Death,” he said, “is better than living in shame. I propose you take me to your old home, which was usurped from you, and let me see it. Then we will find some way of regaining it for you.”

  “ ‘They went together to the old burrow, and Mufawwad, having gazed at it, told Zalim:

  “ ‘ “Come back with me and spend the night at my home, and let me devise some means of resolving this.”

  “ ‘They did so, and Mufawwad spent the night in thought, while Zalim, for his part, was admiring Mufawwad’s home, noting its qualities, its fortification, and its airiness, till at last he began to covet it. He set himself to devising a ruse to usurp it from Mufawwad and send him into exile.

  “ ‘In the morning, Mufawwad told Zalim:

  “ ‘ “I saw that your old burrow is far from water and trees. Why not abandon it and let me help you dig out another burrow in this desirable place?”

  “ ‘ “That could never be,” Zalim said. “My soul would perish from longing for my old home.”

  “ ‘When Mufawwad heard this, of the love he claimed to feel for his old home, he said:

  “ ‘ “Let us go, today, and fetch some wood and make it into two bundles. Then, when night falls, let us go to some of those tents and take some fire, then carry the wood and the firebrand to your old home; then let us put the two bundles in the doorway and light them. If the snake comes out, it will be burned; and if it stays inside, it will choke to death.”

  “ ‘ “A fine idea,” Zalim said.

  “ ‘They went and fetched some wood, made it into two bundles, and then, when night fell, Mufawwad went to the edge of the tents and took a brand. [Meanwhile] Zalim took one of the two bundles and hid it, then dragged the other to the entrance of Mufawwad’s house and blocked it [with himself inside]—thinking that, when Mufawwad came to his burrow, he would not be able to enter and would have to find another home for himself.

  “ ‘Zalim had seen some food in Mufawwad’s burrow, which Mufawwad had stored for himself. If, Zalim thought, Mufawwad should come with the firebrand and lay siege to him in the burrow, he could live on this store of food. His greed had quite blinded him to the flaw in his scheme.

  “ ‘When Mufawwad came with the firebrand and did not find Zalim, he thought the other must have picked up one of the bundles, to be of assistance, and gone on ahead to his old burrow, where the snake was now living. He himself should, he decided, hurry to catch up with him and help carry the wood.

  “ ‘He placed the firebrand next to the [other bundle of] wood, not realizing, in the pitch-darkness, that it was there, totally blocking the entrance. No sooner had he begun to walk from the burrow than the fire caught the wood, making a very thick smoke. Seeing the wood ablaze, he realized Zalim’s ruse and knew Zalim was being burned inside the burrow. “This,” he said to himself, “comes to him who seeks his own death through crooked ways.”

  “ ‘When the fire had died down, Mufawwad entered his burrow, brought out Zalim’s body, and flung it away, then returned to living in his burrow.

  “ ‘This fable I have related to you because it is like what ʿAmr ibn Saʿid has done, in his oppression and treason, to ʿAbd al-Malik. It matches the fox’s trick, in taking his kingdom and fortifying it against him.’

  “When ʿAbd al-Malik heard the old man’s wise words, he said:

  “ ‘May God reward you. I should like to see you again at a time we arrange.

  Tell me where you live, so I can meet with you again.’

  “ ‘And what is it,’ the old man asked, ‘that you want from this?’

  “ ‘This,’ ʿAbd al-Malik said, ‘is so I can reward you for your advice.’

  “ ‘I have made a covenant with God,’ the old man said, ‘never to accept any gift from a miserly man.’

  “ ‘And how do you know I am miserly?’ ʿAbd al-Malik asked.

  “ ‘Because you have held back my reward when you could have given it at once. Why do you not reward me [at once] with what you have?’

  “ ‘I swear to you,’ ʿAbd al-Malik said, ‘it was mere thoughtlessness.’ With that he took off his sword, telling the man: ‘Accept this from me and take good care of it. Its value is twenty thousand dirhams.’

  “ ‘I will not,’ the old man said ‘accept any reward from a thoughtless man. Leave me to my God, Who is never miserly and never thoughtless. He will suffice for me.’

  “These words of the old man aroused great respect in ʿAbd al-Malik, and he recognized his deep piety. ‘I am ʿAbd al-Malik,’ he told him. ‘Let me know, I entreat you, of anything you need.’

  “ ‘I, too, am ʿAbd al-Malik.4 Let us raise our petitions together, to Him Whose servants we are.’

  “ ʿAbd al-Malik went on and did as the old man had advised him. Success attended him, and he won the victory over his enemies.”

  When al-Walid heard what the old man told him, the advice pleased him, and he asked where he had learned it. He was ignorant of the old man’s lineage, and, feeling ashamed, he said:

  “He who lacks people like you among his subjects is lost indeed.”

  “Prince of the Faithful,” the old man answered, “kings know only those who seek them and stick close to their doors.”

  “You are right,” al-Walid answered. Then he ordered an immediate reward to be given him, and told him to come to him often, so that he could profit from his knowledge and wisdom.

  From Ibn Hujja ʾl-Hamawi, Thamarat al-Awraq (Fruits of Writing), 174; in Qisas al-ʿArab (Stories of the Arabs), vol. 4.

  1. Al-Walid ibn Yazid was an Umayyad caliph for around a year following the death of his uncle, Hisham ibn ʿAbd al-Malik, in 125 / 743. He was killed in the rebellions against him and was succeeded (even more briefly) by the Yazid ibn al-Walid mentioned here.

  2. The Umayyad caliph ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Marwan reigned from 65 / 685 to 86 / 705. His campaign against the anticaliph Ibn al-Zubair, a militant opponent of the Umayyad dynasty, resulted in the latter’s death in 73 / 692. In contrast to al-Walid ibn Yazid, ʿAbd al-Malik enjoyed a long and notably successful reign.

  3. The acidic red seeds of the sumac are dried and ground for use as a condiment.

  4. “ʿAbd al-Malik” means “servant of the king.” The old man uses king to mean God, the King of all mankind.

  42

  Consequences of Oppression

  I was told this story by Muhammad ibn ʿAbdullah al-Ahwazi, who heard it from Abu ʾl-Fadl al-Balkhi, who said it had been reported to him by the qadi of Balkh, al-Khalil ibn Ahmad al-Sijistani:

  A battalion commander was sent to our region of Sijistan, with a huge army of soldiers, by Nasr ibn Ahmad, ruler of Khorasan. He took control of Sijistan, and his aides and Khorasani troops began plundering the country. They even molested women in the streets.

  People appealed to me and to the legal faqih, putting their grievances to us. We went with them to the army commander—the faqih and I, along with a group of notables—and were given an audience. The faqih, who spoke first, counseled the commander and made it clear to him what was happening.

  “My dear sheikh,” the commander said, “how can you be so naive? I have with me here thirty thousand soldiers who’ve left their women behind in Bukh
ara. What are they supposed to do when lust and desire swell them up? Do you expect them to post their stiff members home to their wives? Aren’t they better off putting them in the women here when they feel like it? I’m not going to inflame my men, and set them against me, by denying them this kind of thing. That’s all. You can go.”

  We left accordingly. The crowds, who were waiting for us eagerly, asked:

  “What did the prince say?”

  The faqih repeated what the commander had said, word for word, to the fury of the crowds.

  “Those arguments of his are depraved!” they yelled. “He seems to be telling the soldiers to be more debauched than ever. This is a breach of Almighty God’s commandments. Do we have the right to oppose him for those words of his?”

  “Yes,” the faqih replied. “You are justified in opposing him for what he said.”

  “Will you give us permission to do it?” they asked.

  “You have permission,” the faqih answered.

  The crowds were inspired and full of spirit; and, by the time we had

  said our early evening prayers, all the Khorasanis had vanished from our town. A great throng of people had gathered, then thrown themselves on the Khorasanis, slaughtering them in vast numbers. The crowd attacked the commander’s house, too, and looted it. They wanted his head, but he mounted his horse and fled in panic with those of his troops who were able to escape.

  That was the last time we had Khorasani soldiers in our region.

  From Abu ʿAli ʾl-Muhassin al-Tanukhi, Nishwar al-Muhadara wa Akhbar al-Mudhakara (Snippets of Conversation and Memorable Tales), vol. 3.

  43

  Avoiding a Conflict

  ʿAmr ibn Maʿdi Kareb said:

  I rode out one day and saw, in one of the quarters, a tethered mare and a spear wedged nearby; and I saw its rider in a hollow [i.e., relieving himself].

  “Beware,” I told him. “I intend to kill you.”

  “And who are you?” he asked.

  “I’m the son of Maʿdi Kareb,” I told him.

  “Abu Thaur,” he told me, “you’re not playing fair. You’re mounted on your horse and I’m here in a hollow. Give me your pledge you’ll make no attempt to kill me till I’m mounted on my horse and can take measures to defend myself.”

  I gave him my pledge not to kill him till he was mounted on his horse and could defend himself. He came out from the hollow where he was, put on his sword, then sat down.

  “What’s this?” I asked him.

  “I have no intention,” he said, “of mounting my horse and fighting with you. You know best if you should betray your pledge.”

  I left him and went off. And this was the most skilful trick I ever heard of.

  From Ibn al-Jawzi, Akhbar al-Zurraf wa ʾl-Mutamajinin (Anecdotes of Humorists and Jesters), Damascus, A.H. 1347.

  44

  The Byzantine Rulers and the Muslim Prisoners

  I was told this story by Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn ʿAbd al-Rahman, who heard it from Mukarram ibn Bakran, who said it had been reported to him by Abu Yahya, son of the judge Ibn Mukarram:

  I was one of the counselors to the vizier Abu ʾl-Hassan ʿAli ibn ʿIsa, who would often seek my advice. One day I entered his office to find him looking quite distressed, and I suspected he must have received some reprimand from Caliph al-Muqtadir.1 Hinting along those lines, I asked him what the matter was.

  “That isn’t the cause of my anxiety,” he said. “What concerns me is something far more serious.”

  “Would you tell me about it?” I asked. “I might perhaps have something to advise.”

  “Very well,” he said. “Our agent on the frontiers has sent me a report about Muslim prisoners in the Byzantine lands. Until very recently they were well and humanely treated. Then, a short while back, two young boys assumed power and embarked on a policy of repression, starvation, deprivation, and rigor against our Muslim brothers, even attempting to convert them to Christianity by force. Our brothers now find themselves in a wretched, intolerable state, and we can do very little to help them. We have no power over those lands. I’ve been striving, vainly, to persuade the caliph to release funds and prepare our armies to conquer Constantinople.”

  “Grand vizier,” I said, “I suggest a different means of seeing this problem resolved.”

  “And what’s that, may God bless your soul?”

  “The Christians,” I said, “have a senior leader in Antioch, whom they call the Patriarch, and another in Bait al-Maqdis [Jerusalem], called the Bishop. Both of them have influence over the Byzantine ruler. They can even install a ruler or dethrone him. No monarch may be enthroned without their blessing, and that only after he has pledged loyalty, submission, and respect to them. The Byzantines believe anyone defying either of these two heads should be declared a blasphemous offender. The two cities are in our dominion, and the two religious leaders among our subjects. Will the vizier then write to the rulers of these two provinces, asking them to send these powerful heads, so we can tell them how things stand with our prisoners of war? It is not, they will be told, the proper way of good kings to treat prisoners in this manner. We must make it clear to them that they will be held responsible for the misconduct of the Byzantine rulers. Then, let us see how they handle the matter.”

  The vizier summoned his scribe and dictated two letters to this effect, instructing him to see them dispatched at once.

  “You’ve greatly relieved my mind,” he said. And with that I took my leave of him.

  Two months and a few days later, when this conversation had slipped from my mind, a messenger arrived with instructions to go to the vizier. I rode to him on my horse, anxious and unaware of the reason for the summons. When I entered his office, he received me warmly.

  “Welcome to my dear counselor!” he said. “May God reward you well for all you did on behalf of your religion, yourself, and myself.”

  “What is this?” I asked, surprised. “Please tell me.”

  “Your advice about our prisoners was providential! There’s the messenger of our ruler, bearing the good news.” He indicated a man among his audience. “Tell us what happened,” he said.

  “Our ruler,” the man said, “sent me to Constantinople, with a messenger carrying letters from the Patriarch and the Bishop to the young Byzantine rulers. And here is what they said in the two letters:

  “ ‘You have contravened the teachings of Christ by your misdeeds and your mishandling of the prisoners. This you should not do, since it is forbidden and unlawful. It stands against the way Christ has commanded us to act.’ ” (Here the letter cited a number of Christian directives.) “ ‘You must refrain from such action, begin treating them with humanity and kindness, and cease your attempts to force them to Christianity. Otherwise we shall denounce you, depose you from your seats of authority, and excommunicate you.’

  “I moved on with the messenger till we reached Constantinople. I was not permitted to see the two young rulers, who had long discussions with the messenger in private. Then, after a few days, they summoned me. I greeted them, and their interpreter advised me of their response. The young rulers, he said, wished to inform the ruler of the Arabs that what he had heard about the prisoners was the merest lie and utter fabrication. ‘They will,’ the man continued, ‘shortly allow you entry to the courtyards, to see for yourself that the conditions of your prisoners are not as they were portrayed to you. Contrary to what you have been told, you will hear them expressing gratitude for our treatment of them.’

  “I was taken to the courtyard, where I saw the prisoners. Their faces were very pale, as though they had just been brought out from their graves. Written on those faces was the story of the agony and anguish they had been enduring before our arrival. They seemed in a far better state now, their appearance evidently marked by a sudden recent comfort. Inspecting their clothes, I saw they were all brand-new. I realized then that I had been kept away from the prisoners until their clothes had been changed and their condition improved.<
br />
  “ ‘We are thankful,’ the prisoners said, ‘to the two rulers, may God bestow His blessings on them.’ Then they turned to me, and went on: ‘Our state was as bad as it was reported to you but has been alleviated and eased since you arrived in this country. How did you know about us? Who told you of the state we were in? Who sent you to see to our welfare?’

  “ ‘The office of the grand vizier,’ I said, ‘has recently fallen upon ʿAli ibn ʿIsa, and he quickly came to know of your state. Accordingly, he made immediate contact with the religious heads of Antioch and Bait al-Maqdis, and they, in turn, sent their emissaries to Baghdad. And I joined these last on their way to Constantinople.’

  “The prisoners began applauding the vizier and heaping praises on him, asking Almighty God to bestow His blessings and grace upon him.

  “Then I heard a passionate cry from one of the women prisoners:

  “ ‘ ʿAli ibn ʿIsa, Almighty God will confer good fortune and blessings on you for all your favors to us!’

  “I returned to Baghdad, and, when ʿAli ibn ʿIsa heard of all this from me, he was so moved he began to weep. He knelt and prayed, praising Almighty God. Then he rewarded the emissary of the Patriarch and the Bishop, and sent him back.”

  “Grand vizier,” I said, “you have often complained to me of the burden of your duties at the ministry, and expressed the wish to leave the office for fear of any grave mistakes you might make while carrying out your functions. Suppose you were now living quietly at home? Could you have earned all these heavenly rewards, even if you had spent most of your fortune? So, don’t think any longer of stepping down, and don’t carp at your responsibilities. May God give you the power to do more such noble deeds. So you will please Him and enjoy His blessing in the life to come, just as He has honored you with this prime ministry.”

  From Abu ʿAli ʾl-Muhassin al-Tanukhi, Nishwar al-Muhadara wa Akhbar al-Mudhakara(Snippets of Conversation and Memorable Tales), vol. 1.