The Book of the Thousand and One Nights

J.C. Mardrus, E.P. Mathers, J.C. Mardrus, E.P. Mathers

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2013
• Print ISBN: 9780415045438
• eBook ISBN: 9781135854751
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Literature
• Subtopic: Literary Criticism
• Index: Literature

First published in 1986. An unabashed and accurate translation of the wonderful and enchanting tales of the Arabian Nights, complete in four volumes.

Windows on the Garden of History

IT is related that there was once a youth in the city of Alexandria, who inherited great possessions and riches from his father in well-watered fields and solid buildings. As he was born in benediction, with a right spirit and a knowledge of the Holy Book, which bids a generosity of alms to the people of Allhāh, he hesitated for a long time as to the best use which he might make of his inheritance. At length, in his perplexity, he decided to consult a venerable sheikh who had been a friend of his father. He displayed his scruples and hesitations to the old man, who reflected for an hour after hearing them, and then said: ‘O son of Abd al-Rahman—whom may Allāh bless—to give gold and silver to the needy with full hands is an action which finds great favour in the sight of God. But such merit is possible to any rich man. It is not necessary to have great virtue in order to give away the surplus of one's goods. There is another generosity, the savour of which is more agreeable to the Master of All, and that is the generosity of the intellect. He who can scatter the benefits of his intelligence upon those who grope in darkness has the highest merit of all in the accounts of heaven. Only a cultivated mind is capable of such an alms, and a cultivated mind is only possible to one who has read and meditated deeply. Enrich your mind, O son of my old friend, and let your alms-giving lie in that direction. Such is my counsel under Allāh!’

The rich youth wished to ask for further explanation, but the sheikh would say no more. Therefore he was forced to retire, and inspiration led him to the market of the booksellers. He assembled all the merchants (some of them, indeed, had books belonging to the library which the Christians burnt when Amr ibn al-As entered Alexandria) and bade them carry to his house all the most precious volumes in their possession. He paid them what they asked, without bargaining or hesitation, but his eagerness was not satisfied. He sent messengers to Cairo, Damascus, Baghdad, Persia, Morocco and India, and even among the lands of the Christians, to purchase at any price the best-reputed books of all these peoples. When his messengers returned, loaded with bales of precious manuscripts, the young man had these well arranged in the presses of a magnificent dome which he had built for their reception. Above the principal entrance of the place, these simple words were painted in great letters of blue and gold: ‘The Dome of Books.’

At this point Shahrazad saw the approach of morning and discreetly fell silent.

But when the nine-hundred-and-seventy-second night had come

SHE SAID:

The young man consecrated his days to methodical reading, and, as he had been born under benediction, with his feet pointed towards the way of happiness, he remembered all he read. Soon he was as learned as any sage of his time, and had a mind stored with far greater riches than he had inherited from his father. Then, in order to share this bounty with others, he gave a great feast in the Dome of Books and invited all his friends and acquaintances, his relations far and near, his slaves and his grooms, and the customary beggars upon his threshold. When they had eaten and drunken and thanked Allāh, the youth rose in the attentive circle of them, saying: ‘O my guests, let wisdom preside for us to-night instead of music and singing! A wise man has said: "Bring forth your knowledge that the ear of him who hears may be nourished. He that obtains learning has obtained great riches. God gives wisdom to whom it pleases Him, and intellect is created at His word; but there are few of the sons of men who have been honoured with these things." Also Allāh Himself, speaking by the mouth of His Prophet (upon whom be prayer and peace!), has said: "O my Faithful, give alms of your best, for he shall not obtain perfection who has not divided that which pleases him most. But give not with ostentation, for the proud giver is like a stony hill covered with a little earth: the rain beats upon that hill and nothing but the naked rock remains. Such men have no profit from their works. But those who give alms for the strengthening of their own souls are like a garden planted upon a hill, which is watered by the abundant rains of heaven and whose fruit hangs double upon the bough. If no rain falls, there shall be dew. And they shall enter into the gardens of Paradise."

‘That is why I have called you together this evening, dear guests. I do not wish to keep the fruits of learning to myself; I desire you to taste them with me, that we may walk together in the way of the spirit.’

And he added:

‘Let us look out together by the windows of learning upon the garden of history, andVatch the marvellous procession of old time pass by, that our souls may be enlightened by that passing and may journey on by that light towards perfection. Amen.’

Then all the guests carried their hands to their faces, and replied: ‘Amen.’

The youth sat down amid silence, and thus addressed the circle of his company: ‘My friends, I do not know how I can better begin than by giving you some particulars of the life of our fathers in the days of chivalry. They were the true Arabs of the sands; their mighty poets could neither read nor write, inspiration was a vehement gift with them, and, without inks or pens or critics, they built up this Arab speech of ours, which Allāh chose by preference when He would dictate His words to His Prophet (upon whom be prayer and peace and benediction!). Amen.’

When the guests had again replied Amen, ‘Here is one tale of the thousand tales of chivalry,’ he said:

The Poet Duraid, His Generosity, and His Love for Tumādir Al-Khansah

THE poet Duraid ibn Simmah, sheikh of the tribe of the Banu Jusham, lived in the age of chivalry and was equally famous as a warrior and a poet. He was the master of many tents and rich pastures.

One day he set forth on a raid against the rival tribe of the Banu Firās, whose sheikh was Rabiah, the bravest fighter in all the deserts. As he journeyed at the head of his chosen troop, he came out into a valley belonging to the enemy, and saw, far off at its opposing end, an unmounted man leading a camel ridden by a woman. After the first glance, Duraid turned to one of his horsemen, saying: ‘Go forward and fall upon that man!’

The horseman galloped ahead and, when he had come within shouting distance, cried out: ‘Leave that woman and run, if you would save your life!’ He gave this challenge three times, but the man walked calmly on until the horse was near. Then he passed the camel's halter to the woman, and sang this song:

Ride on in pride, heart ignorant of fear,

Ride on, hips rounded in our tranquil day.

But first, as chance has brought a meeting here,

Enjoy the sword-play of a Firasid….

Now all is safety, lady, now you may

Ride on in pride.

With that he charged Duraid's warrior and stretched him lifeless in the dust with a single blow of his lance. He mounted the riderless horse, bowing to the woman as he did so, and led the camel forward again with no sign of haste or emotion.

At this point Shahrazad saw the approach of morning and discreetly fell silent.

But when the nine-hundred-and-seventy-third night had come

SHE SAID:

When Duraid saw that his rider did not return, he sent out a second warrior, who found his comrade lying in the path and galloped forward to do battle with the slayer. He cried out his challenge, but the man upon the captured horse seemed not to have heard. He rode towards him with levelled lance, but the man passed the camel's halter to the woman, and suddenly charged, crying:

Although the iron teeth of chance

Drove you, O spew, to take this road

And sicken with your countenance

My lady of the free abode,

The iron of Rabiah's lance

Is fiercer than the teeth of chance!

The warrior fell, pierced through the liver, and died tearing at the sand with his nails. Then Rabiah went forward with unhurried pace.

Duraid presently became anxious and sent a third rider to look for the other two. The man soon found his comrades lying dead, and perceived a stranger jogging quietly at a little distance, leading a camel by the halter and carelessly trailing his lance. ‘Yield your prize, O dog of the tribes!’ he cried; but Rabiah, without turning, said to his companion: ‘Dear friend, go forward to our nearest tents.’ Then he wheeled sharply upon his foe, and chanted:

Have you not seen, O eyeless head,

Your brothers welter in their clots,

And how the Vulture's breathing blots

The scarlet from the cheeks of dread?

Did you hope lessons from my wrath,

Or any teaching from my frowns

Save how a lance-head flourish drowns

Dead kidneys in a crow-black bath?

He pierced Duraid's third warrior through and through the chest, and his lance broke off short with the violence of that assault; but Rabiah, this fighter of the valleys, knowing himself to be near his tribe, scorned to pick up the weapon of his dead foe. Instead he rode forward, armed only with the splintered shaft.

Astonished that none of his messengers returned, Duraid himself rode out to look for them, and soon found their lifeless bodies lying at intervals upon the sand. As he went pondering on their death, Rabiah himself came round the side of a little hill and recognised the poet of the Jushamids. Though the sheikh of the Banu Firas regretted that he had not armed himself from the corpse of his third adversary, yet he halted straight in the saddle, and faced Duraid with the broken wood of his lance firmly at tilt.

When he saw how ill-equipped Rabiah was for conflict, the grandeur of his soul urged Duraid to exclaim: ‘O father of riders, one does not kill such men as you; but my troop is seeking vengeance, and soon it may come upon you, alone, unarmed, and very young. Therefore take this lance of mine, and I will ride back to call off my men from the pursuit.’

He galloped to his band, and said to them: ‘That brave knew how to defend his woman! He killed three of us and disarmed me. He is too strong to be attacked.’

Then he bade the warriors follow him back to their own territory, and there was no raid.

Years passed and Rabiah died, as fearless soldiers die, in a bloody engagement with the tribe of Duraid. To avenge his death a troop of Firasids set out upon a fresh raid against the Banu Jusham. They fell upon the camp at night, made a great slaughter, and rode off with many captives and a booty of women and goods. Duraid himself, the sheikh of the Jushamids, walked as one of the prisoners.

When he came among his conquerors, Duraid was careful to hide his name and quality; but, as he lay under heavy guard, the women of the Firasids were struck by his nobility and walked past him provocatively, triumphing at his discomfiture. ‘By the black death,’ cried one of them, ‘you have done a fair day's work, O children of the Firasids! Do you know this man?’ The warriors ran up and examined their captive. ‘He was one of those who scouted against our band,’ they said; and the woman answered: ‘Past question he scouted bravely! This is the man who gave a lance to Rabiah i...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Full Title
• Copyright
• Contents of Volume IV
• THE TALE OF PEARL-HARVEST
• THE TALE OF THE TWO LIVES OF SULTĀN MAHMŪD
• THE TALE OF THE UNENDING TREASURE
• THE ADVENTURES OF THE ROYAL BASTARD
• WISDOM BELOW THE SEVERED HEADS
• THE PERFIDY OF WIVES
• THE TALE OF ALĪ BĀBĀ AND THE FORTY THIEVES
• THE MEETINGS OF AL-RASHĪD ON THE BRIDGE OF BAGHDĀD
• THE TALE OF PRINCESS ZULAIKAH
• SWEET TALES OF CARELESS YOUTH
• THE TALE OF THE MAGIC BOOK
• THE SPLENDID TALE OF PRINCE DIAMOND
• SOME JESTS AND SUGGESTIONS OF THE MASTER OF SHIFTS AND LAUGHTER
• THE TALE OF THE GIRL HEART’S-MIRACLE, LIEUTENANT OF THE BIRDS
• THE TALE OF AL-MALIK BAIBARS AND HIS CAPTAINS OF POLICE
• THE TALE OF THE SEA ROSE OF THE GIRL OF CHINA
• THE TALE OF THE HONEY CAKE AND THE COBBLER’S CALAMITOUS WIFE
• WINDOWS ON THE GARDEN OF HISTORY
• THE END OF JAFAR AND THE BARMAKIDS
• THE TENDER TALE OF PRINCE JASMINE AND PRINCESS ALMOND
• CONCLUSION