Muhammad Diyab al-Atlidi

“ If she choose other than thee, we ourselves will marry her: but if she choose thee, we will give her up to thee." He said, "Let it be done." So Muʾâwiyah cried, "Speak, Saida ! which is dearest to thee, the Commander of the Faithful with his power, and his rank, and his palaces, and his empire, and his wealth, and all that thou hast seen around him; or Marwân son of el-Hákam, with his tyranny and his injustice; or this Arab, with his hunger and his poverty?" ”

“ So I bowed myself before him, and said, "O my brother! verily thy behaviour has distressed me, and thy concealment of thyself has disquieted me, for I would have given thee thy desire and a hundred dinârs."
"May God recompense thee!" he cried. "Verily I am come to thee confessing the sight. My look was contrary to the laws of the Book and of tradition." [3]
"Allâh pardon both thee and the girl!" said I. "But journey with me to my house, that I may bestow her upon thee, together with a hundred dinârs, which sum thou shalt receive every year." ”

“ When further asked what sort of a palace the Khalîfah had, "One of mud," he answered. "Who are his attendants?" asked the Emperor. "Beggars and poor people." "What tapestry does he sit upn?" "Justice and equity." "What is his throne?" "Abstinence and certain knowledge." "What is his treasure?" "Trust in God." "Who are his guards?" "The stoutest of the Unitarians. And knowest thou not, O king!" continued ʾOmar, "that some have said to him, O ʾOmar! thou possessest the treasures of the Cæsars; kings and great men are also subdued unto thee; why, therefore puttest thou not on rich garments? ”

“ For of a truth the ardour of thy mind has astonished. me, and the beauty of thy language has turned my head.'
"Then she hid her face in her sleeve as though she had not perceived me, but presently said, 'Pardon its inadequacy, O Speaker! but what is more helpless than an arm deprived of its fellow, and who more injured than a forsaken lover?'
"Then she turned and departed. And by Allâh! God save the Prince! I have not since then eaten heartily without being choked by the remembrance of her; nor have I looked upon beauty without its appearing hideous in my eyes because of her beauty." ”

“ May Allâh save the soul of him who is entombed,
For with him has justice been laid in the grave.
He allied himself with right, accepting nought in its stead;
And with right and with religion one has he grown.
"Whom dost thou mean by that?" asked Muʾâwiyah.
She replied, "The Commander of the Faithful, ʾAly, son of Abu-Tâlib [may God make gracious his countenance] ."
"And wherefore dost thou praise him?" he asked.
"I brought before ʾAly," she replied, "a man whom he had made ruler over us; and betwixt whom and us there was no more difference than between the lean and the fat (of meat) . ”

“ Long lasted the pleasure, and her lover was near her
When times were propitious and busybodies asleep.
But times have changed from what I knew them,
For Time is a ruler, he has the power of change over men.
They departed, and with them departed my hope; Than distance no greater affliction can fall on one. And the union is broken, and the heart is consumed, And tears overflow, for the caravan has gone. So was my heart when their camels departed, As wasted by sickness or drunk with wine. Though the camels had knelt, yet at dawn they arose, And by hers my beloved one was borne away. ”

“ And when thy father stood before the executioner, he said, 'Be gracious unto my young sons after me, O Muhammad!' But my maternal grandfather replied, 'Hell-fire is their portion.' For with him there could be no place for them excepting hell-fire, and with my father there could be nothing for them excepting the lash and the sword.—And as for thee, O ʾUtbah! how canst thou reproach any one for murder? ”

“ Then the Eagle soared heavenward until the world appeared unto him as a plate. And he looked to the right and to the left, and beheld the Hud-hud returning from the land of el-Yémen. Then he sought to seize him, but the Hud-hud exclaimed, "By the truth of Allâh! leave me alone, for I have done no wrong." "Thou wretch!" cried the Eagle; "verily the Prophet of Allâh intends to kill or to punish thee unless thou hast an excuse."
Then they flew down together to King Solomon, who was seated upon his throne. ”

“ During the reign of Hishâm-ibn-ʾAbd-el-Málik, I set set off for Syria, taking with me a slave-girl musician, to whom I had taught everything required by her art, and whose value to me I estimated at a hundred thousand dirhems. And when we drew near Syria, the caravan halted at a pool of water, by the side of which I dismounted, spread the food I had with me, and brought out a flask of wine. And whilst I was thus occupied, behold! a young man of fair countenance and form, mounted upon a chesnut horse, came by, and two attendants with him. ”

“ The Maubadz replied, "O King! surely the empire is not secure except by obedience to the Divine law and unswerving obedience to God. And the Divine law cannot be maintained except by the King. And the King has no strength except by men. And there is no supporting men except by wealth. And there is no road to wealth except by the cultivation of the soil. And there is no road to cultivation except by justice. And justice is—upright dealing betwixt the creatures created by God, the Glorious, the Most High. ”

“ Then el-Hajjâj sent for pleasant music. And Saʾîd wept. So el-Hajjâj cried, "Woe be to thee, O Saʾîd! Choose by what kind of death I shall kill thee."
"Choose for thyself, O Hajjâj!" replied Saʾîd; "for by Allâh! whatever death thou causest me to die, by the same will God cause thee to die at the last day." ”

“ So ʾAbd-Allâh sat down, and el-Mansûr inquired, "What is thy story about the King of Nubia?"
"O Commander of the Faithful," he answered. "I was the heir-apparent to my father, and when thou didst pursue us I sent for ten of my slaves, and placed in the hands of each one of them a thousand dinârs, and equipped five mules, and fastened a jewel of great price within my girdle, and fled to the land of Nubia. ”

“ O Commander of the Faithful! wert thou to offer me the Khalifate, I would not take it without Saida." And he recited, saying:
Excepting Saida, my heart refuses to love; and hateful
To me is womankind. I am guileless on their account.
Then said Muʾâwiyah to him, "But thou hast confessed that thou didst divorce her, and Marwân confessed that he divorced her, and we wish to give her the choice. ”

“ And the armies of King Solomon covered three hundred miles of ground. And when he travelled, it was upon a carpet of silk and gold, which had been woven by a jinn. And his throne was placed in the midst of the carpet, and he sat upon the throne. And around him were six hundred thousand chairs of gold and silver. And prophets sat upon the golden chairs, and wise men upon those of silver, whilst others stood around. And genii and devils surrounded the men, and wild beasts surrounded the genii. And the birds hovered in a flock over the carpet, to screen King Solomon from the rays of the Sun. ”

“ And dost thou say, 'I only gather treasure together to raise my position,' that is the highest position in which thou art already, and by Allâh! there is but one station above thy station, and to this thou canst attain solely through practising holiness."
Then el-Mansûr wept bitterly, and cried, "But what can I do, when of a truth the pious flee me, and the virtuous draw not nigh me nor enter my presence?" ”

“ Et-Tarammâh answered, "We, O Muʾâwiyah!"
"How is that?" asked the latter.
"Because," replied et-Tarammâh, "Imruʾl-Kîs, son of Hájar-el-Kándy, was of us. He says in one of his poems:
In years of scarcity
They feed mankind at times
From platters large as cisterns
And cauldrons immovably fixed.
And verily he quoted from the Kurân before it was revealed, And the Prophet of God himself witnesses the same concerning him."
And for the third time Muʾâwiyah was silenced. But once more he asked, "O ye men! who is greatest in courage and renown among the Arabs, and who bears witness thereof?" ”

“ Then said el-Hajjâj, "O Khâlid! make over to the young man rich garments, and Armenian carpets, and a slave boy and girl, and a mule, and ten thousand dirhems." And he added, "O young man! come to Khâlid to-morrow morning, and thou shalt receive all the goods from him."
So the young man went out from el-Hajjâj. He says: And when I reached the door of my house, I overheard the daughter of my uncle saying, "Would to God I knew what has delayed the son of my uncle! Has he been slain, or has he died, or can wild beasts have devoured him!" ”

“ I perceived a horseman. And when he came near to me, behold! he was a comely youth. The hair on his cheeks grew in greater beauty than I had ever seen among even the handsomest of young men. And verily he came from the direction of el-Yemâmah. [2] And as he approached he saluted me, and I returned his salutation, and asked, 'Who art thou, young man?' He replied, 'Hârith the son of Saʾad, a horseman of Shabhʾa.' Then I cried, "Beware ! for verily I am about to slay thee.' But he retorted, 'Woe be to thee! And who ar thou?' I said, 'ʾAmr-ibn-Maʾady-Kárib, ez-Zabîdy.' 'The despicable! ”

“ Then said Khâlid, "He is in error, O Commander of the Faithful! who enters into an argument without knowledge, and into a discussion without reflection. For how could it be as he states when of a truth the people have not even eloquent tongues nor a correct dialect? ”

“ Then ʾOmar wept, and said inwardly, "O ʾOmar! every one is better acquainted with the Divine law than thou, even old women. Alas, O ʾOmar!" Then he said to her, "O handmaid of Allâh! for how much will you sell me the injustice you have received from ʾOmar? ”

“ To which the man replied, "He is tyrannical and capricious." "Have you complained of him to ʾAbd-el-Málik-ibn-Marwân?" asked el-Hajjâj. "He is more tyrannical and more capricious," replied the Arab. "May the curse of Allâh be upon them both!" ”

“ And he sent for the slave-merchants, and said, "Prepare to journey with these girls to the Commander of the Faithful."
But one of them cried, "May Allâh strengthen the Prince! I am an old man and too feeble for traveling; yet I have a son who can take my place: have I permission to equip him?" ”

“ Then said Khâlid, "He is worthy through this deed." And he called the young man to him, and kissed him on the forehead, and commanded to fetch the father of the girl, and said to him, "O Sheikh! verily we had determined upon executing the law of mutilation upon this young man. But God, the Glorious and Most High, has preserved us from so doing. And verily I have ordered for him ten thousand dirhems as a compensation for his hand, and a reward for his care of thy and thy daughter's reputation, and for preserving the honour of you both. ”

“ Whither the camels are driven, thither is driven my soul.
Rise, O Dawn! may Allâh water thee with dew,
And cause to descend upon thee heavy showers,
And for their sakes refresh thee! May the home be united! ”

“ So I got up, and as I went in I met el-Hajjâj coming away, who embraced me and cried, "May Allâh reward thee on my account by reason of this advice! Surely, by Allâh! if I live I will indeed increase thy power." ”

“ This fellow is mad through love, is enslaved thereby.
His eye has been wounded by an arrow from my bow.
A dart from 'neath my eyelids deafened him. And his heart
Is as a flaming fire. His state is like one void of reason. ”

“ Then she mounted her litter, and her slave-girls and servants rode around her; but el-Hajjâj walked barefoot. And he journeyed thus with her, leading her camel by the bridle.
Then she took to mocking him, and laughing at him, with her nurse, el-Hîfâ. And by-and-by she said, "O my nurse! open me the curtains of the litter, that I may smell the perfume of the breeze." So the nurse opened them, and Hind and el-Hajjâj found themselves face to face. And she mocked him, but he recited, saying:
Spite of thy jeering now, O Hind! ”

“ Then the Hud-hud retired to a little distance, and Balkîs read the letter. After which she seated herself upon her throne, and assembled her councillors—a hundred thousand wazîrs. And when they were seated she said to them, "Verily a letter has come to me from King Solomon. In it he says—You must profess el-Islám. Now, therefore, what shall we do?" They replied, "We have wealth, and men, and great courage in war. If thou bid us fight, we will fight." But she informed them that it was of no avail to fight against King Solomon. "It is better," said she, "that we send him a present. ”

“ And it is He who has wrested from you your wealth, and clothed you in misery, and has aided your enemies against you. And His vengeance has fallen upon you, and is not yet accomplished. And I fear lest punishment descend upon thee if thou wert one of the oppressors, and that with thee it also embrace me, for of a truth when vengeance comes it comprehends all. ”

“ And she wrote a letter by them, enumerating the presents, and saying, "If thou art indeed a prophet, declare which among the slaves are youths, and which are girls; and without opening the casket make known its contents, and pierce the jewels, and thread the stones without the help of men or of genii." And she said to the Mamlûks, "If King Solomon speak to you, answer him gently like women." And she commanded the women to speak like men. Then she said to Mundzîr, "If King Solomon receive you with anger, fear not, for then he is but a man, and I am as strong as he. ”