Fatimah

“ 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. ”

“ We there stood at a grated window in the Western wall, and recited a Supplication, looking the while reverently at a dark dwarf archway under which the Lady Fatimah used to sit grinding grain in a hand-mill. The Mosque in consequence bears the name of Sittna Fatimah. A surly-looking Khadim, or guardian stood at the door demanding a dollar in the most authoritative Arab tone-we therefore did not enter.
At Al-Madinah and at Meccah the traveller's hand must be perpetually in his pouch: no stranger in Paris or in London is more surely or more severely taken in. ”

“ Despite her wish to try and convert her brother, Fatimah raised objections. 'O my brother! I cannot confide it to thee, for thou art unclean. Only pure hands are allowed to touch the Book in which are inscribed the words of Allah.'
Umar rose with docility and performed his ablutions. Then did Fatimah hand over the parchment on which was written the Surah, "Ta-Ha", which begins with these words: Not to sadden thee have We sent down this Qur'an to Thee * But as a warning for him who feareth. ”

“ At that moment Fatimah came from the kitchen, which had been shut up since the day after Helena's departure for the Soudan, to say that half the cooking-tins had disappeared.
"Just what I expected! Stolen by those rascally Egyptian cooks, no doubt. Rascally Egyptians! That's what I call them. Excuse the word, my dear. I speak my mind. They'd steal the kohl from your eyes—if you had any. And these are the people who are to govern the country! But I say nothing—not I, indeed! The virtue of a woman is in holding her tongue.... Fatimah, now that you are here, you might make yourself useful. ”

“ When the Lady Badr al-Budur saw him do on this wise, she shrieked and cried out, "What hath this virtuous and holy woman done that thou hast charged thy neck with the heavy burthen of her blood shed wrongfully? Hast thou no fear of Allah that thou killest Fatimah, this saintly woman, whose miracles are far- famed?" "No," replied Alaeddin "I have not killed Fatimah. I have slain only Fatimah's slayer, he that is the brother of the Maghrabi, the Accursed, the Magician, who carried thee off by his black art and transported my pavilion to the Africa-land ”

“ Moslem historians seem to delight in the obscurity which hangs over the ladys last resting-place, as if it were an honour even for the receptacle of her ashes to be concealed from the eyes of men. Some place her in the Harim, relying upon this tradition: Fatimah, feeling about to die, rose up joyfully, performed the greater ablution, dressed herself in pure garments, spread a mat upon the floor of her house near the Prophets Tomb, lay down fronting the Kiblah, placed her hand under her cheek, and said to her attendant, I am pure and in a pure dress ”

“ Did somebody leave the door open?"
"Fatimah found it at the bottom of her swimming tank," answered the sparrow, and he passed on, leaving the cubs staring at each other in wonderment.
When Pwit-Pwit had made the rounds with his gossip about the new baby, all the Menial People who felt that their experience entitled them to give advice touching the bringing up of children, addressed themselves, one at a time, to Fatimah and Caliph.
"As to the new babe," said the dromedary, speaking first, "I would give a bit of advice. Many a babe has suffered in its early days from lack of water. ”

“ The perpetual virginity of Fatimah even after motherhood (Hasan and Husayn) is a point of orthodoxy in Al-Islam as Juno’s with the Romans and Umá’s with the Hindu worshippers of Shiva. During her life Mohammed would not allow Ali a second wife, and he held her one of the four perfects, the other three being Asia wife of “Pharaoh,” the Virgin Mary and Khadíjah his own wife. ”

“ It is apt to crack the skin. I remember when my first child was born—"
[Pg 67]
"Why, bless my eyes!" interrupted Pwit-Pwit, with a giggle, "Cleopatra asked me to warn you against letting your baby get its feet wet."
"Well, I never!" gasped Fatimah in astonishment, while Caliph opened his mouth till the Princess told Toots in a whisper that she could see clear into his stomach, and laughed till the tears rolled down his cheeks.
"Well, I must be going," said the sparrow. "Everybody is dying for the news. Have you named the baby yet, Fatimah?" ”

“ Now the Accursed hereby purposed to avert the danger of haply raising his face-kerchief at meal-times, when his intent might be baffled by his beard and mustachios discovering him to be a man. The Princess replied, "O my Lady Fatimah, be of good heart; naught shall happen save what thou wishest. But now arise and let me show thee the apartment in the palace which I would prepare for thy sojourn with us."—And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say. ”

“ I pray you, madam, to see that your babe has water to drink at least once a week."
"Ho-ho, ha-ha!" laughed Caliph. "Water once a week, and only to drink—"
"Hush, my dear," said Fatimah, "the dromedary means well, but, being of the desert, he knows no better."
"If you would have his legs grow slim and straight," said Dozel, the Indian doe, "you must let him run over the hills as much as possible while yet young. But I would warn you to beware of the dogs and wolves."
"For exercise to strengthen the body there is nothing like leaping," roared Sultan, the lion. ”

“ Tea was laid on the shady verandah overlooking the fresh verdure of the garden, with its wall of purple bougainvillea, and thinking to set the lady at ease the Consul-General had told Fatimah, instead of Ibrahim, to serve it. But hardly had they sat down when the Princess said in French—
"Send that woman away. I don't trust women. I'm a woman myself, and I know too much of them."
A few minutes afterwards she said, "Now you can give me a cigarette. Light it. That will do. ”

“ In Allah alone does the success as well as the strength of the commander of the believers lie, and to do what makes him win His favor is his [the commander's] chief desire.
The Prophet had given Fâṭimah, his daughter, Fadak and bestowed it as ṣadaḳah on her. That was an evident and well-known fact on which there was no disagreement among the relatives of the Prophet, who do not cease to lay claim on what was given to Fâṭimah as ṣadaḳah and to which she is entitled. ”

“ Tun Fatimah said, "What have I to do with a child, to add to my trouble; for even when I am only a single person, never is my heart glad." According to one account however, Tun Fatimah bore two daughters to Sultan Mahmud. ”

“ And be it observed that Al-Islam (the faith, not the practice) popularly decided to debase the social state of womankind, exalts it by holding up to view no fewer than two examples of perfection in the Prophet�s household. Khadijah, his first wife, was a minor saint, and the Lady Fatimah is supposed to have been spiritually unspotted by sin, and materially ever a virgin, even after giving birth to Hasan and to Hosayn. [FN#23] There is no objection to intermarriage between equal clans, but the higher will not give their daughters to the lower in dignity. ”

“ But the people of Al-Madinah assured me that it will not be finished for some time,-a prophecy likely to be fulfilled by the present state of Turkish finance. [FN#9] This gate derives its peculiar name from its vicinity to the Lady Fatimah's tomb; women, when they do visit the Mosque, enter it through all the doors indifferently. [FN#10] It is so called by the figure synecdoche: it contains the Rauzah or the Prophet's Garden, and therefore the whole portico enjoys that honoured name. ”

“ Fatáirí = a maker of “Fatírah” pancake (tr. “Pieman”) , 298. “Fa tarak-hu Muusí am’à dáir yaltash fí ’l-Tarík” = “hereupon Musa left his companion darkly tramping about,” 323. —— (Dr. Steingass explains and translates) , 323. Fátihah (fem. of “fátih” = an opener, a conqueror) , 460. Fátimah and Halímah = Martha and Mary, 318. Fatír (for “Fatírah”) = pancake (tr. “scone”) , 321. Feeding captives and prisoners (exception being usually made in cases of brigands, assassins and criminals condemned for felony) , 430. ”

“ Fatima, daughter of Mahomet, and one of the four perfect women. The other three are Khadîjah, the prophet’s first wife; Mary, daughter of Imrân; and Asia, wife of that Pharaoh who was drowned in the Red Sea.
Fat ́ima, a holy woman of China, who lived a hermit’s life. There was “no one affected with headache whom she did not cure by simply laying her hands on them.” An African magician induced this devotee to lend him her clothes and stick, and to make him the fac-simile of herself. He then murdered her, and got introduced into the palace of Aladdin. ”

“ The simple scarlet of the young Guardsman was undistinguished among the brilliant character-groups which represented old fairy tales and nursery rhymes. There were ‘The White Cat and her Prince,’ ‘Puss-in-Boots and the Princess,’ ‘Little Snowflake and her Bear,’ and, behold, here was the loveliest Fatima ever seen, in the well-known Algerine dress, mated with a richly robed and turbaned hero, whose beard was blue, though in ordinary life red, inasmuch as he was Lady Flora’s impecunious and not very reputable Scottish peer of a brother. ”

“ When Fatima is tired of examining her own features in the mirror she puts back her ornaments into the chest and locks it securely. A staircase leads down from her room to the garden. There she saunters for a time, enjoying the perfume of roses and jasmine, and stands before the cage of singing birds to amuse herself with them. One of the other wives comes down to the harem garden and calls out to her: "You are as ugly as a monkey, Fatima; you are old and wrinkled and your eyes are red. Not a man in all Stambul would care to look at you." ”

“ For it happened that the Princess had for her nurse a Persian woman, Fatima by name, who loved nothing so well as to talk of the great champion of her country, so that from childhood up had the Tartar maiden heard the wonder tales of her hero. Yea, the most beautiful part of every day unto her, as far back as she could remember, was the twilight hour, when, seated at her nurse’s feet, her head pillowed in her soft lap, for hours she would sit spellbound, listening eagerly unto Fatima as she related the mighty deeds of Rustem: How, when only eight years old, he slew the King’s white elephant ”

“ The princess, who had long heard of this holy woman, desired to have some conversation with her, and sent her chief officer to bring Fatima to her apartment.
The crowd parted before the attendants from the palace, and the magician, seeing that they were coming to him, advanced to meet them, overjoyed that his plot was succeeding so well.
"Holy woman," said one of the attendants, "the princess wishes to see you, and has sent us for you."
"The princess does me too great an honor," replied Fatima; "I am ready to obey her command." ”

“ Mercy!' cried Fatima, flinging herself at Blue Beard's feet. 'Do what you will with me, but do not put me in that room.'
She looked up sobbing, imploring his forgiveness; and, if a woman's beauty in despair could have melted a heart of stone, the sight of her would have melted his. But it will not astonish you to know that his heart was as flinty as his beard was blue, and Fatima realised this as she looked again at his terrible face. ”

“ The abode of my father is not far distant from thence. Fatima is the most beautiful damsel of all those in the mountains. I offered my service to Shel-Adar, to conduct one particular part of his flock, and he granted me my request. The father of Fatima is rich; mine is poor. I fell in love with Fatima, and she fell in love with me. ”

“ Maryam looked almost angry, for she saw that evil thoughts were in the mind of her neighbour. “Fatima is a good and faithful wife,” she replied. “Had Shadi Shah remained away for six years, he would, on his return, have found her just the same as if he had never left her. Do you not know, O Waziren! that Fatima has kept in strict pardah all the time of her husband’s absence?”
“In pardah!” exclaimed the astonished Waziren. [199] “Now, for once, O Maryam! I have found you uttering words of untruth! I happen to know that Fatima has been to church every week since her husband’s departure. ”

“ Then the Lady Bedrulbudour took him and showed him the belvedere [511] and the kiosk of jewels, with the four-and-twenty oriels, [512] and said to him, “How deemest thou, O my Lady Fatimeh, of this wonderful pavilion?” [513] “By Allah, O my daughter,” replied he, “it is indeed marvellous in the extreme, [514] nor methinketh is its like found in the world; nay, it is magnificent exceedingly; but oh, for one thing which would far increase it in beauty and adornment!” And the princess said to him, “O my Lady Fatimeh, what is lacking to it and what is this thing which would adorn it? ”

“ Know then, that the true author is the brother of the African magician, your enemy, whom you have destroyed as he deserved. He is now in your palace, disguised in the habit of the holy woman Fatima, whom he has murdered; and it is he who has suggested to your wife to make this pernicious demand. His design is to kill you, therefore take care of yourself." After these words, the genie disappeared.
Alla ad Deen lost not a word of what the genie had said. He had heard talk of the holy woman Fatima, and how she pretended to cure the headache. ”