Ja'far al-Sadiq

“ THE TALE OF THE THREE APPLES. They relate, O King of the age and lord of the time and of these days, that the Caliph Harun al-Rashid summoned his Wazir Ja'afar one night and said to him, "I desire to go down into the city and question the common folk concerning the conduct of those charged with its governance; and those of whom they complain we will depose from office and those whom they commend we will promote." ”

“ Men differ concerning the reason of Ja’afar’s slaughter, but the better opinion is as follows. Al-Rashid could not bear to be parted from Ja’afar nor from his own sister ’Abbásah, daughter of Al-Mahdi, a single hour, and she was the loveliest woman of her day; so he said to Ja’afar, “I will marry thee to her, that it may be lawful to thee to look upon her, but thou shalt not touch her.” After this time the twain used to be present in Al-Rashid’s sitting chamber. ”

“ Natives of a poor and rugged region, they wander far and wide, preferring every country to their own; and it is generally said that the sun rises not upon a land that does not contain a man from Hazramaut. [8] This commander of an army of forty men [9] often read out to us from the Kitab al-Anwar (the Book of Lights) the tale of Abu Jahl, that Judas of Al-Islam made ridiculous. Sometimes comes the Sayyid Mohammed al-Barr, a stout personage, formerly governor of Zayla, and still highly respected by the people on account of his pure pedigree. ”

“ Nor drink without music, for oft I've seen, * The horse drink best to the whistle's sound!'"
When the Caliph saw this, the vein of wrath started up between his eyes and he came down and said to the Wazir, "O Ja'afar, never beheld I yet men of piety in such case; so do thou mount this tree and look upon them, lest the blessings of the blest be lost to thee." Ja'afar, hearing the words of the Commander of the Faithful and being confounded by them, climbed to the tree- top and looking in, saw Nur al-Din and the damsel, and Shaykh Ibrahim holding in his hand a brimming bowl. ”

“ Ja'afar said, "Allah accomplisheth unto thee these three occasions. As for the money, it shall be carried to thy house this very hour: as for the government, I make thy son Viceroy of Egypt; and as for the marriage, I give him to mate Such-an-one, the daughter of our lord the Prince of True Believers, at a dowry of such and such a sum. So depart in the assurance of Allah Almighty." Accordingly Abd al-Malik went away much astonished at Ja'afar's boldness in undertaking such engagements. ”

“ Quoth the Caliph, “Hast thou then a house?”; and quoth Khalif, “Yea, verily! and thou, O Commander of the Faithful, art my guest this day.” Al-Rashid said, “I alone, O Khalif, or I and those who are with me?”; and he replied, “Thou and whom thou wilt.” So Ja’afar turned to him and said, “We will be thy guests this night;” whereupon he kissed ground again and withdrawing, mounted his mule and rode off, attended by his servants and suite of Mamelukes leaving the Caliph marvelling at this and saying to Ja’afar, “Sawest thou Khalif, with his mule and dress, his white slaves and his dignity? ”

“ Ṣâliḥ's father was one of the captives of Sijistân. Through Zâdân Farrûkh, Ṣâliḥ was acquainted with al-Ḥajjâj, who found him acceptable. One day Ṣâliḥ said to Zâdân, "Thou art the means by which I became acquainted with the governor; and I see that he has found me acceptable. I, therefore, do not wonder if he should promote me over thee, in which case thou wouldst fall." "Never believe that," answered Zḥâdân; "he has more use for me than I for him, because none but myself can be found to keep his books." "By Allah," retorted Ṣâliḥ, "if thou so desire, I could change the accounts into Arabic." ”

“ Al-Rashid replied, “I swear by the rights of my forbears and ancestors even if aught mishap to us from the meanest of folk as is wont to happen or he speak words which should not be spoken, that I will neither regard them nor reply thereto, neither will I punish the aggressor, nor shall aught linger in my heart against the addresser; but need must I pass through 66the Bazar this very night.” Hereupon quoth Ja’afar to the Caliph, “O Viceregent of Allah upon earth, do thou be steadfast of purpose and rely upon Allah!” ”

“ When he had finished the verses he said, O my lord, I am Attaf, and then recalled all that had taken place between them from first to last. While he was thus speaking a great cry was heard, and it came from a Sheikh who was saying, This is not humanity. They looked at the speaker, who was an old man with trimmed beard dyed with henna, and upon him was a blue kerchief. When Ja'afar saw him he asked him what was the matter, and he exclaimed, Take away the young man from under the sword, for there is no fault in him: he hath killed no one nor doth he know anything of the dead youth. ”

“ First.—The Jabríans, so called from the word "jabr" compulsion, deny all free agency in man and say that man is necessarily constrained by the force of God's eternal and immutable decree to act as he does. [168] They hold that as [174] God is the absolute Lord, He can, if He so wills, admit all men into Paradise, or cast all into hell. This sect is one of the branches of the Ash'aríans with whom on most points they agree.
Secondly.—The Qadríans, who deny Al-Qadr, or God's absolute decree, say that evil and injustice ought not to be attributed to God but to man, who is altogether a free agent. ”

“ When the Tobba of Al-Yaman dreamed that a dove flew from a holy place and settled in the Tihámah (lowland-seaboard) of Meccah, Satih interpreted it to signify that a Prophet would arise to destroy idols and to teach the best of faiths. The two also predicted (according to Tabari) to Al-Rabí'ah, son of Nasr, a Jewish king of Al-Yaman, that the Habash (Abyssinians) should conquer the country, govern it, and be expelled, and after this a Prophet should arise amongst the Arabs and bring a new religion which all should embrace and which should endure until Doomsday. ”

“ In some countries it is confined to the Sayyids; in others it is worn as a mark of distinction by pilgrims. Khudabakhsh, the Indian, at Cairo generally dressed in a tender green suit like a Mantis. [FN#8] Plural of Suftaha half-caste Turk. [FN#9] Plural of Zaydi. These are well-known schismatics of the Shiah persuasion, who abound in Southern Arabia. [FN#10] The Bayazi sect flourishes near Maskat, whose Imam or Prince, it is said, belongs to the heretical persuasion. It rejects Osman, and advocates the superiority of Omar over the other two Caliphs. [FN#11] Sadat is the plural of Sayyid. ”

“ But a large body of the sect denied that Jaffer had the right to make a new nomination; they affirmed the Imamate to be strictly hereditary, and formed a new party of Ishmaelians, who seem to have made something very like a deity of their hero. A chief of this sect, Mahomet, surnamed Al Mehdi, or the Leader, a title given by the Shiahs to their Imams, revolted in Africa in 908. He professed himself, though his claims were bitterly derided by his enemies, to be a descendant of Ishmael, and consequently to be the legitimate Imam. ”

“ Now I have explained to thee my situation: do thou the action of a man. When Ja'afar heard these words he uttered a loud cry and said, We are from God and to Him we return. O thou! thou art now to me an interdiction and hast become a sacred deposit until thy return to where it may please thee. Then said Ja'afar to a servant, Take good care of thy mistress. After which they set foward and travelled on day and night. Now Er-Rashid, after the departure of Ja'afar, became uneasy and sorrowful at his absence. ”

“ Sa'd, incensed at the loss of his slave seized 'Obeidallah, still reeking with his victims' blood, and carried him, as the murderer of a believer (for Al-Hormuzan had professed the Muslim faith) , before the Caliph. A council was called. ”

“ Then Sayf al-Muluk and Badi'a al-Jamal abode in all solace of life and its joyance as did Sa'id and Daulat Khatun, till there came to them the Destroyer of delights and Severer of societies; and they all died good Moslems. So glory be to the Living One who dieth not, who createth all creatures and decreeth to them death and who is the First, without beginning, and the Last, without end! This is all that hath come down to us of the story of Sayf al-Muluk and Badi'a al-Jamal. ”

“ 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. ”

“ How then could I venture to appear in the sight of the grandees of my lord, may his victory be glorious, who are an assembly of pious men and the centre of profound scholars? If I were to be led in the ardour of conversation to speak petulantly, I could produce only a trifling stock-in-trade in the noble presence but glass beads are not worth a barleycorn in the bazar of jewellers, a lamp does not shine in the presence of the sun, and a minaret looks low at the foot of Mount Alvend.
Who lifts up his neck with pretentions, Foes hasten to him from every side. Sa'di has fallen to be a hermit. ”

“ When Saîd drew near, they marched out as far as Câdesîya, and sent forward to say that ‘they did not need him any more.’ Saîd, little expecting such a reception, said to them, ‘It had sufficed if ye had sent a delegate with your complaint to the Caliph; but now ye come forth a thousand strong against a single man!’ They were deaf to his expostulations. The servant of Saîd, endeavouring to push on, was slain by Ashtar; and Saîd himself fled back to Medîna, where he found Othmân already terrified by tidings of the outbreak, and prepared to yield whatever the insurgents might demand. ”

“ It is not wise to have us all leave our position. Separate, therefore, thyself with a band of men from the main army, and that will keep our plans concealed. Then I will attack these 'unbelievers' in their homes at night." Ziyâd was resolute and sturdy. He went against the banu-ʿAmr and, under the cover of the night, fell upon them and some of them began to kill the others. At last Ziyâd and al-Muhâjir met accompanied by the captives and prisoners. They were intercepted by al-Ashʿath ibn-Ḳais and the leading men of Kindah, who fought a fierce battle against them. ”

“ With this the young man turned towards the Minister and said to him, "What aileth thee and thy friend to be whispering together? Tell me what is the matter with you." "It is nothing save good," replied Ja'afar; but the mock Caliph rejoined, "I conjure thee, by Allah, tell me what aileth you and hide from me nothing of your case." Answered the Wazir "O my lord, verily this one here saw on thy sides the marks of beating with whips and palm-fronds and marvelled thereat with exceeding marvel, saying, 'How came the Caliph to be beaten?' ”

“ Now Mohammed al-Amín, [134] son of Zubaydah, heard of her and was urgent with Ja’afar to sell her 93to him; but he replied, “Thou knowest it beseemeth not one of my rank to sell slave-girls nor set prices on concubines; but were she not a rearling I would send her to thee, as a gift, nor grudge her to thee.” And Mohammed al-Amin, some days after this went to Ja’afar’s house, to make merry; and the host set before him that which it behoveth to set before true friends and bade the damsel Al-Badr al-Kabir sing to him and gladden him. So she tuned the lute and sang with a ravishing melody ”

“ They were so called from their adherence to Zayd, a grandson of al-Husayn, and their sect spread in north Persia and south Arabia. The north Persian branch is of little historic importance for our purpose. For some sixty-four years, from 250 on, it held Tabaristan, struck coins and exercised all sovereign rights; then it fell before the Samanids. The other branch has had a much longer history. It was founded about 280, at Sa‘da in al-Yaman and there, and later at San‘a, Zaydite Imams have ruled off and on till our day. The Turkish hold upon south Arabia has always been of the slightest. ”

“ Muḥammad ibn-Saʿd from Mûsa ibn-Ḍamrah-l-Mâzini's father:—When ʿAbdallâh ibn-Saʿd made terms with the patrician of Ifrîḳiyah, he returned to Egypt without appointing anyone to the governorship of Ifrîḳiyah, which at that time had no meeting-place [2] or central town. When ʿUthmân was murdered and Muḥammad ibn-abi-Ḥudhaifah ibn-ʿUtbah ibn-Rabîʿah ruled over Egypt, he sent nobody to Ifrîḳiyah; but when Muʿâwiyah ibn-abi-Sufyân came to power, he assigned over Egypt Muʿâwiyah ibn-Ḥudaij as-Sakûni who, in the year 20, sent ʿUḳbah ibn-Nâfiʿ ibn-ʿAbd-Ḳais ibn-Laḳît al-Fihri to Ifrîḳiyah. ”

“ As Craven listened to these frank revelations from the only honest Arab he had ever met he wondered what effect Saïd's intimate knowledge would have upon his life, how far it would influence him, and what were likely to be his future relations with the masters of the country. With a Chief less broadminded and of less innate integrity the result might easily be disastrous. But Saïd had had larger experience than most Arab Chiefs and his adherence to the French was due to what he had seen in France rather than to what had been brought to his notice in Algeria. ”

“ All historians agree that the caliph Haroun-al-Raschid would have been the most perfect prince of his time, as he was also the most powerful, if he had not so often given way both to anger and to an insupportable vanity. He was always saying that no prince in the world was so generous as himself. Giafar, his chief vizir, being at last quite disgusted with his boasting, took the liberty to say to him one day, "Oh, my sovereign lord, monarch of the world, pardon your slave if he dares to represent to you that you ought not thus to praise yourself. ”