Tawhid

“ Hatim replied, “I am on my way to the desert of Hawaida.” The stranger, on hearing this, said, “How came you to adopt so mad a resolution? has none of your friends been kind enough to prevent your journey?”—“Such,” said Hatim, “is my sincere intention; and placing my reliance on God, I have undertaken this task, and have proceeded thus far on my way. A prince, named Munir Shami, has fallen desperately in love with Husn Banu, the daughter of Burzakh the merchant. The lady has asked of the prince seven questions, the solution of which is beyond his power. ”

“ At this Taweddud hung her head, for shame and confusion before the Khalif; then said, ‘By Allah, O Commander of the Faithful, it is not that I am at fault, but that I am ashamed, though, indeed, the answer is on the tip of my tongue.’ ‘Speak, O damsel,’ said the Khalif; whereupon quoth she, ‘Copulation hath in it many and exceeding virtues and praiseworthy qualities, amongst which are, that it lightens a body full of black bile and calms the heat of love and engenders affection and dilates the heart and dispels sadness ”

“ But the Taj—with all your inflation of delusive emotions, acquired at second-hand from people to whom in the majority of cases they were also delusions acquired at second-hand—a thing which you fortunately did not think of or it might have made you doubtful of what you imagined were your own what is the Taj as a marvel, a spectacle and an uplifting and overpowering wonder, compared with a living, breathing, speaking personage whom several millions of human beings devoutly and sincerely and unquestioningly believe to be a God, and humbly and gratefully worship as a God? ”

“ The king opened a window, and said to Hatim, “Welcome, noble stranger, may peace be upon you.” Hatim courteously returned the royal salutation, whereupon his Majesty asked him, “Who are you, brave sir, and whence came you?”—“I am an Arab,” replied Hatim, “and I come from Shahabad; and, moreover, I am going to the mountain of Nida.”—“Truly, brave Arab,” said the king, “you have taken the wrong road to Nida; you ought to have held by the right-hand road, and you have chosen the left. But what is decreed must happen; perhaps the hour of your death is at hand, fate has therefore led you hither.” ”

“ Then said the latter, ‘O my sister, a slave-girl told me of thee that thou saidst, “How loathly is yonder genie Meimoun! There is no eating [in his presence] .”’ [66] ‘By Allah, O my lady,’ answered Tuhfeh, ‘I cannot brook the sight of him, [67] and indeed I am fearful of him.’ When the queen heard this, she laughed, till she fell backward, and said, ‘O my sister, by the virtue of the inscription upon the seal-ring of Solomon, prophet of God, I am queen over all the Jinn, and none dare so much as look on thee a glance of the eye.’ And Tuhfeh kissed her hand. ”

“ All that thy hands possess shall be borne to thee [in thy palace and placed] at thy service; but now the dawn is near at hand; so do thou rise and rest thee, as of thy wont.’ Tuhfeh turned and found with her none of the Jinn; so she laid her head on the ground and slept till she had gotten her rest; after which she arose and betaking herself to the pool, made the ablution and prayed. Then she sat beside the pool awhile and pondered the affair of her lord Er Reshid and that which had betided him after her and wept sore. ”

“ Hatim joyfully received the three jewels, and said, “I am a stranger here; you will, therefore, do me the greatest favor by pointing out to me the way to my own country.”
“Generous Hatim,” replied the demons, “you are aware of the immense distance you have travelled since you left Shahabad. God has preserved you in all your perils and hardships; yet, since the creation of the world, only three of your race have been enabled to visit these regions and return with life, whereas, great numbers have perished in the attempt. Your days shall yet be many, for such is the will of God. ”

“ The fairy king minutely detailed the object of Hatim’s journey; on the hearing of which, the fairies were staggered in their resolution, and said, “The journey to the island of Barzakh is truly dangerous; but if your Majesty in person deign to accompany us thither, so that we may have an experienced leader in case of a war with the demons, we are ready to go this moment; otherwise, we pray to be excused.”—“Well,” said the king, “it is but right that I should do all that is in my power to serve the prince of Yemen. ”

“ I crave none other than thou for friend, belovéd of my heart; So trust in my speech, for the generous are true and trusty still.
Er Reshid considered her beauty and the goodliness of her singing and her eloquence and what not else she comprised of qualities and rejoiced with an exceeding joyance; and for the stress of that which overcame him of delight, he descended from the couch and sitting down with her upon the ground, said to her, ‘Thou hast done well, O Tuhfeh. ”

“ The scene was pretty enough; for although we were in sandy stony desert, only a mile or so away to our right lay the palm-groves of Tizimi, and here and there the yellow walls of a ksar were visible.
Our party was a large one; for quite a number of soldiers accompanied Kaid Maclean, some of whom were mounted, while others rode the pack-mules on the top of the baggage, and it was evident from their chatter and laughter that one and all were overjoyed at escaping from the dust and dreariness of the mahalla, to say nothing of the fact of the scarcity of food there. ”

“ The Bani Sakeef (Thackif) were a branch of the Mazar tribes of the Moaddite stock. They were a sub-tribe of the Hawázin and sister tribe to the Bani Adwán, Ghatafán, and Suleim. They (the Bani Sakeef) lived at Tayif and worshipped the idol Lat or Táqhia. Orwa, a chief of Tayif, had gone to Medina to embrace Islam. His first generous impulse was to return to Tayif and invite his fellow-citizens to share in the blessings imparted by the new faith. Upon his making public his conversion, he was wounded by a mob and suffered martyrdom. But he left a favourable impression of Islam at Tayif. ”

“ Besides yourself, noble Hatim, there lives not on earth the man who would encounter the dangers and fatigues of the journey from here to Arabia.” A few days after, Hatim took leave of his aged host, and began to retrace his way to Shahabad. In the course of his journey, the thoughts of Zarinposh, his lovely bride, constantly occupied his mind. In vain did he try to think of his friend Munir, and of Husn Banu’s seven questions ”

“ The son of Taib listened not to the voice of Khizr which whispered in his ear: "Khassoum, remember the words of Omar, the great Caliph: 'Let one take council of a woman and do the opposite of what she says.'"
So they turned their dromedaries' heads to the West and rode for many a long night until they came to the village of El Jebwina, which is a day's ride from the holy town where lived Hadji Nassim, the rich merchant. When they reached El Jebwina, they had spent their last purse; so they sold their dromedaries and that night slept among the animals' hoofs in the courtyard of the Khan. ”

“ They answered him, saying, “Verily this be the tomb of Hatim al-Táyyi over which are two troughs of stone and stone figures of girls with dishevelled hair; and all who camp in this place by night hear this crying and keening.” So he said jestingly, “O Hatim of Tayy! we are thy guests this night, and we are lank with hunger.” Then sleep overcame him, but presently he awoke in affright and cried out, saying, “Help, O Arabs! Look to my beast!” So they came to him, and finding his she-camel struggling and struck down, they stabbed her in the throat and roasted her flesh and ate. ”

“ The horsemen of the Arab tribe of Tai had taken advantage of a thick mist hanging over the Jaif, to cross the Zab early in the morning, and to fall upon us before we were aware of their approach. No time was to be lost to prevent bloodshed, and all its disagreeable consequences. A horse was soon ready, and I rode towards the one who appeared to be the chief of the attacking party. Although his features were concealed by the keffieh closely drawn over the lower part of his face, after the Bedouin fashion in war, he had been recognised as Saleh, the brother of the Howar, the Sheikh of the Tai. ”

“ I replied. "Look at my metal."
"A warrior may change his metal," he replied, gruffly.
"This man has not changed his metal," said Tavia. "He is not from Jahar; he is from Hastor, one of the cities of Helium. I am from Jahar."
The official looked at her in surprise. "So you admit it!" he cried.
"But first I was from Tjanath," said the girl.
"What do you mean?" he demanded.
"As a little child I was stolen from Tjanath," replied Tavia. "All my life since I have been a slave in the palace of Tul Axtar, Jeddak of Jahar. Only recently I escaped in the same flier upon which we arrived at Tjanath. ”

“ I will supply you with money if it be of use to you; and my frail life is constantly devoted to the service of the Almighty, which consists in relieving the distress of my fellow-creatures.” The prince Munīr, in rapture, exclaimed, “Oh, brother! may God preserve your life,” and instantly taking out Husn Banu’s portrait, which he kept in his bosom, he handed it to Hatim, and said, “Judge yourself what must be my condition.” Hatim looked at the portrait and remained for some time in a state of abstraction ”

“ Arise in haste! My lady Tuhfeh sitteth in her chamber, singing a goodly ditty. Come to her in haste and see all that I say to thee! Hasten! She sitteth [in her chamber] .’ The Khalif was amazed at his speech and said to him, ‘What sayst thou?’ ‘Didst thou not hear the first of the speech?’ replied the eunuch. ‘Tuhfeh sitteth in the sleeping-chamber, singing and playing the lute. Come thy quickliest! Hasten!’ So Er Reshid arose and donned his clothes; but he credited not the eunuch’s words and said to him, ‘Out on thee! ”

“ Thus, when fate rolled up the scroll of Taib's life, Nassim inherited all his father's fortune, and he prospered exceedingly. Every enterprise he touched turned into gold: he made treaties with the pirates of the Barbary coast, and to him they brought the fairest and strongest of the Giaour slaves whom they captured; his caravans, guarded by armed Bedawin tribes, crossed the desert from the white Nile to the black ranges of the Atlas, from the sweet shores of Tripoli to the desert cities of the far bitter South ”

“ While he lay senseless in this state, an aged man came up to him, and seizing his hand, raised him from the earth, and said to him, “Oh, Hatim! here you have no cause for despair; why do you not avail yourself of the talisman given you by the bear’s daughter?” Hatim collected his scattered senses, and speedily producing the talisman put it in his mouth, which was no sooner done than the heat of the Red Desert ceased to oppress him, and his blisters were healed. ”

“ Yet in these two months of pain and darkness and apparent hopelessness Mohammed had set forth upon an expedition which, for sheer pluck and determination, is hardly rivalled in the story of his life. A solitary man, despised and rejected in his own city, he went forth to try to plant his teaching in another. As it turned out, his choice was an unhappy one, for he was quickly mobbed and driven forth, and Taif proved in future years the last city of Arabia to hold out against the new Faith. ”

“ After Tahmurath, Jemshid (Yima) is king. He teaches the art of forging weapons and weaving precious stuffs, divides men into priests, warriors, husbandmen, and artisans; discovers the art of healing, and compels the demons to build houses, and erect for him a splendid palace and a gorgeous throne adorned with gold and precious stones. Three hundred years passed away while he was king, in which the Divs were bound, and death could not approach mankind. Then Jemshid boasted that he had saved the world by his remedies from sickness and death, and demanded divine honours. ”

“ In this court, squatting under the shade of the trees, or idly lounging upon the top of the wall, were collected all the idlers of the town; and as these, besides gossiping and dozing, were particularly attentive to the daily prayers and ablutions as prescribed in the Koran, I had not a doubt that they were the worst characters in Tajourah, for I never met among the Mahomedans a strict observer of the stated hours and forms of prayer, but I always found him to be crafty, designing, and treacherous. ”

“ Niyat, or intention of Tawaf, specifying whether it be for Hajj or for Umrah.
Of the same ceremony the principal Sunnat, or practices, are to walk on foot; to touch, kiss, and place his forehead upon the Black Stone, if possible after each circuit to place the hand upon the Rukn al-Yamani (South corner) , but not to kiss it; to pray during each circuit for what is best for man (pardon of sins) ; to quote lengthily from the Koran, [FN#24] and to often say, Subhan Allah! ”

“ A short time after, the female natika again broke silence, saying, “Tell me, my dear mate, who is this wanderer from the haunts of men who is seated on the stones below, with his head sunk in the lap of reflection, and his brow stamped with the seal of sorrow?”—“He is the best of men,” replied the male, “and his anxiety is occasioned because he knows not whither to direct his course in quest of a pearl of the size of a Murghab’s [1] egg. Now Murghab is also the name of the place where these pearls are to be found. But to proceed: this man is Hatim Taï, the noble and generous prince of Yemen. ”