Qadi

“ When the Cadi heard this, his colour changed and he was troubled and waxed exceeding wroth and was rike to burst for excess of rage. Then said he to the merchant, "God forbid that this should be! How shall it be permitted that the daughter of the Cadi of the Muslims abide with a man of the dancers and vile of origin? By Allah, except thou divorce her forthright, I will bid beat thee and cast thee into prison till thou die! Had I foreknown that thou wast of them, I had not suffered thee to approach me, but had spat in thy face, for that thou art filthier [FN#268] than a dog or a hog." ”

“ According to Shāfi`ite law, such a cadi must be a male, free, adult Moslem, intelligent, of unassailed character, able to see, hear and write, learned in the Koran, the traditions, the Agreement, the differences of the legal schools, acquainted with Arabic grammar and the exegesis of the Koran. He must not sit in a mosque, except under necessity, but in some open, accessible place. He must maintain a strictly impartial attitude of body and mind, accept no presents from the people of his district, and render judgment only when he is in a normal condition mentally and physically. ”

“ When the sheikh came he received orders to prepare for an instant march towards the coast by way of the caravan route. Then the burning zeal of archeology received a check.
"It is impossible that the kafila should move in that direction before to-morrow's dawn, O worthy of honor," said Abdur Kad'r emphatically. "We can march south to-day, if Allah wills it, knowing that we shall find food and water within fifteen kilometers without fail. To reach the Well of Moses is a different thing. ”

“ When they came to the Court-house, the Kazi cried, "I seek refuge with Allah from yonder Satans!" and the young merchant laughed but said naught. Then they entered and saluting his worship the Kazi, kissed Ala al-Din's hands and said, "A blessing on thee, O son of our uncle! Indeed, thou coolest our eyes in whatso thou doest, and we beseech Allah for the enduring greatness of our lord the Kazi, who hath honoured us by admitting thee to his connection and hath allotted to us a portion in his high rank and degree." ”

“ Kadi is generally spelt by the Europeans of the south Cadi, because they have no K in their alphabet: the Arabs have no C; the letter is Kaf or K, not C.
[313]
Customs of the Shelluhs of the Southern Atlas, viz.>
of Idaultit (in Lower Suse.)
The mountains of Idaultit are inhabited by a courageous and powerful people, strict to their honour and word, unlike their neighbours of Elala. They make verbal contracts between themselves, and never go to law, or record their contracts or agreements, trusting implicitly to each other's faith and honour. ”

“ Then he summoned the Cadi of the Divan and said to him, 'O Cadi, draw up the contract of marriage between my daughter and the merchant Ali of Cairo.' But the latter said, 'Thy pardon, O our lord the Sultan! It befits not that a merchant, such as I, be the King's son-in-law.' Quoth the King, 'It is my will to bestow this favour upon thee, as well as the Vizierate.' And he invested him forthwith in the Vizier's habit. Then Ali sat down in the seat of the Vizierate and said, 'O King of the age, thou hast bestowed on me this ”

“ When consulted in the matter, the Kadi failed to see it in any [Pg 221] other light—“Thou art the blessed re-birth of the last prophet, the prince of this great land, and there is no power in the heavens to interfere with thy right, O, commander of the faithful! when thou seest fit to save a soul from perdition. As to the increase in thy harem beyond the number consecrated by the will of Mohammed, thy servant will be grateful for any of thy Houris, if thou deignest to transfer her to the humbler home of thy devoted Kadi,” was Omar’s suggestion. ”

“ The question to be decided is this: which of the four successors of the Prophet, Ali, Abu Bekr, Osmar, and Osman, was the true Caliph. The Shiites maintain that Ali alone was the true Caliph. The Sunnites, on the other hand, affirm that all four were true Caliphs and equally holy. And certainly the [Pg 12] Shiites must be great blockheads to allow themselves to be cut into mince-meat by thousands, rather than admit that God would enrich the calendar with three saints distasteful to them personally. ”

“ The others had remained below, being afraid to risk the dangers of the ascent; for even on the lowest skirts of the Mountain the swarms of pilgrims were subjected to pretty rough handling; while on a somewhat higher ridge the Wahhabis of Nijd were quarrelling with the Bedouins of Al-Hejaz as to who should have the best places for listening to the Kazi’s eloquence in the afternoon. We had skirted the angry disputants and reached the steps not much the worse for wear; but despite all our efforts we found it quite impossible to mount higher than the first enclosure whence the sermon is preached. ”

“ Listen, O Kaid, son of the stars and the light of day. God hath exalted thee. Thou art the Egyptian of all the Egyptians. In thy hand is power. But thou art mortal even as I. Behold, O Kaid, in the hour that I was born thou wast born, I in the dust without thy Palace wall, thou amid the splendid things. But thy star is my star. Behold, as God ordains, the Tree of Life was shaken on the night when all men pray and cry aloud to God—even the Night of the Falling Leaves. ”

“ The Kadi of Morzouk is a black man, named Mohammed el Habeeb; he is able to read pretty fluently, is very superstitious, and writes charms of more efficacy than any other man in the country. All the principal towns have Kadis; but the office is not, as in the capital, hereditary. The better class of the people, or those who have some property, [280] are distinguished from the poor by being admitted into the Sultan’s presence, and living in every respect better than the Arabs and the other natives. They have great power to oppress and ill treat their inferiors ”

“ I only know that the Saadat saved your life, and got you started again with Kaid. I only know that you called yourself a Christian, and worked on him till he believed in you, and Hell might crackle round you, but he'd believe, till he saw your contract signed with the Devil—and then he'd think the signature forged. But he's got to know now. We are not going out of Egypt, though you may be going to the Nile; but we are going to the Soudan, and with Kaid's blessing, too. ”

“ It is quite true as our Sahib says, the man-eaters lay flat around his feet, and asked for spades to cultivate cotton. That very night, when I was cooking the dinner, the Hajji said to me: 'I go to my own place, though God knows whether the Man with the Stone Eyes have left me an ox, a slave, or a woman.' I said: 'Thou art then That One?' The Hajji said: 'I am ten thousand rupees reward into thy hand. Shall we make another law-case and get more cotton machines for the boy?' I said: 'What dog am I to do this? May God prolong thy life a thousand years!' The Hajji said: 'Who has seen to-morrow? ”

“ The son of the Kazi having brought letters from Abyssinia, was shortly introduced by Hajji Kásim, own cousin to Izhák, and by far the most reasonable of the Tajúra party. Being in the course of conversation quietly interrogated touching the cause of the Ras el Káfilah’s continued irritation, he turned at once to his companion, and solemnly adjured him by the beard of the Prophet to answer conscientiously the following questions. “A head is ahead, is it not, all the world over?” ”

“ The Cadi bade silence the women and said to the prisoner, ‘These folk avouch that thou didst enter their dwelling and steal their goods: belike thou stolest less than a quarter dinar?’ [3] ‘Nay,’ replied he, ‘I stole more than that.’ ‘Peradventure,’ rejoined the Cadi, ‘thou art partner with them in some of the goods?’ ‘Not so,’ replied the young man; ‘it was all theirs. I had no right in it.’ At this Khalid was wroth and rose and smote him on the face with his whip, applying this verse to his own case:
Man wisheth and seeketh his wish to fulfil, But Allah denieth save that which He will. ”

“ Haidee slipped past me, a scarlet band burning upon her sweet and delicate arm.
'Life is a game from the beginning,' said the Kadi. 'We are employed upon the puzzle many years, and the sooner the end the simpler the solution. The dead are fortunate. Choose you the colour, my son. And forasmuch as the Kadi holds the balance in his hands, keep counsel with yourself. ”

“ No doubt he is the prophet of this nation.’ Then Kadija returned to the apostle of God, and told him what Waraka had said; whereupon the apostle of God said a prayer, and went to the Kaaba, and, after compassing it seven times, returned to his own house. [22]
After this, revelations followed thickly one after another. Kadija was the first of mortals that embraced Islamism, [23] so that nobody preceded her. In the book called Al Sahih there is a tradition, that the apostle of God said, among men there have been many perfect; but among women only four: Asia, the wife of Pharaoh ”

“ Who has told you evil words concerning your poor servant? Who has slandered me to my lord, that he is so angry against me?'
"'Take him away!' roared the Sheikh to the three strong Arabs. 'Carry him off to be tried before the Cadi at Assiout.'
"For even in Ismail's days, you see, effendi, before the English came, the Sheikh himself would not have dared to put me to death untried. The power of life and death lay with the Cadi at Assiout. ”

“ Kaid trusts him, depends on him, stands by him, but doesn't seem to know how to help him when help would do most good. The Saadat does it all himself; and if it wasn't that the poor devil of a fellah sees what he's doing, and cottons to him, and the dervishes and Arabs feel he's right, he might as well leave. But it's just there he counts. There's something about him, something that's Quaker in him, primitive, silent, and perceptive—if that's a real word—which makes them feel that he's honest, and isn't after anything for himself. Arabs don't talk much ”

“ Therewith the prefect turned to me and said, “Why dost thou not answer the Cadi?” And I replied, “O Amir, the two heads [18] are not equal, and I, I have no helper but God; but, if the right be on my side, it will appear.” At this the Cadi cried out and said, “Out on thee, O ill-omened fellow! How wilt thou make out that the right is on thy side?” “O our lord the Cadi,” answered I, “I deposited with thee a trust, to wit, a woman whom we found at thy door, and on her raiment and trinkets of price. ”

“ Now, however, times were changed; war and trouble had come upon the earth, and a race of niggards had succeeded the generous patrons of the old days. The Kadi accepts the excuse, bids the woman submit herself to her husband, and gives them some of the alms-money; on receiving which the old man triumphantly carries off his wife.
25 In this Assembly Abu Zayd is found making gain by his usual questionable arts. At Rahbah, on the Euphrates, Harith beholds a crowd following an elderly man who is dragging along a handsome youth. ”

“ There we saw some poor pilgrims drying the flesh of a dead sheep—a revolting spectacle. Next day, the 12th of Zú-’l-hijjah, we cast the remaining twenty-one stones at the three buttresses in the Valley of Desire, and were ready on the 13th to join the little pilgrimage to Al-Omreh—a mosque near the pillars of Alemeyn—having to that end performed ablutions with the water of Zem-Zem, and put on the ihrám once more, and made our declaration of intention opposite the Black Stone. ”

“ The kaid Abd-el-Cadik, who was caliph of the King of Taroundant, hastened to send against them forty-five horsemen, and said to them: "You must give me six thousand livres of silver, and a slave, a servant, and a horse in addition." They refused and drove away the cavalry, saying, "Return to the kaid who sent you against us, and say to him that we will not increase our tribute as he demands." The horsemen returned and arrived at Taroundant. ”

“ Tidings of the movement soon reached Kûfa, and Sád apprised the Caliph of the rising storm. Each courier, as he arrived, filled the city with fresh alarms. A hundred and fifty thousand men had assembled under Firuzân; now they were encamped at Hamadan, and now marching on Holwân; they would soon be close to Kûfa, and at their very doors. The crisis, no doubt, was serious. Any reverse to the Arabs on the mountain border would loosen their hold upon the plains below; and all the conquests in Chaldæa, with Medâin, and the settlements even of Kûfa and Bussorah, might be wrenched from their grasp. ”

“ Oh, King of Chedi! the Chedi country abounds in wealth and grain, and is suited for the habitation of animals, very clean, deserving of being cherished like heaven, very beautiful; the land possessed of fertility, possessed of various gems of value—the land of that country is full of wealth; therefore go and live there: the people of this country are pious, always happy and learned, [2] to say nothing of other occasions no one here, even in jest, utters a falsehood; the sons do not separate from the fathers, and always remain devoted in obedience to their religious preceptors. ”

“ Other tribes of the same family occupied the interior of the continent; they lived in tents, and delighted in the unsettled life of nomads. There appeared to be in this distant corner of Arabia an inexhaustible reserve of population, which periodically overflowed its borders and spread over the world. It was from this very region that we see the Kashdim, the true Chaldæans, issuing ready armed for combat,—a people whose name was subsequently used to denote several tribes settled between the lower waters of the Tigris and the Euphrates. ”