Chapter XV: Part 15

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; and the excess of it is more harmful in summer and autumn than in spring and winter.' (Q.) 'What are its good effects?' (A.) 'It doth away trouble and disquiet, calms love and chagrin and is good for ulcers in a cold and dry humour; but excess of it weakens the sight and engenders pains in the legs and head and back: and beware, beware of having to do with old women, for they are deadly. Quoth the Imam Ali,[FN#318] (whose face God honour), "Four things kill and ruin the body: bathing on a full stomach, eating salt meat, copulation on a plethora [of blood] and lying with an ailing woman; for she will weaken thy strength and infect thy body with sickness; and an old woman is deadly poison." And quoth one of them, "Beware of taking an old woman to wife, though she be richer in goods than Caroun."'[FN#319] (Q.) 'What is the best copulation?' (A.) 'If the woman be young, well-shaped, fair of face, swelling-breasted and of honourable extraction, she will add to thee strength and health of body; and let her be even as saith the poet, describing her:

Even by thy looks, I trow, she knows what thou desir'st, By
instinct, without sign or setting forth of sense;
And when thou dost behold her all-surpassing grace, Her charms
enable thee with gardens to dispense.'

(Q.) 'At what time is copulation good?' (A.) 'If by day, after the morning-meal, and if by night, after food digested.' (Q.) 'What are the most excellent fruits?' (A.) 'The pomegranate and the citron.' (Q.) 'Which is the most excellent of vegetables?' (A.) 'The endive.' (Q.) 'Which of sweet-scented flowers?' (A.) 'The rose and the violet.' (Q.) 'How is sperma hominis secreted?' (A.) 'There is in man a vein that feeds all the other veins. Water [or blood] is collected from the three hundred and threescore veins and enters, in the form of red blood, the left testicle, where it is decocted, by the heat of man's temperament, into a thick, white liquid, whose odour is as that of the palm-spathe.' (Q.) 'What bird [or flying thing] is it that emits seed and menstruates?' (A.) 'The bat, that is, the rere-mouse.' (Q.) 'What is that which, when it is shut out [from the air], lives, and when it smells the air, dies?' (A.) 'The fish.' (Q.) 'What serpent lays eggs?' (A.) 'The dragon.'

With this the physician was silent, being weary with much questioning, and Taweddud said to the Khalif, 'O Commander of the Faithful, he hath questioned me till he is weary, and now I will ask him one question, which if he answer not, I will take his clothes as lawful prize.' 'Ask on,' quoth the Khalif. So she said to the physician, 'What is that which resembles the earth in [plane] roundness, whose resting-place and spine are hidden, little of value and estimation, narrow-chested, its throat shackled, though it be no thief nor runaway slave, thrust through and through, though not in fight, and wounded, though not in battle; time eats its vigour and water wastes it away; now it is beaten without a fault and now made to serve without stint; united after separation, submissive, but not to him who caresses it, pregnant[FN#320] without a child in its belly, drooping, yet not leaning on its side, becoming dirty yet purifying itself, cleaving to [its mate], yet changing, copulating without a yard, wrestling without arms, resting and taking its ease, bitten, yet not crying out, [now] more complaisant than a boon-companion and [anon] more troublesome than summer-heat, leaving its wife by night and clipping her by day and having its abode in the corners of the mansions of the noble?' The physician was silent and his colour changed and he bowed his head awhile in perplexity and made no reply; whereupon she said to him, 'O physician, speak or put off thy clothes.' At this, he rose and said, 'O Commander of the Faithful, bear witness against me that this damsel is more learned than I in medicine and what else and that I cannot cope with her.' And he put off his clothes and fled forth. Quoth the Khalif to Taweddud, 'Expound to us thy riddle,' and she replied, 'O Commander of the Faithful, it is the button and the button loop.'

Then said she, 'Let him of you who is an astronomer come forward.' So the astronomer came forward and sat down before her. When she saw him, she laughed and said, 'Art thou the astronomer, the mathematician, the scribe?' 'Yes,' answered he. 'Ask of what thou wilt,' quoth she; 'success rests with God.' So he said, 'Tell me of the sun and its rising and setting?' And she replied, 'The sun rises in the Eastern hemisphere and sets in the Western, and each hemisphere comprises ninescore degrees. Quoth God the Most High, "Verily, I swear by the Lord of the places of the sunrise and of the sunsetting."[FN#321] And again, "He it is who appointed the sun for a splendour and the moon for a light and ordained to her mansions, that ye might know the number of the years and the reckoning."[FN#322] The moon is Sultan of the night and the sun Sultan of the day, and they vie with one another in their courses and follow each other in uninterrupted succession. Quoth God the Most High, "It befits not that the sun overtake the moon nor that the night prevent the day, but each glides in [its own] sphere."'[FN#323] (Q.) 'When the day cometh, what becomes of the night, and what of the day, when the night cometh?' (A.) 'He maketh the night to enter into the day and the day into the night.'[FN#324] (Q.) 'Enumerate to me the mansions of the moon.' (A.) 'They are eight-and-twenty in number, to wit, Sheretan, Butain, Thureya, Deberan, Hecaäh, Henaäh, Dhiraa, Nethreh, Terf, Jebheh, Zubreh, Serfeh, Awwaa, Simak and Ghefr, Zubaniya, Iklil, Kelb, Shauleh, Naaïm, Beldeh, Saad edh Dhabih, Saad el Bulaa, Saad el Akhbiyeh, Saad es Suwoud, Fergh the Former and Fergh the Latter and Rishaa. They are disposed in the order of the letters of the alphabet, according to their numerical power, and there are in them secret virtues which none knoweth save God (glorified and exalted be He) and those who are firmly stablished in science. They are divided among the twelve signs of the Zodiac, in the ratio of two mansions and a third of a mansion to each sign. Thus Sheretan, Butain and one-third of Thureya belong to Aries, the other two- thirds of Thureya, Deberan and two thirds of Hecaäh to Taurus, the other third of Hecaäh, Henaäh and Dhiraa to Gemini, Nethreh, Terf, and a third of Jebheh to Cancer, the other two-thirds of Jebheh, Zubreh and two-thirds of Serfeh to Leo, the other third of Serfeh, Awwaa and Simak to Virgo, Ghefr, Zubaniya and one-third of Iklil to Libra, the other two-thirds of Iklil, Kelb and two- thirds of Shauleh to Scorpio, the other third of Shauleh, Naaïm and Beldeh to Sagittarius, Saad edh Dhabih, Saad el Bulaa and one-third of Saad es Suwoud to Capricorn, the other two-thirds of Saad es Suwoud, Saad el Akbiyeh and two-thirds of Fergh the Former to Aquarius, the other third of Fergh the Former, Fergh the Latter and Rishaa to Pisces.' (Q.) 'Tell me of the planets and their natures, also of their sojourn in the signs of the Zodiac, their aspects, favourable and sinister, their houses, ascendants and descendants.' (A.) 'The sitting is narrow [for so comprehensive a matter], but they are seven in number, to wit, the sun, the moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. The sun is hot and dry, sinister in conjunction, favourable in opposition, and abides thirty days in each sign. The moon is cold and moist, favourable of aspect, and abides two days in each sign and a third of another day. Mercury is of a mixed nature, favourable [in conjunction] with the favourable and sinister [in conjunction] with the sinister [asterisms], and abides in each sign seventeen and a half days. Venus is temperate, favourable and abides in each sign five-and-twenty days. Mars is sinister and abides in each sign ten months. Jupiter is favourable and abides in each sign a year. Saturn is cold and dry and sinister and abides in each sign thirty months. The house of the sun is Leo, its ascendant is Aries and its descendant Aquarius. The moon's house is Cancer, its ascendant Taurus, its descendant Scorpio and its sinister aspect Capricorn. Saturn's house is Capricorn and Aquarius, its ascendant Libra, its descendant Aries and its sinister aspects Cancer and Leo. Jupiter's house is Pisces and Sagittarius, its ascendant Cancer, its descendant Capricorn and its sinister aspects Gemini and Leo. Venus's house is Taurus, its ascendant Pisces, its descendant Libra and its sinister aspects Aries and Scorpio. Mercury's house is Gemini and Virgo, its ascendant Virgo, its descendant Pisces and its sinister aspect Taurus. Mars's house is Aries and Scorpio, its ascendant Capricorn, its descendant Cancer and its sinister aspect Libra.'

When the astronomer saw her acuteness and skill and heard her fair answers, he bethought him for a device to confound her before the Commander of the Faithful and said to her, 'O damsel, will rain fall this month?' At this she bowed her head and pondered so long, that the Khalif thought her at a loss for an answer and the astronomer said to her, 'Why dost thou not speak?' Quoth she, 'I will not speak except the Commander of the Faithful give me leave.' The Khalif laughed and said, 'How so?' Said she, 'I would have thee give me a sword, that I may strike off his head, for he is an infidel.' At this the Khalif and those about him laughed, and she said, 'O astronomer, there are five things that none knoweth save God the Most High;' and she repeated the following verse: 'Verily, with God is the knowledge of the hour; He sendeth down the rain and knoweth what is in the wombs. None knoweth what the morrow shall bring forth for him nor in what land he shall die. Verily, God is the All-wise, the All-knowing.'[FN#325]

Quoth the astronomer, 'Thou hast said well, and by Allah, I thought but to try thee.' 'Know,' rejoined she, 'that the almanack-makers have certain signs and tokens, referring to the planets, relative to the coming in of the year, and in which are tribulations for the folk.' (Q.) 'What are they?' (A.) 'Each day hath a planet that rules it. So, if the first day of the year fall on a Sunday, that day is the sun's and this portends (though God alone is All-knowing) oppression of kings and sultans and governors and much miasma and lack of rain and that the folk will be in great disorder and the grain-crop will be good, except lentils, which will perish, and the vines will rot and flax will be dear and wheat cheap from the beginning of Toubeh[FN#326] to the end of Beremhat.[FN#327] Moreover, in this year there will be much fighting among kings, and there shall be great plenty of good in this year.' (Q.) 'What if the first day fall on Monday?' (A.) 'That day belongs to the moon and portends righteousness in administrators and deputies and that it will be a year of much rain and grain-crops will be good, but linseed will decay and wheat will be cheap in the month Keyehk;[FN#328] also that plagues will be rife and that half the sheep and goats will die, that grapes will be plentiful and honey scarce and cotton cheap.' (Q.) 'What if it fall on Tuesday?' (A.) 'That is Mars's day and portends death of great men and much destruction and outpouring of blood and dearness of grain, lack of rain and scarcity of fish, which will anon be in excess and anon fail [altogether]. In this year, lentils and honey will be cheap and linseed dear and only barley will thrive, to the exception of all other grain: great will be the fighting among kings and death will be in the blood and there will be much mortality among asses.' (Q.) 'What if it fall on Wednesday?' (A.) 'That is Mercury's day and portends great anarchy among the folk and much enmity and rotting of some of the green crops and moderate rains; also that there will be great mortality among cattle and infants and much fighting by sea, that wheat will be dear from Burmoudeh to Misra[FN#329] and other grains cheap: thunder and lightning will abound and honey will be dear, palm-trees will thrive and bear apace and flax and cotton will be plentiful, but radishes and onions will be dear.' (Q.) 'What if it fall on Thursday?' (A.) 'That is Jupiter's day and portends equity in viziers and righteousness in Cadis and fakirs and the ministers of religion and that good will be plentiful: rain and fruits and trees and grain and fish will abound and flax, cotton, honey and grapes be cheap.' (Q.) 'What if it fall on Friday?' (A.) 'That day belongs to Venus and portends oppression in the chiefs of the Jinn and talk of forgery and calumny; there will be much dew, the autumn crops will be good in the land and there will be cheapness in one town and not in another: lewdness will be rife by land and sea, linseed will be dear, also wheat, in Hatour,[FN#330] but cheap in Amshir:[FN#331] honey will be dear and grapes and melons will rot.' (Q.) 'What if it fall on Saturday?' (A.) 'That is Saturn's day and portends the preferment of slaves and Greeks and those in whom there is no good, neither in their neighbourhood; there will be great drought and scarcity; clouds will abound and death will be rife among mankind and woe to the people of Egypt and Syria from the oppression of the Sultan and failure of blessing upon the green crops and rotting of grain.'

With this, the astronomer hung his head, [being at an end of his questions], and she said to him, 'O astronomer, I will ask thee one question, which if thou answer not, I will take thy clothes.' 'Ask on,' replied he. Quoth she, 'Where is Saturn's dwelling place?' And he answered, 'In the seventh heaven.' (Q.) 'And that of Jupiter?' (A.) 'In the sixth heaven.' (Q.) 'And that of Mars?' (A.) 'In the fifth heaven.' (Q.) 'And that of the sun?' (A.) 'In the fourth heaven.' (Q.) 'And that of Venus?' (A.) 'In the third heaven.' (Q.) 'And that of Mercury?' (A.) 'In the second heaven.' (Q.) 'And that of the moon?' (A.) 'In the first heaven.' Quoth she, 'Well answered; but I have one more question to ask thee. Into how many parts are the stars divided?' But he was silent and answered nothing; and she said to him, 'Put off thy clothes.' So he put them off and she took them; after which the Khalif said to her, 'Tell us the answer to thy question.' 'O Commander of the Faithful,' answered she, 'the stars are divided into three parts, one whereof is hung in the sky of the earth,[FN#332] as it were lamps, to give light to the earth, another suspended in the air, to give light to the seas and that which is therein, and the third is used to transfix the demons withal, when they draw near by stealth to [listen to the talk of the angels in] heaven. Quoth God the Most High, "Verily, we have decked the sky of the earth with lamps and have appointed them for projectiles against the demons."'[FN#333] Quoth the astronomer, 'I have one more question to ask, which if she answer, I will avow myself beaten.' 'Say on,' answered she. Then said he, 'What four incompatible things are based upon other four incompatibles?' 'The four elements,' replied she; 'for of heat God created fire, which is by nature hot and dry; of dryness, earth, which is cold and dry; of cold, water, which is cold and moist; of moisture, air, which is hot and moist. Moreover, He created twelve signs of the Zodiac, Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces and appointed them of four [several] humours, three, Aries, Leo and Sagittarius, fiery, Taurus, Virgo and Capricorn, earthy, Gemini, Libra and Aquarius, airy, and Cancer, Scorpio and Pisces, watery.' With this, the astronomer rose, and saying, 'Bear witness against me that she is more learned than I,' went away beaten.

Then said the Khalif, 'Where is the philosopher?' whereupon one came forward and said to Taweddud, 'What is Time?' 'Time,' answered she, 'is a name applied to the [lapse of the] hours of the day and night, which are but the measures of the courses of the sun and moon in their several orbits, even as God the Most High telleth us, when he saith, "And a sign to them [is] the night, from which we strip off the day, and behold, they are in darkness, and the sun runneth to a fixed abode, [appointed] to it; this is the ordinance of the Sublime, the All-knowing."' [FN#334] (Q.) 'How comes unbelief to the son of Adam?' (A.) 'It is reported of the Prophet that he said, "Unbelief runs in a man, as the blood runs in the veins, when he reviles the world and Time and night and the hour." And again, "Let none of you revile Time, for Time is God; neither the world, for it saith, 'May God not help him that reviles me!' neither the hour, for 'Verily, the hour cometh, without doubt;'[FN#335] neither the earth, for it is a portent, according to the saying of the Most High, 'From it we created you, to it we will return you and from it we will bring you forth yet again.'"'[FN#336] (Q.) 'What are the five that ate and drank, yet came not out of loins nor belly?' (A.) 'Adam and Simeon and Salih's she-camel[FN#337] and Ishmael's ram and the bird that Abou Bekr the Truth-teller saw in the cave.'[FN#338] (Q.) 'Tell me of five that are in Paradise and are neither mortals, Jinn nor angels?' (A.) 'Jacob's wolf and the Seven Sleepers' dog and Esdras's ass and Salih's camel and the Prophet's mule.' (Q.) 'What man prayed a prayer neither on earth nor in heaven?' (A.) 'Solomon [son of David], when he prayed on his carpet, borne by the wind.' (Q.) 'A man once looked at a handmaid in the morning, and she was unlawful to him; but, at noonday, she became lawful to him. By mid-afternoon, she was again unlawful, but at sundown, she was lawful to him. At evensong, she was a third time unlawful, but by daybreak, she became once more lawful to him.' (A.) 'This was a man who looked at another's handmaid in the morning, and she was then unlawful to him, but at midday he bought her, and she became lawful to him. At mid-afternoon he enfranchised her, and she became unlawful to him, but at sundown he married her and she was again lawful to him. At evensong, he divorced her and she was then a third time unlawful to him, but, next morning, at daybreak, he took her back, and she became once more lawful to him.' (Q.) 'Tell me what tomb fared on with him that lay buried therein?' (A.) 'The whale, when it had swallowed Jonah.' (Q.) 'What spot of ground is it, upon which the sun shone once, but will never again shine till the Day of Judgment?' (A.) 'The bottom of the Red Sea, when Moses smote it with his staff, and the sea clove asunder in twelve places, according to the number of the tribes; then the sun shone on the bottom and will do so never again till the Day of Judgment.' (Q.) 'What was the first skirt that trailed upon the surface of the earth?' (A.) 'That of Hagar, out of shame before Sarah, and it became a custom among the Arabs.' (Q.) 'What is that which breathes without life?' (A.) 'Quoth God the Most High, "By the morning, when it breathes!"'[FN#339] (Q.) 'A number of pigeons came to a high tree and lighted, some on the tree and others under it. Said those on the tree to those on the ground, "If one of you come up to us, ye will be a third part of us [all] in number; and if one of us descend to you, we shall be like unto you in number." How many pigeons were there in all?' (A.) 'Twelve: seven alighted on the tree and five beneath.'

With this the philosopher put off his clothes and fled forth: whereupon she turned to those present and said, 'Which of you is the rhetorician that can discourse of all kinds of knowledge?' There came forward Ibrahim ben Siyyar and said to her, 'Think me not like the rest.' Quoth she, 'It is the more sure to me that thou wilt be beaten, for that thou art a boaster, and God will help me against thee, that I may strip thee of thy clothes. So, if thou sentest one to fetch thee wherewithal to clothe thyself, it would be well for thee.' 'By Allah,' cried he, 'I will assuredly conquer thee and make thee a byword among the folk, generation after generation!' 'Do penance [in advance] for thy [void] oath,' rejoined she. Then said he, 'What five things did God create, before He made man?' And she replied, 'Water and earth and light and darkness and the fruits [of the earth].' (Q.) 'What did God create with the hand of omnipotence?' (A.) 'The empyreal heaven and the tree Touba[FN#340] and Adam and the garden of Eden; these God created with the hand of His omnipotence; but to all other created things He said, "Be,"--and they were.' (Q.) 'Who is thy father in Islam?' (A.) 'Mohammed, whom God bless and preserve!' (Q.) 'Who was the father [in Islam] of Mohammed?' (A.) 'Abraham the Friend of God.' (Q.) 'What is the Faith of Islam?' (A.) 'The professing that there is no god but God and that Mohammed is the apostle of God.' (Q.) 'What is thy first and thy last?' (A.) 'My first is troubled water[FN#341] and my last filthy carrion. The first of me is dust and the last dust. Quoth the poet:

Created wast thou of the dust and didst a man become, Ready in
question and reply and fluent in debate.
Then to the dust return'dst anon and didst become of it, For
that, in very deed, of dust at first thou wast create.'

(Q.) 'What thing was it, whose first [state] was wood and its last life?' (A.) 'Moses' rod, when he cast it on the ground and it became, by permission of God, a writhing serpent.'[FN#342] (Q.) 'What is the meaning of the verse in the Koran, "And I have other need [or occasion] for it"?'[FN#343] (A.) 'He [Moses] was wont to plant his staff in the ground, and it would flower and fruit and shade him from the heat and the cold. Moreover, it would carry him, when he was weary, and guard his sheep from the wild beasts, whilst he slept.' (Q.) 'What woman was born of a man alone and what man of a woman alone?' (A.) 'Eve of Adam and Jesus of Mary.' (Q.) 'What fire eats and drinks, what fire eats but drinks not, what fire drinks but eats not and what other neither eats nor drinks?' (A.) 'Hellfire eats and drinks, the fire of the world eats but drinks not, the fire of the sun drinks but eats not, and that of the moon neither eats nor drinks.' (Q.) 'Which is the open [door] and which the shut [door]?' (A.) 'The Traditional Ordinances are the open, the Koranic the shut [door].' (Q.) 'Of what does the poet speak, when he says:

A dweller in the sepulchre, at 's head his victual lies; Whenas
he tastes thereof, he speaks and questions and replies.
He rises up and walks and talks, yet silent is the while, And
turns anon unto the tomb wherefrom he did arise.
No living one is he, that hath a title to respect, Nor dead,
that folk should say of him, "God's mercy him comprise!"?'

(A.) 'The pen.' (Q.) 'What does the poet refer to in these verses:

Two breasts in one it hath; its blood is eath and quick of
flow, Wide-mouthed, though all the rest be black, its ears
are white as snow.
It hath an idol like a cock, that doth its belly peck, And half
a dirhem is its worth, if thou its price wouldst know?'

(A.) 'The inkhorn.' (Q.) 'And in these:

Say to men of wit and learning and to doctors everywhere,
Skilled to find the hidden meanings riddles and enigmas
bear,
Come expound to me what is it that ye see a bird produce,
'Mongst the Arabs and barbarians and wherever else ye
fare;
Neither flesh nor blood, I warrant, hath the thing whereof I
speak; Neither down nor feathers, birdwise, for a garment
doth it wear.
Boiled it is and likewise roasted, eaten hot and eaten cold;
Yea, to boot, and when 'tis buried in the glowing embers'
flare,
Colours twain in it are noted, one as silver clear and white,
And the other lucent yellow, gold therewith may not
compare.
Living can it not be reckoned, neither may we count it dead:
Tell me, then, what is this wonder, rarity of all things
rare?'

(A.) 'Thou makest long the questioning of an egg worth a doit.' (Q.) 'How many words [or times] did God speak to Moses?' (A.) 'It is related of the Prophet that he said, "God spoke to Moses fifteen hundred and fifteen words [or times]."' (Q.) 'Tell me of fourteen things that speak to the Lord of the Worlds?' (A.) 'The seven heavens and the seven earths, when they say, "We come, obedient."'[FN#344] (Q.) 'How was Adam created?' (A.) 'God created Adam of clay: the clay He made of foam and the foam of the sea, the sea of darkness, darkness of light, light of a fish, the fish of a rock, the rock of a ruby, the ruby of water, and the water He created by the exertion of His omnipotent will, according to His saying (exalted be His name!), "His commandment is only when He willeth aught, that He say, 'Be,' --and it is."'[FN#345] (Q.) 'What is meant by the poet in the following verses:

A things sans mouth or maw that eats in wondrous wise; On trees
and beasts it feeds and all beneath the skies.
Give it to eat, it thrives and flourishes amain; But give it
not to drink of water, or it dies?'

(A.) 'Fire.' (Q.) 'And in these:

Two lovers, that are still estopped from all delight:
Embracing, each with each, they pass the livelong night.
They guarantee the folk from all calamity, And with the risen
sun they're torn apart forthright?'

(A.) 'The leaves of a gate.' (Q.) 'Tell me of the gates of Hell?' (A.) 'They are seven in number and their names are comprised in the following verses:

Jehennem first, then Leza comes and eke Hetim as well; Then
must thou count Saïr, and fifth comes Seker, sooth to
tell:
Sixth comes Jehim and last of all, Hawiyeh; thus thou hast, In
compass brief of doggrel rhyme, the seven rooms of Hell.'

(Q.) 'To what does the poet refer in these verses:

A pair of ringlets long she hath, that trail for aye Behind
her, as she comes and goes upon her way,
And eye that never knows the taste of sleep nor sheds A tear,
for none it hath for shedding, sooth to say;
Nor wears it aught of clothes, from year to ended year; Yet in
all manner wede it doth the folk array?'

(A.) 'A needle.' (Q.) 'What is the length and breadth of the bridge Es Sirat?' (A.) 'Its length is three thousand years' journey, a thousand in descent, a thousand level and a thousand in ascent: it is sharper than a sword and finer than a hair.' (Q.) 'How many intercessions [with God] hath the Prophet [for each soul]?' (A.) 'Three.' (Q.) 'Was Abou Bekr the first that embraced Islam?' (A.) 'Yes.' (Q.) 'Yet Ali[FN#346] became a Muslim before him?' (A.) 'All came to the Prophet, when he was a boy of seven years old, for God vouchsafed him the knowledge of the truth in his tender youth, so that he never prostrated himself to idols.' (Q.) 'Which is the more excellent, Ali or Abbas?'[FN#347]

Now she knew that, in propounding this question, Ibrahim was laying a trap for her; for, if she said, 'Ali is the more excellent,' she would fall in disgrace with the Khalif; so she bowed her head awhile, now reddening, now paling, then said, 'Thou askest me of two excellent men, each having [his own especial] excellence. Let us return to what we were about.' When the Khalif heard her reply, he rose to his feet and said, 'By the Lord of the Kaabeh, thou hast said well, O Taweddud!' Then said Ibrahim, 'What means the poet, when he says:

Slender of skirts and slim of shape and sweet of taste it is,
Most like unto the spear, except it lacks of the spontoon.
In all the countries of the world the folk make use of it, And
eaten 'tis in Ramazan, after mid-afternoon?'

She answered, 'The sugar-cane;' and he said, 'Tell me of many things.' 'What are they?' asked she; and he said, 'What is sweeter than honey, what is sharper than the sword, what is swifter than poison, what is the delight of a moment and what the contentment of three days, what is the pleasantest of days, what is the joy of a week, what is the debt that the worst payer denieth not, what is the prison of the tomb, what is the joy of the heart, what is the snare of the soul, what is death in life, what is the malady that may not be healed, what is the reproach that may not be done away, what is the beast that harbours not in cultivated fields, but lodges in waste places and hates mankind and hath in it somewhat of the make of seven strong beasts?' Quoth she, 'Hear what I shall say in answer; then put off thy clothes, that I may expound to thee.' Then the Khalif said, 'Expound, and he shall put off his clothes.' So she said, 'That, which is sweeter than honey, is the love of pious children to their parents; that, which is sharper than the sword, is the tongue; that, which is swifter than poison, is the evil eye; the delight of a moment is coition and the contentment of three days is the depilatory for women; the pleasantest of days is that of profit on merchandise; the joy of a week is the bride; the debt, which the worst payer denieth not, is death; the prison of the tomb is an ill son; the joy of the heart is a woman obedient to her husband, (and it is said also that, when fleshmeat descends upon the heart, it rejoiceth therein); the snare [or vexation] of the soul is a disobedient slave; death in life is poverty; the malady, that may not be healed, is an ill nature and the reproach, that may not be done away, is an ill daughter; lastly, the beast that harbours not in cultivated fields, but lodges in waste places and hates mankind and hath in it somewhat of the make of seven strong beasts, is the locust, whose head is as the head of the horse, its neck as the neck of the bull, its wings as the wings of the vulture, its feet as the feet of the camel, its tail as the tail of the serpent, its body as the body of the scorpion and its horns as the horns of the gazelle.'

The Khalif was astounded at her quickness and understanding and said to Ibrahim, 'Put off thy clothes.' So he rose and said, 'I call all who are present in this assembly to witness that she is more learned than I and all the learned men.' And he put off his clothes and gave them to her, saying, 'Take them and may God not bless them to thee!' The Khalif ordered him fresh clothes and said to Taweddud, 'There is one thing left of that for which thou didst engage, namely, chess.' And he sent for professors of chess and draughts and backgammon. The chess-player sat down before her, and they set the pieces, and he moved and she moved; but, every move he made she speedily countered, till she beat him and he found himself check-mated. Quoth he, 'I did but lead thee on, that thou mightest think thyself skilful; but set up again, and I will show thee.' So they placed the pieces a second time, and he said to himself, 'Open thine eyes, or she will beat thee.' And he fell to moving no piece, save after calculation, and ceased not to play, till she said, 'Check-mate.' When he saw this, he was confounded at her quickness and skill; but she laughed and said, 'O master, I will make a wager with thee on this third game. I will give thee the queen and the right-hand rook and the left-hand knight; if thou beat me, take my clothes, and if I beat thee, I will take thine.' 'I agree to this,' replied he, and they replaced the pieces, she giving him the queen, rook and knight. Then said she, 'Move, O master.' So he moved, saying in himself, 'I cannot but win, with such an advantage,' and made a combination; but she moved on, little by little, till she made one of her pawns a queen and pushing up to him pawns and other pieces, to take off his attention, set one in his way and tempted him with it.[FN#348] Accordingly, he took it and she said to him, 'The measure is meted out and the equilibrium established. Eat, O man, till thou pass repletion; nought shall be thy ruin but greediness. Knowest thou not that I did but tempt thee, that I might beguile thee? See: this is check-mate: put off thy clothes.' 'Leave me my trousers,' quoth he, 'so God requite thee;' and he swore by Allah that he would contend with none, so long as Taweddud abode at the Court of Baghdad. Then he took off his clothes and gave them to her and went away.

Then came the backgammon-player, and she said to him, 'If I beat thee, what wilt thou give me?' Quoth he, 'I will give thee ten suits of brocade of Constantinople, figured with gold, and ten suits of velvet and a thousand dinars, and if I beat thee, I ask nothing but that thou write me an acknowledgment thereof.' 'To it, then,' replied she, 'and do thy best.' So they played, and he lost and went away, jabbering in the Frank jargon and saying, 'By the bounty of the Commander of the Faithful, there is not her like in all the world!' Then the Khalif summoned players on instruments of music and said to her, 'Dost thou know aught of music?' 'Yes,' answered she. So he bade bring a peeled and polished lute, whose owner [or maker] was ground down by exile [or estrangement from the beloved] and of which quoth one, describing it:

God watered a land and straight a tree sprang up on its root:
It cast forth branches and throve and flourished with many
a shoot.
The birds, when the wood was green, sang o'er it, and when it
was dry, Fair women sang to it in turn, for lo, 'twas a
minstrel's lute!

So they brought a bag of red satin, with tassels of saffron-coloured silk: and she opened the bag, and took out a lute, on which were graven the following verses:

Full many a tender branch a lute for singing-girl has grown,
Wherewith at banquets to her mates she makes melodious
moan.
She sings; it follows on her song, as 'twere to teach her how
Heart's troubles in clear perfect speech of music to make
known.

She laid her lute in her lap and letting her breasts hang over it, bent to it as bends a mother, suckling her child; then preluded in twelve different modes, till the whole assembly was agitated with delight, and sang the following verses:

Leave your estrangement, I pray, and bid your cruelty hold,
For, by your life, my heart will never for you be
consoled.
Have pity on one who weeps, afflicted and ever sad, A slave of
passion, who burns for thee with longings untold.

The Khalif was ravished and exclaimed, 'May God bless thee and receive him who taught thee[FN#349] into His mercy!' Whereupon she rose and kissed the earth before him. Then he sent for money and paid her master Aboulhusn a hundred thousand dinars to her price; after which he said to her, 'O Taweddud, ask a boon of me.' 'O Commander of the Faithful,' replied she, 'I ask of thee that thou restore me to my lord who sold me to thee.' 'It is well,' answered the Khalif and restored her to her master and gave her five thousand dinars for herself. Moreover, he appointed Aboulhusn one of his boon-companions and assigned him a monthly stipend of a thousand dinars so long as he should live, and he abode with the damsel Taweddud in all delight of life.

Marvel then, O King, at the eloquence of this damsel and the greatness of her learning and understanding and her perfect excellence in all branches of knowledge, and consider the generosity of the Khalif Haroun er Reshid, in that he gave her master this money and said to her, 'Ask a boon of me;' and she besought him to restore her to her lord. So he restored her to him and gave her five thousand dinars for herself and made him one of his boon-companions. Where is such generosity to be found after the Abbaside Khalifs, may God the Most High have mercy upon them all!

End of Vol. IV

Arabian Nights, Volume 4
Footnotes

[FN#1] A very famous legist and wit of the eighth century and a prime favourite with Er Reshid. He was one of the chief pupils of the Imam Abou Henifeh (see note, Vol. II. p. 131 {see Vol. 2 FN#91}) and was Cadi of Baghdad under the third, fourth and fifth Khalifs of the Abbaside dynasty.

[FN#2] Shown in choosing so learned a Cadi.

[FN#3] Governor of the two Iraks (i.e. Bassora and Cufa) in the reign of Hisham, tenth Khalif of the Ommiade dynasty (A.D. 723-741). He was celebrated for his beneficence and liberality.

[FN#4] Koran iii. 178, etc.

[FN#5] "The hand of a thief shall not be cut off for stealing less than a quarter of a dinar."--Mischat ul Masabih.

[FN#6] El Asmai the poet, author or compiler of the well-known romance of Antar.

[FN#7] Zanzibar (ant. Zengibar).

[FN#8] The word Sherif (lit. noble) signifies strictly a descendant of the martyr Hussein, son of the Khalif Ali; but it is here used in the sense of "chief" [of the bazaar].

[FN#9] Quære Mensour en Nemri, a well-known poet of the time and (originally) a protege of Yehya's son, El Fezl.

[FN#10] Intendant of the palace to Haroun er Reshid and captain of his guards.

[FN#11] i.e. the Khalif

[FN#12] i.e. As if he were an old Bedouin, with forehead disfigured by the friction of the rope of camel's hair, which is part of the Bedouin headdress.

[FN#13] Mohammed said, "Change the whiteness of your hair, but not with anything black." Henna is the approved hairdye for a true-believer; it changes the hair to a reddish-brown.

[FN#14] i.e. thou that art as dear to me as my sight and hearing.

[FN#15] A fountain of Paradise.

[FN#16] Syn. languishing (munkesir).

[FN#17] A river of Paradise.

[FN#18] i.e. Orthodox.

[FN#19] These words are a quotation from a well-known piece of verse.

[FN#20] Of the Prophet.

[FN#21] Usually made of palm-fibres.

[FN#22] The distinctive headdress of the Muslims.

[FN#23] The bridge that spans Hell, finer than a hair and sharper than a sword, and over which all must pass on the Day of Judgment.

[FN#24] Or leader of the people at prayer, who stands opposite the niche sunk into or painted on the wall of the mosque, to indicate the direction of Mecca.

[FN#25] All this is an audacious parody of the Muslim ritual of prayer.

[FN#26] Lit. "exclamations of 'Glory be to God!'" which are of frequent recurrence in the Mohammedan formulas of prayer. See last note.

[FN#27] i.e. governor.

[FN#28] The word ucwaneh, here used in the dual number, usually designates the teeth, in its common meaning of "camomile- flower": but the lips are here expressly mentioned, and this fact, together with that of the substitution, in the Breslau edition, of the word akikan (two cornelians or rubies) for ucwanetan (two camomiles), as in the Calcutta and Boulac editions, shows that the word is intended to be taken in its rarer meaning of "corn-marigold."

[FN#29] Syn. Fortune (ez zeman).

[FN#30] One of the tribes of the Arabs and that to which the renowned Maan ben Zaideh (see Vol. III. p. 317, {Vol. 3, FN#121}) belonged.

[FN#31] The Muslims accuse the Jews of having corrupted the Pentateuch and others of their sacred books, even as the Christians the Gospels (see Vol. II. page 149, note {Vol. 2, FN#97}), by expunging or altering the passages foretelling the coming of Mohammed.

[FN#32] See Vol. I. p. 135, note 2. {Vol. 1, FN#45}

[FN#33] i.e. as a martyr.

[FN#34] The force of this comparison will best appear from the actual figuration of the Arabic double-letter Lam-Alif (Anglice L.A.) which is made up of the two letters *<arabic character>, (initial form of Lam) and *<arabic character> (final of Alif,) and is written thus, *<arabic character>.

[FN#35] i.e. O thou, whose glance is as the light of the glowing embers.

[FN#36] Thus figured in Arabic *<arabic character>.

[FN#37] Thus *<arabic character>.

[FN#38] Thus *<arabic character>.

[FN#39] Koran xxvil. 12.

[FN#40] Koran iii. 103.

[FN#41] Koran xcii. 1,2.

[FN#42] Sauda, feminine of aswed (black), syn. black bile (melancholia).

[FN#43] The distinctive colour of which is white.

[FN#44] Koran li. 26.

[FN#45] Mohammed.

[FN#46] Koran ii. 64, referring to an expiatory heifer which the Jews were commanded, through Moses, to sacrifice.

[FN#47] See note, Vol III. p. 104 {Vol. 3, FN#19}

[FN#48] Sulafeh.

[FN#49] Sewalif, plural of salifeh (equivalent of sulafeh). A play upon the double meaning of the word is, of course, intended.

[FN#50] Syn. yellowness (isfirar).

[FN#51] A title of the Prophet.

[FN#52] His wife Zubeideh.

[FN#53] i.e. his beautiful slave-girls.

[FN#54] i.e. his beautiful slave-girls.

[FN#55] Title of Saladin (Selaheddin) and several other Eyoubite Sultans of Egypt and Syria. It is equivalent to our "Defender of the Faith."

[FN#56] Koran xli. 46.

[FN#57] A town of Upper Egypt.

[FN#58] Meaning the merchant, whose name, Abou Jaafer or the like, he had learnt from the tailor.

[FN#59] Muslim Jews.

[FN#60] A well-known jurist at Baghdad in the reign of the Khalif Mamoun.

[FN#61] Medina.

[FN#62] One of the gates of the great mosque there, wherein is the tomb of the Prophet.

[FN#63] Tenth Khalif of the Abbaside dynasty, A.D. 849-861.

[FN#64] Muwelledat, women born in Muslim countries of slave-parents; syn. mulatto-women.

[FN#65] Lieutenant of the Prefect of Baghdad.

[FN#66] Muwelledat, women born in Muslim countries of slave-parents; syn. mulatto-women.

[FN#67] El Hakim bi Amrillah, sixth Fatimite Khalif of Egypt (A.D. 995-1021), cruel and fantastic tyrant, who claimed to be an incarnation of the Deity. He was the founder of the religion of the Druses, who look to him to reappear and be their Messiah

[FN#68] Bastard or Spanish pellitory.

[FN#69] Or dyed.

[FN#70] Or interlocking.

[FN#71] Or torn.

[FN#72] Sufreh, a round piece of leather used (mostly by travellers) as a table-cloth and having a running string inserted round its edge, by means of which it can be converted into a bag or budget for holding provisions, as in this instance.

[FN#73] Lower India.

[FN#74] i.e. as master of the house in which I have sought shelter.

[FN#75] Uns el Wujoud.

[FN#76] A pun upon his name, Uns wa joud, pleasance and bounty.

[FN#77] See supra, p. 95, note 3. {Vol. 4, FN#38}

[FN#78] The fourteenth letter of the Arabic alphabet, in its medial form (<arabic>) closely resembling an eye underlined with kohl.

[FN#79] See Note, Vol. III. p. 274. {Vol. 3, FN#102}

[FN#80] i.e. in dreams..

[FN#81] One of the months in which war was forbidden to the pagan Arabs and a sort of Trève de Dieu prevailed.

[FN#82] The Arabic word fakir means literally, "a poor man;" but it would appear, from what follows, that Uns el Wujoud had disguised himself as a religious mendicant and was taken for such by the people of the castle.

[FN#83] i.e. one absorbed in the contemplation of supra- terrestrial things.

[FN#84] Uns el Wujoud.

[FN#85] To salute them and wish them joy, according to Oriental custom.

[FN#86] Mosul is called the land of purity, in a religious sense, it having never been polluted with idolatrous worship.

[FN#87] The people of Aleppo seem to have been noted for debauchery.

[FN#88] i.e. Do not express admiration openly, lest it attract the evil eye, but vent your wonder by saying, "God bless and preserve the Prophet!" according to general Muslim wont.

[FN#89] A gorge near Mecca, the scene of one of Mohammed's battles.

[FN#90] i.e. as made out of a crooked rib, according to the tradition.

[FN#91] i.e. the land of the virgin.

[FN#92] The word Jamiaïn means "two congregational mosques," which would only be found in a large town like Baghdad. It is possible, therefore, that the expression, "land of Jamiaïn," may mean Baghdad or some other great city, noted for its debauched manners.

[FN#93] Oriental substitute for slate.

[FN#94] A pre-Mohammedan poet.

[FN#95] King of Hireh in Chaldæa, a fantastic and bloodthirsty tyrant, whom he had lampooned.

[FN#96] Aboulabbas er Recashi, a well-known poet of the time.

[FN#97] Koran xxvi. 224, 5, 6.

[FN#98] Half-brother of Abdallah ben ez Zubeir, the celebrated pretender to the Khalifate, see Vol. III. p. 194, note 3. {Vol. 3, FN#62}

[FN#99] Grand-daughter of the Khalif Aboubekr and the most beautiful woman of her day.

[FN#100] A famous Medinan Traditionist of the eighth century.

[FN#101] Er Zubeir ibn el Awwam, cousin-german to Mohammed and one of his Companions.

[FN#102] Abou Mohammed el Aamesh, a Cufan Traditionist of the eighth century.

[FN#103] A Traditionist of the seventh century.

[FN#104] One of the Companions.

[FN#105] Traditionists of the seventh and eighth centuries.

[FN#106] Traditionists of the seventh and eighth centuries.

[FN#107] Traditionists of the seventh and eighth centuries.

[FN#108] Companions of the Prophet.

[FN#109] Traditionists of the seventh and eighth centuries.

[FN#110] Traditionists of the seventh and eighth centuries.

[FN#111] Traditionists of the seventh and eighth centuries.

[FN#112] Companions of the Prophet.

[FN#113] A.D. 530-579. The founder of the great Persian dynasty of the Kisras (Chosroës). Mohammed was born in the reign of this monarch, whose name is a synonym with Eastern writers for all that is just and noble in a King.

[FN#114] Wife of Mohammed.

[FN#115] Daughter of Mohammed.

[FN#116] Lit. "of the ancestors," i.e. those pious and blessed persons who have gone before. The word es selef (the ancestors) is specially applied to Mohammed, his wife Aaisheh, the first three Khalifs and certain other early Muslims.

[FN#117] Khusrau Perviz, grandson of Kisra Anoushirwan (see supra, p. 228). {Vol. 4, FN#113}

[FN#118] The famous beauty, daughter of Maurice, Emperor of the East, and heroine of Nizami's well-known poem.

[FN#119] First cousin of Haroun er Reshid.

[FN#120] Son and successor of Er Reshid.

[FN#121] A well-known grammarian and traditionist of the time, afterwards governor of part of Khorassan, under the Khalif El Mamoun.

[FN#122] Intendant of the palace under Er Reshid.

[FN#123] i.e. lover.

[FN#124] Muslim version of Susannah and the Elders.

[FN#125] Lit. O frosty-beard (fool), how frosty was thy beard!

[FN#126] Descendant of the Prophet.

[FN#127] Name of a tribe.

[FN#128] A descendant of Ishmael, from whom the Arab genealogists trace Mohammed's lineage.

[FN#129] Koran xxxiii. 38.

[FN#130] Koran xxxviii. 2.

[FN#131] One of the Companions of the Prophet.

[FN#132] Of the Prophet i.e. those who had personally known Mohammed.

[FN#133] i.e. the builders, who, in the East, use mud or clay for mortar.

[FN#134] About a penny.

[FN#135] Mohammed.

[FN#136] A woman's name.

[FN#137] For putting out the fire in a brasier or cooking-stove.

[FN#138] The last Kings of Hireh were Christians.

[FN#139] A prae-Islamitic poet.

[FN#140] King of Persia and En Numan's suzerain.

[FN#141] A celebrated poet of the eighth and ninth centuries at the court d the Abbaside Khalifs.

[FN#142] A quarter of Baghdad.

[FN#143] Another well-known poet of the time, Dibil's teacher and friend.

[FN#144] Underground rooms are much used in Baghdad and Central Asia, for coolness' sake, in the season of the great heats.

[FN#145] Dibil's surname.

[FN#146] An idol of the pagan Arabs, before the coming of Mohammed.

[FN#147] In the attitude or a pupil before his master.

[FN#148] i.e. heart's blood.

[FN#149] A well-known poet, who flourished at Baghdad in the ninth century

[FN#150] Aboulabbas Mohammed ben Yezid eth Thumali, surnamed El Muberred, a famous Baghdad grammarian of the ninth century.

[FN#151] A monastery in the town of Hemah in Syria, so called from the Emperor Heraclius, who retired thither, to end his. days.

[FN#152] These verses are addressed to the Prophet Mohammed.

[FN#153] The most learned grammarian of his day. He flourished at Baghdad in the first half of the tenth century.

[FN#154] Anatolia.

[FN#155] The Lights.

[FN#156] Servant of the Messiah.

[FN#157] The monk.

[FN#158] The desireful servant of God. Abdallah is the name commonly given to a Christian convert to Islam. This question and answer are a good example of the jingle of rhymes so much affected by the Arabs.

[FN#159] i.e. of gods (shirk).

[FN#160] Koran vii. 195.

[FN#161] i.e. saints.

[FN#162] Koran x. 36.

[FN#163] A well-known man of letters and one of El Mamoun's viziers.

[FN#164] Prefect of Baghdad under El Mamoun.

[FN#165] i.e. the persons in authority under them.

[FN#166] Surname of Ali ben Hisham.

[FN#167] A renowned chieftain and poet of the time of Mohammed.

[FN#168] A famous singer and composer of the first century of the Hegira.

[FN#169] One of the greatest of Arab poets; he flourished in the first century of the Hegira.

[FN#170] i.e. as to the sound of music.

[FN#171] Sixth of the Abbaside Khalifs, A.D. 809-813.

[FN#172] See note, Vol. III. p. 324. {See Vol. 3, FN#130}.

[FN#173] Tenth Abbaside Khalif, A.D. 849-861.

[FN#174] Vizier and favourite of El Mutawekkil, killed A.D. 861 whilst endeavouring to defend the Khalif against the parricide El Muntestr.

[FN#175] Virginitatem tollere.

[FN#176] Johannes, a Greek physician in high favour with El Mutawekkil and others of the Abbaside Khalifs.

[FN#177] i.e. Princess of the Doctors or men of learning.

[FN#178] A.D. 1166.

[FN#179] Or heads of the various sects or schools of religion.

[FN#180] Koran iv. 38.

[FN#171] As witness to a debt, Koran ii. 282.

[FN#182] Koran iv. 175.

[FN#183] Or "eye-glance."

[FN#184] Abou Temmam et Tai (of the tribe of Tai), a famous poet of the first half of the ninth century and postmaster at Mosul under the Khalif Wathic Billah (commonly known as Vathek), A.D. 842-849. He was the compiler of the famous anthology of ancient Arabian poetry, known as the Hemaseh (Hamasa).

[FN#185] Aboulcasim el Heriri, the famous poet and grammarian, author of the Mecamat, the most celebrated single work in Arabic literature. He holds much the same rank in Arabic letters as Pope and Boileau in the literature of England and France and may, with much better reason, be styled "le legislateur du Parnasse (Arabe)." He was a native of Bassora and died early in the twelfth century.

[FN#186] i.e. the languishing glance of his eye.

[FN#187] i.e. his whiskers.

[FN#188] Koran xii. 51.

[FN#189] Or quare palm-spathes.

[FN#190] Or quare "an exposition of women."

[FN#191] Koran xxvi. 165, 166.

[FN#192] i.e. the whiteness of his face.

[FN#193] Or "freeborn," the Arabic word used here having this double meaning. The Arabs hold that the child of freeborn parents (Lat. ingenuus) must of necessity be noble and those born of slave parents or a slave mother the contrary.

[FN#194] Or "freeborn," the Arabic word used here having this double meaning. The Arabs hold that the child of freeborn parents (Lat. ingenuus) must of necessity be noble and those born of slave parents or a slave mother the contrary.

[FN#195] A famous statesman, soldier, poet and musician, governor of Khorassan, Egypt and other provinces under the Khalif El Mamoun.