The Arabian Nights II (48 page)

In the morning she went in to Ni'ma and Nu'am and, wishing them good morning, said, “God be with you!” Nu'am said to her, “O mother, where are you going? My master has ordered me to give you a room where you may do your devotions.” The old woman replied, “May God preserve him and continue His blessings on you both; for the time being, I would like the two of you to tell the doorkeeper not to prevent me from coming in to you. God the almighty willing, I will visit the holy places and pray for you both at the close of my prayer and devotion, every day and night.” Then she went out of the house, leaving Nu'am in tears, being ignorant of the reason for which she had come.

The old woman went back to al-Hajjaj, who asked her, “What news do you bring?” She replied, “I have seen the girl, and indeed, in this day, there is none lovelier.” Al-Hajjaj said, “If you do what I have asked you, I will reward you amply.” She said to him, “I ask of you a month's time.” He replied, “Very well, I give you a month.” Then she began to pay frequent visits to Ni'ma and Nu'am, morning and evening, and they treated her with increasing kindness, and everyone in the house welcomed her. One day, when the old woman was alone with Nu'am, she said to her, “By God, my lady, when I visit the holy places, I pray for you, and I wish that you will go with me to see the religious elders who come there, so that they may pray to God to grant you your wishes.” Nu'am replied, “For God's sake, mother, take me with you.” The old woman said, “Ask your mother-in-law for permission, and I will take you with me.” So Nu'am said to her mother-in-law, “O my lady, ask my master to let me go one day with you and my mother the old woman to pray and supplicate God with the poor in the holy places.” When Ni'ma came home and sat down, the old woman approached him to kiss his hands, but he did not let her. Then she invoked blessings on him and departed. The following day, the old woman came, when Ni'ma was not in the house, and, approaching Nu'am, said to her, “We prayed for you yesterday, but come with me now and divert yourself and return before your master comes home.” Nu'am said to her mother-in-law, “For God's sake, give me permission to go out with this pious woman to watch the holy men in the holy places and return quickly before my master comes home.” Ni'ma's mother replied, “I am afraid that he will find out.” The old woman said, “By God, I will not let her even sit down, but she will watch standing on her feet and will not tarry.”

So the old woman took the girl by guile and carried her to the mansion of al-Hajjaj and, putting her in a private chamber, informed
al-Hajjaj of her arrival. He went in to her, and when he looked at her, he saw her to be the loveliest woman of her day, the like of whom he had never seen before. When Nu'am saw him, she veiled her face from him, but he did not leave her until he called his chamberlain and ordered him to take fifty horsemen, mount the girl on a swift dromedary, ride to Damascus, and deliver her to the Commander of the Faithful abd-al-Melik ibn-Marwan. He also wrote the caliph a letter, saying to the chamberlain, “Give him this letter, take the answer, and come back quickly.” The chamberlain put the girl on a dromedary and journeyed with her, while she wept all the way at her separation from her master, until they reached Damascus. The chamberlain asked for permission to see the Commander of the Faithful, who granted him permission, and he went in to him and informed him about the girl.

The caliph appropriated a private chamber for her. Then he went to the harem and said to his wife, “Al-Hajjaj has bought for me a girl who is a descendent of the ancient kings of Kufa, for ten thousand dinars, and he has sent me this letter with her.” His wife said, “May God multiply His blessings on you.” Then the caliph's sister went in to Nu'am, and when she saw her, she said to her, “He is not disappointed who has you in his house, even if your price is a hundred thousand dinars.” Nu'am said, “O cheerful one, to which king does this palace belong, and what city is this?” The caliph's sister replied, “This is the city of Damascus, and this palace belongs to my brother, the Commander of the Faithful Abd-al-Melik-ibn-Marwan,” adding, “It seems that you don't know this.” Nu'am replied, “By God, my lady, I had no knowledge of it.” The caliph's sister said, “Didn't he who sold you and received your price tell you that it was the caliph who bought you?” When Nu'am heard this, she wept and lamented and said to herself, “I have been tricked. If I speak up, nobody will believe me. So I will be silent and patient, for I know that God's deliverance is near.” Then she bowed her head bashfully, and her cheeks were reddened from the exertion of travel and the heat of the sun. The caliph's sister left her and on the following day returned with clothes and jewel necklaces and dressed her.

Then the Commander of the Faithful came in to her and sat beside her. His sister said to him, “Look at this girl in whom God has perfected beauty and grace.” The caliph said to Nu'am, “Remove the veil from your face,” but she did not. So even though he did not see her face, he saw her wrists and fell in love with her, and he said to his sister, “I will wait for three days until you cheer her up, before I go into her.” Then he went out, leaving Nu'am worried about herself and sad because of her separation from her master Ni'ma. When night came, she felt sick with fever. She did not eat or drink, and she looked
pale, and her charms faded. When they informed the caliph about her condition, he grieved for her, and he brought in the physicians and the sages to examine her, but no one could offer a remedy for her.

Meanwhile, her master Ni'ma came home and, seating himself on his bed, called out, “Nu'am!” But she did not answer. So he got up quickly and called out again, but no one came to him, for every woman in the house hid herself, in fear of him. He went to his mother and saw her sitting with her hand on her cheek. He asked her, “Mother, where is Nu'am?” She replied, “Son, she is with one who is more trustworthy than myself with her. She went out with the pious old woman to visit the poor.” He said, “Since when has she been accustomed to do this? When did she go?” His mother replied, “She went out early in the morning.” He asked, “Why did you give her permission to go?” She replied, “Son, she was the one who persuaded me to do it.” He said, “There is no power and no strength save in God the Almighty, the Magnificent.” Then he left the house in a daze and, going to the chief of the police, said to him, “Did you trick me and take my slave-girl from my house? I will certainly journey and complain against you to the Commander of the Faithful.” The chief of the police asked him, “Who took her?” Ni'ma replied, “An old woman with such and such a description, dressed in wool garments and carrying a rosary of thousands of beads.” The chief of the police said, “Tell me who the old woman is, and I will get you back your slave-girl.” Ni'ma said, “Who knows the old woman?” The chief of the police replied, “And who knows what lies hidden, save God the Almighty, the Magnificent?” He knew that she was al-Hajjaj's wily henchwoman. Ni'ma said to him, “No one has the responsibility to get back my slave-girl but you. I will let al-Hajjaj judge between us.” The chief of the police said, “Go to whomever you wish.”

So Ni'ma, whose father was one of the prominent men of Kufa, went to al-Hajjaj's mansion, and as soon as he arrived, the chamberlain went in to al-Hajjaj and informed him of the case. Al-Hajjaj said, “Bring him to me,” and when he stood before him, al-Hajjaj asked him, “What is the problem?” And Ni'ma explained to him. Al-Hajjaj said, “Bring me the chief of the police, and I will order him to search for the old woman.” When the chief of the police arrived, al-Hajjaj said to him, “I want you to search for the slave-girl of Ni'ma ibn-al-Rabi'.” The chief of the police said, “No one knows what lies hidden, save the Almighty God.” Al-Hajjaj said to him, “You must send horsemen and look for the girl in all the roads and towns.” Then turning to Ni'ma, he said, “If you don't get your slave-girl back, I will give you ten slave-girls from my house and ten from that of the chief of the police.” Then he said to the chief of the police, “Go and look for the girl,” and the chief went out.

Ni'ma returned home, feeling depressed and desperate. He was by now only fourteen years old, and there was not a hair on his face. He secluded himself and wept and lamented till the morning, when his father came to him and said, “Son, al-Hajjaj has tricked us and taken the girl away, but God sends relief from hour to hour.” But Ni'ma's grief increased, so that he did not know what he said or who came to see him, and he fell ill and his condition deteriorated until his father despaired of him, for all the physicians who came to see him said, “There is no cure for him but the girl.”

One day, his father heard of a skilled Persian physician, said to be accomplished in medicine, astrology, and geomancy. Al-Rabi' called for him, and when he came, he seated him beside him, treated him courteously, and said to him, “Examine my son.” The physician said to Ni'ma, “Give me your hand.” Ni'ma gave him his hand, and he felt his joints, looked in his face and laughed and, turning to al-Rabi', said, “Your son's only ailment is in his heart.” Al-Rabi' replied, “You are right, doctor. Apply your skill to all aspects of the case and tell me, without hiding anything from me.” The Persian said, “He is in love with a girl who is either in Basra or in Damascus, and his only remedy is reunion with her.” Al-Rabi' said, “If you reunite them, I will give you what will make you rejoice, and you will live all your life in prosperity and happiness.” The Persian said, “This is easy and speedily accomplished.” Then he returned to Ni'ma and said, “You will be all right; so cheer up and relax.” Then he said to al-Rabi', “Give me four thousand dinars of your money,” and al-Rabi' took out the money and gave it to the Persian, who said to him, “I would like your son to journey with me to Damascus, and, God willing, I will not return from there but with the girl.” Then he turned to Ni'ma and asked him, “What is your name?” Ni'ma answered, “Ni'ma,” and he said to him, “Sit up, and trust in the Almighty God to reunite you with your girl.” When Ni'ma sat up, he said to him, “Take heart, and be cheerful, and eat and drink to fortify yourself for the journey, for we set out for Damascus this very day.”

Then the Persian set about preparing whatever he needed for the journey, having taken from Ni'ma's father altogether ten thousand dinars, as well as horses and camels and other beasts of burden to carry the baggage. Ni'ma bade his father and mother farewell and journeyed with the physician to Aleppo, but they heard no news of Nu'am there. So they continued until they arrived in Damascus, where, three days later, the Persian rented a shop and, decorating the shelves with gilding and costly ornaments, stocked them with precious chinaware and covers. Moreover, he placed before him glass bottles containing all kinds of ointments and potions surrounded by cups of crystal and, putting on a physician's attire, sat in his shop with an
astrolabe before him. Then he dressed Ni'ma in a silk shirt and gown and girded his waist with a silk kerchief, embroidered with gold, and he made Ni'ma sit before him and said to him, “Ni'ma, from this day on, you are my son. So call me by no other name but father, and I will call you son.” Ni'ma replied, “I hear and obey.”

The people of Damascus began to congregate before the Persian's shop, gazing at the beauty of Ni'ma and the elegance of the shop and its wares, while the physician spoke in Persian with Ni'ma, who likewise answered him in Persian, for he had learned it, as was usually the case with the sons of prominent families. The Persian became famous among the people of Damascus who began to come to him and describe their ailments, for which he gave them remedies. Moreover, they brought him the urine of the sick in jars, and he would examine it and say, “He whose urine this is is suffering from such and such an ailment,” and the patient would say, “This is true.” He continued to minister to the people of Damascus, who flocked to him until his fame spread throughout the city and into the households of its prominent people.

One day, as he sat in his shop, an old woman approached him, riding on an ass, with a saddle of brocade adorned with jewels. She stopped at the shop and, pulling the ass's bridle, motioned to him, saying, “Hold my hand.” He held her hand, while she dismounted and said, “Are you the Persian physician who came from Iraq?” He replied, “Yes.” She said, “I have a sick daughter,” and brought out a bottle of urine. After he examined it, he asked her, “Tell me her name, in order that I may calculate her horoscope and learn the best hour for taking the medicine.” She replied, “O Persian, her name is Nu'am.” When he heard the name, he proceeded to calculate and write on his hand and soon said to her, “My lady, I cannot prescribe any medicine for her unless I know in which country she was brought up, because of the difference in climate, and how old she is.” The old woman replied, “She is fourteen years old, and she was brought up in the city of Kufa, in Iraq.” He asked, “And how many months has she been in this country?” The old woman replied, “She has been here only a few months.” When Ni'ma heard this and the name of his girl, his heart throbbed. The Persian said to her, “Such and such remedies will be suitable for her.” The old woman said to him, “Then give them to me with the blessing of the Almighty God,” and threw him ten dinars. He turned to Ni'ma and ordered him to prepare the drugs, while the old woman looked at him and exclaimed, “O my son, you look just like her. May God protect you!” Then she asked the Persian, “Persian, is this your Mamluk or your son?” The Persian replied, “He is my son.” Ni'ma put the drugs in a box and, taking a paper, wrote the following lines,

If Nu'am grant me a glance, I care not

If Su'ad her favors grant or Juml prove unkind.