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Story Of Nur-Ed-Din And Enis-El-JelisThe Fate of Nur-ed-Din
The Fate of Nur-ed-Din
Such was the case of the Wezir. - Now as to Nur-ed-Din, he feared the
result of his conduct, and so passed each day in the gardens, not returning to
his mother until towards the close of the night: he then slept in her
apartment, and rose before morning without being seen by any one else. Thus he
continued to do for the space of a month, not seeing the face of his father;
and at length his mother said to his father, O my master, wilt thou lose the
damsel and lose the child? For if it long continue thus with the youth, he
will flee his country. - And what is to be done? said he. She answered, Sit up
this night, and when he cometh, lay hold upon him, and be reconciled to him,
and give him the damsel; for she loveth him, and he loveth her; and I will
give thee her price. So the Wezir sat up the whole night, and when his son
came, he laid hold upon him, and would have cut his throat; but his mother
came to his succour, and said to her husband, What dost thou desire to do unto
him? He answered her, I desire to slay him. The youth then said to his father,
Am I of so small account in thy estimation? And upon this, the eyes of his
father filled with tears, and he said to him, O my son, is the loss of my
property and my life of small account with thee? - Listen, O my father,
rejoined the youth: - and he implored his forgiveness. So the Wezir rose from
the breast of his son, and was moved with compassion for him; and the youth
rose, and kissed his father`s hand; and the Wezir said, O my son, if I knew
that thou wouldst act equitably to Enis-el-Jelis, I would give her to
thee. - O my father, replied the youth, wherefore should I not act equitably
towards her? And his father said, I charge thee, O my son, that thou take not
a wife to share her place, and that thou do her no injury, nor sell her. He
replied, O my father, I swear to thee that I will neither take a wife to share
her place, nor sell her: - and he promised him by oaths to act as he had said,
and took up his abode with the damsel, and remained with her a year; and God
(whose name be exalted!) caused the King to forget the affair of the female
slave; but the matter became known to El-Mo`in the son of Sawi; yet he could
not speak of it, on account of the high estimation in which the other Wezir
was held by the Sultan.
After this year had expired, the Wezir Fadl-ed-Din the son of Khakan
entered the bath, and came out in a state of excessive perspiration, in
consequence of which the external air smote him, so that he became confined to
his bed, and long remained sleepless; and his malady continued unremittingly;
so he called, thereupon, his son, `Ali Nur-ed-Din, and when he came before
him, said to him, O my son, verily the means of life are apportioned, and its
period is decreed, and every soul must drink the cup of death. I have nothing
with which to charge thee but the fear of God, and forethought with regard to
the results of thine actions, and that thou conduct thyself kindly to the
damsel Enis-el-Jelis. - O my father, said the youth, who is like unto
thee? Thou hast been celebrated for virtuous actions, and the praying of the
preachers for thee on the pulpits. - O my son, rejoined the Wezir, I hope for
the approbation of God, whose name be exalted! And then he pronounced the two
professions of the faith, and uttered a sigh, and was recorded among the
company of the blest. And upon this, the palace was filled with shrieking, and
the news reached the ears of the Sultan, and the people of the city heard of
the death of El-Fadl the son of Khakan, and even the boys in the schools
wept for him. His son `Ali Nur-ed-Din arose, and prepared his funeral, and
the Emirs and Wezirs and other officers of the state attended it, and among
them was the Wezir El-Mo`in the son of Sawi; and as the procession passed
out from the mansion, one of the mourners recited these verses: -
I said to the man who was appointed to wash him, - Would that he had yielded
obedience to my counsel, -
Put away from him the water, and wash him with the tears of honour, shed in
lamentation for him:
And remove these fragrant substances collected for his corpse, and perfume him
rather with the odours of his praise:
And order the noble angels to carry him in honour. Dost thou not behold them
attending him?
Cause not men`s necks to be strained by bearing him: enough are they laden
already by his benefits.
`Ali Nur-ed-Din for a long time remained in a state of violent grief
for the loss of his father; but as he was sitting one day in his father`s
house, a person knocked at the door, and he rose up and opened it, and lo,
there was a man who was one of his father`s intimate companions, and he kissed
the hand of Nur-ed-Din, and said to him, O my master, he who hath left a
son like thee hath not died. This is the destination of the lord of the first
and the last among mankind.^1 O my master, cheer up thy heart, and give over
mourning. - And upon this, `Ali Nur-ed-Din arose, and went to the guest -
chamber, and removed thither all that he required, and his companions came
together to him, and he took again his slave. Ten of the sons of the merchants
became his associates, and he gave entertainment after entertainment, and
began to be lavish with presents. His steward, therefore, came to him, and
said to him, O my master Nur-ed-Din, hast thou not heard the saying, He
who expendeth and doth not calculate is reduced to poverty? This profuse
expenditure, and these magnificent presents, will annihilate the property. -
But when `Ali Nur-ed-Din heard these words of his steward, he looked at
him, and replied, Of all that thou hast said to me, I will not attend to one
word. How excellent is the saying of the poet: -
[Footnote 1: The Prophet Mohammad.]
If I be possessed of wealth and be not liberal, may my hand never be extended,
nor my foot raised!
Shew me the avaricious who hath attained glory by his avarice, and the
munificent who hath died through his munificence.
Know, O Steward, he continued, that if there remain in thy hands what will
suffice for my dinner, thou shalt not burden me with anxiety respecting my
supper. - So the steward left him, and went his way; and `Ali Nur-ed-Din
resumed his habits of extravagant generosity: whenever any one of his
companions said, Verily this thing is beautiful! - he would reply, It is a
present to thee: - and if any said, O my master, verily such a house is
delightful! - he would reply, It is a present to thee.
He ceased not to give entertainments to his companions from the
commencement of day, one after another, until he had passed in this manner a
whole year; after which, as he was sitting with them, he heard the slave -
girl recite these two verses: -
Thou thoughtest well of the days when they went well with thee, and fearedst
not the evil that destiny was bringing.
Thy nights were peaceful, and thou wast deceived by them: in the midst of
their brightness there cometh gloom.
And immediately after, a person knocked at the door; so Nur-ed-Din rose,
and one of his companions followed him without his knowledge; and when he
opened the door, he beheld his steward, and said to him, What is the news? - O
my master, answered the steward, that which I feared on thy account hath
happened to thee. - How is that? asked Nur-ed-Din. The steward answered, Know
that there remaineth not of thy property in my hands, anything equivalent to a
piece of silver, or less than a piece of silver; and these are the accounts of
thy expenses, and of thy original property, When `Ali Nur-ed-Din heard these
words, he hung down his head towards the ground, and exclaimed, There is no
strength nor power but in God! And the man who had followed him secretly to
pry into his case, as soon as he heard what the steward told him, returned to
his companions, and said to them, See what ye will do; for `Ali Nur-ed-Din
hath become a bankrupt. So when Nur-ed-Din returned to them, grief appeared to
them in his countenance, and immediately one of them rose, and, looking
towards him, said to him, O my master, I desire that thou wouldst permit me to
depart. - Why thus depart to-day? said Nur-ed-Din. His guest answered, My
wife is to give birth to a child this night, and it is impossible for me to be
absent from her: I desire, therefore, to go and see her. And he gave him
leave. Then another rose, and said to him, O my master Nur-ed-Din, I desire
to-day to visit my brother; for he celebrateth the circumcision of his son.
Thus each of them asked leave of him deceitfully, and went his way, until all
had departed.
So `Ali Nur-ed -Din remained alone; and he called his slave-girl,
and said to her, O Enis-el-Jelis, seest thou not what hath befallen me?
And he related to her what the steward had told him. She replied, O my master,
for some nights past, I have been anxious to speak to thee of this affair; but
I heard thee reciting these two verses: -
When fortune is liberal to thee, be thou liberal to all others before she
escape from thee:
For liberality will not annihilate thy wealth when she is favourable; nor
avarice preserve it when she deserteth thee.
And when I heard thee repeat these words, I was silent, and would not make any
remark to thee. - O Enis-el-Jelis, he rejoined, thou knowest that I have not
expended my wealth but on my companions; and I do not think that they will
abandon me without relief. - By Allah, said she, they will be of no use to
thee. But he said, I will immediately arise and go to them, and knock at their
doors; perhaps I shall obtain from them something which I will employ as a
capital wherewith to trade, and I will cease from diversion and sport. So he
arose instantly, and proceeded without stopping until he arrived at the by -
street in which his ten companions resided; for they all lived in that same
street: and he advanced to the first door, and knocked; and there came forth
to him a slave-girl, who said to him, Who art thou? He answered, Say to thy
master, - `Ali Nur-ed-Din is standing at the door, and saith to thee, Thy
slave kisseth thy hands, looking for a favour from thee. - And the girl
entered and acquainted her master; but he called out to her, saying, Return,
and tell him, He is not here. - The girl, therefore, returned to Nur-ed-Din,
and said to him, My master, Sir, is not here. And he went on, saying within
himself, If this is a knave, and hath denied himself, another is not. He then
advanced to the next door, and said as he had before; and the second also
denied himself; and Nur-ed-Din exclaimed, -
They are gone, who, if thou stoodest at their door, would bestow upon thee the
bounty thou desirest.
By Allah, he added, I must try all of them: perchance one of them may stand me
in the place of all the others. And he went round to all the ten; but found
not that one of them would open the door, or shew himself, or even order him a
cake or bread; and he recited the following verses: -
A man in prosperity resembleth a tree, around which people flock as long as it
hath fruit;
But as soon as it hath dropped all that it bore, they disperse from beneath
it, and seek another.
Perdition to all the people of this age! for I find not one man of integrity
among ten.
He then returned to his slave: his anxiety had increased, and she said to him,
O my master, said I not unto thee that they would not profit thee? - By Allah,
he replied, not one of them shewed me his face. - O my master, rejoined she,
sell of the movables of the house a little at a time, and expend the produce.
And he did so until he had sold all that was in the house, and there remained
nothing in his possession; and upon this he looked towards Enis-el-Jelis, and
said to her, What shall we do now? - It is my advice, O my master, she
answered, that thou arise immediately, and take me to the market, and sell me;
for thou knowest that thy father purchased me for ten thousand pieces of gold,
and perhaps God may open to thee a way to obtain a part of this price; and if
God have decreed our reunion, we shall meet again. But he replied, O
Enis-el-Jelis, it is not easy for me to endure thy separation for one hour. -
Nor is the like easy to me, said she: but necessity is imperious. And upon
this, he took Enis-el-Jelis, his tears flowing down his cheeks, and went and
delivered her to the broker, saying to him, Know the value of that which thou
art to cry for sale. - O my master Nur-ed-Din, replied the broker, noble
qualities are held in remembrance. Is she not Enis-el-Jelis, whom thy father
purchased of me for ten thousand pieces of gold? - He answered, Yes. And the
broker thereupon went to the merchants; but he found that they had not all yet
assembled; so he waited until the rest had come; and the market was filled
with all varieties of female slaves, Turkish and Greek and Circassian and
Georgian and Abyssinian; and when he beheld its crowded state, he arose and
exclaimed, O merchants! O possessors of wealth! everything that is round is
not a nut; nor is everything long, a banana; nor is everything that is red,
meat; nor is everything white, fat; nor is everything that is ruddy, wine; nor
is everything tawny, a date! O merchants! this precious pearl, whose value no
money can equal, with what sum will ye open the bidding for her? - And one of
the merchants answered, With four thousand and five hundred pieces of gold.
But, lo, the Wezir El-Mo`in the son of Sawi was in the market, and,
seeing `Ali Nur-ed-Din standing there, he said within himself, What doth he
want here, having nothing left wherewith to purchase female slaves? Then
casting his eyes around, and hearing the broker as he stood crying in the
market with the merchants around him, he said within himself, I do not imagine
anything else than that he hath become a bankrupt, and come forth with the
slave-girl to sell her; and if this be the case, how pleasant to my heart! He
then called the crier, who approached him, and kissed the ground before him;
and the Wezir said to him, I desire this female slave whom thou art crying for
sale. The broker, therefore, being unable to oppose his wish, brought the
slave and placed her before him; and when he beheld her, and considered her
charms, her elegant figure and her soft speech, he was delighted with her, and
said to the broker. To what has the bidding for her amounted? The broker
answered, Four thousand and five hundred pieces of gold. And as soon as the
merchants heard this, not one of them could bid another piece of silver or of
gold; but all of them drew back, knowing the tyrannical conduct of that Wezir.
El-Mo`in the son of Sawi then looked towards the broker, and said to him, Why
standest thou still? Take away the slave-girl for me at the price of four
thousand and five hundred pieces of gold, and thou wilt have five hundred for
thyself. - So the broker went to `Ali Nur-ed-Din, and said to him, O my
master, the slave-girl is lost to thee without price. - How so? said
Nur-ed-Din. The broker answered, We opened the bidding for her at four
thousand and five hundred pieces of gold; but this tyrant El-Mo`in the son of
Sawi came into the market, and when he beheld the damsel she pleased him, and
he said to me, Ask her owner if he will agree for four thousand pieces of
gold, and five hundred for thee: - and I doubt not but he knoweth that the
slave belongeth to thee; and if he give thee her price immediately, it will be
through the goodness of God; but I know, from his injustice, that he will
write thee an order upon some of his agents for the money, and then send to
them and desire them to give thee nothing; and everytime that thou shalt go to
demand it of them, they will pay thee: - and they will not cease to promise
thee, and to defer from day to day, notwithstanding thy pride; and when they
are overcome by thy importunity they will say, Give us the written order: and
as soon as they have received the paper from thee they will tear it in pieces:
so thou wilt lose the price of the slave. //FS(387_004)"Noureddin And The
Slave" Noureddin declaring his love for the slave girl. //FE
When Nur-ed-Din, therefore, heard these words of the broker, he said to
him, What is to be done? The broker answered, I will give thee a piece of
advice, and if thou receive it from me, thou will have better fortune. - What
is it? Asked Nur-ed-Din. - That thou come to me immediately, answered the
broker, while I am standing in the midst of the market, and take the slave -
girl from me, and give her a blow with thy hand, and say to her, Wo to thee! I
have expiated my oath that I swore, and brought thee to the market, because I
swore to thee that thou shouldst be exposed in the market, and that the broker
should cry thee for sale. - If thou do this, perhaps the trick will deceive
him and people, and they will believe that thou tookest her not to the market
but to expiate the oath. - This, replied Nur-ed-Din, is the right counsel. So
the broker returned into the midst of the market, and, taking hold of the hand
of the slave-girl, made a sign to the Wezir El-Mo`in the son of Sawi, saying,
O my lord, this is her owner who hath just come. Then `Ali Nur-ed-Din advanced
to the broker, and tore the damsel from him, and struck her with his hand,
saying to her, Wo to thee! I have brought thee to the market for the sake of
expiating my oath. Go home, and disobey me not again. I want not thy price,
that I should sell thee; and if I sold the furniture of the house and
everything else of the kind over and over again, their produce would not
amount to thy price. - But when El-Mo`in the son of Sawi, beheld Nur-ed-Din,
he said to him, Wo to thee! Hast thou anything left to be sold or bought? -
And he would have laid violent hands upon him. The merchants then looked
towards Nur-ed-Din (and they all loved him), and he said to them, Here am I
before you, and ye have all known his tyranny. - By Allah, exclaimed the
Wezir, were it not for you, I had killed him! Then all of them made signs, one
to another, with the eye, and said, Not one of us will interfere between thee
and him. And upon this, `Ali Nur-ed-Din, went up to the Wezir, the son of Sawi
(and Nur-ed-Din was a man of courage), and he dragged the Wezir from his
saddle, and threw him upon the ground. There was at that spot a kneading -
place for mud,^2 and the Wezir fell into the midst of it, and Nur-ed-Din beat
him with his fist, and a blow fell upon his teeth, by which his beard became
dyed with his blood. Now there were with the Wezir ten memluks, and when they
saw Nur-ed-Din treat their master in this manner, they put their hands upon
the hilts of their swords, and would have fallen upon him and cut him in
pieces; but the people said to them, This is a Wezir, and this is the son of
Wezir, and perhaps they may make peace with each other, and ye will incur the
anger of both of them; or perhaps a blow may fall upon your master, and ye
will all of you die the most ignominious of deaths: it is advisable,
therefore, that ye interfere not between them. - And when `Ali Nur-ed-Din had
ceased from beating the Wezir, he took his slave-girl and returned to his
house.
[Footnote 2: By this is meant, a place where mud was kneaded to be employed in
building. The mortar generally used in the construction of Arab houses is
composed of mud in the proportion of one-half, with a fourth part of lime, and
the remaining part of the ashes of straw and rubbish.]
The Wezir, the son of Sawi, then immediately arose, and his dress, which
before was white, was now dyed with three colours, the colour of mud, and the
colour of blood, and the colour of ashes; and when he beheld himself in this
condition, he took a round mat, and hung it to his neck, and took in his hand
two bundles of coarse grass, and went and stood beneath the palace of the
Sultan, and cried out, O King of the age! I am oppressed! - So they brought
him before the King, who looked at him attentively, and saw that he was his
Wezir, El-Mo`in the son of Sawi. He said, therefore, Who hath done thus unto
thee? - and the Wezir cried and moaned, and repeated these two verses: -
Shall fortune oppress me while thou existest; and the dogs devour me when thou
art a lion?
Shall all else who are dry drink freely from thy tanks, and I thirst in thine
asylum when thou art as rain?
- O my lord, he continued, thus is every one who loveth thee and serveth thee:
these afflictions always befall him. - And who, said the King again, hath done
thus unto thee? - Know, answered the Wezir, that I went forth to-day to the
market of the female slaves with the idea of buying a cook-maid, and saw in
the market a slave-girl the like of whom I had never in my life beheld, and
the broker said that she belonged to `Ali Nur-ed-Din. Now our lord the
Sultan had given his father ten thousand pieces of gold to buy for him with it
a beautiful female slave, and he bought that girl, and she pleased him; so he
gave her to his son; and when his father died, the son pursued the path of
prodigality, until he sold all his houses and gardens and utensils; and when
he had become a bankrupt, nothing else remaining in his possession, he took
the slave-girl to the market to sell her, and delivered her to the broker:
so he cried her for sale, and the merchants continued bidding for her until
her price amounted to four thousand pieces of gold; whereupon I said to
myself, I will buy this for our lord the Sultan; for her original price was
from him. I therefore said, O my son, receive her price, four thousand pieces
of gold. But when he heard my words, he looked at me and replied, O ill -
omened old man! I will sell her to the Jews and the Christians rather than to
thee, - I then said to him, I would not buy her for myself, but for our lord
the Sultan, who is our benefactor. As soon, however, as he had heard these
words from me, he was filled with rage, and dragged me and threw me down from
the horse, notwithstanding my advanced age, and beat me, and ceased not to do
so until he left me in the state in which thou seest me. Nothing exposed me to
all this ill treatment but my coming to purchase this slave-girl for your
majesty. - The Wezir then threw himself upon the ground, and lay weeping and
trembling.
Now when the Sultan beheld his condition, and had heard his speech, the
vein of anger swelled between his eyes, and he looked towards the members of
his court who were attending him; whereupon forty swordsmen stood before him,
and he said to them, Descend immediately to the house of `Ali the son of
El-Fadl the son of Khakan, and plunder it and demolish it, and bring hither
him and the slave-girl with their hands bound behind them: drag them along
upon their faces, and so bring them before me. They replied, we hear and obey:
- and went forth to repair to the house of `Ali Nur-ed-Din. But there was in
the court of the Sultan a chamberlain named `Alam-ed-in Senjer, who had been
one of the memluks of El - Fadl the son of Khakan, the father of `Ali
Nur-ed-Din; and when he heard the order of the Sultan, and saw the enemies
prepared to slay his master`s son, it was insupportable to him; so he mounted
his horse, and proceeded to the house of `Ali Nur-ed-Din, and knocked at the
door. Nur-ed-Din came forth to him, and, when he saw him, knew him, and would
have saluted him; but he said, O my master, this is not a time for salutation,
nor for talking. Nur-ed-Din said, O `Alam-ed-Din, what is the news? He
replied, Save thyself by flight, thou and the slave-girl; for El-Mo`in the son
of Sawi hath set up a snare for you, and if ye fall into his hands he will
slay you: the Sultan hath sent to you forty swordsmen, and it is my advice
that ye fly before the evil fall upon you. Then Senjer stretched forth his
hand to Nur-ed-Din with some pieces of gold, and he counted them, and found
them to be forty pieces; and he said, O my master, receive these, and if I had
with me more, I would give it thee; but this is not a time for expostulating.
And upon this, Nur-ed-Din went in to the damsel, and acquainted her with the
occurrence, and she was confounded.
The two then went forth immediately from the city, and God let down the
veil of his protection upon them, and they proceeded to the bank of the river,
where they found a vessel ready to sail: the master was standing in the midst
of it, and saying, He who hath anything to do, whether leave-taking or
procuring provisions, or who hath forgotten aught, let him do what he desireth
and return; for we are going. And they all replied, We have nothing remaining
to do, O master. So, upon this, the master said to his crew, Quick! Loose the
rope`s end, and pull up the stake. - And `Ali Nur-ed-Din exclaimed, Whither, O
master? He answered, To the abode of Peace, Baghdad. And Nur-ed-Din embarked,
and the damsel with him, and they set the vessel afloat, and spread the sails
and it shot along like a bird with its pair of wings, carrying them forward
with a favourable wind.
Meanwhile, the forty men whom the Sultan had sent came to the house of
`Ali Nur-ed-Din, and broke open the doors and entered, and searched all
the chambers, but without success; so they demolished the house, and returned,
and acquainted the Sultan, who said, Search for them in every place where they
may be: - and they replied, We hear and obey. The Wezir El-Mo`in the son of
Sawi then descended to his house, after the Sultan had invested him with a
robe of honour, and had said to him, None shall take vengeance for thee but
myself. And he greeted the King with a prayer for long life, and his heart was
set at ease: and the Sultan gave orders to proclaim throughout the city, O all
ye people! our lord the Sultan hath commanded that whoever shall meet with
`Ali Nur-ed-Din, and bring him to the Sultan, shall be invested with a
robe of honour, and he will give him a thousand pieces of gold; and he who
shall conceal him, or know where he is, and not give information thereof, will
merit the exemplary punishment that shall befall him! So all the people began
to search for him; but could not trace him. - Such was the case with these
people.
Now as to `Ali Nur-ed-Din and his slave, they arrived in safety at
Baghdad, and the master of the vessel said to them, This is Baghdad, and it is
a city of security: winter with its cold hath departed from it, and the spring
- quarter hath come with its roses, and its trees are in blossom, and its
waters are flowing. And upon this, `Ali Nur-ed-Din landed with his slave -
girl, and gave the master five pieces of gold. They then walked a little way,
and destiny cast them among the gardens, and they came to a place which they
found swept and sprinkled, with long mastabahs, and pots suspended filled with
water, and over it was a covering of trellis-work of canes extending along
the whole length of a lane, at the upper end of which was the gate of a
garden; but this was shut. And Nur-ed-Din said to the damsel, By Allah,
this is a pleasant place! - and she replied, O my master, let us sit down a
while upon one of these mastabahs. So they mounted and seated themselves
there, and they washed their faces and hands, and enjoyed the current of the
zephyr, and slept. - Glory be to Him who sleepeth not!
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