  We will next take "Abu al-Hasan and Abu Ja'afar the Leper." Payne Burton V. 49 V. 294 (Lib. Ed., iv., 242) ABOULHUSN ED DURRAJ ABU AL-HASAN AND ABOU JAAFER THE AND LEPER ABU JA'AFAR THE LEPER Quoth Aboulhusn ed I had been many times Durraj, I had been many to Mecca (Allah increase times to Mecca (which its honour!) and the folk God increase in honour) used to follow me for my and the folk used to follow knowledge of the road and me by reason of my knowledge remembrance of the water of the road and stations. It happened one the watering-places. It year that I was minded to chanced one year that I make the pilgrimage to was minded to make the the Holy House and visitation pilgrimage to the Holy of the tomb of His House of God and visit the Prophet (on whom be tomb of His prophet (on blessing and the Peace!) whom be peace and blessing), and I said in myself. "I and I said to myself, well know the way and "I know the road and will will fare alone." So I go alone." So I set out set out and journeyed till I and journeyed till I came came to Al-Kadisiyah, and to El Cadesiyeh, and entering entering the Mosque there, the Mosque there, saw saw a man suffering from a leper seated in the black leprosy seated in prayer-niche. When he the prayer-niche. Quoth he saw me, he said to me, on seeing me, "O Abu "O Aboulhusn, I crave al-Hasan, I crave thy company thy company to Mecca." to Meccah." Quoth I Quoth I to myself, "I to myself, "I fled from all wished to avoid companions, my companions and how and how shall I shall I company with lepers." company with lepers?" So I said to him, "I will So I said to him, "I will bear no man company," bear no one company," and he was silent at my and he was silent. words. Next day I continued Next day I walked on my journey alone, till I alone, till I came to came to Acabeh, where Al-Akabah, where I entered I entered the Mosque and the mosque and found the was amazed to find the leper seated in the prayer leper seated in the prayer- niche. So I said to myself, niche. "Glory be to God," "Glory be to Allah! said I in myself. "How how hath this fellow preceded hath this fellow foregone me hither." But me hither?" But he he raised his head to me raised his eyes to me and said with a smile, "O and said, smiling, "O, Abu al-Hasan, He doth Aboulhusn, He doth for for the weak that which the weak that which the surpriseth the strong!" strong wonder at." I I passed that night confounded passed that night in at what I had perplexity, confounded at seen; and, as soon as what I had seen, and in morning dawned, set out the morning set out again again by myself; but by myself; but when I when I came to Arafat came to Arafat and entered and entered the mosque, the mosque, behold, behold! there was the leper there was the leper seated seated in the niche. So I in the niche! So I threw threw myself upon him myself upon him and kissing and kissing his feet said, his feet, said, "O my "O my lord, I crave thy lord, I crave thy company." company." But he answered, But he said, "This may in no "This may nowise be." way be." Then I began Whereupon I fell a-weeping weeping and wailing at and lamenting, and the loss of his company he said: "Peace: weeping when he said, "Spare thy will avail thee nothing," tears, which will avail thee And he recited the naught!" and he recited following verses: these couplets: For my estrangement dost thou Why dost thou weep when I weep,—whereas it came depart and thou didst parting from thee,—And restoration claim; and cravest union dost implore, when none, when we ne'er shall re-unite alas! may be? the same? Thou sawst my weakness and Thou lookedest on nothing save disease, as it appeared, and my weakness and disease; saidst, "He goes, nor comes, and saidst, "Nor goes, nor or night, or day, for this his comes, or night, or day, this malady." sickly frame." Seest not that God (exalted be Seest not how Allah (glorified His glory) to His slave His glory ever be!) deigneth vouchsafeth all he can conceive to grant His slave's petition of favour fair and free! wherewithal he came. If I, to outward vision, be as If I, to eyes of men be that and it appears and eke in body, for only that they see, and this despite of fate, e'en that my body show itself so full which thou dost see. of grief and grame. And eke no victual though I And I have nought of food that have, unto the holy place shall supply me to the place where crowds unto my Lord where crowds unto my Lord resort, indeed, to carry me. resort impelled by single aim. I have a Maker, hidden are His I have a high Creating Lord bounties unto me; yea, whose mercies aye are hid; there's no parting me from a Lord who hath none equal Him, and without peer is He. and no fear is known to Him. Depart from me in peace and So fare thee safe and leave me leave me and my strangerhood; lone in strangerhood to wone. For with the lonely For He the only One, consoles exile still the One shall my loneliness so lone. company. So I left him and continued Accordingly I left him, my journey; and but every station I came every stage I came to, I to, I found he had foregone found him before me, till me, till I reached Al-Madinah, I came to Medina, where where I lost sight I lost sight of him and of him, and could hear could hear no news of no tidings of him. Here him. Here I met Abou I met Abu Yazid Yezid el Bustani and Abou al-Bustami and Abu Bakr Beker es Shibli and a al-Shibli and a number of number of other doctors, other Shaykhs and learned to whom I told my case, men to whom with many and they said, "God complaints I told my case, forbid that thou shouldst and they said, "Heaven gain his company after forbid that thou shouldst this! This was Abou gain his company after Jaafer the leper, in whose this! He was Abu Ja'afar name, at all tides, the folk the leper, in whose name pray for rain, and by whose folk at all times pray for blessings prayers are answered." rain and by whose blessing When I heard prayers their end attain." this, my longing for his When I heard their words, company redoubled and my desire for his company I implored God to reunite redoubled and I implored me with him. Whilst I the Almighty to reunite me was standing on Arafat, with him. Whilst I was one plucked me from behind, standing on Arafat one so I turned and pulled me from behind, so behold, it was Abou Jaafer. I turned and behold, it At this sight I gave a loud was my man. At this cry and fell down in a sight I cried out with a swoon; but when I came loud cry and fell down in to myself, he was gone. a fainting fit; but when I came to myself he had disappeared from my sight. This increased my yearning This increased my yearning for him and the ways for him and the were straitened upon ceremonies were tedious to me and I prayed God to me, and I prayed Almighty give me sight of him; Allah to give me sight of nor was it but a few days him; nor was it but a few after when one pulled me days after, when lo! one from behind, and I turned, pulled me from behind, and behold, it was he and I turned and it was again. Quoth he, "I conjure he again. Thereupon he thee, ask thy desire said, "Come, I conjure of me." So I begged him thee, and ask thy want of to pray three prayers to me." So I begged him to God for me; first, that pray for me three prayers: He would make me love first, that Allah would make poverty; secondly, that I me love poverty; secondly, might never lie down to that I might never lie down sleep upon known provision, at night upon provision and thirdly, that assured to me; and He, the Bountiful One, thirdly, that he would would vouchsafe me to vouchsafe me to look upon look upon His face. So he His bountiful face. So prayed for me, as I wished, he prayed for me as I and departed from me. wished, and departed from And, indeed, God hath me. And indeed Allah granted me the first two hath granted me what the prayers; for He hath devotee asked in prayer; made me in love with to begin with he hath made poverty, so that, by Allah, me so love poverty that, by there is nought in the the Almighty! there is world dearer to me than nought in the world dearer it, and since such a year, to me than it, and secondly I have never lain down since such a year I have upon assured provision; never lain down to sleep yet hath He never let me upon assured provision, lack of aught. As for the withal hath He never let third prayer, I trust that me lack aught. As for the He will vouchsafe me that third prayer, I trust that also, even as He hath he will vouchsafe me that granted the two others, also, even as He hath for He is bountiful and granted the two precedent, excellently beneficient. And for right Bountiful and may God have mercy on Beneficient is His Godhead, him who saith: and Allah have mercy on him who said; Renouncement, lowliness, the Garb of Fakir, renouncement, fakir's garments be; In lowliness; patched and tattered clothes His robe of tatters and of rags still fares the devotee. his dress; Pallor adorneth him, as on their And pallor ornamenting brow latest nights, The moons as though with pallor still embellished 'Twere wanness such as waning thou mayst see. crescents show. Long rising up by night to pray Wasted him prayer a-through hath wasted him; And from the long-lived night, his lids the tears stream down. And flooding tears ne'er cease as 'twere a sea. to dim his sight. The thought of God to him his Memory of Him shall cheer his very housemate is; For lonely room; bosom friend by night, th' Th' Almighty nearest is in Omnipotent hath he. nightly gloom. God the Protector helps the fakir The Refuge helpeth such Fakir in his need; And birds and in need; beasts no less to succour him Help e'en the cattle and the agree. winged breed; On his account, the wrath of Allah for sake of him of wrath God on men descends, And is fain, by his grace, the rains fall And for the grace of him shall down on wood and lea. fall the rain; And if he pray one day to do And if he pray one day for plague away a plague, The oppressor's to stay, slain and men from 'Twill stay, and 'bate man's tyrants are made free; wrong and tyrants slay. For all the folk are sick, While folk are sad, afflicted one afflicted and diseased, And he's and each, the pitying leach withouten He in his mercy's rich, the stint or fee. generous leach; His forehead shines; an thou Bright shines his brow; an thou but look upon his face, Thy regard his face heart is calmed, the lights of Thy heart illumined shines by heaven appear to thee. light of grace. O thou that shunnest these, their O thou that shunnest souls of virtues knowing not, Woe's worth innate, thee! Thou'rt shut from Departs thee (woe to thee!) of them by thine iniquity. sins the weight. Thou think'st them to o'ertake, Thou thinkest to overtake them, for all thou'rt fettered fast; while thou bearest Thy sins from thy desire Follies, which slay thee whatso do hinder thee, perdie. way thou farest. Thou wouldst to them consent Didst not their worth thou hadst and rivers from thine eyes all honour showed Would run from them, if thou And tears in streamlets from their excellence could'st see. thine eyes had flowed. Uneath to him to smell, who's To catarrh-troubled men flowers troubled with a rheum, Are lack their smell; flowers; the broker knows And brokers ken for how much what worth the garments be. clothes can sell; So supplicate thy Lord right So haste and with thy Lord humbly for His grace And re-union sue, Providence, belike, shall And haply fate shall lend thee help thy constancy; aidance due. And thou shalt win thy will and Rest from rejection and from estrangement's stress estrangement stress, And eke rejection's pains And joy thy wish and will shall shall be at rest and free. choicely bless. The asylum of His grace is wide His court wide open for the enough for all That seek; The suer is dight:— one true God, the One, very God, the Lord, th' Conqueror, is He! Almighty might. We may also compare the two renderings of that exquisite and tender little poem "Azizeh's Tomb" 462 which will be found in the "Tale of Aziz and Azizeh." Payne Burton I passed by a ruined tomb in the I past by a broken tomb amid midst of a garden way, Upon a garth right sheen, Whereon whose letterless stone seven on seven blooms of Nu'aman blood-red anemones lay. glowed with cramoisie. "Who sleeps in this unmarked Quoth I, "Who sleepeth in this grave?" I said, and the tomb?" Quoth answering earth, "Bend low; For a earth, "Before a lover lover lies here and waits for Hades-tombed bend reverently." the Resurrection Day." "God keep thee, O victim of Quoth I, "May Allah help thee, love!" I cried, "and bring O thou slain of love, And thee to dwell In the highest grant thee home in heaven of all the heavens of Paradise, and Paradise-height to see! I pray! "How wretched are lovers all, "Hapless are lovers all e'en even in the sepulchre, tombed in their tombs, For their very tombs are Where amid living folk the covered with ruin and decay! dust weighs heavily! "Lo! if I might, I would plant "Fain would I plant a garden thee a garden round about, blooming round thy grave and with my streaming tears And water every flower with the thirst of its flowers tear-drops flowing allay!" free!" 463 |
|
