The Thousand and One Nights Volume I Part 3

"It is believed," says El-?azweenee, "that the Angels are of a simple substance, endowed with life, and speech, and reason; and that the difference between them and the Jinn and Shey?ans is a difference of species. Know," he adds, "that the Angels are sanctified from carnal desire and the disturbance of anger: they disobey not G.o.d in what He hath commanded them, but do what they are commanded. Their food is the celebrating of his glory; their drink, the proclaiming of his holiness; their conversation, the commemoration of G.o.d, whose name be exalted; their pleasure, his wors.h.i.+p: they are created in different forms, and with different powers." Some are described as having the forms of brutes. Four of them are Archangels; Jebraeel or Jibreel (or Gabriel), the angel of revelations; Meekaeel or Meekal (or Michael), the patron of the Israelites; 'Azraeel, the angel of death; and Israfeel, the angel of the trumpet, which he is to sound twice, or as some say thrice, at the end of the world: one blast will kill all living creatures (himself included): another, forty years after, (he being raised again for this purpose, with Jebraeel and Meekaeel), will raise the dead. These Archangels are also called Apostolic Angels. They are inferior in dignity to human prophets and apostles, though superior to the rest of the human race: the angelic nature is held to be inferior to the human nature, because all the Angels were commanded to prostrate themselves before Adam. Every believer is attended by two guardian and recording angels; one of whom writes his good actions; the other, his evil actions: or, according to some, the number of these angels is five, or sixty, or a hundred and sixty. There are also two Angels called Munkar (vulg. Nakir) and Nekeer, who examine all the dead, and torture the wicked, in their graves.

The species of Jinn is said to have been created some thousands of years before Adam. According to a tradition from the Prophet, this species consists of five orders or cla.s.ses; namely, Jann (who are the least powerful of all), Jinn, Shey?ans (or Devils), 'Efreets, and Marids. The last, it is added, are the most powerful; and the Jann are transformed Jinn; like as certain apes and swine were transformed men.[52]--It must, however, be remarked here, that the terms Jinn and Jann are generally used indiscriminately, as names of the whole species (including the other orders above mentioned), whether good or bad; and that the former term is the more common. Also, that "Shey?an" is commonly used to signify any evil Jinnee. An 'Efreet is a powerful evil Jinnee:[53] a Marid, an evil Jinnee of the most powerful cla.s.s. The Jinn (but generally speaking, evil ones) are called by the Persians "Deevs," the most powerful evil Jinn, "Narahs" (which signifies "males," though they are said to be males and females); the good Jinn, "Perees;" though this term is commonly applied to females.

In a tradition from the Prophet, it is said, "The Jann were created of a smokeless fire."[54] The word which signifies "a smokeless fire" has been misunderstood by some as meaning "the flame of fire:" El-Joharee (in the ?e?a?) renders it rightly; and says that of this fire was _the_ Shey?an (Iblees) created. "El-Jann" is sometimes used as a name for Iblees; as in the following verse of the ?ur-an:--"And the Jann [the father of the Jinn; _i. e._ Iblees] we had created before [_i. e._ before the creation of Adam] of the fire of the samoom [_i. e._ of fire without smoke]."[55] "Jann" also signifies "a serpent;" as in other pa.s.sages of the ?ur-an;[56] and is used in the same book as synonymous with "Jinn."[57] In the last sense it is generally believed to be used in the tradition quoted in the commencement of this paragraph. There are several apparently contradictory traditions from the Prophet which are reconciled by what has been above stated: in one, it is said, that Iblees was the father of all the Jann and Shey?ans;[58] Jann being here synonymous with Jinn: in another, that Jann was the father of all the Jinn;[59] here, Jann being used as a name of Iblees.

"It is held," says El-?azweenee, "that the Jinn are aerial animals, with transparent bodies, which can a.s.sume various forms. People differ in opinion respecting these beings: some consider the Jinn and Shey?ans as unruly men; but these persons are of the Mo?tezileh [a sect of Muslim freethinkers]: and some hold, that G.o.d, whose name be exalted, created the Angels of the light of fire, and the Jinn of its flame [but this is at variance with the general opinion], and the Sheytans of its smoke [which is also at variance with the common opinion]; and that [all]

these kinds of beings are [usually] invisible[60] to men, but that they a.s.sume what forms they please, and when their form becomes condensed they are visible."--This last remark ill.u.s.trates several descriptions of Jinnees in this work; where the form of the monster is at first undefined, or like an enormous pillar, and then gradually a.s.sumes a human shape and less gigantic size. The particular forms of brutes, reptiles, &c., in which the Jinn most frequently appear will be mentioned hereafter.

It is said that G.o.d created the Jann [or Jinn] two thousand years before Adam [or, according to some writers, much earlier]; and that there are believers and infidels and every sect among them, as among men.[61]--Some say that a prophet, named Yoosuf, was sent to the Jinn: others, that they had only preachers, or admonishers: others, again, that seventy apostles were sent, before Mo?ammad, to Jinn and men conjointly.[62] It is commonly believed that the preadamite Jinn were governed by forty (or, according to some, seventy-two) kings, to each of whom the Arab writers give the name of Suleyman (or Solomon); and that they derive their appellation from the last of these, who was called Jann Ibn-Jann, and who, some say, built the Pyramids of Egypt. The following account of the preadamite Jinn is given by El-?azweenee.--"It is related in histories, that a race of Jinn, in ancient times, before the creation of Adam, inhabited the earth, and covered it, the land and the sea, and the plains and the mountains; and the favours of G.o.d were multiplied upon them, and they had government, and prophecy, and religion, and law; but they transgressed and offended, and opposed their prophets, and made wickedness to abound in the earth; whereupon G.o.d, whose name be exalted, sent against them an army of Angels, who took possession of the earth, and drove away the Jinn to the regions of the islands, and made many of them prisoners; and of those who were made prisoners was 'Azazeel [afterwards called Iblees, from his _despair_]; and a slaughter was made among them. At that time, 'Azazeel was young: he grew up among the Angels [and probably for that reason was called one of them], and became learned in their knowledge, and a.s.sumed the government of them; and his days were prolonged until he became their chief; and thus it continued for a long time, until the affair between him and Adam happened, as G.o.d, whose name be exalted, hath said, 'When we said unto the Angels, Wors.h.i.+p[63] ye Adam, and [all] wors.h.i.+pped except Iblees, [who] was [one] of the Jinn.'"[64]

"Iblees," we are told by another authority, "was sent as a governor upon the earth, and judged among the Jinn a thousand years, after which he ascended into heaven, and remained employed in wors.h.i.+p until the creation of Adam."[65] The name of Iblees was originally, according to some, 'Azazeel (as before mentioned); and according to others, El-?arith: his patronymic is Aboo-Murrah, or Abu-l-Ghimr.[66]--It is disputed whether he was of the Angels or of the Jinn. There are three opinions on this point.--1. That he was of the Angels, from a tradition from Ibn-'Abbas.--2. That he was of the Shey?ans (or evil Jinn); as it is said in the ?ur-an, "except Iblees, [who] was [one] of the Jinn:"

this was the opinion of El-?asan El-Ba?ree, and is that commonly held.--3. That he was neither of the Angels nor of the Jinn; but created alone, of fire.--Ibn-'Abbas founds his opinion on the same text from which El-?asan El-Ba?ree derives his: "When we said unto the Angels, Wors.h.i.+p ye Adam, and [all] wors.h.i.+pped except Iblees, [who] was [one] of the Jinn" (before quoted): which he explains by saying, that the most n.o.ble and honourable among the Angels are called "the Jinn," because they are _veiled_ from the eyes of the other Angels on account of their superiority; and that Iblees was one of these Jinn. He adds, that he had the government of the lowest heaven and of the earth, and was called the ?aoos (literally, Peac.o.c.k) of the Angels; and that there was not a spot in the lowest heaven but he had prostrated himself upon it: but when the Jinn rebelled upon the earth, G.o.d sent a troop of Angels who drove them to the islands and mountains; and Iblees being elated with pride, and refusing to prostrate himself before Adam, G.o.d transformed him into a Shey?an.--But this reasoning is opposed by other verses, in which Iblees is represented as saying, "Thou hast created _me_ of _fire_, and hast created _him_ [Adam] of _earth_."[67] It is therefore argued, "If he were created originally of fire, how was he created of light? for the Angels were [all] created of light."[68]--The former verse may be explained by the tradition, that Iblees, having been taken captive, was exalted among the Angels; or perhaps there is an ellipsis after the word "Angels;" for it might be inferred that the command given to the Angels was also (and _a fortiori_) to be obeyed by the Jinn.

According to a tradition, Iblees and all the Shey?ans are distinguished from the other Jinn by a longer existence. "The Shey?ans," it is added, "are the children of Iblees, and die not but with him: whereas the [other] Jinn die before him;"[69] though they may live many centuries.

But this is not altogether accordant with the popular belief: Iblees and many other evil Jinn are to survive mankind; but they are to die before the general resurrection; as also even the Angels; the last of whom will be the Angel of Death, 'Azraeel: yet not _all_ the evil Jinn are to live thus long: many of them are killed by shooting stars, hurled at them from heaven; wherefore, the Arabs, when they see a shooting star (s.h.i.+hab), often exclaim, "May G.o.d transfix the enemy of the faith!"--Many also are killed by other Jinn; and some, even by men. The fire of which the Jinnee is created circulates in his veins, in place of blood: therefore, when he receives a mortal wound, this fire, issuing from his veins, generally consumes him to ashes.--The Jinn, it has been already shown, are peccable. They also eat and drink, and propagate their species, sometimes in conjunction with human beings; in which latter case, the offspring partakes of the nature of both parents. In all these respects they differ from the Angels. Among the evil Jinn are distinguished the five sons of their chief, Iblees; namely, Teer, who brings about calamities, losses, and injuries; El-A?war, who encourages debauchery; So?, who suggests lies; Dasim, who causes hatred between man and wife; and Zelemboor, who presides over places of traffic.[70]

The most common forms and habitations or places of resort of the Jinn must now be described.

The following traditions from the Prophet are the most to the purpose that I have seen.--The Jinn are of various shapes; having the forms of serpents, scorpions, lions, wolves, jackals, &c.[71]--The Jinn are of three kinds; one on the land; one in the sea; and one in the air.[72]

The Jinn consist of forty troops; each troop consisting of six hundred thousand.[73]--The Jinn are of three kinds; one have wings, and fly; another are snakes, and dogs; and the third move about from place to place like men.[74]--Domestic snakes are a.s.serted to be Jinn on the same authority.[75]

The Prophet ordered his followers to kill serpents and scorpions if they intruded at prayers; but on other occasions, he seems to have required first to admonish them to depart, and then, if they remained, to kill them. The Doctors, however, differ in opinion whether _all_ kinds of snakes or serpents should be admonished first; or whether _any_ should; for the Prophet, say they, took a covenant of the Jinn [probably after the above-mentioned command], that they should not enter the houses of the faithful: therefore, it is argued, if they enter, they break their covenant, and it becomes lawful to kill them without previous admonishment. Yet it is related that 'aisheh, the Prophet's wife, having killed a serpent in her chamber, was alarmed by a dream, and, fearing that it might have been a Muslim Jinnee, as it did not enter her chamber when she was undressed, gave in alms, as an expiation, twelve thousand dirhems (about 300), the price of the blood of a Muslim.[76]

The Jinn are said to appear to mankind most commonly in the shapes of serpents, dogs, cats, or human beings. In the last case, they are sometimes of the stature of men, and sometimes of a size enormously gigantic. If good, they are generally resplendently handsome: if evil, horribly hideous. They become invisible at pleasure (by a rapid extension or rarefaction of the particles which compose them), or suddenly disappear in the earth or air, or through a solid wall. Many Muslims in the present day profess to have seen and held intercourse with them.

The Zoba'ah, which is a whirlwind that raises the sand or dust in the form of a pillar of prodigious height, often seen sweeping across the deserts and fields, is believed to be caused by the flight of an evil Jinnee. To defend themselves from a Jinnee thus "riding in the whirlwind," the Arabs often exclaim, "Iron! Iron!" (?adeed! ?adeed!), or, "Iron! thou unlucky!" (?adeed! ya mashoom!), as the Jinn are supposed to have a great dread of that metal: or they exclaim, "G.o.d is most great!" (Allahu akbar!).[77] A similar superst.i.tion prevails with respect to the water-spout at sea, as the reader may have discovered from the first instance of the description of a Jinnee in the present work, which occasions this note to be here inserted.

It is believed that the chief abode of the Jinn is in the Mountains of ?af, which are supposed (as mentioned on a former occasion) to encompa.s.s the whole of our earth. But they are also believed to pervade the solid body of our earth, and the firmament; and to choose, as their princ.i.p.al places of resort, or of occasional abode, baths, wells, the latrina, ovens, ruined houses, market-places, the junctures of roads, the sea, and rivers. The Arabs, therefore, when they pour water, &c., on the ground, or enter a bath, or let down a bucket into a well, or visit the latrina, and on various other occasions, say, "Permission!" or "Permission, ye blessed!" ("Destoor! or, Destoor ya mubarakeen!").[78]--The evil spirits (or evil Jinn), it is said, had liberty to enter any of the seven heavens till the birth of Jesus, when they were excluded from three of them; on the birth of Mo?ammad, they were forbidden the other four.[79] They continue, however, to ascend to the confines of the lowest heaven, and there listening to the conversation of the Angels respecting things decreed by G.o.d, obtain knowledge of futurity, which they sometimes impart to men, who, by means of talismans, or certain invocations, make them to serve the purposes of magical performances. To this particular subject it will be necessary to revert.--What the Prophet said of Iblees, in the following tradition, applies also to the evil Jinn over whom he presides:--His chief abode [among men] is the bath; his chief places of resort are the markets, and the junctures of roads; his food is whatever is killed without the name of G.o.d being p.r.o.nounced over it; his drink, whatever is intoxicating; his mueddin, the mizmar (a musical pipe; _i. e._ any musical instrument); his ?uran, poetry; his written character, the marks made in geomancy;[80] his speech, falsehood; his snares are women.[81]

That particular Jinnees presided over particular places, was an opinion of the early Arabs. It is said in the ?ur-an, "And there were certain men who sought refuge with certain of the Jinn."[82] In the Commentary of the Jelaleyn, I find the following remark on these words:--"When they halted, on their journey, in a place of fear, each man said, 'I seek refuge with the lord of this place, from the mischief of his foolish ones!'" In ill.u.s.tration of this, I may insert the following tradition, translated from El-?azweenee:--"It is related by a certain narrator of traditions, that he descended into a valley, with his sheep, and a wolf carried off a ewe from among them; and he arose, and raised his voice, and cried, 'O inhabitant of the valley!' whereupon he heard a voice saying, 'O wolf, restore to him his sheep!' and the wolf came with the ewe, and left her, and departed."--The same opinion is held by the modern Arabs, though probably they do not use such an invocation.--A similar superst.i.tion, a relic of ancient Egyptian credulity, still prevails among the people of Cairo. It is believed that each quarter of this city has its peculiar guardian-genius, or Agathodaemon, which has the form of a serpent.[83]

It has already been mentioned that some of the Jinn are Muslims; and others, infidels. The good Jinn acquit themselves of the imperative duties of religion; namely, prayers, alms-giving, fasting during the month of Rama?an, and pilgrimage to Mekkeh and Mount 'Arafat: but in the performance of these duties they are generally invisible to human beings. Some examples of the mode in which good Jinn pay the alms required of them by the law, I have given in a former work.[84]

Of the services and injuries done by Jinn to men, some account must be given.

It has been stated, that, by means of talismans, or certain invocations, men are said to obtain the services of Jinn; and the manner in which the latter are enabled to a.s.sist magicians, by imparting to them the knowledge of future events, has been explained. No man ever obtained such absolute power over the Jinn as Suleyman, Ibn-Daood (Solomon, the Son of David). This he did by virtue of a most wonderful talisman, which is said to have come down to him from heaven. It was a seal-ring, upon which was engraved "the most great name" of G.o.d; and was partly composed of bra.s.s, and partly of iron. With the bra.s.s he stamped his written commands to the good Jinn; with the iron (for a reason before mentioned), those to the evil Jinn, or Devils. Over both orders he had unlimited power; as well as over the birds and the winds,[85] and, as is generally said, the wild beasts. His Wezeer, A?af the son of Barkhiya, is also said to have been acquainted with "the most great name," by uttering which, the greatest miracles may be performed; even that of raising the dead. By virtue of this name, engraved on his ring, Suleyman compelled the Jinn to a.s.sist in building the Temple of Jerusalem, and in various other works. Many of the evil Jinn he converted to the true faith; and many others of this cla.s.s, who remained obstinate in infidelity, he confined in prisons. He is said to have been monarch of the whole earth. Hence, perhaps, the name of Suleyman is given to the universal monarchs of the preadamite Jinn; unless the story of his own universal dominion originated from confounding him with those kings of the Jinn.

The injuries related to have been inflicted upon human beings by evil Jinn are of various kinds. Jinnees are said to have often carried off beautiful women, whom they have forcibly kept as their wives or concubines. I have mentioned in a former work, that malicious or disturbed Jinnees are a.s.serted often to station themselves on the roofs, or at the windows, of houses, and to throw down bricks and stones on persons pa.s.sing by.[86] When they take possession of an uninhabited house, they seldom fail to persecute terribly any person who goes to reside in it. They are also very apt to pilfer provisions, &c. Many learned and devout persons, to secure their property from such depredations, repeat the words "In the name of G.o.d, the Compa.s.sionate, the Merciful!" on locking the doors of their houses, rooms, or closets, and on covering the bread-basket, or anything containing food.[87]

During the month of Rama?an, the evil Jinn are believed to be confined in prison; and therefore, on the last night of that month, with the same view, women sometimes repeat the words above mentioned, and sprinkle salt upon the floors of the apartments of their houses.[88]

To complete this sketch of Arabian mythology, an account must be added of several creatures generally believed to be of inferior orders of the Jinn.

One of these is the Ghool, which is commonly regarded as a kind of Sheytan, or evil Jinnee, that eats men; and is also described by some as a Jinnee or an enchanter who a.s.sumes various forms. The Ghools are said to appear in the forms of various animals, and of human beings, and in many monstrous shapes; to haunt burial-grounds and other sequestered spots; to feed upon dead human bodies; and to kill and devour any human creature who has the misfortune to fall in their way: whence the term "Ghool" is applied to any cannibal. An opinion quoted by a celebrated author, respecting the Ghool, is, that it is a demoniacal animal, which pa.s.ses a solitary existence in the deserts, resembling both man and brute; that it appears to a person travelling alone in the night and in solitary places, and, being supposed by him to be itself a traveller, lures him out of his way.[89] Another opinion stated by him is this: that, when the Sheytans attempt to hear words by stealth [from the confines of the lowest heaven], they are struck by shooting stars; and some are burnt; some, falling into a sea, or rather a large river (ba?r), become converted into crocodiles; and some, falling upon the land, become Ghools. The same author adds the following tradition:--"The Ghool is any Jinnee that is opposed to travels, a.s.suming various forms and appearances;"[90] and affirms that several of the Companions of the Prophet saw Ghools in their travels; and that 'Omar, among them, saw a Ghool while on a journey to Syria, before El-Islam, and struck it with his sword.--It appears that "Ghool" is, properly speaking, a name only given to a _female_ demon of the kind above described: the male is called "?u?rub."[91] It is said that these beings, and the Ghaddar, or Gharrar, and other similar creatures which will presently be mentioned, are the offspring of Iblees and of a wife whom G.o.d created for him of the fire of the Samoom (which here signifies, as in an instance before mentioned, "a smokeless fire"); and that they sprang from an egg.[92]

The female Ghool, it is added, appears to men in the deserts, in various forms, converses with them, and sometimes prost.i.tutes herself to them.[93]

The Se?lah, or Sa?lah, is another demoniacal creature, described by some [or rather, by most authors] as of the Jinn. It is said that it is mostly found in forests, and that when it captures a man, it makes him dance, and plays with him as the cat plays with the mouse. A man of I?fahan a.s.serted that many beings of this kind abounded in his country; that sometimes the wolf would hunt one of them by night, and devour it, and that, when it had seized it, the Se?lah would cry out, "Come to my help, for the wolf devoureth me!" or it would cry, "Who will liberate me? I have a hundred deenars, and he shall receive them!" but the people knowing that it was the cry of the Se?lah, no one would liberate it; and so the wolf would eat it.[94]--An island in the sea of E?-?een (or China) is called "the Island of the Se?lah," by Arab geographers, from its being said to be inhabited by the demons so named: they are described as creatures of hideous forms, supposed to be Shey?ans, the offspring of human beings and Jinn, who eat men.[95]

The Ghaddar, or Gharrar (for its name is written differently in two different MSS. in my possession), is another creature of a similar nature, described as being found in the borders of El-Yemen, and sometimes in Tihameh, and in the upper parts of Egypt. It is said that it entices a man to it, and either tortures him in a manner not to be described, or merely terrifies him, and leaves him.[96]

The Delhan is also a demoniacal being, inhabiting the islands of the seas, having the form of a man, and riding on an ostrich. It eats the flesh of men whom the sea casts on the sh.o.r.e from wrecks. Some say that a Delhan once attacked a s.h.i.+p in the sea, and desired to take the crew; but they contended with it; whereupon it uttered a cry which caused them to fall upon their faces, and it took them.[97]--In my MS. of Ibn-El-Wardee, I find the name written "Dahlan." He mentions an island called by this name, in the Sea of 'Oman; and describes its inhabitants as cannibal Shey?ans, like men in form, and riding on birds resembling ostriches.

The s.h.i.+?? is another demoniacal creature, having the form of half a human being (like a man divided longitudinally); and it is believed that the Nesnas is the offspring of a s.h.i.+?? and of a human being. The s.h.i.+??

appears to travellers; and it was a demon of this kind who killed, and was killed by, 'Al?amah, the son of ?afwan, the son of Umeiyeh; of whom it is well known that he was killed by a Jinnee. So says El-?azweenee.

The Nesnas (above mentioned) is described as resembling half a human being; having half a head, half a body, one arm, and one leg, with which it hops with much agility; as being found in the woods of El-Yemen, and being endowed with speech: "but G.o.d," it is added, "is all-knowing."[98]

It is said that it is found in ?a?ramot as well as El-Yemen; and that one was brought alive to El-Mutawekkil: it resembled a man in form, excepting that it had but half a face, which was in its breast, and a tail like that of a sheep. The people of ?a?ramot, it is added, eat it; and its flesh is sweet. It is only generated in their country. A man who went there a.s.serted that he saw a captured Nesnas, which cried out for mercy, conjuring him by G.o.d and by himself.[99] A race of people whose head is in the breast is described as inhabiting an island called Jabeh (supposed to be Java), in the Sea of El-Hind, or India.[100] A kind of Nesnas is also described as inhabiting the Island of Raj, in the Sea of E?-?een, or China, and having wings like those of the bat.[101]

The Hatif is a being that is heard, but not seen; and is often mentioned by Arab writers. It is generally the communicator of some intelligence in the way of advice, or direction, or warning.

Here terminating this long note, I must beg the reader to remark, that the superst.i.tious fancies which it describes are prevalent among all cla.s.ses of the Arabs, and the Muslims in general, learned as well as vulgar. I have comprised in it much matter not necessary to ill.u.s.trate the introductory portion of this work, in order to avoid frequent recurrence to the same subject. Another apology for its length may also be offered:--its importance as confuting Schlegel's opinion, that the frequent mention of Genii is more consistent with Indian than with Arab notions.

NOTE 22. This chest is described in some copies as formed of gla.s.s.

NOTE 23. The term "'Efreet" has been explained above, in Note 21.

NOTE 24. Most of the copies of the original, it appears, make the number of rings ninety-eight; therefore, I have subst.i.tuted this, as less extraordinary, for five hundred and seventy, which is the number mentioned in the Cairo edition.

NOTE 25. Almost every Muslim who can afford it has a seal-ring, for a reason shewn in a former note (No. 11).[102]

NOTE 26. For the story of Yoosuf and Zeleekha (or Joseph and the wife of Potiphar), see the ?ur-an, ch. xii.

NOTE 27.--_On the wickedness of Women._ The wickedness of women is a subject upon which the stronger s.e.x among the Arabs, with an affected feeling of superior virtue, often dwell in common conversation. That women are deficient in judgment or good sense is held as a fact not to be disputed even by themselves, as it rests on an a.s.sertion of the Prophet; but that they possess a superior degree of cunning is p.r.o.nounced equally certain and notorious. Their general depravity is p.r.o.nounced to be much greater than that of men. "I stood," said the Prophet, "at the gate of Paradise; and lo, most of its inmates were the poor: and I stood at the gate of h.e.l.l; and lo, most of its inmates were women."[103] In allusion to women, the Khaleefeh 'Omar said, "Consult them, and do the contrary of what they advise." But this is not to be done merely for the sake of opposing them; nor when other advice can be had. "It is desirable for a man," says a learned Imam, "before he enters upon any important undertaking, to consult ten intelligent persons among his particular friends; or, if he have not more than five such friends, let him consult each of them twice; or, if he have not more than one friend, he should consult him ten times, at ten different visits: if he have not one to consult, let him return to his wife, and consult her; and whatever she advises him to do, let him do the contrary: so shall he proceed rightly in his affair, and attain his object."[104] A truly virtuous wife is, of course, excepted in this rule: such a person is as much respected by Muslims as she is (at least, according to their own account) rarely met with by them. When woman was created, the Devil, we are told, was delighted, and said, "Thou art half of my host, and thou art the depository of my secret, and thou art my arrow, with which I shoot, and miss not."[105] What are termed by us affairs of gallantry were very common among the Pagan Arabs, and are scarcely less so among their Muslim posterity. They are, however, unfrequent among most tribes of Bedawees, and among the descendants of those tribes not long settled as cultivators. I remember being roused from the quiet that I generally enjoyed in an ancient tomb in which I resided at Thebes, by the cries of a young woman in the neighbourhood, whom an Arab was severely beating for an impudent proposal that she had made to him.

NOTE 28.--_On the cruelty ascribed to_ Shahriyar. I wish that I could accuse the author of inventing, in this case, an incident of an incredible nature, and entirely unparalleled; but, alas, acts of equal cruelty are recorded of Arab princes: traits of benevolence, and crimes of the blackest hue, are related in their histories, sometimes in the same page. I have not read of any case exactly resembling that to which this note relates; but the following anecdote will shew, that if conduct still more atrocious had been described in the latter, it might have been founded on fact. "In the year of the Flight 423, the Khaleefeh of Egypt, E?-?ahir, the son of El-?akim, collected together all the female slaves that were in the palace, and said to them, 'a.s.semble together, and I will make a day of pleasure for you, such as hath not before been seen in Egypt.' He ordered, also, that every person who had a female slave should bring her, and that none of them should come but with her ornaments of jewels and gold. They did so; and there was not a single one that did not come. He then placed them in a chamber, and, calling some masons, made them build up the door of the chamber upon them, and so they all died. This happened on Friday (the Mohammadan Sabbath,) the 6th of Showwal. The number of them was two thousand six hundred and sixty female slaves. After they had remained six months, he heaped lighted combustibles upon them, and burned them, together with their clothes and ornaments. May G.o.d [says the narrator] shew no mercy to him!"[106]

NOTE 29. I here deviate a little from my original, in which Shahrazad is made to say, "Either I shall live, or I shall be a ransom for the daughters of the Muslims, and the cause of their deliverance from him."

Upon this, the sheykh Mo?ammed 'Eiyad has remarked in a marginal note, "It would seem that she had contrived some stratagem to prevent his marrying again if he determined to kill her: otherwise, the mere killing her would not be a means of rescuing the other maidens."

NOTE 30.--_On the Language of Birds, &c._ It is commonly believed by the Muslims (learned and unlearned), that all kinds of birds, and many (if not all) beasts, have a language by which they communicate their thoughts to each other; and we are told in the ?ur-an,[107] that Suleyman (or Solomon) was taught the language of birds.[108] I thought that I could boast of an accomplishment very rare in Christian countries, in having learned, in Egypt, somewhat of this language; for instance, that the common cry of the pigeon is "Allah! Allah!" ("G.o.d!

G.o.d!"); that of the ringdove, "Keerem! Towwab!" ("Bountiful!

Propitious!"--an e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.i.o.n addressed to G.o.d); that of the common dove, "Wa??idoo rabbak.u.mu-llezee khala?ak.u.m, yeghfir-lak.u.m zembak.u.m!" ("a.s.sert the unity of your Lord who created you, so will He forgive you your sin!") but I afterwards found that several specimens of this language were given by Ez-Zamakhsheree, and had been published in Europe: see "Alcora.n.u.s Marraccii," p. 511. The c.o.c.k cries, "Uzkuru-llaha, ya ghafiloon!" ("Commemorate G.o.d, O ye negligent!"): the ?a?a (a kind of grouse),[109] "Men seket selim!" ("He who is silent is safe!"). The latter, however, would do better if it did itself attend to the maxim it utters; for its cry, which, to the uninstructed in the language of birds, sounds merely, "?a?a! ?a?a!" as its own name, tells where it is to be found by the sportsman, and thus causes its own destruction. Hence the proverb--"More veracious than the ?a?a."

NOTE 31. In the houses of persons of the middle cla.s.ses in Arabian countries, there is generally an apartment on the ground-floor fitted up as a stable for a horse, mule, or a.s.s, or for two or more such animals; and the cattle of the farmer, if not very numerous, are usually lodged during the night in similar quarters, or in an open court enclosed within, or immediately adjacent to, his house.

NOTE 32. It is a common custom in the East to sprinkle the ground, during the summer, in order to cool the air.

NOTE 33. Cut straw is the usual fodder of a.s.ses and other beasts of burden in Egypt and other countries of the East.

NOTE 34. The phrase with which the bull commences his address to the a.s.s, is one dictated by an indispensable rule of Muslim politeness, which requires that these or some similar words should be uttered by a person whenever he sees another with food before him, and does not partake of it. If this were not done, it would be feared that the food had been poisoned, or rendered of no avail, by an envious eye.

NOTE 35. The peasants in the East use a hand-mill for grinding their corn. The larger mills used for this and other purposes are turned by cattle.

NOTE 36. In the Calcutta edition of the first two hundred nights, the a.s.s is made to quote verses to the bull. Hast thou not, he asks him, heard the poet say:--

I occupy myself every day and night in anxious service of him in whose prosperity I have no enjoyment; Like the bleacher who blackens his face in the sun, while he watches the whitening of the clothes of others.

NOTE 37. I read "na?'an," as in the Calcutta edition of the first two hundred nights, instead of "ki?a'an" in the Cairo edition. The na?? is a large round piece of leather, which, spread upon the ground, serves as a table for dinner, &c. It is particularly convenient, and therefore much used, in travelling. Around the edge is a running string, which, being drawn, converts it into a bag to hold what is left of the food.

NOTE 38.--_On the office of_ ?a?ee. The ?a?ee is a judge, or minister of justice, who pa.s.ses sentence in all cases of law, religious, moral, civil, and criminal. This he generally does, in the present day, in accordance with the decision of a Muftee, or doctor of the law. In small towns and villages, he is often employed to draw up written contracts of various kinds.