Tales of the Marvellous and News of the Strange (Hardcover Classics) (41 page)

In the name of God the Compassionate, the Merciful, Who knows better, is Wiser, more Glorious and more Noble

Amongst the stories of the nations in past times it is related that there was an Arab king called Jabir son of al-Dahhak al-Kindi. God had provided him with a daughter more beautiful and a better rider than any on whom the sun had ever shone. Such was his delight in her that he had her instructed in all such arts as those of writing, providing nibs for pens, horse management and riding, as well as fighting against heroes. She emerged as a brave and skilful fighter and an admirable poetess. There was no one who did not wish to look at her or to have her as a wife.

Her reputation spread throughout the lands and reached
Quraish
. One day, as they were sitting and talking of brave men, amongst them was Abu Jahl son of Hisham. He said: ‘You who are renowned for courage, is there amongst you anyone who would dare to ask for the hand of Mayasa, the daughter of al-Dahhak al-Kindi, the chief of the Banu
Kinda
?’ They said: ‘That man surpasses us in reputation and birth, but we shall all approach him, and each of us will ask Mayasa’s hand for himself or for his son if he has one, and whoever can produce her dowry can marry her.’ ‘Let each of you take the chiefs and elders of his clan and set out,’ said Abu Jahl.

They did as he said and collected their arms and equipment before riding off and eventually reaching the camp of Mayasa’s father. He made them dismount and treated them as honoured guests. They stayed for three days, and on the fourth Abu Sufyan addressed them and said: ‘People of Quraish, why do you not let your brother know what you have come to say and what is in your minds?’ They said that they would like Jabir to be there with them, and when he came they praised and honoured him, before saying: ‘Jabir, by
al-Lat and al-‘Uzza
, we are filled
with joy that we are all here together in this auspicious gathering.’ ‘Cousins,’ he asked them, ‘what is it that you want? Tell me, and you can have whatever it is.’ They told him that they had come as suitors for the hand of Mayasa so that whoever could pay her dowry might marry her, amongst them being men of all ages and without equals.

Jabir stayed silent for a time and then replied: ‘Chiefs who are renowned for your bravery, you have heard of my daughter’s beauty, courage and skill. Because of my love for her I have allowed her to decide that she would only accept as a husband a man who can defeat her in combat.’ They agreed to that but said that she herself should first be consulted. Jabir accepted this and went to tell Mayasa what the Quraish had said and that they had come to ask for her hand. ‘Father,’ she told him, ‘did I not promise myself that I would only marry a man who can defeat me in battle? Go and tell them that whichever of them is distinguished for his bravery should come out to challenge me, and whoever defeats your daughter can marry her.’

Jabir left her and went to the Quraish, who asked him when he sat down with them what had happened. When he told them what Mayasa had said they armed and equipped themselves before mounting and riding out to the field. Mayasa put on her breast-plate and called for her horse, which was of a famous Arab stock, with a long neck, broad chest and widely parted ears and which could overtake whatever it chased, while it itself could never be overtaken. It was as the poet has said:

A grey horse like a gleaming meteor,

Pampered, it grazes in lush fields.

My critics say it draws men to the fight;

It is dawn bridled with the Pleiades,

A lightning flash saddled with the new moon.

Mayasa in her armour settled herself on its back with a
khatti
spear
fourteen spans long whose point was like a snake or a blazing fire and, equipped with an Indian sword, she rode to the field. Amongst the clan had been a man called al-Aswad al-Kindi, who had died, leaving a young son named al-Miqdad. He had reached the age of fifteen and was in the care of his old mother called Khallat al-Ghitrif. When he saw the brave heroes assembled he went to her and asked who they were. ‘My son,’ she told him, ‘these are the Quraish, who have come to ask for the hand of your cousin Mayasa.’ The father of Mayasa was Miqdad’s uncle, his father’s brother who had died leaving him nothing, and his mother had then taken charge of him.
‘Why am I not with them?’ he asked her and she repeated that they were Quraish, adding that he had no equipment or otherwise he could have gone out with them. ‘Go to my aunt,’ he said, ‘and borrow a breast-plate from her, which I shall return to her when I come back.’

His mother went to his aunt and, after telling her the story, got what he needed and brought it back to him. He put on the breast-plate and went to tell his aunt that he still needed a horse to ride. She told him that if he went to the red tent he would find one which he could take. What he discovered there was a horse with lopped ears and a clipped tail, but he took this, mounted it and rode off reciting:

Why is it that my clan have gathered here,

Carrying their weapons in the early dawn?

A noble rider has come to meet you,

A chief who is accustomed to sword blows.

If you should want to challenge with your spears,

I shall leave you cast down upon the ground.

At the sight of him on his horse the others laughed at him in mockery, and one of them said: ‘This fellow is riding a bull!’ Miqdad found this hard to bear and he called out at the top of his voice:

I do not want to ride a crop-eared beast,

One from whose tail the hairs have been plucked out.

But though I do not want this, by al-Lat,

I hold in my right hand a flashing sword,

And you, Quraish, will see wonders from me.

When he saw the horsemen on the field he charged them with a terrible battle-cry, routing them in confusion. He then rode towards Mayasa, addressing her as ‘the glory of the Arabs, lady of high birth’, after which they charged each other. A long and confused battle followed, but however often he confronted her, he saw nothing but her eyes. He realized that she wanted to humiliate him before the Quraish, who were all craning their necks and staring at the fighters.

He then reversed his spear and struck her on the breast with its butt, unhorsing her and leaving her lying stretched out between the ranks of spectators to their astonishment. He then recited:

Have you yet seen prowess like this

So making you ignore my deeds?

I swear by al-Lat I am no coward,

But one who charges on the day of war.

Who is the lion of Kinda, their hero when it comes to war?

Know it is I, whose sword cuts off the coward’s head.

I rode against Mayasa to teach her

That I am champion of both men and
jinn
.

I fought against her until she was left

To wear the garment of shame and disgrace.

The land of Mecca and all men should know,

I am fifteen years old and younger than my horse.

When I am twenty my face will be stern,

As I fight with my long and pliant spear,

Unhorsing foes to leave them prey for wolves.

Merit cannot be hidden, and my foes

Shall bear in mind that I am named Miqdad.

He continued to look at Mayasa until she recovered consciousness. She then looked up at him and said: ‘Miqdad, by al-Lat and al-‘Uzza, you have defeated me, and had it been a stranger who had done this I would have killed myself, but you are to be my husband, and I shall be your wife since, if you accept the conditions my father will lay down, I shall certainly marry you.’ Then she removed the veil from her face and appeared as the moon on the night it becomes full. Miqdad kissed her three times and then left. Mayasa called out at the top of her voice: ‘Quraish, whoever wants entertainment should stay here, but if any are looking for marriage, let him go off in peace, for I shall take none of you as a husband.’ When they heard that, they lowered their spears, shook up their horses and returned home.

Mayasa then approached her father and asked him to marry her to the man who had defeated her, her cousin Miqdad. He said: ‘My little daughter, the chiefs of the Quraish and the most distinguished leaders of the Arabs have asked me for your hand, but you have not wanted them, and do you want instead a penniless youngster, a vagrant of no account?’ ‘He is a hero of renown,’ she told him, ‘and I saw what he did to the Arab chieftains and men of rank. I swear by al-Lat and al-‘Uzza that if you don’t marry me to him he and I will leave in spite of you, and I shall bring disaster on both nomads and settled folk alike.’

Her father was angry and summoned the leaders of his clan to tell them what had happened. They gave him a mixed response, and in the
morning he prepared a huge feast, to which he invited the whole clan, high and low alike. He then called for Miqdad and said: ‘Nephew, I want to marry you to my daughter. Can you cope with her and supply the dowry that I shall ask from you.’ ‘Yes, Uncle,’ Miqdad replied, ‘so tell me what it is that you want.’ Jabir asked for a hundred reddish camels with black eyes and long necks, five hundred sheep and twenty horses, twenty slaves, ten of each sex, a thousand
mithqals
of gold and another thousand of silver, a hundred ounces of pungent musk and another hundred of camphor as well as ten large green panniers. ‘You are asking him for too much,’ the clansmen told him; ‘you know that he is penniless and yet you want all this.’ For his part, however, Miqdad agreed willingly.

The entertainment lasted for three days, and on the fourth Miqdad told his uncle: ‘Time is getting on and I have made up my mind to get what you asked for.’ He mounted and rode to Mayasa’s tent, where he recited:

Do not abandon our fair love;

For my hopes for our union will not fail.

The leave I take is not from one who goes,

But one who stays and seeks no cure for love.

Mayasa replied with these lines:

The peace of God be on you every hour,

Although you may be sorrowful and sad.

Come quickly back so you may win

The union that you hope for with your bride.

They have allowed you seventy days for this,

So hurry, noble rider, to your task.

Do not seek wealth if it cannot be found,

But come back quickly to your lover’s call.

Miqdad took his leave of her and set off in haste. He saw three riders with a howdah and said to himself that this was the first part of Mayasa’s dowry. He rode up to greet them and to ask them to what tribe they belonged. The leader said: ‘I am al-‘Abbas, and these are my brothers. What do you want, Miqdad?’ Miqdad realized that he could get nothing from them and so he told them his story from beginning to end. Al-‘Abbas felt sorry for him and told his servants to separate his camels from those of his brothers. There were thirty-three of these, carrying
loads of linen, silk and other goods, and he told Miqdad: ‘I pity you but at the moment this is all that I have, so take it as a gift to serve as part of what you are looking for.’ Miqdad said: ‘Sir, I swear by the God Who has exalted you above many that I shall take these as a deposit of yours until I return.’ He began to recite:

Children of
Hashim
, best of men,

Whose grace has raised me up,

You give out wealth without being asked,

Dispensing no mean livelihood.

You feed the hungry and control your wrath,

Striking the heads of foes but favouring your friends.

I met your champion and he honoured me.

How generous a man is al-‘Abbas!

He gave me everything he had,

Keeping back nothing for those he had left.

He rode on night and day across the desert wastes until he reached the city of Chosroe Anushirwan, where he halted in a wooded valley with streams and fruits known as the Valley of Flowers, as it had been a beautiful place in former times. He dismounted and let his horse with the plucked tail loose to graze, telling himself that he was unsure how Chosroe’s men would treat him. After eating some of the fruit, he fell asleep with his arm beneath his head.

While he was asleep his horse whinnied and pawed the earth beside him. He woke to see a great cloud of dust and when he rode towards it he found a caravan. He told the men with it to abandon their goods and leave, but they said to one another: ‘How stupid this boy is! There are three hundred of us, each more than a match for him, and he says this to us!’ They started laughing in astonishment at him, but when he realized that they were making fun of him he charged them with so terrible a shout that the earth shook. He continued to slaughter them and when they attacked he defended himself. When he had killed more than a hundred and fifty of them, the rest took flight, amongst them being a shaikh mounted on a speedy horse, who had seen heads without bodies and bodies without heads. He went to the vizier, who, when he had heard that the caravan sent by Chosroe was coming, had ordered the shops to close, with no trading to be done until Chosroe’s goods had been sold. It was not known that these had been seized by Miqdad.

While the vizier was sitting on his balcony he caught sight of the
shaikh, whose turban was round his neck and his feet out of the stirrups, while his tongue was hanging out. He supposed that the man must have come with news of the caravan, and when he came into his presence he asked about this. ‘I have escaped death,’ the shaikh told him, and when the vizier asked him who he was, he said that he had come from the caravan sent by Chosroe. ‘Where did you leave it?’ asked the vizier, to which he replied: ‘With an
‘ifrit
of the
jinn
.’ ‘Damn you, what are you saying?’ asked the vizier, and the man replied: ‘Master, I am only telling you what I saw with my own eyes after I had come near to death.’ He then told the vizier what Miqdad had done and how the caravan guards had been killed.

The vizier told his men to look after the shaikh while he picked five hundred of his soldiers. He then called for the shaikh to act as their guide and to fetch Miqdad. The shaikh agreed and left with the men, but when he was within a mile of the valley he began to tremble. ‘Were you not told to listen to what I tell you?’ he asked. ‘Yes,’ they said, and he went on: ‘Look at that valley beside the hill. The young man must be on the far side, so go off and fetch him while I wait for you.’