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48-1 - The
Sage and the Scholar:
The Scholar Wants to Marry Sultaan's Daughter
Long
time ago, a man lived in a Cathedral-mosque. He did not leave that place for
long except in the times of pressing needs. One day a beautiful boy came
to him and greeted him, "Salaam". The Shekh welcomed him and
asked his welfare and made him sit near him. Then he asked him when did he
come and what brought him there. The boy said - "Please Do not ask me
such questions, of worldly matters. I am fallen from the Heaven and my
sole object is to tend you." The sage again welcomed him and the boy
started serving him earnestly till he was 12 years old.
One
day the boy heard from his fellows that Sultaan's daughter was very beautiful,
so he fell in love with her just by hearsay. He went to his master and
spoke - "The King has a beautiful daughter, I just want to look at
her only once." The Shekh asked him - "O My Son, What we have to
do with kings' or others' daughters? We should live self-contained and we
should fear the Kings for our own safety." Thus the sage continued to
divert the attention of the boy against the shifts of Time, but the more
he tried to do that, the more he resolved to fulfill his wish. Thus he
continually started weeping and groaning. The Shekh got concerned about
his condition, because he loved him very much. At last he asked him -
"Do you really want to have a look at the Sultaan's daughter?"
"Yes." "Then come with me."
Shekh
produced a kohl-pot and applied the powder to one of his scholar's eyes,
whoever saw him cried out, "This is a half man." Then the sage
asked him to go in the city. Whoever saw him cried - "See the
miracle, he is a half man." Thus he roamed freely in the city and the
Harems of rich people. He was fairer than many others. When this news
reached to the Sultaan, he asked his people to bring him to his presence,
and on seeing him admired Allaah's creation. The whole court gathered to
watch him. The queen also heard about him so she was also called there and
all women including the Princess, saw him. As he saw the Princess, he
decided that either he will wed her or will slay himself. He was dismissed
from the King's Harem and he came back home.
The
Shekh asked him - "Did you see the Princess?" "I have, Sir,
but
this one look does not satisfy me until I look at her continuously."
The sage again said - "O child, We are ascetics that shun the world
to ourselves,
we should not interfere in the matters of Sultaan." The youth said - "But if I didn't sit by her and stroke
her shoulders and neck with these hands, I will slay myself." The
sage said to himself, "I will do whatever is in my power to do his
good, rest is in Allaah's hands." He brought out the kohl-pot again
and applied the powder to his other eye, and when it was settled, it made
him invisible to people. Then he said to him - "Go now, and do
whatever you like, but return soon, do not be absent for too long."
The
boy went to the King's Harem again without any hesitation as nobody could see
him. He made himself seated beside the Princess and stroked her neck and
shoulder. As she felt his touch, she shrieked loudly - "Save me O
Allaah from this Satan." Immediately all ran to her and asked her
what was the matter. She told them that some Satan touched her on her
shoulder and neck. Her mother got worried hearing this and called for her
nurse. The nurse said - "If there is a Satan, it is not difficult to
keep him away."
She
went and brought some camel's dung and threw it in the fire. Its scent
spread in the whole apartment quickly. When the dung-smoke thickened, it
irritated the boy's eyes. He couldn't do anything else except weeping and
by weeping his all
kohl flowed with tears and now he became visible to all. They all shrieked
loudly, so all eunuchs rushed in. They saw the boy sitting beside the
Princess. They took him to the
Sultaan and reported his crime. The Sultaan
ordered his executioner to robe him in black color patched with red color, then to set
him on a camel and parading in the whole city. And then put him to
death.
So the
executioner took him around the city on the camel. He found him beautiful
and noticed that he did not fear of death also. So he had pity on him. He
brought a leather gown, put it on him and took him around the city as the
Sultaan ordered him. He came to that square where that mosque was in which
that Shekh lived. He saw the condition of his scholar. He immediately read
a spell and fetched him from the camel's back through a Genie. He brought
him with great care and he set another oldster on the camel's back.
When
the crowd saw the youth suddenly transformed in an old man, they got
frightened and cried, "See, The young man has changed into an old
man." Then they looked again and saw a person well-known amongst
themselves, who sold greens etc at the gate of the Cathedral-mosque. The
executioner also got frightened seeing this and he came back to the palace with
the oldster seated on the camel and reported to Sultaan whatever happened
in the city. He told Sultaan - "O Lord, Certainly the youth has
disappeared, and instead of him this Shekh is here whom we all know
well."
Sultaan
also got terrified with this and thought, "Whoever has done this, he can do
even more, he can depose me from my kingship, or devise my death. He
called his Vazeer and asked his advice. The Vazeer thought for a while and spoke -
"Your Majesty, We are facing a situation beyond our imagination. We
should fear from him for your daughter. Send a crier in the whole city
saying, "Whoever has done this should appear before the Sultaan under
the promise of safety." And if the youth surrenders himself, marry your
daughter to him, because it seems that is his objective, he is in love
with your daughter."
The
Sultaan did the same as his Vazeer suggested. When the crier was crying,
the youth went to his Shekh and told him what the crier was crying, so he
must go to the Sultaan now. Shekh said "Why do you want to go
to him? Have you not suffered enough?" The boy said - "I will
surely go there." "Then go and Allaah be your guard." The
boy took bath, wore his best clothes and went to the Sultaan and greeted
him. The Sultaan asked him - "O Youth, Who are you?" He replied
- "I am the half-man you saw in your Harem, and I did for which you sent
your crier."
The
Sultaan made him sit with great honor and talked to him on several topics of
learning. The youth proved himself superior to the Sultaan by answering
his questions in an all-sufficient way like a book. The Sultaan was very
impressed by the eloquence of his speech and the purity of phrase and the
readiness of his replies. He had decided to marry his daughter to him. He
said to him - "My wish is to marry my daughter to you, because since
you have seen her, her mother will marry her to you only." The boy
said - "I am ready to obey you but first I must consult my
friends." "Sure."
The
boy came to Shekh, told him everything and pleaded that he wanted to marry
the Sultaan's daughter. The sage replied - "There is n harm in lawful
marriage. Go and ask her in marriage." The boy said - "But I
wish to invite the Sultaan here." The sage said - "Go and invite
him here." The boy said - "Since I have come here, I have been
serving you only, I don't know anybody else, and you don't move from this
narrow cell. How can we invite the Sultaan here?" The sage replied -
"Have trust in Allaah and invite him here. Tell him, "My Shekh
greets you and invites you for food next Friday." The Sultaan replied
- "I will come."
The
boy waited for next Friday for the Sultaan's coming. When the Friday came,
the sage said to the boy - "Come and I will show you our house, so
that you can bring the Sultaan there." They walked for some distance and came to a ruin
in the heart of the city - the whole place being only a heap of mud, clay
and stones. The sage said - "O Son, This is our mansion, you bring
your Sultaan here." "Here? It will be a disgrace for me to bring
him here in this ruin." The Shekh said - "Go and don't
fear." The boy went away thinking, "This Shekh has gone mad, he
has forgotten the difference between truth and untruth in his
insanity."
He
went to the Sultaan and said - "Please honor us with your
presence." The Sultaan was ready and both came to those ruins where
the Shekh had invited the Sultaan for food.
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