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73-4-2 - Three
Qalandar and Five Women of Bagadaad
The
Story of the Second Woman (Portress): The
Lady Who was Bitten in the Cheek
For a similar story to this - read the story in
SECTION-3/Story 65-4.
The
second woman, the Portress, said - "When my father died, he left me
lots of money. After a while I married the richest man and lived with him
for a year when he also died. At that time I had 80,000 Deenaars. I was
well known and I had 10 sets of clothes worth 1,000 Deenaars each. Once I
was sitting at home, that an old witch like woman came to me. She greeted
by kissing the ground before me and said - "I have an orphan daughter
at home. She is getting married today. We are poor and strangers in the
city. Please be present there at her wedding. Hearing that you are coming
to her wedding, other women will also come. You comfort her also as she is
very sad."
I said
- "Sure. And show her to her bridegroom in my clothes and
jewelry." She blessed me and said - "Don't do this favor at this
time, just be ready at supper time, I will come and take you." She
then went away and I made preparation to get ready for supper time. I set
stringing my pearls, making my toilette etc little knowing what what
Fortune had for me. Suddenly that woman appeared before me and said -
"All town women have come and when I told that you were also coming,
they got very happy and they are awaiting for you." The old woman led
me and my maids followed me.
We
came to a street where there was a marble gate, and the path led to a
palace. A black curtain was hanging from the door. The old woman knocked
at the door and the door was opened. When we entered we found ourselves in
a well decorated room. We passed it and entered a saloon, a most beautiful
room. A very beautiful young lady appeared before us and welcomed me. She
said to me - "O My Sister, I have a brother, more handsome than me,
who has seen you at some wedding occasions. He has fallen in love with
you. He gave some silvers to this old woman to bring you here. He had
heard that you are from a noble family so he has practiced those habits to
marry you."
I
found myself entrapped in the house, so I said "Yes." She
clapped her hands and a very young handsome man appeared before me from one of the
doors. When I looked at him, I loved him. He sat by my side and talked
with me for a while. The lady again clapped and a Qaazee appeared from
another door with his four assessors. They saluted us, wrote the contract
between me and the youth and went away. Then he said to me - "Be our
night blessed." and added - "I have a condition for you."
On asking what it was, he fetched a copy of Quraan, placed my hand on it
and asked me to swear on that I will not incline to any other man except
him. I swore it and he embraced with love. They set the table for us, and
we ate and drank till we were satisfied.
Then
he took me to the bride chamber. I enjoyed a lot with him for one month.
Then I asked his leave to to go shop something on foot. He allowed me to
go. I took the old woman and a slave-girl and went to a silk merchant whom
the old woman recommended to me saying - "This youth's father died
when he was a boy. He left him a great store of wealth. He has some very
good stuff, none of other merchants has it." The she asked him to
show me the costliest stuff he had, and asked me to say a courteous word
to him. When I said that I had vowed to do this only for my husband, she
starting praising him. Still I tried to stop him.
He
brought the stuff, I selected some and gave the money to him; but he
refused to take it saying, "Let it be a gift from me today." Then I told
the woman to return the stuff if he did not accept the money. He cried -
"No, I will not take anything back. I sold it not for
gold or silver, but just for a kiss which is more precious than everything
in my shop." The woman asked him - "What the kiss will profit
you?" and said to me - "What is the harm in one kiss if you get
so much at that price? We will not tell anybody, so no harm will come upon
you." She persuaded me so much that evil entered into my mind and I
put a veil between the passing by people and myself and he kissed me on my
cheek. But he kissed me so hard that he tore my flesh from there and blood
flowed fast and I fainted.
When I
got up I found myself in the arms of the woman saying - "Thank to
Allaah, It could be worse." Then she said to me - "Come, Let us
go home before the matter becomes worse. You lie down in the home, I will
bring some powders and plasters to cure your bite and your wound will be
healed in three days time." In great distress I reached home, I
pleaded for sickness and lay down. When my husband came in the night and
asked me about my condition. I said - "I have a bad headache."
He lighted a candle and looked at me and asked - "What has happened
to your cheek? What is this wound?"
I
replied - "When I went to buy some stuff, a camel laden with firewood
hit me, a piece of wood tore my veil and wounded my cheek." He cried
- "Tomorrow I will go and complain to the Governor." I tried to
stop him doing this sin against any man saying - "In fact I was
riding on an ass and it stumbled and my cheek hit a stick or a bit of
glass and got this wound." Then he said - "I will go to Zaafar
and tell him about this and he will kill all donkey-boys in Bagadaad."
"Will you kill all of them just for my wound? It was all my
Destiny." "Doesn't matter." He sprang to his feet and got
ready to go, then I said - "It was just an accident, don't
worry."
But he
guessed my case and said - "You have not held your oath." Then
he at once cried a loud cry and seven black men came in and dragged me out
of my bed into the middle of the room. Then he asked them to cut me in two
pieces and
throw me in Tigris. When the slave made sure that he had to do this, he
asked me to say my last prayer, as it was my last hour. I wept a lot and
asked him to wait a little. I prayed my husband to pardon me but he got
angrier than before. I said to myself, "I will talk to him in the way
that he will not slay me." I prayed him a lot, but still he did not move
from his order. So I closed my eyes and waited for my death.
That
the old woman rushed in and fell on my husband's feet, kissed them and
said - "O My Son, By my rights of fostering you and by my long
service to you, I request you to pardon this lady, because she has done
nothing so serious. You may drive her out of the doors, from your love,
from your heart, but do not kill her like this." She continued to cry until he agreed to her. Then
he asked his slaves to drag me along the ground and lay me after stripping
my of all my clothes. And when the slave sat upon me so that I could not
move, he got a quince tree rod and continued to beat me on my back and
sides till I got unconscious. When the night fell, he asked them to take
me to my own house. They did that and I could not come into my senses
until following morning.
I took
four months to be all right. Then I went to the house where it all
happened to me, but I found it in ruins. A good size heap of rubbish stood
there. I could not know how this happened there. Then I went to my sister
on my father's side and found her with these two black bitches there. I
told her my whole story. She consoled me - "Who is saved from Time
and Destiny? Thanks to Allaah who has brought you here safely. This world
is like that, that here, riches leave and friends depart, so be
patient."
Then
she told me her own story, as what happened to her and her two sisters.
Now we are living together and do not talk about marriage. After a while our
other sister, who goes out in the morning to buy us our daily needs,
joined us. Thus that morning when our sister went out, she brought that
porter and the three Qalandar and then three Muslims. We sat talking with
them on one condition which they violated. At this we treated them for
breach of contract. We asked them to give their accounts. Then we forgave
their offences and they went away. Suddenly this morning, we were
unexpectedly summoned to your presence. This is our story."
Conclusion
of the Story - "The Three Qalandar and Five Women of Bagadaad
The Caliph
asked to record her story and keep it in his chamber. Then he asked the
eldest woman - "Do you know the whereabouts of the Ifritaa who
spelled your sisters?" She said - "She gave me a ringlet of her
hair saying, "Whenever you wish to see me, burn a couple of hairs
from them and I will be with you instantly, even though I am very far
away." "Bring me the hair." She brought the hair and the
Caliph threw all hairs in the fire. In a little while the palace shook,
and Geneeyaa stood before the Caliph. Now she was a Muslim. Both greeted
each other and then she said - "This woman has been very kind to me
delivering me from death. I knew that how her sisters treated her, so I
felt that I should avenge them for her. First I thought to kill them but
then I converted them into bitches, but if you want them to release, I will
do so to please her."
The
Caliph said - "Please, Release them." Ifritaa further said -
"I will release them, I will discover that man also who did this to
her and took her all property, and he is the nearest of all men to
you." She then took a cup of water, uttered some magic words over it,
sprinkled some water over the bitches, saying "Return to your
original form." They were changed into human beings. Then she said -
"The man who did this to this lady is your son, Al-Ameen, brother of
Al-Maamoon. He married her by law, then committed a crime of beating her.
Although he is not to be blamed for beating her because he put a
condition, and she did not keep it. That is why he beat her and sent her
back to her house. Such is the story of the second woman." The Caliph
thanked Allaah that he could deliver the two women from sorcery and
torture. He said to his man - "Now we will do a deed which shall be recorded."
Then
he called his son Al-Ameen and asked about the story of second woman, the
Portress, and he told the truth. At this the Caliph called Qaazees and
their witnesses and the three Qalandar and the first woman with her
sisters and married them to three Qalandar whom he knew that they were
Princes and appointed them as his guards with stipends and allowances. He
lodged them in the palace of Bagadaad.
He
returned the beaten woman, the Portress, to his son renewing the marriage
contract and gave her a great wealth and asked to rebuild his palace more
beautiful than it was before. As for himself, he took the third woman (who
went to buy stuff) as his wife and spent that night with her. Next day he set
her apart for her own apartment with handmaidens for her service and a
fixed daily allowance. The people admired the Caliph for his wisdom.
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