81-7 - Joodar
and His Brethren:
All Are Dead
On
the 622nd Night
As the
king came near him, he saluted Joodar but Joodar neither rose from his
seat, nor did him honor, nor said, "Be seated." so a fear
entered in the King's heart. He could neither sit, nor go away. He thought
"He is not going to leave me just like that because of what I have
done to his mother and the brothers." Joodar said - "O King, It
seems to me that you take the wealth of those people also who have not
done any wrong to you." The King replied - "Excuse me, O Lord.
The greed overtook me and the fate fulfilled it; and if there were no
offenses, there were no forgiving." And he went on to excuse himself
until Joodar said - "Allaah will pardon you." and asked him to sit
down.
So he
sat down and Joodar gave him the garments of pardon and immunity. He then
ordered his brothers to lay the table. When they had eaten, he clad the
whole of the King's company in robes of honor and gave them gifts. After
this he bade the King depart. So he went away and then used to come
everyday to visit him. Thus their familiarity increased day by day. One
day when the King was alone with his Vazeer, he said to him - "I fear
lest Joodar slays me and takes my kingdom." The Vazeer said -
"As for taking the kingdom, there is no fear for it, because
presently, Joodar is greater than you and to take the kingdom will lower
his dignity, but if you fear that he will slay you, so you have a
daughter, you may consider to give her to him." The King said -
"You be our intermediary and talk to him about this.
The
Vazeer said - "Invite him for an entertainment and pass one night in one of
your rooms, then call your daughter wearing her best and richest clothes
and jewelry to pass by the door of that room. When he will see her, surely
he will fall in love with her and when we will know this, I will him that
she is your daughter and will engage them in conversation. You will not
know anything about it till he will ask her hand for himself. And when you
have married her to him, you are safe. And if he dies, you will inherit
all he has." Said the King - "This is good. Make the arrangement
for the banquet."
Joodar
came to the King's palace on his invitation. They sat and ate till the end
of the day. As per plan, the Princess passed by the door of that
room in her best attire and jewelry. She was very beautiful, so as soon as he
saw her he fell in love with her. He got pale with love and passion.
Seeing this the Vazeer asked him - "What happened, are you all
right?"
Joodar
asked him - "Whose daughter is she?" The Vazeer replied -
"She is the daughter of the Sultaan, and if she pleases you, I will
speak to him that he marries her to you." Joodar said - "Do so.
And till I will live I will bestow upon you whatever you will and give the
King whatever he will ask for as her dowry. And we will become
friends." The Vazeer said - "It is hard, but you desire will be
fulfilled."
On
the 623rd Night
So he
turned to the King and whispered in his ear that Joodar wanted to marry
his daughter Asiyaa, and he should not disappoint the Vazeer. And whatever
dowry he would ask, he would give it to you. The King said - "I have
already received the dowry, and I will give the girl to him. He will honor
me by accepting her as his bride." So they spent the night together.
Next morning, the King held the court. Joodar asked the girl in marriage,
they signed the contract and Joodar sent for the saddle bags containing
the jewels and gave them to the King as the settlement upon his daughter.
The marriage was celebrated and Jooda and Asiyaa became one.
After
a while the King Shams al-Daulaa died, the troops proclaimed Joodar as
Sultaan, but Joodar refused. Still they persuaded him till he consented.
Joodar' house was called Yamaaniyaa, but when he became Sultaan he
converted it into a congregational mosque and other buildings, and was
called Judaariyaa. He appointed his brother Saalim as his Vazeer of the
right and Saleem the Vazeer of the left. Thus they lived only for one
year.
At the
end of this time Saalim said to Saleem - "How long we will live in
this state? Shall we pass our whole life like this? How to kill him and
take the saddle bags and the ring." Saleem said - "You are more
intelligent, so do something." Saalim said - "If I will carry
out my plan, then I will be the King and keep the ring and you will be my
right hand Vazeer and will keep the saddle bags." "Sure."
So
they said to Joodar - "We will very much appreciate if you will come
to our house and eat there and entertain with us." Joodar said -
"So be it. In whose house will it be?" Saleem said - "In
mine." So he went to Saleem's house where he set poisoned food before
him, after eating which he died. Then Saalim came to him and would have
drawn the ring from his finger, but it just wouldn't come out, so he cut
off the finger with a knife and took the ring out of the finger.
On
the 624th Night
Then
he rubbed the ring and the Mareed appeared and asked him what to do.
Saalim said - "Take my brother Saleem and put him to death then cast
these two bodies before the troops. So he killed Saleem and took the two
bodies and threw them before the army. who were sitting at the table. When
they saw Joodar and Saleem slain, they stood up in fear and asked Mareed -
"Who has done this to the Sultaan and his Vazeer?" The Jinn
replied "Their brother Saalim." Meanwhile Saalim came there and
said to them - "Eat and be merry. Joodar and Saleem are dead, and I
have taken the seal-ring, so now this Mareed is my servant now. If you
will not accept me, I will ask him to slay you." So all feared and
accepted him their King.
Then
he buried both of his brothers and said - "It is my will to marry
Joodar's wife." His courtiers said - "Wait, till the days of her
widowhood are over." But he did not listen to that and married her.
He asked her if he could enter her room, she said "Yes." She welcomed
him with joy, but by and by she gave him poisoned water and killed him.
Then she took the ring and broke it, that none might possess it in future,
and tore up the saddle bags. Then she sent for the Shekh Al-Islaam and
asked him to choose their King who can rule them.
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