OF DEATH
SOMETIMES the affair becomes so aggravated, the lover's nature is so sensitive, and his anxiety so extreme, that the combined circumstances result in his demise and departure out of this transient world. The well-known dictum of the Fathers declares that " He who loves, and controls himself, and so dies, the same is a martyr." I have referred to this in the following verses.
As a martyr I'll expire,
But if thou art kind to me
I'll survive rejoicingly.
Men most worth our confidence
Have informed us in this sense,
Fathers who were true and wise,
Innocent of guile and lies.
My friend Abu '1-Sari 'Ammar Ibn Ziyad has informed me, quoting a reliable source, that Chief Secretary Ibn Quzman was so sorely smitten with love for Aslam Ibn `Abd al-'Aziz, the brother of Grand Chamberlain Hashim Ibn `Abd al-'Aziz-and Aslam was an exceedingly handsome man-that he was laid prostrate by `his sufferings and affected with mortal sickness. Aslam attended his sickbed a frequent visitor, having no knowledge that himself was the source of his malady; until at last Abu '1-Sari succumbed of grief and long wasting. The informant continued: Then I informed Aslam, after the tragic event had come to pass, of the true cause of Abu '1-Sari's illness and death. He was very sorry, and said, " Why did you not let me know? " " Why should I? " I replied. " Because ", he said, " in that case I swear I would have kept myself even more closely in touch with him, and would scarcely have left his bedside; that could have done me no harm." Now this Aslam was a most brilliant and cultured man; he was expert in many branches of knowledge, as well as being a considerable lawyer and a penetrating critic of poetry; he had himself written some excellent verses. He was besides well informed on songs and the art of singing, being the author of a book on the vocal technique and biography of Ziryab, which forms a most wonderful anthology of poetry. Of the finest physical and moral qualities, he was the father of Abu 'l--Ja`d who used to live in the western quarter of Cordova.
I know a slave-girl who was at one time the property of an exalted personage. He turned against her on hearing some story relating to her-and in truth it was no matter that should have so greatly enraged him and therefore he sold her. She was vastly desolated by this, and wasting and despair became her constant companions; her eyes were always swimming with tears; she fell into a decline, and so died, within not many months of leaving his household. I was informed by a woman in whom I have every confidence, 'that she met her and found she had become as thin and wasted as a ghost. She said to her," I fancy that the cause of your present sufferings is your love for So-and-so." On this she heaved a deep sigh and said, " By Allah, I shall never forget him, for all that he treated me so cruelly without cause." She survived this remark but a very brief while.
I can inform you as to my brother Abu Bakr (God have mercy on his soul) that he was married to 'Atika, the daughter of Qand who commanded the Upper Marches in the days of al-Mansur Abu `Amer Muhammad Ibn `Amin; she was a very aragon of beauty and nobility of character; the word does not produce her virtuous like every day. They were both in the prime of their youth, and under the complete domination of its foolish ardors; each of them would fly into a rage at the slightest provocation. So they continued to quarrel and nag at each other for eight long years; meanwhile she had become quite wasted by love and worn out with passion for him; her infatuation on his account was so extreme that it reduced her until she looked as pale and sick as a ghost. No mundane amusements would divert her; she found no pleasure whatsoever in her ample and abundant riches, having' lost his absolute concord and the purity of his affections. Matters continued thus with her until my brother died of the plague which swept Cordova in June 1011, he being then but twenty-two years old, God rest his soul! So parted from him, she ceased not to waste away of the internal malady, sickness, and the decline, until she died precisely one year after him, on the very anniversary of his interment. Her mother, as well as all her slave-girls, informed me that she would often say after he was gone, " Since his death there is nothing to fortify my endurance and keep my last I breath in my body, except my joyous certainty that he will never share a bed with any other woman. Now my mind is at rest about the one and only thing I feared. My fondest hope to-day is to rejoin him" My brother had known no other woman before her or while he lived with her, and she too never knew another man: so it fell out as she had calculated, God forgive her and be well pleased with her!
Here is the story of our friend Abu `Abd Allah Muhammad Ibn Yahya Ibn Muhammad Ibn al-Husain al-Tamimi, better known as Ibn al-Tubni, God rest his soul! It might have been said that beauty itself was created in his likeness, or fashioned out of the sighs of those who looked upon him: I have never seen his equal in beauty, comeliness, physique, temperance, self-restraint, culture, understanding, magnanimity, loyalty, nobility, purity, generosity, tenderness, sweetness, dexterity, patience, forbearance, intelligence, chivalry, piety, learning, knowledge of the Koran and the Traditions, grammar and lexicography. He was a fine poet, a splendid calligrapher, and an eloquent and accomplished speaker; he had besides a very decent capacity in scholasticism and dialectic. He was a pensioner of Abu 'l-Qasim `Abd al-Rahman Ibn Abi Yazid al-Azdi, my own preceptor in these subjects; there was a difference of twelve years between his age and his brother's, and he and I were almost exact contemporaries. We were inseparable companions and bosom friends, and our relations were marked by perfect understanding and concord, until the troubles broke over us, and let k loose their flood of misery. The Berber soldiery pillaged our dwellings in Balat Mughith on the western side of Cordova, and barracked themselves there. Abu `Abd Allah's residence was on the eastern side. The vicissitudes of fortune obliged me to quit Cordova and take up my abode in Almeria; but we continued to exchange frequent missives, in verse as well as prose. The last communication I ever received from him was a letter containing the following lines.
If thy affection's bond
Is still unfrayed and new,
Thy love yet fresh and fond.
O shall I ever win
Thy features to behold,
And speak with thee, as in
Balat Mughith of old?
If yearning had the power
Whole buildings to uproot,
Balat this very hour
Would leap to thy pursuit.
If human hearts indeed
Might ever travel free,
My heart with eager speed
Would hasten unto thee.
Be as thou wilt: by me
Thou shalt be still adored,
Since in my memory
Thy love alone is stored.
Thy troth within my heart,
What though thy mind forget,
Is kept a thing apart,
Deep down, unbroken yet.
So we continued, until the rule of the Banu Marwan came to an end, and the Caliph Sulaiman al-Zafir w slain. Then the dynasty of the Talibis seized power, and `Ali Ibn Hammud al-Hasani, styling himself al-Nasir, was proclaimed Caliph. He conquered and possessed himself of Cordova, and pursued his hostile operations against the city with the assistance of -the victorious armies and the rebel detachments scattered all over Andalusia. Immediately after this I found myself in serious trouble with Khairan, the mayor of Almeria; wicked persons who feared not God in their hearts-and God has since avenged me and my friend, Muhammad Ibn Ishaq upon them-reported to him'` that we were conspiring to make propaganda in favour of the Umaiyad house. Khairan arrested us and kept us under his personal surveillance for some months, after which we were expelled and banished from Almeria. We proceeded to Aznalcazar, where we were received by the governor of that city, Abu 'l-Qasim `Abd Allah Ibn Muhammad Ibn Hudhail al-Tujibi, better known as Ibn al-Mugaffal. We remained in his most hospitable home for several months, enjoying the friendship of his delightful family and admirable neighbours, all men of the most ardent spirit, the truest kindliness, and the most perfect noblesse. Then we took ship and sailed to Valencia, just when the Caliph al-Murtada '' `Abd al-Rahman Ibn Muhammad emerged on the scene and took up residence there.
At Valencia I found our old friend Abu Shakir `Abd al-Rahman Ibn Muhammad Ibn Mauhib al-Qabri, who brought me the sad news that Abu `Abd Allah Ibn al-Tubni was dead, God rest his soul. Then a little while later judge Abu 'l-Walid Yunus Ibn Muhammad al-Muradi and Abu `Amr Ahmad Ibn Mahriz informed me that Abu Bakr al-Mus'ab Ibn `Abd Allah al-Azdi, better known as Ibn al-Faradi, had told them-and al-Mus'ab's father had been cadi of Valencia during the Caliphate of al-Mahdi, while al-Mus'ab himself had been a dear friend and brother to us in the days when we were studying Traditions at his father's feet, and under the other leading Traditionists of Cordova--these two men, I say, stated that they had been told by al-Mus'ab :that he had enquired of Abu `Abd' Allah Ibn al-Tubni as to the cause of his illness. For he had indeed become terribly emaciated, and the wasting sickness had entirely destroyed his once handsome features, so that nothing remained but their very essence to bear testimony to their former beauty; he had so fallen away that a mere breath almost sufficed to send him flying; he was bent wellnigh to the ground, and anguish was evident in every line of his face. He explained that he was alone with Ibn al-Tubni at the time of their conversation. Ibn al-Tubni answered him, " Yes, I will tell you. I was standing at the door of my house in Ghadir Ibn al-Shammas at the time that `Ali Ibn Hammud entered Cordova, and his armies were pouring into the city from all directions. I saw among them a youth of such striking appearance, that I would never have believed until that moment that beauty could be so embodied in a living form. He mastered my reason, and my mind was wholly enraptured with him. I enquired after him, and was told that he was So-and-so, the son of So-and-so, and that he inhabited such-and-such district-a province far distant from Cordova, and virtually inaccessible. I despaired of ever seeing him again; and by my life, 0 Abu Bakr, I shall never give up loving him, until I am laid in the tomb." And so indeed it was. For my part, I knew the youth in question, and was personally ally acquainted with him, having seen him with my own eyes; but I have forborne to mention his name, because he is now dead, and the two have met at last in the presence of the Almighty: may Allah forgive us all! Yet this same Abu `Abd Allah (may God accord him an honoured seat in Paradise!) was a man who never in his life went astray or wandered from the straight and narrow path; not once did he transgress against God's holy laws, or commit any abominable act, or do any forbidden deed such as might have corrupted his faith and tainted his virtue; he never repaid evil with evil; there was none other his like, not in all our generation.
Then I entered Cordova once more, al-Qasim Ibn Hammud al-Ma'mun having succeeded to the Caliphate, and my first care was to seek out Abu `Amr al-Qasiui Ibn Yahya al-Tamimi, Abu `Abd Allah's brother. After enquiring concerning his own health, I offered him my, sympathies in his sad bereavement; though indeed I. was no less deserving condolence than he. Then I; questioned him about my friend's poetry and epistles, for all that I had possessed of these had perished during the sack of Cordova, in circumstances which I have mentioned at the beginning of this story. He told me that when his brother was near his death, and convinced that his time was at hand and his end undoubtedly come, he called for all his poetry, and all the letters which I had written to him, to be brought to him; he tore every sheet into pieces, and gave instructions that the fragments should be buried. Abu `Amr continued I said to him, " O my brother, let them remain! " But he answered, "See, I am tearing them up; I know that in doing so I am destroying much fine literature. If Abu Muhammad "-he meant myself, Ibn Hazm" had been present, I would have given them over to him as a souvenir of my love; but I do not know in what country he lies concealed, nor even whether he is alive or dead."-He had indeed heard news of my misfortunes, but was not aware of where I was then lodging, or of what had become of me. Among the elegies which I composed in his memory is a poem from which these three couplets are extracted.
Still true, still manifest my love abides.
I sought thy dwelling, passionate for thee,
When Destiny had done its worst with me,
But it was desolate, and thou wast dead,
And ah, the bitter tears for thee I shed!
Abu 'l-Qasim al-Hamdani (God rest his soul) related to me the following story. There was with us (he said) in Baghdad a brother of `Abd Allah Ibn Yahya Ibn Ahmad Ibn Dahhun the famous jurist, Grand Mufti of Cordova; he was more learned and even more distinguished than his eminent kinsman, and none other of our companions in the great city was in any way his equal. One day he happened to be passing along a cul-de-sac in the district of Darb Qutna, when he saw at the farthest end of the street a slave-girl standing with her face uncovered. She called to him, "Hi, mister, this is a blind alley! " He looked at her, and at once fell in love with her. When he returned to us, his passion for the girl became ever more violent, so that he feared he might fall into temptation. He therefore departed to Basra, and there died of love, God have mercy on his soul ! By all accounts' he was a most saintly man.
Here is a story, which I have often heard told concerning a certain Berber king. An Andalusian' gentleman, finding himself in financial difficulties, had sold a female slave whom he loved passionately; she was bought by a man of the Berber country. The poor fellow who sold her never imagined that his heart would follow her in the way it did. When she reached her purchaser's home, her former owner almost expired. So he searched out the man to whom he had sold her, and offered him all his possessions, and himself to boot, if he would restore her to him; but the Berber refused. The Andalusian then besought the inhabitants of the town to prevail upon him; but not one of them came to his assistance. Almost out of his mind, he bethought himself of appealing to the king; he therefore stood without the palace, and uttered a loud cry. The king, who was seated in a lofty upper chamber overlooking the courtyard, heard his shout and ordered him to be admitted. The Andalusian entered the royal presence, and standing before his Berber majesty he told his story, and implored and supplicated him to have compassion. The king, much touched by his plight, commanded that the man who had bought the girl should be summoned to court. He duly came; and the king said, This poor fellow is a stranger; you see what a state he is in intercede with you personally on his behalf." But the purchaser refused, saying, " I am more deeply' in love with her than he is, and I fear that if you return her to him I myself shall be standing here to-morrow imploring your aid, and in an even worse case." The king and all his courtiers offered him of their own riches to let her go; but he persisted in his refusal, pleading as his excuse the affection he bore her.
The audience having by now dragged on a long time, and there being no sign whatsoever that the purchaser would give way and consent, the king said to the Andalusian, " My good sir, I can do nothing more for you than this. I have striven to the utmost of my powers on your behalf; and you see how he excuses himself on the grounds that he loves her more than you do, and fears he may come to even greater evil than yourself. You had best endure patiently what Allah has decreed for you." The Andalusian thereupon exclaimed, " Have you no means at all then of helping me? " The king answered, " Can I do anything more for you than; entreat him, and offer him money? " The Andalusian, being in despair, bent himself double, and with his hands clutching his feet he threw himself down from the topmost height of the audience-chamber to the earth. The king cried out in alarm, and his slaves below ran to where the man was lying. It was his fate not to be greatly injured by the fall, and he was brought up to the king again. The king said to him, " What did you intend by doing that? " " O king ", the man replied, " I cannot live any longer, now that I have lost her." Then he would have thrown himself down a second time, but he was prevented.
The king thereupon exclaimed, " Allah is great! I have hit upon the just arbitrament of this problem." Turning to the purchaser he said, " Good sir, do you claim that your love for the girl is greater than his, and do you state that you fear to come to the same pass as he is in? " " Yes," replied the Berber. " Very well ", went on the king. " Your friend here has given us a clear indication of his love; he hurled himself down, and would have died, but that Almighty God preserved him. Now do you stand up and prove your love is true; cast yourself down from the topmost point of this pavilion, as your friend did. If you die, it will mean that your appointed time has come; if you live, you will have the better right to the girl, seeing that she is at present your property; and your companion in distress shall then go away. But if you refuse to jump, I will take the girl from you, whether you like it or not, and will hand her over-to him." At first the Berber held back, but then he said, " I will cast myself down." But when he came near the opening, and looked into the yawning void below him, he drew himself back again. " By Allah ", cried the king, " it shall be as I have said." The man tried again, but shrunk away once more. When he would not take the plunge, the king shouted to him, " Do not make sport of us! Ho, slaves, seize his hands and pitch him to the ground!" The Berber, seeing the king thus resolved, exclaimed, " O king, I am content: let him have the girl." The king replied, " Allah give thee a good recompense!" So saying, he bought the girl from him and gave her over to her former owner; and the two departed.
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