Читать книгу 1001 Nights - Richard Francis Burton - Страница 106

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She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Nuzhat al-Zaman continued, “Know, O King, that Mu’aykib was intendant of the public treasury during the Caliphate of Omar bin al-Khattab; and it so befel him that he saw Omar’s son and gave him a dirham out of the treasury. Thereupon, quoth Mu’aykib, ‘I returned to my own house, and while I was sitting there behold, a messenger came to me from Omar and I was afraid and went to him, and when I came into his presence, in his hand was the dirham I had given his son. He said to me, ‘Woe to thee Mu’aykib! I have found somewhat concerning thy soul.’ I asked ‘And what is that?’; and he answered, ‘It is that thou hast shown thyself a foe to the followers of Mohammed (on whom be peace and salvation!) in the matter of this dirham, and thou wilt have to account for it on Resurrection Day.’972 And Omar also wrote a letter to Abú Músá al-Ashári973 as follows, ‘When these presents reach thee, give the people what is theirs and remit to me the rest.’ And he did so. Now when Othman succeeded to the Caliphate, he wrote a like letter to Abu Musa, who did his bidding and sent him the tribute accordingly, and with it came Ziyád.974 And when Ziyad laid the tribute before Othman, the Caliph’s son came in and took a dirham, whereupon Ziyad shed tears. Othman asked ‘Why weepest thou?’; and Ziyad answered, ‘I once brought Omar bin al-Khattab the like of this and his son took a dirham, where upon Omar bade snatch it from his hand. Now thy son hath taken of the tribute, yet I have seen none say aught to him or snatch the money from him.’ Then Othman975 cried, ‘And where wilt thou find the like of Omar?’ Again Zayd bin Aslam relates of his father that he said, ‘I went out one night with Omar till we approached a blazing fire. Quoth Omar, ‘O Aslam, I think these must be travellers who are suffering from the cold. Come, let us join them.’ So we walked on till we came to them and behold! we found a woman who had lighted a fire under a cauldron and by her side were two children, both a wailing. Said Omar, ‘Peace be with you, O folk of light (for it was repugnant to him to say ‘folk of fire’),976 what aileth you?’ Said she, ‘The cold and the night trouble us.’ He asked, ‘What aileth these little people that they weep?’; and she answered, ‘They are hungry.’ He enquired, ‘And what is in this cauldron?’; and she replied, ‘It is what I quiet them withal, and Allah will question Omar bin al-Khattab of them, on the Day of Doom.’ He said, ‘And what should Omar know of their case?’ ‘Why then,’ rejoined she, ‘should he manage people’s affairs and yet be unmindful of them?’ Thereupon Omar turned to me (continned Aslam) and cried, ‘Come with us!’ So we set off running till we reached the pay department of his treasury, where he took out a sack containing flour and a pot holding fat and said to me, ‘Load these on my back!’ Quoth I, ‘O Commander of the Faithful, I will carry them for thee.’ He rejoined, ‘Wilt thou bear my load for me on the Day of Resurrection?’ So I put the things on his back, and we set off, running, till we threw down the sack hard by her. Then he took out some of the flour and put it in the cauldron; and, saying to the woman, ‘Leave it to me,’ he began blowing the fire under the cauldron. Now he was a long bearded man977 and I saw the smoke issuing from between the hairs of his beard till the flour was cooked, when he took some of the fat and threw it in and said to the woman, ‘Bed them while I cool it for them.’ So they fell to eating till they had eaten their fill, and he left the rest with her. Then he turned to me and said, ‘O Aslam, I see it was indeed hunger made them weep; and I am glad I did not go away ere I found out the cause of the light I saw.’— And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.