Читать книгу 1001 Nights - Richard Francis Burton - Страница 126

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She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Wazir Dandan continued to Zau al-Makan, “Now, quoth the fifth damsel to thy sire, ‘When Moses (on whom be peace!) entered the home of Shu’ayb where supper was ready, Shu’ayb said to him, ‘O Moses, I desire to pay thee thy wage for having drawn water for these two.’ But Moses answered, ‘I am of a household which selleth nothing of the fashion of the next world1062 for what is on earth of gold and silver.’ Then quoth Shu’ayb, ‘O youth! nevertheless thou art my guest, and it is my wont and that of my forbears to honour the guest by setting food before him.’ So Moses sat down and ate. Then Shu’ayb hired Moses for eight pilgrimages, that is to say, eight years, and made his wage marriage with one of his two daughters, and Moses’ service to him was to stand for her dowry. As saith the Holy Writ of him, ‘Verily I will give thee one of these my two daughters in marriage, on condition that thou serve me for hire eight pilgrimages: and if thou fulfil ten years, it is in thine own breast; for I seek not to impose a hardship on thee.’1063 A certain man once said to one of his friends whom he had not met for many days, ‘Thou hast made me desolate, for that I have not seen thee this long while.’ Quoth the other, ‘I have been distracted from thee by Ibn Shiháb: dost thou know him?’ Quoth his friend, ‘Yes, he hath been my neighbour these thirty years, but I have never spoken to him.’ He replied, ‘Verily thou forgettest Allah in forgetting — thy neighbour! If thou lovedst Allah thou wouldst love thy neighbour. Knowest thou not that a neighbour hath a claim upon his neighbour,1064 even as the right of kith and kin?’ Said Huzayfah, ‘We entered Meccah with Ibráhím bin Adham, and Shakík al-Balkhí was also making a pilgrimage that year. Now we met whilst circumambulating the Ka’abah and Ibrahim said to Shakik, ‘What is your fashion in your country?’ Replied Shakik, ‘When we are blest with our daily bread we eat, and when we hunger we take patience.’ ‘This wise,’ said Ibrahim, ‘do the dogs of Balkh; but we, when blest with plenty, do honour to Allah and when an hungered we thank Him.’ And Shakik seated himself before Ibrahim and said to him, ‘Thou art my master.’ Also said Mohammed bin Imrán, ‘A man once asked of Hátim the Deaf1065 ‘What maketh thee to trust in Allah?’ ‘Two things,’ answered he, ‘I know that none save myself shall eat my daily bread, so my heart is at rest as to that; and I know that I was not created without the knowledge of Allah, and am abashed before Him.’ Then the fifth damsel retired and the ancient dame came forward and, kissing the ground before thy father nine times, said, ‘Thou hast heard, O King, what these all have spoken on the subject of piety; and I will follow their example in relating what hath reached me of the famous men of past times. It is said that the Imam al-Sháfi’í departed the night into three portions, the first for study, the second for sleep and the third for prayer. The Imam Abú Hanífah1066 was wont also to pass half the night in prayer. One day a man pointed him out to another, as he walked by and remarked, ‘Yonder man watcheth the whole night.’ When he heard this Abu Hanifah said, ‘I was abashed before Allah to hear myself praised for what was not in me’; so after this he used to watch the whole night. And one of the Sages hath said,

‘Who seeketh for pearl in the Deep dives deep;

Who on high would hie robs his night of sleep.’

Al–Rabí a relates that Al–Shafi’i used to recite the whole Koran seventy times during the month of Ramazan, and that in his daily prayers. Quoth Al–Shafi’i (Allah accept him!), ‘During ten years I never ate my fill of barley bread, for fullness hardeneth the heart and deadeneth the wit and induceth sleep and enfeebleth one from standing up to pray.’1067 It is reported of Abdullah bin Mohammed al-Sakrá that he said, ‘I was once talking with Omar and he observed to me, ‘Never saw I a more God fearing or eloquent man than Mohammed bin Idris al-Shafi’i.’ It so happened I went out one day with Al-Háris bin Labíb al-Saffár, who was a disciple of Al–Muzani1068 and had a fine voice and he read the saying of the Almighty, ‘This shall be a day whereon they shall not speak to any purpose, nor shall they be permitted to excuse themselves.’1069 I saw Al–Shafi’i’s colour change; his skin shuddered with horripilation, he was violently moved and he fell down in a fainting fit When he revived he said, ‘I take refuge with Allah from the stead of the liars and the lot of the negligent! O Allah, before whom the hearts of the wise abase themselves, O Allah, of Thy bene ficence accord to me the remission of my sins, adorn me with the curtain of Thy protection and pardon me my shortcomings, by the magnanimity of Thy Being!’ Then I rose and went away. Quoth one of the pious, ‘When I entered Baghdad, Al–Shafi’i was there. So I sat down on the river bank to make the ablution before prayer; and behold, there passed me one who said, ‘O youth, make thy Wuzu-ablution well and Allah will make it well for thee in this world and in the next.’ I turned and lo! there was a man behind whom came a company of people. So I hastened to finish my ablution and followed him. Presently, he turned and asked me, ‘Say, dost thou want aught?’ ‘Yes,’ answered I, ‘I desire that thou teach me somewhat of that which Allah Almighty hath taught thee.’ He said, ‘Know then that whoso believeth in Allah shall be saved, and whoso jealously loveth his faith shall be delivered from destruction, and whoso practiseth abstinence in this world, his eyes shall be solaced on the morrow of death. Shall I tell thee any more?’ I replied, ‘Assuredly;’ and he continued, ‘Be thou of the world that is, heedless; and of the world to come, greediest. Be truthful in all thy dealings, and thou shalt be saved with the Salvationists.’ Then he went on and I asked about him and was told that he was the Imam Al–Shafi’i. Al–Shafi’i was wont to remark, ‘I love to see folk profit by this learning of mine, on condition that nothing of it be attributed to me.”— And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.