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kissed the earth before him and said, ‘Peace be upon thee, O Commander of the Faithful and asylum of the people of the faith and reviver of justice among all creatures! May God make plain the treading of thy feet and vouchsafe thee enjoyment of that which He hath bestowed on thee and make Paradise thy harbourage and the fire that of thine enemies!’ Quoth Er Reshid, ‘And on thee be peace, O damsel! Sit.’ So she sat down and he bade her sing; whereupon she took the lute and tightening its strings, played thereon in many modes, so that the Commander of the Faithful and Jaafer were confounded and like to fly for delight. Then she returned to the first mode and sang the following verses:
By Him whom I worship, indeed, I swear, O thou that mine eye dost fill, By Him in whose honour the pilgrims throng and fare to Arafat’s hill,
Though over me be the tombstone laid, if ever thou call on me, Though rotten my bone should be, thy voice I’ll answer, come what will.
I crave none other than thou for friend, belovéd of my heart; So trust in my speech, for the generous are true and trusty still.
Er Reshid considered her beauty and the goodliness of her singing and her eloquence and what not else she comprised of qualities and rejoiced with an exceeding joyance; and for the stress of that which overcame him of delight, he descended from the couch and sitting down with her upon the ground, said to her, ‘Thou hast done well, O Tuhfeh. By Allah, thou art indeed a gift.’[1]
- ↑ Or “rarity” (tuhfeh).
