Tales from the Arabic/Story of Ilan Shah and Abou Temam

by Unknown

STORY OF ILAN SHAH AND ABOU TEMAM.

“There was once a merchant named Abou Temam, and he was a man of understanding and good breeding, quick-witted and truthful in all his affairs, and he had wealth galore. Now there was in his land an unjust king and a jealous, and Abou Temam feared for his wealth from this king and said, ‘I will remove hence to another place where I shall not be in fear.’ So he made for the city of Ilan Shah and built himself a palace therein and transporting his wealth thither, took up his abode there. Presently, the news of him reached King Ilan Shah; so he sent to bid him to his presence and said to him, ‘We know of thy coming to us and thine entry under our allegiance, and indeed we have heard of thine excellence and wit and generosity; so welcome to thee and fair welcome! The land is thy land and at thy commandment, and whatsoever occasion thou hast unto us, it is [already] accomplished unto thee; and it behoveth that thou be near our person and of our assembly.’ Abou Temam prostrated himself to the king and said to him, ‘O king, I will serve thee with my wealth and my life, but do thou excuse me from nearness unto thee, for that, [if I took service about thy person], I should not be safe from enemies and enviers.’ Then he addressed himself to serve the king with presents and largesses, and the king saw him to be intelligent, well-bred and of good counsel; so he committed to him the ordinance of his affairs and in his hand was the power to bind and loose.

Now Ilan Shah had three viziers, in whose hands the affairs [of the kingdom] were [aforetime] and they had been used to leave not the king night nor day; but they became shut out from him by reason of Abou Temam and the king was occupied with him to their exclusion. So they took counsel together upon the matter and said, ‘What counsel ye we should do, seeing that the king is occupied from us with yonder man, and indeed he honoureth him more than us? But now come, let us cast about for a device, whereby we may remove him from the king.’ So each of them spoke forth that which was in his mind, and one of them said, ‘The king of the Turks hath a daughter, whose like there is not in the world, and whatsoever messenger goeth to demand her in marriage, her father slayeth him. Now our king hath no knowledge of this; so, come, let us foregather with him and bring up the talk of her. When his heart is taken with her, we will counsel him to despatch Abou Temam to seek her hand in marriage; whereupon her father will slay him and we shall be quit of him, for we have had enough of his affair.”

Accordingly, they all went in to the king one day (and Abou Temam was present among them,) and mentioned the affair of the damsel, the king’s daughter of the Turks, and enlarged upon her charms, till the king’s heart was taken with her and he said to them, ‘We will send one to demand her in marriage for us; but who shall be our messenger?’ Quoth the viziers, ‘There is none for this business but Abou Temam, by reason of his wit and good breeding;’ and the king said, ‘Indeed, even as ye say, none is fitting for this affair but he.’ Then he turned to Abou Temam and said to him, ‘Wilt thou not go with my message and seek me [in marriage] the king’s daughter of the Turks?’ and he answered, ‘Hearkening and obedience, O king.’

So they made ready his affair and the king conferred on him a dress of honour, and he took with him a present and a letter under the king’s hand and setting out, fared on till he came to the [capital] city of Turkestan. When the king of the Turks knew of his coming, he despatched his officers to receive him and entreated him with honour and lodged him as befitted his rank. Then he entertained him three days, after which he summoned him to his presence and Abou Temam went in to him and prostrating himself before him, as beseemeth unto kings, laid the present before him and gave him the letter.

The king read the letter and said to Abou Temam, “We will do what behoveth in the matter; but, O Abou Temam, needs must thou see my daughter and she thee, and needs must thou hear her speech and she thine.’ So saying, he sent him to the lodging of the princess, who had had notice of this; so that they had adorned her sitting-chamber with the costliest that might be of utensils of gold and silver and the like, and she seated herself on a throne of gold, clad in the most sumptuous of royal robes and ornaments. When Abou Temam entered, he bethought himself and said, ‘The wise say, he who restraineth his sight shall suffer no evil and he who guardeth his tongue shall hear nought of foul, and he who keepeth watch over his hand, it shall be prolonged and not curtailed.’^[1] So he entered and seating himself on the ground, [cast down his eyes and] covered his hands and feet with his dress.^[2] Quoth the king’s daughter to him, ‘Lift thy head, O Abou Temam, and look on me and speak with me.’ But he spoke not neither raised his head, and she continued, ‘They sent thee but that thou mightest look on me and speak with me, and behold, thou speakest not at all. Take of these pearls that be around thee and of these jewels and gold and silver. But he put not forth his hand unto aught, and when she saw that he paid no heed to anything, she was angry and said, ‘They have sent me a messenger, blind, dumb and deaf.’

Then she sent to acquaint her father with this; whereupon the king called Abou Temam to him and said to him, ‘Thou camest not but to see my daughter. Why, then, hast thou not looked upon her?’ Quoth Abou Temam, ‘I saw everything.’ And the king said, ‘Why didst thou not take somewhat of that which thou sawest of jewels and the like? For they were set for thee.’ But he answered, ‘It behoveth me not to put out my hand to aught that is not mine.’ When the king heard his speech, he gave him a sumptuous dress of honour and loved him exceedingly and said to him, ‘Come, look at this pit.’ So Abou Temam went up [to the mouth of the pit] and looked, and behold, it was full of heads of men; and the king said to him, ‘These are the heads of ambassadors, whom I slew, for that I saw them without loyalty to their masters, and I was used, whenas I saw an ambassador without breeding,^[3] to say, “He who sent him is less of breeding than he, for that the messenger is the tongue of him who sendeth him and his breeding is of his master’s breeding; and whoso is on this wise, it befitteth not that he be akin to me.”^[4] So, because of this, I used to put the messengers to death; but, as for thee, thou hast overcome us and won my daughter, of the excellence of thy breeding; so be of good heart, for she is thy master’s.’ Then he sent him back to king Ilan Shah with presents and rarities and a letter, saying, ‘This that I have done is in honour of thee and of thine ambassador.’

When Abou Temam returned with [news of] the accomplishment of his errand and brought the presents and the letter, King Ilan Shah rejoiced in this and redoubled in showing him honour and made much of him. Some days thereafterward, the king of Turkestan sent his daughter and she went in to King Ilan Shah, who rejoiced in her with an exceeding joy and Abou Temam’s worth was exalted in his sight. When the viziers saw this, they redoubled in envy and despite and said, ‘An we contrive us not a device to rid us of this man, we shall perish of rage.’ So they bethought them [and agreed upon] a device they should practise.

Then they betook themselves to two boys affected to the [special] service of the king, who slept not but on their knee,^[5] and they lay at his head, for that they were his pages of the chamber, and gave them each a thousand dinars of gold, saying, ‘We desire of you that ye do somewhat for us and take this gold as a provision against your occasion.’ Quoth the boys, ‘What is it ye would have us do?’ And the viziers answered, ‘This Abou Temam hath marred our affairs for us, and if his case abide on this wise, he will estrange us all from the king’s favour; and what we desire of you is that, when ye are alone with the king and he leaneth back, as he were asleep, one of you say to his fellow, “Verily, the king hath taken Abou Temam into his especial favour and hath advanced him to high rank with him, yet is he a transgressor against the king’s honour and an accursed one.” Then let the other of you ask, “And what is his transgression?” And the first make answer, “He outrageth the king’s honour and saith, ‘The King of Turkestan was used, whenas one went to him to seek his daughter in marriage, to slay him; but me he spared, for that she took a liking to me, and by reason of this he sent her hither, because she loved me.’” Then let his fellow say, “Knowest thou this for truth?” And the other reply, “By Allah, this is well known unto all the folk, but, of their fear of the king, they dare not bespeak him thereof; and as often as the king is absent a-hunting or on a journey, Abou Temam comes to her and is private with her.”’ And the boys answered, ‘We will say this.’

Accordingly, one night, when they were alone with the king and he leant back, as he were asleep, they said these words and the king heard it all and was like to die of rage and said in himself, ‘These are young boys, not come to years of discretion, and have no intrigue with any; and except they had heard these words from some one, they had not spoken with each other thereof.’ When it was morning, wrath overmastered him, so that he stayed not neither deliberated, but summoned Abou Temam and taking him apart, said to him, ‘Whoso guardeth not his lord’s honour,^[6] what behoveth unto him?’ Quoth Abou Temam, ‘It behoveth that his lord guard not his honour.’ ‘And whoso entereth the king’s house and playeth the traitor with him,’ continued the king, ‘what behoveth unto him?’ And Abou Temam answered, ‘He shall not be left on life.’ Whereupon the king spat in his face and said to him, ‘Both these things hast thou done.’ Then he drew his dagger on him in haste and smiting him in the belly, slit it and he died forthright; whereupon the king dragged him to a well that was in his palace and cast him therein.

After he had slain him, he fell into repentance and mourning and chagrin waxed upon him, and none, who questioned him, would he acquaint with the cause thereof, nor, of his love for his wife, did he tell her of this, and whenas she asked him of [the cause of] his grief, he answered her not. When the viziers knew of Abou Temam’s death, they rejoiced with an exceeding joy and knew that the king’s grief arose from regret for him. As for Ilan Shah, he used, after this, to betake himself by night to the sleeping-chamber of the two boys and spy upon them, so he might hear what they said concerning his wife. As he stood one night privily at the door of their chamber, he saw them spread out the gold before them and play with it and heard one of them say, ‘Out on us! What doth this gold profit us? For that we cannot buy aught therewith neither spend it upon ourselves. Nay, but we have sinned against Abou Temam and done him to death unjustly.’ And the other answered, ‘Had we known that the king would presently kill him, we had not done what we did.’

When the king heard this, he could not contain himself, but rushed in upon them and said to them, ‘Out on you! What did ye? Tell me.’ And they said, ‘Pardon, O king.’ Quoth he, ‘An ye would have pardon from God and me, it behoveth you to tell me the truth, for nothing shall save you from me but truth-speaking.’ So they prostrated themselves before him and said, ‘By Allah, O king, the viziers gave us this gold and taught us to lie against Abou Teman, so thou mightest put him to death, and what we said was their words.’ When the king heard this, he plucked at his beard, till he was like to tear it up by the roots and bit upon his fingers, till he well-nigh sundered them in twain, for repentance and sorrow that he had wrought hastily and had not delayed with Abou Temam, so he might look into his affair.

Then he sent for the viziers and said to them, ‘O wicked viziers, ye thought that God was heedless of your deed, but your wickedness shall revert upon you. Know ye not that whoso diggeth a pit for his brother shall fall into it? Take from me the punishment of this world and to-morrow ye shall get the punishment of the world to come and requital from God.’ Then he bade put them to death; so [the headsman] smote off their heads before the king, and he went in to his wife and acquainted her with that wherein he had transgressed against Abou Temam; whereupon she grieved for him with an exceeding grief and the king and the people of his household left not weeping and repenting all their lives. Moreover, they brought Abou Temam forth of the well and the king built him a dome^[7] in his palace and buried him therein.

Return to The Ten Viziers; or the History of King Azadbekht and His Son.

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1. This phrase refers to the Arab idiom, “His hand (or arm) is long or short,” i.e. he is a man of great or little puissance.
2. The Arabs consider it a want of respect to allow the hands or feet to remain exposed in the presence of a superior.
3. Adeb. See antè, p. 54, note 9.
4. i.e. that he become my son-in-law.
5. It is a common Eastern practice to have the feet kneaded and pressed (shampooed) for the purpose of inducing sleep, and thus the king would habitually fall asleep with his feet on the knees of his pages.
6. Syn. whoso respecteth not his lord’s women.
7. i.e. a domed tomb.