Emir Šudža ad Din in Frankinja

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Emir Šudža ad Din in Frankinja

It is also told that the emir Shuja al-Din Muhammad, governor of Cairo, said: We once spent the night with a man from Upper Egypt, who entertained us generously and treated us with great honor. He was an old man, very dark of complexion, yet he had young children whose fair skin was tinged with rose. We said to him, “How is it that these children of yours are fair, while you are so dark?” He replied, “Their mother is a Frankish woman whom I took as my own, and I have a remarkable story to tell about her.” “Favor us with it,” we said. “Gladly,” he answered. “You must know that I once planted flax in this town, harvested it, and shook out its seed, spending five hundred dinars on it. When I came to sell it, however, I could get no more than that sum. People advised me, ‘Take it to Acre; perhaps you will make a handsome profit there.’ Acre was then in the hands of the Franks, so I took the flax there and sold some of it on six months’ credit. While I was selling, a Frankish woman passed by me—for Frankish women customarily walk through the market unveiled—and came over to buy some flax. Her beauty so dazzled me that I sold her some at a very easy price. She took it and went away, then returned a few days later, and I sold her more, letting her have it even more cheaply than before. She came to me again and again, and realized that I loved her. She usually walked with an old woman, so I said to her companion, ‘I am consumed with love for her. Can you contrive some way for me to be with her?’ The old woman replied, ‘I can arrange it for you, but this secret must remain between the three of us—you, she, and I. And you will have to spend some money.’ I said, ‘Even if being with her cost me my life, it would be no great price.’” Then dawn overtook Shahrazad, and she fell silent, leaving off her permitted tale.

When it was the eight hundred and ninety-fifth night

She said: It has reached me, O fortunate king, that when the old woman answered the man, she said, “But this secret must remain between the three of us—you, she, and I. And you will have to spend some money.” He replied, “Even if being with her cost me my life, it would be no great price.” They agreed that he should pay her fifty dinars and the woman would come to him, so he made ready the fifty dinars and handed them to the old woman. When she had taken them, she said, “Prepare a place for her in your house, and she will come to you tonight.” The man continued: “I went off and provided what I could of food, drink, candles, and sweetmeats. My house overlooked the sea, and as it was summertime, I spread bedding on the roof. The Frankish woman came, and we ate and drank. When night had fallen, we lay beneath the open sky, with the moon shining upon us, and watched the stars reflected in the sea. Then I said to myself, ‘Have you no shame before Almighty God? Here you are, a stranger in this land, beneath the open sky and beside the sea, about to disobey God Most High with a Christian woman and earn the torment of Hell!’ I said, ‘O God, I call You to witness that I shall abstain from this Christian woman tonight, out of shame before You and fear of Your punishment.’

“Then I slept until morning. She rose before dawn, angry, and went home. I went to my shop and sat there, and presently she passed by with the old woman, still angry and lovely as the moon. I was beside myself and said in my heart, ‘Who are you to turn away from such a girl? Are you al-Sari al-Saqati, or Bishr the Barefoot, or al-Junayd of Baghdad, or al-Fudayl ibn Iyad?’ I caught up with the old woman and said, ‘Bring her back to me.’ She replied, ‘By the truth of Christ, she will not return to you for less than a hundred dinars.’ ‘I will give you a hundred dinars,’ I said. I paid her the money, and the woman came to me a second time. But once she was with me, the same thought returned, and I abstained from her and left her untouched for the sake of God Most High. Afterward I went back to my place of business. Then the old woman passed by, angry, and I said to her, ‘Bring her back to me.’ She replied, ‘By the truth of Christ, you shall never enjoy her company again for less than five hundred dinars, though you die of longing!’ I trembled at this and resolved to spend the whole price of the flax to deliver myself from my torment. But suddenly I heard a herald proclaiming, ‘O Muslims, the truce between us and you has expired. We grant the Muslims here one week to settle their affairs and return to their own lands.’ Thus I was cut off from her. I set about collecting the money owed by those who had bought my flax on credit, and bartering what remained of it. I acquired a good stock of merchandise and left Acre, my heart still filled with passionate love and longing for the Frankish woman, for she had taken both my heart and my money.

“I traveled on until I reached Damascus, where I sold the goods I had brought from Acre at the highest prices, for supplies had ceased to arrive with the expiry of the truce. God, glorified and exalted be He, blessed me with a handsome profit. I began trading in captive slave girls, hoping to rid my heart of its longing for the Frankish woman, and continued in that trade for three years. Meanwhile, King al-Nasir fought his battles against the Franks, and God granted him victory over them. He captured all their kings and, by God’s leave, conquered the coastal lands. It happened that a man came to me seeking a slave girl for King al-Nasir. I had a beautiful girl, whom I showed him, and he bought her from me for the king for a hundred dinars. He paid me ninety, leaving ten still owing. That day they could not find the balance in the king’s treasury, for he had spent all his money on the war against the Franks. When they told him of this, the king said, ‘Take him to the place where the captives are kept, and let him choose one of the Frankish girls in payment of his ten dinars.’” Then dawn overtook Shahrazad, and she fell silent, leaving off her permitted tale.

When it was the eight hundred and ninety-sixth night

She said: It has reached me, O fortunate king, that when King al-Nasir said, “Let him choose one of them in payment of the ten dinars owed him,” they took the man to the place where the captives were kept. He continued: “I looked about and examined all the captives, and there I saw the Frankish woman with whom I had fallen in love. I recognized her beyond any doubt. She was the wife of one of the Frankish knights. ‘Give me this one,’ I said. I took her away to my tent and asked, ‘Do you know me?’ ‘No,’ she replied. I said, ‘I am your old acquaintance, the flax merchant. You remember what passed between us: you took my gold and said, “You shall not see me again for less than five hundred dinars.” Now I have acquired you as my slave for ten dinars.’ She said, ‘This is the mystery of your true faith. I bear witness that there is no god but God, and I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of God.’ She embraced Islam and became a devout Muslim. Then I said to myself, ‘By God, I will not lie with her until I have freed her and laid the matter before the judge.’ So I went to Ibn Shaddad and told him what had happened, and he drew up our marriage contract. After that I spent the night with her, and she conceived. The army then departed, and we came to Damascus. Only a few days had passed when the king’s envoy arrived to demand the prisoners and captives, in accordance with an agreement made between the kings. All the captive men and women were returned, and none remained but the woman who was with me. They said, ‘The wife of such-and-such a knight has not appeared.’ They asked after her and pressed their inquiries until they were told that she was with me, whereupon they demanded her surrender. I came to her in great distress, my face drained of color. She asked, ‘What is wrong? What has happened to you?’ I replied, ‘The king’s envoy has come to take back all the captives, and they have demanded you from me.’ She said, ‘Do not be afraid. Take me to the king; I know what to say before him.’ So I took her and brought her before the sultan, King al-Nasir, with the envoy of the Frankish king seated at his right hand. I said, ‘This is the woman who is with me.’ King al-Nasir and the envoy asked her, ‘Will you return to your own country or to your husband? God has set you free from captivity, along with the others.’ She said to the sultan, ‘I have embraced Islam and am with child. Here is my belly, as you can see. The Franks have no further use for me.’ The envoy asked, ‘Which do you prefer: this Muslim or your husband, the knight so-and-so?’ She gave him the same answer she had given the sultan. The envoy said to the Franks with him, ‘Have you heard what she says?’ ‘Yes,’ they replied. Then he said to me, ‘Take your wife and go.’ I went away with her, but he immediately sent after me and said, ‘Her mother entrusted something to me for her, saying, “My daughter is a captive and has no clothes. I want you to deliver this chest to her.” Take it and give it to her.’ I received the chest, carried it home, and gave it to her. She opened it and found her very own clothes inside, along with the two purses of gold—the fifty dinars and the hundred dinars. I saw that both were still tied just as I had tied them, with nothing disturbed, and I praised God Most High. These children are hers. She is still alive, and it was she who prepared this food for you.” We marveled at his tale and at the good fortune that had befallen him. And God knows best.