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It is also related that Hind bint al-Nu‘man was the loveliest woman of her time. When al-Hajjaj heard her beauty described, he sought her hand, lavished a great fortune upon her, and married her, undertaking to pay her two hundred thousand dirhams in addition to her bridal gift. He lived with her for a long time after consummating the marriage. Then one day he approached her chamber while she was gazing at her face in a mirror and saying:
“Hind is but a purebred Arabian filly, sprung from noble steeds, yet mounted by a mule. If she bears a filly, what a fine creature she will be! But if she bears a mule, it was the mule that sired it.” When al-Hajjaj heard this, he turned back without going in, and she remained unaware of his presence. He resolved to divorce her and sent Abdullah ibn Tahir to pronounce the divorce on his behalf. Abdullah ibn Tahir went in to her and said, “Al-Hajjaj Abu Muhammad says to you: ‘Two hundred thousand dirhams of your bridal gift remained unpaid. Here they are; I have brought them with me, and he has authorized me to divorce you.’” She replied, “Know, Ibn Tahir, that while we were together, by God, I never rejoiced in him for a single day; and now that we are parted, by God, I shall never regret losing him. These two hundred thousand dirhams are yours as a reward for bringing me the glad tidings of my deliverance from the dog of Thaqif.” After this, word of her reached the Commander of the Faithful, Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan. He heard descriptions of her beauty and loveliness, her graceful figure and perfect proportions, the sweetness of her speech and the allure of her glances, and sent to ask for her hand. But morning overtook Shahrazad, and she fell silent, leaving her permitted tale untold.
When it was the six hundred and eighty-second night,
She said: It has reached me, O fortunate king, that when the Commander of the Faithful, Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan, heard of the lady’s beauty and loveliness, he sent to ask for her hand. She sent him a letter saying, “After praise to God and blessings upon His Prophet Muhammad, may God bless him and grant him peace: know, O Commander of the Faithful, that a dog has lapped from the vessel.” When the Commander of the Faithful read her letter, he laughed at her words and wrote to her, quoting the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace: “If a dog laps from the vessel of any one of you, let him wash it seven times, once with earth.” He added, “Wash away the impurity from the place that is to be used.” When she read the Commander of the Faithful’s letter, she could not refuse him, and wrote in reply, “After praise to God Most High: know, O Commander of the Faithful, that I will enter into the marriage contract only on one condition. If you ask, ‘What is that condition?’ I say: that al-Hajjaj lead my litter to the city where you reside, barefoot and wearing the clothes he now wears.” When Abd al-Malik read the letter, he laughed long and loudly, then sent to al-Hajjaj commanding him to do this. Upon reading the Commander of the Faithful’s message, al-Hajjaj accepted and obeyed without protest. He then sent word to Hind, telling her to prepare for the journey. She made ready in a litter, and al-Hajjaj arrived with his retinue at her door. When she had taken her place in the litter, with her serving girls and attendants mounted around her, al-Hajjaj dismounted barefoot, took hold of the camel’s halter, and led her on her way. She began mocking and jeering at him, laughing at him with her bath attendant and serving girls. Then she said to her bath attendant, “Draw back the curtain of my litter.” The woman drew it back until Hind’s face was opposite his, and she laughed at him. He recited this verse:
“Laugh if you will, O Hind! Many a night have I left you wakeful, weeping and lamenting.” She answered him with these two verses: “So long as our lives are safe, we care nothing for the money and possessions we have lost. Wealth may be earned anew, and honor won back, once a person is cured of sickness and affliction.” She continued laughing and making merry until she drew near the caliph’s city. When she reached it, she let a dinar fall from her hand to the ground and said to him, “Camel driver, we have dropped a dirham. Look for it and hand it back to us.” Al-Hajjaj looked at the ground but saw only a dinar. “This is a dinar,” he told her. “No, it is a dirham,” she replied. “No, a dinar,” he insisted. Then she said, “Praise be to God, who has given us a dinar in exchange for the dirham we dropped! Hand it to us.” Al-Hajjaj was put to shame by this. He brought her to the palace of the Commander of the Faithful, Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan, and she went in to him and became his favorite. But morning overtook Shahrazad, and she fell silent, leaving her permitted tale untold.
