Prevod
It is also told that Harun al-Rashid once summoned an officer of his named Salih, before the time when he turned against the Barmakids. When Salih appeared before him, he said, “Salih, go to Mansur and tell him, ‘You owe us a million dirhams, and we have decided that you must deliver the sum this very hour.’ And I command you, Salih, if you have not obtained the money between now and sunset, to strike his head from his body and bring it to me.” Salih answered, “I hear and obey.” He then went to Mansur and told him what the Commander of the Faithful had said. “By Allah, I am lost!” Mansur cried. “If all my possessions and everything I own were sold at the highest price, they would fetch no more than a hundred thousand dirhams. Where am I to find the remaining nine hundred thousand, Salih?” Salih replied, “Quickly devise some means of escape, or you are doomed. I cannot grant you a moment beyond the time the Caliph has appointed, nor can I neglect any part of the Commander of the Faithful’s orders. Make haste, then, and find a way to save yourself before your time runs out.” Mansur said, “Salih, I beg you of your kindness to take me home, so that I may bid farewell to my children and family and give my last instructions to my kinsfolk.” Salih related: So I went home with him, and he began bidding his family farewell. An uproar arose in the house, with weeping, cries, and appeals to Almighty Allah for help. Then I said, “It has occurred to me that Allah may bring you deliverance through the Barmakids. Let us go to the house of Yahya ibn Khalid.”
When they came to Yahya ibn Khalid, Mansur told him of his plight. Yahya was grieved and sat for a while with his eyes lowered to the ground. Then he raised his head, summoned his treasurer, and asked, “How many dirhams have we in our treasury?” “About five thousand,” the man replied. Yahya ordered them to be brought, then sent a messenger to his son al-Fadl with this message: “A splendid estate that will never fall into ruin has been offered to me for sale. Send us some money.” Al-Fadl sent him a thousand dirhams. Then he sent another messenger to his son Ja‘far, saying, “An important matter has arisen, and we need some money for it.” Ja‘far immediately sent him a million dirhams. Yahya continued sending to the other Barmakids until he had collected a great sum for Mansur, though Salih and Mansur knew nothing of this. Mansur said to Yahya, “My lord, I have pinned my hopes on you, and I look to none but you for this money, knowing your accustomed generosity. Complete the sum I owe, and let me be the man you have freed from bondage.” Yahya bowed his head and wept, then said, “Boy, the Commander of the Faithful once bestowed a jewel of great value upon our slave girl Dananir. Go to her and ask her to send it to us.” The boy went and brought it back. Yahya said, “Salih, I bought this jewel from the merchants for the Commander of the Faithful for two hundred thousand dinars, and he gave it to our slave girl Dananir, the lute player. When he sees it in your hands, he will recognize it and show you favor, and out of regard for us he will spare your life. Your sum is now complete, Mansur.” Salih related: I took the money and the jewel to al-Rashid, with Mansur beside me. As we went along the road, I heard him recite this verse:
“It was not love that made my feet hasten to their door, but fear of the arrows’ blows.” I marveled at his ill nature, his baseness and corruption, and the vileness of his birth and breeding. I rebuked him, saying, “There are no better people on the face of the earth than the Barmakids, and no one viler or more wicked than you. They have bought you back from death, rescued you from destruction, and graciously set you free; yet you have neither thanked nor praised them, nor behaved as a noble man should. Instead, you repay their kindness with such words!” Then I went to al-Rashid, told him the story, and informed him of everything that had happened. But morning overtook Shahrazad, and she fell silent, leaving her tale untold.
When it was the three hundred and sixth night
She said: It has reached me, O fortunate King, that Salih continued: I told the Commander of the Faithful the story and informed him of everything that had happened. Al-Rashid marveled at Yahya’s generosity, liberality, and nobility of spirit, and at Mansur’s meanness and baseness. He ordered the jewel to be returned to Yahya ibn Khalid, saying, “Whatever we have once given away, we may not take back.” Salih returned to Yahya ibn Khalid and told him of Mansur’s conduct and the shameful thing he had done. Yahya said, “Salih, when a man is distressed and his mind is troubled, he should not be held to account for whatever he may say, for it does not come from his heart.” He went on seeking excuses for Mansur, until Salih wept and said, “The revolving heavens will never bring another man like you into the world. Alas, that one with such noble character and such generosity should ever lie hidden beneath the earth!” Then he recited these two verses:
“Hasten to perform whatever kindness you intend, for generosity is not possible at every hour. How many a man has held back from a noble deed when he had the means, until poverty prevented him!”
