Prevod

It is also told that a certain holy man said: While I was circling the Kaaba one dark night, I heard a voice full of longing, speaking from a sorrowful heart: “O Generous One, grant me Your age-old kindness, for my heart remains true to its covenant.” At the sound of that voice my heart fluttered so wildly that I was near to death. I went toward it and found that it belonged to a woman. “Peace be upon you, O handmaid of God,” I said. “And upon you be peace, and the mercy and blessings of God,” she replied. I said, “I ask you by Almighty God: what is this covenant to which your heart remains true?” She answered, “Had you not adjured me by the All-Powerful, I would not have revealed my secrets to you. Look at what lies before me.” I looked and saw a little boy lying before her, fast asleep. She said, “I set out while pregnant with this child to make the pilgrimage to this House. I boarded a ship, but the waves rose fearfully over us, the winds assailed us from every quarter, and our vessel was wrecked. I escaped on one of its planks, and while upon that plank I gave birth to this boy. As he lay in my lap and the waves battered me…” But morning overtook Shahrazad, and she fell silent, leaving her tale untold.

When it was the four hundred and sixty-seventh night,

She said: It has reached me, O fortunate king, that the young woman said: “When the ship was wrecked, I escaped on one of its planks, and while upon that plank I gave birth to this boy. As he lay in my lap and the waves battered me, one of the ship’s sailors reached me and climbed onto the plank beside me. He said, ‘By God, I desired you when you were aboard the ship, and now that I have you here, yield yourself to me, or I shall throw you into the sea.’ I said, ‘Woe to you! Was there no warning or lesson for you in what you have seen?’ He answered, ‘I have seen such things many times and escaped them. I care nothing for them.’ I said, ‘Man, we are in a calamity from which we must hope to escape through obedience to God, not through sin.’ But he persisted, and I grew afraid of him. Hoping to trick him, I said, ‘Wait until this child falls asleep.’ He snatched the boy from my lap and flung him into the sea. When I saw his audacity and what he had done to the child, my heart flew with terror and my anguish deepened. I raised my head to heaven and said, ‘O You who come between a man and his heart, come between me and this lion! Truly, You have power over all things.’ By God, I had scarcely finished speaking when a creature rose from the sea and snatched him off the plank, leaving me alone. My anguish and sorrow grew all the greater in my fear for my child, and I recited these verses:

‘Delight of my eyes, my beloved, my son is lost, and grief has broken my strength. I see my body drowned, while the burning pain of longing sears my heart. There is no relief for me in my distress save Your tender mercies, O You on whom I rely. You, my Lord, behold what has befallen me, the anguish I suffer at parting from my son. Reunite us, and have mercy upon me, for my hope in You is my surest strength.’ I remained in that plight for a day and a night. When morning came, I glimpsed the sails of a ship in the distance. The waves kept tossing me and the winds driving me until I reached the vessel whose sails I had seen. Those aboard took me up and brought me onto the ship. I looked, and there was my son among them! I flung myself upon him and cried, ‘Good people, this is my son! Where did you find him?’ They said, ‘As we were sailing, the ship was brought to a halt, and there before us was a creature as vast as a great city, with this boy on its back, sucking his thumb. So we took him aboard.’ When I heard this, I told them my story and all that had befallen me. I thanked my Lord for what He had granted me and vowed to Him that I would never leave His House or turn aside from His service. Since then, I have asked Him for nothing that He has not given me.” I reached into my purse, wishing to give her something, but she said, “Away with you, idle man! Shall I tell you of His favours and His generous deeds, then accept a gift from another’s hand?” I could not persuade her to accept anything from me, so I left her and went away, reciting these verses:

How many are God’s hidden mercies, too subtle for the keenest mind to grasp! How often He has gladdened me after hardship and eased the anguish of a sorrowing heart! How many a care that burdens you at dawn is followed by joy at evening! If one day every way is closed to you, trust in the One, the Eternal Refuge, the Most High. Seek the Prophet’s intercession, for every servant who seeks it shall attain his desire. And she continued to worship her Lord, remaining ever at His House, until death overtook her.