Arabic Authors Part 10

(5) Belief in a general resurrection and final judgment.

(6) Belief in the decrees of G.o.d, or of His having absolutely predestined both good and evil.

The five cardinal ordinances of Islam are:

(1) The pious recitation of the Kalimah, or Creed: 'There is no G.o.d but the one G.o.d, and Muhammad is his Apostle.'

(2) Prayer.

(3) Fasting.

(4) Legal and obligatory almsgiving.

(5) Pilgrimage.

There are several other points connected with the inst.i.tutions of Islam, such as--

(1) Circ.u.mcision.

(2) Marriage and polygamy.

(3) Slavery.

(4) The Jihad, or Holy War.

(5) Food, drink and ablutions.

But full details connected with the above will be found, if required, in Hughes 'Dictionary of Islam,' so that further reference to them here is unnecessary. It must, however, always be remembered that faith and prayer were the two points which Muhammad always insisted upon as absolutely essential.

The Muhammadan religion may be regarded as creating in theory the purest democracy in existence. All men are supposed to be equal. There are no hereditary t.i.tles. Every man can rise, either by interest or talent, from the very lowest to the very highest position. There is a universal feeling of brotherhood among the Muslims. All this is excellent in theory, but in practice the ways of the world are different. A Pasha holds his place and upholds his position, while a humble follower of the said Pasha, or other person in an inferior position, knows his place also, and treats his superiors and his inferiors accordingly. In fact, both in the East and the West there appears to be a place for all men, and that place is established by the unwritten laws of the world or by the law of nature, in spite of the many theories propounded by religion, politics, or political economy. Still, Muhammad himself instilled equality among his followers, and in his parting address at Mina, at the time of the farewell pilgrimage, spoke as follows:

'Ye people! hearken to my speech and comprehend the same. Know that every Muslim is the brother of every other Muslim. All of you are on the same equality' (and as he p.r.o.nounced these words he raised his arms aloft and placed the forefinger of one hand on the forefinger of the other, intending thereby to signify that all were absolutely on the same level); 'ye are one brotherhood.

'Know ye what month this is? What territory is this? What day?' To each question the people gave the appropriate answer, viz.:

'The sacred month, the sacred territory, the great day of pilgrimage.'

After every one of these replies Muhammad added:

'Even thus sacred and inviolable hath G.o.d made the life and the property of each of you unto the other, until ye meet your Lord.

'Let him that is present tell it unto him that is absent. Haply, he that shall be told may remember better than he who hath heard it.'

CHAPTER IV.

TALES AND STORIES.

Of the two hundred and fifty books of tales, the t.i.tles of which are given in the 'Fihrist,' only three or four have attained European fame. Firstly, the book known in Arabic as 'Kalilah wa Dimnah,'

containing the celebrated Indian apologues, or the so-called fables of Bidpay, on the origin of which several dissertations have been written.

In 'Early Ideas' (W.H. Allen and Co., 1881) mention was made of the fables of Bidpay, or Pilpai, as being the traditionally oldest-known collection of stories in Hindustan, and that from them the 'Pancha Tantra,' or 'Five Chapters,' and the 'Hitopodesa,' or 'Friendly Advice,' are supposed to have been drawn.

In 'Persian Portraits' (Quaritch, 1887) it was noted that the Persian work called 'Kalilah wa Dimnah' is said to have been originally derived from the fables of Bidpay, and that it led to the longer and larger works known in Persian literature as the 'Anwar-i-Suheli,' or 'The Lights of Canopos,' and the 'Ayar-Danish,' or 'The Touchstone of Knowledge.'

It is highly probable that this work of 'Kalilah wa Dimnah'

(translated from Persian into Arabic by Ibn Al-Mukaffa about A.D.

750), and another Persian work, not now extant, but known as the 'Hazar Afsaneh,' or 'Thousand Stories,' were the first sources from which were commenced to be compiled the best collection of tales and stories in Arabic literature, and called 'The Thousand and One Nights,' and popularly known in this country as 'The Arabian Nights.'

As regards the 'Hazar Afsaneh,' or 'Thousand Stories,' it is much to be regretted that all trace of this work has disappeared. It is, however, mentioned by Masudi, and An-Nadim, the author of the 'Fihrist,' but whether they had actually seen and perused the whole work is uncertain. It may have been completed during the rule of the Sasanian dynasty in Persia (A.D. 228-641), some of whose kings were patrons of letters, and the work, or portions of it, may have been destroyed along with a large quant.i.ty of other Persian literature at the time of the conquest of the Persian Empire by the Arabs in A.D.

641. At all events, it has not yet been found, though it is still hoped that it may turn up some day.

As regards the 'Nights' themselves, it is impossible to fix any exact date to them, neither can they be ascribed to any particular authors.

From the book as it has come down to us; there is ample evidence to a.s.sert that the collection of all the tales and stories occupied many years, and that the authors of them were numerous. As great progress was made in Arab literature from the commencement of the rule of the Abbaside dynasty in A.D. 750, it maybe inferred that the work itself dates from that period, and that it had been put together in a certain form before the fall of Baghdad in A.D. 1258. After that date other stories were probably added, and the whole repertoire was perhaps put together again in its present shape either at Cairo or Damascus, with numerous alterations and additions.

It is believed that the fables and apologues are the oldest part of the book. These bear on their face a decided impress of the Farther East; indeed, they are quite of the nature of the stories told in the 'Pancha Tantra,' 'Katha Sarit Sagara,' 'Hitopodesa,' and 'Kalilah wa Dirnnah,' many of them being either the same, or bearing a very great resemblance to them. Animal fables generally may have originated in India, where the doctrine of metempsychosis obtains currency to this day; but, still, Egypt, Greece, and other countries, have also produced stories of the same nature. From the time of the early Egyptians, the fable has ever been the means of conveyance of both instruction and amus.e.m.e.nt to mankind. And as years rolled by the fable grew into the tale or story, which later on expanded into the romance and the novel.

After the fables the oldest tales in the 'Nights' are supposed to be the Sindibad, or the tale of the king, his son, his concubine, and the seven wazirs; and that of King Jali'ad of Hind, and his wazir Shimas, followed by the history of King Wird Khan, son of King Jali'ad, with his women and wazirs. These tales have also an Indian flavour about them, both with regard to the animal stories in them and to the sapient remarks about the duties of kings and their ministers, often referred to in the Katha Sarit Sagara, of which more anon.

The remaining tales and stories in the 'Nights' may be of Persian, Arabian, Egyptian, and Syrian origin, some earlier and some later. The adventures of Kamar Al-Zaman and the jeweller's wife, and of Ma'aruf, the cobbler, and his wife Fatimah, are considered to be two of the very latest stories, having been a.s.signed to the sixteenth century.

The story of Aboukir, the dyer, and Abousir, the barber, is quoted by Payne 'as the most modern of the whole collection.'

Certain stories of the 'Nights' were first introduced to Europe, between 1704-1708, by Antoine Galland, a Frenchman, whose biography is given by Burton in his 'Terminal Essay,' vol. x., and most interesting it is. The work of the translation of Arabic and Persian stories was continued by Petis de la Croix (1710-12), Morell (1765), Dow (1768), Chavis and Cazotte (1787-89), Caussin de Perceval (1806), Gauttier (1822), Jonathan Scott (1811), Von Hammer Purgstall (1823), Zinzerling (1823-24), Trebutien (1828), Habicht (1825-39), Weil (1838-42), Torrens (1838), Lane (1838-40), and the 'Nights' themselves have now been completely finished by John Payne (1882-84) and Richard Burton (1885-88).

A perusal of the productions of all the translators above mentioned will show that, as regards finality, both Payne and Burton have done their work completely, thoroughly, and exhaustively, and for all time, as far as an English translation is concerned. Too much credit cannot be given to these two gentlemen for their untiring labour and energy.

The more the 'Nights' are read, the more will people appreciate the amount of hard work and ac.u.men, intelligence and ability, which has been thrown into the undertaking by these two accomplished litterateurs. And it is highly probable that their translations, along with Galland's volumes in French, will ever remain as the standard European versions of this great series of Oriental tales.

s.p.a.ce will not permit of a lengthy description of all that is contained in Payne's thirteen, and in Burton's sixteen, volumes. To be appreciated thoroughly, they must be read, like Balzac's works, from the very beginning to the very end. At the same time a brief a.n.a.lysis of these two translations of the 'Nights' may perhaps be interesting, and will serve the purposes of the present chapter.

The first nine of Payne's, and the first ten of Burton's, volumes are devoted to the 'Nights' proper, and follow the same lines. The translation has been made from what are commonly known as the Boulac (Cairo) and the two Calcutta Arabic texts of the 'Nights,' though references are made to the Breslau (Tunis) edition, from which also some extracts have been taken and some translations made. The contents of these volumes may be divided into four heads:

(1) Fables and apologues.

(2) Short stories and anecdotes, some biographical and historical.

(3) Tales and stories.

(4) Long stories, or romances.

Excluding the two short stories in the introductory chapter, there are 10 princ.i.p.al and 6 subordinate fables under the first heading, 116 princ.i.p.al and 3 subordinate stories under the second, 38 princ.i.p.al and 75 subordinate under the third, and 6 princ.i.p.al and 12 subordinate under the fourth heading. This gives a total of 170 princ.i.p.al and 96 subordinate stories in Burton's edition, while Payne gives one princ.i.p.al story and one subordinate one less, his numbers being 169 and 95 respectively. By princ.i.p.al is meant the main or chief story, while by subordinate is meant another story forming part of the main story. In Oriental literature this custom is frequently introduced. A story is commenced, but owing to some allusion in it another story is interpolated, and when this is finished, the original tale is reverted to, only, perhaps, to be interpolated again by another story, and so on.

Out of this ma.s.s of fable, tale and story, it is difficult to select any particular ones that may prove interesting to everybody. Some are very good, others good, some fairish, and others indifferent; but all are more or less interesting, as they deal with all sorts and conditions of men and women, and all sorts of events and situations.

Personally, some twelve stories have struck me as particularly interesting or amusing, though it does not at all follow that what one person fancies another person cares about. A perusal of the work itself will enable its readers to find out what they like for themselves, while the following brief remarks on the twelve stories alluded to above will give a scanty outline of them.

The tale of Aziz and Azizah is one of the best in the whole collection. It represents the care and fondness of a truly loving woman, who did her best to shield and protect her very stupid cousin.

It is said that people marry for three reasons, viz., for love, for money, or for protection. In truth, n.o.body can protect a man from a woman as another woman. No man can drive off a woman, divine her intention, or insult her so violently as a woman can, and this is generally understood both in the East and West. In the present story, Azizah first helps her cousin Aziz to woo and win, endeavouring to shield and protect him at the same time from this daughter of Dalilah, the wily one. Had it not been for Azizah's good advice and farewell saying of "Faith is fair, and unfaith is foul," Aziz would have surely perished. Eventually, the loving Azizah dies of a broken heart.