Meadows of Gold
The Abbasids
Masudi
“A Black and a Song”
Hammad ibn Ishaq ibn Ibrahim al-Mawsili relates the following anecdote, told him by Ibrahim ibn al-Mahdi:
‘I was on
pilgrimage with Rashid and as we were traveling I became separated from the
rest and went on my way on horseback, far from my companions. Overwhelmed by sleep, I did not notice that my
mount had left the right road and when I awoke I was off the pilgrim route. The heat was suffocating and I was burning
with thirst. Soon, I saw before me a
tent and a domed structure sheltering a well near a tilled field. I was between
“Black,” I said, “give me some water to drink!” He repeated my words, mimicking me and said:
“If you are thirsty, alight and drink.”
I was mounted on a bad-tempered restive nag and did not dare dismount lest it bolt. I hit the horse on the head and then made use of my skill as a singer, which had never been more useful to me than on this occasion. I raised my voice and produced the following song:
O my companions, if I die bury me
On the cool plain of Arwa
And give me water to drink
From the wells of Urwa!
There is a spring encampment near Ajaj
And a summer encampment near the
Its water is warm in winter
And cool in summer and shines
Like the full moon at night.
Then the slave raised his head and said to me:
“Which would you prefer, plain water or an infusion of water and grain?”
I replied that I wanted the second. He took a wooden cup full of sawiq, as it is called, which he poured into a bowl and offered me, and then he began to strike his head and breast, crying:
“O my breast is burning! O! My heart is in flames! Master, sing again and I will continue to pour!”
When I finished drinking, he went on:
“Master, you are several miles from the road; I am afraid that you may get thirst. I want to fill this water-skin which I have here and carry it before you.”
I said:
“Do so!”
He filled his water-skin and went before me, hopping and skipping and never loosing the rhythm of the song. As son as I paused to catch my breath, he came to me to ask if I were thirsty. And thus I went on, letting him hear my songs until he had put me back on the right way.
“Go,” he said to me then, “and may God keep you and may He preserve in you those precious gifts with which He endowed you!”
At least that was what he meant, for he spoke his own barbarous tongue.
I rejoined the caravan. Rashid, worried by my absence, had sent horsemen and camel patrols into the desert to look for me. His joy was great when he saw me again. I went to him and told him my adventure, and he said:
“Bring me the black!”
Almost at once the slave was brought before him.
“Well,” said the Caliph, “for what does your heart burn?”
“For Maimuna, O my lord,” answered the black.
“And who is Maimuna?”
“The daughter of Hubshiya.”
“And who is Hubshiya?” asked the Commander of the Faithful.
“The daughter of Bilal, O my lord.”
Rashid had him questioned in his
mother tongue and he learned that the man belonged to the son of Ja’far al-Tayyar and that the
girl he loved was in the service of the descendants of Hasan
ibn Ali. Rashid
ordered her to be purchased, but her master refused to take any money for her,
and offered her to Rashid. Then he
bought the black and married him to his love, after having freed them both, and
furthermore gave him two orchards, belonging to his domains in
VI:331-314