THE STORY OF THE PORTER WITH THE YOUNG LADIES
Harun al-Rashid
Source
The young man explains to Zobeida how his parents and the inhabitants of the city turned to stone.
Then Zobeida persuades the young man to come to Baghdad with them.
ON THE TWENTY-FOURTH NIGHT
Sheherazade continued the story of Zobeida:
For a long time, my father had no children; and it was not until the end of his life that I was born as the son of his old age. And my father raised me with great care; however, I was growing up: it was then that I was chosen for true bliss.
Indeed, we had at home, in the palace, an old woman who was very advanced in age, Muslim, a believer in Allah and in his Messenger. She believed in it in secret, and outwardly she pretended to agree with my parents. And my father had great confidence in her, for what he saw in her of fidelity and chastity. He was very generous to her and he overwhelmed her with his generosity. And he firmly believed that she was of his faith and his religion.
So, as I was growing up, he entrusted me to her and said to her: "Take him and bring him up well, teach him the laws of our religion, and give him an excellent education; and serve it well by taking great care of him!
And the old woman took me; but she taught me the religion of Islam, from the duties of purification and the duties of ablutions to the holy formulas of prayer. And she taught me and explained the Koran to me in the language of the Prophet. And when she had completely finished my education, she told me: “O my child, you must hide this carefully from your father, and keep it absolutely secret, otherwise he will kill you!"
And I, indeed, kept the secret. And my education had not long been finished when the holy old woman died, giving me her last recommendations. And I continued to be a secret believer in Allah and His Prophet. But the inhabitants of the city only grew hardened in their unbelief, their rebellion, and their darkness. But one day when they continued to be as they were, a high voice of an invisible muezzin was heard; and it said in a voice as loud as thunder and which reached the ears of the near as well as those of the distant: "O you inhabitants of the city, renounce the worship of fire and of Nardoun, and adore the One and Mighty King!"
At this voice, there was great terror in the hearts of the inhabitants, who assembled at my father, the king of the city, and asked him: “What is this terrifying voice that we have just heard? We are still terrified of this!" My father said to them, “Do not be terrified of this voice. And firmly believe in your old beliefs."
And then their hearts bowed gladly to the words of my father, and they did not cease to be fastened and inclined to the worship of fire. And they remained in their state of blind error for another year, until the anniversary time of the day when they had heard the first voice! And then the second time the voice was heard, then a second time, and a third time, and that once every year for three years straight. But they did not cease to be diligent in observing their erroneous practices. And it was then that one morning, at dawn, misfortune and curse fell upon them from heaven, and they were petrified into black stones, they and their horses and their mules and their camels and their cattle! And of all the inhabitants, I alone was freed from this misfortune. Because I was the only believer.
And it is since that day that I stand here in prayer, fasting, and recitation of the Koran.
But, O lady full of honor and perfections, I am very tired of the solitude in which I find myself, without having anyone near me who keeps me human company!"
After he said these words, I say to him:
“O young man full of qualities, can you come with me to the city of Baghdad? There you will find scholars and venerable sheiks versed in law and religion. And, in their company, you will increase still more in science and in the knowledge of divine right. And I, although I am a person of distinction, will be your slave and your thing! I am, indeed, the mistress of my people, and I have under my orders men, servants, and young boys! And here I have with me a ship fully loaded with goods. But fate threw us on this coast, and introduced us to this city, and caused us this adventure. And fate wanted to bring us together!"
Then I kept inspiring him with the desire to go away with me until he answered me in the affirmative.
At this point in her narration, Sheherazade saw the morning appear and quietly fell silent.
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