The story of the third fakir – Alif Laila
O kind lady, my story is very amazing. The right eyes of these two princes were lost due to circumstance, but my eyes lit up because of my own stupidity and my own guilt. I will describe it in detail. My name is Ajab and I am the son of the great majestic king Kisab. After the death of my father, I ascended the throne and lived in the same city that my father had made his capital. My capital was situated by the sea. One hundred and fifty war ships were ready to protect him. Apart from this, there were fifty ships for distant trade and many other ships were also anchored so that people could sit on them and travel in the sea. There were also many other cities and islands in my kingdom.
Once I wished to visit the towns and islands of my kingdom, to console the people who were mourning the death of my father, and to order them to engage in civil work and trade. At the same time, I had a passion to learn to sail a ship. For this purpose I went on board a big ship. There were ten more ships going with my ship. The wind was favorable for us for forty days, but then such a storm came that we lost the hope of life. The next day the sky cleared. We landed on an island. After resting for two days and filling the ship’s stock, we left again. It was expected that in ten days we would reach back to our country. But it did not happen. The reason was that the ships were lost in another storm. Our captain carried a man to the mast that the land might be visible somewhere. He told that some black object is visible on the right side, Maybe land. But on hearing this the captain started beating his head and plucking his hair and said, ‘O lord, now we will all be over. There is no way for us to escape. Saying this he started weeping even more. Seeing this condition of his, other Manjhi were also terrified.
I wondered and asked the captain why we would be finished. He told that Due to the storm, we did not know the direction and we deviated from the path and now due to the wind our ship will reach near that black object. He is a mountain of a magnet. When the ship reaches there, all its nails and iron plates will separate from the wood and stick to it and the ship will be torn in pieces. Magnet stone has this property that it attracts iron and as iron comes near it the attraction power of magnet increases. Iron pieces of hundreds of ships are stuck in this mountain due to which it is covered with pieces of iron from top to bottom and appears black in colour. It is said that this mountain is very high. All its edges are sloping. On its top is a very large brass round and thick sheet, which rests on brass pillars. On that sheet is the statue of a horseman made of brass. The rider has a lead board on his chest with some magic characters inscribed on it. It is said that the attraction of the mountain
Saying this the captain again started weeping and with him the other boatmen of the ship also started weeping. I also started feeling that my age was about to end and my death has dragged me here. Everyone was worried about how to save their lives. Those people also started saying that whoever saves our life, we will be his slaves forever. Everyone thought of some solution. In the morning our ship reached in front of that black mountain. Seeing him, everyone missed sixes and all the measures that people had thought of for rescue were forgotten and there was such a heartbreaking cry in the ship which had no place.
What happened in the afternoon was what the experienced captain had said, that is, the mountain pulled the ships so hard that their nails and other iron objects began to fly away and cling to the mountain. Terrible words began to occur as the ships broke down and in a few moments eleven ships were buried in the ocean floor. Nothing in those ships and no human was found. I was the only one who lived by the mercy of God. By chance, a piece of a ship came in my hands and I started swimming with the help of it. In no time I reached the bottom of the mountain on the shore. I wanted to be safe by climbing the mountain, but it was such a steep slope that there was no scope to go up.
Suddenly, going up and down on one side, I saw human footprints deeply engraved, which had become like stairs to the top. I started climbing in the name of God. The place to climb was very narrow and there was no other way to be seen anywhere. At the same time, the wind was blowing so fast that there was a fear of falling every moment. But by the grace of God, I slowly reached the top and went inside the brass sphere and started thanking God for keeping me alive even in such difficult circumstances. It was night, so he slept inside the same circle.
Seen in a dream, an old man is saying to me, ‘O wonderful, upon waking up digging the ground under your feet. You will get a brass bow and three lead arrows. Those three arrows hit the idol riding on a horse, by this the idol will fall into the sea and the horse will fall near your feet. You bury the horse there in the ground. After this there will be a storm in the sea and it will start rising – even come near you and in a small boat you will reach another sea and then you will reach your city. But beware, do not take the name of God at all during this time.’
After that my eyes opened. I was overjoyed to know the remedy for my redemption. When the earth was dug as told by the old man, three arrows and a bow came out of it. I fired all three arrows from the bow on the brass cavalryman. As soon as the third arrow hit, the rider’s idol fell into the sea and the horse’s idol fell near my feet. I buried it in the same ground from which the bow and arrow were drawn. Now the sea began to rise and by the way it came near the brass circle. Where I was, a boat also arrived in which a brass boat was sitting. I sat on the boat.
Keeping in mind the instructions of the old man, I did not take the name of God, but kept my mouth shut. The brass boat sailed for nine days and reached a place where many islands were visible around. I was very happy that now I will overcome the difficulties and in this condition I thanked God. Immediately the boat along with the manjhi sank in the sea.
Now I started swimming again and headed towards an island. He swam for several hours. Even the evening started and my hands and feet also became so heavy with fatigue that I could not swim. Just like that a huge wave came and it threw me on the shore. I ran and went ahead so that some other wave might come and drag me back into the sea. I took off my clothes, squeezed and air-dried them. Then I started looking around. Many fruit trees appeared but there was no man to be seen. I ate many fruits and thus relieved my hunger and fatigue. After this I left my worries and thought that whatever God will do will be right.
After a while, I saw that a small ship flying sail was coming towards that island. At first I thought that if he comes to the shore, then I should go to him. Then thought that it should be seen well, it is not that there are robbers or my enemies in it. So I climbed a dense and tall tree and hid myself and began to watch carefully what the people of the ship were doing.
In no time the ship stopped on the shore and many men came out with shovels and other tools. Then they went some distance and started digging the land. While digging, they reached a door. Then they went back to the ship and carrying many food items and loads of bedding, flooring etc. Then the men who were known to be servants went into the ship and brought an old man and a very handsome boy of fourteen and fifteen years old and all of them went down through the door where there was clearly a house built. Returning from there, he closed the door and leveled it by pouring soil on it. But when they returned, that handsome boy was not with them.
I was very surprised to see all these things. I stared at it for a while. The ship started again and when I saw that there was no one there, he got down from the tree and went to the place where they had dug the ground. When I removed the soil there, I saw that a big square stone was kept. When he picked it up, it appeared that the stairs had gone to the bottom. When I got down and went down I saw that there is a very big house with carpets everywhere. In the hallway there are beautiful mattresses on the carpet, which are covered with golden gilts. The boy was sitting there. He had a small fan blowing, two big candles were burning near him, many bouquets and many things to eat and drink were kept near him.
Seeing me there, the boy got scared. I consoled him and said, ‘You are not afraid of me. You look like princes. I don’t want to do any harm to kids like you. I am sad to see that your companions have buried you in this grave while you are alive. Well, don’t you worry now, I’ll get you out of this grave. But first you tell your story that why those people have buried you here. Look, tell everything fearlessly and truthfully. Don’t hide anything. I have seen this that all those people together have buried you here and maybe you were brought here forcibly. But I want to know why they did this.’
The boy was satisfied with my words. He asked me to sit next to him and when I sat down, he started his story, ‘My gentleman, my story is very amazing, you will be shocked to hear it. My father is a jeweller. He has amassed a lot of resources with his perseverance and intelligence. He has hundreds of servants and many rooms. He travels from country to country aboard his ships. He has Gumashtas at every place who buy and sell gems on his behalf.
‘Even after having so much wealth, my father did not have any children for a long time. One night he saw in a dream, someone is saying that you will have a son but his age will be very short. Seeing this dream, my father felt very sad and worried. A few days later, my mother told my father that I was pregnant. I was born nine months after that. All the family members and relatives were very happy on my birth, but remembering my dream my father used to remain sad. So he consulted astrologers. He said, this child is afraid of death in the fourteenth year. If it survives at that time, then it will live a long time and its life will be very long.
He said that we have also learned from the planets that the king named Ajab will throw a brass horseman, who is present on the top of the mountain of a magnet, into the sea, fifty days after that Ajab Badshah will kill this boy. Will put My father was already sad seeing the dream, Now hearing this from the astrologers got even more worried and kept thinking day and night how to save this boy’s life. That’s why he built this basement house. It took me the fourteenth year, so on the very next day the astrologers came and said that the king Ajab, who was ten days old, had dropped the brass horseman into the sea. Thinking of this increased my father’s concern and he kept thinking for hours how the planet got away from my head. Eventually he decided to lock me in the underground dwelling he had already built on this deserted island. He wondered why a mighty like Emperor Ajab would come to this uninhabited island and even if he would come, how would he find this dungeon. So for forty days I should be locked in this house so that neither I can see anyone nor anyone can see me. This is the reason I was brought to this place.’
When that boy had finished saying his word, I started laughing in my mind at the claim of astrologers to be trikaldarshi. I started thinking why I started killing such a lovely innocent child. In order to comfort him, I did not tell him my name but told him, ‘You have nothing to fear now, I have come here to protect you. It is a coincidence that I became your savior because today my ship sank near the shore and I alone escaped from it and floated to this island where I saw your condition. you trust in god, Do not bring any kind of worry in your mind. The predictions of astrologers will never be true. I will stay here to serve and protect you for forty days and by the grace of God this forty days will also pass efficiently. When your father comes to pick you up, I will also go to your country with you. And from there I will leave for my country on some ship. I will never forget your gratitude for life.’
In this way I told him many patient things. I took care that even by mistake, my name or my father’s name should not come on my tongue, because it would have created unnecessary fear in the mind of that child. To amuse him, I kept on telling different types of stories and other types of accounts. The boy seemed to be very intelligent and after being silent for so many days, I was very happy to talk to him. When night came, we both had dinner together. His father had kept so much food that even two or three men would have had enough for forty-four days.
At night we went to sleep after having our meals. Waking up the next morning, I took him water to wash his hands and face, then we had breakfast of delicious dishes. Throughout the day, playing chess and quadruped with him kept his life entertained. After dinner, we went to sleep again. We started spending the day like this and due to this our affection for each other increased a lot. Especially I started finding that child dearer than life.
I was convinced that the astrologer’s statement that the child would be killed by Ajab Badshah’s hand was just because Ajab Badshah – that is, me – is dear to his life. Why would I kill him?
Similarly, for forty-nine days, we both lived happily in that house. When he woke up in the morning on the fortieth day, he was very happy. He said, ‘Look sir, today is the fortieth day. By the grace of God and by your grace I am in good health. When my father hears how much you have served me during this period and how much you have done me, he will be extremely grateful to you and will safely transport you to your country.’
Then the boy asked me to heat some water for me so that I can take a good bath and wear new clothes because my father will come to pick me up today. I made arrangements for his bath and washing by heating the water. After bathing he lay in bed. I took him off the cover and he fell asleep for a while. On getting up from sleep, he said that sir, I want to eat cantaloupe, you bring a cantaloupe and some sugar candy for me. I went and sorted out a good melon from the pile of melons and put it in a sugar saucer and brought it to him. Then I asked him if he needed a knife to cut it, where is the knife. He said, The knife is placed in the niche on the side of my head.
The star was high, I couldn’t reach it. So I jumped up and wanted to pick up the knife. Still it could not happen. So I rose up with the help of a mokha and the knife came in my hand. I wanted to get off slowly but accidentally my foot slipped and I couldn’t keep up. I fell on the jeweler’s son and the knife of my hand entered his heart and he became cold there in agony.
I felt very sad. I tore my clothes and started beating my head and chest and falling on the ground after being left behind. I used to cry constantly that there were few clocks left on this fateful day. Had this time also been postponed, the boy’s life would have been saved. The astrologers turned out to be right and I was unfortunate enough to be the cause of the death of this lovely child. I looked towards the sky and raised both my hands and said, ‘O Almighty God, you see everything and you know everything. You know that I did not kill this child intentionally, if I have the slightest fault in his death, then you should take my life right now. In the same way, I sat and cried for a long time near the dead body of the jeweler’s son.
When the day remained for a while, I thought that now its father must have come to collect it. So many days of my service was in vain. Now with what face should I meet him? It is not good for me to stay here now. Thinking of this, I came out of the house and put a stone on my life and made it equal by pouring soil on it. When he came out and saw the jeweler’s ship sailing away. I thought that if the jeweler sees me, he will get me killed by his servants considering him as the murderer of his son. Cause I don’t lie. So I climbed a tall and dense tree and started watching.
The ship anchored on the shore and out of it the old jeweler came out with his servants to the shore with joy. Going to the basement, they removed the stone and opened the way to live, but now the old man’s happiness disappeared and a freckle returned to his face. The reason was that when he called by name of his son, no answer came from inside. When they went inside, they saw that the boy was dead and a knife had pierced his heart, because I did not care to take out the knife. Seeing the dead body, suddenly they started crying.
I was also crying after hearing the lamentation of those people and the praise of the dead child from their mouth. The old jeweler became unconscious after seeing the body of his poor son. His servants took him out of the basement and made him sit under the same tree on which I was hiding. Then they brought out the boy’s body, bathed it and put it in a white shroud, and dug the grave and removed the body in it. The boy’s father, who had been weeping in the meantime, poured soil into the grave three times and then his servants made the grave equal to the top of the earth.
After this they went to the cellar and brought out the remaining food items and clothes from there and took them on the ship. In no time, his ship took them all and left for the country. After that, I got down from the tree and went to the same basement. Now it was my rule that I would stay in the same house at night and roam around and search for a way out during the day. When he was hungry, he would fill his stomach with wild fruits etc. Similarly, almost a month passed.
Then I saw that the sea water is slowly receding. The expansion of the island greatly increased due to the depletion of the sea. The sea receded so much that even where it was deepest, there was waist-sized water left and the land on the other side was visible from the shore. After some time the water decreased further and became equal to the calves. Now I thought of crossing it. As the sea dried up, the sand had come out for miles. With great difficulty he crossed the sand land and reached the beach and crossed the water and reached another land. There a fire was seen burning in the distance. I thought humans must be living here because without humans how will the fire burn. On going closer, it was found that it was not a fire but a house made of copper on which the rays of the sun were falling. I was wondering whose house it could be that ten young men came out of it and with them was an old man of tall stature. All the soldiers were ear to ear with the right eye. I was wondering who these people are
I said that my story is very strange and very long. If you can listen patiently, I will listen. They all sat down to listen and I narrated my story end to end. He was surprised to hear this. Then they took me inside that house. After crossing many big hallways and twelve rivers in that house, again a big blue house appeared. Ten rooms were built around it in blue color, in which one person could live comfortably. In the middle of the circle of rooms was a hallway which was slightly higher than that. The old man sat down in the hallway and the ten young men sat on the carpets in the surrounding rooms. A young man said to me, ‘O friend, you also sit on the carpet in the middle of the house, but do not ask the reason why we should do anything, nor ask why you are ear to the right eye.’
After sometime the old man got up and brought food for the ten ears of the young men. He gave each one a portion of the food and gave me a portion which I ate. After the meal, the old man gave each of us a cup of fragrant wine. Then they listened again to my account which they found wonderful and interesting. After that we kept on talking a lot here and there.
When a long night had passed, a young man told the old man that it was time for us to sleep, you have not yet brought the things of our daily routine. The old man went inside a cell and brought ten plates from there covered with blue lids and placed one plate in front of each of the young men. When the lid was opened, there was ashes and black ink in each plate. They mixed ash and ink and rubbed it on their faces, so that they all looked not only ugly but also terrible. Then they all cried out and wept, and beating their mouth and chest, they said, ‘Woe, what a terrible foolishness we have done and what a reward we have got for it. For a long time those young men kept on weeping and beating like this. When they stopped moaning, the same old man took water and washbasin to everyone one by one. Everyone washed their faces, took off the clothes they had torn, changed them and went to their respective rooms and slept.
I was very excited to see this condition of those people. I had promised not to ask him anything, but I could not sleep through the night due to curiosity. The next morning when we all went out for a walk, I said to them, ‘Gentlemen, you are all wise and intelligent, but what you did last night, no one except the maniac will do it. I am very upset. I have promised you that I will not ask about your activities or the reason for your being there, but it is also true that now I cannot remain without asking these things. That’s why I ask you why you darkened your face and mourned and also why you are all ear to right eye. But he said that we cannot tell you all these things, if you want to be with us then forget these questions.
That day too passed. In the night we again had separate meals. After that the old man again placed plates full of ink and ashes in front of them and they blackened their faces as a daily ritual and started weeping. Seeing all this for the second time increased my curiosity. The next day I told them, ‘O friends, now I do not see this condition of you people sitting quietly. You please tell me your story and suggest any way by which I can reach my country.’
One of the young men said to me, ‘Don’t be sad to see our condition. We are your friends and well-wishers, that is why we do not tell you these things, lest your condition also become like ours. Well, if you insist a lot, then we can even tell, but its result will not be good.’ I said, I want to know all this, whatever the result may be. The young man said, ‘Look, we once again explain to you that give up your insistence on knowing these things. Listen to us and don’t ask anything about it or else you will be like us.’ I said, I am ready to bear any suffering that may come to me as a result of this, I will consider it my own misfortune and will not blame any of you for it. The young man said, ‘Look, If for some reason your right eye is broken and you come back to us, you will not be able to stay with us. You see that there are only ten rooms here and ten are full. There is no longer any room for the eleventh man to live here. I said, I also accept that you do not let me stay here, but do tell your secret.
When those ten young men saw that I was sticking to my word, they slaughtered a sheep and skinned it. Then gave me the knife and said, ‘Keep it smart, it will be of great use to you. We will put you in this sheep’s skin and move away from here. Then here a very giant bird called Rukh will come and take you as a sheep in one fell swoop and will want to eat you by placing it on the top of a very high mountain. We get smarter in advance. As soon as you know that they have been laid on the ground, with this knife, come out of the skin by tearing it and screaming loudly. The bird will run away in fear of it.
‘After that you go ahead fearlessly. After walking some distance you will get a luxurious palace. The palace is covered with gold plates from top to bottom, and in many places very beautiful diamonds and other gems are inlaid. You go in without any hesitation through the door of the house, which is always open. We all have lived in that house one by one but we do not understand the need to tell what will happen in it and will not even tell what happened to us because our condition is not such that we should be happy to listen to him. You yourself will see and hear all that. It is definitely said that like us, you too will become ear to the right eye. By the way, write on you what has happened so far and what will happen next, then the whole book will be ready, but we will not say anything more than this.
When the young man had finished talking, I wrapped the sheep’s skin around me, they skillfully sewed me in such a way that I had room to breathe. Keeping me in this way in Sikar and in the forest, they went inside the house. In no time, a huge bird named Rukh came and swung me as a sheep, took me by the claws and took it to the top of a high mountain. As soon as I hit the ground, I came out tearing the skin with a knife and screamed. Seeing this the bird frightened away.
From there I continued on the specified route and reached the palace around the third watch. Found it better than what I had heard. When he entered through the open door, he saw inside another magnificent square house with a hundred gates around it, one door was of gold and ninety-nine were of sandalwood. Inside there were many furnished gardens and houses. In front there was a big barhdari in which forty beautiful young ladies were seated dressed in exquisite robes. Seeing me, she stood up. She welcomed me with a laugh and started saying that we were waiting for you for a long time. Then he made me sit on some high place. I said a lot that I am not entitled to sit higher than you guys but they did not listen. She said, ‘You are the husband and master of all of us and we are all your wives and slaves.’
It is not possible to describe the happiness I felt after seeing them and hearing their words. Some beauty brought hot water to wash my feet, some washed my hands with fragrant water, some brought me valuable clothes and dressed me, some different kinds of delicious dishes were brought in front of me and decorated them in front of me. Some young man came to give me a drink with a jug and cup of fragrant wine. In the same way, she kept on serving me in various ways with laughter for a long time. I was so overwhelmed to see all this that I forgot all my sorrows and pains till now and started considering myself as the lord of the whole world.
I sat and drank with all those beauties. After the meal she sat around me and she started asking me about my travels and I told. By then it was night. Those women made a beautiful light in the house and some women started talking to me in a pleasant manner.
Then she took out the dishes of food, put fruits, sweets, sherbet etc. in beautiful glass vessels and made me sit on a high seat and started playing songs and singing and those who were proficient in dance started dancing. In this the midnight passed. Then one of them said that today you have come from far away, now take rest. He said that the bedrooms are ready, and before sleeping if you choose one of us, he should sleep with you. I said, ‘This task will be very difficult and unfair, because in beauty you are more than one, whom should I choose. Then will not others be offended except the one I choose, and will they not be furious at my audacity?’ The beauty said, ‘That’s not the point. We all wish to make you happy. We do not have jealousy amongst ourselves. You take any of us by the hand you want, No one else will mind because we all want you to enjoy all of us one by one. You will make everyone happy with us, some today and some tomorrow. So there is no question of making us feel bad. Now, without hesitation, take whomever of us you want with you. We are all princesses but for your service.
Hearing this, I extended my hand to the same beauty who had spoken such wise things to me. He immediately put his hand in my hand. I entered my bedroom with him and the other forty-nine women went to their respective dormitories. The next morning I could not even get up well when the remaining forty-nine women came and greeted me and asked if I could sleep comfortably at night. Yes, before he came, I had put on the beautiful clothes and gems that were placed by my head. After talking for a while, those women took me to the bathroom and gave me a bath after various massages. After I had taken my bath, he made me wear other clothes which were better than the first clothes etc. After this, all day long, but until midnight, like the day before, jokes, anecdotes, Food and drink and rage and color continued. When it was midnight, he said that you choose whomever you want to go and sleep with you. I grabbed another beauty’s hand and took her to my bedroom. Waking up in the morning again went to the bathroom with them.
The fakir said to Zubeida that oh beauty, how and to what extent should I tell you how my time was spent in joy and contentment. Throughout the day he would consume various kinds of food and drink and other luxury items and at night take one of those forty beauties to his bedroom. Similarly, almost a year passed happily in that palace. When one day was left for the completion of the year, then in the morning those beauties who always came to ask me about my night, filled with tears in their eyes and said, O prince, we have all come to bid farewell to you. We entrust you to God, He will protect you.
I was very surprised and saddened by his words. I asked him, ‘What has happened that you are so sad and why are you talking about leaving here? Where do you want to go and why? Tell me all the things for God’s sake. If you are in trouble and you need my help, I will do whatever I can to help.’ He said, ‘Nothing can happen. It is the will of God that we should be separated forever and from today onwards neither you will ever see us nor we will see you. Like you, many people came here before and then separated in such a way that we have not come to know about their condition till date. Same thing is going to happen to you.
After saying this all of them started moaning. I got more nervous and I told them that why don’t you guys tell clearly what is the reason for your unhappiness. He said what should we tell you why are we sad. This is the time to separate from us forever, yes there is one thing that if you have a fervent desire to meet us and stay firm on what you promise for that, then we can also meet you again.
I said, ‘I have no idea what you mean. I give you the blessing of God to explain the whole thing clearly. Now one of them said, ‘ First of all, understand that we are forty princesses. We come to this place for a year for fun. After this, for forty days they go to their respective countries for their essential works. After forty days, they again come to this palace for a year. Yesterday our year was completed, so today we are bidding farewell to you. This is the reason for our mourning and lamentation. Before we leave here you will be handed over the keys of the hundred cells here. Make your life happy by walking around behind us all of you. But we give you our oath not to open this golden door. If you open it, our union will never happen again. But we know that you do not have enough self-restraint to not open that door. You will definitely open it and you will be separated from us forever. This is the reason why all of us princesses are sad. If God gave you wisdom and you don’t open that golden door, then you will never feel any pain. No, you will spend the whole life in peace and enjoy always with us. But if you do the opposite of what we say, you will be in a lot of grief and pain and we will also be hurt and hurt by your suffering. We again solemnly ask you not to open this golden gate. Promise us that you will not do so that you will be separated from us forever.
‘We can, however, take the key to this golden gate with us, but it is not good to distrust a responsible and big man like you and not give the key in your hand. Yes, once again it is said that if you open this golden gate, then we and you will suffer a lot.’
I was also saddened to hear his words. I told them, ‘I am deeply saddened to be separated from you. Well, somehow I will pass this forty days. I will always remember your advice not to open this golden gate. I don’t know that I have enough impatience to break the promise I made to you. What could be more simple than this that I walk around with a hundred doors open and refrain from opening one. If you guys asked me to work harder than that, I would have accepted it too. It is my only advantage to obey you. Why would I do such a thing which will cause my deep loss and also have to be separated from you guys forever. I would never do such a thing.’
Saying this I hugged all of them one by one. After that they all left and I was left alone in that big palace. I was feeling very sad. Although she was to come only after forty days, but her separation was weighing me down every moment. Then I thought to entertain myself that I should open the doors for which I have the keys. I thought that the prohibition is to open only one door, so I will not open it.
So I opened the first door. When I went inside I saw that there is a big huge fruit orchard. There is hardly any other such wonderful fruit orchard in the world. Thousands of dense and beautiful trees were planted in it at reasonable distances. There were fruits of various tasteful and attractive colors in them. Many of them were such fruits of which I did not even know the name. Irrigation was arranged in those trees in such a way that small canals were carved out of a large and paved canal with the help of workmanship that water reached the root of each tree. For that no man was needed to bring water to the roots of the trees. Every tree was green because of this. Many trees were so loaded with fruit that their branches were bent. In some trees only enough water had reached that the fruits in them remain in ripe condition. The garden was planted by such wise men that each tree had access to only that much water so that it would always remain green and
I wandered in that garden for a long time. There were many things there that I would be surprised to see and I would look at each and every one carefully. Then I came back to that garden and locked its door. Then I opened the second door. Inside it was a flower garden. Arrangements were made to supply proper amount of water to every plant of this garden with the same workmanship as before. There will be no such flower in the world which is not in that garden. Various types of flowers like rose, jasmine, nargis, banafsha, sausan, champa, bela, motia etc were blooming there. His fragrance filled the air and because of that the mind was getting great pleasure. Losing my senses, I wandered there for hours.
Then I also closed the door of that garden and opened the third door. Inside it was a birdhouse. The whole floor in it was of marble and from the height were hanging cages made of sandalwood ebony wood, in which there were various birds like parrot, myna, bulbul, red etc. He was pleasing the mind with his sweet words. The grains and water axes in those cages were made of precious stones. The bird house was so big that at least one man was necessary to take care of it, but there was not a single man to be seen. At the same time, it was so clean that not a single straw could be seen lying here and there.
When evening came, all the birds slept with their beaks in their feathers and I too came to my bedroom by locking the birdhouse and slept. On the next morning, when another door was opened, he saw a big palace in it. There were forty cells in it, but all the doors were open. Only pearls were filled in a cell. The beads were stacked according to different sizes. There were pearls as big as a pigeon’s egg in a heap. Then there were many heaps of pearls smaller than them. The second room was filled with sapphires, the fourth had gold bricks, the fifth asharfis, the sixth silver bricks, and the seventh had heaps of currency. Similarly, in other chambers, some topaz, some emerald, some coral, etc. were filled with gems. I was amazed to see this infinite gem and thought how lucky I am to be the owner of so many treasures and forty beautiful princesses.
The fakir said to Zubeida that O beauty, I am unable to describe the opulence that I saw there. For forty-nine days I went to different gates to see the amazing things there. On the fortieth day there was only one door left for me to see. It was the same door that I was forbidden to open. I was deceived by Satan and broke my vows and promises and opened that door too. As soon as the door was opened, a very strong aroma came from it, due to which I lost my senses. When he regained consciousness, he went inside and stopped waiting for that smell to subside. Then going inside and saw, there is a huge palace on which saffron is spread on the floor and silver lamps are burning on gold tripods, which were filled with fragrant oils like perfume. That’s why there was a strong aroma. And many more surprising things I saw over there.
I saw that a very fine Mushki horse was tied on one side. The water vessel in front of him was filled with rose water and the food bowls were filled with sesame seeds and jowar. The reins of that horse had gold leaves. I grabbed the reins of that horse and pulled it out so that I could see it well in the light outside. After bringing it out, I rode on it and gestured for it to walk. But he didn’t go. Then I gave him a whip. At the whipping, the horse sighed terribly and flew away with its wings—which I had not seen before. I got nervous holding his mane and hanged. The horse flew so high with me that from there the earth looked very small. Then he got down and reached the roof of the same copper house where I had reached earlier. There he jerked his body so hard that I fell on the ground on my back. The horse hit its tail in my right eye which caused it to burst. Then the horse flew away.
Somehow I fell down and came down. Seeing the barahdari below and the ten rooms built around it, I was convinced that this was the same palace I had visited earlier. Those ten young men were not there at that time. I waited for them. After sometime they came there with the old man. He neither paid any attention to me nor expressed sympathy when my eyes opened. He said, ‘Look brother, we have not proved to be the cause of your misfortune.’ I said, ‘You guys are right. The trouble that fell upon me was due to my own stupidity, but I want to know whether there is a way to overcome this trouble too.’
He said, ‘If we had known such a solution, would we not have removed our trouble? Like you, we also lived happily with those princesses for a year each. If we had not opened that golden gate, we would have lived happily with them. You used to appear wiser than us, yet you could not deter from opening that golden door and put yourself in such trouble. Good; We have already told you that there is no longer a place for the eleventh man to live here. It would be appropriate for you to go from here to Baghdad, where we will show the way. There you will find a person who will take away your misery.’ Following his advice, I reached Baghdad. On the way, shaved his beard, mustache and eyebrows and put on the clothes of mystics. After many days on the go, reached Baghdad this evening. These two companions met on the porch. Then came to your house where you gave us great hospitality.
When the third fakir had said his condition, Zubeida told him and his two companions that I have forgiven the offense of all three of you, now you guys leave from here. One of the mystics said that you please give us enough permission to stay here and listen to the story of these other three men. Zubeida looked at the Caliph, Jafar and Masroor and gestured to say their respective condition. She didn’t even know how high these people were, so she ordered them to tell their story.
We have already told our condition at the time of entering this palace. Now you have asked again, so they say that we are traders from Mosil. We had come here to sell our merchandise and had landed at an inn. A merchant invited us to dinner for tonight. When we reached his house, he made us very tasty food and made us drink fine wine. Then for a long time, a program of music and dance went on here. The noise there increased so much that the soldiers who were on patrol came. He arrested many people. We were lucky to somehow escape. But as the night passed, the door of our inn was closed. We were worried about where to spend the night. Wandering here and there, I came across your street. There were sounds of laughter and singing and singing in your house. That’s why we opened the door. You have treated us with respect by being kind. That’s our story. Respected. That’s our story. Respected. That’s our story.
The minister said this so confidently and with such skill that Zubeida was convinced of its veracity. He said, ‘Well, we have forgiven you too and now you all leave from here.’ When they hesitated to get up, Zubeida said in anger, ‘Do you want to go or die?’ Hearing his scolding, the seven men, the three fakirs, the Caliph and his two companions – got up quietly and came out as seven negroes stood on their heads with drawn swords. As soon as the seven persons left the house, the women closed the door of the house.
After coming out, the Caliph told these mystics that so many nights have passed, where will you go now because you are not even familiar with this city. All three of them said that we are also worried about this. The caliph said, you guys come with us, we will help you. After saying this, the Caliph said in the ear of the minister that take these three to your house and make them appear in my court tomorrow. So the minister Jafar took those three mystics to his house and here the Caliph along with Masroor also came to his palace.
The Khalifa went to the bedroom and lay down on his bed, but he could not sleep the whole night. Whatever he had seen and heard, the quirk of it did not come from his mind. He was worried to know who Zubeida was and why he killed both the bitches and then loved him, and he also had a great desire to know that what is the difference between the black marks left on Amina’s body. Is.
In the morning he went to the court, resting himself on daily chores, breakfast etc. and sat on the throne. After sometime the minister came and bowed to him. The Caliph said to the minister, ‘I will not get rest until I know the full condition of those three women and both the black bitches. That’s why I haven’t slept through the night. You immediately go and present those three mystics and the three women before me.’ The minister went to that house without mentioning the things of the previous night and told the three women that the Caliph wants to talk to you guys, you go to the court. So all three of them put on their burqa and left with the minister. On the way, the minister took all the three mystics with him without informing them.
The Caliph was very pleased to see those women and mystics. He made the three women sit behind the veil behind him to reveal to the courtiers and servants that these were honorable women. Then he gave seats to the three mystics, who were actually kings and princes, according to their prestige. After the women had taken their seats, the Caliph turned to face them and said, ‘Last night I met you as a merchant of Mosil. Your words had caused some pain to you and that is why you were angry with us. What I have called you today is not because I want to punish you guys. I have forgotten that thing. I am very happy to have you come. How good it would be if the wisdom that you have in all the women of Baghdad. Although we have hurt you by breaking our promise, but still you left us by being kind to us.’
The Caliph further said, ‘Last night there was a merchant from Mosil and was under your orders. At this time I am Harun Rashid, the seventh Caliph of the Abbas dynasty and a descendant of Hazrat Muhammad. I have called you so that I may know who you are and why one of the three women has black marks on her shoulders.’ Although the Caliph had told him all this clearly, the minister once again reiterated these things. Upon hearing this, Zubeida herself started passing.
