Nooruddin Ali Aur Badruddin Hasan Ki Kahani – Alif Laila | Hindi Kahani
Story of Nooruddin Ali and Badruddin Hasan – Alif Laila
Minister Ja’far said that in earlier times Egypt was a big majestic and just king in the country. He was so powerful that the neighboring kings were afraid of him. His minister was very efficient, just and well versed in many arts and genres like poetry. The minister had two handsome sons who were as virtuous as him. The name of the elder was Shamsuddin Muhammad and the name of the younger was Nuruddin Ali. When the minister died, the king called his two sons and said that I am also very sad due to the death of your father, now I appoint both of you in his place, you together take care of the ministerial office. Both bowed their heads and obeyed his order. After mourning their father for a month, both went to the royal court. Both used to work together. When the emperor went for hunting, he would take each one in turn with him and the other would stay in the capital and look after the administration.
One evening, when the other morning the elder brother was about to go hunting with the emperor, both the brothers were having fun. Laughter, the elder brother said that we both run such a big state together with one vote, why should we not do that on the same day we should marry well-mannered daughters of elite families, what is your opinion? The younger said that I am not out of your command, it will be as you say.
Both were also getting intoxicated by drinking. The elder brother said, ‘It is not enough to get married in just one night. Our wives should also be pregnant in the same night.’ The younger one laughed and said that he too will be there. Then the elder said that our children should also be born on the same day and you should have a son and I should have a daughter. The little one said, “Very good. The elder said that when your son and my daughter grow up, they should also be married because if they live together from the beginning, then they will surely fall in love with each other. The younger brother said, what can be better than that your daughter’s marriage with my son.
The elder said, ‘But there is one condition. I will take full dowry from you in marriage. In this, nine thousand Asharfis in cash, three villages and three maids for the service of the bride. The little one extended the joke and said, ‘What are you talking about? We both have equal status. Then where does the boy give dowry? He takes dowry. You should give me full dowry in marriage, not take dowry from me.
Although it was a joke, but the elder brother was very angry. He said upsetly, ‘You think that your son will be more in respect and respect than my daughter. I had hoped that you would give respect to my daughter, but it seems that you will insult her a lot.’ Both brothers were drunk. It was a fruitless debate as no one was married and there was a dispute over the dowry of marriage of a potential son and daughter. But the debate went on and on and took a serious form of ridicule.
At last the elder said, ‘Let it be morning. I will take you in front of the king and punish him, then you will know what is the result of misbehaving with the elder brother.’ Saying this he went to his bedroom. The younger also came to his room and lay down on his bed. But he could not sleep the whole night. He kept burning in anger and wondered what would this brother who talks like this even on the matter of jokes do if something serious happened.
On the next morning, Shamsuddin Muhammad went on a hunt with the emperor, and here the younger brother loaded many gems and ornaments on a strong mule, kept a lot of food and drink and left the city. Told the servants that I am going for a day or two. He went on the path of Arab country. After many days of troublesome travel, his mule became ill and died. The poor man started walking on foot, keeping his luggage on his shoulder. He was moving towards Basra from the famous city of Hasna when he found a horseman going in that direction. The horseman took pity on him and put Nuruddin Ali on his horse behind him and drove him to Basra. On reaching Basra, Nuruddin Ali thanked him very much.
In Basra Nagar, Nooruddin Ali saw a large road with a crowd standing on both sides of the road. He too stood there. In no time an Amirana ride came along with many servants. People were bowing down and saluting the man of great personality whose ride was going out. He was the minister of that state. On saluting Nuruddin Ali, the minister saw him and seeing his foreign clothes and the mark of high ancestry on his face asked him who are you, where are you coming from. Nuruddin Ali said, ‘Government, I am a resident of the city of Cairo in the country of Egypt. I have got into a fight with my relatives, that’s why I am traveling from country to country. The minister said, ‘You will suffer a lot in this journey. Come with me, you will be very comfortable.’
So Nuruddin Ali started living with the minister. The minister was very pleased to see his wisdom and intelligence. One day the minister said to him in solitude, ‘Son, now I am very old, now I have no hope of living for long. My child is only a daughter who is a big Rupvati. He is now married. Many feudal and wealthy people want to marry her. But I did not accept it. I love that daughter very much. I think he deserves you. If you don’t mind, then I will marry her with you after taking permission from the emperor and also make you my heir for the post of minister and also give all the property in your name.’
Nuruddin Ali said, ‘I consider you my elder, I will do whatever you order.’ When the minister got his approval, he was very happy. He started preparations for the wedding and called prominent people from among the townspeople to tell him about it. When everyone gathered, Nuruddin Ali took them apart and said to the minister, ‘I have not told anything about my family to anyone yet. Now I’ll tell you this. My father was a minister to the king of Egypt.
‘We are two brothers. The other brother is older than me. After the death of my father, the emperor gave the workload to both of us brothers. For some time, we continued to do government work lawfully. One day I got into an argument with my elder brother over a matter. He said such harsh words to me that I left the country.’
When the minister heard this story, he was even more pleased. He thought that it was a good thing that this too turned out to be the son of the minister. He said to the gathered citizens, ‘I want to take your advice on one thing. One of my brothers is a minister to the king of Egypt. He has only one son. He did not want to marry his son in Egypt and sent him here to me so that I could marry him and keep him with me. what do you say? Everyone said with one voice that it is a very good thing, God bless the bride and groom. The minister provided food to all the people and distributed the wedding sweets in a ceremonial manner. Qazi came and solemnized the marriage. Then everyone left the minister’s house.
The minister ordered the servants to bathe Nooruddin. After bathing, Nuruddin wanted to wear his modest clothes but the minister’s servants dressed him in precious gems that the minister had sent for the occasion. He also applied various types of fragrances on his body and clothes and adorned him with other decorations. Then Nuruddin Ali went to his father-in-law, the minister. The minister was pleased to see him, lovingly made him sit beside him. Then he asked, ‘You are the son of an Egyptian minister. Still you chose to live abroad. What had happened that both of you brothers were so determined that you had to decide to leave the country. Now you are my son-in-law. We have become one. Now you should not hide any secret from me. Tell me clearly why you left the house.’
Nuruddin Ali told him in detail how a matter born out of laughter turned into a bitter dispute. Hearing this story, the minister laughed a lot and said, ‘Only this matter, you separated from your brother and left your country? It was useless that you and your brother would have married together, had children together; You would have a son and a daughter here and the question of dowry would arise in their marriage. But yes, it was your brother’s excesses that pulled the laughter and made it so bitter. Your abdication was not a wise thing, but fortunately for me it all happened. Well, don’t waste time here. Go to your bride. She is waiting for you.’ Nuruddin Ali obeyed his orders and went to his wife.
Here in Egypt, a month after the hearing of that day, when elder brother Shamsuddin Muhammad came back from hunting, he was told by the servants that his brother did not return after asking him to leave for two days. Shamsuddin Muhammad felt very sorry for this because he understood that Nuruddin Ali had left in some direction after getting angry with my bitter words. He sent men around in search of him who came as far as Damascus and Halab but could not find him because he was in Basra. At last Shamsuddin sat down in despair. He understood that Nooruddin was not alive.
Then Shamsuddin Muhammad married. Incidentally, she got married on the same day and at the same time when Nooruddin was getting married in Basra. It was even more strange that after nine months, on the same day a son was born in the house of Nuruddin Ali and a daughter was born to Shamsuddin Muhammad. Nuruddin’s son was named Badruddin Hasan. The minister of Basra was very happy on the birth of the grandson. He held a great ceremony and rewarded the servants well and gave alms to the mystics. Then a few days later he took Nuruddin Ali to the royal court and requested the emperor to make my son-in-law a minister in my place. He had taken her to the court several times in the past and was impressed by the wisdom and tact of Emperor Nuruddin. So he made Nuruddin Ali his minister without any hesitation. The old minister i.e. Nooruddin’s father-in-law was very pleased to see that Nooruddin Ali had such management skills and he
After four years the retired minister fell ill and died. Nooruddin Ali mourned him and performed all the dead rites well. When Badruddin Hasan was seven years old, his father got him started and appointed great scholars as his teacher. Badruddin was such an intellect that in no time he memorized the entire Quran. When he was twelve years old, he studied all the popular sciences thoroughly. He was also very handsome and gentle. Whoever saw him did not admire him.
One day Nuruddin Ali took his son to the court. Badruddin bowed down to the emperor in such a manner and answered his questions so intelligently that the emperor was very happy. He also gave reward-Ikram to Badruddin. Nuruddin used to pay great attention to the training of his son and constantly taught him such things which would benefit the son and prove him worthy of a high position in the world. Like this many years passed.
Then Nuruddin fell ill. He was not cured by any treatment and his disease kept on progressing. Seeing his end time coming, he called Badruddin to his side and preached, ‘Son, this life is mortal and the world is futile. You should not grieve on my death and be content with understanding the will of God. Our family members do the same and the teachers who taught you had to say the same thing. Now listen carefully to what I say.
‘I hope you will do as I say. I am actually a resident of Egypt. My father was the minister of the emperor there. On his death both I and my elder brother Shamsuddin Muhammad were made ministers. My elder brother is still a minister there but I have moved here for some reason.’ Then he took out a piece of paper from a small pen and gave it to the son and said, ‘Read it at leisure. In this you will get everything. You will find the dates of my marriage and your birth also written in it.’ Saying this Nuruddin Ali fainted.
Badruddin was very angry seeing his father’s death near. He started crying. But Badruddin regained consciousness after some time. He said to the son, ‘Now I am a guest for a while. At this last moment, I am giving you some lessons that you should always remember. The first thing is not to be very close friends with anyone, nor to tell your secrets to anyone. Secondly, do not oppress any person because it should be well understood that this world is a place of exchange, you will get the same reward as you do good and bad. The third thing is that never take such a thing out of your mouth that you will be ashamed later, And remember also that a man who speaks too much is always ashamed and he who speaks little and speaks thoughtfully should not be ashamed because seriousness increases the honor of a man and his life is also not in danger and a foolish man will be ludicrous Talking makes trouble. Fourth thing is that never drink alcohol because alcohol corrupts the intellect. The fifth thing is to spend with restraint and always keep frugality as your principle. It does not mean that spend so little that people call you miser, but do not spend so much that you become poor. One who is rich is surrounded by a thousand friends, but when there is no money, no one even asks.
Nuruddin Ali thus kept telling his son useful things for life till his last breath. When he died, Badruddin performed all the gami rituals with great solemnity.
After saying this, Queen Shahzad told Emperor Shahryar that even after hearing the story, Khalifa Harun Rashid was very pleased, so Minister Jafar took the story forward. He said that Badruddin, whom people started calling Basrai because of his birth in Basra, mourned the death of his father by sitting in the house for a month as per the custom of that country. What would have been the objection of the emperor to this, but Badruddin felt so sorry for the death of his father that even after this he did not go to the court. When the second month also passed, the emperor got very angry. He appointed another person as minister instead of Badruddin Hasan and one day ordered the new minister to confiscate the old minister’s property and arrest Badruddin Hasan and bring him before me.
The new minister took a detachment of soldiers and headed towards Badruddin’s house. A slave of Badruddin saw this and he ran to his master and fell at his feet, kissed his clothes and said that you leave the house immediately. Badruddin asked what was the matter. Ghulam said that there is no opportunity to be heard to say more, the emperor has ordered to confiscate your property and arrest you and the new minister has taken a soldier from the palace. Badruddin was terrified on hearing this and said that I should take some gems and money. Ghulam said that don’t take anything, just take your life and leave because the minister can enter this house at any moment.
Hearing this, Badruddin was walking on foot, so the sun set by the time he reached his graveyard. He reached the wide grave of his father where he was buried. This tomb was built by Nuruddin for himself during his lifetime.
He was sitting at the tomb when he met a Jewish merchant. The Jew recognized Badruddin and said how did you come here at night. Badruddin said that I had seen my father in a dream, who was getting angry and was telling me that you completely forgot me and did not even come to my grave after burying me, so I got upset and immediately left the house. and reached here. That is why I did not take any servant etc. with me.
The Jew did not believe his words and understood that some trouble had come upon Badruddin. He said, ‘You probably don’t know that your father also invested money in business. Their cargo is carrying thousands of dinars on many ships and those ships are on business trips. Your father was very kind to me and I considered myself his servant. Now you are the owner of that goods. If you want, sell the goods of your first ship to me. I am ready to buy it for six thousand rupees.’
Badruddin did not have a penny. He considered these currencies as God’s gift and accepted the deal. The Jew said, ‘Think well, by paying six thousand coins, I will be the owner of the cargo of your first ship, no matter how much the goods may be. Are you doing this deal with full consent?’ Badruddin said, yes, I am selling the goods with full consent. The Jew said, ‘Master, I have full faith in you, but to show others it is necessary that you give me this purchase letter in writing.’ Saying this, he took out a pen tied around his waist. Badruddin wrote and gave it, ‘I sell the goods of my first ship to Basra, to Isaac the Jew, for six thousand rupees.’ Write this and signed it below. The Jew took that paper and went away giving Badruddin a bag of six thousand coins.
Badruddin now clinging to his father’s grave wept at his misfortune and wept for a long time. Even fell asleep crying. In the same time, a genie came roaming here and there. He was very surprised to see Badruddin’s beautiful form, he had never seen such a beautiful man. After looking at her for a long time, he reached the sky. Told him to the angel that ‘Walk with me on the ground. There I will show a man weeping over a grave in a cemetery whose beauty you too will be captivated.’ Pari accepted. Both of them came to the ground and the jinn raised his finger towards Badruddin while sleeping and said, ‘Where have you seen such a beautiful man?’
The angel looked at Badruddin and said, ‘It is very beautiful indeed, but I have come to Cairo, the capital of Egypt, to see a strange thing. If you want to know him, let me know.’ The genie said, definitely tell. Fairy Boli is a minister of the king of Egypt named Shamsuddin Muhammad. He has a twenty year old daughter who is very beautiful. Hearing the praise of her appearance, the king asked the minister to marry that girl with me.
The minister folded his hands and said that sir, forgive me with this grace. On asking the reason, he said that my younger brother Nooruddin Ali was also your minister with me, he left the house after a long time and went away. It is heard that he had become the minister of Basra. And is no longer alive. But she had a son who will still be there. Then the minister told the emperor about a dispute that took place between him and his brother and said that since I had given a promise to the brother that I will marry my daughter with his son, I am compelled and will not be able to obey your orders. . For you, there are countless beautiful daughters of the rich in Cairo, whom you can marry.
The king became very angry on hearing the minister’s words. He said that you consider me so small that do not even have kinship with me, I will punish you for this mischief in such a way that you will always remember. Now your daughter will marry an ugly slave. Saying this, the emperor ordered a great ugly hunchbacked slave working in the horse to be decorated like a bridegroom. The stomach of this slave was also very big and the legs were also crooked. He told the minister to go, prepare for your daughter’s marriage with that slave.
The poor minister came to his house with a very sad heart. The orders of the emperor could not be avoided, so he ordered the preparations for the marriage. At night, in Cairo, the slaves arranged a procession and sent the hunchbacked slaves to the hammam and themselves gathered at the gate of the hammam. The hunchbacked and ugly slave was bathed and dressed well. At the same time, the angel said to the genie, ‘The ugly slave has been dressed in wedding clothes and at this time he is being adorned like a groom. How sad that such a beautiful daughter of a minister became the wife of such an ugly slave.’
Hearing this, the genie said, ‘If we do something like this, then how will that girl be married to this handsome young man?’ The angel said, ‘I want from my heart that something should be done so that the king’s injustice does not happen, betraying the slave and making this young man sit in his place. By this the emperor will also get the fruits of his undue anger and the minister and his daughter will also be saved from the humiliation of having a relationship with the slave.’
The genie told the angel that if you help me then this work can be done. I will pick it up and deliver it to Cairo before it wakes up. So the jinn and the fairy in a moment picked up Badruddin Hasan and took him to the hammam in Cairo.
When Badruddin opened his eyes, he was very frightened to find himself in a new place and was about to cry when the genie put his hand on his shoulder and asked him to keep quiet. Then explained to him, ‘I will give you a torch, take it and join the wedding procession, go fearlessly into the minister’s house and go inside and sit on the right side of the hump, before that to the choirs who There will be a lot of reward with the procession and going inside and giving a handful of coins to the captives of the bride, do not think that your bag will be empty. Do not be afraid of anyone and go on working on my instructions.
So Badruddin joined the crowd carrying the torch. After sometime the slave, who became the groom, also came out of the hammam and walked towards the bride’s house on the royal horse. Badruddin gave a handful of money to the singers, they were very pleased. When the procession reached the minister’s door, the gatekeeper stopped the baraatis outside. The singers had to go inside, they got permission to go inside even this open-handed baraati i.e. Badruddin, after fighting with the gatekeeper and said that he is not a slave, but a foreigner of the upper class. They also took the torch from her hand and placed it on the right side of the groom, the bride sitting on the groom’s left. Although the bride was very beautiful, she was very sad and withered on being married to an ugly slave.
Within moments, the bridesmaids came with torches in their hands. Other women from Cairo were also with them. They all started saying that this hump is not even seen, we will give the hand of our beautiful bride to this handsome young man who is sitting beside her. He did not even care that the slave was getting married on the orders of the emperor and he could be punished for doing such things. He made such a noise that even the sounds of singing and playing were suppressed.
After a while the singing started again. This raga-ranging continued throughout the night. The Dominions sang seven types of ragas and on each raga a new pair was worn by the bride. After changing pairs, the bride looked at the slave with disgust and got up from him and sat near Badruddin with her friends. Badruddin started giving a handful of prizes to the captives etc. as per the orders of the jinn and also started tossing a handful of coins. The women quarreled with each other and started picking up coins and looked at Badruddin with admiration and started blessing him. They were telling each other with a gesture that this handsome young man is worthy of a bride, this hunchbacked slave is not worth her.
The same thing started happening among the other servants of the palace. The hunchback heard something in his ear, but he could not hear it clearly because the sound of singing and playing was also loud and different types of spectacles were also happening in front of him. When the bride had changed all the pairs, the singing stopped. Now the servants signaled to Badruddin to get up. He stood up. Now all the people went out of that room and the bride also went to her house with her friends. There she was given bedtime clothes by the maidservants. Only Ghulam and Badruddin remained in this room.
Ghulam looked at Badruddin in anger and said, ‘Now what is your business here? Why is it standing here? Why not go?’ The poor man got scared and tried to go out, but the angel and the jinn, who were invisibly present there, told him not to go out, we will drive away this hunchback and you go to the bride’s room. Badruddin stayed there on the assurances of the angel and the jinn. In his place, the hunchback had to run away. It happened that the genie took the form of a cat and that cat started looking at the humpback with sharp eyes. The hunchback tried to run away by stooping and reprimanding the cat, but the cat began to growl horribly and looked at it with ember-red eyes. Simultaneously, he started increasing his size and became like a donkey.
Now the hunchback panicked and is ready to run away. The cat increased in size and became like a buffalo and roared and said, ‘Wait bastard, where are you going. Your end is near.
The humpback slave fell to the ground in fear. He hid his face with his clothes and said, ‘Bhains ji Maharaj, what is wrong with me?’ The genie, who has become a buffalo, said, ‘You have the courage to marry my beloved? The hunchback said, ‘Master, I’m sorry, I didn’t know that the minister’s daughter was your girlfriend.’ The buffalo said, ‘Well, I will not kill you, but do as I tell you. You stay here all night with your eyes closed like this and when it is morning then run away, don’t even look around here or else I will tear your stomach with horns.’ The buffalo came in human form. He made the hunchback stand on the wall with his head against the wall and said, ‘If you ever try to move in the night, I will end you by rubbing you against this wall.’ Then the angel and the genie left from there.
Here Badruddin reached the bride’s house with laughter. There an old lady attendant was very happy to see him and said, ‘It is very good that you came in place of the hunchback. Now you go to this room where the bride is waiting for you. Enjoying the whole night with him.’ Then she sent Badruddin to the room and went away after closing the room from outside.
The minister’s daughter asked him that you are my husband’s companion, how did you come here. Badruddin said, ‘I am not your husband’s companion, I am your husband myself.’ The king has a habit of laughing and joking, that’s why he had decorated the procession of a hunchback, but in fact he has got me married with you. Everyone laughs with that hunch, so the emperor did too. He has been sent back to work at the Mews. Be at ease, he will never show you face again.’
The minister’s daughter, who was very sad earlier, was very happy to see her husband. She started saying, ‘I was dying of sorrow and worry, how will life be spent with such an ugly hump. There are lakhs and lakhs of thanks to God that he has given me a husband like you by saving me from the hunchback.
Saying this she hugged Badruddin. Badruddin also became emotional seeing his appearance and love. He put his turban and pouch on a checkpoint and took off his heavy dress. The only cap he wore while sleeping, a mirzai and tight seal’s pyjama, remained on his body. It should be known that even after spending so much, his bag was filled due to the magic of the genie. Wearing bedtime clothes, Badruddin slept with his bride beside him.
In the night the genie and the fairy came again. Now they got a prank. They decided that Badruddin should be transported somewhere else in the same way as he had brought him from Basra to Cairo. So they picked him up and laid him outside the Jama Masjid in the city of Damascus. Then both left from there.
When the Damascus people came to offer prayers on hearing the sound of the morning azaan, they were surprised to see Badruddin sleeping on the stairs, who is he and why is he sleeping here. Someone says that he has come in a quarrel with his wife in the night and was so angry that even the clothes he wore in the night did not change. Someone said, it is not a problem, he has been drinking alcohol for a long time at night and forgetting the way home, came here staggering and fell asleep. In the same way they started speculating as no one knew who he was and why he was lying there.
Badruddin woke up partly from the cold air of the morning and some to the sound of people surrounded and was very surprised to see himself in an unfamiliar place in front of a mosque and he asked the people what is this place and how am I here Came. People said, brother, we are also thinking that who are you and how did you come here. You don’t even know where this place is. This is the city of Damascus and this is the Jama Masjid here. Badruddin said, ‘To my great surprise, I slept in Cairo last night and reached Damascus this morning.’ After listening to her, people understood that she was crazy and started expressing regret for her madness after seeing her youth and beauty.
One of the elders said, ‘Son, what are you talking about? How can it be that you are in Cairo at night and reach Damascus in the morning?’ Badruddin said, ‘I tell the truth, I was in Cairo last night and I was in Basra the previous night.’ Hearing this, the people around started laughing and making noise. They started saying, ‘You are absolutely stupid or are you talking such baseless things for some secret reason. It is a matter of great regret that the mental state of such a well-seeing man like you should be disturbed.’ One man said, ‘Tell yourself how it is possible that someone sleeps in Cairo at night and wakes up in Damascus in the morning. You seem to have dreamed and have not yet woken up properly, lost in the same dream world.
Badruddin Hasan said, ‘I am absolutely right. I got married last night in Cairo.’ People laughed more and started saying that it is really still dreaming. Badruddin said, ‘No, it is a fact, not a dream. In the night my bride changed seven pairs on seven ragas. She was being married to a hunchbacked slave but was then remarried to me. I was dressed in good clothes and a heavy turban, and I also had a bag full of mudras. I don’t know who took those things and left me here.’
The more Badruddin insisted on his point, the more people laughed and called him insane. He got fed up and went to one side and the crowd followed him. Everyone was shouting, ‘It’s crazy.’ Stones were also thrown at him. Badruddin panicked and entered a confectionery shop. This confectioner was earlier the chieftain of the robbers in the western regions and made a living by plundering. For some time, he started earning a living by leaving this shameful act. He had become very benevolent and friendly and the general public admired him, yet no one wanted to make him angry because his past was known to the people, people also used to fear him.
Hawai scolded everyone and drove them away and asked Badruddin what was the matter. When he told his whole situation again, the confectioner said, ‘You seem very intelligent, but do not tell this story to anyone anymore or else people will leave you mad. I don’t have any children. I will adopt you and when you become my adopted son, no one will dare to tease you.’ Badruddin was saddened by the thought of becoming the adopted son of a man below his class but had no other option. So he agreed to the confectioner’s request. The confectioner dressed her well and completed the adoption ceremony by calling friends and relatives. Proceedings were also taken in front of the Qazi. Badruddin learned the work of confectionery and became famous as Hasan Halwai.
Also listen to what happened in Cairo there. When the minister Shamsuddin’s daughter woke up in the morning, she could not find her husband with her. She thought that he must have gone to the toilet etc. and she started waiting for him. In the meantime, the minister Shamsuddin came there in mourning because he thought that the hunchbacked slave had become his son-in-law. He called out to his daughter in a sad voice. When he opened the door, he was very happy. The minister was astonished because he must have been saddened to be the wife of a slave. She asked, how are you so happy, I thought you must be crying. The girl said, ‘Father, I am not married to an ugly hunchback, but to a very handsome young man.’
The minister said, ‘What are you talking about? That hunchback is your husband and he must have slept here.’ The daughter said, ‘No father, go hunchbacked in hell. My husband is a handsome young man with black eyebrows and big eyes. Now he has gone for toilet etc. He slept in this room. Will come back now, you will see for yourself.’ The minister was puzzled as to where this handsome jawan had come from. He started looking for her in the palace but could not find her anywhere. Yes, he definitely saw in one of the rooms that the hunchbacked slave is standing on his head against the wall.
The minister asked him who made you stand like this. Recognizing his voice, the hunchback stood still and said, ‘You should not have made such a cruel joke with me. You knew that the buffalo-made genie is your daughter’s lover, so why did you ask me to make you son-in-law.’ The minister said, ‘Are you not mad that you are talking such ludicrous things?’ The hunchback said, ‘No, I am telling the truth. I can’t even move till morning or else the genie will kill me. If you want to know, then listen. At night a black cat came and started scaring me. When I drove her away, she started growing up and became a buffalo in a while. He told that he is the lover of your daughter. He made me stand like this and said that if I move from my place before morning, I will kill.’
The minister got tired of hearing this baseless story. He made the slave stand upright. The slave ran away with his feet on his head and did not even look back. He went straight to the palace and fell at the feet of the emperor. On being asked by the emperor, he narrated his entire experience of the night. The emperor laughed a lot on hearing all this.
Here the minister went back to his daughter and said, ‘The one you call your husband is not to be found anywhere in the palace. You’re lying.’ The daughter said, ‘I tell the truth. If you don’t believe me, then look at this cloth and this turban on the post. These things belong to my husband. Before sleeping, he had taken off his clothes and kept them here.
The minister saw the turban and came to know that such a turban is worn by the ministers of Mosil. When he looked at the turban upside down, something wrapped in a cloth fell from it. When I opened it, I saw a long letter in it. This was the last letter that Nuruddin Ali wrote to his son and Badruddin always kept it securely in his turban. The minister also found a bag full of coins, inside which was a paper written by Isaac the Jew that I had bought the goods of Badruddin’s ship for six thousand currencies. Shamsuddin gasped after getting all these things. After a while he became conscious, he said, ‘Daughter, you are right and your happiness is also justified. Your husband is your cousin.’ Saying this, he started crying repeatedly after kissing his brother’s hand written letter and remembering the brother.
In the said letter, Nuruddin had written in detail when he reached Basra, when he got married and when his son Badruddin was born. Shamsuddin was surprised to see that Nuruddin and he were married on the same day and that his daughter and Badruddin were also born on the same day. He was very surprised when the earlier jokes turned out to be correct. He immediately took the turban and the letter and went in front of the emperor and explained the whole situation in detail. The emperor was also surprised and ordered that all these things be written in his history book.
The minister waited for a week for Badruddin to come. Then he searched for her in the city of Cairo. Badruddin was nowhere to be found. This caused great pain to the minister. He kept all the things of Badruddin safely in the box, but got all the rooms used at the time of marriage locked by keeping everything there as it is. The minister’s daughter came to know after a few days that she was pregnant. Nine months later she gave birth to a son. That son was very handsome. His maternal grandfather hired many servants to serve him. He was named Ajab. When Ajab was seven years old, Shamsuddin sent him to a good Maktab where he started taking education from highly learned gurus. Two servants used to stay with him even when he went to his Maktab.
Ajab became very proud of his opulence because all his classmates were socially and economically inferior to him. That’s why he often beat them up and kept abusing them. He was saddened by this and complained to the Guru. The Guru first told him that he is a boy from a big house, take his words, but when the strange excesses went out of bounds and he did not pay heed to the Guru’s persuasion, the Guru said to the boys, ‘ I’ll tell you a solution. You all start a new game in which every boy tells the name of his parents. Ajab will not be able to tell his father’s name and will stop playing with you.’
The boys did the same. On the second day we gathered in the field and said that we start a new game in which every boy will tell the name of his parents. Anyone who cannot tell will be kicked out of the game. So all the boys started telling the name of their parents one by one.
When Ajab’s turn came, he said, ‘My name is Ajab. My mother’s name is Hasna and my father’s name is Shamsuddin Muhammad. My father is a minister to the king of Egypt.’
Hearing this, all the boys said that what are you saying, your father is not Shamsuddin. Ajab scolded them and asked ‘Why? Why is my father not Shamsuddin Muhammad? The boys laughed and said, ‘Shamsuddin is not your father, your mother’s father means your maternal grandfather. You could not tell your father’s name. We will not play with you. And they all left him alone and went away. He went and told the Guru that the boys tell the lie that Shamsuddin is not my father. The Guru said, ‘Son, they are right. I don’t even know your father’s name. Shamsuddin is actually your maternal grandfather. The king got angry and got your mother married to a slave, but on the night of the wedding, a genie drove the slave away and himself slept with your mother. Now playing with your classmates should not hurt them.’
Ajab came to his mother crying after hearing these things and said to her, for God’s sake, tell me who is my father. Mother said, your father is Shamsuddin, he loves you always. Ajab said, you lie, Shamsuddin is your father, not mine, why don’t you tell me my real father’s name? Her mother started crying after hearing this as she remembered her husband who had disappeared after staying with her for only one night. Meanwhile, Shamsuddin also came there and seeing the daughter crying, he asked, why are you crying. When the daughter told the reason for crying, she was also sad.
He was engrossed in misery all night and wondered how it was unfortunate that the girl was being defamed like this. On the second day, when he went to the court, he fell at the feet of the emperor crying. He told the whole situation and said that now I do not tolerate that people say that my daughter has given birth to a boy from a genie, if you give me a few days leave, then I will go to my son-in-law Badruddin in all the big cities, especially Basra. Let me seek
The emperor was also very sad to know all these things. Not only did he accept the minister’s leave, but he gave it to Shamsuddin after writing letters to the emperors of every place and orders in the names of his princes. In these it was said that you should help my minister Shamsuddin’s nephew and son-in-law in the search of Badruddin. Whoever finds that young man, I will be very happy and will do him a favour. Shamsuddin considered his master a great favor on this grace and left.
Shamsuddin left for Cairo with his daughter and grandson. After traveling for twenty days he reached Damascus. Going there, he pitched his tents on the banks of the river and ordered the servants to go to the city and do necessary buying and selling. He himself set out in the city to find Badruddin. Whenever Ajab went out for a walk in the city with some of his servants. On coming to the city, people gathered around him seeing his unique form. Disturbed by this, Ajab entered Badruddin’s shop.
The confectioner who had adopted Badruddin had passed away and at this time his shop was owned by Badruddin. Badruddin was respected by the residents of the city because he used to make sweets very well. When Badruddin saw Ajab, the tide of love started rising in his heart. Although others were also looking at Ajab with admiration, but Badruddin had a blood relation, so he fell in love. He asked strangely that you sit inside my shop and have some food. The Habshi chief of the servants with Ajab said that you are the son of a minister. It is not appropriate for you to eat and drink while sitting in this modest shop.
Badruddin said secretly not to listen to this stupid slave. At the same time he also applauded the chief servant and sang a song in his praise which meant that you look dark from above but your mind is very clean. He also sang songs in praise of the Habshi caste and told the servant that I am a poet, I will write a qasida (commendation poem) in your praise. The Habshi servant was pleased to hear this and took Ajab inside and made him sit. Now Badruddin said that the cream of my shop is famous everywhere, I have learned the trick of making cream from my mother and no one can make such cream except her and me. My cream goes far and wide and you too will be very happy to eat it.
Saying this, Badruddin took out the cream from the pan and put pomegranate juice and sugar candy in it and gave it to Ajab. He was very happy to eat it. Shamsuddin also fed cream to the head servant. He too was very happy to eat it. Badruddin used to look at Ajab and used to think that if the beauty with whom he had spent the same night had a son, perhaps this would have happened. He started crying remembering that beauty. Then he asked strangely how did you come to Damascus. Awkward was about to reply that the slave said that don’t stay here now, it is too late, your mother will be waiting for you.
Hearing this, Ajab got up from the shop and left. Badruddin could not tolerate his sudden departure. He closed his shop and started following her. When he reached the gate of the city, the chief of Ajab’s servants scoffed at Badruddin and asked why are you following us. He also said strangely that I had asked you not to go to the shop because these people are not fit to face. Badruddin said that I am not after you. I have some work there.
Ajab also told his servant that he is going for his work, let it go, how can you stop anyone from going anywhere. But when Ajab reached his camp and looked back, he found Badruddin walking behind. Now he is afraid that if Nana will know that I have eaten the cream of this confectioner, then he will be angry. In a panic, he picked up a stone and dragged it towards Badruddin and hurriedly entered his camp.
A strangely thrown stone hit Badruddin’s forehead and his forehead bled. He was very sorry that I left my work and came so far in love with this boy and he did not care for me, but he injured me by stoning. He came to his shop and got the wound bandaged and got busy in his minor work.
Here Shamsuddin went to several major cities after finding his son-in-law in Damascus for three days. These included Halab, Nardin, Mosal, Sarwar etc. Finally he reached Basra and met the emperor there. The emperor gave him great respect and asked how did you come here. Shamsuddin said that I have gone out to find my brother Nuruddin Ali’s son Badruddin Hasan, if you know anything about him, please tell me.
The emperor said, ‘Nooruddin was my minister. After a long time, he died and his son Badruddin also disappeared somewhere after two months of his father’s death. I searched for him a lot but he was nowhere to be found. But his mother, the wife of our minister, is still alive.
Shamsuddin took leave from the emperor and went towards his brother-in-law’s residence. The next day he entered his palace with his daughter and daughter-in-law. Seeing his brother’s name written in golden letters on a nameplate, he kissed him and asked the servants about Nuruddin’s widow. They told. ‘This is her abode, but she often lies at her husband’s grave, there she weeps after seeing the picture of her son, because the son has also been missing for a long time. Well at the moment he is in his own palace.
When the servants heard the news, Nuruddin’s widow came. Shamsuddin introduced himself to him and told that your son and my daughter are married. He also introduced his daughter and daughter-in-law to his younger sister-in-law. The poor widow had left the hope of meeting her son. She was very happy to see the daughter-in-law and the grandson and hoped that my son would also be alive. Hugging her daughter-in-law and grandson, she started crying. Shamsuddin told him that this is not the time to cry and beat, you go to the country of Egypt with me after taking permission from the emperor. Saying this he explained everything in detail. Nuruddin’s wife was astonished to hear this story and was also pleased.
I want to take my nephew with me. The king happily accepted this and sent off the Egyptian minister with the best gifts for the Egyptian king. Shamsuddin took all the people and then went towards Damascus. After this he again encamped outside the city and, having ordered his servants and Gumashtas to trade, he himself went to the king there and gave him the letter of the king of Egypt and the gifts he had sent. Here, when Ajab saw that Nana had gone for a long time, he told his servants that I want to visit the city again. The servant took Ajab’s mother’s permission and took him away. While roaming around the city, they reached Badruddin’s shop in the afternoon. Ajab was really sad that last time he threw stones at the confectioner in vain. He asked Badruddin whether you recognize me or not. When Badruddin saw him, like the first time, then again in his heart.
Badruddin said to him, ‘Master, you come inside the shop and eat some cream. I am sorry that I have not seen you for so long otherwise I would have served you equally. Ajab said, ‘First you promise that you will not follow me like that time. If you promised this, I will come to your shop but once a day.’ Badruddin said that I will do as you command, I will never violate your order. Ajab sat inside his shop.
Badruddin placed cups of cream before him and his servant. Ajab also made Badruddin sit beside him. Everyone started eating cream. Strangely, he kept on admonishing him that no matter how much you love me, you should not tell anyone about it. Badruddin promised that he would not say this to anyone. He kept praying to Ajab and his servants and fed them cream, he himself did not eat anything. When Ajab had finished eating, Badruddin washed his hands and gave him a clean cloth to wipe his hands. Then he made sherbet in a sugar cup and brought ice in it and said strangely, ‘This rose syrup is very tasty. You will not find such sherbet anywhere else except in my shop. Ajab was very happy after drinking it. Badruddin also gave sherbet to the chief servant, which he drank in one go.
Now Ajab and his servant thanked Badruddin and went to their dairy. Ajab went to his grandmother’s tent. She wrapped him around her neck and started crying that God grant me the pleasure of seeing your father with you soon. She laid a handkerchief and asked Ajab to eat too and started asking what did you see in the city. Ajab kept talking to him but he did not eat at all. The old lady gave Ajab and his bodyguard Shaban the cream made by her own hands, but both had eaten cream at Badruddin’s shop, so no one even looked at this cream.
Ajab’s grandmother said, ‘It is a matter of great surprise that you are not even eating the cream made by my hand. You should know that only me and my son Badruddin can make this kind of delicious cream and I have taught him how to make cream.’ Ajab said, ‘Grandma, forgive my offense, then tell me that there is a confectioner in this city who makes such good cream, what to say. Your cream will not be that good.’
The grandmother was very angry at Shaban, the strange bodyguard and said, ‘Why useless, how do you protect my child, that he eats and drinks like beggars sitting in the confectionery shop?’ Shaban said that we were tired, so we were sitting in the confectionery shop to relax but we did not eat cream etc. But Ajab said that it is a lie, both of us had eaten cream at the confectionery shop.
Hearing this, Ajab’s grandmother was filled with anger and got up at the same time and reached Ajab’s maternal grandfather’s tent and told him the whole situation. Shamsuddin, hearing his nephew’s words, reached his tent with him and scolded Shaban and asked if it was true that both of you had eaten cream at the confectioner’s place. Shaban again denied but Ajab said that this is true, both of us had also eaten cream at the confectionery shop and drank sherbet later. The minister said to Shaban, ‘Look, what does Ajab say? Haven’t you both eaten or drank anything at the confectioner’s place?’ Sha’ban again denied and took a false oath that we did not eat or drink anything. Now the minister started beating Shaban. After much percussion, he admitted that the strange thing was true and that the cream of the confectioner was tastier than this cream.
Ajab’s grandmother also got upset after hearing this. He said to Sha’ban, ‘Have you lost your mind? Can any confectioner make better cream than me? And if you still say that then go to the confectionery shop and get some cream. Let me also see how the cream is.’ Shaban went to Badruddin’s shop and after giving some money said that give cream in a cup, my mistress wants to eat your cream. Badruddin gave the cream and said, ‘You will not find such cream anywhere else in the world. Only me and my mother can make this kind of cream.’
Shaban brought cream and gave it to Ajab’s grandmother. When she ate it, she fainted in emotion. Shamsuddin Muhammad was worried seeing his condition. She sprinkled rose water on the face of her brother-in-law and did other remedies, due to which she regained consciousness. Then he said that this cream was made by Badruddin only. Shamsuddin Muhammad was also convinced that this was true, but apparently he said, ‘What is the matter that apart from your son, no other man in the world can make such cream.’ Her nephew said, ‘I say with full confidence and knowledge that no other person can make such cream except Badruddin.’
Shamsuddin Muhammad said, ‘Stay well. I invite that confectioner here under the pretext. You and your daughter-in-law hide it. If you recognize him that he is Badruddin, we will take him with us to Cairo. I have never seen him, that’s why I cannot recognize him, only you people recognize him.’ Having said this, he went to his tent and ordered his soldiers to go to Badruddin’s shop, break his goods and tie it, but beware not to beat him at all and not to cause any kind of pain. .
Having ordered the servants, Shamsuddin himself went to the king’s service and told him that my son-in-law has been found and allow me to take him to Cairo. The emperor happily granted this permission. Shamsuddin also said that for some reason I can’t tell the reality right now and want to take it by force, you order your Kotwal and the soldiers not to stop my soldiers in this matter. The emperor also accepted this.
Shamsuddin’s soldiers went to Badruddin’s shop and broke all his utensils and tied him with a turban instead of a rope. When he asked sadly what was my crime, the soldiers asked that you had made the cream sent to the minister’s tent. On his confession, they dragged him out of the shop without hearing anything. The residents of the city were saddened by this. He tried to stop the minister’s soldiers and sought help from the city’s soldiers but to no avail. The soldiers on both sides had orders from their respective officers.
When Badruddin was brought in front of Shamsuddin, he cried and asked, “Master, what crime have I committed to you.” Shamsuddin said that did you sell cream to my servant? Badruddin said yes. The minister said, ‘This is your fault. You sent such rubbish cream for me? I will put you to death.’ Badruddin was surprised and said that he is hanged for selling poorly? The minister said, we have this rule here.
On the other hand, when Badruddin’s mother and wife saw him from behind the screen, they fainted. He wanted to go and hug him, but Shamsuddin had already told him not to go near him until I told him. On the next day Shamsuddin took all the people and went towards Egypt. He locked Badruddin in a box and loaded it on a camel. He used to walk in the box throughout the day and take him out of the box when he halted at night. Similarly, when walking near Cairo, the minister asked a carpenter to make a wooden stick to hang a man. Seeing this, Badruddin asked who would be hanged. The minister said that tomorrow I will enter the city and will tie you with this ticket and make you roam the whole city and in front of you a man will go on saying that this man will be hanged because he did not put black pepper in the cream,
Saying this, Queen Shahrzad told Emperor Shahryar that although Caliph Harun Rashid was of a serious nature, yet after hearing such a story from his minister, he started laughing and laughing. Badruddin said, ‘Oh God, what kind of justice is this? Somewhere it happens that a confectionery shop is robbed, tied up and then hanged on the basis of such a crime that there is no black pepper in the cream. This is totally against the Islamic system. Shame on me that I did the business of making cream that I got into this trouble. What can be a matter of great disrepute than being hanged in the whole city by being defamed. Why didn’t I die as soon as I was born unlucky? Even now it is better that I should die like this, I will avoid slander.’
Badruddin kept on weeping saying this but the minister did not pay any attention. In no time, a hanging ticket was presented in front of the minister, on which there was an iron bar. When Badruddin saw him, he was very frightened and started shouting, ‘I have neither stolen nor violated any religious order, nor killed anyone. Still, I am getting the death penalty only because I did not add black pepper to the cream.’
Minister Shamshuddin told him that crying and crying will not do anything, tomorrow I will take you to the city and hang you. Saying this, he again got Badruddin locked in the box. In the morning he got it loaded on a camel and on his own ride he ceremoniously entered his capital. After reaching his palace, he ordered that keep this box down but not open it. When all the furnishings were kept at home, Shamsuddin took his daughter to solitude and said to her, ‘Thanks to God lakhs and lakhs, you have found your husband. Now decorate your room exactly as it was decorated on your wedding night, everything should be in exactly the same place as it was at that time.’
The minister’s daughter acted as ordered by her father and decorated the room exactly as it was decorated on the wedding night. Where he forgot something, he asked his father. The plank was laid in the same way and all the candles were also placed in the same way. The entire room, but also the surrounding rooms, looked exactly as they looked on the wedding night. Shamsuddin Muhammad himself came there and kept Badruddin’s clothes and money bag exactly where he had picked it up. Then she told her daughter that you should wear sleeping clothes like the same night and when the husband comes, do not show such feelings as if you are meeting him after a long time, behave as if he had never separated from you.
When the story reached here, it was morning and Malika Shahrzad remained silent. The emperor was so anxious to hear the end of the story that the next night he could not even sleep properly. On the next night, Malika Shahrazad started the story as per the rules.
He said that the minister Shamsuddin ordered that only two or three maidservants should stay in that building. When one night passed, the minister sent Badruddin to the building, which was locked in the box. When the servants took him out of the box there, he was almost unconscious. They hurriedly put him on night clothes, Mirzai etc. Then leaving him inside the house, he latched the door from outside.
After some time, Badruddin became aware of the spread of his hands and feet and found himself in a room decorated for marriage. He remembered that this was his honeymoon room. Seeing the nearby room, he also recognized that I was sitting next to that hunchbacked slave. His wonder grew even more. After two moments he saw that his wedding clothes and bags were kept there in the same way as they were kept on the honeymoon. His head was shattered by this astonishment. He started thinking that I do not know whether I am awake or dreaming.
Just then his wife raised her head to the mashari and said, ‘Dearest, why are you standing at the door. Come here on the bed and rest. where have you been all day When I opened my eyes this morning, I did not see you on the bed. Even after waiting for a long time, if you did not come, I was very sad all day. Well now you come to me.’
Badruddin was very happy to hear this. He also forgot to the surprise and the glee that followed that the minister had imprisoned him and sentenced him to death. His face lit up and the dark shadow of despair disappeared from his face. He saw that his wife was still as beautiful and charming as she was on the wedding night.
Going inside the room, he looked at each item again and realized that everything was exactly the same as it was on the wedding night ten years ago. His clothes and the bag of money on the post were the same as they were. He said in a loud voice, ‘Oh my God, what a leela. I have no idea where I am.’ His wife said, ‘What are you saying? What strange things are you doing standing up?’ Badruddin said, ‘Tell me the truth, since when have you been separated from me?’ He said, ‘It was only this morning that you got up.’
Badruddin said, ‘I do not understand your point. I must have spent a honeymoon with you, but it has been ten years since this thing happened. All this time I lived in Damascus. I am wondering which time should I consider for my marriage, the present time or ten years ago. I do not understand anything, tell me whether I should dream of being apart from you for ten years or the conversation going on with you at this time.
His wife said, ‘What kind of crazy things do you talk about. Tell me clearly where it came from in the middle of Damascus.’ Badruddin laughed and said, ‘I don’t know whether I was mad or I am now. Ten years ago I was lying at the entrance of the Damascus Mosque wearing the same bedclothes. The residents there were laughing at me and making fun of me. I got up from there and ran and hid in a confectionery shop. He adopted me and taught me his business. When he died, all the property was given to me. I continued the business of confectionery in the same shop for ten years.
‘One day a minister from somewhere came to Damascus. Her son was very naive and handsome. Seeing him, my heart was filled with love. One day he came to my shop with his servant and sat there and ate cream. Then he went back to his tent and his father asked for cream from my shop. After this he called me to get caught and saying that why did you make cream without black pepper, robbed my shop and brought me to his country after keeping me on a camel locked in a box. Then last night he got the hanging ticket made and said for today that you will be hanged after taking you around the city. Hearing this, I fainted with fear. When I came to my senses I saw that I am present with you.
Hearing this, his wife started laughing and jokingly said, ‘It is not possible that someone should be hanged for such a thing, you must have committed a great crime.’ Badruddin said, ‘I tell the truth, except that I had no crime that there was no black pepper in the cream.’
Now this strange debate ensued. His wife used to say with a laugh that you must have committed some big crime. And poor Badruddin was repeatedly clarified that my crime was nothing but to send cream without adding black pepper, and on the same thing, the minister got me a ticket to hang me, on top of which I put a strong iron bar to hang me. Went.
Emperor Shahryar started laughing even after hearing the story and kept on laughing for a long time. He said, ‘Minister Shamsuddin played a good joke with his son-in-law and to his surprise, his brother-in-law also did not say anything when his son was being harassed like this. Well tomorrow the story will be completed, I hope it will end well.
At the end of the second night, Malika Shahzad resumed the story. He said that the whole night Badruddin remained in the same quandary whether I was actually with my wife or was dreaming. He repeatedly got up from the bed and looked around at the building. Everything seemed to him as it was on the wedding night. On the other hand, he could not even ignore the events of the last ten years. He spent the whole night in the same mess.
When it was morning, Shamsuddin came to the door of the daughter’s bedroom and clapped. When his daughter opened the door, Shamsuddin went inside and bowed to Badruddin on his own behalf. Badruddin said, ‘You had arranged for me to be hanged. I am still trembling at the thought of him and what was my crime, only that I did not add black pepper to the cream.’
The minister smiled and said, ‘You are my nephew and I married my daughter with you. By the order of the emperor, he was going to marry a hunchbacked slave. Having said this, he showed him the account of Nuruddin and said, ‘In search of you, I kept on wandering in Basra, Damascus and other places. Forget the injustice I have done to you in the manifest. All I wanted was to bring you here from Damascus without hesitation, with the idea that if you suddenly meet your mother and wife, you may not die in bliss.’ Saying this he hugged the son-in-law to the chest.
Badruddin was very happy to hear this. He took off the clothes of the night and put on the clothes of the day. Then he met his mother. The wave of joy that came in the whole family on this occasion cannot be described. His mother kept crying for a long time holding him to the chest and kept telling how much pain he spent ten years on your disappearance. At the same time, Ajab, whom his maternal grandfather had told the truth, came and clings to his father. Badruddin said, ‘Oh you had eaten cream in my place.’ Saying this he hugged his son on his chest. Shamsuddin presented the son-in-law to the emperor and narrated the whole story. The emperor ordered the writing of this account and also honored Badruddin.
Harun Rashid was told by his minister Zafar after hearing this story that you should also show generosity and forgive the crime of my Ghulam Raihan. Haru Rashid did the same and gave the man, who had killed his wife in confusion, to one of his maidservants to get married and live happily ever after.
After completing this story, owner Shehrzad said, ‘Sir, it is morning now, if I get life today, I will tell a better story.’ The emperor quietly went to the court, but in the greed of the story, he postponed the order of killing Shahrajad.
