Folktales from the Arabian Peninsula Read online

  A WISE YOUNG BOY

  The ruler of Rome once sent a clever man to Baghdad to challenge the wise men there. In those days, Baghdad was the capital of the Islamic Empire. It was a great center of learning and Islamic knowledge. But the Romans wanted to challenge the Muslim scholars to a debate.

  The Kahlifah of Baghdad agreed to the contest. He brought together all the wisest scholars from his kingdom, and they prepared to listen to the Roman’s questions.

  The Roman then challenged them this way: “What was there before Allah?

  “In which direction does Allah face?

  “What is Allah doing at this moment?”

  Everyone was stunned. How could they answer such questions?

  But one young boy whispered to his father, “I can answer these.”

  Everyone was shocked, but the Khalifah gave the boy the opportunity to try.

  So the Roman gave his question once more.

  “What was there before Allah?”

  “Do you know how to count?” asked the boy.

  “Yes, of course,” replied the Roman.

  “Then count down from ten.”

  The Roman counted, “Ten, nine, eight . . ..” When he reached “one,” he stopped.

  “But what comes before ‘one’?” the boy wanted to know.

  “Nothing at all,” replied the Roman.

  “Of course,” said the boy. “So if there is nothing before the number ‘one,’ how could there be anything before the One who is Allah?”

  At this, the Roman was silenced. So he asked his second question.

  “In which direction is Allah facing?”

  “That is easy to answer,” said the boy. “Bring me a candle.”

  The boy lit the candle, and the flame shown out in all directions.

  “Now tell me, in which direction is the light facing?”

  “Well it goes out in ALL directions, of course,” replied the Roman.

  “Just so. And if the flame can shine in all directions at once, why do you not believe that Allah also would not face in all directions at once?”

  The Roman knew he was bested. But still he tried his third question.

  But the boy spoke up. “This seems unfair. You are standing up above and asking all the questions looking down on me. It seems only right that we should switch places. Let me come up on the platform for the last question, and you should descend.”

  The Roman agreed to this, and they switched places. Then the Roman asked his last question.

  “What is Allah doing at this moment?”

  The boy laughed. “Why, at this moment, Allah has just caused a Roman who came to mock Islam to come down from the stage and look up at a mere boy who honors Islam.”

  The Roman was too embarrassed. He returned to Rome defeated, with news of the wisdom of even the young in Baghdad.

  This boy was to grow up to become one of Islam’s most famous scholars. His name was Abu Hanifah (Rahmatullah alayhi: May Allah have mercy on him). Imam Abu Hanifah (Imam-e-Azam) was known as the Great Imam of Islam.

  THE KING, THE PRINCE, AND THE NAUGHTY SHEEP

  This story is told about the historical figures King Daud and Suleiman.

  There was a King Daud, or David in English, and his son Suleiman, or Solomon in English. Suleiman was able to understand the conversation between animals. He understood the conversation between fish. He understood the conversation between sheep. He understood the conversation between insects.

  King Daud used to travel all over the world and take his son, Suleiman, with him because he wanted Suleiman to learn wisdom from him.

  People used to come to King Daud all the time for their problems. If they had an argument, they would come to King Daud. If they had any kind of problem, they would come to King Daud. And King Daud always listened very carefully. And Suleiman would listen as well.

  One day, when Suleiman was 11 years old, some men came with a problem. A shepherd and a farmer and a flock of sheep arrived. Suleiman liked the sheep very much. They had these beautiful wool coats. The sheep kept saying, “BAAAh BAAAHH,” and he understood them.

  The first man was furious. His face was so angry, and he talked in a very loud voice. “That man! His animals came into my garden. They ate all my fruit . . . all my plants! The carrots . . . the parsley. . . .”

  King Daud turned to the shepherd. The shepherd was angry as well. The shepherd turned to the sheep and said, “So you went into this man’s garden and ate his plants!”

  The sheep heard this and turned and whispered to each other, “Nnn . . . nnn . . . nnn. You remember the sweet plants. . .. You remember the sweet parsley. Oh my gosh. It was sooo delicious.”

  Suleiman understood. He told King Daud what they had said.

  So King Daud ruled. “Here is my conclusion. The plants of this farmer are ruined. And he has nothing left to eat or sell. So I judge that the man will give all the sheep to this man.”

  The shepherd fell down and started crying. “My life is ruined. Just ruined! What is a shepherd without sheep? What is a shepherd without sheep?”

  The sheep started talking to each other. “Nnn nn . . . nnn . . . nnn. The shepherd loved us so much. How can we have brought this misfortune on our shepherd?”

  Suleiman told all this to King Daud. And finally King Daud, with a big smile, said, “Now. The plants are ruined. And the farmer doesn’t have anything either to sell or to eat. But he still has his own land. So if the shepherd will give all his sheep to the farmer, he won’t have anything. So that is not fair too.

  “The shepherd will take care of the land. He will plant the seeds. He will care for the crops. At the same time, the farmer will take care of the sheep. He will get the use of their wool. And that will pay for the lost plants. When all the vegetables and the grains are grown again, they can trade back.”

  The shepherd smiled. The farmer smiled a very big smile.

  King Daud smiled a very big smile.

  And the sheep happily returned, saying, “Bahh bahhh baahh.”

  THE MIRACLE OF THE SPIDER’S WEB

  It happened that Prophet Mohammad was invited to Madinah. The people there valued his wisdom and faith in Allah and wanted him to come lead their city. But at that same time, the Quraysh, a tribe from Mecca, were trying to harm Prophet Mohammad. These people from Mecca did not believe in Prophet Mohammad’s preaching that there was one and only one God.

  As Prophet Mohammad and his friend Abu Bakr made their way to Madinah, they suddenly saw those men of Mecca approaching. Quickly they hid themselves in the Cave of Thawr. There they waited, hoping that the men from Mecca would not discover them. If they were found, they would be trapped there in the dark cave. But there was no other place to hide.

  As they waited, praying, and listening for any sound of the approaching men, they saw a tiny spider emerge from a crack and begin working quickly, weaving back and forth across the cave entrance. Without stopping, the tiny spider kept working back and forth, back and forth, until the cave entrance was hung with a complete spider web.

  Soon the men of Mecca came to the cave. “No use wasting time looking in there,” said one. “Anyone passing would have had to break the spider web.”

  “True,” said another. “Let’s hurry on.”

  Abu Bakr told the Prophet, “But those are your own people searching to harm you. I am sad that something might happen to you now.”

  But the Prophet told him, “Don’t be afraid. Allah is with us.” And the actions of that tiny spider showed this to be true.

  Thus Prophet Mohammad and Abu Bakr reached Madinah in safety and were welcomed by the people there. That journey the Prophet took from Mecca to Madinah is known as the Hijrah.

  ‘UMAR IBN AL-KHATTAB COOKS FOOD FOR HUNGRY CHILDREN

  ‘Umar Ibn Al-Khattab (AD 579–644) was the second Caliph of Islam. He is said to have set up the first welfare state, offering relief to the poor, elderly, and disabled.

  ‘Umar was the Caliph, and his servant was
Aslam. Aslam told a story about ‘Umar helping a family one night. The two had been out traveling near Madinah when they saw the light of a fire. Thinking it was some horsemen, ‘Umar wanted to go see who was camped in that place. But when they came near, they realized that it was a poor woman and her children. When ‘Umar questioned her, she told him that the cold and dark had forced her to spend the night in that spot. Her children were huddled together crying.

  “Why are your children crying like this?” asked ‘Umar.

  “It is only that they are very hungry,” said the old woman.

  “But what are you boiling in your pot there on the fire?” ‘Umar wanted to know.

  “It is only water,” said the old woman. “At least it will be warm in their stomachs, and perhaps they will be able to sleep. Allah alone will judge between us and ‘Umar.”

  Of course, this woman had no idea that she was talking to ‘Umar himself. She was implying that ‘Umar should have been looking after them better.

  ‘Umar was taken aback. “But how could ‘Umar know about your situation?” he asked.

  “Should he hold the office of Caliph if he is not aware of the condition of his people?” she replied.

  At that, ‘Umar took his leave, and he and Aslam went to where their supplies were stored. ‘Umar took a bag of flour and some fat and asked Aslam to load them on his own back.

  When Aslam offered to carry the supplies himself, ‘Umar said, “But can you carry my load on the Day of Judgment? I must do this myself.”

  So ‘Umar himself carried the flour back to the woman. He gave it to her to knead, and while she cooked, he fanned the fire for her. Aslam reported that ‘Umar leaned over and blew on the fire while the woman cooked, the smoke rising through his beard. When the meal was prepared, he asked the woman to bring a platter, and he poured the food out and fanned it to cool it while the children ate.

  When the family was full, ‘Umar gave them the rest of the flour and fat and left.

  As ‘Umar and Aslam went away, the woman called after them, “Allah bless you. You are more deserving of the office of Caliph than the Amir of Muslims.”

  “Well, if you come to see the Amir of Muslims tomorrow, you will find me there, Allah willing,” replied ‘Umar. But he did not leave the place. Instead he hid at some distance and watched the children playing, until they fell asleep. Aslam thought this was not proper. But ‘Umar would not leave until he had seen for himself that the children were happy and had gone to sleep.

  Then ‘Umar thanked Allah and went home, telling Aslam that he could not have been at ease until he saw for himself that they were happy and comfortable.

  SAUDI ARABIA: OTHER TALES

  Retold by Margaret Read MacDonald

  MAKKI AND KAKKI

  There once was a little boy named Makki who was convinced by a vendor to buy a mouse in a little cage. Makki’s mother was furious to learn that he had spent his money on this. But Makki insisted that the mouse must be fed nothing but raisins and rose water and it would bring them good luck. So his mother put raisins and rose water in the little cage for the tiny creature and hung its cage from the ceiling.

  That night at midnight, Makki’s mother was awakened by a tiny chirping noise from the mouse cage. “Oh, mother of Makki, please answer Kakki. If Kakki needs to go, where should he leave the ‘dough’?”

  Makki’s mother knew that Kakki the mouse was asking where he could go to the bathroom. “Just anywhere you like, little Kakki,” she called.

  Imagine her surprise when she awoke the next morning to find the little mouse cage full of gold coins!

  Every night it was the same thing. At midnight, Kakki would begin to call out, “Oh, mother of Makki, please answer Kakki. If Kakki needs to go, where should he leave the ‘dough.’?”

  “Leave it right there in your cage, if you like,” replied Makki’s mother.

  And soon Makki and his mother had enough golden coins to buy everything they had ever wanted.

  Now, the nosy neighbor lady soon noticed how wealthy her next door neighbors were becoming. So she had to ask how it was that they were now so rich.

  “Why it is just because of our pet mouse, Kakki,” replied Makki’s mother. And she told the whole story.

  “Oh, please let me borrow your mouse for just one night,” begged the neighbor. “I will take very good care of it.”

  The greedy woman stuffed the mouse with raisins and rose water, hoping it would poop a great deal. And she spread a sheet under its cage to catch the gold.

  At midnight, she heard a little peeping from the mouse’s cage, “Oh, neighbor, so envious indeed. Where could mousy be relieved?”

  The woman was overjoyed. “Fill the cage! Cover the floor! On the table! On the bed! Even on my head if you like! Just lots and lots!”

  And when she awoke in the morning, sure enough, the cage, the floor, the table, the bed, and even her head were covered . . . in mouse poop!

  THE MOUSE AND THE EGGSHELL BOAT

  Little Mouse was taking a walk when she found an eggshell on the ground.

  “A boat! A boat! What a great boat for a mouse!”

  Little Mouse carried the eggshell to the stream, jumped in, and began to row along.

  Soon Rat saw her coming. “Whose boat is this?” Rat called.

  “This is the boat of Mouse!”

  “Well I am the Rat. Can I come aboard?”

  “Why not?” answered Mouse.

  So the two friends paddled downriver. Soon they came upon Yellow Chick.

  “Whose boat is this?” called Yellow Chick.

  “This is boat of Mouse and Rat!” called the two friends from inside their eggshell boat.

  “Well I am Yellow Chick-who-likes-to-peck! Can I come aboard too?”

  “Why not?” called the friends. And Yellow Chick hopped in.

  Soon Rooster spotted them. “Hey! Whose boat is this?”

  “This is the boat of Mouse and Rat and Yellow Chick-who-likes-to-peck!” called the three friends.

  “Well I am the Cock-that-crows-on-the-deck! May I come in?”

  “Come on in!” So the four drifted and paddled happily down the stream.

  But then they met Big Dog. “Whose boat is this?” Dog wanted to know.

  “This is the boat of Mouse and Rat and Yellow Chick-who-likes-to-peck and Cock-that-crows-on-the-deck!” shouted the happy friends.

  “Well I am Dog-the-companion-of-any-trip. May I come in?”

  “Come on in!” shouted the four friends.

  So Dog-the-companion-of-any-trip lifted up one leg and set it down in the eggshell . . . and the entire boat collapsed and sank.

  It’s important to know when enough is enough.

  THE CAT COUNTRY

  There once was a woman who kept her house spotless and wanted everything about her to be quite prim and proper.

  One day, when the woman bent over to pick up something from the floor, she burped.

  “Oh my! What a shocking thing to do! Thank goodness no one heard me do that,” muttered the woman. But just then the cat sitting behind her on the floor mewed. “Oh, the CAT heard me!

  “Cat, you must promise not to tell. Here is a piece of meat. Now just don’t tell anyone that you heard me burp.”

  The cat ate up the meat. Then the cat went, “Meow.”

  “Oh, you naughty cat! You still plan to tell on me? Well here is another piece of meat. Now you must not tell.”

  But as soon as the cat had finished that piece of meat, the cat said, “Meow.”

  The women kept cutting off pieces of meat and throwing them to the cat. But it was no use; the cat just kept on meowing.

  The women put on her abaya and went out and stood by the front door, weeping. She was sure the cat would tell her husband about her impropriety.

  An old woman passing by asked her why she was crying. When she heard about the cat and the burps, the old woman said, “You must go to the Matron of the Cats and complain about this cat of yours.”

>   “But how do I find this Matron of the Cats?” the woman wanted to know.

  The old woman gave her a ball and a stick. “Hit the ball with this stick,” she told her, “and follow it wherever the ball rolls.”

  So the weeping woman whacked the ball with the stick and took off running after it. The ball rolled on and on, and the woman ran to keep up. After a great while, the ball came to a hole in the ground . . . and rolled right down. So the woman followed it down into the cavern. There were cats everywhere. There were cat guards and cat servants. She asked for the Matron of the Cats and was passed along until she came to a magnificent cat sitting on a throne-like chair.

  The woman told all about the burp that had inadvertently popped out . . . and about the cat that ate up all the meat and still seemed to be threatening to tell.

  When the Matron Cat had heard all this, she sent one of her cat servants to summon all the burps to come to her. “Which of you burps forced yourself onto this very proper lady and made her burp in front of her cat?”

  One little burp came forward and sheepishly bowed. “I’m afraid it was I.”

  So the burp was punished severely. Then the Matron Cat gave the woman an armful of fine gifts to take home and told her it would not happen again.

  When the woman came home carrying her gifts, the next door neighbor saw her coming. “Where on earth did you get all these treasures?” she wanted to know.

  So the woman told her all about the burp and the cat and the Matron of the Cats.

  Now the neighbor thought she knew how she could get presents for herself. So the next day, she drank glass after glass of water, until she too produced a small “burp.” Then she grabbed her cat and squeezed it until it went, “Meow!” Then she stuffed meat into the cat, squeezed it again for another “Meow!” and stuffed more meat in. Then she raced off to find the Matron of the Cats and complain.

  The Matron of the Cats sent for the burps once again.

  “I am the one that she burped,” admitted one of the burps. “But she drank so much water I could not do anything else. She MADE me do it.”