There was between Yáhyá bin Khálid and Abdullah bin Málik al-
Khuzá'i,
FN#248 an enmity which they kept secret; the reason of
the hatred being that Harun al-Rashid loved Abdullah with
exceeding love, so that Yahya and his sons were wont to say that
he had bewitched the Commander of the Faithful. And thus they
abode a long while, with rancour in their hearts, till it fell
out that the Caliph invested Abdullah with the government of
Armenia
FN#249 and despatched him thither. Now soon after he had
settled himself in his seat of government, there came to him one
of the people of Irak, a man of good breeding and excellent parts
and abundant cleverness; but he had lost his money and wasted his
wealth and his estate was come to ill case; so he forged a letter
to Abdullah bin Malik in the name of Yahya bin Khálid and set out
therewith for Armenia. Now when he came to the Governor's gate,
he gave the letter to one of the Chamberlains, who took it and
carried it to his master. Abdullah opened it and read it and,
considering it attentively, knew it to be forged; so he sent for
the man, who presented himself before him and called down
blessings upon him and praised him and those of his court. Quoth
Abdullah to him, "What moved thee to weary thyself on this wise
and bring me a forged letter? But be of good heart; for we will
not disappoint thy travail." Replied the other, "Allah prolong
the life of our lord the Wazir! If my coming annoy thee, cast not
about for a pretext to repel me, for Allah's earth is wide and He
who giveth daily bread still liveth. Indeed, the letter I bring
thee from Yahya bin Khalid is true and no forgery." Quoth
Abdullah, "I will write a letter to my agent
FN#250 at Baghdad
and command him enquire concerning this same letter. If it be
true, as thou sayest, and genuine and not forged by thee, I will
bestow on thee the Emirship of one of my cities; or, if thou
prefer a present, I will give thee two hundred thousand dirhams,
besides horses and camels of price and a robe of honour. But, if
the letter prove a forgery, I will order thou be beaten with two
hundred blows of a stick and thy beard be shaven." So Abdullah
bade confine him in a chamber and furnish him therein with all he
needed, till his case should be made manifest. Then he despatched
a letter to his agent at Baghdad, to the following effect: "There
is come to me a man with a letter purporting to be from Yahya bin
Khálid. Now I have my suspicions of this letter: therefore delay
thou not in the matter, but go thyself and look carefully into
the case and let me have an answer with all speed, in order that
we may know what is true and what is untrue." When the letter
reached Baghdad, the agent mounted at once,--And Shahrazad
perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
When it was the Three Hundred and Seventh Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the agent
of Abdullah, son of Malik al-Khuza'i, on receipt of the letter at
Baghdad, mounted at once and repaired to the house of Yahya bin
Khálid, whom he found sitting with his officers and boon-
companions. After the usual salute he gave him the letter and
Yahya read it and said to the agent, "Come back to me tomorrow
for my written answer." Now when the agent had gone away, Yahya
turned to his companions and said, "What doth he deserve who
forgeth a letter in my name and carrieth it to my foe?" They
answered all and each, saying this and that, and every one
proposing some kind of punishment; but Yahya said, "Ye err in
that ye say and this your counsel is of the baseness of your
spirits and the meanness of your minds. Ye all know the close
favour of Abdullah with the Caliph and ye weet of what is between
him and us of anger and enmity; and now Almighty Allah hath made
this man the means of reconciliation between us; and hath fitted
him for such purpose and hath appointed him to quench the fire of
ire in our hearts, which hath been growing these twenty years;
and by his means our differences shall be adjusted. Wherefore it
behoveth me to requite such man by verifying his assertion and
amending his estate; so I will write him a letter to Abdullah son
of Malik, praying that he may use him with increase of honour and
continue to him his liberality." Now when his companions heard
what he said, they called down blessings on him and marvelled at
his generosity and the greatness of his magnanimity. Then he
called for paper and ink and wrote Abdullah a letter in his own
hand, to the following effect: "In the name of Allah, the
Compassionating' the Compassionate! Of a truth thy letter hath
reached me (Allah give thee long life!) and I am glad to hear of
thy safety and am pleased to be assured of thine immunity and
prosperity. It was thy thought that a certain worthy man had
forged a letter in my name and that he was not the bearer of any
message from the same; but the case is not so, for the letter I
myself wrote, and it was no forgery; and I hope, of thy courtesy
and consideration and the nobility of thy nature, that thou wilt
gratify this generous and excellent man of his hope and wish, and
honour him with the honour he deserveth and bring him to his
desire and make him the special-object of thy favour and
munificence. Whatso thou dost with him, it is to me that thou
dost the kindness, and I am thankful to thee accordingly." Then
he superscribed the letter and after sealing it, delivered it to
the agent, who despatched it to Abdullah. Now when the Governor
read it, he was charmed with its contents, and sending for the
man, said to him, "Whichever of the two promised boons is the
more acceptable to thee that will I give thee." The man replied,
"The money gift were more acceptable to me than aught else,"
whereupon Abdullah ordered him two hundred thousand dirhams and
ten Arab horses, five with housings of silk and other five with
richly ornamented saddles, used in state processions; besides
twenty chests of clothes and ten mounted white slaves and a
proportionate quantity of jewels of price. Moreover, he bestowed
on him a dress of honour and sent him to Baghdad in great
splendour. So when he came thither, he repaired to the door of
Yahya's house, before he went to his own folk, and craved
permission to enter and have audience. The Chamberlain went in to
Yahya and said to him, "O my lord, there is one at the door who
craveth speech of thee; and he is a man of apparent wealth,
courteous in manner, comely of aspect and attended by many
servants." Then Yahya bade admit him; and, when he entered and
kissed the ground before him, Yahya asked him, "Who art thou?" He
answered, "Hear me, O my lord, I am he who was done dead by the
tyranny of fortune, but thou didst raise me to life again from
the grave of calamities and exalt me to the paradise of my
desires. I am the man who forged a letter in thy name and carried
it to Abdullah bin Malik al-Khuza'i." Yahya asked, "How hath he
dealt with thee and what did he give thee?"; and the man
answered, "He hath given me, thanks to thy hand and thy great
liberality and benevolence and to thy comprehensive kindness and
lofty magnanimity and thine all-embracing generosity, that which
hath made me a wealthy man and he hath distinguished me with his
gifts and favours. And now I have brought all that he gave me and
here it is at thy door; for it is thine to decide and the command
is in thy hand." Rejoined Yahya, "Thou hast done me better
service than I did thee and I owe thee a heavy debt of gratitude
and every gift the white hand
FN#251 can give, for that thou
hast changed into love and amity the hate and enmity that were
between me and a man whom I respect and esteem. Wherefore I will
give thee the like of what Abdullah bin Malik gave thee." Then he
ordered him money and horses and chests of apparel, such as
Abdullah had given him; and thus that man's fortune was restored
to him by the munificence of these two generous ones. And folk
also relate the tale of the CALIPH AL-MAAMUN AND THE STRANGE SCHOLAR.
