Leg over Leg. Ahmad Faris al-Shidyaq

governors and kings, with the exception of the king of the English, to invite no one to enter or exit their lands who has not first paid to their ministries or their agents known as consuls a sum of money in keeping with the fertility or barrenness of their possessions. They do this on the pretext that if a traveler spends one or two hours in their country he is bound to see their spacious palaces and ever-victorious armies or their thoroughbred horses and luxurious vessels, thus putting him on a par with one who enters some place of entertainment, which no one would do without paying a fee.

      4.3.4

      فان اعترض احد بقوله انّا فى الملهى نسمع اصوات المغنين والمغنيات وآلات الطرب * ونرى الانوار المزدهرة والاشكال المتنوعة ووجوه الحسان الناضرة وحركاتهن الباهرة * ونضحك حين يضحكن * ونطرب حين يرقصن * ونشغف حبّا حين يغازلن * فاما فى رؤية احدى مدنكم فانّا لا نرى شيا من ذلك * بل انما ندخل لكى يغبننا تجّاركم * فتكون فائدتنا فى الدخول بالنسبة الى فائدتهم فى الدخل قليلة * قالوا قد يتفق وقت قدومكم بلادنا ان تكون عساكرنا قد شرعت فى العزف بآلات الطرب فهذا فى مقابلة الطرب فى الملهى * اما النسآ فانّا ناذن لكم فى التمتّع بكل من اعجبتكم فاجروا ورآء من شئتم بحيث يكون النقد على الحافر * ومع ذلك فلا ينبغى ان تشبّه مدائننا التى تشرفت بحضرتنا ببعض الملاهى * ولا سيما ان هذه سنّة قديمة قد مشت عليها اسلافنا طاب ثراهم * وتقادمت عليها السنون والاحوال حتى لم يعد ممكنا تغييرها * فان الملك اذا امر بشى صار ذلك الشى سنّة وحُكْما * ويشهد لذلك قول صاحب الزبور ان يد الرب على قلب الملك * بمعنى ان الملك لا يفكر فى شى الّا ويد الله عاصمة له فيه * هكذا شرح هذه الاية العلمآ الربانيّون فى بلادنا ومن خالفهم فجزاؤه الصلب *

      If anyone objects, saying, “In a place of entertainment we hear the voices of the singers, male and female, and the sounds of the musical instruments, see the decorative lights and varied decorations, the shining faces of the lovely ladies and their dazzling displays, laugh with them when they laugh, are transported when they dance, and fall in love with them when they flirt, but we see none of these things when we view one of your cities; indeed, as soon as we enter them we are fleeced by your merchants, meaning that what we gain from our coming in is but little compared to what they gain in terms of their incomings,” they will tell you, “Your arrival in our country may coincide with a musical performance by our soldiers, and that can be in lieu of any transports you may experience in that place of entertainment. As far as women are concerned we give you permission to enjoy any of them that takes your fancy and run after any of them you wish, so long as you have ready cash. It’s not right, however, for you to liken our cities, graced as they are with our presence, to some place of entertainment, especially as the payment of these fees is an ancient custom followed by our ancestors (God bless the sod!) that has been practiced for so many years and eons that it can no longer be changed. If the king commands something, that thing becomes custom and law, as witness the words of the psalmodist when he says, ‘The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord,’⁵² meaning that whenever the king thinks of something the hand of God renders his judgment infallible with regard to it. This is how the divines in our country explain this verse and the reward of any who disagrees is crucifixion.

      4.3.5

      وبعدُ فان الملك اذا اخذ فى تغيير العادات وتبديل السنن فربما افضى ذلك الى تغييره * فيكون مَثَله كالديك الذى يبحث فى الارض عن حبة قمح فيثير التراب على راسه * وصَغُر ذلك تشبيها * فالاولى اذًا اقرار كل شى فى محله * ثم لا فرق بين ان يكون قاصد بلادنا غنيا او فقيرا * صالحا بارّا او لصا فاجرا * رجلا كان او امراة * فكلهم ملتزمون بادآ الغرامة وتحمل الغبن – ولكن ياسيدى ومولاى انا امراة معسرة قد اضطررت الى المرور بمدينتك السعيدة * لان زُويجى المُسيكين كان قد قدم الى بلادكم الملكية ليدير مصلحة فقضى عليه الله تعالى بالوفاة * فتركت صِبْية لى فى البُيَيت يتضورون جوعا وجئت لارى زويجى المويت حالة كونه لا يرانى * ومع ذلك فانى اُعدّ من الحسان اللآى يحق لهنّ من امثالك العناية والالطاف * فكيف التزم بالغرامة فضلا عن نفقة السفر وفَقْد زويجى الذى كان لى سندا – ارجعى من حيث جئت فما هذا وقت الاسترحام * لان القواعد التى تقرر فى دفاتر الملوك لا تقبل التبديل ولا التحريف ولا يستثنى منها شى –

      “But to return to our argument: if the king starts changing customs and exchanging conventions, this may lead to him too being changed. His situation is comparable to that of the rooster that searches for a grain of wheat on the ground and in so doing stirs up the dust till it covers his head (though this is an unworthy comparison). Better then that everything stay as it is. And again, it makes no difference whether the one bound for our country is rich or poor, pious and righteous, a thief and a libertine, a man or a woman—all are obliged to hand over the fee and put up with the fleecing . . .” “But my lord and master, I am a woman in straitened circumstances obliged to pass through your happy city because my poor dear hubby came to your royal country to conduct some business and the Almighty determined that he should meet his end there, so I left young children I have writhing with hunger in our little cottage and came to see my poor dead hubby (since he can’t see me), not to mention that I’m considered one of those good-looking women who deserve to be looked after and well treated by those in positions such as yours. Why then should I be obliged to bear the fee, not to mention the costs of travel and the loss of my hubby, who was a support to me?” “Return, woman, to whence you came! This is no time for pleas for mercy, for the rules set down in the ledgers of kings admit of no change or modification and no exceptions can be made . . .”

      4.3.6

      وانا ايضا يامولاى رُجَيل فقيّر قد رمانى الدهر بصروفه لامر شآه الله * فوافيت بلادكم طمعا فى تحصيل وُظَيّفة تقوم باَوَدى * وما انا من ذوى التغاوى والفتن ولا من الباحثين فى سياسات الملوك وايالاتهم * فقصارى منيتى تحصيل المعيشة