Historical Tales and Anecdotes of the Time of the Early Khalifahs/The Story of the Three Educated Young Men

by Muhammad Diyab al-Atlidi

THE STORY OF THE THREE EDUCATED
YOUNG MEN.

IT is related that el-Hajjâj commanded the captain of his guard to patrol during the night, and to behead any one whom he might find abroad after supper. So one night he patrolled, and found three young men reeling about, and bearing traces of wine. And he surrounded them, and asked, "Who are ye that thus disobey the Amîr?"

Then answered the first,

His son am I to whom indebted are
All who 'midst maimed or wounded may be found
Before him low his slaves themselves abase,
He takes their means, he takes their blood.

And the captain of the guard, who had seized hold of him to kill him, said, "Perhaps he is of kin to the Commander of the Faithful."

Then said the second young man,

I am his son whose power will never be lowered,
Is it one day lessened?—instantly it returns,
Thou mayst see men in crowds by the glow of his fire,
And amongst them those who stand and those who sit.

And the captain of the guard, having seized him to kill him, said, "But perhaps he may belong to the noblest among the Arabs."

Then said the third young man,

My sire rushed boldly into the ranks,
And corrected with his sword until all was in order
His feet are never parted from his stirrups,
E'en when in raging fight the horsemen flee.

Then the captain of the guard, who had laid hold of him to kill him, said, "But maybe he is of the Arab heroes." And early next morning he reported their affair to el-Hajjâj, who ordered them to be brought before him. And he discovered their condition, and lo! the first was the son of a barber,^[1]and the second was a son of a bean-seller,^[2] and the third was the son of a weaver.^[3] And el-Hajjâj was astonished at their quickness, and said to those seated with him, "Give your sons a good education,^[4] for by Allâh! had it not been for ready wit, they would have been beheaded. Then he released them, and quoted:

Be the son of whom you may, yet acquire knowledge;
The glory thereof will serve thee instead of lineage.
Verily the youth who can say—I have got,
Is not the same as the youth who says—My father was.

 

1. Even to the present day, barbers in the East practise phlebotomy by cupping, bleeding, leeching, and teeth-drawing, as did English barbers until recent years.
2. The bean-seller cooks his beans over an open fire in his shop. And these beans being a favourite article of food among the lower orders, he rarely wants for customers, some of whom sit round his fire and eat their beans on the spot, while others carry their purchase away with them.
3. Any one who has seen a handloom will at once recognize the applicability of the weaver's son's enigma.
4. Ibn-Khalikân, on the authority of Ibn-ʾAbd-Rabbih, says that el-Hajjâj and his father kept school at et-Taïf, and that the former afterwards entered the police-guard of the Khalîfah ʾAbd-el-Málik.