Bensalem Himmich - The Polymath

When ‘Abd al-Rahman reached his house, he found Yashbak and the chief judge, Burhan al-Din ibn Muflih the Hanbali, waiting for him. He welcomed them warmly and told them about the strange man in the graveyard.

“There are lunatics like him in all the graveyards and some of the public parks as well,” Yashbak replied. “But I’ve something more serious to ask you about. The soldiers are demanding that alcohol be declared permissible, the rationale being that it will relieve their boredom and compensate for being away from their families. The army judge has invoked the argument of temporary benefit to the public interest in registering his approval. His expressed opinion is that it’s better for them to blow their minds once in a while rather than start a riot or make excessive demands for money or provisions. The Shafi‘i judge claims to be sick and exhausted and has taken a non-committal position. The Hanafi judge has also adopted a lenient attitude, citing the laws of necessity and the benefits of beer drinking. However, our Hanafi colleague here has stated emphatically that the entire concept is illegal; indeed he’s gone so far as to issue an opinion that all vines should be dug up and destroyed.

Ibn Muflih was a man in his forties, with a thick black beard and a warm, open face. ‘Abd al-Rahman had met him before in Cairo. He had found his colleague to be agreeable company and knowledgeable about his legal school, being widely read in matters sacred and secular.

“Yashbak,” said Ibn Muflih, “I’m going to state in front of our learned friend, Wali al-Din ibn Khaldun, that if strict adherence to the law is indeed ‘commanding that which is right and forbidding that which is wrong,’ then accept it and rejoice in it! God’s own text declaring alcohol forbidden is totally explicit; there can be no ambiguity whatsoever. Our Prophet — the purest of prayers be on him — declared; ‘Alcohol is the mother of all debauchery and the most grievous of sins. Anyone who drinks alcohol has abandoned prayer and had sex with his mother and paternal and maternal aunts.’ This hadith comes from al-Khatib by way of Anas ibn Malik. Is that not so, Wali al-Din?”

“Indeed it is, Burhan al-Din.”

“Regarding my opinion about pulling out vines, in the chapter devoted to rooting out evil God has declared wine, its drinkers, its manufacturers, its merchants, all to be repugnant. Those who protest that Jews and Christians living in our midst are permitted by their laws to drink wine forget that they are only permitted to do that inside their own homes and not in public places within the dominions of Islam. Isn’t that right, Wali al-Din?”

“Indeed it is, Burhan al-Din.”

Yashbak realized that the two judges were in agreement on the matter. He decided it was not worth asking any more questions, so he said nothing for a moment while he thought things over.

“Yashbak,” said ‘Abd al-Rahman, anticipating his thoughts, “you’ve asked me to give you my frank opinion. If you recall that the reason why I was dismissed from my position as judge was because I was applying the law and imposing punishments too strictly, then you could have worked out for yourself what my verdict was going to be. Any decision by jurists to legitimize soldiers’ alcohol consumption on the grounds of temporary public interest is rendered totally invalid in law by its consequences. By analogy such a licence could be compared, for example, with legitimizing fornication, bribery, and all other types of debauched behavior. It’s also rendered invalid on grounds of mental processes and the need to keep the mind alert and awake against the ravages of drunkenness and negligence. That is particularly the case in situations involving mobilization and war. Aren’t such opinions the correct ones, Burhan al-Din?”

Indeed they are, Wali al-Din.”

“God Almighty has said, ‘ Do not come to prayer in a state of drunkenness .’ In my view jihad is a form of prayer. Prepare as much force and string of horse for them as you can . God forbid that such preparations involve carousing and head-bashing amid the vats of the mother of all evils. I am well aware, of course, that the army judge and the infantry commanders have a very low opinion of judges who follow the orthodox line. But, for heaven’s sake, Yashbak, tell me what they’re going to do! How are they going to succeed against the Tatar armies marching toward them from Jabal al-Shaykh and the West? Tell me, please, how is wine drinking supposed to help them when they find themselves in skirmishes against the enemy or making preparations for a great victory?”

Yashbak was a little taken aback. “Wali al-Din,” he said, feeling the need to defend himself, “you know me well enough, so you’re already aware of what my answers will be. You know that I’m not in charge of the war, but rather responsible for giving the sultan advice and counsel. I’m trying to reconcile the conflicting views of the commanders and amirs. I do whatever I can. For example, I was one of the minority who favored digging trenches around the approaches to Damascus; I also joined them in pushing the sultan to order the cavalry contingents to attack the Mongols at some particularly dangerous spots. And I’ve done other things too, but there’s no need for me to boast. But there are also many people working against me here, and they have Sultan Faraj’s ear too. I’ve managed to make sure that most major government officials came with us to Damascus; that way there would be no scope for conspiracy back in Cairo. However, now they’re all indeed here, and doing their level best to bring me down by blackening my name with the sultan. That’s the way war is, Wali al-Din. We need men like Qutuz, Baybars, and Barquq, God’s mercy on them all. But what we have is Barquq’s young son. .”

Burhan al-Din seized on these words, as though they had given him a golden opportunity to say what he wanted. “The problem with the sultan is not that he’s only thirteen years old,” he said, “but that he’s so irreligious. I’m well aware that a bottle of wine is never far from his side as he moves from the Citadel, to the square of the Dome of Yalbugha, to the Ablaq Palace. I’m well aware that he’s so drunk that his cheeks are already on fire before he ever takes a look at the military situation or issues any orders. Small wonder then if the army asks for wine vats to be opened, since people usually follow the lead of their monarchs — as the saying goes.”

‘Abd al-Rahman rubbed his hands together in despair. “That’s what has led me to ignore all news about army quarters and the sultan’s personal situation! We judges have the right to know about goings-on, Yashbak. Otherwise, how are we supposed to issue opinions and give wise counsel?”

“The fact that al-Nasir Faraj and his retainers are drunk is no secret to anyone, Wali al-Din. He’s permanently drunk. I get the impression that it serves to calm him down, since he seems constantly terrorized by the thought of being murdered, either by the Mongols or else the amirs who are constantly intriguing against him. I’m scared to death of these conspirators and agent provocateurs who keep slinking away from us here in Damascus and going back to Cairo. If the sultan sees that the number of people withdrawing is getting any larger, I think it’s very likely that he’ll decide to return to his capital city.”

“Why doesn’t he stop them going back to Cairo?”

“It’s a vicious circle. Amirs convince the sultan that there’s a conspiracy against him in Cairo, the seat of his power. So he allows them to leave, and they themselves then become the leaders of the rebellion.”

For the first time ‘Abd al-Rahman was now convinced, on the basis of the sincere tone in Yashbak’s voice, that Timur would emerge the winner in the war against the Mamluk forces, whether he actually went to war or not. He asked Yashbak what new information there was about the Mongols.