Bensalem Himmich - A Muslim Suicide

"Your Majesty, if you would only acquaint yourself with the current situation in the Iberian Peninsula, you would learn about the extreme levels of injustice and cruelty that people are suffering-something to make your heart bleed, the kind of images that the Castilians are at some pains to embellish as far as possible due to their own blind fanaticism and the sheer power of their weaponry and its fiery destructive capabilities. Just consider the matter for a moment and look at it from every point of view, invoking the aid of both intellect and a sense of justice. Once the truth has shed its light in your heart, you will be able to deploy troops of men firm in their faith and supply them with the siege-engines, ballistas, and flame-throwers that they will need, equipment that you have in plenty. So, please hasten to respond to this urgent request-may God tend you with his care! You will then be entitled to the bounteous reward that comes to those who support the true words of faith. Your name will forever be mentioned in the records of those who work to make Spain a land where adherents of all monotheistic faiths may live in brotherhood-a model for emulation by others and a beacon light.

"I shall await your written response, which you can give to the person who has brought this letter of mine to you. The end.

"And greetings to you and to all those who take note and allow themselves to be properly guided. The direct morphological linkage between the words `Salam' and `Islam' is one that only idiots and people with malicious intent would choose to ignore."

As I placed my seal on the letter, my companions tried to outdo each other in lauding its logic and complimenting me. I asked 'Abd al-'Ali to make me a copy and to give the original to Khalid. We now heard the call to sunset prayers, so we all stood up and performed them in place. Once that was done, we celebrated Khalid's marriage to 'Abla by feasting ourselves from a set of bowls that Hamada had brought in.

"Come on there, Antar the bold!" he told the groom as he praised the food to the very skies, "eat some of the food cooked by your lady, Abla…!"

Once we had finished eating, we started to chat. The major topic was the role that King Frederic was playing in the Crusader wars extending all the way to the Muslim East in spite of the fact that Salah al-din's victories had made the conflict that much more vicious and harmful. By contrast the king's attitude eschewed the fanaticism of the European monarchs and the heads of their church and showed a distinct sympathy toward the Muslims who had lost lands and entire territories. I pointed out two things to my colleagues: first, the support that King Frederic had provided to the Mamluk* Al-Malik al-Kamil against his brother, Al-Malik al-Mu'azzam, who was conspiring against him, in return for which the Mamluk sultan gave him virtual authority over Jerusalem and some Ayyubid* cities in Palestine, with the proviso that the holy places and actual administrative power remain in Muslim hands (rather like being anointed from an empty bottle); and second, the threat posed by the Castilians and their allies had been greatly increased by the defeat of the Christian Crusaders who were now returning in droves from the east and eager to take revenge on Muslims in the west, even in Spain itself. We were all unanimous in our view that the immediate threat presented by the Christians in Spain could only be effectively repelled by the Almohads and the growing power of the Tunisian Hafsids, all with the help of the Sicilian king-in addition, needless to say, to assistance from God, the One, the All-powerful.

Immediately after the evening prayers we all went our own ways, hoping that everything would turn out as we had planned. However, the death of Fayha" s aunt early on Friday morning prevented that from happening. The funeral and burial took up a lot of time, but beyond all that the flood of people expressing their condolences, both during the ceremonies and after, kept us preoccupied for the whole day. The task of looking after all the visitors fell to Hamada and Bilal, ably assisted by our neighbors. My wife was extremely upset, but was surrounded by clusters of women offering her their condolences. For my part, I and her uncle, Hajj Hamza al-Sarraj, welcomed mourners singly and in groups. Among them were my quartet of students, many other students, and a group of grandees from Sabta, led by their governor, Ibn Khalas, who only stayed for a short while.

Before the governor left, he leaned over in my direction. "Saint of God," he said affectionately, "you have been depriving me of your company. I only have the very highest regard and affection for you. Next Friday afternoon, can I send someone to bring you to my residence?" I told him that I would come and wished him farewell.

Once the crowd of people had finally departed, I spoke to my wife for a while, then hurried to my closet. I moved the bed to the center of the room and turned it over to check things. Out crawled a vicious cat; it may well have been responsible for there being no traces of any poisonous insects. I did one or two usual chores, then looked forward to a bit of peace and quiet, but no sooner had night descended than I heard intermittent sounds of a woman moaning that made it impossible for me to get to sleep. I summoned `Abla and Hamada to ask them what the problem was, and they both told me that it was Hafsa, who was upset because Fayha" s aunt had died. However, `Abla surprised me by suggesting another cause.

"Ever since Hafsa heard that I was getting married," she told me, "she's gone crazy. She stays in bed all the time. She doesn't eat or drink anything and spends all her time weeping and moaning. Like you, Sir, my mistress, Fayha', thinks that she is mourning her aunt's illness and death, but the truth of the matter is what I have just told you."

I rubbed my hands together in despair and sought refuge in God Almighty.

"You, Sir, are the only one who can deal with her," said Hamada, his soft voice conveying considerable distress. "You know the things that can possess people's hearts and how to handle them."

I told 'Abla and Hamada not to talk about the matter until I had been able to look into things for myself and reach a decision. With that I allowed them both to leave.

Next morning after a very poor night's sleep I called my wife in and asked for her advice about Hafsa. From her response I gathered that she had been unable to stop Hafsa from weeping over the death of her aunt; in her opinion, the only cure lay in patience and endurance. I found it difficult to confront her with the truth of the matter, so I decided to let things go their own way while I waited for some God-inspired solution.

Later that day I and my companions accompanied our bridegroom, Khalid, to the neighborhood baths so we could make sure he was cleansed and prepared for the wedding night. Everything went according to plan in the stimulating, hot atmosphere, it being a place that had yet to be spoiled by too many bathers. Even so, the masseur who rubbed my feet had some nasty things to tell me about Sufi philosopher-types coming over from Spain and even mentioned me by name as one of their leaders and operators in Sabta. He proceeded to tell us how dangerous such people were and to be on the alert for them. Khalid rounded on him: "The person you've just referred to, you bumbling imbecile," he yelled, "is the one whose feet you're washing at this very moment. He is indeed our teacher and leader." With that the man leapt to his feet in amazement and hurried for the exit. My companions wanted to chase after him and teach him a good lesson, but I stopped them and told them not to even think of it.

On Monday night Abla made her way to the newly married couple's house, accompanied by her belongings and a set of gifts that my wife wanted to be both precious and light. It was very hard to see the bride leave, and even harder the following day when we all said our farewells to 'Abla and her husband, including the trio of his companions and the group of other students. There were powerful emotions, red eyes, and tears, along with promises to meet again whenever God permitted. While Khalid was preparing a mule and putting his new wife on it, he surprised me by saying that he had sent a copy of my letter to the king of the Christians with someone he trusted to the Marinid* amir `Abd al-Haqq and asked him to be in touch with me about it. At the time I paid no attention to the matter, or rather I had no opportunity to look into it because the young man had already mounted his horse. He was holding on to the mule's rein and seemed eager to catch up with the caravan in the eastern part of Sabta. As he and his wife left, they took with them our fond farewells and best wishes.