17
NEXT DAY I STAYED IN MY CLOSET, concentrating on reading books and posing myself questions in the hope of doing some more editing of my book, Escape of the Gnostic. I also had to write some letters, the contents of which I had been carrying around in my head for a while. When it came to sleep, I was anxious to keep it to a bare minimum and make do with only what was strictly needed, all with the aim of avoiding the risk of terrifying visions and obsessions. I arranged my prayers by combining them all in the middle of the night, as part of which I performed a whole flood of devotions and channeled my mind and spirit toward loftier truths.
I spent the entire morning in this fashion. It was just after noon when my contemplations were disturbed by Fayha', who came to inform me that a horseman was at the door waiting to escort me to the governor's residence. I had completely forgotten about the appointment I had made with Ibn Khalas for this Friday. With some reluctance I now had no choice but to change my clothes and put myself to rights. I left the house, greeted the governor's messenger, and followed him on my horse. While we were on our way, I noticed that my escort was taking me into the center of the city by the eastern shore. He dismounted, and so did I.We were standing in front of an isolated house that looked out over the sea. The governor welcomed me profusely at the door and led me into his reception room, where he introduced me to his blind companion. He told me his name was Al-A`ma the Sicilian and described him as his most reliable source of counsel. I thought to myself that the designation was somewhat odd, but even so I sat down alongside the two men. Staring up at the ceiling, the blind man now started to say some complimentary things about me. A servant-girl of `Abla's age came forward and offered me some food and drink from the table; she then did the same for her master, who, like me, took only a little. He then signaled to her to leave. With that, the blind man stood up to say farewell and followed her out, putting one hand on her back while the other clung to his walking-stick. The governor wiped his mouth and beard and then looked affectionately in my direction.
"Pinnacle of the faith," he said, "this is the first time you've honored my council with your presence, even though you've been in Sabta for quite a few years. I'm not going to upbraid you for that-heaven forbid! After all, saints of God concentrate on worship and learning, and no one has the right to disturb them in that task. As you can see for yourself, I'm welcoming you in a modest house where I can find some peace and quiet. Were it not for the burdens of my office, I would stay here all the time by myself."
He had called me "Pinnacle of the Faith," a phrase only used by my own students and a few other acquaintances, and had portrayed me in a fashion that was partially correct, but not entirely. I decided to adjust the portrait somewhat.
"My lord," I responded, "meetings with people of goodwill are a boon without price! Only those with pure intentions and sound mind can truly appreciate their value. The problem is that the bulk of rulers in this broken and contentious age of ours-and I don't think you are among them-prefer to seek the counsel of crooked jurists and sycophants. They much prefer such people to those who are genuinely in quest of the truth and proclaim its virtues by stirring their consciences and stoking their aspirations. When it comes to matters of devotion and retreat, I choose to adopt the middle path of moderation, working on the basis of the words of the Lord of all Prophets: `Do not go to excess in your religion."'
"I'm well aware that you have students and groups of followers. Your reputation as a stolid defender of pure Islam preceded you to this city of ours, and in spite of all the current troubles and adverse winds that are now blowing."
"Our era is certainly not without its share of trials and difficulties. When people in authority have found themselves tested by such events, some of them have used the power of faith and action to overcome them and achieve victory: the first Muslims, for example, and in more recent times, the two amirs Zanki and Salah al-din* and the first wave of Almohads. Others, however, are the exact opposite: their powers have flagged (God preserve us!), so they have become feeble and submissive. They include the current Muslim rulers in Spain, including the Banu Hud who expelled me from Murcia before their own collapse and the Nasrids in Granada. All they are concerned about is holding on to their thrones for dear life, even if only for a short while. They are entirely unconcerned about the cities and property that have been lost. If anyone dares to remind them about the obligation to defend the cause of Islam, they either ignore him or else banish him from the Peninsula."
Ibn Khalas looked at me sympathetically. "Pinnacle of the Faith," he said, "the city of Sabta welcomed me, and I'm from Valencia. So I have in turn welcomed to my city, my court, and my coterie both religious scholars and writers, like Ibn `Umayra,* Ibn al-Ramimi,* and others. Today our city is honored and bedecked by your presence, and you are most welcome here."
I decided not to mention the fact that he had excluded from his list two poets, the notorious homosexual poet Ibn Sahl* from Spain and the shameless anarchist Ibn Talha.
"Lord of Sabta, the city protected by God," I replied, "may God give you a worthy reward! Since my arrival here in Sabta, I have gained three tremendous boons: first, a blessed and successful marriage; second, a stimulus to undertake research and do some writing; and third, a proximity to Spain that allows my friends there to come and visit and hold meetings with me. For me, Sabta has become a site for my spiritual rebirth and my intellectual development. That is what I term it, and that is how I regard it in my heart of hearts."
My host now stood up and invited me to continue our conversation on the upper balcony overlooking the sea. Once there, I continued what I had been saying, spurred on by both the lapping of the waves and my nostalgia for the land that I could see but had now left.
"Such wonderful boons they are! They have inspired me to show, in Jacob's words, `a beautiful patience' [Sura 12, v. 18] and have reinforced my hope that release will be forthcoming from God and from those people who love the common word and monotheism and who wish to see its flag fluttering over the Muslims and People of the Book in Spain."
Ibn Khalas gave a gentle smile, then sighed as he invoked the Rock of Gibraltar: "God is my witness that, just like you, I mourn for a beloved land that has been forever lost to us. There are times, especially while I am secluded here, when I imagine myself crossing the straits at the head of a huge and powerful army and engaging in one battle after another in order to recover all the lost fortresses, cities, and regions. I see myself restoring a sense of security and welfare to every quarter and thus enabling everyone to turn around and go back to their homes and trades. But then my imagination grinds to a halt, and I find myself reverting humbly to the everyday concerns of residents and emigres here, concerns that grow more urgent and difficult as day follows day. Pinnacle of the faith, the eye may see things, as the proverb puts it, but the hand remains ineffective. God alone has the power and might!"
I could not make up my mind whether to accept the sincerity of what the governor was saying or whether I should treat it as a trial balloon to get me to expound what I really thought deep down. I decided to assume the former.
"But what about the Almohad ruler `Ali al-Said?*" I asked. "Where is his eye looking, and what about his hand?"
He paused for a moment, stroking his beard and rubbing his chin.
"There are no eyes or ears spying on us here," he replied. "God alone is watching over us, and He is the witness to what I am saying. Ever since the amir al-Ma`mun* did what he did to the Almohad dynasty, his successors have only been worried about one thing, namely clinging to their thrones for dear life. Their posture toward the disasters in Spain has been that of someone whose eyes have never seen a thing and whose heart has never felt pangs of sorrow. If news of events in Spain happens to filter its way to Marrakesh, they simply block their ears and beg God to bring down on the Franks the same punishments as He did on 'Ad and Thamud and on the Egyptian pharaoh when he behaved tyrannically. In the times of Al-Rashid and his brother, Al-Said, it was my lot to listen to sermons stuffed full of prayers of this type in the palace mosque and elsewhere. Along with hosts of other people I myself had to participate in all kinds of prayers, litanies, and supplications. Since that time I've come to realize that our current state of weakness is chronic and ongoing; in fact, things are getting even worse and yet more complex. If you asked the amir and his coterie to act and declare a jihad,* emulating thereby the first generation of Almohads and the Almoravids before them, they would despise you and turn their backs on you with a glower. Not only that, but if you held a position of some importance they would dismiss you and send you away. That's exactly what happened to some of my predecessors as governor of Sabta. As you well know, this city sits at the very mouth of the volcano, and yet my function here is clearly determined and limited. I cannot move beyond it, nor can I go against the amir's own instructions or those of his spies who operate all around me. Otherwise my career would be at an end. My role involves maintaining security and, to the extent possible, offering help to emigres. God alone provides success, and it is to Him that I turn for support."