The invalid was laid out on his back in bed; only his pale face, hollow eyes, and scruffy beard were visible. Watched by maidservants and retainers, I made my way over to his bed and leaned over to greet him. No sooner did he realize who I was than he drew me to him and asked me to sit down beside his bed. In a feeble, croaking voice he asked me if I knew what was wrong with him, and I replied that I did not. He asked me to examine him. In doing so, I examined his mouth, his eyes, his deadened tongue, his temples, and his neck. I pressed on his stomach several times and checked his pulse. I asked him to breathe in deeply as I pounded his chest and back. I asked him if he had vomited, coughed, or had fits of shivering or fever during the daytime, and he replied that he had not.
"Your symptoms, Sir," I told him, "point to a psychological rather than a physical problem. Take some days off and rest, and make sure you eat well. To the extent possible go for long walks. With God's help, that will lead to your swift recovery."
The governor now sat up and ordered everyone else to leave.
"My dear Pinnacle of the Faith," he told me with an affectionate look, "I had no idea that God had endowed you with the gift of medical knowledge as well. Through your profound diagnosis of the hidden bases of my illness, you have zeroed in on the true cause, but…"
At this point he paused for breath and heaved a deep sigh through his nose. It was as though he were making ready to deliver some momentous statement.
"Dear brother," he went on, "if only you knew how totally overwhelmed and oppressed I feel, you would have sought some remedy that would be more effective than the one you have suggested. A short while ago, I received a letter from Sultan al-Sa`id in which he upbraids me for not doing enough to oppose the Hafsid cause in Sabta. Just last week I received yet another letter, in which he insists that I prevent the populace from paying any attention to Sufis and preachers of heretical opinions; you are mentioned by name as being the principal instigator of heretical opinions and inciter of the populace against both jurists and political authorities. Recently the sultan has promoted 'Abbu al-Zughbi, the person who met you at the door, to serve as my deputy, with authority over both me and the people of the city. He has the authority needed to influence the jurists and senior figures in the city and can tell them exactly what he wants. He can pass on whatever he likes or tell whatever lies he chooses to tell. The Arabs may have their particular faults, and the Berbers as well, but this particular clod combines them all in one; he's the foulest and meanest type imaginable."
With that the governor paused to recover his breath. "So that's the way things are with me," he said, "and that's what's new. I'm exhausted and sick. So tell me, what's the best cure?"
The things he had told me were certainly enough to demand a fair share of sympathy and pity. My response was intended to give him encouragement to hold fast and bolster his resolve.
"In view of the situation as it is now," I replied, "the only solution requires you to fortify yourself with God's help and rule justly and truthfully. You need to show people how reasonable your actions really are…"
"My dear man," he interrupted angrily, "are you forgetting that I'm now under orders myself? I'm not in control any more. I'm supposed to be the sultan's deputy, not his foe. Do you really expect me to cajole the people of Sabta into rejecting their allegiance to Marrakesh? Ibn Sabin, I'm already being accused of supporting your views. The only way I am going to be cured is if you leave Sabta. If not, so much the worse for both you and me! If I order you to leave, then Sultan al-Sa`id will be convinced that I am loyal to him and will not accuse me of being a Hafsid sympathizer. So tell your family and followers that you're planning to go on the lesser pilgrimage, and then the Hajj. Once the storm has settled down and things are looking better, you'll be able to come back safe and sound. That is a promise I can make to you as a token of my affection. Understand me clearly: leave now, make your arrangements with as little fuss as possible, then let me know. Now that I've told you this, I feel better."
I left the governor's presence without saying a word. He accompanied me to the door. As I made my way down the riyad's corridors toward the exit, I passed by a number of servants and guards, but saw no sign of the deputy governor.
So here we are, Fayha', facing another trial; I think this one is certainly the worst of all!
By God, I'm certainly not going to enter your quarters and sit with you when my expression is so utterly miserable and gloomy. How could it be otherwise, bearing in mind what has befallen me, let alone what awaits me?
If there was one fixed point in my exploration of the upper spheres, then it was always through extravagant, untrammeled imagination. But now I find myself buffeted and sorely wounded. Even if I could somehow mount the fabled steed of my passions and inner tensions, the only consequence would be a yet more bitter pill to swallow; I would find myself weaving a set of tales whose endings would consist of convulsions, maimings, and death.
Maybe the only recourse I have in dealing with this chronic sense of disruption is to sit by the seashore and let the lapping of the waves and the breezes waft over me. I turned in that direction and headed for a spot between two large rocks. As I sat down by the sea, my only concern was to seek refuge in its vast expanse and cast all my troubles and worries on its waters, although I did allow myself to gaze off toward the horizon shrouded in a variety of colors and differently hued clouds and to stare at the clashing waves that beat on the shore. While I sat there weary and totally distracted from everything going on around me, I heard someone yell, "You there, the sea never provides comfort or offers advice, so turn your face toward the Creator of seas and worlds, the One who enables and levels. To Him is the resource and the return."
Whoever it was who yelled brought me back to reality and restored my sense of peace and security. I took the opportunity to return home, fully intending to keep the bad situation in which I now found myself from my wife. Once I made my way into our bedroom, it was already nighttime, so I did my prayers by the dim light of a candle and added some other prayers in a soft voice so as not to wake my wife. But, no sooner had I finished than I heard Fayha" s voice under the bedcovers asking me how I was and how the governor was faring. I told her that, thanks be to God, we were both well. She then asked me to come to her, at which point I hurried over to her as my haven and source of comfort.
Next morning at breakfast, I told my wife about my earnest desire to perform the lesser pilgrimage and then the full pilgrimage afterward. She in turn told me that she too would like to accompany me to the holy places, but went on to say that she could not do it during the coming season because her uncle in Tangier was so ill and she had to look after him. She told me that she was leaving for that city next morning and our servant-boy would be following a day later. I stared at her lovely face for just a moment, and then agreed to her plan.
I spent the entire day in the company of the lady who was my chief source of joy and mistress of my heart. The night was spent in fierce passion as we indulged ourselves in that magic that marriage permits. Our feelings were, needless to say, mixed, as we both realized full well that we were about to part. However, I tried to overcome such feelings by concentrating on kisses, warm embraces, and complete fusion of our two bodies. It was as though I were putting a very precious commodity into storage in anticipation of meager times.