21
WHEN I GOT HOME, I found that things were relatively quiet. I looked in on Bilal and found him contentedly receiving the ministrations of the two servantwomen. I went to my closet to clean myself up and perform the necessary prayers. When that was done, I decided the best thing I could do so as to allow myself room to recover and ponder what had happened was to stretch out on my bed. What preoccupied my thoughts was the question as to what the governor would be requesting of me the next day; he would certainly want me to quit Sabta at the earliest available opportunity. I could feel that I too was gradually leaning in that direction as well. By so doing all the current complications might well be resolved and clouds would disperse. Once that was settled, I would be able to return to my family and those who had inspired my best ideas. I would come back enveloped in the halo of the holy places and invigorated by the exalted wafts of divine presence. Returning from such a visit to Mecca might well serve as a wholly new impetus, a yet more effective path to the benefit of people.
Next evening the governor arrived at the appointed time. I welcomed him with all due ceremony, and we sat in the salon on either side of a table loaded with drinks and sweetmeats. He asked me how my family was, and I told him that my wife was in Tangier looking after her sick uncle. The governor extolled her moral qualities and expressed his hopes that her uncle would recover his good health. I in turn thanked him for what he had done the day before.
"Pinnacle of the Faith," he said, "you are a blessed man of religion. After our last meeting, I managed to regain my health-thanks be to God! — and recouped my energy. Sultan al-Sa`id has now turned his attention away from Tangier so that he can concentrate on the intrigues and conspiracies inside his own palace. If it were not for that fact, I certainly would not have been able to dismiss Al-Zughbi, the deputy governor, turn his own troops against him, and throw him in jail. But who knows how long this particular interim will last? I don't need to tell you that nothing in politics stays the same for very long. One day you're up, the next you're down. And too bad for anyone who goes too far or slacks off!"
I got the impression that my companion was working his way round to telling me what he wanted me to do, indeed broaching the subject first and specifying the timeline for it. Even so, I decided to say nothing and wait till he had said everything he wished to, at which point I could consider the situation in more detail.
"I have performed the obligation of the hajj on seven occasions," he said, "and I can't even count the number of times I've done the minor pilgrimage. Every year when the season approaches, my very soul longs to go to Mecca and Medina. If things here were more stable, I'd certainly be girding my steed and heading in that holy direction. So tell me, `Abd al-Haqq, have you decided to go on the hajj as I advised? We're half way through the month of Shawal. God willing, the hajj caravan plans to set out early tomorrow morning."
There was no way to avoid telling him what I thought. "How can I go on the pilgrimage when my wife is away and my preparations are not made? What's the point of rushing things when it would be better to wait till next year?"
"My dear brother," the governor told me, "your wife is like a little sister to me. I will make every effort to see that she manages to survive until you return. What's the point of going on the hajj now, you ask me? There's not just one reason, there are many: first, you'll be removed from all your followers, so their hue and cry will die down and I can relax a bit. By being out of sight for a while you'll be able to stay out of the way of people in both Sabta and Marrakesh who are trying to fence you in. They're just like beetles, conspiring against you and me nonstop. You sent two letters, one to the Norman king in Sicily and the second to the Marinid amir, Abd al-Haqq. My aides collected them both from your disciple, Khalid from Tangier. I'll tell you, by God, if the second one had fallen into the hands of your enemies and reached Sultan al-Said, both you and I would have perished. Is all this enough for you, or are you still hesitating about making your decision?"
Even though the governor was obviously telling the truth, I still had my doubts. How was I to know what he had in mind and if his plan made any sense? The overall goal seemed to be to be rid of me and banish me from his domains for good.
"I shall entrust what I do not know to God," I told him. "My hesitation is only because of my family. How can I go on the hajj like this without even notifying my life partner?"
"There's very little time left, Saint of God," the governor said. "It'll be fine for you to return to Sabta once things settle down in Marrakesh and affairs resume their normal course. Make your arrangements now; there are only a few hours left. If you decide to go, then all well and good. But if my guards come to your house on Friday and you tell them you're not going, then on your own head be it! My men will go with you as far as the outskirts of Bijaya; then most of them will come back. If it seems like a good idea, you can use that city as a way station on your journey; that's up to you. But let me warn you in the strongest terms: before you get there, make sure you don't decide to take refuge in the Marinid Zanata* territory between Tafilalet and Tadla. The sultan's spies will certainly chase you down and kill you. The Almohad regime-or what's left of it-is certainly not going to allow itself to come to an end because of you, even if it's only a minor factor. Don't imagine yourself as being the Ibn Qasi of this regime, Ibn Sab'in!"
Ibn Khalas stood up and handed me a medium-sized sack. He informed me that it contained purses of gold that were a gift to me from the Norman king. I reminded him that I had originally asked that they be returned to their sender, but he replied that that would have been difficult, in fact impossible. He told me I could either take them as a legitimate gift or else leave them to tarnish in the governorate's coffers. He then pointed to a steed in my stable and informed me that it too was a gift from the king. Without even waiting to hear my reaction, he gave me a warm hug and wished me a blessed hajj and well-rewarded activities. Accompanying him to the place where his horse was tethered, I bade him farewell as night was falling. With that he departed, escorted by a squad of his guards and aides.
Part Three. Death in Mecca
Ah me! Total comprehension is virtually magnetic; existents are like iron. What binds them together is the identity of existence itself; what separates them is the illusion of what exists.
The researcher is the cave of perfections, the essen ce of possibilities… With the primary researcher the factors involved in achieving perfection include changing times, transitory places, ephemeral constructs, and motivated students. The achievement of substance comes through the significances of divine possibilities.
Profound sea of intellect, all scented with musk, Whoever enters it worthy need not fear drowning, People of the Sufi path can appreciate the words of Abd al-Haqq.