“Master,” he said, “infallibility belongs to God and His Prophet alone. Ordinary people are endowed with just a tiny portion of such qualities. Actually, your own particular portion is considerable. Any faults or slips of the tongue that you make are simply the product of your admirable quest for profundity.”
“You’re just trying to make me feel better. May your hand never be paralyzed!”
“Were that the case, I would not have allowed one baffling question to stay floating around inside my mind ever since I met you. It concerns your interest in your own family tree. Forgive me for asking you this, most especially because I know absolutely nothing about my own — maybe I don’t even have one. I do not dispute that you hail from the Hadramawt and trace your origins back to an Arab chieftain, a companion of the Prophet named Wa’il ibn Hajar, who was blessed, along with his offspring, by the Lord of Mankind. After he had been killed by the [Umawi caliph] Mu’awiya, among his descendants was Khalid Khaldun, your grandfather, who came to Andalus from the East. All that I do not dispute, but just for argument’s sake, I still ask myself what might have happened if you had not been born with such an illustrious heritage, with no family tree to bolster you. Do you think your overall prestige and intellectual ability might have been somewhat diminished?”
‘Abd al-Rahman fell silent for a moment and took off his turban. Then he gestured with his hand for al-Hihi to start writing.
“Note down that the only reason for mentioning my family tree at the beginning of Travels East and West was to quote the words of reliable genealogists. By no means did I intend any kind of arrogant boasting. How could that be when I’ve already penned a work about the way people’s basic traits go through transformations over time? Not only that, but I have also written things like ‘Honor and lineage come through a sense of rootedness. Such qualities are a reality to people with group solidarity, whereas to others the concept is more symbolic,’ and ‘Honor and lineage among converts and fake gentry have nothing to do with their lineage, but are only a consequence of their conversion,’ and so on. Furthermore, if I were somehow convinced that lineage conveyed some sort of distinction or prestige either on individuals or ruling dynasties, I would never have lamented the spread of artificial prestige, nor would I have recorded the way in which the Zayani amir Yaghmarasin shunned a group of sycophants who kept trying to convince him that he had sharif origins. His response to them (in the Tamazight language) went something like this: ‘Whatever gains I have made in this world have come through the sword, not lineage. Whatever advantage either of the two will bring in the world to come is for God alone to decide.’ What an eloquent and totally appropriate response that is! So, Hammu, have I managed to dislodge some of the questions that were preying on your mind?”
“Indeed you have. Your answer is comprehensive and detailed.”
“Just make it clear that in the Maghrib I am usually known as being from the Hadramawt, whereas in the Mashriq people called me ‘Maghribi.’ In these contentious times I can serve as a living reminder of the ties that bind.”
With that ‘Abd al-Rahman stood up and headed for the door. Saying farewell he repeated his usual phrase: “More to follow.”
The Night at the End of Rabi‘ al-Akhir
On this particular night, no sooner had the two men sat down and exchanged greetings than ‘Abd al-Rahman immediately started talking without even asking his scribe to write anything down. Even so, al-Hihi, bent over his pages and started writing.
“If God grants me a long life, Hammu,” he said, “the time will come when I’ll tell you about certain phases of my career that were unsettled and exhausting, some of them in the Maghrib, others in the Mashriq. There may be aspects of life here in the Mashriq that I forget about, but I can never forget the occasions when I’ve clashed with government authorities who have managed to exploit all manner of deceit, conspiracy, and falsehood to their own ends. While dealing with the Maghrib, my memory may again prove faulty, and yet I’ll never forget the indignities I had to suffer at the hands of the tribal leader who hid his real intentions under the guise of an amir, minister, or legal expert. In both regions, violence is a reality, the law of the land, although its modes of planning and implementation vary greatly. But this isn’t what I want to talk to you about. My subject tonight is something that has been completely preoccupying my mind during my time alone.
“Write this concept down, Hammu, and in big strokes: the word is ‘history,’ and don’t overlook its derivative concepts of change, conversion, transition, overthrow, and transformation. The idea besets me, Hammu. It fills my days and my working hours. Sometimes I even dream of changing sides and resorting to its opposites; or, at the very least, joining the ranks of those who have written travel manuals or geography books. How pleasant and relaxing it is to let ourselves by lulled by the delights of peace and quiet! The idea of starting things from scratch or of having everything nicely settled and in order is extremely attractive.
“But how am I supposed to reconcile man’s nature and conduct with his posture toward this globe he inhabits?
“How do I school my own tastes to gravitate toward the marvels of creation?
“How can I devote myself entirely to making a record of routes and cities, all the while disregarding all the variables engendered by petty disputes and avoiding reference to revolutions and the general chaos they cause — leaving all such things aside with a frown of displeasure?”
“Master,” al-Hihi observed at this point, “you once described to me in passing the way al-Bakri, the biographer, completely overlooks Yusuf ibn Tashufin, the principal figure of the Almoravid movement. If you agree, I’ll include it in the footnotes as an example.”
“You can make it a footnote if you like,” replied ‘Abd al-Rahman, “but be sure to note down as well that Abu ‘Ubaydalla al-Bakri, who can describe a Maghrib that he never even saw, may have some kind of excuse since ‘in any particular era, peoples and generations do not see a great deal of change or transformation.’ For my part, note down that there is no conceivable way that the period I have lived through, one so replete with major events and significant historical trends, could baffle me to the extent of blunting my mind and senses. My dear Hammu, any decision to remain silent in such circumstances would require of me a very particular ability to indulge in mystical abstraction or to suppress those very senses; either that or to resort to the realms of the moribund and static. No indeed! The powers with which I have been endowed are the exact opposite of these. Where history is concerned, I’ve tightened the belt and gone out to meet it head on. I shall put it to the test in innovative ways. Not for me silly games with reports about events and vice versa. No, I prefer to contemplate the ways in which the two elements relate to each other without having to compromise on the ability of my intellect and intuition to make judgments. Looking at life from the vantage point of a process of bidding it adieu or rupturing all linkages with it, that is the basis of my method, the approach that I adopt in my published works, as long, of course, as I remain alive and life continues to course through my veins. Please don’t assume from what I’ve just said that I’m laughing at the concept of eternal life or somehow trying to disparage it. Far from it! What I intend is to place it in its own lofty position, one where there is neither change nor history.”
With that, ‘Abd al-Rahman stopped abruptly, almost as though he were aware that his words had brought him to the edge of a very deep abyss. Al-Hihi seized the opportunity to rub his fingers and scratch his head. All the while, he kept thinking about how difficult it would be for his wife, Umm al-Banin, to comprehend the concepts being used by ‘Abd al-Rahman. He kept coming up with a whole series of questions of the kind that she might well ask when she came out of the kitchen after chatting with the womenfolk. She too might wish to participate in a theoretical discussion about history aimed at identifying its benefits, lessons, and concepts. It was thus with a good deal of hesitation and humility that he now addressed ‘Abd al-Rahman.