“‘Women are clothing for you, and you are clothing for them,’ from Sura 2, ‘The Cow.”’
“Woe is me! May my Lord paralyze him!”
“Shut up, woman! Don’t advertize the opinion that man gave regarding our peculiar situation.”
“Now we’ll hear what the judge has to say. But I’ll state outright, Hammu, that your suggestion about a servant girl won’t work. Only men can protect women against other men. Tell me, people, have I said something bad?”
This was the point at which ‘Abd al-Rahman decided that he should tell the couple how concerned he was about their situation. “Enough!” he interrupted impetuously. “I’ve heard enough. Here’s what I have to say, and God forgive me if I go wrong and speak in haste. I’m not speaking as a judge, since I do not hold such a position any more, nor am I giving either a legal opinion or even advice. It is merely a proposal for you both to think about. My servant, Sha‘ban, is over seventy years old, but he’s strong and observant and fully understands the need for discretion and security. He can accompany Umm al-Banin on her walks. In return, Sidi Hammu will agree to compensate me accordingly, if he is as accomplished an amanuensis and scribe as he says, by being available at the end of every month until the time arrives for me to go on the pilgrimage to Mecca. Let me repeat that this is only a suggestion.”
Al-Hihi beamed with pleasure, his expression a mixture of delight and surprise. “Dear sir,” he said, “I never expected such kindness. I accept your offer and will undertake the task before you leave on the pilgrimage, even without compensation. It will be enough of an honor to sit with such a scholar, listen to his views, and record whatever he wishes.”
“So then, we are agreed. But I still wish to hear what your wife thinks of it.”
The wife gave ‘Abd al-Rahman a look of love and admiration. “But for my sense of modesty,” she said, “I would launch into trills of joy or express my views by doing a Fez dance for you.”
“Well then all is agreed. Sidi Hammu, our appointment is for the end of this month, in other words, in twenty days’ time.”
“Time enough, God willing, for me to take another look at the Introduction to History, the crown jewel of your writings. We’ve agreed on the terms of your offer, sir, but I must also tell you that Umm al-Banin and I have agreed that she can go to the public baths whenever she wishes, but only to the ones in our street. She can go for a walk with Sha‘ban, but only once every two weeks.”
‘Abd al-Rahman leaned over to al-Hihi. “Make it once more,” he whispered in his ear. “You can take a boat ride with your wife, and Sha‘ban will row for you.”
“Agreed. I’ve no objections to taking a boat ride with her.”
“So then, madam, remember that a wife should make every effort to please her husband.”
“Did you hear the wise words of this eminent judge, Umm al-Banin? I’ll explain the details to you when we get home. Now let’s leave before we take up more of the judge’s time than we deserve.”
Everyone stood up and walked toward the door where Sha‘ban was stationed like an immovable statue. Al-Hihi kissed ‘Abd al-Rahman’s shoulder in gratitude. Umm al-Banin in turn kept kissing his hands and rubbing her cheeks against them, while he made futile efforts to stop her. Finally she looked up and put her veil up again before following her husband out, stumbling and sighing.
‘Abd al-Rahman had to struggle hard to overcome his emotions at the warmth of this feminine presence. “Come back after the noon prayer, Sha‘ban,” he said. “For the time being, prepare your own food and heat me some water.”
1. Seven Nights of Dictation
[Ibn Khaldun was] a man of virtue, combining all the finest qualities; highly esteemed and rock-solid in repute; revered in assemblies, high-minded and steadfast; exceptional in both the intellectual and narrative arts; many-faceted, a rigorous researcher, possessed of a prodigious memory, forthright in his concepts, skilled in penmanship, and wonderful company — in sum, a veritable paragon of the Maghrib region.
During Ibn Khaldun’s retreats many people came to see him. He would welcome them all warmly and put them at ease. He himself would frequent the halls of influential men and act humbly in their presence. For all that, he never changed his Maghribi attire or put on the preferred judicial robes of this country; that was because he loved being contrary about everything.
Two Notes
Note One: Hammu al-Hihi who became ‘Abd al-Rahman’s amanuensis can be compared with Ibn Juzayy who served the same function for Ibn Battuta of Tangier. They were both small, ugly to look at, and squint-eyed from reading and writing so much. However, truth be told, the former can be distinguished from the latter by his quickfire intelligence, wit, and perseverance.
Al-Hihi was not one of those amanuenses who automatically records everything he hears, blesses his employer’s longevity every time he opens his mouth, and composes sentences and paragraphs, or writes down what is dictated even though it may be a series of meaningless ramblings or be embellished with a whole load of unintelligible phrases and images. For example, if al-Hihi had happened to be in Ibn Juzayy’s position or else was deputizing for him, he would certainly have been very reluctant to write down the story Ibn Battuta related about pearl divers in the deep cleft between Sayraf and al-Bahrayn. Al-Hihi would have showed a much more lackadaisical attitude as he listened to such an implausible account.
Whenever a diver decides to make a dive, he puts some tortoise-shell on his face, bends it into a scissors shape and puts it over his nose. He ties a rope around his middle, then dives. People have different ideas about how long divers can stay under water: some can stay there for an hour or something under two hours. Once they get to the bottom, they find the pearls in tiny oyster shells stuck in the sand. They either gather them by hand, or else cut them with a knife that they keep handy for that purpose.
The account that Ibn Juzayy provides of Sultan Abu ‘Inan standing alone against the Banu ‘Abd al-Wad during a battle close to Tilimsan is so absurd that Hammu would have trashed his papers and broken his pens in two rather than record such nonsense word for word. He would have cursed all purveyors of flattery and twaddle and gone his way, never to return. Here’s what was reported:
Our lord — may God support him — had learned that everyone else had fled and he alone was left to fight. With that he advanced on the enemy accompanied only by his own noble spirit. This move caused shivers of fear in the enemy ranks, and they all turned and fled. That such a force should turn tail when faced by a single person was a genuine wonder.
It needs to be pointed out that, in adopting such a posture toward reporting, al-Hihi’s motivations were neither stubbornness nor insubordination. For him, the profession of scribe was something to enjoy, to cherish, rather than a means of employment or gain. That is why he only agreed to work for the person whom he termed ‘the teacher’ or ‘the great master’ after reading his way through the Introduction to History, which he greatly admired — at least, the parts of it that he could understand.