The Faqih sucked dates, his eyes half closed.
“What do you repeat after the ablution?”
“After the ablution I say, ‘I bear witness that there is no God but Allah. He is one and indivisible and Mohammed is his servant and Prophet. O Lord, grant me to be among the penitent, grant me to be of the company of the pure. Praise be to Allah! To his glory I declare that there is no other God than he. Before his face I plead for mercy and repent of my evil deeds.’ According to the sacred tradition, the Prophet with his own mouth has proclaimed, ‘For him who pronounces these words after every ablution the eight gates of Paradise stand open, and he may enter through which one he pleases.’“
So I ended, feeling well satisfied with myself for having been able to recite these important prayers. But the Faqih suddenly opened his eyes, spat out a date stone and said angrily, “You speak the holy words like a parrot, and prate of Paradise when you’re not even circumcised.”
I choked. Many renegades submitted to circumcision after only an hour or two of instruction, to be done with it, but I had hesitated to undergo this unpleasing ordeal, and hoped I might succeed in evading it altogether.
Having thus thoroughly frightened me, the Faqih went on in triumph, “If you’d been speaking from the heart instead of from the hps you would long since have become united to Islam through the outward token of circumcision. Islam does not ask after a man’s nation, nor after the color of his skin, for all races and colors are united by that sign. But you’re only a slave, and perhaps your master is to blame for the omission. I hear that he’s a wealthy dealer in drugs, named Abu el-Kasim, and that he owns a Christian woman. Her eyes are said to be of different colors, and therefore she is able to see coming events in a bowl of sand. And I am told that the women of the harem run to the public bathhouse to meet her, and reward her richly for foretelling the future for them. Is this true?”
“Venerable and learned Faqih,” I exclaimed, “may Allah of his grace preserve me from spying in the bathhouse during women’s bathing hours!”
“Don’t prevaricate! I’ve heard that it is so. But whether the gift is from Allah or the devil, or whether she’s a charlatan, your master must have a fatwa for her, or else lock her up.”
I was shocked at his greed, and losing all veneration for him I looked up and said, “My master may have forgotten, but he’ll no doubt offer you a gift proportionate to his means, on receiving from you the necessary fatwa. But the taxgatherer has squeezed him dry, and not even by force could you extort from him more than a couple of gold pieces.”
Tears of indignation rose to my eyes as I reflected what vile cheats there were in the world. But the Faqih raised his head and said, “Before issuing this fatu/a I must see the slave woman, but she must not give scandal by coming here. After the evening prayer on Friday I will visit Abu el-Kasim’s house and he is not to receive me with the honor befitting my rank. I shall come secretly, with my face hidden. Take this message to Abu el-Kasim. Perhaps I will be content with fifty pieces of gold, for Allah is merciful and gracious.”
I wondered what was really in his mind, for I had grown accustomed to the habit common to the people of Islam of never speaking out. But Abu el-Kasim was delighted at the message, and said, “Things are going better than I could have hoped, and Sinan the Jew was indeed wise to provide me with such good bait for my hooks. For this day’s work I’ll give you a new turban and a white robe, and so acquire merit.”
I asked in surprise, “How can you rejoice that this greedy Faqih comes to rob you?”
Abu el-Kasim answered, “Of course he wants money. He’s no more than human. But his curiosity is as strong as his greed. He must surely have heard the nature of the visions that our Delilah sees in the sand, and now wishes to observe for himself which way the wind blows, so as to gather all safely in before the storm.”
When Friday came, Abu el-Kasim bade Giulia roast some ptarmigan, and not stint pepper, cloves, or nutmeg. I bought sugar cakes from the pastry cook and filled a bowl with fruit and sweetmeats, sprinkling over these a white powder that gave them a fiery taste and induced thirst. Abu chilled the drinking water and flavored it with stimulating spices. Then-most important preparation of all-he told Giulia what to say, warning her against giving herself into the power of evil spirits and seeing profitless visions.
After the evening prayer the Faqih arrived, his face hidden by a corner of his cloak, and knocked on the door with his staff. On entering he sniffed the good smells with pleasure, and drawing forth his beard which he had tucked under his belt he stroked it and said reproachfully, “Prayer is better than savory food, and I would be loath to cause you any trouble, Abu el-Kasim. A fig or two and a bowl of water are enough for me.”
Nevertheless, after much voluble protest he allowed us to set the dishes before him, and ate slowly and purposefully until they were empty. Abu el-Kasim served him and poured water over his hands. Then he proffered a beautifully embroidered silken bag, saying, “This purse contains twenty pieces of gold which I hope you’ll accept as a present. Believe me, they’re all I possess, but I won’t forget to make you further free-will offerings when I have more. Now I have a slave woman about whom I would ask your advice, to ensure against any infringement of the law. Her eyes are of different colors and she can see strange things in sand.”
The Faqih nodded, weighed the bag in his hand, and tucked it thoughtfully under his girdle. Abu el-Kasim led in Giulia by the hand, drew aside her veil and held up a lamp that the Faqih might see better.
“Allah is great!” said the Faqih in wonder. “Never have I seen anything of the kind. But with God all things are possible-and indeed it would amount to a Persian heresy to say that evil spirits were more powerful than Allah, and could bring about such a miracle against the divine will.”
Careless of cost, Abu el-Kasim threw a pinch of genuine ambergris onto the brazier; then he poured fine sand into a large copper dish and ordered Giulia to stir it with her finger. And as she gazed down into the dish she fell into a trance and began to speak in an altered voice. But I was now used to this, and neither believed nor feared.
“I see turbulent waters-out of the sea rises the banner of the Prophet. Indeed, the banner of the Prophet rises from the waves, and the Deliverer comes from the sea.”
“Do you speak to me, heathen woman?” demanded the Faqih in astonishment. “I don’t understand you, for the banner of the Prophet is kept in the Seraglio of the Great Sultan.”
Ignoring this, Giulia went on quickly and earnestly, “Out of the sea come ten asses with silver bits and silver bells. Ten camels follow-the camels have golden saddles and are laden with gifts for you, O Faqih. I see the waters full of ships. They are laden with plunder and sail into the harbor, and from their plunder generous alms are brought to you in the mosque; the hunters of the sea offer liberally of their booty and build splendid mosques and fountains. The king of the sea founds schools and hospitals and endows them richly, and the teacher shall not suffer want under his rule. But Faqih, Faqih! Before all this comes to pass, there is blood.”
The Faqih had been eagerly listening, but now he fingered his beard uneasily and said, “Blood? Foolish woman, do you indeed see blood? If so I suspect that an evil spirit speaks through your lips.”
“I see blood,” she went on. “A little pool of black, evil blood that doesn’t even soil the hem of your cloak-it sticks to your shoes. And so you change your shoes-you throw the old ones away and put on new ones-new shoes of red, scented leather. They’re adorned with precious stones-after that day there is no richer Faqih than yourself. Your name flies over the seas and the banner of the Prophet shields you from the wrath of the unbelievers. All this I see in the sand, old man, but no more-unless it be a cedarwood coffin with a turban upon it, to which pilgrims, remembering the great Faqih, come and pray from far distant lands and so acquire merit.”