42.
whereas most of his kinsmen
had given up all hope for majnuun
his mother’s brother, saliim
still kept faith
after letting the season of mourning
for majnuun’s father pass
he sought personal company with majnuun
perhaps being reminded of his mother’s
widowed state
might be enough to break his mental recluse
and have him return to society
and his responsibilities therein
saliim loaded his most trustworthy camel
and set course into the desert
he allowed himself to be guided
by the talk of the desert locals and travelers
to the region majnuun was last known
to be frequenting
he crisscrossed the region over and over
to no avail
until finally he was told
to check a range of mountains in a remote area
it was there he found his nephew
temporarily stationary
as he sat in vigil
for a reply from layla
saliim became terrified
as the camel reached close enough to see
a loin, panther, and wolves
among the animals that encircled majnuun
all unchained
he had heard reports of this animal caravan
but to see it face-to-face aroused great anxiety
he pulled the reins to halt his camel
and called from what he hoped was a safe distance
“i come in peace
to have a friendly word with you”
“why would i want a friendly word
with a stranger”
“i am no a stranger
although time may be the cause for forgetfulness
i am your uncle, saliim
the brother of your mother
who, in your childhood,
spent many a day riding you upon my knee”
majnuun stood and smiled
he then clapped his hands
at which the animals parted a way for the visitor
to approach
“come and be received as my honorable guest”
“is it safe”
“with my blessing
my friends won’t even breathe upon your shadow
please come and sit with me, my uncle”
saliim nervously rode his camel
to where majnuun sat
he then dismounted to embrace
his sunburned nephew
but to saliim’s dismay
majnuun was naked
having shed the rags of what he tore to shreds
upon receiving layla’s letter
“how is my mother”
“as well as a widow can be
who longs for the return of her only son”
“then may allaah make her happy, inshallaah
how about the rest of the family”
“they are all well
but i must say
for one who is called a majnuun
you have your wits about you intact
the only travesty of your sanity
is your nakedness
here,” he said pulling out a garment,
“put this on
for you are still a noble of the clan of amiir
to be unrobed in public
spreads shame upon us all”
“ah, yours are the only human eyes
who can see my flesh
besides,
the heat of the desert sun at this height
withers away all fabric within a week or two”
majnuun gave a snide smile
which played between truthful admission
and sarcasm
but saliim would not relent
“i have important matters to discuss with you
such that demand the decency
of you donning attire”
“what need have menfolk,
nephew and uncle,
for such formality”
saliim stood and said,
“then i will leave”
at which at the lion stood and roared
ferociously
saliim jumped and yelped in fear
majnuun laughed with glee
he then extended his hand and said,
“fine, i will wear it”
after he was dressed,
he sat at his uncle’s feet
who pulled from his bag an assortment
of the finest treats to eat
but majnuun would have none
tossing the gifts to his animal friends
the last of which he tossed to the lion
who roared again
saliim nervously said,
“i bring nourishment for you
and you toss it to the beasts”
“i am content to see them sated
it dissolves any lingering hunger
i may have had”
“what do you eat then”
“not much
i am no longer in bondage to food”
“your father was a spiritual man
perhaps his ascetic nature
has found a home in you
in fact, it reminds me of a story
he once told me”
majnuun’s eyes lit up
as he sat more erect to listen
saliim continued,
“there was a dervish who lived in a scruffy hut
a visual eyesore
but the man cared not
his only concern was with the beloved
“it so happened that one day
the shah passed by the hut
and as he was a righteous leader
he asked why would one of his subjects
live in such poverty
one of the royal servants replied
‘he is a dervish, a holy man,
who has a reputation for living without food
or sleep’
“the shah ordered his company to stop
and approached the hut on his horse
he then sent his most senior advisor
to retrieve the dervish and question him
“the dervish emerged from the hut
holding a few freshly gathered roots
the advisor asked,
‘they say you do not sleep or eat
is this true’
“the dervish held up the roots and replied
‘i have just collected dinner,
fresh from the earth’
the dervish smiled
“the advisor frowned
and said with a sharp tongue
‘why live in such treacherous poverty
within the charitable rule of our generous shah
whether as donation or payment for service rendered
you could have better than roots of grass’
“‘grass,’ questioned the dervish,
‘you are mistaken indeed
for these are blossoms of pure honey
if you tasted these
you would quit the service of your shah immediately
and join me in my poverty’
“the advisor and the royal servants were perplexed
so too was the shah for a moment
but then he smiled
dismounted from his horse
and kissed the dervish’s feet
for a great truth had been realized”
saliim paused
allowing the silence to be an invitation
in which to request the story’s moral
majnuun finally obliged to ask
“and what is that truth”
❍ ● ❍