It has been rumoured by men, and noted on the surface of the sun by Mercury,* that Murtad, the son of A’bd Kallâb, was a powerful king in Arabia, and that he dreamt on a certain night a fearful dream, which frightened him. On awakening he found that he was unable to remember his dream, but, as he was still greatly distressed, he made a confidant of his mother, who had some knowledge of soothsaying, and he requested her to give him an explanation, which, however, she was unable to do, on account of his forgetfulness; therefore, she assembled all the Arab soothsayers, and narrated to them what had happened. They unanimously informed her that if she had told them the dream they would have attempted to interpret it, but, as its contents were forgotten, they were just as helpless as herself. Then they dispersed; but this matter weighed heavily on the mind of Murtad. One day he left the city for the purpose of hunting and suddenly beheld a fawn in the desert, which he pursued so ardently that he left his companions far behind, became greatly fatigued, and sought a shade where he might rest himself. He succeeded in reaching a mountain slope, where he perceived two or three huts built near a cave. He approached the place, halted in front of a house mounted as he was, whereon an old woman came out saying:
Distich: The portico of my eyes is thy nest.
Condescend, alight; for this house is thine.
In consequence of the invitation of this woman, Murtad, the son of A’bd Kallâb, dismounted, rested himself on the couch of ease, fell asleep, and thus refreshed himself after the fatigue of the journey and the heat of the chase. When he awoke and opened his eyes, he beheld at his cushion a maiden sitting, the freshness of whose countenance eclipsed the uppermost paradise in beauty, and the perfume of whose amber ringlets excelled the fragrance of the vernal breezes. This virgin addressed Murtad as follows: ‘O prince worthy of exaltation! mayest thou be preserved and guarded from the causes of separation! Wishest thou for some food?’ Murtad was distressed by these words, which implied an acquaintance with his circumstances, and he became apprehensive lest an enemy might overcome and precipitate him from the zenith of power into the abyss of misery; therefore, he refused to answer, and looked in another direction. The maiden continued: ‘O king! let nothing dismay your noble mind, and do not give way to sorrow! The luminary of your high destiny is in the ascendant, and the star of your enemy’s horoscope is humbled. May the inhabitants of the world be your ransom, and may the evil eye never injure your dignity! We entertain firm confidence that we shall be distinguished and profited by your precious favours.’ After delivering sentiments of this kind she produced various dishes, and when the prince had done eating the maiden gave him a cup of pure milk to drink. Murtad, being highly pleased with the agreeable manners and attractive beauty of the maiden, resolved to wed her; he asked for her name, and she said that it was U’fira. Then Murtad asked: ‘Knowest thou him whom thou hast addressed as the king of the world?’ The maiden replied: ‘Thou art the autocrat who had assembled all the Arab soothsayers and interpreters on account of a difficulty he had, but they could not solve it.’ Murtad queried: ‘Has anything been revealed to thee about that important affair?’ U’fira replied: ‘The dream thou hast dreamt was terrible enough, and has so overwhelmed your majesty that you have forgotten it; but if you will command, I shall narrate some of it.’ Murtad was delighted with this proposal, manifested acquiescence therewith, and U’fira continued: ‘O king! thou hast dreamt that whirlwinds arose and pursued each other to the summit of the firmament; within them fires shone, and from them smoke issued. Then thou hast seen a stream of water, limpid as the minds of sages, and a voice was heard inviting the people to drink therefrom in the following terms: “Whoever drinks with moderation, i.e., deals equitably, will be refreshed; but whoever places his mouth upon the water, i.e., drinks immoderately, and takes greediness for his motto, will partake of loss and misery.”’ Murtad said: ‘This happened as thou hast narrated; and now give me a true interpretation of the dream.’ U’fira continued: ‘The whirlwinds mean kings, but smoke and fire imply their enmities and friendships. The river of water is the source of the bright religion, and he who invited the people to drink was an interceding prophet, who will be sent to call all mankind to the fountain of the law. Whoever is addicted to equity and justice will obey him and will be liberated from the thirst of the desert of misery, and whoever exceeds their bounds will disobey him and will sink into the vortex of folly.’ Murtad asked: ‘Will this prophet be sent in peace or in war?’ U’fira replied: ‘I swear by the exalted majesty of heaven that he will put a stop to all bloodshed which is against the Divine command; he will make princesses captives like bondmaids and reduce them to slavery, and whoever opposes him will become mean and despicable.’ Murtad queried: ‘What will he call mankind to?’ U’fira continued: ‘To fasting, to prayer, to intercourse with relatives, to break idols, to do the will of the Merciful, to abstain from image-worship, and to avoid all prohibited and wanton amusements.’ Murtad further asked: ‘Of what tribe will he be?’ She said: ‘He will be of the progeny of Nasser, the son of Nazâr, and will fight his own people until he subjugates them.’ Murtad continued: ‘If he attempts to extirpate and to annihilate his own people who will aid him?’ U’fira rejoined: ‘The noblest and the most valiant of men, whose vision will be illuminated by the light of knowledge.’ After the termination of this dialogue Murtad considered how he might wed U’fira, but she forestalled him by her penetration, saying: ‘O prince! my suitor is jealous and fearless! further proceedings in this matter will only entail sorrow, and bring destruction upon thee.’ Fear for his life overpowered Murtad, and caused him to renounce all aspirations to her hand; therefore he quickly mounted his courser, rejoined his army, and sent one hundred noble dromedaries as a gift to U’fira; and this narrative having been consigned to writing by authors of high dignity, has thus survived on the pages of memory.