RECORD OF BARSSISSA THE HERMIT.

Ebn A’bbâs—m. A. r. h.—says that after the ascension of I’sa, and before the mission of Muhammud—bl., etc.— there was among the children of Esrâil a hermit called Barssissa, who had been during seventy years engaged in the worship of the Omnipotent and Glorious [Creator], without committing sin. This piety grieved Satan—put to flight with stones—so much, that he assembled his friends, and said: ‘I am displeased with the assiduous prayerful­ness of this man, and I want one of you to put my mind at ease on this subject.’ Hereon an accursed fellow of the name of Abiadh, who considered himself skilled in tempt­ing prophets, said: ‘I shall take this service upon myself.’ After that Abiadh made his appearance at the door of the hermitage of Barssissa in the guise of a monk; but as the one was engaged in prayers, the other took no notice of him. It is said that this pious man ceased his devotions only every eighteen days, for the purpose of breaking the fast; others, however, state that he remained without food even for a longer time. Accordingly Abiadh remained at the door of the cell, engaging in prayers, and when Barssissa had terminated his own, he cast a glance at him, so that he beheld a man dressed as a monk and praying. When Abiadh had finished his devotions, Barssissa said: ‘When thou hadst addressed me, thou hast attracted my attention. Tell me now what thou wantest.’ Abiadh said: ‘My intention is to engage with thee in the worship of the Most High and Glorious, and to implore thee to pray for me on a favourable occasion.’ Barssissa replied: ‘My attention is directed to the courts of self-existence, and after com­pleting my ordinary, as well as my extraordinary, devo­tions, I pray for all monotheists. If thou art a believer, my prayers with reference to thee will meet with response, and the effects thereof will redound upon thee.’

After these words the hermit again began to pray, and whenever he cast a glance at Abiadh, he beheld him engaged in the same occupation at the door of the cell. When forty days had elapsed in this manner, Barssissa again asked: ‘What is thy wish?’ Abiadh replied: ‘I want to enter this hermitage and to profit by thy company.’ Having obtained admittance to the cell, he engaged in prayers during a whole year with the hermit, who was pleased with his diligence in prayer, and conceived a favourable opinion of him; but after the expiration of the said time, Abiadh said to Barssissa: ‘I have a friend whose steadiness in prayer is greater than thine, and I wish to spend the remainder of my life in his society.’ The hermit was loath to part with Abiadh, but that accursed fellow said at the time of leave-taking: ‘O Barssissa, I know a name of the Divine names, that whenever thou callest on the Lord—w. n. b. e.—by that appellation, He will bestow health on sick persons. If thou art willing, I shall impart it to thee.’

Abiâdh, having beguiled the hermit, gave him the name, departed from the cell, met Eblis, and said: ‘I have thrown a hermit of seventy years into the vale of aberra­tion.’ After that he squeezed the throat of a boy who dwelt near the cell of the hermit, and made his appearance in the guise of a physician before the parents of the boy, saying: ‘Your son has a fit of lunacy, and with your per­mission I shall cure him.’ He then treated him a few days, and said: ‘This darling of yours has fallen into the clutches of a devil, whose name is Haffah, but I am able to exorcise him; Barssissa, however, is in possession of the ineffable name, by the blessing whereof the God of the denizens of the world vouchsafes to grant recovery and health to sick persons.’ Accordingly the father and mother of the boy sped to the hermitage of Barssissa and proffered their request. The pious man then prayed, Abiadh abstained from intermeddling, and the youth was cured. In this manner Abiadh squeezed the throats of several persons in that district, and sent them to the hermit to be cured. When the latter began his devotions, Abiadh ceased to interfere, and the people were restored to health. In course of time the rumour of the hermit’s ability to cure diseases spread all over the country, and Abiadh played the same trick, also on the daughter of the king of the children of Esrâil, who was the handsomest woman of that period. He also made his appearance in the guise of a physician near the brothers of the said lady, requested permission to cure her, treated her for a few days, but then stated his inability to deliver her from a female demon who had taken possession of her, and recommended Barssissa to the royal princes, who were the brothers of the lady, as follows: ‘The best thing for you to do is to spend a few days in the cell of the hermit until complete recovery ensues; but in case Barssissa should be unwilling to give you permission to remain, you may erect a house near the place for the lady, and entrust her to his care.’ The princes complied, and as their request to leave their sister with Barssissa did not meet with his approval, they built a house near the hermitage, in which they installed her, and said to the pious man: ‘O thou who givest health to the infirm, our hope is that, by leaving this sick lady for a few days in this place, thy prayers will in a short time be crowned with success in obtaining her recovery from the Most High, and that she will be liberated from the demon.’ The brothers departed, but visited their sister from time to time, and the hermit began his supplications for her. Abiadh, however, squeezed the throat of the lady several times, and one day afflicted her with a fit of lunacy, during which she exposed some portions of her body in an indecent manner, so that when the hermit arrived at her bedside he beheld charms the like of which had never enticed his imagination, so that the following verses of Sa’di became applicable to him:

Verses: Such a beauty! tempting hermits,
An angelic face, brilliant like a peacock;
After beholding which, it is impossible
For an ascetic to retain his equanimity.

When the hermit became confused, Satan whispered to him: ‘Where is greater secrecy than here? Make use of the opportunity! Do not delay your enjoyment to the morrow,’ and continued his instigations till the pious man succumbed, and the consequence was that the lady became pregnant. When the signs of the changed condition of the princess commenced to appear, Abiadh presented himself at the hermitage and said: ‘The best thing for thee is to kill and to bury the girl, whereon thou mayest again turn to God and repent of thy wicked act!’ Barssissa succumbed also to this suggestion of Satan, murdered the unfortunate lady, and interred her at the foot of a mountain; the Evil One, however, took hold of the skirts of the robe of the corpse, and left them sticking outside the grave. Barssissa continued to abide in his cell; but when the brothers of the lady arrived to pay her a visit as usual they were unable to find her, and when they asked the hermit about her he palmed off some suggestions of the devil upon them, whereon they returned to their home in much sorrow and distress. Abiadh, however, followed them, and said: ‘The words of Barssissa are false. He has seduced your sister, and, fearing the discovery of his wickedness, has murdered her. She is buried on a spot known to me, where a piece of her dress is sticking out of the grave, which I shall point out to you.’ Hereon all went to the place; the lady’s corpse was disinterred, the hermit’s cell rased to the ground, and its possessor tortured until he made a full confession of his crime. This news having been conveyed to the father of the lady, he ordered Barssissa to be crucified. When the latter stood at the foot of the cross, Abiadh made his appearance and said: ‘O Barssissa! knowest thou me?’ He replied: ‘No!’ Abiadh continued: ‘I am the man who has taught thee the ineffable name by which thy prayers were heard. After that, however, thou hast fallen into wicked ways, and hast dishonoured not only thyself, but the whole fraternity of monks. Thus thou hast fallen into this calamity, but if thou obeyest me in one thing I shall save thee therefrom.’ Barssissa asked: ‘What is it?’ The Satan continued: ‘Worship me, and I shall extricate thee from this whirlpool, as I would take out one hair from a mass of leaven!’ Hereon Barssissa adored him, thus becoming liable to quick chastisement and to eternal perdition, as Allah the Most High has said: ‘This is like the parable of Satan when he said to man: Become an infidel, and when he became an infidel, Satan said: “I am clear of thee; I fear the Lord of both worlds,”’* implying that he could not help him. Accordingly the end of similar men is in hell-fire, and such was the case with Barssissa as well as with the demon. Ebn A’bbâs also relates that after the time of Barssissa monks dwelt in insignificant corners until Jarih the monk appeared.