Hikayaat: Stories from Medieval Arabia

By Amr Jayousi

Hikayaat: Stories from Medieval Arabia, by Amr Jayousi, is a book of a 100 non-fiction stories taking place in Medieval Arabia (9th-14th century), and translated from various original medieval Arabic manuscripts. The stories are all meant to be universal and entertaining, and cover common themes in the "stories tradition" of Medieval Ar

• Language: English
• Publisher: Amro M Jayousi
• Release date: Dec 15, 2022
• ISBN: 9798987473528

Amr Jayousi

Amr Jayousi is corporate lawyer by profession. Outside of the law, he is a man of many general affairs and interests. He is a real estate investor, a small business owner, an avid reader of the classics, a failed poet, a world citizen who has lived in over 15 countries, and a man who spends more money than he should on clothes, shoes, cigars, booze and other frivolous things. He grew up in Ramallah of Palestine, and he is technically based in New York and Texas. He was born in 1989.

Book preview

Stories Of Guys That Gave Their Word And Had To Find A Way Around It

THE NEXT COLLECTION of stories is a more impressive twist on the former. These are guys that gave their word, but found some kind of loophole around it to get their way. And we begin with a classic, the story of:

Abu Hanifa and the man who promised not to snitch out the thief



Picture 321

STORY GOES THAT once upon a time a man showed up to Abu Hanifa, and told him that he just got robbed. Now, you might not know who Abu Hanifa is, but Abu Hanifa was a big deal in Medieval Arabia. He’s one of the most prominent theologians of Islam, and was known as an all-around clever and capable man. And on top of it all, he had a sense of humor. He will pop up in some stories later on.

Abu Hanifa asked the man if he knew the thief. I do, said the man, but before he left my house, he put a knife to my neck and made me swear that I won’t snitch him out. It’s ludicrous, I know, but I already promised him. And right now, he is pawning my things in the market, and I can’t do anything about it.

Easy enough, said Abu Hanifa, confidently. He sent his troops to the market, and told them to arrest every seller that happened to be there. They came back a couple of hours later, with all of the men rounded up. He sat the man who was robbed in his office, and he told the troops to bring in the sellers, one-by-one.

They brought them in one-by-one, and each time Abu Hanifa turned to the man and asked, Is this the guy that robbed you? and the man would say no. Finally, he brought out the actual thief, and when he asked, Is this the guy that robbed you? the man remained silent.

Abu Hanifa knew that he had found the thief. He had him prosecuted. As for the man, he got his things back without technically ratting out the robber.

Likewise is the story of:

The moody camel and the merchant of Kufa



Picture 322

STORY GOES THAT there was once a man who worked as a camel dealer in Kufa (modern day Iraq). This man used to travel to Damascus to buy the camels, where they cost less, and then bring them back to Iraq where he could sell them for a higher price.

Once upon a time this merchant spotted a very nice young camel, with the price tag of only a hundred dinars. That’s a bargain, he thought to himself, I can sell this thing for at least three times that price in Iraq." He bought the camel.

But this camel turned out to be a difficult one. It was a moody, very stubborn, and just wouldn’t go along for the ride. It gave him hell on the way to Kufa. At one point the merchant lost his temper with it, and in a moment of rage, he yelled at it, Do you think you’re such hot stuff? Okay, I swear to God I’m going to sell you for one dinar when I’m in Kufa. You aren’t even worth that much!

Eventually the man got to Kufa. His wife saw the camels he brought from Damascus, and she noticed that young camel and commented on how beautiful it was, and how he was going to be able to sell it for a very high price. Yeah, except there’s one problem, said the merchant, and he explained to her how unfortunately, in a moment of rage, he had already sworn to God to sell it for one dinar.

Initially, his wife was furious with him. But then she got a better idea. She took out a cheap necklace, put it around the camel’s neck. Go to the market, she told her husband, and put up the camel for one dinar. But refuse to sell the camel without selling the necklace with it, and put up the necklace for 299 dinars.

And so he did, and indeed he was able to sell the two as a package, and managed to get his 300 dinars out of the camel without breaking his oath.

Away from camels, next is the story of:

Al-Ma’moun’s oath and the innocent convict



Picture 323

STORY GOES THAT once upon a time, during the time when Al-Ma’moun was caliph, his troops came to him one day and told him they captured a guy who committed some crime. Al-Ma’moun was aghast when he heard what the crime was. By God! he declared in front of everyone, I will have the man executed!

Sounds good, they said, but we have him here. Would you like to meet him?

Bring him in.

The convict walked in, and told Al-Ma’moun his side of the story. Al-Ma’moun took a liking to the guy. He liked his manner and he struck him as a very genuine man and probably innocent. After talking to him longer, he changed his mind about him.

You know, Al-Ma’moun told him, you strike me as a nice guy, and if my sense is right, you actually didn’t do it. I think you might be innocent. But here’s the problem: I already swore by God, in front of all these people, that I was going to have you executed. So as you can see, we have a dilemma here. I’m afraid it’s too late. I have no other option, you understand?

Sir, I totally get it, said the convict. But let me ask you this. On the day of the Last Judgment, how would you rather go up to heaven: as somebody who, just once upon a time, broke his word; or as somebody who used to murder the innocent?

You make a good point, said Al-Ma’moun. Get out of here, and consider yourself a free man.

Here’s another story from one of the caliphs, the story of:

Al-Mansour and the poet that got beaten up every time he was caught drunk



Picture 324

STORY GOES THAT once upon a time, a poet named Ibrahim went to see Caliph Al-Mansour in the palace, to ask him for something. Al-Mansour’s doormen ushered him in, and as soon as Ibrahim went in and saw the caliph, he launched into a poem that he composed specifically for Al-Mansour, just for that occasion.

Al-Mansour was impressed. That’s very pretty, he said, but I’m sure it doesn’t come without strings attached. What can I do for you?

The poet said Your excellency, I only have one request.

Speak up, and I’ll take care of it.

Well, said Ibrahim, whenever your cops catch me drunk, they give me 80 lashes. I can’t even sleep any more, my back hurts so bad. Can you tell them to stop beating me up?

But that’s the law, said Al-Mansour. Anyone that’s caught drunk gets 80 lashes. There’s nothing I can do about it.

Your excellency, with all due respect, you asked me how you can help you, and I told you how you can help me.

Yes but, that’s the law. What do you want me to do? I can’t tell cops to apply the law to certain people but not to others.

Sir, c’mon, pressed on Ibrahim. Are you going to make me go back home a loser, and make me feel foolish for writing this whole poem?

Al-Mansour was amused by the guy. He thought for a minute, and said Alright, I’m going to pass the following amendment to the law: Anyone caught drunk gets 80 lashes, but if the suspect is Ibrahim the poet, aside from giving him the 80 lashes, the policeman that catches him should himself get 100 lashes.

After that point, Ibrahim was never beaten up again. And Al-Mansour managed to accommodate Ibrahim’s request without technically removing the punishment on drinking.

Stories Of Guys Who Thought Outside The Box

THE NEXT CHAPTER is one of my favorites. It features a bunch of guys who, as it is colloquially said, had a trick up their sleeve. It involves princes, judges, and doctors, and the one common bond is they each went about their business in creative ways. And we will start with the story of:

The fat king who wanted to lose weight



Picture 325

STORY GOES THAT once upon a time, in a certain kingdom, there was a king who was in the habit of hosting a lot of parties. Every night he would have a feast, and invite a number of people over. And every night he would eat and drink all he wanted, never skipping the dessert course, which was his favorite. Soon enough, inevitably, the king became fat. And he wasn’t happy about it.

One day he called over all the doctors in his area. He asked them to prescribe something that would help him get rid of all the fat. They tried all they could, and prescribed all sorts of things—everything from exercise, to medicine, to certain foods and certain drinks, and everything you could think of. And none of it worked, either because what they prescribed wasn’t good or because the king could not follow through with it.

The king was getting hopeless. But one day he heard that there was a genius doctor passing through town. This doctor had a great reputation, and was known not only as a great man of medicine, but also as an eminent man in natural history, mathematics, poetry, and philosophy. The king decided to invite him over, and when the man arrived, the king asked him to prescribe him something to lose weight.

Okay, said the doctor, but first I ask that I stay with you for three nights, so I can study and look into your condition, and then I’ll deliver my medical opinion. The king agreed.

The doctor stayed in the palace for three nights, and went to all the parties and the feasts, and watched the king’s habits day and night. On the fourth day, the king called him over.

Okay, king, I’ll give you my medical opinion, said the doctor, but I have one condition.

Let’s hear it, said the king.

That whatever is my opinion, you agree not to kill me.

Excuse me? The king was surprised at the strangeness of the condition.

That’s my only condition. Whatever I tell you, you won’t have me killed for it.

Okay, said the king, deal.

With that agreed, the doctor gave his opinion to the king, which was that the king’s condition was absolutely hopeless, and that he was at the point of no return, and that, to boot, the king had only one month to live, after which he would die.

The king lost his mind, as you would expect, and he chastised the doctor and called him an idiotic, dumb fool, and said, If I hadn’t promised not to kill you, your head would be off your shoulders already. Since he could not kill him, the king decided to at least have the doctor thrown in jail. They put him in a solitary jail cell in the palace, and left him there.

That night, the king couldn’t stop thinking about what the doctor told him. The next day, he asked his advisors about the doctor, and about his qualifications. None of them had anything bad to say. Your excellency, they told the king, we know it’s not what you want to hear, but the man’s reputation is impeccable. There’s nobody more knowledgeable and qualified than him. The king began to worry, and for the next few days he was stressing about the news of his impending death.

Slowly the king slipped into depression. He locked himself up in a room and didn’t want to see anybody. He called off the parties and refused to see any guests, and lost all his appetite for company and food and everything, and day-and-night was stressing out about losing his life. Eventually, he settled into his fate, and started getting more religious, and repented for all his sins, and tried to make the last two weeks of his life as ideal as possible, and he ate very little and drank very little, and he was on his best behavior.

The month passed. And not only was the king still alive, but after a month of living this way, he was now half his size. He ordered the guards to bring over the doctor from jail. They brought him in.

What do you say now, said the king, proudly. It’s been a month, and not only am I not dead, but I lost all the fat.

Then I was right, said the doctor."

What do you mean? retorted the king. You said that my condition was hopeless.

You see, your excellency, you asked me to prescribe something for your fat. And if I learned one thing in life, it’s that fat and stress don’t go together. So what I prescribed to you was the absolute best medicine for fat, and that is stress. That’s why I told you you’re going to die in a month. That’s all there is to it.

The king was impressed. He released the doctor from jail, appointed him as the chief doctor in the kingdom, and gave him a big fancy salary. And since that day the king began exercising in moderation, and quit the daily feasting and the partying, and his reign was long and fruitful.

Our next story is just as shrewd, and that’s the story of:

Abu Ja’far asking for advice before assassinating one of his enemies



Picture 326

STORY GOES THAT once upon a time there was a prince named Abu Ja’far. This Abu Ja’far was, at one point in time, thinking about assassinating one of his enemies. He called over one of his most trusted advisors, a man named Yazid. He told him what he was thinking about, and asked for his advice.

Absolutely you should, Yazid responded, and explained his opinion, and laid out his case for the assassination.

When he was done speaking, Abu Ja’far got up suddenly, and out of nowhere started yelling at his advisor. You traitor! he said in a great fury, you want me to kill a man that has been so good to me, served the country really well, and who strikes fear in our enemy’s hearts? What’s wrong with you? Yazid was terrified. You know, the prince continued, still in a fury, I only called you here because I wanted to test you, and I’m glad I did because you turned out to be a big and complete idiot, you know that? If I were you, I’d get out of here quickly, because at the moment I am tempted to have your head chopped off!

Poor Yazid was shaking, and left the room as fast as he could.

A week later, the assassination indeed happened. Abu Ja’far called over Yazid. Sir, said the prince, "I apologize for how I talked to you the other day. See, I actually agreed with you the other day, and I thought you laid out your case masterfully well. But I couldn’t tell you that. Because if I told you, maybe you’d inadvertently leak out the news. So that’s why I behaved the way I did. Please forgive

Reviews for Hikayaat

[Al Cohen · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Inspiring book full of mind intriguing stories from medieval Arabia. I hope the Author write a children specific version sometime soon.