Part 10 (1/2)

Prompt to dash upon the foeman, every minute watching well-- Are his eyes in slumber lightly sealed, his heart stands sentinel.

When the first advancing troopers rise to sight, he sets his hand From the scabbard forth to draw his sharp-edged, finely-mettled brand.

When he shakes it in the breast-bone of a champion of the foe, How the grinning Fates in open glee their flas.h.i.+ng side-teeth show!

Solitude his chosen comrade, on he fares while overhead By the Mother of the mazy constellations he is led.”[158]

[Sidenote: The old Arabian points of honour.]

These verses admirably describe the rudimentary Arabian virtues of courage, hardness, and strength. We must now take a wider survey of the moral ideas on which pagan society was built, and of which Pre-islamic poetry is at once the promulgation and the record. There was no written code, no legal or religious sanction--nothing, in effect, save the binding force of traditional sentiment and opinion, _i.e._, Honour.

What, then, are the salient points of honour in which Virtue (_Muruwwa_), as it was understood by the heathen Arabs, consists?

[Sidenote: Courage.]

Courage has been already mentioned. Arab courage is like that of the ancient Greeks, ”dependent upon excitement and vanis.h.i.+ng quickly before depression and delay.”[159] Hence the Arab hero is defiant and boastful, as he appears, _e.g._, in the _Mu'allaqa_ of 'Amr b. Kulthum. When there is little to lose by flight he will ride off unashamed; but he will fight to the death for his womenfolk, who in serious warfare often accompanied the tribe and were stationed behind the line of battle.[160]

”When I saw the hard earth hollowed By our women's flying footprints, And Lamis her face uncovered Like the full moon of the skies, Showing forth her hidden beauties-- Then the matter was grim earnest: I engaged their chief in combat, Seeing help no other wise.”[161]

The tribal const.i.tution was a democracy guided by its chief men, who derived their authority from n.o.ble blood, n.o.ble character, wealth, wisdom, and experience. As a Bedouin poet has said in homely language--

”A folk that hath no chiefs must soon decay, And chiefs it hath not when the vulgar sway.

Only with poles the tent is reared at last, And poles it hath not save the pegs hold fast But when the pegs and poles are once combined, Then stands accomplished that which was designed.”[162]

[Sidenote: Loyalty.]

The chiefs, however, durst not lay commands or penalties on their fellow-tribesmen. Every man ruled himself, and was free to rebuke presumption in others. ”_If you are our lord_” (_i.e._, if you act discreetly as a _sayyid_ should), ”_you will lord over us, but if you are a prey to pride, go and be proud!_” (_i.e._, we will have nothing to do with you).[163] Loyalty in the mouth of a pagan Arab did not mean allegiance to his superiors, but faithful devotion to his equals; and it was closely connected with the idea of kins.h.i.+p. The family and the tribe, which included strangers living in the tribe under a covenant of protection--to defend these, individually and collectively, was a sacred duty. Honour required that a man should stand by his own people through thick and thin.

”I am of Ghaziyya: if she be in error, then I will err; And if Ghaziyya be guided right, I go right with her!”

sang Durayd b. ?imma, who had followed his kin, against his better judgment, in a foray which cost the life of his brother 'Abdullah.[164]

If kinsmen seek help it should be given promptly, without respect to the merits of the case; if they do wrong it should be suffered as long as possible before resorting to violence.[165] The utilitarian view of friends.h.i.+p is often emphasised, as in these verses:--

Take for thy brother whom thou wilt in the days of peace, But know that when fighting comes thy kinsman alone is near.

Thy true friend thy kinsman is, who answers thy call for aid With good will, when deeply drenched in bloodshed are sword and spear.

Oh, never forsake thy kinsman e'en tho' he do thee wrong, For what he hath marred he mends thereafter and makes sincere.”[166]

At the same time, notwithstanding their shrewd common sense, nothing is more characteristic of the Arabs--heathen and Mu?ammadan alike--than the chivalrous devotion and disinterested self-sacrifice of which they are capable on behalf of their friends. In particular, the ancient poetry affords proof that they regarded with horror any breach of the solemn covenant plighted between patron and client or host and guest.

This topic might be ill.u.s.trated by many striking examples, but one will suffice:--

[Sidenote: The story of Samaw'al b. 'Adiya.]

The Arabs say: ”_Awfa mina 'l-Samaw'ali_”--”More loyal than al-Samaw'al”; or _Wafaun ka-wafa'i 'l-Samaw'ali_”--” A loyalty like that of al-Samaw'al.” These proverbs refer to Samaw'al b. 'Adiya, an Arab of Jewish descent and Jew by religion, who lived in his castle, called al-Ablaq (The Piebald), at Tayma, some distance north of Medina. There he dug a well of sweet water, and would entertain the Arabs who used to alight beside it; and they supplied themselves with provisions from his castle and set up a market. It is related that the poet Imru'u 'l-Qays, while fleeing, hotly pursued by his enemies, towards Syria, took refuge with Samaw'al, and before proceeding on his way left in charge of his host five coats of mail which had been handed down as heirlooms by the princes of his family. Then he departed, and in due course arrived at Constantinople, where he besought the Byzantine emperor to help him to recover his lost kingdom. His appeal was not unsuccessful, but he died on the way home. Meanwhile his old enemy, the King of ?ira, sent an army under ?arith b. ?alim against Samaw'al, demanding that he should surrender the coats of mail. Samaw'al refused to betray the trust committed to him, and defended himself in his castle. The besiegers, however, captured his son, who had gone out to hunt. ?arith asked Samaw'al: ”Dost thou know this lad?” ”Yes, he is my son.” ”Then wilt thou deliver what is in thy possession, or shall I slay him?” Samaw'al answered: ”Do with him as thou wilt. I will never break my pledge nor give up the property of my guest-friend.” So ?arith smote the lad with his sword and clove him through the middle. Then he raised the siege. And Samaw'al said thereupon:--

”_I was true with the mail-coats of the Kindite,[167]

I am true though many a one is blamed for treason.

Once did 'adiya, my father, exhort me: 'O Samaw'al, ne'er destroy what I have builded.'

For me built 'adiya a strong-walled castle With a well where I draw water at pleasure; So high, the eagle slipping back is baffled.

When wrong befalls me I endure not tamely._”[168]

The Bedouin ideal of generosity and hospitality is personified in ?atim of ?ayyi', of whom many anecdotes are told. We may learn from the following one how extravagant are an Arab's notions on this subject:--