Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Vol 4.djvu/333

303 father and let make recitations of the whole Koran for the [accustomed] space of forty days, during which time he abode in the house and went not forth, save to the place of prayer; and every Friday he visited his father’s tomb.

He ceased not from his prayers and devotions, till, at last, his fellows of the sons of the merchants came in to him one day and saluting him, said, ‘How long wilt thou keep up this thy mourning and neglect thy business and the company of thy friends? Verily, this is a fashion that will bring thee weariness, and thy body will suffer greatly for it.’ Now, when they came in to him, Iblis the accursed was with them, prompting them, and they went on to press him to accompany them to the bazaar, whilst Iblis incited him to consent to them, till he yielded and went forth the house with them, that the will of God (blessed and exalted be He) might be fulfilled. ‘Mount thy mule,’ quoth they, ‘and ride with us to such a garden, that we may divert us there and that thy grief and melancholy may depart from thee.’ So he mounted and taking his slave, went with them to the garden in question, where they entered, and one of them went and making ready the morning-meal, brought it to them there. So they ate and made merry and sat, talking, till the end of the day, when they mounted and returned each to his own lodging, where they passed the night. On the morrow, they said to Ali, ‘Come with us.’ ‘Whither?’ asked he, and they answered, ‘To such a garden; for it is finer than the first and more pleasant.’ So he went with them to the garden, and one of them, going away, made ready the morning-meal and brought it to them, together with strong wine; and Ali said, ‘What is this?’ Quoth they, ‘This is what dispels grief and unveils gladness.’ And they went on to commend it to him, till they prevailed upon him and he drank with them. Then they sat, drinking and talking, till the end of the day, when each returned home.