ABSTRACT

It is related, O auspicious King, that in Baghdād, the city of peace, the home of joy, pleasure's dwelling, and the garden of wit, the Khalīfah Hārūn al-Rashīd, Vicar of the Lord of the Three Worlds and Commander of the Faithful, had, as his cup-companion and perfect friend, a man whose fingers were wrought of harmony, whose hands were loved of lutes, whose voice was a lesson for the nightingale, the marvel of music, the king of singers, Ishāk al-Nadīm of Mosul. Hārūn had given him, in pure love, the fairest of his palaces, and Ishāk's duty there was to instruct the ablest of those girls sought in the markets of the world for his master's harīm in the arts of music and singing. When one of them excelled her companions in mastery of song and of the lute, Ishāk would take her to the Khalīfah, and she would sing and play before the throne. If she gave pleasure, she was raised straightway to the harīm; if her accomplishments were not sufficient, she returned to her place among the pupils in Ishāk's palace.