What 'Isa ibn Hisham Told Us. Muhammad al-Muwaylihi

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      ʿĪsā ibn Hishām said: Since it was only my overcoat, tarboosh, and sandals that were involved, it was fairly easy. Usually it is highwaymen who rob passersby, but now here was this ghost, a grave-dweller at that, doing it to me as well.

      Al-Manīkalī took the coat and put it on with a reluctant disdain:

      Al-Manīkalī Well, “Necessity has its own Rules!”²³ But then, I have disguised myself in even shabbier clothes than this while accompanying our late revered master, Ibrāhīm Pāshā, on the nights he used to spend in the city so that he could see for himself how people were faring.

      Īsā ibn Hishām said: We started walking, but then he stopped abruptly.

      Al-Manīkalī But what’s to be done?

      ʿĪsā ibn Hishām What do you mean?

      Al-Manīkalī I’ve forgotten that it’s nighttime. There’s no one on duty who’ll be able to recognize me in this overcoat. How can we get the gates opened when we don’t have the password?

      ʿĪsā ibn Hishām You’ve just told me, Sir, that you don’t know anything about houses having numbers. Well, I don’t know anything about a “password.” What is it?

      Al-Manīkalī (laughing contemptuously) Didn’t I say you had to be a foreigner? Don’t you know that the “password” is a word issued each night from the Citadel to the officer of the watch and all the guardhouses and gates? No one is allowed to travel at night unless he has memorized this word and can repeat it to the gatekeeper, whereupon the gate is opened for him. It is given out in secret to the people who ask the government for it so that they can carry on their business at night. It’s changed every night. So, one night, it will be “Lentils,” the next night “Greens,” the next night “Pigeons,” the next night “Fowl,” and so on.

      ʿĪsā ibn Hishām It’s clear to me that you’re the one who’s not Egyptian. The only use we have for such words is as food. We’ve never heard of their being used to convey permission to travel at night. In any case, it’s almost dawn, so we’ll have no further need of such words or any others.

      ٨،١1.8

      قال عيسى بن هشام: فمشينا في طريقنا وأخذ يقص عليّ حوادث الحروب والوقائع التي شاهدها بعينه وسمعها بأذنه ويذكر مآثر محمد علي وشجاعة إبراهيم وما زلنا على تلك الحال حتى وصلنا في ضوء النهار إلى قرب القلعة فوقف وقوف الخاشع يقرأ الفاتحة لمحمد علي ويخاطب القلعة بقوله:

      المنيكلي «يا مصدر النعيم، ومصرع الجبابرة من عتاة المماليك، ويا بيت الملك، وحصن المملكة، ومنبع العز، ومهبط القوة، ومرتفع المجد وموئل المستغيث وحمى المحتمي، وكنز الرغائب ومنتهى المطالب، ومثوى الشهم، ومقر الهمام. أيها الحصن كم فككت عانيا وقيدت بالإحسان عافيا وكم أرغمت أنوفا وسللت سيوفا، وجمعت بين البأس والندى والحياة والردى».

      ʿĪsā ibn Hishām said: So we went on our way. The Pāshā began to tell me more about himself. He told me tales of wars and battles which he had either witnessed himself or heard about and then went on to recall any number of exploits of Muḥammad ʿAlī and the great courage of Ibrāhīm. We continued in this fashion till we reached the Citadel Square, by which time it was daylight. The Pāshā halted in humble respect, recited the Fātiḥah to Muḥammad ʿAlī’s tomb and then addressed the Citadel:

      Hail to thee, source of bounties, treadmill of the violent Mamluk tyrants, haven of sovereignty, fortress of royal sway, source of might, birthplace of power, and height of glory. You are the refuge of the pleader for help, protection for him who seeks it, treasure-house of people’s desires, goal of their aspirations.

      O Cairo Citadel, how many people who came to you in search of kindness you have obligated with your charity! How many pompous men have you coerced, and how many swords have you drawn. You combined power and generosity, and could decide as alternatives between life and death.

      ٩،١1.9

      قال عيسى بن هشام: ثم التفت إليّ وقال:

      المنيكلي علينا أن نختار أقرب الطرق لنذهب إلى بيتي فألبس ثيابي وأتقلد حسامي وأركب جوادي ثم أعود إلى القلعة لألثم أذيال ولي النعم الدواري الأع.

      فأخذني العجب لهذا الكلام وأحببت أن أوافقه إلى التمام.

      ʿĪsā ibn Hishām said: Then the Pāshā turned towards me. “Hurry to my house with me,” he said. “I can put on my proper clothes, buckle my sword, and mount my horse. Then I’ll return to the Citadel and pay my respects to his exalted highness, the dispenser of bounty.”

      All this astonished me, and I decided to follow his story to its conclusion.

      مصباح الشرق ٣٢، ٢٤ نوفمبر ١٨٩٨

      Miṣbāḥ al-sharq 32, November 24, 1898

      ١،٢2.1

      قال عيسى بن هشام: ولما زايلنا ساحة القلعة انحدرنا في الطريق وبينا نحن نسير إذ تعرض لنا مكارِي يسوق حماره وقد راضه الخبيث على سد الطريق فكلما سرنا وجدنا الحمار أمامنا والمكاري ينبح بصوت قد بح حتى أمسك بذيل صاحبي يقول له:

      Leaving the Citadel Square, we walked downhill. As we proceeded, we found our path blocked by a donkeyman pulling his donkey behind him. The rogue had the animal trained to stand in the way of passersby and block the road. So, every time we tried to move on, we found the donkey in front of us and the Donkeyman shouting at us in a hoarse voice. Eventually he grabbed the edge of my companion’s coat:

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