Tree of Pearls, Queen of Egypt

The Caliph’s Decree

 The Caliph’s Decree towards midday, the courtyard of the Citadel overflowed with people and news of the messenger’s arrival spread like wildfire. The Chamberlain had solemnly come forth to conduct him into the Great Hall where the princes waited, ranged in twin rows that led all the way up to the raised dais on which sat Tree of Pearls and Shwaykar behind their screen. Shwaykar, who had taken note of the deep marks of anxiety on her mistress’s face, was all the while engaged in attempting to comfort her with soothing words, while the Queen sat like a statue chiseled in marble and listened closely to the invisible dialogue taking place beyond her screen. She now heard ‘Izz al-Din raise his voice to speak. “My Princes, we hereby present to you the messenger of our Lord the Caliph, Commander of the Faithful , Al-Musta‘sim Billah—may God preserve him. He brings us a letter from his master, which he shall now proceed to read out to us. Hark ye, and prepare to bow to his will, for he is the Successor of our Prophet, peace and blessings upon him.” “We submit to the Prophet and his Caliph!” the princes cried in unison. The messenger now advanced onto a small platform that had been raised for this purpose. He unrolled the scroll he carried and began to read, while those in attendance waited breathlessly upon his words. The Commander of the Faithful, Abi Ahmad Abdallah Al-Musta‘sim Billah Ibn Al-Mustansir Billah, salutes the Commanders of the Army and the Ministers of Egypt. It has come to our attention that you have crowned Tree of Pearls, Concubine of the departed Righteous King, Queen of Egypt, and given her the reins of state. We hereby let it be known that if you have no men amongst you capable of assuming the throne of Egypt, then verily, we shall take it upon ourselves to provide you with one. Have you not heard the Prophet’s saying—peace and blessings upon him—“Those who entrust their affairs to a woman will never know prosperity”? the caliph’s decree |  No sooner had the messenger finished reading the letter than a great din rose from the assembly.You may imagine how these words affected Tree of Pearls, but she was a sensible and determined woman,and when she heard the Caliph’s decree and realized that she had no choice but to bend to his will, she resolved to bear it stoically and motioned to the Chamberlain to pull aside the screen. The assembly immediately fell silent at the commanding sight of the deposed Queen seated upon her couch, and they breathlessly waited to hear how she would respond. “Oh ye Princes!” she began, “You have heard the will of the Commander of the Faithful, which it is the duty of all Muslims to obey. He has spoken wisely— may God preserve him—, for a woman is not fit to sit upon the throne. I remind you that I accepted this sacred trust at your own insistence, and in the hope of putting an end to the many crises that beset our realm. Now that stability has once more come to the land of Egypt, and having heard the opinion of our lord and master, the Commander of the Faithful, I hereby submit my abdication. I beg you to choose at once whomsoever you feel to be an appropriate successor to the throne of Egypt, and I myself shall be the first to bend before him.” This speech was received with great approbation by Tree of Pearls’s supporters , for it was proof of her judiciousness and her noble pride. Not so Sallafa, who would have preferred the Queen to cling to her throne to the very last and thus be forced to abdicate against her will before one and all. She was nonetheless content that her rival had fallen. Suddenly, a voice rang out from amongst the assembly. “We shall accept no sultan to rule over us other than a descendant of the line of Ayyub!” Now, it is well known that a political proposal in the public interest strategically cast forth into the civic arena can only meet with approval if there be already a substantial consensus on its principal points. In such cases, it matters little who first gives voice to the scheme in question, for the people, already con- firmed in their...