Two palms of Hulwan

I am informed by my uncle, on the authority of al-Hasan, who heard from Ahmad ibn Abi Tahir that ‘Abd Allah ibn Abi Sa‘d was informed by Muhammad ibn al-Fadl al-Hashimi that Sallam al-Abrash said:

Harun al-Rashid set out for Tus, but when he got as far as Hulwan, he started having heart palpitations. His doctor ordered him to dine on heart of palm, and so he called upon the dehqan of the place and asked for some. The dehqan informed him that no palm trees grew in that area, but that along the mountain pass there stood two palms. "Give the order, and we'll cut one down for you." And it was done.
      The palm's heart was brought to al-Rashid, who felt better as soon as he ate it. But when he [resumed his journey, and] reached the mountain pass, he saw the palms, one chopped down and the other standing. And on the upright palm were written these lines (meter: khafīf):

      To my aid in bitter times I call
          the two palms of Hulwan to weep with me.
      I call on you and warn you
          of the evil fate to come and separate you.

This pained al-Rashid. "I am ashamed to be the instrument of that fate," he said. "If I had only heard this poem, I wouldn't have cut this palm. I would have died before letting this happen."

Al-Hasan ibn ‘Ali told me that al-Harithi ibn Abi Usamah said: I was told by Muhammad ibn Abi Muhammad al-Qaysi that Abu Sumayr ‘Abd Allah ibn Ayyub said:

When [al-Rashid's father, the Caliph] al-Mahdi traveled the pass of Hulwan, he was enchanted with the place, so he stopped for a picnic and called to Hasanah. "See how nice this is?" he said. "Sing my life away for me, while I drink a few tumblers of wine." Hasanah took the body brush she was holding and thumped it against a cushion as she sang (meter: ṭawīl):

      Two palms of Wadi Buwanah, I hail thee
          while the grove-keeper is careless of your enclosure!

"Brava!" he said. "I was thinking of having them cut down"—meaning the two palms of Hulwan—"but your song stays my hand."
     "God forbid!" cried Hasanah. "May God protect me from the Commander of the Faithful, if you are ever the instrument of their evil fate!"
     "What fate is that?" the Caliph asked, and she began to sing the verses of Muti‘ ibn Iyas. When she got to the verse:

      I call on you and warn you
          of the evil fate to come and separate you

he said, "Brava! By God, your words have put me on notice. I will never cut these two down. In fact, I'll appoint a keeper, to tend and water them both as long as I shall live." He gave the order for this on the spot, and for the rest of al-Mahdi's life the decree was carried out.

From the Book of Songs

If in Palo Alto

Utilities of the soul

You must know that no mortal craftsman can practice their craft without utilities or implements. They need to have at least one. Between utilities and implements, there is this difference: The former include the hand and fingers, the foot, the head, the eye and all members of the human body, while "implement" refers to externalities like the carpenter's axe, the smith's hammer, the tailor's needle, the writer's pen, the shoemaker's awl, the barber's razor, and all such things used in the technical trades.

You must also know that the implements and materials of all craftsmen vary according to their trade, and that their actions differ accordingly. Each performs their own characteristic movements and types of action. The carpenter is an example of this: With an axe he planes things in a downward motion; with a saw he saws them in a back-and-forth motion; and with an auger he drills them in an elliptical right-to-left motion while the auger goes round and round. In this way, the motions performed in the practice of any craft reduce to seven: one that is circular, and six that are linear. This was divinely ordained, for the heavenly bodies have also seven types of movement, as discussed in our Epistle on Heaven and Earth: one that is circular, as originally intended, and six that are accidental; and the movements of sublunar entities follow this pattern. The former are causes, and the latter are effects bearing the traces of those causes. This is how the sages say that secondary matters tell of primary ones, in quite the way that games played by children tell of the trades practiced by their fathers, mothers, and teachers.

Brother, you must also know that in order to practice a trade, every mortal craftsman needs at least one moving member, such as the hand, the foot, the back, the shoulder, or the knee. Generally speaking, a "member" is a part of the body with which the soul can perform one action or several actions in counterpoise to some other part of the body. The members of the body are utilities of the soul, and serve the soul as tools, as we have discussed in our other Epistles.

From the Epistle on the Practical Crafts by the Brethren of Purity