138 – ʿAbd Allah narrated to us; he said: My father and al-ʿAbbās ibn Hishām narrated to us, from Hishām ibn Muḥammad. He said: Abū Naṣr Mālik ibn Naṣr al-Dalānī related to me; he said: I heard al-Aʿshā al-Hamdānī, the poet, recount—and my father said: I heard one of our own men relate—that Mālik ibn Ḥarīm al-Hamdānī, a poet of the pre-Islamic period, set out with a group of his clansmen heading for ʿUkāẓ. Along the way they captured a gazelle, and a severe thirst ⦗114⦘ overtook them. They reached a place called Ujayrah, where they opened the gazelle’s veins and drank its blood to slake their thirst; when the blood was gone they slaughtered the animal. Next they scattered in search of firewood, while Mālik ibn Ḥarīm fell asleep inside the tent. His companions meanwhile disturbed a serpent; it glided away until it slipped into Mālik’s tent. They came running and cried, “Mālik, the snake is with you—kill it!” Mālik awoke and said, “I adjure you, leave it alone.” So they held back, and the black serpent slid away and was gone. Mālik then recited:

Al-Ḥarīm charged me to guard my neighbour’s honour;
I shelter him, though he himself lacks power to resist.
I ward off his injury and repel all harm,
I shield him when protection is withheld from goods and men.
So step aside and leave him to my keeping—
For some good reason the serpent sought my refuge.
Do not shed the blood of one who seeks asylum,
A pledge Ujayrah and the hills have guaranteed.
What you witness from me has a hidden cause,
A veil that your eyes cannot yet behold.

They resumed their journey, parched with thirst, when a caller hailed them, chanting:

People! No water lies ahead of you
Till your mounts have spent the day in weary toil;
Then turn a little left toward nearby water—
A flowing spring, a draught that drives off fatigue.
When you have quenched your own thirst,
Give the beasts to drink and fill your waterskins.

So they veered left and found a gushing spring; they drank, watered their camels, and loaded themselves with water. Then they proceeded to the market of ʿUkāẓ, after which they set off homeward. When they came again to the site of the spring they saw nothing, and a voice cried out ⦗115⦘:

O Mālik, may Allah reward you well on my behalf;
This is my farewell to you, and my greeting.
Never weary of bestowing kindness on anyone,
For whoever is denied beneficence is truly deprived.
I am the serpent you delivered from distress;
I thank you—gratitude is apportioned by decree.
Whoever does good will never lose its harvest while he lives,
And ingratitude after favour is ever condemned.