By Ghalib Lakhnavi & Abdullah Bilgrami
Translated by: Musharraf Ali Farooqi
Amir Hamza encountering the Waqwaq tree...
Amir and his companions proceeded on their way and passed by the mountain range, plucking and sharing the fruit from the trees around it. As he stood under a mountain, looking for some place to spend the night, Amir heard a voice call out to him, "Peace be with you!" Amir heard these words without seeing who uttered them, and looking around he could not find anyone and saw no trace of the one who addressed him. Suddenly, his eyes caught sight of a tree that stood before him. He saw that the fruits of that tree were shaped liked human heads and that it was from that tree that the greeting had come, for God's will had arranged it thus. Amir marvelled to the limits of marveling at the work of God and returned the greeting, answering in the manner of the followers of the True Faith. Then the voice called out, "O Sahibqiran, my name is Waq and once upon a time Sikander himself rested in my shade for the night. Just as I hosted him once, I will host you for this day and it will be a pleasure for me to arrange a feast for you. Pray stay here for the length of the night and enjoy the sights and sounds of this place."
After this conversation, a fruit fell into Amir's lap, which Amir carved and shared with Zehra Misri and the boys. He found the fruit tastier than any other fruit he had eaten in the past and it fully sated him. Amir then lay down under the tree. The whole night the tree and Amir conversed together and the tree regaled Amir with his sweet speech. [...]
[...] Amir asked the tree, "O tree, tell me when I will die." The tree answered, "When Ashqar's hooves lose all their shoes, you should recognize that it is time for you to leave the world. Know then that your cup of life has become full up and that twilight is nigh. But a long time lies between now and that day!" In that manner Waq the tree and Amir Hamza conversed together the whole night.
Ashqar - Hamza's enchanted horse
Lakhnavi, Chalib and Abdullah Bilgrami. The Adventures of Amir Hamza. Trans. Musharraf Ali Farooqi. New York: Modern Library, 2007
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