"أيام ثيم ولَّت" [و‎‎١‎٠‎٥] (٢٤٨/٢٠٩)

106
On a hunting expedition into the desert one of the trucks sank
into a sabkha (a mud-flat baked hard and smooth on top but
underneath a quagmire of wet, salt mud). It was dark and P whn!
RTsh W id e d f "n’h 9 ! 1 ° Ut by torch1i 9 ht . T ^ni bin Abdul i ah Sh a kh
Rash.d of Cuba ' righthand man, wanting me for some ’reason
Tandy! T andy ! I happened to be standing not far
, before I could make my presence known, the Levy
.. P n° SS .? 1y Ba J UCh) st ^ din 9 beside him spoke
he sai d»Don t you know it is most disrespectful to
just like that. You should say "Captain Tandy".
Thani. astonished, "You don't say! " [Tut for a
too
called out
behind him
officer (a
up. "Hush!
call him Tandy
"Really?" said
week
m„rh t°r S h°i he k cal1ed me "Captain Tandy," then, finding it
much trouble, he gave up trying - to our mutual relief!
This little incident seems to me to give
fundamental difference between Semite
specifically Arab and Persian - thinking
bottom of the great schism in Islam between
an insight into thi
and Aryan - an<
, which lies at thi
Sunni and Shi'ah . Th(
flrxh wer e basically democratic : the Persians monarchic Th
Arab tradition was to elect their leaders, choosing no
ahlext a th6 S ° n ° f 3 dead Shaikh to succeed him but th
ablest and wisest of his family or circle. The Persia
tradition, in contrast, was one of hundreds of years o
hereditary monarchy, and the divine afflatus was held to pas
Mnh a er J t ° h ' S S ° n ° r nearest i-elative. When the prophe
Mohammed ay dying, he said to his closest disciple, Abu
don t feel able to lead the prayers tonight, you go and
me (or words to that effect). When the prayers were over th
prophet was dead. Accordingly, his followers naturally
succeed him. This seemed all wrong to the
left no son, but his daughter, Fatima, was married 1
All, and to the Persians it seemed obvious that th
should have passed to him. From this feelina
great schism arose.
B a k r
do it
f o
Abu Bakr to
The prophet
his cousin
succession
believe the
elec t e
Persians
to wealth
Another specifically Arab trait is their attitude
b^du Hve by their flocks and herds, and their animals depen
W 6 ra ' nfan - , In a year of plentiful rain in their area th
fnr Ck . .K I mu,t 'P'y and the bedu will be rich, but they neve
that ha i 3 ! K ea w ° f P ° 0r ra ' n Wi " con ' e s °° n er or later an
oif^ fbcy wi be hungry again. So they regard their wealth as
gift of God not to be husbanded or hoarded but to be enioyed
e surplus should be spent on ungrudging hospitality t
strangers and travellers, and if another tribe wh i ch hasn't bee
wi, UC ofV n H’ d n ,° 1 Ck ! and drive off that too is th
will of God They will have no compunction in doing the sam
themselves when they feel the necessity. There was an element o
this feeling in the way in which they regarded their oil-wealth
word W nh!na Pt t0 ^ V a$ "3 ha ?, imah " ' a 9 '11 of God (from th
.= sheep). they seemed to feel quit
s ncerely, giveth, and God taketh away". Now, with increasin
sophistication, they have embraced the idea of investing thi
money to provide an income when the oil is exhausted 9