Samarkand Read Free

rather he was only questioning him
     indirectly. Omar ventured to break the silence. ‘The
rubai
which Scar-Face quoted was not one of mine.’
    The
qadi
dismissed the protest with a gesture of impatience, and for the first time his voice took on a severe tone. ‘It matters little
     whether you have written this or that verse. I have had reports of verses of such profanity that I would feel as guilty quoting
     them as the man who spread them about. I am not trying inflict any punishment upon you. These accusations of alchemy cannot
     just go in one ear and out of the other. We are alone. We are two men of erudition and I simply wish to know the truth.’
    Omar was not at all reassured. He sensed a trap and hesitated to reply. He could see himself being handed over to the executioner
     for maiming, emasculation or crucifixion. Abu Taher raised his voice and almost shouted, ‘Omar, son of Ibrahim, tent-maker
     from Nishapur, can you not recognize a friend?’
    The tone of sincerity in this phrase stunned Khayyam. ‘Recognize a friend?’ He gave serious thought to the subject, contemplated
     the
qadi’s
face, noted the way he was grinning and how his beard quivered. Slowly he let himself be won over. His features loosened
     and relaxed. He disengaged himself from his guards who, upon a sign from the
qadi
, stopped restraining him. Then he sat down without having been invited. The
qadi
smiled in a friendly manner but took up his questioning without respite. ‘Are you the infidel some people claim you to be?’
    It was more than a question. It was a cry of distress that Omar did not overlook. ‘I despise the zeal of the devout, but I
     have never said that the One was two.’
    ‘Have you ever thought so?’
    ‘Never, as God is my witness.’
    ‘As far as I am concerned that suffices, and I believe it will for the Creator also. But not for the masses. They watch your
     words, your smallest gestures – mine too, as well as those of princes. You have been heard to say, “I sometimes go to mosques
     where the shade is good for a snooze.”’
    ‘Only a man at peace with his Creator could find sleep in a place of worship.’
    In spite of the
qadi’s
doubting scowl, Omar became impassioned and continued, ‘I am not one of those for whom faith is simply fear of judgement.
     How do I pray? I study a rose, I count the stars, Imarvel at the beauty of creation and how perfectly ordered it is, at man, the most beautiful work of the Creator, his brain
     thirsting for knowledge, his heart for love, and his senses, all his senses alert or gratified.’
    The
qadi
stood up with a thoughtful look in his eyes and went over to sit next to Khayyam, placing a paternal hand on his shoulder.
     The guards exchanged dumbfounded glances.
    ‘Listen, my young friend. The Almighty has granted you the most valuable things that a son of Adam can have – intelligence,
     eloquence, health, beauty, the desire for knowledge and a lust for life, the admiration of men and, I suspect, the sighs of
     women. I hope that He has not deprived you of the wisdom of silence, without which all of the foregoing can neither be appreciated
     nor preserved.’
    ‘Do, I have to wait until I am an old man in order to express what I think?’
    ‘Before you can express everything you think, your children’s grandchildren will be old. We live in the age of the secret
     and of fear. You must have two faces. Show one to the crowd, and keep the other for yourself and your Creator. If you want
     to keep your eyes, your ears and your tongue, forget that you have them.’
    The
qadi
suddenly fell silent, but not to let Omar speak, rather to give greater effect to his admonition. Omar kept his gaze down
     and waited for the
qadi
to pluck more thoughts from his head.
    Abu Taher, however, took a deep breath and gave a crisp order to his men to leave. As soon as they had shut the door behind
     them, he made his way towards a corner of the
diwan
, lifted up a piece of tapestry,