Hatim seems to have the strange ability to communicate with all orders of creation including people of every region, animals, fairies, giants, mermaids and even death. However, it would be wrong to suggest that Hatim’s only power is his magnanimity, generosity and selflessness and immense pity. Hatim, the young prince of Yemen, undertakes these herculean tasks for the sake of Munir Shami just to help this stranger meet his beloved and spends ten years, seven months and nine days of his life in search of the answers to Husn Banu’s riddles while also facing innumerable difficulties. Munir Shami, the prince of Khwarazm, has fallen in love with Husn Banu, the daughter of Barzakh the Merchant, but the latter will only marry the person who answers her seven questions – which are more like seven seemingly impossible tasks or labours. Sacrifice is one of the main themes of the Araish-e-Mehfil, also known as Haft Sayr. He is mortal and does not possess superhuman strength but he is always ready to sacrifice even his life in order to help not only his fellow human beings but all creatures of God, including animals. Hilarious or not, this episode – which appears at the very beginning of the first of his seven arduous journeys – encapsulates Hatim Tai’s character. I must confess that as a child I found Hatim rather dull when I compared him with the immensely robust and invincible Amir Hamza – the protagonist of Urdu’s longest dastaan – or Hamza’s intelligence chief – the cunning and hilarious Amr Ayyar, who is now generally known as Umro Ayyar.Īs a child, the only moment when I heartily laughed while reading the Araish-e-Mehfil – Haider Baksh Haideri’s 1802 Urdu translation of Persian dastaan Haft Sayr – came when Hatim cuts one of his buttocks to feed a starving wolf so that the predator might spare the life of a mother deer. Hatim Tai – as a fictional character inspired by the legendary chieftain from pre-Islamic Arabia Felix – is a strange hero.
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