It is told that there was an Arab cloth merchant called Ajjub. He went out one day on a journey with his friends across the sea. When they were enjoying eating, drinking, and playing, suddenly a severe storm struck them, destroying the ship completely until it drowned all his friends.
But he was able to save himself with a miracle, through swimming and swimming to the shore of one of the nearby islands. Ajjub was extremely hungry, so he started searching for water and food in all parts of the island. After several hours, he heard a noise coming from the direction of the shore.
There was a ship coming towards the deserted island. Ajjub was surprised by its matter and feared its crew, thinking they might be pirates or even man-eaters. Therefore, he quickly hid behind the trees and monitored the ship from afar.
The ship stopped at the sea shore, and many servants came out of it. They kept digging a large hole and going down and coming up with it, while they carried large baskets, then all of them came out of it. An old man came out with a small child about eight years old. The old man and child went inside, and after a period, the old man came out alone. They covered the hole and all departed.
Ajjub kept thinking: Who are these people? And what did they do with the boy? Did they kill him alive? Ajjub was in great confusion and said to himself: They must have buried the boy alive, and he resolved to save him from that miserable fate. He began digging quickly and removed the dirt from the hole.
After a period, he found before him a black door. He opened the door and went to what was behind it. He found a room with baskets of food and burning candles. He found the boy standing fearfully behind one of the cupboards in that room. He rejoiced greatly and informed the boy that he came to help him and reassured him so he wouldn’t fear from him.
After that, Ajjub asked the boy about the reason for his presence on the island and asked him to tell him his story. The boy began to feel safe and said to Ajjub: My name is Harun, and my father is Rashid. He is one of the richest merchants of Baghdad. I am the only son of my father. But the astrologers informed him that my lifespan will be short, as there’s great danger that will happen to me when I complete my eighth year.
The only solution for that was to stay away from Baghdad and live in a safe place, as one of the astrologers informed him that there’s a person called Ajjub who will kill me, a cloth merchant. My father believes greatly in the words of astrologers and their predictions, so he distanced me from all people and brought me here.
And now I have forty days ahead of me to complete my eighth year. I came to this island with my food and drink far away from Ajjub here. After completing the forty days, I will be safe and return to my father once again. Ajjub rejoiced greatly when he heard this speech and said to himself: Why would I kill this beautiful boy? Any person who sees him will love him.
After that, Ajjub decided to prove the astrologers’ lie. He resolved to help the boy without ever informing him of his real name, so he wouldn’t fear from him. He said to him: Oh Harun, I am here to protect you from all dangers. Don’t fear from anything ever, and I am beside you. Harun smiled because he found someone he could trust and felt safe with him. When he asked him about his name, Ajjub answered with a different name.
The boy was happy, and his fear quickly turned to happiness. Ajjub began playing with him and narrating to him stories of the sea and fairies, and many entertaining stories. They played a lot and slept with each other. They remained like that until the fortieth day came, in which the boy would complete his eighth year.
On this day, Ajjub helped Harun prepare for departure. They had breakfast together and played chess all day. When evening came, Harun felt hunger, so Ajjub said to him: Wait, I will bring the chicken from one of the baskets. After that, Harun asked Ajjub about the place of the knife with which he would cut the chicken.
Harun pointed to the place of the knife, and when Ajjub extended his hand to bring it, a scorpion stung him after he held it in his hand. He screamed from the pain and threw the knife. It fell on Harun’s hand, who cried from the pain. Ajjub recovered from his voice, as that scorpion’s sting wasn’t lethal. He treated Harun’s wound while he was crying. Harun asked him, saying: Oh uncle, I’m crying from pain, but why are you crying?
Ajjub answered him while saying: I’m crying from happiness because you are alive. They informed your father that there’s a person called Ajjub, a cloth merchant, who will kill you. Since that time, I resolved to help you and prove those astrologers’ lie. So, my son, I am Ajjub, the cloth merchant whom your father feared would kill you. But I wasn’t going to do that. So I want you to inform your father of everything that happened and how we spent the forty days together.
At that moment, Harun embraced Ajjub and cried from happiness. At that moment, they heard footsteps coming towards them. Some men appeared, led by Harun’s father, with a group of servants. Harun’s father and his child embraced Ajjub as soon as he saw him. He informed him of his story with Ajjub uncle. The child’s father embraced Ajjub and thanked him greatly for his favor. He assured him that he would never listen to astrologers again. Indeed, the astrologers lied, and had they been truthful…