Fatima.Mernessi_The-Forgotten-Queens-of-Islam-EN

138 The Arab Queens
of that incident during the pilgrimages, but any unusual deployment
of Shi'ite caravans toward Mecca revived it. On that day in the
oases between San'a and Mecca the splendour of 'Ali al-Sulayhi's
caravan was reflected in the dazzled eyes of the children.
The royal caravan was moving slowly over the silent sands when
suddenly an order was given to stop at a watering place named Bir
Umm Ma'bad. Sa'id Ibn Najah was spying on the caravan from a
distance with the clear view that is only possible in the great deserts.
It seemed that 'Ali, the murderer of his father, was going to rest a
while at this watering place. The strange thing is that it was 'Ali
himself who had insisted on halting there, unknowingly choosing
the place where, as fate would have it, day would never break for
him again. Because of his studies with his Shi'ite teachers, he knew
better than anyone the detailed history of the Prophet's travels in
this region. Yet he was convinced (wrongly, as was later proved)
that the Prophet had stopped at Umm Ma'bad five centuries earlier,
and so he stopped there. It was an absurd conviction that dressed
death in the enchanting robes of a memory that partook not of
reality but of the fascination of dreams!
When the news of the tragedy reached San'a, the grief-stricken
populace looked in vain for the woman whom 'Ali loved so much,
but no trace of al-Hurra Asma was found. San'a searched long and
hard for its queen, and its armies went on the offensive to find her
and take revenge on those who had taken her captive. When Asma
was finally freed and returned to San'a, it was from her that her
son al-Mukarram took his orders. And when he fell ill, it was to
his wife 'Arwa that the people turned in search of leadership in
building the future.