What is the central idea of "harun al-rashid and one thousand and one nights"? one thousand and one nights is a collection of west and south asian stories and folktales. "long ago, in a far off land…" this is how the story of harun al-rashid begins. harun al-rashid was a powerful and ruthless military leader. harun al-rashid was a powerful leader in ancient baghdad, who had many stories written about him in one thousand and one nights.