'Art not ashamed before Allah (to whom belong Might and Majesty!)
and thou a stranger, under the heavens and in presence of the
deep waters, to disobey Him with a Nazarene woman and merit the
torment of Fire?' Then said I, 'O my God, I call Thee to witness
that I abstain from this Christian woman this night, of
shamefastness before Thee and fear of Thy vengeance!' So I slept
till the morning, and she arose at peep of day full of anger and
went away. I walked to my shop and sat there; and behold,
presently she passed, as she were the moon, accompanied by the
old woman who was also angry; whereat my heart sank within me and
I said to myself, 'Who art thou that thou shouldst refrain from
yonder damsel? Art thou Sari al-Sakati or Bishr Barefoot or
Junayd of Baghdad or Fuzayl bin 'Iyaz?'[FN#31] then I ran after
the old woman and coming up with her said to her, 'Bring her to
me again;' and said she, 'By the virtue of the Messiah, she will
not return to thee but for an hundred ducats!' Quoth I, 'I will
give thee a hundred gold pieces.' So I paid her the money and the
damsel came to me a second time; but no sooner was she with me
than I returned to my whilome way of thinking and abstained from
her and forbore her for the sake of Allah Almighty. Presently she
went away and I walked to my shop, and shortly after the old
woman came up, in a rage. Quoth I to her, 'Bring her to me
again;' and quoth she, 'By the virtue of the Messiah, thou shalt
never again enjoy her presence with thee, except for five hundred
ducats, and thou shalt perish in thy pain!' At this I trembled
and resolved to spend the whole price of my flax and therewith
ransom my life. But, before I could think I heard the crier
proclaiming and saying, 'Ho, all ye Moslems, the truce which was
between us and you is expired, and we give all of you Mahometans
who are here a week from this time to have done with your