saying, "Belike, he is the son of a Brave of the Arabs. Then he
kept them under guard, and when the morning morrowed, he referred
their case to Al-Hajjaj, who caused bring them before him and
enquiring into their affair, when behold, the first was the son
of a barber-surgeon, the second of a bean-seller, and the third
of a weaver. So he marvelled at their eloquent readiness of
speech and said to the men of his assembly, "Teach your sons the
rhetorical use of Arabic:[FN#123] for, by Allah, but for their
ready wit, I had smitten off their heads!"




HARUN AL-RASHID AND THE WOMAN OF THE
BARMECIDES[FN#124]



They tell[FN#125] that Harun Al-Rashid was sitting one day to
abate grievances, when there came up to him a woman and said, "O
Commander of the Faithful, may Allah perfect thy purpose and
gladden thee in whatso He hath given thee and increase thee in
elevation! Indeed, thou hast done justice and wrought
equitably." [FN#126] Quoth the Caliph to those who were present
with him, "Know ye what this one means by her saying?" and quoth
they, "Of a surety, she meaneth not otherwise than well, O Prince
of True Believers." Al-Rashid rejoined: "Nay, in this she
purposeth only to curse me. As for her saying, 'Allah perfect
thy purpose,' she hath taken it from the saying of the poet,