Page:Muhammad Diyab al-Itlidi - Historical Tales and Anecdotes of the Time of the Early Khalîfahs - Alice Frere - 1873.djvu/135

106 At this she cast down her eyes and wept, and recited, saying:

"Whom dost thou mean by that?" asked Muʾâwiyah.

She replied, "The Commander of the Faithful, ʾAly, son of Abu-Tâlib [may God make gracious his countenance]."

"And wherefore dost thou praise him?" he asked.

"I brought before ʾAly," she replied, "a man whom he had made ruler over us; and betwixt whom and us there was no more difference than between the lean and the fat (of meat). And I found ʾAly standing praying. But when he saw me he ceased from his devotions, and asked gently and kindly, 'What dost thou want?' And when I told him, he wept. And he cried, 'O Allâh! be witness between me and them! I do not govern thy creatures tyrannously, nor rule over them contrary to thy law.' Then he drew from his pocket a piece of leather,