Page:Muhammad Diyab al-Itlidi - Historical Tales and Anecdotes of the Time of the Early Khalîfahs - Alice Frere - 1873.djvu/297

268 guards, and hast commanded that only Such-an-one or Such-an-one should enter thy presence. These men thou hast kept entirely to thyself, and hast laid thy commands upon thy subjects through them. And thou didst never ordain that the oppressed and the starving and the naked should come to thee, though there is not one amongst them but has a right to this very wealth. And these men whom thou chosest for thyself, and didst set over thy subjects, having observed that thou didst amass the money without distributing it, have said, 'This man betrays the trust of Allâh and His messenger, so why should not we betray his trust?' And they have agreed together that they will only send thee so much as they choose of the people's money. And by this means they have become sharers with thee in the empire, and thou art careless regarding them. And if one who has been oppressed comes to thy door seeking thee, he finds a man appointed to look into the affairs of those who are injured. And if the tyrant be one of thy friends, this man excuses him to the sufferer, and puts him off from time to time. Then if he perseveres, and thou hast beheld him appealing in thy presence, thy satellites beat him with a terrible beating, that he may be