Page:Muhammad Diyab al-Itlidi - Historical Tales and Anecdotes of the Time of the Early Khalîfahs - Alice Frere - 1873.djvu/85

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Then when Muʾâwiyah heard his words, and the fire that burnt within him, he said to him, "Gently, O brother of the Arabs! Tell your tale, and let me judge of your affair."

"So he began: “O Commander of the Faithful! I had a wife. I was enamoured of her and fascinated by her. Through her my eye was refreshed and my heart was glad. And I had a camel foal to which I looked for the maintenance of my condition and the support of my beloved. But a year of misfortune fell upon us; I lost even to socks and slippers, and there remained to me of my possessions, nothing. And when that which I had held was diminished, and my wealth was gone, and my state impoverished, I