Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Vol 4.djvu/360

330 for them to his sitting-chamber and bade them be seated. So they sat down and he bade fetch the damsel Taweddud, who came and unveiling, showed herself, as she were a sparkling star. The Khalif caused set her a stool of gold; and she saluted and speaking with an eloquent tongue, said, ‘O Commander of the Faithful, bid the learned men present contend with me in argument.’ So he said to them, ‘I desire of you that ye dispute with this damsel on the things of her faith and make void her argument, in all she avoucheth;’ and they answered, saying, ‘We hear and obey God and thee, O Commander of the Faithful.’

Thereupon Taweddud bowed her head and said, ‘Which of you is the doctor of the law, the scholar, versed in the interpretation of the Koran and in the Traditions?’ Quoth one of them, ‘I am the man thou seekest.’ ‘Then,’ said she, ‘ask me of what thou wilt.’ Quoth the doctor, ‘Hast thou read the precious book of God and dost thou know its abrogating and abrogated parts and hast thou meditated its verses and expressions?’ ‘Yes,’ answered she. ‘Then,’ said he, ‘I will proceed to question thee of the obligatory ordinances and the immutable institutions: so tell me of these, O damsel, and who is thy Lord, who thy prophet, and who thy brethren. Also, what is thy [point of] fronting [in prayer], what thine exemplar, what thy path and what thy highway?’ ‘Allah is my Lord,’ replied she, ‘and Mohammed (whom God bless and preserve) my prophet and the true-believers are my brethren. The Koran is my exemplar and the Kaabeh my [point of] fronting; the practice of good is my path and the Sunneh my highway.’ (Q.) ‘With what do we know God the Most High?’ (A.) ‘With the understanding.’ (Q.) ‘And what is the understanding?’ (A.) ‘It is of two kinds, natural and acquired. The first is that which God (to whom belong might and majesty) bestoweth on whom