Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Vol 6.djvu/80

60 of men and Jinn and sendeth the prophets to guide His creatures into the right way. Whoso obeyeth Him, He bringeth into Paradise, and whoso disobeyeth Him, He casteth into the fire.’

‘And how, O uncle,’ asked Gherib, ‘doth he say who worships this mighty Lord who hath power over all?’ ‘O my son,’ answered the old man, ‘I am of the tribe of Aad, which were transgressors in the land and believed not in God. So He sent unto them a prophet named Houd, but they believed not in him and he destroyed them by means of a deadly wind; but I believed, I and some of my tribe, and we were saved from destruction. Moreover, I was present with the tribe of Themoud and saw what befell them with their prophet Salih. After Salih, God the Most High sent a prophet called Abraham the Friend to Nimrod son of Canaan, and there befell what befell between them. Then my companions died and I continued in this cave to serve God the Most High, Who provideth me without my taking thought.’ ‘O uncle,’ quoth Gherib, ‘what shall I say, that I may become of the servants of this mighty Lord?’ [sic] ‘Say,’ replied the old man, ‘“There is no god but God and Abraham is the Friend of God.”’

So Gherib embraced the faith of submission with heart and tongue and the old man said to him, ‘May the sweetness of submission and belief be stablished in thy heart!’ Then he taught him somewhat of the ordinances and scriptures of Islam and said to him, ‘What is thy name?’ And he answered, ‘My name is Gherib.’ ‘O Gherib,’ said the old man, ‘whither art thou bound?’ So he told him all his history, till he came to the mention of the Ghoul of the Mountain, whereupon quoth the other, ‘O Gherib, art thou mad that thou goest forth against the Ghoul of the Mountain alone?’ ‘O my lord,’ replied Gherib, ‘I have with me two hundred horse.’ ‘O Gherib,’