Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Vol 8.djvu/178

166 therefore, permitted to thee, O Commander of the Faithful, to comply with the letter of the king of the heretics and send me back to the land of those who deny the Faith and give partners to the All-wise King, who magnify the Cross and believe in the divinity of Jesus, for all he was [but] a creature? If thou deal thus with me, O Vicegerent of God, I will lay hold upon thy skirts on the day of appearing before God and make my complaint of thee to thy cousin the Apostle of Allah (whom God bless and preserve!) on the day when wealth availeth not neither children [nor aught], except one come unto God with a whole heart.’

‘O Meryem,’ answered the Khalif, ‘God forbid that I should do this ever! How can I send back a Muslim woman and a true believer in the unity of God and in His Apostle to that which they have forbidden?’ Quoth she, ‘I testify that there is no god but God and that Mohammed is His Apostle!’ ‘O Meryem,’ rejoined the Khalif, ‘may God bless and stablish thee in the way of righteousness! Since thou art a Muslim and a believer in the unity of God, I owe thee an imperative duty, and it is that I should never transgress against thee nor forsake thee, though the world full of gold and jewels be lavished unto me on thine account. So be of good heart and cheerful eye and be thy breast dilated and thy mind at ease. Art thou willing that this youth Ali of Cairo should be thy husband and thou his wife?’ ‘How should I be other than willing,’ replied Meryem, ‘seeing that he bought me with his money and hath entreated me with the utmost kindness and for crown of his good offices, he hath ventured his life many times for my sake?’

So the Khalif summoned the Cadi and the witnesses and married her to him. Moreover, he assigned her a dowry and caused the grandees of his realm be present at