Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night - Volume 5.djvu/105

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HARUN AL-RASHID AND THE TWO SLAVE-GIRLS


The Caliph Harun al-Rashid lay one night between two slave-girls, one from Al-Medinah and the other from Cufa and the Cufite rubbed his hands, whilst the Medinite rubbed his feet and made his concern [FN#115] stand up.  Quoth the Cufite, “I see thou wouldst keep the whole of the stock-in-trade to thyself; give me my share of it.”  And the other answered, “I have been told by Málik, on the authority of Hishám ibn Orwah, [FN#116] who had it of his (grand) father, that the Prophet said, ‘Whoso quickeneth the dead, the dead belongeth to him and is his.’  But the Cufite took her unawares and, pushing her away, seized it all in her own hand and said, “Al-A’amash telleth us, on the authority of Khaysamah, who had it of Abdallah bin Mas’ud, that the Prophet declared, ‘Game belongeth to him who taketh it, not to him who raiseth it.’”  And this is also related of

THE CALIPH HARUN AL-RASHID AND THE THREE SLAVE-GIRLS


The Caliph Harun al-Rashid once slept with three slave-girls, a Meccan, a Medinite and an Irakite.  The Medinah girl put her hand to his yard and handled it, whereupon it rose and the Meccan sprang up and drew it to herself.  Quoth the other, “What is this unjust aggression?  A tradition was related to me by Málik [FN#117] after Al-Zuhri, after Abdallah ibn Sálim, after Sa’íd bin Zayd, that the Apostle of Allah (whom Allah bless and keep!) said:  ‘Whoso enquickeneth a dead land, it is his.’  And the Meccan answered, “It is related to us by Sufyán, from Abu Zanád,