Then they made answer, "O Commander of the Faithful! we will tell thee, and we put ourselves under thy protection."
"If you speak the truth," said he, you may trust in me; but if you lie, you shall perish."
So one of the slave-merchants went out, and brought in the young man bound with chains. And when they stood before the Commander of the Faithful, the young man wept bitter tears, and made certain of punishment. Then he composed these lines, and recited them:
Commander of the Faithful! I am brought, humbled to the dust,
And, verily, my hand is bound unto my neck.
I confess the wicked act, and my evil deed;
And am not guiltless of that whereof I am accused.
Dost thou kill me, my crime merits worse than death;
Dost thou pardon, 'twill be thro' generosity towards me.
Then said ʾAbd-el-Málik to him, "O young man! how could such a thing have entered thy mind? Was it through scorn of us, or for love of the girl?"
He replied, "By thy truth, O Commander of the Faithful! and by the greatness of thy power, it was solely for love of the girl."
Then said the Commander of the Faithful, "She is thine, with all that had been prepared for her."
