"Sit down," said he. And when I had done so, he continued: "I am ʾUtbah-ibn-Khabâb-ibn-el-Mundzîr-ibn-el-Jamûh, el-Ansâry.[1] At dawn I repaired to the el-Ahzâb mosque, and remained awhile kneeling and prostrating. Then I withdrew to a distance, and, behold! I came upon women progressing like moons, and having in their midst a girl of marvellous beauty and perfect grace, who advanced towards me, and said, 'O ʾUtbah! what sayst thou to an union with one who seeks union with thee?' Then she left me and departed, and I could hear no news nor find any trace of her. And verily, I, beside myself, am speeding from place to place, seeking her."
Then he cried aloud, and swooned lifeless on the ground; and though he presently recovered consciousness, his face was as if it had been dyed with saffron. Then he recited, uttering these verses:
- ↑ When the Prophet fled from Mekkah to el-Medînah, then called Yathreb, and whose inhabitants consisted chiefly of the tribe of El-Aus and the Jewish tribe of Kházraj, he was received and sheltered by some of the chief men of the city; in remembrance whereof they and their descendants adopted the name of el-Ansâry (i.e., helpers, supporters), and greatly glorified themselves on account of this appellation.
