THE MARTYRDOM OF SAʾÎD.
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Hajjâj, and saluted him, and announced to him the arrival of Saʾîd-ibn-Jubair. And when Saʾîd stood before him, el-Hajjâj asked, "What is thy name?"
He replied, "Saʾîd-ibn-Jubair."
"Thou art Sháky-ibn-Kasîr,"[1] said el-Hajjâj.
"No," said Saʾîd, "my mother knew my name better than thou dost."
"Thou art vile, and so was thy mother!" cried el-Hajjâj.
"That which is hidden is known to Another beside thee," answered Saʾîd.
"Of a surety I will soon change this world into hellfire for thee," said el-Hajjâj.
"Had I known that that had been in thy power," responded Saʾîd, "verily I had abased myself before thee as before a god."
Then el-Hajjâj asked, "What sayest thou of Muhammad?"
"He is the Prophet of the Merciful," replied Saʾîd.
- ↑ The play upon words in this sentence cannot be rendered in English. Sháky means "vile," "evil," the opposite of Saʾîd, which means "good," "happy." And Kasîr, from Kásara, "to break," is the opposite of Jubair, from Jábara, "to mend," "to heal," "to unite."
