The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night/Haroun er Reshid and the two Slave-Girls

by Unknown

HAROUN ER RESHID AND THE TWO SLAVE-GIRLS.

The Khalif Haroun er Reshid lay one night between two slave-girls, one from Medina and the other from Cufa, and the latter rubbed his hands, whilst the former rubbed his feet and made his yard to stand up. Quoth the Cufan girl, ‘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 Malik, on the authority of Hisham ibn Orweh,^[1] who had it of his [grand]father,^[2] that the Prophet said, “Whoso bringeth the dead to life, it is his.”’ But the Cufan took her unawares and pushing her away, took it all in her own hand and said, ‘El Aamesh^[3] tells us, on the authority of Kheithemeh,^[4] who had it of Abdallah ben Mesoud,^[5] that the Prophet said, “Game belongeth to him who taketh it, not to him who raiseth it.”’

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1. A famous Medinan Traditionist of the eighth century.
2. Er Zubeir ibn el Awwam, cousin-german to Mohammed and one of his Companions.
3. Abou Mohammed el Aamesh, a Cufan Traditionist of the eighth century.
4. A Traditionist of the seventh century.
5. One of the Companions.