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,[FN#100] who had it of his [grand]father,[FN#101]
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[FN#102] tells us, on
the authority of Kheithemeh,[FN#103] who had it of Abdallah ben
Mesoud,[FN#104] that the Prophet said, "Game belongeth to him who
taketh it, not to him who raiseth it."'
THE KHALIF HAROUN ER RESHID AND THE THREE
SLAVE-GIRLS.
The Khalif Haroun er Reshid lay once with three slave-girls, a
Meccan, a Medinan and an Irakite. The Medina 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? I have heard of Malik,[FN#105] on the
authority of Ez Zuhri,[FN#106] who had it of Abdallah ibn
Salim,[FN#107] on the report of Said ben Zeid,[FN#108] that the
Apostle (whom God bless and preserve) said, "Whoso revivifies a
dead land, it is his."' And the Meccan answered, 'Sufyan[FN#109]
tells us, on the authority of Abou Zenad,[FN#110] who had it of
El Aarej,[FN#111] on the report of Abou Hureireh,[FN#112] that
the Apostle of God said, "The game is his who catches it, not
his who starts it."' But the Irak girl pushed them both away and
taking it to herself, said, 'This is mine, till your contention
be decided.'