hath sent demanding my daughter, and commanding me to break my carnelian-idol, and to adopt his faithAnd they replied, O great King, can Suleyman do unto thee that, when thou art in the midst of this vast sea? If he come unto thee, he cannot prevail against thee; since the Marids of the Jinn will fight on thy side; and thou shalt seek aid against him of thine idol that thou worshippest; for he will aid thee against him and will defend thee. The right opinion is, that thou consult thy lord (and they meant by him the red carnelian-idol), and hear what will be his reply: if he counsel thee to fight him, fight him; but otherwise, do notAnd upon this the King went immediately, and, going in to his idol, after he had offered a sacrifice and slain victims, fell down before it prostrate, and began to weep, and to recite these verses:
O my lord, verily I know thy dignity; and, behold, Suleyman desireth to break thee.
O my lord, verily I seek thy defence: command then; for I am obedient to thy command.
(Then that 'Efrit, the half of whom was in the pillar, said to the sheykh 'Abd-Es-Samad, while those around him listened,) And thereupon I entered the body of the idol, by reason of my ignorance, and the paucity of my sense, and my solicitude respecting the affair of Suleyman, and recited this couplet:
As for me, I am not in fear of him; for I am acquainted with everything. If he wish to wage war with me, I will go forth, and I will snatch his soul from him.
So when the King heard my reply to him, his heart was strengthened, and he determined to wage war with Suleyman the Prophet of God (on whom be peace!) and to fight against him. Accordingly, when the messenger of Suleyman came, he inflicted upon him a painful beating, and returned him a shameful reply; and he sent to threaten Suleyman, saying to him, by the messenger, Thy mind hath suggested to thee desires. Dost thou threaten me with false words? Either come thou to me, or I will go to thee.
Then the messenger returned to Suleyman, and acquainted him with all that had occurred and happened to him. And when the Prophet of God, Suleyman, heard that, [it was as though] his
