‘I am sent to settle the customs and manners.’
“If a fact has not existed or has not happened, why should it have been recorded?” The Shiâh called out: “It has been invented and formed into a lie.” The Sonnite objected: “Thus, according to thy opinion, the master of truth, Bokhari and the like, are tellers of lies, and thus they have transmitted lies! Why then, on their authority believest thou that Omar has prevented the making of the last will, and other such things, which, according to thee throw blame upon the companions of the prophet? Therefore, in whatever of all these things according to thy opinion is unbecoming, thou shoulst believe that the master of truth, Bokhâri, and those like him, have told lies, so wouldst thou cease to cast reproach upon the companions and friends of the prophet; but if they spoke truth, then reckon also to be true, what they have attributed as praise-worthy to the prophet, and true what they have stated of the virtues of the said companions. Further, as to thy separating the prophet from mankind, it belongs, as it has been revealed by the divine text, to the creed of unbelievers to say, that the prophet should not eat nor drink.” Now the Shiâh grew warm, and said: “Is it not enough to attach to the lord prophet the blame of having listened to music and assisted at dancing; and now thou pretendest to prove the purity of the two Shaikhs (Abubekr and Omar) and of Osmán!” The Sonnite took up the controversy: “I said before that listening to music is reasonably not blamable, and even laudable, when a lawgiver also listens to it, and I observed, concerning customs and manners, that thou esteemest bad what thou hast badly understood. As thou refusest to approve dancing, what sayest thou about the interdiction of a woman from her spouse at the desire of the prophet?[45] If thou holdest the example of customary acts reprehensible, there is nothing to be said about such an occurrence. And likewise, if the two Shaikhs had not been pure, the lord prophet would not have exalted their heads by matrimonial alliance; and the daughter of the lord Ali and the lord prophet would never have been in the house of the great Fáruk (Omar), and of the possessor of two lights (Osman). To open the road of contention is not laudable; and if not so according to thy opinion, explain this to me: since the lord, the lion of God (Ali) was informed of all the secrets of the hearts, why did he wage war upon Mâaviah, who was a Muselmán? and why was he the death of so many men, since causing death is by no means right?[46] It is likewise known and admitted by you as true that, when one day a Muselman was selling garlic and onions upon the passage of the prophet, that venerable personage told him: ‘If thou wouldst sit down in a corner, retiring out of my way, it would be well.’ The man made an excuse, and the prophet passed on. Shortly after came Alí, who said to the man: ‘The prophet dislikes the smell of onions and garlic, therefore move out of his way.’ The man answered: ‘O Alí, the prophet told me to rise, and I did not move.’ Alí said: ‘At the prophet’s order thou didst not rise?’ He drew immediately his sword, and cut off the man’s head. Such an action is reprobated by the law, as the lord of the prophetic asylum forbade killing even the hostile unbelievers, saying:
“‘Do not exceed in shedding blood, even if thou be a conqueror.’
“And by historical accounts it is known that he has blamed Ibrahim for having driven an unbeliever from his board. Nushírván,[47] who was not crowned with the diadem of the right faith, is celebrated, because he sat upon the throne of justice, and one of his most approved actions was, that he withheld his hand from an old woman’s house, which was an hinderance in the vicinity of his palace, and preferred to waste his own fields; and the lord of the prophetic asylum, because he appeared upon the field of testimony in the time of this king, exalted his fame and glory by these words:
‘I was born in the time of the just king.’[48]
“How can it be right to believe that the prophet, the last of the age, should be pleased with the destruction of a Muselman; he who would not disturb the people who, engaged in their trade and occupation, obstructed his passage? he who said:
‘He who kills willingly a believer shall have hell for eternal punishment;’
“He cannot have acted by that rule; he who declares:
“‘God will not give to a soul more trouble than it can bear;’
“Such an action is not that of a virtuous man; this however is related (of Alí) by your learned men, and likewise joking and buffooning, which indicates a want of dignity, degraded him.” The Shiâh said: “Nevertheless, he was certainly the most excellent of all the companions of the prophet.” The Sonnite asked: “In knowledge or in practice?” The Shiâh replied: “In both knowledge and practice.” The Sonnite resumed: “This we do not hold for certain; in what respect was he superior in practice to the chief of the believers, Omar?” The Shiâh answered: “Alí used to pray the whole night.” The Sonnite rejoined: “According to your own account, the lord Ali wanted a woman every night; and his custom, (called matâh)[49] was to engage one for a short time; and so many did he occupy, that he seemed an unceasing bridegroom;[50] how could a person so employed pray the whole night? unless in your religion you call praying what we call by another name.” The Shiâh interrupted him saying: “You are liars from the very beginning. Abu Hanífa, your great Imám, was a native of Kabul, and attached himself particularly to the service of Imám Jâfr Sádik; at last he left him, and professed openly the religion of his fathers, who were Magi. A sign of the Magian creed was, that he thought it right to eat three times a-day, and to lay aside all choice of diet, as well as not to reckon the unbelievers impure, saying that impurity resides in the interior, if any where, and the like.”