Flowers for the Women Wearing Veils - Volume II — Page 126
126 During the time of Ha z rat ‘ Umar ra the Islam ic army was fighting against T ehran. The k ing [ of Tehran ] assumed that the Arabs we re a poor nation, hungry and naked. [The king thought], ‘ I f we were to giv e them some money as a gift , they would probably go back to their homes and abandon the notion of fighting. ’ Consequently, he sent a word to the Muslim commander - in - chief to send a few of his men over as he wished to speak with them. When they arrived to meet him, the king had also come just outside his capital city, and he had brought all kinds of luxuries and c omforts with him. I ncredibly expensive carpets were laid out , as well as couches and chairs of the highest qualit y. The k ing was sitting on his throne when the Muslim soldiers arrived. The soldiers were wearing half - tattered shoes encrusted with dirt. They were carrying spears in their hands. When they arrived at the door, the watchman shouted , “You come in the presence of the k ing. Make yourselves presentable. ” Then he asked the Muslim officer , “Do you not know how expensive these carpets are? You have spears in your hands. Y ou will damage these carpets if you go across them with spears in your hands. ” The Muslim officer r esponded , “Your k ing summoned us. We are not here to meet him of our own volition. If there is any desire to meet , it is from his side, not ours. If he is so concerned about his carpets, tell him to remove them. We are not willing to remove our shoes or put down our spears. ” The watchman protested and said , “There is expensive flooring inside. T ake off your shoes and put down you r spears. ” But they replied, “This cannot happen. He has summoned us. W e are not here out of our own desire. ” Consequently , they went inside just as they were. Even the greatest g enerals and high est ministers would bow and prostrate before the k ing , b ut these Muslim soldiers arrived with their chests out and their necks raised high. They offered greetings of peace to the k ing and asked him , “K ing ! W hy have you called for us?” The k ing said, “Your country is extremely ignorant, backward, needy, and i s prey to financial difficulty. And Arabs are a people that e ven e at lizards (a lowly creature); they are unacquainted with fine food or elegant clothing. Hunger and po verty have left them distressed. It would appear that due to your deprivation and famine, you thought of the idea of going to other countries to loot the m. Seeing you in this diffi culty, here is what I suggest. I shall give one gold coin to each soldier and two gold coins to each officer. Take this money and return to your country. ”