Flowers for the Women Wearing Veils - Volume II — Page 17
17 Once he was in the court of the k ing when a g eneral came to see the k ing. At that time , a battle had taken place against Iran and the Baghdadi army had won. The k ing had summoned the g eneral to honor him with a robe of honor as he had conquered a country , which for years had been a thorn in his side. Unfortunately, the g eneral was suffering from a cold that day and he had forgot ten to bring his handkerchief. When the k ing presented him with the robe of honor, he donned it and stepped forward to greet the k i ng. At that moment , he sneezed, and mucus flowed from his nose. The g eneral searched his pocket for a handkerchief but not finding one , furtively c leaned his nose with the hem of the robe. Unfortunately , the k ing ’s gaze fell upon him at that very moment. As soon as he saw that the general had wiped his nose with this robe of honor, the king grew furious. He shouted that the general had insult ed his gift and commanded the g eneral to take off the robe and be removed from the court in disgrace. At that time, Shibli was also present in the K ing’s court. Upon h earing this, Shibli began to sob uncontrollably. The k ing inquired , “Why are you crying?” Shibli stood up and said, “My Lord, please accept my resignation. I can serve you no longer. ” The k ing attempted to convince him to stay, but Shibli only replied that he no longer wished to stay. The k ing asked , “Alas, what is the reason for t his resignatio n?” Shibli replied , “This g eneral , with whom you had an audience today , worked very har d to strengthen your kingdom and fought many wars throughout the year. Every morning , his wife would awake in the fear that she might become a widow by nigh t. Ev ery night , she went to bed , her heart trembl ed in fear th at in the morning , she might receive news of her widowhood. Every morning , his children thou ght perhaps today is the day we will become orphans, and each night they went to bed with the thought that the next morning might bring news of their being orphaned. After sacrificing so greatly, when he returned , you honored him by gi fting him some clothes. And then due to an illness , which was beyond his control he sneezed and unexpectedly his nose dripped. A s he had forgotten to bring his handkerchief, he wiped his nose on th at expensive robe. This act enraged you so greatly that you ordered his robe be removed, only because he misused the robe. ” Saying this , Shibli broke down again and cried, “O K ing, God has also blessed me with a robe of honor. He has given me human capabilities and He has given me intelligence. He has also blessed me with a nose, ears, eyes, mouth, tongue, and other organs. T his g eneral earned th is robe of honor through