The Moral Vision
Big-Heartedness
~ 269 ~
them.” Thus he contrived to take the patriarch to
where the camel and his companion were waiting.
There both men caught hold of him, tied his hands
and feet and, setting him upon the camel, set off
towards Damascus.
In this way the patriarch was brought before
Mu’awiya. The caliph called a large meeting, to
which the captive was also summoned. The
Qurayshi who had been struck by the Byzantine
courtier was astonished to see his antagonist appear
from behind a curtain. “Cousin,” Mu’awiya said to
his fellow Qurayshi, “now is the time for you to be
thankful to this Syrian. He has done exactly as I told
him to, without the slightest omission. His efforts
have enabled you to extract your right from the
patriarch, without wronging him.”
“If I had not sworn an oath,” said the Qurayshi, “I
would have forgiven him.” Raising his hand, he
struck the patriarch once. “That suffices,” he said. “I
am pardoning him what remains to be done by way
of punishment.”
“You are our guest for three days,” Mu’awiya told
the patriarch. When the three days were over, he
