"And what dost thou say of 'Aly?" continued elHajjâj; "Is he in heaven or in hell?"

"Had I been in both," answered Sảîd, "and did I know the inhabitants of both, I could tell who was in both."

"And what dost thou say of the Khalifahs?" asked el-Hajjâj.

"I am not their overseer," replied Sȧîd.

"Which of them dost thou love best?" inquired el-Hajjâj.

"He among them who was the most pleasing to my Maker," answered Said.

"And which of them was the most pleasing to the Creator?" said el-Hajjâj.

"That knowledge," replied Såîd, "rests with Him who knows their inmost thoughts and secret words."

"And how is it that thou laughest not?" asked elHajjâj.

"How should a creature formed out of clay-clay which may be consumed in the fire-laugh?" responded Såîd.

"And why is it that we ourselves cannot laugh ?” inquired el-Hajjâj.

"The thoughts of the heart are not pure," said Said.

Then el-Hajjâj ordered pearls and emeralds and rubies to be brought in and laid before Sảîd. But he said, "If by accumulating these thou couldst ransom thyself from the terrors of the Day of Resurrectionwell. But one of those terrors would cause a mother to forget her sucking child; and every worldly possession will be profitless, except what did good, and was laid out in charity."

Then el-Hajjáj sent for pleasant music. And Sảîd wept. So el-Hajjâj cried, "Woe be to thee, O Sảîd! Choose by what kind of death I shall kill thee."

"Choose for thyself, O Hajjâj!” replied Sảîd; "for by Allâh! whatever death thou causest me to die, by the same will God cause thee to die at the last day." Then asked el-Hajjâj, “Wouldst thou that I pardon thee?"

He replied, "Were the pardon from Allâh,—yes, assuredly. But from thee,-no."

"Be off with him and execute him!" cried elHajjâj.

Then as he was going out of the door, Såîd laughed. And el-Hajjâj was told of this, and ordered him to

be brought back, and asked, “What causes thee to laugh?”

"I was marvelling," answered Sảîd, "at thy provocation of Allâh, and at His long-suffering toward thee." Then el-Hajjâj commanded to bring the Nita'a.* And it was spread out before him, and he cried, “Kill him!"

And Sảîd said, "I gave myself up to the worship of Him who laid out the heavens and the earth, believing in the true faith, and I am not one of the polytheists."

"Turn him away from the Kiblah!" called out elHajjâj.

"Wherever thou mayst turn me, there is God's countenance," said Sȧîd.

"Lay him with his face on the ground," commanded el-Hajjâj.

Then Såîd quoted, "Out of it We created you, and to it We will cause you to return, and from it We will once more cause you to come forth."

"Kill him!" again cried el-Hajjâj.

Then Sảîd said, "I bear witness that there is no

god but God, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and His messenger. O Allâh! grant

that after me he may have power over none other to kill him!"

Then they executed him upon the Nita'a [may God have mercy upon him!] And after his head was struck off, it uttered, "There is no god but God." And el-Hajjâj lived after this fifteen days. And this happened in the year 95. And the age of Sảîd [may God be satisfied of him!] was nine-and-forty years.*

ALLAH IS ALL-KNOWING!

* It is said that during his last illness el-Hajjâj was tormented by the spirit of Sảîd-ibn-Jubair. The report was that whenever he fell asleep he saw Sảîd come and seize him by the girdle, saying, "Enemy of God, arise! why didst thou murder me?" On which he would awake in terror, and exclaim, "What business has Såîd-ibn-Jubair with me?" It is also related that a person saw el-Hajjâj in a dream after his death, and that upon being asked what had been done to him, he stated that God had caused him to die the death of every man whom he had slain, but that he had suffered seventy deaths on account of his treatment of the saintly Sảîd.

THE REIGN OF EL-WALID-IBN-'ABD-EL

IT

MÁLIK-IBN-MARWÂN.

T was his custom to read through the whole Kurân every three days; during Ramadhân* he used to read it through seventeen times. Ibrahîm-in'Ulîah relates, "He sent me bags of dinârs to be dis

* Ramadhân.

"The month of Ramadhân shall ye fast, in which the Kurân was sent down from Heaven. . . . Therefore let him among you who shall be present in this month fast the same month; but he who shall be sick or on a journey shall fast the like number of other days.”—el-Kurân, Sûr. 2., V. 181. Muslims are extremely particular in their observance of this fast, which, as their year is reckoned by lunar months, varies in the season at which it takes place, being a few days earlier every year. When Ramadhân occurs during the heat of summer, when the days are longest, the trial to bodily health and strength is excessive; for they neither eat, nor drink, nor even smoke, from early dawn till sunset, and the nights are spent in eating and drinking, visiting the mosques, and reading the Kurân or hearing it read. A true Muslim should not, however, betray weariness or languor on account of what he endures during Ramadhân; but at the same time it is a pious act on the part of those in authority to spare their servants and show them as much consideration as possible.