Unknown

“ Now it chanced that a camel-driver, belonging to Kisra [4] the king, lost certain camels and the king threatened him, if he found them not, that he would slay him. So he set out and plunged into the deserts till he came to the place where the damsel was and seeing her standing praying, waited till she had made an end of her prayer, when he went up to her and saluted her, saying, ‘Who art thou?’ Quoth she, ‘I am a handmaid of God.’ ‘What dost thou in this desolate place?’ asked he, and she said, ‘I serve God the Most High.’ When he saw her beauty and grace, he said to her, ‘Harkye! ”

“ Then said she to him, ‘By the virtue of Him who hath made thee stand in this place of standing [up to judgment] , and thou abject and humiliated, I conjure thee speak the truth and say what prompted thee to lie against me and cause me go forth from my house and from the hand of my husband and made thee practise thus against a man, [6] a true believer, and slay him. This is no place wherein leasing availeth nor may prevarication be therein.’
When the vizier was ware that she was Arwa and heard her speech, he knew that it behoved him not to lie and that nought would avail him but truth-speaking ”

“ As for the eunuch, the chamberlain, who had counselled King Dadbin [not to slay her, but] to [cause] carry her to the desert [and there abandon her] , she bestowed on him a sumptuous dress of honour and said to him, ‘The like of thee it behoveth kings to hold in favour and set in high place, for that thou spokest loyally and well, and a man is still requited according to his deed.’ And Kisra the king invested him with the governance of one of the provinces of his empire.
↑ i.e. Let thy secret thoughts and purposes be righteous, even as thine outward profession. ”