One night, the Caliph Harun al-Rashid lay between two slave girls, one from Al-Medinah and the other from Cufa. The Cufite rubbed his hands while the Medinite rubbed his feet and made his concern stand up. The Cufite said, "I see you would keep the whole of the stock in trade to yourself. Give me my share of it." And the other answered, "I have been told by Malik on the authority of Hisham ibn Urwah, who had it from his father, that the Prophet said, 'Whoever quickens the dead, the dead belongs to him and is his.'" But the Cufite took her unawares and, pushing her away, seized it all in her own hand and said, "Al-A'amash tells us on the authority of Khaysamah, who had it from Abdallah bin Mas'ud, that the Prophet declared, 'Game belongs to him who takes it, not to him who raises it.'" And this is also related of

Harun Al-Rashid And The Two Slave Girls.

Harun Al-Rashid And The Two Slave Girls.
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A Thousand Nights and One Night
Harun Al-Rashid And The Two Slave Girls.
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© 2026 Andrea Malagodi. All rights reserved.© 2026 Andrea Malagodi. All rights reserved.
Modernised from Sir Richard Burton's translation (1885–1888).
Reproduction or redistribution without permission is prohibited.