Original content

English translation

A young man was caught in theft. The caliph decreed that his hand be cut off, so that it might be kept away from the property of the Muslims. The young man lamented and said: O caliph, Since God adorned me with a left hand and a right, Do not permit that my left remain severed from my right. The caliph commanded that his hand be cut off, for this is one of the ordinances among the ordinances of God Most High, and leniency in it is not part of being a Muslim. His mother was present; she rose and said: O caliph, this is my child; by his help I bring the day to its evening, and from the labor of his hands I earn my daily bread. He is my child—like my very life, have mercy Upon my oppressed soul. The thread of my sustenance lies in his palm; Do not consent that it be severed. The caliph said: Cut off his hand, for I will not let this sin pass from him, nor do I allow myself the sinfulness of abandoning this ordinance. His mother said: O caliph, count this too among those sins, and reckon it among those transgressions from which you ever seek forgiveness and beg pardon. This speech pleased the caliph, and he said: Release him. O happy is that wise one who, before the king, In the moment of wrath, strikes a pleasing point; A point that, like water, he brings gently, And casts upon the king's fire a splash of water.