to have a child associated to him. He is purer than to be stained by the impurity of menstruation. No! Indeed, he is purer than this!” The Shaikh said, “So, is it that you dislike what is natural for all people, like faces, urine, sleep and wake, and sexual relations with women, and yet you claim that the Lord of the Worlds lived in the darkness of the womb and was defiled by menstruation??! “This is a devil from the devils of the Arabs!” said the priest. “Throw him into the sea! Throw him back from whence he came!!” Moving closer to the priest, the Shaikh said, “If it is that you worship Jesus, the son of Mary, because he had no father, then look at Adam. He had no father, nor did he have a mother. Allah created him with His hands, and the Angels prostrated to him. So, worship Adam along with Jesus, so that you would have two gods! And, if it is that you have worshipped him, because he showed you miraculous things, then look at Joshua, the son of Noon, who fought a people until sunset, then he said to the sun, “By Allah’s grace, go back!” So, the sun went back to midday. Then include Joshua, that he may be the third god. And, if it is that you worship him, because he was taken up to the heavens, then there are two angels with each individual by night, and two others by day, going up to the heavens. Why then don’t we go and count them, that there is no mistake in our minds, and our religion in not mixed up and that we do not add any perplexity to our religion.” “Oh priest!” continued the Shaikh, “Tell me if someone has conquered death, which is easier for him, to die naturally or to be killed?” “To be killed,” said the priest. “Why then didn’t he kill his mother?” asked the Shaikh, as this would have been better for her. “In that case, he was not kind to his mother,” continued the Shaikh. The priest said, “Take him into the Grand Cathedral, for indeed, no one has ever entered it without becoming a Christian.” “Then, take him to the Grand Cathedral,” said the King. “Indeed it is only one of the houses of your Lord, in which God’s name is mentioned.” “If that is the case,” said the Shaikh, “it’s alright.” The king said, “Then take him.” When the Shaikh entered the church, he placed his fingers in his ears, and, in a loud voice, began calling the Azan or Muslim call to prayer. This caused a great disturbance among the Christians. They started shouting. Then they took the Shaikh back to the King. “Oh King!” cried the Shaikh, “Where did they take me?!” “They took you to one of the houses of God,” said the King, “so that you may praise your Lord.” The Shaikh then said, “I entered and praised Him with my tongue, and glorified Him with my heart. So, if it is that every time I mention Allah in your church, it belittles your religion, then may Allah increase your humiliation.” “That is true,” said the King. Then ordering his officials he said, “Leave him alone!” “Oh King!’ they cried, “We wouldn’t be satisfied until we kill him.” “Oh King!” they cried, “We wouldn’t be satisfied until we kill him for you.” “If you all kill me,” protested the Shaikh, “and word of this gets back to our King, he would start killing all the priests and bishops and destroying the churches. He would also break the cross and prevent the bells from being rung in the churches!’ “Would he do such a thing!” they asked. “Yes, “said the Shaikh. “So don’t complain when this happens,” he warned. The Christians thought about this for a while, then they released the Skaikh. The Shaikh then said, “Oh king! What is it that the people of the Jews and the Christians hold against the Polytheists. “The fact that they worship what they created with their own hands,” replied the King. “And, likewise, you too worship what you created with your own hands,” said the Shaikh. “These statues that you have in your churches, if they can be found in the Bible, then we’ll have nothing to say about it. But, if not, then your religion is just like the religion of the Polytheists.” “That’s right,” said the King. Turning to the priests, the king asked “Do you find these in the Bible?” “N…N …No,” replied the priest. “So why does my religion resemble the religion of the polytheists!?” asked the King angrily. “Destroy the churches!” ordered the king. They started demolishing the churches and crying. The priest said, “Indeed this is a devil, form the devils of the Arabs, that the sea has thrown at you all. So, return him from whence he came, and don’t spill a drop of his blood on your land, because it would corrupt your religion!” Some men were then ordered to take him back o Damascus. The King then started killing all the priests, bishops and generals, because none of them were able to successfully debate the Shaikh. So, they fled to Syria.
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