Eventually...

Eventually, I narrated my dream to him, whereupon, with tears flowing from his eyes, he explained: “One day, having entered the sanctuary of Imam Riďa (as), I noticed that before me stood a lady with her hand placed on the sepulcher. I placed my hand on hers and so the lady went to the other side of the sepulcher. I followed her there and once again placed my hand on hers. This time, the lady went behind the sepulcher.

When she had placed her hand upon it, I did exactly the same as before and asked her where she was from. She replied that she was from Tehran; we became friends and returned to Tehran together.”[^5] The Daughter’s Disloyalty towards the Father Satrun, whose title was Dhizan was the king of Hadhar, a state located between the rivers Tigris and Euphrates. In Hadhar, there was a beautiful palace by the name of Jausaq.

Once, the king attacked a city that was under the control of Shapur; looting and plundering it, he massacred a great number of its people and eventually occupied it. In the process he managed to take Shapur’s sister as captive. When Shapur came to know of this, he gathered his army and set out towards the king. Dhizan had locked himself inside a strong fort which Shapur laid siege to. This siege continued for a period of four years but Shapur was unable to penetrate the fort.

One day, Dhizan’s daughter, Nadhirah, an extremely beautiful maiden, was strolling outside the fort when Shapur’s eyes fell on her. He was instantly captivated by her beauty. He sent word to her that if she helped him conquer the fort, he would marry her. During one of the nights, Nadhirah, who too had fallen for Shapur, got the guards of the fort intoxicated and opened its doors to Shapur’s forces. In the battle that ensued, her father Dhizan was eventually killed.

In keeping with his promise, Shapur married Nadhira. One night he noticed that there was blood on her bed. As he set about to investigate the cause of it, he observed that a strand of thick hair lay on her bed and this had caused her delicate and subtle body to become scratched and injured. “What did your father feed you with?” he asked her. “Yolk of eggs, brain of lambs, butter and honey,” she replied.