Some days later...

Some days later, Buhul returned to the ruins and found the three hundred and ten dirhams in its original location. Taking out the money, he defecated there and covered it with earth. Immediately after Buhul had left, the trader rushed towards the spot and, removing the earth, sought to collect the entire money, only to find his hand dirtied by the excrement. He thus comprehended Buhul’s deception. A few days later Buhul visited him.

“I want you to compute some figures associated with my money,” said Buhul. “How much does eighty dirhams added to fifty dirhams added to one hundred dirhams, and this sum added to the dirty odour that emanates from your hands, sum up to?” Saying this, he took to his heels. The trader rushed after him in hot pursuit, but failed to catch him.[^5] The Qur’an-Reciting Blind Thief ‘Allam Ibn Al-Thaman says: “I was employed by a trader in Basrah when one day, I had to undertake a journey to ‘Ubullah.

I put five hundred dirhams in a bag and set out for the journey. I reached the banks of the river Tigris where I hired a boat. As I was passing by the region named Mismar, I noticed a blind person sitting by the riverbank, reciting the Qur’an. In a very sad voice, he called out: “O’ Seaman! Take me in the boat for I fear that the animals might kill me at night.” Initially the boatman refused but when I rebuked him, he consented.

The blind man sat in the boat and continually recited the Qur’an from memory till we came near ‘Ubullah, whereupon he stopped his recitation and began to disembark from the boat. All of a sudden, I realized that the trader’s money, which had been given to me in trust, was missing. Both the boatman and the blind person removed their clothes to prove that they had not taken the money.

I thought to myself, “The trader is bound to kill me.” Thousands of thoughts whirled in my mind and I began to weep and pray. As I walked towards ‘Ubullah, a man came up to me and sought to know the reason for my lamentations. I informed him of the theft of the trader’s money. “I shall show you a way (to extricate yourself from this problem),” he said. “Purchase some good food, go to the prison and plead to the prison warden to let you in.

Inside the prison, go to Abu Bakr Naqqash and give him the food.