"There was a companionof the king who visited him all the time. He
would sit beside him and say, 'Treat the good-doer with good and don't
treat the evil-doer with evil for his evil will be sufficient for
him.' Another man envied his position with the king and his good
speech.
The envious man came to the king and related: 'Your companion that
sits beside you claimed that you had a bad smell.' The king inquired,
'But how can I verify this?' The man replied, 'Call him to you. He
will put his hand on his nose as he gets closerto you.' The king said,
'Leave, and I will see! ' This man left the king and invited the
king's companion to a meal that he had placed muchgarlic in. The
companionate and then went to theking as usual and said, 'Treat the
good-doer with good and don't treat the evil-doer with evil, for his
evil will be sufficient for him.' The king said to him, 'Get closer to
me!' The man moved closer, and placed his hand over his mouth so that
the king would not smell the odor of garlic. The king thought to
himself, 'Thatman was truthful.' The king then hand-wrote a letter and
gave it to the companion. The king never wrote anything unless he
wanted to givesomeone a prize or gift. But this letter was written to
one of his administrators and contained the following message: 'When
the bearer of this letter comes to you, slaughter him and skin him.
Then fill his skin with straw and send him back to me.'
Later, the envious man met the companion on his way and asked, 'What
is this letter?' The companion replied, 'The king has given me a
gift.' The envious man asked, 'Would you give itto me.' The other
companion said, 'It's yours.' The envious man took it and went to the
administrator. The administrator said to him, 'This letter is a
command from the king to slaughter you and skin you.' The envious man
announced, 'This letter is not mine. I beseech you in the Nameof Allah
to check with the king before you do anything.'
The administrator informed him that there would be no changes to what
the king had written. Then he slaughtered him, skinned him, filled his
skin with straw, and senthim back to the king. In the meantime, the
companion returned to the king as usual. The king was shocked and
demanded, 'What happened to the letter?' He said, 'So-and-so met me
and asked me for it, so I gave it to him.' The king then challenged,
'Have you said that I have a bad smell?' The man rebutted, 'No! ' So
the king asked, 'Then why did you place your hand over your mouth?'
The man answered, 'So-and-so provided me with food that had muchgarlic
in it and I hated that you might smell it.' The king declared, 'You
are truthful. The evil of the evildoer is sufficient for him.'"
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