''Literature is the best treasure."

This incident took place during the time of Al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf.

 

During his rule, a strict order was issued that anyone seen wandering outside at night should be arrested immediately, and if they violated the order, they could even be executed.

One night, while patrolling the streets, his guards found three young men walking outside. They arrested them at once, and their condition suggested that they were under the influence of intoxication.

The guards asked the first young man,

“Who are you?”

He replied,

“I am the son of the man before whom the rich and the poor, the wealthy and the needy, all bow their heads.”

Thinking that he belonged to a powerful family, the guards left him for the time being.

They then asked the second young man,

“Who are you?”

He replied,

“I am the son of the man whose cooking pots are never removed from the fire, and people gather around their light.”

The guards assumed that he belonged to a generous and noble family, so they released him as well.

Then they asked the third young man,

“Who are you?”

He replied,

“I am the son of the man whose feet never leave the stirrup. Whether the situation is easy or difficult, he always remains steadfast.”

The guards left him too and did nothing to them during the night, but in the morning all three were presented in the court of Al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf.

In the court, he asked the first young man to tell the truth. He confessed that the man he referred to was actually his father, who was a barber.

The second young man admitted that his father, whose pots were always on the fire, was in fact a baker.

The third young man explained that his father was a weaver who worked on a loom, constantly moving his feet while weaving cloth.

When Al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf witnessed their eloquence, wit, and refined speech, he pardoned them and said:

“Had there been no eloquence and refinement in your speech, I would have ordered your execution.”

Lesson: Eloquence, good manners, and refined speech can save a person from great danger.