' answered Al-Jubbai, 'the Almighty would say: "I knew
that if I allowed thee to live thou wouldst have been disobedient, and
incurred the severe punishment of hell; I therefore acted for thy
advantage."' 'Well,' said Al-Ashari, 'and suppose the infidel brother
were here to say: "O God of the Universe! since you knew what awaited
him, you must have known what awaited me; why, then, did you act for
his advantage and not for mine?"' Al-Jubbai had not a word to offer in
reply. This discussion proves that the Almighty elects some for mercy,
and others for punishment, and that his acts are not the results of
any motive whatsoever.

XIV.

It is related that As-Shafi said: 'There are five men on whom people
must rely for the nourishment of their minds: he who wishes to become
learned in jurisprudence must have recourse to Abu Hanifah; he who
desires to become skilled in poetry must apply to Zoheir bin Ali
Sulma, the author of one of the Mua'llakas, or suspended poems at
Mecca; he who would like to become well acquainted with the history of
the Muslim conquests must obtain his information from Muhammad bin
Ishak; he who wishes to become deeply learned in grammar must have
recourse to Al-Kisai; and he who seeks to be acquainted with the
interpretations of the Koran must apply to Mukatil bin Sulaiman.'

XV.

There are several stories current as to how the Khalif Omar bin
Al-Khattab took upon himself the title of 'Commander of the Faithful.'
One is that Omar was one day holding a public sitting, when he said:
'By Allah! I do not know what we must say. Abu Bakr was the successor
of the Apostle of God, and I am the successor of the successor of
God's Apostle. Is there any title that can answer?' Those who were
present said: 'Commander (Amir) will do.' 'Nay,' said Omar, 'you are
all commanders.' On this Al-Mughira said: 'We are the faithful, and
you are our Commander.' 'Then,' said Omar, 'I am the Commander of the
Faithful.'

XVI.

Abu Ali Yahya, the vizier of Harun-ar-Rashid, was the son of Khalid,
and the grandson of Barmek. Yahya was highly distinguished for wisdom,
nobleness of mind, and elegance of language. One of his sayings was:
'Three things indicate the degree of intelligence possessed by him who
does them: the bestowing of gifts, the drawing up of letters, and the
acting as ambassador.' He used to say to his sons: 'Write down the
best things which you hear; learn by heart the best things which you
writ