them, loved to meet only with them, and neither food nor drink was pleasant to me except with them.

Suddenly, a denouncer reported my news to the Sultan and revealed the reality of my situation. He ordered my arrest. One night, while I was with a group of my brothers gathered in my house, my home was raided. I went out and found the chief of police. When he saw me, he ordered my hands to be tied and intended to storm my house. My brothers had books with them that they were reading; I had no doubt that he would arrest them and seize the books.

So, I returned to my inner self with sincerity of intention and communed with the One who knows my secrets. While I was reflecting on my situation, a rider came galloping, preceded by a servant, until he reached us and said to the chief of police: 'Untie his bonds and let us enter to search the house, take the books within it, arrest his brothers, and see if what the denouncer said is true or not.'

He untied my bonds, and the man took my hand and the hand of the chief of police. He did not cease searching the rooms until he came to the room where my brothers were gathered. He stood at the door, then entered, and I was with him along with the chief of police, but we saw no one in it. We left the room, and my senses returned to me, and the distress I felt vanished. They turned to a chest where I kept books, but found nothing but the registers of the Sultan’s business that I managed.

I was taken away, the door was locked, and I was brought before the Sultan. He was informed that no one was found in my house and the books were presented, but he found nothing in them to incriminate me. He ordered my detention and removed the guard from my house. I stayed for a few days, and my case was settled for one hundred thousand dirhams. I summoned a mandatary of mine and ordered him to collect the money but not to deliver it until he sought my permission. He collected the money and came to me, informing me of that. I said: 'Go and distribute it among my brothers.'