Before the Throne

45

HORUS HERALDED, “al-Hajj Ahmad al-Minyawi!”

A tall, strong man walked in until he stood before the throne.

Osiris bid him speak.

“Originally from the family of Mikhail al-Minyawi,” Ahmad said, “God guided me to Islam, so I converted. I learned the Arabic tongue, and memorized the Noble Qur’an. Then I became a teacher, and the Lord enabled me to go on pilgrimage. In my day, Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz was caliph, one of the Right-Guided Ones among the earliest leaders of Islam. When the Copts complained about their treatment under Usama ibn Yazid, the caliph ordered his arrest and removal. Sent in shackles to the caliph, he died on the way. Usama’s place was taken by Ayyub ibn Sharhabil, who was very pious, and who compensated the Copts for what they had suffered in persecution.”

“Why did you switch to Islam?” asked Akhenaten.

“Belief erupts in the heart without any warning,” said al-Minyawi.

“I believe you,” said Akhenaten, “and no one can believe you like an expert such as me. But didn’t my hymns have anything to do with your faith?”

“Your name was unknown till a thousand years after this man’s time,” Osiris informed Akhenaten.

“Maybe you just wanted to escape the head tax?” Khufu prodded him.

“No — there was a military commander, Hayyan ibn Shurayh, who demanded that even those who become Muslims pay the head tax. When this reached the caliph, he ordered it to be cancelled, and that Hayyan be given twenty lashes, telling him that God sent Muhammad as a guide, not as a tax collector.”

“May success go with you to your Muslim trial,” said Osiris.