Uncle Amin was a fabric merchant who was very famous for his honesty and truthfulness. Eventually he became the richest merchant in the market. Next to Amin’s shop was another shop belonging to Ghazwan. He was a cheater who was envious of his neighbors, especially Amin.
One day a caravan of Bedouins selling pearls and jewelry arrived in the market. Amin bought from them an expensive necklace that had 30 gems and 30 precious rubies on it. He paid 150 dinars for the necklace. Ghazwan was nearby observing the purchase. He saw Amin put the necklace in his wooden safe.
Later, Ghazwan went to the judge. He said, “Honorable judge, I bought an expensive necklace from the Bedouins.” He described the necklace to the judge along with what kind of stones it had on it. He said: “I placed it this morning with Amin for safe keeping, but when I came back to reclaim it he refused to give it to me. He said it was not mine.”
The Judge asked Amin to come with the necklace. Then the Judge examined the necklace. He saw that it was exactly like Ghazwan had described. The judge did not believe Amin’s claim of innocence because Ghazwan had brought two lying witnesses to support him in his accusation. While Amin could not bring any witnesses.
Before the judge could give his ruling, the Bedouin who sold the necklace to Amin rushed into the court. He said, “Honorable Judge, by mistake I sold Amin a fake necklace. I did not mean to do it.”Everyone in the room was confused.
The judge asked, “Why do you carry fake necklaces with you?” The Bedouin replied, “When we cross the dessert we are attacked by many robbers. Therefore, we load fake necklaces onto our camels and we hide the real ones so the thieves could not find them.”
Then the Bedouin gave Amin the real necklace and took the fake one. Ghazwan’s mouth hung open. He did not know what to say or do in this situation. The truth had been uncovered. The judge ordered that Amin be freed and Ghazwan was jailed. His lying and deceit had become clear for all to see.
