Ḥarírí then proceeds to argue that his _Maqámát_ are not mere frivolous stories such as strict Moslems are bound to reprobate in accordance with a well-known passage of the Koran referring to Naḍr b. Ḥárith, who mortally offended the Prophet by amusing the Quraysh with the old Persian legends of Rustam and Isfandiyár (Koran, xxxi, 5-6): "_There is one that buyeth idle tales that he may seduce men from the way of God, without knowledge, and make it a laughing-stock: these shall suffer a shameful punishment. And when Our signs are read to him, he turneth his back in disdain as though he heard them not, as though there were in his ears a deafness: give him joy of a grievous punishment!_" Ḥarírí insists that the _Assemblies_ have a moral purpose. The ignorant and malicious, he says, will probably condemn his work, but intelligent readers will perceive, if they lay prejudice aside, that it is as useful and instructive as the fables of beasts, &c.,[621] to which no one has ever objected. That his fears of hostile criticism were not altogether groundless is shown by the following remarks of the author of the popular history entitled _al-Fakhrí_ († _circa_ 1300 A.D.). This writer, after claiming that his own book is more useful than the _Ḥamása_ of Abú Tammám, continues:-- [Sidenote: _Maqámát_ criticised as immoral.] "And, again, it is more profitable than the _Maqámát_ on which men have set their hearts, and which they eagerly commit to memory; because the reader derives no benefit from _Maqámát_ except familiarity with elegant composition and knowledge of the rules of verse and prose. Undoubtedly they contain maxims and ingenious devices and experiences; but all this has a debasing effect on the mind, for it is founded on begging and sponging and disgraceful scheming to acquire a few paltry pence. Therefore, if they do good in one direction, they do harm in another; and this point has been noticed by some critics of the _Maqámát_ of Ḥarírí and Badí‘u ’l-Zamán."[622] [Sidenote: The character of Abú Zayd.]