Said I, “O Otbah, O son of my uncle, repent to thy Lord and drave pardon for thy sin; for before thee is the terror of standing up to Judgment.” He replied, “Far be it from me so to do. I shall never leave to love till the two mimosa-gatherers return.”[FN#84] I abode with him till daybreak, when I said to him, “Come let us go to the Mosque Al-Ahzab.” So we went thither and sat there, till we had prayed the midday prayers, when lo! up came the women; but the damsel was not among them. Quoth they to him, “O Otbah, what thinkest thou of her who seeketh union with thee?” He said, “And what of her?”; and they replied, “Her father hath taken her and departed to Al-Samawah.”[FN#85] I asked them the name of the damsel and they said, “She is called Rayyá, daughter of Al-Ghitríf al-Sulami.”[FN#86] Whereupon Otbah raised his head and recited these verses, “My friends, Rayya hath mounted soon as morning shone, * And to Samawah’s wilds her caravan is gone. My friends, I’ve wept till I can weep no more, Oh, say, * Hath any one a tear that I can take on loan.” Then said I to him, “O Otbah, I have brought with me great wealth, wherewith I desire to succour generous men; and by Allah, I will lavish it before thee,[FN#87] so thou mayst attain thy desire and more than thy desire! Come with me to the assembly of the Ansaris.” So we rose and went, till we entered their assembly, when I salam’d to them and they returned my greeting civilly. Then quoth I, “O assembly, what say ye of Otbah and his father?”: and they replied, “They are of the princes of the Arabs.” I continued, “Know that he is smitten with the calamity of love and I desire your furtherance to Al-Samawah.” And they said, “To hear is to obey.” So they mounted with us, the whole party, and we rode till we drew near the place of the Banu Sulaym. Now when Ghitrif heard of our being near, he hastened forth to meet us, saying, “Long life to you, O nobles!”; whereto we replied, “And to thee also! Behold we are thy guests.” Quoth he, “Ye have lighted down at a most hospitable abode and ample;” and alighting he cried out, “Ho, all ye slaves, come down!” So they came down and spread skin-rugs and cushions and slaughtered sheep and cattle; but we said, “We will not taste of thy food, till thou have accomplished our need.” He asked, “And what is your need?”; and we answered, “We demand thy noble daughter in marriage for Otbah bin Hubab bin Mundhir the illustrious and well born.” “O my brethren,” said he, “she whom you demand is owner of herself, and I will go in to her and tell her.” So he rose in wrath[FN#88] and went in to Rayya, who said to him, “O my papa, why do I see thee show anger?” And he replied, saying, “Certain of the Ansaris have come upon me to demand thy hand of me in marriage.” Quoth she, “They are noble chiefs; the Prophet, on whom be the choicest blessings and peace, intercedeth for them with Allah. For whom among them do they ask me?” Quoth he,