“We left our clan, Ghifār—people who used to profane the sacred month. My brother Unays, our mother, and I set out and stayed with a maternal uncle of ours. He honoured us and treated us well, but his people grew jealous of us.

They said to him, ‘Whenever you are away from your family, Unays slips in to them.’ Our uncle came and repeated to us what had been said. I said to him, ‘Whatever kindness you showed us before, you have now tainted; from now on you will have no further share with us.’

We brought forward our small herd of camels and loaded up on them, and our uncle wrapped himself in his cloak, weeping, while we departed until we camped on the outskirts of Mecca.

There Unays entered into a boasting contest with a man over our small herd of camels and another herd like it, so we went to a soothsayer, who gave the verdict…"