Once upon a time, a man had three gorgeous daughters. Their father loved them more than himself. He raised them and disciplined them well. He had to find suitable husbands when they grew up and became marriageable.
He had an intelligent way of telling those who mixed with and met him that he had three daughters ready for marriage. He deliberately unbuttoned three of his shirt buttons as a sign that he had three daughters and wanted to marry them off, and no one could understand that except the high-level people. After a while, a wealthy man proposed to his first daughter. Thus, he married her to him. A well-off man proposed to the second daughter; thus, he married her to him. And a poor man proposed to his third daughter. Thus, he married her to him.
The father of the three daughters was a wise man with a lot of fortune and money. One day, he argued with some of his friends about his daughters’ husbands. One of them told him the poor husband was the best for his daughter. Some said that the well-off was the best and the most faithful, while the rest asserted that the rich husband was the most faithful.
The father needed clarification about all that his friends said. Because the man of the three daughters had a great heritage, he wanted to make sure which one of his daughters’ husbands he would trust and deserved that his wife would inherit her father’s property and who was worthier of that inheritance among them. After he listened to his friends’ views, he chose to test the three husbands: the poor one, the well-off one, and the rich one, and whoever passed the test deserved that his wife would inherit what her father owned.
The man planned well. In the beginning, he claimed that he lost all he owned and popularized that among the people, including the husbands of his three daughters. He claimed he was in need and poverty for a while. One day, the father stole one of the ruler’s goats and claimed to slaughter it to satisfy their hunger. Because the ruler loved that goat so much and as it was one of the most beloved and close goats to the ruler’s heart, as well as to all people. They called it “Assas”. It was unique in shape and color and gave birth to many goats. After the man stole it and took it to his house, he hid it in a safe place out of the public eye.
After that, the man told one of the ruler’s servants that he had stolen the ruler’s goat and slaughtered it. When the ruler knew it, he ordered that the man should be brought to appear before him. When the father of the three daughters appeared before the ruler, he was questioned about what he had done. He told the ruler and confessed to him that he had done it. At that time, the ruler considered convicting him based on two punishments. The first was to cut off his head. The second was to redeem himself with forty black she-camels, each of which carried a rope of silk around its neck.
The man chose to redeem himself with forty black she-camels and asked the ruler to give him a chance to manage the matter, and he was granted accordingly.
The man went to his wealthy son-in-law, told him what happened, and asked him to help him in that ordeal; otherwise, his head would be cut off. But the rich son-in-law apologized to help, and the man returned disappointed from his son-in-law’s house.
The man did not lose hope. He knocked on the door of his well-off son-in-law and told him what was happening to him and his purpose. He asked him to help so that he would not lose his life, but the well-off husband apologized for not helping. Then, the man returned disappointed from his door.
In a last attempt, the man went to his poor son-in-law and told him what was going on with him, and told him his story, seeking his help to redeem himself and save it from death.
“Don’t worry at all. We will find a solution that will save you,” the poor husband said to him.
The poor husband thought about it. He lit a big fire, so everyone in the village knew the man was asking for their presence. They immediately answered the call. Before he told them anything, he had slaughtered his only she-camel, which he had no one else. He prepared a meal for them. After they ate and got full, he told them why he invited them and his father-in-law’s story. Everyone welcomed the idea of assistance and asked him to give them time until the next day.
On the next day, the poor husband’s people arrived at his door, pulling forty black she-camels with silk ropes around their necks. The man proudly welcomed them. He went to his father-in-law and gave him the forty black she-camels to redeem and free him.
“May God reward you well, son. You are a good man,” his father-in-law told him.
Then he asked him to stand with the she-camels until he went and let the ruler know that he had come with what to redeem himself. The man returned home and took out the ruler’s hidden goat, so it dashed to the ruler’s home.
When the ruler’s servants saw it returning, they shouted happily, “Assas came home and had not been slaughtered.”
After that, the man of the three daughters went to the ruler and told him the whole story and what he wanted from what he did and planned for. The ruler forgave him and was impressed with his wisdom. The man returned to his poor son-in-law and told him what was happening.
He gave back the forty she-camels to him. He told him, “Do not be afraid, I am not guilty, but rather I tested which one among the husbands of my daughters is worthy of having his wife get what I have in terms of inheritance, and you were the winner among them and the noblest of them.”
