to her father, saying to him: 'Marry to me thy daughter, and break thy
carnelian-idol, and bear witness that there is no deity but God, and
that Solomon is the Prophet of God. But if thou refuse, I will come to
thee with forces that shall leave thee like yesterday that hath passed.'
And when the messenger of Solomon came to him, the King of the Sea was
insolent, and magnified himself and was proud. Then he said to his
viziers: 'What say ye respecting the affair of Solomon? For he hath sent
demanding my daughter, and commanding me to break my carnelian-idol, and
to adopt his faith.' And they replied: 'O great King, can Solomon do
aught unto thee, when thou art in the midst of this vast sea? He cannot
prevail against thee; since the genies will fight on thy side; and thou
shalt seek aid against him of thine idol that thou worshippest. The
right opinion is, that thou consult thy red carnelian-idol, and hear
what will be his reply: if he counsel thee to fight him, fight him; but
otherwise, do not.' And upon this the king went immediately, and, going
in to his idol, after he had offered a sacrifice and slain victims, fell
down before it prostrate, and began to weep, and to seek counsel.

"Thereupon I entered the body of the idol, by reason of my ignorance,
and my solicitude respecting the affair of Solomon, and recited this
couplet:

'As for me, I am not in fear of him; for I am acquainted with everything.
If he wish to wage war with me, I will go forth, and I will snatch his
soul from him.'

So when the king heard my reply to him, his heart was strengthened, and
he determined to wage war with Solomon the Prophet of God and to fight
against him. Accordingly, when the messenger of Solomon came, he
inflicted upon him a painful beating, and returned him a shameful reply;
and he sent to threaten Solomon, saying to him, by the messenger: 'Dost
thou threaten me with false words? Either come thou to me, or I will go
to thee.'

"Then the messenger returned to Solomon, and acquainted him with all
that had occurred. And when the Prophet of God heard that, his
resolution was roused, and he prepared his forces, consisting of genies
and men, and wild beasts, and birds and reptiles. He commanded his
vizier, Ed-Dimiryat, the king of the genies, to collect them from every
place: so he collected for him, of the devils, six hundred millions. He
also commanded Asaf, his vizier of men, to collect his soldiers of
mankind; and their