***
In the morning after the usual prayers, but before breakfast was served, the chief acolyte came and spoke to Ahmad and Jafar, who sat together toward the front of the large room where prayers were held. “The prophet Muhmad sends you greetings,” he said, “and asks that you be cleansed and formally dressed so he may see you together.”
“Together?” Ahmad said, wrinkling his brow. “Isn’t that unusual? Doesn’t he see each petitioner separately?”
“Usually he does,” the acolyte agreed. “But in this case, since you share a common vision, he asks to see you together.”
Jafar and Ahmad looked at one another curiously. They were from different levels of society and their problems were totally dissimilar. How could these two men of different generations share a common destiny? Still, they were h
