Siyar al-mutaʾakhkhirin 42.18.5

42.18.5

That, first of all, he had appointed for his Prime Minister an infidel, a pagan, a man equally cruel and covetous, who carried an iron rod over the heads of so many Seyds, so many Shehs, so many Musulmen, so many venerable learned men. That he was publicly addicted to all kinds of lusts, even to those of the most ugly and unnatural kind. That his days and nights were spent in drinking and in a crapulous debauchery, that had disabled him from distinguishing Paganism from Musalmanism, oppression from justice, and profligacy from piety and good morals. That he had of late entered into strict connections with that Western Pagan, Simb-ha the Marhatta, to whom he had very lately sent one lac of Huns, notwithstanding the exhortations and representations of a number of grave religious men that had been sent him to put a stop to those connections, and to recall him from an alliance so repugnant to the Word of God. That all the effect produced by those remonstrances, was only to put him upon precautioning himself, by filling his ears with the cotton of pride and neglect, and by addicting his time to a course of crapule and debauchery against the remorses of conscience and the thoughts of eternity." "A fine thought this! and a curious expedient!" Such a manifesto having convinced Abul-hassen that there were no hopes left of pacification, he turned his views towards making a proper defence;