The Wisest Man in Jahiliya
A man had borrowed money from another, and when the creditor asked for his money back the former claimed that he had already paid back what he owed. They had a massive arguments, calling each other liar and thief. They were on the point of coming to blows when someone suggested they went to the wisest man in Jahiliya, the WMIJ, called the Umji to ask him to arbitrate.
The Umji asked them each to put forward their case, and the first man insisted that he had repaid in full what he had borrowed. Do you have witnesses? The Umji asked, and he responded that he had ten who saw him repay. The Umji then asked the lender to put forward his case, and he said that he was never reimbursed. Do you have witnesses? he asked. Yes, was the answer, I can produce ten witnesses who will swear that they never saw the other fellow repay me. The Umji pursed his lips. That’s quite a conundrum, he said finally, let me think. He thought for a bit, then his face lit up. Yes, I know how to settle the matter. You have resort to fisticuffs in order to decide who is right.
The moral of the story is that in Jahiliya, even the wisest man was not very wise.
