For a time, Yusuf had prayed at mosque number two, along with his brothers in faith. He could not understand the murmurs that his fellow worshippers uttered when they saw him at the mosque. He did not want to believe that Siyasans were an unkind and ungenerous people. It was as if he were doing something wrong and yet did not know the reason. The caprices of Fate, however, decreed that he should be sent a herald. As he prayed sincerely one evening, a young fellow, who could barely sport his own beard, advised him that there was simply no evidence or authority for him to keep such a short beard. His lips quivered, his body trembled. So it was true! He turned his head and scoured the mosque and realised that everyone had the same length that Sheikh Majd ed-Deen himself wore. Even, it seemed,
