Ghanim bin Ayyub is the son of a wealthy merchant. He goes to a funeral, but is locked outside the city gates and stays in the cemetery for the night. He sees a light approaching, and hides in a date-tree. The light is from three slaves carrying a chest, which they put into a tomb. They rest, and tell each other their stories.
The third eunuch does not tell his tale because they don't have time. After they leave, Ghanim digs up the chest and finds a woman inside. He takes her home, and some time later she tells him her story. She is Kut al-Kulub, a concubine to the Caliph. She was put into the chest and buried by command of the jealous Lady Zubaydah. Now knowing her story, Ghanim no longer wants to sleep in the same bed.
Meanwhile, the Caliph comes home from a journey. Zubaydah claims Kut al-Kulub has died. However, he overhears her handmaids telling the true story. He sends for Kut and Ghanim, but Kut knows of the danger and warns Ghanim, who runs away in disguise and makes his way to Baghdad. Meanwhile, Kut cries for Ghanim and the Caliph finally allows her to look for him. She actually finds Ghanim, but does not recognize him. She then meets his mother and sister, and they go back to the house where Ghanim is staying and this time they all recognize him. The Caliph gives Ghanim a palace and allows him to marry Kut, and the Caliph will marry Ghanim's sister Fitnah.
Trivia[]
- The incident with a jealous Zubaydah drugging Kut al-Kulub while her husband is out hunting, placing her in a chest, and claiming she has died shows up also in Khalifah The Fisherman Of Baghdad.