The tyrant Roderigo wanted to know the Truth, so he had Omar the Sufi arrested. "Tell me the Truth, and I'll release you!" commanded Roderigo. "If not, you will die."
"What if my speaking the Truth angers you?" asked Omar.
"Your question angers me!" shouted the tyrant. "Now you must tell me not one Truth, but three!"
"So be it," said the Sufi. "First, my name is Omar. Second, you will release me for speaking the Truth. Third, you want to know the Truth only within the limits of your own understanding."
And the tyrant reluctantly let the Sufi go.
Inspired by: Tales of the Dervishes by Idries Shah, free to read online at the Idries Shah Foundation.
Notes: This is on p. 33 in the book. This legend names the tyrant as Rudarigh (Roderigo), of Spain, and the Sufi he had arrested is called Omar el-Alawi of Tarragona. Shah says the legend was recorded by al-Mutanabbi. I changed the legend to have the tyrant demand three truths in anger; in Shah's version, Omar offers three truths voluntarily: "For such a lord as you, to whom we can give no one truth but three, we can also give truths which will be self-evident."
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