The Emperor punishes his son

There was once a Muslim emperor whose son was undivine to the extreme. One day a very shocking report came to the emperor. A man came to the palace and said that his wife had become unfaithful to him because of the emperor’s son. The man’s story was proven to be true, and the emperor was disheartened and disgusted.

The man said, “I am embarrassed to have to tell you this shocking news. Now, please do something.”

The emperor said, “Yes, I will definitely take some action, without fail. If somebody else had done this kind of thing, what kind of punishment would I have given him? I would have ordered that person to be hanged. But that punishment is only a matter of a few seconds. For the emperor’s son, there should be some punishment that is more painful and that continues for a longer time. Then everybody will be able to see it and learn from it. The just punishment is for him to be stoned to death in public. My soldiers will continue throwing stones at him until he finally dies.”

The emperor buried his head in his hands. “How can I have a son like this?” he cried. “My subjects are all my children. If my only son behaves like this, if he has become so bad, then how can I expect my other children to be good? He has brought disgrace to the royal family and to the whole kingdom. Justice demands that he be stoned to death!”