At the time when Zalikha was in possession of her rank and dignity, she one day had Joseph put in prison, and said to one of her slaves: “Put him in there at once and give him fifty strokes with the rod. Lay such force upon Joseph’s body that I may hear his cries from afar.” This slave did not trouble himself to carry out his task, for he had seen Joseph’s face, and his heart would not permit him to act. This excellent man had caught sight of an animal’s hide, and it was upon this hide that he struck with all his might. At every stroke the slave visibly dealt, Joseph wept copiously. When Zalikha heard these cries from afar, she said: “Strike harder, for you are too lenient.” Then the slave said to Joseph: “O thou who art as radiant as the sun! if Zalikha looks at thee, since she will see no mark of the rod upon thee, there is no doubt she will punish me severely: therefore uncover thy shoulders and steel thy heart, then endure the strokes of the rod which I shall lay upon thee. If these blows cause thee pain, at least she will see the marks they leave.” Joseph then uncovered his body, and his cries reached the heavens. The slave raised his hand and dealt him such blows with the rod that Joseph fell to the ground. When, this time, Zalikha heard his cries, she said: “That is enough, for these cries have had their effect. Before, his sighs were nothing; but this time, they are quite real.”
Even were there a hundred hired mourners for a bereavement, the sigh of the afflicted man alone would be effectual. Were there a circle of a hundred afflicted persons forming a ring, the truly afflicted man would be its jewel. So long as thou dost not possess true love, thou wilt not be worthy to stand in the ranks of spiritual men; but will he who shares in the torment and ardour of love find rest by day or night?