Once upon a time Jaafar, the Barmecide and Haroon Al-Rashid were on a drinking binge. Al-Rashid being tipsy asked for the slave girl possessed by Jaafar either by sale or gift which was refused.
Then Al-Rashid said he must have the girl who was triply divorced. Jaafar also mentioned about triply divorced but would neither sell nor gift the slave. After the tipsiness wore out they realized the mistake of mentioning triply divorces.
They decided to ask the Imam, Abu Yusuf for a solution and he was called in the dead of night. The Imam advised that Haroon Al-Rashid could marry her only if the girl was married to someone and divorced immediately.
Accordingly a slave was brought to marry the slave-girl. After the marriage, he though refused to divorce her despite the offer of huge amount. The Imam then advised Haroon Al-Rashid to give the slave man to the girl as her chattel. Once the girl agreed to take the man as her slave, their marriage was nullified and Al-Rashid was allowed to marry the girl. The Imam told his friends that the religious learning is the best way to dispense justice and earn wealth.
