يَا هَذَا أَيَكُونُ ذَاكَ خَبَرُكَ وَهَذَا خُبْرُكَ؟
O man, is that your public account and this your actual condition?
The pairing of khabaruka / khubruka brings reputation and lived reality into tension. Al-Ḥārith does not begin with a formal verdict; his question juxtaposes the preacher’s earlier speech with the scene now witnessed.
Characterisation begins in the interrogation itself. The reader has seen the hidden meal and anticipates an explanation. That anticipation gives the reply dramatic weight. The verbal echo is effective not merely because it sounds clever, but because two views of the same person are forced into contact.