«فَقَالَ الشَّيْخُ: مَا مِنِّي خِلَافٌ فَلَا يَكُنْ لِوَعْدِكَ إِخْلَافٌ»
The elder said: I offer no resistance; let there be no failure to honour your promise.
The elder accepts the proposed settlement while insisting that the promise be honoured. The paired sounds khilāf and ikhlāf distinguish objection from breach.
The recognition, departure and closing satirical verse return to the central question of the volume: what happens when outstanding linguistic talent is deployed for questionable ends?