The most beautiful women jostled each other to work for Muhsin al-Muhsin. He was famous for this: if he promised someone a beautiful woman, he would be exposed in a few hours because the woman would turn out to be not merely beautiful but also enchanting, obedient, and modest in her needs.
Rich and well-known families, as well as poor and little-known ones, competed in welcoming him into their homes. He gratefully accepted their invitations and found in every home something that excited and entertained him, and helped support and sustain his work with new and enthusiastic recruits.
Muhsin al-Muhsin was a truly attractive man. Many women loved him, and he loved many women. Then suddenly he became fed up with women; he turned a cold eye on them and fought against a disgust that he tried to hide. He fell in love with a wall in the souk and welcomed the thought of himself turning into a wall of black stone, facing the wall that he loved. He was rewarded with days of contentment and happiness, to the extent that he did not mind children urinating on him. As for the women who used to work for him, they became ugly and rude, and prey to limitless greed, promising a lot but giving little. Men used to come to him to complain. They tried to convince him to come back and help them, but he held tenaciously to his silence, feeling pleased he was a wall. His happiness did not last long, however, for an official order to widen the street as quickly as possible was promulgated. Many walls were brought down, and one of them hoped its stones would be used again in building a prison for women.