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When the Soldan saw this admirable fervor of spirit and courage in the man of God, he willingly listened to him and earnestly invited him to stay longer with him. Inspired from heaven, Christ's servant said: "If you wish to be converted to Christ along with your people, I will most gladly stay with you for love of him. But if you hesitate to abandon the law of Mahomet for the faith of Christ, then command that an enormous fire be lit and I will walk into the fire along with your priests so that you will recognize which faith deserves to be held as the holier and more certain." The Soldan answered him: "I do not believe that any of my priests would be willing to expose himself to the fire to defend his faith or to undergo any kind of torment." For he had seen immediately one of his priests, a man full of authority and years, slipping away from his view when he heard Francis's words. The saint said to the Soldan: "If you wish to promise that if I come out of the fire unharmed, you and your people will come over to the worship of Christ, then I will enter the fire alone. And if I shall be burned, you must attribute it to my sins. But if God's power protects me, you will acknowledge ‘Christ the power and wisdom of God' (1 Cor. 1:24) as ‘true God' (John 17:3) and the 'Savior' (John 4:42) of all." The Soldan replied that he did not dare to accept this choice because he feared a revolt among his people. Nevertheless he offered Francis many valuable gifts, which the man of God, greedy not for worldly possessions but for the salvation of souls, spurned as if they were dirt. Seeing that the holy man so completely despised worldly possessions, the Soldan was filled with admiration and developed an even greater respect for him. Although he refused, or perhaps did not dare, to come over to the Christian faith, he nevertheless devoutly asked Christ's servant to accept the gifts and give them to the Christian poor or to churches for the Soldan's salvation. But Francis would in no way accept them because he was accustomed to flee from the burden of money and he did not see that true piety had taken root in the Soldan's soul.When he saw that he was making no progress in converting these people and that he could not achieve his purpose, namely martyrdom, he went back to the lands of the faithful, as he was advised by a divine revelation.”