Iskander gathered a huge army and set off on a distant campaign. During the long siege of a city, he fell seriously ill. Feeling death approaching, he ordered his vizier to gather the army and return home. On the way back, his illness worsened, and feeling the breath of Azrael upon him, he asked the vizier to convey three last wishes to his mother:
— The first — let my right hand not be wrapped in a shroud. The second — when my body is placed on the stretcher, let it be carried around the city. Whatever happens to me during this, let the people explain it. If they cannot, let my mother explain.
And the third wish — for those present at the funeral to prepare delicious food. Let it be eaten by those who have never lost anyone.
Having spoken these words, Iskander died.
The vizier conveyed his lord's three wishes to his mother.
At Iskander's request, his right hand was left free, not wrapped in a shroud. And when they fulfilled his second wish — carrying the khan's body around the city, his hand rose up, palm to the sky. Then Iskander's mother addressed the people, saying: "O people! Why does my son's hand not lower? Explain." But no one could do so, and they asked her to explain this miraculous phenomenon herself. "My son," she said, "wanted to rule the whole world, but did not achieve his goal and now leaves for the other world empty-handed." At these words of the mother, Iskander's hand lowered.
When, after the funeral, the mother returned home, she placed a bowl of food in front of everyone and asked those who had never lost anyone to eat, but no one touched the food. Then the mother said: "But can it really be that no one has ever lost anyone!" After that, the people shared in the mother's sorrow: they touched the food.
