MuhammadAli,governorofEgyptundertheOttomanEmpireintheearly19thcentury,wasdirectedtopunishtheWahhabiswhohaddefiedtheSultan'scommand.HehaddifficultysubjugatingtheareacalledNejd.
Oneday,hefoundhimselfsittingwithhisgenerals,eachofwhomdeclaredthatifgivencommandhecouldeasilyconquerNejd.Aliroseandplacedanappleinthecentreofalargecarpet.“ThetaskofconqueringNejdisdifficult,”hesaid.“It'slikeseizingthisapplewithoutsettingfootonthecarpet.ThemanwhocandosoisthemancapableofcapturingNejd.”
Asthegeneralsfailedtocomeupwithasolution,Ali'ssonIbrahimPashaapproachedthecarpet,andbeganrollingitup.Reachingtheapple,hegraspeditwithease.Hewasappointedcommander,andfinallycapturedNejd.
穆罕點德．阿里十九世紀初任鄂圖曼帝國埃及總督，奉命膺懲回教瓦哈比派信徒，因為他們不奉鄂圖曼國君命令。但內志一地難以攻陷。
有一天，他和各將領坐在一起，各將領都聲言只要由自己掛帥，征服內志易如反掌。阿里站起來，把一個蘋果放在一幅大地毯中央，說：「取內志之難，有如取此蘋果而腳不履地毯。不履地毯而取得蘋果者，才可以征服內志。」
各將領無計可施。阿里的兒子易卜拉欣帕夏走近地毯，把地毯向前捲起，一直捲到蘋果之前，輕易把蘋果拿到手中。他獲拜為元帥，終於攻陷內志。