—[Q 7:142]—“The trysts of lovers, though they fall on different days, are nonetheless a source of comfort.”

He added, “When we were boys roaming the river-bank we would chant:

Keep me waiting—put me off;
promise me, then break your word.
Leave me crazed with longing,
or else be generous and show me grace.”

Al-Khaṭīb said: Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad al-Ẓāhirī narrated to us: I heard Ibn Samʿūn relate that he once traveled to Bayt al-Maqdis (Jerusalem) carrying some dried dates. His soul yearned for fresh dates, so he rebuked it. When the time came to break his fast he reached for the dates and found that they had turned fresh, yet he did not eat from them. On the second night he found them dried once more (1).

Al-Khaṭīb also said: I heard Aḥmad ibn ʿAlī al-Bādī; he said, “I heard Abū al-Fath al-Qawwās say, ‘Hardship overtook me, so I picked up a bow and a pair of leather socks to sell. I said to myself, I will attend Ibn Samʿūn’s gathering and then make the sale. I attended, and when he had finished he called to me, “O Abū al-Fath, do not sell the socks or the bow, for Allah will bring you provision from His own bounty,” or words to that effect (2).’”

Al-Khaṭīb said: Sharf al-Wuzarāʾ Abū al-Qāsim narrated to us; Abū Ṭāhir ibn al-ʿAllāf told me: I was present while Ibn Samʿūn was preaching and Abū al-Fath al-Qawwās sat beside the chair. He nodded off, so Abū al-Ḥusayn stopped speaking for a while until Abū al-Fath awoke. Abū al-Ḥusayn then asked him, “Did you behold the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—in your sleep?” He replied, “Yes.” Ibn Samʿūn said, “That is why I kept silent, fearing I might disturb you” (3).

Al-Khaṭīb said: The minister Abū al-Qāsim related to us; Abū ʿAlī ibn Abī Mūsā al-Hāshimī said: A retainer of the caliph al-Ṭāʾiʿ told me that al-Ṭāʾiʿ ordered him to bring Ibn Samʿūn. I saw the caliph furious—he was a man of fiery temper—and Ibn Samʿūn greeted him with the salutation due to the caliphate,