of the Berbers; he enjoyed noble rank, recognized lineage, and a powerful clan.

He took possession of Granada, mustered armies, and fought al-Muʿtaṣim, lord of Almería, as well as al-Muʿtaḍid, lord of Seville. He was, however, a prodigious shedder of blood. In him justice was alloyed with ignorance.

A woman once halted him at the gate of Elvira ⦗1⦘ and said, “My lord, my son is being undutiful to me.” He had the boy summoned and called for a sword. The woman protested, “I only meant to frighten him.” He replied, “I am not a schoolmaster,” then ordered the boy’s execution, and his neck was struck ⦗2⦘.

He also appointed one of his relatives over a district. That official went out hunting and passed by an elderly villager who wished to honor him. The old man lodged him in a plot with a water-wheel and fruit trees, hastily served him tharīd (bread crumbled in milk and sugar), and said, “We shall later bring whatever else you desire.” The official kicked the dish away with his foot and struck the old man, who fled to Elvira and informed the king of what had happened. The king told him, “Return and be patient,” and promised redress.

A few days later the king arrived with a company that included the offender. The old man offered the king the same kind of tharīd; the king ate it and found it pleasing, then said, “Take your revenge on this man—strike him.” The old man hesitated, but the king insisted, so he struck him until he had taken full retribution.

The king then declared, “This settles the old man’s right; what remains is God’s right, for the scorn shown to His bounty, and my right, for the audacity of my officials.” He thereupon ordered the man beheaded, and his head was carried about in public. Al-Yasaʿ ibn Ḥazm is the one who narrated the incident.