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He was devout and fair-minded, endowed with excellent manners. He instructed his judge to administer justice so scrupulously that he even ordered his own wife to lodge a claim against him for her dower; he then came down to the court, sat humbly before the judge, and everyone present adopted the proper decorum (1).
(1) Ibn al-Athir, al-Kamil, vol. 10, p. 634, portrays him as follows: “He was a virtuous man who loved scholars and the pious, recognised justice and enacted it. Among the best of governors, he was careful to perform the obligatory prayers at their appointed times and would rise at night for tahajjud (voluntary night vigil). My father—may God have mercy on him—told me on the authority of someone who served him: ‘I was his chamberlain; every night he prayed at length, performed his own wudu (ritual ablution), and never asked anyone for assistance…’”}
وَكَانَ ﵀ ديناً عَادِلاً، حسنَ الأَخلاَق، وَصَّى قَاضِيَه بِالعَدْل، بِحَيْثُ إِنَّهُ أَمرَ زَوجته أَنْ تدَّعِي عَلَيْهِ بِصدَاقهَا، فَنَزَلَ إِلَى قَاضِيه، وَجَلَسَ بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ، فَتَأَدَّب كُلُّ أَحَد (١) .
(١) ووصفه ابن الأثير في " الكامل ": ١٠ / ٦٣٤، فقال: كان خيرا يحب أهل العلم والصالحين، ويرى العدل ويفعله، وكان من خير الولاة يحافظ على الصلوات في أوقاتها، ويصلي من الليل متهجدا، حكى لي والدي ﵀ عن بعض من كان يخدمه، قال: كنت فراشا معه، فكان يصلي كل ليلة كثيرا، وكان يتوضأ هو بنفسه، ولا يستعين بأحد ...