for the rhymed lines of praise are articulate, / championing your noble lineage and standing guard over it. (1)

He continued: the caliph’s written reply stated, “To pardon swiftly a grave offence is to show contempt for the one pardoned.”

In a note penned by the Maristan judge it is related that the vizier ʿAlī ibn Ṭirād advised al-Mustarshid to stay in a residence he had selected for him, saying, “It is the more discreet and protective choice.” The caliph retorted, “Hold, O ʿAlī! By Allah, I will keep striking with my sword until my arm wearies, and I will face the sun until my colour grows pale:

If death must needs come, / then cowardice is sheer helplessness.” (2)

Ibn al-Najjār reports: Zayn al-Umanaʾ narrated to us from Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad al-Iskāfī, the vizier’s imam, who said:

When we were with al-Mustarshid at the gate of Hamadhān, there was a man with us known as Fāris al-Islām, who enjoyed close access to the caliph. He entered upon the vizier ʿAlī ibn Ṭirād and said, “Just now I have seen the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace. I asked, ‘O Messenger of Allah, what do you say concerning this army?’”

He replied, “Broken and subdued. I should like you to inform the caliph of this.”

The vizier said, “O Fāris al-Islām, I have already counselled the caliph not to leave Baghdad, but he answered, ‘O ʿAlī, you are incapable; return to your house.’ I will therefore not convey this to him. Rather, tell Ibn Ṭalḥah, the keeper of the armoury.”

So he went to Ibn Ṭalḥah and informed him. Ibn Ṭalḥah said, “I will not deliver to him anything that might be considered an ill omen. Write it out for him, present it, but omit the word ‘subdued.’” I wrote it accordingly, then came to the pavilion and found Najā standing in the entrance hall, and he had