—and I had no idea?’
She lifted her veil, and the room was illumined by the radiance of her face. I said, ‘No—cover yourself.’
She replied, ‘My father has died, Buktamur has taken over the city, the chamberlain then seized my village, and I have been supporting myself by doing ornamental needlework while lodging in a rented house.’
I wept for her and ordered that she be given a house and some cloth. The old woman then said, ‘My lord, will she not enjoy your company tonight?’
My heart was struck by how the times had changed: Ahlat was now ruled by someone other than me, and I pictured my own daughter forced to sit in such a position. So I answered, ‘God forbid! That is not part of my character.’
The young woman rose in tears, saying, ‘May God safeguard your future.’
He also told me: ‘One of my servants died and left a son— the most handsome youth of his day. People even suspected me on his account, yet he was dearer to me than a child of my own. When he reached twenty he struck one of his own pages and killed him. The victim’s family sought justice. My mamluks gathered against them until they offered a hundred thousand, but the family would accept nothing short of his execution. So I said, “Hand him over to them.”
They handed him over, and they killed him.
His case became famous in Harran. The followers of Shaykh Ḥayāt ⦗1⦘ came to him and scattered the wine that was before him, and he remained silent; he used to say, “Through it I was granted victory.”
On one occasion he bestowed a robe of honor on me, along with a mule and ten thousand dirhams.
The jurist Muḥammad al-Yūnīnī ⦗2⦘ narrated to me: A pious ascetic told me, “When al-Ashraf died, I saw him dressed in green garments, flying among the friends of God.”
He is also said to have composed poetry.
He continued: ‘I used to visit him during his illness and said to him, “Prepare to meet Allah; it can do no harm.” He replied, “No, by Allah, it will rather benefit.” He then parceled out his lands, freed about two hundred of his mamluks, and endowed the Dār al-Saʿāda and the Dahsha estate for his daughter.’