“Our caliphate is lost, my people! Seek, then, … the vicegerent of God amid the wine-vat and the lute. (1)

After that, the inner circle grew jealous of Yaʿqūb and spoke against him before al-Maḥdī.

One reason Yaʿqūb enjoyed such high favor with the Caliph was that he had brought al-Ḥasan ibn Ibrāhīm ibn ʿAbd Allāh to him, arranged a meeting between them in Mecca, and took the man’s pledge of allegiance. The descendants of al-Ḥasan were aggrieved by Yaʿqūb’s action, and he knew that if they ever gained power they would kill him. Informers multiplied, so he inclined toward Isḥāq ibn al-Faḍl. Those same slanderers hurried to al-Maḥdī and said, “The provinces are in Yaʿqūb’s grasp and that of his followers. If he were to write to them, they would rise simultaneously at a set time, seize the land, and install Isḥāq as caliph.”

These words filled al-Maḥdī’s ears, and his hair stood on end.

A servant of the Caliph related: “I was standing by al-Maḥdī’s head when Yaʿqūb entered and said, ‘Commander of the Faithful! You know how unsettled affairs in Egypt are, and you ordered me to find a suitable governor; I have found him.’ The Caliph asked, ‘Who is he?’ Yaʿqūb replied, ‘Your cousin, Isḥāq ibn al-Faḍl.’ Al-Maḥdī’s expression changed; Yaʿqūb sensed it and withdrew. The Caliph then said, ‘May God slay me if I do not slay you!’ He turned to me and said, ‘Woe to you—keep this to yourself.’

It was also said that Yaʿqūb understood al-Maḥdī’s character and his appetite for women, and therefore spoke to him with easy familiarity.

ʿAlī ibn Yaʿqūb narrated on the authority of his father: “Al-Maḥdī sent for me. I entered to find him in a richly furnished chamber, with a garden full of every kind of blossom, and beside him a slave-girl the like of whom I had never seen. He asked, ‘How do you find her?’ I replied, ‘May Allah grant the Commander of the Faithful long enjoyment; never have I witnessed the like of today.’ He said, ‘She—and all that is here—are yours, but I have a request.’ I said, ‘Command as you wish.’ He made me swear by Allah, and I swore; then he said, ‘Place your hand upon my head and swear.’ Next he said, ‘This man—one of Fāṭimah’s descendants—rid me of him, and be quick about it.’ I answered, ‘Very well.’ So I took the commission, left with the girl and the furnishings, and he ordered that I be granted one hundred—”