Muhammad ibn al-ʿAbbas al-Basri, and many others.

Abu al-Husayn ibn al-Mahamili said, “ʿAli ibn Ahmad ibn Abi Khalifa narrated to us: I heard my father say:

‘One day we were in the presence of Khalil, the governor of Basra, and a discussion arose between him and Abu Khalifa. The governor asked, “Who are you, sir, who is speaking?”

Abu Khalifa replied, “Your Excellency, a man of your rank cannot be ignorant of someone like me. I am Abu Khalifa al-Fadl ibn al-Hubab—can the moon ever be hidden?”

The governor thereupon apologised to him and granted his request. When I came out, people asked me what had happened. I said, “It was nothing but good: he invited me to his banquet and served me abatt, adajj, afrakh, and fawlij lawdhaj—an array of select dishes—then brought me drink. I said, ‘God forbid,’ so he pledged me to attend his banquet every day.”

From then on, a man would come each day and escort him to the governor.

Al-Suli said, “I used to read to Abu Khalifa the book ‘Classes of the Poets’ and other works. He once fixed an appointment with us and said, ‘Do not fail me, for I shall prepare some khabīsa for you.’ I was delayed by an unexpected matter; when I arrived the Hashimites were with him. The servant did not recognise me and kept me out, so I wrote to him:

‘O Abu Khalifa, you spurn the man of culture,
Yet favour the radiant sons of ʿAbbas;
You are the head of mankind in every noble trait
And in knowledge—can tails ever equal the head?
What harm in a bowl of khabīsa had you allowed us,
So the nobles might mingle with ordinary folk?’

When he read it, he shouted at the servant; I was then admitted. He said, ‘You wronged us by your absence and were unjust in your reproach: the gathering was convened for you. As for what we missed on account of your delay, we are like the man whom al-Tawzi recited about—he divorced his wife, then regretted it, and she married another man…’”