66 — Hārūn ibn Abī Yahyā al-Sulamī related to me, from Hafs ibn Amr Abū Umar al-Umarī, from Laqīt ibn Bukayr al-Muhāribī, who said: al-Shabī said: I asked al-Haytham ibn al-Aswad ⦗72⦘ al-Nakhaī, “Which of the three is the finest poet: you, al-Awar al-Shannī, or Abd al-Rahmān ibn Hassān ibn Thābit? You say:
[Long metre]
I know with certainty—not mere conjecture—
That when a man’s wealth is gone, he is brought low;
And that a man’s tongue, unless sound judgment restrains it,
Will surely disclose his faults.
Or is it al-Awar al-Shannī, who says:
[Long metre]
A young man’s tongue is one half, and his heart the other;
Beyond these, is he anything but a form of flesh and blood?
How many a silent man wins your admiration,
Yet whether he rises or falls is shown when he speaks.
Or is it Abd al-Rahmān ibn Hassān, who says:
[Long metre]
You see a man whose form delights the eye,
Yet he knows nothing of the intricacies of affairs.
Such a man is like seawater: you cannot drink it down,
Though you marvel at how it holds every beholder’s gaze captive.”
Al-Haytham replied, “Far from it! Al-Awar is the finest poet among us.”