Ahmad informed us; Abu Bakr narrated to us—

71 – He said: Ibn al-Aʿrābī related: Salamah ibn al-Ṣaqr told me, from Sahl ibn Aslam, the client of Banū ʿAdī, who said: “There was a wedding banquet among Banū ʿAdī, and seated at the table were Isḥāq ibn Suwayd and Dhu ʼl-Rumma. Dhu ʼl-Rumma asked for something to drink and was served nabidh; Isḥāq ibn Suwayd asked for a drink and was served water. Thereupon Dhu ʼl-Rumma recited:

(baḥr al-basīṭ)
As for nabidh—its drinker should not alarm you;
rather, guard your cloak from the man who drinks only water.
With garments hitched up above mid-calf they stand—
they are the thieves, though people may call them reciters. ⦗80⦘

So Isḥāq ibn Suwayd replied:

(baḥr al-basīṭ)
True, nabidh can certainly disgrace its drinker,
yet I have never seen water disgrace a soul.
Water is the life-source of all humankind,
whereas in nabidh—if you cling to it—lies the sickness.

Then he said to Dhu ʼl-Rumma, “Add more lines, and we shall add in answer.”