60 – The judge Abū al-Qāsim informed us; Abū ʿAlī narrated to us; ʿAbd Allāh narrated to us; Abū al-Ḥasan al-Shaybānī narrated to me; Shuʿayb ibn Ṣafwān narrated to us that Ḥamzah ibn Bayd once went in to Ibn Yazīd ibn al-Muhallab—meaning Makhlad ibn Yazīd—while he was in prison and recited to him, in the meter al-baḥr al-mutaqārib:

We have come to you with a need—so see to it,
and say, “Welcome,” and welcome will indeed be due.

Ibn Yazīd replied, “Welcome.” The poet continued:

Do not consign us to a folk who, whenever they pledge, are false.
For you are the branch of a house before which East and West have bowed.

Within the refinement they instilled you were reared;
by your life! Excellent indeed were those who tutored you.

When only ten of your years had passed, you had attained
what a grey-haired noble reaches in old age.

Weighty affairs were already yours to shoulder,
while others amused themselves in idle play.

You were generous, saying, “Is there no petitioner to ask,
no earnest seeker to come and hope?”

From you pour gifts upon all who beg,
just as your deputies give whenever they are implored.

He then said to him, “State your need,” and granted it. Abū al-Ḥasan added, “And I believe he also said that he ordered one hundred thousand to be given to him.”