105 — My father—may Allah have mercy on him—narrated to me, from Hishām ibn Muhammad, from Abd al-Rahmān ibn Sulaymān ibn al-Ghasīl, who said: “Al-Hazīn al-Kinānī, whose name was Sulaymān, came as a delegate to Abd al-Azīz ibn Marwān in Egypt. Abd al-Azīz was one of the most handsome of men. Al-Hazīn had prepared an ode in his praise, but when he beheld his splendor and beauty, he was struck speechless and remained silent for a long while. Abd al-Azīz then bent forward over his cane toward the ground, whereupon al-Hazīn, standing before him, improvised:

[The basīt metre]

A fragrant bamboo cane he holds within his hand—
The hand of one whose beauty awes, with noble, high-bridged nose.

His eyes are lowered out of modesty; before his majesty, eyes are lowered.
He is addressed only when he smiles.

Abd al-Azīz said, ‘Had you said this, you would already have been done.’ He then ordered that he be given two young male slaves.”