464 — Muhammad ibn Sālih al-Qurashī narrated to me, saying: Muhammad ibn al-Khattāb al-Azdī narrated to me, saying: Abū Miskīn Muharrar ibn Ja‘far ibn Ziyād, the freedman of Abū Hurayra, narrated to me that he saw al-Farazdaq approach Talha al-Nadā, son of Abd Allāh ibn Awf—who was the brother of Abd al-Rahmān ibn Awf—a generous man, as Talha was leaving the mosque. He recited:
[Tawīl meter]
“When she saw that the two Euphrates had run dry,
their surging waters grown turbid and shallow,
al-Nawār and her family hoped, upon meeting you,
for a fresh-flowing stream, neither scant nor muddy.
Your hands pour forth generosity and bounty
whenever another hand locks away its wealth.”
Talha then took al-Farazdaq by the hand and led him into his home. He said, “Take this bondwoman by the hand. Take this slave—her husband—by the hand. Take this young bondwoman—her daughter—by the hand: three slaves for three verses.”