487 — Al-‘Abbās ibn Hishām reported to me, from his father, from Yahyā ibn ‘Ulaym, from his father, who said: Al-Akhtal came to Syria and visited one of the Umayyads, whom he praised. He was then told about ‘Abd Allāh ibn Sa‘īd ibn al-‘Ās, who was staying in the desert country between Medina and Syria. His maternal grandmother belonged to Taghlib, and ‘Abd Allāh was still a youth at the time. Al-Akhtal went to him and recited the ode containing these lines:

[Wāfir meter]

If anyone should ask about the sons of Sa‘īd,
‘Abd Allāh is the noblest of them in lineage.

“He ordered that al-Akhtal be given five thousand dirhams and a she-camel with its saddle.”

Someone said to him, “You gave a Christian Bedouin all that, though you had not even commissioned him to praise you, and a modest sum would have satisfied him!”

‘Abd Allāh said, “Bring me al-Akhtal.” When he came, he said, “I gave you this without requiring anything of you. The same shall be yours every year, so whenever you wish, come.”