37 – With his chain of transmission, he related: Muʿāwiyah once said to a Jewish man of the Banū al-Ḥārith ibn Kaʿb, “Do you recite any of your father’s poetry?”

The man replied, “Which of his verses do you mean?”

Muʿāwiyah said, “The lines for which Quraysh used to envy him.”

The man answered, “Yes, they are:

Shall I urge the champion forward in a close-packed melee of old,
Or have you heard of a secret of mine that was ever abroad and told?
Do my people reproach me when they halt and pitch the tent,
Or will they one day accuse me of stinginess or discontent?
We greet them with open faces, and generosity quickly follows after;
Never do we withhold our favors, whether little in measure or vaster.

Muʿāwiyah said, “By Allah, I am more entitled to those lines than your father.”

The Jewish man replied, “You are wrong, by the life of Allah; my father deserves them more, for he lived by them before you.”

Muʿāwiyah reclined, covering his face with his forearm. Al-Walīd ibn ʿUqbah and ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Umm al-Ḥakam exclaimed, “Be quiet, son of a Jewish woman!” and reviled him. The Jewish man retorted, “Stop insulting me; if you do not, I shall insult the one upon the throne.”

Muʿāwiyah lifted his face laughing and said, “Leave him alone; he is sparing my honor.” Then he turned to the Jewish man and added, “Your household was renowned in the pre-Islamic days for making excellent harīsa. How skilled are you at it today?”

The man replied, “Commander of the Faithful, we make it better than ever now.” Muʿāwiyah said, “Then bring me some tomorrow morning,” and ordered that he be given four thousand. The man departed.

Al-Walīd and ʿAbd al-Raḥmān objected, “You believed him and still granted him a reward!” Muʿāwiyah answered, “It was you two who earned it for him: you abused him, so I wished to remove the rancor from his heart.” And the next morning the man brought the harīsa.