who was with ʿUbayd Allāh; so al-Mundhir guaranteed his safety and sheltered him in his own house. Al-Jārūd then came to greet ʿUbayd Allāh, and the latter dispatched the shurṭa (police) to al-Mundhir’s residence. They seized Ibn Mufarrigh and stood him before the governor.

Al-Mundhir declared, “I have granted him protection.”

ʿUbayd Allāh retorted, “He praises you and your father, so you are pleased with him, yet he lampoons me and my father and you still give him sanctuary from me?!” He then ordered that Ibn Mufarrigh be forced to drink a powerful purgative. They hoisted him onto a donkey fitted with a packsaddle and paraded him through the markets while he defecated, the people looking on. Next he banished him to Sijistān, where his brother ʿAbbād was stationed.

Ibn Mufarrigh said to ʿUbayd Allāh ibn Ziyād:

Water may wash away what you have done,
but my verse remains lodged in your putrid bones.

When ʿUbayd Allāh ordered the exile of Ibn Mufarrigh to Sijistān, the Yemenis spoke to Muʿāwiyah on the poet’s behalf, saying that he had only been sent to his brother so that the latter might kill him. Muʿāwiyah therefore summoned Ibn Mufarrigh. When the poet stood before him he wept and complained of what Ibn Ziyād had done to him.

Muʿāwiyah said, “You satirized him. Are you not the one who said such-and-such? Are you not the one who said such-and-such?” The poet denied having uttered any of it, claiming that the real author was ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn al-Ḥakam, the brother of Marwān, who wished to saddle him with the blame. Muʿāwiyah thereupon grew angry with ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn al-Ḥakam and withheld his stipend until ʿUbayd Allāh ibn Ziyād was satisfied with him.

Ibn Mufarrigh then recited what he had composed on the road, addressing his mount and praising Muʿāwiyah:

Steady, girl! ʿAbbād has no authority over you;
you have escaped, and the burden you carry is free.(1)
By my life, an Imām—a strong lifeline for mankind—
has saved you from the chasm of destruction.
I shall remember the gracious favour you bestowed;
one such as I is indeed bound to thank benefactors.

Muʿāwiyah said, “Had it been we whom you lampooned, no harm from us would ever have reached you; we would not have pursued the matter.”

The poet replied, “Commander of the Faithful! He inflicted on me what no Muslim has ever inflicted upon another Muslim, though I had committed neither fault nor crime.”

Muʿāwiyah said, “Are you not the one who said such-and-such? Are you not the one who said such-and-such? We have pardoned your offense. Yet had you dealt with us, none of this would have happened. So be mindful of whom you address and with whom you contend, for not everyone can endure satire. Treat everyone graciously. Now choose whichever land you most wish to live in; we will send you there.” The poet chose Mosul, and Muʿāwiyah dispatched him there.

Later he requested permission from ʿUbayd Allāh to return to Basra and reside there, and permission was granted. ʿAbd al-Raḥmān then rode to ʿUbayd Allāh, sought his good will, and was forgiven. He recited to him:

You are an added asset to the House of Ḥarb,
dearer to me than one of my own fingers.
I see in you a brother, an uncle, and a cousin;
I know not what else the unseen may yet reveal you to be.