“…when you were entrusted with the affairs of Quraysh and ruled with justice; when you sought mercy and showed mercy; when you spoke and spoke the truth; when you promised good and carried it out—so I and the Prophets shall be the forerunners of those who come in multitudes.” (1)

Muhammad ibn Marwān, author of the book al-Majālasa, (2) said: Ḥabīb ibn Naṣr (3) al-Azdī told me, “Muḥammad ibn Dīnār al-Ḍabbī related to us; Hishām ibn Sulaymān al-Makhzūmī related to us from his father, who said:

One day Muʿāwiya granted the people permission to enter. They came in until the hall was packed while he sat upon his throne. He looked over them and said, ‘Recite for me three comprehensive lines—among the very best said by the ancient Arabs.’ Then he called, ‘O Abū Khubayb.’

Ibn al-Zubayr answered, ‘At your service.’

Muʿāwiya said, ‘Recite them for me.’

Ibn al-Zubayr replied, ‘Yes, O Commander of the Believers—for three hundred thousand.’

Muʿāwiya said, ‘Provided they are worth it—yes.’

Ibn al-Zubayr said, ‘You have the choice, and you are a man who keeps his word and suffices.’

Muʿāwiya said, ‘Yes.’

So Ibn al-Zubayr recited these verses of al-Afwaḥ al-Azdī:

‘I have tried mankind, generation after generation,
and found nothing but treacherous deceivers and idle talkers.’

Muʿāwiya remarked, ‘True.’

‘In times of hardship I have seen nothing more grievous
or more cunning than the enmity of men.’

Muʿāwiya said, ‘True.’

‘I have tasted the bitterness of every single thing,
and nothing is more bitter than having to ask.’

Muʿāwiya said, ‘True.’

Then Muʿāwiya said, ‘Enough, O Abū Khubayb.’

Ibn al-Zubayr replied, ‘That is all.’

Muʿāwiya thereupon ordered that thirty slaves be brought, each with a purse holding ten thousand dirhams hanging from his neck. They paraded in front of Ibn al-Zubayr until they reached his house.

Ibn Abī al-Dunyā narrated from Abū Zayd al-Numayrī, from Abū ʿĀṣim al-Nabīl, from Juwayriya ibn Asmāʾ:

When Muʿāwiya performed the ḥajj, the people went out to welcome him, but Ibn al-Zubayr stayed behind. He then came to Muʿāwiya after shaving his head and said, ‘O Commander of the Believers, how riddled with holes your head is!’

Muʿāwiya replied, ‘Beware lest a snake emerge from one of them and kill you!’

After Muʿāwiya completed his rites, Ibn al-Zubayr made ṭawāf with him, holding his hand. Muʿāwiya then invited him to his house and residences in Qaʿīqaʿān, and Ibn al-Zubayr went with him. When they came out, Ibn al-Zubayr said, ‘O Commander of the Believers, people will say: “The Commander of the Believers went with him to his houses and residences—what did he give him?” By Allah, I will not let you go until you give me one hundred thousand.’ So Muʿāwiya gave it to him.

Then Marwān came in and said, ‘By Allah, O Commander of the Believers, I have never seen the like of you! A man came to you and actually named the Public Treasury…’