ʿAbd al-Malik said to him, “Could you not have recited, as al-Aʿshā did for Qays ibn Maʿdikarib,
Whenever a tight, close-ranked battalion advances—
ash-grey, its warders dread its onslaught— (1)
you are the foremost, wearing no cuirass,
striking down its champions, marking them with your sword. (2)”

He replied, “Commander of the Believers, he described his man as rash, whereas I portrayed you as judicious.”

On another day Kuthayyir came in to ʿAbd al-Malik while the caliph was preparing to march against Musʿab ibn al-Zubayr. The caliph said, “Woe to you, Kuthayyir! I have just been reminded of you by a verse of yours; if you can recite it correctly, I will grant you whatever you ask.”

He answered, “Commander of the Believers, it is as though when you took leave of ʿĀtika bint Yazīd she wept at your departure and her attendants wept because she wept, and you remembered my lines:
When he sets out for raiding, nothing bends his resolve;
a chaste lady upon whom a string of pearls enhances her grace.
She forbade him, and when she saw her counsel could not restrain him,
she wept, and her whole household wept for what befell her. (3)”

The caliph said, “You are right—state your claim.”
He replied, “One hundred of your choicest she-camels.”
He said, “They are yours.”

Later, when ʿAbd al-Malik was en route to Iraq, he saw Kuthayyir ʿAzzah deep in thought. He ordered, “Bring him to me.” When the poet arrived, the caliph said, “If I tell you what you were thinking about, will you grant me what I ask?” “Yes.” “By Allah?” “By Allah.” The caliph said, “You were saying to yourself: ‘This man is not of my doctrinal persuasion, and he is going to fight someone who is also not of my persuasion. If a stray arrow from either side strikes me, I will lose both this world and the next.’ ”
Kuthayyir replied, “Indeed, by Allah, Commander of the Believers. Now pronounce your judgment.”
He said, “My judgment is that I send you back to your family and bestow upon you a handsome gift.”
Accordingly, he presented him with money and granted him leave to depart.

Hammād al-Rāwiyah relates from Kuthayyir ʿAzzah: “I, al-Aḥwaṣ, and Nuṣayb travelled to ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz when he assumed the caliphate. Because of our long companionship with him [during his stay in Medina], each of us expected to share in his good fortune. We journeyed along, swaggering on our mounts. When we reached Khunāṣirah and its banners appeared, Maslamah ibn ʿAbd al-Malik met us and said, ‘What has brought you here? Do you not know that your man does not care for poetry or poets?’ We were stunned. Maslamah took us in, provided for our expenses, and fed our animals. We stayed with him four months, for he could not obtain permission for us to see ʿUmar. Then, on one Friday, I drew near the caliph to hear his sermon and to greet him afterward. I heard him saying:
‘Every journey must have provisions without fail. So take from this world provisions for your journey to the Hereafter—taqwā (God-fearingness). Be like one who has witnessed what God has prepared of punishment and reward, so that you both hope and fear. And do not let the appointed term seem long to you…’ ”