are proportionate to the crimes of their subjects.” He therefore ordered that one hundred thousand be bestowed on him. The money was brought in front of Maʿn and handed to the man. Maʿn said to him, “Take the money, pray for the Commander of the Believers, and set your intention right from now on.”
Al-Mahdī once came to Basra and went out to lead the people in prayer. A Bedouin arrived and said, “Commander of the Believers, tell these men—meaning the mu’adhdhins—to wait for me until I make wuḍūʾ.” The caliph ordered them to wait, then stood in the miḥrāb and did not utter the opening takbīr until he was told, “The Bedouin has returned.” Only then did he say “Allāhu akbar,” and the congregation marvelled at the generosity of his nature.
On another occasion a Bedouin came with a sealed letter, repeating, “This is a letter from the Commander of the Believers to the son of the man called al-Rabīʿ the chamberlain.” The letter was taken to the caliph; the Bedouin was kept standing while it was opened. Inside was a scrap of tanned leather with faint writing, and the Bedouin claimed it was the caliph’s own hand. Al-Mahdī smiled and said, “The Bedouin speaks the truth; this is indeed my handwriting. I once went out hunting, lost the army, and night fell. I sought refuge with the protective supplication of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him. Then I saw a fire in the distance, so I made for it and found an old man and his wife in a tent kindling a fire. I greeted them; they returned the greeting, spread a cloak for me, and gave me milk mixed with water—nothing I ever drank was tastier. I slept on that cloak and remember no sweeter sleep. The old man then slaughtered a small ewe. I heard his wife say, ‘You have destroyed your livelihood and the children’s provision by slaughtering it! You have ruined yourself and your family.’ He paid her no heed.
“When I awoke, I ate some of the roasted meat and said to him, ‘Have you anything on which I can write a note for you?’ He brought me this very scrap, and with a stick from the ashes I wrote him an order for five hundred thousand—while I had intended fifty thousand. By Allah, I shall carry out the full amount for him even if nothing else remains in the Treasury.” He therefore decreed that five hundred thousand be given to the man. The Bedouin received the money and remained in that place on the pilgrims’ road near al-Anbār, hosting every guest and traveller until his dwelling became known as “the house of the host of the Commander of the Believers al-Mahdī.”
Suwār, the master of Raḥbat Suwār, narrated: “One day I left al-Mahdī’s presence and went home. Lunch was set before me, yet I had no appetite. I entered my private room for a midday rest, but sleep would not come. I summoned one of my favourites to amuse me, but my spirit did not respond. I rose, left the house, and mounted my mule. I had gone only a short distance when a man met me carrying two thousand dirhams.
“I asked, ‘Where are these from?’ He said, ‘From your new estate.’ I took him with me and wandered through the alleys of Baghdad to distract myself from my vexation. When the ‘ʿAsr prayer approached, we were by a mosque in one of the districts, so I dismounted and prayed there. When the prayer was finished, a blind man seized my garment and said, ‘I have a request of you.’
“I asked, ‘What is your need?’ He replied, ‘I am a blind man. When I caught the scent of your perfume I assumed you were a person of wealth and affluence, so I wished to present my need to you.’
“I said, ‘And what is it?’ He said, ‘The palace opposite the mosque belonged to my father. He travelled from it to Khurasan, sold it, and took me with him while I was still a child. We were separated there, I was afflicted with this disability, and after my father died we returned to Baghdad. I then went to the owner of that palace…’"