al-Dāraqutnī, through his chain of transmission, that when Jaʿfar was put to death they discovered in a jar one thousand dinars, each coin weighing the equivalent of one hundred dinars. On one face of each coin was engraved the word “Jaʿfar,” and on the other these verses:

Brighter than the gold the royal mint produces,
Jaʿfar’s name upon its face is seen.
It tops a full one-hundred weight by one;
Hand it to a pauper and he walks away rich.

Aḥmad ibn al-Maʿallā, the reciter, relates: ʿInān, the slave-girl of al-Nāṭifī, wrote to Jaʿfar asking him to persuade his father Yaḥyā to advise al-Rashīd to purchase her. With her letter she sent the following verses she had composed in praise of Jaʿfar:

O ignorant fault-finder—will you not desist?
Who can endure the scorching heat of love?

Reproach me not if I drink passion neat;
Even a diluted draught of love intoxicates.

Love has surrounded me: a sea behind,
And seas upon seas before me.

The banners of desire—portending doom—flutter above,
While all around me its army stands arrayed.

To me in love all blame is equal,
Whether little or whether great.

You are the purest of the sons of Barmak—
O Jaʿfar of every good, O Jaʿfar!

No describer, however eloquent, can in his praise
Reach a tenth of the bounty that is yours. (1)

He who amasses wealth to serve his aims
Finds Jaʿfar’s purposes more amply met.

The brocade of sovereignty lies upon his face,
And in his hands reside the rain-bearing clouds.

From those two hands a steady drizzle falls,
Pouring down crimson gold.

Were his palms to stroke a rugged rock,
Green leaves would spring upon it.

No one attains perfect glory
Unless he endures the giving as Jaʿfar does.

Above him the royal diadem quivers with pride,
And beneath him the pulpit exults.

When the full moon rises it resembles him,
And a radiant gleam shines on his brow.

By Allah, I know not: is it the midnight moon
That brightens his face, or is his face the brighter?

Petitioners beg showers of your bounty,
And you rejoice at the coming of the petitioners.

She wrote her request beneath the verses. Jaʿfar mounted at once, went to his father, who led him into the presence of the Caliph and advised him to purchase her. Al-Rashīd replied, “No, by Allah, I will not buy her.” The poets had already composed abundantly about her until her fame spread, and she is the very woman of whom Abū Nuwās said: