so al-Maʾmūn ordered that the two villages be returned, whereupon the old man wept bitterly.
Al-Maʾmūn asked, “What troubles you? Have I not begun afresh with kindness toward you?”
He answered, “Indeed you have—yet it is a blessing that comes from the Barmakids.”
Al-Maʾmūn replied, “Go on your way under Our protection, for loyalty is blessed, and safeguarding the bonds of promise and companionship is part of faith.”
[In the same year there died]
Al-Fudayl ibn ʿIyād (1)
Abū ʿAlī al-Tamīmī—a leading exemplar of worship and renunciation, numbered among the scholars and friends of Allah. He was born in Khurāsān, in the district of Dinawar, and came to Kūfah late in life. There he was heard by al-Aʿmash, Manṣūr ibn al-Muʿtamir, ʿAṭāʾ ibn al-Sāʾib, Ḥuṣayn ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, and others. He later moved to Mecca and devoted himself to worship. His recitation of the Quran was beautiful, and he prayed and fasted in abundance. A venerable, trustworthy master among the transmitters—may Allah have mercy on him and be pleased with him.
He had a lengthy encounter with Hārūn al-Rashīd, which we have recorded in detail: how the Caliph entered his home, what al-Fudayl said to him, and how al-Rashīd offered him money that he declined to accept. He died in Mecca in Muḥarram of this very year.
They relate that he had once been a highwayman, infatuated with a young woman. One night, while climbing a wall to reach her, he heard a reciter proclaim:
“Has the time not come for those who believe that their hearts should yield in humility to the remembrance of Allah?” (Surah al-Ḥadīd, 57:16).
He answered, “Indeed it has!” He repented, abandoned his former ways, and retired to a deserted ruin where he spent the night.
He then heard some travellers saying, “Come, let us depart.” One of them (2) responded, “Beware—al-Fudayl lies ahead; he robs the road.” He assured them of their safety and remained steadfast in his repentance until he achieved the eminence and asceticism for which he became renowned, a guiding light whose words and deeds continue to inspire.
Al-Fudayl said:
“Even if the entire world were lawful and I faced no accounting for it, I would still find it as loathsome as one of you finds a rotting carcass when he fears its stench might soil his clothes.” (3)