And even though I am the very wrong-doer (1) himself … I am nonetheless certain of my Lord, thinking well of Him (2).
I wronged my own soul, yet He met me with His pardon … it returned to rest upon me, and that pardon became a favor upon favor.

Al-Maʾmun said, “You have excelled, O Commander of the Faithful, truly.” Ibrahim thereupon flung the lute from his lap and leapt to his feet in alarm at these words.
Al-Maʾmun told him, “Sit down and be at ease; welcome! It was not for anything you may imagine, and, by Allah, you shall not see (3) throughout my lifetime anything you dislike or that will grieve you.”
He then ordered that all the money, estates, and houses that had belonged to Ibrahim be restored to him; this was duly done. He also granted him ten thousand dinars, invested him with robes of honor, and Ibrahim left the Caliph’s presence honored and exalted.

The Wedding of Buran (4): In that same year, during Ramadan, al-Maʾmun consummated his marriage with Buran, daughter of al-Hasan ibn Sahl.
It was also said that in Ramadan he departed Baghdad for the camp of al-Hasan ibn Sahl at Fam al-Ṣulḥ (5); al-Hasan had by then recovered from his illness. Al-Maʾmun encamped with him, accompanied by leading amirs, dignitaries, and the foremost men of the Banu Hashim.
He entered upon Buran in Shawwal of that year on a magnificent night. Ambergris candles were lit before him, pearls and jewels were showered over his head, and carpets woven with red gold were spread beneath him.
The jewels numbered a thousand pearls; he ordered that they be gathered into the golden tray in which they had lain.
When they said, “Commander of the Faithful, we scattered them only so the slave-girls might pick them up,” he replied, “No—I shall make good what they would have received,” and they gathered them all.

When the bride arrived with her grandmother (6)—Zubaydah, mother of the late al-Amin, was among those who accompanied her—she was seated beside him. He poured those jewels into her lap, saying, “This is a wedding gift from me to you. Ask for whatever you wish.” She lowered her gaze in modesty.
Her grandmother urged her, “Speak up and ask your lord for what he has commanded you to request.”
So she said, “Commander of the Faithful, I ask that you be pleased with your uncle Ibrahim ibn al-Mahdi and restore him to the station he formerly held.”
He answered, “Yes!”
She continued, “And that Umm Jaʿfar—meaning Zubaydah—be granted permission to perform ḥajj.”
He said, “Yes!”
Zubaydah then removed her own amīrī robe (7) and bestowed it upon Buran, and she granted her a cultivated village.

As for the bride’s father, al-Hasan ibn Sahl, he wrote the names of his villages (8), estates, and properties on slips of paper and scattered them over