he survived their prediction for only ten days before he died. This was recorded by Imām Abū Jaʿfar ibn Jarīr al-Ṭabarī (1), may Allah have mercy on him.

Ibn Jarīr (2) also related: al-Ḥusayn ibn al-Ḍaḥḥāk said that he was present with al-Wāthiq a few days after al-Muʿtaṣim’s death, when the Caliph held a session—the first gathering he convened. The first to sing in that assembly was Shāriyah, a songstress belonging to Ibrāhīm ibn al-Mahdī (3):

“The bearers, on the day they raised his bier, did not know
whether they were carrying him down to the dust or up to the sky. (4)
So let your mourners say of you whatever they will,
in the morning and at every evening.”

He continued: The Caliph wept, and we wept, until our tears distracted us from everything we were doing. Then one of the company began to sing (5):

“Bid Hurayrah farewell—the caravan is departing;
can you bear the parting, O man?”

By Allah, his weeping only increased, and he said, “Never have I heard, as I did today, words that both console a father and announce one’s own death.” The assembly then dispersed.

Al-Khaṭīb al-Baghdādī (6) narrated that when al-Wāthiq assumed the caliphate, the poet Diʿbil ibn ʿAlī took a scroll (7), wrote some verses in it, then handed it to the chamberlain, saying, “Convey my greetings to the Commander of the Faithful and tell him: ‘These are lines in which Diʿbil has praised you.’” When al-Wāthiq opened it (8), he found:

“Praise be to Allah—no patience and no endurance remain,
no sleep while the lovers rest. (9)
A caliph has died for whom no one grieved,
and another has risen for whom no one rejoiced.
That one passed on, ill-omen trailing behind him;
this one has risen, and with him rose woe and distress.”

He said: The Caliph sought the poet by every possible means but could not lay hands on him until al-Wāthiq himself died.

He (10) likewise reported that when al-Wāthiq deputed Ibn Abī Duʿād to lead the ʿĪd prayer, the latter returned to him and said: