In Shawwal of that same year Bugha reached Samarra, bringing with him Muhammad ibn al-Buʿayth, his two brothers Saqr and Khalid, and his lieutenant al-ʿAlaʾ, together with some one hundred and eighty of the leading men of his following. They were paraded through the city on camels so that the populace might gaze at them. When Ibn al-Buʿayth was set before al-Mutawakkil, the caliph ordered him beheaded. The sword and the execution mat were produced, and the headsmen took their places around him.
Al-Mutawakkil asked, “Woe to you! What impelled you to do what you did?”
He replied, “Misfortune, O Commander of the Faithful! You are the rope stretched between Allah and His creation, and I entertain toward you two expectations; the first to reach my heart, and the more suited to you, is pardon.” Then, extemporaneously, he recited (1):
People insist that you will kill me today—
O Imam of guidance, yet forgiveness best becomes a man.
What am I but a creature fashioned of sin,
while your pardon is molded from the light of prophethood?
You are the foremost of those who hasten to lofty deeds,
and surely you will choose the better of the two courses.
Al-Mutawakkil remarked, “The man is certainly well-mannered,” and pardoned him.
Another report states that al-Muʿtazz ibn al-Mutawakkil interceded for him and his intercession was accepted; yet another says he was thrown into prison in heavy shackles (2), where he remained until he later escaped. Upon escaping he said (3):
How many a task I have accomplished that others left undone,
while bankruptcy has overtaken generosity! (4)
Do not reproach me for what cannot profit me—
begone! Destiny has already flowed from the Pen.
I shall squander wealth in hardship and in ease;
the truly magnanimous is the one who gives even in want.
In this same year al-Mutawakkil ʿalā Allah ordered the ahl al-dhimma (non-Muslim protégés) to distinguish themselves from the Muslims in their dress, in their turbans and garments; that they wrap themselves in cloaks dyed with qaliy (alkali) (5); that their servants wear patches of a color different from their clothing on the front and back; that they be required to gird their garments with the zannār belt, like the belts worn by peasants today; that they hang numerous wooden balls from their necks; that they not ride horses, and that even the saddlebows of their mounts be of wood; and other harsh measures (6) against them—may Allah debase them. They were also to be excluded from any bureau in which they would exercise authority over a Muslim. He further commanded that their recently built churches be demolished, that their overly spacious houses be reduced in size, with a tenth of the area taken from them, and that whatever had been