we have mentioned (1), and his son Ṣamṣām al-Dawlah sat on the ground clad in black. The caliph al-Ṭāʾiʿ came to condole with him, and women wailed for him in the markets [ḥāsirāt ʿan wuǧūhihinna (with their faces unveiled)] (2) for many days. When the mourning was over, Ṣamṣām rode to the Palace of the Caliphate. The caliph bestowed upon him seven robes of honour, placed a collar on his neck, fitted him with armlets, set the crown upon his head, granted him the title Shams al-Dawlah, and invested him with all the offices his father had held. It was a day long remembered.

Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar (3) ibn Aḥmad ibn Jaʿfar ibn al-Ḥasan ibn Wahb, Abū Bakr al-Ḥarīrī (4), better known as “the Husband of al-Ḥurra” (5),

heard ḥadīth from Ibn Jarīr, al-Baghawī, Ibn Abī Dāwūd and others; narrations from him were taken by Ibn Rizqawayh, Ibn Shāhīn and al-Barqānī. It was said of him: “He was eminent, one of the upright, trustworthy transmitters.” (6)

Al-Khaṭīb al-Baghdādī and Ibn al-Jawzī relate that he was called “the Husband of al-Ḥurra” because he used to enter the kitchen of the daughter of Badr, the client of al-Muʿtaḍid, who had been the wife of al-Muqtadir bi-Allah. After al-Muqtadir’s death, this lady remained safe from calamities and confiscations and retained vast wealth. At that time he was a young servant, carrying items of food on his head and entering her kitchen with the other staff. He was a sprightly, good-looking youth who pleased the stewardess; she advanced him until she made him clerk of the kitchen. His fortunes rose further until he became the lady’s agent in charge of her estates and properties. Matters progressed until she began speaking with him from behind a screen; she became attached to him, loved him, and asked him to marry her. He deemed himself unworthy and feared the consequences, but she encouraged him and gave him a large sum of money so that dignity and prosperity suited to the match might appear upon him. She then began to send gifts to the judges and notable figures, resolved to marry him, and in the judges’ presence declared her consent. Her relatives objected, but she overcame them with generosity and presents. She entered his house and lived with him for a long span; then she died before him, and he inherited from her about three hundred thousand—