the people great prestige (1). He died—may Allah disgrace him—clinging to his own religion, and was buried in the Old Church; may Allah not show him mercy if he died a Christian. [He had alleged that he was a Muslim, yet he passed away on his original creed].

The vizier Ibn Hubayrah (2) [may Allah have mercy on him] (3): he is Yaḥyā ibn Muḥammad ibn Hubayrah, Abū al-Muẓaffar, vizier of the exalted caliphate, ʿAwn al-Dīn. He is the author (4) of the book al-Ifṣāḥ. He studied (5) the variant Qurʾanic readings (6) and heard hadith. He possessed a solid command of grammar, lexicology, and prosody. He trained in jurisprudence according to the school of Imām Aḥmad, and he produced a number of valuable and beneficial works (7), among them al-Ifṣāḥ in several volumes, wherein he explains the hadiths and discusses the positions of the scholars (8). In creed he followed the way of the Salaf. At first he was poor, without means, then he sought government service (9), advanced through the ranks, and finally served as vizier to al-Muqtafi [and afterwards to his son al-Mustanjid]. He was one of the finest viziers, exemplary in conduct and far removed from oppression, and he would not wear silk. Al-Muqtafi (10) used to say, “No one like him has ever served as vizier to the Banū al-ʿAbbās,” and his son al-Mustanjid likewise held him in high regard.

Marjān the attendant said: I heard the Commander of the Faithful, the Caliph al-Mustanjid, recite to Ibn Hubayrah—who was standing before him—verses he had composed in his praise (11):

Two blessings, pure and unmixed, were granted you alone,
yet they spread to all; their praise will be told until the Day of Resurrection (12).
Your bounty—the world (13) stands needy before you;
your bounty—while deeds of kindness among men are denied.