He went out (1) the next day to the state procession with his sword slung over his shoulder, the entire army doing the same, intending thereby (2) to follow the practice of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him.

His vizier, Muwaffaq al-Din Khālid ibn Muḥammad ⦗ibn Naṣr ibn Ṣafīr ibn⦘ (3) al-Qaysarānī—the poet—told him that he had dreamt he was washing the garments of King Nūr al-Din. The king therefore ordered him to draft proclamations abolishing the mukūs (4) and all other taxes in the provinces. He said to him, “That is (5) the interpretation of your dream.”

He wrote to the populace asking (6) that they absolve him of whatever had previously been taken from them, explaining, “It was spent only on fighting your unbelieving enemies—may Allah debase (7) and curse them—and on defending your lands, your women, and your children.” The same directive was sent to all his territories and cities, and he commanded the preachers to seek the merchants’ formal absolution for him (8).

During his prostration he would supplicate: “O Allah, have mercy on the tax-collector who exacts duties (9).”

It is reported that Burhān al-Din al-Balkhī once reproached King Nūr al-Din for financing his wars (10) with revenues from the mukūs. On one occasion he said to him, “How can you expect victory when there is wine, together with drums and reed-pipes, in your army?!”

Another account relates (11) that the real motive behind abolishing the mukūs was the admonition of the preacher Abū ʿUthmān al-Muntajab ibn Abī Muḥammad al-Wāsiṭī—a great saint who owned nothing, accepted nothing from anyone, and possessed only a cloak that he wore when he addressed gatherings that drew thousands. He recited before Nūr al-Din some verses describing the king’s condition and containing a stern warning:

[from al-Kāmil] (12)
Imagine your standing, O deluded one,
on the Day of Resurrection while the sky is in turmoil;
If it is said, “Nūr al-Din, you departed unharmed,”
then beware lest you remain while your wealth is without light.