it mends what is broken, lifts him when he falls, honors him when he is demeaned, and if he plunges into an abyss it seizes him by the arm and pulls him out. Should he become poor, it enriches him. The very first thing an eloquent person needs is knowledge infused with intellect, as the following story illustrates.
Anecdote: It is said that no Abbasid caliph surpassed al-Maʾmun in the totality of the sciences. Twice a week he would sit for debate with the jurists, and on those days jurists, dialecticians, scholars, and theologians gathered before him. On one such occasion a stranger entered, wearing shabby white clothes, and took a seat at the back of the assembly, behind the jurists, where he passed unnoticed. When the discussion began—as was their custom, the question circulated among those present, and whoever had a subtle addition or novel point would offer it—the matter reached the stranger. He spoke with astonishing eloquence, which al-Maʾmun admired, and the caliph ordered that he be moved to a higher seat. When the question came to him a second time, he produced an answer finer than all the jurists’ replies, so the caliph ordered that he be advanced yet further. The third time, he gave an answer better and more accurate than the two previous ones, whereupon al-Maʾmun had him seated at his side.
When the disputation ended, water was brought and they washed their hands; then food was served and they ate. The jurists departed, while al-Maʾmun drew the man close, showed him kindness, and promised him generosity. Next the drinking session was arranged: cushions were set out, the handsome boon-companions arrived, and the cups of wine began to circulate. When the cup reached the stranger, he rose and said, “If the Commander of the Faithful permits, I would like to say a single word.” “Speak as you wish,” al-Maʾmun replied. The man said, “The lofty judgment of my lord—may Allah raise him even higher—knows that this servant, in that noble gathering, was among the unknown and lowly, yet by a mere glimpse of intellect the Commander of the Faithful lifted me above others and granted me a station my ambition had never reached. Now, if this servant were to drink wine…"