sensual desires, whereas ʿUmar b. ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz devoted himself to worship and asceticism.
Muhammad b. ʿAlī b. al-Faḍl said: “I never realized that the dispositions of the subjects follow the habits of their rulers until I observed the people in the days of al-Walīd: they occupied themselves with cultivating vineyards and orchards and were intent on building houses and palaces. Then, during the reign of Sulaymān b. ʿAbd al-Malik, I saw them absorbed in abundant eating and refined cuisine—one man would ask his companion, ‘What dish did you cook today? What have you eaten?’ In the time of ʿUmar b. ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz, however, they were engrossed in acts of worship, reciting the Qur’an, performing good deeds, and giving charity. Thus it is evident that in every age people imitate the actions of their ruler, whether those actions are blameworthy or praiseworthy, driven by base appetites or by noble intentions.
A story: It is related that in the era of the just king Khosrow Anūshirwān, a man bought a plot of land from another man and found a treasure in it. He hurried to the seller and informed him. The seller replied, “I sold you the land without knowing what it contained; the treasure you discovered is yours—may it be blessed for you.” The buyer said, “I do not want it, nor do I covet other people’s wealth.” They therefore presented their dispute to the just king Anūshirwān. The king rejoiced at their case and asked, “Do either of you have children?” One said, “I have a son,” and the other said, “I have a daughter.” Anūshirwān said, “I would like there to be kinship between you: let the son marry the daughter, and spend this treasure on their wedding preparations so that it will belong to both of you and to your children.” They accepted his ruling and carried it out. Had these two men lived under a tyrannical ruler, each would have claimed the treasure for himself; but because they knew their king was just, they pursued the truth and chose honesty.
The sages say: “The king is like a marketplace—everyone brings to it what he knows will sell, and what he knows will not sell he keeps at home.” The two men who found the treasure and appealed to the ruler knew that renunciation, justice, and truthfulness are prized by that king and that right conduct finds favor in his sight; therefore they brought those qualities before him and laid their case at his feet. As for our own times, whatever proceeds from the hands of our princes and from the tongues of our governors is nothing but the recompense we have earned.