that whenever he halted at a new site he would order the herald to proclaim throughout the camp, “The soldiers have no business with the townsfolk.” One day a man from the Kharnabadiyya regiment entered a family’s watermelon patch and took a small number of melons. The owners went to the king’s gate and cried out for justice. Ismāʿīl had the offender seized and brought before him. “What drove you to harm my subjects?” he asked. The man replied, “I have erred.” Ismāʿīl retorted, “I will not cast myself into the Fire on account of your sin,” and ordered that his hand be cut off.
Story. It is related of Ismāʿīl al-Sāmānī, as recorded in Siyar al-Mulūk (The Conduct of Kings), that he would camp opposite Muliyān and would frequently ride to the city of Kaghad. He instructed the herald to call out among the people, removed the curtain, and dismissed the doorkeeper so that anyone with a grievance could approach, stand at the edge of the carpet, speak to him directly, and leave with his need satisfied. He judged between litigants like a qāḍī until all cases were concluded. Then he would rise, grasp his beard, turn his face toward the sky, and say:
“My Lord, this is the utmost of my effort and strength, and I have expended them both. You, the Knower of secrets, know my intention. I do not know which of Your servants I may have treated unjustly or against whom I may have fallen short, nor whether I have failed any of my companions. So forgive me, my Lord, for whatever of that I do not know.”
Because his intention was pure and his heart upright, his standing rose and his rank was exalted. His army numbered 1,000 horsemen, fully armed and helmed in iron, and by the blessing of that justice and equity Allah granted him victory over ʿAmr ibn Layth; he captured him and opened Khurasan. While in prison ʿAmr ibn Layth sent word, “I have abundant wealth and stored treasures in Khurasan. I will hand them all over to you if you release me.” When Ismāʿīl heard this he laughed and said, “ʿAmr ibn Layth still will not deal straight with me. He wants to load upon my neck the injustices he has hoarded and the sins he has committed, so that he may free himself from their weight on the Day of Resurrection. Tell him: I have no need of your wealth.” He then released him from prison and dispatched him as an envoy to Baghdad, where he received from the Commander of the Faithful robes of honour and formal recognition. Ismāʿīl remained secure upon his throne in Khurasan, untroubled in mind and sound in circumstance. The realm stayed in Samanid hands for 130 years, but when authority passed to their inexperienced youths they oppressed the people and transgressed the truth, and so their sovereignty came to an end.
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “A ruler’s justice for a single day…"