2203 – ʿAbd Allah narrated to us; my father narrated to me; ʿAbd Allah b. Muhammad al-Taymi narrated to us. He said: I heard an elder, who related from a man, who said: Tawus said:

“While I was sitting in the ḥijr (the semicircular enclosure beside the Kaʿbah), al-Ḥajjaj came in. A man who looked like a Bedouin passed by, and al-Ḥajjaj asked him, ‘Where have you come from?’ He replied, ‘From Yemen.’ He asked, ‘How did you leave ⦗305⦘ Muhammad b. Yusuf?’ He answered, ‘Big and robust, just as you would wish.’ Al-Ḥajjaj said, ‘That is not what I am asking you.’ The man said, ‘Then about what condition are you asking?’ He replied, ‘I am only asking about his conduct.’ The man said, ‘I left him oppressive and tyrannical.’ Al-Ḥajjaj exclaimed, ‘Do you not know that he is my brother?’ The man responded, ‘Do you think your brother is dearer to you than I am—by Allah, may He be exalted?’”

Tawus said: “I never witnessed a scene that delighted my eyes more than that one. The man got away safely; al-Ḥajjaj did nothing to him.”