1282 — Muhammad informed us; Ubayd Allah informed us; Zakariyya narrated to us. He said: al-Asma'i narrated to us; Abu Mawdud narrated to us; Abu Shaqfal, the transmitter of al-Farazdaq’s poetry, narrated to us. He said:

Al-Farazdaq divorced his wife Nawar with a threefold divorce. He said to me, “Abu Shaqfal, come with me to al-Hasan, so that we may have him witness Nawar’s divorce.” I said to him, “I fear that you may change your mind about her, and then al-Hasan will testify against you; you will be flogged, and the two of you will be separated.” He replied, “It must be done.”

So we went to al-Hasan while he was sitting with his circle. Al-Farazdaq said to him, “Abu Sa'id, you know that I divorced Nawar three times?” Al-Hasan replied, “We have borne witness against you.” Afterwards, he changed his mind and took her back, so al-Hasan testified against him, and the two were separated. Al-Farazdaq then began to recite:

I regretted with the regret of al-Kas'i when Nawar,
Divorced by me, had gone away.

She was my garden, yet I left it,
Like Adam when adversity drove him out.

⦗767⦘

Had I held mastery in my own hand and heart,
The choice decreed by destiny would have been easy for me.