would enter one mosque after another; whenever they asked about Saʿd, the worshippers praised him without reservation.
At last the investigators reached the mosque of the Banū ʿAbs. They posed the same question, whereupon a man stood and said, “Since you adjure us by Allah, this man is not fair in judgment, does not march with the military detachment, and does not divide the spoils equally.” His words “does not march with the detachment” mean that he does not go out for jihad; “does not divide the spoils equally” means that when booty is taken he distributes it unevenly; and “is not fair in judgment” means that when he rules between people he shows partiality. Thus he levelled three accusations.
[Saʿd ibn Abī Waqqāṣ] replied, “Because you have uttered this, I shall supplicate against you with three prayers.” He asked Allah to prolong the man’s life, to prolong his poverty, and to expose him to trials—may Allah grant us well-being. Three formidable invocations. Yet he added a proviso: “O Allah, if this servant of Yours has stood up out of ostentation and reputation-seeking, and not for the sake of truth, then answer my supplication against him.”
Allah answered the prayer. The man lived to extreme old age; he grew so senile that his eyebrows drooped over his eyes. He remained poor and was continually tested. Even in that wretched state he would accost slave girls in the marketplaces, pinching them—Allah’s protection is sought. He used to say of himself, “An old man under trial; the supplication of Saʿd has struck me.”
Such was one of the extraordinary favors with which Allah honored Saʿd ibn Abī Waqqāṣ—may Allah be pleased with him.
The report yields many lessons, among them: whoever holds authority over people will never escape their criticism, no matter how exalted his station; some harm will inevitably touch him. Ibn al-Wardī said in his famous poem that begins:
Shun the mention of songs and amorous verse,
Speak with precision, and avoid foolish jest.
Abandon memories of youthful days—
For the star of youth has long since set—
and in it he offers, among other maxims: