Quoth Omar, "O Jerir, keep the fear of God before thine eyes and
say nought but the truth." And Jerir recited the following
verses:

How many, in Yemameh,[FN#64] dishevelled widows plain! How many a
weakling orphan unsuccoured doth remain,
For whom is thy departure even as a father's loss! To fly or
creep, like nestlings, alone, they strive in vain.
Now that the clouds have broken their promise to our hope, We
trust the Khalif's bounty will stand to us for rain.[FN#65]

When the Khalif heard this, he said, "By Allah, O Jerir, Omar
possesseth but a hundred dirhems."[FN#66] [And he cried out to
his servant, saying,] "Ho, boy! give them to him." Moreover, he
gave him the ornaments of his sword; and Jerir went forth to the
[other] poets, who said to him, "What is behind thee?"[FN#67] And
he answered, "A man who giveth to the poor and denieth the poets,
and I am well-pleased with him."[FN#68]





EL HEJJAJ AND THE THREE YOUNG MEN.[FN#69]



They tell that El Hejjaj[FN#70] once commanded the Master of
Police [of Bassora] to go round about [the city] by night, and