Prevod

It is also told that Sa‘id ibn Salim al-Bahili said: In the days of Harun al-Rashid, I fell upon hard times, and debts piled up until their burden weighed heavily upon me. I could not repay them, and, at my wits’ end, I was left bewildered, not knowing what to do. Paying them had become utterly beyond my means. Creditors crowded round my door, those demanding payment pressed upon me, and my debtors’ claims gave me no respite, until my resources dwindled and my anxiety grew. Seeing my affairs so beset with difficulty and my fortunes so changed, I went to ‘Abd Allah ibn Malik al-Khuza‘i and begged him to lend me his counsel and, through his sound judgment, show me a way to relief. ‘Abd Allah ibn Malik al-Khuza‘i said, “None but the Barmakids can deliver you from your affliction and anxiety, your straitened circumstances and sorrow.” I said, “But who can endure their arrogance and patiently bear their haughtiness?” He replied, “Bear it for the sake of mending your fortunes.” And dawn overtook Shahrazad, and she fell silent, ceasing her permitted tale.

Then, when it was the three hundred and ninety-third night,

She said: It has reached me, O fortunate king, that ‘Abd Allah ibn Malik al-Khuza‘i said to Sa‘id ibn Salim, “Bear it for the sake of mending your fortunes.” So I rose and left him, and went to al-Fadl and Ja‘far, the two sons of Yahya ibn Khalid. I told them my story and laid my circumstances before them. They said, “May God sustain you with His aid, and in His bounty spare you any need of His creatures. May He lavish great blessings upon you and Himself suffice for all your needs, without recourse to anyone else. He has power over all He wills and knows His servants well.” I left them and returned to ‘Abd Allah ibn Malik, heavy-hearted, bewildered, and broken in spirit, and repeated what they had said. He replied, “You should stay with us today, so that we may see what God Most High decrees.” I had been sitting with him for a little while when my servant arrived and said, “Master, there are many laden mules at our door, and with them a man who says, ‘I am the agent of al-Fadl ibn Yahya and Ja‘far ibn Yahya.’” ‘Abd Allah ibn Malik said, “I hope relief has come to you. Go and see what the matter is.” I rose and hurried home at a run. At my door I found a man carrying a note, in which was written: “After you visited us and we heard what you had to say, we went to the caliph and told him that your circumstances had reduced you to the humiliation of asking for help. He ordered us to send you a thousand dirhams from the treasury. We said to him, ‘He will spend these dirhams on his creditors and use them to discharge his debts, but how is he to meet his living expenses?’ So he ordered another three hundred thousand dirhams for you. Each of us has also sent you a million dirhams from his own funds, making a total of three million three hundred thousand dirhams, with which you may set your fortunes and affairs to rights.” Behold the generosity of these noble men! May God Most High have mercy upon them.