ʾURWAH-IBN-UDZÎNAH.
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HOW ʾURWAH-IBN-UDZÎNAH GAINED A
LIVELIHOOD.
IT is said that ʾUrwah-ibn-Udzînah[1] presented himself before Hishâm-ibn-ʾAbd-el-Málik, complaining of poverty. Hishâm asked, "Was it not thou who saidst,
'Verily I have discovered (tho' extravagance is not one of my qualities)
That my subsistence will come of itself to me.
I strive for it, and the pursuit of it wearies me,
But I sit down, and without my pains it comes to me.'
And hast thou now come from el-Hijâz to Syria to seek a livelihood?"
He made answer, "O Commander of the Faithful! thou hast been exhorted and informed." Then he went out, and mounted his dromedary, and returned to el-Hijâz.
- ↑ Abu-ʾAâmir ʾUrwah-ibn-Udzînah, a man eminent for his learning and piety, was a member of the tribe of Laith, and a celebrated poet and traditionist. He died A.H. 118 (A.D. 736).
