'Enter.' So I went into a small room in his house, and he said, 'This is thine.' Then he fetched for me all that it required—a bed, dishes, clothes, food and drink. And I stayed with him, and, by Allâh! he never once asked who I was, nor of whom I was afraid. And during this time he used to ride out every day, and return weary and sad, as though he sought something he had lost, but found it not. So one day I said to him, 'I observe that thou ridest out every day, and returnest tired and vexed, as though thou wert seeking something thou hast lost.' And he answered, 'Verily, Ibrahîm-ibn-Sulaimân-ibn-ʾAbd-el-Málik slew my father, and I have been informed that he is in hiding from es-Saffâh, and I seek him that perchance I may find him and be revenged on him.' Then, O Commander of the Faithful! I marvelled that having taken flight, a fatal chance should have led me to the abode of the very man who desired my death, and sought to take vengeance upon me. And when this misfortune overtook me, the idea of life grew hateful to me, and I prayed for death to deliver me from my misery. Then I asked the man the name of his father and the manner of his death. And he gave me an account of it which I found
