On Eid al-Aḍḥā, I went to my mother’s home and saw an elderly woman wearing old, tattered clothes. I found her manner of speaking to be especially heartwarming.  

I asked my mother, “Who is this woman?”

She replied, “This is your aunt ꜤĀniyah, the mother of JaꜤfar b. Yaḥyā Barmakī, the minister of Hārūn al-Rashīd.”

I greeted her with salam, and she replied. I asked about her wellbeing and how she came to be in her current state.

She sighed, “Son, we spent our lives in heedlessness and wasted our time. The world then turned its back on us.”

I requested, “Tell me a story of your glory days.”

“Of course,”, she said, “I will tell you a short story, from which you can gauge my prestige. Three years ago, on Eid al-Aḍḥā, I possessed four hundred shawls. As a tradition, my son sent me one thousand four hundred goat heads and three hundred bull heads. This was in addition to all the gold and clothing. Despite this, I still considered my son to be disobedient to me. My state today is such that I came to you asking for two goatskins, so I can make some clothes from them.”

The qadi states, “I was very aggrieved to hear the story of her downfall, and tears fell from my eyes. I gifted her whatever coins I had on my person at that time.”^[1]

صَلُّوۡا عَلَى الۡحَبِيۡب                      صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلٰى مُحَمَّد