When Harun al-Rashid conquered the land of Egypt, he said, “Unlike that tyrant who claimed divinity out of pride in the kingdom of Egypt, I will not grant this land except to the most insignificant of my servants.”
He had a black servant named Khasib, who was extremely ignorant. Harun al-Rashid gave him the kingdom of Egypt. It is said that his wisdom and understanding were so limited that when a group of Egyptian farmers complained to him that they had planted cotton but untimely rain had ruined it, he replied, “You should have planted wool!”
If knowledge increased one’s fortune
No one would be poorer than the ignorant
Fortune grants such wealth to the ignorant
That the wise are left helpless
Success and prosperity are not due to skill
But only by divine favor
Many in the world are honored without merit
While the wise are despised
The alchemist dies in sorrow and toil
While the fool finds treasure in ruins.
