When the dominion of the land of Egypt became certain for Harun al-Rashid, he said: Unlike that tyrant who, out of the arrogance of the dominion of Egypt, claimed divinity, I will not grant this kingdom except to the most contemptible of my servants.

He had a black slave named Khasib, in the utmost ignorance. He bestowed the kingdom of Egypt upon him, and it is said: His intelligence and wisdom were such that a group of Egyptian farmers complained to him that they had planted cotton, and untimely rain came and destroyed it. He said: You should have planted wool!

If knowledge increased one's livelihood,

No one would be poorer than the ignorant.

He provides for the ignorant in such a way

That the wise remain helpless in it.

Fortune and wealth are not due to skill,

They are only due to divine confirmation.

There are many in the world who have fallen

The undiscerning are honored, and the wise are despised.

The alchemist died of grief and hardship,

And the fool found treasure in a ruin.