Ibn al-Athir has said...

Ibn al-Athir has said: "Al-Mansur was named al-Dewaniqi because of his miserliness. That was when he ordered a trench to be dug in Kufa (and ordered) a danaq to be given (to the workers) and to be spent on the digging. The danaq is one sixth a dirham." Then he has said: "In the year 155 A. H. al-Mansur ordered a wall and a trench to be built and dug around Basrah and Kufa. He ordered those [1] Al-'Asr al-'Abbasi, p. 68. workers who built the wall and dug the trench to be given five Dirhams.

After they had finished that, he ordered them to be brought together and forty dirhams to be taken from each of them. Concerning that the poet has said: O My people, what have we met from the Commander of the faithful?

He gave five (dirhams) to each of us and took forty (dirhams) from each of us![1] Having finished building Baghdad, al-Mansur settled an account with the commanders of his army and forced them to return that which was with them, to the extent that he took fifteen dirhams from some of them. [2] He would settle an account with the workers even it was an amount of danaq or habba.[3] As for the aspects of his miserliness, they are as follows: A.

He deprived himself of pleasures His miserliness urged him to deprive himself of enjoying the pleasures in life. He avoided luxury; he wore coarse garments; perhaps, he patched his own shirt with his hand. Concerning him, Imam al-Sadiq has said: "Praise belongs to Allah Who tried him with his own poverty in his kingdom!"[4] One of his female slaves saw him wearing a patched shirt, and she sneeringly asked him: "Does a caliph wear a patched garment?" He smiled and answered her: "Woe unto you!

Have you not hear the words of the poet, Bin Harama: "Man may attain honor though his shirt is old and the pocket of his shirt is patched!"[5] Certainly al-Mansur did not attain honor; rather he reached the deep bottom of meanness and lowliness! B. His showing Miserliness toward his friends Al-Mansur was miserly to himself and his friends. He gave them nothing generously, nor did he think of helping them. He had a friend called al-Wadin b. 'Atta' during his poverty and neediness.

He sent for the friend when he undertook the office of the caliphate. When he stood before him, he asked him about his conditions and his affairs: -O Abu 'Abd Allah, what do you have? -The good the Commander of the faithful know! [1] Al-Kamil. [2] Al-Fekhri, p. 118. [3] 'Inwan al-Majjd, p.161. [4] Al-Fekhri, p. 115. [5] Tarikh Baghdad, vol. 1, p. 57.