I am Bishr Ibne Sulaiman al-Nakhkhas from the children of Abu Ayyub Ansari...

I am Bishr Ibne Sulaiman al-Nakhkhas from the children of Abu Ayyub Ansari, one of the devotees of Abul Hasan and Abu Muhammad and their neighbor at Surra Man Raa. I said to him: Do favor on your brother by sharing some of the things you have seen from them. He said: My master Abul Hasan (a.s.) made me knowledgeable about slaves.

I would not buy nor sell but with his permission, which helped me avoid dubious occasions, until my knowledge of the subject matured and I could make good distinction between the permissible and the illegal. As such, one night I was at my house in Surra Man Raa and a certain portion of the night had passed, when someone knocked at my door. I ran with speed and saw Kafoor, the servant, the messenger of our Master, Abul Hasan Ali Ibne Muhammad (a.s.) calling me to him.

I put on my robes and went to him. I saw him talking to his son, Abu Muhammad (a.s.) and his sister Hakima from behind the curtain. When I sat, he said: O Bishr, you are from the descendants of the Ansar, and this love has always been in you, with each coming generation inheriting it from the preceding one, and you are trustworthy men of us Ahlul Bayt (a.s.).

I am elevating you and ennobling you by an excellence through which you will surpass all Shia in devotion, by sharing a secret with you and sending you to purchase a certain bondmaid. He then wrote a very fine letter in Roman script and Roman language and imprinted his seal on it. He took out a yellow cloth in which were 200 dinars. He said: Take this and go with it to Baghdad.

He told me to go to the crossing of the Euphrates on the noon of such and such day and when I reach the boats of the captives, “You will see bondmaids in them. You will find buyers for the procurers of the Abbasids and a small group from the Arab youths. When you see that, keep an eye on a man called Umar Ibne Yazid al-Nakhkhas from a distance all day long, until a bondmaid is brought to the buyers, who has such and such quality.

Her dress is two thick silks; she refuses to be seen or touched by the examiners; she does not submit to anyone who want to touch her; and you hear a cry in Roman from behind a thin veil. You should know she is saying: Alas from the violation of the veil. One of the buyers says: Mine for 300 dinars; her modesty has ever increased my desire for her. She replies to him in Arabic: Even if you come in the figure of Solomon the son of David and with a kingdom like his, I will not be interested in you.