A Poetry in the Eulogy of Imam Sajjad (AS)

One year, Abdul-Malik sent his son Hisham to perform Hajj in Mecca. When Hisham was near the Ka’ba, he decided to touch Hajar al-Aswad, the heavenly rock, but he was unable to reach it due to the crowd. Shortly after, while watching the Ka’ba, he noticed Imam Sajjad coming through the crowd. The crowd moved away in respect to the Imam and made room for him to reach Hajar al-Aswad. Hisham felt offended by the great respect people had shown to the Imam, and pretended not to know the Imam. A poet named Farazdaq, who had close ties to Banu Marwan’s government, witnessed this incident and told Hisham, “I know that man and can describe him for you.” He then recited a long and beautiful poem describing and praising the Imam. Hisham became angry and ordered that Farazdaq’s allowance from Bayt al-Mal (public treasury) be cut and that he be imprisoned.
After his custody was lengthened, Farazdaq requested the Imam to pray for his release. He was released and came to the Imam and told him that his allowance was stopped by the government. The Imam provided him with an allowance, even though Farazdaq was hesitant to accept it. The Imam gave him the amount of allowance for a specific number of years and told him, “If I knew that you would need more, I would definitely provide you with more.” Upon the completion of the specific number of years, Farazdaq passed away.