I traveled down and entered it, fulfilled his needs, and boarded a ship intending for Baghdad along with several other vessels. When we reached Wasit, the ship approached the shore and the gangplank¹ was set up for people to cross. The passengers went out to tend to their needs, and I sat opposite the ship I was in.

I then looked at a youth with fine clothes and a pleasant scent; I had never seen a more perfect form nor a finer appearance and beauty. Suddenly, a servant came up carrying a rug, spread it out, and placed a chair and cushions upon it near me. He sat upon it opposite the ship he was in. He heard me saying to a servant who was with me: "By the right of my lord, it was not such and such." The young man sitting on the rug asked: "O youth, who is your lord?" I replied: "A scribe from the people of Baghdad known as Umar ibn al-Furat." He looked at me and said: "Are you Fadwayh al-Kurdi?" I said: "Yes, my lord."

He said: "Draw near to me." I drew near to him, and he shook my hand, embraced me, laughed with me, and asked me for news of my lord and those who take refuge with him, until it was as if he were one of the people of that house. I explained that to him, and he said: "Stay close to me, O Fadwayh." Whenever I wanted to ask him who he was, awe prevented me from doing so. I was hungry, so he knew what was in my soul and said: "O servant, bring the food tray." He brought it and I ate. Then he jumped up for some of his needs, and I asked one of his servants: "By what name is your lord known?" He replied: "He is Abu Ja'far Muhammad ibn Nusayr al-Numayri—peace be upon him. He came as an emigrant to our Master Abu Ja'far the Second—exalted be his glory—and that was in the year two hundred and twenty. I did not know him except as Abu Ja'far al-Numayri until he arrived and entered upon our Master Abu Ja'far Muhammad ibn Ali al-Rida, who greeted him and gave him the kunya Abu Shu’ayb."