Dhubyanee; and he said,
Talib hath spoken truth in that which he hath related, and the proof of
his veracity is the saying of the Wise, the First [thus versified]:--

And [consider] Suleyman, when the Deity said to him, Perform
the office of Khaleefeh, and govern with diligence;
And whoso obeyeth thee, honor him for doing so; and whoso
disobeyeth thee, imprison him forever.

He used to put them into bottles of brass, and to cast them into the
sea.

And the Prince of the Faithful approved of these words, and said, By
Allah, I desire to see some of these bottles! So Talib the son of Sahl
replied, O Prince of the Faithful, thou art able to do so and yet remain
in thy country. Send to thy brother Abd-El-Azeez, the son of Marwan,
desiring him to bring them to thee from the Western Country, that he may
write orders to Moosa to journey from the Western Country, to this
mountain which we have mentioned, and to bring thee what thou desirest
of these bottles; for the furthest tract of his province is adjacent to
this mountain.--And the Prince of the Faithful approved of his advice,
and said, O Talib, thou has spoken truth in that which thou hast said,
and I desire that thou be my messenger to Moosa the son of Nuseyr for
this purpose, and thou shalt have a white ensign, together with what
thou shalt desire of wealth or dignity or other things, and I will be
thy substitute to take care of thy family. To this Talib replied, Most
willingly, O Prince of the Faithful. And the Khaleefeh said to him, Go,
in dependence on the blessing of God, and his aid....

So Talib went forth on his way to Egypt ... and to Upper Egypt, until
they came to the Emeer Moosa, the son of Nuseyr; and when he knew of his
approach he went forth to him and met him, and rejoiced at his arrival;
and Talib handed to him the letter. So he took it and read it, and
understood its meaning; and he put it upon his head, saying, I hear and
obey the command of the Prince of the Faithful. He determined to summon
his great men; and they presented themselves; and he inquired of them
respecting that which had been made known to him by the letter;
whereupon they said, O Emeer, if thou desire him who will guide thee to
that place, have recourse to the sheykh 'Abd-Es-Samad, the son of
Abd-El-Kuddoos Es-Sa-moodee; for he is a knowing man, and hath traveled
much, and he is acquainted with the deserts and wastes and the seas, and
their inhabitants and the