Once Al-Amin, brother of Al-Maamun, visited the palace of his uncle, Ibrahim Al-Mahdi. There he saw one of the slave girl playing upon the flute. He found her very fair and beautiful and gave his heart to her.
When his uncle noticed the fascination of his nephew towards the slave-girl, he sent the girl to him with all ornaments and rich dresses. When he realized that the girl had been a slave of his uncle, he felt uneasy and sent her back to his uncle. His uncle knew the reason why he sent her back and wanted to send her back to him. So he wrote a couplet on the silk dress she was wearing meaning that he had not touched the girl and, therefore, he could have her.
With this dress she was sent back to his nephew. When Al-Amin saw the couplet on the dress of the girl, he understood the meaning and readily accepted her. He then made her live in a separate palace. He was so pleased with his uncle’s offer that he gave him the governance of Rayy.
