Abū Ṭālib Yaḥyā b. ʿAlī al-Yākūbī. He was a Shāfiʿī faqīh (jurist). He served as an assistant teacher in Baghdad. He was a scholar with a pleasant countenance and a beautiful face. He was the overseer of certain endowments. For one of the virtuous people, he recited the following poem:
“To carry the burden of Tihāmah, the mountain of Uhud, and the waters of the seas in a basket,
To carry large rocks on a bare back,
Is easier than to sit in the same assembly with sour-faced people.”
One of Abū Ṭālib's poems is as follows:
“Although fifty years of a person's life have passed, if there is no turning towards taqwā (God-consciousness),
Disgrace and the sword of shame fall upon him.
They say to him, ‘You allied yourself with us, so remain here; do not turn elsewhere.’
The devil, seeing the brightness of his face alive,
Says to him, ‘I sacrifice myself for you, O one without salvation!’
He was asked for some money. When he could not pay it, he used Egyptian opium. He died on the same day. He was buried in Bardiyah.