Ibn al-Jawzī recounts this tale with its chain of transmission in his book "al-Muntaẓam." The story is as follows: An incident occurred between a young man from the Banū Uzra tribe and Ibn Umm Ḥakam. The summary of the story is this: One day, while Muʿāwiya was at his table, a young man from the Banū Uzra tribe came and stood before him, reciting a poem expressing his longing for his wife Suʿād. Muʿāwiya seated him beside himself and asked him to recount what had happened. The young man said:
"O Commander of the Faithful, I was married to my cousin. I had camels and sheep, which I spent on her, and when my wealth diminished, her father turned away from me and complained about me to the governor of Kūfa, Ibn Umm Ḥakam. The governor of Kūfa had heard of my wife's beauty; he put me in chains and imprisoned me. He pressured me to divorce my wife, and I was forced to do so. When my wife's waiting period (ʿidda) was over, her father gave her to the governor of Kūfa in exchange for 10,000 dirhams and married her to him. Now I have come to you. O Commander of the Faithful, you come to the aid of the sorrowful, the distressed, and those who cry out for help. You are the support of those deprived of their loved ones. Is there no way for me to be saved from this distress?" After saying this, he wept and recited:
"There is a fire in my heart, its sparks are flying. My body is exhausted, my color has faded.
My eyes shed tears of sorrow, these tears are like torrential rains.
I weep from love, and my state confounds the physician.
I have encountered a great calamity, and there is no strength to endure it.
My night is not night, nor is my day day."
Muʿāwiya took pity on the young man and wrote a letter to the governor of Kūfa, Ibn Umm Ḥakam, reproaching and censuring him for his actions and ordering him to divorce the young man's wife without objection. Upon receiving the letter, the harsh Ibn Umm Ḥakam sighed deeply and said, "If only the Commander of the Faithful had left me with this woman for a year and then struck my neck with the sword." He tried to force himself to divorce the woman but could not bring himself to do it. His nafs (the lower self) did not respond to the desire to divorce. However, when the envoy delivered Muʿāwiya's reproachful letter, its contents compelled him to divorce the woman. He had no choice but to do so and sent her away. He sent her to Muʿāwiya with a delegation. When the woman arrived before Muʿāwiya, he was met with a very beautiful sight. When he spoke to her, he found her speech very eloquent and sweet. He observed that she was the most beautiful and graceful of people. He said to the young man, who was both her husband and cousin: "O Bedouin! If I were to give you something better, would you give up this woman?" The young man replied: "Yes, if you separate my head from my body, then I would give her up." Then he recited the following poem:
"Do not make me the subject of proverbs, like one who flees from the rain only to be caught in hail.
Return Suʿād to the sorrowful one who spends his evenings and mornings in grief and remembrance, captivated by her.
Torments have exhausted me, my heart burns, and what a burning it is.
By Allah, I will never forget my love for Suʿād; I will not remove her from my mind until my body disappears beneath the stones of my grave.
How could I give her up, when my heart is attached to her, my qalb (the heart) cannot live without her, cannot be patient."
Muʿāwiya said: "Let us give the woman the right to choose; let her choose either you or Ibn Umm Ḥakam." Upon Muʿāwiya's suggestion, Suʿād said:
"Even though his fortune has declined,
Even though his wealth has diminished,
In my eyes, he is dearer than my father, my neighbor, or those who possess dirhams and dinars. If I were to betray him, I would fear the heat of the Fire of Hell."
Muʿāwiya laughed and ordered that she be given 10,000 dirhams, a mount, and a carpet, and after her waiting period was completed, he delivered her to her former husband and married them.
In this year, that is, the fifty-eighth year of the Hijra, many incidents occurred between ʿUbaydullāh b. Ziyād and the Khārijites. ʿUbaydullāh killed many of them and imprisoned the rest. Like his father, he was bold and resolute regarding the Khārijites. Exalted is Allah, free from all deficiencies; surely, Allah knows best what is right.