Imam Sha‘bi and the king of Rome

Imam Sha‘bi (may Allah have mercy on him) was a distinguished scholar from the early generations of Islam. He related the following incident that occurred during his life.

‘Abdul Malik Ibn Marwan once sent his messenger to the king of Rome. When he reached him, he(the King of Rome) asked me a number of questions, and Imam Sha‘bi answered them all.

In general, emissaries would not stay with him (King of Rome) for a long time, however in this case, he detained Imam Sha‘bi for a number of days, until the Imam Sha‘bi requested permission to leave. When the Imam was determined to leave, he (king of Rome) said to him, "Are you of the household of the king?" Imam Sha‘bi said, "No, I am simply a common man from among the Muslims."
He (king of Rome) whispered something to one of his guards, and then a card was given to Imam Sha‘bi. He (king of Rome) said, "When you hand over the letters you have with you to your king, give him this card as well."

When Imam Sha‘bi returned home, he handed over many letters to ‘Abdul Malik Ibn Marwan but he forgot to give him the card. Only at a later time did Imam Sha‘bi remember, and he hastened to give it to ‘Abdul Malik Ibn Marwan.
After ‘Abdul Malik Ibn Marwan read it, he said to me, "Did he say anything to you before giving you this card?"
Imam Sha‘bi said, "Yes, he (king of Rome) asked me: 'Are you of the household of your king?' I told him no, but rather that I am simply a common man from among the Muslims."

Imam Sha‘bi was parting from ‘Abdul Malik Ibn Marwan, but when I reached the gates, I was called back to him. When I was again standing in front of him, ‘Abdul Malik said, "Do you know what is on this card?" I said, "No." He (‘Abdul Malik) said, "Read it." on the card was written: 'I am amazed at a people who have among them such a man, yet they have chosen another as their king!'
Imam Sha‘bi said to ‘Abdul Malik, "By Allah, Had I known what was written on it, I would not have carried it with me! He only said this because he has not seen you." ‘Abdul Malik said, "Do you know why he really wrote it?" Imam Sha‘bi said, "No." ‘Abdul Malik replied, "He (king of Rome) was jealous of me for having you, so he tried to change my heart against you, hoping that I would kill you and so that the Muslims would not benefit from your knowledge."

The news of what happened reached the king of Rome, who said, "He was right in knowing my intention."