The poet al-Buḥturī was blatant about the fact that he went whichever way the prevailing wind blew when it came to doctrinal affiliation. In one anecdote, al-Kajjī (d.292/905), citing an early verse of al-Buḥturi, asks him whether that does not effectively show him to be a Muʿtazilite. Al-Buḥturī replies:
"That was my religion in the reign of al-Wāthiq, then I repudiate it in the reign of al-Mutawakkil."
Shawkat Toorawa (2005). Ibn Abī Ṭāhir Ṭayfūr and Arabic Writerly Culture. Routledge.
