After writing down the remarkable claim, the audience goes beyond literary admiration and asks what practical steps Abū Zayd intends to take concerning the young man.
«ثُمَّ اسْتَبْطَنَّاهُ ... فَتَاهُ»
Then we probed his private intention about taking the young man into his care.
Istabaṭṭannāhu suggests asking about an inward or underlying intention. The question is whether someone who claims the youth as his son will now assume responsibility for him. The narrative shifts from elegant speech to the obligations implied by that speech.