—even if it involves severing my neck(1).
Zayd ibn al-Hubab reported: Sulaymān ibn al-Mughīrah al-Bakrī narrated to us, from Abū Burdah, from Abū Mūsā, that Muʿāwiyah wrote to him:
“To proceed: ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀṣ has pledged allegiance to me on the terms I desire, and I swear by Allah that, should you likewise pledge allegiance to me on the same basis, I will appoint one of your two sons over Kūfah and the other over Basrah. No door will be closed before you, and no request will be fulfilled without your involvement. I have written this to you in my own hand, so write back to me in yours.”
Abū Mūsā replied:
“To proceed: You have written to me about a momentous affair of the ummah. What shall I say to my Lord when I stand before Him? I have no desire for the offer you have set before me. Peace be upon you.”
Abū Burdah said, “When Muʿāwiyah later assumed authority, I went to him; he never shut a door in my face, and no need of mine went unmet(2).”
I (the author) say: Abū Mūsā was devoted to fasting and night prayer, a god-fearing, ascetic worshipper who combined knowledge, righteous action, striving, and purity of heart. Governorship never altered him, nor was he beguiled by the world.
Among his higher-level chains of transmission:
The two jurists Yaḥyā ibn Abī Manṣūr and ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Muḥammad wrote to us, saying: ʿUmar ibn Muḥammad told us; Hibat-Allāh ibn Muḥammad told us; Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad ibn Ghailān told us; Abū Bakr al-Shāfiʿī told us; Ibrāhīm ibn ʿAbd