of Friday, in the year 129 AH, when the governor of Khurasan was the amir Nasr ibn Sayyār al-Laythi, the deputy of Marwan ibn Muhammad al-Himar, the last caliph of the Marwanid Umayyads … until he said:

On that day his public appearance was with only fifty men; yet events unfolded until Nasr ibn Sayyār fled from him toward Iraq, where death overtook him in the district of Sāwa, and the whole province of Khurasan passed, for twenty-eight months, into the unchallenged possession of Abu Muslim, the man of the summons.

He also said: Abu Muslim’s father was from the district (rustāq) of Farīdhīn (1), from a village called Sanjarad. That village and others besides were his property, and he would at times drive livestock to Kūfa for sale. Later he undertook the tax-farming of Farīdhīn—that is, he guaranteed its revenues—but fell into debt; the local governor sent men to arrest him, so he fled with his concubine, who was pregnant, and she gave birth to Abu Muslim.

The boy proved exceptionally intelligent, attended the kuttāb schools, and acquired learning. He then attached himself to ʿĪsā ibn Maʿqil—grandfather of the amir Abū Dulaf al-ʿIjlī—and to ʿĪsā’s brother Idrīs ibn Maʿqil. The governor of Iraq had imprisoned the two for arrears of land-tax, and Abu Muslim used to visit and care for them in their confinement; this was in Kūfa during the administration of Khālid ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Qasrī.

A group of the naqībs of the Imam Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbbās—the father of al-Manṣūr and al-Saffāḥ—came to Kūfa, entered to greet the two brothers, and found Abu Muslim with them. They were impressed by his intelligence, refinement, and eloquence, and he in turn was drawn to them.

He came to understand their cause and their summons—that is, to the house of al-ʿAbbās. When ʿĪsā and Idrīs escaped from prison, Abu Muslim joined the naqībs and travelled with them to Mecca. There they presented to Ibrāhīm, son of the Imam (Imam Muḥammad having died), twenty thousand dinars and two hundred thousand dirhams, and they presented Abu Muslim as well; Ibrāhīm was greatly impressed, saying, “This man is a tough nut among tough nuts.”

Abu Muslim remained in the service of Imam Ibrāhīm, while the naqībs returned to Khurasan.

(1) Farīdhīn: a district in the region of Isfahan.