upholding the truth. I have instructed him to show kindness to those of you who do good and to be stern with anyone whose loyalty is doubtful (1), while displaying gentleness toward both your common folk and your notables. His conduct pleases me, and I hope for his uprightness and his sincere counsel. I ask Allah to grant us and you righteous deeds, abundant reward, and boundless mercy. Peace be upon you, together with the mercy and blessings of Allah.
Written by ʿAbd Allah (2) ibn Abī Rāfiʿ in Ṣafar of the year 36 AH.
He said:
Then Qays ibn Saʿd rose and addressed (3) the people, calling them to pledge allegiance to ʿAlī. The people thereupon stood and pledged to him, and the whole of Egypt submitted to his authority—save for a village called Khirbita (4). In that village were men who deemed ʿUthmān’s killing a grave wrong; they were the leaders and dignitaries of the land, numbering around ten thousand. [Among them were Bishr ibn Abī Arṭāʾah, Muslimah ibn Mukhalad, Muʿāwiyah ibn Khudayj, and a group of other notables.] They were under a man named Yazīd ibn al-Ḥārith al-Mudlijī. They sent word to Qays ibn Saʿd, so he concluded a truce with them. Likewise, Muslimah ibn Mudlij al-Anṣārī delayed giving the pledge; Qays (ibn Saʿd) left him alone and made a truce with him as well.
Afterward Muʿāwiyah ibn Abī Sufyān—control of Syria in its entirety having come firmly into his hands (5), together with the remotest Byzantine frontier regions, the coasts, and even the island of Cyprus, which was under his authority (6), as well as parts of al-Jazīrah such as al-Ruhāʾ, Harrān, Qarqīsiyā, and others—had drawn to himself (7) the ʿUthmānī partisans who had fled on the Day of the Camel. Al-Ashter sought to wrest these territories from Muʿāwiyah’s governors, but Muʿāwiyah dispatched ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Khālid ibn al-Walīd against him, and al-Ashter fled (8). Thus Muʿāwiyah’s hold over those lands became secure.
Once his grip on the provinces was as we have described, he wrote to Qays ibn Saʿd, inviting him to rise in pursuit of ʿUthmān’s blood and to assist him in that undertaking. He promised that, should the matter be settled in his favour, he would appoint him as his deputy over the two Iraqs for the duration of his rule. When the letter reached him—Qays was a prudent man—he neither opposed Muʿāwiyah nor supported him; instead he wrote back in conciliatory terms, mindful of his distance from ʿAlī, his nearness to Syrian territory, and the troops that Muʿāwiyah commanded. Qays therefore maintained peace with him, left him alone, and did not engage in what he was calling for, yet neither did he agree with him (9).
Muʿāwiyah then wrote to him (10): “Your procrastination with me and your attempts to deceive me will no longer suffice; I must know whether you are at peace (11) with me or an enemy.” Muʿāwiyah, too, was a man of determination.