and Muʿāwiyah ibn Khudayj; the two of them rejoiced at the letter and sent back a reply full of glad tidings, offering cooperation and support for him and for any armies, troops, or reinforcements he might dispatch, if Allah Most High so willed. Thereupon Muʿāwiyah outfitted ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀṣ with six thousand men, and Muʿāwiyah (1) went out to bid him farewell, advising him to fear Allah, to act with gentleness and deliberation, to slay whoever fought against him and to pardon whoever turned away, and to summon the people to reconciliation and unity. “When you gain the upper hand,” he added, “let your supporters be the people most favoured (2) by you.”

ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀṣ then marched to Egypt; when he reached it (3) the Uthmānīs rallied around him, and he assumed their command. ʿAmr wrote to Muḥammad ibn Abī Bakr:

“Amma baʿd: Withdraw, for I do not wish to lay so much as a fingernail on you. The people of these lands have combined in opposition to you, have repudiated your rule, and regret having followed you. They will hand you over as soon as the two rings of the girth meet (4). Leave the province, for I am one of your sincere well-wishers. Peace.”

ʿAmr also forwarded to him Muʿāwiyah’s letter:

“Amma baʿd (5): The consequence of rebellion and injustice is a grievous calamity, and whoever sheds forbidden blood will not be spared retribution in this world, nor the ruinous reckoning in the Hereafter (6). We know of no one who opposed ʿUthmān more fiercely than you, when you thrust your spear-points between his chest and his jugular veins (7). Yet you fancy that I am asleep or have forgotten that deed of yours (8), and you come to set yourself up as governor over a land in which I am your neighbour and the majority of its people are my supporters. I have sent against you armies who seek closeness to Allah by fighting you, and Allah will not save you from requital wherever you may be. Peace.”

Muhammad ibn Abī Bakr folded the two letters and dispatched them to ʿAlī, informing him that ʿAmr was advancing on Egypt with an army on Muʿāwiyah’s orders. “If you have any need of Egypt,” he wrote, “then send me funds and men. Peace.” ʿAlī replied, ordering him to be patient and to fight the enemy, promising to send him wealth and soldiers and to reinforce him with such troops as he could muster.

Muhammad ibn Abī Bakr then wrote a reply to Muʿāwiyah—answering his words in stern fashion (9); he likewise wrote a harsh letter to ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀṣ. He rose before the people, addressed them, and urged them to jihad and to confront the Syrians who were marching against them. Meanwhile ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀṣ advanced on Egypt at the head of his forces, together with the Egyptian Uthmānīs who had joined him, the total numbering close to sixteen thousand men, while Muhammad ibn Abī Bakr rode out with roughly two thousand