When Anas read the Commander of the Believers’ letter and heard his message he said,
“May Allah reward the Commander of the Believers on my behalf with the finest reward, preserve and protect him, and repay him with Paradise. Such was the opinion I held of him and the hope I entertained regarding him.”

Ismaʿil ibn ʿUbayd Allah then said to Anas,
“Abu Hamza, al-Hajjaj is the governor of the Commander of the Believers; neither you nor your family can do without him. Even were he to place an iron collar on your neck and hand it to you, keep close to him and treat him with forbearance—live with him in ease and peace.”

Anas replied, “I shall do so, if Allah wills.” Ismaʿil then left Anas and entered upon al-Hajjaj.

When al-Hajjaj saw him he said, “Welcome to a man I love and whose visit I have long desired.”

Ismaʿil answered, “By Allah, I too wished to meet you, but not for the reason that has brought me today.” [Al-Hajjaj’s colour changed and fear overtook him.] He asked, “What have you brought me?”

He replied, “I left the Commander of the Believers while he was angrier with you than with anyone and more alienated from you than ever.”

Al-Hajjaj thereupon sat bolt upright in terror. Ismaʿil tossed the scroll to him; al-Hajjaj would look at it once and break into a sweat, then look back at Ismaʿil.

When he had opened it he said, “Come, let us go to Abu Hamza so that we may apologise to him and placate him.”

Ismaʿil said, “Do not be hasty.” Al-Hajjaj replied, “How can I not hurry when you have brought me such a catastrophe?”

The scroll contained:

In the name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful.
From the Commander of the Believers, ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Marwan, to al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf.

To proceed: You are a servant over whom affairs have swelled; you have raised yourself aloft, overstepped your station, gone far beyond your due, and embarked upon a monstrous calamity. You even wish to confront me (1); if I allow you, you will press on, but if I do not, you will be driven back in defeat. May Allah curse you—servant with bleary eyes and stunted nostrils! Have you forgotten the earnings of your forefathers in al-Taʾif, their digging of wells and carrying of stones upon their backs at the water-stops? O son of the woman who picked the stems from raisins! By Allah, I shall squeeze you as the lion crushes the fox and as the falcon grips the hare.

You pounced upon a man who is one of the Companions of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ living in our midst; you neither acknowledged his good deeds nor overlooked his slips—out of sheer audacity toward the Lord, Mighty and Majestic, and your contempt for the covenant. By Allah, if the Jews and the Christians were to see a man who had served ʿUzayr son of ʿUzra or Jesus son of Mary, they would revere him, honour him, exalt him, and love him—indeed, were they even to behold one who had tended ʿUzayr’s donkey or served the Messiah’s disciples, they would still revere and honour him (2).

How then when this is Anas ibn Malik, the servant of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ for eight years, privy to his secrets and consulted by him in his affairs—one of the last remnants of his Companions among us? When you read this letter, be more obedient to him than his own sandal. Otherwise there shall come upon you from me a fatal arrow bringing annihilating ruin (3):
“For every report there is an appointed time, and soon you shall know.” (Qurʾan 6:67) (4)

Ibn Tarara has commented on the unusual expressions found in this letter, as have Ibn Qutayba and other masters of the language; Allah knows best.

Imam Ahmad (5) said: ʿAbd al-Rahman ibn Mahdi related to us; Sufyan related to us, from al-Zubayr—meaning Ibn ʿAdi—