and when he came into al-Saffāḥ’s presence he honored, exalted, and respected him, lodged him near at hand, and Abū Muslim presented himself for service every day.

He then asked the caliph for permission to perform the ḥajj; al-Saffāḥ gave his consent and said, “Had I not already appointed my brother Abū Jaʿfar to lead the pilgrimage, I would have put you in charge of it.”

Relations between Abū Jaʿfar and Abū Muslim, however, were completely ruined, for Abū Jaʿfar detested him. The reason was what he had witnessed of Abū Muslim’s prestige when the latter received him at Naysābūr during the oath of allegiance to al-Saffāḥ and, afterwards, to al-Manṣūr. Perplexed by the man’s stature, al-Manṣūr bore him a grudge and urged al-Saffāḥ to kill him. The caliph told him to keep the matter secret, yet when Abū Muslim arrived he again ordered him to slay him and pressed him to do so.

Al-Saffāḥ said, “You know the trials he has endured for us and the service he has rendered.” Abū Jaʿfar replied, “Commander of the Faithful, all of that is only by virtue of our authority. By Allah, were you to send a mere cat they would hear and obey it! If you do not eat him for supper, he will eat you for breakfast.”

The caliph asked, “How can it be done?” Abū Jaʿfar answered, “When he enters your presence, engage him in conversation; I shall then come up behind him and strike him with the sword.” The caliph said, “And what of the men with him?” He replied, “They are more contemptible and fewer.” So the caliph authorised him to kill him.

When Abū Muslim entered upon al-Saffāḥ, the caliph regretted the permission he had given his brother. He therefore sent a servant after him with the message: “The caliph has repented of what was between you and him—do not do it.” The servant found Abū Jaʿfar seated, clasping his sword, fully prepared to kill Abū Muslim. When he forbade him, Abū Jaʿfar became furiously angry.

That same year Abū Jaʿfar al-Manṣūr led the people in the pilgrimage on behalf of his brother al-Saffāḥ. Abū Muslim al-Khurasānī travelled with him to the Ḥijāz by order of the caliph, who had granted him leave to perform the ḥajj. On their return, while they were at Dhāt ʿIrq, news reached Abū Jaʿfar—who was travelling a day’s march ahead of Abū Muslim—of his brother al-Saffāḥ’s death. He wrote to Abū Muslim: “Something momentous has occurred; haste, haste!” When Abū Muslim learned the news he quickened his pace and caught up with him at Kūfah, where the oath of allegiance to al-Manṣūr took place, as will be detailed shortly. Allah, exalted and most high, knows best.

Biography of Abū al-ʿAbbās al-Saffāḥ, first of the ʿAbbāsid caliphs, and a mention of his death
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He is ʿAbd Allah al-Saffāḥ—also known as al-Murtaḍā and al-Qāsim—son of Muḥammad, son of the Imām ʿAlī al-Sajjād, son of ʿAbd Allah al-Ḥabr, son of al-ʿAbbās Dhū al-Raʾy, son of ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib Shaybah al-Ḥamd, son of Hāshim ibn ʿAmr ibn ʿAbd Manāf ibn Quṣayy. He is Abū al-ʿAbbās al-Qurashī al-Hāshimī, Commander of the Faithful, surnamed al-Saffāḥ, the first of the ʿAbbāsid caliphs. His mother was Rayṭah—some say Rāʾiṭah—daughter of ʿUbayd Allah ibn ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿAbd al-Madān ibn al-Dayyān al-Hārithī.

Al-Saffāḥ was born at al-Ḥumaymah in the land of al-Sharāh within the district of al-Balqāʾ in greater Syria, and he was reared there until Marwān seized his brother—this occurred during Marwān’s lifetime—on Friday, the twelfth of Rabīʿ al-Awwal in Kūfah, as already mentioned. He died of smallpox at al-Anbār on Sunday the eleventh—others say