and he went on corresponding with him, summoning him, beguiling him, and playing crafty games with him until he finally lured him into his presence and killed him, as we have already described (1).
Some relate that al-Manṣūr wrote to Abū Muslim:
“As to what follows: sins cast a covering over the hearts and seal them. So take heed, O reckless man; sober up, O drunkard; awake, O sleeper! You are deluded by false, tattered dreams, living in the narrow isthmus of this world that has already deceived those before you and branded the generations of old. ‘Do you find any trace of them, or hear from them so much as a whisper?’ (Maryam 19:98). Allah is not thwarted by anyone who tries to flee, nor does He miss anyone He seeks. Therefore, be not deceived by those with you who belong to my party and uphold my summons. It is as though they have already turned against you after once fighting beside you, should you cast off obedience and abandon the community, and you will behold from Allah what you never expected.
“Easy, easy! Beware of aggression, Abū Muslim. For whoever transgresses and oversteps, Allah blinds him and raises against him one who will strike him hand and mouth. Beware lest you become a precedent for those who have passed away before you and a mutilated example for those who come after. The proof has been established, and I have offered my excuse to you and to those who obey me concerning you.
“Allah, Exalted is He, has said: ‘Recount to them the tale of the one to whom We gave Our signs, but he cast them off; so Satan pursued him, and he became one of the misguided.’ (Al-Aʿrāf 7:175).”
Abū Muslim replied:
“As for what follows: I have read your letter and see that you have turned away from what is right and deviated from the truth. You strike parables that fit no proper likeness, and you quote to me verses Allah revealed for the unbelievers. ‘Are those who know equal to those who do not know?’ By Allah, I have not cast off the signs of Allah. Rather, O ʿAbdallāh ibn Muḥammad, I was a man who interpreted verses of the Quran as granting you allegiance and obedience. I fulfilled that toward two of your brothers before you, and then toward you after them. I was their devout partisan, thinking myself a guide and rightly guided, yet I erred in my interpretation—and interpreters have erred before.
“Allah the Exalted has said: ‘When those who believe in Our signs come to you, say, “Peace be upon you. Your Lord has prescribed mercy for Himself: whoever among you commits evil in ignorance and then repents and makes amends—surely He is Forgiving, Merciful.”’ (Al-Anʿām 6:54). Now your brother al-Saffāḥ appeared in the guise of the Mahdī, yet he was astray. He ordered me to unsheathe the sword, to kill on mere suspicion, to strike on the basis of conjecture, to set mercy aside, and never to pardon a slip. Thus I filled the world with widows in obedience to you and in preparation for your sovereignty until Allah made those who had been ignorant of you come to know you. Thereafter Allah—glorified and exalted—visited me with remorse and rescued me through repentance. If He pardons and forgives me, He has ever been Forgiving to those who turn back; and if He punishes me, it is for my own sins—and your Lord is never unjust to His servants.
Al-Manṣūr wrote back to him:
“As to what follows, O criminal rebel! My brother was a leader of guidance, calling to Allah upon clear evidence from his Lord. He showed you the path and carried you along the straight course. Had you taken my brother as your model, you would not have strayed from the truth nor obeyed Satan and his orders. Yet whenever two alternatives presented themselves, you invariably abandoned the better and embraced the worse. You kill with the slaughter of the Pharaohs, strike with the blow of tyrants, judge with the injustice of corrupters, and squander wealth, placing it where it does not belong—the way of the prodigal. As for my latest news, O reprobate, I have appointed Mūsā ibn Kaʿb…"