over Khurasān, and I have ordered him to remain in Nishābūr. Should you set your sights on Khurasān, he will face you with the commanders and supporters who are with him, and I shall dispatch against you men who are your equals. Therefore muster all your stratagems—your affair is neither sound nor blessed; Allah is enough for the Commander of the Faithful and for those who follow him, and what an excellent Guardian He is.

Al-Manṣūr kept corresponding with him, at one time offering inducements, at another brandishing threats. He belittled the wits of the commanders and envoys whom Abū Muslim sent to him, making them promises until they persuaded Abū Muslim that it would be best for him to present himself before the Caliph. Only one commander who accompanied him, a man named Nayzak, refused to concur. When he saw that Abū Muslim had yielded to their counsel, he recited the previously quoted verse ⦗1⦘:

No stratagem can men devise against decree;
Destiny has swept away the ruses of mankind.

He then advised Abū Muslim to kill al-Manṣūr and place another in his stead, but that proved impossible. When Abū Muslim reached al-Madāʾin, the commanders—on the Caliph’s orders—came out to receive him; he did not arrive until late in the day, and Abū Ayyūb, the secretary of correspondence, had already advised that he not be killed that same day, as mentioned earlier.

When Abū Muslim stood before the Caliph, al-Manṣūr honored and exalted him, showed him deference, and said, “Go tonight and shake off the hardship of travel; then come to me tomorrow.” The next morning he stationed among the commanders those who were to kill him—ʿUthmān ibn Nahīk and Shabīb ibn Wāj—and kept sending messenger after messenger summoning him, until they slew him, as related above ⦗2⦘.

Another account states that he stayed on for several days while al-Manṣūr outwardly continued to honor and respect him; then the Caliph’s coldness became evident, and Abū Muslim grew afraid. He sought the intercession of ʿĪsā ibn Mūsā, asking for his protection and saying, “I fear he means to kill me.” ʿĪsā replied, “No harm will come to you. Go on; I shall follow right after you—you are under my guarantee until I arrive.” Yet ʿĪsā had no knowledge of what the Caliph intended.

Abū Muslim came to request permission to enter upon al-Manṣūr. They said to him, “Sit here; the Commander of the Faithful is performing ablution.” He sat, wishing the wait would be prolonged until ʿĪsā ibn Mūsā arrived, but ʿĪsā was delayed. Presently permission was granted and he entered. Al-Manṣūr began to reproach him for various deeds he had done, and Abū Muslim offered convincing excuses, until the Caliph said, “Why did you kill Sulaymān ibn Kathīr, Ibrāhīm ibn Maymūn, and so-and-so and so-and-so?” He answered, “Because they disobeyed me and contravened my command.”

At that al-Manṣūr flew into a rage and said, “Woe to you! You kill whenever you are disobeyed, and I should not kill you when you have disobeyed me?” He clapped his hands—the agreed signal between him and the assassins in wait—and they rushed at Abū Muslim. One of them struck, severing the straps of his sword. Abū Muslim cried, “O Commander of the Faithful, spare me for your enemies!” Al-Manṣūr replied, “And what enemy is more hostile to me than you?” Then he urged them on; they hacked him to pieces and wrapped him in a cloak.

ʿĪsā ibn Mūsā entered immediately thereafter and asked, “What is this, O Commander of the Faithful?” Al-Manṣūr answered, “This is Abū Muslim.” ʿĪsā exclaimed, “Indeed we belong to Allah and to Him we shall return.” The Caliph said, “I praise Allah, Who let His blessings break in upon me and did not let His punishments descend upon me.”

Concerning this, Abū Dulāmah said: