O Abū Muslim, never does Allah withdraw a blessing
He has bestowed upon a servant—until that servant himself withdraws it.
O Abū Muslim, you threatened me with death, yet
The charging, blood-red lion turned the very threat upon you. (1)
Ibn Jarīr (2) relates that al-Manṣūr had previously instructed ʿUthmān ibn Nahīk, Shabīb ibn Wāj, Abū Ḥanīfah Ḥarb ibn Qays, and another of the guards to stay close by him; when Abū Muslim entered and he clapped one hand against the other, they were to kill him.
When Abū Muslim came in, al-Manṣūr asked, “What became of the two swords you took from ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAlī?”
He answered, “Here is one of them,” handing it over; al-Manṣūr placed it beneath his knee.
He then said, “What moved you to write to Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Saffāḥ forbidding him to appropriate dead land (mawāt)? Did you intend to teach us the religion?”
Abū Muslim replied, “I thought that taking it was unlawful. When the letter of the Commander of the Faithful reached me, I realized that he and his Household are the fountainhead of knowledge.”
Al-Manṣūr asked, “Why did you precede me on the road to the ḥajj?”
He said, “I disliked that we should crowd together at the water, which would have harmed the people, so I went on ahead to spare them hardship.”
Al-Manṣūr asked, “Why did you not return to me when the news of Abū al-ʿAbbās’s death reached you?”
He replied, “I did not want to inconvenience the people on the ḥajj route, and I knew we would meet in Kūfa; I have no disagreement with you.”
Al-Manṣūr said, “And the slave-girl of ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAlī—you meant to keep her for yourself?”
He answered, “No, but I feared she might be lost, so I placed her in a litter and appointed someone to guard her.”
Then he said, “Are you not the one who writes to me putting your own name first—who wrote asking for the hand of Amīnah bint ʿAlī, claiming that you are the son of Salīṭ ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbbās?” Throughout all this al-Manṣūr kept Abū Muslim’s hand in his own, squeezing it, kissing it, and offering excuses.
He then asked, “What impelled you to oppose me and go off to Khurāsān?”
Abū Muslim replied, “I feared you might harbor something against me, so I went to Khurāsān intending to write to you with my apology.”
Al-Manṣūr asked, “Why did you kill Sulaymān ibn Kathīr, who had been one of our naqībs and propagandists before you?”
He said, “He sought to oppose me.”
Al-Manṣūr exclaimed, “Woe to you! You too sought to oppose me and disobeyed me. May Allah kill me if I do not kill you!” He struck him with the tent pole, whereupon the others rushed in: ʿUthmān cut through the strap of his sword, Shabīb severed his leg, and the rest fell upon him with their swords,
while al-Manṣūr kept shouting, “Strike him—may Allah sever your hands!” They slaughtered him, hacked him limb from limb, and cast him into the Tigris.
It is related that after killing him al-Manṣūr stood over him and said, “May Allah have mercy on you, Abū Muslim. You pledged allegiance to us and we pledged to you; you covenanted with us and we covenanted with you; you were loyal to us and we were loyal to you. We further pledged you that if anyone rose against us in these days we would kill him. You rose against us, so we killed you, and we have executed upon you the very judgment you pronounced against yourself for us.”
It is also said that al-Manṣūr declared, “Praise be to Allah, Who has shown us your day, O enemy of Allah.”