He has made me a lock upon it; if He wishes to open me so that you receive your stipends and allotted provisions, He opens me, and if He wishes to shut me, He shuts me. Therefore turn to Allah, O people, and beseech Him on this noble day in which He has bestowed upon you of His bounty what He has announced in His Book, where He says,
“Today I have perfected your religion for you, completed My favour upon you, and approved for you Islam as a religion” (al-Māʾidah 5:3),
that He grant me success in what is right, set me firmly upon guidance, inspire me with compassion toward you and beneficence toward you, and open me to disburse your stipends and distribute your provisions justly among you—for He is All-Hearing, Responsive. (1)

On another occasion he was delivering a sermon, praising Allah—Exalted is He—when a man interrupted him, saying, “O Commander of the Faithful, remember the One you are mentioning and fear Allah concerning what you do and what you refrain from.” Al-Manṣūr remained silent until the man had finished, then said, “I seek refuge with Allah from being among those of whom Allah—Exalted is He—has said, ‘And when it is said to him, “Fear Allah,” pride in sin seizes him’ (al-Baqarah 2:206), or from being a haughty tyrant. O people, admonition has descended upon us and sprouted from among us.”

He then said to the man, “I do not think that by this statement of yours you are seeking the countenance of Allah; rather, you wanted it to be said that you admonished the Commander of the Faithful. O people, let not this mislead you so that you do as he has done.” He ordered that the man be taken into custody, resumed his sermon, and completed it.

Afterwards he told his attendant, “Present the world to him; if he accepts it, inform me, and if he rejects it, inform me.” The attendant persisted until the man took the money and inclined toward worldly things. Al-Manṣūr thereupon appointed him over the ḥisbah and grievances, and brought him before the caliph in fine garb, clothing, insignia, and worldly appearance. The caliph said to him, “Woe unto you! Had you been truthful and seeking Allah’s face in what you declared before the people, you would not have accepted any of what I now see. Rather, you wanted it to be said that you admonished the Commander of the Faithful and defied him.” He then ordered that the man be put to death and his head struck off.

Al-Manṣūr once said to his son al-Mahdī, “Nothing sets a caliph aright but piety; nothing sets rulership aright but obedience; the populace are not rectified except by justice. The people most entitled to pardon are those most able to punish, and the least intelligent of people is he who wrongs someone below him.”

He also said, “My son, preserve blessings by gratitude, authority by forgiveness, obedience by fostering affection, and victory by humility and mercy toward the people. Do not forget your share of this world, nor your share of Allah’s mercy.”

Mubārak ibn Faḍālah was once present when al-Manṣūr had ordered a man to be beheaded. The leather mat and the sword were brought out. Mubārak said to him, “I heard al-Ḥusayn say that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: ‘On the Day of Resurrection a caller will announce: Let those whose reward rests with Allah stand! None will stand except those who have pardoned.’ ” Al-Manṣūr thereupon ordered that the man be pardoned, and then began recounting to those present the enormity of the man’s crimes and what he had done.

Al-Aṣmaʿī relates that a man was once brought before al-Manṣūr for punishment. The man said, “O Commander of the Faithful! Retaliation is justice, but pardon is excellence. We seek refuge for the Commander of the Faithful with Allah from choosing for himself the poorer of the two portions and the lower of the two stations instead of the highest of the ranks.” So he pardoned him.