someone saying:

O sleeper whose eyes repose within the confines of mere flesh—(1)
pour out your tears, O ʿAmr ibn Shaybān!
Do you not see what those defiled youths have done
to the Hāshimite and to al-Fath ibn Khāqān?
He came before Allah, oppressed, and on his behalf
the dwellers of the heavens cried out, two by two and one by one.
Yet another branded blow will soon befall you;
await it, for it shall be of tremendous consequence.
So weep for Jaʿfar, and weep for your caliph,
for every human being—and even the jinn—have wept for him. (2)

He said: When morning came,(3) I informed the people, and the news reached us that he had been killed during that very night.

He said: A month later I saw him again, standing before Allah—exalted is He—and I asked, “What has your Lord done with you?” He replied, “He has forgiven me.” I asked, “For what?” He said, “For a small portion of the sunnah that I revived.”(4) I said, “Why are you standing here?” He replied, “I am waiting for my son Muḥammad, so that I may present my case against him before Allah, the Forbearing, the Tremendous, the Generous.”(5)

We mentioned earlier the manner of his murder: his son Muḥammad al-Muntaṣir colluded with a group of commanders to kill him. He was slain in the city of al-Mutawakkiliyyah—also known as al-Māḥūzah—during the first part of the night of Wednesday, the fourth of Shawwāl in the year 247 AH.(6) The funeral prayer was held for him that Wednesday, and he was buried in al-Jaʿfariyyah. He was forty years old, and his caliphate lasted fourteen years, ten months, and three days.

He was dark-complexioned, with handsome eyes, slender of build, light-bearded, and somewhat short.

The Caliphate of Muḥammad ibn al-Muntaṣir ibn al-Mutawakkil

As noted above, he joined with several commanders in the plot to kill his father. Once the Caliph al-Mutawakkil was assassinated, allegiance was pledged to him that same night. At dawn on Wednesday, the fourth of Shawwāl, the general oath of allegiance was taken. His first act was to charge al-Fath ibn Khāqān with responsibility for his father’s death and to have him executed.

He then summoned his brother al-Muʿtazz, who had previously been heir apparent. Forced under duress, al-Muʿtazz submitted and pledged allegiance. The new bayʿah was then dispatched to the provinces.