(1) Abū Nuaym narrated this account in *al-Hilya* (vol. 2, p. 125), as did Ibn Asākir in *Tārīkh Dimashq* (vol. 27, p. 223; vol. 67, p. 218). Ibn Asākir stated: “This account is preserved as a report from Abū Muslim al-Khawlānī.” The phrase “you treat its mangy animals with tar”: the word translated as “treat with tar” derives from the term for tar. A camel is said to have been treated in this way when it is coated with tar as a remedy. See *al-Nihāya fī Gharīb al-Hadīth* (vol. 5, p. 276). The phrase “hold those at the front back for those behind” means that the elite must be prevented from taking precedence over those beneath them; instead, everyone must be placed on an equal footing, with no one given precedence over another. Shaykh al-Uthaymīn commented on this account in his *Commentary* (p. 36), stating in substance: “These remarkable words indicate two things. First, the boldness of the *salaf* (early Muslim generations) in confronting kings and caliphs—and lesser authorities all the more so. This was open boldness displayed to their faces, not boldness from behind walls. Second, they demonstrate the forbearance of the earlier caliphs and their recognition that they were as they had been described. Muāwiya said, ‘He knows best what he is saying.’ This was an acknowledgement by Muāwiya of what Abū Muslim al-Khawlānī had said … Abū Muslim was forthright, but this was not considered discourtesy toward rulers, since the rulers of that period tolerated such things. Nor did they regard this as serving their own interests: an adviser would address them publicly in such terms, yet they patiently tolerated it and agreed with him …” Adapted. (2) (ف) reads: “the ruler.” (3) (ي، ظ) read: “someone better qualified than he is.”