To his governor in Basra

To ‘Abdullāh ibn al-‘Abbās, his Governor of Baṣrah

You should know that Baṣrah is the place where Satan descends and mischiefs happen. Keep the people of this place pleased with good treatment and remove the knots of fear from their hearts.

I have come to know of your strictness with Banū Tamīm [1] and your harshness over them. Banū Tamīm are those that if one star sets another one rises for them. They were never exceeded in (the art of) war in pre-Islamic times or after Islam. They have a special kinship with us and a particular relationship. We shall be rewarded if we pay heed to the kinship and be deemed sinful if we disregard it.

O’ Abu’l-‘Abbās, may Allāh have mercy on you, keep yourself restrained in whatever you say or do, good or bad about your people, as we are both partners in this (responsibility). Prove yourself according to my good impressions about you, and do not prove my opinion (about you) wrong; and that is an end to the matter.