To Ibn Abbas after Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr was killed

To ‘Abdullāh ibn al-‘Abbās after Muḥammad ibn Abī Bakr had been killed.

Now then, Egypt has, been conquered and Muḥammad ibn Abī Bakr, may Allāh have mercy on him, has been martyred. We seek his reward from Allāh. He was a son who was a well-wisher, a hard worker, a sharp sword and a bastion of defence. I had roused the people to join him and ordered them to reach him to help before this incident. I called to them secretly as well as openly repeatedly. Some of them came half-heartedly, some put up false excuses and some sat away leaving me.

I ask Allāh the Sublime, to give me early relief from them, for by Allāh, had I not been yearning to meet the enemy for martyrdom and not prepared myself for death, I would not have liked to be with these people for a single day nor ever to face the enemy with them.