إلى والي أذربيجان في إيران

[1] When Amīr al-mu’minīn was free from the battle of Jamal he wrote to al-Ash‘ath ibn Qays (al-Kindī) who had been the Governor of Āzarbāyjān from the days of ‘Uthmān, to send the revenue and levies of his province. But since he had fears about the future of his position and assignment, he intended to swallow all this money like other officers of ‘Uthmān. Therefore, when this letter reached him he sent for his chief associates and after mentioning this letter to them said: “I fear that this money will be taken away from me; I therefore intend to join Mu‘āwiyah.” Whereupon those people said that it was a matter of shame to leave kith and kin and seek refuge with Mu‘āwiyah. Consequently, on the advice of these people he postponed his idea to run away but did not agree to part with the money. On getting this information Amīr al-mu’minīn sent Ḥūjr ibn ‘Adī al-Kindī to bring him to Kūfah. He persuaded him and brought him to Kūfah. On reaching there his kit was found to contain four hundred thousand Dirhams out of which Amīr al-mu’minīn left thirty thousand for him and deposited the rest in the public treasury.