وقال عليه السلام ، لمّا بلغه قتل محمد بن أبي بكر:
When the news of killing of Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr (82) reached Amir al-mu'minin, peace be upon him, he said:
إِنَّ حُزْنَنَا عَلَيْهِ عَلَى قَدْرِ سُرُورِهِمْ بِهِ،
Our grief over him is as great as their (i.e. the enemy's) joy for it,
إِلاَّ أَنَّهُمْ نَقَصُوا بَغِيضاً،
except that they have lost an enemy
وَنَقَصْنَا حَبِيباً
and we have lost a friend.
82. In the year 38 A.H. Mu'awiyah sent 'Amr ibn al-'As to Egypt with a large force. 'Amr ibn al-'As called Mu'awiyah ibn Hudayj for assistance. They brought together the supporters of 'Uthman and waged a war against Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr and captured him. Mu'awiyah ibn Hudayj beheaded him and stitching his body into the belly of a dead ass, burnt it. Muhammad was at that time twenty-eight years old. It is reported that when the news of the tragedy reached his mother, she fell into a great rage and indignation. And `A'ishah, his paternal sister, took a vow that, as long as she was alive, she would never eat roasted meat. She cursed Mu'awiyah ibn Abi Sufyan, 'Amr ibn al-'As and Mu'awiyah ibn Hudayj after every prayer. When Amir al-mu'minin heard the news of Muhammad's martyrdom be became immensely sad. He wrote in very grieved language to Ibn 'Abbas who was at Basrah about the tragic death of Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr. Hearing the news of Muhammad's martyrdom Ibn 'Abbas came from Basrah to Kufah to offer his condolences to Amir al-mu'minin. One of the spies of Amir al-mu'minin came from Syria and said: O' Amir al-mu'minin! When the news of Muhammad's murder reached Mu'awiyah, he went to the pulpit and praised the group who took part in his martyrdom. The people of Syria rejoiced so much at hearing the news that I had never seen them in such delight before. Then, Amir al-mu'minin uttered the above saying. He further said that although Muhammad was his stepson, he was like his own son. (at-Tabari, vol.1, pp.3400-3414; Ibn al-Athir, vol.3, pp.352-359; Ibn Kathir, vol.7, pp.313-317; Abu'l-Fida', vol.1, p.179; Ibn Abi'l-Hadid, vol.6, pp.82-100; Ibn Khaldun, vol.2, part2, pp.181-182;al-Isti'ab, vol.3, pp.1366-1367; al-Isabah, vol.3, ppA72-473; al-Gharat, ath-Thaqafi, vol.1, pp.276-322; Tarikh al-khamis, vol.2, pp.238 239) We have written before (in the footnote to Sermon No.67) concerning the biography of Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr.
