ومن كلام له (عليه السلام) لمّا قلد محمّد بن أبي بكر مصر فملكت عليه وقتل

When Amīr al-mu’minīn appointed Muḥammad ibn Abi Bakr [1] Governor of Egypt and he was overpowered and killed, Amīr al-mu’minīn said :

وَقَدْ أَرَدْتُ تَوْلِيَةَ مِصْرَ هَاشِمَ بْنَ عُتْبَةَ، وَلَوْ وَلَّيْتُهُ إِيَّاهَا لَما خَلَّى لَهُمُ الْعَرْصَةَ، وَلاَ أَنْهَزَهُمُ الْفُرْصَةَ، بَلاَ ذَمٍّ لِمحَمَّدِ بْنِ أَبي بَكْر، فَلَقَدْ كَانَ إِلَيَّ حَبِيباً، وَكَانَ لي رَبِيباً.

I had intended to send Hāshim ibn ‘Utbah to Egypt and had I done so he would have made way for the opponents nor given them time (to get hold of him). This is without reproach to Muḥammad ibn Abi Bakr as I loved him and had brought him up.

Extrait de ses paroles à l’issu du meurtre de son gouverneur en Egypte Mouhammad Ibn Abi Bakr

J’ai voulu donner le gouvernement de l’Egypte à Hachem bin ‘Outbat Si je l’avais fait, il n’aurait pas pris la fuite et leur donné l’occasion de le tuer, comme ils l’ont fait avec Mouhammad Ibn Abi Bakr dont j’étais le tuteur bien-aimé.

Nahj al-Balāgha

Chapter #68