Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah 32717 — Reports on talk about rulers

It is narrated from Sa'id that Mus'ab bin al-Zubayr came to Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) while he was going back and forth between Safa and Marwah. He asked: "Who are you?" He answered: "Your nephew, Mus'ab bin al-Zubayr." He asked: "The governor of Iraq?" He answered: "Yes. I have come to ask you about people who abandon obedience, shed blood and seize wealth; they are fought and overpowered; then they fortify themselves in a stronghold and ask for safety; they are given safety and then they are killed." He asked: "How many are they?" He said: "Five thousand." He said: On hearing this, Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) said "Subhan Allah" and said: "O Ibn al-Zubayr! May Allah lengthen your life. If a man came to the goats of al-Zubayr (may Allah be pleased with him) and slaughtered five thousand of them at one time, would you consider that man to be going beyond the limit?" He answered: "Yes." He said: "You consider this to be extravagance with animals that do not know Allah Almighty, and you regard it as lawful with people who have professed the Kalimah for even one day?!"