And they do not scorn the black for their blackness, nor the ugly for their ugliness, nor the one with a lowly craft for its baseness. They enjoin the preservation of the elders and their children. And they offer prayers for many of their dead, in the presence of their kin, their paternal uncles, and their brothers. They recall the honor shown by the Messenger of God, peace be upon him, to Zayd ibn Harithah, his freedman, when he appointed him on the day of Mu'tah over the nobles of Banu Hashim and made him the commander of every town he conquered. They recall his love for Usamah ibn Zayd, the beloved son of the beloved, and his appointment over the great Muhajirun and the elders of the Ansar. They recall his treatment of his other freedmen, all of them, and so-and-so, and so-and-so. They said: And when the state was established by Abu Muslim Abd al-Rahman ibn Muslim and Abu Salamah Hafs ibn Sulayman, and Abu Muslim was the freedman of the Imam, and the state revolved around them, and the kingdom was perfected and its order established. They said: And among the chiefs of the Naqibs were Abu Mansur, freedman of Khuz'ah, and Abu al-Hakam Isa ibn Ayyin, freedman of Khuz'ah, and Abu Hamzah Amr ibn Ayyin, freedman of Khuz'ah, and Abu al-Najm Imran ibn Ismail, freedman of the family of Abu Mu'ayt. So when the virtues of the horsemen, and when the virtues of the freedmen in this call, and we are the ones who serve them, and we pledge ourselves to them, and no Muslim can deny this, nor does any believer reject it. We served them when they were great, and we carried them when they were young. This is in addition to the rights of suckling and upbringing, and growing up in the book, and overcoming in those fields that only the fortunate and the noble among the kings have reached. We have shared with the Arabs in their pride, and with the horsemen in their glory, and with the sons in their merit. Then we have become unique in what they have not shared with us, nor have they preceded us in it. They said: And we are more akin to the subjects, and closer to their natures. They are familiar with us, and we are more at ease with them, and more eager to meet them. We are more merciful to them, and more compassionate towards them.