albasri said we were not in the nobility of the tribes and the difference between them but we mentioned almuhallab himself and i do not know that anyone would reach the level of his ignorance to boast about mikhnaf bin salim and prefer him over almuhallab. and the most famous man from the descendants of almuhallab is more famous in the states among the knights and among the people than mikhnaf. and almuhallab is a man who has no equal in iraq who can stand up to him and his virtues days and conquests are more and more famous than it is permissible for us to put him in front of mikhnaf. and they have not ceased to say the basra of almuhallab. and if almuhallab had nothing but that…
فقال البصري إنا لم نكن في شرف القبائل وفرق ما بينهما، فإنما ذكرنا المهلب بنفسه، وما علمت أن أحدا يبلغ من جهله أن يفخر بمخنف بن سليم فيفضله على المهلب. وأخمل رجل من ولد المهلب أشهر في الولايات وفي الفرسان وفي الناس من مخنف. والمهلب رجل ليس له بالعراق نظير يقاومه، ومناقبه وأيامه وفتوحه أكثر وأشهر من أن يجوز لنا أن نجعله إزاء مخنف. وما زالوا يقولون بصرة المهلب . ولو لم يكن للمهلب إلا أنه