Al-Qa'im also kept up his correspondence with the Madhara'i, who informed him about the Fustat garrison's weakness, but may have played a double game, trying to delay an attack until fresh Abbasid troops arrived.[18] At the same time, the Fatimid commander sent appeals to the two holy cities of Islam, Mecca and Medina, urging them to recognize the Fatimids' claims to sovereignty over the Islamic world. His requests were ignored.[18][19]