Khalifah ibn Khayyat reported to us; Yazid ibn Zurayʿ reported to us; Hajjaj al-Sawwaf reported to us; Muʿawiyah ibn Qurrah, from his father, said:
Al-Mughīrah ibn Shuʿbah said to the Persian official, “We used to worship stones and idols. Whenever we saw a stone finer than the one we had, we would throw the first away and take the other. We acknowledged no Lord until Allah sent us a Prophet from among ourselves. He called us to Islam, we answered his call, and he informed us that anyone of us who is killed will enter Paradise.” (1)

Al-Mayanajī died in Shaʿbān of the year 375 AH, having reached—indeed, perhaps surpassed—the age of ninety.

259 – Qassam al-Jabali al-Talfiti *
He was Qassam al-Jabali al-Talfiti. He settled in Damascus and earned his living hauling earth on donkeys. He was strong and daring, and his aspirations mounted toward high ambitions. He attached himself to Ahmad ibn al-Jashtar—one of the young notables of Damascus—joined his faction, and, as circumstances shifted, his supporters multiplied until he dominated Damascus for a time; the city’s deputies had no authority over him. His power became formidable, so the ruler of Egypt dispatched an army against him under the command of the amir Baltakin, client of Hiftikin. Baltakin fought Qassam until he overpowered him; Qassam’s influence weakened, and he went into hiding for a few days before seeking safe-conduct.

Al-Qifti said: “A man from among the ʿayyārīn known as Qassam gained control of Damascus and fortified himself there. An army set out from Egypt to fight him under the command of Fadl; they besieged Damascus, and hardship pressed its inhabitants. Qassam slipped out in disguise, but the guards seized him,”