and stay close to the pulpit of the Messenger of Allah. By Him in whose hand is my soul, if you abandon it you will never behold it again.”

Those who were with ʿAlī said, “Let us kill him.” ʿAlī replied, “Leave ʿAbd Allāh ibn Salām alone; he is a righteous man.”

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Mughaffal said, “I once sought ʿAbd Allāh ibn Salām’s advice about a piece of land I wished to buy. Later he told me, ‘This is the turn of the fortieth year; after it there will be reconciliation—so go ahead and purchase it.’”

Someone asked Ḥumayd ibn Hilāl, “How do you raise the Quran against the ruler?” He answered, “Have you not seen how the Kharijites interpret the Quran against the ruler?”

Ibn ʿUmar then came in to ʿUthmān while he was—