The Messenger of Allah ﷺ appointed him governor of al-Bahrayn, and he continued in that office under Abu Bakr and ʿUmar as well.
Another report states that ʿUmar dispatched him to take charge of Basra, but he died before reaching the city; after his death Abu Hurayrah became the governor of al-Bahrayn on ʿUmar’s behalf.
He is the source of the ḥadith: “The Emigrant may remain in Mecca after completing his rites for only three days.” (1)
Al-Sāʾib ibn Yazīd transmitted this narration from him, and it was also related by Ḥayyān al-Aʿraj and Ziyād ibn Ḥudayr.
Manṣūr ibn Zādhān reported—from Muḥammad ibn Sīrīn, from Ibn al-ʿAlāʾ—that al-ʿAlāʾ ibn al-Ḥaḍramī once wrote to the Prophet ﷺ and began the letter with his own name first. (2)
Ibn Isḥāq said: Their father al-Ḥaḍramī was the confederate of Ḥarb ibn Umayyah and came from the land of Ḥaḍramawt. His full name was ʿAbd-Allāh ibn ʿAbbād ibn al-Ṣadaf.
(1) Recorded by Ahmad, 5/52; al-Bukhari (no. 3933) in the “Merits of the Ansar,” chapter “The stay of a Muhajir in Mecca after performing his rites”; Muslim (no. 1352) in “Pilgrimage,” chapter “The emigrant’s stay in Mecca after completing hajj or ‘umrah” (wording cited here is Muslim’s); Abu Dawud (no. 2022) in “Manasik,” chapter “Residence in Mecca”; al-Tirmidhi (no. 949) in “Hajj,” same chapter; al-Nasa’i, 3/122 in “Shortening the Prayer on a Journey,” chapter “The period of residence for which one may still shorten the prayer”; Ibn Majah (no. 1073) in “Residence,” chapter “How long the traveler may shorten the prayer”; and al-Darimi, 1/355 in “Prayer,” chapter “For one who intends to stay in his town, how long may he continue to shorten the prayer.”
The isnad runs: ‘Abd Allah b. Maslama b. Qa‘nab – Sulayman b. Bilal – ‘Abd al-Rahman b. Humayd – he heard ‘Umar b. ‘Abd al-‘Aziz ask al-Sa’ib b. Yazid: “Have you heard anything about residence in Mecca?” Al-Sa’ib replied: “I heard al-Alaʾ b. al-Hadrami say: I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ declare, ‘For the emigrant, residence in Mecca after the departure (from Mina) is limited to three days,’ meaning he must not exceed that period.”
Meaning: Those who had emigrated from Mecca before the Conquest were originally forbidden to make it their permanent abode. They were later permitted, when coming for hajj, ‘umrah or any other purpose, to remain three days after completing their rites, but not longer.
(2) Reported by Abu Dawud (no. 5135) in “Adab,” chapter “On one who begins with himself when writing,” and by al-Hakim, 3/636. Ibn al-‘Alaʾ (in the chain) is of unknown status, while the remaining transmitters are trustworthy. The printed edition omits the phrase “and he began with himself.”