and Abū Mūsā also entered the mosque, whereupon Ḥudhayfah said, “One of those two men is a hypocrite.”

He then added, “The person whose conduct, comportment, and outward bearing most resemble those of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ is ʿAbdullāh.” (1)

I say: I do not know the precise intent behind this remark. ʿAbdullāh ibn Numayr heard it from him, and al-Aʿmash would further say, “We narrated to them about the anger of the Companions of Muhammad ﷺ, and they turned it into a creed.” (2)

ʿAbdullāh ibn Idrīs said, “Al-Aʿmash possessed genuine piety born of his fear of Allah.” (3)

I add: Al-Aʿmash was accused of a slight inclination toward Shiʿism, but I am uncertain about that.

There is no doubt that the extremist Shiʿites detest Abū Mūsā—may Allah be pleased with him—because he did not fight alongside ʿAlī. Later, when ʿAlī appointed him as arbiter on his own behalf, Abū Mūsā deposed both ʿAlī and Muʿāwiyah and proposed Ibn ʿUmar instead, and no orderly outcome ensued from that.

Ibn Saʿd said: Muḥammad ibn ʿUmar informed us; ʿĪsā ibn ʿAlqamah related to us, from Dāwūd ibn al-Ḥuṣayn, from ʿIkrimah, from Ibn ʿAbbās:

“I once said to ʿAlī on the day …”