In the biography ascribed to Ibn ʿAbbās it is mentioned that he served as governor of Basra on behalf of ʿAlī, and that Abū Ayyūb al-Anṣārī came to visit him. Ibn ʿAbbās treated him with extraordinary honor and said, “I must reward you for the day you hosted the Prophet ﷺ in your home.” He then presented him with everything in the house, an amount that totaled forty thousand. (1)

Al-Aʿmash narrated through Abū Ḍabyān, from his elders, that Abū Ayyūb said: “Bury me beneath your feet; I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say, ‘Whoever dies without associating anything with Allah will enter Paradise.’” (2)

Ibn ʿUlayyah reported, from Ayyūb, from Muḥammad, who said: “Abū Ayyūb fought at Badr and thereafter never missed a single campaign—except one year when a young man was placed in command of the army, so he stayed behind. He soon regretted it and kept saying, ‘What does it matter to me who is put in charge of me?’

Later he fell ill while the army was under the command of Yazīd ibn Muʿāwiyah. Yazīd visited him and asked, ‘Do you have any request?’ He replied, ‘Yes. When I die, mount me on an animal and advance with me into enemy territory as far as you can go; when you can go no farther, bury me there and return.’

When he died, Yazīd carried out his instructions: he mounted him, marched on, and then buried him.

Abū Ayyūb used to say: ‘Allah says…’