98 – ʿAbd Allah ibn al-Arqam ibn ʿAbd Yaghuth al-Qurashi* (4), the son of Wahb ibn ʿAbd Manaf ibn Zuhra, a Qurashi of the Zuhri clan, known as “the Scribe.”

He was one of those who accepted Islam at the Conquest of Mecca. His submission to Islam was exemplary: he served as a scribe for the Prophet ﷺ, and later wrote on behalf of Abu Bakr and ʿUmar (1).

ʿUmar appointed him over the Treasury (Bayt al-Mal), and he continued in that post for ʿUthman for a time as well (2). He was counted among the distinguished and righteous Companions.

Malik said: While he was administering the Treasury, ʿUthman—may Allah be pleased with him—granted him thirty thousand, yet he refused to take it (3).

It is also related from ʿAmr ibn Dinar that the amount was three hundred thousand dirhams, but he would not accept it, saying, “I worked only for Allah Most High; my reward is with Allah alone.”

Another report states that ʿUmar said to ʿAbd Allah ibn al-Arqam, “If you had possessed an earlier precedence, I would …”