Abū ʿAṭṭāb al-Dallāl said: Abū Kaʿb the silk-trader narrated to us, from ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz ibn Abī Bakrah, who said:

We were sitting together—Abū Bakrah, his brother Nāfiʿ, and Shibl—when al-Mughīrah came in and greeted Abū Bakrah. He asked him, “O governor, what has brought you out of the governor’s residence?”

He replied, “I wanted to speak with you.”

Abū Bakrah said, “Then send for whomever you wish.”

Al-Mughīrah withdrew and, that evening, went to the door of Umm Jamīl (1) and entered.

Abū Bakrah exclaimed, “This is something I cannot endure!”

He told a servant, “Climb up to my room and look through the window.”

The servant went, looked, returned, and said, “I found them under a single blanket.” Abū Bakrah then said to the group, “Come with me.”

They rose. Abū Bakrah looked and said, “We belong to Allah…,” then said to his brother, “Look.”

He looked and said, “Did I just see outright fornication?”

Abū Bakrah wrote to ʿUmar describing what he had seen, and a terrible affair ensued. ʿUmar put Abū Mūsā in charge of Basra, and the witnesses traveled to ʿUmar. They testified until Ziyād was brought forward. He said, “I saw them beneath one blanket and heard heavy breathing, but I do not know what lay beyond that.”

ʿUmar proclaimed “Allāhu akbar” and flogged the witnesses, all but Ziyād.

Shuʿbah narrated—from al-Mughīrah—from Simāk ibn Salamah—who said:

The first person to be greeted with the title of amīr was al-Mughīrah ibn Shuʿbah. (2)

That is, when the imam came out for the prayer, the mu’adhdhin would say, “Peace be upon you, O amīr, and the mercy and blessings of Allah.”

Ibn Sīrīn reported: A man would say to another, “May Allah be angry with you as the Commander of the Believers was angry with al-Mughīrah: he removed him from Basra and then appointed him over Kufa.”

Al-Layth said: The battle of Azerbaijan took place in the year 22 AH, and its commander was al-Mughīrah ibn Shuʿbah.

It was also said that al-Mughīrah captured Hamadhān by force.