Abū al-Zinād said, “We used to accompany al-Zuhrī as he made the rounds of the scholars. He always carried wooden tablets and sheets of parchment, writing down everything he heard.

Ibrāhīm ibn al-Mundhir related: Yaḥyā ibn Muḥammad ibn Ḥakam told us, quoting Ibn Abī Dhīʾb: ‘Ibn Shihāb fell into hardship and was overwhelmed by debt, so he set out for Syria and took up the company of Qabīṣah ibn Dhuʾayb.

Ibn Shihāb himself said: While we were passing the evening with him, the messenger of ʿAbd al-Malik arrived. Qabīṣah went to see him, then returned and said, “Which of you has memorised ʿUmar’s ruling—may Allah be pleased with him—regarding ummahāt al-awlād (slave-women who have borne children)?”

‘I said, “I have.”

‘He replied, “Stand up.”

‘He ushered me in to ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Marwān. I found him seated on a cushion, a staff in his hand, dressed in a thin silk robe and wrapped in a light cloak (1), with a candle burning before him. I gave the salām, and he asked, “Who are you?”

‘I stated my lineage. He remarked, “Your father was certainly hot-blooded in times of turmoil (2).”

‘I said, “Commander of the Faithful, may Allah pardon what is past.”

‘He said, “Sit down,” so I sat. Then he asked, “Do you recite the Qurʾān?”

‘I answered, “Yes.”

‘He said, “What is your verdict concerning a woman who dies leaving a husband and both parents?”

‘I replied, “Her husband receives one half, her mother one sixth, and her father the remainder.”

‘He said, “You have assigned the correct shares but misstated the wording: her mother is entitled to one third of what remains, and her father takes what is left. Now, give me your ḥadith.”

‘I said, “Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyab narrated to me …” and I recounted ʿUmar’s ruling on ummahāt al-awlād.

‘ʿAbd al-Malik said, “That is exactly how Saʿīd narrated it to me.”

‘I said, “Commander of the Faithful, settle my debt.”

‘He answered, “Yes.”

‘I added, “And grant me a stipend.”

‘He replied, “By Allah, we do not combine the two for anyone.”

‘I then made ready to return to Medina.’

A report to the same effect was transmitted by Saʿīd ibn ʿUfayr from ʿAṭṭāf ibn Khālid, as mentioned earlier.

Aḥmad ibn Shabīb narrated from his father, from Yūnus: Ibn Shihāb said, ‘I arrived in Damascus during the uprising of Ibn al-Ashʿath, and ʿAbd al-Malik was wholly occupied with that affair.’

Saʿīd ibn ʿUfayr also reported: Ḥafṣ ibn ʿImrān told us, from al-Sarrī ibn Yaḥyā, from …"}