Ibn Shihāb said:
“I made my way to Syria intending to join the expedition. I called on ʿAbd al-Malik and found him inside a domed pavilion, reclining on high-set cushions—so elevated that a man standing could not reach him—while the people below were seated in two orderly rows.

Ibn Saʿd relates: Muḥammad ibn ʿUmar told us, ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz told us, who said: I heard al-Zuhrī say:

‘I grew up a young man with neither wealth nor a stipend in the state register. I used to learn my clan’s genealogy from ʿAbd Allāh ibn Thaʿlabah ibn Suʿayr, a man well-versed in the subject. He was related to my people through his mother and was their ally.

One day a man came to him and asked about a question concerning divorce; he was unable to answer and directed the man to Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyab.

I said to myself, “Here I am with this elderly man who claims that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) once stroked his head, yet he does not know the answer to so simple a matter!”

So I went off with the questioner to Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyab, leaving Ibn Thaʿlabah behind. I then kept the company of ʿUrwah, ʿUbayd Allāh, and Abū Bakr ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān until I became proficient in jurisprudence.

After that I travelled to Syria. At the pre-dawn hour I entered the mosque of Damascus and headed for a large study-circle facing the maqṣūrah. I sat with them, and they asked about my lineage. I replied, “A man of Quraysh.”

They said, “Do you know the ruling on slave-women who have borne children (ummahat al-awlād)?”

I informed them of the view of ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb. They said, “This is the circle of Qabīṣah ibn Dhuʾayb; he is your protector. The Commander of the Faithful asked him—and asked us—but found that none of us possessed knowledge of the matter.”

Presently Qabīṣah arrived. They told him what had happened. He inquired about my lineage; I stated it. He asked me about Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyab and his peers, and I answered.

He said, “I shall take you in to the Commander of the Faithful.”

When he had prayed Fajr he departed, and I followed him. He entered upon ʿAbd al-Malik while I waited at the door for about an hour, until the sun had risen high. Then the chamberlain came out and called, “Where is the Medinan Qurashī?”

“I am here,” I replied. I went in with him to the Commander of the Faithful and found a Qurʾān closed before him. He ordered it to be removed, and no one sat with him but Qabīṣah. I greeted him with the salutation due to the caliphate.

He asked, “Who are you?” I answered, “Muḥammad ibn Muslim…” and traced my forefathers back to Zuhrah.

He exclaimed, “Ah! A clan loud-voiced in times of turmoil!” (Muslim ibn ʿUbayd Allāh, he added, had sided with Ibn al-Zubayr.)

Then he said, “What knowledge have you regarding ummahat al-awlād?” I informed him of Saʿīd’s position. He asked, “How is Saʿīd? How is his state?” I told him, and then added, “Abū Bakr ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn al-Ḥārith ibn Hishām also informed me…” whereupon he asked