He was generous, well-spoken of, esteemed, of lofty standing, and counted among the nobility, though he was openly known for his nasb (hostility toward the Prophet’s Household). He owned a large residence in the Murabbaʿat al-Qazz quarter of Damascus; it later came to be called the House of al-Sharīf al-Yazīdī. The bathhouse opposite the Sinān Bridge, near Bāb Tūmā, is likewise attributed to him.

Yahyā al-Himmanī said: It was said to Sayyār, “Do you relate hadith from a man like Khālid?” He answered, “He is too honorable to lie.”

Khalīfah ibn Khayyāṭ stated: In 89 AH al-Walīd deposed Nāfiʿ ibn ʿAlqamah from the governorship of Mecca and appointed Khālid al-Qasrī in his place. He remained governor there until 106 AH. Hishām ibn ʿAbd al-Malik later put him over the Iraqs for a time, until he dismissed him in 120 AH and replaced him with Yūsuf ibn ʿUmar al-Thaqafī.

Al-ʿUtbi narrated—on the authority of an unnamed man—who said:
“Khālid ibn ʿAbd Allah delivered a sermon in Wāsiṭ and declared: ‘The most honored of people is the one who gives to those from whom he expects nothing; the greatest in forgiveness is the one who pardons when able to punish; and the best at maintaining ties is the one who resumes them after they have been severed.’”

Ibn Abī Khaythamah reported: Muḥammad ibn Yazīd al-Rifāʿī told us—I heard Abū Bakr ibn ʿAyyāsh say:
“I saw Khālid al-Qasrī when he brought al-Mughīrah ibn Saʿīd and his followers. Al-Mughīrah claimed that he could raise the dead. Khālid killed one of them and then said to al-Mughīrah, ‘Bring him back to life.’ Al-Mughīrah replied, ‘By Allah, I do not raise the dead.’ Khālid said, ‘You will revive him or I will strike off your head.’ He then ordered a bundle of reeds to be set ablaze and said, ‘Embrace it.’ Al-Mughīrah refused, whereupon one of his adherents rushed forward and embraced it. Abū Bakr continued: I saw the fire consume him while he was pointing with his index finger. Khālid declared, ‘This man, by Allah, is more deserving of leadership than you.’ He then executed al-Mughīrah and his companions.”

The author comments: Al-Mughīrah was a Rāfiḍī—vile, a liar, a sorcerer—who claimed prophethood, preferred ʿAlī over the prophets, and was an anthropomorphist. I have set forth his accounts in Mizān al-Iʿtidāl (1).