Rabiʿah—one of the leading shaykhs of his day in Damascus, where he possessed a house and left offspring.

He transmitted hadith from his master, from Anas, from Abū Baḥriyyah ʿAbd Allāh ibn Qays, from Nāfiʿ ibn Jubayr ibn Muṭʿim, from ʿIrāk ibn Mālik, and from others.

Narrators who reported from him include Yazīd ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Hād—who was his contemporary—ʿAbd Allāh ibn Saʿīd ibn Abī Hind, Ibn Isḥāq, Mālik ibn Anas, and many more.

Al-Nasāʾī and others declared him trustworthy.

He was a righteous servant, ever obedient to Allah.

Mālik ibn Anas said, “He had been a slave. One day he entered upon ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz, who used to honor him.”

Al-Farazdaq composed the following lines about him:
“O reciter who lets his turban hang loose—
This is your day; as for me, my day has passed.”

He was devoted to worship, lived in seclusion, and had a few dirhams invested on his behalf. He spoke with a non-Arab accent, wore wool, and avoided meat (1).

Yahyā al-Wuḥāḍī narrated from al-Naḍr ibn ʿArabī who said:
“While ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz was eating lunch, he caught sight of Ziyād. He had him brought in, sat with him, and said, ‘O Fāṭimah, this is Ziyād; come out and greet him. Here is Ziyād in a woolen cloak while ʿUmar has been entrusted with the affairs of the ummah.’
He then wept, and she said, ‘O Ziyād! This charge that has come to us and to him—since the day he assumed it, we have known neither joy nor ease of heart.’”

Ibn Wahb reported from Mālik who said:
“Ziyād, the freedman of Ibn ʿAyyāsh, would pass by; his very footsteps would sometimes startle me. He would place his hand between my shoulders and say, ‘Be earnest, for if what these people say…’”