one hundred and fifty-seven AH. Some added, “It was in the month of Ṣafar, and in that very month he died.”

Ibn Abī al-Dunyā said: Abū Jaʿfar al-Ādamī narrated to me, saying: Yazīd ibn Madhʿūr said, “I saw al-Awzāʿī in a dream and asked him, ‘Show me a rank by which I may draw nearer to Allah.’ He replied, ‘I saw nothing there higher than the rank of the scholars, and after that the rank of those whose hearts are sorrowful.’

Al-Awzāʿī’s biography in the History of Ḥāfiẓ Ibn ʿAsākir fills four fascicles (1). He was the first to set knowledge to writing in Syria, and it has reached us that he used to wrap a round turban with no tail (2)—may Allah Most High have mercy on him.

Al-Ḥākim said: Abū Bakr al-Ismāʿīlī dictated to us; Muḥammad ibn Khalaf ibn al-Marzubān informed us; Abū Nashīṭ Muḥammad ibn Hārūn informed us; al-Firyābī narrated:

“Al-Thawrī (3), al-Awzāʿī, and ʿAbbād ibn Kathīr (4) met in Mecca. Al-Thawrī said to al-Awzāʿī, ‘O Abū ʿAmr, relate to us your encounter with ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAlī.’

He said, ‘Certainly. When he entered Syria and slaughtered the Umayyads, he seated himself one day upon his throne and arrayed his followers in four divisions: a division holding drawn swords, a division carrying the jazara—I think they were the atbār (5)—a division armed with clubs, and a division bearing the kāfir-kūb (6). Then he sent for me.

When I reached the gate, they dismounted me; two men took me by the arms and led me through the ranks until they stood me where my words could be heard. I gave the greeting of peace. He said, “Are you ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAmr al-Awzāʿī?”

I replied, “Yes—may Allah set the emir aright.”

He asked, “What is your verdict regarding the blood of the Umayyads?” He posed the question as a man…"