…tethered his mount at the door of the mosque, then entered and began praying beside a column. ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb noticed him, came over and asked, “Who is the man?” He replied, “One of the people of Yemen.” ʿUmar said, “What became of the man whom the liar tried to burn in the fire?” He answered, “That was ʿAbd Allah ibn Thawb.” ʿUmar said, “I adjure you by Allah—are you he?” He replied, “By Allah, yes.” ʿUmar embraced him and wept; then he led him over and seated him between himself and Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq, saying, “Praise be to Allah who did not cause me to die before showing me, in the community of Muhammad ﷺ, a man to whom the same was done as was done to Abraham, the Close Friend of the All-Merciful.”

Ismāʿīl ibn ʿAbbās said, “I met men from the auxiliary contingents that used to come to us from Yemen, from Khawlān. Sometimes they would banter, and the Khawlānīs would say to the ʿAnsīs, ‘Your companion the liar burned our companion in the fire, yet it did him no harm.’ (1)

Al-Ḥāfiẓ Ibn ʿAsākir likewise transmitted through other chains: from Ibrāhīm ibn Duḥaym, who said: Hishām ibn ʿAmmār narrated to us; al-Walīd narrated to us; Saʿīd ibn Bashīr informed me, from Abū Bishr—Jaʿfar ibn Abī Ḥushaysha—that a man from Khawlān embraced Islam. His people tried to force him back into disbelief and threw him into a fire. Nothing was burnt of him except a fingertip that had never previously been washed in ablution. He came to Abū Bakr and said, “Seek forgiveness for me.” Abū Bakr replied, “You are more deserving.” He added, “You were thrown into the fire and it did not burn you.” Then he prayed for his forgiveness, after which the man departed for Syria. People used to liken him to Abraham (peace be upon him); this man is Abū Muslim al-Khawlānī. This narration, with its additional detail, shows that he attained such protection by the blessing of his adherence to the pure and sanctified Muhammadan law, just as is stated in the hadith of intercession: “Allah has forbidden the Fire to consume the places of prostration.” (2)

Abū Muslim took up residence in Dāriyā, west of Damascus. No one would precede him to the congregational mosque of Damascus at dawn. He campaigned in the lands of Byzantium and possessed many remarkable states and miracles. His grave is well-known at Dāriyā, and it would appear to be the site where he used to stay, for al-Ḥāfiẓ Ibn ʿAsākir deemed the stronger view to be that he died in the lands of Byzantium during the caliphate of Muʿāwiyah; it is also said that this occurred in the time of his son Yazīd, after the year 60 AH (3). Allah knows best.

It has also been reported, through several chains, concerning Aḥmad ibn Abī al-Ḥawārī that he came to his teacher Abū Sulaymān al-Dārānī to inform him that the oven had been stoked and that his family were awaiting his instructions. He found him addressing the people gathered around him and told him, but Abū Sulaymān remained occupied with them. He informed him again, yet he paid no heed; then he repeated it in the presence of those around him. Abū Sulaymān said, “Go and sit in it.” So Aḥmad ibn Abī al-Ḥawārī went to the oven, sat inside it while it was blazing, and it became coolness and peace for him. He stayed there until Abū Sulaymān became aware of what he had said and said to those around him, “Come, let us go to Aḥmad ibn Abī al-Ḥawārī, for I think he has…"