Among those who died during that year was ʿAbd Allah ibn Salām (1) — Abū Yūsuf al-Isrāʾīlī, formerly one of the Jewish rabbis.

When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ arrived in Madinah, Ibn Salām was tending his date-palms. He later related, “When he came, I was among those who hurried to meet him. The moment I saw his face I knew it was not the face of a liar. The first words I heard him say were:

‘O people, spread the greeting of peace, feed others, maintain the ties of kinship, and you will enter Paradise in peace.’ (2)

We have already mentioned the circumstances of his embracing Islam at the beginning of the Hijrah and the useful, noble questions he put to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. The Prophet ﷺ also testified that he would be in Paradise (3); that testimony is decisive in his favor.

[Then came the year 44 AH.]

In this year ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Khālid ibn al-Walīd campaigned against the Byzantine territories; the Muslims accompanied him and they spent the winter there. During the same year Buṣr ibn Abī Arṭāt led a naval expedition.

That year Muʿāwiyah dismissed ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿĀmir from the governorship of Basra because corruption had spread on account of his leniency. Ibn ʿĀmir was mild-mannered, easy-going, and generous; he did not restrain the rabble, nor did he amputate the hand of a thief, preferring instead to win people’s hearts. Ibn Jarīr (4) states: ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿĀmir complained to Ziyād about the people’s misconduct, whereupon Ziyād said, “Unsheathe the sword against them.” Ibn ʿĀmir replied, “I dislike reforming them at the cost of corrupting myself.” Thereafter ʿAbd Allah ibn al-Kawwāʾ went to Muʿāwiyah and lodged a complaint against Ibn ʿĀmir,