—it was still moist, and he kept casting his gaze toward it. [So ʿĀʾishah took that siwāk, chewed it, freshened it, then passed it to the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him. He cleaned his teeth with it most thoroughly, after which he said, “O Allah, with the Highest Companion.” He then breathed his last. ʿĀʾishah said, “Thus Allah joined my saliva with his, and he died between my chest and my neck, in my house and on my day; thereby I wronged no one.”] (1)
ʿAbd al-Raḥmān was present at the conquest of al-Yamāmah, where he killed seven men that day. He is the one who slew Muḥakkam ibn al-Ṭufayl (2), the accomplice of Musaylimah in his falsehood. Muḥakkam had been standing in a breach in a wall; ʿAbd al-Raḥmān shot him, and he fell. The Muslims then poured through the breach, reached Musaylimah, and killed him.
He also took part in the conquest of Syria and was held in great esteem among the Muslims. Laylā bint al-Jūdī, daughter of the Arab ruler of Syria, was allotted to him as booty; Khālid ibn al-Walīd granted her to him by order of ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, as will be explained in detail later.
ʿAbd al-Razzaq reported—from Maʿmar, from al-Zuhrī, from Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyib—who said: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Abī Bakr, a man we never found to utter a single lie, told me the following account: When the pledge of allegiance to Yazīd ibn Muʿāwiyah reached Medina, ʿAbd al-Raḥmān said to Marwān, “By Allah, you have turned it into a Heraclean and Kisrā-like dynasty,” meaning that the ruler bequeaths the realm to his own son. Marwān retorted, “Be quiet! You are the one about whom Allah revealed: ‘And the one who said to his parents, “Fie upon you! Do you promise me that I will be brought forth…?”’ (46:17).” ʿĀʾishah replied, “Nothing of the Quran was revealed about us except that in which Allah declared my innocence.” It is also related that she sent a message to Marwān rebuking him and informing him of a report [containing censure of him and his father, though it is not authentically traced to her].
Al-Zubayr ibn Bakkār said: Ibrāhīm ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz al-Zuhrī told me—from his father, from his grandfather—that Muʿāwiya sent ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Abī Bakr one hundred thousand dirhams after he had refused to pledge allegiance to Yazīd ibn Muʿāwiyah, but ʿAbd al-Raḥmān returned the money [refusing to accept it and saying, “Shall I sell my religion for my worldly life?!” He then departed for Mecca, where he died] (4).
Abū Zurʿah al-Dimashqī (5) said: Abū Mus-hir narrated to us; Mālik narrated that ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Abī Bakr passed away while sleeping. Abū Muṣʿab likewise reported it from Mālik, from Yaḥyā ibn Saʿīd, adding that ʿĀʾishah manumitted a number of slaves on his behalf. Al-Thawrī related the same, from Yaḥyā ibn Saʿīd, from al-Qāsim.