[Al-Waqidi and] (1) al-Madaʾini relate that Ibn ʿAbbas paid a visit to Muʿawiyah. Muʿawiyah therefore ordered his son Yazid to go to him and offer condolences for al-Hasan ibn ʿAli. When Yazid entered upon Ibn ʿAbbas, the latter welcomed and honored him, and Yazid sat before him. Ibn ʿAbbas tried to raise him to a higher seat, but he refused, saying, “I am sitting as one who consoles, not as one who offers congratulations.” He then mentioned al-Hasan and said, “May Allah show Abu Muhammad the widest and most expansive mercy. May Allah magnify your reward, perfect your solace, and replace your loss with something better in recompense and outcome.”

When Yazid rose to leave, Ibn ʿAbbas remarked, “When the sons of Harb are gone, the forbearing (2) people are gone.” Then he recited, extemporizing:
“Men who overlook a fault and never voice it—
heirs to the ancient legacy of sagacious forbearance.” (3)

Yazid was also the first to lead a campaign against the city of Constantinople in 49 AH, according to Yaʿqub ibn Sufyan; Khalifah ibn Khayyat (4) dates it to 50 AH. In that same year, after returning from this expedition in Byzantine territory, he led the people in the pilgrimage.

It is authentically reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “The first army to attack the city of Caesar shall be forgiven in its entirety.” (5) This refers to the second army that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ saw in his dream while he was with Umm Haram. She said, “Pray to Allah that He make me one of them,” and he replied, “You are among the first.” The first army was that of Muʿawiyah when he campaigned against Cyprus and captured it in 27 AH during the caliphate of ʿUthman ibn ʿAffan; Umm Haram was with them and died there in Cyprus. The commander of the second army was his son Yazid ibn Muʿawiyah, and Umm Haram did not live to take part in Yazid’s expedition. This is among the greatest proofs of prophethood.

The ḥadith master Ibn ʿAsakir also cites here the narration transmitted by Muḥāḍir, from al-Aʿmash, from Ibrahim, from (6) ʿUbaydah, from ʿAbd Allah, that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “The best of people are my generation, then those who follow them, then those who follow them.” (7) The same wording is reported by ʿAbd Allah ibn Shuqayq (8) from Abu Hurayrah, from the Prophet ﷺ.