His gifts to the strong and the weak, the humble and the eminent, were almost equal, whereas people accused his brother ʿAbd Allah of miserliness. (1)
Al-Khaṭīb al-Baghdādī relates in his History (2) that Muṣʿab once became angry with a man and ordered that his neck be struck. The man said, “May Allah honor the emir! How shameful it would be for someone like me to rise on the Day of Resurrection, cling to your noble limbs and to this radiant face of yours, and say, ‘My Lord, ask Muṣʿab why he killed me.’” Muṣʿab thereupon pardoned him. The man then added, “May Allah honor the emir! If you would allow the life you have granted me to be lived in ease—” (3) so Muṣʿab set aside one hundred thousand for him. The man said, “I call you to witness that half of it is for Ibn Qays al-Ruqqiyyāt, who says of you:
[Light metre]
Muṣʿab is but a meteor sent by Allah—
the darkness scatters before his shining face.
His rule is a reign of honor and strength,
untouched by tyranny or arrogant pride.
He fears Allah in all affairs—and successful
is the one whose chief concern is god-fearing.” (4)(5)
(In another report the man said, “O emir, you have bestowed life upon me; if you can also make this life one of broad and pleasant ease, then do so,” whereupon Muṣʿab granted him one hundred thousand.) (6)
Imam Aḥmad said (7): Muʾammal related to us; Ḥammād ibn Salamah related to us; ʿAlī ibn Zayd related: Something concerning one of the leaders of the Anṣār reached Muṣʿab and he resolved to act against him. Anas ibn Mālik entered and said, “I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say: ‘Treat the Anṣār well—show them kindness; accept the good from those who do good among them and overlook the faults of those who err.’” Muṣʿab threw himself from his couch, pressed his cheek to the carpet, and said, “The command of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ is upon the head and the eye.” So he let the man go.
Among Muṣʿab’s sayings that express humility is: “It is astonishing that a son of Adam should show arrogance when he has twice passed through the channel of urine.”
Muḥammad ibn Yazīd al-Mubarrad (8) reported that al-Qāsim ibn Muḥammad was asked about Muṣʿab and replied, “He was noble, eminent, devout, and delightful to sit with.”
As mentioned earlier, when he defeated al-Mukhtār he slew five thousand of his followers in a single morning—some say seven thousand. Afterwards he met Ibn ʿUmar and greeted him, but Ibn ʿUmar did not recognize him because he had been afflicted with injury—