Abu Bakr al-Ṣiddīq told me that the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—said: “Whoever commits an evil deed shall be requited for it.” (1)
Sufyān narrated from Ibn Jurayj, from Ibn Abī Mulaykah, who said: I mentioned Ibn al-Zubayr in the presence of Ibn ʿAbbās and he remarked, “He was chaste in Islam, a devoted reciter of the Quran, one who fasted by day and prayed by night. His father was al-Zubayr, his mother Asmāʾ, his grandfather Abu Bakr, his aunt Khadījah, his grandmother Ṣafiyyah, and his maternal aunt ʿĀʾishah. By Allah, I shall call myself to account for him in a way I have never done even for Abu Bakr or ʿUmar.”
Al-Ṭabarānī said: Zakariyyā al-Nāji related to us; Ḥawtharah ibn Muḥammad related to us; Abū Usāmah related to us; Saʿīd ibn al-Marzbān—Abū Saʿīd al-ʿAbsī—related to us; Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allah al-Thaqafī said: “I was present at Ibn al-Zubayr’s sermon during the pilgrimage season. He came out to us one day before the Day of Tarwiyah while he was in iḥrām and he chanted the talbiyah in the most beautiful manner I have ever heard. He then praised Allah, exalted Him, and said:
‘To proceed: you have come from far-flung regions as delegations unto Allah—exalted is He. It is therefore incumbent upon Allah to honor His delegates. Whoever among you seeks what is with Allah—know that the seeker of Allah’s bounty is never disappointed. So confirm your words with deeds, for the essence of speech is action: intentions, intentions; hearts, hearts. Fear Allah, fear Allah during these days of yours, for they are days in which sins are forgiven. You have come from distant lands, not for commerce, nor for wealth or any worldly gain you hope to find here.’
He then raised the talbiyah again, and the people followed suit; I have never seen more weeping than on that day.
Al-Ḥasan ibn Sufyān narrated: Ḥayyān ibn Mūsā narrated to us; ʿAbd Allah ibn al-Mubārak narrated to us; Mālik ibn Anas narrated to us, from Wahb ibn Kaysān who said: ‘ʿAbd Allah ibn al-Zubayr wrote to me with the following admonition:
‘To proceed: the people of God-consciousness have signs by which they are recognized and which they recognize within themselves: truthful speech, fulfilling trusts, suppressing anger, patience in affliction, contentment with the divine decree, gratitude for blessings, and humility before the judgment of the Quran. Indeed, the days are like a marketplace: whatever finds currency there is carried to it. If truth finds currency with a person, it will be brought to him and the people of truth will come to him; and if falsehood finds currency with a person, it too will be brought to him and the people of falsehood will come to him.’
Abū Muʿāwiyah said: Hishām ibn ʿUrwah narrated to us, from Wahb ibn Kaysān who said: “I never saw Ibn al-Zubayr sue for peace out of desire or fear of any ruler or of anyone else.”
Through these same chains it is reported that the people of Syria used to taunt Ibn al-Zubayr, saying, “O son of the woman of the two sashes!”
Asmāʾ said to him, “My son, they reproach you with the two sashes, yet I had only one sash. I tore it in half: with one piece I tied up the Messenger of Allah’s food bundle, and with the other I fastened his water-skin when he and Abu Bakr set out for the Hijrah to Madinah.”
After that, whenever they taunted him with the two sashes, Ibn al-Zubayr would reply, “By Allah, that is a blemish whose disgrace does not cling to you.” Allah, exalted is He, knows best.
[Among those of note who were killed alongside Ibn al-Zubayr in 73 AH at Mecca]
ʿAbd Allah ibn Ṣafwān (2) ibn Umayyah ibn Khalaf al-Jumaḥī, Abū Ṣafwān al-Makkī. He was the eldest of his father’s children, lived during the lifetime of the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—narrated from ʿUmar and a number of other Companions, and many of the Successors narrated from him. He was a leader, noble and obeyed.