forbearing and generous: he would bear people’s harm—if a black slave reviled him he would not disdain to answer—and no one ever sought him for a need and went away disappointed. Whenever he heard of a barren stretch of desert he would have a well dug there or a cistern built, and whenever he learned of a rugged pass he would have it smoothed.

It is related that al-Muhallab ibn Abī Ṣufrah came from Iraq to visit Ibn al-Zubayr and spent a long time alone with him. ʿAbd Allah ibn Ṣafwān arrived and asked, “Who is this who has kept you occupied all day?” He replied, “The chief of the Arabs from Iraq.” Ibn Ṣafwān said, “Then it must be al-Muhallab.”

Al-Muhallab in turn asked Ibn al-Zubayr, “Who is the man asking about me, O Commander of the Believers?” He answered, “The chief of Quraysh in Mecca.” Al-Muhallab said, “Then it must be ʿAbd Allah ibn Ṣafwān.” Ibn Ṣafwān was exceedingly generous. (1)

Al-Zubayr ibn Bakkār, with his chain of transmission, said: When Muʿāwiyah came to Mecca as a pilgrim the people went out to greet him, and Ibn Ṣafwān was among them, walking at Muʿāwiyah’s side. The Syrians kept saying, “Who is this walking beside the Commander of the Believers?”

When they entered Mecca, the mountain appeared white with sheep. Ibn Ṣafwān said, “O Commander of the Believers, these sheep I have presented to you (2) so that you may distribute them among the troops.” They numbered two thousand head. The Syrians exclaimed, “We have never seen anyone more generous than the cousin of the Commander of the Believers.” (3)

Ibn Ṣafwān was among those who remained steadfast with Ibn al-Zubayr when al-Ḥajjāj laid siege to him. Ibn al-Zubayr said to him, “I release you from your pledge of allegiance; go wherever you wish.” He replied, “I fought only for my religion.” He then stood firm until he was killed while clinging to the curtains of the Kaʿbah that same year. May Allah have mercy on him and honor his resting place.

ʿAbd Allah ibn Muṭīʿ (4) ibn al-Aswad ibn Ḥārithah al-Qurashī al-ʿAdawī, a resident of Madinah, was born during the lifetime of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, who chewed a date and rubbed it on the infant’s palate and prayed for blessings upon him.

He transmitted—from his father, from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ—that the Prophet said:

“No man of Quraysh will ever again be put to death in captivity from this day until the Day of Resurrection.” (5)

His narrators include his two sons Ibrāhīm and Muḥammad, al-Shaʿbī, ʿĪsā ibn Ṭalḥah ibn ʿUbayd Allah, and Muḥammad ibn Abī Mūsā.

Al-Zubayr ibn Bakkār said: Ibn Muṭīʿ was (6) one of the foremost men of Quraysh in toughness and courage, and he informed me