with the most vehement condemnation, belittling and demeaning it. A number of people therefore gathered around him, and Shabīb ibn Yazīd, the Kharijite, wrote to chide him for delaying the uprising, urging and summoning him to embark upon it. Shabīb then came to Ṣāliḥ while he was in Dārā; the two pledged mutual support and agreed to rise on the first of Ṣafar in the coming year—namely, the year 76 AH. [Shabīb, together with his brother Miṣād, al-Muḥallal (1), and al-Faḍl ibn ʿĀmir, joined Ṣāliḥ, so that about one hundred and ten seasoned fighters rallied to him while he was still at Dārā. They then pounced upon horses belonging to Muḥammad ibn Marwān, seized them, and rode off] (2). What befell them thereafter will be set out in the account of the following year, Allah willing.
[Among those who, according to Abū Sahr and Abū ʿUbayd, died in this year] was al-ʿIrbaḍ ibn Sāriyah (3)—may Allah be pleased with him—al-Sulamī, known as Abū Najīḥ. He settled in Ḥimṣ and was an eminent Companion. He and ʿAmr ibn ʿAbasah had embraced Islam early and taken up residence in the Ṣuffa. He was one of the “weepers” mentioned in the Quran, as we have already listed their names when citing the verse, “Nor upon those who, when they came to you for you to mount them, you said, ‘I can find nothing on which to carry you,’ so they turned away while their eyes overflowed with tears, grieving that they could not find anything to spend” ⦗9:92⦘. They were nine in number (4). He is also the narrator of the hadith:
“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ delivered a sermon to us that made hearts tremble and eyes weep, so we said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, it is as though this is a farewell exhortation; so counsel us.’ He replied:
‘I counsel you to fear Allah, to hear and obey even if a black Abyssinian slave whose head is like a raisin is placed in authority over you. Hold fast to my sunnah and the sunnah of the rightly guided caliphs after me; bite onto it with your molars. Beware of newly-introduced matters, for every novelty is a bidʿah (innovation)…’” (5).